Operavision

How very emotional and wonderful a celebration of a distinct and monumental, historic opera house and a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the career of the marvelous, amazing tenor, Placido Domingo.

125 years of giving New York a place to gather to hear great geniuses of music and their musical masterpieces with great voices.

A Valhalla. There should be a Monument Park in that house to honor all the great stars, as it is the Yankee Stadium of the Arts here in New York. All the greats have been there. It’s when you know you’ve arrived.

A place that intrigued the likes of Gustav Mahler, Toscanini, Puccini, and a host of super luminary voices, to name only a very few, Ponselle, Caruso, Gigli, Ruffo, Muzio, Rethberg, Flagstad, Slezak, Corelli, Tucker, Merrill, Price, Albanese and my beloved Milanov and the voice of love it self, Tebaldi.

Think about it, Rysanek, the great Callas and Birgit Nilsson, Freni and Caballe, Sutherland and Sills and last, but never least, my “brother” the very great Luciano Pavarotti.

Karl Boem, and Berstein, Von Karjan, Kleiber, Patane’, Serafin, and my dear James Levine. Zeffirelli and his monumental, authentic productions, no one is as popular as he,,,, they all wanted to be here and sing here and work here and be a part of this historic house.

Tonight was a star studded celebration even in the audience; so many “stars” it felt like a movie opening. That lends a lot of “press” interest I must say, and was fun for the people there to cheer the opera as well.

It was filled with clever ideas, exploding chandeliers, projections of fotos, and amazing recreations of the productions and costumes inspired by the original designs, which I am sure was thrilling for long time opera fans as well as the singers themselves. Congrats to Robert Tuggle and to all his crew and the CREW for this steadfast exacting realization of this treat. As always in the Gelb era, there was a lot to watch. Fortunately also a lot to hear. He and Mo. Levine assembled a fine group.

There were so many fine and stellar parts to this event but these were part of what I call, “Gigli Tips his Hat” moments.

Mr. Domingo in anything.

He is in a class by himself. The voice is of a legato and freshness that is quite amazing and listening on the radio, I was literally a mess hearing him sing from Verdi’s Otello, the “Niun mi tema“, so full of heart and pathos; his Parsifal was a thing of true beauty and Wagnerian ring and a look to the future in Simon Boccanegra/ A true Star, Bravo Placido.

The next for me was the incandescent singing of my “Siberian brother”, Dmitri Hvorostofky in the melting legato and profound beauty of tone and suave, even emission in his aria,“Ya vas lyublyu” from The Queen of Spades. Seduced completely, the audience went into delirium. Is this not one of the most gorgeous voices? He and his family know how I adore him as a man and a soul, but my goodness, what beauty he gave us tonight.

Sadly, I am not familiar with the whole of Mussorgsky’s “Boris Godonov”, but the bass, Mr. Tomlinson created a mood from the very beginning that was hypnotic and heartbreaking, so immediate his revealing of the anguish of this man and his final moments. I was riveted.

I must celebrate with my young friend, Lisette Oropesa, whose elegant, perfectly limpid, gorgeous Sophie in the trio of Der Rosenkavlier, made everyone sit up and take notice. She really has a very special career ahead, God Bless and keep her always. Brava.

So much to mention, so many wonderful voices. Everyone gave there very best, world class.

In a tribute to Franco Zeffirelli’s magnificent productions that even had designs so beautiful they had to show them as well, my great friend Marcello Giordani, high up with spotlights in his face- imagine singing the first thing of the night what is usually in the later hours of Turandot-he gave us a gleaming, full throated “Nessun Dorma” which the audience cheered.

Mr. Calleja showed a truly sweet voiced, large, lyric tenor with a great deal of beauty in his -in key- rendition of “Che gelida manina” from La Boheme. A voice to watch.

Everyone was terrific and warmly received, but for me the greatest moment of unearthly beauty was given in the aria of Korngold’s “Die Tote Stadt“, Marietta’s Lied, sung by a very seriously, profoundly moving . Renee Fleming.

It had message and was a voice that confirmed God’s offer of redemption to us all.

She always has a great voice, but tonight she laid on the altar of this 125 year old Temple, tones of such truth, discipline and beauty, and outright gorgeous, truly gorgeous singing, that I openly sobbed at the aria.

I cry at opera, a lot, because of it’s absolute connection to God through it’s beauty and transcendence and hope and, well, I just “crazy love it.”

You can count the moments when someone’s heart is made safe enough to open and for a brief moment the world beats true, this she gave to us tonight, and I thank her for that so very much.

This is a house that I grew up in, it will be thirty years for me in 2011, I arrived in 1981. My debut is this year 25 years ago in December. My heart is filled with love and praise for it’s “anniversary”.

Congratulations to Donald Palumbo and his stellar work with the fabulous chorus of the Metropolitan Opera and that amazing opera symphony of distinguished musicians that James Levine has hewn out of musical marble like a Michaelangelo. Jimmy was amazing as always. I think he knows how much I love and honor him. That was quite a tour de force for him tonight and a triumph.

Tonight we had a little remembrance of a legendary house in it’s new “thought” process, and treats were plenty, but “winking Callas’s or not”, the true stars of tonight are the vocal stars that quicken the pulse and make your soul soar.

Bravo to Peter Gelb and his wonderful Team. Bouquets and bouquets of Brava’s and Bravo’s and Bravi’s to all the great voices on that stage tonight.

She is a GREAT house, with a staggering history of beauty who has hugged us for many years, tonight some of us got to hug back.

Evviva il Metropolitan Opera di New york. “Cent’anni di piu, di piu……………..!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Francis Robinson, years an authority and never shy with an opinion, offers a rare look at one of the truly great voices, Rosa Ponselle. I thought it lovely to include here. Enjoy!

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This man was a great Mascagni scholar, wrote several important books and was a really very fine conductor.

I did my first Don Carlo with him. His patience and his real understanding of what I was made it all possible for me. I trusted no one until Jimmy sent me to him, ONE person to work with, not the hundred I was confused and frustrated by. Today they send kids in these programs to so many new minds in music, who is really teaching whom?. I wanted someone who KNEW. Not young people just like me using me as a guinea pig for their “ideas” or their total understanding of scores they knew nothing about. Very few really understood the old school. “You can’t do that, to many liberties, only a star can do that maybe!” and I thought “I will never become one unless I do have some imagination.” Together with Rita Patane’, these two brought about voice that brought me to the attention of the world.

I loved this man, he was hard, and difficult to get close to. But when he had your best interests at heart, and especially his love and respect of music and his complete dedication and devotion of James Levine, you could have no one better. He taught me so many roles. I will never know how to say thank you enough. I miss him. The chorus that sings passionately for him, as the camera pans their faces, made me weep. These people had sung with Milanov, and Corelli and ALL the old school. So many friends, no longer there of course, but also no longer with us at all. I salute you dear friends, and remember the countless nights you inspired those in “front” to deliver the goods because YOU did.

David, from my heart, I salute you most of all.

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my photograph of the “david” in the Central Park. Millo (c)

NEWS:

So I finally can do something about the back.

Thrilled to finally take steps to correct this long standing problem made worse by the additional weight I was/am carrying. I am happy to have this time to finally make the physical changes I need to to go forward in my life and career. With the postponement of Medea till next year, and the rescheduling of the Woolsey Hall with my charming friend Roberto Iarussi turning into something different than I had thought, I decided now is the time to do what I must to correct the weight problem, which I have had modest success so far in doing and to physically become more of an athlete so as to insure the health in the future.

35 pounds came off last year only to have the back go out…… the medicines given to “improve” the situation it did nothing more than add more weight and make movement impossible. So how do you lose? These are tiresome, unusual and unmusical duties, and that bores me to tears… A nation obsessed with weight and looks. GUess it is my turn to take a number and get in line.

Oprah wondered how she got here. I know how I got here. One fork full at a time. All the catch phrases apply. “Self medicating” “pushing down emotion”….. but about what?

I examined my last few years, and I think I know what it was.

The emotion of seeing a beloved parent dying in front of you; full of hope till the end, bad news after bad news about the inability of medicine to save her, the courage displayed; ambulances wrenching the person from home to face mortality in a hospice, and the finality of the phrase, “She’s gone!”. I was heavy in 2001, when Mom arrived. But not this crazy. That was workable. This is not. I haven’t stopped since she died and now guessing as I am at the truth, confirming it is hard too, that food is a “band-aid” on a gash so big that nothing can heal it except the glaring light of the truth and acceptance of loss.

NO cutting, no lap bands, no gastric bypass and all that, just hard work. So in the Fall for Eve the concert of my 25th anniversary, I should be as close to right as I have been since this nightmare began. For those who care about me and my voice, send me some good thoughts and energies, .

I miss you Mom. Stay close. ” Look Ma, no hands!”

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Her speaking voice was every bit as beautiful as her singing voice. It had melody, and I use to love the way she would pronounce my name, “Aprile” in so many different lilting tones. It surprised and delighted her when she was remembered by her legions of fans for her birthday. I always sent her flowers and a call, and sometimes exaggerated the amount of flowers. She would laugh and chide me for so expensive a gift, and make me aware of how very wonderful it made her feel….. and one by one, it would please her to no end to see her living room become drenched in flowers and tributes from all over the world.

None of it was about ego. She gave in one currency her whole life and career. Spoke in one language, the language was love. She gave it freely and with abandon and in return was enchanted by the love she would receive in return.

In a world getting used to pygmies, you are a giant in my memory of beauty both physical and vocal, artist to the core and charismatic presence. A true lighthouse to lead those who search for a way back to the sublime and the unforgettable. On February 1, I will call you in my mind and hear your voice in my heart and remember always the divinity that lay in your throat.

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This scene above is perfect for the winter the ARTS are experiencing currently. What a cold, horrid world it would be without ballet, and symphony and opera. Everything and everyone runs to be hip, and modern and loses something big in their hurry; AUTHENTICITY.

Cultural Minister PLEASE!!!

I am secretly hoping for a miracle for the world of opera. That our new president with his Chief of Staff actually having been a ballet dancer, perhaps someone close might whisper, “Help!”

Who else LOVED seeing the moment of history at the inauguration ushered in with a violin, clarinet and cello and piano? Yes, classical musicians, albeit, canned classical music to protect the tuning on such a “winter’s day”- but decidedly a great nod to the world of real music. We need someone fighting for more than the measley 50 million currently being earmarked for the Arts. We need a cultural minister. For all the music not just Jazz and contempory, ALL.

My inner ” diavolo”, (don’t we all have one?) is so frustrated recently.

Go to the opera these days and you get wonderful voices singing every opera the same. Wagner melds with Puccini, Verdi sounds like Mozart. The style is lost. BIG stars arrive and know little of the words or use them really. Conductors cry about singers must “lose the old fashioned” portamenti and maintain for the good of the show the motto “singer last”, “must blend in”, “the director is important” is their best offering. Have yet to see anyone pay to hear a director sing.

These young pups USE the music to make a name for themselves because let’s face it, how many orchestra’s are open for a new head. Opera seems the easiest pickings. Step on stage to sing a debut in a role with a maestro, and more than likely, HE is just seeing the score for the first time. Who will learn from whom? Big loss and it is happening so quietly, drowned out in a sea of press releases and happy promoters.

If they get to the end of a show reasonably well, that is all they care about. My God, even a Callas was to be molded by a Visconti or a Zeffirelli. Inspired, challenged, guided, informed. She said thousands of times they made life more fascinating, and the work sprang from her, one genius to another.

Is anyone yet tired of the all the new ideas yet?
Men, pants down urinating or sitting on toilet seats to open Verdi’s great “Un Ballo in Maschera”? Bumble Bees in “Nabucco”? Iago masturbating while Desdemona and Otello sing the magnificent music of Otello? A young tenor working under a car to sing “Dei miei bollenti spiriti….” ? And people wonder why I don’t sing as much anymore. Who, serious about opera would take part in these “jokes” ?

News from the OONY organization. Postponed. Heartbreak. All this creation must be freeze dried now. Medea will be even madder a year from now. I can’t wait to sing her. It will surprise a lot of people. OONY is wise to regroup. Too important an organization to lose.

The old saying, brush yourself off and get right up. March 7 is the supposed new date for the concert to be filmed in Conn.

Fingers crossed they pull it together, and my diet, THE MOST BORING but necessary evil goes marching on.

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Such a fragile time. I can feel a need for music and creation inside of me. Taking time to right the “ship” so to speak is so important but boring. The weather, thank goodness, is a thrilling, bracing cold. I adore freezing weather. In Summer there is only so far you can go to be comfortable. In Winter the layers are endless and cozy. Air, crisp and rebounding for the spirit.

Listening now with two hearts, protecting the Adriana, memorizing the fabulous words and melodies, and learning the Medea. Wish I could sing the Cilea, Marcello is singing one. That would really be something, with Olga Borodina as the rival Princess. The weight would probably stop my chance to do it now, although I hasten to add the best reviews of the season were given to Stephanie Blythe who is robust both of sound and figure, God bless her. She is quite fabulous. For me however, the weight is a tiresome thing and I want it gone.

As for our gal from Greek mythology, that is a revelatory moment.

For the first time I will play a woman who isn’t immediately likable. She must be mythical with earthly pain from the deceit of Jason. There isn’t anyone who doesn’t know that feeling and the very best I can offer her is truth. You may not like her, but you will definitely feel her pain. Difficult choices, magnificent music.

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As a little neophyte at the Met I sang at a huge gathering in Altman’s in front of these lovely ladies, so gracious and so supportive of me in those days. Zinka was there too, so fabulous and funny and kind. How we miss these great links with a time where opera didn’t have to dumb itself down, or sing Broadway, or just NOT be opera enough to get “exposure”.

I suffer for the Arts today. My hope is the new administration will appoint a new NEA leader who will really care about the Arts, I don’t know if that will be the case. I sincerely hope I am wrong about this, but it looks like IMG and Universal will go head to head with arena concerts and “vapid” evenings of “marketing” the pretty people making lots of pretty sounds and not much else. Your head shot is more important these days than your voice. The emperor must be freezing . All in HD if you please. So what if Verdi is sung like Puccini, and Bellini like Mozart? It will all LOOK fab!

This apartment had a wrap around terrace and every morning after a performance of Aida went late- as they always did, I would watch the sun rise and stare at the hypnotic Roman skyline. St. Peters in the distance and the frozen tress of Rome, the Pines. They look suspended in time! The color of the sky just before dawn and the quiet of an ancient city so thriving and beautiful. The birds in flight, and the feeling of really NEW day. God, I do miss Rome so much. It is a sickness with me, I love it so.

This was an AIDA I did in San Antonio for the Festival, and believe it or not, I designed the costume I was wearing. I had used it in Hong Kong and really enjoyed it. The make up was Elsen’s fabulous company. I loved this.

As I write this at my desk, the floating snow flakes are falling and pretty plump ones at that! How beautiful to remember all these great photos and feel like I am in a snowball all shook up. This was from a performance of Turandot and needless to say, I loved that opera and seem pretty happy here.

The periodical “OGGI” had done a photo shoot and the cameraman was wonderful so he kept shooting and said, “You are like a movie star in the 40’s and 50’s. So sexy, do this for me….” and he asked me to tussle my hair, I did and in walked my boyfriend! The foto here is for him. Ah, Italia, what fun we have.

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So 2009 begins. The above is a splendid foto of the piazza outside of La Scala. Look how wonderful it looks. How operatic even just the normal day and night. Historic inauguration looms within days, I am truly breathless with anticipation and hopeful prayer.

Lost 21 pounds. Should be rejoicing until I realize I have about 60 more to go. Outwardly 25 doesn’t provide the BIG change I want. This time I must struggle past others and their need for speedy difference at the expense of my health and my voice. By Medea, I will have the healthy change I need and the more obvious improvement. Hard work, easier to get here than to get back, but there is no choice.

Onward and upward.

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