Oberon's Glade

Category: Opera

  • Giuseppe Giacomini Has Passed Away

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    The great Italian tenor Giuseppe Giacomini has passed away at the age of 80.

    Giacomini made his operatic debut in 1966 at Vercelli as Pinkerton. and was soon singing throughout Italy. His international career commenced at Berlin in 1970, which led to engagements at Lisbon, Barcelona, Munich, and in Vienna, where he received the title Kammersänger.

    He triumphed at La Scala, in Turin, and in Rome, and made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1976, with debuts at Paris and Covent Garden following soon after.

    Giacomini is featured on the Metropolitan Opera’s DVD of LA FORZA DEL DESTINO with Leontyne Price, and on commercial recordings as Turiddu (opposite Jessye Norman), Pollione (with Renata Scotto), Otello (with Dame Margaret Price), and he is Cavaradossi on the Muti TOSCA with Carol Vaness.

    The tenor celebrated his 60th birthday singing in TOSCA at Covent Garden, and in 2010 he toured China with the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra.

    I first saw Giuseppe Giacomini onstage (his US debut) at The Bushnell in Hartford, where he appeared in an exciting FANCIULLA DEL WEST opposite Radmila Bakočević in 1975. At the 1987 Richard Tucker Gala, Giacomini brought down the house twice with his singing of the final scene of ANDREA CHENIER with Eva Marton, and with his powerhouse performance as Otello in the Act II duet with Sherrill Milnes; during the applause that followed, Mr. Milnes bestowed a comradely kiss on the tenor’s cheek. Watch and listen here.

    On December 10th, 1988, Giacomini gave a thrilling performance as Canio in PAGLIACCI at a Met matinee. The tenor – along with Diana Soviero (Nedda) and Juan Pons (Tonio) – was simply on fire, his top notes blazing into the hall. During the bows, a crowd gathered at the orchestra railing – like in the old days – to scream their heads off for the singers. I was so elated to be part of it. 

    As it turned out, that PAGLIACCI was Giuseppe Giacomini’s last Met performance.

    Giuseppe Giacomini – Un tal gioco – PAGLIACCI – Met bcast 1988

    There’s lots of Giacomini to be found on YouTube; here are a few of my favorite things:

    Giuseppe Giacomini sings Calaf’s aria “Non piangere Liu” from TURANDOT from a Paris Opera production in 1981. Watch and listen here.

    The tenor sings the Improviso from ANDREA CHENIER here…

    …and Calaf’s “Nessun dorma” from a 1989 Moscow concert here…with an encore!

    And here’s Giacomini as Radames…

    Giuseppe Giacomini ~ Celeste Aida ~ Chicago 1988

    …and in the final duet from ANDREA CHENIER, with Ghena Dimitrova:

    ANDREA CHENIER ~ final duet – Ghena Dimitrova & Giuseppe Giacomini

  • Junetta Jones

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    Above: soprano Junetta Jones performing with the Goldman Band in Central Park in the early 1960s.

    Born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1936, Junetta Jones studied at the Peabody Conservatory and later at the New England Conservatory and the Tanglewood Music Center.

    In 1963, Ms. Jones was a winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Auditions (Jane Marsh and Justino Diaz were also winners that year); she made her Met debut as the Celestial Voice in Verdi’s DON CARLO a few months after her Auditions win. Her other Met roles were a Genie in THE MAGIC FLUTE, the Page in RIGOLETTO, and Barbarina in NOZZE DI FIGARO. She last appeared at The Met in 1965.

    Like so many young American singers at that time, Junetta Jones then re-located to Europe where she sang at Dusseldorf, Wuppertal, Regensburg, Munster, Trier, and Lucerne. She returned to the USA from time to time, singing with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops. When she appeared in Handel’s SAMSON at Carnegie Hall in 1965, the New York Times called her singing “beguiling”.

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    Above: Junetta Jones in MADAMA BUTTERFLY; date and venue not specified

    Following her retirement from performing, Ms. Jones worked for 20 years on the advisory committee for art and culture for the city of Baltimore. She passed away in 2015.

    Listen to Junetta Jones in her Met debut role, the Celestial Voice, here.

  • ANDREA CHENIER ~ Final Duet

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    So thrilled to have found this souvenir of one of my favorite sopranos, Gilda Cruz-Romo, singing Maddalena in the final duet from Giordano’s ANDREA CHENIER. Tenor Ermanno Mauro is the poet Chenier in this performance from Tulsa 1981. I simply love the vast wave of applause that sweeps over the house after “Viva la morte insiem!”

    I met and befriended Gilda at the time of her New York City Opera debut in 1969. I saw her many times at both NYC Opera and The Met. We stayed in touch after she retired and settled in San Antonio, Texas. I shall never forget her great kindness to me.

  • Jean Kraft Has Passed Away

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    Above: Jean Kraft as Emilia in OTELLO

    Jean Kraft, a unique singing-actress of the highest calibre, has passed away at the age of 94. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1970 as Flora Bervoix in TRAVIATA and went on to give nearly 800 performances with the Company at Lincoln Center and on tour.

    Slender of form, and with a face that could register the slightest nuances of emotion with uncanny clarity, Ms. Kraft excelled in every role she took on. I saw her countless times during her Met career, and she never failed to lure my eye…and ear. 

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    She was a fascinatingly stoic/vulnerable Mamma Lucia in CAVALLERIA (above with Placido Domingo), an uptight Emilia under her husband’s evil thumb in OTELLO, a regal Hecuba in the Met premiere of TROYENS, an aristocrat striving to keep her composure as the Comtesse in CHENIER, the struggling, poverty-stricken Gertrude in HANSEL & GRETEL, the gracious Madame Larina in EUGENE ONEGIN, the arthritic Mother Jeanne managing her walk to the guillotine in DIALOGUES DES CARMELITES.

    Kraft mrs sedley

    Jean Kraft was the Borough’s busybody/drug addict Mrs. Sedley in PETER GRIMES (above), Berta in BARRBIERE, Marthe in FAUST, Duchess Federica in LUISA MILLER, Marcellina in NOZZE DI FIGARO, the Duchesse in FILLE DU REGIMENT, Dryade in ARIADNE AUF NAXOS, a stalwart Rossweisse in WALKURE, Annina in ROSENKAVALIER, Suzuki in BUTTERFLY, and – a couple of times – Ulrica in BALLO IN MASCHERA. She gave her last Met performance as Madama Larina on April 5th, 1989.

    Here is a brief audio excerpt of Ms. Kraft as Mamma Lucia with Reneta Scotto as Santuzza, from the commercial recording:

    Renata Scotto & Jean Kraft – Cavalleria Rusticana ~ scene

    And it’s so wonderful to have this thrilling souvenir of Jean Kraft performing the trio from HOFFMANN with Catherine Malfitano and James Morris at the 1984 Gala of Stars, conducted by James Levine. Watch and listen here.

    Here is an incredible audio-only document of Ms. Kraft’s 1969 Town Hall debut recital, accompanied by David Garvey. Listen here.

    And here is a fascinating interview that she gave Bruce Duffie: LINK

    Rest peacefully, dear Ms. Kraft. You are unforgettable.

    ~ Oberon

  • Edward Pierson

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    Bass-baritone Edward Pierson, a stalwart of the New York City Opera for twelve years, was born in Chicago. A scholarship basketball player, he worked for a while as a public school music teacher before pursuing his operatic career.

    His performance of “Ol’ Man River” in several civic productions of SHOWBOAT in the mid-West put Mr. Pierson on the map. By chance, he stepped into a small role in PORGY AND BESS, and soon after made the jump to the role of Porgy himself. 

    At the New York City Opera, his roles included Scarpia, Jochanaan, and Wagner’s Dutchman. I’ll never forget hearing him in the title-role of the Company’s English-language production of Borodin’s PRINCE IGOR:

    Edward Pierson as Prince Igor – NYCO 1969

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    He also made a memorable impression as Dr. Kolenaty in Frank Corsaro’s multi-media setting of Janacek’s MAKROPOULOS AFFAIR. In the above photo are Maralin Niska (Emilia Marty), Chester Ludgin (Baron Prus), Harry Theyard (Albert Gregor), and Mr. Pierson.

    In concert repertoire, Edward Pierson was a frequent interpreter of Mendelssohn’s Elijah. And he appears on the Deutsche Grammophon recording of Scott Joplin’s TREEMONISHA:

    Edward Pierson – Good Advice ~ TREEMONISHA

    Watch a lovely interview with Mr. Pierson here.

  • Vaganova Ballet Academy ~ Dance of the Hours

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    Dancers from the Vaganova Ballet Academy perform the Dance of the Hours from Amilcare Ponchielli’s opera LA GIOCONDA.

    Watch and listen here.

  • More from Cardiff ~ 2021

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    Claire Barnett-Jones, winner of the Dame Joan Sutherland Audience Prize at the 2021 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, sings Ivor Novello’s “We’ll Gather Lilacs” here.

    I was especially pleased that Ms. Barnett-Jones sang Waltraute’s narrative from GOTTERDAMMERUNG in her first round program.

    Jusung paek

    Jusung Park from the Republic of Korea moved me to tears with his touching singing of Sancho Panza’s “Riez, allez riez du pauvre ideologie“, the faithful servant’s defense of his master, Don Quixote, against the ridicule of lesser beings. Listen to this wonderful aria from Jules Massenet’s rarely-performed DON QUICHOTTE here.

    Chuan wang

    Chinese tenor Chuan Wang pulled out all the stops for his vivid performance of “Ah, mes amis” from Donizetti’s FILLE DI REGIMENT. Watch and listen here.

    Álfheiður Erla Guðmundsdóttir

    Icelandic soprano Alfheiður Erla Guðmundsdottir (above) was sadly forced to withdraw after the opening round of the Song Prize competition when a ‘track and trace’ from the Welsh health department notified her that someone on her flight into Cardiff had tested positive for Covid 19. Her set was so lovely that I wanted to post it. (She has since been invited to participate in the 2023 Cardiff Competition.) Also heard in her round are Gihoon Kim from Republic of Korea (eventual winner of the main prize) and Evgenia Asanova from Russia, with pianists Simon Lepper and Llŷr Williams. Watch and listen here.

  • Gianna Rolandi Has Passed Away

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    Gianna Rolandi has passed away at the age of 68. She studied at the Curtis Institute, and appeared in many productions at the New York City Opera, starting in 1975. I saw her there several times, her delightful voice sailing into the house effortlessly, tossing off scintillating roulades, and ascending with ease to the highest notes.  

    Roles in which Ms. Rolandi delighted me at New York City Opera were Adele in FLEDERMAUS, Gilda, Rosina, Lucia di Lammermoor, Zerbinetta, and Lakmé. She shone particularly as Handel’s Cleopatra, and she had a great personal success as Janacek’s Vixen Sharp-Ears.

    Ms. Rolandi was a Met Auditions winner in 1974, and she made her Met debut in 1979 as Sophie in DER ROSENKAVALIER; her Octavian was Agnes Baltsa, and they made beautiful music together. I also saw Gianna’s Zerbinetta at The Met.

    She appeared at Chicago Lyric Opera, San Francisco Opera, in Geneva and Turin, and at the festivals at Glyndebourne and Pesaro. She concertized with major orchestras, working with such conductors as Erich Leinsdorf, Leonard Bernstein, Bernard Haitink, James Levine, and Sir Andrew Davies, to whom she was married.

    Listen to Gianna Rolandi as Olympia here, and as Lucia here.

    And listen to her in a role I wasn’t aware she had performed – Oscar in BALLO IN MASCHERA – here.

  • Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha @ Cardiff

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    South African soprano Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha has won the Song Prize at the 2021 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition.

    Ms. Rangwanasha is also the “wildcard entrant” for the final round of the Singer of the World Competition. Here she is performing “Ebben, ne andro lontana” from Catalani’s LA WALLY: Link

  • Gihoon Kim: Cardiff Singer of the World 2021

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    Korean baritone Gihoon Kim has won the title of BBC Cardiff Singer of the World for 2021. The competition, which was first held in 1983, takes place every other year at Saint David’s Hall in Cardiff. Past winners have included Karita Mattila, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Katarina Karnéus, Anja Harteros, Shenyang, and Nicole Cabell.

    This year, due to the pandemic, the number of entrants (and the number of judges) was reduced; there was no live audience in the hall. Despite this change in atmosphere (Welsh audiences tend to go mad for singers they like), there was much to enjoy.

    Mr. Kim impressed me immediately in the first round with his poignant rendering of Pierrot’s Tanzlied from Korngold’s DIE TOTE STADT; the judges (including soprano Roberta Alexander and baritone Neal Davies) were seen wiping tears from their eyes as he finished the aria. Gihoon followed up with a wonderful performance of the PAGLIACCI Prologo. When he was announced as the winner of the round, he was literally speechless.

    A brief bio/rehearsal clip showed him to be a good-natured guy with a ready laugh.

    Enjoy his singing of the Korngold here. And watch Gihoon Kim in his performance for the final round here.

    Bravo Gihoon!!