Oberon's Glade

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  • Second Twilight

    Nilsson brunnhilde

    Above: Birgit Nilsson as Brunnhilde

    On December 14th, 1963, I heard Wagner’s GOTTERDAMMERUNG (Twilight of the Gods) for the second time. I had been an ardent opera fan for almost 5 years, but delving into the Wagner repertoire was still somewhat daunting. I had first heard GOTTERDAMMERUNG 1962, finding parts of it thrilling and other sections less so. The 1963 broadcast felt more accessible musically, and details of the plot seemed clearer to me.

    I recently discovered that the 1963 GOTTERDAMMERUNG broadcast has been posted on YouTube. Listen here.

    Brünnhilde: Birgit Nilsson; Siegfried: Hans Hopf; Hagen: Ernst Wiemann; Alberich: Gerhard Pechner; Gunther: Norman Mittlemann; Gutrune: Mary Curtis-Verna; Waltraute: Mignon Dunn; Woglinde: Mary Ellen Pracht; Wellgunde: Rosalind Elias; Flossilde: Gladys Kriese; First Norn: Lili Chookasian; Second Norn: Mignon Dunn; Third Norn: Mary Curtis-Verna; Conductor: Joseph Rosenstock

    Actually seeing a RING opera was still i my future, but once I had attended the matinee of Karajan’s magnificent RHEINGOLD in 1969 (part of an unforgettable weekend), the Cycle became an obsession for me. Echoing Wotan: “Den Ring muss ich haben!”

  • William Desbiens

    Desbiens

    Ever on the lookout for new voices, I very much like this rendering of Pierrot’s Tanzlied from Korngold’s DIE TOTE STADT sung by Canadian baritone William Desbiens, with Julia Lynch at the piano.

    Watch and listen here.

  • Lydia Johnson Dance @ NYLA ~ 2022

    Ensemble

    Above: the dancers of Lydia Johnson Dance in Lydia Johnson’s For Eli; photo by Dmitry Beryzokin

    Saturday September 17th, 2022 – Lydia Johnson Dance performing at New York Live Arts in Chelsea. Having missed two New York seasons due to the ongoing pandemic, the Company took the opportunity to appear at NYLA in September rather than wait until their accustomed performance time in the Spring: the dancers of course were anxious to perform again, and guest artist Craig Hall of New York City Ballet fame was available…so: on with the show!

    Unfortunately, I was feeling sick and could not attend any of the performances; but I did see all four of the works being presented when I dropped in at a studio rehearsal the previous week. My friend Dmitry Beryozkin photographed the dress rehearsal, and sent me some images. So this is not a review, really, but simply a photo gallery. 

    The Company were not idle during the long shutdown: they spent a week at Kaatsbaan, where Lydia worked on new creations, they danced (outdoors) in Connecticut, and they gave a warmly-received studio showing at the Martha Graham Studio Westbeth on May 2022, previewing two new works: Glide Path and For Eli. 

    Glide Path opened tonight’s show: it’s set to music by the contemporary quartet ETHEL. Here are some of Dmitry’s evocative photos from the dress rehearsal of Glide Path:

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    Minseon Kim and Chazz Fenner-McBride

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    The ensemble of women

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    Katie Lohiya

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    Chazz Fenner-McBride and Willy Laury

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    Emily Sarkissian, Minseon Kim, Amanda Egan, Michael Miles, and Michelle L. Siegel

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    Willy Laury and Laura DiOrio

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    Laura DiOrio and Willy Laury

    Next came For Eli, a poignant work commissioned by New Jersey-based artist Laura Lou Levy, in memory of her pianist-son Eli, who loved playing the music of Frédéric Chopin.

    A series of Dmitry Beryozkin’s images from For Eli:

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    Michelle L. Siegel, Michael Miles, Minseon Kim, Amanda Egan, and Laura DiOrio

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    Willy Laury, Michael Miles, Katie Lohiya, Amanda Egan, and Minseon Kim

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    Katie Lohiya

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    Amanda Egan, Emily Sarkissian

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    Chazz Fenner-McBride and Willy Laury

    Following the interval, Craig Hall joined Lydia’s dancers for Time…and again, a new work set to Oscar Peterson recordings of jazz standards. This marked a return engagement for the former New York City Ballet star, whose performances in Lydia’s haunting Night and Dreams in 2019, dancing with Laura DiOrio, were deeply moving. Craig and Laura have reunited for Time…and again, joined by three other couples for a series of duets.

    Photos from this jazz work by Dmitry Beryozkin:

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    Katie Lohiya and McGee Maddox

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    Katie & McGee, Amanda & Laura, Minseon & Michael

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    Laura DiOrio & Craig Hall

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    Craig Hall & Laura DiOrio

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    Laura & Craig

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    Amanda Egan & Chazz Fenner-McBride

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    Katie Lohiya & McGee Maddox

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    Crag Hall

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    Katie Lohiya with Michael, Laura, and Willy

    The music of Henryk Górecki makes a colossal impression in the evening’s concluding work, Undercurrent. Here are some of Dmitry Beryozkin’s pictures from this ballet:

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    McGee Maddox, Chazz Fenner-McBride, and Michael Miles

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    Students from Lydia’s school participated in the finale of Undercurrent

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    The Company women in swirling red skirts

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    The full Company onstage

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    Michael Miles and Minseon Kim, center

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    Michael Miles and student dancer Stella Weihrauch

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    Laura DiOrio, aloft, as Undercurrent come to an end

    All photos by Dmitry Beryozkin

    ~ Oberon

  • Teresa Zylis-Gara as Cio-Cio-San

    The great Polish soprano Teresa Zylis-Gara sings the title-role in Puccini’s MADAMA BUTTERFLY from a 1976 Met broadcast. John Alexander, Nedda Casei, and Theodor Uppman have the other leading roles, and Richard Woitach conducts.

    Listen here.

  • Fauré ~ REQUIEM – Festival de Saint Denis 2010

    Snapshot faure

    Above: soloists David Bizic and Karina Gauvin, and conductor Laurence Equilbey

    A performance of Gabriel Fauré’s REQUIEM from the Festival de Saint Denis, 2010.

    Watch and listen here.

    Karina Gauvin, soprano
    David Bizic, baritone

    Ensemble Orchestral de Paris
    Choeur Accentus

    Laurence Equilbey, conductor

  • Fauré ~ REQUIEM – Festival de Saint Denis 2010

    Snapshot faure

    Above: soloists David Bizic and Karina Gauvin, and conductor Laurence Equilbey

    A performance of Gabriel Fauré’s REQUIEM from the Festival de Saint Denis, 2010.

    Watch and listen here.

    Karina Gauvin, soprano
    David Bizic, baritone

    Ensemble Orchestral de Paris
    Choeur Accentus

    Laurence Equilbey, conductor

  • Giovanna Casolla ~ FANCIULLA DEL WEST

    Casolla

    Giovanna Casolla (above) sings Minnie in a 1991 performance of Puccini’s LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST from La Scala. Giuseppe Giacomini is Dick Johnson and Jean-Philippe Lafont is Jack Rance. Lorin Maazel conducts.

    Listen here.

  • TURANDOT ~ RAI Roma 1965

    Mcknight

    Above: soprano Anne McKnight, aka Anna de Cavalieri

    A very interesting audio-only performance of TURANDOT from a 1965 RAI broadcast has turned up on YouTube. Listen here.

    Anna de Cavalieri was the Italian stage-name of the American soprano Anne McKnight. Read about her here. Giuseppe Valdegno was Toscanini’s Amonasro, Iago, and Falstaff. I wrote briefly about Lydia Marimpietri here.

    CAST

    Turandot – Anna Di Cavalieri; Calaf – Gianfranco Cecchele; Liù – Lydia Marimpietrl; Ping – Giuseppe Valdengo; Pang – Mario Carlin; Pong – Tommaso Frascati; Timur – Elio Castellano; Emperor Altoum – Mario Binci; Mandarin – Giandomenico Alunno

    Conductor: Ferruccio Scaglia

  • Stella & Tucker: TOSCA @ The Met

    Stella tosca

    Antonietta Stella is Tosca (above) and Richard Tucker is Cavaradossi in this Saturday matinee broadcast from The Met in 1958. Leonard Warren is Scarpia, Salvatore Baccaloni is the Sacristan, and Dimitri Mitropoulos conducts.

    Listen here.

    CAST

    Floria Tosca: Antonietta Stella; Mario Cavaradossi: Richard Tucker; Scarpia: Leonard Warren; Sacristan:  Salvatore Baccaloni; Spoletta: Paul Franke; Angelotti: Norman Scott; Sciarrone: George Cehanovsky; Shepherd: George Keith; Jailer Louis Sgarro

  • @ US Open Qualifiers ~ 2022

    Yy jpg

    Above: China’s Yue Yuan

    Tuesday  August 23rd, 2022 – Every Summer, since moving to New York City in 1998, I have gone to the US Open. For several years, we bought tickets and saw favorite players like Martina Hingis, Kim Clijsters  Paradorn Schrichaphan, and Richard Gasquet; but as tickets became increasingly expensive and audiences seemed to be there more for the event than the actual game of tennis, I started going to the qualifying tournament. For a few years, this was a perfect solution for me, since most attendees were very serious about tennis; but then one summer the NY Times ran an article about this fantastic, free, all-day tennis event in Queens, and the qualifying tournament became a destination.

    The qualifiers take place the week before the main tournament starts. Admission is free, and all day – and sometimes until late at night – you can move from court-to-court and see exciting newcomers as well as established players who – thru injury or just plain bad luck – have fallen down the rankings and who have come to the Tennis Center hoping to win a berth in the main draw. This year, such wonderful players as Fernando Verdasco, Gilles Simon, Andreas Seppi, and Pablo Cuevas were among those vying for a spot in the main draw line-up; unfortunately, none of them played today…they were all scheduled for Wednesday instead.

    ZacharySvajda

    Having missed 2 years of live tennis due to COVID, I truly enjoyed being back at the Open. The first match I watched today today was between two Americans: Zachary Svajda (above) and Aleksandar Vukic. This year, there were no lines-people on the courts: Hawkeye is now in charge of determining what’s in and what’s out. Still, from somewhere, cries of “out!” were heard throughout the day. During the Svajda/Vukic match, the scoreboard malfunctioned; a ball-boy took a bathroom break and wasn’t on court when he was needed. But the match proceeded, with the youthful Mr. Svajda cruising to an early lead. The taller and seemingly stronger Mr. Vukic pulled even at 4-all, but the cunning Mr. Svajda held fast and took the first set. Svajda pretty much dominated the second set, though Vukic had his moments.

    Over on court 17, a duel between big hitters – Ernesto Escobedo and Ethan Quinn – was great fun to watch: both players were simply pounding the ball, and Escobedo produced some brilliant aces. It was Escobedo who took the first set; but Quinn, who is 18 years old, seemed to have the audience’s backing, and he was relentless in the next two sets, claiming the win.

    After a walkabout, I circled back to Court 17 where the long-legged Chinese beauty Yue Yuan faced America’s Katie Volynets. Ms. Volynets could not seem to do anything against Yue Yuan’s onslaughts in the first set, but she stepped up her game considerably in the second set, which went to a tense tie-breaker, which Yue Yuan finally won. The Chinese player’s cracking serve was something to see, and she used it as a weapon in her march to victory.

    Thundershowers had been predicted, but none materialized: it was a simply perfect day. Despite the usual distractions – and the fact they wouldn’t take cash when I went to buy my humble lunch – I was very happy to be back at the US Open.  

    Go 2017

    Above: Go Soeda at the US Open Qualifiers in 2017

    Among the lesser-known players who I came to love over the years of watching the qualifying matches, I was sad – though not surprised – to see that the Japanese player Go Soeda was not participating this year. I think I have seen Go in more matches than any other player; he has a beautiful, classic game with deep shots, perfectly placed. He won almost every match I saw him play over the years, but I don’t remember him ever getting beyond the the first round of the main draw. Recently, I read that Go has become a father, and has retired from tennis. I certainly missed him at the Qualies this year.

    UPDATE: How did the players I saw on Tuesday fare in the rest of the qualifying tournament? Both Zachary Svajda and Ethan Quinn lost in their second-round matches, by Yue Yuan won both her second and third round matches, and she advances to the main tournament.

    Interestingly, two Chinese players – Wu Yibing and Zhang Zhizhen – prevailed in their three qualifying rounds, and they become the first Chinese men to enter the main draw at the US Open.

    ~ Oberon