Tag: Bryn Terfel

Mother and Child Reunion

(A re-post from Oberon’s Grove, dating from 2007)

My friend Mollie, who lives in Fareham, England, sent me this story about meeting her mother after 71 years! Mollie and I have known each other for over 3 decades, since the time I answered her small ad in the British magazine OPERA. She was looking for tapes of Frederica von Stade and I happened to have a real rarity: a recital Flicka gave in Syracuse, NY on her first tour as a professional singer.

Mollie came to the USA several times over the years and once she had the good fortune to have Flicka invite her to a working rehearsal of IDOMENEO at the Met. Mollie and Flicka have stayed in touch to this day.

Each summer Mollie sends me the tapes of the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition and so it was that I was one of the first people on these shores to hear the voices of Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Bryn Terfel within a week of the famous ‘battle of the baritones’ in 1989.

The last time Mollie was here, she met my late friend the Japanese contralto Makiko Narumi who was at that time on the brink of the big career that never happened.

I knew that Mollie had not been raised by her real parents but I had no idea of the story behind it, or that she had located her mother who is now 93 years old. I’ll let Mollie tell the story; Jeremy is Mollie’s son and Syd is Jeremy’s daughter.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

“HI dears…just to send on this fantastic photo of me and MY REAL MOTHER!!! After 71 years!!! A sad story and we did not stay long. Jeremy was great and knocked on the door and when she answered he said she was not to be upset at what he had to say, but that he was her grandson. She went to say ‘go away’ [nicely] but he said, “Before you say anything I have to say we just would like to put a face to a name and have waited a long time to do so but we will go away after that”. She was explaining that she lives alone and was RAPED by my drunken Irish father..that accounted for her never wanting to know about me.

I then got out of the car and went over and said it was so kind of her to see us and we would not stay but may we just have a photo? She said that since 1920 she had lived here in the family home. She had a little smile and twinkle in her eye and said, “He is very handsome isn’t he?”…meaning Jeremy, who was charm himself…glad he took me!!!

Anyway, she made us promise not to come again and said it is too much for her…at 93!! Very sprightly!!! She said she had driven until she was 80 but has severe athritis in her hands and knees. When we were leaving she called me back and gave me two photos of herself…and she gladly took the latest school photo of Syd which Jeremy happened to have in the car…so…we were all exhausted but exhilarated…especially as although it took 2.4 hrs to get to Ash it took another hour or more along single lanes to find the house..and only then because a lady drew us a map!!!!!

Home exhausted…Jeremy had driven for 7 hours…so was kindness itself..he was as excited at me at finding his grandmother as he has none and hasn’t since he was 4!! That’s all folks but just wanted to share my good news…”

March 19, 2025
Souvenirs from Cardiff ~ Part II

~ Author: Oberon

1989 was a banner year for the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition: the “Battle of the Baritones” put the competition on every opera lover’s map. Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Bryn Terfel vied for the top prize; in the end, Dima was named Singer of the Year and Sir Bryn captured the Lieder Prize. Both men went on to hugely successful international careers.

Of course, at the time, there was no internet to speak of. You could not instantly follow the competition from afar, and even news of it was slow to reach us from the other side of The Pond. But my wonderful friend Mollie Warren diligently taped much of the proceedings directly off the BBC; then she made copies of the cassettes to send to me. So within a couple of weeks, I was listening – in Hartford CT – to the sounds of Mssrs. Hvorostovsky and Terfel: I like to think I was one of the very first people in the Western Hemisphere to hear these voices.

The three other finalists in the 1989 competition were Finnish mezzo-soprano Monica Groop, Swedish soprano Hillevi Martinpelto, and the Australian soprano Helen Adams. I cannot seem to find much information regarding Helen Adams in the years following her appearance at Cardiff; she is heard here in “Depuis le jour” from LOUISE.

Above: Monica Groop

Monica Groop’s extensive international career in opera, concert, and song has included a memorable portrayal of Lucretia in Britten’s RAPE OF LUCRETIA in 2003 at New York City Opera; it marked the only time I saw this wonderful singer live onstage. Her other operatic roles have ranged from Melisande to Zerlina, and she has sung and recorded a great deal of Baroque music – in which she excels – as well as lieder of Schubert and Brahms, and the complete songs of Edvard Grieg.

Some samples of Ms. Groop’s artistry, singing in Italian, French, and German:

Monica Groop – Stà nell’Ircana ~ ALCINA

Monica Groop – D’amour l’ardente flamme ~ DAMNATION DE FAUST

Monica Groop sings Schubert’s Du bist die Ruh

Monica Groop at Cardiff, 1989:

Monica Groop – Cardiff 1989 – CLEMENZA~WERTHER

Hillevi Martinpelto went on from Cardiff to a very successful career, performing and recording with prominent orchestras and conductors.

Here she is singing Weber…

Hillevi Martinpelto – Ocean! Thou mighty monster ~ OBERON

…and in a true rarity:

Hillevi Martinpelto – from Karl-Magnus Fredriksson’s The Disguised God ~ Soprano & Chorus

Here is Hillevi Martinpelto at Cardiff, 1989:

Hillevi Martinpelto – FORZA aria – Cardiff 1989

And finally, the winners:

…Dima…

Dmitri Hvorostovsky – BALLO aria – Cardiff 1989

…and Bryn…my original cassette of Bryn from the competition would not play, but here he is, onstage, singing Schumann…

…and here’s a bit of Wagner, from a commercial recording:

Bryn Terfel – Song to the Evening Star – TANNHAUSER

~ Oberon

March 18, 2020
Bryn Terfel as Creon

Above: Bryn Terfel as Creon

Spending these long, hot summer afternoons catching up with some DVD-viewing, I finally watched Julie Taymor’s striking production of Stravinsky’s OEDIPUS REX. Visually engrossing in its primitive yet timeless setting and stylized acting and costuming, the performance features powerful vocal performances from Philip Langridge (Oedipus), Jessye Norman (Jocasta), and a particularly vivid Creon played by Bryn Terfel.

Conductor Seiji Ozawa weaves a brilliant orchestral and choral tapestry. Dancer Min Tanaka is a silent manifestation of Oedipus, stripped nearly naked as he departs Thebes, a blinded and vulnerable fallen king.

Bryn Terfel – Respondit deus ~ OEDIPUS REX

August 24, 2018
Dmitri Hvorostovsky Has Passed Away

One of the era’s few true titans of the opera world, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, has passed away at the age of 55.

It’s possible I was the first person in the Americas to hear the voice of Dmitri Hvorostovsky. Within a week of his historic Cardiff Singer of the World win in 1989, my dear friend Mollie sent me tapes of the competition – which had produced the famous ‘Battle of the Baritones’ as Dima and Bryn Terfel vied for the top prize. They both won: Hvorostovsky the main title and Bryn took the Lieder Prize; they both went on to spectacular careers.

His Cardiff win sent the charismatic Russian singer on a career trajectory that took him to the great opera houses and concert stages of the world. He was beloved by audiences everywhere.

At The Met, Hvorostovsky made his debut in 1995 as Prince Yeletsky in PIQUE-DAME. He went on to sing nearly 200 performances with the Company. I had the good fortune of seeing him often in such roles as Belcore in ELISIR, Germont, Posa, Andrei in WAR & PEACE, Onegin, Renato in BALLO IN MASCHERA, Count di Luna, Simon Boccanegra, Carlo in ERNANI, and Rigoletto.

In 2015, already in treatment for a brain tumor, Hvorostovsky made a heroic effort to come to New York City to sing three performances as Count di Luna in TROVATORE; the audience greeted him with fervent affection, and he sang beautifully.

Above: fantastic moment as Dima greets fans after his 2015 Count di Luna at The Met.

In February 2016, I saw Hvorostovsky for what was to be the final time: in recital at Carnegie Hall. On May 7th, 2017, he appeared on The Met stage for the last time: at a gala marking The Met’s 50th season at Lincoln Center, Dima made an unannounced appearance, singing the “Cortigiani!” from RIGOLETTO.

Three times prior to that last Carnegie recital, I heard Hvorostovsky in concert settings. The first was at Symphony Hall in Boston where, in 1995, he gave an all-Russian program with chorus; as an encore, he sang “America the Beautiful” – gorgeously – and took a high A (or was it a B-flat?) at the climax that was simply thrilling. The entire afternoon was a feast of splendid singing.

In 1998, soon after I’d moved to New York City, Hvorostovsky sang Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder with the New York Philharmonic. The music suited him to perfection. And in April 2010, he joined soprano Sondra Radvanovsky in a program of arias and duets at Carnegie Hall: two of the truly distinctive artists of our time.

Looking back:

Dmitri Hvorostovsky – BALLO aria – Cardiff 1989

Dmitri Hvorostovsky – In The Stillness of the Silent Night~Rachmaninoff – Cardiff 1989

More of The Voice:

PECHEURS DES PERLES – duet – Paul Groves & Dmitri Hvorostovsky – Tucker Gala 1995

Hvorostovsky – TROVATORE aria – Tucker Gala 1995

Dmitri Hvorostovsky & Rene Pape – DON CARLO scene – Met 2006

Hvorostovsky – arias from PRINCE IGOR and ERNANI – BBC Proms 2006

As Eugene Onegin:

Dmitri Hvorostovsky – ONEGIN aria

Portrait of the artist as a young man:

I met Dmitri Hvorostovsky only once, very briefly. I was leaving work at Tower Records as he and his wife were coming in. I spontaneously held out my hand and he grasped it firmly and gave me a smile. Neither of us said a word.

Dmitri Hvorostovsky – Tchaikovsky ~ None But The Lonely Heart

November 21, 2017
Good Knights

Above: Sir Bryn Terfel

Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel’s knighthood was announced in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List. Bryn had this to say about it: “A month ago, a letter was sent to my agent in Cardiff and I thought it was tickets to the rugby. I was absolutely speechless when I opened it – ashen-white, my heart-rate had tripled, my mouth was completely dry. What an accolade! I was given the CBE in 2003, The Queen’s Medal for Music in 2006 and now this is, without doubt, the icing on the cake. You have to step back and think how things have worked out for this farmer’s son from North Wales.”

Above: Bryn’s leap to fame came at the 1989 Cardiff Singer of the Year competition; it’s remembered as the “Battle of the Baritones” and ended with Dmitri Hvorostovsky being awarded the title Singer of the Year and Bryn taking the Lieder Prize. Within a week after the competition, my English friend Mollie sent me cassettes of the various competition rounds and the finals. In those days before the Internet became an instant way of sharing news and music from throughout the world, I liked to think of myself as the first person in the West to hear these two great voices. Since then, I have enjoyed both of them tremendously – both live and on disc – and am now hoping that Bryn will be asked to bring his newest role, Boris Godunov, to New York City.

Also knighted this New Year is the eminent conductor Jeffrey Tate (above).

Tate is currently chief conductor of the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra. He has endured a lifetime of dealing with spina bifida, and recently said: “The gay world is immensely hung up with physical perfection for some curious reason …therefore, being disabled in that world is harder”.

One sweet memory I have of Maestro Tate’s conducting is this rendering of the Presentation of the Silver Rose from DER ROSENKAVALIER, sung at the Met’s 100th Anniversary Gala by Judith Blegen and Frederica von Stade. The video quality is murky, but the music glows: I know, because I was there.

Everyone who knows me or reads my blog knows I am an avid tennis fan. It therefore pleases me immensely that we can now refer to the World #1 male tennis player as Sir Andy Murray (above). Murray has made great strides in raising the level of his game in recent seasons, and the honor caps off a year in which the Scotsman assumed the #1 ranking.

December 30, 2016