Above: mezzo-soprano Ronnita Miller; photo by Fadi Kheir
I was bowled over by Ronnita Miller’s singing as the 1st Norn in Wagner’s GOTTERDAMMERUNG at The Met in 2019. Soon I’ll have a chance to see Ms. Miller onstage again: she will sing the role of Gaea in a concert performance of Richard Strauss’s DAPHNE with the American Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall on March 23, 2023. Details here.
Sample Ms. Miller’s singing here.
Above: Hans Sotin as Gurnemanz, Poul Elming as Parsifal
Wagner’s PARSIFAL from the 1998 Bayreuth Festival, conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli.
Watch and listen here.
Cast:
Amfortas – Falk Struckmann
Titurel – Matthias Hölle
Gurnemanz – Hans Sotin
Parsifal – Poul Elming
Klingsor – Ekkehard Wlaschiha
Kundry – Linda Watson
Grail Knights: Richard Brunner, Sándor Sólyom-Nagy
Squires: Sarah Fryer, Jane Turner, Helmut Pampuch, Peter Maus
Alto solo: Andrea Bönig
Flower Maidens: Claudia Barainsky, Joyce Guyer, Simone Schröder, Katerina Beranova, Dorothee Jansen, Laura Nykänen
German soprano Uta-Maria Flake (1951-1995) sings “Träume” from Richard Wagner’s Wesendonck-Lieder; her interpretation is rather unusual, but I like it.
Listen here.
“Ms. Flake studied at the Hamburg University of Music and, as a scholarship holder of the Hamburg State Opera, at Indiana University in Bloomington (USA). Further training by Tito Gobbi in Florence and by Mario del Monaco in Lancenigo. As early as 1971 she took part in a television recording of Offenbach’s ORPHEUS IN THE UNDERWORLD from the Hamburg Opera. In 1973 she won first prize in the national singing competition, and in 1974 she was a prizewinner at a concours in Montepulciano. She began her actual stage career in 1975 at the Stadttheater in Ulm, where she made her debut as Leonora in Verdi’s FORZA DEL DESTINO. From 1976-80 she was a member of the Dortmund Opera House. Here in 1979 she sang Eve in the German premiere of the opera PARADISE LOST by Penderecki; this was followed by guest appearances in this role at the Munich State Opera, at the Warsaw Opera and (in concert version) at the Salzburg Festival. From 1980-83 she was engaged at the Staatsoper Stuttgart, where she sang her great roles: Beethoven’s Leonore and Weber’s Agathe, Wagner’s Elsa and Eva, and Offenbach’s Giulietta.
She made successful guest performances at the State Theater in Hanover, at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf-Duisburg, at the State Opera (as Lisa in PIQUE DAME) and at the Deutsche Oper Berlin (as Leonore), at the Covent Garden Opera London (as Elsa and as Freia), at the Teatro San Carlos Lisbon (Freia, Sieglinde, Gutrune and 3rd Norn), at the Cologne Opera House (Tchaikovsky’s Lisa), and at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste and at the Stadttheater in Basel as Sieglinde in WALKURE. Ms. Flake was also a concert soloist and lieder recitalist.”
Larissa Diadkova (above) is Fricka and Mikhail Kit is Wotan in the Act Ii confrontation scene from Wagner’s DIE WALKURE.
Larissa Diadkova & Mikhail Kit – WALKURE Act II scene – w Sergeeva – Met-bcast 2005
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!”
Rolf Kühne (above) is the Wanderer and Ortrun Wenkel is Erda in the opening scene of Act III of Wagner’s SIEGFRIED.
Listen here.
Rolf Kühne (above) is the Wanderer and Ortrun Wenkel is Erda in the opening scene of Act III of Wagner’s SIEGFRIED.
Listen here.
Above: basso Otto von Rohr
From 1952 comes this performance of Act I of Wagner’s DIE WALKURE with Gunther Treptow, Hilde Konetzni, and Otto von Rohr, with the RAI-Rome Orchestra conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler.
Listen here.
Above: Eva Randová as Kundry
Horst Stein conducts Wagner’s PARSIFAL at the Bayreuth Festival 1981. Watch and listen here.
Cast:
Amfortas: Bernd Weikl ~ Titurel: Matti Salminen ~ Gurnemanz: Hans Sotin ~ Parsifal: Siegfried Jerusalem ~ Klingsor: Leif Roar ~ Kundry: Eva Randová ~ 1st Knight of the Grail: Toni Krämer ~ 2nd Knight of the Grail: Heinz Klaus Ecker ~ 1st Squire: Marga Schiml ~ 2nd Squire: Hanna Schwarz ~ 3rd Squire: Helmut Pampuch ~ 4th Squire: Martin Egel ~ Flower Maidens: Norma Sharp, Carol Richardson, Hanna Schwarz, Mari-Anne Häggender, Marga Schiml, and Margit Neubauer ~ Alto Solo: Hanna Schwarz
Above: Alma Maria Mahler Gropius Werfel
Wednesday, May 18th, 2022 – Aspect Chamber Music Series presenting works by Alma and Gustav Mahler, Korngold, and Zemlinsky at the Italian Academy. In the days leading up to this concert, I watched again the remarkable film Bride of the Wind; read about it here.
I had not realized that this evening would include a lecture; I generally avoid such events, though tonight’s commentary was not overly long. However, it was not until the lights went down and an announcement was made that wearing masks during the performance was “optional” that I realized how many people around us did not have masks on. Had I known this in advance, I would never have attended. But the lights were down and it would have been impossible to exit without disturbing people. So we stayed for the first half, feeling quite uncomfortable.
As a sort of unannounced prelude to the evening, pianist Adam Golka (above) played a Chopin nocturne with ravishing finesse. This established a beautiful musical atmosphere which was sustained throughout the performance.
A screen was then lowered and musicologist Nicholas Chong spoke of Alma’s famed beauty and of the many men in her life, while photos of the lady and her suitors were shown. What a life she led! Of course, many of her adventures are spoken of in the film Bride of the Wind. It might have been illuminating to hear more about her musical education and of her small catalog of surviving works, though.
Alexander Zemlinsky was Alma’s music teacher…and her lover. Tonight, Zemlinsky’s Three Pieces for Cello and Piano were performed for us by the Escher Quartet’s marvelous cellist Brook Speltz (photo above, by Anna Kariel), with Mr. Golka at the keyboard. The first of these, Humoreske, is a folkish piece that turns lyrical. Then comes Lied, a song of poignant beauty which expresses a sense of longing. The third piece, Tarantella, is a lively dance. To each of the three, Mr. Speltz brought his trademark warmth and expressiveness, well-matched by Mr. Golka’s sensitive and rhythmically deft playing.
Two sets of songs, four by Gustav Mahler and five by Alma Mahler, brought forth mezzo-soprano Rebecca Ringle Kamarei (above) and the Canadian pianist Brian Wagorn. Ms. Kamarei, a comely woman with a unique voice and a sure sense of feminine power, looked striking in a black gown trimmed with golden vine-like appliqué.
From Gustav Mahler’s vast song repertoire, Ms. Kamarei opened her set with the dramatic “Wenn mein Schatz Hochzeit macht“; her voice instantly captivated me with its distinctive colour-palette, size, a compelling command of dynamics, and a thoughtful way with words. Continuing with the familiar “Rheinlegendchen“, the singer was sailing along beautifully when she had a momentary memory lapse and needed a re-set…this was charmingly handled, and she and the pianist resumed their music-making. In two of my most beloved songs from the Rückert-Lieder, “Ich atmet’ einen linden Duft” and “Liebst du um Schönheit”, Ms. Kamarei and Mr. Wagorn wove their spell thru the dreamy passages of the first song to the wryly romantic sensibilities of the second.
Above: pianist Bruce Wagorn
The five Alma Mahler songs drew my companion and me into even higher regard for Ms. Karamei and Mr. Wagorn. In “Die stille stadt“, the singer gave the signature descending phrases a nice sense of quiet drama; an unfortunate cellphone intrusion did not deter her from her poetic path: she displayed the great power of her voice, then reined it in to an impressive piano with complete control The pianist’s lovely postlude gave the song a perfectly polished end.
During “Laue Sommernacht“, the singer’s expressive hands were captivating to watch. Again, her assurance of dynamic ‘rightness’ found her skillfully pulling back from forte to piano, making an exciting effect. This songs ends quietly; throughout, Mr. Wagorn was the ideal collaborator. In “Bei dir ist es traut“, lyrical expressiveness and finely-shaded vocal colours kept us riveted to the music; and the gentle sway of the song’s central section had its own allure.
Mr. Wagorn’s gently restless piano figurations created the right summertime mood for “Ich wandle unter Blumenen“; but the singer cannot suppress a sudden burst of drama when she feels the desperate need for her lover’s embrace: her ardour creates a touch of witty irony.
Finally came “Lobgesang”, a song of praise. Introspective at the start, the music becomes quite grand. By now we are under Ms. Kamarei’s spell, and wanting to hear her in…some Wagner: Fricka and Waltraute came immediately to mind, as did – of course – the Wesendonck Lieder.
Meanwhile, our desire to escape became more urgent as the unmasked couple in front of us began coughing the moment the music ended. We left hastily, regretting that we were missing the concert’s Korngold finale.
~ Oberon
Oberon's Glade 