The Operatic PastCast

Soon after the death of Maria Callas in September of 1977, the BBC produced a lengthy radio documentary entitled “The Words The Music: Maria Callas”.  There is narration and excerpts of her singing but it also  included recordings of her speaking about her life, her art and her beliefs.  During this episode,  the subjects addressed are her singing Turandot, Kundry in Parsifal, her single engagement as Abigaille in  Nabucco, her visit to South America and Mexico, the legendary high Eb in Aida, Gian Carlo Menotti and his opera The Consul, her La Scala debut as Elena in I vespri siciliani,  Armida, partnering with Giuseppe di Stefano and her first Lucia.  The episode begins with her talking about conductor Tullio Serafin and the turning point in her career, alternating Brünnhilde in Die Walküre and Elvira in I puritan (Part 2 of 6).

Poulenc's one-woman opera, La voix humaine, was the final work of Rumanian soprano Virginia Zeani’s brilliant career.  Using this as a sort of springboard, she speaks of subjects such as love, the parallels in her career, such as that of Maria Callas, her late husband Nicola Rossi-Lemeni, solitude and spirituality.

For his 5th year as an usher for the Metropolitan Opera, Alfred Hubay remembers performances from the 1947-1948 season such as the singing of Daniza Ilitsch, Rose Bampton, a revival of Don Giovanni, and the debuts of Giuseppe di Stefano, Giuseppe Valdengo and Cloe Elmo (Part 1 of 2).

In Carmen, there are two roles that soprano Lucine Amara excelled in.  As Frasquita, she talks about conductor Fritz Reiner and his tempo in  the quintet with Rise Stevens, Margaret Roggero, Alessio de Paolis and George Cehanovsky.  The second role is one she is very much associated with, that of Micaela, which she sang for over 20 years.  She talks about her experience with the 1973 production, the now passé interpolation at the end of the aria, saving a conductor during a Japan performance, particular memories of Alessio de Paolis, Calvin Marsh, her ever-so-brief appearance in the 1951 film “The Great Caruso”, and more reminiscence about performing Nedda.

On May 22, 2003, I met Astrid Varnay at the Munich home of her co-biographer, Donald Arthur.  We talked about her life up until her departure from the Met in 1956.  This recording became the basis for my documentary “Never before: The Life, Art First New York Career of Astrid Varnay”.  This episode deals with her childhood, early studies with her mother and her spectacular Metropolitan Opera debut singing Sieglinde in Die Walküre on December 6, 1941 (Part 1 of 4).

In his fourth year as an usher for The Metropolitan Opera, Alfred Hubay relays his experiences during the 1946-1947 season, such asEdward Johnson's astute management, the debut of Mihaly Szekely, the short lives of two new productions as well as Met premieres, a delightful Hansel and Gretel and the voices of Jussi Björling and Bidu Sayao. (Part 2 of 2). 

In this episode, painter and lecturer Harold Brudeer speaks of his memories of performances of Salome with Hans Hotter as Jochanaan and Set Svanholm as Herod, the voices of Frances Yeend and Frances Bible, a discussion about pupils of Jean de Reszke such as Arthur Éndreze, the voice of Walter Cassel, the young New York City Opera, NedRorem,Julius Rudel andNorman Treigle as Olin Blitch in Susannah.

One of a handful of memorable personalities in the opera collecting world is Charlie Handelman.  In this episode, he talks about the first singer he remembers hearing (Lauritz Melchior singing Radames in the film “Luxury Liner) and others such as Renata Tebaldi, Mario  del Monaco, his favorite Zinka Milanov, Antonietta Stella, Dorothy Kirsten and Eleanor Steber.  One thing for  sure, Charlie Handelman is devoted to his divas.

Soon after the death of Maria Callas in September of 1977, the BBC produced a lengthy radio documentary entitled "The Words The Music: Maria Callas". There is narration and excerpts of her singing, but it also included recordings of her speaking about her life, her art and her beliefs. This episode deals with her early years up to her arrival into the international world of opera (Part 1 of 6).

In his fourth year as an usher for The Metropolitan Opera, Alfred Hubay relays his experiences during the 1946-1947 season, such as the Metropolitan Opera becoming the center of his life, the glamor of the opening night, both on and offstage and 4 important and 4 important and memorable debuts: Set Svanholm, Ferruccio Tagliavini, Daniza Ilitsch and Ramon Vinay (Part 1 of 2).

Olivia Stapp began singing at an early age when a Franciscan monk told her mother that her daughter should study singing.  After beginning studies with mezzo soprano Margery Mayer at Wagner College and experiences of singing male roles in her catholic high school productions - minus the love scenes, of course - she auditioned for the Fulbright Committee and was given a scholarship to study in Italy.  This was the first step in developing her future successful and international career.

Photo courtesy of Charles MintznerFrancis Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites proved to be a life-changing moment in the life of Rumanian soprano Virginia Zeani. Here, she speaks of Poulenc coming into her life and also her memories of sopranos Denise Duval, Leyla Gencer, Gigliola Frazzoni, Eugenia Ratti, mezzo soprano Gianna Pederzini, tenor Nicola Filacuridi, stage director Margarita Wallman and conductor Nino Sanzogno.

In this episode, Alfred Hubay remembers a Brooklyn performance of Andrea Chenier and the Louise of Grace Moore. He also talks about the presence of Wagnerian opera during the Johnson regime as opposed to the regime of Rudolf Bing, an overview of the American Verdi baritone, the audiences of opening nights and the various changers of policy made by Rudolf Bing (Part 3 of 3).

In this episode, soprano Lucine Amara speaks of her experiences singing the role of Nedda in Pagliacci: the Canios she sang with, notably Jon Vickers and Carlo Bergonzi, the Tonio of Leonard Warren, the Silvio of Mario Sereni and Frank Guarrera, directors José Quintero and Franco Zeffirelli, today’s trend of updating productions, conductor Max Rudolf and the role of Santuzza.

In 1959, a mezzo soprano from Atlanta, Georgia and pupil of Karin Branzell named Frances Martin was invited by Friedelind Wagner to attend the master classes at Bayreuth. She was the only student that summer that was offered a contract for the following summer, making her professional operatic debut on July 27, 1960 singing Ortlinde in Die Walküre.She went on to sing leading roles in Germany, including Kostelnicka, Gertrrud, Suzuki, Marcellina, Lady Macbeth, Eboli, Venus and both Mary and Senta. She primarily sang in Darmstadt, Münster, Coburg, but guested in Aachen. A former journalism major, she wrote numerous long letters to her parents and many people associated with the Bayreuth Festival during her brief 5 year stay in Germany.. One letter in particular vividly describes that week in Bayreuth in 1960 and this formed the basis of a 21 minute youtube I just produced. Her Southern accent (resembling, as one friend put it, that of Margaret Mitchell) combined with the aura of Wagner's mecca, provides a delightful experience for the listener. The episode ends with a live performance of "O don fatale" from Don Carlo (in German)