Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Ambizioso spirto

What's the etiquette on linking to stuff someone posted on youtube? Eh, no idea. Also not sure I'm doing it right...we'll see. God only knows what's going on with the reading of the letter by some disembodied mopey sounding Italian dude, but once you get past it, it's worth it.



This makes me think Verrett should have been one of the stars.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow. Just Wow.
(Thank you!)

winpal said...

She has always been one in my book! I saw her Lady M in SF, and it ranks up there with best ever performances.

Etiquette on youtube? Ah, Maury, such a gentleman.

Anonymous said...

I believe the etiquette is "link". I discovered a clip where it said "the poster had disallowed embedding". By linking, you are sending interested parties over, which is what the poster wants, one would assume.

Willym said...

Wow!!! Didn't know this exsisted. Is it the famous Stehler La Scala production?

To my mind Verrett was one of THE STARS. Saw her in Orfeo at GC and Selika in SFO - both powerful performances in entirley different ways.

Anonymous said...

pdvOh, yeah, she's hot in this role. This is indeed the Strehler production at La Scala, Abbado conducting. There's also a film version with Leo Nucci, I think, where she memorably licks blood off a sword!! Willym, what's GC?

Willym said...

sorry meant CG - Covent Garden...

Paul said...

Willym - wow, you saw Verrett live in "L'africaine"! I have the DVD and watch it every few months or so. She did an amazing job in that production.

Willym said...

Her and Domingo. I was enroute to Australia at the time and stood in line for standing room but some guy came along with an extra seat. It was an incredible evening. The production was kitsch without being camp and while waiting in line a group of us decided that if we could we get O Paradis encored. It didn't happen but it should have.

The night before I got a standing room ticket for Lucia with Sills and Pavarotti. It was equally as wonderful; but I do remember Sills trying desperately to keep Pavarotti in character at the end of the ACT 1 duet - he so wanted to take a bow!

That CG Orfeo was pretty special too. Her and Pilar Lorengar conducted by Solti. The moment that stays in my mind all these years after was just as Orfeo looks at Euridice and loses her, Verrett's face, body and voice said everything that could be said about grief and grieving.

Sorry got carried away a bit there.

Anonymous said...

But Verrett WAS one of THE stars!! Anyone who saw her Cassandra, Eboli, Adalgisa and/or Norma, Tosca, Azucena, Desdemona knows...she was HUGE!!!

Maury D'annato said...

I guess it feels to me like she's someone I had to discover, years into my opera pathology. It's all so subjective. Clearly she is beloved of many.

Willym said...

Having said all that we have said about her... where the hell can I get the complete Macbeth - it was one of the great productions of the late 20th century. Obviously RAI recorded it and somewhere somehow someone got a clip from the whole darn thing.... please...

Willym said...

Well I found the complete DVD of the Macbeth at Primiere as well as a Carmen I saw in Paris with Berganza, Domingo et al. I was there the night it was recorded at the Opera Comiqué - hot damn now I have to wait 2-3 weeks for delivery... the anticipation mounts...