Earlier on, I posted about the bias towards recent recordings in Sirius Met Broadcasts. This week, Sirius has redeemed itself somewhat, by playing many more recordings from the 'golden age' of the century. I got to hear a wonderful Sutherland/Gedda/Flagello Sonnambula from the 60s - Gedda singing so well that at one point I yelled "Bravo!" and applauded him alone in my car, 40 years too late. Truly exquisite. There isn't a singer alive who can do what he did in that recording.
Unfortunately, the repeat rate seems to be the same - about 50% of broadcasts are repeats from earlier in the week. I'm starting to think that they take a set of 10 broadcasts, and then mix those up over the 21 time slots in the week. Maybe they do it to make sure each opera gets a shot in each timeslot? That way a listener who only tunes in at, say, 8am and 5pm could hear all 10 within the week. The down side is that someone with an irregular schedule like mine has to suffer through the repeats. And they have to suffer through the repeats, too. Not only that, but they have to deal with the repetition!
Not that it's suffering to be forced to listen to Rise Stevens and Richard Tucker's Carmen over and over again... and even Alagna's Werther (which I've now heard twice, and am in for once more this weekend) is very well done, and worth re-hearing. But when I get to the same recording for the third time that week... but I start to tire of it, knowing what a huge catalogue they have to draw on. But it's not suffering to be forced to listen to Rise Stevens and Richard Tucker's Carmen over and over again.
Maybe they could use a two or three week rotation instead? That's assuming it's not a technical issue - IE they only get 10 recordings transcribed every week. A three week rotation of 30 recordings would mean the same total number of repeats, but they could be spread out. So I might be forced to listen to Rise Stevens and Richard Tucker's Carmen over and over again, but it would at least be over a three week spread, with some other stuff in between.
By the way, I'm going to have to get up extra early for Corelli's debut on my Sirius radio: it looks to be a stunning Don Carlo from 1964, with Corelli, Rysanek and Tozzi. The good news is, if I miss it I'm sure to hear it again (and again) later in the week. The bad news is, if I don't miss it I'm sure to hear it again (and again) later in the week.
Sat, 2007-01-27 07:35
Gedda was one hell of a singer. A certain warmth to his tone that he carried far higher in hi voice than most singers. And so assured musically. Not, in my opinion, always the most beautiful voice, but neither is he one of these 'mosquito tenors' who sing the high bel canto stuff these days (honourable exception being Florez).
I note that we have lost one tenor from the ranks to the dak side. What do you reckon to Domingo going to baritone, Cambell?
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»Sun, 2007-01-28 01:16
Interesting - personally, I would have rather he retired from singing entirely, leaving his legacy intact. Now he's becoming a baritone of gradually declining quality... still sounding wonderful, but how long will it last? His singing in the Tan Dun piece (what I've heard of it) is still of a very high quality, but it's not the same as it was at the height of his power.
Some singers have so much of their psychology tied up in the idea of themselves as "So-and-so, the great opera singer", that they can't let go of it when they really should. I think about Jerome Hines, who sang almost until he died... for his last Grand Inquisitor, he could hardly walk onstage! Compare this to the legacy of his Bass colleagues, Giorgio Tozzi or Cesare Siepi. Both of them retired with their voices still in wonderful shape, leaving an intact legacy of extraordinary sound, musicality and drama, unmarred by the decline of age.
I don't know if this is what is happening with Domingo, but I think it is important to bear in mind. For the time being, I'm still happy to hear him sing in whatever fach he likes.
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»Sun, 2007-01-28 07:20
I am inclined to agree with you on the whole.
There are only a few singers who have sung brilliantly right to the end of their lives. Alfredo Kraus for one - but then he is one of the few singers who I reckon had a nigh on perfect technique.
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