Much has been made of Anna Moffo’s fast vocal decline and her mismanaged career, but I love her voice and she was, in her prime, quite an exquisite artist.

At its best, her voice was a deliciously rich lyric soprano, with an unusually strong bottom and a meltingly plush middle and top range. She was incredibly beautiful and, more importantly, was a true actress with an utter commitment to dramatic truth.

Sadly, there is very little documentation of her work. But thankfully, her most important roles, namely Violetta the consumptive heroin of “La Traviata” and the title character in “Lucia di Lammeroor,” have been preserved on very fine, digitally remastered recordings. (Her “Traviata” in particular is, in my opinion, one of the best accounts of Verdi’s masterpiece.) There is also a spectacular recording of the Puccini rarity, “La Rondine,” but it’s out of print. Sadly, the only footage of her available of her is two campy, ill-conceived film adaptations of “La Traviata” and “Lucia di Lammermoor.”

Still, one shouldn’t grouse. Ms. Moffo was a great, underrated artist and we are lucky to have any account of her available today. 

Did anyone else watch “Animaniacs” as a kid? I used to watch that show religiously. One of my favorite characters was Rita the Cat. She would constantly break into song only to have things thrown at her by anyone near by. It turns out that Bernadette Peters provided the voice for Rita! So I guess I’ve been a Bernadette Peters fan since I was a little kid…who knew?

I fucking love this woman with all my heart. As Ben Brantley said, Kelli O’Hara is “one of the finest musical actresses of her generation.” She sings every phrase with such meaning. The clarity of the text always comes through…flawless!

“Whether I continue singing or not doesn’t matter. What matters is that you use whatever you have learned wisely. Think of the expression of the words, of good diction, and of your own deep feelings. The only thanks I ask is that you sing properly and honestly. If you do this, I will feel repaid.”

- Maria Callas 

“I would not kill my enemies, but I will make them get down on their knees. I will, I can, I must.”

- Maria Callas

“Don’t talk to me about rules, dear. Wherever I stay I make the goddamn rules.”

- Maria Callas

“It is not enough to have a beautiful voice. What does that mean? When you interpret a role, you have to have a thousand colors to portray happiness, joy, sorrow, fear. How can you do this with only a beautiful voice? Even if you sing harshly sometimes, as I have frequently done, it is a necessity of expression. You have to do it, even if people will not understand. But in the long run they will, because you must persuade them of what you’re doing.”

- Maria Callas

“‘Love me, Alfredo, as much as I love you. Goodbye!’ … In the tense passage leading up to the outburst, the soprano adopts a breathless, fretful tone, communicating Violetta’s initially panicked response to the situation — vocal babbling, the Verdi scholar Julian Budden calls it. Then, with the trembling of the strings, she seems to flip a switch, her voice burning hugely from within. When she reaches up to the A and the B-flat, she claws at the notes, practically tears them off the page, although her tone retains a desperate beauty. Her delivery is so unnervingly vehement — here is what Björk, in her discussion of Callas, called the ‘rrrr’ — that it risks anticlimax. Where can the opera possibly go from here? When you listen again, you understand: Violetta’s spirit is broken, and from now on she will sing as if she were already dead” - Alex Ross

“She was such a musician! No, I love her, I love her. And she inspires me every day…to try and be even better every day.”

- Natalie Dessay on Maria Callas

”She didn’t deceive herself about the state of her singing [at this performance]. She was visibly nervous. But her use of words, the vitality of language in her singing, was amazing. She was hellbent on her own destruction, and broke all the rules of singing. But so what? That’s why 20 years later we’re talking about her.” - Beverly Sills on seeing Maria Callas in “La Traviata”

“Being honest is a hell of a price to pay.”

- Maria Callas

Colbert Report: Placido Domingo & Stephen Colbert - “La Donna E Mobile”

Colbert shows Domingo what real singing is. This is too adorable! Special thanks to goofin for the link.

Required Listening

Edita Gruberova singing all three of Donizetti’s Tudor Queens? Yes please!

Warning: this is just a preliminary review. I plan to see the show again for further assessment. These are just mere observations from the first performance I attended. This production is far too complex for just one review.

SEVERE WEATHER ALERT: A raging hurricane can be found tearing up the stage of the Richard Rodgers Theater, and it nearly threatens to eviscerate everything and everyone in its path. No, I’m not referring to the hurricane that besieges the poor residents of Catfish Row in act II of “The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess”. Such extreme weather conditions come courtesy of the exquisite Audra McDonald who is single-handedly carrying, what is otherwise, a dour, muddled take on the greatest American opera ever composed.

The miracle of Ms. McDonald’s performance lies in her ability to make the audience feel her character’s deep well of emotions…and what beautiful, messy emotions they are! Even when Ms. McDonald isn’t applying her lustrous soprano to Gershwin’s irresistible melodies, she is able to register ambivalence, joy, regret, and pain with the smallest gesture or the slightest shift in her posture. It’s a remarkable performance, and to say Ms. McDonald has outdone herself is to state the blatantly obvious.

The same cannot be said for the rest of Diane Paulus’ confused production, which fails to deliver the heart wrenching drama that a good production of “Porgy” can provide. This “Porgy and Bess” feels threadbare and musically inert. Ms. Paulus has certainly elicited superb acting from nearly every cast member, but almost no one can rise to the level of Ms. McDonald’s vocal splendor and musicianship. For me, the show seemed to deflate whenever Ms. McDonald was not present.

David Allen Grier has to be one of the most pleasant surprises of the production; completely embodying the sleazy Sportin’ Life with gusto and oily charm. Mr. Allen Grier (who has a lovely singing voice) steals many of the scenes and is a welcome, lively presence.

Sadly, Norm Lewis - a charismatic Broadway vet and normally a first-rate singer - is vocally under powered and woefully miscast as Porgy. He’s a sympathetic presence, but he has far too much leading man bravado to be believable as a crippled tragic hero. His “I Got Plenty O’ Nothin’” was a lugubrious mess, with Mr. Lewis taking far too many musical liberties essentially undercutting the folksy ebb and flow of Gershwin’s charming, colloquial paean to the simple life. Porgy is a cripple, beaten down by life, yes, but a good Porgy must have a booming, rich bass-baritone voice to convey his humanity and his unyielding kindness. Mr. Lewis’ voice is smooth but small. He also has some distinct rough patches in his voice, which I found oddly disconcerting.

Diane Paulus’ much debated, highly controversial production has been a source of contention for theater and opera buffs. As you probably know, there were some proposed alterations to the libretto by the creative team during the initial workshops. Many - including Stephen Sondheim - took exception to any tampering with this beloved masterpiece. Storywise, the purists can sleep soundly, as the libretto has remained more or less intact.

It must be said that Ms. Paulus has tightened and clarified the story telling, and the story has more of a cohesive dramatic flow. The opera feels more intimate and involving from a theatrical viewpoint. But the production still feels like a cut and paste job, and opera purists are correct in their assertions about the quality of the singing (save for Ms. McDonald) and the paired down arrangements. Some of the orchestrations are downright baffling. Emotional moments such as “Bess You is My Woman” and “My Man’s Gone Now” come off as tepid and unremarkable.

Riccardo Hernandez’s abstract set is beautifully weathered and visually striking, but doesn’t really give the audience a good sense of where we are or what we’re supposed to be looking at. Ronald K. Brown’s lively choreography deftly mixes traditional African dance, swing, and Broadway jazz to create some very elegant dance numbers.

But “Porgy” is a landmark piece of lyric drama and it is (to my amazement) seldom performed. In truth, Audra McDonald is worth the price of admission. Her performance is a master class in exquisite acting. She well may be a Bess for the ages or, dare I say, the greatest Bess ever.

Coming soon…