Regarding Kurt Youngmann's question, long ago after many over-staged, badly-sung performances, I dismissed Aida as bombastic and over-exposed. Everyone had to sing it, every opera company had to offer it, and I grew to hate it. Didn't listen to it for 14 years. But when Bergonzi died, I pulled out his 1967 Met Aida with Price, Bumbry, Merrill, and Hines. (I believe he sang Radames about a decade earlier in his Met debut?) The singing on the recording is stunning beyond belief and my attitude toward the opera was completely refreshed. In fact, I felt the enjoyment of someone coming to a great work of art for the first time. This weekend, I listened to it again in honor of Leontyne's birthday and enjoyed it immensely. I think one problem is that we become jaded or insensate toward the works we know well and hear often. Alternative theory: most operas are lovable if the best singers in the world are singing them.
On Saturday, February 11, 2017 4:30 PM, Frank Cadenhead <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
First Carmen a long while ago. I was traveling with my dad, was 13 or so, and
from San Diego. In our stop in Washington, D. C. my dad wanted to see a major
league game, the Senators playing the Yankees, or something. At the time, San
Diego did not have a major league team. He asked me what was my choice for the
next night. I said there was an outdoor performance of Carmen (San Diego at the
time did not have an opera company). He was not going for that but gave me
money and cab fare (first time in a taxi as well as an opera). I fell in love with the
Micaela.
Frank Cadenhead
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