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I have become intrigued by the music and careers of past and present opera singers. For a long time, I had been opera-adjacent and aware only of some of its superstars. The OperaDaily experience has become my Mars, my unexplored terrain and my chance to satisfy my curiosity about this genre.
So, each week I peer back through time and encounter works, composers and singers who still shape the performances and venues we are experiencing today. Pandemic times and internet technology enable me to gain access to operas previously hidden from view, or sometimes too costly for my purse.
Opera has belatedly grabbed me and refuses to let go. So now I'm excited to learn about contemporary artists and composers who are proving that opera is neither static, nor incompatible with other art forms, nor incapable of surprises.
Getting back to the topics at hand, though, I had not about Gaetano Donizetti's Tudor trilogy before two weeks ago. I saw "Anna Bolena" and "Maria Stuarda" merely as excuses to revisit the fascinating history of the rivalry between cousins Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots.Â
Yet I quickly became captivated by the musicianship and the biography of Kate Aldrich. After listening to many of her posts on YouTube, I grappled for a word to describe her voice. Then the word "mellifluous" came to mind. I looked up the meaning in Merriam-Webster's online dictionary and decided it was perfect, since it's defined as: "having a smooth rich flow" or "filled with something that sweetens".
In contrast, that sweet mezzo-soprano voice is also capable of great pathos, power, heft and range as in "Ah, Mon Fils!" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm2HMrpnGh4). I had to climb down into a well to retrieve the last note of this aria from an otherwordly depth. 😆
Now I know why and how Kate Aldrich has landed so many wonderful, leading roles.Â
"A cat may look at a queen is an English proverb that means even someone of low status has rights. A cat may look at a queen implies that all people have certain minimal rights by virtue of being alive. Like many proverbs, the origin is unknown."
Okay, The Other Queen Kate, here are my questions, and thank you for taking a few moments in Rome to consider them.
1. If you were training a young mezzo soprano, what aria would you start with, and what aria would you end with? If the goal is to build skills and confidence would you choose different ones for singing (recital) than for acting (performance)?
2. How do you care for your instrument (voice)? Vocal exercises? Home remedies? Modern medicine? Doctors?
3. Do you honor any superstitions, or observe certain rituals, when you get ready to perform?
4. Have you ever performed in one of the Roman amphitheaters?
5. What is it like to sing western-style opera in Asia (Seoul, Beijing)? The audience? The atmosphere?
6. Did you hear traditional Chinese opera or meet your counterparts in that tradition?
7. Have you ever performed at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona? If so, which opera?
8. What do you consider to be the most glorious opera house you've ever performed in? Why?
9. Is there an opera in which you would like to be cast?
10. With which artists do you still hope to perform?
11.Is foreign language study an indispensable part of your musical training, or do you get phonetic coaching like actors often do?
12. How about an anecdote about what's it like to be an American in Italy and an Italian in America?
13. Aside from the old "I just want her to be happy" answer, would you want your child to grow up to be a professional opera singer? Why and why not?
14. Do you believe there really are phantoms in some old opera houses?
15. Speaking of which, here's the trailer to one of my favorite movies in 2020, with one of my favorite actresses of all time, set in Rome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0ejncDxgCc.
Donizetti's opera incarnated the conflict between the two royal cousins, which didn't play out in person but through letters, couriers and decrees. All of them occurred over their respective lifetimes, against a backdrop of shifting alliances among England, Scotland, France and Spain; religious competition between the Catholic and Protestant Churches; political intrigues involving parliamentarians and courtiers; and each queen's own romantic liaisons.Â
The two women were treated as pawns up to, and even after, they had come into their own power and authority as regents. Had the love and esteem they once professed for each other not been poisoned by the tumultuous times they lived in and the machinations of  ambitious men, they might have become fast friends. That both were determined to lay claim to the English throne as their birthright fueled the final mortal combat.
The neoclassical reinterpretation, with Mariella Devia as Maria and Anna Caterina Antonacci as Elisabetta, had an updated, stylish look. Despite having the same music and being pretty to look at, I found it somewhat cold and sterile for my tastes. At the end, though, when the executioner's axe was left suspended in mid-air, I was glad that curtain calls and applause quickly followed.Â
Postscripts: The post-production segment (LaScala) was worth waiting for. The next time I listen to this opera, I plan to focus on the voices of the male stars who had to take a back seat to the divas.Â
Fun Fact: The libretto for "Maria Stuarda" was written by 17-year-old Giuseppe Barda. For him, it was "one and done". He never wrote another one and became a lawyer, instead.(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Bardari)
I have become intrigued by the music and careers of past and present opera singers. For a long time, I had been opera-adjacent and aware only of some of its superstars. The OperaDaily experience has become my Mars, my unexplored terrain and my chance to satisfy my curiosity about this genre.
So, each week I peer back through time and encounter works, composers and singers who still shape the performances and venues we are experiencing today. Pandemic times and internet technology enable me to gain access to operas previously hidden from view, or sometimes too costly for my purse.
Opera has belatedly grabbed me and refuses to let go. So now I'm excited to learn about contemporary artists and composers who are proving that opera is neither static, nor incompatible with other art forms, nor incapable of surprises.
Getting back to the topics at hand, though, I had not about Gaetano Donizetti's Tudor trilogy before two weeks ago. I saw "Anna Bolena" and "Maria Stuarda" merely as excuses to revisit the fascinating history of the rivalry between cousins Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots.Â
Yet I quickly became captivated by the musicianship and the biography of Kate Aldrich. After listening to many of her posts on YouTube, I grappled for a word to describe her voice. Then the word "mellifluous" came to mind. I looked up the meaning in Merriam-Webster's online dictionary and decided it was perfect, since it's defined as: "having a smooth rich flow" or "filled with something that sweetens".
Here are two performances featuring that beautiful, mellifluous voice in solo "Sapho's Air"/"O ma lyre immortelle" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT5asf_Y5iM) and in the "Amneris and Aïda" duet (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF12Xicxgg4).
In contrast, that sweet mezzo-soprano voice is also capable of great pathos, power, heft and range as in "Ah, Mon Fils!" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm2HMrpnGh4). I had to climb down into a well to retrieve the last note of this aria from an otherwordly depth. 😆
Now I know why and how Kate Aldrich has landed so many wonderful, leading roles.Â
"A cat may look at a queen is an English proverb that means even someone of low status has rights. A cat may look at a queen implies that all people have certain minimal rights by virtue of being alive. Like many proverbs, the origin is unknown."
Okay, The Other Queen Kate, here are my questions, and thank you for taking a few moments in Rome to consider them.
1. If you were training a young mezzo soprano, what aria would you start with, and what aria would you end with? If the goal is to build skills and confidence would you choose different ones for singing (recital) than for acting (performance)?
2. How do you care for your instrument (voice)? Vocal exercises? Home remedies? Modern medicine? Doctors?
3. Do you honor any superstitions, or observe certain rituals, when you get ready to perform?
4. Have you ever performed in one of the Roman amphitheaters?
5. What is it like to sing western-style opera in Asia (Seoul, Beijing)? The audience? The atmosphere?
6. Did you hear traditional Chinese opera or meet your counterparts in that tradition?
7. Have you ever performed at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona? If so, which opera?
8. What do you consider to be the most glorious opera house you've ever performed in? Why?
9. Is there an opera in which you would like to be cast?
10. With which artists do you still hope to perform?
11.Is foreign language study an indispensable part of your musical training, or do you get phonetic coaching like actors often do?
12. How about an anecdote about what's it like to be an American in Italy and an Italian in America?
13. Aside from the old "I just want her to be happy" answer, would you want your child to grow up to be a professional opera singer? Why and why not?
14. Do you believe there really are phantoms in some old opera houses?
15. Speaking of which, here's the trailer to one of my favorite movies in 2020, with one of my favorite actresses of all time, set in Rome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0ejncDxgCc.
😘
I watched and listened to two performances of "Maria Stuarda", back-to-back, while doing my taxes today: "Maria Stuarda" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PobNr-o-tzY, 1978, Montserrat Caballé) and the production recommended here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jEgd80bCxY&t=487s, 2008, Anna Caterina Antonacci). I'm not sure whether I felt melancholy because of the taxes, the music or the storyline about these headstrong, powerful queens.
Donizetti's opera incarnated the conflict between the two royal cousins, which didn't play out in person but through letters, couriers and decrees. All of them occurred over their respective lifetimes, against a backdrop of shifting alliances among England, Scotland, France and Spain; religious competition between the Catholic and Protestant Churches; political intrigues involving parliamentarians and courtiers; and each queen's own romantic liaisons.Â
The two women were treated as pawns up to, and even after, they had come into their own power and authority as regents. Had the love and esteem they once professed for each other not been poisoned by the tumultuous times they lived in and the machinations of  ambitious men, they might have become fast friends. That both were determined to lay claim to the English throne as their birthright fueled the final mortal combat.
The stagecraft and costumes in both productions, despite thirty years between them, I thought were equally elegant, distinctive and dramatic. In terms of preference I gave the edge for music and drama to Montserrat Caballé as Maria and Bianca Berini as Elisabetta. I felt they projected the psychology, character and emotions of the dueling queens best. When the imperious Elisabetta left Maria prostrate - not begging for mercy, as she had done in an earlier scene, but devastated at her death sentence - I, too, felt equally crushed.
The neoclassical reinterpretation, with Mariella Devia as Maria and Anna Caterina Antonacci as Elisabetta, had an updated, stylish look. Despite having the same music and being pretty to look at, I found it somewhat cold and sterile for my tastes. At the end, though, when the executioner's axe was left suspended in mid-air, I was glad that curtain calls and applause quickly followed.Â
Postscripts: The post-production segment (LaScala) was worth waiting for. The next time I listen to this opera, I plan to focus on the voices of the male stars who had to take a back seat to the divas.Â
Fun Fact: The libretto for "Maria Stuarda" was written by 17-year-old Giuseppe Barda. For him, it was "one and done". He never wrote another one and became a lawyer, instead.(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Bardari)