Dear Rob: Following your link I travelled to the embedded Forum on "Famous Works That Failed To Please/Interest You" and what do you know, RW was mentioned no less than 10 times out of 30 postings. But if there are burlesque'd performances of his works on CD or DVD I don't mind having a look-in, not for the aural but visual delights, if I've got Mr. Martino's allusions right.

http://www.amazon.com/tag/classical%20musi...ead=Tx3LXTULCQR6O7I

http://www.amazon.com/Peoples-Guide-Opera-...d=1210744356&sr=8-4

The contents of an eight CD set, sourced from French, German and Italian operas and perhaps aimed at an imagined average potential buyer, suggest that lack of enthusiasm for Wagner is not at all uncommon. Of the 108 excerpts only two are from Wagner works.

You and Denis have hit the nail squarely. I too have endured more hours in the theater with Wagner than I care to remember (and I think "endured" is the perfect word for it). I respect his genius and admire the tremendous effort he made to write these monumental pieces. His music is brilliant and there is no question of that from anyone. But in all fairness, I would rather leave most of his works to those with a greater love of orchestration and appreciation of the mythical than I. As far as I can remember, I have never stayed totally awake during any performance of Wagner I have ever attended including a couple that would put the burlesque shows to shame.

Dear Gary and Gabi: A pleasure to resurrect the link to the Grandi-Tenori site. Where else can you find such informed comments about the great Mario Lanza? In the case of the sole "adversary", one swallow can represent a summer. I believe the creature was finally shot down? Happy days to both of you.

Dear Dennis: The music in which you heard Jerusalem perform could well be Siegfred. Go to para. 8 of the referenced link and you may read glowing tributes to his versatile music-making:

http://stereophile.com/recordingofthemonth/392rotm/

I have always confessed to a distaste of the full-length Western opera and would rather listen to highlights, of which I have every conceivable piece of work in the repertory, where the tolerable pieces of music are lodged. No less a personality than the great American humorist, Mark Twain, had confessed to a hatred of the medium. To quote him, thus:

“I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but will all my heart. To me an opera is the very climax & capstone of the absurd, the fantastic the unjustifiable. I hate the very name of opera - partly because of the nights of suffering I have endured in its presence, & partly because I want to love it and can't. I suppose one naturally hates the things he wants to love & can't. In America the opera is an affectation. The seeming love for [it] is a lie. Nine out of every ten of the males are bored by it & 5 out of 10 women. Yet how they applaud, the ignorant liars!” (Notebook # 15, July - August 1878)

Therefore to someone with the attention span of a gnat, a long drawn-out opera in the tedious and bombastic style of a Wagner can only result in malabsorption. No less a personality than the great Tschaikovsky had been befuddled by RW.

“And the audience has to work hard, too: the opera may be intoxicating, but it's also intense, complicated and very long. "With the last chords of Götterdämmerung, I had a feeling of liberation from captivity ... In the past, music was supposed to delight people, and now we are tormented and exhausted by it," wrote one perplexed punter after the opera's premiere. It was Tchaikovsky, actually.”

The above quotation is found in para 15 of the link below:

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertai...udience-460877.html

Of course there are many who find it spiritually uplifting to bow before RW’s shrine, in homage to his music of the spheres, but he’s beyond my reach and comprehension. May I not be consigned to eternal damnation for my sacrilegious comments. Ah well, back to Mario Lanza and his glorious music making (may I be excused for the use of the word “glorious”). Best regards to you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrNlFXLhIkQ&feature=related

She was known as La Divina, excelled in the title roles of Tosca, La Traviata and Norma, had an emotionally devastating relationship with Onassis, and her death at a relatively early age led to speculation about a possible suicide. Maria Callas? The singer on this recording, however, was Claudia Muzio, another great singing actress whose own dramatic life in many ways paralleled that of Callas.

Eugene, I must confess that we might be of the same mind on opera. About ten years ago, I sat down to watch one of the Ring Cycle operas on Public Broadcasting. It was my day off, I was home alone, I had made a tall glass of iced tea, and the lyrics and English translation were scrolled across the bottom of the screen.

I can’t say that I remember which opera it was, but I remember the tenor was Siegfried Jerusalem (but I don’t think the opera was Siegfried). I was transfixed by it and watched the whole three? hours. It was moving. It was enjoyable. I admire Wagner as a composer. But never before that time, nor since, have I sat through an entire opera of the Ring. Why?

Maybe I fear that I won’t enjoy it. Maybe I’m too busy. Maybe I have to admit that I would rather hear fifty other operas instead if I have three hours (including Wagner’s Flying Dutchman). Maybe I’m just too prejudiced against Wagner. Maybe it’s the fact that of the ten thousand opera selections I have on disk or tape, very, very few of them are from any of the four Ring works. What is your reason for avoiding these acknowledged masterpieces?

I know of no Del Monaco biographies, in English. The 2002 bio, pictured several posts back, has yet to be translated into English. He also wrote his own memoirs, around 1970 or so, but it has never been translated into English. Hopefully, someday, both books will be. Ciao.

Hi Gabi..Yes, when I saw the posts by Doug it quickly reminded me of just how fast we can lose a friend..he and I had just begun correspondence,and he had a wonderful writing style. He truly loved opera and the great singers.We had a new friendship in the making, and suddenly he was gone..a shame.

I am sure most everyone has seen this before but I will add this quote from one of the posters from Grandi Tenori, which is wonderful in regards to Mario,
 "I leave the last words on him from Licia Albanese: Mario's voice had the sweetness of Gigli and the power of Caruso. The natural musical quality in his singing was so beautiful. Such feeling - glorious pianissimo, wonderful mezza voce. He never made mistakes in our recording, never forced the voice, and his high C was wonderful...so effortless. Mario could have been the greatest opera singer. The quality of a voice like that belongs to God. My heart broke when he died.. "

Thanks Eugene and Gabi.

Hi, Gary, you have been faster than I. I have just returned from reading the thread of "Grandi Tenori" which was completely new to me. The most dolorous impression for me was to meet Doug there, my wonderful friend, who died a year ago after a long illness. Gary, so good that you knew him, if far too short, and could share the grief.

Reading all these opinions I expected more discord, but generously this wasn´t the case. With the exception of one "adversary" everybody was of the opinion that Mario Lanza was a great tenor. Well, what else...?!

Edited by author 05-13-2008 09:11 AM
Hello..
Dear Eugene..the link to Grandi Tenori is excellent. I have read the threads in the past,but it was very good to re-read and digest again, many well written posts,especially by D.McGovern,the tenor Jos. Calleja,and Dan Marine, and Doug (Operfanatic)..and others.(dear Doug..R.I.P.).
These threads are an excellent read for anyone..again Eugene thanks for the link.
Cheers
Gary

Dear Dennis: While you invested hard-earned pennies for your 78rpm purchases, I had to beg, borrow (can’t remember if I did steal) for Mario’s EPs in the early 1950’s. It’s always nice to find another who has a liking for the same piece of music. Do we have the same aversions too? Such as sitting down to endless hours of Gotterdammerung (why does the phrase "Damn the Ring" keep sounding in my head)? No offence intended anyone. Best wishes.

Dear Gary: There’s nothing amiss in repeating a link, given the speed at which the Forum’s current page flips over, the first one would be out of sight in the wink of an eye. I tried not to draw attention to the “dumbing” down of Mario Lanza in the Neckers review but it did not escape some. Our appreciation of Lanza’s ND is no less diminished by adverse comments.

Some moons ago, another worthy posted a link to a forum engaged in a lively discussion over the opera community’s animosity towards ML. The thread ran from 2004 to 2006. It’s worthwhile revisiting to learn how it is that not everyone listens with the same ear.

http://www.grandi-tenori.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=687

Best wishes.

Yes, Gabi. Lindi's story is a fascinating one: he and his brother as youthful voyagers, his work as a boxer, solo vaudeville artist and then his first marriage to the lady who had formed the vocal trio which eventually he joined, his voice recognised as having operatic potential and training offered by a sponsor, and then the overseas career which saw him earn the interest and support of even the great Toscanini. This singer's early career really was sensationally successful. But, after those first few decades, then things started to slip until that dramatic, tragic ending with the irony of Lindi's dying as the audience applauded.

I find no real correlation between opera singers and premature death. Some singers die young, some old just like everyone else. I read the average life span in Caruso's day was around 47 years which is about how long he lived. Bjorling, Schmidt, Bastianini, Warren, Tucker, Lanza and Callas, among others, were opera singers who died somewhere between a bit before their time and well before their time. I leave out Wunderlich because his death was accidental and the fact he was a tenor was not a contributing factor. However, I could name many, many singers who lived far longer than the "average" life span for their generation. All in all, I would have to answer your question by saying no, I do not think tenors as such are an unhealthy lot.

I would think life stress for a singer is probably not much more than for the rest of us, maybe even less. They have to study and work hard to make a living but who doesn't? Many "stress" type choices during our careers are induced or influenced by others and we can't make them for ourselves but opera singers often can, thereby eliminating a major cause of stress, at least with their job. They own their voice and it is their product and no one elses. And I certainly would think very few have any financial stress. As far as family matters are concerned, well, family matters are family matters and it makes no difference if you are a tenor or a carpenter.

Self esteem and pride has to be particularly high for a singer since they would not be singing long if the audience booed them more than it cheered and applauded. That kind of personal pride has to be a healthy thing and help your peace and state of mind (we'll leave Corelli out of this part). Since opera singing is so disciplined they do not generally find the pitfalls that other entertainers (rock singers for example) succumb to that often causes them to self-destruct. Overall, I imagine opera singers, especially the top tenors, live the good life, VERY good indeed. A select few are even revered, in the context that they are honored and shown devotion. I am sure there are some struggling singers but at some point you either make it or you go on to something else and this is usually determined at a fairly young age when disappointment is more easily handled.

I've often said here that it is my opinion that singers are not any different than the rest of us in any measurable way whatsoever; not in looks, temperament, build, intelligence quotients, strength or how long they live, except for one small thing - they can sing and we can not.