Another Angela Smackdown: Gheorghiu and "Uneducated Palates"

Say you're the critic for the nation's leading daily newspaper, and say you really don't like an overhyped singer and you have to review the opera she's appearing in.

What do you do?

Most people would simply pan the unfortunate singer and get it over with.

That, of course, would be the easy way out.

And, in a way, panning -- or better yet, savaging -- a singer who usually gets a lot of hype can become a twisted form of PR, adding to the opera house's hype (no such thing as bad publicity, etc).

What Corriere della Sera did to Opera di Roma's Traviata is instead an example of almost Zen-like serenity: the critic simply explained that, since the main cast is made for "uneducated palates", he has reviewed the alternate cast's show (same conductor, obviously, but Angela Gheorghiu and Renato Bruson replaced by Myrto Papatanasiu and Dario Solari).

 

"With his (ed: conductor Gianluigi Gelmetti) vision, and with the cast I have chosen to listen to, a different one from the cast that appeared at la prima last Friday, made for uneducated palates, Rome's Traviata is important.
(...)
Gelmetti has instincts, and chooses rational, exact tempi, exact in strictly musical sense and in their relation to tradition; he has a tendency to adopt a fast pacing but also the rare ability to give room  to the voices...
(...)
I have chosen a cast that I appreciate, made of young artists instructed by the conductor, of excellent quality. The baritone, Dario Solari, appears even to be excellent ... The tenor Vittorio Grigolo has delicious diction and timbro: he needs to work on his tessitura acuta; the soprano Myrto Papatanasiu has a pleasantly tart timbro, a wide flow, beautiful colorature and balance in the use of vibrato.

So give it up for Myrto!

Ouch!

And what about Angela? Ask this guy!

There are of course some more pictures from the Zeffirelli production (slammed by Corriere della Sera): you can find them below.

Comments

[Crewmantle]

The critic from Corriere della Sera mirrors my thinking(save Bruson)and that of other serious operaphiles.

Corriere della Sera historically has nothing good to say about the Rome Opera most days to be fair... BUT just IMAGINE how Little Miss Nobody Soprano will be savaged if she takes the stage at august La Scala. Milan simply will NOT tolerate lightly this offensive strumpet walking those boards.

[ellie]

They´ll be crying for fresh pasta "fata a mano" and homemade sauce. What´s with the tasteless imitations in an expensive jar? And if AG is a tasteless imitation, what is Netrebko?
a. extra cheese
b. pasta on an airplane
c. ravioli with nothing on the inside
d. sauce without garlic, basil, or oregano
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
g. something even worse and not at all related to Italian pasta

[IheartTaft]

Shoot, now I'm hungry.

And I thought this production was supposed to be "erotic"! So far, it all seems very tame and covered up. Just like the Met's. In the words of elderly ladies... "Where's the beef!?"

[IheartTaft]

You know, I like airplane food. But I don't like Anna Netrebko. So I guess that eliminates option B.
Although, I wonder, Angela's voice used to be so revered at the beginning of her career, so is it that the voice has dramatically changed since then? Or are people rebelling against her so called attitude and overall work ethic? I'm intrigued.

[Crewmantle]

U know.... When one follows the nuances of not just the Milanese press, but even the Roman press, there is a drawing of a clear picture; Italians are not impressed with Little Miss Nobody Soprano.

Is it simply a case of not walking the walk in front of the decidedly knowledgeable Italian populace? Perhaps it was the insufferable, shocking insult to the Milanese theater; that Olympus of opera by the spouse. Or could it have been the presumption of these two ridiculous, mediocre nobodies to tell one and all they surpass ALL of histories greatest singers in vocal artistry that has so exacerbated the ire of the cultured Italian media?

The last time I knew of such a singer whose ego grew to such embarrassing proportions was the soprano Kathleen Battle. While I liked her brillar voice, it was common knowledge she had to be miked to be heard... Well the gods do serve an amusing justice at times.

The Rome Walk Out in '58? forget it... February 1982 Caballe La Scala Anna Bolena; a mere incident... The recent Aida fiasco..phht. NO folks, the bejewelled class, the loggione, Corriere della Sera, the insulted Milanese populace lie quietly in wait.

Mark the La Scala Traviata prima, and pray that Opera Chic is there to supply unrivalled coverage of the unfolding contretemps as they play out.

[Parsifal]

Go Myrto! Lets hear it for Myrto! Yuuuuhuuuu!

[fignaz]

OK-- I'll bite. What does Emeril have to do with Angela ?

[fignaz]

It seems Angela didn't sing tonight, her second & final performance. Irina Lungu, who sang on the 21st, took her place. Bruson also gave another encore, but didn't reprise his entire aria.

[Corey]

omg, choosing to review the alternate cast over the main cast, now *that* is a pan, lmao.

[ellie]

The sets are all gorgeous. I think the beef would be there if we had singers as good as in the past...Callas/di Stefano, Scotto/Raimondi, Sutherland/Pavarotti, Freni/Bonisolli. All amazing performances. Such good singers that they didn´t need to do cheap antics on stage to make people call it "a night." IMHO.

[Opera Chic]

fignaz: she said she's sick. we believe her.

[ellie]

Well, a highly-paid psychiatrist could excuse her based on post traumatic stress. She may have a legitimate lawsuit, no?