Critics Go Nuclear On "Useless" Maazel, "Capricious" Gheorghiu

Oh Lordy Lordy.

Where to begin?

OK, Italy's leading newspaper, Corriere della Sera, goes nuclear in so many ways on the Scala production of Traviata that Opera Chic  had the misfortune to attend last night (and she missed a very nice Southampton 4th of July barbecue for this!).

The first attack is, well, a subtle but lethal stab -- the paper's lead classical music critic, the one who declined to review Gheorghiu's Traviata in Rome last April and went to a performance of the understudies instead (best diss evar), declined to review the Scala's show, and opted to write a beautiful hommage to the late Beverly Sills (taking care to point out how, among her many accomplishments, the usually very stern Corriere lead critic writes, Sills has been "one of the greatest Violettas" in history).

Among the praise for Sills, "queen of technique and of pathos", kudos to her "unique vibrato technique", "a musicality of the highest order", her chilling death scenes, and she "will forever have a unique place in music history". Then the critic admits that in her arias of deepest sorrow, she had the power to literally move to tears.

What a beautiful hommage.

And the duty to review the Traviata fell on the shoulders of the other Corriere critic, a urbane scholar who's usually polite and moderate in his pans. But he made an exception last night.

Let's see, and remember that we're talking about the review of a usually quiet musicologist and college professor who's on the record as being that rare creature, a critic who usually likes Maazel:

... Angela Gheorghiu, Romanian soprano who has the habit of acting as a ridiculous diva in an era that does not allow such behavior anymore...

... to see today this 1990 staging means to see all the dust, all the wear and tear, all the  problems  that make it much weaker than its actual age suggests. It's a Traviata completely without ideas, a staging that does not say anything on the mystery of this woman, one of the most fascinating creatures ever imagined by an artist's mind...

(Maazel), formidable French-American musician, is a capricious man: can conduct divinely, as in the recent Rachmaninov concert here at la Scala and can give useless and lazy performances such as this one... the music sticks to the skin like humidity in these clammy Milan days, heavy, dead, unless Maazel occasionally remembers to be the artist he is... slow tempi, washed-out sound...

(Gheorghiu) the "diva" is truly an average soprano, small-voiced,  wrong diction, but she does have colors, intonazione, and even beautiful expressive moments. The problem? She acts on stage like the diva she believes herself to be, with hysteria... not even young Pavarotti could get away with this stuff... 

Wow.

Wowzykins.

The critic for il Giornale goes nuclear as well. Just read his first two words:

"Ouch. Ouch." ("Ahi. Ahi" in Italian).

And then the barrage  begins, mentioning how "Gheorghiu sings the way they used to sing in provincial opera houses a long time ago... irregular emissione... the shabby vowels of her Italian diction... the speed changes meant to create cheap effects. If she hadn't announced her presence here as some sort of Messiah the audience would have greeted her cordially, because she's a singer who deserves respect in her repertoire... Maazel's inertia is very different from his great days on the podium... the booing upset him in the finale... only rarely a conductor abandons his singer they way Maazel did by refusing the curtain calls".

Ahia!

Comments

[Beardo]

Jeez Louise-Gheorghiu's a bit of a nightmare -where's the bloody talent gone Ange? Saw her at Barbican, worst concert of my life.How the Met DARE to favour AG over Antonacci is truly beyond me. Anyway Ms Chic-enlighten me, how do you get a ticket for this complete shambles?

[Opera Chic]

one word: scalpers. (bring lots of cash and keep in mind that scalping, appallingly tolerated right besides the theatre's entrance, is nevertheless illegal here -- for tax reasons)

but if you want to see angela, it might already be 2 L8!
(more on that later)

[Conte di Lignano Sabbiadoro]

Thank goodness the Met recognises her talent. It is true she has a small voice but her phrasing and musicality have always been exciting when I have seen "Draculette". The real test will be if she makes me cry in Traviata which I will hopefully see in 10 days time. OC will I be in time or will these unreasonable opera fashionistas drive la Gheorghiu away?

[Beardo]

I thought as much-what is it this time? She found Leo Nucci wearing her wig(WTF?!)She is unbelievable(but not in a good way)
Ms Chic-has Gheorghiu done a runner yet? Or are we still waiting for another radio interview featuring some seriously dodgy use of the Italian language?

[i <3 opera]

oh goodness...they really filleted Angela and Maazel -- but in such beautiful italian prose!)

Can we just call "Angela as Violetta" as the most OVER-HYPED performance of the century? She just doesn't deliver. I saw her in recital, and she tries to get by with giggling and sashaying in her tacky, tight dresses to win over the audiences.

I declair the era of The Rolangelas officially OVER!

[Conte di Lignano Sabbiadoro]

Although I find Alagna's singing routine. After seeing Gheorghiu live quite a few times she has won me over. I find her performance in the 1994 Traviata from Covent Garden superb. She uses her distinctive dark tone to bring out the many colours needed to interpret this complex role.

Look at the 1994 set reviews on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/B00000427V/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_top/002-9888166-0057654?ie=UTF8&n=5174&s=music#customerReviews

Can so many people be wrong?

La Scala just doesn't like stars because you have to go to La Scala for La Scala (not Gheorghiu or Alagna etc.)

N.

[Beardo]

I've got the 1994 Traviata and I like it-I think that back then she had a lot more to offer but now she's constantly singing the same roles and carrying on with the same banal concert repertoire(you know, 'O Mio Babbino Caro' and bloody 'I could have danced all night'-which she should NEVER sing by the way) She NEEDS to keep things fresh and she's not doing that by playing the same roles in the same kind of productions. Her voice has an incredible, unique natural beauty- but she lacks so many other qualities that this is not enough to sustain her career.

[Big Fan Sue]

"... Angela Gheorghiu, Romanian soprano who has the habit of acting as a ridiculous diva in an era that does not allow such behavior anymore..."-LOL

Yet La Scala allows the booing, hissing, and all the politics that goes on. The behavior in the audience of La Scala would never be allowed at the Met.
I've been to many opera houses worldwide and have seen Angela many times in diffent operas so now I will check out La Scala.
Next week I will attend two performances at La Scala (hopefully she shows up). Shall I bring a basket of tomatoes for protection?

[fignaz]

The 1994 TRAVIATA DVD is where people should go to see & hear what AG can do with this role. Why she would compete against herself by doing this new DVD 13 years later & with such diminished means is beyond me. What has struck me, since I first heard her sing Juliette at the Met in 1998, is the inexplicable loss of volume. Often now she is barely audible, as if she thought she were on mike in a recording studio. Which means you have to listen on the web or radio to really hear what she's doing. Is a puzzlement...

[Ciro]

Beardo writes: "The behavior in the audience of La Scala would never be allowed at the Met."

One of the reasons why the artistic standards have been slower to decline at La Scala - at least if you dont sing or conduct well you run the risk of getting boo'd, differently from the politically correctedness of Met audiences who refuse to criticize basically anyone nowadays (well, new york critics are no better, I think they have all gone deaf or something, or perhaps are too ignorant to say anything against someone who is "famous" i.e. beloved of the recording industry). Gheorghiu with that little voice just sang Amelia Boccanegra at the MET, something she could never have pulled off at La Scala.

Artists are adults, or should be. It is simply not enough to attempt a good effort. If I am to pay top prices to see what is supposed to be one of the greatest singers alive, I want him/her to make my money worth it. To refuse to criticize because "it may hurt the artists feeling" is ridiculous. I am sure that Maestro Maazel learned something last night, and something that came at a great cost will probably not be forgotten so soon.

Of course, the politics of Loggione will exist, but overall, I do believe that the loggionisti are what keeps opera alive, not the "Lets applaud the star because we dont know anything about opera anyways and everyone else is doing it" bandwagon that I see so many jumping on nowadays.

Remember, applause and booing go together, if you want love, you got to be able to handle the hate. We opera lovers are very passionate about our art. Perhaps Met audiences may care leass about it if they put up with frankly subpar performance by overhyped artists created by the recording industry.

[Ciro]

err, sorry, Big Fan Sue wrote that and not beardo. My bad.

[cartier]

It is a shame with everything that happens today when it comes to La Scala. It doesn't live up to the name and is no longer what it used to be. The booing is unacceptable, it is not a circus. These people should be kicked out the premises. If one doesn't want to see and listen to the singers, shouldn't go. And, the comments are ridiculous. The comments about an opera singer are no longer a truth but a biased personal opinion and show either poor support or unjustified hatred. Why do the spectators and critics put down a siger just because she's good ? Shame La Scala, shame. I gues it's time to go to another opera. To hell with La Scala.

[Conte di Lignano Sabbiadoro]

Looking at the season schedules for La Scala and the Met, the Milan house has a majority of young unknowns (like Lungu) and the Met the big names. Most of the time these young singers are second division singers. (I went to every production at La Scala for six years.)
Covent Garden has a mixture of new acclaimed singers and big stars. The Garden has performances of a much higher standard than Scala.

I have never been to the Met.

Who cares about her small voice. As the saying goes : Size doesn't matter. It is what you do with it that counts.

N.

[Beardo]

Gheorghiu's got a nice voice but there are others who are a damn sight better. Ok, I know the production stinks in some respects and that Roberto Sacchi is cr4p(sorry, but I don't understand why he's so popular) but the Maazel/Ciofi Traviata is definitely worth seeing. She presents a complex, modern Violetta and I completely LOVE her crazy voice-completely unique and absolutely beautiful.

[Opera Chic]

"Size doesn't matter. It is what you do with it that counts."

yeah, guys say that a lot.

[Beardo]

Yeah, when I can't hear Tosca's death scene then size DOES matter! Must agree about CG-best house in the world! We have everybody, although this season is a bit dissapointing as far as the women are concerned...where are my top 3?

[Lie Down in Darkness]

"yeah, guys say that a lot."

Because it's true!

....

I mean, who knew small voiced Thomas Hampson would be so effective in Wagner?

P.S. My 2c on Angela in Trav. I've got the DVD, and almost loathed her singing in Act 1, and found her characterisation and acting nothing special. On the other hand she was most effective in the later acts...even if Richard Eyre's ending was just plain bizarre. I mainly return to it for the footage of Maestro Solti looking hawk-eyed on the podium, and, need it be said, for Leo Nucci.

[Opera Chic]

Beardo: I agree on the principle but Dessì's doesn't have a huge voice -- well, not as huge as her Bewbs -- and her Tosca is really, really great.

Speaking of very big things, it's pretty much an open secret in the business that Fabio Armiliato has an extremely large... musicality. his voice is pretty big, too.

[Beardo]

OC-with AG it wasn't just about the volume it was almost as though she was doing Tosca as a concert-I mean where was the PAAAASSION!??? Seriously...twas rubbesh. Even the 'Vissi D'arte'-that Tosca was only saved by the mighty Tony P and his body guard Bryn. But that is a WHOLE other story...

[giorgia]

> If one doesn't want to see and listen to the singers, shouldn't go.

Well, the point is when singers aren't doing their work properly, why one should want to listen to them? Booing is bad in my book, too - if I end up listening to a performance I don't like, I simply don't clap & cheer at the end of it. Period. But you just can't say people are not willing to go and listen to singers. They do go, but if aforementioned singers turn out to be cr4p, you just can't expect people to say "ah, yes, whatevs, let's cheer anyway!", can you?

[giorgia]

p.s.: and *SIZE* does matter, btw!!!

[cartier]

OK people. It's not just the opera singer that is a factor. She or he is not alone on the stage. It also has to do with the orchestra, their support (it's a two way street), the lights, the sound, the "mis en scene", all these arrangements that make an opera successful. Then if we like it we applaude very strong, if not we do it mildly or not at all and we comment in private. But this noises and the booing. Who are the spectators ? Peasants just taken from a corn field ? It shouldn't happen. We don't like a singer, we don't go to see her again. Otherwise we need to shut up. The opera assumes class and education. Otherwise we can go and see a hip-pop show and get it over with. How do you explain Angela's great performance elsewhere and the stong voice at Covent Garden or other operas and there's never been a such large action of criticizing
her ? Is this the purpose of a "great" opera house and the media ? Don't they have anything better to do ? Gheorghiu shouldn't be compared to any other singer. They each have their style and voice. Above all she is charming and yes, a little over 40. So what ?
She sings beautifuly, she has passion and just because she married Roberto Alagna we shouldn't judge her. Besides, he is the 4th
tenor in the world. I would be upset too with spectators behaviour. They are uneducated and shouldn't be allowed in. They no longer want to see an opera but make a mockery out of it. It's a pitty of what La Scala has become.

[Beardo]

Have to agree about the booing-bloody shambles. I've only ever heard it CG once on the opening night of the recent 'Pelleas et Melisande'-some complete eejit shouted "DISGRACE!" at the director, which just made me laugh...helpless buffoon. Anyway, the point is that La Scala is not a farm as far as I know, so no matter what the person may feel about the performance/performer, they should wait to vent their anger/disapointment/disbelief on websites and/or to their family and friends.
I also believe that it in some other respects we have no right to criticise ANY singer/conductor because it is a job that so few people can do. It requires lots of training, energy, patience and sheer passion to get through to the point where one can be successful. I know that Gheorghiu disappoints me now but there was a time where I thought she was the greatest ad I still continue to admire some of her recordings...I just wish I could be taken back to 2004 and La Rondine-one of the most beautiful performances of my life. Come on Angela-bring back the magic!!

[giorgia]

> We don't like a singer, we don't go to see her again.

well, it was her début in an opera at La Scala, so you can't claim people went there having already heard her there, not liked her, nevertheless went back just to boo her. Besides, as I already said, I'm not justifying people booing, I too think that's wrong, but all I can do is not behaving like that, it's not my duty to educate the rest of the audience (although if I'm in a theatre and somebody starts making noises - not just booing, but *any* unwanted noise, like, e.g., unwrapping candies etc., I freeze them with a glance.)

> The opera assumes class and education. Otherwise we can go and see a hip-pop show and get it over with.

That's a narrow-minded thing to say. Why do you presume all people going to see any other type of show beside opera just *has* to be unclassy and uncivilised?

> How do you explain Angela's great performance elsewhere and the stong voice at Covent Garden or other operas and there's never been a such large action of criticizing her? Is this the purpose of a "great" opera house and the media?

You can't expect people to give a thumbs-up review to something they didn't like just because elsewhere the performer did great. They were reviewing *tis* show and how she sung and Maestro Maazel conducted in this occasion. They didn't do good this time, so they'll have to accept critics.

> She sings beautifuly, she has passion and just because she married Roberto Alagna we shouldn't judge her. Besides, he is the 4th tenor in the world.

Oh, is he? Is there a ranking? Or is he such just in your personal ranking? Because, you see, the way he sings (and I'm not thinking of last December's disaster) doesn't appeal to me at all, if I were to make a ranking he wouldn't make it to the top 100...

> I would be upset too with spectators behaviour.

They have all the right to be upset, as they're human beings and, I suppose, they have feelings, too. Still, anybody's entitled to their own opinion, even if this opinion isn't good.

> They are uneducated and shouldn't be allowed in. They no longer want to see an opera but make a mockery out of it. It's a pitty of what La Scala has become.

Are they "uneducated" (uncivilised, I'd rather say) because they "boo"-ed? Yes. But one becomes "educated" going to the theatre, not being left out of it, so I'm afraid your "they shouldn't be allowed in" doesn't sound like a good solution to me.

[Lie Down in Darkness]

"I've only ever heard it CG once on the opening night of the recent 'Pelleas et Melisande'-some complete eejit shouted "DISGRACE!" at the director, which just made me laugh...helpless buffoon."

Well, by all accounts the recent production of "Pelleas et Melisande" seen at Covent Garden was a bloody shambles, saved by Simon Rattle and his brilliant cast (even if Simon Keenlyside and Angelika Kirchschlager, whom I both love, were somewhat long in the tooth for their roles). I'd have still gone to see it if I'd been in London (for my two beloved Simonses et al), but certain details singled out in the reviews sounded cringeworthy.

[Beardo]

I know it's totally off-topic but I found the Pelleas et Melisande staging really quite moving. Yeah, ok, the costumes were a complete disaster! But the movement and the simplicity of the direction really meant that the music could speak rather than some over-complicated staging featuring a full-on forest and stage-pond. Maybe it was just the quality of the music and singing that engaged me so highly....

[Lie Down in Darkness]

Sorry to pursue the off-topicness even further into the land of Allemonde, but about the blocking of P&M, a friend of mine who saw it told me that during the crucial scene between Golaud and Yniold the director had them quite a bit apart on stage. Way to suck the tension out of one of the most nail-biting scenes! I hope that wasn't the standard throughout.

[Beardo]

I don't recall that-the confrontation scene was really powerful because the stage was so empty, it was focusing immediately on the connection between the two characters. I tell you, I had NO nails left by the end of that scene! The kid who played Yniold was bloody good and Gerald Finley was really terrifying in this scene.

[Lie Down in Darkness]

"The kid who played Yniold was bloody good and Gerald Finley was really terrifying in this scene."

I don't doubt that for an instant. *Sigh* Why am I stuck on bloody Mallorca? Going on thirteen years....