Giuseppe_Sinopoli

A few words about Mara Zampieri, one of the greatest soprano’s of the last thirty years of the 20th century

© Tamino autographs

IL GIURAMENTO

Some forty years ago, I paid a real fortune for those two badly copied cassette tapes of Saverio Mercadante’s Il Giuramento, recorded live in Vienna on September 9, 1979. And now that the Austrian broadcaster ORF is digging up one after the other live recorded opera from their archives and transferring them to CDs, this splendid opera also came on the market – for little money and in an excellent sound quality (Orfeo C 6800621).

Il Giuramento is, just like La Gioconda, based on Victor Hugo’s play ‘Angelo, Tyrant de Padoue’, but there is a world of difference between the two works. La Gioconda is a very passionate, at times overwhelming, opera and contains a selection of (over)famous arias. Think of ‘Suicidio’ or ‘Cielo e mare’. Il Giuramento is smaller and more intimate. Think of Bellini with a touch of early Verdi.

The whole opera is really nothing but a succession of the most beautiful melodies, which force you to listen without even wanting to sing along. Or it must be ‘Compita è ormai la giusta e terribil vendetta’, a beautiful aria sung with much melancholy and elan by Domingo.

Domingo rehearsed the role, which was completely new to him, in four days (!) and stepped in – after only one rehearsal – for the sick Peter Dvorsky. Who else would be capable of pulling this off?

Mara Zampieri, unlike many of her contemporary colleagues, had a very individual sound that you may or may not like, but you cannot not possibly confuse her with anyone else. Her silver-coloured, sensuous soprano blends in beautifully with the golden velvet of Agnes Baltsa (then still without the ugly register break that marred her later performances so much) and in ‘Oh! Qual nome pronunziaste’ their voices melt together into a wonderful unity that is so beautiful it hurts.

ATTILA

There are those performances where everything is just in perfect harmony and you get the feeling that it could not be any better. People keep talking about them and they become legends.

Verdi’s Attila was such a performance, at the Vienna State Opera on 21 December 1980. It was Giuseppe Sinopoli’s debut in the house, his name was still virtually unknown, but the initial reluctance of the audience turned into frenzied enthusiasm from the very first bars. Verdi’s score – not the strongest – has never been heard before with such warmth, fervour and tenderness.

Nicolai Ghiaurov was a great Attila. With his sonorous bass, he gave the character not only the allure of a general but also the gentleness of a loving man.

In her role as Odabella, Mara Zampieri proved that she is not only a fantastic singer with a radiant height and a dramatic attack, but also a great actress.

The stretta ‘E gettata la mia sorte’ in the second act requires the baritone to sing the high b flat. Piero Cappuccilli hit it with ease and suppleness, and then was forced to encore by the frenzied audience, something one seldom experiences in opera. A rare occurrence.

Met Plácido Domingo in La Fanciulla del West

Mara Zampieri sings verismo

And try to find this one, You can’t live without this recording, believe me!
Just few examples

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H_xnGJemW8

A brief summary about Cheryl Studer in some of her best roles

SALOME BY MASSENET: HERODIADE

Orchestrally, this recording is really top-notch. Michel Plasson conducts the orchestra from Toulouse very energetically, with a lot of verve and drive, and he also knows how to allow space for all the subtleties. Exciting and beautiful. That is how I like to hear opera.

José van Dam is an impressive Phanuel and Nadine Denize an excellent Hérodiade., although her intonation is not always pure.

Hérode is not really a role for Thomas Hampson, but he sings it very beautifully. Something that unfortunately cannot be said of Ben Heppner’s Jean. A heroic tenor in that role is nothing but a terrible mistake.

Cheryl Studer, on the other hand, is a Salomé of everyone’s dreams: girlish, innocent and naive. Her voice shines and sways and her final words “Ah! Darned Queen, if it is true that your cursed loins have given birth to me, look! Take back your blood and my life!” leave you shuddering and desperately weeping. Brava.

STRAUSS:

SALOME

I realise that many of you will not agree with me, but for me Cheryl Studer is the very best Salome of the last fifty years. At least on CD, because she has never sung the complete role on stage (DG 4318102). Like few others, she knows how to portray the complex character of Salome’s psyche. Just listen to her question ‘Von wer spricht er?’ after which she realises that the prophet is talking about her mother and then she sings in a surprised, childishly naive way: ‘Er spricht von meiner Mutter’. Masterly.

Bryn Terfel is a very virile young Jochanaan (it was, I think, the first time he sang the role), but most beautiful of all is Giuseppe Sinopoli’s very sensual, wide- sounding conducting.

ELEKTRA

This stage production from Vienna (Arthaus Musik 100 048) 1989 is more than extraordinary. Harry Kupfer’s direction is extremely gripping and terrifying, and although he is very realistic in his approach, he limits himself to the directions in the libretto.

The scene is dominated by grey in all its shades and is particularly dark. The only colour in the performance looms when Chrysotemis, at her heartfelt cry that she wants to live and bear children, rips open her blouse and reveals a red vest.

Eva Marton (Elektra) is exceptionally convincing: moving in her longing for her father, repulsive in her contempt for her sister and terrifying during her confrontation with her mother.

Cheryl Studer is a splendid Chrysothemis. With her slightly sweet, lyrical, yet still exceptionally powerful soprano, she can portray a very strong character: her Chrysotemis is a girl disappointed in life with a strong desire to escape, but without the decisiveness to actually bring it about.
Also phenomenal is Brigitte Fassbänder in her portrayal of the mentally ill queen, plagued by nightmares and guilt. Both the mother and her two daughters would be on Freud’s couch in no time – talk about hysterical women!
Franz Grundheber is an exemplary Orest and Claudio Abbado conducts with an intensity that borders on the impossible.

FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN

In 1992, Solti conducted a complete performance of the work in Salzburg. Götz Friedrich’s direction was considered particularly strong at the time, but I do not find it entirely satisfactory. The mise-en-scène is undoubtedly excellent, but it fails with the direction of the characters, causing the singers to run from place to place in a rather awkward way.

The stage design is beautiful with very minimalist but realistic sets, but the costumes are a bit bizarre at times. There is a lot of use of strobe lighting, which combined with violent musical passages may come across as rather violent.

Cheryl Studer is a dream of an Empress. Her voice, with its very recognisable timbre and beautiful pitch, is soaring, transparent almost, innocent and erotic at the same time. Thomas Moser is an attractive Emperor, perhaps a tad too light for the role, causing him occasional breathlessness and pressed notes, but his singing is fine.

Marjana Lipovšek is a truly phenomenal Amme. What that woman has at her disposal in terms of colour nuances and how she handles her (very warm) mezzo borders on the miraculous. In the process, she is also a gifted actress; I couldn’t take my eyes off her. (Decca 0714259)

WAGNER

TANNHÄUSER

I have never been a ‘Wagnerian’. I could never muster the patience to sit through hours of his operas. I found them bombastic. Pathetic. And even though I had to admit that there were some beautiful melodies, I felt that I really needed a pair of scissors and radically shorten them

That this feeling has totally changed, I owe to Domingo. In my collector’s mania (I had to have everything he had done), I bought Tannhäuser (DG 4276252) in 1989. And then it happened: I became addicted.

Later, I learned to appreciate the music for itself and to this day, Tannhäuser is not only a very beloved Wagner opera, but also one of my absolute favourites.

I still consider this recording, conducted very sensually by Giueseppe Sinopoli, to be one of the best ever. Also because all the roles (Cheryl Studer as Elisabeth and Agnes Baltsa as Venus, such wealth!) are excellently cast. At the time, in the eighties and early nineties, this was not necessarily a given.

DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER

This CD recording from 1998 (DG 4377782) is particularly dear to me. First of all because of Cheryl Studer, at the time probably the most beautiful Senta one could imagine. Her wonderfully lyrical soprano with its easy and sensual height seemed made for the role.

The Holländer is sung here by Bernd Weikl. Not really the youngest anymore and you can really tell, but still very suitable for the role. Peter Seiffert is a splendid Steuerman, and in the role of Erik we hear none other than Plácido Domingo, a luxury!

But best of all is the orchestra: under the truly inspired leadership of Giuseppe Sinopoli, the Orchester der Deutsche Oper Berlin performs in a really magnificent way.

Giuseppe Sinopoli in memoriam

On 20 April 2001 Giuseppe Sinopoli died of a heart attack while conducting Aida in Berlin. He had just started the third act when he lost consciousness……
Sinopoli was 54 years old.

ATTILA

There are those performances where everything is just in perfect harmony and you get the feeling that it could not be any better. People keep talking about them and they become legends.

Verdi’s Attila was such a performance, at the Vienna State Opera on 21 December 1980. It was Giuseppe Sinopoli’s debut in the house, his name was still virtually unknown, but the initial reluctance of the audience turned into frenzied enthusiasm from the very first bars. Verdi’s score – not the strongest – has never been heard before with such warmth, fervour and tenderness.

Nicolai Ghiaurov was a great Attila. With his sonorous bass, he gave the character not only the allure of a general but also the gentleness of a loving man.

In her role as Odabella, Mara Zampieri proved that she is not only a fantastic singer with a radiant height and a dramatic attack, but also a great actress.

The stretta ‘E gettata la mia sorte’ in the second act requires the baritone to sing the high b flat. Piero Cappuccilli hit it with ease and suppleness, and then was forced to encore by the frenzied audience, something one seldom experiences in opera. A rare occurrence.

TANNHÄUSER

I have never been a ‘Wagnerian’. I could never muster the patience to sit through hours of his operas. I found them bombastic. Pathetic. And even though I had to admit that there were some beautiful melodies, I felt that I really needed a pair of scissors and radically shorten them

That this feeling has totally changed, I owe to Domingo. In my collector’s mania (I had to have everything he had done), I bought the recently released Tannhäuser (DG 4276252) in 1989. And then it happened: I became addicted.

At first, it was mainly Domingo who was to ‘blame’, whose deeply human interpretation of the title role gave me the goose bumps. His words: “Wie sagst du, Wofram? Bist du denn nicht mein Feind?” (sung with emphasis on ‘mein’ and ‘Feind’ and with a childish question mark at the end of the phrase) caused me to burst into tears.

Later, I learned to appreciate the music for itself and to this day, Tannhäuser is not only a very beloved Wagner opera, but also one of my absolute favourites.

I still consider this recording, conducted very sensually by Giueseppe Sinopoli, to be one of the best ever. Also because all the roles (Cheryl Studer as Elisabeth and Agnes Baltsa as Venus, such wealth!) are excellently cast. At the time, in the eighties and early nineties, this was not necessarily a given.

DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER

This CD recording from 1998 (DG 4377782) is particularly dear to me. First of all because of Cheryl Studer, at the time probably the most beautiful Senta one could imagine. Her wonderfully lyrical soprano with its easy and sensual height seemed made for the role.

The Holländer is sung here by Bernd Weikl. Not really the youngest anymore and you can really tell, but still very suitable for the role. Peter Seiffert is a splendid Steuerman, and in the role of Erik we hear none other than Plácido Domingo, a luxury!

But best of all is the orchestra: under the truly inspired leadership of Giuseppe Sinopoli, the Orchester der Deutsche Oper Berlin performs in a really magnificent way.

SALOME

I realise that many of you will not agree with me, but for me Cheryl Studer is the very best Salome of the last fifty years. At least on CD, because she has never sung the complete role on stage (DG 4318102). Like few others, she knows how to portray the complex character of Salome’s psyche. Just listen to her question ‘Von wer spricht er?’ after which she realises that the prophet is talking about her mother and then she sings in a surprised, childishly naive way: ‘Er spricht von meiner Mutter’. Masterly.

Bryn Terfel is a very virile young Jochanaan (it was, I think, the first time he sang the role), but most beautiful of all is Giuseppe Sinopoli’s very sensual, wide- sounding conducting.

Giuseppe Sinopoli in memoriam

Op 20 april 2001 is Giuseppe Sinopoli tijdens het dirigeren van Aida in Berlijn overleden. Hij was net met de derde akte begonnen….. Sinopoli was 54 jaar oud.

Attila

Er zijn van die voorstellingen waar alles perfect op elkaar afgestemd is en waarbij je het gevoel krijgt dat het niet beter kan. Er wordt nog lang over nagepraat en ze verworden tot een legende.

Zo’n voorstelling was Verdi’s Attila in de Weense Staatsoper op 21 december 1980. Het was Giuseppe Sinopoli’s debuut in het huis, zijn naam was nog vrijwel onbekend, maar de aanvankelijke terughoudendheid bij het publiek veranderde in een uitzinnig enthousiasme al bij de eerste maten. Zo warmbloedig, vurig en teder tegelijk heeft men de – toch niet sterkste – score van Verdi niet eerder gehoord.

Nicolai Ghiaurov was een grootse Attila. Met zijn sonore bas gaf hij zijn personage niet alleen de allure van een veldheer maar ook de zachtheid van een liefhebbend man.

In haar rol als Odabella bewees Mara Zampieri dat ze niet alleen een fantastische zangeres is met een stralende hoogte en een dramatisch attaque, maar ook een actrice van formaat.

De stretta ‘E gettata la mia sorte’ in de tweede acte verlangt van de bariton de hoge bes. Piero Cappuccilli haalde die met gemak en souplesse, en werd door het uitzinnige publiek gedwongen tot bisseren, iets wat je maar zelden meemaakt in de opera. Een zeldzame ervaring.

Fliegende Holländer

Deze cd-opname uit 1998 (DG 4377782) is mij bijzonder dierbaar. Allereerst vanwege Cheryl Studer, toen wellicht de mooiste Senta die men zich kon voorstellen. Haar heerlijk lyrische sopraan met makkelijke en sensuele hoogte leek geschapen voor die rol.

De Holländer wordt hier gezongen door Bernd Weikl. Niet echt de jongste meer en dat hoor je, maar voor die rol zeer passend. Peter Seiffert is een pracht van Der Steuerman, en in de rol van Erik hoor je niemand minder dan Plácido Domingo, een luxe!

Maar het allermooist is het orkest: onder de werkelijk bezielde leiding van Giuseppe Sinopoli speelt het Orchester der Deutsche Oper Berlin sterren van de hemel.

Salome

Ik realiseer mij wel dat velen van u het niet met mij eens zullen zijn, maar voor mij is Cheryl Studer één van de allerbeste Salome’s van de laatste vijftig jaar. Althans op cd, want zij heeft de rol nooit compleet op de bühne gezongen (DG 4318102). Als weinig anderen weet zij het complexe karakter van Salome’s psyche weer te geven. Luister alleen maar naar haar vraag ‘Von wer spricht er?’ waarna zij zich realiseert dat de profeet het over haar moeder heeft en op een verbaasde, kinderlijk naïeve manier zingt: ‘Er spricht von meiner Mutter’. Meesterlijk.

Bryn Terfel is een zeer viriele, jonge Jochanaan (het was, denk ik, de eerste keer dat hij de rol zong), maar het allermooiste is de zeer sensuele, breedklankige directie van Giuseppe Sinopoli.

Legendarische Attila uit Wenen

Er zijn van die voorstellingen waar alles perfect op elkaar afgestemd is en waarbij je het gevoel krijgt dat het niet beter kan. Er wordt nog lang over nagepraat en ze verworden tot een legende.

Zo’n voorstelling was Verdi’s Attila in de Weense Staatsoper op 21 december 1980.Het was Giuseppe Sinopoli’s debuut in het huis, zijn naam was nog vrijwel onbekend, maar de aanvankelijke terughoudendheid bij het publiek veranderde in een uitzinnig enthousiasme al bij de eerste maten. Zo warmbloedig, vurig en teder tegelijk heeft men de – toch niet sterkste – score van Verdi niet eerder gehoord.

Nicolai Ghiaurov was een grootse Attila. Met zijn sonore bas gaf hij zijn personage niet alleen de allure van een veldheer maar ook de zachtheid van een liefhebbend man.

In haar rol als Odabella bewees Mara Zampieri dat ze niet alleen een fantastische zangeres is met een stralende hoogte en een dramatisch attaque, maar ook een actrice van formaat

De stretta ‘E gettata la mia sorte’ in de tweede acte verlangt van de bariton de hoge bes. Piero Cappuccilli haalde die met gemak en souplesse, en werd door het uitzinnige publiek gedwongen tot bisseren, iets wat je maar zelden meemaakt in de opera. Een zeldzame ervaring.

Giuseppe Verdi
Attila
Nicolai Ghiaurov, Piero Cappuccilli, Mara Zampieri, Piero Visconti
Chor und Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper olv Giuseppe Sinopoli
Orfeo C 601 0321

Der Fliegende Holländer op twee cd’s en twee dvd’s

Schlußszene aus “Der fliegende Holländer” von Richard Wagner. Bühnenbild der Uraufführung 1843 in Dresden. Reproduktionsholzschnitt
SLUB/Deutsche Fotothek; Deutsche Fotothek

CD’S