Sapphic European Opera Soprano Gets Lobotomy In "Ratched"

Harriet Sansom Harris plays the chain-smoking diva.

Ryan Murphy's latest exploration for Netflix is Ratched. Described as "an American psychological thriller drama web television series about the character of the same name from Ken Kesey's 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Created by Evan Romansky and developed by Ryan Murphy, the series stars Sarah Paulson in the title role and serves as a prequel to the novel. It premiered on Netflix on September 18, 2020." Netflix adds: "Ratched is a suspenseful drama series that tells the origin story of asylum nurse Mildred Ratched. In 1947, Mildred arrives in Northern California to seek employment at a leading psychiatric hospital where new and unsettling experiments have begun on the human mind. On a clandestine mission, Mildred presents herself as the perfect image of what a dedicated nurse should be, but the wheels are always turning and as she begins

Barbaric Practice: If opera didn't do Ingrid in, this surgery might!

to infiltrate the mental health care system and those within it, Mildred's stylish exterior belies a growing darkness that has long been smoldering within, revealing that true monsters are made, not born." One character, a faded opera singer named Ingrid, appears in two episodes. She is equal parts Zinka Milanov and Eva Marton. When describing her repertoire, she says "I sang all the major dramatic roles from Brünnhilde to Turandot." Finding herself lost now that her career is over, she has arrived at the asylum for  new revolutionary procedure, which turns out to be a lobotomy. Things get a bit more complicated when it's revealed she is also a lesbian, something the hospital is trying to "cure" as well. In the second appearance of Ingrid, the scene opens with Puccini's aria "Tu che di gel sei cinta" from Turandot. Although Ingrid herself would have sung the title role of the opera, this from the character of Liù resonates with several themes within the show. The rest of the Ratched cast includes Sharon Stone, Sarah Paulsen, Judy Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Finn Wittrock, Jon Jon Briones, and Charlie Carver. See more stills of Ingrid from Ratched, and see videos of the above aria as well as others that Ingrid would have performed, after the jump. [Source, Source]

Naughty Nurse: Sarah Paulsen plays Mildred Ratched.

Mary Lambert Gets Wagnerian In Her "Secrets" Music Video

Wagnerian Tribute: Mary Lambert in her music video for "Secrets"

Seattle-based singer Mary Lambert released her debut album Heart on My Sleeve in October 2014. Featured on the album was the single "Secrets," which peaked at number one on U.S. Dance charts. She is a declared Christian and out lesbian. Often described as a mix of Adele, Tori Amos and James Blake, the singer often writes about her own personal experiences of early childhood sexual abuse, body image, bipolar disorder, and her sexuality. She taught herself how to play piano and write songs at age 6. She is originally from Everett, Washington, where she attended Mariner High School between 2003 and 2007. Her mother is a recording artist. Lambert moved to Seattle, Washington, to study at Cornish College of the Arts where she graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Composition. In the music video for "Secrets," you see a clip of Mary Lambert assuming the role of a Valkyrie from a Wagner opera. Watch the video, after the jump. [Source]

Wagner On A Sousaphone Accompanies KKK Marchers To Rally

A man cleverly uses a sousaphone alongside marching members of the Klu Klux Klan. The choice of slumbering, almost cartoonish music, is perfection. He even slips in "Ride of the Valkyries" by Richard Wagner! Check out the Vienna Philharmonic playing the full version as it was originally intended in the opera Die Walküre.

Adrianne Pieczonka Brings Strauss And Wagner Lieder To Delos

Voice & Piano: Pieczonka departs from recording
arias with orchestra to lay down lieder tracks
 with Juilliard's Brian Zeger. (Photo: Bo Huang)

"Praised for her 'impeccably pure and iridescent voice' (Financial Times), soprano Adrianne Pieczonka is primarily known for her vocally opulent and interpretively intense performances in operas by Richard Strauss and Richard Wagner - though her vocal and stylistic versatility enables her to be at home in dramatic roles by Verdi, Puccini and others. In this - her first release with Delos - she blesses us with a captivating and varied program of songs by Strauss and Wagner. Particularly fond of the art song genre (and of the soprano voice), Strauss created 158 of them throughout his long life, and many of his dozen songs heard here are among his true masterpieces. The opera specialist Wagner, on the other hand, wrote far fewer songs than Strauss. Best-known among them are the five songs of the ecstatically romantic Wesendonck-Lieder, also considered a masterpiece among Lieder cycles. Adrianne delivers this varied and sumptuous fare with conspicuous emotional depth and luxuriant vocal tone. Collaborating with technical finesse and interpretive sensitivity is pianist Brian Zeger, one of the great piano collaborators of our time." [Source] Click here to listen to Adrianne Pieczonka perform the track "Du meines Herzen Krönelein, Op. 21, No. 2" by Richard Strauss. The album will be released in the United States on July 10. Order your copy by clicking here. Cover art and track list are after the jump.

More Antics At The Opera On Showtime's "Penny Dreadful"

"It must be the Wagner": Evelyn Poole (Helen McCrory) and Sir Malcolm (Timothy Dalton) get wet post-opera.

In season 2, episode 5, "Above the Vaulted Sky," we find two couples attending the opera: "A somewhat more healthy relationship continues to blossom between Dorian Gray and Angelique, although the public nature of it finally catches up to them at the opera where Angelique is recognized and spit upon. Back in Gray’s gallery, a humiliated Angelique appears dressed as a man, but Gray assures her he cares for who she is, not what she was born as. These scenes continue to have no real bearing on the rest of the show and play a bit like a Very Special Episode spaced out over the course of the season, at least until the lovers take off their clothes and all bets are off. It’s interesting to see how director Damon Thomas presents the various sex scenes visually: the more comfortable the characters are in their own skin and with their sexuality, the closer the camera and the more explicit the scene. In the case of Gray and Angelique, it’s about as graphic as Showtime gets. At the other end of the spectrum we get a high overhead shot of a fully-clothed Victor humping spasmodically atop Lily. Evelyn Poole and the mind-clouded Sir Malcolm are somewhere in between." [Source] Music cues up just before the scene at the opera house. It is a syncopated brass section and we hear a voice sing, "Elsa." Next we find Dorian Gray (Reeve Carney) escorting Angelique (Jonny Beauchamp) into a hall during the intermission of the opera. She remarks that the performance is scandalous because the plot involves brother and sister. After the performance is over, we see Evelyn Poole (Helen McCrory) and Sir Malcolm (Timothy Dalton) exit straight to a hotel where they kiss for the first time in the pouring rain. He apologizes for being so forward and she credits their passion to Wagner. So what did they see at the opera? The lead-in music hints at Lohengrin (Count Friedrich von Telramund does accuse Elsa of murdering her brother in order to become the Duchess of Brabant), but it could also be Die Walküre (where we are introduced to Siegmund and Sieglinde, twin brother and sister turned lovers), or even Siegfried (since the opera is about the love-child of the incestuous couple). The viewer is left to guess. Be sure to check out the previous post about Penny Dreadful by clicking here. Watch the full episode by clicking here. See more than twenty photos of the episode, including the NSFW sex scenes, after the jump.

A (Rough) Night At The Opera: Dorian Gray (Reeve Carney) and Angelique (Jonny Beauchamp) find trouble.

Love's First Prick: Sir Malcolm (Timothy Dalton) and Evelyn Poole (Helen McCrory) at the opera.

Andris Nelsons Innaugural Concert With Kaufmann & Opolais To Air

"Andris Nelsons’s first season as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra has come and gone — but in case you missed it entirely, you wanted more, or you just wondered what all the buzz was about, you can now catch a glimpse of the new partnership from the comfort of your living room. On Friday at 9 p.m., PBS will broadcast the young Latvian conductor’s inaugural concert with the orchestra, recorded live in Symphony Hall last September....Among the highlights on the night itself were the contributions of the two star vocal soloists, especially tenor Jonas Kaufmann’s outstanding performance of 'In Fernem Land' from Act III of Lohengrin, an account whose intensity and poetry is conveyed here. The Latvian soprano Kristine Opolais, Nelsons’s wife, sings a vivid 'Un Bel Di' from Madama Butterfly as well as a smoldering duet with Kaufmann: 'Tu, Tu, amore? Tu?' from Puccini’s Manon Lescaut, a work this pair is slated to perform together next season in a new Met production directed by Richard Eyre. For an additional opening night souvenir, the two singers also offered as an encore a melting, sweet-toned account of 'O Soave Fanciulla' from the Act I finale of La Bohème." [Source]

(Photo: Chris Lee)

L.A. Opera Gets An Admirer In Alleged-Murderer Robert Durst

И смело ей себя вверяю: Durst took a page out
 of Tatyana's handbook and wrote a letter.

"In a scrawling, handwritten letter to The Times, murder suspect Robert Durst doesn’t speak of the serious charges he now faces but instead writes wistfully of his days in Los Angeles. The real estate scion muses about watching the city lights, the hopeless traffic congestion, spending time at a Sunset Boulevard coffee shop and his love of attending the opera. 'I loved watching the traffic come up La Cienega and mush into Santa Monica,' he wrote in his two-page letter, postmarked nearly two weeks after his arrest in the mysterious murder of author Susan Berman, found shot in the head at her Benedict Canyon home 15 years ago. Durst blames L.A.’s political and business leaders for the absence of professional football in Los Angeles, ridicules a performance of Wagner’s Ring Cycle as being a 'true example of Hollywood gone berserk' and ruminates on his own medical condition. 'I have said nothing about charges, crimes or trials,' he adds. 'I’m sure you know what your abilities are to visit me when I get to L.A.' But it seems unlikely Durst will be coming to California anytime soon. Nearly after a month after his arrest, the 71-year-old subject of the HBO documentary The Jinx was in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court Thursday to plead not guilty to state weapons charges, a case that has delayed his extradition to California." [Source] Experts say that Durst is trying to play crazy. Perhaps he's taking cues from the ID Channel. See an excerpt  of the note after the jump.

Dagmar Pecková Breaks Out A Battery Of Sinful Women On New Disc

Mezzo-soprano Dagmar Pecková as Klytaemnestra for the new recording on Supraphon.

"Recorded at the Studio of Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Bratislava, September 2–4 and 8–10, 2014. The provocative title of the new album by the feted mezzo-soprano Dagmar Pecková reflects a remarkable dramaturgic idea: that which connects the life of modern humans with the heroines of Antique mythology is the principle of sin – and forgiveness. This is perhaps why all

The singer as Cherubini's demented Medea

the featured characters are smart and strong women, some of them even endowed with supernatural abilities. Women determined to apply the boldest means so as to gain that which they long for – or to take revenge. Women betrayed by a ruse or wounded by their own love. The very first aria featured, that of Massenet’s Marie-Magdeleine, opens the scope for the message – that the only way out of sin is forgiveness. 'When you look at mezzo-soprano characters, virtually all of them can be branded sinners. Perhaps it is owing to the darker voice colour...' says Dagmar Pecková. As rendered by her on the present album, each of the 'sinful women' is profoundly treated in psychological and emotional terms. This profundity and inspiration is based on the soloist’s own professional experience and is also the fruit of the collaboration with the accompanying Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, under the uncompromising and masterful baton of Aleksandar Markovic. Love, sin and forgiveness. An insight into the mysterious female soul." [Source] Read more about the album here. Watch a video from the recording session, see more photos, and the full track list, after the jump.

Jolly Rancher Bites Gets A Lift From Wagner's Valkyries

A new commercial for Jolly Rancher's Bites candy features the "Ride of the Valkyries" from the opera Die Walküre by Richard Wagner. The bite-sized gummies are available in watermelon, green apple and cherry flavors. Check out their website for more information by clicking here.

Soprano Susan Bullock Bestowed With Order Of The British Empire

"Opera singer Susan Bullock holds her Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) medal which was presented to her by The Princess Royal, for services to opera, during an Investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace, 13 February 2015." [Source] Read more about the soprano after the jump.

Wagner Meets The Playground In "Step Brothers" Film

In a scene not for the faint of heart, Will Ferrel and John C. Reilly play step brothers that get beat up by a gang of young kids on the playground. The end of the scene is sophomoric, but underscores the ineptitude of the characters. The music accompanying the scene is the Liebestod from Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. "Step Brothers is a 2008 American buddy slapstick comedy film starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly. The screenplay was written by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, from a story written by them with Reilly. It was produced by Jimmy Miller and Judd Apatow, and directed by McKay. The film was released on July 25, 2008, two years after the same group of men wrote, produced, and starred in another comedy, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. 39-year-old Brennan Huff (Will Ferrell) and 40-year-old Dale Doback (John C. Reilly) are two unemployed, middle-aged, offensive, and self-centered men who still live with (and are reliant on) their parents. They have no intention of moving out or finding jobs and behave childishly. When Brennan's mother Nancy (Mary Steenburgen) and Dale's father Robert (Richard Jenkins) marry, Brennan and Dale are forced to live with each other as step brothers." [Source] Watch the movie scene, and listen to Hildegard Behrens singe the complete arias, after the jump.

Tax Slayer Uses Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" In Commercial

Music underlying the advertisement is the "Walkürenritt" from the beginning of Act III in Richard Wagner's Die Walküre. No guarantee if it will help you put Ikea furniture together though.

"Penny Dreadful" Makes Dorian Gray A Sex-Craved Opera Lover

Nothing comes between a man of eternal youth and his needle: Reeve Carney as Dorian Gray.

"Some of literature's most terrifying characters, including Dr. Frankenstein, Dorian Gray, and iconic figures from the novel Dracula are lurking in the darkest corners of Victorian London. Penny Dreadful is a frightening psychological thriller that weaves together these classic horror origin stories into a new adult drama." [Source] Showtime's latest original series, Penny Dreadful, features some of the best writing, acting, and scenography, in recent television. Creators, John Logan and Sam Mendes, have truly designed a turn-of-the-century atmosphere that encapsulates the British mentality moving away from rationalism into mysticism. One unique trait of the Dorian Gray character is his love of all things sensual, including opera. The audience is treated to several risqué scenes at his mansion where there is generally In flagrante delicto with opera playing for ambience. In one scene, it actually acts as a catalyst for a tête-à-tête with fellow actor Josh Hartnett. Listen to sound clips of the music sampled in the show, read more about the television series, and see some (NSFW) pictures of Dorian Gray's escapades, after the jump.

Christine Goerke Balances Being a Wagnerian Opera Star & Mother

Goerke at home with a picture on the wall featuring her
with the great Wagnerian soprano Birgit Nilsson.
(Photo: Robert Sciarrino/The Star-Ledger)

"Goerke’s world is carefully balanced between her family and her art, which requires frequent travel — this season, to Australia, Spain, Poland and Chicago. And next month, she’ll be local as the artist-in-residence at Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown, N.Y. She has never stayed away longer than 60 days — 'too long' — and video-chats with the girls every day. In her home, past the practice room where sunlight streams through a picture window to a grand piano, opera DVDs share space on living room shelves with Charlie Brown and Barbie. Goerke’s Grammy Award certificate hangs on one wall, framed crayon drawings on another. She is determined that the girls receive music instruction to enrich their lives, but how far they pursue the field is their choice. In general, she sees education as essential as the opera world goes through changes — in her words, people need to know 'that it’s not the kind of thing they think it is.' She describes the rich scores she sings as really great movie soundtracks, the emotional subtext of compelling stories — with incredible voices. 'To hear no microphones, no speakers, just unadulterated, mind-blowing, butt-kicking sound coming right at you is so fierce and it’s so visceral,' she says. 'It’s something everyone should experience once in their life and then, if you don’t like it, I’m okay with it.' The kind of sound that Goerke describes comes to very few people naturally, even if they work as hard as she has. But when she asks her colleagues if she can be heard in the audience over 120-piece orchestras, they laugh. “While some might find that daunting, I finally feel like I don’t have to hold back anymore,” she says. 'I finally feel at home.'" [Source]

"The Flying Dutchman" (aka Robin Van Persie) Scores Big At Cup

"Robin Van Persie has set the bar high. He had to get pretty far off the ground to do it. Anyone who wants to score the most amazing goal of the 2014 World Cup is going to have to best the Dutch striker's high-flying tally against Spain. With the Netherlands trailing the reigning World Cup champions, 1-0, in the 44th minute of a rematch of the 2010 final, Van Persie scored a jaw-dropping goal with his head. Running onto a long pass from teammate Daley Blind, RVP launched himself into the air for a breathtaking, game-tying goal." [Source] The Netherlands went on to defeat Spain. Listen to the overture from Richard Wagner's opera Der fliegende Holländer (The flying Dutchman): 
Watch the spectacular move as RVP flies through the air and look at more pictures of the soccer star, after the jump.

Dairy Queen's Confetti Cake Waffle Cone Inspires Wagnerian Reactions

Christine Goerke Celebrates Dramatic Voice Change

Goerke is all smiles after a four-year absence
from the MET stage, she will return in
Wagner during the 2018-19 season.

"The change, when it came, took her by surprise. 'I noticed it during the run of Alcina at City Opera (in 2003),' Goerke said. 'Handel always felt easy and comfortable, and it didn't feel easy. I went home and told my then-fiance: 'I broke it.' . And it turned out that in fact, my voice was just changing . and I had disconnected from my support, because my voice got so big and I was trying to keep it very slim.' Once she corrected the problem, she said, her voice became 'immediately twice the size, then three times, and my coach said, 'My God, there's still more in there!' It wasn't something that was broken, just something I had to grow into.' At the same time, Goerke was growing into a new personal life. She married her fiance (whom she affectionately refers to as "a tone-deaf construction worker") and had two children, girls now 4 and 7. Her reincarnation as a full-fledged dramatic soprano began when she sang the title role of Strauss' Elektra in Madrid in 2011, a part she has reprised in Chicago and London. But coming back to the Met

The soprano at the beginning
of her career (Photo: Christian Steiner)

was special. Born on Long Island, she had apprenticed with the Met's program for young artists. Her Met debut came in 1995 and she sang there regularly for a while. But since 2004, her only appearances had been in 2009 as the Foreign Princess in Dvorak's Rusalka. 'Singers should never think of a house as a 'home' because it's all business,' Goerke said. 'But this will always be home to me. I grew up here.' Within days of the Frau opening, the Met announced it had signed her to sing Brünnhilde in Wagner's Ring cycle in 2018-19, as well as to appear in Elektra and as Ortrud in Wagner's Lohengrin. Other Ring cycles are on her calendar, including one in Houston. And she's studying new roles, among them Isolde, Lady Macbeth and Cassandra in Berlioz's Les Troyens. And she looks forward to many years of singing at the top of her game. 'It's very rare at 44 to be able to say I'm a baby,' Goerke said. 'It's just at the beginning of where things start to get comfy in this repertoire.'" [Source] Find a fun photo, that may have foreshadowed Christine Goerke's future singing endeavors, after the jump.

Lindsay Ammann Apartment Shops On "House Hunters International"

Season 51, Episode 11: "Till Death Do Us Part, in Stuttgart, Germany" (March 25, 2013) "While Lindsay was singing with the Pittsburgh Opera, she met and fell in love with a young patron named Linas. Shortly after, the love birds flew to his native Lithuania to live with his family and plan their wedding. One week after they tied the knot, the couple was en route to Stuttgart, Germany where Lindsay accepted a job at the city's Opera House. But, before she can begin work, the newlyweds must agree on an apartment that's quiet and close to public transit. With rentals hard to come by, will they be in for marital bliss or property pains? Find out, when House Hunters International takes the stage in Stuttgart, Germany." [Source]

Helen Traubel Singt Brunnhildes Schlussgesang Aus Gotterdammerung

Jane Eaglen Passes On Her Wagner Know-How To Young Singers

Soprano Jane Eaglen with young artist Kirsten Hart

"Who knows where the next great Brunhilde may come from? You might want to keep a sharp eye on Kirsten Hart, a Portland-based singer who is one of twelve singers selected for Wagner Intensive, a unique (July 18-28) institute that Jane Eaglen and Tim Mussard co-direct at Baldwin Wallace University for up-and-coming Wagnierian singers. Hart is one of those young singers who has been flying under the radar. With a Bachelors in music from Pacific University and an Masters of Music from Portland State University, Hart has spent the last few years singing with the Portland Opera Chorus. But now she might be onto something really big." Read the interview here.