Mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey Is Officially Married

The Newlyweds
(Photo: Meghan McMackin/NY Times)

"Kate Lindsey, a daughter of Nancy R. Lindsey and the Rev. Richard H. Lindsey Jr. of Richmond, Va., was married Saturday afternoon to Landon John Jones, a son of Cathryn M. Jones and Martin J. Jones of Carbon, Iowa. Ms. Lindsey, 30, is keeping her name. She is a mezzo-soprano who this year sang the role of Nicklausse in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann at the Metropolitan Opera, with which she is a principal artist and where later this year she is to appear as Hansel in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel. In June, she sang in Mozart’s Idomeneo at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris. She graduated from Indiana University. The couple met in April 2010 when Dr. Jones, far from an opera buff, agreed to play tour guide to Ms. Lindsey, then preparing to perform in the title role of the Seattle Opera’s Amelia, a new work. He did so only as a favor to his best friend, who also happened to be Ms.

Lindsey in Amelia
at Seattle Opera.

Lindsey’s sister-in-law. 'I had been to an opera in Houston,' he said. 'It was three hours, and it couldn’t be over soon enough.' After he and Ms. Lindsey had gone on two platonic hiking trips, Dr. Jones could not get her out of his head. 'I’m getting flyers of the Amelia opera in the mail,' he remembered. 'I’m seeing her face everywhere on posters.' When she opened in Amelia that May, he decided to give opera another chance, and then built up the courage to ask her a few days later to go on a kayaking date with him. 'It was our first real date,' he said." [Source]

Sumi Jo, Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Lara Fabian Close Festival

The trio rocking out "La Melodia" 

Baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky was joined by soprano Sumi Jo and Belgian pop star Lara Fabian for the final concert of New Wave 2011, which is an international competition for young singers. The concert, celebrating its 10th anniversary, was recorded live for television on July 31, 2011, at the "Dzintari" concert hall in Jūrmala, Latvia. Conductor Constantine Orbelian led the Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Choir. There are plans for a new concert program that will begin at the Kremlin in Moscow beginning in October 2012 with Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Russian producer/composer Igor Krutoy. For more information about New Wave 2011, click here.

BONUS: Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Lara Fabian in rehearsal for the big closing show of New Wave 2011:

Google Includes "Operetta" Episode in 100th Celebration

One piece of jewelry can turn
a funny lady into a serious diva.

"Lucille Ball may have been born 100 years ago today, but her jokes are timeless. Having grown up with the comedic genius of I Love Lucy, it’s hard to believe that Lucy, Desi, Fred, and Ethel wrapped up the initial series in 1957. Lucy’s creativity, absurdity, and ever-changing facial expressions (especially when she was scarfing down candy, stomping on grapes or touting a new energy drink) have brought joy and laughter to generations of viewers. We’re incredibly happy to celebrate her birthday with a doodle to highlight her brilliant career as an actress and businesswoman. Through the old-timey TV live on the google.com homepage all day on August 6th, you can flip the six channels for a special Lucy broadcast. Happy birthday, Lucy — we still love you!" [Source]

To celebrate, Google has created a doodle on their homepage that is actually a television set which the user can turn the knob to watch different clips of the funniest moments from the show's history. One of the clips featured is from episode #38 titled The Operetta that originally aired on October 13, 1952. What can only be described as Carmen meets Il Trovatore meets The Mikado (even Wagner's "Wedding March" from Lohengrin has a cameo...), a hilarious plot ensues and Ethel (Vivian Vance) gets to show off some of her singing chops.

Plot: The Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League wants to stage an operetta to celebrate the club's 25th anniversary. Unfortunately, club treasurer Lucy Ricardo has pilfered some of the club funds -- so she writes an original operetta for them to perform. Lucy and Ethel decide to write an operetta, and Lucy pays for the costumes and scenery with a post-dated check. Meanwhile, Ethel and Ricky convince the chorus to enter whenever Lucy, playing "Camille- Queen of the Gypsies", starts to sing. The performance includes such ditties as: "We're the Pleasant Peasant Girls;" "Lily of the Valley;" I Am the Good Prince Lancelot;" "Queen of the Gyosies" and "We Are the Troops of the King." [Source]

Watch the full episode by clicking here. Check out a complete biography of Lucille Ball here.

Side-by-Side: Renée Fleming Sings "Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém"

Kathleen Battle Sings Purcell in 1982 Canadian Recital Debut

"I attempt from love's sickness to fly"
"Sweeter than roses"
"Man is for the woman made"

Kathleen Battle's 1982 Canadian debut recital at Pollack Hall in Montreal.
Lawrence Skrobacs, pianist.

Kenneth Lonergan's Film "Margaret" Will Feature Opera

"Eleven years after his heralded first film, You Can Count on Me, director Kenneth Lonergan’s sophomore effort is finally going to be released. Margaret, the story of 'a 17-year-old New York City high-school student who feels certain that she inadvertently played a role in a traffic accident that has claimed a woman’s life,' will receive a limited-platform release on Sept. 30, according to Fox Searchlight. Filmed in 2005 with an eclectic cast that includes Matt Damon, Anna Paquin, Mark Ruffalo, Allison Janney, and Matthew Broderick, the movie has been stuck in limbo after Lonergan initially submitted a three-plus hour cut that was deemed unreleasable by the studio. Dueling lawsuits were filed in 2009, and several high-profile Hollywood powerbrokers were recruited to mediate the dispute and persuade the director to deliver a shorter, more commercial film. Fans of the actors and Lonergan, who has also cowritten films such as Gangs of New York, will be eager to see on Sept. 30 what ultimately made the released version — so they can then speculate about what did not." [Source]

The film is rumored to have lots of opera, but only one clip is confirmed: "Belle nuit, ô nuit d'amour" from Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann sung by Renée Fleming and Susan Graham. There is one scene when mother Joan (J. Smith-Cameron) and daughter Lisa (Anna Paquin) attend the opera and the event becomes quite emotional. No word on whether this is where Offenbach fits in the film.

[Source, Source]

Happy Birthday: Gabriella Tucci

"Signora ascolta"
Turandot (Puccini)

"Soprano Gabriella Tucci was born August 4, 1929, in Rome, Italy. She trained at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia with Leonardo Filoni, whom she later married. She made her debut at Spoleto, as Leonora in La forza del destino, opposite Beniamino Gigli, in 1951. She then took part in the famous revival of Cherubini's Medea, as Glauce, opposite Maria Callas, in Florence, in 1953. She made her debut at La Scala in Milan in 1959, as Mimi in La bohème. The following year saw her debuts at both the Royal Opera House in London, as Aida, and at the Metropolitan Opera, as Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly. She sang at the Metropolitan Opera until 1972, other roles included: Euridice, Marguerite, Leonora in both Il trovatore and La forza del destino, Maria Boccanegra/Amelia, Violetta, Aida, Desdemona, Alice Ford, Mimi, etc. Tucci also appeared in Vienna, Berlin, and Buenos Aires. She traveled with the La Scala Opera to Moscow and Tokyo, performances that have been documented in live recordings. A versatile singer and an accomplished actress, Tucci was able to tackle a wide range of roles

"Qui Radamès verrà...O cieli azzurri"
Aida (Verdi)

from bel canto to verismo, singing Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Elvira in I puritani, Gilda in Rigoletto, Violetta in La traviata, and Marguerite in Faust, as well as Maddalena in Andrea Chénier and the title role in Tosca. Tucci made only two commercial recordings, Pagliacci in 1959, opposite Mario del Monaco, and Il trovatore in 1964, opposite Franco Corelli, but can be heard in a number of live performances, including Cherubini's Medea and Donizetti's Il Furioso al Isola di Santo Domingo." [Source]

Coffee Break: Scandinavian Dreams

"Var det en dröm?" by Sibelius

Hear other artists perform this work after the jump.

"Summit of the Stars": Netrebko, Schrott and Kaufmann in Munich

They came, they sang, they conquered. The opera trio performed to a crowd of 15,000 who were willing to pay ticket prices up to $500 for tickets. There was beer and champagne, as well as pretzels and steak. The open-air concert managed to avoid the rains as well. Read a summation here: "Opernstars aus Russland, Uruguay und Bayern, dazu ein tschechisches Orchester mit italienischem Dirigenten: Es geht international zu beim "Gipfeltreffen der Stars.' Bunt gemischt ist auch das Programm, das Sopranistin Anna Netrebko, Bassbariton Erwin Schrott und Tenor Jonas Kaufmann am Freitagabend in München bei ihrem ersten gemeinsamen Auftritt präsentieren: Opern- und Operettenmelodien aus drei Jahrhunderten - von Mozart über Verdi und Gounod bis hin zu Gershwin und Tauber. Obwohl die vor den klassizistischen Propyläen aufgebaute Bühne 38 mal 16 Meter misst, ist sie dicht gefüllt. Mehr als 100 Musiker bevölkern das Podium: Die drei Opernstars

Happy Birthday: Gundula Janowitz

"Ozean, du Ungeheur!"
Oberon (Weber)

Lyric soprano Gundula Janowitz was born August 2, 1937, in Berlin, Germany. During her career she was known for her varied repertoire in operas, oratorios and concerts, during the 1960s and 1970s. Janowitz grew up in Graz, Austria, where she became a naturalized Austrian. She studied at the Graz Conservatory in Austria, and had already begun to sing at the highest level by the end of the 1950s (Haydn's The Creation, with Herbert von Karajan in 1960). In 1959, Karajan engaged her as Barbarina in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro at the Vienna State Opera, of which she became a permanent member in 1962. In the 1960s and 1970s, she became one of the most popular singers in her field internationally and she developed a comprehensive and widely-followed discography of works ranging from Johann Sebastian Bach to Richard Strauss, in cooperation with the most prominent conductors (her mentor at times,

"Gerechter Gott! So ist's entschieden
schon" Rienzi (Wagner)

Karajan, as well as Otto Klemperer, Eugen Jochum, Leonard Bernstein, Rafael Kubelík, Karl Böhm, Georg Solti, Carlos Kleiber, etc.). One of the emphases of Janowitz's work was the development of song recitals, which she gave several times at the Salzburg Festivals. Following her vocal career, she was active as a vocal teacher. In 1990, she temporarily took over the position of Opera Director in Graz. In 1978, Gundula Janowitz was awarded the Joseph Marx Music Prize of the state of Styria, Austria, named for the composer, Joseph Marx. Janowitz appeared on many of the great stages of the world, including Glyndebourne Festival Opera, the Salzburg Easter Festivals, the Metropolitan Opera, the Paris Opéra, the Royal Opera House. She was made a Kammersängerin in 1970. In 1973, she sang the part of the Countess in a now

"Du bist der Ruh" (Schubert)

legendary new production of Le nozze di Figaro (with Georg Solti as conductor, Giorgio Strehler as director and Ezio Frigerio as set designer). Her farewell premiere was at the Vienna State Opera in the title role of Gluck's Iphigénie en Aulide (with Charles Mackerras as conductor, Claus Helmut Drese as director, and Hans Schavernoch as set designer). Janowitz made her official farewell from the stage in 1990. Gundula Janowitz's voice is distinguished by its very bright, pure, crystalline, tremolo-free sound with tight, rapid vibrato, and by her even breathing technique. She kept her youthful, angelic tone and freshness well into her mature years. Like her predecessors, Elisabeth Grümmer and Maria Stader, who had similar timbre to hers, and like her contemporary, Elizabeth Harwood, Janowitz mastered first and foremost the high and middle register and lyrical-emotional expression. Despite her comparatively weak sound projection, she occasionally performed in dramatic roles (Sieglinde, Leonore, Elsa) or comic roles

"Im Abendrot" Vier letzte lieder
(Richard Strauss)

(Marzelline, Rosalinde), but she was most highly regarded as Fiordiligi, Countess Almaviva, Pamina, Agathe, Arabella, Ariadne, the Angel Gabriel (The Creation), and Countess Madeleine, and in sacred music. She was also a leading interpreter of Richard Strauss Four Last Songs. With a few exceptions, she avoided foreign-language roles (although recordings exist of her singing Don Carlos and Verdi's Requiem and all three Mozart/DaPonte operas in Italian). An excerpt of her portrayal of the Figaro Countess in a duet with Swiss soprano Edith Mathis features prominently in the 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption. [Source]

"Misera dove son!...Ah, non son io che parlo" K.369 (Mozart)


"Ah, lo previdi" Recitative, K.272 (Mozart)

"Ah, t'invola agl'occhi miei" Aria, K.272 (Mozart)

Caricaturist Sam Norkin Passes Away at Age 94

The artist once captured Franco Corelli,
Birgit Nisson and Leopold Stokowski in
the opera production of Turandot.

"Sam Norkin, a caricaturist and illustrator who created more than 4,000 published drawings that captured moments in theater, dance, opera, jazz, pop and classical music over seven decades, has died. He was 94. Publicist Lester Schecter says Norkin died Saturday in New York. From 1940 to 1956, Norkin's illustrations were featured in the New York Herald Tribune. During the next 26 years, he covered performing arts for the New York Daily News. His art appeared in newspapers in cities where shows made their debuts, including The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Toronto Star. He also was a member of the Drama Desk Board for more than 40 years and served as its president. An annual special award has been named in his memory." [Source]

LOC Rehires Development Officer to Aid Fleming Initiative

Mr. Jabin: Gladly accepting
your financial donation.

"Christopher Jabin has been appointed Lyric Opera of Chicago’s director of institutional giving. 'We are very pleased to welcome Chris Jabin back to Lyric in this important capacity. His experience and knowledge in the development field will be key as we raise additional funds to implement new initiatives and programs,' said Mary L. Selander, director of development. Starting in the new position on September 7, Jabin will focus on securing new revenues from nationally-based funding sources. Lyric’s goal is to augment funding for special projects such as the Renée Fleming Initiative, and expanded education and community engagement programs – a priority for Lyric’s

Renée Fleming & Sir Andrew Davis

incoming general director, Anthony Freud. Jabin is currently executive vice president, development of the John G. Shedd Aquarium, where he has worked since 2001. Previously he served as director of development for the Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art. Jabin began his career at Lyric Opera of Chicago in the late 1980s as an assistant director of development." [Source]

Australia's 2011 Helpmann Award-Winners Announced

"The annual Helpmann Awards® recognise distinguished artistic achievement and excellence in the many disciplines of Australia's vibrant live performance sectors, including musical theatre, contemporary music, comedy, opera, classical music, theatre, dance and physical theatre. The Helpmann Awards also incorporates the JC Williamson Award for outstanding contribution to the Australian live performance industry. The Helpmann Awards®, named in honour of Sir Robert Helpmann and to commemorate his memory and achievements, were established in 2001 by Live Performance Australia (LPA) to recognise, celebrate and promote our live performance industry, similar to the Tony Awards on Broadway and the Olivier Awards in London. The principal objective of LPA in establishing the Awards is to nationally and internationally serve and promote the Australian live performance industry by:
- recognising distinguished artistic achievement and excellence
- ensuring the Awards are administered and produced with integrity
- ensuring the Awards are celebrated by the industry and the Australian community
- ensuring the Awards are the most prestigious awards in the industry and the highlight of each Season." [Source]

Nominees this season included (pictured above left to right): Rinat Shaham, Rachel Durkin, Emma Matthews and Patricia Racette. A complete list of this year's nominees (and winners) by category is after the jump.

Lauren Ambrose Hit High Notes Before Making it Big on TV

The actress, most well-known for her portrayal of Claire Fisher on HBO's Six Feet Under, is currently taking on the role of Jilly Kitzinger in Torchwood: Miracle Day on Starz. Turns out she has quite a musical background as well: "A former voice and opera student at Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Ambrose sings pop standards with Leisure Class, her seven-piece combo of musicians based in the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts, where she lives with her family: photographer Sam Handel, whom she wed in 2001, and their 4-year-old son, Orson." [Source]

Racette and Terfel Team Up Again for "Tosca" at Ravinia Festival

Maestro Conlon leads Racette and Licitra
(Photo: Patrick Gipson/Ravinia Festival)

"The trio of leads included two-thirds of the spring Metropolitan Opera cast from the Luc Bondy production that continues to stoke controversy in opera circles. At the core was a gripping, seething portrayal of the loathsome Scarpia by Bryn Terfel. The Welsh bass-baritone assumed a more static stage presence than the other cast members, yet he effortlessly commanded the full attention of a captivated audience with malevolent, coiled-spring intensity. His depiction of the sadistic police chief evolved from calm, confident brutality to wounded, vengeful fury, all evinced without bellowing or bombast. Italian tenor Salvatore Licitra has been well received at the Met and elsewhere for his idiomatic, dulcet-toned Cavaradossi. In this reading there was a hint of grain in a few top notes, as well as scenes in which he seemed needlessly risk-averse. On the whole his warm and ardent portrayal earned hearty and well-deserved kudos from his grateful admirers. Soprano Patricia Racette has also scored triumphs with leading companies in the title role, and her absorbing performance Saturday affirmed her status as a leading Tosca of our time. She wasn’t as vocally dazzling as some who have personified the celebrated singer and jealous lover, but she brought an honest dignity to a role often overwrought by helpless despair." [Source]

Deborah Voigt: Alcoholism, Obesity, Suicide Despair, Vocal Decline

Opera singer Deborah Voigt has collaborated with playwright Terrence McNally, director Francesca Zambello and pianist Kevin Stites, to create an autobiographical one-woman show titled "Voigt Lessons" which features 18 pieces of music to accompany her timeline. It premiered on last Friday at the Glimmerglass Festival. All the below excerpts are from the New York Times. Read the full article here.

The dramatic soprano singing in 2009.

"Though keeping the timeline a little vague, Ms. Voigt spoke courageously of suicidal despair, alcohol abuse and a low point of her life, when she 'jumped into a bottle and went into a 35-hour blackout.” That is long enough, she said, 'to fly around the world' or 'to sing two Ring cycles,' referring to Wagner’s epic four-opera Ring des Nibelungen, in which she has been appearing at the Metropolitan Opera. Ms. Voigt shared with her audience what she called the eight words that saved her life: 'My name is Debbie, and I’m an alcoholic.' She followed this admission with an elegantly unsentimental account of the pop standard 'Smile' ('Smile though your heart is aching')."

Carnegie Hall in 2004.

"About halfway through the program Ms. Voigt said that up to that point she had been avoiding the subject of 'fatness,' a condition she likened to an expletive. Before she underwent surgery, Ms. Voigt said, she was not 'full-figured' or 'Junoesque' or 'heavyset.' She was fat. At her worst, her weight hit 333 pounds, three digits she will never forget, she said."

Richard Tucker Gala 1992.

"In recent years some critics and opera buffs have noted with concern that Ms. Voigt’s voice is becoming brighter, a little hard-edged and less warm. Toward the end of 'Voigt Lessons' she acknowledged that her voice is changing in its colors and texture. But she feels good, she said; she is comfortable in her body and with her singing."

One confusing section in the NYTimes piece describes the soprano's desire to sing her first aria, but the author makes it unclear whether she only was mistaken about the aria not being in her fach or did she also think it was from the opera Tosca rather than Turandot: "In her youth Ms. Voigt was not really an opera fan, she said. When she finally enrolled at California State University at Fullerton, to study with a voice professor, Jane Paul, she arrived at her first lesson hoping to sing an absolutely beautiful aria she had come upon: 'Nessun dorma' from Puccini’s Tosca. Ms. Paul explained that this was a tenor aria. Well, in 'Voigt Lessons,' Ms. Voigt sang it, an exuberant performance that drew a rousing ovation from the delighted audience."

Deborah Voigt during the rehearsals of Annie Get Your Gun at Glimmerglass 2011.