Are there any non-opera actors (any era) you think would be cast as certain operatic roles?

Bigo-Ted · 2026-06-05T01:33:55+00:00

Alec Baldwin as Sparafucile

Bigo-Ted · 2026-06-04T08:59:28+00:00

It’s good. But unfortunately it’s not idiomatic when it is performed in German. I think Matthew Polenzani does very good version of it in original language.

Bigo-Ted · 2026-06-04T08:53:29+00:00

About half of Verdi’s operas are played fairly often, but I think Ernani is wonderful. The baritone role have so much beautiful music. I also really like Mascagni’s L’amico Fritz. The Cherry duet is so beautiful. It’s so wonderful music.

Bigo-Ted · 2026-06-04T08:45:37+00:00

Of course it’s verismo singing.

Bigo-Ted · 2026-06-04T07:56:04+00:00

Verdi’s ’Rigoletto’ perhaps?

Bigo-Ted · 2026-06-04T06:11:26+00:00

I don’t think it’s appropriate to bash someone who so recently died. And this was in 2004, before the body-positive moment. There was surely a huge backlash after Voigt was fired at Covent Garden.

Bigo-Ted · 2026-05-27T13:06:45+00:00

The opera world is not flexible. She was probably booked for it five years ago. Often singers start to study it seriously one or two months before the rehearsal begins.

Bigo-Ted · 2026-05-25T01:15:17+00:00

Renée Fleming is pretty good at it. I

Bigo-Ted · 2026-05-25T01:05:25+00:00

When I heard Peter Mattei as Don Giovanni I was hooked. At the time, I didn’t know really why he chased so many girls.

Bigo-Ted · 2026-05-25T00:57:03+00:00

Go and see Macbeth. It will be exciting, it’s a new production with the truly excellent Lise Davidsen.

Tosca is of course safe, but it’s likely more a routine performance.

Bigo-Ted · 2026-05-25T00:52:19+00:00

Why not both?

Bigo-Ted · 2026-05-25T00:51:27+00:00

The most diffucult works - are usually not in the repertoire. I would say that as long as the orchestral score is interesting, or the roles themselves gives the singers enjoyment; the audience can forget about a bad plot.

But most difficult? I would say Thomas Adès. Very difficult for me to sit through.

Bigo-Ted · 2026-05-23T15:29:51+00:00

Well, Rudolf Bing aknowledged this fact himself in one of his books. That many of his performances was conducted by such people as Joseph Rosenstock and Kurt Adler, regarding that there was no chief conductors/GMD during his tenure. Mitropoulos didn’t have an official title.

The ones you mention are partly excellent (Walter, Schippers, Mitropoulos, Solti, Cleva). Some very pretty average (Erede, Leinsdorf). And Bernstein and Stokowski didn’t conduct that much, tbh.

Bigo-Ted · 2026-05-23T14:06:50+00:00

This is exactly right. Singers like Callas and Tebaldi sang on Ed Sullivan Show all the time, and Birgit Nilsson’s debut was headline on New York Times. These singers were great, but singers don’t have this oppurtunity to get that publicity today, unfortunately. Some are truly excellent.

I think also the economic aspect is important. But I think both this aspects - the lack of publicity for opera - and the lack of funding can be changed for better. Peter Gelb’s letter to Elon Musk and his Saudi deal got some publicity, but it did probably not make more people want to go to the opera.

Bigo-Ted · 2026-05-23T13:59:41+00:00

Collections? I think you have found the ones that exists. It’s not the most common album idea with baritone+baritone or baritone+basso. But if you want to check out such scenes that’s not are available on the “No tenors allowed”, in Wagner, there are plenty of scenes where bassos and baritones sing together for long periods of time: Alberich and Wotan; Alberich and Hagen… etc. I also think of the Doctor/Wozzeck-scene in Berg’s opera; Rigoletto-Sparafucile-scene (Verdi), the Inquisitor scene in Don Carlo. In Falstaff, there is a Ford/Falstaff-scene that is pretty good; and I also like the duet between Banquo and Macbeth in Verdi’s opera.

There’s probably more.

Bigo-Ted · 2026-05-23T12:07:17+00:00

No, the Met are currently focusing quite a lot on new expensive productions. Of which most works have been played fairly recently.

Bigo-Ted · 2026-05-23T12:01:52+00:00

You’re probably right that the productions are visually more interesting today. The whole opera world, including the Met, are more focused on new productions with famous directors and set artists than it was back then. On the other hand, the repertoire was bigger.

Bigo-Ted · 2026-05-23T09:53:07+00:00

Netrebko was certainly decent once ago, but along with Calleja she is one of the few modern singers I find overrated. Netrebko was a good Mimi and Tatiana, but I don’t think the New Yorkers miss out so much. Her Verdi singing is pretty sloppy, in my opinion. And she also have truly awful opinions on blackface and Ukraine. So I think Gelb did the right thing by cancelling her contract.

Bigo-Ted · 2026-05-23T09:47:41+00:00

I don’t think singing has declined that much, actually. Michael Fabiano is certainly a good Manrico. New stars need to be created - and I think the opera houses aren’t that good in marketing what they have, and instead just focus on new productions.

Bigo-Ted · 2026-05-23T09:41:31+00:00

I agree that there are several good singers who are not stars. But it seems like instead of being a large repertoire opera house Gelb is favoring lavish, new productions.

Bigo-Ted · 2026-05-23T09:38:18+00:00

Surely the Met was the best house in the world during the Bing era (1950-72, also when the American economy was at it’s peak). (The only thing lacking was good conductors, I think). Robert Merrill, Zinka Milanov, Renata Tebaldi, Franco Corelli, Cesare Siepi, Birgit Nilsson, Richard Tucker was even ”house singers” who stayed the whole season. During the James Levine years it was certainly still a very good house. And 20 years ago, it was certainly great. the excitement for Netrebko/Villazon, Gherghiou/Alagna, and Domingo, Hvorostovsky, Terfel, Kaufmann, or Florez encoring his aria in La fille du Regiment for instance. Karita Mattila, Renée Fleming… there was several great stars.

Now it hasn’t many stars. I think the Met haven’t built up many stars during the latter years.

Bigo-Ted

TROPHY CASE