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37 MIN READ TIME

The power behind the throne

BACK STAGE New Releases

In 1990, when I visited the home of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf in Zumikon, Switzerland for an extended interview, I mentioned that 1950 seemed to be an annus mirabilis for her voice. Her recorded timbre was never more attractive than in that year, as exemplified in Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni) and Marzelline (Fidelio), recorded at the Salzburg Festival and conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler; the aria ‘Mein gläubiges Herze’ from Bach’s Cantata BWV 68; and Liù’s ‘Signore Ascolta’ from Puccini’s Turandot. To which Dame Elisabeth replied, smiling, ‘Of course! I was in love…’

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Opera Now
March 2017
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FRONT OF HOUSE
Welcome
‘Useful’ can seem a loaded word when it is applied
Feedback
Write to Opera Now, 20 Rugby Street, London, WC1N 3QZ, email opera.now@rhinegold.co.uk or tweet @Operanow. Star letters will receive a free DVD from Opus Arte’s extensive catalogue of world-class opera productions
NEWS & NOTES
ROH COMMISSIONS NEW BENJAMIN OPERA
The Royal Opera House in London has announced the world
INTERNATIONAL OPERA SCHOOL TO LAUNCH IN WALES
Welsh National Opera (WNO) is to establish a fully
OBITUARIES
Nicolai Gedda, who died on on 8 January, had an illustrious
Rough ideas
Robert Thicknesse applauds an initiative that provides a platform for new works-in-progress while testing the idea of what opera can and should be for today’s creators and audiences
Artist of the Month DARWIN LEONARD PRAKASH
A chance encounter with a discerning voice coach prompted Darwin Leonard Prakash to trade in his life as a geology student in India to become a scholarshipwinning singing student in the UK, set for a high-flying career in opera. He tells his story to Amanda Holloway.
MAIN STAGE
Natural born singer
Singing is a family affair for Sophie Bevan, the British soprano whose radiant, versatile voice is proving irresistible to the world’s major opera houses. Robert Thicknesse meets a seriously grounded young singer with innate musicality, a vivacious sense of fun and a fearless onstage presence that makes you feel there is nothing her voice can’t tackle
SONG FEAST
The BBC Cardiff Singer of the World is much more than just a competition. The weeklong event in June feels like an international festival rather than a gladiatorial contest, celebrating the operatic voice in all its many colours. Simon Rees looks forward to this year’s instalment in the Welsh capital
COMPETITIONS DIARY
Opera Now looks ahead to some of this year’s key singing contests around the world
SECRET HELPERS
Jeremy Nicholas throws light on the hidden art of the répétiteur, first-rate pianists and all-round communicators who perform a vital but often unacknowledged role in the opera house
OF REAL USE
English Touring Opera’s education work represents some of the most successful and effective endeavours in this field, yet it receives no public funding. Robert Thicknesse meets Tim Yealland, the unsung hero of ETO’s outreach projects which help, enthuse, entertain and engage with marginalised audiences who might never otherwise have the chance to encounter opera
Legendary Singers
The American baritone Nelson Eddy (1901-1967) is remembered principally as a movie star whose velvety voice and amiable personality charmed filmgoers of the 1930s and ’40s. His onscreen celebrity has largely eclipsed his considerable accomplishments in the field of opera, where he diligently honed his natural talents as a singer
TRAVELS WITH MY OPERA GLASSES
Irrepressible wit, flamboyant fantasy and subversive satire are the flavour of the month for Professor Anthony Ogus, taking the form of Russian whimsy at the opera in Brussels to Gallic effervescence among a group of lively students – in Manchester, of all places
Squillo
MARKET FORCES
Opera Now NEXT ISSUE APRIL 2017
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TRAVEL
FIT FOR A KING
Amanda Holloway visits the Royal Opera House Muscat, Oman’s unique performance venue which blends traditional craftsmanship with bold architectural statements from the country’s ancient past and forward-looking present
THE CRITICAL VIEW
Rusalka Dvořák
Mary Zimmerman’s handsome new production of Rusalka peeks beneath the opera’s fairy-tale Romanticism, exploring its Freudian dimension. The storytelling is clear; missing is the pathos of the water nymph who gives up everything for love of a mortal Prince
Prototype Festival
New York’s fifth annual Prototype Festival, a key source
Tancredi Rossini
This early Rossini opera seria (1813) is dramaturgically creaky, but it has some splendid music, and numerous opportunities for the three principals to display their pyrotechnical skill
The Snow Maiden Rimsky-Korsakov
Here’s a real rarity: Opera North launched its winter season of fairy-tale operas with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s 1881 setting of a traditional Russian folk tale, Snegurochka (The Snow Maiden). This was a polished performance of a neglected gem, with a glittering score that deserves more recognition
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London, to its shame, couldn’t rustle up a full Wigmore
Lohengrin Wagner
Will he or won’t he? Any arguments over the ‘new production’ status of Claus Guth’s staging – first seen, in fact, at La Scala in 2012 – were upstaged by doubts over Jonas Kaufmann appearing in the title role
City focus Paris
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City focus Florence
At the Opera di Firenze, director Bruno Ravella adapted
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NEW RELEASES CDs, DVDs & Blu-ray
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BOOKS
BEING WAGNER:THE TRIUMPH OF THE WILL
BACK STAGE
SPOT LIGHT
GUIDE TO NEW PRODUCTIONS & OPERA HIGHLIGHTS MAY-MAY 2017
EPILOGUE
24.Spirit with songs set by Purcell and Vaughan Williams
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