Frederika Von Stade

[Racketjock]

Famous soprano who has performed all over the world among and as one of the greats with over 70 albums to her credit is currently out on her final farewell tour. Caught her show recently with Samuel Ramy on hand also doing some solo and duets. She is one of the greats with a beautiful voice. The program was varied and a mixture of things she loves to sing. A great show if she is coming to your neck of the woods.

[+ Charlie]

Flicka was always a joy to watch and to listen to. My favorite memory of her is in "Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria" many years ago in NYC--the final scene was magical.

[body2body]

It was my great pleasure to see Ms. Von Stade in "The Barber of Seville" where her abilitiy as a comic actress was as welcome as her splendid singing. In 1994 I saw her in Jonathan Miller's production of "Der Rosankavalier" where she was a believable Octavian. She is a true singing actress.

[+ sf westcoaster]

Living in San Francisco I have had the opportunity to hear Flicka many times. She also lives in this area and has been extremely generous with her time and talent in helping a wide variety of charities. Not only is she a splended singer but she is a wondeful human being. At one time I gave tours of the SF Opera House and Flicka was one of the very few stars who would take the time to chat with us. When I asked the staff at the Opera House about her, there was nothing but praise and nice things said - unlike what the staff had to say about some other super stars.

[whipped guy]

When I asked the staff at the Opera House about her, there was nothing but praise and nice things said...

Good to hear that the phrase "Flicka and Friends" rings true!

 

...unlike what the staff had to say about some other super stars.[/Quote]Perhaps that might be an "interesting" topic for a different thread...

[+ purplekow]

Good to hear that the phrase "Flicka and Friends" rings true!

Probably from My Friend Flicka

[whipped guy]

Friendly Flicka!

 

Probably from My Friend Flicka

I would assume so! I think the phrase became associated with her 20 years ago when there was a Live from Lincoln Center that is/was available on video titled "Flicka and Friends: From Rossini to Showboat"... and of course she will be honored next week by the MET Opera Guild with the event being entitled "Flicka and Friends - A Loving Tribute". I guess it pay to be friendly... and to be nicknamed Flicka too boot!

 

At any rate, this thread got me to load her recording of Rossini's Otello into my iPod where as the friendly Desdemona she get done in by Jose Carreras.

[+ Charlie]

I haven't listened to that recording in years; maybe I'll pull it out, too.

[whipped guy]

I finally got around to listening to this other Otello. Shoot! Flicka is fabulous... spot on coloratura and dramatically involved so that we really feel for poor Desdemona. Add the young Carreras into the mix... and a couple of trills aside he actually could sing all the little notes required back then... Also, the young Sam Ramey when his voice was steady... it made me wish his role was a lot bigger. Well, nothing much about the Bard's version until the final act... but still a good show! Not as riveting as Verdi's take, but is there a more beautiful pair of bel canto arias than Desdemona's Willow Song and Prayer? And surely Schubert had the prayer in the back of his mind when composing the second movement of his Unfinished Symphony.

[+ Charlie]

I finally got around to listening to this recording yesterday. I found it hard to believe that it was 33 years old--it must have been almost that long since I last listened to it. It is so different from the Shakespeare version that I had to read the synopsis to be sure I was listening to the right story. There is gorgeous music in it, and the performance is excellent, but I probably won't listen to it again for many years, because it just doesn't grab me emotionally; I have to admit that I have never been a big Rossini fan, although I have tried to give most of his operas at least one try. What I find particularly difficult in this one is the lack of variety in voices: three of the four male principals are tenors, and at times von Stade and Condo sound so much alike that, in their interchanges, I'm not sure which one is singing without looking at the libretto. I'm not surprised that it fell out of the repertory after Verdi took on the subject.

[whipped guy]

It is so different from the Shakespeare version that I had to read the synopsis to be sure I was listening to the right story. ...What I find particularly difficult in this one is the lack of variety in voices: three of the four male principals are tenors... I'm not surprised that it fell out of the repertory after Verdi took on the subject.

Well 33 years ago I re-read the Shakespeare play just prior to listening... and it was all for naught as the first two acts really have very little to do with the Bard's version... Let's say that Rossini's Rodrigo is a conflation of Casio and Roderigo, and Iago while a villain is not quite as devious. Also, since the opera stays in Venice for all three acts one feels the aura of Shakespeare's first act throughout the entire piece... Only in the last act with its Willow Song and murder-suicide does Shakespeare come through with flying colors.

 

Is Verdi’s opera better? Certainly as an operatic representation of the original it is much better. In fact I think it is an improvement on the play! However, taken on it own terms Rossini’s version is quite an enjoyable opera in its own right. While the multiple tenor thing is not what developed into the operatic norm… in Naples at the time there was a tenor craze… a sort of precursor to the Three Tenor concerts of a decade ago. Also, the tenors available today are more adept in such music than was the case three decades ago… Opera Orchestra of New York did the piece several seasons ago and had a baritonal tenor for Otello, a light high tenor for Rodrigo, and a brash sounding tenor for Iago… and it all made better musical as well as dramatic sense.

[adriano46]

Living in San Francisco I have had the opportunity to hear Flicka many times. She also lives in this area and has been extremely generous with her time and talent in helping a wide variety of charities. Not only is she a splended singer but she is a wondeful human being. At one time I gave tours of the SF Opera House and Flicka was one of the very few stars who would take the time to chat with us. When I asked the staff at the Opera House about her, there was nothing but praise and nice things said - unlike what the staff had to say about some other super stars.

 

I may age myself here -- I saw a very young Frederika at the Vienna Staatsopera some 30 plus years ago when she first began singing the her famous role in "Das Rosenkavelier" - one of the most memorable nighs at the opera I ever had.