One for the opera queens

[sydneyboy]

This is one for the opera queens and others for that matter. The conductor Andrea Battistoni. http://www.andreabattistoni.it Do conductors ever get cuter than this?

[tyro]

Like the hair, brows, and eyes.

I've always thought Cleveland's Franz Welser-Most was hot. But then, I have weird taste.

T

[adriano46]

Quite an exception to most conductors. Very easy on the eyes.

[Bargara Leatherboy]

Very cute

[Bosguy]

Very nice looking young man and so young for his profession (26) Keith Lockhart, conductor of the Boston Pops since 1998, is a handsome man at 54, but I think he was so Hot when he first took over from John Williams.

 

Boston Bill

[whipped guy]

I have not heard his work, but for his age he already has quite an impressive biography having been the youngest person to conduct at La Scala and the Arena di Verona. The reviews that I read seem to indicate that he is a talent to watch. Indeed, that he was praised for his interpretations of Rossini's Barbiere and Verdi's Otello seem to indicate that he already has a grip on the meat of the Italian opera repertory.

 

Si! È molto carino! (Yes! He is very cute.)

[uwsman2]

Very cute - also, check out Heras-Cassado, who debuted at the Met this year conducting Rigoletto.

[whipped guy]

Since we are naming others... I find thirty-something Italian conductor Michele Mariotti to be quite attractive as well. He is featured in a number of recent operatic DVDs.

 

However, he is not to be confused with beach tennis player Mariotti Michele who is HOT!

[foxy]

Love this! Watched all the videos. Incredibly cute and so talented. The hair OMG!

[TruHart1]

This is one for the opera queens and others for that matter. The conductor Andrea Battistoni. http://www.andreabattistoni.it Do conductors ever get cuter than this?

 

Truly a beautiful boy, Sydneyboy! Since my taste runs to a bit more maturity I put forth the Italian conductor/coach Leonardo Vordoni, who happens to be married to the great mezzo Joyce DiDonato. He seems to have all those mature, Italian sexy qualities I find so attractive in a man!

 

http://www.leonardovordoni.com

 

TruHart1

[hornytwells]

Well he is not married to her anymore, they are going through a divorce…….

[whipped guy]

Yes he is cute, but I was more concerned if there was any talent as well. Having read the reviews earlier, I just got around to watching the videos. I loved the way that he milked "O patria oppressa" for all that it was worth. Even better, he milked the slow introduction to the overture to Semiramide for all that it was worth as well, as many conductors simply gloss over it. Of course he pulled out all the stops in the allegro and even followed the critical edition as opposed to many conductors who have the trombones double the bass line at certain points in the score. I like a conductor who trusts the composer to create the desired effect as opposed to going for a cheap thrill.

 

Finally, I liked the sound of his voice as he introduced the Mendelssohn excerpt. I also liked his Italian... a way with the Italian language that I associate with the area around Verona... and low and behold he hails from that town!

 

I look forward to following his career. Thanks to sydneyboy for bringing him to my attention!!

[sydneyboy]

My pleasure. I too will be keeping a close eye on his career.

[TruHart1]

Well he is not married to her anymore, they are going through a divorce…….

 

I am sorry to hear that it did not work out. It would seem to be almost impossible to manage a relationship like theirs. A world-class diva and a conductor --- the separate careers alone would make the union quite difficult to maintain. I cannot find any information online about the separation or divorce, though. Both their managements must be impressive at keeping private matters for their clients under wraps. Thanks for the info horny!

 

TruHart1

[hornytwells]

it is not entirely unknown info, otherwise I wouldn't have mentioned it, but yes it is sad it didn't work out

[+ Charlie]

I am sorry to hear that it did not work out. It would seem to be almost impossible to manage a relationship like theirs. A world-class diva and a conductor --- the separate careers alone would make the union quite difficult to maintain. I cannot find any information online about the separation or divorce, though. Both their managements must be impressive at keeping private matters for their clients under wraps. Thanks for the info horny!

 

TruHart1

 

Dickie and Joan managed it (well, OK, he wasn't really world class).

[whipped guy]

Dickie and Joan managed it (well, OK, he wasn't really world class).

Well, "Dickie" did have a certain talent. Still, I always winder what might have been if the Mrs. had worked with really talented world class conductors on a regular basis.

[sydneyboy]

If she had not met "dickie'' she would not have spent a career singing those daffy coloratura dames from the silliest period of opera.

[TruHart1]

Dickie and Joan managed it (well, OK, he wasn't really world class).

 

Well it was a pretty well-known fact that Mr. Bonynge swung both ways and tended to enjoy the boys quite a bit as he matured, at least that was the gossip back then!

 

TruHart1

[TruHart1]

If she had not met "dickie'' she would not have spent a career singing those daffy coloratura dames from the silliest period of opera.

 

So true. LOL! She would have graduated to cover/dramatic house-soprano at Covent Garden, singing mostly spinto roles, a few Wagnerian forays and never really having a world-class career.

 

TruHart1

[sydneyboy]

TruHart1

 

In late 1976 there was a fire in warehouse containing the sets for Opera Australia productions. The 1977 season was a makeshift affair with what was salvaged from the fire, borrowed productions and a couple of new productions. Joan in that season sang the lead in ''Suor Angelica'', off the beaten track for her. I have never in 40 years of opera going heard an audience reaction like she received at the final curtain. The cheers, foot stamping and bravos nearly blew the sails off the roof of the Opera House. Many a critic described her performance as fantastic and there was a lot of questioning about her conventional repertoire.

[whipped guy]

First I must state that I absolutely love with and am fascinated by Bel Canto opera. I have been since I was a teenager in the late 1960's. In those days that meant Callas recordings and the newer recordings from Sutherland. I actually admired both singers and was aware not only of their exceptional talents, but of their shortcomings as well. As such I am grateful that Bonynge pushed his wife into that repertory. It was not until the early 1970's that I heard Sutherland live, and I was totally bowled over by the shear size and beauty of her voice. For some reason she never sounded as good on records and especially regarding her lower register which often sounded dry, weak, and without resonance. I particularly recall a performance of Donizetti's Maria Stuarda where all pandemonium broke out. Still, she could have performed other more conventional repertory, but I doubt that she would have created such a stir. I also wish that she had worked with the type of individuals (coaches and conductors) that would have straightened out a few of her well known problems. In interviews Bonynge always spoke about a dramatic delivery of the text, but that is not exactly how things often panned out and especially on recordings. Sutherland always sounded more "alert" to the text when performing live. Still, it was such a glorious voice that I was even able to overlook her unidiomatic way with the Italian language...

 

At any rate, even though Bonynge was not exactly the greatest of conductors, he did have a certain knowledge regarding the human voice and especially in regards to selecting and composing embellishments. I can't think of many that he devised that were totally inappropriate for the situation. I especially note his embellishments for Sutherland in Semiramide, the title role of which was intended for a low voiced soprano who was at the end of her career. If one did not know better, one would have thought that the part was composed specifically with Sutherland in mind. I recall reading a review of their 1971 Chicago Opera performances of the piece that implied that Sutherland's voice was exactly what Rossini envisioned... a testament to Bonynge's skill in rewriting the role to fit his wife like the proverbial glove. So not a great talent, but one that was not negligible either and the world of opera would have been poorer had he not been on the scene... Yet, without Sutherland at his side he would not have even been a footnote in the annals of operatic history.

 

Incidentally, there is a DVD of Sutherland's contributions to the Bell Telephone Hour. She did sing some Puccini and that included an excerpt from Act Two of Tosca with Tito Gobbi. Needless to say the coloratura items are the most memorable... and especially a "Sempre libera" that ends with one of the most glorious high E-flats ever preserved in sound!! Still, one of her best recordings was as Puccini's Turandot... and thankfully the conductor was Mehta and not Bonynge. I would have loved to have heard her as Angelica.

[sydneyboy]

On the subject of cute conductors, I have found another one Robin Ticciati, the Musical Director designate of Glyndebourne. Put his name into Google and then images. There are some interesting articles on him as well. An impressive cv and Glyndebourne is a prestigious post for such a young man.

[adriano46]

First I must state that I absolutely love with and am fascinated by Bel Canto opera. I have been since I was a teenager in the late 1960's. In those days that meant Callas recordings and the newer recordings from Sutherland. I actually admired both singers and was aware not only of their exceptional talents, but of their shortcomings as well. As such I am grateful that Bonynge pushed his wife into that repertory. It was not until the early 1970's that I heard Sutherland live, and I was totally bowled over by the shear size and beauty of her voice. For some reason she never sounded as good on records and especially regarding her lower register which often sounded dry, weak, and without resonance. I particularly recall a performance of Donizetti's Maria Stuarda where all pandemonium broke out. Still, she could have performed other more conventional repertory, but I doubt that she would have created such a stir. I also wish that she had worked with the type of individuals (coaches and conductors) that would have straightened out a few of her well known problems. In interviews Bonynge always spoke about a dramatic delivery of the text, but that is not exactly how things often panned out and especially on recordings. Sutherland always sounded more "alert" to the text when performing live. Still, it was such a glorious voice that I was even able to overlook her unidiomatic way with the Italian language...

 

At any rate, even though Bonynge was not exactly the greatest of conductors, he did have a certain knowledge regarding the human voice and especially in regards to selecting and composing embellishments. I can't think of many that he devised that were totally inappropriate for the situation. I especially note his embellishments for Sutherland in Semiramide, the title role of which was intended for a low voiced soprano who was at the end of her career. If one did not know better, one would have thought that the part was composed specifically with Sutherland in mind. I recall reading a review of their 1971 Chicago Opera performances of the piece that implied that Sutherland's voice was exactly what Rossini envisioned... a testament to Bonynge's skill in rewriting the role to fit his wife like the proverbial glove. So not a great talent, but one that was not negligible either and the world of opera would have been poorer had he not been on the scene... Yet, without Sutherland at his side he would not have even been a footnote in the annals of operatic history.

 

Incidentally, there is a DVD of Sutherland's contributions to the Bell Telephone Hour. She did sing some Puccini and that included an excerpt from Act Two of Tosca with Tito Gobbi. Needless to say the coloratura items are the most memorable... and especially a "Sempre libera" that ends with one of the most glorious high E-flats ever preserved in sound!! Still, one of her best recordings was as Puccini's Turandot... and thankfully the conductor was Mehta and not Bonynge. I would have loved to have heard her as Angelica.

 

Whipped - I was fascinated by this. One of my favorite Sutherland recordings is her Met NORMA with Marilyn Horne -- sheer perfection.

[TruHart1]

First I must state that I absolutely love with and am fascinated by Bel Canto opera...

 

...At any rate, even though Bonynge was not exactly the greatest of conductors, he did have a certain knowledge regarding the human voice and especially in regards to selecting and composing embellishments. I can't think of many that he devised that were totally inappropriate for the situation. I especially note his embellishments for Sutherland in Semiramide, the title role of which was intended for a low voiced soprano who was at the end of her career. If one did not know better, one would have thought that the part was composed specifically with Sutherland in mind. I recall reading a review of their 1971 Chicago Opera performances of the piece that implied that Sutherland's voice was exactly what Rossini envisioned... a testament to Bonynge's skill in rewriting the role to fit his wife like the proverbial glove. So not a great talent, but one that was not negligible either and the world of opera would have been poorer had he not been on the scene... Yet, without Sutherland at his side he would not have even been a footnote in the annals of operatic history...

 

So true WG. It is a fact that Bonynge and his coaching/discovery of Sutherland’s impressive coloratura technique along with an extension (in what began as a spinto voice) up to F in alt, became the impetus for a continuation of the bel canto tradition revived most famously by Callas in the mid-fifties after being a lost tradition except for a few pieces like Lucia and Barbiere which were always popular with audiences and lighter voiced sopranos. Lucky for us he was a concert pianist with an intense interest in bel canto opera!

 

TruHart1