Mezzo-Sopranos Specialize in Opera's Meatier, Darker Roles
Saturday, March 09, 2013
Mezzo-sopranos role in opera are the witches, bitches and britches. Think Ulrica in A Masked Ball, Eboli in Don Carlo and Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro. They can also be the soprano’s best gal pal, her faithful confident — and sometimes, her competition.
If tenors and sopranos can be demanding and high strung, mezzo-sopranos tend to be more grounded.
Today we ask what makes a mezzo a mezzo, straight from two experts on the subject: Marilyn Horne and her special guest Susan Graham.
But, Parterre Box's James Jorden says when you mix a mezzo with a soprano, the results can be explosive! (“Two divas Faustina Bordoni and Francesca Cuzzoni got into a wig-pulling cat fight right there on stage.”)
From this week's newscast: Are opera and ballet elitist? This Monday, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the Telegraph newspaper in London will be hosting a debate, streamed live on the Internet, which will look at this question. The webcast can be viewed here.
Playlist:
Music in the Susan Graham Interview
Ned Rorem (b. 1923)
“O you whom I often and silently come (Whitman)
Susan Graham, mezzo soprano
Malcolm Martineau, piano
Warner Classics 2564 69879-8
Prokofiev Alexander Nevsky, Op. 78
Kirov Orchestra and Chorus
Valery Gergiev
Olga Borodina, mezzo soprano
Philips 473600
Faure: “Pleurs d’or. Op. 71
Text: Albert Samain
Renee Fleming and Susan Graham
Bradley Moore, piano
Carnegie Hall Recital Broadcast
Mozart: Cosi fan tutte “Ah, guarda, sorella”
Renee Fleming and Susan Graham
Bradley Moore, piano
Carnegie Hall Recital Broadcast
Handel: Alcina
Les Arts Florissants
William Christie
Alcina: Renée Fleming
Ruggiero: Susan Graham
Bradamante: Kathleen Kuhlmann
Erato 8573-80233-2
Other Music Featured in this Episode
Verdi: Oberto Conte di San Bonifacio
“Un giorno dolce nel core . . . Piu che i vezzi e lo splendore”
Broadcast of December 8, 1952
Symphony Orchestra of Torino of Italian Radio/Television
Oliviero de Fabritiis
Ebe Stignani
Cetra CDMR 5024
Handel: Rinaldo
“Fermati! No, crudel!”
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
James Levine
Leontyne Price
Marilyn Horne
RCA Red Seal RCD24609
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About Operavore
Operavore keeps its finger on the pulse of the international opera scene. We offer news bulletins from the around the globe, previews of new recordings, and interviews with the players and personalities on the scene.
Comments [4]
Naomi Lewin says the Playlists for the show can be found at wqxr.org/operavore. I have looked & looked -- does anyone else see them? Where are they exactly? Thanks!
"Faithful confidant," not "confident."
@Susan Our apologies for the mix-up! It's fixed now.
Actually, the above photo of Placido Domingo and me is from Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride, not Aulide!
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