"I am trying with all my power to do other roles, but as long as my cleavage is more or less up and my vibrato is not wider than a major third, I wouldn’t mind sprinkling my life with Carmens until it’s simply not hirable anymore."
This quote is from her brief but infomative Parterre Box interview from earlier this week. Among other things, she talks about her repertoire and the benefits (to the singers and the audience) of working with contemporary directors like Stefan Herheim and Krzysztof Warlikowski. In addition to her Carmens, Cherubinos (Cherubini?), and Cendrillions, Ms. Shaham is a rocking Donna Elvira (see yesterday's and other related posts). She's also a gracious Twitter correspondent (@Rinatshaham). More please!
Awsome interview! Cheers, Rob. Now I'm wondering if I should put up with Forza again just to see what she and Bieito will do with Preziosilla.
ReplyDeleteYou probably should. there's some wonderfully bombastic music in Forza, in spite of how dumb the plot is.
DeleteOTOH, the role of Preziosilla seems like some said "hey Giuseppi! You need to write a part for the mezzo!" and he said, "O Crap. Well, I'll whip up a couple of snappy numbers for a gypsy girl to sing--they won't make much sense or add to the storyline, but the plot is crap anyway."
Ehehe, very funny. I really like the Forza "theme" but I find the developments completely random (re: the overture). I simply can't follow his line of thinking. Maybe I should imbibe a bit before the show, take it all in stride ;-)
DeleteI constantly have this feeling that Verdi's mezzo roles are a bit wonky or forced (even Eboli, which is most likely the coolest one; I've heard the Veil song more times that I can count by all sorts of badass mezzos and it still doesn't quite work for me).