August Opera Challenge Day Five: Best Alto/Contralto

Several years ago when I was living far from home, my mother sent me an audio documentary about the founding of Glyndebourne narrated by Ralph Fiennes. It was my general interest in opera and my fondness for Fiennes that led her to send it, but she'd stuck a little post-it note on the CD cover which said 'I love Kathleen Ferrier's voice.' I'm ashamed to say that I had no idea who she was, but through that documentary I heard her beautiful, deep, rich-toned contralto for the first time and learned a little bit about her life and singing career.

I have a theory that our favourite singers (well, certainly mine) do not always become so dear because of musical perfection alone. Often, there are memories and experiences linked to the first time we heard their voice drift out of a speaker, or the first time we saw them perform on stage. With Ferrier, I guess it added to the magic that I was miles away from friends and family, and it was comforting to get a recommendation from home that proved to be so wonderful. Her voice seems to be connected to a lot of lovely moments for me- last year a friend of mine was driving us back from an amazing performance at Welsh National Opera when her crackly, atmospheric performance of  'What is life to me without thee?' from Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice came on the radio. It filled up the car and the darkness as we drove back from Cardiff, and has stuck in my mind almost as much as the opera we saw.

Orfeo in Orfeo ed Euridice was one of only two fully staged operatic roles she performed (the other being Lucretia in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia) and although she had a strong association with Glyndebourne and was well recieved at the Royal Opera House, she was thought to be a pretty uncomfortable actress. She died of cancer in 1953 aged just 41, so we'll never know if she could have been persuaded to add more roles to her repertoire. She left behind some beautiful recordings though, among them Mahler's Kindertotenlieder. Recently, German artist Mariele Neudecker produced a visual interpretation of the heartbreaking song cycle consisting of film, sculpture and lots of little walk-in rooms. It was Ferrier's recording that provided the musical backdrop, and when it was exhibited at Opera North's Howard Assembly Room, I found it very moving. So I'll pick the Kindertotenlieder (specifically In diesem Wetter!) even though it's not opera...

August Opera Challenge Day Four: Best Mezzo

I've spent a year gushing over Joyce DiDonato, but given that it's only been twelve months since I fell for her, I really have to go for Cecilia Bartoli here because I've adored her since I was a little girl. The more opera fans I speak to, the more I learn that baroque, and even more specifically Cecilia, are not everybody's cup of tea. But I've met a lot of enthusiastic Bartoli devotees at her recitals, and those that get it really get it! I guess that amount of coloratura played out with such originality and character might be a bit off-putting for some, but her voice and technique really grip my heart, and I find myself falling more in love with every note she sings. Yes, I think this might be my one and only girl crush.

Cecilia is a heroine of mine for a lot of reasons. She stands her ground about repertoire that is appropriate for her fairly niche voice, has an academic approach to making records which has produced many world premiere recordings of baroque music, and when she is on the operatic stage, she has an intelligence and sense of humour which bring every character she plays to life. It's present in recitals, too- what can I say about those trademark moves and facial expressions? And how can I describe a voice that plunges such velvetty depths and rises to produce such sparkling, champagne-like coloratura? I've chosen this clip from her Sacrificium project, which explored the art of the castrati. Porpora's Come nave in mezzo allonde is one of my favourite Cecilia arias, and I think this really shows off her magical voice as well as her unique dramatic qualities!

August Opera Challenge Day Three: Best Soprano

This choice will probably be viewed as a cliché by some, and there will be others who will tell me that there are more technically perfect sopranos, but I doubt any female singer will ever come close to Callas for me. I adore the dark, dramatic, ravishing depths of her voice and the way that every character she took on from Medea to Violetta was acted so beautifully through the vocal alone. You don't need any visuals when you listen to Callas- every drop of anger, fear, lust and sadness is projected around the room you are sitting in, and for that, I can easily forgive the lack of perfection. Her versatility is also something to be celebrated- which other 20th century soprano could have belted out Wagner on a Monday and turned her hand to a bit of bel canto Bellini on a Tuesday?

By the time she was really famous, her voice no longer had the brilliance of the early years, and there was that infamous little wobble going on (Callas and Giuseppe Di Stefano were compared to 'two barking dogs' during their comeback tour in the early 1970s..) but I just don't care. She was a real tragedy queen (sadly off stage as well as on) and no one moves me like Maria. I have so many favourite Callas moments, but I guess there will be plenty of opportunities to force them on you before the August Opera Challenge is over. For now, I'll pick a classic Callas moment- Casta Diva from Bellini's Norma performed in Paris, 1958. They might not be complete precision vocals, but it's a sound that's unmistakably Callas, and just hearing this, never mind looking at that iconic image, makes me feel a teensy bit more stylish.

August Opera Challenge Day Two: Best Composer

For many, this would be a difficult choice, but not for me. My heart belongs to Giacomo Puccini. Some opera fans may accuse GP of creating music that is occasionally a bit on the light side, but I don't care. Or agree. His compositions- which veer from the dramatically intense to the unbelievably beautiful- move me more than I could ever describe. As the great Puccini interpreter Renata Scotto has said, "You cannot keep your eyes dry. You cannot. You have to cry."

The Tuscan composer, who was born in 1858 and had an untimely death from throat cancer in 1924, created some of the most memorable operatic moments of all time (who doesn't recognise Nessun dorma or O mio babbino caro?) Fond of fast cars, hunting and women, Puccini led a life that could have easily formed the basis of an opera. He composed ten of them- Le Villi, Edgar, Manon Lescaut, La boheme, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, La fanciulla del West, La rondine, Il trittico (which is comprised of three one act operas) and Turandot, which was left incomplete on his death.

I haven't chosen a particular Puccini favourite, as I predict he will come up in the August Opera Challenge again and again. Instead, here's a clip of Royal Opera House Music Director Antonio Pappano from the Puccini episode of his BBC series Opera Italia. If you want to get started with Puccini, then this documentary is a great way in (you can move on to Mary Phillips-Matz's brilliant biography afterwards!) And of course, Maestro Tony P can sum up it up better than anyone else. "Apart from the colourful biography, there's the music. It is some of the most ravishing, intimate, passionate, sometimes even erotic and clever music ever heard in the theatre. And beyond."

August Opera Challenge Day One: Best Overture

I am in love with so many. The tiny, beautiful strings at the beginning of Verdi's La Traviata that lead into some of the most romantic, recognisable music ever composed, the dramatic evocation of the hunted Siegmund that begins Wagner's Die Walküre and the dark, eerie warnings that float over the prelude to Mozart's Don Giovanni were all contenders, but ultimately it's another of Mozart's overtures that gets my vote- Le Nozze di Figaro.

Composed in 1789 as the opener for his comic opera about a mad day in the life of two love-bird servants in the house of the randy Count Almaviva, it is surely one of the most humorous and spirited pieces of music ever written. By the three minute mark, I'm usually struggling to contain myself and if you're looking for an overture that will really get you excited about the opera to come, then this is definitely the one. I should really use it as my early morning wake up call, as the last time it was played on Classic FM's 'Brighter Breakfast' it put a spring in my step for the rest of the day. Here's a clip of James Levine conducting it for the momentous 1998 Met Production (Terfel, Bartoli, Fleming, DeNiese) that has oddly never materialised on dvd. Anyway, enjoy.....

August Opera Challenge

For a while now a lot of people have been taking part in the '30 Day Opera Challenge' on Facebook, where each day for thirty days you answer one of the set questions (favourite composer, favourite male singer etc.) On her blog Vocal Supporter Sarah Noble used the questions to create daily entries, and also got another set of opera questions to answer from a blog entitled An Acquired Taste. I really wanted to join in, but July was a bit of a mad month and I didn't have the time to blog once, never mind thirty times. August, however, is a lot more relaxed and as the opera calendar is pretty much empty, I'm going to take on the challenge and blog every day.

I'm using the An Acquired Taste questions, as I think they're better (you don't have to answer things like 'most recognisable choral part, in your opinion'...) but I will be slipping in one '30 Day Opera Challenge' question (favourite conductor) so I can do an entry for every single day of August. Thus, 'August Opera Challenge'. There will probably be a picture, a YouTube clip and a bit of waffle for each question and it won't be very high brow or jargon-filled. Feel free to comment on the posts with your own answers or better still, blog along with me. The more opinions, the more fun. I just hope I can keep up with it!

The questions
1. Best overture
2. Favourite composer
3. Best soprano
4. Best mezzo
5. Best alto/contralto
6. Best tenor
7. Best baritone
8. Best bass/bass baritone
9. Best conductor
10. Best comedy opera
11. Best tragic opera
12. Best libretto
13. Best opera all round
14. Favourite comedic role
15. Favourite tragic role
16. Favourite couple
17. Happiest romance
18. Most tragic romance
19. Most visually entertaining opera
20. Most powerful aria
21. Most listened to opera
22. Best opera to see with a friend
23. Best opera to see with a lover
24. Best opera to see alone
25. Opera you would sell a kidney to see
26. Least favourite opera misconception
27. First favourite opera
28. If you could play any role, what would it be?
29. Opera dream cast
30. Most attractive artist ever
31. Best finale

Opera North and Dame Anne Evans prepare to see the world end..

"Shhhhhh..." Says Antonio Pappano from behind his big, shiny piano. "But I haven't even sung a note!" protests Dame Anne Evans. "Yes!" replies Tony, "But I know that when you do, it will be too loud!"

Anecdotes like this really float my boat, so I was in my element at Opera North's 'I Saw the World End' last week, a Q&A session and masterclass with Dame Anne at the Howard Assembly Room in Leeds. I would imagine that it would have floated any Wagner fan's boat to be honest, as the legendary Wagnerian soprano (who is a consultant on the Opera North Ring Cycle) was focussing on her portrayal of Brünnhilde in the Daniel Barenboim/Harry Kupfer Ring at Bayreuth in the early 1990s before taking two of the Das Rheingold cast members (Yvonne Howard and Giselle Allen) through their vocal paces.

I've reviewed the evening for Bachtrack here if you fancy getting the full picture, but I wanted to use the blog to draw your attention to all the wonderful Wagner that is about to occur...

Das Rheingold itself is doing the northern rounds (Birmingham Symphony Hall,The Sage, Leeds Town Hall and the Lowry). If you haven't got a ticket yet, it promises to be a visual as well as a musical delight (have a little peek at Richard Farnes discussing it on the video below) but there are a couple of events happening alongside the opera which are worth opening your ears for. Firstly, on the 25th of June, there's 'The Cross in the Mountains: German Choral Music in the Age of the Ring.' This is a great opportunity to hear ON's wonderful chorus perform some stirring German Romantic music including Weber, Marschner, Lortzing and Nicola. They've promised terror, beauty, humour and errr... lots of horns.

Secondly, if you're going to Das Rheingold when it opens in Leeds on the 1st of July, you might want to book a (free) ticket for the pre-show talk, which will be taking place in the Albert Room in the Town Hall. It's a special edition of the 'Inside Opera' series, and will feature Opera North's Head of Music Martin Pickard and singers Kathryn McGuckin, Sarah Estill and Hazel Croft.

Finally (and this is rather special) Opera North have commissioned film maker Matthew Robins to come up with a visual response to a piece of Wagner's music. The result is Mein Lieber Schwan- a beautiful animated short inspired by the aria from Lohengrin. A crackly, atmospheric recording of the piece featuring Hermann Jadlowker is brought to life by Robins' unusual little puppets, and if you like sparkly swans, it'll be right up your street. Enjoy!