| re: I love "Regina"... | |
| Posted by: Snowysdad 08:49 am EDT 06/28/17 | |
| In reply to: re: I love "Regina"... - garyd 11:21 pm EDT 06/27/17 | |
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| Several posters below ponder about Beverly sills' opinion about Regina. I never heard anything directly from her, so what I am about to say is conjecture based on having worked with her a few times. Ms. Sills' public persona was exactly that, for the public. She was very ambitious and once she had gotten her break that brought her much notice, made sure to capitalize on it. No shrinking violet by any means. I don't mean to suggest she was the wicked witch of City Opera, far from it, just a good balance of knowing her worth. I enjoyed working with her, never formed as close a friendship/working relationship as I did with several other equally well known singers. I would guess that she might have been dismissive of Marc Blitzstein's work because it presented no opportunities for her. Perhaps she could have sung Birdie, but as its not the star role, she wouldn't have wanted to. I have never read anything that suggests she was negative about The Ballad of Baby Doe, and that is more old fashioned than Regina. BTW, to be clear, I love both of these operas. My opinion of Regina is that it is a good opera and The Little Foxes is a great play, albeit one of its era. Regina raises the personal emotions to a higher level, which is just what opera is meant to do. Side by side they tell the same exact story, little details are missing from the opera and a bigger emotional pallet is substituted. I don't think Regina serves a NECESSARY purpose, the play works fine, doesn't NEED what the music brings to it, but it is an effective opera. I recently saw and reviewed a decent production of The Little Foxes, Asolo Rep, Sarasota Florida and was struck by the opening of Act III. All the good guys are gathered together for a tranquil moment in an otherwise raucous family. I couldn't help but remember how effective Blitzstein's handling of this was, a quartet (Consider the Rain), so the opera definitely has it's pluses. |
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| Next: | re: I love "Regina"... - mermaniac 02:15 pm EDT 06/29/17 |
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