Classic Arts Showcase

So I'm becoming a Classic Arts Showcase junkie. In case you don't know, Classic Arts Showcase is a TV show for insomniacs that airs off and on throughtout the day, but mostly in the early morning hours, and shows performance videos of ballet, opera and classical music. The clips are pretty old for the most part, but some of them seem to be quite rare, showing notables of the past such as Martha Graham and Leonard Bernstein. They also have some bizarre stuff like a Pagliacci where John Hurt plays the part of Canio to an old soundrack of Enrico Caruso, but for the most part it's pretty straightforward.

Yesterday, for example, they showed a clip of Elizabeth Schwarzkopf singing an excerpt from Der Rosenkavalier, followed by an interview with George Solti in which he talked about meeting Richard Strauss back in the 1940's in Munich. And then, during the interview, they actually showed a clip of Richard Strauss himself conducting Solti's orchestra in the same opera. Tell me that's not great stuff. I guarantee you no one else is showing programming like that on the air. The funny part was when Solti described the time he went to Munich to meet Strauss and knocked on the Strauss' door. He was expecting some servant or subordinate to greet him, but instead Solti found himself standing face to face with Strauss himself. "My God", Solti said, "you don't go to Valhalla and expect to see Wotan open the door." Well, I thought that was funny.

Then today, as if to bring me back down to earth, I'm watching the TV again and on comes a flea collar commercial. There's some dog on the screen singing with joy over his new collar, and for some strange reason the commercial is set to the Dance of the Hours from La Gioconda. What an artistic contrast, going from Schwarzkopf, Solti and Strauss to a singing dog (I'm sure that's what Ponchielli had in mind when he composed it). Yes, I'm a child of popular culture but sometimes I really hate it.

Alfredo Kraus

And speaking of opera, which I do a lot, my new DVD this week was Lucrezia Borgia with Joan Sutherland, Alfredo Kraus, Anne Howells and Stafford Dean, and I have to say this might be the best sung and worst acted opera in my collection. Joan Sutherland will never be known as a great actress and seems to need a capable cast around her to hide her shortcomings. This time, however, with the exception of Anne Howells, no such cast exists. They were all bad.

It was also the first time I've seen Alfredo Kraus in an opera, and my impression is that the voice may be legendary, but he is what they call the classic "stand and sing" tenor. He almost makes no effort whatsoever to impart any of the drama of the story, and that's a problem with an opera like Lurcrezia which has a pretty complicated story to impart. Worst of all he committed what I consider to be the greatest sin in all of opera by taking a bow after one of his arias. I've heard of singers doing this before, but I had never actually seen it until this DVD. What a disaster. It completely destroys the illusion or suspension of disbelief (I think that's what they call it). Then again, what singing! I guess he deserved his bow.

Of course, Joan Sutherland's singing was just remarkable too. With apologies to all the Maria Callas boosters out there, she was the best coloratura soprano I've ever heard. And speaking of Maria Callas boosters, don't you get tired of them sometimes.

"Who was the best Norma you ever heard?"
"Maria Callas. Everyone else is a pig."
"Who was the best Violetta you ever heard."
"Maria Callas. No one sang Violetta like Maria Callas."
"Who was the best Rigoletto you ever heard?"
"Maria Callas. No one sang Rigoletto like Maria Callas."
"But Rigoletto is a baritone role."
"Maria Callas could sing anything."
"I'm hungry. I think I'll go have some breakfast."
"No one could eat breakfast like Maria Callas."

Well, sorry, Dame Joan's number one in my book.