Sunday, April 6, 2008

Happiness.


Yesterday, i was going through an archive box, forgotten for years in a closet and found the relics of one of the most unforgettable nights of my operatic life.

Tickets were sold out for both performances and poor Parsi would go to the ticket office of the Gran Teatre del Liceu almost everyday to ask for.

Un bel di, the girls at the box office told me that they would have some returned tickets (by sponsors?) the next day....and there i was, just a few days before the opening night, with a ticket in my hand that read:

Beatrice di Tenda 12 March 2000

Well the thing is, that this, was going to be a very special night at the Liceu as on stage there would be both Edita Gruberova as Beatrice and Renato Bruson as Filippo Maria Visconti and all opera goers in Barcelona were anxiously waiting for both nights.

And the 12th of March came and Heaven opened it's gates for some thousands of Edita's fans who admired once more this miracolo, L' Unica, La Santa di Bratislava, teaching us what bel canto is.

Full cast was:
Filippo Maria Visconti - Renato Bruson
Beatrice di Tenda - Edita Gruberova
Agnese del Maino - Petia Petrova
Orombello - José Sempere
Anichino - Santiago Calderon
Rizzardo del Maino - Alfredo Heilbron
Under maestro Friedrich Haider (the hubby)

Renato Bruson, despite his age, was an excellent Filippo, majestic-imperial and with a technique that most baritones in their 30's would be jealous of...

The night was of course a triumph for Edita Gruberova who received standing ovation and about half an hour of applause after her cabaletta finale "Ah! la morte a cui m'appresso".

I remember leaving the theatre voiceless and as happy as a clam. For the next few months i would listen to the last act i had recorded over and over again, sans repos and always with the same admiration towards Edita's art.

If you wanna be communicant of this extraordinary, sacred, religious, operatic experience listen to:

Beatrice's aria, "Ah! se un' urna é a me concessa", Barcelona 12 March 2000



and the cabaletta "Ah! la morte a cui m'appresso", Barcelona 12 March 2000



ps1. Do you prefer this way of uploading tracks to the esnips thing?

ps2. This is not my recording, the sound is worse in mine but, de toute façon, it´s difficult to edit as i yell ¨bravaaaaaaaaaaaaa¨ like crazy....

2 comments:

Willym said...

Hi Paris

Hope all is well - I've got the Abbado Fidelio on Tuesday and the Danielle Dessi Fancuilla on Friday - a busy week.

As always thanks for the audio clips - you've got a great library and its fantasic that you share it. I find that the YouTube loads faster and the esnips could sometimes be a bit of a problem but either way is fine cause we get these wonderful voices.

Fondest regards

Parsifal said...

Paris? Hilton? Hehehe....

I also think that youtube is better... Fidelio and Fanciulla??? Gee, i would soooo like to watch a Dessi Fanciulla...