Thursday, July 16, 2009

Never before: Angela cancels tonight's Tosca


At the beginning it was Deborah Voigt.

Then Debbie already knew -a month in advance- that her acute colitis wouldn't let her sing and so she stepped out.

Then Angela and Nelly, the two romanian girls stepped in for Debbie.

As a matter of fact, both singers received some great reviews.

And now Angela, in her most usual fashion, cancels once again the tonight performance of Tosca at the ROH -due to illness- and Amanda Echalaz steps in, just a few days before her premiere at Holland Park as Amelia in Un ballo in maschera on July the 21st.


You go gal!

4 comments:

mjw4849 said...

Warning: rant

Basically, a big F-you from Ange and I'm seriously not impressed.

I was speaking to a friend who was at the Tosca performance featuring her at the ROH on Tuesday, and he'd already heard that Ange wasn't going to sing on Thursday - so the old illness thing is once again a lie - she'd probably just used the ROH to get free air travel to wherever she's going next - which is probably on holiday.

Knowing, as she no doubt does, how the ROH have struggled, unfairly, in recent months with cancelitus - Simon Keenlyside, Rolando Villazon, Dmitri Hvorostovski and Deborah Voigt to name just a few, she knew, with eyes wide open, how much she'd be leaving the ROH, who've been very good to her, in the sh*t, which she's duly and typically gone and done. According to her website, the next time she's due at the ROH is in the 2010-11 season for Adriana Lecouvreur. I really, seriously hope that the major opera houses, including The Met, who seem to adore her, really start to give her a wide berth as the unreliable, tempramental diva that she's become. As Opera Chic said recently, it's been ages since she's completed a run which she was contracted to do - even for Ange standards, everyone would have hoped she could have done three, but, typically, no.

Having watched and spoken to the fabulous Joyce diDonato last night after her performance of Il Barbiere, and how down-to-earth and willing to perform in the face of a really nasty injury she was, I'd much sooner go and see someone like that than Ange, who like Robin Hood, seems more interested in taking the money and running. Could anyone honestly see Ange singing in a wheelchair like Ms diDonato did?

So long Ange, don't hurry back - go and cancel elsewhere.

Disgruntled,
London

Willym said...

Just got back from the worst Tosca I have ever seen at Caracalla - I left after Act 2, something I have only ever done once before in over 55 years of opera going. Aside from some really bad singing - Michaela Carosi, Fabio Armiliato and Giorgio Surian the staging was bizarre. Tosca did not stab Scarpia but hit him in the groin with a crucifix!!!! No candles just an exit through the audience - how original. A truly excruciating evening.

Parsifal said...

Sounds like fun! I ve heard Fabio as Mario and liked him, hmmmm....

IM said...

mjw's source is spot-on. Amanda E has been pencilled in from the start.