Autographs #4

One of my most "adored" autographs
(as a huge Grube fan I own quite a few).
La Gruberova signed this one for me when on the 9th of September 1997 she appeared for the first - and most probably for the last - time at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus and sang a Recital that led the audience to a state of collective insanity.

From that very night,
listen to Edita Gruberova as Linda in
"O Luce di Quest'Anima"

Autographs #3

An autograph from Joan Sutherland, signed to me by la Stupendissima herself, 15 years ago, when Sutherland was in Athens as member of the Jury of the Maria Callas Grand Prix. Most vivid memories of that night: a) La Stupenda was not very willing to sign the photos and CDs I was carrying, as a matter of fact she was quite grumpy, but I was too young to be sent to hell... b) The members of the Jury were all opera legends, from Luigi Alva to Irina Arkhipova and from Elisabeth Söderström to Kostas Paskalis, however when one after another they stepped on stage to present the awardees, La Stupenda provoked an "earthquake" in the Hall of the Athens Megaron as the audience started shouting "brava Stupenda", clapping hands like crazy and stamping feet on the floor.

A bit like that:

Autographs #2

An autograph by Richard Bonynge, taken during a run of La Traviata that he conducted at the Athens Megaron back in 2004 (the 2 casts included Ruth-Ann Swenson, Andrea Rost, Charles Castronovo, Piotr Beczala, Eduard Tumagian and Jean-Luc Chaignaud).

Autographs #1

A huge box full of autographs by famous divos and divas that gets bigger and bigger with the years sits in the bottom of some closet in Villa Parsi. Most of them are autographs I have managed to get myself the last 18 years, others carry nice calligraphic signatures, others terrible, blurry, illegible ones, others have just a smudge while others have sincere, moving dedications. The one above by Montserrat Caballé is one of the very first I took, circa 1993.

(click to enlarge)