hello dear members,

i was asked to introduce myself and share some information about my tastes
and the opera activities in my community.

i was born in buenos aires, argentina, where i have always lived. i am 43.
although i am neither a professional musician nor a music scholar, music has
always been at the core of my life.

opera was an everyday treat at home when i was growing up. my mother, an
italian, had a great lyric soprano. we had sunday lunch at my maternal
grandmother's home, and my mother, uncles and aunts would sing verdi and
puccini for hours on end. nature had been very wise and had allocated a
well-balanced assortment of sopranos, contraltos, mezzos, tenors, baritones
and one great bass (my uncle eduardo) among my mother's seventeen siblings.
so there were always enough people to do complete scenes on the spur of the
moment. i guess that they were just a bunch of freaks, but hey, how many
people have heard their mothers sing aïda while doing the dishes?

when i was about ten and i was in bed with the flu one cold winter
afternoon, i hear something that changed my life for ever. i was listening
to the radio. i was bored and i kept fiddling with dial until i came upon a
something that i couldn't quite describe. it was music but at the same time
it seemed as if the women on the radio were talking and screaming at one
another. i was mesmerized. i called my mother and asked her what that was.
she listened for a while and in cold tones told me that that was "modern
opera". i listened through the whole program and in the end the announcer
said the magic words "elektra by richard strauss". i had just heard a
broadcast of the newly released nilsson/solti elektra. there was no turning
back. i pestered my mother to get me the set (we're talking LP days here).
she said that THAT opera was not fit for children. my father was more into
orchestral music and wouldn't be bothered. finally, my aunt zulema came to
my rescue. as the only dramatic soprano in the family she was sick and tired
of all the butterflies and violettas and lucias that her sisters did on our
musical sundays. out of sheer spite, she went and bought me the elektra. it
was our secret.

so by now you must have guessed that i'm a strauss and wagner fan. i enjoy
italian opera very much, but i seldom listen to the more classical works.
since i have always loved the dramatic soprano register, my life has been
full of brunnhildes, salomes, elektras and dyers' wives. and turandots. the
ice princess has been a true obsession. for years i have collected countless
versions of in questa reggia, from the early anne roselle and eva turner
recordings to eva marton and maria slatinaru. my favorite turandot? ingrid
bjoner.

a brief, very incomplete list of my favorite singers (in no special order):
bjoner
nilsson
marton
christel goltz
ruth hesse
ute vinzig
varnay
callas
rysanek
elena souliotis
margarete klose
anja silja
rudolph schock
gina cigna
rene kollo
gwyneth jones
gigli
bruno prevedi
cotrubas
natalie dessay
flagstad
traubel
and many, many more i can't think of right now.

singers i hate:
oh no! you won't catch me there...

as to opera in buenos aires, well, it's always been here since the times of
the spanish domination in the 18th century. the first documented complete
performance took place in 1825, a few months before the first complete
performance in new york. it was Il barbiere di Siviglia -- and so it was in
new york! however the first opera house in buenos aires was built in the
1700's.

the first radio broadcast of a complete opera in history also took place in
buenos aires: parsifal in 1920. i live four blocks away from the legendary
teatro colon. everybody who is somebody has sung there. alas, in the last
two years, the country's economic woes have taken their toll on the opera
world here and we can afford very few international companies. the silver
lining is that this situation has created a lot more employment
opportunities to local talents. at present there are seven opera companies
in the city performing in different venues, and two more companies in the
greater buenos aires. that means about an opera a day. pretty good for a
totally collapsed economy!

there are three radio stations in the city that broadcast opera programs.
two of them have sensational archives containing recordings from old radio
broadcasts. it should be noted that several singers chose the colon to sing
some roles for the first time: del monaco did his first ottelo here and
crespin her first carmen.

well, this introduction has become too long already. i'm not even sure that
i'm not breaking any bandwidth rules here!

i hope you all had a wonderful weekend, filled with music and joy.

best,
wally

Seasons Greetings to those of all faiths. Health and Happiness to
everyone.
Just a reminder to our new members to check out the daily classical
music headlines by bookmarking our ARTSnews URL:
http://www.angelfire.com/music4/mclub/artsnx.html
If there are any major news bulletins in the world of classical music
we will post them. Members also are encouraged to post any major news
worthy items for all of us.
Also see our directories at:
http://musiclassical.com

Regards, RACampbell, editor/moderator

Estate of Walter Annenberg, who made his fortune publishing TV Guide
Triangle Publications and Philadelphia's WFIL Broadcasting stations,
grants gift to maintain MET OPERA Broadcasts.

The Annenberg Foundation has given a one-time gift of $3.5
million that will allow the Met's Saturday radio
broadcasts to continue this season.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/04/arts/music/04MET.html?
ex=1071629309&ei=1&en=2c9e04b01ad1a561

Broadcasters or writers planning yearenders may find this link
helpful...
http://www.angelfire.com/music4/mclub/03obit.html

and posted at...
http://www.angelfire.com/bc/applause/gr03.html
The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences announced their
nominees for the 2004 Grammy Awards. The link above is to a list of
classical music catagory nominees. Winners will be announced on the
evening of 8 FEB 2004.

NY Phil Musicians Rallying Behind Maazel - The New
York Times 12/10/03
http://www.artsjournal.com/music/redir/20031210-35034.html




=====

RACampbell, ret-Univ AZ-KUAT,KHPR,WFLN

http://www.racampbell.com



MUSIC books: http://www.angelfire.com/music4/mclub/bksmusref.html





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Hi members...I was chatting with a music programmer at Kansas Pub
Radio about what to program for the Christmas season. Any suggestions
from the common to the unusual? What will you be listening to this
year?

~RAC

STOKOWSKI, CRESPIN, MARKEVICH, VON KARAJAN, RICHTER, ROSTROPOVICH...

Documentation of great artists at the twilight of their careers.
Jascha Heifetz, Artur Rubinstein, Gregor Piatigorsky...
The video quality is terrific. The sound is in stereo and is in
color. The picture is outstanding for the time it was taped. You can
select individual movements or watch the whole program from start to
finish. EMI did a great job on these DVDs.

Just click on: http://www.angelfire.com/music4/mclub/dvd/emi.html
for info.

well, i'm an absolute christmas freak, so i've been playing EVERYTHING for
weeks -- from ella to manhattan transfer to a ceremony of carols to kiri te
kanawa's xmas cd (this one's terrible but i'm a glutton for xmas music) to
norman's xmas album to ... the carpenters!!! (lord, talk about guilty
pleasures). also germaine lubin's ave maria, the king's college album, whole
collections of french noels.
but above all, every available version of "in the bleak mid-winter", my
favorite xmas song. incidentally, does anybody have the music sheet?
best,
wally
>
A list of our member suggestions has been posted at:
http://www.geocities.com/musiclassical/xmas.html
by,
the Moderator

Hans Hotter, the Great German bass baritone famed for his Wagnerian
roles has passed away. There is an obit link posted at:
http://www.angelfire.com/music4/mclub/03obit.html

ITALIAN tenor Pavarotti set to wed ex-secretary
Reuters, India
... On this occasion Pavarotti, widely accredited with bringing opera
to
the masses, will leave the singing to fellow tenor Andrea Bocelli who
is set to perform ...         A Great Big Star in a Great Big
Ceremony:
Pavarotti's Nuptials ...
<http://www.reuters.com/locales/newsArticle.jsp?
type=entertainmentNews&locale=en_IN&storyID=3986853>

THE Met still an opera star
Toronto Star, Canada
NEW YORK—If announcer Peter Allen's voice sounds particularly upbeat
on
today's CBC Radio Two Saturday Afternoon At The Opera broadcast of
Fromental
...
<http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?
pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1071144016797&call
_pageid=968867495754&col=969483191630>

OPERA stars sing praises of choir — and Christmas
Deseret News, UT
Two of the world's foremost opera singers believe one of the true joys
of Christmas can be found in the season's songs — and they are
delighted
to be joining ...
<http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,570036661,00.html>

OPERA San José, city discuss funding woes
San Jose Mercury News, CA
When Opera San José moves to the California Fox Theatre in September,
there
won't be much of a party: hors-d'oeuvres and desserts, but no dinner
for
the ...
<http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/7478609.htm>

'MOSES Und Aron' Returns to Met Opera
Chicago Tribune (subscription), IL
By MARTIN STEINBERG. NEW YORK -- Salome in Richard Strauss'
opera does
the dance of the seven veils. In the Metropolitan Opera's
...
<http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/news/celebrity/sns-ap-opera-moses-
und-aron,0,3009385.story?coll=mmx-celebrity_heds>

'MOSES Und Aron' Returns to Met Opera
Launch Yahoo
By Martin Steinberg. Salome in Richard Strauss' opera does
the dance of
the seven veils. In the Metropolitan Opera 's production
...
<http://launch.yahoo.com/read/news.asp?contentID=216056>

SCHOENBERG'S 'Moses und Aron' back at the Metropolitan
Opera for ...
Times Picayune, LA
By MARTIN STEINBERG. NEW YORK (AP) -- Salome in Richard
Strauss' opera
does the dance of the seven veils. In the Metropolitan
Opera's ...
<http://www.nola.com/newsflash/entertainment/index.ssf?/newsflash/get_
story.ssf?/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?a0679_BC_Opera-
MosesundAron&&news&newsflash-entertainment>

'MOSES Und Aron' Returns to Met Opera
WVEC.com (subscription), VA
By MARTIN STEINBERG / Associated Press. Salome in Richard
Strauss' opera
does the dance of the seven veils. In the Metropolitan
Opera's ...
<http://www.wvec.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D7VGCPQO0.html>

'MOSES Und Aron' Returns to Met Opera
Springfield News Sun, OH
By MARTIN STEINBERG. NEW YORK (AP)--Salome in Richard
Strauss' opera does
the dance of the seven veils. In the Metropolitan Opera's
...
<http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/featr/content/features/entertainmen
t/ap_story.html/Entertainment/AP.V6128.AP-Opera-Moses-und.html>

The New Divas - New York Observer 12/17/03
http://www.artsjournal.com/music/redir/20031217-35694.html




Barenboim Apologizes (Sort Of) And Gets Prize - The
New York Times (AP) 12/18/03
http://www.artsjournal.com/people/redir/20031217-35705.html




=====

RACampbell, ret-Univ AZ-KUAT,KHPR,WFLN

http://www.racampbell.com



MUSIC books: http://www.angelfire.com/music4/mclub/bksmusref.html





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CANADIAN soprano heads for Carnegie Hall debut
CTV, Canada
Hailed as a rising star, Canadian soprano sensation Measha
Brueggergosman
is singing to the acclaim of audiences and critics
worldwide. ...
<http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1071082085841_66491285/?hub\
=Entertainment>



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The Korea Opera Group's performance of Verdi's opera
'Rigoletto' and a
gala concert of Korea's original produc
http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?e110116495&e=6256

Digital Chosunilbo

=====

RACampbell, ret-Univ AZ-KUAT,KHPR,WFLN

http://www.racampbell.com



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MUSIClassical.com's Musiclassicalist group is a discussion group for
lovers of classical music, broadcasters, composers, musicians,
publicists, retailers, listeners and promoters of independent
classical music. A forum for ideas and dialog supporting the
independent classical music industry. You may post articles,
comments, charts, new choice classical recordings, releases of new
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mailto:musiclassicalist-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Musiclassicalist, a Yahoo Group

Thanks to all who posted notes on today's page...
http://www.angelfire.com/ab/day/dec22.html
Which has been updated.
~RACampbell

=====
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PS: Have your friend join our list group
<mailto:musiclassicalist-subscribe@yahoogroups.com>
They also may get our daily almanac and classical music databases at,
http://www.musiclassical.com

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METROPOLITAN Opera Uses Two Conductors
ABC News
NEW YORK Dec. 25 — The Metropolitan Opera needed two conductors to get
through its Christmas Eve performance of Berlioz's "Benvenuto
Cellini.".
...
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Entertainment/ap20031225_706.html

OPERA House to reopen in June after $40 million restoration
Portsmouth Herald, NH
BOSTON - The 75-year-old Opera House is set to reopen in June after a
$40
million restoration project, a decade after the city declared it one
of
the most ...
<http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/12272003/south_of/67621.htm>

Here is my list of classical musicians who passed away in 2003...
http://www.angelfire.com/music4/mclub/03obit.html
Your corrections and additions may be sent to me at

RACampbell78040@...

INSURRECTION and absentee stars
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia
... Where was acclaimed Korean soprano Sumi Jo when she was supposed
to
be making her final appearance in Opera Australia's Lucia di
Lammermoor?
...
<http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/29/1072546451280.html>

Friends,

In either 1905 or 1906, a gala concert was held at the Royal Albert Hall for
Manuel Garcia, Jr.  If the former, it was a 100th birthday celebration.  If
the latter, a 101st birthday celebration.  Either way, the old man actually
got up and sang one song at the event!  This story was told to me by Mary
Davenport, who as a youth studied in London with his grandson, Alberto
Garcia, the very last Garcia in the dynasty.

Can anyone help me ascertain whether this gala was in 1905 or 1906?  Does
Grove mention it?  Are there any biographies about M. G. II?  (I know there
is one about his father.)

Thanks in advance,

Leonardo.

_____________________
www.leonardociampa.com

_________________________________________________________________
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REVIEW: Met Opera stages opulent 'Cellini'
United Press International
... 1 (UPI) -- The Metropolitan Opera has staged two 19th century
operatic
rarities this season in the hope of bolstering ticket sales at one of
the company's most ...
<http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20031223-102135-6520r>

I wouldn't work for Opera Australia if they paid me
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia
Simone Young fears for the future of Opera Australia, and she insists
she
would not have done "a single thing differently" if asked to relive
the
past three ...
<http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/30/1072546533179.html>

BARITONE Donald Maxwell Appointed Head of Opera at Royal Welsh ...
Andante
Internationally renowned opera singer Donald Maxwell has been
appointed
head of opera at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD).
...
<http://www.andante.com/article/article.cfm?id=22889>

I am Mara Ferrata grand niece of Giuseppe Ferrata who was born in
Gradoli, Italy in 1865 and died in New Orleans LA in 1928.

My mother passed away in October this year, and in clearing family
documents I came across some original sheets of music written by Zio
(Uncle) Giuseppe and bequeathed to my father Domenico Ferrata, now
deceased. One seems to be an anthem composition which is dedicated to
the King and Queen of Spain. I do not know if these were the draft
copies he made before re-writing them and presenting them to the
Spanish Court, or if they are still the originals never sent. I think
at the time he was at the Music Academy of Santa Cecilia in either
Rome or Paris. Is there any way I could find out if I scan the
documents and forward them to you? I am a little worried about the
fragile state of the parchment paper, but scanning should not
discolor it.

I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Mara Trumbo (nee` Ferrata)

TALES of obsession - - and a grand love of opera
Miami Herald, FL
... Sweets had seen soprano Elizabeth Futral at the Metropolitan Opera
in the rarely performed 1835 work La Juive, an experience she
described
as beyond her ...
<http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/entertainment/7604236.htm>

BOLSHOI Opera Defector Renata Babak, 69, Dies
Washington Post, DC
Renata Babak, 69, an internationally known mezzo-soprano who defected
from
the Bolshoi Opera in 1973, sang her US debut to a standing-room-only
audience
at ...
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48463-2004Jan1.html>

KARITA Mattila: One very feisty, down-to-earth diva
Helsingin Sanomat, Finland
... At the other end of the field, set down blonde soprano Karita
Mattila.
No contest. Mattila wouldn't need to get her voice out of second gear.
...
<http://www.helsinki-hs.net/news.asp?id=20031209IE14>

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