Contemplating the plight of the mezzo soprano

In just a week, I will be conducting my next concert with the Quad City Wind Ensemble.  Among the works on our program is the "Habanera," from Bizet's Carmen.  This opera has always held a special place for me as it was the first opera that I ever saw in its entirety; in fact some of my friends joined me the following night for a subsequent performance.  Who couldn't be enthralled with the costumes, the sets, the cast of irresistible characters and, of course, the wonderful music.  Even this then-high school student thought, "This is really cool."

So, over the years I've developed a rather intimate relationship with Bizet's gypsy (or her story anyway).  I penned a study of the work as a master's student at the University of Northern Iowa; have conducted excerpts with a number of wind groups, and even presented two arias with a fabulous mezzo-soprano (Alicja Wegorzewska) in Poland.  And now the habanera (actually a dance of Cuban origin) reappears.

Oddly enough, Carmen's return to my repertoire has gotten me once again contemplating, but this time on the "plight" of the mezzo soprano.  We all know the great tenors of each generation as well as the multitude of sopranos--lyrical, dramatic, coloratura, etc.  But the poor mezzos are in nearly the same boat as baritones (who seem to always get a good tune and little else) and the bassos, who are usually cast as buffoons (unless appearing as a "stone guest" in Don Giovanni).  It has long been said that mezzo soprano roles are limited to "witches, bitches, and britches," the latter referring to "trouser roles" in which the female singer takes on a male persona.

It never ceases to amaze that Carmen was, in its first production, a monumental flop.  Bizet was caught up by both sides of the Wagnerian debate: scorned for not sufficiently embracing Wagner's style while being scathed for the intentional stress on the orchestra (and its resplendent colors) as a vital part of the opera.  Of course, the opera also premiered at the Opera-Comique, which was known to offer PG-13 productions at the most.  The audiences of the time were simply not quite ready for what would become verismo, or realism in opera.  The first run was 48 performances; Bizet succumbed to a heart attack after the thirtieth.  Once the opera moved away from Paris to a Viennese production that Bizet signed off one day before his death, the opera became the "hit" that it has remained ever since.  Carmen remains the third most performed opera (worldwide) during the 2011-12 season.

Carmen is truly the great role for this voice.  She is a "bad girl," but gets some of the most memorable tunes in the operatic repertoire.  Her voice must be incredibly elastic for in the fourth act she sings a downward phrase that traverses two octaves.  And the color of the mezzo soprano voice truly is a dynamic combination with a lyric tenor, so close are the extremities of their ranges.

Selecting the great tenors of the age was a fairly easy task (as I was limiting myself to a single aria), but the greatest Carmen of them all?  A much more difficult task indeed.  The role was created by the famous mezzo Celestine Galli-Marie; in fact it comes to us as her most well known role.  But what of the great Carmen's of our time?

Emmy Destinn

Our Carmen discography actually begins with a German-speaking recording featuring the Czech mezzo Emmy Destinn and Bruno Seidler-Winkler conducting an unknown orchestra.  Here it is with a rather odd intro and a rather brisk tempo (possibly the result of limited time to a "side" of a 78 r.p.m. recording?)  An interesting side note:  Destinn's artistry was so respected that her likeness appeared on the 2000-Czech koruna note in 1996.

We must feature Risë Stevens (an American!) as the Met's most popular mezzo during the 40's and 50's.  One must not forget that she was also a star of the big screen, appearing opposite both Nelson Eddy and Bing Crosby, among others.  It seems only appropriate that Carmen would be her swan song, offered at the Met in 1961.

De Los Angeles--WOW!

Next, I offer the amazing Victoria De Los Angeles.  Of course she was fortunate enough to reach the height of her career at the dawn of the stereo age and the recording here, with Thomas Beecham and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France.  It only better shows off her wonderful instrument, but I wonder, was she just a bit flat at the conclusion?

Diva of all divas?

Here is an odd recording (the conductor simply flies through the orchestral interludes) but it's difficult to argue with the performance of Maria Callas (still in pretty darn good voice).  While she became a caricature of herself in her later career, Opera News wrote of her in 2006, "Nearly thirty years after her death, she's still the definition of the diva as artist—and still one of classical music's best-selling vocalists."  (Of course, lest we forget, Callas was a true soprano.)

Marilyn Horne

Here's Marilyn Horne singing outdoors!  One certainly cannot argue with her sound either.  For me, the role is best offered with the darkness of the mezzo voice.  This is a singer capable of executing everything from bel canto (often with Joan Sutherland) to Wozzeck.  Diagnosed with localized pancreatic cancer in 2005, Ms. Horne is (thankfully) still with us.

Tatiana Troyanos appeared in Georg Solti's highly acclaimed recording with Placido Domingo and the London Philharmonic.  (She must also be remembered for her selection to sing on Bernstein's "definitive" (i.e. "operatic") recording of West Side Story.

Migenes-Johnson

Jessye Norman doesn't make my cut; maybe it is due to Seiji Ozawa's languishingly slow choice of tempo; for me it loses its sensuality.  On the other hand, Teresa Berganza must make my list of great Carmen's with this live performance.  And Julia Migenes-Johnson makes quite a splash in this 1984 film version, in which her counterpart, Placido Domingo looks so young (which he is!)  While most of Migenes-Johnson's career has been spent in musical theater, she pulls this off extremely well.

There is one voice missing from this list of great Carmen's and possibly my attachment is due to familiarity: this is the first recording I owned.  Of course, Herbert von Karajan assembled a "dream team" of sorts with Franco Corelli, Mirella Freni, Robert Merrill and Leontyne Price in the leading role.  With hats off to all the rest, she will remain "my" Carmen.  Although considered a "spinto" soprano, one cannot argue with her ability to pull off the demands (particularly in the lower range) of the role.

Perhaps tomorrow I should contemplate Carmen Jones?