Renee Fleming - Renée Fleming - I Want Magic! ~ American Opera Arias
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CD Details
Artist: Renee FlemingBrand: FLEMING,RENEE
Composer: George Gershwin
Composer: Carlisle Floyd / Igor Stravinsky
Composer: Leonard Bernstein
Composer: Douglas S. Moore
Composer: Bernard Herrmann
Composer: Gian Carlo Menotti
Composer: Samuel Barber / Andre Previn
Conductor: James Levine
Orchestra: Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Original Language)
CD Release Date: 1998-09-15
Music Label: Decca
Soundtracks:
- Wuthering Heights: I Have Dreamt
- The Ballad Of Baby Doe: The Letter Song
- The Medium: Monica's Waltz
- Porgy And Bess: Summertime
- Porgy And Bess: My Man's Gone Now
- Candide: Glitter And Be Gay
- Susannah: Ain't It A Pretty Night
- Susannah: The Trees on the Mountains
- The Rake's Progress: No Word From Tom ... I Go, I Go To Him
- VANESSA: He Has Come, He Has Come
- A Streetcar Named Desire: I Want Magic!
Music reviews of Renée Fleming - I Want Magic! ~ American Opera Arias
Music Review: Exceptional
Rating: 5 Stars
The music recorded is simply wonderful, and sadly, so much of it is so neglected. We are hearing quality music. I really love Flemming's voice, but I must chastize her here, for her diction in English is not good enough. It falls far below her diction in other languages which are foreign to her. The music we are treated to is simply wonderful, engaging (Wuthering Heights simple blew me away, and this selection from it is moving), and truly exceptional. What is needed is diction that is equally clear and crisp. We don't ever get that from opera singers when they sing English, even if English is their native language. That was not a problem in the past so much, for I have old recordings from the early part of the 20th century and the diction is super clear. Singers then knew they had to sing English with as much clarity as they sang the Italian masters. Some of them in the past, like Ponselle, sang a too heavily rolled "R" for what is natural, but I doubt most singer would do that today. It is even more important for us who speak English to have the privilege of hearing our language sung so we can understand it. When we hear oratorio (the Messiah, for example) we are nearly always treated to excellent diction. Why can't we have this in opera? Flemming sang jazz before opera, and she knows all about the "belting technique." That sort of very forward focus with less back space than used in classical singing suits English, and brings clarity to the words. Total belting would sound too much like broadway, but total "classical technique" sounds too Italian and foreign, and makes English sound like the singers are "affected" or singing with a mouth full of mashed potatoes. When singing English, singers need to strive more for clarity, even if that means they must sacrifice a bit of the very round tone used in singing in Foreign languages. They need to understand that English has no pure vowels, and to stop singing it as if it does, that only adds to the lack of clarity, and the "foreigner" sound they bring to their words. When one hears a native English speaker, like Flemming, and then has difficulty understanding her words, it is truly disappointing. I fully appreciate the comment by one reviewer that stated, "Does she even know what she is singing about." From the amount of words one actually can understand, one has to wonder. Too often English sounds like mournful vocalizes. In some ways, Flemming has accomplished that here. What makes it worse is the microphone would pick up the tiniest of nuances, and it should have picked up her diction better, but it can't give us diction that is not there. I loved the recording just the same for the beauty of the singing, the beauty of her sound, and the beauty of this incredible music. I really can't understand its neglect.
Description of Renée Fleming - I Want Magic! ~ American Opera Arias
Soprano sensation Renee Fleming performs American arias by Bernard Herrmann, Douglas Moore, George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, Samuel Barber, Andre Previn and Igor Stravinsky.Genre: Classical Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 15-SEP-1998
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