|
|
- Montserrat Caballe: The Woman, the Diva
Kultur Videos, 1983, VHS, 65 minutes,about $20 US.
This is a collection of arias from Caballe's repertoire of operatic
and zarzuela roles, and are performed in costumes and filmed on location
(except the cuts from a recital she gave in front of the cathedral in Barcelona).
Montserrat introduces each song, and often tells the audience how it relates
to her personal and/or professional life. All throughout the video are
references of her family life: the video begins with Montserrat at home
(?) paying tribute to her husband, Bernabe Marti.
Highlights of the video include Cleopatra's aria "V'adoro, Pupille"
from Handel's Gulio Cesare in a live performance of the opera. The staging
is a bit over the top, but Montserrat sings the aria gloriously! At the
beginning of her aria "Si, Mi Chiamano Mimi", Montserrat breaks
into a fit of giggles brought on by an unexpected tribute from an admirer
in the audience: a characteristic playful display that has endeared Caballe
to her fans the world over even more.
- Glyndebourne Gala
RM Associates, 1992, VHS & Laserdisc,112 minutes, $15.
This video from the re-opening of the opera house in Glyndebourne is
made more notable by the appearance of Montserrat singing Desdemona's "Willow
Song" and "Ave Maria" from the opening of Act 4 of Verdi's
Otello. By this point Caballe had been singing professionally for almost
forty years, yet her singing here is as fresh and exquisite as one might
hear from a much younger singer, and she caps the "Ave Maria"
with very delicate pianissimo. This is a memorable display of her formidable
technique, which has made it possible for her to stay at the top of her
profession after so many years.
This 15 minute video features the music video "Barcelona",
and two tracks from the album performed by Montserrat and Freddie at the
gala concert to raise funds for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Curiously,
the "live" performances never actually happened, as it was reported
that Mercury at the last minute got cold feet and insisted on lip-synching
the songs instead.
As it turned out, freed from concentrating on the singing aspect, Montserrat
can be seen on the video completely relaxed and beaming, and even doing
a very "un-diva like" impromptu dance. The mutual affection between
Caballe and Mercury is very much in evidence: one wonders, had they been
given another chance, what other beautiful music these two would have created.
This video is also available on a very elusive Japanese laserdisc issue
(8" Laserdisc that includes the title track, The Golden Boy and How
Can I Go On), and also recently on VideoCD format ("Bracelona"
and "The Golden Boy" as singles on 5" discs) I would be
greatful for any leads in obtaining a copy of any of these.
- Concerto di Pasqua
- Trinidad Entertainment Corporation, 2000, DVD, 70 minutes, $25.
-
- This Easter Sunday concert, part of the Jubileaum
Collection 2000AD was given in 1999 at the Basilica di Santa Maria
degli Angeli in Rome. It is an absolute treat, and thrill to finally hear
both Montserrats in a concert together.
-
- Caballe at age sixty-six has lost some, but not much of the artistry
that had kept her at the top of her profession for almost four decades.
This is collection of prayer arias and duets and includes composers from
the baroque (Handel's Messiah) up to the modern day (Bernstein's "Salmo
131" from the Chichester Psalms). Individually mother and daughter
sing wonderfully and gloriously. Montserrat Marti is introduced into the
concert with a clear-voiced "Come Unto Him" from Handel's Messiah,
and Caballe, even this late in the career gives us a beautiful "Ave
Maria" from Verdi's Otello. Together they weave wonderful harmony
in the duets, most notably in the Donizetti "Ave Maria". (A sidebar:
In the first "ora pro nobis" passage, just before the high note
on the word "ora", Caballe takes Marti's hand, as if to give
the younger singer extra moral support to get her through the hurdle; throughout
most of the concert this holding of hands will be a repeated gesture, showing
the bond between mother and daughter).
If this concert is any indication, then Montserrat Marti is well on her
way to becoming a major singer in her own right, as is seem to be her birthright.
I can only wish to hear more from her, in person or through her recorded
concerts and other performances. Her Spanish song, Alvarez's "Los
Tres Amores" was limpid, beautiful and secure, and received heartfelt
ovation. At the end of Caballe's singing of Massenet's "La Vierge",
the audience showed their admiration and love for this great diva with
a roar of applause.
While I would hate to sound unhappy given how the wonderful concert was,
it would have been wonderful to have heard Mascagni's "Regina Coeli"
from Cavalleria Rusticana along with the "Ave Maria" sung together
by Caballe and Marti. As is fitting given the venue, the penultimate piece
was Verdi's "La Virgine degli Angeli", from La Forza del Destino.
It was a triumphant evening for both Montserrats!
FIND IT HERE
ANY FAVOURITE CABALLE VIDEOS ,STORIES, PHOTOS OR PERSONAL
ANECDOTES? I AM SEEKING CONTRIBUTIONS FOR PUBLICATION WITHIN THIS WEBSITE.
nitto@unbeldi.com |
|