I really hope I get to see her live soon. She has it as far as understanding and expression of Wagner goes, and of course she possesses the instrument. Too bad she doesn't have a wide range of colors in her voice yet. But hers is a large voice, and probably very difficult to manage, and she manages it very well, in my humble opinion. This song cycle becomes an experience.
I like her very much.
I like her very much.
I don't really agree about the lack of colors in her voice. She probably wouldn't have been able to sing so many different roles, if that where the case. But she isn't a Mozart singer, if that's what you mean. I think you can erase the word 'yet'. She never will be. But I wouldn't ask for more than what she is today.
ReplyDeleteHi and thanks.
ReplyDeleteNo, no...I wasn't thinking anything near Mozart.
She is very intense and never boring and I know how many things she sings.
I just wonder if she will learn to use her wonderful face to shade her voice more. Not many people teach that or ask for it. This is my blog and I speak about the things I'm interested in. Her Sieglinde is unsurpassed in contemporary times. :)
Undoubtedly it will be interesting to see if and how her voice develops over the years, in the long term. Eva is always very critical of herself, eager to learn and to improve. It also has to do with career choices she makes, the things she wants to sing. For example Isolde will be totally different from Sieglinde. She sang the Wesendonck Lieder as a kind of rehearsal for Isolde, a role she'll be playing in Dresden 2013 and Bayreuth 2015. I was there when she did these songs. Generally it was very good. I thought 'Im Treibhaus' was the most challenging for her. I could also see that, some 14 feet away from her, in her body language right before the song. But she'll have some time to make a great Isolde, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteWow! How interesting. Thank you for sharing. It was clear to me that she would eventually sing Isolde. I'm excited for her. She's just one of a kind out there right now. You know that "Im Treibhaus" is very challenging for any large voice. Christine Brewer said in an interview that she relates that song to herself being on the road and far away from home. Cheers to you Rob V.
ReplyDeleteP.S. read what I said about Eva in my post "the twin sister". That explains how I feel. :)
ReplyDeleteI read your interesting post "the twin sister". It's also interesting to know you're singing the same character(!) This way you could relate much more to what Eva said in the SFOpera interview, of course. I was intrigued by the 'learning der Manner Sippe' line. I think, as an example of how one could perform this, the way Eva sang this particular piece in the Aix-en-Provence Walkure (on blu-ray) was really exceptional. The best I've heard from her, I think. Better then in the YouTube Concertgebouw Walkure clip. The Aix-en-Provence Walkure was a production that wasn't too physically demanding, so she could have al her energy focused on vocal expression instead of dramatic/acting expression. There is always a trade-off between the two and I really hope, for Westbroek admirers, the Met Walkure stage director finds the right balance.
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ReplyDeleteI have seen the Aix production advertised on youtube and would like to watch it.
ReplyDeleteIsn't that something about what you say about all the moving around on stage. Maybe that's why we hear so often today, "oh, she's a great actress". Well, yeah. But I don't like the voice of some of our great actresses out there who really thrive when they can out-act their voices (e.g. a rather petite French lady). But acting is important. And directors shouldn't expect athletic acting performances. In München this February I saw Anita Rachvelishvili sing Carmen. She had to walk in on a very slanted stage in high heels. Just before she got to where she needed to be and 3 seconds before the first words of the Habanera she tripped. The audience gasped. But she dismissed the incident with a wave of the hand and this superior gypsy grin and offered a great Habanera. I was impressed.
Indeed, it was all the moving around that I was referring to. As you say, directors shouldn't expect nor promote athletic acting performances. Dramatic expression in general, or the amount of moving around, should serve vocal expression. Not the other way around, in my opinion. That's what I liked in the Stephane Braunschweig Walkure production of Aix-en-Provence. It was a minimalistic staging with 'subtle' acting. Little gestures, facial expressions instead of big stage movements. More psychological then physical. The focus was on the singing and the storytelling. Eva is such a fantastic actress, even in close-ups. It is totally believable. She's a natural talent. In the early days she wanted to be a ballet dancer or actress. But she doesn't have an acting background. She was just born with it, that's what I think. The Walkure production I was referring to contains the best of Eva I've seen so far and she had a roof raising applause. I would highly recommend it.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, funny you should say "...hers is a large voice, and probably very difficult to manage...". I think you're right. Eva herself once described her voice as a horse out of control, galloping away with her. Nowadays, with the help of James McCray, Eva herself is in control, not her voice.
ReplyDeleteYou seem to know her well or at least a lot about her. It's very interesting. I personally understand the support and focus issues with a large voice.
ReplyDeleteIn case you do know her personally, let her know, that some aspiring opera singer out there who has the same rep but is not in competition is following her career, wishing her all the best, and looking up to her as a strong, sort of nature-type woman. There aren't many worth following, I must admit. :) Would be great to meet her someday.
I think I know her quite well, without really knowing her personally. I've been following her career closely. In the Netherlands we've had some documentaries about her, I've read all her interviews and sometimes I get the chance of seeing her live. Most of the times she's abroad. I wouldn't exclude you meeting her someday. Everyone seems to agree she's a very nice person, modest, sociable, no 'diva-like' behavior at all. Maybe you could give it a try. She's in your country right now. I really think she would be interested in meeting an aspiring opera singer, with the same rep. Enough to talk about. Recently another blogger, Sarah Noble (Vocal Supporter), met Eva when she was going out for lunch! When she's abroad Eva usually has her little dog Ruby with her and they're walking around in the city where she performs. So, who knows? :) Maybe we'll better leave it at that, for the time being. I could talk about her for hours :). I would like to wish you the very best in your career and it was very nice chatting with you about Eva-Maria Westbroek.
ReplyDeleteWell, likewise it was nice chatting with you. And to you all the best! It's nice to swoon over a common passion. Take care.
ReplyDeleteJust one little 'encore'. If you would be interested in some documentary material about Eva and/or the televised transmission of The Wesendonck Lieder sung by Eva (as part of the Christmas Matinee 2010, also featuring Beethoven 7 by the RCO), please don't hesitate to contact me. YouTube account visse264. I've made multiple DVD copies for other Eva enthusiasts. Just two months ago I sent a package to someone in New York. For free. Because, outside of opera houses and concert halls, Eva should be freely accessible. That's what I think. Bye.
ReplyDeleteThank you Rob V. I agree. I'll keep you posted.
ReplyDeleteSorry to interrupt your business, and I certainly don't need an immediate answer, but I came across something interesting. At least to me. It is related to what you said about a certain lack of color in Eva's voice. I was looking in the OPERA-L Archives and found a german review about Eva's Fanciulla (dec. 2009): http://listserv.bccls.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0912D&L=OPERA-L&P=R221&D=0&m=251669
ReplyDeleteOne moment he is talking about '...ziemlich wandelbare Westbroek-Stimme...'. Does this have anything to do with coloring? Could you tell me a bit about the difference between what you meant and what he suggests. I do know (Eva documentary) that an important voice teacher of hers, James McCray, told that she has something very special with her vocal cords (anatomic-wise) that allows her to go from one place to a sort of different upper space very easily (at 1:50" in your Der Engel clip at this page could be an example). Is that what the german reviewer means? What do you think?
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI don't know if he was talking about color. Obviously she can do a lot with her voice. Wandelbar maybe because she can sing somethings heavily and others lighter. I don't really know. I don't know what her teacher James McCray meant exactly, but for me her absolute joker is how she handles the chest voice, dips in and out of it. The example you showed wasn't chest voice. You can find it in her Sieglinde monologue "Der Männer Sippe" on the words (Schächer ihm schenkten zur...) "Frau" and then again on "während" (...sie tranken). Those are the best examples to me of someone who is in full charge of the lower passaggio. Anyway. When you ask me about color. Check out Sylvia Sass in her earlier recordings. For example in "Poveri Fiori". Her haunting color, which she changed at her command like a painter changes his, is remarkable. Cheers.
I don't think the reviewer was talking about color, really. You're probably right with your definition of 'wandelbar', it doesn't have to do with the shading of color you talked about earlier. It's very interesting to get an insight in the technique. I just wonder if, listening to singing, you can separate professional listening from just listening to enjoy. I wish, some day, you get to hear her Sieglinde from the Aix Walkure (Blu-ray or DVD). She never sung a better Sieglinde, since. She felt like flying, that's how she looked back at it. A total flow. French papers were totally stunned. The other day I had a very short chat with a french guy who attended four performances over there. It's on facebook Eva-Maria Westbroek, below her MET walkure clip. James McCray thinks she has a spectacular voice, most like Tebaldi's. Probably no coincidence Eva absolutely adores Tebaldi. She had tears in her eyes listening to her in the documentary. I'll look up the examples. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, very special, Sylvia Sass. Extraordinary how quickly those colorings change. Didn't really know her.
ReplyDeleteJust one little addition, probably related to the subject, Eva recently 'admitted' she definitely isn't a Coloratura singer. This presented some extra difficulties for her to learn the role (the singing) of Anna Nicole. Apart from the texan accent, for which she had a language coach. See you.
ReplyDeleteWho needs another coloratura singer? We need Isoldes, Brünnhildes, Sieglindes, Lady Macbeths, and Leonores (Fidelio).
ReplyDeleteWhat modern composers don't really understand is that you put your staple on the role by the way it's written, i.e. the coloratura in Donna Anna, The chest to high voice leaps and high D flat in Lady Macbeth, the piano high notes and low notes in Ariadne (auf Naxos), the 1 1/2 octave leaps in Fidelio's Leonore and last but not least the high F in the Queen of the Night. etc. etc.
That's how it's always been. If the role Anna Nicole was practically written for Eva, I don't understand that aspect of it :)
Even so, it was practically written for her, she felt that way. It was a lot of adapting for her, but everyone seems to agree it worked out well. I think you can see a little example of the difficulty for her in the 'Jimmy shoes' fragment in Anna Nicole YouTube clips. She hardly manages to get to speed. It's her voice type, I think. She hadn't sung in English before, let alone Texan. She didn't really manage to hold on to the accent. As the blog of Likely Impossibilities pointed out, 'her texan accent swam in and out'. Not really surprised about that. Would you agree with Eva's vocal teacher, James McCray, that there are similarities between Eva's voice and Tebaldi's? I believe Tebaldi wasn't really into Wagner, more into Puccini.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about comparing her to Tebaldi. I don't really hear it. If the color is similar, then because Tebaldi darkened her vowels (typical Italian style singing). A lot of people like to make comparisons. It's better if one has a unique sound. I mean, one hears different things depending on the repertoire. I've heard her making sounds like Leontyne Price for example. Now, there could be worse! But I would never say she sounds like her.
ReplyDeleteI understand. I think Eva-Maria would never compare herself with someone like Tebaldi, being very modest. She probably thinks she doesn't come any way near her. It's not her goal to sound like her, of course. I do know Eva's mother bought her a number of Maria Callas albums. But there was one side with Tebaldi. Listening to that she was 'in heaven', so to speak. It's probably not that useful or fair to compare singers, in a way. Everybody has got a unique sound of his or her own. Interesting to learn you even worked with Sylvia Sass. Beautiful voice. I read the things she said about meeting with Maria Callas. It looks like the latter had something you yourself don't particularly like an opera singer to have: an attitude. Somewhere else I read something that suggests Callas wasn't very nice about Tebaldi either. Diva like behavior, I guess...
ReplyDeleteYes, it's true (about Callas). But you know, here was this young, beautiful and talented woman, of whom the world said she was the next Callas, and Callas was still alive and struggling! That would really suck. But, the chapter about Callas is a long one and she sat down with Sylvia finally and talked about many things, opening up to her and being very generous in her advice. Callas was like a cat who arches her back and spreads her claws before becoming docile and loving :D
ReplyDeleteI have to confess I didn't read the entire story of the meeting (all the way through), but the first part surely didn't look too promising. Glad Sylvia didn't get any scratches, in the end. It turned out to be a good meeting. It's hard for me to imagine Eva getting into Diva like behavior. I certainly don't hope to see that day. A dutch interviewer recently went to Covent Garden to do an interview with her about Anna Nicole. Walking through the halls, she was told: "Everybody here loves Eva". Kaufmann, about the collaboration with her in the Verismo Arias: "she is one of the loveliest people you can imagine". Let's keep it like that. Diva like behavior won't bring you far, I think.
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