By MIKE SILVERMAN
For The Associated Press
Published: Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009 - 5:05 pm
BERLIN -- The notes were all there. The voice had its familiar warm
and muscular sound. The technique remains rock-solid. And yet ...

It seems that no amount of hard work or willpower could transform
Placido Domingo into the baritone for whom Verdi wrote the title role
of his opera "Simon Boccanegra."

That gradually became apparent on Saturday night as the legendary
tenor realized a long-held dream by singing his first-ever performance
as the 14th century Doge of Genoa in a new production at Berlin's
Staatsoper Unter den Linden.

Despite his determined efforts to darken his tone and give added
weight to the lower register, there's little Domingo could do about
the natural placement of his voice. When a baritone punches out the
high notes in the great Council Chamber scene, for instance, the
pressure of the voice reaching upward to the edge of its comfort zone
makes them thrilling; for Domingo, they were almost too easy.

At the other end, he managed some imposing low notes when he was able
to focus carefully; but in passages that called for him to dip down
suddenly, the sound was noticeably thinner. Both in his duet with his
long-lost daughter, Amelia, in Act 1 and in the trio joined by her
fiance, Gabriele Adorno, in Act 2, Domingo's vocal line got swallowed
up by the others.

Dramatically he is well-suited to the character, who starts the opera
as a young sailor, ages 25 years by the second scene and has to
exhibit both political leadership and paternal tenderness. Add to that
a death by slow-acting poison, and it's ready-made for an actor of
Domingo's considerable skill.

On Saturday night, he exuded a mostly generic weary grandeur but no
doubt was preoccupied with the vocal challenges. He'll have time to
grow into the role interpretively, since this is far from a one-time
event. After five more Berlin performances through Nov. 13, Domingo
will reprise the role in New York, London, Zurich, Milan and Madrid.

Domingo has said he recognizes he can't turn himself into a baritone,
but the lure of this role has been strong - and opera managers are
loath to deny a figure of his stature the indulgence. Plus, his
performances around the world regularly sell out.

At 68, age has reduced his tenor range, and that in turn has
restricted his repertoire. Most of the roles he now sings are at the
fringes of the mainstream, like the title role in Alfano's "Cyrano de
Bergerac" or the Turkish sultan Bajazet in Handel's "Tamerlano."
"Simon Boccanegra" offers a chance to perform a touchstone role of the
operatic repertory, and, let's face it, there aren't a lot of
baritones on the scene right now who can triumph in the part.

For the occasion, the Staatsoper surrounded him with a strong cast.

Soprano Anja Harteros sang a lovely Amelia, with a warm, limpid sound
and exquisite soft high notes. Only early on did she betray a bit of
harshness at the top of her register. Tenor Fabio Sartori was a
booming, bright-voiced Gabriele. Bass Kwanchul Youn, as Boccanegra's
sworn enemy Fiesco, sang smoothly, but his sound is too soft-grained
for maximum impact in the role. As the villainous Paolo, bass-baritone
Hanno Mueller-Brachmann stole every scene he was in with his potent
voice and charisma. Daniel Barenboim conducted the Staatskapelle
Berlin in a glowing account of the somber score.

To be sure, the sound of Domingo's voice - even miscast - ringing out
at full cry in an opera house is something to be treasured, especially
now that he is cheating time with every performance. So it was natural
that the first-night audience responded with foot-stomping enthusiasm
and curtain calls for him and his fellow performers that lasted 20
minutes.

The reception was far more mixed when director Federico Tiezzi brought
out his production team. Yes, they boo in Berlin, too. Perhaps it was
the drab sets, the ridiculous crashing wave that kept appearing on a
rear projection during the final scene, or Tiezzi's lack of dramatic
insight into the characters' motivations.

Whatever the case, catcalls from the balcony threatened to drown out
polite applause from below and led to a hasty exit for the production
team. The ovations continued for the performers.

Domingo has said he recognizes he can't turn himself into a baritone...........

Domingo has said he recognizes he can't turn himself into a baritone...........

And at that point this experiment should have ended.

JKH
----------------

Domingo has said he recognizes he can't turn himself into a baritone............

And at that point this experiment should have ended.

JKH

----------------
I can't get out of my mind the clip of the duet in which he struggled
to sing the role of Di Luna in the concert performance of Act 4 of Il
Trovatore in which Sondra Radvanovsky trounced him. He sounded like a
piss poor tenor trying to be a baritone.

I remember some of the duets I listened to in which he recorded with
Sherrill Milnes, and it was at times diffivult to tell who was the
tenor and who was the baritone. If he'd moved into baritone repertoire
then (1973 or there abouts at time the duets were recorded) I think
he'd have carried it off then. His voice was still supple and lithe
enough for him to give it an acceptable go. At 68, after more than
twenty years extra of usage, no matter how good his technique may be,
it looks and sounds like a desperate attempt at breaking yet more
records for the sake of vanity.

LOL

Didn't he do the same thing with pieces of music that he 'discovered'?

I know he's out of fashion, and it certainly is a style of a certain
time, but I think that of that time, there is an elegance and
communication that is quite remarkable. Not great tone - that was
Elman, imho, but what a sense of panache.

Well, I for one thought Mr. Domingo sounded quite well in the Leonora-
Di Luna duet - just as another well-known Domingo sceptic, Mr.
Handelman (who, should I mention for the sake of fairness, is normally
positive towards Mr. Domingo in Wagnerian and similar roles. And the
in the clips I heard from the general rehearsal, I found Mr. Domingo
to sing very well. But, of course, it is perfectly valid to (based, I
hope, on hearing the singing) find that the sound is not correct for
the part. And this could also be the case even if a baritone had been
singing the part (just as many people found Ms. Dessay's voice too
light etc. for Violetta even though Violetta is a soprano and Ms.
Dessay is a soprano).- Hide quoted text -
==========

On Oct 27, 4:32 pm, "richer... at (no spam) hotnail.com" <richer... at (no spam) gmail.com
wrote:





I keep feeling everyone is waiting to get a really painful flu shot,
and the anticipation becomes a large part of the pleasure.

He's the kind of artist he is, and has been, with little change, for
better or worse, for half a century. If there is no wobble or beat in
the voice, which there didn't seem to be in the Berlin review, that
will at least get him past what for me is the sine qua non of
listening, but I find it hard to get quite so keyed up about this.
Opera has always been about selling tickets to see stars, and it's
hardly like this is going to remake the landscape of Verdi.

I don't really feel that Domingo will end up leaving much of a mark on
opera, because I couldn't name three roles where I think there wasn
anything unique (and I am not sure there are even three), but he
surely seems like far and away the biggest draw of controversy among
men singers, and it can surely be said of him, as it can be said of
few, that his detractors and his supporters will miss him equally.

I honestly don't think he is that much of a source of controversy,
except within certain Internet discussion groups.  There, he is the
gift that keeps on giving.
The nice thing about advance cast listings is that if you don't like a
singer, you can avoid buying a ticket.
Best,
Ken- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

On Oct 27, 5:22 pm, Ken Meltzer <commsp... at (no spam) aol.com> wrote:



On Oct 27, 4:32 pm, "richer... at (no spam) hotnail.com" <richer... at (no spam) gmail.com
wrote:

I keep feeling everyone is waiting to get a really painful flu shot,
and the anticipation becomes a large part of the pleasure.

He's the kind of artist he is, and has been, with little change, for
better or worse, for half a century. If there is no wobble or beat in
the voice, which there didn't seem to be in the Berlin review, that
will at least get him past what for me is the sine qua non of
listening, but I find it hard to get quite so keyed up about this.
Opera has always been about selling tickets to see stars, and it's
hardly like this is going to remake the landscape of Verdi.

I don't really feel that Domingo will end up leaving much of a mark on
opera, because I couldn't name three roles where I think there wasn
anything unique (and I am not sure there are even three), but he
surely seems like far and away the biggest draw of controversy among
men singers, and it can surely be said of him, as it can be said of
few, that his detractors and his supporters will miss him equally.

I honestly don't think he is that much of a source of controversy,
except within certain Internet discussion groups.  There, he is the
gift that keeps on giving.
The nice thing about advance cast listings is that if you don't like a
singer, you can avoid buying a ticket.
Best,
Ken- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I'd like to agree with you, Ken, but the advent of the internet has
only increased and made easier this or any discussion. Around the Met,
Domingo has had his fans and detractors for more than 35 years!

Best
Ed

On Oct 27, 5:56 pm, "premiereop... at (no spam) aol.com" <edop... at (no spam) gmail.com> wrote:





On Oct 27, 5:22 pm, Ken Meltzer <commsp... at (no spam) aol.com> wrote:

On Oct 27, 4:32 pm, "richer... at (no spam) hotnail.com" <richer... at (no spam) gmail.com
wrote:

I keep feeling everyone is waiting to get a really painful flu shot,
and the anticipation becomes a large part of the pleasure.

He's the kind of artist he is, and has been, with little change, for
better or worse, for half a century. If there is no wobble or beat in
the voice, which there didn't seem to be in the Berlin review, that
will at least get him past what for me is the sine qua non of
listening, but I find it hard to get quite so keyed up about this.
Opera has always been about selling tickets to see stars, and it's
hardly like this is going to remake the landscape of Verdi.

I don't really feel that Domingo will end up leaving much of a mark on
opera, because I couldn't name three roles where I think there wasn
anything unique (and I am not sure there are even three), but he
surely seems like far and away the biggest draw of controversy among
men singers, and it can surely be said of him, as it can be said of
few, that his detractors and his supporters will miss him equally.

I honestly don't think he is that much of a source of controversy,
except within certain Internet discussion groups.  There, he is the
gift that keeps on giving.
The nice thing about advance cast listings is that if you don't like a
singer, you can avoid buying a ticket.
Best,
Ken- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I'd like to agree with you, Ken, but the advent of the internet has
only increased and made easier this or any discussion. Around the Met,
Domingo has had his fans and detractors for more than 35 years!

Best
Ed

Hi Ed:
How does that set Domingo apart from any other well-known singer?
Best,
Ken- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

On Oct 27, 6:00 pm, Ken Meltzer <commsp... at (no spam) aol.com> wrote:



On Oct 27, 5:56 pm, "premiereop... at (no spam) aol.com" <edop... at (no spam) gmail.com> wrote:

On Oct 27, 5:22 pm, Ken Meltzer <commsp... at (no spam) aol.com> wrote:

On Oct 27, 4:32 pm, "richer... at (no spam) hotnail.com" <richer... at (no spam) gmail.com
wrote:

I keep feeling everyone is waiting to get a really painful flu shot,
and the anticipation becomes a large part of the pleasure.

He's the kind of artist he is, and has been, with little change, for
better or worse, for half a century. If there is no wobble or beat in
the voice, which there didn't seem to be in the Berlin review, that
will at least get him past what for me is the sine qua non of
listening, but I find it hard to get quite so keyed up about this..
Opera has always been about selling tickets to see stars, and it's
hardly like this is going to remake the landscape of Verdi.

I don't really feel that Domingo will end up leaving much of a mark on
opera, because I couldn't name three roles where I think there wasn
anything unique (and I am not sure there are even three), but he
surely seems like far and away the biggest draw of controversy among
men singers, and it can surely be said of him, as it can be said of
few, that his detractors and his supporters will miss him equally..

I honestly don't think he is that much of a source of controversy,
except within certain Internet discussion groups.  There, he is the
gift that keeps on giving.
The nice thing about advance cast listings is that if you don't like a
singer, you can avoid buying a ticket.
Best,
Ken- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I'd like to agree with you, Ken, but the advent of the internet has
only increased and made easier this or any discussion. Around the Met,
Domingo has had his fans and detractors for more than 35 years!

Best
Ed

Hi Ed:
How does that set Domingo apart from any other well-known singer?
Best,
Ken- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Well, for one thing, I can't think of another current well known
singer who was singing 35 years ago.

Ed

On Oct 27, 6:00 pm, Ken Meltzer <commsp... at (no spam) aol.com> wrote:





On Oct 27, 5:56 pm, "premiereop... at (no spam) aol.com" <edop... at (no spam) gmail.com> wrote:

On Oct 27, 5:22 pm, Ken Meltzer <commsp... at (no spam) aol.com> wrote:

On Oct 27, 4:32 pm, "richer... at (no spam) hotnail.com" <richer... at (no spam) gmail.com
wrote:

I keep feeling everyone is waiting to get a really painful flu shot,
and the anticipation becomes a large part of the pleasure.

He's the kind of artist he is, and has been, with little change, for
better or worse, for half a century. If there is no wobble or beat in
the voice, which there didn't seem to be in the Berlin review, that
will at least get him past what for me is the sine qua non of
listening, but I find it hard to get quite so keyed up about this..
Opera has always been about selling tickets to see stars, and it's
hardly like this is going to remake the landscape of Verdi.

I don't really feel that Domingo will end up leaving much of a mark on
opera, because I couldn't name three roles where I think there wasn
anything unique (and I am not sure there are even three), but he
surely seems like far and away the biggest draw of controversy among
men singers, and it can surely be said of him, as it can be said of
few, that his detractors and his supporters will miss him equally..

I honestly don't think he is that much of a source of controversy,
except within certain Internet discussion groups.  There, he is the
gift that keeps on giving.
The nice thing about advance cast listings is that if you don't like a
singer, you can avoid buying a ticket.
Best,
Ken- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I'd like to agree with you, Ken, but the advent of the internet has
only increased and made easier this or any discussion. Around the Met,
Domingo has had his fans and detractors for more than 35 years!

Best
Ed

Hi Ed:
How does that set Domingo apart from any other well-known singer?
Best,
Ken- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Well, for one thing, I can't think of another current well known
singer who was singing 35 years ago.

Ed- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Caballe

Te Kanawa

Surely a couple of the big basses?

On Oct 27, 6:36 pm, "richer... at (no spam) hotnail.com" <richer... at (no spam) gmail.com
wrote:

Caballe

Te Kanawa

Surely a couple of the big basses?

James Morris, the Fiesco in the upcoming Met performances, has been
singing at the Met since 1971.
Best,
Ken

I really don't think that Caballe and Te Kanawa are actively pursuing
opera careers in 2009, do you? And James Morris was singing tiny roles
in the early 70's.

As for Tony Bennett, I think he sounds awful
today, and never cared for him even 30 or 40 years ago.
And- to bring this full circle, Richard Tucker was approached in early
1974 about a movie based on his life. When he was told that Tony
Bennett was being considered to play the title role, he nixed the
project. It never got any futher, as Tucker died less than a year
later. I always wondered if Tony Bennett was going to do the singing,
too!
Ed