DISTINCTLY DANGEROUS
or
Who would be a mezzo – eh?
The life of an operatic mezzo can be very dangerous indeed. A couple of weeks ago we saw the vast range of weaponry they may be required to wield but now let us consider the many other kinds of on-stage dangers they may have to face.
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Being locked in a cage with a madman
Unidentifiable madman – anyone enlighten?
Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algerei. Madrid 2009. photocredit: Javier de Real
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Being accosted by a baritone
Luca Pisaroni ( baritone) as Publio making the most of an arresting moment.
screengrab from La Clemenza di Tito. Salzburg 2003.
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Being locked in a commercial freezer, luckily, in this instance,
wearing a leopardskin coat and a high-rise wig.
Bette Davies Frau Kasarova with some beefy friends
Agrippina. Zurich 2009.
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Being strangled by a soprano, especially one who looks delighted to be doing so.
Nina Stemme is the soprano in question. Actually, that may not be a grimace of pain!
screengrab from Der Rosenkavalier. Zurich 2004.
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Being turned bright blue by the lighting guy
- but at least Ruggiero can laugh about it!
screengrab from Handel’s Alcina. Vienna 2010
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Facing the demons of Hell with only a violin for protection
Orphée wished he had listened to his mother when she told him to take up the double bass.
screengrab from Berlioz version of Gluck’s ‘Orphée et Eurydice’. Bavarian State Opera 2004
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Dangerous, but they do it … for their Art and for us. And don’t we love them for it?
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Whatever dangers you are facing …
i’m pretty sure that’s not pain she’s experiencing with Frau Stemme…
I’m pretty sure I agree.
but the subtitles were in the way all the time!!
By the way, thadieu, I tried to capture your favourite strangling scene from Alcina
ahhh!! i knew it!! was wondering HOW eyes could miss such a scene, to a point where I had to capture it myself… Having witnessed it live 3 times and on screen several hundreds.. (ahem), i can see vhy pain can be sooo wonderful… esp. when inflicted by the one and only hip-rocking alcina…….
ahhhhh
Believe me I tried really hard to get a shot without the titles across ( especially when I’m not sure what they say! ) Now – how can I work “hip-rocking” into a post ?
Hee hee. How else would we squeeze something like ‘Scherza infida’ or ‘Deh, per questo istante solo’, etc out of our beloved mezzos without throwing truckloads of pain-inducers on them, ay?
Sometimes I fear I’ve ventured into a sadistic psycho mode making my favorite mezzo groan and moan over and over again in abusing the ‘replay’ button on the stereo… It’s a lot cheaper than going to see a shrink. 
More fun too.
Thanks Smorgy. I did look up the casting for this show but I’m not familiar enough with the opera to know which character she might be locked up with! ( or why )
that must be the “ai caprici” scene, if you check out there’s another video way back with Jennifer Larmore also locked up almost in a similar cage with a similar mad man (and a gorilla!)
Carlos Chausson, his name sounds familiar, isn’t he the one arranging Paris in a dream for VK?
Yup. He’s the man. But I did have to look it up because I don’t have the recording that you have!