Elina Garanca: I’m done with Mozart
mainThe Latvian mezzo, returning after a break of several months caring for and mourning her late mother, suggests that her voice is changing.
‘I think my time with Mozart is over,’ she tells Kurier. ‘Also Octavian in Rosenkavalier, after a farewell Met performance in a couple of eyars.’
Elina, still only 39, sings Charlotte in Massenet’s Werther at the Vienna State Opera tonight.
IMHO any singer who makes that kind of statement is on dangerous ground. Mozart is a tonic for the voice and should be sung for as long as possible to keep vocally fresh even as you move to heavier repertoire. I think what she means is “there are no limelight-grabbing star roles for mezzos in Mozart and I only want to sing roles that are in the opera’s title…”
Are you a singer? It’s actually NOT a “tonic” for everybody, plus as the woman gets older and more mature maybe she doesn’t feel like playing an adolescent boy anymore (most pants roles are between the ages of 15-early twenties at the most!). It’s probably more of a mental thing. Garanca is an amazing singer, and I’m pretty sure she knows what she’s doing! Also, not cool to insult her by insinuating that she only wants to do starring roles, she’s done her time in the other stuff.
Technically, Charlotte is not in in the title of Massenetโs Werther ๐
And Azucena is not the title role in “Il Trovatore”, but Verdi had originally wanted to call the opera “La Zingara”. ๐ ๐
The dramatic weight is the clue.
And who is the “Merchant of Venice”? Shylock, or Antonio?
I understand her reasons. I think she’s great and would go to listen to her if she came to my area.
I agree. Mozart is not a tonic to a larger voice at least not mine. For many people Verdi and Bellini is.lol
As something of a fan, I’m disappointed to hear this. Garanca’s Octavian has never been less than top notch and one magical evening she contributed to perhaps the best Cosi I will ever see, one of those nights when everything went right.
She’s a smart person so presumably knows what she’s doing (although her judgement may not be perfect: I find her Carmen unconvincing, a role she says she took on to prove she is not a cool northern blonde).
By the way I first saw her covered in grey paint as Sesto and was knocked out there and then, so can’t be accused of having my judgement swayed by her beauty, which was not on show in that production.