Table Of Contents: October 2006

5th Annual Diva Issue

Vol. 71, No. 4

Deborah Voigt
Martina Arroyo
Fiorenza Cossotto
Teresa Berganza
Elaine Stritch
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Remembered
Eglise Gutierrez
Sena Jurinac

Features

Family Drama

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This month, Robert Carsen brings his new production of Iphigénie en Tauride to the stage of Lyric Opera of Chicago. ADAM WASSERMAN spoke with the director about Gluck's singular dramatic disposition and why Iphigénie may just be the darkest opera in the repertory.

Podcast: To Hell and Back

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This week, San Francisco-based period-instrument orchestra Philharmonia Baroque presents the world premiere of a new mini-opera by composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer. Titled To Hell and Back, it features the starry casting of none other than Isabel Bayrakdarian and Patti LuPone. For an exclusive preview of this singular new work, check out OPERA NEWS' inaugural podcast.

Turning Point

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Deborah Voigt didn't like the way she looked or felt, and she took a radical step to change the situation. BARRY SINGER talks to the soprano about how her decision has affected her career, her vocal health and her outlook on life.

Martina - Straight Up With a Twist

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Is there life after Verdi? In her newest role as director of the "Prelude to Performance" workshop, Martina Arroyo answers with a resounding "Sì." SCOTT BARNES reports.

Fiorenza, Full Throttle

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Fiorenza Cossotto was one of the blazing dramatic mezzos of her time - or any time. Her style was controversial, onstage and off, but one was never, ever, bored. IRA SIFF speaks to an artist fully deserving of the title "legend."

Spanish Rose

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Teresa Berganza brought to florid music an enchantment and technical skill that have seldom been matched. PETER G. DAVIS succumbs to the enduring charm of the mezzo.

Surviving the Crunch

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Elaine Stritch's remarkable stage career has encompassed Edward Albee, William Inge, Stephen Sondheim and Noël Coward. She hasn't always been easy, and she hasn't always been popular with her colleagues - but today, in her brilliant cabaret act at New York's Café Carlyle, she's a bigger star than ever. EDWARD HIBBERT sits down with his favorite tough-talking chanteuse.

Everything in the Garden

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Lotusland, an earthly paradise in Santa Barbara, has given Ganna Walska a bountiful legacy that her singing career failed to provide. JOSEF WOODARD takes time to smell the flowers.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf

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JANET CHOI and OUSSAMA ZAHR look at the singular life and career of Dame Elisabeth, who died on August 3 at the age of ninety.

Departments

Recordings

In Review

Viewpoint: Transformation Scenes

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by F. PAUL DRISCOLL

Letters

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OperaWatch

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by SO-CHUNG SHINN

On the Beat

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Graves plays chairman of her own board, while two divas go back to school: Blythe for a new opera at Crane, McNair to the faculty of IU Jacobs.
by BRIAN KELLOW

Sound Bites: Eglise Gutierrez

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by SCOTT BARNES

Reunion: Sena Jurinac

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by MARTIN BERNHEIMER

Houston Grand Opera Radio Broadcasts

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Houston Grand Opera hits the airwaves with its eighth season on National Public Radio's World of Opera, beginning on Saturday, October 14, 2006

Dateline: North America

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by JANET CHOI