Shirley Verrett |

Shirley Verrett

ʻAʻole hou ʻo "Black Callas". Ua haʻalele ʻo ia i kēia ao ma Nowemapa 5, 2010. ʻO ka nalowale ʻana o Shirley Verret mai kahi ʻano o ka mea hiki ʻole ke hoʻoponopono.

ʻO ka poʻe i kamaʻāina i nā moʻolelo kaulana o ka Hema, inā paha ʻo Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind a ʻo Maurice Denouzier's Louisiana, e kamaʻāina i nā hōʻailona he nui o ke ola o Shirley Verrett. Ua hānau ʻia ʻo ia ma ka lā 31 o Mei, 1931 ma New Orleans, Louisiana. ʻO kēia ka ʻAmelika Hema maoli! ʻO ka hoʻoilina moʻomeheu o ka poʻe colonialist Farani (no laila ke kauoha kūpono ʻole o ka ʻōlelo Farani, he mea hoihoi loa ia i ka wā i hīmeni ai ʻo Shirley iā "Carmen"), ʻo ka hoʻomana hohonu loa: ʻo kona ʻohana no ka Seventh-day Adventist sect, a ʻo kona kupuna wahine kekahi mea. he shaman, he mea maʻamau ka animism ma waena o Creoles. He hui kūkulu hale ko ka makuakāne o Shirley, a i kona wā kamaliʻi, neʻe ka ʻohana i Los Angeles. ʻO Shirley kekahi o nā keiki ʻelima. Ma kāna mau memo, ua kākau ʻo ia he kāne maikaʻi kona makuakāne, akā ʻo ka hoʻopaʻi ʻana i nā keiki me ke kāʻei he mea maʻamau iā ia. ʻO nā hiʻohiʻona o ke kumu o Shirley a me ka pili hoʻomana i hoʻopilikia iā ia i ka wā e hiki mai ana ka manaʻo o ka lilo ʻana i mea mele: kākoʻo ka ʻohana i kāna koho, akā mālama ʻia ka opera me ka hoʻohewa. ʻAʻole e hoʻopilikia nā ʻohana iā ia inā pili ia i ka ʻoihana o kahi mele mele e like me Marian Anderson, akā ʻo ka opera! Ua hoʻomaka ʻo ia e aʻo i ka mele ma kona ʻāina ʻo Louisiana a hoʻomau i kāna aʻo ʻana ma Los Angeles e hoʻopau i kāna mau haʻawina ma ke kula ʻo Juilliard ma New York. ʻO kāna hana keaka hoʻomaka ma Britten's The Rape of Lucrezia i ka makahiki 1957. I kēlā mau lā, he mea kakaikahi ka poʻe mele keaka kala. Ua ʻike ʻo Shirley Verrett i ka ʻawaʻawa a me ka hoʻohaʻahaʻa o kēia kūlana i loko o kona ʻili ponoʻī. ʻOiai ʻo Leopold Stokowski ʻaʻohe mana: makemake ʻo ia e hīmeni ʻo Schoenberg i ka "Gurr's Songs" me ia i kahi ʻahamele ma Houston, akā ua ala nā lālā orkestra i ka make e kūʻē i ka mea mele ʻeleʻele. Ua kamaʻilio ʻo ia e pili ana i kēia ma kāna puke autobiographical I Never Walked Alone.

I ka makahiki 1951, ua male ʻo Verret ʻōpio iā James Carter, he ʻumikūmāhā mau makahiki i ʻoi aku ma mua o ia a hōʻike iā ia iho he kanaka maʻalahi i ka hoʻomalu a me ka hoʻomanawanui. Ma nā pepa o ia manawa, ua kapa ʻia ka mea mele ʻo Shirley Verrett-Carter. ʻO kāna male lua, me Lou LoMonaco, ua hoʻopau ʻia i ka makahiki 1963 a ua mau a hiki i ka make ʻana o ka mea pena. He ʻelua makahiki ma hope o kona lanakila ʻana i ka hoʻolohe manaʻo Metropolitan Opera.

I ka makahiki 1959, ua hana ʻo Verrett i kāna hiʻohiʻona ʻEulopa mua, e hana ana i kāna hoʻomaka mua ma Cologne ma Nicholas Nabokov's The Death of Rasputin. ʻO ka hoʻololi ʻana i kāna ʻoihana ʻo 1962: ʻo ia ka mea i hana ai ʻo Carmen ma ka Festival of Two Worlds ma Spoleto a ua hoʻomaka koke ʻo ia i kāna hana mua ma New York City Opera (Irina in Weil's Lost in the Stars). Ma Spoleto, hele kona ʻohana i ka hana ʻo "Carmen": hoʻolohe kona mau ʻohana iā ia, hāʻule i ko lākou mau kuli a noi aku i ke kala ʻana mai ke Akua. I ka makahiki 1964, hīmeni ʻo Shirley iā Carmen ma ke kahua o ka Hale Hōʻikeʻike Bolshoi: he ʻoiaʻiʻo loa, e noʻonoʻo ana ua hana kēia i ke kiʻekiʻe loa o ke Kaua anuanu.

I ka hopena, ua haki ka hau, a ua wehe ʻia nā puka o nā hale opera hanohano loa o ka honua no Shirley Verrett: i ka makahiki 60, ua hana ʻia kāna mau hoʻomaka ma Covent Garden (Ulrika i ka Masquerade Ball), ma ka Comunale Theatre ma Florence a ʻO ka ʻOpera Metropolitan ma New York (Carmen), ma La Scala Theatre (Dalila ma Samesona a me Delilah). Ma hope mai, ua hoʻonani kona inoa i nā mea hoʻolaha o nā hale keaka hanohano a me nā keʻena ʻaha mele ma ka honua: ka Paris Grand Opera, ka Vienna State Opera, ka ʻOpera San Francisco, ka Chicago Lyric Opera, Carnegie Hall.

I nā makahiki 1970 a me 80, pili pili loa ʻo Verrett me ka alakaʻi alakaʻi ʻo Boston Opera a me ke alakaʻi ʻo Sarah Calwell. ʻO ia me kēia kūlanakauhale e pili ana kāna Aida, Norma a me Tosca. I ka makahiki 1981, hīmeni ʻo Verrett iā Desdemona ma Othello. Akā ʻo kāna komo mua ʻana i ka repertoire soprano i hana ʻia i ka makahiki 1967, i ka wā i hīmeni ai ʻo ia i ka hapa o Elizabeth ma Donizetti's Mary Stuart ma ka hoʻolauleʻa Florentine Musical May. ʻO ka "hoʻololi" o ka mea mele i ke alakaʻi ʻana i nā hana soprano i hana i nā pane like ʻole. Ua manaʻo kekahi poʻe hoʻohewa mahalo i kēia hewa. Ua hoʻopaʻapaʻa ʻia ʻo ka hana like ʻana o ka mezzo-soprano a me nā piano soprano i alakaʻi i kona leo e "hoʻokaʻawale" i ʻelua mau papa inoa ʻokoʻa. Akā, ua loaʻa pū ʻo Verrett i kahi maʻi maʻi i hoʻopilikia ʻia i ka bronchial obstruction. Hiki i kahi hoʻouka ke "mow" iā ia me ka manaʻo ʻole. I ka makahiki 1976, hīmeni ʻo ia i ka ʻāpana o Adalgiza ma ka Met a, ʻeono wale nō pule ma hope mai, ma ka huakaʻi me kāna hui ʻo Norma. Ma Bosetona, ua hoʻokipa ʻia kāna Norma me ka ʻoliʻoli nui. Akā i ʻekolu mau makahiki ma hope mai, i ka makahiki 1979, i ka wā i ʻike ʻia ai ʻo ia ʻo Norma ma ke kahua o ka Met, ua loaʻa iā ia kahi maʻi maʻi, a ua hoʻopilikia maikaʻi kēia i kāna mele. 'O ka nui, ua ho'okani 'o ia ma ke kahua o ka hale keaka kaulana i 126 mau manawa, a, ma ke 'ano he kūlana, he lanakila nui.

I ka makahiki 1973, ua wehe ʻia ka Metropolitan Opera me ka hoʻomaka mua o Les Troyens na Berlioz me John Vickers ʻo Aeneas. ʻAʻole wale ʻo Verrett i hīmeni iā ​​Cassandra ma ka hapa mua o ka opera duology, akā ua hoʻololi pū ʻo Christa Ludwig iā Dido ma ka lua. Ua mau kēia hana ma nā moʻolelo opera. Ma 1975, ma ka Met like, ua lanakila ʻo ia ma ke ʻano ʻo Neocles ma Rossini's The Siege of Corinth. ʻO kāna mau hoa ʻo Justino Diaz lāua ʻo Beverly Sills: no ka mea, he hoʻomaka lōʻihi ia ma ke kahua o ka hale opera kaulana loa ma ʻAmelika Hui Pū ʻIa. I ka makahiki 1979 ʻo ia ʻo Tosca a ʻo kāna Cavaradossi ʻo Luciano Pavarotti. Ua hoʻolaha ʻia kēia hana ma ke televise a hoʻokuʻu ʻia ma DVD.

ʻO Verrett ka hōkū o ka ʻOpera Paris, nāna i hoʻokani kūikawā iā Rossini's Moses, Cherubini's Medea, Verdi's Macbeth, Iphigenia ma Tauris a me Gluck's Alceste. Ma 1990, ua komo ʻo ia i ka hana ʻana o Les Troyens, i hoʻolaʻa ʻia no ka hoʻolauleʻa ʻana i ka makahiki XNUMXth o ka ʻino o ka Bastille a me ka wehe ʻana o ka Bastille Opera.

ʻAʻole i ʻike piha ʻia nā lanakila keaka o Shirley Verrett ma ka moʻolelo. I ka hoʻomaka ʻana o kāna ʻoihana, ua hoʻopaʻa ʻo ia ma RCA: Orpheus a me Eurydice, The Force of Destiny, Luisa Miller me Carlo Bergonzi lāua ʻo Anna Moffo, Un ballo ma maschera me ka Bergonzi a me Leontine Price, Lucrezia Borgi me ke komo ʻana ʻo Montserrat Caballe a me Alfredo Kraus. A laila ua pau kāna kūʻokoʻa me RCA, a mai ka makahiki 1970 ua hoʻokuʻu ʻia nā hoʻopaʻa ʻana o nā opera me kona komo ʻana ma lalo o nā lepili o EMI, Westminster Records, Deutsche Grammophon a me Decca. ʻO kēia ʻo Don Carlos, Anna Boleyn, Norma (Adalgisa's part), Siege of Corinth (Neocles' part), Macbeth, Rigoletto a me Il trovatore. ʻOiaʻiʻo, ʻaʻole i nānā iki nā hui leo iā ia.

Ua hoʻopau ʻia ko Verrett ʻoihana akamai a kū hoʻokahi i ka hoʻomaka ʻana o nā makahiki 1990. I ka makahiki 1994, ua hana ʻo Shirley i kāna hoʻomaka mua ma Broadway ma ke ʻano he Netti Fowler ma Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical Carousel. Ua makemake mau ʻo ia i kēia ʻano mele. ʻO ka piko o ka hana a Natty ʻo ia ke mele "ʻAʻole ʻoe e hele mehameha". Ua lilo kēia mau huaʻōlelo i hoʻohālikelike ʻia i poʻo inoa o ka puke moʻolelo pilikino a Shirley Verrett, ʻAʻole wau i hele wale, a ua lanakila ka pāʻani iā ​​​​ia ʻelima Tony Awards.

I Kepakemapa 1996, hoʻomaka ʻo Verrett e aʻo i ka hīmeni ʻana ma ke Kula ʻo Music, Theatre a me Hula o ke Kulanui o Michigan. Ua hāʻawi ʻo ia i nā papa haku ma ʻAmelika Hui Pū ʻIa a me ʻEulopa.

ʻO ka leo o Shirley Verrett he leo kūʻokoʻa. ʻAʻole hiki ke manaʻo nui ʻia kēia leo, ʻoiai ua ʻike ʻia e kekahi poʻe hoʻohewa he "mana". Ma ka ʻaoʻao ʻē aʻe, ua loaʻa i ka mea mele ke kani kani kani, ka hana leo maikaʻi ʻole a me kahi timbre hoʻokahi (ʻo ia ka mea i nele i ka pilikia nui o nā mea mele opera hou!). ʻO Verrett kekahi o nā mezzo-soprano koʻikoʻi o kāna hanauna, ʻo kāna mau wehewehe ʻana i nā kuleana e like me Carmen lāua ʻo Delila e mau loa ana i ka moʻolelo o ka opera. Poina ʻole ʻia kāna Orpheus ma Gluck's opera o ka inoa like, ʻo Leonora ma The Favorite, Azucena, Princess Eboli, Amneris. I ka manawa like, ʻo ka nele o nā pilikia ma ka papa inoa o luna a me ka sonority ua ʻae iā ia e hana maikaʻi i ka repertoire soprano. Ua hīmeni ʻo ia iā Leonora ma Fidelio, Celica ma The African Woman, Norma, Amelia i Un ballo in maschera, Desdemona, Aida, Santuzza in Rural Honor, Tosca, Judit ma Bartók's Bluebeard Duke's Castle, Madame Lidoin ma "Dialogues of the Carmelites" Poulenc. Ua hele pū kekahi lanakila me ia ma ke kuleana o Lady Macbeth. Me kēia opera ua wehe ʻo ia i ka manawa 1975-76 ma Teatro alla Scala i alakaʻi ʻia e Giorgio Strehler a alakaʻi ʻia e Claudio Abbado. I ka makahiki 1987, ua kiʻi ʻo Claude d'Anna i kahi opera me Leo Nucci ʻo Macbeth a me Riccardo Chailly i alakaʻi. ʻAʻole ia e hoʻonui i ka ʻōlelo ʻana ʻo Verrett kekahi o nā mea hoʻokani maikaʻi loa o ke kuleana o ka Lede i loko o ka moʻolelo holoʻokoʻa o kēia keaka, a ke holo mau nei ka goosebumps ma ka ʻili o kahi mea hoʻolohe makaʻala mai ka nānā ʻana i ke kiʻiʻoniʻoni.

Hiki ke hoʻokaʻawale ʻia ka leo o Verrett ma ke ʻano he soprano "falcon", ʻaʻole maʻalahi ke ʻike maopopo. He kea ia ma waena o ka soprano a me ka mezzo-soprano, he leo i makemake nui ʻia e ka poʻe haku mele Farani o ka makahiki ʻumikumamāiwa a me nā Italia i kākau i nā keaka no ke kahua Parisian; ʻO nā ʻāpana no kēia ʻano leo ʻo Celica, Delilah, Dido, Princess Eboli.

He hiʻohiʻona hoihoi ko Shirley Verret, he minoʻaka maikaʻi, he kūlana charisma, he makana hana maoli. Akā, e hoʻomau ʻo ia i ka moʻolelo o ka mele ma ke ʻano he mea noiʻi luhi ʻole ma ke kahua o ka ʻōlelo, nā leo, nā aka a me nā ʻano hou o ka ʻōlelo. Ua hoʻopili ʻo ia i ka mea nui i ka ʻōlelo. ʻO kēia mau ʻano maikaʻi a pau i hoʻohālikelike ʻia me Maria Callas, a ua kapa pinepine ʻia ʻo Verrett ʻo "La nera Callas, ka Black Callas".

Ua ʻōlelo maikaʻi ʻo Shirley Verrett i ka honua ma ka lā 5 o Nowemapa, 2010 ma Ann Arbor. He kanahikukūmāiwa ona makahiki. ʻAʻole hiki i ka poʻe aloha leo ke helu i ke ʻano o nā leo e like me kona leo. A he mea paʻakikī, inā ʻaʻole hiki ʻole, no ka poʻe mele ke hoʻokani ʻo Lady Macbeth.