On Fri, 1 Sep 2000, John Alexander Blyth wrote:
>
> At 09:53 AM 9/1/00 -0400, you wrote:
>
> One of the better tenors. Have you noticed how, on the commercially
> available videotape where he sings Rodolfo in La Boheme, he puts his
> fingers onto the bridge of his nose just before he sings a passage with
> high notes. He works it very smoothly into the characterization though.
> Does he still do that? :) john
My friend and I were just talking about this. This is only one of
Shicoff's inexplicable (and to some of us, endearing) little quirks. My
friend's theory is that he is feeling the vibrations (resonance) in his
nose and it makes it itch. I think it's just a nervous tic.
His acting has, if anything, got even more blood-and-guts believable over
the years. He is being hailed in Europe as *the* Don Jose, *the* Don
Carlo, and *the* Peter Grimes by which all others must be measured - this
in addition to long being *the* Hoffmann and, even though he hasn't sung
the role in over 10 years, *the* Werther. And yet, he's even outdone
himself in all those roles with his Eleazar in LA JUIVE (which he is
currently reviving after last October's role debut, in Vienna). I've been
lucky enough not only to hear the radio broadcast of last October's
production, but also to see a (pirate) video - and it is truly one of the
most powerful stage performances I've ever experienced in any performing
medium. And this from a fairly poor-quality videotape. I can't wait to see
this opera live onstage, which I'm hoping to do next year (as well as his
role debut as Capt. Vere in BILLY BUDD in Vienna) - or if not then, at the
Met in the 2003/2004 season.
KM
-----
Ich sage euch: man muss noch Chaos in sich haben,
um einen tanzenden Stern gebaeren zu koennen.
- Friedrich Nietzsche, ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA
My NEIL SHICOFF Website:
http://www.radix.net/~dalila/shicoff/shicoff.html
My Website:
http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html
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