In 1987 it was opera in Oslo and operetta in Austria. I saw Don Giovanni with Esaias Tewolde as Don Ottavio and Knut Skram as Don Juan. We spent part of our summer holiday in Bad Ischl, Austria. I loved operetta and was fascinated by the works of Emmerich Kalman and Franz Lehar. And Bad Ischl is the Lehar city of the world. Very interesting to see his house and to be there during the operetta festival. We saw Der Graf von Luxemburg by Lehar. I almost think we saw two operettas, but my memory is not there yet.
3 operas in 1988. All in Oslo, Norway. L'elisir d'amore (Donizetti) with tenor Kjell Magnus Sandve who I had a tenor crush on. Madama Butterfly (Puccini) now in an opera house with serious audience. Zauberflöte by Mozart with pop-soprano Benedicte Adrian of Queen of the Night. Benedicte Adrian part of the duo Dollie de Luxe had sung Queen of the Night aria with Satisfaction (rock/pop? tune). She was all right, she is a soprano and have voice lessons under her belt. Itiar Martinez Galdos was the star of the show with the role as Pamina.
1989. Living in Oslo has its benefits. 9 operas in Oslo. A holiday in Edinburgh during the festival meant a recital with Montserrat Caballe and the zarzuela La Chulapons by Moreno-Torroba. We also saw Cristina Hoyos flamenco company's Carmen. The Festival had a strong Spanish flavor in 1988. I had pain during the recital of Montserrat Caballe and I did find the program boring until she sang the Spanish Lieder and the extras was just fun even for one sitting far back in the gallery on front row with a pain in the stomach. But I was glad when it was over and I could finally take some painkillers. The Zarzuela was delightful but the dialogue was naturally in Spanish and therefore incomprehendible for me. If only I understood Spanish... The sopranos of that year (Oslo) was Solveig Kringlebotn, Helena Döse (Sweden), Frøydis Klausberger, Kjersti Ekeberg, Itiar Martinez Galdos (Spain?). Then there was Lucia di Lammermoor with Elisabeth Norberg-Schultz as Lucia and Knut Skram as Enrico. And she is not my favorite soprano. The other sopranos were a joy, Norberg-Schultz is an enigma for my eyes.
In 1990 I, for the first time, hear and sees my then only tenor favorito Jose Carreras or full name Josep Maria Carreras i Coll, in recital in Oslo Konserthus. Later that year it is Montserrat Caballe again, this time I feel weel. And not only that, but in the end of the year Katia Ricciarelli sings Mimi in La Boheme in our old opera house. Solveig Kringlebotn sings Cristine Daae in Ken Hill's The Phantom of the Opera which is not a musical as Lloyd Webber work of the name, but a play with opera arias is given new text so it is almost a musical but not quite. Rosenkavalier with Swede Sylvia Lindenstrand as Octavio. Un Ballo in Maschera with Elizabeth Norberg-Shultz as a rather painful Oscar. But the year ended with Katia Ricciarelli who even appeared on Norwegian Television.
After the childhood idol being Enrico Caruso. I finally fell for the tenor voice with Luciano Pavarotti. I think my first opera record was with him. Then Placido Domingo was my favorite tenor. But in the end Carreras won. I used to say Luciano Pavararotti not knowing how long his name was. And write Carreras with double rr when it should be one r. But when Carreras became my idol after seeing him record South Pacific in London, and West Side Story in New York, I worked hard on getting his name right and in the end I adopted his Catalan name Josep Carreras.
In 1991 only one opera was seen, and that opera was Carmen. Carmen with Louis Gentile as Don Jose and Anne Gjevang as Carmen. And I do wish I had a diary with all the details of the operas I saw in earlier years. Where as they? Sadly I did not write often in my diary...
It is 1992 and I have changed location, now I am in Bergen and gets another Carmen there. This time Petra Malakova, who sang Emilia in the Zeffirelli movie Otello, was my Carmen. On holiday in Austria I scare my mother my suddenly disappear, Carreras is in Innsbruck, and I want a ticket. I don't have enough Austrian Schilling so I have to ask my mother. We are staying in St Johann in Tirol so I will have to take the train back to our hotel. Mother is naturally worried. I have a great time in Innsbruck with this wonderful recital. WOW
In 1993 my history of opera continue...
Read the beginning.
For more reviews from my travels, see www.operaduetstravel.com
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