tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295296336756910308.post1564989566163015848..comments2024-01-20T06:29:42.450+00:00Comments on Not so wunderbar: As everyone's mother said, if you can't say... ahh, you know the rest.jondrytayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07014577384156823525noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295296336756910308.post-82094071515214595202010-03-16T03:08:13.809+00:002010-03-16T03:08:13.809+00:00I was speaking of all the hoopla that seems to be ...I was speaking of all the hoopla that seems to be all over the net on this subject, not just your comments. I should have made this clearer.<br /><br />Didn't mean to post three times. The screen wouldn't show a "comment posted" message until I had clicked three times.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295296336756910308.post-90293594441990885022010-03-15T23:00:26.496+00:002010-03-15T23:00:26.496+00:00Well, 'sickened' seems to be pitching it a...Well, 'sickened' seems to be pitching it a little strong, particularly since I was careful to state what a great artist Mr Ramey is and how he has earned the right to his opinion.<br /><br />But thank you for your anonymous contribution. All three of them.jondrytayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07014577384156823525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295296336756910308.post-13025606197567556712010-03-15T22:52:05.786+00:002010-03-15T22:52:05.786+00:00I'm sickened by all the discussion of Samuel R...I'm sickened by all the discussion of Samuel Ramey's comments about the production of Attila in which he is appearing currently at the Met. Mr. Ramey is a brilliant singer (even with that "slow vibrato"), who has entertained millions with his voice. I've heard him in person numerous times, even arriving at the performances after long, tiring trips. The scenario for one went as follows: Get up at 6 AM, drive for twelve hours from San Diego to San Francisco in the pouring rain, arrive at hotel which was beautiful and elegant a few years previous, find out hotel is now not suitable for human habitation, drive in pouring rain for 45 minutes to hotel in Palo Alto, sleep for a few hours, get up and take expensive cab ride into San Francisco as opera house doesn't have parking, see Mr. Ramey in Boris Godunov, take cab back to hotel, sleep for a few hours, get up at 6 AM and drive back to San Diego. Was it worth the hassle? You bet...a thousand time over. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. I'll go hear Mr. Ramey anytime he appears within driving distance. I once went to Las Vegas just to hear him in concert with the UNLV orchestra. Drove out one day and came back the next. The man is the finest bass-baritone of the 20th cantury. He's earned the right to speak his mind. He also appears to be a fine gentleman. I've never heard an unkind word about him...until all this hoopla over his comments on the Attila production. Mr. Ramey, you're the best, always will be.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295296336756910308.post-39362071475999826702010-03-15T22:51:38.723+00:002010-03-15T22:51:38.723+00:00I'm sickened by all the discussion of Samuel R...I'm sickened by all the discussion of Samuel Ramey's comments about the production of Attila in which he is appearing currently at the Met. Mr. Ramey is a brilliant singer (even with that "slow vibrato"), who has entertained millions with his voice. I've heard him in person numerous times, even arriving at the performances after long, tiring trips. The scenario for one went as follows: Get up at 6 AM, drive for twelve hours from San Diego to San Francisco in the pouring rain, arrive at hotel which was beautiful and elegant a few years previous, find out hotel is now not suitable for human habitation, drive in pouring rain for 45 minutes to hotel in Palo Alto, sleep for a few hours, get up and take expensive cab ride into San Francisco as opera house doesn't have parking, see Mr. Ramey in Boris Godunov, take cab back to hotel, sleep for a few hours, get up at 6 AM and drive back to San Diego. Was it worth the hassle? You bet...a thousand time over. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. I'll go hear Mr. Ramey anytime he appears within driving distance. I once went to Las Vegas just to hear him in concert with the UNLV orchestra. Drove out one day and came back the next. The man is the finest bass-baritone of the 20th cantury. He's earned the right to seeak his mind. He also appears to be a fine gentleman. I've never heard an unkind word about him...until all this hoopla over his comments on the Attila production. Mr. Ramey, you're the best, always will be.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295296336756910308.post-46132989152786674712010-03-15T22:51:07.148+00:002010-03-15T22:51:07.148+00:00I'm sickened by all the discussion of Samuel R...I'm sickened by all the discussion of Samuel Ramey's comments about the production of Attila in which he is appearing currently at the Met. Mr. Ramey is a brilliant singer (even with that "slow vibrato"), who has entertained millions with his voice. I've heard him in person numerous times, even arriving at the performances after long, tiring trips. The scenario for one went as follows: Get up at 6 AM, drive for twelve hours from San Diego to San Francisco in the pouring rain, arrive at hotel which was beautiful and elegant a few years previous, find out hotel is now not suitable for human habitation, drive in pouring rain for 45 minutes to hotel in Palo Alto, sleep for a few hours, get up and take expensive cab ride into San Francisco as opera house doesn't have parking, see Mr. Ramey in Boris Godunov, take cab back to hotel, sleep for a few hours, get up at 6 AM and drive back to San Diego. Was it worth the hassle? You bet...a thousand time over. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. I'll go hear Mr. Ramey anytime he appears within driving distance. I once went to Las Vegas just to hear him in concert with the UNLV orchestra. Drove out one day and came back the next. The man is the finest bass-baritone of the 20th century. He's earned the right to speak his mind. He also appears to be a fine gentleman. I've never heard an unkind word about him...until all this hoopla over his comments on the Attila production. Mr. Ramey, you're the best, always will be.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295296336756910308.post-31670298042934323402010-03-10T21:07:16.764+00:002010-03-10T21:07:16.764+00:00Thanks for this, Will. It's a question of timi...Thanks for this, Will. It's a question of timing for me- of course everyone and anyone has the right to express their artistic opinions. As you say, it's whether that's always a good idea which is the issue.jondrytayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07014577384156823525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295296336756910308.post-78111080329431727962010-03-10T03:46:06.182+00:002010-03-10T03:46:06.182+00:00Right, well we're both in the profession and t...Right, well we're both in the profession and there's an ethic that one supports one's colleagues and is a good team player. <br /><br />The crowd that looks at Mr. Ramey's comment (if, indeed, it IS truly his comment) as the vindication of their own agenda from within the belly of the beast has no such sense of professionalism. What they have is a fierce belief in their own superior intellect, taste and expertise at doing jobs for which none of them will ever be hired because, in the majority of cases, none of them has a clear idea of how the profession really works. Their review is written and their opinion set in stone months before rehearsals begin. <br /><br />But artists do sometimes do these things. I remember a soprano who told the New York Times during rehearsals that the only interest she had in the role was that the fee would pay off her NYC condo. Doesn't THAT make you want to rush to her performance? <br /><br />Another soprano told Opera News that Gilda is a stupid girl, a total ninny who behaves in incomprehensible ways and was not a believable character. In the next breath she announced all the companies around the U.S. with which during the coming months she would be singing -- Gilda! What kind of performances could those be when you reveal in advance your contempt for the part?<br /><br />I think it's simple good sense that there are some things you just do not say in public.Willhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14279473113628377106noreply@blogger.com