ONTENTS
DECEMBER 1995
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Graeme Kay Deputy Editor Rache l Connolly Assistant Editor Anlonia Couli ng
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Front cover: Alon Held (Gunther) and Sieglried
Jerusalem (Sieglried) in GOHerdOmmerung at Covent Garden. (See First Night p50)
Pho to by Clive Barda
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6
Opera news and features Win an opera trip to Di.isseldorf with Air UK (6) • Royal Opera theatre move; new Verdi manuscript cti scovery (7)
• D'Oyly Carte relocation • News in brief (9) • Obituary: Christopher Keene ( 11 )
15
Anne Inglis: People in the news Rau.l Gimenez on a Rossini rarity ; Gidon Saks gets down to bassics; Dagmar Peekova finds recognition in her home country ; Andrea Rost takes on all three female roles in Don Giovanni ... ; Opera North artistic director Paul Daniel looks ahead to Luisa Miller
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Review of the year Opera Now critics boil down the best productions of 1995 and trot out the turkeys .. . ( 19) • George Hall and Simon Trezise pick their favourite recordings of the year (39)
25
Schwarzkopf at 80 Tom Higgins looks back over the career of a world-beatin g Marschallin
31
Food, glorious food An ne lnglis takes a seasonal look at operas with food and food about operas
24
Where have all the divas gone? ln our second Opera Forum, J A Van Sant suggests that these days, we are stuck with presentable singers who can't sing and unpresentable ones who can. How has thi s happened? Neil Dalrymple, James Lockhart, Lotfi Mansouri and Richard Van Allan give the view from the profession
42
International Showcase Edition: season update US companies offer further information on their forthcoming productions
44
Competitions Tense, nervous headache? Rachel Connolly talks to s in gers with a competitive streak. (Competition detail s on p 11 and p46)
48
Opera Guide Opera orth is taking up the challenge o f producing Luisa Miller. oel Goodwin introduces Verdi 's pivotal opera
60
Singers of the Century John Steane profiles a sparky coloratura mezzo from the 1930s: Conchita Supervia
REGULARS Letter ... 13 Box Office ... 4 I First Nights ... 50 Opera in Vie w ... 58 Books ... 63 Audio rev ie ws .. . 64 Live rev ie ws .. . 70 ln rec ital ... 72 Sce ne and Heard ... 74
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O PERA N O W • DECEMBER 1995
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