Correspondence

In Robert Baxter's review of James Keolker's Last Acts: The Operas of Puccini and His Italian Contemporaries from Alfano to Zandonai (OQ, vol. 18, no. 2 [spring 2002]), I notice the reviewer's delight in pointing out the book's spelling mistakes and other errors. Toward the end of the review Mr. Baxter refers to Mascagni's La cena delle beffe. Well, Mascagni did not set La cena delle beffe to music, Giordano did. "People who live in glass houses . . ."

Enzo Krahl, M.D.
Savannah, Georgia

The Editor responds:

Thanks for gently pointing out an error that the editors are embarrassed not to have caught at the proofreading stage. A slip of the pen it was, as Mr. Baxter certainly knows who composed La cena delle beffe, having reviewed a recording of that very opera in our spring 2001 issue!

I found it remarkable that the able Roland Graeme was able to gather five current Tannhäusers on CD for his very thorough review [in OQ, vol. 19, no. 1]. It has seemed that "wages of sin" operas such as Tannhäuser, Faust, Thaïs, etc. have fallen out of favor, with the exception of Don Giovanni. Mr. Graeme's persistence in analyzing the segments of the Paris (Vienna) or Dresden versions mixed and matched by five conductors was exhaustive.

To add a bit of spice to his chronicle, I offer the following anecdote regarding the first CD reviewed: In 1931, five Tannhäuser performances were scheduled at Bayreuth, Toscanini conducting, with Pilinszky in the title role. As Mr. Graeme notes in his review, the recording suggests a whine in the tenor's delivery. Indeed, after the third performance, an angry Toscanini shouted "You whine like a dog" (or a close approximation of these words) and demanded Lauritz Melchior, on hand for Tristan under Furtwängler. Bayreuth conceded, and the magnificent Melchior sang the fourth and fifth performances. Anything to keep peace in the family!

Dr. William A. Morton Jr.
West Chester, Pennsylvania

Thanks to Bruce Burroughs for the wonderful article on Zinka Milanov ("Zinka Milanov and Floria Tosca: Art, Love, and Politics," OQ, vol. 19, no. 2 [spring 2003], pp. 175-229). For years she has been a great favorite of ours, and yet she was ignored by writers and interviewers. Mr. Burroughs has brought her to life in just this one brief article. We continue to hope and to wait for his much-anticipated book on Zinka.

Trudy and Tony Julian
Murrieta, California

Alas, here's another mea culpa from an all-too familiar source. In the introduction to the first part of my article "Zinka Milanov and Floria Tosca: Art, Love, and Politics" (OQ, vol. 19, no. 2 [spring 2003]), on page 175 I rank several distinguished interpreters of Tosca according to the length of their onstage associations with the role. "Dorothy Kirsten sang it for twenty-eight years (1951-79)" turns out to be an inaccurate statement. The soprano's final outing as Puccini's Roman diva was not her last Metropolitan Opera appearance (10 February 1979), but a 13 March 1980 performance with Arizona Opera in Phoenix, which served as her farewell to the operatic stage. The statement should therefore read that she "sang it for twenty-nine years (1951-80)." The Tosca "hierarchy" as I gave it remains accurate, however. Kirsten's position in third place is merely strengthened by the addition of another season to her total.

Bruce Burroughs
Sherman Oaks, California

Letters pertaining to the contents of the journal will be forwarded to the authors of the articles or reviews. When appropriate, both the readers' letters and the authors' responses will be printed in this section, for the purpose of providing a stimulating and creative interchange. Letters may be subject to editing, for reasons of tone, length, and publisher's house style. When necessary, a correspondent may be asked to revise a letter as a condition of publication. Please address correspondence to:

The Editor
The Opera Quarterly
197 Oaklawn Drive
Rochester, NY 14617-1813