Shirley Verrett |

Shirley Verrett

"Black Callas" babu kuma. Ta bar duniyar nan a ranar 5 ga Nuwamba, 2010. Asarar Shirley Verret daga jerin abubuwan da ba za a iya gyarawa ba.

Duk wanda ya saba da shahararrun litattafai na Kudu, ko Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind ko Maurice Denouzier's Louisiana, zai san yawancin alamun rayuwar Shirley Verrett. An haife ta a ranar 31 ga Mayu, 1931 a New Orleans, Louisiana. Wannan shine ainihin Kudancin Amurka! Abubuwan al'adun gargajiya na Turawan mulkin mallaka na Faransa (saboda haka umarnin harshen Faransanci mara kyau, wanda ya kasance mai ban sha'awa sosai lokacin da Shirley ta rera "Carmen"), mafi zurfin addini: danginta na cikin ƙungiyar Adventist na kwana bakwai, kuma kakarta wani abu ne na shaman, tashin hankali tsakanin Creoles ba sabon abu ba ne. Mahaifin Shirley yana da kamfanin gine-gine, kuma sa’ad da take yarinya, iyalin suka ƙaura zuwa Los Angeles. Shirley na ɗaya daga cikin yara biyar. A cikin tarihinta, ta rubuta cewa mahaifinta mutumin kirki ne, amma azabtar da yara da bel ya zama ruwan dare a gare shi. Abubuwan da suka shafi asalin Shirley da addininsu sun haifar mata da wahala lokacin da ake shirin zama mawaƙiya: dangi sun goyi bayan zaɓin ta, amma sun bi opera tare da la'anta. 'Yan uwa ba za su tsoma baki tare da ita ba idan ya kasance game da aikin mawaƙa kamar Marian Anderson, amma opera! Ta fara karatun kiɗa a ƙasarta ta Louisiana kuma ta ci gaba da karatunta a Los Angeles don kammala karatunta a Makarantar Juilliard a New York. Fitowarta ta farko a wasan kwaikwayo ta kasance a cikin Britten's The Rape of Lucrezia a cikin 1957. A lokacin, mawakan opera masu launi ba safai ba. Dole ne Shirley Verrett ta ji haushi da wulakanci na wannan yanayin a cikin fatarta. Ko da Leopold Stokowski ba shi da iko: yana son ta rera waƙar "Waƙoƙin Gurr" na Schoenberg tare da shi a cikin wani wasan kwaikwayo a Houston, amma membobin ƙungiyar makaɗa sun tashi har zuwa mutuwa a kan baƙar fata soloist. Ta yi magana game da wannan a cikin littafin tarihin rayuwarta I Never Walked Alone.

A cikin 1951, matashin Verret ya auri James Carter, wanda ya girme ta shekaru goma sha huɗu kuma ya nuna kansa a matsayin mutum mai saurin sarrafawa da rashin haƙuri. A kan fosta na wancan lokacin, ana kiran mawaƙin Shirley Verrett-Carter. Auren ta na biyu, tare da Lou LoMonaco, an gama shi a cikin 1963 kuma ya kasance har zuwa mutuwar mai zane. Shekaru biyu kenan bayan nasarar da ta samu a wasan Opera na Metropolitan.

A 1959, Verrett ta fara fitowa a Turai, inda ta fara halarta a Cologne a cikin Mutuwar Rasputin na Nicholas Nabokov. Juyawa a cikin aikinta shine 1962: a lokacin ne ta yi wasa a matsayin Carmen a Bikin Duniya na Biyu a Spoleto kuma nan da nan ta fara halarta a Opera na New York (Irina a cikin Weil's Lost in the Stars). A Spoleto, iyalinta sun halarci wasan kwaikwayo na "Carmen": danginta sun saurare ta, sun durƙusa kuma suna neman gafara daga Allah. A shekara ta 1964, Shirley ya rera Carmen a kan mataki na Bolshoi Theater: wani cikakken na kwarai gaskiya, la'akari da cewa wannan ya faru a sosai tsawo na Cold War.

A ƙarshe, ƙanƙara ta karye, kuma kofofin gidajen opera mafi daraja a duniya sun buɗe wa Shirley Verrett: a cikin 60s, ta halarta a karon ya faru a Covent Garden (Ulrika a cikin Masquerade Ball), a Comunale Theater a Florence da kuma. Opera Metropolitan a New York (Carmen), a gidan wasan kwaikwayo na La Scala (Dalila a Samson da Delilah). Daga baya, sunanta ya ƙawata fastocin duk sauran manyan gidajen opera da wuraren kide-kide a duniya: Grand Opera na Paris, Opera na Vienna, San Francisco Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, Hall Carnegie.

A cikin 1970s da 80s, Verrett yana da alaƙa ta kud da kud da jagoran Opera na Boston da darekta Sarah Calwell. Tare da wannan birni ne ake danganta Aida, Norma da Tosca. A cikin 1981, Verrett ya rera Desdemona a Othello. Amma fitowarta ta farko a cikin repertoire na soprano ya faru ne a farkon shekarar 1967, lokacin da ta rera wani bangare na Elizabeth a cikin Donizetti's Mary Stuart a bikin Florentine Musical May. "Mai motsi" na mawaƙa a cikin jagorancin rawar soprano ya haifar da amsa iri-iri. Wasu masu suka masu sha'awar sun ɗauki wannan kuskure ne. An yi jayayya cewa wasan kwaikwayo na mezzo-soprano da pianos na soprano na lokaci guda ya jagoranci muryarta don "raba" zuwa rajista daban-daban guda biyu. Amma Verrett kuma ya sha fama da rashin lafiyan da ya haifar da toshewar numfashi. Harin zai iya "yanka" ta ba zato ba tsammani. A cikin 1976, ta rera waƙa a ɓangaren Adalgiza a Met kuma, makonni shida kacal bayan haka, tare da tawagarsa, Norma. A Boston, Norma dinta ta samu gagarumar tarba. Amma bayan shekaru uku, a cikin 1979, lokacin da ta ƙarshe ta bayyana a matsayin Norma a kan mataki na Met, ta sami rashin lafiyan harin, kuma wannan ya shafi waƙarta mara kyau. A cikin duka, ta yi a kan mataki na shahararren gidan wasan kwaikwayo sau 126, kuma, a matsayin mai mulkin, ya kasance babban nasara.

A cikin 1973 Opera Metropolitan Opera ta buɗe tare da farkon Les Troyens ta Berlioz tare da John Vickers a matsayin Aeneas. Verrett ba wai kawai ya rera Cassandra ba a kashi na farko na duology na opera, amma ya maye gurbin Christa Ludwig a matsayin Dido a kashi na biyu. Wannan wasan kwaikwayon ya kasance har abada a cikin tarihin wasan opera. A cikin 1975, a wannan haduwa, ta sami nasara a matsayin Neocles a cikin Siege na Korintiyawa na Rossini. Abokan aikinta sune Justino Diaz da Beverly Sills: na karshen shi ne karon farko da aka dade ana jinkiri a kan mataki na shahararren gidan wasan opera a Amurka. A cikin 1979 ita ce Tosca kuma Cavaradossi ita ce Luciano Pavarotti. An watsa wannan wasan kwaikwayon a talabijin kuma an sake shi akan DVD.

Verrett shi ne tauraro na Opera na Paris, wanda ya shirya wasan Musa na Rossini, Medea na Cherubini, Verdi's Macbeth, Iphigenia a cikin Tauris da Gluck's Alceste. A cikin 1990, ta shiga cikin samar da Les Troyens, wanda aka sadaukar don bikin cika shekaru XNUMX na guguwar Bastille da buɗe Bastille Opera.

Nasarar wasan kwaikwayo na Shirley Verrett ba a bayyana cikakke a cikin rikodin ba. A farkon aikinta, ta yi rikodin a RCA: Orpheus da Eurydice, The Force of Destiny, Luisa Miller tare da Carlo Bergonzi da Anna Moffo, Un ballo a maschera tare da Bergonzi iri ɗaya da Leontine Price, Lucrezia Borgi tare da sa hannu Montserrat Caballe da Alfredo Kraus ne adam wata. Sa'an nan kuma ta keɓanta tare da RCA ya ƙare, kuma tun 1970 an sake rikodin operas tare da sa hannu a ƙarƙashin lakabin EMI, Westminster Records, Deutsche Grammophon da Decca. Waɗannan su ne Don Carlos, Anna Boleyn, Norma (bangaren Adalgisa), Siege na Korinti (bangaren Neocles), Macbeth, Rigoletto da Il trovatore. Lalle ne, kamfanonin rikodin ba su kula da ita ba.

Haƙiƙa kuma na musamman na Verrett ya zo ƙarshe a farkon 1990s. A cikin 1994, Shirley ta fara fitowa Broadway a matsayin Netti Fowler a cikin Rodgers da Carousel na kiɗan Hammerstein. Ta kasance tana son irin wannan waƙar. Ƙarshen rawar Natty ita ce waƙar "Ba za ku taɓa tafiya kaɗai ba". Waɗannan kalmomin da aka fassara sun zama taken littafin tarihin rayuwar rayuwar Shirley Verrett, I Never Walked Alone, kuma wasan kwaikwayo da kansa ya lashe lambar yabo ta Tony biyar.

A cikin Satumba 1996, Verrett ya fara koyar da waƙa a Makarantar Kiɗa, Gidan wasan kwaikwayo da Rawa ta Jami'ar Michigan. Ta ba da digiri na biyu a Amurka da Turai.

Muryar Shirley Verrett wata murya ce da ba a saba gani ba. Wannan muryar, mai yiwuwa, ba za a iya la'akari da ita babba ba, kodayake wasu masu suka sun siffanta ta a matsayin "mai ƙarfi". A gefe guda, mawaƙin yana da timbre mai ban sha'awa, samar da sauti mara kyau da kuma timbre na mutum ɗaya (daidai cikin rashi shine babban matsalar mawakan opera na zamani!). Verrett ta kasance ɗaya daga cikin manyan mezzo-sopranos na zamaninta, fassarorin ta na irin wannan rawar kamar Carmen da Delila za su kasance har abada a cikin tarihin wasan opera. Ba za a manta da ita ba Orpheus a cikin opera na Gluck mai suna, Leonora a cikin Favorite, Azucena, Princess Eboli, Amneris. A lokaci guda kuma, rashin samun wasu matsaloli a cikin babban rajista da kuma sonority ya ba ta damar yin nasarar yin nasara a cikin repertoire na soprano. Ta rera Leonora a cikin Fidelio, Celica a cikin Matar Afirka, Norma, Amelia a cikin Un ballo a cikin maschera, Desdemona, Aida, Santuzza a Rural Honour, Tosca, Judit a Bartók's Bluebeard Duke's Castle, Madame Lidoin a cikin "Tattaunawar Karmel" Poulenci. Nasarar ta musamman ta kasance tare da ita a matsayin Lady Macbeth. Da wannan wasan opera ta buɗe kakar 1975-76 a Teatro alla Scala wanda Giorgio Strehler ya jagoranta kuma Claudio Abbado ya jagoranta. A cikin 1987, Claude d'Anna ya yi fim ɗin opera tare da Leo Nucci a matsayin Macbeth da Riccardo Chailly a matsayin jagora. Ba zai zama ƙari ba a ce Verrett yana ɗaya daga cikin mafi kyawun masu yin rawar da Lady ta taka a cikin tarihin wannan opera, kuma goosebumps har yanzu suna gudana ta cikin fata na mai sauraro mai hankali daga kallon fim din.

Za a iya rarraba muryar Verrett a matsayin soprano "falcon", wanda ba shi da sauƙi a iya kwatanta shi a fili. Ita ce giciye tsakanin soprano da mezzo-soprano, muryar musamman da mawaƙa na Faransanci na ƙarni na sha tara da Italiyanci waɗanda suka rubuta operas don matakin Paris; sassa na irin wannan muryar sun haɗa da Celica, Delila, Dido, Princess Eboli.

Shirley Verret tana da siffa mai ban sha'awa, kyakkyawa murmushi, kwarjinin mataki, kyautar wasan kwaikwayo ta gaske. Amma za ta ci gaba da kasancewa a cikin tarihin waƙa kuma a matsayin mai bincike marar gajiyawa a fagen fassarori, lafazi, inuwa da sabbin hanyoyin magana. Ta ba wa kalmar mahimmanci musamman. Duk waɗannan halayen sun haifar da kwatancen tare da Maria Callas, kuma ana kiran Verrett a matsayin "La nera Callas, Black Callas".

Shirley Verrett ta yi bankwana da duniya a ranar 5 ga Nuwamba, 2010 a Ann Arbor. Tana da shekara saba'in da tara. Masoyan murya da kyar ba za su iya dogaro da bayyanar muryoyin kamar muryarta ba. Kuma zai yi wuya, idan ba zai yiwu ba, ga mawaƙa su yi kamar Lady Macbeth.