Dear Jon & List,

--- In Fischer-DieskauList@yahoogroups.com, Jon Alan Conrad
<conrad@...> wrote:

> I always, by the way, found this idea just preposterous, no matter
> how often it is quoted approvingly. No doubt Frau Legge found it
> congenial (or did she? we'll never know, I guess). How many great
> careers have actually been built on so few roles

Nice to hear your "voice," Jon. Thanks for responding. I agree with
your assessment. Does anyone know if Schwarzkopf actually did confine
herself to 6 roles after she felt under the influence of Sv-- oops!
Walter Legge? And if I ever knew what the six roles were, I have long
forgotten. The Marchallin, obviously . . . .

> > First question: What would the six opera roles have been?

I have racked my brains to come up with 6 roles that DFD could have
sung convincingly over a long period of time that would not have
plunged him into absolute boredom and despair after two years.
Confining myself to only the roles he actually sang on stage, I came
up with the following:

Count Almaviva (Mozart)
Don Alfonso (Mozart)
Mandryka (R. Strauss)
Barak (R. Strauss)
Falstaff (Verdi)
Amfortas (Wagner)

Obviously I have included some roles that you don't think he did all
that well, Jon, and a couple you didn't mention at all. Honestly, I
basically listed the ones I liked best based on recordings, since I
only ever heard him do Almaviva live.

Of course, that list does not include any 20th century composers
except for Richard Strauss. If I went 20th century, the list would be:

Doktor Schoen (Berg)
Doktor Faust (Busoni)
Gregor Mittenhofer (Henze)
Cardillac (Hindemith)
Mathis (Hindemith)
Lear (Reimann)

Frankly, while I think one could have a good (not necessarily great)
career doing the first six, one would be lucky to be continuously
emplyed doing the second six.

> > Second question: What would Fischer-Dieskau's career have been
like?
> >
> I can't improve on Celia's scenarios here, so I won't even try.

I let my imagination take wing 12 years ago, and I'm not going to try
to "improve" on what I came up with then. The fact is, I can't
imagine DFD confined to six opera roles, whatever they might be.
Variety and being challenged seem so central to his artistic
activities (for good or ill) that being limited that way seems an
impossible choice for him.

C'mon, folks, what are your views on this?

Celia

Celia A. Sgroi
sgroi@...