# La Gran Scena Opera Company



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Listening to the wonderful interview on the Met Broadcast today with Richard Bonynge, I was reminded of Ira Siff's background in the La Gran Scena Opera group from years ago. The musically dazzling yet hilarious parodies the drag opera troupe did were simply amazing. I saw them in New York and on tour. Below is a clip of Ira Siff, who sang in the original key!!!!! Son vergin vezzoza is one of my VERY favorite arias and will be in the contest for sure. Vera Galupe-Borszek ( Ira Siff) starts singing offstage and then makes a grand appearance. It is astounding what he can do in falsetto, singing up to a forte Eb6!!!!!! All with great humor and musical knowledge .



 Sutherland and Bonynge were HUGE fans!
Finally here is the whole troupe in The Ride of the Valkyries


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

That was more fun. He was hilarious and very talented as well. I missed it when he closed up shop.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Ecco un artista!


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

What I love about Mme. Vera Galupe-Borszk, the greatest representative of the traumatic soprano fach, is that she understands her art so thoroughly. Her profound knowledge of her material enables her to dive deep below the surface and find meaning that other singers couldn't imagine in their worst nightmares. When I heard her "In questa reggia," so alive to every word of the libretto, I knew I would never again hear or see it survive a performance of greater comprehension or, considering the foggy wobblers we've had to put up with lately, greater vocal incisiveness.






Mme. Vera is also the only soprano besides Callas who can renew and refresh, not to say turn completely inside out,_Tosca_ for me. La Gran Scena's production values are truly tenth rate, proving that you don't have to go regie to be ridiculous, and again and again we're smacked upside the head by a wholly unthinkable interpretation of a line of text or a musical phrase. Mme. Vera's unforgettable delivery of so seemingly trivial a line as "Voglio un salvacondotto onde fuggir dallo Stato con lui" exposes in microcosm her commitment to revealing precise dramatic values through surprising inflections of word and note - surely Puccini would have appreciated the time saved - and in the simple query "Quanto? Il prezzo!" a whole new, unsuspected and rather badly needed dimension of the drama opens up to us.

To anyone who thinks he's all Tosca-ed out and doesn't need to be shabbily shocked one more time, I can't recommend too highly this fresh bite into a well-chewed wad of bubblegum.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> What I love about Mme. Vera Galupe-Borszk, the greatest representative of the traumatic soprano fach, is that she understands her art so thoroughly. Her profound knowledge of her material enables her to dive deep below the surface and find meaning that other singers couldn't imagine in their worst nightmares. When I heard her "In questa reggia," so alive to every word of the libretto, I knew I would never again hear or see it survive a performance of greater comprehension or, considering the foggy wobblers we've had to put up with lately, greater vocal incisiveness.
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You made me glad I made this thread!


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