I am trying to work out what the male equivalent of a Prima Donna is and the only masculine form I could come up with was Primo Donno. Doesn't sound remotely right but it will do.
The reason I am trying to find this male equivalent is that Roberto Alagna who is currently singing the role of Radames in Verdi's Aida at La Scala in a brand new production by the legendary Zefferelli, threw a hissy fit when he was booed from the gallery and stomped off the stage never to return. His understudy took over and, I gather, will now do all the remaining performances.
The audience at La Scala can be very hostile if you are not a favourite and many have suffered at their hands, Callas and Pavarotti being just two who have been hissed and booed off the stage, but even so this behaviour exhibits a surprising lack of professionalism. The booeing happened barely into the first act when it seems he came to grief on his rendering of Celeste Aida. This is a very difficult aria, the tenor comes on cold and within two minutes has to sing this and, what is more, is supposed to finish it on a diminuendo which is excruciatingly hard to do. Most tenors don't even attempt to try this but belt out the top note and hang onto it as long as possible (Pavarotti was one such, now there's a surprise) but whatever Alagna tried did not please the audience, hence the throwing of toys out of the pram and rapid exit stage left.
Radames is a pig of a role and has defeated many tenors in the past. Alagna has a wonderful voice but it is not heavy enough for this part, hence his problems. Pavarotti got through it, but with no sense of charcterisation at all, and I have a tape of Placido who began to seriously come to grief by Act 3 and he was the one person who I thought would be ideal for the role. So no slagging off Alagna for not coping with it, but a big thumbs down for his childish behaviour. There must be a certain sense of schadenfreude at the Royal Opera House today as Alagna withdrew from scheduled performances of Carmen this year in order to take on this more glamorous high profile engagement.
Alagana has purportedly said he will never sing at La Scala again and expects his wife to join him in his boycott. As his wife is Angela Gheorghiu, Prima Donna Numero Uno, I daresay he is right and La Scala will see them no more. Gosh, bet they're upset.
Oh and Mrs Alagna has also just withdrawn from the role of Elizabeth in Verdi's Don Carlos due at Covent Garden next year on the grounds that the role is 'not really her'. The famous last act aria for Elizabeth in this opera is 'Tu che le vanita conoscesti del mondo' loosely translated as 'you who have known the vanities of this world'. Very apt.
Well with Angela gone from this production perhaps the cost of my ticket which I was intending to purchase will now go down. Always look on the bright side of life.
