Tribute to Maria Ewing’s “Versatile and Brilliant” – Sliding Disc

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Norman Lebrecht

January 11 2022

The opera world is shocked by the death of distinguished American artist Mizuo and Soprano at the age of 71. The late Peter Hall, her ex-husband, spoke in his memoirs of her “scorching integrity”. Today, another rushed to praise her many qualities.

Placido Domingo writes: “Sad to learn of the passing of the diverse and wonderful American opera singer Maria Ewing…so many fond memories of sharing the stage with Maria in Carmen & Tosca and Madama Butterfly and Fedora in Met…and as conductor of her Tosca music…Rip dear Maria.”

Soprano met Abel Melo: “A really amazing and very individual talent.”

Pianist Artur Pizarro: “My heart really breaks…Another dear friend has gone…In the past seven months, many departed…She hasn’t quite been able to handle all this yet…Maria Ewing has been a dear friend and wonderful colleague.” I had the honor not only of working with her on stage, but also of tasting the spinach pancakes at dinner that ended with watching great black and white movies sitting on the floor and eating popcorn until early morning…”

Tenor Karim Soliman: The first opera I’ve ever seen live was Salome by Sir Peter Hall at the Lyric Opera in Chicago and starring Maria Ewing in the title role. Although I was only in the fifth grade, her amazing performance was at the same time exciting, terrifying, beautiful and turbulent. That evening reinforced my convictions to become a singing actor. to be like her. To fully embody the music and deliver a holistic story – sound, body, mind and soul. She was a true artist and changed my life. Thank you, Mrs. Ewing. Rest in power. “

Her manager, Guy Barzilai: Very saddened by the passing of Maria Ewing. Managing her career in the late ’90s and early 2000s was the most intense, enjoyable, rewarding, and yes, terrifying experience of my life. She was a glorified and unique artist. I feel deeply, demanding, funny, generous, vulnerable, exasperating, and beautiful, and her extraordinary performance that I was fortunate enough to witness will remain etched in my mind and heart forever.

Metropolitan Opera: ‘We regret the death of Maria Ewing, one of the most exciting opera artists of the second half of the twentieth century. Between her 1976 debut as Cherubino in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro and her final appearance with the company in 1997 as Marie in Berg’s Wozzeck, she has brought her signature voice and intense dramatic commitment to the Met stage nearly 100 times. She was particularly praised for her performance as Blanche de la Force in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites, and for starring at John Dexter’s 1977 premiere of the historic Met Gala and on many subsequent occasions.

Los Angeles Opera: ‘We are deeply saddened to learn of the shocking death of Maria Ewing. An absolute icon and a master of her profession, Mrs. Ewing has been a mainstay in L.A. Opera’s history, having performed in “Madama Butterfly,” “Cosi fan tutte,” “Tosca,” and “Fedora,” among others. More importantly, she gave Angelenos a definitive interpretation of Strauss’ “Salome”, which won her awards all over the world. Future generations will cherish its invaluable legacy.

ROH Covent Garden: “Maria performed the title roles in Tosca and Salome with Us between 1988 and 1995 and sang both parts with strength, tenderness, allure and vulnerability.”

Glindbourne: ‘We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Maria Ewing. This unusual artist performed for the first time in Glendbourne in 1978, where she met her future husband, Sir Peter Hall. She went on to appear in a range of Glendbourne productions.

RTE Musical Orchestra: Performed as Bloody Mary in the South Pacific with (US) and John Wilson in 2013.

Singer Ali Garrison: A Fond Memory of Mrs. Ewing and Placido Domingo: The Waverlies, an acapella jazz trio I co-founded, were touring the streets of Europe in the summer of 1991. We got licensed to tour Covent Garden for a week. The performers at the Covent Garden Opera House were so tired of managing to sell sets of seats to companies they would no longer use that the theater had hardly any audience to perform and their fans couldn’t even get tickets. One day we found out that Ewing and Domingo had refused to perform in the current production of Tosca unless they were offering a live broadcast on a big screen outside, free to the public. So we all just stood there and watched them sing a wonderful Tosca and took a stroll through the huge crowds that had gathered. Eventually, Ewing and Domingo walked out the stage door to bow to us, telling us we were their real audience. A really cool moment for Londoners!

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