Opera Gal

you can find us HERE

2010-01-14T07:36:00.000-05:00

we have moved again!

Anonymous - the untold story

2009-08-17T08:49:00.000-04:00

Nora the Piano Cat in her very own concerto

2009-07-28T08:26:00.000-04:00

Ed Note: its actually some good music!

Carmen as performed by the Legos Opera Company

2009-07-16T10:14:00.002-04:00

Michael Jackson planned album of classical music

2009-07-04T08:35:00.001-04:00

I wasn't even going to comment on the whole MJ thing, and have to admit as a child of the 80's "Off The Wall" & "Thriller" were 2 huge favorites for me...

and then I saw this:

Michael Jackson had several classical music compositions in the works, according to composer David Michael Frank, including one that existed only in his head.

I will update this as more information becomes available.

OGal

Who Knew?

2009-06-11T23:19:00.000-04:00

who knew that Brian Eno composed the Microsoft Windows 95 theme?

Exciting news to come soon

2009-05-22T08:17:00.001-04:00

OperaGal Radio will have some really exciting news soon!

Stay tuned!

Opera + folk music equals and enjoyable concert moment

2009-05-10T08:19:00.002-04:00

I for one would be perfectly happy to see more of this. If you are the ensemble, OG would love to hear from you!

Carreras retires

2009-05-08T07:50:00.005-04:00

UPDATE: the original news release apparently misquoted Carreras, and he is NOT retiring. Yippee!!
I am what is considered a "younger" opera-goer. I didn't grow up listening to the Golden Age singers (I discovered them later) my era was when opera started to crossover - when Carreras sang West Side Story, when Domingo sang with John Denver (yes, it pains me to type that) when the Pav did duets with Bono, Sting and the Eurhythmics.

It wasn't always a pretty time, or even pretty music, but it was a time of exploration for the genre, one that we should all be grateful for.
Sure, it ended up spawning things like Charlotte Church and Katherine Jenkins, but it also gave our favorite format new legs, and new audiences.

No one can argue with the fact that the Three Tenors series of concerts did much to inject a new energy into a format that was mummifying. To take opera and put it in ballparks and football arenas. To take it out of context but still use good technique - to show a new group of listeners that you don't have to be afraid of opera. Carreras was part of all that, and for that, I thank him.

Carreras, in somewhat of a stretch, is sort of "our" Lance Armstrong, and from earlier in our medical abilities, when a diagnosis of cancer often meant the complete end of a career. (Just think about what strides medical technology has made in the last 10 years) He not only fought through it, but was able to come back to the stage - his Salzburg recital from 2005 is a good example of his later career singing.

So now the Pav is gone, Domingo sings transposed, and Carreras has hung up his vocal cords, in a manner of speaking.

I am saddened, but also happy that he gave us what he could while he could.

Which singers on the horizon will lead this art form forward?
Discuss amongst yourselves.

Lincoln Memorial tribute to Marian Anderson

2009-04-12T06:55:00.001-04:00

WASHINGTON – Marian Anderson couldn't sing at Constitution Hall or even a local high school because of the color of her skin. So the opera singer performed on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in April 1939 and sang "My Country, 'Tis of Thee."

Unlike other events then, the 75,000-person crowd that had gathered to hear the African-American woman sing wasn't segregated. Blacks and whites stood together. Senators and Supreme Court justices also came on that Easter Sunday. The event came to symbolize the ideal of America's racial equality.

On Sunday afternoon, 70 years later, there will be another free concert at the Lincoln Memorial, this one designed to commemorate the 1939 landmark event. The Sunday concert will incorporate songs from Anderson's event and remember its significance during America's era of segregation.

The full article is HERE

Cellphones and Opera

2009-04-05T21:12:00.000-04:00

don't say you weren't warned:

The Cairo Opera House in Egypt started the practice of confiscating cell
phones (without exception---they even took away that of the US ambassador on
one night) although naturally one or two manage to escape their sweep. A
case in point was a long-awaited concert by the visiting Berlin Philharmonic
Orchestra in 2001. In the middle of the adagio of the Bruckner symphony,
someone's cell phone went off with ascending rings. The owner, not wanting
to be identified, did nothing, and the rings got louder. 6 millitary police
then entered the hall with intense flashlights trying to zero in on the
offending culprit, reminding us of a scene out of Schindler's List.
Eventually the person was found, hand-cuffed (seriously!) and led from the
hall, all the while conductor continued uninterrupted. Later I asked a
friend who is a basso with the Cairo Opera what happened to the person with
the cell phone. He said he and his wife were taken to the police station
and no one knows what happened after that...........

Manon tonight

2009-03-25T19:54:00.001-04:00

Manon with Mattila, Croft, and Giordano on DVD this evening w/a glass of wine. Do not disturb.

MARCH 31 RECITAL BY SOPRANO SOILE ISOKOSKI HAS BEEN CANCELED

2009-03-25T19:15:00.002-04:00

NEW YORK, NY, March 25, 2009-Carnegie Hall today announced that soprano Soile Isokoski's recital with pianist Marita Viitasalo on Tuesday, March 31 at 7:30 p.m. in Zankel Hall has been canceled. It is with regret that Ms. Isokoski has to cancel her performance, due to an illness in her family.

This concert will not be rescheduled. All ticketholders for this concert will have their tickets refunded. Those who purchased by phone or online will have their tickets automatically refunded. Those who purchased in person from the Carnegie Hall Box Office should return their tickets to the Box Office for refund. For questions regarding ticket refunds, the public may contact CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800.

Think Denk

2009-03-18T08:08:00.001-04:00

Now reading Think Denk, the blog of a concert pianist.

it's not um, what you think.

join me, and yes, it has been added to the blogroll...

Baltimore Opera to Liquidate - RIP

2009-03-13T11:46:00.001-04:00

Three months after seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and canceling the remainder of the 2008-09 season, the board of trustees of the Baltimore Opera Company voted yesterday to pursue Chapter 7 liquidation and dissolve the 58-year-old organization. The company will sell off its assets, including a warehouse, scenery, costumes and technical equipment, and distribute the proceeds among creditors.

I worked there in 1996 and 1997 - I am absolutely stunned.

A 3rd Year for "Classical Idol" Music Competition!

2009-03-12T07:34:00.001-04:00

Annual José Iturbi International Music Competition at UCLA June 15-20 Offers Pianists and Singers More Than $250,000 in Prizes
Application Deadline Is April 15, 2009

LOS ANGELES, CA - The Third Annual José Iturbi International Music Competition, which awards the largest cash prizes (more than $250,000) of any classical piano and singing competition worldwide, will take place June 15 - 20 at UCLA's Schoenberg Hall in Los Angeles. Applications for pianists and singers to compete in the week-long competition that adds features of "American Idol" to the world of classical music may be completed and submitted online at www.joseiturbifoundation.org. April 15, 2009 is the application deadline.

The José Iturbi Foundation's competition is open to pianists and singers of any nationality who are 17 to 32 years old on June 1, 2009. Last year, there were applicants from 37 countries. Admission to the preliminary round of the competition will be limited to a maximum of 24 applicants in each category. 12 pianists and 12 singers will advance to the semi-final round and six singers and six pianists will compete in the final round. The competition's 10 world renowned judges will be announced shortly.

The schedule for the competition is as follows:

June 14 Registration and Orientation at The Beverly Hilton

June 15 and 16 Preliminary Rounds for 24 pianists and 24 singers
Semi-Finalists announced

June 17 and 18 Semi-Final Rounds for 12 pianists and 12 singers
Finalists announced

June 19 Final Round for 6 singers followed by Awards Ceremony

June 20 Final Round for 6 pianists followed by Awards Ceremony

The competition's $250,000 in cash prizes include first place prizes of $50,000 in each category. There will be two People's Choice prizes (one for a pianist and one for a singer) of $3,000 voted "live" by attendees of the final competition round.

Last year's First Place prize winners, Mariya Kim (from the Ukraine) and Angela Meade (USA), will present Cunard Command Performances(TM) aboard Queen Mary 2 during the April 26, 2009, Transatlantic Crossing from New York to Southampton, England. To make reservations on the April 26, 2009 Queen Mary 2 Crossing, contact your travel professional, call 1-800-7-CUNARD or go online to www.cunard.com.

"It's clear that there is a huge audience for outstanding classical music as evidenced by the overwhelming response to the first two José Iturbi International Music Competitions," said Donelle Dadigan, President of the José Iturbi Foundation. "The talent of last year's participants blew everyone away! Just call us 'Classical Idol.' Especially inspiring was the tremendous camaraderie among the participants that was evident throughout the week-long contest."

For rules and regulations on The José Iturbi International Music Competition 2009 or to submit an application, go to www.joseiturbifoundation.org.

Radio and URI don't mix

2009-03-04T09:53:00.002-05:00

Radio and an Upper Respiratory Infection do not mix.

I'm just sayin'.

I am not an impresario

2009-03-03T16:03:00.004-05:00

My one loyal reader will be happy to note that I, Opera Gal extraordinaire, am not an impresario.

You may remember my YouTube Symphony post?
3. 3 of the people I liked made it into the Symphony.

But the way cool guy with the upright and the dog may get his Bosendorfer after all, since he was picked as the concert piano soloist.

I may know what I'm doing after all...hey DME, it you want to show up here in Michigan and teach me to play the Waldstein, that would be great.

Soory for the lack o' posting - between lots to do and a "cough due to cold"...

Placido Domingo wins $1M Nilsson Prize for opera

2009-02-20T07:40:00.002-05:00

Placido Domingo wins $1M Nilsson Prize for opera

Spanish tenor Placido Domingo on Friday won the first $1 million Birgit Nilsson Prize for his "unrivaled" contributions to the world of opera, the award foundation said.

The late Swedish soprano picked Domingo as the winner of the inaugural award — billed as the biggest prize in classical music — before her death in 2005. Prize officials said the name had been kept secret for nearly a decade.

Congrats Placido!

Happy, happy, joy, joy

2009-02-18T21:30:00.001-05:00

So what do YOU do when you are happy?

What is that one thing that you turn to when you have to express joy and can't do it any other way?

I sing.
Yep, those tired old Italian songbooks come out and I warble along, knowing that the time to pursue an opera career passed me by (some one remind me of why I listened to my parents) but the training? It never *quite* leaves you, and lo and behold, notes show up that you forget could round so smoothly through the upper palate.

I will never sound like this, but it sure doesn't hurt to listen to it:
what.a.joy. Cecilia Bartoli brings to the music, facial expressions be damned.

YouTube Symphony - vote NOW!!!

2009-02-18T07:59:00.002-05:00

I just spent a really wonderful hour+ listening to and voting for finalists for the YouTube Symphony.
Yes, this is an operatic list, so there were LOTS of excerpts from the Magic Flute, and one from Lucia (no glass harmonica, alas)
OK, I'm on topic.

I will re-post this on my blog and on the CMB website as well - I thought it was a great idea from the start, and would love to see it really grow legs.

Here is my list, and the criteria I used:

For the most part, I did NOT even listen to anyone who posted a concert appearance - I considered that "cheating" in my criteria, since it was supposed to be an audition, so I wanted as close to the audition process as possible. I have left comments by some of the more memorable performers.

One other note: I didn't realize that this was geared towards conservatory students - I haven't read the rules (but will do so tout suite) but I thought this was open to the world, so it was a Leeeeetle distressing to see all of these youngins auditioning. I had hoped for a few more "going gray" types like myself, who maybe played in a local orchestra/pit band and wanted a shot. Must reread the rules.

A special mention and kudos to: DoMaggioreEccedente (for playing on that poor upright - get this man a Bosendorfer, stat!

If you want to vote: http://www.youtube.com/Symphony

Now if "someone" would let a certain company I know personally broadcast the concert live on the Internet - hint,hint! ;) Anyone have MTT's phone number?

In order, who I listened to, although the site randomizes the videos once you start voting, so you may have to use search to find these folks.

HarvestZhangPiano
colinoldberg
CelsoGarciaBlanco
andyvchester
kukeen
playsviolin
jacmorant
manuelzogbi
ArtEZConservatorium
Tiagov6
Saviarnold
whiice
borysovadym
TaeShikKim1
LunaSerenata
taraklein1027
intinsamente
dhowellbassist
gargoylejenkins - thanks for choosing that Bach
prelude!Good Energy
cyberforte - who played the Prelude better, IMHO
ssalrice
marimbamaki
owainawilliams
sony0606
behold888 - what was with the whole anonymity thing? This wasn't a blind audition!
MrChose
JoelKN
LynneAbbeyLee
ceciliamus444
PavelBirukov - who was the only person who looked like he was actually enjoying himself! (ok, except for the whole breathing thing)
VienNia1
EDOboe
Hornmaker - the only auditionee who looked like he was a regular joe and not a conservatory student
capdenap - the bells in the background were SURREAL - loved it! Was he channeling Stokowski?
EMDananMusic

Why I'm kicking you off my live stream

2009-02-15T12:28:00.010-05:00

Today's post is directed to the IP addresses/domains that I have kicked off ClassicalMusicBroadcast.com recently.
(read: today)

Spam bots? Gone.
I'm sure that you can find classical music sites in your own home countries of China, Turkey, Taiwan and so on...
Here's a link to get you started

Bandwidth leechers? Buh-bye

Oh, you know who you are. Sites, usually in Mandarin or Cyrillic, that contain an embedded media player that plays my site, leeching my bandwidth just so you can surround the page with piles of Google Ads.

CMB has a policy of allowing redistribution of content with written permission.
2 sites have written permission, and you aren't either of them.

It's not butter, it's Mendelssohn

2009-02-07T16:36:00.002-05:00

Wilhelm Furtwangler and his German manager, a man named Mendelssohn,
are walking in downtown Berlin. Furtwangler sees a record shop and
decides to go in and see how sales of his records are doing. His manager
goes with him.

He goes up to the young clerk and says, "Do you have Beethoven's 5th Symphony conducted by Furtwangler?

The clerk checks and says, "No, we have recordings by Bruno Walter and Toscanini, but
no Furtwangler."

So Furtwangler asks, "Well, do you have Beethoven's 7th symphony conducted by Furtwangler?"

The clerk checks again and says, "No, we have recordings with Knappertsbusch, Muck and Krauss,but no Furtwangler." This goes on for a while, with the 3rd, 4th and 6th symphonies, the Missa Solemnis, and Fidelio.

No Furtwangler.

Finally,Furtwangler says in exasperation, "Don't you have ANY Beethoven conducted
by Furtwangler?"

And the clerk, equally annoyed, says, "Who the hell is this Furtwangler anyway?

Furtwangler says indignantly, "I am Furtwangler!"

The clerk points to the manager and says, sarcastically "Oh, right, and
I suppose this is Beethoven."

Furtwangler says, "No, that's Mendelssohn."

Invest in an opera singer - the Marian Anderson I-bond

2009-02-07T07:52:00.003-05:00

If you want the truth, I find the website sort of "spam-linky", meaning a site that exists to collect money by using Google ads and lots of spam subjects in order to, well make money.
But what they hey? It's still pretty entertaining, investing in an opera singer.
So if I buy stock in say, Cecilia Bartoli and she cancels a performance, does it get downgraded to an underperform?

Just askin'.

The Marian Anderson I-bond

and now...your moment of opera-l zen

2009-02-02T22:06:00.002-05:00

I quote directly from a lister on opera-l, that lovable, albeit oftentimes maddening newsgroup of all things opera, which 80% of the time means "all Met, all the time":

"Only on this list could my post about opera here in London being
cancelled because of the snow metamorphose into yet another
discussion of Hitler. It's unbelievable."

Ed. Note: no, not really.

Connecticut Opera Cancels Season's Remaining Shows

2009-02-01T09:00:00.002-05:00

Well, it is all over the Internet already so I'm not the first to break the news.
We are very sad to see that the Connecticut Opera has made the decision to cancel their season.

It is our hope that they will find a way to reverse this decision in the near future.

Missing piece of Mozart music debuts

2009-01-24T09:36:00.003-05:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7845688.stm

A piece of music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, which had lain undiscovered in a French library for years, has had its first public performance.

The two minute-long piece was played by violinist Daniel Cuiller before a small audience in Nantes, western France.

The sheet music was found by staff at the city's library, and authenticated as an original work of the Austrian composer last September.

The score is on display at Nantes Castle until 22 February.

Dr Ulrich Leisinger from the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, who authenticated the score, said it was an important discovery.

It is composed of two musical pieces with a missing portion at the top.

A Day of Firsts - political and musical

2009-01-20T07:56:00.003-05:00

Today *is* a historic occasion, what with the swearing-in of the first African-American President of the United States, Barack Obama. Good luck to him on what has to be the toughest job ever.

In keeping with the news musical, let us go back to another historic first - the first African-American conductor of an orchestra - the Berlin Philharmonic, led by Rudolph Dunbar. In the 1940's - a significant event.

Thanks to An Overgrown Path for letting me trackback to his excellent article and photos.

George Mott's opera photos - WOW

2009-01-18T07:59:00.004-05:00

George Mott is a participant on the infamous opera-l newsgroup - I have been on there myself on and off since 1996.

Recently he posted links to his photos of the opera ERCOLE AMANTE in Amsterdam by Cavalli - and oh my god, is this singer really wearing injection-molded plastic?

Here is the full slideshow of the photos - George you do great work!

PS - for those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, in the US these types of productions are known as Eurotrash.

Johnny Knoxville accuses "wardrobe girl" of bomb plant in luggage

2009-01-17T06:10:00.002-05:00

WTF?

Ok, back in the day, I used to be one of those "wardrobe girls" that Knoxville seems to think is a perfectly acceptable scapegoat.

Hello? The "wardrobe girl" packed your personal luggage, Johnny Knoxville?

You're not that famous you dumb f*ck.

You're no better than anyone else who had a few minutes of fame and is desperately trying to get it back by pulling outrageous stunts.

There is an old rule in the theater/performing arts/film world that there are 3 people you never piss off: the stage manager, the wardrobe person, or the lighting crew, otherwise you are guaranteed to go onstage/onset:

Late.
Naked.
In the Dark.

LA Opera announces its new season

2009-01-16T08:01:00.005-05:00

OperaGal is very happy to see the LA Opera 2009-2010 season contains not only the promised Ring cycle, but some solid recitals and TAMERLANE.

Placido is going to sing this year too! The man just does.not.stop. And we are eternally grateful. Thanks, PD

...OG sighs and wishes she had a trust fund to go to LA...

Busy this week

2009-01-12T07:51:00.002-05:00

W00t!

OperaGal will be busy this week, so very little operatic posting, or otherwise. (maybe)

I am making LOTS of these draft stopper thingies and if you are trying to save a few $$ on your heat bills, order one today.

Yesterday we went to the Press Preview for the NAIAS 2009 (thats North American Auto Show to you)

word one - the new Taurus? SWANKY. VERY SWANKY. Even sexy. (photos later today)

Operatic note: OG would appreciate it if the Met would stop scheduling their HD broadcasts on days with horrible weather, since the ONLY HD movie theater is one hell of a drive away.

Met folks - please check the Farmers Almanac before posting your schedule, as I would like to see just one Met production before I die.

Thank you.

Mozart's Turkish Rondo on 3 phones

2009-01-10T21:15:00.000-05:00

Monsters* *and Prodigies: A History of the Castrati - sans cheval

2009-01-08T06:10:00.001-05:00

Leave your scissors at home...

;)

Thu, Feb 5-Sat, Feb 7, 8 pm

Novellus Theater at YBCA

700 Howard Street @ 3rd, San Francisco, CA

$30 Regular/$25 YBCA Member/Student/Senior/Teacher

415.978.ARTS (2787) or www.ybca.org
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) presents Teatro de Ciertos Habitantes, one of Mexico's leading experimental theater groups, in its Bay Area debut. The company is slated to perform /Monsters* *and Prodigies: A History of the Castrati /which takes audiences on a delicious musical romp through operatic history, zooming in on the life of the castrati, a baroque cultural phenomenon symbolizing an unyielding search for beauty and purity in a society of decadence.

/"Monsters and Prodigies/ : /A History of the Castrati /is a remarkable mise-en-scène that unearths an unprecedented artistic, social and cultural phenomenon: the history of the castrated children born in poverty who were propelled to the status of stars in the courts of Europe.
Directed by Claudio Valdés Kuri and written by the late Jorge Kuri for Mexico City's internationally acclaimed Teatro de Ciertos Habitantes, /Monsters /is a colorful and often humorous three-century journey from the decadent extremes of the Baroque period to the technological 20th century, where beauty has been annihilated by reason [sic]. With a "precise and wild gaze," the company infuses life into one of the most sublime mysteries in history. Delivered with off-the-wall humor and terrific musical aplomb, the versatile artists of Teatro De Ciertos Habitantes play-out a chronological narrative of the contradictions, extravagances and whims of the castrati. Through the juxtaposition of artistic disciplines, routines and languages, /Monsters and Prodigies/ tells the tales of castrati who lived in defiance of moral and reasonable law, in their bodies and in their souls, in an impossible coupling of freak and angel, monster and wonder.

Performed in Spanish and Italian with English subtitles, the work begins with a reflection on the role of castrati - seen as both artistic prodigies and disfigured monsters - but soon launches into a musical tour of opera history peppered with increasing doses of screwball antics and highjinks. The cast of characters includes a hoof-stomping centaur, Siamese twins who run a surgery ward out of their Naples barbershop, a gossipy opera maven and, not least, Napoleon. The audience accompanies barber-surgeon Jean-Ambroise Paré through the splendors and extravagances of the Baroque era -- an outstanding and enigmatic period in art history. Through a play within a play and an opera within an opera, with a polyphonic structure that alternates scenes, musical arias and interludes, /Monsters and Prodigies/ culminates with the outbreak of war between beauty at the service of art against scientific thinking born in the French Revolution, ending with one of the most sublime mysteries of history: the incomparable voices of the castrati. There are several versions of the production and the one performed at YBCA will not include the horse.

Seattle Opera has announced its 2009-10 season

2009-01-03T15:15:00.000-05:00

Seattle Opera has announced its 2009-10 season:

La Traviata (October 2009)
Violette: Nuccia Focile/Eglise Gutiérrez
Alfredo: Dimitri Pittas/Francesco Demuro
Germont: Charles Taylor /Weston Hurt
Conductor: Vjekoslav Sutej

Il Trovatore (January 2010)
Leonore: Lisa Daltirus/Mary Elizabeth Williams
Manrico: Antonello Palombi/Arnold Rawls
Azucena: Malgorzata Walewska/Mary Phillips
di Luna: Gordon Hawkins/Charles Taylor
Conductor: Yves Abel
Stage Director: José María Condemi

Falstaff (February/March 2010)
Falstaff: Peter Rose/Eduardo Chama
Dame Quickley: Stephanie Blythe (all performances)
Master Ford: Simone Alberghini/David Won
Mistress Ford: Sveta Vassileva/Sally Wolf
Conductor: Riccardo Frizza
Stage Director: Peter Kazaras

Sasha Cooke makes her company debut as Meg Page.

Happy New Year - Opera and Wine, redux

2009-01-01T10:48:00.004-05:00

Happy 2009, and how cool is it that my Christmas cactus decided to start blooming today. Yes, that's me with Tom in the photo in the background - yummy! he is having quite the year singing Anthanel right now in Thais.
(yes, its official - I am too lazy to type diacriticals - so sue me)

This year, 2x a month, I will feature "Opera & Wine" where I marry my 2 favorites. I will review a DVD performance AND the wine that accompanies the DVD viewing.

Why?

2 reasons - number one, I don't actually WATCH a lot of opera, I LISTEN to it, and I know I am missing out by not watching. Yes, I prefer to watch opera in person, but don't have the $$ to go fly to X,Y or Z to go see them.

Yes, I support the home team of MOT, but will leave the reviewing of them up to the ever so lame Mark Stryker, who most likely will lose his job at the Freep soon enough anyway.

Second reason - I like wine, I make some fun discoveries by experimenting, and what the hell, why not share?

Happy 2009, remember to have your lentil soup, or black-eyed peas, or whatever your culture symbolizes as a good-luck charm for this new year.
(and if anyone can tell me what it is in Hungary, I would be most grateful)

Ciao, tutti!
OGal

T’was the night before New Years - a guest post by GPP

2008-12-31T13:30:00.001-05:00

Newly revised and once again, with my sincerest apologies to the ghost of
Clement Clarke Moore!

T’was the night before New Years and all through the Met
Idle chatter expanded to grand tête-à-têtes
The stockings were held up from garters with care,
As freshly smoothed legs stung from shaving, (or Nair).
The lovely and well heeled strode carpets of red,
While visions of Milanov danced in some heads.
Some told of nights’ past and of old opera glories,
(While others preferred much more risquéier stories. )

Then the chandeliers rose and one heard so much clatter,
As the shushrats were shushing all pre-curtain chatter.
Then a diva so glam’rous (it must be Renee!)
Looked perplexed at her program, “What the . . . ‘Rondine?’”
But before she could exit, the house lights were dimmed
And La Gheorghiu appeared, flapper skirt, hat wide-brimmed.
“Chi il bel sogno di Doretta,” the piano started,
Then a crude blast was heard, oh God, someone has . . . .
Whispered one: “That’s appropriate I can’t stand Puccini,”
Snapped his partner, “Oh, it’s lovely, quit being so queeny!”

Memories of other nights, we begin to remember
How opera’s the best way to end a December,
So give us cadenzas, and bel canto trills,
And tonic and dominant and all else that thrills.

Give us Handel, and Strauss, Debussy and Bellini
Give us nights that’ll thrill ev’n Signor Tommassini.
And bring on the rare stuff, Mercadante and others
And broadcast ‘em all while we’ve still got Toll Brothers!

Yes, those operas by Mozart, Wagner, Donizetti
We love them mit Schnitzel or con la spaghetti
Yet hours of parlando and leitmotifs galore,
Will, no matter how beautiful, cause someone to snore.

Just make sure that our Butterfly dies by the blade,
And not from a gunshot wound fired by her maid,
And make sure that a gentle soul, like Violetta
Won’t be required to lap dance, through her difficult stretta . . .
Don’t let Salome die as she hangs from a rope
As staged by some hack, wacked out, weird regie dope.

For ‘tis opera we love, and ev’n though we may fight,
Or poke fun at others who don’t see the light,
I ask you to please raise your champagne (or beer)
And join me in toasting a new Opera-L Year!

Happy New Year, Everybody!

p.
http://sharkonarts.blogspot.com/

Phoenix Opera building its own sets

2008-12-29T12:41:00.004-05:00

Does the Phoenix Opera read OGR?

I am beginning to wonder, after seeing this article from the Phoenix Business Journal

A short article, with a particularly trenchant quote:
"After the “Aida” performances Jan. 30 and Feb. 1 at the Orpheum Theatre, the sets likely will be sent to Tri-Cities Opera in Binghamton, N.Y., where they will be rented out to other companies, Castellano said."

Hmm...who does that sound like?

An amazing concept - save money, and create an additional income stream.

OG shakes her head in disbelief

Happy Holidays one and all

2008-12-24T14:18:00.003-05:00

Thanks for sticking around in 2008! See you in 2009.
Be safe, be careful, and hug everyone you love, unless they have the flu, then wave from a distance. ;)
I would say more, but Jussi says it the best -

Roberto Alagna receives Legion D'Honneur

2008-12-16T09:26:00.003-05:00

Yesterday Roberto Alagna received the Légion d'honneur order from the French President Sarkozy.

A few days before, he received a much higher honor from the French...his image is now in the Museum Grevin, the famous wax museum, among the immortals.

OG wants to know...isn't this the same award they gave to Jerry Lewis? ;)

OG recommends the following recording:

Opera is not immune to the recession

2008-12-09T07:48:00.004-05:00

Warning: rant ahead!

After last month's announcement that our own Michigan Opera Theater had to cancel productions, we now have the announcement regarding the Baltimore Opera:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/bal-te.to.opera09dec09,0,685458.story

I have been associated with both of these companies, and have a great amount of respect for both Dr. D and Michael Harrison.

Personally, I am not a huge supporter of the unions, and I feel that the highly inflated salaries of both unions and the excessive spending in the non-union areas contribute to this issue.

As a former designer, I used to be appalled at my colleagues who would spend thousands upon tens of thousands on fancy fabrics, real antiques and other items to decorate singers and stage.

When I was in Chicago, I was a union stagehand for a few months. It just seemed ODD to be paid to not work. It seemed odd to have our lunches and dinners catered in. It went against everything I had experienced to date, and I never liked it.

Another instance was the production where an audio engineer had a paid assistant, IMHO, far too much like "I'm getting my girlfriend a paid gig" than an actual assistant, especially since she just sat around doing nothing while I as producer had to pay her a salary. I am perfectly happy to pay a salary if someone actually works, and these companies should really start looking at their structure.

I am not suggesting layoffs - not at all. I spent 16 years in this industry, and am far too familiar with the "its not my job" attitude of union employees. The industry should revert back to model where everyone does what is needed to bring a production together - none of this "we have to wait until this person shows up so we can move this stack of cable, wood, boxes to that point over there."

Pick up the f-ing box and move it, ok?

I always enjoyed my work, and I made a comfortable living while NON-union. I have never been able to reconcile myself to the excessive spending, and the fact that I was once sacked from a design job for NOT spending enough.

That company probably wishes they had someone like me around now, and no it wasn't either of the 2 listed above.

Personally I think opera companies need to re-think their approach to spending, and keep in mind that what they essentially do is create a "simulation", not a reality...

I doubt highly that someone is going to storm out after buying their ticket and complain that the costume fabric should have cost another $100/yard.

And how about giving Americans jobs? Yes, I *know* that opera is an international industry, but the truth is that American companies, once they get to a certain threshold, are perfectly happy to start hiring singers/designers/conductors from outside of the US.

Sure, the reverse is true, but we all know that the balance tips far too much to one side. Offering a few comprimario roles to Americans doesn't cut it.

And the argument that the audience deserves big box office stars? Sure they do, and that is why we have the Met.

Because I love this industry more than anything else, it saddens me greatly to know that these types of cutbacks are happening.

Thoughts, comments, brickbats?

Life is NOT the same after Tristan und Isolde

2008-12-06T13:32:00.002-05:00

You've got that right, maestro.

Hats off to Maestro Barenboim and the cast of today's Met broadcast - one that I think will be for the record books.

To date, I have not been a "Wagnerite", actually far from it, and it took the skills (and what skills they are!!!) of having Daniel Barenboim at the helm of the Met orchestra to convince me to not only LIKE this opera but move it tout suite into my top ten.

Not to dismiss the work of Maestro Levine, who is no sluch on the podium, but but but...

See? I'm speechless.
Aw hell, I was trying not to CRY during the overture.

OG

Internet radio and bandwidth costs

2008-12-06T08:51:00.005-05:00

No, it won't be one of *those* posts - the kind where we beg for $$ due to bandwidth issues.
(but hey...if you want to help...)

Recently I engaged in a rather spirited discussion on a newsgroup with a woman who thought it was perfectly OK to record Internet radio for later use, and didn't seem to think she was doing anything wrong when I pointed out the following:

1 - at the very least, the act of recording Internet radio is stealing bandwidth, which is mighty expensive when you stream live, as I do on ClassicalMusicBroadcast.com

2 - radio content is often under copyright - which means this is no less wrong than borrowing a CD, making a copy, and then making multiple copies for others.

Some tips from 3 years in the trenches:
If you run a Shoutcast station, please check your DNAS logs for bandwidth hogs. Sure, its great to have lots of listeners, but if you have people who leave it on for days on end, kick them off. Make them come bakc and VISIT your site once in a while.

If you see 2-3 IP addresses that match in a row, thats usually a content scraper.

And above all, listen to your own station once in a while, and make sure its top-notch.

2008 Classical Grammy Award Nominees - lots of vocal treats

2008-12-04T17:40:00.003-05:00

BEST CLASSICAL ALBUM:

Maria.
Cecilia Bartoli; Adam Fischer; Orchestra La Scintilla [Decca Records]

O'Regan, Tarik: Threshold Of Night.
Craig Hella Johnson, conductor; Company Of Strings; Company Of Voices & Conspirare [Harmonia Mundi]

Schoenberg/Sibelius: Violin Concertos.
Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor; Hilary Hahn; Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra [Deutsche Grammophon]

Spotless Rose: Hymns To The Virgin Mary
Charles Bruffy, conductor; Phoenix Chorale; [Chandos]

Weill: Rise And Fall Of The City Of Mahagonny.
James Conlon, conductor; Anthony Dean Griffey, Patti LuPone & Audra McDonald; Donnie Ray Albert, John Easterlin, Steven Humes, Mel Ulrich & Robert Wörle; Los Angeles Opera Chorus; Los Angeles Opera Orchestra [EuroArts]

BEST ORCHESTRAL PERFORMANCE:
D'Indy: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1.
Rumon Gamba, conductor (Iceland Symphony Orchestra) [Chandos]

Glazunov: Symphony No. 6, La Mer, Introduction And Dance From Salome
José Serebrier, conductor (Royal Scottish National Orchestra) [Warner Classics & Jazz]

Prokofiev: Scythian Suite, Op. 20
Alan Gilbert, conductor (Chicago Symphony Orchestra) [CSO Resound]

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4
Bernard Haitink, conductor (Chicago Symphony Orchestra) [CSO Resound]

Walden, Chris: Symphony No. 1, The Four Elements
Chris Walden, conductor (Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra) [Origin Classical]

BEST OPERA RECORDING:
Dun: The First Emperor
Tan Dun, conductor; Michelle DeYoung, Plácido Domingo, Elizabeth Futral, Paul Groves, Wu Hsing-Kuo & Hao Jiang Tian; Jay David Saks, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus) [EMI Classics]

Lully: Psyché
Paul O´Dette & Stephen Stubbs, conductors; Colin Balzer, Karina Gauvin, Carolyn Sampson & Aaron Sheehan; Renate Wolter-Seevers, producer (Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra; Boston Early Music Festival Chorus) [CPO]

Monteverdi: L'Orfeo
Rinaldo Alessandrini, conductor; Sara Mingardo, Monica Piccinini, Anna Simboli & Furio Zanasi; Jean-Pierre Loisil, producer (Concerto Italiano) [Naive Classique]

Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin
Valery Gergiev, conductor; Renée Fleming, Dmitri Hvorostovsky & Ramón Vargas; Jay David Saks, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus) [Decca]

Weill: Rise And Fall Of The City Of Mahagonny
James Conlon, conductor; Anthony Dean Griffey, Patti LuPone & Audra McDonald; Fred Vogler, producer (Donnie Ray Albert, John Easterlin, Steven Humes, Mel Ulrich & Robert Wörle; Los Angeles Opera Orchestra; Los Angeles Opera Chorus) [EuroArts]

BEST CHORAL PERFORMANCE:
O'Regan, Tarik: Threshold Of Night
Craig Hella Johnson, conductor (Company Of Strings; Company Of Voices & Conspirare) [Harmonia Mundi]

Rheinberger: Sacred Choral Works
Charles Bruffy, conductor (Kansas City Chorale & Phoenix Bach Choir) [Chandos]

Symphony Of Psalms
Sir Simon Rattle, conductor; Simon Halsey, chorus master (Berliner Philharmoniker; Rundfunkchor Berlin) [EMI Classics]

Szymanowski, Karol: Stabat Mater
Antoni Wit, conductor; Henryk Wojnarowski, chorus master (Jaroslaw Brek, Iwona Hossa & Ewa Marciniec; Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra; Warsaw Philharmonic Choir) [Naxos]

Tippett: A Child Of Our Time
Colin Davis, conductor; Joseph Cullen, chorus master (Steve Davislim, Mihoko Fujimura, Matthew Rose & Indra Thomas; London Symphony Orchestra; London Symphony Chorus) [LSO Live]

BEST INSTRMENTAL SOLOIST(S) WITH ORCHESTRA
Bloch/Lees:Violin Concertos
John McLaughlin Williams, conductor; Elmar Oliveira (National Symphony Orchestra Of Ukraine) [Artek]

Harrison: Pipa Concerto
Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor; Wu Man (Chicago Symphony Orchestra) [CSO Resound]

Mozart: Piano Concertos 17 & 20
Leif Ove Andsnes (Norwegian Chamber Orchestra) [EMI Classics]

Saint-Saëns: Piano Concertos 2 & 5
Charles Dutoit, conductor; Jean-Yves Thibaudet (L'Orchestre De La Suisse Romande) [Decca Records]

Schoenberg/Sibelius: Violin Concertos
Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor; Hilary Hahn (Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra) [Deutsche Grammophon]

BEST INSTRUMENTAL SOLOIST PERFORMANCE WITHOUT ORCHESTRA
In A State Of Jazz
Marc-André Hamelin [Hyperion]

Piano Music Of Salonen, Stucky, And Lutoslawski
Gloria Cheng [Telarc]

Red Cliff Capriccio
Wei Li [First Impression Music]

Revolutionary
Cameron Carpenter [Telarc]

Strange Toys
Joan Jeanrenaud [Talking House Records]

BEST CHAMBER MUSIC PERFORMANCE
Brahms: String Quartet Op. 51, No. 2, Piano Quintet Op. 34
Stephen Hough; Takács Quartet [Hyperion]

Carter, Elliott: String Quartets Nos. 1 And 5
Pacifica Quartet [Naxos]

Folk Songs
Trio Mediaeval [ECM New Series]

Right Through The Bone - Julius Röntgen Chamber Music
ARC Ensemble [RCA Red Seal]

String Poetic
Jennifer Koh & Reiko Uchida [Cedille Records]

BEST SMALL ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE
Divertimenti
Øyvind Gimse, conductor; TrondheimSolistene [2L (Lindberg Lyd)]

Dun: Pipa Concerto; Hayashi: Viola Concerto; Takemitsu: Nostalgia
Roman Balashov, conductor; Yuri Bashmet; Moscow Soloists (Wu Man) [Onyx Classics]

Im Wunderschoenen Monat Mai
Reinbert De Leeuw, conductor; Barbara Sukowa; Schoenberg Ensemble [Winter & Winter]

Monk: Impermanence
Meredith Monk & Vocal Ensemble [ECM New Series]

Spotless Rose: Hymns To The Virgin Mary
Charles Bruffy, conductor; Phoenix Chorale [Chandos]

BEST CLASSICAL VOCAL PERFORMANCE
Corigliano: Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems Of Bob Dylan
Hila Plitmann (JoAnn Falletta; Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra) [Naxos]

Fussell, Charles: Wilde
Sanford Sylvan (Gil Rose; Boston Modern Orchestra Project) [BMOP/sound]

Gomidas Songs
Isabel Bayrakdarian (Eduard Topchjan; Serouj Kradjian; Chamber Players Of The Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra) [Nonesuch Records]

Maria
Cecilia Bartoli (Adam Fischer; Orchestra La Scintilla) [Decca Records]

Terezín: Theresienstadt
Anne Sofie Von Otter (Christian Gerhaher & Daniel Hope; Bengt Forsberg & Gerold Huber) [Deutsche Grammophon]

BEST CLASSICAL CONTEMPORARY PERFORMANCE
Dalbavie: Concerto Pour Flûte
Marc-André Dalbavie (Peter Eötvös) [EMI Classics]

Gandolfi: The Garden Of Cosmic Speculation
Michael Gandolfi (Robert Spano) [Telarc]

Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems Of Bob Dylan
John Corigliano (JoAnn Falletta)

Violin Concerto No. 2
George Tsontakis (Douglas Boyd) [Koch Int'l Clasiscs]

Walden, Chris: Symphony No. 1, The Four Elements
Chris Walden (Chris Walden) [Origin Classical]

BEST CLASSICAL CROSSOVER ALBUM
Baroque
Gabriela Montero [EMI Classics]

Indigo Road
Ronn McFarlane [Dorian Sono Luminus]

Olde School
East Village Opera Company [Decca Records]

The Othello Syndrome
Uri Caine Ensemble [Winter & Winter]

Simple Gifts
The King's Singers [Signum Records]

Loyal Listener Enables Upgrade

2008-12-03T09:31:00.001-05:00

A *VERY* loyal listener in upstate New Yawk (HI Jane!) has sent a small gift that is allowing Classical Music Broadcast to:

- upgrade the memory in the computer that plays the music
- pay part of the electric bill for October.

Thanks to EVERYONE out there for your love and support!
Keep listening!

Toilet Humor

2008-12-01T10:57:00.001-05:00

A lady who gets a special toilet that plays music to impress her fellow bridge club members. The first two to use it comment on the lovely musical selections--one heard a symphony and the other an opera--but the third remarks that it played the national anthem, so she had to stand up while using the facilities!

Apparently its not a joke in the UK

Ooof - too many leftovers

2008-11-29T12:29:00.002-05:00

This isn't quite a cooking blog, but I have a LOT of leftovers, so I will post the occasional recipe for those Thanksgiving leftovers.

Whipped Sweet Potato Pie
INGREDIENTS
4 cups mashed cooked sweet potatoes
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup apples, diced
1 tablespoon brown sugar(to put into the mix)
1 tablespoon brown sugar(for the top)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons brandy
1/2 cup melted margarine
marshmallows
DIRECTIONS
Mix all ingredients together, except marshmallows.
Pour into well greased casserole.
Sprinkle with brown sugar.
Bake 375 for about 10-15 minutes.
Add marshmallows on top and bake until marshmallows melt and the top is golden brown, 25-30 minutes in total.

RIP Richard Hickox

2008-11-26T06:52:00.007-05:00

Hickox was a pro-active conductor who founded two orchestras,
Recommended recording: the City of London Sinfonia and the original instrument ensemble Collegium 90, with which he recorded the outstanding series of Haydn’s masses which he said gave him most pride and pleasure.

He is likely to be remembered above all as a champion of British music.

Thank you for all you have given us.

Classical Music Broadcast.com will be playing selections from Maestro Hickoxs' career all week in memoriam. Please tune in.

Sting + Elvis Costello + Barbara Bonney = Opera??

2008-11-21T13:18:00.007-05:00

Two of my faves from my high school years (Costello/Sting 1983, folks) and one from my grad school years (Bonney) take the opera stage?
Well, we'll see, methinks it might be a "rock opera" but with Barbara Bonney on the soundtrack recording - this might be well worth a listen.

and I'm ok with that.

(reprinted from online)
Sting, Costello, but No Fat Lady

What do you after wrapping up the biggest rock tour of the last two years? After all in August Sting finished the grueling 18 month worldwide reunion of The Police that grossed way over $300 million. This week it spawned the bestselling concert video as well.

Most rock stars would just go home and relax. Not Sting. Last night at the landmark Theatre du Chatelet in Paris he opened in an opera — yes, an opera, a real opera — written by Elvis Costello’s long time musical director Stevie Nieve and his wife Muriel Teodori, and co-starring Costello and the eldest Sting progeny, Fiction Plane leader Joe Sumner.

Among the aficionados who turned out for the occasion: British pop legend Marianne Faithful, and film directors Mike Figgis and JP Davidson. Mrs. Sting — Trudie Styler — was front and center, as well, with actress daughter Mickey and newly minted best selling writer from the UK Simon Astaire ("Private Privilege").

It was quite an occasion too as Sting had only on the night before performed a showcase of music on the lute in the very same theater, playing selections from his album, Songs from the Labyrinth. He heads out next week to showcase this material on a tour of Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and other far flung locales.

Like I said, he could have just gone home.

But the opera, called "Welcome to the Voice," has been percolating for some time since Nieve and Teodori began workshopping it more than eight years ago. It was only when Costello and his band decided to join The Police on tour this year that the idea hatched for Sting to participate in the recording of Welcome to the Voice (already out on CD) but to put on a professionally staged version of it here.

The lead role of Dionysos could not be more perfect for Sting, who hasn’t acted in legit theater since his successful turn in "The Threepenny Opera" on Broadway nearly two decades ago. Dionysos is a romantic lead, a Greek steel worker who falls in love with opera and dreams of being with three of its leading ladies: Carmen, Madama Butterfly, and Norma. Eventually he finds a real diva named Lily who entrances him just as much. The role, as defined by Sting incorporates not only his ever-expanding vocal range — impressive in a non rock setting — but his matinee idol good looks and athleticism.

Figgis, who directed Sting long ago in the cult movie, "Stormy Monday," was visibly impressed (as was the audience, which gave the opening night cast a ten minute ovation). "Did I know back then that he could do this? The answer is Yes!"

Costello plays the local police commissioner, a comic character. Joe Sumner, Sting’s eldest son, is his friend and enthusiast. In his black Russian hat and heavy greatcoat Costello looked like he was having a lot of fun up on stage even though he told me later he was battling a grippy flu. Sumner — whose voice is often compared favorably to his dad’s—turns out to be a natural leading man on stage, a possible find for Broadway producers looking to cast their next rock musical.

But it was the women of "Welcome to the Voice" who really set the Theatre du Chatelet on fire. The gorgeous throated, sexy divas who played the "ghosts" of Dionysos’s fevered fantasy were Marie-Ange Todorovitch as the "ghost" of Carmen, Sonya Yoncheva as Butterfly, and Anna Gabler as Norma. The magnificent Spanish singer Sylvia Schwartz won over not just a few hearts as Lily, Dionysos’s "real" object of obsession.

We’ve come a long way since days of songs like "Roxanne" and "Alison," of narrow neck ties, and thundering power pop. And even though Sting and Costello can do that any time they want, and make millions to be sure, that’s what makes "Welcome to the Voice": that much more of an achievement.

These two multi talented musicians may represent the last generation of rockers able to stretch beyond their original genres and take on other forms with so much success. (Costello has also performed with the Brodsky Quartet and a variety of pop and classical singers.) Bravo to both of them!

Welcome to the Voice: A work by Steve Nieve and Muriel Teodori continues in Paris through next week, all sold out to the top tiers of the Chatelet.

Cats and Roomba vacuum

2008-11-20T11:40:00.001-05:00

I am so buying one for Linus!

Drag Queens have all the fun

2008-11-19T08:28:00.002-05:00

"Casta Diva" by drag diva singer LaLa McCallan

As a former costume designer and continued opera afficianado, I couldn't let this one go by without sharing!

Opera and Wine

2008-11-18T08:19:00.006-05:00

So over at BOSSY's Poverty Party, we talked about wine.
ALWAYS a favorite subject for OG, although I think that means that I officially have become a middle-aged woman.
My 2 cents: 3-buck Chuck at Trader Joes - buy a case of it.

Anyway, I started thinking about operas that have wine drinking in them, and arias that are devoted to vino.

So here is my small list, which I will continue adding to.

Les Contes D' Hoffmann: the entire opera starts with a chorus to drinking, the "Glu, Glu"
Je suis la biere - We are beer
Je suis le vin - We are wine
(ok, techinically I am beer, I am wine, but the typical translation is "we")

Don Giovanni: The final act where the Don invites the statue to dinner.
"Vivan le femmine, Viva il buon vino"

The Brindisi from La Traviata(link is a You Tube with the Pav and Millo: oh my...you can;t go to any opera gathering without someone (usually who has had a few) breaking out into the Brindisi, which is actually NOT easy to sing at all.
(no amazon link for this one, but a great claymation video of the Choeur Bohemians)

Please feel free to add your own in the comments and I will add them to the post!

1 - How can you forget L'Elsier D'Amore?

Want to test a ringtone?

2008-11-15T08:21:00.000-05:00

Hi all -

I have been playing with some software, and have an mpeg-4 ringtone of the bacarolle for anyone who wants to try it.

Leave a comment, and I'll track you down and send it out!

OG

A Poverty Party Post - hi BOSSY

2008-11-12T12:50:00.000-05:00

say *that* 10 times quickly - better than red leather yellow leather for a vocal warmup.

You will see I have added the BOSSY'S Poverty Party icon on the right - if you aren't familiar with her humorous take on damn near everything, well you just go enjoy.

TPP is for those of us in the blogosphere who might want to save a few shekels now and then.

Todays example, while not opera-related, will hopefully tweak you into looking seriously at: YOUR INSURANCE POLICY.

So my auto insurance was with that cute little esurance gal: clever commercials, committed to a paperless business model, and at the time: LOW rates.

In the time I was with them, no claims, no accidents, no NOTHING. And in return?

They raised my rates. Then, as a birthday present (mine was last week) they raised them again.

Reasoning? Well...you live in Michigan. Um what? The state with nearly double-digit inflation, and the highest unemployment in the US since 2004?

Hell to the no.

So I made a few calls, and found a comparable company, with a less cute, more irritating spokesmodel - think "tricked-out nametag". and they lowered my rate for the SAME EXACT policy by $76/month, or $912.00 a YEAR.

Thats some savings, folks.

Opera On A Dime - New York City Opera crisis - my thoughts

2008-11-09T07:58:00.000-05:00

So there is one heck of a to-do on the opera lists about NYCO crisis, and well there should be. A lister proposed the following, and I agree, as you will see in what may be my longest posting ever on any blog...

OG

an opera-l lister wrote:
>
>
> 7) Productions should have "minimal" sets but be innovative, try to "reuse"
> sets from the operas. I know it is risky but ideally they should design all
> the sets for all the productions in one shot. And the reuse them.
>
> Too risky...I can hear the critics (as well as opera-l folks) screaming about seeing the same tired staircase in Giovanni (painted black), Lucia (painted brown), Rigoletto (painted gray)and Cendrillon (painted gold)...minimal sets can sometimes be about as expensive as maximal ones...you can build beautiful, efficient sets inexpensively - lots of companies do it across the country...just not in New York City...better to share productions with other companies with very high scenic standards such as Santa Fe, St. Louis and others like that...
>
> But, in the end, it's all about the singing. If you don't have good singers - nay, great singers in an even, balanced cast - who cares what the set looks like? If the singer cannot draw you in musically and dramatically and connect you with all those little notes the composer put on the page...why go?
>
> And this CAN be done on a budget of $36 (let's round it up to $40 just to be safe) million a year...no, Mr. Mortier, it's not enough to go wild and crazy, but we can life with that. Who wants to hang around three and a half hours just to boo the director at the curtain call? Not me!

HERE IS MY ANSWER

Sign me up - back in the day when I was still designing, I costumed a Traviata for a cast of 70 on....$1700.00
2 people (my self and one of my best friends) BUILT all the women's costumes, including all the corsets/petticoats, the men wore their concert tails for Acts One and Flora's party, I built the country coats for Pere Germont/Alfredo, and damn it, we had a fine looking opera. All the fabrics were bought in New York, not your local craft store.

(anyone who wants photo proof just email me)

Thats $24 a costume, people.

And before you say "oh, it must have looked like garbage" I was famous for making really good looking period 'stumes on no money. Thats why companies hired me - because they knew it would look good and not break the budget. That meant they could spend money on, oh the orchestra and the singers. Just sayin'.

My friend (the one mentioned above) has always said he would design a Rosenkavalier for a dime if it had good singers, just so he could sit through the tech rehearsals and listen.

Back in the 1980's a terrible trend started where as a designer/stylist you were spit upon for spending less - I was actually fired from a film shoot (a modern day shoot) because I did NOT spend the entire budget, $6,000. On 2 characters, folks. 2.

Now I won't go into the whole union thing, because it is isn't my bailiwick, but opera productions don't NEED to have that expensive of production costs. They can look sumptuous and beautiful without breaking the bank. I know a designer who has designed for Ms.Fleming, and he brags about how many hundreds of dollars a yard her fabrics cost. But in a darkened theater, can you *really* tell? I say no.

;) - I think this just became a blog post.

Kelly Rinne

Music Director
http://classicalmusicbroadcast.com

Your gift keeps music on the air!
http://tinyurl.com/keepclassicalontheair

OK, lets have a go at this

2008-10-15T04:42:00.000-04:00

Yes, the blog over at CMB still exists, but I might as well use this one too once in a while.

Maybe I will post photos of teh kitty or something...

og

Vocally exhausted

2007-12-03T21:20:00.000-05:00

and I have a show tomorrow, my first in a couple of weeks.
not good.

update: it ended up being a good show, and I even attempted a pseudo-contest. Whether anyone was listening...well, that remains to be seen. or heard. or something.

I'm here now...

2007-11-21T21:20:00.000-05:00

...welcome