'Becoming Traviata' goes behind the opera scenes with Natalie Dessay
David Ng
•
Culture Monster (Los Angeles Times)
When soprano Natalie Dessay showed up for rehearsals for the 2011
production of La traviata at the annual Aix-en-Provence Festival in
France, she encountered a rather unwelcome presence — a documentary
crew with a camera that followed her around in disarming proximity.
|
The Thin Lady Sings: Spanish Opera Protests Austerity
Guy Hedgecoe
•
CNBC
"El crepusculo del ladrillo," or "Twilight of the brick," premiered
on Sunday in la Tabacalera, a rundown tobacco factory in downtown
Madrid, to rapturous applause. A nod to Wagner's
"Goetterdaemerung," or "Twilight of the Gods," the opera takes on
Spain's ongoing economic crisis, which started to unfold in 2008 after
the country's real estate bubble burst.
|
Opera singer from Helena heads to Boston Conservatory and Italy
Lindsey Gordon
•
kxlh.com
Tascha Anderson has long identified as
a performer, but it wasn't until she went away to Pepperdine University
in California and participated in her first opera that she knew it was
for her. "My parents, they don't really know much about opera, most people
don't in Montana and I didn't either until I went to school," said
Anderson. She said that people have a lot of misconceptions about opera — that
it's something you have to "do" to your voice, but she says it's
actually about letting go.
|
Ellington School to Premiere Student’s Opera
Deirdre Bannon
•
The Georgetown Dish
When Juan Amaya was a young child, he started writing short stories to entertain himself. As an elementary school student, he taught himself how to play the saxophone and later the viola. Now, as a high school senior at Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Amaya has brought his two passions together by writing and composing an original opera. Called Cinde'ella, the opera brings a religious twist to the classic Cinderella story. It will premiere at Ellington this weekend — marking the first time the Burleith public arts school has produced an original opera created by a single student.
|
|
|
Met Opera Dismantles Its Ballet in Buyouts
Allan Kozinn
•
The New York Times
The Metropolitan Opera
has decided to disband its resident ballet company, whose roots date
back to the opera’s founding in 1883. The 8 remaining dancers of the
Metropolitan Opera Ballet, down from 16 in 2011, have accepted buyout
packages and left the company, their union confirmed.
|
Albert Hall, opera singer, 89
Frederick N. Rasmussen
•
The Baltimore Sun
Albert Hall, a professional opera singer and choirmaster who began his
singing career during his student days at City College, died May 13 from
colon cancer at Gilchrist Hospice Care in Towson. The Towson resident
was 89.
|
|
|
Gods And Monsters: 5 Unforgettable Wagner Moments
Tom Huizenga
•
Deceptive Cadence (NPR)
How much do you know about Richard Wagner? Probably two unfavorable facts: He wrote
very long, grandiose operas and was Hitler's favorite composer. As true
as they are, those simple examples barely hint at the complexity of this
endlessly creative and confounding artist.
|
|
|
Placido Domingo turns Isabel Allende short story into opera
Agencia EFE
•
Global Post
Under the baton of Placido Domingo, acclaimed Chilean
writer Isabel Allende's short story "Una Venganza" ("An Act of
Vengeance") emerges from the printed page as the opera "Dulce Rosa," a
production with a Latin heart and Greek tragedy in its soul that
premieres Friday in Los Angeles.
|
Moms in Opera: Women on the Edge
Moms In Opera: Women On The Edge
•
NPR
We love mothers for all the Hallmark reasons: for their compassion
and patience, not to mention giving birth. But some moms aren't exactly
greeting card friendly — and none less so than those who live in the
opera house.
|
Adapting 'The Great Gatsby': Film or Opera?
Brian Wise
•
WQXR
The return of The Great Gatsby to cinemas comes just as
composer John Harbison's opera adaptation from a decade ago is getting
some fresh attention in concert halls. Coincidence? It's hard to say if
the film begot the opera revivals, but here's a cheat sheet on what to
listen for in each version.
|
OPERA America Program to Aid 13 Companies
Allan Kozzinn
•
ArtsBeat (The New York Times)
Thirteen opera companies across the United States will share $300,000 in grants awarded by OPERA America in the first year of its new Building Opera Audiences program. The grants, which range from $7,500 to $30,000, are for programs meant to increase first-time opera attendance, and to increase return visits.
|
Dallas Opera names Emmanuel Villaume new music director
Scott Cantrell
•
The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Opera has named French conductor Emmanuel Villaume its new music director. He
was introduced by Dallas Opera General Director Keith Cerny at a news
conference Tuesday morning at the Winspear Opera House. Speaking in
charmingly accented, fluent English, Villaume praised the opera house,
the Dallas Opera Orchestra, the company staff and “the response of the
people in the house, the community.”
|
Santa Fe Opera to Present New Opera About Oscar Wilde
Rodney Punt
•
The Huffington Post
The historic path to equality for gays and lesbians is strewn with
victims of injustice. One of the most egregious examples was the fate of
Oscar Wilde, the sparkling genius of late Victorian English theater,
whose career was initially charmed but later cursed by the sexual
phobias of the time. The Irish playwright was a brave, some would also
say foolhardy, soul who flaunted his indiscriminately brilliant wit in a
series of plays with multi-dimensional sub-texts that have never lost
their luster with audiences. He paid, however, a steep price for that
flamboyance in his private life.
|
Two Opera Professionals Produce Legendary Operas at Home
Staff
•
Cerritos-Artesia Patch
It’s an insane idea, to produce opera at your home and expect audiences to flock to backyard performances of Così fan tutte or Don Giovanni.
But a couple of wild and crazy professionals, artistic director Josh
Shaw of Highland Park and musical director Stephen Karr of New Jersey,
have done just that. Their company, Pacific Opera Project (POP) — launched
in 2011 — aims to provide audiences with an alternative to L.A.'s
big-budget opera circuit and offer local performers a showcase for their
talent. (They even pay their artists!) A fully functioning opera
company, POP operates primarily out of Josh Shaw’s home on the border of
Eagle rock. The compound houses skeletons of sets, props and costumes
procured from studio auctions, including a pair of purple pants worn by
Jack Nicholson during his turn as the Joker in Tim Burton’s Batman.
|
|
|
Santa Fe Opera Taps Early-Music Specialist Harry Bicket
Brian Wise
•
Operavore (WQXR)
Harry Bicket, the British early music specialist, is to be the next chief conductor of Santa Fe Opera,
starting in October. He succeeds conductor Frederic Chaslin, who
resigned last August after just two seasons on the job, saying he
wanted to focus on composing and his duties as music director of the
Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra.
|
Atlanta Opera Appoints Tomer Zvulun as General & Artistic Director
Staff
•
broadwayworld.com
Beginning June 1, 2013, Tomer Zvulun will become the Atlanta Opera's new general and artistic director. At only 37 years old, Zvulun is hailed as a rising star in the opera industry, and has earned consistent praise for his creative vision and work in prestigious opera houses worldwide, including The Metropolitan Opera, and the opera companies of Seattle, Cleveland, Dallas, Cincinnati, Buenos Aires, Wolf Trap and more. Zvulun, an Israeli native, will manage both the artistic and administrative aspects of The Atlanta Opera.
|
|
|
|
|
Kansas City artists create a daring ‘Darwin’ chamber opera
Robert Trussell
•
The Kansas City Star
Dwight Frizzell recently surmised that creationists might actually find
things to enjoy in Darwin, a chamber opera he created with composer
Michael Henry about the life of scientist/writer Charles Darwin.
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/04/19/4189082/kc-artists-create-darwin-chamber.html#storylink=cpy
|
|
|
Young opera maestro is man on the move
Jay Furst
•
The Star Tribune
Michael Christie is a maestro on the move. At 38, he's the music director of the Minnesota Opera, one of the nation's top companies. He's also wrapping up eight years as music director of the Phoenix Symphony, leads the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder, guest-conducts orchestras around the world, and last year was on the cover of Opera News magazine, which in the opera world is like being the cover model on the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.
|
|
|
|
|
A Teacher of Note Behind Opera's Stars
Pia Catton
•
The Wall Street Journal
Since 1989, Bill Schuman, age 54, has been a voice instructor at
Philadelphia's Academy of Vocal Arts, a four-year conservatory program
devoted to training young opera singers. The academy has about 30
students enrolled each year, most of whom have already graduated from
college and all of whom attend tuition-free. The expectation is that the
singers will emerge ready for careers on the world's best stages.
|
Supersizing a 'Sunday in the Park'
Jan Benzel
•
The New York Times
What happens when you take a Stephen Sondheim chamber piece — Sunday in the Park With George — and produce it operatically, quadrupling the size of the orchestra?
|
BBC Proms 2013 announced
Staff
•
Gramophone
The BBC Proms has unveiled its programme for this summer’s season. The announcement confirms details of the already-anticipated Ring Cycle from Daniel Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin, with soloists including Nina Stemme and Bryn Terfel. Other events marking the 200th anniversary of Wagner’s birth include Tristan and Isolde with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Semyon Bychkov, Tannhäuser with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Donald Runnicles, and Parsifal with the Hallé under Sir Mark Elder. Marin Alsop will conduct the Last Night, becoming the first female conductor to do so.
|
Syracuse Opera's artistic director Cathy Wolff departs after almost 17 years
Melinda Johnson
•
Syracuse.com
Cathy Wolff, general and artistic director of Syracuse Opera, is leaving her position after almost 17 years. Wolff announced her departure in an email. She wrote: “The leadership of the board has decided to take the company in a different direction from what I envisioned, and I have decided to close this chapter of my life, effective immediately.”
|
What if an Arts Organization was a MOOC?
Douglas McLennan
•
Diacritical
That’s “Massive Open Online Course” and they’re everywhere right now. Some of the most prestigious universities are creating courses online and attracting tens of thousands of students.
|
|
|
Chicago Opera Theater, Luna Negra Dance team for rarely staged tango opera
Kyle MacMillan
•
Chicago Sun-Times
Astor Piazzolla took these essential qualities of the tango and invested them with even greater depth and complexity, as he merged the traditional form with jazz and classical music and took it off the dance floor onto the concert stage.
Piazzolla’s nuevo tango style, which he pioneered in the 1950s and ’60s, became a hit with audiences of all kinds, and he remains one of the best-known composers of the 20th century.
Wishing to tap into the power and popularity of his music, Chicago Opera Theater, along with Luna Negra Dance Theater, will present the composer’s rarely performed tango opera, Maria de Buenos Aires.
|
The Conductor Who Gained Power By Giving It Up
Tom Huizenga
•
Deceptive Cadence (NPR)
At part of our job is to talk with musicians. It's always
interesting, sometimes inspiring, infrequently tedious — and once in a
blue moon, completely transcendent. When I heard that had
died, my memory banks immediately locked in on the one and only time we
met. It seems like mere months ago, since the impression he made was so
vivid and potent, but it was in fact in the spring of 2001 when the
conductor, just in his mid-70s, visited NPR to talk with host Fred Child. I was the editor and producer of the interview.
|
'Django Unchained' pays homage to Wagner's 'Siegfried'
David Ng
•
LA Times
When Los Angeles Opera presented its new production of Richard Wagner's Siegfried a few years ago at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the packed house included the usual assortment of donors and local opera buffs. Nestled somewhere in the orchestra section was an odd man out: Quentin Tarantino, the filmmaker whose hyper-modern and manic sensibilities would seem at odds with slow-moving 19th century German opera.... Tarantino's feelings about Siegfried remain unknown, but it's safe to say his encounter with the opera eventually helped to inspire his most recent movie, Django Unchained, which is available on DVD and video-on-demand this week.
|
|
|
|
|
Obama's arts budget plan goes beyond restoring 'sequester' cuts
Mike Boehm
•
Culture Monster (Los Angeles Times)
President Obama’s budget proposal for the coming fiscal year would boost
federal arts spending 10% above where it stands at the moment, lifting
it to $1.58 billion for the 2013-14 budget year that begins Oct. 1 and
more than compensating for cuts from the "budget sequestration" bill
that went into effect last month.
|
|
|
Rocking the Cradle of Opera: Tough Times for Florence’s Maggio Musicale
Fred Plotkin
•
OperaVore (WQXR)
Ask Italophiles to name their favorite city and more than a few will
cite Florence. It seems to exert considerable fascination for foreigners
and garners respect among many Italians. Florence has made excellence
and innovation its hallmark. Most people think of it as the cradle of
the Italian Renaissance, the place where almost every great Italian
writer and artist, including Dante, Petrarch, Giotto, Brunelleschi,
Leonardo and Michelangelo, left ample evidence of their genius.
|
Mezzo-Soprano Isabel Leonard Wins Richard Tucker Award
Brian Wise
•
Operavore (WQXR)
Isabel Leonard, a mezzo-soprano from New York City, has won this year’s Richard Tucker Award, given annually to a promising American opera singer. The award, which was created by the Richard Tucker Foundation in 1978, consists of a cash prize of $30,000 and a concert appearance. The award comes less than a week after Leonard made her debut at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall, and just three weeks before she is to appear as Blanche in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Poulenc’s Les Dialogues des Carmelites.
|
A Day Away From the Stage
John Leland
•
The New York Times
The soprano Deborah Voigt carries a shield and runs up and down a
complicated stage set in her role as Brünnhilde in the Metropolitan
Opera production of Wagner’s “Ring” cycle. But on Sundays, even
Valkyries like to kick back. “Generally it’s the one day off that I
don’t have to work, so I try not to schedule too many things,” Ms.
Voigt, 52, said. Though she has a condominium in Florida, Ms. Voigt
spends most of her time these days in an apartment in Hell’s Kitchen,
with an 11-year-old Yorkshire terrier named Steinway. The Ring Cycle —
Ms. Voigt sings in Die Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung —
runs through May 11.
|
Wagner's Dark Shadow: Can We Separate the Man from His Works?
Dirk Kurbjuweit
•
Der Spiegel
Born 200 years ago, Germany's most controversial composer's music is cherished around the world, though it will always be clouded by his anti-Semitism and posthumous association with Adolf Hitler. Richard Wagner's legacy prompts the question: Can Germans enjoy any part of their history in a carefree way?
|
|
|
Live Music’s Charms, Soothing Premature Hearts
Pam Belluck
•
The New York Times
Live music can reduce stress and stabilize vital signs in premature
babies, letting them devote more energy to normal development, said a
study on music in medicine.
|
Opera classics delivered in "flash mob" style
Staff
•
Vancouver Sun
Five singers from Ópera Ambulante De Tijuana, or the roaming opera of
Tijuana, sponsored by the Mexican Embassy, delivered their renditions of
opera classics in "flash mob" style in the Carleton Galleria while
students changed classes on Friday, September 14, 2012. The young opera
ensemble was formed in 2010 with the intention of bringing classical
opera vignettes to unconventional spaces unrelated to the operatic
experience.
|
|
|
|
|
Extreme Drama: The Life And Music Of Richard Wagner
Marin Alsop
•
Deceptive Cadence (NPR)
Richard Wagner was, and still is today, arguably the most controversial figure in classical music. A self-appointed deity and hyperdriven genius, Wagner is often considered the ultimate megalomaniac. He dreamed up and achieved a single-minded plan to change the course of classical music history.
With the 200th anniversary of Wagner's birth approaching on May 22, musicians and music lovers worldwide will explore not only his operas, but also his extreme politics and egotistical worldview — in the process barely scratching the surface of this complex man.
|