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"Aida" With Kaufmann And Harteros Gets 8-Month Lead Time Hype

February 26, 2015, 10:01 am
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Australian magazine Limelight discusses the most recent recording of Verdi's Aida for Warner Classics, featuring Jonas Kaufmann, Anja Harteros, Ekaterina Semenchuk, and Erwin Schrott under the baton of Antonio Pappano, due in October 2015. Those lucky enough to be in Rome can attend a concert on February 27 of the opera with the cast. Tickets available here. "Over the past two decades the number of studio recordings produced by the world’s biggest record labels of grand operas has dwindled. However a new studio recording of Verdi’s epic masterpiece Aida being produced by Warner Classics and featuring an all star cast proves that the tradition of recording large scale operatic works in the studio is still alive. What’s more, the new recording, due for release in October this year, will boast an authentically Italian provenance with conductor Sir Antonio Pappano at the helm. Pappano, who since 2005 has been Music Director of the Orchestra and Chorus of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, featured on this new recording, is a seasoned hand with Verdi repertoire. This will be the conductor’s second studio recording of a Verdi opera, after his 2002 release of Il Trovatore. His Warner Classics catalogue also contains an award-winning Santa Cecilia version of Verdi’s monumental Requiem. Pappano has assembled an extraordinary cast of similarly experienced Verdi performers, although two notable leads will be making their Aida debuts. In the title role, German soprano and former Cardiff Singer of the World champion
Anja Harteros has firmly established her Verdi credentials having appeared in productions of La traviata, Il trovatore, Simon Boccanegra, La forza del destino, Don Carlo and Otello. This will however be her first time performing the role of the Ethopian princess. Starring opposite Harteros will be superstar tenor Jonas Kaufmann, who is no stranger to Verdi’s heroic leads himself, although this too will be the tenor’s Aida debut in the role of the Egyptian warrior Radamès." [Source] Read the full article here.
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Mirella Freni 80th Birthday Celebration Begins At La Scala

February 26, 2015, 8:00 pm
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Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy, kicked off an early 80th birthday celebration of soprano Mirella Freni on Wednesday, February 25, with a conversation that included music critics Elvio Giudici and Alberto Mattioli. The evening was free to the public and included videos with audio clips documenting her career. [Source] In an interview prior to the evening, Madame Freni recounted the tale of how at the age of 2 she would forgo playing games to listen to music on the radio. And when asked at age 5 by her mother what she wanted to be when she grew up, she replied "a great opera singer." It was actually her Uncle who would play the piano and teach her songs for fun. That passion eventually grew and that's when she decided to study music. She debuted professionally in her hometown of Modena on February 3, 1955, at the age of 19 as Micaela in Bizet's Carmen. This is a role she would go on to sing all over the world and love so much that she named her daughter Micaela. She talks about all of her favorite roles and the secret to her long career was probably the ability to say "no" to certain offers. Read the whole interview by clicking here. Be sure to check out the birthday tribute with biography, photos, and audio clips, by clicking here. Friday, February 27, marks the official birthday of the soprano. Brava! See a wonderful archival photo of Mirella Freni from La Scala after the jump.
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Diana Damrau Makes Late Entry Into Kristian Schuller MET Photos

February 27, 2015, 6:20 pm
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(Click on all images to enlarge)
When the MET announced its 2015-16 season, their online brochure featured gorgeous photographs by Kristian Schuller for their new productions. One conspicuous omission was no photo of any artist for the new production of Bizet's Les pêcheurs de perles featuring Diana Damrau, Matthew Polenzani, and Mariusz Kwiecień. Perhaps because it is a co-production originally created by English National Opera? Although the Manon Lescaut is a co-production with Baden-Baden Festival and Kristine Opolais made the brochure deadline. Whatever the reason, the MET has released the promotional photo featuring the soprano as Leïla. A photo of Diana Damrau working with Kristian Schuller, as well as other high resolution images by the photographer for the new season, after the jump.

Diana Damrau in costume with photographer Kristian Schuller (right) as the
Metropolitan Opera's Creative Director Matt Dobkin (center) looks on.


Aleksandrs Antonenko/Otello

Kristine Opolais/Manon Lescaut

Marlis Petersen/Lulu

Nina Stemme/Elektra

Sondra Radvanovsky/Roberto Devereux
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Forte Tenors Invigorate "Game Of Thrones" With Opera High Notes

February 28, 2015, 8:22 am
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"Forte Tenors' operatic twist on the Game of Thrones theme song...will give you the right amount of goosebumps before HBO debuts Season 5 on April 12. And, yup, that's High Valyrian you're hearing as Forte Tenors, a group made famous as finalists on America's Got Talent Season 8, are taking a brave stab at the fictional language on top of the composer Ramin Djawadi's music. Members Josh Page, Sean Panikkar and Hana Ryu are including the song on their album, The Future Classics, ​which PledgeMusic will sell online later this year​. For now, you can add this to your workout playlist by purchasing it on Loudr, iTunes or Amazon." [Source] Enjoy the full video after the jump.

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Joseph Calleja Is Judge On Corinthia Hotel Residence Panel

February 28, 2015, 8:53 am
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Somebody's Watching You: A possible room for the winner
"Corinthia Hotel London has announced that its fourth annual Artist in Residence programme is opera. Also announced is the prestigious panel of judges who will choose a winning idea from a range of artist applications. The selected artist will be awarded a month residency at the hotel, over which time they will develop and realise their vision. The finished project will launch in September. A selection of artists have been approached to submit ideas for the project, with one final ‘wild card’ position still remaining. Corinthia Hotel London’s General Manager Renaud Gregoire will select one final applicant from open submissions to join the other artists. The esteemed judging panel for 2015 is made up of: Alex Beard CBE, Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House; Joseph Calleja, internationally acclaimed award-winning tenor; Susanna Eastman OBE, Chief Executive of Sound and Music; Sir Nicholas Kenyon, Managing Director of the Barbican Centre; Justine Simmons, Head of Culture, The Mayor’s Office; Imogen Tilden, Classical Music Editor at the Guardian; Jenny Waldham, 14-18 NOW Director; Timothy Walker, Chief Executive and Artistic Director of the London Philharmonic Orchestra; Graham Vick CBE, Artistic Director of Birmingham Opera Company, and Renaud Gregoire, General Manager of Corinthia Hotel London. On joining the panel, Joseph Calleja said 'I was delighted to be asked to be on the panel and am very excited to be involved in such a creative venture. The Corinthia’s Artist in Residence programme is a great way to nurture emerging opera talent. The nature of this enterprise means that it also has the potential to address preconceptions and reach new audiences. It’s a wonderful opportunity and I can’t wait to see what ideas they come up with.'" [Source] See a photo of the tenor Joseph Calleja performing at the Corinthia Hotel London, and one with a special friend in one of the hotel rooms, after the jump.


Joseph Calleja performing at the Corinthia Hotel London in 2012
(Click image to enlarge)


Joseph Calleja in one of the Corinthia Hotel London rooms
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Anna Netrebko Visits PBS Studios During Three Tenors Fundraiser

February 28, 2015, 11:58 pm
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Soprano Anna Netrebko stopped by the PBS studios during her performances of Iolanta at The Metropolitan Opera to talk about the three tenors: Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, and Luciano Pavarotti. She also discussed her thoughts on open-air stadium concerts; being a child of the theater; what helps her create characters; and advice that she is definitely not sharing with young singers. Watch the video after the jump.


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Kevin Puts Gives Cinematic Scope To New Opera In Minnesota

March 1, 2015, 9:39 am
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Cast Your Votes: Composer Kevin Puts
"Like the kid who won baseball’s Triple Crown in his rookie season, Kevin Puts returns to Minnesota Opera with the eyes and ears of the music world upon him. His first opera, Silent Night, won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for music, and his sophomore attempt, The Manchurian Candidate, launches its world premiere at Ordway Center on Saturday. He has again teamed with librettist Mark Campbell, and early listens in workshops and rehearsals justify an optimism and curiosity about this new work. Dale Johnson, the opera’s artistic director, told a gathering of cast, designers and staff that he believed that The Manchurian Candidate is 'the best thing we’ve ever done.' Kevin Newbury, who is directing the staging, added that he believed that Minnesota Opera was 'looking toward the future' with this new piece. 'Our goal is for audiences to say, ‘I’ve never seen anything like that,’' Newbury said. And Tomer Zvulun, director of the Atlanta Opera, upped the ante in a recent conversation about Puts. 'He is the composer of our generation,' said Zvulun, who directed the European premiere of Silent Night at the Wexford Festival. 'He understands with a witty partner in crime [Campbell] that we live in a generation that expects strong, fast stories.' No wonder Puts, a modest and polite gentleman, admits in understatement, 'There is a lot more pressure and expectation now.' The composer of his generation still has to work for a living. He was just finishing two long days of auditioning students at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore when he took an evening phone call from a reporter. He would be in Minneapolis the next day for a Manchurian Candidate rehearsal
and an evening promotional event in St. Paul. He’d then fly to Kansas City for a quick trip to buck up the Lyric Opera troops staging Silent Night and then head home to Yonkers, N.Y., for his son’s weekend birthday party. The following Monday, he’d return to the Twin Cities for the two weeks running up to opening night. This doesn’t even touch the stack of projects on his piano at home, including another opera with Campbell for Opera Philadelphia and a commission from the Baltimore Symphony for a piece intended to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Carnegie Hall. 'When I worry about stress and schedule, I have to step back and think, ‘Come on, I’m writing classical music for a living.’' he said. 'I mean, if I were a pop musician — the world really wants that, but classical? It is unbelievable that I can call this a career.' Puts, who turned 43 in January, grew up in St. Louis with all the distractions and video influences of his generation. His music is frequently called 'cinematic' rather than 'operatic' for its sense of movement, its evocation of image and its striking drama. He accepts that assessment, saying that he didn’t grow up with opera. 'I know a lot of people hear my operas and say, ‘It’s just not opera. It’s too quick; it doesn’t have these long arias.’' Zvulun, who flew to Minneapolis last December to see a workshop performance of The Manchurian Candidate, said he believes that it is those very qualities that distinguish Puts’ music. On that Saturday afternoon, Zvulun and an invited audience of donors, board members, journalists and opera friends heard a work that built a constant thread of tension, shifting gears instantly from Stravinsky influences to Dixieland, from Sousa to Twilight Zone— with huge, knuckle-busting crunchy chords dissolving into single, persistent notes. The music told its story with a pulsing rhythmic propulsion." [Source] Watch videos, hear audio excerpts, and purchase tickets to the Minnesota Opera production of The Manchurian Candidate by clicking here. (Photos by Aaron Lavinsky/Star Tribune)

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The MET Uses More Art To Secure $30 Million Credit Line

March 1, 2015, 10:57 am
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L'Ete as seen in this 2008 photo for Vogue, featuring
Sarah Jessica Parker and Chris Noth at the Metropolitan
 Opera, shot by Annie Leibovitz.
"The Metropolitan Opera Association Inc., as part of an agreement to renew a crucial $30 million credit line, pledged more of the artwork that adorns its home in New York's Lincoln Center to lender Bank of America Corp. The nonprofit secured the credit line with two sculptures by the late French artist Aristide Maillol displayed at the opera house, including the 62-inch bronze L'Ete (Summer) and the 69-inch Venus Without Arms, according to a notice filed Feb. 18 with the New York Secretary of State. Bank of America agreed to extend the credit line on Feb. 6, according to the Met's financial statements. The Met had already pledged a pair of Marc Chagall murals to Bank of America before the credit line came up for renewal in August. Moody's Investors Service, in a Dec. 22 statement, cited the move as one reason for downgrading $100 million of the opera house's bonds, saying the pledge of the murals to the bank was 'effectively subordinating the interests of unsecured bondholders.' Ranked as the nation's largest performing-arts organization, the Met had a $21.9 million loss during the fiscal year ended July 31, 2014, as salaries paid to performers and production costs outstripped box-office receipts, contributions and revenue from high-definition broadcasts, an innovation by general manager Peter Gelb." [Source]
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Soprano Lucine Amara Celebrates 90th Birthday Today

March 1, 2015, 12:22 pm
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Lucine Amara in the title role of Aida
Lucine Amara turns 90-years old today. She began her career as a chorister with the San Francisco Opera. After starting out as a contralto, she switched to soprano and by 1946 was making her debut at the War Memorial Auditorium. The biggest part of her career was on the East coast at The Metropolitan Opera where she sang from 1950-1991 in 748 performances. She debuted as the Celestial Voice in Verdi's Don Carlo with a cast that included Jussi Björling, Delia Rigal, Robert Merrill, Fedora Barbieri, Cesare Siepi, and Jerome Hines. Her roles at the beginning of her career in New York tended to be mostly comprimario: First Lady (Die Zauberflöte), Ines (Il Trovatore), Wellgunde (Götterdämmerung), Kate Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly), Priestess (Aida), Countess Ceprano (Rigoletto), Frasquita (Carmen), Serving Woman (Elektra), Leaders of the People (Alceste), Flower Maiden (Parsifal), Annina (La Traviata). Rare exceptions in the first two years of performing at the MET were the roles of Nedda in I Pagliacci and Micaela in Carmen. By 1953 she was singing Mimì in La Bohème under the baton of Alberto Erede. She would go on to sing Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Countess Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Desdemona (Otello), Antonia (Les Contes d'Hoffmann), Tatiana (Eugene Onegin), Leonora (La Forza del Destino), Liù (Turandot), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Eva (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg), Ariadne (Ariadne auf Naxos), Marguerite (Faust), Ellen Orford (Peter Grimes), Luisa (Luisa Miller), Maddalena (Andrea Chénier),  Alice Ford (Falstaff), Cio-Cio San (Madama Butterfly), Elsa (Lohengrin), Amelia (Un Ballo in Maschera), and the title roles in Aida and Tosca. Her final roles at the MET were Mother Marie (Dialogues des Carmélites), Santuzza (Cavalleria Rusticana), Gertrude (Hänsel und Gretel), and Madelon (Andrea Chénier). [Source] Be sure to visit the birthday tribute page for more photos and audio clips. More images after the jump.
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Philadelphia Metropolitan Opera House At Center Of Lawsuit

March 3, 2015, 5:58 am
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"After A North Philadelphia church that owned the historic Metropolitan Opera House began a partnership with developer Eric Blumenfeld, the pastor had a hard time finding him to discuss the planned $10 million renovation. According to a lawsuit filed Feb. 5 in Common Pleas Court, the Rev. Mark Hatcher, pastor of the Holy Ghost Headquarters Revival Center at the Met Inc., 'was reduced to chasing down his 'partner' on the street to secure a face-to-face meeting with him.' On another occasion, the suit says, Hatcher 'visited Blumenfeld's offices to discuss the project's progress [or lack thereof], and Blumenfeld literally ran out the back door upon realizing Reverend Hatcher's approach.' The suit claims that 'Blumenfeld misled the Church into relinquishing title to and giving him [Blumenfeld] a controlling interest in the Met.' The massive structure, on Broad Street near Poplar, was built for Oscar Hammerstein in 1908 in the Classic Revival architectural style and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The church bought the Met for $250,000 in 1997. It is now worth more than $20.9 million, according to city records, which show that Blumenfeld gained control of the title in February 2013 for $1." [Source]
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San Franciso Opera Continues "First Kiss" Series With Stars

March 3, 2015, 7:11 am
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San Francisco has a second installment of their video series "First Opera Kiss," asking singers to recall their inaugural stage smooch. This round includes Diana Damrau, Ailyn Pérez, Ellie Dehn, Mary Dunleavy, Simon O'Neill, Nadine Sierra, and Karen Slack. Click here for the first set of videos. Watch the new videos after the jump. 














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Renée Fleming Joins Top American A-Listers For Charity Gala

March 3, 2015, 8:22 am
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Renée Fleming joined high-ranking celebrities for a good cause last night in Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. The charity event, "SeriousFun Children's Network 2015 New York Gala: An Evening Of SeriousFun Celebrating the Legacy Of Paul Newman," included entertainers David Letterman, George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Danny Devito, Carole King, Tom Hanks, Natalie Cole, and more. Learn more about the charity by clicking here. See more pictures after the jump.












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Anna Netrebko Triumphs More Verdi In Guadalajara Concert

March 3, 2015, 10:29 am
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As Anna Netrebko continues her tour of Mexico, she sang a concert with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco under conductor Marco Parisotto at the Teatro Diana on February 28, 2015. During the performance, the soprano offered Verdi arias from Macbeth and Luisa Miller. She also performed Puccini with tenor (and fiancé) Yusif Eyvazov. Adding arias like "Tu puniscimi, o Signore...A brani, a brani" continue to solidify her as the leading lyric-dramatic soprano of this generation. With a new recording of Verismo Arias for Deutsche Grammophon and talk of adding heavier roles into her repertoire (Aida, Adriana Lecouvreur, Norma, etc.), it is clear that Ms. Netrebko is serious about sharing her growing voice with the world. See more photos from the concert and press conference after the jump. [Source]
( Photos by Jorge Gómez/Jaime Martín/Enrique Vázquez)






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Will Russia Charge Timofei Kulyabin With "Hooliganism" Over Wagner?

March 4, 2015, 10:46 am
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Dazed and Confused: A scene from the reportedly 'obscene' production
"Two men went on trial in Russia on Wednesday over their staging of Richard Wagner's Tannhäuser opera, which a senior Orthodox cleric complained was offensive to religious believers. Prosecutors said the modern-day staging, which fuelled [sic] anger among Orthodox Russians after it premiered in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk last December, 'desecrated' the image of Jesus Christ. A complaint by a senior cleric led to charges being filed against the head of Novosibirsk's State Opera and Ballet Theatre, Boris Mezdrich, and director, Timofei Kulyabin, who face fines of up to 200,000 rubles ($3,243) if found guilty. The original opera, considered one of Wagner's most controversial with its focus on sexuality and spirituality, was first performed in 1845. The hero, Tannhäuser, goes from frolicking with the goddess of love Venus, to seeking religious salvation from the Pope for his sexual excesses. Kulyabin's production shifts the action to the present day, with Tannhäuser a movie director making a film about Jesus visiting Venus's erotic grotto....'The question being decided now is whether we have religious censorship in our country,' Mezdrich said in court. The case comes three years after a probe against the Pussy Riot punks who were sentenced to two years for 'hooliganism', specifically offending believers, after a performance in a Moscow church. While the two men are currently charged with a civil misdemeanour, they still risk criminal charges on a new offence introduced by Russia in 2013 after the Pussy Riot case -- carrying out public acts that offend believers -- which carries a jail sentence of up to three years." [Source]
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French Bass-Baritone Sévag Tachdjian Presents Recital In Pakistan

March 4, 2015, 11:12 am
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Sévag Tachdjian performed works of Dvořák,
Ravel, Mahler, and Tosti, during the concert
in Islamabad. (Photo: Frédéric Broyer)
"An opera concert titled A musical journey through Europe was held at the German embassy auditorium on Monday evening. The concert, hosted by German Ambassador Dr Cyrill Nunn, featured performances by Sévag Tachdjian and Yukiko Tidten-Yoshikawa. The ambassador complimented the audience for braving the inclement weather, saying he had an advantage of living only a few metres away from the auditorium. Introducing the musicians, he said both are internationally active and had played in many operas. 'I hope you enjoy the music from different parts of Europe,' he added. 'The musical journey through Europe is a wonderful opportunity to show the range of poetical inspiration from where this music comes,' said Tachdjian, who is a French bass-baritone and vocalist of Armenian descent. He was accompanied Yukiko Tidten-Yoshikawa, who has been internationally-active as a concert pianist in Japan and Europe....'It is absolutely fabulous that we had the opportunity to listen to any form of opera in Pakistan and generally, I don’t like Mahler, but even that was an experience,' said Saira Khan, an audience member at the event. [Source] Watch a video of Sévag Tachdjian, singing Massenet's "Le Jongleur de Notre Dame," after the jump. Click here to learn more about Sévag Tachdjian.


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Cast Finalized For Angela Gheorghiu "Werther" Debut In Vienna

March 4, 2015, 12:01 pm
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Gheorghiu in Vienna rehearsal for Werther
(Phtoto: Facebook)
As Angela Gheorghiu prepares to take on the mezzo-soprano repertoire role of Charlotte at Wiener Staatsoper, the company has been busy scrambling to change tenors for the production. It can be announced the cast will appear as follows:
Charlotte: Angela Gheorghiu
Werther: Jean-Francois Borras
Albert: Ludovic Tézier
Le Bailli: Alfred Šramek
Sophie: Daniela Fally
Schmidt: Benedikt Kobel
Johann: Hans Peter Kammerer
The performances featuring Ms. Gheorghiu begin tomorrow, March 5, with further engagements on March 9 and 13. Tickets are available here. See more images from music rehearsals and stagings in Vienna by clicking here.
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Maria Callas Inspires Renée Fleming Broadway Costumes By Krass

March 5, 2015, 7:58 am
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Click on the image to enlarge and see if you can
count all the images of Maria Callas.
Renée Fleming has begun rehearsals for her Broadway debut in the play Living on Love which begins previews on April 1 and opens April 20 at the Longacre Theatre in New York. "Living on Love tells the story of celebrated diva Raquel DeAngelis. When her husband, the fiery and egomaniacal Maestro Vito DeAngelis, becomes enamored with the lovely young lady hired to ghostwrite his long-delayed autobiography, Rachel retaliates by hiring her very own—and very handsome—ghostwriter to chronicle her life as an opera star. Sparks fly, silverware is thrown, and romance blossoms." Recently the production shared a photo on Instagram that shows the costume designs for Renée Fleming's character of Raquel. The designer, Michael Krass, has several images of Maria Callas (and even Lily Pons!) that serve as inspiration for the play's diva. [Source] Watch a new commercial for the play, as well as more production photos, after the jump.




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Eastern Bloc Hits Boston Opera Season With Two Big Works

March 5, 2015, 8:36 am
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Leos Janácek
"Boston has largely ignored one of the great opera composers of the 20th century: Leos Janácek. In 1985, Sarah Caldwell staged for her Opera Company of Boston one of Janácek’s masterpieces, The Makropoulos Case, a sinister yet mesmerizing story of a glamorous 300-year-old woman desperately trying to hang on to her life, starring one of the most glamorous and versatile sopranos of the century, Anja Silja. Couturier Fiandaca designed her costumes. The production was unforgettable and it got rave reviews. But it drew small audiences. In all my years of living in Boston, I’ve only seen one other staged production of a Janácek opera here — his heartbreaking animal fable The Cunning Little Vixen, in an imaginative and wonderfully performed student production at the Boston Conservatory two years ago — sung in the original Czech! Even the Met eventually discovered Janácek and has done several of his greatest operas. At the Boston Lyric Opera, our largest opera company, a plan to do a series of Janácek operas was scotched years ago by the previous administration. But BLO has now finally gotten
Karol Szymanowski
around to the Czech master. The third production of its 2014-2015 season will be the provincial romantic tragedy Kátya Kabanová (Shubert Theatre, March 13-22), one of the composer’s most beautiful and powerful scores, staged by Tim Albery and conducted by David Angus, the team responsible for BLO’s single most inspired production, Peter Maxwell Davies’s The Lighthouse, at the JFK Library in 2012."...."Another exciting opera from Eastern Europe, the Polish composer Karol Szymanowski’s 1926 King Roger, will have its Boston Symphony Orchestra debut at Symphony Hall, March 5-7. It will feature the Polish baritone and Metropolitan Opera star Mariusz Kwiecien, who has made a huge success in the title role from Paris to Santa Fe. Charles Dutoit conducts this luxuriously seductive and moving score, loosely based on Euripedes’s The Bacchae. It will be sung in Polish (as it should be), with English supertitles." [Source]
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Former San Diego Opera Campbell Lands Big Money Position

March 5, 2015, 9:07 am
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Former Opera Duo: Ian and Ann Campbell
during their tenure at San Diego Opera
"Word that Ann Spira Campbell, formerly number two at the San Diego Opera, has become the senior executive director for principal gifts at UCSD has tongues wagging among local rainmakers. The ex-wife of former opera honcho Ian Campbell grabbed the job early last month even as the California attorney general’s office continues to investigate the opera’s financial operations during the couple’s tenure. The pair departed the opera last year after the board, acting on Ian Campbell’s recommendation, voted to shut down. A shakeup ensued and a subsequent board reconstituted the organization, with the Campbells agreeing in July to take settlement packages, the terms of which were undisclosed. According to an advertisement for the job posted by the university in November, UCSD’s new hire 'will be responsible for the development of personalized stewardship and communication strategies, and overall results of a collaborative fundraising effort for prospective donors whose capacity to give to the University is a minimum of $1 million.' Adds the solicitation, 'This is an
Soprano Susan Neves
entrepreneurial, results-oriented environment that requires innovative thinking, initiative, focused action and collaborative communication. The ability to develop deep, trusting relationships with Advancement leadership is essential.' It will also be important to 'dispense appropriate disciplinary action when necessary,' says the notice. Local fat cats should be prepared for a call or two. According to the announcement, 'the Principal Gift strategy program is expected to grow as key staff members are aligned with this program for the success of UC San Diego’s forthcoming comprehensive campaign including the Health Sciences and central campus initiatives.' Amount of salary is not mentioned. Campbell’s ex-husband is reported to be currently living in New York City. Don Bauder reported in October that he was engaged to opera soprano Susan Neves (pronounced 'nevs')." [Source]
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Shirley Verrett And Henry Lewis Early Supporter Passes Away

March 5, 2015, 10:19 am
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Champion For Music: Sylvia Kunin, seen here in 2014, provided support for numerous in the classical world.
"In 1955, Sylvia Kunin founded the Young Musicians Foundation in Los Angeles that provided support and a showcase for budding classical-music talents — including conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, guitarist Christopher Parkening and soprano Shirley Verrett — long before they were world-famous....Kunin, 101, died Feb. 12 in a Seattle retirement community. She had had a recent fall and was in declining health, said her son, Barry Eben. The YMF is still going strong. Other musicians who got an early boost not only from the foundation but also from classical music television shows Kunin hosted beginning in the early 1950s include violinists Misha Dichter and Glenn Dicterow, conductors Lawrence Foster and Henry Lewis and cellist Nathaniel
Michael Tilson Thomas with Sylvia Kunin in earlier days
Rosen....'She was a very diminutive figure, but her energy was colossal,' Tilson Thomas, music director of the San Francisco Symphony, said in an interview this week. The YMF orchestra was his first, at 20, as music director. 'One minute she could be very charming, even flirtatious, and the next she would belt out, 'Oh, c'mon!' if she sensed any of the grandiosity that can come with classical music.' She was not just a fan of the music. Kunin was a piano prodigy who won
Early photo of Young Musicians Foundation with Shirley Verrett in the front center
competitions and studied with Artur Schnabel in prewar Europe. The fact that her career faltered helped fuel her drive to pave the way for others....In 1954 came her follow-up show, Debut, with musicians competing for $1,000 scholarships. To lead the show's orchestra, she hired Henry Lewis, a double-bass player in the Los Angeles Philharmonic who had long wanted to conduct but was not getting opportunities. 'The podium was a long way away for a little black kid growing up in Los Angeles,' he told The Times in 1985. Kunin gave Lewis, who went on to a long career conducting at the Metropolitan Opera and other venues, the chance. 'Sylvia was always interested in finding someone who had something special to say,' said Lewis, who died in
Conductor Henry Lewis with his then wife
opera singer Marilyn Horne
1996....She and her husband, actor Al Eben, moved to Hawaii, where he had a recurring role as the medical officer in the TV series Hawaii Five-0. While there she started a new TV program featuring student musicians, Musical Encounters, for distribution to schools and showings on public television. It continued when she and her husband returned to L.A. in 1975. After Al Eben died in 2003, she moved to Seattle to be closer to her son and his family. The production of Musical Encounters continued there and at the end of the last show, featuring a young soprano in 2012, surprise tributes from Thomas, Parkening and others were read. Kunin, then 99, stood and addressed the audience in a still-strong voice. 'I'm glad I was able to live this long,' she said. 'I really feel very lucky. You can't be luckier.'" [Source] Learn more about the YMF by clicking here. Watch a wonderful video of Sylvia Kunin from March 2014 about the creation of the Young Musicians Foundation.

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