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Tribute: Margaret Juntwait Interviewed By Deborah Voigt At The MET

June 4, 2015, 1:55 pm
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Margaret Juntwait (left) gets interviewed by Deborah Voigt.
"As the Met’s beloved radio host for more than ten years, Margaret Juntwait interviewed countless operatic artists for the company’s Saturday Matinee Radio Broadcasts and for Metropolitan Opera Radio on Sirius XM. A few months before Juntwait died, soprano Deborah Voigt turned the tables on her, interviewing her about what it means to be the voice of the Met. Listen to the interview from December, 2014." Read the Metropolitan Opera's full statement on the passing of Margaret Juntwait, after the jump. Funeral services for Margaret Juntwait will be held Saturday, June 6, 11:15 a.m. at Church of the Presentation (271 West Saddle River Road Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. A memorial service in New York will take place at a date TBD. The family requests in lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Save the Met Broadcast Fund, the Manhattan School of Music, or New York Public Radio.


A portrait of Margaret Juntwait by Richard Blinkoff 
"The Metropolitan Opera mourns the death of our radio host Margaret Juntwait, who passed away this morning after a long battle with ovarian cancer. For millions of listeners around the world, Margaret was the voice of the Met for the past decade.

She was appointed to the post in October 2004, and her first Saturday matinee broadcast was a December 11, 2004 performance of Verdi’s I Vespri Siciliani. She went on to host a total of 229 live Saturday broadcasts, as well as 898 live broadcasts on the Met’s Sirius XM channel. Her final Sirius broadcast was the new production premiere of Lehár’s The Merry Widow on December 31, 2014. 'Margaret Juntwait was the soul of the Met’s radio broadcasts,' said Met General Manager Peter Gelb. 'She will be sorely missed by her loving colleagues here at the Met, as well as the countless opera stars who she so deftly interviewed over the years, and by the millions of devoted fans who listened to her mellifluous hosting of our broadcasts three or four times a week, season after season.' Margaret was diagnosed with ovarian cancer more than ten years ago, but before January 2015, she missed only one Saturday matinee broadcast due to her illness. Even after she was unable to host live performances, Margaret retained her tremendous passion for the Met, and was in the building just a few weeks ago to pre-record content for future Sirius XM broadcasts.

Margaret, a trained singer and a former WNYC classical music radio host, loved opera and the Met. In her role as interviewer, she displayed a remarkable grace for putting artists at ease. Before and after the curtain went up for performances, her passion for the art form allowed her to convey to the audience the excitement of what would happen on the Met stage.

She was justifiably proud of her role as one of only three regular hosts of the Met’s Saturday broadcast series over the course of its 84-year history. She replaced Peter Allen as host in 2004 and joined the Met staff full-time in 2006, when the company’s Sirius XM channel launched.

We extend our sincerest condolences to Margaret’s family and friends, including her husband Jamie Katz; mother Florence Grace; and children Gregory, Bart, and Steven Andreacchi, and Joanna Katz; on behalf of all those who loved her, in the Met company and in the radio audience around the world." [Source]
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Johann Strauss II Injects Spring Into Comedy Central's "Another Period"

June 5, 2015, 9:31 am
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Comedy Central has a new show coming this summer called Another Period. Commercials running on television to advertise the show have all been spoofs on popular modern day obsessions like Twitter, viral videos, and selfies. One of the most recent ads pokes fun at the dating application Tinder. Titled "First to Swipe Left," the scenario is a total send-up of users swiping left on their phones when not interested in the person. But this is the turn of the 20th-century, so one does it the old-fashioned way. The music featured is Johann Strauss II's "Frühlingstimmen" waltz in its instrumental form. The show premieres on Comedy Central on June 23. For more information, click here. Watch the commercial, and a performance of soprano Edita Gruberova singing the work, after the jump.

The cast of Comedy Central's Another Period.
"Another Period follows the lives of the obscenely rich Bellacourt family and their many servants in turn-of-the-century Rhode Island. Natasha Leggero and Riki Lindhome lead an all-star cast -- including Michael Ian Black, David Wain, Christina Hendricks, Jason Ritter and Paget Brewster -- in this historical satire about narcissistic aristocrats and the poor souls in their employ." [Source] "Another Period is an American period sitcom created by and starring Natasha Leggero and Riki Lindhome. It follows the lives of the Bellacourts, the first family of Newport, Rhode Island at the turn of the 20th century. Lillian (Leggero) and Beatrice (Lindhome) are sisters 'who care only about how they look, what parties they attend and becoming famous, which is a lot harder in 1902.' It is intended to be a spoof on reality shows like Keeping Up with the Kardashians. The series was picked up for 10 episodes and is due on Comedy Central in 2015. It will be directed by Jeremy Konner, co-creator and writer of Drunk History. Ben Stiller's production company Red Hour is producing. Leggero, Lindhome, and Konner are also executive producers." [Source]

Who could swipe left looking at that
beared? Johann Strauss II in his prime.
"'Frühlingsstimmen' ('Spring's Voices,' or commonly 'Voices of Spring') is an orchestral waltz, with optional solo soprano voice, written in 1882 by Johann Strauss II, his Opus 410. Strauss dedicated the work to the pianist and composer Alfred Grünfeld. The famous coloratura soprano Bertha Schwarz (stage name Bianca Bianchi) sang this concert aria at a grand matinée charity performance at the Theater an der Wien in aid of the 'Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Elisabeth Foundation for Indigent Austro-Hungarian subjects in Leipzig.' The waltz was not a great success at its premiere, but was more successful when performed on Strauss' tour of Russia in 1886. A piano arrangement by the composer contributed much to its success beyond Vienna. Bianca Bianchi was then a famous member of the Vienna Court Opera Theatre and Strauss was sufficiently inspired to compose a new work, a waltz for solo voice, for the acclaimed singer. The result was his world-renowned 'Frühlingsstimmen' waltz which celebrated spring and remained one of the classical repertoire's most famous waltzes. The piece is sometimes used as an insertion aria in the act 2 ball scene of Strauss' operetta Die Fledermaus. The waltz makes a grand entry in the key of B-flat major with loud chords preceded with the waltz's three beats to the bar ushering the first waltz's gentle and swirling melody. The second waltz section invokes the joys of spring with the flute imitating birdsong and a pastoral scene. The plaintive and dramatic third section in F minor probably suggests spring showers whereas the fourth section that follows breaks out from the pensive mood with another cheerful melody in A-flat major. Without a coda, the familiar first waltz melody makes a grand entrance before its breathless finish, strong chords and the usual timpani drumroll and warm brass flourish. A performance lasts between seven and nine minutes." [Source]



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Cecilia Bartoli Lends Vocals To The Film "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit"

June 5, 2015, 8:14 pm
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From Russia With (No) Love: The villain Viktor Cherevin lets hubris get the better of him.
Movie goers are introduced to the Russian character of Viktor Cherevin (Kenneth Brannagh) first by seeing only the back of his head while a doctor is trying to insert a needle into his arm. Under the scene we hear mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli singing Caccini's "Amarilli mia bella." The tune only returns at the end of the film when the Interior Minister Sorokin (Mikhail Baryshnikov) delivers to Viktor a dose of his own medicine. There may be no significance whatsoever in using the strophic song, but some parallels could be drawn. Inside the office of Mr. Cherevin hangs a painting, Feat of Cavalry Regiment at the battle of Austerlitz in 1805 by Bogdan Willewalde, that depicts "the capture of a French regiment's eagle by the cavalry of the Russian guard at Austerlitz. The French lost only one eagle at the battle of Austerlitz and this happened when the Russian horse Guard caught the 4th Line regiment in the open and charged them." The lead players here - Viktor Cherevin, Napoléon Bonaparte, and Giulio Caccini - were all pretty power-hungry men that suffered defeats in some form or another. Learn more about the movie, the Napoleonic war, biographical information on Caccini, and listen to the full song "Amarilli mia bella" performed by Cecilia Bartoli, after the jump. [Source]

A Hero On The Line: Jack Ryan, played by Chris Pine, must save the day.
"A new version of the saga of CIA analyst, Jack Ryan. It begins when Ryan was attending the London School of Economics; and 9/11 happened. He would then enlist in the Marines and would go to Afghanistan. The chopper he was on would get shot down and he would suffer severe injuries that would require intense rehab. While there, he grabs the attention of a man named Harper, who works for the CIA and would like him to finish his studies and get a job on Wall Street so he can find out of any terrorist plot through their finances. A few years later, Ryan finds anomalies in the accounts of a Russian named Cherevin. Jack thinks he should go to Russia to find out what's going on. Jack was told not to tell anyone who he is and that includes his girl friend Cathy. But she catches Jack in some lies which makes her doubt him. Jack goes to Russia and Cherevin assigns him someone to take care of him. But when they're alone the man tries to kill Jack. So Jack kills him. Obvious Cherevin is hiding something so Jack goes to meet him, and he says he will bring his fiancé along. But Cathy shows up and Jack has to tell her the truth. Harper says Cathy has to go with Jack when she meets Cherevin. Jack doesn't want her to but Cathy says she's going. So the action begins that leads to the climax." [Source]
Feat of Cavalry Regiment at the battle of Austerlitz in 1805 by Bogdan Willewalde
"The Battle of Austerlitz (December 2, 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important and decisive engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. Widely regarded as the greatest victory achieved by Napoleon, the Grande Armée of France annihilated a larger Russian and Austrian army led by Tsar Alexander I and Holy Roman Emperor Francis II. The battle occurred near the village of Austerlitz in the Austrian Empire (modern-day Slavkov u Brna in the Czech Republic). Because of the near-perfect execution of a calibrated but dangerous plan, the battle is often seen as a tactical masterpiece of the same stature as Cannae, the celebrated triumph by Hannibal some 2,000 years before.[5] Austerlitz brought the War of the Third Coalition to a rapid end, with the Treaty of Pressburg signed by the exhausted Austrians later in the month. After eliminating an entire Austrian army during the Ulm Campaign, French forces managed to capture Vienna in November 1805. The Austrians avoided further conflict until the arrival of the Russians bolstered Allied numbers. Napoleon sent his army north in pursuit of the Allies, but then ordered his forces to retreat so he could feign a grave weakness. Desperate to lure the Allies into battle, Napoleon gave every indication in the days preceding the engagement that the French army was in a pitiful state, even abandoning the dominant Pratzen Heights near Austerlitz. He deployed the French army below the Pratzen Heights and deliberately weakened his right flank, enticing the Allies to launch a major assault there in the hopes of rolling up the whole French line. A forced march from Vienna by Marshal Davout and his III Corps plugged the gap left by Napoleon just in time. Meanwhile, the heavy Allied deployment against the French right weakened their center on the Pratzen Heights, which was viciously attacked by the IV Corps of Marshal Soult. With the Allied center demolished, the French swept through both enemy flanks and sent the Allies fleeing chaotically, capturing thousands of prisoners in the process. The Allied disaster significantly shook the faith of Emperor Francis in the British-led war effort. France and Austria agreed to an armistice immediately and the Treaty of Pressburg followed shortly after, on December 26. Pressburg took Austria out of both the war and the Coalition while reinforcing the earlier treaties of Campo Formio and of Lunéville between the two powers. The treaty confirmed the Austrian loss of lands in Italy and Bavaria to France, and in Germany to Napoleon's German allies. It also imposed an indemnity of 40 million francs on the defeated Habsburgs and allowed the fleeing Russian troops free passage through hostile territories and back to their home soil. Critically, victory at Austerlitz permitted the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine, a collection of German states intended as a buffer zone between France and Central Europe. The Confederation rendered the Holy Roman Empire virtually useless, so the latter collapsed in 1806 after Francis abdicated the imperial throne, keeping Francis I of Austria as his only official title. These achievements, however, did not establish a lasting peace on the continent. Prussian worries about growing French influence in Central Europe sparked the War of the Fourth Coalition in 1806." [Source]


Roman a Roman: Cecilia Bartoli interprets the music of her fellow countryman Giulio Caccini.
"Giulio Romolo Caccini (also Giulio Romano) (8 October 1551 – buried 10 December 1618), was an Italian composer, teacher, singer, instrumentalist and writer of the very late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He was one of the founders of the genre of opera, and one of the single most influential creators of the new Baroque style. He was also the father of the composer Francesca Caccini. Little is known about his early life, but he was born in Italy, the son of the carpenter Michelangelo Caccini; he was the older brother of the Florentine sculptor Giovanni Caccini. In Rome he studied the lute, the viol and the harp, and began to acquire a reputation as a singer. In the 1560s, Francesco de' Medici, Grand Duke of Florence, was so impressed with his talent that he took the young Caccini to Florence for further study. By 1579, Caccini was singing at the Medici court. He was a tenor, and he was able to accompany himself on the viol or the archlute; he sang at various entertainments, including weddings and affairs of state, and took part in the sumptuous intermedi of the time, the elaborate musical, dramatic, visual spectacles which were one of the precursors of opera. Also during this time he took part in the movement of humanists, writers, musicians and scholars of the ancient world who formed the Florentine Camerata, the group which gathered at the home of Count Giovanni de' Bardi, and which was dedicated to recovering the supposed lost glory of ancient Greek dramatic music. With Caccini's abilities as a singer, instrumentalist, and composer added to the mix of intellects and talents, the Camerata developed the concept of monody—an emotionally affective solo vocal line, accompanied by relatively simple chordal harmony on one or more instruments—which was a revolutionary departure from the polyphonic practice of the late Renaissance. In the last two decades of the 16th century, Caccini continued his activities as a singer, teacher and composer. His influence as a teacher has perhaps been underestimated, since he trained dozens of musicians to sing in the new style, including the castrato Giovanni Gualberto Magli, who sang in the first production of Monteverdi's first opera Orfeo. Caccini made at least one further trip to Rome, in 1592, as the secretary to Count Bardi. According to his own writings, his music and singing met with an enthusiastic response. However, Rome, the home of Palestrina and the Roman School, was musically conservative, and music following Caccini's stylistic lead was relatively rare there until after 1600. Caccini's character seems to have been less than perfectly honorable, as he was frequently motivated by envy and jealousy, not only in his professional life but for personal advancement with the Medici. On one occasion, he informed to the Grand Duke Francesco on two lovers in the Medici household—Eleonora, the wife of Pietro de' Medici, who was having an illicit affair with Bernardino Antinori—and his informing led directly to Eleonora's murder by Pietro. His rivalry with both Emilio de' Cavalieri and Jacopo Peri seems to have been intense: he may have been the one who arranged for Cavalieri to be removed from his post as director of festivities for the wedding of Henry IV of France and Maria de' Medici in 1600 (an event which caused Cavalieri to leave Florence in fury), and he also seems to have rushed his own opera Euridice into print before Peri's opera on the same subject could be published, while simultaneously ordering his group of singers to have nothing to do with Peri's production. After 1605, Caccini was less influential, though he continued to take part in composition and performance of sacred polychoral music. He died in Florence, and is buried in the church of St. Annunziata. The stile recitativo, as the newly created style of monody was called, proved to be popular not only in Florence, but elsewhere in Italy. Florence and Venice were the two most progressive musical centers in Europe at the end of the 16th century, and the combination of musical innovations from each place resulted in the development of what came to be known as the Baroque style. Caccini's achievement was to create a type of direct musical expression, as easily understood as speech, which later developed into the operatic recitative, and which influenced numerous other stylistic and textural elements in Baroque music. Caccini's most influential work was a collection of monodies and songs for solo voice and basso continuo, published in 1602, called Le nuove musiche. Although it is often considered the first published collection of monodies, it was actually preceded by the collection by Domenico Melli. In fact, the collection was Caccini's attempt, evidently successful, to situate himself as the inventor and codifier of monody and basso continuo. Although the collection was officially published in 1602, Caccini is careful to maintain the date 1601 in his dedication of the collection to Signor Lorenzo Salviati. This likely explains why the collection is often dated to 1601. Moreover, he explicitly positions himself as the inventor of the style when describing it in the introduction. He writes: 'Having thus seen, as I say, that such music and musicians offered no pleasure beyond that which pleasant sounds could give – solely to the sense of hearing, since they could not move the mind without the words being understood – it occurred to me to introduce a kind of music in which one could almost speak in tones, employing in it (as I have said elsewhere) a certain noble negligence of song, sometimes passing through several dissonances while still maintaining the bass note (save when I wished to do it the ordinary way and play the inner parts on the instrument to express some effect – these being of little other value).' The introduction to this volume is probably the most clearly written description of the performance of monody, what Caccini called affetto cantando (passionate singing), from the time (a detailed discussion of the affetto cantando performance style can be found in Toft, With Passionate Voice, pp. 227–40). Caccini's preface includes musical examples of ornaments—for example how a specific passage can be ornamented in several different ways, according to the precise emotion that the singer wishes to convey; it also includes effusive praise for the style and amusing disdain for the work of more conservative composers of the period. The introduction is also important in the history of music theory, as it contains the first attempt to describe the figured bass of the basso continuo style of the seconda prattica. Caccini writes: 'Note that I have been accustomed, in all places that have come from my pen, to indicate with numbers over the bass part the thirds and the sixths – major when there is a sharp, minor when a flat – and likewise when sevenths or other dissonances are to be made in the inner voices as an accompaniment. It remains only to say that ties in the bass part are used thusly by me: after the [initial] chord, one should play again only the notes [of the harmony] indicated [and not the bass note again], this being (if I am not mistaken) most fitting to the proper usage of the archlute (and easiest way to manage and play it), granted that this instrument is more suitable for accompanying the voice, especially the tenor voice, than any other.' This passage is often overlooked, as it is brief, located at the very end of the introduction and even indicated by Caccini as a "note," an aside or addendum to the main purpose. It is important to note, however, that the first explanation of this practice is in the context of an essay about vocal expression and intelligibility; in fact, it is largely the aim of textual intelligibility that led to the development of this musical style and the music of the common practice era. Caccini wrote music for three operas—Euridice (1600), Il rapimento di Cefalo (1600, excerpts published in the first Nuove Musiche), and Euridice (1602), though the first two were collaborations with others (mainly Peri for the first Euridice). In addition he wrote the music for one intermedio (Io che dal ciel cader farei la luna) (1589). No music for multiple voices survives, even though the records from Florence indicate he was involved with polychoral music around 1610. He was predominantly a composer of monody and solo song accompanied by a chordal instrument (he himself played harp), and it is in this capacity that he acquired his immense fame. He published two collections of songs and solo madrigals, both titled Le nuove musiche, in 1602 (new style) and 1614 (the latter as Nuove Musiche e nuova maniera di scriverle). Most of the madrigals are through-composed and contain little repetition; some of the songs, however, are strophic. Among the most famous and widely disseminated of these is the madrigal Amarilli, mia bella.'" [Source]

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Waltraud Meier Sings Strauss For President Obama At Schloss Elmau

June 7, 2015, 5:04 pm
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Wagnerian soprano Waltraud Meier performs "Zueignung" at the Schloss Elmau Castle for the G7 Summit.
"Accompanied by beer, sausages and men in lederhosen, Barack Obama received a warm welcome to the Bavarian Alps from Angela Merkel on Sunday, before two days of intensive G7 summit talks. Alpine horns and locals in traditional dress greeted the US president as he arrived in Krün, a village close to the G7 venue of Schloss Elmau, before the two leaders sat down to a breakfast of the local sausage, weisswurst, a glass of weissbier and pretzels. Locals cheered as Obama saluted them with a 'Grüss Gott'– a traditional greeting – against a stunning backdrop of pine forests and snowcapped mountains, telling them: 'That was without question, the best Alpine horn performance I’ve ever heard.'....The talks began discussing the state of the global
economy, including the European debt crisis. A second meeting was expected to deal with international trade and standards, including the controversial TTIP deal between the EU and the US. Over a working supper, cooked by a Michelin starred chef, they were due to discuss pressing foreign policy issues, including what Obama referred to earlier in the day as 'Russian aggression in Ukraine.' On Monday the leaders are expected to discuss the climate, global health, terrorism, the empowerment of women and development. NGOs were trying to put last-minute pressure on Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper as it emerged that he is allegedly blocking agreements on development goals....Ahead of supper they were to be entertained in the castle’s grand hall by star sopranist Waltraud Meier performing Richard Strauss lieder. Strauss had a house in Garmisch, the town closest to the summit venue, and died there in 1949." [Source] Watch two videos after the jump.
Alpine Symphony: President Obama with Chancellor Merkel and the horn section.

The Applause: World leaders show gratitude for Ms. Meier's performance.


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More Antics At The Opera On Showtime's "Penny Dreadful"

June 8, 2015, 9:43 am
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"It must be the Wagner": Evelyn Poole (Helen McCrory) and Sir Malcolm (Timothy Dalton) get wet post-opera.
In season 2, episode 5, "Above the Vaulted Sky," we find two couples attending the opera: "A somewhat more healthy relationship continues to blossom between Dorian Gray and Angelique, although the public nature of it finally catches up to them at the opera where Angelique is recognized and spit upon. Back in Gray’s gallery, a humiliated Angelique appears dressed as a man, but Gray assures her he cares for who she is, not what she was born as. These scenes continue to have no real bearing on the rest of the show and play a bit like a Very Special Episode spaced out over the course of the season, at least until the lovers take off their clothes and all bets are off. It’s interesting to see how director Damon Thomas presents the various sex scenes visually: the more comfortable the characters are in their own skin and with their sexuality, the closer the camera and the more explicit the scene. In the case of Gray and Angelique, it’s about as graphic as Showtime gets. At the other end of the spectrum we get a high overhead shot of a fully-clothed Victor humping spasmodically atop Lily. Evelyn Poole and the mind-clouded Sir Malcolm are somewhere in between." [Source] Music cues up just before the scene at the opera house. It is a syncopated brass section and we hear a voice sing, "Elsa." Next we find Dorian Gray (Reeve Carney) escorting Angelique (Jonny Beauchamp) into a hall during the intermission of the opera. She remarks that the performance is scandalous because the plot involves brother and sister. After the performance is over, we see Evelyn Poole (Helen McCrory) and Sir Malcolm (Timothy Dalton) exit straight to a hotel where they kiss for the first time in the pouring rain. He apologizes for being so forward and she credits their passion to Wagner. So what did they see at the opera? The lead-in music hints at Lohengrin (Count Friedrich von Telramund does accuse Elsa of murdering her brother in order to become the Duchess of Brabant), but it could also be Die Walküre (where we are introduced to Siegmund and Sieglinde, twin brother and sister turned lovers), or even Siegfried (since the opera is about the love-child of the incestuous couple). The viewer is left to guess. Be sure to check out the previous post about Penny Dreadful by clicking here. Watch the full episode by clicking here. See more than twenty photos of the episode, including the NSFW sex scenes, after the jump.
A (Rough) Night At The Opera: Dorian Gray (Reeve Carney) and Angelique (Jonny Beauchamp) find trouble.

Love's First Prick: Sir Malcolm (Timothy Dalton) and Evelyn Poole (Helen McCrory) at the opera.




























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Leontyne Price Boulevard Named In Mississippi To Honor Singer

June 8, 2015, 9:06 pm
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"The City of Laurel has renamed one of their main roads after an opera singer. City council approved the change and Beacon Street is now Leontyne Price Boulevard. The street is named after a Laurel native who is known to be one of the first African-Americans to gain international acclaim as a professional opera singer. Mayor Johnny Magee said the street signs have not been changed yet, but will be in the next few months. He said residents who live on the road will have to change their street address name. 'Beacon Street is going to be a major thoroughfare in Laurel after the completion,' Magee said. 'We felt like it would be a great addition to put the name of Leontyne Price on Beacon Street because of all the notoriety that she brings to Laurel.' Mayor Magee said the unveiling of the renamed road will be held as soon as Price can make her way down to Laurel." [Source]
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Olga Peretyatko Joins Forces With Alberto Zedda For Sony Rossini Disc

June 12, 2015, 4:10 pm
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The young soprano is channeling Graziella Sciutti and Sophia Loren on the cover of Rossini!
For her third album on the label Sony Classical, Olga Peretyatko returns to her first love: Rossini. Her collaborator on the disc is conductor Alberto Zedda with whom she began a working relationship at Pesaro in 2006. The new CD will feature arias from Il viaggio a Reims, Matilde di Shabran, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Tancredi, Il turco in Italia, and Semiramide. More details of the forthcoming disc can be found after the jump. [Source]

Pour son 3e album sous le label Sony Classical, Olga Peretyatko revient à ses premiers amours : Rossini, qui lui valut de rencontrer Alberto Zedda à Pesaro en 2006 et d’amorcer, grâce à lui, une carrière désormais internationale. La soprano a cette saison triomphé dans La traviata à Baden-Baden, après avoir chanté Elvira dans I Puritani à Vienne et Turin, Adina dans L’elisir d’amore à Berlin et Fiorilla dans Il turco in Italia à Munich. C’est en toute logique Alberto Zedda, à la tête de l’Orchestra del Teatro Communale di Bologna, qui assurera la direction musicale de ce nouvel enregistrement dont le programme devrait comprendre sept titres : les airs de Folleville et de Corinne dans Il viaggio a Reims, (« Partir, o ciel ! » et « All'ombra amena ») ; la redoutable scène finale de Matilde di Shabran (« Ami alfine... Tace la tromba altera ») ; la version pour soprano de « Una voce poco fa » (Il barbiere di Siviglia) ; un extrait de Tancredi et d’Il turco in Italia (« Di mia vita infelice... No, che il morir » et « I vostri cenci vi mando ») et enfin, dans un autre registre car initialement dévolu à la voix moins légère d’Isabella Colbran, l’aria de Semiramide « Bel raggio lusinghier ». Rossini occupera encore Olga Peretyatko dans les semaines à venir puisqu’elle retrouvera à Milan début juillet le rôle de Desdemona dans Otello aux côtés de Juan-Diego Florez et Gregory Kunde, rôle qu'elle avait déjà interprété en 2007 à Pesaro entourée des mêmes partenaires.
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Elisabeth Söderström Singing Sibelius Made Available For Third Time

June 13, 2015, 9:55 am
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The latest release of a famous recording. Pre-order here.
Recorded at Kingsway Hall in London between December 1978 and November 1981, this set of complete songs from Jean Sibelius features baritone Tom Krause and soprano Elisabeth Söderström accompanied by pianists Irwin Gage and Vladimir Ashkenazy as well as guitarist Carlos Bonell. It won the Gramophone Award for "Solo Vocal Award" in 1985. Originally released on LP, this 4-CD set was available previously only by Universal Japan and then as part of a special limited-edition Gramophone Awards Collection series on Decca. For connoisseurs, this edition sets the standard quite high in the artistry department. Born in the Swedish-speaking region of Finland, Sibelius didn't begin to learn Finnish until age 11. His songs were made popular worldwide by opera singers Birgit Nilsson and Jussi Björling through their recitals, concerts, and recordings. Scandinavian music in general continued to be under-represented on disc until Elisabeth Söderström recorded a 1957 program of works that ranged from Erik Gustav Geijer to Ture Rangström. Since the initial release of Decca's Sibelius songs, the industry has produced a plethora of recordings featuring the composer's vocal gems interpreted by artists such as Karita Mattila, Anne Sofie von Otter, Monica Groop, Katarina Karnéus, Soile Isokoski, and Barbara Bonney.  Listen to excerpts from Sibelius: The Complete Songs by clicking here. Read a 2004 review of the Gramophone re-issue, and see the complete list of songs, after the jump. [Source, Source]

Five Christmas Song Songs, Op. 1; Arioso, Op. 3; Seven Songs of Runeberg, Op. 13; Seven Songs, Op. 17; Two Songs, Op. 35; Six Songs, Op. 36. Five Songs, Op. 37. Five Songs, Op. 38. Six Songs, Op. 50. Eight Songs of Josephson, Op. 57. Eight Songs, Op. 61. Six Songs: No. 3, The Kiss, Op. 72; No. 4, The echo nymph, Op. 72; No. 5, Der Wanderer und der Bach, Op. 72; No. 6, A hundred ways, Op. 72. Six Songs, Op. 86. Six Songs, Op. 88. Six songs of Runeberg, Op. 90. Serenade (1888). Segelfahrt (1899). Row, row duck (1899). Hymn to Thaïs (1900). Erloschen (1906). Narciss (c. 1918). Small girls (1920). King Christian II — Serenade, Op. 27. Pelléas et Mélisande (Les trois soeurs aveugles), Op. 46. Twelfth Night: Come away, Death; When that I was.

The record companies are always on the look-out for the latest 'hook' on which to hang the revival of their back catalogues. Decca have here chosen to reissue a selection of albums, some dating back to 1979, that have attracted prizes in the annual Gramophone Awards. I wonder if they are doing anything similar for Fanfare in the USA?

While the occasional music-lover may tire of the annual ‘same-old same-old’ glad-rags photofest and portentous media write-ups for the prize ceremony there is good reason to plough back through the Gramophone prize-winner discs. All the more so since this four disc set has not yet been replaced by the competition.

The Krause/Söderström set is the most extensive survey of Sibelius's songs for voice and piano and in one case (Two songs fromShakespeare's Twelfth NightOp. 60), guitar. It has the sort of eminence commanded by Söderström’s Rachmaninov songs (also Decca), Thwaite's Grainger (Chandos) and Graham Johnson's Schubert lieder series (Hyperion).

Sibelius's 93 songs were written over the period from 1892 to 1917. A handful of noble stragglers (also included here) come from later including the deeply serious exaltedNarcissfrom 1918 and Hjalmar Procopé'sSmå Flickornafrom 1920.

Here are a few sampled impressions of what is a treasury that will yield a lifetime of pleasing serendipity. It's the kind of set where, if you have a four CD changer and use the 'random' setting, you will find new friends each time.

TheSerenadby Runeberg andNu så kommer julen!(Topelius) offer rounded and sweet flowing melody. Runeberg draws a variety of response from Sibelius: for example the surprisingly dissonant starriness ofArioso.

There are occasional mis-hits like the gluey reverence ofGiv mig ej glansbut in fairness there are not many of these.

Some songs are scenas as in the case of rumbling and rolling heroism ofUnder strandens granarwith a surprisingly nightmarish piano line like a German expressionist film from the 1920s. The same occluded black-cloud mood carries over intoHjärtats morgen. It can be heard again (a little diluted) inVain Hopes(CD3 tr. 25) where it tracks through the Lisztian wave imagery conjured by the piano - more Runeberg again.

InVåren flyktar hastigtwe get the equivalent ofWho is Sylvia?- time is passing grasp it - Carpe diem - a message without frontiers.Vilseis, by contrast, a whirlwind.

En slåndamarks the first appearance by Söderström. It is a punishingly challenging song in which she sings unaccompanied for great stretches.

Krause, the numerically dominant voice here, is very good at the sustained line and his tawny leonine tone is always agreeable. Try him inSegelfahrt(CD2 tr. 1) where there is a hymnal quality to the melodic contour.The First KissandDid I just Dreamare other more popular Sibelius songs with a similarly heroic-sadness. They are superbly telegraphed by Krause. More personal and inward is theSouda souda sinisorsajust afterSegelfahrt.

Söderström singsJubal, the story of the warrior who kills a swan whose spirit returns to convince him to string his bow so that it can be played as a musical instrument - Jubal's lyre. A case of swords into ploughshares again. The music is rather expressionist with stern and gaunt chords in the piano line or mosaic decoration. There are also predictable, but extremely skilled, harp-like suggestions. You can find similar allusive writing inThe harpist and his son(CD2 tr. 19) andErloschen(CD3 tr. 7).
This sort of illustrative writing is not restricted to the harp. The piano evokes the turningMill-Wheelin Sibelius's dour setting of Ernst Josephson's lyric (CD3 tr.11).

A Schubertian carefree smile dances throughMay(CD3 tr.12), again a Josephson setting (Söderström) contrasting with the pessimism and Swedish gloom ofThe Nix(the spirit of the waterfall) conjured by the lonely wanderer's mood. The happy 'strain' also can be heard inMy thoughts have a hundred ways(CD3 tr. 26),A singer's reward(CD4 tr. 9) and inDer Wanderer under der Bach(CD4 tr.3). Not quite Schubertian but certainly happy is the late songYoung Girls(CD4 tr. 24) in which Söderström and Ashkenazy neatly trip the waltz to Hjalmar Procopé's words. These trace the arc of time’s passage from young girl to granny.

TheTwo Shakespeare Songsare guitar-accompanied.Come away deathis bleak - no easy serenades here.When That I was and a little tiny boyis a mite lighter but it is still fairly stern. These sessions must have been an early opportunity for Carlos Bonell who is given little in the way of ingratiating bait in Sibelius's writing.

InWhen I dream(setting K A Tavastjerna) the oppressive depression is gradually dispelled by a chiming piano. The voice rises to a nightingale line for Krause who caresses every moment.
There is a calypso or Neapolitan flavour toDolce far nienteperhaps this would have attracted Bjorling or Gigli - it has that sort of line to it. Krause makes hay with the piece. It is an Italian serenade without sentimentality - well, not much.

Strange rhythmic edges, illustrating the spinning wheel and in turn the passage of time, protrude throughO sisters O brother O loving couples.It is almost jazzy. This is another Söderström song. The piano writing here sounds rather like Ravel.

The lengthy scenaTeodorais a setting of Gripenberg. The vocal part is awed and gripped with fear as befits the poem’s bloody cocktail of sex and sadism. It is sensational but the music is more akin to early Schoenberg than to the Sibelius we think we know. Just as bleakly tragic, complete with sadistic imagery (bloody hands, red lips, raspberry juice) and ursine writing for the piano, isThe Girl returned from meeting her lover.

Rydberg'sAutumn eveningis just as famous (in fact CD2 has the majority of the songs that have found individual fame) but is stronger on autumnal atmosphere than on the sort of heroic melodic gesture that you find inDid I just Dream.On a veranda by the seais another gloomy poem by Viktor Rydberg. Sibelius does nothing to defeat the mood. This moody line can be traced as far as Op. 90 No. 1The North(CD4 tr.17).

Svarta Rosaris famous and we can well imagine Jussi Björling’s singing such is the song’s buoyant character.

The Ballgame at Trianonis a care-free little piece which for me belongs in the same company as Gurney's settingWhere is the landlord of old Hawk and Buckle. It glints and lilts in equal measure in the voice and hands of Söderström and Ashkenazy. Krause has a similar honour in the songMorningfrom Op.90 at CD4 tr. 18.

InSäv Säv Susa(Sigh rushes sigh) Krause handles the tragic drowning of the maid Ingalill with a staunchness that reminds us ofKullervo's lament.

I had wondered if Fröding's poemI wish I were in Indialandwould be from the genre of pictorial exotica. Not a bit of it. There is a touch of eroticism here, much dark mystery only dispelled by the exalted climactic wordsI wish I were a son of the land of dreams, a native of Indialand.
The six German songs of Op. 50 include several grim songs such asAus banger brustandSehnsucht.
Nine of the songs are taken by Söderström with Ashkenazy while Krause does duty for the rest with seasoned lieder campaigner Irwin Gage.

None of the songs are grouped in cycles. Their opus number allocation follows publishing pragmatism with groups of five or six songs making a worthwhile volume. There are exceptions to this pattern such as isolated songs like the RunebergAriosoOp. 3,The Serenad, pairs of songs on CDs 2 and 3 and the four late stragglers at the end of CD 4.

This set won the Solo Vocal Award in 1985. It was first issued on LP (Argo Decca) in the very early 1980s and then on CD in 1984, the year after the launch of the new medium. Many will have missed it. No excuses now.

The Decca booklet cuts no corners and contains three pages of genuinely readable notes by Sibelius doyen Robert Layton, the full original language texts of the songs plus translations into English - poetically done by Jeremy Parsons.

The lion's share of the songs are to poems in Swedish (the language of Finland's cultural elite at the time). Nine are in German, one in French and only five in Finnish of whichLastu lainehilla(Driftwood) is a cantabile treasure as also isKaiutar(Echo) at CD4 tr. 2. There is even one in English,Thais,setting the sort of poem that would have been selected by Granville Bantock (the dedicatee of Sibelius's Third Symphony) if only he had known about it.

Sibelius's home language was Swedish, the medium of the educated classes, administrators, lawyers and artists. The Finnish language at that time was seen as the preserve of the masses. At the age of eight, however, Sibelius began to learn Finnish in order to qualify for the country 's first Finnish language school. This makes for a fascinating balance since the choral symphonyKullervo(written slap-bang in the middle of his song-productive period),Ukko,Luonnotarand many others use Finnish texts.

This Decca set reflects a noble recording enterprise both in conception and execution. Its fame has not dimmed over the years. Would that such excellent and systematically fine endeavours were extended to the songs of Medtner, Yrjö Kilpinen, Ivor Gurney, Yuri Shaporin, C.W. Orr and Michael Head.

Rob Barnett
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Peter Gelb Paid $2.1 Million As MET Opera Deficit Balloons

June 13, 2015, 6:06 pm
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"The Metropolitan Opera disclosed on Friday that its general manager, Peter Gelb, earned a total of $2.1 million in salary and benefits in 2013 but said a pay cut he took last year remains in effect. Mr. Gelb’s 2013 compensation was detailed in a tax filing released by the Met at the close of a challenging period marked by labor strife and financial setbacks. The opera company’s operating budget for the 2013-14 season was $315 million, down about 3.5% from the previous season. Its deficit ballooned in the same period, rising to $22 million from $2.8 million. In December, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded the Met’s credit rating, citing a 'marked decline in liquidity' and the company’s increased reliance on an operating line of credit. Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services affirmed the company’s 'A' bond rating in April but revised its
outlook to negative based on the budget shortfall and 'considerably weaker financial performance.' A Met spokesman on Friday said the opera would have a balanced budget for the current fiscal year, which ends July 31. As a result of agreements brokered with its unions last August, the company cut $11.5 million in expenses and 22 administrative jobs. While Mr. Gelb’s base salary in 2013 was the same as the previous year—about $1.5 million—the value of his overall compensation package increased by 15%, according to the filing. The Met attributed the boost to a deferred retirement plan established by an anonymous donor, which it said 'is only payable upon the fulfillment of his current contract.' The arrangement was initiated in 2012 and is similar to that devised for the previous general manager, Joseph Volpe, according to the filing. Mr. Gelb’s total retirement and deferred compensation in 2013 was $433,958, up from $145,039 the previous year. In April 2014, Mr. Gelb took a 10% pay cut that lowered his salary to $1.4 million, where it remains, according to the Met. Last June, as the company proposed union pay cuts of 16% to 17%, the Met said Mr. Gelb was prepared to take another decrease to match the percentage taken by the Met’s union employees. They ultimately agreed to cuts that amounted to about 7% for most of them. Union members were also among the Met’s highest-paid workers in 2013, according to the tax filing. Three members of the stagehands union, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local One, each made more than $460,000 in 2013. Two were department heads, and the other is an assistant department head. Meanwhile, chorus master Donald Palumbo earned $535,283 that year, while concertmaster David Chan earned $413,405." [Source]
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Christine Goerke Gives Top Wagnerian Performance In New Zealand

June 13, 2015, 9:57 pm
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Brünnhilde Ascending: Christine Goerke is quickly climbing to the summit of Valhalla. (Photo: Arielle Doneson)
Concert review for Wagner Gala featuring Christine Goerke (soprano), Simon O'Neill (tenor) with New Zealand Symphony Orchestra conducted by Pietari Inkinen at Michael Fowler Centre on June 12, 2015, in Wellington: "In 2012 we had that thrilling concert performance of the second of Wagner's Ring operas Die Walkure, and two of the outstanding cast were Christine Goerke and Simon O'Neill. Now as a kind of addenda to that extraordinary experience we heard large slices of the last two Ring operas, Siegfried and Gotterdammering [sic]. I suppose there was a hint of frustration in the hour or so of each opera we heard, in that we moved from act to act, missing huge chunks that tie the operas together, and were treated to surtitles that were quaintly absurd in the manner of English translations of Wagner's words. Having said all this, though, the evening was a marvellous experience of Wagner 'writ large'; a huge orchestra with
Wagner tubas, bass trumpet, two sets of tympani, massed strings and reinforced woodwind. What an extraordinary sound we heard! And how well the orchestra played under Pietari Inkinen in his second last concert as the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra music director. But for me the evening belonged to the two singers - Christine Goerke as Brunhilde and Simon O'Neill as Siegfried, and of the two it was Goerke who stole the show. In the extracts from the two operas, she had the most to do and she stunned us all. Hers is a voice of tremendous power but without the disconcerting vibrato that afflicts many Wagner sopranos, and the huge orchestra never fazed her for a moment. But it wasn't all power - there was poetry and subtlety in abundance as well. O'Neill was scarcely less impressive, riding the orchestra with ease and displaying the stamina and razor sharp accuracy that is a feature of his peerless Wagner singing. An unforgettable evening that drew a thoroughly deserved standing ovation." [Source]
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Broadway's Allison Semmes Aspired To Be The Next Kathleen Battle

June 14, 2015, 10:49 am
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Lyric Aspiration: Semmes the opera singer
turned Broadway star. (Photo: Dana Scruggs)
"It’s not difficult to find songstress/actress Allison Semmes these days. Just follow the hot national touring trail of Broadway’s Motown The Musical and catch Semmes’ riveting portrayal of iconic singer Diana Ross. The stage production, which stars Semmes, musically and artistically chronicles the epic rise of Motown Records from its humble 1959 beginnings in Detroit, to how it became the world’s most storied record label. The musical comes to life with captivating portrayals of the label’s legendary singers and musicians that helped put Motown on the map, all told through the vision of the master architect, Berry Gordy, Jr....Growing up in Hyde Park on Chicago’s Southside, a young Semmes’ love for singing took many directions, inclusive of with the Chicago Children’s Choir. Semmes, who performed with the choir from the age of six to 18, developed a strong voice and love for classical music. With the choir, she performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and performed abroad. Singing in her church choir was also beneficial to Semmes’ development as a vocalist, and thanks to her parents’ vast collections of albums in jazz, blues, R&B, and heavy doses of the Motown Sound, she was able to listen to the vocal stylings and music of many artists. Yet, heading off to college, classical music charted the way for her to
Broadway Baby: Kathleen Battle performed as alternate to the
 title role in Scott Joplin's Treemonisha on Broadway 
from October - December 1975. [Source]
earn a bachelor of music degree in classical voice from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She subsequently earned a master’s degree in music with a concentration in musical theater from New York University (NYU)-Steinhardt. 'I wanted to be an opera singer. I wanted to be the next Kathleen Battle,' Semmes said, with a laugh. 'The color to her voice is so expressive and so graceful.' After college, however, Semmes headed to New York, where she began her professional stage career with Dreamgirls. Other musicals have included Bubbling Brown Sugar, The Wiz, and The Color Purple (national tour). In addition to Motown The Musical, her other Broadway credit is The Book of Mormon. Semmes is humbled by her national starring role in Motown The Musical." [Source] Watch performances of the Allison Semmes, after the jump.







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Swedish Wedding Of Prince Carl Philip Is Royal Musical Miss

June 14, 2015, 10:42 pm
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Non-Operatic Pairing: Prince Carl Philip with 
his bride Sofia. See the full program of the
 wedding ceremony by clicking here.
HRH Prince Carl Philip of Sweden married Sofia Hellqvist on June 13, 2015, in The Royal Chapel of The Royal Palace. Following the footprint for the nuptials of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Silvia Sommerlath, assembling guests were treated to "compositions for Royal Weddings" by Johann Sebastian Bach, Johan Helmich Roman, and George Friederic Händel. That would be the end of the classical music for this ceremony. What followed was the inclusion of non-traditional music such as "Athair ar Neamh" by Enya for the Procession,  "Fix You" by Coldplay (sung by Salem Al Fakir) before the Intercession, and "Joyful, joyful" (sung by Samuel Ljungblahd) at the Bridal Recession. No surprise that a love of pop music runs in the family, as his parents were treated to an ABBA concert at the Royal Opera the night before their wedding in 1976. As this trend toward lack of vocal music at young royal weddings continues, will opera singers be banished from these events in the future? There is a plethora of actively performing Swedish sopranos and mezzo-sopranos that could have been engaged for this special occasion, including Anne Sofie von Otter, Miah Persson, Nina Stemme, Katarina Karnéus, Ann Hallenberg, and more. Check out videos of the country's overlooked singers (including Peter Mattei), after the jump.
















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Sotto Voce: Metropolitan Opera Launches New Website With A Whisper

June 16, 2015, 2:25 pm
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The Metropolitan Opera has redesigned their website with no fanfare or press release. The old splash page existed for nearly a decade with only minor cosmetic changes including the addition of flash for advertising current or upcoming shows via rotating photos, as well as news items on a ticker that scrolled horizontally. With the new site, users experience a bit of lag in loading time due to the full-screen video playing on the landing page (currently the Die Fledermaus production from the 2013-14 season) and the high resolution photos used for the next two screens scrolling down. Subsequent screens look similar to a blogspot layout with 24-point text font size. In the previous incarnation, social
media links (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) existed prominently at the top. Makes sense for a company wanting to be relevant to the younger generation. Where are the links for its social media outlets now? At the very bottom of the site. If you are adventurous enough to find them, you will see one of the coolest features on the site: a miniature Rolex keeping your computer's time. Sponsorship never looked so good. See photos of the old websites dating back to 1997, as well as more photos of the new MET site, after the jump. 



ARCHIVED WEB PAGES:

1997



2005



2006



2007




2010 - 2014


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Joseph Colaneri And Francesca Zambello Talk 40th Anniversary

June 16, 2015, 7:47 pm
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Opera Titan: Francesco Zambello leads the
Glimmerglass Festival into its 40th Season.
(Photo: Claire McAdams)
"The Glimmerglass Festival this year seems grander than ever before. The opera company, with its Alice Busch Theater and campus on the western shore of Otsego Lake north of Cooperstown, is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Artistic and general director Francesca Zambello has put together a remarkable season of events and activities, running from July 10 through August 23. Scheduled for the opening and closing performances is the familiar and beloved Mozart masterpiece, The Magic Flute. Other mainstage productions are Verdi’s dark tragedy Macbeth and an amazing unknown opera by Antonio Vivaldi, Cato in Utica. The traditional American musical theater offering is Leonard Bernstein’s witty and clever take on Voltaire’s classic short novel, Candide. Voltaire ends his philosophical reflection on the meaning of life with Candide’s words, 'we must cultivate our garden.' This year the Glimmerglass 'campus' will have a three-part modern landscape installation for sharing stories and quiet person reflection. 'A beautiful garden has both unity and variety,' Zambello says, and the golden thread running through this season is the importance and beauty of our natural surroundings....The festival will also present a lecture by Supreme Court Justice Ruth
Bader Ginsburg, back by popular demand; a recital by two good friends, outstanding performers on the Met roster, Eric Owens and tenor Lawrence Brownlee (widely admired for his fabulous coloratura singing); master classes by two famous divas, Deborah Voigt and Frederica von Stade; three performances of a new staging of Bernstein’s one-act Trouble in Tahiti; baseball-themed concerts at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown; a children’s opera called Odyssey; and Showtalk lectures and discussions by eminent scholars and artists. There is always much to do at the Glimmerglass Festival, and in the words of music director Colaneri, 'everyone should experience the dialogue among these four operas,' which represent four centuries of operatic history and where we have the stories from two of the world’s greatest writers of all time, and diverse links to 18th-century culture. These operas are 'talking to each other.' Come to look and to listen. For more information, consult www.glimmerglass.org." [Source] Read the full commentary of Joseph Colaneri and Francesca Zambello by clicking here.
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Bolshoi Theatre Offers Baroque Opera In 2015-16 Season

June 18, 2015, 10:57 am
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Rebecca Evans as Rodelinda in the Richard Jones production this season at ENO (Photo: Clive Barda)
"The Bolshoi Theater's 2015-2016 season, which was announced at a press conference Wednesday, will include a number of new stagings and modern productions in both opera and ballet. In the first half of the season, the Bolshoi will debut a children's opera, “The Fables of The Vixen, The Duckling, and Balda.” The production will combine three operas about fairy tales — Sergei Prokofiev's The Ugly Duckling, Igor Stravinsky's Renard, and Alexander Pravednikov's The Tale of the Priest and his Workman Balda. The opera will be conducted by Dmitry Belyanushkin, who also directed last year's children's opera The Legend of Kai and Gerda. Musical director Tugan Sokhiev told attendees at the conference that the opera will include 'interactive elements.' Also in October, the Bolshoi will premiere a program that includes both the Nutcracker Suite and the opera Iolanta, a realization of Tchaikovsky's initial plans for the two productions to be performed on a single bill. In December, the Bolshoi New Stage will feature a production of Handel's Rodelina in collaboration with the English National Opera, a rare staging of a baroque opera at the theater. In the spring, the theater will offer a new production of Donizetti's opera-buffa Don Pasquale, under the direction of Timofei Kulyabin, who was fired for his modern staging of Wagner's Tannahauser at the Novosibirsk Opera and
Ballet Theater. When asked at the press conference if he faced any pressure for working with Kulabin, Bolshoi General Director Vladimir Urin said cleary, 'No,' Russian daily Kommersant reported. The Bolshoi's Historical Stage will also welcome several modern ballets durin the season. In addition to Jiri Kylian's classic Symphony of Psalms, the Bolshoi ballet will present Frank Bridge Variations featuring music by Benjamin Britten and choreography by Hans von Manen, as well as Max Richter's Short Time Together, with choreography by Paul Lightfoot and Saul Leon. Berlioz's 'dramatic legend'The Damnation of Faust will close the season. Although the theater is celebrating its 240th season this year, it does not plan any celebrations of the anniversary. However there will be a gala concert in honor of ballerina Maya Plisetskaya, who died earlier this year at the age of 89. The program for the concert, which was planned for Plisetskaya's 90th birthday, will remain the same as was agreed with the ballerina before her death." [Source] For more information about the Bolshoi Theatre, click here.
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Marilyn Horne Honored As Part Of Multi-Million Dollar Campaign

June 18, 2015, 7:33 pm
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Mezzo del Giorno: A portrait of Marilyn Horne
from the early days of her singing career.
"The Music Academy of the West has announced its Finale Capital Campaign with a visionary goal to raise $17.5 million for two significant construction projects to renovate and improve its historic campus. The Campaign also includes funding for an instrument fund that will establish the Academy’s All-Steinway institution status and a maintenance endowment. 100% of the Academy’s Board members have participated in the Campaign, joined by support from individuals and foundations in the Santa Barbara community. $11.7 million has been raised to date to begin the renovation in August 2015; the remaining goal is $5.8 million. The historic Main House on the Miraflores campus has been named for legendary mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne with a gift of $6 million, through a $3 million matching gift challenge from long-time Academy benefactors Shirley and Seymour Lehrer. Music Academy President and CEO Scott Reed said, 'Our Campaign completes a long-term strategy to fully preserve, renovate, and expand our campus to guarantee we have world-class facilities. Our fellows arrive in Santa Barbara each summer from around the world to share their talent with us and further their artistry with our distinguished faculty. Enhancing our buildings will provide the best possible experience for our guests and our community.' The Finale campaign will support the final phase of a long-term campus renovation and construction master plan envisioned 15 years ago. The improvement of the Marilyn Horne Main House is Part One of the Finale project, with a groundbreaking in August 2015. The scope of the project includes
county-mandated seismic retrofitting, replacement of early 20th century electrical and plumbing, implementing energy efficient options, modernized offices, and restoration of the patios, terrace, and fountains. Academy Board member Seymour Leher and his wife Shirley, whom the Lehrer Studios were named for, challenged the Music Academy Board and community philanthropists
Marilyn Horne (center) at the ceremony to name a building after her in Santa Barbara.
to match a $3 million gift, doubling it to $6 million, to name the Main House for Ms. Horne. The Academy celebrates her extraordinary involvement dating back to the 1950s when she was a student studying with one of the Music Academy’s founders, Lotte Lehmann. Ms. Horne received the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1995 and became Voice Program Director in 1997. She oversees a full production of an opera each summer featuring the Voice Program fellows and the Academy Festival Orchestra. Board Chair Margaret Cafarelli said, 'It is an extraordinarily selfless act of philanthropy that Shirley and Seymour Lehrer, joined by members of our Board and community, collectively contributed $6 million to name our iconic building to honor Marilyn Horne. Her legendary career serves as a symbol to our fellows and alumni that with hard work and perseverance, anyone can fulfill their dream.' Part Two of the project, scheduled to begin in August 2016 if the fundraising goal is met, is a renovation and expansion of a dilapidated practice studio building. Large ensemble rehearsal rooms and faculty teaching studios will be created to accommodate the latest long-distance learning technology. A $2.1 million instrument fund allows for Steinway pianos to be purchased for the new studios, along with timpani and marimbas, and future instrument replacement. A $3 million endowment will be designated to assure funding for ongoing and upcoming maintenance. Ms. Cafarelli added, 'We invite the community to join us to support this extraordinary vision to preserve the legacy handed to us and create opportunity for the future. Nearly 40 community organizations utilize our campus during the non-summer months for meetings, rehearsals, performances, and teaching. We have 125 local music students studying here weekly from September through May. The need for our facilities has increased as Santa Barbara’s arts and non-profit community has continued to thrive.'" [Source]
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Scottish Opera Wins Cultural Award For Architectural Expansion

June 18, 2015, 10:56 pm
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The exterior of the award-winning structure in Glasgow.
(click on image to enlarge)
"Scottish Opera's recently transformed performance home, Theatre Royal Glasgow, has won Cultural Building of the Year at the RIAS (Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland) Awards 2015. From 65 submissions across Scotland and a shortlist of 24, 12 winners were announced last night at an awards ceremony in The Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh. The judging panel of industry specialists praised Page\Park Architects’ innovative design of the building: ‘Creating a welcoming entrance foyer and embracing a dramatic, sinuous stair, this new structure boldly signposts Scottish Opera’s HQ. 'Street to seat' was the ethos, with the client wanting to literally 'open up' theatre and opera as art forms. By providing a welcoming entrance, addressing the street corner, the theatre experience has been 'democratised'.’ All the RIAS Award-winning buildings - including a nursery, a distillery and a cancer care centre - will now go forward to be considered for Britain’s richest architectural prize, the £25,000 Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award, to be announced in November. RIAS was founded almost 100 years ago in 1916, and the awards, though only in their fourth year, have already become the most important recognition of architectural achievement in Scotland."

A winding staircase makes for a dramatic centerpiece.
(click on image to enlarge)
"The Theatre Royal Glasgow's stunning new foyers have won Best Leisure/Culture Building at the Scottish Design Awards 2015. Organised by The Drum magazine, the Scottish Design Awards are now in their 18th year and are Scotland’s most prestigious awards for architecture firms and design agencies. The awards aim to recognise creativity within Scotland’s design industry, with the judging panel of specialists looking for innovative pieces of work and concepts that stand out from the crowd. The awards ceremony took place on 21 May in the Grand Central Hotel, Glasgow. Lynn Lester, Managing Director of Drum Events said ‘It was an incredible night for the industry and all those involved should be proud of what they have brought to design in Scotland’." [Source]


Read the architect's concept for the expansion, and see more photos, after the jump.

"The foyer extension for Scottish Opera at Glasgow’s Theatre Royal was focused on creating a transformational experience for audiences, encouraging wider community engagement and building a sustainable business for the future. The project focused on the audience’s journey from ‘street to seat’ – on improved approach, entrance, intuitive internal wayfinding and the provision of enhanced audience facilities. Provision of lifts to provide full access to all upper
Detail of the magnificent staircase for patrons to ascend.
theatre balconies and compliance with accessibility legislation was an important driver behind the project, but also the Client’s desire to literally ‘open up’ the theatre and opera as an art form by the provision of open and welcoming foyers to attract a wider audience. The demolition of the former Café Royal building provided the opportunity to create a dramatic extension addressing the street corner of Hope Street and Cowcaddens Road, allowing the Theatre to celebrate the corner in a fashion prevalent through Victorian Glasgow. The form of the extension is derived from the splendid category A listed auditorium. A new box office and café at stalls level complements new bar facilities at upper levels. To the east is the ‘core’, housing two 17 person lifts, new toilets and an escape stair. Above stalls level the core is repetitive in plan to assist with wayfinding and to breed familiarity with regular patrons. To provide a column free interior the edge structural
The view to the street from inside the new extension.
articulation of the various plan levels plays various roles, cantilevering in one direction towards the free standing middle of the plan, sheltering the ground level approach and finally shaping the roof line expression. Requiring significant depth to carry out these roles, the lateral length of the structural columns is exploited to frame a perimeter of bays around the foyer, enclosed by a stepping ‘in and out’ metal cladding and glazing which wraps the structure and associated acoustically tempered ventilation boxes. In order to mediate between differing adjacent urban scales, the building is cut back at balcony level creating an external roof terrace commanding panoramic views across the city. Selective improvements were made within the auditorium, including the provision of boxes for wheelchair users and their companions at the rear of the upper balconies, and the re-seating of the Stalls and Dress Circle to improve sightlines and minimise restricted view seats. The new foyers provide welcoming and accessible facilities and are an appropriate prelude to the rich Victorian theatre beyond. This significant cultural project has been a fantastic opportunity to create a major new piece of civic architecture." [Source]
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You Will Celebrate At The Opera After Getting A Good Night's Sleep

June 24, 2015, 6:05 pm
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A commercial celebrating the joy of a good night's sleep on a Simmons® Beautyrest® features a woman celebrating with champagne in several locations, including the opera house. It seems as though she may be watching a Gilbert & Sullivan performance or Billy Budd according to the costume of the singer onstage. Watch the commercial after the jump.

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Netflix Series "Sense8" Shoots At Harpa Hall In Reykjavík, Iceland

June 24, 2015, 6:53 pm
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Tuppence Middleton  (right) as Riley Blue [née Gunnarsdóttir], stands with her father Gunar (second from left)
 getting high in front of Harpa concert hall in Iceland before the big concert.
In April 2015, Opera Fresh did a feature on architect Olafur Eliasson and his work with opera houses. Now one of his projects is featured in the newest Netflix hit series Sense8. The 12-episode series was released in its entirety on June 5. The show is shot on location in Chicago, San Francisco, London, Berlin, Seoul, Reykjavík, Mexico City, Nairobi and Mumbai. The science fiction drama web television series created, written and executive-produced by Andy and Lana Wachowski (The Matrix, Bound, Jupiter Ascending) and J. Michael Straczynski (World War Z, Changeling, They Marched into Sunlight).
Episode 10, "What is Human," features a climactic scene where Riley's father Gunar is giving a performance of the "Allegro" movement from Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73 ("The Emperor") and all the sensates present recall the moment of their births. This intoxicating musical moment also triggers something in Riley and blood begins running down her face as she faints at the end of the episode. She will soon be sent to a hospital and discovered by Mr. Whispers. 
"Despite its use of simple chords, including a second theme constructed almost entirely out of tonic and dominant notes and chords, the first movement is full of complex thematic transformations. When the piano enters with the first theme, the expository material is repeated with variations, virtuoso figurations, and modified harmonies. The second theme enters in the unusual key of B minor before moving to B major and at last to the expected key of B-flat major several bars later. Following the opening flourish, the movement follows Beethoven's trademark three-theme sonata structure for a concerto. The orchestral exposition is a typical two-theme sonata exposition, but the second exposition with the piano has a triumphant virtuoso third theme at the end that belongs solely to the solo instrument. Beethoven does this in many of his concertos. The coda at the end of the movement is quite long, and, again typical of Beethoven, uses the open-ended first theme and gives it closure to create a satisfying conclusion." [Source]
More about Sense8, the actor who plays the piano-playing character of Gunar, a complete performance of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major (Op. 73) by Krystian Zimerman, and another operatic connection to Sense8, after the jump.


"Sense8 (a play on the word sensate /ˈsɛnseɪt/, meaning aware) is an American science fiction drama web television series created, written and executive-produced by Andy and Lana Wachowski and J. Michael Straczynski. A first season consisting of 12 episodes has been produced and became available for streaming on Netflix on June 5, 2015. The plot revolves around eight strangers from different parts of the world who suddenly become mentally and emotionally linked. The show aims to explore subjects that its writers felt science fiction shows, at least ostensibly, tend to ignore or skim through such as politics, identity, sexuality, gender and religion. The Wachowskis directed most of the series, with the remainder divided between their previous collaborators Tom Tykwer, James McTeigue, and Dan Glass. The series is the first produced under the banner of Straczynski's Studio JMS. Sense8 tells the story of eight strangers: Will (Brian J. Smith), Riley (Tuppence Middleton), Capheus (Aml Ameen), Sun (Bae Doona), Lito (Miguel Ángel Silvestre), Kala (Tina Desai), Wolfgang (Max Riemelt) and Nomi (Jamie Clayton), each individual from a different culture and part of the world. While living their everyday lives they suddenly have a vision of the violent death of a woman called Angelica (Daryl Hannah) and find themselves reborn as Sensates; otherwise normal human beings who are mentally and emotionally connected, being able to communicate, sense, use each other's knowledge, language and skills. While trying to both live their lives and figure how and why this connection happened and what it means, a mysterious man named Jonas (Naveen Andrews) possessing the same ability tries to help the eight and protect them from another stranger called Whispers (Terrence Mann) who is similarly empowered and is hunting them down to tap into their psychic link and capture them all." [Source]
"Kristján Kristjánsson also known as KK is an Icelandic blues and folk musician. His stage name is pronounced "cow cow." KK was born on March 26, 1956 in Minnesota, United States, but later moved to Iceland with his family. He attended music school in Malmö, Sweden for four years and then played his way across Europe from 1985 until 1990, when he returned to Iceland. He has been nominated for the Gríma Prize twice and has been awarded the Icelandic Music Prize twice. In 2007 he toured to Shanghai with Magnús Eiríksson ("Maggi") and Óttar Felix Hauksson in advance of the release of their next recording there and in Iceland.[2] In 2010 he played with his band at the World Expo in Shanghai, representing Iceland. Since production of the closing episodes of Sense8, the American-produced, internationally cast and filmed science fiction drama from Netflix that debuted in June 2015, KK has contributed musically, and in an acting role, appearing in as supporting character "Gunnar," musician and father to principal character "Riley Blue" ("Riley Gunnarsdóttir," played by Tuppence Middleton)." [Source]



While shooting in Mexico City, Daryl Hannah posted the above image on her Instagram account. The building featured is the Palacio de Bellas Artes. The most notable events in music, dance, theatre, opera and literature, as well as exhibitions of painting, sculpture and photography, take place here. It is the most important cultural institution in Mexico City. Maria Callas debuted in Bellini's Norma at the theater in 1950. [Source]



The two images above were posted on social media in January 2015 by make-up artists for the production of Sense8. The crew held it's wrap party in the lobby of the Harpa concert hall. 



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Dmitri Hvorostovsky To Begin Immediate Treatment On Brain Tumor

June 24, 2015, 8:04 pm
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Watch a video of the 27-year old Dmitri Hvorostovsky at the beginning of his career singing 
"Eri tu" from Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera, after the jump.

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