NYC Opera Stage to Be Dark for 2008-2009
Gérard Mortier, New York City Opera general manager, is closing the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center for renovations, says the Wall Street Journal. At this writing, the only performances planned for next season are a semi-staged version of Samuel Barber’s Anthony and Cleopatra in Carnegie Hall in January and five orchestra concerts of modern music in various sections of the city.
The company’s 2009-2010 repertoire marks a radical change from its usual fare and may cause many subscription holders to rethink their opera-going habits. The scheduled operas include Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande, Janacek’s The Makropulos Case, Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, Britten’s Death in Venice, Messaien’s St Francis of Assisi, and Glass’s Einstein on the Beach
.
www.nysun.com/arts/ bad-boy-of-opera-offers-surprises/63164/
www.wsj.com
www.nycballet.com/news/press/pr12-15-07.html
www.theatermania.com/content/news.cfm/story/14089
www.facebook.com/notes.php?id=9549866402
San Francisco Opera Honors Ruth Ann Swenson
This season, soprano Ruth Ann Swenson celebrated her 25th anniversary with San Francisco opera. In recognition of her excellent service, the company gave her its highest award, the San Francisco Opera Medal, following her performance of Ginevra in Handel’s Ariodante July 6. Swenson is the 35th artist to receive the medal since Kurt Herbert Adler established it in 1970. Other recipients include Joan Sutherland, Marilyn Horne, Plácido Domingo, and Samuel Ramey.
Swenson debuted at San Francisco Opera in 1983 as Despina in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte. She is an alumna of the Merola Program and a recipient of an Adler Fellowship. General Director David Gockley said he was thrilled to honor Swenson’s significant contributions to San Francisco Opera and the performing arts, said the report.
www.sfopera.com press/RuthAnnSwensonOperaMedal.pd
http://operatattler.typepad.com/opera/ruth_ann_swenson/index.html
How High Can She Sing?
In June, English National Opera and Sky Seats Extra got together to stage the world’s first aerial performance of an operatic aria. Soprano Leslie Garrett sang an excerpt from Mozart’s The Magic Flute from a platform some 150 feet above the Tower of London. Her performance reached not just casual spectators, but also an audience enjoying specially designed red velvet theater seating hoisted into the air via a heavy-duty crane.
ENO staged the event to publicize its new “Sky Seats” program, which offers 14,000 highly discounted tickets for performances. “Sky Arts is committed to making the arts relevant to as many people as possible,” said ENO executive Lucy Milton. “By working with ENO to offer these reduced price ‘Sky Seats,’ we hope more and more people will get hooked on opera.”
www.eno.org
http://video.yahoo.conm/watch2715190/7911565
www.huliq.com/61379/opera/sky
Phantom Instruments Wreak Havoc for Conductor
British conductor David John Lindup, who currently leads the Nelson Symphony Orchestra in New Zealand, is in jail awaiting sentencing, news sources report. He was convicted of making false statements on tax returns in which he claimed to have bought musical instruments for the orchestra. Published reports say the conductor fabricated invoices and important certificates so that he could apply for tax refunds on non-existent instruments.
Reports also said that Lindup, an Oxford University graduate, lied on his résumé when he said he worked with well known British musical groups, among them The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.
www.stuff.co.nz/thepress/4575034a19754.html
www.nelsonmail.co.nz/
