March 30, 2012  |
| | | Thought of the Day | | There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats.
--Albert Schweitzer
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| Quote of the Week | | If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph: The only proof he needed for the existence of God was music. --Kurt Vonnegut
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| | What Hath Pelly Wrought in the New Manon? | | 
NEW YORK -- It's difficult to write charitably about the Metropolitan Opera's dreary new Manon, first seen Monday evening, a co-production with the Royal Opera House, London; Teatro alla Scala, Milan; and Théâtre du Capitole, Toulouse. Surely this cold, drab and relentlessly cheerless view of the world according to Massenet's kittenishly self-centered but oddly lovable heroine is an aberration of the director, Laurent Pelly, who charmed Met audiences with his warm and witty staging of Donizetti's La Fille du Régiment a few seasons ago and has been getting raves in France with his riotous revivals of Offenbach operettas. Pelly's first mistake, it seems to me, was to update the opera from the lush decadent era of the early 18th-century Orléans Regency -- an ambience that Massenet's music conjures up so potently with its insinuating melodies and delicious period pastiches -- to the harsh, joyless years of the post-Franco-Prussian War era, circa 1900. Did Massenet really want us to be so completely alienated from the milieu that his music so painstakingly tries to conjure up? Can even the most brilliant Manon cast have a chance to make a valid musical or dramatic effect when fighting the perversities of this production?
That said, I'm not entirely sure that Anna Netrebko would be an ideal Manon even under the most favorable circumstances. She looks gorgeous, of course, but her soprano now seems at least one size too heavy for the music.
MA.com subscribers read the full story |
Opera on eBay Sale a Successful Failure | Dutch opera impresario Peter Kroone's attempt to sell his casts-of-thousands arena opera extravaganzas on eBay failed to generate any serious bids. The highest, $21,000 for Aida, still "was far off the reserved price," reports Kroone.
"We never expected to sell the productions through eBay,"
he writes in response to an email query. "For us eBay was a tool to get the attention of the press and through the press the attention of companies who could be looking for a product to expand their portfolio."
To that end, he says, the eBay exercise was a grand success. He claims having received "a dozen contacts," from companies interested in buying the productions complete. Kroone is retiring from the business and selling the productions of his company, Companions Amsterdam. MA.com subscribers read the full story |
| | | Arts Endowment Taps Head of Presenting | | 
Michael Orlove, director of music programs for the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture, is to be the new director of presenting and artist communities, one of the 15 departments at the National Endowment for the Arts through which grant proposals are screened. He succeeds Mario Garcia Durham who left in September after eight years to become president and CEO of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters.
In his new job, Orlove will oversee the entire grant-making process for presenters seeking support for such programs as commissioning new work, artist residencies, exhibitions, and performances. His department also provides technical support to the field.
Named twice as Chicagoan of the Year in music by the Chicago Tribune, Orlove was anointed as one of the "Seven Samurai" at the prestigious WOMEX (World Music Expo) 2009 Conference in Copenhagen. He starts his new job May 7.
MA.com subscribers read the full story |
Mozart Allegro Gets Modern Premiere | | 
VIENNA, Austria -- A piano work attributed to Mozart as a child prodigy was performed here on March 23 for the first time since it was found last year in an attic where it lay undiscovered for centuries. The lively 84-bar passage -- marked allegro molto -- was played on the composer's piano in a room of his Salzburg home by Florian Birsak.
The Mozarteum Salzburg Foundation, which staged the event, said the manuscript was found last summer as part of a 160-page book of handwritten piano music as the musty attic of a house in Tyrol was being cleared from centuries of detritus.
The book was dated 1780 -- 24 years after Mozart was born -- and the manuscript played Friday bore the name "Del Signore Giovane Wolfgango Mozart." Leopold Mozart often used "Wolfgango" when labeling works written by his young son. MA.com subscribers read the full story |
Universal-EMI Deal Under Scrutiny | BRUSSELS -- The European Union's competition regulator has launched an in-depth probe of Universal Music Group's planned acquisition of part of the iconic British music company EMI. Universal Music, which is owned by French media company Vivendi SA, announced in November that it would buy EMI's recorded-music division for $1.9 billion. At the same time, a consortium led by Sony Music's Sony/ATV said it would pay $2.2 billion for EMI's publishing arm.
The deal has been vehemently opposed by rivals such as Warner Music and small independent music labels, which fear that Universal and Sony would dominate a market that is already under strain from illegal music downloads. In its statement, the Commission indicated that those concerns may be justified.
MA.com subscribers read the full story |
| Can My Artist Perform in the US as a Visitor? |  To submit a question to FTM Arts Law write to LawAndDisorder@MusicalAmerica.com Dear Brian, I wanted to ask your advice about the visa needs of one of my artists. The artist is going to the USA twice this year to work. The first time will be to conduct a youth orchestra in rehearsals and a concert. The contract for this engagement is between the orchestra and my agency (based in London) and my agency will be receiving the fee. Therefore, I think I'm right in saying that the Artist will definitely need an O1 visa. (Their lawyer says that the Artist does not need a visa, but I think they are wrong.) The second engagement is slightly different, in that the artist is going to a school, but simply to do a series of talks and group discussions, not to conduct any public performance of any kind. It is almost certain that he is not receiving a fee for this, but his flights will be reimbursed by them. Having said this, if the school books his flights for him, then there may be no exchange of money at all. Will he need a full-blown visa for this engagement, as well? If not, what does he need? Many thanks in advance for your help. Read the full story |
| Is It Dangerous to Cross Over Too Soon? | |  For the answers to the question below, click here. Dear Edna: I am a parent of a very serious pre-college classical instrumentalist who has professional aspirations. Recently, she was offered a possible opportunity to perform and record with a singer-songwriter friend who has just signed a contract with a major agency and whose eclectic work is garnering increasing attention. While my daughter is flattered and quite eager to engage with musicians working in a wide range of genres, she is concerned about accepting this opportunity when she is aware that she is not yet well known in the classical world. We know a number of artists who have "crossed over" into other genres but it was always after they had achieved substantial recognition. Do you think our concern is unfounded? We both agree that your perspective will be extremely valuable in making a decision. -DLP Read the full story |
Short Takes on a Busy Week | | 
From "Why I Left Muncie" by Sedgwick Clark Three Operas Far be it for this occasional operagoer to butt heads with Peter G. Davis in a work I barely know. "What are you doing at an Italian opera performance?" he asked me in feigned horror on opening night of the Met's revival of Verdi's Macbeth (3/15). "I'm here for the conducting-why else?" I replied, and was pleased to read in his Musicalamerica.com review that we agreed on Gianandrea Noseda's "maximum of lyrical intensity and dramatic energy--Verdi conducting doesn't come much better than this." (Why isn't Noseda conducting regularly at the New York Philharmonic???) On the other hand, Peter also praised Adrian Noble's "bold and fearless" 2007 updating of Shakespeare's Scotland to "a fantasy world that suggests a period roughly around the end of World War II." Such concepts alienate me; I believe that an intelligent audience will have no difficulty apprehending the composer's intention in a traditional staging. Most of the time, therefore, my eyes were glommed onto the MetTitles. Thomas Hampson conveyed the weak-willed Macbeth well, if a bit reticently. Verdi said that vocal beauty was not important for Lady M, and Nadja Michael filled the bill; but she emanates sex and temperament aplenty, and I look forward to hearing her in a more refined role--say, Salome or Wozzeck's Marie. |
| Latest Roster Changes |  Musical America is helping presenters keep up with its advertisers! Managers whose rosters appear in the 2012 edition of the Musical America Directory should write to listings@musicalamerica.com with the names of artists and attractions that have been either added or removed, and please be sure to indicate "added" or "removed." NEW THIS WEEK Hecker, Marie-Elisabeth, cello, added, Hazard Chase (certain territories) Hodges, Nicolas, piano, added, Hazard Chase (certain territories) Strobel, Frank, conductor, added, Hazard Chase (certain territories) Tak, Young-Ah, piano, added, Parker Artists
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