New Announcer Taking Over Met Broadcasts
Beginning with the opening broadcast of Verdi’s I vespri Siciliani on Dec. 11, Margaret Juntwait will be the new radio announcer for the Metropolitan Opera. Since the continuation of live broadcasting from the Met after this season is in jeopardy, Juntwait says she also will help with fundraising.
A 1980 graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, Juntwait has worked for radio station WNYC since 1991. She will continue to be that station’s host for Friday and Saturday evenings, and will record programs for Sirius Satellite Radio.
www.wnyc.org/shows/eveningmusic_s
Glimmerglass Head Resigns
Joanne Cossa, general director of Glimmerglass Opera in upstate New York for the last two seasons, has resigned her post because of an illness in her family that requires her to stay in New York City.
The company has formed a search committee to look for her successor. In the meantime, Managing Director Jeryl Dropp and Director Of Finance Paul Griswold will handle her work, said the organization.
www.syracuse.com Search for Glimmerglass
www.coopercrier.com (Click on archives, search for Cossa.)
Do Both Ears Hear Alike?
In a six-year study of newborn babies at the University of Arizona and at UCLA, scientists Barbara Cone-Wesson and Yvonne Sininger have discovered that babies’ left ears provide amplification for musical tones, sending that information directly to the right side of their brains. Conversely, the two found that the newborns’ right ears amplify the rapid sounds of speech, interpreted by the left side of their brains.
The two scientists’ findings underscore previous assertions that children with poor hearing in their right ears find it more difficult to learn most school subjects than those with left ear impairment.
http://newsroom.ucla/page.asp?RelNum=5480
Nicholas Muni Resigns
Cincinnati Opera recently announced that Artistic Director Nicholas Muni has been released from his contract with the company. The original term of Muni’s contract extended until next August. Muni has several productions to stage in Europe this season, but he will continue at Cincinnati in a lesser position, as a consultant.
Muni said that he had already achieved all the goals he had set for the company when he began working there in 1996.
www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/10/01/loc_opera01.html
www.cincinnatiopera.com
Utah Symphony and Opera Gets a Million
UBS Bank USA, an international money management firm, has donated a million dollars to the Utah Symphony and Opera. The art organization plans to use the funds to defray operating costs over the next three years. In exchange for the donation, the Utah Symphony and Opera will display the bank’s logo on programs, advertising and other printed materials.
Ray Dardano, bank president and chief operating officer, is now a member the musical group’s board of directors.
www.utahopera.org
www.artsjournal.com/artsissues/ redir/20040909-51448.html
New Appointments
Indiana University recently announced that Robert Harrison has been appointed a professor of voice, and Brian Horne a member of the vocal faculty.
www.music.indiana.edu/apps/press/index.php?id=571
Conlon to Replace Nagano at L.A. Opera
On Sept. 27, Los Angeles Opera General Director Plácido Domingo announced the appointment of James Conlon as music director of the company. Conlon is set to serve for three years, beginning in July of 2006, and is expected to conduct four or five productions a year. He will succeed Kent Nagano, the current holder of the post, who has announced his desire to step down because of an increasingly heavy schedule. This is Conlon’s first music directorship in his native country.
The company says it still has plans for Nagano to conduct some of its future productions.
www.losangelesopera.com
www.sonyclassical.com/artists/conlon/bio.html
Handel Handles the Tenor
During a rehearsal of his opera Flavio, Handel was accompanying the singers on a harpsichord. The tenor singing Ugone complained about the composer’s tempos.
“If you don’t follow me better than that,” the singer raged, “I’ll jump on your harpsichord and smash it!”
What a good idea, Handel replied, and asked the singer to give him advance notice so that he could advertise it.
“More people will come to see you jump than to hear you sing,” the master explained.
Kennedy Center Announces 2004 Honorees
On Sept. 16, the Kennedy Center announced that its honorees for 2004 are soprano Dame Joan Sutherland, conductor John Williams, pop singer Elton John and actors Warren Beatty, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee. Their work will be celebrated at a gala performance
Dec. 5.
Center Chairman Stephen A. Schwarzman praised all six artists for making singular contributions to the cultural life of the United States.
www.kennedycenter.org/programs/specialevents/honors
Puppets Are the Latest Rage
Have you noticed the increased use of puppets in almost every aspect of theater and media lately? Even the Metropolitan Opera is using them in its new production of The Magic Flute. Puppetry, once a medium on the fringes of the avant-garde, has moved into the mainstream.
Singers can use puppets to stage their recorded performances and, if managed with some degree of expertise, the puppets can delight audiences ranging from school children to senior citizens.
www-tech.mit.edu/V113/N1/puppets.01n.html
www.operainfocus.com/history
