A Two-Tenor Aida?
When German baritone Josef Metternich sang Amonasro, he often warmed up by singing “Celeste Aida,” to the consternation of the tenor in the next dressing room. Sometimes the company’s general manager would have to assure the tenor that he really was singing Rhadames that evening (while Metternich had a good laugh).
http://listserv.cuny.edu/archives/opera-l.html
Cleveland Opera to Welcome New Director
On April 1, Robert Chumbley will become the new general director of the Cleveland Opera, replacing David Bamberger, who founded the company in 1976. A pianist, conductor and composer, Chumbley currently heads the Arts Council of Winston Salem, N.C.
As Cleveland’s new general director, Chumbley envisions raising the level of the opera company to that of the city’s other arts institutions, such as the Cleveland Orchestra. He hopes to start by increasing the number of productions from four to five. He also expects to delve into more ambitious repertoire.
www.clevelandopera.org
Should You Ship Your Pets as Airline Cargo?
Ruth Ann Swenson and her husband, David Burnakus, have often shipped their two dogs as airline cargo, and they had no problems doing it—until recently. Unfortunately, the last time they went to pick up their animals, they found one cage empty. The airline’s representative simply said that one dog had gotten away.
Airline employees searched various places where the dog had been and called the appropriate dog pounds, in case it had gotten outside, but to no avail. At this point, the couple found out that animals are legally classified as luggage and are entitled to no special treatment whatsoever. The airline fulfilled its legal obligation by offering Ms. Swenson and Mr. Burnakus $1,000 in cash and $1,500 in travel vouchers.
We suggest that you take a pet along only if you are sure it can fly with you in the cabin. Some airlines will let you buy a seat for a larger dog.
Pop Opera a Moneymaker?
The recording group “Amici Forever” bills itself as the world’s first opera band. Actually, the “band” members are all singers. The two sopranos, two tenors and a bass, each of whom is classically trained, have previously performed in traditional opera.
Their vocal quintet versions of pieces like Fauré’s “Pavane,” Elgar’s “Enigma Variations,” Puccini’s “Nessun dorma” and Bizet’s “Au fond du temple saint,” add them to the growing list of young performers working outside the confines of traditional classical music.
BMG paid the five more than $10 million to sign a recording contract!
www.musiciansnews.com and www.amazon.com
Choplin to Take Over at Chatelet in Paris
In January, Jean-Luc Choplin was named to succeed Pierre Brossmann as head of the Paris Théâtre du Chatelet in 2006. Currently, Choplin heads England’s Sadler’s Wells Dance Theater, where there have been complaints that he discriminated against and, in some cases, arbitrarily fired female employees. Workers there describe his management style as autocratic.
A former deputy chairman of Disneyland-Paris, he had hoped to engender a more popular appeal for the British dance company.
www.thisislondon.co.uk
Robert Harth Dies
Robert Harth, 47, Executive and Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall, died of an apparent heart attack at his home in New York City on Jan. 30. The son of a Los Angeles Philharmonic concertmaster, Harth had worked on the West Coast before coming to New York.
He began work at the 57th Street hall only five days after the fall of the World Trade Center and he guided the institution through the ensuing time of economic distress. Recently, he had presided over the opening of the new underground Zankel Hall.
Harth was highly regarded and his presence will be sorely missed in New York musical circles. www.nytimes.com
Changes at Philadelphia Opera
The Opera Company of Philadelphia has announced that its 2004-2005 season will offer only four productions, instead of the expected five, meaning the company will offer only 24 performances, instead of 35.
Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin has been cancelled, and instead of Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito, the company will present Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus. Gounod’s Faust, Donizetti’s Don Pasquale and Verdi’s Aida remain in the schedule, as planned.
www.operaphilly.org
Paul Robeson Honored on Stamp
Performer, athlete and social activist Paul Robeson, renowned for his rich baritone voice and superb acting ability, has been honored with a United States postage stamp. The stamp features a picture of Robeson taken in 1943, when he was at the height of his powers. His son, Paul Robeson Jr, attended a ceremony on the first day of sale, Jan. 20, at the singer’s birthplace of Trenton, New Jersey, where he expressed the family’s joy at having his father so honored.
Robeson was a football All American as well as the valedictorian of his graduating class at Rutgers University. He received a law degree from Columbia University in 1928.
www.princeton.lib.nj.us
A Real Winterreise!
On Jan. 19, tenor David Pisaro set off on a 200-mile hike across England, from Cumbria to North Yorkshire. At 13 prearranged venues along the route, Pisaro is meeting with his accompanist, Quentin Thomas, to perform Schubert’s song cycle Die Winterreise. By singing in community centers, churches and even a shop or two, Pisaro is trying to make a connection between this music and the average English citizen, who may or may not ever get to a major concert hall.
Pisaro is also recording his experiences on videotape, so we may see some of the results of his odyssey.
www.bbc.co.uk
