MTV’s Take On Carmen
MTV decided to take the timeless work and add a little, perhaps unwelcome, spice to it. Their version of Carmen aired on May 8 and was entitled “MTV’s Hip-Hop Era Carmen.” It updates the work to a setting of downtown Philadelphia, where violence and foul language pervade the atmosphere and all the characters aspire to lofty careers as rap stars. Our leading lady was perhaps the only 19-year-old ever to land this role in a professional production of Carmen, Beyoncé Knowles of the pop group Destiny’s Child. Mezzos, here is your role model.
Sorry Drama, No Funding
Mayor Giuliani is proposing major cuts in arts funding for NYC. However, most of the cuts are for drama. Carnegie Hall received a 29% increase, NY State Theater a 3.7% increase and Lincoln Center 2.3% increase.
Swenson Joins Eastman School
Grammy Award-winning tenor Robert Swensen will join the voice faculty of the Eastman School of Music as associate professor of voice in July.
Court Awards $11 Million to Silenced Singer
Aspiring opera singer Kristen Maddox was recently awarded $11 million after her voice box was permanently damaged in the crash of an American Airlines flight in 1999. Maddox asserted that the injury prevented her from pursuing a successful operatic career. The airline argued that Maddox’s claim was speculative as to whether her career would have indeed been profitable. American did not, however, choose to contest the jury’s award.
New Director of Opera Studies For NEC
The New England Conservatory of Music has announced the appointment of William Gustafson as their new Director of Opera Studies, effective in July ‘01.
Winners For ‘01 Richard Tucker Career Grant and Sara Tucker Study Grant
Congratulations to the four winners of the Richard Tucker Career Grants: sopranos Maria Kanyova and Jennifer Welch-Babidge, mezzo Jill Grove and tenor Eric Cutler. Each was awarded $7500. Congratulations also to the four winners of the Sara Tucker Study Grants: sopranos Jennifer Check and Barbara Quintiliani, mezzo Jossie Pérez and baritone Ian Greenlaw. Each received $5000.
Proposals for Lincoln Center Renovations
The latest design for the Lincoln Center face-lift includes the enclosure of the central plaza under a large dome that would cover the area between Avery Fisher Hall, the Met Opera and the New York State Theater. The goal of such a mammoth construction would be to encourage new restaurants and shops to inhabit the sheltered area and invigorate the 40-year-old Lincoln Center campus. The renovation in its entirety is scheduled to take place over ten years and will cost $1.5 billion.
Jewish Audiences Oppose Wagner’s Music
After protests from Holocaust survivors, officials of the Israel Music Festival asked conductor Daniel Barenboim to drop the performance of Wagner’s Die Walküre in Jerusalem this summer. Although Wagner died 50 years before Hitler’s reign, he was a well-known anti-Semite and his music was an element of Nazi culture. The first attempted performance of Wagner in Israel after WWII was in 1981; the Israel Philharmonic attempted a passage from Tristan und Isolde. A Holocaust survivor jumped on the stage during the performance and opened his shirt to show his scars, however, and conductor Zubin Mehta stopped the performance.
Oops
Cellist Lynn Harrell accidentally left his $4 million 1673 Stradivarius cello in the trunk of a taxi several weeks ago after being dropped off at his apartment in NY. The honest cabbie met up with the relieved musician later that evening to return the valuable instrument for which Harrell sold his home in the Hamptons. (Aren’t you glad your instrument is free and comes firmly attached?)
Three Mo’ Tenors
Another spin-off of the Three Tenors makes its debut in the singing world. Three African-American tenors began their 5-city tour towards the end of May, calling themselves Three Mo’ Tenors. They are Victor Trent Cook, Roderick Dixon and Thomas Young.
“Musical Bug Spray”
A May 7 article of the Palm Beach Post reported that classical music is being used as the latest weapon in the war against loitering and the drug market. Affectionately termed “musical bug spray,” apparently it is blasted on the streets and has been successfully deterring the usual gangs from high crime areas.
Hostility in Hong Kong
Few are pleased with Tan Dun, Oscar-winning composer of the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon film score. The Asian film community resents the fact that he was not present at the 20th annual Hong Kong Film awards; a Sony music representative accepted the award for Best Original Film Score on his behalf.
Even Celebrities Have To Pay Their Taxes
With a fortune estimated at about $450 million, Luciano Pavarotti is still being investigated for tax evasion in his hometown of Modena, Italy. Pending his own testimony, as well as testimony from friends and managers, the famous tenor could spend three years in prison.
Napster Use Takes a Plunge
Since Napster has added song-screening technology that blocks certain material from being downloaded, downloads have dropped by 41%. According to one analysis, only 1.6 billion songs were downloaded in April, down from 2.8 billion in February.
Fond Farewell to Rita Hunter
The beloved British soprano Rita Hunter died March 28 at the age of 67. Well-known for her portrayals of Wagner heroines, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1972 as Brünnhilde and also sang the first complete English language version of the Ring. Her favorite role, however, was Lady Macbeth. She is survived by her daughter.
Zeffirelli Directs Callas Movie
Franco Zeffirelli will direct a movie about the life of famed soprano Maria Callas. The director says he plans on giving her life a happier ending in the movie however, as he believes she died too young and too tragically. This $15 million movie, entitled Callas Forever will begin filming in August for about nine weeks starring the French actress Fanny Ardant as the diva and British actor Jeremy Irons as a booking agent.
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