Actors’ Equity and AGMA Agreement,
The Actors’ Equity Associa-tion and The American Guild of Musical Artists have announced a ground breaking agreement that resolves many jurisdiction questions pertaining to a newly created category of performances called “crossover productions.”
Negotiations for shows like the Billy Joel/Twyla Tharp Movin’ Out and this past year’s Baz Luhrmann La Bohème on Broadway will be conducted, administered and enforced by Actors’ Equity with the active participation of AGMA, which shares jurisdiction over this type of performance.
This agreement has been mentioned as a step on the road toward a possible merger of the two unions.
Pavarotti Says Farewell to Cavaradossi
The Metropolitan Opera has announced that Luciano Pavarotti will sing his last staged performances of the tenor part in Puccini’s Tosca on March 6th, 10th, and 13th, 2004. He will be joined by Carol Vaness in the title role and Sam Ramey as Baron Scarpia. James Levine will conduct.
The tenor sang his last European performance of this role on June 28th at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, where he was rewarded with a half-hour ovation and twelve curtain calls. It is said that tickets for that performance sold for as much as 700 Euros.
Hattala Wins BBC Singer of the World Contest
Finnish baritone Tommi Hatala, a member of the Leipzig Opera ensemble since 2001, won first place in this year’s “BBC Singer of the World Contest” with his renditions of arias by Mozart, Wagner and Verdi.
Second place was awarded to the audience favorite, Chilean soprano Angela Marambia, and the Recital Prize went to Ailish Tynan, a soprano from Ireland. US participants Lauren Skuce and Nicholas Phan sang well but did not win prizes. The next Singer of the World Contest will be held in June of 2005.
Obituary: Marcella Pobbe (1921-2003)
This charismatic Italian soprano, known not only for her beautiful voice but for her glamorous appearance as well, sang starring roles throughout Europe and the United States during the 1950s and 1960s.
Her wide range of repertory included not only operas by Verdi and Puccini, but also works by German and Russian composers. She is remembered on Teldec’s CD Diva: 30 Great Prima Donnas.
She was found dead in her Milan apartment on June 18th, despite the fact that she had been well enough to go out walking with a friend a few days earlier.
Conductor Resigns over Dispute with Stage Director
Maestro Yuri Temirkanov was engaged to conduct Tchai-kovsky’s The Queen of Spades at the Opera National de Lyon in a production directed and designed by Petrika Ionesco. He withdrew from the performances when it became evident that his disagreements with the stage director could not be reconciled.
He told a French reporter, “I am not against new settings of operas provided that the spirit of the music and of the libretto remains.” He felt, however, that the Ionesco production had gone too far.
The Lyon Opera management responded by asking him to participate in planning a totally new production of the same opera in 2007.
Berlin Opera Triple Play
Federal officials in Germany have announced that all three financially troubled Berlin opera houses will stay open for the foreseeable future, but with scaled-back schedules.
It is thought that at least one theater will eventually have to be used for something other than opera.
A New Outlet for Opera Singers
“Amici,” a British group of classically trained singers, consisting of two women and three men, has been engaged by BMG Music to record some of the well known classical selections that are often heard as part of television advertising and movie soundtracks.
Focus groups have attested to the popular appeal of this type of music, so the group hopes to capitalize on the familiarity of the tunes, many of which are drawn from the best-known operas.
The first “Amici” CD will be released during the fall of this year, and the group will tour the US in 2004.
