Franco Corelli Hospitalized
In September it was reported that retired tenor Franco Corelli had suffered a stroke and had been taken to a hospital in Milan. Although there was some concern over his ability to survive at first, his wife, Loretta later reported that his condition had improved sufficiently to warrant his removal to a more comfortable room in a private hospital, and that even though he is 82 years old, he is expected to recover.
http://www.operaclick.it/
Full Moon Over Rio de Janeiro
The August performance of Wagner’s Tristan Und Isoldeat Rio de Janeiro’s Teatro Municipal, starring John Pierce and Jayne Casselman, was well applauded—until stage director Gerald Thomas appeared. At that point most of the clapping ceased, giving way to boos and catcalls. Thomas turned his back to the audience and pulled down both his trousers and his blue underwear.
The following week the director issued an apology on a Rio television station, but an investigation was already under way to see whether Brazilian laws pertaining to freedom of expression protect curtain calls.
www.estado.com.br
Revzen Takes Over at Arizona Opera
Joel Revzen, Grammy-winning Metropolitan Opera conductor and artistic director of the Berkshire Opera, takes over the top job at Arizona Opera this fall. Since the Arizona company performs during the cooler months and the Massachusetts group is only active in the summer, there will be no conflicts.
In an interview with the Berkshire Eagle, Revzen revealed some tentative plans for Arizona Opera’s 2004-5 season: Wagner’s Der Fliegende Hollaender, Verdi’s Il Trovatore, Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte, Rossini’s La Cenerentola and Handel’s Semele.
www.azopera.com/news/press_releases/ 20030815.shtml
New School of the Arts in Florida
Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton recently announced that music professor Dr. George Sparks, founder of the Florida Wind Symphony, will head the new Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters. This college will unite the music, art, and theater departments with the University Galleries in order to provide an interdisciplinary education.
www.bocanews.com
Opera San Jose Garners More Than Two Million Dollars
The Packard Humanities Institute has given a $2.35 million grant to Irene Dalis’s Opera San Jose, enabling it to buy a 24,000-square-foot building for scenery construction and storage. Best of all, the facility is two doors away from the company’s main office.
Opera San Jose is in the process of moving from a tiny theater to a much bigger one, and the addition of the scene studio will allow for the building of larger sets to fit the new performance space.
www.bayarea.com The Mercury News
Back to Work Again!
Ewa Podles, who was seriously hurt in a New Mexico automobile accident last May, has now recovered and is resuming her fast-paced career. She sang at Spain’s Santander Festival on Aug. 21 and was in great form, according to a local critic whose only complaint was that the program was over too soon.
NYCO Baritone Chester Ludgin Dies
Chester Ludgin, who sang baritone roles at the New York City Opera for more than 30 years, died of cancer Aug. 9 at the age of 78. After making his City Opera debut in 1957, he sang in Die Fledermaus, The Ballad of Baby Doe and The Devil and Daniel Webster>, among many others. His last appearance with the company was in 1991, but he sang in a production of The Most Happy Fella after that.
Dallas Opera Has a New Director
British born Karen Stone, who has been managing the theaters of Graz, Austria since 2000, will now lead the Dallas Opera. She is the 50th director in the company’s 46-year history.
Stone and current Dallas Music Director Graeme Jenkins worked together in Cologne, Germany, between 1995 and 2000. Stone served as deputy director and later as director of that company. Jenkins was quoted as saying that she has first hand knowledge of the business, having risen from singer to director and then to administrator.
She will oversee the creation of the new opera house now being built as part of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts.
www.dallasopera.org Click on News.
Architects as Opera Scene Designers
An increasing number of architects are delving into the opera world and designing sets, according to The Los Angeles Times.
Actually, they are not at all new to the field. The first opera designers were architects who could present the theater owner with a complete package that included the set, lighting, special effects of the time and the machinery to operate it all. It was only during the 19th century that theater crafts became more specialized. The return of architects to the stage should be interesting to watch.
http://listserv.cuny.edu/archives/opera-l.html Search for “Production problem.”
It’s Only Funny If the Audience Gets the Joke!
At a performance of the Sydney Symphony, conductor Alexander Lasarev made fun of the applause heard between the movements of Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony, the “Pathetique.” He encouraged his players to participate with mock applause of his own and he had the musicians rise and bow before the last movement.
Unfortunately, the audience did not get the joke and began to leave the auditorium, so there were a great many empty seats for the finale.
Oregon Symphony Welcomes New Conductor.
Banners up and down Broadway in Portland proclaimed the coming of the Oregon Symphony’s new conductor, Carlos Kalmar. The celebration culminated with Kalmar conducting a free concert in McCall Waterfront Park that ended with the 1812 Overture, complete with cannons and fireworks.
Kalmar, born in Uruguay to Austrian parents, has also headed the Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago and the Tonkuenstler Orchestra of Vienna.
www.oregonlive.com
Hong Kong Boasts First Permanent Opera Company
Hong Kong has had occasional performances of opera and visits from major artists for many decades, but the formation of a permanent company by tenor Warren Mok can eventually be expected to provide steadier employment for technicians, instrumentalists and some singers.
Organizers plan benefit concerts for this year to raise funds and a performance of Verdi’s La Traviata for next. The company hopes to mount two operas and a musical comedy each year after that. Some government money is expected, but most of the funding will be private. The orchestra will be made up of local players, but many of the singers will be imported.
More Funding for New Zealand Opera
The National Business Review of New Zealand reports that the NBR New Zealand Opera will receive a grant of $1.15 million per year for three years from “Creative New Zealand.”
General Director Alex Reedijk says audiences have increased by 40 percent and that the company will undertake its first nationwide tour in 20 years.
www.nbr.co.nz
New National Survey of Classical Music Attendance
A new study reports that 11.6 percent of Americans, or 23.9 million people, attended concerts of classical music in 2002. There was a decrease of 1 percent since 1992 when the last survey was taken.
The number of opera goers, who were surveyed separately, held steady with growth in population, but they were a meager 3 percent of those counted. The median age of concert goers was 49. For the opera audience the average age was 48. Both groups had high median incomes and were well educated.
