Cancellation of the 2003 MacAllister Awards
The prestigious MacAllister awards have been cancelled for this year according to a recent announcement made by executive director Elaine Morgan Bookwalter. She assured young singers that prizes would again be given out in the future, but she intimated that the format would be changed.
In the past the prizes have provided financial support and constructive criticism to high school and college singers as well as to professionals under the age of 35. At its last distribution, prize money totalled $72,000, with $15,000 being given to the first place winner.
Recipients of past awards have included Denyce Graves, Gregory Turay, Jennifer Larmore, Kyle Ketelson and Cynthia Lawrence.
Harrington Estate Sues the Met
Between 1978 and 1998 Sybil B. Harrington donated more than $27 million to the Metropolitan Opera. An agreement was drawn up and signed by Harrington and Met officials which specified that the money was to be used for at least one production each year by a composer whose work was in the core repertory of the company’s first century. The productions were to be performed and staged in a manner faithful to the intentions of the composer and librettist.
In 1999 the estate donated another $6 million, $5 million of which was to be used for televising traditional opera. In July a suit was filed on behalf of the estate asking for the return of this $5 million because it was used for the telecast of what was considered a non-traditional production of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde in 2001. In addition, the suit charges that other money was used in contravention of the agreement.
In answering the charges, Joseph Volpe, general manager of the Met, insisted that he will prove in court that the estate’s allegations are completely false, adding that he would never do anything to dishonor Mrs. Harrington’s wishes.
Albrecht Leaves Post at Dresden Opera
Christoph Albrecht has left his post as music director of the Dresden Semperoper and is now head of the Bavarian Theater Academy in Munich. In 2006 he will become director of the Bavarian State Opera.
Harold Schonberg, Former New York Times Music Critic, Dies
Schonberg, who was born on November 29th, 1915, passed away on July 26th, 2003, at the age of 87.
His daily reviews and Sunday essays for the Times set high standards for performance evaluation as he chronicled the changes that took place in classical music between 1960 and 1980. In 1971 he won a Pulitzer Prize, the first ever awarded to a music journalist.
According to Schonberg, criticism is simply informed opinion. He said that he wrote for himself, not for his readers and not for musicians, stating that, “It is not a critic’s job to be right or wrong but to express an opinion in readable English.”
Video Screens in the Opera House
The State Opera of South Australia is installing video screens in the second balcony of the Adelaide Festival Theater so that patrons in that part of the house can have a better view of the stage.
Atlanta Opera Presents Pop Concerts
In order to pay off some of its $1.3 million debt, the Atlanta Opera is presenting three concerts of popular music by veteran performers Harry Belafonte and Andy Williams. The rest of its season will include performances of Aida and The Elixir of Love.
Learning to Play an Instrument Improves Verbal Memory
Psychologists who tested 90 boys ages six to 15 have concluded that children who studied a musical instrument had significantly better verbal memory skills than those who had no musical training. They also found that the boys’ ability to memorize seemed to grow in proportion to the length of time they spent studying music.
Marian Anderson’s Studio Restored in Danbury, Connecticut
The Danbury Museum and Historical Society is restoring Marian Anderson’s rehearsal studio and will use it to house an exhibit celebrating her many achievements. The contralto, who died in 1993, was a long-time resident of that city and used the studio on a regular basis.
She sang all over the world for more than fifty years but is best remembered for her 1939 concert at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. after being refused an engagement at Constitution Hall because of her race. In 1955 she was the first black singer to perform at the Metropolitan Opera, and in 1991 she was the recipient of a lifetime Grammy Award.
The museum, which will feature Anderson memorabilia, will also be a venue for concerts to be given by emerging artists.
Curtis Institute Begins Search for New Director
Gary Graffman, the present music director of The Curtis Institute, is not expected to relinquish his post anytime soon, but at age 74 he has agreed to help in the search for his successor.
Nevada Opera Stages Trial by Jury in Courtroom
Facing a deficit of $250,000, the Nevada Opera, which is normally seen at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts, moved its production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury to a local courthouse and used district Judge Peter Breen in the show.
The move saved a great deal of money on a set, and the first performance was so popular that a second had to be given.
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