Sandler to Head Lyric Opera of Kansas City Beginning July 1
Deborah Sandler, who has headed Kentucky Opera and the Opera Festival of New Jersey, will become the general director of Lyric Opera of Kansas City, according to the Kansas City Star. She is one of the few women ever to lead a major American opera company. Sandler says that she would like to continue the company’s present endeavors. She would also like to look for ways to deepen its relationship with current patrons while broadening its audience. She succeeds Evan Luskin as chief executive and will be working with Artistic Director Ward Holmquist.
This season the company’s budget grew to over $6 million, and so far its productions have almost all sold out. Subscription sales increased by 25 percent, and ticket revenue has far exceeded anything the company experienced before.
www.kansascity.com/2012/03 /01/3461135/lyric-opera-opens-new-act-with.html
www.kcur.org/post/deborah-sandler-takes-helm-lyric-opera
Las Vegas Opens an Arts Complex
On March 10, the Smith Center for the Performing Arts opened in Las Vegas. Most cities have a similar theater complex, but this one did not. The city’s cultural offerings have never been as important as gambling or shows of a more popular nature, according to the Associated Press. In the past, the Las Vegas Philharmonic performed in a campus amphitheater that had poor acoustics, and the ballet company presented its annual version of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker in a casino.
Performances of those two organizations—along with Broadway shows, cabaret jazz, and chamber music—can now be seen at the new $470 million Art Deco-inspired arts complex. Business owners, elected officials, and local artists are counting on the new center to boost the city’s evolving arts scene. The first season will feature Broadway hits Wicked, Mary Poppins, and The Color Purple as well as performances by cellist Yo-Yo Ma and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Ticket prices are low and sales have already exceeded expectations. More than 10,000 season subscriptions have been sold.
www.columbiatribune.com/news/2012/mar/04/a-time-to-shine/
www.thesmithcenter.com
Metropolitan Opera Changes Ticket Pricing
The Met is changing its prices for next season, according to the Wall Street Journal. The most expensive seats will cost more, possibly as much as $320, and the cheapest seats will cost as little as $20. The prices of the most popular tickets will rise approximately 7 percent while the prices of the least expensive seats will be reduced by $5. The company also plans to enlarge the less expensive areas so that about one-third of the seats will cost less than $100. The new system is similar to the flexible pricing system that Broadway shows began to use last year. General Manager Peter Gelb hopes to boost ticket sales with this new pricing strategy.
online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203960804577241761512178068.html
gothamist.com/2012/02/24/met_opera_plans_price_changes.php
Audiences Talk Back to Executives, Cast, and Creative Team
Arizona Opera has a long tradition of asking audiences to stay after performances and give their reactions to members of the company. After each performance, a company executive appears with a few of the artists who appeared in the performance or who helped create the stage picture. They stand in front of the first row seats and answer questions from audience members who have moved down front to take part in this post mortem.
Nashville Opera Director John Hoomes will be doing something similar. He says that, if necessary, he will even “rewind” a part of a new work and play back any sections that have been unclear or confusing. He wants to be sure that members of his audience do not leave the theater saying, “I don’t get it.”
www.tennessean.com/article/20120304/ENTERTAINMENT05/303040007/Nashville-Opera-throws-out-rulebook-experimental-piece
www.azopera.com/learn.php?subcat=programsadults&subpage=perspectiveslectures
Joshua Bell’s Hotel Room Ransacked While He Performed
In early March, violinist Joshua Bell, on tour with the London Philharmonic, performed in Spain. While the artist was playing, a thief impersonated him, saying that he had lost his key, reports the Los Angeles Times. The thief convinced the desk clerk to give him Bell’s room key. A little while later the thief called from Bell’s room and said he could not open the safe. When help arrived, the thief was dressed only in a towel. That may be why he was not asked for identification before the safe was opened. The thief did not steal Bell’s 1713 Stradivarius violin because it was not in the room, but he got away with a laptop, some cash, a $38,000 watch, and other personal belongings. Asked for his reaction, Bell said that he was amazed at how easy it was for this to occur.
Word to the wise: all sorts of people know when you are performing . . . and one of them could be a thief.
latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2012/03/grammy-winning-violinist-joshua-bell-burglarized-in-spain-.html
Composers May Give Up Rights to Get Commissions
Composers allege that some of Europe’s most prominent broadcasters are coercing them into giving up the copyrights to their work, according to the Associated Press. At a news conference in Brussels, representatives of the European Composer and Songwriter Alliance said members are often told that they will not be considered for a commission unless they are willing to give up the copyright to whatever music they create.
The Alliance represents 12,000 composers of music in various genres. The group has filed a complaint with the European Commission naming more than 15 broadcasters and studios in the Netherlands, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Austria. The representative of the Alliance said that in some countries composers might be giving up 50 percent or more of their income.
www.chron.com/entertainment/article/Composers-tell-EU-Broadcasters-treat-us-unfairly-3368959.php
www.composeralliance.org/home,en.html
