Covent Garden Tries New Marketing Method
The Royal Opera House is trying very hard to interest young people in opera, according to the Guardian. Its new campaign includes describing operas as though they were reality TV shows. Called Danny Knows Best, its media blast attempts to be similar to the Jerry Springer Show in describing opera plots. Cinderella says she is a slave at home and wants to divorce her family. Juliet complains that her father is a racist who holds her hostage, and Gilda tells of sleeping with her father’s boss.
Only time will tell if it is a successful way to attract new patrons to the arts.
www.guardian.co.uk/culture/charlottehigginsblog/2010/nov/16/royal-operahouse-viral-marketing-campaign
Virginia Opera Founder Summarily Fired
Virginia Opera has terminated the contract of Peter Mark, according to the Washington Post. Mark led the company as artistic director, music director, and conductor for 36 years after having helped found the company in 1975, says the Virginian-Pilot. Mark called his dismissal unjustified and has hinted that he might take legal action. His contract was to have ended in May 2012.
The company’s president-elect Alan Albert says that Mark committed “violations of obligations under his employment agreement and the Virginia Opera Association’s employment policies.” Mark had been told earlier that the 2011-12 season would be his last, even though he is credited with bringing national and international acclaim to Virginia Opera. Singers whom he discovered include Renée Fleming.
Joseph Rescigno will replace Mark as the conductor for the company’s condensed version of Wagner’s Die Walküre to be presented early in 2011.
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/23/AR2010112306612.html
hamptonroads.com/2010/11/ousted-opera-director-defends-his-methods
Atlanta Symphony Forms Own Recording Label
Classical recording at Telarc seems to be at a standstill. When the company was sold to the Concord Music Group and was restructured in 2009, it eliminated 26 staff positions and stopped producing its own recordings. As a result, some organizations such as the Atlanta Symphony which had previously relied on Telarc for recordings have decided to produce their own.
Many of the symphony’s Telarc discs won Grammy awards, according to Arts Critic Atlanta. The Atlanta organization ended its 32-year relationship with Telarc in September 2010 and will now launch its own label, ASO Media, which will be distributed by Naxos of America.
www.artscriticatl.com/2010/11/breaking-news-atlanta-symphony-forms-its-own-record-label-plans-three-intitial-releases/
China Has a Passion for Opera
When Italian opera singers Leo Nucci and Désirée Rancatore appeared in the roles of Rigoletto and Gilda in China, they were amazed at the reception they received. The applause was deafening and lasted more than twice as long as expected. As a result, they repeated the finale. Nucci said that the experience was unique in his 40 years of performing. He said he felt like a rock star.
The Chinese government is aware of opera’s popularity and it hopes to turn its new titanium and glass National Centre for the Performing Arts into one of the world’s top opera houses. It already boasts the world’s most technologically advanced stage, and the Chinese are also starting to develop their own operatic talent. Their singers are performing at the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, and La Scala. Soon they expect to be able to bring Chinese singers home to Beijing.
www.thestar.com/news/world/article/897896–is-china-poised-to-become-next-opera-superpower
Artists Management Firm ICA Will Issue Its Own Recordings
British management firm International Classical Artists, formerly known as Van Walsum Management, is going into the recording business, according to the Classical Review. In January the company will release 10 DVDs and eight CDs on its own label, ICA Classics. The DVDs will include Mahler’s sixth symphony with the La Monnaie Orchestra conducted by Hartmut Haenchen as well as Szymanowski’s third and fourth symphonies with the Warsaw Philharmonic conducted by Antoni Wit. Archival material on DVDs will include some television footage with Charles Munch and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
The firm’s current owner, Stephen Wright, says he intends to create a 21st-century management agency that reaches far beyond the purview of the old-style “booking agent.” He wants to offer total career planning, including the coordination of an artist’s audio and audiovisual recordings, broadcasts, and the handling of digital rights.
theclassicalreview.com/cds-dvds/2010/11/first-artist-management-led-recording-venture-announced-by-international-classical-artists/
