Dallas Opera Opens New Home
The Dallas Opera opened its 2009-2010 season in a brand new theater, the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House. Built by the London architectural firm of Foster+ Partners, the hall is smaller than most comparable U.S. theaters but larger than many in Europe. It is located next to Meyerson Symphony Center where its distinctive architecture makes it a stunning addition to the city’s theater district.
Members of the opening night audience walked under a louvered canopy that was adjusted for the fall sunshine before entering the glass-encased, red drum-shaped theater. They enjoyed Verdi’s Otello in a traditional horseshoe-shaped hall, with balconies decorated in white gold leaf.
www.e-architect.co.uk/america/winspear_opera_house.htm
www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/stories/DN-archreviews_1101gd.ART.State.Edition1.4eb5cf7.html
The Study of Music Seems to Improve Hearing Ability
Several studies presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience found that musical training actually improves a person’s ability to hear and interpret sounds, according to National Public Radio. Fifteen classically trained musicians and sixteen non-musicians listened to a voice reading simple sentences coupled with increasingly loud background conversation. All of the participants had normal hearing, but the musicians proved to be far more able than the non-musicians to distinguish and understand the sentences when the background noise was loud.
It seems that musicians’ brains are trained to hone in on one particular type of sound they need to hear in performing, so they can utilize that ability in other situations as well. In this test, they were much more capable than the non-musicians in picking out pitch, timing, and tone quality.
www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113938566
www.usnews.com/science/articles/2009/08/19/taking-up-music-so-you-can-hear.html
Luggage Stolen in Phoenix
If you flew into Sky Harbor Airport during the last year and could not find your checked baggage, there may be a simple explanation. In November, the police raided a home in Phoenix and found approximately 1,000 suitcases belonging to hundreds of different owners, according to the Los Angeles Times. It seems that the home’s residents regularly entered the baggage claim area of the airport and simply walked out with a few bags.
No one has checked the luggage tags at Sky Harbor in years. After this, they are more likely to do so. However, since lost suitcases are the airlines’ responsibility, it is up to them to decide whether it’s cheaper to hire someone to check tags or to pay for the lost items.
travel.latimes.com/daily-deal-blog/index.php/phoenix-airport-lugg-5758/
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33611052/ns/travel-news/
Soprano Re-creates ‘Fledermaus’ Scene
Argentine soprano Gabriela Pochinki was arrested at a New York City restaurant called Nice Matin, reports the New York Post. By talking loudly on her cell speaker phone, she had disturbed several diners who were quick to complain. The manager asked the soprano to lower her voice, but she did not. After being asked several times to quiet down, she allegedly pushed the restaurant manager who then called the police.
When the police took Pochinki to the place of detention, she realized that the situation resembled a scene from Johann Strauss’s operetta Die Fledermaus. She asked for permission to sing and, when granted, she entertained everyone with excerpts from West Side Story, in which she had recently appeared in Vienna.
The singer stated that she was extremely sorry to have caused a problem. Her lawyer says her case has been adjourned in contemplation of dismissal.
www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/judge_tells_rude_opera_singer_out_iNqzSORUpORhC9AZN8GjhI
www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local-beat/Opera-Star-Asked-to-Pipe-Down-65820557.html
Technology Changes the Piano
Yamaha has just released the AvantGrand, a stringless electronic piano. Although at the forefront of technology, it looks like a small baby grand and sounds like a concert instrument. The usual piano strings have been replaced by speakers, however, and there is a control panel out of sight below the keyboard.
Actually, the notes heard on a nine-foot concert grand have been carefully recorded so that the smaller instrument can play one note back for each key activated. Just as we can now hear the notes of a famous European organ on a common church instrument, we can get the sound of a professional piano on this smaller and cheaper one.
www.avant-grand.com/
www.slate.com/id/2233839
New York City Opera Discards Amplification
The renovation of the David H. Koch Theater, formerly known as the New York State Theater, has done away with the amplification system installed in 1999. Since the opera and the New York City Ballet share the theater, materials had been installed to absorb the sound of dancers’ feet—and those materials have also been removed.
Acoustic sidewalls have been installed near the stage and the new seating has been designed to eliminate any sound absorption, so there should be considerable natural resonance in the hall. Also, the depth of the orchestra pit is now adjustable so that the accompaniment should not overpower the singers at any time.
pressroom.nycopera.com/pr/nycopera/news/new-york-city-ballet-and-new-york-111581.aspx
www.nycballet.com/news/press/03-18-09.html
