Villazón Will Have Larynx Surgery
Mexican tenor Rolando Villazón has a cyst on a vocal cord that must be surgically removed, reports the Associated Press. Renowned Berlin voice specialist and surgeon Gerrit Wohlt, who will perform the operation, says that the tenor should be finished with rehabilitation and ready to sing sometime in 2010.
Villazón was to have sung Nemorino in Los Angeles Opera’s opening L’elisir d’amore in September. Italian tenor Giuseppe Filianoti will replace him there. Villazón has also withdrawn from the Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Les contes d’Hoffmann which opens in December.
www.nytimes.com/2009/04/30/arts/music/30arts-VILLAZNFACES_BRF.html
www.startribune.com/entertainment/music/43972182.html?elr=KArksD: aDyaEP:kD:aUnOiP3UiacyKUnciaec8O7EyUr
www.playbillarts.com/features/article/7980.html
Singers Walk Out of Cologne ‘Samson’
Stage Director Tilman Knabe set his updated production of Samson et Dalila in the modern-day Middle East instead of the Holy Land of Biblical times. For that reason, he included a scene depicting a machine gun battle and one showing a gang rape. Because the brutality of the staging upset some of the performers, 28 of the 64 Cologne Opera choristers began to call in sick a mere two weeks before opening night. They were soon joined by several of the soloists, two of whom had leading roles.
The dissension seems to have surprised Cologne Opera management. Spokesman Johannes Wunderlich told German media that although many opera companies were staging more violent and shocking scenes than what was presented in Knabe’s “Samson,” the cast was apparently not used to this aspect of 21st-century opera production. He noted that in Düsseldorf, for example, singers were throwing actual feces around the stage in a production of Macbeth.
www.dw3d.de/dw/article/0,,4187930,00.html
NYC Opera and Unions Face Off over Cuts
A strike could cripple New York City Opera’s attempt to put together a 2009-2010 season, reports Bloomberg News. The company would like to present 37 performances, considerably fewer than it has given in its most successful years. General Manager and Artistic Director George Steel hopes to eliminate a guarantee of 26 weeks of work for the chorus. He wants to pay singers only when they are working, reduce medical coverage, and eliminate production staff guarantees.
Alan Gordon, director of the American Guild of Musical Artists, says that under Steel’s proposal, the 52 Guild members now working at City Opera would have to supplement their incomes with part-time work. A union memo states that it is highly unlikely that New York City Opera could survive a strike and that AGMA hopes to be able to find a way to assist in the resurrection of the company.
www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=aRmEq8SxSx1c&refer =museparterre.com/?p=3577
American Orchestras Play Recession Tunes
All across the country, orchestras are cutting out tours and reducing the number of performances for the coming season. They are eliminating the jobs of both administrators and players, hiring fewer or less expensive soloists, and planning smaller-scaled works.
The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra has cut its full-time staff from 28 to 21, cut its part-time workers from nine to five, and reduced overall compensation by 12 percent. Music Director JoAnn Falletta and Executive Director Daniel Hart are also making major contributions to the orchestra’s coffers.
The musicians of the Utah Symphony voted to return 11.5 percent of their salary, contribute half of their pension contribution, and give up some vacation and personal days. President and CEO Melia Tourangeau and Music Director Keith Lockhart volunteered to take a 10 percent salary cut. Programming cuts are also expected.
The Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra has reduced its main stage concert season from five performances to four, and musicians of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra have taken a three-week furlough. And the Boston Symphony Orchestra canceled its 2010 European tour.
artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/boston-symphony-orchestra/
latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2009/04/orchestras-sound-sour-note-over-economy.html
www.allbusiness.com/humanities-social-science/visual-performing-arts/12296939-1.html
