Mortier Quits
The New York Times announced Nov. 7 that provocative impresario Gerard Mortier has decided not to assume the top position at New York City Opera. For the previous year and a half Mortier had been planning to take over the posts of general manager and artistic director beginning with the 2009-2010 season. He had hoped to update the company by presenting modern works in non-traditional settings and had expected a budget of approximately $60 million.
Instead, because of the economic downturn, NYCO offered a budget of just $36 million. Mortier said he could not manage with that amount.
Chairwoman Susan I. Baker acknowledged that the NYCO’s board of directors has been working hard to find a suitable replacement for Mortier in time to plan a 2009-2010 season, said the report.
latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2008/11/gerard-mortier.html
Soprano Gail Robinson Dies at 62
Gail Robinson, 62, professor of voice at the University of Kentucky, director of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and director of the Met’s Young Artist Program, passed away in Lexington on Oct. 19. Robinson had been part of the opera world since the age of 19, when she won the Met auditions. She made her debut there in The Magic Flute in 1970, and then covered the role of Lucia di Lammermoor on the Met tour, performing opposite Plácido Domingo in Detroit. In 1971, she sang Lucia at the Metropolitan Opera.
Robinson remained on the Met roster until 1987 when health issues forced her to stop performing, whereupon she assumed an executive position that put her in charge of young singers for the Met. In 2000, she joined the University of Kentucky as a professor of voice.
www.nytimes.com/2008/10/21/arts/music/21robinson.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
www.obit-mag.com/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5150
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article5009730.ece
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.obituaries/browse_thread/thread/01d72ba80536dc30outside.in/Memphis_TN/tags/gail%20robinson
www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2008/10/23/gail_robinson_at_62_teacher_was_soprano_at_metropolitan_opera
Qatar Forms Its Own Orchestra
The Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra played its first concert Nov. 7 under the direction of guest conductor Lorin Maazel. Managing Director Kurt Meister said the orchestra chose 101 musicians from among 3,000 initial applicants. The orchestra consists of 68 men and 33 women who represent more than 30 nationalities. Music Director Marcel Khalifé, who composed one of the pieces the orchestra played at its opening concert, says he hopes music can help change the world by building bridges between East and West.
The orchestra will not only play regular concerts, but also engage in outreach in the form of school and family concerts.
http://br.sws-con.com/node/730486
Economic Crisis Hits Two Smaller Opera Companies
Michigan Opera Theatre cancelled its forthcoming production of Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci on Oct. 22, said the Detroit News. Citing budget problems, the company also announced staff cuts and other belt-tightening measures. It was the first time Michigan Opera Theatre had canceled a production in its 38-year history.
A few weeks later, the Orange County Register reported that Opera Pacific would not be able to complete its 2008-09 season and might well go out of business. Founded in 1986, the company had been bailed out several times by generous donors, but since ticket sales were very low for the two remaining performances this season, another bailout is unlikely. The company has laid off 18 staff members and put its Santa Ana building up for sale, said the report.
www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081023/ENT01/810230384
www.ocregister.com/articles/opera-company-pacific-2220564-county
Russian Violinist Caught Cheating, Commits Suicide
Serguej Diatchenko, 64, a Russian violinist, teacher, and former student of the late Herbert von Karajan, was found hanged in his Rome apartment in early November, reported scotsman.com.
Diatchenko had been living in Rome for more than 20 years, where he had set up a violin school. The school’s tuition fee was low, and he was happy to supply instruments to a number of his students. The problem? Diatchenko allegedly bought cheap instruments at flea markets and revamped them so they seemed to have been made by master luthiers.
Several students accused him of fraud, and one of his pupils called the police, who raided his shop and seized 197 fiddles, said the report. Police called in a master luthier to determine the worth of various instruments and he judged several of them to be outright fakes, the report said. Realizing that his arrest was most likely imminent, Diatchenko apparently committed suicide.
Sadly, another accomplished violinist, Diatchenko’s 13-year-old daughter, found his body, said the report.
www.violinist.com/discussion/response.cfm?ID=14864
news.scotsman.com/world/Violinist-hangs-himself-after-scam.4652881.jp
Lepage Brings New Techniques to the Met
Canadian stage director Robert Lepage learned many new techniques when he worked on Cirque de Soleil’s show KÀ at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, reports the Associated Press. Since then, he has used some of the advanced methodology from that show in opera. Lepage has directed Berlioz’s La damnation de Faust and is working on Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen, at the Met.
Lepage uses interactive staging, which involves attaching small transmitters to the performers. The singers’ voices or motions can then trigger video clips. Lepage believes that today’s operatic performances should address its audiences in a cinematic way.
http://lacaserne.net/index2.php/robertlepage/
http://orlando.metromix.com/home/article/opera-director-robert-lepage/755279/
www.cbc.ca/arts/ory/2008/11/07/tllepageladamnationdefaust1107.html
China May Become the Center of the Musical World
The ancient Chinese believed their land was the center of the universe. For today’s classical musicians, China is fast becoming a major power in the musical universe and a good place to look for work. Long Yu, artistic director and chief conductor of the China Philharmonic, now dashes from one concert hall to the next in Beijing, conducting western music for capacity crowds, reports time.com. Tickets sell out in advance and any leftovers are the property of newly minted Chinese scalpers.
Maestro Long says that 50 million Chinese students are now studying classical instruments, so China will someday be one of the world’s largest consumers of classical music, said the report.
www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1855684,00.html
www.naxos.com/orchestrainfo/Beijing_Central_Philharmonic_Orchestra/46804.htm
www.chinatoday.com.cn/English/e2005/e200501/p57.htm
www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/02/asia/china.php
Pasadena Orchestras Lay Off Executives
The Orchestras of Pasadena, Calif. have canceled two concerts, laid off two top administrators, and issued an emergency appeal for funds, says the organization’s website, pasadenasymphony.org. “We’re wounded, but planning to fight the fight,” said Jean Horton, board member and financial consultant. Every board member left the last meeting ready to make fundraising phone calls, said the press release.
The orchestras are now on a pay-as-you-go plan, but hope to have the funding to play a Wagner and Tchaikovsky program this month, said the release.
www.pasadenasymphony.org/
