Met Resumes Live HD Transmissions
The “Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD” broadcasts will return to movie theaters around the world Oct. 11 through May 9, 2009, featuring 11 operas shown in up to 800 venues. New countries that will get the broadcasts include Mexico, Argentina, Costa Rica, Hungary, Serbia, Croatia, and Ireland. The Met also plans to show films of the live broadcasts on cruise ships this year.
The operas, all to be broadcast on Saturdays, include:
• Oct.11, R. Strauss’ Salome
• Nov. 8, Adams’ Dr. Atomic
• Nov. 22, Berlioz’ La Damnation de Faust
• Dec. 20, Massenet’s Thais
• Jan. 10, Puccini’s La rondine
• Jan. 24, Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice
• Feb. 7, Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor
• March 7, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly
• March 21, Bellini’s La sonnambula
• May 9, Rossini’s La Cenerentola
www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/news/press/detail.aspx?id=3810
Puccini May Have More Than One Grandchild
Giacomo Puccini, the composer of La bohéme and Madama Butterfly, was known to have a roving eye, despite being married. Nadia Manfredi of Pisa is asking for a DNA comparison between samples she wants taken from the composer and her late father, whom she believes to be Puccini’s son, reports the Times Online. Nadia’s grandmother, Giulia, had an affair with Puccini, so it is possible that her child, Antonio, could have been an unacknowledged Puccini heir.
Giacomo Giovannoni also claims to be a grandchild because his father, Claudio, was the son of a Puccini maid who may have had an affair with her employer. Giovannoni is also requesting a DNA test.
Needless to say, Simonetta Puccini, the composer’s granddaughter by marriage, is outraged and plans to fight the assault on her position as the composer’s only living heir.
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4425856.ece
Hearst Foundation Makes Grant to Houston Grand Opera
The William Randolph Hearst Foundation awarded $250,000 to Houston Grand Opera in July to support per-formances for students and workshops for teachers. The opera company will spend the money over a period of three years on community-oriented programs that form the company’s response to the decline in performing arts instruction at local schools.
Student performances will include High School Night at the Opera, featuring student performances of mainstage operas and pertinent teacher training. During the 2008-2009 season, youngsters will be able to see Berlioz’ Béatrice et Bénédict at greatly reduced prices.
www.houstongrandopera.org/page.aspx?pageid=12017617
Stay Safe When You Travel
Passengers cannot carry self-defense preparations such as pepper spray onto an airplane, but they may be able to pack them in their checked luggage. Guardian Self Defense and Security Products says passengers may include up to four ounces of pepper spray in a checked bag. Other personal protection devices may also be permitted, under the right circumstances, says the company.
www.tsa.gov/travelers/prohibited/permitted-prohibited-items.shtm
New Orchestra Formed in United Arab Emirates
German-born pianist and conductor Philip Maier has founded a brand new orchestra in Dubai, reports the Arab Emirates newspaper the National. Many famous musical groups have toured to the Emirates, but now, for the first time, the Emirates has its own. Maier says that people in Dubai, where everything is focused on the economy, are looking for something with soul. He believes that an orchestra is the perfect vehicle for reflecting the culture of any society, says the report.
Two years ago, Maier saw the need in Dubai and answered it by finding capable musicians who already live in the area. In February of 2006 he had six musicians, now he has a full complement of 75. Before coming to the United Arab Emirates, Maier spent six years as the conductor of South Africa’s Durban Philharmonic.
www.thenational.ae/article/20080726/ART/275450178/1083/rss
Another Newspaper Loses its Music Critic
Like many other big-city newspapers, the Miami Herald will be devoting less space to music reviews than it has in the past. The paper’s classical music critic, Lawrence Johnson, received an “involuntary buyout” said to amount to eight weeks worth of severance pay, several websites report.
This current tendency among newspapers to diminish arts coverage gives the average theatergoer less guidance in choosing performances to attend and leaves the theaters that put on serious shows with fewer publications to evaluate their hard work.
One happy exception to this trend is the Washington Post, which recently changed Anne Midgette’s designation from interim critic to permanent staff classical music critic, said the report.
www.artsjournal.com/artsjournal1/2008/06/latest_casualty.shtml
Are You Searching for the ‘Opera Caffé’?
Caffé Taci, the New York City opera restaurant that was transported downtown to Greenwich Village not too long ago, has moved again, this time to midtown. It is now part of Papillon’s, a French bistro and bar at 22 East 54th Street, just east of Fifth Avenue. Opera nights are Fridays and Saturdays at the Salon des Artistes. The restaurant’s website features menus and pictures from previous Opera Nights.
www.caffetaci.com
