Rest in Peace, Astrid Varnay
On September 4, 2006, renowned Wagner and Strauss interpreter Astrid Varnay died in Munich, Germany. She was 88 years old.
The daughter of a tenor and a coloratura soprano, she was born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1918. Later, her family moved to the U.S. and she began her career at the Metropolitan Opera where she was hired as a cover in 1940 despite the fact she had little stage experience. She made her sensational debut as Sieglinde on the December 6, 1941, broadcast of Wagner’s Die Walküre. Six days later she sang Brünnhilde in the same production. She was only 23 years old.
She was such a charismatic figure on stage that when Wieland Wagner was criticized for his bare-stage productions in post war Bayreuth, he replied, “Why do I need a tree when I have Astrid Varnay?”
Although she was an American citizen, she lived the second half of her life in Munich. Her autobiography entitled Fifty-Five Years in Five Acts: My Life in Opera, as told to Donald Arthur, was published in 1998.
http://66.187.153.86/archives/frame.htm
http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~kimkemmis/av/Varnay%20Biography.htm
www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=Handelmania
Classical Music Popular on British Train
According to British magazine Gramophone, a passenger survey on the Gatwick Express, the train running from London to Gatwick, reveals that the most often chosen selections were Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons and Madonna’s “Holiday.” When subdivided into categories, pop was chosen by 29 percent of riders, classical by 28 percent, rock by 23 percent, jazz by 12 percent, and other forms by the remaining 8 percent.
Gareth Jones, commercial manager of the train service, said he had no idea that the top choice would be split between popular and classical music.
www.gramophone.co.uk/newsListTemplate.asp?newssectionID=1
Opera Fares Well in Southern California
The twentieth anniversary season of Los Angeles Opera, 2005-2006, was its most lucrative ever. Attendance averaged eighty-six percent and box office receipts were $900,000 above expectations. Since the year 2000, the company’s budget has almost doubled, largely due to the ability of General Director Plácido Domingo to attract substantial donations. Although in June, 2006, L.A. Opera had to delay the world premiere of Elliot Goldenthal’s opera Grendel due to technical difficulties. Ultimately, that work brought in $60,000 above its projected income. Its final three performances were completely sold out.
www.losangelesopera.com
New Biography of Lorenzo DaPonte Published
The Librettist of Venice: The Remarkable Life of Lorenzo DaPonte—Mozart’s Poet, Casanova’s Friend and Italian Opera’s Impresario in America is the complete title of Rodney Bolt’s new book. He describes the librettist’s life from his birth in the Jewish Ghetto of Venice through his exploits as an eventually defrocked Catholic priest, his adventures as Mozart’s librettist in Austria, his time in England, to his later life in the New York City area.
It is a well researched look not only at this light hearted, and possibly light fingered, world traveler, but also at the life and customs of the times when some of our most popular operas were written.
www.iht.com/articles/2006/07/24/features/bookmar.php
www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1596911182?v=glance
Watch Out for Rascally Rodents
Finnish National Opera Baritone, Esa Ruuttunen, recently met up with a scampering squirrel while bicycling to work, reports the UK news service Reuters. The animal got caught in the spokes, suffering dire consequences. The singer did not fare very well either. He suffered a concussion and broke his nose, putting him out of rehearsals for the world premiere of Mikko Heinio’s opera Kaarmeen hetki (The Hour of the Serpent).
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-09-04T101242Z_01_L04177758_RTRUKOC_0_UK-SQUIRREL-OPERA.xml
Major Corporations Use Singing Lessons to Motivate Workers
Kathryn Hide and Graham Singleton refer to themselves as corporate singing consultants. They use voice instruction to teach team spirit and improve the presentation skills of individual workers. “It’s a fast way of bringing individuals together, energizing them, and making them more productive,” Singleton says.
These consultants have worked with the Dutch bank ING, the accounting firm Deloitte, and the advertising agency J Walter Thompson, according to The Telegraph in the UK.
www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2006/09/04/cclife04.xml
www.accountancyage.com/news/all
www.financialdirector.co.uk/accountancyage/news/2163491/deloitte-uses-opera-train-staff
Rocker Writes Book on Perception of Music
David Levitin, previous producer for Stevie Wonder and “The Grateful Dead,” opted for a teaching position at McGill University in Montreal some sixteen years ago. Since then he has spent a large portion of his time studying the ways the human brain perceives music. Recently, he published his findings in “This is Your Brain on Music: The Science of Human Obsession.”
Levitin finds that music activates the same parts of the brain as other pleasurable activities such as eating chocolate. This results in the formation of an internal neurochemical cocktail that includes serotonin and dopamine. Thus, music can be an antidepressant.
www.wired.com/news/technology/medtech/0,71631-0.html?tw=wn_index_2
Guzelimian Named Juilliard Dean
On August 23, 2006, Juilliard School of Music president Joseph W. Polisi announced that Ara Guzelimian, current senior director and artistic advisor at Carnegie Hall, will replace Stephen Clapp as dean at the end of the current school year. Clapp will continue as a member of the Violin and Chamber Music Faculty.
www.juilliard.edu/press/082306_guzelimianerelease.pdf
