Opera America Honors Colorado Teacher
Opera America’s 2006 conference in Seattle made a point of honoring Bennett, Colo. music teacher Tresa Waggoner at its May 6 closing session.
When Waggoner played a portion of the video “Who’s Afraid of Opera,” showing an excerpt from Gounod’s Faust to her 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-grade students, parents complained about the depiction of the devil and objected to their children seeing a female singer in a trouser role. As a result, she was suspended from teaching and eventually found it necessary to leave the school district.
Opera America honored her as an advocate for opera who bravely upheld her position in the face of adversity.
www.operaamerica.org/pressroom/closing41906.html
www.fojazz.com/blog/archives/2006/02/the_people_of_b.html
www.playbillarts.com/news/article/4476.html
http://web.morons.org/article.jsp?sectionid=1&id=6856
Volpe Says Goodbye to the Met
After being feted at several fund-raisers, the Metropolitan Opera General Manager Joseph Volpe said farewell to the nation’s leading opera company. At the end of July, Peter Gelb, who has been working with Volpe for some months, will replace him.
Volpe worked at the Met for a total of 42 years. He guided the company through four world premieres, 22 house premieres and 47 new productions.
His memoirs, The Toughest Show on Earth, My Rise and Reign at the Metropolitan Opera, were published in May 2006.
www.playbillarts.com/news/article/4165.html
www.nytimes.com/2006/04/30/arts/music/30waki.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/season/production.aspx?id=8651&detect=yes
Even in Opera, Sometimes Less is More
Tito Gobbi loved the way Verdi ended Act I of Rigoletto. He was thoroughly enchanted with the power of “Ah, la maledizione!” After singing the words at a dress rehearsal, he performed a complicated fall down an entire flight of stairs, to the consternation of everyone involved in the production. When the act was over, conductor Tullio Serafin told him that the stunt would be fine for Barnum’s circus but that it was “too much for Verdi.”
http://bassocantante.com/opera/gossip.html
Composer Researches Symphony Orchestra Attendance
Well-known composer Libby Larsen, who has done a great deal of research on the problems of modern American symphony orchestras, recently presented some of her conclusions at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Larsen said that ease of transportation played a large role in the willingness of commuters to attend live concerts. People who live in the suburbs were much more apt to buy tickets for performances that didn’t require a trip to the city.
Larsen also found that most people enjoyed familiar music and were likely to want to hear live renditions of pieces that they had heard on their personal media players.
www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/music/stories/MYSA040906.4J.greenberg.c7b8d1e.html
Elementary School Children Write and Play a Symphony
Members of the Community Youth Preparatory Orchestra in Winchester, Mass. are age 8-12, but that doesn’t mean they can’t write and play their own music. In January, area resident Allen Feinstein, an assistant professor at Northeastern University, asked each of the orchestra members to write a short piece.
A pianist played each completed work for its young composer, so that the student could make corrections. Eventually, Feinstein wove all of the pieces together into a three-movement symphony and the orchestra performed the resulting work in May.
www.townonline.com/acton/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=476023&format=text
Check Your School District’s Music Program Rating
The American Music Conference lists the 100 school districts that, according to its survey, have the best music programs. If yours is not among those mentioned, the website features numerous articles that might help you increase the musicality of your own children. It addresses the dissemination of many different kinds of musical knowledge among various age groups.
www.amc-music.org/news/articles/survey/final2006.htm
Online Reviews Include Sound Samples
ThePhiladelphia Inquirer’s website is experimenting with the addition of sound samples to its online reviews of live concerts. Sound samples have long been a part of the paper’s online CD reviews.
The “Inquirer” can put such a review together easily, if the concert or opera is being recorded. Excerpts must not exceed a total of three minutes so as not to infringe on copyright laws. A written critique, together with photos and sound files, can give the reader—or a prospective employer—a good idea of the quality of a performance.
www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/14420107.htm
Symphonic Downloads May Soon be Available
Some 50 orchestra managers are in talks that could mean their orchestra’s recordings will become available for downloading, says Ohio.com. The reports says Gary Hanson, chair of the Orchestra Managers’ Media Committee of the American Symphony Orchestra League, says talks are now in progress between the orchestras and the American Federation of Musicians that should lead to an agreement on self-produced recordings. Agreement on this issue would mean that orchestras could supply downloads of their music for iPods and similar devices, Ohio.com reports.
In the story, Hanson says orchestras must supply music in the manner that is most attractive to customers, adding that more classical music buyers purchase recordings online than in record stores, so downloads may well be the way to go.
www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/entertainment/columnists/elaine_guregian/14465610.htm
