Dear CS: I found both CJ Williamson’s editorial and Ileana Cotrubas’ interview lambasting opera directors quite interesting and thought provoking. [Vol. 13, No. 6, June, 2000] It seems to me, however, that the bottom line of the problem was not identified. Perhaps some small step might be made toward a solution to that problem if we were to all agree on one basic fact: The most important component of opera is MUSIC. The person who has the most important say about how an opera should be staged is the composer, not the librettist, and not the director. This is the basic fact that so many of today’s opera directors have forgotten, if, indeed, they ever learned it. So many of them direct from the script alone, paying no attention to all that information the composer has given them. I am not talking about the stage directions that one often finds in the score (frequently written by the stage director of the premiere); I am talking about the music itself. My problem with Mr. Sellars’ productions has nothing to do with his dramatic vision. I have met him on a few occasions, heard him speak, and find him a brilliant individual. My problem with Mr. Sellars is the fact that he and his productions are unmusical. The elegance of Mozart’s music demands a theatrical point of view that at least makes an attempt to mirror that elegance. I have no problem with changing the time or place of a mis-en-scène providing it is musical and, as Mme. Cotrubas points out, it doesn’t make dramatic situations seem ridiculous. Così fan tutte suffers very little from updating and/or transplanting; I recently conducted a production of that work which was set in Venice in the 1890s. I’ve also conducted a Così set in British imperial India, and I think they both worked quite well. But they were directed by musically sensitive directors who were very careful not to fight with Mozart’s sublime music. A recent production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia, on the other hand, has already become infamous. After all the singing is over in the tag of the allegro, G Major finale ultima, a squadron of soldiers, led by Figaro, enters the stage and shoots Rosina, Almaviva, and Bartolo dead. This director may know that the Beaumarchais trilogy was in some part responsible for inciting the French Revolution, but what could he have heard in Rossini’s music that inspired such a ludicrous idea? (And so much for Le Nozze di Figaro!) The recent Tosca televised from the New York City Opera was all about a slinky Jean Harlow-inspired dress. Never mind the fact that the drama centers on characters whose lives are impacted by real events which took place in the first decade of the nineteenth century. The NYCO production turned Puccini into a bad orchestrator; the composer of the piece I saw on TV would have used saxophones and trombones with wa-wa mutes. Unfortunately, it seems that it is the controversial opera director that gets all the publicity. What a shame! There are so very many really good and musically sensitive opera directors in the world today. CJ Williamson mentioned four of them, and I would like to add to that list Adelaide Bishop, David Bartholomew, Steven Daigle, Michael McConnell, Josh Major, Leon Major, David Gately, Albert Takazauskis, and Will Graham, to name just a few of the very best with whom I have worked. One of those directors, Adelaide Bishop, was once asked in an interview what she was going to do in her production of Rigoletto to make it daring, relevant, and innovative. Without batting an eye, she replied, “I’m going to try to stage it just the way Verdi would have wanted to see it. In this day and age, that’s innovative enough.”
-Benton Hess
Covington Distinguished Professor-University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Professor of Vocal Literature-Eastman School of Music
Musical Director-Tacoma Opera
Faculty-International Vocal Arts Institute, Tel Aviv, Israel
Faculty-Oberlin College Summer Program, Urbania, Italy
Dear CS: I felt so validated when I read the piece on stage directors. I wish more singers would talk openly about it. When I was [singing in a world-famous house] recently, both the director and the conductor both tried to pick on me since I had the smallest part and I did not have my music down pat. They started doing the shame thing on me, the “don’t move” thing: “Just stay still and don’t draw focus” which means “Just be an invisible prop.” I was getting really down until I finally learned a good lesson: Ignore them! I did. I just ignored them. I avoided them whenever I could. I wouldn’t greet them when I came to work. I let them shmooze with each other. And (this was the cool thing) when I spoke to them out of necessity (like they cornered me) I just immediately veered the conversation to them: “Boy you look all aglow! Did the orchestra reading go well?” “How can you look so fresh when I know you must be hanging lights all night!” It made me feel better, I got more work done and ultimately I got a great review and more importantly, I gave better performances because I had a chance to play with the role the way I wanted to without [negativity] hurling past my thoughts while I was on stage. We don’t have to please them! We don’t have to digest their insults. If someone dares to mock you, don’t inhale the insult. Instead, point out that person’s abject rudeness. Here are some of my favorite ways to do that: 1) What a lovely thing to say to me. 2) Don’t hold back. Tell me what you really think of my performing. 3) I thought you were supposed to be nice to people if you want them to do what you want 4) Did you really just say that? 5) I am sorry, I can’t hear you. (This is my favorite.) 6) Yes, yes I know you think I am inadequate. Let’s just pretend I did it right and move on!
It is our butts up there trying to give people a piece of energy straight from God. Don’t let them get in your way. Use them to help you figure out what you need to know visually and ignore them for everything else. -Name Withheld
Dear CS: Seems to me this diatribe on stage directors is chock full of blame. Many directors are passionate about their art and that passion is misconstrued as anger, sarcasm, and the like. I still believe a professional can go through the rehearsal process trying to discover the impetus of the director but, in the final anaylsis, she gets to decide what she does on stage and there isn’t a thing the director can do about it. If it is authentic, it will sell. At least that’s been my experience. Also, I don’t think directors and singers are nearly as often at odds as you portray. Now, I’m not naive about this. I have had directors be frankly, inappropriate and childish, but these traits can be found in people with “power” across the board. A professional knows that this will pass and does what he needs to be artistic despite it. Just my thoughts for what they’re worth. Thanks for opening the subject. -Verdibari
These three letters are just a sampling of those received. It is interesting to note that the male singers seem to report few unmanageable problems but the females have, to date, all reported significant issues. Now there’s an interesting study waiting to be done. Anyone need a doctoral dissertation topic? -Editor
Alan S. Gordon and Hope for AGMA
Dear CS: The shroud of mystery with AGMA is more than frustrating. I have sung with a major symphony chorus (1991-1995) as a volunteer (it is 50% paid; 50% volunteer), and since then I’ve been on their active supplemental chorus list (used to be called the wait list), even though I’ve never been called. While I was volunteering, our AGMA reps were introduced to us and we were encouraged to contact these people if we had any questions. I remember calling several times to a rep and never receiving even a courtesy phone call in return. I really feel helpless, because if you say a negative word you have the feeling that all avenues of performing will be closed to you thereafter. I get the feeling that the only hope of my ever being paid in this city for the excellent job I do, would be if a soprano dies leaving a vacancy (God forbid). I’m really confused about what a union is, if it’s not for us. I appreciate very much your efforts to provide a trusting environment toward singers. I particularly am impressed with the commitment to honesty, integrity and honor that is apparent in the spin of your articles and your general presentation of ideas. Thanks so much! We really need more of that in this business-and for that matter- in the world. May God bless you and your magazine with future successes. -Name Withheld
As I was editing these letters, several thousand other singers and I received a wonderful mailing from the new Executive Director, Alan S. Gordon. He appears to be someone who prefers to actually name problems and then work on solutions. I’m cheering the man! Here are a few amazing quotes from his letter: “…many members continue to feel disenfranchised. Some AGMA collective bargaining agreements are superb, while others are out of date and unwieldly. Moreover, AGMA has not done a particularly good job with contract enforcement, protection of members’ rights or maintaining an efficient and member-friendly administrative operation….many remain among the most poorly paid and badly treated of performers.” After reading his letter, I think we have great cause to hope that we are going to see some big changes. Classical Singer would love to help and will try to schedule a meeting with them. It would be so wonderful if we could start working together. Keep your fingers crossed. -Editor
Dear CS: Thanks so much for your inspiring article about victim mentality in the April issue [Vol. 13, No. 4] . It is so easy to fall into that mindset. I’m always trying to find ways to be constructive. In fact, reading your article has given me an idea for the magazine that I’d like to share with you. I would like to create a feature for the magazine that lists upcoming performances by smaller NY companies. I know that from time to time you’ve done profiles on small (usually NY area) companies. I always enjoy finding out about a new company, or reading about folks I know, but I never see a notice about when those companies are performing. I also enjoy the reviews you’ve recently added, but again, I’ve missed the performances. There is no central source for this information in this city that I am aware of. Once in awhile, I’ll see that some company has been listed in New York Magazine or in the New Yorker or The Times, but mostly I see notices for the Met and City Opera, and that’s all. Why not publish information about the other wonderful companies in this town where people who are obviously opera lovers will read it? I think this would be a great service to your readers for many reasons. The first, most obvious benefit for the Classical Singer community is that people will know about their upcoming shows. I often don’t hear about a show unless someone I know in the cast sends me a notice. Companies seem to rely on the singers to promote the show themselves. This often results in a small audience of supportive family and friends, but no new exposure for the singers. I think that if the information were made available to the greater community through your publication, audiences would increase in quantity and quality. (And the company might actually make some money and be able to pay the singers.) By attending a performance, singers not only support and learn from their colleagues; they are able to be better informed about which companies are doing great work. I think seeing a company perform is the best way to get a sense of their values and find out where you might fit in. Not to mention having the names of the people that might hire you in your hot little hand as you leave with the program. Who wouldn’t read a cover letter personally addressed to them that begins “I loved your company’s production of …” -Lucille Windsor
Your proactive response to this problem is wonderful and your idea is a sound one. However, listing New York performances in the magazine wouldn’t be appreciated by people outside the area. The solution we found is website-based where singers/audiences can look up performances in their own locality. Enter Classical Singer’s Performance Directory! For a small yearly fee, singers can enter all their performances, past/present/future into a living, growing résumé which also can let people know where singers will be performing. The more singers who keep their information up-to-date, the better the system will work. As I’m writing this, it is in beta testing. We will let everyone know via e-mail when it is ready. Are you on our e-mail notification list? It’s free. Sign up at www.egroups.com/subscribe/CSCommunity. -Editor
Singer Taxes in France
Dear CS: The Bastille has just told us that, starting retroactively to last year, they are not able to withhold enough from singers’ paychecks (although they are nominally a state institution!). Thus, even though we are not residents or citizens, we Americans must file taxes for our work in France, and probably pay even more once they decide how much we owe. There is no set amount of tax taken out as in every other country in the EU. Hopefully that will change with the new EU rules, etc. But in any case, this is why singers have gotten huge bills from the French government for back taxes they didn’t know they owed, thought had already been deducted, and that nobody bothered to tell them they needed to file. I’m going to have to find a French accountant to declare my French taxes from 1994 on, since the penalties and taxes these two friends of mine had were for years back to 1994. They told [one friend] she had to pay over 30,000$ within the next month. [Another] wrote to his congressman, the ambassador, and won’t perform in France until they figure this out. I even called the French IRS when I was in Paris last and told them I needed to talk to someone about the taxes I owed, and they asked me “Are you a French citizen?” -no – “Are you a French resident?” – no – ” Are your taxes deducted from your paycheck?” – yes. – “So you don’t need to declare taxes in France,” they told me. I had to beg, explain and plead to talk to someone else, since the entire amount is not deducted from my paycheck. And the financial people at the opera said they have begged the treasury or whatever department to increase the amount that’s deducted, but the government refuses. Also, in France, I have found out that if you work in France as an artist, you get enrolled in the French pension plan. So remember your info when you get into retirement age. And remember that the Conges Spectacle (the “vacation money” fund) is not taken from your paycheck, as I erroneously said in an earlier email, but is put in the fund by your employer. But it can be a sizeable sum, depending on how much money you made, so don’t forget to fill out your forms and send them in within a year. It’s usually a month before tax declaration in the US, so it’s a bit frustrating to figure out, but it’s worth it in the long run. I got three thousand dollars in vacation money one year! -Name Withheld
