“I think that there will be an increased desire in the future to hear great singing again. Certain operas rise and fall on having the requisite vocal chops, and no degree of theatrical energy or physical glamor can replace this.” So says is IMG Artists Vice President and Artist Manager Matthew A. Horner (known affectionately around these parts as “Little Matthew”) in an interview just published on the arts marketing blog Life’s a Pitch.
Here’s the solution to the Elfte Brautnacht! vocal ID quiz:
Congratulations to S.L., who was first with the correct answers.
La Cieca will admit that the snippet of Mary Costa included in the quiz catches this lovely soprano in something less than her best form. So let’s hear Miss Costa on a better day, as Rosalinda in a performance from 1967.
Opera Chic reports this morning that Gerard Mortier is throwing his hat in the, uh, Ring for the co-directorship of the Bayreuth Festival. The Belgian intendant is reportedly teaming up with Nike Wagner to apply for the top Bayreuth spot to be vacated as soon as it can be pried from Wolfgang Wagner’s cold dead fingers. (And he’s not even dead yet, so don’t hold your breath.)
The Mortier/Nike partnership is considered a dark horse for the job, with the odds-on favorite the team comprised of Wolfgang’s daughters Katharina Wagner and Eva Wagner-Pasquier.
Three-time World’s Best-selling Canadian Female Recording Artist of the Year Céline Dion apparently has not come to her senses in the eight months that have passed since her Las Vegas farewell. As La Cieca warned you last year, the québécoise canary is planning a crossover into the cinema, specifically a biopic in which she, Céline Dion, will portray her idol Maria Callas.
Now, don’t panic, filming hasn’t started yet and there’s still plenty of time to get a violent protest movement organized. Still, Dion’s Divina continues in development, according to La Presse:
Céline Dion a chanté pour Kent Nagano à Berlin, en juin. «On voulait voir si Céline est capable de chanter de l’opéra,» explique René Angélil [i.e., Monsieur Dion]. «Si elle doit faire le film sur Maria Callas (avec la productrice Denise Robert), il faut qu’elle y chante, sinon ça ne sera pas intéressant.»
La Dion went into her audition with Nagano imbued with the enormous self-confidence for which she is celebrated. Says Céline:
«Moi, sans prétention, je peux tout faire, mais il faut que je me prépare. Nagano m’a demandé si je connaissais tel ou tel opéra, si je lisais la musique. Par trois fois, j’ai répondu non; ça partait mal, mon affaire! Mais il m’a tout de suite mis à l’aise en me disant que Pavarotti, je pense, ne lisait pas la musique lui non plus.»
Finalement, je lui ai chanté deux extraits de Carmen de Bizet que je connaissais. Je lui ai dit que j’étais mezzo-soprano. Ilm’a répondu: ‘Je ne pense pas. Tout ce que vous venez de chanter, c’est soprano’.»
And Nagano’s reaction to Céline’s Seguidille? Angélil exults, «Après l’avoir écoutée, Kent Nagano lui a suggéré deux choses: des leçons de chant et une classe de maître avec une grande chanteuse d’opéra (la soprano italienne Renata Scotto).»
Our previous Regie quiz depicted (as Nerva Nelli so quickly guessed) Verdi’s Aida, in a production by Christopher Alden for the Deutsche Oper Berlin.
And now, cher public, our weekly edition of Name that Regie. Remember, if you have seen the production or otherwise recognize the photos, please remain silent while others guess the answer!
“Alex, age 4, clearly in love with what he’s hearing and seeing.”
That bloggeress La Cieca likes to think of as “like a young me,” OperaChic, is currently and brilliantly following up on the controversy sparked by Lorin Maazel’s grumpy condemnation of those darn newfangled stage directors who won’t get out of his yard. Consarn it. Joining Maazel in tying an onion to his belt is the doyen of operatic media whores, Franco Zeffirelli. And now the young ‘uns are answering back, more in sorrow than in anger
Several of you cher public have been kind enough to forward to me an email from Peter Gelb offering the Met’s apology for the debacle of the first day of subscriber ticket exchanges. Though La Cieca has sneered a bit at the Buoso Donati contingent, she certainly can understand why loyal subscribers might feel that this email is somewhat “too little, too late.” It does seem that so sweeping a change in the exchange system could have been handled more transparently, and, more to the point, more consistently.
La Cieca has heard numerous complaints that subscribers were given conflicting information by Met personnel, especially about trades involving the more in-demand new productions like Thaïs and La rondine. At this point there doesn’t seem to be any evidence that there was a concerted effort by the Met to hold these tickets back for later single sale, but when the policy is not made crystal-clear and observed consistently, there’s always the chance of the perception that something underhanded is going on.
In a way, Gelb reminds La Cieca of New York’s dear Mayor Michael Bloomberg in that both these gentlemen transitioned from the private sector, where leaders can get away with acting in a rather dictatorial fashion, into a more public arena where one has to be careful not to come off like a bully. Of course, the dictatorial style is handy for getting things done quickly and efficiently, but sometimes at the expense of long-term goodwill. Mayor Bloomberg has learned, La Cieca thinks, to moderate his tactics so that his leadership feels more like it’s based on consensus. Mr. Gelb might benefit from emulating the mayor’s newfound management style.
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