Opera News articles from January 2005

Opera News archives from January 2005

Telling fortunes.(Viewpoint)
January 1, 2005... On October 29, the Metropolitan Opera announced the appointment of a new general manager, Peter Gelb, who will succeed outgoing general manager Joseph Volpe in 2006. Undoubtedly, Gelb's professional experience as a manager and recording-company...

1-3. On Saturday, October 30, LYRIC OPERA OF CHICAGO celebrated its golden-jubilee season with a 50TH ANNIVERSARY GALA CONCERT at the Civic Opera House.(Opera watch)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... 1-3. On Saturday, October 30, LYRIC OPERA OF CHICAGO celebrated its golden-jubilee season with a 50TH ANNIVERSARY GALA CONCERT at the Civic Opera House. Among the distinguished guests attending as "jubilarians" were CARLO BERGONZI, REGINE...

4. Rene Pape will be the special guest artist in the January 28 recital, "A Feast of Folksongs," to be presented at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall by the Marilyn Horne Foundation as part of its annual festival The Song Continues.... 2005.(Opera watch)
January 1, 2005... 4. RENE PAPE will be the special guest artist in the January 28 recital, "A Feast of Folksongs," to be presented at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall by the MARILYN HORNE FOUNDATION as part of its annual festival The Song Continues.... 2005. Other...

5. On January 28, at Lisner Auditorium of George Washington University, Washington National Opera will present the world premiere of Democracy, a comic opera by composer Scott Wheeler, with a libretto by Obie-winning playwright Romulus Linney.(Opera watch)
January 1, 2005... 5. On January 28, at Lisner Auditorium of George Washington University, WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA will present the world premiere of DEMOCRACY, a comic opera by composer SCOTT WHEELER, with a libretto by Obie-winning playwright ROMULUS LINNEY....

6. Director Stephen Wadsworth, whose Met-debut production of Handel's Rodelinda has its last performance of the season on January 6, will return to Seattle Opera in the summer to direct the company's revival of his 2001 Ring cycle at Marion Oliver McCaw Hall.(Opera watch)
January 1, 2005... 6. Director STEPHEN WADSWORTH, whose Met-debut production of Handel's Rodelinda has its last performance of the season on January 6, will return to Seattle Opera in the summer to direct the company's revival of his 2001 Ring cycle at Marion...

On Wednesday, January 12, at 8 p.m., Thirteen/WNET's Great Performances will present the New York Philharmonic's semi-staged performance of Leonard Bernstein's Candide, taped at Avery Fisher Hall in May 2004.(Opera watch)
January 1, 2005... 7. On Wednesday, January 12, at 8 P.M., Thirteen/WNET's Great Performances will present the New York Philharmonic's semi-staged performance of Leonard Bernstein's CANDIDE, taped at Avery Fisher Hall in May 2004. MARIN ALSOP conducts a cast...

Brown's thrilling Met debut as Aida makes the front page of The New York Times; for 2005, a shifting of gears at Wexford Festival Opera.(On the Beat)(Interview)
January 1, 2005... On October 29, ANGELA BROWN'S Aida provided Met audiences with the best house debut since ANNA NETREBKO's, in War and Peace in 2001. After a nervous beginning, Brown gave a fresh, thoughtful, highly musical account of "Ritorna vincitor." She...

Reunion: Joan Ingpen.
January 1, 2005... For a number of years in the 1970s '80s, Joan Ingpen was one of the most influential figures on the American opera scene. As artistic administrative director and assistant manager at the Metropolitan Opera, she was a kind of one-woman central...

Returning champion: first, he was the great hope of dramatic tenors. Then he hit a bad vocal patch, and the buzz was that his career was all but over. Now, Ben Heppner is back, and in fighting shape.(Cover Story)
January 1, 2005... The chorus wails its fear as Otello's ship battles the storm, wondering whether their hero will sink or sail. At the same moment, similar thoughts run through the Metropolitan Opera House audience concerning the singer about to essay the role....

The Metropolitan Opera.(Save the Met Broadcasts)
January 1, 2005... Dear Met Broadcast Listeners, Our 2004-05 Broadcast Season has begun--"live from the stage of The Metropolitan Opera House ill New York City? These broadcasts are a gilt from our home to your home. I cannot give enough thanks to all...

Staying alive.
January 1, 2005... In the early 1990s, a short girl with an enormous voice burst onto the Met stage, forcing audiences to sit up and take notice. Her visceral interpretations of roles such as Aida and even the Third Norn (her 1990 debut) quickly earned her a...

Twice-told tale.
January 1, 2005... Certain facts of life can be quite discouraging. One such fact for opera-lovers is that no singing voice, no matter how great, can be captured accurately on recordings. One can hear the difference of voices and singing methods between Callas...

Demystifying Debussy: on the surface, Pelleas et Melisande seems the most delicate of scores--but over the years, a number of fine conductors have given it an aggressive, muscular treatment.(Critical Essay)
January 1, 2005... Understated, ambiguous, muted, elusive, insinuating--Debussy's Pelleas et Melisande is held up famously as the quintessential "Impressionistic" opera, a musical counterpart to the artwork of Monet, Manet, Pissarro, Redon, Degas and Renoir. Like...

Power surge: Nabucco's Abigaille may be a notorious voice-wrecker, but Susan Neves has tamed it and made it her own.(Interview)
January 1, 2005... Susan Neves has sung Abigaille in Berlin, Paris, Vienna, Genoa, Montreal, Munich, Santiago, Parma and New York, and her most recent triumph in the role, at last July's Choregies d'Orange, only confirmed her true dramatic-soprano qualities,...

Mario! Mario! On January 13, Opera News presents a tribute to Hollywood's best-loved tenor at Alice Tully Hall. RONALD BOWERS recalls Mario Lanza's brief but blazing career.
January 1, 2005... The classical-music press never took Mario Lanza all that seriously, and whether he could have forged a legitimate career in opera is arguable. But with starring roles in eight films, and through dozens of recordings, he became a major...

Otello.(Metropolitan Opera)(Radio Program Review)
January 1, 2005... BROADCAST OF JANUARY 8, 2005, 1:30 P.M. THE METROPOLITAN OPERA INTERNATIONAL RADIO NETWORK THE 2004-05 METROPOLITAN OPERA BROADCAST SEASON IS MADE POSSIBLE BY GENEROUS GRANTS FROM THE ANNENBERG FOUNDATION AND THE VINCENT A. STABILE FOUNDATION...

Les Contes D'Hoffmann.(Metropolitan Opera)(Radio Program Review)
January 1, 2005... BROADCAST OF JANUARY 15, 2005, 1:30 P.M. THE METROPOLITAN OPERA INTERNATIONAL RADIO NETWORK THE 2004-05 METROPOLITAN OPERA BROADCAST SEASON IS MADE POSSIBLE BY GENEROUS GRANTS FROM THE ANNENBERG FOUNDATION AND THE VINCENT A. STABILE FOUNDATION...

Aida.(Historic Broadcasts)(Radio Program Review)
January 1, 2005... BROADCAST OF JANUARY 22, 2005, 1:30 P.M. THE METROPOLITAN OPERA INTERNATIONAL RADIO NETWORK THE 2004-05 METROPOLITAN OPERA BROADCAST SEASON IS MADE POSSIBLE BY GENEROUS GRANTS FROM THE ANNENBERG FOUNDATION AND THE VINCENT A. STABILE FOUNDATION...

Turandot.(Metropolitan Opera)(Radio Program Review)
January 1, 2005... BROADCAST OF JANUARY 29, 2005, 1:30 P.M. THE METROPOLITAN OPERA INTERNATIONAL RADIO NETWORK THE 2004-05 METROPOLITAN OPERA BROADCAST SEASON IS MADE POSSIBLE BY GENEROUS GRANTS FROM THE ANNENBERG FOUNDATION AND THE VINCENT A. STABILE...

Pelleas Et Melisande.(Metropolitan Opera)(Radio Program Review)
January 1, 2005... BROADCAST OF FEBRUARY 5, 2005, 1:30 P.M. THE METROPOLITAN OPERA INTERNATIONAL RADIO NETWORK THE 2004-05 METROPOLITAN OPERA BROADCAST SEASON IS MADE POSSIBLE BY GENEROUS GRANTS FROM THE ANNENBERG FOUNDATION AND THE VINCENT A. STABILE...

New York City.(North America)(Die Zauberflote)(Opera Review)
January 1, 2005... The Metropolitan Opera turned a brave new corner on October 8 with the first performance of Julie Taymor's company-debut production of Mozart's Die Zauberflote. Not since the late John Dexter invaded the house thirty-one years ago had the Met...

Seattle.(North America)(Rigoletto)(Opera Review)
January 1, 2005... A huge image of Il Duce projected on a drop-curtain during the prelude to Act I left little doubt as to where and when Seattle Opera's production of Rigoletto (seen October 16) was to be set: this was the Italy of Benito Mussolini in the late...

Houston.(North America)(Madama Butterfly)(Opera Review)
January 1, 2005... Patricia Racette delivered a stunning star performance in Houston Grand Opera's Madama Butterfly, the opening production of HGO'S fiftieth-anniversary season (seen October 22). With power, nuance and a wonderful flair for vocal color, Racette...

Chicago.(North America)(Aida)(Opera Review)
January 1, 2005... Aida may be the quintessential operatic warhorse--a sure crowd-pleaser, with an endless array of melody, potential for scenic display and beautifully crafted major roles that provide singers with ample opportunity for technical exhibition. The...

Boston.(North America)(La Vie Parisienne)(Opera Review)
January 1, 2005... If young people today had friends like Gardefeu and Bobinet in La Vie Parisienne, internet dating might become a thing of the past. After all, how can staring at a screen in search of a hookup compare with the promise of champagne, can-cans and...

Vancouver.(North America)(Der Rosenkavalier)(Opera Review)
January 1, 2005... The Der Rosenkavalier (seen Oct. 23) that was called "the largest and most lavish" production in the history of Vancouver Opera clearly was intended to mark a turning point in the company's fortunes. Vancouver had made a headline-grabbing coup...

Paris.(International)(La Grande-Duchesse de Gerolstein)(Opera Review)
January 1, 2005... The Chatelet launched its opera season on the anniversary of Offenbach's death (October 5) with a new production of La Grande-Duchesse de Gerolstein, using the same triumvirate--soprano Felicity Lott, conductor Marc Minkowski and producer...

London.(International)(La Forza del Destino)(Opera Review)
January 1, 2005... Royal Opera's new production of La Forza del Destino (seen October 18) followed a spectacular falling-out between two major theaters. The staging, first seen at La Scala, was announced as a coup at last season's ROH press conference, with the...

Vienna.(International)(Don Carlos)(Opera Review)
January 1, 2005... Peter Konwitschny offers Regietheater at its best in Vienna State Opera's Don Carlos (seen October 18), billed as the world premiere of Verdi's original version, which restores cuts made before the opera's 1867 Paris debut. With one...

Barcelona.(International)(Boris Godunov)(Opera Review)
January 1, 2005... The worldwide movement to return Baroque operas to their original length usually means producing much longer performances. But in the case of Boris Godunov, the road to authenticity leads to a much shorter--and more vibrant, more focused--work....

Turin.(International)(Opera Review)
January 1, 2005... In 1996, the Teatro Regio staged a production of La Boheme to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the opera's first performance. The staging, by director Giuseppe Patroni Griffi and scenographer Aldo Terlizzi, featured a largely veteran...

January online edition of Opera News.(In Review)
January 1, 2005... NORTH AMERICA: Met revivals of La Boheme, Aida and Cav/Pag; NYCO Carmelites; BAM presents The Temptation of St. Anthony; DiCapo season opens with Falstaff', La Traviata in Pittsburgh; Baltimore's Fanciulla; Turandot at Virginia Opera; Carmen in...

Classic best: Sony presents a Domingo collection that shows off three decades' worth of beautiful singing.(Recordings)(Sound Recording Review)
January 1, 2005... Placido Domingo * "THE ESSENTIAL PLACIDO DOMINGO" Arias and songs by Verdi, Puccini, Donizetti, Giordano, Cilia, Massenet, Mascagni, R. Strauss, Mahler and others. Sony Classical/Legacy SK92846 (2) One of the music world's genuine...

Verdi: Falstaff.(concert performances of operas by Giuseppe Verdi)
January 1, 2005... VERDI: Falstaff Ibarra, Domashenko, Henschel, Moreno; Pertusi, C. Alvarez, Bezduz, Elliott, Hoare, Jeffrey; London Symphony Orchestra, Davis. LSO Live LSO0055 (2) For the past few years, Colin Davis and the London Symphony Orchestra have...

Rossini: Le Comte Ory.(Sound Recording Review)
January 1, 2005... ROSSINI: Le Comte Ory gonfadelli, Bevacqua, Todorovitch, De Liso; Florez, Pratico, Miles; Prague Chamber Choir; Orchestra de/Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Lopez-Cobos. Deutsche Grammophon B0002923-02 (2) The 2003 Rossini Opera Festival in...

Berkeley: a Dinner Engagement.(one act opera by Lennox Berkeley)
January 1, 2005... BERKELEY: A Dinner Engagement Kenny, Rutter, Rigby, Collins; Leggate, Fischer, Williams; City of London Sinfonia, Hickox. Texts and trans/ations. Chandos 10219 The best parties always converge in the kitchen, and so does the action in...

Lachenmann: Das Madchen mit den Schwefelholzern.
January 1, 2005... LACHENMANN: Das Madchen mit den Schwefetholzern * Morikawa, Tibbels; Lachenmann (speaker); Sugawara, Hemmi, pianos, Miyata, sho; SWR Vokalememble Stuttgart, SWR Sirfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, Cambreling. No text or translation....

Bolcom: Songs of Innocence and of Experience.(William Bolcom)
January 1, 2005... BOLCOM: Songs of Innocence and of Experience * Brewer, Brueggergosman, Davidson, Hohenfdd, Pelton, Morris, Simpson; Dung, Ford, Graham, Ruth; University Musical Society, University of Michigan School of Music Symphony Orchestra, Slatkin....

Vivaldi: Motets.(motets composed by Antonio Vivaldi)
January 1, 2005... * Ciofi; Europa Galante/Biondi. Text and translation. Virgin Classics 45704 These motets are not the polyphonic choral pieces familiar from college glee club but solo pieces on liturgical themes or intended for liturgical use. Vivaldi's...

Schubert: Winterreise.(renditions from Franz Schubert)
January 1, 2005... * Bostridge; Andsnes, piano. Texts and translations. EMI Classics 7243 5 57790 2 1 It takes a lot of courage to record Schubert's peerless, devastating Winterreise: fully ninety-five (in and out of print) CDs are listed at a Winterreise...

Isabel Bayrakdarian.(Isabel Bayrakdarian's beautifully modulated soprano voice in Cleopatra)(Opera Review)
January 1, 2005... Isabel Bayrakdarian * "CLEOPATRA" Arias by Graun, Hasse, Handel, Mattheson. Tafdrnusik Baroque Orchestra, Larnon. Texts and translations. CBC Records SMCD 5233 Isabel Bayrakdarian's beautifully modulated soprano voice is brilliant on...

Matthew Polenzani.(Opera Review)
January 1, 2005... * "LIVE AT THE VERBIER FESTIVAL & ACADEMY" Songs by Rossini, Pizzetti, Pedrotti, Schubert, Poulenc, Finzi. Vignoles, piano. Texts and translations. VAI Audio VAIA 1238 The little Swiss town of Verbier, once sleepy out of ski season, has...

January online edition of Opera News.(Recording)
January 1, 2005... New recordings of works by Cluck, Haydn and Bernstein; historic performances of Meistersinger, Semiramide and The Bassarids; Price sings Barber; Caruso remastered; Flagstad in recital; tenor torch songs; Sequentia's Lost Songs of a Rhineland...

The best of the year.
January 1, 2005... FULL MEASURES: Top ten among complete opera recordings were Berkeley's antic A Dinner Engagement, set sparkling by Richard Hickox (Chandos); Gluck's Orphee et Euridice (Virgin), conducted by Marc Minkowski; Handelian Andreas Spering's...

Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffmann.(Video Recording Review)
January 1, 2005... OFFENBACH: Les Contes d'Hoffmann * Mentzer, Rancatore, Swenson, Uria-Monzon, Gubisch, Floquet; Shicoff, Terfel, Senechal, Jean, Vernhes, Maurette, Ribot, Smith; Opera Nat'l de Paris, Lopez-Cobos. TDK DVD DVUS-OPLCDH (Naxos, dist.), subtitled,...

Thomas: Hamlet.(Video Recording Review)
January 1, 2005... THOMAS: Hamlet * Dessay, Uria-Monzon; Shtoda, Keenlyside, Vernhes, Hollop; Orchestra and Chorus of the Gran Teatre del Liceu, de Billy. EMI 5 994479, 176 mins., subtitled Those of us who always thought that Hamlet is a fantastic opera now...

January online edition of opera news.(Video)
January 1, 2005... JANUARY ONLINE EDITION OF OPERA NEWS William Christie and Robert Wilson's bold vision of Rameau's Les Boreades; Chatelet recitals feature Hampson in Des Knaben Wunderhorn and von Otter in a Korngold tribute; Graham Vick's evocative but...

First nights at the opera.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... by Thomas Forrest Kelly Yale University Press, 416 pp. $35 When Thomas Forrest Kelly's First Nights appeared in 2000, it was an unexpected hit. Kelly's clubby, down-to-earth prose brought to life the circumstances around the birth of five...

The New York Times Essential Library: Opera--a Critic's Guide to the 100 Most Important Works and the Best Recordings.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... by Anthony Tommasini Times Books, 316pp. $17 Anthony Tommasini, chief classical music critic of The New York Times, offers a few surprises in his user-friendly guide to appreciating opera and building a library of essential opera...

Robert Merrill.(Obituaries)(Obituary)
January 1, 2005... Brooklyn, New York, June 4, 1917--New Rochelle, New York, October 23, 2004 It's not only the opera world that mourns the passing of Robert Merrill. He was a citizen of many worlds, including those of baseball, radio, television and the...

Zachary Solov.(Obituaries)(Obituary)
January 1, 2005... Philadelphia, PA, February 15, 1923--New York, NY, November 6, 2004 Solov performed with Ballet Caravan and Ballet Theatre before joining the Metropolitan Opera as choreographer and ballet master in 1950. Although he left the Met's...

Jack Mulroney.(Obituaries)(Obituary)
January 1, 2005... Philadelphia, PA, October 4, 1935--Abingdon, PA, September 24, 2004 Since 1998 executive director of Opera Company of Philadelphia--a position that he filled on a volunteer basis--Mulroney was president of OCP's board of directors from...

Glenn Winnett Boocock.(Obituaries)(Obituary)
January 1, 2005... Santa Monica, CA, September 10, 1909--Santa Fe, NM, September 23, 2004 Boocock joined the board of the Metropolitan Opera Guild in 1948 and over the years she served as its vice-president and as chair of its executive, special events,...

William Zakariasen.(Obituaries)(Obituary)
January 1, 2005... Blue Earth, MN, August 19, 1930--New York, NY, September 4, 2004 Zakariasen, who began his career as a tenor in the late 1950s, established himself as a Manhattan-based music critic in the '70s. His seventeen-year tenure as chief...

Dateline.(Calendar)
January 1, 2005... METROPOLITAN OPERA (Metropolitan Opera House, New York, 212-362-6000; www.metopera.org) Jan. 1m Rodelinda (Handel). Fleming, Blythe; van Rensburg, Daniels, Relyea, Mehta; Bicker, Wadsworth, Lynch/Paldedinaz Jan 1 Kata Kabanova...

If the dress fits...(Coda)
January 1, 2005... Could there be a more apt metaphor for Opera in 2004 than the "Little Black Dress"? When you think about it, the sartorial conceit holds up: opera in the past year has ranged from svelte and sexy to austere and reserved; from uptight to...