Lorely Zgonc, concertmaster of the Portland Opera and Oregon Ballet Theatre orchestras, passed away July 11 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. David Stabler has a lovely tribute article here.
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opera
Sam Bergman over at the Minnesota Orchestra has a great post about the apparent double standard between opera companies and symphony orchestras. In brief: orchestras are constantly being berated for having structural deficits and are forced to produce more and more for-profit-like business models, while opera companies lose tremendous amounts of money on high-tech experiments
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There was an orchestral audition that took place this weekend at the local opera company. It was an audition for nine violin positions. There were twelve applicants. Of these twelve, two were advanced out of the preliminary round to the finals. It isn’t clear if anyone was offered a position at the time this was
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Seattle Symphony Starts Music Director Search [crosscut.com] San Diego Arts Groups Suffering Cuts [sdnn.com] San Francisco Symphony Launches Social Network [washingtonpost.com] San Francisco Opera Cuts Millions From Budget [bizjournals.com] Baltimore To Get New Opera Company? [washingtonpost.com] Dallas Symphony Postpones European Touring [dallasnews.com] Baltimore Symphony Musicians Volunteer $1 Million In Concessions [washingtonpost.com]
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Great, classic scene from last week’s episode of Family Guy – the Quahog Opera’s production of the OJ Simpson murders:
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Alex Ross has an excellent article in the current issue of The New Yorker, where he talks about the fine arts as a more reasonable alternative to other forms of entertainment in difficult economic times: The image of the classical concert hall as a playground for the rich is planted deep in the cultural psyche.
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Thanks to Fugue State, I have found video from the Netherlands Opera production (Peter Sellars’ version) of the final aria from the first act of Doctor Atomic, “Batter My Heart” – it will give you an idea of what I think was the highlight of the opera. You’ll have a second chance to see the
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Arriving at the last minute, the Astoria Music Festival returns this summer in full force with a slate of varied offerings June 19-29 in Astoria. Here’s a look at the concerts on offer this year:
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Gavin Borchert shares my enthusiasm about the Seattle Opera’s 2008-2009 season, especially the Bartók/Schoenberg duo of one-act operas: Most exciting—unbelievable, in fact—is their presentation of Robert Lepage’s production of Bartok’s Bluebeard’s Castle and Schoenberg’s monodrama Erwartung (Feb. 21-March 7), which I saw in Vancouver in 1998 and never dreamed would be done here. I did,
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David Stabler reports that the Handel Festival that was to be in Astoria has been canceled. The big storm of last month may have killed the festival.
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David Stabler has provided an outline of the upcoming ’08-’09 season of the Seattle Opera, which begins with Aida in August. What I’m totally psyched about (and I hope I can go see) is the double bill of Bartok’s Bluebeard’s Castle and Schoenberg’s Erwartung. Too cool!!
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photo credit: David Shankbone Double-bassist Jason Heath gives an exposé on life in the “pit” (the lowered area in front and beneath the stage which holds the orchestra during shows, ballets, and operas. It’s some pretty extreme stuff, including dancing, yelling, boozing, watching television – you get the picture (and if you don’t read the
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Courtesy of the new-ish blog Classical in Seattle, a link to this past season’s semi-staged production ofBluebeard’s Castle by the Seattle Symphony. Renowned (and also perhaps a bit over-hyped) glass artist Dale Chihuly was commissioned to produce blown glass pieces to represent what was revealed behind each door. In case you aren’t familiar with this
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