The Opera Tattler
Reviews of Performances and their Audiences
Month: August 2008
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Céline Dion auditioned for Kent Nagano in Berlin last June, and apparently he recommended Renata Scotto as a voice teacher. Nagano and the Montréal Symphony Orchestra are to perform with Ms. Dion at some point, and the program is reportedly operatic. The Montréal Gazette Article | L'Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal
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Jon Finck was appointed Director of Communications and Public Affairs at San Francisco Opera. Press Release [PDF] | San Francisco Opera
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San Francisco Opera's 2008-09 Season Preview CD set came in the mail recently, and today I noticed that their podcast has also been updated. This the third season of David Gockley's tenure, and likewise the third time San Francisco Opera has sent out such CDs, in lieu of the yearbook of previous years. The cover of the CD…
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Vancouver Opera is going with the trend programing of contemporary opera, as seen in Los Angeles and San Francisco of late. The second largest opera company in Canada is presenting Canadian premieres of Nixon in China and The Ghosts of Versailles in the 2011-2012 season. Globe and Mail Article | Official Site
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Renée Fleming and Pink Floyd have won this year's Polar Prize in Stockholm, Sweden. AP Article | Polar Music Prize Official Site
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Last week's news, but disquietingly enough, conductor Valery Gergiev gave a concert of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 60 in Tskhinvali. Washington Post Article | Times Online Article | Official Site
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* Notes * Seattle Opera's Aida closed yesterday at McCaw Hall. The production, directed by Robin Guarino, was suitably grand. Michael Yeargan's set was attractive, the background of the pyramids was especially lovely. The scene changes were, however, not seamless. The curtain was brought down for a few minutes at a time, and the…
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Outside Lands was not particularly well-organized, at least, not opening night. Fences had to be taken down in some places, as the paths were not wide enough for all the people. The audience was combative, I overheard more than one loud confrontation. The sound went out twice during Radiohead, for about a minute at a…
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* Notes * The Wordless Music Series had a sold-out San Francisco debut at Herbst Theatre last night. The concert featured the very solid Magik*Magik Orchestra conducted by Benjamin Shwartz. The evening began with John Adams' Shaker Loops (1978) for string septet, that is, three violins, one viola, two celli, and one bass. The piece is characterized by…
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Last week an email, in which mezzo-soprano Fiona Janes called Opera Australia "an abyss of mediocrity," was leaked. She met with board members of Opera Australia yesterday to discuss her concerns. Singer swipes at Opera| Opera Australia hears singer's 'mediocrity' complaints
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