Cantosospeso, a Milan-based singing organization (named for one of Luigi Nono's works) that offers voice lessons and music appreciation forums to people of all backgrounds, is searching for choir singers for their December 4, 2008 Beethoven Ninth concert. We <3 it! Prerequisites? There are none!! You don't need any prior singing experience, or even any former knowledge of music...only a passion to sing -- and a mouth & intact vocal chords. Fish need not apply. The one catch? Their maestro's name is "Martinho Lutero". I kid you not!
Their recruitment poster, modded from the iconic 1917 James Montgomery Flagg U.S. Army propaganda, caught our eye. "Voglio te per cantare la nona sinfonia" ("I want you to sing for the Ninth Symphony") is a delightful send-up, subbing Beethoven's head for Uncle Sam's.
Because the general public is sucker for silicon bewbs mouthing O sole mio and O Mio Babbino Caro remixed with backup vocals at million-dollar recording studios, Welsh mezzo Katherine Jenkins has just inked what is reportedly the most expensive classical recording deal in history, signing a £5.8 million GBP ($10 million USD) contract with Warner Music.
Let's hope she finally puts her earnings towards a good stylist, because gawd only knows how many (more) tight, sparkly evening dresses, weaves, and cases of hairspray that 10 million dollars can buy.
Last night, at teatro Comunale di Firenze, the audience's reaction to Daniela Dessì's Tosca has been so off the hook that the soprano has been requested to give an encore of "Vissi d'Arte", and she -- together with conductor Antonio Pirolli -- obliged.
The last time an encore had been performed at glorious Teatro Comunale in Florence? 1956. When another Italian soprano, la signorina Renata Tebaldi, as Violetta, offered an encore of Amami Alfredo.
Dessì's Tosca is part of a special Maggio Musicale Fiorentino program, "Recondita armonia", a pre-season, two-week "rassegna" of popular operas (Tosca, Boheme, Cavalleria Rusticana) that has already sold more than 30,000 tickets -- 5,000 of which to opera lovers under 26.
The thing about John Adams is, his music can be pretty boring but he really must be fun to party with given that he seems to have some awesome weed stashed away, if the interview that will appear tomorrow in The Guardian is to be believed.
The Doctor Atomic composer went a bit bananies explaining that:
'I can't check in at the airport now without my ID being taken and being grilled. You know, I'm on a homeland security list, probably because of having written The Death of Klinghoffer, so I'm perfectly aware that I, like many artists and many thoughtful people in the country, am being followed.'
Not only he thinks he is John Lennon and George W. Bush (a famous post-minimalist music fan) is J. Edgar Hoover without the drag, but he thinks that:
'9/11 was a very glamorous event,' he said. 'I'm using the term in a very ironic sense - 3,000 people being killed; it's a terrible tragedy, but in the scale of human tragedy it's very small.
Obvs, next time Johnny complains for airport security (not to mention, for a bad review) someone needs to remind him that overrated composers getting frisked by some burly TSA kid, in the scale of human tragedy is a very, very, very small thing, too.
Men's U.S. Vogue November chats with Australian director Baz Luhrmann, and we want in! Working in post-production for his upcoming World War II epic, Australia, Vogue caught up with Luhrmann at his "House of Iona", a gigantic Victorian estate in Sydney's
Darlinghurst neighborhood, which he shares with his kids, five-year-old
daughter Lillian and three-year-old son William, and his wife,
Catherine Martin. btw :::~*OC shoutout to all our gorgeous Australian readers*~:::
Australia, which stars Hugh Jackman and
Nicole Kidman, is Luhrmann's first film since 2001's Moulin Rouge, is slated to come out with the Thanksgiving rush.
Dressed in a Lanvin cardigan and Bottega Veneta shirt&pants, with a plastic bust of Beethoven overlooking his work, Lurhmann is totes in the spirit of O.C., and his Broadway La Boheme simply sealed the deal.
Click on the link below to find more scans and to read the article...
Even if he never sang opera -- to OC's knowledge, at least -- classical music lovers mourn today the passing of one of the twentieth century's greatest baritones. Especially if you, like OC, have sometimes imagined how humongously awesome he would have been as a streetwise, lovesmitten Figaro.
An exhibition curated by Nicoletta Mantovani (but organized by a Rome-based exhibition agency) opened yesterday, Thursday, October 16th, in one of the exhibition spaces of Rome's Complesso del Vitoriano. Called "Luciano Pavarotti: The Man who Moved the World" (L’uomo che emozionò il mondo), it celebrates a 40-year span during the glorious career of the grande tenore. Costumes, libretti, films, paintings, and other memorabilia all pertaining to Big Luciano can be viewed free-of-charge until Tuesday, December 10, 2008. The exhibit also features a few paintings executed by Pav himself.
Clickety click on the link below to see a few more pictures from the exhibition...
Shafted again! Angela Gheorghiu plays hooky tonight. Come 7:00 pm local Vienna time, Gheorghiu will be nowhere near Staatsoper Wienfor her appearance as Marguerite in Charles Gounod's Faust with IRL hubby Roberto Alagna as scheduled.
'Tho the secondary cast is Piotr Beczala for Alagna's Faust and Soile Isokoski for Gheorghiu's Marguerite, soprano Alexandra Reinprecht has been called in tonight to sub as the jeweled lady.
The terrible twosome ~Clan Alagna~ have lately been streaking through cancellations left and right. First a double walkout on a live radio program in Vienna, then Roberto Alagna canceled his scheduled appearance at the Pavarotti Tribute Concert in Petra, Jordan (as so kindly pointed out by la Diva herself, Cynthia Lawrence). Now it's Angela's turn for a solo bounce. We're wondering if she ate undercooked Mansaf in Jordan? Or is she just playing hard to get?
A couple years ago, Opera Chic was very impressed -- but not surprised -- to learn, watching a documentary about the great baritone Leo Nucci, that Nucci -- despite having sung Rigoletto about 500 times in his career -- routinely goes back to his facsimile copy of Verdi's manuscript, to study it again. Because as he put it, "it's just like Shakespeare, no matter how well you think you know him, every time you go back you simply discover new things you did not know were there, new accenti you hadn't noticed, new subtle but really important nuances that manifest themselves the more you study the score".
And it's very fitting that, last week in Corriere della Sera, the always humble Nucci, interviewed right after his triumphant performances at Verdi Festival in Parma, shied away from the self-important megalomaniac attitude of so many of his -- usually less talented colleagues:
«I can't stand singers who want to be addressed as "Maestro": there is only one Maestro, the conductor, even if directors nowadays have tried -- laughably -- to coopt this title. We singers should be addressed with the old dear "Commendatore" that people used to greet the singers who used to hang out at the old cafès in the Galleria, waiting for someone to notice them, while bragging with similarly underemployed colleagues that they had been cast in operas in Buenos Aires, Hamburg, New York! (When in fact they would consider themselves lucky if they got cast for two nights in Legnano*)»
* Legnano is a small town in the Milan suburbs.
But then, as Corriere's critic explains, Nucci is someone who at 65 considers the study of the science of acoustics as his main hobby, and "quotes Pythagoras, Gioseffo Zarlino, Rameau and their successors as if he carried their writings in his pocket".
A friend of Opera Chic once asked the great Carlo Bergonzi what's the most important piece of advice he could give to a young singer, and the great man simply said: "Don't yell: let the music speak".
OC's friend asked Nucci the same question, and he answered: "Study, study, study. Then listen to your heart". And learn.
(Above: A sexed-up, depraved Carmencita -- as only supermodel Nadja Auermann can do)
Nadja Auermann, the former German supermodel who possibly has the longest legs in the world (@ 112 cm/44 inches long) recently collaborated with Deutsche Oper Berlin in an ad campaign promoting the 2008/09 season.
Shot by Berlin fashion photographer André Rival, Auermann modeled herself as four opera divas in the current season: Bizet's Carmen [shown above], (to be sung by Angelika Kirchschlager & Kate Aldrich); Tannhäuser's Venus (to be sung by Nadja Michael); Puccini's Turandot (to be sung by Lise Lindstrom & Maria Guleghina); and Strauss's Helena (to be sung by Ricarda Merbeth). At this point we're starting to think that the future of live opera will simply feature supermodels lipsynching Mozart & Puccini on stage in couture gowns while the real singers stand in the pit with the musicians and sweat it out in A&F hoodies, stuffing themselves with burgers and comparing inferiority complexes. Conducting will be Honda's humanoid robot ASIMO, natch. /Humungoid hat tip to a dear friend for the scoop.
(Above: Nadja Auermann is Strauss's Helena in Die ägyptische Helena)
(Nadja Auermann is Venus from Wagner's Tannhäuser.)
(Above: Auermann as a princess Turandot in Puccini's Turandot.)
“The Flying Dutchman” directed by Michael von zur Muehlen @ Leipzig opera premiered on Saturday night.
We don't really know whether it worked musically or not, but videos of such extreme violence -- dogfights, slaughterhouses -- were projected on a big screen that when a stripper took off her clothes on stage, riots erupted in the audience.
Now baritone James Johnson has stepped out (next month Wolfgang Brendel will take over the role) and the production has been suspended for the time being.
In an article on the Petra Pavarotti event in Corriere, we get a glimpse of Angela Gheorghiu and Sting in their "La ci darem la mano" duet during the Sunday, October 12 concert in memory of Luciano Pavarotti. But such a grainy, small dpi won't be necessary, as OC has dug up for her lovely readers a steaming buffet of technicolor jpegs. The article summarized the concert events, which OC already relayed (see posts below) -- but we're eager to report that the concert will be played on Italian television on Rete 4 on October 22, 2008 (for those of us unlucky 500 attendees who couldn't shell-out a minimum of $2,000 USD up to $9,500 USD for a single ticket).
If you thought yesterday's batch of VIPs from the Petra Pavarotti tribute were impressive, wait until you see this installment! Angela Gheorghiu flaunts a Louis Vuitton steamer trunk full of sparkling costumes, and despite the desert sand, Domingo & Carreras look impeccable in black.
(Above: Angela Gheorghiu and José Carreras) (Above: Angela Gheorghiu and Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan) (Above: Angela Gheorghiu) ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
**Click on the link below for MOAR ANGELA (in Chanel wraparounds), Andrea Bocelli (with girlfriend Veronica Bertoli), American baritone Sherrill Milnes, Cynthia Lawrence, Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, Sting, and more Nicoletta (sans cigarettes)!!
Ok, fine, not really. No Nazis, no Dr. Jones, no Holy Grail, & no Knights of the First Crusade -- this time we have to settle for José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, Andrea Bocelli, Jovanotti, the Alagnas, and Sting at Al Khazneh in the ancient city of Petra, Jordan for a memorial concert & gala in commemoration of Big Luciano.
The concert was under the patronage of HRH Princess Haya Bint al Hussein of Jordan, and funds will go towards various UN projects in Afghanistan. Nicoletta Mantovani and daughter Alice were on hand to memorialize Pavarotti's gigantic footprint by chillaxing with the VIPs.
Kicking off the photos is Nicoletta & Alice & orsetto:
If Pavarotti were still alive, it would have been a birthday celebration for his 73rd...instead, a bittersweet program included: Placido Domingo and José Carreras sang together, "Non ti scordar di me"; Laura Pausini and Jovanotti interpreted "Caruso" in duet, while Pausini went on to duet "Vivere" with Andrea Bocelli; Sting and Angela Gheorghiu sang together "La ci darem la mano", and treated the audience of 500 VIPs to a bis (who had paid up to $9,500.00 USD per ticket); Zucchero sang "Miserere", while Pavarotti was projected on a gigantic screen in a virtual duet; and Roberto Alagna showed up alongside Andrea Griminelli and Cynthia Lawrence. The concert ended with a projection of Big Luciano singing "Nessun dorma".
Make sure you click on the link directly below for many, many, many more photos from the weekend of festivities...
The other night Opera Chic caught a RaiUno special on Puccini. We were treated to performances and small interviews with Daniela Dessì; Puccini's granddaugher Simonetta Puccini; Massimiliano Simoni, president of the Festival Pucciniano; Paolo Benvenuti, the director of the new Puccini telefilm; and many more. The plasma was boomin & the camera was snappin, and the results are below.
Speaking of RaiUno -- In celebration of the 150th birth anniversary of Giacomo Puccini, Rai.tv is streaming the 1973 Italian television biopic series on the man/myth/legend. You can find it here in all its cheesy glory in 5 parts.
(Below: Puccini's granddaugher Simonetta Puccini)
(Below: Svetla Vassileva)
(Below: Daniela Dessì)
(Below: Antonio Pappano)
(Below: The 1974 Ponnelle-directed Madama Butterfly with Mirella Freni, Plácido Domingo, and Christa Ludwig)
The long wait is finally over. La Bohème ~the 2008 movie~ has finallyexited tothe Austrian public today, while the screening party was held earlier this week. Enjoy below three pictures of fashion icon Rolando Villazón and wife Lucia from the premiere in Vienna. O Rolando, we love you so, but your navy velvet smoking jacket is just so Twin Peaks. neways, La Trebs was nowhere to be found, but her management issued a statement graceful excusing her from the festivities. Blanked by Anna!
~*~ ~*~ (above: The Villazon's with Robert Dornhelm)
(Above: Jenny Beltran, wife of Tito Beltran at a press conference earlier today. Mr. Beltran was arrested on the way to the conference immediately after his sentencing.)
Whoa. In some of the worst news we've heard lately, Chilean tenor Tito Beltran was sentenced today by a Swedish court to serve two years and six months in prison for raping a 18-year-old and molesting a 7-year-old girl. He also has to pay damages totaling in $27,900 USD to the victims. Go here for more details. Pure suckage for everyone involved.
On Oct. 10, 1813 (O.K., it's Oct 9 according to some sources) Giuseppe Verdi was born, and there's nothing appropriate we can say because in such occasions everything seems too small. Let's say that this is the Fourth of July of all opera lovers worldwide. And let's just listen to Verdi, then.
Kudoronies to 25-year-old (and Opera Chic oldtimer) XBox360-playing maestrino Robin Ticciati who got himself the Principal Conductor job at Scottish Chamber Orchestra: Ticciati is currently music director of Gyndebourne on Tour and has been music director to the Gavle Symphony
Orchestra in Sweden.
The jaunt includes a banquet with fresh ravioli and beef fillet on the menu,
plus fine wines costing hundreds of pounds per case. Guests will also be
treated to an evening of music by Milan's La Scala opera house. The
invitations alone are reported to have cost more than £3,000.
A spokeswoman for Barclays Wealth, the wealth management arm of Barclays, was
unable to deny reports that the trip cost more than £500,000 but said
cancelling the event would have been counter-productive. “It would not make
sense for a bank to sit on the sidelines now that relations with investors
are crucially important,” she said. “We are having a client conference in
relation to financial planning and investment planning. These guys are doing
their jobs, and their job is to advise their clients. You can’t just shut
down.”
ie, "we're going to Cernobbio & la Scala with your money, and you're not!".
(Above: Nathan Gunn & Nicole Cabell in LOC's The Pearl Fishers. Photo courtesy Dan Rest/Lyric Opera of Chicago)
O.C. can't help it...she always roots for the Unterdawg, which is why we've been eying The Lyric Opera of Chicago's current production of Bizet's The Pearl Fishers. Exiting to enthusiasticreviews from the Monday, October 6th premiere, this creamy little pearl got swallowed alive by the season opener hype of Natalie Dessay & Jonas Kaufmann's Manon. Not that these two saengers don't deserve all the attention that they can get... It's just that we're flabbergasted at how we've heard almost nothing about the bare-chested duets betweenThe Pearl Fisherstars Nathan Gunn (Zurga) & Eric Cutler (Nadir). omg who wouldn't want sexy time with these two?
We dug a little deeper into the stacks and discovered American Bass-Baritone Christian Van Horn, who is singing Nourabad, and can definitely hold his own sandwiched between the hot manmeat sampler of Gunn/Cutler pecs. A recent graduate of the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists, this towering Chris Meloni look-a-like keeps an awesome blog, where he writes about all his adventures. He's been at it since this past summer, and candidly shares behind the scenes photos and observations via his colleagues and ports of call. But the particular entry that won us over was his homage to "The Karate Kid" and his mecca-like journey to the Kobra Kai DoJo in L.A. omg what's not to love?
We bid a fond farewell to Xtian on November 4th when he sings his final show of The Pearl Fishers, and swaps bratwurst for weisswurst at Munich's Bayerische Staatsoper, where he sings through January 2009 (Colline in La Bohème, Der Sprecher in Die Zauberflöte, and Oroveso in Norma).
The best part of his blog? Upon request, on his time off from busy rehearsals, Xtian will craft you a very kewl, personalized post card if you send him your address. Sorry guys, naked pictures are not guaranteed no matter how much Van Horn might make u Van Horny.
Oh no they didn't!! Late Monday night, the Alagnas were up to their usual shenanigans, throwing their collective weight around as opera's premier divas, and holding tenaciously to the title! The Alagnas lived up to their epic prima donna standards by hastily walking-off a scheduled appearance on a popular *live* Austrian show, leaving the host ruffled and embarrassed. Here are the details:
On Monday night, Roberto & Angela had agreed to a 10:40pm time-slot on the live Austrian television program called, "art.genossen", a weekly recap of all things cultural, to speak about their October 11th premiere of the Staatsoper'sFaust.
However, when they found out that they were to follow the 10:30pm time-slot, which would focus on the October 10th premiere of the Anna Netrebko/Rolando Villazon La Boheme movie, they stormed out of the studio, leaving flustered host Clarissa Stadler to apologize for the sudden change in scheduling.
A kind reader in Vienna, who O.C. graciously tips her Christian Dior hat to, enumerates, "With a smile on her face the announcer let us know, 'But this couldn't have been Roberto's decision -- after all, he has already performed together with Anna Netrebko at the Vienna State Opera in Manon!" omg these two just don't give a F-wording F! Blanked again by the Alagnas!
(Above: Nicole Heaston, Matthew Rose & Hélène Guilmett.)
If you're down to see traditional opera at Opera De Lille this season, you best get your butt down there post-haste. After the current run of Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, the season plows ahead with RAWRRRR(er) pickings:
Heiner Goebbels' "staged concert in three tableaux" I Went to the House But Did Not Enter; Vaughan Williams one-act opera Riders to the Sea; Henry Purcell's semi-opera The Fairy Queen; Leoš Janáček's The Cunning Little Vixen; Kurt Weill's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny; and Jacques Offenbach's La Périchole...to name most.
But if Mozart is more your thang, Emmanuelle Haïm conducts English bass Matthew Rose as Figaro, American soprano Nicole Heaston as Countess Almaviva, and Canadian soprano Hélène Guilmette as Susanna in an opera that looks more normally.
*(We forever give a huge shout-out to Giuseppe Filianoti for his endearing Opera News interview where was quoted, "A lot of people say to me, 'Oh, you look normally!'", which has since & forever infiltrated our daily lexicon.) mwah :-*