Opera Chic

All About Korngold, Courtesy Of Jessica And The Beeb

Jessica Duchen just went to BBC Radio 3's Music Matters and owned Korngold (John Adams, too).

You can listen again online until next Saturday.

Milan's Moda Uomo: How It Went Down

Now that the Milan fashion shows are mercifully over, Opera Chic is happy to share her impressions: Opera Chic wasn't especially impressed by most of what she saw -- even the much-lauded Thom Browne 4 Moncler show left us somewhat cold (lol) -- Opera Chic appreciates Thom's Mad-Men-on-speed thing (Thom's superslim, ironic sprezzatura would be a perfect match, OC thinks, for our new, whippet-thin, tall President -- if Opera Chic were the President's stylist -- and maybe one day she will be -- she'd totally deck him out in Browne and -- a UK import, OK -- Ozwald Boateng) and kneepads (amid much journalistic off-the-record mirth) were a smashing success on the runways and he provided plenty of them. But the Moncler Opera Chic likes is the vintage, 1980s, 100% French stuff -- now it's an Italian owned outfit -- and anyway the cute inky-black "piumino" everyone's wearing this winter here in Milan is priced at a frankly appalling 1,400 euros.

What did OC like? Opera Chic was, as always, more in sync with her sweet British nutty aunt, Vivienne Westwood, Opera Chic's personal Queen of England -- la Westwood achieved the impossible by making the poor man's tuxedo -- denim jacket and blue jeans -- cool for the first time ever, with delicate fire engine red buttons and beautiful fabric (but we humbly suggests she adopts selvedge denim next time, selvedge is king).

She also whipped up some crazy, awesome boots (with cashmere socks); she does narrow shoulders better than most; and as gimmicky as kneepads are, always, she sprinkles humor all over them, and bless her for that (bonus points for black kneepads over dark gray suits).

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L'Europa Riconosciuta: aka, Why Pizzi And Ronconi Are Cooler Than You Think

Luca Ronconi, that most intellectual of directors (of plays and operas -- musical theater is in fact his greatest passion), gets routinely attacked for his merciless adherence to his cryptic concepts; Pier Luigi Pizzi gets the same treatment a lot, because of his gleefully random ideas (OC finds them more often than not to be delicious).

Opera Chic appreciates their work and actually thinks that an excellent example of why these two gentlemen are much, much cooler than their detractors say, is the finale from L'Europa Riconosciuta, the Salieri opera that opened la Scala for the very first night of the glorious Milanese theater in 1778, and was resurrected in 2004 at la Scala by Riccardo Muti after the three years of renovations.

The idea that the Pizzi/Ronconi team had for this is, in its simplicity, quite stunning: the show reopens la Scala after its renovation? Then a couple rows of red velvet seats ripped out of the old theater during renovation suddendly appear on stage from above; the chorus, dressed in black tie and high fashion dresses, then sits down, just like the audience, and the final aria -- "A Regnar Su Questa Sede", a beautiful, enlightened hymn to forgiveness that "makes us similar to the Gods" -- is delivered by the singers and chorus as huge mirrors reflect the theater itself -- and its audience -- onto the stage.

We're all in this together, Ronconi and Pizzi tell their audience. That's what we do here, you know -- together, you guys, us.

It's a clean, straightforward concept -- like Kenneth Branagh delivering his "To be or not to be" soliloquy in front of a mirror -- but it never fails to move us.

(And no, there is no commercially available DVD of this historic production -- conducted by Muti, sung by Diana Damrau, Desiréè Rancatore and Daniela Barcellona. Maybe because it would make a lot of the overpriced DVDs that get blindly printed and sold by a dying recording industry look desperately bad).

Daniela Dessì Turns it Out: Conquering La Scala With Style

Daniela Dessì showed up earlier this week for a Teatro alla Scala recital, and by reading the program -- Fauré, Debussy, Puccini's arie giovanili and romanze da salotto (Puccini material that, to Opera Chic's ears, is not so stellar -- in that genre Tosti could do better than poor Giacomo, whose great genius lay elsewhere)  -- you would not think that this was a night for the best Puccini soprano out there -- the Tosca of our time (the first encore since 1956 -- after Tebaldi --  at Teatro Comunale di Firenze), a splendid Butterfly, a saucy Minnie (and her peerless Adriana makes her a Cilea singer of Olivero stature -- and Opera Chic does not take la signora Magda's name in vain).

A strange program, but then, Dessì began her career as a Rossini and Mozart soprano (her Scala debut, in 1989, was as Susanna) -- her repertoire got increasingly heavier in time. So Opera Chic had high hopes for the evening -- an evening that ended, as we'll see, triumphantly, because Dessì left the audience reeling and on their feet in standing ovation.

The recital started as coolly as her gown, la Dessì taking the stage in a sea foam green, frothy, floor-length dress with a tight bodice that, frankly, contained with extreme difficulty la Dessì's virtually unstoppable bewbs. The soprano was beguiling as ever, working her matching silk wrap and nodding every so often to pianist Marco Boemi (who OC wasn't particularly impressed with...inelegant pedal work and codas held way too long that sometimes distracted from la Dessì's inflections and tones). She started out coyly, perfect control and intonation as always, and it wasn't until the third Fauré piece, "Rêve d'amour", that Dessì started to really shine, continuing at a steady pace towards the climax of the first half. By the time she arrived at the Claude Debussy pieces, the audience was enthusiastically clamoring between sets, while unstoppable clapping clashed with simultaneous shushing. The Debussy works all stood out equally, from a queit, adequately nocturnal with "Nuit d'étoiles" to the final recitativo and aria from "Lia" (from "L’enfant prodigue") -- where for the first time in the recital she let it rip, unleashed that voice, and her pourquoi tu m’as quitté echoed as a heartbreaking plea for love worthy of, well, her Butterfly.

After intermission, Dessì turned up the heat, and waltzed onto the stage in a red-hawt, floor-length ball gown with a sweetheart bodice, looking stellar, the gigantosaurus bewbage that makes us love her even more held miracolously under control.

As much as the French repertoire was lovely, an interesting interpretation of a most elegant repertoire, the second half boasted seven Puccini works, more suited to la Dessì's evolving fach. Now it was time to ~Release the Kracken~! Dessì sailed through Mentìa l'avviso, Sole e amore, Sogno d’or, Terra e mare, Storiella d'amore, Morire? and Canto d'anime cranking up the heat exponentially, walking us through young Puccini's experiment, his toying with phrases that would emerge later in his most famous operas -- again, not material that seriously interfered with Opera Chic's panties the way Puccini operas do -- the vastly inferior Tosti did that kind of material better -- but Dessì's musicality and intelligence made it a worthwile musical journey.

It was all good, a nice night untile she treated the clamoring audience to five encores. And here, after a touching Mozart hommage to the Daniela of yesteryear, Dessì's unleashed her vocal Ferrari on Puccini and Cilea opera arias, throwing red meat in la Scala's hungry crawr the way few sopranos nowadays can do. Towards the last two encore, the audience couldn't even contain themselves, and just screamed random compliments and requests at the humble artist.

Let's see. First, she mentioned how, twenty years ago, she debuted at la Scala as Susanna, and she wanted to give us "Porgi amor" from Le Nozze, in memory of that very special night; Dessì's voice has grown since then, got larger, darker, stronger, and still she wore Mozart's melody like a glove, giving us a tender, melancholy, stately distinction, her final "or at least let me die" full of heartbreak and hard-earned wisdom. In Corriere della Sera's wise words, her "Porgi amor" was "immaculate" (the Milanese paper of record headlined the review with "Daniela Dessì Conquers La Scala", clocking in the ovations at 15 minutes, probably a record -- or close -- for voice recital).

She followed with Cilèa's "Poveri fiori" from Adriana Lecouvreur, wonderfully raising the stakes in one of her strongest roles; Puccini's "O mio babbino caro" from Gianni Schicchi, at breakneck speed and without the usual silly schmaltz -- and a virtuoso, delicate-as-a-cobweb hushed finale that should be have been recorded and studied from now on by young sopranos willing to tackle Lauretta; a ballsy "Tu che di gel sei cinta" from Turandot, all withheld aggression flaunting some insane pianissimi; and then, in front of a sweaty, throbbing audience almost entirely on their feet, Dessì sang "Vissi d'arte". Her trademark, soulful, emotionally hammering "Vissi d'arte". We didn't record it then and there, but this is how she does it:

That's Dessì alright. How do you deny her a triumph.

Pesaro's Rossini Opera Festival Loses € 500,000 And Postpones Sigismondo's World Premiere

Targeted by the Italian government's nonsensical across-the-board blind cuts to the classical music sector, Pesaro's glorious Rossini Opera Festival has lost € 500,000 in public funding and has postponed to 2010 the world premiere of the critical edition of Sigismondo, that has been replaced for this year by an older Scala di Seta.

The Festival's main event luckily remains unscathed: Zelmira, a new production conducted by Roberto Abbado, with Juan Diego Florez and Kate Aldrich that opens on August 9.

Carlo Bergonzi Brings Home the Gold with a Lifetime Achievement Award

"He is known for having been one of the most stylish tenors to emerge since World War II. Always proud of being born in the vicinity of Giuseppe Verdi's hometown, Carlo Bergonzi has had one of the longest and most distinguished careers of any singer of the past sixty years."

A noticeably thiner and trimmer Carlo Bergonzi was honored yesterday with a lifetime achievement award during MIDEM's (Marché International du Disque et de l'Edition Musicale) 5th annual Classical Awards at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France. German tenor Jonas Kaufmann was invited as a special guest, and presented Bergonzi with his award. The ceremony was the highlight of the MIDEM annual international music market and conference. Other winners included Philippe Jaroussky and Julia Fischer with "Artist of the Year" awards. Click here for the full list of winners.

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(Above: Bergonzi with Charles Aznavour)

This Wild Darkness: Why Everything They Told You About Carmina Burana Is Wrong

First Tim Mangan.

Now Jessica Duchen.

Vos quoque!

Poor Carl Orff takes -- again -- one for the team, and Carmina Burana endures the billionth slam of its merrily barbaric existence -- to make matters worse, Jessica went to some crazy Cirque De Soleil-like extravaganza where they staged for 14,000 unhappy people some sort of operatic version of Carmina Burana in a suburban London spiky gasometer (and they wonder why it sucked). Which is a bit like going to a Dante reading at the Indy 500 races, where the poetry is actually read backwards, in a whisper, right next to the deafening noise of the pit.

Bad staging ideas aside, the problem with Orff's masterpiece -- and OC refuses to believe its consistently bad press is related to the composer's Nazism, because frankly, bad man as he was, at least, unlike the much-worshipped, much more douchebaggy Wagner, Orff didn't devote much of his life's work to put into music all the various reasons why the Jew is a foreign, evil presence that pollutes Germany's Aryan heart -- the problem with Orff seems to Opera Chic to stem from an essential error in the work's perception (and also by the fact that CB, let's admit it, technically is a deceitful, incredibly difficult work and has been mostly conducted badly -- Opera Chic can only think of two or three recordings, one of them unofficial, that make Carmina Burana sound like it should).

Mortier Speaks: "I Accepted Sacrifices For NYCO, But There Are Limits, "Lissner A Natural For Paris in 2013"

Gerry Mortier, that little barrel (Barrique?) of surprises, finally spake to his hometown newspaper, Le Monde.

Re: his decision to pull out of the NYCO directorship: "I had been promised a 60 million dollars budget, then it was reduced because of the crisis. I accepted sacrifices, but there are limits".

Re: his tenure in Paris, he brags of having lowered the average age of the operagoers and of having created five euro tickets targeted to the young; he mentioned he had been offered Berlin but "Barenboim and I would be two tigers on the same mountain".  He admits his new post, Madrid's Teatro Real, is not one of the world's top opera houses, but he appreciates the challenge because he considers Spanish audiences to be progressive, unlike the French and most other big opera house audiences.

He finally drops a little bomb meant to create a few ripples here in Milan; re: Scala GM Stéphane Lissner he says: "The Spanish wanted Lissner, too. But I think he is the natural future director of Opéra de Paris in 2013".

Probably news to Milan mayor and -- under the weird statute it enjoys -- Scala CEO Letizia Moratti, who plans to keep Lissner in charge of La Scala until the 2015 Expo year.

John Williams Has A Posse (Mozart Is, Like, Obsolete)

BREAKING: Director William Friedkin Pulls Out of La Scala's "Inconvenient Truth" Opera

Corriere della Sera is reporting today that director William Friedkin pulled out of his commitment to direct that Scala production of the opera inspired by Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth", music by Giorgio Battistelli, libretto by J.D. McClatchy that will premiere on May 2011 (150th anniversary of Italy's independence).

Apparently, Friedkin has had problems with the libretto:

"I withdrew for artistic reasons, irreconcilable differences with McClatchy's libretto. This past September I received the libretto and I immediately called la Scala's Gaston Fournier (Artistic Consultant to Scala GM Stephane Lissner -- ed.) to state my negative reaction. I also did that with McClatchy and, via email, with Battistelli. Battistelli hoped to 'fix' somehow the libretto but I told him no, I couldn't work on [J.D. McClatchy] Sandy's libretto".

In October, Friedkin's agent, let it be known to la Scala that "under no condition whatsoever the director will accept to work on that libretto".

Friedkin again:

"Battistelli and Fournier then informed me that they felt they could indeed work on that libretto; professional differences were evident, so I decided to state again, in November, via my agent, that I have indeed withdrawn from this production for 'irreconcilable differences'".

Maybe Terry Gilliam, who pulled out of last year's Andrea Chenier -- later cancelled -- can take a crack at this apparently unworkable libretto? That'd be cool. Or maybe David Lynch?

Lady In Red: Renée Fleming is a Flash of Warmth in Frigid Washington

On Sunday, January 18, 2008 for the "We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration", Renée Fleming looked on as Stevie Wonder snacked on a harmonica.

She also belted it out of the [Lincoln Memorial] park with her reheated vocals, taking the stage with the US Naval Academy Glee Club for Rodgers & Hammerstein's "You'll Never Walk Alone." OC is proud that her hometown diva was plucked among the contenders to represent the ~opera star~ constituency at such a historical event. Go Renée go! Rub those red cashmere shoulders with Barack Obama...damn!

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Josh Groban, the unrequited lusty nerd idol of middle-aged housewives, was also in attendance, making the ladies trill in their panties. o yeah.

Furious George: Giorgio Armani Rips Into Dolce & Gabbana For Ripping Off His Pants

Opera Chic is in the middle of the Milano Moda Uomo fashion shows and everything else is taking a backseat (except tonight's recital @ la Scala, Daniela Dessì bustin' some serious Fauré, Debussy and Puccini tunes). Much more on the sfilate later, but the moment of by0tchiest glory so far has come thanks to legendarily by0tchy Giorgio Armani, the snarkiest senior citizen in Italy (he kind of has the right to be, with his incredible career and all -- diplomacy is low on his prioroty list in the last few years).

Armani has noticed that a pair of pants designed by Dolce & Gabbana and massively flaunted on their catwalk was way too similar to a design of his from last year (below, the Dolce & Gabbana pants).

He then decided to attack:

"Yes, they copied a pair of pants that we made for the past collezione -- he told the journalists after the show -- And they put those on the catwalk for 16 times! I'd understand this if they were unknown, but... insomma!... This is a serious business, there are people who invest lots of money to allow some cretins to attach their names to collections that maybe you (journalists, ed) will actually rave"

The reason behind the very open outburst is that Armani is quite sore because Dolce & Gabbana, despite the fact that Armani has signed both Beckhams -- David and Victoria -- under contract as models for his underwear line, they have been hanging out a lot with Dolce and Gabbana during their pre-Xmas stay in Milan (David Beckham will play for AC Milan on loan until February, then  will go back to Los Angeles where he plays for the Galaxy there).

Message to (avid operagoers) Stefano & Domenico: Hands off Vicky and Davidino, you two!

Here's Bex & Armani from yesterday's show. Eeek!

Milan Menswear Fall 2009's Ferragamo Show with Roberto Bolle

(Above: Roberto Bolle at Milan's Ferragamo show)

Milan Menswear Fall 2009 has descended onto the city, but we're seriously lacking in the sexy bevy of male models for this decidedly low-key sacrificial lamb of the worldwide recession. The daily offerings have been uninspiring for the most part, marked with subdued colors and limited palettes, as most designers called it in this year -- with phone cards. Flashy is so ~Summer 2008~ and it's time to break out the natural fabrics and simple pieces. YAY!

Despite being Debbie Downer, we have good things to say about Salvatore Ferragamo Fall RTW2009 show. Mainly because the official Ferragamo Face, Roberto Bolle, made an appearance rocking a velvet blazer straight from the runway.

Ferragamo designer Massimiliano Giornetti was inspired for this collection by Danish painter Vilhelm Hammershøi’s washes of dark & neutral colors that haunt his temperamental paintings. He offered soft fabrics like velvet and cashmere, and loads of hand knits. Below, Bolle poses with partner in crime, Beatrice Carbone.

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**click the link below to see a handful of looks from the show, and to see the boys who show Bolle how it's really done.**

Muti *Hearts* Chicago, Obama

Riccardo Muti, after his triumph in Verdi's Requiem the other night in Chicago, gave an interview to "Corriere della Sera" where he explained the reasons behind his admiration for the President Elect, his love for Chicago, the reason why he turned down the Music Directorship of the NY Phil in favor of the CSO and why Verdi's Requiem is so special for him.

Speaking from his 44th floor apartment overlooking icy Lake Michigan, Muti told the paper that

"America wants to be loved once again, and I consider the musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, recently selected by Gramophone magazine as the best orchestra in America, as ambassadors of this new hope. Despite the fog over the lake, to me this looks like Spring".

He also endorses the tentative plans to create a Secretary of Culture cabinet position in the USA ("A revolution").

Re: his refusal to become Music Director of the NY Philharmonic Muti opined that

"right after my commitment here in Chicago, I'm going to conduct in New York. In the past, I was happy to be free from commitments, happy to work freely with the four or five orchestras closer to my sensibility (I've been working with the Wiener Philharmoniker for 38 years). Sometimes, there comes a moment when something 'clicks'. I had no other reason. My relationship with the NYPhil is splendid".

More on Chicago (that he feels is "going crazy" with anticipation for the Obama inaugural), Obama and America.

"I have known two Americas. The America I encountered when I took helm of the Philadelphia Orchestra when I was 39 years old: the old glorious America where the American flag was born, the city of Liberty Bell. Chicago is the city of the future, even in its architecture. It's like a Ferrari. Here you find Polish communities, Italians, Greeks, Mexicans: that's why the orchestra is so lively. These days the city is waiting for Obama, who used to be a Senator here. He narrated Copland's Lincoln Portrait, a piece that I conducted in Philadelphia with Michael Jordan as narrator"

And on Verdi's Requiem (that Muti discussed two years ago in London, too):

"I conducted the Requiem all around the world; I recorded it twice. Man and God are almost wrestling, it's much different from anything else in the Austro-German religious repertoire. The Requiem's roots are in our way of demanding, more than asking, that God takes care of us, since he carries the responsibility for our presence on this earth. Here, man does not pray passively, but there's a struggle, the Libera Me Domine scream is a scream of rebellion, that finale in C-major that unsettles you even if it's usually a luminous tonality, see Mozart's Jupiter or Beethoven's Fifth. That's Verdi's genius, he leaves you with a  question mark: will I be liberated by you? Will it happen eventually?"

A little video of the Obama performance of Copland's Lincoln Portrait is on Youtube:

The Makropulos Affair @ Scala: Immortality Never Sounded So Good

Edgar Allan Poe, that sad, crazy potato and possibly our greatest writer (together with Twain, that other nut Pound, and a couple others) taught us that there is no aestethic experience more powerful, for a reader, than being able to read a story from beginning to end in just one sitting.

(That's why he was such a firm believer in the power of short stories). Some works of musical theater, just like literature, are for their very nature best experienced in one sitting, straight up, no interruptions, no intervals, no time for overpriced drinks in the Ridotto (and no bathroom breaks, a possible issue in classical music with its increasingly aging audience).

The Makropulos Affair is one of those works that should really be staged without pause, not to dilute its subtle, creepy power. As the key theme to The Makropulos Affair, the conundrum of immortality is truly a mixed blessing. After last night's premiere of Leoš Janácek's three-act opera at Teatro alla Scala, despite the creamy music, gorgeous direction/sets, and stellar singing, we honestly felt like the old/restyled-as-new Luca Ronconi staging tested our own immortality and our resolve to keep things simpler, sparing continuity for big ideas and even bigger sets.

The Makropulos Affair is Janácek's stabby stab at turning Karel Capek's 1922 play into opera (where after he had seen the play in Prague in 1922, he started communicating with Capek to gain rights and artistic guidance), complete with libretto (penned by the maestro between 1923 - 1925) continuing on the everlasting argument of immortality.

Direttore d'orchestra José Cura Flexing his Baton @ Teatro Comunale di Bologna

(photo of Cura © Cuibar Productions S.L.)

On the 92nd anniversary of the Italian debut of Giocomo Puccini's La Rondine, Teatro Comunale di Bologna has gotten feisty, and we <3 it. As guest conductor on the podium flexing his musical skills, it will be Argentinian tenor (and part-time conductor) José Cura.

La Rondine acts as the low-cost substitution, taking over for Britten's more elaborate "A Midsummer Night's Dream", which was axed from the season last October to money cuts (also cut was Mozart's Nozze and Boito's Nerone).

Opening night is February 17, 2009. Cura will also conduct Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna on January 30, 2009 in a symphony concert.

Jess 4 Korngold

Jessica Duchen -- among many other things, also a distinguished Korngold biographer -- brilliantly argues the case for Erich:

Korngold is not the first composer to be judged by what he wasn't, rather than what he was. Among others is Schubert, who has never been forgiven for not being Beethoven; Liszt, who some people seem to think should have been Chopin; and our darling Mendelssohn, who was in many ways a better composer than Schumann but committed the double-whammy error of being born Jewish and subsequently becoming a genuine, not just expedient, convert to Christianity, thereby rubbing everyone up the wrong way. Such judgments damage reputations, and quite unnecessarily: they blind the critic to whatever positive qualities an artist may be offering on his own terms, qualities which may need the critic to have enough imagination to accept a different perspective. Why should Schubert be Beethoven, when Beethoven could never have written Winterreise?

Jessica also made a podcast about Die Tote Stadt for the ROH here.

When it comes to chronically misunderstood or unjustly forgotten composers, Opera Chic is on the record as a Zemlinsky girl first and foremost, but Korngold's pretty bada$$, too. And Jess is as always spot-on, panning someone (a composer, a musician, a singer) for the crime of not being someone else is an old, unfair, terrible habit of music critics.

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Baltimore's Bankruptcy

The delightful Sarah B. is not only the woman who knows everything about NYC entertainment but she's also a bankruptcy legal eagle: on her blog (daily required reading at Casa Opera Chic) she posts an in-depth analysis of the Baltimore Opera's bankruptcy case.

Muti's CSO Commencement Shakes Chicago: "Life-Changing Experience"

Ah, the usual dilemma of first impressions.

How you dress for a first date? The kind of car you drive, the restaurant you choose. Flashy or subdued? Obviously the aggressive, flashy Type A men make radically different choices from the more shy, modest Type B's.

With conductors it's exactly the same thing. Especially when they have to woo a new audience that's not familiar with them. Some start slowly, relaxed, because mellow goes a long way. Others, not so much.

If his temperament as a conductor is any indication, Riccardo Muti is clearly the kind of guy who'd show up at a first date in a bespoke Italian suit, handmade shoes, perfectly coiffed hair, designer tie, gold watch. Driving a vintage Ferrari over to a three-star restaurant where the Cristal flows freely.

Because, musically, that's exactly what he did Thursday in Chicago: Riccardo Muti, that old wily fox, in Chicago for his de facto debut as Emperor of the CSO (even though his term officially begins next year) instead of giving the audience a nice, quiet, meditative example of his talent -- he could have chosen to conduct the sweet Haffner, or the stately Jupiter, and why not a serene Pastorale? -- instead went for the really heavy artillery.

For his official first date with Chicago audiences he has chosen Verdi's Requiem, an already disturbing work that under his baton turns even more into a dark, wondrous, deeply unsettling, at times almost unbearably intense meditation on God's silence and humanity's loneliness.

Muti's in town for three performances that sold out months ago; and Thursday night the debut was big success with the long ovations at the end, and it really, really, really rawked the Chicago Tribune's John Von Rhein's socks.

A few choice JVR quotes:

It did so with an eloquent, fervently dramatic and deeply moving account of the Verdi Requiem. I'm sure many in the packed hall will long remember it as a life-changing experience.
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His rapport with them and the vocal soloists was immediate, his pacing infallible, his control magisterial.
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The thunderous ovation that greeted Muti and his magnificent forces at the end was something to behold, capping an occasion that will linger in memory. There will be a final performance Saturday, but, like the others, it has been sold out for months. Fortunately a live recording will be released on the CSO Resound label.

Now that Muti has had his triumphant inauguration, it's Barack Obama's turn.

Shorter Von Rhein: Hold on to your hats, Chicago.

What about Andrew Patner in the Sun Times? Let's see what he has to say:

The CSO played on the edge of its collective seat throughout.  Concertmaster Robert Chen leading the violins from tender melodies through impossible tremolos.

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When has the CSO Chorus sounded like this?  Not since founder Margaret Hillis at her peak.  Some 170 voices singing as one, powered from the bottom ranges, standing and delivering on cue with equal parts passion and precision and investing the softest passages with the greatest musicality.  Muti hand-picked his quartet of a Milanese, a Greek and two Russians.  Each of them, from the formidable mezzo Olga Borodina to the up and coming tenor Mario Zeffiri and bass Ildar Abdrazakov to Muti favorite soprano Barbara Frittoli was there only for the music -- solos were for Verdi, not the rafters, and I have never heard such a conversational, meditative, and balanced quartet.

Muti may not be able to top this ne plus ultra in the coming years, but we know now for sure what his standards are and how he is able to meet them.

One Question For Gustavo

Tim Mangan, the goto guy for everything L.A., alerts us that next week Gustavo Dudamel will be in Los Angeles for a much-awaited press conference.

If OC were in sunny L.A., her question would be:

"Maestro, you and your Bolivar orchestra are rightly very proud of your heritage, Venezuelan flag jackets and all: President Chavez is also a big fan of El Sistema, the fantastic educational system that forged so many musicians out of Venezuela's talented kids. What is your opinion of the recent decision by President Chavez, who expelled the Israeli Ambassador to Venezuela and the embassy staff comparing the State of Israel to Hitler?"

Thank you!

Anna Caterina Antonacci's Sweet Spot

ACA talks to the Times of London:

“I don’t think anybody thought I was a mezzo, but I didn’t have the technical means enough to be a soprano, so I had to arrange myself in the way I could.”

It was only in recent years that she says she has really hit her stride — thanks to her late singing teacher, Alain Billard. “He helped me to discover other roles, Gluck, for example, and Cherubini’s Medea, which before I could not even think about singing because of the range.”

And by the way, since la Scala is casting Carmen for this coming Dec. 7 season opener you know who we'd like to see, and who's be totally worth the obscene cost of Scala tickets?
Yeah, Anna Cate. She'd make it worth our while.

Placidone Postpones "Il Postino", Introduces L.A.'s Ring

The opera inspired by "Il Postino", the sweet Italian 1994 movie that moved us so with the talent of the late, great Massimo Troisi and Philippe Noiret, has been postponed. Placido Domingo, LA Opera General Director, commissioned the work and the premiere of Daniel Catán’s work was expected to open the L.A. season this coming September: but it has been postponed. Domingo was supposed to appear in Noiret's role, and Rolando Villazon in Troisi's.

This and more (esp re: James Conlon's Ring) in the introduction of the 2009-2010 season that went on earlier today in Los Angeles .

More Trebs, Queen of the Scots, Because You Know You Want It

Postpartum Netrebka as "Lucia" in St. Petersburg is one of the things we can never have enough of -- Opera Chic has a thing for comebacks, and for Anna Bananna, too.

Here, courtesy of Scottish Opera, photo copyright by Natasha Razina, more photos of this Lucia -- Valery Gergiev himself handpicked the Scottish 2007 production of Lucia di Lammermoor directed by John Doyle, sets by Daffyd Burne Jones.

This photo of Anna and little Tiago instead comes courtesy of our friend Val.

Thug Music

Admit it: with Mozart, it'd never work (thank goodness). Video NSFW.

Trebs Sings (More Or Less); Ovation Ensues

In the kind words of dear Vera, OC's sweetest Russian friend, not all is well for Netrebko in her Lucia comeback after the pregnancy:

People who were there said that she was not completely all right at the premiere evening, and another singer got ready to replace her. So she didn’t hit all the notes but here the audience is not like the one in Milan: they gave her 20 minutes ovation. The tenor was very good – Skorohodov (I heard him in Flegender Hollander in December and he also was pretty good), baritone Markov whom everyone here seems to love didn’t impress very much. I'll write more after I heard from more people who were at the premiere -- I wasn’t -- and am now worried about the night of the 17. If she will not be all right she may quit.

(Almost) live from Opera Chic's St.Petersburg (Russia, not Florida) bureau, heeeeeeeere's Anna! (another Russian video is here)


And from yesterday's post, big photos from the production scroll down or click here.