Opera Chic

Metropolitan Opera Opening Party Coverage

At least someone's happy with The Metropolitan Opera's new Wagner Ring! New York Social Diary came through with photos from The Metropolitan Opera's opening night gala, which actually left us wondering if was a black tie affair -- what was up with men in slouchy business casual? A smiling Peter Gelb welcomes you in above, but click here for the entire Gelb clan (young Gelb blood) on NYSD! 

We're also digging Guest of a Guest's party photos from opening night! Especially for snaps of diva Austin Scarlett looking fabulous (as always). There's also The Met's own gallery here. 

UPDATE! Don't miss André Leon Talley's Night at the Opera report on Vogue.com. Talley, who went with Maureen Dowd, quoted her:

“Opera is the new hot. Forget movie premieres and Hollywood—it’s the new sexy. I feel like Ellen Olenska in Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence.”

 

Update! Via Alex Ross (via Amanda Ameer) we found this short video of Eric Owens (who sang Alberich on opening night) showing off his  freestyle skillz in all his post-opera glory! 

Opera Chic Reports for Style.com from Milan Fashion Week

While opera fans in New York were gearing up for Wagner, Opera Chic was slipping into vintage Jil Sander (back when JS ran the joint), wooden Chloe wedges, and a Sara Battaglia bag to attend Milan Fashion Week's fabulous cocktails and events (Bulgari's and Ferragamo's and amfAR among the ones reported) for style.com!

Night and Day: At Bulgari and Ferragamo's Fashion Week Fêtes, Everything Looks Different After Dark.

and --

Supporting Cast Designers and Celebs Step Up to the Auction Block at amfAR's Milan Gala

So what would you rather do, hang out with Wagner or with Diane Von Furstenberg?

Rolando Villazón's Solitary, Underground Flash Mob

The Metropolitan Opera Kicks Off The New Season with Soggy Wagner

Last night, The Metropolitan Opera officially opened their 2010-2011 season with a glitzy opening night gala attended by celebrities who were up to the challenge of sitting through Richard Wagner's 2.5 hour Das Rheingold. Despite the rain (HA! Even Wagner makes God cry), local crowds flocked to the free simulcast in Lincoln Center's plaza.  

Das Rheingold was given a hightech spin by director Robert Lepage (that behaved naughtily -- must have been opening night jitters!) whose new production replaced Otto Schenk's classic. Bryn Terfel sang his Met Opera Wotan role premiere, joined by Stephanie Blythe's Fricka and Eric Owens' Alberich under James Levine's lush conducting.

Celeb power was a'plenty, but they all bowed down to flawless goddess Miranda Richardson. Other VIPs in attendance were Patricia Clarkson, Patrick Stewart, Rufus Wainwright, Angelica Houston, Meg Ryan, Vera Farmiga, and Holly Hunter.

Above: HBIC Miranda Richardson

Above: Patricia Clarkson

 

Above: Patrick Stewart

Click the link for sooo many more! 

Alex Ross for Wagner During NYC's Unofficial Wagner Month

(Above: photo from Robert Lepage's new Wagner Das Rheingold, opening tomorrow night at The Met. Photo credit Metropolitan Opera and Ken Howard) 

One of our personal heroes (who happens to be the music critic for The New Yorker), Alex Ross, makes his New York Times op-ed debut with an argument for Wagner, timely for tomorrow's Metropolitan Opera opening night with Wagner's Das Rheingold. 

Tod's and La Scala for a "Made in Italy" Marriage

 

For Milan Fashion Week, women's collections are currently rolling out to buyers, stylists, fashion editors, et al. in the city's coolest, oldest palazzi as part of Spring 2011's ready-to-wear shows, and we're psyched to see the city ebb again with teeming scores of fashion scensters.  

One of OC's events -- slipped from her towering pile of slick invites for cocktails, shows, openings, and viewings -- was a cocktail co-hosted by Italian footwear giant Tod's and Milan's Teatro alla Scala, who used the ensuing Milan Fashion Week to celebrate their recent collaboration of joint initiatives (sponsorship coupled with a limited edition product). OC was there on Thursday night (not a guest of La Scala) for the cocktail reception, buzzing off the cheesy club-lite soundtrack, very awesomely chilled champagne, and creative canapes.  

 

The key of the campaign is a five minute commercial, shot inside Teatro alla Scala with the corpo di ballo called “An Italian Dream" (hmmm...we had an Italian dream once and it looked nothing like this!) President of Tod's Diego Della Valle and Scala's Stéphane Lissner devoted a small room to continuous loops -- in (real?) Le Corbusier 1920s club chairs -- of their new commercial. Directed by Matthias Zentner and (very heavily) choreographed by Gianluca Schiavoni, the clip followed Scala's ballerini wrapped in gauzey bandages on Scala's stage (OC's photos of the commercial are above). Interspersed was the old-timey fingers of a Tod's shoemaker, weaving laces across a suede shoe. A sweeping classical music soundtrack was mixed with a beat for an effect that was more aggressive than necessary.

OC's always championed the links between classical music and high fashion, taking opera back to its dreamily glamorous era when Maria Callas floated through cocktails in vintage Biki and Yves Saint Laurent bespoke gowns. Although many problems currently plague Italian opera's enti lirici (and fairly, all opera houses), we love being at the center of this phenomenon, as we've recorded it again and again and again and again and again and again and again. (^takes the needle off the record^)

And if at the end of the collaboration, nothing significant comes from it, we're deliriously happy that style.com had a legitimate occasion to assign Stephan Lissner and Teatro alla Scala their own tags!

And the new Scala/Tod's product? Style.com has a photo (below) of the suede ballet shoes, available in November in Tod's boutiques for $575. 

 

Kentucky Fried Wiener: Colonel Dudamel In Danville, KY

The LA Times reports:

On Monday, Gustavo Dudamel will conduct the Vienna Philharmonic  in Danville, Ky., a town of 18,000 right in the middle of thoroughbred country. Earlier in the day, the Venezuelan maestro be given the title of Kentucky Colonel.

Last Call for NYCO's VOX Contemporary American Opera Lab Submissions

 

OC has an infinity with New York City Opera's VOX program (remember the time General Manager and Artistic Director of NYCO George Steel spoke to OC all about it?) As an initiative that fosters the untapped creativity of contemporary American opera composers, the NYCO hosts a free-of-charge, open-to-the public workshop every year that celebrates emerging opera composers and librettists. Entering its 12th season, the program finds new talent, encourages new audiences, and makes contemporary American opera accessible by staging works with NYCO musicians, performers and fund$. 

VOX put out their last call for this year's submission with the deadline set at October 1, which means all documents must be postmarked by then. It's like getting in your taxes, but cooler!

NYC Arts Donors Make VF's Best-Dressed List More Fabulous

Vanity Fair recently shared their 2010 International Best-Dressed List, a compilation where normally-feted Hollywood celebrities (even with their army of stylists) take backseat to philanthropists, politicians, and royalty. Yeah, sure, the selection dips into tacky territory at times, but there's no lack of fashionable icons (although we could definitely round-out the list with our personal top ten.) And we're proud to see a cross section of NYC's brightest classical music donors and cheerleaders: Alec Baldwin, Lorry Newhouse, and Julia Koch all gave shout-outs to the New York Philharmonic, the New York City Opera, and the School of American Ballet.

 

 

  

A Jazzy Start to The New York Philharmonic's New Season

 

Last night, the New York Philharmonic inaugurated their 2010-11 season with an opening night gala at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall. Alan Gilbert led the orchestra in the USA premiere of Wynton Marsalis' Swing Symphony (Symphony No. 3), Strauss' Don Juan, and Hindemith's Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes by Carl Maria von Weber. Marsalis was on hand with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra for his new work.  

Lots of NYC socialites -- rounded out by Josh GRObahn and Alec Baldwin (in Zenga) -- welcomed Gilbert for his second year as Music Director of the New York Philharmonic. 

Björk's "Gloomy Sunday" Tribute for Alexander McQueen

Tuesday morning at London's St. Paul's Cathedral a private memorial was held for late British fashion legend Alexander McQueen.

One thousand of his closest friends and former colleagues -- Daphne Guinness, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kate Moss, Anna Wintour, and Stella McCartney -- watched Björk perform "Gloomy Sunday" wearing angel wings from McQueen's 2009 collection (photo below). Fashion-forward Björk was a close friend (and frequent collaborator) of the irreplaceable fashion genius McQueen, who passed away in February at 40-years-old. 

 

Daniele Abbado's Rigoletto for La Fenice

Ages from its premiere at La Fenice in 1851, Italian opera director Daniele Abbado brings his new vision for Verdi's tragic opera (and Piave's gorgeously effective libretto) Rigoletto to Venice's historic opera house on September 25th.

Opening night's cast is Eric Cutler as The Duke, Roberto Frontali as Rigoletto, and Désirée Rancatore as Gilda. Our favorite humanitarian conductor, Myung-Whun Chung, conducts. 

Abbado (junior) spoke to Corriere's Io Donna about the new production: 

"The theatrical language of Rigoletto is powerful and revolutionary. In those years, Verdi was thinking about writing an opera about King Lear and he retained lots of ideas about that project which influenced this work. My production cuts out the exaggerated, deformed appearance of Rigoletto because to me it's not right to represent him like an Elephant Man figure. Instead, the scandalous characteristics of the opera depends on the fact that none of the protagonists have a uniform nature. Rigoletto, the Duke, and even Gilda mix in reality the negative and positive elements of their souls. None of them is completely innocent, the good and the bad is mixed in their hearts." 

"Conductors Should Never Speak"

But then, starting @ 6:02 in the clip, they do, oh they do.

(via Alex Ross)

André Rival Keeps Banging It Out For Deutsche Oper Berlin

(C: André Rival/Deutschen Oper Berlin)  

It started a couple years ago with Deutsche Oper Berlin's high-impact photo campaign by André Rival for their 2008/09 season, featuring German (former) supermodel Nadja Auermann, awesomely mixing two of OC's passions -- the gloss of fashion photography with our coolest opera divas.

Deutsche Oper Berlin dipped back into André Rival goodness for this season's campaign, and this time, it's all about the men, posing German fashion designer Wolfgang Joop as five male opera leads that go onstage in the 2010/2011 season. Above, Joop poses as Tristan from Wagner's Tristan und Isolde (premieres in March 2011 with ^The Runnicles^ conducting Peter Seiffert's Tristan).

 

Above, Don Giovanni as a punk rocker -- from Mozart's Don Giovanni (premieres in October with Roberto Abbado conducting Ildebrando D'Arcangelo as the Don) (C: André Rival/Deutschen Oper Berlin)

 

Above, 

Samson from Saint-Saëns' Samson et Dalila (premiers in May 2011 with Vesselina Kasarova and Jose Cura in the leads)

(C: André Rival/Deutschen Oper Berlin)

Midas from Strauss' Die Liebe Der Danae (premiers in January 2011 with Matthias Klink as Midas) (Credit: André Rival/Deutschen Oper Berlin)

And a slightly NSFW (Puritans!) shot of Énée from Berlioz's Die Trojaner (premieres in December with ^The Runnicles^ conducting Ian Storey as Énée and Kate Aldrich as Didon) (Credit: André Rival/Deutschen Oper Berlin)

But we saved the best for last! Click the link below for an insane Joop-as-Giovanni that will pretty much blow your previous conceptions of Don Giovanni out of the water.

Greg Sandow and his Llama Drama!

What does Greg Sandow have in common with late African American tenor Roland Hayes and late French composer Maurice Ravel? 

Like Hayes and Ravel, Sandow's legacy will live on -- in the form of a llama -- as a llama breeder named a sandy-colored baby llama after the American music critic.   

 

Welcome to Franco Zeffirelli's (Helicopter!!) Pad

 

When we first posted about Franco Zeffirelli's foray into B&B management back in July -- the 87-year-old opera director had turned his Positano seafront villa into a hotel -- it hadn't yet opened to guests and no website existed. 

Now Frengo's hotel, Villa tre ville, has a website, where you can browse hundreds of photos that Team Frengo has uploaded of the suites, the environs, the location -- and the helicopter pad. Say what? Yeah, Frengo's in the big leagues like Magnum P.I.

 

 

Haruki Murakami's "Sinfonietta"

Booktunes has the goods on the music in Haruki Murakami's OMG-much-awaited novel "1Q84":

Aomame sits in a taxi, listening to music on the radio. She starts to dream, and we peek into her thoughts, revealing more about  herself and the music. Her reverie ends abruptly;  Janáceks Sinfonietta marks the beginning of a book in which the dream world is a malevolent and powerful force that can be both inconvenient and supercede reality. 

Tengo listens to the Sinfonietta as well. It takes him back to his childhood, a time that marked the emergence of his several talents. As a boy he was very musically talented, before it transpired that he preferred sport, while as a man he's a maths teacher whose heart lies in writing novels in his spare time. 

 

Janácek originally  composed his Sinfonietta for a big sporting event, but his affinity for the Czech army is never far from the surface in this piece. It may begin with a celebratory fanfare, but it's far from a light piece of music. The brass and timpani rush towards a brutal climax, mirroring the events that transpire in 1q84. The easy comparison with Tengo's free fridays, but more the earlier storm that launches Air Chrysalis and Aomame's deadly work have a similar pace. 

Murakami makes it obvious that the Sinfonietta is one of the things that connects Aomame and Tengo.

It's a fantastic post, and makes you wish the English translation would come out much, much sooner -- we'll have to wait one more year.

The Essential Muti (Symphony)

 

Chicago's about to party-party for the coronation of Riccardo Muti as CSO's Music Director, and among other things, the Chicago Sun Times took the time to mention their pick of Muti's "essential discs".

Now, the problem here is that -- unfortunately -- a significant part of Muti's best recordings is not available commercially, because the real best selection of Muti's work can often be found in his unofficial recordings. Muti's at his best outside of the studio (for example, the Verdi Requiem that he conducted in Milan's San Marco church -- the location of the work's premiere -- in memory of the 100th anniversary of Verdi's passing; or an astonishing 1998 version of Respighi's Impressioni Brasiliane, a forgotten masterpiece; and many other Scala-era unofficial recordings, and so forth: they're all to be found in unofficial, not commercially released recordings).

But when it comes to the official stuff one can find on Amazon, Muti's best in the symphonic repertoire  according to Opera Chic. Click the link below for OC's Definitive List of Muti Recordings! 

Frost-Gheorghiu

Ceci Tapped for Salzburger Festspiele

 

While waiting for her new CD to drop, the Italian mezzo Cecilia Bartoli tags Whitsun. 

In The Middle, Somewhat Elevated: Roberto Bolle Is So Back

Have you been jonesing for more Roberto Bolle? Here's the hottest man in the world with Marta Romagna, currently burning la Scala down with a William Forsythe spectacular.

click below for a NSFW, nippletastic version of the cropped photo (Brescia/Armisano) you see above.

Banned In Milan: Maurizio Cattelan's Poster

Maurizio Cattelan, one of the coolest men in Italy,is about to open a big exhibit in Milan. The poster that was supposed to advertise the event, though, portrays one of Cattelan's works, "HIM", a statue that depicts a praying Hitler, down on his knees. It's classic Cattelan style.

It has been deemed too offensive to be used around town, and pulled. 

Some are therefore calling for Cattelan to cancel the exhibit and move it somewhere else (Venice has been floated -- I know, I know -- as an alternate location).

Americans Go French for the Italians: SFS in Milan in All-French Program

 

Milan gets slightly cooler with the arrival of Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony, who've touched down on the latest stop of their 2010 European Tour, a capsulized journey of three stops in Lucerne, Milan, and Turin. Tonight, Milan's Teatro Arcimboldi, in cooperation with MiTO, hosts the SFS in a program of Berlioz and Ravel.  

V for Villazon! Mein Mexiko!

Rolando, we don't care if sometimes you leave the toilet seat up or you forget to pick up the dry cleaning or buy the wrong kind of Skippy (ummmmm we wrote "extra chunky" on the grocery list hellooooo?) We will love you forever and ever and ever and ever. 

José Carreras' Turn!

 

It's been almost 24/7 Placidone Domingo fever in classical music the past week, thanks to his live-action Rigoletto a Mantova and the new media for his upcoming L.A. Opera Il Postino. Domingo is so last week (and yesterday)! Let's talk about that other famous Spanish tenor instead. 

José Carreras (looking all James Bond-like -- if James Bond was wearing blue jeans) is preparing for tomorrow night's big concert in Marostica, Italy. Spanish conductor David Gimenez conducts the Orchestra del Teatro Olimpico di Vicenza. Carreras sings Carreras in a medly of his greatest hits including Italian and Spanish folk songs. He'll be joined by soprano Gladys Rossi.