Opera Chic

2009 Classical BRIT Awards: Bad Hair Night Had By All

The 2009 Classical BRIT Awards were held earlier tonight at London's Royal Albert Hall in an appalling display of bad hair; for the first time in her long life, Camilla wins for the best coiffure (at least unlike Jonas Kaufmann's, her hair looked freshly shampooed).

The tenth annual ceremony handed out awards to a handful of randomness, in addition to Gustavo Dudamel for "Male Artist of the Year",  Sir Charles Mackerras for the "Critics' Award", and José Carreras scored himself a "Lifetime Achievement In Music". The full list can be found here.

The event brought out Placidone, José Carreras, Jonas Kaufmann, Lang Lang, Sir Charles Mackerras, Katherine Jenkins, Faryl Smith, and Darcy Bu$$sel. Weeee!

In the photo above, pOpera Tart, Katherine Jenkins chats up the Duchess of Cornwall, while below is a shot of Jenkins' arrival.

~*~

Click on the link below for tons more pictures, including more Jonas, lots of Lang Lang, and so many more of the pOpera Tart.

OC Wins The Opera Gold Medal

Thanks to Amanda Ameer, to her readers who nominated us and then voted for us, and thanks to our readers ballot-stuffing skillZ, Opera Chic -- together with Parterre Box -- has won the Best Overall Classical Music Coverage in the "Life's A Pitch" Artsjournal blog.

As Amanda wrote:

Best Overall Classical Music Coverage in a Blog or Newspaper
The one-two punch of Opera Chic and Parterre Box.

OMG OC FTW!!!111

Among the other winners, Dudamel's wiener, Lorin Maazel, and Angela Gheorghiu.

Brahms Beats Cherubini, Rattle Beats Muti, Slatkin Wins Over Lorraine; Grammy's Classical WTF

Simon Rattle's version of Brahms's German Requiem over Muti's (and the funky Rundfunks) Cherubini Missa Solemnis in E.

Joan Tower's Made In America (out on "There's a reason our CDs are so cheap" Naxos) over Peter Lieberson's Neruda Songs sung by his late wife, the great Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (who, at least, was awarded Classical Vocal Performance).

The Grammys, where Bocelli & Groban (the American Idol cast was not available for the night) paid hommage to poor Luciano Pavarotti, have taken place while OC was blissfully asleep.

The winner's list is here. Best opera recording is Mackerras's Hansel And Gretel. There's not much to add to that.

The Classical Cgrammys: They're, Ummm, Really Great And Stuff?

We won't be watching tonight’s 50th Grammy Awards, ‘cause for one, they start at like 2:00am our time; secondly, we don't get CBS on satellite (ed: the lame-0 E! channel is broadcasting the ceremony; but we're going to baed anyway); and lastly, well, they rilly rilly suck. Those lame, out-of-touch wankfests of self-lauding Hollyweird honors don’t really appeal to us (don’t get us started on this year’s embarrassing Oscar fetish for Juno), especially when we’ve seen Grammy awards handed to the likes of DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince ('Yo homes smell ya later' bwahahaha) and Lil'Kim -- although to be fair, we've also seen them handed to Cecilia Bartoli, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Kissin, and Vladimir Ashkenazy. So. You know. That being said, if you must watch, the classical nominations might just get u all hawt and bothered. We’ve already picked sides and laid down the cash.

Muti, a first-time nominee, & the Bayerischen Rundfunks racked up 2 nominations for their Cherubini Missa Solemnis (Best Classical Album & Best Choral Performance), while Fleming’s Age of the Diva with Gergiev and the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra match Muti’s two award nominations (for Best Classical Album & Best Classical Vocal).

LH Lieberson may be awarded posthumously for three nominations of the Neruda Songs, along with husband Peter for composition, and Levine/BSO for accompaniment (in Best Classical Album, Best Vocal Performance, and Best Classical Contemporary Composition).

We’re totally rooting for Esa-Pekka and the LA Phil for Stravinsky’s Le Sacre Du Printemps, which is in the running for Best Orchestra Performance, while we favor Quasthoff for his Jazz Album to sweep Best Classical Crossover Album, adding this year's award to his cache of previous wins.

The awards might be worth it just to see who wins the Best Classical Vocal award, battling top divas & divos in the ring, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome stylee. Two men enter. One man leaves. Villazón’s Zarzuela Arias (with Domingo & Orquestra de Madrid *vs* Fleming’s Age of the Diva (with Gergiev & the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra) *vs* LH Lieberson’s Neruda Songs (with James Levine & the BSO) *vs* Netrebko’s Russian Album (again with Gergiev & the Mariinsky) *vs* underdog Sarah Connolly’s Sea Pictures (with Bournemouth Symphony). Unfortunately, this year’s award for Best Opera Recording is such a huge expanse of ennui that we’re not even gonna go there. 

May the best classical music nerd win!!11!!!1

Maestro Vladimir Ashkenazy Does the Sydney Symphony

Vladimir Ashkenazy has been appointed to lead the Sydney Symphony (um?) as Principal Conductor and Artistic Adviser starting 2009, where the Russian-born pianist super-star will flex his baton for three years.

Currently leading is Maestro Gianluigi Gelmetti, who had been appointed in 2004 as Chief Conductor and Artistic Director, and will help Ashkenazy ignite a battle royal in bringing more obscure and celebrated works to the Sydney stage.

Sydney Symphony has gotten all hypercrunked about this one, which we'll admit is a pretty sweet deal:

“Sydney Symphony executives found it hard to contain their excitement as they announced the signing, with one of them claiming it the most prestigious musical appointment in Australia's history: ‘I dare to say that it's one of the most prestigious appointments in Australia ever, he is certainly a door opener,’ Mr Fink said. ‘It will help us to position the orchestra internationally on a very high level.’”

damn str8.

Stupidest quote ever??:

“Sydney Symphony chairman David Maloney said that while Ashkenazy was known as a leading interpreter of Rachmaninov, the orchestra should not expect to be deluged with music composed by Russians.”

OMG the dreaded and inevitable russian invasion!! evry B0dy RUN RUN RUM@!! drunk vodka-swilling spies r evrywhare!

Legion d'Honneur For Daniel Barenboim!!!111

As we write, Jacques Chirac is heading to the French Embassy in Berlin to award the awesome Maestro Scaligero Daniel Barenboim a knightship: give it up for Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur, le maestro Daniel Barenboim! In Chirac's words, the Legion d'Honneur  has been award to "l'immense artiste, l'ami de la France et l'intellectuel engagé pour la paix au Proche-Orient".

Vive la France! Vive Barenboim! Kol Hakavod! כל הכבוד

Lorraine Hunt Lieberson: Because A Grammy Is Not Enough

From the list of last night's Grammy Award winners:

Producer of the Year, Classical: Elaine Martone.

Classical Album: "Mahler: Symphony No. 7," Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor, Andreas Neubronner, producer (San Francisco Symphony).

Orchestral Performance: "Mahler: Symphony No. 7," Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor (San Francisco Symphony).

Opera Recording: "Golijov: Ainadamar: Fountain of Tears," Robert Spano, conductor, Kelley O'Connor and Dawn Upshaw; Valerie Gross and Sid McLauchlan, producers (Women of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra).

Choral Performance: "Part: Da Pacem," Paul Hillier, conductor (Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir).

Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with Orchestra): "Messiaen: Oiseaux Exotiques (Exotic Birds)," John McLaughlin Williams, conductor; Angelin Chang (Cleveland Chamber Symphony).

Instrumental Soloist Performance (without Orchestra): "Chopin: Nocturnes," Maurizio Pollini.

Chamber Music Performance: "Intimate Voices," Emerson String Quartet.

Small Ensemble Performance: "Padilla: Sun of Justice," Peter Rutenberg, conductor (Los Angeles Chamber Singers' Cappella).

Classical Vocal Performance: "Rilke Songs," Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (Peter Serkin), track from Lieberson: Rilke Songs, The Six Realms, Horn Concerto.

Classical Contemporary Composition: "Golijov: Ainadamar: Fountain of Tears," Osvaldo Golijov (Robert Spano).

Classical Crossover Album: "Simple Gifts," Bryn Terfel (London Voices; London Symphony Orchestra).

יום הולדת שמח Happy 70, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra!

...Bernstein disappeared from view in the middle of a concert. "He jumped up into the air to punctuate a particularly forceful part of a symphony," says Mishori, "but he then vanished. He'd fallen off the podium. Two of the musicians helped him regain his feet and the rest of us carried on regardless.

Priceless.

A big fat huge warm HAPPY 70th to the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, now engaged in a tour of the US! You all make Opera Chic's very proud.

It's OC's duty to remember the brave maestro who conducted the first-ever performance of the IPO, in the terrible year of 1936: Arturo Toscanini.

And in closing, let's hear it from two of Opera Chic's favorite maestri and humanitarians:

"For two and a half hours every evening, we have peace." -- Zubin Mehta

"...in an orchestra you learn to hear one another." -- Daniel Barenboim

יום הולדת שמח

(OK, the serious post is over: Opera Chic will now return to her usual pointless ways.)

Dottor Barenboim!

Maestro Scaligero Daniel Barenboim has been awarded a honorary doctorate in music by Oxford University. Teh Doctor is IN!

Renata Scotto, The Human Voice

"I like to live in the present. Of course, I watch my DVDs. I enjoyed every second of my career. Now I live with the young singers. I love them so much."

Give it Up for la signora Renata Scotto, winner of the Opera News 2006 Awards.

She even found the time for a serene zinger aimed at her fellow directors: "I had always a very good relationship with directors. Maybe, if I would sing nowadays, I don't know. They have sometimes ideas that don't go with the singing, the music."

She was joined by the other four winners: our sweet James "Jimbo" Levine, Deborah "Suck It h8rz" Voigt, Ben "I Can Almost DeNazify Wagner" Heppner and Rene "666" Pape.

^^^update^^^

The superdorky photo of the ceremony handed outby Opera News is, like, awesome.

Hollywood: City of Glass

Mad props to maestro Philip Glass, who has just been nominated for an Academy Award. Full nominee list is here. In bocca al lupo for the Oscar, maestro!

And next October our lucky SF readers will be able to catch the forthcoming premiere of his new opera, Appomattox.

Merci, Henri

The dear Jessica Duchen and I and, we hope, many other music lovers, are still hungover after the big Chausson birthday parties we threw last night. And the music of chance is sometimes so funny that today, just one day later, we celebrate the birthday of the great, half-forgotten giant to whom Maestro Chausson dedicated his Poème de l'amour et de la mer: Joyeux Anniversaire to Monsieur Henri Duparc.

No funny hat, for once, because Opera Chic thinks that the late maestro's life has been too unhappy already and he doesn't really need the indignity. He just needs our thanks, once again.

Finally...Oscar!

Complimenti Maestro Morricone!