Opera Chic

Rebel with a Violin: David Garrett in Jewels

Flipping pages towards a profile on Lucien Freud in November Esquire UK, we locked eyes with kohl-rimmed  David Garrett. The German violinist augments his career as the face of a sterling silver jewelry line, Rebel at Heart, for Thomas Sabo.

If the snakes, dragons and skull motifs aren't exciting enough, Garrett shows off his shaved chest in the promo video below, set to an acoustic-synth Scherzo from Beethoven's Ninth.

Garrett follows fellow violinist Charlie Siem in modelling -- the latter is the latest testimonial behind Giorgio Armani's new fragrance, Eau de Nuit and was the face of Dunhill's spring 2011 ad campaign.

OC & Grazia.it: David Garrett Rocks Milan

Last week at Auditorium di Milano, David Garrett threw on his cleanest t-shirt, stepped into his motorcycle boots and sent Milan's (mostly young, female) admirers into a frenzy with Bruch's concerto for violin and orchestra #1 with John Axelrod and the Orchestra la Verdi. After furious bowing, the violinist signed autographs for his frenzied fans in a scene like a pre-recession Barneys warehouse sale.

OC reported Garrett's la Verdi debut for Grazia.it. You can read all about it here.

David Garrett Smells Like Teen Spirit & Erwin Schrott's Last Tango in Verona

What's going on with all these Nirvana tributes? In April, all hell broke loose in Ecuador when teen poptart Miley Cyrus covered Kurt Cobain's Smells Like Teen Spirit and die-hard Nirvana fans simultaneously imploded, mocking the former Disney starlet for daring to honor the legendary Gawd of Alternative Music, Cyrus being only 2-years-old when Cobain took his life (or was it Courtney Love Colonel Mustard in the conservatory with the lead pipe?)

Earlier that month, American musician/actor Jared Leto posted his Pennyroyal Tea/Rape Me Nirvana tribute on the 17th anniversary of Cobain's death, although it was quickly uncovered to be a desperate audition tape for a rumored, upcoming Nirvana bio-pic.

Now classical music steps up with David Garrett's on-trend tribute. Last night in Verona at the world-famous Arena, the German alterna-violinist covered Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" for a populist concert to celebrate the arrival of the arena's 89th opera season which opens on June 17th with La Traviata. Garrett was joined by Uruguayan bass baritone Erwin Schrott who belted out Pablo Ziegler's sultry-sexy tango piece, Rojotango, in company of crusty Italian singer Zucchero who sang "Miserere" dedicated to Luciano Pavarotti.

Now we're just waitng patiently for Roberto Alagna to cover Soundgarden's Black Hole Sun.

Smooth move, Ex-Lax

*~*~*~*UPDATE on February 18, 2008: The Independent has issued a correction, stating that Garrett's crushed violin wasn't actually a Stradivarius, instead a lesser-rare (but still pretty rare) violin. Go here for details.

He's been known to take the stage with his 298-year-old Stradivarius tucked under his tattooed arm in a sk8r boi beanie and ripped jeans, but the angry Gods of Fashion weren't having it anymore, and struck down the grungy performer on his a$$. It happened at the Barbican, where 26-year-old violinist David Garrett fell atop his precious instrument, crushing it to splinters. Very expensive splinters.

"I had just played a concert. I was all packed up and ready to go when I slipped and fell. People said it was as if I'd trodden on a banana skin."

"I fell down a flight of steps and onto the case. When I opened it the violin was in pieces. I was just sitting there on the floor, I couldn't speak and I couldn't get up. I didn't even know if I was hurt - I didn't care," he said.

The Independent is calling him "lad with the broken Strad", and is reporting that his badly-damaged instrument will be out of commission for at least eight months, and is facing a $120,000.00 USD repair estimate that will likely alter the subsequent sound of the violin forever.

His upcoming 2008 tour is packed with a Valentine's Day Barbican concert, followed by concerts through the USA, hitting Germany in March and May. Luckily, a 1718 Stradivarius (on loan from Milan) has already been flown-in as a replacement, and the replacement is all like, "d00d: Wear your friiking glasses."

I’m sorry, but it's 2008. Can't they grow a new Stradivarius on a rat's back and swap it out or something?

~**~**~**~**~**~

btw, this is a good opportunity to update this post from last year:

We had written about a NY Philharmonic concert with Maestro Muti and Russian violinist Vadim Repin, where Repin lovingly caressed his 1708 Stradivari called "Ruby". We've since been informed from the kind Executive Director of Chicago's Stradivari Society that Ruby is now under the care of an up & coming violinist by the name of Chen Xi, while Repin has been loaned a gorgeous Cremonese Guarneri del Gesu.