More images from Rameau's "Hippolyte et Aricie", directed by Ivan Alexandre and conducted by Emmanuelle Haïm at the theatre du Capitole in Toulouse -- because you know you want them.
Click the link below for more.
Continue reading "Kiss The Sky: More "Hippolyte et Aricie"" »
American mezzo Jennifer Holloway as Diane in Rameau's "Hippolyte et Aricie", directed by Ivan Alexandre and conducted by Emmanuelle Haïm, that premiered last night at theatre du Capitole, Toulouse.
Even if many classical music loving peoples find it disturbing whenever some unfortunate record company decides for a cover shoot where the occasionally hawt classical music female artist is made to look like a skanky relation to the superbad Xtina, in like wet swimsuits and all, and of course the casting of operas based on sopranos and mezzos weight instead of their talent is a shameful, dumb crime against music that dishonor the many opera houses and directors and managers who perpetrate it daily -- and Opera Chic has often reported about the damage done to some exquisite artists by this piggy mindset of set -- having said all that, it's also true that attractive peoples who are in the business of classical music shouldn't really tone down their hawtness, when such hawtness is present, just to win some phantom credibility points.
Whether it's Roberto Bolle's steely abs or Anna Netrebko's Sports Illustrated -style legs -- not to mention the booby superpowers of Daniela Dessì's Gigantor bewbs, a topic of much importance here on Opera Chic as the more faithful readers know -- if you have it flaunt it.
And, as a particularly h0rny reader once remarked here, creating an "Opera MILFs" website is an idea that, frankly, has legs, in more ways than one.
That famous picture of young Carlos Kleiber in rehearsal, conducting with a really tight polo shirt on, flaunting some really cute toned biceps and nice shoulders and a small waist, well, nobody would ever think that Carlos's almost unprecedented talent was damaged by that. He was right to wear a white tie during performances, OK, but at least he wasn't fighting the hawtness when it wasn't required.
The same is true for girls.
Let's not choose the hawtness for the sake of the hawtness obviously, and discrimination is always a stoopid, ugly choice: but when hawtness exists, let it rip is what Opera Chic says.
That's why she understands why Emmanuelle Haïm may not want to appear on the podium in "a superminiskirt or a strapless dress", credibility in a male-dominated business is hard to get and to keep, but fighting the hawtness is a recipe for defeat. Opera Chic herself is a fan of the classic white tie for boy conductors and she deeply despises Nehru jackets (sorry maestro Walter!!!), T-shirts and other abominations; but since that impressivley chauvinistic business that is conducting hasn't yet had enough women conductors on board to create a precise dress code for them, if Emmanuelle feels comfy in a secksay dress go for it. By all meanz.
Let's ask Valentino or Gucci to create some cute little black number for girl conductors who feel like wearing them, and let's go nuts. Let's show all those elderly gentlemen in the orchestras and in their audience that we're not hiding behind burqas in fear of not having one's talent recognized, kthxbi.