undone deal?
Cher public, you may recall that it was La Cieca who was the first to break the story that Gérard Mortier was under consideration to be the next General Manager of the New York City Opera, not quite a week before confirmation appeared in the moribund print media. Since then the irreverent intendant has made a lot of headlines here and elsewhere.
Well, now you should be prepared for a shock, cher public, or at least for what may be the biggest story of the year. La Cieca hears a whisper that the Mortier/NYCO deal has gone sour, leaving the company rudderless beginning in 2009. Of course, your doyenne is probably wrong (she so often is!) but, on the chance that she’s not, well, remember you heard it here first!
UPDATE: A member of the cher public has forwarded La Cieca a thought-provoking clip from Daily Yomiuri Online. Sylvain Cambreling (Mortier’s “longtime collaborator,” per the New York TImes) has been named principal conductor of The Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, effective April 1, 2010. The tipster notes “…Tokyo Opera City would be thrilled to get their hands on a star like Mortier if he were so inclined. And I bet they’re fully funded there…”
NYCO must survive and I couldn’t care less about what the people say here about the quality of their productions ect…
It employs young singers and gives them chances where so few other places will. If NYCO fails you will see even less American talent developed.
It’s odd how an article about Mortier morphed into diatribes pro and con little Miss Futral! This is surely a remarkable domain!
Miss Futral always struck me as having two voices – a low one and a high one; they did not seem connected. Later on, and I know she worked very hard, better integration of registers was achieved and she did some decent work. As to #21 Walter’s posting about “most gracious and kindest,” umm…interesting observation. I would more likely say: hard-working, purposeful in the extreme, and
stay out of her way. But how can we not wish her well?
The world of opera has forever required a strong cadre of utility singers. I find EF about at the same level of artistic value as that other Southern Girl, Laura Claycomb. Isn’t that a fair comparison?
Mortier? He’s impossible on a personal basis — for all the reasons given here, and more, but at this juncture isn’t that exactly what NYCO needs? They had better get rid of the dreary and unqualified Susan Baker and replace her with a resourceful, tough, smart man who can “handle” (maybe) Mortier. Did anyone say Volpe?
At the professional level, Richard Gaddes, formerly of Santa Fe will be knocking about with nothing to do after next week, but I doubt he would take it – though qualified if the NY meanies would give him the space and support. What a working environment is New York. But, wait!!! It’s very likely Sarah Palin will become available; she is hugely the right person for that position!
That’s that for today
###
Tsk, tsk, Mrmyster, Richard Gaddes is English. As some here would argue, that makes him immediately unqualified for any job remotely connected with opera, even taking tickets, though I love the idea of Mortier + an Englishman running NYCO, heads would explode all over Parterre Box.
Palin isn’t qualified to run a company… nor are any of the other candidates…. that chick from Hewlett Packard said so.
and — really — who knows more about *not* being qualified to run hewlitt packard than carly fiorina???
yes, yes — hewlEtt.
sorry, i spilled my drink.
Caro Cieca, I have to ask a question.
Is Futral’s voice really as mediocre as everyone says? I have not ever heard her live.
IMHO – Ms. Futral was a wonderful Semele and a very good Princess Eudoxie in the Met’s La Juive. I too agree with Scifi – considering that Lucia was her calling card a while back – the Lucia’s were rather painful to listen to. That being said – she is a lovely person and always very professional from what my friends who have worked with her say. I have have seen her in several other roles as well and have always walked away very disappointed.
“The only thing that makes NYCO look good is Eve Quelar”
Turandot hit the nail right on the head. Everything he said about NYCO is true. It has been on steep decline over the last decade. One only goes to NYCO because you will see rep that you won’t see at the Met. There were always at least 4 or 5 productions a year that were must sees – just because they were rarities. NYCO has done a lot of interesting things in the 12 years that I have lived in NYC, but 80 percent of the time you would walk away happy to have just seen a work performed – not happy with what you saw (or sometimes heard). Manahan IS a HACK!!! Glover (who figured prominently in their Handel cycle) is one of the most ANNOYING conductors of Baroque music out there. I have yet to see a Bel Canto production from them that wasn’t marred by ugly sets and stupid directoral conceits.
Good luck to whomever is taking over on turning that company around.
Wasn’t she also the Teresa in Sir Colin’s Benvenuto Cellini-before-last? Infinitely better than Laura Claycomb, who did the most recent one. Sadly, too, Giuseppe Sabbatini had misunderstood the principle of the ‘LSO Live’ recording set-up and didn’t allow it to be done, which was his loss as he was sensational. Second time around he was indisposed and we got Gregory Kunde instead, serviceable but hardly as electrifying.
What a lively piece it is – surely ripe for an extravagant staging at the Met. Only one I’ve seen on stage was Pountney’s in Zurich – what a riot. The God of all basses Ghiaurov sang the Pope, shortly before he died. I’m grateful to my dear friend in the chorus for getting his autograph for me.
Think I’ll change my nom de plume to Princess Eudoxie! Or is she taken?