A goose quill dipped in venom
Now, La Cieca believes in turning a gimlet eye on everyone and everything, you know that. But even your doyenne finds this latest Zinta Lundborg screed, well, harsh is the only word.
… the company’s funereal new logo is a black circle, which evokes thoughts of the deficit or even oblivion. Presenting four performances of “Esther,” starting on Nov. 7, won’t help matters.
A loud work by Hugo Weisgall about the Biblical queen, “Esther” was heard at City Opera in 1993, winning over few fans ….
In the 1950s and 1960s, European immigrants with intellectual tastes supported the company.
They are dead now, as dead as “Esther.”
More from Ms. Lundborg (whose name, by the way, is an anagram for “a burnt old zing”) at Bloomberg.com.
Alto, while I have often disagreed with you, you hit the nail right on the head with this:
“It’s the first article I’ve seen in which Mary Cronson was pilloried along with Susan Baker. Mrs. Cronson is widely understood to have been the board member who torpedoed the chances of the partner of the Bloomberg culture editor to be G.M. of NYCO. Can it be a coincidence that she then — astonishingly — cites THE LITTLE PRINCE as a solitary NYCO success when it was directed by — guess who — the partner of the culture editor at Bloomberg.”
All of this is fact.
But back to Mary Cronson… let there be no doubt – she is the main reason that Steel is at NYCO. No coincidence either that she and her direct/family contacts have been responsible for stabilizing the company financially – though many wonder how long she can keep that going. Cronson is well known as an advocate of contemporary music. She was the force and finance behind Haroun and the Sea of Stories (a piece initiated before Kellogg even took over NYCO), and if her money continues to speak through the programming of Mr. Steel – expect much more of this sort of programming.
Now, whether this sort of programming is good or bad… well, that is a matter of taste
I must admit to being very curious about Esther, but you couldn’t pay me to sit through Haroun again!
…I kinda wish that people would STOP finding it necessary to place an “e” in George STEEL’S name…if that is supposed to be funny, or campy…I guess I miss the joke…?
And, not being (much of ) a Handel -lover, (although, I’m oft-times surprised at my enjoyment of some of his works)..I didn’t think it my place to come to his defense…but, in fact ..I do like “Partenope” quite a bit…..
As for the Esther story being a little gory and vengeful…I’d say more then half of the Operatic Rep I enjoy is , as well..( the Purim story does have a particularly bloody finale, as read in Synagogue on the Holiday–which makes me a little uncomfortable , in that particular setting…but seems a natural for the operatic stage…
I have to say I richly enjoyed the whole nasty essay. City Opera has never amounted to much and this tells us much of the “why”. Good going, Zinta. I like your venom.
Perhaps what NYCO is begging for, is a new ‘Sol Hurok’ visionary to save it.. To just have a real sure-fire sixth sense to know what a potential PRESENT DAY audience really wants from it? That is the true balancing pivot that will save it or send it to the bottom of the cultural ocean.
The choice of NYCO program mooted at present is one of conflicting ‘contrasts’. Usually a company has a certain ‘tipping point ‘ trend or theme that can be discerned when the operas are announced, for any new season. Maybe Italian, German, or French with another couple, maybe in Russian-Czech-English etc.
What we have here is a Handel 2 opera ‘tipping point’.
plus a Don Giovanni & Butterfly…. and a minor French frothy ‘bauble’.
On a NYCO subscription basis, the ‘balance’ to sway people to pay up, is tenuous. Love Handel or leave it….is the deal – facing a potential subscriber..
Reading the article from that Zinta Lundborg (whoever the creature is), I do not sense a anti Semitic tone, when she touches on the Milken Archive. As a matter of interest,being curious and investigative in my record collecting: I have purchased many editions from the Milken Archive. (It would be interesting to know the percentage of Parterre contributors that even have one CD of the Milken Archive) As of which, one finds a lot of music one likes & values; and other compositions one might not particularly care for, as compositions. Does that make anyone, a an anti-Semite -based solely and only on its musical worth -for not liking some composition by a Jewish composer?
I am sure they all vouch(ed)for equal fair critical appraisal of their creations-no more, no less -than others. Though not Jewish myself, I warm, and am attracted to to the Jewish ‘compositional idiom’ in any music.
For those that want to plead the special value of Handel’s Esther as an opera ‘because Handel used a Jewish Biblical story’…..please!
I think Jewish people generally would be rather taken aback by this odd ‘back handed complement’.
Rather like that ‘Some of my friends are….’
Handel, of course we know was mean spirited ,but also, consuming food glutton ‘guts’ of the worst order…. Now that should turn opera conscious ‘slimmers’, right off going.
To me, short of a few masterly arias: the rest of Handel’s compositions are pompous, monotonous baroque bombast and vocal mouth wash gargling, after teeth brushing.
Harry (44) says:
“I do not sense a anti Semitic tone, when she touches on the Milken Archive”
Harry..that wasn’t exactley the matter that comes to (my)mind, necessarily, in the accusations of anti-semitic implications in the Bloomberg article; but, the author’s mention of the earlier supporters of NYCO , and that they are all “dead”..that was (in my opinion) the noxious statement..
btw, the Milken collection is a real treasure-trove of unusual and rare mucic..some “duds” for sure…but much of great historical, or just pure enjoyable, listening…
Well I’d agree that “Zinta” didn’t bother to use politically correct terminology. But “she”
does make some valid points.
For sure, MOST of NYCO’s supporters from 50 years ago are no longer “active”. Certainly to call them ALL dead is sort of snarky.
And all I’ve heard of weisgall’s music is pretty dreary, also he wrote in a style, again that was “current” 50-60 years ago but sounds dated to me now.
Dated or not, there’a always some value in exploring rep from the past but if NYCO can only put on 5 opera this season, I question something as faded as Weisgall pulling in many ticket buyers.
Am I ignorant here? Has the NYCO tried to get big corporate sponsors for say, bankroll this or that opera? With full naming publicity spin -off rights like “Such & Such presents….NYCO’s version of …..” on all advertising posters used, programs etc.
If you want something from a company you have to offer something really positive back to please those you are asking, for ‘big bucks’. Chuck in blocks of tickets to the company for its employees as well as part of the deal…Yes partially wallpaper the place, ‘without pain’ Opera companies in other companies do it.
In the last line (of my 47# comment) ‘in other companies’ should read ‘in other countries’ Sorry.
Harry – You ARE aware of the Ford Foundation’s history with NYCO, aren’t you? Yes! That little opera company is very familiar with corporate sponsorship and what he can do, including the last very few years with the Wallace/Readers Digest Foundation money — which was very quickly pissed away by Mme Baker and Cabal.
NYCO’s board stinks; we all know that; and Mr Steel may or may no be able to mount a little season this coming year — I hope he does; but not until Baker and cronies are OUT will NYCO’s position in the community be restored. Of course, you have to have someone in place to step in when the bad guys step out, and we cannot here on the outside know that. But it is only common sense.
The Post column was quite offensive and often factually wrong. Why has not the newspaper corrected itself?
I don’t know why I gave “corporate sponsorship” a masculine pronoun, “he.” Just substitute “it.”
Thank you.
Bad self-proofing here.