A gala day is enough for me
Hey, remember how New York City Opera threw this big gala last fall to salute the billionaire teabagger, Astroturfer and enemy of Net Neutrality David H. Koch? Now, La Cieca is sure that in the intervening months you have been asking yourself, “What could NYCO possibly do to top this ill-advised exaltation of someone who really doesn’t deserve to be honored? Who could NYCO possibly find who would be a less popular and appropriate target for veneration?”
I warn you, cher public, you are not going to believe who the honoree is for the spring gala.
Harry, I’m sure we all appreciate by now your passionate sentiments about “those social harpies and butterflies that love getting on Opera Boards” etc but what I would love to know- what is the REAL story? By this I mean, that for a man to be sooo passionate about something there has to be a story behind it. What singular “event” or “happening” in your life is it that has made such an indelible imprint on you? I’m sure there are many of us that would love to know.
I think what you are really asking is “Why do I have or take the approach I do?” It is a fair question and I will try to give a few reasons, why, during my travels looking at… and also going swimming in the Arts fishbowl at one time.
Many ‘events and happenings’ observed and privy to examples of information )stated -below), Ruxton. Having at one time engaged in the business of Show Business ‘off stage’, one quickly is privy to the scandals, the embezzlements, the rubbery account things ‘hidden in the books’, the trickery, the suck-ups, the knives in the back and finally all the devious ways of people associated with rampant egos wanting to get ahead…. in Show Business.
There is more opera (of the human soap kind) going on , off stage than there is – on stage!
(1) Does one enjoy going and watching some performance on a stage knowing full well ‘how exactly’ some untalented performer(s) got that role or got ahead as far as they have.
(2Knowing of top administrative people from one fallen Arts enterprise who swiped a multiple of very valuable large heavy pieces of equipment out for their own houses, before the auditors came in, and took inventory of what was left. Who were blamed? The bandied around excuse /answer: “Probably some of other lower members of staff who earlier have been retrenched. We don’t know who, exactly!”. People – who,-so conveniently blamed- had been previously retrenched – many months before. Yet ‘the connect’ of why the loss of such equipment was not incredibly noticed in that lapsed time interim, was never investigated.
Yet you might get invited now, to a first night or gala- after show supper party, and there is the same guilty culprits….large as life: their reputation -one assumes – publicly and totally intact. What regard can one then have, when futher judging the creditials of the fools you know of, who now employ such creatures in a yet still higher position than what they once held. How? Though they all swim in the same social circles where if such incidents were to strumble into the conversation, they would surely hear; yet would wish to dismiss out of hand or quickly change the subject to hide from it. Many so called forms of politeness can be a versatile multi faceted tool with many uses, mixing and surviving amongst the guardians that ascribe and belong to ‘privliged social circles’.
(3)Knowing of others, in still other Arts -allied companies that were operating their own personal ‘private rackets’, scheming and profiting for years and years un-noticed before being somewhat privately exposed by a chance slip up ‘one -day over-sight’ by the perpetrators.
4)Knowing of people in extremely high positions who having the power to give out and bestow grants (not a cent from their own pocket either!) spending it on their ‘ latest musical fuck’ Then ‘one Citizen Kane type’ tried and used pressure to influence a record company to give its pet, a recording contract. The poor bitch was literally quite self destructive to boot , whilst this shenanagans all went on. And the creature finally personally imploded, and achieved that sad result. That artist, the last time I saw it performing……I was the first, out the exit door.
(5)Knowing of ‘Arts administrative top dogs’ caught ‘red-handed’ actually ‘on the premises’ having it off with young ambitious wannabee things ‘whose age of consent was very highly questionable indeed and more in need of moral protection’ by the House Security. Security staff that witnessed ‘this other performnance’ then were redeployed elsewhere into a better position. Where they would be relied upon to keep their own mouths secure and shut as well. What always happens in most of these types of situations? The big silent cover -up. If they, the culprits are caught – no criminal charges are laid- just quietly asked to find re -employment themselves and yes, so it will not be noticed or picked up on – given a lengthy time of months to find ‘ a better position oportunity!’ Likely there they will be in a allied position in another Arts concern or staggeringly in one such instance I noted- got a position where opportunities to exploit similar criminal behaviour was even more opportune. Co-incidence? Not lkely, more-over the new position found by one of their mutual friends whose perchants for life follow down the avenue of identical action…. and I might add ..and who also probably have ….’a similar sense of certain personal perculiar privliges’. That is abuse of privlige, as well.
Ruxton, now you know a bit more.
Thank you Harry. At the risk of sounding like Doctor Phil, (and not wanting to diminish anything you have said) there are only two points I think are worth stating. 1/ “corruption” in all its forms is not just confined to the opera world or arts- it is everywhere throughout the corporate world as well. Wherever human beings are, ambition, self interest and power, will always make a heady cocktail full of possibilities. For sure, things are seldom thorougly “just”.
2/ isn’t “life” all about how we handle or react to these experiences? We can either let them consume us and make us bitter and angry or we can take a more optomistic view and look for the plenty of good that is also laced throughout.
Ok- “Pollyanna” I know- but for me, looking ahead with optomism has worked much better than playing Lot’s wife. I can only recommend it.
Hi Ruxton, I know you and Harry were having a private conversation of sorts, but it is being posted in a place where just about anybody might butt in. I’ll mind my manners and not disagree vociferously, except to observe that you offer the choices of accept or ignore. If you take the full measure of your adversary, you might see see that acceptance is simply appeasement, while ignoring it is suicide. There are at least two more peacable options: exposure and resistance. Beyond those are revolution and annihilation. Let’s not go there. For now, at least.
Personally, I have nothing against money laundering.
My problem with money laundering is that I always forget to use fabric softener.
Harry, you show a distinct lack of fund-raising talent. Those Voo-doo dollies should be distributed widely and for free. But the pins should cost $500 each.
Let us not forget – most opera (and theater, and other arts-based) organizations only make about 30-40% of their income (if lucky) from ticket sales. As much as we might feel we’ve “paid for the privilege,” unless we’re giving large sums in addition to our ticket-buying….most companies would not survive without these social climbers throwing money at them…..
I’m more than willing to let them do so, if it means I get to see more productions…..I’m not being asked to like the person, after all.
Betsy has a point at 8.1.1 Figaroindy. Such is the state of the Arts in this country. Yes, we are all happy to reap the benefits of their largesse. However, unless Dr. Baker has coughed up massive amounts of cash to NYCO over the past couple of years or convinced her social climbing ilk to poney up some dough there is no reason that she needs to be honored. But then again we don’t know the Machiavellian depths that our Man-Of-Steele has had to plumb to “lubricate” the board to see things his way. Like it or not despite the debacle that NYCO has been over the past decade somebody somewhere sees the need to still kiss Baker’s ass. I wish I had still had an “in” to the inside scoop, but unfortunately all of my moles at NYCO have either left or were downsized out of NYCO over the past few years.
Please someone out there fill us in. Aside from enabling Kellogg’s decline into artistic feebleness, “hire” Mortier and percipitate the decimation of NYCO’s endowment; I just can’t see any reason to honor her. It’s sort of like after the Katrina disaster when all of the politicians were congratulating each other and finally Anderson Cooper called the govenor out on everyone’s ineptitude. Does one get honored just for being immovable? ‘Cause it looks like she ain’t going nowhere anytime soon.
sorry “precipitate”
figaroindy (13.1):
I would counter that although the social harpies believe that they have ‘paid for their privliged positions’, who need their ‘selected well regarded interests’ fulfilling their life , so have Opera’s general public supporters ‘group’ with THEIR support….. over their entire life! I speak here on their behalf. So that makes that social butterfly special privlige point – what you could call- somewhat, quickly neutralised.
Yet where can the vacuous harpies and supercilious social butterflies claim ‘the right’ to also decide and think they are all mini artistic directors of Opera ,by steering and setting the agenda. Yes some do! Look how often this happens. Giving a little opposition here, a little influnce there, or just allow certain other people with their own self agendas to charm the pants off them. The greatest concern to incompetents getting into power: ‘is being found out’, so they decide to share their bets and sheet any blame when things go wrong, all over the place.
By nature ,f ar from showing measures of open confidence – they form cliques like naturally, their sense of having, or belonging; to protected compounds in social circles’. It is this type of ghetto beast they are most happy, ‘to root and toot’ in bed with, sometimes literally! Inclusiveness f all they come in contact with as part of the deal: is not part of their inhabited skin or mental domain.
Besides a fair representation of expert business hard heads watching the bottom financial line, how many Boards have a fair degree of real opera veterans on them. Veterans who know opera through and through – who know the strengths & weaknesses of that Company : be it voice, singers, staging and music. How many opera Companies think of themselves like a sports team needing to genuinely foster and support young singers, or use them in an on – going way? Or are they the type that dishearten or demoralise incentative of promising people, by just having a casting plan to hire ‘if we need someone’.
I would prefer a budget production well put together to some grandiose production that falls completely on its face because of bad choices.
Many a company has hit the dirt face down dead , being too unrealistically ambitious about what it actually is, should be, or plans.
Looking back decades and comparing today over the commissioning of new operas (or even plays) by various forces, what do we find? Administrators agreeing to projects that don’t have any hope in hell, of succeeding. With not one note of music to show either , when they are ‘signed’ for the project. Composers too, that have become ‘darlings of the elite’ more clever at composing strategy plans to milk the pure strings of both private and /or public Art subsidies and other donating fools, than writing music. Pushing their ideas on those agreeing to it, those whose acumen and cultural awareness skills in various positions- are insecure behind their very public facades. Composers that have not proved in any way, their acceptance with public audiences in any hard dollars from any previous work they exhibited, elsewhere. So who really suffers…the general honest audiences who are short-changed still beleiving it is ‘their company and worth supporting’. Whilst at the same time wasting the overall money resourcss of the Company what it has as ‘financial back stop’ for the future.
Having heard no — repeat, NO — inside word, I can only assume this is meant as a graceful farewell. These events are used to provide punctuation, not as midstream celebrations.
let us not forget: she thinks the guy she brought in to replace Mortier, George Steel, knows a lot about opera, and has given him free rein in the truffle-patch.
SHE brought in?
SHE!
BETSY_ANN- thank you for your contributing to the “open discussion” I was having with Harry.
I asked Harry an open question because I felt others might also be interested in his reply.
Of course you are right – I was not meaning to suggest that in every situation one just either (passively) accepts or ignores. That is quite lame and certainly I’ve never been like that myself- in fact quite the opposite. I’m saying that once one has dealt with an issue (exposing, resisting whatever) there comes a time after that, where one has to let go and move on- or continue to carry it forever and risk letting it affect one (making one bitter and twisted). I think the things Harry mentioned happened a long time ago- and that is why I rather pointlessly proffered my Polyanna recipe- only because it works for me
Okay. I understand..Thank you for not taking offense.
What? Me worry?