Endless loop
Chicago’s William Mason will ankle Lyric Opera at the end of the 2011-2012 season. John von Rhein‘s list of dreary white male possible successors is as good evidence as La Cieca has seen recently of the value of thinking outside the box. [Chicago Tribune]
Van Rhein’s list of possible successors is really a joke. Carol Fox must be rolling in her grave. It would drive Ardis Krainik to pig out on a gallon of ice cream and pray to Mary Baker Eddy for salvation. The obvious successor is Cathrine Malfitano.
On second thought, I vote for Jessye Norman! She would really shake things up and be very effective.
She’ll scare everyone into shape with her elocution!
I agree that von Rhein’s list is laughable–especially Epstein. The most effective replacement for Mason, IMHO, would be the jointly-serving duo of Sir Andrew Davis and his wife Gianna Rolandi. Both would bring awe-inspiring skills to the job, and each has skills the other does not. But Davis is one of the finest conductors in the world, and Rolandi is one of the greatest vocal coaches and teachers in the world; neither would likely relish giving up a career each loves and in which each excels.
I don’t know much about the Chicago opera scene but even I can tell that this is a tired list. Gockley hasn’t been at his SFO job very long. Steele just started at NYCO and hasn’t had time to establish a track record there. And wasn’t Epstein fired from the Lyric?
Exactly. And Steele’s aesthetic isn’t exactly complementary to Chicago. The list reads more like a wishlist from an opera fan who’d like a bit more adventurous programming.
But surely how could you leave out Placido (just so he can add another US company to the list ) or La Zambello who’s relentless ambition will not be satisfied by humble Glimmerglass or how about paying that guy Mortier a huge amount of money just to NOT consider putting his name forward.
If memory serves, in its entire 60-year history, there have only been three general directors at LCO (if you include the triumvirate of Kelly/Fox/Rescigno as one). The triumvirate (followed by Fox as GD), then Krainik, then Mason. Krainik and Mason, of course, were well established within the company before they became GD.
LCO cultivates its staff and they are loyal. The company has always gone its own way, with great success artistically and financially. I would think a succession is already in place, although if it were it would probably have been announced in conjunction with that of Mason’s retirement.
Davis/Rolandi is a nice idea. I can’t think of a husband/wife duo who have run a major company, although I’m no authority. But they’re both in their 60s. I would think someone in his/her 40s would be what they’re looking for.
Ms Rolandi will be 58 on Aug 16th; close to 60…….but not quite.
My apologies.
The more I think about a Davis/Rolandi directorship, the more it makes sense.
I was thinking the same thing but, word is, Gianna’s been in ill health. I’m not out of the LOC loop and have no details, but it’s been mentioned before at this site.
Yes, LOC does love to hire from within. Though another poster here puts LOC in a bad light, when I was over there, there was none of it. It’s truly run like family – no surprise that there’s almost zero turnover in staff over the last two decades. Sir Andrew and his wife are truly beloved. Not only for their artistry and savvy, but for their warmth. One day, dashing to a coaching, an rather unkempt gentleman greeted me with a sunny “Hello!” It was Sir Andrew, enjoying a quick smoke before an Otello matinee.
Von Rhein’s list was a joke. Just his posting of Epstein made me wonder where he’s been for the last decade… Even I knew that one day Epstein was here, the next he took off to NYC in a huff, never to return.
Gockley? Not only has he not been long at SFO but he appears to fit as well there as MTT across the street. He also has his detractors here but all my SF opera queen buddies are thrilled with his work. SFO hasn’t been this energized in years – probably since the McEwen era. (Talk about someone who knew voices!!!)
I agree about the SFO being energized. I took a trip out there recently and coming from NYC, I immediately took note of how much more engaged and enthusiastic the audience is in SF as opposed to NYC. It was striking, really.
One dear friend – MAJOR opera queen – said SFO’s Die Walkure was easily the finest he’d heard live – and he’s heard a LOT of Walkure. ThoughI have yet to experience it myself, everyone I know in SF is over the moon about Gockley. He’s managing both the popular angle – one friend first experienced opera at Tosca telecast live at Pac Bell Park – and wizened opera queens haven’t been this excited since McEwen or even Adler. In short, Gockley’s brought opera back to SF. (No one misses Rosenberg… In fact, they dare not speak her name.)
It truly was….I’m not holding my breath expecting to hear another walkure like that any time soon. I don’t even expect to be able to hear a brunnhilde as ideal as stemme for quite a while–if ever again? The production itself is full of wonderful details, really zambello at her best I think.
I’m glad my perception of SFO was not off-base…I was thinking it might just be a case of “the grass is greener”, but I definitely felt the audience to be younger, more diverse, more attentive (i heard few to no cell phones go off during the performances i saw), more enthusiastic (great turnout for pre-performance lecture, no running for the doors after the performances), less touristy, and more excited. The staff I dealt with also seemed to be far more knowledgeable about opera than those at the Met. Could it be that SF is a bigger opera town (not in terms of quantity but quality) than NYC?
Oh for goodness sake… Matthew (who knows more about what’s required than this entire site put together) is not going to go back into that snake-pit. Gockley is tired and won’t even put up with SF much longer. Charles Mackay will go for it and it’s not the worst idea. Anthony Freud will certainly go for it (God help you all!).
Running that barn is a nightmare and I don’t blame Bill for saying enough is enough. He’s looked terified for years!
As I live in SF, I’m very interested in what you mean by “Gockley is tired and won’t even put up with SF much longer.” Will you elaborate?
I’d love for Gockley to leave SFO and for them to get somebody more adventurous in, say a Pamela Rosenberg type but with fiscal sense.
Could someone please convince Domingo to leave LAO and get a real administrator in?
Would our doyenne care to name the people who are a) not white b) not old and c) not men that are ready to take over a company at the level of Lyric Opera of Chicago? Otherwise, it’s easy to take potshots.
This is NOT intended as a joke!
I wouldn’t mind a little more adventure (I could do without Butterfly every 4 years), but I’ve heard told that subscribers stayed away in droves during the Rosenberg years. I’d hate to see that happen again.
Plus, I’m looking forward to Moby Dick and I’m guessing that Gockley had something to do with that impending visit.
C’mon Henry. Gockley is very popular in SF and he’s kept the company afloat during some bad financial times. He’s brought some decent singers here after the vocal wasteland that was Pamela Rosenberg. I don’t think she had a clue about voices. Her productions were perhaps more daring but her casts were from hunger.
Henry–It was easy for Rosenberg to be adventurous before financial reality set in; her final season consisted almost entirely of old chestnuts with less-than-stellar casting. The Freyer Ring sounds more adventuous than Zambello’s version up here, but as I recall, that didn’t prevent Domingo from being roundly criticized by the locals for fiscal irresponsibility. Gockley does the best he can with the resources at hand, but that’s not winning him any brownie points either, it seems… Yes, it’s easy to take potshots.
A General Director’s lot is not a happy one.
Yes, Gockley’s done what he was brought in to do: bring star singers back to the War Memorial and balance the budget. Good for him, but I haven’t gone to SFO in years because there’s been nothing of interest to me. I might go up for the Cyrano/Makropolous weekend, though.
Henry–It was easy for Rosenberg to be adventurous before financial reality set in; her final season consisted almost entirely of old chestnuts with less-than-stellar casting
Yeah, the reports of spending something like $7 million (!!!) on one production (the Messiaen) were jaw-dropping but she was used to state subsidies in Europe and hated kissing the ass of rich people to get them to donate, so she was a poor choice from the get-go.
I don’t think she had a clue about voices
Hmmm…I would say that for her, having star voices wasn’t *a priority*, having singing actors who could fit in with her slightly regie-ish production style was more important.
that didn’t prevent Domingo from being roundly criticized by the locals for fiscal irresponsibility.
[raises hands] What I don’t get is the, how to put it, *mania* to put on a Ring cycle that gripped the administration of LA Opera after Peter Hemmings left. The company was only 15 years old in 2001, it still had work to do to build a solid subscriber base, find a solid music director, get an orchestra (they used pick-up groups for years with predictable results) etc. and instead they poured 10′s of millions of dollars in to four operas and had to do things like 3 Puccini operas in one season to help pay for it.
The official price tag was $32 mil, that’s about 10-15 new productions. Now they’re $6 mil in debt still, have other financial woes and are doing only 6 operas next year. Part of it is the recession, sure, but a good part of it is the mania for putting on the Ring.
By the way, if anyone is looking for a music director, Kent Nagano is available after 2012, he’s not renewing his contract in Munich.
Yes, it’s easy to take potshots
Hahaha, touche!
Henry–If by “star voices” you mean voices that could actually be heard in the 3000-seat plus War Memorial Opera House as opposed to the smaller European houses she was used to, yep, star voices weren’t a priority for Rosenberg.
The obvious candidate:
http://tinyurl.com/2ccg3a5
Is Mary Garden still available?
dreary white male possible successors
I would be genuinely interested to hear about the pool of talented non-middle-aged-white-men who could lead Chicago.
What’s George Shirley up to these days…..
This is sheer silliness, George is 76 years old and didn’t have either the energy or skill set to run a large company 15 years ago.
Why not just name Magda Olivero?
I was being somewhat facetious, the point is that there have been so few people of color who have been allowed to achieve within the operatic world that when we think of possible non-white successor to LOC George Shirley is on a short list. Ponder that.
Obviously, the best way to run an opera company is to hire someone black or hispanic. Yea, right.
Why? Would a black or hispanic person do a bad job? I’m dying to know.
Ever heard of women, by the way?
Why is it that no one says Noel Dahling’s little kernel of wisdom but put in “white” instead of black or hispanic. When the assumption is that hiring someone non-white is way out of the block, thats when you know racial privilege is at work.
Nothing wrong with hiring anybody of any race to run an opera company or any organization,so long as they have the right qualifications. I am just tired of the knee-jerk reaction to any non-white person being hired to do something being “ah, a sign of progress!” If any worthy candidate is excluded on the basis of not being white, then that is a travesty. Candidates should be hired on the basis of their abilities, not their race.
I always think ‘WILL NO-ONE THINK OF THE WHITE PEOPLE?’ is always a fairly dodgy position to hold.
Mine is “will no one look beyond race?”
And I wonder, when will we unpack the way “qualifications” themselves are often based upon access to the right opportunities, membership in the right social circles, residing in the right neighborhoods and other criteria that are contingent on particular racial and gender racially hierarchies. It is, what it is. I’m not even suggesting that a random racial minority or woman should be planted into this position, but the question is at what point does the opera world recognize that its uber old school patriarchy does little to help expand the medium to new audiences.
I can’t adequately express how irritating it is to have to explain to both opera aficionados and my contemporaries that yes, this black man under 30 has a powerful passion for opera. Thank heavens I’m gay or the “how did *you* get into opera?” questions would be louder and even more incredulous than they already are. Anyway yes I’m on a little bit of a rant, but I’m glad that La Cieca actually pointed out the reality of the uniformity of those not only up for the LOC job, but in administrative positions in opera companies around the world. The defensive reactions suggest that something is indeed amiss and we all kind of know it. I’m not saying this is cause for a social movement, but if its incendiary to suggest that maybe the LOC should hire a woman or a racial minority or a woman of color (shockers!) then good! The opera world could use a genuine conversation on this matter.
Dead right, ON. The rather hysterical, projecting reaction from some quarters to la Cieca’s mild enough observation shows how deep-rooted the problem is.
In other words, the fact that several people read ‘It’s a shame that it’s an all white, all male shortlist’ as ‘this job should not be given to a white male’ is telling and depressing.
thanks for those words, O Neophyte. When I first started posting here, I’d call out people’s misogynistic and racist comments. At that time, the reaction seemed to be that I was “too sensitive.” Plus, many commenters prefer to flog their love for dead greats than to discuss issues pertinent to today’s opera world. So I gave up.
I think you’re right that some people here are projecting wildly onto La Cieca’s comments, since, to me, she just observed that the usual suspects (who happen to be white men) showed up on Von Rhein’s candidate list. In this day and age, I’d expect that some diversity would be easier to find, but … closed circles are hard to break into.
Ack. I hope this little firestorm isn’t due to interpretation of my original comment.
I read the aside as a comment on a vast, multiracial/multi-gendered pool of candidates which had been overlooked for the usual suspects (HEY-O!). I don’t believe that a pool exists, but prove me wrong, America!
Just so we’re absolutely ticketty-boo clear, I would very much like for such a managerial pool to exist. It is slightly strange when senior managerial roles in both private and public sectors have diversified so much, yet the Arts, which are traditionally liberal, have not. Similiar to opera companies, I can’t think of a museum amongst the ten biggest/most important that has a black or female head.