La Cieca reports; the cher public decides
Sean Michael Gross, Director of Marketing and Special Projects for 21C Media Group, who is in charge of public and press relations (in North America) for Anna Netrebko, has informed La Cieca that the rumor-magnet diva “‘is not pregnant.”
Meade btw was dramatically pretty good in the role of the Contessa Almaviva in a one-off Met “Nozze” engagement. Vocally she was excellent. However, her dramatic skills are not on the level of Netrebko’s. I think that acting matters in “Anna Bolena”. Another thing, Meade’s schedule isn’t exactly bursting with engagements as Norma worldwide though she probably sings it better than anyone else out there right now. The Met by giving her a run of “Ernani” (with HD exposure) and three “Bolena” performances is really promoting her hard.
Talking about announcements -- the Opera Orchestra of NY has not yet announced their 2011-12 season. Whats up there?
The Met by giving [Meade] a run of “Ernani” (with HD exposure) and three “Bolena” performances is really promoting her hard.
Some of us have been complaining that Gelb’s Met doesn’t do enough to make its own stars (as opposed to poaching them from Europe five years too late). Well, here’s an example of an up-and-coming singer with star potential being eased by Gelb into the most demanding of leading roles--just the osrt of thing some of us didn’t think Gelb capable of doing. Anyone out there got a good recipe for crow?
Isn’t more likely that Gelb is setting her up to fail by putting her in high-profile appearances before she’s ready? He does hate opera, after all.
Not only that, IL, but there have been more than a few ‘WHY ISN’T GELB CASTING MEADE?’ posts hereabouts over the last couple of years. Extraordinary.
Okay, time for another hunkentenor alert:
http://www.peterlodahl.com
has anyone heard this cutie? Seems to sing in Copenhagen and Berlin exclusively.
If you’re in NYC during July, you can hear him in Pulcinella at Alice Tully Hall, according to the schedule on his Website.
For your delectation :
[img]http://parterre.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/cms_gastsolisten_lodahl1.jpg[/img]
His name is Peter Lodahl and is a Danish tenor. He has a very plesant tenor and a pretty good singing technique too.
He partnered up with Nebs in La Boheme when she sang in 2-3 performances at the new Opera House in Copenhagen.
There are several videos on YouTube with him singing and from the LaBoheme.
OT: does anyone know if a recording exists of Henze’s Phaedra? I couldn’t find one at Amazon or Arkivmusic. Thanks.
OK Cruz -- there is this
http://www.operapassion.com/cd6743.html
(a librarian from the West Coast has been giving me Google lessons).
I saw Phaedra in concert at the Barbican (Henze in the audience). There was great enthusiasm for the piece, but I loathed it. I had loved Boulevard Solitude several years ago at Covent Garden (adding this to give me a little much needed street cred)
Oh manou, thanks! I bought a ticket to a performance, knowing nothing about the music or anything else except for the general story. That’s OK for me, because I’m in a phase where I’ll see anything once. But a friend now wants to go with me, and I want to prepare her for not hearing Verdi.
Take earplugs.
Hahahaha. And it’s in a small theater, too…
manou, SOMEone must like Phaedra as the CD is out of stock at Opera Passion. I’ll follow my own Google lessons and hunt a little more deeply … Thanks for pointing out a new-to-me resource.
Lots of people at the Barbican cheered it to the rafters. What do I know?
I will let you know whether I cheer or give the frowning of a lifetime.
Please do!
FYI: once again, YouTube came to the rescue.
What I remember about Boulevard Solitude at ROH was that it was set in a train station lobby or a hotel foyer or something like that anyway a big room with a staircase and several sets of doors in the 1950′s I think and all the way through the whole show there were characters walking down the stairs and out the doors or through the doors and up the stairs or through one set of doors and out the other,over and over, must have been twenty or thirty of them. It was totally mesmerizing, in fact just about the damnedest thing I ever saw, you could not say it was dance and yet it must have been intricately choreographed. I also remember Chris Merritt was in it and I loved the whole show but I remember not a single thing about the music.
I’m quite enjoying the image of you sitting in stone silence while everyone around you applauds, frowning so violently as to cause a cramp.
I’m glad to bring joy to you.
The real trick would be to frown violently enough to give somebody else a cramp.
I think I can do that.
Born on this date in 1861, soprano Nellie Melba
and in 1932, bass Karl Ridderbusch
and Happy 80th Birthday tenor Eric Tappy