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Win a DVD of Robert Dornhelm's film of La bohème
31 August 2010, London, UK
Win a DVD of Robert Dornhelm's film of La bohème starring Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón, described by The Times as "succulently dramatic...a tribute to the stars' power."
To enter, email us at operanow.competitions@rhinegold.co.uk with your full name, address and daytime contact number, plus your answer to the following question:
Q. Puccini's La bohème has become one of the most popular operas in the repertoire, but there is another operatic version of the same story, also called La bohème, which is rarely performed. Who was the composer?:
A) Mascagni
B) Debussy
C) Leoncavallo
Deadline for entries: Thursday 30 September 2010
Our 'Collectors Guide To Opera' in the November/December issue of Opera Now will feature a selection of the best DVD releases of La bohème.
Negotiations underway for part-time orchestra at Scottish Opera
31 August 2010, Glasgow, Scotland
General director, Alex Reedijk
Scottish Opera may be planning to halve the working hours and salaries of its orchestra, a report in Glasgow’s The Herald revealed last week.
According to the report, “The management of the opera company, led by general director Alex Reedijk, believe the expense of a full-time orchestra cannot be sustained.”
The alleged proposal to put all 54 orchestra members on part-time contracts for 26 weeks’ work per year has been met with “anger, concern and dismay” by the musicians.
They have responded by writing an internal letter to the company’s board members stating that “We are the last remaining performing artists on full-time contracts, and if we were to continue in the direction that these proposals take us, Scottish Opera would no longer be a performing arts company at all, merely an administration, and indeed would no longer be a ‘national’ company worthy of the name.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Scottish Opera has told Opera Now that “we are currently in negotiations with the players representatives and the Musician's Union about new employment contracts and do not have anything further to add.”
The orchestra of Scottish Opera is due to celebrate its 30th birthday this year, having survived a previous financial restructuring of the company in 2004 that led to the loss of nearly 100 jobs, including all 34 members of the Opera’s chorus.
News round-up - 30 August 2010
30 August 2010
Anna Nicole Smith(Photo: Mark J. Terrill/AP)
Philanthropist, Agnes Varis
Andrea Bocelli
BBC4 TO BROADCAST OPERA ABOUT FORMER PLAYBOY MODEL
Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Anna Nicole – The Opera
A new opera based on the life of former U.S. glamour model, Anna Nicole Smith, is to be screened on BBC4 TV in early 2011. Anna Nicole – The Opera with music by Olivier award-winning composer, Mark-Anthony Turnage, will receive its world premiere at London's Royal Opera House on 17 February 2011. Directed by Richard Jones, the production promises to be “provocative in its themes, exciting in its bravura style and thrilling with its sheer contemporary nerve”. Smith, who first came to public attention after marrying an oil billionaire nearly four times her age, was later dubbed "the queen of trailer trash" by U.S. tabloids. She died in 2007 after ingesting a fatal overdose of prescription drugs.
NEW YORK MET EXTENDS ‘$25 WEEKEND TICKETS’ SCHEME
Gift of US$2.5m will subsidize 13,600 seats
Agnes Varis, a managing director of the Met’s Board of Directors, has donated US$2.5 million to support the company’s subsidised weekend tickets scheme. Her gift towards the 2010-11 season will ensure that 13,600 weekend seats - normally priced at $137 to $322 - can be made available for just $25 each. An estimated 93 performances will be covered by the scheme, including every Friday evening, Saturday matinee, and Saturday evening performance (except for the new production premieres of La Traviata on 31 December and Die Walküre on 22 April).
ANDREA BOCELLI TO MAKE MET DEBUT
Solo recital scheduled for 13 February 2011
Popular Italian tenor, Andrea Bocelli, is to make his solo recital debut at the Metropolitan Opera on 13 February 2011. His performance will feature a selection of arias, lieder and art songs by Beethoven, Wagner, Liszt, Richard Strauss, Fauré, and Tosti. Bocelli, who has been completely blind since the age of twelve, is a multi-award-winning performer and was recently honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contribution to live theatre.
SAN FRANCISCO OPERA APPOINTS NEW DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT
Jennifer Lynch promoted to key role
San Francisco Opera General Director, David Gockley, has announced the appointment of Jennifer Lynch as Development Director, effective 1 September 2010. Lynch has been with the company for nine years and currently serves as Senior Director, Comprehensive Campaign. Her new role includes overall responsibility for San Francisco Opera’s annual and special fundraising campaigns, currently worth approximately US$30–35 million per year.
THE GILDED STAGE: A SOCIAL HISTORY OF OPERA
Six lectures by Daniel Snowman at London’s Royal Academy of Music
A series of six monthly opera lectures by leading social and cultural historian, David Snowman, will be launched at London’s Royal Academy of Music on 28 September 2010. ‘The Gilded Stage: A Social History of Opera’ will explore the world of opera houses, impresarios, monarchs, money makers, artists and the changing nature of audiences over the past five centuries. Online booking now open.
AMERICAN TENOR TO MAKE VIENNA STATE OPERA DEBUT
Stephen Costello to play Rodolfo in La bohème
Following his acclaimed appearances in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette at this year’s Salzburg Festival, the American tenor, Stephen Costello, will make his debut at the Vienna State Opera on 6 and 9 September 2010. Costello will play Rodolfo in a revival of the Franco Zeffirelli production of La bohème under Franz Welser-Möst.
INJURED TENOR SUES ROYAL DANISH OPERA OVER SET COLLAPSE
61-year-old David Rendall is seeking damages worth £250,000
61-year-old British tenor, David Rendell, has launched a £250,000 law suit against the Royal Danish Theatre. Rendell was injured when a stage set for Aida collapsed on him at the theatre during a performance in 2005. He has subsequently been forced to give up performing after undergoing a left knee replacement, hip replacement and surgery to his shoulder.
Ireland to get a new national opera company in 2011
27 August 2010, Dublin, Ireland
Ireland’s Opera Theatre Company (OTC) began its final tour in Dublin this week with the Irish premiere of Grigory Frid’s The Diary of Anne Frank.
The company, which was launched in 1986 as the national touring company of Ireland, will close at the end of the year when funding from the Arts Council of Ireland ceases.
In its place, a new national opera company – Irish National Opera (INO) – will be launched in 2011, subsuming the existing functions of OTC as well as those of Opera Ireland.
A board for the new company is already in place, but recruitment for a general director only began last week. A business manager will be sought in January and INO’s first production is expected to take place in autumn 2011.
In the meantime, Opera Ireland will present Tosca at Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre during November – ostensibly the last production by the company in its current form, although funding may be still sought from the Arts Council of Ireland for an additional spring season in 2011.
South Korean baritone wins Concours Ernst Hafliger
27 August 2010, Bern, Switzerland
Eung Kwang Lee
29-year-old baritone, Eun-Kwang Lee, has won the Concours Ernst Hafliger 2010 in Bern, Switzerland.
Originally from South Korea, Lee is a graduate of Berlin's Hanns Eisler Music Academy and currently a member of the Theater Basel Opera Ensemble.
He was one of ten singers who were selected to participate in this year’s public final at the Stadttheater Bern, accompanied by the Bern Symphony Orchestra.
In second place after Lee was 31-year-old German soprano, Mandy Fredrich, followed by 27-year-old U.S. baritone, Todd Boyce, who came third.
The competition’s panel of adjudicators was led by Swiss soprano, Edith Mathis.
A scholarship for the best Swiss entrant to the competition went to mezzo-soprano Eve-Maud Hubeaux, who also walked away with one of the special prizes – an engagement for a role at the Stadttheater Bern.
Launched in 2006, the Concours is Switzerland’s first international singing competition. It is dedicated to the memory of eminent Swiss tenor, Ernst Hafliger, who served as the jury president until his death in 2007.
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