San Francisco Opera has unveiled a highly sophisticated new multimedia setup that will allow it to vastly expand the menu of technological accoutrements it offers with its staged productions. “The company has put together the first high-definition video production facility built into an opera house in the United States. [The setup] provides the Opera with the latest tools to produce simulcasts, radio programs, DVDs, podcasts and other emerging electronic forms. Streaming pay-per-view opera broadcasts may be in the cards.”
Tag: 06.02.07
The Nagano Effect
There’s been a lot of premature applause at Montreal Symphony concerts recently, which may annoy some seasoned concertgoers, but also signals that the orchestra and its new maestro, Kent Nagano, are attracting a new audience for the first time in years. In fact, ticket sales are up 15% in Nagano’s first season with the MSO, and every concert he conducted sold out.
SF Opera Fires Soprano; Protests Ensue
San Francisco Opera has fired soprano Hope Briggs from a leading role in its new production of “Don Giovanni” on the eve of the first performance, sparking protests from some who believe that race may have played a role in the decision. SFO director David Gockley says that the firing was based solely on Briggs’s performance in rehearsals.
Making Pops Less Abhorrent To The Young
One of the dirty little secrets of the orchestra world is that the audience for pops concerts is aging faster than the audience for classical, and unless the format changes to accommodate younger concertgoers, its status as a surefire moneymaker will soon be in jeopardy. With that in mind, the Boston Pops is beginning to take steps to shake its image as a light entertainment for stodgy baby boomers.