“Within my memory, there has not been a successful major revival with a revamped book of a problematic show. Yet the lure of going back in time to make things rights persists. Composers sometimes yearn to solve the problems that weren’t addressed when the show was in try-outs in Boston, Philadelphia or New Haven. If only they had just a little more time, a little more money, a little more luck.” – Hartford Courant
Tag: 11.19.00
DIFFICULT GENRE TO CROSS
Classical musicians are probably the most-trained of any musician. But that still doesn’t mean they can make the switch to jazz. Big-time classical musicians talk about why making the crossover is risky business. – Chicago Sun-Times
BRAND-NAME MAESTRO
“No conductor since Karajan has achieved brand-name recognition on record – with one exception. Nikolaus Harnoncourt is a Habsburg by blood, a descendant of Holy Roman emperors, who used to earn his crust as a back-row cellist in Vienna’s second orchestra until he decided that he knew better than most maestros how classical music should sound.” – The Telegraph (UK)
THE KENT NAGANO CASE
In Europe Kent Nagano is a rising star, the “unassuming hero” of the Salzburg Festival and director of the Hallé Orchestra. So why, when America’s major orchestras seem to be having difficulty finding music directors, do they not consider the 49-year-old American? – New York Times
OPERA WITHOUT SINGING
John Moran’s “operas” stretch the form. Not just for the odd subject matter, or that the pieces are performed by theatre rather than opera companies. In Moran’s operas, the performers don’t sing. “What they lip-sync is mostly speech, from which Mr. Moran teases melody by repeating phrases and fragments until the shapes of their inflections are as familiar as what is being said.” – New York Times
DRIVING EDWARD VILLELLA
In the 15 years since he founded it, Edward Villella has turned Miami City Ballet into a respectable, successful company. “But Villella, though exhausted by years of overwork and in failing health – he has a bleeding ulcer and underwent his third major hip operation last May – keeps pushing toward new peaks. It’s almost as if the closer he gets to the mountaintop, the harder he drives himself – and the more frustrated he becomes at not reaching it.” – Miami Herald
DANCE’S ANNUAL PICK-ME-UP
It’s “Nutcracker” season again. Ballet companies all over stage the classic, and it typically generates at least 40 percent of a ballet company’s income from ticket sales. Dance companies also fill theatres they otherwise have a difficult time attracting audiences to. – San Jose Mercury News