“I have the good fortune to be able to rely on a large organization, the Mariinsky Theatre, whose label is more a tool for influence than a business venture. So I can put together all the projects that I want, without constraint.”
Tag: (in
Metz Opera House Considers Dissolving Its Ballet
Authorities in the northwest French city have announced a plan to close the 12-dancer company in two years. “The Opéra-théâtre de Metz … is one of the last in France that maintains a ballet [troupe] dedicated solely to accompany the operas or operettas in its repertoire.”
Kent Nagano Extends In Munich
The Californian conductor has extended the term of his contract as music director of the Bavarian State Opera to 2013. According to Bavaria’s culture minister, the relatively brief extension (two years) will make Nagano’s tenure coterminous with that of the house’s general manager, Nikolaus Bachler; any further extension will be discussed “at the appropriate time.”
Opera Simulcasting Goes 3-D
France will witness the world’s first 3-D opera simulcast on June 2: a performance of Mozart’s Don Giovanni transmitted live from the Opéra de Rennes to an auditorium in Rennes’s city hall and to one or more cinemas in Paris. Meanwhile, there will be 2-D simulcasts in Rennes (indoors in hi-def as well as outdoors) and Brest as well as on the web sites ville-rennes.fr and francemusique.com.
Unknown Shostakovich Opera Discovered
“Large fragments of a satirical opera, Orango, which Shostakovich composed in 1932 – a project of which almost no one was aware – have been found in Moscow. The English musicologist Gerard McBurney is in the process of preparing a performable score of this [futurist] fable.”
Another New Hall For Paris: The Philharmonie de Radio France
The renovation of the famous “maison ronde” of Radio France will include a new €32 million, 1,400-seat concert hall (overseen by Nagata Acoustics, known for Disney Hall in L.A.) and a renovated Studio 104 with capacity reduced from 900 to fewer than 500 seats. The Auditorium is scheduled to open in fall 2013 – at the same time as the new 2,400-seat Philharmonie de Paris.
In Paris, A ‘David Vs. Goliath’ Struggle Over Opera Singers
The incoming director of the Paris Opéra, Nicolas Joël, is adding a clause to singers’ contracts forbidding appearances at other houses in the city. The head of the Opéra-Comique is crying foul, claiming that state-funded theaters shouldn’t undermine each other in such a way. “In the case that concerns us, an artist who sings three phrases at the Paris Opéra can’t sing elsewhere (in the capital). As if that could affect attendance at the Opéra.”
Fire Strikes Pleyel Piano Factory
France’s last manufacturer of pianos was devastated by an overnight blaze at its factory in Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. About 40 pianos were destroyed, including 10 custom-designed instruments, with total damage estimated at €5 million. All models and designs survived intact (as did Pleyel’s technicians), and the company expects to resume production in the spring.
São Paulo State Symphony Fires Chief Conductor John Neschling
Neschling, who over eleven years raised the orchestra from provincial status to international prominence, was dismissed in a dispute with the orchestra’s chairman, former Brazilian president Fernando Henrique Cardoso, over the search for Neschling’s successor. Yan Pascal Tortelier will serve as interim chief conductor; Neschling will get a $500K buyout, and the musicians say they’re happy to see him go.
Gérard Mortier Speaks!
The man who’s spent the past six months roiling the opera world talks about abandoning his New York City Opera job (“I accepted some sacrifices, but there are limits”), his take on that company’s future (“I’m afraid it will disappear”), his bid to run Bayreuth (“a question of principle”), and the great flaw of the French. And he’s very proud of what he achieved at the Paris Opera (lower ticket prices, a younger audience, and a ticket sales rate of 92%).