The Dame’s back at the Garden, showing new singers how it’s done. So much wisdom to impart.

Keep the top lips over the teeth.

gwyneth elisabeth

Ever since Slippedisc.com set the ball rolling on Monday morning, drawing attention to the verbal assault on a young singer by five scratchy male critics, we were alert to the possibility that reputations might suffer in the ensuing storm.

Some did. By Friday, the issue of body size in opera was being aired on American breakfast television and across many forms of media in which opera never gets an airing except in terms of envy and ridicule.

So who has come well out of the furore?

– Tara Erraught, the beautiful young Irish singer, who is presently the most famous mezzo on earth and will never want for work. Nor need she fear further assault. The male critics will not dare.

– Alice Coote, the first artist to see the issue as a matter of principle, appealing to the opera world to reject the demands of body fashion – some may read that as body fascism – and give the voice priority in what is, at base, a vocal art. Alice has greatly enhanced her status as an intelligent artist and fine singer, even – and especially – among the offending critics.

– Glyndebourne, quick to announce its support for the singer.

Richard Morrison and Michael Church, two critics who apologised for the offence they gave.

– Fiona Maddocks and Hugh Canning, two Sunday critics who swiftly dissociated themselves from their colleagues’ offensive terminology.

– NPR’s Anastasia’s Tsioulcas, who nailed the critics for misogyny and breath-taking arrogance.

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And who has emerged from the fray weakened?

– Three stubborn critics and the Daily Mail who maintain that a man in the aisles is entitled say what he likes. (They know full well that singers cannot be disparaged for their race, colour, gender and sexual preference. Why, then, can they be attacked for body shape?)

– Numerous newspaper editors, who were late, lame and unenlightening on the issues.

– The Daily Telegraph, for multiple lapses of taste and editorial judgement.

– Several scabrous websites.

– The conducting profession, which failed to exercise its authority in defence of an embattled artist.

– The Glyndebourne costume department.

– The BBC, which played catch-up to other media and did no original journalism or opinion forming on any channel, radio or TV.

That’s it. All over now. Have a good weekend.

The mezzo-soprano Alice Coote was first into the fray when a young singer was critically savaged for her size early this week. Since then, she has been carefully considering the wider implications of the body-image furore. Here, exclusively on Slipped Disc, Alice calls on the opera world at large to reconsider its priorities if it wants the art to survive. Think about it.

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EVERYONE….

Saying Opera is not all about the voice is like saying Ballet is not all about the body.
Those who disagree  ultimately misunderstand the virtues, value and point of these, admittedly rarified, art forms. Rarified because they take to extremes what the human body- and that includes the brain-  can communicate in the context of music, and yes, VISUAL theatre.

To get the message of Opera, even more so than ballet, is perhaps harder in the times we live in  – an inescapably visual age. But it means that now above all we have to unite and keep the faith if this art form, that has been for centuries challenging the human voice to the heights of achievement for our ears and hearts, is to survive.

To sell tickets for anything these days you have to reach an audience via the internet or film or television. Ballet and certainly Opera do not thrive in these media. They need to form a loyal audience that loves what they are likely to see and hear LIVE. If we are to sustain the existence of opera we must make the visceral experience of opera in the theatre one that the audiences crave to repeat. They need to be astonished, moved, changed or inspired by the singing.

There is a currently an expectation in the press that the taste for singers looking good over sounding good are justified in the context of our ‘new operatic value system’. Richard Morrison in The Times writes: “We have to acknowledge the huge revolution that has hit the opera world in the last 20 years(…) Above all they expect dramatic credibility. They get that in films, in TV dramas and in the spoken theatre and don’t see why exceptions should be made for opera. When they are paying up to £215 a ticket, as at Glyndebourne, those expectations are pretty high. ”

At a time when around the world news continually breaks of the closure of a company or threat of critically falling audience figures for opera in general… Shouldn’t we all be wondering just what benefits this ‘revolution’ has brought?

Isn’t this the time for all of us who love the art form to ask consider what we can do in our own small way to question, support. change, and share the issues that opera is facing in present times?

(Of course we would always hope that as humans we can be kinder to each other and more sensitive than to deliberately harm one another, and some opera critics have been rightly questioned this week for failing to do so. )

MOST important however to remember right now is that this issue is SO much larger than being critical of a critic, or a singer, or anyone. We need to harness our considerable brain power and common sense and also CARE as a COLLECTIVE to re -think and reassess the problem opera faces.

One of the critics under attack this week, Rupert Christiansen, is the author of a well thumbed book in my possession as a young singer “Prima Donna: A History”. Rupert is well aware of the fascination factor that the very greatest female  -and male- singers have brought to the culture of Opera since it’s beginning. This has been a healthy thing for opera, until now.

NOW we are now no longer talking predominantly about the tone, size, greatness of their voice, their singing technique, their use of words, their charisma, ( NB charisma is not a purely physical thing) their communication, their ARTISTRY. We are now spending far more time recognising or praising them for their ability – or crucifying them for their failure- to look good WHILE singing.

Before this so called “revolution” the Metropolitan Opera in New York, 20, or even 40 years ago was far more likely to sell out every night than it does now. Now there’s a threat that the legendary opera house could well be dark altogether ( closed) next season.This is not of course all about the size of singers bodies or how media worthy they are.. But on some level it is…

Consumer confidence will not be high if the audience that pays £215 OR £10 for a ticket to the opera and is promised -above all- dramatic credibility. That would pretty much wipe out the vast majority of the greatest operatic performances of the past centuries that excited such love and passion for the art form!

There is an invidious suggestion that for opera to be a successful venture from now on in needs to normalised or at least brought into line with theatre, film or television.

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A Diva or a Divo is not a normal human being . To pretend they are is in fact a HUGE mistake.   An operatic performance is nothing “normal” either. Opera is an extraordinary, luxury experience.
Diva/Divo = a great singer and someone who has done whatever it takes to formulate with their body and the invisible source of the sound – the larynx- over decades, the ability to ride a huge opera orchestra (and sometimes sound-absorbent sets) without microphone to, with utmost artistic precision and physical mastery, project the most fiendish vocal music ever written.

It doesn’t matter what size or shape they are, unless they can deliver this music they aren’t realising the reason why the Opera was written in the first place. And the deliverance of this music, this emotion, this pure message through sound has always been the thing that opera fans crave.
The need that we now have being hard wired into our expectations, and future DNA perhaps, is that these singers need to have bodies of a uniform and preferably slim frame and be ABOVE ALL ” credible” while doing it. The fact IS, is that there is a limited amount of things a singers body can do, and be, simultaneously while OPTIMALLY delivering the greatest realisation vocally of these roles. Yet that is where at its bottom (!) line.. the thrill and reason for opera exists. That’s the hook for the addict. And we want more of those – not less.

Are we REALLY are saying as a COLLECTIVE on deep, thorough and LOVING reflection, that we would rather sacrifice the vocal prowess of what we will hear at the opera for the believability of the characters on stage?
If so then that IS a game changer for Opera.  And it’s not for me or anyone to even guess where that will lead the art form in future decades, if it survives that long.

Yesterday however we had a “theatre critic” in the Daily Mail humiliate himself with his philistinism on the subject for public consumption.. his words will be widely read.. a loud, DEEPLY worrying, ignorant and above all UNCARING voice on the matter… Shame on his editor.

For those of us who love this Art and want others to love it too, what we have do to right now is to stop shouting at each other and listen.. Take this golden opportunity to UNITE and HEAR the message that opera is whispering to us..

If we don’t listen to its voice, it will be too late.

Maybe hoping for its health in such an age is a really REALLY tough call…

Maybe it calls for tough LOVE…

Are we tough enough?

(c) Alice Coote/www.slippedisc.com

The Glasgow School of Art is ablaze.

Designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, it contains some of the greatest gems of British Art Nouveau.

Glasgow-School-of-Art-on-fire_dezeen_2sq     glasgow fire

One architecture expert believes the building is doomed.

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The German soprano Christine Schäfer has pulled out of three concerts in her home town, Frankfurt, as well as a whole run as Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos in Vienna on June 11, 15 and 20.

We wish her a swift recovery.

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The quote comes from Ottaviano Cristofoli (pictured), principal trumpet in the Japan Philharmonic for the past five years, and they are taken up by Barbara Leone, deputy editor of the AlgaNews site.

Cristofoli says the only way a musician can survive in Italy is by accepting 50 Euros for a night’s work and agreeing to be paid ‘on the black’.

Leone adds that this week another 74 people, mostly musicians, were sacked by a symphony orchestra in Rome.

‘We have lost the theme,’ cries Leone. ‘At this rate, we will soon lose Italy’s last shred of cultural and historical identity.’

Read the editorial here (in Italian). Not many will disagree.

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The upwardly mobile crossover violinist found it all downhill when she came last in her event at the 2104 Winter Olympics.

But there’s no stopping a celebrity who lacks a redeeming sense of irony.

Today, Vanessa-Mae got appointed with Google chief Eric Forbes onto an IOC committee that will determine the future of the Olympic Games.

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The promo film for the new Czech Philharmonic season is founded on the historical fact that Antonin Dvorak’s father was supposedly a butcher. But the images on display belong more to the Hollywood catalogue of horror than to any aspect of the composer’s musical conditioning. See what you think. Many Czechs are appalled. Vegetarians won’t be pleased.

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The Orchestre National de Lyon are about to announce a new contract extension for Leonard Slatkin.

Not many Americans get asked to stay in France.

Slatkin is also music director in Detroit.

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Here’s the release:

(DETROIT, May 23, 2014) — The Orchestre National de Lyon (ONL) announced at a press conference today that Leonard Slatkin has signed a three-year extension to his contract as music director, committing to the Orchestra through the 2016-2017 season. Slatkin also maintains his current music directorship with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO), where he is committed through the 2015-16 season. The ONL contract extension, which builds on his current agreement through the 2013-14 season, will take effect in September 2014, coinciding with a collaborative celebration of the maestro’s 70th birthday on both sides of the Atlantic.

“For the past three years it has been my privilege to lead the ONL as its music director,” said Slatkin. “During that time, we have built an extraordinary relationship, one that is satisfying in every way. I look forward to the next three years of music making with this wonderful ensemble.”

Jean-Marc Bador, ONL executive director, said, “The first three seasons with Leonard in Lyon have been so exciting and successful. We are all looking forward to sharing the next three to come, thanks to the contract extension he just signed.”

Slatkin has accomplished numerous milestones with ONL and DSO during his tenure:

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  • Ravel and Berlioz projects with NaxosThe ONL is in the process of recording 11 volumes of Ravel’s works with orchestra and five of Berlioz’s, including some new orchestrations and world premiere recordings conducted by Leonard Slatkin.
  • Cultural ambassadorshipAfter a successful tour in China last January, the ONL and its music director will fly to Japan for nine concerts in July 2014. Future tours include Russia, South America, and the United States, and concerts at Vienna Konzerthaus and Philharmonie de Paris.
  • Play-along and sing-along concertsIn 2013 the ONL launched a new series of participative concerts in Lyon. The audience is invited to download musical parts from the orchestra’s website and then play along or sing along from the hall as the ONL performs onstage.
  • “Fauteuil et tribune”An innovative marketing proposition in partnership with the Lyon football club that allows audiences to buy a package including a ticket for a symphonic concert and a ticket for a football game.
  • ProgrammingIn the upcoming season, Slatkin will celebrate connections between French and American repertoire and will lead the ONL in a Brahms symphony cycle.

 

Fulsome tributes to Gerald Edelman, a Nobel-winning neuroloscientist who has died aged 84, note that he studied the violin as a boy and wanted to become a professional musician.

Edelman studied with a classmate of Jascha Heifetz’s and discusses those failed aspirations in a fascinating video interview. Click here.

‘In my early adolescence, I had fallen passionately in love with music…’

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The most famous Armenian in history turned 90 yesterday and is not ready to give up the stage.

Charles Aznavour is singing in Berlin this weekend. In the rain. Wherever. Whatever. On tour.

What a trouper.

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For the record, he was bor in Paris 90 years ago as Shahnour Varinag Aznavourian to a pair of Armenian refugees, one of whom was a survivor of the 1915 Turkish genocide. Never to be forgotten. Perhaps that explains the singer’s persistence.



The 9 Cs man is replaced in Barber of Seville by a lucky young Uruguayan, Edgardo Rocha.

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