Composer gives 120,000 Euros to Latvian opera house
mainIgor Krutoy, a Russian-Ukrainian composer, has leaped to the aid of a hard-pressed Baltic house. Rejected as a student by the Kirov conservatoire, Krutoy made his living as a songwriter in Moscow, did a course of studies in Saratov and wound up as head of a music conglomerate, Music1.ru.
In 2011, he was reported to have broken the sales record for a New York condominium, paying $48 million for a 12th floor unit at the former Plaza Hotel.
The Latvian National Opera are a very good ensemble, producing high-calibre work. It’s a pity that their government don’t support them properly – although in fairness, the whole country is in economic jeopardy as a result of joining the EU and the Euro.
Here is an example of their recent work – Dmitry Bertman’s production of TOSCA.
http://youtu.be/ZeLHUpEUbv0
Latvia ranks 17th in the world for opera performance per capita. The USA comes in at 39th, behind all Europen countries except impoverished Portugal. On the positive side, we squeaked by Costa Rica which comes in at 40th. Perhaps Krutoy could help with opera in America.
Where was and what is today the name of the Kirov conservatoire?