Going viral: Paris Opera chief’s aria errors
mainStéphane Lissner, head of the Paris Opéra, exposed himself to a short musical quiz on a business channel.
Turns out he can’t tell his Norma from his Wally. As the quiz progresses, he keeps getting his arias in a sling.
The video is being circulated by Corriere della Sera from Milan, where Lissner used to run La Scala.
Fremdschäääämen…
And despite what Lissner said, Callas DID sing Madama Butterfly live–in Chicago
This is a typical French leader, who obtains and wields power because of who he knows, or what secret society he belongs to, but not because he has the faintest clue, or even interest, about the business that he is running. In France, that is left to the ‘bas peuple’ to sort out. If they have a success, their leader basks in the glory, if they fail, they are humiliated, transferred or fired. there is little, if any, accountability. That’s why you can have in France former politicians or the protected elite leading state owned firms, that should require scientific, technical or linguistic skills, which none of them have. The fact that Mr. Lissner, who leads the national opera, doesn’t have a clue about opera is not an unusual phenomenon in France. He is one of their elites and they are entitled to rule the country and its institutions regardless of their incompetence. France is not a society of meritocracy, but rather one of entitlement. No wonder intelligent and trained French youth see no future there and want to escape.
Unfortunately, “who obtains and wields power because of who he knows, or what secret society he belongs to, but not because he has the faintest clue, or even interest, about the business that he is running” describes leaders, politicians, managers and directors of various institutions and countries the world over.
I am always reminded of a quote from “Yes Minister”, regarding the fact that a seasoned official was not advanced to lead a committee:
Cartwright: “I shall rise no further.”
Hacker: “Why?”
Cartwright; “Alas, I’m an expert.”
(from season 3, episode 3 of Yes Minister, titled “The Skeleton in the Cupboard”)
“This is a typical French leader”
Yes. And Americans have no culture, Brits don’t know anything about good food, Germans love discipline and Italians are messy, Russians are drunks and Japanese are quiet.
I cannot begin to express how fully you hit that nail on the head. 25 years in France, observing this sort of rot at every level, has left me very soured to that beautiful country…
this man is the head of the paris opera.
and cannot identify basic tunes.
But it’s true what Lissner says about “La Forza del Destino.” In the world of opera it is like “Macbeth” (“The Scottish Play”) in Shakespeare. I assumed the superstition originated with Renata Tebaldi when Leonard Warren dropped dead on stage at the Met where she was singing Leonora. It is said that she never sang the role again. But the superstition possibly goes back earlier than 1960. So at least he knows a little opera trivia.