There was an unscheduled break in today’s Pagliacci rehearsal at Covent Garden.
Cast and chorus were called to the side-stage and chorus director Renato Balsadonna broke the news very sensitively that Joan Carroll, friend and colleague, had died the night before of cancer.
Joan was a fine singer, actress and larger than life personality who was loved by all and, in the last months of her illness, deeply missed.
May she rest in peace.
photo (c) Neil Gillespie
Frank Almond, the Milwaukee concertmaster, has written a beautiful memoir of Joseph Silverstein, the Boston legend who died yesterday, aged 83.
In 1979 I was 15 years old and not sure I wanted to play the violin any more; I was in my hometown of San Diego coming off a hiatus of about a year or so. The only reason I was hanging in was because I’d just started with a new teacher who somehow intuitively knew that what I really needed was some quality guidance and a highly structured practice regimen. And maybe a summer of hard work. My mom drove me to the local auditions for BU’s Tanglewood Institute, but I had no idea how that summer would change my life.
Read on here.
Glendale police in California are searching for a maroon 2007 Acura ATL sedan, which was stolen on November 1 from the Embassy Suites Hotel parking lot at 800 N. Central Ave. The car had a 300 year-old cello in the trunk.
The cello has a label ‘Antonio Domenicelli Fecit en Ferrara 1714’.
If you are offered it, call Glendale police at 818-548-4911. There’s a reward.
police photo
Next day, another instrument theft from a parked car.
Uli Bender, a nice chap from the Staatsoper press office who went on to launch and run a hugely successful children’s opera programme, has died suddenly at the age of 69.
Official notice here.
That’s his answer today in a Guardian questionnaire.
We think he’s the first front-rank conductor to endorse a more relaxed concerthall etiquette.
Anyone else care to bend the rules?
For a qualifying opinion, see here.
The song ‘Wo sind’ slurs gay men as paedophiles. The singer, Xavier Naidoo, referred in an earlier song to the ‘Deadschilds’ behind the 2008 banking crisis.
Naidoo is of African and Indian parentage. The German Eurovision producers insist he is neither homophobe nor racist. But they’ve dropped him anyway.
It won’t harm his sales.
The great bass-baritone has given an extraordinarily revealing account to the Tass newsagency of his six-month struggle with brain cancer. Extracts:
+ Strictly between you and me. This is a great secret of mine: I don’t run my website or page in the social networks myself. I rely on assistance from trained specialists. Naturally, they do everything with my prior consent and approval, but I don’t write posts in Facebook myself or place photos in Instagram. I don’t even remember the passwords to them…. God is my witness, I didn’t have the slightest intention of bolstering publicity using rumors about my illness and other people’s curiosity.
+ Firstly, the main message I heard from the doctors was this: “You won’t die.” Of no smaller importance was the promise that I would be able to remain on stage and lead an active life. True, some restrictions might follow, I was told, but certain losses will be unavoidable anyway. For the sake of this goal it was worth struggling with the inconveniences chemotherapy and radiotherapy would entail.
+ I’ve turned half-bald. Lost all hair on the back of my head. At a US hospital in Rochester I underwent a mighty biopsy under general anesthesia. Without that it was impossible to realize what method of treatment should be selected. In fact, I had holes drilled in the base of the skull. If you bring your hand close enough to the irradiated area, you will feel it is warmer than others. Occasionally, when blood rushes to this place, I have strong pulsations there. Feel pretty close to hearing music…
+ On September 25, at the opening of a new season at Met, where I made my first appearance after the break for medical treatment. I knew perfectly well that the audience will explode with an ovation the moment I would appear on stage. I was almost sure that the conductor would pause the performance for a moment to let the spectators express their feelings. It was essential to get through these minutes, not to lose breath, to hold back tears and not to collapse on the floor right there. I am not exaggerating. It was a tremendous psychological test. And the most complex one. Not the global process of resuming my professional career, but the very first step. The role of Count di Luna in Giuseppe Verdi’s Il Trovatore is considered one of the most difficult ones among the baritones, but I love it. As the plot unfolds, my character does a lot of fencing fights. My current condition as it is, there was surely an extra reason for being worried, but, as I’ve already told you, my greatest concern was not about that, but about the moment I was to begin the first monologue. As I walked there, I kept saying to myself: “Hold on! Hold on!” So it happened. I stayed firm.
+ We lined up for the final bow. The conductor – Marco Armiliato – suddenly grabbed me by the hand and pushed forward. At first I was in confusion. It’s against the custom. And then I saw flowers flying towards me from the orchestra pit. Many flowers! Very many! I did not know what to do. I looked back towards my partners. Anna Netrbeko, Marco Armiliato and others were applauding… and weeping. I am not a man of iron, either! I bent down and started picking up the roses lying in front of me with trembling hands, while many more flowers kept pouring in! Long and very thorny… Then I turned and handed the ones I’d just picked up to the ladies on stage.
Believe me, such a token of recognition from the Met orchestra is hard to over-appreciate.
Read the full interview here.
Maria Clodes Jaguaribe died yesterday in Rio de Janeiro on her 87th birthday.
The first Brazilian to perform at the Salzburg Festival, she married a US academic in the 1960s and served for 35 years as Director of Young Pianist Program of the Tanglewood Festival.
Two years ago, in poor health, Maria returned to Brazil
Four weeks ago, the musicians of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra bought a disused inn for the purpose of housing homeless refugees.
Tonight, they start raising funds for its upkeep. Do help if you can.
Message from the orchestra:
We are currently living in a time in which it is vitally important to set a clear example of humanitarianism. We want to help form a world worth living in, and this is why we have decided to open a house for asylum seekers. After acquisition and renovation the house will be passed into the capable hands of the DIAKONIE Refugee Commission. This house, its inhabitants, and the town in which it is located will be supported by an active patronage. Read more about on our website’s blogwww.wienerphilharmoniker.a
With your help we can make this dream a reality! In just a few days our Crowdfunding campaign will go live on wemakeit.com and we would be grateful for your support. Let’s set an united example!
UPDATE: It’s live now. First 3,000 Euros pledged. Click here.
And there’s a video with appeals from three maestros.
The Korea Herald reminds us today that three of the major music competitions this year have fallen to their young contenders.
1 Chopin Competition
2 Busoni International
3 Reine Elizabeth
An enterprising journalist in Australia has been trawling the union agreements to see who gets paid more to bare all, or just bare bits.
Top earners, apparently, are male singers who uncover their penis ($67.62 per show).
A dancer’s dick is worth just $35.43.
Furthermore, bums and bare breasts (women only) earn an additional $43.90 for each stage rehearsal or show, while “skimpy costumes that show bare buttocks” will net performers $27, according to the agreement negotiated between Opera Australia and the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance this year.
Read the full frontal report here. Don’t all rush at once.
(1) Dresden, Lulu (2) Covent Garden, Salome
A contemporary of Magnus Lindberg and Esa-Pekka Salonen, the composer Jouni Kaipainen died this morning, a day before his 59th birthday, after a long illness.
He leaves 4 symphonies, 9 concertos and 7 string quartets, a legacy that is widely respected across the Nordic lands.
The conductor Hannu Lintu writes: Jouni was a true artist with deep understanding of human nature and respect for tradition. His musical intelligence, imagination, ear and technique were unique. I knew him from the very beginning of my career and could always trust his support and opinions. There was and will always be something to learn from his scores, texts and thoughts. Thanks for your music. Sleep well, my friend.
Esa-Pekka Salonen tweets: Finland has lost one of its best composers. I have lost a dear friend. It’s up to us now to keep his legacy alive. R.I.P. Jouni Kaipainen
