Agency swoop: Joyce’s ex takes his artists elsewhere

Simon Goldstone’s claim to (modest) fame is that he signed Joyce DiDonato after she was shunned by other agencies at auditions.

When Simon decided to quit IMG, Joyce went with him to Intermusica. Not long after she dumped him for ‘more innovative’ management. Since then, Simon has been reconfiguring his future.

Today, he waltzed off from Intermusica to Rayfield Allied, taking with him 20 artists, including one fast-rising star. The defectors are:

Sopranos Venera Gimadieva and Soile Isokoski;

Tenors Eric Cutler, Sam Furness, Norman Reinhardt, Sergey Romanovsky and Boris Rudak;

Baritones John Chest, Igor Golovatenko, Scott Hendricks, Alexey Lavrov, Brett Polegato, Dan Shelvey,  David Stout and George von Bergen.

Basses Joshua Bloom and David Shipley;

Conductor Gianluca Marcianò;

Stage Directors Jack Furness and James Robinson.

Simon says: ‘I’m delighted to be joining Rayfield Allied – I feel it is currently the most exciting and energetic agency in the UK with an illustrious history going back over 40 years and a fantastic existing roster of artists. Ben Rayfield’s ethos is very much focused on personal and knowledgeable artist management reflecting my own style perfectly. I am thrilled to be a part of Ben’s team at Rayfield Allied, and to continue to work with so many of my artists.’

Small pond, large storm.