For the latest scamp, from the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, click here.
If you feel like it.
Anna Virovlansky has torn a ligament in her leg two days before going on stage in Saturday’s new production of Lucia di Lammermoor at Oper Leipzig, the first time she has sung the role.
But the Russian soprano is not going to miss out on her big night.
A wheelchair has been organised and the director Katharina Thalbach has decided to wheel Lucia around in the silent role of her dead mother.
Flashback: In June 2009, Joyce DiDonato sang through two acts of Barber of Seville at Covent Garden on crutches after breaking a bone in her right leg.
English National Opera has fed the Daily Mail exclusive details of next spring’s commercial co-production of Carousel – 41 shows over five weeks.
The lead roles in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical will be taken by the tenor Alfie Boe, who has sung opera creditably on the Coliseum stage, and Katherine Jenkins, the ‘opera singer’ who has never sung a full role of anything before. This is, supposedly, her stage debut.
It’s a ‘semi-staged’ production with the ’40-strong ENO orchestra’.
It is as it is.
UPDATE: Twelve hours later, the official announcement.
A thanksgiving meditation from our weekly diarist Anthea Kreston, violinist of the Artemis Quartet.
In these times of political division, I often think of my grandmother-in-law, Madeline Duckles, who passed three years ago at the age of 97.
I first met Madeline Duckles in 2000 in LaJolla, California, after an Amelia Piano Trio concert for “rising stars”. We had recently spent six weeks in the glory of that Southern California town, perched above the ocean on cliffs, housed in a magnificent home of a patron of LaJolla Summerfest. The Amelia Piano Trio was less than a year old, but had a quick entrance into the chamber music scene, partially because Jason and I were also members of the Avalon String Quartet. The supercouple of David Finckel and Wu Han had taken the reigns of LaJolla the year before, and they proposed to us that not only the Quartet, but also the Trio would come be the young artists in residence at LaJolla Summerfest. We jumped at the chance, although this meant that I would be rehearsing four hours per day on viola, and four on violin, as well as having daily public master classes and many performances. In addition, Quartet was heavily preparing for the rigors of the ARD competition. But, how could we not do it? It was a pleasure to be invited back to perform on their winter series.
I had heard much about Madeline Duckles – she was a force to be reckoned with. The Matriarch of a Berkeley, California musical dynasty – her husband was the foremost musical bibliographer of his generation Vincent Duckles (at the time, the UCBerkeley library was named the Duckles Library), she was the mother of five strapping musical boys, and later fostered a young girl from Vietnam. Vin was an avid collector of rare manuscripts, and built the UCBerkeley Library into one of the greatest musical libraries of the world. To quote the UCBerkeley website, “Duckles built an atmosphere of friendship in the library that was entirely characteristic of the man himself. Those who worked there (as scholars, students, and staff) all experienced his concern for people as well as books, his patience and sheer good will. Affection is indeed a word that comes to mind when we think of Vin Duckles. He simply radiated goodness. No one can remember him ever uttering a sharp word. He and his wife Madeline were constantly involved in liberal and humanitarian causes; their circle of friends among librarians, book people, and musicologists on two continents was unusually wide and warm.”
As a young mother, Madeline traveled extensively throughout Europe, her five boys in tow, as Vincent combed through church basements and libraries for musical manuscripts. His tome “Musical Reference and Research Materials” was published – the first periodical to organize international writings on music. He was colleagues with other ground-breaking musicologist of the time, for example Otto Eric Deutsch (cataloguer of Schubert scores) and the inventor of RILM (International Repertoire of Musical Literature) – think of them as the “Indiana Jones” of classical music – investigating, traipsing around the globe, digging for information and bringing the findings back to the hallowed halls of their respective Universities for publication. The organization of the classical music world.
Madeline, a supportive wife who was famous for her large parties and always open door, was hardly a woman under the wings of her husband. She was raised on a ranch in the outback of California – in the times of horses and the Wild West – when girls had a tough life ahead of them and Native American presence was evident.
She attended UCBerkeley (where she met Vincent) and began to see the world from the outside, as a person increasingly involved in human rights, peace, and the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. As she traveled throughout Europe, her involvement increased – an outspoken advocate for women’s rights, and political freedom. Her home in Berkeley had a revolving door of guests from the reaches of the world – in town for conferences, or work with the Friends Service Committee or the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. Madeline herself was on the front lines of protests – speaking, writing, meeting with people for negotiations. Her work with in the 60’s lead to the first Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaties, and she was the recipient many accolades.
During the Vietnam War, her involvement took a deeply personal bend, as she applied for and was accepted to foster a young girl who had been severely wounded in Vietnam. And so, the family of seven became a family of eight, during which time their new addition had medical attention and a series of operations.
Madeline became a widow in her 70’s, and her house continued to overflow with visitors of every stripe and nationality – some staying for one night, some for years. The doors were alway open (literally) and she held court in her redwood home perched on the Berkeley Hills – 51 steps down from the road on a slender, steep path.
When I met Madeline, after our concert in LaJolla, she apologized for arriving late – we had originally planned to grab a bite together before the show. She explained that, on the drive down from San Francisco, there was a demonstration at a nuclear site that she needed to go to. She ended up being arrested, and handcuffed standing up for four hours to a hurricane fence, all the while her nose was running and she was not allowed to have her cane (she was 84 at the time). Par for the course for Madeline, whose arrest record (both before and after I met her) had prompted her own file at the FBI (she was later to discover that even her friend’s dog, “Blackie” had a file – they thought it was a code name – telephone transcripts of “Blackie 10 AM veterinary visit, Blackie lost his ball, etc”.)
After this meeting, Madeline and Jason and I spent many glorious times together – in France, Italy, Washington D.C., California. She was a woman of dignity and grace – she never wore “slacks” and always made time for a 5:00 cocktail. She lived alone in her Berkeley home until just months before her passing, at the age of 97. Our oldest daughter played “Old Macdonald had a Farm” for her memorial service, and carries her name. Her nobility, strength of character, ability to influence the world for better – she continues to be an inspiration to us all.
We’ve had a message from the Orchestra della Svizzera italiana, which is being cut off next year by its employer, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. It’s a message of hope and defiance:
The termination of contracts to the Orchestra della Svizzera italiana, which is linked to the cancelling of the Convention with the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation as of the end of 2017, is the first step toward an internal reorganization aimed at improving quality. The orchestra’s strategy, inspired by its glorious past, which can claim cooperation with figures like Stravinsky and Richard Strauss, wants to create a new musical entity, guided by its principal conductor, Markus Poschner.
This will enable the orchestra to establish itself at international level, as recently shown during its tour in Austria and Germany. For the virtuosity of its performances, as well as for the boldness and sophistication of Poschner’s interpretation, OSI – Resident Orchestra at the new Sala Teatro LAC, Lugano Arte e Cultura – has been classified as one of Europe’s leading orchestras.
The release in December of two DVDs with Brahms symphonies published by Sony is a further accomplishment along the orchestra’s path of growth under the direction of Markus Poschner”. The project Rereading Brahms will be carried on in the next months at many European festivals.
The first orchestra to appoint Yannick Nézet-Séguin as its artistic director, his home town ensemble, is going on a 7-city Europe tour with him in a year’s time.
The tour is intended as a showcase for the burgeoning cultural life of Quebec.
Local reports are crediting the conductor with its transformation.
Press release, just landed:
Montreal, November 24, 2016 — The Orchestre Métropolitain is pleased to announce an international tour—the first in its history—with its artistic director and principal conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Specifically, the Orchestre will perform seven concerts in six European cities (Dortmund, Cologne and Hamburg in Germany, Amsterdam and Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Paris in France) between November 23 and December 4, 2017. Two renowned Quebec soloists will join the Orchestre, namely contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux and cellist Stéphane Tétreault, as will two other artists frequently seen and heard in Quebec, cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras and pianist Alexandre Tharaud. Two programs are to be performed during the tour. Besides showcasing the Orchestre’s talent, the programs will each include a work by a Quebec composer and, in a nod to our roots, works by French and English composers.
The Orchestre Métropolitain’s artistic director and principal conductor, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, is delighted with how this major project has come together. “Tours are part of my life,” he says. “This time, it gives me great pride to tour with my Orchestre Métropolitain, which is so close to my heart. To present this ensemble to European audiences, who know it through its recordings but have not yet had the opportunity to hear it in concert, is especially exciting for me, who has performed in all these cities and all these famous venues with my other orchestras. This tour with the Métropolitan’s musicians is an important step on our shared musical path. I am filled with immense joy at the prospect of touring with my friends in the Métropolitain, and I am all the more proud to share these moments with exceptional artists such as Alexandre Tharaud, Jean-Guihen Queyras and, of course, Stéphane Tétreault and Marie-Nicole Lemieux, great musicians who are celebrated around the globe.”
Watch now, before somebody gets this taken down.
Karl Böhm, it is said, was a secret fan of George Harrison.
Elodie Chousmer-Howells, 17, will lead the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain in the coming year, it was announced this morning.
Elodie says: ‘NYO is an orchestra of teenagers that wants to connect, through classical music, to other teenagers. I can’t imagine a greater privilege or better use of such an amazing pool of talent.’
Some 21.9% of the new intake of NYO musicians identify as non-white British.
Meet the full orchestra lineup here.
Svetlin Roussev is leaving the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France in Paris to join the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in Geneva. He was recruited by the new French chief executive, Magali Rousseau. The Swiss have lacked a permanent concertmaster for three years.
This is the second concertmaster that Radio France have lost in a month. We reported earlier that Amaury Coeytaux was leaving the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France to join the Quatuor Modigliani.
These sudden moves may be more than coincidence. There are persistent rumours of imminent cuts in Paris orchestras, starting with the radio ensemble.
To paraphrase Oscar Wilde: ‘To lose one concertmaster may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.’
The coloratura soprano Jutta Vulpius made her debut with Walter Felsenstein’s Komische Oper in 1954 and went on to sing for 35 years at the Staatsoper on Under den Linden.
Abroad, she guested in Moscow, Prague, Rome, Lisbon, Barcelona, Munich and Hamburg.
From 1954 to 1956 she sang at Bayreuth as a Flower Maiden in Parsifal and as Woglinde in the Ring.
In Berlin, she was in the cast of the world premiere of the anti-US opera, Joe Hill, by the British Communist composer Alan Bush.
One of the best-known names in French music, Le Chant du Monde, has been sold to the multinational Music Sales Group.
The disposal is part of the reorganisation of Harmonia Mundi after its sale last year to PIAS.
Le Chante du Monde holds copyrights in works by Honegger, Milhaud (pictured), Shostakovich, Prokofiev and Khachaturian as well as many living French composers.
Betsy DeVos, the incoming Education Secretary, was appointed a board member of the Kennedy Center in 2004. Stepping down in 2010 she and her husband, Dick Devos, gave $22.5 million to the Center, the largest private gift in its history.
The gift was made through the DeVos Institute of Arts Management, which she set up at the University of Maryland to train future arts administrators in response to a proposal by the Kennedy’s then-director, Michael Kaiser.
The couple also founded an art prize in Michigan.
Dick Devos is heir to the Amway fortune.
Betsy’s mother, Elsa Zwiep Broekhuizen, was a prominent campaigner against same-sex marriage. Her brother, Erik Prince, founded Blackwater USA, a controversial private military group that operated alongside US forces in Iraq.