The Romanian soprano was due to open the season at the Teatro Colon in Cilea’s opera, Adriana Lecouvreur. But, ‘deeply upset and disappointed at the lack of professionalism and discourtesy’ she encountered in Argentina, she has blown out of the production and is heading home.

Here’s her account of things:

 

 

I am deeply upset and disappointed about the lack of professionalism and discourtesy I have encountered in the last days in Buenos Aires, while I was very much looking forward to perform Adriana Lecouvreur at Teatro Colón.
Due to pre-contractual breaches and the failure of Teatro Colon to fulfil my contractual terms, which are unquestionably respected wherever I sing, in opera houses and concert halls all over the world, I find myself in the impossibility to perform for the Argentinian audiences, which I love and highly adore.
I travelled to Buenos Aires, an extremely long journey, with this uncertainty, hoping that everything will get sorted out as soon as I am in Argentina.. It has been already a week since I am here and nothing has improved. I could not even attend any rehearsal without any valid contract signed, of course. I only experienced more disappointment, unprofessional behaviour and disrespect. I even tried to have a conversation with the General Director of the Teatro Colon, Maria Victoria Alcaraz, but, surprisingly, I was refused one. It is a very embarrassing and unpleasant situation for me.

I interdict the Teatro Colon to sell tickets under my name and to use my name or my image in any of their promotional materials, it is illegitimate and unfair for the people who pay and who are not responsible for this unfortunate circumstances.

I was extremely eager to re-encounter with the wonderful, warm public in Buenos Aires, which I cherish a lot, and I can only hope that I will return some other time, under honourable conditions and under the righteous respect and admiration.
Angela Gheorghiu

Estoy profundamente disgustada y decepcionada por la falta de profesionalidad y de la descortesía que he encontrado en los últimos días en Buenos Aires, mientras que estaba muy expectante para llevar a Adriana Lecouvreur en el Teatro Colon.
Debido a las violaciones pre-contractuales y al fracaso del Teatro Colon para cumplir mis condiciones contractuales, que son sin duda respetadas dondequiera que yo cante, en las casas de ópera y en las salas de conciertos por todo el mundo, me encuentro en la imposibilidad de cantar para el público argentino, Lo cual me encanta y adoro.
Viajé a Buenos Aires, un viaje extremadamente largo, con esta incertidumbre, esperando que todo se clasificados tan pronto como estuviera en Argentina.. ha sido ya una semana desde que estoy aquí y nada ha mejorado. Ni siquiera podía asistir a ningún ensayo sin ningún contrato válido firmado, por supuesto. Sólo he experimentado una gran decepción, comportamiento poco profesional y falta de respeto. Incluso traté de tener una conversación con el director general del Teatro Colon, María Victoria Alcaraz, pero, sorprendentemente, me ha sido negado a uno. Es una situación muy embarazosa y desagradable para mí.
Impedir el Teatro Colon para vender entradas bajo mi nombre y usar mi nombre o mi imagen en cualquiera de sus materiales promocionales, es ilegítimo e injusto para las personas que pagan y que no son responsables de esta desafortunada situación.
Estaba muy ansioso por reencuentro con el maravilloso y cálido público de Buenos Aires, que aprecio mucho, y sólo puedo esperar que regrese algún otro tiempo, bajo condiciones, honorables, y bajo el respeto y la admiración de los justos.
Angela Gheorghiu

The listings, published today, read:

1 Juilliard, NY

2 Royal College of Music, London

3= Royal Academy of Music, London

3= Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow

5 University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna

6 Royal College of Music, Stockholm

7 Indiana University, Bloomington

8 Curtis Institute, Philadelphia

9 Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse, Paris

10 Sibelius Academy, Helsinki

 

More here.

The Dallas Symphony has posted on Instagram – though not on its website – that:

Music Director Jaap van Zweden will be unable to conduct the Dallas Symphony Orchestra the week of April 6, 2017 due to family reasons.

Gustavo Gimeno will conduct April 6-8.

The unspecified family reasons date back to the beginning of last month.

Benjamin Morrison, a second violinist in the orchestra since 2014, won the audition today for a vacancy in the first violins.

Ben, who is 30, studied with Yair Kless in Graz.

We hear that first violinists, Ekaterina Frolova and Petra Kovačič have both fulfilled their trial periods in the Vienna State Opera Orchestra and are confirmed as full members from today.

They become eligible for membership of the Vienna Philharmonic in three years’ time.

All members of the Camerata Nordica resigned six weeks ago after their orchestra was suspended.

Now the Camerata Nordica is posting ‘business as usual’ notices and hiring new musicians.

Former members of the ensemble are calling for an international boycott.

Here’s their statement:

BOYCOTT CAMERATA NORDICA
In this age of alternative facts and extreme politics it is often difficult to discern truth from lies, but the case of Camerata Nordica is exceptionally clear. The lack of outrage from Swedish citizens, from politicians and from arts organizations alike is allowing actions not short of criminal to take place in the Kalmar region.
Around 5 million kronor are owed and lying politicians are being allowed to cover it up. I say around 5 million only because the level of incompetent mismanagement and an extreme effort to cover up the truth leave us with no clue what the actual amount is and where this money has gone or where it will come from.
28 musicians have resigned and yet the board of Lansmusiken pretends everything will continue unhindered. When audiences and fans reach out to the media to show their support and voice their outrage, they are shamed into silence by disrespect and lies.
Camerata Nordica is dead. It has been killed by years of mismanagement and a board of politicians too concerned with their own egos and careers to take responsibility for their wrong-doing. We musicians have tried in vain to negotiate a future for Camerata for years, and all such proposals have now been thrown away or ignored.
Concerts are cancelled, recording contracts lost, a network of musicians emptied, and yet chairman Peter Hogberg speaks of “business as usual”. This term in Kalmar these days means nothing short of wasted money, disrespect, and lies. There is no way back as long as this board together with disgraced Lansmusiken chief Kjell Lindstrom are allowed to continue their work in Kalmar. Because of this I must on behalf of my colleagues and with their support call for a complete and total boycott of all activities that involve the name Camerata Nordica as long as these people remain in power.
A fan of ours recently pointed out in the newspaper Barometern that you would not go to see the Rolling Stones if all the band members were suddenly different. The same must be true of Camerata Nordica. For musicians to go and participate in this ruined institution would be a deep offense to our tradition, and for organizers to allow this organization to send them an alternate orchestra using our name would be equally appalling. The money of Swedish tax payers has been wasted. An orchestra with over 40 years of incredible history has been destroyed. There is no transparency and no accountability. This cannot be allowed to happen; this must not be tolerated.
We call on the musical world to stand united and boycott this institution. We call on tax payers to demand that their money be used with care, respect, and accountability, not for lining the pockets of administrators. We call on political Sweden to hold their colleagues accountable and replace this lying board.
Stand with the real musicians of Camerata Nordica.

 

Dallas Opera has put an April 30 deadline on the world’s premier conducting course for women.

Apply here. It only costs $35.

The course will take place over two weeks in November.

It has been 12 days since Lauren Philips, 26, was last seen in North Devon and police are issuing new photographs in the hope of jogging people’s memories.

 

Lauren’s car was found a week ago. There has been no sign of the keen violinist, who plays in the Haffner Orchestra and in other Bristol ensembles.

We have been notified of the death of Robert Barris, who played in the Dallas, Detroit and Chicago symphony orchestras and was an influential teacher at Northwestern University.

Our sympathies to his family.

This is Brett Deubner giving the world premiere of Richard Danielpour’s viola concerto in Long Beach at the aquarium of the Pacific with the Musique Sur la Mer orchestra, conducted by Marcy Sudock.

The Gramophone website has published a list of ‘the 50 greatest conductors of all time’.

It is unsigned and may well have been compiled by computer on the basis of who made the most recordings.

Even so, the inconsistencies are staggering.

Not a single Finn in the 50. Nobody from the major school of modern conducting.

The plodding Jochum, Wand, Munch and Gardiner are included, but there is no heart-racing Klaus Tennstedt, no Erich Kleiber, no Van Beinum, no Horenstein, no Järvi – none of the Järvis – no Kondrashin, no Sanderling….. no sense at all to the selection process.

Most striking of all, the two most important conductors in Germany today – Christian Thielemann and Kirill Petrenko – are conspicuous by their absence.

 

This list appears to have been made by a small-minded, Little England robot.