That’s the cry from 190 ‘leading Australian composers, directors, musicians, and vocalists’, who have signed a petition ‘to remove gender bias, sexism, and dramatised acts of violence against women in opera’.

Read on here.

Dominique Meyer has turned in outstanding figures in Vienna before departing next year for La Scala.

Ticket sales hit record revenues of record revenues of € 37,695,162.26, some two million Euros ahead of budget.

The capacity rate was 99,10%, up from 98.61% in 2017-18.

The 215 opera performances reached 99.43% of seated capacity.

The Russian pianist Alexander Toradze was supposed to play Liszt concerto on Wednesday in Mikkeli, Finland

He has been replaced by the Tchaikovsky competition winner, Alexandre Kantorow.

The conductor? Gergiev, of course. The Mikkeli festival is his private fiefdom.

After Mikkeli, he will take Kantorow to Baden-Baden.

The Chinese company that was buying Westminster Choir College from Rider University has pulled out of the $40 million deal.

Beijing Kaiwen Education Technology was facing potential litigation from local groups around Princeton and politicians were starting to rumble. Rider University has been left with egg on its face and a hole in its pants.

More here.

I am not sure why the national newspapers have failed to review the revival of Verdi’s Don Carlo at Grange Park Opera.

There have been significant cast changes since Wasfi Kani first presented Jo Davies’ production in 2016 and the show is now housed in a purpose-built 700-seater, where the terror of the Inquisition feels at times both personal and overpowering.

Of the two survivors of the original cast, Clive Bailey adds a Trump hairstyle to Philipp II, alternating menance with caprice in a manner that feels all too familiar. The voice, too, is richly convincing.

Ruxandra Dunose sings a troubled Eboli, teetering on the edge of her emotions.

Marina Costa-Jackson is a standout Elisabetta, Brett Polegato is superb as Rodrigo. Leonardo Capalbo tries slightly too hard to be liked in the title role and I do not ever want to see Branislav Jatic’s Grand Inquisitor again: he scared the pants off me. The orchestra came from English National Opera. It seemed to play better away from home. Gianluca Marciano kept the tempi really taut.

I like the Grange Park experience. It has none of Glyndebourne’s City yahoos with their double-magnums and noisy ignorance, and few of Covent Garden’s tetchy oldies. The atmosphere, bucolic on arrival, deepens with psychological intentisty as the opera unfolds.

Why the national media don’t pay more attention is a mystery, but then they let us down in so many other ways.

Grange Park is a word-of-mouth treasure and its Don Carlo a gem. Don’t all rush there at once.

A message from 劉孟捷 Meng-Chieh Liu, his teacher at Curtis:

Tianxu An, who has been studying with me at Curtis for the last four years, has had an incredible milestone in his musical journey. He was fortunate enough to be among 26 participants selected to attend the 16th Tchaikovsky Competition. After ten grueling days of competition he reached the finals and despite a mishap out of his control, he played with remarkable musicianship under the pressure of those circumstances. I am truly proud of him for his extraordinary playing throughout the competition and ultimately receiving fourth prize. Through this amazing experience he has gained quite a fan base and I cannot thank all our friends and colleagues enough for their support. Bravo, Tianxu!

There was music-biz consternation 18 months ago when Jaap Van Zweden, newly installed at the New York Philharmonic, fired the agent who lined up the deal, dumping Nick Mathias at IMG for Doug Sheldon at Columbia.

His departure left a huge hole in IMG finances and a big smile at Columbia.

Then Doug Sheldon disappeared. Columbia reassured its artists that nothing would change without him.

Jaap was not convinced.

He is now moving, or so we hear, to Michael Lewin in Vienna, alongside Kirill Petrenko, Philippe Jordan and Simone Young.

Columbia are hurting bad.

Jaap could be eyeing up a job in Europe, Amsterdam and Munich being the prime targets.

The Russian pianist has announced a Salzburg Festival premiere. Here’s the press release:

Grigory Sokolov & the Salzburg Festival present

ALEXANDRA DOVGAN

(SF, 1 July 2019) Born in 2007, Alexandra Dovgan brings an exceptional talent to the piano. Grigory Sokolov and the Salzburg Festival present the 11-year-old pianist in a concert on Wednesday, 31 July at 3 pm at the Main Auditorium of the Mozarteum Foundation.

Grigory Sokolov says about Alexandra Dovgan: “This is one of those rare occasions. The eleven-year-old pianist Alexandra Dovgan can hardly be called a wonder child, for while this is a wonder, it is not child’s play. What one hears is a performance by a grown-up individual and a person. It is a special pleasure for me to commend the art of her remarkable music teacher, Mira Marchenko. Yet there are things that cannot be taught and learned. Alexandra Dovgan’s talent is exceptionally harmonious. Her playing is honest and concentrated. I predict a great future for her…”

Free tickets to her concert are available starting on 6 July at the Salzburg Festival Shop.

photo: Oscar Tursunov

The Russian soprano Elena Guseva was at the airport in Vienna after singing Aida the night before when she got called back to sing Desdemona the next night in Verdi’s Otello.

It was the closing night of the Vienna State Opera season. Luckily she had just sung the role in Moscow just last month.

They sold the Central Park condo last week for something in the region of $15 million.

After Isaac’s death in 2001, it went for $3.4m. The new owners bought the next-door apartment and knocked them together. Here’s what they got.

No trace left of music or friendship. The only thing that will make your eyes water is the price.

The details of this case are so disgusting that we will refer you to the Ojai Valley News, the LA Times and Daily Mail for full details. Please don’t shoot the messenger.

It is reported that a California flute teacher, a man who founded a disseminating organisation called Flutes Around the World, has been charged with  six felony counts of lewd or lascivious acts with minors younger than 14.

It is alleged that John Edward Zeretzke, 60, of Ventura, ejaculated into the flutes before getting kids to play them.