Costanzo’ s gorgeous voice could not have been more perfect. What sets him apart from other countertenors is the uncanny feminine timbre in his sound, a quality that combines the human and the otherworldly. His stage presence was tremendous. He is first seen, unwrapped from a giant cocoon, naked and hairless, but what commanded the attention was his posture, his deliberate gait, the way he held himself as he was clothed in the spectacular raiments of the god-king of Egypt….
Akhnaten is easily one of the finest things to ever appear at the Met. The intense beauty of the production was its own thrill. The magnificent costumes by Kevin Pollard have a few touches of ancient Egyptian iconography, but mainly mix Victorian era steampunk and touches of Edwardian fashions. In the second act, Akhenaten and Nefertiti affirm their love while wearing matching red gowns with trains dozens of feet long. As they sang, they entangled each with the other…
The production originated in the John Berry era at English National Opera.
Mariss Jansons’ on-off tour with the Bavarian Radio Symphony has hit its biggest pothole yet with his withdrawal from tonight’s concert at Carnegie Hall.
UPDATE: He was apparently unwell in last night’s concert.
New York Classical Review reports: He seemed physically exhausted on Friday evening, at times barely giving a beat and struggling to lift his arms as high as his score. The concertmaster often beat time with the scroll of his violin, suggesting that Jansons wasn’t entirely in control of the performance…
Concerns about Jansons only became keener at the start of the second half: the orchestra did not return to the stage for a good fifteen minutes after the audience was seated, and the conductor himself did not appear until several minutes thereafter.
From the Times obituary of Nik Powell, lifelong pal of Branson and co-founder of Virgin Records:
Looking for a new name to sell their mail order records to a broader audience “Slipped Disc” was briefly favoured until one of the staff pointed out that they were ‘all complete virgins at business’.
Phew… that was close!
It’s the 60th birthday of the wonderful baritone Thomas Quasthoff, one of the finest Lieder singers of our time, a man who surmounted the greatest disabilities.
I once asked the aged Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau to name his successors.
Tommy was one of the two names that he gave.
Many happy returns.
Opera Australia says it has sacked a long-serving singer after rejecting her claim that abusive posts on her social media were made by her ex-husband.
Vanessa Lewis, a chorus member for 24 years, was formerly married to David Lewis, a fellow-singer who is serving three years in jail for child sex.
Vanessa maintained that David Lewis had access to her social media and sometimes forced her to send abusive material. Lewis admitted in court that he had been abusive to his wives. OA decided, however, that Vanessa must bear responsibility for his actions on her media.
She has issued the following statement to Slipped Disc:
I have made no public comment on this scenario on social media, and very little in private life as well to this moment.
Anyone who knows me and knew the man I married can see the truth of these circumstances with absolute transparency.
Choosing to speak has not been an easy decision. I will continue to follow a path of decent behaviour however poor the behaviour of others has been.
I remain heart broken that after an impeccable career of 24 years my employer whom I served faithfully chose to take such a path.
My love of music and theatre will not end here. Nor will my resolve to uphold my reputation and have what has taken place examined.
My despair at the treatment of the victims of abusive men grows.
We never speak of our experiences lightly. After struggling to negotiate a resolution via every quiet means available – I now join the league of women who publicly stand and say ….. #metoo
‘I don’t think he is a professional conductor,’ said OSM concertmaster Richard Roberts. He is not trained to be a conductor and he is doing things that are difficult to conduct and difficult to play, in particular the Bartók…. A lot of people were insulted by his language and the way he addressed the orchestra.’
‘He may have the greatest ideas musically,’ said violinist Marc Béliveau. ‘But he is unable to show them with his hands.’
The ultra-authentic new score of the G major piano concerto has just arrived from the Ravel Edition.
There are literally hundreds of corrections. Louis Langrée thinks it takes us ‘closer than ever before to really fulfilling its creator’s true intentions’. And it’s an object of such dazzling beauty.
Switch off the phones. I’m busy.
The soprano has spoken for the first time about the risks she took to flee her country after being diagnosed with a suspected brain tumour.
In a performance at the Israel National Library, Shlomi Shaban and Rabbi David Menahem took a Hebrew translation of the Cohen classic down to Middle Eastern roots and maqamot.
