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From San Francisco Opera:

A voice for humanity. A voice for compassion. Today, we lost an icon, a leader, a friend: Tony-winning playwright and librettist Terrence McNally. He passed away at age 81 from complications from the coronavirus.

McNally brought a critical eye to the greatest social issues of our time, immortalizing them in plays and music, as he did as librettist for our 2000 world premiere of “Dead Man Walking,” an opera about pain, forgiveness and morality set against a Louisiana death penalty case.

We will miss the way he compelled us to look inward, to confront the unknown and to laugh down our demons. Here he is, second from left, pictured with the creative team of “Dead Man Walking:” composer Jake Heggie, conductor Patrick Summers and production designer Joe Mantello. We send our deepest condolences to his loved ones.

The poet

The actor

The rest

 

Yannick Nézet-Séguin has announced Philadelphia’s 2020/21 season.

It includes slots for Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla and Gustavo Dudamel, both of whom are spreading their American wings, and a conducting date for composer John Williams, with his constant companion Anne-Sophe Mutter.

Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis will be subjected to “computer dreaming”, whatever that might be, and there will be lots of women composers.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin and The Philadelphia Orchestra’s 2020–21 Season: Our World NOW The Natural World, WomenNOW, Identity, and the Digital Age

The Natural World
Composer-in-Residence Gabriela Lena Frank’s Picaflor: Retelling of a Peruvian creation myth through the voices of Philadelphia students and visuals from Mural Arts Philadelphia
Commissioned works from women composers: Melody Eötvös, Robin Holcomb, Wang Xi, and Hilary Purrington on melting icebergs, California wildfires, the relationship between nature and the human body, and nature in poetry

The sea and the earth: Nézet-Séguin conducts Debussy’s La Mer and Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde

WomenNOW
Philadelphia Orchestra premiere of Florence Price’s Symphony No. 1 conducted by Nézet-Séguin Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla returns for two-week residency
Nathalie Stutzmann conducts Wagner, Prokofiev, and Tchaikovsky Xian Zhang makes Philadelphia Orchestra subscription debut

Assistant Conductor Erina Yashima and Conducting Fellow Lina Gonzalez-Granados lead Family Concerts

Identity

South Pacific 2021: Radical restaging of the Broadway musical explores institutionalized racism, gender inequity, nationalism, and imperialism, in partnership with University Musical Society, University of Michigan

Tchaikovsky ballet trilogy with Brian Sanders’ JUNK: Reimagining fairy tales through a modern mash-up of Tchaikovsky ballets

The Digital Age

Beethoven’s Missa solemnis 2.0: Verizon Hall transforms into a virtual, multi-denominational cathedral by digital artist Refik Anadol World premiere of Mason Bates’s Suite from The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs

(Philadelphia, March 24, 2020)—Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin and President and CEO Matías Tarnopolsky today announced the 2020–21 season of The Philadelphia Orchestra, Our World NOW, a musical exploration of relevant and essential facets of this moment in time: the environment and fragility of nature, the essential role of women in music, the complexity of identity, and the ubiquitous influence of the digital age.

Throughout the season, Yannick and the Orchestra will be joined by music’s most compelling voices—some not yet known, others emerging, and many beloved and celebrated—and will convene artists of other disciplines to collaborate on musical events that offer creative juxtapositions.

“For me, music is more than an art form. It’s an artistic force connecting us to each other and to the world around us,” said Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin. “I love that our concerts create a space for people to gather as a community—to explore and experience an incredible spectrum of music. Sometimes, we spend an evening in the concert hall together, and it’s simply some hours of joy and beauty. Other times there may be an additional purpose, music in dialogue with an issue or an idea, maybe historic or current, or even a thought that is still not fully formed in our minds and hearts. What’s wonderful is that music gives voice to ideas and feelings that words alone do not; it touches all aspects of our being. Music inspires us to reflect deeply, and music brings us great joy, and so much more. In the end, music connects us more deeply to our world now.”

with soloist Seong-jin Cho

Message from the Met general manager:

Dear Mr. [ ],

As you know, we recently had no choice but to cancel performances in order to protect our audiences, artists, and staff from the spread of the coronavirus. As devastating as it is to have to close the Met, this was the rare instance where the show simply couldn’t go on.

But we are determined to weather this storm and are looking ahead to the 2020–21 season, opening in September, since it is now clear that we will not be able to resume operations before the scheduled end of our current season in May. The financial threat to the Met is immense, and we cannot ensure the future of Met performances or seasons without your help. I am writing today to ask you to consider making an urgent gift to the company to help us address the overwhelming economic implications of the pandemic.

In these extraordinarily challenging times, opera and the arts offer solace to a frightened nation and our fellow citizens around the world. That’s the reason why last week we began streaming a different encore performance from our Live in HD series each night, for free. It’s a reminder that the arts are part of the soul of a civilized society, and without cultural institutions like the Met, our lives would be diminished.

While we are cutting expenses in every way possible in the coming months, including my own decision to take no salary, we need your help now. The stock market is down, but it will rebound. The Met will recover too, but only with the assistance of our most loyal fans and donors.

I am forever impressed and grateful for your passion and support. We need it now, more than ever before. Thank you.

With great appreciation for your help,


Peter Gelb
General Manager

 

Unable to lead their orchestras, the concertmasters of Montreal and Toronto got together virtually across Canada’s language barrier to pay a duet of hope.

The Italian actress Lucia Bosè who appeared in Fellini’s Satyricon and many other films, has died in a Spanish hospital of the effects of Coronavirus. She was 88.

Her other films include Testament of Orpheus (1960), The Picasso Summer (1969), Something Creeping in The Dark (1971), Violanta (1976)
Chronicle of a Death Foretold (1987).

Her son is the Spanish pop singer Miguel Bosé.

 

Not many hits began in Vietnam, but this handwashing song ran up 2.5 million viewers after appearing on HBO’s Last Week Tonight With John Oliver.

Maki Kubota, a cellist with the Houston Symphony, has set it as a string quartet and filmed the result with three pals, Boson Mo, Lucinda Chiu, Sergein Yap.

(Don’t worry, we’ve been safe! These are people we’ve been seeing exclusively for the last two weeks. )

There’s something buoyant and defiant about it – a kind of f*ck-you to the virus.

 

The collapse of HazardChase on Friday has left dozens of artists without representation – now, or when life gets back to normal.

One agent has taken matters into her own hands and resolved to represent all the vocal artists on Hazard’s books.

Her name is  Camilla Wehmeyer, and she’s here to help.

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

Many of you will have already heard that Hazard Chase Limited went into voluntary liquidation on Friday, as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. This came as deeply shocking news all round; a stark illustration of the fragility of the entire music industry. Nevertheless, we must find a way to move forward as best we can in this unprecedented climate of uncertainty.

In the wake of this news, I will, at least for now, be acting as sole agent for much of the Hazard Chase Vocal Roster, to offer some form of continuation and stability until things begin to settle.

I will be in touch as my roster develops, but in the meantime, if you have any correspondence regarding any singer from the Hazard Chase roster, please direct this to me. I will be using camillawehmeyer@gmail.com for now – please do keep in touch.

 

My friend Dianne Winsor, principal flute of the Orquesta Sinfonica de Castilla y Leon in virus-hit Spain, has sent over a video she and her locked-down colleagues have made of the finale of Beethoven’s 9th symphony.

Like the viral Rotterdam version, it’s made by musicians in their home to a pre-ordained click-track (wonder who’s conducting).

Unlike Rotterdam, it seems to involve half the orchestra – possibly half the town.

That’s Dianne in the top-left hand corner of the screen at around 2:05. And the percussion fade-out is a total dissolve – almost in tears.

As of this morning, the Rotterdam Beethoven 9th has been watched 291,000 times on Slipped Disc, and a million times overall.

A message from the music director of the Royal Opera House, with a riddle attached:

 

The death of Manu Dibango has been announced on his Facebook page.

It is with deep sadness that we announce the loss of Manu Dibango, our Papy Groove, who passed away on 24th of March 2020, at 86 years old, further to covid 19.

The Cameroon-born virtuoso was a lion of world music festivals.