‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame’ is the sport’s anthem.
But how about these? Including a baseball opera.
The death has been announced in Thailand of Stefan Paul Sanchez, founder of the European Chamber Opera and Grand Opera Thailand. In the 1990s he was artistic director of Holland Park Opera.
Stefan Paul Sanchez (13 December 1954 – 18 July 2020)
It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden but peaceful passing of our beloved Stefan.
His last wish was that the show must go on, and although this news comes as a shock to all of us, we know that his wish was that we continue the Voice Wellness project this week and for the children to perform in his honour at the British Club on this forthcoming Sunday, 26th July.
We will begin the session tomorrow with a moment of remembrance, and then respect his wishes and continue working towards the performance. The last thing Stefan said to us all was “this is going to be a great show!”
The keyboardist, Raul Pagano formerly with the bands Bersuit Vergarabat and Fabiana Cantilo, has died of hypothermia on the wintry streets of Buenos Aires. He had been living homeless with addiction issues.
Report here.
The Philharmonia has given the first of three streamed concerts from the Battersea Arts Centre.
The players are distanced, but only the conductor – John Wilson – is masked. And he unmasks once the music begins.
In Boris’s Britain no-one knows what is safe.
Nice performance, though.
The first of the Metropolitan Opera’s star recitals went out last night. It featured Jonas Kaufmann in a Bavarian Baroque library at Polling Abbey.
Viewers paid $20.
Early responses focus on its lifelessness.
Word around town is the the Met is budgeting $400,000 to $500,000 for each streamed recital.
That’s a lot of $20s.
Here’s one free clip:
It’s the Hong Kong Sinfonietta back at work.
These pictures were taken before last Wednesday, when all Hong Kong halls were closed on renewed Covid fears.
Our allies at operaplus.cz report that the Moravian-Silesian Region has reimposed immediate Covid-19 measures. Peope must wear masks at all times and events are restricted to 100 max.
Festival organisers are in despair.
Read here.
The Diocese of Nantes has published pictures of the terrible conflagration that ravaged the Cathedral on yesterday.
Lost beyond repair are the Grand Organ and the stalls and console of the choir organ, all destroyed.
The organ is the work of Jacques Girardet, dated around 1620.
In April 2019, the great organ of Notre Dame de Paris survived a fire in the cathedral.