We hear that the whole of Bavarian State Ballet is in quarantine after several cases of coronavirus. Rehearsals are suspended and ‘Swan Lake’ is cancelled. Two extra opera nights have been added.

After one dancer initially tested positive, all 70 ensemble members were tested and five more came up positive. Everyone has now been locked down, including ballet masters and company pianists.

 

From a press relese:

Washington National Opera is bringing live performance to outdoor venues in its traveling Pop-Up Opera Truck mini-tour. Locations range from public parks to farmers markets and medical centers.

‘We are taking opera directly to the people in special outdoor surprise performances for our local communities,’ said Rob Ainsley, Director of the Cafritz Young Artists program. There has never been a more important time for the healing power of live music. While safety must remain our first priority, this is a way for us to continue to serve our community.’

In creating the pop-up opera truck experience, WNO collaborated with The Concert Truck, a Baltimore-based company founded by pianists Nick Luby and Susan Zhang. By converting a standard moving truck into a mobile concert venue, complete with stage, lights, sound, and an electric grand piano, The Concert Truck is worked with WNO to help deliver music to the greater DC area, especially during the trying circumstances of the ongoing pandemic.

 

In the Latvian Radio Choir, 10 out of 24 singers have tested positive.

The entire choir and its conductor will be quarantined into November.

 

The Prague government has said only food stores and pharmacies can remain open, as hospitals reach capacity.

That seems to drop the curtain on the performing arts, at least for the next few weeks.

More here.

 

The Lyric Opera of Chicago will confirm later today that its entire season is cancelled through to June 2021.

‘As the State of Illinois moves through its five-phase plan of reopening, performing arts companies on Lyric’s scale are still slated to be part of the final phase.  Operating on anything close to a normal basis until that phase is reached is simply not possible,’ the company is telling artists and their agents.

The one dud note is this: ‘You are now welcome to accept other work that emerges within our original contract period’.

Well, thanks for that.

 

Happy birthday to Virginia Zeani, one of few sopranos who could look Maria Callas in the eye and not blink first.

She created the role of  Blanche in Poulenc’s opera Dialogues des Carmelites.

Zeani, a Romanian, lives nowadays in Palm Beach Florida and continues to teach privately.

Read more here.

A violin professor at the Conservatorio Superior of Asturias in Oviedo, Spain, stands accused of touching a 20 year-old violin student during the academic years 2015 to 18.

When she protested, he is alleged to have hit her with his violin bow and made disobliging personal comments.

The prosecutor is demanding his dismissal from the Conservatorio and five years jail.

The teacher is said to be Russian.

Report here.

Chelsea Knox, principal flute, has been talking to Classic FM about the exodus of Met musicians from New York, a trend first reported last weekend by slippedisc.com. Here’s Chelsea:

‘I gave birth during the final performance at The Met on 11 March, 2020. I had only just received tenure for my job in the spring of 2019 and for me the Met Orchestra is my dream job. I love playing opera and I am in constant awe of the talent of my colleagues. It felt like I had the career security to finally start a family and plan a future in New York City.

‘My husband, who is also a musician, and I were getting ready to purchase our first home, but were suddenly faced with leaving our apartment and moving in with my parents to sort out our plan going forward as a family. We’re now renting a small place outside of the city and while we are lucky to have such a supportive family it is still difficult to suddenly be in this position.

‘Emotionally the loss of identity has been as challenging as the loss of income. I expected new motherhood to be life altering, but being isolated with a baby and with no performances scheduled for the next year it has been hard to find balance. I’m not sure what my future as a musician looks like right now.’

 

Message from José Cura:

Happy and proud to announce the beginning of my collaboration with the legendary Austrian Publishing House, Doblinger Musikverlag. The prestigious Viennese based company will soon be publishing my work as a composer, so that everyone can access the scores of Ecce Homo, my Neruda Sonnets or my guitar concerto “Concierto para un Resurgir” (written during pandemic lockdown), among other works to come.

At this moment of international distress, it is an amazing feeling to be able to establish this cultural relationship that not only is a proof that there is light at the end of this covid tunnel, but also is a recognition to my resuming of my composer work , longly paused in benefit of my performing career. This doesn’t mean I will stop performing, don’t worry, but I cannot think of a better way of balancing my artistic life after having performed nearly 3000 times in the last 30 years…

World premiers of my “Te Deum” and my “Concierto para un resurgir” are planned for next year (covid allowing …), as well as the release of the recordings of “Ecce Homo” and “Si muero, sobrevíveme” (the Neruda Sonnets). Also, in 2022, my “Requiem Argentino” will be premiered, in coincidence with the 40 years of the South Atlantic War between Argentina and UK, back in 1982. Scores of these works will be added to Doblinger’s Musikverlag catalog soon.

Peace & Love!