A posthumous album by the late Spanish soprano who died in 2018 takes sides in the Armenian-Azeri war.
From the press release:
In 2013 and 2014, the legendary soprano Montserrat Caballé (1956-2018) visited some of the most ancient churches, cathedrals and monasteries in the world, in homage to the 1700 anniversary of the adoption of Christianity as the state religion in Armenia. She performed in Yerevan and Stepanakert and recorded several pieces, among them two Armenian songs.
Impressed and deeply touched by her experience of visiting Armenia and Artsakh, including the historic sites of St Echmiadzin (Armenia, 385 AD) and Amaras (Artsakh, 338 AD) Caballé said: “Armenia is far from me, but it is close to my heart. Christian to the core, I fell in love with Artsakh and Armenia”. She called this album The Island of Christianity: Armenia and Artsakh.
Love this. So sad, yet not despairing.
From a new essay by Joseph Horowitz in the American Scholar on the Covid killing of American civilisation:
… When the virus hit, the city of Berlin swiftly allocated $320 million to its cultural workers. The German government added $50 billion; its culture minister, Monika Grütters, said, “Artists are indispensable, especially now.” In continental Europe, institutions of culture were already recipients of robust government subsidies—a close relationship to the state was and is an embedded reality.
In the United Kingdom, where government support of the arts is less lavish, the response was slower. But it came. The conductor Simon Rattle, Britain’s most prominent classical musician, loudly complained that nothing was being done. So did Nicholas Kenyon, who runs London’s Barbican Centre. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the culture ministry answered with a $2 billion arts infusion and declared that “the U.K.’s cultural industry is the beating heart of the country.” (British musicians say it’s far too little; one survey showed that up to one-third of them are considering switching careers.)
Here in the United States, the silence remains deafening. We have no Simon Rattle and no Boris Johnson. We do have Nikki Haley. When Congress allocated a mere $250 million for cultural institutions as part of the $2.3 trillion emergency CARES Act, the former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina governor mused that it should have been spent on something more useful. (“How many more people could have been helped with this money?” she tweeted.) And yet, according to the most recent figures from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the arts account for $878 billion in annual economic impact and more than five million jobs nationally. That’s a bigger share of the economy than transportation, agriculture, and construction. More important, culture is vital to the national good, to the human condition. But that’s something intangible, even controversial.
At a moment when they could vitally contribute to challenged American pride and resilience, the arts are newly encumbered financially: concert halls, theaters, and museums are closed or partly so; ticket revenues are decimated. And this comes in the wake of the devaluation of the arts in favor of STEM, of plummeting humanities enrollment in colleges, of social media incursions on attention span, of long-standing forms of cultural expression being newly examined and castigated as “sexist” and “patriarchal.” Meanwhile, charitable foundations traditionally supportive of the arts are rededicated to another urgent priority: social justice. The young are less inclined to donate to the arts, and everyone is less incentivized to do so since the 2017 changes to our tax code.
More than handwringing, this litany invites historical analysis. Why is no one in Congress or the White House talking about protecting crucial cultural interests, echoing discussions abroad?…
Good news in challenging times: Our new programme is currently being printed. 70,000 copies should be delivered to you, our faithful customers all over the world before the holidays and the New Year.
And starting on 10 December, you will find the 2021 programme online at www.salzburgfestival.at.
As promised, this coming summer we will present important productions in the opera, drama and concert departments which were postponed from the summer of 2020, extending the centenary celebrations of the Salzburg Festival into the autumn of 2021…
Reducing some of the pressure of decision-making, while also enabling us to observe the development of the coronavirus pandemic a bit longer, as previously announced, we have set a much later deadline for submitting your orders, i.e. 28 February 2021. On that date, your reservation becomes binding, and we will do our utmost to process all orders as soon as possible. If it then turns out that attending a performance is impossible due to official regulations (e.g. quarantine requirements), of course you will be able to cancel your ticket(s) and we will refund the purchase price.
Hopefully, however, the vaccinations will be able to drive out the pandemic. And thus, we hope, for all our sakes, that 2021 will be a Festival year as we love them – full of unforgettable artistic experiences and interesting encounters with friends from all over the world.
Kindest regards,
Helga Rabl-Stadler, Markus Hinterhäuser and Lukas Crepaz
Directorate of the Salzburg Festival
The Bavarian prime Markus Söder has imposed a renewed lockdown from Wednesday.
He said the state faced ‘a disaster situation’ with one person dying of Covid in Germany every four minutes.
There will be some relaxation of the rules over Christmas. A strict night curfew will be observed. At other times people will only be able to leave their homes with good reason.
The group’s lawyer Dr Wolfream Hertel said he will argue that “Bavaria is not only a ‘Rechtsstaat’, a legal state, but a ‘Kulturstaat’, a cultural entity as defined by its statehood. Closing down concert halls and theatres would thus be unlawful, especially as pilot projects with the Munich Philharmonic (500 in the audience) all went perfectly with no infections.
The singer Kevin Conners said that “Concert halls are not nail studios or brothels”. The present emergency laws compare them with in terms of status in that you can go and get your nails done, and other things besides, but can not listen to a concert of classical music under strictest hygienic conditions.
Here’s the rather drier press release:
Munich, 7. December 2020 – A group of internationally renowned concert and opera singers, conductors, instrumental soloists and musicians from leading symphony and opera orchestras had planned to file an application with the Bavarian Administrative Court on December 7, 2020, in order to have the complete closure of concert halls and opera houses ordered to combat the COVID-19 pandemic legally reviewed. Following the proclamation of an emergency in Bavaria on Sunday, December 6, 2020, the artists put their request on hold in a temporarily postponed manner. The planned legal steps will be reassessed in light of the current situation.
The planned appeal is an urgent application, which could be followed by main proceedings. The 25 applicants include the singers Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke, Kevin Conners, Christian Gerhaher, Christiane Karg and Elisabeth Kulman as well as the conductors Antonello Manacorda and Hansjörg Albrecht. The applicants agree that they would all have performed in the next few weeks (until December 20, 2020) at the Bavarian State Opera, the Philharmonie am Gasteig or the Prinzregententheater. A very large group of other artists has joined the planned application as supporters.
The applicants do not intend to deny the necessity of an effective protection against infection or to play down the danger posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, they express their compassion for the seriously ill with the COVID-19 virus and the relatives of the deceased. They expressly advocate compulsory masks, necessary hygiene measures or testing to protect performers and the public. It is the concern of the applicants to obtain an appropriate consideration of their interests, above all in accordance with the fundamental right to artistic freedom. From the point of view of the applicants, a complete, long-term closure of all cultural institutions – despite the existence of scientific studies and differentiated hygiene concepts – will not provide an adequate response to the corona dangers and will not sufficiently take into account the basic rights of artists. For unlike the holding of church services and assemblies, the holding of concerts and cultural events is completely prohibited, although the fundamental rights of freedom of religion, freedom of assembly and artistic freedom are all unconditionally guaranteed, i.e. they may only be restricted by conflicting constitutional law.
Specifically, the planned emergency appeal is aimed at having the closure order for opera houses and concert halls contained in the current Bavarian Infection Control Ordinance and the ban on holding cultural events reviewed for their legality. The applicants state, among other things, that for the Munich venues for which they have engagements (Bavarian State Opera, Philharmonie am Gasteig and Prinzregententheater), sophisticated and tested hygiene and protection concepts are in place that virtually rule out virus transmission in the audience area. The pilot project carried out at the Bavarian State Opera confirms this, as the final report published on December 3, 2020 shows. In this report, medical experts from the Klinikum rechts der Isar and the Technical University of Munich, as well as the State Office of Public Health, summarized that when an elaborate individual hygiene concept is applied and under the given conditions of the pilot project (7-day incidence mainly between 35 and 100 per 100,000 inhabitants), no increased probability of infection for the audience can be determined. Therefore, in the opinion of the applicants, the assumption of the Bavarian State Government that a complete and unconditional closure of concert halls and opera houses would be necessary to effectively limit the incidence of infection is not sustainable.
In addition, at the instigation of the German Cultural Council, the federal legislator recently clarified in the Infection Protection Act that cultural institutions are not to be counted as leisure facilities. In the case of prohibitions or restrictions in the area of culture, the explanatory memorandum to the law states that sufficient account must be taken of the importance of artistic freedom. The latest Bavarian Ordinance on Infection Protection Measures does not do justice to this, which in its justification completely omits the word “artistic freedom”, the applicants stated.
Finally, it should be noted that in Switzerland, Monte Carlo, Spain and the Netherlands it is currently permitted to play in the presence of an audience, in France this step is planned for 15.12.2020. The applicants also hope to be able to enter into dialogue with Bavarian politics in order to develop a concrete opening strategy on a professionally well-founded basis.
On this occasion, a press event took place on Monday, December 7, 12:00 noon in the Carl-Amery-Saal at the Gasteig Munich. This has be recorded and can now be viewed at www.aufstehenfuerdiekunst.de.
The New York Philharmonic and its musicians have just signed a brave new four-year deal up to September 20, 2024.
Under the deal, musicians will continue to be paid 75% of minimum scale to the end of the 2023 fiscal year. In the 2024 fiscal year, total compensation will increase to 80% for the first six months and 90% thereafter. The musicians have also included all their former media rights in the package.
NY Phil president Deborah Borda sais: ‘COVID-19 has reshaped the entire ecology of society and the performing arts are no exception. These were challenging negotiations but, in the end, musicians, management, and Board came together to reach an agreement that will lead to
recovery. The new contract is a critical step toward building a sustainable pathway forward and to preserving our beloved institution for a bright future. The participation, the dedication, of the Philharmonic musicians in creatively and pragmatically helping to shape this agreement is something I will never forget. They have my admiration and deepest thanks.’
By contrast, musicians at the Met have just entered their ninth month without pay.
The New York Times has the best headline: New York Philharmonic Musicians Agree to Years of Pandemic Pay Cuts
However, the album has just been confirmed as the biggest classical best-seller of 2020, with 100,000 CD sales and 150 million streams.
Does that change anything?
The Royal Opera House will kick off its winter 20/21 programme with 12 performances of Puccini’s Tosca. Anna Netrebko will take the title role in the opening shows.
The first fully staged opera since lockdown in March 2020, it will run from 13 January to 13 March, with a global live-stream on 22 January.
Covid permitting, of course.
The tenor is her husband, Yusif Eyvazov.
Here’s the menu, including a new production of the Henze which has not been seen on stage:
Montag, 7. Dezember 2020, 19.00 Uhr
Nikolai Tscherepnin / Igor Strawinsky
Ballett: LE PAVILLON D’ARMIDE / LE SACRE (Vorstellung vom 26. März 2019)
Musikalische Leitung: Michael Boder
Choreographie: John Neumeier
Mit u.a.: Jakob Feyferlik, Nina Poláková, Roman Lazik, Davide Dato, Maria Yakovleva, Denys Cherevychko
Dienstag, 8. Dezember 2020, 19.00 Uhr
Giacomo Puccini
LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST (Vorstellung vom Oktober 2013)
Oper in drei Akten
Musikalische Leitung: Franz Welser-Möst
Inszenierung & Bühne: Marco Arturo Marelli
Mit u.a. Nina Stemme, Jonas Kaufmann, Tomasz Konieczny
Mittwoch, 9. Dezember 2020, 19.00 Uhr
Gaetano Donizetti
ANNA BOLENA (Vorstellung vom 2. April 2011)
Musikalische Leitung: Evelino Pidò
Inszenierung: Eric Génovèse
Mit u.a. Anna Netrebko, Elina Garanca, Ildebrando D’Arcangelo, Francesco Meli, Elisabeth Kulman
Donnerstag, 10. Dezember 2020, 19.00 Uhr (LIVE – nur innerhalb Österreichs verfügbar)
Jules Massenet
WERTHER
Drame lyrique in vier Akten
Musikalische Leitung: Bertrand de Billy
Inszenierung: Andrei Serban
Mit u.a. Piotr Beczala, Gaëlle Arquez, Clemens Unterreiner, Daniela Fally
Freitag, 11. Dezember 2020, 19.00 Uhr
Francesco Cilèa
ADRIANA LECOUVREUR (Vorstellung vom 22. Februar 2014)
Oper in vier Akten
Musikalische Leitung: Evelino Pidò
Inszenierung: David McVicar
Mit u.a. Angela Gheorghiu, Massimo Giordano, Elena Zhidkova, Roberto Frontali
Samstag, 12. Dezember 2020, 19.00 Uhr
Piotr. I. Tschaikowski
SCHWANENSEE (Vorstellung vom 16. März 2014)
Musikalische Leitung: Alexander Ingram
Choreographie: Rudolf Nurejew
Mit u.a.: Olga Esina, Vladimir Shishov, Eno Peci
Sonntag, 13. Dezember 2020, 19.00 Uhr (LIVE)
Giacomo Puccini
TOSCA
Musikalische Leitung: Bertrand de Billy
Inszenierung: Margarethe Wallmann
Mit u.a. Anna Netrebko, Yusif Eyvazov, Wolfgang Koch, Evgeny Solodovnikov
Montag, 14. Dezember 2020, 19.00 Uhr (LIVE, PREMIERE)
Hans Werner Henze
DAS VERRATENE MEER
Musikalische Leitung: Simone Young (pictured)
Inszenierung: Jossi Wieler, Sergio Morabito
Bühne und Kostüme: Anna Viebrock
Mit u.a.: Vera-Lotte Boecker, Bo Skovhus, Josh Lovell, Erik Van Heyningen, Kangmin Justin Kim, Stefan Astakhov, Martin Häßler
Berlin’s Senator for Culture and Europe, Klaus Lederer, has renewed Andrea Zietzschmann, 50, as general manager of the Berliner Philharmoniker until 31 August 2025.
Lederer said of her: ‘Andrea Zietzschmann has successfully helped launch the exciting new era of the Berliner Philharmoniker with Kirill Petrenko. Personally, I am also very pleased that Andrea Zietzschmann, one of the outstanding women in the music industry, will now remain in Berlin for another three years. I am convinced that, especially now, she will lead the Berliner Philharmoniker through the current difficult conditions for the music industry with great enthusiasm and the necessary care.’
Kirill Petrenko, chief conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker: ‘I very much welcome this decision. During the difficult time of the pandemic, we have been working even more intensely and closely together. So I am delighted to continue to work with Andrea Zietzschmann to shape the future of the Berliner Philharmoniker Foundation.’
Klaus Ofczarek, who sang 1,018 opera, operetta and musical performances at the Volksoper, died yesterday in Vienna.
He made his debut in 1978 and retired 30 years later.
I saw him once in Lulu at the Staatsoper. It was a minor role but he held the stage for its duration.
