Munich offers money back for change of tenor
mainRoberto Alagna has pulled out as next summer’s Otello.
If you’ve booked already and don’t like the sub, they’ll give you a refund.
It’s 2019, after all.
In our festival performances of Otello on 12 and 15 July 2020 Gregory Kunde will take on the role of Otello instead of Roberto Alagna. If you have ordered tickets for one of the festival performances of Otello, you can change your order. In that case please send an E-Mail to our ticket service before the beginning of January 2020). Please let us know your customer number.
I think they are not giving any money back. No one have tickets yet for any opera in the summer festival. People have placed pre-orders that might or might not be fulfilled.
What they are offering is to amend those pre-orders so people can withdraw their request for Otello.
In 1996 I was trying to get tickets for Don Carlos at Covent Garden with Pappano, Alagna, Mattila, Hampson and van Dam. Sold out, of course. But then Alagna withdrew and returns appeared and I got tickets. An utterly wonderful evening.
That was the time that Julian Gavin deputised, wasn’t it, and got wonderful reviews? I saw Alagna in that production, but heard that Gavin was fantastic as well.
But what are you talking about? And what has it to do here? 20 years ago you got tickets for Don Carlos for the single performance which was not sold out, wonderful. But Alagna never withdrew during this production. Simply, one of the performance within the run was scheduled with an other singer, as it happens often. It was scheduled like that since the begining!
Exactly. Pre-orders will be answered from October 28.
Anyway…Kunde is better than Alagna as Otello
Why? Kunde isn’t a perfect Otello by a long shot; but he’s a damn sight better than Alagna.
Mr.Kunde is a better Otello than Mr.Alagna.
Fools if they accept. Kunde is one of the great Otellos of the 21st century. Alagna is a lightweight in the role.
Do they still wear blackface in Germany? Don’t they know how racist that is? Let’s send some of our SJWs over there.
The photo is not from the Münich production of Otello, which opened in November 2018 with Jonas Kaufmann, Anja Harteros and Gerald Finley, stage director Amélie Niermeyer. It’s a modern production and certainly doesn’t have a black faced Otello.
Alagna looks a little dark in this Vienna production from 2018.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwyrPk_CiVk
SJWs,
Untwist your knickers, it is an old photo.
Why is it racist?
Because slavery.
Bavaria and Austria didn’t import black slaves to work in the fields. They had Germans working the fields as slaves (or serfs) into the 19th century.
In any case, understanding Otello in racial terms is anachronistic. Men are very slightly darker than females, which was widely known at the time Shakespeare wrote the play.
Shakespeare is using a commonplace about male/blackness and female/whiteness that his audience would have understood. Otello is excessively “male” since his male anger/violence is not governed by reason. His excessive maleness is represented by his “darkness”. It had nothing to do with race.
This male-black and female-white is still part of the language. We use phrases like “black mood = angry/vengeful” and “black-heart = cruel”. We also say things like “looking pale = afraid”.
Roberto should retire now. His antics are tiresome. The public deserves better. He can’t even afford his own clack any longer.
Even if you are probably dreaming about that for years and years… You know what, it’s just difficult to sing in 2 places simultaneously, even for a tenor as skilled as Roberto 🙂 So have a look here > https://bit.ly/2nyQA4k5 (SAMSON ET DALILA in Orange in July 2020) and stop your own disrespectful antics first. Come on, give him a break… Make sure you know about what you are talking, look at his career and his recent achievements, and just give him a tip of the hat. Btw, for someone who should retire, Alagna is still involved in pretty attractive and great projects. You should listen to his forthwoming recording : https://bit.ly/2nzL69v Be careful, you could love despite your efforts to hate …
Samson was a desaster in Vienna and at the Met…….
What a nonsense! Alagna was absolutely perfect as Samson in Vienna, both vocally and dramatically! I saw him there live, he, Elina Garanča and Carlos Álvarez experienced a really great success. Alagna also got only very positive professional reviews for his singing and acting! He then appeared in concert version of Samson and Dalila twice in June 2018 in Paris and was also faultless, with positive reviews afterwards. As for Samson at the Met, it is true, that Alagna had some difficulties, but only because of allergic reaction caused by chemical substances used in fire on scene. His performance in Samson et Dalila Met Live in HD was nevertheless very good. A “disaster” looks completely different!
Absolutely agree! What a mediocre, egomaniac and unprofessional artist he is. I would never pay a single penny to see him. It shocks me to see people defending this man here as if he was Jonas Kaufmann or something…
Kunde? For that I will buy a ticket!
Anybody foolish enough to purchase a ticket to hear either Alagna or Kunde sing Verdi’s Otello I can perhaps feel for in a way, but can not reach.
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Who would ask for a refund when Gregory Kunde is a far superior Otello and let me add, a far superior singer?…deaf die-hard fans?
in my opinion it is very fair and professional to inform clients, about a change in cast. As already mentioned, nobody is refunded, because nobody has paid yet. Reactions from audience could have been less critical.