« December 2012 | Main | February 2013 »
Admit it, you've been waiting for these a long, long time. The world's first ever Wagnerpants® have arrived courtesy of Aussie leggings legends Black Milk.
Crafted in pure polyester with a touch of spandex, the Fire Horse Legging depicts Brünnhilde riding into Siegfried's funeral pyre as Valhalla goes up in flames - whew, some eyecatching mane positioning there guys.
(Credit to Olivia Giovetti for spotting.)
| | |
|
Dress up as a Klingon and get two tickets for the price of one to the 'Klingon Opera' U. The three year old work (for ardent Trekkies only judging by the clip) is headed for its final-ever performance on 23 February.
It's part of the Unmenschliche (inhuman) Musik Festival later this month at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin. Other attractions include Mid Size Robo Soccer Music (Techunited vs. Carpe Noctem) - surely the best composition title ever - generated by two teams of football-playing robots, music in the style of Chopin, Mozart, and Bach composed by computers and played by humans, a sound installation created by 100 electric drills, and an animal music concert where the guests are a box of live crickets.
| | |
|
In exploring one myth, Harrison Birtwistle's The Minotaur has quashed another.
According to Kasper Holten, its recently-ended five show run played to an average 95.4% capacity, comfortably above the ROH's last season's average of 92%. Of course that still means 100 or so seats were empty each night, but it's still one in the eye for those who claim modern opera is an unsustainable minority interest. Not to mention those who plead that taking risks leads ineluctably to poor box office.
Ticket pricing played an unquestionable part in its success. Prices were initially set at a maximum of £65 (compared to £225 for some productions), and even then there was a spot of strategic discounting later.
But cheap seats can't be the whole answer. Judith Weir's dreadful Miss Fortune failed to sell even when the discount offers were crowned with free kebabs.
The difference is one of quality. Miss Fortune was well cast, entertainingly staged and keenly priced. But it lacks The Minotaur's trump card - a great score. It explains too why Anna Nicole and The Tempest filled the house - and why The Passenger and Caligula couldn't do the same job for ENO.
Initial reaction to The Minotaur was positive, and when there's a buzz about a show - any show, not just opera - word quickly gets around London. Combine that with accessible pricing and people will come. There's a sizeable public out there who are turned off by what they see as the kitsch trimmings of traditional opera - the pretty tunes, the silly plots, the puffy shorts. That's the potential audience ENO have spotted, but failed to capture - and the audience The Minotaur has grabbed.
Fingers crossed that the ROH will have the guts to chuck out any Missfortunate duds on their recently announced new opera programme before they get anywhere near the stage. And that ENO will either find a way to sort the operatic wheat from the chaff - or just stick to the Jonathan Miller-style bel canto fluff which, much as it pains me to say it, has hit the artistic mark better than anything else they've done recently.
| | |
|
Women are on the retreat in London's Big Three orchestras. No female conductors appear on the 2013-14 schedules of the LSO, LPO and Philharmonia. That's a 100% drop from 2012-13, when at least Marin Alsop is granted one opportunity with the LPO.
Could it be that Marin Alsop is the only female conductor in the world? Or are women just not cut out to lead an orchestra?
It's a tired old complaint, but it seems the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment have a different answer. And it doesn't involve any excuses.
Out of eleven OAE Southbank concerts so far announced for 2013-14, one is conducted by a woman, and a further three are conductorless events led or directed by female musicians. While four out of eleven doesn't quite add up to gender equality, it's still an impressive one third of of the total.
And it's not a quirk of timing either. Two of the OAE's remaining five 2012-14 Southbank concerts are conducted or directed by a woman - ever closer to that elusive 50%.
So why the difference between the OAE and the rest? There's nothing particularly ladylike about the OAE's female-led repertoire, which ranges from Vivaldi to Schumann, and includes those male bastions Beethoven and Bach. And while there's an argument to be made for engaging the baton-wielding elite likes of Haitink or Rattle rather than some obscure woman, it doesn't hold when you look at some of the younger and less-known male names on next season's rosters.
Could it be that the OAE have simply spotted that some women can do the job, then gone ahead and hired them?
| | |
|
If Joyce DiDonato's Juilliard masterclass left you wanting more, did you know you can go and watch masterclasses in London all year round?
The Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of Music and Guildhall School host instrumental and vocal masterclasses primarily for the benefit of their students, but members of the public are nearly always welcome to observe, and there's usually no charge. Maxim Vengerov, Ann Murray (both free) and Juan Diego Flórez (fee) are amongst those you could watch sharing their experience over the next few months.
One potential disadvantage of conservatory classes is that they generally take place during working hours. No such problem at King's Place, which this season is hosting a series of chamber music masterclasses (free to watch) on Sundays.
Some teachers are of course better or more entertaining than others (same with the students) but it's one way to acquaint yourself with the finer points of performance practice, and appreciate the some of the challenges performers face.
| | |
|
My blog runneth over with ENO discount deals. Right now they seem even more plentiful than usual - no doubt the recent financial revelations have increased the pressure to fill seats.
The Ambassador Theatre Group are the latest organisation to join the merry band of cut-price ticket providers, with half price offers on the new Peter Konwitschny La traviata and the revival of Jonathan Miller's The Barber of Seville.
All seating areas are included in the offer (even stalls), and all dates after 21 February. Seats are picked for you on a 'best available' basis, but you are shown exactly which seat numbers have been picked before you pay. It appears ATG have been given a limited allocation, as not all areas are available on every night.
Thanks to reader Alex for spotting.
| | |
|
People who say there aren't enough open spaces in London obviously haven't visited ENO recently. Help populate this deserted wilderness and get 50% off tickets for "certain performances" of ENO's Medea in the process, using the Guardian Extra code GUARDEXMED.
I haven't been able to test this out because the ENO website won't accept my (compulsory) account details or send me instructions on how to reset them, but reader Richard says he was able to buy discounted stalls seats using the code.
I strongly suspect there will be further and better offers nearer to opening date. However past experience suggests these will probably be restricted to the upper levels. If you want to sit in the stalls, you might not get a better deal.
| | |
|
James Allison
A Joyce DiDonato masterclass for Juilliard School students will be streamed live on the School's website today.
It begins at 4pm EST (9pm in the UK), and is expected to end around 21/2 hours later. The live stream will not be repeated, though it's possible extracts may appear on the School's YouTube channel at a later date.
| | |
|
Imagine this. Stepping out of your cab, you pay the driver, John Berry. As you press your £800 ticket-chip to the Royal Opera House's security portal, the doors glide open. You wonder how Placido Domingo's first stab at Wotan will go tonight. You are, in short, in 2016.
Valery Gergiev has just taken over the reins at the Munich Philharmonic from caretaker-manager Lorin Maazel. But who if anyone has taken his place at the LSO? Simon Rattle is about to leave the Berlin Philharmonic. Andris Nelsons at the CBSO and Tony Pappano at the ROH are both on rolling contracts - and they're both up for renewal. Christian Thielemann has spent four whole years with the Staatskapelle Dresden - one of his longest stints yet. The Great British Bake Off has been cancelled now people can't afford to eat, and Sue Perkins is desperate.
So who sits where in the game of musical chairs?
Can you match the conductors with their future employers?
| | |
|
Philip Glass's latest opera, The Perfect American, premieres tonight at Madrid's Teatro Real. Based on Peter Stephan Jungk's novel of the same name, it presents 13 fictionalised episodes in the life of Walt Disney in a production by Phelim McDermott.
Mickey, Donald and the rest of the cartoon crew are no-shows. In their place are a robotic Abraham Lincoln, an owl attack, and a visit from Andy Warhol. A largely British cast features Christopher Purves in the principal role.
If you can't wait until it turns up at ENO in June, you can watch it live on 6 February on the Teatro Real's web channel, where it will remain on demand (price from €9.95). It will also be shown later on TVE (Spain), ARTE (France and Germany), WDR (Germany), France Television and NHK (Japan). (UPDATE - to be shown on Mezzo TV too).
Photos below, video here.
Continue reading "First look at Philip Glass's Perfect American " »
| | |
|
In the league table of 2013 composer anniversary CD box sets, Wagner and Britten seem to have taken an early lead, with poor old Verdi languishing below in third. There was nothing in the coveted pre-Christmas release slot, but of course now nobody's got any money left the digital tributes are coming thick and fast.
The 4kg box-busting behemoth is Verdi: The Complete Works
For the more pocket-friendly sum of £44, EMI's Verdi - The Great Operas offers his sixteen best-known works, again with first class artists. An economical way to acquire a decent instant Verdi collection should that be your desire, though not everything in there would be my first choice of recording.
A more exotic option is the £22 Flieg Gedanke (Verdi auf Deutsch)
All release dates are January/February 2013 (depending on location). Full tracklistings of all three below.
Alternatively, for zero £££ and no waiting, you could listen to Verdi's entire output - all 90 hours of it - on Spotify. A selective listing here.
| | |
|
Fancy a trip to Europe's most boring city? The place that makes two thirds of its residents miserable? Here's something to cheer up any trip to Birmingham.
The CBSO are offering 25% off all remaining concerts for the rest of this season. They include Der fliegende Holländer conducted by Andris Nelsons on Saturday 16 March, and the continuation of his Beethoven symphony series. There's also a discount of 25% on all CBSO membership schemes. And with return rail fares from London starting at just £10, it's possible to enjoy a night out in Birmingham for less than the price of a Royal Festival Hall ticket alone.
The offers expire on Sunday 27 January. See the CBSO website for further details.
| | |
|
It seems the Barbican have learned a lesson from their disastrous (over)pricing policy this season. Only student freebies and last minute discounts have salvaged £85 concert after £85 concert from a windswept prairie of empty seatage.
For 2013-14, the top ticket price is £65, and this only applies to guest orchestra visits. These include Chailly and the Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig with a complete cycle of Brahms’s symphonies and concertos in October 2013, Mariss Jansons with the Concertgebouw and Bruckner in April 2014 and Bernard Haitink with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe in June 2014.
Continue reading "Barbican 2013-14 classical music season" »
| | |
|
Half price tickets for ENO's Medea, which opens on 15 February, with this Time Out offer.
The discount is valid for all shows, but only Upper Circle (£50-£55) and second price Dress Circle (£83-£86) seats. As with all Time Out ENO offers, you don't get to pick where you sit - seats are allocated by the box office on the day of the show.
As nearly half the tickets remain unsold, it may be worth waiting to see if better offers turn up later. My guess is that it's extremely likely TKTS will have seats for less than £30 on the day.
| | |
|
Looking back at the notes I made after The Minotaur's first outing in 2008, little in this first revival challenges my initial impressions. The principal cast and staging remain virtually identical, with a new conductor the only significant change. After a bout of tendinitis forced Pappano out, Ryan Wigglesworth has taken over baton duties with a light touch and a flair for clarity.
Continue reading "The Minotaur returns to the Royal Opera House" »
| | |
|
Gergiev has enjoyed a long guest conducting relationship with the Bavarians, so presumably both sides know what they're getting - which is in the orchestra's case means sharing their boss with the Mariinsky and the LSO, neither of which Gergiev has displayed any intention of abandoning.
The appointment is subject to a city council vote, which is expected to be a formality.
Lorin Maazel will continue temping in Munich, as he has done since Christian Thielemann's departure in 2011.
| | |
|
The Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM) today awarded its 2012 Distinguished Musician award to Sir Antonio Pappano in recognition of his outstanding contribution to musical life in the UK. He joins a roster of some of the greatest names in music - previous recipients have included Dame Janet Baker, Pierre Boulez, Jacqueline du Pre, Sir William Walton, Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Colin Davis and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies.
Suzi Digby OBE, President of the Incorporated Society of Musicians, said: ‘In offering Sir Antonio Pappano its Distinguished Musician Award for 2012, the ISM is acknowledging the immense contribution he has made and continues to make to the UK’s musical life.”
In the ISM's press release Sir Tony said: “When I perused the list of previous ISM Award recipients I gulped! To be included in such an illustrious pantheon is an honour. The Society does crucial work to keep classical music alive, well and relevant in this country, especially for young people, so I am very proud indeed to be associated with it” - sentiments he reiterated when he was presented with the treble clef-shaped award earlier this evening at the Royal Opera House.
He did have one question though: "Is there a bass-shaped one for bad musicians as well?"
| | |
|
London's biggest orchestras have now all released details of their 2013-14 seasons.
The London Philharmonic Orchestra listing is here. The remainder of their The Rest is Noise series is unfortunately no more adventurous than the first. But there some worthwhile concerts tucked away in there, the main highlight being Peter Grimes on 28 September with Stuart Skelton in the title role.
The Philharmonia listing is here. The dates announced so far oddly include very few for principal conductor Esa Pekka Salonen. One of his rare appearances will be La damnation de Faust, which kicks off the season on 26 September, with Gerald Finley as Méphistophélès.
The LSO season listing, mentioned in an earlier post, can be downloaded here.
None of the listings mention booking dates, but I suspect only the operas will cause any serious jostling for tickets. As for the rest, based on recent experience it may be worth gambling on discounts appearing later.
| | |
|
The Southbank Centre have just announced their 2013/14 Shell International programme of guest orchestra visits.
Highlights include Claudio Abbado with the Orchestra Mozart on 10 October 2013 and Antonio Pappano with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Orchestra on 17 and 18 May 2014.
Booking opens for members on 21 January and the general public in February. It's probable the Abbado date will sell out quickly, so early booking is advisable.
| | |
|
Hang on to your leeks, here comes some exciting news. Welsh National Opera are to stage three operas at Covent Garden over the next three years, starting in 2014 with Schoenberg’s Moses und Aron. This will be followed in 2015 by Richard Ayres’s Peter Pan. Both are Stuttgart productions. There will also be a new commission in 2016 to commemorate WNO’s 70th birthday. The London shows will follow performances in Cardiff and Birmingham.
This new series will be the first time WNO has performed a main house production in London since 2007. A fundraising campaign to support the programme is now underway.
| | |
|
Recent Comments