The one on the left is Dan Ettinger, by far the best thing about the latest of the Royal Opera House's inexorable La traviata revivals. The one on the right is his erstwhile mentor, The Other Dan.
Remarkable, isn't it?
But it was not always thus. Back in 2009, the then-newly appointed General Music Director of the Nationaltheater Mannheim looked more like this:
UPDATE - Thanks to Simon Morgan for pointing out that Dan E has gone on the record to say he's not Dan B's son.
The Southbank Centre have slipped out via Twitter what I hesitate to describe as an online 'list' of 2014-15 classical music dates.
What they have in fact provided is few skimpy puff paragraphs with multi-level links to some of the concerts mentioned. It will take you at least three clicks to find particulars of any specific event, more if you accidentally venture on to the wrong sub menu. Several of the events mentioned don't seem to have a date set yet; some have a date but no repertoire. Chaos. As exasperated buyer Faye commented on Twitter, "I just want a simple clear list of dates, concert details & artists. Is that too much to ask?"
As a result I can't suggest a definitive list of highlights. But a likely favourite for many will be an extended visit from Daniel Barenboim in April-June 2015. A cycle of Schubert Piano Sonatas is preceded by two concerts with the Staatskapelle Berlin, featuring soloists Lisa Batiashvili and the elusive Martha Argerich.
I am puzzled that there seem to be no opera or song recital dates, but if anyone has the patience to dig through the website and uncover any, do please share.
By the way, despite forking out a small fortune for membership, I have yet to receive an email to let me know what's on, or that booking starts on 27 January.
If the Southbank Centre want to know why advance bookings are down, they might think for a moment about how hard they make it to buy tickets.
"German culture leads to seeking depth in music; if it sounds lovely, then it's presumed to be superficial. For the Italians, it's exactly the opposite: if it doesn't sound nice, it's not art." On the eve of his first stab at Il trovatore, Barenboim contrasts Verdi's guiding principles of rhythmic rigour and melodic freedom with Wagner's harmonic uncertainty.
Has his departure from La Scala left a gap in his diary? In the Tagesspiegel interview, he laughs off a mention of the Berlin Philharmonic vacancy. The Staatsoper is, he says, his "life's work".
Happy birthday to Daniel Barenboim, whose festive cake awaits him backstage at the Staatsoper Berlin.
I get the sheet music, the baton and the Beethoven bust, but what's the significance of the blue hankie and the toilet roll? Anyone?
Daniel Barenboim, whose contract as music director of La Scala runs through to 2016, is to leave two years early, in 2014.
Coincidentally (or not), Lissner too leaves his post in 2014, when Alexander Pereira takes over the Milanese reins.
Who knows what is really going on. But we may recall the words of Gerard Mortier as he declined to apply for a post (subsequently assumed by Jurgen Flimm) alongside Barenboim at the Staatsoper Berlin: "There can be only one tiger on the mountain."
Fancy seeing Daniel Barenboim and Anna Prohaska together in Berlin?
They're giving a recital in the Schiller Theatre at 11am on Sunday 20 October. A kind reader has donated two excellent tickets, just inches away from the stage.
If you'd like to get your mitts on them, please email me at inter-mezzo. hotmail.co.uk - first come, first served.
Before you head for the email, please bear in mind that the recital is in Berlin, and you will need to make your own way there. The tickets can be handed over either in London or Berlin, as you prefer.
*UPDATE* - now gone!
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