Cardiff Singer of the World In The House!

It is a sign that the Wiener Staatsoper lacks a sense of PR when the 2011 Cardiff Singer of the World joins the house's ensemble and it is not adequately communicated to the public.
Soprano Valentina Nafornita from Moldova won this year's Cardiff competition at the age of only 24 with these renditions of Korngold and Gounod, among others:

One would think that the addition of this striking young talent to the Staatsoper's ensemble would be worth a press release, a mention on the website's cover page or anything of the like but, alas, this apparently was only worth an empty page. So far she is not officially scheduled to appear in any performances which is also a pity. If the arrival of Nafornita at this venerable house was communicated appropriately, enough people would rush to the Staatsoper to find out what the fuss was all about. Not to mention the positive momentum of the international attention directed at Nafornita after winning such a prestigious prize.

But this is just an amateur's opinion who found out about these delightful news by happenstance...

Vienna's New Violetta

The Vienna State Opera is getting ready for their first premiere of the season. After approximately 300 performances of the perhaps a little dusty but still functioning production of "La Traviata" by director Otto Schenk they're throwing out the chaiselongue and bringing in an all new, (almost) all French and all modern production by Jean-François Sivadier as seen earlier this year at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence.

© http://www.festival-aix.com

One may argue that vocally this might not be the best fit for Natalie Dessay but everyone who has seen this woman act before must simply be looking forward to being introduced to her Violetta.


One may also argue that a modern production that has obviously been created around the energetic and creative person of Dessay, the actress-singer, might not work as well with park-and-bark-approaches by other singers who will take on this role in the future. It is also to be seen how the production will do without long rehearsal periods where - as experienced in the past with long standing productions at this house - little details are lost and the functionality of a production is proved...or not.

On October 9th we will try to imagine how this new Traviata production might last for another 300 shows.

© http://www.festival-aix.com

99 Autographs of Rolando on the Wall, Or: How to Approach an Artist

I like to go to the stage door after a performance - not to get autographs or take pictures of the artists but to watch the goings-on and indulge in the performance after the performance. Some opera fans have always puzzled me: Academics who camp out at ticket offices to get tickets for the most wanted performances. Filthy rich people who pay $$$ for front row seats just to play games on their smart phones while Domingo is singing. Elderly ladies using their elbows to push other elderly ladies aside only to get a peek of Grigolo. Seemingly sophisticated people who travel far just to be able to say, “The performance was as dreadful as I had expected.” People you see at the opera about 5 times a week whose biggest aim in life is to get the 99th autograph (and after that the 100th, 101st, 102nd…) of Villazón but who know nothing about the art of singing, the history of the artform or even what opera it was they did see that very night. It is especially this obsession with autographs that I will never understand, hence the question I would like to pose today:


What do people do with 99 autographs of one single artist?


I have always pictured their homes wallpapered with these autographs. Is that for real? I understand the concept of using autographs as an excuse to be close to the artist you admire. After a while the artist will remember your face, though. At least when you get your 99th autograph they will know you. And yes, they will probably ask the same question: What the heck do you do with my autographs?!


Have people ever considered a different form of approaching an artist? Call me crazy but I suggest to simply talk to them instead. If you found their performance particularly marvelous tell them how much you liked it, what you liked about it. If you’re genuinely interested in the artist’s career, in that particular production, the evening’s performance you should be able to come up with some clever question. If you ask in a respectful way they will gladly answer your questions. And when they do, say ‘thank you’ and don’t forget to greet them in a polite manner before you leave. In short: Use common sense!


If you can’t come up with anything to talk to them about show a little respect for the person who just got off work and freakin’ leave them alone! ABSOLUTE NO-GO: Getting 20 pictures signed at once! You’re never gonna get rich selling those autographs on eBay.


I don’t want to be a hypocrite about this, I’ve only seen so much go wrong in the artist-fan-interaction when respect is the simple key for every human interaction!

No Need For A Show

"Surely our eyes are given to us only so that we may weep."

~ Iolanta

And weep we all did during the concert performances of Tchaikovsky's last opera Iolanta, the story of a blind princess who learns to see when she encounters true love. This was certainly my personal highlight at this year's Salzburg Festival and judging from the sobbing and nose-blowing sounds that could be heard in the house I didn't seem to be the only one who was touched by this musically exceptional performance.


Of course this was named "The Netrebko Show" by various newspapers. Whoever comes up with such catchy lines should start reconsidering the verbal sellout of this talented woman. At the same time the reduction of this "show" to one singer does not do justice to the stellar performances the rest of the cast showed: Piotr Beczala as loving Count Vaudémont, John Relyea as King René and caring father and Alexey Markov, who in the small role of Robert received hearty ovations for his aria.

Piotr Beczala, Anna Netrebko, John Relyea

The surprise to me was that this concert performance touched me more than a staged opera has in a while. There was no "show" and there was no need for it. Tchaikovsky provided us with this beautifully composed music, Henrik Hertz with a heartbreakingl story and the artists brought it all to life with their talent and above all with the sincerity the treated this music with. One can only wish for more musical experiences like these which capture you in such an intense way while they're happening and resound long after you've left the concert hall.


A sneaky person captured the duet Tvoyo molčan’ye neponyatno during the final rehearsal which - despite not endorsing video bootlegging of classical performances - I wouldn’t want to keep from you:

Why High Heels and Salzburg Performances Don't Go Together Well

Performances at the Salzburg Festival make for a fancy occasion. One sure wants to dress adequately on the red carpet in order not to disappoint the onlookers, B-list celebrities and the odd real celebrity who mingle in front of the festival houses.

Wearers of high heels, though, should be warned to take account of the following hazards:
Cobblestone pavements. You can be most certain to break your leg if you attempt to take a longer walk through the cobbled streets of the old town. Speaking from personal experience I suggest to not even try it.

Walking distances. Salzburg is rather small and pretty much everything can be reached on foot. In fact, most festival goers prefer to walk to their performances as the traffic usually crashes in the inner city before a show and taxis have to go around the entire pedestrian area of the old city to reach the festival houses. It is more time efficient to use the pedestrians' shortcuts which unfortunately always lead through aforementioned cobbled streets. If you take a cab make sure you leave early. If you decide to walk make sure you wear comfortable shoes to avoid focussing on the blisters on your feet during your concert or opera.

Acquiring your intermission drink. Numerous stairs inside the festival houses might prevent you from getting to your well-deserved glass of champagne during the intermission in time. If you want to grab a drink you can order it before the performance to have it ready once you've elegantly conquered the stairs or be prepared to make a less elegant run down the stairs to be in front of the queue.

No Summer Without Salzburg

For many years the best remedy for my yearly cultural summer depression has been the Salzburg Festival. It always feels a bit like Christmas to visit Salzburg during the festival season when the small, usually sleepy city becomes vibrant and lively. You will hardly bump into any real natives of this city during the summer as it will be populated by hoards of The Sound of Music fans. Also, a large migration of classical music and theater lovers takes place as Salzburg turns into Austria's capital of music during the five weeks of the festival.

During this time keeping an eye out on a walk through the city it is likely you will spot a famous face, be it one of the artists performing in the festival or a socialite in town to see a performance or two (Salzburg rolls out the red carpet for their premieres for a reason). If you don't become lucky during your walk I recommend a visit to the restaurant Triangel, located right in front of the small festival house where the festival top nobs like to meet for a chat. I also recommend this place if you're simply looking for a good restaurant as the food served at Triangel is delicious. For amusement reasons they name their dishes after the festival's artists every year. Who doesn't like to say, "I'll have a Michael Schade!" (FYI: Noodles and vegetables of the wok with fried fillet of char!)

Triangel. View from the small festival house.

If on top of all the greatness that is Salzburg in the summer you're also lucky enough to even be granted (one doesn't simply buy) a ticket to one of the performances you shall have the perfect Salzburg experience. The world class artist per performance ratio is exceeded hardly anywhere else. Will I be among those lucky ones this year? I have yet to find out. But either way I will most certainly not miss out on Salzburg during festival time.

Summertime - and the living is easy?

Here, I think, DuBose Heyward was partly wrong. Life is not all that easy as an opera lover since you are deprived of your everyday dose of culture during the summer. The doors of the beloved houses that provide music on the highest level stay closed (whatever happens in there during those months will remain a mystery - secret techno clubbings are my guess) and one has to come up with alternative ideas of indulging in the arts.

One of the few reasons why one should be happy to be living in a country like Austria is that one is offered a few alternatives in this regard. In the next months I shall share my explorations of these alternatives.

Film Festival in front of Vienna's city hall

My favorite alternative to bypass cultural summer dullness is the Film Festival am Wiener Rathausplatz as it can be attended spontaneously and without burdening your budget. Here opera, concert and ballet performances (mixed with a little pop culture here and there) are shown every night from July until September. The presenters make sure not to forget the big names of opera. Hence, you can spend 3 hours of your warm summer evenings with Juan Diego Flórez, Anna Netrebko or Jonas Kaufmann - without paying extortionate entrance fees. You're in for a treat on September 3 when they'll broadcast a Simone Boccanegra live from the Wiener Staatsoper with the likes of Plácido Domingo, Ferruccio Furlanetto and Barbara Frittoli.

How often have you wished to have an alcoholic beverage handy during a performance? This is the chance for you! For lovers of food and drinks this film festival will make your heart beat faster as you will be able to see a world class performance whilst enjoying half a liter of wine cooler (or more) and food from one of the numerous food stands. And for the nostalgics amongst you who miss the shushers from your local opera house for the more authentic opera experience you will most certainly find some of them here as well trying to establish quiet in a public place like this.