“His name is Costa Pilavachi, and he is president of the Decca Music Group in London. At 49, he happens to be just about the most powerful person in the classical-music business – the man who produces not only Bartoli’s albums but those of Luciano Pavarotti, Renée Fleming, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Andrea Bocelli and Jessye Norman.” – Toronto Star
Author: Douglas McLennan
RE-EVALUATING LEONARD BERNSTEIN (AGAIN)
It’s been ten years “since chain-smoking, emphysema and pleural tumors ended that neck-and-neck race between Bernstein and “the odds,” he’s still – in a strange way – on the scene, though without his provocative politics, podium gyrations, capes and cigarette holders. So can we finally get to the truth behind the best-documented musician in Western Civilization?” – Philadelphia Inquirer
OFF ON ITS OWN
There are a few hotbeds of contemporary music where both the musicians and the audiences are engaged in the music. But why are they separated off from the mainstream? Ghettoizing new music does no favor to the music establishment. Traditional programs could benefit from the energy of the new. – New York Times
HOLDOVER FROM THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION
Inexplicably, “model operas” dating from the time of the cultural revolution have become popular again in China. “The term ‘model opera’ is a loose one, referring to two sets of “model” musical and theatrical works that include ballet, symphony and a reformed version of Beijing opera. As highly visible relics of an era that is officially condemned — a 10-year period of chaos in which much of China’s traditional culture was destroyed and countless artists and intellectuals were humiliated, tortured, jailed and killed — model operas are understandably controversial. – New York Times
NEW BLOW TO THE NATIONAL THEATRE
London’s National Theatre has been hit by a fresh crisis after the director of a new production of Peer Gynt, due to open next month, returned home to Ireland on medical advice. But his departure was marked by reports of mounting friction between him and the cast at the Olivier Theatre. He was alleged to have been asked to leave the theatre last weekend after shouting abusively at the cast during a preview performance. – The Independent (UK)
CUBA WELCOMES AMERICAN DANCE COMPANY
Crowds jam a performance by the Washington Ballet in Cuba. The performance is the first by an American dance company in decades. – Washington Post
WAGNER IN ISRAEL
Wagner was finally performed for the first time at an orchestra concert in Israel Friday night. As the concert was about to begin, an 80-year-old Polish-born man whose family perished in the Holocaust “stood up in the audience, swinging a noisy rattle in protest.” – The Globe and Mail (Canada)
HARD-LIVING VIOLINIST
“Death is a recurring theme in a Ivry Gitlis interview because, well, other people just keep bringing up the subject. ‘Maestro rages against dying of the light’ screamed one review headline after Gitlis made his Australian debut at the 1998 Huntington Festival. Across the globe, music writers never tire of surmising whether the astonishing performance they’ve just witnessed might very well be the violinist’s last.” – Sydney Morning Herald
A SURE HIT
“‘The Full Monty’, the hearty singing adaptation of the popular English film about a motley male troupe of amateur strippers, opened last night in a blaze of pure mass appeal. The show calculatedly pushes as many buttons as an elevator operator, but it mercifully doesn’t hammer at them.” – New York Times
NEW DIRECTIONS FOR TONYS?
Broadway’s Tony Awards are in disarray – low ratings, infighting and intrigue. Now a veteran producer is negotiating to come in to try and restore order. – New York Post