Category: music

“First The Barber of Seville, then The Marriage of Figaro. Then what? … On Friday the Whitsun edition of the Salzburg Festival” – under Riccardo Muti’s baton – “revives an opera that just might serve as the missing third panel: I Due Figaro (‘The Two Figaros’), by Saverio Mercadante.” (The second Figaro is none other than Cherubino, all grown up.)

“It’s the worst presence in six decades since the pop chart began,” said Paul Williams, head of business analysis at Music Week. “The singles chart now resembles the Eurovision scoreboard. We used to face a musical challenge from the US but now it’s from dance acts on the Continent too.”

The Tampa Bay area ensemble “and Cuban musicians will start making music together under a new cultural exchange program that will have Tampa area musicians performing in Havana in September.”

“The Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) is targeting sophisticated philanthropic investors with a new wholesale fund aimed at benefiting from the appreciating value of rare musical instruments.”

Actually, it’s only two particular – though very popular – sections of the park: Strawberry Fields, the memorial to John Lennon (who lived and died just across the street); and the Bethesda Fountain area. The Central Park Conservancy, which manages the park, has declared both spots official Quiet Zones, with fines for violators.

“The plan submitted Monday outlines how the orchestra proposes to pay off its creditors and its estimates of its cash flow over the next 12 months. The orchestra also submitted a disclosure statement with more detailed financial information, including historical data.”

“The New York Philharmonic is exploring the temporary occupancy of the David H. Koch Theater as part of a long-term plan to renovate its home, Avery Fisher Hall, according to a person familiar with the matter.”

“American violin virtuoso Joshua Bell was named music director of the world-renowned Academy of St Martin in the Fields chamber orchestra on Friday, replacing Sir Neville Marriner, who founded it half a century ago.”

“City Opera right now represents a perfect storm of mismanagement and bad luck — most of their current problems can be traced back to some heavy-handed board decisions a couple of years ago — in a climate where there’s no room for mistakes.”

“Opera simulcasts around Latin America are often sold out, and in Mexico City, the Met operas have been [a major] success with people of all ages … During a recent Mexico City showing of Il Trovatore, all 6,500 seats [at the National Auditorium] were sold out at $3.50 to $35 each.”