Brian Dickie

After office matters

Today I am having a late night - firstly straight from the office to Gallery 37, part of the City's Cultural Affairs Department, for the COT contribution to After School Matters. We have a long standing relationship with the City, the Public Schools, and Gallery 37.  And also of course with ASM.  This is all part of our extensive program of educational activities. 

I go on to something completely different - the Civic Orchestra concert.  The Civic Orchestra is the training orchestra of the CSO and this evening have an ambitious program of Henze and Schumann.  The excellent Markus Stenz, who was responsible for Mahler 4 last week and the Lyric's run of Kata Kabanova, is conducting.  How great it is that visiting conductors work with this group of young players.  Haitink, Boulez and Barenboim have all worked with them in recent seasons.  No doubt Muti will be doing the same on a regular basis - Markus Stenz is somewhat nearer their age group......

We are bracing ourselves for a fairly serious winter storm - snow and extreme cold way down below freezing on Thursday. But hey - this is winter in Chicago!

A dusting of snow - but tons to come!

Snowy Bean at 8.15 December 7 2009

We had an inch or two of snow overnight - so it was a pretty ride through Lincoln Park on the bus this morning. And above you see the extent of it in the city. That little black speck in the middle is me of course! Click the pic to enlarge.

Apparently there will be a proper snow storm tomorrow evening.  That will be fun........

We have a quiet week ahead - welcome as far as I am concerned.  Our development committee meets on Wednesday, basking somewhat in the success of the party on Thursday evening at the Casino Club. That was a fun party which made new friends for COT. 

And on Friday our director and designer of Mose in Egitto will be in town for an early, but far from premature, presentation of the set and costume designs. I am not sure that there will be anything ready for publication here - we shall see. We are running pretty late on this and continually increasing budget constraints do not help matters.  But that is the name of the game these days.  The important thing is that we are still here, and pursuing the concept of excellence in all things with our usual passion and energy.

Three Sundays before Christmas

I got back to Chicago after my nice but somewhat stressful trip to Philadelphia.  And, given that we are just a few weeks from Christmas,  I thought it would be good to pop down to Chicago's retail area before going to the Symphony Center this afternoon. Of course the Gods of shopping were out in full force and above you see some indications of the action in Michigan Avenue's Crate and Barrel store.

And the populace was enjoying the comparative warmth as well - it was actually above freezing so skating in Millennium Park drew the crowds.  All this for me was on the way to Symphony Center and Mahler 4 fully explained in Gerard McBurney's Beyond the Score.  There was a full house - this series is clearly a hit.

And getting home on this chilly evening was an adventure. I came into my own as a city tour guide explaining to the very many people out of town the intricacies of the public transport system and how to get to the Zoo. Just another holiday weekend really.

Sunday morning

I am on my flight home from Philadelphia - and it is one of those with Internet access on it.  I had a bad night - a wedding party in the hotel woke me up, or rather a couple of drunken guests yelling at each other, and worse, in the room next door.....so not a lot of sleep.  But at least its Sunday.

And this afternoon I am looking forward to Mahler 4 at the CSO in Gerard McBurney's Beyond the Score series.  More about that later.  Now I just want to get home and get back some of that lost sleep.

Reflections on the Met auditions

As I reported in the posting below we finished a long and immensely enjoyable day here in Philadelphia at around 6.30 this evening.

So what were the important factors you may ask?  I guess the first thing to be admitted is that, between them, Curtis and the AVA provide an extremely attractive opportunity for young singers to develop their skills and their careers.  If you are at either if these institutions you are noticed.  So they attract the best. There is little doubt in my mind that the Philadelphia district has a stronger turn out than any regional final. And so it was today. Three of the "winners" were from Curtis, three from the AVA.  This must be very irritating for everyone else.  So be it!!

The six young people to go through to the regional finals were:

Elizabeth Reiter - Soprano 

Jan Cornelius - Soprano

Elliott Madore - Baritone

Steven LaBrie - Baritone

Evan Hughes - Bass Baritone

Nicholas Masters - Bass

If one or more of these is not one of the Grand Prize winners I will be amazed......I have my own opinions about which......

Of course it is somewhat invidious to discuss any of these further.  But I must because three of them are of special interest to me.  And so I have to single them out!

Elizabeth Reiter sang Flora in our COT production of The Turn of the Screw in 2003.  She was barely 17 and already displaying prodigious ability.  She was still a high school student and soon went on to the Manhattan School of Music. She has been studying with Marlena Malas for these last 6 years.

Elliott Madore is a 22 year old Canadian of no less extraordinary gifts.  My connection with and affection for Canadian singers is well known. Elliott joined Elizabeth Reiter in the Tanglewood Don Giovanni conducted by James Levine earlier this year.  I do not see it but I can bet it was something special.  And you can read about it here.  He is another Marlena Malas student.

And the third special case is English/French - the bass Nicholas Masters.  I am English/Irish and he English/ French - so we have 50% in common. So I thought I would just mention that!

Liz and Elliott are at Curtis, Nicholas at AVA.  The other three finalist are great too.  They will be seen and noticed. If you can get to the Regional Finals in Washington on January 31 at the Kennedy Center (Terrace Theater) you will be able to witness a great shoot out. Whoever wins there will go in to the final rounds in New York in March.  It could be a vintage year.

I fell somewhat privileged to be involved in all this.  We judges do it for no financial reward but we get our expenses refunded.  However the other reward, the satisfaction of participating in this thing with the most talented of the rising generation, is huge. I have now been doing these Met auditions for ten years - just three or four weekends a year messed up by this.  Its great though. And the volunteers in each place are remarkable people. 

I return to Chicago on a 6.15 flight tomorrow morning.  So you will forgive me if I call it a day now!

Philly District Met auditions

We have just finished a long and immensely enjoyable day here - we have heard the singers, made our decisions, announced the "winners", and done feedback.  It is now 6.45 and I am famished.  So I am off to dinner and will do a report later this evening.  Lots of good stuff to report about a day when the crème de la crème was on parade.  Come back here some time before 10 pm EST.

Two days in the Commonwealth

It is particularly good to be back in Philadelphia, the heart of the United States it could legitimately be said.  It is the city of Brotherly Love, it is the birthplace of America. It has been a long day here, not helped by huge Internet problems at the hotel.  So I am very late telling you about it!

As always there has been a parade of really excellent singers, firstly from the Curtis Institute, a center of excellence if ever there was one.  And then at AVA, which also has a record of providing our profession with some considerable talent; I heard one excellent singer after another.  But the question really is - were there any standouts?  Well of course there were but it is confusing when the very best have to nudge themselves ahead of the pack by a nose rather than a head or a length - to use a comparison with race horses.  Philadelphia is certainly home to singing Thoroughbreds.

The singer’s program at Curtis is lead by the remarkable Mikael Eliasen.  He is a greatly respected and much loved personality in our business.  He has created an incredibly fertile environment at Curtis as well as a happy family.  And of course it was a great treat to have my annual lunch with him.  We see each other more than once a year but the ritual of the COT auditions in November/December is a long established tradition now.  We share the same values, we are working towards the same end.  The Curtis contribution to COT in recent years has been golden.  And there are more treasures in the pipeline.

There is a newish restaurant open across the street from Curtis - the Parc Brasserie - and that is where we went!

And so after lunch to the AVA.  The wonderful Danielle Orlando, who serves on the faculties at both Curtis and AVA,  was playing for the AVA young people - so they began with a great support.  So the afternoon session was no less productive.

Philly is a village really - so it is never a surprise to bump into friends on the street.  So the amusing encounter in the hotel this evening was a pretty normal event.  Suddenly coming from four directions quite independently  were Gayletha Nichols of the Metropolitan Opera, David Devan, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Opera, Mikael Eliasen and me.  Such things happen.

David Devan is a colleague from Toronto going back 20 years.  He was a member of the marketing team at the Canadian Opera Company all those years ago, as well a a distinguished figure skater.  His skating days may be over, but he is now a star Executive Director who is transforming the fortunes of the Opera Company of Philadelphia.  We went off to dinner and talked about the good old days and the even better ones to come.  David is positive - my goodness how valuable that is today!

Tomorrow will be another long day with the Philadelphia District Met auditions.  We gather at 9.30 am and will not be done in time for me to take the last flight back to Chicago.  So I will have another night in this fine city.

Lovely Lehar

It is good to have a dose of Lehar from time to time.  And The Merry Widow, however hackneyed the title, has an uncanny ability to delight.  The miraculous Act 2, with its extraordinary sequence of what I can only call heavily perfumed and exotically sensual melodies, is one of the masterpieces of early 20th century music theater.  Nostalgia rules here, and the irresistible Elisabeth Futral and the personable Canadian red headed tenor Roger Honeywell play it and sing it for all it is worth and much more. 

And how good to see an outstanding supporting cast with three Ryan Center gems, Andriana Chuchman, Paul La Rosa, and David Portillo, punching way above their weight.  Andriana as Valencienne was the star attraction and partnered by the gifted and attractive tenor Stephen Costello as her illicit lover Camille. You can see Andriana in COT's Giasone in April.  Do not miss it - book now!

So it was an enjoyable afternoon - thank you Lyric for the pleasure of this.  Of course its light weight stuff - but just once in a while its ok!  And more than ok in this instance.

Let us hope that there will be huge crowds to see the performances.  The shadow of an orchestra strike hangs over our friends at Lyric.  Lets hope everyone gets through this unscathed and that Janacek and Lehar can delight the crowds in the weeks before Christmas.

Our event at the Casino Club this evening was a huge success - a big turnout, double that of the equivalent event in 2008.  I think that we made old friends happy and made some new ones as well.  Noah Stewart and Viktoria Vizin sang their hearts out, ending with a terrific final scene from Carmen.  It brought the house down of course.

I am off to Philadelphia on a 6.30 flight tomorrow morning - auditions at Curtis at noon and at the AVA at 3.30.  Great hunting grounds both of these fine places. And on Saturday I am doing jury service for the Metropolitan Opera's Philadelphia district auditions.  A hard long day it will be.

A somewhat productive day

As my regular readers are aware, I have spent a great deal of time during the last weeks getting to know the best of the new young things.  And today was the first sorting out session.  We decided who we want and need for the few gaps left in 2010, and made a great start on the 2011 casting.  The ideas will filter through into the business in the next week or so.  This is an invigorating time -

And so I went on to lunch with the very youthful, but a friend of over 30 years standing, David Sigall - prince of the hugely revered Ingpen and Williams artists management company in London.  They are the real thing.  They looked after Solti, they look after Boulez.  What is better than that?  Oh, and they also look after Markus Stenz who conducted Katya at the Lyric last night, and has a week at the CSO coming up.  

And what else today?  A chance meeting with Chicago's Christmas market - a salute to our German friends. This is stuffed into Daley Plaza in the Chicago loop.  If you are into pancakes and bratwurst this is the place for you!

Tomorrow I am at the Merry Widow dress rehearsal at Lyric - then on to our event at the Casino.  So a really non stop day.  I will not be reporting until near midnight, if then!

Late night report from the front!

I am back from Katya - an evening of first class music theater combined with first class music making - not a regular state of affairs alas!  But this was one of those evenings where it mostly came together.  And what a pleasure it was. 

Karita Mattila is a rare thing indeed - in addition to assuming the title role in her whole being, she can actually sing it, with a glorious burnished tone and an expressiveness that is matchless.  She defies the years - she is hardly still the febrile 30 year old creature of the Ostrovsky play.  But who cares?  This is a transporting performance of the highest order.  And Brandon Jovanovich is the Boris for all time.  Could there be a better one, or even his equal?  I have seen so many performances of this opera - I don't believe we can get better than this. And this a young man from Billings, Montana.  

And I was delighted to see Jason Collins making his Lyric debut as a totally convincing Tikhon, Katya's husband.  His career started at COT in the title role of The Good Soldier Schweik in 2001.  He returned as Giove in Il ritorno d'Ulisse in 2007. And Judith Forst, a great Canadian singer (you know I adore them!) was the real thing as the mother in law......

So all in all a fine night at the opera.  All this combined with encounters with good friends and colleagues made it a perfect evening in Chicago!

Something special

I am at the Lyric this evening for Katya Kabanova - something that is very special to me.  I first heard this marvellous opera at Sadler's Wells conducted by Charles Mackerras.  This was at a time when Janacek was pretty well unknown but, thanks to Mackerras, was being revealed to the intensely curious British opera going public of the 1950s and 1960s. Indeed Katya was the first Janacek opera to be seen in Britain, as long ago as 1951.

I then saw it in Prague in 1968 and introduced it to Wexford in 1972 when it received a glorious production by the 25 year old David Pountney. This can fairly be said to have brought David to international attention.  He remains, 37 years later, an outstanding advocate for the works of Janacek, and much else besides.

In 1988 we began the hugely successful Janacek cycle at Glyndebourne with Katya, Nikolaus Lehnhoff being our choice as stage director, with Andrew Davis conducting.  Klaus and Andrew went on in subsequent seasons to have huge success at Glyndebourne with Jenufa and Makropoulos, both with Anja Silja.

And finally when General Director of the Canadian Opera Company I turned to Katya once again, this time asking Robert Carsen to direct. 

So I will be reliving all this this evening - I can't wait!  I will write about it afterwards so return here, if you are remotely interested in what I think, a little before midnight.

But before all that a sad event - bidding farewell to Art Sussman who has led the McArthur Foundation's relationships with arts companies with such passion and enthusiasm. We will miss him. 

Good day with the New Englanders

We had an enjoyable visit today from the two people doing so much work at MIT to get Death and the Powers off the ground.  They were Ariane Martins and Bob Hsiung. She is a Brazilian singer and guitarist and general musical polymath who has been working with Tod Machover at the Media Lab for ten years today.  Bob is a design engineer doing all kinds of fun stuff at MIT (which is where all the fun stuff happens) including being Development Manager for this Opera of the Future program of which Powers is a part.

We love wonderful smart people at COT.  And who better than those at MIT involved in this project?

Anyway we spent much of the day nailing the numbers and shrinking the schedule, having first thing had a tour of the Harris Theater which neither had seen previously.  We are all going to get a lot out of this.  Roll on 2011.

It was a good first day back after our little break - and clear though cold too.  I popped out to the post office in the late afternoon - the one at the Aon Building from where there was an unusual twilight view of the Harris Theater with the Frank Gehry construction behind it.  Click the pic to enlarge.

Top of the Top Ten

As we get to the end of 2009 people think that we are at the end of a decade.  Well we are not - the last year of the first decade of this young century is of course 2010.  Never mind - lets not be pedantic.  But we are at the end of the "noughties" I suppose.

Anyway lets get with the Times of London's excellent choices of the best "classical" CDs of the century so far.  And we are thrilled that the top of the top ten is our friend John Adams - seen here rehearsing COT's Flowering Tree production of 2008.

Miserable old day here in Chicago - and we are back to work tomorrow after the Thanksgiving break.  First up is a comprehensive meeting with our colleagues from MIT to deal with matters concerning Death and the Powers.

The pleasures of the Shedd Aquarium

Of course the first delight on arriving at the Shedd Aquarium on a clear day is the unparalleled view (above) of the city from the South - terrific during the day and even better at night.  We live to the north of the city so see the other view less often.  Either is exhilarating anyway!

We gave up our membership when some of our favorite creatures were away on a Sabbatical in Connecticut while a rehab of their home was undertaken.  But now they are back, and so are we.  So we went down this morning making sure to get there at opening time and saw the first showing of their elaborate new aquatic show called Fantasea (alas!).  It was a bit too elaborate for me, lacking the simplicity of seeing these creatures, Whales, Dolphins, and Penguins, just doing their thing.  But it was a full house and seems to be a huge success.  And a full house indeed it was by the time we departed in mid morning.  Lines around the block and intolerably crowded and noisy.  We had the best of the day.

There is more Chicago non operatic fun this evening - our annual visit to the Lincoln Park Zoo up the road to see the Lights.  I'll pop a picture up later......(and now at 7.30 pm you see it below)

Gourmet life in Chicago

Einstein Bros. Bagels on Clark Street

We had a bit of fun today on our day off nipping into some the top of the pops food places in our neighborhood.  It gives a little taste of life in Chicago for those of you who do not know this great city.  And for those that do enjoy these quick snapshots I grabbed today converted into lovely ol' Black and White!  Too much color can spoil the picture - well I thought so anyway......

Bobtail Ice Cream at Broadway and Wellington

Those were the days

Holiday lights on Michigan Avenue

I managed to scramble this enticing shot of all things bright and beautiful in the pouring rain this evening on my way home.  We are now off until Monday of course.

I had a merry old time this morning signing up for Medicare at the Social Security office in Chicago's loop - at an excellent federal building with a system beautifully managed, an example to all bureaucracies everywhere of how to do it right.  There was an orderly line, an excellent computer check in system, charming and cheerful marshals - everything you could wish for and rarely expect to find.  My first helper, after a wait of less than 20 minutes, was an extremely efficient lady rejoicing (or maybe not) in the rather unusual name of Ms Bear Claw. She appeared to understand my peculiar English accent without difficulty, and was able to answer all my questions without hesitation. 

I was then moved on, after a short pause, to another officer for form filling and an interview.  It turned out that the excellent lady who did this was completely blind.  She was a virtuoso with the Braille printer and had a computer which gave Braille confirmation of what was on the screen.  The whole process was quicker than one might have expected from a normally sighted person - altogether extraordinary and something of an eye opener for me. Totally impressive and a really good experience!

If the new health care arrangements are enacted (let us pray) and health insurance is delivered to all with the efficiency of these people, then the world will be a much better place.  Amen.

And so this afternoon I spent 90 minutes in conversation with Andrew Moravcsik of Princeton University.  As well as being Professor of Politics and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School, and Director of the European Union Program at Princeton, he is a prolific writer on music, and opera in particular.  How do these people find the time? 

He is doing a project research project at Princeton studying "the widespread belief that there exist fewer very good "big" operatic voices (i.e. spinto and dramatic voices appropriate for the heavier Verdi, Wagner and Puccini roles) in the current generation than previously."  What an interesting subject.  He and his team will be doing the opera world a service.  With rigorous examination of the facts they will determine whether this is true.  If so - why?  And then what is to be done about it?

It appears to me to be a more useful project for serious research than many that one might have heard of.  That this is led by someone who is passionately concerned is better still, and maybe guarantees an integrity to the project.  And yet more amazing, this man has read the whole of my blog from April 2005 to date.  He may be nuts - but is that not commitment?  If he has really done that then just think what else he may have delved into.

That is all for today.  We are off tomorrow.  I may have tales from Turkey land.  And Pumpkin Pie land.......we shall see - but for now - Good Night!

It's enough to make you weep

 

Another gloomy old day - the Crown Fountain expresses it completely.

Murky old day

Misty moisty morning Chicago 8.15 am November 24 2009

I was in the city by 8.15 this morning and went for a short wander through the park before getting to the office by my usual 8.30.  It was a foggy damp and generally drab morning, but positively gorgeous compared to what I was confronted with after a hard day of auditions.  I came out of Roosevelt University at 5pm to be drenched. So no photos of the city's festive lights this evening.

We had a mixed bag today.  But we added some good ones to the lists for consideration for 2010 and 2011 seasons.  We will be making a start to the allocations tomorrow and then there is the break for turkey and all that.  So this will resume next week.  Meanwhile my colleagues are drifting off to their families for the greatest of American holidays, the one that unites the nation irrespective of other traditions.  It is good.

I will be working tomorrow and may take a day off the blog on Thursday - if I can summon up the courage.

Grey day

This is  very low key start to our week - fog and general greyness outside has been reflected inside as we spend much of the day on our long term strategies for COT - well, strategies tend to be long term.  And meanwhile we are also urgently looking at short term tactics to ensure our prosperity over the coming months.

This is all a far cry from the excitement of the last week.  And a good deal less exhausting, so I am not complaining.  Tomorrow we have the last of the full days of Chicago auditions - six hours of them.  I am told that there are some really good ones on the list.  Well we shall see and hear.......

Now for the sweetness of a quiet evening at home.  Tomorrow I will show you something of the bright lights of Chicago's holiday season.

On State Street, that great street

 

I am not sure whether this is the part of State Street that Frank Sinatra had in mind, but Christmas is coming, and Thanksgiving too - the "holiday" season is a upon us.  And we will have snow next week to spice things up a bit. 

Meanwhile shopping and holiday cheer is winding up to its accustomed frenzy.  And it starts at Macy's, as that great icon of Chicago retailing Marshall Field's is now known, with the Christmas window displays that yield to none other in their glitz and glamor.  Enjoy it while you can.  Less than 6 weeks left until 2010.

So it has been a glorious sunny weekend in Chicago, and we are happy to make the most of it.  Its all falling temperatures from here on.

Elisabeth Söderström

The greatly loved soprano Elisabeth Söderström died yesterday at the age of 82.  There is a fine obituary of  her in England's Guardian newspaper.  There will be many more.*  She touched so many, and all who were fortunate to have known her adored her.

She was of course part of my life and career over four decades from my first meeting with her at Glyndebourne in 1963 when she sang the Countess in Capriccio for the first time, through her many unforgettable performances at Glyndebourne of Tatyana in Eugene Onegin, Christine in Strauss' Intermezzo and Leonora in Fidelio.  Our last professional encounter was when we invited her to give masterclasses and coach Scandinavian song repertory to the young singers of the European Union Opera in Baden-Baden in 1998.

A visit to Sverker and Elisabeth's beautiful home in Lindingö outside Stockholm was a special treat and a treasured memory for us all.  Her passing will be greatly mourned around the opera world and far beyond.

* Here is the NYT obituary of November 22

and the Daily Telegraph

The Times

And the results in Boston?

I heard two dozen young singers from the New England Conservatory and Boston University today.  And had 20 minutes to grab a quick Pizza (a $2 price and a $5 value - that was good) after commuting from A to B on the T (subway). Thanks to a medical emergency on the train in front it was something of a trip.

During the morning I was moved to tears - not a daily occurrence I assure you.  Not even an annual one. This was the magical effect of a quite marvelous young tenor singing Handel with a ravishing beauty of sound, a flawless technique, and an innocent natural sensibility which was completely winning.  Wow!  If only that happened more often.

And then after Pizza (I can hardly call it lunch) there was a thrilling knock your socks off soprano who sailed through two mightily difficult pieces with a controlled abandon (yes I guess its possible) and a fearless risk taking attack which was actually totally justified because she did it.  She is a winner.

I love these experiences.  I gives me back my faith - one can go through days and days of excellent singing, performances which are admirable and professional.  And I think - maybe I am getting bored of all this - maybe I am over the hill and can't be excited anymore.  Then suddenly - BANG!!

It has been a good week actually all round.  I am not done yet though.  We have a full day in Chicago on Tuesday, and then after Thanksgiving I am in Philadelphia for Curtis and the AVA.  I am also on the jury for the Met Philadelphia district auditions.  So I guess I will be hearing some those people more than once.

Looking over my coded lists and comparing them with last year's similar tables, it seems that there have been more excellent young people this year.  So I think that we can look forward to some really interesting new blood during the next two COT seasons.  Of course we have to get on with hiring them.  The best ones will be in huge demand - so we have some interesting weeks of decision taking coming up.

I am now at Boston's Logan Airport where there is completely free WiFi service donated by Google for the holiday period.  I take that this is a business rather than philanthropic decision.  But thank you Google whatever your motives!  In return I will give you a little plug.  I am using your Chrome browser on my PC in the office.  I am looking forward to trying it at home when it comes to Mac next month.  I love it on the PC.  It works and it is very pretty.  What more can one ask for?

I will be home around 10pm this evening.  Lovely weekend ahead!

Soaking Boston morning

Christian Science Church, Massachusetts Avenue, Boston 9.30 am November 20 2009

I got pretty well drenched on my way to the New England Conservatory, took shelter at Symphony Hall and waited for a break in the clouds.  But look at the Christian Science Church on Massachusetts Avenue in grey wet garb.

I am now drying out in the audition room ready to begin at 10.20!