I AM EXCited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GETTING MY NEW OBOE TODAY
A gala concert at the Waldbühne arena Tuesday featuring “dream couple” Anna Netrebko and Erwin Schrott with tenor Jonas Kaufmann ended up livelier than anyone expected. The soprano gave her German colleague a “love bite” that caused his lower lip to bleed. “I was just playing around,” she told the Berliner Morgenpost.
During the love scene of Manon she apparently leaned in and put some moves on Kaufmann that would have left most husbands fuming. But Schrott showed no signs of upset, blotting his colleague’s lip and then holding up the bloody tissue for the audience to see before they launched into the trio from Verdi’s I Lombardi. The singers were accompanied by the Prague Philharmonic under Marco Armiliato before an audience of 18,000. The concert was broadcast internationally.
I read it via an email Musical America sent me. (Paid membership required to read it there.)
Invention NO. 13 arranged for two guitars by Jouni Stenroos
Denian Arcoleo, Jouni Stenroos
We begin orchestra rehearsals for Idomeneo this Sunday evening and the singers join us a few days later. My brain hasn’t quite left New York (or PucciniLand™ yet, having done an act of Bohème with operamission) but it’s definitely time to switch gears and make the move to Mozart.
I’d been keeping an eye out for the cast listings; usually Opera San José has those up when they announce the upcoming season, but it appears they were changing things up a bit this year and made us wait. They’ve also updated the look of the site — I like the cleaner look! Finally, though, I see the cast listings (and much more) up. If you go to the actual page you’ll see links to bios. I’m not going to do all that right now, but here’s the scoop:
Conductor: George Cleve
Assistant Conductor: Anthony Quartuccio*
Stage Director: Brad Dalton
Choreographer: Dennis Nahat
Chorus Master: Andrew Whitfield
Set Designer: Steven C. Kemp
Costume Designer: Johann Stegmeir
Lighting Designer: Christopher Ostrom
Wig & Makeup Designer: Jeanna Parham
CAST**
(The first name listed sings 9/10, 9/13, 9/18, 9/22, and the second 9/11, 9/17, 9/23, 9/25)
Ilia: Rebecca Davis/Sandra Bengochea
Elettra: Christina Major/Jasmina Halimic
Idamante: Aaron Blake/Betany Coffland
Idomeneo: Christopher Bengochea/Alexander Boyer
Arbace: Nova Safo
High Priest: Mathew Edwardsen
The Voice: Silas Elash
Opera San José Orchestra, Chorus, Dancers and Supers
*Mr. Quartuccio conducts Sept. 18 and 23 performances.
**Casting subject to change without notice
So off to reeds I should go, but picking myself up off this comfy rocking chair isn’t easy; I don’t feel I’ve come close to adjusting back to this time zone, and my brain … well … I think I left what little brain I had in New York City!
I can play the: flute, clarinet, oboe, drums, trombone, trumpet, contra base clarinet and tenor, barry, alto, soprano Sax
Or maybe both?
Too darn fun!
