Don’t miss this extraordinary opportunity on 23rd August – 9.15pm
A SPECIAL BOHEME FROM THE THEATRE OF LVIV ON STAGE AT THE PUCCINI FESTIVAL IN TORRE DEL LAGO
Music as a vehicle for peace and solidarity. Support for the artists of a country at war.
Tribute also to the great Ukrainian soprano Solomija Krusceniski, a citizen of Viareggio, on the 150th anniversary of her birth, also celebrated by Unesco.
The performance will be streamed live on the social channels of the Puccini Festival and on the Facebook page and social channels of the Istituto Italiano di Cultura Kiev.
By Francisco Salazar
Following a photoshoot of a $42 million mansion in San Francisco, which belongs to Sloan Lindemann Barnett, the Cambodian government appears to have located a number of ancient Khmer sculptures that the the government says match those looted years ago from one of the nation’s sacred sites.
According to the Art Newspaper, “one of the shots included in the Architectural Digest spread in January 2021 showed a two-storey central courtyard populated by towering palms and, on one side, several empty plinths.”
Following an investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), it appeared the photograph had been doctored and discovered another version of the image online, which shows several stone artifacts of demon and god heads standing on the same plinths.
According to the ICIJ, experts confirmed that the sculptures had indeed been airbrushed and a spokesperson for Architectural Digest said that “the magazine published the image without the relics because of unresolved publication rights around select artworks.”
According to the Art Newspaper, the sculptures that were doctored out of the picture are just a few of the relics that were stolen. The relics in the San Francisco home come from a larger collection of Khmer relics held by Lindemann Barnett’s billionaire parents, Frayda, the Metropolitan Opera Board President, and the late George Lindemann. The Washington Post reports that “The parents’ collection appeared in an earlier Architectural Digest spread, in 2008, described as ‘one of the greatest collections of Southeast Asian art in private hands.’ Those photos show their Palm Beach, Fla., home crowded with Khmer antiquities, many of which the Cambodian government suspects were looted.” The government states that “two of the relics appear to match artifacts that rank among the country’s 10 most important stolen relics.”
In recent years, Agents from the antiquities unit at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have contacted the Lindemann family about the Khmer collection but according to an anonymous source, the family has no intention of returning the relics.
Neither Lindemann Barnett nor her husband Rodger Barnett responded to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists nor to the Art Newspaper. Lindemann Barnett’s mother Frayda Lindemann also did not respond to requests for comment.
At this time the Lindemann family has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
By Francisco Salazar
El Diario is reporting that Plácido Domingo performed with the leaders of the Escuela de Yoga 26 years ago.
According to the report, the tenor performed a concert on Feb. 20, 1996 at the Campo Argentino de Polo in Buenos Aires and performed “Cartas marcadas” by composer Susana Mendelievich, a leader of the group known as Mendy. During that concert, violinist Rubén D’Artagnan González, a concertmaster with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1986 until 1996, also performed and is presumed to have conducted business for the sect in Chicago. The close of the concert also featured Verónica ‘Loia’ Iácono, who was debuting as a lyric singer and is now a fugitive in the United States.
The sect exploited at least seven women who were incorporated into the coercive organization by their families when they were still children or adolescents. At this time, Susana Mendelievich, who is 75-years-old, and Juan Percowicz, who is 84-years-old, the community leader have been arrested.
An investigator told the Associated Press that Domingo has not committed a crime nor was he part of the organization, but rather a consumer of prostitution.
The news comes after audiotapes were captured by law enforcement during a raid that dismantled the organization. The audiotapes featured Domingo making a deal with “Mendy” and later the woman speaking with Percowicz celebrating her recent negotiation. The phone calls appeared to be wiretapped.
Domingo has yet to issue a statement and is still set to perform on August 19 in Monterrey.
By Francisco Salazar
The musicians of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra has extended their current agreement for one more year.
The agreement, which will be extended until the 2023-2024 season, will include a 2 percent increase in compensation (1 percent in minimum scale, or base pay, and a nearly $1,100 increase in guaranteed media payments like digital performances) and several workplace changes that will help the orchestra play more community concerts.
The agreement will also include a 6 percent increase during the current season, which restores salaries to their 2016 levels. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the current base pay is a little over $100,000 and there are around 90 musicians in the orchestra.
The orchestra did announce one change which will see the addition of Marty Bates as executive vice president and COO in 2021.
By Afton Wooten
Credit: Micah Shumake/Detroit Opera
Before heading to the Metropolitan Opera stage, Anthony Davis’ “X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X” will be performed at Opera Omaha.
This new production by Robert O’Hara tours significant locations in Malcolm X’s life. Some of the co-sponsoring locations include Detroit Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Metropolitan Opera, and Seattle Opera.
O’Hara’s production builds off of two quotes by Malcolm X, “The future belongs to those who prepare for it today,” and “Armed with the knowledge of our past, we can with confidence charter a course for our future.”
The director brings forward a theme of Afro-futurism, “a science-fiction-infused liberatory aesthetic,” as it relates to the timeline of the Civil Rights Movement. He says, “We are working in collusion with the past, present, and Afro-futurism in imagining, with a child-like wonder, a prophet in search of a future for our people, where the final gunshot is not the end of a legend but the beginning of a liberation.”
Adam Richardson, Whitney Morrison, Ronnita Miller, Joshua Conyers, Victor Robertson, and Charles Dennis make their Opera Omaha debut in this production with Gil Rose conducts.
“X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X” will be held at the Orpheum Theater in Omaha on Nov. 4 and 6, 2022.
By Logan Martell
Brava! Opera has announced the passing of Artistic Director and mezzo-soprano Willene Gunn on August 10, 2022, due to complications following surgery.
For 30 years, Gunn served on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music as Director of the Conservatory Opera Program. She was granted an honorary doctorate in music from the Conservatory upon her retirement in 2005. She has directed over 100 major works by composers such as Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, Bernstein, and more throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, working with companies including Nevada Opera, Sacramento Opera, Arizona Opera, Rogue Opera, and the San Francisco Opera Center, among others.
As a performer, Gunn graduated from the San Francisco Opera Merola Program, going on to perform role in works including “Aida,” “Falstaff,” “Peter Grimes,” “The Medium,” “The Consul,” and many others with companies in San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Oakland, and Nevada. Her repertoire included operetta, musicals, and plays. In 2008 she published her textbook “Teaching Opera, The Role of the Opera Workshop… With Scene Catalogue,” written in partnership with Kathryn Cathcart.
In 2008, Gunn co-founded Brava! Opera where she produced and directed numerous productions, workshops, scenes concerts, and national vocal competitions.
“We are heartbroken and devastated to have lost Willene,” said General Director Lorrie Hall. “Those of us lucky enough to have known her or worked with her will remember her as a once-in-a-generation musician, director and educator of the highest caliber. Her opera productions were clever, creative, inspired and above all a delight to audience members. She was a singers’ director and beloved by countless former students, colleagues, singers and technical staff. She was a treasure to work with and had a wonderful sense of humor and infectious laugh that drew everyone in who met her.”
Gunn is survived by her husband Tom, and their daughter Vicki.
By Francisco Salazar
Christopher Cano will join Washington National Opera (WNO) as the Director of the Cafritz Young Artists (CYA) and American Opera Initiative (AOI) in September.
Cano will work closely with General Director Timothy O’Leary and Artistic Director Francesca Zambello to lead the programs dedicated to advancing opera by training and giving voice to the next generation of singers, pianists/coaches, composers, and librettists.
In a statement, O’Leary said, “Chris is one of the most dynamic and respected musicians in the opera industry. He has built an international career as a pianist, coach, and mentor to many of today’s greatest singers. More than that, he is known for his passion for creating meaningful opera through extraordinary craft, and by championing an opera world that is inclusive, diverse, and forward-looking. We are excited to welcome him to the WNO and Kennedy Center family.”
Cano is a recitalist, orchestra soloist, and collaborative pianist who has performed throughout the U.S., Mexico, Israel, Europe, and Asia. He is a coach who has prepared vocalists for appearances at the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Chicago Lyric Opera, and orchestral appearances with the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, and Berlin Philharmonic among others.
By David Salazar
The George London Foundation is set to present “Nora London – A Celebration” on Sept. 18, 2022.
The showcase, which will take place at The Morgan Library & Museum in New York City, will honor the foundation’s founder, who passed away on June 23, 2022. Among the performers will be former George London Award winners. There will also be remarks from family and friends.
London was married to legendary baritone George London and served as President of the George London Foundation for Singers after his passing in 1985.
“Our mother had a grand passion for opera that was matched by her deep knowledge of the art,” said Marina London, Vice President of the George London Foundation, in a statement following Nora London’s passing in June. “She kept the Foundation going after the death of George London and helped two generations of opera singers through its many activities. She was the matriarch of our family and in many ways of the opera world. We will continue the work of the Foundation in her honor.”
Admission is free with an advanced reservation. Those unable to attend will be able to live stream the event via the foundation’s official website. There will be a reception following the event.
By Francisco Salazar
Plácido Domingo is being linked to a criminal sect in Villa Crespo called “Escuela de Yoga,” an organization that was involved in human trafficking, sexual exploitation, and other crimes in Argentina.
The Argentinian and Uruguayan newspapers La Nacion and El Observador report that a police operation aimed at dismantling the organization obtained audio tapes during an organized raid. During the raid, 37 properties were seized as well as 13 cars, and assets were frozen.
According to the audio tapes business figures, politicians and influential people had links to the organization.
In one of the audio tapes, Domingo’s voice is heard talking to “Mendy,” the woman who organized the sexual encounters. Domingo allegedly says, “When we leave dinner we’ll arrive separately. We’ll do it that way because my agents are going to go up to their room when I go up and they are going to stay on the same floor.”
According to the audiotapes, at the end of the conversation with Domingo, “Mendy” calls Juan Percowicz, the leader of the sect, celebrating and confirming she was able to convince “Plácido.”
Initial reports note that are an estimated 170 victims of the sect in Argentina, and several more abroad. The buyers of the organization’s services would send money in international currency to the headquarters in Buenos Aires. The money would then go unnoticed through the purchase of real estate, or legal objects, in order to avoid evidence and record of the transfers.
Several news reports have noted that the context of these phone calls is unknown and that other recognized figures have not been revealed.
The news comes as Domingo is performing in Mexico for the first time in 10 years. It also comes only a few years after the singer was accused of sexual harassment by several women.
In response to the new investigation, Soprano Luz de Alba, who accused the tenor in 2020 has already spoken out about Domingo and said, she was harassed by the singer for many years including at his apartment. She alleged that he took her agent away and that his wife Marta Domingo is his accomplice. De Alba is also alleging that she no longer has doors open to any opera houses in the world.
By Logan Martell
On September 10, 2022, Opera Colorado will present a special one-night production of Mascagni’s “Cavalleria rusticana” at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House.
The semi-staged performance will see director David Lefkowich and music director Ari Pelto lead a cast featuring Catherine Martin as Santuzza, Catherine Cook as Lucia, Malcolm McKenzie as Alfio, Roberto de Biasio as Turridu, and former OC Artist in Residence Kira Dills-Desurra as Lola.
“I am thrilled to present this incredible opera that is full of some of opera’s most touching music,
from the major chorus numbers to the incredible, iconic ‘Intermezzo’ that links scene one and
two,” said Artistic Director Gregory Carpenter in an official press statement. “This is truly opera at its best and shows off the impressive musical talent we are known for as we open our 40th Anniversary Season.”
The evening will also include a 40th Anniversary Celebration Dinner, with pre-performance cocktails and hors d’ouevres, as well as a three-course meal following the performance.
