The Ukrainian president Vlodomyr Zelensky has imposed sanctions on 119 Russians and Ukrainians who appear on a list drawn up by the country’s Security Council. The list includes two singers, opera soprano Anna Netrebko and Eurovision contender Polina Gagarina. The sanctioned individuals are barred from entering Ukraine and will have their assets frozen. Ukraine will ;”inform the competent authorities of the European Union, the United States and other countries about the application of the sanctions and encourage them to impose similar restrictive measures’. The post Ukraine sanctions two singe ..read more

When Daniel Barenboim arrived as Generalmusikdirector of Berlin’s State Opera 30 years ago both he and the company were looking a bit shabby. The opera house on Unter den Linden was struggling to recover from an insidious East German mentality and Barenboim was still reeling from being sacked in Paris as music director of the Bastille Opera before it even opened. Conductor and opera comany felt an affinity of grievance and an ambition to improve. Barenboim had an away job as music director of the Chicago Symphony. He also knew that a segment of the Berlin Philharmonic would want him to succeed ..read more

Glyndebourne said this morning it is unable to stage its autumn east of England tour after the Arts Council inflicted a 50% funding cut. Glyndebourne’s application to join Arts Council England’s 2023 – 2026 National Portfolio was successful, but the £800,000 annual funding offered for that period is at a lower level than applied for. It is half the amount that was received during the previous NPO funding period. The move leaves a large part of the country without live opera. The west and centre will be further deprived when Welsh National Opera, similarly stricken, makes its expected decision ..read more

From the New York Times letters page: While the Met recently commissioned new works by Jeanine Tesori and Missy Mazzoli, they are the first two commissions given to female composers since its founding in 1883. Robert Schumer I have taught in numerous New York City public high schools over 48 years and have found that almost all of the kids have never heard of Puccini, Wagner or Verdi. Robert Grandt While I applaud the Met’s recent efforts to present and commission new works, opera companies in Philadelphia, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco have been in the ..read more

Staff of the Metropolitan Opera have posted an interview with Joan Dornemann, the company’s first woman prompter, who has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Opera Association. Joan shares some precious memories: Fabulous conductors spill out ideas that you haven’t thought of, which can add to your interpretation and to your perceptions. They might be looking for a sound or a rhythm that deepens one’s own interpretation. Carlos Kleiber was rehearsing Bohème at the MET, and we were warned not to talk to him because he was so important. Everyone was so in awe of him that they ..read more

The Lithuanian tenor Vaidas Vyšniauskas, nationally banned after singing in Belarus over Christmas, has been selected to head the Union for People and Justice in the coming municipal elections in Vilnius. If the list performs well, he will return to the Vilnius stage as Mayor. Vyšniauskas, also known as Kristian Benedikt, appears to be enjoying the controversy. The post Banned opera singer is running for Mayor appeared first on Slippedisc ..read more

Message from American soprano Rebecca Nelsen: Tonight, there were THREE people jumping in to the performance of La Bohème at the Vienna @volksoper! Mimi, Marcello, and Rodolfo were all sung by people who were not originally scheduled to sing tonight! The show went really well and we had a very receptive audience for our very unique performance even standing ovations at the end from the packed house! HUGE props to Jason Kim for jumping in on a huge role with one day’s warning and a single staging rehearsal. Also Orhan Yildiz sang the role of Marcello beautifully from the orchestra pit while And ..read more

From the soprano’s instagram feed: “An end of year finds us reflecting, as always. And I have to tell that despite all the hurricanes which passed over me, this year was very good one! The year was better than the previous one which left confusion and foreboding. Now, there is no foreboding – but there is Christmas Tree and the ladder! The dress will be ironed, the jewels will be put on, and – FORWARD! With coming New Year! View this post on Instagram A post shared by @anna_netrebko_yusi_tiago View this post on Instagram A post shared by @anna_netrebko_yusi_tiago The post Anna Netrebko ..read more

At ticket prices of 2,000 to 18,000 rubles ($28-250), many Russians are forsaking a longheld family tradition and staying home over Christmas and New Year. Here’s one testimony from Novosibirsk: ‘!n October-November 2022 I went to the NOVAT website to buy a ticket. ‘Imagine my surprise when I discovered that “our” tickets cost five thousand rubles each. At first I was shocked, then outraged. It’s not like I don’t have ten thousand. They, thank God, are. But I can’t waste my monthly food budget on keeping up the New Year’s tradition. I can’t afford it. The importance of bodily food over the spi ..read more

A withdrawal by Juan Diego Florez from La Fille du régiment prompted the Vienna State Opera to scrap tonight’s live stream. Florez is being substituted by an untested Italian tenor Marco Ciaponi (pictured). However, due to the late change and ‘insufficient preparation time’ the stream has been cancelled. Instead, Vienna has inserted into its stream list a previously unseen house recording of La bohème with Anna Netrebko, Vittorio Grigolo and others less controversial. You lose some, you win some. The post Vienna cancels live stream as star falls sick appeared first on Slippedisc ..read more