Mexicans boo Mayan pyramids concert by Great Tenor

MERIDA, Mexico (AP) - Placido Domingo’s concert at the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza on Saturday night is being billed as “the world’s greatest tenor at one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World,” a claim few lovers of opera or history would dispute.

But some Mexicans question whether the show should go on at all.

Archaeologists are pressing for criminal charges against the organizers, reviving a debate over how to use treasured ancient sites.

It’s a balancing act many countries face as they try to promote and protect their cultural heritage. As artists seek to perform in stunning places from the Great Wall of China to India’s Taj Majal and ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian structures, many worry not only about damage but also about cultural propriety.

Domingo sought to reassure his critics Thursday, saying “I know there has been some discomfort in Mexico because I was going to perform at this site, but we have taken care of every detail to carry out this event.”

Mexico’s federal government turns down almost all requests to hold concerts at ancient temples, but they are increasingly pressured by state governors to promote ruins already swamped with tourists.   …the whole thing

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I sang Rodolfo back in grad school. I’m afraid I was a little big for the part - I certainly didn’t look like a poet in search of his next meal…

And now - slim is the only way to go for some opera companies.

Traditionally, it isn’t over until the fat lady sings. But it seems it will soon be over for the singing fat lady. The stereotypical large woman in a horned helmet and braids belting out Wagner is preparing for her swansong as opera embraces a new, younger audience.

The drive to reach out to these fans is resulting in slimmer, fitter and more glamorous singers on stage. New York’s prestigious Metropolitan Opera is in the vanguard of this movement, according to John Allison, editor of Opera magazine. “I have noticed the slimming down of performers,” he says, “and I think this is largely driven by the Met, which feels that audiences are more likely to connect with a glamorous, thin singer.”

Elaine Padmore, director of opera at London’s Royal Opera House (ROH), has also seen a move away from large women to more petite performers in certain roles. “We have been seeing glamorous women and handsome leading men for a time now, but this is the entertainment world, after all,” she says. “It is expected these days, when people are used to seeing beautiful people in films and on the television.” …read the whole article

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Hat’s off to the marketing people at the Washington National Opera - this is a great campaign.

It’s Saturday night, and about 15,000 people have come to Nationals Park to see a winning performance. The anticipation is palpable. Across town, decked-out folks sit in the red-velvet womb of the Kennedy Center Opera House, awaiting the live performance of Verdi’s “La Traviata.” Here, though, everyone from the teething to the tattooed has pulled up a chair or a patch of grass for the Washington National Opera’s first live simulcast into the stadium.

Watching in high definition on the JumboTron means that, as Israeli conductor Dan Ettinger stands in the orchestra pit, you can see the roosterlike combs in his gelled and spiked blond coiffure, shadows carving his face like a mask, as he stands motionless in his black frock coat. Suddenly, Ettinger lifts his baton, the fingers on his other hand vibrate and pulse as if playing the violin, and the music begins: gorgeous, symphonic sound swelling through the ballpark.

The curtain rises and we see a party, circa 19th-century Paris. There’s Violetta (soprano Elizabeth Futral), flirting and kicking back champagne, singing, “Pleasure cures every ill and life is to be enjoyed. . . . Without pleasure, life isn’t worth living.” …read the whole article.

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What a voice!

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Wagner booed over opera

Katharina’s [the great grand-daughter of Richard Wagner] idea of turning the Mastersingers into Masterpainters initially seems rather arbitrary and sits awkwardly with the libretto. After all, Stolzing wants to become a Mastersinger so as to win Eva’s hand in a singing competition.

All I can say is, it takes real Chutzpah, even on the part of a distant relative of Richard Wagner, to stage Die Meistersingers as Die Meisterpainters.   How do you turn an opera about singing into an opera about painting?   I guess that’s the part that “sits awkwardly.”

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For a mere 49 euros, you will be able to watch and download this year’s Bayreuth performance of “Die Meistersinger von Nuernberg.”   But there’s only 10,000 “tickets” available.

Someone please tell them you don’t need a “ticket” to watch on the Internet…

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Since being a tenor is not all about the high C, this is not my cup of tea.  Still, tenor voyeurs and opera enthusiasts may enjoy this from YouTube:  Guess the tenor by the High C.

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