Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Zzzzzz....LA Opera Season Announcement

Wow. LA Opera announces its season and it is unbelievably weak. Main stage:

  • Gianni Schicchi (with Domingo as Schicchi, Chacon-Cruz, Churchman, Arwady, Fedderly, Tappan) and Paglicci (with Domingo conducting/Berti, Martinez, Gagnidze).
  • Moby-Dick (Conlon/Morris, Guerrero, Smith, Ngqungwana, Echols, McKenzie, O'Neill). Same production you've seen in Houston, SF, SD, and perhaps elsewhere.
  • Madama Butterfly (Conlon/Martinez, Secco, Kitic, Yoon)
  • La Boheme (Scappucci/double cast I'm not copying in right now)
  • Magic Flute (Conlon/Bliss, Solberg, Michie, Park, Becerra)
  • Norma (Conlon/Meade, Barton, Thomas, Robinson)
They've also got a Domingo/Fleming concert and a concert by Erwin Schrott, plus Philip Glass and the Kronos Quartet playing Glass's score for Dracula, Missy Mazzoli's The Uproar (which does look interesting), and David Lang's Anatomy Theater

I would only be interested in the Mazzoli and Lang pieces. I give them props for performing two new operas, including one by a woman, and for having a woman conducting a main stage production (Boheme), but what's up otherwise?? There are 7 main-stage operas, and three are by Puccini. James Conlon is conducting almost everything and he's known to like Britten, Janacek, and other slightly-out-of-the-mainstream composers. Who put this season together, and why?

Also, black and yellow text on gray?  (Click through to the Cast & Creative tab.) Fuck you; either your designers know nothing about readability or you're trying to hide the casts.

4 comments:

Henry Holland said...

Zzzzzz is right.

James Conlon is conducting almost everything and he's known to like Britten, Janacek, and other slightly-out-of-the-mainstream composers

So much for the Recovered Voices project, especially the promised Die Tote Stadt.

Also, so much for Domingo leaving after 2013 as was announced.

Lisa Hirsch said...

I really should send a press query about Recovered Voices. Also, I wish Conlon could replace James Levine at the Met - he deserves a better job than this one.

Unknown said...

Several comments:
1. "black and yellow text on gray?" The text in my email was black on white. The html version was dark grey on white. I have no idea what you were looking at.
2. "The Magic Flute" is a revival of the Barrie Kosky creation that was wildly successful. I can't wait to see it again.
3. I realize that you saw "Moby-Dick" (as did I) but not everyone had the time and/or resources to travel to SF, Housten or even San Diego.
4. Whether James Conlon would be a better choice for the Met than James Levine is open to debate but, considering his long tenure in L.A., it seems obvious that likes it L.A. and I'm glad he does.

Lisa Hirsch said...

Black & yellow on gray is at their web site, which I forgot to link to. For example, click through to the Cast & Creative tab on Moby-Dick page.