Matthias Goerne singing Winterreise in March, 2016, at the soon-to-open Taube Atrium Theater in the Wilsey Center for Opera, because at $125/seat, the price is more than I pay for my opera tickets.
There are surely good reasons for the sky-high pricing, such as the tiny theater (they'll sell 897 tickets to this over three performances), the fees to Goerne and his pianist, and whatever William Kentridge, the artist who designed the production, is being paid.
However, looking at my receipt, I paid under $60 to see Goerne and Leif Ove Andsnes give a stunning recital of Shostakovich and Mahler in 2012. I'm afraid that $125 is beyond my mental willingness to pay for a one-hour Lieder recital, even though there is no singer I'd rather hear in this than Goerne.
I suspect something a little shady about Goerne's cancellation of his Cal Performances date in April and these appearances.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about shady, but....sigh.
ReplyDeleteThe Kentridge production of Die Winterreise with Goerne was shown (free) on Medici in July 2014 from Aix-en-Provence (www.medici.tv/#!/schubert-winterreise-aix-en-provence-festival). I found it infuriating that both Goerne and his accompanist had to perform in the dark so that video images could be shown on a screen in the background. I actually felt sorry for them that they had to perform under those circumstances, and even wondered how the pianist could read his score. It was the only live performance on Medici that I know of that was not available on demand afterwards, and I assumed it was because they realized it was all a big mistake. Well, what do I know! They are still doing it, and charging $175 to see it.
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