Agnes Baltsa to sing at the Hannover Staatsoper Sep 07
Oper Hannover erfolgreich in der Spielzeit 2006/07
Die erste Spielzeit der Intendanz von Dr. Michael Klugl an der
Staatsoper Hannover ist im August erfolgreich zu Ende gegangen.
237.853 Besucher haben in der Spielzeit 2006/07 die Veranstaltungen
der Staatsoper besucht. Gegenuber 209.381 Besuchern in der Spielzeit
2005/06 ist das eine Steigerung von 13,6%. Auch die Einnahmen stiegen
im Vergleich zur vorherigen Spielzeit im ahnlichen Umfang.

Die erfolgreichsten Neuproduktionen im Opernhaus waren das Ballett
"Romeo und Julia" in der Choreographie von Ballettdirektor Jorg Mannes
mit 84%, das Musical "Anatevka" in der Inszenierung von David
Mouchtar-Samorai mit 81% sowie die Opern "Otello" in der Inszenierung
von Nicolas Brieger mit 77,5% und "L'italiana in Algeri" in der
Inszenierung von Ingo Kerkhof mit 71% Platzauslastung. Im Ballhof
glanzte die Urauffuhrungsprodukt ion von Edward Rushtons Kammeroper
"Die fromme Helene" (Regie: Erich Sidler) im Wilhelm-Busch- Jahr mit
einer Auslastung von 100%.

In 10 Tagen beginnt die neue Saison mit einem festlichen
Eroffnungswochenende . Am 15. September ist die griechische
Mezzosopranistin Agnes Baltsa der Stargast beim Festkonzert zugunsten
der Stiftung Staatsoper Hannover. Am 16. September wird die Spielzeit
offiziell eroffnet unter dem Motto "Es muss was Wunderbares sein ...".
24 Mitglieder des Opernensembles stellen gemeinsam mit dem
Niedersachsischen Staatsorchester Ausschnitte aus dem Spielplan der
neuen Saison vor.

Die Eroffnungspremiere am Donnerstag, den 20. September ist ein fruher
Hohepunkt der neuen Spielzeit: mit Benjamin Brittens erster gro?er
Oper Peter Grimes kehrt ein Klassiker des 20. Jahrhunderts nach genau
50 Jahren ans hannoversche Opernhaus zuruck. Zum ersten Mal in
Hannover inszeniert der australische Regisseur Barrie Kosky, der in
den letzten Jahren durch Inszenierungen u.a. am Aalto-Theater Essen
und an der Komischen Oper Berlin hervorgetreten ist. Seine
Inszenierung von "Peter Grimes" ist der Beginn einer kontinuierlichen
Zusammenarbeit mit der Staatsoper Hannover.
http://www.theaterk anal.de/theater/ deutschland/ niedersachsen/ hannover/ 617/1557404656/

Two new exhibits open on Sept. 16 at the Montclair Art Museum
Topic: Exhibitions
Two new exhibits open on Sept. 16 at the Montclair Art Museum

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

 

Two new exhibitions will open on Saturday, Sept. 16, at the Montclair Art Museum — “Philippe Halsman: Portraits of American Artists” in the Robert H. Lehman Court Gallery, and “Jaune Quick-to-See Smith: Made in America” on view throughout the museum galleries. Both exhibitions are on view through Jan. 14, 2007.

They’re not the biggest nor the most elaborate — but they’re two of the most interesting and dynamic that MAM has ever staged.

One of the leading portrait photographers of the 20th century, Philippe Halsman was best known for his provocative, penetrating portraits of celebrities, politicians, and intellectuals which graced the pages of such major magazines as Life, Look, Esquire and the Saturday Evening Post, from the 1940s through the 1970s.

His portraits of leading American artists and cultural figures such as Andy Warhol and Georgia O’Keefe will be featured in this exhibition. Leading musical figures such as Marian Anderson and Louis Armstrong, the pioneering dance figure Martha Graham, and photographers Ansel Adams, Edward Steichen, Weegee, and Margaret Bourke-White are also in the exhibition.

Also on view will be a self-portrait of Halsman and a family portrait which includes his daughter, Irene Halsman, an artist in her own right, who resides in Montclair, and is co-executor of the Halsman estate from which most of the photographs in the show are derived.

Commenting on his own work, Halsman observed, “This fascination with the human race has never left me. Every face I see seems to hide and sometimes, fleetingly, to reveal the mystery of another human being. Capturing this revelation became the goal and passion of my life.”

Philippe Halsman (1906-1979) was born in Riga, Latvia. He studied engineering in Dresden before moving to Paris, where he set up his photographic studio in 1932. Halsman’s bold, spontaneous style won him many admirers. His portraits of actors and authors appeared on book jackets and in magazines; he also worked with fashion. By 1936, Halsman was known as one of the best portrait photographers in France.

Halsman’s career came to a dramatic halt in the summer of 1940, when Hitler’s troops invaded Paris. Finally, through the intervention of Albert Einstein (who had met Halsman’s sister in the 1920s), Halsman obtained permis-sion to enter the United States in 1940, and he arrived in New York in November, with little more than his camera and a few prints.

Halsman’s big break came when he met Connie Ford, a striking young model who agreed to pose in exchange for prints for her portfolio. When publicists at Elizabeth Arden saw Halsman’s photograph of Ford against an American flag, they used the image to launch a national campaign for “Victory Red” lipstick. A year later, in the fall of 1942, Life magazine asked Halsman to shoot a story on new hat design. To Halsman’s delight, his portrait of the model smiling through a feathery brim landed on the cover. One hundred covers (more than any other photogra-pher) followed before the magazine ceased weekly publication in 1972.

Over the course of his career, Halsman enjoyed comparing his work to that of a good psychologist who regards his subjects with special insight. In fact, Halsman strove to reveal the essence of his sitters. As he explained, “It can’t be done by pushing the person into position or arranging his head at a certain angle. It must be accomplished by provoking the victim, amusing him with jokes, lulling him into silence, or asking impertinent questions which his best friend would be afraid to voice.”

Like many who escaped Hitler’s Europe, Philippe Halsman rarely discussed the past. He rightly insisted that his most important work took place in America, and in many ways his adopted country became his subject. One typical review noted his patriotic flair, praising Halsman’s “unsanctimonious and immensely intense portrayal of American bounce.” From a historian’s perspective, it seems clear that Halsman invented a glowing image of the nation as he saw it, using light, persuasion, nerve, psychology, and experience. This place and these faces are his legacy. “Phil-lippe Halsman: Portraits of American Artists” is curated by Gail Stravitsky.

Also opening on Sept. 16 is “Jaune Quick-to-See Smith: Made in America”

“Jaune Quick-to-See Smith uses humor and satire to examine myths, stereotypes, and the paradox of American Indian life in contrast to the consumerism of American society. Her work is philosophically centered by her political activism and strong American Indian spirituality. The exhibition includes 34 pieces of her work over the last decade in drawing, printmaking, painting and mixed media installation.

Born in 1940 on the Flathead Reservation in Montana, to Flathead Salish, French-Cree, and Shoshone parents, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith became an artist while in her 30s and was earning a living as a painter before she com-pleted her master of fine arts degree at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.

By the mid-1970s, she had founded artists groups, curated exhibitions, and organized grassroots protests to ex-press concern for the land and its Native people. She has developed a distinctive modernist style over the past 35 years, in a variety of techniques. Quick-to-See Smith has received international acclaim through more than 75 solo exhibitions and numerous international shows.

Smith’s politically loaded subject matter ranges from cowboys and Indians to McDonald’s and consumerism, res-ervation life, and war. According to Quick-to-See Smith, “Everything in America is for sale, including land, water and elections.” That’s why she includes money signs in her paintings as did Andy Warhol, but she adds other iconic forms such as ancient petroglyphs in her work to reflect both Western and Native cultures.

Twig Johnson, curator of Native American Art, has coordinated the MAM presentation of the show. Johnson is also inserting selected works by Smith in some of the Museum’s Permanent Collection Galleries which will provide visitors with opportunities to consider contemporary Native American creativity, with early Native American easel painting of the 1930s, and 18th- and 19th-century American portraits, and Native American art and ethnographic objects.

Johnson proudly talks about Smith’s work. “We are thrilled to be hosting such an important exhibition,” she said. “Jaune Quick-to-See Smith’s work reflects MAM’s mission … her work always stimulates, teaches and inspires.”

Ladies and Gentlemen - Agnes Baltsa
Topic: Photo Gallery

Baltsa sings Cruda sorte, Wiener Staatsoper, June 2006
Thu, 22 Jun 2006 18:16:26 -0000
Subject: [Friends of Agnes Baltsa] Baltsa sings Cruda sorte, Wiener Staatsoper, June 2006

http://parterre.com/2006/06/cruda-sorte.html
22 June 2006
Cruda sorte
By now, cher public, you have all heard about the Skandal in Vienna:
Olga Borodina was sacked from L'italiana in Algeri (or did she walk
out?) because, well, there were a variety of reasons proffered. Short
version, though, is that the Staatsoper press office announced "All
contracts between Olga Borodina and the Vienna State Opera have been
dissolved by mutual agreement." (Those "contracts" included a new
Boris Godunov production.) A gallant Agnes Baltsa substituted on short
notice. La Cieca would say that Baltsa "jumped in," but, since the
veteran diva was announced as having an injured leg, perhaps that
phrase would be in poor taste. So, anyway, here are the announcement
and Baltsa's first aria, as recorded from the house.

http://parterre.com/borodina_skandal.mp3

posted by La Cieca at 8:20 AM

Verismo Gala, Miskolc 25.6.2006
Topic: Friends of Agnes Baltsa
Tue, 27 Jun 2006 11:21:05 -0000
Subject: [Friends of Agnes Baltsa] Verismo Gala, Miskolc 25.6.2006

7 pm, Grand Theatre

Verismo Gala

Soloists: Agnes Baltsa, Miroslav Dvorsky, Paolo Gavanelli, Natasa
Katai

Miskolc Symphonic Orchestra

Host: Ferenc Baranyi
Conducted by: Janos Acs
Directed by: Imre Halasi

About this Gala in Hungarian, from www.operafesztival.hu:

"2006.06.25.
Scala + Baltsa + Gavanelli = fesztivalfinale

Igazi operacsillagok - Agnes Baltsa es Paolo Gavenelli mellett -
Katai Natasa es Miroslav Dvorsky voltak a Verismo gala,
a "Bartok+Verismo 2006" zaroesemenyenek fellep?i.

Kalandozas nepszeru es kevesbe ismert verista operak legszebb
dallamival - ez lehetne a mottoja a "Bartok+Verismo 2006" gala
estjenek. Els?kent a Bajazzok prologusa hangzott el, amelyben
Leoncavallo megfogalmazta a verizmus "arc poeticajat" az igazsagrol
(vero). Aztan a Parasztbecsulet, az Andrea Chenier es a Carmen
slagerei kovetkeztek. A veristak el?futaranak tartott Bizet es
verizmus kiteljesit?i, Mascagni, Leoncavallo, Girodano muvei mellett
egy kevesbe ismert a szerz?, Cilea ket operajabol is elhangzott egy-
egy aria: felcsendultek az Adriana Lecouvreur es a L'Arlesiana
dallamai.

Az est fellep?i a nagy operaszinpadok unnepelt sztarjai: vilaghiru
gorog szarmazasu mezzoszopran, Agnes Baltsa a 2004/2005-os evadban
Becsben a Parasztbecsulet Santuzzajakent aratott sikereket. Az olasz
bariton, Paolo Gavanelli nem el?szor lepett fel Miskolcon:
emlekezetes a 2003-as Leporello-alakitasa Renato Brusonnal. A gala
szopranja, a zenei tanulmanyait Miskolcon kezd? Katai Natasa tavaly
a Tell Vilmosban Matilde szerepeben debutalt a "nagy" Bruson
oldalan. A fesztival utolso tenorariait a Wiener Staatsoper szlovak
szarmazasu enekese Miroslav Dvorsky tolmacsolasaban hallhattuk. A
Miskolci Szimfonikus Zenekart Acs Janos vezenyelte"

Verismo Gala, Miskolci Nemzetkozi Operafesztival

Agnes Baltsa, mezzo
Miroslav Dvorsky, tenor
Paolo Gavanello, baritone
Natasa Katai, soprano

SO I guess you want to know was it worth it: YES. Agnes Baltsa was
great she sang, of course the Santuzza aria (Voi lo sapete, o mamma)
and the duet with Turriddu (no suprise there) but it did not end
there, when Turriddu (Miroslav Dvorsky) went out, the music
continued and then Paolo Gavanello came it and then it became the
duet Santuzza/Alfio (not often a concert piece). IT WAS WONDERFUL!!!

First part was the Cavalleria Rusticana / Pagliacci arias, duets.
Started with Pagliacci Prolog which was very appropriate. The second
part was the more unknown operas/arias. Started with what was
probably something from the opera L'Amico Fritz, then Paolo
Gavanello sang aria (CILEA?), it was the aria from Catalani's LA
WALLY, Lamento di Federico. Gavanello sang Nemico della Patria
(ANDREA CHENIER).... and finally Baltsa came and it was CARMEN,
Seguedilla, Miroslav Dvorsky sang the flower aria, and the Verismo
Gala ended with the Carmen duet, and when Carmen died it was over.

No extra numbers, nothing. But then my friend told me that it was
something happening inside the house, an reception. So we went
there. Eva Marton was there, and soon came Agnes Baltsa, Dvorsky
etc. Of course there was wine, food, and many other people. It was
speaches, and naturally Agnes Baltsa was the toast. And I even got a
chance to talk to her. I never got a chance to take a photo. Not in
the theatre, the usher turned me down. And in the reception it never
seemed to be the right thing to do. I could naturally just have
asked Agnes Baltsa, I think she might have said yes. But it was
enough somehow to be near.

BRAVA, AGNES BALTSA!!