Radvanovsky Arrives at the Met Early
James Levine is still Music Director
By: Susan Hall - Feb 29, 2012
Sondra Radvanovsky, fresh from a vacation with her husband, took over for an ‘ailing' Violeta Urmana as Aida at the Met. She was a real treat in the role in Chicago. Apparently when these big substitutions take place, big bucks pass hands. Good for Sondra, who was for so long underappreciated by the General Manager. Placido Domingo had to scold Gelb and beat him about the cuffs to get Radvanovsky back on the Met roster.
Domingo bowed out of a concert performance of Simon Boccanegra for Opera Orchestra of New York. To get him to commit, he had been given the choice of opera, and of course, a prodigious fee. The OONY cancelled, politely citing the failure of a donor to come through. It is more likely that ticket sales were sluggish. This is a role Domingo recently sang at the Met and the opera is not a rarity. OONY usually offers more daring and unusual fare. Let us hope, because the recent Rienzi, and also Adriana LeCouvreur were so exceptional, that this cancellation is an abberation.
In Chicago, the Lyric Opera announced a world premier for the 2015 season under the Renee Fleming initiative. Bel Canto is based on a novel by Ann Patchett and will be composed by Jimmy Lopez whose work has been performed by the BSO and at Tanglewood. He is one of the most important young composers in the world today. In putting together the team for the production, Chicago chose Stephen Wadsworth who will function both as dramaturg and director. He bailed out the Met when they lost their director for Boris Godunov. Although he is a much better opera director than Des McAnuff, Robert LePage and Bartlett Sher, the Met has not bothered to repay him for the Boris favor by giving him his own production. It is nice to see his talents appreciated by the Lyric.
You will undoubtedly hear some scuttlebutt about how long this project has been brewing. It first came to the opera world’s attention ten years ago when Fleming decided that she was the diva Patchett portrayed. Patchett has said this is absolutely not so.
In any case, with someone like Lopez who is an expert orchestrator and sensitive to the use of music in story telling, the Lyric production has great promise.
The Met’s new season was announced late last Thursday and did not differ from the sneak preview offered earlier on this site. What was not discussed was the position of Music Director James Levine. Everyone recognizes that this is a sensitive issue, but General Manager’s are hired to take care of sensitive issues. When they are not dealt with and are damaging to an organization, the Board of Directors steps in.
Mr. Levine does not appear to be willing to gracefully step down. A conductor of his caliber will surely be able to get work anywhere, including the Met, when he is well enough to return to the podium. Mark Volpe’s strong hand in Boston is not reflected at the Met in New York. The Jimmy Saga has turned from sad to putrid.
When the Met announced next year’s season without a press conference, General Manager Gelb said that he didn’t need to have a press conference because anyone who wanted to talk to him could. So I will take him up on the offer.