If you're not refreshing Opera Chic's blog every other minute while at your computer this week, you're missing out on the juiciest operatic scandal in quite some time. Even the firing of Deborah Voigt wasn't nearly as scandalous, partly because she kept silent for so long, and partly because it might have been a good thing for her.
It could have been a giant scandal when the Mozarteum replaced Renee Fleming with Cecilia Bartoli for an enormous birthday celebration in January. But Fleming's publicist, Mary Lou Falcone, said, "She's, of course, very disappointed, but she also is very respectful and is graciously accepting this decision."
That's class.
And, of course, Fleming was herself booed in the Milan house, during a performance of Lucrezia Borgia in 1998. She has spoken and written about the incident, which occurred during an extremely difficult year for her. She returned to La Scala in October as the soloist in a Strauss program given by the Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (I caught the program the following night at Parco della Musica in Rome), and in November for a recital.
By the way, if you didn't read my post about what happened after Angela Gheorghiu's Paris recital last month, you need to. I include a couple video clips; in one, Alagna appears on stage to present his wife with a bouquet.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment