The Doctor is in at last - and he's making house calls in the US!

The Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) with his TARDIS.

After all the recent operatic tragedies, there is at least some wonderful news on the science fiction front. My beloved Doctor Who, recently resurrected in England with a new series (now in it's second season), is finally coming to the United States! Initially, we fans thought it would be coming only on DVD, and only available in Canada. But then it was announced the DVD would be coming out in the US in February, and then that it would be postponed until July because...the series was going to be shown on the Sci-Fi Channel! The "first" season (I wonder if that really should be the 27th, as it does follow from the old show and the TV movie, with Doctor #9) begins broadcasting on March 17 at 9:00 PM, each episode to have several showings a week. I presume we won't get Season Two until well after it shows in the UK - probably next year.

Now if only the Sci-Fi Channel, or BBC America, would get the old series, as it hasn't been broadcast in New York in probably 15 years. Then again, it is coming out on DVD, slowly but surely.

And for those of you who are clueless about Who, I will go into more information when the time arrives.

How do you say COMPLETE IDIOT in Romanian???

I have been fantasizing ever since I first heard it announced last March about going back to Covent Garden to see Angela Gheorghiu in her first staged Tosca. On records, she is one of the very best, combining a nearly-Callas level of intensity with a far more beautiful voice. Bryn Terfel as Scarpia is icing on the cake, and, of course, the pairing of Pappano and Puccini is as natural as the pairing of Pepperoni and Pizza (try saying that five times fast!) OK, Marcelo Alvarez is an excellent tenor when he's not singing in French, but we all know who should be singing Cavaradossi. Along with Bryn (who stole the whole evening, as Figaro as well as Scarpia), Angela sang Act II of the opera at the Met's Opening Night Gala in September, providing a tantalizing preview. Although she was slightly inaudible in the middle of her voice during big orchestral outbursts, I don't think this would be a problem at a smaller house like Covent Garden. While I no longer have the "sell your kids to get a ticket-this will be Angela's greatest triumph!" feeling that I did after seeing the Jacquot film, it's still not something I want to miss. Not to mention it's been 6 years since I've been to London, which is way too long for an Anglophile such as myself. Well, now that I'm actually earning some money, this might actually become a reality, although I'll still have to forgo a few things in order for it to happen. No more than bare minimum monthly payments on debts.

The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, focus of vacation dreams

Unfortunately, getting tickets to Covent Garden is a pretty difficult proposition, at least for the "hot" shows. I am now very surprised that I was able to get tickets for the February 2000 Romeo et Juliette with such ease - I just called Covent Garden the morning the tickets went on sale. The rules have undoubtedly changed since then. As far as I can tell, you pretty much have to be a member of the Friends of Covent Garden or have otherwise made a donation to the Royal Opera to get a "hot ticket" because those worthies have advanced booking. Having been unable to get tickets for either La Rondine or Faust(1) because all the tickets had been snapped up before they went on sale to the general public, I had considered joining the Friends to ensure I could get tickets for Tosca, or frankly, any future show with Angela (she is apparently doing Faust in September), Roberto, Tony, or possibly one or two other irresistables. But it costs £75 (about $125), which is a little more than I can immediately spare due to my desire to pay down my date and indulge in some New York opera dates. Fortunately, I do have a dear, sweet, young friend in London (the future famous Thai soprano Lullalit Supatravanij) who let me use her Friends account to order my Tosca ticket. Since Friends Online Booking opened on Tuesday, and I went on the site on Thursday, I figure there would be no problem getting tickets.

Until I screwed up.

Initially, I had fantasized about buying a ticket for the last performance on July 8, figuring I might be able to sneak off to Orange to see Roberto in Aida 3 days later. Well, not only would that set me back a further £950 (Over $1500? Oy!), but Angela isn't singing that performance - her last is July 1st and there's too much of a gap between the dates (2). No way I could afford that much time in London. And I've also signed up for the Berkshire Choral Festival and I have no idea what week they actually put me in. I should know in a day or two.

The opening night performance, on June 13th, is a big expensive gala with tickets going up to £1000, and probably even the cheapest seats are about £300, way beyond my price range (despite the additional incentive of a Karita Mattila recital the day before at Wigmore Hall). Also, more importantly, I will be in a concert on June 18 of Jewish music with Nashir! The Rottenberg Chorale at Merkin Hall. Dress rehearsal is Sunday the 11th and and the last rehearsal is the 14th, which would make going to London that week difficult. So, I would aim to get tickets for June 23rd, and possibly also for June 26th, and seeing if there was anything else in terms of opera or theater in intervening days.

So I eagerly went to a Tasti De-Lite near work where you can sign on for much cheaper computer time than at Kinko's, and went to work with my credit card. I didn't want to go beyond £50 if possible, and I wound up spending £45 (about $80), the highest price range available in the Ampitheater (next up was £115 in the Balcony - too much!). I was happy that I got a reasonably good seat on the side (P35), a little higher up than I wanted, and without armrests, but considering that Covent Garden is smaller than the Met and my 12X binoculars, I would probably have no problems seeing or hearing. Plus it looked like a good view of Tony! Unfortunately, I was so excited and in such a hurry (and having some trouble with the booking page) that...

I BOUGHT THE TICKET FOR THE WRONG DATE!!!

June 16th. Two days before my concert. Probably because it was the first date listed on the booking site.

Well, I thought, no problem. I'll just go back on, buy a ticket with the right date, and sell the "wrong" one. Nope. The booking said "maximum of two tickets" and that's not per date as I originally thought, it's per production! So I'm stuck with this one. Fortunately, Lulu already bought her ticket, otherwise I might have shut her out by accident.

Even worse, the June 23 performance had the £50 seats available! And I would have also been able to get a seat for a performance of Le Nozze di Figaro the night after with a good cast and conducted by Tony, no less! Nothing else is going on at Covent Garden on the 15th or 17th, and as far as I know, the only other opera that weekend is at Holland Park. Although I will check the other music venue sites, there doesn't seem to be anything that appealing on first glance. And the regular theater.

Well, the situation isn't hopeless, at least. If I can't get a ticket for the 23rd by regular booking, I imagine there is someone in Operaland who would rather go on the 16th than on the 23rd, and I can swap. Worse comes the worst, I'll just go on that date - at least several other members of the Yahoo! Gheorghiu and Alagna club (where I am a moderator) will be going then, most likely, including Lulu, and I can actually get to meet them. And since I'll be spending less time in London, I don't have to take as much vacation time or spend as much money - although it's still likely to be at least $1,000, mostly for the airfare. I'll just have to fly home on Sunday morning in order to make the concert (less sightseeing time), and hope I'm not too jet-lagged (I'll probably have time to nap), or even worse, that there isn't some kind of flight delay. I definitely don't want to miss the concert - not only is the music very beautiful, but the conductor is a really nice guy and a dreamboat.

But even if everything turns out OK, this is just so embarassing! I feel like Nemorino: "Io son sempre un idiota"! He certainly has more brains than I did (3)!

If I go backstage to meet Angela after one of the Traviatas (considering that Roberto's health is still less than perfect, I'm still not sure how good an idea that is), I might tell her of my folly. It would be a good laugh. And I can ask her my title question.

(Probably "idiota toata" or something)

(1) Actually, I almost did buy a ticket off EBay for the Faust about 2 weeks before the performance, but I was unemployed at the time and couldn't spare the money for the plane fare and hotel.

(2) And frankly, I don't terribly relish the idea of going to Orange - it's one of the most right-wing, anti-Semitic and "Front National" areas of France. The mayor threw all the books by Jewish authors out of the libraries.

(3) And that's leaving aside my argument that Nemorino is far more intelligent than he's usually given credit for!

A belated "Flute", or: How Internet Opera makes me a better Jew...

Baruch Hashem! I've just discovered that I can listen to the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts (and possibly other broadcasts as well) without having to violate the Jewish Sabbath! I admit that my Shabbat observance is considerably less than perfect, but I don't like the idea that there has to be conflict between my religious obligations and my love of opera. And frankly, since I eat, breathe, and sleep opera virtually every other day of the week, on Shabbat I need to "rest" from that as much as from work. Well, that's all over now. I have in the past year discovered the joys of internet radio, hampered only by the fact that I don't have my own computer and can only listen in a noisy internet cafe. Today I discovered that there is a station that plays the Met broadcasts on Sunday - namely KUAC in Fairbanks, Alaska. That's not much of a surprise since if it were broadcast "live" in Alaska it would be at 9AM! I assume the time varies by the length of the opera, but it usually begins 4PM ET. Thanks to the wonderful internet radio schedule site Operacast for showing me the way!

(And it's -13° F in Fairbanks today. Brrrr....)

The performance today, of Die Zauberflöte, seemed, well, average. I think most of the problem was the same as with the BBC Proms Walküre I "reviewed" in July - there was too much background noise and I was otherwise too distracted to notice details. Also the earphones I was using are not of the best quality and there was a lot of feedback on high notes. And I missed the first half hour. Partially for those reasons, I will not comment on Paul Daniel's conducting, even though he was one of the things I was most looking forward to. Today was his debut.

Mary Dunleavy has been a good Queen of the Night at the Met (and I loved her Countess de Folleville in Il Viaggio a Reims at NYCO) but I'm not sure her "promotion" ("demotion"?) to Pamina was such a good idea. She didn't have nearly enough pathos in "Ach, ich fühls", but that may have been a deliberate choice - she seemed more terrified and even angry. The voice itself seemed far too slender could have used more richness. In light of this I wonder if it's a good idea that other coloraturas such as Diana Damrau and Natalie Dessay are taking Pamina on. Violetta will probably suit Dunleavy better, even if I doubt if she's a match for Angela Gheorghiu. Erika Miklosa definitely made more of an impression in the theater when I saw her last year. Here, beauty and accuracy were there, but none of the Queen's torrential anger (admittedly this is a problem with just about every soprano who takes on the role) and not quite enough of the sorrowful mother at the beginning. Anna Christy was not nearly as charming and delightful as Papagena opposite Nathan Gunn's Papageno as she was as Hortense Briggs opposite his Clyde Griffiths in An American Tragedy.

The men were better. My initial predictions of Morris Robinson's Sarastro proved correct - huge, gravelly, powerful, authoritative voice, but he needed more wisdom and benevolence. The Commendatore - absolutely. Sarastro- I'm not so sure(1). Nathan Gunn was a rich-voiced, warm-hearted Papageno, but I missed innocence, naivete, and detail of character. Still, I'm glad the Met is finally giving him some attention and is clearly preparing him for great things. He just won the first Beverly Sills Award - I'm sure $50,000 will come in handy with five kids!

I was surprised how good Eric Cutler was. I've never been a fan of his - I thought his First Prisoner in Fidelio was underwhelming (the role may be small, but it needs a great tenor - I have a recording of a radio concert where Fritz Wunderlich sings it, and I remember reading how Otto Klemperer after being given a list of "star" names for a late '50s production dismissed them and said "Who is the First Prisoner?") and at a Young Artists Gala the Met did a few years ago proved to be the most unromantic Romeo I could ever imagine. Admittedly he has some promise as a lieder singer. He seems typical of too many contemporary American singers - reasonably talented, but gets the work and the plaudits because he's a "nice", "hardworking" guy who does what he's told - in other words, he kowtows to nutcase directors and authoritarian managements and knows how to say all the "right things" to journalists. Definitely not somebody who deserves either the Richard Tucker Award or to be singing I Puritani with Anna Netrebko next year - both prizes should have gone to Lawrence Brownlee!(2) Nevertheless, he may have more feel for Mozart than the above-mentioned operas. Unfortunately, I tuned in too late for his "Dies Bildnis". He otherwise sang quite beautifully, with some (although not quite enough) nobility and feeling. Definitely superior to Gregory Turay, although I doubt to Matthew Polenzani (who I missed) or Jonas Kaufmann (who does it next year).

If I am able to get a ticket - this fantasmagoric Julie Taymor production always sells out - I hope to be able to give a truer evaluation in the theater. I may very well be living at the Met in February - I will probably see all of Angela's non-Shabbat Traviatas (I have my ticket to the first) plus the Villazon/Netrebko Rigoletto, Borodina in Aida and Samson et Dalila, and the Voigt/Licitra Forza.

(1) One bit of very good news - Robinson is now a recording artist! He signed a contract with Decca and he will be coming out with a disc of hymns, spirituals and gospel sometime this spring. I don't doubt this is music he feels very deeply about and can do wonderfully, but can't we hear something other than spirituals from an African-American singer? (I was so happy when Lawrence Brownlee's first disc was bel canto songs!) How about some actual opera or lieder, maybe a disc of Mozart bass roles for the Mozart year? I have the feeling Decca is thinking "crossover!" At least another wonderful young African-American artist, Cardiff Singer of the World soprano Nicole Cabell is getting an actual opera disc from Decca in 2006.


(2) Then again, Mr. Cutler is Caucasian, and despite giving some of its subsidiary awards to African-American singers (and making sure to have Denyce Graves at its gala every year) the Richard Tucker Foundation still hasn't given any major awards to one. I have the feeling they've gone out of their way to avoid doing so. And Mr. Brownlee will only be the fifth African-American tenor to sing at the Met since Marian Anderson arrived when he makes his debut next season as Almaviva. Disgusting.

AAAAAGGGGGH!

And Marilyn Horne has pancreatic cancer!!!!!!

(Dear G-d, I hope that's not what Roberto has!)

The good news, at least, is that it's localized, and she has an excellent chance of full recovery. There will be no changes to her schedule - including all the masterclasses she's doing around her birthday for the Marilyn Horne Foundation.

I am actually optimistic about Roberto, as Angela has apparently not cancelled either her concert in Philadelphia or the Met Traviatas, even the later performances. Presumably this means Roberto is improving or at least in stable condition (maybe he could even come to New York with her). However, with Roberto out of comission until at least March, Angela is now the family breadwinner - and $90,000 (?) for 6 performances is nothing to sneeze at.

In addition to wishing Roberto (once again) and Marilyn a refuah shleimah, I pray that I will not have to change the name of this blog to "Operatic Illness of the Week"! At least with the Met season starting up again tomorrow, there will be a few other things to talk about.

Not AGAIN!

I thought after that last awful week we had in the opera world at the end of November 2005 (Cheryl Studer's heart attack, the death of James King, the murder of Deon van der Walt by his own father), there would be an end to tragedy for a while. Unfortunately, we're having a second week of tragedy. Birgit Nilsson died yesterday, and my beloved Roberto Alagna is apparently very sick with some kind of severe hypoglycemia (and I can only hope that's not a symptom of something worse!) and is forced to cancel all his performances through at least January and February and possibly March as well. Not surprisingly, to be with him, his wife Angela Gheorghiu cancelled her concert in Dresden tomorrow, and may have cancelled her appearance with the Philadelphia Orchestra the Met Traviatas as well. Not that I can really blame her. But I've been waiting 10 years to see her Violetta!

Baruch dayan emet. And may G-d send Roberto a refuah shleimah.

Further comments to follow. I just hope that superstition isn't true about bad things happening in threes...