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Pulitzer, Music, and Governance
By Kaufmann | April 9, 2008 3 Comments »
When I wrote a couple of days ago about Verdi blogging and promoting freedoms, I thought that it was a decent metaphore which may resonate with some. But then I got a comment skeptical about opera passion in the US. And then I read (and was pleased) about a Pulitzer Prize having just been awarded to Gene Weingarten of the Washington Post for his excellent writing and ’stunt’ reporting on a famous violinist playing classical music in a subway station in Washington, D.C. (‘Pearls Before Breakfast’, link includes a short video during the stunt). The piece is really worth reading and listening to. One bottom line is that Joshua Bell and his virtuoso violin playing (at the entrance of the Metro, with his own Stradivarius, and a baseball cap, no less) goes virtually unrecognized.
From what I can gather, only about 5 percent of the radio audience in the US listens to classical music. A similarly modest share goes to the opera among all theater-goers, and they are largely the crowd above 45. I have no doubt that 150 years ago, during Verdi’s time, there was more interest than that in Europe. Yet I wonder what the demand actually is nowadays for classical music and opera across the Atlantic (and in Latin America, for instance).
Of course, even those that care about music may not notice a disguised star violinist, during the morning rush hour on the way to work, in a subway station. Still, for the sake of promoting good governance, rather than falling back to the stories from Verdi’s era, or counting on classical music performed today, it is probably better to disseminate the work of wonderful local artists thriving through their own indigineous musical expression nowadays in some developing countries, while also relying on the commitment to this cause from the likes of Bob Geldoff and Bono…
Topics: Voice and Human Rights | | 3 Comments
April 10th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
Nobody should ignore the example set by Verdi in fighting against censors just because it was long ago. Of course Bob Geldoff and U2 Bono will attract more of a following today than listening to an old Verdi opera or a classical violin virtuoso. And Bono may care about Africa a lot, but he needs to pay much more attention to corruption in some of these countries or otherwise the aid will be wasted again.
April 19th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
Regional opera is thriving, as the NYT has reported — Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, Chicago, San Fran are all doing well and doing innovative productions, often of newer materials. (I’m partial to warhorses myself, but the regionals are attracting big and younger audiences with some surprising works.) Even up here in the boondocks of upstate NY we’ve got the Glimmerglass Opera, which also draws some favorable national attention and co-produces frequently with the NY City Opera. True that classical radio is a somewhat endangered species, but that has to do with internet and satellite radio options, as well as with changing tastes –
BTW the NYC Opera production of Tosca I saw two weeks ago offers a variety of object lessons on the evils of bad governance, and (a stretch here) on what happens when citizens play along with the bad guys…
mj
April 22nd, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Indeed, innovative regional opera may be the way to go with the younger generation, Glimmerglass being a great example. From time to time, a breakthrough can also happen when a young new Pavarotti bursts into the scene, and helped by good looks. Check out what happened last night at the Met’s gala performance of the new production of Donizzeti’s The Daughter of the Regiment. Juan Diego Florez was a show-stopper. Literally. First time in memory perhaps that there was a standing ovation during the course of the performance (first act aria with the string of high C’s), and first time that there is a solo encore since Pavarotti in (what else!) Tosca back in 1994. So last night one was witness to a string of 18 high C’s (in one aria, wonderfully sung twice over…), but then Juan Diego outdid himself yet again in the tenor’s second act aria, demonstrating pure tonal beauty. Here is the link to a YouTube of the first act aria in the same production recently in Vienna.
Also, great singing actors can also make a difference with today’s audience, as it was also evident at the Met last night, notably with Natalie Dessay, the wonderful soprano singing Marie. Later at night, waiting for the subway in Manhattan, a middle age man was playing Bach in the violin. I thanked him and asked him whether he knew about Joshua Bell playing in the Washington subway and the Pulitzer-winning writeup about it. His eyes lit up; he had not heard about it. He thanked me for the tip, as the underground train was departing.
PS — If you think that one has to travel and luck out in getting one scarce ticket as the only way to witness this marvelous Met Opera performance, you are wrong. Evidently this coming Saturday, April 26th, it will be in theaters (almost) everywhere… Check here.