A Communication to My Friends: A Millennium Approaches

Some thoughts and some blog news as we approach the 2000th Superconductor post.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov at his desk. Painting by Serov.

As we approach the 2000th article on Superconductor (which should happen sometime in October) I've been looking for a good way to celebrate that still keeps readers entertained. This blog has been a lot of work and it's been around a long time now, mostly due to the indulgence of certain arts organizations, our cherished advertisers and you, the classical and opera loving community that has become a strong audience for my writing. And yet there's still so much to do.

Obituary: Marion Lignana Rosenberg (1962-2013)

A valued voice is silenced too soon.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Marion Lignana Rosenberg. Photo by Meaghan Donahue.

The entire New York classical music community is mourning the loss of Marion Lignana Rosenberg, who passed away over Thanksgiving weekend while in Albany visiting friends for the holiday. It was reported that the cause of death was a pulmonary embolism. She was 51.

Allan Kozinn: The Internet Strikes Back

Petition circulates to reinstate New York Times critic.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Yes, it's me manipulating images again. Snip snip snippity snip.
(Pictures sourced from Allan Kozinn's Facebook page and Wikimedia Commons.)

Just one day after Norman Lebrecht's blog Slipped Disc called attention to The New York Times' "reassignment" of classical music critic Allan Kozinn to the post of "cultural reporter," voices on the Internet have come out in support of his reinstatement.

The story was covered yesterday on Superconductor.

In Memoriam: Howard Kissel, 1942-2012

Howard Kissel, 1942-2012.
Photo by Mary Blanco.

Former Daily News critic dies.
by Paul Pelkonen.
Howard Kissel, who spent 20 years as the theater and classical music critic at the New York Daily News, died on Friday. He was 70.

I first knew Howard when I was a young writer covering the New York Philharmonic. I remember meeting him at a Philharmonic cocktail function and discussing music. That was probably in 1998.

He was always a friendly face with an encouraging word for a writer, and a good colleague. The last time I saw him was at the Carnegie Hall press breakfast and season announcement a couple of weeks ago.

According to his bio on the Huffington Post, Howard is the only person to have served as the New York Film Critics Circle and the New York Drama Critics Circle. He wrote several books, including The Abominable Showman and The Art of Acting. He also worked as an actor, playing Woody Allen's manager in the classic Stardust Memories.


His most recent work was posted three days ago on the Huffington Post, where he worked as that publication's Cultural Tourist.

Contact the author: E-mail Superconductor editor Paul Pelkonen.

Opera Review: Hunk City

The new Don Giovanni at the Met.

"Nobody move or the baritone gets it!"
Peter Mattei as Don Giovanni (with knife) threatens Luca Pisaroni's Leporello.
Photo by Marty Sohl © 2011 The Metropolitan Opera.

The Metropolitan Opera's new Don Giovanni has been beset by injuries. First, music director James Levine was replaced by new principal conductor Fabio Luisi. Then the star, rising "bari-hunk" Mariusz Kwiecien injured his back at the dress rehearsal, three days before the premiere.

Luckily, the Met had the also-hunky Peter Mattei on the roster this year, singing Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia.. But with almost no time to prepare, rehearse, or work with Mr. Grandage, Mr. Mattei's vocally handsome performance felt like he had stepped in from another production. That said, he sang a lovely, genuinely seductive "Deh! vieni alla finestra." in the second act, and cut a striking figure in the fiery climax.

With the Don a cipher, the role of leading man falls to Leporello, sung by Luca Pisaroni. Mr. Pisaroni raises the energy level whenever he is onstage. The servant is as lecherous as his master, played with a curiously moral core that is straight out of Beaumarchais. Mr. Pisaroni brought a raw vitality to the proceedings, and has the makings of a great Don himself.

Michael Grandage's direction has the singers manage the negative space between their characters. The air seems to crackle between the pairs: Ottavio and Anna, Masetto and Zerlina. The opera's best couple? The disguised Leporello (posing as the Don) and Donna Elvira, played as a slightly manic stalker by the talented Barbara Frittoli. 

Don Ottavio is the weakest character in this opera. (Mr. Grandage compensated by arming him heavily.) Ramón Vargas' best weapon though, was his voice, a smooth, supple tenor that sang Ottavio's two difficult arias without seeming to pause for breath. The "optional" Act II aria  "Il mio tesero" was outstanding, with all of the ornamentation brought out and shining. 

Two young sopranos make their Met debuts in this run. Marina Rebeka sang "Non mi dir" with control and strong, if slightly shrill tone. At least she made Donna Anna more than a one-note character. Mojca Erdmann was a Zerlina from the coquette school, with a voice too small for the cavernous house. As Masetto Mr. Bloom, (a budding bari-hunk), made the most of playing a wife-beating shmo. Stefan Kocán's serviceable Commendatore would be better without the amplified echo on his voice in the graveyard scene. 

This is an urban Don Giovanni. The streets of Seville are presented on Christopher Oram's rotating set, consisting of high, curved tiers of multi-colored, louvred doors, each with its own balcony. (It looks like a seedy motel.) Occasionally, the "motel" opens to reveal a large courtyard, used for the wedding reception, the cemetery, and the Don's villa. The best visual: during the Catalogue Song, when all the doors open to reveal the Don's conquests in a manner reminiscent of Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle.  

Conducting from the harpsichord (and playing the continuo himself) Fabio Luisi made a case for his recent promotion, alternating between light comedy and the orchestral firestorm in the opera's climactic scene. The hellfire whooshed out of the stage, threatening to incinerate Mr. Pisaroni as Mr. Mattei was dragged down through a hole in the floor. But Mr. Luisi proved that the real heat was in Mozart's music, not in rock concert special effects.