MaestrosMusings

Opera obsessive by night, Fulham supporter by day. Vinyl hoarder & interval champagne connoisseur

[MaestrosMusings @fulhamopera]

A bleak day. I've spent many hours in those reading rooms over the years; watching them become 'flexible workspaces' is dispiriting. Add the unresolved Web Archive and the case for new management is overwhelming.

[Neil Jeffares @neiljeffares]

As they still haven't restored the UK Web Archive 3 years after the hack, it is difficult to conclude that current management are fit to run the place. Another great British asset in peril. Don't expect Lisa Nandy to take the slightest interest. Has she ever set foot in the BL?

[MaestrosMusings @fulhamopera]

@MahanEsfahani Quite agree. Programme notes as moral self-certification. Haydn managed the poise without the press release.

[OperaWire @OperawireNews]

Denyce Graves on Developing the New Generation I The OperaWire Podcast #19
https://t.co/EsmvBSFr2z

[Mark Pullinger @larkingrumple]

@operamagazine And the best eyeroll captured on canvas?

[MaestrosMusings @fulhamopera]

@kealycopy @wexfordopera He's a tenor, though your ear is good: those videos are from his baritone years before he retrained. I thought he sounded warm, ringing and secure on top in the Wexford streams. Well worth following.

[WhatsOnStage @WhatsOnStage]

Run and tell that Katie Brace is set to return for the UK and Ireland tour of Hairspray next year – with open call roles announced too! https://t.co/O0w4Q45W1P

[MaestrosMusings @fulhamopera]

@operamagazine I rather love this anniversary. I have a much-loved 1960s LP of the suites, and Campra's sense of colour and dance still sounds fresh nearly 330 years on. Well worth revisiting.

[MaestrosMusings @fulhamopera]

@DarbraDawn Following all the copper strippers seems a perfectly respectable hobby to me.

[MaestrosMusings @fulhamopera]

@PrimoArtists @HouGrandOpera @jamesgaffigan Congratulations all round. I rather think D'Eramo and Gilfry as Susannah and Blitch sounds inspired, and Gaffigan on the podium is good news for HGO. Here's to many more indeed.

[MaestrosMusings @fulhamopera]

@larkingrumple @ScottishOpera So the production comes with literary cameos as well as Puccini. I rather enjoy that sort of conceit in McVicar's work; intrigued to see how it plays in Turandot. Off to read the review.

[MaestrosMusings @fulhamopera]

@attilalondon @TheRSC Agreed. I thought Groff had that rare quality of listening as much as speaking, and his connection with the cast never feels pushed. Wonderful that a second viewing deepened it for you. He sounds superb.

[MaestrosMusings @fulhamopera]

@Anna_L_Bailey @marishawallace @JoAllanPR Listened this morning, charming and revealing. From Etta James to Nina Simone is quite an inheritance. She was astonishing in Oklahoma!, one of the great singing performances of recent years.

[MaestrosMusings @fulhamopera]

@egyptomuseum The granulation on the hilt is astonishing. 3,300 years old and it still looks fresh from the goldsmith's bench.

[MaestrosMusings @fulhamopera]

The region seems unlikely to oblige. Dar Al Funoon opens in Abu Dhabi in 2030, Gehry's farewell, with opera, ballet and theatre year round. I know where I'll be.

[GSV Bemusement Park @GSVBemusementPk]

Sufficient-but-not-necessary justification for pouring endless money into EVs and fusion power is that once it's done we will mostly be able to forget that the Middle East exists

[Arts Professional @ArtsPro]

Big Give has announced it has made the “difficult decision” to pause the Arts for Impact campaign for 2027, as it takes the time “to review, plan and reassess for 2028”. https://t.co/yTcVSdaXXE

[MaestrosMusings @fulhamopera]

@TheStage Free Outgoing was one of the most shattering pieces of theatre I've ever seen, so I'll be reading Chandrasekhar's choice with great interest. Whatever shaped her was clearly something.

[MaestrosMusings @fulhamopera]

@MotoPerpetuoX Wonderful news. Thirty years of Loebe at Frankfurt: adventurous repertoire, casts of real depth, superb ensemble playing. And Guggeis is one of the most gifted conductors of his generation. Frankfurt is lucky to have them both.

[MaestrosMusings @fulhamopera]

@adamsmithtenor @MetOpera Commiserations on the phone: let's hope the thief follows instructions and settles in for Act 1. Will be listening tonight; I've been looking forward to your Rodolfo.

[MaestrosMusings @fulhamopera]

@illustrarch I rather like this: quiet brick base, lively timber crown, and children clearly using every inch of it. Architecture in service of daily life.

[MaestrosMusings @fulhamopera]

@rowenamezzo Greedy is exactly the right answer! I'd cheat in the same direction but with Schubert's C major Quintet. And RVW picking the 'Cum sancto' says a lot about him: joy right at the heart of the fugue.