Powder Her Face, The Turn of the Screw, Moses in Egypt, La Périchole. Quick, what do those four titles have in common?
What? You don’t know? You’ve never heard of
any of them?
You’re right! That’s it! You – and most people
– have never heard of them.
And what else do they have in common? They
comprise the entirety of New York City Opera’s 2012-2013 season! This is the
company that, as little as five years ago, offered 110 performances of 13 different operas. This year they offered four performances each of four operas. At
least the current season includes pieces that you’ve likely heard of: La
Traviata and Così fan tutte as well as the lesser known Orpheus
by Telemann and the new Prima Donna by Rufus Wainwright. The numbers are
still staggering: from 110 performances to 16, but at least most fans had heard
of two or three, maybe even all four, productions.
Next year? Powder Her Face. Really?
Now, before you call me a conservative
stick-in-the-mud, yes, of course, I recognize the importance of bringing new, unknown
or lesser known works to the public. I in fact just attended -- and LOVED -- a fabulous
production of the 16-year-old Mozart’s Il Sogno di Scipione by Gotham Chamber Opera. But City Opera is fighting for its very survival. Who in their right
mind would program four operas that wouldn’t make anyone’s A-list? (And for the record, that excellent Mozart took place at the Gerald W. Lynch Theatre at John Jay College; seating: 595. And even this terrific company had trouble selling all those seats. The two venues City Opera will use next year both seat well over 2,000).
It’s beyond comprehension.
I think they need to add a concert to the end
of the season. The Verdi Requiem comes to mind.
In case you care, here’s more info, and their
web site:
Powder
Her Face (Feb 15-23,
BAM)
Thomas Adès’ biting satire on our scandal obsessed culture, directed by Jay
Scheib
The Turn
of the Screw (Feb
24-Mar 2, BAM)
Benjamin Britten’s haunting version of Henry James' acclaimed
novella, directed by Sam Buntrock
Moses in
Egypt (Apr 14-20, New
York City Center)
Rossini’s grand yet rarely-performed retelling of the story
of Exodus, directed by Michael Counts
La
Périchole (Apr 21-27,
New York City Center)
Jacques Offenbach’s sparkling farce set in Peru and directed
by Christopher Alden
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