Season press release disappears from Metropolitan Opera site.
by Paul J. Pelkonen
Young detectives meet up with the feared bandit Ramirrez, somewhere in California.
Original art by Harry Kane, from Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators in
The Mystery of the Moaning Cave, © 1968 Random House Books/the artist.
As the 2012-13 season approaches, the Metropolitan Opera is notoriously stingy with information.
First, the opera company cancelled its traditional press luncheon, opting for a brusque press release. Then, that self-same press release press release announcing the 2012-2013 season has apparently disappeared from the company's website. Click that link above. you'll get a blank page.
Luckily our good friends at Parterre Box were smart enough to post a copy of the season announcement. It is here for your perusal and enjoyment.
Here at Superconductor, our hardworking staff of ten (fingers) is putting together this year's Metropolitan Opera Preview, complete with recording recommendations, snarky comments about new productions, and even nice boldface type. With 28 operas on tap, this is the biggest writing job of the year, but it's worth it to keep you opera lovers informed on what's worth seeing at the Met.
The opera off-season usually means cancellations and changes from this press release to the official schedule on the Met website. Many of these aren't available as official press releases from the Met itself, which sometimes operates behind a veil of secrecy, penetrable only by careful observation of the tickets and performances listed on its website.
Plácido Domingo will not be conducting the spring performances of Verdi's Otello as originally announced. (This opera-goer was quietly hoping that the two artists would trade places at the last minute.) His replacement is French-Armenian conductor Alain Altinoglu. The rest of the cast remains unchanged.
This is Mr. Domingo's first absence from the Met podium in three years. However, he is expected to continue his third career as a Verdi baritone with the role of Giorgio Germont in this season's revival of La Traviata.
In unrelated news, my phone just rang with a call from the Met's "Donor Services" call center out, which appears to be located out in Utah. And they're not getting a thin dime from me this year--until December when I renew as a Guild member so I can continue to read Opera News. Why the Met doesn't choose to employ more New Yorkers is beyond me. Is this the effect of the Live in HD telecasts: that there is suddenly a big opera culture in Salt Lake City?
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