Brian Dickie

Less than three weeks to go.......

.....until the world première of Death and the Powers in Monte Carlo.  The tension is mounting I guess although I feel somewhat insulated from it here in the Midwest!  But I know that Tod Machover, Diane Paulus, and all the cast and personnel involved must be aching to get over there to resume the work that they have been doing all summer in Boston/Cambridge.  You can follow the last stages of the production period on the blog that has been created for the purpose by our friends in the Media Lab at MIT.

There are a good many videos on the blog which give a sense of this unique piece.  And you can buy tickets for the performances during COT's spring 2011 season at the Harris Theater here in Chicago, by going to COT's website.

This is the climax of a collaboration that we have been involved with for some five years. So I will be in Monaco for the final final stages and will be reporting from there soon after I arrive on September 21. 

Meanwhile we are havng a lovely relatively cool Labor Day weekend.  Chicago is looking very pretty.

Photo of Patricia Risley and the chandelier - © Jill Steinberg

Lincoln Park extended

Chicago skyline from Lincoln Park Zoo Board Walk 2.30 pm Saturday September 4 2010

This holiday weekend we made our way to see to Board Walk, the excellent park/zoo extension south of Lincoln Park Zoo.  It is not quite completed yet as far as I can see, but it is clearly going to be a wonderful new piece of rural life in the heart of the city.  It will give us much pleasure I am sure in the coming months and years.

And as you can see the view of the city from the north is as splendid as ever. 

It has been a busy domesticated weekend so far but I am looking forward to having a proper catch up session with Speranza Scappucci this evening.  Cooking for a discriminating Italian is something of a challenge but Italian food is generally honest and simple.  So nothing too complicated!

 

A fun evening by the lake

Red Moon Theater, which we did some interesting work with some years ago when we collaborated on a production of Master Peter's Puppet Show, Manuel de Falla's delightful single act opera, have a unique event in Belmont Harbor this weekend.  So, particularly given that this is just five minutes walk from home, we popped down at 6pm this evening to see what it was all about.

We have sen a change in the weather for these last two days - so there were not overwhelming crowds.  But the grill was good, there was suitable liquid refreshment, and the Luminarium, the chief attraction, was a somewhat amazing construction with a good deal of magical light and wonderfully shaped spaces to walk through. My iPhone pic hardly does it justice but it is a nice abstract impression!

If you have time over the weekend give it a visit; your admission price supports an excellent cause, Red Moon Theater.

Otherwise here we are at the tail end of the summer holidays at last.  It will be a great relief to return to normal after Labor Day - and find our colleagues anxious to deal with business!

What a treat!

Who should surprise me by walking into my office this morning?  It was my dear friend and colleague Speranza Scappucci whom I haven't seen for ages, and who is with Lyric for 6 weeks or so working on the musical preparation of Macbeth.

Speranza came to us from Juilliard in 1998 to the European Union Opera in Baden-Baden to work on Béatrice et Bénédict. She subsequently did a few seasons with us at COT before being snapped up for a long term assignment at the Vienna State Opera, as well as coaching over the last 8 years or so at the Salzburg Festival, Glyndebourne, and practically anywhere else you can think of with the highest standards, including the Metropolitan Opera of course.  So - good for Lyric to have her here!

So it will be great to have her in town for a few weeks - she is the best in every respect.

Ansel and Georgia

I hope I may be forgiven, in this period of a dearth of operatic tales to tell, for turning the page back a week or two. And even six decades!

Last Tuesday we were in Georgia O'Keefe's Ghost Ranch way north of Santa Fe, as we made our way to Durango, Colorado.  The previous week, before arriving in Santa Fe, we had been to the Canyon de Chelly - an inspiring prelude to seeing the Grand Canyon on the following day.

While at the Ghost Ranch I picked up a nicely printed reproduction of this famous Ansel Adams picture of Georgia O'Keefe with Orville Cox, the Ghost Ranch wrangler who was O'Keefes guide and friend.  Ansel Adams grabbed this shot at the Canyon de Chelly - in his own words:

” I used a 35mm Zeiss Contax and 50mm lens to make this photograph.  I was standing precariously on a slanting ledge and did not control the horizontal tilt of the camera.  A conversation was in progress, and I waited for a moment of peak interest; the 35mm camera is ideal for such photographs.” (Ansel Adams - The Camera)

As it happens, the very first photograph I snapped as a child in the 1940s was with my father's Contax I - with a f 2.8 Tessar 50mm lens, presumably the same glass that Adams describes above.  My father used that camera to the end of his life in his 95th year in 1994.  He had bought it when it was new in 1930!

So I will keep this picture in my office to remind me those happy two weeks discovering a magical part of the United States.  And below you will see my picture of the Canyon de Chelly, as it was two weeks ago today!

What ever could this possibly be?

?

A mystery new building is emerging from dustsheets and worse in the North/Clybourn/Halsted triangle in Chicago.  It looks as though it is about to shed its last item of modesty.  When all is revealed you will see it here!

I know how he feels!

One of my favorite daily reads is Alex Ross of the New Yorker and The Rest is Noise.  He has decided just to go quiet at this time of the year and he wont be back "at least until September".  Well that is tomorrow at the earliest and I guess he may take a few extra days off, sensible fellow that he is.

I am sure that I am not alone in looking forward to Listen to This, his new book which is due out at the end of September.  I am certain it will be flying off the shelves or, more likely, out of the Amazon warehouse. 

Meanwhile he is recognizing that there is not a lot happening around our particular world that is worth writing about just now.  But I have some excitements in store next month that I look forward to "sharing with you" (as they say).

It is now 90 degrees outside.  I am am off home.

Dog Days of Summer in Chicago

It is good to be back home but the late Summer is a steamy time so everyone is moving slowly.  And it will be another week, after Labor Day, before life resumes a decent productive pace.  Meanwhile we are tidying up at the end of our Fiscal Year and hoping and praying for a prosperous new one starting on September 1.

The Grant Park Music Festival is finished, and neither the Lyric Opera nor the CSO has begun its season. And Ravinia has finished the serious part of its season as well although you have the chance to see Hershey Felder, always a joy, or the Beach Boys (I know not what they do but many may enjoy them).

But musicians need vacations too, so maybe this is a good time to thank them for the pleasure that they have given us over the last 12 months.  We are looking forward to seeing them back, refreshed, in due course.

A day off the blog yesterday!

I thought I would give myself a little rest, and unpack the bags.  I now feel much refreshed and looking forward to the next three weeks in Chicago.

Wright's Opera House, Oury, CO - August 25 2010

Colorado is an important opera house state historically.  We all know about Central City and the excellent opera company in Denver.  We were delighted to come across Wright's Opera House in Oury last Wednesday as we were driving through from Durango to Denver.  I was not aware of the huge number of "Opera Houses" that were built in Colorado in the 19th century. But the remarkable thing is the catalogue of singers of great fame who made the expedition to sing in Colorado.  The website I have linked to above is quite fascinating........spend time with it, its really fun!

I am now off to enjoy the rest of Sunday.

Home!

Illinois across the Mississippi from Davenport, IA

We are pretty happy to be home after this two week epic.  But if circumstances permitted, which they don't, we would be happy to do it all again.  Or maybe Montana and Wyoming?

We made it back to Chicago this evening - 499 miles today.  We motored across the really beautiful state of Iowa where the gently undulating hills are a lovely contrast with the flat plains of Nebraska.  But there is still lots of corn!

And we had the pleasure of crossing the Mississippi in Davenport, Iowa, and lunch at a place on the river (where it flows east to west) - The Boat House. It is a great location but somewhat lacking in quality of food and service.  Something of a missed opportunity.  But not expensive......every cloud.......

I now have to get back into the Chicago groove.  It will be a pleasure!

Three states today!

We are well on the way home having accomplished 520 miles today arriving on the Iowa side of the river in Omaha; we are in a comfortable Hilton Garden Inn set in a piece of Americana real estate, the Horseshoe Casino!  We are mercifully insulated from all that and anyway will be leaving at the crack of dawn tomorrow.  And who can complain about more than adequate comfort for a family of three for $99?

The journey from the Denver area through eastern Colorado right across Nebraska was flat and boring, and very fast.  But what a contrast with the magic of the mountains yesterday!

This trip has been an eye opener.  I have been fortunate during the many years of my career in opera to travel widely, on all five continents plus Australia.  But seldom have I had the opportunity to explore as has been the case during the last two weeks.  I thought I knew the US pretty well, but this trip has been particularly valuable in giving me a heightened appreciation of the geography, demographics and politics of this huge country, and an understanding of the interaction between them.

The work is mounting up back home so I will be glad to be back in the office on Monday.

On the way home.......

View east from the Ghost Ranch

We are back on the road with two days hard driving behind is and astounding things to see and enjoy.  Yesterday we made our way from Santa Fe to Durango, Colorado driving up through the Georgia O'Keefe country of northern New Mexico and stopping on multiple occasions.  In particular it was a pleasure to make a short visit to the Ghost Ranch just north of Abiquiú.

Driving back to Chicago via Durango might appear to be a perverse route - but we have friends there and they insisted that we pass by and take the route from Durango north through the San Juan Mountains to Silverton (above), then across to Denver - and then quickly back to Chicago via Nebraska.  We have now reached Denver this evening after a long day, and 400 miles motoring, experiencing the remarkable beauty of Colorado which neither words nor pictures can really do justice to.  But pictures will have to do for this evening - its late and tomorrow we have to do 500 miles to get just into Iowa!

No Internet in the mountains!

So nothing more from me today. Lots tomorrow though!

Goodbye Santa Fe

Stormy sunset over Santa Fe Opera from the terrace of the Opera Club 7.45 August 23 2010

We have had four great days hee in New Mexico and at the Santa Fe Opera.  Last night's performance of The Magic Flute was a joy, inspite of the relatively cols and wet evening.  Tim Albery's production was a model of no-nonsense getting to the heart of the opera with no gimmicks.  And Tobias Hoheisel's sets and costumes matched the exceptionally intelligent and sensitive approach of the director, realising that you you don't HAVE to be cute.  So it was left to a very well chosen cast to deliver the pleasures and meaning of the piece - and to a rather good conductor who was new to me, Lawrence Renes.

Joshua Hopkins was a marvellous Papageno, gorgeous in voice and charming in all other departments.  A real treasure of an artist who has had a good year here - he was the excellent Sid in Albert Herring.  And the Tamino/Pamina couple were musical, vocal, and personal delights as well - Charles Castronovo and Ekaterina Siurina.  Santa Fe's casting is always top notch so none of this is a surprise - just another of the great pleasures of being here.  The company is in wonderful hands just now with Charles Mackay having settled in as the third General Director of this great institution following John Crosby and Richard Gaddes.

We are off on the long journey home now - with a short diversion today to visit friends in Durango, Colorado.

Santa Fe afternoon

Georgia O'Keefe Museum, Santa Fe, 2.30 pm August 23 2010

We made it to the delightful Georgia O'Keefe Museum, and what good fortune it was to find a marvellous special exhibition - "Abstraction" - on for the summer.  It originated at the Whitney.  Wonderful, and don't miss it if you are here and missed it in New York and at the Phillips in Washington.

And then we took a quick spin around the delightful town centre of Santa Fe.  Hot and lazy it was in the Plaza, and the gentle music of the street musicians below was very soothing!

Good morning Santa Fe

So here we have another gorgeous morning and a full day ahead to enjoy.  This was what greeted me as I emerged after another late night at 8 am.

The scenes program yesterday evening provided an opportunity to hear and see some of the apprentices in action.  And as usual there was an overall high level of accomplishment from these élite young people, the brightest and best of the young singers emerging to start their careers as professional opera singers.

The evening began confusingly with an interesting, amusing, but ultimately distracting LGBT take on Annio in a short excerpt from La clemenza di Tito.  I am not sure how the singer did - I was worrying about what was intended instead of focusing on the singer!  Not necessarily helpful to have clever production jokes diverting one's attention from the singer showcase aspect.

Thereafter the evening proceeded with some well prepared scenes including a welcome look at Jake Heggie's new opera, Moby Dick.  There were a good many singers from whom I would like to hear more - notably Rachel Willis-Sørensen, Kiri Deonarine, David Goversten, Craig Verm and Stephanie Lauricella.  And there were a good many also who added to the already good impression I have of them.  So it was an informative evening which ended at 10.50 pm.

I will be up at the opera at 1pm today for an audition or two - then the afternoon in Santa Fe with a possible visit to the Georgia O'Keefe Museum which I have greatly enjoyed on past trips here.  Then to the Magic Flute this evening and off in the morning on the next stage of this marathon!

Herring treat

Last night's performance of Albert Herring was a real treat.  The high point was the conducting of Andrew Davis, taking on this score for the first time with characeristic aplomb and enthusiasm which infected the whole proceedings with energy and precision.  I have never heard this score revealed so magically - really wonderful playing.  And the cast was exceptionally well chosen with outstanding performances all round.  But special mention must be made of Alek Shrader in the title role, and I greatly enjoyed Celena Schfer's Miss Wordsworth, Jonathan Michie's Vicar, Joshua Hopkins' Sid and Mark Schowalter's Mayor.  The cover Florence was on in place of Jill Grove - Texan Alissa Anderson was splendid in every respect.  Great job - and what a good demonstration of the work of the SFO music and production staff who had prepared her impeccably.

This evening I am off to the Apprentice's Scenes program - more of that after the event.

This morning we popped down to Albuquerque to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center - a really lovely small museum which is worh a special visit if you are in the area.  And there was the added bonus of some dancing!

Sunny Saturday in Santa Fe

From the hills above Tesuque, NM 12 noon August 21 2010

We started the day with breakfast at the Encantado Resort near Tesuque where we met up with our old friend Matthew Epstein who is here for the 40th successive year.  Some sort of record surely!  So he is something of an authority on this wonderful company and, as usual, full of wise and amusing observations!

This evening we are at the performance of Albert Herring which has been enthusiatically received - the cast is fabulous and with Andrew Davis in charge in the pit and with a new production by Paul Curran it is an evening to look forward to.  It is for me a piece of some significance.  It had its premiere at my "alma mater", Glyndebourne, in 1947; I introduced it to Wexford in 1970, and we brought it back to Glyndebourne in Peter Hall's famous production in 1985.  I then was responsible for a splendid production by Martin Duncan at the Canadian Opera Company in 1990.  So its about time I did it somewhere again - maybe COT?

Otherwise it is a hot afternoon, just the thing for a long languid bask in the sun before going up to the opera in time for the 8.30 curtain.

In the Land of Enchantment

I have been coming to Santa Fe to the opera for more than thirty years and it is enchanting indeed always to come to New Mexico whose tag line is the title of this post.  I think that the first thing I saw here must have been L'Egisto in 1974 - but I can't be sure.  I must research the archives!  But I have been here more than a dozen times since I suppose......

Anyway here we are after a long travel day with some Route 66 side excursions.  The most notable of these was to Holbrook.  And the pictures here give you the idea.  More happy Americana!  Too late to do much more this evening.  This just a taste!

On Route 66 again

We leave Sedona and get on to Route 66 again this morning at Flagstaff, and then motor the 400 miles east to Santa Fe.  We will probably go straight there although there are always tempting diversions along the way - we miss the American that has been lacking over these days in the desrt of Arizona!  So who knows?!

Well you all will later on after we get there around 6pm I suppose.

The picture was grabbed in a little store by our hotel.  (Click to enlarge)

The charms of Sedona

Sedona from the Cantina Terrace of the Oaxaca Restaurant 6pm August 19 2010

Sedona is a delightful town surrounded by exceptional scenery, and evidently populated by comparitively prosperous people.  This was brought home to me in my efforts to buy a small offering (or two) for our Santa Fe hosts.  A bottle of wine that costs $5.99 in Target in Chicago goes for $16.99 in the convenience store on the main drag in Sedona.  (I did not bite).  But that is fine - and indicative.  However we went to a charming and modest Mexican restaurant this evening, the Oaxaca which was terrific value.  And we enjoyed dinner with the view above from the open terrace.

So there you are - you can take your pick.  We will be leaving for Santa Fe early tomorrow very much hoping that there my be an opportunity in the future to spend more time in this state of Arizona. It is a quirky place politically (to put it politely) but it is a remarkable part of the world that ultimately transcends politics.

Hot air

We were up at 4.30 local time (Arizona, except for the Navajo reservation, does not do daylight saving - summer time - so they are effectively on Pacific time.)  We were up in the air at dawn - above you see the twin of our balloon.  It is 37 years since my one and only previous ballooning experience.  It is a glorious feeling drifting above the earth, and when the landscape is as stunning as this it is out of this world.  Of course it is best when it is silent, but from time the burners have to burn with their furnace like sound - but its worth it!

The rest of the day wll be relaxing in Sedona, a relief after our 400 miles a day average travel over the last week.  It also allows me to make a few phone calls and turn my mind to the next few days in Santa Fe where there seems to be much of interest to see as usual.  That is 400 miles away to the east so tomorrow is another longish day.  But these roads are uncrowded and in perfect condition so it is as easy as it gets.

From Grand Canyon to Red Rock country

My first view of the Grand Canyon, from Desert View 7.30 am August 18 2010

So the miracle of the Grand Canyon has been witnessed at last.  And a cloudy old morning it was today! I was to have seen it for the first time in 1977 but my flight from Phoenix to Flagsaff was cancelled because of a big snowfall so we proceeded to our final destination of San Francisco 24 hours earlier than planned.  And it has now taken me 33 years to catch up!  But it has been worth the wait for that awe inspiring first look at this amazing natural work of art.

So we proceeded early this morning from Cameron to the Desert View on the South Rim - and then on to a variety of other impressive vistas before having lunch at the wonderful old El Tovar which has been welcoming, feeding, and watering travelers since 1905.  It is the place to stay - but it was full so we had to be content, as we were, with the excellent Cameron Trading Post.  But if you can plan ahead go for El Tovar.

We then made our way to Sedona where we will be spending two nights, one car free day, before going on to Santa Fe on Friday for a long weekend of opera, also known as work!  To get there we drove to Flagstaff, a pleasant university town, as well as the home of the Lowell Observatory.  And then, and this was the real trip, the road down to Sedona through the Oak Creek canyon.  And the approach to Sedona, with those red rocks, is astonishing.

This journey was through yet another of the remarkable government managed pars, in this case the Coconino National Forest, dominated by those wonderful Ponderosa Pines.  The work of the US government in this area is a demonstration of the usefulness of government, somewhat important to remember thse days with so much Libertarian nonsense being propagated.  The impressive work of the government in the Grand Canyon, the remarkably well managed enterprise which is clearly a going concern commercially as well as being an activity for the public good, must make any tax payer feel OK!  This is noble investment indeed.

Also on our travels these last days we have been struck by the superb new roads, and well maintained and upgraded old ones, which span the country.  There appears to be a lot of stimulus money at work around the nation!

We have some exciting activity tomorrow - watch this space!

Arizona

Spider Rock, Canyon de Chelly 12 pm August 17 2010

We made our way from Grants, New Mexico to Cameron, Arizona today by a somewhat circuitous route to include some off the beaten track places, notably the Canyon de Chelly.  This is a mini foretaste of the Grand Canyon and extremely impressive and beautiful it is.  We crossed the Navajo reservation rather than take the main road to Flagstaff.  It is beautiful country, astonishing landscapes and ever changing colors of rock formations as the light changes during the day.

Our first stop after leaving Grants was the Hubble Trading Post, a simple place with a great store! We then went on to spend a couple of hours at the Canyon de Chelly before taking the road back to Ganado, and then the road to Tuba City which brought us through stunning country including three great Mesas of the Hopis and the charming fertile little town of Moenkopi.

And so on to the Cameron Trading Post, a Navajo property which is extremely well run with great rooms and a fabulous store!  We are off early in the morning to see the mighty Grand Canyon - one of the 7 wonders of the natural world.....