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MusicNovember 2009 New York chronicle On the Europeanization of the Metropolitan Opera, Alan Gilbert's New York Philharmonic, Paul Jacobs at Juiliard, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Well, has it begun? Is the Europeanization of the Metropolitan Opera underway? For many years, some people have longed for this development; other people have dreaded it. What do I mean by “Europeanization”? It is just a shorthand, and, like many shorthands, very loose. I mean opera productions of the sort you find in Salzburg, summer after summer. Readers of this journal are perhaps familiar with my reports from that fair town. The productions “subvert” the operas they treat, and “subversion” is a cherished word in the vocabulary of the modern director. The director likes to rip an opera from its composer and librettist and make it something all his own: often something very ugly or twisted. I once knew an editor who explained his idea of editing: “I spit in the writer’s soup, so he doesn’t want to touch it anymore. When I spit into his piece, it’s all mine, and I ... This article is available to subscribers and for individual purchaseSubscribe to TNC (Print and Online editions) Subscribe to TNC (Online only) This article originally appeared in The New Criterion, Volume 28 November 2009, on page 50 Copyright © 2009 The New Criterion | www.newcriterion.com http://www.newcriterion.com/articles.cfm/New-York-chronicle-4317
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On Chanticleer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Abbey Simon, Magdalena Kožená, and Christopher Prégardien & Michael Gees at Alice Tully Hall, Ricardo Muti with the New York Philharmonic; Bernard Haitink with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, René Pape, and Pierre Boulez with the Staatskappelle Berlin at Carnegie Hall; Emmanuel Pahud, Trevor Pinnock & Jonathan Manson at Zankel Hall; Bernard Haitink with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; and Barber of Seville at the Metropolitan Opera. On Maris Janson & the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestras and André Previn's 80th Birthday at Carnegie Hall; La sonambula, Rusalka, Cavalleria rusticana, Pagliacci, & The Elixir of Love at the Metropolitan Opera; and the all-Handel night with the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall. On James Levine and the Boston Symphony Orchestra; Ann Sofie von Otter and Stephen Hough at Carnegie Hall; Adriana Lecouvreur, Eugence Onegin, and Il Trovatore at the Metropolitan Opera; Montserrat Caballé at Avery Fisher Hall; the Chamber Music Society of Licoln Center at Alice Tully Hall; Pinchas Zukerman and Marc Neikrug at the 92nd St. Y; Danielle de Niese at Weill Recital Hall; and Zubin Mehta with the Vienna Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall. On Antony and Cleopatra and Rigoletto at the Metropolitan Opera; Gustavo Dudamel and Pinchas Zuckerman with the New York Philharmonic; Vladimir Feltsman at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Marilyn Horne's 75th birthday gala at Carnegie Hall; Ricardo Muti with the New York Philharmonic; the Miró Quartet at Weill Recital Hall; Joyce DiDonato at Zankel Hall; James Levine and the Metropolitan Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.  The New Criterion is now optimized for Mobile Devices 
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