A very brief item at the tail end of ABC News tonight about Opera Australia's search for a new artistic leader, presumably part of OA's ensuring that the process be (or be seen to be) as open as possible. Not much new information, and certainly no gossip, but what was said made it pretty clear that the plan is to hire somebody who will be here all the time — whether that full time person will be both musical and artistic director, or a dedicated artistic director aided by a musical director who is not a permanent resident, remains to be seen.
In any case, Adrian Collette, while defending previous appointments (as he ought!) says they're after somebody to be here "at least thirteen months a year" and Elke Neidhardt — currently directing the revival of Werther — insists, as she has before, that the company needs an artistic director who is solely that, with "no ambitions to conduct or direct". Aldo di Toro, who will be our gorgeous sorrowful young Werther, likewise believes the company needs a full-time leader. None of this is especially surprising, but it probably does knock a few names off the list to our right — there are some there with positions they're unlikely to vacate.
Meanwhile, the trivia in which I delight. First, unless my eyes deceived me, I'd swear some of the Werther rehearsal footage they showed was of Carlo Barricelli, not Aldo di Toro, although we definitely saw Aldo rehearsing too. [14/3: Having seen it, I think my eyes did deceive me. Aldo in his wig bears a surprising resemblance to Carlo.] Second, kudos to the news anchor — whose name escapes me — for her perfect pronunciation of "Werther"! This is a channel on which I have heard Australia's Favourite Soprano (a title accorded her by ABC Classics, no less) referred to as "Yvonne Kennedy", so to have an anchor who managed perfectly the weird Frenchified German of this title was a delightful surprise.
Update 11/3: story now online at ABC News, along with a few details about the upcoming memorial ceremony for Richard Hickox in London. Includes video of Monday night's news item. The final paragraph is wrong: the Radiance concert is not, of couse, an addition to the season, but an already programmed concert which Hickox was to have conducted. It's now being presented as a tribute to his memory, with proceeds going to a newly established trust for young conductors.
I confess to having pronounced Werther the same whether it was Goethe's novel or the opera. So how do you pronounce it?
Posted by: Barbara | Tuesday, March 10, 2009 at 01:19 AM
What I've generally heard is German à la française, with the stress on the second syllable, so roughly vair-TAIR.
Posted by: Sarah | Tuesday, March 10, 2009 at 07:30 AM
you know, that totally makes sense.
Posted by: Barbara | Tuesday, March 10, 2009 at 09:04 AM
Goodness, I have been way off. I've been saying "Verr-terr" (rhyming with "Purr-purr"). How does everyone else pronounce "Mtsensk"? I have heard "Met-chenk", "Met-sunk-sk", "Met-sank-uh"...
This could make for quite a fun game!
Posted by: Simon | Tuesday, March 10, 2009 at 10:18 AM
Of course, you could make the case that the French have no business Frenchifying it anyway, in which case verr-terr is right. Just as long as it doesn't start sounding like the Werther in Werther's Originals (which is what I would expect from a newsreader, to be honest) I think we're safe.
Posted by: Sarah | Tuesday, March 10, 2009 at 10:57 AM