Konstantin Krimmel: a commanding presence
Op-Eds
Everything I know about the piano, I learned from singers
Op-edWell, maybe not everything, but my title isn't tongue-in-cheek. I'm aware of the stereotypical opinions about singers that are held by instrumentalists within the classical music scenes; I won't say they're not there for a reason, but there's opportunity for learning between these seemingly polar points of origin in music. Now, singers and pianists work closely together within the opera industry; but when you really think about it, it's an odd pairing.
The heart and the art
Op-edSome people really do thrive on this kind of life; others find themselves at a crux, in which they seriously weigh all the things they love against each other. Some people take matters into their own hands by starting their own opera company in whatever city they damn well please. They open a teaching studio, or even admirably straddle the worlds of day-jobs and opera gigs. But some of us are simply stubborn, and we want to do what we want to do; our homesickness and loneliness can, in some cases, be outweighed by the true love of our art.
Elitism, Irony, and The Phantom of the Opera
Op-edGuys, maybe we are a little elitist... So. On quartz.com recently there was a piece by a young soprano named Chelsea Feltman entitled "Don't Ask a Young Opera Singer These Three Questions". This piece has kinda been written before, but that's fine, and there were some pretty funny animations done about it from a stage actor's perspective circling around about four years ago.
Who cares what? Bring on the why
Op-edIf I were the artistic director of my own opera company, I'd probably enjoy putting up whatever shows I please. There would be a lot of Britten in my seasons. The question would be, would people want to go see the shows I like best?
Desdemona Down
Op-edAfter an impressive media tempest, soprano Tamar Iveri will not be appearing as Desdemona in Opera Australia's upcoming production of Otello. OA made the decision to replace Tamar after the singer's homophobic remarks were made public.
May She Never Work Again
Op-edGeorgian soprano and disgusting homophobe Tamar Iveri just got outed. In May of 2013, she posted an open letter (translated into English here) to Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, who had condemned the violence that erupted during an LGBT activist rally in Tbilisi, Georgia. Tamar wrote to President Saakashvili, "yesterday, I was quite proud of the fact how Georgian society spat at the parade, organized by your (and not just your) team."
The pianist's tech week plight
Op-edI'm working on an opera right now, and this week, we go into tech week. It's a week where the role of the pianist becomes humbling. The tech rehearsals are so not about the music.
The language of snobs?
Op-edRemember that ridiculous clip from Glenn Beck's radio show about his trip to the Metropolitan Opera? That Neanderthal-like rant about how opera is full of "leftist" snobs that eat brie and say words like "lilt"?
In defence of pianists
Op-edI'm a pianist who works with opera singers. It's awesome, and I love it, and I can't stop doing it. But in all honesty, I must address some gross habits of disrespect and neglect with which pianists often have to deal. Enough is enough.
The Business of Passion
Op-edI kind of dread being asked what I do. That’s an awful thing to say, given what an interesting and unique job I have, but it’s true. At a non-music party [NMP, for your future reference!] or in a cab, the conversation usually starts something like this: “So you’re travelling a lot for work – what’s your job?”