Brian Dickie

Covent Garden

Covent Garden remains an exotic place and it is wonderful to see how it remains colorful long after Eliza Doolittle's departure.  Just look at Neal's Yard at 10 o'clock this morning, rain sodden as it was.  This was before the horrendous holiday crowds appeared and spoiled the place - probably around midday. 

So I had my London auditions at the Royal Opera House as always.  And as usual there were NO English candidates.  They are either too rich or too lazy - probably both.  But they are also in many cases very talented and are foregoing the possibility of earning a lot of money in just a few days.  What luxury to be able to afford that.   I need to speak to the teachers - one of the leading ones is moving from the Royal College to the Royal Academy.  He also happens to be my eldest son's Godfather!  I will have to get at him.

Meanwhile two excellent candidates from London are going through to the finals.  One is South African and the other Korean.  And at the same time I hear that the formerly Vilar, and now Jette Parker, Royal Opera Young artists program does not have a single British singer in it.  As everyone knows I am a great fan of internationalism - but this is very strange.  No doubt in part the result of Tony Blair's brilliant ten years of mismanagement of the UK. 

I leave for Chicago tomorrow at noon.  It has been a long three weeks and I will be really happy to be home.

Almost done!

And almost done in as well after this marathon of the last three weeks.  The very very last bit is tomorrow in London, and thats only got three hours rather than a full day.  So there will be time for other things - like catching up with some of my family.  I am now at Dusseldorf Airport all set to go and hoping that there will not be any delays this time.  I am hoping that an aircraft like this will take me away from here within the  next hour.  Full of optimism I will be changing the clock on the right.

We had another long frustrating day today.  But there was a delightful  young Russian soprano from St Petersburg studying in Dortmund for a year.  She should get through.  And a handful of others but no knockouts today.  The list for London looks interesting - at least one major future star is on the list so unless he messes up he will be through with a major opportunity to hit the big money.  Top prize is $20,000 which is nice of you can get it.  And someone will......there are five other nice prizes too so all good ones are in with a chance.

My blog seems to be getting a lot of attention - the numbers have soared over the last few days and are breaking all previous records!  Maybe its the Desperate Opera Wife effect  - or maybe the COT website which has mischievously in my absence put up an extra notice about it.  See that here if you haven't already!

I will be back in the office on Monday so we will all be able to calm down again! 

First time in Dusseldorf

We thought that it would be useful to have auditions in Dusseldorf this year in addition to Berlin and Munich.  We have a splendid place for them, the Clara Schumann Music School.  The whole thing has been perfectly organized by our friends at the Dusseldorf Opera - the Deutsche Oper am Rhein.  Some of their first class music staff are accompanying.  It could not better arranged. 

The slightly amazing thing is that of the 103 candidates today and tomorrow no less than 41 are from Korea.  I had certainly hoped that we might have also drawn from the best of the neighbouring countries, Belgium, Holland, France, and Luxembourg. Germany has a very generous arrangement for higher education.  It is free.  And it doesn't matter where you come from.  So this country is extremely cosmopolitan - and Dusseldorf in particular with huge Japanese and Korean student communities.  And it means that there are terrific Japanese restaurants one of which we sampled this evening.  And I am staying in the Nikko - a really excellent Japanese hotel, and good value too.

That all said we had a slightly sub par day.  Tomorrow has to be better - and then I am off to London tomorrow evening full of hope as always!

And speaking of London - the Clara Schumann School is in Prinz Georg Strasse.  This is no doubt King George IV of England.  Well lets assume so anyway.  Therefore how appropriate that just a few yards from the school there was this Rolls Royce, complete with picture of  Prince George's descendant!  Click to enlarge of course.

Warning! Off topic

I felt the need for some illustrations today and the above should brighten your morning!  I was fascinated by this piece in the New York Times today.  I am in an international industry I suppose.  But it's nothing like this complex tale of the global economy. 

Yesterday in Munich

Once again Francisco Araiza was with us in Munich.  He is also a member of the finals jury in October and this year for the first time we are doing preliminary auditions in Mexico city which he is organizing for us.  So as well as being of great assistance in the assessment of the candidates on Tuesday and yesterday, he was a great excursion planner for my first trip to Mexico City.  This will be in August and we have now fixed the hotel and the itinerary for my day off -  you will be able to read about it and have a fully illustrated description here around August 20!  In addition of course I hope you bring you news of the emerging talent in Mexico.  Their should be good mezzos and tenors.......

We picked up some nice singers in Munich.  Albania has now emerged as a huge untapped source of talent.  This year this country has produced some extremely interesting candidates.  It occurred to me that this country, cut off for more than half a century from the rest of the world thanks to the extreme left wing dictatorship that closed it down, must have a whole missing generation of singers who might have become remarkable stars.  Inva Mula is one of the few we have seen in the west.  (Someone correct me please - there must be others) But there may now be an avalanche if the singers we have seen in the last week are any indication.

We had a pretty stressful day yesterday all round.  We managed to get through the whole list - there were very few cancellations in the afternoon so everyone got horribly bunched up.  But we made it - and could, as it turned out, have gone for hours longer given that my 8.30 flight was cancelled and we did not take off until well after 10pm.

Anyway we had a great lunch - always a feature of Bertelsmann auditions in Germany!  This time it was at terrific deli store, grocery store, wine store and, on the second floor, a fabulous restaurant.  This was Kaefer on Prinzregenten Strasse.  If you are ever around that part of town don't miss it.

We go this morning to our auditions at the Clara Schumann Music School.  More news later after our long day to come.

Just made it

What a saga!  Too late to go into it - two hours late and arrived at my hotel in Dusseldorf at midnight!  This peaceful scene at Munich Airport at 6 pm with everything on schedule was a prelude to 6 hours of hassle, with delayed flight, then canceled flight, then stranded  in the substitute aircraft at the gate with another aircraft about to make an emergency landing.......anyway I am here and will tell you all (well nearly all) about Wednesday tomorrow morning.  We start at 11 tomorrow but  I will be up early as usual.

On the road again

I am now en route to Duesseldorf from Munich after a long day here.  Will be there by 10pm unless the appalling weather here messes things up.

Well even in Moscow...........

Here is the Russia Today coverage! 

Day of much action

It was a long one - and 40 or so singers went through the process at the Prinzregentheater, lovely place that it is.  And after the old picture on the blog posting below, here is the latest - at 10.15 this morning.

This grand place is of sentimental importance to me since in in 1961 it was the home of the Bayerischer Staatsoper when I made my first operatic visit to this city, the first of very many indeed during the ensuing 46 years.  That year I saw Arabella with Fischer-Dieskau and Lisa della Casa.  And early Jess Thomas appearances in Meistersinger and Parsifal.  Meanwhile down the road in Salzburg Rosenkavalier with Schwarzkopf, Ludwig and Rothenberger.  And Don Giovanni with Waechter in the title role and Leontyne Price as Donna Anna.  All at prices affordable to a student at Trinity College, Dublin where I was at that time.  It has changed I am afraid.  And probably students now don't care anyway.  But we did!

Anyway, back to the auditions.  There were a couple of stunners.  That's a good day so I am happy!  We have another 40 tomorrow so we may end up with a good crop from Munich.

I went back then to the hotel for a quick reunion with the Desperate Operawife and this time the husband came along and took this picture of Bloggers United!  I was terribly late so we scarcely had time for the photo shoot before I had a meeting and dinner with the excellent Manfred Schweigkofler, king of all things culturally interesting in Bolzano.  We may be collaborating on The Flowering Tree next year.  That is an exciting partnership for COT.  And for them too of course......

105 today!

As I am about to leave for my auditions this morning I discover that our old friend Hugues Cuenod, old in every respect other than in spirit, is 105 today.  We should all celebrate with him.  He was a feature of my first season at Glyndebourne in 1962, and for many many seasons thereafter to the age of 92!  It was Basilio in 1962 and 1963.  And Sellem in The Rakes Progress in 1963 - the part he created at the 1951 premiere.  He was a memorable M Triquet, M. Taupe in Capriccio (also in 1963), and unforgettable as Linfea in Calisto.  He went on and on...........  Remarkable altogether.

This interview with him in the Washington Post is a "must read".

And this photo captures him splendidly.