Posted on 08/19/2004 9:13:23 PM PDT by Libloather
Speaking of the Opera, I guess if you want Music Director Donald Runnicles to stick around, you'd better vote for John Kerry in November. The Scottish maestro, in Salzburg to conduct Korngold's "Die Tote Stadt," told an interviewer from the Austrian paper Der Standard that the outcome of the presidential election could determine whether he stays in the United States:
"I would really have to think about whether I could stay there [the United States] if Bush wins a second time," he said. "The American people can make a mistake once, but if they re-elect him, then they actually want him."
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Now in his third season as the ASO's Principal Guest Conductor in a creative partnership with Music Director Robert Spano, Donald Runnicles is one of his generation's most distinguished conductors. A renowned interpreter of both operatic and symphonic works, Mr. Runnicles also serves as Music Director of the San Francisco Opera (SFO) and Principal Conductor of the Orchestra of St. Luke's (OSL) in New York. This season with the ASO, he continues his mastery of Germanic repertoire as he conducts four subscription weekends: the music of revolutionary composers Beethoven (Piano Concerto No. 3) and Stravinsky (The Rite of Spring) in January; Schubert's Symphony No. 8 "Unfinished" and selected songs from Grieg featured soprano Barbara Bonney, also in January; Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 and Bruckner's Symphony No. 9 in February and a concert featuring Brahms' Violin Concerto in May. In December, he will make his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic in a concert that features Benjamin Britten's War Requiem and the acclaimed Atlanta Symphony Orchestra chorus. His recording of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the ASO and Chorus was released by Telarc in September 2003.
Mr. Runnicles became Music Director of the San Francisco Opera in 1992, following a spectacular debut conducting Wagner's Ring cycle of operas. His opera season begins with David Alden's new production of the Virgil Thomson rarity, The Mother of Us All. Season highlights include a performance of Verdi's Don Carlos, a new Johannes Schaaf production of Shostakovich's Lady Mcbeth of Mtsensk, a La Boéhme revival, Busoni's Doktor Faust and the Janacek fable, The Cunning Little Vixen.
Now in his third season with the Orchestra of St. Luke's, Mr. Runnicles will lead two Carnegie Hall programs: one featuring works by Schoenberg and Brahms and the other featuring John Adams's orchestration of Liszt's piano work, The Black Gondola (La lugubre gondola). On February 26, he will conduct a concert program that he conceived, "All the poet can do is to warn," devoted to the prophecy of poets in trouble times and highlighting the music of Aaron Jay Kernis, Strauss, Karl Hartmann and Shostakovich.
In demand abroad as well as at home, Mr. Runnicles regularly conducts at the Bayreuth Festival, the Edinburgh Festival, La Scala, the Metropolitan Opera, the Paris National Opera and the Salzburg Festival. This season, he leads productions of Parsifal, Billy Budd and Elektra at the Vienna State Opera, where he has appeared annually for over a decade. In March of 2004, he makes his Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra debut with programs in both Vienna's Musikverein and Konserthaus that will travel to Budapest, Hungary and the Austrian cities of St. Polten and Gmunden.
Born in Edinburgh, Mr. Runnicles began his career in Germany, where he quickly rose from répétiteur in Mannheim in 1980 to General Music Director of Freiburg in 1989. During this time, he spent his summers assisting at the Wagner Festival in Bayreuth and began guest conducting throughout Europe. His 1988 North American debut caused a sensation when he led Berg's Lulu at the Metropolitan Opera on five hours' notice. While the core of his operatic repertoire is Mozart, Strauss, and Wagner, he has led a broad range of works from Gluck to Tippett at the SFO, including the world premiere of Conrad Susa's Dangerous Liaisons (telecast worldwide), Harvey Milk by Michael Korie and Stewart Wallace (recorded for Teldec), and the North American premiere of Tippett's King Priam.
Mr. Runnicles's recordings issued on Teldec Classics include Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel, Bellini's Capuleti e i Montecchi with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Gluck's Orphèe et Eurydice (1997 Grammy nomination), a live recording of Harvey Milk, a symphonic Wagner disk of Ring highlights and the Siegfried Idyll with the Dresden Staatskapelle and a Grammy-nominated recording of Orff's Carmina burana with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. His most recent release on Sony Classical features Jane Eaglen in works of Strauss, Wagner, and Berg with the London Symphony Orchestra.
Mr. Runnicles was recognized for his achievements by the University of Edinburgh, which awarded him an honorary doctorate of music in 1995.
I almost felt this bad when Steelheart broke up.
Why wait? He can leave now.
I am in mourning because Barenboim will leave the Chicago Symphony and thus cannot get too concerned with second-raters.
Don't let the door hit ya in the ass on your way out...
How amusing. He thinks Americans care.
And have a wee dram of whiskey while you're at it. Never forget that Scotch Whiskey is God's way of keeping you Scots quiet!
Can America survive the loss of Donald Runnicles? O, lost!!!
Let me one of the first to say, "Goodbye you socialist America hating freak, get out!"
Uhhh... then you might as well get your ass out now, whiner, since we wanted him the first time. Don't like how our system works, then get the F*** out...
More reasons to vote for Bush. Lets get this stupid turd out of the country!!!! Vote Bush in 2004!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh, were we supposed to? I keep forgetting to... ;0)
That dude could hit some high notes..."I'll never let you gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!"
He'll share a flight with Alec Baldwin.
I hear Cuba is nice in November!
As a Scot, I am embarassed. As an Scottish-American, he can kiss what he finds under the backside of my kilt.
Buh-Bye
Good!
Does he need help paying for a ticket out of the U.S?
We've heard that crap from better known clowns than you...
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