"We’ve been watching a preventable catastrophe unfold around us, as we stand on the sidelines yelling “nooooooo” like the witnesses to some cheesy slow-motion film collision. And none of it makes any sense! Who wanted this? Who benefits? Why would anyone look at the current situation and think The way to make (this orchestra) really great would be to (drive out one of the world’s leading music directors)?" seems to apply to so much of what is going on in the world today. We apparently don't know how to make anything great again but we sure are good at making things worse.
Not only was the "Idomeneo" production colorless and the costumes dreary, but it featured the most pointless usage of a theatrical turntable I have ever seen. Felt sorry for the very good singers who are all fine actors when they have a half-decent director. And don't get me started on those white chairs...
Couldn't agree more about Idomeneo. Horrible production. Terrible costumes, pointless staging, annoying projections - a complete missed opportunity. I wanted to run onto the stage and rip off Elettra's jacket from the moment I saw it. Just awful.
Every time I get a fundraising email from the symphony now, I say, out loud even though I’m alone - well, I’ll let you imagine it and spare you the nasty language.
Small potato donors and subscribers can't fix this. EPS's parting words last Saturday were, "Take care of them." He's warning us that we have a treasure that can slip away without leadership change and mega-philanthropy and/or public monies.
What I would like is for someone -- Mr. Kosman? -- to explain is how the community could go about changing the leadership at SFS. Are Mr. Spivey and Ms. Geeslin the primary problems? Others? Google says that Trustees can in rare cases be removed "for cause"; losing Salonen certainly seems like cause. It also says that Trustees nominate each other, not a hopeful scenario. Could sustained activism by the SFS audience community effect the change that is needed? I would like to see us do more than wring our hands.
Something I keep returning to when I think about the mess our beloved symphony is in is the nature of an endowment. The analogy is not perfect, but an endowment is in the nature of a rainy day fund. And guess what, it’s raining.
"We’ve been watching a preventable catastrophe unfold around us, as we stand on the sidelines yelling “nooooooo” like the witnesses to some cheesy slow-motion film collision. And none of it makes any sense! Who wanted this? Who benefits? Why would anyone look at the current situation and think The way to make (this orchestra) really great would be to (drive out one of the world’s leading music directors)?" seems to apply to so much of what is going on in the world today. We apparently don't know how to make anything great again but we sure are good at making things worse.
It really is a travesty. It's hard to imagine anyone with a robust commitment to new work taking the job in the current climate... SAD!
Not only was the "Idomeneo" production colorless and the costumes dreary, but it featured the most pointless usage of a theatrical turntable I have ever seen. Felt sorry for the very good singers who are all fine actors when they have a half-decent director. And don't get me started on those white chairs...
Couldn't agree more about Idomeneo. Horrible production. Terrible costumes, pointless staging, annoying projections - a complete missed opportunity. I wanted to run onto the stage and rip off Elettra's jacket from the moment I saw it. Just awful.
Every time I get a fundraising email from the symphony now, I say, out loud even though I’m alone - well, I’ll let you imagine it and spare you the nasty language.
Small potato donors and subscribers can't fix this. EPS's parting words last Saturday were, "Take care of them." He's warning us that we have a treasure that can slip away without leadership change and mega-philanthropy and/or public monies.
What I would like is for someone -- Mr. Kosman? -- to explain is how the community could go about changing the leadership at SFS. Are Mr. Spivey and Ms. Geeslin the primary problems? Others? Google says that Trustees can in rare cases be removed "for cause"; losing Salonen certainly seems like cause. It also says that Trustees nominate each other, not a hopeful scenario. Could sustained activism by the SFS audience community effect the change that is needed? I would like to see us do more than wring our hands.
Something I keep returning to when I think about the mess our beloved symphony is in is the nature of an endowment. The analogy is not perfect, but an endowment is in the nature of a rainy day fund. And guess what, it’s raining.