New York City Opera is Closing: Maestro Julius Rudel in Disbelief and So Am I
Sept. 28, 2013
Are you kidding me?
What happened to NYC?
I want my grand-children to see NY for what it is.
The land of Broadway.
Off Broadway.
Off-off Broadway.
The land of Museums.
The land of Opera.
And now I am crying.
They are talking about the demise of the NYC Opera House, where Maestro Julius Rudel had been at the helm for many years.
Back in the1960's, I was in the All city High School Chorus, and our regular teacher and conductor John Motley had made arrangements for us to sing at City Hall for then Mayor John V. Lindsey and then at Carnegie Hall, and then at Lincoln Center, conducted by the Maestro Julius Rudel...
Somehow, I actually was looking forward to Leonard Bernstein, but he was stepping down from the Symphony, and the new conductor assigned would be Julius Rudel. So I was staring that day, at dress rehearsal, only 15, a precocious teen wondering, who he was? It was a privilege, as he was remarkable, a virtuoso that I could never have imagined. He was remarkable and we were singing with the Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra. And we could not let Mr. Motley down. The rehearsal turned into the actual day of the event--a day of reckoning--and we had to perform impeccably.
Are you kidding me?
What happened to NYC?
I want my grand-children to see NY for what it is.
The land of Broadway.
Off Broadway.
Off-off Broadway.
The land of Museums.
The land of Opera.
And now I am crying.
They are talking about the demise of the NYC Opera House, where Maestro Julius Rudel had been at the helm for many years.
Back in the1960's, I was in the All city High School Chorus, and our regular teacher and conductor John Motley had made arrangements for us to sing at City Hall for then Mayor John V. Lindsey and then at Carnegie Hall, and then at Lincoln Center, conducted by the Maestro Julius Rudel...
Somehow, I actually was looking forward to Leonard Bernstein, but he was stepping down from the Symphony, and the new conductor assigned would be Julius Rudel. So I was staring that day, at dress rehearsal, only 15, a precocious teen wondering, who he was? It was a privilege, as he was remarkable, a virtuoso that I could never have imagined. He was remarkable and we were singing with the Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra. And we could not let Mr. Motley down. The rehearsal turned into the actual day of the event--a day of reckoning--and we had to perform impeccably.
“I would not have thought in my wildest dreams,” said Mr. Rudel, 92, “that I would outlive the opera company.”
SEE the full story
at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/30/arts/music/veterans-of-city-opera-proudly-wistful-reflect-as-the-curtain-falls.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
SEE the full story
at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/30/arts/music/veterans-of-city-opera-proudly-wistful-reflect-as-the-curtain-falls.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0