Miscellaneous
Russian Bass Ildar Abdrazakov Stars in Mozart's 'Le Nozze di Figaro' Under James Levine at Metropolitan Opera, Borodin's 'Prince Igor' Opening October 22
EXCLUSIVE: Joshua Bell on HBO YoungArts Masterclass & Mendelssohn Octet; Washington Metro Reprise & Bach Concertos
With his Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority mulligan miles behind him, Joshua Bell is Skyping with me from his suite at the Ritz-Carlton, Dubai. As per usual when talking to the press, the world's greatest living violinist is in between rehearsals. Yes, Bell has traveled to the United Arab Emirates to perform Felix Mendelssohn's 'Violin Concerto' in E minor, Op. 64 at the Royal Opera House Muscat with the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields--the storied British band, founded by Sir Neville Marriner in 1958, that Bell remains the only American to have led as both music director and conductor. Tone Deaf: Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant Set to Star in Latest Stephen Frears Film about the Awful Florence Foster Jenkins
Any "Fail Meme" ever conjured could be in relation to the worst opera singer of all time, Florence Foster Jenkins, whose piercing lack of tonality and inability to keep rhythm will be fit for the new Stephen Frears movie starring, yes, Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant.
