Rhetorical question. Doesn’t matter – just be flattered you have the interview, as someone who runs a brand-new, start-up opera company.
Classical WETA invited me over this afternoon for a very congenial session, which will be posted on their website soon (link to follow when I have it), and broadcast several times next week. This is a wonderful means of promotion for our evening of mini-operas next Friday! I couldn’t be more pleased. Nicole LaCroix was the animated and very informed hostess with the perfectly-modulated, soothing voice (not sure my radio voice is up to snuff, we’ll see). Deb Lamberton was the extremely capable, warm and equally informed producer. After my 9-minute fling at the microphone, Deb commanded me to retire to her studio for a “quiz”. Oh no.
She put a CD in the machine . . . “Do you know who that is?” she asked. German accent . . . the context indicated he was a conductor . . . sounded like he was an old-school maestro . . . “Is that Adler?” I asked. It was. Phew.
Kurt Herbert Adler was the legendary General Director of the San Francisco Opera for many years — before my time, it’s true, but when I was working there, I ran into a handful of people who had known him, and they all spoke of him with reverence. The Adler Fellowship, a rigorous training program for young singers at the San Francisco Opera (and now for coaches and directors as well) is named for him. So I acquitted myself adequately in the quiz (or as the young people say, I “represented”. My former home town San Francisco, that is. Not sure if that is really meant to be conjugated in this context. Oh well.)
The point is, we’re excited about the publicity, and the show next week is going to be fantastic. Our cast is excellent. Quick, musical, and good on stage. And, I went nude.
Kidding, just seeing if you read it all.
Bob