
[News] Placido Domingo, Jonas Kaufmann & Cecilia Bartoli Headline Salzburg Festival

The Salzburg Festival has announced its 2018 summer festival.
This season the festival will showcase eight operas in concert and staged performances.
Rossini’s “L’Italiana in Algeri” will make an appearance as well with Cecilia Bartoli in the title role and Ildar Abdrazakov as Mustafa. Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier direct the production which is slated to premiere at the Whitsun Festival in May.
Plácido Domingo will also headline a concert performance of Georges Bizet’s “Les Pêcheurs de Perles.” The performances will also feature Aida Garifullina and Javier Camarena. Patrick Fournillier conducts.
In recital, the festival will showcase Jonas Kaufmann alongside Helmut Deutsch and Rolando Villazón in a program of Songs from the Old and New Worlds. Christiane Karg, Florian Boesch, Matthias Goerne and Philippe Jaroussky will also be featured in recitals.
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Sutherland and Kraus – “Lucia di Lammermoor”
Audition Etiquette: Some Do’s and Don’t

Do…
Your due diligences – doing your research will pay in the long run; you will know about the project, the Casting Director and the production company before you get to the audition and you can use this information in your application. It shows you care about the project and the CD too.
Don’t…
Go blindly into every role – there are lots of fake auditions out there and it could cost you dearly. Also you won’t suit every role – learn your casting type.
Do…
Read what the CD wants – they might want a cover letter, CV & headshot but they might just as easily just want a link to your Instagram profile (yes I’ve applied for roles like that).
Don’t…
Send a blanket cover letter – make them personal to the role and project.
Be negative about the project or genre; if it’s not be your thing then ask yourself why you are applying for the role in the first place.
So, you’ve got the audition – fantastic! You have been a fantastic opportunity and probably beaten hundreds of other actors/actresses. That is a great achievement already! What now?
Do…
Send a quick email thanking the Casting Director & confirming your attendance. This is a great start; you are saying you will be attending and thanking them for the opportunity too.
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Photo: nbparks.org
Young Music Prodigy Improvises a Beautiful Piano Sonata
Interview: Alexander Soares, Pianist

What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far?
I think it is the things that affects most musicians – having to learn a great deal of repertoire at short notice, keeping your artistic integrity at the forefront, and finding time to deal with the business side of the career. On a side note, learning statistics for my doctorate (examining musical memorisation) was perhaps the most unusual challenge!
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