A lovely lady from a small town in Georgia, Armuchee (pronounced Armurchee, because why spell things in a helpful way?), near Rome, where I did my undergraduate, just won the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition! Brava!
I'd heard of Jamie Barton before; she graduated from Shorter, the college across town from my own undergrad. After Shorter went terribly religious and decided to hate on teh gay and make its faculty and staff sign lifestyle statements which resulted in a bunch of people resigning (and I think Shorter is also in danger of losing its accreditation), Ms. Barton told Shorter to stop using her name in publicity materials because they were being dreadful and ignorant people. Also, they removed L'elisir D'amore from the performance roster of the college because the plot involves wine. Such horror--in an opera plot!--can scarcely be imagined, particularly after we have seen Carmen or Pique Dame. Next thing you know, they'll be banning the Bible on account of that little story about Lot's daughters getting him drunk and raping him, and then where will they be? Anyway, as La Barton is the school's most famous alumna (even before this competition she has been singing at the Met), this was not an idle gesture and she made it quite publicly.
She stands against oppressive religion and she is a world-class opera star! Brava forever!
A little Delibes in the morning never hurt anyone.
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