Opera News Cover Revamp Resembles Vanity Fair Magazine

Opera News magazine has revealed a new cover layout with its September 2015 issue featuring soprano Diana Damrau. In an attempt to make the magazine more relevant to the popular masses, they may have taken a page out of Vanity Fair's typography handbook. Most notably is putting Ms. Damrau's given name in larger print while putting her surname in italics, which just inverts the concept VF uses. It's easy to compare with several other recent issues of VF and

almost feels like ON has lost its own unique identity. Even going back as far as 1990 when Madonna graced the VF cover with her pearls and plunging neckline like Ms. Damrau in the current ON issue. The Metropolitan Opera Guild publication has typically debuted a new wordmark every decade since its inception in 1936. The latest may be coming a bit early, but it might have something to do with the recent addition of publisher Diane Silberstein in May 2014. Perhaps the new look will help the magazine to gain attention on newstands for as long as it continues to remain in print before going strictly digital. Below are some of the most recent wordmarks over the last 20 years. Take an historical look back at the Opera News cover changes from the last 79 years, after the jump.

What's In A Name: Rosamund Pike Photographed By Mario Testino

A Rose by Any Other Name: Rosamund Pike in Vanity Fair

"The name Rosamund (also spelled Rosamond and Rosamunde) is a girls' name and can also be a family name (surname). Originally it combined the Germanic elements hros, meaning horse, and mund, meaning 'protection.' Later, it was influenced by the Latin phrases rosa munda, meaning 'pure rose,' and rosa mundi, meaning 'rose of the world.' 'Rosamonda' is the Italian, 'Rosamunde' is the German and 'Rosemonde' the French form of the name. People named Rosamund or variations thereof include: Rosamund (Gepid) or Rosamunde (fl. sixth century), second wife of Alboin, King of the Germanic Lombards; Rosamund Clifford (before 1150 – c. 1176), medieval beauty and longtime mistress of King Henry II; Rosamund Greenwood (1907–1997), British actress; Rosamund John (1913–1998), English actress; Rosamund Kwan (born 1962), Chinese actress; Rosamund Pike (born 1979), British actress; Rosamunde Pilcher (born 1924), British novelist; Rosamund Stanhope (1919–2005), British poet and teacher; Rosamund Marriott Watson (1860–1911), English poet and critic who wrote under the pseudonym of Graham R. Tomson. Franz Schubert also wrote incidental music

scored for orchestra under the Rosamunde heading. "There are two overtures associated with Rosamunde: The overture used for the stage production was the overture Schubert had originally composed for Alfonso und Estrella, but Schubert thought it less suitable for that opera and in the 1891 publication of the Gesammtausgabe, the ten numbers of the Rosamunde music were preceded by the overture to Die Zauberharfe (The Magic Harp), without any proof it was ever Schubert's intention to associate that overture with the rest of the Rosamunde music" The first vocal version, "Der Vollmond Strahlt auf Bergeshöh'n" was published in 1824 as Op. 26, with piano accompaniment. The one vocal version for mixed chorus and orchestra, dated 1863, is written "Andante con moto." Other forms of the incidental music include an entr'acte, ballet, and choruses. Additional uses of the music include an excerpt of the piece incorporated into the Christmas carol "Mille cherubini in coro," a song made popular by Luciano Pavarotti in a 1980 TV Christmas program. The piece is also played in Marvel's film The Avengers in the German opera house scene. [Source, Source] Watch a Vanity Fair video of Rosamund Pike being photographed by Mario Testino, and listen to Elly Ameling singing the vocal version of Schubert's music, after the jump.

Reclining Rosamund: A scene that could easily be taken straight out of a Schubertiade.

Ildar Abdrazakov Gets His Close-Up In Vanity Fair Magazine

Abdrazakov in St. Petersburg (Photo: Jason Bell)

"It could almost be the plot of an opera: a dark, dashing descendant of both Genghis Khan and Tamerlane appears and sweeps all before him. But in the case of Russian-born bass Ildar Abdrazakov— 'I’m one-fourth Tatar and three-fourths Bashkirian,' he says with a smile—it happens to be true. A native of Ufa, the capital of the Russian republic of Bashkortostan (also known as Bashkiria), Abdrazakov, 37, has emerged in the past few years as one of the most sought-after young basses in the operatic world. He was pitch-perfect as the brooding prince in the Metropolitan Opera’s production last season of Borodin’s Prince Igor. But what Abdrazakov actually likes best is Italian opera: 'I only started singing the Russian roles when I came west,' he says. His supple, burnished bass shines in the lyrical Rossini-to-Verdi canon, along with his comedic flair." [Source] Read the full feature by clicking here.

Susanna Phillips Graces Vanity Fair For MET Return

The soprano photographed in Santa Fe
(Photo: Erik Madigan Heck)

"A native of Alabama and southern to her core—five years ago more than 450 Alabamians attended her Met debut, as Musetta in La Bohème, a role she reprises this season—Phillips, 32, is a sparkler herself. She is almost six feet tall and a former basketball player: 'You can’t be almost six feet tall in Alabama and not play basketball,' she says, laughing. Then there’s her big, glorious voice—glittering in the upper register, lustrous in the lower. To date, she has made the Mozart repertory particularly her own, both at the Met and at the Santa Fe Opera. 'He’s my musical home,' she says. Phillips will also star this season as Rosalinde in the Met’s sumptuous new Sacher torte of a Die Fledermaus, which debuts on New Year’s Eve. But first, there’s that eagerly awaited Così. 'I’m so excited,' says Phillips, who has collaborated only once before with Levine. 'He never really needed to say anything; he showed you what to do. By the way he used his arms I found myself wanting to make music with him.'" [Source]