Opera Australia Will Fulfill Tamar Iveri Contract For "Otello"

UPDATE: Opera Australia has severed ties with Ms. Iveri, who will no longer be singing in the Otello. Full details are here. The company will announce a replacement soon. (June 23, 2014)
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Tamar Iveri is already seeing
cancellations of engagements.

"Opera Australia has just published a statement regarding allegedly homophobic soprano Tamar Iveri, stating that the singer has apologised and rehearsals and performances will go on as planned. Iveri (pictured) who is from the central Asian country of Georgia and is currently in Sydney rehearsing for Otello and will perform in Melbourne later this year, has been plagued by controversy following allegations she penned a homophobic diatribe on her Facebook page in which IDAHOT supporters in the capital city of Tblisi were branded 'fecal masses.' Georgian LGBTI rights group Identoba published a translation of the post which Iveri was said to have subsequently taken down. 'I was quite proud of the fact how Georgian society spat at the parade,' said the translation. The message goes onto to implore Georgian’s President to 'stop vigorous attempts to bring West’s 'fecal masses' in the mentality of the people by means of propaganda. Even today, US ambassador said that the people who raided the rally yesterday were against NATO. No, Mr Ambassador: those, who yesterday raided the rally, are Georgian youth of pure blood, still unspoilt by you,' the translation continues. Identoba directed the comments to the National Opera of Paris who have reportedly now withdrawn an invitation for the singer to perform. With a social media campaign calling on Opera Australia to sack Iveri continuing to grow, and a Change.org petition circulating as well, Opera Australia published a statement regarding the allegations on its Facebook page at 12noon today. 'Opera Australia has become aware in the past 24 hours, of the media and social media coverage of comments reported to have been made by soprano Tamar Iveri,' the statement read. 'The company has made the singer aware of the response from the Australian media and people via social media. Tamar Iveri has sought to clarify her views on this important issue, and has issued an apology and explanation on her own Facebook page. This can be seen here: https://www.facebook.com/tamariverisoprano. Rehearsals and performances at Opera Australia are continuing as planned.' Iveri reportedly blamed her husband for rewriting her original letter, which she said she deleted as soon as she saw his homophobic remarks and how it was under her name. The Georgian soprano is currently in Sydney rehearsing for her role as Desdemona in Otello at the Sydney Opera House, before heading to Melbourne in November to perform in Tosca." [Source]

"Les Huguenots" Triumphant at Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels

"Drawing hearty performances from orchestra and chorus, Marc Minkowski conducts an admirably full account of the opera that runs to nearly five hours (including two intermissions). From his eloquent shaping of the Lutheran chorale 'Ein feste Burg' at the outset, Mr. Minkowski seeks out the music’s expressive potential. He is alert to fine points of orchestration in a score that never sounds formulaic. Clearly at one with the decision to emphasize Marguerite’s sexuality, Marlis Petersen, an acclaimed Lulu from Alban Berg’s opera, sings with seductive brilliance and moves with almost erotic allure — an unforgettable portrayal. Mireille Delunsch stews convincingly over Valentine’s conflict between love for Raoul and loyalty to family and religion. Julia Lezhneva, dressed in hotel attire, looks cherubic as Urbain and sings delightfully in both the page’s arias. The tenor Eric Cutler brings a winning combination of full- and head-voiced singing to the challenging role of Raoul. Soon after he sang his heart out in the fourth-act duet with Valentine — the most popular love duet of the 19th century — he shined again in Raoul’s taxing aria in Act 5. The baritones Philippe Rouillon and Jean-François Lapointe are excellent as the Comtes de Bris and de Nevers, respectively. And as Raoul’s retainer Marcel, the keen-edged bass Jérôme Varnier deals well with the crusty Huguenot’s quasi-comic moments and his stirring celestial vision in the face of death. The performances are double cast. Because of its impact on other composers, few works can be said to have changed the course of opera history as did Les Huguenots. Anyone who cares about opera should see this production." [Source]

An interesting promotional photograph for the opera is after the jump.

(Photos: Clärchen und Matthias Baus)