"Angela Gheorghiu" School, in celebration

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Two years ago, on February 10th 2008, School #3 in Adjud, Romania (first established in 1959), was named after Angela becoming "Angela Gheorghiu School". On February 10th and 11th 2010 the school is in celebration, with music, theatre plays and competitions for the students. According to the article published in Monitorul de Vrancea tomorrow takes place the second edition of the "General knowledge, literary creation, art and singing competition" initiated by Angela. "The General knowledge contest has 3 prizes of a total of 1000 euro offered by the soprano and some other prizes for different sections offered by the school" states the newspaper. The rest of the article (in Romanian) is HERE and you can also check the website of this school (in Romanian)
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Look what popped up on YouTube

There is a recording of this opera. But as you can see in the small excerpt, the quality of the audio and video is not that good.
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Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu "Dolce Aprile" (Cherry Duet) L'Amico Fritz by Mascagni. Thanks to yhe uploader. myyellowlabfan has some other nice videos on his/her channel on Youtube

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Il Doge di Genova - Simon Boccanegra

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"Maestro Levine to the pit, maestro to the pit". These are the words that everything starts with. I first heard them during the first Met live in HD in my country, last year for La Rondine. Marco Armiliato was the one called to the pit. They're a sort of spell. They remove you from the real world and put you in Paris, Venice, in a castle, on a ship, in a prison, in a church, you name it, they surround you with music and beautiful voices.

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Tonight's Boccanegra wasn't an exception. Thank you, Neubauer family and thank you Bloomberg for giving this opportunity. To be miles away and still be able to see everything live and closer than most of the people in the venue is amazing.

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I had no idea this opera is so beautiful and powerful and passionate. Each character has a story to say, a tragedy to share with the others and the music sustains the voices. with Maestro Levine conducting, the orchestra was impressive. Domingo is a phenomenon. Piezonka and Giodani matched perfectly. People say that because of the political ideas involved the opera is boring. It is not true. I think that the political elements (such as the presence of the Doge, the senators, some riots) bring grateness to the whole thing.

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There's nothing else to say. Or.. there are 10000 things to say but I don't want to spoil anybody's pleasure. Simon Boccanegra continues the tour. This was the last performance at the Met. It moves back to Europe. To Scala in Milan first (the tickets go on sale on February 16th), then to Royal Opera in London (the tickets go on sale on March 3rd for Friends - there is a 2 ticket per friend limit!!! - and in April for everybody else) and the final stop is in Madrid, at Teatro Real (the tickets go on sale on April 7th). If you happen to be in one of these cities, go see Placido Domingo and the lady that will join him on stage.

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Carmen - CANCELLED

What should I say? I wrote and deleted what I wrote, and then wrote again and deleted again. A lot of things come to my mind. Why? Why again? And again... Not to mention that the two performaces were SOLD OUT. I'm pretty sure why there were no more tickets left. The two names were so important that 8000 people paid hoping to see them and listen to them. Now all the people that said she won't sing are happy (see some blogs...). I'm sad. Some people know the reason. The main one. The other one is that Peter cried "wolf" again. And the press will write about it. Looong articles, full of all sorts of explanations and suppositions. The first article is already online, in New York Times. There must be a good reason. MET gave a statement quoting Angela. "To make so important a debut as Carmen, I want to be as prepared dramatically as I am musically. Therefore, I will postpone my role debut until a later date when I can work intensely with the Richard Eyre production." Kate Aldrich steps in.

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The OFFICIAL SITE published the continuation of the statement: Therefore, I will postpone my role debut until Autumn 2012 when I can work intensely with Richard Eyre production. When offered the new CARMEN, I had immediately thought that Richard was essential to create a new, fresh vision of Carmen for me. My greatest sadness in withdrawing the opening this season has been to lose the extended rehearsal hours with Richard. When I return to Covent Garden this summer to revive the 1994 production of LA TRAVIATA which Richard created for me, we shall again work together to deepen and build upon our 1994 collaboration. This is how I want to work and need to work. Thank you for your understanding.

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What's left? Traviata, three times (NY, London and the tour). I'm sure there's place for way more than that. And for Placido Domingo's sake, I hope she stays in for Boccanegra.

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Sorry, I'm upset. I try to understand that there must be not enough time for rehearsals but I can't help being disappointed again. More than anybody can imagine. well, those who follow her in the world know how it is. You know how it is to buy tickets 6-7 months before and then waiting. So I'll stop here.

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Happy ending - with better videos

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EDIT: e2ul uploaded the interview on his YouTube Channel in a very good quality.
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Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6
Part 7
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And we got to the end of the interview. I'm waiting now for the next one. Don't forget. TVR1 broadcasts the show again on Friday morning from 10am. There is a good version uploaded but it came after I finished the translation. So I'll use the old ones just to finish the job.
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Thinking of Sting, when we decided we would sing together I started listening to his music, to be prepared. But he said this is a unique opportunity to do the exact opposite thing. He wanted to sing opera with me. It was an experience for him but we felt extremely well because we did it to honor the memory of Luciano.
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Are they difficult people or regular people?
It depends on the situation they find themselves in.
Is it difficult or easy to work with Angela Gheorghiu?
I would like you to ask this question to the people I worked with, directors, conductors, singers. The fact that I kept good relationships with my colleagues can be a sign. We have a huge responsibility every time we’re on stage and the performance starts. For example if you ask what my name is before the start of a performance you might have the surprise that I hesitate.
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You changed from the beginning of the show. You’re calmer now.
Don’t mix up emotions with the fact that I'm considered difficult. I always want to feel safe. For example this show. I knew who the guests were and how the sets looked like.
You came here yesterday and checked up every detail.
Because I like to know everything from the beginning. Is it wrong? Wouldn’t it be great for everybody to do that? You’re musicians and you know that improvisation is good sometimes. But it is not always true. It can be fake. You’re not always honest with the audience. I don’t believe in improvisation 100%. In most of the cases it’s studied.
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Successful people are considered spoiled by the destiny. Only a few people know that you still suffer after the death of your sister and that you adopted your niece. How do you overcome the turns of life?
With trust and faith.
Where do you find the strength?
I don’t know. Sometimes I ask myself this question. There is no recipe. Each of us find strength in something. Music gives me energy. People find support in religion or in themselves.
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In December 2009 took place the 32nd edition of the Kennedy Awards where artists honored Mel Brooks, Dave Brubeck, Robert de Niro, Bruce Springsteen and Grace Bumbry. And you were invited to perform in honor of the mezzo soprano Grace Bumbry. Was it the first time you sung in front of a President?
I don’t remember. I don’t think there’s a capital in this world where the President or the Queen doesn’t attend a performance once or twice a year.
So you were used to it. Let’s see some images from the Kennedy Center.
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I don’t know if you liked being at Danutz SRL but you have to believe me I was honored to have you here. As you were inspired by all those people you sung with, you and this great evening will remain in my memory. Thank you for coming. Please let me offer you flowers.
Thank you very much. I see tears in your eyes. I consider the flowers a symbol of Spring (“martisor”).
I’d like to dedicate the next song to you. It’s called “Spring starts with you” ("Primavara incepe cu tine")

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