James Conlon
Encyclopedia
James Conlon is an American conductor
and the current Music Director of the Los Angeles Opera
.
, New York
. His mother, Angeline L. Conlon, was a freelance writer. His father was an assistant to the New York City Commissioner of Labor in the Robert F. Wagner
administration. His siblings were not musically inclined, nor were his parents. When he was eleven, he went to a production of La traviata
by an amateur company founded by the mother of a friend (Edith Mugdan, the mother of the young Conlon's best friend, Walter Mugdan, and the founder of the North Shore Opera ). He asked for music lessons and became a treble
(boy soprano) in a children's chorus in an opera company in Queens. He dreamed about being a tenor, then a baritone, and even wanted to sing the role of Carmen
at one point. Finally it dawned on him that the only way to do everything in opera was to become an operatic conductor.
conducting program, and in September, 1968 he entered The Juilliard School of music. In 1970, the Juilliard Orchestra took an educational tour to Europe and he was invited to Spoleto
the next year as an assistant doing work as a répétiteur
, coach and chorus conductor. During that time, he conducted one performance of Boris Godunov
. He recalled that he had fallen in love with this opera at a young age, and had dreamed that it would be the first opera he would conduct.
In 1972, at a scheduled Juilliard production of La bohème
directed by Michael Cacoyannis, conductor Thomas Schippers
suddenly pulled out. At the time, Maria Callas
was doing a series of master classes at Juilliard and heard Conlon in rehearsal. She suggested to Juilliard's president, Peter Mennin
, that Conlon should step in to conduct. This is an apocryphal story. James Conlon was prepared for months by Stanisław Skrowaczewski to conduct this concert.
and in 1974 became the youngest conductor engaged for the New York Philharmonic Orchestra's subscription series. In 1976 he made his Metropolitan Opera
debut and his British debut with the Scottish Opera
, and in 1979 he debuted at Covent Garden
. After engagements with the Paris Opéra, Maggio Musicale in Florence
, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
and the Chicago Lyric Opera, Conlon became chief conductor of the Cologne Opera in 1989. In 1996 he was appointed music director of the Opéra National de Paris while serving concurrently as Music Director of the city of Cologne
, Germany.
Since his New York Philharmonic debut in 1974 at the invitation of Pierre Boulez, Conlon has appeared with virtually every major North American and European orchestra. He has also appeared with many of the world's major opera companies, including Teatro alla Scala (Milan), the Royal Opera at Covent Garden (London), the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Florence). Associated for almost 30 years with the Metropolitan Opera, where he made his debut in 1976, he has conducted more than 250 performances there, leading a wide range of works from the Italian, German, French, Russian and Czech repertoires.
Conlon has held several major European posts, including Principal Conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic (1983-1991), General Music Director of the City of Cologne, Germany (1989-2002), where he was simultaneously Music Director of the Gürzenich Orchestra
and the Cologne Opera, and Principal Conductor of the Paris National Opera (1995-2004), where his Paris tenure was the longest of any conductor there since 1939. His leadership is associated with an increase in artistic standards, overall productivity and attendance, which, in an era of diminishing audiences, has increased exponentially in the past decade.
. He is also currently Music Director of the Ravinia Festival, having held that post since 2005. Conlon continues to serve as Music Director of the Cincinnati May Festival
, a post he has held since 1979. In September 2007, Conlon extended his LA Opera contract through the 2010-2011 season.
His work at LA Opera includes a series called "Recovered Voices", a multi-year project during which Conlon will bring the music of composers affected by the Holocaust to the LA Opera stage. The series begins this season with a double-bill of Alexander von Zemlinsky
's Der Zwerg and Viktor Ullmann
's Der zebrochene Krug, and will include operas by composers such as Schreker and Braunfels, among others, in future seasons. Since beginning his tenure at LA Opera, Mr. Conlon has sought to establish a Wagnerian tradition in LA, and this season's Tristan is one of seven Wagnerian works he will conduct there over the next four years, including the first ever performance in LA of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen beginning in 2008-09.
, Kurt Weill
, Erich Wolfgang Korngold
, Karl Amadeus Hartmann
, Erwin Schulhoff
, and Ernst Krenek
. In addition to "Recovered Voices" at LA Opera, as Music Director of the Ravinia Festival, each summer Conlon presents a different composer from this group with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He has highlighted works of Viktor Ullmann
, Erwin Schulhoff
, and Alexander von Zemlinsky
thus far. A production of Ullman's Der Kaiser von Atlantis
, conceived by Conlon, has traveled extensively since its first showing in New York. Produced in cooperation with The Juilliard School, it has since been reprised at the Spoleto Festival in Italy, the Ravinia Festival, in cooperation with the New World Symphony Orchestra
, The Houston Grand Opera
and the Los Angeles Philharmonic
, where it was performed in 2004 at the Wilshire Boulevard Temple.
since 1997, where he not only conducts the final round of the competition, but also initiated a program through which he leads master classes and coaches finalists. His work in several Cliburn competitions was taped and aired in a special series on PBS, the most recent of which debuted in spring 2006, and the Final Round concerts comprising the concerti and recital performances, rehearsals, symposia including “A Talk with James Conlon,” and the awards ceremony, were webcast live during the 2009 competition. He is also featured in the final round section of the 2001 Van Cliburn Competition documentary film The Cliburn: Playing on the Edge.
's The Magic Flute
(2006), a film version in English of Mozart's opera
, reset during World War I
, but otherwise very faithful to the original plot. The film has been released in Europe, but, as of April 2010, not in the United States, nor has it been shown on American television.
, where her father was a professor of Spanish. Her Cuban mother, Georgina Ringo, was also a Spanish teacher. They have two daughters, Luisa, who was named for the Verdi opera Luisa Miller
, and Emma. Luisa acted in the 1998 Merchant-Ivory film, A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries. She played author Kaylie Jones
as a child. Luisa Conlon graduated from the Lycée Français de New York
and is currently attending New York University
; Emma continues her studies at the Lycée Français de New York.
Jennifer Ringo made her professional debut with the San Francisco Opera
in the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor
. She has performed many leading soprano roles in operas including La bohème, Rigoletto, Ariadne auf Naxos
, the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro
with the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon and Berg
's Seven Early Songs with the Aspen Festival Orchestra. She has also performed, Marie in Wozzeck
, The Infanta in Der Zwerg and Ellen Orford in Peter Grimes
, to great acclaim. Her television appearances include a performance of La Voix Humaine
at the Triennale Festival in Cologne. In 2003/2004 Miss Ringo sang Songs on Poems by Emily Dickinson by Michael Tilson Thomas
in Lisbon and in Finland.
Jennifer Ringo teaches at Bard College
Conservatory as a vocal coach and is also on the faculty of Joan Dornemann's International Institute of Vocal Arts in Montreal. In addition she maintains a private apartment and studio in New York City.
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
and the current Music Director of the Los Angeles Opera
Los Angeles Opera
The Los Angeles Opera is an opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center.-Current leadership:...
.
Early years
Conlon grew up in a family of five children on Cherry Street in Douglaston, QueensQueens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. His mother, Angeline L. Conlon, was a freelance writer. His father was an assistant to the New York City Commissioner of Labor in the Robert F. Wagner
Robert F. Wagner
Robert Ferdinand Wagner I was an American politician. He was a Democratic U.S. Senator from New York from 1927 to 1949.-Origin and early life:...
administration. His siblings were not musically inclined, nor were his parents. When he was eleven, he went to a production of La traviata
La traviata
La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
by an amateur company founded by the mother of a friend (Edith Mugdan, the mother of the young Conlon's best friend, Walter Mugdan, and the founder of the North Shore Opera ). He asked for music lessons and became a treble
Boy soprano
A boy soprano is a young male singer with an unchanged voice in the soprano range. Although a treble, or choirboy, may also be considered to be a boy soprano, the more colloquial term boy soprano is generally only used for boys who sing, perform, or record as soloists, and who may not necessarily...
(boy soprano) in a children's chorus in an opera company in Queens. He dreamed about being a tenor, then a baritone, and even wanted to sing the role of Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
at one point. Finally it dawned on him that the only way to do everything in opera was to become an operatic conductor.
Education
He entered the Fiorello H. La Guardia High School of Music and Art at the age of fifteen and at eighteen he was accepted into the Aspen InstituteAspen Institute
The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1950 as the Aspen Institute of Humanistic Studies. The organization is dedicated to "fostering enlightened leadership, the appreciation of timeless ideas and values, and open-minded dialogue on contemporary issues." The...
conducting program, and in September, 1968 he entered The Juilliard School of music. In 1970, the Juilliard Orchestra took an educational tour to Europe and he was invited to Spoleto
Festival dei Due Mondi
The Festival dei Due Mondi ' is an annual summer music and opera festival held each June to early July in Spoleto, Italy, since its founding by composer Gian Carlo Menotti in 1958...
the next year as an assistant doing work as a répétiteur
Répétiteur
Répétiteur , repetitore , or Korrepetitor / Repetitor , originally from the French verb répéter meaning "to repeat, to go over, to learn, to rehearse"....
, coach and chorus conductor. During that time, he conducted one performance of Boris Godunov
Boris Godunov (opera)
Boris Godunov is an opera by Modest Mussorgsky . The work was composed between 1868 and 1873 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is Mussorgsky's only completed opera and is considered his masterpiece. Its subjects are the Russian ruler Boris Godunov, who reigned as Tsar during the Time of Troubles,...
. He recalled that he had fallen in love with this opera at a young age, and had dreamed that it would be the first opera he would conduct.
In 1972, at a scheduled Juilliard production of La bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
directed by Michael Cacoyannis, conductor Thomas Schippers
Thomas Schippers
Thomas Schippers was an American conductor. He was highly-regarded for his work in opera.-Biography:...
suddenly pulled out. At the time, Maria Callas
Maria Callas
Maria Callas was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique, a wide-ranging voice and great dramatic gifts...
was doing a series of master classes at Juilliard and heard Conlon in rehearsal. She suggested to Juilliard's president, Peter Mennin
Peter Mennin
Peter Mennin was an American composer and teacher. He directed the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, then for many years ran the Juilliard School, succeeding William Schuman in this role...
, that Conlon should step in to conduct. This is an apocryphal story. James Conlon was prepared for months by Stanisław Skrowaczewski to conduct this concert.
Career
Conlon received the conducting award of the American National Orchestral AssociationLeon Barzin
Léon Eugene Barzin was a Belgian-born American conductor and founder of the National Orchestral Association , the oldest surviving training orchestra in the United States...
and in 1974 became the youngest conductor engaged for the New York Philharmonic Orchestra's subscription series. In 1976 he made his Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
debut and his British debut with the Scottish Opera
Scottish Opera
Scottish Opera is the national opera company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies funded by the Scottish Government...
, and in 1979 he debuted at Covent Garden
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
. After engagements with the Paris Opéra, Maggio Musicale in Florence
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino is an annual opera festival which was founded in April 1933 by conductor Vittorio Gui with the aim of presenting contemporary and forgotten operas in visually dramatic productions. It was the first music festival in Italy. The first opera presented was Verdi's early...
, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra is a Dutch symphony orchestra based in Rotterdam. Its primary venue is the concert hall De Doelen. The RPhO is considered one of the Netherlands' two principal orchestras of international standing, second to the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam...
and the Chicago Lyric Opera, Conlon became chief conductor of the Cologne Opera in 1989. In 1996 he was appointed music director of the Opéra National de Paris while serving concurrently as Music Director of the city of Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, Germany.
Since his New York Philharmonic debut in 1974 at the invitation of Pierre Boulez, Conlon has appeared with virtually every major North American and European orchestra. He has also appeared with many of the world's major opera companies, including Teatro alla Scala (Milan), the Royal Opera at Covent Garden (London), the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Florence). Associated for almost 30 years with the Metropolitan Opera, where he made his debut in 1976, he has conducted more than 250 performances there, leading a wide range of works from the Italian, German, French, Russian and Czech repertoires.
Conlon has held several major European posts, including Principal Conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic (1983-1991), General Music Director of the City of Cologne, Germany (1989-2002), where he was simultaneously Music Director of the Gürzenich Orchestra
Gürzenich Orchestra
The Gürzenich-Orchester Köln is a symphony orchestra based in Cologne, Germany. On some recordings, the orchestra goes under the name "Gürzenich-Orchester Kölner Philharmoniker"...
and the Cologne Opera, and Principal Conductor of the Paris National Opera (1995-2004), where his Paris tenure was the longest of any conductor there since 1939. His leadership is associated with an increase in artistic standards, overall productivity and attendance, which, in an era of diminishing audiences, has increased exponentially in the past decade.
Los Angeles Opera
Since the 2006-2007 season, Conlon is the Music Director of Los Angeles OperaLos Angeles Opera
The Los Angeles Opera is an opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center.-Current leadership:...
. He is also currently Music Director of the Ravinia Festival, having held that post since 2005. Conlon continues to serve as Music Director of the Cincinnati May Festival
Cincinnati May Festival
The Cincinnati May Festival is a two-week annual choral festival, held during the last two weekends in May in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. The festival's roots go back to the 1840s, when Saengerfests were held in that city, bringing singers from all over the United States and abroad to perform large...
, a post he has held since 1979. In September 2007, Conlon extended his LA Opera contract through the 2010-2011 season.
His work at LA Opera includes a series called "Recovered Voices", a multi-year project during which Conlon will bring the music of composers affected by the Holocaust to the LA Opera stage. The series begins this season with a double-bill of Alexander von Zemlinsky
Alexander von Zemlinsky
Alexander Zemlinsky or Alexander von Zemlinsky was an Austrian composer, conductor, and teacher.-Early life:...
's Der Zwerg and Viktor Ullmann
Viktor Ullmann
Viktor Ullmann was a Silesia-born Austrian, later Czech composer, conductor and pianist of Jewish origin.- Biography :...
's Der zebrochene Krug, and will include operas by composers such as Schreker and Braunfels, among others, in future seasons. Since beginning his tenure at LA Opera, Mr. Conlon has sought to establish a Wagnerian tradition in LA, and this season's Tristan is one of seven Wagnerian works he will conduct there over the next four years, including the first ever performance in LA of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen beginning in 2008-09.
Pedagogy
Conlon recently completed a two-year artist residency with his alma mater, The Juilliard School. During the residency, Conlon worked with the school's young artists in its three divisions – dance, drama, music – in an educational project meant to promote growth and historical curiosity in students and audience members alike. The cross-genre project consisted of performances, symposia, master classes, and coaching. In addition to study and performance of the lesser-known repertoire of composers affected by the rise of Nazism and the events of World War II, of which he is an ardent champion, Mr. Conlon will moderate symposia and speak about the role of the artist in current times.Composers from the Holocaust Era
In an effort to raise public consciousness to the significance of works of composers whose lives and compositions were affected by the Holocaust, Conlon has devoted himself to extensive programming of this music in North America and Europe. This includes the works of such composers as Alexander von Zemlinsky, Viktor Ullmann, Pavel HaasPavel Haas
Pavel Haas was a Czech composer who was murdered during the Holocaust. He was an exponent of Leoš Janáček's school of composition, and also utilized elements of folk music and jazz. Although his output was not large, he is notable particularly for his song cycles and string quartets.-Pre-war:Haas...
, Kurt Weill
Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
, Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Erich Wolfgang Korngold was an Austro-Hungarian film and romantic music composer. While his compositional style was considered well out of vogue at the time he died, his music has more recently undergone a reevaluation and a gradual reawakening of interest...
, Karl Amadeus Hartmann
Karl Amadeus Hartmann
Karl Amadeus Hartmann was a German composer. Some have lauded him as the greatest German symphonist of the 20th century, although he is now largely overlooked, particularly in English-speaking countries.-Life:...
, Erwin Schulhoff
Erwin Schulhoff
Erwin Schulhoff was a Czech composer and pianist.-Life:Born in Prague of Jewish-German origin, Schulhoff was one of the brightest figures in a generation of European musicians whose successful careers were prematurely terminated by the rise of the Nazi regime in Germany...
, and Ernst Krenek
Ernst Krenek
Ernst Krenek was an Austrian of Czech origin and, from 1945, American composer. He explored atonality and other modern styles and wrote a number of books, including Music Here and Now , a study of Johannes Ockeghem , and Horizons Circled: Reflections on my Music...
. In addition to "Recovered Voices" at LA Opera, as Music Director of the Ravinia Festival, each summer Conlon presents a different composer from this group with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He has highlighted works of Viktor Ullmann
Viktor Ullmann
Viktor Ullmann was a Silesia-born Austrian, later Czech composer, conductor and pianist of Jewish origin.- Biography :...
, Erwin Schulhoff
Erwin Schulhoff
Erwin Schulhoff was a Czech composer and pianist.-Life:Born in Prague of Jewish-German origin, Schulhoff was one of the brightest figures in a generation of European musicians whose successful careers were prematurely terminated by the rise of the Nazi regime in Germany...
, and Alexander von Zemlinsky
Alexander von Zemlinsky
Alexander Zemlinsky or Alexander von Zemlinsky was an Austrian composer, conductor, and teacher.-Early life:...
thus far. A production of Ullman's Der Kaiser von Atlantis
Der Kaiser von Atlantis
Der Kaiser von Atlantis, oder Die Tod-Verweigerung is a one-act opera by Viktor Ullmann with a libretto by Peter Kien. Both Ullmann and Kien were inmates at the Nazi concentration camp of Theresienstadt , where they collaborated on the opera, around 1943...
, conceived by Conlon, has traveled extensively since its first showing in New York. Produced in cooperation with The Juilliard School, it has since been reprised at the Spoleto Festival in Italy, the Ravinia Festival, in cooperation with the New World Symphony Orchestra
New World Symphony Orchestra
The New World Symphony is the United States' only full-time orchestral academy preparing musicians for careers in symphony orchestras and ensembles...
, The Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera was founded in 1955 through the joint efforts of Maestro Walter Herbert and cultural leaders Mrs. Louis G. Lobit, Edward Bing and Charles Cockrell...
and the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...
, where it was performed in 2004 at the Wilshire Boulevard Temple.
Mentorship
Conlon is committed to working with young pre-professional musicians and, in addition to his continual work with Juilliard ensembles, has devoted his time to teaching at the Aspen Music Festival and School and Tanglewood Music Center. He is actively involved in the Ravinia Festival's Steans Institute for Young Artists as well as Ravinia's model community outreach and education programs, and plans to help lead and expand educational projects during his tenure at Los Angeles Opera. Conlon has been active with the Van Cliburn International Piano CompetitionVan Cliburn International Piano Competition
The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition was first held in 1962 in Fort Worth, Texas and is hosted by Van Cliburn Foundation. It was created by Fort Worth area teachers in honor of Van Cliburn, who had won the first International Tchaikovsky Competition four years prior with Tchaikovsky's...
since 1997, where he not only conducts the final round of the competition, but also initiated a program through which he leads master classes and coaches finalists. His work in several Cliburn competitions was taped and aired in a special series on PBS, the most recent of which debuted in spring 2006, and the Final Round concerts comprising the concerti and recital performances, rehearsals, symposia including “A Talk with James Conlon,” and the awards ceremony, were webcast live during the 2009 competition. He is also featured in the final round section of the 2001 Van Cliburn Competition documentary film The Cliburn: Playing on the Edge.
Recordings
Conlon has recorded extensively for the EMI, ERATO, Capriccio and Sony Classical labels. He made his first recording for Telarc of the world premiere of Franz Liszt's St. Stanislaus oratorio, released in January 2004. A champion of the works of Alexander Zemlinsky, he has made nine recordings of the composer's operas and orchestral works with the Gürzenich Orchestra-Cologne Philharmonic for EMI. Several of these recordings individually have earned prestigious international awards, and in October 2002, the series was awarded the 2002 ECHO Classic Award for "Editorial Achievement of the Year." Mr. Conlon has also inaugurated a new series of 20th century works with Capriccio, including a CD of works by Erwin Schulhoff with the Bayerischer Rundfunk, and a CD/DVD of the works of Viktor Ullmann with the Gürzenich Orchestra, which won the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik (German Record Critics Award for Excellence). His other Capriccio recordings include the works of Karl Amadeus Hartmann and Dmitri Shostakovich with violinist Vladimir Spivakov and the Cologne Philharmonic. His most recent recording is a CD of works by Bohislav Martinu with the Bayerischer Rundfunk on Capriccio.Television
PBS aired a series of six shows hosted by Mr. Conlon entitled "Encore" during the spring of 2006, part of an ongoing series of documentaries on his work with the finalists of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, which have also included "Playing on the Edge" and "Hearing Ear to Ear with James Conlon." Among his other recent television appearances on PBS are, "Concerto," six half-hour shows hosted by Mr. Conlon, and "Cincinnati May Festival 2000.Film
Conlon has also conducted the orchestra for Kenneth BranaghKenneth Branagh
Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from...
's The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute (2006 film)
The Magic Flute is Kenneth Branagh's English-language film version of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's singspiel Die Zauberflöte. The film is a co-production between France & the UK, produced by Idéale Audience and in association with UK's The Peter Moores Foundation.In November 2005, it was announced...
(2006), a film version in English of Mozart's opera
The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
, reset during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, but otherwise very faithful to the original plot. The film has been released in Europe, but, as of April 2010, not in the United States, nor has it been shown on American television.
Awards
- Grand Prix du Disque (France), for EMI recording of Zemlinsky: The Dwarf, 1997
- In 1999, Mr. Conlon received the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Zemlinsky Prize, awarded only once before, for his efforts in bringing the composer's music to international attention.
- He was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Music Degree by The Juilliard School in 2004, an honorary Doctor of Arts honoris causa by Chapman University in 2009 and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Brandeis University in 2009.
- In 2005, Mr. Conlon received one of five annual Opera NewsOpera NewsOpera News is an American classical music magazine. It has been published since 1936 by the Metropolitan Opera Guild, a non-profit organization located at Lincoln Center which was founded to support the Metropolitan Opera of New York City...
Awards given for the first time in recognition of distinguished contributions from leading figures in the world of opera.
- He has been honored by The New York Public LibraryNew York Public LibraryThe New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
as a "Library Lion", an annual award given to individuals in recognition of their contributions through their work.
- Mr. Conlon was named an Officier de L’Ordre des Arts et des LettresOrdre des Arts et des LettresThe Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is an Order of France, established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture, and confirmed as part of the Ordre national du Mérite by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963...
by the French Government in 1996, and in September 2004 he was promoted to Commander—the highest honor awarded by the Ministry of Culture in France. In September 2002, James Conlon received France's highest distinction from the President of the French Republic, Jacques Chirac—the Légion d’Honneur.
- Conlon was honored by the Anti-Defamation LeagueAnti-Defamation LeagueThe Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
for his work championing composers silenced by the Third Reich. Conlon received the League's Crystal Globe Award at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park near Chicago on August 12, 2007.
- Conlon received the Medal of the American Liszt Society in recognition of his distinctive performances of the composer’s works.
- He received Italy’s Premio Galileo 2000 Award for his significant contribution to music, art and peace in Florence in 2008
- Conlon received the Music Institute of Chicago’s Dushkin Award in recognition of his artistry and passion as a performer, educator, and mentor in 2009
- Conlon's rendition of Kurt Weill's Rise And Fall Of The City Of MahagonnyRise and Fall of the City of MahagonnyRise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny is a political-satirical opera composed by Kurt Weill to a German libretto by Bertolt Brecht. It was first performed in Leipzig on 9 March 1930.-Composition history:...
won a 2009 Grammy Award for Best Opera RecordingGrammy Award for Best Opera RecordingThe Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording has been awarded since 1961. The award was originally titled Best Classical Opera Production. The current title has been used since 1962....
. The recording was made with Los Angeles Opera.
Family
Conlon married Jennifer Ringo, a soprano and vocal coach, on January 9, 1987 at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. She is a graduate of the Juilliard School of Music and the University of IowaUniversity of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
, where her father was a professor of Spanish. Her Cuban mother, Georgina Ringo, was also a Spanish teacher. They have two daughters, Luisa, who was named for the Verdi opera Luisa Miller
Luisa Miller
Luisa Miller is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play Kabale und Liebe by Friedrich von Schiller. The first performance was given at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples on December 8, 1849...
, and Emma. Luisa acted in the 1998 Merchant-Ivory film, A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries. She played author Kaylie Jones
Kaylie Jones
Kaylie Jones is an American novelist. She was raised in Paris.- Background :Kaylie Jones is an American writer, memoirist and novelist...
as a child. Luisa Conlon graduated from the Lycée Français de New York
Lycée Français de New York
The Lycée Français de New York , literally The French High School of New York, is an exclusive French-medium school for K-12 students based in Manhattan, New York which follows the French curriculum of study and allows students to study for the French general Baccalauréat, the international option...
and is currently attending New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
; Emma continues her studies at the Lycée Français de New York.
Jennifer Ringo made her professional debut with the San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
in the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....
. She has performed many leading soprano roles in operas including La bohème, Rigoletto, Ariadne auf Naxos
Ariadne auf Naxos
Ariadne auf Naxos is an opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Bringing together slapstick comedy and consuming beautiful music, the opera's theme is the competition between high and low art for the public's attention.- First version :The opera was originally...
, the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro
Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
with the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon and Berg
Alban Berg
Alban Maria Johannes Berg was an Austrian composer. He was a member of the Second Viennese School with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, and produced compositions that combined Mahlerian Romanticism with a personal adaptation of Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique.-Early life:Berg was born in...
's Seven Early Songs with the Aspen Festival Orchestra. She has also performed, Marie in Wozzeck
Wozzeck
Wozzeck is the first opera by the Austrian composer Alban Berg. It was composed between 1914 and 1922 and first performed in 1925. The opera is based on the drama Woyzeck left incomplete by the German playwright Georg Büchner at his death. Berg attended the first production in Vienna of Büchner's...
, The Infanta in Der Zwerg and Ellen Orford in Peter Grimes
Peter Grimes
Peter Grimes is an opera by Benjamin Britten, with a libretto adapted by Montagu Slater from the Peter Grimes section of George Crabbe's poem The Borough...
, to great acclaim. Her television appearances include a performance of La Voix Humaine
La voix humaine
La voix humaine is a one-act opera for one character, with music by Francis Poulenc to a libretto by Jean Cocteau, based on his 1930 play. La voix humaine was first performed at the Opéra-Comique, Salle Favart in Paris on 6 February 1959...
at the Triennale Festival in Cologne. In 2003/2004 Miss Ringo sang Songs on Poems by Emily Dickinson by Michael Tilson Thomas
Michael Tilson Thomas
Michael Tilson Thomas is an American conductor, pianist and composer. He is currently music director of the San Francisco Symphony, and artistic director of the New World Symphony Orchestra.-Early years:...
in Lisbon and in Finland.
Jennifer Ringo teaches at Bard College
Bard College
Bard College, founded in 1860 as "St. Stephen's College", is a small four-year liberal arts college located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.-Location:...
Conservatory as a vocal coach and is also on the faculty of Joan Dornemann's International Institute of Vocal Arts in Montreal. In addition she maintains a private apartment and studio in New York City.
Selected discography
- BerliozHector BerliozHector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts . Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a...
: Béatrice et BénédictBéatrice et BénédictBéatrice et Bénédict is an opera in two acts by Hector Berlioz. Berlioz wrote the French libretto himself, based closely on Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing....
, Erato Disques. - Liszt: Faust Symphony, Erato Disques.
- Puccini: La bohème, Erato/Red Seal, 1998.
- Puccini's Heroines: The Power of Love, Warner, 2002.
- Shostakovich: Violin Concerto no. 1; Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk Suite, Capriccio, 2002.
- Bo Skovhus: Arias, Sony Classical, 1998.
- Stravinsky: Le Rossignol, EMI, 1999.
- Zemlinsky: Eine florentinische TragödieEine florentinische TragödieEine florentinische Tragödie , Op. 16 is an opera in one act by Alexander Zemlinsky to a libretto adapted by the composer from a German translation by Max Meyerfeld of a play by Oscar Wilde.-Performance history:...
, EMI Classics, 1997. - Zemlinsky: The DwarfDer ZwergDer Zwerg , Op.17 is an opera in one act by Austrian composer Alexander Zemlinsky to a libretto by Georg Klaren, freely adapted from the short story The Birthday of the Infanta by Oscar Wilde.-Composition history:...
, EMI, 1997. - Zemlinsky: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2, Angel, 1998.
- Zemlinsky: Cymbeline Suite/Ein Tanzpoem/Frühlingsbegräbnis, EMI, 2001.
- Zemlinsky: Choral and Orchestral Works, EMI, 2002.
- Amore II: Great Italian Love Arias, Sony Classical, 2000.