An article in the L.A. Times says that the L.A. Opera's current production of Tosca, which premiered last week, is using the original jewelry worn by Maria Callas in her Met debut of the title role in 1956.
The jewels--a tiara, a necklace, and earrings--are made of 200 tear-shaped crystals and were created by renowned Milan designer Atelier Marangoni. They are currently owned by Swarovski, a company based in Austria, who is letting the LAO use them, gratis, in order to publicize its travelling exhibition of jewelry worn by Callas in over 18 of her productions, including La Gioconda, Tristan und Isolde, and La Traviata. The exhibit is scheduled to "play" at the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion in May 2009.
The jewels' value is judged to be about $85,000! Before anyone gets any ideas, the jewels will be stored in a safe under armed guard at the Music Center. They will be removed from the safe by armed guards and brought to the stage moments before Tosca, sung by Adrianne Pieczonka, makes her Act 2 entrance. I'd bet the guards would have no reservations about making their operatic debut should anyone in the audience--or on stage or back stage--get any funny ideas during the production.
Hmm... I wonder... What does Mary Costa have in her jewelry boxes? If LAO can use a gimick like this, why couldn't the KO? Someone check and see what Mary wore for Traviata which was the innaugural performance of the KO(C) in the mid-70s.
The jewels--a tiara, a necklace, and earrings--are made of 200 tear-shaped crystals and were created by renowned Milan designer Atelier Marangoni. They are currently owned by Swarovski, a company based in Austria, who is letting the LAO use them, gratis, in order to publicize its travelling exhibition of jewelry worn by Callas in over 18 of her productions, including La Gioconda, Tristan und Isolde, and La Traviata. The exhibit is scheduled to "play" at the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion in May 2009.
The jewels' value is judged to be about $85,000! Before anyone gets any ideas, the jewels will be stored in a safe under armed guard at the Music Center. They will be removed from the safe by armed guards and brought to the stage moments before Tosca, sung by Adrianne Pieczonka, makes her Act 2 entrance. I'd bet the guards would have no reservations about making their operatic debut should anyone in the audience--or on stage or back stage--get any funny ideas during the production.
Hmm... I wonder... What does Mary Costa have in her jewelry boxes? If LAO can use a gimick like this, why couldn't the KO? Someone check and see what Mary wore for Traviata which was the innaugural performance of the KO(C) in the mid-70s.
No comments:
Post a Comment