Sunday, September 30, 2007
Lyric fires soprano days before 'La Boheme' opening
chicagotribune.com: "'It is with tremendous regret and sadness that we are compelled to take this action, but Miss Gheorghiu's actions have shown total disregard for Lyric Opera's dedicated personnel and for her fellow artists,' said Lyric general director William Mason in a statement."
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12 comments:
Good.
It's a shame that anyone has to get canned, especially so close to opening night, but there's really no excuse for being a 'diva'. She signed her contract requiring her to be at rehearsals and fittings, she should have known better.
I trust the producers had an understudy ready to go...
I really can't handle diva-dom to that extent. It's one thing to expect a certain actor/singer to be difficult because they think they're the best thing since sliced bread, but to blatantly disregard the conventions set up by contract is just stupid. You need to be with your husband while he's opening a show? Really? It's just ridiculous that they even put up with her to that extent. I don't care how good you are, no one wants to cast you if you aren't going to do your job.
This diva attitude is extremely unbecoming of a professional artist. Though some performers may be more renowned or more highly valued than other artists. Careers in the performance arts are still jobs. If a contract mandates that certain rehearsals and certain fittings are required, then leaving for New York is not an acceptable alternative to your job.
what a character. that is taking diva to a whole new level.
Although,it seems that the lyric should have known what they were getting into when they saw her past results with other companies they would have to know that she's a huge mess. Clearly she will still get jobs. (Lindsay lohan anyone?) Hopefully this will help put her in check and realize that while being the star is important, the show can and will go on without you.
What's interesting to me about this story is how she clearly understood what she could and could not do, which rehearsals were not okay to miss at all, and what the rules were. It's really bizarre to me that a professional artist would so blatantly break a contract and not expect these consequences. I mean, aren't contracts there to lay out the rules? So that all parties are clear about expectations? It's one thing if she thought she could get away with something that was never explicitly forbidden, but its quite another to just throw out the rules.
This situation really infuriates me, however it humors me at the same time. I just can't understand how anyone, let a lone a professional in the entertainment industry would be as ignorant to act this way. I also disagree with Corinna. I don't think she knew what she was doing at all! If she was so accustomed to the rules of the lyric, she would have fully understood the circumstances that would arise. She would've just not done it. Plain and simple. It's like one of those situations where you listen to someone speak, but all it does is go in one ear and out the other. Thank god, someone with an actual head on their shoulders treated this situation properly. I can't imagine finding someone that would disagree with the actions of the Lyric.
An attitude like that, no matter who you are, is unacceptable as a professional and as a human being. Its just plain rude. I don't care if you God's gift to the opera, that does not allow you to violate your contract in several instances as well as possibly ( and probably) jepordize a production for everyone else involved. One of the greatest things about theater (and opera), is that you cannot do it alone.
And that means you have to take a production into account while make personal decisions.
She definately should have known better.
this is interesting because it is most definitely a real world equivalent of the consequences we would face if we missed run crew.
It's a shame that she used the excuse of having done "La Boheme" hundreds of times as a reason why it was acceptable to miss rehearsal. Perhaps the music is mostly the same every time, but odds are the scenery, direction, and artistic intent aren't. You can't sync up with everyone if you aren't there in the rehearsal process undergoing the same artistic discoveries, realizations, and spatailizations with your co-stars and your director.
Missed a rehearsal? Sounds like missing a run crew. This just goes to show how CMU Drama's consequences for missing a run crew aren't such a bad reflection of the professional world it seems.
I would hope to not see this kind of behavior in the professional world but it's definitely out there.
I find it funny that they had to miss 6 of the 10 rehearsals to get fired. I would have thought that number would have been something more like 4 of 10. I love what the Lyric Opera of Chicago has dealt with the situation. They not only fired them, they called the media and let the public and every other opera company know that they fired them. It seems as though these singers don’t care. I can only hope Opera companies in the future remember this behavior to avoid putting their company through a last minute switch.
like everyone else here i gotta say good...its annoying as that people think that they can get away with because they have talent. I have always thought less of those who are talented and let it get to their heads. they almost appear in my eyes to be less of a talent. Also, it is nice that somewhere like the lyric is setting an example that this kind of behavior is not to be tolerated...i just wish that more people would do it...
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