I assumed there'd be no local coverage of the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music's presentation Wednesday night of the Takács Quartet. But, surprise, here's notice from the Arizona Daily Star. (The accent is even going in the right direction!) It would be nice if chamber music, and I don't just mean our own concerts, were reviewed more often around here; more people might come to understand that it ain't just for snooty specialists.
Arizona Daily Star editor Bobbie Jo Buel used to say of Spanish words printed in the paper, "If they don't have the right accent, they're misspelled." If that applies to all languages, not just Spanish, then there's big trouble on the arts page today. About the worst mistake a newpaper can make, Bobbie Jo also used to say, is misspelling someone's name. Well, the preview of Tartuffe consistently refers to the playwright as "Moliére." The accent is backwards. Thus, the name is misspelled. Come on, folks ... it's not too hard to look these things up. If the reporter gets it wrong, two copy editors and a page proofer are in line to catch the error, but nobody seems to be consulting the basic reference sources ... or has seen the name in print often enough to know which way the accent goes.
According to the Star's preview of Arizona Opera's presentation of Verdi's Macbeth, "Revzen said the production sets a new standard for staging Verdi's most beloved opera." Does Arizona Opera general director Joel Revzen truly believe that Macbeth is "more beloved" than La Traviata, Aida or Rigoletto? Either the reporter misunderstood him, or I missed the paradigm shift.
James Reel's cranky consideration of the fine arts and public radio in Tucson and beyond.
