Switzerland
Merry Christmas 2005 From The Road
 
Judi Lamb who has done a great job putting together Mlada’s website, asked me when I planned on posting a new article for From the Road.  Well, I have a very important excuse for my tardiness: Elisabeth Petrovna.
            Our daughter Elisabeth, Lisa for short, keeps us very busy.  Even now I can hear her thumping her legs on the floor, begging for some attention.  She has already had her breakfast and wants someone to play with her, so she continues to thump her legs on the floor. The first two months Mlada and I rarely slept.  Now the little cherub knocks off for 8 hours every night, but when she is awake she craves stimulation. It was my mistake not bringing the Baby Einstein DVDs with me here in Switzerland.  Thank goodness my mother is bringing the DVDs and a couple of teddy bears when she arrives in Zurich tomorrow. (Lisa has three teddy bears: Big Bear, Little Bear and New York City Polar Bear.  Only little bear is making the sojourn across the Atlantic.) So, Lisa is the excuse for my delinquency, but what a wonderful excuse.
            Lisa (pronounced with the ‘z’ sound not an ‘s’) was born in San Pedro, CA on July 17, 2005.  She just recently celebrated her fifth month.  Lisa has already become a globetrotter.  Mlada left California at the end of August for a Mariinsky tour in Korea, then went directly to St. Petersburg, Russia for more work.  At two months, Lisa joined me on the long flight to Russia.  It was long, but I have to say Lisa was very well behaved.  She only cried on the final leg from Helsinki to St. Petersburg.  But, the joy in Mlada’s eyes when we arrived in St. Petersburg was worth it.
            The entire month of October we stayed in the St. Petersburg apartment.  Mlada prepared for upcoming roles and I organized a masterclass for Larissa Gergieva in California.  So, we both needed to be at the Mariinsky and other places almost every day. Our good friend, Olga Savova, suggested Lydia Vladimirvna as a nanny for Lisa.  As new parents we were a little nervous, but Lydia has turned out to be a lifesaver.  Mlada and I finished all of our work, while Lisa remained in the apartment learning Russian lullabies with Lydia Vladimirvna.
            October 22, 2005, Mlada sang a wonderful concert of Die Walküre in Warsaw’s Teatr Wielki with Maestro Placido Domingo.  This was Maestro Domingo’s first and likely last performance in Teatr Wielki.  The Polish audience received Maestro Domingo with great adoration.  On Mlada’s recommendation two soloists of the Mariinsky Theatre joined her for the performance: Yvgeny Niktin, sang his first Wotan and Olga Savova sang Brunhilde.  It was a joyous performance, which was also attended by Mlada’s greatest fans Beatrice and Nicolas Lewy (The Lewy’s saw Mlada’s performance with Domingo in Washington DC Nov. 2003, performances in St. Petersburg, and Mlada’s performance only a few days ago here in St. Gallen, Switzerland.)  Even though the performance was a tremendous success, Mlada had little time to enjoy it.
            On October 20th the Mariinsky Theatre called in a panic.  Could Mlada fly immediately on the morning of October 23rd and sing the second premiere ofNabucco with Valery Gergiev at the Mariinsky?  Mlada responded that her flight was scheduled to leave on October 24th from Warsaw.  The Mariinsky responded, that’s ok we will change your ticket.  So, the performance of Die Walküre ended at midnight on the 22nd, followed by a banquet that Mlada attended with guest of honor Placida Domingo.  At 3 am Mlada returned back to the Teatr Wielki apartment for two hours of sleep, then she was off to the airport.  Lisa and I stayed in Warsaw an extra day.
            Lisa and I arrived to St. Petersburg on October 24th.  By all accounts, Mlada sang an incredible performance of Nabucco and on only 2 hours of sleep. Gergiev was very satisfied, but Mlada had little time to enjoy the success.  She had to prepare Macbetto with Vassily Gerello on October 26th. 
  Mlada sang a tremendous performance of Die Walküre on October 22nd and was in fact invited by Maestro Domingo for the performance.  Further, Mlada recommended the Wotan and Brunhilde for the performance.  Sadly, the Artistic Direction of Teatr Wielki, headed by Eva Blaszcyck was not appreciative of Mlada.  For the second consecutive contract at Teatr Wielki, Mlada was not paid after the performance.  In fact she waited one month for the October 22ndperformance honorarium.  All members of the cast were paid for the performance immediately, but Mlada’s payment came one month late, despite all proper invoicing made available to Eva Blaszcyck. I spent hours every day calling Teatr Wielki from America wondering when they were going to pay Mlada.  It was an incredibly stressful and generally hopeless situation.  Teatr Wielki did not respond promptly to our inquires, further Warsaw feigned that it was our fault. One time I called and Ms. Blaszcyck picked up the phone pretending to be the maid without any English, and  then promptly hung up.
The life an artist is very difficult.  Singers spend innumerable days, weeks and even months in foreign countries away from friends and family.  Teatr Wielki compounded this difficulty by treating Mlada with complete disregard.   The period from October 22nd until November 22nd was an incredibly difficult time for our entire family, because of the delinquent payment from Warsaw.  Sadly, Mlada and I are sorry to hear that this situation is not the first such story to come out of Teatr Wielki.  Our dear friend Jacek Kaspszyk, conductor, left his position as Artistic Director of Teatr Wielki because of similar reasons.  Mr. Kaspszyk departure has left the theatre in dismal shambles.  It is difficult to write about this situation, especially in the very politically correct opera world.  But, it is really difficult for me to sit in silence when Teatr Wielki completely disabused their power and withheld payment for a finished performance.  Unfortunately, the America Guild of Musical Artists has no jurisdiction in Poland.
 
            In November Mlada sang her first Lisa in Pique Dame with the Riga National Opera. The first performance was in Riga. The second in Bordeaux, France, her first contract in France.  Many thanks to Andrejas Zagars, Artistic Director of the Riga National Opera for making Mlada a part of this production.  Mr. Zagars promised Mlada this production in 2004 and followed through with his promise.  Mr. Zagars is impeccably professional and is building a first rate opera troupe in beautiful Riga, Latvia.  Both performances of Pique Dame were successful and Mlada has received more offers from Riga National Opera for the summer of 2006.
 Lisa and I stayed in our San Pedro home the entire month of November, where I organized Larissa Gergieva’s masterclass at California State Long Beach. The masterclass was a wonderful success.  Ms. Gergieva was very happy and my agency hopes that this is the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship with Maestra Gergieva.  Many thanks to Shigemi Matsumoto for hosting the Larissa Gergieva masterclass at the University of California-Long Beach.
 
            Now the whole family is in St. Gallen, Switzerland.   Mlada had one performance of Norma on December 18th, conducted by Alberto Hold-Garrido and her next performance is December 23rd with Alessandro Allemandi.  Since the flight back to the US before Christmas would have been difficult, if even possible, we decided to have a family Christmas in St. Gallen.  Lisa and I are already here and my mother Patricia Fox Fleming arrives tomorrow.  Nothing could be more perfect than a snowy Christmas in the quaint Alpine town of St. Gallen. 
 
            2005 was a difficult and challenging year for the entire family.  After the birth of Lisa, Mlada had to leave for overseas and we went months without seeing each other.  Mlada often wonder if Lisa would remember her Mother.  Thankfully, my mother has been the greatest grandmother on the planet and a wonderful friend for Lisa.  Grandmother has allowed me the time to work on my agency and continue to study voice.  Grandmothers are great people.  Just ask Lisa.
            Also, this year we said good-bye to some dear friends.  We are still not sure what happened to them, but they also are facing some difficult times and just could not make time for us anymore.  It is very difficult for some people to understand the Artists Life.  We spend so much time on the road and it is imperative to our success that we stay on the road. Make hay while the sun is shining as the saying goes.  If Mlada has a contract, she has to sing. Very few singers can live in one city for more than six months each year.  Our former friends did not understand that, and thought we should change our life for our little Lisa.  But, that would hurt Lisa’s future. Mlada is best as a singer and I am best as her manger and as a singer myself.  We would never ever be able to provide for Lisa’s life without following our own talents and gifts. Simply look at the careers of Renee Fleming and Marilyn Horne.  They have children and marquee careers. So, with deep sadness we have had to say goodbye two wonderful people; two people who were a part of our family for so many years.
 
            The family is together in Switzerland and I could not be happier.  Mlada is beautiful and her voice continues to get better.  Our little Lisa is a real personality (see photos in the gallery).  She charms everyone she meets with her beautiful smile.  We are not sure were Lisa’s blond hair came from, but the blue eyes are mine. 
 
            We hope that you are safe and with your families during this Holiday Season.  We wish you a happy and prosperous 2006.  We will see you from the Road. NEXT STOP JAPAN

Best Wishes from,
Mlada, Peter and Lisa