ARAB TIMES, FRIDAY-SATURDAY, APRIL 30-MAY 1, 2021 NEWS/FEATURES 13

People & Places

This image released by the Lyric Opera of Chicago shows 2,880 battery-powered candles arrayed in an underground parking garage in this scene from Lyric Opera’s ‘Twilight: Gods,’ an adaptation of Wagner’s ‘Göttertdäm- merung’ in Chicago. (AP)

Stage Obituary

Drive-thru opera ‘A respected extraordinary individual’ Chicago stages Wagner Grammy winning engineer Schmitt dead in underground garage NEW YORK, April 29, (AP): Twen- Sinatra’s fi nal studio recordings, ists and musicians were doing. He has CHICAGO, April 29, (AP): Amid signs pointing “To ty-time Grammy winner Al Schmitt, “Duets” and “Duets II,” and Charles’ an unlimited horizon.” Elevator” and advising drivers to “Take Parking Ticket whose extraordinary career as a re- fi nal album, “Genius Loves Com- He moved to Los Angeles in the late With You,” the Rhinemaidens lament the theft of their cording engineer and producer includ- pany,” which won Grammys in 2003 1950s and became a staff engineer for gold, Siegfried is murdered, and Brünnhilde drives off in ed albums by Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, for best album and for best record, RCA Records. Schmitt received his a red Mustang convertible to redeem the world. Frank Sinatra and many other of the the Charles-Norah Jones duet “Here fi rst Grammy for engineering Man- Welcome to opera in an underground parking ga- top performers of the past 60 years, has We Go Again.” Years earlier, he en- cini’s “Hatari” and was still winning rage. died at age 91. gineered the duet album “Ray Charles them in his 80s, including one for Mc- A year after Lyric Opera’s production of Richard Schmitt’s family announced on Fa- and Betty Carter,” a personal favorite Cartney’s “Kisses On the Bottom” and Wagner’s complete “Ring” cy- cebook that he died Monday, without despite Charles’ struggles with heroin another for a concert version of McCa- cle was scuttled by the pandem- identifying a specifi c cause. Schmitt addiction. rtney’s record, “Live Kisses.” ic, the company has brought a lived in the Los Angeles area. A rela- “At that point, Ray was having a His memoir “Al Schmitt On the bit of the epic back to life. But Recording and mix engineer Al Schmitt poses with his star during tive, who did not want to be identifi ed, major drug problem,” he told Billboard Record,” published in 2018, included instead of walking into the op- confi rmed Schmitt’s death to The As- in 2018. “So every time (there was) a tributes from Dylan, Young (“Al is the era house and taking their seats, the ceremony honoring him with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame sociated Press. 10-minute break, they would take him master,” he wrote, “I love it when he spectators drive down into the on Aug 13, 2015, in Los Angeles. “The world has lost a much loved off into the bathroom, and God knows gets pissed off”), Streisand and the Air- garage and stay in their cars. Schmitt, one of the world’s most hon- and respected extraordinary individu- what happened, what went on. It was plane’s Jorma Kaukonen, who remem- “Twilight: Gods,” as the pro- ored musical producers and engi- al, who led an extraordinary life,” the sad to see that, but when he opened bered Schmitt’s skill and patience with duction is called, is the brain- neers has died. The Grammy winner, Facebook posting reads in part. “The his mouth and sang, and (with) Betty, “this bunch of musical anarchists.” child of Yuval Sharon, who who worked with everyone from Sam most honored and awarded record- I mean, I got goosebumps. It was just Schmitt had his own stories to tell. premiered it last November in Cooke to Steely Dan to Frank Sinatra, ing producer/engineer of all time, his unbelievable.” He became close to Cooke and dined Sharon Detroit, where he had just been was 91. (AP) parting words at any speaking engage- Schmitt was married twice, and had with him just hours before the singer named artistic director of Michi- ment were, ‘Please be kind to all living fi ve children, eight grandchildren, and was shot and killed in 1964 at a Los gan Opera Theater. things.’” fi ve great grandchildren. Angeles motel. He remembered Na- It’s a reimagining of “Götterdämmerung,” the fi nal in- He won his fi rst Grammy in 1963, talie Cole crying in the studio while stallment in Wagner’s four-part saga of gold, greed and then collected 19 more competitive Sensitive making “Unforgettable” as she worked the downfall of the gods. Using his own English transla- awards and the honorary Recording Born in Brooklyn, he was the on “duets” with her father, the late tion, Sharon has distilled the four-hour-plus opera down Academy Trustees Award, in 2006. nephew of recording engineer Harry Nat “King Cole,” whose vocals were to six episodes lasting just over an hour all together. Schmitt worked on more than 150 gold Smith and as a boy would take the joined to hers thanks in part to the stu- “He came to me with this amazing, wonderful, records, in a wide range of styles. He subway into Manhattan and head for dio tricks of Schmitt. crazy idea,” said Anthony Freund, Lyric’s general engineered Henry Mancini’s “Moon his uncle’s studio, where anyone from He learned to work with, and work director. “The cancellation of our ‘Ring’ … certainly River” and Sam Cooke’s “Another Sinatra to Art Tatum might be in ses- around, the musicians, whether the made it seem particularly appropriate. There’s great Saturday Night,” Steely Dan’s “Aja” sion. After serving in the Navy, he Airplane’s indulgence of drugs and excitement around it.” and Madonna’s “This Used to be My found work through his uncle at Apex sonic effects or Sinatra’s request that So much so that all three performances, April 28- Playground.” He engineered Natalie Studios, where one of his fi rst assign- he sing in front of the studio band and May 2, sold out almost immediately, as had all the Baranski Jackman ments was recording Duke Ellington. Detroit shows. Still, the total audience for “Twilight: Cole’s blockbuster “Unforgettable” al- not in the recording booth, despite He would also soon befriend Tom Gods” will be a fraction of the number who could bum and Barbra Streisand’s “The Way such enticements as cigarettes and a watch a single performance in the Lyric Opera House, We Were.” He produced “Volunteers” Dowd, who as an engineer for Atlantic bottle of Jack Daniels. He got to work which has a seating capacity of 3,276. Variety and several other Jefferson Airplane Records later worked on classic songs with the singer through his friendship But for now, the house remains closed to live opera, albums, helped produce Neil Young’s by Aretha Franklin, Eric Clapton and with “Duets” producer Phil Ramone. as do other major houses in the US, including New “On the Beach” and more recently Dy- many others. “I did an interview with a magazine York’s Metropolitan Opera. Many companies have NEW YORK: Christine Baranski wants lan’s “Shadows in the Night” and Paul “Al was an obvious music enthusi- where they asked me if I had any re- instead reached out to audiences by streaming new your help cleaning out her closet. McCartney’s “Kisses on the Bottom.” ast,” Dowd told Billboard in 2002. “He grets in my career,” he wrote in his content and videos of past performances or presenting The Emmy- and Tony-winning actor Brian Wilson, whose album of Ger- liked a lot of records and a lot of artists memoir. “I answered that I had one opera in outdoor venues. is donating three custom-made Bob shwin songs was remixed by Schmitt, - not just popular artists but the ‘bub- regret: that I hadn’t worked with Frank For “Twilight: Gods,” nine cars at a time, each pay- Mackie gowns for an online charity was among those Wednesday offering bling under’ artists too-and was sensi- Sinatra. Three weeks later, I got the ing an entry fee of $125, enter the Millennium Lake- auction on Wednesday and she’s tapped tributes, tweeting “Al was an industry tive to music, whether it was jazz or call from Phil Ramone. side Parking Garage, a 13-acre underground structure a starry group of A-listers to follow her giant and a great engineer who worked gospel or blues or pop. “That happened with Paul McCa- lead with hundreds of items. near the shore of Lake Michigan. Spectators watch the with some of the greatest artists ever, “He had quick hands and quick rtney, too; somebody asked me who The eye-popping haul includes a and I’m honored to have worked with ears. They ran through the song once, I hadn’t worked with that I’d like to, action through their windshields and listen to the mu- Wolverine jacket from Hugh Jackman’s sic on their car radios. him on my Gershwin album.” Michael maybe twice, and he had it down in his I said, ‘Paul,’ and shortly after that it closet, a banjo signed by Steve Martin, Bublé, Journey’s Steve Perry and Mi- mind and in his hands and was able to happened - I did a record with Paul! When the fi rst group of cars has fi nished a scene, they boots, jeans and a T-shirt from Bruce drive to the next location - the speed limit is 3 mph - and chael Bolton also praised him. fl y with it right away. His endeavor, at Bob Dylan, too; I’ve pretty much got- Springsteen and a dress from Dolly Par- Schmitt’s other credits included the outset, was to capture what the art- ten my bucket list done now.” another nine enter. This continues until 14 groups of cars ton that comes with its own mannequin. have cycled through the whole show, requiring the sing- A portion of proceeds from every item ers to perform their scenes 14 times each day. sold will benefi t The Actors Fund. In Detroit, Sharon used the company’s own parking “Those of us lucky enough to have had this, purging themselves of stuff,” she LONDON: Novels that explore forgotten ($42,000) Women’s Prize for fi ction. structure, which is above ground and allowed scenes successful careers are well aware of how says. “Wouldn’t it be a great thing for an and neglected communities in Britain, the The six-book shortlist includes Ameri- to be played on ascending levels open to the air at badly our performing arts community auction?” AP) US and the Caribbean were named fi nal- can author Brit Bennett’s tale of twins the sides. By contrast, in Chicago the action all takes has been hit,” says Baranski. “It’s a great ❑ ❑ ❑ ists on Wednesday for the 30,000 pound who take different paths, “The Vanishing place on the same subterranean level. way and it’s a fun way to help. Half,” US writer Patricia Lockwood’s so- “It’s likely to have a much more labyrinthian feel- The gowns she’s donated were ones cial media satire “No One is Talking About ing, a sense of being kind of lost in the space,” Sharon she wore for appearances at the Golden This” and “Transcendent Kingdom,” a said. “It’s very appropriate for where we are now as Globes, Emmys and Kennedy Center story of African immigrants in Alabama a society, as we feel our way to where we are going Honors in the 1990s. Each is very glam by Ghanaian-American writer Yaa Gyasi. next.” — she calls them “over the top” — and Also in the running are Barbadian her daughters aren’t interested in wearing writer Cherie Jones’ story of gritty life And, indeed, at Monday’s dress rehearsal, winding any. on a beautiful island, “How the One- in the dark through vast stretches of empty parking “I have a feeling whoever bids on it Armed Sister Sweeps Her House,” and spaces from scene to scene created a disorienting sen- will do it hopefully with a feeling of two books by British writers: Susanna sation. This feeling was heightened after Siegfried’s affection and maybe that I’ve given them Clarke’s literary fantasy “Piranesi” and death when the procession of cars was directed to some joy. That would be nice,” she says. Claire Fuller’s rural family saga “Unset- snake through a section where 2,880 battery-powered The slate available at Doyle Auc- tled Ground.” candles burned on the fl oor, while his funeral march tioneers & Appraisers includes a key Booker Prize-winning novelist played in an arrangement for jazz combo. prop from the worldwide smash musical Bernardine Evaristo, who is chairing The cast is largely the same as in Detroit, headlined “The Phantom of the Opera,” a Burberry the judging panel, said several of the by soprano Christine Goerke as Brünnhilde - the role trench coat and a pair of Swarovski novels depicted “communities that aren’t she was to have sung in Lyric’s full production - and encrusted shoes from Cher and signed really written about in fi ction” and tough tenor Sean Panikkar as Siegfried. One key difference posters of “All in the Family” signed by subjects such as domestic violence, ad- is the narrator who connects the segments. Norman Lear. diction and depression. In Detroit, Marsha Music, a local Black writer and Baranski helped organize the event “But they’re not miserable books,” cultural historian, portrayed Erda, the mother of the and worked to get many of the items, she said. “They’re all really beautifully universe, who appears in two earlier “Ring” operas. writing personal emails to each celebrity. crafted stories. … They’re not light- For Chicago, Sharon chose avery r. young, a Chicago- She spent the fi rst weeks of the pandemic weight, but they are a thrilling read.” born Black poet, composer and activist. He portrays cleaning her closet and realized it could Founded in 1996, the prize is open to all three of the Norns, the daughters of Erda who fore- help others. female English-language writers from “As I’m coming out of my closet, I This image shows the three Rhinemaidens in a scene from Lyric Opera of Chi- around the world. Previous winners tell destiny. thought, ’Gosh, there’s probably a lot of cago’s ‘Twilight: Gods’an adaptation of Wagner’s ‘Götterdämmerung’ staged in include Zadie Smith, Tayari Jones and actresses like myself who might be doing an underground parking garage in Chicago. (AP) Maggie O’Farrell.