|
A Night at the Opera, Then a Night in Jail By Sabrina Tavernise
After leading a performance of La Bohèème at the Metropolitan Opera on Thursday night, Mr. Oren, a renowned Israeli conductor, was arrested by police officers and taken away in handcuffs. He spent the night on a bench in an Upper West Side police precinct. The sudden arrest came as
the result of a missed Daniel Oren, a visiting
conductor
court date in a divorce
proceeding. But Mr. Oren What is more, he said, the divorce - from his second wife - is taking place in Italy. "It was very amazing," Mr. Oren said of his night spent in the 20th precinct on West 82nd Street. "I slept very well. I never wanted to make camping. Now I am sure I am able to." Mr. Oren, whose musical talent was noticed by Leonard Bernstein, arrived in New York on Oct. 13 to spend several weeks as a guest conductor with the Metropolitan Opera. His lawyers say the arrest - made backstage at the Met after the curtain had closed - was all a big mistake. They hinted darkly that it was an attempt to embarrass Mr. Oren. Lawyers for Shulamith Orvieto, the estranged spouse who brought the complaint, called such charges "absurd and baseless." The court date in question was based on the Italian divorce, lawyers for both sides said. Ms. Orvieto, who is Italian, claims Mr. Oren is behind on about $100,000 in payments to her. Her lawyers requested a court date in the United States, where Mr. Oren will be working for several weeks, to ask that an Italian court order regarding payments be enforced. The two were married for 14 years but have no children, lawyers for Mr. Oren said. A court summons was delivered to the Met last week, but Mr. Oren misunderstood it, mistaking it for a different legal proceeding, said his lawyer, Bonnie Rabin. A spokesman for the Met, Peter Clark, said the organization received a court order to freeze payments on Mr. Oren's salary. The Met complied with the court request, he said. When Mr. Oren missed the Oct. 26 court date, a warrant was issued for his arrest. "What an unfortunate misunderstanding it was," said Harriet Newman Cohen, one of Mr. Oren's lawyers. "He's the most surprised person today to find himself here." Mr. Oren, 49, said the confusion landed him in a holding cell in an American police precinct for the first time in his life. He said that his first thought, when police officers approached him after the performance, was that his 5-month-old daughter, Romana, had become ill. "I was shocked how something like this could happen," he said yesterday, describing the experience as something out of a Kafka novel. But his night in jail was not altogether bad. Berengere Warluzel, the mother of his young daughter, brought him food. The police officers treated him kindly, he said, and even offered to go out to get him coffee in the morning. Besides, said Ms. Warluzel, as a conductor, Mr. Oren should experience as much of life as possible. "It's a good experience," Mr. Oren said. "A lesson for me." In all, Mr. Oren has three children - two teenagers in Israel and the 5-month-old. He lists his official home address in Monaco. He has worked as music director for the Rome Opera and has conducted in opera houses in Vienna, New York, London and Verona, Italy. When he was a boy, Leonard Bernstein chose him to sing solo in a musical performance with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. He is next due in court in early November. His lawyers said after yesterday's hearing that the arrest was baseless. "There was no reason to take him in handcuffs out of the Metropolitan Opera house," Ms. Newman said. "This is strictly a publicity stunt on behalf of a person who is not the mother of his children." A lawyer for Ms. Orvieto, Jeffrey Cohen, denied the charge. Despite the shock of being led off stage by police officers, Mr. Oren seemed unshaken. "I love very much New York," he said, smiling. "I love the Americans." |
It
was a most unusual finale for the maestro Daniel Oren. |
A Feast
|
