According to my source in Aspen, Kathleen Battle is up to her old tricks as a whining fit-throwing diva. In town this weekend to sing a program of Gershwin tunes at the Aspen Music Festival, the Battle Axe was put up in the St. Regis — the city's poshest digs — and upon being shown to her room, she flew into a rage of discontent and demanded to see every available room in the complex (which resembles an upscale hunting lodge), until she found something suitable to her needs. She also turned down an interview request by the local radio station, saying that the music "should speak for itself," and also has refused to meet with the festival's student singers, defying the tradition of master classes led by seasoned professionals. Perhaps that's because she doesn't have anything nice to say.
