Salzburg Easter Festival's financial scandal woes

By Frank Cadenhead

The financial scandal at the Salzburg Easter Festival, just before its opening, has been a huge story in Austria for the last two weeks. Screaming headlines and stories of stolen donations suggest a long term mismanagement of the financial affairs of the legendary festival founded by Herbert von Karajan in 1967.

Oddly, the news has remained largely in the German press, although the problems with the Easter Festival are certain to be linked with the summer festival. The staff and headquarters of the two festivals are are in the same building. The high ticket prices and wealthy supporters provide the bulk of the income for the two festivals but the Austrian government does also provide substantial support. 

The suggestions of long-running embezzlement, which might exceed two million euros, will very likely seriously damage not only the prestige but the financial base of this legendary festival. And the investigatory audit is still ongoing.

In a few weeks Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic will be presenting Wagner's final Ring epic, Die Götterdämmerung. One hopes that the festival has not been so damaged that its future is in question.

The best summary in English of the staggering story was published yesterday in the UK's Independent.

This Week in Toronto (Feb. 8 - 14)

COC Music Director Johannes Debus conducts RCM Orchestra on Feb. 12.

Photo: courtesy of Michael Cooper Canadian Opera Company

With practically all the major music organizations going full steam this week, one can choose from a delectable selection of events. Conductor Johannes Debus, appointed last year as the COC's music director starting this current season, comes to town to conduct the RCM Orchestra in the RCO In Concert Series at Koerner Hall on Feb. 12 8 pm. The program features Prokofiev's Symphony Classique, Poulenc's Concerto for Two Pianos, Ravel's Sheherazade, and Stravinsky's Firebird. Soloists are mezzo Wallis Giunta, a RCM alumna and now with the COC Ensemble Studio, as well as pianists Nicholas King and Lucas Porter. Debus conducts the upcoming COC production of The Flying Dutchman. Concert is at the RCM Koerner Hall at 273 Bloor Street West. Tickets are a bargain at $20.

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra presents Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67 with guest conductor Douglas Boyd on Feb. 10 and 11, 8 pm at Roy Thomson Hall. Also on the program is the Beethoven's Overture to Fidelio, plus the North American premiere of a percussion concerto, A table of noises, by Simon Holt.

On Friday Feb. 12th 8 pm, Canada's Angela Hewitt, one of the foremost Bach interpretors of the world, celebrates the 25th anniversary of her win at the International Bach Piano Competition, with a concert at Roy Thomson Hall, the very venue of her triumph in 1985. On the program is Bach's Italian Concerto, Beethoven's Sonata in D Major, Op. 10, no.3, and Brahm's Sonata in F Minor. I understand this program is a reprise of her winning concert.

There are several interesting offerings on the vocal scene. First of all, the great Karina Gauvin is coming to Roy Thomson Hall in a recital as part of the RTH Vocal Series on Sunday Feb. 14, 2pm. In keeping with Valentine's Day, she will have a program of love songs by Scarlatti, Chausson, Bizet, Ravel, and Kurt Weill. She will be accompanied by collaborative pianist Michael McMahon. On Wednesday Feb. 10 at 7:30pm, the Aldeburgh Connection presents A Night in Spain, as part of it Discovery Series featuring up and coming singers. It is a program of love songs by Schumann. Soloists are soprano Johane Ansell, mezzo Erica Huang, tenor Christopher Enns, and baritone James Baldwin. As usual, with Stephen Ralls and Bruce Ubukata at the piano.

The Talisker Players presents a program called To the Sea in Ships: Songs of Swashbucklers. The soloists are Vicki St. Pierre, Keith Klassen, and Alexander Dobson. It takes place on Feb. 9 and 10 at 8 pm at the Trinity St. Paul's Centre. For a free preview, you can line up at the COC Noon Hour Chamber series on Feb. 9 at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre, when the artists will present selections from the program. Be sure to line up at least 45 minutes early for a seat.

The Canadian Opera Company continues its winter season with Carmen (Feb. 9 and 11 at 7:30 pm and Feb. 14 at 2 pm) and Otello (Feb. 10 at 7:30 pm). Both shows have received excellent reviews and are not to be missed. All performances at the Four Seasons Centre. For something much more modest in scale but presented with enthusiasm, try the Toronto Opera Repertoire, which is in its 43rd year of existence. It is a community-based organization supported by local opera enthusiasts and volunteers. Its program of typically two staged operas with piano accompaniment per season constitute a course with the Continuing Education Program of the Toronto District School Board. It is the brainchild of former tenor Giuseppe Macina, who has run it since its inception in 1967. The singers are non-professionals. This year, the TOR is presenting Marriage of Figaro (Feb. 10, 13, 19, 21, 24, 27) and the double-bill of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci (Feb. 12, 13, 17, 20, 26, 28) . All performances are at the Bickford Centre 777 Bloor Street West in downtown Toronto. Go to http://www.toronto-opera.com/ for additional information.

Finally, the retired National Ballet of Canada's ballerina Veronica Tenant will be appearing this evening (Monday Feb. 8 at 7:30 pm) as part of the Roy Thomson Hall Unique Lives and Experiences Series. I have great memories of Tenant - she was my first Aurora and Giselle. This series has presented some of the highest profile women in the past and is always interesting, entertaining, and often thought-provoking and moving.

Cette semaine à Montréal (1 à 7 fév) / This Week in Montreal (Feb. 1 - 7)

Musique, théâtre, et danse à Montréal cette semaine
Music, theatre, and dance in Montreal this week

Théâtre : En février, le Théâtre du Rideau vert met à l’affiche Une musique inquiétante, de l’auteur américain Jon Marans, pièce finaliste en 1996 du Prix Pulitzer et lauréate du L.A. Drama Logue Award, reprise dans une douzaine de pays depuis sa création. Le jeune pianiste prodige Stephen Hoffman (Émile Proulx-Cloutier) débarque à Vienne en 1986 pour étudier avec le grand Schiller, mais il se retrouve plutôt dans la classe du déclinant Mashkan, professeur de chant sentimental (Jean Marchand). Il lui donne à travailler les Dichterliebe de Schumann, ce qui révolte d’abord le jeune pianiste. Ces deux hommes que tout semble opposer (âge, race, culture, façon d’aborder la vie) finiront pourtant par aller à la rencontre l’un de l’autre, non pas tant à travers leur dialogue qu’à travers la musique. Le 9-13 fév. - Lucie Renaud

Theatre: MICHEL AND TI JEAN, By George Rideout. In 1969, 27 year-old Michel Tremblay, having just published Les Belles Soeurs, sets out to meet the “king of the Beatniks” and his favourite writer, Jack Kerouac, at a bar in St. Petersburg, Florida. Despite an initial reticence on Kerouac’s part, the two prolific writers hit it off and share their thoughts on the art of writing, inspiration, sports, music, religion and the thing that they share in common: their Quebecois heritage. Though fictitious, Michel And Ti Jean is an evocative and spirited glimpse into the poetic and philosophical world of North American literature. Feb. 9-14. Centaur Theatre (453 St. François-Xavier) 514-288-3161

Danse : SPLINTERGROUP, Roadkill. Voyage au coeur de l’agoraphobie et de la solitude de l’outback australien, roadkill, du collectif Splintergroup de Brisbane, nous plonge littéralement dans la tête des trois personnages. L’oeuvre explore leurs peurs et leurs perceptions faussées du paysage et de ses dangers. À leurs inquiétudes se mêlent les mythes urbains, les disparitions de routards, la soif, l’amour, la méfi ance et l’âpre solitude de la brousse. À mi-chemin entre le road movie et le thriller, roadkill est une virée terrifi ante dans l’univers d’un couple qui tombe en panne au beau milieu d’un endroit perdu et découvre que le plus grand danger n’est pas son isolement. Ces différents états psychologiques sont évoqués par une gestuelle intensément physique, frôlant constamment le risque et le vrai danger. Produit par Brisbane Powerhouse and Dancenorth. Le 10-13 fév. Place des Arts Cinquième Salle (175, rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest) 514 842-2112

Roadkill - Dance North from Place des Arts on Vimeo.

Baroque Music: The Arion Baroque Ensemble and its Artistic Director Claire Guimond usher in the New Year with concerts on February 11, 13 and 14 at McGill’s Redpath Hall. Australian guest violinist Elizabeth Wallfisch will lead the 19-piece orchestra in excerpts from Henry Purcell’s The Fairy Queen. With a libretto based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, this is some of Purcell’s most delightful music, written two years before his death, at the age of 35. The contagious energy of Wallfisch’s playing should nicely complement Arion’s vibrant style. 514-355-1825,  - Hannah Rahimi

Musique de chambre : Le vendredi 12 février à 20 h, dans le cadre de la série Hommage à Gilles Tremblay, le Trio Fibonacci présente le concert 3,2,1. Le trio interprétera, en formation solo, duo ou trio, des pièces de Tremblay, Palacio-Quintin, Boivin et le Trio op. 80 de Schumann. Formé à Montréal en 1998, l’ensemble mène aujourd’hui une brillante carrière internationale. 514-872-5338. - Renée Banville

Musique de chambre : À la salle de concert du Conservatoire, on entendra le vendredi 12 février à 20 h le Trio Hochelaga formé de la violoniste Anne Robert, du violoncelliste Paul Marleyn et du pianiste Stéphane Lemelin. Le trio accueillera comme invitée l’altiste Teng Li dans un programme Fauré, Lekeu et Schumann. Teng Li occupe depuis 2004 le poste de premier alto à l’Orchestre symphonique de Toronto.  - Renée Banville

Une musique inquiétante

Crédit : Jean-François Hamelin

Par Lucie Renaud

Stephen Hoffmann, prodige qui ne joue plus depuis un an, débarque à Vienne en 1986 pour étudier avec le grand Schiller, mais il se retrouve plutôt dans la classe du déclinant Mashkan, professeur de chant sentimental et ambigu. Ce dernier lui donne à travailler les Dichterliebe (L'amour du poète) de Schumann, ce qui révolte d’abord le jeune pianiste, qui ne comprend pas comment  un travail vocal pourra ranimer la flamme éteinte en lui. Ces deux hommes que tout semble opposer (âge, race, culture, façon d’aborder la vie) finiront pourtant par aller à la rencontre l’un de l’autre, non pas seulement à travers leur dialogue, mais aussi à travers la musique de Schumann.

Pour transmettre ce texte entre huis clos, duel et récit initiatique, il était essentiel de trouver deux comédiens plus grands que nature. Émile Proulx-Cloutier est convaincant dans la peau du jeune pianiste, en révolte contre son passé (aussi bien celui de musicien que celui de sa famille, juive) et qui espère qu'on lui proposera une recette miracle pour sortir de son marasme. Il faut le voir d’abord contempler le piano avec une violence presque féroce pour comprendre que la route sera forcément parsemée d'embuches. Lors de la première partie de la prima, il s'est peut-être un peu laisser écraser par le jeu totalement habité de Jean Marchand, qui se glisse dans le rôle de Mashkan aussi facilement qu'on endosse un costard de concert, habitué depuis plusieurs années à louvoyer entre scènes théâtrale et musicale. Dans la deuxième partie du spectacle, on a pu assister à un véritable dialogue et non plus à un jumelage plus traditionnel soliste/accompagnateur.

Il m’est très difficile de porter un regard objectif sur le texte lui-même de la pièce, le propos m'ayant touchée profondément à plus d'un égard, que ce soit à travers certaines réflexions sur le geste musical, sur les évocations détaillées de l'un ou l'autre des lieder du cycle de Schumann (qui reste l'une de mes œuvres préférées, toutes catégories confondues) ou sur les questionnements face à l'oubli apparent de l'Autriche de son passé nazi. D'un point de vue musical, j'aurais aimé que la voix du jeune chanteur apprenti projette un peu plus et nous transmette un peu mieux la densité musicale, mais je réalise qu'il est utopique de pouvoir exiger d'un comédien qu'il chante autrement que de façon plus « scolaire » ces pages et que, si l'on souhaite être en accord avec la prémisse même du texte, il ne pourrait atteindre un tel niveau en quelques leçons. (Il est déjà remarquable qu'il ait pu chanter de telles pages et jouer en plus, de façon plus qu'honnête, certains extraits du répertoire pianistique.)

La pièce est présentée en français en février au Théâtre du Rideau Vert et sera reprise en mars, par les mêmes acteurs, en version originale (Old Wicked Songs) au Segal Centre.

Evil Iago stole the show in new Otello

By L.H. Tiffany Hsieh

The music is so achingly beautiful in Verdi's operas that one sometimes forgets to follow the surtitles.

But in a classic Shakespearean story about hate and jealousy, deception and devotion, it's pure human emotions that tell the story the best, and that was evident on stage in the February 3 Canadian Opera Company new production of Otello.

Led by Italian conductor Paolo Olmi, the COC orchestra delivered an excellent performance in Verdi's four-act tragic opera. Olmi brought out a wide range of sombre colours in the score and reinforced the many cunningly dramatic climaxes with delicacy and volatility.

Clifton Forbis as Otello displayed both authority and vulnerability as a leader who has been toyed with into thinking his young wife, Desdemona, has betrayed him. The American tenor, who last performed with the COC as Siegmund in Die Walküre, was believable as an actor and generous as a singer.

The lovely Desdemona was sung by Italian soprano Tiziana Caruso, who makes her COC debut in this production. Caruso has a big voice. So big in fact, at times she drowned out her fellow cast members in numbers such as the Dammi la dolce e lieta parola quartet in Act 2 between Otello, Desdemona, Iago, and Emilia.

However, Caruso had the audience wrapped around her unshamefully hearty lyricism in the Otello-Desdemona love duet at the end of Act 1. Forbis matched her volume nicely here, both sounding beautiful and looking mesmerizing.

American baritone Scott Hendricks stole the show as the evil Iago, who deceives Otello into believing that Cassio and Desdemona are lovers. Chillingly charismatic, Hendricks' soliloquy was scheming, his sotto voce gripping — he was the perfect villain.

Unfortunately, Cassio, sung by Italian tenor Emanuele D'Aguanno, and Emilia by American mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, were the weak links here. Both COC first timers, their overall performances did little to add to the tension-driven production.

Kudos to Scottish director Paul Curran for his minimalist and clever approach to Otello, often considered Verdi's most-challenging work. The spacious set and period costumes by Paul Edwards are exceptionally beautiful and David Martin Jacques' lighting created movement and suspense beyond the stage.

This production won't make you jump out of your seat, but not every production is meant to do that.

COC's Otello is a new co-production with the Welsh National Opera. It continues at the Four Seasons Performing Arts Centre on Feb. 6, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25 and 28.

Chabrier's L’Étoile Shines Bright for Austin Lyric Opera!

by Paul E. Robinson

Emmanuel Chabrier’s operetta or opéra-bouffe, L’Étoile (The Star), was a consummate success at its premiere in Paris in 1877; then, it all but disappeared from the repertoire.

John Eliot Gardiner, a celebrated interpreter of Monteverdi and Bach, brought L’Étoile back to life when he mounted a production at the Opéra National de Lyon in 1986. Since then, opera companies all over the world have added this comic gem to their repertoire - one of the latest among them, Austin Lyric Opera. The ALO production which opened January 30th to a near capacity house, was a triumph.

Kevin Patterson, the general director of Austin Lyric Opera, has consistently shown a remarkable flair for making opera entertaining, first and foremost. He understands that in a community without a long operatic tradition and with only three productions a year, he cannot present a heavy-duty 'grand opera' program and expect to sell tickets; rather he must adopt a more populist strategy that 'educates' the audience without appearing to do anything of the sort.

Patterson's apparent strategy notwithstanding, opera and operetta at their best can have a very direct appeal if they are done in a multi-media style that does not hesitate to learn from the likes of Broadway, Hollywood or Cirque du Soleil. Over the last few years, Austin audiences have been charmed by the likes of an Austin-infused production of Die Fledermaus and Rossini’s Cinderella. They have been powerfully moved by Poulenc’s Dialogue of the Carmelites and Verdi’s Rigoletto. With L’Étoile, Patterson has scored again, by wisely mounting a magic production that has already proven itself a huge hit in New York, Montreal, Cincinnati and Glimmerglass.

Outstanding Sets and Costumes

What grabs the audience right from the start in this production are the sets and costumes, originally created by Glimmerglass Opera and the New York City Opera by Andrew Lieberman (sets) and Constance Hoffman (costumes). We know we're in for a night of fun when King Ouf appears as a re-channeling of 'The Little King' of comic strip fame. He is diminutive, sports a ridiculous mustache and wears an ermine robe in the shape of a round lampshade, which drags along the floor behind him. Veteran Jean-Paul Fouchécourt didn’t have to sing a note or say a word to have the audience convulsed in laughter.

Then there's the male chorus, all dressed in black suits and hats, carrying umbrellas. Here again, the way they look and the way they move is, in itself, amusing. Before long we have other characters dressed in the brightest of colors, carrying through the comic strip concept.

As the convoluted, not to say absurd, story of the opera unfolds, we begin to appreciate the fine work of Canadian director Alain Gauthier. He knows all about comic timing and how to be witty, without resorting to slapstick at every turn. It also helps that L’Étoile is 'sung' in the original French with surtitles, while the 'spoken dialogue' is in English with a smattering of French.

I assume that some of the English dialogue was added by recent hands in order to make it palatable and funny for contemporary audiences. In my opinion, even more could have been done in this vein - especially in Act I - to make the dialogue really sparkle. On opening night, Act I had other problems as well. It was slow and some of the ensembles were more than a little rough.

Second and Third Acts Rachet up Music and Comedy

All was forgiven after intermission, however, with the cast settling in and conductor Richard Buckley moving the music along with a little more animation. One could argue that the improvements resulted from better music and more opportunity for comic action in Acts II and III .

One of the highlights of this production was undoubtedly the drunken duet (over multiple glasses of 'green chartreuse') between the King and his astrologer Siroco (Kevin Glavin). Director Alan Gauthier made the most of the already comic difference in size between the King and Siroco and they sang and acted with enormous hilarity. To top it off, their increasing inebriation was brilliantly underscored by the swaying sparkling yellow/green wall of curtains behind them.

As far as I could tell, there was only one local reference in this production; the Mayor appears in the last act, wearing an oversized black Stetson, looking for all the world like a stereotypical Texan.

Chabrier’s music might best be described as Gilbert and Sullivan with a French translation. There are lots of 'rum-te-tum' rhythms à la G & S, but Chabrier’s writing for woodwinds is in another class altogether. It is even beyond Offenbach in its color and complexity. Moreover, Chabrier and his librettists clearly had a gift for expressing humor in music. On the other hand, Chabrier’s melodies are rarely original or memorable. In a routine production, I doubt that the music would stand on its own.

Fun and Fine Voices From Major to Minor

Vocally, this performance of L’Étoile had its glorious moments, but it had weaknesses too. Deborah Domanski, in the trouser role of Lazuli, has a big load to carry and didn’t always rise to the occasion. Her mezzo-soprano voice seems a little light for the role. On the other hand, she handled the comic bits with energy and vivacity. Soprano Nili Riemer as Princess Laoula projected her voice with much greater authority. In a largely slapstick role, bass Kevin Glavin as Siroco nonetheless managed to impress with the richness of his voice. I also have to mention Scott Shipman in the speaking role of the Chief of Police. He was dressed like a toy soldier and walked like one and he made his reports to the king with the most extraordinary accent and timing. Hilarious.

For something more…

The 1986 Opéra de National Lyon production referenced above was recorded for both CD and DVD release. Both versions have long since been deleted from the EMI catalogue, but if you really want to see the DVD, it is available as a rental from Netflix. Unfortunately, the production recorded on DVD pales in comparison to the Glimmerglass-New York-Cincinnati-Austin production, and the DVD is technically inferior to what can be done today.

John Eliot Gardiner loved Chabrier’s music and has done an excellent all-Chabrier CD with the Vienna Philharmonic (DG 477 51).

The big stars love L’Etoile too. Simon Rattle plans to conduct it at the Berlin State Opera this coming May with his wife Magdalena Kožená in the role of Lazuli.

Otto Soglow created the comic strip 'The Little King' in 1931. It first appeared in the New Yorker, and was later picked up by newspapers across the country. It ran until 1975.

Paul E. Robinson is the author of Herbert von Karajan: the Maestro as Superstar, and Sir Georg Solti: His Life and Music, both available at Amazon.com.

Photo (above) by Mark Matson: Left to right Kevin Glavin (Siroco); Deborah Domanski (Lazuli); Jean-Paul Fouchécourt (King Ouf)

Berlin Phil Winds Blow Beautifully in Texas!

by Paul E. Robinson

Last week the Berlin Philharmonic, under guest conductor Ton Koopman, was presenting its regular subscription concerts on its home turf. Meantime, several thousand miles away, in the McCullough Theatre at the University of Texas in Austin, the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet (BPWQ) was also giving a concert under the auspices of Texas Performing Arts. How is that possible? Well, it helps that the Berlin Philharmonic is an orchestra of 124 players, not all of whom are required for every concert.

It should also be noted that the Berlin Philharmonic is one of the world’s great orchestras and to become a member of it may be every musician’s dream. The players are among the highest paid of any orchestra in the world and their chief conductors have included the likes of Nikisch, Furtwängler, Karajan, Abbado and Rattle. Not surprisingly, the BPWQ turned out to be a superb ensemble altogether worthy of its distinguished parent. And yet – and this is proof of the depth of the talent in the Berlin Philharmonic – not one member of the BPWQ is a principal player.

The Berlin Philharmonic, like the Vienna Philharmonic, has been an exclusive men’s club for almost its entire existence. Karajan tried to break this questionable tradition in 1985 when he insisted on hiring Sabine Meyer as principal clarinet. The ensuing row poisoned one of the great conductor-orchestra partnerships in musical history. Karajan lost that battle but gradually the orchestra had to bend to the prevailing winds – pun intended - and admit some female players. The current membership of the BPWQ provides an excellent example in bassoonist Marion Reinhard. But she remains the only female wind or brass player in the orchestra. For the record, Marion Reinhard is a recent addition to the BPWQ and the only change in personnel the group has had in 21 years. Henning Trog was the original bassoonist; he recently retired to concentrate on teaching.

One further point on the subject of orchestral demographics. For much of its history, the Berlin Philharmonic was not only a 'men’s club,' but a German men’s club. That peculiarity also began to change during the Karajan years. The big breakthrough was the hiring of James Galway as principal flute in the 1970s. Again, the membership of the BPWQ provides a current example. Horn player Fergus McWilliam, a member of the orchestra since 1985, was born in Scotland and grew up in Canada.

From Middling Mozart to Riveting Reicha!

The Austin concert opened with Mozart’s Fantasy in F minor K. 608, arranged for wind quintet by the BPWQ’s flutist Michael Hasel. This rather strange, late Mozart piece was composed for a contraption called a mechanical organ - more like a music box than a pipe organ. Of necessity, then, if it is going to be played today it must be in some sort of transcription. Unfortunately, Hasel’s transcription didn’t sound especially comfortable for the players. There were also some intonation issues that made the performance somewhat unsettling.

From the first bars of Anton Reicha’s Quintet in D major Op. 91 No. 3, however, it was obvious that all was well again with the BPWQ.

Reicha was one of Beethoven’s contemporaries and while not in the same class as a composer, nonetheless contributed a great deal to the development of wind playing and wind composition. He wrote dozens of wind quintets and while the melodies are seldom memorable, Reicha was endlessly imaginative in his writing for each of the players. What’s more he had a sense of humor. It would be hard to imagine the wind solos in the Rossini operas if Reicha had not shown the way.

A Classic Bit of Barber for Composer's Centenary Year

After intermission, the BPWQ honored their audience with one of the masterpieces of American wind repertoire: Samuel Barber’s Summer Music Op. 31. This performance also reminded us that Barber would have been 100 years old this year. Summer Music was intended to be evocative of summer – from the opening bars we hear birds twittering – and it is in that abstract impressionist style that is so characteristic of Barber. There is also a touch of Delius in this largely pastoral piece. It is also a fine example of how to use woodwinds in various combinations to create a vast range of colors.

Virtuosic Nielsen Quintet Highlight of the Evening

The highlight of the concert was undoubtedly the BPWQ’s performance of Carl Nielsen’s Quintet Op. 43. This is a work of great beauty and originality and the BPWQ played it to near-perfection. There is nothing conventional about any mature work of Carl Nielsen. He loves to drop in unexpected fortissimos or rude sounds. Sometimes it is funny, but other times disturbing.

The most substantial and memorable part of the Quintet is the last movement. It begins with several dissonant chords repeated in slow motion, and there is a new color added to the texture. The oboist has switched to the darker cor anglais. Then follows a theme and a set of variations. The theme is a lovely chorale melody written by Nielsen himself, six years earlier, for a Lutheran hymn. Many of the variations take the form of elaborate cadenzas for different winds. For example, variation 5 features an aggressive and almost jazzy clarinet 'riff' accompanied only by the bassoon acting as a sort of straight man (or woman!). In variation 7, the bassoon gets its turn and then the horn, in variation 9. To end the movement and the piece, Nielsen gives us a reprise of the chorale theme. Another Nielsen peculiarity: for its first statement the theme was in 3/4 but now it's in 4/4!

It would be difficult to single out any of the players in a piece which demands so much from each of them; they were all wonderful. But let me give a special tip of the hat to horn player Fergus McWilliam for the sheer range and subtlety of his playing.

Thanks also to Mr. McWilliam for later explaining to us what Marion Reinhard was doing with her bassoon at the end of the Nielsen. To wit: toward the very end of the reprise of the theme, Ms. Reinhard grabbed what looked like a piece of curved plastic and shoved it into the bell of her instrument. According to Mr. McWilliam, it was actually a piece of a child’s plastic baseball bat. And the reason for doing this? The plastic tube extended the range of the bassoon by making its air column longer.

There is an important low A at the very end of the Nielsen which is simply not playable on most instruments, even though many composers from Wagner on have insisted on using this note. One solution, sometimes used, is to replace the top part of the bassoon - called the bell joint – with a longer one, just to get this note. Ms. Reinhard opted for an alternative, equally effective and ultimately 'entertaining' solution.

Winding Down with Americana

After such a fine performance of the Nielsen, the audience demanded more, and the BPWQ was only too happy to oblige. For their first encore they again dipped into their Americana repertoire. This time it was a two minute American Folk Suite by Kazimierz Machala. Bits of Camptown Races, Yankee Doodle and the like played with great verve. The second encore was a lovely Gershwin-like Blues by American composer/conductor Gunther Schuller.

One day it would be great to see the entire Berlin Philharmonic in Austin; in the meantime we can be glad we heard the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet.

For those Wanting More…

The BPWQ has made over fifteen CDs for the BIS label over the past seventeen years and they are excellent. You can find the Barber, Machala and Schuller on BIS-CD-952 and the Nielsen on BIS-CD-1332. There is another recording of the Nielsen Quintet by different wind players of the Berlin Philharmonic, past and present, on EMI Classics 3-94421-2. This CD also contains performances of Nielsen’s Flute Concerto and Clarinet Concerto featuring Emmanuel Pahud and Sabine Meyer respectively, with Simon Rattle conducting.

Paul E. Robinson is the author of Herbert von Karajan: the Maestro as Superstar, and Sir Georg Solti: His Life and Music, both available at Amazon.com.

Olga Neuwirth wins 2010 Grand Austrian State Prize

Austrian composer Olga Neuwirth, 41, has won the prestigious Grand Austrian State Prize for 2010. The award will be presented at a ceremony in Vienna on April 8. The prize is awarded once every year and is the Austria’s highest arts honor.

She studied composition at the Vienna Hochschule für Musik as well as at the San Francisco Conservatory. In 1993-94 she studied with Tristan Murail in Paris with additonal work at ICRAM in Paris.

One of the world’s leading composers, Neuwirth’s music is regularly featured in new music concerts. Her second opera, “Lost Highways” premiered in Graz in 2003 and at Oberlin Conservatory and in New York City in February 2007. It was also seen in London in March 2008 presented by the English National Opera. With a libretto by Nobel Prize-winner Elfriede Jelinek, it follows the story of David Lynch’s 1996 film of the same name.

- Frank Cadenhead

The MIDEM Awards

by Frank Cadenhead


The annual four day conference of the music industry, MIDEM, finished in Cannes, France on January 27. While the state of the economy sapped some of the festive feeling from the meeting, new ways to promote music of all genres was a hot topic.

The evening concert on Tuesday January 26, the MIDEM Classical Awards, handed out prizes to 16 CDs and 3 DVDs from some 111 international labels from twenty countries. A special tribute was paid to composer Frederic Chopin, the bicentenary of his birth being celebrated this year.  Master of Ceremonies were jointly James Jolly, editor of Gramophone Magazine, and the Canadian contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux.

At the Auditorium Debussy at the Palais des Festivals, the concert featured the Cracow Sinfonietta, conducted by John Axelrod, along with the young virtuoso pianist Jan Lisiecki.  The concert concluded their reading of the Polish composer's Piano Concerto No. 1. There were two special awards for this occasion: the "Best Ever" award was awarded to a recording of the Chopin Waltzes by Dinu Lipatti. In new recordings, pianist Nicolai Demidenko won the "Chopin Special Prize' for his recording of the Preludes on the label Onyx.

Italian soprano Mirella Freni was the object of a moving tribute and a standing ovation after received her "Lifetime Achievement" Award.  The young clarinetist, José Franch-Ballester was named "Outstanding Young Artist" and played the Rhapsody for Clarinet and Orchestra by Debussy. The mezzo Elina Garanca and German baritone Christian Gerhaher were declared "Lyric Artists of the Year." They performed, respectively, the Habanera from Bizet's "Carmen" and Mahler's song "Ich hab’ ein glühend Messer." A high point of the evening was Marie-Nicole Lemieux's moving singing of "Chanson Triste" by Henri Duparc.

The MIDEM CLASSICAL AWARDS 2010:

EARLY MUSIC - Jérusalem, "La Ville des deux Paix"  with Montserrat Figueras, La Capella Reial de Catalunya, Al-Darwish, Hesperion XXI, Jordi Savall (Alia Vox).
BAROQUE MUSIC - Telemann, "Brockes-Passion" with Birgitte Christensen, Lydia Teuscher, Marie-Claude Chappuis, Daniel Behle, Donát Havár, Johannes Weisser, the RIAS Kammerchor, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, René Jacobs, conductor. (Harmonia Mundi).
VOCAL RECITALS - Handel - "Between Heaven & Earth" by soprano Sandrine Piau, Accademia Bizantina, Stefano Montanari (Naïve).
CHORAL WORKS - Zimmermann - "Requiem For A Young Poet" with Claudia Barainsky, David Pittman-Jennings, Lutz Lansemann, Michael Rotschopf, Jan Hage, João Rafael (Live Electronics), Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno, Slovac Philharmonic Choir, EuropaChorAkademie, Eric Vloeimans Quintet, Holland Symfonia, Bernhard Kontarsky (Cybele).
OPERA - Shostakovich - "The Nose" with Vladislav Sulimsky, Alexei Tanovitski, Tatiana Kravtsova, Andrei Popov, Sergei Semishkur, the Mariinsky Orchestra and Chorus, Valery Gergiev, conductor (Mariinsky).
SOLO INSTRUMENT - Paganini - 24 Capricci by Thomas Zehetmair (ECM)
CHAMBER MUSIC - Ravel, Debussy, Fauré String Quartets by the Quatuor Ebène (Virgin Classics).
CONCERTOS - Beethoven - "Piano Concertos No. 4 & No.°2 " by Ronald Brautigam, Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Parrott (BIS).
SYMPHONIC WORKS - Mahler - Symphony No, 9 with the Bamberg Symphony, Jonathan Nott, conductor (Tudor).
CONTEMPORARY MUSIC - Messiaen, "The Works for Orchestra" by Roger Muraro, Yvonne Naef, EuropaChorAkademie, SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, Sylvain Cambreling (Hänssler Classic).
FIRST RECORDING - Rigel, "Symphonies" by Concerto Köln (Berlin Classics).
HISTORICAL - Friedrich Gulda, "The Early Recordings" with Friedrich Gulda, piano, and the RIAS-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Igor Markevitch (Audite).
DVD: OPERA / BALLET - Tchaikovsky - Eugene Onegin par Mariusz Kwiecien, Tatiana Monogarova, Margarita Mamsirova, Andrey Dunaev, Anatolij Kotscherga, The Bolshoi Theatre Soloists, Chorus & Orchestra, Dmitri Tcherniakov, Chloé Perlemutter, Alexander Vedernikov (Bel Air Classiques).
DVD: CONCERTS - The King’s Singers' "Live at the BBC Proms" (Signum Records).
DVD: DOCUMENTARIES - "Sergiu Celibidache: You don’t do anything - You let it evolve." by Jan Schmidt-Garre (Arthaus Musik).
CLASSICAL DOWNLOAD - Classicsonline.com
OUTSTANDING YOUNG ARTIST (in cooperation with IAMA) - José Franch- Ballester.
JURY NOMINATION - Bach, "Six Solo Sonatas & Partitas" by violinist Viktoria Mullova (Onyx).
ARTIST OF THE YEAR – INSTRUMENTALIST - Angela Hewitt (piano).
ARTIST OF THE YEAR – FEMALE VOCALIST - Elīna Garanča (mezzo-soprano).
ARTIST OF THE YEAR – MALE VOCALIST - Christian Gerhaher (baritone).
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT - Mirella Freni (soprano).
LABEL OF THE YEAR - Naïve Classique.
RECORDING OF THE YEAR Zimmermann, "Requiem for a Young Poet" by Claudia Barainsky, David Pittman-Jennings, Lutz Lansemann, Michael Rotschopf, Jan Hage, João Rafael (Live Electronics), Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno, Slovac Philharmonic Choir, EuropaChorAkademie, Eric Vloeimans Quintet, Holland Symfonia, Bernhard Kontarsky (Cybele).

Gala des Prix Opus 2009

par Renée Banville

Présenté par Chantal Lambert, directrice de l’Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal, le treizième gala des prix Opus a eu lieu aujourd'hui à la Salle Claude-Champagne, à Montréal. Les deux animateurs, Mario Paquet et André Papillon ont souligné avec humour leur grande complicité comme représentants de Montréal et de Québec. 

Initiative du Conseil québécois de la musique, appuyé par de nombreux partenaires, le gala des prix Opus souligne cette année par 27 prix le talent des artistes québécois. Cette fête annuelle est accueillie avec enthousiasme par le milieu. La remise des prix était ponctuée de prestations musicales présentées par des artistes connus : Christine Tassan et les Imposteures, Karina Gauvin et le pianiste Mathieu Gaudet, le hautboiste Normand Forget et l’Ensemble Caprice. 

Particulièrement soignées, la mise en scène et la direction artistique de l’événement étaient assurées par Mathieu Lussier. Initiative intéressante, on présentait à chaque changement de style musical, la vision d’artistes ou de critiques. Les choix de Claude Gingras ont fait crouler de rire l’auditoire. Si le prix de l’humour avait existé, il en aurait certes été le gagnant! Suite à sa remarque que la musique ancienne « manquait de chair », Karina Gauvin, lauréate dans cette catégorie, n’a pas manqué de souligner avec humour que si M. Gingras trouvait que « cette musique manquait de chair, ce n’était pas le cas de l’interprète ». C’était aussi une excellente idée de poser les mêmes questions à de jeunes enfants, dont les réponses naïves étaient touchantes de sincérité. 

Le prix Hommage, sans doute le plus important, a été remis au compositeur Jacques Hétu, l'un des patriarches de la composition au Québec. Tous s’accordent à dire que la grande sensibilité et la rigueur structurelle de ses composition en font une musique particulièrement bien écrite que tous les instrumentistes jouent avec un grand plaisir. Visiblement très affecté par la maladie, c’est d’une voix à peine audible que M. Hétu a tenu à remercier les organisateurs et le public pour cet hommage qui lui était rendu. Un moment particulièrement émouvant! 

Parmi les 27 prix décernés, soulignons : 

• Yannick Nézet-Séguin, lauréat de deux prix, dont celui du Rayonnement à l’étranger. Mme Luce Moreau, directrice de l’Orchestre Métropolitain a pu faire entendre la réaction en direct du maestro absent. Découverte de l’année à Londres, il a souligné qu’il avait reçu son premier prix Opus en 1998, comme découverte de l’année au Québec. Il est ravi d’avoir été choisi pour son rayonnement à l’étranger et c’est un immense encouragement pour lui de savoir qu’il est toujours présent ici.  

• La Société de musique contemporaine du Québec et Faculté de musique de l'Université de Montréal, aussi lauréats de deux prix : le Concert de l’année – Montréal pour La Porte du ciel et le Concert de l’année – Musiques moderne, contemporaine pour le même projet en novembre 2008. 

• Le jeune chef d’orchestre Jean-Michaël Lavoie, lauréat du prix Découverte de l’année.

Il a été choisi en mars 2008 par Pierre Boulez, comme assistant-chef par l’Ensemble Intercontemporain de Paris.  

• Deux prix aussi pour la pianiste Louise Bessette : Interprète de l’année, un prix accompagné d’une bourse de 5 000$ du Conseil des Arts du Canada et Événement musical de l’année pour l’Automne Messiaen 2008. 

• À la surprise générale, c’est la jeune compositrice Analia Llugdar qui a reçu le prix Compositeur de l’année. Une bourse de 10 000$ accordée par le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec est associée à ce prix. 

• C’est aussi avec surprise, mais avec beaucoup d’enthousiasme que l’auditoire a accueilli la nomination de Guy Soucie de la Chapelle historique du Bon-Pasteur comme Directeur artistique de l’année pour son apport exceptionnel à faire connaître de jeunes artistes d’ici. 

Last-minute stand-in saves COC’s Carmen

By L.H. Tiffany Hsieh

I didn’t fall in love with the gypsy devil. As one of the most seductive operas of all time, the latest production of Bizet’s sizzling Carmen on stage at the Canadian Opera Company falls short of some much-needed charisma.

Directed by Justin Way with set design from Michael Yeargan, the Jan. 30 performance was interesting and lovely in parts (for example, the gypsy tavern in Act 2 and bullfight arena in Act 4), but struggles with movement and continuity throughout.

The COC chorus and the Canadian Children’s Opera Company chorus gave some magnificent and charming singing. However, it was unfortunate that they were given some awkward and un-gypsy-like routines to work with from choreographer Jane Johanson. This was especially painful to watch in the opening scene of the final act, when the choruses lined the front of the stage, stationary and pointing fingers.

The brief and sporadic standing ovation at curtain call owed its thanks to the last-minute-stand-in Carmen, sung brilliantly by Israeli-born mezzo-soprano Rinat Shaham, who makes her COC debut in this production after American mezzo-soprano Beth Clayton pulled out due to health reasons.

Shaham, blogging that she was “picking my nose in New York and complaining about my life” before she was called in last week, gave us a fiery, multidimensional Carmen, whose tobacco-laden gypsy pride torments the relatively simple and weak Don José. She wants her freedom above all things, and so she rejects the army officer for a matador in pink socks despite her hibernated love for the former. Shaham portrayed this subtle nuance beautifully.

In contrast, Don José didn’t know what he had until he lost it - albeit no one can hold on to a woman like Carmen for too long. New Orleans tenor Bryan Hymel, who made his COC debut as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, gave a guarded and measured performance of the hopeless lover. His singing was thin at times when coupled with Shaham’s deep and sultry tones, but he soared in the final act, revealing a vulnerable and impassionate Don José at his wits’ end.

Homegrown soprano Jessica Muirhead of Aurora, Ont. was a darling as the innocent and faithful Micaëla while French bass-baritone Paul Gay offered up a slightly rigid Escamillo, the matador. The COC orchestra, under the baton of 29-year-old Scottish conductor Rory Macdonald, shined from the pit.

Carmen continues at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts with Shaham on Feb. 2, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 14. Georgian mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili will make her COC debut as Carmen on Feb. 17, 20, 23 and 27.

Cette semaine à Montréal (1 à 7 fév) / This Week in Montreal (Feb. 1 - 7)

Musique à Montréal cette semaine
Music in Montreal this week

Musique : Lundi 1 Monday » 7h30. Église St-Jean-Baptiste, Chapelle St-Louis, 4230 Drolet. Sonnez les matines. Denis Bédard: Fantaisie pour saxophone soprano et piano; Fernande Decruck: Sonate; Claude Delvincourt: Croquembouches; Jérôme Naulais: Petite suite latine, Jean-François Guay, saxophones; Catherine Leroux, piano. (60 min) 343-6427 » 18h30. UdM-MUS. Elizabeth Schumann, piano. 343-6427 » 19h30. McGill Pollack. 10$. McGill Staff and Guest Series, Luba Zuk, Ireneus Zuk, piano. 398-4547 » 19h30. PdA Théâtre Maisonneuve. 20-40$. Société Pro Musica. série Émeraude. Beethoven: Sonate #5, op.24 “Le printemps”; Chausson: Poème, op.25; Szymanowski/ Paganini: 3 Caprices pour violon et piano, op.40; Brahms: Sonate pour violon et piano #3, op.108, Chloé Hanslip, violon; Ashley Wass, piano. 842-2112, 800-361-4595 » 20h. McGill Redpath. FA. Artist Diploma Recital, Louis-Pierre Bergeron, horn. 398-4547 » 20h30. UdM-MUSCatherine Little, violoncelle. 343-6427

Théâtre : JE SUIS COBAIN (PEU IMPORTE). Kurt Cobain, célèbre chanteur du groupe de musique grunge Nirvana, s’est donné la mort en 1994. Voilà qu’il revient régler ses comptes avec son public. Il veut expliquer pourquoi il est devenu ce qu’il exécrait le plus, c’est-à-dire, populaire. Une popularité imprévue et très mal digérée. Un monologue poétique qui traite du rapport entre le désir du rejet et la soif purement humaine d’être reconnu. Texte Dany Boudreault. Une production du Théâtre Sans Domicile Fixe. Prix régulier : 20,00 $ » Lundi 1. (19 h) Théâtre La Licorne / La Petite Licorne La Petite Licorne (4559, rue Papineau). 514 523-2246 

Cinéma : CINE-CLUB – 1981. En 1981, la famille Trogi s'installe dans sa nouvelle résidence. Ricardo (11 ans), en ressent complètement les effets sans connaître pourtant la signification du mot « hypothèque ». Il est le « nouveau » d'une classe dont les élèves paraissent provenir de milieux plus aisés que le sien et son honneur est en jeu. Pour éviter d'être découvert pour ce qu'il est réellement, Ricardo décide de s'inventer une situation qu'il devra entretenir rigoureusement s'il veut faire sa place. Jusqu'à ce que le jeu de la vérité devienne une incontournable évidence et que le petit Trogi accepte de forger sa véritable identité. « 1981 se laisse regarder tantôt avec amusement, tantôt avec attendrissement. Le récit ne révolutionne peut-être pas le genre, mais l'honnêteté et l'authenticité qui se dégagent de cette tranche de vie font passer un agréable moment de cinéma » (Normand Provencher, Le Soleil). Du réalisateur de QUÉBEC-MONTRÉAL et HORLOGE BIOLOGIQUE. Québec. 2009. 102 minutes. (G). Avec Jean-Carl Boucher, Claudio Colangelo, Sandrine Bisson. » Lundi 1. (19 h 30) Centre des arts de la scène Pauline-Julien Grande salle (15615, boulevard Gouin Ouest). 514 626-1616

Opéra : STARMANIA VERSUS NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS. Les plus grandes chansons de Starmania et Notre-Dame de Paris seront présentées en version concert. Tous les musiciens de l'OSM seront sur scène avec les chanteurs pour une mise en valeur des mots, de la musique et de la voix enveloppés d'éclairages et de projections. Le metteur en scène Daniel Roussel explique que la rencontre de ces deux grandes oeuvres donnera naissance non pas à une opposition mais à des croisements surprenants et inattendus. Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. » 1 – 2 fév. (20 h) Place des Arts Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier (175, rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest) 514 842-2112

Theatre: GEOMETRY IN VENICE. Written by Montreal playwright Michael Mackenzie Geometry in Venice is inspired by Henry James’s novella The Pupil. It tells the story of an aristocratic British family living in Venice towards the end of the nineteenth century. Desperate to keep up appearances they travel to the fashionable salons of Europe, search for a wealthy suitor to marry their daughter and hire an aspiring Canadian writer to educate their sickly genius son. Geometry in Venice is a poignant and timely examination of a family’s obsession with wealth and status. » Feb. 1 to 4. (20h) Segal Centre for Performing Arts at the Saidye The Leanor and Alvin Segal Theatre (5170, chemin de la Côte Sainte-Catherine) 514 739-7944

Musique : Mardi 2 Tuesday » 9h. UdM-Laval. 11$. Opéramania-Mat. Monteverdi: Orfeo. William Christie, chef; Dietrich Henschel, Maria Grazia Schiavo, Sonia Prina, Antonio Abete. 343-6427, 450-686-4777 » 19h30. McGill Pollack. 10$. McGill Staff and Guest Series, Jan Jarczyk, piano. 398-4547

Danse : VISAGES DE LA DANSE - EMMANUEL JOUTHE. En septembre dernier, Circuit-Est centre chorégraphique inaugurait une nouvelle série de rencontres gratuites et ouvertes à tous, en collaboration avec l’Agora de la danse et Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. Depuis, chaque mois, l’écrivaine et journaliste de danse Aline Apostolska s’entretient avec une personnalité de la danse contemporaine et nous fait découvrir son parcours de vie et son processus créatif. Nous vous donnons rendez-vous avec Emmanuel Jouthe, chorégraphe, interprète et directeur artistique de la compagnie Danse Carpe Diem/Emmanuel Jouthe. Les personnes qui souhaitent assister à la soirée du 2 février peuvent réserver des laisser-passer gratuits au (514) 525-1569 ou à info@circuit-est.qc.ca. » Jeudi 2. (19 h) Circuit-Est centre chorégraphique (2022, rue Sherbrooke Est)
514 525-1569

Théâtre : LA LISTE. Une femme, épouse et mère de trois gamins, tient minutieusement et compulsivement des listes de tout ce qu’elle a à faire. Sur l’une d’elles écrira : trouver un médecin à Caroline, ma voisine… et quelques jours plus tard, elle écrira sur une de ses listes : ressusciter Caroline. Texte : Jennifer Tremblay. » 2-3 fév. (19 h). Théâtre d'Aujourd'hui Salle principale (3900, rue Saint-Denis) 514 282-3900


Théâtre : AU CHAMP DE MARS. Dans la Rome antique, un champ de Mars était un espace d’entraînement au combat, Mars étant le dieu de la guerre. La guerre. Avec humour et intelligence, mais surtout avec beaucoup d’humanité, Pierre-Michel Tremblay nous invite à une réflexion sur ce thème grave où les partis-pris sont nombreux, tout comme les marchands d’armes... et de beignes. De retour de Kandahar, un jeune soldat souffre d’un sévère choc post-traumatique… Une psychiatre est atteinte de fatigue de compassion… Un réalisateur de films d’action cherche l’inspiration et un professeur de musique klezmer donne dans l’activisme pacifiste au sein du collectif Guerre à la guerre… Entre la réalité d’Éric aux prises avec sa culpabilité de survivant, celle de Rachel qui doit écouter et apaiser, entre la vision de Marco pour qui tout se résume à des flashs et celle d’Antoine, un pacifiste invétéré, soudainement, le choix de «notre camp» n’est plus aussi évident… La mise en scène est confiée à Michel Monty, un habitué de La Licorne où il a signé avec rigueur et précision les mises en scène de La Société des loisirs, Gagarin Way, Antarktikos et CyberJack. Texte Pierre-Michel Tremblay. » 2-4 fév. (19h) Théâtre La Licorne / La Petite Licorne La Licorne (4559, rue Papineau)
514 523-2246

Théâtre : ROCHE, PAPIER, COUTEAU. Dans un village de l’Extrême-Nord, cinq jeunes arrivent par cargo, enfermés dans un conteneur après un mois d’un voyage qui ne devait durer qu’une semaine. L’un des jeunes, Mute, a péri durant la traversée. Les quatre autres, encore vivants, sont pris en charge par Mielke, un médecin devenu professeur. Dans ce pays où tout se dit à mots feutrés, un étrange secret se dévoilera peu à peu… et mettra en danger la vie de ceux qui croyaient que ce petit village était le seul endroit sur terre où il soit encore possible de finir ses jours paisiblement. » 2-4 fév (19 h 30) Théâtre Denise-Pelletier (4353, rue Sainte-Catherine Est) 514 253-8974

Théâtre : MON CORPS DEVIENDRA FROID. Une famille brisée en mille miettes tente de panser ses plaies sous le regard tendre et naïf, mais pourtant bien aiguisé, d’une belle-sœur éthérée. Dans un banquet dominé par le fantôme du père décédé, où une abondante liqueur caustique coule à flots, nous sommes invités, malgré nous, à une énorme brassée de linge sale en famille, où chacun essaie de sauver son enfant intérieur. À une époque où l’on se doit d’être bien propre et parfait, l’auteure Anne-Marie Olivier nous propose une fable freudienne sur l’enfance brisée, écrite à l’aide d’une plume corrosive teintée d’humour très noir. Une œuvre aigre-piquante à déguster pleinement. Texte : Anne-Marie Olivier. » 2-4 fév (20 h) Théâtre de Quat'Sous (100, avenue des Pins Est) 514 845-6928

Théâtre : LE BOURGEOIS GENTILHOMME. Le marquis imaginaire. Monsieur Jourdain est un homme d’affaires prospère qui, comme son père, a fait fortune en vendant des draps. Or comme il vit à Paris sous le règne de Louis XIV, ce n’est pas suffisant pour son ambition sociale et pour tromper sa femme avec une jolie marquise. Pour cela, il lui faut appartenir à la noblesse et, à défaut d’être noble, faire comme : suivre les extravagances de la mode, savoir danser, manier une épée et philosopher avec esprit. Dur programme. Il n’a peur de rien, monsieur Jourdain, surtout pas du ridicule, et pas même d’accepter un titre de noblesse … qu’on lui confère dans une extravagante turquerie. Lorsqu’il crée sa spectaculaire et hilarante comédie-ballet, Molière est au sommet de son art : son humour fait mouche comme jamais et il maîtrise de façon confondante l’art de marier le théâtre à de grandioses numéros chorégraphiques. Chaque bourde de Jourdain – et Dieu sait qu’il les accumule – est pour l’auteur une occasion d’épingler les conventions sociales de son temps. Mais surtout, Molière a décrit pour l’éternité un type humain universel : le naïf prêt à tout subir pour satisfaire ses idées de grandeur. de Molière. Mise en scène de Benoît Brière. » 2-4 fév (20 h) Théâtre du Nouveau-Monde (84, rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest) 514 866-8668

Theatre: THE DAILY MIRACLE. English play. Arthur Holden, celebrated Montréal actor (most recently seen on History Television in September as General James Wolfe in Galafilm’s Battlefield Quebec), and writer (his play, Father Land, won the Write-On-Q competition last year and will round up Infinithéâtre’s season with a March production) is Marty, newly back on the job after a nervous breakdown and clearly headed down that road again. Ellen David, well known to Canadian audiences (Mambo Italiano, The Carpenter and In Piazza San Domenico) and who currently stars in the new CBC comedy series 18 to Life, plays Elizabeth, a dedicated professional trying to balance motherhood and an all-consuming career in a predominately male environment. Howard Rosenstein makes an about-turn from paedophilic clown in Infinithéâtre’s Rabbit Rabbit last fall to Benjamin, the womanizing night editor determined to get the paper out with a minimum of histrionics so he can hightail it to the nearest bar to drown his troubles. New kid on the block with dreams of television news anchor fame is Carrie, played by Sheena Gazé-Deslandes in her theatrical debut and veteran Québec actor Jean-Guy Bouchard is Roland, resident philosopher and fallen demi-God reduced to janitor. » Feb. 2-4 (20 h) Bain Mathieu (2915, Ontario est) 514-523-3265

Theatre: OUR COUNTRY'S GOOD. by Timberlake Wertenbaker, presented by: Griffintown Theatre. A story of convicts and Royal Marines sent to Australia in the 1780s as part of the first penal colony. A play about the triumph of the human spirit over oppression. » Feb. 2-4 (20 h) Théâtre Ste-Catherine (264, Ste-Catherine Est) 514-284-3939

Music: PENTAÈDRE. America has inspired numerous creators, from various horizons. Pentaedre presents a concert focusing on the American musical creation of the last hundred years featuring John Cage's audacity, John Harbison's quintet extreme virtuosity, Dvorak's romantism in his famous « American » Quartet, transcribed for quintet and a creation by Montrealer Blair Thomson, to compose a rich and coloured musical counterpane. Shorts excerpts from well-known American speeches will be inserted, to playfuly transform this American musical overview into a historical exploration. As Franklin Delano Roosevelt was saying in 1933, « the only thing we have to fear is fear itself ». So, don’t hesitate to come and join us. Programme: Antonin Dvorak Quintet no 12 op. 16 (transcription by David Walter); John Cage Living Room Music; Blair Thomson Empathie (creation); John Harbison Quintet. Pentaèdre : Danièle Bourget, flute ; Normand Forget, oboe ; Martin Carpentier, clarinet ; Louis-Philippe Marsolais, horn ; Mathieu Lussier, bassoon. » Tuesday the 2nd (20h) McGill Universty - Schulich Music School Salle Pollack (555, rue Sherbrooke ouest) 514 398-4547

Musique : Mercredi 3 Wednesday » 13h30. UdM-Longueuil. 11$. Opéramania-Mat. Berlioz: Les Troyens, 2e partie Les Troyens à Carthage. 343-6427. » 17h. UdM Classe de Catherine Sévigny, chant. 343-6427 » 19h30. UdM-MUS B-484. Classe d’André Moisan, clarinette. 343-6427 » 20h. ConcU OPCH. 0-5$. Student Concert Series. Inspired by the poems of Langston Hughes. Jazz, Class of Jeri Brown, voice. 848-4848 » 20h. McGill Tanna Schulich.  Class of Sara Laimon, piano. 398-4547

Music: SINFONIETTA DE MCGILL. Alexis Hauser, director. As part of the celebration of the 200th anniversary of Haydn's death. Symphony No. 59 in A major ("Fire"); Symphonie NO. 103 in E-flat major ("Paukenwirbel" Drum Roll) (London, 1795). » Wednesday the 3rd (19h 30) McGill University - Schulich Music School Pollack Hall (555, rue Sherbrooke ouest) 514 398-4547

Opera: OPÉRA DE MONTRÉAL – TOSCA. Tosca was the first opera performed at our company in 1980. Now, here it is back again in a new sett ing to mark our 30th anniversary. A tale of passion, desire, and murder, composed by Puccini at the top of his game. In the palaces and prisons of Rome, the famous singer Tosca plays a game of fatal attraction with the crooked chief of police in the hope of winning her lover’s freedom. Production San Diego Opera / Opéra de Montréal. » Feb. 3 (20 h) Place des Arts Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier (175, rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest) 514 842-2112

Musique : Jeudi 4 Thursday » 17h. UdM-MUS B-484. Mois romantique au Cercle de musicologie. Conférence. L’énigme du Prélude de Tristan et Isolde: quel sens lui donner? Jean-Jacques Nattiez, musicologue. 343-6427 » 18h30. CAV-SMAT. 5-7$. SMAT, p.v.o. Bizet: Carmen. Covent Garden, 2006. 397-0068 » 19h30. McGill Pollack. 10$. McGill Staff and Guest Series. Brahms, Mark Fewer, violin; Douglas McNabney, viola; Thomas Wiebe, cello; Peter Longnorth, piano. 398-4547 » 20h. CHBP. LP. Haydn, Trio Mireille Lagacé.
872-5338 » 20h. McGill Tanna Schulich. Master’s Recital, Jared Greeve, trumpet. 398-4547 » 20h. UdM-MUS SCC. 0-20$. Concerts Live@CIRMMT. Cinéma et musique. Luis Bunuel: L’Âge d’or; Martin Matalon: Le Scorpion, Ensemble Sixtrum, percussion. 343-6427

Jazz : En association avec le Festival International de Jazz de Montréal - DJANGO REINHARDT: CENT ANS! Avec The DORADO SCHMITT ALLSTARS. Cinquante six ans après sa disparition, le grand Django Reinhardt - qui aurait été centenaire cette année - est toujours considéré comme le roi du jazz manouche, un style plus d'actualité que jamais. Tellement, en fait, que chaque année à New York un festival entier, le Django Reinhardt Festival, est consacré au genre et à son créateur. Certains des plus beaux fleurons de ce festival new-yorkais dédié à cette musique contagieuse qui alterne avec aisance entre swing et mélodies romantiques viennent faire revivre la légende trois soirs durant : Dorado Schmitt (guitare), Samson Schmitt (guitare), Pierre Blanchard (violon), Brian Torff (basse) et Marcel Loeffler (accordéon). » Jeu. 4 au sam. 6 Django Reinhardt Festival – centenaire de sa naissance. (20 h) L’Astral, situé dans la maison Rio Tinto Alcan. 514 871-1881

Musique : Vendredi 5 Friday » 11h. CMM SR. 0-10$. Société de guitare de Montréal, cours de maître, Duo Gruber-Maklar (Allemagne), guitare. 849-7510 » 12h30. McGill RED. FA. McGill Noon-Hour Organ Recital Series, Han Mi Kang, organ. 398-4547 » 17h. Centre des loisirs de St-Laurent, 1375 Grenet. 10$ + CV. Concert bénéfice: réédifier une île idéale, unissons-nous pour Haïti. Musique, danse, nourriture haïtiennes. Marjorie Walter et son choeur d’enfants; Choeur de l’UQAM; etc. 863-7580 » 17h. McGill POL. FA. Master’s Recital, Emily Westell, violin. 398-4547 » 19h. UdM-MUS B-421. 8$. Opéramania. Landi: Il Sant’ Alessio. Philippe Jaroussky, Max Emanuel Cencic, Alain Buet, Xavier Sabata; William Christie, chef. 343-6427 » 19h30. CCPCSH. LP. Une Soirée à l’Opéra. Hommage à Jussi Bjoerling. Puccini: Manon Lescaut; Verdi: Un Ballo in maschera; Bellini: I Puritani (e), Makiko Awazu, Pamela Jones, sopranos; Manrico Tedeschi, Franco Perrotta, ténors; Jacques Saint-Jean, piano. 630-1220 » 20h. ConcU OPCH. 8-15$. Faculty Concert Series. Annual Roots of Rock’n Roll Concert. Blues, rhythm & blues, Motown, etc. Craig Morrison & the Momentz. 848-4848 » 20h. PdA SWP. 42-82$. Concert contre le cancer. Strauss, Beethoven, Mozart. O.S. de Montréal; Kent Nagano, chef; Jennifer Swartz, harpe; Timothy Hutchins, flûte. 890-8213 » 20h30. Théâtre du Vieux-Terrebonne, Salle Desjardins, 866 St-Pierre, Terrebonne. 28$. Les Beaux Concerts. Bernstein: West Side Story; Claude-Michel Schönberg/Alain Boublil: Les Misérables, Sinfonia de Lanaudière; Stéphane Laforest, chef; Marie-Josée Lord, soprano; Marc Hervieux, ténor; Dominic Côté, baryton. 450-492-4777, 866-404-4777 » 22h. CHBP. EL. Jazz nocturne. Désirs démodés. Sylvain Provost, Trio Sylvain Provost. 872-5338

Musique : Samedi 6 Saturday » 12h30. CAV-SMAT. 5-7$. SMAT, p.v.o. Puccini: Madama Butterfly. Montréal, 2008. 397-0068 » 13h. Ciné-Met Live Montréal. MetOp in HD, Live. Verdi: Simon Boccanegra, James Levine, cond.; Plácido Domingo, Adrianne Pieczonka, Marcello Giordani, James Morris. (f6 Québec; 6 Ailleurs au QC; 6 Ottawa-Gatineau) » 14h. McGill TSH. FA. Year of the Wind. Masterclass, Carlo Columbo, bassoon. 398-4547
» 17h. Christ Church Cathedral, 635 Ste-Catherine Ouest. FA. Contemporary Keyboard Society. Sandeep Bhagwati, Peter Castine, Ray Evanoff, alcides lanza, Gyorgy Ligeti, Timothy McCormack, Maurice Ohana, Katelyn Clark, harpsichord, toy piano; Xenia Pestova, piano, toy piano; Shawn Mativetsky, percussion. 803-5108 » 17h. McGill TSH. FA. Year of the Wind, Carlo Columbo, bassoon. 398-4547 » 19h30. McGill RED. 10$. McGill Staff and Guest Series. Brahms: Piano Quartet #3, op.60; Chausson: Concerto for violin, piano and strings, op.21, Cecilia String Quartet; Andrew Wan, violin; Lambert Chen, viola; Michael Nicolas, cello; Philip Chiu, piano. 398-4547 » 20h. CMM Salle de concert. 15-30$. Société de guitare de Montréal, volet international. Albéniz, Granados, Giuliani, D. Scarlatti, Villa-Lobos, Dusan Bogdanovic, Duo Gruber & Maklar (Allemagne), guitare. 849-7510

Musique : Dimanche 7 Sunday » 11h. Centre culturel, Café-théâtre Les Beaux Instants, 3015 place du Centre civique, Tracy. 8$. Les p’tits dimanches ensoleillés, Duo Lambert-Chan. 450-780-1118 (f21) » 11h30. CAV-SMAT. 20-25$, comprend déjeuner, RSVP. SMAT, brunchs de la Phonothèque. Les 30 ans de l’OdM. 397-0068 » 14h30. Centre communautaire Dollard-des-Ormeaux, 12001 boul. de Salaberry. EL. Christoph Sturzenegger/Marc Baumgartner: Max et les ogres (conte musical pour les 4 à 8 ans), Pentaèdre; Karine Saint-Arnaud, marionnettiste, narration. 684-1496 (f21) » 14h30. McGill Redpath Hall. McGill Conservatory, Suzuki Strings Concert. 398-4547 » 15h30. CHBP. LP. Chostakovitch, Dinuk Wijeratne, Ravel, Schumann. David Jalbert, piano. 872-5338 » 15h30. McGill Pollack. 15-35$. LMMC Concerts, Miro Quartet; Shai Wosner, piano. 932-6796 » 16h30. SASP. CV. Sinfonica Organo. Impressionism. Karg-Elert: Seven Pastels, op.96; James F. Hopkins; Derek Healey, Jonathan Oldengarm, organ. 842-9991

This Week in Toronto (Feb. 1 - 7)

Photo: Italian conductor Paolo Olmi

The Canadian Opera Company's winter season continues with the opening of Verdi's Otello on Feb. 3. It marks the return of Italian conductor Paolo Olmi to the company, after a highly successful French version Don Carlos replacing the late Richard Bradshaw in the fall of 2007. I attended a working rehearsal of Otello last week, and the musical values bowled me over. First of all, we are fortunate to have American heldentenor Clifton Forbis as Otello. Hard to believe he debuted at the COC in 1997 as Lensky! Well, he is the genuine article as a heldentenor and I look forward to his Otello. Italian Tiziana Caruso is a true dramatic soprano, with a big voice of lovely quality. Given the size of her voice, it isn't so easy for her to sing high pianissimos, but other than that, she will be a vocally and dramatically rewarding Desdemona. Scott Hendricks, last seen locally as Rodrigo in Don Carlos, is a very youthful Iago, perhaps his lyric baritone a bit light especially when paired with the helden voice of Forbis, but the sounds Hendricks makes is gorgeous. It opens on Feb. 3 at 7:30 pm, and a second perforrmance on Saturday Feb. 6. The production is modern and a bit glitzy, with fairly traditional staging by Paul Curran, who was the director behind the wonderful Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk several years ago. a show not to be missed.

Meanwhile, the COC Carmen continues. I saw opening night, and it was a terrific show. Rinat Shaham is a scintillating Carmen - not the biggest of voice, but with lovely quality, variety of shading, and dramatically interesting. Bryan Hymel fulfills all the requirements of Don Jose. Canadian soprano Jessica Muirhead is the best Micaela vocally I have heard in many years - brava! Rory Macdonald conducted briskly and excitingly. The production has its weaknesses, but overall it did the job. Carmen can be seen on Feb 2 an 5 at 7:30 pm, and on Feb. 7 at 2 pm.

Met in HD continues with Simone Boccanegra on Saturday Feb. 6 at 1 pm at selected Cineplex theatres in Canada. It stars the great Placido Domingo in the baritone role of Boccanegra. He has already sung it in Berlin recently and received critical kudos. I heard snippets of it - he doesn't sound like a baritone but a tenor. In other words, he does not artificially darken his voice, yet his full lower register can fully do justice to the role. Amelia is Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka. This role fits her voice like a glove. Marcello Giordani is Gabriele. The director is Giancarlo Del Monaco, the son of the later tenor Mario del Monaco. James Levine conducts.

Austin Symphony and Salerno-Sonnenberg Celebrate Barber Centenary

by Paul E. Robinson

A centenary celebration is in order for one of the greatest of American composers, Samuel Barber (b. March 9, 1910), and yet the scheduled tributes in the country of his birth are few and far between: the Philadelphia Orchestra, for example, which premiered many of Barber’s compositions, has programmed just a handful of works, scattered over the course of their 2009-2010 season.

The Austin Symphony Orchestra (ASO), notably an exception, last week presented an all-Barber program under its imaginative music director, Peter Bay. As Maestro Bay correctly stated in his opening remarks, the ASO is very likely the only professional orchestra in the entire United States offering such a concert this season. What’s more, tickets sold very briskly for the two concerts and the audience seemed to enjoy what they heard. It probably didn’t hurt that the dynamic and flamboyant Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg was the featured soloist.

Barber Out of Sync with Contemporaries

Barber is by no means a ‘difficult’ composer and never was. In fact, he was often accused of being old-fashioned and too conservative to be taken seriously as a composer of contemporary music. While much of his music does indeed have recognizable melody, it is often complex in its musical argument, and there is frequently a deep sadness in his music that can be unsettling.

The Adagio for Strings, by far Barber’s best-known composition, has become one of the staples of string orchestra repertoire and is often performed at funerals and occasions of public lament. It is a richly beautiful piece, shot through with anguish, expressing at its climax, a kind of primordial scream. Peter Bay and the ASO played the work with the utmost sensitivity and gave full value to the eloquent rests which are so integral to the work.

The concert opened with Medea’s Meditation and Dance of Vengeance Op. 23a, taken from a ballet score written for Martha Graham in 1946. I must confess that I have never really warmed to this piece – it always sounds to me like a second-rate version of the "Dance of the Seven Veils" from Richard Strauss’ opera Salome – but Bay and the ASO played it very well indeed.

Flashy Organ Concerto Suits Occasion

The Toccata Festiva Op. 36 closed the first half of the concert. Barber composed this piece in 1960 to inaugurate the new organ installed at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, which, at the time, was the home of the Philadelphia Orchestra. The Toccata remains a largely ceremonial piece to be trotted out on special occasions, such as this. Christoph Eschenbach (with organist Olivier Latry) performed and recorded (Ondine ODE 1094-5) the work at the inauguration of the new organ in Verizon Hall in Philadelphia in 2006.

The audience at the Long Center was utterly fascinated watching the stagehands bring on the portable organ console piece by piece and then assemble it onstage. One of the highlights of the Toccata Festiva – apart from the setting up of the organ – is undoubtedly the remarkable cadenza which is almost entirely played on the pedals. This is exciting to watch, especially if the keyboards and pedals are facing the audience, as they were in Austin. The organ soloist was Stephen Hamilton, Minister of Music at the Church of the Holy Trinity in New York City.

Nadja-Salerno Sonnenberg “owns” this Concerto!

After intermission came the two works which stand for me as among Barber’s greatest achievements: the Violin Concerto (1936) and the Symphony No. 1 (1939).

The soloist in the Violin Concerto was Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, who has been playing this piece with love and virtuosity for decades. She doesn’t just play this piece; she enters into the soul of it. From the almost inaudible opening bars she seems to be improvising, slowly bringing the music to life before weaving an engrossing tale of beauty and emotion.

The first melody at the opening of the concerto is exquisite. The tune first played by the oboist (Ian Davidson) at the beginning of the second movement is even more beguiling.

For all its beauty, the last movement of this concerto is problematic for some listeners – especially critics – in that it seems too short and too different from what has come before. But in Salerno-Sonnenberg’s hands it is, as Duke Ellington liked to say, simply “beyond category.” This is a perpetual motion movement in which the soloist’s fingers and bow are a blur from beginning to end. Unique to Salerno-Sonnenberg’s performance is the way in which she so perfectly catches the infectious ‘swing’ of the music. Bay and the ASO were right there for her in all the passionate moments and in the lightning fast and metrically complex finale.

And After Intermission…a Performance Worth the Wait!

I expected that there would be a rush for the exits after the concerto. In cities famous and not so famous all over the world, listeners tend to head for home after the celebrity guest artist has done his or her thing. As far as I could tell, not a single person left the hall on this occasion. There are some serious music-lovers in Austin and they are not all on Sixth Street!

In fact, fleeing patrons would have missed a fine musical experience; the performance of Barber’s Symphony No. 1 nearly topped what had preceded it. The Austin Symphony played superbly and Peter Bay conducted with total mastery of this complex score. There is an achingly beautiful oboe solo in this work too and once again Ian Davidson rose to the occasion.

Samuel Barber Then and Now

All the music on this concert except for the Toccata Festiva dates from 1936-46. Looking back, this was Barber’s golden period and a gradual decline in productivity and quality set in after that. Depression, alcoholism and a break with his life-long partner Gian Carlo Menotti all contributed to an apparent loss of confidence and energy.

Many people admire Barber’s opera Vanessa (1958); I am not one of them. It has always seemed to me somewhat ‘precious’ and lacking in drama. In 1966, Barber wrote another opera, Antony and Cleopatra, on a commission from the Metropolitan Opera. At the time, the consensus was that this was a fiasco and Barber was deeply hurt by the experience. Many of his admirers blamed the excessively grand staging by Zeffirelli for the opera’s failure and it has since been produced elsewhere with some success. This coming March Curtis Opera Theatre will mount a new production at the Kimmel Centre in Philadelphia as part of its year-long celebration of the Barber Centenary. Barber studied at Curtis as a young man and later returned to teach there.

For all his ups and downs, Barber created a substantial body of work. Along with Ives, Gershwin, Copland and Bernstein, he has earned the right to be considered one of the major American composers of the Twentieth Century. As we begin to make our way through the second decade of a new century, Peter Bay and the Austin Symphony reminded us of Barber’s stature in a very positive way.

And For Those Who Want More…

Some years ago Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg made a recording of the Barber Violin Concerto (EMI 54313). She currently leads her own orchestra, the New Century Chamber Orchestra in the Bay Area and with this ensemble she has released an album called Together. For more on NSS visit her website.

For more on Samuel Barber, the biography by Barbara Heyman is essential reading: Samuel Barber: the Composer and his Music (Oxford University Press). I recommend also the fine appreciation of Barber in a long essay by Paul Wittke.

Barber’s songs are at the heart of his compositional output and it will be a long time before his music finds a better interpreter than Thomas Hampson. The distinguished American baritone has recorded all of Barber’s songs (DG 435 8672) along with soprano Cheryl Studer, pianist John Browning and the Emerson Quartet in a 2-CD set.

Paul E. Robinson is the author of Herbert von Karajan: the Maestro as Superstar, and Sir Georg Solti: His Life and Music, both available at Amazon.com.

This Week in Toronto (Jan. 25 - 31)

Conductor of MSO Kent Nagano

Photo credit: Nicolas Ruel

This week marks the start of the Canadian Opera Company's winter season, with the opening of Carmen on Wednesday, Jan. 27. (The other production, Verdi's Otello, will open a week later, on Feb. 3) The Bizet opera is a true warhorse - the showing of this opera on Met in HD broke all attendance records recently. It was last staged in Toronto only five years ago, with Ukrainian mezzo Larissa Kostiuk as the Gypsy, in the Montreal Opera co-production. Much drama has already transpired offstage, with the American mezzo Beth Clayton withdrawing from all twelve performances. The COC scrambled to find a replacement, and it was announced a week ago that Israeli mezzo Rinat Shaham will sing the first six performances, which has now expanded to the first eight. I saw Shaham as Carmen just five years ago at the Montreal Opera and she was wonderful. I look forward to hearing and seeing her again. Two days ago, I received a COC press release that the young Georgian mezzo Anita Rachvelishvili will make her Canadian debut as Carmen here, singing the last four shows. Rachvelishvili, a young artist at La Scala, was chosen to sing the title role of Carmen at the La Scala 2009-10 season opening on December 7, opposite the sensational Jose of Jonas Kaufmann under the baton of Daniel Barenboim. The show was telecast live in selected movie theaters and transmitted on Italian Television. Despite the high pressure situation, Rachvelishvili acquitted herself well and received a big ovation from the audience. The rest of the COC cast include American tenor Bryan Hymel as Jose, Canadian soprano Jessica Muirhead as Micaela, and Paul Gay as Escamillo. Rory Macdonald makes his COC conducting debut. There will be a total of twelve performances, with shows on Jan. 27 and 30 this week.

Another important event this week is the return of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra to Roy Thomson Hall under the baton of Kent Nagano. On the program is Weber's Overture to Oberon, Stravinsky's Firebird, and Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 with pianist Till Felner. The concert is on Monday Jan. 25 at 8:30 pm, an unusually late start. On Jan. 28 and 30 at 8 pm, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra presents the grand Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5, with conductor James Gaffigan. Also on the program is the Canadian premiere of Thomas Ades' Violin Concerto "Concentric Paths" played by soloist Leila Josefowicz.

On Thursday Jan. 28, the Canadian Opera Company presents a free noon hour concert, Songs of Heaven and Earth by Olivier Messaien, performed by members of the COC Ensemble Studio, with Steven Philcox at the piano. This is a good opportunity to hear this comparatively rare work. Remember to show up at least 30 minutes early to secure a spot.

On Sunday, Jan. 31 at 2:30 pm, Opera in Concert presents Handel's Giulio Cesare, with countertenor David Trudgen, soprano Charlotte Corwin, mezzo Catherine Rooney, and baritone James Levesque. Kevin Mallon conducts the Aralia Ensemble. Jane Mallet Theatre at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts.

Canadian Opera Company Announces its 2010-11 Season

CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY ANNOUNCES ITS 2010/11 SEASON FEATURING NEW PRODUCTIONS AND COC PREMIERES

Toronto, Ontario – Today, at a press conference at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, the Canadian Opera Company proudly announced its 2010/2011 season. Featuring two new productions of opera classics, two COC premieres, and three brilliant productions from around the world, the COC’s 2010/11 season consists of a diverse line-up of operas featuring some major star power. The company presents two new productions of operatic favourites Aida and The Magic Flute; COC premieres of the 20th century opera Nixon in China and the COC’s first Gluck opera,Orfeo ed Euridice; and the long-awaited returns of Death in Venice, La Cenerentolaand Ariadne auf Naxos.

Making their COC debuts in the upcoming season are singers Jane Archibald, Lawrence Brownlee, Michele Capalbo, Alice Coote, Sondra Radvanovsky, and conductors

Sir Andrew Davis, and Pablo Heras-Casado; and directors Yoshi Oida and Diane Paulus. Returning artists include singers Isabel Bayrakdarian, Tracy Dahl, Robert Gleadow, Scott Hendricks, Richard Margison, Adrianne Pieczonka, Brett Polegato, Michael Schade, and Lawrence Zazzo; directors Tim Albery, Neil Armfield, Robert Carsen, and James Robinson; and conductor Harry Bicket. All performances are in the company’s home, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, and feature the renowned COC Orchestra and Chorus.

“The 2010/2011 season is representative of my pledge to present opera of the highest international standards. With great new productions of classic favourites, the introduction of works never before seen on our stages, and brilliant, imaginative productions from around the world, you have a perfect opera season,” said Alexander Neef, COC’s General Director.

The Canadian Opera Company’s 61st season opens with a new COC production of Giuseppe Verdi’s operatic masterpiece Aida, last produced by the COC in 1986. Created by the same team responsible for the COC’s 2008 award-winning production of War and Peace, Aida is conducted by COC Music Director Johannes Debus and directed by Tim Albery. Aida is the story of an Ethiopian princess enslaved in Egypt whose love affair with her enemy’s military commander, Radames, seals their fate. American dramatic sopranoSondra Radvanovsky makes her much-anticipated company and role debut as Aida, and shares the role with Canadian soprano Michele Capalbo who also makes her COC debut. American baritone Scott Hendricks (Don Carlos, and the upcomingOtello) returns as Amonasro, the King of Ethiopia. Also making their COC debuts are Australian-born tenor Rosario La Spina singing the role of Radames, and American mezzo-soprano Jill Grove as Amneris, daughter of the King of Egypt, also in love with Radames,. This new production is designed by War and Peace collaboratorsHildegard Bechtler (set) and Thomas C. Hase (lighting), and costumes are designed by Jon Morrell. Aida runs for 12 performances on October 2, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, and November 2, 5, 2010 and is sung in Italian with English SURTITLES™.

The fall season continues with Benjamin Britten’s Death in Venice, not performed by the COC since 1984. Britten’s final opera, based on Thomas Mann’s novella, is about an aging writer in crisis, who, while seeking salvation and creative inspiration in the light and splendour of early 20th-century Venice, instead becomes bewitched with the vitality and beauty of a young boy. Returning to lead the COC Orchestra and Chorus is British conductor Steuart Bedford(1993’s Hänsel und Gretel), recognized as one of today’s leading experts on the works of Benjamin Britten. Notably, Mr. Bedford conducted the world premiere of the opera in 1973. Acclaimed Japanese-born Yoshi Oida, who as part of Peter Brook’s renowned theatre company has worked as an actor and director, makes his COC debut directing this production. Singing the lead role of Gustav von Aschenbach is British tenor Alan Oke who received widespread acclaim for his portrayal. British baritone Peter Savidge (2005’s Rodelinda) returns to the COC to sing the role of the Traveller. Making his company debut singing the voice of the Greek god Apollo is British countertenor William Towers. Death in Venice is a co-production between the Aldeburgh Festival, Opéra national de Lyon, Bregenz Opera and Prague State Opera. It is sung in English with English SURTITLES™ and runs for eight performances onOctober 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, and November 3, 6, 2010.

A new COC production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s mystical fairytale The Magic Fluteopens the winter season. Director Diane Paulus, Tony Award®-nominated director of Broadway’s HAIR, and Artistic Director of the American Repertory Theater, makes her COC debut. The Magic Flute weaves a timeless story of Prince Tamino, and his friend Papageno’s magical quest to rescue a beautiful princess, Pamina, from the sorcerer Sarastro. This new production is designed by Myung Hee Cho and will appeal to all ages. Singing the lead roles of Tamino and Pamina are COC favourites tenor Michael Schade (2009’s Rusalka), and celebrated Armenian-Canadian sopranoIsabel Bayrakdarian (2008’s Pelléas et Mélisande). They share their roles with young Canadian singers, tenor Frédéric Antoun and COC Ensemble Studio member soprano Simone Osborne. Baritone Rodion Pogossov (2007’s The Barber of Seville) returns to the COC to sing the role of Papageno, and recent Ensemble Studio graduate soprano

Lisa DiMaria is his sweetheart, Papagena. Canadian soprano Aline Kutan makes her mainstage debut in her signature role as The Queen of the Night. Russian bassMikhail Petrenko is Sarastro, and former Ensemble bass-baritone Robert Gleadow(2009’s La Bohème and A Midsummer Night’s Dream) sings the Speaker of the Temple. Leading the COC Orchestra and Chorus in some of Mozart’s most sublimely beautiful and infectious melodies is COC Music Director Johannes Debus. Last performed on the COC mainstage in 1993,

The Magic Flute runs for 12 performances on January 29, February 1, 3, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 18, 20, 23, 25, 2011 and is sung in German with English SURTITLES™.

Experience the exciting young singers of the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio, as they perform Mozart’s The Magic Flute on Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. This special performance stars the Ensemble members with the full COC Orchestra and Chorus under the direction of COC Music Director Johannes Debus. For casting, please visit the COC website at coc.ca. Tickets are accessible priced at $20 or $50 per person.

Continuing the winter season is a COC premiere of John Adams’ opera, Nixon in China. Considered one of the major operas of the 20th century, Nixon in China recounts President Richard Nixon’s famous, five-day 1972 trip to China. Hailed by critics in his “sensational portrayal of Richard Nixon” (Houston Chronicle) is leading American baritone Robert Orth (1990’s The Barber of Seville). Canadian soprano Tracy Dahl(1995’s Ariadne auf Naxos) makes her return to the COC as Madame Mao. American bass-baritone Thomas Hammons makes his COC debut portraying Nixon’s diplomatic advisor Henry Kissinger, a role he premiered in Houston in 1987, and subsequently performed in Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt and Los Angeles. Singing Chairman Mao is British tenor Adrian Thompson. Making his COC debut leading the COC Orchestra and Chorus is young Spanish conductor Pablo Heras-Casado, who was unanimously voted winner of the 2007 Lucerne Festival Conductors’ Competition by a jury headed by Pierre Boulez and Peter Eötvös. Returning to the COC to direct this production he originally staged at Opera Theatre of St. Louis is American James Robinson (Elektra,Turandot, Norma, Lucia di Lammermoor and Il viaggio a Reims). The COC premiere of Nixon in China runs for eight performances on February 5, 9, 11, 13, 19, 22, 24,and 26, 2011 and is sung in English with English SURTITLES™.

Opening the COC’s spring season and performed for the first time since 1996, is Gioacchino Rossini’s delightful opera buffa La Cenerentola, based on the beloved fairytaleCinderella. This colourful and imaginative production from Houston Grand Opera (a joint venture with Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu, Welsh National Opera and Grand Théâtre de Genève) features a spectacular cast of Rossini specialists. Returning to the COC to sing Angelina (Cenerentola) is American mezzo-soprano

Elizabeth DeShong who made her company debut as Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (“stunningly rich and powerful voice” Toronto Star). American Lawrence Brownlee, known as one of the most prominent bel canto tenors on the international stage, performs the role of Don Ramiro. Mr. Brownlee, who sang this role in Houston, makes his COC debut as the Prince. Dandini, Ramiro’s valet, is sung by COC favourite, baritone Brett Polegato (2009’s Madama Butterfly and 2008’s Don Giovanni). American bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen (2001’s The Girl of the Golden West) returns to sings Alidoro. Returning to the COC as Don Magnifico, Cenerentola’s father, is Italian bass Donato DiStefano (2007’s The Marriage of Figaro and Le Comte Ory). Making his COC debut leading the COC Orchestra and Chorus is Italian conductor Leonardo Vordoni, who recently made his debut with the prestigious Wexford Opera Festival and the internationally-renowned Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro in 2008. This vibrant and animated production is ideal for all ages and is directed and designed by the creative Spanish theatre troupe Els Comediants led by director Joan Font. La Cenerentola runs for nine performances on April 23, 28, May 1, 7, 10, 13, 19, 22, and 25, 2011 and is sung in Italian with English SURTITLES™.

Continuing the spring season is Richard Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos. Last performed by the COC in 1995, this opera-within-an-opera’s madcap backstage melodrama is just a precursor to onstage expressions of love, loss and spiritual transformation. Sir Andrew Davis, Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Music Director and Principal Conductor, makes his much-anticipated company debut leading the COC Orchestra. Leading the stellar cast are Canadian stars, soprano Adrianne Pieczonkaand tenor Richard Margison. Ms Pieczonka and Mr. Margison last appeared together in the COC’s 2009 production of Fidelio. Canadian soprano

Jane Archibald sings Zerbinetta, the charming comedienne of the faux opera, and recently sang this role to rave reviews with the Berlin Deutsche Oper. Renowned British mezzo-soprano Alice Coote sings the Composer. Both Ms Archibald and Ms Coote make their highly anticipated COC debuts in this production. Returning to the COC is multiple award-winning Australian director Neil Armfield (2001’s Billy Buddand 2009’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream). Ariadne auf Naxos is a Welsh National Opera production, and runs for eight performances on April 30, May 3, 12, 15, 18, 21, 27, and 29, 2011 and is sung in German with English SURTITLES™.

Closing the 2010/11 season is the COC premiere of Christoph Willibald Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice. Canadian director Robert Carsen (world premiere of 1992’s Mario and the Magician and Katya Kabanova) makes his highly anticipated return to the COC with his acclaimed Lyric Opera of Chicago production of Gluck’s masterpiece. American countertenor Lawrence Zazzo and Isabel Bayrakdarian star in the title roles. Mr. Zazzo recently sang Oberon to rave reviews in the COC’s 2009 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and currently can be seen as Ottone in L’incoronazione di Poppea with Theater an der Wien in Vienna. Ms Bayrakdarian is currently performing the role of Ilia in Opéra national de Paris’s production of Idomeneo (a role she will perform with the COC this spring) and also performs earlier in the COC’s 2010/11 season in The Magic Flute. Leading the COC Orchestra and Chorus is renowned British conductor Harry Bicket, who conducts the COC’s new production of Mozart’sIdomeneo this season. Orfeo ed Euridice runs for eight performances on

May 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 24, 26, and 28, 2011 and is sung in Italian with English SURTITLES™.

Subscriptions to the seven mainstage operas for the COC’s 2010/11 season range from $287 to$1249, with Grand Ring (box level) seat subscriptions available at $1,694 and $2,079, and may be purchased online at coc.ca, by calling 416-363-8231, or in person at the Four Seasons Centre Box Office, 145 Queen St. W., Toronto. Subscriptions are available to renewing COC subscribers on January 20, 2010 and to the general public on April 5, 2010.

Single tickets are available to the public as of August 16, 2010 for the fall run, December 13, 2010 for the winter run and March 7, 2011 for the spring run. Single ticket prices for all performances range from $62 to $190, with Grand Ring (box level) seat tickets available at$229 and $281 plus applicable taxes.

Special young people’s tickets for all performances throughout the season are priced from $31to $95 plus applicable taxes. These ticket prices apply to those who are 15 years of age or under, accompanied by, and sitting next to an adult. Young adults between the ages of 16 to 29 may purchase specially-priced $20 tickets through the COC’s Opera for a New Age program approximately one week prior to each of the fall, winter and spring seasons. Opera for a New Age is presented by TD Bank Financial Group. A total of 150 seats, each priced at $20, will be reserved for every COC performance and will be available for purchase through Opera for a New Age to student groups and subject to availability on the day of a performance.

New in the 2010/11 season are Standing Room Only tickets available on the day of all performances. Tickets are $12 and go on sale 11 a.m. the day of the performance. For more information please see the separate press release.

All repertoire, dates, pricing, productions, and casting are subject to change. For more complete casting, please see the Show Pages.

The Canadian Opera Company will webcast the announcement of its 2010/11 season live oncoc.ca on January 20, 2010 at 10 a.m. from the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre in theFour Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. The webcast will be available for streaming after the press conference.

For more information on the Canadian Opera Company’s 2010/11 season, please visit coc.ca.

Nixon in China Production Co-sponsors: CIBC and CIBC Mellon

The Magic Flute has been generously underwritten by The Catherine and Maxwell Meighen Foundation.

The Magic Flute Production Sponsor: RBC

This production of Orfeo ed Euridice is owned by the Lyric Opera of Chicago and was made possible by generous gifts from An Anonymous Donor, The Elizabeth Morse Genius Charitable Trust/The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust, Stephen A. Kaplan and Alyce K. Sigler, Sidley Austin LLP, and Howard A. Stotler with additional funding by AT&T.

Presenting Sponsor of SURTITLES™: Sun Life Financial

Official Automotive Sponsor of the COC at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts: Jaguar Land Rover Canada

Broadcast Partner: CBC Radio 2

Official Media Sponsors: CTV and The Globe and Mail

Digital Marketing Sponsor: Delvinia

The COC Ensemble Studio is Canada’s premier training program for young opera professionals and provides advanced instruction, hands-on experience, and career development opportunities. The Ensemble Studio is supported by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage, RBC, and other generous donors.

About the Canadian Opera Company

Based in Toronto, the Canadian Opera Company is the largest producer of opera in Canada and fifth largest in North America, and celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2009/10. Under its new leadership of General Director Alexander Neef and Music Director Johannes Debus, the COC continues its international reputation for artistic excellence and creative innovation. The COC currently enjoys a remarkable 99% attendance rate and one of the highest subscription rates in North America. The COC performs in the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, designed by Diamond and Schmitt Architects Inc. From its inauguration in 2006, the Four Seasons Centre has been internationally hailed as one of the finest opera houses in the world. The Four Seasons Centre is also the performance venue for The National Ballet of Canada.

Canadian Opera Company Website

The Canadian Opera Company’s award-winning website, coc.ca, contains information on all productions and programs and includes video interviews with members of the creative team, as well as many other fun, informative and interactive features.

This Week in Toronto (Jan. 18 - 24)

Photo: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra's Mozart@254 celebration continues this week. On Jan. 20 and 21, at 8 pm in Roy Thomson Hall, TSO presents a program featuring several women artists in the music of Mozart - conductor Jane Glover, pianist Imogen Cooper, violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, and violist Teng Li. The three pieces on the program are Symphony No. 32 in G major, Piano Concert No. 25 in C Major, and Sinfonia concertante for Vilin and Viola K. 320d. During intermission, the performers will be interviewed in the lobby about their thoughts on playing Mozart. On Jan. 23 (7 pm) and 24 (3 pm), the TSO presents Beyond the Score: Mozart Piano Concerto No. 27. Billed as a "light classics" event, this concert is designed for "newcomers" to Mozart and classical music in general. Actor Paul Gross and conductor Peter Oundjian join forces to offer a "cultural and historical exploration of the Mozart Piano Concerto No. 27", followed by a performance by pianist/leader Ignat Solzhenitsyn.

On January 22 8 pm at the Glenn Gould Studio, Sinfonia Toronto presents The Romantic Century, a celebration of Chopin's 200th anniversary. Pianist Yuval Fichman plays Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2. Also on the program is Somers' North Country, and Ravel's Sinfonia in F Major.

On January 20 at 10 am at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, the Canadian Opera Company will be announcing its 2010-11 season. I will be attending the press conference, and will have more to report afterwards. Incidentally, the press conference will be taped for streaming in the COC website: www.coc.ca afterwards.

Ever wonder why your opinions are so similar - or so different! - from your local newspaper critic? Well, you'll have a chance to hear from the horse's mouth! Toronto Star arts critic John Terauds will be interviewed at the Toronto Wagner Society on Monday Jan. 18, at 8 pm, in the Arts and Letters Club on 14 Elm Street in downtown Toronto. This event is open to members only, but you can join on the spot! I have been a member for the last twenty seven years, and this is a great organization for anyone interested in the music of Wagner. So if you are a budding or seasoned Wagnerite, do come! You can find out more information at their website http://www.torontowagner.org/index.html

For art song enthusiasts, there are two noteworthy concerts on Sunday, Jan. 24. Unfortunately, these two concerts overlap, so you will have to make a choice! The Aldeburgh Connection , the brainchild of retired professor of music Stephen Ralls and his partner Bruce Ubukata, is one of the most respected vocal recital series in the Toronto area. Their theme-based recital programs are always thoughtful and interesting. We are fortunate that Aldeburgh Connection is still going strong even though Ralls has now retired from the University of Toronto Faculty of Music. On Sunday at 2:30 pm in U of T's intimate Walter Hall is their annual Schubertiad, this year focusing on Schubert's setting of text by Sir Walter Scott. Soloists are mezzo Anita Krause, tenor Christopher Enns, and baritone James Levesque. A second worthwhile concert is Off Centre Music Salon's German Spanish Salon, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the death of Pauline Viardot and the 200th anniversary of Robert Schumann's birth. In addition to songs by Schumann and Viardot, works by Brahms, Mendelssohn and Chopin will also be featured. Soloists are soprano Shannon Mercer, mezzo Wallis Giunta, violinist Marie Berard joining hosts Boris and Inna Zarankin at the keyboard. The concert takes place on Sunday 2 pm at the Glenn Gould Studio.

Finally, for anyone who missed the terrific Met in HD Tales of Hoffmann on December 19, the encore performance is on Jan. 23, in the participating Cineplex theatres in Toronto and across Canada. For more information, go to http://www.cineplex.com/Events/MetOpera0910.aspx

Cette semaine à Montréal (18 à 24 jan) / This Week in Montreal (Jan. 18 - 24)

Musique, danse, arts visuels et théâtre à Montréal cette semaine

Music, dance, visual arts and theatre in Montreal this week

Danse : Pierre Lecours présente Les steppes, résultat de son travail avec huit interprètes de la compagnie Cas Public, à L’Agora, du 20 au 23. Kathy Ward occupe la scène de Tangente du 21 au 24 avec Rock Steady. —Fabienne Cabado

Théâtre : Sextett. Intrigante proposition que cette « comédie érotique » imaginée par l’auteur français Rémi De Vos. Présentée cet automne au Théâtre du Rond-Point, à Paris, la pièce met en scène un jeune homme poursuivi par le désir de plusieurs femmes délirantes. Une coproduction à la distribution internationale, incluant la charmante Portugaise Maria de Medeiros et notre Anne-Marie Cadieux. » Du 12 janvier au 6 février, à l’Espace Go —Marie Labrecque

 Theatre: The McGill Arts Undergraduate Theatre Society is putting on their 4th annual musical opening on January 14th and continuing its run on the 15th, 16th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd. Doors open each night at 7:00 pm. The AUTS is a student run organization seeking to empower young actors, singers, dancers, directors, designers and musicians through peer-organized theatre. This year, the AUTS is putting on the well-known classic Cabaret, directed by Julian Silverman, choreographed by Claire Hughes, produced by Meg Annand, stage managed by Genevieve Hill with musical direction by Chris Barrilaro. This vibrant production stars Nicolas Allen as the MC, Callie Armstrong as English cabaret performer Sally Bowles and Adrian Steiner as young American writer Cliff Bradshaw. Tickets are $10 for students and $15 for adults and are available at SNAX cafe in Leacock or online at auts-cabaret2010.blogspot.com. 

Théâtre : La Liste. Avant même de voir le jour sur scène, cette pièce de Jennifer Tremblay a remporté l’an dernier le Prix du Gouverneur général en théâtre. Le jury a louangé l’universalité de ce monologue où une mère de famille se questionne sur sa culpabilité dans la mort d’une voisine. Le soliloque dispose déjà d’un atout de taille : l’éblouissante interprète Sylvie Drapeau. » Du 12 janvier au 6 février, au Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui —Marie Labrecque

Theatre: The off-Broadway smash hit Menopause The Musical comes to the Centaur from January 12th to February 7th.  Four women of completely different backgrounds meet at Bloomingdale’s lingerie sale with nothing in common but a black lace bra and the day-to-day hectic challenges of aging. The musical hilariously re-lyricizes songs from the 60s, 70s and 80s to suit the situation. The Bee Gee’s “Stayin’ Alive” becomes “Stayin’ Awake”, “My Guy”, changes to “My Thighs” and “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” is transformed into “In the Guest Room or on the Sofa, My Husband Sleeps at Night”. Celebrating life transitions and the perks and pains of womanhood, this show promises a rollicking good time for all ages. —Jessica Hill

Orchestral Music: On January 20, OSM Solo Trombonist James Box performs a concerto that fuses sounds of jazz, swing and world music by the American composer Nathaniel Shilkret. Also on the programme are works by Chabrier and de Falla conducted by Julian Kuerti. 514-842-2112

Jazz : Ven. 22, sam. 23 »  Cordâme (trio à cordes du contrebassiste Jean Félix Mailloux). Upstairs Jazz Bar. (20 h 30)

Musique de chambre : Acclamé comme le premier ensemble de musique de chambre du pays, Musica Camerata célèbre cette année sa quarantième saison. Le 23 janvier à 20 h, l’ensemble présente deux chefs-d’œuvre pour piano et quatuor à cordes de Franck et Elgar. Salle Redpath, Université McGill, 3461 rue McTavish – 514-489-8713

Orchestral Music: The incomparable jazz musician Branford Marsalis performs Debussy’s colourful Rhapsody for Alto Saxophone with the OSM under the direction of Kent Nagano on the afternoon of January 24. Also on the programme is Stravinski’s The Firebird. Pianist Olga Gross will be performing Messiaen’s Couleurs de la cité céleste, a fascinating work that draws on plainsong, Greek and Hindu rhythms, birdsong and more. 514-842-2112

Musique vocale : Le 24 janvier à 19 h 30, l’ensemble vocal VivaVoce sous la direction de Peter Schubert propose de faire place aux poètes de tous les temps. Composée sur des textes de Guillaume de Machaut et de Gaston Miron, L’espace du cœur de Tremblay prend place parmi eux. Salle Redpath, Université McGill, 3461 rue McTavish – 514-398-4547

Jazz : Dim. 24 » D’Australie le trio piano The Necks. (Musique improvisée minimaliste). Sala Rossa

Arts visuels : Vous découvrirez lors de l’exposition J. W. Waterhouse. Le jardin des sortilèges un artiste captivé par la beauté des femmes et leur pouvoir d’attraction. Élevé à Londres et à Leeds, J. W. Waterhouse (1849-1917) est né à Rome de parents d’origine britannique. Le parcours de son œuvre, qui couvre cinq décennies, est imprégné de l’Antiquité classique. Il fait ressortir à la fois sa fascination pour la mélancolie et la magie, mais aussi les dangers de l’amour et de la beauté. Pour la première fois, tous les tableaux consacrés à la Dame de Shalott sont exposés ensemble. Cette exposition offre donc la chance unique d’analyser et de comprendre la façon dont l’artiste a exploré le poème romantique du poète anglais Alfred Tennyson, et ce, sur une période de trente ans. Une œuvre à la fois poétique, mythique et hypnotique, empreinte d’une grande théâtralité, vous attend au Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal.  » Montréal, Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal jusqu’au 2 février 2010 —Julie Beaulieu

Conspirare Rings in New Year with Seldom Heard Strauss Motette

by Paul E. Robinson

The last time I looked in on Conspirare, they were offering Christmas music at the Long Center in Austin. Last week, they moved a few blocks uptown to St. Martin’s Lutheran Church for a concert titled "A New Year’s Conspirare Classic". I had no idea what that meant, but a perusal of the program suggested that we were in for an evening of German choral music - except for a short piece by Samuel Barber - which turned out to be Conspirare’s tribute to the American composer on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth (March 9, 1910).

First Half of Program Somewhat Disappointing

I could have done without the five excerpts from Max Reger’s Acht Geistliche Gesänge Op. 138 which opened the concert. This is boring music by any standard. In my opinion, the concert should have opened with Bach’s wonderful motet Singet dem Herr nein neues Lied BWV 225 for double chorus. This music is full of energy and the sort of inspired contrapuntal variety that only Bach could write. Conductor Craig Hella Johnson went to the trouble of bringing in some continuo players just for this piece. I would have preferred an organ – the harpsichord was all but inaudible – but the cellos and bass sounded fine.

The Samuel Barber selection was too short and inconsequential to serve as an appropriate tribute to a composer of his stature.

The first half of the concert ended with two choral songs by Robert Schumann. Zigeunerleben is an amazingly vivid piece and Conspirare sang it very well indeed. They followed up with Schumann’s An die Sterne.

Here is one of those thematic connections that Johnson likes to make in his programs. The poetry Schumann set to music in both songs is by Friedrich Rückert (1788-1866), the same man whose poetry was used by Richard Strauss for his Deutsche Motette, the major work in the second half of the concert. I am sure that Johnson also wanted us to note the pivotal role played by stars in the heavens in both An die Sterne and the Deutsche Motette, and, for good measure, in Samuel Barber’s Sure on This Shining Night.

Chameleon Conspirare Takes Several Forms

For readers unfamiliar with Conspirare, let me provide some background. ‘Conspirare’ is the name of the organization based in Austin devoted to the performance of choral music. But there are several different ensembles that perform under this umbrella. One of these is the ‘Conspirare Symphonic Choir’, a large group with a nucleus of professionals and community singers recruited locally. This choir took part in an excellent performance of Cary Ratcliff’s Ode to Common Things with the Austin Symphony earlier this season. Then there is the smaller ensemble of about forty voices that appears under the name ‘Company of Voices.’ This is an all-star festival choir which brings together top professionals from all over the country.

Rare Strauss Composition Program Highlight

This was just about the coldest night I have ever experienced in Austin, and all things being equal I would rather have curled up in front of a roaring fire at home. But all things weren’t equal. What drew me out into wintry discomfort was the prospect of hearing a rare performance of Richard Strauss’ magnificent Deutsche Motette. This is one of the most daunting challenges in choral literature, but I knew that Craig Hella Johnson and Conspirare ‘Company of Voices’ had what it takes to do it justice. And so they did, giving us a glorious performance of the piece.

The Deutsche Motette was composed in 1913, around the time of Strauss’ opera Ariadne auf Naxos, but he revised it in 1943. As a result of this revision, it must be grouped with several other works of Strauss’ late years. What these later works have in common – the Metamorphosen for 23 Solo Strings and the two Sonatinas or Symphonies for Winds – is a preoccupation with contrapuntal complexity.

Strauss had great gifts as a melodist and was a master of orchestration, but far less appreciated was his ability to write complicated fugues and other contrapuntal textures. It is almost incredible that in his last years, when he was in his eighties, when he could have rested on his laurels or written only tuneful miniatures, he set himself some of the most difficult musical challenges imaginable. Strauss was apt to refer to these late works as “wrist exercises” or “workshop” pieces, but one cannot help but marvel at the level of craftsmanship Strauss maintained until his final days.

For the singers, the most difficult aspects of the Deutsche Motette are technical. Strauss takes his sopranos and basses to the extremes of their ranges, and often keeps them there for bars on end. The harmonies are also unusual and not easy to tune. Finally, Strauss sometimes seems to forget that singers have to breathe! But no music endures simply because it is difficult. The Deutsche Motette is a great piece because of its beauty and power. Rückert’s words suggest someone in the depths of depression, perhaps at the end of a troubled life, searching for reassurance and peace of mind.

Strauss was outwardly one of the most confident of men, but his music often reflected sadness and disappointment. One thinks of the Marshallin in Der Rosenkavalier, and those heartbreaking epilogues in works like Ein Heldenleben, Don Quixote, and Eine Alpensymphonie. In the Deutsche Motette, Strauss finds a profoundly moving musical expression of the essence of Rückert’s poetry. I have no doubt that individually and collectively, the 'Company of Voices' must have spent many long hours preparing this piece. For at least one listener, it was worth every minute. This was a performance to treasure.

And to Cap off the Evening...Humor and Charm!

The next piece performed was also German, but very different from anything else on the program. It was from the repertoire of that legendary close harmony group, the Comedian Harmonists, who had flourished from 1927 to 1934. Craig Hella Johnson programmed a choral version of My Little Green Cactus in order to “cleanse the palate” after the Strauss. It was great fun and I would love to have heard several more.

Finally, we had a selection from Brahms’ Liebeslieder Waltzes. These are charming choral songs, with accompaniment by two pianists at one keyboard. It was the perfect way to end a concert of mostly German music and it sent the audience back out into the cold with at least a warm glow to fortify themselves.

Additional Listening

You can hear the Comedian Harmonists singing Mein kleiner grüner Kaktus (My Little Green Cactus) on YouTube. A whole album of their recordings is available on Naxos 8.120613.

Paul E. Robinson is the author of Herbert von Karajan: the Maestro as Superstar, and Sir Georg Solti: His Life and Music, both available at Amazon.com.

Pierre Dionne nous a quittés / Has Passed Away

Pierre Dionne, a friend to the music world and La Scena Musicale, has passed away. Here is an email from André Dupras:

J'ai le regret de  vous annoncer que notre ami Pierre Dionne nous a quittés vers 1 h 30 cette nuit, dans un hôpital de Trois-Rivières. Son courageux combat contre le cancer aura duré un peu plus d'un an. 

Stay tuned for funeral details. Any comments will be forwarded to the family.


- Wah Keung Chan