Met Opera in HD opens with Glittery Gala

Top Left: Deborah Voigt interviewing Paulo Szot in Time Square

Photo: Ken Howard

Top Right: Renee Fleming in Capriccio

Photo: Ken Howard

Below:Renee Fleming as Violetta

Photo: Ruby Washington / New York Times

Metropolitan Opera in HD opens with Glittery Gala

Joseph So

Now in its third season, the Gelb-inspired, wildly successful Metropolitan Opera in HD opened Monday night with a starry gala consisting of one act each from three operas featuring America's reigning diva, soprano Renee Fleming. The live simulcasts of 14 operas the past two seasons have attracted 1.3 million viewers, a staggering figure when you consider the Met, humongous as opera houses go, has a capacity of only 4,100 including standing room. With this new innovation, the Met has managed to reach a huge worldwide audience, as these shows are also seen in Canada, Europe, Japan, and Australia, and for the first time, Mexico City, the home of tenor Ramon Vargas who also starred in two of the three operas. Despite a few naysayers, there is no question that the Met in HD initiative has gone a long way to promote opera to the general public.

Given the Met success, other houses have jumped on the bandwagon. La Scala's opening night Tristan und Isolde last December 7 was shown in movie houses in Europe and the US (but sadly not in English Canada); San Francisco, Covent Garden and Opera Australia each have their own, non-live simulcasts, but their impact cannot compare to the live Met events, which has a real sesne of occasion. None was more stunning than the opening gala on Monday. Taking a page from Hollywood, the Met laid down the red carpet in Lincoln Center to welcome celebrities the likes of Martha Stewart, German soprano Diana Damrau, and NY mayor Michael Bloomberg. The show was also shown on outdoor screens in Time Square and Fordham University. Mezzo Susan Graham and soprano Deborah Voigt served as roaming reporters speaking, with luminaries and opera fans/tourists alike, lending the event a truly festive feel.

The centerpiece of the event was of course soprano Renee Fleming, America's sweetheart, at least operatically speaking. She combines personal beauty with a seamless, creamy voice and loads of personality. To showcase her talent, the Met put on Act 2 of La traviata, Act 3 of Manon, and the final scene from Capriccio. Now twenty years after winning the Met Auditions, the Fleming voice is still in pristine shape, a testament to her excellent technique and musical acumen. For this extravaganza, several designers created gowns for her, and she wore La Voce, her own perfume. Even Martha Stewart made a special champagne concoction, The Grand Dame, to toast Renee during intermission - talk about being in diva heaven!

Opposite Fleming in two of the three operas was Mexican tenor Ramon Vargas - perhaps not the most romantic-looking of tenors around, but certainly among the most vocally impeccable today, especially as Alfredo. (Too bad his cabaletta was cut) As Des Grieux, his lyric tenor was stretched in "Ah fuyez, douce image" in the St. Sulpice scene, but he coped well. American baritone Thomas Hampson is no stranger to Germont, having sung it in many high profile productions, including the recent Salzburg production with Rolando Villazon and Anna Netrebko. Despite his good intentions, there is no disguising the fact that Hampson is not a true Verdi baritone. He sang all the notes with honour if not distinction. To my ears, Hampson lacks the vocal opulence, the large, rich, mellow, commanding sound of a Robert Merrill or a young Sherrill Milnes to do Germont justice - one longs for Dmitri Hvorostovsky or Bryn Terfel in this role.

The "other" leading American baritone of the evening was Dwayne Croft, in the rather thankless role of Lescaut. He sang correctly but given Fleming's star power, Lescaut's little aria went by with nary a stir from the audience. British bass Robert Lloyd did rather better as a commanding Comte des Grieux. Capriccio's final scene is essentially a one-woman show, and Fleming never looked more gorgeous in the Art Deco outfit, or sounding more vocally resplendent in Madeleine's musing of the primacy of word or music. Veteran American baritone Michael Devlin did a star turn in the cameo role of the Major Domo.

Final Thoughts - few singers today are as gifted as Renee Fleming, and by and large she lived up to the hype. However, I must say that she has become more and more mannered with time. Much of that mannerism was in evidence here. It suited her Manon better than her Violetta - afterall, Manon is the born coquette. Even here, her vocal mannerism was a bit over the top, especially in the cloyingly sung Gavotte. The last twenty minute of Capriccio has some of the most sublime music Strauss ever wrote, and Fleming sang it very beautifully to be sure. But her acting was so extravagant, so excessive that it almost ruined it for me - sometimes, economy of movement makes more of a statement than the incessant waving of hands caressing every inch of one's face and neck. One marvels at the depth of feeling in the aristsocratic stillness of Kiri Te Kanawa, Elizabeth Söderström, or even Johanna Meier as Madeleine. I am afraid there is nothing Parisian - or Straussian for that matter - about the Madeleine of Renee Fleming, only American Apple Pie.

The Met orchestra was led by three maestri - James Levine received a rousing ovation, not only for his conducting of the Verdi, but for his recovery from kidney cancer surgery. The Met Traviata production combines acts 2 and 3, and Levine led the Met forces even more leisurely than usual. In Manon, Marco Armiliato led the orchestra with a firm and sure hand. But for me, the best of the evening was Patrick Summers in the 20-minute final scene from Capriccio - the moonlight music never sounded more trancendent.

I saw the simulcast at the Scotiabank Theatres in downtown Toronto. Everything went well, except for about 15 minutes in the beginning when there was no subtitles. There was likely some technical improvements to the picture quality from last season, as the brightness level has really improved. The sound quality was glitch-free. The next show will be Salome with the great Karita Mattila - get your tickets, you wouldn't want to miss it!

Today's Birthday in Music: September 24 (Rutter, MacNeil)

1945 - John Rutter, London, England; composer and choral conductor

Wikipedia
Sing a Song of Christmas (The Guardian, UK, December 2000)

John Rutter's setting of Psalm 150, sung by the combined choirs of St. Paul's Cathedral and the Chapel Royal (St. Paul's Cathedral, London, 2002)



1922 - Cornell MacNeil, Minneapolis, U.S.A.; opera baritone

Wikipedia
Reunion (Opera News Online, November 2007)

Cornell MacNeil sings "Va, Tosca" (Te Deum) from Puccini's Tosca (Metropolitan Opera, 1978)

Today's Birthday in Music: September 23 (Novotná)

1907 - Jarmila Novotná, Prague, Czechoslovakia; opera and operetta soprano

Wikipedia
Centenary recollections

Jarmila Novotná sings:

Selections from Lehar's Giuditta and "Vilja" from The Merry Widow (1934)


Czech folksong "Vy, zelení hájové", Jan Masaryk accompanies (1942)

Today's Birthdays in Music: September 22 (Tomowa-Sintow, Szeryng)

1941 - Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria; opera soprano

Wikipedia
Home Page

Anna Tomowa-Sintow sings "Or sai chi l'onore" from Mozart's Don Giovanni (Herbert von Karajan conducting; 1987)



1918 - Henryk Szeryng, Zelazowa Wola, Poland; violinist

Wikipedia
Obituary (NY Times, March 1988)

Henryk Szeryng plays Tchaikovsky's Violin Concert, 3rd mvt. (Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta conducting; early 1980s)

Today's Birthday in Music: September 21 (G. Holst)

1874 - Gustav Holst, Cheltenham, England; composer

Gustav Holst Website

St. Paul's Suite, Finale (The Dargasson), St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Christopher Hogwood


Katherine Jenkins sings "I Vow to Thee My Country" (words by Cecil Spring-Rice)


"Jupiter, The Bringer of Jollity" from The Planets (Promenade Concert at Buckingham Palace, 2002; Andrew Davis conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra)

Today's Birthday in Music: September 20 (Spiegel)

1945 - Laurie Spiegel, Chicago, U.S.A.; composer

Wikipedia
Interview

Interview, part 1 of 2 (1984) with Laurie Spiegal (introduction by Max Mathews)


Laurie Spiegel plays her "Improvisations on a 'Concerto Generator'"

OSM’s 75th with Mehta & Messiaen a Celebration of Sound!

reviewed by Paul Robinson

Canada doesn’t see much of Zubin Mehta these days but he still has a soft spot for Montreal and tries to return as often as he can to the city that helped him so much in his early days as a conductor. He was back again to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM) last week and it turned into a great event for all concerned. Mehta has a home in Los Angeles, but he doesn’t conduct there much any more. His primary musical responsibilities are to the Israel Philharmonic – he was appointed music director for life in 1981 – and the Teatro del Maggio Musicale in Florence, where he is currently at work on a new production of Wagner’s Ring cycle.

Montreal Symphony and Zubin Mehta Grew Together in the 60s
In 1961, at the very beginning of his career, the OSM took a chance on 25-year-old Zubin Mehta and hired him as music director. For the next six years, he and the orchestra learned repertoire together, but within a year of his OSM appointment, Mehta also became music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic (1962-77). His career quickly became international. In 1977, he became music director of the Israel Philharmonic, and then the New York Philharmonic (1978-91), and later, the Bavarian State Opera (1998-2006) in Munich. He is a regular guest conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic and has been invited by its members to conduct no fewer than four of its famous New Year’s concerts.

For his return visit to Montreal to celebrate the OSM’s 75th, Mehta put together a programme of works by Messiaen and Saint-Saens to be presented in the Notre Dame Basilica in Old Montreal. Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum (Messiaen) was part of “Automne Messiaen 2008” being celebrated all over Montreal from September to December and culminating in performances of Messiaen’s opera Saint Francis of Assisi conducted by Kent Nagano. In fact, 2008 is the centenary of Messiaen’s birth: the actual date is December 10.

Mehta on Messiaen: “I really miss him!”

I had not realized that Mehta has been a great champion of Messiaen’s music over the years. At his press conference held a few days before the Montreal concert, Mehta talked about his relationship with Messiaen and his music, and passed on an amusing anecdote. It seems that Messiaen was in Tel Aviv for rehearsals of his Turangalila Symphony with the Israel Philharmonic. During the course of rehearsals the players became bored and restless and at one of the breaks some of them went to Messiaen and asked him to cut a couple of movements. Naturally, Messiaen was offended and made a counter-suggestion. Better they should cut the other work on the programme – Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony – and he would tell them exactly where to make the cuts! Mehta had to apologize to Messiaen over the incident. No word on whether anyone apologized to Mozart.

Mehta recalled that Messiaen often came to rehearsals wearing a colourful Hawaiian shirt with girls in hula skirts on it, but when it came to the performance of his music he was very serious and very strict.

Wind, Brass & Percussion Orchestration – When “Bigger” is “Better”

Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum was given its first performance in 1965 at the Church of St. Chapelle in Paris and then a month later at Chartres Cathedral. It is obviously designed to be performed in a large space with long reverberation time. The orchestra comprises only winds, brass and percussion and the music features slow-moving chords and percussion effects from various kinds of bells, gongs and tam-tams that are intended to reverberate in a large space. Notre Dame Basilica is indeed a large space, but in this case “bigger” is even better. The piece sounded wonderful in Notre Dame – especially the almost deafening percussion crescendos – but to have heard it in Chartres Cathedral would have been something else again.

Mehta conducted the Messiaen with his customary efficiency. Messiaen pupil Pierre Boulez could hardly have done better. Nor was Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum the only Messiaen heard during the evening. The concert began with a performance of the early (1932) organ piece Apparition de l’Église éternelle played by Pierre Grandmaison. This ten-minute work begins with a series of unsettling tone clusters, but gradually out of extreme dissonance comes relief in the form of the grandest and loudest major chords one is ever likely to hear from an organ. Presumably, this is the “apparition” of the title.

Saint-Saens’ Organ Symphony Pure Sound, Beautifully Balanced

The major work on the programme - and the best-known - was Saint-Saens’ Symphony No. 3 Organ, with organist Patrick Wedd. For all its deserved popularity, this symphony is seldom heard under ideal conditions. It is most often performed in concert halls and often with electronic organs, but this performance was the real deal and I never expect to hear it done better. I was sitting about half-way back in Notre Dame, which meant that I was about the same distance from Mehta and the orchestra in front of me and the organ console and pipes behind me. Thanks to careful preparation by the performers, balances in both soft and loud passages were just about right. Given the size of the place and the vast distance between orchestra and organ this was an amazing achievement; of course, the performers have the benefit of video cameras to see and hear each other, but it still takes musicians with sharp ears and cool nerves to make it all work.

Mehta has had a lot of experience with the Organ Symphony. He has recorded it several times, most recently with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1997, and his view of the piece has become more refined over the years. Saint-Saens saves all the bombast for the last movement – this is the only time in the piece that the organ is allowed to play fortissimo – and Mehta made sure that the really big guns were saved until the end. In fact, the only other section of the score where the organ plays is the second movement ‘Poco Adagio,’ and there it mostly meshes softly with the orchestra in an accompanying role.

From the OSM Mehta got all the power he needed, but also a beautifully dark and blended sound. At the same time, Mehta had obviously asked the timpanist to use hard sticks so that the important timpani solos would register clearly in the reverberant acoustic.

In both the Messiaen and the Saint-Saens, we saw a master conductor at work. Mehta is a consummate technician, but he also loves the music he plays. It was a treat to see him at work and to hear this music so well performed.

Mehta Discography, Autobiography, and a Well Deserved Award
For listeners who wish to hear more of Mehta, there is a huge catalogue of recordings and DVDs and it continues to expand with new releases almost every month. Among his recent releases are the VPO New Year’s Concert 2007 from DG on both CD and DVD; the Israel Philharmonic’s 70th Anniversary Concert from 2007 released by Euroarts on DVD; and of special interest to those who want to see how he does it, there is a DVD called Zubin Mehta in Rehearsal from Image Entertainment. We see Mehta rehearsing Richard Strauss’ Till Eulenspiegel with the Israel Philharmonic, followed by a complete performance. Also scheduled for release on September 30 by Medici Masters is a 1977 concert with Mehta and the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the title Zubin Mehta: Los Angeles Philharmonic.

For more information about Zubin Mehta, his life, recordings and upcoming performances visit his website at www.zubinmehta.net.

It was announced this week that Mehta has been awarded the prestigious Praemium Imperiale by the Japan Arts Foundation. The prize is given for lifetime achievement and is worth US$143,000. It will be officially presented in a special ceremony in Tokyo on October 15.

Finally, Mehta has recently written his autobiography. It is available now in German (Partitur meines Leben), Italian, and Hebrew, and the English version will be released by Amadeus Press November 15 with the title Zubin Mehta: a Memoir.


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 http://www.amazon.com/. For more about Paul E. Robinson please visit his website at http://www.theartoftheconductor.com/.

Blog Photos by Marita

Upcoming Fall Theatre Productions in Montreal

August 28-September 13

Montreal Theatre Ensemble, in association with the John Abbott College Department of Theatre and Music, presents Of Mice and Men at the Casgrain Theatre in Ste. Anne de Bellevue. This also marks the inauguration of the Stage Two initiative where the College welcomes outside companies to share their experience and open their rehearsals to the present theatre students. The first mentoring company is the Montreal Theatre Ensemble.

September 7-September 28

The Leanor and Alvin Segal Theatre presents Dangerous Liaisons. Directed by Alexandre Marine and featuring a mainly local cast, this promises to be one of the most lauded productions of their season. Sunday-@-the-Segal is September 7 and opening night is September 11.

September 10

Fundraiser for Scapegoat Carnivale Theatre's upcoming production of Life is a Dream. The evening will feature an exciting dramatic reading of scenes from the script, as well as an introduction to the play and the world of Baroque Spain by an expert in Spanish literature. At the Centre Green.

October 16

Auberge Shalom…pour femmes presents an evening with superstar lecturer Stephen Pinker who will speak on 'The Decline of Violence'. Mr. Pinker is considered one of the world's top 100 public intellectuals. At the Gelber Conference Centre.

October 22-November 1

Scapegoat Carnivale Theatre presents an adaptation of the Spanish classic Life is a Dream by Pedro Calderon de Barca as part of Centaur Theatre's Brave New Looks. Directed by Alison Darcy, the cast of this hilarious and profound work features some of the most exciting Montreal actors including Andreas Apergis, Peter Batakliev, Julian Casey, Gemma James-Smith, Leni Parker, Julie Tamiko-Manning and Eric Digras, along with two live musicians.

October 26-November 16

The Leanor and Alvin Segal Theatre presents Cat on a Hot Tin Roof directed by Greg Kramer. Expect another outstanding production, cast and design team from the Segal Centre. Sunday-@the-Segal is October 26 and opening night is October 30.

Today's Birthday in Music: September 19 (Thebom)

1918 - Blanche Thebom, Monessen, U.S.A.; opera mezzo-soprano

Biography
Famous Ladies with Long Hair

Blanche Thebom sings:

"Printemps qui commence" from Saint-Saens' Samson et Dalila (1944 broadcast)


"Stride la vampa" from Verdi's Il Trovatore (TV performance, 1950)

Kent Nagano & Montreal Symphony Take on The General

BEETHOVEN: IDEALS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
reviewed by Paul E. Robinson

The General: for orchestra with soprano, choir and narrator. Music by Beethoven: Symphony #5 in C minor Op.67; Egmont Op.84; Incidental Music (exerpts); Opferlied Op.121b
Text by Paul Griffiths. (English version)
Maximilian Schell, narrator/Adrianne Pieczonka, soprano/Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal/OSM Chorus/Kent Nagano, conductor; Analekta: AN 2 9942-3 (2 cds)



For his first recording with the OSM, Kent Nagano has come up with a fascinating project. This album features the music of Beethoven, but it is presented from a distinctly Canadian point of view.

Musically, The General is essentially Beethoven’s incidental music for Goethe’s play, Egmont; the original Goethe text, however, has been set aside and replaced by a new one created by the Welsh music critic, Paul Griffiths. The new story is based on the Rwandan experiences of Canadian general Roméo Dallaire, as recounted in his book, Shake Hands With the Devil. Dallaire was head of the UN peacekeeping mission in Rwanda in 1993-4 and as the Hutus prepared to massacre hundreds of thousands of Tutsis, Dallaire did everything he could to prevent it but failed; the world was simply not interested. Dallaire returned to Canada a disillusioned and broken man - one of the great tragic heroes of our time.

Nagano and Griffiths came up with the concept and then Griffiths set to work. He decided to tell the Rwanda story without mentioning either names or places. For the most part, the narration is given between the musical numbers. As I mentioned, the music is mostly from Egmont, but Griffiths also drew on excerpts from other Beethoven works, most of them little-known.

While one wants to applaud Griffiths and Nagano for their ambition, The General is ultimately disappointing. By avoiding naming names and places, Griffiths has robbed the piece of its potential power. The genocide in Rwanda has already taken its place in history as one of the greatest horrors of modern times and Dallaire’s own account of it is totally engrossing. But without any mention of Rwanda, Dallaire, Tutsis and Hutus, Griffiths’ text is almost meaningless and incomprehensible. The bits of narration are far too brief to establish any context, nor is there really any coherent story being told.

In the performances which preceded the recording, the narrator was the celebrated Canadian actor Colm Feore; unfortunately, he was unavailable for the recording. In choosing Maximilian Schell (left) as narrator, Nagano and Griffiths have the benefit of a great actor, but he has nothing to work with. What’s more, judging by the mismatches in tempo and volume, one can assume that he did his work alone in a studio rather than with the orchestra.

Finally, Griffiths chose to end The General with Beethoven’s Opferlied for soprano, chorus and orchestra. In his notes Griffiths tells us that he wrote new words for Opferlied and he tells us that these words and Beethoven’s music were exactly what was needed to end the piece. Beethoven’s Egmont music ends with a Victory symphony and that was hardly appropriate for the Rwandan story. Unfortunately, since there are no texts included in the CD booklet, we have no idea what those words are. This recording has been issued in both an English and a French version, but neither one includes the text.

Beethoven’s music for Egmont is wonderful and with carefully chosen excerpts from Goethe’s play, a performance with narration can be moving and inspiring. Griffith’s new version left me totally uninvolved and baffled by the whole enterprise. It is curious that Dallaire himself was not associated with this project in any way even though he has readily gotten involved with several film projects relating to his experience in Rwanda. In fact, while Griffiths explicitly names Dallaire as ‘the protagonist’ of his drama he never even mentions the title of Dallaire’s book in his notes. Could it be that Dallaire or his publisher had something to do with that, and with Griffiths’ decision to avoid any mention of either Dallaire or Rwanda in his text?

On the positive side, Nagano and the OSM play Beethoven’s music with great intensity. The same goes for their performance of the Fifth Symphony on the second CD. Nagano’s approach indicates he has been strongly influenced by the period instrument specialists. He takes all the repeats and very quick tempi in accordance with Beethoven’s metronome markings. He has the strings play with little or no vibrato much of the time. The opening of the slow movement sounds strikingly different with this approach. And he makes the most of Beethoven’s timpani writing. There are some inconsistencies: why eliminate vibrato in the strings at the opening of the slow movement, but allow it in the bassoon solos later on? On the whole, however, this performance of an old warhorse is fresh and exciting. Still, one can’t help wondering what the Fifth Symphony has to do with “the ideals of the French Revolution.”

For some reason, the overture and two songs from Egmont and Opferlied are repeated at the end of the second CD. I can understand repeating the vocal works – in The General they are given in English (or French) while here they are performed with the original German texts – but why repeat the overture?

The music for The General was recorded in Studio MMR at McGill University, and the Fifth Symphony was done in the Salle Wilfred-Pelletier at Place des Arts; neither one has the warmth of the famous church in St. Eustache where so many of the OSM/Dutoit recordings were made by Decca.

Some fine music-making on this 2-CD set but lots of questions too. Fans of Kent Nagano – and there are a growing number of them – will want to have this album in any case, as the first recorded documentation of his work in Montreal.


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 http://www.amazon.com/. For more about Paul E. Robinson please visit his website at http://www.theartoftheconductor.com/.

Today's Birthday in Music: September 18 (F. Caccini)

1587 - Francesca Caccini, Florence, Italy; composer, singer, lutenist

Wikipedia
Opus to Woman Power (La Scena Musicale, March 2005)

"O che nuovo stupor" by Francesca Caccini (Alicia Molina, soprano, with El Concierto Ylustrado; Cádiz, 2007)

Today's Birthday in Music: September 17 (Isang Yun)

1917 - Isang Yun, Chungmu, Korea (now Tongyeong, S. Korea); composer

Wikipedia
Interview

Königliches Thema for violin (Rieko Suzuki, violin; Yogyakarta Contemporary Music Festival 2007)

Review: COC Ensemble Season Opening Concert

Concert: Meet the Young Artists

COC Ensemble Season Opening Concert

Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre, Toronto

September 16, 2008







I just came back from the 3rd annual COC Ensemble Season Opening Concert at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre at the Four Seasons Centre. This was a "Meet the Young Artists" concert, where the audience members get a preview of the 2008-9 edition of the Ensemble singers, some returning from previous year and others new. This year, the event was made even more significant than usual, thanks to an anonymous donor who has given the COC a whopping 2 million dollars in support of the Ensemble and the concert series - what a great start to the season!




The Ensemble lineup this year consists of five sopranos (Laura Albino, Ileana Montalbetti, Teiya Kasahara, Lisa DiMaria, and Betty Allison), one mezzo (Erin fisher), two tenors (Michael Barrett and Adam Luther), one baritone (Alexander Hajek), and one bass (Michael Uloth). Without exception, these artists are well trained, musical, with fresh, youthful instruments, ingratiating personalities and attractive stage presence. Some are of course more polished or have more experience than others, but they all have the potential for future careers in opera. Complementing the ten singers is an apprentice conductor, Samuel Tak-Ho Tam, who led the cast in "Questo e il fin", the Finale to Don Giovanni. The two accompanists were head of COC Ensemble Liz Upchurch, and Christopher Mokrzewski.




Each artist gave a brief self-introduction, plus a word or two about the piece he/she was about to sing. Mezzo Erin Fisher kicked off with the Sesto's aria from Giulio Cesare, which showed off her high mezzo to advantage. She is reminiscent of former Ensemble member Lauren Segal in voice and appearance - I can see her as Cherubino and Octavian. Bass Michael Uloth followed with Sarastro's aria from Zauberfloete, "In diesen heil'gen Hallen". He has an attractive stage presence - no small advantage in today's push for dramatic verisimilitude, and while his voice at this point is a light-weight bass, it will probably develop and darken with time. Laura Albino sang "Piangero" from Giulio Cesare with bright, dramatic tone - one wishes for a bit softer attack, more chiaroscuro, particularly in the dolce second verse, and a high piano.




Tenors are a rare commodity in the opera world, and the COC Ensemble boasts two, both from Newfoundland. Michael Barrett, brother of former Ensemble baritone Peter Barrett, sang the famous "Vainement, ma bien aimee" from Le roi d'Ys with nice tone, although his use of falsetto - as opposed to a true voix mixte - in the one-octave leap to above the stave may not be to everyone's taste. Baritone Alexander Hajek, in his second season, was the best of the men with a ringingly sung Champagne Aria. He was also most at east in front of an audience. His physical appearance might typecast him as a buffo in his future career - which is unfortunate, as his is the voice suitable for princely roles.




A new Ensemble member, sopano Ileana Montalbetti, sang Donna Anna's "Or sai". Hers is a big, budding spinto, a little steely and hard driven at times. In some ways, she reminds me of former member Joni Henson. Montalbetti sang quite well, with a big, ringing sound, perhaps a little short on polish and subtlety in her delivery, needing to keep the cutting edge from take over. Second year Ensemble member Teiya Kasahara sang "Regnava nel silenzio" from Lucia di Lammermoor, with a flair for drama and blazing high notes. The other tenor of this year's Ensemble, Adam Luther, sang Edgardo's aria from Lucia di Lammermoor. Luther impressed in the title role of Gazzaniga's Don Giovanni last June. His sound is suitably Italianate, and he sang "Fra poco a me ricovero" well, although one wished for more dynamic variation instead of the constant mezza forte he used.


The last two solo pieces turned out to be among the best offerings of the 80 minute concert. Second year soprano Lisa DiMaria offered "Sul fil d'un soffio etesio" from Falstaff. Petite and bubbly in appearance, DiMaria is an excellent Nannetta, singing with a well focused, sweet lyric soprano, with a nice trill. The last of the singers - and certainly not least - was third year member soprano Betty Allison. She sang the exacting "Come scoglio" from Cosi fan tutte with beautiful, focused tone, well controlled vibrato, sure sense of pitch, and admirable fioratura. The last item on the program was a truncated Finale from Don Giovanni, featuring the whole cast, led by Ensemble conductor Samuel Tak-Ho Tam, who incidentally was the only one who did not speak to the audience. He led the Ensemble in a solid reading of the score, a little tentative perhaps, but with time and experience, his conducting is sure to grow.

All in all, this 2008-9 edition of the Ensemble is made up of 10 very talented singers, and they will prove indispensible to the upcoming productions this season.

Today's Birthday in Music: September 16 (N. Boulanger)

1887 - Nadia Boulanger, Paris, France; composition teacher, composer, conductor

Wikipedia
Biography
That Woman Down the Hall (La Scena Musicale, Nov. 2000)

No. 3 of Three Pieces for Cello and Piano (Bao Peng, cello; Low Shao Yong, piano; Singapore, 2007)

Today's Birthdays in Music: September 15 (Norman, Walter)

1945 - Jessye Norman, Augusta, U.S.A.; opera and recital soprano

Wikipedia
Biography and pictures

Jessye Norman sings:

"Ein Schönes war" from Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos (Metropolitan Opera, 1988, James Levine conducting)


"I dreamt that I dwelt in marble halls" from Balfe's The Bohemian Girl (London, 1986)


"Ride on, King Jesus" (Carnegie Hall, James Levine conducting)



1876 - Bruno Walter, Berlin, Germany; conductor

Wikipedia
Biography and pictures

Bruno Walter conducts Beethoven's Leonore No. 3 overture (Metropolitan Opera House, 1941)


Elisabeth Schwarzkopf sings, and Bruno Walter conducts the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in Mahler's 4th Symphony (1960)

Nagano & OSM Rise to the Challenge: Mahler's Epic Symphony of One Thousand!

The final ‘Chorus mysticus’ is one of the most powerful passages in his entire oeuvre, if not in the whole history of music – Henry-Louis de La Grange

It is easy to be overwhelmed by Mahler’s Eighth Symphony. Few works require such vast resources - hundreds of singers and instrumentalists. Fewer still rise to such towering climaxes, and yet the Mahler Eighth is not about size, but about love and death and the meaning of it all. Mahler wrestled with these concepts his whole life and tried his best to express what he felt through his music. Kent Nagano and the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal opened the OSM’s 75th season with two performances of the Eighth Symphony and the one I heard - the second - on Wednesday night, was extraordinary.

An Opera Disguised as a Symphony, or a New Kind of Symphony?
It is often remarked on that Mahler was one of the great opera conductors of his time yet wrote no operas. Each of his symphonies, however, is a music drama and many of them use one or more voices. The Eighth Symphony begins with a hymn, but its entire second part is a setting of much of Goethe’s Faust: Part Two, an operatic scene if ever there was one. At the same time, Mahler was not writing an opera disguised as a symphony; he was writing a new kind of symphony. In fact, he composed the entire first movement before he had a text and then fit his selected text to the music.

One can analyze the Eighth Symphony in purely musical terms. The first movement, for example, is in sonata form and the second movement is a kind of Lisztian symphonic poem in which themes from the first movement reappear. In both movements Mahler employs the most complex contrapuntal devices. It all hangs together as a musical structure on a very large scale, but Mahler was also trying to go beyond traditional musical forms by adding voices to the orchestra just as Beethoven had done in his Ninth or Choral symphony. The Beethoven Ninth is also coherent as a purely musical structure. Remember how Beethoven brings back themes from earlier movements to start the last movement. Mahler does the same thing in his Eighth Symphony, only on a larger scale and with a more elaborate extra-musical purpose.

Part One: The Agony of Struggle and the Ecstasy of Hope A Wild Ride to Faith
The first movement of the Eighth Symphony makes use of a Ninth Century Latin hymn attributed to Hrabanus Maurus, Archbishop of Mainz. It is a fervent glorification of God and the equivalent of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy and the hope that all men will be brothers. In the words of Maurus’ hymn:

Give us joy,
Grant us Thy grace,
Smooth our quarrels,
Preserve us in bonds of peace.

Like Beethoven, Mahler uses his soloists and chorus in this movement simply as different kinds of instruments, and so extends the expressive range and colour of the symphony orchestra. Mahler also gives us a hymn setting that goes far beyond Bach and Beethoven in its extreme emotionalism. There are moments when the music gets so wild it seems on the verge of spinning out of control.

Part Two: Repentance, Divine Love, Forgiveness and Life Everlasting
The second movement of the symphony is something else again. Here, through the medium of lines from Goethe’s Faust, Mahler continues his lifelong exploration of the mysteries of love, faith and death. In his Symphony No. 2 Resurrection, Mahler had given us a powerful vision of life after death, and in his Fourth Symphony he had shown us what heaven could be like through the eyes of a child. In the Eighth Symphony we have Goethe’s depiction of life after death as Faust’s soul is welcomed into heaven and Faust is reunited with his beloved Gretchen. In Goethe’s telling of the Faust legend, the scholar Faust makes a pact with the devil that in return for getting everything he wants in earthly life, he will serve the devil in hell. One thing leads to another - Faust falls in love with Gretchen and gets her pregnant. She gives birth but then drowns her illegitimate child. Convicted of murder, she is sent to prison. Faust is doomed to hell and damnation, but at the end of Part One, voices from heaven proclaim that Gretchen will be forgiven and saved.

By the end of Part Two, Faust is forgiven his overweening ambitions and desires and accepted in heaven where Gretchen awaits him. Like Schumann and Liszt before him, Mahler found in Goethe’s text the most profound expression of the human condition and the path to everlasting life through earthly love and Christian faith.

Thriving on Challenges, Nagano Delivers Full Scope of Mahler’s Masterpiece
Given its enormous musical and philosophical challenges, Mahler’s Eighth Symphony is a daunting challenge for any conductor. Kent Nagano showed Montreal listeners once again that he thrives on challenges. He conducted with remarkable technical control and a deep sense of what lay behind the notes. The overwhelming climaxes at the end of each of the two movements were built with care and realized with maximum intensity. Yet it was often in the quiet passages that one felt Nagano’s total identification with the music. Mahler loved to storm the heavens, but some of his most profound music is whispered rather than shouted.

Nagano’s soloists were all first-rate and added immeasurably to the success of the performance. Soprano Jennifer Wilson got off to a shaky start but settled in later on to soar fearlessly over the huge orchestra. Soprano Janice Chandler-Eteme impressed me with the beautiful colour of her voice. The star soloist, however, was undoubtedly tenor Simon O’Neill (left:photo by Lisa Kohler). He has been singing some of the great Heldentenor roles in opera houses around the world and one can see why he is in such demand. In the Mahler Eighth he was heroic indeed but never lost his fine lyric sound.

The OSM Chorus sang magnificently under its guest chorus master, Michael Zaugg. The OSM winds have shown themselves capable of producing finer intonation on other nights, but then Mahler’s writing is often cruelly exposed. On the whole, however, the orchestra played with total commitment and careful attention to balances.

The eminent Mahler authority Henri-Louis de La Grange gave us something to ponder in calling the final 'Chorus Mysticus' one of “the most powerful passages in the history of music.” As Kent Nagano led his stellar ensemble of soloists, chorus and orchestra through this inspiring music at Place des Arts, one had no choice but to concur wholeheartedly.

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 http://www.amazon.com/. For more about Paul E. Robinson please visit his website at http://www.theartoftheconductor.com/.

Today's Birthdays in Music: September 14 (M. Haydn, Cherubini)

1737 - Michael Haydn, Rohrau, Austria; composer

Wikipedia
Michael Haydn Project

Short compilation (2007) of works by Michael Haydn to celebrate the 270th anniversary of his birth



1760 - Luigi Cherubini, Florence, Italy; composer

Wikipedia

Maria Callas sings "Dei tuoi figli la madre" from Cherubini's Medea (studio performance)

Today's Birthdays in Music: September 13 (C. Schumann, Schoenberg)

1813 - Clara Schumann, Leipzig, Germany; composer and pianist

Wikipedia
Biography and more

Piano Trio in G minor, 3rd mvt. (alesiEnsemble Salzburg, Milan, 2008)



Diana Damrau sings "Was weinst du, Blümlein" (Madrid, 2008)



1874 - Arnold Schoenberg, Vienna, Austria; composer

Biography
Schoenberg and the Second Vienna School

Verklaerte Nacht, part 1 (National Chamber Orchestra of Moldavia, Cristian Florea conducting)


Measha Brueggergosman sings "Der genuegsame Liebhaber" (version Berlin, 1905), with Justus Zeyen accompanist

Stratford and Shaw: Artistic Turmoil, a Tough Economy & Life is a Cabaret

I’ve been visiting the Stratford and Shaw Festivals for as long as I can remember. Growing up in Toronto, I learned early that Stratford was home to one of the greatest theatre companies in the English-speaking world. The Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake came a little later, but it too quickly became famous for the quality of its productions. I returned this summer for a major dose of both festivals – four shows in two days at each festival – and I was rarely disappointed.

Superstar Christopher Plummer Plays with Newcomer Nikki M. James
From the beginning, Stratford was known not only for its Shakespeare but also for its ability to attract stars. Director Tyrone Guthrie started things off, and then came Alec Guinness, James Mason, Paul Scofield, Alan Bates, Maggie Smith, Peter Ustinov and many others. This year we had Brian Dennehy in O’Neill’s Hughie and Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, and Christopher Plummer in Shaw’s Caesar and Cleopatra. I missed Dennehy but enjoyed every moment of the 78-year old Plummer’s wise and witty Caesar beguiled in Egypt by the teen-aged Cleopatra. In this production with Nikki M. James playing the young Queen, we had something close to a real teen-ager in the role (she is 27 but looks and sounds much younger).

James turned out to be one of the most controversial elements in a season of controversy in Stratford. She was clearly out of her element in Romeo and Juliet but the more colloquial language and shorter speeches in Shaw’s play allowed her to put forward her best qualities - grace and youthful charm. James was originally cast in a smaller role in Caesar and Cleopatra, but a late withdrawal by broadway star Anika Noni Rose gave her the opportunity to play Cleopatra.

The casting of the all but unknown James in two major roles in her Stratford debut season was the work of Stratford’s new artistic director Des McAnuff, and one could argue that he must take most of the blame for her less than stellar Juliet. Not a good omen for his new regime. But then it wasn’t planned to be that way - that is, his regime.

Three Artistic Directors Two Too Many!
When the 2008 Stratford season was announced, there was a trio of artistic directors appointed to succeed Richard Monette. By all accounts, the three new directors couldn’t get along and McAnuff managed to emerge victorious and in sole charge. Perhaps he had sharper elbows. (News Update: After writing this article I learned that Richard Monette (left) passed away in a hospital in London, Ontario. This was sad and surprising news. He had put his heart and soul into the Stratford Festival.)

In spite of his questionable judgement in casting and a propensity to parachute in American cronies – just look at the bios in the programmes for this year’s plays – McAnuff is a gifted director and both Romeo and Juliet and Caesar and Cleopatra demonstrated that fact. He used the famous thrust stage in the Festival Theatre to great effect in both plays. Michael Roth (Romeo and Juliet) and Rick Fox (Caesar and Cleopatra) gave us original music that thankfully didn’t consist largely of pompous fanfares. Some of McAnuff’s talented American imports - among them actor John Vickery, fight director Steve Rankin, aerial effects designer Paul Rubin, costume designer Paul Tazewell, director Amanda Dehnert, choreographer Kelly Devine and the afore-mentioned Michael Roth - even rivaled the best of the old Stratford guard.

McAnuff may or may not be an egomaniac; that unpleasant possibility notwithstanding, one must admit that in his first season he has already brought a fresh approach. Stratford has a long tradition and is proud of it, but even venerable institutions need retooling from time to time.

Musicals, Money, and Broadway-on-Avon
Musicals have become Stratford’s cash cows in recent years and there are those who find this turn of events disgraceful. “How,” they ask, “could Stratford’s distinguished Shakespeare company – ‘North America’s leading classical theatre’ it calls itself - become so obsessed with commercialism?”

The fact is that Stratford is a commercial operation and needs to make a lot of money to sustain itself. It puts on about fifteen shows a year and runs in repertory in three theatres from April to November. The musicals draw the crowds but their success also enables Stratford to continue presenting Shakespeare and more esoteric fare. And, as it happens, Stratford has become one of the best producers of musicals anywhere; this year, for example, we had a brilliantly fresh Cabaret with local favorite Bruce Dow as the Emcee! One has come to expect precision and attention to detail in the Stratford musicals and Cabaret was no exception. The orchestra too sounded wonderful in its ersatz Kurt Weill charts.

I must confess that I dislike the sound systems used everywhere today for musicals. Both the singers (with mikes poking up beside their ears!) and the orchestra in the Stratford musicals, are miked. The idea is to make everything sound bigger and louder and to compensate for tiny voices. No Ethel Mermans need apply anywhere anymore.

The effect of miking an orchestra is usually a congested and artificial sound. No so in this Stratford Cabaret. The Music Man in the same theatre (Avon) the following night, however, was another matter. Since the sound designer for both productions was Jim Neal, it is difficult to know why the results were so different. For the record, our seats were nearly the same for both productions - three or four rows back in the centre section of the orchestra.

In a struggling U.S. economy and with the Canadian dollar nearly at par with the U.S. dollar – not to mention the high cost of gas – there were lots of empty seats for the Stratford performances I attended. It was a similar situation at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake. While both festivals tend to rely heavily on retirees, at the Shaw this year I was struck by the large numbers of much older patrons.

Life is a Cabaret and Getting Married is a Good Laugh at Shaw!
The Shaw Festival has chosen to concentrate on plays by GBS (George Bernard Shaw) and his contemporaries. That repertoire comprises a large chunk of programming and the company has become very good at it. This year we had Terrence Rattigan’s After the Dance (1939), a depressing drama about bright young things partying their way to destruction between wars. Come to think of it, the theme of this play is not so very different from that of Cabaret. We also had J.B. Priestley’s An Inspector Calls (1945), another play touching on the insularity and selfishness of the British upper classes. Jim Mezon’s direction was atmospheric and provocative, as were the lighting, the sets and the sound effects. The “elevator” almost became another character in the play, and a somewhat nasty one at that.

Shaw’s Getting Married is one of those Shavian plays people like to dismiss as hopelessly didactic and argumentative. Shaw wrote it in 1908 as an attack on the divorce laws currently in effect in England. It was virtually impossible to get divorced and few people did. Shaw’s view was that if people no longer wanted to be married, it should be easy for them to go their separate ways. In the play he thrusts us into a household in which the Bishop’s daughter is about to be married. As family and guests arrive, a discussion develops about the virtues and drawbacks of marriage. Rather than a dry legal or philosophical discussion, what develops is a hugely entertaining exchange of ideas between some highly eccentric folks. As directed by Joseph Ziegler, this production was great fun! Many of the ideas expressed in this play are as relevant today as they were in Shaw’s England of 1908.

Wonderful Town Not Quite as Wonderful as it Might Have Been
The Shaw Festival, as did Stratford, has turned to musicals to attract a broader audience. This year’s programming included Leonard Bernstein’s Wonderful Town and Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music.

Bernstein was a phenomenon, of course, and one of America’s greatest composers of Broadway musicals. Wonderful Town quickly became a smash hit when it opened in 1953. Seeing it 55 years later, I was initially shocked to realize how much of a period piece it had become. The musical idioms, the 1950s references in the lyrics by Comden and Green all seem a bit dated. But then everything at Shaw is dated and that perhaps, is part of its appeal.

Each generation, at some point in time it seems, experiences nostalgia for bygone days. Elderly audiences come to mind once again. Many of us can relate to the recent history of Getting Married (1908), say, in a way that we can’t relate to Shakespeare, Ibsen or Chekhov. We see our roots in Shaw, Rattigan, Priestley, Wilde and all the rest. Nostalgia is partly what draws the older crowds to Shaw, but these are also people who “grew up with” the classic Broadway musicals.

Wonderful Town is not as old as Oklahoma or South Pacific, but it has now passed into that semi-frozen state of theatre pieces that used to be current, but are not yet full-fledged classics.
Wonderful Town was done well at Shaw, but not in my opinion, nearly as well as such things are done in Stratford. The singing and dancing are not on the same level. The orchestra sounded - well - “miked”! The sound designer John Lott must have been partly to blame, but perhaps also conductor Paul Sportelli who is credited with the orchestrations.

If you want to hear how Wonderful Town should sound, listen to a recent DVD with Simon Rattle conducting the Berlin Philharmonic with outstanding singing by Kim Criswell, Audra McDonald and Thomas Hampson.

Good Theatre, Charming Towns, Fine Food & Wine
It is the consistently high quality of the plays and musicals presented that draws me back to Stratford and Niagara-on-the-Lake each summer, but admittedly, the towns themselves are an important part of the total experience.

Niagara-on-the-Lake is the more picturesque of the two, and has the beauty of Lake Ontario and the Niagara River nearby, not to mention the excellent wineries which have sprung up in recent years and which offer tours, wine-tasting and fine dining.

If you want to sit by the water and enjoy a quiet lunch away from the tourist hordes, there is one special place to do that - the patio at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Golf Club at the foot of Gate St., just a short walk from the main shopping district.

Stratford does not have the charm of Niagara-on-the-Lake, but it is nonetheless a very welcoming small town with lots of very good restaurants. The Belfry – the poor cousin upstairs from the overpriced but often spectacular Church Restaurant – used to be one of my favorite hangouts, but it has now upgraded its menu to the point where it is impossible to get anything recognizable as traditional fare. A much better choice these days may be the Keystone Alley Café. It offers good food, well presented, at reasonable prices.

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 http://www.amazon.com/. For more about Paul E. Robinson please visit his website at http://www.theartoftheconductor.com/.

Today's Birthday in Music: September 12 (Troyanos)

1938 - Tatiana Troyanos, New York City, U.S.A.; opera and concert mezzo-soprano

Wikipedia
Remembering Tatiana Troyanos

Tatiana Troyanos sings:

"Wo die schönen Trompeten blasen" from Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Martin Katz accompanist (Casals Festival, 1986)


'Parto parto ma tu ben mio' from Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito (Jean-Pierre Ponelle film, 1980, shot on location in Rome)


"Sein wir wieder gut" from Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos (Metropolitan Opera, 1988)

Today's Birthday in Music: September 11 (Somers)

1925 - Harry Somers, Toronto, Canada; composer





Biography (Encyclopedia of Music in Canada)

Opera Singer Theo Tams Wins 2008 Canadian Idols

Canada got it right - Lethbridge, Alberta's Theo Tams has just been crowned the new Canadian idol! Throughout the competition, Tams displayed the most well-rounded musicality the show has ever had, what with his wide dynamic range, even legato, his talent at the piano, and his innate feeling for each song. Prior to the contest, the 22-year-old University of Lethbridge student (double major in Psychology and Classical Music) had been training in opera performance (the U of Lethbridge website shows Tams singing the Count in a scene from Mozart's Marriage of Figaro), and the training has definitely paid off. On Monday night's finale (September 8), while fellow contestant Mitch MacDonald at times sang off tune and sounded underwelming, Tams's solid vocals clearly set him apart. I predict that he will not just be the flavour of the year and will withstand the test of time. Moreover, Tams victory shows that a solid musical education makes a big different, and all of Canada concurs. The last time a trained classical musician won, 18-year-old Kalan Porter caused a jump in music and voice lessons in Alberta. Let's hope history repeats itself across Canada, and that it will be good news for music education.

Today's Birthdays in Music: September 10 (Hogwood, T. Allen)

1941 - Christopher Hogwood, Nottingham, England; conductor and harpsichordist

Wikipedia
Biography and pictures

C.P.E. Bach's Cello Concerto in A minor - Christopher Hogwood conducts the Bach Collegium München, with David Adorján, cello (Munich 1999)



1944 - Thomas Allen, Seaham, England; opera and concert baritone

Wikipedia
Profile (The Guardian, UK, 2003)

Thomas Allen sings "Largo al Factotum" from Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Andrew Davis conducting.  Promenade concert at Buckingham Palace to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee, 2002)

Strange radio noises in Holland

Make of this what you will:


Concertzender victim of its own success

Hello Norman,

A bizarre situation has developed in the Netherlands. Everywhere in the world, classical broadcasters are shutting down, because of dropping listening figures.


In the Netherlands however, the Concertzender, who you might
know because of its internet channels, has to shut down
because it has become too popular...


Dutch Public radio hosts the Concertzender, and working with 150
volunteers and a handful of paid staff members, they operate on a basis of 500.000 euro a year. Cable companies in the Netherlands are now opting to broadcast the concertzender, instead of the non-classical Radio 6. Instead of looking for a good solution, the co-ordinator of radio 6 just wants to pull the plug from the Concertzender...

To make things even weirder, a message explaining the situation with a call for support had to be removed from the homepage. A small flood of support letters came in, prompting the board of management of the Dutch public radio to postpone their decision. Because the Concertzender has also a large
international following, could you please write a mail to:

mening@concertzender.nl

http://www.concertzender.eu/?language=en


I hope I can count on your support!!


Greetings,
Rolf den Otter

Source: Artsjournal

Today's Birthdays in Music: September 9 (Rosenboom, Cererols)

1947 - David Rosenboom, Fairfield, U.S.A.; composer, conductor, performer

Biography

Music for Unstable Circuits (Daniel Rosenboom, trumpet, David Rosenboom, interactive electronics; Chosen Vale International Trumpet Seminar, 2006)



1618 - Joan Cererols, Marteroll, Spain; composer

Wikipedia
Brief biography

 Christmas carol "Serafín que con dulce armonía" (La Lyra Hispana, Cartagena)

Today's Birthday in Music: September 8 (Dvořák)

1841 - Antonín Dvořák, Nelahozeves, Czech Republic; composer

Wikipedia

"Polka" from Czech Suite, Op. 39 (North German Radio Symphony Orchestra)


Violin Concerto in A minor (Leonidas Kavakos, violin; Budapest Festival Orchestra, conductor Iván Fischer; Wiesbaden, 2008)


Frederica Von Stade sings "Song to the Moon" from Rusalka (Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa conducting)

Canadian Election Set for October 14, Arts Coverage Begins

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has announced the next federal election for October 14. Coming on the heels of over $40 Million in cuts to Arts programs, we expect that Arts and Culture will be a significant issue in the election. La SCENA / La Scena Musicale / SCENA.org will be following the Arts policy of the election. Visit SCENA.org for regular coverage.

Today's Birthdays in Music: September 7 (J. Cross, H. Aitken)

1900 - Joan Cross, London, England; opera soprano


Joan Cross as Queen Elizabeth in Britten's Gloriana
Wikipedia




1924 - Hugh Aitken, New York City, U.S.A.; composer

Biography

Today's Birthday in Music: September 6 (W. Kraft)

1923 - William Kraft, Chicago, U.S.A.; composer, conductor, percussionist

Wikipedia
Biography

Timpani Concerto, 3rd mvt. finale (Randy Max, timpanist)


Allemande and Gigue from French Suite (Anthony Spinnato, percussion; Lebanon Valley College, PA)

LSM Opera Weekend in Toronto 2008

[Version française]

Join La Scena Musicale in an opera weekend in Toronto on October 25 and 26, 2008 to see two operas over two days presented by the Canadian Opera Company: Prokofiev's War and Peace and Mozart's Don Giovanni. Don't miss this unforgettable weekend!

All funds raised from this exceptional weekend will go towards the non-profit charitable activities of La Scena Musicale.

Order Now: (514) 948-2520 or operaweekend@scena.org

Note: La Scena Musicale will sell the opera tickets. Contact Voyages LM for your travel needs at 1 888 371 6151

ITINERARY

Saturday, October 25

4pm: Prokofiev's War and Peace

8:30 pm: Benefit Dinner

Sunday, October 26

2 pm to 5:30 pm: Mozart's Don Giovanni

Tickets:

• War and Peace: $60, $95, $160 $195
• Don Giovanni: $60 , $160, $195
• Dinner: to be announced

Great Deals:

• Save 5% if you buy two tickets!
• Save 10% if you buy four tickets
  

Reservations:

• * 514 948.2520
• operaweekend@scena.org
• http://operaweekend.scena.org

Deadline: October 8, 2008

LSM Week-end d'opéra à Toronto 2008

[English version]

Joignez-vous à La Scena Musicale pour un week-end d'opéra à Toronto les 25 et 26 octobre 2008 et assistez à deux opéras présentés par la Canadian Opera Company: Guerre et Paix de Prokofiev et Don Giovanni de Mozart, ne ratez pas ce week-end mémorable!

Tous les profits de ce week-end exceptionnel serviront à financer les activités sans but lucratif de La Scena Musicale.

Commandez sans tarder: (514) 948-2520 ou operaweekend@scena.org

À noter: les billets d'opéra sont vendus par La Scena Musicale. Pour le voyage et l'hébergement, communiquez avec Voyages LM au 1 888 371 611

PROGRAMME

Le samedi 25 octobre

16h: Guerre et Paix de Prokofiev

20 h 30: souper-bénéfice

Le dimanche 26 octobre

14 h à 17 30: Don Giovanni de Mozart

Billets:

*Guerre et Paix: 60$, 95$, $160$, 195$

*Don Gionvanni: 60$, 160$, 195$

*Souper: à communiquer
* moins 5% si vous achetez deux billets
*moins 10% si vous achetez deux billets

Réservations

* 515 948.2520

operaweekend@scena.org

http://operaweekend.scena.org

Date limite: 8 octobre 2008

Today's Birthdays in Music: September 5 (Beach, Cage, Hamelin)

1867 - Amy Beach, Henniker, U.S.A.; composer and pianist

Wikipedia
Biographies

"Scottish Legend" (played by Philip Sear)



1912 - John Cage, Los Angeles, U.S.A.; composer

Wikipedia

"Aria" by John Cage (Kristin Magret Brækken, soprano and Ståle Storløkken, piano, 2002)



1961 - Marc-André Hamelin, Montreal, Canada; pianist and composer

Wikipedia
Biography (Encyclopedia of Music in Canada)
Beyond Virtuosity (La Scena Musicale, Dec. 2001)

Marc André Hamelin plays:

his own Étude No. 7 for Left Hand, Gershwin's "Do Do Do" and "Liza", and his own "Valse Irritation d'après Nokia"


"Negaceano" and "Vaidosa" by Radamés Gnattali

"Tanglewood" Revisited: Basking in the Beauty of the Berkshires

It has been years since I visited Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. This year, with some encouragement from friends, Marita and I decided it was time to go back. We traveled from the Eastern Townships of Quebec – where we can usually be found at this time of year – taking a scenic route via secondary roads through Vermont so that we could visit Stowe for the first time.

We had an excellent lunch on the backyard patio of the Whip restaurant, part of the Green Mountain Inn in Stowe, and marveled at the breathtaking ski slopes all around us. We arrived in Lenox about 5:00 pm and checked into the Yankee Inn on Route 7. It’s a very ordinary motel but thanks to the crush of music-lovers from Boston, New York and almost everywhere else, they can charge $225 per night!

In Lenox, we joined our friends for dinner at a new restaurant called the Firefly – a little rushed because we had to make the BSO concert at 8:30 pm – but what we sampled was first-rate. Marita raved about a terrific gorgonzola penne; not as good as a now legendary pasta of the same description enjoyed in Trinidad, of all places, years ago, but excellent nonetheless.

The "Rolls Royce" of American Music Festivals

Surely Tanglewood must be considered the "Rolls Royce" of all American summer music festivals. It started the trend in the mid 1930s, and it stands today as a model of how such things should be done. Not only is it the summer home of one of the world’s great orchestras – the Boston Symphony - it is also a music school which perennially attracts the crème de la crème – both teachers and students. To make the argument even stronger, Tanglewood sits on some of the prettiest real estate in the Berkshire mountains of Massachusetts.

Incredibly, this mecca of music-making was conceived and inaugurated by conductor Serge Koussevitsky in 1936, during the depths of the depression. Shortly after its establishment, America was engulfed in a world war. The festival closed shop during the war years; rationing of rubber, steel and gasoline meant that few Americans had the means to travel hundreds of miles to a music festival. Fortunately, Tanglewood outlived the war and remains today a marvel of imagination and inspiration.

I never had the pleasure of attending Tanglewood as a student – following in the footsteps of the likes of Bernstein, Foss, Abbado, Maazel, Ozawa, Dohnányi, Mehta, Michael Tilson Thomas and so many others – but I was often a member of the audience in the 1970s. I recall with great joy a performance of a lean and lively Messiah and a thrilling Elgar First Symphony conducted by Sir Colin Davis and a resounding and mesmeric Berlioz "Requiem" conducted by Seiji Ozawa. Then there was Scott Joplin’s "Treemonisha" conducted by Gunther Schuller. I also loved the Prelude concerts with members of the Boston Symphony playing chamber music, and not least of all, the numerous events put on by students at the Berkshire (since renamed the “Tanglewood”) Music Center. These gifted young people invariably played with remarkable skill and enthusiasm.

Toronto Symphony’s Maestro Peter Oundjian Guest Conductor

Peter Oundjian conducted the Boston Symphony at the Tanglewood Shed our first night there, with Joshua Bell playing Chausson’s “Poème” and Saint-Saens’ Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso. As a former violin soloist himself, Oundjian was an ideal accompanist, especially since Bell played with a lovely but somewhat unpredictable improvisatory quality. According to the program notes, the Chausson was last heard at Tanglewood in a performance by the same Joshua Bell in 1999. Few other violinists play it these days but it remains a unique, brooding masterpiece. We had good seats in about the 10th row on the extreme right of the stage. Not enough violins given our seat locations but otherwise very good sound.

Incidentally, famed architect Eliel Saarinen submitted the original plans for the Shed back in 1936, but the plans were too elaborate and too costly so the Boston Symphony settled for something much more modest from local Stockbridge engineer Joseph Franz. The Shed we enjoy today is still pretty much the handiwork of Franz, and he deserves much of the credit for its surprisingly good acoustics.

Earlier in the concert Oundjian had conducted Ravel’s “Alborado del gracioso” and after intermission led a very good performance of the familiar Mussorgsky-Ravel “Pictures at an Exhibition.” Particularly impressive was the tenor tuba solo in a very slow Bydlo; more expressive than I have ever heard it although there were some slips near the end. “The Great Gate of Kiev” was also slow and a little ponderous but the climaxes at the end with resplendent bells were spectacular.

After the concert, we made our way backstage to say hello to Peter, whose father had occasionally attended my concerts in Toronto.

Good Eats, Pouring Rain, and Shattered Hopes for Great Golf!

We had breakfast the next morning in a fine and very popular bakery-restaurant in Lennox called Haven. I loved the samplings of apple cake and the blueberry ‘something’ hot out of the oven, served free to patrons waiting in the food line. The service is cafeteria-style but none the worse for that. The weather in this unusually wet summer was nice enough to sit outside. The manager was much amused to see me heading out with a latte in one hand and a bottle of ketchup in the other. “Was I starting a new fad - latte with ketchup - yet another specialty coffee?”

Our friends had arranged golf for the men in our party at the Taconic Golf Club in Williamstown, about a 45-minute drive north on route 7. Unfortunately, the weather had other ideas. We drove up in pouring rain but it stopped soon after we arrived and we prepared ourselves to get a round in after all. After waiting an hour we started to play. The radar at the club indicated the rain cell had moved on and that clear weather would last through the afternoon. We got to the third hole and the rain came again, this time even heavier than before. The professionals play through rain and only give up in the face of thunderstorms, but there was so much water on the greens here that putted balls barely moved and nearly every fairway had large pools of water. The management at the Taconic Golf Club wisely closed the course for the rest of the day.

Mass MoCa – No, it’s not a Giant Cup of Coffee

With time on our hands we drove east to North Adams to visit the art gallery set up in an abandoned factory and known as Mass MoCa (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art). North Adams was a factory town for most of its existence and this was a complex of 27 buildings, renovated when the factory gave up. The facility was built between 1872 and 1900 by Arnold Print Works, a textile printer. Thousands of people had jobs at the print factory in its heyday but times changed and the factory closed in 1942.

Sprague Electric Company, a capacitor manufacturer, re-opened the facility. Sprague flourished for many years but finally lost out to competition in cheaper markets and closed down in 1985. The town of 18,000 was devastated. All 4,000 jobs went to the southern states and then to the Third World. North Adams became a depressed area almost overnight.

The town remains a shadow of its former self but the once forlorn factory complex has been given new life as a vast and imaginative art gallery. At Mass MoCa there are rooms full of recent paintings and sculptures and several exhibits with an environmental angle. It was all stimulating and wondrous to behold in such an unlikely place.

Two of the curated exhibitions had special merit: “Badlands: New Horizons in Landscape” – contemporary artists giving us new insight into the world around us - and “Eastern Standard: Western Artists in China”, a timely show with all eyes on the Beijing Olympics this summer.

The Mass MoCa complex also has offices and restaurants and we had dinner in an eatery called Café Latino. Its menu was just as creative as its surroundings.

Fabulous Feydeau Farce at Famous Williamstown Theatre

After dinner, we made the short drive back to Williamstown for the Williamstown Theatre production of Feydeau’s “A Flea in Her Ear” in a new version by David Ives. John Rando directed a fast-paced and very funny production with terrific sets and finely-tuned ensemble acting. Mark Harelik was particularly outstanding as both Victor Chandebise and Poche. There may never have been quite so many laughs in the disreputable Frisky Puss Hotel.

The Williamstown Theatre has been in business for 54 years and has seen the likes of Gywneth Paltrow, Blythe Danner – her mother – Christopher Reeve, Joanne Woodward, Frank Langella and many other New York and Hollywood luminaries over the years and under current artistic director Nicholas Martin it remains a summer theater of the highest quality. While the principal actors are all experienced professionals, the Williamstown Theatre Festival also offers training for hundreds of young people each season. In its way it is the theatrical counterpart of the Tanglewood - Tanglewood Music Center combination.

It was back to the Haven the next morning – this time for excellent pancakes with our Sunday New York Times - then back to Tanglewood.

Second Tanglewood Concert: Disappointing Sound and Substance

The plan was to have a picnic on the lawn before the concert. Rain was again in the forecast and the pessimists among us feared the worst. Fortunately, the rain held off until the concert began. No problem for us because we had tickets inside the Shed, but while we stayed dry, we were too far away from the stage to hear much music, especially from Yo Yo Ma in the Lalo Cello Concerto, a poor piece anyway. The conductor - Mexican-born Carlos Prieto - was in over his head. The orchestra sounded second-rate. The performance of Rachmaninov’s “Symphonic Dances” lacked both fire and melancholy.

Prieto opened with selections from Albeniz’ “Iberia” in orchestrations by Arbos. These are genre pieces of no great distinction. Fine for a travelogue but not for a serious concert. But then this is Tanglewood - probably sounded just right if one were stretched out on the lawn with a glass of wine in hand, taking it in through the external sound system. The Shed seats 5,000 and the lawn another 18,000!

Lounging on the Lawn and Fine Dining in Great Barrington

After the concert we went back to our chairs on the lawn and chatted, a nice way to wind down and avoid the traffic jams as everyone tries to leave at once. Later, we drove down to Great Barrington ‘the back way’ on Hawthorne Road through Stockbridge for dinner at a superb restaurant also owned by the same people who run Café Latino. It is called Allium on Railroad St. Wonderful Spanish tempranillo called Torremoron. The manager/owner claimed to have visited the town where this wine is made. It was only $36 and it was rich and smooth. Marita had a tasty Turkish Lamb that rivaled a wonderful risotto praised by others at our table. We finished off with panna cotta and a selection of house-made ice creams.

Our Tanglewood trek this year came after an absence of more than twenty years and we got involved after all the plans were set in motion. We had a great weekend, but in retrospect we might have tried to plan it differently. After all, the musical highlight of the weekend was Tchaikovsky’s “Eugen Onegin” conducted by James Levine and starring Renée Fleming. Levine had to cancel due to kidney surgery but by all accounts Sir Andrew Davis filled in admirably. We were otherwise engaged with Feydeau in Williamstown.

Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Tanglewood Model

Tanglewood remains the unique musical paradise BSO conductor Serge Koussevitsky created more than 60 years ago. His successors have both honored his memory and added to its reputation. Physically, Tanglewood has grown over the years with the addition of more land and a second major concert facility, but the beauty of the site is remarkably unspoiled. The lawn seems as green and spacious as it ever was, and no signs of commercialism have been allowed to penetrate this musical oasis. No wonder the board of the Toronto Symphony is using Tanglewood as a model as it explores Niagara-on-the-Lake as a possible summer home.

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 http://www.amazon.com/. For more about Paul E. Robinson please visit his website at http://www.theartoftheconductor.com/.

Today's Birthday in Music: September 4 (Milhaud)

1892 - Darius Milhaud, Aix-en-Provence, France; composer

Biographies and picture
Obituary (Musical Times, Aug. 1974)

Barcarole and rondo from Sonatina for 2 violins (John and Kara Lardinois)


Scaramouche for 2 pianos (Duo Vela, Barcelona, 1997)


Excerpt from Le Boeuf sur le Toit, "a surrealistic cabaret", music by Darius Milhaud, created and directed by Adrian Marthaler (Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Matthias Bambert conducting)

Today's Birthday in Music: September 3 (Locatelli)

1695 - Pietro Locatelli, Bergamo, Italy; composer and violinist

Wikipedia

Sonata in D major for cello and harpsichord (Levon Mouradian, cello; Jenny Silvestre, harpsichord.  Portugal, 2008)


Concerto for 4 violins in F major, Op. 4, mvts. 2 and 3 (Musica Antiqua Köln, conductor Reinard Goebel)

Today's Birthday in Music: September 2 (G. Böhm)

1661 - George Böhm, Hohenkirchen, Germany; organist and composer

Wikipedia
Biography

Böhm's Prelude and Fugue in C major, performed on the Riel organ at the Church of St. John, Lüneburg, where Böhm was organist

Today's Birthdays in Music: September 1 (Ozawa, Humperdinck, Schikaneder)

1935 - Seiji Ozawa, Shenyang, China; conductor

Wikipedia
Biography and pictures

Seiji Ozawa conducts the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Dvořák's Carnival Overture



1854 - Engelbert Humperdinck, Siegburg, Germany; composer (Hänsel und Gretel)

Wikipedia

Overture to Hänsel und Gretel (Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer conducting)



1751 - Emanuel Schikaneder, Straubing, Germany; impresario, actor, singer, librettist (Die Zauberflöte)


Wikipedia