Opera Music

Southover Grange, Lewes 3pm May 19 2013 I took a little trip down to Lewes today to see my younger son and three of his children - all much occupied as families are with assorted activities at the weeekend.  Included in this was a birthday party for three year olds (my only grand daughter is three but the party was for her long blond haired boyfriend who is her junior by three months!) This was held in the beautiful garden of Southover Grange.  This is a lovely place on a largely sunny day such as this.  It has little compartments one of which was taken by the host family for a pirate themed party. I lived near Lewes for more than 25 years during most of the time that I worked at Glyndebourne.  So all of this area is extremely familiar to me, home really..... So that was about it for the day.  I am now back in London - a beautiful evening here.  I am still adjusting after my China trip.  It seems to be taking longer than usual.  Very annoying.

Sir Simon Rattle conducts the Philadelphia Orchestra. by Paul J. Pelkonen Soprano Barbara Hannigan as the Police Chief from Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre. Image from BarbaraHannigan.com. Some composers still need an advocate. Today's audiences are filled with skeptics, put off by the idea of atonal music and names like Berg, Webern and Ligeti. On Friday night at Carnegie Hall, the Philadelphia Orchestra returned to Carnegie Hall under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle, the current music director of the Berlin Philharmonic. This program cemented Sir Simon's reputation as a fearless advocate for these new sounds, interpreted through the rich, velvety texture of this top-flight ensemble. The concert opened with Webern's Passacaglia. This is the composer's first published work, published in 1908 but written well before he came under Schoenberg's tutelage. Plucked strings establish an eight-note bass theme, which is then put through twenty-three permutations supported by a very large orchestra. Sir Simon brought hushed delicacy to the early passages, and power and urgency to the huge chords of brass and strings that form the work's climactic moments. The orchestra was joined by soprano Barbara Hannigan for Three Fragments from Alban Berg's seminal 1925 opera Wozzeck. These arrangements were made by the composer as a kind of "road show" to build awareness for his first opera, the sad story of a soldier who murders his unfaithful lover and then drowns while trying to recover the murder weapon. Ms. Hannigan played the central role of Marie in these excerpts, which include Marie's two important solo scenes and the opera's finale. Berg demands flexibility from this huge orchestra, requiring the sounds of a military band, a chamber orchestra, often in the same scene. Sinuous themes hinted at the murder to come, with slithering, jarring chords. Ms. Hannigan melted into the part of the doomed Marie, torn between her lust for the pompous Drum Major and her infant child. The Prayer Scene (Act II Scene 1) followed, with Ms. Hannigan mixing song with sprechstimme ("song-speech") creating a picture of desparation. The third excerpt presented Wozzeck's death, a moving elegy for the common man defeated by forces beyond his control. This was played with power and heart-felt emotion. The repeated statements of a single note in the orchestra led to a chorale-like reiteration of the protagonist's despairing main theme. In the last scene of the opera, Ms. Hannigan played the parts of a gang of children and the protagonists' young, orphaned son. She turned and sang "Hop-hopp!" the final words of the lad, riding his hobby-horse. The second half of the evening opened with a black-wigged Ms. Hannigan bursting onto the stage. Decked out in vinyl boots and a black latex trench-coat, she reprised the (insane) Chief of Police in Mysteries of the Macabre, a ten-minute excerpt from György Ligeti's opera Le Grand Macabre. This is a coloratura tour-de-force and a concert specialty of this artist. Written for a small, unconventional orchestra, it sounds like Mozart's Queen of the Night gone further round the bend and singing in carefully notated gibberish. Ms. Hannigan's brilliant, over-the-top performance made the Hall rock with laughter, especially when she knocked Mr. Rattle off his podium and started flailing at the orchestra. The concert concluded with a note-perfect performance of Beethoven's Pastorale Symphony. This was an energetic walk through the composer's imaginary country-side, rambling through fields and forests with stops by the brook to hear birds twitter and chirp in the woodwinds. The cellos took the lead with these familiar, expansive themes, in an idyllic portrait that somehow clarified the details of the score. Conductor and orchestra took glee as they impersonated the merry town band of the third movement, scattering them with the thunderstorm that followed. The final Shepherd's Song was played with deep, serene feeling,

Part one of the closing of the Old Met.Contents as follows: Nat.Anthem;Lauder Greenway greeting; Tannhauser Entrance of Guests (Stokowski) and introduction of honored guests;Rudolf Bing Greeting. Lucia Sextet: Moffo, Sergi,Walker, Diaz, Ordassy,Anthony Ballo: Eri tu: Merrill Otello duet: McCracken,Colzani Don Carlo aria: Siepi Louise Depuis le jour: Kirsten Carmen Quintet: Resnik, Votipka, Baldwin, Franke, Cehanovsky Butterfly Un Bel di:Albanese (and she kissed the stage) Walkure: Wintersturme: Vickers Barber of Bagdad: Heil,diesem Hause Corena Barbiere: Una voce poco fa Peters

Last night we closed Falstaff at the Portland Opera. :-(Many thanks to my colleagues and friends in Portland for a magical month and some change - it's been an incredible time.Portlandia - I will see you in about five proverbial minutes. :-)

The first word I could hear while on entering the auditorium of the New National Theatre today was “escalator” and I thought that those ladies were referring to the new ones in the lobby, but then I saw a couple of them on stage.  “Aren’t you performing Nabucco today?”, a man asked one of the ushers. “Yes, sir”, she answered in a very professional tone. “But why there is a department store on stage?!” “It seems that this is the modern way of staging an opera”, she repressed a smirk. “Aaah…”. The New National Theatre has had its share of stylized stagings, but it seems today many members of the audience are going to google the word “Regietheater” for the first time. In any case, the program had an explanatory text in which you could see side by side pictures of Zeffirelli’s and Calixto Bieito’s stagings of Verdi’s Aida. I am not sure if I truly like Graham Vick’s new production of Verdi’s Nabucco, but I am grateful for not seeing choristers in Life-of-Bryan costumes trying to walk like a Babylonian. Most of all, I am glad that Mr. Vick had intended his production to the Japanese audience. I am not sure if he understand it or even really had something to say, but he did get it right that many of those in the the National Theatre watch and listen to opera as if it had nothing to do with their lives, but rather as a a) traditional, b) foreign; c) respectable entertainment. I am no sociologist, but I would rather believe that in many points, audiences in Japan could relate more directly to it than those in Milan or in Munich. You’ll only need to read Japanese newspapers to see my point. In any case, there is a shopping mall on stage. Well-dressed people are drinking their cappuccini, fidgeting with their Iphones and buying Italian designer items. There is a beggar with a “the end is near”-sign, but nobody seems to notice him, until he grabs a passer-by, strip her from her overcoat to reveal her funkier clothes. She is Fenena. Later a gang of terrorists in pig masks would invade the mall led by some sort of Tracy-Turnblad-meets-the-bride-of-Chucky (Abigaille). Then you realize that: a) the Hebrews are the consumerists; b) the shopping mall is their temple; c) the Babylonians are the Die-fette-Jahren-sind-vorbei terrorists (they basically mess things around and place them in funny places) who put them in a hostage situation. As much as the no-fourth-wall approach could be interesting, this scenario does not really go with the plot. In Verdi’s Nabucco, the Babylonians are the established power with an army, the power to pass laws etc etc, while the Hebrews are the oppressed “nation without a state” who have no one to protect them but their invisible and very abstract God (as the Babylonians more or less would describe it). I can see that Mr. Vick wishes us to have a fresh look into the situation – and I would guess that he finds the Hebrews as portrayed in this story some sort of uncongenial conservative bunch – but his reversal of values requires so much suspension of disbelief that in the end you just give it up: if the Hebrews are here the bourgeois clientele of the shopping mall and the Babylonians are the terrorists, where is the police? I mean – the terrorists are not the State and therefore have no right to resort to violence. So they are criminals, right? So, where is the police? Also, how come Zaccaria the beggar “belongs with” the mall clientele? Why would the clientele follow his lead in the first place instead of just calling security to escort him out? Finally, since we are adapting the story to give it a second layer of meaning, why God’s lightning is just good, old meteorological lightning? I mean, the anarchistic terrorist leader would loose his sanity because the shopping mall was struck by lightning? Well, that was enough

La donna del lago - Royal Opera House, 17 May 2013 (first night) The Royal Opera House has pulled together the most perfect cast imaginable for this new production. They more than lived up to expectations, with line after line of the most thrillingly spectacular Rossini singing I've ever heard. Even a production that rivals the recent Nabucco for sheer ineptness couldn't dim their brilliance. Juan Diego Flórez gave us, as usual, the sort of perfectly even and secure singing that makes his fiendish coloratura and pinging top Cs seem almost thrown away.  Like the equally stunning Joyce DiDonato, the titular donna, he didn't establish character clearly, but this is a fault that lies with the director. The robust, plummy mezzo of Daniela Barcellona as Joyce's paramour Malcom is well-known to continental audiences but a first for Covent Garden's, who rewarded her with a huge ovation for her faultless performance. Braveheartedly outfitted in traditional tartan, she made an eerily convincing man. The biggest surprise was Michael Spyres, who stood in for an indisposed Colin Lee as as Joyce's unwelcome fiance Rodrigo, a role he was due to assume later in the run in any case. This is one of the toughest parts in all of operadom, encompassing a range from low F to top D. Spyres has a natural advantage with the low notes, having initially trained as a baritone. His notes were not quite as secure as Juan Diego's (whose are?), but every single one was clean.  A rich and full lower register compensated for thinness at the very top. His sweetness of tone is matched by a naturally affable stage presence (rather like Calleja's), which made him a curiously sympathetic villain. He's due back at Covent Garden the season after next in the title role of Idomeneo, but you can catch him earlier at ENO in next season's Benvenuto Cellini, a role he seems perfect for at this stage in his career. Michele Mariotti led the ROH orchestra in adequate if unsparkling support. The intonation of the onstage band (especially piccolo) was the only real disappointment. Scenery applauders will find plenty to ovate in Dick Bird's stylish sets and the exquisite heather-paletted Harris Tweed costumes designed by Yannis Thavoris, but everything else about the production is a mess. John Fulljames has framed Rossini's tale in a 19th century library where, presumably, Sir Walter Scott is reading his poem, on which the opera is based.  The minor character of Serano (Robin Leggate) is got up as Scott, and helps release Joyce from the vitrine which encases her in the opening scene. He pops up later to hand over props. The concept appears to be a reading brought to life. Why Rossini (Justina Gringyte as another minor character, Albina) should be present too is anybody's guess. Both hang around almost throughout.  Unlike Herheim's Manon Lescaut, which introduces the composer as a character in order to explore the whole notion of creativity,  here there seems to be no intellectual basis for the intrusion, other than to point out that the story is a story and not a history - which is surely obvious. The greater problem is the lack of direction of individual characters. The underlying ideas may be sound, but stock gestures abound. We never find out who these people are. The chorus are stuck there long after they've finished singing, obstructing the view and diffusing the focus. Anyone unfamilar with the opera is going to wonder just what the hell is going on. What's more, Fulljames introduces a mass rape scene not even remotely indicated in text or music. Was there really no other way to highlight the brutality of the Scottish Highlanders? Rossini, who created some of the most feisty and independent heroines in the history of opera, would have deplored reducing them to mere punching-bags. To top it off, the Lady of the Lake herself compliments King Uberto on his gentilezza (kindness) straight after he's shoved her around. No wonder Juan Diego looked nonplussed.

Gotham Chamber Opera presents Daniel Catán’s 1988 opera, La hija de Rappaccini (Rappaccini’s Daughter), on Mondays, June 17 and 24, 2013 at 7pm at Brooklyn Botanic Garden (rain date June 25). Seating is by general admission on the lawn. Blankets and outside food will be permitted. Boxed picnic dinners will also be available for purchase. [...]

Nathan Wyatt as Bobby Kennedy and Caitlin Vincent as Jackie Kennedy (Photo: Britt Olsen-Ecker)Nathan Wyatt is new to this site and we discovered him singing the role of Robert Kennedy in the world premiere of Joshua Bornfield's Camelot Requiem. The North Carolina native has been involved with a number of world premieres lately including, Jake Heggie’s “Epilogue: Under the Blessing of your Psyche Wings,” as part of the Opera America Songbook, and William Bolcom’s “Gettysburg, July 1, 1863,” a commission by SongFest. Camelot Requiem was commissioned by Baltimore’s Figaro Project in honor of the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The opera tells the story of Jackie Kennedy and the small group who surrounded her immediately after the President’s death in Dallas on November 22, 1963. Caitlin Vincent's libretto is drawn from the written history of the event, as well as the traditional requiem mass.Nathan Wyatt sings William Bolcom’s “Gettysburg, July 1, 1863”North Carolina native Nathan Wyatt is a recent graduate of the Peabody Conservatory. He was awarded a Tanglewood Music Festival Fellowship for the summer of 2013. In September, Wyatt was one of two invited soloists, along with soprano Elizabeth Futral, to perform new works in the official opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony of the new Opera America National Opera Center in New York. Nathan WyattHe received first place honors in the Maryland/DC chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and was a finalist in the Sylvia Green Competition in 2010. Recent opera roles include Alexander Kerensky in the world premiere of Joshua Bornfield’s Strong like Bull, Le Directeur and Le Gendarme in Les Mamelles de Tirésias, Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, Lescaut in Manon, Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutte, and The Forester in The Adventures of Sharp-Ears the Vixen. In the fall of 2011, Mr. Wyatt made is Carnegie Hall debut under the direction of Marin Alsop in the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s production of Arthur Honneger’s Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher.

Glyndebourne Opera House Music-Master – Sir Thomas Allen Major-Domo – William Relton Lackey – Frederick Long Officer – Stuart Jackson Composer – Kate Lindsey Tenor. Bacchus – Sergey Skorokhodov Wigmaker – Michael Wallace Zerbinetta – Laura Claycomb Prima Donna, Ariadne – Soile Isokoski Dancing Master – Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke Pianist – Gary Matthewman Naiad – Ana Maria Labin Dryad – Adriana Di Paola Echo – Gabriela I?toc Harlequin – Dmitri Vargin Scaramuccio – James Kryshak Truffaldino – Torben Jürgens Brighella – Andrew Stenson Katharina Thoma (director) Julia Müer (set designs) Irina Bartels (costumes) Olaf Winter (lighting) Lucy Burge (movement) London Philharmonic Orchestra Vladimir Jurowski (conductor) Katharina Thoma’s Glyndebourne debut had been heavily publicised. Sad to say, not only does her production of Ariadne auf Naxos fail to live up to any expectations that might have been engendered; it fails dismally to live up to Strauss and Hofmannsthal, indeed even so much as to engage with them. Audience members would apparently erupt into uproarious laughter when someone, anyone, so much as walked onstage seemed delighted, but there was more sign of the artwork we know, love, and desperately wished to have interrogated in the miserably paraphrased surtitles – is it that difficult to offer a reasonable translation? – than on the Glyndebourne stage, at least during the Opera proper. The 1940s seem almost to be de rigueur for a certain breed of opera directors at the moment; this staging follows in the dubious footsteps of David McVicar’s not entirely dissimilar Médéefor ENO. A pandering desire to ‘entertain’ – ironically here, given the concerns of the Prologue, though the irony seems entirely accidental – replaces genuine dramatic, or indeed almost any other variety of, engagement. And yet, of course, Zerbinetta does not appeal to the lowest common denominator; that she both amuses and touches is owed to an expected level of Kultur on the part of the audience. Insofar as what she offers is ‘low’ culture, and that is a considerable ‘insofar’, that only has meaning in terms of contrast with its ‘high’, seria antipode – or cousin. Here, we simply have her reduced to a ‘mad’ person, straitjacketed in a wartime hospital, who, tedious ‘joke’ of tedious ‘jokes’, sings some of her high notes whilst having an orgasm induced by a visitor. I am not sure what is more offensive: the transformation of mental illness, presumably a product of wartime, into fodder for laughter, the refusal so much as to listen to the text (and no, the orgasm does not betoken serious study of the score), or the fact that so many seemed to respond so positively to Carry on Ariadne. Naiad, Dryad, and Echo are nurses, whose every shaking of a sheet elicited helpless guffaws from that vocal section of the audience. A still greater indignity suffered by the work comes at the end when Ariadne, reuinited with her fighter pilot Theseus, has him land himself on top of her behind a curtain. It was difficult to decide whether such prudishness were preferable to a more full-frontal vision; either path would simply have been embarrassing in context – or rather, weirdly out of context. Hoffmansthal’s concern with transformative myth receives not so much as a nod, but then nor does the transformative power of Strauss’s music. Goodness knows what the Composer has been doing, wandering around the Opera, not unreasonably lost; to start with I thought he was a doctor, then a patient, but he really seemed to be there to give the false impression that what we see is somehow connected with the Prologue. For that is the greatest problem of all with this staging, bafflingly so, since one would have thought that, whatever Konzept or none, it would have been pretty straightforward to get right. Much of the Prologue is presented reasonably enough: no particular ins

Mr. Fischer-Dieskau in 1970 Eric Auerbach/Getty Images The news media are all very sadly reporting on the death of one of the music world's greats, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Here is the New York Times article, which is remarkably detailed in telling of Mr. Fischer-Dieskau's upbringing and career. It concludes with this wonderful quote by journalist John Amis: Providence gives to some singers a beautiful voice, to some musical artistry, to some (let us face it) neither, but to Fischer-Dieskau Providence has given both. The result is a miracle, and that is just about all there is to be said about it. The Internet abounds with wonderful performance clips. Click here to see two previous Taminophile posts with wonderful clips. Think I'll listen to some Schumann now.