Oberon's Grove

Eve Gigliotti ~ Waltraute's Narrative

Mezzo-soprano Eve Gigliotti sings Waltraute's Narrative from Wagner's GOTTERDAMMERUNG with Kevin Korth, pianist.

Watch and listen here.

Ms. Gigliotti's YouTube page includes several interesting items from her wide-ranging repertoire.

Milanov~Bergonzi~Sereni CHENIER - Atlanta 1960

Above: Zinka Milanov

A performance of Giordano's ANDREA CHENIER given in 1960 by The Met on tour in Atlanta has just popped up on YouTube. Listen here.

This was at the time when I was just falling in love with opera, though I had not yet discovered the Met Texaco broadcasts. Zinka was on the very first opera LP that my parents gave me; Bergonzi was Pinkerton on the first complete opera set I ever bought (the 'second' Tebaldi Cio-Cio-San); and not long after, I bought the de los Angeles TRAVIATA on which Sereni sang Germont.

One of the things I loved most about finding this Atlanta CHENIER was that the cast includes three mezzo-sopranos who - over time - were to give me so many wonderful memories: Belén Amparán, Helen Vanni, and Mignon Dunn. And just look at the Met stalwarts cast in the supporting male roles:

Atlanta, Georgia (Metropolitan Opera on tour)
May 2nd, 1960

ANDREA CHÉNIER

Andrea Chénier..........Carlo Bergonzi
Maddalena...............Zinka Milanov
Carlo Gérard............Mario Sereni
Bersi...................Helen Vanni
Countess di Coigny......Mignon Dunn
Abbé....................Gabor Carelli
Fléville................George Cehanovsky
L'Incredibile...........Alessio De Paolis
Roucher.................Clifford Harvuot
Mathieu.................Ezio Flagello
Madelon.................Belén Amparan
Dumas...................Osie Hawkins
Fouquier Tinville.......Norman Scott
Schmidt.................Louis Sgarro
Major-domo..............Lloyd Strang

Conductor...............Fausto Cleva

So, despite the sometimes wonky sound quality, this recording is such a treasure to me. 

DON GIOVANNI @ The Met

Above: Peter Mattei as Don Giovanni & Ying Fang as Zerlina

Author: Oberon

Saturday May 27th, 2023 matinee - The Met's new DON GIOVANNI is a grey affair. Large grey architectural set pieces loom above the action; from time to time they are moved to form varying spaces as the story unfolds. The costumes are drab and muted, with the only color splash coming at the Don's party when mannequins are wheeled in, brightly dressed in period gowns. Much of the time the singers are dressed as they might be for a rehearsal. The greyness prevails until the opera's final sextet, when flowers, potted plants, and vari-colored domestic furnishings suddenly decorate the set.

Aside from the Don's killing of the Commendatore with a gun rather than in a duel, there's nothing radical in the staging. Of course, if the production had been set in the USA, everyone would have been toting an AK-15.

With so little to distract us visually, focus was on the singing. Adam Plachetka sounded muted in Leporello's opening lines, but he bloomed vocally with his Catalogue Aria and was thereafter very impressive. Dmitry Belosselskiy was a strongly-sung Commendatore, responding ominously to the Don's dinner invitation, still wearing the bloody shirt in which he was killed. In powerful voice, Mr. Belosselskiy made me look forward to his upcoming Daland.

As the peasant couple, Masetto and his Zerlina, Alfred Walker and Ying Fang were superb. Mr. Walker is always a joy to hear, and his excellent singing today turned the oft-neglected character into a leading role. Ying Fang, with one of the most appealing voices on the current operatic scene, was exquisite in both of her arias, and she blended with Peter Mattei's suavely-phrased singing to make "La ci darem la mano" one of the highlights of the afternoon.

Ana Maria Martinez was a bit unsettled vocally at first, and I wasn't sure that Donna Elvira was a role for her; but she convinced me otherwise as the opera progressed. Her "Mi tradi" was fabulously sung: in a delightful musical collaboration with conductor Nathalie Stutzmann, Ms. Martinez made the aria glow. The soprano, looking like an earnest CEO in her fitted forest-green frock and black stilettos, found the perfect mix of determination and frustration in the character.

Federica Lombardi had a triumph in her third Mozart role at The Met: following her Countess Almaviva and Elettra (IDOMENEO), she sang brilliantly as Donna Anna today, throwing in some embellishments along the way, which Mme. Stutzmann wisely allowed. All afternoon, the Lombardi voice rang clear and true, with free-flowing coloratura, and capping the ensembles brightly. In the great aria "Non mi dir", Ms. Lombardi was poignantly expressive in her plea for understanding, and then set off the fireworks for the aria's fast-paced conclusion.  

Ben Bliss as Don Ottavio gave us some of the most expressive singing of the afternoon, with lovely dynamics in the touching "Dalla sua pace" and a sure command of the dazzling demands of "Il mio tesoro". Ben's visible frustration when Donna Anna asked for 'more time' after demise of her nemesis, Don Giovanni, was much appreciated by the audience.

Peter Mattei's Don Giovanni made a huge impression at The Met in 2009, in another drab production, which I watched with Lisette Oropesa - the first act onscreen at List Hall and the second from a balcony box. We  were both bowled over by his vivid characterization and his mellifluous singing. This afternoon, in a production that casts the Don as a psychopath, Mattei was equally impressive...and the voice is more beautiful and subtle than ever. His "La ci darem la mano" with Ying Fang, his 'champagne aria' (taken by Ms. Stutzmann at lightning speed) and his ravishing serenade, "Deh, vieni alla finestra", were perfect.

What separated this performance from most everything else I have seen at The Met this season was the conducting: the majority of the operas have been played fast and loud, apparently in an attempt to make things more 'exciting'. As a result, singers were often made to choose between forcing or being drowned out. As a singer, Ms. Stutzmann knows what to do on the podium; so today, every note and word was clearly audible, and no one seemed to be putting undue pressure on their voice. 

Moreover, Ms. Stutzmann gave the music a wonderful sense of flow, often moving directly from recitative to aria without pause. There was an especially lovely trio continuo players today: John C. Kelly (fortepiano), Kari Jane Docter (cello), and John Lenti (theorbo and mandolin). It was Mr. Lenti who gave the Mattei serenade its enchanting accompaniment. I cannot say which of the Met Orchestra's cellists was responsible for the splendid playing in Ms. Martinez's wonderful "Mi tradi", nor which clarinetist brought such warmth and clarity to the playing of the downhill scales in Figaro's "Non piu andrai" as part of the Don's dinner music.

And so, I wanted very much to meet Nathalie Stutzmann after the performance. I went down to the stage door - after the enthusiastic ovation during the curtain calls - to find that a large crowd had gathered there. The singers came out and were greeted like rockstars, and they all lingered, chatting up the fans.

I think all afternoon the scandale was on people's minds - at least those people who like gossip. During the performance, there had been no hint of any tension between the pit and the podium, although the players who sit nearest the spot from which the conductor enters - and who usually start clapping loudly when Maestro X, Y, or Z first appears - didn't do that for Ms. Stutzmann today. But the audience soon spotted her and gave her a round of bravas.

Ar last Ms. Stutzmann came out, and after she had greeted some other fans, it was my turn. I had thought of some non-controversial things to say to her, but my shyness overwhelmed me. She signed my program, and I embraced her, and said: "I love your Alto Rhapsody!" which made her smile. Listen to it here.

~ Oberon

Claire Chase ~ Density 2036 @ Zankel Hall

Above: Claire Chase

Author: Shoshana Klein

Thursday May 25th, 2023 - Claire Chase’s Density 2036 project is long and ambitious: a 24-year long project of new commissions, inspired by Varèse’s famous flute piece Density 21.5. Each year, she performs an entire new program of works. This year, she’s 10 years into the project, so the 10 days leading up to this concert have been a recap of all of these new pieces, culminating in Thursday’s world premiere of a 50-minute chamber piece by Anna Thorvaldsdottir named Ubique. For this evening’s piece, the ensemble was composed of Claire Chase, flutes; Katinka Kleijn and Seth Parker Woods, cellos; Cory Smythe, piano; and Levy Lorenzo, live sound. The concert started with a conversation between Ara Guzelimian and Thorvaldsdottir, who described a blank page at the beginning of a composition as freeing - that composing a piece “starts with a sensation - finding something that doesn’t exist yet”

The introduction - which turned out to be a recurring theme - was a deep, low rumbling (not unlike the sound the subway makes in Zankel Hall, begging the question if that was an intentional move by the composer writing for the hall). There was striking low lighting around the ensemble, really creating a space that brought you into the beginning of the performance. The lighting changed throughout the piece in a way that was engaging and followed the different sections - adding some literal color changes to the musical color changes, very tastefully.

 

The piece seemed to have many movements (though if so, they weren’t indicated in the program) - some quite short and full of quick gestures and handoffs, others more slow-moving. There were more sections and honestly more tonality than I was expecting from Thorvaldsdottir. There were a few parts where bass flute and the two cellos mixed in really interesting ways - Thorvaldsdottir is always one for unique texture and sound, and this piece was no exception.

 

At about 40 minutes into the 50-minute piece, Chase finally picked up a C flute, as opposed to the Contrabass flute (named Bertha, as we were told in the pre-concert conversation) and the regular bass flute (whose name I do not know) that she’d been playing so far. The “regular” flute at this point in the piece was strangely light and really felt like a different world - a change from the usual where the lower flutes have the otherworldly feeling.

 

I didn’t feel like I got a good sense of the structure of the piece, but I still enjoyed it, and the recurring rumbling theme gave it some sense of unity. I imagine it would be interesting to be keeping up with the entire project of new flute works and really get to know Chase’s playing - undoubtedly her style influences all of these new commissions, and her explicit goal is for the new pieces to “expand the boundaries of the instrument”. It’s also worth mentioning that as ambitious as it sounds that Claire Chase played a full length recital every night for 10 nights this month, the plan for the final concert of Density 2036 is for her to put on a 24-hour long concert with all of the new music commissioned throughout the project. 

 

~ Shoshana Klein

Sasha Cooke/Kirill Kuzmin ~ how do I find you

Above: Sasha Cooke in a Stephanie Girard portrait

Author: Oberon

Thursday May 25th, 2023 - Mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke presenting a program of songs she commissioned from some of the most distinctive composers of our time in a concert at Merkin Hall. This ambitious project was conceived by Ms. Cooke in 2020, at the height of the devastation of COVID-19, and many of the songs reflect a wide range of experiences tied to the pandemic, from the virus's global effects to intimate, domestic stories of isolation and loneliness. Pianist Kirill Kuzmin was Sasha's perfect musical partner for the evening. 

In approaching the composers and lyricists for this project, Sasha had put no limits on subject matter. Of course, the pandemic was on everyone's mind, but other important topics were brought forward: California wildfires, school shootings, current US politics, and the internment of Asian immigrants on Angel Island in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The artists took the stage to a sustained round of applause. Sasha looked radiant in a shimmering gown, and within a few moments we were basking in the glow of her wide-ranging voice and her thoughtful way with words. 

Caroline Shaw wrote both the music and the words for the evening's title song, how do i find you. In this lyrical, melodious piece, everything that is dear to me about Sasha's voice came into play: the warmth of her timbre, the cushioned, unforced low notes and rapturous highs, and the sheer seamlessness of it all. And she is sounding more gorgeous and expressive than ever.

A five-note descending scale is a recurring motif in Ms. Shaw's song, tailored so perfectly to the words. The music gets quite grand, and then briefly declamatory, before a final passage of sustained tones.  

Listen (music by Kamala Sankaram, words by Mark Campbell) features some lovely writing for the piano, and explores a wide tonal range for the voice. There comes a great outpouring, and then a mix of pastel colors at the end. The poet's words are simple yet infinitely moving: "Listen, as you would to the words of a dying friend..."

Risk Not One (music by Matt Boehler, words by Todd Boss) Sasha jumps right in, and a rhythm develops; The words are urgent: "Go for broke!" Sasha's voice is big and rich here, and Kirill at the piano has lots of lively notes to play. Glorious singing, with a big finish.

Self-Portrait with Dishevelled Hair (music by Missy Mazzoli, words by Royce Vavrek) Inspired by Rembrant's painting of the same name, and by the idea that a self-portrait captures a moment in time, the music veers from pensive to animated to moving. "I will paint you a self-portrait of me...so that you and I, separated by centuries, might lock into each other's gaze."

Spider (music by John Glover, words by Kelley Rourke) was one of my favorite songs on the program, though - to be honest - all the songs were favorites. The piano begins to ripple as the spider builds her web, and the music is thoughtful. Sasha's voicing of the words is so clear...and then she begins to hum, like a lullaby.

MasksUsedToBeFun (music by Frances Pollock, words by Emily Roller) was the most political song of the evening. It's a light-hearted take on serious matters. From a bright start, the words are sometimes sung and sometimes spoken. Full of irony - and finger snapping - the piece rushes along, eventually taking singer and pianist to the brink of madness. The final lines are a hymn to our beloved democracy, followed by a touching piano postlude.

(During a Q & A after the performance, a woman in the audience asked why "we" (left wingers) don't reach out to "them" (the right wingers). The answer is simple: "they" are inflexible, cannot be reasoned with, nor think of anything other than imposing their beliefs on everyone else, and getting their own way - by hook or by crook. That's why "we" end up "talking to ourselves", as the woman so blithely put it.)

Everything Will Be Okay (music by Christopher Cerrone, words by John K. Samson) was another favorite of mine; it tells of the recovery of a lost 'treasure'. The song grows from a low start via simple voice and piano lines to a more dramatic passage before finding a tranquil ending, as peace of mind is restored. 

After the Fires (music by Lembit Beecher, words by Liza Balkan) is a poetic narrative recalling the California fires of 2020, wherein the writer tells of returning home after the devastation. "There's a feeling of memories having been erased along with the place." The music covers a wide dynamic range, and the role of the piano is key. The song becomes very reflective, and finishes with a sense of quiet resignation. I loved watching Sasha sing this piece.

(A Bad Case of) Kids (music by Andrew Marshall, lyrics by Todd Boss) is a drunken song, and Sasha's take on it made me think of Flicka von Stade's hilarious PERICHOLE aria. A poor bloke is stuck at home with the kids all day, day after day.  He pleads: "Find me a bed on the topmost floor, far from the cries of the maternity ward!" Sasha and Kirill had a blast with this song, which is quite operatic at times. The music rolls along, like something out of a music hall revue: a vivid finale to the concert's first half. 

The Work of Angels (music by Huang Ruo, words by David Henry Hwang), which tells of Angel Island and the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, where Asian immigrants were held, some for months...or even years. Of course this made me think of my beloved Wei, and the ongoing threats to Asians in this country. The singing is intimate, contrasting with some grand passages for the piano. The sound of the words becomes hesitant, as if afraid to speak of the things that happened to these people. It was some of the most poignant music we heard tonight, and it ends with a wordless vocalise.

Altitude (music by Timo Andres, words by Lola Ridge), an enigmatic and strangely captivating song, in which Sasha almost compulsively repeats words whilst Kirill plays dotty accents. Then Sasha concludes this unique song in a gorgeous high phrase. 

Still Waiting (music by Joel Thompson, words by Gene Scheer) is the harrowing tale of a mother in this age of school shootings. Reassuring at first, humming to herself, the woman misses a text from her daughter telling of a shooter in the school, followed by a second text: ""I'm OK, We're evacuating. I love you." This brings a huge outpouring of voice. In the final unaccompanied passage, Sasha almost lost control. I imagine this song is very difficult for a mother to sing, but it needs to be heard.

In the Q & A at the program's end, Sasha spoke of her difficulty in deciding what should follow Still Waiting. She chose That Night (music by Hilary Purrington, words by Mark Campbell), a long and rambling paean to the vitality and chaos of New York City life. It was a lot of fun to watch Sasha toss off the words; despite all the extroversion, the song has a thoughtful finish.

Inward Things is Nico Muhly's setting of a text by the 17th century English poet and theologian, Thomas Traherne. Muhly fashioned the piece so compellingly, and Sasha brought opulent tone and an engaging dynamic palette to bear on this beauteous music. The song's end was especially sublime.

Dear Colleagues (music by Rene Orth, words by Colleen Murphy) details the abundant problems masses of people faced during the pandemic while trying to work from home where kids, pets, and daily domestic stuff keep interrupting. The song is a working mother's melodrama, which Sasha sang and acted with flair, whilst Kirill relished the choice piano interjections. The song has a hilarious ending.

The Hazelnut Tree (words and music by Gabriel Kahane) tells of emerging from the confines of the indoors, of newspapers and television screens, into the natural world where we can find the true beauty of life. Mr. Kahane gives the words a fine melodic flow, which Sasha voiced so persuasively.

Where Once We Sang (music by Jimmy López Bellido, words by Mark Campbell) marked the end of the evening. From the title, we knew what it would be about: lost time, lost opportunity...the pandemic months depriving musicians, dancers, and performing artists of their reason for living. Some were taken from us, others gave up. And by the time it was deemed safe again, the lost days were irretrievable.

From the song's unaccompanied start, Sasha conveyed everything those of us for whom music is our lifeblood felt and feared throughout those dark days. The song grows in fervor, which is then becalmed, and a sense of hope and quiet rapture settles over us.

What I will always remember about this evening is the great pleasure of having been in that space with that voice.

~ Oberon

Dada Masilo's THE SACRIFICE

Above: Dada Masilo in THE SACRIFICE; photo by John Hogg

Author: Oberon

Wednesday May 24th, 2023 - In 2018, South Africa’s award-winning dancer/choreographer Dada Masilo thrilled me with her re-imagining of Giselle. Ms. Masilo and her company of dancers and musicians have now returned to The Joyce with her latest creation: The Sacrifice.

In a program note, Ms. Masilo spoke of dancing part of Pina Bausch's Rite of Spring while still a student. The music of Stravinsky made a vivid impression on her; the rhythmic variety of the score inspired her, and once she had formed her own company, she returned to the story of the Rite and gave it a fresh take, building on the uniquely rhythmic and expressive movements of ‘Tswana’, the traditional dance of Botswana. Her vision called for a new score, and she found it in a quartet of musicians who performed it live onstage tonight: Ann Masina, Leroy Mapholo, Mpho Mothiba, and Nathi Shongwe. The exhilarating music, brilliantly played (and sung!) tonight, was the springboard for dancing and storytelling that thoroughly engaged the audience, who seemed entranced by the hour-long work and erupted in a boisterous, screaming ovation at the final curtain.

Above: Ann Masina and Dada Masilo; photo by John Hogg

In a brief prologue, Dada Masilo wanders the beautifully lit stage, seemingly in search of something. She encounters a majestic woman, a village elder/priestess, played by Ann Masina. Ms. Masina will eventually play a major role in the drama, but for the most of the work, she seated herself stage left with the other musicians and proceeded to sing her heart out: what a grand and glorious natural voice this woman has! She simply pours out her rich sound throughout a vast range; the only comparable voice I can think of is Jessye Norman's.

Now the ensemble embarks on an extraordinary set of group dances: ritualistic, energy-packed, and with a dash of sexy thrown in. These are compelling movers, and they feed off the dazzling music, played by keyboard, violin, and percussion and graced by Ms. Masina's boundless voice. A humorous situation arises: when the music speeds up, the dancers at first keep pace, but then they decide it's too fast; they stop dancing, and yell at the musicians to slow down. The music resumes, but again hits the accelerator and the dancers protest. The audience loved this scene.

The story now takes a serious turn: the men, clad in long white skirts, indicate that Ms. Masilo is to be the sacrificial victim. Dancing topless, Dada embodies the young woman's vulnerability and chastity. (John Hogg photo, above).

It is Ms. Masina who performs the ritual: an intimate - rather than a public - ceremony. 

As the young woman's body is laid to rest, the villagers come to place calla lilies on her grave: a poignant end to a powerful dancework.

All performance photos by John Hogg, courtesy of The Joyce.

~ Oberon

Composer Portraits: Suzanne Farrin

Above: composer Suzanne Farrin at the ondes Martenot; photo by Rob Davidson

Tuesday May 23rd, 2023 - The final program of the season in the Miller Theatre's unique Composer Portraits series featured Suzanne Farrin, who hails from a small town on the Maine coast. It was an incredible musical experience which moved me deeply.

Two fascinating singers - soprano Alice Teyssier and countertenor Eric Jurenas - joined virtuoso members of the International Contemporary Ensemble for an evening of magical music-making, with conductor Kamna Gupta leading the large ensemble works, and the composer joining in for the program's world premiere finale, playing the ondes Martenot. Special kudos to audio engineer Caley Monahon-Ward and lighting designer Philip Treviño for their expertise in making it a memorable evening in every possible way.

I knew nothing about Ms. Farrin's work until this evening; in the days leading up to the performance, I read her bio but didn't sample any of her compositions, as I like to be introduced to new music live whenever possible. All day, I felt an odd sense of anticipation for the concert, as if something special was about to happen. This was prophetic: from first note to last, the program mesmerized me.

Five excerpts from Ms. Farrin's 2016 opera, dolce la morte, were presented during the evening. I cannot imagine anything that could more perfectly have captivated my imagination than the opening measures of the aria unico spirto, which begins with oboe (Kemp Jernigan) and bassoon (Rebekah Heller) on a sustained tone. Matching the pitch, countertenor Eric Jurenas joins them with a straight tone of unearthly beauty. Mr. Jurenas's fantastical voice was heard with a subtle halo of echo, evoking an ancient world which lingers only in the imagination.

Above: Kyle Armbrust (viola), Evan Runyon (double bass), conductor Kamma Gupta, and countertenor Eric Jurenas; photo by Rob Davidson

Odd harmonies from the wind players wrap around the vocal line; the texts are drawn from letters of Michelangelo to the young Italian nobleman Tommaso dei Cavalieri, and Mr. Jurenas voiced them with a spine-tingling air of sensuality. Near the end, Evan Runyon's double bass introduces tension with a shivering tremolo. The aria ends with the singer's magical voice fading into thin air.

The other excerpts from dolce la morte were interspersed thru the concert's first half. The first of these was come serpe in which Mr. Jurenas's timbre was almost unbearably gorgeous. Bassoonist Rebekah Heller displayed amazing breath control, whilst double bassist Evan Runyon brought forth tones from the depths. At times, the music seemed to be reaching us from a distant galaxy.

veggio found the countertenor veering between the ethereal and the dramatic; his is an uncanny sound, delighting me constantly with its kozmic beauty. The ensemble meanwhile sighed, trembled, and groaned, with pulsing notes played pianissimo by the bass, and insistent high notes beaming from Nuiko Wadden's enchanted harp.

In an oboe solo from the opera, l’onde della non vostra, Kemp Jernigan summoned squawking, stuttering, twittering sounds, along with trills and sagging tones, before rising to a high finish. From there, Mr. Jurenas took up the oboe's final note and commenced rendete, the final excerpt from dolce la morte. His voice blended marvelously with the oboe and bassoon, soon joined by violinist Josh Modney, violist Kyle Ambrust, and cellist Clare Monfredo. Ms. Wadden's harp twinkled in the high range as the singer ventured upward. There were shivering motifs from Mr. Runyon's bass, leading to a big, grinding sound from the ensemble. Overall, the heavenly voice of Mr. Jurenas sounded with utter clarity.

Backtracking, the concert's first half had offered soprano Alice Teyssier (above, photo by Rob Davidson) in Il Suono (from 2016) in which Ms. Wadden's harp sounded in skittering passages and entrancing melismatic flourishes whilst Ms.Teyssier's voice floated dreamily on the air, with straight tones of alluring purity.

Above: Nuiko Wadden; photo by Rob Davidson

Three works for solo instruments put members of the International Contemporary Ensemble in the spotlight. The first of these was polvere et ombra (2008) for harp, in which Ms. Wadden delivered swirls of notes and cascading glissandi, followed by some crisp plucked notes. The piece ends with the strings being gently brushed, almost a caress.

Above, the evening's string contingent: John Modney (violin), Clare Monfredo (cello), Kyle Armbrust (viola), and Evan Runyon (double bass); photo by Rob Davidson

In Time is a Cage (2007), violinist John Modney produced a wide range of sonic motifs: tremolos and trills,  and passages of fluttering, buzzing, slithering sounds. In the piece's most delicate moments, the music went from being impressive to being spellbinding. 

Following the interval, cellist Clare Monfredo (above, photo by Rob Davidson) played corpo di terra (2009). From quietly tapping the strings, trills carried the music to a discordant passage. After rising to quiet, repeated notes, and a feeling of quivering, the cello drops to a drone. A lullaby-like motif turns astringent, and then rather ominous. Calming, the strings are gently brushed. There follows a sort of coda, with an upward rush to a sort of oozing sound, ending in a trembling state. Ms. Monfredo took all of this in stride, making the music feel like a poem that expresses many moods.

Above, Evan Runyon, Nathan Davis, Alice Teyssier, and Suzanne Farrin; photo by Rob Davidson

Concluding the evening, the world premiere of Ms. Farrin's Their Hearts are Columns (2020) brought together Mlles. Teyssier and Wadden, Mr. Runyon, percussionist Nathan Davis, and the composer herself, seated at the ondes Martenot. This work, a setting of poems about love and its meaning to the woman's character, begins with quiet drumming and bass tones, and then the voice of Ms. Teyssier emerged, remote and beckoning. The sound of the ondes Martenot entices the ear, like the soundtrack of a dream. The entwining timbres of this unique instrument with the bass, harp, and percussion made for some extraordinary textures, An unexpected outburst from the singer brings the work to a sudden end.

In a mid-concert interview with the Miller's Melissa Smey, Ms. Farrin spoke of the essential elements for  living in our increasingly disquieting world: compassion and empathy. This confirmed what I felt while listening to her music: she and I are on the same wave-length,

~ Oberon

Montserrat Caballé as Norma ~ Madrid 1978

Montserrat Caballé sings the title role in Bellini's NORMA in a performance given at Madrid in 1978.

Watch and listen here.

Ivo Vinco (above) is an impressive Oroveso, Pedro Lavirgen sings Pollione, and Fiorenza Cossotto - though somewhat past her peak - has many wonderful passages as Adalgisa. But...it's all about Montserrat.

ORPHEUS: A Paul Robeson Celebration & "Egmont"

~ Author: Oberon

Saturday May 20, 2023 - ORPHEUS presenting the world premiere of Jasmine Barnes' Songs of Paul, celebrating the 125th birthday of the great singer/activist Paul Robeson; this was followed by Beethoven's Egmont in an arrangement by Andreas Tarkmann, with a new translation of the narrative by Philip Bohem. Soprano Karen Slack and baritone Will Liverman were the excellent soloists for the Barnes, and Ms. Slack also sang the soprano arias in the Beethoven, sharing the stage with the inimitable Christine Baranski, who was the Narrator. 

Above: Paul Robeson

Ms. Barnes' new work was warmly received by the audience tonight; her arrangements are beautiful, and were finely played by the artists of ORPHEUS. Sometimes the music seemed too symphonic, detracting a bit from the voices; I grew up hearing these songs on my grandmother's 78s, with Lawrence Brown playing piano, and the orchestral settings tonight at times felt too glossy. Be that as it may, the songs were superbly sung by Will Liverman ("Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel?", "Deep River", "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", and "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child") and Karen Slack ("There's A Man Going Round Taking Names" and "My Soul's Been Anchored in the Lord"). The two singers joined together for a grand finale, starting with the profound "Go down, Moses" which gave way to the rousing "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho". Both singers sounded marvelous in the great Hall; composer Jasmine Barnes joined them for a bow, to loud cheers from the crowd.

The Beethoven did not seem the right companion piece to the Robeson fest this evening; though both Paul Robeson and Lamoral of Egmont were idealists and freedom fighters, that is their only real connection. There was a feeling of restlessness in the Hall as the Beethoven went on, and at least four different cellphones went off, which was distracting. At any rate, Egmont is not one of Beethoven's masterpieces; the music mostly feels dutiful rather than inspired.

The historical story of Lamoral of Egmont (above) began in Brussels, in the second half of the 16th century. The Low Countries, under the heavy yoke of Philip II and his Spanish Inquisition - reference Verdi's DON CARLO - found their civil rights curtailed and the Protestant movement crushed. Egmont, although himself a loyal Catholic, went to Madrid to plead for clemency for the Protestants. He was received with honors by King Philip, but when Egmont returned to his homeland, the king sent the Duke of Alva to Brussels to squash all resistance to Spain's will. Egmont was imprisoned and eventually executed for treason; his martyr's death roused the Lowlanders to rebel and cast off their Spanish overlords.

Beethoven took up the tale of Egmont in 1809, when he was commissioned to compose incidental music for the Vienna premiere of the Goethe play. Beethoven composed a set of musical numbers for Egmont, beginning with the dramatic overture, now a free-standing staple of the concert repertory. There are four entr'actes, two songs for Klärchen, and the final scenes of Egmont's trial and death. It ends with Egmont's exultant call to the people to overthrow their oppressors: "Defend your land! And to liberate your loved ones, give yourselves joyously, as I do now, for you!"

Ms. Baranski, clad all in white, read the narrative, which veers from poetic to melodramatic, with her distinctive voice and innate sense of drama. Ms. Slack sang Klärchen's two brief arias attractively. The orchestra - all evening - played splendidly, with several notable solo passages for the winds.

~ Oberon

Kathleen Battle ~ Oh! quand je dors

Kathleen Battle sings Franz Liszt's 'Oh! quand je dors' from a recital she gave at the Temple of Dendur, Metropolitan Museum of Art, in 1990. Warren Jones is at the piano.

Watch and listen here.