The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music: Wisconsin Union Theater concerts will go virtual and online for the fall of the new season. Updated details about dates, ticket prices and programs are forthcoming

August 21, 2020
Leave a Comment

PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.

By Jacob Stockinger

With continuing spikes in cases of coronavirus and COVID-19, classical music presenters are seeing history repeat itself and are feeling forced to adapt, cancel or postpone their events, much as happened last spring and this summer.

The Madison Symphony Orchestra has canceled its concerts through January and the Madison Opera has canceled its fall production of Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” with digital online substitutions. And we can, unfortunately, expect more.

Now comes word from the Wisconsin Union Theater (below is Shannon Hall) is moving its fall events to a virtual and online presentation.

Here is the latest announcement from communications director Shauna Breneman of the Wisconsin Union Theater:

“The determination has been made that all fall Wisconsin Union Theater events in our 2020-21 season will be virtual in light of public health guidance and for the health and safety of our patrons and team members in light of COVID-19.”

Editor’s note: That includes second postponement of the concert by superstar soprano Renée Fleming (below), booked to celebrate the WUT’s centennial season, from May 2 to Oct. 24 and now to  still unspecified date.

Other artists affected in the lineup of 101st season include the eclectic singing group Roomful of Teeth (below top, in a photo by Bonica Ayala; cellist Camille Thomas (below middle, in a photo by Dan Carabas) and pianist Jeremy Denk (below bottom, in a photo by Shervin Lainez).

Adds Breneman:

“We will share information for each show as we finalize details. While we wish we could share these experiences in-person, we are grateful to be able to continue to offer performing arts experiences.”

Here is the link to the announcement of the performers in the full 2020-21 season: https://welltempered.wordpress.com/?s=wisconsin+union+theater


Posted in Classical music
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Classical music: Here is the complete concert program for the Madison Opera’s Digital Opera in the Park. It premieres online TONIGHT at 8 and stays up until Aug. 25

July 25, 2020
Leave a Comment

PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.

By Jacob Stockinger

The 2020 edition of the Madison Opera’s annual summer event Opera in the Park (below, a photo from the past) will be virtual and online due the coronavirus pandemic and the COVID-19 public health crisis.

The concert – which can be viewed indoors or outdoors, anywhere in the country or the world — begins at 8 p.m. CDT TONIGHT, Saturday, July 25. It will remain available online until Aug. 25.

Here are links to the portals where you can watch and listen to the opera program and also join the post-concert Q&A with performers: https://www.madisonopera.org and https://vimeo.com/437164679

For more information about the 90-minute concert, and related events, as well as the performers and the donors, go to: https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2020/07/23/classical-music-madison-operas-virtual-opera-in-the-park-goes-online-for-free-this-saturday-night-and-stay-up-until-aug-25-listen-to-it-indoors-or-outdoors-to-enhance-the-experience/

HERE IS THE COMPLETE PROGRAM FOR THE EVENING

Overture | The Marriage of Figaro (W.A. Mozart; 1786)

Suzanne Beia, violin; John DeMain (below) and Scott Gendel, piano

“Quel guardo, il cavaliere” | Don Pasquale (Gaetano Donizetti; 1843)

Jasmine Habersham, soprano (below); Rolando Salazar, piano

“Un’aura amorosa” | Così fan tutte (W.A. Mozart; 1789)

Andres Acosta, tenor (below); Marika Yasuda, piano

“Ernani, involami” | Ernani (Giuseppe Verdi; 1844)

Karen Slack, soprano (below); Laura Ward, piano

“Vision fugitive” | Hérodiade (Jules Massenet; 1881)

Weston Hurt, baritone (below); Bethany Self, piano

“Aber der Richtige” | Arabella (Richard Strauss; 1933)

Jasmine Habersham, soprano; Karen Slack, soprano; Scott Gendel, piano (below)

“Au fond du temple saint” | The Pearl Fishers (Georges Bizet; 1863)

Andres Acosta, tenor; Weston Hurt, baritone; Scott Gendel, piano

“Deh vieni, non tardar” | The Marriage of Figaro (W.A. Mozart; 1786)

Jasmine Habersham, soprano; Rolando Salazar, piano

“Il balen del suo sorriso” | Il Trovatore  (Giuseppe Verdi; 1853)

Weston Hurt, baritone; Bethany Self, piano

“Anvil Chorus” | Il Trovatore (Giuseppe Verdi; 1853)

Madison Opera Chorus via Zoom (below); Anthony Cao, conductor and piano

“Vissi d’arte” | Tosca (Giacomo Puccini; 1900)

Karen Slack, soprano; Laura Ward, piano

“Asile héréditaire” | William Tell (Gioachino Rossini; 1829)

Andres Acosta, tenor; Marika Yasuda, piano

“Meditation” | Thaïs (Jules Massenet; 1894)

Suzanne Beia, violin (below); John DeMain, piano

Spiritual “Scandalize My Name” | arranged by Johnnie Dean

Jasmine Habersham, soprano; Karen Slack, soprano; Scott Gendel, piano

“No puede ser” | La Tabernera del Puerto (Pablo Sorozabal; 1936)

Andres Acosta, tenor; Marika Yasuda, piano

“Vanilla Ice Cream” | She Loves Me (Jerry Bock; 1963)

Jasmine Habersham, soprano; Rolando Salazar, piano

“Some Enchanted Evening” | South Pacific (Richard Rodgers; 1949)

Weston Hurt, baritone; Bethany Self, piano

“He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” | arranged by Margaret Bonds

Karen Slack, soprano; Laura Ward, piano

SING-ALONG FINALE: It’s a Grand Night for Singing | State Fair (Richard Rodgers; 1945)

 


Posted in Classical music
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Classical music: Madison Opera’s virtual Opera in the Park goes online for FREE this Saturday night and stays up until Aug. 25. Listen to it indoors or outdoors

July 23, 2020
Leave a Comment

PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.

By Jacob Stockinger

Madison Opera’s Opera in the Park isn’t in a park this year — as it has been in past years (below) — but it will be available for people to enjoy for free in their backyards, in their living rooms or anywhere else with an internet connection.

The digital concert will be released on this Saturday, July 25, at 8 p.m. CDT, and can be watched on Madison Opera’s website, www.madisonopera.org/digital, where you can find complete information and, soon, a complete program to download.

The annual free concert has moved online in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a newly created program of opera arias and more.

Digital Opera in the Park features: soprano Jasmine Habersham; soprano Karen Slack; tenor Andres Acosta; and baritone Weston Hurt. (The last two will sing the justly famous baritone-tenor duet “Au fond du temple saint” from Bizet’s “The Pearl Fishers,” which you can hear in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

Habersham (below) makes her Madison Opera debut with this unique performance, and will sing Susanna in the company’s production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro next April.

Slack (below) debuted with the company in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, and will be part of the company’s digital fall season.

Acosta (below) sang Timothy Laughlin in Gregory Spears’ Fellow Travelers with Madison Opera this past February.

Hurt (below) debuted as Germont in Verdi’s La Traviata last season and is part of the company’s digital fall season.

The four singers will be joined by several important local artists. They include violinist Suzanne Beia, the assistant concertmaster of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the concertmaster of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and the second violin of the UW-Madison’s Pro Arte Quartet.

There will also be a fleet of eight pianists. They include MSO music director and Madison Opera’s artist director John DeMain (below top, in a photo by Prasad) and the UW-Madison graduate and composer Scott Gendel (below bottom). The two will play multiple numbers, including DeMain accompanying Beia on the beautiful “Meditation” from Thaïs.

Each singer recorded their arias with an accompanist in their home cities, and chorusmaster Anthony Cao (below top) both accompanies and conducts the Madison Opera Chorus (below bottom) in a virtual “Anvil Chorus” from Il Trovatore.

The evening will be hosted by Madison Opera’s General Director Kathryn Smith and by WKOW TV’s Channel 27 News co-anchor George Smith.

“Reimagining Opera in the Park in the pandemic era has been a challenge, but one we have happily embraced,” says Smith (below in a photo by James Gill). “Our wonderful artists were game to record themselves in their home towns, to sing duets with each other through headphones, and to share their artistry with our community in a new way. Over 40 choristers joined a Zoom call to get instructions, and then they recorded their parts of the ‘Anvil Chorus.’”

“While in some ways this concert has required more work than our live Opera in the Park in Garner Park, it is always a pleasure to present beautiful music for everyone to enjoy.”

Digital Opera in the Park features music from Verdi’s Il Trovatore, now canceled in live performance but originally slated to open Madison Opera’s 2020-21 season; Jerry Bock’s She Loves Me, which the company performs in January; and Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, which will be performed in April.

The program also includes selections from Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers, Richard Strauss’ Arabella, Verdi’s Don Pasquale, Puccini’s Tosca, Massenet’s Hérodiade and Thaïs, Rossini’s William Tell, Pablo Sarozabal’s zarzuela La Tabernera del Puerto, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific, and more.

The concert will be available beginning at 8 p.m. CDT on this Saturday night, July 25, and will remain online until Aug. 25, allowing for both repeated viewing and flexibility for people who are unable to watch on the first night.

While Digital Opera in the Park will be free to watch, it would not be possible without the generous support of many foundations, corporations and individuals who believe in the importance of music. Madison Opera is grateful to the sponsors of Opera in the Park 2020:

  • Presenting Sponsor: the Berbeewalsh Foundation
  • Sponsors: the John and Carolyn Peterson Charitable Foundation, Full Compass Systems, the Raymond B. Preston Family Foundation, University Research Park, Colony Brands, Johnson Financial Group, MGE Foundation, National Guardian Life, Wisconsin Arts Board, Dane Arts and the Madison Arts Commission.
  • Media Sponsors: WKOW, Madison Magazine, Wisconsin Public Radio, Magic 98, and La Movida.

RELATED EVENTS include:

OPERA ON THE WALL | JULY 25, 2020 | ONLINE

Madison artists Liubov Swazko (known as Triangulador) and Mike Lroy have created artwork around our community, including beautiful murals on State Street storefronts.

In an act of artistic cross-pollination, they will create an artwork that comes from their personal response to Digital Opera in the Park, offering a rare glimpse of visual artists responding to musical artists. Their creative process will be filmed in the Madison Opera Center, and shared online starting on July 25.

The finished artwork will be displayed in the Madison Opera Center. Go to Swazko’s website at triangulador.com (one work is below) and Lroy’s website at mikelroy.com to see their past work.

POST-SHOW Q&A | JULY 25, 2020, IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE INITIAL STREAM

Join Kathryn Smith and the Digital Opera in the Park artists for a post-concert discussion, including an opportunity to ask questions. Details on format and platform will be available closer to the date.

 


Posted in Classical music
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Classical music: The Madison Symphony Orchestra, Madison Opera, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and Overture Center cancel their fall seasons. Plus, on Saturday cellist Cole Randolph performs a virtual concert for Grace Presents

June 26, 2020
Leave a Comment

PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.

ALERT: The Saturday at noon, Grace Presents will offer the first in its series of HD Virtual Concerts online. Future performers include organist Mark Brampton Smith and the Willy Street Chamber Players.

The performer this time is the cellist and recent UW-Madison graduate Cole Randolph (below). The program is: the Sonata for Solo Cello by the American composer George Crumb; two of the “Seven Songs Heard in China” by Chinese composer Bright Sheng; and the Suite for Solo Cello No. 3 by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Here is where you can hear the 40-minute concert inside the church on the Capitol Square: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vaOCH53osk

You can also connect with Cole Randolph after the show by joining in a Zoom meet-and-greet immediately following the performance at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88001773181

The meeting ID is: 880 0177 3181

You can hear Randolph (below, in a photo by Michael Anderson) playing in the YouTube video at the bottom.

By Jacob Stockinger

With all the talk of a second wave of coronavirus coming in the fall — complicated by the seasonal flu – concert cancellations don’t come as a surprise, unfortunately.

In fact, The Ear suspects many more cancellations are to come, including those from the UW-Madison, the Wisconsin Union Theater and the Middleton Community Orchestra.

Here is the latest round: the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Madison Opera, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and the Overture Center have all canceled their fall seasons, with some qualifications.

The announcements came on Thursday morning in the wake of the Overture Center canceling all performances this summer and fall through Nov. 30.

MADISON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

The Madison Symphony Orchestra has provided a short statement and a more complete and detailed press release.

Here is the statement:

“The Madison Symphony Orchestra’s 2020-21 “Beethoven and Beyond” season concerts and Overture Concert Organ performances are now canceled from September 2020 through January 2021.

“The move is due to the Overture Center’s decision to suspend events through Nov. 30, 2020, and the requirements of Dane County’s “Forward Dane” Reopening Plan.

“The 2020-21 season performances in February, March, April and May 2021 are scheduled to take place as planned.

“All subscribers will be sent a refund for the value of their tickets for the September 2020 through January 2021 concerts.”

Here is a list on the five MSO concerts – including the Beyond the Score performance of Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” on Jan. 25 — that will be canceled and the four that remain scheduled: https://madisonsymphony.org/concerts-events/2020-2021-symphony-season-concerts/

Here is a link to the full press release about the cancellations by the MSO (below, in a  photo by Peter Rodgers): https://madisonsymphony.org/press-release-june-2020-concert-events-update/

MADISON OPERA

The Madison Opera is canceling the two in-person performances of Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” (The Troubadour) but is planning on offering some kind of large digital event and smaller live events at its center.

Here is statement from the Madison Opera:

“Although the Overture Center for the Arts is closed until the end of November, we will not be going silent.

“We are creating a fall season that lasts from September through December, and includes both digital content and live performances at the Margaret C. Winston Madison Opera Center, our home in downtown Madison.

“Some of our signature engagement activities — such as Opera Novice and Opera Up Close — will have monthly editions that include artists from around the country.

“The Opera Center itself will be the site of “Live from the Opera Center,” a variety of streamed performances with a small live audience.

“Other performances will be created digitally and made available exclusively to subscribers.

“Artists involved include members of the original “Il Trovatore” cast: soprano Karen Slack, baritone Weston Hurt, bass Kenneth Kellogg, and stage director Fenlon Lamb. Other soloists include Wisconsin-based artists Jeni Houser (below), David Blalock, Emily Fons, Emily Secor and Kirsten Larson.

“We are working with our artists to create programming that is chosen from their passions: music they want to share, ideas they want to explore, and conversations they want to start. The challenges facing us will create new art, and new ways to make sure it is accessible to everyone.”

Marketing director Andrew Rogers told The Ear that the opera company is still deciding whether digital performances will be ticketed or free with suggested donations.

The full schedule will be announced in early August, after the digital online Opera in the Park takes place Saturday, July 25. For details, go to: https://www.madisonopera.org/2020/05/06/opera-in-the-park-is-going-digital/

To stay current about the regular opera season, you can sign up for the Madison Opera’s news updates via email by going to this website: https://www.madisonopera.org/fall2020/

WISCONSIN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

The Nov. 20 opening concert with pianist John O’Conor of the Masterworks Series has been POSTPONED with no new date set yet.

Music director Andrew Sewell says the Family Concert on is still on for Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Goodman Community Center but the WCO is looking for an alternative venue.

The concert on Nov. 7 at the Verona Area Performing Arts Center has been CANCELED.

Both performances of Handel’s “Messiah” — on Dec. 9 and Dec. 12 at the Blackhawk Church in Middleton and the UW’s Hamel Music Center on Dec. 12 – have also been CANCELED.

And this season the WCO will not play Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” from Dec. 17-27 because the Madison Ballet has canceled those performances.

For more information about the WCO (below, in photo by Mike Gorski), go to: https://wcoconcerts.org/concerts-tickets/calendar

What do you think?

Do you think the cancellations are warranted?

Do you want to leave a message or comment encouraging and supporting the various groups and their many musicians?

The Ear wants to hear.


Posted in Classical music
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Classical music: This summer, Madison Opera’s “Opera in the Park” will go virtual and be held online due to the coronavirus pandemic. Details will follow in early July

May 7, 2020
Leave a Comment

PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.

By Jacob Stockinger

The Ear has received the following announcement from the Madison Opera about this summer’s annual Opera in the Park (below, in a photo by James Gill.)

“Madison Opera’s Opera in the Park will be moving online this summer in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Since the first Opera in the Park concert in 2002, it has become a Madison summer tradition, a free concert that draws over 10,000 people to Garner Park for selections from opera, Broadway, operetta and zarzuela. The 19th anniversary of this concert had been scheduled for July 25.”

(Editor’s note: As you can see in the YouTube video at the bottom, the traditional encore has the audience and soloists singing “It’s a Grand Night for Singing” from the musical “Carousel” by Rodgers and Hammerstein.)

Opera in the Park is by far our most important performance,” says Kathryn Smith (below, in a photo by James Gill), general director of the Madison Opera. “Sharing music under the stars is a highlight of every summer, but the health and safety of our community is our first priority. After careful discussion with local officials and stakeholders, we have decided to take the necessary step of moving from an in-person performance this summer to a digital one.

“Details on the digital performance will be solidified in the coming months and announced in early July.

“Soloists to perform with the Madison Symphony Orchestra include: soprano Karen Slack (below top), who returns to Madison Opera as Leonora in Verdi’s Il Trovatore (The Troubadour) this fall; soprano Jasmine Habersham (below middle), who makes her Madison Opera debut in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro next April; and baritone Weston Hurt (below bottom), who sang Germont in Verdi’s La Traviata last season and returns as Count di Luna in Il Trovatore next fall.

“While nothing will ever equal the magic of Opera in the Park when the hillside is full of people,” Smith says, “I know we can create something special to share, using the power of music to connect us even when we cannot gather in person.

“We look forward to returning to Garner Park next summer, and seeing a full display of everyone’s light-stick conducting skills (below).”

 


Posted in Classical music
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Classical music: Madison Opera announces its 2020-21 season and plans for Opera in the Park on July 25. Plus, today is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. What music would you choose to mark the event?

April 22, 2020
3 Comments

PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.

ALERT: Today, April 22, is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, which was founded by Gaylord Nelson, a former Wisconsin governor and senator. To celebrate it, in the YouTube video at the bottom is “The Earth Prelude” — a long work, both Neo-classical and minimalist, with beautiful photos, by the best-selling, award-winning Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi. It has more than 2.3 million views.

What music would you listen to to mark the event? Leave suggestions with YouTube links, if possible, in the Comment section.

By Jacob Stockinger

The Madison Opera has just announced its upcoming 2020-21 season.

As usual, there are three works. The fall and spring operas take place in Overture Hall and the winter production, a Broadway musical, will use the Capitol Theater.

Below are the titles with links to Wikipedia entries for more information about the works and their creators:

Here are the titles:

“Il Trovatore” (The Troubadour) – with the popular “Anvil Chorus” — by Giuseppe Verdi (below) in Overture Hall on Friday night, Nov. 6, at 8 p.m. and Sunday afternoon, Nov. 8, at 2:30 p.m. It will be sung in Italian with projected English translations.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Il_trovatore

“She Loves Me” with music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick (below) – the same team that created “Fiddler on the Roof” — in the Capitol Theater on Friday night, Jan. 29, at 8 p.m. and Sunday afternoon, Jan. 31, at 2:30 p.m. It will be sung in English with projected text.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/She_Loves_Me

“The Marriage of Figaro,” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (below) in Overture Hall on Friday night, April 30, at 8 p.m. and Sunday afternoon, May 2, at 2:30 p.m. It will be sung in Italian with projected English translations.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Marriage_of_Figaro

You can see a short preview peek — with music but no word about casts, sets or production details — on Vimeo by using the following link: https://vimeo.com/398921274

For more forthcoming information about the season, go to: https://www.madisonopera.org

OPERA IN THE PARK

You may recall that this spring the Madison Opera had to cancel its production of “Orpheus in the Underworld” by Jacques Offenbach because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

What about this summer’s 19th annual Opera in the Park (below, in a photo by James Gill)?

It is still slated for Saturday, July 25, in Garner Park, on Madison’s far west side, with a rain date of Sunday, July 26.

But the opera company is being understandably cautious and says: “At this time, we are proceeding with Opera in the Park as scheduled.

“The safety and wellbeing of our community are our top priority, and we are closely following the guidelines and recommendations of public health officials. We are prepared to make necessary decisions in response to rapidly changing conditions.

“We appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate these circumstances.”

For updates and more information about Opera in the Park, go to: https://www.madisonopera.org/2019-2020-season/oitp2020/

 


Posted in Classical music
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Classical music: The Festival Choir of Madison performs “The Romance of Music” — featuring beloved favorites — this Saturday night. Plus, a concert of Indian music and Beethoven will take place SUNDAY night.

November 5, 2015
3 Comments

ALERT: A noteworthy new event — and perhaps a new tradition — will take place at 7 p.m. this SUNDAY night (NOT Saturday night as mistakenly first listed here) in Mills Hall. That’s when the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra welcomes sitarist Chitravina N. Ravikiran (below) in the third edition of the cross-cultural  and world music Melharmony Festival. The music is by Indian composer Dikshitar and Ludwig van Beethoven, who were contemporaries at the end of the 18th century and beginning of the 19th century. Andrew Sewell will conduct.

For more information about the event, the players and tickets ($10-$35), visit:

http://www.wcoconcerts.org/performances/melharmony-festival/

Chitravina N Ravikiran

By Jacob Stockinger

Friends at The Festival Choir of Madison have sent the following word:

The Festival Choir of Madison (below top) will perform “The Romance of Music,” conducted by Sergei Pavlov (below bottom), who also teaches at Edgewood College.

festivalchoir

Sergei Pavlov

The concert is this Saturday night, Nov. 7, at 7:30 p.m. at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive.

Tickets are $15 for general admission; $12 for seniors; and $9 for students.

Do you remember when you fell in love with music? Was it a time and place? A person and feeling? Rediscover your love of music with trios of sacred songs, gypsy tunes and lullabies, straight from our heart to yours.

The program features such favorites as: “Jesu Meine Freude” (Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring) by Johann Sebastian Bach (at bottom in a YouTube video); “Hear My Prayer” by Felix Mendelssohn; “Bless the Lord, Oh My Soul” by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky; the “Humming Chorus” from “Madama Butterfly” by Giacomo Puccini; the “Gypsy Chorus“or “Anvil Chorus” from the opera “Il Trovatore” by Giuseppe Verdi; “Cantique de Jean Racine” by Gabriel Faure; and more.

The Festival Choir is a mixed voice choir of 40 to 50 singers.

Special guest musicians — who often perform with the Kat Trio, the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra — for this concert include: Victoria Gorbich (below top) on violin; Vladislav Gorbich (below second) on clarinet; Mary Ann Harr Grinde on harp (below third); and James McKenzie (below bottom) on percussion.

victoria gorbich

vladislav gorbich

mary ann harr

james mckenzie

For more information and tickets, visit:

http://festivalchoirmadison.org


Classical music: The “Met Live in HD” starts its 10th season this coming Saturday with Verdi’s “Il Trovatore.” Plus, today is your last time to hear the acclaimed opening concert by the Madison Symphony Orchestra. Read the reviews here.

September 27, 2015
5 Comments

ALERT: Today at 2:30 p.m in Overture Hall is your last chance to hear the season-opening program of music by Ludwig van Beethoven, Aaron Copland and Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky by the Madison Symphony Orchestra. The performance won acclaim from local critics.

Here is a review by John W. Barker for Isthmus:

http://www.isthmus.com/arts/stage/madison-symphony-orchestra-opens-2015-season/

And here is a review by Jessica Courtier for The Capital Times:

http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/individual-sections-shine-in-madison-symphony-orchestra-s-season-opener/article_3fd85244-6456-11e5-b949-ef2658626736.html

And here is Greg Hettmansberger’s review for Madison Magazine:

http://www.channel3000.com/madison-magazine/arts-culture/madison-symphony-celebrates-itself-rightly-so/35500642

By Jacob Stockinger

Next weekend sure is a train wreck for local music. Not that this past weekend wasn’t or that future weekends won’t be.

So much is happening that The Ear sometimes gets discouraged rather than excited. You begin to think not about what you will see or hear, but about what you will miss!

And then there are the major non-local events.

One such big one is the opening this coming Saturday, Oct. 3, of the 10th season of the series of “Live From the Met in HD,” the broadcast of live opera performances that are broadcast via satellite to thousands of cinemas around the globe.

Met Live IlTrovatore poster

The series has been one of the Metropolitan Opera’s outstanding success stories and money-makers over the past decade and of the controversial tenor of the Met’s general director Peter Gelb.

Here in Madison, you have a choice of two locations: Eastgate cinemas on the far east side and Point Cinemas on the far west side.

Here is a link to the Marcus Theatres web site where you can find out about other locations in the area, state and region:

https://www.marcustheatres.com/movies/met-ii-trovatore-live

The opening production is Giuseppe Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” (The Troubadour, 1853) with the famous Anvil Chorus (heard from a previous production at the bottom in a YouTube video). The staging and production of the opera with a Spanish theme is the dramatic and disturbing art of Francisco Goya.

Met Il Trovatore anvil

The cast features soprano Anna Netrebko and baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky.

The show will start on Saturday at 11:55 a.m. Running time, with one half-hour intermission, is about 2 hours and 45 minutes. Admission is $24 for adults and $22 for seniors 60 and over; and $18 for children 3 to 11. Tickets to the encore productions are $18.

Here is a link with the title of the 10 other productions – including works by Richard Wagner, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Gaetano Donizetti, Richard Strauss, Giacomo Puccini, Alban Berg and Georges Bizet for this season.

And you can follow links to plot synopses, cast notes and other information.

https://www.metopera.org/Season/In-Cinemas/


Classical music: What is good music to listen to on Labor Day and to honor work? Here is a list to choose from. Can you add more?

September 7, 2015
5 Comments

REMINDER: The 37th annual Labor Day Concert by the Karp Family will take place tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. Admission is FREE. The program includes works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven and Benjamin Britten as well as William Shakespeare.

Here is a link to a recent post with more details:

https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2015/09/04/classical-music-the-37th-annual-karp-family-labor-day-concert-is-this-monday-night-and-includes-works-by-bach-beethoven-and-britten-as-well-as-shakespeare/

By Jacob Stockinger

Today is Labor Day, 2015. (Below is a famous work photo by American photographer Lewis Hine.)

working Lewis hine photo

How can you celebrate it in music?

Here is a list of classical music that pertains to labor.

http://www.musiclassical.net/labor.html

And here is a poll from famed radio station WQXR FM in New York City:

http://www.wqxr.org/#!/story/poll-what-music-best-captures-spirit-labor-day/

Below is “The Fruits of Labor” by famed Mexican artist Diego Rivera.

Diego Rivera The Fruits of Labor

Finally, here are links to three previous posts about Labor Day that The Ear did.

The first one is from 2014, when the day seemed a good occasion to remember all the other unnamed people besides performers — from the box office and administration to the stage — who make the musical performances we enjoy possible:

https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2014/09/01/classical-music-labor-day-is-a-great-time-to-remember-all-the-anonymous-people-behind-the-scenes-who-make-concerts-happen-and-who-bring-us-the-music-we-love/

The second post is from in 2013 and talks about the hard work of creating art and performing it  — such as required from a huge symphony orchestra (below) or a small ensemble or an individual. It also features other lists and something fitting from the “Farewell Symphony” by Franz Joseph Haydn:

https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2013/09/02/classical-music-on-labor-day-let-us-remember-and-celebrate-the-hard-work-and-solidarity-or-cooperation-of-making-and-delivering-art-by-listening-to-the-finale-of-haydns-farewell/

general_orchestra_helgeson

The final posting is from 2010 and features lots of reader suggestions as well as Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man”:

https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2010/09/06/classical-music-poll-what-is-good-music-for-celebrating-labor-dayc/

What music would you suggest listening to on Labor Day? Tell us in the COMMENT section.

The Ear wants to hear.

Giuseppe Verdi’s hammer-pounding “The Anvil Chorus” from the opera “Il Trovatore” usually ranks high on all the lists and suggestions.

So for this year’s Labor Day, here it is in a YouTube video at the bottom, in a lively and visually engaging and muscular performance from “Live From the Met in HD”:

 

 


    Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 1,232 other subscribers

    Blog Stats

    • 2,495,376 hits
    June 2024
    M T W T F S S
     12
    3456789
    10111213141516
    17181920212223
    24252627282930