The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: University Opera updates and stages Mozart’s “Cosi fan tutte” on this Friday night, Sunday afternoon and Tuesday night. Plus, here are the winners of the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s Final Forte
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.
NEWS UPDATE: If you missed it, here are the results of Wednesday’s night Final Forte teenage concerto competition with the Madison Symphony Orchestra, which was broadcast live from Overture Hall on Wisconsin Public Radio and PBS Wisconsin (formerly Wisconsin Public Television).
First and second place prizes of a $2,000 scholarship went to pianist Michael Wu and pianist Jessica Jiang, respectively. The two runners-up — violinists Emily Hauer and Jonah Kartman — each received a scholarship of $1,000.
Here is a link to more information, photos and background – including teachers — for each of the four contestants as well as the dates for rebroadcasting the finalists’ concert on radio and TV.
By Jacob Stockinger
The prize-winning University Opera and UW Symphony Orchestra will stage three performances of “Cosi fan tutte” (So Do They All, or Women Are Like That), the late comic and seriously satirical opera by Mozart about love, gender roles and cheating on partners.
The performances are in Old Music Hall on Bascom Hill on this Friday night, Feb. 28, at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday afternoon, March 1, at 2:30 p.m.; and Tuesday night, March 3, at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are $25 for general admission with reserved seats, $20 for seniors (62 and up) and $10 for UW students.
As usual, UW students will alternate certain roles during the three performances. (Below is returning singer Anja Pustaver, one of the three Despina’s in the production.)
The stage director is David Ronis, the head of the opera program at the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music. He has won numerous national awards during his tenure at the UW-Madison for his inventive re-imaginings of well-known operas and musicals.
The student orchestra will be conducted by Oriol Sans, the acclaimed new professor of conducting and director of Orchestral Activities at the UW-Madison. (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear the Overture to “Cosi” played by the Metropolitan Opera conducted by James Levine.)
Below is a studio photo by radio host Norman Gilliland of members of the production when they appeared on Wisconsin Public Radio. From left are: conductor Oriol Sans, director David Ronis, soprano Julia Urbank and soprano Cayla Rosche.
The opera has been updated to the Roaring Twenties, at a time when the women’s suffrage movement and other women’s rights issues were gaining traction. The re-staging also seems especially timely and contemporary, given the #MeToo and Time’sUp movements.
Here is a link to the full press release with the complete cast and production staff as well as a sketch of the abstract stage set (below) designed by Joseph Varga and other information, including a detailed synopsis and an explanation of the reason for setting the opera by in the Roaring 20s: https://www.music.wisc.edu/2020/02/10/cosi-fan-tutte/
Here is a link to a shortened version – with information about tickets and parking — on the Mead Witter School of Music’s home website under Concerts and Events: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/university-opera-mozarts-cosi-fan-tutte/2020-02-28/
Tags: #BascomHill, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BroadwayMusical, #CaylaRoche, #Classicalera, #CosifanTutte, #CriticallyAcclaimed, #DavidRonis, #DukeandDuchessofSussex, #EmilyHauer, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FinalForte, #Fridaynight, #HomeWebsite, #JacobStockinger, #JamesLevine, #JessicaJiang, #JonahKartman, #JosephVarga, #JuliaUrbank, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MeToo, #MeToomovement, #MetropolitanOpera, #MichaelWu, #MusicHall, #NewsUpdate, #NormanGilliland, #OperaMusic, #OriolSans, #OvertureHall, #PBSWisconsin, #PianoConcerto, #PressRelease, #Prize-Winning, #ProductionStaff, #Roaring20s, #RoaringTwenties, #SeniorCitizen, #SopranoSinger, #Sundayafternoon, #TelevisionBroadcast, #TheEar, #TheMet, #Time'sUp, #Tuesdaynight, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UniversityOpera, #UWSymphonyOrchestra, #VocalMusic, #WisconsinPublic Radio, #WisconsinStudio, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #Women'sRights, #Women'sSuffrage, abstract, acclaim, alternate, audience, award, background, Bascom Hill, blog, Broadcast, cast, Cayla Rosché, cheating, Classical, Classical era, comic, Competition, Concert, concerto, contemporary, contestant, Cosi fan tutte, costume, costumes, date, David Ronis, director, Emily Hauer, era, event, Facebook, Final Forte, finalist, first, forward, Friday, Friday night, gain, gender, head, Home, home website, host, imagine, information, inventive, Jacob Stockinger, James Levine, Jessica Jiang, Jonah Kartman, Joseph Varga, Julia Urbank, late, like, link, live, Love, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mead Witter School of Music, Met, Metropolitan Opera, Metropolitan Orchestra, Michael Wu, miss, movement, Mozart, Music Hall, musical, national, news, night, Norman Gilliland, opera, Orchestra, Oriol Sans, Overture, Overture Hall, parking, partner, PBS, PBS Wisconsin, performer, photo, Pianist, Piano, play, post, posting, press, prize, production, production staff, professor, program, Radio, rebroadcast, results, rights, Roaring 20s, Roaring Twenties, role, satirical, scholarship, second, senior, set, setting, share, shorten, singer, Singing, sketch, soloist, soprano singer, staff\, stage, Student, studio, suffrage, Sunday, Sunday afternoon, synopsis, tag, Teacher, teenage, teenager, Television, tenure, The Ear, the Met, tickets, time, timely, traction, Tuesday, Tuesday night, TV, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University Opera, update, UW, UW Symphony Orchestra, UW-Madison, version, Violin, violinist, vocal music, Website, Wisconsin Pubic Radio, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, women, women's rights, women's suffrage, YouTube
Classical music: This Saturday the critically acclaimed new production of Verdi’s “La Traviata” is featured in “Live from The Met in HD.” Read two reviews
5 Comments
FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR SHARE IT (not just “Like It IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE”) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event.
CORRECTION: Earlier versions of yesterday’s post about The Madison Choral Project incorrectly stated that the Milwaukee performance is Wednesday night. The Ear apologizes for the error. The correct time is TUESDAY night, Dec. 18. For more information about time, tickets and the program, here is a link to the story: https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2018/12/13/classical-music-the-madison-choral-project-will-sing-of-young-peoples-hope-for-the-future-at-its-concerts-this-saturday-night-and-sunday-afternoon/
By Jacob Stockinger
This Saturday, Dec. 15, the fourth production of this season’s “Live From the Met” in HD series is Giuseppe Verdi’s famous and popular “La Traviata” (The Fallen Woman).
The Metropolitan Opera production, sumptuously directed by Michael Mayer, stars soprano Diana Damrau (below left in a photo by Marty Sohl for The Met) as Violetta while the acclaimed Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Florez (below right) returns to the Met stage for the first time in five years to play her lover Alfredo.
It is also noteworthy because the new music director, French-Canadian Yannick Nézet-Séguin (below, in a photo by Jan Regan), will be making his “Live in HD” debut and opening a new era after his hiring to succeed James Levine. Though relatively young, he has drawn raves for his sensitive conducting and insightful interpretations of this and other operas and orchestral works.
Reportedly, he is also very popular with the singers, the orchestra players and other staff at The Met as well as with audiences.
The hi-definition broadcast of the live performance from the Metropolitan Opera (below) in New York City starts at 11:55 a.m. and runs until 3:45 p.m. with two intermissions. (It will also air on Wisconsin Public Radio at noon.)
The encore showings are next Wednesday, Dec. 19, at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
The opera will be sung in Italian with supertitles in English, German, Spanish and Italian.
Tickets for Saturday broadcasts are $24 for adults and $22 for seniors and children under 13. For encore showings, all tickets are $18.
The movie theaters where the opera can be seen are two Marcus Cinemas: the Point Cinema on the west side of Madison (608 833-3980) and the Palace Cinema (608 242-2100) in Sun Prairie.
Here is a link to the Marcus website for addresses and more information. You can also use them to purchase tickets:
https://www.movietickets.com/movies
Here is a link to the Metropolitan Opera’s home website where you can find the titles, dates, casts, production information and video clips of all 10 productions this season, which include operas by Bizet, Wagner, Donizetti, Saint-Saens, Puccini, Cilea and Poulenc plus a new work, “Marnie,” by Nico Muhly:
https://www.metopera.org/season/in-cinemas/
Here is a rave review of “La Traviata” by senior classical music critic Anthony Tommasini for The New York Times:
And here is another positive review from Vulture magazine in New York City. Below are the impressive set and big cast in a photo by Sara Krulwich for The New York Times:
https://www.vulture.com/2018/12/la-traviata-the-met-opera-review.html
Here is a link to a synopsis and cast list: https://www.metopera.org/globalassets/season/in-cinemas/hd-cast-sheets/traviata_us-global-pr.pdf?performanceNumber=15367
Here is a link to other information about the production of “La Traviata,” including photos and audiovisual clips (in the YouTube video preview at the bottom you can also hear the director, conductor and others speak and sing):
https://www.metopera.org/season/2018-19-season/la-traviata/
And here is a Wikipedia history of the broadcast series that gives you more information about how many cinemas it uses, the enormous size of the worldwide audience – now including Russia, China and Israel — and how much money it makes for The Met.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Opera_Live_in_HD
Tags: #AnthonyTommasini, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CamilleSaint-Saens, #DianaDamrau, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FrancisPoulenc, #FrenchCanadian, #GaetanoDonizetti, #GeorgesBizet, #GiacomoPuccini, #GiuseppeVerdi, #Hi-Definition, #HomeWebsite, #JamesLevine, #JuanDiegoFlorez, #LaTraviata, #LiveFrom the MetinHD, #MadisonChoralProject, #MarcusTheatres, #MetropolitanOpera, #MichaelMayer, #MilwaukeeWisconsin, #MusicalInterpretation, #MusicCritic, #MusicDirector, #NewYorkCity, #NewYorkTmes, #NicoMuhly, #OrchestralPlayers, #OrchestraPlayers, #PalaceCinema, #PointCinema, #RichardWagner, #SaraKrulwich, #SeniorCitizen, #SopranoSinger, #SunPrairieWisconsin, #TenorSinger, #TheFallenWoman, #TheMet, #Vulturemagazine, #Wikipediaentry, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #YannickNezet-Seguin, #YouTubevideo, Alffedo, Anthony Tommasini, Arts, audience, audiovisual, Bizet, blog, Broadcast, Canada, Canadian, cast, China, choral music, Cilea, cinema, Classical music, composer, conductor, costumes, date, debut, Diana Damrau, director, Donizetti, encore, English, era, Facebook, film, French, French-Canadian, German, hi def, History, Home, information, insight, interpretation, Israel, Italian, Jacob Stockinger, James Levine, Juan Diego Florez, La Traviata, Live From The Met in HD, Love, lover, Madison, Madison Choral Project, magazine, Marcus Theatres, Marnie, Metropolitan Opera, Michael Mayer, Milwaukee, money, movie, Muhly, music critic, music criticism, Music director, new, New York City, New York Times, Nico Muhly, noon, orchestra players, Palace Cinema, Peru, Peruvian, photo, Point Cinema, popular, post, posting, Poulenc, production, program, Puccini, rave, read, Russia, Saint-Saens, Sara Krulwich, Saturday, senior, sensitive, set, showing, singer, soprano, Spanish, staff\, stage, Student, sumptuous, Sun Prairie, sung, supertitles, symphony, synopsis, tenor, The Fallen Woman, the Met, theater, theatre, title, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Verdi, Violetta, vocal music, vulture, Wagner, Website, Wikipedia, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio, worldwide, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, yesterday, young, YouTube
Classical music: James Levine has been fired by The Met for sexual abuse. Plus, “Pulcinella Re-Imagined: An Evening of Music by Mr. Chair” will be performed at The Mineral Point Opera House this Friday night at 7 p.m.
Leave a Comment
NEWS ALERT: James Levine was fired Monday night by the Metropolitan Opera for sexual abuse.
Here is a link to a story in The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/12/arts/music/james-levine-metropolitan-opera.html
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has been asked to post the following announcement:
“Pulcinella Re-Imagined: An Evening of Music by Mr. Chair” will be performed at The Mineral Point Opera House this Friday night at 7 p.m.
The Opera House is located at 139 High St. in Mineral Point.
Based in Madison, Mr. Chair (below, in a photo by Ryan Gilman) is a multi-genre group that plays a mix of rock, jazz, modern classical and improv-based styles.
This show will feature an arrangement of Igor Stravinsky‘s “Pulcinella” ballet as well as original music. It features beautiful, hip and surreal textures from whispering lyricism to thunderous wails in a gorgeous, historic theater. (You can hear the original version of “Pulcinella” in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Members of the groups are UW-Madison professor Mark Hetzler on trombone, electronics; Jason Kutz on piano/keyboards; Ben Ferris on basses; and Michael Koszewski on drums
The concert will feature a special appearance by dancer/choreographer Amy Ryerson (below top) and narration by Buzz Kemper (below bottom).
Tickets can be purchased at the door or through BrownPaperTickets at https://m.bpt.me/event/3341686
Admission is $15 for adults, $5 for students and under 12 (at the door)
The program includes:
- “Mile of Ledges” 2. “Correction” 3. “Freed” 4. Three Views of Infinity, Mangalore to Bangalore Express”
Intermission
“Pulcinella”
Tags: #IgorStravinsky, #JamesLevine, #JazzMusic, #MetropolitanOpera, #MineralPoint, #MineralPointOperaHouse, #MrChair, #NewYorkCity, #RockMusic, #SexAbuse, #SexualAbuse, #TheNewYorkTImes, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, Arts, ballet, Baroque, beauitufl, Chamber music, choroegrapher, Classical music, composer, conductor, dance, dancer, director, fired, Friday, genre, hip, historic, Igor Stravinsky, infinity, Jacob Stockinger, James Levine, Jazz, lyricism, Madison, Metropolitan Opera, modern, Music, narrator, New York City, New York Times, Orchestra, Peter Gelb, Piano, Pulcinella, sexual abuse, style, Suite, surreal, symphony, texture, the Met, The New York Times, theater, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, view, wail, Wisconsin, YouTube
Classical music: Acclaimed conductor Charles Dutoit cancels concerts and loses orchestra affiliations amid allegations of sexual assault
10 Comments
By Jacob Stockinger
The scandal of sexual misconduct — ranging from discomfort and harassment to abuse and rape – keeps mushrooming.
Now Swiss-born conductor Charles Dutoit (below), who won multiple Grammy awards and led the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and Philadelphia Orchestra for many years, has been accused of sexual assault by three opera singers and one musician.
One of the accusers is soprano Sylvia McNair (below), who has performed in Madison with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. The other three have remained anonymous.
So far, Dutoit has not responded to the allegations. But as a result, the 81-year-old has seen the cancellation of concerts later this winter and spring with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Cleveland Symphony Orchestra.
In addition, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, where he is artistic director and principal conductor, have also severed ties with Dutoit.
Here is a link to the story from the BBC:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-42452715
And here is a story from The New York Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/21/arts/music/charles-dutoit-sexual-misconduct.html
And here is a link to the original story by the Associated Press:
https://apnews.com/278275ccc09442d98a794487a78a67d4
In classical music, longtime Metropolitan Opera conductor James Levine was the first big name to be caught up in the current sexual misconduct allegations. Levine was accused of sexually abusing teenage boys who were apprentices.
And here is a link to the story in The New York Times about Metropolitan Opera artistic director and conductor James Levine:
Given the egotistical reputation of so many conductors and the patriarchal, authoritarian nature of the “maestro culture” of many performers and teachers, The Ear is sure that other names of important figures will soon emerge.
Who will be next?
Tags: "Scandal", abuse, allegation, anonymous, Artistic director, Arts, Associated Press, authoritarian, authority, BBC, Beethoven, Boston, Boston Symphony Orchestra, cancellation, Charles Dutoit, Chicago, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, choral music, Classical music, Cleveland, Cleveland Orchestra, Compact Disc, conductor, culture, ego, egotistical, Grammy, harassment, Harvey Weinstein, Jacob Stockinger, James Levine, Johannes Brahms, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Maestro, Metropolitan Opera, Montreal, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Mozart, mushroom, Music, Musician, New York City, New York Times, opera, Orchestra, patriarchal, patriarchy, performer, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Orchestra, royal, Royal Philharmonic, San Francisco, San Francisco Symphony, sex, sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, singer, soprano, Spring, story, Swiss, Switzerland, Sylvia McNair, symphony, Teacher, the Met, The New York Times, United States, winter, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra
Classical music: Accusations of sexual harassment, discrimination and abuse expand to classical music, and former Metropolitan Opera maestro James Levine has been suspended. On Tuesday night, a percussion concert spotlights UW composer Laura Schwendinger
4 Comments
ALERT: At 7:30 p.m. this Tuesday night in Mills Hall, the UW Western Percussion Ensemble, under director Anthony Di Sanza, will perform a FREE concert. It will focus on a new work by the award-winning UW composer Laura Schwendinger along with other modern classics and new works. For more information about the group and the program, go to: http://www.music.wisc.edu/event/western-percussion-ensemble-4/
By Jacob Stockinger
It started in Hollywood, quickly spread to politics and Washington, D.C., as well as to journalism and to radio and television.
Now accusations of sexual harassment, sexual abuse and sexual discrimination are focusing on classical music.
Perhaps the most visible case so far is one that focuses on James Levine (below), the former longtime artistic director and conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, who just this past weekend conducted a live broadcast performance of the Requiem by Verdi, which was dedicated to the recently deceased Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky.
Levine is accused of abusing an underage teenager while he was at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago, and the Met says it will investigate that allegation.
Through Google, you can find many reports about the situation.
Here is a link to a comprehensive story in The Washington Post:
UPDATE: Amid more allegations of sexual abuse, James Levine, 74, has been suspended by the Metropolitan Opera. Here’s a link to a detailed story in The New York Times:
But Levine is not likely to be alone.
According to a new study in the United Kingdom, it now looks that many more individuals and groups will be involved since sexual harassment and sexual discrimination were found to be “rampant.”
Here is a link to the story in The Independent:
What do you think about the many current scandals and wave of allegations as they pertain to classical music or to your own experience in the field of music, either performance or education?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: "Scandal", abuse, accusation, Americans, Arts, baritone, Broadcast, Cello, Chamber music, Chicago, choral music, classic, Classical music, composer, Concert, D.C., dead, deceased, discrimination, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Education, England, grou[, harassment, Hollywood, individual, Jacob Stockinger, James Levine, journalism, Laura Schwendinger, live, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Met, Metropolitan Opera, modern music, Music, Music education, New Music, New York City, New York Times, NPR, opera, Orchestra, percussion, performance, Politics, program, Radio, Requiem, Russia, sex, sexual abuse, sexual discrimination, sexual harassment, study, suspension, symphony, teenager, Television, The Independent, The Washington Post, TV, UK, underage, United Kingdom, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Verdi, Washington, weekend, Western, Wisconsin
Classical music: Live radio broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera start their 87th season with the Verdi Requiem at NOON this Saturday on Wisconsin Public Radio.
Leave a Comment
By Jacob Stockinger
What is the longest-running classical music broadcast on American radio?
If you said the live Saturday matinee broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera (below) in New York City, you got it right.
So, does that qualify the Met, and opera in general, as pop culture?
Does it do anything to reassure those who worry about the future of opera and classical music?
Anyway, the 87th broadcast season starts again on Wisconsin Public Radio this Saturday morning and runs through May 5.
Of course, not there are also the popular and more cinematic broadcasts of “Live From the Met in HD.” But many listeners still prefer the radio — which is FREE — to help them focus on the music, not the visual and theatrical aspects, and to use their imagination more.
On Saturday at the usual time of NOON — not 11:05 a.m. as was mistakenly first published here — the Met features a performance of the dramatic Requiem by opera great Giuseppe Verdi (below). (You can hear the operatic Dies Irae, or Day of Wrath, section in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The Requiem will be conducted by James Levine (below), the now retired longtime artistic director of the Met.
The 90-minute performance will dedicated to the famed Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky (below bottom), who died two weeks ago from a brain tumor at age 55. For more information about the late singer, go to:
For as complete schedule of the works to be performed, which include well-known standards by Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, Verdi, Puccini, Wagner and Richard Strauss as well as a contemporary work by Thomas Adès, go to the WPR website:
https://www.wpr.org/metropolitan-opera-begins-its-87th-broadcast-season
Tags: Adès, Arts, Bellini, Brain, brain tumor, Broadcast, cancer, choral music, cinema, Classical music, composer, day, dedicated, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Donizetti, drama, dramatic, future, Gaetano Donizetti, Giuseppe Verdi, imagination, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, James Levine, listener, Live From The Met in HD, matinee, Metropolitan Opera, Mozart, Music, New York City, opera, Orchestra, performance, pop, pop culture, Puccini, Radio, Requiem, Rossini, Saturday, schedule, Season, standard, Strauss, theater, theatre, theatrical, tumor, United States, visual, Wagner, Website, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio, work, WPR, wrath, YouTube
Classical music: On Saturday “The MET Live in HD” will feature Mozart’s opera “The Magic Flute.” Also, UW trombonist Mark Hetzler’s concert is TONIGHT (NOT Saturday) as is a concert of Mozart’s music for piano-four hands
Leave a Comment
CORRECTION: The Stravinsky concert by UW trombone professor Mark Hetzler and friends is TONIGHT at 8 p.m. in Mills Hall – NOT Saturday night as incorrectly listed in the posting yesterday. For more information about the performers and the program, go to:
ALERT: The Ear received the following word from early music specialist Trevor Stephenson: “Tonight, my distinguished colleague from France, Marcia Hadjimarkos, will join me for a program of Mozart’s thrilling music for piano four-hands.
“The concert will be held at the Madison Christian Community church, 7118 Old Sauk Road. The acoustics there for the fortepiano are really wonderful. Tickets are available at the door. They cost $20 for the general public and $10 for students.”
By Jacob Stockinger
The broadcasts of “The Met Live in HD” don’t usually fall in consecutive weeks.
But this weekend is an exception.
Last Saturday and then again on Wednesday, the current season premiered with a critically acclaimed production of Bellini’s “Norma.”
This Saturday, a new production of the ever-popular “The Magic Flute” by Mozart will be featured.
The three-hour show starts at 11:55 a.m. on Saturday at the Marcus Point Cinema on the far west side of Madison and the Marcus Palace Cinema in Sun Prairie.
Encore performances at both movie theaters are this coming Wednesday at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
The full-length opera will be sung in German with English surtitles.
Tickets are $22 for the public, and $18 for seniors.
The production promises to be special for two reasons: the elaborate, colorful staging and innovative costumes by director Julie Taymor, famous for her oversized puppet-like costumes in “The Lion King”; and vibrant conducting by longtime Metropolitan Opera artistic director and now emeritus conductor James Levine. (You can hear the upbeat Overture in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Below are some other photos to give you a taste of the production:
Here is a link for notes about the production, including several videos:
http://www.metopera.org/Season/2017-18-Season/zauberflote-mozart-tickets/
And here is a link to a synopsis and notes about the cast:
Tags: acoustics, Arts, Bellini, Broadcast, cast, Chamber music, choral music, church, cinema, Classical music, colleague, composer, conductor, costume, director, Early music, emeritus, encore, English, Entertainment, fortepiano, four-hands, France, German, innovative, Jacob Stockinger, James Levine, Julie Taymor, Lion King, Live From The Met in HD, Madison, Marcus Corporation, Mark Hetzler, Metropolitan Opera, movie, Mozart, Music, New York City, note, opera, Overture, Palace Cinema, performance, Piano, Point Cinema, popular, posting, production, puppet, show, Sonata, staging, Stravinsky, Sun Prairie, supertitle, surtitle, synopsis, The Magic Flute, The MET Live in HD, theater, theatre, Trevor Stephenson, Trombone, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vocal music, week, weekend, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, yesterday, YouTube
Classical music: What are the best recordings by Arturo Toscanini and why did critics turn against him?
6 Comments
By Jacob Stockinger
This past weekend, The Ear posted a story about the massive new biography of the legendary Italian maestro Arturo Toscanini (below).
In case you missed it, here is a link that will also take you to the terrific book review by Robert Gottlieb of the fascinating new biography by Harvey Sachs that appeared in The New York Times:
Turns out that The New Yorker magazine also featured two stories that relate to the new biography, which appears on the 150th anniversary of Toscanini’s birth.
The first story by David Denby focuses on the best recordings by Toscanini. They include the new and impressively re-mastered ones, and most can be found for FREE listening on YouTube.
Here is a link to that critique of the great Toscanini recordings that proved so influential in the history of classical music in the modern era.
It includes what famed Metropolitan Opera conductor James Levine considers the most perfect orchestral recording ever made — which you can hear in the YouTube video at the bottom (be sure to read the comments):
http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/toscaninis-greatest-recorded-performances
And here is a follow-up story by Denby about why critics turned against the famous and revered Italian conductor:
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/07/10/the-toscanini-wars
Tags: Arts, Beethoven, biography, Cello, choral music, Classical music, Compact Disc, critic, David Denby, Harvey Sachs, Jacob Stockinger, James Levine, Johannes Brahms, Ludwig van Beethoven, Met, Metropolitan Opera, Mozart, Music, New York City, New York Times, New Yorker, opera, Orchestra, perfect, recording, symphony, The New York Times, Toscanini, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Verdi, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube
Classical music: Mozart masterfully melds the emotional and the intellectual, says maestro Gary Thor Wedow, who will conduct two performances of “The Magic Flute” this weekend for the Madison Opera. Here is Part 1 of his two-part interview with The Ear
5 Comments
By Jacob Stockinger
The Madison Opera will stage Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s The Magic Flute this Friday night, April 21 at 8 p.m. and Sunday afternoon, April 23, at 2:30 p.m. in Overture Hall. (Production photos are courtesy of the Arizona Opera, from which the Madison Opera got its sets and costumes.)
Here are an introduction and some details, courtesy of the Madison Opera:
Written in the last year of his life, Mozart’s opera is part fairy tale, part adventure story, and is filled with enchantment.
Set in a fairy-tale world of day and night, the opera follows Prince Tamino and the bird-catcher Papageno as they embark on a mission to rescue Pamina, the daughter of the Queen of the Night. Pamina had been kidnapped by Sarastro, the leader of a religious order. But it turns out that exactly who is “good” and who is “evil” is not always what it appears.
Along the way to happily-ever-after, Pamina, Tamino and Papageno face many challenges, but are assisted by a magic flute, magic bells, a trio of guiding spirits and their own clear-eyed sense of right and wrong.
“The Magic Flute has been beloved around the world since its 1791 premiere,” says Kathryn Smith (below in a photo by James Gill), Madison Opera’s general director. “It has been called a fairy tale for both adults and children, with a story that works on many levels, all set to Mozart’s glorious music. I’m so delighted to be sharing it again with Madison, with an incredible cast, director and conductor.”
The opera runs about 2 hours and 45 minutes with one intermission.
Tickets are $18 to $130.
“The Magic Flute” will be sung in German with English supertitles.
For more about the production and cast, go to:
http://www.madisonopera.org/performances-2016-2017/the-magic-flute/
And also go to:
http://www.madisonopera.org/performances-2016-2017/the-magic-flute/cast/
Dan Rigazzi, who has been on the directing staff at the Metropolitan Opera for 10 years, makes his Madison Opera debut with this beautiful production that incorporates some steampunk elements into its fairy-tale setting.
Gary Thor Wedow, a renowned Mozart conductor, makes his mainstage debut with this opera, after having conducted Opera in the Park in 2016 and 2012.
Conductor Wedow (below) recently agreed to do an email Q&A with The Ear:
Could you briefly introduce yourself to readers?
Hello! I’m an American conductor, born in LaPorte, Indiana. A faculty member at The Juilliard School, I spend a lot of time with music of the 18th century — Handel and Mozart and often earlier, like Monteverdi, Purcell and Cavalli. But I conduct everything and grew up in love with the Romantics. I’ve also always done a lot of contemporary music. I love it all.
Mozart’s music sounds so clear and easy or simple, but the reality is quite different, musicians say. What do you strive for and what qualities do you think make for great Mozart playing?
Mozart engages both the brain and the heart. He challenges your intellect with amazing feats of counterpoint, orchestration and structure while tugging at your heart, all the time pulling you along in a deep drama.
Mozart was an Italian melodist with a German contrapuntal, harmonic engine – like an incredible automobile with an Italian slick body and a German motor.
Do you share the view that opera is central to Mozart’s music, even to his solo, chamber and ensemble instrumental music? How so? What is special or unique to Mozart’s operas, and to this opera in particular?
From all accounts, Mozart (below, in his final year) was a huge personality who was full of life and a keen observer of the human condition; his letters are full of astute, often merciless and sometimes loving evaluations of family, colleagues and patrons.
Mozart’s music speaks of the human condition: its passions, loves and hopes— no matter what genre. His music is innately dramatic and primal, going immediately to the most basic and universal human emotions with breathtaking nuance, variety and depth. (You can hear the Overture to “The Magic Flute,” performed by the Metropolitan Opera orchestra under James Levine, in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Tomorrow: Tricks to conducting Mozart and what to pay special attention to in this production of The Magic Flute.
Tags: adult, adventure, American, Arizona, Arizona Opera, Arts, Baroque, bells, body, Brain, car, cast, Cavalli, Chamber music, children, choral music, Classical music, colleagues, conductor, contemporary music, costumes, counterpoint, Dan Rigazzi, debut, depth, director, email, emotion, enchantment, engine, English, English Baroque Soloists, evil, fairy tale, Family, Gary Thor Wedow, George Frideric Handel, German, good, heart, human condition, Indiana, intellectual, interview, Italian, Jacob Stockinger, James Levine, Juilliard School, kidnapped, letters, Love, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera, mission, Monteverdi, Mozart, Music, New Music, nuance, opera, Opera in the Park, Orchestra, orchestration, Overture Center, premiere, primal, Purcell, rescue, right, Romantic, sets, solo, spirit, steam-punk, steampunk, stream-punk, structure, symphony, the Met, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, variety, vocal music, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, wrong, YouTube
Recent Comments
| MARTIN LUTHER LUTE |… on Classical music: Who was the e… | |
 | Brian Jefferies on Classical music: A major reass… |
 | welltemperedear on What made Beethoven sick and… |
 | rlhess5d5b7e5dff on What made Beethoven sick and… |
| welltemperedear on Beethoven’s Ninth turns 200… |
The Well-Tempered Ear 
Classical music: The opera world is divided over accusations of sexual harassment against superstar tenor Placido Domingo. Here is how John DeMain reacted. How do you react and what do you believe?
4 Comments
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE 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
By now, you have probably heard about the allegations of sexual harassment recently made anonymously against the still-active superstar Spanish tenor Placido Domingo (below), 78, who holds the record for the most opening-night appearances at the Metropolitan Opera.
What you might not have heard is how divided the opera world is over those accusations, which are now being formally and independently investigated.
Much of that division falls along lines of Europe versus the United States. The former has so far not cancelled upcoming appearances while the latter was quick to. And Domingo has been defended by famed Russian soprano Anna Netrebko (below, with Domingo).
In the wake of the #MeToo movement, sexual misconduct and sexual assault continue to be perhaps the most controversial issues amid many similar or more serious criminal allegations against conductors James Levine, Charles Dutoit and Daniele Gatti as well as many teachers and orchestra players.
Perhaps the best account of the divided reactions came in a story from The New York Times. Here it is:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/18/arts/music/placido-domingo-opera-harassment.html
One sign of the difficulty in dealing with the situation can be found in the carefully worded, balanced and empathetic Facebook comment by maestro John DeMain, the music director of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the artistic director of the Madison Opera.
DeMain has often worked with Domingo, perhaps most notably in the famous 1992 Concert for Planet Earth in Rio de Janeiro, which DeMain conducted. (You can hear Domingo singing an aria by Puccini and see DeMain conducting the orchestra in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Says DeMain (below in a photo by Prasad): “Thinking about the Placido Domingo controversy. While I’m not in a position to take sides in this very sad situation, I would just like to say that in my many interactions with this great tenor over many decades, I personally never witnessed him do anything that was inappropriate. He was always a kind and gentle person to me and my family. I wish him and his family well through this difficult time.”
Here is a link to DeMain’s Facebook page if you would like to read comments from others or leave one of your own: https://www.facebook.com/jldemain
How do you react to the accusations?
What do you believe should happen to Domingo?
The Ear wants to hear.
Share this:
Tags: #AnnaNetrebko, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CharlesDutoit, #ConcertforPlanetEarth, #CriminalBehavior, #DanielGatti, #FacebookPage, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GiacomoPuccini, #JamesLevine, #JohnDeMain, #MadisonOpera, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MeToo, #MeToomovement, #MetropolitanOpera, #OpeningNight, #OperaMusic, #OperaWorld, #OrchestralPlayers, #PlacidoDomingo, #RiodeJaniero, #RussianArtist, #SexualAssault, #SexualHarassment, #SexualMisconduct, #SopranoSinger, #SuperstarSoprano, #SuperstarTenor, #TenorSinger, #TheEnvironment, #TheNewYorkTImes, #TheU.S., #UnitedStates, #VocalMusic, #YouTubevideo, accusation, allegation, Anna Netrebko, anonymous, appearance, aria, Arts, audience, balance, balanced, blog, Brazil, cancel, cancellation, Charles Dutoit, Classical music, comment, Concert, Concert for Planet Earth, conduct, conductor, controversial, crime, criminal, criminal behavior, criminal justice, Daniele Gatti, decades, defend, difficult, divided, Earth, empathetic, empathy, environment, environmentalism, Europe, event, Facebook, Facebook page, fame, Family, formal, gentle, Giacomo Puccini, great, hear, inappropriate, independent, interaction, investigate, investigation, issue, Jacob Stockinger, James Levine, John DeMain, kind, law, legal, Madison, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Maestro, me, Me Too, Me Too movement, Metropolitan Opera, movement, Music, opening night, opera, opera world, Orchestra, page, person, personal, planet, player, Plácido Domingo, post, posting, Puccini, reaction, record, Rio de Janiero, Russian, sad, see, sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, side, sing, Singing, situation, soprano, Spain, Spanish, story, subscriber, superstar tenor, tenor, The New York Times, time, U.S., United States, vocal music, witness, word, worded, work, world, YouTube