production | The Well-Tempered Ear

Are high ‘handling fees’ scams or fair?

October 22, 2022
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By Jacob Stockinger

The Ear is beginning to wonder whether handling fees are sometimes scams and ripoffs in disguise.

A friend recently wanted to buy a good seat to see the Madison Opera’s upcoming production of Richard Strauss’ opera “Salome” in the Overture Center on Nov. 4 and 6.

The ticket ran $141, no small amount to see an opera that lasts only 110 minutes with no intermission.

But in addition, the friend had to pay an additional “handling fee” of $21.

That comes out to about 15 percent (rounded off from 14.89).

Too high to be accounted for just by inflation.

The friend was puzzled since the ticket was booked completely online through a computer. How much handling could there possibly be?

It is enough to make you wonder: Is the percentage indeed fair and a standard business practice

But the so-called handling fee seemed excessive to the friend.

Such an expensive handling fee seemed more and more like fiscal padding.

Maybe it is little more than camouflage to increase profits while making tickets look less expensive than they would be otherwise.

Maybe it is to make up for production costs, not just buying a ticket.

Maybe it is indeed the industry standard.

Bug it seems more and more likely that exorbitant handling fees in arts organizations are similar to what airlines do with baggage fees, leg-room fees, and seating-placement fees.

Similar to what sports teams and athletic organizations do to pressure fans into so-called donations.

To increase the bottom line. Money, money!

Maybe the organizations and offices could simply be open and honest, and tell consumers more about what the “handling fees” actually pay for. Buyers deserve transparency and accountability.

Otherwise handling fees start to seem like more of a scam or a ripoff than a fair price for a necessary service.

What do you think?

Have you had experiences with handling fees that you considered excessive from an arts organization or another business?

How did it make you feel?

The Ear wants to hear.

Posted in Classical music
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Wisconsin Ensemble Project’s string quartet program to benefit the United Way of Dane County debuts online this Friday night

May 11, 2021
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By Jacob Stockinger

This Friday night, May 14, the Wisconsin Ensemble Project will present a recorded concert (below, in an image by Katrin Talbot) in partnership with United Way of Dane County (UWDC).

This is their second in a series of performances to benefit local and international organizations.

This production offers viewers a meaningful program that leads to direct impact with a focus on housing stability and family well-being. You will hear the story and see the face of UWDC woven throughout a chamber music performance.

The program of works for string quartet includes “Park” by Daniel Bernard Roumain (below top); the “Heiliger Dankgesang” (Sacred Hymn of Thanksgiving, which you can hear played by the Alban Berg Quartet in the YouTube video at the bottom) from Beethoven’s Opus 132; and selections from Five Folksongs in Counterpoint by Florence Price (below bottom).

WE Project members and performers are local, professional musicians who work together in the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra: violinists Leanne League and Mary Theodore; violist Jen Paulson; and cellist Karl Lavine.

“The WE Project is rooted in the quartet’s desire not only to delve deeply into chamber music repertoire, but also to address some of the many pressing social justice issues of our time,” says member Mary Theodore.

When exploring organizations to partner with for their second project, the quartet was inspired by the work of United Way of Dane County. The WE Project approached United Way out of their concern over housing security, with the understanding that one of UWDC’s key goals is to help more individuals and families find pathways out of poverty through housing and employment initiatives.

The recorded production will be available by registering at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wisconsin-ensemble-project-spring-benefit-concert-registration-151923670789 from 6 p.m. this Friday, May 14, for 72 hours. Admission is free and contributions are strongly encouraged.

Contributions can be made through the website and will help to cover basic production costs and get funds directly into the hands of this very worthy organization which, most importantly, brings aid to the people they serve.

Posted in Classical music
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Critics for The New York Times name their Top 10 online classical concerts for May

May 3, 2021
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By Jacob Stockinger

Even as we wait to see whether concerts in the next season will be mostly streamed or live, the critics for The New York Times have named their Top 10 classical concerts to stream and hear online in May.

The Times critics have been doing this during the pandemic year. So perhaps if and when they stop, it will be a sign of returning to concert life before the pandemic.

Then again, maybe not, since The Ear suspects that many listeners have liked the online format, at least for some of the times and for certain events. So maybe there will be a hybrid format with both live and online attendance.

As the same critics have done before, they mix an attention to contemporary composers, world premieres and up-and-coming performers, including the Finnish conductor Susanna Maliki (below top) in a photo by Hiroyuki Ito for The New York Times).

In a welcome development, the recommendations for this month also seem to mention more Black composers, performers and pieces than usual, including the rising star bass-baritone Davon Tines (below, in a photo by Vincent Tullo for The New York Times).

But you will also find many of the “usual suspects,” including Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Bartok, Benjamin Britten, Olivier Messiaen and Shostakovich. (On the play list is Schubert’s last song, “The Shepherd on the Rock,” which you can hear in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

You will also find dates and times (all are Eastern), links to the event and some short commentaries about what makes the concerts, programs and the performers noteworthy.

Here is a link to the story: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/29/arts/music/classical-music-streaming.html

Do you know of local, regional, national or international online concerts that you recommend? Leave word with relevant information in the Comment section.

Happy Listening!

Posted in Classical music
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Four local classical musicians perform Black women composers in a virtual holiday concert to benefit the health of Black women

December 23, 2020
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By Jacob Stockinger

The Wisconsin Ensemble (WE) Project, a quartet of local classical musicians, has announced that it will host a holiday concert to support Dane County-based non-profit, the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness (FFBWW, below).

The concert will be the first in a series of performances to benefit local and international organizations working for social justice and human interest.

This unique effort is rooted in the quartet’s desire to not only delve deeply into chamber music repertoire, but also to address some of the many pressing social justice issues of our time.

This recorded, virtual YouTube concert will be available at https://wisconsinensembleproject.com from 6 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 25, through 6 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 3. — times are CST — where contributions will be accepted via PayPal.

Viewers will hear the story and see the face of the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness woven through quality chamber music by Black women composers performed by WE Project artists violinists Leanne League and Mary Theodore (below ends, in a photo by Katrin Talbot); violist Christopher Dozoryst (second from right); and cellist Karl Lavine. The four play together in the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra.

Pieces they will perform include Strum (heard in the YouTube video at the bottom) and Voodoo Dolls by Jessie Montgomery (below top, in a photo by Jiyang Chen); Modes by Dorothy Rudd Moore (below center); and String Quartet in G Major by Florence Price (below bottom).

“This production offers viewers a meaningful program which leads to direct impact,” says WE Project member Mary Theodore who has been working with Foundation staff to coordinate the benefit over the last few weeks.

”We felt strongly about the work of the Foundation as we learned more about their mission to eliminate the startling health and economic disparities Black women face in our community,” adds Theodore. “When you donate and tune in to our concert, you will be helping to cover basic production costs and getting funds directly into the hands of this very worthy organization”.

Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness CEO Lisa Peyton-Caire (below), who launched the Black women’s health advocacy organization in 2012, says the concert is a beautiful example of how community and organizations can partner to drive social change together.

“We are elated that WE Project chose us as their first benefit recipient, and that our mission and work to transform Black women’s health in Wisconsin resonated with them,” said Peyton-Caire. “We know that ultimately it takes all of our effort to solve the inequities in our community, and this benefit concert is a beautiful example of the loving and creative ways we can join forces to do this.”

To learn more about the concert, visit https://wisconsinensembleproject.com, where you can contribute via PayPal anytime beginning now through Jan. 3.

To listen to a recent morning coffee chat between members of the two organizations, go to: https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=431169757916539&ref=watch_permalink. Click on individual profiles to hear them.

To learn more about The Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness, visit https://ffbww.org.

Posted in Classical music
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The Madison Symphony Orchestra and Chorus plus guest artists premiere a virtual online Christmas concert this Wednesday night. It runs through Dec. 31. Plus, PBS Wisconsin will rebroadcast the 2018 holiday concert on Sunday, Dec. 20.

December 15, 2020
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ALERT: Tomorrow — Wednesday, Dec. 16 — Wisconsin Public Radio will mark the 250th birth of Ludwig van Beethoven. The day’s programming is sure to feature many of the composer’s most popular works as well as some neglected ones. Which Beethoven work most moves you? Leave word in the Comment section.

By Jacob Stockinger

This Wednesday night, Dec. 16, at 7:30 p.m., the Madison Symphony Orchestra will premiere its FREE virtual and online holiday concert of “A Madison Symphony Christmas.”

This special new one-hour concert production will feature vocalists Kyle Ketelsen and Emily Secor; the Madison Symphony Chorus; the Madison Youth Choirs; and the Mt. Zion Gospel Ensemble (below), with performances and accompaniment by John DeMain and Greg Zelek on piano and the Overture Concert Organ, respectively.

This concert is offered for FREE upon registration and will be available for viewing through Dec. 31, 2020.  

Featured music includes Joy to the World, Peace Carol, O Holy Night, Sleigh Ride, The Christmas Song, Winter Wonderland, Christmas Hope and more — plus the traditional sing-along where you can join the MSO singing to a medley of favorites from your home.

To register and find out more information about the individual and group performers (below), go to: https://madisonsymphony.org/event/a-virtual-madison-symphony-christmas-2020/

In addition, you can relive the 2018 Madison Symphony Christmas concert on Sunday, Dec. 20, at 4 p.m. on your local PBS Wisconsin station.

For more information about the one-hour program and performers, go to: https://madisonsymphony.org/event/a-madison-symphony-christmas-2018-re-broadcast/

Posted in Classical music
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TONIGHT at 7:30 the UW-Madison offers free but conflicting online concerts of opera and percussion music

November 24, 2020
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By Jacob Stockinger

Tonight – Tuesday, Nov. 24 – at 7:30 p.m. the University of Wisconsin’s Mead Witter School of Music will offer two FREE but competing events online.

You would think with so many empty spots in the events calendar due to the coronavirus pandemic that such conflicts could be avoided.

In any case, whichever concert you choose to watch – or perhaps to toggle back and forth between the two – here are the details:

OPERA SCENES

The first concert, done by University Opera, is Opera Scenes.

According to the website description: “What was to be Opera Workshop’s Fall Opera Scenes program has morphed in a delightful way.

“This term, each singer undertook an in-depth study of one particular operatic role. We’ll be presenting the fruits of that study – excerpted recitatives and arias from The Coronation of Poppea, Don Giovanni and Orfeo ed Euridice – staged in each student’s adapted habitat, and filmed by the students themselves.”

Here is the program with specifics about the singers and the selections as well as other aspects such as direction and accompaniment:

UW-Madison Opera Workshop: Professors Mimmi Fulmer, Thomas Kasdorf and University Opera head David Ronis (below) are the directors; William Preston and Molly Schumacher are the TAs.

“Batti, batti” and “Vedrai carino” from “Don Giovanni” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Zerlina: Maria Steigerwald
Directors: Molly Schumacher and David Ronis
Pianist: William Preston

“Chiamo il mio ben così” and “Che farò senza Euridice” from “Orfeo ed Euridice” by Christoph Willibald Gluck

Orfeo: Emily Quartemont
Director: David Ronis
Pianist: Thomas Kasdorf

“Or sai chi l’onore” and “Non mi dir” from “Don Giovanni” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Donna Anna: Sachie Ueshima
Director: Mimmi Fulmer
Pianist: Thomas Kasdorf

Excerpts from Act I, Scenes 3, 4, and 10 from “L’incoronazione di Poppea”by Claudio Monteverdi. (Below is a photo by Michael R. Anderson of a previous fully staged production in 2018 by University Opera of the Monteverdi opera.)

Poppea: Molly Schumacher
Director: Mimmi Fulmer
Pianist: William Preston

Here is a direct link to the one-hour production: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANcPY9sLGls

UW CHAMBER PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE

Also tonight is a concert by the UW-Madison Chamber Percussion Ensemble (below), directed by Anthony Di Sanza and Thomas Ross.

It takes place in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall of the Hamel Music Center, and will run from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. No in-person attendance is allowed.

The UW-Madison Chamber Percussion Ensemble is dedicated to the performance of significant and engaging works for the Western percussion ensemble tradition. Repertoire from diverse trends in 20th and 21st century chamber composition is explored with an emphasis on new compositions for percussion.

Here is a direct link to the live-streamed concert, with more information about the program and the names of the players if you click on “Show More”: https://youtu.be/iZKO8pZmomA

And here is the program of the mostly new music:

Living Room Music (in the times of Covid) (1940) by John Cage and heard in the YouTube video at the bottom.
I. To Begin
II. Story
III. Melody
IV. End

Spanesque Oscillations (2003) by Steve Riley

For High Hats (2017) by Matt McBane

INTERMISSION

Marimbaireachd (1997) by Matthew Welch

The Lonelyness of Santa Clause (1994) by Fredrik Andersson

Metric Lips (1988) by Bela Fleck (arr. Steinquest)

Posted in Classical music
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The UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra will provide a welcome break on Election Night

November 1, 2020
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By Jacob Stockinger

If you find yourself needing some relief or a short break from vote counting and the barrage of election news this coming Tuesday night, Nov. 3, the masked and socially distanced UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra (below) fits the bill.

The group’s refreshingly short, one-hour and intermission-free online video premiere begins at 7 p.m. CST on YouTube. There is no fee for watching the event in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall in the Hamel Music Center, although donations are welcome.

No in-person attendance is allowed.

The program features “Strum” (1981) by Jessie Montgomery (below, in a photo by Jiyang Chen); the famous and familiar Adagietto from the Symphony No. 5 by Gustav Mahler (which you can hear with conductor Claudio Abbado in the YouTube video at the bottom); and the youthful Sinfonia No. 7 in D minor by Felix Mendelssohn, who wrote 13 of the string symphonies between the ages of 12 and 14.

Here is a direct link to the UW-Madison music school’s YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/TMNCy9qooCM

Just a personal note of appreciation and encouragement from The Ear: If you are a fan of orchestral music and pay attention to the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and the Middleton Community Orchestra, for example, then you owe to it yourself to become acquainted with the UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra if you don’t already know it.

It is that good, as you can hear for yourself in this virtual concert during the pandemic. You will probably find yourself wanting to hear more.

The programs are outstanding and often feature neglected, modern and contemporary music as well as classic repertoire, and the playing is usually first-rate.

The orchestra sounds exceptionally good, often even professional, under its new conductor Oriol Sans (below), a native of Spain who arrived here last season from a post at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

Sans has provided remarkable leadership both in the orchestra’s programs and in accompanying the University Opera productions and the UW Choral Union.

For more information, including the names of the orchestra’s members, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/uw-madison-symphony-orchestra-video-premiere/

If you listen to it, please let us know: What did you think?

Did the performances please or impress you?

Did you like or dislike the scheduling on Election Night?

The Ear wants to hear.

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #BarcelonaSpain, #BillLutes, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CentralStandardTime, #CentralTime, #ChoralMusic, #ChoralUnion, #ClaudioAbbado, #ContemporaryMusic, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DonaldTrump, #ElectionDay, #ElectionNight, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FelixMendelssohn, #GustavMahler, #HamelMusicCenter, #JacobStockinger, #JessieMontgomery, #JoeBiden, #LivingComposers, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MeadWitterFoundationConcertHall, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MiddletonCommunityOrchestra, #ModernMusic, #NeglectedMusic, #NewMusic, #OnlineConcert, #OrchestralMusic, #OriolSans, #PresidentDonaldTrump, #SocialDistance, #SociallyDistanced, #StringMusic, #TheEar, #TheUW, #Tuesdaynight, #U.S.Congress, #U.S.Senate, #UniversityOfMichigan, #UniversityofMichigan-AnnArbor, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UniversityOpera, #UW-MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #UWChoralUnion, #VirtualConcert, #VocalMusic, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, accompany, acquainted, Adagietto, allow, appreciation, Arts, attendance, audience, ballot, Barcelona, barrage, bill, blog, break, Central Standard Time, channel, choral music, Choral Union, classic, Classical music, classicalmusic, Claudio Abbado, composer, Concert, conductor, Congress, contemporary, coronavirus, CST, Democrat, Democratic, Donald Trump, donation, Election, Election Day, Election Day (United States), encouragement, Facebook, familiar, famous, fan, federa;, fee, Felix Mendelssohn, first-rate, forward, free, Gustav Mahler, Hamel Music Center, hear, impress, information, intermission, Jacob Stockinger, Jessie Montgomery, Joe Biden, leadership, like, link, living composers, local, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mahler, mask, masked, Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall, Mead Witter School of Music, members, Middleton Community Orchestra, modern, more, Music, names, need, neglected, new, New Music, night, note, online, opera, Orchestra, orchestral music, Oriol Sans, owe, pandemic, personal, playing, please, poll, post, posting, premiere, President, President Donald Trump, presidential, production, professional, program, refreshing, regional, relief, remarkable, repertoire, repertory, Republican, Season, Senate, share, short, sinfonia, social distance, socially distanced, Spain, standard, state, string music, strum, Student, symphony, tag, Teacher, The Ear, Tuesday night, United States, University of Michigan, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University Opera, US, UW, UW Choral Union, UW-Madison, UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra, virtual, vocal music, vote, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, you, yourself, YouTube, YouTube channel, YouTube video

The New York Times music critics pick 10 online concerts and operas to watch through the month of November

October 30, 2020
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By Jacob Stockinger

Classical music critics for The New York Times have again listed their picks of virtual and online concerts that will be streamed during the month of November, starting this Sunday, Nov. 1, and running right through Nov. 30. In September, they did the same for the month of October.

The list of 10 highlights includes chamber music, orchestral music and operas as well as lots of new music, world premieres of commissions and even the Cliburn International Piano Competition, now known simply as The Cliburn.

Most of the events are posted and available for quite a while.

Note that all times are Eastern and that on this Sunday, Nov. 1, daylight saving ends.

As the critics point out, the list may be especially helpful and enjoyable now that the weather is turning colder, people are isolating at home during the nationwide spikes in coronavirus cases, and concert halls remain closed to the public.

Well-known institutions such as The Metropolitan Opera (below) and the Los Angeles Opera are featured. (You can sample an earlier Met production of Philip Glass’ “Satyagraha” – about the early life of Gandhi — in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

So are symphony orchestras from Detroit, Seattle, San Francisco and Cincinnati.

And pianist Igor Levit (below top), who this past year released the highly praised, award-winning complete cycle of 32 piano sonatas by Beethoven and who was named Artist of the Year by Gramophone magazine, is also featured, as is the outstanding Chicago-based violinist Jennifer Koh (below bottom, in a photo by the Los Angeles Times).

Here is a link to the story: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/28/arts/music/classical-music-stream.html

What do you think of the choices?

Do you have other concerts or classical music events to add to the list?

The Ear wants to hear.

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #18thCentury, #African-AmericanComposer, #AnthonyDavis, #AnthonyMcGill, #BangonaCan, #BeethovenPianoSonatas, #BeethovenYear, #BerlinGermany, #BlackComposer, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BostonModernOrchestraProject, #BrettDean, #CarlVine, #CassieWieland, #CelloConcerto, #CelloSonata, #ChamberMusic, #ChamberOpera, #ChevalierdeSaint-Georges, #ChoralMusic, #CincinnatiOhio, #CincinnatiSymphonyOrchetsra, #ClaudeDebussy, #CommissionedMusic, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DavidRobertson, #DaylightSaving, #DetroitMichigan, #DetroitSymphonyOrchestra, #ElectionDay, #EllenReid, #Esa-PekkaSalonen, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FerruccioBusoni, #FlorencePrice, #folksongs, #FranzSchubert, #FredericRzewski, #GramophoneMagazine, #IgorLevit, #JacobStockinger, #JamesConlon, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnAdams, #JordanNelson, #JosephBoulogne, #JuliaHagen, #JuliaPerry, #KevChoice, #LiveStreaming, #LosAngelesCalifornia, #LosAngelesOpera, #LouisLangree, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MeredithMonk, #MetropolitanOpera, #MinimalistMusic, #Mirandawarning, #MusicCritic, #MusicDirector, #NewMusic, #NewYorkCity, #NewYorkPhilharmonic, #NewYorkTimes, #NicoMuhly, #OnlineConcert, #OrchestralMusic, #PhilipGlass, #PianoMusic, #PianoSonata, #PulitzerPrize, #RoscoeMitchell, #SanFranciscoSymphony, #SeattleSymphony, #SethParkerWoods, #SocialDistancing, #SouthAfrica, #SouthAsia, #SouthKorea, #StandardTime, #StevenLin, #SteveReich, #StringQuartet, #SymphonyOrchestra, #TheAnonymousLover, #TheCliburn, #TheEar, #TheMet, #ThomasKocheff, #TrackMusic, #TyshawnSorey, #UnfinishedSymphony, #VanCliburn, #VanCliburnInternationalPianoCompetition, #VickyChow, #ViolinConcerto, #ViolinMusic, #VirtualConcert, #VocalMusic, #WigmoreHall, #WorldPremiere, #XianZhang, #YouHavetheRighttoRemainSilent, #YouTubevideo, 18th century, acclaimed, African American, Anthony Davis, Anthony McGill, arrangement, Arts, asian, audience, available, award, Bach, Bang on a Can, Beethoven, Beethoven piano sonatas, Beethoven Year, Berlin, birthday, black, blog, Blog post, blog posting, Boston, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Brett Dean, Busoni, California, cancel, Carl Vine, Cassie Wieland, cellist, Cello, Cello Concerto, Chamber music, chamber opera, Chevalier de Saint Georges, China, Chinese, choral music, Cincinnati, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, clarinet, clarinetist, clarinettist, Classical music, classicalmusic, Claude Debussy, colder, commissions, company, Competition, composer, Concert, concerto, conductor, coronavirus, counterpoint, David Robertson, Daylight Saving, Debussy, December, Detroit, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, early, Election Day, Ellen Reid, enjoyable, Esa-Pekka Salonen, event, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, Fantasia, Ferruccio Busoni, Florence Price, forward, Franz Schubert, Frederic Rzewski, Gandhi, Germany, Gramophone (magazine), helpful, highlight, Home, hymn, Igor Levit, improvisatory, India, institution, instrumentalist, insurrection, isolating, Jacob Stockinger, James Conlon, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Adams, Jordan Nelson, Joseph Boulogne, Julia Hagen, Julia Perry, Kev Choice, known, Korea, Korean, Korean musician, life, like, link, list, livestream, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Opera, Louis Langrée, Ludwig van Beethoven, masterpiece, Meredith Monk, Met, Metropolitan Opera, Michigan, minimalist music, Miranda warning, monk, month, music critic, Music director, nationwide, New Music, New York City, New York Philharmonic, Nico Muhly, October, Ohio, online, opera, option, Orchestra, orchestral music, pandemic, People, performer, Philip Glass, Pianist, Piano, piano music, Piano sonata, pick, Politics, postpone, production, program, Pulitzer Prize, resident, Roscoe Mitchell, running, San Francisco, San Francisco Symphony, Satyagraha, Schubert, Seattle, Seattle Symphony, Septemeber, Seth Parker Woods, share, singer, social distance, soloist, Sonata, song, South Africa, South Asia, spike, spriritual, standard time, starting, Steve Reich, Steven Lin, stream, String quartet, subscriber, symphony, symphony orchestra, tag, testament, The Anonymous Lover, The Cliburn, The Ear, the Met, The New York Times, Thomas Kocheff, time, track record, turn, Tyshawn Sorey, Unfinished Symphony, United States, Van Cliburn, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Vicky Chow, Violin, Violin concerto, violinist, virtual, vocal music, weather, well-known, Wigmore Hall, winner, world premiere, Xian Zhang, YouTube

University Opera’s original online video project celebrates the life and music of American composer Marc Blitzstein. It will be posted for FREE on YouTube this Friday night, Oct. 23, at 8 p.m.

October 21, 2020
2 Comments

By Jacob Stockinger

This fall, University Opera presents its first project of 2020-21 in video format as it turns to the music of the American composer Marc Blitzstein (1905-1964).

“I Wish It So: Marc Blitzstein – the Man in His Music” will be released free of charge on the University of Wisconsin-Madison Mead Witter School of Music’s YouTube channel this Friday night, Oct. 23, at 8 p.m. CDT at the general site www.youtube.com/meadwitterschoolofmusic or the official specific link: https://youtu.be/77FXFZucrWc.

Director of University Opera David Ronis (below top) is the director of the original production and will give introductory remarks. UW-Madison graduate Thomas Kasdorf (below bottom) is the musical director. The production lasts 1 hour and 40 minutes, and features four singer-actors, a narrator and a piano.

Marc Blitzstein’s life story parallels some of the most important cultural currents in American history of the mid-20th-century.

Known for his musicals — most notably The Cradle Will Rock in 1937 (you can hear Dawn Upshaw sing the lovely song “I Wish It So” from “Juno” in the YouTube video at the bottom) — his opera Regina and his translation of Kurt Weill’s The Threepenny Opera, Blitzstein was an outspoken proponent of socially engaged art. Like many artists of his time, he joined the American Communist Party. But he also enthusiastically served in the U.S. Army during World War II (below, in 1943).

Nevertheless, in 1958, long after he had given up his Communist Party membership, Blitzstein (below) was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) where he “named no names.”

An extremely gifted yet underappreciated composer, he was a close friend of and mentor to Leonard Bernstein (below right, with Blitzstein on the left) and traveled in a close circle of American composers including David Diamond and Aaron Copland.

Although openly gay, he married Eva Goldbeck in 1933. Sadly, she died three years later from complications due to anorexia.

Blitzstein’s own death was likewise tragic. In 1964, while in Martinique working on an opera about the anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti, a commission from the Metropolitan Opera, he was robbed and badly beaten by three Portuguese sailors whom he had picked up at a bar. He died the next day of internal injuries.

Although throughout his life and afterwards, Blitzstein’s work was championed by Bernstein and others, many claim that neither the composer nor his stunning music and beautiful lyrics ever received the attention they deserved. So University Opera is proud to present this show celebrating his life and his works.

“I Wish It So: Marc Blitzstein – the Man in His Music” is a unique production put together by David Ronis. A biographical pastiche, it tells the story of Blitzstein’s life by recontextualizing 23 songs and ensembles from his shows, juxtaposing them with spoken excerpts from his working notes and letters, and tying it all together with a narration.

The result is a dramatic, evocative and enjoyable portrait of Blitzstein’s life and his art, according to Ronis.

“We’ve discovered a lot of “silver linings” while working on this production,” says Ronis. “We were disappointed at not being able to do a normal staged show. But working with video has had tremendous artistic and educational value.

“Our students are learning on-camera technique, not to mention how to work with a green screen (below, with soprano Sarah Brailey), which allows for post-production editing and digital manipulation of backgrounds. They’re also working with spoken text as well as sung pieces. Mostly, we’re just very grateful to have a creative project to sink our teeth into during the pandemic.

“And the music of Blitzstein is so fantastic, we’re very happy to be able to share it with our audience. This project is like none other I’ve ever done and we’re thinking that it’s going to be pretty cool.”

Research on the project was completed at the Wisconsin Historical Society, where Blitzstein’s archives are housed. University Opera gratefully acknowledges the help of both Mary Huelsbeck of the Wisconsin Center for Film and Television Research, and the Kurt Weill Foundation for their assistance with this project.

The cast features five UW-Madison graduate students: Sarah Brailey, Kenneth Hoversten, Justin Kroll, Lindsey Meekhof (below) and Steffen Silvis.

The video design was done by Dave Alcorn with costumes by Hyewon Park.

Others on the production staff include Will Preston, rehearsal pianist; Elisheva Pront, research assistant and assistant director; Dylan Thoren, production stage manager; Alec Hansen, assistant stage manager; Teresa Sarkela, storyboard creator; and Greg Silver, technical director.

The video will be accessible for 23 hours starting at 8 p.m. this Friday, Oct. 23. Although there will be no admission price for access, donations will be gratefully accepted. A link for donations will be posted with the video.

University Opera, a cultural service of the Mead Witter School of Music at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, provides comprehensive operatic training and performance opportunities for students and operatic programming to the community. For more information, email opera@music.wisc.edu or visit music.wisc.edu.

Posted in Classical music
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Madison Opera cancels its January production of “She Loves Me.” Will other groups follow suit? Plus, tonight is the last online concert by the LunART Festival of music by Black women

October 17, 2020
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ALERT: TONIGHT, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. the third LunART Festival will wrap up with the second of its two FREE streamed “Human Family” concerts featuring the works of Black women (below). Due to popular demand, last week’s concert is still posted and available for viewing. This week’s concert will be followed by a virtual party. Here are links for information, programs and biographies: https://www.lunartfestival.org/2020virtualfestival and https://welltempered.wordpress.com/?s=LunART

By Jacob Stockinger

The coronavirus pandemic continues to slowly take its toll on local live productions during the current season.

The Madison Opera has now canceled its second production of the season, the Broadway musical “She Loves Me” by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, which was scheduled for late January in the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center.

Here are details from Madison Opera: “We will replace She Loves Me with a Digital Winter season that lasts from January to March. Details will be announced in December. (She Loves Me will be part of our 2021/22 season, so it’s only a delay!)”

For more about Madison Opera’s digital fall season – which costs $50 per household to subscribe to – go to: https://www.madisonopera.org/Fall2020

The next digital event is at 7:30 p.m. next Saturday, Oct. 24, by Sun Prairie bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen (below, in a photo by Lawrence Brownlee), who has performed around the world, including at the Metropolitan Opera.

He will perform a live-streamed concert from the Madison Opera Center that will be a tribute to the American bass Giorgio Tozzi (below), who was Ketelsen’s teacher at Indiana University. (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear Tozzi sing “This Nearly Was Mine” from “South Pacific” by Rodgers and Hammerstein.)

Here is Tozzi’s biography from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgio_Tozzi

Soprano Emily Secor (below top) and pianist Scott Gendel (below bottom) will perform with Ketelsen.

Here is a link to details of Kyle Ketelsen’s recital: https://www.madisonopera.org/class/liveketelsen/?wcs_timestamp=1603567800

___________________________________________________________________________

The cancellation makes The Ear wonder: Are local groups and presenters being too timid or too hopeful when it comes to future plans for the current season?

After all, this past week we learned that both the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic have canceled the rest of the current season due to public health concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. And all indications are that it will be a very rough, unsafe winter and spring in Wisconsin and Madison.

That’s why The Ear suspects that, unfortunately, the rest of the season will either be canceled or be virtual and moved online. It even seems more than plausible that there will be no live performances until the winter or spring of 2022.

So you can probably expect further word pretty soon of more cancellations, postponements and virtual online performances from the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Madison Opera, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, the Wisconsin Union Theater, the UW-Madison Mead Witter School of Music, the University Opera and others.

What do you think?

Will there be operas, orchestral performances and live chamber music sometime yet this season?

When do you think it will be safe to perform and attend live concerts?

The Ear wants to hear.

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #African-AmericanComposer, #Blackcomposers, #BlackWomen, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BloomingtonIndiana, #BroadwayMusical, #CapitolTheater, #ChamberMusic, #CityofMadison, #CollaborativePianist, #ConcertProgram, #ConcertSeason, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DigitalWinter, #EmilySecor, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FlorencePrice, #GiogioTozzi, #HumanFamily, #IndianaUniversity, #JacobStockinger, #JerryBock, #KyleKetelsen, #LiveConcerts, #LiveStreaming, #LunARTFestival, #MadisonOpera, #MadisonOperaCenter, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MadisonWisconsin, #MetropolitanOpera, #MusicEducation, #MusicPresenter, #NewYorkCity, #NewYorkPhilharmonic, #OnlineConcert, #OrchestralMusic, #OscarHammerstein, #OvertureCenter, #PianoAccompaniment, #PianoAccompanist, #PopularDemand, #PublicHealth, #RichardRodgers, #RodgersandHammerstein, #ScottGendel, #SeasonSubscriber, #SheldonHarnick, #SheLovesMe, #SouthPacific, #SunPrairie, #SunPrairieWisconsin, #TheEar, #TheMet, #TheUW, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UniversityOpera, #VirtualConcert, #VirtualFestival, #VocalMusic, #Wikipediabiography, #Wikipediaentry, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WomenComposer, #WrapUp, #YouTubevideo, 2020, 2020-21, 2021, 2022, accompaniment, accompany, African American, American, announce, artists, Arts, attend, audience, bass, bass-baritone, biography, Black composers, Black women, blog, Bloomington, Broadway, cacnel, cancellation, Capitol Theater, Chamber music, Classical music, classicalmusic, composer, Concert, coronavirus, current, December, delay, demand, details, digital, Digital Winter, Emily Secor, expect, Facebook, Florence Price, forward, free, further, future, Gendel, Giorgio Tozzi, group, hopeful, household, human family, Indiana, Indiana University, indication, information, Jacob Stockinger, January, Jerry Bock, Ketelsen, Kyle Ketelsen, last, like, link, live, live concerts, live streaming, livestream, local, LunART Festival, Madison, Madison Opera, Madison Opera Center, Madison Symphony Orchestra, make, Mead Witter School of Music, Metropolitan Opera, move, Music, Music education, musical, New York City, New York Philharmonic, online, opera, Orchestra, orchestral, Oscar Hammerstein, Overture Center, pandemic, party, perform, performance, Pianist, Piano, plans, plausible, popular, post, posting, postpone, postponements, presenter, price, production, program, Public health, recital, replace, Richard Rodgers, rough, safe, scheduled, Scott Gendel, Season, Secor, share, She Loves Me, Sheldon Harnick, South Pacific, stream, Student, subscribe, Sun Prairie, suspect, symphony, tag, Teacher, The Ear, the Met, think, timid, toll, Tozzi, tribute, unfortunately, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University Opera, unsafe, UW, UW-Madison, virtual, vocal music, week, what, when, Wikipedia, winter, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wisconsin Union Theater, women composer, wonder, word, world, wrap up, you, YouTube

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