The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: Four Madison Opera singers will collaborate with the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) to perform Winterfest Concerts this Friday night and Saturday afternoon
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By Jacob Stockinger
Each year, over a weekend, the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) perform the Diane Ballweg Winterfest Concerts.
But this year a new collaboration will take place.
On this Friday night, March 13, at 7 p.m. in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall of the new Hamel Music Center, 740 University Avenue, the senior WYSO Youth Orchestra (below) will accompany four singers from the Madison Opera’s Studio Artist program in which they transition to a professional career by singing minor roles and being understudies for leading roles.
Tickets are $10 for adults, and $5 for youth under 19, and are available in advance through the Campus Ticket Office, and at the venue 30 minutes before the concert.
WYSO says the Friday night concert is close to selling out.
Here are some details: “Now in its eighth year, the Studio Artist Program is an important part of Madison Opera’s artistic and educational mission. The 2019-20 Studio Artists are four singers (below) in the transition between their education and their professional careers.
They are (from left, clockwise): baritone Stephen Hobe; mezzo-soprano Kirsten Larson; tenor Benjamin Hopkins; and soprano Emily Secor. They will sing duets, trios and quartets. There will also be an orchestral overture and a prelude.
WYSO music director Kyle Knox, who is also the associate music director of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, will conduct both singers and instrumentalists. (You can hear WYSO members talking about playing and performing in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Says Knox (below): “Young instrumentalists rarely get to accompany soloists and singers. Playing opera in particular is something that tends to come much later in their careers, and for many of them, never at all.”
The program includes excerpts from favorite operas, including: arias by “Nabucco” and “Rigoletto” by Verdi; “La Clemenza di Tito” by Mozart; “The Barber of Seville” and “William Tell” by Rossini; “Lohengrin” by Wagner; “The Elixir of Love” by Donizetti; “Carmen” by Bizet; and “La Boheme” by Puccini. For a complete program with specific titles plus ticket information, go to:
https://www.wysomusic.org/diane-ballweg-winterfest-concerts/
For more detailed information about the Madison Opera Studio Atrists program and its WYSO collaboration, go to:
https://www.wysomusic.org/in-collaboration-with-madison-operas-studio-artists/
SATURDAY
On this Saturday, March 14, in Mills Hall in the Mosse Humanities Building, 455 North Park Street, the following groups will perform. No programs have been posted.
11:30 a.m. — Opus One and Sinfonietta (below)
1:30 p.m. — Harp Ensemble (below) and Concert Orchestra
4:00 p.m. — Percussion Ensemble (below) and Philharmonia Orchestra
The WYSO Winterfest Concert series is funded by: Diane Ballweg, with additional funding from the Wisconsin Arts Board; Dane Arts; Madison Arts Commission; American Girl’s Fund for Children; Eric D. Batterman Memorial Fund; and the Coe and Paul Williams Fund for New Musicians.
The performance in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall was made possible by an additional gift from Martha and Charles Casey. The appearance of the Studio Artists in this program has been underwritten by the Charles and Mary Anderson Charitable Fund, Charles and Martha Casey, and David Flanders and Susan Ecroyd.
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Classical music: Madison Opera’s annual FREE Opera in the Park returns this Saturday night, July 20, in Garner Park and celebrates 18 years plus a glimpse of the upcoming season
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement to post about one of the most highly anticipated musical events of summer, one that offers lots of family-friendly fun and serious musical enjoyment:
Madison Opera’s Opera in the Park (below, in a photo by James Gill) celebrates its 18th year on this coming Saturday night, July 20, at 8 p.m. in Garner Park, on Madison’s far west side at the intersection of Rosa Road and Mineral Point Road.
The annual free concert of opera and Broadway favorites closes the company’s 2018-19 season and provides a preview of the 2019-20 season. (You can hear a sample of past years in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
A Madison summer tradition that often attracts over 14,000 people, Opera in the Park is an enchanting evening of music under the stars, featuring selections from opera and Broadway.
Opera in the Park 2019 features soprano Jeni Houser, soprano Michelle Johnson, tenor David Blalock and baritone Ben Edquist.
Jeni Houser (below) has sung many roles with Madison Opera, most recently in Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, and she returns next season as Eurydice in Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld.
Michelle Johnson (below) scored a major success with Madison Opera as Santuzza in Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana last season.
David Blalock (below) debuted with Madison Opera in 2014 and returns this season as Orpheus in Orpheus in the Underworld.
Ben Edquist (below) is making his debut, and will return to the company as Hawkins Fuller in Gregory Spears’ Fellow Travelers, about the Lavender Scare against LGBTQ people, in February.
The four soloists are joined by the Madison Opera Chorus and Madison Symphony Orchestra, conducted by John DeMain (below, in a photo by Greg Anderson).
The evening is hosted by Madison Opera’s General Director Kathryn Smith and WKOW TV’s 27 News co-anchor George Smith (below, in a photo by Simon Fowler).
“Opera in the Park is the greatest performance in Madison Opera’s season,” says Smith (below, in a photo by James Gill). “It offers a truly magical blend of beautiful voices, music from many centuries, and thousands of members of our community relaxing together under the same night sky. I am grateful to all of our supporters who share our belief in the community-building power of music and help us produce this concert every summer.”
Opera in the Park 2019 features arias and ensembles from Verdi’s La Traviata, which opens the 2019-20 season in November; Spears’ Fellow Travelers, which will be performed in February; and Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld, which will be performed in April.
The program also includes selections from Verdi’s Rigoletto and La Forza del Destino (The Force of Destiny); Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love and Don Pasquale; Korngold’s Die Tote Stadt (The Dead City); Romberg’s The Student Prince; Funny Girl; Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel; and more. As always, this spectacular evening will include one number conducted by the audience with light sticks (below).
Garner Park is located at 333 South Rosa Road. Parking is available in the CUNA Mutual Group and University Research Park lots. Attendees are encouraged to bring picnics, blankets and chairs. Alcohol is permitted but not sold in the park.
On the day of the concert, Garner Park will open at 7 a.m. Audience members may not leave items in the park prior to this time. Lots of porta potties will be provided. Transportation via golf carts is available for those who have limited mobility.
The rain date for Opera in the Park is Sunday, July 21, at 8 p.m.
For more details about attending Opera in the Park and for more extensive biographies of the singers, go to: https://www.madisonopera.org/2018-2019-season/oitp/
While Opera in the Park is free to attend, it would not be possible without the generous support of many foundations, corporations, and individuals who believe in the importance of music in the community.
Madison Opera is grateful to the sponsors of Opera in the Park 2019.The Presenting Sponsor is the BerbeeWalsh Foundation. Other sponsors are the John and Carolyn Peterson Charitable Foundation; Full Compass Systems; the Raymond B. Preston Family Foundation; University Research Park; Colony Brands; the Evjue Foundation; Johnson Financial Group; MGE Foundation; National Guardian Life; the Wisconsin Arts Board; Dane Arts; and the Madison Arts Commission.
WKOW, Madison Magazine, Wisconsin Public Radio, Magic 98, and La Movida are media sponsors for this community event.
RELATED EVENTS
The Prelude Dinner at Opera in the Park 2019 is at 6 p.m. This annual fundraiser to benefit Opera in the Park helps support Madison Opera’s free gift to the community.
The event includes dinner catered by Upstairs Downstairs, VIP seating at the concert, and a reception with the artists following the performance. Tickets are $150 per person or $1,150 for a table of eight.
More information about Opera in the Park and about the 2019-20 season, including subscriptions, is available at Madison’s Opera’s home website www.madisonopera.org
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Classical music: Here are classical music winners — and nominees — of the 61st annual Grammy nominations for 2019.
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By Jacob Stockinger
This should have come out sooner since the Grammy Awards (below) were given out a week ago. But it has been such a busy week for Iive music in Madison – as will next week be – that this was the first occasion to post them.
In any case, for all their insider shortcomings they are a matter of interest to many, and can be helpful in understanding the contemporary classical scene and new music as you build your own playlists and recording library.
There are some points of interest including the fact that two Grammys were won by Canadian violinist James Ehnes for his performance of the Violin Concerto by the contemporary composer Aaron Jay Kernis.
Ehnes (below) is in town this weekend to play the Violin Concerto by Johannes Brahms with the Madison Symphony Orchestra (the last performance is this afternoon at 2:30 p.m. in Overture Hall. The Ear hopes he might return to perform the Kernis concerto with MSO.
Also, Apollo’s Fire, which won in the Best Solo Vocal category, will perform Baroque music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi and Marco Uccellini at the Wisconsin Union Theater on Saturday, March 30.
Finally and unfortunately, some Madison nominees — including retired UW-Madison flute professor Stephanie Jutt and her co-director of the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society pianist Jeffrey Sykes — got edged out in the Producer category, as did retired UW professor James P. Leary for his liner notes to “Alpine Dreaming.”
In the orchestra category is John Harbison — who is in town marking his 80th birthday with many events, including the world premiere tonight at the W-Madison of his Sonata for Viola and Piano. In the Chamber Music category, Canadian pianist Marc-André Hamelin will solo in concertos by Maurice Ravel and Richard Strauss with the Madison Symphony Orchestra on April 12-14.
Look at the winners carefully. Clearly, the recording industry is, by and large, skipping over the usual classical masters such as Bach, Beethoven and Brahms to focus instead on living composers and contemporary music or stories relevant to our times, such as the opera by Mason Bates about the late Apple wizard Steve Jobs.
One major exception is the third Grammy in a row for the cycle of symphonies by the famed Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich being done by the Latvian-born conductor Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Here are the nominees and winners – the latter marked with an asterisk, a photo and the word WINNER — for the 61st Grammy Awards. Leave a comment with wa you think of the nominees and winners.
- Best Engineered Album, Classical
An Engineer’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.)
BATES: THE (R)EVOLUTION OF STEVE JOBS. Mark Donahue & Dirk Sobotka, engineers; Mark Donahue, mastering engineer (Michael Christie, Garrett Sorenson, Wei Wu, Sasha Cooke, Edwards Parks, Jessica E. Jones & Santa Fe Opera Orchestra)
BEETHOVEN: SYMPHONY NO. 3; STRAUSS: HORN CONCERTO NO. 1
Mark Donahue, engineer; Mark Donahue, mastering engineer (Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
JOHN WILLIAMS AT THE MOVIES. Keith O. Johnson & Sean Royce Martin, engineers; Keith O. Johnson, mastering engineer (Jerry Junkin & Dallas Winds).
LIQUID MELANCHOLY – CLARINET MUSIC OF JAMES M. STEPHENSON
Bill Maylone & Mary Mazurek, engineers; Bill Maylone, mastering engineer (John Bruce Yeh)
*WINNER — SHOSTAKOVICH: SYMPHONIES NOS. 4 & 11. Shawn Murphy & Nick Squire, engineers; Tim Martyn, mastering engineer (Andris Nelsons & Boston Symphony Orchestra)
VISIONS AND VARIATIONS. Tom Caulfield, engineer; Jesse Lewis, mastering engineer (A Far Cry)
- Producer Of The Year, Classical
A Producer’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.)
* WINNER — BLANTON ALSPAUGH (below)
- Arnesen: Infinity – Choral Works (Joel Rinsema & Kantorei)
- Aspects Of America (Carlos Kalmar & Oregon Symphony)
- Chesnokov: Teach Me Thy Statutes (Vladimir Gorbik & PaTRAM Institute Male Choir)
- Gordon, R.: The House Without A Christmas Tree (Bradley Moore, Elisabeth Leone, Maximillian Macias, Megan Mikailovna Samarin, Patricia Schuman, Lauren Snouffer, Heidi Stober, Daniel Belcher, Houston Grand Opera Juvenile Chorus & Houston Grand Opera Orchestra
- Haydn: The Creation (Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Betsy Cook Weber, Houston Symphony & Houston Symphony Chorus)
- Heggie: Great Scott (Patrick Summers, Manuel Palazzo, Mark Hancock, Michael Mayes, Rodell Rosel, Kevin Burdette, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Nathan Gunn, Frederica von Stade, Ailyn Pérez, Joyce DiDonato, Dallas Opera Chorus & Orchestra)
- Music Of Fauré, Buide & Zemlinsky (Trio Séléné)
- Paterson: Three Way – A Trio Of One-Act Operas (Dean Williamson, Daniele Pastin, Courtney Ruckman, Eliza Bonet, Melisa Bonetti, Jordan Rutter, Samuel Levine, Wes Mason, Matthew Treviño & Nashville Opera Orchestra)
- Vaughan Williams: Piano Concerto; Oboe Concerto; Serenade To Music; Flos Campi (Peter Oundjian & Toronto Symphony Orchestra)
DAVID FROST
- Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Volume 7 (Jonathan Biss)
• Mirror In Mirror (Anne Akiko Meyers, Kristjan Järvi & Philharmonia Orchestra)
• Mozart: Idomeneo (James Levine, Alan Opie, Matthew Polenzani, Alice Coote, Nadine Sierra, Elza van den Heever, The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus)
• Presentiment (Orion Weiss)
• Strauss, R.: Der Rosenkavalier (Sebastian Weigle, Renée Fleming, Elīna Garanča, Erin Morley, Günther Groissböck, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus)
ELIZABETH OSTROW
- Bates: The (R)evolution Of Steve Jobs (Michael Christie, Garrett Sorenson, Wei Wu, Sasha Cooke, Edwards Parks, Jessica E. Jones & Santa Fe Opera Orchestra)
• The Road Home (Joshua Habermann & Santa Fe Desert Chorale)
JUDITH SHERMAN
- Beethoven Unbound (Llŷr Williams)
• Black Manhattan Volume 3 (Rick Benjamin & Paragon Ragtime Orchestra)
• Bolcom: Piano Music (Various Artists)
• Del Tredici: March To Tonality (Mark Peskanov & Various Artists)
• Love Comes In At The Eye (Timothy Jones, Stephanie Sant’Ambrogio, Jeffrey Sykes, Anthony Ross, Carol Cook, Beth Rapier & Stephanie Jutt)
• Meltzer: Variations On A Summer Day & Piano Quartet (Abigail Fischer, Jayce Ogren & Sequitur)
• Mendelssohn: Complete Works For Cello And Piano (Marcy Rosen & Lydia Artymiw)
• New Music For Violin And Piano (Julie Rosenfeld & Peter Miyamoto)
• Reich: Pulse/Quartet (Colin Currie Group & International Contemporary Ensemble)
DIRK SOBOTKA
- Beethoven: Symphony No. 3; Strauss: Horn Concerto No. 1 (Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
• Lippencott: Frontier Symphony (Jeff Lippencott & Ligonier Festival Orchestra)
• Mahler: Symphony No. 8 (Thierry Fischer, Mormon Tabernacle Choir & Utah Symphony)
• Music Of The Americas (Andrés Orozco-Estrada & Houston Symphony) 
- Best Orchestral Performance Award to the Conductor and to the Orchestra
- BEETHOVEN: SYMPHONY NO. 3; STRAUSS: HORN CONCERTO NO. 1. Manfred Honeck, conductor (Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
- NIELSEN: SYMPHONY NO. 3 & SYMPHONY NO. 4. Thomas Dausgaard, conductor (Seattle Symphony)
- RUGGLES, STUCKY & HARBISON: ORCHESTRAL WORKS. David Alan Miller, conductor (National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic)
- SCHUMANN: SYMPHONIES NOS. 1-4. Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor (San Francisco Symphony)
- * WINNER — SHOSTAKOVICH: SYMPHONIES NOS. 4 & 11 Andris Nelsons, conductor (Boston Symphony Orchestra)
76. Best Opera Recording Award to the Conductor, Album Producer(s) and Principal Soloists.
- ADAMS: DOCTOR ATOMIC. John Adams, conductor; Aubrey Allicock, Julia Bullock, Gerald Finley & Brindley Sherratt; Friedemann Engelbrecht, producer (BBC Symphony Orchestra; BBC Singers)
- * WINNER –BATES: THE (R)EVOLUTION OF STEVE JOBS. Michael Christie, conductor; Sasha Cooke, Jessica E. Jones, Edwards Parks, Garrett Sorenson & Wei Wu; Elizabeth Ostrow, producer (The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra)
- LULLY: ALCESTE. Christophe Rousset, conductor; Edwin Crossley-Mercer, Emiliano Gonzalez Toro & Judith Van Wanroij; Maximilien Ciup, producer (Les Talens Lyriques; Choeur De Chambre De Namur)
- STRAUSS, R.: DER ROSENKAVALIER. Sebastian Weigle, conductor; Renée Fleming, Elīna Garanča, Günther Groissböck & Erin Morley; David Frost, producer (Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
- VERDI: RIGOLETTO. Constantine Orbelian, conductor; Francesco Demuro, Dmitri Hvorostovsky & Nadine Sierra; Vilius Keras & Aleksandra Keriene, producers (Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra; Men Of The Kaunas State Choir)
- Best Choral Performance. Award to the Conductor, and to the Choral Director and/or Chorus Master where applicable and to the Choral Organization/Ensemble.
- CHESNOKOV: TEACH ME THY STATUTES. Vladimir Gorbik, conductor (Mikhail Davydov & Vladimir Krasov; PaTRAM Institute Male Choir)
- KASTALSKY: MEMORY ETERNAL. Steven Fox, conductor (The Clarion Choir)
- * WINNER — MCLOSKEY: ZEALOT CANTICLES. Donald Nally, conductor (Doris Hall-Gulati, Rebecca Harris, Arlen Hlusko, Lorenzo Raval & Mandy Wolman; The Crossing)
- RACHMANINOV: THE BELLS. Mariss Jansons, conductor; Peter Dijkstra, chorus master (Oleg Dolgov, Alexey Markov & Tatiana Pavlovskaya; Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks; Chor Des Bayerischen Rundfunks)
- SEVEN WORDS FROM THE CROSS. Matthew Guard, conductor (Skylark)
- Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance. For new recordings of works with chamber or small ensemble (24 or fewer members, not including the conductor). One Award to the ensemble and one Award to the conductor, if applicable.
- * WINNER — ANDERSON, LAURIE: LANDFALL. Laurie Anderson & Kronos Quartet
- BEETHOVEN, SHOSTAKOVICH & BACH. The Danish String Quartet
- BLUEPRINTING. Aizuri Quartet
- STRAVINSKY: THE RITE OF SPRING CONCERTO FOR TWO PIANOS. Leif Ove Andsnes & Marc-André Hamelin
- VISIONS AND VARIATIONS. A Far Cry
- Best Classical Instrumental Solo. Award to the Instrumental Soloist(s) and to the Conductor when applicable.
- BARTÓK: PIANO CONCERTO NO. 2. Yuja Wang; Simon Rattle, conductor (Berliner Philharmoniker)
- BIBER: THE MYSTERY SONATAS. Christina Day Martinson; Martin Pearlman, conductor (Boston Baroque)
- BRUCH: SCOTTISH FANTASY, OP. 46; VIOLIN CONCERTO NO. 1 IN G MINOR, OP. 26. Joshua Bell (The Academy Of St. Martin In The Fields)
- GLASS: THREE PIECES IN THE SHAPE OF A SQUARE. Craig Morris
- * WINNER — KERNIS: VIOLIN CONCERTO. James Ehnes; Ludovic Morlot, conductor (Seattle Symphony)
- Best Classical Solo Vocal Album. Award to: Vocalist(s), Collaborative Artist(s) (Ex: pianists, conductors, chamber groups) Producer(s), Recording Engineers/Mixers with 51% or more playing time of new material.
- ARC. Anthony Roth Costanzo; Jonathan Cohen, conductor (Les Violons Du Roy)
- THE HANDEL ALBUM. Philippe Jaroussky; Artaserse, ensemble
- MIRAGES. Sabine Devieilhe; François-Xavier Roth, conductor (Alexandre Tharaud; Marianne Crebassa & Jodie Devos; Les Siècles)
- SCHUBERT: WINTERREISE. Randall Scarlata; Gilbert Kalish, accompanist
- * WINNER — SONGS OF ORPHEUS – MONTEVERDI, CACCINI, D’INDIA & LANDI. Karim Sulayman; Jeannette Sorrell, conductor; Apollo’s Fire, ensembles
- Best Classical Compendium. Award to the Artist(s) and to the Album Producer(s) and Engineer(s) of over 51% playing time of the album, if other than the artist.
- * WINNER — FUCHS: PIANO CONCERTO ‘SPIRITUALIST’; POEMS OF LIFE; GLACIER; RUSH. JoAnn Falletta, conductor; Tim Handley, producer
- GOLD. The King’s Singers; Nigel Short, producer
- THE JOHN ADAMS EDITION. Simon Rattle, conductor; Christoph Franke, producer
- JOHN WILLIAMS AT THE MOVIES. Jerry Junkin, conductor; Donald J. McKinney, producer
- VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: PIANO CONCERTO; OBOE CONCERTO; SERENADE TO MUSIC; FLOS CAMPI. Peter Oundjian, conductor; Blanton Alspaugh, producer
- Best Contemporary Classical Composition. A Composer’s Award. (For a contemporary classical composition composed within the last 25 years, and released for the first time during the Eligibility Year.) Award to the librettist, if applicable.
- BATES: THE (R)EVOLUTION OF STEVE JOBS. Mason Bates, composer; Mark Campbell, librettist (Michael Christie, Garrett Sorenson, Wei Wu, Sasha Cooke, Edwards Parks, Jessica E. Jones & Santa Fe Opera Orchestra)
- DU YUN: AIR GLOW. Du Yun, composer (International Contemporary Ensemble)
- HEGGIE: GREAT SCOTT. Jake Heggie, composer; Terrence McNally, librettist (Patrick Summers, Manuel Palazzo, Mark Hancock, Michael Mayes, Rodell Rosel, Kevin Burdette, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Nathan Gunn, Frederica von Stade, Ailyn Pérez, Joyce DiDonato, Dallas Opera Chorus & Orchestra)
- * WINNER — KERNIS: VIOLIN CONCERTO. Aaron Jay Kernis (below top), composer (James Ehnes, Ludovic Morlot & Seattle Symphony). You can hear the first movement in the YouTube video at the bottom.
- MAZZOLI: VESPERS FOR VIOLIN. Missy Mazzoli, composer (Olivia De Prato)
Tags: #AaronJayKernis, #AcademyofSt.MartinintheFields, #AlbumCover, #AlexanderZemlinsky, #AlpineDreaming", #AndrisNelsons, #AnneAkikoMeyers, #Apollo'sFire, #Applecomputers, #AppleInc., #ArvoPärt, #BachDancingandDynamiteSociety, #BaroqueMusic, #BBCOrchestra, #BBCSymphonyOrchestra, #BelaBartok, #BerlinGermany, #BerlinPhilharmonic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BostonBaroque, #BostonSymphony, #CarlNielsen, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #ClarinetMusic, #ClaudioMonteverdi, #DanishStringQuartet, #DavidDelTedici, #DavidFrost, #DerRosenkavalier, #DmitriHvorostovsky, #DmitriShostakovich, #DoctorAtomic, #DuYun, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FacultyMember, #FilmScore, #FlosCampi, #FranzJosephHaydn, #FranzSchubert, #FredericavonStade, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GiuseppeVerdi, #GrammyAwards, #GrammyNominations, #GustavMahler, #HeinrichBiber, #HornConcerto, #HoustonGrandOpera, #HoustonSymphony, #IgorStravinsky, #JakeHeggie, #JamesEhnes, #JamesM.Stephenson, #JamesP.Leary, #Jean-BaptisteLully, #JeffreySykes, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnAdams, #JohnHarbison, #JohnWilliams, #JonathanBiss, #JoshuaBell, #JoyceDiDonato, #JudithSherman, #KennethFuchs, #KronosQuartet, #LaurieAnderson, #LeifOveAndsnes, #LinerNotes, #LiveMusic, #LivingComposers, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #Marc-AndréHamelin, #MarcoUccellini, #MartinPearlman, #MasonBates, #MauriceRavel, #MaxBruch, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MetropolitanOpera, #MichaelTilsonThomas, #MissyMazzoli, #MovieMusic, #MovieSoundtrack, #Musicfaculty, #NashvilleTennessee, #NathanGunn, #NewMusic, #OboeConcerto, #OrionWeiss, #OvertureCenter, #OvertureHall, #PavelChesnokov, #PhilipGlass, #PianoConcerto, #PianoSonata, #RalphVaughanWilliams, #RichardStrauss, #RobertSchumann, #SanFrancisco, #SanFranciscoSymphony, #SantaFeOpera, #SeattleSymphony, #SeattleWashington, #SerenadetoMusic, #SergeiRachmaninoff, #SergeiRachmaninov, #SimonRattle, #SteveJobs, #SteveReich, #SteveStucky, #StringQuartet, #TheBells, #TheCreation, #TheCross, #TheEar, #TorontoCanada, #TorontoSymphonyOrchestra, #UWProfessor, #ViolinConcerto, #WilliamBolcom, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, #YujaWang, Aaron Jay Kernis, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Album, Alpine, Alpine Dreaming, America, Andris Nelsons, Anne Akiko Meyers, Apollo's Fire, Apple, Arts, Arvo Part, Bach, Bach ancing, Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, Baroque, Béla Bartók, BBC, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven, Berlin, Berlin Philharmonic, Biber, blog, Boston Baroque, Boston Symphony, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Bruch, Caccini, Canada, Carl Nielsen, category, Cello, Chamber music, choral music, clarinet, Classical music, Compact Disc, composer, concerto, conductor, contemporary, Creation, Danish String Quartet, David Del Tredici, David Frost, Der Rosenkavalier, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Dmitri Shostakovich, Doctor Atomic, dream, dreaming, Du Yun, Early music, engineer, Facebook, faculty, Faure, film, Film score, Flos campi, flute, forward, Francesca Caccini, Franz Schubert, Frederica von Stade, Fuchs, George Frideric Handel, Grammy Awards, Handel, Haydn, horn concerto, Houston Grand Opera, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Idomeneo, Igor Stravinsky, Jacob Stockinger, Jake Heggie, James Ehnes, James M. Stephenson, James P. Leary, Jeffrey Sykes, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Adams, John DeMain, John Harbison, John Williams, Jonathan Biss, Joshua Bell, Joyce DiDonato, Judith Sherman, Kronos Quartet, Laurie Anderson, Leif Ove Andsnes, library, like, liner notes, live music, living composers, Ludwig van Beethoven, Lully, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mahler, Marc-André Hamelin, Marco Uccellini, Martin Pearlman, Mason Bates, Mead Witter School of Music, Metropolitan Opera, Michael Tilson Thomas, Missy Mazzoli, Monteverdi, Movies, Mozart, Music, Nashville, Nathan Gunn, New Music, nominations, nominees, notes, oboe concerto, opera, Orchestra, Orion Weiss, Orpheus, Overture Center, Overture Hall, Pavel Chesnokov, Philip Glass, photo, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, Piano sonata, playlist, professor, Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninov, Ragtime, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Ravel, recording, relevant, Richard Strauss, Rigoletto, Robert Schumann, San Francisco, San Francisco Symphony, Santa Fe Opera, Schubert, Seattle, Seattle Symphony, Serenade to Music, share, Simon Rattle, Singing, Sonata, song, soundtrack, Steve Jobs, Steve Reich, Steve Stucky, stories, String quartet, symphonies, symphony, tag, The Bells, The Creation, The Cross, The Ear, Toronto, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, variations, Verdi, Viola, Violin, visions, vocal music, weekend, WILLIAM BOLCOM, winner, Winterreise, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Union Theater, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube, Yuja Wang, Zemlinsky
Classical music: Here are the Grammy Award nominations for 2019 in classical music. They can serve as a great holiday gift guide and many have local ties
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IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event.
By Jacob Stockinger
Is there a classical recording you wish to give or get?
Perhaps the list of classical Grammy nominations for 2019, which was just released yesterday, can help you.
It is worth mentioning that many of the musicians nominated have past, present or future ties to Madison.
Flutist Stephanie Jutt, singer Timothy Jones and pianist Jeffrey Sykes perform regularly with the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society and Jutt and Sykes also have ties to the University of Wisconsin-Madison; producer Judith Sherman recorded the centennial commissions for the Pro Arte Quartet at the UW-Madison; and Canadian violinist James Ehnes has performed several times with the Madison Symphony Orchestra and will do so again this season, while pianist Marc-André Hamelin will make his MSO debut this season.
And there are other local tie-ins including pianist Jonathan Biss and the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Harbison, who also co-directs the Token Creek Chamber Music Festival. Plus, the group Apollo’s Fire makes its local debut playing Bach and Vivaldi in March at the Wisconsin Union Theater.
Here are — without record labels, curiously — the nominees for the 61st annual Grammy Awards. The winners will be announced during a live TV broadcast on CBS on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. For more information, go to: https://www.grammy.com
- Best Engineered Album, Classical
An Engineer’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.)
BATES: THE (R)EVOLUTION OF STEVE JOBS
Mark Donahue & Dirk Sobotka, engineers; Mark Donahue, mastering engineer (Michael Christie, Garrett Sorenson, Wei Wu, Sasha Cooke, Edwards Parks, Jessica E. Jones & Santa Fe Opera Orchestra)
BEETHOVEN: SYMPHONY NO. 3; STRAUSS: HORN CONCERTO NO. 1
Mark Donahue, engineer; Mark Donahue, mastering engineer (Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
JOHN WILLIAMS AT THE MOVIES
Keith O. Johnson & Sean Royce Martin, engineers; Keith O. Johnson, mastering engineer (Jerry Junkin & Dallas Winds)
LIQUID MELANCHOLY – CLARINET MUSIC OF JAMES M. STEPHENSON
Bill Maylone & Mary Mazurek, engineers; Bill Maylone, mastering engineer (John Bruce Yeh)
SHOSTAKOVICH: SYMPHONIES NOS. 4 & 11 (below)
Shawn Murphy & Nick Squire, engineers; Tim Martyn, mastering engineer (Andris Nelsons & Boston Symphony Orchestra)
VISIONS AND VARIATIONS
Tom Caulfield, engineer; Jesse Lewis, mastering engineer (A Far Cry)
- Producer Of The Year, Classical A Producer’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.)
BLANTON ALSPAUGH
- Arnesen: Infinity – Choral Works (Joel Rinsema & Kantorei
- Aspects Of America (Carlos Kalmar & Oregon Symphony)
- Chesnokov: Teach Me Thy Statutes (Vladimir Gorbik & PaTRAM Institute Male Choir)
- Gordon, R.: The House Without A Christmas Tree (Bradley Moore, Elisabeth Leone, Maximillian Macias, Megan Mikailovna Samarin, Patricia Schuman, Lauren Snouffer, Heidi Stober, Daniel Belcher, Houston Grand Opera Juvenile Chorus & Houston Grand Opera Orchestra)
- Haydn: The Creation (Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Betsy Cook Weber, Houston Symphony & Houston Symphony Chorus)
- Heggie: Great Scott (Patrick Summers, Manuel Palazzo, Mark Hancock, Michael Mayes, Rodell Rosel, Kevin Burdette, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Nathan Gunn, Frederica von Stade, Ailyn Pérez, Joyce DiDonato, Dallas Opera Chorus & Orchestra)
- Music Of Fauré, Buide & Zemlinsky (Trio Séléné)
- Paterson: Three Way – A Trio Of One-Act Operas (Dean Williamson, Daniele Pastin, Courtney Ruckman, Eliza Bonet, Melisa Bonetti, Jordan Rutter, Samuel Levine, Wes Mason, Matthew Treviño & Nashville Opera Orchestra)
- Vaughan Williams: Piano Concerto; Oboe Concerto; Serenade To Music; Flos Campi (Peter Oundjian & Toronto Symphony Orchestra)
DAVID FROST
- Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Volume 7 (Jonathan Biss)
- Mirror In Mirror (Anne Akiko Meyers, Kristjan Järvi & Philharmonia Orchestra)
- Mozart: Idomeneo (James Levine, Alan Opie, Matthew Polenzani, Alice Coote, Nadine Sierra, Elza van den Heever, The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus)
- Presentiment (Orion Weiss)
- Strauss, R.: Der Rosenkavalier (Sebastian Weigle, Renée Fleming, Elīna Garanča, Erin Morley, Günther Groissböck, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus)
ELIZABETH OSTROW
- Bates: The (R)evolution Of Steve Jobs (Michael Christie, Garrett Sorenson, Wei Wu, Sasha Cooke, Edwards Parks, Jessica E. Jones & Santa Fe Opera Orchestra)
- The Road Home (Joshua Habermann & Santa Fe Desert Chorale)
JUDITH SHERMAN (below top)
- Beethoven Unbound (Llŷr Williams)
- Black Manhattan Volume 3 (Rick Benjamin & Paragon Ragtime Orchestra)
- Bolcom: Piano Music (Various Artists)
- Del Tredici: March To Tonality (Mark Peskanov & Various Artists)
- Love Comes In At The Eye (Timothy Jones, below bottom, Stephanie Sant’Ambrogio, Jeffrey Sykes, Anthony Ross, Carol Cook, Beth Rapier & Stephanie Jutt). An excerpt is in the YouTube video at the bottom.
- Meltzer: Variations On A Summer Day & Piano Quartet (Abigail Fischer, Jayce Ogren & Sequitur)
- Mendelssohn: Complete Works For Cello And Piano (Marcy Rosen & Lydia Artymiw)
- New Music For Violin And Piano (Julie Rosenfeld & Peter Miyamoto)
- Reich: Pulse/Quartet (Colin Currie Group & International Contemporary Ensemble)
DIRK SOBOTKA
- Beethoven: Symphony No. 3; Strauss: Horn Concerto No. 1 (Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
- Lippencott: Frontier Symphony (Jeff Lippencott & Ligonier Festival Orchestra)
- Mahler: Symphony No. 8 (Thierry Fischer, Mormon Tabernacle Choir & Utah Symphony)
- Music Of The Americas (Andrés Orozco-Estrada & Houston Symphony)
Award to the Conductor and to the Orchestra
- BEETHOVEN: SYMPHONY NO. 3; STRAUSS: HORN CONCERTO NO. 1. Manfred Honeck, conductor (Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
- NIELSEN: SYMPHONY NO. 3 & SYMPHONY NO. 4. Thomas Dausgaard, conductor (Seattle Symphony)
• RUGGLES, STUCKY & HARBISON: ORCHESTRAL WORKS. David Alan Miller, conductor (National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic)
- SCHUMANN: SYMPHONIES NOS. 1-4. Michael Tilson Thomas (below), conductor (San Francisco Symphony)
• SHOSTAKOVICH: SYMPHONIES NOS. 4 & 11. Andris Nelsons, conductor (Boston Symphony Orchestra)
Best Opera Recording – Award to the Conductor, Album Producer(s) and Principal Soloists.
- ADAMS: DOCTOR ATOMIC. John Adams, conductor; Aubrey Allicock, Julia Bullock, Gerald Finley & Brindley Sherratt; Friedemann Engelbrecht, producer (BBC Symphony Orchestra; BBC Singers)
• BATES: THE (R)EVOLUTION OF STEVE JOBS. Michael Christie, conductor; Sasha Cooke, Jessica E. Jones, Edwards Parks, Garrett Sorenson & Wei Wu; Elizabeth Ostrow, producer (The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra)
- LULLY: ALCESTE. Christophe Rousset, conductor; Edwin Crossley-Mercer, Emiliano Gonzalez Toro & Judith Van Wanroij; Maximilien Ciup, producer (Les Talens Lyriques; Choeur De Chambre De Namur)
- STRAUSS, R.: DER ROSENKAVALIER. Sebastian Weigle, conductor; Renée Fleming, Elīna Garanča, Günther Groissböck & Erin Morley; David Frost, producer (Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
- VERDI: RIGOLETTO. Constantine Orbelian, conductor; Francesco Demuro, the late Dmitri Hvorostovsky (below) & Nadine Sierra; Vilius Keras & Aleksandra Keriene, producers (Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra; Men Of The Kaunas State Choir)
- Best Choral Performance
Award to the Conductor, and to the Choral Director and/or Chorus Master where applicable and to the Choral Organization/Ensemble.
- CHESNOKOV: TEACH ME THY STATUTES. Vladimir Gorbik, conductor (Mikhail Davydov & Vladimir Krasov; PaTRAM Institute Male Choir)
- KASTALSKY: MEMORY ETERNAL. Steven Fox, conductor (The Clarion Choir)
- MCLOSKEY: ZEALOT CANTICLES. Donald Nally, conductor (Doris Hall-Gulati, Rebecca Harris, Arlen Hlusko, Lorenzo Raval & Mandy Wolman; The Crossing)
• RACHMANINOV: THE BELLS. Mariss Jansons (below), conductor; Peter Dijkstra, chorus master (Oleg Dolgov, Alexey Markov & Tatiana Pavlovskaya; Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks; Chor Des Bayerischen Rundfunks)
- SEVEN WORDS FROM THE CROSS. Matthew Guard, conductor (Skylark)
- Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
For new recordings of works with chamber or small ensemble (twenty-four or fewer members, not including the conductor). One Award to the ensemble and one Award to the conductor, if applicable.
- ANDERSON, LAURIE: LANDFALL. Laurie Anderson & Kronos Quartet
- BEETHOVEN, SHOSTAKOVICH & BACH. The Danish String Quartet
- BLUEPRINTING. Azure Quartet
- STRAVINSKY: THE RITE OF SPRING CONCERTO FOR TWO PIANOS Leif Ove Andsnes & Marc-André Hamelin (below)
- VISIONS AND VARIATIONS. A Far Cry
- Best Classical Instrumental Solo
Award to the Instrumental Soloist(s) and to the Conductor when applicable.
- BARTÓK: PIANO CONCERTO NO. 2. Yuja Wang (below); Simon Rattle, conductor (Berliner Philharmoniker)
- BIBER: THE MYSTERY SONATAS. Christina Day Martinson; Martin Pearlman, conductor (Boston Baroque).
- BRUCH: SCOTTISH FANTASY, OP. 46; VIOLIN CONCERTO NO. 1 IN G MINOR, OP. 26. Joshua Bell (The Academy Of St. Martin In The Fields)
- GLASS: THREE PIECES IN THE SHAPE OF A SQUARE. Craig Morris
- KERNIS: VIOLIN CONCERTO. James Ehnes; Ludovic Morlot, conductor (Seattle Symphony)
- Best Classical Solo Vocal Album
Award to: Vocalist(s), Collaborative Artist(s) (Ex: pianists, conductors, chamber groups) Producer(s), Recording Engineers/Mixers with 51% or more playing time of new material.
- ARC. Anthony Roth Costanzo; Jonathan Cohen, conductor (Les Violons Du Roy)
- THE HANDEL ALBUM. Philippe Jaroussky; Artaserse, ensemble
- MIRAGES. Sabine Devieilhe; François-Xavier Roth, conductor (Alexandre Tharaud; Marianne Crebassa & Jodie Devos; Les Siècles)
• SCHUBERT: WINTERREISE. Randall Scarlata; Gilbert Kalish, accompanist
• SONGS OF ORPHEUS – MONTEVERDI, CACCINI, D’INDIA & LANDI. Karim Sulayman; Jeannette Sorrell, conductor; Apollo’s Fire, ensembles
- Best Classical Compendium
Award to the Artist(s) and to the Album Producer(s) and Engineer(s) of over 51% playing time of the album, if other than the artist.
- FUCHS: PIANO CONCERTO ‘SPIRITUALIST’; POEMS OF LIFE; GLACIER; RUSH. JoAnn Falletta, conductor; Tim Handley, producer
- GOLD. The King’s Singers; Nigel Short, producer
- THE JOHN ADAMS (below) EDITION. Simon Rattle, conductor; Christoph Franke, producer
- JOHN WILLIAMS AT THE MOVIES. Jerry Junkin, conductor; Donald J. McKinney, producer
- VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: PIANO CONCERTO; OBOE CONCERTO; SERENADE TO MUSIC; FLOS CAMPI. Peter Oundjian, conductor; Blanton Alspaugh, producer
- Best Contemporary Classical Composition
A Composer’s Award. (For a contemporary classical composition composed within the last 25 years, and released for the first time during the Eligibility Year.) Award to the librettist, if applicable.
- BATES: THE (R)EVOLUTION OF STEVE JOBS. Mason Bates, composer; Mark Campbell, librettist (Michael Christie, Garrett Sorenson, Wei Wu, Sasha Cooke, Edwards Parks, Jessica E. Jones & Santa Fe Opera Orchestra)
- DU YUN: AIR GLOW. Du Yun, composer (International Contemporary Ensemble)
- HEGGIE: GREAT SCOTT. Jake Heggie, composer; Terrence McNally, librettist (Patrick Summers, Manuel Palazzo, Mark Hancock, Michael Mayes, Rodell Rosel, Kevin Burdette, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Nathan Gunn, Frederica von Stade, Ailyn Pérez, Joyce DiDonato, Dallas Opera Chorus & Orchestra)
- KERNIS: VIOLIN CONCERTO. Aaron Jay Kernis, composer (James Ehnes (below), Ludovic Morlot & Seattle Symphony)
- MAZZOLI: VESPERS FOR VIOLIN. Missy Mazzoli, composer (Olivia De Prato)
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Classical music: Madison Opera’s FREE “Opera in the Park” turns 15 and takes place this Saturday night
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following press release about one of the fun cultural highlights of the summer, which was started by the late Ann Stanke 15 years ago.
In The Ear’s experience, the whole event is a kind of light opera in itself, with food and amusements as well as community social interactions and of course great music that is beautifully performed.
Madison Opera’s FREE Opera in the Park will celebrate its 15th year on this Saturday, July 23, at 8 p.m. in Garner Park on Madison’s far west side.
The annual free concert of opera and Broadway favorites closes the company’s fantastic 2015-16 season and provides an enticing preview of the upcoming 2016-17 season.
A Madison summer tradition that attracts over 15,000 people every year, Opera in the Park brings the best of opera and Broadway to the community, creating an enchanting evening of music under the stars.
Opera in the Park 2016 stars soprano Emily Birsan (below top), soprano Angela Brown (below second), tenor Scott Quinn (below third) and baritone Sidney Outlaw (below fourth).
They are joined by the Madison Opera Chorus and Madison Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the returning Gary Thor Wedow (below) instead of John DeMain, who is spending the summer guest conducting at the acclaimed Glimmerglass Festival in upper New York State.
The evening is hosted by Madison Opera’s General Director Kathryn Smith and WKOW TV’s 27 News Wake-Up Wisconsin anchor Brandon Taylor.
“Opera in the Park is without question my favorite night of the year,” says Smith (below, in a photo by James Gill). “When you combine a live performance of beautiful music with thousands of people from across our community, all under a gorgeous night sky, you get the most important performance Madison Opera gives.
“I often brag to my colleagues around the country about our Opera in the Park, as it is so distinctly important in our community – not to mention having the highest per capita attendance of any such concert in the U.S.
“I am so proud that we are celebrating our 15th summer of this incredible event, and grateful to all who make it possible.”
Opera in the Park 2016 features arias and ensembles from Charles Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet, which opens the 2016-17 season in November; Daniel Schnyder’s jazz-inspired Charlie Parker’s Yardbird, which will be performed in February; and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s The Magic Flute, which will be performed in April.
In celebration of the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death, the concert will also offer selections from Shakespeare-based operas and musicals such as Hamlet, The Boys from Syracuse and Kiss Me, Kate.
Classic selections from Aida and Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi, The Pearl Fishers by Georges Bizet; Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin and more round out this spectacular evening, which always includes one number conducted by the audience with light sticks (below).
Garner Park is located at 333 South Rosa Road in Madison’s far west side. Parking is available in the CUNA Mutual Group and University Research Park lots.
Attendees are encouraged to bring picnics, blankets and chairs.
Alcohol is permitted but not sold in the park.
On the day of the concert, Garner Park will open at 7 a.m. Audience members may NOT leave items in the park prior to this time.
The rain date for Opera in the Park is Sunday, July 24, at 8 p.m.
Madison Opera is grateful to the major sustaining donors who support Opera in the Park not only this year, but have done so for many years, enabling the concert to reach this 15th anniversary: CUNA Mutual, the Berbeewalsh Foundation, the John and Carolyn Peterson Charitable Foundation, Full Compass Systems, University Research Park, Colony Brands, the MGE Foundation, and an Anonymous Friend.
Opera in the Park 2016 is also generously sponsored by the Richard B. Anderson Family Foundation, BMO Harris Bank, Starion Financial, Wisconsin Bank & Trust, National Endowment for the Arts Wisconsin Arts Board, Dane Arts, the Evjue Foundation, and the Madison Arts Commission. WKOW, Isthmus, Madison Magazine, Wisconsin Public Radio, Triple M, Mix 105.1, and WOLX are media sponsors for this community event.
RELATED EVENT: PRELUDE DINNER AND FUNDRAISER
The Prelude Dinner (below) at Opera in the Park 2016 is at 6 p.m.
This annual fundraiser to benefit Opera in the Park helps support Madison Opera’s free gift to the community.
The event includes dinner catered by Upstairs Downstairs, VIP seating at the concert, a complimentary light stick and a reception with the artists following the performance.
Tickets are $135 per person or $1,000 for a table of eight. More information is available at www.madisonopera.org
Tags: Aida, alcohol, Arts, baritone, Bizet, Broadway, Charles Gounod, Charlie Parker, choral music, chorus, Classical music, Dane Arts, Gary Thor Wedow, Gershwin, Glimmerglass, Hamlet, Isthmus, Jacob Stockinger, Jazz, John DeMain, Kate, Kiss Me, Madison, Madison Magazine, Madison Opera, Madison Opera Chorus, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mozart, Music, musica; theater, musical, National Endowment for the Arts, NEA, New York, opera, Opera in the Park, outdoors, Porgy, Rigoletto, Romeo and Juliet, soprano, tenor, The Boys From Syracuse, The Magic Flute, The Pearl Fishers, theater, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Verdi, vocal music, William Shakespeare, Wisconsin Arts Board, wisconsin public radio, WKOW TV, Yardbird
Classical music: Mark Adamo’s “Little Women” is a second-rate opera that got a first-rate production from the Madison Opera
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By Jacob Stockinger
Loyal readers of this blog know very well the name of Mikko Rankin Utevsky. The young violist, baritone and conductor is a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, where he studies with Pro Arte Quartet violist Sally Chisholm and conductor James Smith, plays in the UW Symphony Orchestra, and sings with the University Opera.
Utevsky, who has won awards and impressive reviews for his work in music education since his days at Madison’s East High School, is the founder and conductor of the Madison Area Youth Chamber Orchestra (MAYCO – www.MAYCO.org), which will perform its sixth season this summer. He also directs a local community orchestra, The Studio Orchestra (www.disso.org).
You can check out his many honors and projects by typing his name into the search engine on this blog site.
Utevsky offered The Ear a guest review of this past weekend’s performance of Mark Adamo’s “Little Women” by the Madison Opera.
I immediately took him up on the offer. After all, he is a fine and perceptive writer who, you may recall, blogged for this post when he was on tour with the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) tour to Vienna, Prague and Budapest.
Also, his latest venture was the successful recent launch of the Impresario Student Opera at the UW-Madison.
Here is the review by Mikko Utevsky (below) with production photos by James Gill for the Madison Opera:
By Mikko Rankin Utevsky
A great opera can be memorable in many ways. You might remember how you felt at the climaxes of the music, or walk out humming the Big Tune from the showstopper aria, or leave with an image fixed in your mind’s eye of the most dramatic moment in the first-act finale.
In an opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart or Giuseppe Verdi or Giacomo Puccini, you might remember all of these. But in American composer Mark Adamo’s debut opera, “Little Women,” there’s nothing to remember — no great moving moments, no thrilling stage pictures, no hummable tunes.
There are motifs, certainly, and recurring lines. But “Things change, Jo” (song by acclaimed mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato in the YouTube video at the bottom) can hardly hold a candle to “O soave fanciulla” in Puccini’s “La Bohème,” the first-act Trio in Mozart’s “Figaro,” the parents’ sextet in Jake Heggie‘s “Dead Man Walking,” or the quartet from Verdi’s “Rigoletto.”
It’s all technically correct, but it’s not great opera — neither great storytelling nor great music.
I left the Sunday performance by Madison Opera with the unshakeable feeling that Adamo’s score had been performed far better than it deserved.
Part of the problem is that Mark Adamo (below) is too clever for his own good. The libretto, from the classic 19th-century American novel by Louisa May Alcott, is stronger than the music — never quite moving, but full of evocative and witty phrases.
The music displays a clear command of naturalistic settings of the text, rising to peaks when it should and creating compelling atmosphere. But it always seems to pull back just when a lyrical melody might break forth, or when an emotional climax draws near.
Several times he uses the gambit of two conversations on stage at the same time, talking about the same things. But the pacing is never quite right, and the unison lines are predictable and trite rather than powerful. He lacks the confidence to let people talk over one another unless we’ve already heard half of the lines. (Whether the lack of trust is in the audience or stems from his own compositional skill is a matter of conjecture.)
The dramatic and musical tricks are all “correct” — Adamo knows his business — but none of them make an emotional impact, a point driven home by their success in last season’s “Dead Man Walking,” which employs all the same devices to far greater effect. When the opening scene came back at the end of the show, I was ready to walk out. Enough already!
It is a sad fact that the most moving part of the whole affair was only half Adamo’s — a setting of Goethe’s “Kennst du das Land” (Do You Know the Land) thrown into the second act that almost approached melody, and tugged at the heartstrings in a way no other scene of the opera managed to do.
Beth’s death scene – below top with Chelsea Morris Shephard as Beth (left) and Heather Johnson as Jo — was a close second, admittedly.
And the lovely wedding vow — below bottom with, from left, Alexander Elliott as John Brooke; Courtney Miller as Meg; Rick Henslin as Gideon March; Elizabeth Hagedorn as Alma March — was marred only by Rick Henslin’s intonation.
The minimal set cheated the opera out of the lush visual setting it deserved. If the realism of the story had been played up, with painted walls and structures, the human elements of the story might have been more believable in a setting that doesn’t feel as though a strong wind might knock it all down.
Instead, a few flown-in flats with cheap-looking projections stood in for the occasional wall, and some rather cool shifting images on the scrim in front of the orchestra highlighted the apparent supernatural elements of the story — not that I thought there were supposed to be any in “Little Women.”
This is not to say the visuals were all misses — costumes, wigs, and makeup (Karen Brown-Larimore and Jan Ross) were excellent, particularly in establishing distinctive characterizations for the four sisters, who could easily have been hard to tell apart in a less careful production.
The ghostly vocal quartet that opens the opera — and haunts various scenes in the middle, although I’m told they were intended to be offstage — felt like nothing so much as discount Eric Whitacre: cascading clusters and whole-tone scales with no particular narrative purpose, illuminating nothing about the plot. I did find myself wondering if we were supposed to think Jo had gone insane, between that and the drifting projections on the set, but I’m sure that wasn’t the intended effect.
Despite all this, the voices themselves were superb, and married to strong acting skills to boot. Time and again Madison Opera has shown a knack for finding up-and-coming young singers with tremendous talent, and this cast was no exception.
The four Little Women themselves (below, from left, with Eric Neuville as Laurie; Courtney Miller as Meg, Heather Johnson as Jo; Chelsea Morris Shephard as Beth; Jeni Houser as Amy), aided by sure-handed direction from Candace Evans, mustered warm, credible camaraderie and sisterly love.
They, and their paramours, baritone Alexander Elliot and tenor Eric Neuville, all displayed rich and even vocalism, with clear and precise English diction rendering the supertitles mostly superfluous.
As the aloof Aunt March and the mother Alma, Brenda Harris and UW-Madison guest professor Elizabeth Hagedorn were secure and confident in their roles as well.
As the German teacher Friedrich Bhaer (below left, with Heather Johnson as Jo), Craig Verm’s accent faded in and out, but his aria, the aforementioned setting of Goethe’s famous “Kennst du das Land,” was the highlight of the show despite this.
Guest conductor Kyle Knox (below), a graduate student at the UW-Madison, led musicians of the Madison Symphony Orchestra capably through a score mired in complexity and made the result sound natural — not an easy feat.
I admire general director Katherine Smith (below) and the Madison Opera for taking a chance on contemporary American opera, and I dearly hope they do so again next season, and the season after that.
In a tremendously conservative industry, it takes guts to put on something by a living composer when everyone else is picking the safe options to sell out the house. And I’d rather see a contemporary opera and hate it than sit through a mediocre “Bohème” (though this fall’s “Bohème” by the Madison Opera was quite excellent).
Modern opera is a gamble, both for the box office and for the musicians. Sometimes you find “Dead Man Walking.” And sometimes you don’t. I hope the next contemporary piece to grace the Capitol Theater stage is one for the ages, even if this one, well, wasn’t.
NOTE: For purposes of comparison, here are links to two other reviews of the Madison Opera’s production of “Little Women”:
This is the review John W. Barker wrote for Isthmus:
http://isthmus.com/arts/stage/madison-opera-little-women/
And this is the review by Greg Hettmansberger, who writes for Madison Magazine and now has his own blog WhatGregSays as well as monthly appearances on WISC-TV:
https://whatgregsays.wordpress.com/2016/02/06/madison-opera-stands-tall-for-little-women/
And here is a link to an interview with Mark Adamo:
Tags: American composers, American music, Arts, Classical music, Dead Man Walking, Giuseppe Verdi, Greg Hettmansberger, Isthmus, Jacob Stockinger, Jake Heggie, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, John W. Barker, Joyce DiDonato, Kyle Knox, La bohème, Madison, Madison Magazine, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Marriage of Figaro, Mozart, Music, opera, Orchestra, Overture Center, Puccini, Rigoletto, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Verdi, vocal music, WISC-TV, Wisconsin, YouTube
Classical music: Why is opera composer Giuseppe Verdi so important on his 200th birthday? Ask NPR.
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By Jacob Stockinger
This past Thursday marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Giuseppe Verdi, the great 19th-century Italian opera composer (below, in a photo).
During this bicentennial year, you will probably get to hear and read many different evaluations of Verdi and why his contributions to opera, and to classical music and drama in general, remain so important after two centuries.
But I don’t think I have ever come across better or more accessible and convincing explanations than I found – and heard – this week on NPR’s terrific blog “Deceptive Cadence.”
Below are various links plus, at the bottom, a long and popular YouTube of highlights from Verdi’s enormous body of work.
Here is a link to a story about how Verdi managed to incorporate controversial and socially problematic plots – such as his sympathetic treatment of a prostitute in”La Traviata” — into his operas, and how brave it was of him to do so. Acclaimed conductor John Mauceri spoke with “All Things Considered” co-host Robert Siegel.
Here is another link to a story about how Verdi’s subject matter still touches on human nature today and our contemporary psyche. It uses “Rigoletto” as an example:
And finally, here is a quiz with which you can test your own knowledge about Verdi:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2013/10/09/230068774/act-like-you-know-giuseppe-verdi
What do you think is Verdi’s most enduring legacy?
Which is your favorite Verdi opera and why?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: Classical music, drama, Giuseppe Verdi, Italian opera, Jacob Stockinger, John Mauceri, La Traviata, NPR, opera, Rigoletto, Robert Siegel, Verdi, YouTube
Classical music: Which opera villain would Vladimir Putin be? Plus, the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s last performance of its acclaimed opening concert is TODAY at 2:30 p.m.
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A REMINDER: The last performance of the season-opening concert by Madison Symphony Orchestra (below in a photo by Greg Anderson) takes place at 2:30 p.m. today in Overture Hall. The program of Aaron Copland’s dance suite “Appalachian Spring,” Richard Wagner‘s “Love Death” (Liebestod) from the opera “Tristan und Isolde” and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov‘s symphonic tone poem “Scheherazade” celebrates the 20th anniversary of conductor John DeMain‘s tenure. And the performances have received rave reviews. Here are links to reviews by John W. Barker of Isthmus and Greg Hettmansberger of Madison Magazine:
http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=41041&sid=7853c5de52499cbd8d735576acaa10e0
By Jacob Stockinger
You may recall that last weekend I asked whether we should boycott the performances and recordings of superstar soprano Anna Netrebko (below top) and globe-trotting conductor Valery Gergiev (below bottom) because they supported the election of Vladimir Putin, the thuggish former KGB agent who is the scheming and vicious President of Russia.
There is a lot to complain about Vladimir Putin (below, pictured on a poster in a pro-=gay rights protest) and his record of injustice, human rights and political intrigues. In particular, putting aside questions of Syria and internal Russian dissent, I chastised Netrebko and Gergiev for not standing up to and not speaking out about Putin’s support of extremely harsh and oppressive anti-gay laws in Russia, especially both musicians no doubt work with and depend on gay and lesbian colleagues in performing artists.
The comments led to some pretty heated responses from various readers.
Here is a link so you can see for yourself:
Then a god friend and loyal, knowledgeable reader of the blog, who is on a bicycling tour of Hungary, checked in and sent on a link to a piece about how opera houses – including the famed Metropolitan Opera in New York City — have been asked to sign petitions and at least dedicate their opening night performances against Putin and his supporters.
The Met’s general director Peter Gelb (below) refused, pleading that the arts are separate from politics, and some other opera leaders agreed with him. Well, what do you expect from management?
Here is a link to that fascinating story in the Wall Street Journal:
The whole idea of Vladimir Putin (below) as an opera villain got me thinking: Which villain in the opera repertoire best parallels or embodies Vladimir Putin, seen as a parody of himself as a real-life bare-chested macho man in the photo below top? (The beef-cakey baritone Nathan Gunn, below bottom) would be an ideal choice to cast int the role no?)
Could Putin be the infamous Scarpia (below, as sung by Dmitri Hvorostovsky in a popular YouTube video) who tortures and kills opponents in Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca”?
Could he be the notorious Duke of Mantua who betrays his friend in Giuseppe Verdi’s “Rigoletto”?
Or maybe Mephistopheles in Charles Gounod’s “Faust”?
Perhaps Modeste Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov as leader who runs astray of the law and the people?
And there many other villain who kill, torture and betray.
In fact, to help you decide here is a list – by no means complete – of the Top 10 opera villains as provided by the famed radio station WQXR FM in New York City.
http://www.wqxr.org/#!/story/167716-top-10-opera-villains/
Maybe you can think of others?
And just maybe we will see a contemporary opera composed that is based on Putin. Why not, The Ear asks, since recently world premiere of a commissioned opera ‘”Anna Nicole” based on the glittery and totally superficial life of the trashy Anna Nicole Smith recently took place at the Royal Opera in London?
Anyway, which opera villain do you think best embodies Vladimir Putin?
And could the real Vladimir Putin himself serve as a villainous role in a new and contemporary opera?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: Aaron Copland, Anna Netrebko, Appalachian Spring, Charles Gounod, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Faust, gay, Gay Lesbian and Bisexual, gay rights, Giuseppe Verdi, human rights, John DeMain, lesbian, Liebestod, Love-Death, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera, Modeste Mussorgsky, Nathan Gunn, New York City, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Overture Center, Peter Gelb, protest, Putin, Richard Wagner, Rigoletto, Russia, Syria, Tosca, Tristan und Isolde, Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Putin, YouTube
Classical music: Critic John W. Barker tells his sideswiped “Tale of Two Concerts” as he reviews the Isthmus Vocal Ensemble and pianist Frank Glazer.
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By Jacob Stockinger
Here is a special posting, a review written by frequent guest critic and writer for this blog, John W. Barker. Barker (below) is an emeritus professor of Medieval history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also is a well-known classical music critic who writes for Isthmus and the American Record Guide, and who hosts an early music show every other Sunday morning on WORT 88.9 FM. He serves on the Board of Advisors for the Madison Early Music Festival and frequently gives pre-concert lectures in Madison.
By John W. Barker
A funny thing happened on my way to a concert commitment—a funny and increasingly all-too-familiar thing.
I agreed to do this review of the concert by the Isthmus Vocal Ensemble (below top) last Sunday. (It had to be Sunday afternoon, because another cultural commitment prevented me from attending the first performance of their program on Friday.) But then I discovered that Farley’s House of Pianos was presenting a recital by the seemingly immortal Frank Glazer(below bottom), that same afternoon.
That opened the wound I carry from having had to miss his last appearance in Madison two years ago—again, for the same reason of schedule conflict! That’s Madison’s musical life for you, over and over again, now even in the summer.
Fortunately, however, this situation was less the usual head-on collision in schedule and more of a side-swipe. The choral concert was at 3 p.m., the piano recital at 4:30 p.m. That fact made it almost possible to be at two places at once, thank goodness.
Attending each concert has had personal reasons for me. In the case of the Isthmus Vocal Ensemble, the issue was my recognition of guilt.
The group’s director, Scott MacPherson (below) — a credit to UW School of Music background — founded the organization in 2002, drawing together some 35 passionate devotees of choral singing for the sole purpose of presenting a concert in Madison each summer.
That allowed MacPherson to maintain an important tie to this city, while holding professional positions elsewhere, and it gave wonderful performing experience to singers here devoted to him.
It also created an annual audience in Madison that allowed the group to move from one performance to two of each year’s program.
And yet–here comes the guilt–through all these seasons, for whatever reasons (excusable or otherwise), I have failed to attend any one of the IVE’s concerts. Clearly it has been a loss on my part, one to be made up.
Both performances this years were in ample church venues: the Friday night one in Luther Memorial Church, the one on Sunday afternoon, which I attended, at Covenant Presbyterian.
The first half of the program offered what might be called a “classical” sequence. The opener was a three-section setting for eight voices of Psalm 150, in French, by Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621), who compose and published polyphonic settings of all the Psalms.
MacPherson deliberately positioned the singers in the usual SATB (soprano-alto-tenor-bass) spread, rather than dividing them into two distinct choirs, to stress eight-voice integration over the antiphonal effects Sweelinck used so flexibly. But for the next two units the singers shifted about in fact into separate choirs. And the resulting antiphonal effects were simply glorious.
The motet “Ich lasse dich nicht” is a beloved and much-recorded work long attributed to Johann Christoph Bach (1642-1703), a relative of Johann Sebastian Bach. The latter is known to have used the piece in his Leipzig repertoire, and scholars now are inclined to award its composition to J.S. himself. (Personally, I am still inclined to the older attribution.)
Among its fascinations are the juxtaposition of a chorale sung by one section against the contrapuntal workings of the rest of the choir. Hearing that wonderful effect after the Sweelinck work gave a clear contrast in the seductive elegance of the Calvinist Psalm idiom as against the four-square assertiveness of the German Lutheran chorale style.
The latter style was given a new twist in a rarely heard work for double choir by Brahms (below), the “Fest und Gedenksprüche,” composed in thanks for an honor accorded him by his natal city of Hamburg. Brahms was not only a professional choir director, but a pioneering booster and editor of early Baroque choral music, whose style he could assimilate and recast in his own distinctive way in these settings of three Scriptural texts.
The first half of the program ended–after another shift in the singers’ positions–with an arrangement for 16 voices made by one Clytus Gottwald of a single one (“Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen”) from the “Rückert-Lieder” for solo voice and orchestra by Gustav Mahler (below). The texture for, in effect, four four-part choirs, resulted in a density of sound that virtually obliterated the all-important text, producing a purely choral sound that completely left behind anything of Mahler’s intentions or musical character. This should have been called a “motet after Mahler” rather than identifed as somehow still his music.
The concert’s second part shifted to music of our times. One does not even require the fact that 2013 marks the centennial of Benjamin Britten’s birth to justify presenting any of his important choral contributions. This one, his “Hymn to Saint Peter,” sets a combination of English and Latin Scriptural texts celebrating Peter as the “rock” on which the Church was founded–an echo of the claims of the Roman Church that might not have been expected someone grounded in Anglican Church background.
The Anglican tradition (also involving organ accompaniment of the choir) was even more directly evoked by “The Canticle of Brother Sun,” a text attributed to St. Francis of Assisi and colorfully set by British composer Grayston Ives.
By way of intermezzo, the organist Kathrine Handford (below top) played a lively Dance-Rondo for her instrument. Then came a composition of a UW-trained Wisconsin composer, Linda Kachelmeier (below bottom), in which words of the Good Friday responsory “O vos omnes” and of the “Stabat Mater” Sequence were glommed together in a great choral blur, to some extent surmounted by the lovely voiced mezzo-soprano Sarah Leuwerke in the piece’s solo part.
The official finale was a setting by Haitian-American composer Sydney Guillaume (below) of a text about competing drummers. Nominally in French, this text really serves onomatopoeic purposes in suggesting the exuberant rhythms of Caribbean dance. As an encore, the choir sang a nostalgia-drenched arrangement of “Shenandoah.”
As may be concluded, not all of the program choices were ones I would have made. But I am grateful to MacPherson for allowing me the chance to hear them. Even more, I am delighted to express admiration for his extraordinary group. For this pair of concerts, he doubled its normal number to 70, in view of the demands of the selections. (I could spot a number of familiar Madison musicians among his “ringers.”)
Whether he will continue this practice remains to be seen. But it is clear that he has a core group that is totally dedicated to working with him. Each year they spend a busy week of rehearsals leading to the concerts. From him they have learned remarkable discipline and flexibility in ensemble singing and in stylistic range. Perhaps above all, they just love working with him, and their joy in performance is quite evident.
In addition, I must express admiration for Scott MacPherson himself (below, conducting a rehearsal). Now based at Kent State University in Ohio, he has achieved a national reputation in choral music–as a conductor of great skill, a choir-builder of magnetism, and an enterprising explorer of choral literature old and new. An all-Wisconsin product, he was in his UW-Madison days an assistant and colleague to the revered Robert Fountain. I can imagine the time when Scott MacPherson’s reputation will at least equal that of Fountain, if not eclipse it.
Now, as the final applause for the Isthmus Vocal Ensemble swelled at 4:35 p.m., I dashed to my car and was able to arrive at Farley’s House of Pianos, having missed Haydn’s Sonata in E Minor and the bare beginning of Beethoven’s rarely heard “Phantasie,” Op. 77. That was followed by one of Beethoven’s “late” Piano Sonatas, No. 31 in E major, Op. 109. Both of these works display Beethoven’s constant straining of the forms and mentalities he inherited from his predecessors.
The second half brought a series of shifts. Samuel Barber’s four “Excursions” display a clever ability to inhabit convincingly the differing styles of jazz, blues, cowboy song, and ragtime. Then came the glittering world of Franz Liszt (below): his free-ranging “Petrarch Sonnet No. 104,” followed by the nature-picture of St. Francis preaching to the birds (“Franziscus Legende” No. 1). [St. Francis thus, coincidentally, linked the two concerts!]
And a final Lisztian showpiece, his “Paraphrase” on the quartet from Verdi’s opera “Rigoletto.”
After that, still more contrasts, in one of Liszt’s adaptations of dances by Schubert, No. 6 of the former’s “Soirées de Vienna” sets, as an encore.
Now, to the pianist. Frank Glazer (below) really one the most remarkable American musicians. Again, he is a Wisconsin native. Born in 1915, he is accordingly now 98. He has developed a sideline in writing and lecturing. He is still artist-in-residence at Bates College in Maine. And he is still actively performing!
I began collecting his early LP recordings in my student days, so for me he is a living legend. His tastes in repertoire have always been voracious, and they still are. He has been a continuing player in chamber-music groups, while his repertoire of solo piano music is astounding in its range. A list, circulated at this latest appearance, of a series of eight performances this past season at Bates demonstrates that range vividly. And it ends with a concert this past April in which he played, back-to-back, Beethoven’s cosmic “Diabelli” Variations and the herculean “Hammerklavier” Sonata–a feat comparable to doing two Mahler Symphonies on the same program (something, in fact, that Simon Rattle tried in his rambunctious earlier years).
Glazer’s attributes his resilience to exercise and mental self-discipline, but also to an early study of anatomy, so as to understand how to play with the least strain on his hands. I was able to watch his hands, if from a distance, and I think I could observe something of his very straight and level hand positions, which nevertheless allowed his fingers to range securely from the dazzling runs of Liszt to the power of Beethoven.
With the aid of a page-turner, Glazer played from printed music rather than from memory, but one could hardly fault him for that. Yes, here and there, a very tiny suggestion of a faltered note, but the technique was confident, and the stylistic sense always on point in whatever he played.
If you heard Glazer (below) blindfolded, you would take him for a player of maturity and insight. Up close, his complexion gives clues to his age, but, seen from a distance, his appearance and movements make him look hardly a day over fifty-five.
Frank Glazer is, in sum, a phenomenon. The ability of Tim and Renee Foley to fit him into their lineup of star performers for their incomparable recital events is a remarkable testimony to their reputation. And the splendid 1885 Steinway, so lovingly restored by the Foley technicians, and played by Glazer, was certainly no small draw to him, I would guess.
In all, it proved a memorable experience, allowing us to ponder over which is more remarkable — Glazer’s artistry or his longevity.
Tags: American Record Guide, Benjamin Britten, Choir, Early music, Frank Glazer, Franz Liszt, Giuseppe Verdi, Gustav Mahler, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Madison, Piano, Rückert-Lieder, Rigoletto, Samuel Barber, Singing, University of Wisconsin–Madison
Classical music: Is it an opera or a musical? Verdi’s operatic masterpiece “Rigoletto” travels to Las Vegas in the “Live in Hi-Def” broadcast by the Metropolitan Opera this Saturday afternoon. Plus, cellist Karl Lavine plays a FREE concert of Rachmaninoff on Friday at noon.
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ALERT: This week’s FREE Friday Noon Musicale, from 12:15 to 1 p.m. in the historic Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Landmark Auditorium of the First Unitarian Society, 900 University Bay Drive, features Madison Symphony’s Orchestra principal cellist Karl Lavine (below) and pianist Karen Boe in the music of Sergei Rachmaninoff.
By Jacob Stockinger
One of the all-time great opera masterpieces is Verdi’s “Rigoletto.”
In fact, one nationally famous opera expert – who had studied at the University of Wisconsin-Madison – once told me it was his top choice to see for people who didn’t yet know opera. (The Ear would have surely thought that his choice for a first-timer would be Puccini’s “La Boheme.” But, nooooo.) The inexperienced listener would surely fall in love with the art form of opera after experiencing “Rigoletto,” he claimed.
Well, no one can deny that the 1851 opera by Verdi (below) does have its share of great drama and great tunes, including the famed “La donna e mobile” and “Questa o quello” (at bottom in a YouTube video).
You can see and hear why the work is so great this Saturday afternoon when “Live From the Met in HD” will broadcast the newest production by the Metropolitan Opera of the classic work.
The live broadcast – complete with commentary and behind-the-scenes looks – will be at Point Cinemas on Madison’s west side and the Eastgate cinemas on Madison’s east side.
The show will begin at 11:55 CST and run about 3-1/2 hours. But seats often fill up quickly, and many audience members arrive at least one hour early to get the best seats or the ones they like.
The adventurous concept staging (below) updates the opera from 16th-century Italy, complete with a palace, duke and court jester, to mid-20th century Las Vegas, complete with show girls. The production has drawn some interesting and conflicting reviews. Is it really opera or a musical? some have asked.
So in preparation for going, you can look at these:
Here is a review by the senior critic for The New York Times, Anthony Tommasini (below), who spoke in Madison during the centennial celebration of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Pro Arte String Quartet:
And here is a review by Pulitzer Prize-winner Manuela Hoelterhoff (below), who now works for Bloomberg News but who used to work for the Wall Street Journal:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-30/las-vegas-welcomes-verdi-s-hunchback-at-met-review.html
Here is some background and context I found particularly interesting at boston.com:
http://www.boston.com/2013/01/23/fdd-entry-cont/AoBFnQeymje6Ie9FeF9BxI/story.html
And here is a link to the actual promos for “Rigoletto” at the website for “Live From the MET in HD.” It features video and audio samples as well as links to a synopsis, a cast list and other information:
http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/liveinhd/LiveinHD.aspx
What do you think of the new production? The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: Anthony Tommasini, Frank Lloyd Wright, Giuseppe Verdi, La bohème, Las Vegas, Madison, Metropolitan Opera, New York Times, Rigoletto, Verdi, YouTube
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The Well-Tempered Ear 