The Well-Tempered Ear

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

July 23, 2020
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By Jacob Stockinger

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

RELATED EVENTS include:

OPERA ON THE WALL | JULY 25, 2020 | ONLINE

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

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

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

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

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

 


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Classical music: The gala opening this weekend of the UW-Madison’s new Hamel Music Center is SOLD OUT. What do you think of the building, the music and the event? Plus, veteran music critic John W. Barker has died

October 25, 2019
7 Comments

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

ALERT: Word arrived late last night that the respected longtime music critic John W. Barker, a retired UW-Madison professor of medieval history, died Thursday morning. He wrote locally for Isthmus, The Capital Times and this blog. Details will be shared when they are known. 

By Jacob Stockinger

This weekend, Oct. 25-27, marks the official gala opening of the new Hamel Music Center (below, in a photo by Bryce Richter for University Communications) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Mead Witter School of Music. It is located at 740 University Ave., next to the new wing of the Chazen Museum of Art, which has a special exhibit relating to the new music center.

The impressive $58-million structure, which has taken many years to fund  (completely privately) and then to build, will celebrate its opening tonight, Saturday night (while the 14th annual Halloween FreakFest on State Street is happening) and Sunday afternoon.

The performers will include distinguished alumni, faculty members and students.

Here is a link to an overall schedule as published on the School of Music’s home website: https://www.music.wisc.edu/hamel-music-center-opening-schedule/

Thanks to an astute reader who found what The Ear couldn’t find, here is a complete schedule — long, varied and impressive — of works and performers: https://www.music.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/20191025-Hamel-Music-Center-Opening-Weekend.pdf

And here is a link to the official UW-Madison press release with more background and details about the building: https://news.wisc.edu/mead-witter-school-of-musics-hamel-music-center-opening-this-fall/

UW-Madison composer Laura Schwendinger (below) has been commissioned to write a Fanfare that will receive its world premiere tonight.

The opening promises to be a success, complete with receptions at the end of each performance.

In fact, the public has signed on enough that the FREE tickets to all events are SOLD OUT, according to the School of Music’s home website.

Taste is personal and varies, and The Ear has heard mixed reviews of the new building. (For the special occasion, you can hear “The Consecration of the House” Overture by Beethoven, performed by the La Scala opera house orchestra in Milan under Riccardo Muti, in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

Basically, people seem to agree that the acoustics are much improved over Mills Hall and Morphy Recital Hall in the old Humanities Building.

But public opinion seems more divided over other aspects, from the overall external architecture and interior design to the smaller size of the big hall, the seats and seating layout, and the restrooms.

So if you go – or have already gone – let the rest of us know what you think about those various aspects of the new building and about the various performers and programs.

As a warm-up preview, here are photos of the main halls or spaces, all taken by Bryce Richter for University Communications:

Here is the 660-seat Mead Witter Concert Hall:

Here is the 300-seat Collins Recital Hall:

And here is the Lee/Kaufman Rehearsal Hall:

But what do you say? You be the critic.

The Ear and others hope to see COMMENTS from listeners and especially performers. What is it like to perform there? Or to sit and listen?

What does the public think of the new building and concert halls? Are you satisfied? What do you like and what don’t you like?

Should some things have been done – or not done – in your opinion?

Does the building and do the concert halls live up to the expectations and hype?

The Ear wants to hear.


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Classical music: Free Hymn Sings by the Madison Symphony Orchestra are in Overture Hall on this Saturday and Dec. 1.

November 15, 2013
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By Jacob Stockinger

The Madison Symphony Orchestra (MSO) will present two free Hymn Sings to the public in Overture Hall in the Overture Center, 201 State Street: on this Saturday, Nov. 16, at 11 a.m.; and on Sunday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m.

All ages are welcome to join in singing hymns with music provided live on the impressive Overture Hall Concert Organ (below), originally the gift of Pleasant T. Rowland.

Organist Joe Chrisman of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Madison will perform on Nov. 16; and MSO organist and curator Sam Hutchison will perform at the Christmas Carol Sing on Dec. 1.

Overture Concert Organ overview

No tickets or reservations are needed for the Hymn Sings.  Each event takes place in Overture Hall and lasts 45 minutes to one hour. 

With a gift from the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation, the Madison Symphony Orchestra commissioned the Overture Concert Organ, which is the stunning backdrop of all MSO concerts.

MSO Principal Organist, Samuel Hutchison (below, in a photo by Joe DeMaio), programs and curates it.

Sam Hutchison with organ (c) JoeDeMaio

In addition to the Free Farmers’ Market Concerts, the instrument is featured in the MSO Christmas and April 2014 concerts along with three Free Community Hymn Sings and a Christmas Carol Sing.

See details for all organ performances at www.madisonsymphony.org/organperformances.

Support for Concert Organ programs is provided by the Diane Endres Ballweg Fund.  Other organ contributors include the Malmquist Family, two Anonymous Donors, and annual gifts from Friends of the Overture Concert Organ.  For more information please contact the MSO at (608) 257-3734 or info@madisonsymphony.org


Classical music: Can anyone tell The Ear what has happened to The Exclusive Company on State Street?

January 20, 2013
10 Comments

By Jacob Stockinger

There is no phone message when you call.

Nothing saying “This number is disconnected” or “This number has been changed to so-and-so.”

Just an endless busy signal.

But there is no business.

There is no sign in the window, either.

It’s obvious that The Exclusive Company store at 508 State Street, in downtown Madison, has been closed for a while, probably since Jan. 1. Just look at the recent photos of the exterior and the of the interior, which is being gutted and renovated. 

Here are the old and new exteriors:

Exclusive Company exterior STATE ST

Exclusive Compnay closes 1

And here are the old and new interiors:

Exclusive Company interior State St

Exclusive company closes 4

When I last checked into the future of the store, the ever helpful manager told me it would be moving to another Madison location away from State Street. And I posted a story about it. Here is a link:

https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2012/11/11/classical-music-the-exclusive-company-on-state-street-is-moving-but-not-going-out-of-business/

And here is a later story from the Wisconsin State Journal with more background but still no hard info about the store’s future:

http://host.madison.com/business/the-exclusive-co-state-street-s-last-full-line-record/article_4153594e-32b2-11e2-97c3-001a4bcf887a.html

Since then, I can’t find out anything.

Even when you visit the Exclusive Company’s statewide website, the old store — with its old address, old phone number and old hours — is still listed. What is the point of having a website if it isn’t updated with current information?

http://www.exclusivecompany.com/Section/Locations/index.html

It’s a shame. The store, which sold classical, pop, rock, jazz, folk, world and other music, was around for 24 years. And for 24 years I did business there, especially enjoying the great classical selection when the late Charles Lunde (below) ran the classical section.

Exclusive Co outside with Lunde

All the time I loved doing business there.

And I still want to do business with the store, wherever it is.

But I need something to go on.

A new phone number.

A new address.

A date for opening.

Or even a confirmation that it is gone for good, like the other Exclusive company store on the far west side that closed three years ago.

In the meantime, another store — the Earthbound Trading Company — is going to move into the location and it looks like it will be pretty soon, my guess is in late January or early February.

Exclusive Company closes 3

Exclusive company close 5

So can anyone help me learn the future — if there is one — of the lasting remaining  Exclusive Company store in Madison? A reader? A worker in another branch?

The Ear wants to hear.


Classical music: The Exclusive Company on State Street is moving, but NOT going out of business. And WYSO holds a benefit Wednesday night with the Pro Arte String Quartet.

November 11, 2012
2 Comments

ALERT: This Wednesday evening, the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras will host a fundraising benefit concert of chamber music by the renowned Pro Arte Quartet (below, in a photo by Rick Langer) to benefit the WYSO scholarship program. Founded in Brussels in 1912, the original Pro Arte Quartet served as court musicians for Queen Elizabeth of Belgium and traveled the world performing both modern and classical pieces. In 1940, while on a 10-day performance run at the Wisconsin Union Theater, the musicians were stranded in the United States by the outbreak of World War II and accepted a residency at the UW-Madison. They are believed to be the oldest continually performing string quartet in the world. The event is from 6-8 p.m. at the Blackhawk Country Club. Tickets are $50 each. Guests will be treated to hors d’oeuvres and will receive two complimentary drink tickets. The Pro Arte Quartet performance of music by Haydn, Schubert and John Harbison is to begin at 6:45 p.m. All proceeds will directly benefit WYSO students in need, providing tuition assistance for orchestra membership, the Chamber Music Program and private lessons. You can make reservations at the WYSO office at 608 263-3320 x10 or wyso@wyso.music.wisc.edu

By Jacob Stockinger

A good friend recently announced – with some alarm in his voice – that he saw that The Exclusive Company (below) at 508 State Street (phone 608 255-2433) was going out of business.

That would be too bad, thought the Ear, who shops there but had heard nothing about it. That longtime landmark store is one of the last remaining brick-and-mortar bastions of classical music in Madison. Even Barnes and Noble has cut back to the point of leaving consumers littler choice other than on-line places such as Amazon.com or Archivmusic.com.

So The Ear headed down to State Street to check it out.

Turns out that the storefront windows all have been papered over with messages that are easy to misread as a Going Out of Business SALE.

True, the store has cut back a lot on classics, especially since the days when the late Chuck Lunde (at bottom) headed up the classical department and had most of the basement to display his extensive stock.

But going out of business now is not what is happening, according to those who run the store, the local franchise of a Wisconsin company that has seven other locations around the state. (A far West Side location in Madison closed three years ago.)

For more about the Exclusive Company, visit:

http://www.exclusivecompany.com

It turns out that the Exclusive Company has lost its State Street lease. For more than a year, apparently, the landlord has been looking to dramatically increase the rent, maybe even double it.

Last year, the Exclusive Company said it couldn’t pay that much, so it went on a month-to-month lease while the landlord searched for another tenant.

It took quite a while, but apparently a new occupant has finally been found who is willing to pay the rent increase.

And the Exclusive Company is still looking for another location, preferably near the current state Street location but that is also affordable. I will keep you informed about the new location when I find out more about it.



Until then, you can still find a fair amount of new and old classical releases on CDs and DVDs, to say nothing of used CDs and DVDs. And what you don’t find on the shelf, you can usually order without a long wait. At least that is what The Ear has found.


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