The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: Madison Opera travels to the jungle for the local premiere of the Spanish opera “Florencia en el Amazonas” this Friday night and Sunday afternoon
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By Jacob Stockinger
This weekend, the Madison Opera travels to the jungle to present the Madison premiere of Florencia en el Amazonas (with sets from the production by the Arizona Opera, below) by Daniel Catán on Friday night, April 27, at 8 p.m. and Sunday afternoon, April 29, at 2:30 p.m. in the Overture Hall at the Overture Center for the Arts, 201 State Street.
The opera will be sung in Spanish with English supertitles. Running time is 2 hours and 15 minutes with one intermission.
Tickets are $18-$130 with discounts available for students and groups. For more information about tickets and the production, go to www.madisonopera.org
Mexican composer Daniel Catan’s lush and accessible orchestral soundscape brings the Amazon River to life in this magical and mystical journey.
Set in South America at the turn of the 20th century, the story begins when Florencia Grimaldi, a famous opera singer, embarks anonymously on a voyage down the Amazon River to sing a concert in Manaus, Brazil.
She is traveling to the concert incognito; her real hope for the journey is to be reunited with the lover she left behind, a butterfly hunter.
On the boat with her are a young journalist, Rosalba, who is writing a biography of Grimaldi; a couple feeling the strain of their long marriage, Paula and Alvaro; the boat’s captain; the captain’s restless nephew, Arcadio, who falls in love with Rosalba; and a man who is a rather mystical presence, Riolobo.
Over the course of the journey, the passengers encounter a storm, piranha, and ultimately cholera.
“Florencia en el Amazons is simply gorgeous,” says Kathryn Smith (below, in a photo by James Gill), Madison Opera’s General Director. “I heard only wonderful things about it following its 1996 premiere, and when I saw the opera 10 years ago, I realized why audiences love it so much.
“The music is ravishing, the setting is physically beautiful, and the characters are fascinating. I am delighted to be presenting it in Madison, as part of our vision of sharing operas from all time periods and in all languages.”
Florencia was the third opera composed by Daniel Catán (below, in a photo by Gina Ferazzi for the Los Angeles Times) and the first Spanish-language opera to be commissioned by a major U.S. opera company. Houston Grand Opera premiered the work in 1996; it has since been performed across North America and Europe, with companies like Houston, Los Angeles, and Seattle producing it multiple times due to audience demand.
The opera’s libretto, while an original story, was inspired by the writings of the Nobel Prize-winning Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez (below) author of 100 Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera. Librettist Marcela Fuentes-Berain was a protégé of Márquez; according to Catán, he and Fuentes-Berain would show García Márquez parts of the libretto as they were finished. Elements of the author’s trademark magic realism pervade many parts of the opera.
Catán’s music was acclaimed for its lush writing. The New York Times said, “Mr. Catán’s writing for the voice is luxuriously lyrical; and he orchestrates with skill.” (You can hear the opera’s opening scene in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Catán wrote two more operas before dying at age 62 of a heart attack. At his sudden death in 2011, Plácido Domingo called him “one of the great opera composers of our time, beloved by audiences and especially by the musicians who had the privilege of performing his incredible work.”
“I am so happy to have the opportunity to perform this absolutely gorgeous opera,” says John DeMain (below, in a photo by Prasad), Madison Opera’s Artistic Director. “I had the pleasure of knowing Daniel Catán, and commissioned an orchestral suite from this opera for the Madison Symphony Orchestra, which we performed in 2003.
“We all were struck by the power and sweep of the music. This story of the power of love and music in all of our lives will be sung by a great cast of singers, and the orchestral fabric will lift audiences out of their seats and transport them to the magical world of the Amazon. This is an opera written in our time, with a musical score that will leave audiences wanting to hear it again and again.”
Madison Opera’s cast features a number of returning favorites. For revealing 10-question interviews with cast members, go to the MadOpera blog at: http://madisonopera.blogspot.com
Elizabeth Caballero (below) sings Florencia Grimaldi, a role she has sung for New York City Opera and Nashville Opera. The Cuban-American soprano debuted with Madison Opera at Opera in the Park in 2007 and returned in Carmen, La Traviata,and Don Giovanni. Last month, she sang Mimì in La Bohème at the Metropolitan Opera.
Rachel Sterrenberg sings the journalist Rosalba; she debuted in Charlie Parker’s Yardbird here last season.
Adriana Zabala (below), who sang in The Tales of Hoffmann and at last summer’s Opera in the Park, sings Paula, a role she has also sung at San Diego Opera and Arizona Opera.
Nmon Ford (below, in a photo by Guy Madmoni), who sang Scarpia in Tosca with Madison Opera in 2013, sings the mysterious Riolobo.
Mackenzie Whitney, who debuted as Rodolfo in La Bohème with Madison Opera in 2015, returns as Arcadio, the Captain’s nephew. Levi Hernandez, who debuted in The Magic Flute here in 2005, returns as Alvaro. Bass Ashraf Sewailam (below) makes his Madison Opera debut as the Captain of the El Dorado.
Kristine McIntyre (below) returns to direct this Madison Opera premiere. She has directed many successful productions for Madison Opera, including Dead Man Walking and The Tales of Hoffmann. Recent work includes productions at Pittsburgh Opera, Utah Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, and Kentucky Opera.
The production prominently features members of Kanopy Dance Company, playing spirits of the river. Lisa A. Thurrell, co-artistic director of Kanopy, has created choreography for her dancers and this production.
The set (below) comes from Arizona Opera, with costumes designed by Madison Opera’s Karen Brown-Larimore, who designed the costumes for The Abduction from the Seraglio in February.
As always, the opera features the Madison Opera Chorus and the Madison Symphony Orchestra.
Madison Opera’s production of “Florencia en el Amazons” is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, Thompson Investment Management, Inc., Carla and Fernando Alvarado, Thomas Terry, the Ann Stanke Fund, Kennedy Gilchrist and Heidi Wilde, and Charles Snowdon and Ann Lindsey.
Tags: #AbductionFromtheSeraglio, #AmazonRiver, #ArizonaOpera, #ChadHutchinson, #CharlieParker'sYardbird, #ChoralMusic, #ClaudeDebussy, #Cuban-American, #DanielCatan, #DonGiovanni, #EnglishLanguage, #FlorenciaenelAmazonas, #GabrielGarciaMarquez, #GeorgesBizet, #GiacomoPuccini, #GiuseppeVerdi, #HoustonGrandOpera, #JacquesOffenbach, #JohannesBrahms, #JohnDeMain, #KanopyDanceCompany, #KathrynSmith, #KristineMcIntyre, #LaBoheme, #LaTraviata, #LosAngeles, #LoveintheTimeofCholera, #MadisonOpera, #MadisonOperaChorus, #MadisonSymphonyChorus, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #magicrealism, #MarcellaFuentes-Berain, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MetropolitanOpera, #MexicanMusic, #MexicanOpera, #NashvilleOpera, #NationalEndowmentfortheArts, #NewYorkCityOpera, #NobelPrize, #NorthAmerica, #OneHundredYearsofSolitude, #OperaInThePark, #PlacidoDomingo, #SanDiegoOpera, #SpanishLanguage, #StephenShewan, #TheMagicFlute, #TheMet, #TheNewYorkTImes, #TheTalesofHoffmann, #UniversityofWisconsin, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UWSymphonyOrchestra, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, Abduction From the Seraglio, accessible, Arizona Opera, Arts, Bach, Baroque, beautiful, Beethoven, biography, blog, boat, Brahms, Brazil, butterfly, captain, Carmen, cholera, choral music, Classical music, composer, Concert, costume, Cuban, dance, dancer, Daniel Catan, Debussy, Don Giovanni, Europe, Franz Schubert, free, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Houston, investment, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John DeMain, journalism, journalist, journey, jungle, Kristine McIntyre, La bohème, La Traviata, language, libretto, lives, Los Angeles, Love, lover, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Marriage, Mexico, Mozart, Music, mystical, Nashville Opera, New York City Opera, New York Times, opera, Opera in the Park, Orchestra, Overture Center, Piano, piranha, Plácido Domingo, power, Seattle, set, Sonata, Stephen Shewan, storm, strain, supertitle, surtitle, symphony, The Magic Flute, The Tales of Hoffmann, tickets, time, Tosca, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, vocal music, voyage, weekend, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube
Classical music: Madison Opera will stage its first-ever production of Mozart’s “The Abduction from the Seraglio” this Friday night and Sunday afternoon
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By Jacob Stockinger
This weekend, the Madison Opera presents The Abduction from the Seraglio by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on Friday, Feb. 9, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 11, at 2:30 p.m. in the Capitol Theater at the Overture Center for the Arts, 201 State Street.
According to a press release, the opera — below is a mock-up of the locally designed and constructed set — will be sung in German with English used for dialogue and in the translated supertitles above the stage. Running time is about 2-1/2 hours with one intermission.
Tickets are $25-$114 with student and group discounts available. Call the Overture Box Office at (608) 258-4141 or visit www.madisonopera.org
With some of the most virtuosic vocal writing by Mozart (below), the opera is an adventure story of love, danger, humor and humanity.
Set in the 17th-century Ottoman Empire, the opera begins when Belmonte, a Spanish nobleman, arrives at Pasha Selim’s palace to rescue three people who had been captured during a shipwreck: his fiancée, Konstanze, and their servants, Blonde and Pedrillo.
A simple escape proves no easy task, and Mozart’s masterpiece weaves together comedy, quiet reflection and youthful optimism, with a happy ending brought about by an Enlightened ruler.
“Abduction is a simply marvelous opera,” says Kathryn Smith (below, in a photo by James Gill), Madison Opera’s general director who will give free pre-performance talks in the third-floor Wisconsin Studio at 7 p.m. on Friday night and 1:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. “It’s the opera with which Mozart started to reinvent opera, with not only the expected arias, but also brilliant ensemble work. The very real humanity of the piece – its funny parts, its moving parts and the universal truth of the ending – is extraordinary.”
The Abduction from the Seraglio (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) was Mozart’s first major success. Written for the National Singspiel in Vienna – a pet project of Emperor Joseph II – it premiered in 1782 and was an immediate hit. (You can hear the familiar and captivating Overture in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Like all singspiels, the opera uses spoken dialogue; indeed, the critical role of Pasha Selim is entirely spoken, perhaps one of the few instances of a major opera character not singing a note. In Madison, the dialogue will be performed in English, with the music sung in German (with projected English translations).
With a libretto by Johann Gottlieb Stephanie the Younger – an unauthorized adaptation of a libretto by Christoph Friedrich Breztner – Abduction was one the first successful German-language operas.
It was immortalized in the film Amadeus, and is famous for a possibly apocryphal story in which Emperor Joseph II criticized the work, saying to Mozart, “Too many notes,” and Mozart responded, “Exactly as many as needed.”
Abduction would go on to become Mozart’s most popular opera during his lifetime, but it has been a comparative rarity in the United States. This is Madison Opera’s first production of the opera in the company’s 57-year history.
“Mozart’s music for Abduction is a delight from start to finish,” says John DeMain (below, in a photo by Prasad), Madison Opera’s artistic director and conductor. “Great – and at times excitingly challenging – arias are enhanced by beautiful duets, trios and quartets. It has always been a favorite opera of mine, and I’m so looking forward to Madison Opera’s first production of this masterpiece with an absolutely knockout cast of great young singers.”
Mozart’s phenomenal vocal writing requires a strong team of five singers, and Madison Opera’s cast features a number of returning favorites.
Amanda Woodbury (below) sings the Spanish noblewoman Konstanze, whose aria “Martern aller Arten” is one of the most challenging arias ever written. Woodbury debuted with Madison Opera as Pamina in The Magic Flute last spring, and has recently sung leading roles for the Metropolitan Opera and Los Angeles Opera.
Tenor David Walton (below) sings Belmonte, Konstanze’s fiancé; he debuted at Opera in the Park this past summer, has sung many leading roles for Minnesota Opera, and sings at the Glimmerglass Festival this summer.
Matt Boehler (below) returns as Osmin, the palace overseer with some devilishly low bass notes. He sang Rocco in Fidelio and Leporello in Don Giovanni for Madison Opera, and more recently has sung with Minnesota Opera, Opera Philadelphia, and the Canadian Opera Company.
Konstanze and Belmonte’s servants, Blonde and Pedrillo, are sung by Ashly Neumann(below top) in her Madison Opera debut and Wisconsin native Eric Neuville (below bottom), who sang Laurie in Little Women for Madison Opera.
Alison Mortiz (below) directs this new production in her debut with Madison Opera. Moritz has directed at opera companies around the United States, including Central City Opera, Tulsa Opera and Tri-Cities Opera.
The sets and costumes (below) are locally made specifically for this production.
The scenery and lighting are designed by Anshuman Bhatia, also in his Madison Opera debut, with costumes designed by Karen Brown-Larimore. As always, the opera features the Madison Opera Chorus and the Madison Symphony Orchestra.
Madison Opera’s production of The Abduction from the Seraglio is sponsored by Kay and Martin Barrett, Fran Klos, Sally and Mike Miley, and the Wisconsin Arts Board.
Tags: "Amadeus", #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonOpera, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MetropolitanOpera, #MinnesotaOpera, #OperaInThePark, #TheMet, #UnitedStates, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, Abduction From the Seraglio, adventure, afternoon, Alison Mortiz, America, aria, Artistic director, Arts, bass, Beethoven, Canada, Canadian Opera Company, Capitol, captivating, cast, character, choral music, chorus, cinema, Classical music, comedy, conductor, construct, danger, debut, design, Devil, dialogue, director, Don Giovanni, duet, Emperor, empire, ending, English, enlightenend, Enlightenment, ensemble, escape, familiar, festival, fiancee, Fidelio, film, Friday, funny, General director, German, Glimmerglass, group, happy', humanity, Humor, intermission, Jacob Stockinger, John DeMain, Kathryn Smith, language, libretto, lighting, Little Women, local, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Opera, Love, low, Madison, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra, masterpiece, Metropolitan Opera, Minnesota Opera, movie, Mozart, Music, native, New York City, night, nobleman, noblewoman, notes, opera, Opera Philadelphia, optimism, Orchestra, Ottoman, Ottoman Empire, Overture, Overture Center, People, popular, premiere, press, press release, production, Quartet, quiet, rarity, reflection, rescue, ruler, running time, scenery, servant, set, sets, shipwreck, singer, singspiel, Spanish, spoken, stage, story, Student, success, Sunday, supertitle, surtitle, team, The Magic Flute, the Met, theater, ticket, translation, trio, truth, United States, universal, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Vienna, virtuoso, vocal music, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Arts Board, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, work, writing, young, youthful, YouTube
Classical music: On Saturday “The MET Live in HD” will feature Mozart’s opera “The Magic Flute.” Also, UW trombonist Mark Hetzler’s concert is TONIGHT (NOT Saturday) as is a concert of Mozart’s music for piano-four hands
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CORRECTION: The Stravinsky concert by UW trombone professor Mark Hetzler and friends is TONIGHT at 8 p.m. in Mills Hall – NOT Saturday night as incorrectly listed in the posting yesterday. For more information about the performers and the program, go to:
ALERT: The Ear received the following word from early music specialist Trevor Stephenson: “Tonight, my distinguished colleague from France, Marcia Hadjimarkos, will join me for a program of Mozart’s thrilling music for piano four-hands.
“The concert will be held at the Madison Christian Community church, 7118 Old Sauk Road. The acoustics there for the fortepiano are really wonderful. Tickets are available at the door. They cost $20 for the general public and $10 for students.”
By Jacob Stockinger
The broadcasts of “The Met Live in HD” don’t usually fall in consecutive weeks.
But this weekend is an exception.
Last Saturday and then again on Wednesday, the current season premiered with a critically acclaimed production of Bellini’s “Norma.”
This Saturday, a new production of the ever-popular “The Magic Flute” by Mozart will be featured.
The three-hour show starts at 11:55 a.m. on Saturday at the Marcus Point Cinema on the far west side of Madison and the Marcus Palace Cinema in Sun Prairie.
Encore performances at both movie theaters are this coming Wednesday at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
The full-length opera will be sung in German with English surtitles.
Tickets are $22 for the public, and $18 for seniors.
The production promises to be special for two reasons: the elaborate, colorful staging and innovative costumes by director Julie Taymor, famous for her oversized puppet-like costumes in “The Lion King”; and vibrant conducting by longtime Metropolitan Opera artistic director and now emeritus conductor James Levine. (You can hear the upbeat Overture in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Below are some other photos to give you a taste of the production:
Here is a link for notes about the production, including several videos:
http://www.metopera.org/Season/2017-18-Season/zauberflote-mozart-tickets/
And here is a link to a synopsis and notes about the cast:
Tags: acoustics, Arts, Bellini, Broadcast, cast, Chamber music, choral music, church, cinema, Classical music, colleague, composer, conductor, costume, director, Early music, emeritus, encore, English, Entertainment, fortepiano, four-hands, France, German, innovative, Jacob Stockinger, James Levine, Julie Taymor, Lion King, Live From The Met in HD, Madison, Marcus Corporation, Mark Hetzler, Metropolitan Opera, movie, Mozart, Music, New York City, note, opera, Overture, Palace Cinema, performance, Piano, Point Cinema, popular, posting, production, puppet, show, Sonata, staging, Stravinsky, Sun Prairie, supertitle, surtitle, synopsis, The Magic Flute, The MET Live in HD, theater, theatre, Trevor Stephenson, Trombone, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vocal music, week, weekend, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, yesterday, YouTube
Classical music: “It always starts from the singing line.” Composer and librettist Mark Adamo talks about creating his popular opera “Little Women,” which will be performed twice this weekend by the Madison Opera.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Madison Opera will present its modernist production of the popular contemporary opera “Little Women” (below, in a traditional production by the Calgary Opera) by Mark Adamo this weekend.
Christina Ryan,Calgary Herald CALGARY, AB.:JANUARY 21, 2010 — Calgary Opera’s Canadian premiere production ‘Little Women’ stars Krisztina Szabo as Meg, Allyson McHardy as Joe, Mariateresa Magisaro as Beth, and Catherine May as Amy in Calgary on January 21, 2010.(Photo by Christina Ryan/Calgary Herald)
Performances are in the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center on Friday at 8 p.m. and on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
Tickets to the opera, based on Louisa May Alcott’s famous 19th-century American novel of the same name, run $21-$101. You can call the Overture Center box office at 608 258-4141.
The production features guest conductor Kyle Knox (below), a busy and experienced musician who is a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music. His dramatic story was featured on this blog yesterday:
Candace Evans (below) returns as the stage director:
Heather Johnson (below) returns to sing the lead role of Jo March:
“Little Women” will be sung in English with projected surtitles.
The running time is 2-1/2 hours with one intermission.
Also, Mark Adamo is doing the pre-show talk on Friday night in tandem with the Madison Opera’s general director Kathryn Smith. Says Smith: “That means I’m going to ask him questions, so he can talk about his opera instead of me doing so as usual. That is at 7 p.m. in the Wisconsin Studio of the Overture Center, and is free to ticket holders.”
For more information about the opera, tickets, the cast and the production as well as the pre-performance lecture and post-performance Q&A, visit:
http://www.madisonopera.org/performances-2015-2016/little_women/
Here is a link to Mark Adamo’s informative website, where you can also see what other music Adamo, who teaches composition at New York University, composes:
And here is link to his entry on Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Adamo
Adamo – who will attend the Friday night performance — generously agreed to a recent email interview with The Ear:
Is there anything beyond what is on your website that you think readers should know about you, your background and your career, including your latest and upcoming projects?
The website has only a little detail about “Becoming Santa Claus,” which is my fourth opera and which was given a lovely premiere (below) in Dallas in December. I’m editing the soundtrack for an upcoming DVD of the piece even as we speak.
What attracted you to “Little Women” as a subject for an opera?
I actually resisted it up front. I thought it was charming, but too antique and undramatic even to speak, let alone sing.
I was drawn to it only when I realized the show was neither “Three Weddings and a Funeral” (that is, not a story of all the March girls, save Beth, growing up to marry) nor a story of a girl struggling to be an artist (her whole family supports her) but a startling, and startlingly proto-modern, story of a girl/woman who learns too late that the destinies of even those she loves are out of her control.
Once it occurred to me that it was the story of everyone who’s ever heard, or uttered, the words, “I love you, but I have to leave” — and didn’t know why it had to be so — I knew the piece could sing.
How difficult a challenge is it for you to do both the score and the libretto? Do you prefer doing one to the other or find one easier?
For me, it’s natural. I was trained not only as a musician but as a playwright and lyricist (and, less comprehensively, as an actor and director) and, temperamentally, I’m the sort of artist who likes to take the most various, and longest possible, view of the project first before I start it.
An opera is a structure of words and music designed to be acted So the more questions I ask myself up front, the clearer both the script and the score can become even before they’re created, because the piece has been conceived in toto first and then the words and music designed to express it.
So I ask myself: What is the story? How can the journey of this character tell it? What is the sound of this story as verbal diction? Vocal contour? Harmonic mass? Melodic line? (Below are the handwritten manuscript and published score to a work by Mark Adamo.)
How would you describe the style of your music to the general public?
It always starts from the singing line. But I let the emotion of the character and the flow of the story determine everything else.
If the character feels like she’s making beautiful discoveries as she falls in love, the harmonies open up, moving from key to key before it settles when she does. If the conversation is turbulent, unsettled, inconclusive, the music is similarly fugitive.
Technically, that means the music is tonal, except when it’s chromatic; harmonic, unless just a sound or an orchestral color can carry the meaning; rhythmically steady, unless rhythms careen every which way to follow the turns of argument. In sum, it is eclectic — but not arbitrarily so. (NOTE: In a YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear an example in Beth’s aria from the production of “Little Women” by the Fayetteville Opera.)
“Little Women” has been performed in more than 65 international productions. What do you think has made it so popular? What is the usual public reaction to the work?
It’s actually over 100 at this point. Obviously, the path of the opera begins with the novel, one of the most beloved in English since its publication. Obviously, you try, as an artist, to make a piece as true and clear and deep as you can. But you can’t control whether artists subsequently believe in that piece (or not), or whether audiences embrace it (or not.)
Eighteen years after its premiere, my only possible response is gratitude that this opera is still speaking so often and to so many.
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