The Well-Tempered Ear
From Beethoven to today: The next five days at the UW-Madison are busy with FREE online concerts of new music, string music, brass music and more
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By Jacob Stockinger
From now through Monday, April 13, there are many FREE online concerts – virtual or pre-recorded – at the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music.
The schedule includes three different concerts on Saturday, April 10, alone. (All times are central and many concerts will be available for longer than a day.)
The variety of music is terrific and features all kinds of instruments and genres of music.
Here is a link to all of them, which will appear on YouTube. If your click on “Show More,” you will see more information about the performers and the programs. You can also set a convenient Reminder Timer to help you remember to listen: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZZ2F66Bu2yAfccvsugEtsA
You can read all of them by yourself. But the Ear wants to single out several of special interest.
NEW MUSIC: TONIGHT
If you are a fan of new music, there are two concerts you should consider listenIing to.
TONIGHT, April 8, at 7:30 p.m. and then at 8:30 p.m. are two concerts of new music.
The first concert is by the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble.
Titled “Colors” (below is the poster) the concert features music by Debussy, Lang, San Martin, UW-Madison professor Laura Schwendinger and Edgard Varese.
The performance are by faculty performers violist Sally Chisholm, flutist Conor Nelson and pianist Christopher Taylor, as well as alumni and students Eric Tran, Eric Delgado, Heidi Keener, Ben Therrell and Ben Yats.
Here is a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5Gxe7yTWpI
Then at 8:30 p.m., a studio recital by composition students (below) at the UW-Madison will take place. No names of performers or pieces are listed. But here is the link that is given: https://youtu.be/WmTBoLD9IQc
BEETHOVEN QUARTET CYCLE 7: FRIDAY NIGHT
At 7:30 p.m. is the seventh installment of the cycle, which is part of the Pro Arte Quartet’s yearlong retrospective of Beethoven’s string quartets to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth.
Members are David Perry and Suzanne Beia, violins; Sally Chisholm, viola; and Parry Karp, cello.
The program has two late quartets: the famous last one, Op. 135, in F major (1826) with the :”Muss es sein” (Must It Be?) motif, which can be heard in the YouTube video at the bottom of the final movement played by the Cypress String Quartet; and the famous “Grosse Fuge” quartet and ending in B-flat Major, Opp. 130 and 133 (1825-6).
The Ear — who particularly likes Beethoven’s return to clarity and classicism in his final quartet — has listened to all the installments and they have all been superb. There’s no reason to expect anything different with this installment.
UW professor of musicology Charles Dill will give short introductory talks before each quartet. You can find extended program notes about the quartet and the program here: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/pro-arte-quartet-beethoven-string-quartet-cycle-program-7/
And here is the link to the live-streamed concert from the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall in the Hamel Music Center: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIW_5NVgGaA
UNIVERSITY OPERA SINGS SONGS OF RACIAL AND SOCIAL JUSTICE: SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
This spring, University Opera follows up its groundbreaking video production on the life and times of composer Marc Blitzstein with another video.
What’s Past is Prologue: The Unfinished American Conversation, a program of staged and filmed songs and song cycles with social and racial justice themes, will be released on the Mead Witter School of Music YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/7Up_OXD6K2U this Saturday, April 10, at 7:30 p.m., with an encore stream this Sunday, April 11, at 2 p.m. David Ronis, Director of University Opera, is the director, and Thomas Kasdorf is the musical director, who accompanies the singers on piano.
For more background, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/university-opera-presents-whats-past-is-prologue-the-unfinished-american-conversation/
For the performance, go to: https://youtu.be/7Up_OXD6K2U
Tags: #BeethovenYear, #BenTherrell, #BenYats, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BrassMusic, #CentralTime, #ChamberMusic, #CharlesDill, #ChristopherTaylor, #ClaudeDebussy, #CollinsRecitalHall, #ConorNelson, #CoronavirusPandemic, #CypressStringQuartet, #DavidPerry, #DavidRonis, #EdgardVarese, #EricDelgado, #EricTran, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FacultyMember, #GrosseFuge, #HamelMusicCenter, #HeidiKeener, #JacobStockinger, #LauraSchwendinger, #LGBTQrights, #LGBTRights, #LiveStreaming, #LivingComposers, #MarcBlitzstein, #MeadWitterFoundationConcertHall, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #Musicfaculty, #MussesSein, #MustItBe, #NewMusic, #OnlineConcert, #ParryKarp, #PianoAccompaniment, #ProArteQuartet, #ProgramNotes, #RacialJustice, #RecordedMusic, #SallyChisholm, #SocialJustice, #StringMusic, #StringQuartet, #SuzanneBeia, #TheEar, #TheUW, #ThomasKasdorf, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UniversityOpera, #VirtualConcert, #VocalMusic, #VotingRights, #WilliamShakespeare, #Women'sRights, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, accompaniment, America, American, anniversary, appear, Arts, audience, background, Beethoven, Beethoven Year, Ben Therrell, Ben Yats, birth, birthday party, Blitzstein, blog, Brahms, brass music, celebration, cellist, Cello, Central Time, chamber msuic, Chamber music, Charles Dill, Christopher Taylor, clarity, Classical music, Classicism, Claude Debussy, click, Collins Recital Hall, color, composer, Composition, Concert, Conor Nelson, consider, Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, conversation, coronavirus, cycle, Cypress String Quartet, David Perry, David Ronis, day, Debussy, different, Dill, direct, Edgard Varèse, Election, Eric Delgado, Eric Tran, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, faculty, feminism, filmed, flute, flutist, forward, free, Friday, genre, Grosse Fuge, Hamel Music Center, Heidi Keener, help, information, installment, instruments, interest, Jacob Stockinger, Johannes Brahms, justice, Kasdorf, Lang, late, Laura Schwendinger, LGBT, LGBTQ, like, link, listen, live-stream, livestream, living composers, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Marc Blitzstein, Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall, Mead Witter School of Music, motif, movement, Music, Music director, music faculty, musicology, Muss es sein, Must It Be, New Music, online, opera, pandemic, Parry Karp, past, performer, Piano, post, Poster, posting, pre-recorded, President, Pro Arte Quartet, professor, program, program notes, prologue, race, racial justice, read, recital, recorded music, remember, reminder, retrospective, Ronis, Sally Chisholm, San Martin, Saturday, schedule, Schwendinger, Shakespeare, share, short, show, singer, Singing, single, social, social justice, song, special, staged, strimgs, string music, String quartet, studio, Sunday, superb, Suzanne Beia, tag, talk, terrific, The Ear, Thomas Kasdorf, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University Opera, UW, UW Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, UW-Madison, Varese, variety, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, virtual, vocal music, voting, voting right, William Shakespeare, Wisconsin, women's right, year, yearlong, YouTube
Classical music: University Opera succeeded brilliantly by setting Britten’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in the 1960s at Andy Warhol’s The Factory
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PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
Larry Wells — the Opera Guy for this blog – took in two performances last weekend of the University Opera’s production of Benjamin Britten’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” which played to three sold-out houses at Music Hall. He filed this review. Performance photos are by Benjamin Hopkins and Michael Anderson.
By Larry Wells
The University Opera’s production of Benjamin Britten’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” was set in Andy Warhol’s Factory of the 1960s with countertenor Thomas Alaan (below) as a Warhol-like Oberon presiding over the antics.
The opera by Britten (below) follows Shakespeare’s play fairly closely. The magical transformations and herbs of the original were translated to a hallucinogen-filled milieu of go-go dancing fairies, master-slave relationships and same-sex liaisons.
And for me it worked. That is to say, this production contained the same strangeness and wonder as the traditional productions I have seen. The play itself is very strange and wonderful.
Alaan is a fine singer and played a manipulative and somewhat slimy Warhol/Oberon whose flat affect seemed to be reflected in the relative lack of expressivity in the voice. Pitted against Oberon were Amanda Lauricella and Kelsey Wang alternating as Tytania.
Although the program stated that the portrayal of Tytania was loosely based on Edie Sedgwick in this production, without the platinum hair I missed the references. Both portrayals were much more assertive than Edie ever was, and both singers’ ardent coloratura voices tended to overshadow Oberon’s, which may have been intentional. Wang (below, far right) was an intense actress who put sparks into her portrayal, while Lauricella really has a superb voice.
(Below, from left, are Michael Kelley as Puck; Thomas Alaan as Oberon; Tanner Zocher as a young man; and Kelsey Wang as Tytania.)
The four lovers (below left) seemed to be employees at The Factory. Tenor Benjamin Liupaogo portrayed Lysander. The vocal part has an uncomfortable upper range, but Liupaogo’s singing in the second act particularly was up to the challenge.
His rival Demetrius was portrayed by baritone Kevin Green. Their contending affections for Hermia and Demetrius’ initial scorn for Helena were oddly lacking in ardor.
Hermia was double cast with Julia Urbank, a promising soprano, and Chloe Agostino, who was also a very good singer. Poor Helena, first ignored and then pursued by both men, was also double cast with a terrific Rachel Love and an equally gifted Jing Liu.
(The four lovers, below from left, were: Benjamin Liupaogo as Lysander; Chloe Agostino as Hermia; Jing Liu as Helena;, Kevin Green as Demetrius; and Paul Rowe as Theseus with Lindsey Meekhof as Hippolyte.)
As I have noted before, the female singers in the opera program often seem to be very solid performers. (You can hear the lovers’ quartet in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
And then there were the “Rustics” (below), the workers who have come together to put on the play “Pyramus and Thisbe” for the upcoming wedding of the local duke, or in this case a rich art patron.
(The six rustics, below from left, were: James Harrington as Bottom; Jacob Elfner as Quince; Benjamin Galvin as Snug; Jack Innes as Starveling; Thore Dosdall as Flute; Jeffrey Larson as Snout; with Kevin Green as Demetrius, seated.)
The six men were each talented comic actors and provided many of the performance’s laughs. Foremost was James Harrington’s Bottom. Not only a very funny actor, he produced in my opinion the finest singing among the many talented students.
Mention must be made of the very amusing Flute, hysterically portrayed by Thore Dosdall, and the promising bass Benjamin Galvin as the slow learner Snug.
These men not only sang well together and separately, but also provided many guffaws whenever they appeared. (Below are: Jacob Elfner as Quince; Jeffrey Larson as Snout; James Harrington as Bottom; Jack Innes – back row up on box – as Starveling; Benjamin Galvin as Snug; and Thore Dosdall as Flute.)
Additionally we had the fairies — all female voices in this production — who sounded wonderful together and got to demonstrate their incongruous ‘60s dance moves to Britten’s score.
Professor Paul Rowe (below left, with Lindsey Meekhof as Hippolyta) made an appearance as Theseus, the duke. His singing was that of a mature artist, a quality to which the students are clearly aspiring.
As the opera drew to a close with a beautifully harmonious chorus, one felt the transformation from dissonance to harmony in the opera and conflict to resolution embodied in the original play.
Many mentions of woods and forest are made in the libretto. Director David Ronis had the walls of the factory cleverly hung with changing arrays of Warhol-like multiple images of flowers and animals. With the amount of weed being smoked and who knows what being ingested onstage, it was easy to believe that the characters might think they were in a forest despite being in a Manhattan warehouse (below).
(The cast, below from left, included Amanda Lauricella and Thomas Alaan in the foreground as Tytania and Oberon. Others were: Julia Urbank on the floor; Benjamin Liupaogo, on the floor; Chloe Flesch; Maria Steigerwald; Amanda Lauricella; Maria Marsland; Angela Fraioli; Thomas Aláan; and James Harrington lying on the couch.)
Presiding over all of this were members of the UW Symphony Orchestra led by new conductor Oriol Sans (below). I have heard maestro Sans conduct the students several times this fall, and I feel he is an outstanding addition to the music school. His control over the forces was amazing, and the subtlety he drew from the players was remarkable.
Ronis (below, in a photo by Luke Delalio) has tried original twists in several of his previous productions, but I think this has been the most outlandish. And I have to say that I really loved it. So carry on, please.
He has a penchant for Britten, one of my favorite composers. His previous productions included “Albert Herring” and “Turn of the Screw.” I wonder if readers have suggestions for another Britten opera he could conceivably produce here. I have my own wish list.
Tags: #AlbertHerring, #AMIdsummerNight'sDream, #AndyWarhol, #ArtPatron, #BaritoneSinger, #BenjaminBritten, #BenjaminLiupaogo, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BlogReview, #ChoralMusic, #CountertenorSinger, #DavidRonis, #DrugsandAlcohol, #EdieSedgwick, #EmeritusProfessor, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #LarryWells, #Master-Slave, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MusicHall, #MusicReview, #MusicSchool, #OrchestralAccompaniment, #OriolSans, #PaulRowe, #PopArt, #SopranoSinger, #TenorSinger, #The1960s, #TheaterReview, #TheEar, #TheFactory, #TheOperaGuy, #TurnoftheScrew, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UniversityOpera, #UWProfessor, #UWSymphonyOrchestra, #VocalMusic, #WilliamShakespeare, #WishList, #YouTubevideo, 1960s, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Actor, actress, affect, affection, Albert Herring, alcohol, amazing, Andy Warhol, animal, antics, ardent, Art, art patron, artist, Arts, aspire, assertive, baritone, beautiful, Benjamin Britten, Benjamin Liupaogo, blog, Britten, cast, challenge, characters, choral music, chorus, Classical music, coloratura, comic, composer, conductor, conflict, contend, control, countertenor, dance, dancing, David Ronis, director, dissonance, dream, drugs, duke, Edie Sedgwick, employee, expressivity, Facebook, factory, fairies, fairy, favorite, females, flat, flowers, forces, forest, forward, funny, gifted, go-go, guffaw, hair, hallucinogens, harmonious, harmony, herb, herbs, House, houses, hysterical, image, incongruous, ingest, intense, Jacob Stockinger, Larry Wells, laughs, learner, liaison, libretto, like, link, local, lover, Madison, magic, magical, male, MANHATTAN, manipulative, mature, Mead Witter School of Music, member, men, mention, milieu, move, Music, Music Hall, music review, music school, Oberon, onstage, opera, opera music, Orchestra, original, Oriol Sans, outlandish, outstanding, overshadow, patron, Paul Rowe, penchant, photos, platinum, play, pop, Pop art, portrayal, post, posting, preside, presiding, produce, produced, production, professor, promising, Puck, quality, range, reference, relationship, remarkable, resolution, rich, rustic, same-sex, score, scorn, Shakespeare, share, sing, singer, Singing, slimy, smoke, sold-out, soprano, sparks, strange, strangeness, subtlety, suggest, suggestion, summer, superb, tag, talent, talented, terrific, The Ear, The Factory, The Opera Guy, theater review, traditional, transformation, Transformations, translated, Turn of the Screw, twist, Tytania, uncomfortable, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University Opera, upper, UW, UW Symphony Orchestra, UW-Madison, UW-Madison Mead Witter School of Music, video, vocal music, voice, wall, warehouse, Warhol, wedding, weed, William Shakespeare, Wisconsin, wish list, women, wonder, Woods, workers, YouTube
Classical music: Here is a year-long list of concerts at the University of Wisconsin Mead Witter School of Music. They start Tuesday night with the 40th annual Karp Family Labor Day Concert
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By Jacob Stockinger
Get out your datebooks and calendars.
Here is a complete listing for major concerts and events at the University of Wisconsin Mead Witter School of Music during the new 2019-20 season.
The calendar starts with the FREE season-opening 40th annual Karp Family Labor Day Concert this coming Tuesday night, Sept. 3, at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall. The program features chamber music by Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann and Dvorak. For more information about the program and performers, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/40th-karp-family-concert/
Using the search engine on this blog, you could also consult whenever individual or group you want. You could print it out and have it in hand instead of the usual brochure, which will not be printed this year. See a previous blog post: https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2019/08/19/classical-music-the-uw-madison-school-of-music-will-not-have-a-complete-brochure-for-the-new-season-go-to-the-website-and-sign-up-for-an-email-newsletter-the-30th-karp-family-labor-day-concert-is-s/
Most concerts this season will take place in the new Hamel Music Center (below), which has a three-day opening celebration Oct. 25-27.
Please note that just a few programs are listed. For other programs, and for information about any admission charge, you can go to the School of Music’s home website closer to the event and click on Concerts and Events: https://www.music.wisc.edu/events/
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Tuesday, Sep 3, 2019 |
Karp Family Concert |
7:30 PM |
Mills Hall |
|
Sunday, September 29, 2019, |
Jessica Martin & John O’Brien – Nordic song recital |
4:00 PM |
Morphy Hall |
|
Monday, Sept. 30, 2019 |
Beth Wiese, Tuba, Guest Artist Recital |
7:30 PM |
Morphy Hall |
|
Friday, October 4, 2019 |
Pro Arte Quartet |
8:00 PM |
Mills Hall |
|
Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019 |
Chanticleer |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019 |
Wind Ensemble |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Friday, October 11, 2019 |
UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Sunday, October 13, 2019 |
University Bands |
2:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Tuesday, October 15, 2019 |
Contemporary Jazz & Blue Note Ensemble |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Wednesday, October 16, 2019 |
Wisconsin Brass Quintet – Faculty Concert Series |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Thursday, October 17 |
Jazz Faculty Quintet with special guest Michael Dudley, trumpet |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Monday, October 21, 2019 |
Afro-Cuban Jazz Ensemble and UW Jazz Orchestra |
7:30 PM |
Play Circle |
|
Tuesday, October 22, 2019 |
Concert Band |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Wed, October 23, 2019 |
Jazz Composers Group & Jazz Standards |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Thu, October 24, 2019 |
Parry Karp with Eli Kalman, piano |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Friday, October 25, 2019 |
Opening Celebration Weekend: Hamel Music Center. Please check our website for details. |
All Day |
740 University Avenue |
|
Saturday, October 26, 2019 |
Opening Celebration Weekend: Hamel Music Center. Please check our website for details. |
All Day |
740 University Avenue |
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Sunday, October 27, 2019 |
Opening Celebration Weekend: Hamel Music Center. Featured Event: Collins Fellows Concert |
1:00 PM |
Collins Recital Hall, Hamel Music Center |
|
Wed, October 30, 2019 |
Master Class with Violist Nobuko Imai |
6:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Thu, October 31, 2019 |
Violist Nobuko Imai with Pro Arte Quartet |
12:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Fri, November 1, 2019
|
Madrigal Singers |
8:00 PM
|
Mead Witter Hall |
Sat, November 2, 2019 |
Alicia Lee, faculty clarinet |
8:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Sun, November 3, 2019 |
Wind Ensemble |
2:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Fri, November 8, 2019 |
Wingra Wind Quintet |
8:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Sat, November 9, 2019 |
UW Chorale |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Thu, November 14, 2019 |
UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Fri, November 15, 2019 |
University Opera: Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream |
7:30 PM |
Music Hall |
|
Sun, November 17, 2019 |
University Opera: Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream |
2:00 PM |
Music Hall |
|
Tue, November 19, 2019 |
University Opera: Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream |
7:30 PM |
Music Hall |
|
Sat, November 16, 2019 |
Low Brass Ensemble |
4:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Sat, November 16, 2019 |
Combined Choirs |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Sat, November 16, 2019 |
Timothy Hagen, faculty flute |
8:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Fri, November 22, 2019 |
UW Concert Choir |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Fri, November 22, 2019 |
Pro Arte Quartet |
8:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Fri, November 22, 2019 |
UW Jazz Orchestra |
5:00-7:00 PM |
Rathskeller |
|
Saturday, Nov 23, 2019 |
Undergrad Audition Day |
All day |
|
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Sat, November 23, 2019 |
World Percussion Ensemble |
12:00 PM |
Music Hall |
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Sat, November 23, 2019 |
Brass Ensembles |
1:00 PM |
?? |
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Sun, November 24, 2019 |
UW Concert Band with Winds of Wisconsin |
5:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Mon, November 25, 2019 |
Chamber Percussion Ensemble |
7:30 PM |
Mills Hall |
|
Tue, November 26, 2019 |
Opera Scenes |
7:30 PM |
Music Hall |
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Mon, December 2, 2019 |
Piano Studio Recital |
6:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
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Tue, December 3, 2019 |
Jazz Composers & Contemporary Jazz Ensembles |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
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Wed, December 4, 2019
|
Jazz Standards Ensemble & Afro-Cuban Jazz |
7:30 PM
|
Collins Hall |
Thu, December 5, 2019 |
UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra & UW Wind Ensemble |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Fri, December 6, 2019 |
Saxophonist Greg Ward with the Blue Note Ensemble and UW jazz faculty |
8:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Sat, December 7, 2019 |
UW & Madison Metropolitan Jazz Festival |
Final Concert, 3:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Sat, December 7, 2019 |
Choral Union: Ralph Vaughan Williams’s “A Sea Symphony” |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Sun, December 8, 2019 |
University Bands |
2:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Sun, December 8, 2019 |
Choral Concerts at Luther Memorial Church |
2:00 PM |
Luther Memorial Church |
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Sun, December 8, 2019 |
Choral Concerts at Luther Memorial Church |
4:00 PM |
Luther Memorial Church |
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Sun, December 8, 2019 |
All-University Strings |
4:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
BEGIN 2020 |
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Sun, January 26, 2020 |
Annual Schubertiade |
3:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Sat, February 1, 2020 |
Christopher Taylor and Friends — Beethoven Symphony Extravaganza |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Wed, February 5, 2020 |
Daniel Grabois, horn |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Thu, February 6, 2020 |
UW Symphony Orchestra |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Sat, February 8, 2020 |
The Knights |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Sun, February 16, 2020 |
UW Wind Ensemble |
2:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Monday, February 17, 2020 |
Chamber Percussion Ensemble |
7:30 PM |
Mills Hall |
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Tue, February 18, 2020 |
Concert Band |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Thu, February 20, 2020 |
Parry Karp, faculty recital |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Fri, February 21, 2020 |
Marc Vallon & Friends |
8:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Sunday, Feb 23, 2020 |
Les Thimmig, faculty recital |
2:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
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Sat, April 18, 2020 |
Low Brass Ensemble |
4:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Fri, February 28, 2020
|
Pro Arte Quartet |
8:00 PM
|
Collins Hall |
Sat, February 29, 2020 |
Wingra Wind Quintet |
8:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Fri, February 28, 2020, |
University Opera – Mozart’s Così fan tutte |
7:30 PM |
Music Hall |
|
Sun, March 1, 2020 |
University Opera – Mozart’s Così fan tutte |
2:00 PM |
Music Hall |
|
Tue, March 3, 2020 |
University Opera – Mozart’s Così fan tutte |
7:30 PM |
Music Hall |
|
Sun, March 1, 2020 |
Winds of Wisconsin |
5:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Wed, March 4, 2020 |
Afro-Cuban Jazz Ensemble & Jazz Composers Group |
7:30 |
Collins Hall |
|
Thu, March 5, 2020 |
Blue Note Ensemble & Jazz Standards Ensemble |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Sat, March 7, 2020 |
UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra with guest pianist Wu Han |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Sun, March 8, 2020 |
University Bands |
2:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Tue, March 10, 2020 |
Percussion Department Recital |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Weds March 11, 2020 |
UW Jazz Orchestra |
7:30 PM |
Play Circle |
|
Wednesday, March 11, 2020 |
Wisconsin Brass Quintet – Faculty Concert Series |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Thu, March 12, 2020 |
UW Wind Ensemble |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Fri, March 27, 2020 |
Le Domaine Musicale with Marc Vallon and Friends |
8:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Sun, March 29, 2020 |
Concert Band |
2:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Sun, April 5, 2020 |
Beethoven Competition Winners’ Recital |
3:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Sun, April 5, 2020 |
“Symphony Showcase” Concerto Winners’ Solo Concert |
7:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Sat, April 11, 2020 |
Chorale |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Fri, April 12, 2019 |
Perlman Trio Chamber Concert |
3:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
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Tue, April 14, 2020 |
Opera Scenes |
7:30 PM |
Music Hall |
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Wed, April 15, 2020 |
Contested Homes: Migrant Liberation Movement Suite |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Thu, April 16, 2020 |
Pro Arte Quartet |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
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Fri, April 17, 2020 |
Combined Choirs |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Sat, April 18, 2020 |
Low Brass Ensemble |
4:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Sat, April 18, 2020
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UW-Madison Choral Reunion concert featuring Concert Choir, Madrigals and alumni |
8:00 PM
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Mead Witter Hall |
Mon, April 20, 2020 |
Afro-Cuban Jazz Ensemble & Blue Note Ensemble |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
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Tue, April 21, 2020 |
Jazz Standards Ensemble & Jazz Composers Group |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
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Wed, April 22, 2020 |
Chamber Percussion Ensemble |
7:30 PM |
Mills Hall |
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Thu, April 23, 2020 |
UW Jazz Orchestra with the UW Honors Jazz Band |
7:30 PM |
Music Hall |
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Fri, April 24, 2020 |
Concert Band and Wind Ensemble |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Sat, April 25, 2020 |
All-University Strings |
2:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Sat, April 25, 2020 |
Choral Union: Giuseppe Verdi’s “Requiem” |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Sun, April 26, 2020 |
Choral Union: Giuseppe Verdi’s “Requiem” |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Sun, April 26, 2020
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University Bands | 2 PM | Mead Witter Hall |
Tags: #AliciaLee, #All-UniversityStrings, #AntoninDvorak, #ASeaSymphony, #BandMusic, #BassoonMusic, #BeethovenSymphony, #BenjaminBritten, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BrassMusic, #BrassQuintet, #CelloMusic, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #ChoralUnion, #ChristianChurch, #ChristopherKarp, #ChristopherTaylor, #ClarinetMusic, #ConcertBand, #ConcertChoir, #ContemporaryMusic, #CosifanTutte, #DanielGrabois, #EliKalman, #EmailNewsletter, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FacultyConcert, #FacultyMember, #FluteMusic, #FrancesKarp, #FranzSchubert, #GiuseppeVerdi, #GuestArtist, #HamelMusicCenter, #HornMusic, #JazzMusic, #KarpFamily, #KatoPerlman, #KatrinTalbot, #LaborDay, #LesThimmig, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #LutherMemorialChurch, #MadrigalSingers, #MarcVallon, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MidsummerNight'sDream, #MillsHall, #NobukoImai, #OperaMusic, #OperaScenes, #OperaSinger, #OrchestralMusic, #ParryKarp, #PaulCollins, #PerlmanTrio, #PianoAccompaniment, #PianoAccompanist, #PianoConcerto, #PianoMusic, #PianoQuartet, #PianoTrio, #ProArteQuartet, #RalphVaughan-Williams, #RalphVaughanWilliams, #RecitalHall, #RobertSchumann, #SaxophoneMusic, #Schubertiadeconcert, #StringMusic, #StringQuartet, #SuzanneBeia, #TheKnights, #TimothyHagen, #TrumpetMusic, #TubaMusic, #UniversityBands, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UniversityofWisconsin-Oshkosh, #UniversityOpera, #UWChorale, #UWChoralUnion, #UWSchubertiade, #UWSymphonyOrchestra, #ViolaMusic, #ViolinMusic, #VocalMusic, #WilliamShakespeare, #WindMusic, #WindsofWisconsin, #WingraWindQuintet, #WisconsinBrassQuintet, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #WorldPercussionEnsemble, #WuHan, A Sea Symphony, admission, Afro, Afro-Cuban, All-University Strings, alumni, Antonín Dvořák, audience, audition, band, Bassoon, Beethoven, Beethoven symphony, Benjamin Britten, blog, brass music, Brass quintet, brochure, calendar, celebration, Cello, cello music, Chamber music, Chanticleer, Choir, choral music, Choral Union, Chorale, Christian, Christian church, Christopher Karp, Christopher Taylor, church, clarinet, clarinet music, Classical music, classicalmusic, Competition, Concert, Concert Band, Concert Choir, concerto, contemporary music, contested, Cuban, Daniel Grabois, datebook, details, Dvorak, Eli Kalman, email, ensemble, event, extravaganza, Facebook, faculty, Family, flute, flute music, forward, Frances Karp, Franz Schubert, friends, Giuseppe Verdi, guest artist, Hamel Music Center, Home, Horn, Jazz, Karp Family, Kato Perlman, Katrin Talbot, Les Thimmig, liberation, like, link, Ludwig van Beethoven, Luther, Luther Memorial Church, Lutheran, madrigal, Marc Vallon, master class, masterclass, Mead Witter School of Music, Midsummer Night's Dream, migrant, Mills Hall, Mozart, Music, newsletter, Nobuko Imai, Nordic, opening, opera, opera scenes, opera singer, orchestral music, Oshkosh, Parry Karp, Paul Collins, percussion, performer, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, Piano Quartet, Piano Trio, post, posting, Pro Arte Quartet, program, quintet, Ralph Vaughan Williams, reader, recital, recital hall, Requiem, Robert Schumann, Saxophone, scenes, Schubert, Schubertiade, Schumann, sea, Shakespeare, share, showcase, singer, song, string, string music, String quartet, studio, subscriber, Suzanne Beia, symphony, symphony orchestra, tag, The Knights, Timothy Hagen, Trumpet, Tuba, undergraduate, university, University Bands, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh, University Opera, UW, UW Concert Band, UW Concert Choir, UW-Madison, UW-Oshkosh, Verdi, Viola, Violin, violinist, vocal music, Website, weekend, William Shakespeare, wind music, Wind quintet, winds, Winds of Wisconsin, Wingra Wind Quintet, winner, Wisconsin Brass Quintet, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, World Percussion Ensemble, Wu Han, year
Classical music: Here are the Final Forte results. Plus, new and modern music is in the spotlight at two FREE concerts and a master class today and Friday at the UW-Madison
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ALERT: If you missed seeing the “Final Forte” concert broadcast live last night on Wisconsin Public Television and Wisconsin Public Radio, the results of the Madison Symphony Orchestra‘s concerto competition for high school students are: First Prize and a $2,000 scholarship to violinist Hannah White; Second Prize and a $2,000 scholarship to pianist Jessica Jiang; and Honorable Mentions ($1,000 scholarship for each) to violinist Isabelle Krier and violinist Arianna Brusubardis.
By Jacob Stockinger
If you are a fan of modern and new music, you may want to attend one or more of the three FREE events that are happening TONIGHT and Friday at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music.
The first concert is TONIGHT at 7 p.m. in Mills Hall. It features UW bassoonist Marc Vallon and friends. Vallon is a versatile musician who is also a specialist in period performances of Baroque music.
But Vallon (below in a photo by James Gill) also worked with and performed with the pioneering French avant-garde 20th-century composer Pierre Boulez. And that genre of music will be featured on the concert tonight, which is titled “The Musical Domain.”
Unfortunately, The Ear has received no information about composers or pieces on the program. But Vallon is known for his adventurous taste and compelling performances.
On Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall, the guest artists are the new music ensemble Duo Cortona (below), which will perform a varied program of works by contemporary composers.
Those composers and works include “Love Sonnets” – based on texts by William Shakespeare — by UW composer Laura Schwendinger (below). You can sample the Duo Cortona performing Schwendinger’s work in the YouTube video at the bottom.
The unusual makeup of the DUO is string and voice – specifically, violin and mezzo-soprano. The husband-and-wife duo of Ari Streisfeld and Rachel Calloway will give a FREE and PUBLIC master class on contemporary composition before the concert from 4 to 5 p.m. in Mills Hall.
For more background information about Duo Cortona and a link to the complete program, go to:
https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/guest-artists-cortona-duo/
Tags: #Avantgarde, #CamilleSaint-Saens, #DuoCortona, #FelixMendelssohn, #FinalForte, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #ModernMusic, #NewMusic, #PeterIlyichTchaikovsky, #PianoConcerto, #PianoMusic, #PierreBoulez, #UniversityofWisconsin, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #ViolinConcerto, #ViolinMusic, #WilliamShakespeare, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #WisconsinPublicTelevision, Arts, Baroque, Cello, Chamber music, Classical music, Competition, composer, Composition, concerto, contemporary, duo, France, French, husband, Jacob Stockinger, Laura Schwendinger, Love, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, master class, masterclass, Mezzo-soprano, Music, Orchestra, Piano, prize, Radio, scholarship, Shakespeare, sonnet, Television, TV, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Violin, wife, William Shakespeare, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio, Wisconsin Public Television, YouTube
Classical music education: This Sunday the Madison Youth Choirs will present their Winter Concert Series celebrating “Shakespeare 400 “
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By Jacob Stockinger
This winter, the Madison Youth Choirs are joining cultural institutions around the world by celebrating the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare (below) and his ongoing legacy.
Singers of various ages will perform musical settings from the plays Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Love’s Labour’s Lost and The Tempest by composers including William Byrd, Thomas Morley, Henry Purcell, Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn, Benjamin Britten, Giuseppe Verdi, Cesar Franck, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gerald Finzi, John Rutter and others.
Examining the role that motif, tension, structure and rhythm play in the repertoire and Shakespeare’s vast body of work, the choirs will explore the elements that combine to create compelling art that stands the test of time.
The MYC Winter Concerts, “Shakespeare 400,” will take place this Sunday, Dec. 11, at the First Congregational United Church of Christ (below), 1609 University Ave., near Camp Randall stadium.
Here is the schedule: 1:30 p.m. Girl choirs; 4 p.m. Boy choirs; 7 p.m. High School Ensembles
Tickets will be available at the door. Admission to each of the three concerts is $10 for the general public, $5 for students 7-18, and free for children under 7
PROGRAMS
Here is the repertoire for the MYC 2016 Winter Concert Series “Shakespeare 400”:
1:30 p.m. Concert (Featuring MYC Girlchoirs)
Choraliers
“Hey Ho! To the Greenwood” by William Byrd
“Spirits” by Douglas Beam
“Orpheus With His Lute” by Ralph Vaughan Williams
“Double, Double Toil and Trouble” by Leeann Starkey
photo
Con Gioia
“When Icicles Hang by the Wall” by David Lantz III
“You Spotted Snakes” by Toby Young
“Ban Ban Caliban” by Dan Forrest
Capriccio
“Hark! The Echoing Air” by Henry Purcell
“Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind” by Sarah Quartel
“Philomel with Melody” and “I Will Wind Thee in My Arms” by Cary Ratliff
“It Was a Lover and His Lass” by John Rutter
Cantabile
When Icicles Hang” by Stephen Hatfield
“Che faceste” from Macbeth (sung in Italian) by Giuseppi Verdi
4 p.m. Concert (Featuring MYC Boychoirs)
Combined Boychoirs
“One December, Bright and Clear” Traditional Catalonian carol, arr. By Wilberg
“Panis Angelicus” by Cesar Franck
Purcell
“Chairs to Mend” by William Hayes
“Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind” by John Rutter (heard in the YouTube video at the bottom)
“The Coasts of High Barbary” Traditional English sea song, arr. By Julseth-Heinrich
Britten
“Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind” by Roger Quilter
“Full Fathom Five” by John Ireland
“Who is Silvia” by Franz Schubert
Holst
“Full Fathom Five” by Robert Johnson
“Sing We and Chant It” by Thomas Morley
Ragazzi
“Come Away, Death” by Gerald Finzi
“The Witching Hour” by Brandon Ayres
7 p.m. Concert (Featuring High School Ensembles)
Cantilena
“The Willow Song” by Arthur Sullivan
“Willow, Willow, Willow” by Charles H.H. Parry
“Fair Oriana Seeming to Wink at Folly” by Robert Jones
“You Spotted Snakes” (from A Midsummer Night’s Dream) by Felix Mendelssohn
“Give Them Thy Fingers” by Stefan Kalmer
Ragazzi
“Four Arms, Two Necks, One Wreathing” by Thomas Weelkes
“Come Away, Death” by Gerald Finzi
“And Draw Her Home with Music” by Nancy Hill Cobb
“The Witching Hour” by Brandon Ayres
Cantabile
“Che faceste” from Macbeth (sung in Italian) by Giuseppi Verdi
“Come Away, Death” by Roger Quilter
Selections from A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Benjamin Britten
“When Icicles Hang” by Stephen Hatfield
Cantabile and Ragazzi
“Ave Verum Corpus” by William Byrd
“Jingle, Bells!” by James Pierpont, arr. by David Wilcocks
These concerts are generously endowed by the Diane Ballweg Performance Fund with additional support from the American Girl’s Fund for Children, BMO Harris Bank and the Wisconsin Arts Board.
About the Madison Youth Choirs (MYC): Recognized as an innovator in youth choral music education, Madison Youth Choirs (MYC) welcomes singers of all ability levels, annually serving more than 1,000 young people, ages 7-18, through a wide variety of choral programs in our community.
Cultivating a comprehensive music education philosophy that inspires self-confidence, personal responsibility, and a spirit of inquiry leading students to become “expert noticers,” MYC creates accessible, meaningful opportunities for youth to thrive in the arts and beyond.
For further information, contact: Nicole Sparacino, Madison Youth Choirs, Nicole@madisonyouthchoirs.org or call (608) 238-7464
Tags: A Midsummer Night's Dream, arrangements, Art, Arthur Sullivan, Arts, Baroque, Benjamin Britten, boy choir, boychoir, boys, Byrd, cantabile, Capriccio, Carol, Catalonia, Cesar Franck, Chamber music, chant, choral music, Classical music, comedy, David Wilcocks, death, drama, elementary school, folk song, Franz Schubert, Gerald Finzi, girls, girls choir, high school, Holst, Ireland, Italian, Jacob Stockinger, John Ireland, John Rutter, legacy, Love's Labour's Lost, lute, Madison, Madison Youth Choirs, Mendelssohn, Middle school, motif, Music, Music education, Orpheus, Parry, plays, Purcell, Ralph Vaughan Williams, rhythm, Schubert, sea, Shakepseare, snake, structure, Tempest, tension, Thomas Morley, tradition, traditional, tragedy, Twelfth Night, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Verdi, vocal music, William Shakespeare, William Shakespeare's plays, willow, Wind, winter, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Arts Board, youth choirs, YouTube
Classical music: Madison Opera’s production of “Romeo and Juliet” excelled in singing, orchestral playing, drama and other aspects that redeemed a largely unmemorable work. Plus, what is good music for Veterans Day?
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ALERT: Today is Veterans Day. What piece of classical music should be played to mark the event? The Ear suggests the War Requiem by Benjamin Britten. Leave your choice in the COMMENT section.
By Jacob Stockinger
Today’s post features a guest review of Madison Opera’s “Romeo and Juliet” by Larry Wells. Wells has been enjoying opera since he was a youngster. He subscribed to the San Francisco Opera for nearly 20 years, where he last saw “Romeo and Juliet,” sung by Alfredo Kraus and Ruth Ann Swenson.
More recently he lived in Tokyo and attended many memorable performances there over nearly 20 years. These included Richard Strauss rarities such as “Die Ägyptische Helena” and “Die Liebe der Danae” as well as the world’s strangest Ring Cycle by Richard Wagner and a space-age production of Puccini’s “Turandot,” featuring Alessandra Marc singing “In questa reggia” while encased in an inverted cone.
By Larry Wells
Last Sunday’s matinee performance of Charles Gounod’s “Romeo and Juliet” by Madison Opera at the Overture Center was a feast for the eyes. The costumes, sets, lighting and staging were consistently arresting. (Performance photos are by James Gill.)
But we go to the opera for music and drama.
The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is well known. Gounod’s opera substitutes the tragedy with melodrama, and therein lies one of the work’s flaws. Despite sword fights, posturings and threats as well as one of opera’s lengthiest death scenes, one leaves the theater thinking that a vast amount of theatrical resources have been squandered on something insubstantial.
However, despite its dramatic flaws, the opera’s music has somehow endured. And Sunday’s performance milked the most out of the music that could have been expected.
The star of the show was the Madison Symphony Orchestra under the expert direction of Maestro John DeMain (below). He knows how to pace a performance, how to build an exciting climax and how to highlight a solo instrument.
He is an incredibly intelligent conductor, and we are fortunate to have him in Madison. I want to make special mention of the beautiful harp playing, which, according to the program, was accomplished by Jenny DeRoche.
The second star on the stage was the Madison Opera Chorus (below). The chorus plays a significant part in many of the opera’s scenes, and the singing was stirring when it needed to be and tender when it was called for.
As for the soloists, highest praise must go to UW-Madison alumna soprano Emily Birsan (below right) for her portrayal of Juliet. Her solo arias, particularly her big number in the first act as well as her subsequent lament, were stunning.
Her Romeo, tenor John Irvin (below left), sounded a little forced during his forte moments, but he sang magnificently in his quiet farewell to Juliet after their balcony scene. (You can hear the famous balcony scene, sung by Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Their voices blended beautifully in the opera’s multiple duets. And the wedding quartet, where they were joined by Allisanne Apple’s nurse (below, rear right) and Liam Moran’s Friar Lawrence (below, middle center), was a highlight of the performance.
The opera abounds with minor characters, all of which were ably portrayed. Special mention should be made of Stephanie Lauricella (below, far right) for her fantastic moments as Romeo’s page; Madison’s Allisanne Apple for her amusing portrayal of Juliet’s nurse Gertrude; Sidney Outlaw (below, second from left) as a robust Mercutio; and Philip Skinner as a powerful Lord Capulet.
I have wondered why this opera is still performed. Its music is lovely but unmemorable, and its dramatic impact is tenuous.
I left the performance thinking that it had been a good afternoon at the theater – certainly more interesting than the Packers’ game – but wishing that one of a couple dozen more meaty operas had been performed in its place.
Since we are celebrating the 400th anniversary of the death of Shakespeare, how much more interesting would have been Benjamin Britten’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream”?
Tags: Alfredo Kraus, Angela Gheorghiu, aria, Arts, Characters in Romeo and Juliet, Charles Gounod, choral music, chorus, Classical music, conductor, costume, death, drama, Emily Birsan, friar, Grant Johnson, harp, Jacob Stockinger, John DeMain, Juliet, lighting, Madison, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Maestro, melodrama, Music, nurse, opera, Orchestra, Overture Center, photo, Puccini, Requiem, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Roberto Alagna, Romeo and Juliet, Ruth Anne Swenson, San Francisco, San Francisco Opera, set, Sidney Outlaw, soprano, staging, swordfight, tenor, The Ring, Tokyo, tragedy, Turandot, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Veterans Day, vocal music, War Requiem, William Shakespeare, Wisconsin, YouTube
Classical music: University Opera will stage Verdi’s “Falstaff” – updated to Hollywood in the 1930s — this Friday night, Sunday afternoon and next Tuesday night. Plus, UW-Madison composition and music students perform a FREE recital of new music Wednesday night.
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ALERT: Students in the Composition Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music will present their new music in a FREE recital this Wednesday night at 8 p.m. in Mills Hall. The performances of original works feature UW-Madison music students and the composers themselves.
By Jacob Stockinger
University Opera will offer its first production of the season in three performances this weekend and early next week.
It is “Falstaff” by Giuseppe Verdi. The work is the composer’s last opera and is often considered to be his greatest masterpiece.
It is based on “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” “Henry IV” and “Henry V” and is being staged in homage to the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare.
The production also coincides with the exhibit of a First Folio edition of Shakespeare’s plays that is currently at the UW-Madison’s Chazen Museum of Art.
In his first production since becoming the full-time and permanent director of University Opera, former interim director David Ronis (below, in a photo by Luke Delalio) is re-imagining the opera as taking place in Hollywood of the 1930s, where Falstaff is a silent movie actor who is out of work with the advent of “talkies.”
“Falstaff” will be sung in Italian with English supertitles.
UW-Madison professor James Smith will conduct the UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra. (You can hear the opera’s finale from a Metropolitan Opera‘s traditional production under James Levine in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
UW-Madison professor and baritone Paul Rowe (below) will sing the title role. But the production, including the cast, sets, costumes and lighting, involves more than 90 UW-Madison students.
Performances in Music Hall, at the bottom of Bascom Hill, are on Friday night at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. and next Tuesday night, Nov. 15, at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are $25 for general admission, $20 for seniors; and $10 for UW-Madison students.
On Friday, there will also be a panel discussion at 6 p.m. before the performance.
For much more information about the production and the panel discussion, go to:
http://www.music.wisc.edu/2016/10/04/university-opera-falstaff-2016/
Tags: Arts, baritone, cast, Chazen Museum of Art, Chicago metropolitan area, Classical music, composer, Composition, conductor, costumes, David Ronis, English, Falstaff, finale, First Folio, Henry IV, Henry V, Hollywood, Italian, Jacob Stockinger, James Levine, lighting, Madison, Merry Wives of Windsor, Metropolitan Opera, Music, New Music, opera, Orchestra, Paul Rowe, performer, production, sets, Shakespeare, silent movies, Singing, students, symphony, talkies, the Met, traditional, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University Opera, Verdi, vocal music, William Shakespeare, Wisconsin, YouTube
Classical music: What are the differences in directing “Romeo and Juliet” as an opera and as a play? Madison Opera stages the opera this weekend
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ALERT: This week’s FREE Friday Noon Musicale in the Atrium Auditorium of the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, features acoustic guitarists Helen Avakian and Dave Irwin in music by Ralph Towner, Giberto Gil and Helen Avakian. The concert takes place from 12:15 to 1 p.m.
By Jacob Stockinger
This weekend, the Madison Opera will stage Charles Gounod’s opera “Romeo and Juliet.” Performances in Overture Hall are on Friday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
Here is a link with many more details about the performances, the play, the cast and tickets:
Stage director Doug Scholz-Carlson (below), the artistic director of the Great River Shakespeare Festival who has directed “Romeo and Juliet” as both an opera and a play, agreed to an email interview with The Ear about the differences:
You have directed “Romeo and Juliet” as both a play and an opera. How do the two experiences differ, and what are your most favorite and least favorite parts of doing each?
The opera is based closely on the play, so much of what is essential remains true for both versions.
The biggest difference for me is that the opera focuses on the emotional heart of the love story. Thanks to the music by Gounod (below), the audience experiences what it feels like to be young, impulsive and in love.
The music can reach our emotions directly, so that the opera becomes a truly personal experience for the audience. I don’t think you can see the opera and not find yourself transported to that time in your life when you first fell in love. Romeo and Juliet sing a moving duet in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Because of the important role of the chorus, the opera also gives the audience the sense of the entire community that surrounds the young people. We see the tragedy through the eyes of the adults in the families who are unable, or unwilling, to help their children grow up.
The play by Shakespeare offers more subtlety in the journey of Romeo and Juliet’s relationship and more context for the adults in their lives. While the opera offers a huge emotional experience through the two main characters, the play creates more nuances in the relationships between many individuals in the story.
In our production, I hope audiences will discover that we have added back many of these relationships through visual storytelling.
What should audiences know about how Gounod’s opera differs from Shakespeare’s play? Do you have a personal preference between the two and why?
I don’t have a preference. I truly love them both for different reasons.
I love the wordplay in the tragedy by Shakespeare (below). Each character is sketched clearly and specifically through the way they use language. We see in the language why Romeo and Juliet find the perfect match in each other. Even smaller characters like the servant Peter have a full life in the play.
The play has a relentless energy. There are so many times in the story that things could turn out well — and so many ways in which the two lovers might never have met. You come away from the play with a profound sense that the combination of events that make up our lives is, in a way, a miracle.
Through Gounod’s music, the opera delivers an emotional experience that can’t be duplicated in any other way in the theater.
I’d be tempted to draw the distinction that the play appeals to the head while the opera appeals to the heart — but that would be unfair to both. Both the play and the opera are a complete experience. They are both profound ways to experience a timeless story.
What else would you like to say about this production in specific or about “Romeo and Juliet” in general?
We keep telling and retelling the story of Romeo and Juliet because it plays out our worst fears. What happens when what we hate becomes more important than what we love? I imagine we’ve all been asking ourselves that question given the current political environment.
Neither the opera nor the play ever explains why the Capulets hate the Montagues.
It doesn’t matter. Both families allow their hatred of each other to become more important than their love for their children. The Capulets and Montagues pay a terrible price to learn that lesson, but it is a lesson we all need to learn over and over again.
Tags: Arts, Characters in Romeo and Juliet, choral music, Classical music, direct, Doug Scholz-Carlson, emotion, Gounod, Great River Shakespeare Festival, guitar, Jacob Stockinger, John DeMain, Love, Madison, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Music, opera, Orchestra, play, Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare, tragedy, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vocal music, William Shakespeare, young people, YouTube
Classical music: The Madison Bach Musicians perform Baroque and Renaissance English music this coming Friday night and Sunday afternoon
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ALERT: The strike by the players in the Philadelphia Orchestra has been settled. For details, go to this website:
For more background about that strike and others, which The Ear writes about yesterday, go to:
By Jacob Stockinger
The Madison Bach Musicians will open its 2016-17 season this coming weekend with two performances of a program that features English music from the Baroque and Renaissance eras.
The first performance is this Friday, Oct. 7, at 7:30 p.m., preceded by 6:45 lecture, in the Atrium Auditorium (below, in a photo by Zane Williams) of the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive.
The second is this coming Sunday, Oct. 9, at 3:30 p.m., preceded by a 2:45 lecture, at the Holy Wisdom Monastery (below), 4200 County Highway M in Middleton.
If bought in advance, tickets are $28 for the general public and $23 for students and seniors over 65; at the door tickets will be $30 and $25, respectively. Student rush tickets are $10, require a student ID and are available 30 minutes before the lectures. For more information, visit www.madisonbachmusicians.org
The program features: Sonata in Four Parts in F major “Golden Sonata” by Henry Purcell (1659−1695); Suite No. 2 in D major from “Consort of Four Parts” by Matthew Locke (c. 1621−1677); Songs to texts by William Shakespeare by Robert Johnson (1583−1633); “Diverse bizzarie Spra La Vecchia” by Nicola Matteis (c. 1650−c. 1709); Division No. 7 for two bass viols by Christopher Simpson (c. 1606−1669); “Solus cum sola” for solo lute solo by John Dowland (1563−1626); “The Broken Consort” Part 1, Suite no. 2 in G major by Matthew Locke; “The Carman’s Whistle” by William Byrd (c. 1540−1623); “Light of Love” by Anonymous as arranged by David Douglass; “John Come Kiss Me Now” by John Playford (1623−c. 1686) as arranged by David Douglass; “Long Cold Night” and “Queen’s Jig.”
Performers include: Dann Coakwell, tenor; David Walker, lute and theorbo; Kangwon Kim violin and concertmaster; Brandi Berry, violin; Anna Steinhoff and Martha Vallon, viola de gamba; and Trevor Stephenson, harpsichord.
Here are some edited notes by MBM founder and director Trevor Stephenson (below):
Madison Bach Musicians is delighted to start off its 13th season with a foray into new repertoire for the group: English music from the Renaissance and Baroque.
A special feature of the program will be the recognition in song of the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare (1564-1616).
Both the smaller lute and the larger theorbo were considered ideal for accompanying the voice in songs, and the theorbo could project a bit better in larger ensembles.
Like the lute, the viola da gamba is also fretted, but it is bowed and not plucked. Moreover, the gamba is held between the legs, the “gams,” and its name literally means “viol of the legs.”
The baroque violins we’ll use in this program will be strung in the usual fashion of the 16th and 17th centuries, that is, with gut strings (from dried sheep intestine); and the bows will be of the Elizabethan “short” variety (shorter length, and with the stick arching away from the hair), which make them ideally suited for the intricate articulations and lively dance rhythms of this repertoire.
All of these instruments enjoyed great popularity in England during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Henry Purcell (below) flourished during the arts boom of the Restoration period under King Charles II and is widely known for his theater music and operas. However, he also wrote quite a bit of instrumental music.
The four parts of this sonata refers here not to numbers of movements, but to the number of simultaneous instrumental lines—in this case, four, which is notably different from the typical three-part (or trio sonata) Italianate texture of the 17th century.
The Purcell sonata is followed by an instrumental Suite in D major by Matthew Locke (c. 1621-1677). Locke was a close friend of the Purcell family and in particular of Purcell’s father, Henry Purcell Sr. The younger Henry Purcell wrote a musical elegy on Locke’s death in 1677.
Locke’s years of greatest musical activity in London began as the period of Puritanical Commonwealth rule, under Oliver Cromwell, was waning in the late 1650’s. The Commonwealth had severely restricted the theater and the arts in general. Fun fact: Locke (below) was the first composer to indicate a musical crescendo and decrescendo in a score.
The texts for the songs are from various Elizabethan poets—John Fletcher, John Webster and Shakespeare himself—and all of the music was composed by lutenist Robert Johnson (below, 1583-1633).
Johnson worked closely with Shakespeare in theatrical productions at the court of James I during the first few years of the 17th century. Johnson even provided music for Shakespeare’s original production of “The Tempest.”
The first part of the MBM program will conclude with two works that explore a favorite 17th-century technique of ornamentation over a repeated bass line, sometimes called a ground bass or chaconne.
The first is by the Italian virtuoso violinist Nicola Matteis (below, in a painting by Gottfried Kneller, c. 1650-1709), who enjoyed a successful career in London during an era when the English were importing Italian music masters by the dozens.
The second work, by Christopher Simpson (below, c. 1606-1669), explores “divisions” or variations tossed back and forth between two bass viols (gambas) while they simultaneously repeat a ground bass.
The second half of the program will feature songs for tenor and voice by John Dowland (below). We’ll also play Locke’s Broken Consort, “broken” meaning “mixed”–in that violins and gambas, which were considered in Elizabethan times to be artistically quite different instruments—were being asked by the composer to play nicely together.
Following that, I’ll play a rousing set of variations for harpsichord, “The Carman’s Whistle,” by William Byrd (below).
And to conclude the program, the consort will play a set of sprightly dances originally published in 1651 in the collection “The English Dancing Master” by John Playford (below).
Tags: Arts, Baroque, bow, chaconne, Christopher Simpson, Classical music, dance, David Douglass, Early music, Elizabethan, Elizabethan England, Elizabethan music, English, English Renaissance, ground bass, hair, harpsichord, Historically informed performance, Italian music, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, John Playford, King Charles II, lecture, London, lute, Madison, Madison Bach Musicians, Matthew Locke, Music, Nicola Matteis, Orchestra, period instruments, Purcell, Renaissance, restoration, Robert Johnson, score, Shakespeare, Sonata, song, Student, Suite, tenor, theorbo, trio, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, viola da gamba, Violin, vocal music, William Byrd, William Shakespeare, Wisconsin
Classical music: The Madison Early Music Festival announces the theme and dates for next summer
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By Jacob Stockinger
The final figures from this summer’s 17th annual Madison Early Music Festival – which celebrated William Shakespeare and the reign of Queen Elizabeth I — are not in yet.
But from what The Ear saw and heard, it sure looked like a successful one.
So what can we expect next summer?
The 18th annual Madison Early Music Festival will take place July 8-15, 2017 and have the theme “The Musical World of Don Quixote.” That would suggest Spanish and Iberian music of the 17th century Golden Age during the time when Miguel de Cervantes (below) wrote and published what is generally considered the first modern novel.
From what The Ear has learned so far, the group Piffaro (below top) has been booked to return and the always impressive All-Festival Concert will be assembled and directed by MEMF veteran faculty member and performer Bob Wiemken (below bottom), who is a member of the Renaissance band Piffaro.
According to MEMF officals, more information will become available at the end of September.
Here is a link to the MEMF website:
https://artsinstitute.wisc.edu/memf/
Tags: Arts, Baroque, Chamber music, choral music, Classical music, Don Quixote, Early music, Elizabethan England, Iberian, Jacob Stockinger, Madison, Madison Early Music Festival, MEMF, Miguel de Cervantes, Piffaro, Queen Elizabeth I, Renaissance, Spain, Spanish, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, vocal music, William Shakespeare, Wisconsin
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