What Makes Music so Unique? Consider the question from the point of view of an eager Music History Major and see what he comes up with. Join me as I review and discover the amazing world of classical music from schools to orchestras, opera houses, etc.
The conductor is about to begin when a man with a cucumber runs up to him, pushes him off the podium, and then proceeds to raise up his cucumber baton to the audience as the stage goes black and messy piano variations on Auld Lang Syne are heard over the sound system. Thus opens Gerald Barry's The Importance of Being Earnest.
Based on Oscar Wilde's hilarious play of the same name, this opera made its US Stage debut last night at the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center. The production, with cast and direction from the Royal Opera, was part of the NY Philharmonic Biennial, the orchestra's festival of modern music and young talent. And there was no shortage of great music last night.
Being a fan of the play, I was curious to see what the opera would add or subtract from the play's satire. Luckily, Mr. Barry has removed very little from the play in the process of writing the libretto, keeping the spirit in tact. The costuming, however, has moved to the modern day, highlighted by having the priest dress in a bicyclist outfit and a neck brace. Despite the costumes and phones removing the physical setting from the original time period, it still keeps its mannerisms strong.
The orchestra is working overtime for this show by whistling, shouting in unison, stamping feet, and most of all, not letting the fact that they share the stage with the actors distract them. The percussionists Christopher S. Lamb and Daniel Druckman are especially to be acknowledge for their gun wielding, plate smashing, and große hammering. The show even includes prerecorded piano playing (which opened the show) and chamber male choir (spouting philosophies in Act 1).
The music is a wild ride with variations on Auld Lang Syne all over the place. Repeating dialogue with dancing to mimic Gilbert and Sullivan's "When I go out of door", French horn and viola trilling to evoke bees, and settings of Ode to Joy as lyric and patter songs. The score is vast and yet so small, the orchestra under Ilan Volkov's direction does it's very best to showcase Gerald Barry's creativity.
(Score courtesy of Schott and Hal Leonard)
With minimal set design, meaning steps and a white backdrop, the physical comedy and personalities of the actors really steals the show. Claudia Boyle as Cecily kept her voice over the staff most of the performance, being the bratty sort of school girl that can match Barbara Hannigan's Mystery of the Macabre performance. It was a perfect counterbalance for Hilary Summers as Miss Prism, whose contralto register and mid word pauses showcase an absentmindedness with old age. Simon Wilding as Lane/Merrimen does most of the stage managing work, even getting to stomp boots on tables and throw the last few dinner plates. I do feel bad for Kevin West, whose speaking role of Reverend Chasuble is a little reduced in this adaptation, removing the dialogue between him and Miss Prism.
At the work's core though are the four main city folk: Benedict Nelson as Algernon, Paul Curievici as Jack Worthing, Stephanie Marshall as Gwendolyn, and Alan Ewing as Lady Bracknell. Each one is superb, working off each other and leading the emotional and comical high points. Jack's collectiveness stays strong and put under pressure by Bracknell's uptight attitude, Gwendolyn being overly directive, and Algernon's slobby self.
My favorite point in the show has to be when Gwendolyn and Cecily meet for the first time and do not look at each other while performing sprechstimme through megaphones. Then when she learns about Cecily's identity, Gwendolyn exclaims her discontent while the percussionist throws a dinner plate after every word. Think of SpongeBob in Rock Bottom and you can see that this is doing that right. Even the audience will applaud during a humming pause to acknowledge how great that moment is.
If you get a chance to see this while it's still in NYC, I highly recommend it. (Performances June 3-4 at Rose Theater at Jazz in Lincoln Center) Otherwise, a full performance with the same cast is available to view for free via the Royal Opera's YouTube page. You too can learn "the vital importance of Being Ernest".
Last night, March 24th 2015, I was able to procure a ticket for the Opening Night of the newest production by David McVicar, Donizetti's Roberto Devereux. Below is some background information for the Tudor cycle, followed by my review of the performance.
Background: Roberto Devereux is the third opera by Gaetano Donizetti about the lives of the Tudors in England. The trio of works also includes Anna Bolena, about Henry VIII's ill fated second wife, and Maria Stuarda, about the Queen of Scots' imprisonment and execution. There is a fourth opera preceding these called Il Castello Di Kenilworth, but it is often ignored when performing the cycle the operas.
Over the past 6 years, The Metropolitan Opera has been preparing for the full Donizetti Tudor Cycle, the product of David McVicar. It started with the 2011 production of Anna Bolena with Anna Netrebko, and 2013's Maria Stuarda with Joyce Di Donato. The cycle would conclude with performances in the 2015-2016 season with soprano Sondra Radvanovsky taking on the title roles of the first two operas, leading up to the role of Queen Elizabeth in Roberto Devereux. General Manager Peter Gelb's plan has been to revive opera popularity in the US by creating new productions with the help of directors like McVicar, Bartlett Sher, Robert Lepage, and Richard Eyre. However, this is the first "cycle" of operas under one director since Lepage's Ring Cycle, which received rave reviews for its performers but mixed reviews for its hulking set.
The McVicar cycle, however, uses different sets for each opera.
Review:
Right when you walk into the auditorium, you are greeted with a dark palace of Nonsuch, featuring the burial coffin of Queen Elizabeth I in white porcelain as two statues, representing time and death, look on from the sides of the main door. So far in this cycle, the most shocking image we have seen pre-overture has been the curtain for Maria Stuarda, featuring a lion and a griffin fighting. And as the overture plays in this opera, we see the courtiers of Elizabeth, played by the Met Chorus, gather on stage as the coffin is taken away. The courtiers then disperse in groups until the stage is set with a royal chair and the courtiers gather behind the columns and in the balcony, separated by sex. As the show goes on, these people do not disappear, but move around in the same spaces, looking on at private scenes of the Royals, clapping at the ends of arias and scenes, and then receiving bows from the main performers at the end of the show. At first, I just thought the chorus was eager to see everyone perform and clapped as you would in a rehearsal, but then they kept doing it, maintaining their role as chorus and audience. However, there are no other aspects to this production to suggest it would be a show within a show, like Sher's production of le comte Ory. The actors do not even address the chorus/audience until the curtain call. I can see it as symbolic of the fact that this is suppose to be after Elizabeth's life and that anything that wasn't public was more or less exaggerated on by a curious public.
We are even presented with very minimal scene changes, especially since the first two acts are presented without intermission or pause. The back panel of the stage, with three doors and the two statues, moves forward and backward to change the size of the space. The intimate spaces, the Nottinghams' quarters, are the most forward on stage, while the throne room and house of peers are the farthest back. In the final scene in Elizabeth's private quarters, the large space suggests that what should be the most intimate space for her majesty has become a public, as more and more people enter. And finally, after Devereux's execution, the back panel disappears into the rafters as we are given a larger space and the reappearance of Elizabeth's burial coffin.
The final moments of the character once again on the way to the grave has been a connecting factor in all three productions. Anne Boleyn removes the bun from her hair as she accepts death and walks toward the scaffold and ending in a red curtain falling in front of the audience. Mary Stuart removes her gown as well as her hair when she makes her way to the scaffold in her final scene. And now, as the scaffold for Robert Devereux has been offstage, we see that Elizabeth's death comes in her removing her dresses, hair, jewelry, until she becomes an old woman in white makeup, white hair, and white night rail. She is as plain as she can possibly be and turns to see her coffin before passing out and dying. This is the chilling finale I have come to expect in this cycle, especially as the chorus sings of James' ascending the throne.
Other than all this thoughtful and well designed execution of ideas, the best part of the night was the cast. Sondra Radvanovsky, following both operas, transforms into the powerful but bitter old monarch that is Queen Elizabeth I. Vocally and dramatically, she was the star of the show, especially knowing that this is an Elizabeth in her old age becoming more and more like her father, losing those she has favor towards, and unlit matey losing her royalty in her final moments. And fortunately, the supporting cast of Elīna Garanča, Matthew Polenzani, and Mariusz Kwiecién also provided a powerhouse of great performing. In fact, the bromance of Matthew and Mariusz has been on fire this season following their performances in The Pearl Fishers back in January. In more minor roles, we have Brian Downen, making his debut as Lord Cecil, and Christopher Job as Sir Walter Raleigh. Both men were excellent provided the right attention to their vocal lines and characters.
With Maurizio Benini's great conducting of the orchestra and singers, the incredible costumes, and the tone set by the designers, I can say without a doubt that this production is one of the best in the Met's recent history. My only complaint would have been the cop out of Elizabeth dying of a broken heart. But that goes to the composer and librettist. McVicar presents it as her reaching the end after three long operas and decades of her reign. It is a perfect end to the Tudor Cycle and I hope that in the years to come, there will be more great sopranos willing to take on these roles and that people will see these works from a new perspective.
Donizetti's Roberto Devereux plays at the Metropolitan Opera until April 19th. Visit metopera.org for casting info and tickets.
This past March, The Metropolitan Musuem of Art presented a newly commissioned work. It wasn't a painting or a sculpture, but a 25-minute opera from the company Opera Erratica. The work, which played every half hour in the Vélez Blanco Patio, was entitled La Celestina, based on a Spanish Renaissance novel by Fernando de Rojas.
The opera tells the story of a young Calisto, a man who has fallen for a beautiful woman named Melibea. In order to win her love, Calisto sends his servant Sempronio to the witch Celestina so that he can procure a love spell. What Calisto doesn't know is that his servant makes a deal with the witch to trick his master out of more money as well as obtain the love of Elicia, one of Celestina's whores. Using a magic thread and spool, Celestina gets Melibea enchanted enough to have her meet Calisto in private. After payment is given, Sempronio and another servant try to get their money but Celestina refuses, forcing the men to kill her. After being discovered, the two servants are executed and Elicia takes her revenge by killing Calisto when he falls off Melibea's ladder. Melibea then takes her own life, bringing the witch's curse to full circle.
How does one group perform an opera every half hour for almost two weeks? Well, it turns out that all the music and visuals were recorded ahead of time. This work is one in a new trend of installation operas, combining prepared multimedia with a specific location to create a unique experience. The Vélez Blanco Patio follows the architecture of the 16th century, providing a time specific setting for the wall projections, which combine animation with shadow puppetry to visually tell the story. The music was recorded on multiple channels and played from several speakers in the room, with each voice or instrument corresponding to a different sculpture.
The sculptures as narrators is a concept which has been used before, let us not forget the Muses in Disney's Hercules. But unlike the cartoony nature of moving mouths, the statues are from the actual museum collection and placed around the room, highlighted only by spotlights. The characteristics of each statue are significant of the role they play in the opera. For example, all the bass viol music is attributed to the Orpheus statue, who is portrayed playing the viola del braccio. King Phillip the Second is a bass and Caesar is a countertenor, a little Easter egg for the dedicated opera fans.
The main debate that is presented at the start of the opera is "How did it happen?". The audience is presented with the visual of five deaths, which occur in the opera and the statues argue over whether the fault is black magic, the devil, love, or jealousy. Phrases from this section return very often, prompting some kind of moral for the ending. In the end, it is love that brings about the ends of the characters. Love of money, sexual desire, and honor, are all downfalls for these people as we are treated to magical thread spun by Celestina.
In between, it was a visual and musical delight. The music, written by Matt Rogers, greatly evokes the Renaissance style while creating the right amount of cacophony. The usage of lights and projections in that darkened patio room prompted fear and empathy for the story, although sometimes it was hard to determine what was being sung or said. With the imbalance of volume in the music, I needed to listen to opera twice in order to better hear the music. The visuals had no problem relaying the story. The scale of both the romantic and political tones of the era are perfectly presented throughout.
Overall, the work is great and it is a shame that it may be a while before it is presented again. While no recordings are available at moment, it doesn't mean that it won't ever come to pass. Alone, the music would make a wonderful stereophonic opera experience. The real thrill, however, is certainly following the model of groups like On-Site Opera, in which one needs to be there to truly experience the production. If more productions from Opera Erratica make their way to NYC, you bet that I will do my best to see them.
As an avid opera goer, I find nothing more exciting then a well written villain. From hostile takeovers, kidnapping, manipulation, and murder, there are some incredible villains in the great history of opera. I have compiled a list of my personal favorite moments where the villain gets to shine. These picks are either scenes or arias or a combination of the two. For this list, I have picked ten operas and at least one villain from that opera. My focus will be on opera from the classical era up to the early-mid 20th century, since these are more prevalent in the public eye. I disqualify villains from comic operas and operettas in order to focus on dramas and tragedies. My list does not reflect the views of any other particular person or organization. In no particular order, here is my list of ten great opera villain moments.
1) "Credo in un Dio crudel", Iago from Verdi's Otello
There is no uncertainty in the opera world that Iago is one of the great villains to ever be penned. The second to last of Giuseppe Verdi's great operas, Otello follows the great moor of Shakespeare as his jealousy leads him to commit murder. Who leads him to this downfall? His "trusted" ensign Iago. In the original play, he is more of a trickster and less of a cold hearted demon. He is racist, manipulative, and competitive. In the opera, Iago is passed over for the appointment of captain by the Moor general Othello. In revenge, he makes up an affair between Desdemona, Othello's wife, and Cassio, a captain in Othello's fleet. In his famous aria, distancing himself from Shakespeare, he declares his belief in a cruel god, who wants nothing more but for men to suffer in this life and the next. This is the epitome of evil for any operatic villain.
2) "La Veau d'Or", Mephistopheles from Gounod's Faust
Historically, there has been no greater force of evil that man fears more than eternal damnation at the hands of the devil. None has been more prevalent than in the legend of Faust, a german scholar who sells his soul for youth and knowledge. The devil Mephistopheles has appeared in many adaptions, but Gounod's Faust was so acclaimed, it ushered in a new age of french opera. In his famous song of the golden calf, Mephistopheles sings an ode to the greed of man, while simultaneously creating a frantic orgy. He knows the sin of the earth and revels in how easily man is led astray.
3) "O Beauty, O Handsomeness, goodness.." Claggart from Britten's Billy Budd
Benjamin Britten's opera, based on the story by Herman Melville, follows the recollection of british Captain Vere's days as a captain during the days of the French Revolution. After taking on new recruit Billy Budd via impressment, John Claggart, master-at-arms of Veer's ship, orders his spy Squeak to get the young man in trouble. When his plan fails and he sees Billy's innocence and loyalty, Claggart curses goodness and beauty, stating that he will destroy the boy who brought it on the ship. In the second act, he frames Billy for conspiracy to mutiny. When Billy is charged in front of Vere, he stammers and kills Claggart with a single punch. This ultimately leads to Billy's execution.
4) "Schweig', damit dich niemand warnt"/Wolf's Glenn scene- Caspar from Carl Maria von Weber's Der Freischutz
This is the only combination of two separate moments from the same opera. Der Freischutz is considered the first great romantic german opera. When a hunting ranger named Maxwell fears that he will be unable to pass a trial shot before his wedding, he seeks the help of a fellow ranger Caspar to help him obtain magic bullets. Unbeknownst to him, Caspar is the cause of Maxwell's unlucky streak, due to some supernatural assistance. In the finale of Act 1, Caspar sings of how he will use the magic bullets to exact revenge on Maxwell for stealing his former love Agathe. In the Wolf's Glenn, Caspar calls on the devil, portrayed as the Black Huntsman, to give him one more day to find a replacement soul, Maxwell. The rest of the scene involves the creation of the magic bullets, summoning wild creatures, demons, and spirits to the land of the living. The day of the wedding, the plan fails. The final bullet, controlled by the devil, misses its intended target and kills Caspar.
5) "Der Holle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen", The Queen of the Night from Mozart's The Magic Flute
Yes, this list has an overload of testosterone. But that doesn't mean we don't have great female villains in opera. None can match the pure evil that is The Queen of the Night. Sopranos of all ages envy this role for its difficulty and her power. In the first act of the opera, Tamino is sent on a quest to save the queen's daughter from the evil Sarastro. By the time we see he again, we find that the queen is actually the villain, and Sarastro the good guy. In her famous aria, she orders her daughter Pamina to kill Sarastro or be killed herself. It is one of Mozart's greatest arias and remains a classic to this day.
6) "Va, Tosca", Scarpia from Puccini's Tosca
None of Puccini's villains is as sadistic and lustful than Baron Scarpia, chief of police for the city of Rome. He is after a political prisoner and the affection of Floria Tosca, an opera singer. Knowing that her boyfriend Cavaradossi is an accomplice and a political ally for the prisoner Angelotti, he uses her emotions to his advantage. After tricking Tosca into thinking that her lover is having an affair with another woman, she confesses to Cavaradossi's whereabouts. When Scarpia believes that he has both the prisoner and Tosca in his sights, he sings of his love of Tosca, which is distracting him from the Te Deum performed in the church. This is some of Puccini's most chilling writing.
7) Revival Scene, Olin Blitch from Carlisle Floyd's Susannah
What is a villain without power? And what greater power than a religious god? In this classic american opera, a young woman is judged by her townsfolk for her supposed sin. Along comes Olin Blitch, a revival pastor, who comes to town to judge the wicked and save the good. At a revival meeting, Blitch gives a sermon aimed at Susannah of how God punishes the wicked. After public humiliation, he rapes her. After Susannah's brother kills Blitch in revenge, she ostracizes herself from the rest of the town. Many situations like this were based in the cold reality of life in the southern USA, and touched the souls of many facing the wrath of Senator McCarthy's Red Scare.
8) "Quel vecchio maledivami", Sparafucile from Verdi's Rigoletto
This is one of the two duets I have on this list. Sparafucile is an assassin who introduces himself to Rigoletto, and is later hired to kill the Duke of Mantua...unsuccessfully. He lives to kill for cash uses his sister to seduce his victims. Before this meeting, Count Monterone places a father's curse on the Duke for raping his daughter, and on Rigoletto for mocking him. After Rigoletto's own daughter Gilda has been saved from the Duke and Monterone only reverses the curse on the Duke before his execution, Rigoletto has no choice but to have the Duke assassinated. But, after Sparafucile's sister falls for the Duke, he decides that he will kill someone else (Gilda) and take the money. He has no moral center to anything but family and money. I consider this an important moment
9) "Son'io dinazi al re?", The Grand Inquisitor from Verdi's Don Carlo
The second scene involving two characters is the meeting of the Grand Inquisitor with King Philip of Spain in Don Carlo. The Inquisitor is so full of himself that he essentially tells the king to kill anyone who dares defy the kingdom and the church. In this case, he means his son Carlo and his friend Rodrigo, a revolutionary. He is the ultimate power in the case. His influence is the reason so many people died by the hands of the inquisition. He goes into depth of how god is commanding him to rid the world of evil. And of course, the dark deep bass is terrifying enough as it is.
10) "Bin ich nun frei?", Alberich from Wagner's Das Rheingold
No other villain casts a shadow that take four operas to bring to an end. Alberich is the main antagonist of the Ring Cycle. He is a dwarf who takes the enchanted rheingold to fasten a ring to give him unlimited power, but only by denouncing love. Wotan, king of the gods, kidnaps Alberich, takes all his gold to pay a debt to some giants, and cuts off his hand to take the ring. Angered, Alberich places a curse on the ring. It will bring death and destruction to whoever holds it until it is returned back to him. He is mentioned in Die Walkure, plots to take the ring from a young warrior in Siegfried, and commands his son to kill Siegfried and take the ring before being dragged down to his death by the rhinemaidens in Gotterdammerung. His curse lays down the foundation for the rest of the cycle.
Well, that's my list of some of the best villain moments in opera. If you agree, disagree, or have your own favorite that wasn't mentioned here, feel free to comment down below.
I had originally meant for this to be posted before the events of Sunday came around. Unfortunately, things never go as you plan, life has its ways of taking the things we hold dear. I am currently in mourning of Lorin Maazel, a great man who I had the privilege to meet a few weeks ago, but whom I had admired my entire life. So, I will divide this into two parts: a quick summary of the week following the Don Giovanni premiere and my thoughts on the late maestro.
The Sunday after opening night, I went to a wonderful after party hosted by a donor, and went swimming in the lake with the rest of the CATS.
Monday I went to Shenandoah Park and did a 2 mile hike with my housemates.
The rest of the week went by without much except a concert on Thursday at the wonderful Hylton Center at George Mason University with Jonathan Beyer and Denyce Graves.
Then I met Margaret Warner, famous host of PBS News Hour, who was to narrate Peter and the Wolf that Sunday. After another Butterfly and Don Giovanni performance, we all got the shocking news that Maazel passed on Sunday morning, so we dedicated the Story in Music Concert in his memory. Dietlinde, his wife, was not able to narrate his pieces as originally planned. Luckily, Maria Tucci, who had performed in a reading of Don Juan in Hell by GB Shaw, had agreed to step in. Plus, we had the wonderfully outlandishly dressed Sir James Galway perform in one of the pieces. He also gave a masterclass the day beforehand. During the company party, we gave a toast to Lorin Maazel, "the greatest showman who ever lived".
Now, how to honor this man? How do I go and tell the world the great deeds he has done? I can't. Everyone else has. It would be useless to say what he has done when it has been printed by every newspaper in the world. I attended a memorial service for him this past Wednesday. Never in my life would I ever think I was important enough to be part of his family. But there I was, with my fellow "Castletonians" as one speaker put it. I can never thank the man enough for everything he has done to inspire my life's ambitions. The man was truly a citizen of the world, and just for a few weeks, he was part of mine.
Now, I never got to shoot the breeze with him.The only time I ever talked to him about anything musical was over Facebook. And I think I lost that conversation years ago. And when I finally talked to him here, It was just a question as to whether or not I needed to print scores for all the conducting fellows. That was all. Everything else I ever heard him say was to the orchestra and singers. And every word out of his mouth was magic, or to more age appropriate, remarkable. The last time he was in the theater was for a Don Giovanni dress rehearsal. Since then, he had been watching every performance from his manor house on the farm. He was a pleasure to meet and will be an inspiration to millions in the future. Thanks to this festival, Youtube, and the hundreds of recordings he has made. No future musican will ever be able to learn about great music men without hearing the name Lorin Maazel. Thank You Maestro. Godspeed.
---Warning: Rant Ahead----- The Don Giovanni premiere went very well. Splendid cast and orchestra, wonderful sets, not so shining reviews.
"Worse was the coda: Giovanni’s comeuppance is taken not by him, but by a doppelganger who shadows him at various points during the show. Giovanni stands by to watch, bemused, as the doppelganger is dragged off to Hades. He then provides cynical, pantomime commentary on the other characters’ denouements, upstaging them with a quick, final sexual conquest. So the moral of the story, I guess, is that as long as you stay true to your libertine principles, nothing bad will befall you."-Robert Battey, Washinton Post
He bashed the conductor, the costumes, and our concept, but the cast blew him away. I don't care what he has to say. I thought everything was incredible. My personal philosophy for putting on an opera is that you are always putting on a show for someone who has never seen an opera. Your production be whatever you want, but if your audience can't follow along with the story or with the emotions of the characters, then you are, and excuse my language for this with kids, s**t out of luck. This production was alive and engaging, and I was sitting in the wings the entire night. But the one thing I will care about is how in both opera reviews from The Washington Post, theycontinually set out to rip on the conductors. I think that this is simply because they are not Maazel. Things happen, people get sick, that is the whole reason why we have assistant conductors. Brad Moore is exceptional. Salvatore Percacciolo knows the work with such clear definition in his mind. I have spent weeks watching these rehearsals. The only things I have concern over are the length of the rehearsals, at least two 3-hour rehearsals a day for at least 6 days of the week. These musicians are kicking behinds and taking names, and I think that people should give them a break when it comes to being criticized. Maazel was there when they picked every musician and conductor who auditioned for this program. He has given his blessing to everything in the output and input of these performances. He has been watching every performance via live stream. He is essentially our Big Brother, ironic because he wrote the operatic version of 1984. Plus, we are working with ridiculous circumstances. Musicians are out of commission left and right and we need to fill replacements at the last minute notice. New practice parts have to be scanned and printed on the daily, not just for concerts, but Chamber Cabarets before each concert and the weekend chamber and scenes concerts. Instruments have to be moved between rehearsal spaces and performance venues on the daily. Internet and Phone service are incredibly limited. But that is all made up for in talent and drive. After Maazel passes over the reins of this festival, it is up to the musicians, singers, directors, teachers, and conductors to make this festival worth while for the duration of its existence, which i hope will be a long one because Rappahannock County needs this festival like a dog needs a bone. I have total faith in the people who brought me here. And one day, I hope it will be able to stand on its own without Maazel. He started this project, and it is up to the people to keep it going. ---This concludes the rant. We return to our original programming in the next post---
Not too much happened this week to be honest. Everyone is
really starting to reach beiling point because the opening night is next
Saturday, June 28th. People are busy with rehearsals and recovering
mentally from rehearsals. Sitzprobe and full staged runthroughs in the theater
have begun for Madama Butterfly, the
final staging rehearsals for Don Giovanni
were completed at the local elementary, and orchestral rehearsals for the
symphonic concerts have been going and going as they are allotted.
The Orchestra Management Work Corner
One
thing that happened on Sunday was that my housemates and I were to go to
Shennandoah National Park for a nature hike. That day, I decided to go shopping
at Walmart for a few house necessities: shower mat, dustpin, water bottles, and
air fresheners. When I got back, I found the house was empty except for me.
Everyone was gone and I assumed that they left without me. So I drove out to
the park, spent $15 on admittance, and drove up the mountain, enjoying the
incredible views. Absolutely breathtaking. Too bad that when I finally got a
message to one of them, it turned out they went to the pool at Meadows house
across from the festival tent. So after taking some more pictures, I rushed
back to Castleton, pissed that no one had informed of their change in plans.
Luckily, they had never meant to leave me out of the trip had it happened. So
we spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool, playing ball and barbequing. It
was a much-needed break from all the hubbub.
Shenandoah National Park
The
rest of the week has been nonstop rehearsals. We finally started in the theater
on Tuesday, after a few sitzprob with both show casts. I was very impressed
with the design of the sets and backgrounds. I will be even more impressed once
decisions of the background projections are finalized. Otherwise, everything is
absolutely beautiful. There was one staging direction that went from beautiful
to hilariously distracting of one person: Trouble. Of course, I mean the child
actor who plays Butterfly’s child. In the scene where Butterfly and Suzuki set
flowers on the floor, the way the scene is originally set is to have just the
two of them. But the director wanted the child to join in setting out the
flower petals. But she was too distracting, and Maestro Maazel would not have
it. She was removed from that part of the scene so that it would just be a
beautiful moment between to friends finding great joy in Pinkerton’s return.
A view of the pit
This
past Thursday, I made a trip out to Maryland. I was informed the day before
that I would be driving two of the orchestra members to different shops in
order to pick up their rental instruments for the remainder of the festival.
Luckily the shops were only 20 minutes apart. L & L Music was in
Gaithersburg, where my roommate Rupert got a rental horn. The cellist Stephanie
had to go to Bethesda to get a cello at Potter Violins. Both store staff were
great to talk to and very understanding of the time restraints and
international issues for ID. They were also very impressed on our being part of
Castleton. I would definitely recommend to those who need good shops to go to. And
luckily, we had an enjoyable time in the car, discussing our favorite and least
favorite music, the people we left behind at home, and how much we couldn’t get
the festival music out of our heads. And after making a lunch break at
Firehouse Subs, which was incrediblely delicious (better than Subway even), I
made it back to drop them at the rehearsal in time. Good thing I get reimbursed
for gas for errands in my personal car, because I probably used as much as gas
that day as I had originally purchased that morning.
Besides
finally having a functioning printer/copy machine again, there isn’t much else
going on. I will let you faithful readers know that the opening night of Madama
Butterfly will be streamed online. So I hope that you will either come out to
Castleton to view the operas and concerts, or watch the opera opening nights
online. More info on that soon.
Until next time, this has been The Castleton Diaries.
It has been quite an exciting week to say the least.
Saturday and Monday were spent in rehearsal for Don Giovanni and Madama
Butterfly with the two assistant conductors. If I wasn’t sitting in front
of the orchestra making sure the rehearslas ended on time, I was making copies
and scans. It turns out that the administration put the orchestra management
staff in charge of getting scores out to the Conducting Fellows, the lucky
conductors chosen to work with and learn from Maestro Maazel during the summer.
So I spent the entire Sunday making copies of parts and scores. Luckily I have
great friends who like to check in on me.
Tuesday, I was given the day off. I decided to make a venture out to Washington
DC. I brought my bicycle with me and rode all around the National Mall. It was
the first time I had been there since 2007. The day started pretty lousy, rain
and dreary skies. But as the day progressed, the skies cleared and the sun was
scorching. This was great because I had never realized how cyclist-friendly the
DC area was. There were bike lanes in the center of the roads and everything
was accessible by walking or biking. After riding past the Capital building, I
went to the Botanical Gardens. I was amazed at how beautiful they were. All of
the exotic plants were in one place. I think I must have snapped a good 20
pictures before I even got past the first half of the building.
US Botanical Gardens
Next stop for me was the National Mall. I rode past the
Washington Monument, the reflecting pool, the Lincoln Memorial, WW2, Korea, and
Vietnam memorials, the Jefferson Memorial, the FDR Memorial, and the new Martin
Luther King Jr. Memorial, which had been erected a few years prior. I always
wanted to go back and really get a feel for everything. When I was in eighth
grade, we were on a tight schedue and we didn’t get to enjoy everything the
city had to offer. So I’m glad I got a chance to see everything again.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN (Madama Butterfly Reference)
After looking at the White House, or as much as you can see
from the fence, I stopped for a while to rest at Barnes and Noble before
continuing on. I decided to attend an event Castleton was holding in the city,
a young professionals meet and greet with music at the 201 Bar. Suffice it to
say, after cycling around the city for a good four to five hours, I didn’t have
a suit. So I felt a bit awkward. Luckily, my associates from the festival
didn’t mind, as long as I was polite and said good things to the people that
came in. Of course I wouldn’t say anything less. So after some refreshment and
song, I headed back to Castleton. When I got there, it turned out my boss had
emailed me asking to be back at the office by 10pm to take care of copying the
score to Madama Butterfly, cuting the
sheets down, and then holepunching them into a binder. That was taken care of
in almost no time at all, thank goodness.
The next was the day, the most gloriously awaited day, a day
to which all other days would bow down in praise and …too much? Anyway,
Wednesday was an important day because that was the first day Maestro Lorin
Maazel made his first appearance. The orchestra staff had to be in by 8am to
set everything up before he got there at 9am. At which time, he came down to
the rehearsal hall to get an idea of what was going to happen today. Then he
scrapped that ntirely and said that we would do two sitzprobe for the operas in
one day. Madama Butterfly was to
start at 10am. So you can imagine the absolute frenzy that ensued getting the
hall set up for the orchestra, chorus, principals, covers, stage managers, conducting
fellows, and a special space in the back of the hall just for Maestro to watch
the conducting fellows. What followed was the first professional rehearsal I
had ever experienced. The orchestra was spectacular, the chorus and principals
sounded incredible, and all the conductors were outstanding. At the finale of
each act, I had chills. Whenever Maestro asked for a change, it had an
immediate impact of the tone of the music. I remember one point where he asked
for the two female leads to hold out a decrescendo after the pause in the
flower-picking scene, and it just went from musical to magical in an instant.
The Reflecting Pool as seen from the Lincoln Memorial
(When Maestro walked in that morning, I had some idea of
what to expect. He had been in ill health for a while, a fact that recently led
to his decision to step down as Music Director of the Munich Philharmonic. But
when he came in, despite his slow movement, he still had that air about him
that stated with pride, “I’m here to do what I’ve always done”. In his blue
straw hat and tan jacket, he sat in the back of the rehearsal hall, still
actively listening and stopping the conductors to give instructions to them and
the singers. This was the day I stopped idolizing him as a powerhouse
conductor, and started respecting him as an artist. This man, who I had been
admiring since my days in middle school, was proudly working despite the odds
and taking the music to a higher level.)
The afternoon was spent on Don Giovanni, which continued into the next day. So of course when
my housemates and I watched Sherlock
Holmes that Wednesday night, we all just lost it when Sherlock mentions to
Watson that Don Giovanni is playing
at the opera house. By the way, excellent movie, and we are planning to watch
the sequel soon.
After the sitzprobe were done, the orchestra started
rehearsing the concert repertoire. I missed most of this because I was in the
prodution office attempting to make copies of parts for the concert at the
Hylton Center, which includes arrangements of Broadway standards. I was so
frustrated with trying to connect to the office printer and then print out
multiple parts, I told to my boss that I was willing to stay late to get more
work done. I just proclaimed that “I was willing to give up a night of sleep to
get s**t done!” Then someone said, “Now that’s the Castleton spirit,”. So I
did, even though my boss had preferred I didn’t because he thought it was cruel
of me to do so. But I managed to work late into the night printing out scores
for the conducting fellows to use that following day. I got through all the
arias that were to be rehearsed, plus a few other things that I was constantly
being asked for. I had luckily streamlined the process of finding out what
music the conducting fellows already had via Google Docs, so I didn’t have to
make 16 copies of every score. I made 16 copies of some scores, and 14 for
most. I was of course worried that at some point the machine would run out of
toner. And it did, at 3:30 am, a few pages into the third copy of Peter and the Wolf. I knew that I should
have at least printed out the scores for The
Giving Tree instead of The Empty Pot,
since that one was to be rehearsed. But life is life, you roll with it. So
after having kept myself awake with music and conversations with foreign
friends via the internet, I quietly made my way back to the house, where I
slept on the couch to avoid waking anyone up. I slept from 4 to 6:30, and still
had the same high energy level from that night. So I made my way out for
breakfast, told my boss what I did, and that we were not getting toner until
Monday. He was both appreciative of the gesture and shocked that I actually
went through with it. Actually everyone I told was pretty much in shock.
Honestly, I just sat next to the printer and organized msuic as it came out.
But the conducting fellows were very happy to get their scores, eventhough they
wont see any others until Monday night.
The Jefferson Memorial
But even after making all those copies, some condutors
didn’t even bother taking their scores after the day’s rehearsal, which was
also phenomenal. The orchestra went through the arias that highlighted the
concert series, as well as The Giving
Tree, written by Maestro Maazel and narrated by his wife Dietelinde. I had
never experienced Maazel the composer until that time. True I had heard faint
snippets from his opera 1984, but I
didn’t realize he had written anything else besides that. The Giving Tree, based on the book by Shel Silverstein, was very
colorfully orchestrated. I loved hearing the violincello obbligato, you could
feel all the emotion of the tree as she dealt with the aging of the boy. Mrs.
Maazel is also a great narrator, although it will be Margaret Warner that will
be narrating the works for that concert.
Afterwards, the orchestra was given the rest of the day off.
So I got to go back to the house and take a nap before I started writing this.
Much needed by the way. So what have I learned from all this? First, you have
to realize that you can’t set impossible standards for last minute requests
that involve staying til lord knows when. Second, anything that can go wrong
will go wrong. What is important is how you deal with it. Third, office work is
just inevitable at this job. Lastly, some men are willing to make great
sacrifices to keep doing what they love.
So that’s all I can impart for now. Until next week, this
has been The Castleton Diaries.
P.S., Best of luck to my younger brother Evan and his
highschool baseball team as they fight for the NY state championship in
Binghamton this weekend.
If you don’t normally don’t read my blog, here is an update. I am spending this next week, plus June and July, working at the Castleton Opera Festival in Virginia as an Orchestra Management intern. I will be at rehearsals daily, which will be led by Lorin Maazel, former music director of the NY Philharmonic and current chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic. The music this summer will include Madama Butterfly, Don Giovanni (of which he recorded the score for the 1979 Joseph Losey film), a staged reading of Don Juan in Hell by George Bernard Shaw, and plenty of concerts featuring Mozart, Prokofiev, Maazel’s own compositions for children, and plenty of others. Special guests include Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sir James Galway, Eric Silberger, Alisa Weilerstein, and more. Performances start June 28th.
Now that I’m done advertising, I’m here to inform you that I will be blogging about here and on my Tumblr page: <http://www.maestroweinstein.tumblr.com>. Be sure to read all about it starting this Saturday.
After an hour and a half of chorus music rehearsals, my fellow cast members spent the afternoon choreographing the overture for Dido. For me, this was the moment of realization. You aren't just a singer, you are an actor and a dancer, not for just one 3 minute scene, but for 2 hours. It also reminded me of how much work goes into staging.
Choreography takes much more time then people might realize. You not only need to make the dance applicable for the chorus, but also that it works with the set, is viewable to the audience, and fits the timing of the music. Do we have enough people for this part? Where do we place you? How many steps should you take and will you start on this foot? As someone who spends most of his time sitting down to play notes on a page, it's interesting to not feel so restless in a chair and to actually move.
Which brings me to a point I'm terrified about: I don't want to stand out during group numbers. We are suppose to become one entity. But I do fear that I can't move fast enough, or move fluidly. Despite these fears, I must move forward. If I do something wrong, I can always ask the choreographer or my castmate. I just need to stretch and practice.
This is also the week we go off book. Even for me, it's not easy. I still have a few spots I'm unsure of. But once I get those down, I'm all set to start learning the music for L'Ivrogne. I'm very excited about getting to participate in both shows.
With a new year comes a new opera production for the Hofstra Opera Theater. This year, we are proud to present a double bill. The first opera will be Henry Purcell's only full opera Dido and Aeneas. The second half will be Christoph Willibald Glück's comic masterpiece L'Ivrogne Corrige, ou Le Mariage du Diable. Both operas will be presented during each of our three performance from January 31st- February 2nd at Hofstra University's JC Adams Playhouse. For tickets and times, refer to this link.
As with last year, I am happy to be blogging our process during the rehearsal period as well as exploring the history of the works on this blog as well as my youtube channel, which is in no way affiliated with Hofstra University. This is simply an exploration through the eyes and ears of one of the performers. I am fortunate enough to be a member of the chorus for both operas and look forward to sharing my experience.
Production Concepts and Synopsis:
Dido and Aeneas (1689) (Sung in English) - Dido, Queen of Carthage, has been mourning the loss of her husband for almost two decades. One day, the greek warrior Aeneas gets shipwrecked along with his crew. Dido allows the men to stay and offers anything they desire. Her handmaiden, Belinda, believes that a marriage with Aeneas will bring an end to Dido's depression and make her a stronger leader. The two fall in love, and Dido soon accepts Aeneas' marriage proposal. Meanwhile, the evil sorceress plans to ruin the lovers' lives by tricking Aeneas to return on his mission to found Rome and then sink his crew at sea. Following a day of hunting and romance between Dido and Aeneas, the people of Carthage seek shelter from a rainstorm. However, Aeneas left alone with the sorceress' elf, disguised as Mercury, who tells him to leave Carthage and return to finding Italy. The next day, Aeneas and his men prepare to leave. Aeneas says goodbye to Dido, who curses him for leaving her. He decides to stay and defy the gods, which still leaves Dido upset because he was still willing to leave. After Aeneas sails away, Dido commits suicide by using Aeneas' sword, followed by a funeral pyre constructed from items Aeneas left behind.
The production, directed by Isabel Milenski, will delve into the psychological aspects of why people are willing to give everything for love. The set, designed by Jian Jung, takes on a minimalist perspective. From above, long incandescent lightbulbs will rise and descend to create the emotional and physical atmosphere, along with two large white boxes that will serve as a bed, a pedestal, and ship, and finally, a coffin. The choreography will be a homage to the work of Martha Graham and Pina Bausch. The costumes are a mix of modern style and classical greek fashion, changing throughout the story as the characters move from depression to happiness and depression again.
L'ivrogne Corrige, or The Drunkard Reformed (1759-61) (Sung in French with English Dialogue)- Mathurin and his pal Lucas constantly neglect their work to drink. Mathurin decides to give Lucas his niece, Colette, to wed as a token of his friendship. However, Colette is in love with Cleon, a young actor. Together with her aunt Mathurine, Colette and Cleon devise a plan to get the drunken uncle to quit the bottle and consent to the marriage of the two lovers. They decide to dress as furies and trick Mathurin and Lucas into thinking they have drunk themselves to death. Cleon, in the role of Pluto, offers clemency to the two misguided men if Mathurin consents to Colette and Cleon's union and they give up alcohol. After the marriage contract is signed, the masks are removed and Mathurin becomes a changed man, while Lucas returns to the bottle in anger and confusion.
The action for this production will take place at several bars in 1960's France. The concept is to convey the light and dark sides of alcoholism. In addition to a new set and actors, this opera will incorporate set pieces and chorus members in costume from Dido to play Cleon's actor friends. Mathurin and Lucas will be mailmen, a profession where some can get away with being late. The set will be lopsided when the two men are drunk, and straighten out with their realization of soberness.
May 11th, 2013 was like any other day. The weather was nice/rainy, the food from the street vendors was delightful, and I had just picked up my tickets from the Met Opera Guild Office. But these were no ordinary tickets. I had paid $8 dollars to sit in the Metropolitan Opera House for the final performance of Francis Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites, starring Isabel Leonard, Patricia Racette, and Felicity Palmer. The catch? I had to sit in a Score-Desk Seat. I was prepared for an interesting time. I borrowed a vocal score from my school's library, bought a copy of the libretto from the Met Shop, and brought my handy notebook to take notes. I was aware that I would have no view of the stage or the pit, mostly because I would be behind someone sitting against the railing of the family circle.
So what did I get? Exactly what I expected. I got a nice desk with a lamp, a suitable chair one would find in the box seats. I could barely see the stage, but heard every note as I read along in the score. All the voices carried and their emotions were realized in my mind. I tried my hardest to imagine what was going on via the libretto and score, so I hardly got to experience the set which was so famously praised at the premiere; The bare stage in the shape of a cross was the cornerstone of the minimalist design. How quickly flyers would come down to change it to a living room, a chapel, the guillotine, and a jail cell.
Photo from 1976-1977 run
My view that night was this:
And that was actually what I saw from sitting down. As much as I enjoyed listening to amazing trio of singers and the Met Chorus, I felt that I was missing a huge part of the opera house experience. Even though Felicity Palmer presented an outstanding death scene just with her voice I could not imagine the looks of the other actors when that occurred. So at the end of intermission, I took my supplies and moved myself to List Hall to watch on a projector and listen via the Met Opera XM radio station. The Met has a small camera that takes a large view of the stage. No faces, no closeups, and just a wide bright view of the set and moving figures as I read my score on a raised desk. It was a bit more easier to see what was going on, but still not being in the presence of the talent. Nevertheless, I was thrilled by the music, singers, and the story. I even ran back to the main hall to be part of the overwhelming applause that followed.
I followed this up by walking to the backstage door and running into Conductor Louis Langree, Isabel Leonard, Patricia Racette, Felicity Palmer, Natalie Dessay (who was not in that production but most likely was taking care of business from Giulio Caesare), and even Met Radio host William Berger.
All in all, I had an enjoyable experience but upset I did not get to see the whole experience, which was not necessary to appreciate the power of the opera. I am positive I will try score-desk seats again, but maybe on a production I have heard or seen many times in the past. Like La Boheme of Il Barbiere di Seviglia. I recommend it to anyone hoping to read a score and listen to a good opera for a low price, if you don't mind not seeing the stage.
This past Monday, I was lucky enough to attend the final dress rehearsal for the upcoming revival of Le Comte Ory at the Metropolitan Opera. I would like to the Met Opera Student Program and the Ambassadors program, of which I am a member. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this production, Director Bartlett Sher took on this tale of a mischevious and horny young count who attempts to "conquer" a beautiful countess while her brother is away at the Crusades back in 2011. He set the production in an old French theater which is putting on Le Comte Ory, complete with a Prompter, curtains, a stage, flyers, and crew to light sets, move scenery, and even create a storm. The show begins even before the overture, as the prompter and crew prepare the stage. But the overture begins when the prompter bangs his staff.
I saw most of this production on PBS Thirteen back in 2011, but it was nice to see it in person. Eventhough I knew most of the gags, it was incredibly entertaining.
Cast (In Order of Appearance):
Prompter (silent): Rob Besserer
Raimund: Nathan Gunn
Alice: Ashley Emerson
Ragonde: Susanne Resmark
Count Ory: Juan Diego Florez
The Tutor: Nicola Ulivieri (DEBUT)
Isolier: Karine Deshayes
Countess Adele: Pretty Yende (DEBUT)
Courtiers: Scott Scully, Tyler Simpson
The chorus, first off, was perfect as usual. For a Rossini opera, it was very chorus heavy at times, as compared to Il Barbiere di Siviglia, another production Mr. Sher has done for the Met. The orchestra, conducted by Maurizio Benini, also brilliant. I am a lover of the sets and costumes and usage of old theater technology and gimmicks to bring a true uniqueness to the show.
JDF, or Mr. Florez, was superb in his role of the count, just as he was back in 2011. Despite a few mishaps with his coat and wig, he never broke character even when these problems arose. Neither did Rob Besserer, who was a brilliant prompter, even though he is not the real deal. And applause goes to the rest of the cast. Especially Pretty and Karine, performing their respective roles for the first time at the Met. Ms. Yende has a great future ahead of her, she sang with great bel canto beauty. And Karine Deshayes was a fully energetic Isolier. Nicola Ulivieri, also making debut at the house, sang his first act aria well.
Its hilarious, contains sexual escapades, and men dressed in nuns costumes getting drunk. Whats not to love? Go see it if you havent done so, or go see it again with these brilliant young singers.
The revival opens at the Metropolitan Opera this Friday the 18th. For tickets, visit metopera.org.
I was asked by the stage manager to remove the photos from the original version of this post. This will help those of you who have never seen this opera to get an idea of the director's interpretation.
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"What is Man?" According to women, all men are Cavemen! Thus begins the idea for the Hofstra Opera Theatre production of Gilbert and Sullivan's Princess Ida. The 8th of their 14 collaborations, the opera is about a prince who seeks to regain the princess betrothed to him at the age of two years old. However, she has formed a women's university and cut herself off from men, thinking them stupid, vile, and disgusting creatures. How does this idea get translated to a modern production? By showing the extremities of separatism between men and women, in the eyes of womankind. Director Isabel Milenski has taken the medieval storyline and set it in 50,000 BP (Before Present).
Act One takes place in a primitive caveman dwelling. There are rocks, piles of wood, and even a rack to hang dead animal carcasses. It is essentially the world of man as seen from the viewpoint of women of Ida's University. King Hildebrand, Prince Hilarion, Florian, Cyril, and the rest of the kingdom are all neanderthals. They are uneducated, wild creatures. Suddenly, they have their first welcomed guests, King Gama and his three sons, who represent the other side of man as seen by women: Greedy Wall Street Tycoons. (We apologize that this may not make sense historically. The director did not seek to recreate a historically accurate setting.)
Act Two moves the action to Princess Ida's all women's university at Castle Adamant. She and the other ladies are models of class and distinction. They all wear matching uniforms and see themselves as the dominant gender in the world. They do not believe in the regular christian god, but rather give praise to Minerva, or the greek Athena, goddess of learning and strength. This is also important because according to mythology, she was born from Jupiter's forehead.
Act 2: "Gently, Gently": As Hilarion and his friends enter the university, they pass a display showcasing the atrocities of man. Freddy Kreuger, a man on a toilet, a caveman, a football player, and Kim Jong Il.
Act 2: "The World is but a broken toy": When the men, now disguised as lady graduates, meet up with Princess Ida, she sings of how the world has been destroyed of all innocence and peace by men. A large tank rolls behind the display case as the four sing the touchingly beautiful song, a metaphor for the world we live in today.
Act 2: "A Lady Fair of Lineage High": When the boys run into Lady Psyche, she tells them about how evolution proves that man is filthy and vile. She brings the display forward and adds photos of Monkeys to the heads of the figures, and to the men.
Act Three begins with the women preparing for battle. The ground from the display case is cleared and is shown as the merger between the worlds of Act 1 and 2. This is the moment when the ladies and Ida become more like men, because war is not of womanly nature. And after the battle, the ladies begin to associate themselves with men and find they are attractive and not at all bad. When Ida surrenders, she decides that her separatist views will not help the world. She must share the knowledge she has learned with the world in order to make it a better place. She and the other women leave the university and join the cavemen, who are pure and innocent creatures, to rebuild the world.
Thoughts? Leave a comment below. Share with your friends. Come see Princess Ida at the John Cranford Adams Playhouse at Hofstra University on February 1st and 2nd at 8pm, and February 3rd at 3pm.
After a break from observing singer rehearsals, I finally reached that point where I am contributing to the performance: the orchestra rehearsal. It was great to see my classmates for the first time since the end of finals. The maestro was just printing up parts from the new rental company, so he was forced to read from the vocal score. Most of the work we did was for Act 1 and the finale of Act 2. For the latter, we had to go over cuts, for which there were many. But minus a few sight reading errors, we read through the first Act relatively quickly. Unfortunately, there were other problems. Several musicians were unable to come to today's rehearsal, most of the brass and a few winds. Luckily, we have three more rehearsals this week. With technical difficulties put aside, everything is going smoothly and no major roadblocks are in the way of sounding like the great orchestra that we are.
Funniest Part of the day: little note on page that says it was left blank for easy page turn. Adds " it's a great place to write your favorite conductor joke".
(Score courtesy of Schott and Hal Leonard)
