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.
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.
I'm sure that I am not the only person who listens to popular songs on the radio and think they all are the same thing. The most common defense is that everything has the same backbeat, chords, and structure. Why, just listen to comedian Owen Benjamin explain it to you.
It is not unusual that some music is very similar. Recently, there has been a dispute between Katy Perry and Sarah Bareilles. People are arguing over whether Roar was copied from Brave or vice versa. I listened to both songs individually, Roar during last night's Video Music Awards, and Brave in a music video. The similarities are scary. Then I heard this mashup:
Talk about scary similar. So I found another:
Still incredibly similar! What was going on? Its as if the songs were meant to be performed together. Marketing ploy? Who knows? Honestly, this may just seem like one of those instances of creativity that just seem to strike at the same time.
But consider the lyrics as well:
Roar:
[Intro]
I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath Scared to rock the boat and make a mess So I sat quietly, agreed politely I guess that I forgot I had a choice I let you push me past the breaking point I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything
You held me down, but I got up Already brushing off the dust You hear my voice, your hear that sound Like thunder, gonna shake your ground You held me down, but I got up Get ready 'cause I've had enough I see it all, I see it now
[Chorus]
I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire Cause I am a champion and You're gonna hear me ROAR Louder, louder than a lion Cause I am a champion and You're gonna hear me ROAR Oh oh oh oh oh oh You're gonna hear me roar
Now I'm floating like a butterfly Stinging like a bee I earned my stripes I went from zero, to my own hero
You held me down, but I got up Already brushing off the dust You hear my voice, you hear that sound Like thunder, gonna shake your ground You held me down, but I got up Get ready 'cause I've had enough I see it all, I see it now
[Chorus]
I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire 'Cause I am a champion and You're gonna hear me ROAR Louder, louder than a lion 'Cause I am a champion and You're gonna hear me ROAR Oh oh oh oh oh oh You're gonna hear me roar
Roar-or, roar-or, roar-or
[Chorus]
I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire 'Cause I am a champion and You're gonna hear me ROAR Louder, louder than a lion 'Cause I am a champion and You're gonna hear me ROAR Oh oh oh oh oh oh You're gonna hear me roar
Brave:
You can be amazing You can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug You can be the outcast Or be the backlash of somebody's lack of love Or you can start speaking up Nothing's gonna hurt you the way that words do And they settle 'neath your skin Kept on the inside and no sunlight Sometimes a shadow wins But I wonder what would happen if you
Say what you wanna say And let the words fall out Honestly I wanna see you be brave
With what you want to say And let the words fall out Honestly I wanna see you be brave
I just wanna see you I just wanna see you I just wanna see you I wanna see you be brave
I just wanna see you I just wanna see you I just wanna see you I wanna see you be brave
Everybody's been there, everybody's been stared down By the enemy Fallen for the fear and done some disappearing Bow down to the mighty Don't run, stop holding your tongue Maybe there's a way out of the cage where you live Maybe one of these days you can let the light in Show me how big your brave is
Say what you wanna say And let the words fall out Honestly I wanna see you be brave
With what you want to say And let the words fall out Honestly I wanna see you be brave
Innocence, your history of silence Won't do you any good Did you think it would? Let your words be anything but empty Why don't you tell them the truth?
Say what you wanna say And let the words fall out Honestly I wanna see you be brave
With what you want to say And let the words fall out Honestly I wanna see you be brave
I just wanna see you I just wanna see you I just wanna see you I wanna see you be brave
I just wanna see you I just wanna see you I just wanna see you I wanna see you be brave
I just wanna see you I just wanna see you I just wanna see you I wanna see you be brave
I just wanna see you I just wanna see you I just wanna see you.
They both are about coming out of your shell and being able to defend yourself. Weird.
What if I told you that for $7.99, you can have 4 complete recordings of Beethoven's 9th symphony from 4 different conductors and have the score? All of this is possible with the IOS app Beethoven's 9th Symphony.
This app, one of two collaborations between Touch Press and Deutsche Grammophon, lets you choose from 4 different conductors leading the famed final symphony; Ferenc Fricsay, Herbert Von Karajan, Leonard Bernstein (also in video), and Eliot Gardner. You can easily switch between the 4 as you listen to one of the 4 movements.
When you first download the app, you get a 2 minute sample of the second movement. You still have all the functionality to explore option.
Score Mode: scrolls as it plays, note by note.
Animated Mode: animates the music as made popular by YouTube user Smalin.
Beatmap: shows which parts of the orchestra and chorus are active.
Commentary mode: David Owen Norris gives his description of how the work progresses (Text-Only). Plus, libretto on the 4th movement.
Video mode: Leonard Bernstein conducts the Weiner Philharmoniker in a video recording from 1979.
All the music is crisp and brilliant as these are highly praised recordings. Everything runs smoothly, and you can continue to listen to each movement after you go back to home screen. It's a free download but $7.99 on iTunes to upgrade. Absolutely worth it.
Disclaimer: This is a review of the IOS iPhone/iPod Touch version. If you know of a good review for the iPad version of this app or the other Touch Press/ Grammopohon app The Orchestra, please feel free to leave it in the comments below.
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.
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"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.
Today, I sat in on the dialogue rehearsal for the principals. Due to the fact that it is 2013 and that the production is extremely different from the original, some cuts had to be made to the script and score. But it is life however. I will be sad that there will be no version of "The woman of the wisest wit" or 'Merrily ring the luncheon bell". Lines are cut or rewritten, songs are shortened, etc. But most importantly, the actors must enhance the dialect to match the fact they are cavemen. No victorian english accents in 50,000 BP. So add on some lovely caveman grunts. But honestly, this is necessary when you do something that isn't a normal Gilbert and Sullivan production.
Isabel Milenski is great when it comes to teaching. I took her Opera Scenes course in the previous semester. We not only took on singing, but we took on one of the toughest things I ever dealt with at school: acting. I learned so much in that class and from sitting in on today's rehearsal. Character work, playing with pitch and energy, word accent choice, etc. I personally believe that the show is in good hands with my classmates. They took great care in figuring out what makes their characters tick. The art of acting certainly has evolved since the days of Gilbert and Sullivan, especially in the opera world.
This is it for now. I will be back again on Tuesday after the first orchestra rehearsal.
Principals, Conductor, and Vocal Coach/accompanist run through the music for the entirety of the show in this order: Act 1, Act 3, Act 2.
It is interesting as a instrumentalist to observe a vocal rehearsal. The Conductor works with the pit and the singers separately until close to a week before showtime. Therefore, learning how the vocalists think and act as you play gives you new insight into the art of performance.
Going through each number, the singers run through the song until either they made a mistake or when the conductor had a suggestion about breathing, pacing, and tone color. In sections where words are repeated, it is important to have a different tone each time, as if the words change meaning.
In patter songs, the vocal coach suggested to accent at mid bar. The singers are actually sounding secure on the tougher/faster sections than would be expected on the first day.
We unfortunately had some cast members missing, so not every number was rehearsed.
Everyone was incredibly professional. Total focus and attention was paid to the conductor and to the others as they worked.
Tomorrow, they will combine with the chorus from Act 1. And then the next day, blocking begins. I will give details about the set design, if I can, on Friday's blog.
Violas are a beautiful instrument. They have a higher range than a cello, but lower than a violin. Even though the works that were written for us were not as famous as many violin or cello concertos, they all still have extreme beauty in the music.
Take Bloch's Suite Hebraique for viola as an example. The range and dexterity of the instrument is widely explored in this work. And Britten's Elegy takes the viola and makes it hauntingly beautiful by itself. I have always been interested by my instrument and will be exploring it all my life.
