I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we, too, will be remembered not for our victories or defeats in battle or in politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit. – John F. Kennedy

It was an interesting end.  Last Wednesday, was the opening night of Trilogy at Juilliard.  It was a short evening of rarely performed one-act operas by Modest Mussorgsky, Ernst Krenek, and Benjamin Fleischmann.  Honestly, I had never seen anything composed by the latter two composers.  In his notes, James Conlon (this project was his brainchild), who conducted the evenining wrote about the importance of re-investigating short works that had either short or no history performance.  All in all, the three one-act operas performed back to back without intermission lasted a little over ninety minutes.  I don’t think any of these works (the Krenek piece was literally a little over twenty minutes in length) could stand on its own but combined created a lovely evening.  Beyond this, it gave the Juilliard orchestra an opportunity to shine under one of current day’s finest conductors, James Conlon, and a most interesting experience to the school’s singers.  The standout being a Chinese bass-baritone named Sheng Yang.  I happened to be there on opening night and it was a veritable “who’s who” evening within the industry.  I have a hunch this production will be seen elesewhere.

The next morning, I took the subway to Penn Station and boarded a train to Philadelphia.  I arrived a full 25 minutes before my first appointment due to delays.  Here’s the neat thing.  Philadelphia is one of those cities where it’s possible to get just about anywhere downtown within minutes.  The train station (unlike the airport) is adjacent to downtown so I hopped a cab to my hotel, threw my bags in the room and traveled to my appointment a pied and arrived just in time.  My appointment, was to hear three hours of auditions at the Academy of Vocal Arts (see last post).  What an interesting place.  I hadn’t been before so was surprised that one this country’s most honored opera training programs takes place in an old brownstone house in the middle of the city.  No high tech, modern University structure, but a remodeled house(!).  It’s even complete with one the world’s smallest theater stages.  The whole space for the theater (including stage, orchestra area and seating) is smaller than a high school gym.  Fantastic!  Here young artists are carefully handled over three to four years and allowed to have wonderful operatic performance experiences without feeling the need to make themselves heard in a large hall.  Very healthy.  The result was that all of the singers had healthy techniques, above average language skills and were — on the whole — good communicators of text and drama.  We actually have one of them coming to perform in March.  Her name is Nina Yoshida Nelsen and she’ll be performing the role of Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro.

That evening, I saw Italian Girl in Algiers and there is a high likelihood that you will see that same production here in Salt Lake City soon!  One of the stars was Daniel Belcher as Taddeo whom you have seen recently as Dandini in Cinderella and in the title role of The Barber of Seville.  Yes…he’s already contracted for this as well!

The next day I moved on to Pittsburgh…more on that later…

Christopher

“Music makes better people.”  Plato

Quickly…Santa Fe was another magical experience.  The last night we were there included a dinner hosted by the outgoing General Director, Richard Gaddes (he’s retiring) at “the ranch” and a wonderful performance of Handel’s Radamisto.  I must admit, while baroque opera plots tend to be somewhat convoluted by nature, Radamisto may take the prize.  I won’t go into the story as…really…in baroque opera it doesn’t matter anyway.

What DOES matter is orchestra and singers; the rest is details.  Yes, cool staging is great and this was a typical David Alden production which means someone is cross-dressing and the major set element is going to be a big, dominating wall.  We were not disappointed (note: while typical elements, David Alden does do some incredibly imaginative stuff in his productions).  David Daniels was the star vehicle for this production…he was great in the slow numbers and almost great in the faster pieces.  The big news is Heidi Stober once again stole the show.  Some of you will remember Heidi Stober from Utah Opera’s Ensemble Program, the young artist training program.  She was also First Lady in our Magic Flute a few years ago.  Heidi has gone on to become a real phenom in the world of opera.  This coming season she has a lovely multi-production contract with the Berlin State Opera.  We’re so PROUD of her!  She even managed to steal the show while dressed in a male, fat-suit with a fez atop a comb-over wig.  No mistaking the voice, however.

So…with a great Handel opera under our belts, we proceeded home…well…almost…we had a little mechanical issue with our vehicle…but…it only delayed us a day and what a place to have to spend it.  For those of you truly interested, ask me THAT story when you see me.  It’s kind of interesting.

Now, here I sit in my hotel in Seattle.  I must admit, I’m a huge fan of this city and this time of year it is even more amazing.  I refer to July and August in the Emerald City as the great lie: no rain, warm and lots of sun.  Not exactly what Seattle is known for.

So…why Seattle in August?  Principally, I’m here to see the second installment of Seattle Opera’s International Wagner Competition (IWC).  The first one was two years ago and it was a wonderful event.  The General Director here, Speight Jenkins, says this year’s talent is even better.   If you are unaware, Seattle is known for its commitment to the works of Richard Wagner which makes it a perfect place to hold the competition.  Speight hears singers in Munich, London and New York and brings the finalists to Seattle.  I can’t wait.  (I’ll write later about Seattle Opera’s dedication to the Ring Cycle, scheduled to happen again next summer.)

In the mean time, I took in Seattle Opera’s production of Aida this evening.  Now, Seattle Opera usually has two casts, especially for the popular operas.  I chose the “Silver Cast” as I know the artists in the “Gold Cast.”  Usually the Silver Cast members are a bit younger and from other countries.  This was the case tonight.  The title role and the Radames especially were interesting.  Watching people new to their role and still developing their talents is always a fun experience; you know the talent is there and to be part of seeing them grow is a whole different type of excitement.  Notable was  Margaret Jane Wray as Amneris and the conductor, Riccardo Frizza who delivered a lovely orchestral experience.  The sets and costumes were simple but evocative of ancient Egypt.  No major statement here, just good old fashioned grand opera.

More tomorrow…

Here are a list of Utah Symphony’s upcoming performances:

September 2008
Ode to Joy (September 12, 13) Classical A
A Waterbird Talk (September 24, 25) Ardean Watts Contemporary Chamber Series
Judy Garland in concert with the Utah Symphony (September 26, 27) Pops
Salute to Youth (September 30) Discovery

October 2008
Land of the Midnight Music (October 10, 11) Classical B, Finishing Touches
Marvin Hamlish with the Utah Symphony (October 17, 18) Pops
Halloween High-Jinks (October 25) Lollipops
Bruckner’s 4th – A Big Brass Show (October 31, November 1) Classical C

November 2008
Elgar’s Cello Concerto (November 7, 8 ) Classical A
An Evening of Film Music (November 14, 15) Pops
Shostakovich’s Response (November 21, 22) Classical C, Finishing Touches
Sing-it-Yourself Messiah (November 29, 30)

Since I’m a brass player (trumpet & French horn), I’m really excited for Bruckner’s 4th and Shostakovich’s 5th symphonies. In fact, I’ve been looking forward to these since I first heard we were performing them earlier this year. Both of them have awesome brass parts – and they’re loud and exciting, two qualities I love in music. Ode to Joy and Elgar’s Cello Concerto (if you’ve seen August Rush, you’ll recognize this song, kind of) are also going to be really fun.

Utah Symphony will perform her orchestral work, Made in America. This 15-minute piece is truly an American work in every sense of the word: through a partnership program between the American Symphony Orchestra League and Meet The Composer, this pieces “toured” all 50 states and was featured on programs by some 65 orchestras during the 2005-07 seasons. Over a span of two seasons, this piece saw more performances in more states than the much heralded Police reunion tour! Read Joan Tower’s program notes here. Greg Sandow, a classical music icon himself, writes about this grand undertaking here.

They had a light dinner right of snackables and chips right before the concert.  It was delightful to see the children flood in snatching up the brilliant idea of enclosed peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches.  There were smiles all around on the kids faces on the choice of catering.

The concert was only 45 minutes, a perfect length for them AND me, consisting of upbeat songs in which the audience would burst out clapping along with the beat as well as highly entertaining opera numbers full of choreography and costumes!  Looking around I watched the children moving around to the music, dancing in the isles, and quite a few even leading the musicians from their own seats and doing quite a remarkable job!

It was also quite impressive to see the Symphony performing on the set that is up for the current Opera, Don Giovanni. The stage is at a slant and so all the musicians were performing crooked, as it were, compared to a normal flat stage.  It was a beautiful set and ambiance for the whole concert.

A couple parents wrote of the concert:

Dear Ms. Fowler, Staff, Musicans, and Singers:

I just wanted to thank all of you for the free performance tonight for children with autism and their families.  This was a wonderful experience that we could have not enjoyed otherwise.  It was so comforting to be able to enjoy the performance with other families in our situation and not have to worry if our son moved around in his seat too much or talked to loudly.  My son, age 11, has always loved listen to classical music, but this was his first time actually seeing it performed.  The look on his face was priceless….even though he is non-verbal, his expression clearly said, “OH, that’s how they make this music”.  I saw so many children clapping and dancing to the music…..it was heartwarming.  So, thank you, thank you, thank you for giving these children (and their families) the opportunity to experience something fun and new.

Debbie Joplin
South Jordan, UT

I just wanted to thank you and everyone involved with the orginizing and perfect performance last night at Capitol Theatre. Me and my two kids had a wonderful time and from the way all those great kids around us were acting I could tell they were having fun as well. So THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!Trevor Saiz

It is wonderful to be a part of an organization that provides children of all ages and their families such an opportunity to catch the fever of the Utah Opera or Utah Symphony when they might not be able to otherwise. 

To support programs like these or catch the fever of Utah Symphony | Utah Opera go to www.utahsymphonyopera.org

How will Vivace celebrate the illustrious award? By doing what we do best – partying it up big time at our next event: Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Click here for info on the next event: www.usuo.org/vivace

A Little More Cowbell

It’s been a wild ride, and it’s gone by way too fast, but USUO’s Vivace turned three over the weekend! If you haven’t heard about Vivace yet, it’s a funkified bunch of 20, 30, 40 somethings – single/partnered/married – who just happen to get their groove on to classical music and opera. Vivace is the largest group of it’s kind West of the Mississippi, with 1,061 members as of this post. We attend 6 or so performances a year, sit together, get a sweet discount, receive a funkified version of the program notes, and then we follow up the evening with a fabulous after-party. Next year we’ll have an event every single month so no worries you Vivace addicts! Relief is on the way. Vivace is open to the funkified of all ages. It’s free to join, just send an email to vivace@utahsymphonyopera.org. Check us out at www.utahsymphonyopera.org/vivace as well as on Myspace and Facebook. Gotta throw in the self-plug! J

We celebrated this anniversary the way Vivace does best – a big party mixed in with some fierce music. We attended the March 22^nd performance of the Utah Symphony that featured percussionist Colin Currie and guest conductor JoAnn Falletta. They were both excellent partiers. Colin Currie was actually the guest artist at Vivace’s second event on August 5, 2005 so it was like coming full circle to have him at our 3^rd b-day bash. Both guest artists fit right in with the Vivace crowd.

The music, of course, was the star of the night. That and the free champagne. e heard George Enescu’s Romanian Rhapsody that he later called a “youthful indiscretion.” I’m sure if a Romanian Rhapsody was your “youthful indiscretion” you’d probably have a few more brain cells right? Next we had the pleasure of hearing Jennifer Higdon’s Percussion Concerto which included among a myriad of fabulous instruments, the magnificent cowbell. Percussionists are all about showing off their toys and doing pretty much everything that can possibly be done to inanimate objects, so this concerto rocked. What better way to celebrate Vivace’s bday than with a little banging around?

The performance part of the evening rapped with Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4. Vivace members were totally impressed that Ms. Falletta conducted that gargantuan of a piece from memory. As always the Orchestra sounded fantastic. And fierce.
We wrapped up the night by throwing the most marvelous after-party in the universe in the 1^st Tier Room of Abravanel Hall. We enjoyed delicious food from Cuisine Unlimited and champagne donated by Vivace members David and SandyLee Griswold. We talked, mingled, and partied till I kicked everyone out when the bar closed.

What’s up next for Vivace, you may ask? Well aside from world domination, we’re attending opening night of Mozart’s Don Giovanni aka “The Original Playa” on May 10, 2008. We’re going to combine the Vivace after-party with the cast opening night party so it will be one event NOT to miss. Tickets are $30, $15 for students and include the after-party. Call 801.533.NOTE (6683) and mention you’re a Vivace member or visit www.arttix.org find the performance, and enter promo code Vivace.

by Crystal Young-Otterstrom, Audience Development Manager