The free concert series in the RBA kicked off on Wednesday with, as usual, a performance by the artists of the COC’s Ensemble Studio. Owing to illness only five singers performed and only one of those, Emily Rocha, was a returnee. The other four singers and both pianists were newcomers. It was short but enjoyable.
In 2003, in conjunction of a revival of Peter Sellars’production of Handel’s Theodora at Glyndebourne ,Lorraine Hunt-Lieberson went into the studio and recorded a Handel album with Harry Bicket and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. That album was released to great acclaim in 2004. It’s now been remastered and the new version will be available on October 17th.
The album contains all of Irene’s music from Theodora including superb versions of “As with rosy steps the morn” and “Lord, to Thee, each night and day”. There’s also the cantata Lucrezia where she is accompanied by Harry Bicket on harpsichord & chamber organ, Stephen Stubbs on 10-course lute and Baroque guitar, Phoebe Carrai on cello and Margriet Tindemans on viola da gamba. There are also two arias from Serse; “Se bramate d’amar, chi vi sdegna” and “Ombra mai fu”. Continue reading
Octet, by Dave Malloy, opened at Crow’s Theatre on Wednesday evening. I guess it’s Crow’s big musical this year; a kind of follow up to Pierre, Natasha and the Great Comet, but it’s actually a very different kind of show. One major difference is musical. All the singing is a capella which puts extra demands on the singers (and isn’t unpleasantly loud). The whole cast; eight of course, are really rather good singers and pull off the solo and ensemble numbers extremely well. They can also act and they are backed up by a really effective lighting plot Imogen Wilson) and video (Nathan Bruce) that pretty much replace the set, which is pretty basic.
King Gilgamesh and the Man of the Wild opened at Soulpepper on Wednesday evening but I saw a preview on Sunday which forms the basis for this review. It’s an unusual and compelling show with a clever story line, some terrific acting (verbal and physical) and a Sufi influenced Arabic jazz band for good measure.
Tapestry Opera has announced its first full season since leaving the Distillery District and it looks like “back to the future”. Most of the usual (much missed) stuff is there. So here’s the line up:
Welcome back Tapestry!
Lucy Kirkwood’s The Welkin is a rarity. It’s a serious play with an overwhelmingly female ensemble cast that looks at issues of class, gender, power and authority almost entirely through a female lens. It’s hard hitting, sometimes violent and often shocking which makes for compelling theatre. It opened on Thursday evening in the Baillie Theatre at Soulpepper in a co-pro by Soulpepper, Crow’s and the Howland Company, directed by Weyni Mengesha.
My review of the Château de Versailles Spectacles recording of Rameau’s Pygmalion and Iso’s Zémide featuring, among others, Ema Nikolovska is now up at Opera Canada.
Songs of Passion is a new recording from mezzo-soprano Lea Desandre with the Jupiter Vocal and Instrumental Ensemble and their director and lutenist Thomas Dunford. It’s ninety minutes of music by John Dowland and Henry Purcell arranged for various combinations of voices plus the instruments; violins, viola, double bass, viola da gamba, recorders, lute, harpsichord and organ. They are interesting and varied arrangements and suit the range of emotions of the music well. Continue reading
On Friday evening Toronto’s Diapente Renaissance Quintet [1] combined with Montreal based medieval music ensemble Comtessa [2] to create an intriguing programme at St. Thomas’ Anglican. The concert was titled Across the Channel : English and French Music of the Hundred Years War; which was more or less accurate! The works; vocal and instrumental, actually spanned from the 13th century to the latter half of the 15th; so a rather longer span than the war, but the “English and French” bit was true enough. Unlike the war, Scots and Gascons were notably absent!
My review of Andrew Staniland’s highly experimental The Laws of Nature is now available at La Scena Musicale.
operaramblings 