The program for Dmitri Hvorostovsky’s February 21 recital at Koerner Hall has been released. It is:
Glinka:
To Molly (Do not demand songs from a singer), (text: Kukolnik)
It’s Pleasant to Be with You (text: N.Ryndin)
Say Not That It Grieves the Heart (text: N. Pavlov)
Doubt (text: Kukolnik)
Bolero (text: Kukolnik)
Calixto Bieito’s production of Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov recorded at the Bayerische Staatsoper in 2013 is, unsurprisingly, strong stuff. The central concept is that the political classes “don’t give a fig” for ordinary people and that’s as true , or truer, now than in early modern Russia. In such a world, where the people are manipulated into acting as their “betters” demand, is it possible for a person like Boris, who has risen to supreme power through manipulation and violence, to have a conscience?
Winner – Kim Leeds
This was a vocal competition with a twist. The repertoire was all baroque and the prizes were the soloist spots in upcoming performances of Zelenka’s Missa Omnium Sanctorum. To some extent that dictated the format with three bass-baritones, three tenors and three altos (two mezzos and a countertenor) competing and a prize winner in each triad. Each singer had to offer the appropriate piece from the Zelenka Mass plus a piece of their choice by each of Bach and Handel. I did wonder whether I would get through an afternoon of twenty seven baroque vocal pieces but aided by free pizza and cookies I made it. At least, for once, I was at a singing competition where nobody would be singing Pierrot’s Tanzlied.
Next week things get rather busy. There’s all the Hannigan shenanigans at UoT ; lecturing, masterclassing, concerting, walking on water, details here. There are a couple of lunchtime concerts in the RBA. Tuesday sees Gordon Bintner and Charles Sy perform Schumann’s Liederkreis and Britten’s Les Illuminations while on Thursday Jean-Philippe Fortier-Lazure appears with the members of the COC Orchestra Academy and their mentors.
The COC will add six singers and a pianist to the Ensemble Studio for the 16/17 season. Unsurprisingly the three prize winners from Centre Stage; mezzo-sopranos Emily D’Angelo and Lauren Eberwein and baritone Bruno Roy, are among the six. They are joined by soprano Samantha Pickett (continuing a tradition of promoting young dramatic sopranos) and mezzo Megan Quick and, best news of all to my mind, soprano Danika Lorèn. Regular readers will know that I have been increasingly impressed by this young lady over the last twelve months or so and am looking forward to seeing even more of her. The new pianist is Stéphane Mayer.
No big surprises at the Four Seasons Centre last night. In my prediction post I called five out of six and I knew the sixth last night before I even got my first glass of red! So what are we getting? Continue reading
The amazing Barbara Hannigan is in town next week teaching at the UoT. There are a number of events open to the public and free. Here’s a list:
Tues, Jan 19, 10:30 am, Walter Hall
Lecture – Show and Share: Living and Surviving as a Singing Artist
Tues, Jan 19, 12:10 pm, Walter Hall
Master Class with U of T Opera students – featuring excerpts from the contemporary operatic repertoire centering on The Machine Stops, a new opera by the Faculty’s student composer collective.
Wed, Jan 20, 3:10 pm, Room 330 @ 80 Queen’s Park
Interactive session – Dare to Compare: session with composers, pianists and instrumentalists from U of T’s contemporary music ensemble.
Thu, Jan 21, 12:10 pm, Walter Hall
Master Class with U of T Voice students – featuring songs and chamber music of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Fri, Jan 22, 5 pm, Walter Hall
Concert – Performances by Faculty of Music singers and pianists after their training with Barbara, as well as from Barbara herself with pianist Professor Steven Philcox.
ETA: She’s also appearing with the TSO on Jan 27 and 28 singing Correspondances by Henri Dutilleux. There’s no stopping her!
So today’s New York Times has an article apparently confirming the relaunch of New York City Opera. On the face of it, good news, if it indeed happens. That said, apparently the plan is to open with a production of Tosca at Lincoln Center. As Micaela at Likely Impossibilities has shown 30% of Met performances this season are of works by Puccini. Is more Puccini, probably presented in a highly traditional way, what the New York, indeed the North American, opera scene really needs? One would say at least it was creating work for singers but when the boss of the new outfit was last seen running a company that was sued for not paying its musicians I’m not even sure about that! Not so much resurrection as the undead walking?
Talisker Players latest show, High Standards, was a bit different from previous efforts of theirs that I have attended. This was all about the music. There were no prose or poetry readings. The music was a selection from what might be considered the “golden age” of the Broadway musical. The time period covered being the four decades from 1933 to 1973 or, roughly, Showboat to A Little Night Music. I’m not an expert in Broadway theatre but I was struck by how the music remained remarkably similar over that period while the lyrics got, generally, more sardonic. That’s pretty curious when one reflects on the changed in classical music, and even popular music over that time period. Where the music did seem to be rather different was when there was an “intervention” from someone with a foot in another camp. There were selections here from Gershwin and Bernstein that did sound different. The latter in particular playing with tonality in a way that seemed very daring by comparison, though tame of course by classical music standards. I’m sure proper musicologists would have much more to say about this. Continue reading
Things are starting to pick up after the Christmas lull. Here’s my pick of the week in Toronto for w/c 10th January.
Today at 3.30pm The Talisker Players have a concert at Trinity St. Paul’s called High Standards. It’s classic Broadway (Sondheim, Gershwin, Kern etc) and features soloists Virginia Hatfield and James Levesque. (Also Tuesday at 8pm).
Wednesday is the COC Season Launch at the Four Season’s Centre at 6.30pm. I think it’s subscribers and invitees only. Speculation on what we might hear is here (me) and here (Dylan Hayden).
Then on Saturday from 1pm to 6pm Tafelmusik have a singing competition to select soloists for a future performance of Zelenka’s Missa omnium sanctorum. Two gals and seven guys compete. It’s free and , of course, it’s at Trinity St. Paul’s.
operaramblings 