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About operaramblings

Toronto based lover of opera, art song, related music and all forms of theatre.

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lhommeFB1-300x111On April 11th FAWN Opera is workshopping L’Homme et le Ciel; music by Adam Scime and libretto by Ian Koiter.  It’s PWYC and it’s at the Ernest Balmer Studio at 8pm.  Partrick Murray conducts, Amanda Smith directs and the singers will be Giovanni Spanu, Larissa Koniuk and Adanya Dunn.  I wish I could go but I can’t.

On the 26th at 8pm the Aradia Ensemble, conductor Kevin Mallon, will be joined by Claire de Sévigné and Maria Soulis for a programme of Vivaldi’s sacred music.  It’s at St. Anne’s Anglican church on Gladstone Avenue which sounds worth a visit in itself.  Apparently there is a Byzantine dome and decoration by members of the Group of 7.  Tickets are $35 ($20 seniors).

The Toronto Consort’s Giasone

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giasoneCavalli’s Giasone is a bit of a peculiar piece,  It’s based on parts of the Jason/Medea/Golden Fleece story but it’s at heart a comedy.  It was wildly popular in the 17th century then pretty much lapsed into obscurity though there is one recording available on DVD.  It provides quite a lot of opportunity for sight gags and spectacle so one had to wonder how well it would play in a concert version as presented by the Toronto Consort last night.  Actually they did quite well with it but let’s take a step back to talk about the piece for a minute. Continue reading →

Heading towards May

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0337b61a1abb24ac_Paschera_M3F4155medres.previewHere are a couple more upcoming events that readers may be interested in.  The Royal Conservatory has a festival of contemporary music from April 21st to May 25th.  There are eight concerts in a variety of genres.  The most interesting to me is on May 22nd when there is a concert to celebrate R. Murray Schafer’s 80th birthday.  The concert will feature four pieces; Quintet for Piano and Strings Shafer himself, played by the ARC Ensemble; a world premiere of The Questioning by Canadian composer Christos Hatzis, written for and played by the Afiara String Quartet, Faster Still, a work by the by Canadian composer Brian Current played by the ARC Ensemble; and the Canadian premiere of Dutch composer Louis Andriessen’s Anaïs Nin, a semi-staged work for chamber ensemble, video, and mezzo-soprano, based on the diary entries of Anaïs Nin. Singing the role of Anaïs Nin will be a favourite of mine, Wallis Giunta most recently seen in the COC’s Così fan tutte.  More details and tickets available here.

On May 1st at 1pm 96.3 FM are broadcasting Sondra Radvanovsky in recital live from the Zoomerplex.  You can catch it on the radio or at www.classical963fm.com. There’s also a draw for free tickets for the recital and the reception before.  I believe to enter you need to email name, phone number and email address to classical963fm1031@gmail.com.

Liebeslieder-Walzer

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I only managed to get to the first half of yesterday’s Ensemble Studio lunchtime concert.  It was Brahm’s Liebeslieder-Walzer Op. 52 performed by Claire de Sévigné, Charlotte Burrage, Andrew Haji and Gordon Bintner with Liz Upchurch and Michael Shannon providing the four handed accompaniment.  I’m not a huge Brahms fan and this was pretty much that late 19th century sentimental stuff I don’t really get; somewhat schmaltzy waltz rhythms setting somewhat schmaltzy texts.  It was well done though.  Haji, in particular, sang with a fine attack and the different voice combinations made interesting contrasts.  I thought the music came off best when the girls sang together and when the guys sang together.  Both pairs have voices quite different in timbre and blended to good effect.  The more complex four voice sections seemed to come a bit unstuck in the RBA.  I’m 99% sure it was the acoustic not the singers but certainly textures got quite muddy at times.  The accompaniment was, unsurprisingly, very good indeed.  Work pressures meant I had to leave before the second half of the programme which featured John Greer’s Liebesleid-Lieder.

Toronto Summer Music Festival

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Toronto Summer Music will run from July 22 to August 12. There’s a wide variety of programming but the highlights for opera and song fans are as follows:

Sondra Radvanovsky is in concert on Thursday, July 31 at 7:30 p.m. at Koerner Hall. The programme is “favourite Italian opera arias”.. Whether it’s orchestral or piano accompaniment I don’t know.

Christopher Maltman accompanied by Graham Johnson will be at Walter Hall on Wednesday, August 6 at 7:30 p.m.with a programme titled The Soldier:  From Severn to Somme which will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the First World War. It will include songs by Mahler, Mussorgsky, Butterworth, Ives, Finzi and Poulenc.

On Thursday, August 7 at 7:30 p.m. at Walter Hall, Peter McGillivray and pianist David Louie will join TSO principals Jonathan Crow and Etsuko Kimura (violin), Eric Nowlin (viola), David Hetherington (cello) and Yao Guang Zhai (clarinet) to perform a Viennese programme featuring Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer and Waltzes by Strauss, all in arrangements by Schoenberg and Berg.

The annual TSM Academy Art of Song Recitals will take place on Friday, August 8th (my birthday, send cake) at 12:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. at Walter Hall. These are the showcase recitals for the 12 young singers who were awarded TSM Academy scholarships and who will have prepared with French baritone François Le Roux and pianist Graham Johnson. Naturally, no programming has yet been announced.

Festival, Weekly and Flex passes ($202 -$592) are on sale as of April 3, 2014. Individual concert tickets ($20 to $99) will be on sale as of April 17, 2014. To purchase festival passes and single tickets visit www.torontosummermusic.com , call 416-408-0208 or visit the Weston Family Box Office at the Royal Conservatory of Music.

O Gladsome Light

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gladsome lightThis review first appeared in the print edition of Opera Canada.

O Gladsome Lightis a collection of sacred songs, hymns and meditations by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst and his pupil Edmund Rubbra. They are performed by various permutations of Lawrence Wiliford, tenor, Stephen Philcox, piano and Marie Bérard and Keith Hamm, respectively Concertmaster and Principal Violist of the COC Orchestra.

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Wagner’s Dream

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So TIFF, as part of a broader Robert Lepage retrospective, today screened Susan Froemke’s Wagner’s Dream.  It’s a documentary about the creation of the Lepage Ring at the Met and it’s very good.  We were fortunate to get a brief introduction and Q&A session with M. Lepage himself before the screening.

WagnersDream Continue reading →

Voicebox: Opera in Concert 2014/15 season

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Isis and OsirisAccording to Schmopera, the line up for 2014/15 for the Voicebox: Opera in Concert season at the Jane Mallett Theatre will be Manuel de Falla’s La Vida Breve, Weill’s Street Scene, Charpentier’s Louise and the premier of Isis and Osiris by composer Peter-Anthony Togni with a libretto by Sharon Singer, both Canadians.  The only one of these I’m at all familiar with is La Vida Breve, which is rather good (DVD review).  However there’s plenty of information on Isis and Osiris available here and here.  The latter link includes almost 18 minutes of music from the piece.

All in all, as one has come to expect from Voicebox, an interesting line up.  More details here as they become available.

Moths

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MonicaWhicherThe third Canadian Art Song Project annual concert was given yesterday lunchtime in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre.  We were given four works; all by Canadian composers, and in a sufficient variety of musical idiom to make for a most interesting concert.  Soprano Monica Whicher and pianist Kathryn Tremills gave us Dissidence (trois poèmes de Gabriel Charpentier) by Pierre Mercure.  This 1955 work sounds rather like Ravel or perhaps early Poulenc with its symbolist poetry and rather literal musical setting.  It sits very nicely for Monica’s voice though and she sang very beautifully.  It seems not all modern composers hate sopranos.

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Rigidity and flexibility

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rigidityI think I’m seeing two trends in the world of opera companies right now.  On the one hand companies are closing shop, more or less messily.  Opera Hamilton, New York City Opera and, now, San Diego Opera are all relatively high profile closures.  On the other hand, with far less fanfare, there are smaller, more innovative companies springing up all over the place.  Some prosper, some don’t.  Is there a common theme?  I can see a few.  Rigidity versus flexibility seems to be one theme.  Having what marketeers call a Unique Value Proposition (or not) is another.

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