Threepenny Submarine

Rachel Krehm and co’s latest project Threepenny Submarine is now live on the Opera 5 Youtube channel.  It’s a collaboration between Opera 5 and Gazelle Automations and features two (puppet) singers on a quest in a submarine.  It stars Caitlin Wood as a Rossini singing cockatiel with a tidiness fetish, which doesn’t seem terribly like Cait (at least the tidiness thing.  Of course she can sing Rossini), and Rachel Krehm as a messy Wagnerian vixen, which sounds about right.  It’s designed for kids but it’s quite funny and very cute and should work for kids of all ages.

threepennysubmarine

Also on the tubes, The Crossing have produced an animated watercolour video of one of the tracks from their recent recording of Gavin Bryars’ A Native Hill.

More tubes

Here’s a round up of the latest on-line material to come my way:

  • From the Kingston Symphony, Opera 5 and all things Krehm/Mitchell plus assorted animated animals… the concluding episodes of Harmon in Space (available now) and a new project, premiering April 7th; Threepenny Submarine featuring puppets from Gazelle Automation, sopranos Rachel Krehm and Caitlin Wood and a chamber ensemble led by Evan Mitchell.
  • From Against the Grain… a continuation of the run of Messiah/Complex and a live chat “Making of” at 7pm tonight.
  • From Soundstreams… Electric Messiah is available again until April 11th.
  • From Calgary Opera… Opera Labs, a series devoted to innovation in opera. The first film is about Namwayut; a collaborative composition featuring, among others, Marion Newman, Yvette Nolan, Ian Cusson and Asitha Tennekoon.

Everything is on Youtube except the Calgary project.

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Where Do I Go?

Where Do I Go? is the latest on-line offering from Tapestry Opera.  It’s an eight minute film followed by ten minutes or so of cast interviews.  The concept originates with the multi-talented Morgan Paige-Melbourne who wrote the music and words, plays piano, sings, speaks and dances on the film. She’s supported by dancer Natasha Poon-Woo and percussionist Adam Kaleta. Michael Mori directs.

wheredoigo

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Up and tubing

This will be a bit of an “odds and sods” round up.  First off, check out Natalya Gennadi and Catherine Carew’s latest offering on Natalya’s Youtube channel.  The music is very good but the animated effects are amazing.  Over at Against the Grain you can see Joel Ivany interviewing HE Adrienne Clarkson who is always interesting to talk to.

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To the Distant Beloved

I’m late to the party on this one.  I had set aside time on Sunday to watch Russell Braun, Carolyn Maule and Miriam Khalil’s recital from Koerner Hall (one of the Mazzoleni Songmasters series) when first broadcast.  For whatever reason I couldn’t get it to mirror onto the big screen in a watchable way so I ended up watching it on my laptop yesterday.  So it goes.

andiefernegeliebte

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Get your TOT fix

Like pretty much everybody else Toronto Operetta Theatre has chosen to go virtual for their latest offering.  It’s a production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Gondoliers filmed at the Edward Jackman Centre.  It’s very much a “bare bones” production.  The cast is reduced to nine roles and the chorus is gone.  Accompaniment is piano and accordion.  The Jackman Centre is a rehearsal space and looks like one.  The film appears to havebeen filmed with a single camera, in one take with minimal post processing though, despite which the audio and video quality is excellent.

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Upcoming

gondoliersThere a couple more on-line events coming up.

  • Tafelmusik have a moderated panel discussion on the mental, physical and spiritual benefits of choral singing.  That’s on March 18th at 7pm.  It’s a ticketed event ($5).  Tickets are available from tafelmusik.org
  • Toronto Operetta Theatre is doing Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Gondoliers.  It will be available from March 19th at 7pm until April 5th.  This one is also ticketed ($20) plus there are dinner delivery packages available for March 19th and 20th.  Full cast and other details at http://torontooperetta.com/shows.html

Beckwith at 94

Canadian composer John Beckwith will be 94 tomorrow.  His son, Larry, under the auspices of Confluence Concerts webcast a trio of concert’s of Beckwith’s extensive song output yesterday on their Youtube channel.  There’s four and a half hours of music and interviews!  It’s extremely varied.  Composition dates range from 1947 to 2014 and the diversity of the music is equally broad though with a distinct personality.  The pieces range from a set of etudes for cello and voice written for his grand-daughter when she was nine years old to the the crazy Avowals which requires a gifted and slightly mad tenor and a keyboardist who can play piano, celeste and harpsichord; sometimes simultaneously!

beckwiths

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