Masterclass with Soile Isokoski

Posted on July 17, 2015 by operaramblings

Ms. Isokoski looking less down to earth than this morning

This was a really interesting morning. The TSMF runs a “fellow” program for singers and collaborative pianists and this morning, as part of that program, there was a masterclass with Finnish soprano Soile Isokoski. There were eight singers and four pianists with seven German songs (Strauss, Schubert and Wolff) and one in Finnish prepared (and preparing a Finnish piece for an Isokoski masterclass reminds me of that Youtube thing of the kitten walking down a line of Alsatian guard dogs). It was classic masterclass format. Each singer sang their piece and then went over fine points; diction, legato, phrasing, breathing, emotion, colour, at Ms. Isokoski’s direction. It was fascinating.

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Americans in Paris

Posted on July 17, 2015 by operaramblings

There Toronto Summer Music Festival, inevitably Americas themed this year, opened with a concert called Americans in Paris featuring music by Copland, Gershwin and Bolcom. It was a pretty mixed bag. It opened with Copland’s Appalachian Spring played by 13 members of the TSMF Ensemble and conducted by Tania Miller. It’s not a work I’m particularly fond of but here it was particularly unfocussed and soporific.

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Puzzling Genoveva from Zürich

Posted on July 15, 2015 by operaramblings

Schumann’s Genoveva is a rarity. It premiered in 1850 and quickly slipped into obscurity. Recently it has been championed by Nikolaus Harnoncourt who has gone so far as to call it “the most significant opera of the second half of the 19th century”; a slightly eye popping claim. So what’s it about? On the face of it it’s a pretty typical German opera of the period, set during the wars against the Moors in Spain. Siegfried (Graf in the libretto but mysteriously translated as Duke in the disk subtitles) is recently married but must lead his men off to the war leaving behind his young, beautiful, pious and virtuous bride Genoveva. He leaves Golo; a knight but a bastard so apparently not OK for active service, to guard his lands and wife. Golo has the hots for Genoveva but when she rejects his advances he concocts, with the aid of a witch, a plot to make it appear that she’s having an affair with an elderly retainer. She’s locked up by the servants and word is sent to Siegfried; returned from Spain but recovering from wounds in Strasbourg, of what has transpired. He gives Golo his sword and ring and tells Golo to kill Genoveva. Instead Golo tries to get her to run away with him but she refuses and he disappears. The servants too are happy enough to humiliate Genoveva but pretty slow about killing her. This gives time for Siegfried to arrive, having learnt of his wife’s innocence, and save the day. All sing a hymn of praise to God. Along the way there’s a magic mirror, a ghost, a magic potion and a whole lot of cloying sentimentality and piousness.

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A nice cup of LooseTEA

Posted on July 13, 2015 by operaramblings

Loose TEA Music Theatre have just announced their latest project; a transladaptation of Gounod’s Faust called Disassociative Me. It will run for three performances at RED nightclub, 135 Liberty Street on August 18th, 20th and 22nd. No details on casting and stuff yet. There’s also a fundraiser to support the production. It’s called Whose Opera is it Anyways? and it’s on 22nd July from 7pm to 10pm at The Office pub on John Street. Assorted brave, or foolish, singers will be taking the games from “Whose Line is it Anyway” and daring to do them while singing opera! There’s also a comedian and a DJ. Tickets are $25 and incude snacks and a glass of wine.

Has it really been forty years?

Posted on July 13, 2015 by operaramblings

The recently announced death of Jon Vickers has had me thinking a lot about connections. Vickers sang the title role in the second opera I saw live; Peter Grimes at Covent Garden in July 1975. Oddly, the first was The Rhinegold, at ENO, conducted by Reginald Goodall who also conducted the premiere performance of Peter Grimes in 1945. The summers of 1975 and 1976 were the first real chance, and the last for a while, that I had to see opera live. I worked those summer vacations in banks in central London which meant that I could use my lunchbreak to get a rush ticket for the evening performance. Living thirty miles out with a train to catch meant it wasn’t something I could do often but I did catch a couple of performances in each of those summers and, as I look back, there are so many beginnings and endings and connections.

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More summer music

Posted on July 8, 2015 by operaramblings

There may not be a lot of opera per se in Hogtown during the summer but there’s a fair amount of music of interest to the likes of us.

Toronto Summer Music Festival has some interesting offerings. The opening night concert, Americans in Paris, features Measha Brueggergosman in works by Gershwin, Bolcom and copland as well as instrumental pieces. And pretty much closing the festival out is a Karita Mattila recital with Bryan Wagorn on piano, on August 7th in a recital that includes works by Strauss, Sibelius and Sallinen. Details at www.torontosummermusic.com.

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Toronto Summer Opera

Posted on July 8, 2015 by operaramblings

There’s not a lot of opera in Toronto in the summer but Summer Opera Lyric Theatre has announced it’s 29th season of performances by young and emerging artists in Toronto. This season there are three offerings:

First up is Marschner’s Der Vampyr. There are four performances on July 31st (8pm), August 2nd (2pm), 5th (2pm) and 8th (8pm).
Ambitiously enough, this is followed by Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos on August 1st (2pm), 4th (8pm), 6th (8pm) and 8th (2pm).
And finally, another rarity, von Flotow’s Martha. Again four performances on August 1st (8pm), 5th (8pm), 7th (8pm) and 9th (2pm).

All three shows are directed by Bill Silva-Marin and will be performed in the Robert Gill Theatre at the University of Toronto. Single tickets are $28 ($22 students/seniors) or $60 for the lot. Tickets are available by phone at 416-366-7723 or online at www.stlc.com.

A weirdly eclectic Fidelio

Posted on July 4, 2015 by operaramblings

I’m really not sure what to make of Jürgen Flimm’s 2004 production of Fidelio for the Zürich Opera House. It’s not offensive and it doesn’t really get in the way of the story but it seems quite devoid of originality beyond mixing styles in a way one might describe as anachronistic if one could figure out when synchronistic would be. Rocco wears a sort of frock coat with, apparently, goatskin pants, Marzellina’s dress looks probably 20th century, bolt action magazine fed rifles are apparently muzzle loaded and metal cartridge cases filled by hand. Then to cap it off when Don Fernando shows up he looks like he’s stepped straight out of a Zeffirelli production of Der Rosenkavalier. So “nul points” for coherence. For once one rather appreciates that so much of the action takes place in the dark.

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A Chair in Love

Posted on July 3, 2015 by operaramblings

OK everything about this has me intrigued. Opera by Request are putting on a semi-staged version of John Metcalf and Larry Tremblay’s A Chair in Love. It’s about an angsty film director who falls in love with a chair despite his dog’s best efforts to avoid disaster. It’s on Friday July 17th @ 7:30pm at the Array Space (155 Walnut Avenue), and features William Shookhoff (music director and pianist), Abigail Freeman (Chair), Michael Robert-Broder (Truman), Gregory Finney (Dog), and Kim Sartor (Dogtor/Doctor). Tickets are $20 and available here. Despite Metcalf’s heritage I don’t think it’s in Welsh though the chance to see Greg bark in Welsh would be worth the price of a ticket.

Abstract Freischütz

Posted on July 1, 2015 by operaramblings

Nikolaus Harnoncourt has long been one of my favourite conductors, particularly for pieces that require a strong sense of period. The same goes for the wonderful Zürich Opera House Orchestra who, uniquely as far as I know, can change up their instruments to suit the piece. For Weber’s Der Freischütz, recorded in 1999, they use valveless brass but, as best I can tell, modern woodwinds and it all sounds great especially in the many hunting scenes.

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