Here’s a photo of Bud and Whitney taken before last night’s show.
That dress I mentioned…
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More news and stuff
Upcoming gigs that haven’t made it onto the page here yet include Tapestry Songbook V which will include highlights from works such as: The Perfect Screw (Abigail Richardson/Alexis Diamond), a cheeky comedy about a woman in search of the perfect screw—a Robertson or a Philips; The Shadow (Omar Daniel/Alex Poch-Goldin), a melodrama where a mailman disguises himself as a suave bachelor at the turn of 20th century Barcelona; In this World, George is Heartbroken (Lembit Beecher/Hannah Moscovitch), a psychological exploration of the demented imagination of a middle aged couple paralyzed in routine; and Noor over Afghan (Christiaan Venter/Anusree Roy), a story of a woman who, upon discovering her terminal illness, begs her sister to take her place at the altar as she flees on her own wedding day. The performers will be (now fully bipedal) baritone Peter McGillivray and pianist Stephen Philcox. It’s at 8pm at the Ernest Blamer Studio and the $24 tickets include a reception afterwards. The snag? The COC’s Don Giovanni opens that evening.
Also coming up is The Whisper Opera, a Soundstreams presenetation in partnership with New York’s International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE). The venue, The Theatre Centre at 1115 Queen Street West only seats 52 and there are only six performances and we are promised it will never be recorded or done on a bigger scale. Sounds intriguing. Anyway, right now, the first three performances are being discounted 40% (regular $57.50 – do the math) from the Royal Conservatory Box Office using promo code LISTEN. Good until January 16th.
First we take Manhattan
Yesterday the Talisker Players ventured into new territory for them with a program of Irving Berlin songs entitled Puttin’ on the Ritz. I’m no expert on Broadway in general or Tin Pan Alley in particular but, I suppose like most people, I’ve been exposed to a lot of this music through TV and films. The Talisker presentation was interesting and unusual in that they employed a string quartet and two classically trained singers rather than a dance band or a pianist and voices from a different tradition.
Anne Sofie von Otter and Angela Hewitt at Koerner Hall
I don’t usually give colloborative pianists headline billing but last night’s packed Koerner Hall recital certainly had an element of “They came for Ms. von Otter but stayed for Ms. Hewitt”. Hewitt was phenomenal in a program that interspersed solo piano pieces with sets of songs. In the songs she was simultaneously an individual voice and supportive of her colleague while the solo piano pieces were breathtaking; elegant Scubert and Brahms before the interval, staggeringly virtuosic Chabrier after. She’s also fascinating to watch. Continue reading
Poppea; stylised but stylish
Klaus Michael Grüber’s production of Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, recorded at the Aix-en-Provence festival in 2000, is both stylish and stylised. The stage and costume designs, by Gilles Aillaud and Rudy Sabounghi, are extremely elegant and, at times, very beautiful. The Seneca scenes at the beginning of Act 2, set in a sort of lemon grove, are especially effective as ai the use of painterly backdrops looking like Greek vase paintings reinterpreted by a fauviste. The director complements the designs with a somewhat formalised acting style that fits rather well. He also makes some changes to the narrative to tighten up the drama, dispensing with Ottavia’s nurse and ending with Pur tí miro, rather than Poppea’s coronation. Coupled with excellent acting performances it’s a straightforward but effective way to tell the story.
New shows from Opera 5 and Voicebox
Two new shows have been announced for late January/early February. First up is Opera 5 with a double bill at the Arts and Letters Club from January 23rd through 25th at 7.30pm. This show will feature the world premier of Montreal-based composer Darren Russo’s Storybook partnered with Emanuel Wolf-Ferrari’s Il segreto di Susanna. Singers involved include Emma Parkinson, Leigh-Ann Allen, Christopher Mayell, Geoffrey Sirett, Geoffrey Penar, and Rachel Krehm. This performance will mark the second new opera commission by the company and their second performance collaboration with Toronto Pop Up Orchestra, who will accompany the show. Evan Mitchell will conduct. Aria Umezawa will direct the Russo with the Wolf-Ferrari in the hands of Grace Smith. In typical Opera 5 fashion custom cocktails will be available for purchase before the show and during the intermission. Tickets are available online ($25.00 Early Bird – available until Jan 10th, $30.00 Students, $35.00 GA) or on the door ($30.00 Students/$35.00 GA).
Gruberova’s Zerbinetta
A chance to see the young Edita Gruberova’s near legendary portrayal of Zerbinetta would be reason enough to watch the 1978 Vienna recording of Ariadne auf Naxos but, as it happens, there’s much more. For a start the cast includes Gundula Janowitz, Walter Berry, René Kollo and Trudeliese Schmidt plus Karl Böhm, a man who worked closely with Strauss, is conducting.
Nostradamus predicts…
So the COC 2015/16 season announcement looms and, as promised, I shall make the annual futile attempt to outguess Alexander Neef. Actually it’s getting easier as the COC seems to be dropping into a pattern of doing runs of related operas and a lot of coproductions; none of which seem to start life in Toronto. So, it’s become rather a case of when rather than whether.
Makes me want to cut my throat too
Philippe Boesmans’ opera Julie; libretto by Luc Bondy and Marie-Louise Bischolberger after Früken Julie by August Strindberg, is unremittingly bleak. In fact, if it lasted much longer than its 75 minutes I could well imagine audience members cutting their throats long before the title character. That said, it’s pretty compelling stuff. It’s a tight drama about a young aristocratic woman kicking against the constraints of her privileged life aided and abetted by her father’s rather spineless valet Jean; a suitable occupation as he is one of nature’s lackeys. The only likeable character is Jean’s young fiancée Kristin, a cook in the household. Buried in this simple melodramatic plot of lust, betrayal and suicide are all kinds of ideas about heredity, social class and behaviour. Broadly speaking the message is “The rich man in his castle, the poor man at his gate” and woe betide you if your plebeian mother married above herself.
Moving into January
I wrote “2015” on a cheque today. Scary. Anyway, what’s on in Toronto as the new year dawns? Quite a lot as it happens. Here are my picks.
December 9th sees Anne-Sofie von Otter in recital at Koerner hall. She’s not doing opera anymore and who knows how many more chances there will be to see her in Toronto?
operaramblings 