A second look at Hercules

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Hercules21Back to the Four Seasons Centre last night for a second look at Peter Sellars’ production of Handel’s Hercules.  This time we were sitting lower down in the house, in the front, left of the orchestra ring.  As predicted the set wasn’t as effective as when seen from higher up but in some ways the lighting effects were more successful.  Given the house’s acoustic properties favour the rings I’d say this is definitely one to see from somewhere other than the orchestra.

What did I particularly notice compared to opening night?  First off, Richard Croft.  I think I was so wrapped up in Lucy Crowe and Eric Owen’s singing the first time around that I almost failed to notice what a fine performance he gave.  His voice is very mature for a tenor now but he’s a terrific interpreter of text and has flawless technique.  His intensity remains remarkable.  And the schtick with the crutches?  It turns out he recently had hip surgery.

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Operetta, contemporary sounds and cast changes

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Cesaroni-LuciaThe news continues to flood in!  Toronto Operetta Theatre will close out their season with the Canadian Premiere of The Cousin from Nowhere (Der Vetter aus Dingsda); a 1921 work by the German Eduard Künneke.  Described by TOT General Director Guillermo Silva-Marin as “a very special work, a chamber operetta really, written by a Berliner who incorporated American and Latin dance rhythms into a lyric framework”; it will be conducted by Jürgen Petrenko and stars tenor Christopher Mayell, and soprano Lucia Cesaroni.  There will be fours shows at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts on May 1, 2, 3, 4 (mat). For tickets call the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts at 416-366-7723, 1–800-708-6754 or online at www.stlc.com

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Rival Queens

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Isabel-bayrakdarianRival Queens is a collaboration between Tafelmusik and Isabel Bayrakdarian showcasing music written for Faustina Bordoni and Francesca Cuzzoni; star divas of the 18th century who fought out a bitter rivalry on stage in London in 1726-28.  The great composers of the sage, most notably Handel, all composed for them and wrote works that brought out their respective, and quite contrasted, strengths.

In the first half of the program Bayrakdarian focused on works for Bordoni.  There were arias from Handel’s Alessandro (one of the works both divas performed in), Bononcini’s Astianatte and Hasse’s Cajo Fabricio.  These are pieces requiring extremely secure technique.  They lie fairly low in the soprano range (maybe modern mezzo territory) but have long, long, intricate coloratura runs which Bayrakdarian navigated with apparent ease.  The arias were rounded out with orchestral pieces by Handel and Zelenka.

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He’s also a short arse but…

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rebeccacA bit of a change of pace last night.  I went to see Rebecca Caine and Robert Kortgaard perform in the Shaftesbury Salon series.  Rebecca is one of the original crossover artists; flipping back and forth between opera and musical theatre with a bit of cabaret thrown in.  Last night’s show was definitely firmly in musical theatre territory.  There wasn’t a programme so I don’t have a full listing of numbers.  The first half of the evening was a selection, in essentially chronological order, of works from British musical comedy and reviews of the first half of the last century; each associated with a particular star of the period.  This is music that has pretty much disappeared off the face of the planet.  It’s “light” but rooted in classical singing style/technique unlike the more jazz/pop influenced show music that came after.  It’s also not much like American music of the period; a difference made obvious when Ms. Caine threw in a Kurt Weill number.  Some of it, though by no means all, is fairly undemanding vocally, being written for performers who were perhaps more noted for assets other than their singing technique.  Ms. Caine though has both.  We got these musically rather variable numbers very well sung interspersed with a compact and witty commentary from the very vivacious Ms. Caine.

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Sellars does it again

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There’s a unit set; some marble flags, a few broken columns surrounding  a “fire pit”.  Even this is stripped down for much of Act 2 which takes place on the stage apron in front of a plain curtain.  There are five singers, a chorus and an orchestra.  That, plus Peter Sellars, is all it takes to produce an extraordinary piece of music drama.

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The labours of Hercules

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I really had intended to write up the COC’s new production of Handel’s Hercules tonight.  But the best laid plans etc were subverted by the lovely Sasha Djihanian dragging me off to the after party.  There will be a proper review in the morning but, if you are smart (and don’t already have tickets) you won’t wait and will go buy some before they sell out.

To tide you over here’s Hercules himself (aka Eric Owens) flanked by Sasha and Rihab Chaieb.

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More Toronto news

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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.