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Garsington Opera: Monteverdi Vespers of 1610

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Garsington Opera at Wormsley, 25 July 2019

Strange to be at Wormsley on the hottest night of the year with virtually no one in evening dress. This was because the performance had been preceded by a cricket match and most people seemed to have stayed on from the afternoon into the evening’s glorious outpouring of Monteverdi at his most spectacular.

This was a tactfully staged rendition, just enough movement to keep the eye interested without ever encroaching on the impact of the score. For once Joe Strathers projection of the text was fully included into the setting, with the English and Latin projected at large onto the timber back wall. Our eyes could take it in easily without constantly moving from text to singers.

Soloists included members of Garsington’s fine chorus across the evening and throughout the building. Monteverdi’s echo effects worked to superbly with voices coming from all parts of the house, an effect also used in the Sonata with its six female soloists.

The solo work is scored for high voices with sopranos Mary and Sophie Bevan, and tenors Benjamin Hulett, Robert Murray and James Way carrying the weight of the solo sections. Duo seraphim for the three tenors was particularly beautiful with its undulating rhythms and quasi-ornamental conclusion.

The English Consort was joined by The English Cornett and Sackbutt Ensemble to give us an electrifying account of the score, frequently changing instrumentation to give subtle differences of texture and weight. Within the ensemble were two chamber organs, the smaller being paired with the harpsichord which was played by conductor Laurence Cummings. He stood throughout and seemed to dance his way through the various movements even as he used one or other of the keyboards. The sense of dance was an essential element of PJ Harris’ staging as the singers flowed gracefully throughout the building always at one with the music.

This brought the Garsington Opera season to a close. Its 30th anniversary and a splendid indication that the next thirty years are not in doubt.

Double Bill: Il segreto di Susanna & Iolanta

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Opera Holland Park, July 2019

What an evening! An inspired pairing with sumptuous singing and two fine, if unfamiliar, scores. It really doesn’t come much better than this.

Ermano Wolf-Ferrari’s 40 minute 1909 comedy features two singers and a silent actor. Countess Susanna (Clare Presland) has secretly taken up smoking when it is still taboo for women. Her husband (Richard Burkhard) smells smoke and assumes she has a lover. There’s a marvellous performance from lithe, expressive John Savourin as the silent but very active, participative butler looking exactly like John Cleese. It’s a lively, cheerful romp with some nice duet work especially in the number in which husband and wife have a gloriously dramatic row. I also loved the hilarious, exotic, quasi-erotic smoking number in which the flute whizzes about wittily in the background. And the reconciliation duet at the end ensures you have something to hum throughout the interval.

And as for the weightier but beautiful Iolanta, why on earth doesn’t it get more outings? I’m surprised, for example, that the delicious 6|8 number at the beginning with harp and violin melody, into which voices eventually break, isn’t played on Classic FM every day.

The joy of Tchaikovsky is the way he blends joyousness with agony and this score is no exception. A very sparky guest conductor under whom I recently played an amateur performance the fifth symphony said semi-seriously: “Tchaikovsky had a lot of issues – he really did!” when trying to get us to step up the anguish. I thought about that several times while listening to Iolanta.

Based on a play by Henrik Hertz, it’s the story of a blind girl who has been brought  up in ignorance of her disability. Then she falls in love although her father has promised her to someone else. Then a doctor turns up and – well, it’s pretty implausible but the singing is fabulous. Natalya Romaniw, who sings with stunning balance and colour, brings all the appropriate passion, naivety and, eventually, emotional maturity to Iolanta as her world is flooded with light. An accolade too for Laura Woods as her friend Marta. She has a voice like good claret and plays this role with warmth, dignity and intelligence. The final, rousing chorus number – exquisitely staged and sung – will haunt me for ages too.

 

I’m slightly less sure about Takis’s set which includes a large transparent blind across the back of the stage – reminiscent of the one in my over-bath shower at home although this one shimmers in the hanging lights which represent flowers. You can see “off stage” action through it but to me, it’s a bit trite and obvious.

Full marks to John Wilkie who conducts Il segreto di Susanna and to Sian Edwards for Iolanta. Both coax magnificent sounds from the City of London Sinfonia. I’m always impressed with the way the balance works at Opera Holland Park given the huge width of the area which acts as a level “pit”.

Susan Elkin

 

 

The Class Choir

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St Clement’s Church, Hastings, Wednesday 24 July 2019

The Class Choir gave their summer concert to a very relaxed audience on a very warm evening. This was a collection of familiar songs and some which were new to the choir if not to those of us enjoying them.

They got off to a bright start with Here comes the sun – not always a wise choice in the summer but on this occasion spot on. Mr Blueskies seemed equally apt, and its unaccompanied harmonies were impressive. Conductor John Cornford takes Both sides now at quite a pace but relaxation followed in Wade in the Water. Two blockbusters followed in quick succession – I will follow him and Never enough – before a more reflective version of Adele’s When we were young. We’ve heard The Rhythm of Life at previous concerts but it was none the less welcome before the more complex arrangement of Symphony. Coming to the end of a fine hour of music making, they climaxed with Don’t stop me now but ended on a more reflective if sentimental note with Candle on the water.

The group seems to go from strength to strength – though is always open to new members who are welcome to join their numbers.

Argentine Tango at Opus Theatre

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Hastings Tango Club, Casa Tango & Classicus Proudly Present

ARGENTINE TANGO

The History – The Anecdotes – The Meanings

Opus Theatre Saturday 7th September 2019 – 3.30 – 6.00pm

Argentine Tango is one of the most popular dances the world has ever known. Learn all you always wanted to know about this most passionate of Latinamerican dances: its real origins, the hidden content of its lyrics, the colourful anecdotes and much more. With special dance demonstrations (including a special appearance from international tango stars Santiago & Sandra Monticelli) as well as a unique opportunity to hear local composer Polo Piatti talk about his upbringing in the ‘La Boca’ district where Tango was born and one of his famous teachers, tango king Astor Piazzolla. Another extraordinary event taking place at the iconic Opus Theatre in central Hastings.

Tickets £5 includes tea, coffee and cake – Free for ‘Friends Of Opus Theatre’

Cadogan Hall presents its thirteenth Zurich International Orchestra Series in 2019-20

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Cadogan Hall presents its thirteenth Zurich International Orchestra Series with twelve concerts performed by eleven of the world’s most distinguished orchestras. This season sees five ensembles make their Cadogan Hall debuts, performances from international artists and contemporary music from female composers.

Britten-Shostakovich Festival Orchestra

As part of its inaugural tour, the newly formed Britten-Shostakovich Festival Orchestra, conducted by founding Artistic Director Jan Latham-Koenig, open the series. The ensemble, on a 7-date tour of the UK, is made up of young musicians from conservatoires from both countries: they perform music of their homelands, inspired by the great Cold War friendship between the two composers after whom the orchestra is named.

The orchestra’s only London date opens with Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis and closes with Shostakovich’s Hamlet Op.116a with actors Edward Fox and Freddie Fox. Pavel Kolesnikov is the soloist for Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini before the focus returns to the UK with Britten’s Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes (Wednesday 25 September 2019).

Mariinsky Orchestra and Valery Gergiev

The Mariinsky Orchestra and Valery Gergiev return to Cadogan Hall for a pair of concerts. They mark the 150th anniversary of Berlioz’s death with his Symphonie Fantastique and excerpts from Romeo and Juliet. Both dates feature a different soloist winner from the prestigious XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition: Gold Medal winner for Woodwind Matvey Demin performs Ibert’s Flute Concerto and Fantasy on Bizet’s Carmen by Borne. Silver Medal winner for Piano Mao Fujita plays Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Excerpts from Rimsky-Korsakov’s Mlada as well as The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevroniya complete each programme (Monday 7 & Tuesday 8 October 2019).

All-Russian Programmes

Alexandra Dariescu joins the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra for Rachmaninov’s much-loved Piano Concerto No. 2. Conducted by Yuri Simonov, ballet music permeates the rest of the programme with Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, as well as excerpts from Swan Lake and Khachaturian’s Gayane (Thursday 10 October 2019).

In its series debut, the Siberian Symphony Orchestra conducted by Dmitry Vasiliev, open their concert with Shostakovich’s Festive Overture. Freddy Kempf makes a welcome return to Cadogan Hall to perform Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3 before Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 closes the programme (Thursday 23 April 2020).

In a celebration of Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky, the St Petersburg Symphony Orchestra is joined by Jennifer Pike for Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto. Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 and excerpts from Prokofiev’s Cinderella Suite bookend the concert, which is conducted by Nikolai Alexeev (Wednesday 27 May 2020).

Contemporary Music

The Iceland Symphony Orchestra with conductor Yan Pascal Tortelier perform Aereality, the work written for them by fellow Icelander Anna Thorvaldsdóttir. Premiered in November 2011, it was nominated as Composition of the Year at the Icelandic Music Awards in 2012 and portrays the state of gliding with nothing to hold onto, as if flying. The music explores both the feeling of absolute freedom and unease gained from the lack of attachment. Also making up their debut programme at Cadogan Hall is Bizet’s L’Arlésienne Suite No. 2, Ravel’s jazzy Piano Concerto for the Left Hand with Yeol Eum Son, as well as excerpts from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet (Monday 10 February 2020).

The Brussels Philharmonic and conductor Stéphane Denève return to close the series. Anna Clyne’s This Midnight Hour, which premiered in November 2015, opens the concert and is inspired by poetry as well as the character and power of the lower strings of L’Orchestre national d’Île-de-France. Following this, Jean-Yves Thibaudet is the soloist in Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2 before the final work: Mahler’s epic Symphony No. 1 (Thursday 11 June 2020).

Other International Artists

Guitarist Miloš Karadaglic brings Spanish repertoire to Cadogan Hall with Flanders Symphony Orchestra under José Luis Gomez. The programme opens with Rossini’s The Barber of Seville Overture and continues with music by Rodrigo, Villa-Lobos, de Falla and closes with Bizet’s Carmen Suite (Wednesday 30 October 2019).

Mezzo-soprano Ester Pavlu is the soloist with Prague Symphony Orchestra in Mahler’s Symphony No. 3, often referred to has his hymn to the natural world. Pietari Inkinen conducts. (Tuesday 12 November 2019).

Eric Lu performs Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4, the work with which he won the 2018 Leeds International Piano Competition and has subsequently released on Warner Classics to great acclaim. Orchestre National de Lille make its Cadogan Hall debut under the baton of Alexandre Bloch and completes the all-French programme with Ravel’s Ma mère l’Oye Suite and La Valse as well as Debussy’s La Mer (Wednesday 29 January 2020).

Both performing for the first time at Cadogan Hall, the Swedish Philharmonia are joined by violinist Viktoria Mullova for Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2, conducted by Jaime Martín. The other two works are Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 5 ‘Reformation’ and Sibelius’ Symphony No. 5 (Friday 13 March 2020).

CDs/DVDs July 2019

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Puccini: Madama Butterfly
Glyndebourne Festival Opera
OPUS ARTE OA 1167 D

This is a captivating and very moving account which avoids gimmicks and yet brings us a fresh and disturbing vision of the world American Imperialism. In the opening scene we are in Goro’s office where sailors are passing through to buy local girls. Pinkerton is marrying Cio-Cio-San but the transaction is hardly any different, and there is nothing romantic about the event except for the music which brilliantly reflects the inner-lives of those involved. Behind everything is the film of life for Japanese brides in the promised land of the USA.

Joshua Guerrero ‘s Pinkerton is naïve rather than brash, but comes to take his position more seriously as the work progresses. Olga Busuioc is a touching Butterfly who matures and becomes heroic by the final scenes. Michael Sumuel is a fine Sharpless, aware of the pitfalls but unable to prevent the tragedy.

Omer Meir Wellber’s conducting is whole-hearted, extrovert and totally engaging. I didn’t see this live in the house and now wish very much that I had done so!

 

Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
DYNAMIC 37843

This is musically a very sound performance, full-blooded and tightly controlled by Valerio Galli but for once I feel it might have been better as an audio release rather than DVD. The production by Luigi Di Gangi and Ugo Giacomazzi is conventional to the point of dullness, and allows the singers to ignore each other and sing straight to the audience. The chorus, who you might expect to know the work well, stand in serried ranks and can be seen keeping a close eye on the conductor. Much of the performance is given in semi-darkness and the ‘ideas’ – a strangely phallic pole, a bath of ash-laden dye for a vast sheet hauled above the singers – seem to have no relationship to what is actually happening.

 

Lehar: Die Lustige Wiwe
Frankfurt Opera, Joana Mallwitz
OEHMS OC 983

Having just said I could have done without the visual impact of the Cavalleria Rusticana reviewed above, I really wish I had had the full DVD version of this new Merry Widow. It sparkles with life and vitality, the dialogue it clipped without making it too brief and the characterisation throughout is magnificent.

Iurii Samoilov and Marlis Petersen are ideally paired as Danilo and Hanna, while there is smouldering intensity from Kateryna Kasper and Martin Mitterrutzner as Valencienne and Camille. Smaller parts are all cast from strength and there is a constant sense of a live performance without it ever hindering the quality of the music. A gem!

 

Mercadante: Didone Abbandonata
Academia Montis Regalis, Alessandro De Marchi
NAXOS 2.110630

Mercadante is almost forgotten today but was an important opera composer alongside Donizetti  and an influence on Verdi. The work as here presented is a meticulous reconstruction of early music styles which allows us to get a feel for the way it may have sounded to its original audience. A highly enjoyable recording of a rare work and worth seeking out.

 

Mozart: Die Zauberflote
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and State Opera Chorus, Constantinos Carydis
UNITEL 749708

The approach here starts from the point of view of a grandfather reading a bedtime story to his three grand-sons, who, of course, become the three boys of the narrative. It all takes place within the family home with members of the family becoming characters as the story unfolds. At the start this works quite well but as it progresses it becomes ever more fanciful and further removed from either the original text or the new concept of the family feud. There are some effective site gaps along the way and much of it is well sung but too often the producer’s ideas get in the way of the potential emotional impact of the music. Die Zauberflote is never an easy work to stage today but this does not really bring us much closer to a satisfactory resolution.

 

Mendelssohn: String Symphonies Vol3
L’Orfeo Barockorchester, Michi Gaigg
CPO 555 202-2

These are very early works but none the less very engaging. The cd opens with the Sinfonia VIII in D major from 1822 when the composer was thirteen. This and the two subsequent works were written for the Sunday afternoon gatherings in the Mendelssohn household, where the young composer was able not only to demonstrate his creative talents but also to conduct a good sized ensemble by himself.  Before the Sinfonia IX in C major we have the scene for alto and strings Che vuoi, mio cor? which follows well established lines as recitative / cavatina / cabaletta but is distinctly the voice of the composer. A lovely recording and a welcome addition to the series.

 

Sousa: Music for Wind Band 19
Royal College of Music Wind Orchestra, Keith Brion
NAXOS 8.559839

I wonder just how many cds we are going to get in this series? Actually, I hope it goes on and on for they are all equally and thoroughly enjoyable. The two Humoresques are particularly captivating. On the 5.15 is a lament for late trains and The Band Came Back riffs on popular songs of the period. Alongside these are arrangements of Turkey in the Straw and the more substantial Second Fantasia from El Capitan. Totally engaging and a joy to listen to.

Oxford Lieder Festival 2019

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Tales of Beyond – Magic, Myths and Mortals

The 18th Oxford Lieder Festival (11 – 26 October 2019) inhabits a world of storytelling and fairy tales, from Norse legend to the Brothers Grimm, from the Grim Reaper to Greek myth. Concerts, talks and study days will explore life, death and the mysterious areas between and beyond, with other events including live magic, a film screening, a ghost trail and more.

World-leading singers appearing at the Festival include Louise Alder and Nikolay Borchev (26 Oct), Ilker Arcayürek (25 Oct), Benjamin Appl (20 Oct), Katherine Broderick and Marcus Farnsworth  (17 Oct), Stéphane Degout (12 Oct), Tara Erraught (13 Oct),  Maria Forsström (16 Oct), James Gilchrist (19 Oct), Ben Johnson (15 Oct), Sophie Karthaüser and Stephan Loges (22 Oct), Thomas Oliemans (15 Oct),  Christoph Prégardien (13 Oct), Dorothea Röschmann (25 Oct), Katharina Ruckgaber and Ashley Riches (14 Oct) , Carolyn Sampson (24 Oct) , Kitty Whately (18 Oct) and others, alongside pianists including Eugene Asti, Christopher Glynn, Matti Hirvonen, Hartmut Höll, Simon Lepper, Graham Johnson, Sholto Kynoch, Malcolm Martineau, Cédric Tibérghien, Anna Tilbrook and Roger Vignoles. Many of the most exciting young emerging artists also appear.

The opening-night concert will be given by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, with Camilla Tilling and Neal Davies (11 Oct) performing orchestral songs by Schubert and Grieg. Roderick Williams will be in residence for five days (from 19 Oct) to perform Schubert’s three song cycles in the sparkling English translations by Jeremy Sams. There will be two world premieres from newly-appointed Associate Composer Cheryl Frances-Hoad, including a cycle of songs for soprano and string quartet, Endless Forms Most Beautiful (18 Oct). Other works of hers will feature throughout the Festival, as well as new commissions from composers Martin Suckling (19 Oct) and Ross Griffey (21 Oct). Chamber music concerts include the Albion (21 Oct), Brodsky (20 Oct), Doric (15 Oct) and Gildas Quartets (18 Oct), the Phoenix Piano Trio (16 Oct) , and pianists, Imogen Cooper (19 Oct), Ivana Gavri? (13 Oct), Charles Owen and Katya Apekisheva (24 & 25 Oct) and Martin Sturfält (14 Oct). Choral music features with the Carice Singers (15 Oct) and the Choir of Merton College (26 Oct).

General booking now open www.oxfordlieder.co.uk  / 01865 591276