Monthly Archives: January 2019

Roman Rabinovich: A Showcase

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Steinway Hall, 29 January 2019

Haydn’s piano music is much less well known than his symphonies, choral works and chamber music but they’re well worth listening to especially in an intimate space such as Steinway Hall which sits behind the Steinway showroom in Marylebone Lane.

Roman Rabinovich is working with The Haydn Society of Great Britain to promote a wider knowledge of Haydn’s piano sonatas by recording them all for CD. This showcase was designed to draw attention to the project and to launch Haydn Piano Sonatas Vol 1 (First Hand Records) which was on sale at the event.

We began with Sonata in D Major Hob XVI: 37 which Rabinovich told the audience he would personally nickname “The Chicken.” He then stressed that clucking (as it were) motif on a rising triplet. In the middle movement he leaned quite heavily on the contrasting sober chordal D minor section before treating us to chirpy, witty finale.

Then we got Sonata in C Major Hob XVI.48 written 15 years later for the “newfangled” fortepiano. Rabinovich observed the difference in mood which is thoughtful until the finale, which he played at high speed like a rather jolly race. Later he played – with verve – the two-movement Sonata in B Minor (unusual key!) Hob XV1:34.

It was more than a piano recital, however. Sandwiched in with the sonatas was a short film by Ruth Schocken Katz documenting Rabinovich’s life, background and music. The son of two pianists he moved, aged 10, from Uzbekistan where opportunities were very limited to Israel where they weren’t. He is also an accomplished artist and a series of his drawings called “Imaginary Encounters with Haydn” has been animated by Adam McRae – fun to see pianist and composer enjoying a beer together, taking a selfie, going on a flight and more.

We were also treated to a very short (I’d have liked more) Q/A with music journalist Jessica Duchen who, among other things, got Rabinovich to talk about different sorts of pianos then and now. In the recording he plays a Steinway model D.

It was an enjoyable and informative 75 minutes. It’s just a pity that Steinway – of all companies and on its own premises – couldn’t find a creak-free piano stool for an internationally acclaimed virtuoso to sit on. The noise was both loud and distracting.

Susan Elkin

Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra

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In the first half of our second concert of 2019 we visit two amazing talents of the late Romantic era – two German composers who changed the face not only of Romanticism, but the sound and energy of the orchestra. Two Richards, Wagner and Strauss, who were two of the most influential composers of the century. We welcome back Stephen Bell to conduct this unashamedly Romantic programme.

When you listen to Wagner, and especially the Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde, you are drawn into an amazing orchestral world of colour, sound and brilliance. Wagner was born in 1813 – he was 14 when Beethoven died – and to put this into context Brahms was born in 1833 and died in 1897. Wagner himself died in 1883. So Germany had within its midst two colossal composers working in parallel universes – in an amazing few years of composition Wagner had written a collection of ground breaking operas including the Ring cycle – an amazing feat considering he wrote the librettos as well! The Prelude and Liebestod was written and performed a few years before Wagner completed the opera in 1865.

The Four Last Songs by Richard Strauss are probably the most poignant and heartfelt songs for soprano and orchestra ever written, and culminate an incredible journey of composition by Strauss – he knew as he wrote these songs that they would be the last pieces he would compose. There are four songs in the cycle: Frühling (Spring), September, Beim Schlafengehen (When Falling Asleep) and Im Abendrot (At Sunset). The poem At Sunset was written by Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff; the other poems were written by Hermann Hesse. The songs’ first performance was given at the Royal Albert Hall in 1850, two years after the composer’s death aged 85. The songs other than Spring dwell on death and the eventual journey and are full of soaring melodies for soprano and orchestra. All the songs create a sense of immense calm and acceptance, and Strauss, the master orchestrator, creates this with poignant melody and orchestral solos in this masterclass of orchestration. We are delighted to welcome the soprano Camilla Roberts who will join Stephen Bell and the orchestra in these beautiful songs.

For the second half of this concert we travel to Russia and meet a highly talented composer hugely influenced by the folk songs of his native Russia. Reinhold Glière, although not a household name now, was an extraordinarily gifted composition student at the Moscow Conservatoire at the dawn of the 20th century. Glière composed this brilliantly crafted symphony, full of vibrant tunes and stunning harmony, at the age 25 and it was hugely popular in its day. A loyal Russian, he kept out of the politics of the time and was an enormously influential teacher of composition – the young Prokofiev being one of his pupils. Written in four movements it is unashamedly Romantic in its construction, and Glière keeps very close to the classical symphonic form.

This concert will be dedicated to the memory of one of the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra’s most popular violinists Melanie Hornsby, who sadly lost her fight with cancer in the summer of last year – we would also like to say a huge thank you to the Macmillan Nurses who cared so brilliantly for her at the end of her life.

Hastings Sinfonia

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St John’s, Upper St Leonards, Saturday 26 January 2019

An engaging concert, and one very much of two halves. The first half brought us richly romantic works by Weber and Schumann in a formal setting and without introductions. The second half reminded me of the early days of Friday night is music night with gently witty links between the works from conductor Derek Carden, and a splendid variety of pieces on offer.

The evening opened with Weber’s overture to Oberon, with heavy brass and bass tones almost overpowering the strings. Balance was better in the Schumann Piano Concerto where Howard Southern was a familiar but nonetheless very welcome soloist. His precise phrasing and graceful arpeggios in the opening movement were a prelude to the dancing, if unhurried, rhythmic pleasures of the finale.

We had two living composers in the audience, and heard works from both of them, opening with Paul Lewis’ theme for King’s Royal which some will recall from the TV series in the 1980s. The next orchestral work was Polo Piatti’s stirring Agitato with the composer providing the piano solo. The writing is often furious in impact but leads us to a gentler conclusion.

Between the orchestral items Thomasin Trezise was the soprano soloist in equally familiar operatic arias. She opened with a thrilling performance of Un bel di vedremo from Madama Butterfly and later gave us a warmly effective Vilja from The Merry Widow and the Czardas from Die Fledermaus – in the latter case changing into a glittering golden dress which understandably caused a stir across the very full audience.

Between these items we enjoyed Borodin’s In the Steppes of Central Asia, with its haunting cor anglais solo, and the evening ended with the March from Sibelius’ Karalia Suite. There are times when the familiar is all the more welcome for being live.

My grandson was with me – his first concert. It will certainly not be the last, and please, when can we go to an opera?

Brian Hick

Garsington Opera 2019

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30th ANNIVERSARY SEASON: FOUR NEW PRODUCTIONS
INCLUDING AN OFFENBACH PREMIERE

Garsington Opera’s 30th anniversary season will feature four new productions – the UK stage premiere of Offenbach’s Fantasio, Smetana’s The Bartered Bride, Mozart’s Don Giovanni and finally Britten’s The Turn of the Screw.  The season culminates with concert performances of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610, celebrating the start of a partnership with The English Concert.  The season runs from 29 May to 26 July.

Garsington Opera remains committed to engaging great singers from around the world as well as showcasing the best talent from the UK.  They are joined by the Garsington Opera Chorus and Orchestra, and for the performances of The Bartered Bride, the Philharmonia Orchestra.

The UK stage premiere of Offenbach’s little-known opera Fantasio celebrates his bicentenary year.  A beguiling tale of love and mistaken identity, it will feature Hanna Hipp, who sang Clairon in Capriccio last season, in the role of the Jester, a melancholy, moon-struck dreamer yearning after Princess Elsbeth, performed by Jennifer France, winner of the Critics Circle Emerging Talent Award 2018, the Leonard Ingrams Foundation Award 2014 and praised for her appearance as Susanna in John Cox’s legendary Le nozze di Figaro.  They are joined by Huw Montague Rendall (Prince of Mantua), Timothy Robinson (Marinoni), Brian Bannatyne-Scott (King of Bavaria) and Bianca Andrew (Flamel).  Three singers, formerly on the Alvarez Young Artists’ Programme, Benjamin Lewis (Sparck), Joseph Padfield (Hartmann) and Joel Williams (Facio) complete the cast.  This fantastical story is performed in a lively new English translation by Jeremy Sams.  The creative team of director Martin Duncan and designer Francis O’Connor return after many admired productions at Garsington Opera, and are joined by lighting designer Howard Hudson and choreographer Ewan Jones.   Making his Garsington Opera debut, Justin Doyle, Artistic Director of RIAS Kammerchor, Berlin, will conduct.

The Bartered Bride, a celebration of Czech culture and identity, will be reimagined into the heart of the English countryside, and will open the season.  Natalya Romaniw, last seen at Garsington as Tatyana in Eugene Onegin,  sings the heroine Ma?enka who uses all her charm and cunning to marry the man she loves – Jeník, sung by American tenor Brenden Gunnell.  The cast includes Joshua Bloom (Kecal) last seen as Figaro (2017), Stuart Jackson (Vašek), Peter Savidge (Krušina), Heather Shipp (Ludmila), Brian Bannatyne-Scott (Mícha), Anne-Marie Owens (Háta), and Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts (Circus Master).  Lara Marie Müller, a former Alvarez Young Artist, sings Esmeralda. Dance is at the heart of this sparkling work from the vibrant overture to the riotous and festive polka;  Jac van Steen, who returns after his success with Pelléas et Mélisande (2017), will conduct the Philharmonia Orchestra.  The creative team of Paul Curran (director) and Kevin Knight (designer), whose production of Death in Venice (2015) was much acclaimed, returns with Howard Hudson (lighting designer) and Darren Royston (movement director).

Mozart’s enduring masterpiece Don Giovanni will feature several role debuts including Jonathan McGovern in the title role, David Ireland (Leporello), formerly an Alvarez Young Artist, Australian soprano Sky Ingram (Donna Elvira) and Welsh tenor Trystan Ll?r Griffiths (Don Ottavio).  The cast also includes two UK debuts – Brazilian soprano Camila Titinger (Donna Anna) and Canadian soprano Mireille Asselin (Zerlina).  Paul Whelan (Commendatore) and former Alvarez Young Artist Thomas Faulkner (Masetto) complete the cast.  Garsington Opera’s Artistic Director Douglas Boyd conducts and former Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company Michael Boyd (director) returns to direct together with Tom Piper (designer), after their success with Pelléas et Mélisande (2017) and Eugene Onegin (2016) with Malcolm Rippeth (lighting designer).

The Turn of the Screw with a libretto by Myfanwy Piper, based on the novella by Henry James, is considered to be one of Britten’s finest stage works.  The gripping story of a young governess, performed by Sophie Bevan, sent to a remote country house to care for two children, also features the tenor Ed Lyon (Prologue/Quint), making his role debut.  Also in the cast are Kathleen Wilkinson (Mrs Grose) and Katherine Broderick (Miss Jessel).  Emerging American director Louisa Muller makes her UK debut together with two-time Olivier and Tony Award-winner Christopher Oram (designer) and Malcolm Rippeth (lighting designer).  Richard Farnes, conductor of last year’s admired Falstaff, will conduct.

Celebrating the start of a new partnership, the renowned Baroque and Classical chamber orchestra The English Concert makes its Garsington debut playing on period instruments in three concert performances of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610. They will be joined by soloists Mary Bevan, Sophie Bevan, Benjamin Hulett, Robert Murray and James Way.  Laurence Cummings returns to conduct with the Garsington Opera Chorus. 

Marking the end of the 30th anniversary season, on the three concert days there will be an afternoon cricket match, tours of the Walled Garden and Green Theatre Recitals showcasing the Alvarez Young Artists, as well as the opportunity to visit the Getty Library.

OPERAFIRST AND FANTASIO

As part of an extensive Learning & Participation Programme, there will be a full performance of Fantasio by the Alvarez Young Artists for local school pupils and adults, all of whom take part in preparatory workshops to introduce them to opera and deepen their enjoyment of the performance.

WIDENING ACCESS TO GARSINGTON OPERA

Garsington Opera is passionate about widening access to a young audience and has a much sought-after GO?35 membership scheme which offers subsidised tickets, priority booking, free train transfers, pre-performance parties and half price programmes.

Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra

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The Dome, Brighton, 20 January 2019

The highlight of this concert was an enjoyably intelligent account of Mendelssohn 3rd Symphony – the Scottish – with which it ended. After a slightly wobbly start to the ever-challenging opening andante, Thomas Carroll found lots of colourful detail in the scherzo and the closing maestoso. And third movement, the allegro cantabile (surely one of the most lyrically eloquent and sublimely beautiful movements ever written?) was in very capable hands here: plenty of tender power coaxed out of every player.

I was less happy about the Schumann cello concerto which Carroll conducted from the cello. Of course he played this undersung, and actually rather underwhelming, concerto well enough but the orchestra was, at times, audibly rudderless. It took a while to coalesce and settle, although it warmed and thickened as it progressed through its three, continuous, quite succinct movements. There are plenty of precedents for cellist conductors (Rostropovich, Alfred Wallenstein et al) but I think in this case, one or the other might have worked better. Multi-tasking isn’t always a good idea musically.

Over two thirds of this concert was in A minor and, as Carroll pointed out when he addressed the audience before the Mendelssohn, the concerto and symphony have a lot in common which was the rationale for programming them together. Both works, for example, start on the same four notes, have a movement in F major, include a fugue and conclude joyfully.

It was refreshing, therefore, to precede them with something completely different – another key (D Major), country, century and mood. Prokofiev’s first symphony makes an good  concert “overture” (as it were). As in each of the three works in this concert the first few bars were disconcertingly uncertain but then we got lots of delightfully insouciant leggiero string playing, some bouncy, syncopated woodwind work in the elegantly delivered gavotte and a saucy molto vivace which included some nifty flute playing.

Susan Elkin

 

CDs/DVDs January 2019

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Verdi: Stiffelio
Orchestra and Chorus, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Guillermo Garcia Calvo
NAXOS 2.110590

It is not often that the comment forgotten masterpiece is actually true but surely it is in this case. Verdi’s early work, first staged in 1850, fell foul of the censors and never recovered despite attempts to rework the libretto in a totally different guise. The narrative focuses on the internal battle the pastor Stiffelio has when he finds out that his wife in unfaithful. In the end he is true to the gospel and forgives, not only her, but all others who have abused him, bringing a welcome sense of genuine forgiveness. This did not go down well in the heavily paternalistic Italy of the mid-nineteenth century even though the score is magnificent with one of Verdi’s finest tenor roles as his hero.

Here it is not only splendidly sung, it is staged in a walking production by Graham Vick which mingles the chorus with the audience and brings an uncomfortable immediacy. To this he adds a number of, at times, vicarious sexual scenes, implying that it is not just Lina who needs forgiveness but all potential sexual crimes. If this is a little over the top it helps to underline the shock Verdi caused with the original production.

I wonder when we will get to see this glorious piece in Britain?

SNOW QUEENS
JUICE VOCAL ENSEMBLE
RESONUS RES10224  53’54

This seasonal, but not exclusively Christmas, CD is currently enjoying some good exposure on R3. The three female members of the Juice Vocal Ensemble have created a haunting and memorable experience with this collection of world premiere recordings of settings of a variety of winter-themed texts. Composers are mostly contemporary, alongside arrangements of some traditional carols. Recommended for anyone looking to extend the seasonal repertoire whilst moving on from Christmas.

THE HEAVENS & THE HEART – CHORAL & ORCHESTRAL MUSIC BY JAMES FRANCIS BROWN
BENJAMIN NABARRO, Violin, RACHEL ROBERTS, Viola, GEMMA ROSEFIELD, Cello, CATRIONA SCOTT, Clarinet
CHOIR OF ROYAL HOLLOWAY, ORCHESTRA NOVA, GEORGE VASS, Conductor
RESONUS RES10227 64’07

This CD presents three works from a contemporary British Composer (b.1969). Two orchestral works are the Trio Concertante for violin, viola, cello and string orchestra and Clarinet Concerto (Lost Lanes – Shadow Groves) for clarinet and strings. This work is built around contrasting pastoral scenes. Finally, The Heavens & the Heart, consists of three partial psalm settings for chorus and small orchestra, the orchestral writing bringing energy and intensity to the Latin texts.

DANCE MAZE – CHAMBER MUSIC BY TOM ARMSTRONG
SIMON DESBRUSLAIS, Trumpet, JAKOB FISCHERT, Piano, NICOLA MEECHAM, Piano,
AUDREY RILEY, Cello, JAMES WOODRWOW, Electric guitar, FIDELIO TRIO
RESONUS RES10230 78’17

According to the introductory notes most of this music has been revised and re-worked over time to arrive at the final versions recorded here. The piano is very much to the fore in this welcome programme from another contemporary British composer. This music is well worth exploring and the presentation here is first rate. Excellent background notes add much to the listening experience. Resonus is to be congratulated on its continuing series of releases from contemporary composers in the UK.

TABLEAUX DE PROVENCE- WORKS FOR SAXOPHONE
DOMINIC CHILDS, Saxophone, SIMON CALLAGHAN, Piano
RESONUS RES10231 54’33

It is sometimes easy to forget that, in musical terms, the saxophone is a relatively recent invention. Although to be found in much jazz and other popular music it is less often associated with the ‘classical’ world. Here then is a very welcome release consisting of fine performances of four ‘serious’ works which highlight the instrument. Debussy’s Rhapsodie for orchestra & saxophone dates from 1903 and opens the programme (with a piano reduction of the orchestral part). Sonate in C sharp minor (1943) by Fernande Decruck follows. The most recent work is Tableaux de Provence (1950s) by Paule Maurice. The earliest work is an arrangement of Francois Borne’s Fantaisie Brillante sur des airs de Carmen (1900).

FAURE, CHAUSSON & SATIE – PIANO TRIOS
FIDELIO TRIO
RESONUS RES10232 57’01

The final CD from this current batch from Resonus is a follow-up recoding from the Fidelio Trio with further exploration of French piano trios. Two Piano Trios – by Chausson & Faure form the main part of the programme with some particularly haunting passages in the Faure. These are set alongside arrangements by John White from Satie’s Messe des Pauvres and Le Plege de Meduse, ending with some very short movements which provide quite a contrast to what has gone before.

Max Bruch: Die Loreley
Munchner Rundfunkorchester, Stefan Blunier
CPO 777 005-2

So overwhelming was the impact of the first violin concerto that Bruch became increasingly angry that his many other works were consistently overlooked. If Die Loreley falls into that category there may be more reasons than simply the violin concerto. Bruch was a conservative as a composer and loathed the new music of Wagner and later the Viennese school of the early twentieth century. As such, though beautifully constructed, and with many fine and memorable melodies, this opera is distinctly in the realm of Weber and Meyerbeer. As an indulgence it works very well and is finely sung – Thomas Mohr’s heroic Otto being particularly impressive – but I doubt if it could hold the stage today even in a summer festival. Let us just be grateful for this recording.

 

Strauss & Wagner
Norbert Anger, cello; Michael Schoch, piano
OEHMS OC 1701

This came as something of a surprise. I did not know the two Strauss works – a sonata for cello and piano Op6 and a Romance – which are both pleasing and finely structured. But it was the arrangements of the Wagner which proved to be so telling. The arrangements of the Wesendonck Lieder are soulful and very moving, and the adaptation of themes from Tristan und Isolde are stunningly effective. Here is the intimacy that most stagings of Tristan so often lack and an introspection which has drawn me back to them. A really impressive recording.

Parry: Piano Trios, Partita
Leonore Piano Trio
HYPERION CDA 68243

These are meaty works, unexpectedly dense and romantic in style and as such very appealing. Both of the piano trios have four movements and feel more like studies for symphonic works than intimate chamber music. The six movement Partita is not quite as demanding but none the less has a sense of bravura, finely captured by the Leonore Piano Trio.

 

Smetana: Swedish Symphonic Poems
Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Leos Svarovsky
NAXOS 8.573597

That there is a sadness underlying the composition of these works – Smetana’s wife was dying of tuberculosis at the time and they were in Sweden for her health – can’t be doubted but Smetana brings an individuality to the three works here recorded. The symphonic Poem Richard III is clearly episodic though does not attempt to follow the narrative in any strict way. Wallenstein’s Camp is based on the first of Schiller’s trio and as Hakon Jarl is similarly on Oehlenschlager, though the listener does not need a knowledge of any in order to enjoy the scores. The cd ends with the Scherzo from the Festive Symphony which, though the symphony was completed, was more frequently played as a standalone piece by the composer to avoid the Austrian overtones of the rest of the work.

Schubert: Sonatas arranged for guitar and violin
Duo KeMi: Daniel Migdal, violin, Jacob Kellermann, guitar
BIS 2375

So convincing is this recording it is difficult to realise this is not the normal way of playing these works. The balance and rapport is moving and totally convincing throughout, with an easy familiarity drawing us in. the Arpeggione is more familiar than the A major and D major sonatas but all are equally engaging. Let us hear more like this.

Richard Strauss: Piano Quartet; Piano Trio No2
Daniel Blumenthal, piano; Doren Dinglinger, violin; Tony Nys, viola; Alexandre Vay, cello
CPO 555 116-2

These two works were written at a frighteningly early age. Strauss was 14 when he completed the Trio and only 21 for the Quartet which stands almost at the end of a long line of instrumental works all of which pre-date the operas. Strauss himself saw the tone poems as a warm up for Salome yet these very early works give more than a hint of what was to come. If the earlier work pays homage to Mendelssohn the later one has moved to Brahms hint hints of much more to come. Good to encounter these pieces and to set them in context.

Brahms: Op116-118
Garrick Ohlsson, piano
HYPERION CDA 68226

These late works – the Fantasias Op116, Intermezzos Op117 and Clavierstucke Op118 – may have a collective introspection but there is nothing fatalistic about them, as Garrick Ohlsson shows in the clarity and precision of his performance, communicating an emotional reality which avoids sentiment or indulgence. A fine account.

Saint-Saens: Trois tableaux symphonique d’apres La foi; Bacchanale; Symphony No 3 ‘Organ’
Utah Symphony Orchestra, Thierry Fischer
HYPERION CDA 68201

An unexpected but pleasing combination drawing on Saint-Saens’ love of the exotic. As such the suite arranged from his incidental music to La foi – set in ancient Egypt – is the most unusual but links in well with the familiar Bacchanale from Samson et Dalila. The even more popular Organ Symphony is convincingly played though, surprisingly, the organ soloist is not named in the liner notes.

Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra

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This first Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra concert of 2019 is, in football manager’s parlance, a concert of two halves, a clean classical early symphony to open the concert demanding a high standard of orchestral virtuosity, a cello concerto that demands huge technique from its soloist, and a second half that transports our audience to the delights of Victorian Scotland.

We are delighted to welcome back for this concert the renowned cellist and conductor Thomas Carroll and he is looking forward to conducting three works that define three brilliant composers in differing stages of their composing life.

To open our concert we have Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony written by a very talented and young composer writing very much in the 20th century, but here he composes a short four movement symphony written in the style of Haydn, full of tunes, clean harmonies and exciting orchestral writing. It was very well received on its first performance in 1918, so much so that the Russian Commissar of Education agreed to allow Prokofiev a passport to travel abroad.

Thomas will then perform and direct Schumann’s Cello Concerto, written in the mid 1850’s by a very busy composer in the middle of an intense and creative period of composition. This is a brilliant virtuosic concerto for the cello, written by a composer more known for his piano, orchestral and vocal writing, but here creating a brilliant and tuneful concerto for an instrument he had a huge affinity to. It has three movements, with the most stunning slow movement, full of yearning and haunting recollection; it is like a song for the cello with hints of German folk music. Sadly not performed in Schumann’s life, it has become one of the most popular of cello concertos.

After the interval we perform Mendelssohn’s Symphony No.3 ‘The Scottish’ written by a hugely popular and very talented young composer whilst on a European tour. Mendelssohn was inspired to write this symphony after visiting one of the most beautiful areas in Scotland – Holyrood House and its ruined chapel near Edinburgh. It took him ten years to complete as he found it hard to “return to my misty Scottish mood”. He dedicated the work to Queen Victoria and it was first performed in London in June 1843.

Tickets £12.50-£39.50 (50% student/under 18 discount, children just £1 with Family Ticket) from Brighton Dome Ticket Office, (01273 709709), www.brightondome.org

Discounted parking (just £6) available at NCP Church Street Car Park between 1-6pm.

Hastings Philharmonic: Samba & Choro

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St Mary in the Castle, Hastings, 12 January 2019

St Mary’s may not have quite the intimacy of the Tabernacle’s basement but with low lighting and candles on the tables the atmosphere was certainly conducive to an evening of Samba, Choro and Bossa Nova. Marcio da Silva delights in challenging us, and we were soon immersed in the gentle melancholy of Tom Jobin’s Corcovado, which at least seemed familiar, before plunging into the wider repertoire with its emotionally expressive immediacy.

Historically the Choro – which literally means Crying – gave birth to the Samba and at the end of the last century to the Bossa Nova.  We heard five examples of early Choro, including Brejeiro by Ernesto Nazare which was remarkably upbeat with its clarinet solo and drum accompaniment from Marcio himself.

The One Note Samba by Tom Jobim may have been familiar to all but Chico Buarque’s Samba de Orly was equally pleasing. Jobim’s Desafinado brought us a moving Bossa Nova and the evening was rounded of by a laid-back rendition of The Girl from Ipanema.

Marcio was joined on the platform by guitarist Ariel Gragnani, clarinettist Boyan Ivanov, percussionist Emmanuel McDonald and Owen Nicolau on bass – many of whom are familiar performers with Hastings Philharmonic.  Marcio sang all of the songs himself and attuned his normally operatic voice to the restrained, at times almost husky tones, which felt perfectly suited to the clubs for which these songs were written and the potential political message they hold beneath the more romantic surface. The solo instrumental pieces allowed the individual players to show their sensitivity to the compositions, and also a genuine sense of enjoyment, which spilt over into the audience. Nobody got up to dance but I would not have been surprised if they had. May be next time?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ENO: Akhnaten

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Akhnaten

Philip Glass

Philip Glass, in association with Shalom Goldman, Robert Israel, Richard Riddell and Jerome Robbins

Conductor, Karen Kamensek

Director, Phelim McDermott

Phelim McDermott’s Olivier Award-winning production of Akhnaten returns to ENO

Opens Monday 11 February at 7.30pm (7 performances)

Following its sell-out run in 2016, Phelim McDermott’s sensational production of Akhnaten returns to the London Coliseum for its first revival in February 2019. Winning the 2017 Olivier Award for Best New Opera Production and hailed as ‘unforgettable magnificence’ (The Independent), the visual spectacle provided by Improbable Theatre Company and Gandini Juggling Company will accompany the mesmeric music of Philip Glass once more. The same creative team returns with many of the original cast reprising their roles in one of opera’s most arresting achievements of recent years.

The story of the revolution of the first monotheist pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, Akhnaten uses texts drawn from drawn from ancient hymns, prayers, letters and inscriptions sung in their original Egyptian, Hebrew and Akkadian. It forms the last of Philip Glass’s trilogy of ‘portrait’ operas in which he explores the lives of great historical figures in the fields of science (Einstein), politics (Gandhi) and religion (Akhnaten).

Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, the man who ‘exists to transform opera’ (The New York Times), once again takes on the title role of the doomed pharaoh. Hailed as ‘extraordinary’ both for his singing and acting (WhatsOnStage) in the original London run, Costanzo also performed the role in Los Angeles in the production’s LA Opera run later in 2016.

Glass, a composer with whom ENO has enjoyed a special relationship since it presented the UK premieres of both this opera and The Perfect American, is a great favourite of ENO audiences. Satyagraha, from the same director and creative team, was revived to rave reviews in February 2018, also conducted by Karen Kamensek.

ENO Harewood Artist Katie Stevenson takes the role of Akhnaten’s wife Nefertiti. She made her debut at ENO in 2017 as a Shadow Marnie in Marnie, with this production marking her first lead role with the company. Akhnaten’s mother Queen Tye is sung by Rebecca Bottone, who reprises her 2016 role for which there was ‘no praise too high’ (The Independent).

Baritone James Cleverton returns to the role of Horemhab. He first performed with ENO in 2009 singing the role of Oppenheimer in Penny Woolcock’s production of John Adams’s Doctor Atomic, and will return later in 2019 to sing The Photographer in the world premiere of Iain Bell’s Jack the Ripper: The Women of Whitechapel.

Bass-baritone Keel Watson takes the role of Aye, advisor to the Pharaoh, and Colin Judson reprises his role as the High Priest of Amon. They were last seen at the Coliseum singing Bartolo and Basilio respectively in Fiona Shaw’s The Marriage of Figaro in 2018 (‘magisterial’ – Bachtrack). Zachary James reprises his role as the Scribe.

The six Daughters of Akhnaten are sung by Charlotte Shaw, Hazel McBain, Rosie Lomas, Elizabeth Lynch, Martha Jones and Angharad Lyddon.

Karen Kamensek returns to conduct in her third Coliseum appearance following a ‘transcendent’ (The Stage) Satyagraha in 2018 and the original 2016 run ofAkhnaten. An expert in the work of Philip Glass, she premiered his work Orphée with the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra in New York. She has also conducted the world premiere of Glass’s Les Enfants Terribles at the Spoleto Festival in the USA.

Director Phelim McDermott’s work with ENO includes Satyagraha, The Perfect American, Aida and Così fan tutte. He has won various awards, including an Olivier Award for Best Entertainment, TMA Awards for Best Touring Production and Best Director and a Critics Circle Best Designer Award. He is the founder-director of Improbable.

Joining the singers onstage are the Gandini Juggling Company, led by world renowned juggler Sean Gandini, who created so memorable an impression in the 2016 run. The creative team from Improbable is completed by Set Designer Tom Pye, Costume Designer Kevin Pollard and Lighting Designer Bruno Poet, who have worked with McDermott on ENO shows including Satyagraha, Aida and Così fan tutte.

Akhnaten opens Monday 11 February at 7.30pm for 7 performances: 11, 15, 21, 23, 28 February and 7 March at 7.30pm and 2 March at 6.30pm

500 tickets for £20 or less are available for each performance. Tickets start from £12*.