New & Improved Don Giovanni

Posted on November 3, 2019 by barczablog

I saw Opera Atelier’s revival of Don Giovanni that’s running at the Ed Mirvish Theatre.  I loved it last time & it continues to thrill me as though it weren’t an opera I’ve known since childhood.

But it feels new.  The headline might sound like an oxymoron if you remember that OA aim for historicity & authenticity.  As usual we hear the gentle Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, easier on the ear & the kinder to voices of the singers aiming to be heard. We’re watching the dancers of Opera Atelier’s ballet corps, and the entire cast moving with at least a nod towards the period.

But while the look is authentic, if you look closer you see a few interesting improvements. Marshall Pynkoski frames this work around Mozart’s own understanding of the opera as something comical, rather than the accumulated weight of centuries of romantic interpretations.

Pynkoski isn’t afraid to prioritize the needs of his audience, so (as in the previous Opera Atelier production) he only gives us one of the two tenor arias, which is simply logical when we recall that Mozart only added the second one as a substitute for a difficult aria, not in addition, as modern producers inevitably will do.

More intriguing was the decision to segue directly from the graveyard scene to the finale, cutting the competing prima donna arias (“mi trade quell’ alma ingrata” from Donna Elvira and the scene between Donna Anna & Don Ottavio) that always have made me find that last act leaden and wayyy too long. No that’s not something Mozart would have seen or likely approved of in his own century but even so: thank you Marshall!

The last time I saw this production with a different cast, it was years before #MeToo, before Jian Ghomeshi, when an opera about a seducer didn’t ruffle so many feathers. I think this time the emphasis on comedy is subtler, the style closer to what we usually see in a Don Giovanni, in deference to current sensitivities. Meghan Lindsay’s Donna Anna has the biggest cojones of anyone onstage, as heroic vocally as she is fierce in defense of her virtue. Carla Huhtanen sounds as though she’s moved up to a bigger more powerful vocal classification, the sound spectacularly strong yet as accurate & expressive as usual.

Colin Ainsworth sounded bigger than ever, even while making it sound easy, and with a comical dimension in our last view of him (when Donna Anna would prolong their engagement with a year of mourning). Stephen Hegedus as Leporello was a favorite in a huge role that’s even harder with Opera Atelier’s emphasis on movement.

Zerlina & Masetto, played by Mireille Asselin (who gets to sing the best tunes all night) & Olivier Laquerre (who is mad as hell all night, until they kiss & make up) were wonderfully sympathetic. Gustav Andreassen offers a bookend to the show, as the Commendatore to begin things and as the Stone Guest to finish off the Don, with a voice to match the weight of his role.

Douglas Williams is an especially strong Don Giovanni vocally, making the entire show credible with his youthful presence. The opera is immediately problematic if he doesn’t seem attractive, if we don’t see why women would throw themselves at him.  The show clicks from the word go because of the amazing chemistry between Williams & Hegedus, and catches fire whenever we’re watching & listening to the two powerful female leads (Lindsay & Huhtanen).

RESIZED_-Meghan-Lindsay_Donna-Anna-Colin-Ainsworth_Don-Ottavio-Stephen-Hegedus_Leporello-Olivier-Laquerre_Masetto-Carla-Photo-by-Bruce-Zinger-

L-R Meghan Lindsay, Colin Ainsworth, Stephen Hegedus, Olivier Laquerre, Douglas Williams, Carla Huhtanen & Mireille Asselin (Photo: Bruce Zinger)

The key to this show is David Fallis, leading a gossamer soft reading from Tafelmusik, never covering the singers, always light & quick. The music sounds fresh in this reading, as though Fallis had reinvented the score for us.

We’re watching a production with set by Gerard Gauci & costumes from the late Martha Mann, who passed away in the spring: to whom the production is dedicated.

Opera Atelier’s Don Giovanni continues until November 9th at the Ed Mirvish Theatre.

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The Ethics Project

Posted on November 1, 2019 by barczablog

The Ethics Project presents
October 31- Nov. 12, 2019 in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal

Remembering Terezín
November 4, 10, and 12, 2019, in Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal.
The Schulich Singers, McGill University’s premier choral ensemble,
Jean-Sébastien Vallée, conductor, and guest artists

featuring

ITTAI SHAPIRA The Ethics (2015), for violin, piano, percussion, and chorus. With guest artists Israeli-American violinist/composer Ittai Shapira, and German pianist Constanze Beckmann.

MICHAEL SPIROFF Panikhida: Vechnaya Pamyat (Requiem: Memory Eternal) (Premiere)

And other selected works, with readings from the magazine VEDEM, by the boys of the Republic of Škid, and the memoires of the late George Brady, a survivor of Terezín.

With the generous support of the German and Israeli Embassies, the German Consulate in Toronto, the German Consulate in Ottawa, and the German Consulate in Montreal.
TORONTO: November 4, at 7:30 p.m.
As part of Holocaust Education Week (November 3-9, 2019)
Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre for Faith, Justice & the Arts, 427 Bloor St. W, Toronto, ON M5S 1X7
OTTAWA: November 10, at 7:30 p.m.
Dominion Chalmers United Church, 355 Cooper St., Ottawa, ON K2P 0G8
MONTREAL: November 12, 7:30 p.m.
Pollack Hall, McGill University, 555 Sherbrooke St. W, Montreal, QC H3A 1E3
Offered in conjunction with the choral concerts above:
TORONTO: October 31, at 12:00 p.m.
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W, Toronto, ON M5H 4G1
A new chamber version of THE ETHICS, by Ittai Shapira, performed by vocal quartet, in a one-hour program for the Canadian Opera Company COC Free Concerts Series (Vocal/Chamber Music).

About the Artistic Directors

Israeli-American composer/violinist Ittai Shapira and German-born pianist/co-producer Constanze Beckmann are based in New York.

Ittai Shapira

Hailed by the NYTimes as “an Israeli dynamo with a flourishing solo career”, violinist/composer Ittai Shapira composes music responding to critical issues facing society today, with recent premieres at Carnegie Hall and BBC National Orchestra Wales. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2003, and has since returned to that world renowned stage numerous times, including a concert with the American Symphony and most recently premiering his own work, The Ethics. Ittai Shapira has performed in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the US. He has premiered 19 concertos and recorded 20 CDs, and is the first violinist to tour regularly with his own Concertos with Orchestras in over seven decades. His most recent album features three of his double concertos, co-produced by the BBC. The Victor Herbert Foundation recently gave him a special award in recognition and support of his unique projects, which frequently involve social causes. He has collaborated with the Daniel Pearl Foundation for an HBO Film, and has performed with Glenn Close, Brooke Shields and Salman Rushdie. Shapira studied in Israel with Ilona Feher and at the Juilliard School with Dorothy DeLay and Naoko Tanaka. He serves as advisor for the Music and Medicine program at Weill/Cornell, co-founder of the Ilona Feher Foundation, dedicated to the nurturing and promotion of young Israeli violinists, and “Sound Potential”, an organization exploring Music and Healing on medical, educational, and societal levels.

For more about Ittai Shapira, please go to: www.ittaishapira.com and www.soundpotential.org

Constanze Beckmann

German born pianist and curator, Constanze Beckmann, is a passionate advocate for cultural exchange and tolerance through the arts. The legendary conductor, Kurt Sanderling, praised her as “A musician with extraordinary musical taste and great potential as a performer”. As a soloist, Constanze has performed throughout Europe, Canada, and Israel; including the Berliner Philharmonie, the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Freie Akademie der Künste in Hamburg, the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre at the Canadian Opera Company, and Koerner Hall, in Toronto. Working with musicians from the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Constanze was acknowledged by Claudio Abbado as “A sensitive and gifted chamber musician”. A sought after collaborator for singers and string players, Constanze regularly plays with musicians from the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, among others.

The winner of several first prizes and special awards in major youth competitions, including the International Steinway Competition and “Jugend Musiziert“, Constanze has performed with renowned orchestras including the Berlin Symphonic Orchestra, the Kammerakademie Potsdam, and the Erzgebirgisches Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Beckmann is a graduate of The Royal Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of John Perry, majoring in piano performance. She also holds a BA in economics from the Thompson Rivers University in BC. She has participated in master classes for some of the world’s finest musicians, including Leon Fleisher, Arie Vardi, and Dmitri Bashkirov. Further mentors include Robert Levin, Elena Richter and Ilana Vered. Constanze is currently working and living in New York, completing her Master’s degree at the Manhattan School of Music.

For more about Constanze Beckmann, please go to
http://www.constanze-beckmann.de/CB-WPress/?page_id=8
About The Ethics

“The Ethics”, for Violin, Piano, Percussion, and Chorus, was written as a modern day response to the Holocaust, and inspired by Ela Weisberger in memory of Eva Sachs and the children of Theresienstadt. Ela Weisberger played the role of the cat in the children’s opera even in Brundibar, the children’s opera by Hans Krasa, which was performed in the concentration camp.

“The Ethics” was commissioned by the family foundations Krueger and Blavatnik, for “Humanity in Action”. The premiere took place on May 14, 2015 in Carnegie Hall on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Theresienstadt concentration camp. It has also been performed at the Holocaust Museum in Florida, and in Washington DC.

From the composer, Ittai Shapira

“In interviewing some of the survivors, my main goal with the piece was an exploration of the history, what would have happened with the children that did not survive, and what my own life could have been had I been in the camp. Thus, the piece starts and ends with a Spinoza Quote: “If you want the present to be different from the past, study the past”.”
How has it come to be presented in Toronto and why this particular group of musicians?

Constanze Beckmann lived in Toronto from 2009 to 2017. She studied at the Royal Conservatory of Music and graduated 2014 under the tutelage of John Perry. While here, she originated and performed in numerous projects as a pianist and curator, including recitals as part of Holocaust Education Week since 2010, featuring works composed by Holocaust survivors. These were followed by exhibits and lectures in collaboration with well knows artists such as Samuel Bak.

In 2018, at the request of the German Embassy in Ottawa, Ms. Beckmann created and performed a musical program for the 80th anniversary of the Reichskristallnacht, with concerts in Toronto (at the COC Free Concert Series) and Ottawa.

In 2019, the German Embassy in Ottawa initiated and sponsored a project in memory of the late George Brady, and the victims of Terezín. With the ongoing support of The Embassy, Constanze curated a musical program which includes The Ethics (2015), for violin, piano, percussion, and chorus composed by the Israeli-American violinist, Ittai Shapira.

Three concert performances will feature the Schulich Singers under the baton of Maestro Jean-Sébastien Vallée, in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.

The Schulich Singers choir is McGill University’s premier choral ensemble, and consists of approximately 24 singers performing repertoire of all periods and styles. The ensemble presents two concerts every semester as well as several off-campus concerts and tours.

For more information, please contact
Constanze Beckmann
416-893-9251
constanze.beckman@t-online.de

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The Bald Soprano

Posted on October 31, 2019 by barczablog

I’ve just seen the Théâtre Français de Toronto production of La Cantatrice Chauve aka The Bald Soprano by Eugène Ionesco, at the upstairs space at the Berkeley Street Theatre.

I must apologize that the run is almost over, as I tell you about one of the most exciting things I’ve seen all year, that I would recommend without reservation.

Sorry about that.

There are two versions. One can see it as I saw it tonight in French with English surtitles (Thursday, Friday or Saturday, Oct 31, Nov 1 or 2), or in French without surtitles (Sunday Nov 3).

Christina Tannous _ Sophie Goulet_ Pierre Simpson_ Manuel Verreydt_ Geneviève Langlois_ Sébastien Bertrand_Photo_Théo Belnou

Christina Tannous, Sophie Goulet, Pierre Simpson, Manuel Verreydt, Geneviève Langlois, Sébastien Bertrand (Photo: Théo Belnou)

Do you know this play?  One might read it in a theatre or drama course, yet not have the pleasure of seeing it.  Sometimes we wonder why a piece is considered so important, and don’t have the pleasure of seeing a production that takes the text and truly brings it to vivid life.  While I’ve seen it in English this is my first time seeing it in French, and boy oh boy does this production pulse with life.

Ionesco was never so seminal as in this crazy glimpse of the bourgeoisie. All the absurdists are footnotes to this play although I suppose one could look back to Jarry’s Ubu. Yet I thought I was watching a Monty Python sketch. I thought I saw Robert Wilson’s progenitor, the groundwork for minimalism in so many actions, words, silences: that lead nowhere. We get pejorative when we start calling something ‘absurd’ when of course that’s simply the human condition, isn’t it… This was a funnier version of what we saw in Turandot at the COC.

But hang onto your hat. This is one tough play to perform, a bit of a toccata, a tour de force of verbiage that’s so much harder than what actors usually are asked to do, because unlike almost every other role, Ionesco doesn’t offer the usual semantic connectors to help with memorization or shaping phrases.   One remembers lines in reply to what is said, but that’s not available when the logic is missing or twisted.  I’m reminded of Krisztina Szabo’s describing the special challenge in learning Schönberg’s Erwartung, a piece that’s almost atonal. It’s a stunning assortment of words, ‘cascades of cacas’ (and other sounds too): if you’ll excuse me for quoting one of my favorite lines.   

There are six spectacular performances on view.

Sébastien Bertrand might get the most laughs as the Captain of the Fire Brigade, making the most of this jewel of a role. Sophie Goulet is Ms Martin, inspired or challenged by Director Chanda Gibson, to show us every subtext you’ve ever fantasized while reading this play. Geneviève Langlois’s Ms Smith reminds me of so many people I don’t dare name, a brilliant satire on suburbia.

Sébastien Bertrand is the Captain of the Fire Brigade (Photo: Théo Belnou)

Sébastien Bertrand is the Captain of the Fire Brigade (Photo: Théo Belnou)

At times we’re watching performers becoming robotic. We’re in the territory inhabited by Rossini, a kind of comedy where humans become like machines, underlined by Director Chanda Gibson in the movements she choreographed for her characters.

I was especially impressed with the way Gibson shaped the play from its calm banal opening to the frenzied minutes with which we conclude.

If there’s any way you can get to see The Bald Soprano –surtitled or not –I’d suggest you go see it.

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Opera Atelier Don Giovanni: Toronto context

Posted on October 28, 2019 by barczablog

Two down, one to go as far as the big operas are concerned.

Robert Wilson’s Turandot and David McVicar’s Rusalka, a pair of fairy-tale operas in visually brilliant productions have finished at the Canadian Opera Company, while Opera Atelier are about to open their revival of Marshall Pynkoski’s Don Giovanni. At the same time a series of smaller companies are offering premieres, including Loose Tea Music Theatre’s Singing only Softly/The Diary of Anne Frank to open this weekend and The Ethics, to be presented at the COC’s noon-hour concert series October 31st. No this isn’t nearly a comprehensive list, just an observation meant to illustrate a point.

There is a specific context that I have in mind, one that keeps coming up in conversations about opera-going in Toronto.

The last mainstage production of Don Giovanni in Toronto was the COC’s in 2015 directed by Dmitri Tcherniakov. I put an ironic headline on my review, when I said “Some resist seduction by Tcherniakov’s Don Giovanni.”  I was frankly astonished, watching an interpretation that I loved but that left a lot of people cold, and upset more than a few.

That’s part of the context right now. While I love director’s theatre, especially the controversies that erupt around creative readings such as the Wilson Turandot, they’re not for everyone. I’ve had a lot of conversations with people who disliked the show.
Opera Atelier’s recognizable brand of historically informed performance represents an another alternative.

I was going to say they’re “against the grain” in their adamant resistance against modernity while insisting on a period look & feel. Even the company who are called “Against the Grain” spent the past few weeks presenting a La boheme that is recognizably Puccini, very different from what the COC offered with their Turandot.

It’s ironic that the COC are the company who seemed to be the ones working “against the grain”.  The new operas I mention above may have new scores that are not familiar but they will likely have an approach to the staging that doesn’t fight the score, the way Wilson’s seemed to.  I was sympathetic to Joseph So’s recent review that sums up Wilson when he says the following:

“I argue that his vision is more suited to modernist and new music, and certain enigmatic works such as Pelleas et Melisande. I was very taken by his staging of Einstein On The Beach, seen at the Luminato Festival some years ago. I can also see his style working beautifully in certain Baroque and Classical operas, which would benefit from his formalism. But to give the Wilson treatment to Puccini (and Italian verismo in general) where primary emotions are at the core? Not to my eyes and ears.”

I saw the Wilson Turandot twice:

  • once in the company of someone expecting the usual relationships to be explored & a mise-en-scene that matches the style & dramaturgy of the story-telling: leaving that person upset & disappointed
  • once with someone having no stipulations: who loved it to pieces

I daresay that it’s a useful lesson about how to approach director’s theatre. When you show up with stipulations you’re bound to be disappointed.  Those same sort of expectations turned up in the comments about Tcherniakov’s Don Giovanni, a show that I loved.  Ah but I had seen it on TVO and so had a good idea how it was going to go. But even so, it simply doesn’t work going to a show determined that it must be x or y, rather than letting it be what it is. That’s a bit like arguing with the weather or trying to change the interest rate by shaking your fist at the sky.

But unlike the Tcherniakov interpretation, there’s no danger of encountering a modernized Don Giovanni this time with Pynkoski. With Opera Atelier you won’t be shaking your fist at anyone.

DG_new

It’s a wonderfully light approach, driven by…

  • Tone:
    the romantic period had a great time making the Don a tragic figure, and turning many around him into serious figures: when in fact Donna Elvira & Donna Anna can be as funny as Zerlina.
  • Pace:
    if it’s done quickly you alter the tone, making it more likely to be funny.
  • Youth:
    if Don Giovanni is young & attractive (see photo), he has credibility as the irresistible seducer
Douglas Williams Headshot

Douglas Williams, a believable Don Giovanni in Opera Atelier’s production

I wrote a fair bit about it last time they did it in 2011, totally blown away (here’s one of the reviews I wrote), when I went so far as to call director Pynkoski a genius.

I found the show amazing & original precisely because director Pynkoski resisted the usual modern tendencies, while doing the unexpected in taking us back to something lighter & funnier. I think it’s the best thing Opera Atelier have ever done, and can’t wait to see it again.

Opera Atelier’s Don Giovanni runs October 31 – November 9, 2019 at the Ed Mirvish Theatre, 244 Victoria St.. Don’t miss it.

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Skye Consort and Emma Björling: right after trick-or-treating

Posted on October 22, 2019 by barczablog

Within the first ten seconds of this new CD I knew I was going to like it.

It’s Skye Consort & Emma Björling, and the first cut on the album is “Herr Hillebrand”, a traditional Medieval Swedish ballad, in Swedish. It’s magic. The first few times I listened I didn’t even care that I didn’t understand the words.

Her voice..(!)

But okay there’s a translation in the CD’s booklet. It begins this way:

Herr Hillebrand rides in to the courtyard of little Lena’s mansion.
If only I was young as a lily!
Lena greets him there.
You well remember Lena.

Sir Hillebrand reaches out his pure, white hand:
“Little Lena, little Lena, be my betrothed!”

I value Sir Hillebrand’s words
less than I value the dirt underneath my shoes!

(…And there is a lot more to the ballad….have a listen)

I think it speaks for itself, the musicianship, the powerful invocation of times gone by.

The whole CD is magical like that, sometimes in Swedish sometimes French sometimes English.

I wondered how Emma came to meet Seán Dagher and Amanda Keesmaat and Alex Kehler, what brought them together. I’ve seen a few different explanations but the best one is this:

Skye Consort and Emma met during a La Nef project in Montréal in October 2017 and ‘thanks to’ their mutual love for each other’s musicianship and Emma’s cancelled flight they decided to start this band.

All four of them sing to varying degrees although Emma sings lead. They’re a remarkable amalgam of instruments & cultures & ideas, mostly old compositions but some new arrangements and even a few originals. Some are fast, some are slower.

I guess if we had to identify a genre we’d call it “folk”.

And so having listened to this marvelous CD (that’s also available for digital download of course) please note that they’re coming to Toronto.

As Sean put it in his email telling me about the album, “I also want to let you know about our concert at the Tranzac Club on October 31st, right after trick-or-treating.”

Whatever costume you’re wearing perhaps I’ll greet you there.

CD_digital

Seán Dagher, Amanda Keesmaat, Alex Kehler and Emma Björling

Posted in Music and musicology, Popular music & culture, Press Releases and Announcements, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Singing through Centuries: TMC’s 125th

Posted on October 21, 2019 by barczablog

Today the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir celebrated their 125th anniversary with a gala concert at Koerner Hall, joined for the occasion by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (who haven’t yet had their centennial, and who only came into existence in 1922).

Led by the TMC’s Interim Conductor & Artistic Advisor David Fallis (whose title could also be “saviour” although he’d probably blush at the suggestion), the program he assembled, titled “Singing through Centuries”, is a fascinating nod to the occasion being celebrated.

  • Acknowledging the ensemble’s name, we heard a pair of Psalm settings from Felix Mendelssohn, a composer highly esteemed at the time the choir began
  • From 1894, the very year of the choir’s founding, we heard one of the earlier versions of Fauré’s Requiem (that is, not the very first version from 1890 but also not the larger-scale versions that came later), to conclude the concert
  • From the 20th Century we heard Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms, at the end of the first half of the concert
  • From the 21st Century we heard a TMC Commission by Andrew Balfour, his Mamachimowin following the intermission in its world premiere.

TMChoir_concert_680x452-revised

Since Fallis’s arrival with TMC the choir has a better sound. I’ve been listening to incarnations of TMC since my childhood, sometimes singing Messiah, sometimes working on symphonic repertoire with the TSO. They were impeccable today, rising to the occasion.

In a venue such as Koerner Hall there’s no place to hide. Where the more ambiguous acoustic of Roy Thomson Hall functions like Vaseline on the lens of a camera, hiding wrinkles or flaws, one hears every detail at Koerner: and TMC sound pretty wonderful for 125. It’s an ensemble with a lot of youth and great potential for the future.

Fallis brings not just his musicianship but also that nerdy bonus, his genuine scholarship to everything he does. You’ll be able to hear him in a couple of weeks leading Opera Atelier’s Don Giovanni, where many of the same tendencies can be heard. His tempi tend to be brisk in keeping with his quest for authenticity. His approach to dynamics is very sensitive to voices & soloists, tending to be softer than what you expect, encouraging you to listen, rather than big overblown climaxes. It means that the few climactic moments are that much more meaningful. It means that the voices are conserved rather than spent.

I don’t know if this is the first time Fallis has led the TSO, but they sounded great, while also playing for the most part with a gentle & restrained sound. I hope the TSO will consider him for possible guest appearances, not just because he’s a Canadian but also because of his exemplary musicianship.

For me the pieces that followed the intermission were the highlights.

Andrew Balfour wrote the following program note about his new work:

“Mamachimowin (The act of singing praises) is a choral work that explores the difficult relationship between Indigenous spirituality and the impact of the Christian culture on First Nations people. Translating Psalm 67 into Cree, I wanted to add a musical perspective that added a dimension of fragmentation into the structure of the work. Also I wanted to utilize the instrumentation of violas, cellos and double basses to give the idea of the strings representing a foundation of the ground, or Mother Earth. I wanted to present the idea of musical tension and musical phrases along with the choir whispering some of the text to add an element of uncertainty. Many thanks to David Fallis and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir for commissioning this work, and I am so honoured to be part of this concert that celebrates the choral legacy of Canada’s oldest choir. Chi Migwiich!”

The text that we heard whispered from time to time reminded me of the silent witnesses in Peter Hinton’s reading of Somers’ Louis Riel at the Canadian Opera Company, as though the whispers are the voices of those who were here before on Turtle Island, and whose souls continue to be here, a spiritual presence even though they are very gentle and non-threatening. The strings intoned a very sombre pattern music, regularly returning to the minor-third interval. The choir gave us something more celebratory & decorative over the top. As a whole it reflects what we see in this country, where there are dark & troubling subtexts that can be heard, if only we listen.

We closed with a stunning reading of the 1894 version of Fauré’s Requiem. This included the choice to use the pronunciation of Latin as the French would have done it at the time. It’s not what you expect.

  • Instead of “luceat” sounding like “Loo-chay-at”, today we heard “Loo-say-at”.
  • Instead of “sempiternam” with English phonetics we heard French phonetics

And there’s more of course, but you get the idea. I remember a professor of mine dismissing a recording I had that was done this way: because it didn’t sound right to him. But it was magical & new even while taking us back; this is what Fallis’ scholarship brings to the table.

Samuel Chan gave a lovely gentle account of the “Libera me”, while Teresa Mahon’s clear flawless soprano illuminated the “Pie Jesu”.

I could also mention that after awhile I took off my glasses because there were so many tears messing up my face.

TMC will be back:

  • October 27th with Orchestra Toronto for Beethoven’s 9th
  • November 7th & 9th with the Toronto Symphony at Roy Thomson Hall for Massenet’s Thais in concert
  • December 3rd & 4th for “Festival of Carols” with the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra
  • December 17 -22 for Messiah with the TSO at Roy Thomson Hall
  • https://www.tmchoir.org/
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Nightwood Theatre: Strombergs Family Realization Fund winner

Posted on October 19, 2019 by barczablog

Nightwood Theatre is pleased to announce the winner of the inaugural Strombergs Family Realization Fund: Dian Marie Bridge. This $10,000 cash award, established by theatre director Vinetta Strombergs in honour of her artist parents, is intended to support a woman who has spent at least 20 years in the profession of theatre in any discipline and is now looking for a way to finance a project of passion that includes aspects of theatre, music, and movement.

Bridge is a Toronto-based freelance theatre-maker and arts manager. She holds a degree from Brock University and attended the University of Minnesota. Bridge has worked with many organizations across Canada and the US including Harbourfront Centre, The Stratford Festival, Obsidian Theatre, The Guthrie Theatre, Canadian Stage, Mirvish Productions, Soulpepper Theatre, Playwrights Guild of Canada, and Storytelling Toronto. She is also an inaugural member of the Stratford Festival’s Michael Langham Workshop for Classical Direction, and is a recipient of the Elliott Hayes Playwright Development Guthrie Award. She has been an artist mentor through The Paprika Festival, The AMY Project, Speak Sudan, b current’s RaizinArtz Program, Only One You workshops, and the Boys and Girls Club of Vancouver.

An active member of Canada’s theatre and arts community for over two decades, Bridge recently started making inroads into the dance and visual arts communities. Her work has shifted with the intention of helping to bridge the creative communities in Canada, through peer-to-peer mentorship, cross-pollination of ideas, practices, retention of knowledge and practice through continued direct support of artists.

Bridge’s winning project is titled Crossing Into Lullaby. Rooted in the space between history and mythology, Crossing Into Lullaby uses a family ghost story of “Granny Eating With the Baby” to examine the desperation that can come with parenthood, and the impact of family mythology on individual choice. This mash-up of sound, projection design, live scoring and movement uses the true-to-life family story to reveal just how interwoven our lives are with metaphysics, trauma, and death.

“It is not lost on me that the Strombergs Family Realization Fund was established in the memory of Vinetta’s artist parents, now this funding supports my dream of continuing work that honours all of my mothers and ancestors,” says Bridge. “Foremost in my mind of late, has been the wish for more time, and the return of energy that comes with youth. This fund becomes that time and energy. It is the ability to sit in my creativity fully for a dedicated amount of time. It is respect for my practice, and talent. It is a chance to share space, resources and connections, by working on a project that is a huge part of my heart, culture and life. I am deeply humbled and grateful for the belief and trust in this work.”

Vinetta Strombergs established this “Realization Fund” in memory of her artist parents, Alfred and Hilda Strombergs, who emigrated to Canada after the war. Vinetta’s career in theatre spans 50 years, thanks to the support of her parents and the love of all theatrical disciplines instilled in her. She started as an actor and became a director in order to realize a desire to create theatre projects that no one would hire her to do. Her passion for theatre and independent projects continues to this day.

“As women age, they bump into barriers that force them to quit or fight,” says Strombergs, “Some forms of theatre and ideas about making theatre encounter obstacles that mean they fall through the cracks in the regular funding systems. And there’s never enough money to go around. Hence the idea to create this award and pay forward some support. This award is for senior artists who have a passion project that has fallen through the cracks, but who deserve a chance, and deserve the opportunity to receive funding for their project to be realized.”

ABOUT NIGHTWOOD THEATRE

As Canada’s foremost feminist theatre, Nightwood provides an essential home for the creation of extraordinary theatre by women. Founded in 1979, Nightwood Theatre has created and produced award-winning plays that have garnered Dora Mavor Moore, Chalmers, Trillium and Governor General’s awards. The company is helmed by Artistic Director Andrea Donaldson and Managing Director Beth Brown, and has received public acclaim for artistic excellence, the successful training and development of emerging female talent, and its ongoing advocacy around gender equity.

Nightwood Theatre’s 2019-2020 Season

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Seventh Elizabeth Krehm Memorial Concert: Shostakovich & Strauss

Posted on October 18, 2019 by barczablog

Elizabeth_Krehm

Elizabeth Krehm

Annual benefit concert for St. Michael’s Hospital 

Strauss’ Four Last Songs
and Shostakovich’s 5th Symphony

Program includes Kol Nidrei by Bruch, The Four Last Songs by Strauss and Symphony no. 5 by Shostakovich. TORONTO—An accomplished group of musicians will assemble on Mon Nov. 25, 2019 for a special performance at Christ Church Deer Park in Toronto to benefit St. Michael’s Hospital (SMH). This annual fundraiser, presented by Opera 5 General Director Rachel Krehm and her family, has generated over $100,000 in the past six years, with 100% of ticket revenue supporting SMH’s Medical Surgical Intensive Care Unit (MS ICU).

Commencing the program this year, French cellist Michel Strauss, professor of cello at the Paris Conservatory, will be playing Bruch’s Kol Nidrei alongside the Canzona Chamber Players Orchestra under the baton of Kingston Symphony Music Director Evan Mitchell. Soprano Rachel Krehm joins the orchestra to close out the first half, presenting Strauss’ beloved Four Last Songs. The concert concludes with Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5.

The annual fundraiser is presented in memory of Elizabeth Krehm, who passed away at the age of 22 in the MS ICU at St. Michael’s Hospital on Nov. 17, 2012. During her month-long stay in the MS ICU, Elizabeth received a high level of care from the unit’s doctors and nurses, prompting the Krehm family to establish this benefit concert series in her memory.

“It is so important for us to support the ICU at St Michael’s on an ongoing basis as a thank-you for the excellent care which was given to Liz,” says Rachel Krehm. “This year’s concert is very special. Michel Strauss and my father studied music together in France in the 1970s and to have a family friend come and honour Elizabeth means the world to us. Strauss holds a special place in my heart and to sing these songs for my sister Liz adds an even greater level of personal meaning. Shostakovich’s 5th symphony represents the overcoming of a great struggle, which we all can appreciate as we mourn and remember. Along with Liz, we honour the lost friends and family of all involved in making the concert happen, and we look to present the night as a healing experience through the power of music.”

The concert takes place on Nov. 25, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. Admission is pay-what-you-can with a suggested minimum donation of $30. All proceeds benefit the Medical Surgical Intensive Care Unit of SMH. This admission model ensures access for anyone who wishes to attend.

LISTING INFORMATION
The Seventh Elizabeth Krehm Memorial Concert: Shostakovich & Strauss

Monday Nov. 25, 2019 at 7:30 p.m.
Christ Church Deer Park, 1570 Yonge St, Toronto, ON
Tickets: by donation at the door (pay-what-you-can)**
More info: 647-248-4048 or click here

**Early donations, which allow bypassing of the line at the door, may be made on the St. Michael’s Hospital Elizabeth Krehm Memorial Page**
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Welcome to the Club: PAL fund-raiser

Posted on October 18, 2019 by barczablog

Welcome to the Club!

Please join us at PAL’s Crest Theatre Green Room on Thursday October 24 for a star-studded evening in support of the programming at PAL’s Celebrity Club!

thumbnail_Welcome to the Club

110 The Esplanade, Toronto
Featuring:
Sean Cullen
David Warrack
Theresa Tova
Micah Barnes
Laura Hubert
Melissa Story
Peter Anthony
Donne Roberts & Yukiko Tsutsui
Ori Dagan
Tickets: General Admission $25 / PAL Residents $20

Click for info / advance tickets

 

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Resonant Minorities

Posted on October 18, 2019 by barczablog

Tonight I was present at the Canadian premiere of Yang Zhen’s third installment of his “Revolution Game Trilogy”, Minorities, a Red Virgo production presented by Canadian Stage.

You will recognize many things in this show.

We watch five female dancers later joined by a singer.  We begin with the stillness of a minimalist tableau that reminded me of Robert Wilson’s Turandot, until the cartoon faces unexpectedly start singing, including a comical Mao Zedong.  The energy is wildly happy, with the subtlest overtones of disrespect.

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Minorities, with a smiling Chairman Mao peering over their shoulders (photo: Dahlia Katz)

And then each one presents herself as a member of an ethnic group associated with a place.

Macao: Lou Hio Mei

Uyghur: Guzhanuer Yusufu,

Mongolia: Aodonggaowa

Tibet: Gan Luyangzi

Chinese Korean:  Ma Xiao Ling (I did not know that there were Chinese Koreans)

At times we heard them speaking their language, at least I think so because of the variety we heard.  These are very beautiful to hear, whether or not they are also mixed with a few English words.  When have I ever heard so many languages in one short evening’s program?

They were dancing their national dance, attired in their folk costume, sometimes singing or playing music.    For awhile it moves along very conservatively, each one showing us something about themselves, teaching us about their past even as we get glimpses of complexities & conflicts.

We’re told of the pressure to conform & to blend into the bigger cultures while abandoning one’s authentic language.  I’m reminded of the cultural genocide here with the Indigenous populations.

At one point the safe and conservative music is juxtaposed against something wildly provocative, in costuming that’s modern.  I won’t say much because I don’t want to spoil the effect, other than to say that they are on the edge of a kind of satire, where lip service is paid to the Cultural Revolution & Madame Mao even as those values are mocked & parodied.

It’s among the subtlest satire I’ve ever seen, from a group of performers who were always positive, smiling & welcoming to the audience.

I had a wonderful experience.  Before the show began the young woman sitting next to me said a quiet hello, which I wasn’t sure whether it was directed at me or the person beside me.  I think perhaps it was meant for both of us? We both quietly said ‘hi’ back.

A couple of minutes later she said hello again and this time it felt more like it was for me, and so I answered.  We began to chat.

I was fortunate to be sitting beside Ma Xiao Ling, who pointed to her picture in the program and said “that’s me” in a very friendly voice.

And so we chatted. I asked her how many languages she speaks (a few… including a fair grasp of English), asked her about her discipline (she’s a dancer, she started at the age of 7 and has been dancing for 20 years… so I concluded she must be 27), and the future of the show (after 10 days here they’re off to San Francisco).  After she had told me who she was (pointing at the program) it only seemed fair that I should give her my business card with the blog’s address although I don’t know if she will see this review.

And when the loud music began, she and a few others seated in the audience got up and began to dance ever more vigorously in place before going to the stage.  At times it’s the folk dance that conforms to the values of the Cultural Revolution, at other times much more modern & radical.

If you go see this show and one of them addresses you I recommend that you talk to them. You won’t regret it.   It’s truly immersive, as we they sometimes came right into the audience to interact with us, and then taking some of us onto the stage to dance later on.

More and more I think that a discipline can be like a fortress that offers a place for people to hide.  Canadian Stage have become a company curating experiences that mix disciplines while challenging our expectations, and avoiding the safe & easy pathway.  We’re in the presence of music, dance, layers of meaning in the words & images, animation & text.

I didn’t know what to expect when I came in, and indeed am a bit mystified by the cool surface of Minorities. There’s a sentence in the program that I have come back to more than once, as I seek to unpack the layers of irony:

“Yang explores the constant conflict between social prejudice and individual consciousness—how one can express oneself and relate to the world in which they live—and examines how minority identities in China fit, or don’t fit, in the narrative of a harmonious One China.”

At times we’re hearing of the 56 different ethnicities, reconciled into the One China especially in big loud songs that sound like communist propaganda.  The dancing is enthusiastic, even if we’re given images to problematize their ideal utopia.

Minorities is a piece of dance theatre to challenge preconceptions & assumptions even while offering you something that feels very sweet & kind, continuing until October 27th at the Marilyn and Charles Baillie Theatre aka the Berkeley St Theatre.

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Politics, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments