KMOZART

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Opera: Los Angeles Opera

LA Opera 2012/13 Season

Placido Domingo Announces
LA Opera's 2012/13 Season


Verdi's The Two Foscari, Mozart's Don Giovanni,Puccini's Madame Butterfly and Tosca,Wagner's The Flying Dutchman, Rossini's Cinderella


All six productions are new to Los Angeles. The season will include a
joint recital with Renee Fleming and Susan Graham
Among the productions new to Los Angeles is a Verdi rarity that will be a Company premiere: The Two Foscari (I Due Foscari). Mr. Domingo will star in the season-opening production of The Two Foscari and conduct Tosca as well as select
performances of Don Giovanni. James Conlon, LA Opera's Music Director, will conduct four of the season's productions, and Grant Gershon, the Company's Resident Conductor, will conduct one production. The season, which includes a total of 37 performances presented at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, as well as a
special joint recital featuring Renee Fleming and Susan Graham presented in collaboration with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall, will open on September 15, 2012, and will run through June 9, 2013.

Season Overview

The season opens with the Company premiere of Giuseppe Verdi's The Two Foscari, opening on Saturday, September 15, 2012. The new production, conducted by James Conlon and directed by Thaddeus
Strassberger in his Company debut, will be the first major U.S. staging in decades of an early Verdi opera
that has recently enjoyed great success in the opera houses of Europe. Plácido Domingo stars as Francesco Foscari, with Italian tenor Francesco Meli making his Company debut as his son, Jacopo Foscari. Russian soprano Marina Poplavskaya, who made her LA Opera debut as Violetta in La Traviata (2009), returns as Jacopo's wife, Lucrezia. This is a compelling, and unfairly neglected early Verdi work that combines two of the composer's recurring themes, the influence or abuse of political power and the bond between father and child, said Mr. Domingo. These are themes that also permeate our current production
of Simon Boccanegra, and it will be fascinating to experience these two pieces-from very different chapters
of Verdi's career-in such close proximity.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Don Giovanni is the first of five productions that return to LA Opera's repertory in productions that have never been seen in Los Angeles. Mr. Conlon and Mr. Domingo will both conduct performances of what many consider to be the greatest of all operas, in a production by the German
director Peter Stein, elegantly designed and sumptuously costumed to evoke Venice in 1795, which was first seen in Chicago in 2004. Italian bass-baritone Ildebrando D'Arcangelo, who make his Company debut in 2011 as Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, returns to sing the title role, joined by a truly international cast that includes Finnish soprano Soile Isokoski, American sopranos Julianna Di Giacomo, Angela Meade and Micaëla Oeste, Russian tenor Andrej Dunaev, Serbian bass David Bizic, Romanian mezzo-soprano Roxana Constantinescu, Russian bass Ievgen Orlov and Australian bass Joshua Bloom.
Soprano Oksana Dyka, who made her acclaimed 2011 LA Opera debut as Tatyana in Eugene Onegin, returns in Giacomo Puccini's Madame Butterfly with tenor Brandon Jovanovich (The Birds, 2009) as
Pinkerton and bass-baritone Eric Owens (Grendel, 2006) as Sharpless. Director Ron Daniels' production is a traditional, lavish interpretation, with meticulously reconstructed, period Japanese sets and costumes by Tony Award-winning designer Michael Yeargan. The production, which originated at San
Francisco Opera, will be conducted by Resident Conductor Grant Gershon.
Icelandic baritone Tómas Tómasson will make his LA Opera debut in the title role of Richard Wagner's The Flying Dutchman. The production, from Lyric Opera of Chicago and San Francisco Opera, was created by the brilliant Nikolaus Lehnhoff, who ?hewed to the framework of Wagner's mythic vision in all its particulars, while providing designs that were both modern and timeless? (Opera News). Portuguese soprano Elisabete Matos will make her Company debut as Senta and tenor Jay Hunter Morris will return as Erik. Mr. Conlon will conduct.
Mr. Conlon will also conduct Gioachino Rossini's Cinderella (La Cenerentola) in a bright and lively staging (a candy-coloured feast for the eyes,NOW Toronto) created by Spanish director Joan Font. The title role will be shared by mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey, who made her LA Opera debut last season as Zaida in The
Turk in Italy, and by Georgian mezzo-soprano Ketevan Kemoklidze, a 2008 winner of Operalia. Tenor Rene Barbera, a 2011 winner of Operalia, makes his LA Opera debut as Prince Ramiro, with the great Italian baritone Alessandro Corbelli in his Company debut as Cinderella's father, Don Magnifico. The
popular production, first seen in Houston in 2007, has also been cheered by audiences in Barcelona, Geneva, Cardiff and Toronto. The season will close with Puccini's Tosca starring soprano Sondra Radvanovsky, whose most recent LA Opera appearance was in the title role of Suor Angelica (2008). Tenor Marco Berti (La Bohème, 2004)
returns as Mario Cavaradossi with Lado Ataneli (Don Carlo, 2006; Aida, 2005). The production was first seen in Houston in 2007, directed by Broadway legend John Caird, whose astute staging sustains
intense focus on the leads, keeping their movement dramatic and credibly motivated (Houston Chronicle)."
Tosca will be conducted by Mr. Domingo.<.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Opera: San Francisco Opera

2012-13 Season Announcement

San Francisco Opera General Director David Gockley t announced the Company's 2012-13 repertory season, guest artists and performance schedule, in addition to three world premiere commissions slated for 2013 by Nolan Gasser and Carey Harrison (The Secret Garden), Mark Adamo (The Gospel of Mary Magdalene), and Tobias Picker and J.D. McClatchy (Dolores Claiborne). Gockley also announced the extension of his contract to lead San Francisco Opera through the 2015-16 Season along with the extension of contracts for the artistic leadership team of Music Director Nicola Luisotti, Principal Guest Conductor Patrick Summers and Resident Conductor Giuseppe Finzi.


The Company's 90th season opens Friday, September 7, 2012 with a gala performance of Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto. Maestro Luisotti leads an international cast of singers, including acclaimed Serbian baritone and Verdi specialist Zeljko Lucic in the title role, and the Company debuts of Polish soprano Aleksandra Kurzak as Gilda and Italian tenor Francesco Demuro as the Duke of Mantua. Opera Ball, the Company's celebrated signature benefit event, co-produced with the San Francisco Opera Guild in support of the San Francisco Opera and Opera Guild education programs, will precede the opening night performance at the historic War Memorial Opera House.


In addition to Rigoletto, which features two international casts of singers, San Francisco Opera's 2012-13 Season offers Vincenzo Bellini's bel canto gem I Capuleti e i Montecchi (The Capulets and the Montagues); the Bay Area premiere of Jake Heggie's Moby-Dick, commissioned and produced by San Francisco Opera, The Dallas Opera, San Diego Opera, Calgary Opera and the State Opera of South Australia; Richard Wagner's Lohengrin; Giacomo Puccini's Tosca, interpreted by two casts of widely acclaimed singers; Jacques Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann); Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Così fan tutte; the world premiere of Mark Adamo's The Gospel of Mary Magdalene; and the world premiere of Nolan Gasser and Carey Harrison's The Secret Garden, a co-production with Cal Performances.


SAN FRANCISCO OPERA WORLD PREMIERES
David Gockley, one of America's most respected opera impresarios and veteran producer of more than 35 new works for the operatic stage, today announced plans to present three world premieres in 2013 by renowned American composers and librettists.


The Secret Garden

San Francisco Opera and Cal Performances have joined forces to create The Secret Garden, an opera based on the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett by composer Nolan Gasser and librettist Carey Harrison. This new opera premieres on March 1, 2013 at Zellerbach Hall at UC Berkeley.

"The Secret Garden is a family-friendly work representing San Francisco Opera's commitment to involve more families, children and parents in repertoire that is attractive and entertaining," said Mr. Gockley. "Building on the success of our 2008 co-presentation with Cal Performances of the West Coast premiere of The Little Prince, The Secret Garden is our follow-up piece in a continuing effort to connect with families and build a future audience for opera. This presentation would not be possible without the cooperation of Cal Performances, a community partner with similar motivations."

"Burnett's classic tale The Secret Garden is an ideal story for operatic adaptation," said Nolan Gasser. "It's a colorful and emotional journey of friendship, love, tragedy, renewal and the magic, healing power of nature. As a family-oriented opera aimed chiefly at young people and their parents, this work features music that is largely melodic and accessible, though not afraid to embrace the story's exotic magic with unexpected tones. This tale is both timeless and intergenerational, and it is a thrill to be able to set this work for the operatic stage."

"Creating new work and broadening audiences for the performing arts has been part of Cal Performances' mission for more than a century," said Cal Performances Director Matías Tarnolopolsky. "David Gockley has commissioned more new operas than any other opera leader and I am delighted that we can join with San Francisco Opera in creating a new work, especially one designed to bring new audiences to the art form."


The Gospel of Mary Magdalene

Three months later, San Francisco Opera will present the world premiere of Mark Adamo's opera, The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, opening June 19, 2013. Adapted from the texts of and research on the Canonical and Gnostic Gospels (some recently discovered), Adamo's two-act work interprets the controversial relationship between Jesus and his female disciple Mary Magdalene.

"Confirming our tradition of commissioning American composers, I am very pleased to announce The Gospel of Mary Magdalene by award-winning composer Mark Adamo," commented Mr. Gockley. "I've had the pleasure of working with Mark twice before on the successful premieres of his two operas Little Women and Lysistrata, and I have great faith in him as both composer and librettist. The subject of Mary Magdalene is fascinating, if not highly controversial, and I believe this new opera will certainly spark the curiosity and interest of many opera patrons and music lovers."

Mark Adamo, "a brilliant theater composer" (The New Yorker), whose opera Little Women is one of the most frequently performed operas of the past 20 years, commented about his Mary Magdalene opera: "This project stemmed from a question I asked myself: Before it was mythologized as the New Testament, did the story of Jesus begin as a story of difficult loves-of a mother and son, of lovers struggling to reconcile sex and spirit, of rivals wrangling over the politics of their movement? The earliest scriptural sources suggest as much. Creating a story based around only these premises found in the Gnostic and Canonical Gospels, The Gospel of Mary Magdalene strives to envision an answer to this question."

Dolores Claiborne

As a part of the Fall 2013 Season, San Francisco Opera will present the world premiere of Tobias Picker and J.D. McClatchy's opera Dolores Claiborne, based on the best-selling novel of the same name by award-winning author Stephen King and presented by arrangement with British theatrical producer Andrew Welch. Dolores Claiborne will open September 15, 2013, as part of the Company's 2013-14 season, and will star mezzo-soprano Dolora Zajick in the title role. In his Company debut, George Manahan will conduct and James Robinson, whose previous assignments at the War Memorial Opera House include the 2009 season productions of Il Trittico and Salome, will return to direct. This new production will also feature the work of scenic designer Allen Moyer, costume designer James Schutte, lighting designer Chris Ackerlind and projection designer Greg Emetaz.

David Gockley stated, "The idea of Dolores Claiborne as an operatic work has been in my mind for quite a while. The sticking point was obtaining the rights from author Stephen King, and once that was accomplished the opera was put on the fast track for development. I've always admired the music of Tobias Picker-his musical language that works so well with today's audiences by offering a spectrum of expressive qualities, his beautiful lyricism, his dramatic abilities and his brilliant orchestrations. And I've always thought of the character of Dolores Claiborne and celebrated mezzo-soprano Dolora Zajick as a perfect match."

Composer Tobias Picker commented, "Dolores Claiborne is a character destined for the operatic stage-passionate, desperate, trapped. She will do anything to save the daughter who despises her. Pushed to the extreme edge of life, she does what she has to, fearless and forsaken. I have wanted to write this opera for years. Yes, Stephen King is a master of suspense, but he is also a remarkable reader of human desires and fears. The superb team that San Francisco Opera has assembled allowed me to compose a powerful, heart-stopping piece of music theater for a cast of brilliant voices."
Complete casting and creative team personnel for all three San Francisco Opera world premiere commissions will be announced at a later date.

David Gockley has previously presented at San Francisco Opera the world premieres of Appomattox by Philip Glass and Christopher Hampton, The Bonesetter's Daughter by Stewart Wallace and Amy Tan, and most recently Heart of a Soldier by Christopher Theofanidis and Donna Di Novelli. Since the Company's inception, San Francisco Opera has presented 14 world premieres, including Doctor Atomic, Dead Man Walking and A Streetcar Named Desire as well as 23 American premieres, including Dialogues des Carmélites, Vec Makropulos, Katerina Ismailova, Die Frau ohne Schatten, and St. François d'Assise. For a complete list of Company repertory since 1923, visit www.sfopera.com/archive.




Two World Premiere Operas

The Gospel of Mary Magdalene - Mark Adamo
New San Francisco Opera commission The Gospel of Mary Magdalene is composer Mark Adamo's exploration of the narrative of Jesus and the complicated woman he loved. With a libretto by the composer drawn from the Gnostic Gospels, the Canonical Gospels and decades of biblical scholarship, The Gospel of Mary Magdalene reimagines the story of the New Testament through the eyes of this fascinating female character. The resplendent cast includes the Company debut of American mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke as Mary Magdalene, soprano Maria Kanyova as Miriam (the mother of Yeshua), William Burden as the apostle Peter, and Nathan Gunn as Yeshua (Jesus). Director Kevin Newbury, lauded for his "imagination and emotional nuance" (The New York Times), and conductor Michael Christie both make their San Francisco Opera debuts with this production, premiering in June-July 2013.

The Secret Garden - Nolan Gasser and Carey Harrison
Based on the beloved classic of children's literature by Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden by Bay Area composer Nolan Gasser and librettist Carey Harrison receives its world premiere in March 2013. A unique opportunity for young people to see this familiar story come to life as a fully staged opera, this work is intended for children and families of all ages and will feature discounted ticket prices for children under age 18. Presented in partnership with Cal Performances, The Secret Garden will be performed at Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley. This production will be directed by Jose Maria Condemi with projections designed by painter and visual artist Naomie Kremer; full cast and creative team will be announced at a later date.

Four Productions New to the Bay Area

Moby-Dick - Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer
Moby-Dick, composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer's new adaptation of Herman Melville's classic meditation on man and the sea, has been met with high praise since its premiere at the Dallas Opera in April 2010. Now making its first appearance in the Bay Area, this San Francisco Opera co-commission stars many of the original cast members, including preeminent Canadian tenor Ben Heppner as Captain Ahab, American baritone Morgan Smith as Starbuck, American tenor Stephen Costello as Greenhorn (Ishmael) and Samoan bass-baritone Jonathan Lemalu as Queequeg. Of his previous appearance in the role, The New York Times wrote of Ben Heppner: "It would be difficult to imagine a performer better suited to convey Ahab's complex mix of demoniac compulsion and fleeting heroism." Jay Hunter Morris, who recently made headlines by taking over the title role of Wagner's Siegfried both at San Francisco Opera and the Metropolitan Opera, appears as Captain Ahab in the final two performances. Conducted by Principal Guest Conductor Patrick Summers, who also led the work's premiere in Dallas, this co-production with sets by Robert Brill is directed by Leonard Foglia.

I Capuleti e i Montecchi (The Capulets and the Montagues) - Vincenzo Bellini
Bellini's bel canto masterpiece I Capuleti e i Montecchi, inspired by the tragic tale of Romeo and Juliet, is what The New York Times calls "an opera of definite dramatic appeal." The cast is headlined by international stars Joyce DiDonato and Nicole Cabell as the helpless lovers Romeo and Giulietta. DiDonato, who wowed San Francisco audiences in her 2007 role debut as Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier, joins 2005 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World-winner Nicole Cabell, who makes her role debut in this co-production with Munich's Bavarian State Opera. Albanian tenor Saimir Pirgu makes his Company and role debut as Tebaldo. Directed by Vincent Boussard in his U.S. debut and led by returning conductor Riccardo Frizza, this new co-production, which had its debut in Munich in March 2011, features costumes by renowned fashion designer Christian Lacroix and sets by Vincent Lemaire.


Les Contes d'Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann) - Jacques Offenbach
Jaques Offenbach's melodic masterpiece Les Contes d'Hoffmann follows a sensitive poet as he searches fruitlessly for love. Distinguished lyric tenor Matthew Polenzani sings the title role opposite the phenomenally talented soprano Natalie Dessay, who captivated San Francisco audiences in the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor in 2008 and returns to perform all four of the women who capture Hoffmann's heart: Olympia, Antonia, Giulietta and Stella. Mezzo-soprano Alice Coote, who recently appeared with the Company as Charlotte in Massenet's Werther, makes her role debut as Nicklausse/the Muse and Christian Van Horn portrays the four villains who thwart Hoffmann's desires for the first time in his career. Conductor Patrick Fournillier and director Laurent Pelly return for this new co-production with Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu designed by Chantal Thomas.


Lohengrin - Richard Wagner
Following his great success as Siegmund in 2011's Die Walküre, American tenor Brandon Jovanovich returns to San Francisco Opera to make his title role debut in Wagner's Lohengrin. Appearing as the noble warrior's doubt-plagued bride, Elsa von Brabant, is Finnish soprano Camilla Nylund. Also appearing in this new-to-San Francisco Opera production, which was designed by Robert Innes Hopkins, are veteran Wagnerians Kristinn Sigmundsson as Heinrich der Vogler, Gerd Grochowski as Friedrich von Telramund and Petra Lang as Ortrud. Music Director Nicola Luisotti conducts his first Wagner opera with the Company, and British stage director Daniel Slater directs.


Revivals of Three Popular San Francisco Opera Productions


Rigoletto - Giuseppe Verdi
San Francisco Opera's 2012-13 Season opens with Verdi's Rigoletto, the vivid and compelling story of a vengeful court jester desperately attempting to protect his daughter from disaster. The first of two world-class casts, both led by Music Director Nicola Luisotti, features Serbian baritone Zeljko Lucic in the title role and the Company debut of Polish soprano Aleksandra Kurzak as Gilda. Sardinian tenor Francesco Demuro is the lecherous Duke of Mantua. The equally impressive alternate cast stars Marco Vratogna as Rigoletto; soprano Albina Shagimuratova, who makes her debut with the Company as the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute this summer, as Gilda; and rising star tenor David Lomelí as the Duke. Opera and theater director Harry Silverstein returns to direct this San Francisco Opera production with sets designed by Michael Yeargan. The final two performances will be conducted by Resident Conductor Giuseppe Finzi.

Tosca - Giacomo Puccini
Italian maestro Nicola Luisotti conducts Tosca, Puccini's masterful melodrama in which a great singer, a rebellious painter and a corrupt police chief engage in a deadly test of wills. Two renowned casts, headlined by Angela Gheorghiu and Patricia Racette, bring to life San Francisco Opera's elegant production designed by Thierry Bosquet and directed by Jose Maria Condemi. Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu returns to San Francisco Opera following her highly praised 2008 appearances as Mimí in La Bohème to star in the title role alongside Italian tenor Massimo Giordano in his Company debut as Mario Cavaradossi and Italian baritone Roberto Frontali as Baron Scarpia. American soprano Patricia Racette, who sings the title role of Tosca in January 2012 at the Metropolitan Opera, returns to San Francisco Opera to star alongside young emerging talent Brian Jagde as Mario Cavaradossi. Baritone Mark Delavan, well-known to Bay Area audiences for his acclaimed portrayal of Wotan in the Company's 2011 Ring cycle, is Baron Scarpia. The final two performances will be conducted by Resident Conductor Giuseppe Finzi.

Così fan tutte- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
An ingenious mix of hilarious farce and poignant drama, Mozart's Così fan tutte follows two young soldiers who disguise their identities to test their lovers' fidelity. The strong ensemble cast-entirely composed of artists making stage role debuts-is led by two sopranos who have made notable contributions to San Francisco Opera's past two seasons: Ellie Dehn as Fiordiligi and Heidi Stober as Despina. Appearing alongside them are Sardinian tenor Francesco Demuro as Ferrando, Christel Lötzsch as Dorabella and Philippe Sly as Guglielmo. Italian bass Marco Vinco returns as Don Alfonso and former Adler Fellow Susannah Biller is Despina in the final two performances. Music Director Nicola Luisotti conducts and Jose Maria Condemi directs this whimsical San Francisco Opera/Opera Monte Carlo co-production by John Cox and designed by Robert Perdziola, last seen here in 2004. This production marks the final opera in the beloved Mozart/Da Ponte trilogy to be led by Nicola Luisotti following Le Nozze di Figaro in 2010 and Don Giovanni in 2011.


SAN FRANCISCO OPERA DEBUTS

The 2012-13 Season features the Company debuts of many renowned artists, including sopranos Nicole Cabell (Giulietta/I Capuleti e i Montecchi), Aleksandra Kurzak (Gilda/Rigoletto) and Camilla Nylund (Elsa von Brabant/Lohengrin); mezzo-sopranos Sasha Cooke (Mary Magdalene/The Gospel of Mary Magdalene) and Christel Lötzsch (Dorabella/Così fan tutte);tenors Stephen Costello (Greenhorn [Ishmael]/Moby-Dick), Francesco Demuro (The Duke of Mantua/Rigoletto andFerrando/Così fan tutte), Massimo Giordano (Mario Cavaradossi/Tosca) and Saimir Pirgu (Tebaldo/I Capuleti e i Montecchi); and bass-baritones Jonathan Lemalu (Queequeg/Moby-Dick) and Philippe Sly (Guglielmo/Così fan tutte).



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Friday, February 10, 2012

Opera: Decca

Renee Fleming: Poemes

On March 6, 2012, Decca releases an album of 20th-century French vocal masterpieces sung by the iconic American soprano Renée Fleming. On Poèmes, Fleming's first solo album of classical repertoire since 2009's GRAMMY award-winning Verismo, the "consummate musician" (New York Times) performs Ravel's ravishing 1903 song cycle for soprano and orchestra, Shéhérazade, together with Olivier Messiaen's collection of love songs to his young wife, Poèmes pour Mi. Fleming is joined in these two works by conductor Alan Gilbert with whom she performed the Messiaen for the New York Philharmonic's Opening Night in 2009. Gilbert leads the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France here. Seiji Ozawa and the Orchestre National de France then join Fleming for the dramatic Le Temps l'horloge, composed for her by the doyen of French composers, Henri Dutilleux. Dutilleux's Deux Sonnets de Jean Cassou, again with Gilbert and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France closes the album.



All singing is a kind of storytelling, and Renée Fleming, whose vast repertoire includes many works demonstrating the breadth and richness of the French tradition, is no stranger to the particular skills required of the art. "For the sheer sensual joy of singing, no language gives me more pleasure than French," she remarks. "Not only am I drawn in by the beauty of the poetry and the evocative texture of the music, but the unaccented and legato fluidity of these phrases places my voice in its optimal resonance.


"My connection to Ravel's Shéhérazade dates back to my early student days," Fleming says, "specifically, a live cassette recording of Elly Ameling and the Rochester Philharmonic. This was one of the pieces that inspired me to follow the path towards classical music." Scheherazade was the teller of the Tales of the Arabian Nights, whose prowess at inventing stories enabled her to survive a Sultan's cruel decree for 1001 nights. Ravel's Shéhérazade dates from his early maturity and its lush yet subtle harmony and refined orchestration are typical of the sonic magic he could create. The songs are settings of poetry by Léon Leclère (1874-1966), whose pen name, which combined the hero of one of Wagner's operas with the villain of another, was Tristan Klingsor.



Poèmes pour Mi, a cycle of nine songs set to the composer's own texts, was written by Olivier Messiaen in 1936 for his then wife, the violinist and composer Claire Delbos (whom he referred to endearingly as "Mi"). The cycle has become one of Messiaen's most performed works and remains a moving testimony to the short-lived happiness of the composer's first marriage. "When Alan Gilbert suggested I sing Poèmes pour Mi for his inaugural concert as music director of the New York Philharmonic," recalls Fleming, "I was both honored and perplexed: honored to share such an important event with a conductor I admire; perplexed because I had always associated dramatic sopranos with the piece. Alan convinced me, and together we found the luminosity that one associates with Messiaen in this work."



Henri Dutilleux's relatively small output is of consistent quality and imagination but the 96 year-old composer has been little known outside of France until recent years when he received several major awards including the Ernst Siemens Prize (2005), the Prix Midem (2007), an honorary fellowship from Cardiff University and the Gold Medal of London's Royal Philharmonic Society (both 2008). A member of no school and not tied to any specific system of composition, Dutilleux has created a highly individual and distinguished catalog of works, with hints of Debussy and Ravel, but occasionally shaded by jazz as well. Vocal music has figured infrequently in his output, but the few works of his for voice clearly demonstrate the high quality of his musical thought.


Serendipity proved a powerful catalyst for Renée Fleming's collaboration with Henri Dutilleux. It was a chance meeting at Radio France on a day when both Fleming and Dutilleux were scheduled for on-air interviews. "I declared my appreciation for his art and planted the seed for a commissioned work - all in the waiting room," she recalls. "Years later, I received the exciting offer to premiere Le Temps l'horloge with Seiji Ozawa in Paris and Japan. I am transported by the beauty of this work, as well as by the enigmatic, equally "musical" quality of the poetry." Le Temps l'horloge is set to works by three poets including Jean Tardieu, a poet and musician alongside whom Dutilleux worked for many years at Radio France; the Surrealist Robert Desnos, another member of the French Resistance, who died in the Nazi concentration camp at Terezín (Theresienstadt) in 1945; and Dutilleux's beloved Baudelaire, whom he cites as a major influence on his creativity.



Dutilleux's first extant songs are the Deux Sonnets de Jean Cassou, composed in 1954 for voice and piano but later orchestrated. Cassou (1897-1986) was a museum curator who joined the French Resistance in 1940 when dismissed from his post by the Vichy government. "Henri requested that I sing Deux Sonnets de Jean Cassou, and he sent me a score into which he'd written a transposition of the first song, wanting to hear it in my voice," says Fleming. "Nothing has been more inspiring to me as an interpretive performer than hands-on collaboration with a composer. I envy my colleagues of earlier eras, who devoted most of their time to premiering new works."

Friday, February 10, 2012

Opera: Hispanics for Los Angeles Opera

Plácido Domingo Awards Dinner

Hispanics for Los Angeles Opera will present the fourteenth annual Plácido Domingo Awards Dinner on Sunday, February 19, 2012. The event will take place at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion's Eva and Marc Stern Grand Hall, immediately following LA Opera's afternoon performance of Giuseppe Verdi's Simon Boccanegra.

This year's Plácido Domingo Awards Dinner will honor Chilean author Antonio Skármeta, whose novel Ardiente Paciencia was adapted into composer Daniel Catán's opera Il Postino, premiered at LA Opera in 2010, as well as two members of the Board of Advisors of Hispanics for Los Angeles Opera, Nicandro and Betty Juárez.

The annual awards are presented by HLAO, a support organization for LA Opera, to celebrate the accomplishments of Hispanic artists as well as those who contribute to the awareness of opera and its educational value in the Latino community of Los Angeles. Proceeds from the event will benefit LA Opera's internationally acclaimed Education and Community Programs, reaching over 150,000 adults and children, many of whom are of Hispanic descent, each year throughout Southern California. Every year, this event is attended by opera lovers and corporate citizens who play a part in the artistic and cultural contributions and programs supported by Hispanics for LA Opera. Hispanics for LA Opera was founded in 1991 by Alicia Garcia Clark, who serves as President with Edward E. Clark serving as Chair. Plácido Domingo and Marta Domingo are the Honorary Chairs. Tickets to the Plácido Domingo Awards Dinner begin at $500. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit www.hispanicsforlaopera.org or call (213) 972-3612.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Dance: Dance Into Unity

Through the Heart of Tango

4/21/12

Through the Heart of Tango,sponsored by Dance Into Unity, Inc., is a charity event benefiting the "Match a Friend" program and other programs that support persons and families that live with autism and autism causes. The charity ball includes a dinner-dance and spectacular tango show under the creative direction of television and Broadway star Miriam Larici, "World Leading Lady of Tango", who brings a cast of the finestArgentine tango performers to support this special cause. The charity ball will also feature a tango-inspired hair and fashion show sponsored by the Mauro Hair Salon and Florie Couture of Beverly Hills.



This special event will be held at Beyond the Stars Palace, located at417 ½ N. Brand Blvd., Glendale, California. Through the Heartof Tango is an exclusive show with performances for two (2) nights only on April 21-22, 2012. VIP and General Admission tickets to the event are available on-line through the charity's website. Exclusive VIP package includes early admission at 6 pm the evening of each performance for the wine and cheese reception, special seating for the dinner-dance and fashion and hair show, photo opportunity with the artists and stars of the show and special gift bags.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Classical Music: Carmel by the Sea

Carmel Bach Festival

July 14 - 28, 2012
A global celebration of Bach's influence marks the 75th anniversary season of the revered Carmel Bach Festival, led by its innovative new music director, Paul Goodwin. A renowned international conductor and early music specialist, Mr. Goodwin carries on his inaugural season success with the Festival's 2012 program, which carries the theme Bach: Spheres of Influence.

"The 75th year of the Festival gives us a wonderful opportunity to look both forward to innovative programming and back to greatly respected traditions," said Maestro Goodwin. "In that spirit, we'll present 'something unusual and something Bach' on each of the 15 days that we spend celebrating glorious music."

Between July 14 and 28, Goodwin and the Festival artists will explore a vast range of music -- from Baroque to bluegrass -- that reveals the impact of Johann Sebastian Bach. The program includes works from England, Europe, Russia, Mexico, South America and the United States, illuminating influences and showcasing juxtapositions of Bach's music with music from around the globe.
Among the many highlights: Goodwin will continue his open rehearsals, inviting the audience to join him inside the artistic process. In 2011 the open rehearsals grew into a signature phenomenon with the final open rehearsal drawing a crowd of over 600 to Carmel's Sunset Center in 2011.
The Festival begins on Saturday, July 14, with a grand scale performance of Bach's B Minor Mass using the full forces of the Festival Chorale, Chorus and Orchestra.
The complete Bach Orchestral Suite cycle will be presented (within both Main Concerts and Chamber Concerts).
The Festival will introduce its audiences to a deeper understanding of Baroque period style with guest Baroque trumpet specialist Robert Farley leading the Festival trumpet section throughout the Festival in the Baroque works, and guest Baroque flute specialist Janet See performing Monday night in Bach's Orchestral Suite No.2 led by Concertmaster Peter Hanson.
Popular dramaturge David Gordon will host a special Inside the Music concert, an evening of music and narrative showcasing the signature styles and music of the Festival's 75 years, and ending with a performance of the complete finale to Mozart's opera, The Magic Flute.
The Thursday Main Concerts will continue the highly successful crossover series begun in 2011, which showcases artists from other disciplines who share a love of J.S. Bach. On tap for 2012 is Bach and Bluegrass. Guest artists are the virtuosic mandolin duo, Mike Marshall and Caterina Lichtenberg, who rank among the most accomplished and versatile players in the United States and Europe, with members of the Festival Orchestra. The program will be a compilation of Bach, Vivaldi, Bluegrass, and Bulgarian folk music.
The Friday Main Concerts will feature what may be the first ever period style performance in the United States of Brahms's glorious Symphony No. 2.
Festival soloists include returning and new artists. Countertenor Robin Blaze, a new soloist with the Festival, is established in the front rank of interpreters of Purcell, Bach, and Handel. Returning Festival soloists include Kendra Colton, soprano; Thomas Cooley, tenor and Alexander Dobson, baritone, along with nearly 100 more national and international artists.
The Festival's 15 days include a repeated seven-day cycle of daytime and evening events, culminating in the grand "Best of the Fest" concert on Sunday, July 28.
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Thursday, February 09, 2012

Classical Music: Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra

Baroque Conversations Series

Thursday, February 16, 7 pm, at Zipper Concert Hall, Downtown Los Angeles

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra's Baroque Conversations Series Explores the Art of Baroque Dance
LACO Principal Keyboard Patricia Mabee Hosts the Program, Which Features John Schneiderman, Baroque Guitar; Baroque Dancers Linda Tomko and Jill Chardoff; Tereza Stanislav, Violin; Sarah Thornblade, Violin; Roland Kato, Viola; Victoria Miskolczy, Viola; Armen Ksajikian, Cello
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) trips the light fantastic at the season's second "Baroque Conversations" concert, which explores the art of Baroque dance, its links to the court of Louis XIV and its intriguing social and political implications, on Thursday, February 16, 7 pm, at Zipper Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles. LACO Principal Keyboard Patricia Mabee, who celebrates 35 years with LACO this season, hosts the evening, featuring renowned baroque guitar John Schneiderman and Baroque dancers/historians Linda Tomko and Jill Chardoff. Also featured are LACO principals Tereza Stanislav, assistant concertmaster; Sarah Thornblade, associate principal violin II; Roland Kato, principal viola; Victoria Miskolczy, associate principal viola; and Armen Ksajikian, associate principal cello. In signature LACO style, the artists share their insights into the music and dances from the stage and invite questions from the audience about the program, which includes Vivaldi's Trio Sonata in D minor, RV 63, Op. 1, No. 12, "La folia" ("Madness"); Sanz's Pavanas and Canarios from Instrucción de Musica Sobre la Guitarra Española; Ganspeck's Overture in A major for Viola d'Amore and Violin; Soler's Fandango in D minor, S. 146; and selections from Campra's Les fêtes vénitiennes ("The Venetian Festivals") and L'Europe galante ("Galant Europe"), as well as from Lully's Atys and Rameau's Dardanus. A pre-concert reception, beginning at 6 pm, is free to all ticket holders.

LACO's "Baroque Conversations" series explores the genesis of orchestral repertoire from early Baroque schools through the pre-classical period.


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Thursday, February 09, 2012

Classical Music: AIR - The Bach Album

Anne Akiko Meyers

Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers' newest recording Air - The Bach Album will be released on Valentine's Day, 2012. . The album includes Bach's Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2, the Double Concerto for Two Violins, and arrangements of Bach's "Air", "Largo" from the Harpsichord Concerto in f minor, and the Bach/Gounod "Ave Maria."



After her recent acquisition of the "ex-Napoleon/Molitor" Stradivarius violin from 1697, Meyers decided to become the first violinist to record both solo parts of the Double Concerto on two different violins. Meyers joked that this was the first time she agreed with all of her "partner's" musical ideas.



Meyers believes the golden purity of the tone of the 'ex-Molitor/Napoleon' Strad, contrasts beautifully with the darker timbre of the 1730 "Royal Spanish" Strad, on which she recorded the second violin part. The distinctive voice of each violin inspired Meyers to record both parts of the Double Concerto, as she feels like she sounds like a different violinist on each instrument.



Bach's Violin Concertos in A minor and E major are original works that Bach composed and performed with his friends at their regular Friday evening concerts. Meyers says "As I journey through life I continually find greater profundity in Bach's music. The violin concerti have always been favorites of mine and I was excited by the opportunity to record them with The English Chamber Orchestra." Meyers wanted to include some of her other favorite Bach melodies on the disc, including an orchestral arrangement of the famous "Air," a piece Anne calls "one of the most beautiful, sublime compositions ever written." The disc also includes "Largo," the second movement of the Concerto for Harpsichord in F minor (BWV 1056), and an orchestral arrangement of the Bach/Gounod "Ave Maria" a piece that she grew up regularly performing in the arrangement for violin and piano with her sister

Thursday, February 09, 2012

Theater: Pasadena Playhouse

HERSHEY FELDER COLLECTION

Opening 2-28-12 with MONSIEUR CHOPIN


THE HERSHEY FELDER COLLECTION

The World Premiere Of LINCOLN - AN AMERICAN STORY For Actor and Symphony Orchestra
Joined With MONSIEUR CHOPIN and MAESTRO: LEONARD BERNSTEIN



Hershey Felder returns to The Pasadena Playhouse by popular demand with three limited engagements - including a World Premiere presentation of his newest work. Last season Hershey Felder entertained Playhouse audiences with his amazing performance of George Gershwin Alone and now two of Felder's "Composer Collection" hit shows: MONSIEUR CHOPIN and MAESTRO: LEONARD BERNSTEIN will make their Playhouse debuts followed by the World Premiere of LINCOLN - AN AMERICAN STORY. All three productions will star Hershey Felder and are directed by long-time collaborator Joel Zwick.



With MONSIEUR CHOPIN, audiences are invited to a private piano lesson that actually took place in the opulent Parisian salon of the Polish composer. In MAESTRO: LEONARD BERNSTEIN, Felder unfolds a story spanning the entire 20th century illustrating how Bernstein broke through every artistic ceiling possible to become the world's musical ambassador. And in his newest production, LINCOLN - AN AMERICAN STORY, the final night in Abraham Lincoln's life is told through the eyes of Dr. Charles Leale, the young medical student who was in attendance on the evening of that fateful performance at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., and found himself at the center of American history as he unfolds his story of tending to Lincoln in his final hours. LINCOLN - AN AMERICAN STORY will be performed in front of a 45-piece symphony orchestra for this special engagement.

In addition to the three productions, The Pasadena Playhouse will present a one-night-only special performance of HERSHEY FELDER'S GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK SING-ALONG on Monday, March 19, 2012 at 8:00 p.m. Our audience will join Hershey Felder for a tour through an entire century of American music. Beginning with Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern and the Gershwins through Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, featuring selections from THE SOUND OF MUSIC, SHOWBOAT, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF and more.

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Theater: Theatre Works

The Pitmen Painters

Jan 21-Feb 12, Tue & Wed at 7:30 pm, Thurs & Fri at 8 pm, Sat at 2 & 8 pm, Sun at 2 & 7 pm
By Lee Hall; Directed by Leslie Martinson. Six spirited 1930s miners take up painting and become sensations of the British art world in this funny, exhilarating tale from the author of Billy Elliot.