#Norwegian National Opera Orchestra

[char1ottee]

Tokyo culture🗼

Tokyo has many museums. In Ueno Park, there is the Tokyo National Museum, the country's largest museum and specializing in traditional Japanese art; the National Museum of Western Art and Ueno Zoo. Other museums include the Artizon Museum in Chūō; the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Odaiba; the Edo-Tokyo Museum in Sumida, across the Sumida River from the center of Tokyo; the Nezu Museum in Aoyama; and the National Diet Library, National Archives, and the National Museum of Modern Art, which are near the Imperial Palace.

Tokyo has many theaters for performing arts. These include national and private theaters for traditional forms of Japanese drama. Noteworthy are the National Noh Theatre for noh and the Kabuki-za for Kabuki. Symphony orchestras and other musical organizations perform modern and traditional music. The New National Theater Tokyo in Shibuya is the national center for the performing arts, including opera, ballet, contemporary dance and drama. Tokyo also hosts modern Japanese and international pop, and rock music at venues ranging in size from intimate clubs to internationally known areas such as the Nippon Budokan

The Sanja Festival in Asakusa

Many different festivals occur throughout Tokyo. Major events include the Sannō at Hie Shrine, the Sanja at Asakusa Shrine, and the biennial Kanda Festivals. The last features a parade with elaborately decorated floats and thousands of people. Annually on the last Saturday of July, an enormous fireworks display over the Sumida River attracts over a million viewers. Once cherry blossoms bloom in spring, many residents gather in Ueno Park, Inokashira Park, and the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden for picnics under the blossoms.

Harajuku, a neighborhood in Shibuya, is known internationally for its youth style, fashion and cosplay.

In November 2007, Michelin released their first guide for fine dining in Tokyo, awarding 191 stars in total, or about twice as many as Tokyo's nearest competitor, Paris. As of 2017, 227 restaurants in Tokyo have been awarded (92 in Paris). Twelve establishments were awarded the maximum of three stars (Paris has 10), 54 received two stars, and 161 earned one star.

In popular culture

As the largest population center in Japan and the site of the country's largest broadcasters and studios, Tokyo is frequently the setting for many Japanese movies, television shows, animated series' (anime), web comics, light novels, video games, and comic books (manga). In the kaiju (monster movie) genre, landmarks of Tokyo are usually destroyed by giant monsters such as Godzilla and Gamera.

Tokyo is also a popular foreign setting for non-Japanese media. Some Hollywood directors have turned to Tokyo as a backdrop for movies set in Japan. Postwar examples include Tokyo Joe, My Geisha, Tokyo Story and the James Bond film You Only Live Twice; recent examples include Kill Bill, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Lost in Translation, Babel, Inception, The Wolverine and Avengers: Endgame.

Japanese author Haruki Murakami has based some of his novels in Tokyo (including Norwegian Wood), and David Mitchell's first two novels (number9dream and Ghostwritten) featured the city. Contemporary British painter Carl Randall spent 10 years living in Tokyo as an artist, creating a body of work depicting the city's crowded streets and public spaces.

[motionpicturelover]

"Peer Gynt" in Giza (2006) - Bentein Baardson

Films I've watched in 2022 (165/210)

This giant production, with a stage spanning almost 100m x 30m and with the Sfinx and the pyramids as its backdrop was a collaboration between Egypt and Norway during the "Ibsen Year", the 100 year anniversary of Ibsen's death, in 2006.

This is a great feat of a production which really allows the vital character of The Bøyg/The Sfinx (and, yes, it is actually the Sfinx in Ibsen's original play) to appear in all its rightful majesty.

The scene where Peer meets the Bøyg/the Sfinx is one of the pivotal scenes in the play, a real turning point for Peer, and here you get the full effect of what it would've actually been like.

The Cairo Symphony Orchestra - conducted by Christian Eggen - and Cairo Opera Accapella Chorus, as well as soloists from the Norwegian Opera gave life to Edvard Grieg's music, while the cast was an ensemble of Norwegian actors and dancers, and the Egyptian actor Mohamed Wafik Aly Helmy giving voice to the Bøyg/the Sfinx.

The lead actors are a solid group of Norwegian stage actors:

Bjarte Hjelmeland (Peer): Hjelmeland's career has spanned both drama, comedy and musicals as well as including a stint as director of The National Scene in Bergen.

Lise Fjeldstad (Åse): Fjeldstad has had a long and varied career which includes many Ibsen roles, such as Nora ("A Doll's House"), Asta Allmers ("Little Eyolf"), Maja Rubek ("When We Dead Awaken") as well as having toured the world as Åse in "Peer Gynt" with The Norwegian Opera.

Erik Hivju (The Mountain King): Hivju's enjoyed a long career both on stage, in films, and for a period as a member of the regular company of the Norwegian television theatre. He previously played the Mountain King in Baardson's television production of "Peer Gynt" (1993).

Per Frisch (Begriffenfeldt): Frisch has been attatched to The National Theatre in Oslo for decades as well as having played in several big Norwegian films, and was, for a few years, a member of the regular company of the Norwegian television theatre.

Paul-Ottar Haga (The Button Moulder): Haga played the lead role of Peer in Baardson's 1993 television production of "Peer Gynt" for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. He's had a long and varied career in both drama, comedy, musicals, films and television.

Speaking of Paul-Ottar Haga as the Button Moulder, this production has him as an ever present figure on the stage, standing in the background, observing Peer as he goes through life. He almost feels like a shadow of Peer, and having an actor who really understands the character - having played Peer himself - in that role, lends the performance extra weight.

I first saw this production when it was televised during the "Ibsen Year" and really loved it. I was incredibly fortunate to come across a second hand DVD of it yesterday and was thrilled to finally see it again. It was every bit as good and interesting as I'd remebered it being.

[thejoyofviolentmovement]

New Video: Yeisy Rojays Teams Up with Julito Padrón on Breezy, Soulful and Politically Charged "Mama Ines"

New Video: Yeisy Rojays Teams Up with Julito Padrón on Breezy, Soulful and Politically Charged "Mama Ines" @heygroover @romainpalmieri @DorianPerron

Yeisy Rojas is a Cuban-born, Norwegian-based, classically trained, jazz violinist, singer/songwriter and composer, who played with the National Opera Orchestra in Havana before relocating to Norway back in 2016 to get her master’s degree in jazz violin. Rojas’ work sees her blending Cuban music, Latin jazz and funk with powerful social messages — in particularly, she speaks up against racism in…

[twh-news]

How do you score a show that tinkers with time, features a Norse god who is neither hero nor villain, and continually confounds the viewer with new mysteries?

That was the challenge facing English composer Natalie Holt, who with her music for “Loki” becomes only the second woman to compose the dramatic score for a Marvel Cinematic Universe film or TV series (after Pinar Toprak, who scored 2019’s “Captain Marvel”).

The music of “Loki” is a bold combination of a traditional orchestra with vintage analog synthesizers, Scandinavian folk instruments and the weird, unsettling electronic sounds of the theremin, once associated with ’50s sci-fi movies.

“He’s a kind of grand, Machiavellian character,” Holt tells Variety from her London studio. “And Tom Hiddleston’s performance has a touch of Shakespeare to it. So I wanted to give him some gravitas and classical weight to his theme, but also have this space-age sound as well.”

Holt had been listening to 1950s theremin virtuoso Clara Rockmore and had one day hoped to utilize it in a score. So she was surprised to learn that “Loki” director Kate Herron was also “keen to involve the theremin in the soundtrack.”

The unusual instrument was heard in such Hollywood classics as “Spellbound” and “The Day the Earth Stood Still” and, more recently, in the Apollo 11 movie “First Man.” “The character of it just seemed to suit the score,” Holt says.

In addition, Holt and Herron saw similarities between the Norse god of mischief and the character of Alex, famously played by Malcolm McDowell in the 1971 Stanley Kubrick film “A Clockwork Orange.” She says, “He does these horrific things, yet you feel this empathy for him, you can almost forgive him, and his redemption feels painful.”

Wendy Carlos’ Moog synthesizer sounds for the Kubrick classic became another key influence on the score as a result.

Holt began, last August, by creating a “suite” of themes that represented the antihero Loki, his new nemesis/partner Mobius (Owen Wilson), the mysterious Time Variance Authority (TVA) and variant Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino). This became the blueprint for much of what she would write for the series over the next six months.

The concept of time, and the possibility of altering a timeline, is central to the series premise, and so the sounds of a ticking clock (actually samples of different clocks, notes the composer) appear in the TVA theme.

Holt’s research into Norse mythology also led to the use of two Norwegian instruments, the hardanger fiddle and stringed nyckelharpa, to suggest Loki’s Asgardian home and his late mother Frigga.

The entire score was created remotely, with Holt working in her studio; other musicians contributing theremin, synthesizer, guitar and drum sounds from various locations; and the Budapest Film Orchestra supplying a traditional symphonic foundation.

“I love those really powerful forces coming together, giving something like the weight of [opera composer Richard] Wagner, but with this unusual twisty edge,” says Holt.

Classically trained as a violinist at the Royal Academy of Music and in composition at the National Film and Television School, Holt confesses that she prefers to sketch her musical ideas on paper. “I’m so old school,” she says with a laugh.

That enabled her to design a score that started with the finale and worked backwards from there. “I had the theme for the end very early on,” she says. The final two episodes, due July 7 and 14, also feature a 32-voice choir, she reveals.

Holt was a 2017 Emmy nominee for music in the PBS series “Victoria,” and has completed work on a Netflix film, “Fever Dream,” slated for release later this year.

[lokiondisneyplus]

How do you score a show that tinkers with time, features a Norse god who is neither hero nor villain, and continually confounds the viewer with new mysteries?

That was the challenge facing English composer Natalie Holt, who with her music for “Loki” becomes only the second woman to compose the dramatic score for a Marvel Cinematic Universe film or TV series (after Pinar Toprak, who scored 2019’s “Captain Marvel”).

The music of “Loki” is a bold combination of a traditional orchestra with vintage analog synthesizers, Scandinavian folk instruments and the weird, unsettling electronic sounds of the theremin, once associated with ’50s sci-fi movies.

“He’s a kind of grand, Machiavellian character,” Holt tells Variety from her London studio. “And Tom Hiddleston’s performance has a touch of Shakespeare to it. So I wanted to give him some gravitas and classical weight to his theme, but also have this space-age sound as well.”

Holt had been listening to 1950s theremin virtuoso Clara Rockmore and had one day hoped to utilize it in a score. So she was surprised to learn that “Loki” director Kate Herron was also “keen to involve the theremin in the soundtrack.”

The unusual instrument was heard in such Hollywood classics as “Spellbound” and “The Day the Earth Stood Still” and, more recently, in the Apollo 11 movie “First Man.” “The character of it just seemed to suit the score,” Holt says.

In addition, Holt and Herron saw similarities between the Norse god of mischief and the character of Alex, famously played by Malcolm McDowell in the 1971 Stanley Kubrick film “A Clockwork Orange.” She says, “He does these horrific things, yet you feel this empathy for him, you can almost forgive him, and his redemption feels painful.”

Wendy Carlos’ Moog synthesizer sounds for the Kubrick classic became another key influence on the score as a result.

Holt began, last August, by creating a “suite” of themes that represented the antihero Loki, his new nemesis/partner Mobius (Owen Wilson), the mysterious Time Variance Authority (TVA) and variant Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino). This became the blueprint for much of what she would write for the series over the next six months.

The concept of time, and the possibility of altering a timeline, is central to the series premise, and so the sounds of a ticking clock (actually samples of different clocks, notes the composer) appear in the TVA theme.

Holt’s research into Norse mythology also led to the use of two Norwegian instruments, the hardanger fiddle and stringed nyckelharpa, to suggest Loki’s Asgardian home and his late mother Frigga.

The entire score was created remotely, with Holt working in her studio; other musicians contributing theremin, synthesizer, guitar and drum sounds from various locations; and the Budapest Film Orchestra supplying a traditional symphonic foundation.

“I love those really powerful forces coming together, giving something like the weight of [opera composer Richard] Wagner, but with this unusual twisty edge,” says Holt.

Classically trained as a violinist at the Royal Academy of Music and in composition at the National Film and Television School, Holt confesses that she prefers to sketch her musical ideas on paper. “I’m so old school,” she says with a laugh.

That enabled her to design a score that started with the finale and worked backwards from there. “I had the theme for the end very early on,” she says. The final two episodes, due July 7 and 14, also feature a 32-voice choir, she reveals.

Holt was a 2017 Emmy nominee for music in the PBS series “Victoria,” and has completed work on a Netflix film, “Fever Dream,” slated for release later this year.

[betweenthetimeandsound]

Three Minutes to Eternity: My ESC 250 (#29)

#29: Ofra Haza -- Hi (Israel 1983)

“שמעו, אחיי, אני עוד חי ושתי עיניי עוד נישאות לאור רבים חוחיי, אך גם פרחיי ולפניי שנים רבות מספור”

“Listen, my brothers, I’m still alive And both my eyes still look into the light Many are my thorns, but also my flowers And I have countless years ahead of me”

Like with Kan (#31), Hi might be seen in bad taste if it was released today. However, unlike the former, Hi firmly celebrates the Jewish people's survival, and it's in more than just the vivacious and hopeful lyrics.

For the contest in Munich, where a lot of events relating to Nazi Germany occurred (the Beer Hall Putsch, the first concentration camp in Dachau just outside the city, the Munich Agreement of 1938), Ofra Haza and her backing vocalists strolled on stage and happily exclaimed that they were still alive despite all the bad the world has done with them. You wouldn't tell with the minor-key composition--the Israeli national anthem also has this combination--so you could hint at the pain hidden through the song.

Though already brazen in the studio cut, the orchestral version just amplifies it, from the brass to the string section. This happens through a lot of the 1983 songs (including #246 and #97 on this countdown, for example), but for Hi, it adds the sprinkles to a beautiful honey cake. The piano intro is emphasized a lot, followed by the verses, in which it keeps up the momentum. When it gets to the chorus, it just brings Hi to life! You could hear the musical punch it gives, especially compared to the studio cut.

And of course, Ofra's vocals gently carry the song, albeit with a certain bite. She sings of the Jewish people's determination to survive, telling how her grandfather sung this song to her father, and then to her now. Beyond the contest, she showed off her connection to her Yemenite roots; a year later, she released an album of Yemenite Songs which would be her breakthrough. The remix of Im Nin'alu was her biggest hit, though for a long time, I only knew her through her rendition of Yerushalayim shel Zahav (Jerusalem of Gold). It's absolutely beautiful.

Ofra Haza was not the first Yemenite Jew on the Eurovision stage, nor was she the last (three of Israel's four winners were of Yemenite descent) but was probably the most notable of them. Her career afterward mixed parts of her cultural heritage with modern music, which allowed a bridge between her two worlds. Ayelet Tsabari would later write this about her in The Art of Leaving (which I highly recommend):

"...in a world where the actors on TV and the singers on TV were Ashkenazi and the models in magazines were Ashkenazi, there was Ofra, the simple Yemeni girl from Ha'tikva neighborhood whose star shone brighter than anyone's, who made it against all odds, and who looked like me, or like one of my own prettier cousins." (39)

Basically, a lot of reasons why Hi should've won--rousing song, talented singer, beautiful orchestration and a clear connection to the country it's from. I have two more runners-up on this 250, but no other deserves to take the crown more.

Personal ranking: 1st/20 Actual ranking: 2nd/20 in Munich

Final Impressions on:

--1983: Germany's first hosting didn't showcase their world-famous efficiency, as the production was less than ideal. Marlene, their host, went over everything in English, French, and German, which extended the contest to the three hour mark for the first time. Plus she called the Norwegian conductor "Johannes Skorgan", haha. #allora.

But what the production lacked, the song quality more than made up for. I like just over half the songs; even the ones I didn't fancy had their charms (except Opera, haha). The German concert orchestra does a good job in interpreting them--if I did a personal list of favorite orchestrations of all time, I fear that I might overloading on this year when it came to the top.

The glaring flaw was with the winner--Si la vie est cadeau is a descent song on its right, and the verses were especially strong. It just falls flat by the chorus and doesn't convince itself after that (though Michel Bernholc did the orchestration). And as much as I iike French ballads, this one set the contest back quite a bit, which took until the mid 1990s to recover from.

--Israel: Just like their international reputation, Israel seems to be quite polarized in Eurovision. When they send good entries, like Hi, they are really good. But when they send bad entries, they are really bad. Of course, they have some average songs, but they don't stand out as much as those at the extremes. What I can say, regardless, is that they add a bit of spice to the Eurovision party, and we can all appreciate it for doing so.

[joaquimblog]

Final Tosca a Oslo, producció de Calixto Bieio Svetlana Aksenova (Tosca) i Daniel Johansson (Cavaradossi)

Svetlana Aksenova (Tosca) Oslo 2017

Thorbjørn Gulbrandsøy, Claudio Sgura, Ludvig Lindström, Daniel Johansson i Svetlana Aksenova Tosca Oslo 2017 Vittoria! Vittoria!

Què Bieito no faria una Tosca convencional no cal ser una lluminària per saber-ho, però que el director burgalès fos incapaç de commoure i emocionar en una òpera tota ella colpidora, és sota el meu punt de vista, un dels més grans fracassos de la seva immensa carrera operística,.

Ni el text ni la música inspiren a Bieito, a ell l’inspira una idea i es serveix de la immensa popularitat d’una òpera del repertori més estimat per vomitar sobre els personatges i la seva dramatúrgia, tota una altra bilis afegida que res té a veure amb Puccini i el seu reconegut talent musical, ni òbviament tampoc amb el llibret de Giacosa i Illica, que malgrat ser considerat perfecte, sobretot en un segon acte antològic, no cal fer.hi res per tal de fer arribar al públic tota la tensió, la força i el dramatisme que conté. Bieito, que és un reconegudíssim home de teatre, per a mi ha defecat sobre Tosca i l’ha empastifat de tal manera que no hi reconec res.

Tosca no és una diva, no és una dona icònica que pugui escalfar fins al sadisme a Scarpia. És una dona vulgar, una més en el catáleg depredador de Scarpia, que no sabem qui és ni ens importa. Que ningú pensi en un cap de policia, en un militar o un polític corrupte i poderós, no, és un ser anònim sense cap interès que s’encapritxa de Tosca sense que aquest deliri sexual tingui cap explicació en la narració bieitoniana.

Cavaradossi no és un heroi, és una altra víctima anònima que no té la possibilitat ni tan sols de morir dignament afusellat davant de la desesperació de Tosca. Ella no és precipita en lloc, només es desespera en veure que el seu Mario l’han convertit en un ninot alienat.

Scarpia si que mort, en una de les escenes més absurdament ridícules de la història del teatre operístic de les jo en tingui constància. M’estranya tant  que Bieito hagi malmès i desaprofitat tant un segon acte d’aquesta manera, que només ho entenc si amb l’ànsia de no aprofitar res que es pogués entendre com una fidelització a l’original, s’ha passat de rosca.

Qualsevol aproximació als lloc dels fets o les situacions narrades no és ni tan sols pura coincidència.

Acte únic

No hi ha Chiesa di Sant’Andrea della Valle, és clar,  ni res que ho recordi, per tant no hi sagrestano, ni aquest li pot donar a Cavaradossi  “i colori” per pintar, és clar que en lloc hi ha cap constància que aquest sigui pintor, per tant no hi ha quadre, ni per suposat chiave  ni cappella, ni madonna, ni cantoria, ni com és obvi Te Deum, Els personatges ja poden anar dient coses que res del que diuen té cap sentit o transcendència amb el que suposadament fan. És ridícul per tant, que Tosca s’avergonyeix-hi de la revolcada que la despentina “davanti la madonna”. Gran part del diàleg del primer duo entre Tosca i Cavaradossi, amb aquell atac de gelosia tan entranyable dels “occhi neri” no tindria cap sentit i per intentar donar-li una mica coherència al despropòsit Bieito col·loca palplantada en mig de l’escenari una senyora mig nua que no diu res, és clar, i que hem de suposar que és l’Attavanti i que acabarà sent atonyinada per Scarpia en acabar un no sé què,  mentre tot un munt de gent que de cop i volta i sense cap mena d’explicació omple l’escenari, canten “Te Deum laudamus”. En mig de tot aquest no res, Quin sentit té parlar de l’acqua benedetta?, però potser fins i tot podria acceptar aquesta versió tan despullada, si no fos que a Bieito amb tanta deconstrucció li manquen espais i escenes  per omplir, espais buits que ell mateix ha creat i aleshores s’inventa personatges muts amb la pretensió d’inquietar al personal. Hi ha unes minyones contorsionistes que omplen l’escenari de cintes com si fossin teranyines que atrapa a tothom. Hi ha dos nans (potser no es va atrevir a posar dos nens de la cantoria que és el que volia el director) a qui Scarpia prodiga en  carantoines i sàdics pessics i que segurament fora d’escena (així ho fa entendre) li deuen fer favors més lubricants. Aquests nans adults van vestits amb uniforme de col·legi privat, idèntics als nens que haurien de ser escolanets i que ningú sap que hi fan en aquest soterrani tan concorregut, mentre canten el que hom suposa una festa “Doppio soldo… Te Deum… Gloria!  Viva il Re!… Si festeggi la vittoria!”, abraonant-se amb violència sobre el homeless que originalment és un sagristà.

Els tres actes es representen sense solució de continuïtat i per tant no hi ha entreacte. S’acaba el primer mentre Scarpia fueteja envoltat d’un silenci sepulcral (al Liceu la cridòria del públic seria històrica) a l’Attavanti nua mentre tothom va deixant l’escena buida per començar el segon acte que ja us podeu imaginar que no passarà al Palazzo Farnese.

Continua la foscor opressiva, no hi ha ni taules ni cadires, no hi haurà “cena interrotta” ni possibilitat de trobar un ganivet a darrera hora. Tosca escalfa degudament a Scarpia, li treu les ulleres i els hi clava al coll, quelcom que potser si i amb molta sort pot arribar amb la vida d’algú, però se’m fa difícil pensar que uns vidres plans i una muntura lleugera siguin suficient arma letal

És clar que en el segon acte hi passen més coses, i Bieito ens mostra al fons de l’escenari les tortures que li fan al pobre Cavaradossi, I qui el tortura? Dons si, els dos nans del primer acte que ara es dediquen a remenar al pobre tenor de mala manera.

També hi ha quasi de manera permanent, una altra senyora muda, molt ben arreglada i disposada en tot moment a fotre un cop de colze a la seva nova rival per guanyar-se els favors del seu Scarpia..

Cavaradossi en calçotets i amb els pantalots abaixats canta el Vittoria (veure la fotografia de la capçalera) més anticlimàtic que hom pot imaginar. Els “sbirri” porten a Angelotti a qui mataran en escena, tergiversant el llibret però a aquestes alçades de despropòsit oi que ja no importa a ningú?

Tosca per satisfer les fantasies sexuals de Scarpia s’ha de posar un vestit de nit i una perruca rossa, ja que arriba a l’encontre del segon acte amb texans, jersei de llaneta i sabates esportives tal i com anava al primer acte. La cantata aquella que s’escolta a través de la finestra oberta (aquí inexistent) segurament era en un dels escenaris del Sonar i per tant anava informal.

El sadisme habitual en moltes de les produccions de Bieito és normal que aparegui en un segon acte de Tosca, aquí del tot justificat, però part de la força dramàtica que té la tortura de Cavaradossi rau precisament en que no la veus i només l’intueixes. Bieito necessita mostrar-ho, sense adonar-se’n que el rebuig que pretén provocar s’endu per endavant part de la maquinària perfecta d’un segon acte originalment immillorable, convertint-lo en un gran guinyol mancat de tragèdia, fred i amb un distanciament letal.

En el tercer acte que segueix sense interrupció i mentre escoltem clarament les ovelles o les cabres pasturant sota el Castel Sant’Angelo acompanyant la cançó suposadament d’una pastoret (recursos orquestrals de Puccini que fan més nosa que servei al moderns directors d’escena), Bieito fa sortir una altra vegada a la rossa oficial, que en veure a Scarpia obert de cames i mort amb la camissa oberta i la perruca de Tosca tapant-li la bregueta suposadament oberta, li col·loca a sobre les sabates de Tosca, a la manera dels tradicionals canelobres i el barret com si fos el crucifix, estirant-lo com un sac per les cames, se l’endú mentre un nen rosset de l’escolania del col·legi de pagament canta allò de

Io de’ sospiri. Ve ne rimanno tanti Pe’ quante foje Ne smoveno li venti.

Tu me disprezzi. Io me ci accoro, Lampene d’oro Me fai morir!

Aquesta criatureta sembla que és fill de Scarpia i potser de la rossa muda. Una vegada ha acabat i mentre l’orquestra inicia l’interludi amb el tema del adéu a la vida, la criatureta es treu un caramel gegant en forma de cor i amb palet, el comença a llepar de manera molt poc decorosa per a un nen normal, vaja que no llepa només un caramel, oi que m’enteneu?. 

Quan entre Cavaradossi en escena sembla talment la mòmia, amb els braços enganxats al cos i embolicat amb les cintes,que el tenien lligat durant la tortura, en calçotets i ensangonat de cap a peus, fet un “ecce homo” vaja. El carceller que deu tenir fantasies fortes, abans de permetre-li “l’ultima grazia” deixant-lo escriure a la “persona amata”, s’apropa i li besa la ferida del cap de manera poc misericordiosa. Se m’escapen les intencions de Bieito en aquesta escena, la veritat.

Cantar “E lucevan le stelle… ed olezzava la terra…” amb aquella pinta és més que impossible, imperdonable, no pot inspirar a ningú, ni a qui ho canta, ni ha qui ho veu i escolta. Després entra Tosca i ni el veu o no el vol veure, ambdós es posen a cantar separats dos metres l’un de l’altra un duo que hauria de ser passional, però en prou feines es miren, es reconeixen o es parlen, cadascú va a la seva bola. Com dir-li a algú que faci teatre durant l’execució si no n’hi haurà?

Mentre se suposa que entre l’escamot d’afusellament, aquell que l’ha besat sospitosament a la ferida i un dels policies, li pinten la cara de pallasso i li posen una perruca vermella (GIURO!) i l’asseuen al davant de l’escenari amb les cametes penjant al fossat de l’orquestra mentre li col·loquen el cartró que en començar l’obra porta Angelotti i que diu “Your silence will not protect you” en una el·lipsi poc treballada diria jo i aleshores entra tota aquella gentada que ja havíem vist en el primer acte, ara portant retrats de Scarpia, en un recurs que havíem vist en el seu memorable Boris a Munich, allà de manera molt efectiva, mentre Tosca seu al costat de Cavardossi sense precipitar-se al buit. No els cal morir.

No m’interessa gens el que em vol dir Bieito, al menys de la manera que m’ho vol dir, perquè el que explica i com m’ho explica ja m’ho ha dit altres vegades i de manera més efectiva i convincent. Vol explicar una història i tot li grinyola. Ell que és un home de teatre i que sap fer treballar tan bé als actors, no ha estat capaç d’explicar-me Tosca de manera contemporània. Tosca és una òpera verista on tot queda perfectament explicat, tant en el llibret com en la partitura, i malgrat això hem vist mil i una variacions sobre el mateix tema, La variació que ara ens proposa Bieito no m’ha semblat actual, ni contemporània, ni tan sols moderna. M’ha semblat absurda, una vulgaritat mal resolta, provocativa i lluny de ser  genial acaba sent penosa o el que és pitjor, risible.

Mai havia fet un apunt amb tant espai dedicat a la producció, però és que sense la producció aquesta Tosca no és res excepcional.

La millor veu és la soprano Svetlana Aksenova, tot i que la zona més aguda acostuma a ser un crit. La veu és lírica, bonica i amb possibilitats.

Daniel Johansson és un tenor guapot, encara aprent i amb una veu sonora i italianitzant, ho té quasi tot per triomfar, però desafina.

A Claudio Sgura ja el coneixem d’altres interpretacions. El seu Scarpia com el seu Jack Rance, són dignes, no cridats i potser mancats de veritable personalitat i caràcter, però la interpretació que li marca Bieito és la més convincent del tercet protagonista.

Jens-Erik Aasbø és un sonor Angelotti i Pietro Simone un bon sagrestano. El pastoret esdevingut fill de Scarpia, és magnífic.

L’orquestra i el cor sonen esplèndids però el tempo emprat per Karl-Heinz Steffens és en moltes escenes, lentíssim.

Giacomo Puccini TOSCA òpera en 3 actes, llibret de Giacosa i Illica

Tosca – Svetlana Aksenova Cavaradossi – Daniel Johansson Scarpia – Claudio Sgura Angelotti – Jens-Erik Aasbø “Il Sagrestano” – Pietro Simone Spoletta – Thorbjørn Gulbrandsøy Sciarrone – Ludvig Lindström Scarpia’s son Eduardo – Aksel Johannes Skramstad Rykkvin

Norwegian National Opera Orchestra Norwegian National Opera Chorus Director musical – Karl-Heinz Steffens Director d’escena – Calixto Bieito Escenografia – Susanne Gschwender Disseny de llums – Michael Bauer Disseny de vestuari – Anja Rabes Dramatúrgia – Bettina Auer

Norwegian National Opera, 20 de juny de 2017

Avui us he portat aquí aquesta Tosca vocalment poc interessant i a nivell escènic lamentablement provocadora com un exponent del que avui significa per a molts l’òpera. Que al final els norueccs en facin un notable èxit em fa entristir

BIEITO ES CARREGA SENSE CONTEMPLACIONS LA TOSCA DE PUCCINI A OSLO Què Bieito no faria una Tosca convencional no cal ser una lluminària per saber-ho, però que el director burgalès fos incapaç de commoure i emocionar en una òpera tota ella colpidora, és sota el meu punt de vista, un dels més grans fracassos de la seva immensa carrera operística,.

[opera-ghosts]

She was born Johanne Marie Emilie Prieme on August 23, 1874 in Frederiksberg near Copenhagen. At the age of seven she was enrolled at the school of the Royal Danish Ballet at the Royal Theatre that served then, as now, as home for both acting, ballet and opera. The children at the ballet were often used as extras and even as singers when a children’s chorus was needed, and Brun was thus able to make her debut as a singer in Carmen at the age of 10.Johanne Brun quickly made sufficient progress to be granted a debut at the Royal Opera. Her phenomenal ease at the very top of her voice made the choice of The Queen of the Night obvious. Despite a few prior concert appearances, it was the performance of Die Zauberflöte on May 8, 1896 she considered her real debut. Despite a few remarks on Bruns nerves not being quite under control during the first aria, all the critics agreed that here was a singer to expect more from in the future. At the end of the season 1898-99 her contract was renewed, as it was to become each year from now on. The following seasons she sang Leonora in Il trovatore, Desdemona in Otello, Elsa in Lohengrin, Ingeborg in Heise’s Drot og Marsk, and she also sang in the premières of two Danish operas; Lamia by August Enna and Helgensværdet by Axel Grandjean.The Norwegian composer and conductor Johan Svendsen had been house conductor of the Royal Danish Opera since 1883. He had played as a violinist in the Bayreuth orchestra and knew Wagner personally. Since the Danish première of Die Walküre in 1891 Svendsen had had a vision of a Danish performance of the complete Ring cycle, and on January 8, 1902 Brun sang her first Wagnerian part, Sieglinde. Her twin and lover Siegmund was Peter Cornelius, who had changed his voice from baritone to heldentenor, and who later was to sing in Bayreuth and at Covent Garden. Besides singing at the Royal Opera, she was now in general demand in the Copenhagen musical life – especially in the Wagnerian fach. She regularly sang at concerts in the Concert Palais and in the Tivoli Gardens, often joined by her husband, now trying his luck as a baritone – but with little success. His appearances caused a mixture of amusement and pity with the critics, but Johanne Brun was invariably hailed as the supreme Danish interpreter of Wagner’s heroines. And in the years to come she was to create the most demanding of them on the Danish national stage. At the Royal Opera the next seasons saw Johanne Brun in the six performances of the Ring between 1909 and 1912 – the only complete cycles to be given at the theatre to this day – as well as appearances as Venus in Tannhaüser. But in the following seasons Brun found herself in less demand than earlier, and sometimes there were up to eight months between her singing at the Royal Opera. It seems that there were several reasons for this. Her increasing weight problem further inhibited what was apparently never a great dramatic talent on stage, and her voice was reported to be loosing its former flexibility – not surprisingly for a Brünnhilde and Isolde. This meant that she was more or less confined to the Wagnerian repertoire and a couple of dramatic Verdi roles. But soon she was not even considered more than a second choice for even these parts. During the following seasons Brun appeared more and more irregularly at the Royal Opera. Johanne Brun, or Johanna as she was known in Germany, quickly became a favourite with the Nuremberg audience. In November 1917 Brun sang in the first Nuremberg-performance of Eugen d’Albert’s opera Die toten Augen, premièred only a year earlier.

[furryalligator]

The holidays were very important on Ellis Island, perhaps the most celebrated was Christmas. It was observed each year at Ellis Island through religious services, festivities, and gift giving. The Roman Catholic Church and the various Eastern Orthodox and Protestant Churches and denominations offered separate religious services in accordance with their respective traditions. . Religious services were commonly presided over by foreign-born clergymen who could speak fluently in Italian, Polish, German, French, Greek, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese: many services were offered in English for British and Irish immigrants. . For Jewish detainees, Passover, Yom Kippur, Sukkoth, and other holy days were observed. The kosher kitchen staff, under the supervision of a rabbi, prepared food that was appropriate for these occasions. . Missionary societies sent toys and fruit for the children. The General Committee of Immigrant Aid purchased small, useful articles for the adults, so that everyone could have a Christmas gift. Gifts were given to the immigrants in bright cotton print drawstring bags and contained useful gifts of towels and soap, writing tablets and pencils, stockings for the women and socks and shaving kits for the men. Other items were sewing kits, handkerchiefs and dishes. Special gifts for the children dolls, games and other toys. . Christmas tree with lights and a silver star brightened the hall. Benches in a long row with an isle in the middle accommodated the detained. Chairs stood at the side of the hall for the General Committee of Immigrant Aid and their friends. A musical program occupied the major part of the afternoon and the talent was donated. . Social service appeared in national costumes and sang English, Italian, German, Polish, Spanish and Czechoslovak carols. In later years, professional talent joined in the festivities when a broadcasting company presented a musical program that was heard coast to coast. The radio company provided a full orchestra and a Metropolitan Opera soprano to sing a Puccini aria. After the performance the immigrants were given their bag of gifts and fruit. #ellisisland #christmas

A post shared by Save Ellis Island (@saveellisisland) on Dec 6, 2017 at 10:12am PST

[todayclassical]

September 15 in Music History

1572 Birth of composer Erasmus Widmann.

1586 Birth of composer Cristobal de Isla Diego.

1685 Birth of composer Gottfried Kirkhoff.

1690 Birth of composer Ignazio Prota.

1744 Birth of composer Georg Ritschel.

1750 Gluck marries Maria Anna Bergin of aristocratic Viennese family.

1764 Birth of composer Paolo Francesco Parenti.

1795 FP of Dittersdorf: "Der Schach von Schiras" singspiel, Oles.

1808 Birth of composer Louis Clapisson.

1815 Birth of Norwegian conductor Halfdan Kjerulf in Oslo.

1816 Birth of composer Edward Wolff.

1837 Birth of composer Leo van Gheluwe.

1841 Death of Italian composer Alessandro Rolla in Pavia. 

1842 Death of French violinist Pierre Marie Baillot in Paris. 

1851 Birth of composer Josif Marinkovic.

1855 Birth of German-American organist and composer Adam Geibel. 

1858 Birth of Hungarian composer Jeno Hubay in Budapest.

1863 Birth of American composer of church music, Horatio William Parker.

1867 Birth of Swedish soprano Alma Hulting.

1875 Death of French pianist Louise Dumont Farrenc in Paris. 

1876 Birth in Berlin of American-naturalized conductor Bruno Walter in Berlin. 

1878 Birth of Polish baritone Waclaw Brzezinski.

1879 Birth of Italian baritone Taurino Parvis, in Turin. 

1884 Birth of Argentinian composer Floro Manuel Ugarte in Buenos Aires.

1890 Birth of Swiss composer Frank Martin in Geneva.

1892 Arrival of Czech composer Antonin Dvorák to take Director's position at the National Conservatory in NYC.

1895 Birth of Italian-American pianist and composer Aurelio Giorni in Perugia. 

1897 Borth of German bass-baritone Pail Schöeffler, in Dresden.

1903 Birth of Italian soprano-mezzo soprano Pia Tassinari, in Madigliana.

1909 Birth of Uruguayan composer Carlos Estrada in Montevideo.

1912 Birth of composer Gisela Hernandez Gonzalo.

1913 Birth of Canadian composer Henry Dreyfus Brant in Montreal. 

1913 Birth of German glass harmonica player Bruno Hoffmann in Stuttgart. 

1917 Birth of Austrian soprano Hilde Gueden in Vienna

1917 Birth of English composer Richard Arnell.

1921 Birth of composer Jan Frank Fischer.

1923 Birth of Austrian organist, conductor and composer Anton Heiller. 

1923 Birth of American composer David Kraehenbuehl.

1927 Birth of German soprano Erika Koth.

1933 Birth of Spanish conductor Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos.

1945 Birth of American soprano Jessye Norman in Augusta, GA. 

1945 Death of Austrian composer Anton von Webern.

1946 FP of Henry Cowell's Hymn and Fuguing Tune No. 5 for string orchestra. Spa Music Festival Orchestra, F. Charles Adler conducting at the Saratoga Springs, NY, Convention Hall.

1955 Birth of American composer John Sharpley.

1956 Birth of composer and woodwind performer Ned Rothenger.

1957 Birth of American composer Miguel del Aguila in Uraguay.

2000 FP of Sallinen's opera King Lear. Finnish National Opera in Helsinki.

2003 Death of British clarinetist Jack Brymer at age 88.

[nationaltaichungtheater]

Grand Tours With Theater Titans

From September to December, the National Taichung Theater (NTT) will be occupied by theater titans with a diversity of their outstanding works.  

 The Cloud Gate Dance Theater of Taiwan present's LIN Hwai-min's newest work  Formosa. “Ilha formosa” (beautiful island) is what Portuguese sailors in the 16th century exclaimed as they passed Taiwan, and Formosa was once the island's name. Chinese characters are projected onto a white background, contrasting with colorful costumes that represent the beauty and diversity of Taiwan. The dancers, through movement and rhythm, express celebration, courtship, hostility, war, earthquake, rebuilding and rebirth. They are accompanied by traditional Puyuma songs performed by Sanpuy Katatepan Mavaliyw.

 This fall’s presentation of Die Walküre, follows on the extremely well-received performance of another Richard Wagner classic, Das Rheingold, during NTT's grand opening last year. Created by the Spanish cutting edge theater company La Fura dels Baus and directed by Carlus Padrissa, this story of gods, love, family, sacrifice and the quest for a magical ring is presented with electrifying stage effects and the musical talents of conductor Shao-Chia Lü and the National Symphony Orchestra.

 Bulareyaung Pagarlava, a choreographer from the indigenous Paiwan tribe, who trained with Cloud Gate Dance Theater of Taiwan and made a name for himself in New York, is NTT’s first Artist-in-Residence. In recent years, he has been working to train indigenous youth for the international stage.  

 Dmitry Krymov is considered the most important Russian director of this generation for his highly original productions. This year, he is presenting his very imaginative adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (As You Like It), which includes actors, puppets, an opera singer, ballerinas and a trained dog.

 French choreographer Christian Rizzo shares with audiences a personal memory of his first nightclub experience in Le Syndrome Ian.  Dancers recapture the mood and collective intoxication of that club on that night in 1979 London.

 Following on the cross-disciplinary La Mode during NTT's grand opening last year, Tomoko Mukaiyama is returning with four Steinway & Sons pianos. She will be performing Multus #3: Canto Ostinato for 4 pianos with Gerard Bouwhuis, WANG Wen-chuan and CHIANG Tien-lin.

 The Photographer is a multi-media program originally created by composer Philip Glass, based on the life and work of Eadweard Muybridge. In 2014, Ensemble KNM Berlin, in collaboration with famed Taiwanese choreographer SUN Shang-chi, reworked this production, which includes drama, music, dance and images from Muybridge’s motion studies.  

 LIAO Chiung-chih’s biographical performance, LIAO Chiung-chih, the Legendary Diva of Taiwanese Opera, and NCO, returns to NTT. She is known as the foremost “tragic female lead” in Taiwanese opera. Much of her emotion on stage is real, stemming from many hardships, as told in this production by the National Chinese Orchestra Taiwan (NCO).

 Young playwright CHIEN Li-ying and director Tora Hsu took on the classic drama Ghosts by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, rewriting it from the Taiwanese perspective of family to create We are Ghosts.

 These theater artists will grace the performance venues of NTT this fall. Allow their works to leave an impression on your heart and mind.

 Victoria W.Y. Wang

Executive and Artistic Director

National Taichung Theater

May 31, 2017

[brooksiescollection]

San Francisco Silent Film Festival 2017 - Day 4

The Doll (Die Puppe) (1919)

Master director Ernst Lubitsch sets out his intentions early as we see him construct a toylike world in which his fantastical characters soon come to life. Wealthy milquetoast Lancelot (Herman Thimig, resembling a more effete Willy Wonka), startled by the prospect of marriage, seeks refuge at a monastery full of some very fat and self-satisfied monks, who concoct a crazy solution to his problem. Why not buy a realistic talking doll and marry her instead? The one he selects happens to be a replica of the dollmaker’s daughter Ossi. 

When the doll is broken, the real Ossi (the hilarious and exuberant Ossi Oswalda) steps in to replace her, and madcap hilarity - along with a generous dose of unapologetic sexual innuendo - ensues. As you might expect from Lubitsch, it’s a well-handled, inspired piece of entirely entertaining silliness, and one of the funniest films of the festival. 

Silence (1926)

The productions of Cecil B. DeMille’s short-lived PDC Productions of the late 1920s can be quite uneven - on one hand, there’s the excellent Chicago (1927) and Eve’s Leaves (1926); on the other, there’s forgettable fare like Hold ‘Em Yale (1928) and Midnight Madness (1928). Happily, Silence, recently rediscovered at the Cinematheque Française, is one of the better productions, a well made and glossy melodrama from The Phantom of the Opera helmer Rupert Julian. 

Though the storyline would win no awards, it’s lifted by the always likeable H.B. Warner as a man whose girlfriend (Vera Reynolds) adopts a more suitable candidate as the ‘father’ of her illegitimate daughter. When the ruse is uncovered by a slimy conman (Raymond Hatton), the now-grown daughter (also played by Reynolds) takes matters into her own hands, with potentially tragic consequences. The Mont Alto Picture Orchestra provided a particularly good and at times unusually percussive accompaniment that greatly contributed to the suspense of the early scenes. Given how many of these DeMille productions have been rediscovered in only the past decade, there may be plenty more treats lying in wait for us.

Image from Wikipedia

Terje Vigen (A Man There Was) (1917)

This Swedish film is a lyrical tone-poem of a feature, with a storyline just strong enough to move you but not so complex as to distract from its vivid imagery of the Scandinavian coastline. Based on a well-known poem by Henrik Ibsen, it tells of the tragic impact of the British blockade of Norway during the Napoleonic Wars upon a simple Norwegian sailor (Victor Sjöström, who also directs) and his impoverished family.

If you’ve seen Sjöström’s Hollywood classics such as He Who Gets Slapped (1924) and The Wind (1928), you won’t be surprised by his deft handling of such delicate material, but you will also find him a fine and subtle actor, conveying grief more eloquently with a single agonised glance than any amount of histrionics. To my mind, this was a far more successful experiment in capturing the rhythms of a piece of Scandinavian literature than Pan (1922), shown at the festival a few years ago. The Matti Bye Ensemble provided a suitably atmospheric accompaniment.

The Lost World (1925)

Most silent film fans would be familiar with this property, but who can say they’ve actually seen the film? Almost nobody living, thanks to the purchase and destruction of all available prints in the late 1920s. David Shepard and Serge Bromberg spent years examining surviving footage of variable quality and completeness to assemble this, the closest thing we may ever see to the original ten-reel version.

In this restoration, The Lost World finally reveals itself as a fully realised precursor to the action blockbusters of the current day. Jurassic Park (1992) is the obvious comparison, but there are also moments that evoke everything from the Indiana Jones series to the disaster pictures of the 1970s, to the current cycle of effects-driven superhero films.

Wallace Beery is perfectly cast as the eccentric Professor Challenger, who leads a ragtag expedition to prove the existence of dinosaurs on an isolated South American outcrop. The world of the movie, and especially the love affair between Bessie Love and Lloyd Hughes’ journalist character, are more satisfyingly fleshed out than in previous truncated versions. It’s absurd, it’s sometimes cheesy - but it’s a whole lot of fun.  The Alloy Orchestra’s stark, unorthodox score was one of their best and a great match for the picture, with the dinosaur’s cries chillingly rendered.

Image from Internet Movie Database

Two Days (Dva Dni) (1927)

Any film that begins with the callous death of a puppy and only becomes more depressing thereafter is not going to be a laugh riot, but for those with sufficient intestinal fortitude, this bleak Ukranian film has much to recommend it.

After an aristocratic family flees the Bolsheviks, their faithful servant (Ivan Zamychkovskyi) remains to guard their valuables. He soon finds himself torn between his worship of his son (Sergey Minin) despite his allegiance to the boorish Bolsheviks who take command of the house, and that of the son of his employer (Valeriy Hakkebush) who, when the tables turn, reveals himself no less thuggish than the invading enemy.

There’s shades of Emil Jannings’ downtrodden doorman from The Last Laugh (1924) in Zamychkovskyi’s performance, and while the film’s brutal, uncompromising vision makes it hard to love, its central message - that extremist ideology of any stripe is capable of distorting minds and destroying families - is undoubtedly a timely one.

Image from Wikipedia

The Three Musketeers (1921)

Like The Mark of Zorro (1920) before it, Fred Niblo’s epic starring vehicle for Douglas Fairbanks is the origin story of a hero. The supreme egotist in real life, Doug’s artistic ego was sure enough to know that you don’t need to be on screen every moment to still be the star of the show. It is only after a good deal of set-up about palace intrigues involving France’s King Louis XIII (Adolphe Menjou), his Queen (Mary MacLaren) and the treacherous Cardinal Richelieu (Nigel de Brulier) that Fairbanks’ character of D’Artagnan even makes his first appearance, beginning the story as a rather crude country youth. It takes an allegiance with the legendary Three Musketeers (Leon Barry, George Siegemann and Eugene Pallette) and his involvement in a plot to clear the Queen’s name to earn his status as a national legend.

Doug is as effortlessly charismatic, athletic and humorous as always, and the multiple moving parts of a storyline that easily might have sprawled into confusion are deftly handled, painted with broad enough strokes to be easily understood, but containing enough detail to gain an immersive sense of the period, which is lavishly rendered. The image quality for this new restoration is top notch, derived from Fairbanks’ own print that was deposited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in the 1930s.

Don’t let its lengthy two-hour running time act as a deterrent - it all passes in the blink of an eye, without a moment’s drag. What a rip-roaring way to end the festival!

As always, I had the opportunity to catch up with a number of friends and fellow film bloggers both new and old, including Pamela Hutchinson, whose excellent Silent London website is well worth your time; Thomas Gladysz, director and founder of the Louise Brooks Society, Mary Mallory of The Daily Mirror, the indefatigable Donna of Strictly Vintage Hollywood, Beth Anne Gallagher of Spellbound by Film, and FilmRadar’s Karie Bible - most of whom have penned their own recaps of the festival that I urge you to read. 

The silent film community is full of passionate and wonderful people who are dedicated to keeping this art form alive, and I’m proud to be a part of it. Thank you to all who contributed to another wonderful weekend of silents!

[ivisitlondon]

iVisit.... Sound Unbound: The Barbican Classical Weekender

Full line-up announced for Sound Unbound: The Barbican Classical Weekender, 29-30 April 2017

The full-line up has just been announced for Sound Unbound, the Barbican Classical Weekender, which returns on 29-30 April 2017, following a hugely successful first outing in 2015. The festival gives audiences the chance to explore new sounds and rediscover familiar ones, from medieval to modern, in a relaxed festival environment, performed by artists for whom the boundaries between classical music and contemporary, experimental and pop music have been blurred – or simply don’t exist.

Weekend highlights: 

   ·         Pianist, producer and composer Chilly Gonzales presents his specially-commissioned ‘Young-ish Person’s Guide to the Orchestra’ with Britten Sinfonia

·         Classical meets jazz when celebrated British trumpet player Alison Balsom performs the Gil Evans/Miles Davis reimagining of Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez from Sketches of Spain, in a concert with American pianist Timo Andres playing Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue

·         Hum: a new commission from genre-defying British composer, producer and performer Anna Meredith will be presented in the Curve

·         German composer and producer Sven Helbig presents the UK premiere of his new work for choir, visuals and live electronics I Eat the Sun and Drink the Rain

·         London-based composer, producer, and founder of the NONCLASSICAL record label Gabriel Prokofiev will host his legendary club nights on both evenings

·         The Barbican Conservatory will be the location for Silent Opera’s Carmen: Remastered, and Michael Gordon’s minimalist masterpiece Timber

·         Renowned Dutch film director Lucas van Woerkum’s stunning film created for Stravinsky’s Firebird will be screened for the first time in the UK alongside a performance of the score by the BBC Symphony Orchestra

·         The London Symphony Orchestra will perform film music by John Williams with pre-recorded introductions from the composer himself between each piece

·         Norwegian violinist Mari Samuelsen will perform material from her forthcoming album Nordic Noir, with new works from the composers of soundtracks for The Bridge and The Killing

·         Throughout the Barbican’s spaces there will be intimate recitals from some of today’s best-loved classical performers, including American soprano Angel Blue, renowned British countertenor Iestyn Davies, Venezuelan virtuoso pianist Gabriela Montero, and the Kanneh-Mason Trio, led by BBC Young Musician 2016 Sheku Kanneh-Mason     

The Barbican joins forces with its family of orchestras in this ambitious weekend-long project with over 60 short concerts, encompassing nearly 1000 years of music. Alongside new commissions, visitors can also hear some well-known classics, get close to some of the most popular artists of our time and experience a myriad of different musical styles across the ages.

Bringing classical music out of the concert hall

During the weekend, the Barbican opens up its many venues, allowing this unparalleled variety of music and artists to be heard in an unusual range of spaces, and providing the opportunity for informal and close-up musical interactions. The intimate environs of the Pit (the Barbican’s studio theatre) will be home to a number of recitals from soloists and ensembles programmed in association with Boiler Room, including French harpsichordist Jean Rondeau and Sound Unbound favourite, the Calder Quartet. The Barbican Conservatory opens its doors to host Silent Opera’s Carmen: Remastered, allowing the ‘audience’ to wander through one of London’s lushest indoor spaces, immersing themselves, with the help of a pair of headphones, in the passionate love story of Bizet’s most famous opera. Wind-up gramophones will be stationed on the Barbican’s Lakeside Terrace, filling the air with a sound-collage of classical music through the ages, in Revolution 360 – an installation devised by musicians and staff of the Guildhall School's Electronic Music Department. The huge, resonant space of the Curve gallery will be utilized to great effect in Tuning Up, a sound installation for forty helium balloons with harmonicas, devised by Stephen Cornford and Bill Leslie. The BBC Singers will present Choral in the Curve, a short concert of music from the Renaissance to the modern day. Pop-up performances will take place throughout the Barbican’s foyer spaces, with mini-concerts from London’s first pop-up orchestra the Street Orchestra of London, the Academy of Ancient Music’s Wandering Minstrels and even a ‘horn flashmob’, led by Sarah Willis, horn player with the Berlin Philharmonic. In the Fountain Room professional puppeteers the Armchair Puppets will respond to a performance of Britten’s Cello Suites by cellist Anaïs Laugénie, after which the audience will be invited to create their own shadow puppetry, enacting the shapes and thoughts that come to mind while listening to the Suites.

Classical music and film

In 2017, the Barbican celebrates the medium of film with a “Film in Focus” series across the various artforms. As part of this, Sound Unbound presents the London Symphony Orchestra performing film music by John Williams; pre-recorded introductions from the composer himself will be played between each piece. The LSO has a long history of playing film music and famously recorded Williams’ scores for Star Wars and its sequels, as well as Superman, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and several Harry Potter films. In two Symphonic Cinema sessions, the BBC Symphony Orchestra performs Stravinsky’s ballet score Firebird alongside a stunning film which director Lucas van Woerkum has created specifically to the music and story, and which he will synchronise in live-time to the orchestra’s performance (UK premiere). His novel approach has been described as treating “film as an extra voice in the orchestra” (NRC Handelsblad). Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero, who has made a name for herself with her mesmerizingly complex improvisations, will improvise the soundtrack to a silent film, while in The Pit the Calder Quartet will perform Bernard Hermann’s suite from Hitchcock’s Psycho, among classic works for string quartet.  Meanwhile, the Norwegian violinist Mari Samuelsen will perform material from her forthcoming album Nordic Noir (Decca Records) with the 12 Ensemble, including new works from the composers of soundtracks for The Bridge and The Killing alongside music by Arvo Pärt.

Reimagining the past

Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, a work that shocked and changed the musical world for ever, can be heard in an arrangement for two pianos, performed by two of the most exciting and innovative young American pianists, Timo Andres and David Kaplan. Bach’s iconic Goldberg Variations appears in an intimate reinvention for string trio, to be performed by players from the Scottish Ensemble. Musicians from the Guildhall School’s Electronic Department will remix Haydn’s Toy Symphony, together with other well-known classical repertoire, in a specially commissioned arrangement for sound-producing electronic toys and devices. In addition, electronic musician Tasos Stamou, who builds his own instruments by ‘hacking’ into second hand toys, old circuit boards and other flea market objects, will demonstrate the new sounds of his ‘instruments’ and lead the audience through an object hacking, allowing them to ‘play’ the objects in the process.  As well as presenting iconic classical works in unusual versions, Sound Unbound has invited young musicians renowned for their contemporary treatment of classical instruments. Versatile viol player and professor of viola da gamba at the Guildhall School Liam Byrne is equally at home performing with the Academy of Ancient Music and with Damon Albarn. French harpsichord prodigy Jean Rondeau will be joined by his flamboyant quartet Ensemble Nevermind in imaginative interpretations of Baroque favourites, while sought-after harpist Remy van Kesteren presents an adventurous programme of harp music intended to banish any preconceptions of the instrument.

Classical music without boundaries

The musicians performing at Sound Unbound, be they established artists or rising stars, are all recognized for their commitment to the continuing renewal of the classical genre. One of the finest examples of this broad musicianship is Canadian pianist and composer Chilly Gonzales, who will present the premiere of his guide to the orchestra in a specially commissioned work with Britten Sinfonia, conducted by Jules Buckley, on the Saturday evening. On Sunday evening Alison Balsom will demonstrate the affinity between classical and jazz styles, alongside American pianist Timo Andres and Britten Sinfonia, in performances of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and excerpts from Miles Davis’ Sketches of Spain. Throughout the weekend the Academy of Ancient Music will prove that old music can sound as fresh as the day it was written, performing a series of concerts featuring famous works including Handel’s Water Music and Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. The weekend also features American soprano Angel Blue, who has performed in the English National Opera’s La Bohème as well as alongside Donna Summer and Chaka Khan, acclaimed British countertenor Iestyn Davies in an intimate concert with lute player Thomas Dunford, and the Kanneh-Mason Trio, led by BBC Young Musician Sheku Kanneh-Mason.

Contemporary classical music

The weekend will champion some of today’s finest composers, demonstrating classical music’s evolving dialogue with contemporary styles and with current issues. At LSO St Luke’s, innovative percussionist Joby Burgess performs a session of music by composers including Tansy Davies, Rebecca Dale and Linda Buckley, and Nicole Lizée’s The Filthy Fifteen, a confrontational take on censorship in Reagan’s America. Milton Court will host the BBC Singers performing the UK premiere of German composer and producer Sven Helbig’s I Eat the Sun and Drink the Rain, a new work for choir, visuals and live electronics which explores searching questions about the role of nature and human relationships in a world of artificial intelligence and digital alienation. Experimental British composer Anna Meredith, who moves comfortably between the different worlds of contemporary classical and experimental rock, will present a site-specific commission for the Curve. She will be working with young performers from the Junior Guildhall to create a walk-though installation which weaves the audience through an evolving sound world in the darkened contours of the gallery. Michael Gordon’s minimalist cult classic Timber, a meditation on timbre and rhythm for planks of wood, will be performed in the Conservatory, bringing the physicality, endurance and technique of percussion performance to a new level. On both evenings the Barbican’s Clubstage will be taken over by renowned DJ and composer Gabriel Prokofiev and his celebrated Nonclassical club nights, which showcase the best in contemporary classical, experimental and electronic music.

WHEN

29-30 April 2017

Day passes £25 / Weekend passes £40 plus booking fee*

Early bird day and weekend passes £20/£35 plus booking fee*, limited availability

Young Barbican (14-25) Day passes £10 no booking fee

WHERE

Barbican Centre (Hall, The Pit, Conservatory, The Curve), Milton Court Concert Hall, LSO St Luke’s, St Giles Cripplegate,

London

WHO

The Barbican Classical Weekender is a joint project between the Barbican, London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, the Academy of Ancient Music and Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

[onlinevideoproduction]

Concert - David Gerrard, Naomi Burrell and Gavin Kibble

The Institut français d'Ecosse proudly announces the second edition of its Harpsichord en fête festival in partnership with St. Cecilia's Hall Concert Room and Music Museum, home of the University of Edinburgh's internationally renowned collection of musical instruments. If you are not yet a member of the Institut français d'Ecosse, we invite you to join. Already a member? Book your place early!

About: British-Swiss violinist Naomi Burrell enjoys a diverse career as a musician with a specialism in historical performance. She plays with many of the UK's leading early music ensembles, such as the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Academy of Ancient Music, I Fagiolini, Dunedin Consort, La Nuova Musica, Classical Opera and Solomon's Knot, and is the concert master for English Touring Opera. Naomi specialises in theatrical projects, such as at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, with ‘Badinage', a folk ensemble who perform original French street songs from the 18th Century, and with the award winning Norwegian ensemble ‘Barokksolistene'. Naomi was elected an associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM).

Cellist and viola da gamba player Gavin Kibble studied first at the University of Oxford with Laurence Dreyfus and then at the Royal Academy of Music with Jonathan Manson and Joseph Crouch. He now plays with many of the UK's leading orchestras and ensembles, including the English Concert, the Academy of Ancient Music, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Gabrieli Consort, the Dunedin Consort, the Sixteen, Classical Opera, La Serenissima and the Early Opera Company. He is principal cellist of English Touring Opera and has been guest continuo cellist at the Opera del Liceu in Barcelona.

David Gerrard performs on the harpsichord, clavichord, fortepiano and organ. Working extensively with Oxford's Bate Collection and the Russell and Mirrey Collections in Edinburgh, he has given recitals on many significant historical keyboard instruments. In demand as a continuo player, David has performed and recorded with ensembles including Dunedin Consort, London Mozart Players, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Royal Northern Sinfonia, along with various appearances on BBC Radio 3 and 4 and BBC Radio Scotland. David graduated with double first-class honours in Music from the University of Oxford, followed by a Master's degree in Early Keyboard Performance from the University of Edinburgh where, at present, he is undertaking doctoral research (generously funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council). With past experience as a harpsichord technician and restorer, he has begun building early keyboard instruments.

Download the concert programme below:

Event details Institut français d'Ecosse Wednesday 25 March, 7 pm Salle Emilienne Moreau-Evrard (First Floor) West Parliament Square Edinburgh EH1 1RF Price: £15 & £12 (concession)

Booking Book directly online via our ticketing system or on Eventbrite or contact us at 0131 285 6030 or ifecosse.edimbourg-cslt diplomatie.gouv.fr

Our festival pass is now available and allows you to access all six concerts for £60 only. Reserve it now!

Concession price applies to Seniors (60+) Students (-26) Unemployed Disabled persons Young People (-18) Members of the IFE, CAMEO, and Filmhouse Children younger than 12 must be accompanied by adults. (Proof of eligibility for a concession price is to be shown upon entry) Tickets will not be refunded unless a performance is canceled or abandoned.

Festival organised in proud partnership with The University of Edinburgh and St. Cecilia's Hall Concert Room & Music Museum. Special thanks to British Harpsichord Society IFE Membership and discount rates To benefit from the discounted member rates and to have access to members-only events throughout the year, we invite you to become a member of the Institut français d'Ecosse.

Help us optimise our services to your satisfaction in 2020 by taking 2 minutes of your time to fill out our survey. Thank you for letting us know you better!

from Institut Français Écosse http://www.ifecosse.org.uk/Concert-David-Gerrard-Naomi.html via IFTTT

[mastcomm]

Carnegie Hall’s New Season: Here’s What We Want to Hear

The classical music world has been changing, and some of those shifts will be felt at Carnegie Hall.

Carnegie announced Tuesday that next season would feature the Berlin Philharmonic’s first concerts at the hall under its new chief conductor, Kirill Petrenko; the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra’s first with its music director, Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla; and the Carnegie debut of Teodor Currentzis and the orchestra he founded, MusicAeterna.

“With the orchestras, there are a huge number of firsts,” Clive Gillinson, the hall’s executive and artistic director, said in an interview.

Rhiannon Giddens, the singer, songwriter, banjo player and musical polymath, will be featured in a Perspectives series in which she will trace the connections between popular and classical songs, team up with other banjo players to explore the experience of African-American women and delve into the complicated history of minstrelsy.

Jordi Savall, the early-music specialist and viola da gamba virtuoso, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera, will also be featured in series. A festival called “Voices of Hope: Artists in Times of Oppression” will explore musical responses to injustice, and Andrew Norman will hold the Richard and Barbara Debs Composer’s Chair.

Among dozens of offerings, what to hear? This is the best of the best: the performances we at The New York Times are most looking forward to.

Los Angeles Philharmonic, Oct. 7-9

There are three opportunities to hear Gustavo Dudamel conduct the West Coast’s leading ensemble at Carnegie this fall, in the orchestra’s first hall appearance in 30 years. The season-opening gala on Oct. 7 features a brief John Adams fanfare, Grieg (Lang Lang playing the Piano Concerto) and more Grieg (selections from “Peer Gynt”); Oct. 9 brings Mahler’s Sixth Symphony. But in between is the most promising program, with two New York premieres: a curtain-raiser by the young composer Gabriella Smith and Andrew Norman’s Violin Concerto (with the always-fascinating Leila Josefowicz), with the gentle chaser of Ginastera’s “Estancia.” JOSHUA BARONE

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Oct. 23-24

Conducting sensation Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla and her orchestra, which is celebrating its centenary this year, give two concerts that perfectly showcase their tastes and flair for programming. One adeptly balances the familiar with the new and unusual, with Ravel’s “La Valse” and Debussy’s “La Mer” framing Mieczyslaw Weinberg’s Violin Concerto and Thomas Adès’s “Angel Symphony,” which they will premiere this spring. The other focuses on British music, with Tippett’s oratorio “A Child of Our Time” following Sheku Kanneh-Mason as the soloist in Elgar’s Cello Concerto. DAVID ALLEN

MusicAeterna, Nov. 4

One of the great stories in classical music over the past decade has been how the Greek-born, Russian-trained conductor Teodor Currentzis formed his own idiosyncratic orchestra in Siberia, garnering a Sony recording contract and triumphing around the world. Their American debut last year at the Shed was one of the major events of the cultural year, and now Currentzis and the orchestra will bring their blistering intensity to Carnegie, with Tchaikovsky’s “Pathétique” Symphony and the Adagio from Mahler’s Symphony No. 10. MICHAEL COOPER

American Composers Orchestra, Nov. 5

As part of Andrew Norman’s composing residency, this ensemble presents the New York premiere of “Begin,” a chamber-orchestra piece first heard in Los Angeles last year. The rest of the program is just as tantalizing, with world premieres by Ellen Reid, Jane Meenaghan and George Lewis. SETH COLTER WALLS

Jordi Savall, Nov. 5 and 9

Four days after Mr. Savall leads his period-instrument orchestra Le Concert des Nations and vocal ensemble La Capella Reial de Catalunya in Monteverdi’s glorious Vespers in Carnegie’s main auditorium, he’ll bring those groups downstairs, to the more intimate Zankel Hall, for Monteverdi’s complete “Madrigals of War and Love,” a rare chance to hear a collection of genre-blurring pieces that altered music history. ANTHONY TOMMASINI

Lise Davidsen, Nov. 12

In the wake of feverish hype in the opera world, the Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen made her Metropolitan Opera debut this fall in Tchaikovsky’s “The Queen of Spades” and, if anything, surpassed the high expectations. Her silvery voice had both thrilling power and nuanced expressivity. It will be fascinating to hear her in a recital setting; with the pianist James Baillieu, she sings works by Grieg, Mahler, Berg (“Seven Early Songs”) and Wagner (“Wesendonck Lieder”). ANTHONY TOMMASINI

Berlin Philharmonic, Nov. 18-20

When I went to Berlin last year for Kirill Petrenko’s debut concerts as the Philharmonic’s chief conductor, I was struck by the excitement he generated among its players. Now New Yorkers will be able to judge for themselves. This program, featuring the great dramatic soprano Nina Stemme singing Brünnhilde’s Immolation Scene from Wagner’s “Götterdämmerung,” gives him a chance to show off his operatic chops, which he honed during a memorable run at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. (In a rarity for Carnegie, this program is played twice, on Nov. 18 and 20; on the 19th, the Philharmonic performs Webern, Mendelssohn and Brahms.) MICHAEL COOPER

Ksenija Sidorova, Feb. 3

The Carnegie lineup is full of superb voices, violinists, pianists — the meat and potatoes of classical music. So less conventional instruments pop out, like the accordion played by this Latvian virtuoso. “Revelatory,” according to my colleague James R. Oestreich, Ms. Sidorova will perform arrangements of Bach, Mozart and Tchaikovsky alongside works tailor-made for accordion by Sofia Gubaidulina, Alfred Schnittke and others. ZACHARY WOOLFE

Louisville Orchestra, Feb. 20

Go ahead and call the Louisville Orchestra a “regional” (as opposed to “major”) ensemble. That’s a meaningless distinction for the many people excited by the adventurous programs the dynamic young conductor Teddy Abrams and his excellent players have been giving. For example, the concert they will present at Carnegie will offer Andrew Norman’s “Sacred Geometry,” Copland’s “Appalachian Spring” (with dancers from Louisville Ballet) and Jim James’s song cycle “The Order of Life,” performed with its composer, a Louisville native and the leader of the rock band My Morning Jacket. ANTHONY TOMMASINI

Boston Symphony Orchestra, April 14

For all my worries about the direction that the Boston Symphony has taken under its music director, Andris Nelsons, there have been two pluses during his tenure so far: his Shostakovich survey (steadily being released on record to considerable acclaim) and his opera. A Shostakovich opera, then, ought to come off well, especially this composer’s best, “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk.” The soprano Kristine Opolais is scheduled as Katerina, with Brandon Jovanovich as Sergey. DAVID ALLEN

Mark Padmore and Mitsuko Uchida, April 16

The tenor Mark Padmore once told me he was reminded of all the words for “rehearsal” when working with the pianist Mitsuko Uchida: “In French, ‘répétition,’ which speaks for itself; in German, ‘probe’ — proving or trying. In English, it has nothing to do with hearing. Its etymology is to till the earth in preparation for seed. Working with Mitsuko, all three of those things, those attitudes to rehearsing, are absolutely present.” Now imagine how they’ll sound in “Dichterliebe” and other Schumann works. JOSHUA BARONE

Alexandre Tharaud, April 18

This is, as always, a good season for piano recitals at Carnegie, with Vikingur Olafsson, Daniil Trifonov, Igor Levit and Jean-Yves Thibaudet all making solo appearances worthy of anticipation. But Mr. Tharaud’s program is particularly intriguing. It bridges the gap between the French Baroque — Couperin, Rameau and the more obscure composers Jean-Henri d’Anglebert and Joseph-Nicolas-Pancrace Royer — and the French early 20th century, with works by Ravel and Reynaldo Hahn that will benefit from this artist’s sensual grace. ZACHARY WOOLFE

Met Orchestra, June 10

It’s been many years since the great mezzo-soprano Waltraud Meier last sang at Carnegie, which makes her return with this superb ensemble — freed from its Lincoln Center pit after the opera season ends — a true event. Wagner’s lush “Wesendonck Lieder” is on the agenda, conducted by Semyon Bychkov, who fills out the evening leading Shostakovich’s “Leningrad” Symphony. ZACHARY WOOLFE

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[demoura]

A TOSCA DA OPERA DE OSLO EM DIRECTO PARA COLARES' : outro domingo lírico em STREAMING com a Tosca da Nordske Opera de Oslo dirigida por Calixto Bieito . Gostei *** tendo sempre em conta que na transmissão gratuita para o sofá somos mais benevolentes... O polêmico espanhol desconstruiu a Tosca para o século XXI mas com escrupuloso respeito pelo texto . As marcas estão lá - Cavarradossi é miope usa óculos ( que Scarpia esmaga ) e faz uma instalação com a madonna nua , o sacristão é um sem abrigo , Scarpia é um personagem de televisão de cabelos pintados acompanhado por uma prostituta figurante a maneira de Guth .Roma não está lá e os cenários sao reduzidos a uma caixa negra e abretirada da bagagem da tradição inclui a ausência de intervalos com ganho na intensidade dramática . Os tradicionalistas lamentarão a ausência do salto de Floria Tosca para a morte na cena final .... Vocalmente Daniel Johansson,que não conhecia , impressionou como Cavaradossi . Claudio Sgura’s Scarpia foi outro cantor do elenco a alto nível dramático e vocal . Svetlana Aksenova cumpriu mas ainda falta algo para habitar a Tosca ! . Existem algumas estridências metálicas nos registos mais altos .o seu ‘muori dannato’ didn’t não tem a ferocidade exigida mas cantou ‘vissi d’arte’ COM genuína dignidade ! . Entrevista com Calisto Bieito sobre o controverso final HHH: But they don’t die? CB: Actually, Puccini didn’t want Tosca to die. Allowing her to die is a more commercial ending, where things are resolved – she’s freed from suffering and we get to grieve. But it is possible to disappear or become nothing without dying physically – when you’re without human rights, work, freedom of expression and dignity. There are so many people who fall outside the societal system, even in a country like Norway. I’ve seen this myself when walking from Oslo Central Station to the Oslo Opera House. Elenco Svetlana Aksenova - Floria Tosca, singer Daniel Johansson - Mario Cavaradossi, artist Claudio Sgura - Scarpia, chief of police Jens-Erik Aasbø - Cesare Angelotti Pietro Simone - "Il Sagrestano" Ludvig Lindström - Sciarrone, Scarpia's agent Thorbjørn Gulbrandsøy - Spoletta, Scarpia's agent Aksel Johannes Skramstad Rykkvin - Eduardo, Scarpia’s son Choir - The Norwegian National Opera Chorus Orchestra - The Norwegian National Opera Orchestra Composer - Giacomo Puccini Libretto - Luigi Illica, Giuseppe Giacosa Music director - Karl-Heinz Steffens Director - Calixto Bieito Sets - Susanne Gschwender Lighting - Michael Bauer Costumes - Anja Rabes Dramaturge - Bettina Auer