Opera and Beyond
Michael Ching's blog, pondering music, opera, and where and how it fits in, particularly in the regions. Lots of helpful links down the righthand side.
Sunday, May 12, 2024
Charlottesville 2002. And 2024
Friday, May 3, 2024
From the Opera America website
Saturday, April 27, 2024
Premiere of NOTES ON VIARDOT
Monday, April 8, 2024
The Bond Between premiere, April 2024
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Promo for Speed Dating Tonight! at Baylor
Thursday, March 14, 2024
Coming up, NOTES ON VIARDOT
Sunday, March 3, 2024
Speed Dating Tonight! at Baylor Opera Theatre
Saturday, January 20, 2024
The vocal recital transformed
Last week in Taos, I heard what I think was my favorite recital/concert ever. Taos Opera Institute (TOI) presented mezzo Jamie Barton with pianist Kathleen Kelly at the Taos Center for the Arts. The program was wide ranging yet never incoherent. It included German, French, and Italian sections, with the duo providing friendly, inviting commentary rather than formal program notes. This gave the event a welcoming, cabaret feel, which drew in the audience in a way that I've never seen in a program that had the likes of Purcell, Schubert, and Mahler. The closing English group of Libby Larsen and Jake Heggie songs had us enraptured in a way which said "and now let's add the extra layer of instantaneous, immediate comprehension to go along with the musical and vocal beauty and perfect ensemble supplied by their earlier foreign language selections. Songs in English should always provide that... like adding a wondrous fourth dimension. I arrived at the concert something of a jaded skeptic and left with a sense that Barton and Kelly have shown us how to transform the old "art song recital," into something vibrant, vital, and fun.
Bravo to TOI for bringing this program up the mountain.
Monday, November 27, 2023
String Quartet (1987) now at IMSLP
Wednesday, November 22, 2023
Notes on Viardot piano vocal score
If you have time, here's a link to a performance at U South Dakota-Vermillion in April 2024
If you have only ten minutes, here are three short excerpts:
Act I “Characters” Sung by the Young Artists at Florida Grand Opera (PV 6-11) 2:13.
This will give you an idea of the extensive use of pastiche in the opera
Act II “Chere madame Viardot” Turgenev writes to Pauline from Russia. Audio Sung by Peter Lake (PV 87-93) 3:11 Aria has been adapted for solo voice
(ends at 3:35) Performed by Sophia Vidali and Colin Clark Bracewell at Taos Opera Institute.