Pacific Boychoir premieres Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil

By Douglas Neslund

What, you might ask? The title above cannot be true. Didn’t the Los Angeles Master Chorale perform the All-Night Vigil just recently? As did the Pacific Chorale?

So what forms a claim of “premiere” performance, you ask. Sergei Rachmaninoff wrote the work in 1915 to be sung by the Moscow Synodal choir comprised of boys and men. Therein lies the premiere aspect brought to Los Angeles for the first time ever by the 56 young men of the Pacific Boychoir of Oakland, with 29 tenors and basses provided by local professionals and alumni of the choir. The unfortunately smallish audience at the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles heard the work as envisioned by the composer in 1915 and ultimately performed six times as its popularity in Moscow grew ever greater. Tragically, the Bolshevik revolution of 1917 brought an end to public performance of religious music of any kind, but equally sad, an end to the Synodal choir itself.

The All-Night Vigil (also sometimes called Vespers) is an amalgam of traditional modal Znamenny chant amplified by sections composed by Rachmaninoff in the same a cappella style. The result is a finely woven tapestry of sound that varies endlessly in its employment of treble and men’s voices, utilizing the widest possible distribution and range throughout. Such writing makes the many entrances a challenge for choirs of any age. The music itself is simply gorgeous and in an ecclesiastical setting, serves the purpose of giving life to the varying texts of the 15 separate sections, including Eastern Orthodox versions of Ave Maria, the Annunciation, Magnificat, Nunc dimittis, and various Psalm settings.

Daniel Babcock, with a passionate, ringing, legato delivery, was the exceptionally fine soloist on this occasion, with an incipit by bass Edward Levy. A trio of alto choirboys: Sam Siegel, Zachary Salsburg-Frank and William Lundquist sang with gorgeous, Catalunian-like rich tone in No. 2, "Bless the Lord, O My Soul." 

When the music demanded, fortissimos erupted in volcanic heat, but a moment later, delicate, crystalline pianissimos reflected the shifting textual requirements. The effect is stunning, and the blend of  bright boys’ voices with the men is so different and so “right” the listener cannot deny its appropriate impact, truly a “premiere” for Los Angeles.

Maestro Kevin Fox, the Founding Artistic Director, kept his large ensemble in tight focus and the result was a series of dynamically beautiful phrasing that in a work of this level of potential disaster at every turn makes the resulting musical value ever more memorable. In preparation for this concert, Maestro Fox was aided in no small part by Assistant Director Marcia Roy and others at the choir school in Oakland. The audience was given a program containing the texts with English translation provided by Vladimir Morosan of Musica Russica.

After the final phrase, the audience sprang to its collective feet for sustained applause and cries of “sláva!” were heard. It was that kind of performance.

The Pacific Boychoir and men in rehearsal for the All-Night Vigil in Los Angeles

Residents of Northern California have an opportunity to hear this choir sing the All-Night Vigil on Friday night, May 24, at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, and on Saturday night, May 25, at The Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland. Further information may be obtained at http://www.pacificboychoir.org 

LA Opera's 'Dulce Rosa' to Open at The Broad Stage

By Rodney Punt

Operas and movies are like opposites that attract but can rarely live together. New movies, like old operas, get the big houses. New operas, like old movies, get the small houses. Got that?

The LA Opera did, and has turned the pattern to their advantage. As the company closes its regular season of usual suspect composers like Puccini, Verdi and Wagner at downtown LA's venerable Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, they are sending something new and quite intriguing to Santa Monica’s jewel box Broad Stage. It’s the world premiere of Dulce Rosa, an opera by composer Lee Holdridge and librettist Richard Sparks (who also directs this production), based on Isabel Allende's short story "An Act of Vengeance.” Opening Friday, May 17, it runs for six performances through June 9. It promises to be as cinematic as anything Hollywood has ever produced.

Dulce Rosa is set in the horrifying aftermath of a violent South American political uprising during the early 1950's. Its subject of rape could be torn from today's grim headlines, as women continue to be subjected to sexual violence in wartorn countries. Dulce Rosa deals in revenge but finds redemption in the story of a young woman who confronts a guerrilla fighter that violated her and her family. As Allende (who wrote the story nearly thirty years ago in California) explains, it's “…the tragedy of a young woman who spent years planning how to punish the man who raped her and killed her family. It doesn’t sound like a love theme, does it? Trust me, it is. The story came to me whole, like a gift; I wrote it down in a sort of trance, in one sitting.”

The story’s Latin setting and emotionally charged climate would seem tailor-made for operatic catharsis. I asked Holdridge -- one of Hollywood’s most successful and versatile composers and a frequent collaborator with LA Opera for the past two decades -- what we could expect from the score. Had he infused it with music redolent of Latin composers or with colorations specific to Latin America?

Holdridge: “My own take on the work is basically that I did not set out to write a folkloric opera. This is in a symphonic language, which makes it more universal. It is very emotional and very passionate and heart-felt. When it is meant to be jagged or tense the music certainly reflects that, but when it is lyrical, I don’t hold back. I don’t subscribe to the now passé 20th century notion that a work has to be 12-tone or minimalist or whatever. This is all about personal expression. I write what I feel is appropriate for the story, for the characters and for the moment.”

With Dulce Rose, LA Opera launches its new "Off Grand" series that will focus on innovative and eclectic repertoire. As the name implies, Off Grand productions will take place in locations other than the iconic (but to some, intimidating) Chandler Pavilion. The Broad Stage’s intimate size and neighborhood setting does seem a logical launching pad for the series. Director Dale Franzen has enjoyed a close working relationship over the years with LA Opera super-tenor cum General Director Plácido Domingo, who will conduct five of the six performances of the new work.

Much of LA Opera’s most interesting work in recent years has taken place on the margins, as it were, of its regular season repertoire. Music Director James Conlon has championed the Recovered Voices series, focusing on composers persecuted by fascism in the last century. In like manner, Domingo has promoted Latin American and Spanish works such as zarzuelas. The late Daniel Catán’s Il Postino, a favorite with audiences, must be included in this latter category, along with Dulce Rosa, both of which have story-lines that derive from current events in South America. Two impulses strike me as relevant here: Angelinos often prefer arts programs near their homes and the region’s large Latino audiences are interested in cultural influences of their heritage.


Domingo has released a statement on this work: “LA Opera's ongoing partnership with Lee and Richard dates back nearly two decades. We had great success with their multi-media concert piece Concierto Para Mendez. They are also the creators of several operas for young audiences that have been performed throughout Los Angeles County for tens of thousands of appreciative students—most experiencing live opera performances for the very first time. It is, of course, a great honor for us to collaborate on their newest opera with one of the most important literary figures of our time. Not only is Isabel Allende perhaps the world's most widely read Spanish-language author, she is also a formidable human rights advocate, dedicating her time and energy to the protection of women and children throughout the world through The Isabel Allende Foundation.”

The opera is the largest-scale collaboration to date for Holdridge and Sparks. The title role will be sung by Uruguayan soprano María Eugenia Antúnez, who makes her LA Opera debut. The cast also includes Mexican baritone Alfredo Daza as Rosa's nemesis Tadeo Cespedes; and American tenor Greg Fedderly as Rosa's father, Senator Orellano. Directed by librettist Richard Sparks, the creative team also includes scenery designer Yael Pardess; costume designer Durinda Wood; lighting designer Anne Militello; and projection designer Jenny Okun. The chorus director is Grant Gershon.

---ooo--- 

What: World premiere of Dulce Rosa, opera in two acts by composer Lee Holdridge and librettist Richard Sparks, based on the Isabel Allende short story, "An Act of Vengeance." Sung in English, augmented with English subtitles.

When:
• Friday, May 17, 2013, at 7:30pm (opening performance)
• Saturday, May 25, 2013, at 7:30pm
• Tuesday, May 28, 2013, at 7:30pm
• Monday, June 3, 2013, at 7:30pm
• Thursday, June 6, 2013, at 7:30pm
• Sunday, June 9, 2013, at 4:00pm
(All performances conducted by Plácido Domingo except June 6, which will be conducted by LA Opera Resident Conductor Grant Gershon.)

Where: The Broad Stage at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center (1310 11th Street, Santa Monica CA 90401). Free parking.

Tickets: Range in price from $20 to $150. Call The Broad Stage box office: 310-434-3200. Or visit website: TheBroadStage.com

Photos/sketches above are used by permission of LA Opera. The top and bottom are preliminary sketches for this production by designer Yael Pardess. The middle photo of Lee Holdridge is uncredited.

Rodney Punt publishes for the team at LA Opus and contributes to the Huffington Post. He can be reached at Rodney@ArtsPacifica.net

A Truly Rare Opportunity for Los Angeles Choral Aficionados

By Douglas Neslund

At 8 PM on Friday night, May 10, lovers of choral music will have a one-off chance to hear Sergei Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil (sometimes referred to as Vespers), Opus 37 performed in the original language and sung by the same choral forces for which he wrote the work in 1915.

The original language is Russian … but not everyday Russian. The language employed by the Muscovite royal chapel was a liturgical dialect, and the original choral forces were comprised of boys and men. Never before has this original version been heard in Southern California … ever.

Founder and Music Director Kevin Fox and his 56-voiced Pacific Boychoir will be augmented by 25 men’s voices drawn from the Los Angeles area, including members of the Los Angeles Master Chorale and other ensembles. The featured soloist will be Daniel Babcock, tenor.

First Congregational Church of Los Angeles is located at 540 South Commonwealth Avenue in the mid-Wilshire area. Tickets are $18 - $28.

LA Phil in Ravel's La Valse -- The Dance of a Dying Europe

Rodney Punt shares a review of Professor Byron Adams


After returning from a recent LA Phil concert, UC Riverside professor of musicology Byron Adams posted a remarkable comment on Facebook. Here is his take on the orchestra's performance of French music, especially that of Ravel's La Valse, with its deep resonances from the composer's experience on the front lines of the First World War:

"I just returned from that rare event, a wholly satisfying concert by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. It was conducted, superbly, by Lionel Bringuier, the outgoing Assistant Conductor who has a post with the Zurich Tonhalle. He has a clear, expressive beat à la Monteux that might prove a suggestive model for more famous conductors. Jean-Yves Tibaudet played Saint-Saens's fifth piano concerto (which the composer himself entitled 'Egyptian') as if he had been transmuted into the composer playing his own work. Of course, as always with Saint-Saens, the audience loved it, and rightly so.

"The concert began with a lovely performance of Messiaen's Les offrandes oubliées -- the last time that I have heard that piece live was with the same orchestra under Guilini. After intermission, a lovely but unremarkable performance of the First Suite from Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe. I always miss the chorus in such concert performances.

"Then an altogether remarkable, harrowing, moving performance of Ravel's La Valse. Ravel served at the front in the First World War, driving a truck filled with live ordinance, which was a incredibly dangerous job. He and his student Ralph Vaughan Williams are two composers who, suffering after the war from PTSD, managed to bring the battlefield into the concert hall. They served with honor during the war and after, reminding us of the horror and pity of war from the perspective of combatants, a rare occurence in music history.

"This performance of La Valse gradually drew in the listener: as the music turned darker and more violent, I began to feel a suffocating panic as if I was trapped on a battlefield with bombs exploding, machine-gun fire, confusion, death, and raw terror. My heart was racing. In those final pages, Ravel does not evoke a battle, he gives you the actual sounds of battle in an astonishing feat of orchestral onomatopoeias. After it was over, although I had sat perfectly still, I was astonished to find that I had tears coursing down my face. Whatever else he possessed, Maurice Ravel had supreme courage and nerves of tempered steel -- he did not flinch in the daunting task that he set before himself in composing this great score.

"After the concert, I recalled the saying attributed to Sir Edward Grey in 1914 just after the First World War had started, "The lights are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime." The bitter horror is that those lamps were never relit in Europe or anywhere else -- the darkness became total eclipse and millions upon millions died throughout the bloody twentieth century and are still dying now as humankind plunges ever more rapidly into a ghastly barbarity enabled by technological "progress."

"That is the terrible message and continuing relevance of Ravel's La Valse."

LA Opus thanks Professor Adams for reminding us how closely bound can be the ties of great music and emotionally charged issues of life and death.

Los Angeles Master Chorale – 24th High School Choir Festival

By Douglas Neslund

They stood in a long row, all 25 of them, facing a sea of over 900 students - their students - to receive the thanks and appreciation for the hard work and study that brought them all together on this day late in April in the choral-friendly Walt Disney Concert Hall. The sound of appreciation drowned out the Concert Hall’s own pipe organ in decibels, threatening in volume all but the most expensive hearing aids of the volunteers and sponsors sitting in the back of the stage. Some teachers stood almost uncomprehending, while others basked in the glow of praise, but all proved once again the power of excellence and the discipline of music.

It was the 24th annual High School Choir Festival, sponsored by the Los Angeles Master Chorale, and is an event that everyone should attend at least once in life. If you haven’t, you might begin to believe the daily drumroll of tragedy and atrocity that crowds out of the headlines the positive in life. Nothing could be more life-affirming and give hope for the future than to hear these high schoolers sing and yes, shout their joy.

Those in attendance heard music that reflected the best of music literature taught in the nation’s schools. Maestro Grant Gershon and the teachers chose nine items to perform together. The dead white composers (Brahms and Handel) came off the least best, while American Choral Directors Association-approved merchants of melody (and sometimes dissonance) fared much better, reflecting the inevitable churning of the generations. Items incorporating rhythm got the multitudes moving, urged on by Sidney Hopson’s percussive impulses. A living composer, Georgia Stitt, was on hand to hear her “The Promise of Light” performed. Silliness, in the form of Meredith Monk’s “Panda Chant II,” bespoke her Oaktown hippie-ness, which failed to mesh much with the rest of the program, but … whatever. Maestro Gershon enjoyed providing a goat's bleat or two.

Louise Thomas provided piano accompaniment that, from behind the stage, sounded weak and was in fact greatly unbalanced; it didn’t matter to the singers who were so well prepared, they could have sung with or without keyboard collaboration.

John West allowed the Walt Disney Concert Hall organ to drown out the Handel Chandos Anthem that brought the event to a rousing conclusion, although nothing was going to dampen the musical enthusiasm and truly renewable energy of the assembled choristers. This was their day communally to bathe in the choral art form, and their teachers’ day to bask in the rich rewards of their annual Sisyphus-like task.

                                                                       *****

Before lunch, sixteen members of the Master Chorale performed for the students under the direction of associate conductor Lesley Leighton. After a wonderfully phrase-shaped, perfectly balanced and blended “Always Singing” by Dale Warland, the music fare returned to the lighter side, matching the afternoon’s selections. The best of all was Eric Whitacre’s “Little Man in a Hurry” brilliantly sung by the Chamber Singers and accompanied at the keyboard by the equally brilliant Lisa Edwards. Whitacre’s “Little Birds” would have equaled “Little Man” but for writing the piano part over and obscuring the voices in the latter. Chen Yi’s version of “Sakura” was strangely mournful. A “world premiere” turned out to be “Yama No Mizu” by Lauren McLaren, commissioned by Ms. Leighton. Wonderful singing, as always.

Perhaps the high schoolers would have benefitted from hearing the timeless music of dead white composers coming from the experts in order to appreciate them for their enduring brilliance, but there is so much to appreciate, and so little time. John West treated all to a demonstration of the pipe organ setting up lunch.

Photo credits: Craig Schwartz

Santa Fe Opera To Present New Opera About Oscar Wilde

by Rodney Punt

The historic path to equality for gays and lesbians is strewn with victims of injustice. One of the most egregious examples was that of Oscar Wilde, the sparkling genius of late Victorian English theater, whose career was initially charmed but later cursed by the sexual phobias of the time. The Irish playwright was a brave, some would also say foolhardy, soul who flaunted his indiscriminately brilliant wit in plays of multi-dimensional sub-text that have never lost their luster with audiences. He paid, however, a steep price for that flamboyance in his private life.

As Americans eagerly await Supreme Court decisions on the right of gays and lesbians to marry, the Santa Fe Opera brings Wilde's relevant and tragic story to the stage in Oscar, a new opera by Theodore Morrison, based on the trial and imprisonment of the playwright for actions related to his sexual orientation. It will receive its world premiere as a highlight of The Santa Fe Opera 2013 Summer Festival Season. The title role will be sung by countertenor David Daniels for whom the opera was written. The libretto is by the British director John Cox.

Morrison had wanted to write an opera for Daniels and the opportunity presented itself in London in 2004 when the countertenor was performing a song cycle on the poems of James Joyce that Morrison had written for him. John Cox was at the recital and upon meeting the composer suggested that he should write an opera. Conversations between the three men ensued and in 2006 the subject of Oscar Wilde was decided upon.

As Act I begins, Oscar Wilde, London’s most famous writer and biggest celebrity, has been charged by the court of “gross indecency with other male persons,” a result of his relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas, known as Bosie. In disgrace, Wilde becomes an outcast in society without friends or a place to live. He takes refuge in the nursery apartment at the home of a friend, the English writer Ada Leverson. Frank Harris, the brilliant editor of the Saturday Review, also a friend, brings Ada news of the verdict. Wilde is found guilty and sentenced to two years of hard labor.

Act II takes place in Reading Gaol. The prisoners, subjected to the harshest conditions, are confined to dismal cells and kept separate from one another. Wilde is denied paper for writing and books to read. He becomes gravely ill, and it is while he is in the infirmary that he hears his fellow inmates’ stories and his compassion grows. The result is Wilde’s famous The Ballad of Reading Gaol, sections of which are included in the opera. “We present Oscar Wilde as hero, not as victim,” commented Morrison. “His life, and all he stood for, has great relevance today.” He became an iconic figure in the struggle for gay rights and universal human rights.

The characters in Oscar include Walt Whitman (sung by Dwayne Croft) as commentator, speaking from the Halls of Immortality. Bosie, Wilde’s great love, is portrayed by dancer Reed Luplau. Frank Harris will be sung by William Burden, Ada Leverson by Heidi Stober. Evan Rogister is the conductor, Kevin Newbury the director. David Korins is scenic designer, David Woolard costume designer, and Rick Fisher lighting designer. Seán Curran is the choreographer.

The World Premiere of Oscar will take place Saturday, July 27, followed by performances on July 31, August 9, 12 and 17. The opera is a co-production with Opera Company of Philadelphia which will perform the work in the 2015 season.

Here's an excerpt of Wilde's haunting and tragic Ballad of Reading Gaol:

In Reading gaol by Reading town
There is a pit of shame,
And in it lies a wretched man
Eaten by teeth of flame,
In burning winding-sheet he lies,
And his grave has got no name.

And there, till Christ call forth the dead,
In silence let him lie:
No need to waste the foolish tear,
Or heave the windy sigh:
The man had killed the thing he loved,
And so he had to die.

---ooo---

For tickets: SFO Box Office at (505) 986-5900; toll free (800) 280-4654, or go online at www.santafeopera.org.

Several activities are planned for the opening weekend. On Friday, July 26, Wilde experts will gather in Santa Fe to discuss his life and work. Saturday morning, the 27th, members of the Oscar creative team will be on hand to talk about the opera including Morrison, Cox, Newbury, among others. Times and venues will be announced on the Santa Fe Opera's website.

Los Angeles Opera presents Benjamin Britten’s Noye’s Fludde

By Douglas Neslund

2013 is the hundredth year of the birth of Benjamin Britten, one of the most singular composers of the 20^th century, whose centenary is being celebrated in Los Angeles by a series of events throughout the year. His “Noye’s Fludde” is one of the milestones of his creative genius presented at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels over the weekend just past in conjunction with LA Opera’s annual productions at the Cathedral with expenses underwritten by the Dan Murphy Foundation and the Britten-Pears Foundation. Admission was free to the public and both performances were packed to the walls.

This is the seventh year of the LA Opera at the Cathedral series that has produced such early operas as Noye’s Fludde, which are recreations of miracle plays emanating from church performances of Biblical themes from which the art form of opera was born. In 2012, for instance, the opera/miracle play was an adaptation of the 12^th century Play of Daniel brought to life by Noah Greenberg and his New York Pro Musica in the late 1950s.

What distinguishes this series of opera productions at the Cathedral is the remarkable professional team of conductor James Conlon, director Eli Villanueva, educationand community programs director Stacy Brightman, and a supporting cast of thousands, or so it seemed.

Professional soloists Yohan Yi, portraying Noye (Noah), Ronnita Nicole Miller as Noye’s wife, and Jamieson K. Price providing an impressive Voice of God, drawn from Maestro Conlon’s rich talent stable at LA Opera, were all first rate (and as we understand it, the only paid) performers.

One cannot imagine a better character performance than Mr. Yi’s. His intensity and focus in the role projected to the Cathedral’s baptistery with stentorian authority and a rich, darkly colored voice. Ms. Miller’s role allowed for humor as she resisted boarding Noye’s ark until literally pushed in by her three sons: Caleb Glickman as Shem, Anthony Karambelas as Ham, and Patrick Mayoral as Jaffett. The boys formed the best such trio since Fludde was first performed seven years ago. (All solo voices were amplified.)

Behind the headliners, a massive collection of exceedingly well-trained instrumentalists and choristers were assembled to provide turba support, plus what seemed to be an endless parade of little humans dressed as the great variety of animals boarding Noye’s ark to avoid certain extinction, who also sang along and danced at various points. Kudos to Caleb Barnes for shepherding the little ones as production assistant.

All the costumes, props and animal approximations were wonderful but within a narrow color scheme, which made the rainbow, the sign of God’s promise never to flood the earth again, that much more vivid. Most impressive again were the “birds” skillfully given flight.

The greatest single additions to this year’s performances were the projections behind the actors that helped greatly in the audience’s understanding of the old English as well as ongoing story.

One would wish to name all performers, especially the choirs and excellent orchestra, which was seeded with Los Angeles Opera Orchestra personnel, but comprised primarily of music students from Hamilton High School’s Academy of Music. One cherishes especially the beautiful ‘cello solo by LA Opera’s Rowena Hammill. The Cathedral's own Samuel Soria made the pipe organ roar when needed.

Appreciation to Los Angeles Opera and Downtown News for the above photographs.