Monthly Archives: March 2020

Philharmonia Orchestra

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Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury
Sunday 8 March 2020

Young British conductor, Alpesh Chauhan, was new to me but I’m sure I shall see a lot more of him before long. He has the Philharmonia totally under his baton with which – against the current fashion –  he beats time clearly. He also has a very expressive left hand, each finger on which seems to communicate its own message. And I expect, in time, he’ll learn to smile. He certainly had plenty to feel proud of in this all Russian concert.

We began with Tchaikovsky’s The Tempest – an early piece which doesn’t get performed as often as it deserves to. There are some terrific brass passages and lots of intense hard work for strings and piccolo. It sounded pretty good in this performance with a strong sense of story telling.

Shostakovich’s second piano concerto is much more familiar and  Valentina Lisitsa made it sound fresh and exciting especially in the frenetic first movement in which she delivered almost every one of her thousands of high speed fortissimo notes. I enjoyed her quiet smile at the recapitulation too. She’s an unshowy performer, and here she was accompanied by some fine, incisive orchestral playing complete with crisp col legno bowing, vibrant pizzicato and snare drum. The contrast as we moved into the warmth of the lyrical andante was delightful.

Pictures at an Exhibition is always a showstopper. The sheer colour and verve of Ravel’s orchestration sells itself. This was a  pleasingly energetic but well controlled performance, particularly in the arresting glissandi moments, perfectly punctuated by the percussion section’s whip. There was also some lovely solo work from wind and brass. When we finally reached the Great Gate of Kiev the tubular bell moved me, as it always does. And if the intonation was fractionally wonky in places and the timing was awry once or twice then it simply didn’t matter. The grandiloquence of the piece carried the day and ensured the audience left feeling uplifted.

One gripe though: Why doesn’t the Philharmonia list the names of its players in the programme – perhaps on a slip for each concert? I would like to cite some of the players for especially strong solo work but I can’t because I don’t know who is who.

Susan Elkin

HIPF: Pasadena Roof Orchestra with the Puppini Sisters

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St Mary in the Castle, Saturday 7 March, 2020

What a wonderful way to end two weeks of magnificent music-making. The Pasadena Roof Orchestra and Puppini Sisters turned Saturday night into an end of season party for all of us, greatly helped by the gradually increasing numbers of dancers who made excellent use of the space available.

 

If Managing Director Ian Roberts needed any vindication of the undeniable risks involved in launching any new venture, this was it. A full house, at the end of a series of wide ranging events, which had encouraged a large number of generous donations enabling the HIPF to support educational work with young musicians in the area and provide over 1000 free tickets for under 18s. This alone makes the festival worthwhile, and when the quality of performances is added into the mix we are doubly blessed.

The Pasadena Roof Orchestra (PRO) opened with a breezy reading of High Society which included a number of solo breaks which were to become a feature of the evening. The Puppini Sisters, dressed alarming like Carmen Miranda, then joined the orchestra for their first set, opening with Sing, sing sing.  If Boogie, Woogie Bugle Boy was to be expected, their use of more modern favourites, in highly effective 1940s arrangements was not, and proved to be all the more captivating. Dolly Parton’s Working 9 to 5 sounded as if it had been written for the Land Army! They ended this set with Jealousy announcing it was a tango and bringing dancers onto the floor again. Throughout the evening we were increasingly entertained with fine examples of Lindy Hop, Balboa, Swing Jive and Shag.

PRO’s lead singer Duncan Galloway then introduced Jubilee Stomp before he crooned What more can I ask. His range of styles enabled him to move smoothly on to I’ll be glad when you’re dead, you rascal you, but his finest moment came with Bing Crosby’s classic Don’t fence me in with the Puppini’s standing in admirably for the Andrews Sisters. To move on immediately to I will survive – again in 1940s style – was unexpected and stunningly impressive.

After the interval the dancers were able to enjoy Anything Goes before we heard an Italian number from the Puppini’s and a foxtrot which was a mashup of Lady Gaga and Billie Holiday. I put a spell on you and Putting on the Ritz brought us once again to Duncan Galloway with Zing went the strings of my heart and a very up-tempo version of Old man river. The Sisters final set opened with I want to dance with somebody and then exploded with a salsa version of Dancing Queen!

The last number was supposed to be Mack the Knife, when the dance floor heaved with excitement, but encores were of course wildly encouraged and we ended the evening where we had begun, back in the 1940s with an improvised rendition of In the Mood. We were – and could have gone on for much longer.  Let’s hope the festival becomes a fixity for many years to come.

 

Hastings International Piano Festival: An evening of Jazz

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St Mary in the Castle, Thursday 5 March 2020

The newly launched festival aims to cover all aspects of the piano and so brought a jazz evening to St Mary’s, led by acclaimed international jazz vocalist Claire Martin. She was joined by her regular partners Martin Sjöstedt, piano, Niklas Fernqvist, double bass, and Daniel Fredriksson, percussion and special guests Alex Garnett and Liane Carroll.

If the piano was not quite at the heart of the evening then it certainly played a respectable part with some fine breaks from Martin Sjöstedt in the first half and the more familiar presence of Liane Carroll in the second.

Claire Martin has an eclectic style, drawing on numbers by Tony Bennett, Lena Horne and Ella Fitzgerald as well as more recent songs. She also ranges vocally from clearly articulated items like the laid-back approach to A rainy night in Tokyo or the scat vocals of Believe in it. It was a pity that she seemed to assume her audience would be familiar with much of her music as her introductions did not carry well within the acoustic at St Mary’s so we missed much of what passed between the items.

Saxophonist Alex Garnett is a recent visitor to Hastings, bringing an evening of Ronnie Scott’s Jazz to the White Rock, but here he played duets with Claire as well as adding a number of scintillating breaks alongside the trio.

In the second half Claire was joined by Lianne Carroll who is well known to us for her many years of enthusiastic music-making in Hastings. She has collaborated with Claire Martin in he past and this shone through as the evening progressed.

Thomasin Trezise at the Opus Theatre – CANCELLED

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It is with great sadness that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we have been forced to postpone several concerts at the Opus Theatre, including this one by Thomasin Trezise and Sergio Puccini. We have already refunded all ticket holders in full and hope to be able to offer another date in the not too distant future. Many thanks for your understanding.

We wish all our clients and friends good
health in these difficult time.

The Opus Theatre Team

English National Opera stages new production of Dvorák’s best-loved opera Rusalka

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Rusalka
Antonín Dvorák (1813-1901)
Libretto by Jaroslav Kvapil after Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué
 
Conductor, Antony Hermus
Director, Tatjana Gürbaca

Opens Saturday 28 March at the London Coliseum (7 performances)

Acclaimed German director Tatjana Gürbaca and designer Klaus Grünberg make their English National Opera (ENO) debuts with ENO’s first new Rusalka in two decades, with Corinne Winters in the title role and David Butt Philip as the Prince.

Dvo?ák’s Rusalka (1901) is a tragic modern-day fairy tale; water nymph Rusalka falls in love with a young prince who visits her lake. Desperate for the opportunity to win his love, she trades her place in her water-world for life in the mortal realm but at a terrible price. Following rejection from the Prince, she is unable to return to her former life and the tale ends in tragedy. Touching upon themes of existentialism and alienation between the two worlds, Rusalka is a powerful exploration of a woman who grows beyond her world to seek happiness and find her place, learning the true meaning of love, understanding and forgiveness.

German opera director Tatjana Gürbaca directs this new production, making her UK and house debut. Named Director of the Year by Germany’s magazine Opernwelt in 2013, Tatjana’s career highlights include Parsifal (Vlaamse Opera, 2018), Die Ring Trilogie (Theater an der Wien, 2017), Alcina (Theater an der Wien, 2018), Jephtha (Opera Halle, 2018) and, most recently, Don Giovanni (Theater Bremen, 2019-2020). Tatjana comments: ‘Rusalka is one of the most beautiful heart-breaking love-stories and an existentialist drama: love is a dangerous power that alienates her from all orders and tears a hole into the face of social convention. Traveling between two worlds with an overwhelming desire, Rusalka discovers her inner truth and conquers death. Dvo?ák’s magnificent opera intoxicates with its vibrant Romanticism.’

Rusalka’s librettist Jaroslav Kvapil drew from many sources, including Slavic myth and Northern European folk-tales that inspired Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué’s Undine (1811) and Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid (1837). Rusalka was Dvo?ák’s ninth opera and is considered his most successful, displaying the composer’s exceptional gift for melody and orchestration, featuring the beautiful aria ‘Song to the Moon’

Making his ENO debut is Dutch conductor Antony Hermus who joins us from Opera North having just conducted The Marriage of Figaro, his first piece of work since joining as Opera North’s Principal Guest Conductor. Antony is also Principal Guest Conductor of the North Netherlands Orchestra and Artistic Advisor of the National Youth Orchestra of the Netherlands.

American soprano Corinne Winters makes her role debut as Rusalka, returning to the London Coliseum after her European debut as ‘the best ENO Violetta in decades’ (The Sunday Times) in La traviata in 2013. Corinne, who originally graduated from the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, has performed across Europe, Australia and America since her debut and has been acclaimed by the New York Times as ‘an outstanding actress, as well as a singer of extraordinary grace and finesse’.

One of the most outstanding British tenors of his generation, David Butt Philip makes his role debut as the Prince following his Olivier-Award-nominated performance in last season’s War Requiem. David made his ENO debut as Rodolfo in La bohème (2014) where he unleashed ‘a warm, easy-sounding tenor voice with plenty of heft and ping at the top’ (Guardian).

Olivier Award-nominated Irish mezzo-soprano, Patricia Bardon returns to the role of Ježibaba having performed the role earlier in the season for Glyndebourne, where her ‘dark mezzo impressed’ (Opera), as well as recently for Berliner Philharmoniker and Opéra National du Rhin. She will also continue in the role for Theatres de la Ville de Luxembourg and finally Garsington Opera later this year.

We are delighted to welcome soprano Claire Rutter back to the London Coliseum as the Foreign Princess. Claire returns following huge success in her previous roles in ENO’s Tosca (2011) and Lucrezia Borgia (2011) – ‘To catch a terrific, scalp-tingling Tosca, look no further than Claire Rutter at the Coliseum. Glorious of voice and subtle of acting, she’s worth the price of the ticket alone’ (Metro).

Returning to the London Coliseum for his first role since La bohème (2018), David Soar brings his ‘sonorous bass’ (Independent) to the role of the Water Spirit.

Six ENO Harewood Artists complete the cast, continuing our commitment to training the talent of the operatic future through the ENO Harewood programme.

Mezzo-soprano Katie Coventry is the Kitchen Boy, following her recent performance in ENO’s new production of The Mask of Orpheus (2019). Baritone Alex Otterburn is the Huntsman, who returns to the London Coliseum following his ‘razor-edged Moralès’ (the Guardian) in Carmen.

The three Wood Nymphs are sung by Soprano Nadine Benjamin, mezzo-soprano Idunnu Münch and mezzo-soprano Katie Stevenson. All three return from recent ENO performances, Nadine following her ‘exquisite’ (the Stage) performance in Luisa Miller (2020), Katie having sung Kate Pinkerton in Madam Butterfly (2020) while Idunnu returns following her ENO debut in Orpheus in the Underworld (2019).

Completing the cast is tenor John Findon as the Gamekeeper following his recent performance as Remendado in ENO’s Carmen (2020).

Set and lighting design is by Klaus Grünberg, winner of the Design Award at the International Opera Awards 2017, assisted by Associate Set Designer Anne Kuhn. Costume design is by Barbara Drosihn and translation is by Rodney Blumer.

Rusalka opens on Saturday 28 March 19:00 at the London Coliseum for 7 performances: 28 March & 1, 3, 6, 8, 15 April at 19.00. 11 April at 18.00.

Tickets start from £10 (plus booking fee)*

Worbey and Farrell

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Brighton Dome, 1 March 2020

Presented by Brighton and Hove Philharmonic Society rather than accompanied by Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra this was effectively a two-man piano recital. But anyone who has ever seen Kevin Worbey and Steven Farrell in action will know that the term doesn’t come anywhere near conveying their combination of comic repartee and glittering musicianship. Imagine Victor Borge reworked for the 21st century, twice over, spliced with a whiff of Liberace and packaged with stupendous virtuosity.

Everything played has been arranged by the two of them and hammed up for flamboyance. “We’ve long puzzled about why Scott Joplin marked all his rags to be played slowly” they tell the audience cheerfully, before launching into a prestissimo account of Maple Leaf Rag “And we’ve come to the conclusion that he just couldn’t play them as fast as we can.”

Worbey and Farrell put their own spin on the four-hands-one-piano concept – treating the keyboard as an orchestra, frequently thrusting their hands over or below each others and occasionally running round the piano stool. Having started with Katchachurian’s Masquerade, by the time we get to Bohemian Rhapsody the camera has come on and their hands, often moving as fast as hummingbirds, are projected onto a big screen behind them. It’s a nice touch and would work – with a bit of applied technology amd willingness – for any concert, featuring a concerto so that every audience member can see the action in close up.   Worbey and Farrell helpfully wear different coloured shirts so you can see whose hands belong to whom.

These two, a couple in life as well as work, have the sort of palpable rapport which comes from being totally attuned to each other – from near-perfect musical coherence to well practised quasi party tricks such as one of them damping the piano strings under the lid to make the other’s playing sound guitar-like or turning round and playing a top note by sitting on the keyboard.

They play a range of classical and popular pieces ending with an encore which starts with Tchaikovsky’s first piano concerto and then darts off into all sorts of hilariously unlikely territory. Their Strauss medley (which they call a “mash up”) is wittily embellished with high register decorations (they do the same, later, with the Dambusters March) and they get the whole audience clapping along to the Radetsky march by gesturing with their heads. Their Peter and the Wolf convinces us that we really are listening to a feline clarinet or a duck-like oboe and their changed happy ending is good honest fun. I was pleased, incidentally, to see so many children and family groups in the audience.

It’s one thing for write a piano transcription of a symphony, overture or other orchestral piece. There are added complications if it’s a concerto or quasi-concerto – you’d think there might not be enough space on a single keyboard but Worbey and Farrell find it in spades for Rhapsody in Blue which delivers every ounce of orchestral colour to such an extent that you find yourself wondering whether the piece actually needs an orchestra at all.

A refreshing and very enjoyable afternoon.

Susan Elkin

Peter Copley: Salamanca 1936

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St Bartholomew’s Church, Brighton, Sunday 1 March 2020

Peter Copley’s Salamanca 1936 has had a considerable gestation period and its emergence into the light at the weekend for its world premiere was very much due to the enthusiastic endorsement of Sir John Tomlinson, for whom it was written.

The Oratorio is constructed for large forces and drew on the strengths of Brighton Youth Orchestra and a junior chorus from Trinity Laban Conservatoire under the direction of Andrew Sherwood. The text focusses on an incident during the Spanish Civil War when Miguel de Unamuno, at the time Rector of the University of Salamanca, stood up against the fascist General Millan Astray. The text tries to stay as objective as possible but the score brings to life the conflicting emotions of the philosopher even as he is trying to keep his feelings under control. John Tomlinson’s superb diction brings out the internal struggle for Unamuno in a series of extended arioso passages which both reflect on the action and move the narrative forward. The chorus are essentially little more than background noise in the poet’s memory until we came to the final section which proves to be both beautiful and deeply moving.

Unamuno is under house arrest and writes La Nevada es silenciosa – the snowfall is so silent. This is set in English for chorus and suddenly we are inside the emotional and intellectual life of the poet. It works surprisingly well and brings us into the heart of the dilemma. How does an intellectual stand up to ignorance and abuse – a problem which is universal and here given its universal context. Let us hope that the score is heard again soon as it has immediate relevance as well as being musically engaging in its own right.

In the first half we had heard Handel’s Zadok the Priest which all but disappeared within the cavernous acoustic of St Bartholomew’s, but John Tavener’s Ekstasis was more successful. The work was written for Brighton Youth Orchestra in 2000 and explores the mystery of the Trinity through three solo instruments above the gently undulating orchestra. Violinist Ayla Sahin was placed by the altar, trumpeter Tsz Cheung on the west gallery and oboe player Emma Sims in the pulpit. Tavener weaves the musical line between them without any sense of obvious interplay or overlap, yet always a deep sense of harmony and unity. It made a fitting companion piece to Peter Copley’s oratorio.