DOCSLIB.ORG

Golijov's Opera a Hit DAWN UPSHAW (Lying

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Golijov's Opera a Hit DAWN UPSHAW (Lying IVI sic; Global Pulse EDITED BY TOM FERGUSON tferguson @eu.billboard.COm Everything Rosy In Zero 7's Garden Having started their musical careers in the 1990s as "gofers" Gotan Project issued its debut set "La Revancha del Tango" in at a London recording studio, Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker 2001 on band member Philippe Cohen -Solal's own label Ya Basta. have long since blossomed into full- fledged artists as elec- Label manager Laurent Dubrulle claims global shipments have tronica act Zero 7. passed 1 million copies. Atlantic Records issued the duo's third album The Sophomore album "Lunático" (Ya Basta) was issued interna- Garden" internationally May 22, with a U.S. release tionally April 11, licensed in France to Barclay /Universal. due June 6. Dubrulle claims 60,000 domestic sh pments, with U.S. and U.K. Zero 7 launched a U.K. tour booked by Primary Tal- shipments through XL /Beggars at 25,000 and 15,000, respec- ent International May 25, featuring Swedish folk /pop tively. " Lunático" peaked at No. 6 cn Billboard's European Al- artist Jose Gonzalez as guest vocalist. Nine European bums chart on April 26. shows supporting James Blunt will follow in July Dubrulle says the international campaign for " Lunático" will ahead ofan Aug. 27 headline set at the KCRW World largely rely on word -of- mouth. "There will be very little mar- Festival at Los Angeles' Hollywood Bowl. keting, except in France where Barclay has TV and poster ads," Gonzalez is a featured vocalist on "The Garden." he notes. Although largely unknown at the time of recording, Gotan Project's publishing is through Ya Basta /Science he is a hot property in Europe and his album "Veneer" & Mélodie. -Aymeric Pichevin (Peacefrog) is BPI -certified platinum (300,000 U.K. _ shipments). AUSSIE DIVAS: Four past " Australian Idol" contestants London -based Atlantic U.K. VP of international have teamed up as the Young Divas for a national tour Down Torsten Luth claims "The Garden" represents real growth Under: Sony BMG- signed DeAl-augo, Curuenavull and for Zero 7. He admits Gonzalez' involvement "has def- Williams are managed by Sydney -based David Caplice Man- initely helped coverage in the U.K. and parts of Europe," agement. Coulter is signed to Me bourne -based label /man- but notes that "he's hardly known by the rest ofthe world - agement firm Public Opinion. and the album stands on its own." "We found it challenging to launch major concerts for them in- Zero 7 is signed to Universal Music Publishing. dividually," David Caplice admits. "W a felt that by putting them to- -Steve Adams gether, we'd create a 'supergroup' and maybe bring all their fans out for a significant tour across Australia." TANGO STEPS: Paris -based French /Swiss /Argentine act The act's cover of Donna Summer's 1989 hit "This Time I Know Electronica act Gotan Project is taking its tango /electronica fusion on the road. It's for Real" (Sony BMG) entered the Australian Recording Indus- ZERO 7 will be touring the United The trio kicks off European theater and festival shows June try Assn. chart at No. 7 on May 14. The Divas publicly insist the tour Kingdom, Europe 17 in Zagreb, Croatia, taking in 14 countries before ending Oct. is a one -off, as Curuenavull and DeAraugo have solo releases out and the States this 20 in Marseille, France. Booker is Paris Alias. Pro- summer. -based Gotan shortly. But Caplice says an album is possible if the 30,000- ticket ject will also play the KRCW World Festival alongside Zero 7. tour sells out. -Christie Eliezer Classical Sccie Osvaldo Golijov's opera 'Ainadamar' features, ANASTASIA TSIOULCAS [email protected] from left, soprano JESSICA RIVERA, mezzo - soprano KELLEY O'CONNOR and soprano Golijov's Opera A Hit DAWN UPSHAW (lying At first blush, a new opera orchestration, Golijov embroi- he explains, "it's because I Upshaw's enthusiasm meditating on the life and ders the guitar and cante need to evoke a certain emo- seems to be shared by audi- death of Spanish poet/play- jondo ( "deep song ") idioms tion, not because the music is ences, programmers and wright Federico Garcia Lorca of traditional flamenco with 'flamenco.' I modulate be- critics alike. This summer will seems an unlikely choice to lilting Afro -Cuban grooves tween cultures. I use them in see a broad sweep of Goli- be 3 chart hit. However, Os- and hypnotic field recordings the same way that other com- jov performances. These in- valdo Golijov's "Ainadamar" made in Chiapas, Mexico. posers use tonal areas or clude 1996's "Last Round" at is precisely that. Born in Argentina to an modulate from key to key." the Seattle Symphony and Feleased last month by Eastern European Jewish Upshaw, a frequent muse at Germany's Schleswig -Hol- Deutsche Grammophon, the family, the 45- year -old com- for Golijov, sings the role of stein Festival, as well as opera's world -premiere re- poser is intimately familiar Margarita Xirgu in "Ainadamar." 2002's "Three Songs for So- cording features soprano with the notion of shifting She says that what he asks of prano and Orchestra," fea- Dawn Upshaw, mezzo -soprano identity, whether he is con- her technically and emotionally turing Upshaw, which the Kelley O'Connor and soprano templating his own or other has changed the way she ap- Minnesota Orchestra and Jessica Rivera alongside the people's. "There are very few proaches her own art. conductor Osmo Vanska will Atlanta Symphony Orchestra isolated places in the world "There's an honesty and a perform at Amsterdam's and conductor Robert Spano, today," Golijov observes. "So beauty in his music," Upshaw Concertgebouw and the a longtime Golijov champion. identity- whether cultural, re- says thoughtfully. "Working London Proms. Its sales success mirrors that ligious or musical -is a very with him has put me in a posi- This August, Yo -Yo Ma will of DG's first Golijov release fluid concept." tion where I am looking at my give the world premiere of last year of the song cycle He notes that his extraordi- own life and my own music in Golijov's new work for cello "Ayre," which also put Up- nary palette of musical colors a different way, and I am ask- and orchestra with the Boston shaw front and center. and idioms on which he draws ing myself different questions, Symphony Orchestra and Amid his gorgeous lyrical is part of that fluidity. "When because I'm so moved by conductor Donald Runnicles lines and brilliantly colored I use flamenco, for instance," what he is doing." at Tanglewood. 36 JUNE 10, 2006 www.americanradiohistory.com.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • John Conklin • Speight Jenkins • Risë Stevens • Robert Ward John Conklin John Conklin Speight Jenkins Speight Jenkins Risë Stevens Risë Stevens
    2011 NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20506-0001 John Conklin • Speight Jenkins • Risë Stevens • Robert Ward John Conklin John Conklin Speight Jenkins Speight Jenkins Risë Stevens Risë Stevens Robert Ward Robert Ward NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS 2011 John Conklin’s set design sketch for San Francisco Opera’s production of The Ring Cycle. Image courtesy of John Conklin ii 2011 NEA OPERA HONORS Contents 1 Welcome from the NEA Chairman 2 Greetings from NEA Director of Music and Opera 3 Greetings from OPERA America President/CEO 4 Opera in America by Patrick J. Smith 2011 NEA OPERA HONORS RECIPIENTS 12 John Conklin Scenic and Costume Designer 16 Speight Jenkins General Director 20 Risë Stevens Mezzo-soprano 24 Robert Ward Composer PREVIOUS NEA OPERA HONORS RECIPIENTS 2010 30 Martina Arroyo Soprano 32 David DiChiera General Director 34 Philip Glass Composer 36 Eve Queler Music Director 2009 38 John Adams Composer 40 Frank Corsaro Stage Director/Librettist 42 Marilyn Horne Mezzo-soprano 44 Lotfi Mansouri General Director 46 Julius Rudel Conductor 2008 48 Carlisle Floyd Composer/Librettist 50 Richard Gaddes General Director 52 James Levine Music Director/Conductor 54 Leontyne Price Soprano 56 NEA Support of Opera 59 Acknowledgments 60 Credits 2011 NEA OPERA HONORS iii iv 2011 NEA OPERA HONORS Welcome from the NEA Chairman ot long ago, opera was considered American opera exists thanks in no to reside within an ivory tower, the small part to this year’s honorees, each of mainstay of those with European whom has made the art form accessible to N tastes and a sizable bankroll.
    [Show full text]
  • Boston Symphony Orchestra Concert Programs, Season 123, 2003-2004
    BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCH ESTRA i V V - V * : *J V 2003-2004 SEASON MUSIC DIRECTOR DESIGNATE BERNARD HAITINK PRINCIPAL GUESTCONDUCTOI SEIJI OZAWA MUSIC DIRECTOR LAUREATE ^M I 1 Invite the entire string section for cocktails. With floor plans from 2,300 to over Phase One of this 5,000 square feet, you can entertain magnificent property is in grand style at Longyear. 100% sold and occupied. Enjoy 24-hour concierge service, Phase Two is now under con- single-floor condominium living struction and being offered by at its absolute finest, all Sotheby's International Realty a harmoniously located on Hammond Residential Real Estate an extraordinary eight- GMAC. Priced from $1,500,000. acre gated community atop prestigious Call Hammond at (617) 731-4644, Fisher Hill ext. 410. LONGYEAH BROOKLINE CORTLAND SOTHEBM'S Hammondmiimm— PROPERTIES INC. International Realty EAL ESTATE ^tsg sBf&SsflESss *7> /• u; ft 1 4 fijfc -X t^^Bl-J^ i i i i i § i i i i i i i i lis 11 Landry&Arcari ORIENTAL RUGS & CARPETING Your Source for Knowledge, Inspiration & Value Boston Since 1938 Salem 333 Stuart St. www. landryandarcari . com Route 1A 617-399-6500 Open 7 Days 800-649-59098 Founding member of the NCI DANA-FARBER/HARVARD CANCER CENTER * Comprehensive Cancer Center hospital the Boston Red SoX Inclin ClinicV_liniC CCCv^v^.^ Official/' f of' Affiliated with JOSlin Designated[lesionated bybv the National Cancer InstiliiMInstitute James Levine, Music Director Designate Bernard Haitink, Principal Guest Conductor Seiji Ozawa, Music Director Laureate 123rd Season, 2003-2004 Trustees of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Inc.
    [Show full text]
  • Ojai Festival
    American Record Guide September / October 2006 Richard S Ginell usic Director Robert Spano’s and Artistic Director Thomas Morris’s main idea for the 2006 Ojai Festival. music of Osvaldo Golijov, planted itself right in the middle of Mwhat’s hip and happening in contemporary and world music. Indeed, in two of the five programs that I caught, and most of a third, the performers were basically playing their latest recordings. An Ayre-Berio concert came out on a single Deutsche Grammophon CD last fall. Ainadamar was released by DG a month before the festival. and the Atlanta Symphony Chamber Chorus’s program was taken intact from its latest Telarc disc – all for sale, of course. on the festival grounds. This is a tactic long used in the pop music world, and one wonders why it took so long to catch on in the classical arena. Lest you think that Ojai is capitulating to commercial concerns, this California town (population 8,200) still tries its best to defy the big, bad outside world. Though land values and motel room rates continue to skyrocket. the town remains defiantly free of fast-food franchises and other chains. Bart’s Books, a unique, lovable, mostly outdoor treasure chest of literature, still thrives on the corner of Canada and Matilija Streets. There are more loudspeakers than ever in the oak-and-sycamore shaded village park where the concerts take place, yet the sound is usually very good, accompanied by endearing non-amplified obbligatos from resident birds and crickets. And take note, iconoclasts: the Mozart Madness that swamped the festival world in his 250th year was nowhere to be found in Ojai, nor was there any Shostakovich centennial business within earshot.
    [Show full text]
  • MUSIC REVIEW, Los Angeles Times
    MUSIC REVIEW, Los Angeles Times http://www.calendarlive.com/music/cl-et-ojai13jun13,0,3891590.story?coll=cl-home-more-channels Ojai's spiritual entertainments Osvaldo Golijov's serious yet seductive compositions get pulsating performances at the 60th festival. By Mark Swed, LA Times Staff Writer OJAI — When the unofficial patron saint of this charmed valley, Jiddu Krishnamurti, gave outdoor public talks at his foundation here in the 1970s and '80s, birds sang and the mountains in the background seemed especially radiant. But the stern spiritual leader would put up with no New Age mellowness, insisting that his laid-back listeners get serious for an hour. What he had to say about Soprano (Anne Cusack / LAT) human nature, he would repeat again and again, was not entertainment. The Ojai Music Festival doesn't exactly scorn entertainment, and the 60th edition of this short and relaxed but significant festival produced its unapologetic share of entertainment last weekend in the Libbey Bowl. The featured composer was the enormously engaging Osvaldo Golijov, who takes some of his inspiration from popular culture. Dawn Upshaw, the most down to earth of sopranos, was the star soloist. In residence was the excellent Atlanta Symphony, which, under its likable music director, Robert Spano, proudly puts a happy face (even a smiley one) on new music. The new music ensemble known as eighth blackbird, which has a tendency to theatrically glad-hand new work, was also there. Nothing, though, could have been truer to Krishnamurti's insistence that fanatical identification with religion is a source of violence than Upshaw's astonishing, possessed performance of "Ayre" on Sunday morning.
    [Show full text]
  • Cincinnati Opera Announces Its 2017 Summer Festival Featuring La
    MEDIA RELEASE UPDATED: December 14, 2016 Original release: October 14, 2016 Contact: Ashley Tongret, Director of Public Relations (513) 768-5526 or [email protected] Editors’ note: Photos available upon request. Cincinnati Opera announces its 2017 Summer Festival featuring La Bohème, Frida, The Magic Flute, and special events including Opera in the Park and Song from the Uproar La Bohème and The Magic Flute to be presented in acclaimed European productions Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Music Director Louis Langrée to conduct four performances of La Bohème Company premiere of Frida, Robert Xavier Rodríguez’s 1991 opera on Mexican artist Frida Kahlo A new blockbuster production of The Magic Flute from the Komische Oper Berlin Opera in the Park to kick off season with mainstage artists in Spanish-themed program at Washington Park Cincinnati Opera collaborates with concert:nova to present Song from the Uproar Performances at Aronoff Center for the Arts due to renovation of Cincinnati Music Hall CINCINNATI, OH—Evans Mirageas, The Harry T. Wilks Artistic Director of Cincinnati Opera, is pleased to announce the repertoire, selected guest artists and creative team members, and special events for the company’s 2017 Summer Festival, which will run from June 15 to July 23. The company’s 97th season will feature three mainstage operas, including the return of the company’s heartbreaking English National Opera co-production of La Bohème, conducted by Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Music Director Louis Langrée; the company premiere of Robert Xavier Rodríguez’s Frida, inspired by the life and work of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo; and the spectacular Barrie Kosky/1927 production of The Magic Flute from the Komische Oper Berlin.
    [Show full text]
  • St. Lawrence String Quartet
    PROGRAM: SUNDAYS WITH THE ST. LAWRENCE SundaY, APRIL 27, 2014 / 2:30 pM / BiNG CONCERT HALL ST. LAWRENCE STRING QUARTET ARTISTS PROGRAM St. Lawrence String Quartet Joseph Haydn: Quartet in E-flat Major, op. 20, no. 1, Hob. III:31 (1772) Geoff Nuttall, Violin Allegro moderato Mark Fewer, Violin Minuet: Un poco allegretto Lesley Robertson, Viola Affetuoso e sostenuto Christopher Costanza, Cello Finale: Presto Jessica Rivera, Soprano George Tsontakis: String Quartet No. 7 for String Quartet and Soprano (2014) I. Prelude II. The Swallows Sundays with the St. Lawrence is presented in III. Coffin of Snow (Rossetti) partnership with Music at Stanford and generously IV. Whitman supported by Paul and Iris Brest. *INTERMISSION* Giuseppe Verdi: String Quartet in E Minor, op. 68 (1873) Allegro Andantino Prestissimo Scherzo fuga: Allegro assai mosso PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE. Please be considerate of others and turn off all phones, pagers, and watch alarms, and unwrap all lozenges prior to the performance. Photography and recording of any kind are not permitted. Thank you 40 StanFORD LIVE MAGAZINE APRIL/MAy 2014 JOSEPH HAYDN (1732–1809) remained fascinated by the tranquil abstractions into complexities of maturity QUARTET IN E-FLAT MAJOR, OP. 20, strength of purpose that Haydn draws out is part of a human “gift package.” NO. 1, HOB. III:31 (1772) of the four instruments and paid tribute to its composer in the slow movement of In Going Forth by Day, there is Mozart greatly admired Joseph Haydn’s his own E-flat quartet, K. 428, a work storytelling, but the underlying collection of six string quartets, Op.
    [Show full text]
  • Manhattan School of Music OPERA THEATER DONA D
    Manhattan School of Music OPERA THEATER DONA D. VAUGHN, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Manhattan School of Music wishes to express its gratitude to the Joseph F. McCrindle Foundation for its generous endowment gif to fund Opera Theater productions. Manhattan School of Music is privileged to be able to honor the legacy of Joseph F. McCrindle through its Opera Studies Program. MSM OPERA THEATER Dona D. Vaughn, Artistic Director EMMELINE An opera in two acts by Tobias Picker (BM ’76) Based on the novel by Judith Rossner Libretto by J. D. McClatchy George Manahan (BM ’73, MM ’76), Conductor Thaddeus Strassberger, Director Used by arrangement with European American Music Distributors Company, sole U.S. and Canadian agent for Schott Helicon Music Corporation, publisher and copyright owner. For this production of Emmeline some sections of the original text and music have been amended by the composer and director to reflect the contemporary setting. THURSDAY–SATURDAY, APRIL 25–27, 2019 | 7:30 PM SUNDAY, APRIL 28, 2019 | 2:30 PM NEIDORFF-KARPATI HALL A warm welcome to MSM Opera Theater’s spring mainstage production in Neidorf-Karpati Hall! It has been a wonderful year for MSM Opera Theater as we have joined in the celebration of Manhattan School of Music’s Centennial, programming works that celebrate our past productions, our distinguished alumni composers, and our current talented young artists. Our opera season began in November at The Riverside Church with two performances of Opera Scenes. The program included scenes from Marc Blitzstein’s The Harpies (premiered at MSM in 1953), Scott Eyerly’s The House of the Seven Gables (premiered at MSM in 2000), Richard Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos, and Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, which was given its first performance at the Metropolitan Opera in 1918, the year of MSM’s founding.
    [Show full text]
  • Anti-Bullying Opera
    NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 2013 Anti-Bullying Opera Opera San José recently introduced its new, one- has touched me in many divergent ways,” stated act touring opera, Billy Goats Gruff on November Di Salvo. “The threat of being bullied is one of 1, 2012, at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library the number one reasons for students staying at in honor of National Opera Week. John Davies’ home.” Billy Goats Gruff tells the classic fairytale of the In response to Di Salvo’s initiative, Opera San three billy goats with a contemporary twist, as José is presenting Billy Goats Gruff as part of it tackles the issue of bullying and promotes the its K-12 educational programming for the 2012- power of kindness and tolerance. Perfect for K-6 2013 season. “Billy Goats Gruff not only pro- grade students, this engaging 45-minute perfor- vides children with a positive experience of an art mance is set to recognizable melodies from some form that may be new to them, but uses the power of opera’s most beloved composers, including of artistic expression to address the on-going epi- Mozart, Rossini and Donizetti. demic of bullying in schools and communities. Bullying can be verbal, physical or via the Inter- We hope to do our part to educate young people net. It can severely affect the victim’s self-image, about this serious matter...” says General Direc- social interactions and school performance, of- tor Irene Dalis. ten leading to insecurity, lack of self-esteem, and Opera San José is currently booking Billy Goats depression in adulthood.
    [Show full text]
  • Dream of the Red Chamber a New American Opera by Bright Sheng and David Henry Hwang Will Tour the People’S Republic of China
    DREAM OF THE RED CHAMBER A NEW AMERICAN OPERA BY BRIGHT SHENG AND DAVID HENRY HWANG WILL TOUR THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA Beijing, Changsha and Wuhan opera audiences welcome work commissioned by the San Francisco Opera, directed by Stan Lai with sets and costumes by Tim Yip (September 8–23, 2017) BEIJING (August 15, 2017) — Dream of the Red Chamber, an opera by the Shanghai-born composer Bright Sheng with a libretto by Sheng and Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang, will tour to the People’s Republic of China in September 2017, a press conference announced today at the late 18th-century Prince Gong Mansion in Beijing. The production, directed by Stan Lai with visual designs by Oscar-winner Tim Yip, will appear on tour co-produced by Poly Theatre Management Co., Ltd. and Armstrong International Music & Arts Enterprises, Ltd., traveling to three Chinese cities in six performances. The tour opens with two performances at Beijing’s Poly Theatre on September 8 and 9. The work will then be presented as part of the grand opening of the Meixihu International Culture and Arts Centre Grand Theatre in the southern city of Changsha on September 15 and 16. Designed by the late Zaha Hadid, the Meixihu complex was among the noted British Iraqi-born architect’s last projects before her sudden death in March 2016. The third and final stop will be the Qintai Grand Theatre in Wuhan on September 22 and 23. Based on China’s literary epic, Dream of the Red Chamber had its world premiere at San Francisco Opera (which originally commissioned the work) on September 10, 2016, playing to capacity crowds at San Francisco’s War Memorial Opera House.
    [Show full text]
  • Chinglish by David Henry Hwang
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Dafina McMillan May 11, 2012 [email protected] 212-609-5955 New from TCG Books: Chinglish by David Henry Hwang NEW YORK, NY – Theatre Communications Group (TCG) is pleased to announce the publication of Chinglish, an uproarious new comedy by two-time Pulitzer finalist David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly, Yellow Face). Chinglish received its world premiere at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre in 2011 before transferring to Broadway later that year. Declared the “Best American Play of 2011” by Time magazine, Chinglish will be adapted for an upcoming film by director-producer Justin Lin with a screenplay by Hwang. “A triumph in any language. Chinglish is sexy, fun and hilarious.” ― New York magazine Springing from the author’s personal experiences in China over the past five years, Chinglish follows a Midwestern American businessman desperately seeking to score a lucrative contact for his family’s firm as he travels to China only to discover how much he doesn't understand. Named for the unique and often comical third language that evolves from attempts to translate Chinese signs into English, Chinglish explores the challenges of doing business in a culture whose language – and ways of communicating – are worlds apart from our own. “A sly, funny, multi-tiered joke with a laugh-out-loud surface that conceals a movingly somber after taste.” ― Village Voice To celebrate the launch of Chinglish, TCG and the Jerome L. Greene Performance Space presented “An Evening with David Henry Hwang” on Monday, May 7 at 7pm. The sold-out event featured Mr. Hwang in conversation with Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director of the Public Theater, and readings with Brian d’Arcy James, Francis Jue, Jennifer Lim and BD Wong.
    [Show full text]
  • MANY DIFFERENT SAMPLES of REVIEWS December 1, 2006 Music
    MANY DIFFERENT SAMPLES OF REVIEWS December 1, 2006 Music Review | Miró Quartet A Favored Foursome Steps Outside the List of Favorites By ALLAN KOZINN It often seems surprising that, as vast as the string quartet repertory is, most ensembles draw from a relatively circumscribed well of favorites and acknowledged masterworks. The young musicians of the Miró Quartet set the core canon aside on Wednesday evening, when they played a concert at Alice Tully Hall. The program, presented by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center as part of the quartet’s 2005 Cleveland Quartet Award, included less frequently traveled works by Shostakovich and Dvorak, and a score by Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga, a 19th-century Spanish composer whose works are now finding their way into the repertory. The group opened its program with Arriaga’s String Quartet No. 3, a work that it is also playing tonight on an otherwise unrelated program at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. You can’t have too much Arriaga: this Spanish composer died in 1826, just shy of his 20th birthday, but the pieces he left — the quartets and some symphonic works — have a true spark of originality. He was called the Spanish Mozart, but his spirit and style are more akin to Beethoven’s; the opening movement of this Third Quartet bears a passing resemblance — in its rhythms and the shape of its main theme — to Beethoven’s Quartet No. 1 (Op. 18, No. 1). Even more striking are the later movements, which point toward Schubert, Brahms and Dvorak in both their melodic and textural richness.
    [Show full text]
  • A Fusion of Flamenco and Opera
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Evan Calbi at (213) 740-3229 [email protected] A Fusion of Flamenco and Opera The USC Thornton Opera Program presents Osvaldo Golijov’s challenging, flamenco-inspired contemporary opera, “Ainadamar” Osvaldo Golijov’s contemporary opera Ainadamar (Arabic for “Fountain of Tears”) imagines the final hours of Federico García Lorca’s life through the eyes of his friend, the Catalan actress Margarita Xirgu. Lorca, the famed poet and playwright, was murdered in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War. This November, the USC Thornton Opera will bring the tale of passion and intrigue to the stage for three performances. “It is a wonderful piece: musically thrilling and diverse, theatrically very exciting and tight.” said resident stage director Ken Cazan, chair of the Vocal Arts & Opera program. Ainadamar features a Spanish-language libretto by playwright David Henry Hwang and a flamenco-inspired score. For this ambitious production, the USC Thornton Symphony will be joined in the pit by flamenco guitarist and Thornton faculty member Adam del Monte. The opera, which premiered in its current version in 2005, originally featured several USC Thornton alumni, including mezzo-soprano Kelley O'Connor (’02) and soprano Jessica Rivera (MM ’98) in leading roles. Flamenco guitarist del Monte was also featured in the 2005 production and subsequent recording, as was Classical Guitar faculty member William Kanengiser. Given the challenges of the Spanish-language libretto, a rarity in the opera world, the program has engaged top artistic talent to work with student musicians, including soprano Dawn Upshaw, who originated the role of Margarita Xirgu, and soprano and diction coach, Jennifer Ringo.
    [Show full text]