Tuesday, April 24, 2012
A great Opergasm Review of Talise
OPERAGASM EXCLUSIVE REVIEW: TALISE TREVIGNE, AT THE STATUE OF VENUS- A TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY DELIGHT
04/24/12
REVIEWS
by Liz Mattox
If you are not familiar with the composer and pianist Jake Heggie, you should be. If you have never heard of four time Emmy award winner, conductor, lyricist, and composer Glen Roven, get acquainted. If the refined voice and artistry of soprano Talise Trevigne doesn’t ring a bell, drop everything and listen to the album “At the Statue of Venus,” which features her beautiful interpretation of two of Heggie’s song cycles “Natural Selection” with poetry by Gini Savage and “At the Statue of Venus,” with libretto by Terrence McNally and Roven’s settings of poems by various poets, accompanied by the composers themselves.
The first set of songs, “Natural Selection,” “trace a young woman’s search for her own identity.” The first notes of Heggie’s piano introduction in the song “Creation” paint a vivid image of a young woman opening her eyes for the first time to the idea of being an adult out from under the watchful eyes of her parents, with beautiful two note suspensions and resolutions leading into a soft entrance of the vocal line, managed exquisitely by Trevigne. The next song in the set describes a youthful evolvement of the character’s sexuality. Entitled “Animal Passion,” Heggie mimicks animal sounds in the piano accompaniment while the vocal line dips and soars in a wide range of melody that Trevigne handles with technical expertise and stellar musicianship.
The next two songs in this set “Alas! Alack!” and “Indian Summer” may be my two favorite in this cycle. The former’s poem compares the different men that the character dates to all sorts of heroes and villains from various well-known operas, like Tosca and The Magic Flute, which is perhaps my singer’s biased affinity coming forth. In “Indian Summer,” Heggie spices the music up with a jazz bass line in the piano while Trevigne adds some delicious, darker colors to her voice.
When listening to the next set of songs on this album, Roven’s “Santa Fe” songs, one word comes to mind and that is melancholy. In the liner notes of the CD, Roven explains the process out of which these songs came to be: During the summer of 2011 in the wake of a “monumental personal tragedy” he found himself in the city of Santa Fe where the town’s “mystical magic crept into [his] very marrow although [he] didn’t know it the time.” Attempting to come to terms with his loss he came upon a book of Santa Fe poems that he later evolved into this set of songs, ultimately aiding his healing process. The result is this beautiful, deeply personal and raw setting of emotions into his “Santa Fe Songs.”
The music in these songs requires the performers, both pianist and vocalist, to be masters of their craft. “Spring, 1948,” for example, has completely opposing piano and vocal lines where one does not lend itself to the other, meaning both musicians must know exactly what they are doing. Roven and Trevigne pull this off effortlessly, uniting the two lines into a duet that makes the words and music come together seamlessly but with the sad passion that which the composer wrote it.
Like Heggie, Roven also includes a jazz-infused song in this set called “Listening to jazz now.” This being one of the peppier tunes, the piano is a fun partner to a lighter tone in Trevigne’s vocal line, which add to the phrases in the poem such as “I’m happy, sun shining outside like it was my lifetime achievement award.”
Two of my other favorites from this set are “Signs and Portents”, in which Trevigne displays her marvelous breath control and musical understanding of the strikingly morbid words in the poem, and “Bowl,” where Roven writes some gorgeous melodies to a tender poem by Valerie Martinez.
The last set on the album, “At the Statue of Venus,” could be called a one-woman show, similar to “The Vagina Monologues,” only set to music. The libretto by Terrence McNally is a hilarious description of a woman named Rose waiting for a blind date at the Statue of Venus, a situation that all of us can relate to on some level, whether or not we’ve ever been set up on a blind date before or not. In his brief note on the set Heggie asks “To be willing to be judged by another person – does anything make us more vulnerable but human, too?” An excellent point and idea to keep in mind as one listens to his setting.
The first song’s title, “The Slacks Were a Mistake,” in and of itself made me LOL. In the piano introduction Heggie sets the stage as though Rose were nervously walking to her destination at the Statue, sits down or stops walking once she reaches it, and declares with a gripping interval that the slacks were indeed a mistake. The piano brilliantly accompanies the rest of the character’s monologue as if it were her thoughts, imitating and exaggerating the words she is saying.
One of the elements I appreciate in contemporary music, especially if the composer is alive and you are able to discuss with them their intent when they wrote their music, is that some rules are often thrown out. In classical singing, sliding notes together (a lazy glissando, if you will) might be frowned upon, but Trevigne and/or Heggie (I’m not sure whose decision it was) makes a splendid use of this ornament in the second song, “It Was a Sexy Voice.” When imitating the “sexy voice”, the singer appropriately uses the “lazy glissando” on words like “sexy” or the phrase “shall we” when the character’s date is speaking to her.
In several of the songs in the set “Rose” sings “la, la, la, la…” to a simple melody, depicting the character’s uneasy mind frame. I enjoy the fact that Trevigne held back in this part of the song and kept it uncomplicated. Each time it happens in the music she doesn’t turn it into a moment of operatic display: She keeps it simple, in tune with the character’s overall anxious sentiment.
Criticisms I have of this work are few but if I had one it would be that, as a singer, knowing how difficult English is to sing in and often understand (although Ms. Trevigne does an overall excellent job with her diction) it would have been nice if the CD came with the words printed in the jacket. However, GPRecords has conveniently made note that the texts are available on their web site, GPRecords.com.
If you consider yourself a champion of classical music, if you claim to know very little but would like to learn more about the composers of the twenty-first century, this album is an excellent place to start. Jake Heggie and Glen Roven are clearly some of today’s outstanding composers, pianists, and conductors, and Talise Trevigne puts a unique and enjoyable stamp on their compositions.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
LARB
I'm thrilled to be a contributed to the LA Review of Books. Here's my profile!
Glen Roven
Glen Roven has Four Emmys, played Carnegie Hall three times, has two nephews, and had one great love.
(From the LARB Questionnaire:)
Best piece of advice you ever received?
When I was twenty-one and conducting the biggest hit on Broadway, I had dinner with Phyllis Diller and Ann Miller. (How's that for an opening sentence, all my novelist friends?) Phyllis looked across her pasta and gave me a piece of advice I have never forgot, a piece of advice I didn't really understand at the time, or rather didn't believe: "Kid," she said, "never expect ANYONE to help you. No one ever will. Trust me on that. You do it all yourself. Every last Goddamn thing. And you do it all the time, every day." Now that I'm 51 all I can say is, "How true, Phyllis. How true."
Who reads you first?
As I'm primarily (I hope!) a composer, the question really is, Who listens to you first? Easy. For 30 years, my companion, partner, significant other, oh heck, whatever the term is, my sweetheart was the best critic a composer could ever have. Although not a musician by profession-he trained horses--, he had the most critical ear and unfailingly good judgment about music, especially vocal music, of anyone I have ever encountered. What more could someone want? If he liked something, I was golden. If he didn't, it went right into the trash. Most of the time. There was one song I wrote, or rather, one melody, he absolutely loathed. He made me cut it from every show or every album I tried to shoe-horn it into. Unfortunately we never agreed to disagree. He was adamant. Despite me telling him incessantly how Blue Moon and Getting to Know You also appeared in several shows before they landed. He hated the song so much, no matter what new title or lyric I gave it, he would invariably attack my producer and say, "You're not going to let him put that rubbish in your show, are you? That cut-out. That old-news-rewritten crap!" You got to love a man like that. And I did.
Glen Roven
Glen Roven has Four Emmys, played Carnegie Hall three times, has two nephews, and had one great love.
(From the LARB Questionnaire:)
Best piece of advice you ever received?
When I was twenty-one and conducting the biggest hit on Broadway, I had dinner with Phyllis Diller and Ann Miller. (How's that for an opening sentence, all my novelist friends?) Phyllis looked across her pasta and gave me a piece of advice I have never forgot, a piece of advice I didn't really understand at the time, or rather didn't believe: "Kid," she said, "never expect ANYONE to help you. No one ever will. Trust me on that. You do it all yourself. Every last Goddamn thing. And you do it all the time, every day." Now that I'm 51 all I can say is, "How true, Phyllis. How true."
Who reads you first?
As I'm primarily (I hope!) a composer, the question really is, Who listens to you first? Easy. For 30 years, my companion, partner, significant other, oh heck, whatever the term is, my sweetheart was the best critic a composer could ever have. Although not a musician by profession-he trained horses--, he had the most critical ear and unfailingly good judgment about music, especially vocal music, of anyone I have ever encountered. What more could someone want? If he liked something, I was golden. If he didn't, it went right into the trash. Most of the time. There was one song I wrote, or rather, one melody, he absolutely loathed. He made me cut it from every show or every album I tried to shoe-horn it into. Unfortunately we never agreed to disagree. He was adamant. Despite me telling him incessantly how Blue Moon and Getting to Know You also appeared in several shows before they landed. He hated the song so much, no matter what new title or lyric I gave it, he would invariably attack my producer and say, "You're not going to let him put that rubbish in your show, are you? That cut-out. That old-news-rewritten crap!" You got to love a man like that. And I did.
An article about doing the Opening of EuroDisney
A man got in touch with me a while ago saying he liked my music that I wrote for Disney! I was thrilled someone noticed. He got in touch again and did an interview with me about my music for the opening of EuroDisney! Nice!
Two decades ago on Saturday the 11th of April 1992, The Grand Opening of Euro Disney was broadcast around the world. This live TV special introduced Disney’s new £2.2 billion resort to the general public and finally revealed many of its closely guarded secrets. @CafeFantasia recently got in contact with the show’s Music Director, Glen Roven, to write an exclusive interview for Euro Souvenirland.
In the closing credits of The Grand Opening of Euro Disney, you’re listed as the Music Director. For those of us that don’t know, could you explain the basics? What is a Music Director, and how does being one differ from being a Composer?
Titles like this are always a bit vague and are usually open to interpretation. I feel a Music Director is in charge of every aspect of the music of a show. A show like this has original music to be written, original musical numbers to be written, music to be picked, music to be orchestrated, arranged, recorded, conducted, rehearsed, delivered in the proper technical TV format. And I’m a bit of a control freak with these things, so I like to control and supervise everything! In fact, I even like to stick my nose where it doesn’t belong.
I wrote a great amount of musical numbers for a show called Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood a while back (in 1987) and I made the costume designer show me his sketches! Of course I wouldn’t change a thing, but I liked to see how everything adds up to a final product. A specific answer to your question, as to how does it differ; the Musical Director would supervise the composer or even hire the composer, unless the composer is a big star like Alan Menken, where the Music Director would realise his vision.
How did you first get involved with The Grand Opening of Euro Disney? How did the opportunity come about to work on such a large project?
I got a phone call from Don Mischer, the Executive Producer. He used to hire me a lot, because I was known for being able to handle huge events, Presidential Inaugurations, Emmy shows, etc. Plus I did the same job for the Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park Grand Opening special in 1989. I also did the same job for the Grand Opening of Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 1998, but that was after. They all blend together a bit.
Did you get to visit Euro Disney during the project, or did you compose the music remotely in America?
I remember we had two trips. One as a survey where the park was hardly even completed but we got a tour of what was about to happen so we could get ideas and have the layout in our collective heads. And then we went again, about a month before the park opened to prep the show. It was a great job!
What was your initial impression of Euro Disney when you first visited the park? How did it feel to experience it before the general public?
Going to the parks before they are open is always an amazing experience. You have the entire theme park all… to… yourself! And you get to go on the rides over and over and over. And then the Imagineers ask you, “was it too fast, too slow?” And sometimes things simply don’t work and are completely revamped immediately. That was especially true when Eisner was running Disney. I remember when he saw a specific ride, didn’t like it, and they closed the ride till they re-jigged it. Riding the Kilimanjaro Safaris at the opening of Disney’s Animal Kingdom was amazing. I was able to do it ten times in a row!
For those of us who don’t know, which pieces of music in The Grand Opening of Euro Disney did you specifically compose?
I don’t really remember! But chances are, if it’s not a famous song, I wrote it!
Out of everything you composed for The Grand Opening of Euro Disney, which piece of music is your favourite and why?
Again, I don’t really remember. But I do remember creating a whole Western sequence, with lots of different traditional Cowboy songs interwoven, for the opening of Frontierland. I guess because I remember it, I probably liked it.
Could you talk a little bit about your process? Where do you start when you’re composing?
I usually hear things quickly in my head. And then it’s a matter of writing them down. I’ve never been one to get writer’s block, especially with a job I’m hired for. I think of myself as a craftsman. They need music, I write music!
Did you encounter any challenges while working on The Grand Opening of Euro Disney? What was the most difficult thing to accomplish?
Well, I remember we had Cher, The Four Tops and The Temptations on the show. I went out to Munich to record. They assured me there were good session musicians out there (drummers, bass players, pianists). However, when we got there, they were not up to our usual standard; they were in fact horrible! Anyway, I recorded the music with them, then we threw it all out! Then I flew out musicians from London and Hollywood and re-recorded everything. That was a challenge. I remember being on the phone with Don Mischer who couldn’t believe the first recordings were as bad as I said. So I help up the phone to the playback speakers. I could hear Don almost faint on the other end. Without a moment’s pause he said, “Trash ‘em. Come back. We’ll do it again!”
How did the decision to record with the Munich Philharmonic come about? Was it always the plan that a full orchestra would perform your music, or was it an idea that evolved?
We needed a big sound for that old fashioned “Disney” sound. And we were in Europe. I think someone at the studio suggestion the Munich Philharmonic. And they were great.
What’s your fondest memory of working on The Grand Opening of Euro Disney? What’s the one thing you’ll never forget?
I just loved getting a trip to France all paid for! I loved the small restaurant in Marne-la-Vallée that we ate at. I loved taking the RER A into Paris. I loved the details in Euro Disneyland. The artisans Disney found to paint the rides were amazing. I loved going to Munich. So many memories…
Out of all the rides and attractions at the Disney theme parks around the world, which one do you think has the best score and why?
That’s a hard one. Music is really such an integral part of the Disney Parks and their rides. I like the songs the best. I guess my absolutely favourite is it’s a small world! I know some people find that song annoying, but I find it astounding! Imagine being able to write a song that’s so damn memorable that it is annoying!!!! That song wasn’t written; it was dictated from God!
Do you find it frustrating that so much of the music composed for the Disney theme parks, such as yours for The Grand Opening of Euro Disney, is never released commercially?
Nah, it’s just a part of my job.
With 2012 marking the 20th Anniversary of Disneyland Paris, what’s the biggest change in music you’ve seen in the last 20 years?
It has to be how to incorporate electronic technology. 20 years ago the technology was so primitive compared to what we have now.
Looking back on your career in music, what has been your most memorable project and why?
That’s a tough one. I like to say the best is yet to come. But a few highlights: Conducting the First Inauguration of Bill Clinton on the steps of the Lincoln Monument. My first huge number I wrote for Liza Minnelli. Working with Julie Andrews, Whitney Houston, Patti LaBelle, Michael Jackson. Conducting Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr.’s last concerts on TV. Having great classical artists like Daniel Okulitch and Talise Trevigne record my songs. Conducting my Violin Concerto at Carnegie Hall. Playing the piano at Carnegie Hall. Seeing all my songs published. Seeing all my translations published.
And looking ahead, can you tell us about any upcoming projects?
I just finished writing a new opera called ANDERSON’S SOLO. Hopefully that will get produced. I have two musicals hopefully headed to Broadway. I am running a small CD label now and we have amazing artists. Now that major classical labels are all tanking, all the biggest opera stars in the world are recording with little GPR Records. So I’m looking forward to recording with Patricia Racette, Stephanie Blythe, Charles Castronovo, Poulo Szott, Ramon Vargas, etc.
Two decades ago on Saturday the 11th of April 1992, The Grand Opening of Euro Disney was broadcast around the world. This live TV special introduced Disney’s new £2.2 billion resort to the general public and finally revealed many of its closely guarded secrets. @CafeFantasia recently got in contact with the show’s Music Director, Glen Roven, to write an exclusive interview for Euro Souvenirland.
In the closing credits of The Grand Opening of Euro Disney, you’re listed as the Music Director. For those of us that don’t know, could you explain the basics? What is a Music Director, and how does being one differ from being a Composer?
Titles like this are always a bit vague and are usually open to interpretation. I feel a Music Director is in charge of every aspect of the music of a show. A show like this has original music to be written, original musical numbers to be written, music to be picked, music to be orchestrated, arranged, recorded, conducted, rehearsed, delivered in the proper technical TV format. And I’m a bit of a control freak with these things, so I like to control and supervise everything! In fact, I even like to stick my nose where it doesn’t belong.
I wrote a great amount of musical numbers for a show called Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood a while back (in 1987) and I made the costume designer show me his sketches! Of course I wouldn’t change a thing, but I liked to see how everything adds up to a final product. A specific answer to your question, as to how does it differ; the Musical Director would supervise the composer or even hire the composer, unless the composer is a big star like Alan Menken, where the Music Director would realise his vision.
How did you first get involved with The Grand Opening of Euro Disney? How did the opportunity come about to work on such a large project?
I got a phone call from Don Mischer, the Executive Producer. He used to hire me a lot, because I was known for being able to handle huge events, Presidential Inaugurations, Emmy shows, etc. Plus I did the same job for the Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park Grand Opening special in 1989. I also did the same job for the Grand Opening of Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 1998, but that was after. They all blend together a bit.
Did you get to visit Euro Disney during the project, or did you compose the music remotely in America?
I remember we had two trips. One as a survey where the park was hardly even completed but we got a tour of what was about to happen so we could get ideas and have the layout in our collective heads. And then we went again, about a month before the park opened to prep the show. It was a great job!
What was your initial impression of Euro Disney when you first visited the park? How did it feel to experience it before the general public?
Going to the parks before they are open is always an amazing experience. You have the entire theme park all… to… yourself! And you get to go on the rides over and over and over. And then the Imagineers ask you, “was it too fast, too slow?” And sometimes things simply don’t work and are completely revamped immediately. That was especially true when Eisner was running Disney. I remember when he saw a specific ride, didn’t like it, and they closed the ride till they re-jigged it. Riding the Kilimanjaro Safaris at the opening of Disney’s Animal Kingdom was amazing. I was able to do it ten times in a row!
For those of us who don’t know, which pieces of music in The Grand Opening of Euro Disney did you specifically compose?
I don’t really remember! But chances are, if it’s not a famous song, I wrote it!
Out of everything you composed for The Grand Opening of Euro Disney, which piece of music is your favourite and why?
Again, I don’t really remember. But I do remember creating a whole Western sequence, with lots of different traditional Cowboy songs interwoven, for the opening of Frontierland. I guess because I remember it, I probably liked it.
Could you talk a little bit about your process? Where do you start when you’re composing?
I usually hear things quickly in my head. And then it’s a matter of writing them down. I’ve never been one to get writer’s block, especially with a job I’m hired for. I think of myself as a craftsman. They need music, I write music!
Did you encounter any challenges while working on The Grand Opening of Euro Disney? What was the most difficult thing to accomplish?
Well, I remember we had Cher, The Four Tops and The Temptations on the show. I went out to Munich to record. They assured me there were good session musicians out there (drummers, bass players, pianists). However, when we got there, they were not up to our usual standard; they were in fact horrible! Anyway, I recorded the music with them, then we threw it all out! Then I flew out musicians from London and Hollywood and re-recorded everything. That was a challenge. I remember being on the phone with Don Mischer who couldn’t believe the first recordings were as bad as I said. So I help up the phone to the playback speakers. I could hear Don almost faint on the other end. Without a moment’s pause he said, “Trash ‘em. Come back. We’ll do it again!”
How did the decision to record with the Munich Philharmonic come about? Was it always the plan that a full orchestra would perform your music, or was it an idea that evolved?
We needed a big sound for that old fashioned “Disney” sound. And we were in Europe. I think someone at the studio suggestion the Munich Philharmonic. And they were great.
What’s your fondest memory of working on The Grand Opening of Euro Disney? What’s the one thing you’ll never forget?
I just loved getting a trip to France all paid for! I loved the small restaurant in Marne-la-Vallée that we ate at. I loved taking the RER A into Paris. I loved the details in Euro Disneyland. The artisans Disney found to paint the rides were amazing. I loved going to Munich. So many memories…
Out of all the rides and attractions at the Disney theme parks around the world, which one do you think has the best score and why?
That’s a hard one. Music is really such an integral part of the Disney Parks and their rides. I like the songs the best. I guess my absolutely favourite is it’s a small world! I know some people find that song annoying, but I find it astounding! Imagine being able to write a song that’s so damn memorable that it is annoying!!!! That song wasn’t written; it was dictated from God!
Do you find it frustrating that so much of the music composed for the Disney theme parks, such as yours for The Grand Opening of Euro Disney, is never released commercially?
Nah, it’s just a part of my job.
With 2012 marking the 20th Anniversary of Disneyland Paris, what’s the biggest change in music you’ve seen in the last 20 years?
It has to be how to incorporate electronic technology. 20 years ago the technology was so primitive compared to what we have now.
Looking back on your career in music, what has been your most memorable project and why?
That’s a tough one. I like to say the best is yet to come. But a few highlights: Conducting the First Inauguration of Bill Clinton on the steps of the Lincoln Monument. My first huge number I wrote for Liza Minnelli. Working with Julie Andrews, Whitney Houston, Patti LaBelle, Michael Jackson. Conducting Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr.’s last concerts on TV. Having great classical artists like Daniel Okulitch and Talise Trevigne record my songs. Conducting my Violin Concerto at Carnegie Hall. Playing the piano at Carnegie Hall. Seeing all my songs published. Seeing all my translations published.
And looking ahead, can you tell us about any upcoming projects?
I just finished writing a new opera called ANDERSON’S SOLO. Hopefully that will get produced. I have two musicals hopefully headed to Broadway. I am running a small CD label now and we have amazing artists. Now that major classical labels are all tanking, all the biggest opera stars in the world are recording with little GPR Records. So I’m looking forward to recording with Patricia Racette, Stephanie Blythe, Charles Castronovo, Poulo Szott, Ramon Vargas, etc.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Patricia Racettes First Night concert
THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2012
Patricia Racette: Diva on Detour (and right at home)
"Would you be interested in attending a live recording session for a cabaret album Patricia Racette is doing?" is a question admitting of only one answer. And so, Gentle Readers, I found myself yesterday at the studio of GPR Records, in an atmosphere fizzing with champagne and cheerful anticipation. Eventually, we settled ourselves, obediently applauded for sound technicians, and then Craig Terry took his place at the Bechstein, and Racette entered and took possession of the room. The contrast with the physical space of the Met could hardly have been more dramatic (the diva flattened herself against the piano in mock alarm) and the smoky smolder Racette brought to the evening's program was a far cry from her Tosca. But it turns out the soprano has a voice for Piaf, as well as Puccini, and she sang the cabaret program with the same emotional directness that has won me over in the opera house. The evening was opened with an energetic medley of "Get Happy" and "I got Rhythm," filled with a joy mirrored in audience cheers when Racette sang "I got rhythm / I got music / I got my gal..." The follow-up of "Here's that Rainy Day" was given with an unrestrained tenderness pointed up by pianistic melancholy. Racette performed Vernon Duke's "Not a Care in the World" with exuberant flair for jazzy syncopations. With the smoky sensuality of "Angel Eyes," we were all drawn into the painful aftermath of a relationship's disintegration. Necessary respite was accorded as Racette invited us to laugh with her as she sang "I'm calm (I'm calm, I'm perfectly calm.)"
Brave is the woman who undertakes to sing songs created by Edith Piaf. Racette not only sang them, but took ownership of them, and of her audience. "Milord" was given with a saucy lilt, transitioning into a fearlessly sensual "Padam." "La vie en rose" was sweet-toned, and unabashedly radiant. "The Man That Got Away" was paired with the deliciously tongue-in-cheek "To Keep my Love Alive." Racette and Terry next gave us an arrangement, devised by Terry, of "Come Rain Or Come Shine," with the piano part based on Bach's Prelude No. 1 in C Major. Racette sang with the radiant confidence and the shattering vulnerability of desire--of love--and I cried so hard I had to take my glasses off. Well, Gentle Readers, you already knew I was sentimental. Rodgers & Hart's lovely "Where or When" was next, followed by a medley of soul-crushing ballads. "I like singing sad songs!" said Racette, by way of introduction; as she pointed out, this is a distinct asset given an operatic repertoire which assigns her a variety of suicides "and death by that good old-fashioned soprano-killer, TB." With remarkable attention to text, she gave us an unflinching examination of hope lost and found in "You've Changed," "Guess Who I Saw Today," "Where Do You Start?" and Cole Porter's "So in Love." We were all still a little emotionally shell-shocked (well, I was, anyway) when Racette segued into her next offering: Piaf's "Mon Dieu." And she got it. And I was completely wrecked. (Did I mention that I love Edith Piaf?) Racette closed with Sondheim's "Not a Day Goes By." No, it's hardly an emotional restorative, but she had us in the palm of her hand and wanting more.
The album resulting from this week's sessions is available for pre-order here.
Patricia Racette: Diva on Detour (and right at home)
"Would you be interested in attending a live recording session for a cabaret album Patricia Racette is doing?" is a question admitting of only one answer. And so, Gentle Readers, I found myself yesterday at the studio of GPR Records, in an atmosphere fizzing with champagne and cheerful anticipation. Eventually, we settled ourselves, obediently applauded for sound technicians, and then Craig Terry took his place at the Bechstein, and Racette entered and took possession of the room. The contrast with the physical space of the Met could hardly have been more dramatic (the diva flattened herself against the piano in mock alarm) and the smoky smolder Racette brought to the evening's program was a far cry from her Tosca. But it turns out the soprano has a voice for Piaf, as well as Puccini, and she sang the cabaret program with the same emotional directness that has won me over in the opera house. The evening was opened with an energetic medley of "Get Happy" and "I got Rhythm," filled with a joy mirrored in audience cheers when Racette sang "I got rhythm / I got music / I got my gal..." The follow-up of "Here's that Rainy Day" was given with an unrestrained tenderness pointed up by pianistic melancholy. Racette performed Vernon Duke's "Not a Care in the World" with exuberant flair for jazzy syncopations. With the smoky sensuality of "Angel Eyes," we were all drawn into the painful aftermath of a relationship's disintegration. Necessary respite was accorded as Racette invited us to laugh with her as she sang "I'm calm (I'm calm, I'm perfectly calm.)"
Brave is the woman who undertakes to sing songs created by Edith Piaf. Racette not only sang them, but took ownership of them, and of her audience. "Milord" was given with a saucy lilt, transitioning into a fearlessly sensual "Padam." "La vie en rose" was sweet-toned, and unabashedly radiant. "The Man That Got Away" was paired with the deliciously tongue-in-cheek "To Keep my Love Alive." Racette and Terry next gave us an arrangement, devised by Terry, of "Come Rain Or Come Shine," with the piano part based on Bach's Prelude No. 1 in C Major. Racette sang with the radiant confidence and the shattering vulnerability of desire--of love--and I cried so hard I had to take my glasses off. Well, Gentle Readers, you already knew I was sentimental. Rodgers & Hart's lovely "Where or When" was next, followed by a medley of soul-crushing ballads. "I like singing sad songs!" said Racette, by way of introduction; as she pointed out, this is a distinct asset given an operatic repertoire which assigns her a variety of suicides "and death by that good old-fashioned soprano-killer, TB." With remarkable attention to text, she gave us an unflinching examination of hope lost and found in "You've Changed," "Guess Who I Saw Today," "Where Do You Start?" and Cole Porter's "So in Love." We were all still a little emotionally shell-shocked (well, I was, anyway) when Racette segued into her next offering: Piaf's "Mon Dieu." And she got it. And I was completely wrecked. (Did I mention that I love Edith Piaf?) Racette closed with Sondheim's "Not a Day Goes By." No, it's hardly an emotional restorative, but she had us in the palm of her hand and wanting more.
The album resulting from this week's sessions is available for pre-order here.
Two Great Pieces about Patricia Racettes LIve Concert
Concert Review: Tosca at the Cabaret
Patricia Racette records standards.
Ed. Note (A clarification: this wasn't exactly a concert, but an invitation-only recording session. Before delving into it, I'd like to thank composer/producer Glen Roven for the gracious invitation, and my good friend Singing Scholar for putting the set list details on her excellent Opera Obsession Blog.)
There is nothing more remarkable than hearing a big voice in a tiny, intimate space.
Such was the case with Thursday evening's recording session with soprano Patricia Racette, who was taking a well-deserved break from the verismo roles that are her bread and butter to record Diva on Detour, a live album of Broadway, songbook standards, and songs by Edith Piaf.
Opera stars don't always get good results when they attempt cross-over repertory, but as the charming soprano assured us, this was music that she grew up singing. Accompanied by the light-fingered pianist Craig Terry, Ms. Racette opened with a quicksilver medley of "I Got Rhythm" and "Get Happy", injecting an exuberant mood into the small recording studio.
The mood darkened with Jimmy Van Heusen's "Here's That Rainy Day," a Sinatra favorite that is all too pertinent in this age of high unemployment and government cutbacks. Vernon Duke's "Not a Care in the World" continued the theme of economic depression, which was lifted by a soulful, pain-drenched reading of "Angel Eyes." Ms. Racette then offered a peep into the hectic world of opera with "I'm Calm," playfully mocking her own backstage persona.
She then shifted into the repertory of Edith Piaf, soaring through the great French singer's vocal lines with ease and idiomatic delivery. She inhabited "Milord" and "Padam" with fierce dignity, drawing long spans of notes and producing a crescendo effect as she moved from song to song. The beloved "La vie en Rose" followed, with the singer delivering France's other national anthem with potency and warmth.
The theme of the set moved to relationships, with the serious ("The Man that Got Away") nimbly paired with parody ("To Keep My Love Alive.") Mr. Terry's unique arrangement of Come Rain or Come Shine, built around the C Major Prelude from Bach's first book of The Well Tempered Clavier bridged musical styles across the centuries, creating a quite lovely, timeless effect.
The climax of the set was a devastating triple-knockout punch of "You've Changed," "Guess Who I Saw Today", and Cole Porter's mighty "So In Love", drawn from his best musical, Kiss Me, Kate. Ms. Racette brought all of her operatic experience inhabiting the broken heroines of Verdi and Puccini to bear on this miniature three-act tragedy, presenting a raw, naked light on the heartbreak of obsession and failed romance.
She returned to the warm arms of Edith Piaf for the finale, the singer's glorious "Mon Dieu." For this fearless artist, who has walked her own path in the course of a remarkable career on the stage, it was a fitting statement of artistic purpose. After a brief pause, she ended with the words of the great Stephen Sondheim. The song was "Not a Day Goes By."
Diva on Detour is available for sale from GPR Records. And it's highly recommended.
Patricia Racette records standards.
Ed. Note (A clarification: this wasn't exactly a concert, but an invitation-only recording session. Before delving into it, I'd like to thank composer/producer Glen Roven for the gracious invitation, and my good friend Singing Scholar for putting the set list details on her excellent Opera Obsession Blog.)
There is nothing more remarkable than hearing a big voice in a tiny, intimate space.
Such was the case with Thursday evening's recording session with soprano Patricia Racette, who was taking a well-deserved break from the verismo roles that are her bread and butter to record Diva on Detour, a live album of Broadway, songbook standards, and songs by Edith Piaf.
Opera stars don't always get good results when they attempt cross-over repertory, but as the charming soprano assured us, this was music that she grew up singing. Accompanied by the light-fingered pianist Craig Terry, Ms. Racette opened with a quicksilver medley of "I Got Rhythm" and "Get Happy", injecting an exuberant mood into the small recording studio.
The mood darkened with Jimmy Van Heusen's "Here's That Rainy Day," a Sinatra favorite that is all too pertinent in this age of high unemployment and government cutbacks. Vernon Duke's "Not a Care in the World" continued the theme of economic depression, which was lifted by a soulful, pain-drenched reading of "Angel Eyes." Ms. Racette then offered a peep into the hectic world of opera with "I'm Calm," playfully mocking her own backstage persona.
She then shifted into the repertory of Edith Piaf, soaring through the great French singer's vocal lines with ease and idiomatic delivery. She inhabited "Milord" and "Padam" with fierce dignity, drawing long spans of notes and producing a crescendo effect as she moved from song to song. The beloved "La vie en Rose" followed, with the singer delivering France's other national anthem with potency and warmth.
The theme of the set moved to relationships, with the serious ("The Man that Got Away") nimbly paired with parody ("To Keep My Love Alive.") Mr. Terry's unique arrangement of Come Rain or Come Shine, built around the C Major Prelude from Bach's first book of The Well Tempered Clavier bridged musical styles across the centuries, creating a quite lovely, timeless effect.
The climax of the set was a devastating triple-knockout punch of "You've Changed," "Guess Who I Saw Today", and Cole Porter's mighty "So In Love", drawn from his best musical, Kiss Me, Kate. Ms. Racette brought all of her operatic experience inhabiting the broken heroines of Verdi and Puccini to bear on this miniature three-act tragedy, presenting a raw, naked light on the heartbreak of obsession and failed romance.
She returned to the warm arms of Edith Piaf for the finale, the singer's glorious "Mon Dieu." For this fearless artist, who has walked her own path in the course of a remarkable career on the stage, it was a fitting statement of artistic purpose. After a brief pause, she ended with the words of the great Stephen Sondheim. The song was "Not a Day Goes By."
Diva on Detour is available for sale from GPR Records. And it's highly recommended.
Monday, April 2, 2012
From Taminophile about Talise
Mecco all' altar di Venere
No, dear reader, it's not another Norma post, but how could I resist making a comparison between the name of Pollione's aria and that of the wonderful CD I am reviewing today, Talise Trevigne's recording At the Statue of Venus, on GPR Records. OK, it's a stretch, but if about half of you think it's clever, I'm OK with it.
Courtesy GPRRecords.com
I say this is a wonderful CD because I am enamored with the lovely Miss Trevigne's singing and her interpretation of the three works on the CD--a song cycle and a scena by Mr. Jake Heggie, known for his widely acclaimed operatic setting of Dead Man Walking, among other things, as well as a song collection by Mr. Glen Roven. Those with razor-sharp memories will recall that I praised Miss Trevigne's singing in the brief role of Jemmy in Guillaume Tell at Caramoor last July.
The centerpiece of this CD is Mr. Heggie's "At the Statue of Venus", a scena with a very likable libretto by Terrance McNally. This is, in fact, a soprano monodrama in six sections. The story, if one is necessary, is about a woman waiting to meet a blind date and enduring a wide range of predictable adolescent feelings about what she might expect. Junior high school never really ends, does it? The woman becomes pensive, thinking about what she really wants from love and recalling the feeling of safety and certainty in her father's arms, and in the last section is finally her confident self, appearing to put her adolescent fears to rest, believing that if the man she is meeting today is truly the one for her, she'll know.
I call the libretto likable, but the songs as a whole are quite beautiful, showing the conflict and fear in the woman's heart and the humor of the libretto at the same time. As she grows in turns fearful, angry, self-deprecating, pensive, and confident, Mr. Heggie's piano accompaniment and vocal lines tell us all, reinforcing the humor and pathos in the libretto, skillfully building tension and release. Miss Trevigne gives us lyrical, passionate, beautifully heartfelt performances of these songs. This work is worth the price of the CD.
I also enjoyed the other cycle from Mr. Heggie's pen, "Natural Selection", to five poems by Gini Savage. The liner notes explain these songs "trace a young woman's search for her own identity." My favorites of this cycle were "Animal Passion", in which the poet revels in fantasies of behaving like a wild animal in heat--or at least in the gutter--and "Alas! Alack!", in which she rather too proudly complains about being attracted to the bad boys. Cavaradossi bores her, but Scarpia has all that power and a steady job! (I would swear I heard motives from Tosca in Mr. Heggie's piano part!) In "Indian Summer" she rhapsodizes about the car that gave her freedom in her teenage years and contrasts it to her current life as the wife of a Bluebeard-like man, a veritable emotional hostage. I quite like Mr. Heggie's boogie-woogie piano part for the automotive rhapsody compared to the blues feel when the poet sings about being Bluebeard's wife.
The songs in the third collection, "The Santa Fe Songs," are settings by Mr. Roven of eight poems by various poets each related in some way to Santa Fe. Mr. Roven discloses in his liner notes how finding the volume that contains these poems offered some solace in the dazed period after suffering a tragic loss. Among my favorites are "Listening to jazz now" (Jimmy Santiago Baca), a joyful song about simple pleasures. "Bowl" (Valerie Martìnez) contemplates a bowl as metaphor for the cosmos, the earth and sea, and a chalice that unites all mankind. In "Flying Backbone" (Christopher Buckley), Mr. Roven's piano part reflects the logy feeling of the first verse ("...our selves water heavy and/Low, lusterless as river bottom clay. ") and the more airy feeling of the second. "Bone Bead" and "Sowing the Pecos Wilderness" (both Thomas Fox Averill) are about the emptiness and eventual hope felt after flinging a loved one's ashes to the wind. Miss Trevigne sings these songs, somewhat more complex in melodic nature than those of Mr. Heggie, with beauty of tone and feeling for the poems. As with all the songs on this album, it is easy to understand her English diction. This is a major accomplishment for any singer.
I've written before that I'm not qualified to judge the technical merits of new-ish music, and have joked that November 29, 1924, was to me The Day the Music Died (sorry, Don McLean), but I like these songs, and this CD will not gather dust on my shelf. (Well, not much--I'm a very bad housekeeper.) I especially like Miss Trevigne and hope to hear more recordings and see more live performance by this appealing artist.
No, dear reader, it's not another Norma post, but how could I resist making a comparison between the name of Pollione's aria and that of the wonderful CD I am reviewing today, Talise Trevigne's recording At the Statue of Venus, on GPR Records. OK, it's a stretch, but if about half of you think it's clever, I'm OK with it.
Courtesy GPRRecords.com
I say this is a wonderful CD because I am enamored with the lovely Miss Trevigne's singing and her interpretation of the three works on the CD--a song cycle and a scena by Mr. Jake Heggie, known for his widely acclaimed operatic setting of Dead Man Walking, among other things, as well as a song collection by Mr. Glen Roven. Those with razor-sharp memories will recall that I praised Miss Trevigne's singing in the brief role of Jemmy in Guillaume Tell at Caramoor last July.
The centerpiece of this CD is Mr. Heggie's "At the Statue of Venus", a scena with a very likable libretto by Terrance McNally. This is, in fact, a soprano monodrama in six sections. The story, if one is necessary, is about a woman waiting to meet a blind date and enduring a wide range of predictable adolescent feelings about what she might expect. Junior high school never really ends, does it? The woman becomes pensive, thinking about what she really wants from love and recalling the feeling of safety and certainty in her father's arms, and in the last section is finally her confident self, appearing to put her adolescent fears to rest, believing that if the man she is meeting today is truly the one for her, she'll know.
I call the libretto likable, but the songs as a whole are quite beautiful, showing the conflict and fear in the woman's heart and the humor of the libretto at the same time. As she grows in turns fearful, angry, self-deprecating, pensive, and confident, Mr. Heggie's piano accompaniment and vocal lines tell us all, reinforcing the humor and pathos in the libretto, skillfully building tension and release. Miss Trevigne gives us lyrical, passionate, beautifully heartfelt performances of these songs. This work is worth the price of the CD.
I also enjoyed the other cycle from Mr. Heggie's pen, "Natural Selection", to five poems by Gini Savage. The liner notes explain these songs "trace a young woman's search for her own identity." My favorites of this cycle were "Animal Passion", in which the poet revels in fantasies of behaving like a wild animal in heat--or at least in the gutter--and "Alas! Alack!", in which she rather too proudly complains about being attracted to the bad boys. Cavaradossi bores her, but Scarpia has all that power and a steady job! (I would swear I heard motives from Tosca in Mr. Heggie's piano part!) In "Indian Summer" she rhapsodizes about the car that gave her freedom in her teenage years and contrasts it to her current life as the wife of a Bluebeard-like man, a veritable emotional hostage. I quite like Mr. Heggie's boogie-woogie piano part for the automotive rhapsody compared to the blues feel when the poet sings about being Bluebeard's wife.
The songs in the third collection, "The Santa Fe Songs," are settings by Mr. Roven of eight poems by various poets each related in some way to Santa Fe. Mr. Roven discloses in his liner notes how finding the volume that contains these poems offered some solace in the dazed period after suffering a tragic loss. Among my favorites are "Listening to jazz now" (Jimmy Santiago Baca), a joyful song about simple pleasures. "Bowl" (Valerie Martìnez) contemplates a bowl as metaphor for the cosmos, the earth and sea, and a chalice that unites all mankind. In "Flying Backbone" (Christopher Buckley), Mr. Roven's piano part reflects the logy feeling of the first verse ("...our selves water heavy and/Low, lusterless as river bottom clay. ") and the more airy feeling of the second. "Bone Bead" and "Sowing the Pecos Wilderness" (both Thomas Fox Averill) are about the emptiness and eventual hope felt after flinging a loved one's ashes to the wind. Miss Trevigne sings these songs, somewhat more complex in melodic nature than those of Mr. Heggie, with beauty of tone and feeling for the poems. As with all the songs on this album, it is easy to understand her English diction. This is a major accomplishment for any singer.
I've written before that I'm not qualified to judge the technical merits of new-ish music, and have joked that November 29, 1924, was to me The Day the Music Died (sorry, Don McLean), but I like these songs, and this CD will not gather dust on my shelf. (Well, not much--I'm a very bad housekeeper.) I especially like Miss Trevigne and hope to hear more recordings and see more live performance by this appealing artist.
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