A rave from Opera News for ANDREW GARLAND

This is our third rave from Opera News in Four Months! WOW. Andrew Garland: "American Portraits" Song cycles by Cipullo, Heggie, Laitman, Paulus; Loewy, piano. No texts. GPR This collection of four contemporary song cycles by American composers merits repeated listening, for the works themselves as well as for the highly accomplished performances by baritone Andrew Garland and pianist Donna Loewy. Garland, a highly communicative performer with an attractive, clear, ringing tone, has wowed New York Festival of Song audiences and appeared successfully in opera (largely Mozart, Rossini and American works) at NYCO, Fort Worth, Boston, Philadelphia and elsewhere. Clearly, song literature is one of his strengths; he bids fair to continue the tradition of such connoisseurs' singers as Donald Gramm, Sanford Sylvan and William Stone in this still-expanding repertory. The cycles — by composers born in the dozen years 1949–61 — are in recognizable, tonal idioms, influenced by Barber, Bernstein, Britten and Poulenc but each with its own composer's stamp. They include: Jake Heggie's Moon is a Mirror, to poems by Vachel Lindsay (1879–1931), given its premiere by Bryn Terfel in 2001; Stephen Paulus's Heartland Portrait, dedicated to and first performed by Thomas Hampson (2005), with texts by Ted Kooser (b. 1939); Lori Laitman's 2000 Men with Small Heads, originated by David Daniels and here transposed, with verse by Thomas Lux (b. 1946); and America 1968, a 2008 group by Tom Cipullo, words by Robert Hayden (1913–80), commissioned by Garland and Loewy. Garland's diction is exceptionally clear and well-inflected, but for such a project, the lack of texts represents a serious oversight, unfair to listeners (especially non-native speakers) and to the poets, composers and performers alike. Heggie's engaging cycle pushes no stylistic envelopes but captures with remarkable fidelity the plain-spoken Lindsay poems, five life-revealing responses by man and beast to the moon. Garland's utterance is very keen here, though a few of the words ("burning," "ants") sound too contemporary in inflection for the implicit early-twentieth-century context. He skillfully handles the melismatic lines demanded by "The Old Horse and the City." "What the Forester Said" shows a seamless legato that suddenly betrays a small crack, surely warranting a retake. Paulus's songs call for expert impressionist pianism. Kooser's long-phrased verses, quite moving, sometimes elude natural-sounding musical scansion, but "At Midnight" packs a wallop, and the lyrical "Porch Swing in September" is pleasing. Baritone and pianist both capture the right tone for Laitman's musically allusive, thoughtfully calibrated yet crowd-pleasing treatment of Lux's drolly observed quotidian pictures. The Cipullo cycle offers the highest drama (Hayden's takes on America's decade of social change can be almost graphically violent) and the most challenging vocal line, with many leaps to register extremes, unlike Heggie and Laitman's more center-based tessitura. Other baritones may struggle to equal Garland's bravura performance here. The cycle concludes with a heartfelt evocation of Frederick Douglass's legacy; its final parlando utterance seems miscalculated on a recording; perhaps it works heard live? Loewy, a sensitive pianist with a clear tone capable of impressive dynamic gradation, is full partner in the whole enterprise. DAVID SHENGOLD

OPERA NEWS ON PATRICIA RACETTE!

http://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2013/5/Recordings/Patricia_Racette__Diva_on_Detour.html Patricia Racette and Craig Terry: "Diva on Detour" GPR Records GPR 10013 Many of us cringe when we hear that a classical singer has done a crossover recording. The casualty list is endless, as there are few who can loosen up enough, forget their classical training and scale their voices down to an intimate level. The handful who have succeeded — among them Eileen Farrell, Dawn Upshaw, Sylvia McNair and Elly Ameling — are the exceptions that prove the rule. It's nice to be able to add the name of Patricia Racette to that small number. There's no surprise that one of the opera stage's finest singing actresses delivers well-honed emotional interpretations of these pop songs and standards. But what's particularly satisfying is the fact that she does not fall into the trap of sounding like an opera singer. No apologies are necessary here; her chesty pop vocal style would be right at home in any cabaret. Ably supported by Craig Terry on piano, Racette recorded this disc in a studio, but with a live audience in attendance. Before her opera career, she used to jam with jazz musicians in garages and basements, so, as she remarks at one point between songs, the experience is "like coming home" to her. She starts off, as many cabaret artists do, with an uptempo medley — in this case "I Got Rhythm" and "Get Happy" — which merely serves as a kind of icebreaker. Soon enough, she's deep into a slow, introspective "Here's That Rainy Day" that develops into a fine jazzy dialogue between her voice and Terry's responsive piano accompaniment. "Not a Care in the World" doesn't really display the required lightness of spirit; this type of jaunty material is not where Racette is most at home. But the cry-in-your-beer classic "Angel Eyes" mines her inherent dramatic abilities, and a trio of Piaf favorites — "Milord," "Padam" and "La Vie en Rose" — are a high point, melding idiomatic French with Racette's trademark emotional intensity. Another Piaf hit, "Mon Dieu," sung toward the end of the disc, is equally strong. Three cabaret standards — "You've Changed," "Guess Who I Saw Today" and "Where Do You Start?" — form the core of the disc's final third, and in Racette's hands they make an especially poignant sequence tracing the end of a relationship. Followed by a feverishly emotional take on Cole Porter's "So In Love," this amounts to Racette's cabaret version of a four-act opera. She puts an unforgettable personal stamp on it, as she does on this entire new turn in her career. ERIC MYERS

THE GREAT PIECE IN THE NY TIMES!!!!!!!!!!!

Spare Times for Children for May 3-May 9 By LAUREL GRAEBER Published: May 2, 2013 Glen Roven thought he had a perfect title for his new children’s chamber concert series. “I once wanted to call it either I Hate Music or But It’s So Boring,” Mr. Roven said. “But I was talked out of that.” You can’t say he didn’t know his audience. Mr. Roven, a New York composer and conductor, was used to young people’s skepticism toward classical material. But after giving some informal “salons” at home for friends’ children, he has expanded his concept. The result is Classical Concerts for Classy Kids, which begins on Saturday at 54 Below and aims to whet young appetites for chamber music while also sating them with good food. Mr. Roven and the GPR Festival String Quartet (he’s artistic director of the GPR Records label), casually dressed, will give a demonstration exploring a single classical piece, to be followed by a three-course lunch. (Choices include hamburgers and ratatouille shepherd’s pie.) After dessert, they’ll return in formal attire to play the entire work for ears that, as Mr. Roven put it, “will be able to follow it as easily as a Lady Gaga pop song.” Mr. Roven’s choice for this concert, which he sees as a pilot for a series to start in the fall, is Mozart’s String Quartet No. 21 in D (K. 575), written in 1789 and the first of that composer’s “Prussian” quartets. “It was written for the king of Prussia,” he explained. “It’s fun to hear Mozart sucking up to the king with the cello parts he’d written, because the king was a cello player.” Mr. Roven said he also loves the ending: “The finale is just rip-roaring. It’s cowboy music.” Mr. Roven (above, with the violinists Kinga Augustyn, center, and Muneyoshi Takahashi) plans to discuss how Mozart developed the work. “We might say: ‘Here’s the main theme. Clap your hands when you hear it change.’ ” But he stressed that the event would not be what is often called an instrument petting zoo. “I don’t want to play show-and-tell,” he said, noting that the program is for children 7 and older. “I want them to hear classical music and say, ‘I get it.’ ” Or even, he imagined, “ ‘Oh, Mommy, can’t you tell the recapitulation from the exposition?’ ” (Saturday at 11:30 a.m., 54 Below, 254 West 54th Street, Manhattan, 646-476-3551, 54below.com; $65; $32.50 for children; including lunch, a nonalcoholic drink, tax and tip. Reservations advised.) LAUREL GRAEBER

Classical Concerts of Classy Kids

Always wanted to do my version of the Young People's Concerts so we're doing a pilot concert at 54Below on May 4. We show a little promo for it. http://youtu.be/9nfy017xWH4

And I'm waiting to hear if NY1 and the Times is going to do a piece.

If it does well, we'll do it the first Saturday of every month next year.

http://54below.com/wordpress/?artist=classical-concerts-for-classy-kids

How Diva-licious can you get!!!!!

Pat and Nat at 54 Below!!!!!!!!!!!!

Charles Castronovo conquers London

Charles Castonovo’s mad dash from opera house stage to pub gig

Adam Tucker
Thursday, March 28, 2013
12:38 PM

 

Internationally acclaimed tenor Charles Castronovo will be juggling a role in The Magic Flute with singing down at The King’s Head

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American tenor Charles Castronovo will be swapping the scale and glamour of the Royal Opera House and Royal Albert Hall to sing in a pub.

The fast-rising opera star will premiere Dolci Napoli: The Neapolitan Songs, based on his latest album, during six performances at the 100-seat King’s Head Theatre in Islington.

But performing to a few score audience members is just as nerve-wracking as singing at his more usual venue – the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, says the 37-year-old.

“I’m a bit nervous about the jokes and my sense of humour that I normally do between songs in these types of more intimate shows.

“I wonder how that is going to play with a British audience.”

The King’s Head is the home of the award-winning OperaUpClose company and has built up a loyal audience of opera buffs.

“What is most exciting about these kind of pub shows is the intimacy with the audience. No matter what country you’re in, if you’re that close to people it’s going to be an intimate experience.”

Sicilian roots

Running from March 31, the shows will feature songs that channel Castronovo’s own roots in Sicily and Naples.

“I wanted to get in touch with those traditional roots and that music. I wanted to do this beautiful, old-fashioned music in the traditional way, as those songs weren’t meant to be performed with huge orchestras or audiences.

“Doing them with simply a guitar, piano or accordion is far more beautiful and intimate – especially when you can talk with the audience.”

Born in Queens, New York, to a Sicilian father and an Ecuadorian mother, Castronovo trained with the Los Angeles Opera and has sung at venues like the Metropolitan Opera House and Opéra National de Paris, as well as at the 2011 Proms at the Royal Albert Hall.

In addition to performing at the King’s Head, Castronovo will be singing the role of Tamino in The Magic Flute at the Royal Opera House – a challenge that will peak on April 29 when he will leave directly from stage in Covent Garden by motorbike for a final late performance at the pub at 11pm.

“I did something like that in New York at the Metropolitan Opera House and club 54 and it was really fun. You leave one venue and hop right back on stage and the audience is there and ready to go. It’s a lot of fun and very fatiguing – but the adrenaline is really going at that point,” says Castronovo.

The King’s Head shows will also mix traditional and new opera classics delivered in both English and Italian. The blend of opera and traditional setting is one that Castronovo hopes will ease the audience into the beauty of the artform.

“The show is really something in between song and opera that’s beautiful, easy to listen to and enjoy whether you like opera or not,” he said. “It’s very light and fun and some beautiful songs in a great setting is really wonderful for beginner or experienced opera-goers alike.”

n Tickets for Dolci Napoli: The Neapolitan Songs are available from the box office on 020 7478 0160.

Taminophile goes on about Andrew Garland!

FEB 17 Do not eat that which rips your heart with joy Barihunk Andrew Garland is a fine singer, mighty fine to look at, and also has a fine new CD, released quite recently. This handsome young lad has won hearts with his singing, acting, intelligent musicianship, and good looks on opera and concert stages all over this country. This quote from his web site tells it all: Garland is best known for his highly communicative style of singing. Equally at home in opera, concert and recital, he brings to each genre a powerful voice and extremely sensitive delivery. On Mr. Garland’s presentation of Lee Hoiby’s I Was There, the composer commented: “I have performed these same songs with several professional baritones of stature, and none has brought more depth of musical understanding than did Andrew Garland. Quite apart from the special beauty of his voice is his distinctive feeling for the musical line. He pulls the listener irresistibly into the music. In my judgment, he is a rare talent, and I expect him to enjoy an important career.” Mr. Garland's intelligent singing is evident everywhere on this CD, in songs by current American composers Jake Heggie, Lori Laitman, Stephen Paulus and Tom Cipullo. I found great fun in some of these songs. Ms. Laitman's set of four settings of poems by Thomas Lux, Men With Small Heads, gives us a view of the wonder and mystery of childhood. Relishing the optical illusion created when looking at people at a distance juxtaposed to your own hand very close ("Men With Small Heads"), or wondering what in the world those exotic looking, impossibly red maraschino cherries were doing in a refrigerator full of a perfectly boring food ("Refrigerator 1957", whence comes the title of this post), Mr. Garland created a picture with his voice and his skillful interpretation of the lyrics, just as Ms. Laitman's musical style for these proved wonderfully illustrative of either a child's attention span or his wonder or his fear. I heard Jake Heggie's wonderful writing in the CD by Talise Trevigne of which I wrote so fondly last year. He does not disappoint with his settings of Vachel Lindsay poems entitled The Moon is a Mirror. All the songs are about different impressions of the moon--a miner, a child, an old horse. In "The Strength of the Lonely (What the Mendicant Said)", the moon is compared to monks, "...who all life’s flames defy", and having given up the world, in the end leave "...only the arching blue" behind. In "What the Forrester Said" the moon stands watch over children as an ever-present, unwavering candle flame, "Grandmothers guarding trundle beds/Good shepherds guarding sheep." This song in particular has a lyric, lullaby-like feel to it, which Mr. Garland brings out lovingly. Of course I can't write about every song, but suffice it to say Mr. Garland sings them all with the same intelligence and beauty as in the few I describe. This CD belongs in the players and iTunes playlists of anyone who loves fin singing; new music, particularly songwriting; or handsome ginger singers. After all, everyone knows us redheads are the best singers!

Operaobsessions rave for Castronovo

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2013 Nostalgia with grit: Charles Castronovo's Neapolitan Songs Even the cover art of Charles Castronovo's "Dolce Napoli" album sets it apart from the sun-flooded, pizza parlor kitsch that threatens to swamp such undertakings. If there is nostalgia here, it is anchored in historical specificity, and in performance, Castronovo honors the songs as living artifacts, rather than treating them like so many aural postcards. He is aided by Sweet Nectar, a band whose members' sensibilities are, like Castronovo's, influenced both by classical training and an upbringing shaped by the experience and music of family immigration. Alongside a few standards (Malafemmena, Core 'ngrato, Santa Lucia) are many less familiar songs, and Castronovo and Sweet Nectar prove adept at drawing out the emotional specificity in pieces relying on a limited number of tropes. As Castronovo observes in his liner notes (both informative and charming) the text of the songs is often ironically undercut by their melodies. The bemoaning of one's own suffering or the imploring of an unresponsive lover can be cheerfully mocked by accordion and guitar. Castronovo is attentive to these nuances, coloring his voice and the text accordingly. For me, this not only makes the disc a more interesting listen than it might have been, but pleasingly complicates the recurrent image of the Cruel Woman. An interesting, if indirect, commentary on this image is found in Glen Roven's translation of "Malafemmena," which replaces the apostrophe "Femmena" variously with "Salome," "sorceress," etc. Roven translates (freely) several of the songs; the stated objective is to make them more accessible, revisiting the common practice of the mid-century when the genre enjoyed a renewed vogue. To me, though, the disc's main attraction is Castronovo's distinctive voice, sweet, but also with a darkness belied by his boyish good looks. If interested in obtaining the CD for yourself, a friend, a lover, or your sweet Italian landlady (mine's getting one,) "Dolce Napoli" is available here and here.

The most amazing Review for Pat

Patricia Racette: Diva on Detour The world-renowned opera singer upends all expectations in her sizzling cabaret show at 54 Below. By Brian Scott Lipton Google+ Profile for Brian Scott Lipton • Jan 30, 2013 • New York City Patricia Racette will return to 54 Below this March. Patricia Racette will return to 54 Below this March. © Courtesy of 54 Below On paper, the idea of a world-famous opera singer taking to the stage at the intimate 54 Below to perform musical theater and jazz standards might seem like the thoughts of a woman flirting with madness. But even if Patricia Racette has portrayed a few of grand opera's looniest ladies, her decision to present Diva on Detour (based on her just-released album of the same name) isn't just an act of sanity, it's a demonstration of artistic brilliance. Racette is far from your stereotypical opera diva. In fact, there wasn't really a high C to be heard as she showed off a gorgeously modulated chest voice with an impressive belt – one that made you wonder why she even bothered to a use a microphone. More importantly, she's deeply funny (even a bit bawdy) and down-to-earth, treating the audience at 54 Below like old friends hanging out in her Santa Fe living room. (Then again, many people in her opening night crowd appeared to actually be her friends.) And her impersonation of her raspy-voiced Italian mother Jackie, who clearly disapproved of her daughter's career choice, was just as uproarious as Judy Gold or Jackie Hoffman's portrayals of the women who raised them. Racette's gift for acting was even more evident in her interpretation of lyrics, as she dug into the heart of her selections. Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin's "The Man Who Got Away," Matt Dennis and Earl Brent's jazzy "Angel Eyes," and, most especially, Murray Grand and Elisse Boyd's "Guess Who I Saw Today," paired with Alan and Marilyn Bergman and Johnny Mandel's "Where Do You Start" were practically one-act plays about love, loss and heartbreak that practically brought me to tears. While the show was full of ballads, Racette wisely lightened the mood here and there, with aptly humorous takes on Stephen Sondheim's "I'm Calm" and Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart's "To Keep My Love Alive." (She even opted to perform the "happy" version of Sondheim's "Not a Day Goes By" as her encore.) And even when I expected to be dazzled by a traditional soprano, such as when Racette tackled Cole Porter's fiery "So in Love," she defied expectations by sticking to her strong, sure lower register. She was also willing to take some well-known songs in unexpected directions: another Rodgers & Hart standard, "Where or When," was done with a light jazz-inspired lilt, while her pianist, Craig Terry, underscored Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer's "Come Rain or Come Shine" with an inspired touch of Bach. Throughout the evening, it was clear that Racette was happy to have "detoured" from her usual repertoire. And cabaret goers will be just as happy if they momentarily take a turn from their tried-and-true "divas" to experience this extraordinary singer. http://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/reviews/01-2013/patricia-racette-diva-on-detour_64251.html

SF review of DIVA ON DETOUR

Who Is This Sensational New French Chanteuse? 33 2 0 6 0 COMMENTS By Janos Gereben Ooh La La! Photo by Lisa Cuscuna The answer is easy here because you see the photo, but if you received an unidentified MP3 from the album, you'd say Piaf or Cotillard. Shockingly, a world-famous mezzo and friend of Patricia Racette since her far-away Merola days said, apparently frustrated, "I don't have a clue!" Patricia Racette: Diva on Detour, soon to be released, but already available for preorder, is both obvious and a big surprise. It reveals the soprano in all her vocal splendor, but in a repertoire wholly different from how we know her. And, while she sings French chansons, Broadway hits, and cabaret standards, there is none of the awkwardness, the inappropriate sound of "stars of opera sing musicals," à la the 1998 West Side Story (Te Kanawa! Carreras! Troyanos! Horne!). Harold Arlen, George and Ira Gershwin, Johnny Mercer, Richard Rodgers, Cole Porter, Stephen Sondheim, and others get regal, but unpretentious treatment in Diva on Detour. Produced by Glen Roven, with Craig Terry's occasional overloud piano accompaniment, this live recording places a defining Cio-Cio-San, Kát'a, Violetta, Jenufa, Emmeline for our times in a cabaret environment where she sings as if she never stopped perching on a barstool in a smoke-filled room. It's not completely unexpected; an early stage of her career is clearly at play here for this alumna of the University of North Texas, where Racette originally enrolled to study jazz. The result is well described in Bill Madison's blog: [This is] a CD that exuberantly proclaims Racette’s mastery of an altogether different idiom. While she brings to bear certain assets of concert singing — particularly extended range and breath control that permits her to hold notes far longer than the average chantoozy — she gives herself over freely to the demands of the art form, exploiting a gutsy chest voice, alert attention to rhythm, and expressive devotion to language. She manages Billie Holiday’s trademark, singing on consonants, and she belts as if she was born to do nothing else. Looking over the playlist of pop standards, almost all of which are associated with legendary stars of the past, you admire not only Racette’s good taste but also her courage. How the hell does any "diva on detour" open her act with a medley of Judy Garland numbers? Well, it takes her about less than two bars to dispel any doubts you may have, and once she’s got you in her grasp, she’s not letting you go. Even in a set of Piaf numbers, she catches exactly the right style. She doesn’t imitate so much as invoke the Little Sparrow’s gargles and growls, her moans and roar, not to mention her flawless French diction. The only time she isn’t completely convincing is, paradoxically, a rendition of "La Vie en rose" delivered in what we will call her Opera Voice: though you can’t deny her emotional connection, the song becomes altogether too plummy. It’s nowhere near as bad as Renata Scotto’s legendary "Over the Rainbow," but nevertheless it’s a mistake she won’t make twice in the course of this album.

First Great Amazon Review for Racette

Crossover: Some Can, Same Can't - Patricia Racette Can and DOES!, January 14, 2013 This review is from: Diva on Detour (MP3 Music) Established as one of the most frequently cast sopranos on the opera stages today, Patricia Racette is not only beautiful to see but her soprano is rich and full and dramatic and she is as versatile as anyone on the stage today. Now she pushes the boundaries even further with this live recording in April 2012 of a series of cabaret songs with pianist Craig Terry. Many opera stars attempt crossover albums with varying results, at times breaking into operatic soaring when crooning is more in sync with the songs. Patricia Racette knows how to belt the big songs, croon the love songs, beguile her listeners with the standards and in general provide some insights to songs we all thought we knew so well. She sensitively places a number of these songs in medleys, beginning with combining "I Got Rhythm with `Get Happy'. She then moves into the mood with `Here's that Rainy Day', `Not a care in the world', `Angel Eyes' and `I'm Calm'. And as is typical of Racette's respect for tradition and artists of the past she devotes a medley to the music of Edith Piaf - `Milord', `Padam-Padam', and `La Vie en rose.' She knows how to belt (` The Man That Got Away', `To Keep My Love Alive', `Come Rain or Come Shine' and `Where or When'. The remainder of the songs on the album include `You've Changed', `Guess Who I Saw Today', `Where Do You Start?', `So In Love', `Mon Dieu' and ` Not a day goes by.' Each one is a zinger. She has the role down pat and will be recognized from now on as a singer who can communicate on any level with any audience. This is a sensational release! Grady Harp, January 13