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.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
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.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
TALISE TREVIGNES: and the good review continue!!!!
THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2012
At the Statue of Venus: Talise Trevigne looks for love
When I was asked if I'd be interested in reviewing a CD with the tantalizing title At the Statue of Venus, my response was, approximately, "Would I!" The album showcases the dynamic soprano Talise Trevigne, who sings the music of Jake Heggie and Glen Roven. It's titled after Heggie's scene for soprano and piano, to a text by Terrence McNally, but also features a song cycle by each of the composers, who play the piano parts of their respective works. To me, both Trevigne's name and voice were new, and the latter was the most exciting discovery of the album, supple and expressive across her range. I found Trevigne to be a very emotionally engaging communicator, using varieties of vocal color, and nuanced phrasing, which drew me into the worlds of unfamiliar music and texts. The album was a pleasure on first and repeated listenings, and is recommended especially to those among you, Gentle Readers, who are lovers of art song or sopranos.
The first cycle on the disc, Heggie's Natural Selection, is exuberant in musical invention and allusion. The trajectory of the cycle is tragicomic, condensing the matter for a Bildungsroman into five songs. The persona journeys from confidence on the threshold of adulthood ("Creation,") through fiercely passionate, though still abstract desire ("Animal Passion," a sly, dark tango,) to feverish discontentment ("Alas! Alack!") to "Indian Summer," the lament of a woman trapped in marriage for lost freedom, which is recovered at last in "Joy Alone." The discordant, jumpy anxiety of "Alas! Alack!" is packed with operatic allusion (what would happen if Tosca fell for Scarpia?) which continues in the ragtime, Bluebeard-referencing "Indian Summer." The voice of the piano, helping to illustrate the narrator's emotional state, reinforces the rightness of where we leave her: the style of the first song has been recovered, altered, but at peace and ready for new journeys.
Flying Backbone, Georgia O'Keefe
Glen Roven's Sante Fe Songs carry with them some of the atmosphere of surreality which the composer describes as enveloping his first visit to Santa Fe, following a personal loss. Some time later came the selection and setting of texts; the finished cycle explores simultaneously the landscapes of the city and of grief. The poems ("Spring, 1948," "Listening to jazz now," "Signs and Portents," "The Boy Soldier," "Bowl," "Flying Backbone," "Bone Bead," "Sowing the Pecos Wilderness") are all strong in their own right, and the musical settings let the texts shine, syllables blooming into melismatic significance. Roven also uses silence eloquently, notably in "The Boy Soldier" and "Flying Backbone." Elsewhere, denser musical textures recall other compositions, with Porter and Gershwin invoked in "Listening to jazz now,"and reminiscences of "La cathédrale engloutie" in the final song. Defiance and bafflement are coaxed into expression, not fully resolved, but given beauty.
Image (c) Malissin/Valdes, via photos-galeries.com
After so much suffering, it's a relief to come into the presence of Rose, a lively, self-amused, generous woman waiting for a blind date in the Louvre. Terrence McNally's libretto is witty and insightful, allowing us to laugh with Rose as she frets and mocks her own anxiety, and to admire her self-knowledge, compassion and--to use an old-fashioned word--wholesomeness. (There is, in "Look at all those women," some idealization of the idealization of women which I found irksome despite its seductions.) The text is rich, but it's the music which gives it emotional specificity, telling us when Rose is irritated, dreamy, or optimistic. Despite the black slacks which she regrets wearing, Rose's agitated vigil gets a hopeful conclusion.
At the Statue of Venus: Talise Trevigne looks for love
When I was asked if I'd be interested in reviewing a CD with the tantalizing title At the Statue of Venus, my response was, approximately, "Would I!" The album showcases the dynamic soprano Talise Trevigne, who sings the music of Jake Heggie and Glen Roven. It's titled after Heggie's scene for soprano and piano, to a text by Terrence McNally, but also features a song cycle by each of the composers, who play the piano parts of their respective works. To me, both Trevigne's name and voice were new, and the latter was the most exciting discovery of the album, supple and expressive across her range. I found Trevigne to be a very emotionally engaging communicator, using varieties of vocal color, and nuanced phrasing, which drew me into the worlds of unfamiliar music and texts. The album was a pleasure on first and repeated listenings, and is recommended especially to those among you, Gentle Readers, who are lovers of art song or sopranos.
The first cycle on the disc, Heggie's Natural Selection, is exuberant in musical invention and allusion. The trajectory of the cycle is tragicomic, condensing the matter for a Bildungsroman into five songs. The persona journeys from confidence on the threshold of adulthood ("Creation,") through fiercely passionate, though still abstract desire ("Animal Passion," a sly, dark tango,) to feverish discontentment ("Alas! Alack!") to "Indian Summer," the lament of a woman trapped in marriage for lost freedom, which is recovered at last in "Joy Alone." The discordant, jumpy anxiety of "Alas! Alack!" is packed with operatic allusion (what would happen if Tosca fell for Scarpia?) which continues in the ragtime, Bluebeard-referencing "Indian Summer." The voice of the piano, helping to illustrate the narrator's emotional state, reinforces the rightness of where we leave her: the style of the first song has been recovered, altered, but at peace and ready for new journeys.
Flying Backbone, Georgia O'Keefe
Glen Roven's Sante Fe Songs carry with them some of the atmosphere of surreality which the composer describes as enveloping his first visit to Santa Fe, following a personal loss. Some time later came the selection and setting of texts; the finished cycle explores simultaneously the landscapes of the city and of grief. The poems ("Spring, 1948," "Listening to jazz now," "Signs and Portents," "The Boy Soldier," "Bowl," "Flying Backbone," "Bone Bead," "Sowing the Pecos Wilderness") are all strong in their own right, and the musical settings let the texts shine, syllables blooming into melismatic significance. Roven also uses silence eloquently, notably in "The Boy Soldier" and "Flying Backbone." Elsewhere, denser musical textures recall other compositions, with Porter and Gershwin invoked in "Listening to jazz now,"and reminiscences of "La cathédrale engloutie" in the final song. Defiance and bafflement are coaxed into expression, not fully resolved, but given beauty.
Image (c) Malissin/Valdes, via photos-galeries.com
After so much suffering, it's a relief to come into the presence of Rose, a lively, self-amused, generous woman waiting for a blind date in the Louvre. Terrence McNally's libretto is witty and insightful, allowing us to laugh with Rose as she frets and mocks her own anxiety, and to admire her self-knowledge, compassion and--to use an old-fashioned word--wholesomeness. (There is, in "Look at all those women," some idealization of the idealization of women which I found irksome despite its seductions.) The text is rich, but it's the music which gives it emotional specificity, telling us when Rose is irritated, dreamy, or optimistic. Despite the black slacks which she regrets wearing, Rose's agitated vigil gets a hopeful conclusion.
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