Feb. 27, 2016 Playmaker's Theatre, UNC -Chapel Hill.
Review by CVNC's William Thomas Walker Serse premiered on April 15, 1738 and was the last attempt of Handel to revive the popularity of Italian opera among London's audiences as tastes changed in the wake of The Beggar's Opera – a ballad opera in English by John Gay (1685-1732). Handel reduced the amount of recitative just enough to carry forward the drama and integrated it with a mix of short arias and full-fledged da capo arias. These follow a pattern of stanza A, stanza B, with A often repeated twice, allowing full display of the main characters' emotions as well as ample scope for the singers' virtuosity, such as rapid runs and divisions in the A repeat. One could say this condensation anticipated the mix of the comic and serious in such works as Mozart's dramma giocoso, Don Giovanni. Middle East exoticism was a popular theme in the operas of the period such as Vivaldi's Bajazet (1735), Cavalli's Xerse (1654), Giovanni Bononcini's Xerxes(1694), and Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail (1782) with its janissary music. The libretto was an adaption of Silvio Stampiglia's for Bononcini, which in turn, prompted Cavalli to draw upon one by Nicolò Minato. Composers of the period did not benefit from copyright laws and were not obsessed with originality, freely "stealing" from others or repurposing their own work. Handel "adapted" some of Bononcini's score for his own Serse. The plot has little to do with the historic Xerxes I of Persia (519-465 BCE), much less Herodotus' fanciful account in his Histories. Serse is not a strict opera seria but mixes comical situations, such as the Persian king's bizarre obsession for plane trees with the usual web of A loves B who loves C who is loved by D with an E, in disguise, who loves A! King Xerxes is engaged to Amastre but wants to marry Romilda, daughter of his vassal Ariodate. However, Romilda is in love with Xerxes' brother Arsamene. Not to complicate the plot, Romilda's sister, Atalanta, is determined to marry Arsamene herself. Amastre disguises herself as a man and visits the court. There is a choice comic roll of Elviro, Arsamene's bumbling servant. Act I, scene 1 introduces the main characters, develops the clash between Serse and Arsamene and leading to the latter's banishment. Sc. 2 is set at the famous boat-bridge over the Hellespoint. Serse rewards his successful general Ariodate by offering to marry Romilda to "a member of the Serse family, equal in blood to himself." (This ambiguity leads to the wrapping up of the tangled loves in the end of Act III.) Act II features Elviro's disastrous delivery of Arsamene's letter for Romilda to her rival sister, Atalanta, who gives it to Serse. He uses it to make Romilda believe her love has been betrayed, Romilda resists his attempts to win her love. Elviro witnesses the collapse of the boat-bridge in a sudden storm. Act III: The true lovers learn of Atalanta's treachery, take advantage of Ariodate's misunderstanding of Serse's orders, and get married. Amastri removes her disguise and Serse is shamed into marrying her. This production was very semi-staged. The singers wore stylized costumes and sang their roles while carrying their copies of the score. Stage director Paige Whitley-Bauguess effectively blocked the cast and gave them expressive gestures. The co-producers were Suzanne Rousso andJeanne Fischer. The large orchestra of HIP instruments was under the direction of cellist Brent Wissick who frequently played in the continuo with harpsichordist Elaine Funaro. They were often joined, with delicious effect, by the Baroque guitar or lute played by Salome Sandoval. Suggestive flavor was given to the orchestra by the pair of recorders, played by Jennifer Streeter and Will Thauer. The strings were augmented by the superbly played Baroque trumpet of Patrick Dougherty, delightful pairs of Baroque oboes played by Thauer and Alicia Chapman, and natural or valveless horns played by Emily Farmer and Breton Nicholas. The production fielded a strong cast of well-prepared singers who all contributed plenty of vocal fireworks and mastery of the Italian text. Soprano Jeanne Fischer was the effective Serse. Her voice quickly warmed up after the opening "Ombra mai fu," (the famous "Handel's Largo"), especially for the arias expressing Serse's rage or frustration. Counter-tenor Bryan Pollock as Arsamene was outstanding, dominating the stage with a magnificent, strong voice. As the main love interest of the two brothers, Romilda, soprano Louise Toppin brought plenty of stylish vocal fireworks to bear in her many arias. Her duplicitous sister, Atalanta, was brilliantly presented by soprano Kathryn Mueller. Mezzo-soprano Erica Dunkle was moving as Amastre, the wronged betrothed of Serse. Baritone Gene Galvin brought plenty of power as well as refinement to the role of Ariodate, Serse's general and father of the two sisters. Baritone John Hinson sang beautifully as Elviro, Arsamene's comic servant, culminating in his drinking aria to Bacchus. Do not miss the repeat performance to hear some 44 arias filled with Handel's genius and rich musicality. More information can be found in the sidebar.
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by Jane Salemson.
This afternoon in the Auditorium of the North Carolina School of Science and Math in Durham, 234 young musicians (strings, winds, brass, and percussion) chosen from 400+ students who auditioned, performed in two orchestras, the String and the Symphonic. Of these, 41 were cellists. Most of these students come from public schools, a few from private schools or Home schooling. Some have private lessons, but many do not, and it's a tribute to the orchestra directors and teachers of their work in preparing the students for this challenging event. The String Orchestra was conducted by Dr. Peter Askim who was impressed with the concentration and hard work the students put into rehearsing a varied program which showed off the skills they had worked on so diligently over the weekend. The program started with the String Orchestra playing the Star-Spangled Banner conducted by Joli Brooks, Eastern Regional Orchestra Chair. It was followed by three works, "Idyll" by Leos Janacek, in 3 movements, a work by Peter Askim "As Glaciers Thaw" and an unpublished arrangement of Astor Piazzolla's "Libertango" by Thomas Kalb. All three works were different from each other, showing off lovely legato melodic lines, tight rhythms and challenging techniques (quite a lot of fast treble clef passages for the cellos in the Janacek!) It was a fine string orchestra performance, and very enjoyable. The Symphony Orchestra had fewer strings, but still there were 19 cellists! Many of the students were older than the String orchestra players, and it was good to hear the musical development those extra years gave to their playing. The program was another demanding one for the Symphonic orchestra with Dvorak's Slavonic Dance #8, the Masquerade Suite by Aram Khachaturian (5 stirring movements) and Bizet's Farandole from the L'Arlesienne Suite # 2. The conductor was Dr. Jorge Richter. He kept up the momento in the fast movements and the rhythms were tight, very well-bowed by the strings and great articulation by the winds, brass and percussion. The program was exciting, together with some lovely melodic lines in the slow movements, especially in the Nocturne in which the concertmaster Emma Garval, played a beautiful solo for almost the whole movement. On this stage, her sound, which was very sweet and well phrased, did not project hugely, but the orchestra did not overpower her and the effect was lovely. Margot Hollman in her welcoming speech to the audience, thanked the orchestra directors, private teachers and parents and urged parents to support their children who were interested in making a career in music. She said in spite of all the cuts in schools, music thrives, and in the work world there are many opportunities for music careers. Good to hear that in these times of cuts in the Arts, and to admire and enjoy an afternoon of lovely music well played. A native of Chapel Hill, Joshua Starmer’s first cello, at age 7, was a cardboard box with a 12 inch ruler taped to it. Mary Frances Boyce, followed by Brent Wissick, were both incredibly patient with him and over the years he grew to love the instrument. Since graduating to a real instrument, he’s played and recorded with REM’s Michael Stipe and Mike Mills, The Love Language, The Old Ceremony, The Rosebuds, Chris Stamey, Birds and Arrows, Katharine Whalen and many more. In addition to playing the cello, Joshua writes songs, composes and records original music for movies, television, theater and dance. Joshua’s most recent album, “Postcards From Home, Volume 1”, is a collection of songs and stories, one written and recorded each month for a year, that kept him in touch with friends and loved ones. The music played the role of a picture with writing on the back saying “wish you were here”. Featuring his singing, stringed instruments, foot stomps and claps, the pieces convey messages ranging from simple observations about the weather, to coping with a friend’s departure, to getting lost underneath one of the great Egyptian pyramids. You can follow Joshua’s music and stories on the web at: http://joshuastarmer.com/ Feb. 2016 Since the start of 2013, I've written, arranged and recorded a song each month. I recently finished my third year, and thus, third album. Each album ends up being a bit like a musical diary. Seasons change, and so does the tone of the music (fall, for instance, is almost always darker than summer). A vacation can inspire a song, and so can the ups and downs of daily life. Here is some information about a cello group called Cello Chill from the western area of NC.
What is Cello Chill? In 2011, a few adult cello students in the western NC area wanted to create more opportunities to play together. Their first weekend get-together in early 2011 at Gingercake Acres was named “Cello Chill” and the name stuck. The core group of participants keeps planning events because they have such a great time playing together! In 2012, the Cello Chill moved to Wildacres Retreat in Little Switzerland, NC. We love the place, the people, and the food. If you are interested in a fun and educational adult cello event, consider joining us at Wildacres Retreat May 9-15 2016! Instructors: We are excited to have Erin and Jorge Espinoza return as our lead instructors again this year. Both are professional cellists who perform as well as teach. They moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico last year to allow Jorge to join La Catrina String Quartet and to teach cello at New Mexico State University. Erin and Jorge are knowledgeable and patient teachers and are well known and loved by our Cello Chill participants. They incorporate fun and humor when appropriate in their teaching, a trait adult cello students greatly appreciate! For more information, contact Kim Smith -[email protected] Facebook- CelloChill January 30, 2016. Two very special events for cellists and cello enthusiasts. In the morning for 2 hours, we were treated to a masterclass with Amanda Forsyth, previously Principal cellist of the Canadian Arts Centre Orchestra, now an international touring solo cellist. In another building of the University, members of the NC Cello Society went to the Cello Music Collection, the largest one in the world! It is housed in the Martha Blackeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, Cellists are really putting Greensboro NC on the music map! Stacey Krim, in charge of the cello collection had prepared a feast for our eyes and ears. A presentation to introduce us to the intricacies of accessing a huge amount of information about the cello, was well done, and made those of us who are technologically-challenged, less daunted at the prospect of doing this at home. A very special item on the site was a playlist of cello performances from YouTube. This is going to save so much time surfing around trying to find cello performances. A big undertaking and I for one, am extremely grateful. Another great service this collection offers, is the access to cello choir music that can be scanned and sent to groups for ensemble playing. Looking through just a small part of the collection was like a child in a sweet shop, "I want this one, I want that one"! Jane Salemson. |
AuthorMembers of the North Carolina Cello Society Archives
November 2020
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