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(02/07/08 5:00am)
Alfred Hitchcock once gave a description of the difference between "surprise" and "suspense," which I feel is applicable when thinking about "horror" movies such as "The Eye." Suppose you are watching a scene in which two characters are having a normal, everyday discussion while sitting at a desk. Suddenly, a bomb underneath the desk explodes. Hitchcock defines this as surprise. The audience is surprised, but prior to this surprise, the scene was of no great consequence. Now suppose you are watching the same scene, only you are aware that the bomb is underneath the desk, but the unknowing characters keep talking. This is suspense.\n"The Eye," like so many other remakes of Asian horror movies since 2000, is full of surprises, but they are all of the cheap quality that masters such as Hitchcock rarely used.\nJessica Alba plays Sydney, a concert violinist who has been blind since her childhood. After a cornea transplant in which she receives two new eyes from a deceased donor, however, Sydney regains her vision, along with the horrific ability to see the ghosts of dead people and the spirits that escort them to the afterlife. While trying to assure her doctors of her sanity and stray away from the CGI henchmen of the underworld, Sydney begins a mission to find out more about her donor, who she believes has somehow unlocked the door to a terrifying world that now only she can see. This is where the surprises begin, but like Hitchcock assures us, they are of no great consequence.\nThis unrelenting cliche of a movie tries to frighten the audience by using all the old tricks: a blurry shadow that runs behind an unknowing character, a shrieking old woman who flails toward the camera, accompanied by an equally shrieking stringed-instrument soundtrack and a strong-willed female protagonist determined to right the wrongs of the afterlife. \nAlthough Alba and her supporters are adequate, this seemingly interesting story is clothed in hackneyed spooks and specters and is presented in a less-than-average fashion. If you liked "The Ring" or "The Grudge," you could walk out of this movie with a smile on your face, but I assure you that this one offers nothing more than what you've already seen before.
(10/04/07 4:00am)
Morality stands as the central focus of Paul Haggis' movies. As in "Million Dollar Baby" (for which he wrote the screenplay) and "Crash" (which he wrote and directed), Haggis forces viewers to navigate murky moral waters in the film "The Valley of Elah," this time addressing the impossible morality of the Iraq War: Its soldiers, its conduct, its home front.\nThe film follows ex-military man Hank (Tommy Lee Jones) on a quest to find out what happened to his son Mike (Jonathan Tucker), who dies in a brutal murder after returning from a tour of duty in Iraq. A detective from the local police department (Charlize Theron) helps him battle the military cover-up. \nSure, the plot veers from humdrum whodunit to clunky thriller to overly somber Oscar bait, but how do you make an Iraq War film, anyway? The fog of war still sits atop us, as it does in the movie, pulling a dull khaki palette across the screen and washing out every performance to a blank stare.\nJones carries the whole movie on his world-weary face. The old hand seems never to change expression, but as the dehumanizing grind of war creaks onward, the wrinkles seem to carve deeper into his face. Theron works well as his pesky foil, but Jones' minimalism owns the picture.\nOf course, Haggis, being Haggis, can't resist a few images telling us Very Important morals (see: the ending), but the movie's biggest weakness lies in the unfortunate plot device of a series of Mike's cell phone videos decoded slowly, coming in choppy snippets throughout the movie at convenient times. Each one offers a low-fi glimpse into the hell on earth in Iraq. Like "Elah," the little clips -- disjointed and blurry -- represent the movie's jumbled artistic view of this war: Drowning in images but cripplingly unable to understand.
(07/19/07 4:00am)
1. Barley \nAll beer starts with the barley, or malt. All malt is toasted in a kiln. This is done so the grain can create enzymes that are not in the malt naturally. On the right is Pale Ale malt. This is what Upland uses as their base-malt and is the type used in Upland Wheat. On the right is Chocolate malt, which starts out the same as the Pale Ale malt but is kilned longer. The longer roast brings about different flavors and colors in the malt. Chocolate malt is used in Stouts and Porters.
(05/31/07 4:00am)
Both the movie trailer for "Bug" and the previews for it on TV seem to suggest that the film will be a terrifying tale about a monstrous colony of insects that devours humans and wreaks havoc across the land. However, the 102-minute film is about 101 minutes and 30 seconds too long. Instead of an edge-of-your-seat nail biter that showcases the talents of highly recognized director William Friedkin, "Bug" might possibly be the worst movie to hit theaters in 2007.\nPsychotic and delusional Peter Evans (Michael Shannon) is a war veteran who has a slight issue with insects — he thinks there is a colony of them bent on mind control. When Peter moves in with Agnes White (Ashley Judd), he convinces her of these insects' existence, telling her that she has been chosen to be their queen. Together, the two attempt to destroy the bugs, which might or might not by a figment of their imaginations.\n Rather than enthralling viewers with a plot that strikes fear into their hearts, "Bug" will have many yawning and looking at their watches throughout and then laughing as the credits roll because the film was so awful. Sadly, the directorial excellence that Friedkin has become known for is missing from "Bug," which appears as if it could have been shot by an amateur with a Sony video camera. And although Friedkin could have redeemed the film by casting someone great to star in it, "Bug" gives us Judd, who fails to engage the audience or to capture her character and appears closer to 55 years old than to her actual 39.\nWhile many viewers might be intrigued by its flashy marketing campaign and apparent fear factor, I suggest you take some sincere advice: Step on this "Bug" on your way to a different movie.
(04/19/07 4:00am)
With everyone hurtling full speed toward May 5, there is no shortage of diversions as individuals and groups across campus try to fit their end-of-semester efforts into a diminishing amount of space and time. The Jacobs School of Music is no exception, and for those not cyclically inclined, the coming weekend offers a wide and bountiful range of musical events to enjoy. All events are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted:
(04/18/07 4:00am)
In the next few days, two members of the IU Jacobs School of Music faculty will retire and bid farewell to the school that has been their home for over three decades. Jan Harrington, currently chair of the choral department, and Mary Goetze, professor of music in general studies, took some time to reflect on their years in Bloomington.\nJan Harrington first came to IU in the mid-1960s.\n“Right away I felt very comfortable,” he said.\nHarrington was beginning his master’s degree in choral conducting and stayed on to complete a doctorate as well. It was not until 1973, after brief teaching stints at SUNY-Fredonia and the University of Oklahoma, that he was invited to join the music faculty.\n“The first thing I had to do was prepare the (Beethoven) “Missa Solemnis” for Robert Shaw, who was coming as a guest,” he said. “That was a terrible experience.”\nApparently, the renowned choral director was so unhappy with Harrington’s preparation of the choir, he threatened to leave altogether and not do the concert.\n“So I said, ‘That would be great if you leave, Mr. Shaw, but could I borrow your score? I’ve always wanted to conduct this piece,’” Harrington said with a laugh.\nCoincidentally, “Missa Solemnis” is also the piece Harrington will conduct for his final concert.\n“As it turns out,” he said, “we discovered that 17 years after I did (the piece) with Mr. Shaw, I did it here myself, and that was 1990, which is 17 years from now. I told that to (conducting professor) Dr. Tellez, and she’s like ‘It’s like a bookend of your career.’”\nMary Goetze had a similarly welcoming experience upon arriving to Bloomington. Just a year after Harrington was invited to join the choral department, Goetze found herself teaching part-time. \n“In the initial phase, I was teaching general music at the elementary level,” she said. “I was teaching classroom teachers as well as music students.”\nIn 1980, Goetze, who is internationally renowned for her work with children, started the IU Children’s Choir, which continues to provide voices for opera and choral works for the school, as well annual programs of its own. The ensemble also gave Goetze one of her highest career points. \n“We performed at Leonard Bernstein’s 70th birthday party at Tanglewood (Summer Music Festival in Boston),” said Goetze. “We were there as part of a performance of his “Mass” … it was a great experience.”\nIn the mid-1990s, Goetze decided to start branching out her career path.\n“I was ready for a change so I initiated the International Vocal Ensemble, and that really grew and flourished,” she said.\nPerforming music from countries as far ranging as Hungary, Japan, Azerbaijan and New Zealand, the ensemble has become renowned for its cross-cultural repertoire and its insistence on learning music from the oral tradition. In fact, with colleague Jay Fern, Goetze has developed software, as well as a DVD series, for the oral translation of music.\nMore recently, Goetze has also inaugurated Music in General Studies, a non-major area of study that offers courses designed to reach the non-music major.\nBoth Harrington and Goetze leave the school with feelings of pride for their work and optimism for the school’s future.\n“The choral department, as we envision it, has done a great service to helping singers become much more perceptive musicians,” Harrington said. \n“There is a lot of emphasis on the trappings of the career, which is important, but I felt that a lot of our mission is to encourage people to be the best musician they can be in as many styles of music as their voice will allow,” he said. “What helps is that we have a faculty that recognizes singing is about music and not just about eyelashes and grand gestures.”\nDoctoral student and adjunct lecturer Barron Breland was full of praise for Harrington.\n“I have too many good things to say,” said Breland. “For so many of us, he is just a mentor in every sense of the word. … He’s the conducting teacher everyone wants to study with.\nGoetze also looks back positively on her time at IU.\n“I changed directions in my own career and pushed the envelope in the School, so it’s very gratifying that they’re going to continue (the work I’ve started),” Goetze said.\nBrent Gault, who now directs the IU Children’s Choir, echoed Goetze’s sentiments.\n“To have the honor to work alongside her at IU and to have the opportunity to carry on her work with IUCC is truly a privilege. … She is a true pioneer in our field,” he said.\nKatherine Domingo will take over as director of IVE and Constance Glen will assume the role of coordinator of the department of Music in General Studies, where both are currently lecturers.\nHarrington’s replacement in the choral department has not yet been determined.\nHarrington will conduct Beethoven’s “Missa Solemnis” with the IU Philharmonic Orchestra and Oratorio Chorus at 8 p.m. tonight in the Musical Arts Center.\nGoetze will direct the International Vocal Ensemble in a program featuring music of Brazil, India, South Africa, India, Ireland, France and the Philippines. The concert will take place on at 4 p.m. Saturday, April 21 in Auer Hall.\nBoth events are free and open to the public.
(04/10/07 4:00am)
Perhaps Gwyn Richards, the dean of the School of Music, summed it up best. “Isn’t it breathtaking,” he said to me at intermission.\nIn a word, yes. \nThe IU Jacobs School of Music’s production of Giacomo Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” was a musical and theatrical triumph that made an exciting conclusion to the 2007-08 Opera Theater season.\nBased on a play, which is itself based on a short story, “Madama Butterfly” is the tragic tale of a young geisha who renounces her country and faith to marry Lieutenant Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton, an American naval officer with remarkably less wisdom or cultural awareness than his auspicious namesake. Insisting his marriage to Butterfly includes an “escape clause,” he leaves her within a year, with false promises of his return and ignorant of the child he has fathered. \nAs the lieutenant, Marcos Aguiar was passionate and intense. He is a consummate stage man with a thick, fleshy voice that, while powerful, was only able to pierce through the orchestra in its highest ranges.\nHis union with Butterfly is arranged by the sleazy marriage broker, sung by Carmund White, a young man with a bright, distinct sound. \nDiscouraging the deal altogether is Sharpless, the U.S. Consul, performed by Brad Raymond. The only American with the slightest understanding of Japanese customs and traditions, Sharpless wisely warns Pinkerton that Butterfly will believe his commitment is eternal. When it eventually falls to Sharpless to break the news that Pinkerton might never return, Raymond perfectly portrays the sad diplomat who is at once disapproving of his countryman’s action but uncomfortable with his own role in the affair. \nThe subject of this affair, of course, is Butterfly herself, performed exquisitely by Jung Nan Yoon. Her vocal delivery was virtually flawless, and her portrayal of Butterfly’s transition from giggling, wide-eyed adolescent to abandoned wife and mother nothing less than heartbreaking. \nIn the supporting role of Suzuki, Butterfly’s servant, Heng Xia matched her leading lady in both style and substance. She bore a gravity that revealed her character’s never-ending concern for and devotion to her mistress. Her voice, melodic and lovely, was Butterfly’s perfect complement.\nGarnering no less attention from the enthusiastic audience was Alexa Minton, who portrayed Butterfly’s child, Sorrow. Minton displayed great professionalism and exuberance on stage and will, I’m sure, look back on this experience with fondness.\nThe opera will be performed twice again this weekend. In case it hasn’t been emphasized enough, the Jacobs School of Music is one of the premiere opera schools in the country, and you couldn’t ask for a more powerful opera in these turbulent times than “Madama Butterfly.”\nTickets for the April 13 and 14 performances are $15 to $35 for general admission and $10 to $20 for students. Tickets can be purchased at the Musical Arts Center box office or through Ticketmaster. For more information, visit www.music.indiana.edu/opera.
(04/05/07 4:00am)
Operas are not spontaneously created. They do not appear out of thin air. They require time and effort from many dozens, if not hundreds, of people. Then, like a butterfly breaking from its cocoon, the final theatrical product bursts onto the stage, wings spread and ready for flight.\nNot least among the innumerable individuals involved in bringing a piece of opera to fruition is the director, the one responsible for the dramatic vision that carries the work from overture to final curtain.\nFor this season’s production of “Madama Butterfly,” the beloved opera by Giacomo Puccini, the IU Jacobs School of Music invited guest artist Nick Muni to play the important role of director. Recently appointed to the faculty of the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Muni has been rehearsing with the cast of “Butterfly” since March.\n“I did visit in February,” he said, “in order to introduce myself and my ideas to the cast, so they could start getting them into their heads.”\nOf course, Muni’s work on “Butterfly” began long before he met the cast.\n“Each time I do an opera, I take time to sort of get out of my head,” he said. “I do a lot of listening to the score, writing down ideas as they come.\n“After I do that, I put all that aside and start doing an analysis of the narrative, see what the issues are and get a really clear idea of the skeleton of the show without going into too much detail.”\nUsually at this point, Muni would share his ideas with a design team – lighting, set, and costume designers – who would use them as starting points in the production process. For this production, however, Muni and the cast will be using the set already held by the Jacobs school.\n“It’s really an exception for me,” he said. “I don’t normally use pre-built sets. It does have an impact on the concept for the show.”\n \nRole prep\nAt about the same time Muni is crafting his vision for the production, cast members, such as master student Ken Pereira, begin taking steps to learn their role. Pereira will be performing the role of Sharpless, the United States consul in Nagasaki, Japan.\n“(The preparation) all starts with the text,” Pereira said over lunch a few days before opening night. “I learn to speak the Italian as if I were an actor, not a singer. Also, I go through the libretto three times – to see what the character says about himself, what other people say about him and what he actually does.”\nThen, Pereira said, he begins preparing the role musically.\n“I’ve been working with my teacher (Andreas Poulimenos), which has been wonderful because he’s pretty well known for the role,” he said.\nPereira described his method of score preparation.\n“I mark with one color all the double consonants, another color for stresses,” he said. “I write in a word for word translation not only for my character, but everyone else on stage, as well as all of my inner monologues.”\nFriend and fellow voice student Rebecca Fay joked, “If you ever need to know anything about the role of Sharpless, you could just look at Ken’s score.” \n“Most of the preparation (for the part) is not singing. It’s studying,” Pereira said. “I go to Starbucks for an hour or so every day and just study. You get it to the point that it’s second nature, and then you have to go back and make it seem like it’s not, like it’s spontaneous.”
(04/03/07 4:00am)
Saturday night was an unexpected step-touch down memory lane, as the IU Singing Hoosiers, under the direction of Michael Schwartzkopf, presented their 57th annual Spring Concert. From the first notes of “Another Openin’, Another Show,” belted in classic Broadway-style by sophomore Jami Leonard, to the final chord of “Lazy River,” the concert was a celebration of American popular song by the University’s most traveled musical ensemble.\nThe Singing Hoosiers are an odd beast. Billed as a “collegiate concert show choir,” they suffer from a sort of artistic identity crisis. Specifically, how best to transfer the show choir – by most accounts a high school phenomenon intended to make up for inadequate musical theater programs – to the world of college-level music-making? I myself was a Singing Hoosier for 2 1/2 years, and my time there left me with very strong convictions as to the strengths and limitations of the group.\nThe unique challenge for an ensemble such as the Singing Hoosiers is the versatility it demands. Programs often include everything from Broadway company numbers to African spirituals to the unforgettable tunes of Hoosier natives Cole Porter and Hoagy Carmichael. The question the Singing Hoosiers must labor to answer with a definitive “yes” is whether or not they have the skill and flexibility to meet the needs of these disparate performing styles and still create a coherent sound.\nThe Singing Hoosiers came closer to that “yes” Saturday night than they have in my whole time in Bloomington. Many of the problems I remember remain – several songs, such as “On Broadway,” are taken at unmusically fast tempos. Songs of longing and desire, like Cole Porter’s wistful “Begin the Beguine,” are sung chastely, as if by a chorus of virgins. \nBut what the choir has gained this year, in the long run, is far more important. The ensemble has achieved the strongest ensemble sound they have had in some years. Its performance of Moses Hogan’s “Elijah Rock,” under the direction of graduate assistant Ryan Endris, exhibited both precision and discipline, not to mention high notes sung by sopranos who can actually produce them. The choral arrangement of Adam Guettel’s “The Light in the Piazza” was performed with great sensitivity. Mack Wilberg’s arrangement of “Shenandoah” revealed an ensemble finally capable of well-produced, well-balanced choral singing.\nLike another infamous former Singing Hoosier, it has taken me a couple of extra years to finish my degree, and I found myself watching the Singing Hoosiers’ current seniors, remembering, like a proud father, some of their earliest moments here at IU.\nRick Desloge, for example, gave arguably the strongest vocal performance of his college career with Stephen Schwartz’s soaring ballad “On the Wings of a Swan.” I hearkened back to how hard he worked in his first leading role at IU, as Brad in “The Rocky Horror Show,” three years ago. \nAnd then there was the adorable Angie Perez with a precious rendition of Flaherty and Ahrens’ “Times Like This,” who two years ago was equally incredible as Squeaky Fromme in a production of Steven Sondheim’s “Assassins” that I music-directed.\nAnd let us not forget Matt Christensen, who, with his suave and debonair styling of Jacques Prévert’s “Autumn Leaves,” had both straight women and gay men melting in their seats, just as he had as a freshman at his Singing Hoosiers audition.\nCosta Chamat has long been Singing Hoosiers’ most ardent jazz proponent, and he gave a long-awaited solo performance in Louis Armstrong’s “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans.” His voice, always mellow and smooth-edged, has found focus over the last four years and gives him a weighed maturity he once lacked.\nIf Singing Hoosiers provide students anything, it is an environment in which to grow as adults and performers, as these individuals clearly have. \nEveryone has his or her own Singing Hoosiers story. In my case, during my last semester in the group, unhappy with the material on the Spring Concert program and completely disillusioned with the group as a whole, I realized my heart was no longer in the work we were doing. And if that was the case, I knew I would not be able to give a performance I could be proud of. So I didn’t show up for the concert. \nBut the young men and women who now make up the Singing Hoosiers can take great satisfaction in Saturday’s concert. It was prime example of what such an ensemble is capable of when challenged and encouraged, reassured that being a Singing Hoosier is indeed a mark of pride. I wish them all my sincere congratulations.
(03/30/07 4:00am)
Billed by IU’s Jacobs School of Music as “America’s premiere collegiate concert show choir,” the Singing Hoosiers will present its 57th annual Spring Concert on Saturday night at the IU Auditorium.\n“I’m very excited about this concert,” said Michael Schwartzkopf, the ensemble’s director. “It’s got a lot of variety, probably more than we’ve ever had on a spring concert.”\nOriginally a male choral ensemble, the Singing Hoosiers have spent the past half-century performing across Indiana, and the world, in their mission to share and celebrate America’s popular music. This year’s spring concert will contain the usual mix of jazz and musical theater numbers as well as celebrated American folk songs and spirituals, such as Moses Hogan’s “Elijah Rock.”\nRyan Endris, who is conducting the piece, is the Singing Hoosiers’ graduate assistant. \n“It’s a good program – very diverse, but a lot of good stuff.”\nThe concert will also showcase several student soloists, such as senior Angie Perez.\n“I’m pretty excited about (the solo),” said Perez. “It’s my eighth semester, so it’s my last concert ever. I’m looking forward to it, but also sad because it’s over.”\nThe concert will begin at 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $13 to $15 for adults, $10 to $12 for students. Tickets can be purchased at the IU Auditorium box office.
(03/23/07 4:00am)
Chamber music lovers will have a chance to see one of the nation’s most sought after ensembles at work as the Orion String Quartet takes the Auer Hall stage Sunday afternoon. Sunday’s concert will mark the group’s final appearance as the Jacobs School of Music 2006-07 Quartet in Residence.\nAs a resident artist ensemble, the Orion String Quartet has presented both concerts and master classes during the course of the school year with the goal of “balancing instrumental education … (and) bringing chamber music to the fore,” according to a statement from the school.\n“It’s really a great educational opportunity to have them here,” said Josh Tripp, a junior bassist in the School of Music.\nFaculty violist Atar Arad said the quartet will be an inspiration to students.\n“With the Orion’s activities, each time they’re on the ground in Bloomington, students will be reminded of what it takes to play at the highest possible level,” he said in the fall, when the quartet’s residency appointment was announced.\nSunday’s program will include quartets by Kirchner and Dvorak as well as the Mendelssohn octet. As usual, the ensemble will follow the concert with a master class at noon March 26 in Ford-Crawford Hall. Both events are free and open to the public.
(03/22/07 4:00am)
Chris: Now don’t give (Joseph) more space than me in the paper, I’m the real guest, he lives here. Anyway, I was really surprised when they asked me to do it. They weren’t positive it was going to happen yet, but Jacques pulled me aside (last January) and was like, “I don’t know where you’ll be next year, but whenever you sign with a company, make sure you get this time off.” I was really flattered because when they invite guests, it’s usually from, like, American Ballet Theater.\nJoseph: In January, Jacques called me and he asked me if I would come back and do the Prince and I thought he was joking.\nC: I did too.\nJ: I was like, they have boys (at IU), so I wasn’t taking it seriously, but in February he kept calling me. So anyway, he said “We want you here but we need a couple months,” so I said, “If you need me for two months, why don’t I just come up there and do an arts administration degree?” This was a long debate process to work out a situation that would work. But, (Associate Dean) Eugene O’Brien OKed the situation, I started a master’s (degree) in arts administration and ended up doing the fall ballet and the “Nutcracker” as well. I got more than I bargained for, but it was nice.
(03/21/07 4:00am)
If Facebook is any standard, Jacobs School of Music graduate student Jamie Barton is already an established celebrity. There are not only one but two groups in her honor: “Jamie Barton is the most popular girl on Facebook,” which claims she has more wall posts and Facebook gifts than anyone, and the noticeably less-flattering “Jamie Barton steals my lunch money,” which accuses Barton of nothing less than being a “bully who kicks puppies and scares freshmen with wedgies and wet willies.” \nBarton seems to be taking the allegations in stride.\n“I think it’s hilarious,” she said with a laugh over lunch at Lennie’s last weekend. Then again, she has plenty of reason to stay positive these days. \nIt has been a busy but rewarding semester for Barton. She’s been to Indianapolis, to New York, Houston and back and has plenty of stories to tell.\nThe Met\nAs a district-level winner of the Metropolitan Opera’s national auditions, Barton traveled to Butler University in January to compete for a spot at the semifinal round in New York City. \nHow did it go? \nShe won first place and will leave for New York on Thursday.\nOnce in the city, Barton will take the stage on Sunday, March 25, before a distinguished panel of judges who will decide whether or not to promote her to the final round.\n“The semis take place at the Met, so I can at least say I sang on the Met stage,” she said.\nIf she is chosen to sing in the final round, Barton will have a week of coaching with Met musicians in preparation for the final competition on April 1, which will also take place on the Met stage, this time with an orchestra.\nBut the opportunity to be coached by world-class musicians isn’t the only perk Barton will have to look forward to if she advances.\n“I got $6,000 from the regional competition, so I decided I wanted to drop a significant amount of cash for a dress,” Barton said. “I found a couture designer in Texas and this dress which is amazing. … I hope, hope, hope, hope, hope I get to wear it at the finals!”\nAfter the final round, the competition judges will award up to five grand prizes of $15,000 each. And though winners are not promised a place on the Met’s roster, past winners, such as Renee Fleming, Jessye Norman and Deborah Voigt have since become some of opera’s most celebrated personalities.
(03/05/07 5:00am)
The Jacobs School of Music has announced its 2007 to 2008 Opera and Ballet Theater Season, and its opener, Rossini’s “Rigoletto,” doesn’t exactly have everyone thrilled.\n“Now every soprano is trying to learn ‘Caro Nome,’” said one voice professor with a groan, referring to one of the opera’s more prominent and oversung arias.\nBut there is still plenty to be genuinely excited about in the upcoming year, not the least of which is an entirely new production of Puccini’s classic “La Boheme.”\nLast performed by the Jacobs School in the fall of 2004, “Boheme” has been staged on the same set for over three decades, said faculty set designer David Higgins. Higgins, who is also chair of the Opera Studies Department, is currently in the process of designing a new set for next year’s production.\n“Traditionally, ‘Boheme’ is part of verismo,” he said, explaining that the opera is usually presented with realistic and true-to-life sets.\n“But (director) Tito (Capobianco) wanted to do something more cinematographic,” said Higgins. “We’re making the scenery kinetic, almost like it’s part of the action.”\nTito Capobianco, a renowned stage director for several decades, has been a frequent guest of the Jacobs School, most recently to direct last season’s “Don Giovanni.”\nTo achieve Capobianco’s vision, Higgins’ designs will make extensive use of turntables, on which the sets will rotate before and during the scenes.\n“The three-dimensionality of the space will reflect that of the characters,” he said.\nIn addition to “Rigoletto” and “La Boheme,” the season will also include productions of “Susannah,” “The Marriage of Figaro,” “Tales of Hoffman” and the collegiate premiere of William Bolcom’s “A Wedding,” an opera based on the 1978 film of the same name. \nAlso on the calendar are two ambitious ballet programs pieced together by Michael Vernon, the new department chair.\nThe fall ballet, which Vernon has dubbed “Perspectives 1900s,” will focus on what Vernon believes is a somewhat neglected period in the history of dance.\n“It’s a period not enough attention is paid to,” he said. “It was a very fertile period for ballet.”\nThe program will feature pieces created by such legendary choreographers as Vaslav Nijinsky, Michael Fokine, and Isadora Duncan.\nVernon said he believes such a historically oriented program will be of great importance to his students.\n“The dance majors are of a certain age when they have to learn from choreography,” he said. “Not only the technical aspect of steps that some great figure has choreographed … but also the artistry.”\nThe spring ballet, on the other hand, will explore not the history of ballet itself, but the presence of ballet in opera.\n“I was told in the interview process that the ballet department came about to meet the needs of the opera,” Vernon said. “I thought it would be nice to do tribute to the Opera Theater.\n“(The ballet season) will give audiences an eclectic yet organized view of ballet over the years.”\nThe ballet department will also present its annual production of Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker.”
(02/28/07 5:00am)
It was an incredibly exciting weekend at the Jacobs School of Music, even if opera isn’t your cup of tea.\nOn Saturday afternoon, School of Informatics professor Christopher Raphael gave a demonstration of what might just be the most exciting musical development since the metronome – Music Plus One. \nRaphael was inspired to conceive Music Plus One by the shortcomings of the well-known accompaniment system Music Minus One. Music Minus One, which this writer once used to learn Mendelssohn’s first piano concerto, is particularly challenging for solo players because it mandates a tempo and is incapable of adjusting according to the soloist.\n“It’s really a battle of wills,” Raphael told the crowd in Sweeney Hall, describing the difficulty of playing with such rigid accompaniment. His goal with Music Plus One was to improve upon the idea of canned accompaniment by creating a system that could respond to the interpretative desires of the soloists. And if the stunning performances on Saturday were any clue, he has succeeded beautifully.\nFirst, Raphael gave a demonstration himself on the oboe, an instrument he has played for most of his life. After giving a “normal” performance of the Mozart oboe quartet, he repeated the excerpt making extreme changes in tempo, repeating measures and intentionally playing wrong notes. The program, contained on his Dell laptop to which he was attached with a microphone, followed him as well as you would expect a live string trio.\nOf course, as Raphael conceded, his demonstration was merely an exaggeration of the program’s adaptive capabilities. The real musical test came with the magnificent performances by student violinists Yoo-jin Cho and Thomas Rodgers. Both extremely gifted musicians, they led their “orchestra” with skill and authority. The degree of synchrony between them and their Music Plus One playback was nothing short of astounding.\nViolin professor Mimi Zweig, with whom Raphael developed the demonstration, told the crowd that she was hoping for a Music Plus One studio in the music school’s new facilities, plans for which have yet to be released publicly. I, for one, certainly hope the administration makes it happen.\nFor something completely different, I stopped in Auer Hall Sunday afternoon for a concert of Mozart and Haydn by the Pro Arte Singers and Classical Orchestra, conducted by John Poole. Both ensembles are dedicated to the performance of early music in as historically accurate a manner as possible. \nOn the program was Mozart’s Kyrie in D minor, followed by Haydn’s Der Sturm and Missa Solemnis in B flat major, the performances were breathtaking in their accuracy and sensitivity. The members of Pro Arte produced moments of \n|incredibly concentrated power as well as mystifying sensitivity. Their crystal-clear Latin and German rang brilliantly through the hall, especially notable in a space that has been known to swallow words whole. The orchestra, for its part, was crisp and energetic, particularly the violin section, and provided excellent support for the choir behind it.\nNone of this came as any surprise, however, as I’ve come to expect such high quality from Poole. He has a quiet, English-bred dignity that begets a great respect, even reverence, for the score before him, producing a subtle, sophisticated interpretation every time. \nIn an odd side note, I also couldn’t help but notice that Sunday was the second of Poole’s concerts I’ve attended where a violinist has lost an E string.
(02/23/07 5:00am)
Music of the past\nThe Jacobs School of Music presents its second opera of the semester Friday night with a production of Richard Strauss’ “Arabella.” Set in 19th-century Vienna, the opera tells the story of problem gambler Count Waldner, who must marry his daughter Arabella to a wealthy suitor in order to restore his wealth and reputation. Arabella’s younger sister, Zdenka, also tries to win herself a suitor, creating no end of lovesick, richly orchestrated drama.\nGraduate voice student Jeremiah Johnson, who will sing the role of Count Waldner, said he has been challenged by the opera.\n“It’s easily one of the most difficult operas we’ve done here in the past five or six years,” he said. “Strauss is just incredibly difficult, but people are doing quite well.”\nOn the program for Sunday afternoon is a trio of classical choral music performed by IU’s Pro Arte Singers and Classical Orchestra.\nLed by choral faculty member John Poole, the ensembles will perform Mozart’s Kyrie in D minor as well as Haydn’s “Der Sturm” and Missa Solemnis in B flat major.\nGraduate voice student Steven Hrycelak, who is a featured soloist in “Der Sturm,” said he has enjoyed working on the program.\n“It’s got variety,” he said. “It begins with an austere Mozart, followed by an uncharacteristically dramatic Haydn work.”\nThe program is a repeat of a concert given last weekend as part of the St. James Cathedral Concert Series in Chicago. The concert will take place in Auer Hall at 2 p.m. and is free to the public.\nAnd the future\nAs part of its contribution to the 2007 Bloomington ArtsWeek celebration, the Jacobs School of Music will present the premier performance of the IU Informatics Philharmonic. \nNot an actual orchestra, per se, the Informatics Philharmonic is the name given to Informatics professor Dr. Chris Raphael’s automatic accompaniment system, Music Plus One. MPO takes its cue, so to speak, from the long-popular Music Minus One, which provides recorded orchestral accompaniment for instrumental concertos but with strict metronomic, and some might say unmusical, rigidity. \n“Although Music Minus One has its heart in the right place, in practice it is the antithesis of what the musical experience should be,” Raphael has written on his Web site. “My project ... tries to deliver the goods that MMO only promises.”\nRaphael, who plays the oboe in addition to his mathematical pursuits, has developed a digitized system that does not simply provide accompaniment but actually “listens” to and “learns” a soloist’s interpretation of a piece of music and adjusts its play in real time.\nSaturday’s demonstration of MPO has been put together in partnership with violin professor Mimi Zweig, who teaches Raphael’s daughter in her String Academy. Zweig said she is excited about the new possibilities MPO opens up.\n“This could be really beneficial for students,” she said.\nRaphael said he thinks it will receive a positive reception from the music community.\n“I believe these accompaniment systems will someday be as commonplace in the musician’s toolbox as the metronome and tuner – but much more appreciated,” he said in a statement.\nSaturday’s concert will feature student violinists Yoo-jin Cho and Thomas Rodgers. It begins at 3 p.m. and will take place in Sweeney Lecture Hall in the Simon Music Center.
(02/16/07 2:29am)
For those willing to brave the snow, wind and ice, Wednesday evening's University Orchestra concert was a welcome respite from the toils of the week. \nFirst on the program was the Concerto for Harp and Orchestra by Alberto Ginastera. Ginastera is a composer whose work I initially regard as having more style than substance, similar to an Argentinean Poulenc, but after some time passed I began to perceive much greater depth and imagination than my first impression allowed. The Harp Concerto, for instance, is a bright, temperate work, full of imagination that employs a broad array of orchestral textures and timbres that the orchestra let shine throughout the piece. \nThe featured soloist, undergraduate Jane Yoon, in a stunning orange gown as full of sunlight as the piece she performed, similarly drew out a wide range of colors from her instrument, revealing a versatility in the instrument of which I, for one, was unaware (my knowledge of the harp repertoire extends no further than "Alexander's Feast"). Yoon showed great technical mastery and is a gracious and engaging performer. Though the first and third movements of the concerto were brilliant in their virtuosities, I do believe her greatest triumph was her delicate delivery of the deliberate and thoughtful second. Her performance garnered a lengthy and well-deserved ovation.\nFollowing intermission was Franz Liszt's "Faust Symphony," a veritable marathon of Romantic fury and passion. First performed nearly a century and a half ago, the symphony is fascinating for its complexity and depth. The University Orchestra's performance left little wanting, save, perhaps, better intonation in the lower strings. Special attention should most definitely be paid to oboist Heather Shelley and violist Craig Bate for their beautiful duet in the second part, as well as to the entire brass section for its majestic and well-blended sonority. \nThe orchestra, made up largely of the youngest of the Jacobs School of Music instrumentalists, stretched itself both physically and musically in this monumental masterpiece and should be warmly congratulated.
(02/08/07 3:27am)
'You Harlequins'
(02/02/07 2:34am)
In preparation for this weekend's production of "Arlecchino" and "Too Many Sopranos," I would like to offer a quick overview -- a primer, if you will -- of the fundamental aspects of opera in the hopes that understanding each one will make attending the it a little less confusing, inaccessible, and dreadfully unappealing.
(02/02/07 2:34am)
Under the baton of recent faculty addition Uriel Segal, the Jacobs School of Music Chamber Orchestra opened its concert Wednesday night with Johannes Brahms' "Serenade No. 2" in A Major. The piece is notable for the absence of violins, which not only gave the viola section the rare opportunity to act as the upper voice, but gave the principal violist the even rarer opportunity to act as concertmaster, if only for one piece. The violas executed the piece exceptionally well, revealing the rich, soulful sonorities of this too often ignored instrument. The entire ensemble was finely tuned and well-balanced.\nThe violins and timpani joined the others onstage for the second piece of the concert, Beethoven's "Symphony No. 2" in D Major. An adorable symphony -- it reveals a good deal of humor, not to mention the toying with convention that would become an ever stronger component of Beethoven's work. The performance lacked some of the refinement of the first piece, which for Beethoven might be just as well. But one could not have been faulted for desiring more accuracy in pitch or rhythm in places. \nRegardless, it was an immensely refreshing concert. Stravinsky may indeed be thrilling, but there is something about German art music that is cleansing. I'm not totally alone in feeling this way, either. I remember conductor John Poole remarking in rehearsal that he felt it was necessary to listen to Schubert at least once a day. It was good for the spirit. David Effron another faculty conductor, once said that to ease his grief over a personal loss, he was advised to play through the complete cycle of Beethoven's piano sonatas. I, myself, turn to Bach, the "Italian Concerto" in particular. And I do this, and I value concerts like Wednesday night's because in the chaotic world of school, politics and war, there is something so beautifully reassuring in that which still maintains the order of form, rhythm and harmony.
