106 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(01/27/05 4:19am)
We've all had to deal with people who are high on their own power, despite how little they may have. And we do this -- it galls me to say it -- on a daily basis.\nWe all know who they are: The traffic officer, the irritating clerk, the overbearing boss who thinks God himself opened the skies and handed him a golden scepter, signifying his divine right to lord it over all other poor souls who must grovel before his awe-inspiring majesty.\nI'd gladly bow before anyone with such a mandate. In the case of those who simply act like they have one, however, quite the opposite is true. Those who put on the most airs usually are in either the most useless or the most menial positions.\nThis weekend I pulled into a parking lot that I thought was free, but apparently, I was wrong. Then, I beheld the uncrowned queen of the parking lot herself. She sat proudly upon her throne in the royal gate booth. Clad in her jacket bearing the insignia of her office and an envelope full of money, she haughtily commanded, "$3!"\nSomewhere between envisioning myself ripping her face off and wanting to burst out laughing, I left and found parking elsewhere. I managed to survive this encounter with one of these petty tyrants, but it made me realize how often I have to deal with people like that.\nAnd they show up in the international forum, too. The United Nations is the epitome of useless bureaucrats on a power trip who spout orders without enforcing them. On Jan. 25, Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, issued his decree: "The international community expects Afghanistan to start dismantling as of this year its opium economy."\n"Expects?" Costa seems to forget that the United Nations is a largely imaginary organization whose statements are, at best, advice. It cannot enforce its pronouncements, yet it forcefully issues its commands as if they were given by divine right. Costa, for all his titles, is no better than the parking autocrat. Both suffer from delusions of grandeur.\nSo why do such people become engrossed in their power when all that power is nothing but a petty or irrelevant function, unnecessary for the general good? \nPride. It is one of humanity's fiercest driving forces. We need titles and positions to feel superior to others and make ourselves feel like we have control. The rush that comes from feeling powerful goes to the head, transforming a titled peon into a deluded megalomaniac.\nAnd this "free," unstructured society in which we live only makes the situation worse. There are no official class divisions or titles, so the petty thrive on meaningless positions. In America, at present, one cannot be an earl, say, or a marquis; instead, we must be content with "Head Custodian," "Salesman of the Month," "Second Executive Assistant Undersecretary to the Interim Vice Secretary to the Chairman" or a combination of acronyms signifying too much schooling.\nBut whereas the former titles carry meaning, tradition and power behind them, the latter are only meaningless, unflattering sinecures. Yet those with them behave with the pomp and self-importance of the haughtiest noble.\nIf their egos were stripped away, they'd see their unimportance in the grand scheme of things, and I doubt they'd still put on airs. The overall result would be friendlier, more productive members of society who know their true value because they don't overestimate it.\nSome of you reading this, I am certain, have been on a power trip of your own at some point. Stop it. You'll finally earn the respect you think you deserve.
(01/13/05 4:11am)
Art moves me, and contemporary art moves me to tears when I think of the hundreds of years of glorious, moving work tossed aside in favor of ugly monstrosities with neither beauty nor power.\nI pondered this during break while visiting one of my back-home haunts, the Art Institute of Chicago, where the paintings are arranged historically so that the viewer can see Western art improve, flourish and then suddenly descend to a level below Paleolithic cave paintings.\nPerhaps I don't understand modern art, as pretentious readers might think. To them, I say I understand modern art perfectly. It is best summarized by the poet John Ciardi when he said, "Modern art is what happens when artists stop looking at women and start looking for meaning."\nModern art is about interpretation, not visual pleasure. The passing "connoisseur" who has never met the artist and can never possibly know the feeling behind the work must see an emotion in every splotch of paint, ink or excrement.\n"Why is one red square a work of art worth $100,000, while another red square, indistinguishable from the first, (is) just a red square?" asked the author and critic Roger Kimball in a Jan. 12 interview with Mens News Daily. \nWhat sort of emotion can be put into a red square? What was the artist "feeling?" Pain? Was he bleeding?\nSuch reaching for interpretations reminds me of an amusing story from one of my high school teachers. In college, he had to do a contemporary artwork for a final project. An hour before it was due, he entered the woodshop, threw random scraps of wood down and fastened them where they fell. In class, he made up what his "artwork" represented. He received the highest grade in the class.\nIt appears that any idiot (sorry, Mr. Howe) can throw together complete nonsense without any technique, talent or meaning whatsoever and have it praised.\nAnd what if the value of contemporary art comes from my own interpretation, not the artist's, as is the postmodern way of dealing with things?\nWhen I look at a painting, I don't want to muse about what each brushstroke means. I want to feast my eyes upon its beauty and have it inspire me. I don't want to think, only to be moved. \nI think too much already. I'm a chemistry major -- I spend a good deal of my time interpreting Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy printouts that look, for all the world, like modern art themselves.\nWhen I experience a painting, or any other artwork, I want it to remove me from reality and present me with a more beautiful, more perfect world. The world we live in is hard and cruel. Contemporary art only focuses harder on its cruelty and ugliness, for that is what it does by having us interpret it in the context of our own lives.\nWhat began a century and a half ago with the impressionists was a quest for a new way of depicting objects. The quest for novelty eventually spun so out of control that the only way to achieve true novelty is to shock and offend the viewer. And even then, shock, offense and bewilderment are anything but novelties in the art world. Contemporary art is and has been stale.\nSo why does it flourish? Its pretense makes it attractive to those with money who wish to appear "deep" and trendy. And the artist is a charlatan who can attribute any meaning he wants to make the sale.\nI know I'm not alone in this opinion. If this is how people truly feel, then nothing can stop us from reclaiming the lost heritage of visual beauty that the old masters captured.
(12/06/04 4:22am)
This weekend brought the continuation of a Christmas tradition that stretches back more than a century. The ballet suite "The Nutcracker" by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky was performed with a full cast, live orchestra and large-scale set in five performances. The classic tale of fantasy meets Christmas is entertainment for the audience, but work for the dancers. Dressed in mouse suits, dancing on stilts and playing multiple characters has its challenges. Though many artistic forms contribute to the overall piece, the one that is showcased onstage is dance. A few cast members described the enormous amount of time, dedication and effort that go into producing a ballet of such magnitude as "The Nutcracker." \nFreshman Michelle Mahowald, whose roles include the leading mirliton, a Chinese dancer, a snow flake and a party parent, remembered the first time she performed "The Nutcracker" at the age of seven. Mahowald said the ballet is such a Christmas staple that all dancers are familiar with it and she herself has performed it several times. This, however has not made Mahowald bored at all.\n"In the music, I'm always surprised and find something new and beautiful every time I perform it," she said. \nAs far as the difficulties encountered in performing, Mahowald said all dancers expect to play multiple characters during a performance. The rehearsals are used to figure out what to bring out in which character.\n"It's hard at first, but you get used to it," she said.\nLauren Collier, who is performing with IU for the first time, also described some of the difficulties encountered in performing. In one of her roles as a mouse, Collier has to wear fat pads and a large mouse head that can make it difficult to breathe. Collier said there is a large element of risk -- many things have the potential to go wrong on stage, and if anything does, then it has to look as natural as possible.\nCollier added that many years of pain and frustration go into ballet, but all of it is for the joy of dancing.\n"We love it because it's challenging," Collier said.\nSenior Joshoa Sutton, whose roles include the Moorish puppet, the Mouse King and the Arabian prince, agreed with Collier.\n"A lot of the dancers you see on stage are in pain," Sutton said.\nIn spite of this, Sutton added, the performance is a time to showcase the dancers' talent and chance to show the world how good one really is. This is part of the thrill of dancing ballet, Sutton said.\nAnother important aspect of ballet, Sutton said, is the ability to connect with the audience. Giving the audience a thrill and allowing them to enjoy the experience is why Sutton said ballet dancers cherish their art.\n"In this mechanical, electrical age," Sutton said, "we show what humans can do, and that can't be duplicated."\nCollier agreed, calling ballet almost a forgotten art.\n"We want to impress the audience," she said. "And show the magic of ballet, to show that it is special and important to us all."\nMahowald said the performance is worth the pain.\n"When people ask me why I do it when they see me in pain, I always say it's because I love ballet, and that there's nothing like a live performance," she said.\nAs far as this year's production is concerned, the dancers all agreed that working with the staff added to their enjoyment of ballet. Sutton described the IU Ballet Theatre as "a great company," comparing it to "a big, happy family."\nThe choreographer, Jacques Cesbron, in particular made a lasting impression upon the dancers. Collier appreciated Cesbron's sense of humor, saying that he made the ballet very fun to dance.\n"I love Jacques's directing," Mahowald said. "He's a real person and very supportive of the dancers."\nAll three dancers found their experience with IU's performance of "The Nutcracker" both fun and rewarding, and all expressed their enthusiasm that the audience would walk away with a greater appreciation of ballet as an art form.\nAs Mahowald said, "Ballet is more unique than the other arts. Other art forms have a medium. In ballet, we, the dancers, are the medium. Our bodies are our art. That is why it's so personal -- we have a lot of our selves put into it."\n-- Contact staff writer Adam Sedia at asedia@indiana.edu
(12/02/04 5:32am)
The music to the ballet suite "The Nutcracker" by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky is generally regarded as one of the most brilliant works for orchestra. In the upcoming performance by the IU Ballet Department, however, it is not just the music that will shine, but the array of dance that is meant to accompany the music.\nProfessor David Effron, who will be conducting the orchestra in the performances, said Tchaikovsky's music in "The Nutcracker" is conducive to ballet for several reasons. First of all, the music has several different moods to match the different characters on stage. Effron said he hopes to bring out the beauty of the score by emphasizing the lyrical moments.\n"I want to emphasize the humor and joy of this piece," Effron said. \nHe said many of the humorous characters have matching passages in the score. Also, the music contains a childlike element that demands a joyful sound.\n"The piece's fantasy also demands joy," Effron said. "It is a moment to get away from the realistic world."\nTchaikovsky's score is well-suited to ballet because it has a strong rhythmic element, which is what dance is all about, said Effron, who has conducted symphonies and operas. He explained that ballet is different from either because the tempo needs to be constant and comfortable for the dancers.\n"I often conduct for the expression of the moment, but with ballet, you have to discipline yourself to always make the tempo comfortable for the dancers," Effron said.\nThe dancers rely most heavily on the ballet's choreographer Jacques Cesbron, who has worked on many of IU's operas, ballets and choruses.\nCesbron said he thoroughly enjoys choreography because it takes him to a level beyond teaching. Cesbron's method of choreographing reflects this. He finds his inspiration by watching the dancers in his classes and basing the choreography on how the students themselves dance, rather than directing them.\n"It takes creation on its own direction," Cesbron said of this method.\nCesbron said willingness and eagerness are better than simply good form. When the students try things, they often go beyond the original idea and produce something very imaginative, he said.\nCesbron's colleagues, Guest Choreographer Guoping Wang, and Children's Choreographer Doricha Sales and his wife Victoria Cesbron, who handles the more concrete aspects, all helped the dancers perfect their steps. Cesbron said he was indebted to them for their help and support because, as he said, "It is nice to choreograph, but not easy."\nAs far as "The Nutcracker" itself is concerned, Cesbron stated that the ballet is an important Christmas tradition in the United States, and its performances are usually sold out. His goal, then, is to expand beyond the Christmas mood and make the audience fall in love with ballet as a year-round art.\n"This show is more than just 'The Nutcracker.' It is about ballet. I want the audience to love ballet and get into dancing outside of Christmas," Cesbron said.\n"Nutcracker" performers said the overall effect of the fusion of Effron's conducting and Cesbron's dance choreography create a stunning work of art. Lauren Collier, whose roles include a mouse and a flower, described Tchaikovsky as a "ballet genius" whose music is enhanced by the dancing on stage. She said dancing to music is "an exhilarating experience."\nSenior Joshoa Sutton, who plays the Arabian Prince, the Mouse King and the Moor doll, agreed with Collier.\n"Music is indispensable to ballet," he said.\nTo illustrate his statement, he gave the example of the rehearsal pianist, explaining that the difference in dancing to a good and a bad pianist is very noticeable. With a good pianist, the steps are much easier and expression comes more naturally than with a careless one.\nSutton said dancing to a live orchestra, however, elevates the ballet to a whole new level.\n"I love dancing to a live orchestra. There's really no comparison to dancing to live music. It changes the entire atmosphere," he explained.\nBoth dancers agreed that "The Nutcracker" is a work of art where music and dance work together and mutually enhance one another for a beautiful experience. \n"It is a very beautiful production," Cesbron said, "and I expect it to be a success."\n-- Contact staff writer Adam Sedia at asedia@indiana.edu.
(11/08/04 4:03am)
What results when grand opera, jazz and musical theater meet? Something very odd and unique, no doubt. Over the course of the next two weekends at the John Waldron Arts Center, the Bloomington community will have a chance to fully experience this weird hybrid. "The Threepenny Opera," written in 1928 by the German-Jewish composer Kurt Weill with libretto by Berthold Brecht, is a full-blown jazz opera performed by the Detour Theatre Company under direction of Terence Hartnett.\n"The Threepenny Opera" is the love story of Polly Peachum and "Mack the Knife" MacHeath. Right from the start, the presentation flies straight into the audience's face, with a character in a tuxedo and a painted face speaking directly to the audience, much like in the musical "Cabaret." The 'opera' is actually a series of songs separated by dramatic scenes, and before every song all action stops and the Street Singer introduces and makes comments full of sarcasm and innuendo. All major elements of this work are shocking. The characters are all brutally realistic, including several criminals and prostitutes. In fact, the hero is the notorious thief and murderer "Mack the Knife" MacHeath. The plot is a series of betrayals, detailing his sexual misconduct, Peachum's criminal enterprise and the corruption of the police chief.\nThe language used is also very explicit and direct, far from the elevated dialogue of opera. The characters in the opera use colloquialisms and a myriad of outright profanities. Such rudeness, along with the language, owes itself to Brecht's Marxist motivation to capture the "misery of the masses." So, it does serve a dramatic purpose other than simple shock value. Because of the profanities, this work is not recommended for a family atmosphere.\nThe most captivating aspect of the performance was definitely the music. Music director Martin Wolter deserves congratulations for managing to assemble musicians and performers of different vocal experience, thus creating such an overall well-playing cast. The jazz band played impressively, consisting of a piano, trumpets, a trombone, saxophones (soprano, alto, and tenor), a clarinet, an accordion and a banjo. The talents of the singers, however, varied. Some coordination issues between singers and band were present, but keeping in mind it was the first performance these problems are easily ironed out. \nAll performers definitely gave their best. As far as male characters go, Lee Parker as "Mack the Knife" gave a very good all-around performance. He gave a very convincing and creepy portrayal of the notorious criminal while maintaining good vocal talent in his singing. Frank Buzolich as Mr. Peachum had a much stronger dramatic presence than vocal, while Quinto Ott as police chief Brown had a more convincing vocal presence than dramatic.\nThe two true stars of the show, however, were both female: Elizabeth Baldwin as Mrs. Peachum and Amanda Bean as Polly, the Peachums' daughter who foolishly elopes with "Mack the Knife." Both actresses/singers had beautiful, strong voices worthy of grand operatic stage. As far as acting goes, Bean was more limited by her rather one-dimensional role of the naïve, love-struck girl, which she nevertheless played wonderfully. Baldwin, playing the drunk, obsessive Mrs. Peachum, had a much better chance to shine, and she did. Her portrayal of a crazed old mother was impassioned and very convincing, almost as powerful as Baldwin's singing.\nThe entire cast, did a very good job overall. It was also obvious that all on stage were enthusiastic and having fun. Director Terence Hartnett deserves congratulations for assembling such a variegated cast, making them work together so well, and thus allowing them to enjoy their parts as well. Achieving all of these at once is not easy to do.\nFor mature audiences who are interested in jazz, realism and local talent, this show is not to be missed. The show will be \nrunning for two more weekends with performances at 8 p.m. this Friday and Saturday and Nov. 19-20, and 2 p.m. this Sunday and Nov. 21.
(11/05/04 4:48am)
Then the term "child prodigy" is spoken, Mozart usually pops into mind. Wednesday night at the IU Auditorium a similar present-day musical child prodigy, though a child no longer, was seen in performance. Lang Lang, the brilliant Chinese pianist whose public career began at five and reached international fame at 17, made an appearance at IU, both to give a concert and to discuss his interpretations with piano students in the School of Music.\nLang chose to begin his concert with the "Abegg Variations," the Opus 1 of Robert Schumann. Lang used this delightfully flashy piece to showcase his talents right from the very beginning. The audience was taken quite aback from such a fluid interpretation done with such confidence at the very beginning of the concert. A similarly flashy work followed with Franz Josef Haydn's "Piano Sonata No. 60." The execution in this work was flawless, done with a precision surpassing even that demanded in Haydn's day. The only awkward moment was a faux pas on part of the audience for clapping between movements.\nAfter these two rather light pieces followed one of deeper emotion and more demanding skill In Frédéric Chopin's "Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise Brillante." Here Lang unleashed his full capabilities, all but blowing the audience away. He played this very difficult Chopin piece as if it were second nature, making it appear as if it were to him no more difficult than a simple hand exercise.\nAfter an intermission came a newer work -- "Eight Memories in Watercolor" by Tan Dun. This new piece was striking in its own right. Free from the dissonances that are currently the trend in contemporary classical music, this piece was a fusion of Western classical tradition and Chinese-inspired melodic patterns. Lang gave life to these eight short pieces with the same flair he used playing Schumann and Chopin, making the pieces' overall effects very impressive.\nThen followed another Chopin piece -- the "Nocturne in D-flat Op. 27, No. 2." This piece was more deep and melancholic than the other Chopin, so it did much to illustrate the range of Lang's style. To make up for this lost brilliance, though, the final piece chosen was "Reminiscences of 'Don Juan' for Piano" by Franz Liszt, written on themes from Mozart's "Don Giovanni." A piece like this was written to display Liszt's astounding virtuosity at the piano, so it is both flashy and very difficult. Lang, in keeping with his performance thus far, managed to make it a dazzling and impressive finale -- the final explosion of his amazing talent.\nTo say the audience was enthusiastic would be an understatement. After four curtain calls, Lang reappeared for no less than three encores. The first was a slow, heartfelt Schumann piece, "Träumerei." For the second piece, Lang brought out his father, Guo-ren Lang, and the two played a duet, Lang Lang on the piano and Guo-ren Lang on the erhu, a traditional Chinese violin-like instrument. The final piece saw Lang Lang solo again on an arrangement of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee," a very familiar and difficult piece that left the audience a final taste of his immense talent.\nThose who saw Wednesday's performance definitely received their money's worth and more. They saw locally an internationally famed pianist who has played around the world playing some of the most delightful piano music heard this year. It was a definite crowd-pleaser.
(11/02/04 4:19am)
Last week, Richard Wagner's great-grandson, Gottfried Wagner, gave a lecture about the music of Kurt Weill and Berthold Brecht. This week, Bloomington residents will have the opportunity to see a live performance of one of their best-known works. Under the direction of Terence Hartnett, the Detour Theatre Company performs Weill and Brecht's 1928 work "The Threepenny Opera" at the John Waldron Arts Center this weekend.\nHartnett said the presence of IU's School of Music was a main factor in his company's decision to perform "The Threepenny Opera." Hartnett said he knew he could interest music students in performing the opera, especially since this show has not been done locally since the 1970s. Hartnett said IU's brilliant jazz department and the excellent area musicians have made the performance of the opera possible.\nHartnett also added that his company has a lot of background in musical theater and generally performs modern works from Ibsen to the present. Adding "The Threepenny Opera" to their repertoire will expand the company's focus and broaden the scope of what their performances.\nThe company has been planning this performance for about three to four years, so staging its first performance a week after Gottfried Wagner's lecture was purely coincidental. Hartnett, however, views it as an advantage for his company. \n"We have had pure, blind luck in our timing with the Wagner lecture," Hartnett said.\n"The Threepenny Opera" is best known for its music. Martin Wolter, a graduate student at the IU School of Music, is the music director for this opera. He described it as a fusion of opera, operetta, musical theater and classical theater. \nWolter said Weill wrote the opera while he was still in Germany. Due to the Nazi invasion, later in Weill's career he was forced to move abroad and write in more popular genres. In comparison with his later works, "The Threepenny Opera" has a more epic feel. Weill and Brecht attempted to mirror their masterpiece "The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny" in this opera. Wolter said the music was composed in the normal operatic tradition, but with a different kind of music.\n"(It has) a very special character," Wolter said.\nIn his dealing with the music, Wolter said he tried to take the closest possible approach to the original score, using almost the exact same jazz band that Weill used in Berlin in 1928. Wolter said he wanted to take advantage of the great musicians at IU to bring out the colors in the music.\nA difficulty Wolter encountered with the music's execution was the cast's unfamiliarity with professional singing. Since the selected cast has primarily dramatic experience, Wolter needed to teach them the basics of operatic singing. \n"I am proud of how far they've come," Wolter said.\nTwo of the cast members with whom Wolter worked are graduate student Matthew Gailey, who plays Mr. Peachum, and graduate student Laura Stelman, who plays his wife, Mrs. Peachum. Gailey and Stelman both said their characters make an interesting couple whose relationship is strictly business. Stelman described Mrs. Peachum as a bitter and sarcastic old woman who is usually drunk. Gailey said his character was similar to Mrs. Peachum. He said that Mr. Peachum knows no right or wrong, only profit. He likened his character to a snake, having a slithery, sly mode and a striking mode.\nBoth cast members said Hartnett has done a wonderful job with the direction. Gailey said Hartnett accepts the actors' ideas and input, and values individual interpretation, not wanting a duplicate performance with the double cast. Gailey said working with Hartnett is more fun than work.\n"(Hartnett) is a really nice, open-minded guy who allows us to shape our own parts," Stelman stated.\nAs far as the work itself is concerned, Hartnett didn't want to force it into one particular genre, preserving the hybrid character while accenting the cabaret elements in it. He said the episodic structure helps lend the opera this motley feel. Hartnett said "The Threepenny Opera" does not seem 75 years old to him.\n"It has a fresh and relevant message without being preachy, and it still feels new, vibrant and alive," he said. "I want the audience to walk away with a sense of meaningful engagement and a greater appreciation for the music. I also want them to clearly receive the central idea of being sensitive to the suffering of others."\n-- Contact staff writer Adam Sedia at asedia@indiana.edu.
(09/27/04 4:17am)
The 2004-2005 IU Opera Season opened Friday at the MAC with one of the most emotional and beloved operas of all time -- Giacomo Puccini's "La Bohème." Set in the Latin Quarter of 1830's Paris, "La Bohème" details the lives and loves of four struggling artists sharing an old attic apartment. Act I portrays the difficulty of the artists' lives through their inability to keep warm and pay rent. Rodolfo, a poet, stays behind as his friends leave for the café. While he writes, his neighbor Mimi, a destitute seamstress, enters and asks him to relight her candle, which has blown out from the wind. The two fall in love immediately. In Act II Mimi joins the group of artists at the café and Marcello, the painter of the group, is reunited with his high-living ex-lover, Musetta.\nAct III features a sudden turn in events. Rodolfo has left Mimi because he thought she was too flirtatious with other men. Mimi then enters coughing, a cough which eventually takes her life, and begging to see Rodolfo. The two discuss their feelings and decide to remain apart as Marcello and Musetta fight and separate again. Though Act IV begins with a spirited joke scene by the artists, the mood changes when Musetta discovers a secret which provides for a tragic plot twist at the end of the third act. As the third act comes to an emotional end, Mimi and Rodolfo admit their love for another, but the joyous moment is short lived.\nAccording to the School of Music's Web site, the opera is loosely based on Henri Murger's novel, "Scenes from Bohemian Life." Imre Palló, the conductor of the opera, spoke about the music and the history behind the opera. Palló said when Giacomo Puccini premiered "La Bohème" in 1896, another composer, Ruggero Leoncavallo, had composed an opera titled "La Boheme," which premiered in Venice in 1897, a year after Puccini's. Puccini so loved the story that he wrote another one anyway, and his version became from the start much more popular than Leoncavallo's.\nPalló attributes this to Puccini's tremendous skill with writing dramatic endings. Palló described Puccini's music as passionate, lyrical, expressive and dramatic, yet youthful and humorous when necessary. He said it covers the full range of human emotions.\n"I'm just trying to do justice to the music." Palló said, "Puccini clearly stated everything in the score, so it works well if you just follow his instructions."\nMichael Schwartzkopf, the chorus master for the adult chorus which appears in Act II, praised the IU opera program as an excellent taste of what professional opera companies are like, yet still with an educational mission. Most of the adult chorus is composed of members of the Singing Hoosiers, and Schwartzkopf said they are getting an incredible education from the opera experience.\n"They'll be able to sing anything, now, after this," he said.\nSchwartzkopf also commented that the students and children's chorus add a remarkable air of festivity to Act II.\nCarelle Flores, who played Mimi, and Angela Mannino, who portrayed Musetta, gave an on-stage perspective to the performance. Both described the challenges faced in portraying their roles. Flores said she had to not foresee her character's tragic end too early and make her the happy, life-loving character she is. Mimi likes flowers, spring and flirting, so her character cannot become too tragic too soon.\nMannino faced similar challenges. Musetta is a character with two sides, she said. One side is outrageous and fun -- the life of the party -- but the other is a strong and forgiving person who cares for Mimi in her time of need. Both Flores and Mannino agreed that Puccini's music requires an emotional performance. Mannino said playing a Puccini role is complex.\n"The music is so dramatic that it helps the voice find the right color, shade, and expression, but it also requires the singer to relax while projecting over the large orchestra so that the voice isn't strained," Manino said. \nFlores described Puccini's style as "sincere, true singing," and drawing out all the emotions required practice even though Puccini's music is already very familiar to her.\nBoth singers also emphasized the necessity of performing well, since "La Bohème" is one of the most famous operas with some of the most famous arias of all time.\nBoth Flores and Mannino praised the guest stage directress, Stephanie Sundine. Both loved the fact Sundine used to sing operatic soprano and knew exactly what worked for the singers to be both dramatic and comfortable. Flores described Sundine as "nurturing, yet demanding" and "a joy to work with." Mannino had similar praise for Sundine and her work technique.\n"She is fair, easygoing, and constantly uplifting rather than putting down," Flores said. "She goes the extra mile to make the staging interesting." \nPalló agreed as well, saying that Sundine knows what the piece means.\nOverall, Mannino wanted the audience to have a good experience watching the opera. \n"I hope the audience enjoys watching the opera as much as I enjoyed being in it," she said.\nThe Opera will being playing again at 8 p.m. Oct. 1 and 2 at the MAC. For more information contact 855-1583.\n-- Contact staff writer Adam Sedia at asedia@indiana.edu
(09/23/04 4:51am)
The coming of an opera's opening night evokes all the wonders of another world manufactured for the stage. When most of us go to the opera, we are so busy appreciating the final product that the efforts made to bring it from the score to the stage are often overlooked. The fact is, an enormous amount of time, money and labor are put into transforming an idea into an impressive reality.\nSet designer Robert O'Hearn, who has worked on over 200 productions in his career and over 30 since his arrival at IU in 1987, described in detail how a production evolves from a mere idea to an actual event.\nAfter familiarizing himself with the work by reading the libretto and listening to the music, the stage designer talks to the stage director, who is in charge of the production's atmosphere. After gathering the director's ideas, the designer researches the setting in depth. Operas can been set anywhere between ancient Egypt and the present, so getting correct details is essential to a successful production.\nNext comes the most important step -- developing a unique point of view to establish a new, different and exciting approach to the opera that agrees with the director's plans. \n"You have to ask yourself what the theme of the piece is," said O'Hearn, "and then give an interpretation of that theme."\nOnce this is done, the drawings and costume sketches are made and O'Hearn builds a set model. A long period follows as the designer supervises the crew as they build, paint and sew the necessary props. Once these are built, there come the lighting rehearsals, the dress rehearsals and, finally, the performance itself.\nThe entire process of preparing a production takes about six months on average. New productions take longer, and revivals still require a lot of time because different directors take different approaches, so the sets need to be adjusted accordingly. Keeping within the set budget can also be a challenge. O'Hearn remembered a motto he saw over a theater switchboard once that said, "Good, fast, cheap -- pick two," and said that the statement is generally correct.\nO'Hearn gave a good picture of what a typical production crew looks like. On the production crew for an opera like "La Bohème" are three carpenters, a head painter and six to 10 assistants, up to 30 stagehands, including electricians, prop crew and stagehands, four or five seamstresses, three graduate students to work on wigs and accessories, and 25 dressers. Almost all of these crew members are students.\nOne department that works long and hard and makes an enormous contribution to the production is the costume department. Michelle Boyle, the costume supervisor, explained the importance of costumes. \n"Costumes are a big part of the operation. In fact, chorus members have told me they don't feel like a chorus until they wear their costumes," she said.\nBoyle explained that operatic costumes are very different from theatrical costumes, which resemble merchandise apparel. Since operas are revived often -- "La Bohème" has been playing at IU for 25 years -- the costumes need to be adjustable for up to two sizes. Another feature that dictates costume design is making sure dancers can move in them and singers are comfortable. Thus, every character must be fitted for alterations. Of course, the budget carries a huge amount of weight as do any changes the director wishes to make.\nAnother challenge faced by the costume shop is balancing the operations for current, upcoming and new productions. This year IU's costume shop has 11 productions in 12 months for which it needs to make new costumes and alter old ones. Currently, aside from altering the costumes for "La Bohème," they are preparing the ones for "Eugene Onegin" and making new ones for "A View from the Bridge" and the spring ballet. Boyle said they have yet to miss a deadline.\nBoyle also added that the costume shop crew has fun with their jobs. With staff working 40 hours and students up to 70 hours per week, she said, it's necessary to have fun. \n"The atmosphere in the shop is very laid back. We have lots of fun, and I love this job," said Boyle.\nOne of the students working with Boyle in the costume shop is graduate student Lisa Golda, a supervisory assistant who is in charge of accessories for "La Bohème." Together with graduate student Katherine Altobello, who is the administrative assistant, and graduate student Jessica Rall, who directs wigs and makeup, Golda forms part of a team of three graduate students who supervise the cast's wardrobe. Rather than sewing the costumes, they build them. She explained that this opera has an unusually large chorus of 60 members, so organizing for all of them is difficult, especially with three or four accessories per person, which include such things as purses, hats and jewelry. \n"Keeping track of so many people can be quite difficult," Golda added.\nNot only is all the organizing difficult, but time-consuming as well -- Golda works a minimum of 20 paid hours per week and 40 to 60 hours during opera week. On top of this, Golda has classes to attend and a high grade point average standard to maintain. Yet in spite of this, Golda maintains her working philosophy.\n"We really go out of our way to do what we can to make the singers feel comfortable and look fantastic," Golda said.\nComfort is an important issue to Golda, who studies voice and knows what a singer feels and needs to be comfortable.\nThe costume shop is just one of the many branches of backstage departments whose total efforts result in the production of an opera. Each has its own methods, its own difficulties and its own protagonists. The costume shop, however, gives a good look at the complexity and intensity of backstage labor as well as the large amount of effort and great attention to detail that result in a successful production. \n"We couldn't do these wonderful shows without the backstage crew. Together we all try to make the production smooth, exciting and within budget," O'Hearn said.\n-- Contact staff writer Adam Sedia at asedia@indiana.edu.
(09/06/04 6:02am)
The type of opera most people are familiar with is grand, dramatic and seen at a place like the MAC. It utilizes a full orchestra, a large cast and three or four long acts. But opera is a broad genre and there are smaller, lighter works which do not draw the same amount of attention when performed because they lack the monumental stature of Wagner and Verdi. Music Works, a local group of singers who specialize in opera and musicals, is performing a sequence of three short, light, one-act operas at the John Waldron Arts Center which delight and amuse the listeners rather than move them to tears.\nThe first of the three was Mozart's "The Impresario," a singspiel -- work with singing and speaking-- that parodied the egos of opera singers and the dilemmas of their directors. The work was freely adapted into English by director Sarah Daughtrey. The setting was moved from Mozart's time to the year 1936 in the United States. Though the adaptation was a little too free with its changes, the alterations were all tasteful and well-chosen. They added a sense of greater relevance than an 18th-century setting would have given and many of the songs were kept in the original German language. A piano and ensemble of strings and woodwinds played as the orchestra. They played very well, but the selection of instruments was very treble-heavy -- only the piano supplied bass parts -- and the solo violin and viola were difficult to hear over the woodwinds.\nThe second one-act wonder was "The Telephone" by Gian Carlo Menotti, a very light and jovial comedy about a man trying to propose to his beloved, who constantly interrupts him to answer the telephone. The telephone dialogue set in operatic singing amplified the absurdity of the plot. The scenery and costumes were done in the style of the 1950s and, like the previous work, displayed remarkable coherence. The small chamber group was replaced by a piano-keyboard duet in this work.\nThe third piece was to opera what "The Daily Show" is to news. "The Stoned Guest" was written by P.D.Q. Bach (not the actual Bach, but a comic pen-name who wrote spoofs of classical music in the 1970s). This opera is a bizarre mixture of Mozart and "Monty Python's Flying Circus" -- it wonderfully parodies "Don Giovanni." Anyone familiar with opera would appreciate the tongue-in-cheek parody of the genre. The sheer bizarreness of the work can be seen in title roles like Donna Ribalda, Il Commendatoreador, Don Octavo (who sings in octaves) and a dog. The plot is a series of Don Giovanni-like situations gone awry and blown out of proportion. In short, this obscure work is wonderfully funny.\nThe most wonderful quality of this performance was the quality of the singers. They displayed a level of skill and profession which was unexpected in a local venue. Senior Alison Wonderland Bacich and graduate student Marcy Richardson in "The Impresario" blew away the listener with their beautiful duets. Graduate student Kristen Robinson in "The Telephone" also displayed impressive vocal talent with a phone receiver at her face. The two female roles in "The Stoned Guest," played by Margaret Nilsson and Melissa Korzec-Hillman had some parts whose difficulty was masked by their comic nature. They deserve credit for successfully executing their parts, and graduate student Michael Match as Don Octavo sang his falsetto parts disturbingly well.\nThe opera series at the Art Center is a good way to see opera without feeling like one is seeing opera. Rather than imparting deep emotion and meaning like the grand opera, these works seek only to entertain. And entertained one will be -- these works are both well written and wonderfully funny. It is well worth the experience.
(03/02/04 5:53am)
A spectacular combination of vocal and orchestral talent was displayed before a packed Auer Hall Sunday, as the IU School of Music presented the monumental oratorio "Die Schöpfung" ("The Creation") by Franz Josef Haydn. The concert lasted about two hours and was given in memory of A. Peter Brown, a late professor of musicology at IU who was considered among the foremost experts on 18th century music. Brown performed his edition of "The Creation," considered to be the definative piece, on Sunday.\nAn oratorio is a large-scale work for chorus and orchestra with a religious theme. Among the most famous are those of the English composer George Frideric Handel, which include "The Messiah." Handel's oratorios so impressed Haydn during his stay in London that they inspired him to write one of his own, which was first performed in 1799.\nThe libretto was written by an Englishman named Lindley, who based it strongly off John Milton's "Paradise Lost." Haydn's friend Baron Gottfried van Swieten rewrote the English version, translated it into German, and then re-translated it into English for publication of the first bilingual edition. It is very common to hear van Swieten's English version performed in the United States today, but Sunday's performance was in German, with a translation given in the program. Since it was the German text that was set to music, it was felt that performing the work in German would be truer to Haydn than English.\nConsidering the enormous challenge performing this work posed to all parties involved, special congratulations should be given to them for giving a first-rate performance. At the center of it all was conductor William Jon Gray, whose ability to manage the orchestra, the chorus and the soloists can only be described as outstanding. What was undoubtedly a very daunting challenge was executed so smoothly that it seemed second nature, and Professor Gray deserves credit for that.\nThe IU Chamber Orchestra, the IU Singers and the IU Chorale all did a remarkable job in their execution of the piece. Though it does not rank as technically difficult as many other works, the ability to give life and character to this piece is not only difficult, but also can make the difference between a moving performance or a dull concert. The abilities of the musicians and singers to give such a vivid interpretation required not only skill and practice but insight, as well.\nSpecial attention should also go to the soloists. The three angels -- Mi Young Park as Gabriel, Alan Bennett as Uriel and Sam Spade as Raphael -- sang expressively and passionately and displaying remarkable endurance. Soprano Georgina Joshi as Eve and baritone Jonathan Stimson as Adam also lent their voices to great effect in the performance.\nThe overall effect of the concert was as impressive as Haydn intended it to be. It was powerful, beautiful and moving -- a fit memorial to a member of the IU staff.\n"The Creation" will be performed at 8 p.m. Tuesday at in Auer Hall and admission is free.
(02/25/04 4:37am)
An unusually large and variegated audience gathered in Auer Hall Monday evening for a recital. All were there to hear Edmund Battersby's performance. Battersby is a professor of piano at the IU School of Music and an internationally recognized virtuoso pianist. In store for Monday night's audience was a large and very diverse selection of solo piano music occupying a good one-and-a-half hours of listening.\nThe recital began with two Impromptus by Franz Schubert (1797-1828), which were relatively short and not too demanding on Battersby. These delightful pieces served as an excellent concert opener because of their light and bouncy quality, as well as Schubert's characteristic lyricism and infectious melodies.\nNext however, followed the true gem of the concert -- the fiery Waldstein sonata of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827). This sonata ranks among Beethoven's finest and poses a considerable challenge to the pianist, as well as a very moving experience for the audience. It was somewhat disappointing that the first two movements had a few minor errors in them, but these were definitely miniscule when Battersby's performance as a whole was viewed. The breakneck tempo at which he took the piece -- and in doing so being very true to Beethoven -- and the passion he put into its performance made listening to a familiar piece quite unforgettable.\nAfter a brief intermission, there followed a series of three Nocturnes by Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) -- shorter works whose dark tonalities and subdued natures were intended to be evocative of night. The three chosen by Battersby were definitely impressive ones, but of these, the Op. 48 No. 1 Nocturne was the most brilliant, as well as the most passionately performed. \nThe rest of the recital, however, was slightly disappointing. The other works chosen were little more than texture pieces chosen to show the talent of the pianist. "Raintree Sketch No. 2" by Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996) was a bizarre and aimless piece showing Battersby's familiarity with newer literature. The remaining pieces were "Ondine" and "Pavane" by the French Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) and "El Polo" and "Malaga" by the Spanish Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909). With the exception of the funerary "Pavane," all of these pieces showed the digital dexterity of Battersby and made for an impressive show, even if they lacked the depth of the previous pieces.\nBattersby indulged the audience with an encore consisting of a piece by a recently-deceased friend of his, Joaquín Nin-Culmell, brother of the author Anaïs Nin. The piece was slightly upbeat for a dedication, but Battersby's devotion was nonetheless touching.\nIt should be noted Battersby performed the entire concert from memory and his manner of playing clearly indicated his heart was where his fingers were. \nAn amusing anecdote he shared before the encore concerned a meeting of music deans that laughed when IU's music dean first proposed to build a world-class music school at IU. If any of those who laughed were at Monday night's performance, they surely would have bit their tongues. The audience enjoyed a truly amazing and moving recital by a very talented pianist.
(02/12/04 5:11am)
The IU School of Music is really shooting to impress the concert-goer by staging its second Bruckner symphony this season. Two Bruckner symphonies in one season make for quite an impressive undertaking worthy of professional orchestras. Those who were impressed by the performance in September ought to have been simply floored by Sunday night's performance.\nThere is only one word that can truly capture the scope of this symphony -- massive. Not only did the performance last a good 80 minutes, but the size of the orchestra and variety of instrumentation was much larger than normal, even for Bruckner. The Austrian-born Anton Bruckner (1824-1896) was heavily influenced by his career as a church organist as well as by Wagner's operas when he wrote his nine symphonies. The broadness and heaviness of this 1887 symphony owe much to both influences.\nLeading the concert orchestra was guest conductor Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, a very prestigious musical figure who has lead many of the world's premier orchestras during the past 35 years. Skrowaczewski was obviously familiar with the piece, for he conducted the 80-minute symphony purely from memory, a feat in and of itself. The interpretation he gave to the symphony was truly worthy of such a prestigious conductor.\nThose who attended should not have come ready to listen for a catchy tune -- there really was no distinguishable melody. The symphony is written in Wagnerian style with short motives constantly being harmonically developed. Skrowaczewski was able to capture these subtle changes perfectly with emphasis on the changes in expression as each motive went through a new modulation. The overall attention to mood and feeling made Skrowaczewski's interpretation stand out. By simply reading between the lines, he was able to transform the massive hulk of the Eighth into a living, organic and very expressive musical work.\nSkrowaczewski also knew which instruments to bring out at the correct time. Some very lyrical and very powerful passages that could have easily been hidden under the blanket of Bruckner's ubiquitous string tremolos were brought out into the open. The woodwinds' surprisingly lyrical passages were given some emphasis, but the true thunder of the symphony came from the brass. Skrowaczewski did not show the brass as only fire and brimstone, however. Some very lyrical passages in the horns and Wagner tubas were emphasized, drawing attention again to the lyrical qualities of the symphony.\nThough listening to such a massive symphony can be taxing for the casual listener, Sunday's concert was a masterful performance of a monumental work. The musicians of the concert orchestra deserve much praise in bringing Skrowaczewski's interpretation to life.
(10/31/03 5:39am)
For those looking to escape to another time and place, Franz Lehár's "Merry Widow" offers a delightful evening of humor and happiness. It is a simple love story in which the only complication is the stubbornness of some of the characters involved. Nobody dies in this opera, and the resolution is a happy one. Although idealized, it is an escape for the audience to the carefree days of Paris at the turn of the 19th century.\nUsing such a famous cultural backdrop as Paris for the opera allowed for some very creative stage designs. It is the stage design that first captures the eyes of the viewers. A faux-frame reminiscent of late 19th century operettas was constructed. Before the curtain rose, various scenes ranging from actual photographs of Paris to paintings by French impressionist and post-impressionist painters depicting "fin de siècle" or end of the century Parisian life were projected onto a screen. These images were projected throughout the opera, which gave a pleasantly unexpected artistic edge to the production and demonstrated wonderfully how effectively the visual effects can be to supplement the musical.\nThe sets, designed by the late Max Röthlisberger, also captured the elegance and sumptuousness of the time without being gaudy or crowded. The sets were shockingly simple -- most of the ornate decorative effects were achieved with light projections. This allowed more attention to be paid to the performers. The overall use of lighting to create scenery instead of objects was a very interesting, unique and successful scenery ploy in this opera which gave it a fresh and new feeling.\nThe costumes worn by the cast also deserve praise. They were true to the time period but still original in craft. The dresses worn by Hanna Glawari were simply stunning and their elegance gave the impression of a rich woman as much as the spoken parts did. The military costumes of Baron Zeta, Count Danilo and the French diplomat were also striking pieces in the flashy style of the time. The national costumes of the Petrovenians, crafted in the style of traditional Slavic dress, gave a very Eastern European feel to its scene and would almost convince one that Petrovenia was an actual place.\nIn spite of all these scenic delights, the star of the show was undoubtedly Vera Savage as Hanna Glawari. Savage sang extremely well, but her talent really showed in her ability to give a convincing and realistic portrayal of widow Glawari. As the title indicates, Savage made her character merry, playful and teasing.\nAnother effective dramatic portrayal was that of Jeremy Hunt as Count Danilo Danilovich. Danilo's emotions covered the entire range of the spectrum from rage to apathy to love-struck happiness and Hunt made each different state believable with smooth transitions between them.\nOther characters who deserve note were Jason Plourde as the conniving yet clueless Baron Zeta and Jonathan Stinson as the simply crazy Njegus, Count Zeta's clerk. While these characters were very monochromatic and provided the comic relief, they were not so overdone to make them ridiculous caricatures. \nSome of the acting, in general, was a bit over the top, but taking into account the comic nature of the opera and its counterbalance with effective acting, this flaw does not really do much to detract from the overall effect.\nThe orchestra did a wonderful job in capturing the music, but the music really was not what drew the viewer's attention. Rather, it served as a backdrop for the stage action, providing a pleasant and joyous atmosphere, much like the projections.\nAlthough the opera was performed in English rather than its original German, this did not present a problem, even to purists. Showing an opera that is so unmistakably Parisian in German would seem rather awkward and out of place. Performing it in French would not be true to the original format, so English is probably the most effective language for the work. The large amount of spoken parts in the opera were also better conveyed to the audience through English and the very comedic scenes struck home better because it could reach the audience members more directly through their own language.\n"The Merry Widow" is not exactly a majestic, monumental or deep opera, but the great effort and care put into this production definitely makes it worth seeing, especially if what one wants is the lighter side of opera.
(10/24/03 6:33am)
For those who think opera is only about fat women in Viking helmets shrieking at the top of their lungs, an opera of a very different kind is about to open at the MAC.\n"The Merry Widow," by the German-Hungarian composer Franz Léhar (1870-1948) is a cheerful operetta with a love story at its core.\nThe opera tells the story of Hanna Glawari, whose husband died on their wedding night and left her an immense fortune. Count Mirko Zeta, an ambassador from fictitious Petrovania, has a plan to stimulate his country's economy through Hanna's tax money by marrying her to Count Danilo. Zeta doesn't realize, however, that the two used to be lovers. The rest of the story is a love game that resolves itself favorably.\nProfessor Imre Palló, who will be conducting the opera, explained some of the features that make it a lighter work.\n"At the turn of the last century the operetta was what the musical is today," he said. "It was considered light, popular music, though by no means less valuable. Brahms respected the operetta, and Puccini tried to write operettas after being impressed by Léhar."\nPalló explained that the leading style of the opera is the Viennese waltz in the style of Strauss, which is the signature of the piece.\n"The music is all about beauty, sensuality and joy," Palló said.\nAnother important member of the production crew is Tito Capobianco, the guest stage director from Argentina who has produced this show 24 times and has worked with such legendary figures as Beverly Sills and Placido Domingo. Despite his impressive track record, Capobianco comes to IU with the students in mind.\n"My goal is not to show off -- I've already had my chance to prove myself," he said. "What I'm here for is to pass down the experience and develop the young artists."\nCapobianco also hopes to shape the performers in this opera, which is particularly difficult for young artists. Because it is an operetta, there are spoken parts along with the singing, and the performers are trained in singing, not in dialogue or acting. \n"The difficulty lies in the balance between singing and projecting speech, sometimes over an orchestra, without losing any of the dramatic touch," Capobianco said. "The performers need to communicate and project emotion."\nAlthough the difficulties are great, Capobianco feels confident about the cast's progress so far.\n"The cast has had dramatic improvement since the first day of rehearsal. It's been a complete 180-degree turn in the right direction, but we'll still keep going," he said. "The cast has shown complete dedication and has really killed themselves in order to give the best of themselves."\nSoprano Vera Savage, who will play the lead role of Hanna Glawari, said she was very nervous at first and did not know what to expect from Capobianco.\n"He worked with one of my idols -- Beverly Sills -- in the same role," Savage said. "He is a very demanding director who knows exactly what he wants, and I needed to adjust to that. He ended up being one of the most phenomenal stage directors I've ever worked with."\nFor tenor Jason Plourde, who plays Zeta, working with Capobianco has also been an invigorating learning experience.\n"Mr. Capobianco brings a wealth of 50 years experience with stage direction, but also is unique in that he wants a stylistically correct opera, which keeps the production fresh and elegant," Plourde said.\nBut the making of "Merry Widow" hasn't been without thorns. The actors have faced their share of challenges and problems during rehearsals.\nSavage had to work hard to ensure that Hanna appears merry and playful at all times. \n"The entire plot is essentially a love game between Hanna and Danilo," Savage said. "She also is amused that people are attracted by her money and plays that card well. I'd describe Hanna as smart and sassy."\nOpposite Hanna's intelligence is the clueless old man Zeta. \n"I wanted to bring out his obliviousness while still portraying him as a real person -- not a caricature," Plourde said.\nSavage also hopes that her performance will do its part to "take the audience to a different place."\n"The most one can ask from a show is that the audience will walk away affected by the performance," she said.\nPalló thinks the opera should have such an effect in a positive way.\n"This is not a particularly deep or tragic opera," he said. "The music breaks down to pure joy. It is an opera where the audience can just sit back and enjoy the story and the music."\n"The Merry Widow" will be performed at 8:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the MAC. For tickets call 333-9955 or visit www.music.indiana.edu/boxoffice. \n-- Contact staff writer Adam Sedia at asedia@indiana.edu.
(10/03/03 5:00am)
Those who missed "Abduction from the Seraglio" last weekend must surely see it this weekend. This Mozart opera (actually a "Singspiel") is opening the IU Opera Theater's 2003-2004 season with kicks, giggles and a dash of eastern spices. But it was the performance of the opera that made it such a memorable piece.\nFirst of all, although many people probably scoff at performing the opera in English instead of its original German, the use of English actually intensified the intimacy with the audience. Singing and speaking in the native language of the performers gave them much comfort with their lines as was obvious from their facile interpretation. Much of the action in the play reached the audience quicker, especially the spoken stage action, because the audience did not have to read the supertitles for a translation. Also, the translation used was a wonderful one, preserving the rhyme and pun of the German script without being awkwardly arranged to the music.\nThe performers certainly did justice to the script. All were excellent. Alison Bates's portrayal of Constanza was less-noted for its dramatic effect than for Bates's phenomenal singing. Bates projected well, boasted amazing accuracy and remained unaffected by singing in unusual lying or bowing positions. Brian Stucki, who portrayed Belmonte, the other main character, deserves much credit for his amazing vocal skills and wide range of emotion successfully displayed. Quincy Roberts, who portrayed Osmin, the cruel guard, perhaps gave the most convincing portrayal of his character through his deep bass voice and his enthusiasm in expression. Aaron Humble as Pedrillo and Sheila Murphy as Blonde also did wonderfully, but their talent was for bringing out the comic, almost vaudevillian, element in the plot. All of the performers deserve no small amount of praise.\nPerhaps above these Stefano Vizioli, the guest stage director, should be congratulated. His role in the success of the opera as a theatrical work was vital. It was chiefly through his efforts that the performers were as much actors as singers and that their stage movements, although carefully planned, seemed natural. Vizioli's work led ultimately to a realistic portrayal of characters, usually sacrificed for the musical element of an opera.\nAnother important contributor to the production who deserves recognition is Robert O'Hearn, the stage designer. The new set he prepared for this opera was phenomenal -- a two-tiered Baroque building (complete with lamps and doors) that seemed almost real. Crags and rolling waves were also incorporated into the scene. Actual wave crashing sounds were also played to heighten the effect. The lighting was fantastic and gave realistic impressions of various skies. The costumes also were impressive, especially the colorful, exotic Turkish ones.\nAs usual, the IU Concert Orchestra under Imre Palló gave a stunning performance of Mozart's music. Palló's goal of doing Mozart justice was certainly fulfilled, and when the difficulty and oddness of the music are taken into account, this goal was no small achievement.\nThe only criticism of this performance lies not with the performers but with the audience. No standing ovation occurred and a curtain call had to be forced. Clearly the efforts of those who brought this work to fruition both onstage and offstage deserved better appreciation than was given them. Even though this opera may not be as well-known or grand as some of Mozart's other operas, its performance with such skill certainly deserves at least a standing ovation. Hopefully the audiences of this coming weekend will truly appreciate the wonderful season opener.\n-- Contact staff writer Adam Sedia at asedia@indiana.edu.
(09/26/03 5:01am)
It's a Western masterpiece with Eastern flavor. It's a hodgepodge of speech and arias. It's Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Abduction from the Seraglio."\nPresented tonight by the IU Opera Theatre, the opera features many different theatrical styles and character types. The libretto has elements of vaudeville, opera buffa, pre-romantic ideas and is in many ways an oriental opera, said Stefano Vizioli, guest stage director.\nMozart wrote this at 26, during one of the happiest periods in his life -- when he married Constanza Weber (who shares names with this opera's heroine). Critics say Mozart's personal happiness is reflected in the opera. \n"Abduction from the Seraglio" takes place in Turkey and tells the story of three Europeans who have been sold to the Pasha Selim. Constanza, a Spanish noblewoman, has been placed in Selim's seraglio, or harem; Blonda, her English maid, is given as a gift to the Pasha's guard Osmin; and Constanza's servant Pedrillo is made the Pasha's gardener. The action begins when Belmonte, Constanza's fiancé, tracks her to Selim's palace. The rest is his race to save her before she succumbs to the desires of the Pasha.\n"The 'Abduction from the Seraglio' was written in Vienna for a Viennese audience," said Imre Palló, who will conduct the IU Concert Orchestra in the production. "It is the first of Mozart's two German operas and it is basically a Singspiel or play opera. What makes it so special is that it is a Singspiel with Mozart's music."\nMuch of the dialogue is spoken instead of sung as in traditional opera. The characters break into song only to express stong emotions, seldom to further the story. One important character, the Pasha, does not sing at all but only speaks.\nBecause the opera combines both operatic and theatrical elements, the cast faces a challenge of working in both genres.\n"The difficulty comes not only in effectively portraying such a variety of characters, but also in combining singing with acting techniques, since much of the parts are spoken," he said. "That is also why it is better that we are performing the opera in English -- the performers can be more comfortable with their spoken parts and what they say can reach the audience in a more direct manner."\nThe opera is infused with a spirit of confluence of Eastern and Western culture. It features Turkish music, where the piccolo and the percussion are used frequently, Palló said. In this way, Mozart creates an exotic effect.\nTo emphasize this feature of the opera, Vizioli included a traditional Middle Eastern dance, choreographed by Nasrin Hekmat-Farrokh, a recent IU graduate with a degree in opera directing.\n"(The dance) has never been done before and it respects the Middle Eastern tradition," Hekmat-Farrokh said.\nThe whirling dance of the dervishes has its origins in the teachings of the 13th-century Persian mystic Rumi (known as Molana, or master), whose philosophy taught to "treat God with the intimacy of a lover." The dance itself represents the circular motion of natural bodies and by engaging in it the dancer becomes "one with the cosmos" and casts off his personal ego, as is symbolized by the tall, tombstone-like hat.\nIn the opera, Selim performs the dance right after he has forgiven and released Belmonte, even though he could have revenged an earlier wrong. Selim takes off his black cloak, symbolizing his rejection of personal satisfaction, and performs the dance as an act of love.\n"The dance is above all a union of the dancer with God and divine love," Hekmat-Farrokh said. "It is an expression of cosmic joy." \nBut the Middle East doesn't reign supreme in the set design.\n"The set design for this opera is in the style of the traditional Baroque theatre of the 18th century. One set is used with four curtains to delineate the scenes," said set designer Robert O'Hearn. "The Europeans' costumes are in the 18th-century style and the Turks wear the traditional turbans and robes of the time."\nIn his opera, Mozart strove to bring themes relevant to his time.\n"The exotic setting and stereotyped Turkish characters represent the common attitude that Europe had to the Middle East at that time," Vizioli said. "They feared Turkish conquest but also were seduced by the exotic treasures of the orient. The frequent culture clashes can also be taken as a message that we need to respect the opinion of a culture that is not our own."\n-- Contact staff writer Adam Sedia at asedia@indiana.edu.
(09/19/03 6:00am)
Those who missed out on Wednesday's orchestra concert missed a truly spectacular show. The Philharmonic Orchestra, IU's most elite ensemble, under the baton of David Effron, gave a truly passionate performance of two phenomenal pieces -- The Carnival Overture of Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) and the Symphony No. 4 in E-flat Major, "Romantic" of Anton Bruckner (1824-1896).\nThe Carnival Overture, aside from being a spectacular piece in itself, was extremely well-suited to open the concert season. The composition's style allowed no room for error by the orchestra -- dexterous fingering on the fast passages had to be counterbalanced by a very expressive handling of the slower ones. Sudden changes in tempo, key and melody certainly did not help to ease the technical challenges's the instrumentalists faced.\nThe Philharmonic managed to pull this piece off quite well. Every transition in both technical and stylistic aspects was made with such ease and grace that it seemed almost second-nature to the orchestra. The coordination between the various sections was remarkable -- and crucial to the successful performance of the piece. Also quite amazing were the solo parts on violin, viola and woodwinds.\nOver all, the Dvorak was a grand and successful display of the orchestra's many talents and communicated immediately the potential this ensemble has for being truly spectacular.\nThe gem of the performance, however, was the Bruckner symphony. Effron's interpretation of the work is like none other. Even such renowned orchestras as the Berlin Philharmonic have lacked the character and feeling that Effron brought out on Wednesday. The themes were clearly delineated so that the various elements of the symphonic form (exposition, development, etc.) were distinct, as is unusual in works that develop the themes organically like this one.\nIn addition to thematic distinction, the first movement was taken at a faster pace than usual, which added a considerable amount of power to the overall effect. Transitions between sound volume were emphasized. The part with the melody always stood out without obscuring harmony, and shifts in mood were clearly defined without being disjunctive. The expressiveness of the string parts emphasized the power generated by the eight members of the trumpet and low brass section immensely.\nThe overall effect of these stylistic interpretations was to bring out the emotion, lyricism, and expressiveness inherent to the symphony (hence the subtitle "Romantic") to create a powerful, yet sentimental, and very moving concert experience.\nThe orchestra's chief assets are its strings and woodwinds. The string section stood out as the chief conveyor of the mood in both pieces and their skill of expression are virtually unrivaled. The woodwinds possessed a clear, crisp tone and a practically perfect pitch, noticeable especially in the soloists. Both sections are beyond reproach in their technical execution.\nThe only noticeable error was several sour notes in the horn parts. In light of the overall effect of the concert, however, this matters very little.\nJustice was truly done to the greatness of Bruckner's symphonic music on Wednesday, and both Effron and the Philharmonic deserve much praise in performing a much underappreciated composer's music to its full potential. If this concert is a foreshadowing of future performances, then a phenomenal season has just begun.
(09/17/03 5:15am)
The IU Philharmonic Orchestra opens the concert season tonight with an ambitious project -- the "Carnival Overture" by Czech composer Antonin Dvorák. The next piece is being foregone in favor of the Fourth Symphony by the Austrian Anton Bruckner.\nWhen asked why the above pieces were chosen, conductor David Effron said, "(The Dvorák piece) is a great opening, especially for an entire season. It is a very flowery and happy piece."\nWith regards to the Bruckner symphony, Effron said he has something special up his sleeve. \n"We tried to take a different approach," he said. "Many think that Bruckner, especially in this symphony, is bombastic, which is not the case at all. It is a very lyrical work, so we want to bring out the colors and make the sounds melt together in order to achieve that effect."\nEffron said the lyricism he wanted to display in the symphony results from the treatment of the various themes.\n"Although the work isn't very difficult technically, it is extremely demanding conceptually," he said. "In the first movement alone, Bruckner uses five themes and in the last there are three themes with a restatement of the same theme as the very beginning, and each theme is completely different." \nEffron also explained his personal treatment of the themes.\n"We wanted to make sure the themes do have different characters and make a clear delineation between them," he said. "That's why we took some liberties with expression."\nTreesa Gold, who plays first violin, appreciated Effron's interpretation. \n"String players are brought up to hate Bruckner because in his works they rarely ever carry the melody, as is usually the case," she said. "Also, frequent tremolos (bow vibrations) during this 70-minute work can also be very tiring. This work, however, actually has more string melodies than it gets credit for, and Effron has managed to make the concept behind the work actually happen. It's unlike any other Bruckner performance I've done."\nBecause the brass carries most of the melody in Bruckner, first trumpet Brandon Craswell gave his perspective. \n"It's a real physical challenge because it calls for lots of endurance," he said. "Most brass tend to blast away on this piece, but Effron has brought out the lyrical side. Our sound is broader, fuller, and more unified."\nEffron said Bruckner uses Beethoven's Ninth Symphony as the model for all of his symphonies. \n"The similarities can be seen in this particular work through the use of tremolos and the similarity between the scherzos," he said. "More unique to Bruckner himself, the strings are used as a carpet for the brass melody, which they sometimes double."\nCraswell said Bruckner was a church organist, which shows in his symphonies.\n"The sound of the orchestra is big, inflated, and lyrical, much like the organ."\nDespite the works' depth and conceptual difficulty, as well as the unique new interpretation of it, the entire program is being fully assembled in only six rehearsals. Effron said he felt the orchestra was skilled enough to master the work in such a short amount of time.\n"It's fun to have a nice, short prep time. When things are overpracticed they can become boring," Craswell said.\nEffron, however, said he has no intention of this work being boring for tonight's audience. Since Bruckner has not often been performed here, Effron hopes the concert's effect will create new appreciation. \n"I would like the listener to come out of the concert with not just an understanding, but a liking of Anton Bruckner's music," he said.\nThe Philharmonic Orchestra will perform at 8 p.m. tonight in the Musical Arts Center. Admission is free.\n-- Contact staff writer Adam Sedia at asedia@indiana.edu.
(04/28/03 5:02am)
Most people of literary experience are quite familiar with the Faust legend in its many manifestations. Goethe's version of the story in particular has weeded its way into many musical works by Liszt, Mahler, Boito and others. At the Musical Arts Center on Saturday night the Philharmonic Orchestra and the Oratorio Chorus combined to present one of the greatest Faust works in the musical repertoire -- Hector Berlioz's "La Damnation de Faust," a towering masterpiece and an epitome of Romantic thought.\nThe French composer Berlioz (1803-1839), a revolutionary in orchestration and genre and one of the leading composers of the highly emotional Romantic Movement, was inspired to write "Faust" by reading the novel of the same title by his fellow Romantic Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The work tells the story of how a depressed and forlorn Dr. Faust, after traveling the plains of Hungary, is about to commit suicide when a demon named Mephistopheles offers him happiness. Faust changes his mind and Mephistopheles takes him to a tavern, where Faust is repulsed by the vulgarities. Mephistopheles then offers Faust the joys of love with the innocent Margarita, who is also desperately in love with him. In order to enjoy this tempting prize, however, Faust must sell his soul. After he does this, however, Mephistopheles promptly takes him to hell without allowing him to enjoy his love. Margarita, who gave her mother a sleeping potion so Faust could escape their nightly conversation without being caught, is mistaken for a parricide and after being executed is taken to heaven by the angels.\nThe greatest feature of Saturday's performance was undoubtedly the soloists. IU professor Gary Lakes (tenor) faced a daunting challenge as Faust. Not only is his part extraordinarily difficult, but it demands a high endurance level (about three hours). Nevertheless, Lakes managed to give a splendid performance, executing the part perfectly and incorporating the dramatic elements of his role as well. Bass-baritone Richard Cowan was perhaps the most dramatic of the soloists. His performance as Mephistopheles was also magnificent, but he incorporated far more dramatic elements in it. His sonorous voice, his malicious laugh and sneers, his gestures and frequent stage movements, and even his goatee and hair could convince one that he actually was the demon incarnate. Mezzo-soprano Hyoun-Soo Sohn with her sparkling, crystal-clear voice made an enchanting Margarita and IU graduate student Robert Samels, although his role was small, performed his hilarious narration as the tavern owner Brander with gusto.\nThe chorus and orchestra also did wonderful jobs, though it was palpable that the orchestra did have a few minor difficulties. These spots were nothing more than a few details that needed to be ironed out, but the overall impression of the work was unsullied. \nOverall, the performance itself was a fine one, though it ranks not among the best Berlioz performances.\nThe work itself is a very interesting an unique one. After receiving his original inspiration, Berlioz wrote several pieces on the Faust theme that were gradually incorporated into the large work seen on Saturday. Because of this, the work is a motley of moods and textures that shifts through all colors of the spectrum. The genre of the work is also hard to pinpoint. It is written in four parts for orchestra, chorus, children's chorus, and four soloists, but it is too dramatic for a choral symphony, not dramatic enough for an opera, and not choral enough for an oratorio. Berlioz himself had trouble describing the genre. Although he originally subtitled "Faust" a "concert opera," he dropped this in favor of a "dramatic legend," perhaps because it differs radically from the operas of the time.\nDespite any fogginess about the genre, the music is truly spectacular. Every possible atmosphere has its place in the work. The introduction is mournful, the peasants' dance is delightfully happy, the Hungarian March is proud and militaristic, the Easter prayer has a beautifully religious feel, the bar scene is rowdy and equipped with hilarious drinking song lyrics, the scenes with Faust and Margarita capture the emotion and passion of idealized Romantic love, the music from the ride on Mephistopheles' horses rushes at full gallop, the chorus of the demons is wildly powerful, and the final chorus of angels brings a feeling of beauty and peace that nicely ends such a weighty work on a positive note. Instrumentation, replete with Berlioz's large variety of instruments and offstage parts, is used to perfection to capture the pure emotion that he undoubtedly wanted to prevail in his work. The vocal and choral parts also have an emotional beauty in them that captures both the dramatic aspects of the parts and the general feel of the scene.\nSuch a spectacular work was an excellent way to end the 2002-03 orchestra season. The sheer power, emotion, complexity, and well-known theme of the work make it an enduring masterpiece that provided an impressive finale. It also allowed IU excellent music students to shine for one last time this year (though based on previous concerts they could have shown more brilliantly). Such a grand event should have been witnessed by all music lovers.