Classical Catch-up

(Originally posted on Minnesota Theater Love)

In the past month or so I have taken in three classical performances. Two were at the Ordway and one was at Nautilus...and they were all incredible in their own way. While I would love to write a full post on each one, the first two events were a number of weeks back so I'm doing a quick round-up.

First off, Renée Fleming performed a wonderful and diverse selection of song on Oct 5th. She performed as the opening performance of this Schubert Club season. What can be said about Renée that hasn't already been said? She has a gorgeous voice and she showed off all of her range. The majority of the selections sung were art songs, though she did sing three Opera arias. She opened with four pieces in French - the first two from operas (Thaïs, and Manon both by Massenet). Then a selection by Saint-Saëns, and a selection by Oscar Straus. After that she dove into a beautiful song-cycle in German by Schumann - Frauenliebe und -leben. After intermission (and a change of ensemble), Fleming switched into Italian. She sang four songs, including a powerful aria from Mefistofele by Boito. This aria provided her to really shine and show her range of emotions and feeling. The audience took it all in and provided resounding applause. (In my estimation, and contrary to this review, it was the performance and not the acoustics that provided the reason for the applause. I was toward the back of the main floor and had no issues hearing a word.) After the four songs in Italian, she sang two more in Spanish - both gorgeous and a bit playful. She ended the recital with three songs in English from The King and I. One thing I found most interesting is that while Fleming played the main hall in the Ordway, there were seats on-stage...two or three rows on each side toward the front. The first song from the musical was "I Whistle a Happy Tune" which had the audience whistling during the bridge...which was good as we found out after the song that Ms Fleming does not whistle very well. "Something Wonderful" and "Shall We Dance" finished the recital. While I wish there had been a plant on stage for Fleming to dance with during the final number, it was still a joyful way to end a recital. Of course, there was a standing ovation and three more songs for the encore - "Over The Rainbow", "I Could Have Danced All Night" (with audience sing-along, and the last encore was "O Mio Babbino Caro" from Puccini's Gianni Schicchi. It was a gorgeous night of music, followed by a champagne reception.

"I first heard Rinde Eckert wandering through a dinner event as a performance artist, singing and playing the accordion, and I was mesmerized. I admire artists who push the envelope, and Rinde merges gesture, language, and song in utterly original ways. I think his audiences experience something similar to what people must have felt centuries ago when the very first operas were created " - Renée Fleming

A week later on Oct 11, I was at the Nautilus studio for an intimate evening with Rinde Eckert. I first encountered Rinde when I saw The Aging Magician at the Walker. His voice is like no other I have ever heard, and any time I have a chance to hear him I will. My Fools: A Life in Song was the work he was performing at Nautilus. It is part of his greater experience named Rinde's Odyssey. At each stop along his journey he is performing this collection of songs from various works he has created, in the guise of various characters (or fools) that he also created. During this 90 min work he played ukelele, slide guitar, accordion (both big and small), a handmade guitar, the piano, and a shruti box (similar to a harmonium). The songs were varied and gorgeous - some telling stories, others diving into the mind of the character. He also sang some vocalese and a beautiful work by Reynaldo Hahn named "A Cloris." If you ever get a chance to hear or see him perform, do it. And look for a recording of "The Aging Magician" which Eckert said would be recorded sometime this fall/winter. I know it is going to be remounted and I can only hope for a video recording as well as that work, and his voice, need to be preserved. What an artist and what a journey.

And speaking of journeys - Today I returned to the Ordway (the concert hall) to hear and see Sphinx Virtuosi and Catalyst Quartet perform a program called Latin Voyages: Viajes Latinos. The orchestra is made of 18 of the nations best Black and Latino classical soloists. What I noticed first was the amazing color on stage...the women in gorgeous dresses of various colors. All the men, of course, were in black suits. WOW, what an amazing program and absolutely amazing performers. Starting with Libertango by Astor Piazzolla and arranged in a magnificent manner by Thomas Kalb, this chamber orchestra rarely let the intensity drop through the two hour program. I have to admit that I love the music of Piazzolla and hearing this (and the closing Piazzolla) brought tears to my eyes. Following this was Primera Suite Argentina by Alberto Williams, and Metro Chabacano by Javier Alvarez. The Williams piece was made of four movements, each based on a dance. There was a lot of plucking of strings, and moments of dark murkiness but entrancing regardless. Metro Chabacano was written about a train station and I fell in love in the first two minutes. You could hear the hustle and bustle of a busy station while always feeling the rhythm of the train. It reminded me of Steve Reich's Different Trains but it is a very different work. After the Alvarez, the orchestra took a short break while it's member Hannah White came out and played a solo violin piece. Hannah played Prélude Ibérique by César Espejo. Espejo was a violinist who lived from 1892-1988. The work is a virtuosic challenge for the performer, and as amazing as it was to watch and hear Ms White play, the work itself was not for me. The first half ended with the Catalyst Quartet doing two very well known works back to back. The first was Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5. Aria by Villa-Lobos which went right intoLa muerte del Ángel by Piazzolla. Both were arranged by the Quartet and they were incredible. The Villa-Lobos work had the melody switching between violins and violas, ending in a duet. The Piazzolla work was intense with foot stomping, a whistle, and it brought me such joy. Wow. (sidebar: Catalyst also used iPads for the score, all four with a foot switch to change pages - so cool). The second half was a bit more difficult listening. The first piece was the amazing work Last Round by Osvaldo Golijov. Having been inspired by Piazzolla, Golijov created a sublimated tango with two quartets confronting each other separated by a single bass. It was intense, gorgeous and somewhat difficult as there was a musical round...each quartet taking turns with the melody as well as creating (during the slow movement) a wheeze or sigh that reminded me of the bandoneon, an accordion-type instrument played by Piazzolla. The final work was by Alberto Ginastera. His Concerto per Corde was an adaptation of his String Quartet No. 2.  Like the Espejo work, it was amazing technically and performance-wise, but difficult for me to listen to and follow. It was not my thing, and yet it also made me think 'why?' It makes me want to look more into Ginastera's work to see if there is a way for me to get into this specific piece.

All three programs were varied and incredibly different. Yet they all did what I feel great theater does...it made me want to discover and learn more. More about the performers, the works they perform, the instruments, etc. Such incredible performances, and what incredible Twin Cities we live in that we have the chance to experience such a diverse and interesting collection of music.