Voice Teacher Edith Della Pergola - passed away July 2nd, 2009

La Scena Musicale has just learned of the passing of voice teacher Edith Della Pergola. LSM interviewed Mrs. Della Pergola in 2002 when she was inducted into the Canadian Opera Hall of Fame for her work with her husband in the McGill Opera Studio. Read more about her in the Canadian Encyclopedia of Music. Thanks to Taras Kulish for his email:

Hi Everyone....sorry for the mass email but it's the simplest way to inform everyone, in case you don't already know, sadly, that Mrs. Edith Della Pergola has passed away.

DELLA PERGOLA, Edith, C.M. Professor Emeritus (McGill University) passed away with dignity at home, with Felicity and Howard by her side, on Thursday, July 2, 2009. Wife of the late Luciano Della Pergola. Devoted and treasured mother and mother-in-law of Felicity and Howard Blatt. Funeral service from Paperman & Sons, 3888 Jean Talon St. W., on Monday, July 6 at 2 p.m. Burial at the Temple Emanu-el Beth Sholom Congregation Section, Mount Royal Cemetery, 1297 Forest Rd. Contributions in her memory may be made to the "Della Pergola Scholarship Fund," c/o the Schulich School of Music, McGill University, (514)398-4054, Attn. Donna Williams.

If any of you knew her and wish to share your condolences with the family you may write something online at: http://www.legacy.com/gb2/default.aspx?bookID=5875644514841&sign=2

Sincerely,

Taras Kulish

Artistic Director - www.GreenMountainOperaFestival.com
www.TarasKulish.com

CMIM - 3e journée

CMIM – Jeudi 21 mai,

Dernière journée de l’épreuve quart de finale. Un après-midi riche en surprises et en découvertes. Dès le départ, le ténor coréen Seil Kim donne le ton. Ténor lyrique d’une grande musicalité, il interprète le Lied et l’oratorio avec beaucoup de couleurs et de raffinement et nous offre ensuite un extrait de Don Giovanni très expressif.

La deuxième surprise nous vient de la soprano canadienne Christina Tannous qui éblouit l’auditoire avec une voix magnifique d’un contrôle absolu, variant les couleurs avec un égal bonheur. Les airs tziganes de Dvorak qu’elle chante en tchèque sont captivants et elle réussit si bien à soutenir l’intensité que le public retient ses applaudissements entre chacun des airs. Comédienne accomplie, elle nous offre de mémoire un Kulesha très fantaisiste, s’inventant intérieurement une histoire que l’auditoire vit avec elle, comme une pièce de théâtre aux acteurs invisibles. Une interprétation qui lui a valu une ovation.

La découverte est venue avec la dernière candidate, la soprano américaine Angela Meade. D’une stature imposante, elle possède une voix puissante, une technique impeccable et l’aisance d’une chanteuse d’expérience. Magnifique dans l’opéra, elle chante le Lied de Strauss comme si elle chantait La Marschallin dans le Rosenkavalier. Détentrice en 2007 d’un 1er Prix Opéra au Concours International de chant, Hans Gabor Belvedere et en 2008 d’un 1er Prix au Concours international de musique José Iturbi, elle a fait ses débuts au Metropolitan Opera en mars 2008 et au San Francisco Opera. Avec une telle feuille de route et une carrière si bien amorcée, on peut se demander pourquoi une chanteuse continue à entrer dans des compétitions avec des jeunes qui attendent une rampe de lancement pour leur carrière.

Les autres candidats en après-midi : La soprano Jegyung Yang (Corée du Sud) et la basse Taehyun Jun (Corée du Sud), ainsi que la soprano canadienne Maghan Stewart-McPhee complétaient le programme de l’après-midi.

En soirée, avant les délibérations des juges, on entendit le ténor coréen Kijong Wi, la soprano américaine Yannick-Muriel Noah et le baryton américain Andrew Garland.

Voici, par ordre alphabétique, la liste des 16 candidats retenus pour la demi-finale :

Pascale Beaudin (Canada), Jennifer Borghi (Italie), Charlotte Corwin (Canada), Anthony Roth Costanzo (États-Unis), Catrin Aur Davies (Royaume-Uni), Andrew Garland (États-Unis), Stephen Hegedus (Canada), Falko Hönish (Allemagne), Seil Kim (Corée du Sud), Mariane Lemieux (Canada), Angela Meade (États-Unis), Yannick-Muriel Noah (Canada), Sidney Outlaw (États-Unis), Irina Shishkova (Russie), Maghan Stewart-McPhee (Canada), Jegyung Yang (Corée du Sud).

Pour connaître l’ordre de passage des candidats : www.concoursmontreal.ca

Vendredi, 22 mai

1ère séance :

19 h 30 : Anthony Roth COSTANZO, contreténor, États-Unis
20 h: Catrin Aur DAVIES, soprano, Royaume-Uni
20 h 30 : Pascale BEAUDIN, soprano, Canada
21 h : Pause

21 h 30 : Stephen HEGEDUS, baryton-basse, Canada
22 h : Mariane LEMIEUX, soprano, Canada
22 h 30 : Charlotte CORWIN, soprano, Canada
23 h : Fin

Samedi, 23 mai

2e séance

13 h 30 : Irina SHISHKOVA, mezzo-soprano, Russie
14 h 00 : Falko HÖNISCH, baryton, Allemagne
14 h 30 : Jennifer BORGHI, mezzo-soprano, Italie
15 h : Pause

15 h 30 : Sidney OUTLAW, baryton, États-Unis
16 h : Seil KIM, ténor, Corée du Sud
16 h 30 : Jegyung YANG, soprano, Corée du Sud
17 h : Pause

3e séance :

19 h 30 : Maghan STEWART-McPHEE, soprano, Canada
20 h : Angela MEADE, soprano, États-Unis
20 h 30 : Yannick-Muriel NOAH, soprano, Canada
21 h : Andrew GARLAND, baryton, États-Unis

21 h 30 : Délibérations


> 2e journée
> 1e journée

- Renée Banville

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Concours Musical International de Montréal 2009 - 1ère journée

Mardi 19 mai,

C’est aujourd’hui que débutait au Centre Pierre-Péladeau le Concours Musical International de Montréal (CMIM) dédié cette année au chant. 28 candidats ont été retenus pour l’épreuve quart de finale qui a lieu du 19 au 21 mai. L’ordre de passage a été déterminé hier par tirage au sort.

Pour les deux premières des six séances, nous avons entendu quatre candidats du Canada : les sopranos Leslie-Ann Bradley et Pascale Beaudin, les barytons-basses Alexandre Sylvestre et Stephen Hegedus. Les autres candidats : le baryton Leslie John Flanagan (Australie), le contre-ténor Anthony Roth Costanzo (États-Unis), la soprano Catrin Aur Davies (Royaume-Uni), la soprano Maria De Castro de Lago (Espagne) et la soprano Elena Guseva (Russie).

Le programme comprend une œuvre canadienne imposée qui a été commandée par le Concours à Gary Kulesha, à qui on a demandé une pièce qui n’avantagerait aucune langue en particulier. M. Kulesha a décidé d’y placer les mots « Darkness comes » en plusieurs langues, donnant la liberté à chaque candidat de chanter les mots dans sa propre langue.

La journée a compté de belles surprises, et trois concurrents ont particulièrement retenu mon attention. D’abord le contre-ténor Anthony Roth Costanzo, un des plus jeunes concurrents, qui possède une voix magnifique et une technique impeccable. Le public lui a accordé une ovation tout de suite après le Handel qu’il a chanté en débutant, avec une voix bien contrôlée et une grande sobriété de gestes. Dernière concurrente de l’après-midi, la soprano canadienne Pascale Beaudin a fait une prestation éblouissante et a conquis la salle tout au long de sa performance. Interprète du rôle de Zerlina dans Don Giovanni à l’Opéra de Montréal en 2007, cette jeune chanteuse possède déjà une grande maîtrise de sa voix et un talent de comédienne indéniable. Des quatre candidats de la soirée, je retiens surtout le baryton-basse Stephen Hegedus qui possède une belle présence en scène chante avec beaucoup d’expression.

On ne peut malheureusement pas entendre les candidats de l’épreuve quart de finale sur internet comme l’an dernier. Cependant, on pourra voir et entendre l’épreuve demi-finale (22 et 23 mai) en direct sur internet. Et l’épreuve finale (25 et 26 mai) sera diffusée en direct sur Espace musique, 100,7 FM à Montréal. Pour plus d’information : www.concoursmontreal.ca

- Renée Banville

A Mozart Gala

Anna Netrebko, Magdalena Kožená, Patricia Petibon, Ekaterina Siurina, Michael Schade, Thomas Hampson, René Pape
Wiener Philharmoniker / Daniel Harding
Deutsche Grammophon DVD 00440 073 4430 (93 min)
***** $$$

Filmed live at the Salzburg Felsenreitschule July 2006 as part of the Mozart at 250 festivities, this gala concert has finally made it to the record stores. A two-year turn-around time is now considered slow, given that record companies rush everything to market – strike while the iron is hot, as they say. But Mozart never goes out of style, so this release is very welcome. Five operas are featured – Don Giovanni, Mitridate, re di Ponto, La Clemenza di Tito, Così fan tutte, and Idomeneo, starring seven big-name singers, all Mozart “specialists” to varying degrees. Filmed in HD, viewers are given a brief glimpse of the breathtaking scenery of Salzburg before the concert. Rene Pape kicks off the proceedings with a rich-voiced “Catalogue Aria”, followed by Canada's Michael Schade in “Dalla sua pace”, arguably his calling-card. French soprano Patricia Petibon is an exquisite soubrette, and she sings Aspasia's aria very well, except for a totally unexpected shout right in the middle – in the name of expressivity to be sure, but this is Mozart, not verismo! A highlight is the Idamante-Ilia duet with Kožená and Siurina, their voices blending beautifully. Anna Netrebko, arguably the biggest star on the program, contributes a fiery “D'Oreste, d'Ajace” singing with opulent tone but also some pitch problems and smudged coloratura. The weakest singing, surprisingly, comes from Thomas Hampson, in his single contribution – Guglielmo's aria from Così. He has all the notes, but the voice sounds strained and thin. Daniel Harding conducts the Vienna forces stylishly, with all the requisite élan and incisiveness. The picture quality is perfect, as is the 5.0 DTS Surround Sound. A great choice for Mozart devotees and aficionados of the gala genre.

- Joseph K. So

Verdi and Verismo

Fabiana Bravo, soprano
St. Petersburg Radio and TV Orchestra / Charles Rosekrans
KLEOS Classics KL5149 (72 m 32 s)
**** $$$

Argentinean soprano Fabiana Bravo is that rare breed – a true spinto soprano with a dark-hued powerful instrument, strong sense of drama, and glamorous stage presence. Since winning the 5th Luciano Pavarotti Voice Competition in 1996, Bravo has made a name for herself in the Verdi and verismo repertoires. A generous artist on stage, her performances are noted for their intensity and all-out vocalism. This CD, recorded in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2006, gives the listener a good idea of her art. The disc is a generous 72 minutes long, featuring 14 arias from Don Carlo, Simon Boccanegra, Corsaro, Aïda, Forza, Mefistofele, Adriana, Wally, Tosca, Andrea Chenier, Edgar and Suor Angelica. The singing is impressive, particularly her blazing top with a genuine high pianissimo, which she uses to great effect in “La vergine degli angeli” and “Senza mamma”. The timbre and weight of her sound are ideal in the Verdi and Puccini heroines featured on the disc. For dramatic effect, Bravo is not afraid to dip into her generous chest voice. Like other big-voiced dramatic sopranos, Bravo is best seen on stage, as this type of voice isn't so easily captured on disc. The close miking exaggerates her breathing, and sometimes one can hear a slow vibrato and an overall unsteadiness. Occasionally, she telegraphs a coming high note by breaking the line to take a breath, as in “Vissi d'arte” and “O patria mia”. The St. Petersburg Radio and TV Orchestra under American conductor Charles Rosekrans does yeoman service – one wishes for more incisive and commanding leadership from the maestro. These quibbles aside, the disc is well worth a listen for those curious about the art of this exciting soprano.

- Joseph K. So

MARIA: The Barcelona Concert & Malibran Rediscovered

Cecilia Bartoli, mezzo-soprano
Decca DVD 0743252 (CD1: 79 min; CD2: 68 min)
****** $$$$
Now twenty years into an exceptional career, the mature Cecilia Bartoli remains a unique artist at the height of her powers. This latest venture focusing on Maria Malibran finds Bartoli in superb form, her charismatic personality as fresh and spontaneous as ever. With her wide-ranging voice and stunning technique, it's natural for Bartoli to gravitate towards the legendary Malibran. As in her previous projects, a tremendous amount of research has gone into this as evidenced by the film included in this release, Malibran Rediscovered – The Romantic Revolution. This documentary gives us a fascinating glimpse into Bartoli the singer, the artist, the scholar, and the person. Like Malibran, Bartoli is the daughter of singers, and both made their debuts as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia – if you don't count Bartoli's Shepherd Boy in Tosca at the age of 8! Her technique, with its remarkable range and incredible flexibility, is said to resemble Malibran’s, though of course no sound record of that exists. The camera captures Bartoli and filmmaker Sturminger to the museums, examining historical documents on Malibran, to a coaching session with Christopher Raeburn, to meetings with Bartoli's remarkable parents, and to Malibran’s grave. Extremely interesting are snippets of Bartoli singing “Casta diva” from Norma; even more amazing is her “Sempre libera” (!) from La traviata, albeit with a B natural in lieu of the interpolated E-flat at the end.

The centerpiece of this release is the Barcelona concert, in which Bartoli sings an intriguing program combining rarities of Garcia, Persiani and Hummel with bel canto standards like the Willow Song and Prayer from Rossini's Otello, and “Ah! Non giunge” from Bellini's La sonnambula. (Sadly missing is “Casta diva”) Everything is performed with her unique brand of stupendous technique and singular artistry. The camera work is exemplary throughout, with the possible exception of the grainy, home movie-like short glimpses backstage, but even that has a cinema verité fascination. A desert-island disc that I will return to again and again, this is an absolute “must-have” release, not just for admirers of Cecilia Bartoli but for lovers of great singing.

- Joseph K. So

To Russia with Love

Dmitri Hvorostovsky, baritone
Moscow Chamber Orchestra; Style of Five Folk Ensemble / Constantine Orbelian
Delos DV 7005
***** $$$$

Recorded live in St. Petersburg, Russia on September 15, 2006, this DVD consists of a program of Russian folk and contemporary songs which Dmitri Hvorostovsky has since taken on tour all over the world, including a concert in Toronto last season. To my eyes and ears, Hvorostovsky is the most significant baritone today, pace Bryn Terfel and a number of other wonderful singers. Others may have a more varied repertoire or an even more powerful stage persona, but none can beat the Siberian for his resplendent quality of tone and rock-solid technique with its amazingly long breath line. When DH came to Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall, the audience was heavily Russian, and as in this video, the singer was offered bouquets galore from his adoring female fans. The soulful romances on the program were archetypically Russian, pretty much all written in the minor key, on the joys and pains of love and love lost. The baritone was his usual spectacular self, offering up volleys of refulgent tone. In no time the audience was eating out of his hand. If one were to nitpick, there was a stylistic sameness to it all – experiencing them in a single sitting is like eating a whole box of marzipan. Leading the Moscow Chamber Orchestra was DH’s frequent collaborator and conductor of choice, Constantine Orbelian. The Style of Five Folk Ensemble contributed several terrific instrumental arrangements of folk tunes, allowing the baritone brief rests between numbers. Three encores were given, including “O Sole Mio”, and of course the obligatory “Dark Eyes”, a showstopper that is indelibly linked to Hvorostovsky. His fans will want it all, as will any lover of great singing.

- Joseph K. So

Ravel: Shéhérazade / Debussy: Proses Lyriques / Dvorak: Song to the Moon, Rusalka

Marianne Fiset, soprano; Marie-Ève Scarfone, piano
Orchestre de la francophonie canadienne / Jean-Philippe Tremblay
Analekta AN2 8761 (45m 38s)
**** $$$

Soprano Marianne Fiset was propelled to fame in a most dramatic way last year, when she won the Grand Prize of the Montreal International Music Competition, as well as the Jean Chalmers Prize for the best Canadian artist, the Joseph Rouleau Prize for the best artist from Quebec, the Poulenc French Song Award and the People's Choice Award – talk about a clean sweep! That magical evening, the audience was swept away by the beauty of her tone and her impeccable musicality. Part of her win involved a debut recording contract. Here we have the result – she sings Ravel's popular Shéhérazade and Debussy's Proses Lyriques, with the famous “Song to the Moon” from Dvorak's Rusalka thrown in as a bonus.

The centerpiece of this disc is the Ravel cycle. The tessitura of Sheherazade, often sung by mezzos, is quite low. However, it does not pose any difficulty for Fiset's lyric voice, which is remarkably even throughout its range. This cycle, together with the four Debussy songs, shows off her purity of tone and sweet timbre. Given that Fiset is at the beginning of her career, she naturally excels in pure vocalism while still having a way to go in interpretative nuance, which I am sure will come with maturity and more stage experience. As well, one wishes for a bit more chiaroscuro in her singing. Marie-Eve Scarfone is a sympathetic and supportive collaborative pianist. But the most enjoyable piece is the aria from Rusalka, which she sings here as gorgeously as she did at the Competition. At 45 minutes, this disc is lamentably short – it could easily have included more operatic arias, such as her “Dove sono” from Le nozze di Figaro. Still, this is an auspicious debut disc and, let's hope, first of many to come.

- Joseph K. So

Schubert : Sehnsucht

Matthias Goerne, baryton; Elisabeth Leonskaja, piano
Harmonia Mundi HMC901988 (65 min 05 s)
***** $$$$

Le titre de ce premier volume d’une éventuelle « Édition Schubert de Matthias Goerne » (Sehnsucht ou « Désir », emprunté à un lied composé sur un texte de Schiller) semble annoncer une anthologie thématique. Goerne a enregistré Schubert chez d’autres éditeurs, dont un Winterreise où s'est révélée une perception assez singulière de l’univers schubertien (Hyperion, 1997). La voix n’y est pas « belle », mais le baryton allemand en use avec une habileté et une sensibilité très fines rappelant spontanément Fischer-Dieskau, l'un de ses maîtres à chanter. Plus de dix ans après, la voix s’est assombrie, et Goerne la manie avec un art encore plus subtil. Quinze lieder écrits entre 1814 et 1828 sur des textes de Mayrhofer, von Leitner, Schiller et Goethe - de « An Emma » D.113 au long et magnifique « Der Winterabend » D. 938 – évoquent ici une quête d’absolu en des tableaux qui deviennent méditation sur la nature et la destinée humaine. Dès la première minute, on est conquis, dans le monde idéal entrevu, ailleurs. La grande Leonskaja est une partenaire idéale.

- Alexandre Lazaridès

Opera Singer Theo Tams Wins 2008 Canadian Idols

Canada got it right - Lethbridge, Alberta's Theo Tams has just been crowned the new Canadian idol! Throughout the competition, Tams displayed the most well-rounded musicality the show has ever had, what with his wide dynamic range, even legato, his talent at the piano, and his innate feeling for each song. Prior to the contest, the 22-year-old University of Lethbridge student (double major in Psychology and Classical Music) had been training in opera performance (the U of Lethbridge website shows Tams singing the Count in a scene from Mozart's Marriage of Figaro), and the training has definitely paid off. On Monday night's finale (September 8), while fellow contestant Mitch MacDonald at times sang off tune and sounded underwelming, Tams's solid vocals clearly set him apart. I predict that he will not just be the flavour of the year and will withstand the test of time. Moreover, Tams victory shows that a solid musical education makes a big different, and all of Canada concurs. The last time a trained classical musician won, 18-year-old Kalan Porter caused a jump in music and voice lessons in Alberta. Let's hope history repeats itself across Canada, and that it will be good news for music education.

Bel Canto "Greatest Hits" Program Thrills Audiences

The second in a series of reports from Festival Bel Canto 2008 by Paul E. Robinson

Although Festival Bel Canto had its official inaugural concert in Knowlton, Quebec on Friday, August 15 with a recital by Jennifer Larmore, one could argue that the real opening came the next night with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal (OSM) making its first appearance and with a program that amounted to a virtual bel canto –“Greatest Hits.”

American soprano June Anderson provided star power and was joined by members of the Opera Studio of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in operatic excerpts from works by Donizetti and Rossini. There were copious excerpts from the Barber of Seville by Rossini, and shorter arias, ensembles and overtures from various Donizetti operas including L’elisir d’amore and Lucia di Lammermoor. The best-known piece on the programme was undoubtedly Rossini’s overplayed warhorse, the William Tell overture.

If the idea was to send the audience members away with a smile on their faces and a desire to hear more bel canto then the festival organizers certainly achieved that goal; all the performances were at least competent and some were even memorable. To my taste June Anderson provided the musical highlights beginning with an exquisite ‘Piangete voi…Al dolce guidami’ from Donizetti’s Anna Bolena. The duet with English horn was especially beautiful. Later came an aria from Rossini’s Otello. Verdi’s Otello is, of course the finest opera ever written based on this Shakespeare play but Anderson and Nagano reminded us that parts of Rossini’s Otello are also well worth hearing from time to time. Members of the OSM matched Anderson’s finely-controlled expressiveness with notable obbligato contributions.

Santa Cecilia Academy’s Maestro Carlo Rizzari Shares Podium With Nagano

Kent Nagano, the OSM’s music director, shared the podium with the young Italian conductor Carlo Rizzari. This was another example of the festival’s collaboration between the OSM and the Santa Cecilia Academy in Rome. Rizzari is the assistant conductor of the Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, a distinguished and wholly professional ensemble connected with the Academy. Rizzari proved to be highly competent if a little flamboyant in his gestures especially as compared to the austere Nagano. But then Nagano is a special case. Like the legendary Fritz Reiner, Nagano is a minimalist who gets maximum results. More on that subject in a later blog.

The young singers from Italy acquitted themselves well, although I doubt that we were seeing any stars in the making. Although Italy prides itself on being the country that gave birth to bel canto and often suggests that it produces the finest current practitioners, one might justifiably question that claim; Jennifer Larmore and June Anderson are both Americans. That too is a subject for a later blog.

Making Music in a Tent an Acoustical Conundrum

I have now heard two concerts in the Chapiteau Tibbits Hill, the tent especially constructed for Festival Bel Canto 2008, and I can offer at least a preliminary assessment of its acoustics. As one might expect, a canvas tent seating 600 with nothing like a proper shell to reflect sound on the stage is not going to sound like Symphony Hall in Boston or the Musikverein in Vienna. It will not even sound like Place des Arts in Montreal. It is, after all, a small tent. Classical music needs space and it needs reflecting surfaces. For symphony orchestras a big shoebox design usually gets the best results. The size of the tent also forced Nagano to reduce the size of his orchestra to about 50 players. Fortunately, that is about the optimum size for an orchestra specializing in bel canto repertoire.

With all of this in mind Nagano and the festival organizers prepared themselves to improve on nature by bringing along a sound system. All the instruments are miked and a sound engineer at the back of the tent tries to mix the sound as best he can to produce a pleasing effect. At the Friday afternoon dress rehearsal for “Norma”, the result was far from pleasing. In fact, it was harsh and unmusical. But that is why orchestras (and sound engineers) have rehearsals. Last night the sound quality was much improved.

In quiet passages the winds sounded focused and clean. I was reminded of the classic RCA recordings from the 1950s in which wind solos were always prominent and not recessed somewhere at the back of the orchestra. Solo cellos sounded fine too in the beginning of the “William Tell” Overture. When the music got loud, however, the strings virtually disappeared and we were often left with a brass band effect. Unfortunately, this is a criticism often made of the orchestral writing of Bellini and Donizetti at the best of times. The last thing a conductor wants to do is emphasize this quality.

Kent Nagano is a very perceptive musician and no doubt he was very much aware of the problems of making music in a tent. Between the “Norma” rehearsal on Friday and the bel canto highlights concert last night he had obviously had a heart-to-heart with his brass players; they were now playing nearly everything at about half the normal dynamics. Another factor that should be mentioned is that in taking bel canto as his theme for the festival Nagano was interested not only in celebrating the glories of the human voice, but also in learning as much as he could about bel canto orchestral playing. With this in mind he hired violinist Riccardo Minasi, a specialist in early nineteenth-century performance practice, to work with the OSM string players. Minasi was particularly involved in the Norma rehearsals but his approach is probably going to be reflected in every Nagano-conducted performance of music from this period.

Nagano’s new approach undoubtedly means less vibrato and a more sustained and inflected melodic line, analogous to bel canto singing. It also means trying to achieve a much lighter, less Germanic style of orchestral playing.

Lighter, More Authentic Approach Makes a Virtue of Necessity

The best example of what Nagano has achieved so far was on display last night in his conducting of Rossini’s William Tell overture. With modern instruments and the size of today’s orchestras this piece is invariably done today in a “hell for leather” fashion for maximum noise and excitement. But in the early nineteenth century orchestras were much smaller and orchestral instruments capable of producing much more limited volume. The trombones we hear blazing away today in the “Storm” section of the overture had much smaller bores in Rossini’s day and produced a far lighter and more blended sound. Cynics might say that Nagano made a virtue out of necessity by going for a lighter approach last night but in fact his search for a lighter, more authentic bel canto orchestral sound is real. More on this subject after I attend the Norma performance next Sunday.

Incidentally, those attending one of the Norma performances in Knowlton should look in the OSM brass section for another example of Nagano’s search for authenticity. Instead of the usual tuba, you will see a large and strange-looking trombone called a cimbasso; apparently, Bellini called for it in Norma and Verdi was also very fond of it.

Breaking News From Knowlton

At last night’s concert, Marco Genoni, Honorary Chairman of Festival Bel Canto 2008, announced from the stage that the OSM will be performing a free concert in the park in Knowlton on Saturday, August 30. As Mr. Genoni put it, the orchestra “wishes to give something back to the community” in return for its generosity and cooperation in hosting this new festival. Perhaps this was another way of saying that the festival organizers were responding to criticism that most tickets for their concerts were sold out far in advance and few “local” music-lovers had a chance to attend any of the major offerings. If so, credit is due to festival organizers for being sensitive to host community concerns and for acting quickly.

> First Report

Queen Elisabeth Singing Competition May 2008

For voice fans, there is nothing quite like a good old vocal competition. Here is where one discovers hidden talents, the diamonds in the rough, the "finished product", and the soon-to-emerge stars of tomorrow. And when you have a competition the calibre of the Queen Elisabeth's in Belgium, it really is a voice aficionado's dream. So far, we have had the First Round and the Semi-finals. There is still time to follow the Finals starting Wednesday - don't miss the excitement!

While there are many terrific competitions around the world - including the Montreal International Competition (vocal edition), in terms of scope, number of participants, prestige, and opportunities for future employment, few can match the QE. In fact, I would put Cardiff and the QE as being tied, at the highest level of excellence. Even the venerable Met Auditions is not truly global because it is limited to the Americas, primarily US and Canada. Others like the Hans Gabor, Operalia, or the Queen Sonja, are fine, but again their impact don't measure up to Cardiff and the QE. The QE in particular has been good to Canada, since it launched the career of contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux. (Incidentally, Operalia 2008 will take place in Quebec City in September. Stay tuned!)

Back to the QE. It is taking place as I write, in Brussels, from May 8 to 24. 83 candidates from 31 countries were invited to the first round (May 8 -10), including 6 each from Canada and Poland. Interestingly, the USA only have 2 singers and none from Australia, usually a strong country in singing competitions. The country with the most number of candidates is Korea (15), followed by France at 8, and then it is Canada and Poland at 6 each. There are 60 women and 23 men, 46 sopranos, 14 mezzos, 2 countertenors, 6 tenors, 13 baritones, and 2 bassos.

Not everyone invited showed up. Only 71 of the 83 invited decided to come to Brussels. Among those absent are two Canadians, sopranos Marianne Fiset and Marie-Eve Munger. Both were on the announced list but did not compete. The remaining four Canadians are baritone Cosimo Oppedisano, mezzo Michele Losier, baritone Philip Carmichael, and soprano Layla Claire. Each candidate in the First Round performed two works from opera, oratorio, or lieder or song repertoire, totaling 15 minutes.

You can still listen to the completed rounds on demand from the RTBF website at http://www.rtbf.be/podcast/montre/index.htm?th=24 Videos of the semi-finals are also available, from http://www.cmireb.be/en/p/2/8/74/77/semi-finalists.html Click on "Watch and Listen" on the right side of the homepage.

Twenty-four singers survived the First Round into the semi-finals. Out of these 24, 12 are now in the final round: Elizabeth Bailey, sop. (UK), Szabolcs Bricker, ten. (Hungary), Layla Claire sop. (Canada), Isabelle Druet mez. (France), Bernadetta Gravias, mez. (Poland), Yuri Haradzetski ten. (Belarus), Anna Kasyan, sop. (Georgia), Changhan Lim, bar. (Korea), Michele Losier mez. (Canada), Gabrielle Philiponet, sop. (France), Tatiana Trenogina sop. (Russia), and Jung Nan Yoon, sop. (Korea). From listening to the live streaming, it is clear that the standards are extremely high. All the voices are good, with a number that are truly wonderful and destined for fine careers. There will be four days of finals, starting May 21. Each candidate will sing four to six selections, accompanied by the Orchestre symphonique de la Monnaie with Kazushi Ono conducting. You can listen and watch the live webcast by going to http://www.cmireb.be/en/p/2/8/13/22/final.html and click on Watch and Listen to the right.

In the semi-finals (May 12-14), each singer performed three to six pieces with a maximum of two by the same composer. There was an imposed work, Canzone, composed for the occasion by Wim Hendrickx. It is typically a modern piece, but tonal and vocally "grateful". It is interesting to hear the different interpretations by the contestants. Some chose to commit it to memory, and from my experience of attending past competitions, a singer willing and able to memorize the piece on short order - and singing it well, of course - stands a good chance of winning the prize for interpretation of the imposed work. A case in point is Greek-Australian sopano Elena Xanthoudakis, who won the interpretation prize and Fourth Prize at the Montreal Competition in 2005. A quick study, she sang the piece from memory, impressing the judges and the audience.

I generally agree with the choices of the twelve finalists. Interestingly, two of the six tenors entered made it to the finals, a success rate of 33% - the world always want more tenors! By contrast, 6 sopranos out of 46 made it - a success rate of only 15%. Similarly, only 1 out of 13 baritones made it. I must say there were a few singers whom I felt were good enough to be in the finals but sadly didn't make it. I was particularly fond of Sri Lankan soprano Kishani Jayashinghe, who has a gleaming, powerful voice, great long breath line, and excellent musicality. The only thing missing perhaps is a sense of humour - her Adina's aria from L'Elisir d'amore lacked sparkle. She was a finalist at the 2006 Kathleen Ferrier competition and is in the Covent Garden Young Artists program. I think she will go far. It is important to remember that not making the finals doesn't mean a singer is not good. So much is dependent on the individual taste of the jury panel, and there is always the possibility of politics, although this is difficult to prove. At this level of competition, jury members tend to look for the finished product. Often, a great voice that is unfinished coupled with ordinary stage presence or preparation may be bypassed in favour of someone with a good voice but in possession of excellent stage presence and attractive physical appearance. Without naming names, I can say there is a baritone in this competition who has a wonderfully strong amd rich if still somewhat rough baritone, and his stage appearance needs work - a better suit would help! He was passed over by the jury in favour of another singer who has a beautiful, well controlled, technically accomplished, smooth lyric baritone, combined with a handsome face, slim physique, and altogether a more polished "package". Modern audiences demand believability, and unless one has a voice the likes of Pavarotti or Sutherland, an attractive, slim singer will always have an advantage, such is the reality of the opera world these days.

Finally, a few words about the jury panel. QE is known for star-studded jurors, but this edition is simply amazing - imagine on the same panel Martina Arroyo, Lella Cuberli, Raina Kabaivanska, Tom Krause, Ann Murray, Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Jose Van Dam, Brigitte Fassbaender, and Helmut Deutsch! I would love to be a fly on the wall during the deliberations!

Good listening!