Lithe and vibrant: a Hollywood Tales of Hoffmann revealing its good bones

Ilona Domnich as Stella - Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann, English Touring Opera, © Richard Hubert Smith

Offenbach The Tales of Hoffmann; Sam Furness, Ilona Domnich, Warwick Fyfe, Louise Mott,
dir: James Bonas, cond: Philip Sunderland
Reviewed by Robert Hugill on Oct 10 2015
Star rating: 4.5
An intelligent edition, imaginative setting and vibrant performances bring Offenbach's Opera fantastique to life

Sam Furness
© Richard Hubert Smith

For the final opera in their French season which they are touring this Autumn, English Touring Opera turned to Offenbach's unfinished grand opera The Tales of Hoffmann. We caught the performance at the Royal College of Music's Britten Theatre on 10 October 2015. Directed by James Bonas, designed by Oliver Townsend, with lighting by Mark Howland, choreography by Ewan Jones and video by Zakk Heinn, Philip Sunderland conducted Stephen Anthony Brown's orchestra reduction and the opera was performed in Jeff Clarke's English version. Sam Furness was Hoffmann, Ilona Domnich the four heroines, Warwick Fyfe the four villains and Louise Mott the Muse/Nicklausse, with Matt RJ Ward, Tim Dawkins, Adam Tunnicliffe and Ashley Mercer.

The problem with The Tales of Hoffmann is that it needs a good editor. Offenbach typically wrote far too much material and then re-shaped it into a satisfactory form, during rehearsals. As he died during the rehearsals for the premier this process never happened with The Tales of Hoffmann, and though we now have scholarly editions of all the surviving material (including the conclusion to the Giulietta act which was long thought missing), this does not completely solve the problem. Too often, opera companies simply opt for an edition and perform it complete (or near complete), whether it is the old Choudens edition with the Guiraud recitatives, or one of the modern re-constructions and editions. The worst of this genre was the Fritz Oeser edition which brought in lots of music from Offenbach's Die Rheinnixen to fill in the gaps. In the the theatre, the opera is simply far too long for its material.

Finchcocks Schubertiade - showcasing instruments in transition

Finchcocks Schubertiade; Elizabeth Walker, Richard Shaw; Devine Music
Reviewed by Robert Hugill on Sep 23 2015
Star rating: 3.5
19th century instruments showcased in this recital of music for flute and piano

This new disc on Devine Music, recorded at Finchcocks Museum showcases one of the instruments from the museum, a Pleyel piano alongside a flute from the same period, played by Elizabeth Walker (flute) and Richard Shaw (piano) in music by Schubert and Theobald Böhm. In fact Theobald Böhm looms quite large over the disc as he wrote one of the pieces, arranged some of the others and his designs were responsible for the flute Elizabeth Walker plays.

During the 19th century both the flute and the piano were in transition, and the disc highlights the remarkable sound qualities that both brought to the music of the period. Elizabth Walker plays a Louis Lot flute from Paris (1859). The flute is based on the designs of Theobald Böhm (1794-1881) a German flautist and instrument maker. Böhm's designs introduced multiple keys to the flute which meant that the player could control 14 holes instead of 6. The design was so influential that modern flutes are all based on it. The Pleyel piano is straight strung which gives the sound a lovely clarity and the action is an English one which means it is lighter.

The results bring a lovely singing tone to the piano and a warm transparency to the flute, making a great combination in the music.

September on Planet Hugill with Dr Who, Lady Macbeth and Ulysses

Matthew Stiff as Trofonio outside his 'cave'
in Salieri's Trofonio's Cave from Bampton Classical Opera

Welcome to September on Planet Hugill where we brought the Summer to an end and started a new season.

Beginnings and endings

British Youth Opera in opened their summer season with Janacek's The Cunning Little Vixen, and English National Opera's new season started with a new production of Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. Richard Egarr and the Academy of Ancient Music completed their trilogy of Monteverdi operas with Ian Bostridge and Barbara Kozelj in Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria.

A trio of rarities

Bampton Classical Opera brought Salieri's La grotta di Trofonio to St John's Smith Square, Opera Settecento gave the UK premiere of Pergolesi's Adriano in Siria, and Juan Diego Florez starred in Gluck's Orphee et Eurydice at Covent Garden with Hofesh Schechter dance company.

Concerts in various venues

The season opener at the Wigmore Hall, Iestyn Davies, Harry Bicket and the English Concert in Handel, the Choir of Gonville and Caius College in Brazilian music at Kings Place, Anne Boleyn's Song Book from David Skinner and Alamire at Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, the London International A Cappella Choir Competition at St Johns Smith Square and a Festal finale at Hatfield House Chamber Music Competition.

A last couple of Proms

Being Both, Alice Coote, the English Concert & Harry Bicket in Handel, and Elgar's Dream of Gerontius conducted by Simon Rattle with Toby Spence.

Interviews and articles

▪ Technology and class in the development of opera going
▪ The passions are the same - my interview with Christoph Rousset
▪ Building on the Schubert Project: Sholto Kynoch & Oxford Lieder Festival
▪ A new concert hall, a new orchestra: my interview with Laurence Equilbey

Celebrating Cerha day with a cake at the Austrian Embassy

John Gilhooly with the cake, Prof. Friedrich and Mrs Cerha,
HE the Austrian Ambassador Mr Martin Eichtinger and Mrs Eichtinger
at the Austrian Embassy. Photo courtesy of the Wigmore Hall

Today is Friedrich Cerha day at the Wigmore Hall with a day of events celebrating the music of the distinguished Austrian composer who is 90 next year. There are concerts throughout the day by Ensemble Modern and the Boulanger Trio, an interview with Friedrich Cerha, culminating in an evening concert from Ensemble Modern and HK Gruber performing Cerha's Konzertante Tafelmusik for oboe, clarinet, bassoon and trumpet, Piccola comedia for bassoon, oboe, trumpet, viola and percussion (world première, Co-commissioned by Ensemble Modern, and by Wigmore Hall) and Keintate for medium voice (chansonnier) and instruments.

Friedrich Cerha

To celebrate the event there was a reception at the Austrian Embassy last night (9 October) where Prof. and Mrs Cerha, and H.E. the Austrian Ambassador, Martin Eichtinger, joined a group which ranged from journalists and bloggers like myself, through distinguished guests from the music business to young composers like Russell Hepplewhite (who wrote the award winng children's opera Laika the Spacedog for English Touring Opera) and the three winners of the Royal Philharmonic Society's Composition Prize, Desmond Clarke, Hunter Coblentz and Ninfea Cruttwell-Reade.

Martin Eichtinger introduced the evening, commenting that at the 85th birthday tribute to Friedrich Cerha in Vienna in 2011 the President of Austria informed people that Prof. Cerha had taught him music at secondary school. Friedrich Cerha is one of the greatest personalities in classical music in Austria, both as a teacher and as a composer. He is still full of incessant curiosity, still searching and has written in a variety of different styles. As well as music, Prof. Cerha also paints and sculpts. And as a teacher his pupils have included the composer Georg Friedrich Haas.  A great non-conformist, Friedrich Cerha grew up in a time when little value was placed on freedom of the individual and he has developed his own strong moral compass.

Prof. Cerha made a short speech of thanks, looking forward to the concerts today. And then Martin Eichtinger and John Gilhooly, director of the Wigmore Hall, presented him with a cake!

From ritual humiliation to meditation - An encounter with Rachael Young

Rachael Young

How does a young conductor get from the first steps in front of an orchestra to being a maestro? Where, and how, do they practice? I met up with the young conductor Rachael Young as she looks forward to conducting the Orquesta Sinfonica de Chile in October and the Deutsches Kammerorchester Berlin in May 2016, to talk about our obsession with youth, ritual humiliation, women conductors, the Russian school of conducting, audience behaviour, the importance of silence and meditation in concerts, audiences in Chile and much else besides.

Rachael originally trained as a cellist, both in her native New Zealand and in the UK, and had a career as a cellist before becoming a conductor. She still plays the cello but now only with family and friends. She admits that she is the sort of person who needs to concentrate on one thing and that is now conducting.


She always wanted to be a conductor, she loved the orchestral repertoire and as a cellist thought it would be wonderful to stand in front of the orchestra. Now she realises that playing cello in the orchestra was good experience for a young conductor to have. But to put the idea into practice, you first need to find a teacher and then find a way to make it happen. It is an expensive business, and you need to be able to devote time to it before you are able to earn any money. Rachael was only able to start studying to be a conductor when she moved in with her partner and he gave her the support to do it. She studied the cello at school and though she had scholarships to help her pursue her studies, she was never in a position to pursue conducting.

Because of this, she started as a conductor at a later age, but she feels that conducting is something which grows with age so 50 and above is where it starts to get interesting. That said, she feels we are becoming more age obsessed. The age of musical directors appointed has come down from 40 to 28 and qualities which come with age are less valued.

The Genesis of Frankenstein at Toi Toi 2015

An Operatic Club Night at The CLF Art Cafe

Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29 October 2015

133 Rye Lane, Peckham, London SE15 4ST

Further details of the premiere of my opera The Genesis of Frankenstein as part of the Helios Collective's Toi Toi 2015

Leave your suit and tie behind for two evenings of eclectic musical entertainment in the heart of Peckham. Helios Collective has brought together music from London to Jamaica, and from Finland to Brazil. Relax and experience modern opera alongside rock, bossa nova, pop-fusion, jazz, and reggae. Toi Toi is a celebration of new music, performed by talented international artists. 

Tickets available from: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/helioscollective

Full programme after the break

A baritone Werther in 1950's USA at English Touring Opera

Carolyn Dobbin, Adam Tunnicliffe - Massenet Werther - English Touring Opera - photo Robert Workman

Massenet Werther (baritone version); Ed Ballard, Charlotte Dobbin, Simon Wallfisch, Lauren Zolezzi, Michael Druiett, dir: Oliver Platt, cond: Iain Farrington; English Touring Opera at the Britten Theatre
Reviewed by Robert Hugill on Oct 08 2015
Star rating: 3.5
The rarely performed baritone version, in a chamber arrangement, set in 1950's America

As part of their season of French opera, English Touring Opera presented Massenet's Werther, in a chamber reduction by Iain Farrington using the rarely performed baritone version of the opera (made by the composer in 1902 for the baritone Battistini). We caught the performance on 8 October 2015 at the Royal College of Music's Britten Theatre. Ed Ballard sang the title role, Caroline Dobbin sang Charlotte, with Simon Wallfisch as Albert, Lauren Zolezzi as Sophie, Michael Druiett as Le Bailli and Jeff Stuart as Johan Schmidt with children from Vauxhall Primary School. Iain Farrington directed the instrumental ensemble from the piano. The production was directed by Oliver Platt, designed by Oliver Townsend and lighting by Mark Howland.

Michael Druiett, Lauren Zalozzi & children
photo Robert Workman

Massenet's baritone version of Werther is a rather workman-like piece, Massenet kept the orchestral accompaniment the same and simply applied alterations and transpositions to the solo line. The result is rather unsatisfactory because at crucial moments, when the tenor part soars, the baritone simply shies away from the top leaving the poor soloist with an awkward line, or an octave transposition which sat rather low in the voice.

Oliver Platt and Oliver Townsend's production set the piece in 1950's middle America which works well in terms of the functionality of the plot with its obsession with family and duty, but sat rather oddly with the strong vein of poetry in the piece. In a joint interview in the programme book, talking about how they developed the ideas for the set, Oliver Townsend said that 'From the start Oliver Platt (director) was interested in the domestic rituals and routines embodied by the character of Charlotte'. This is an aspect of the plot which was rather neatly satirised by Thackeray (a poem set beautifully by John Dankworth, hear it on YouTube ):

Prokofiev symphonies from Karabits and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Prokofiev symphonies nos. 4 & 5; Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Kirll Karabits; Onyx
Reviewed by Robert Hugill on Sep 23 2015
Star rating: 5.0
The rarely performed original version of Prokofiev's fourth symphony and his wartime fifth continue this fine cycle from Bournemouth

This new disc of Prokofiev symphonies is a further instalment in Kirill Karabits' fine Prokofiev cycle with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, of which Karabits is the musical director, on Onyx Classics. This latest disc includes Symphony No. 4 and the original version of Symphony No. 4, plus the early orchestral piece Dreams.

The disc opens with Prokofiev's Symphony No. 5 which he completed in 1944, around 14 years after finishing his previous symphony. Written in Soviet Russia, the new work had no explicit reference to the war and the composer said that it celebrated the human spirit. The opening Andante starts from nothing, the music is richly lyrical and the strings play with a lovely tone making the music sing. The Allegro marcato starts with a crisp, perky introduction leading to a Prokofievian scherzo with music which could have come straight out of Romeo and Juliet as things relax a little we still get some lovely flashes of wit. In the Adagio the quiet, singing string lines create a lovely transparent texture, which develops into something rather questioning with darker undercurrents, building to climax which quickly recedes. The Allegro giocoso finale starts out hardly finale-like at all with a quiet, intense section with transparent textures, but then with a flash of perky wit we are off and the performance puts a real smile on your face. The playing is of real wit, with a fine combination of accuracy and character. But despite all this, there is an interestingly anxious undercurrent to the music.

Remembering Edith Cavell

Edith Cavell

Patrick Hawes is a composer mainly associated with big, bold, tonal works in a highly romantic contemporary vein, inspired by the music of the English Romantics. His Eventide: In memoriam Edith Cavell was commissioned by Sheringham & Cromer Choral Society and first performed in Norwich Cathedral in 2014, and will be receiving its first London performance on Monday 12 October 2015 at St Clement Danes Church as part of the Brandenburg Festival. Commemorating the nurse Edith Cavell who was executed by the Germans during World War I. The performance features Charlotte La Thrope (soprano) in the role of Edith, with the Addison Singers, Tiffin Boys' Choir and Brandenburg Sinfonia conducted by David Wordsworth. Tickets are available on-line from EventBrite, but if you buy through the Cavell Nurses Trust website then 50% of the ticket price goes to them!

Eventide is the name of the hymn tune Abide with Me which was recited by Edith Cavell and an Anglican Chaplain the night before her execution. The hymn is used as a cantus firmus throughout the work, whilst the soprano soloist takes on the role of Edith herself singing words from her letters, The Book of Common Prayer and Thomas a Kempis' The Imitation of Christ. The chorus provides a key role, mirroring Edith's thoughts and bringing the work to moments of intense climax.

Raven Girl and Connectome

Alastair Marriott - Connectome - Royal Ballet, 2014 - photo Bill Cooper

Wayne McGregor, Audrey Niffenegger, Gabriel Yared Raven Girl, Alastair Marriott, Arvo Part Connectome; Edward Watson, Sarah Lamb, Lauren Cuthbertson, Steven McRae, cond: Koen Kessels; Royal Ballet at Covent Garden
Reviewed by Robert Hugill on Oct 6 2015
Design and choreography to the fore in contemporary double bill

Raven Girl was choreographer Wayne McGregor's first narrative dance piece, produced in collaboration with the writer and illustrator Audrey Niffenegger, with music by Gabriel Yared and designed by Vicki Mortimer. We caught the first performance of Royal Ballet's recent revival of the work at Covent Garden on 6 October 2015 in a double bill with Alastair Marriott's Connectome to music by Arvo Pärt designed by Es Devlin and Jonathan Howells. In Raven Girl, Edward Watson was the Postman, Olivia Cowley was the Raven, Sarah Lamb as Raven Girl, Paul Kay was the Boy and Thiago Soares was the Doctor. Connectome featured Lauren Cuthbertson, Steven McRae and Edward Watson. Koen Kessels conducted the Royal Opera House Orchestra.

Wayne MacGregor Raven GirlSarah Lamb
photo Johann Persson

Described as being based on a fairy tale by Audrey Niffenegger, Raven Girl started as a series of illustrations with text which Niffenegger and McGregor developed into a dance piece which McGregor prefer to call visual theatre rather than narrative ballet.

Composer Gabriel Yared, who is best known for his film scores (from Betty Blue to The English Patient), wrote the specially commissioned score which mixed a live orchestra with electronics to striking effect. The result was eclectic, moving from some strikingly edgy sounds where you could not tell what was live and what electronic. But Raven Girl is quite a dark tale, given quite a stark look by the designs and lighting, and it seemed that Gabriel Yared's music did not always match this. Too often he produced something softer edged, veering to the popular which had me reaching for that lazy description 'film music'.

McGregor's choreography was superb for the crowds, the weird faceless people, the ravens in their stunning costumes. And some individual solos were striking. Edward Watson as the Postman was wonderfully all edgy elbows and joints. Sarah Lamb looking stunning as the Raven Girl both with and without her wings, giving a truly mesmerising performance

But a sense of character seemed missing in places, the Doctor (Thiago Soares) and the Boy (Paul Kay) were underdeveloped despite both performers giving strong individual performances. And at the end all problems evaporated in a mysterious fashion and we had a final pas de deux for Sarah Lamb and Eric Underwood as the Raven Prince (a characters who had not previously featured in the plot). Here both Wayne MacGregor and Gabriel Yared seemed to struggle to find the right language to suite the rest of the piece.

Alvorada! Celebrating music of Argentina with Ophelie Gaillard

Ophelie Gaillard - photo Caroline Doutre

To the newly opened Foyle's Auditorium on Monday 5 October 2015, for an even celebrating the recent release of the disc Alvorada by the cellist Ophelie Gaillard on Aparte / Harmonia Mundi. Ophelie Gaillard and two other musicians, Juanjo Mosalini, bandoneon and Romain Lecuyer, double bass treated us to a selection of music from the disc including Nana from Falla's Siete canciones populares españolas, Agua e Vinho by Gismonti/Carneiro, plus a group of pieces by Astor Piazzolla. As can be seen from this list, the music on the album is very much an exploration of the music of Latin America. In a short interview with Hugo Shirley, Gaillard explained that it was not intended to be a crossover disc. As a cellist who performs with her own period ensemble (she has a new album of music by CPE Bach out), she is used to doing research and performing music in the correct style. So the intention of the disc was get to the soul of Argentina, exploring with the finest musicians and going on a journey, researching and learning a new style of playing.

It started with the idea of performing a suite for unaccompanied cello by Gaspar Cassado who was a pupil of Casals. But also evolved from ideas generated by Gaillard's travels with her cello. Whilst not the most easy thing, travelling with a suitcase and a cello, she has found the contacts made inspiring, particularly meeting musicians after concerts. And found the music of Latin America inspiring, with its mix of influences and the way the cello and the voice can be combined.

Whilst Gaillard's repertoire stretches from Baroque through Romantic to modern, and she named as some of her favourite composers George Benjamin and Dutilleux, the cello does not have a repertoire of 200 concertos like the piano. So she feels the need to explore and will be premiered a double concerto for cello and bandoneon!

Marcello Psalms

Benedetto Marcello Psalms; Voces8, Les Inventions; Signum Classics
Reviewed by Robert Hugill on Sep 22 2015
Star rating: 4.5
A delightful discovery, Marcello's settings of the psalms in a lovely new disc from Voces8

Who knew that these delightful works existed? Benedetto Marcello's psalms, Estro poetico-armonico are settings of the first fifty Psalms of David in Italian paraphrases. This disc on Signum Classics label from Voces8 and Les Inventions contains four psalms in English made by the 18th century English composer Charles Avison, Psalm 11, Psalm 32, Psalm 50 and Psalm 46 along with Marcello's Ciaccona from Sonata Op.2 No.12 and Canon Triplex.

Benedetto Marcello was a Venetian born composer, from a respected family so that he combined career in law with one in music, studying with both Lotti and Gasparini. His Estro poetico-armonico was published in 1724 to 1726, setting the first 50 psalms in paraphrases by Girolamo Ascanio Giustiniani. The psalms were immediately extremely popular, and were translated into a wide number of languages. Venice had the oldest Sephardic community in Italy, and Marcello's music seems to include sections based on Hebrew psalmody. In fact, Marcello's psalms were used in a wide variety of religious traditions including Lutheran, Anglican and Jewish.

The psalms were published with a simple figured bass with no indications of instrumentation, so for variety and flexibility, this disc uses harp, theorbo, organ, cello and double bass, and occasionally there is an obligato instrument.

Ulla's Odyssey flourishing at Kings Place

Ulla's Odyssey by New Zealand composer Anthony Young, and Canadian librettist Leanna Brodie will be premiered on 11 October at Kings Place. Directed by Valentina Ceschi and designed by Faye Bradley, the opera is being presented by OperaUpClose and is the result of their third Flourish competition looking for new chamber scale operas capable of being performed by by seven performers. 

Young and Brodie's opera is a family one, the first such to come through OperaUpClose's competitions. Inspired by Homer's Odyssey, it concerns a young woman, Ulla who is attempting to become the youngest person to sail the world single-handedly in her trusty sailing boat 'The Homer', with only her cat Binnacle to keep her company. She encounters mythical creatures and obstacles on her journey, including Cy-ops, a one-eyed, over-keen robotic customs official who mistakes her cat for smuggled contraband, and Sylla, a dangerous sea creature whose body and mind have been horribly twisted by radioactive rubbish dumped into the ocean. Meanwhile the voices of the Sirens, Ulla’s friends and family, call out to her from across the waves, tempting her to give up her lonely voyage and come home.

The opera features Sarah Minns as Ulla, Oskar McCarthy as Binnacle/Garibdis, Flora McIntosh as Goddess of the Sea, Pamela Hay as Scylla, Edward Hughes as Cy-Ops, with Ruth Whybrow as Instrumentalist.

Thrilling music drama - Bellini's I Puritani in Cardiff

Rosa Feola - Bellini I Puritani 
Welsh National Opera - photo Bill Cooper

Bellini I Puritani; Rosa Feola, Barry Banks, Wojtek Gierlach, David Kempster, dir: Annilese Miskimmon, cond: Carlo Rizzi; Welsh National Opera at Wales Millennium Centre
Reviewed by Robert Hugill on Oct 4 2015
Star rating: 5.0
Gripping musical theatre in this time-slip account of Bellini's last opera

Vividly gripping drama is perhaps not phrase which you might expect to be used to refer to Bellini's I Puritani, but that was the phrase which came into my mind after seen Annilese Miskimmon's new production of the opera, presented by Welsh National Opera at the Wales Millennium Centre on Sunday 4 October 2015. Carlo Rizzi conducted, with designs by Leslie Travers, lighting by Mark Jonathan and choreography by Kally Lloyd Jones. Rosa Feola was Elvira, Barry Banks was Arturo, with David Kempster as Riccardo, Wojtek Gierlach as Giorgio, Simon Crosby Buttle as Bruno, Aidan Smith as Gualtiero and Sian Meinir as Enrichetta.

Rosa Feola and ensemble - Bellini I Puritani
Welsh National Opera - photo Bill Cooper

Bellini's final opera was written for Paris, and having fallen out with Felice Romani librettist of his previous operas including Norma and La Sonnambula, Bellini was forced to rely on Count Carlo Pepoli who happened to be resident in Paris. Pepoli's libretto has some strong situations, but overall the drama is full of holes and, despite Bellini's superb music, directors often struggle to create drama out of the piece. Andrei Serban's much travelled production, originally created for WNO in 1982, took the drama at face value and set the piece in 17th century England relying on strong performances from the principals to hold the drama together (when I saw the production in Amsterdam, I'm afraid it occasionned a number of laughs from the audience). More recently, Stephen Langridge at Grange Park Opera in 2013 (see my review) seemed to struggle to create a coherent drama at all and relied on strong musical performances.

Nordics

For its next concert, the ever enterprising New London Chamber Choir, conductor Matthew Hamilton is joining forces with the Oslo-based chamber choir Ensemble 96, conductor Nina Therese Karlsen, for a concert of Nordic music on Saturday 10 October 2015 at St James's Church, Sussex Gardens, London W2 3UD.

The concert is mixing contemporary Nordic composers with those of a previous generation with Torbjørn Dyrud's Lovesongs, Knut Nystedt's Prayers of Kierkegaard, Anders Hillborg's Mouyayoum, Kaija Saariaho's Nuits, adieux, Per ​​Nørgård's Wie ein Kind and finishing with Knut Nystedt's Immortal Bach which has become something of a modern classic, with three composers from Norway, and one each from Finland, Denmark and Sweden.

Ensemble 96 was Grammy nominated for its recording of Per ​​Nørgård's Wie ein Kind and you can hear it on SoundCloud, you can also hear the New London Chamber Choir performing Kaija Saariaho's Nuits, adieux on SoundCloud to whet your appetite.

Further information from the event page on Facebook.

1940's madness - Handel's Orlando in Cardiff

Rebecca Evans, Lawrence Zazzo - Handel Orlando
Welsh National Opera - photo Bill Cooper

Handel Orlando; Lawrence Zazzo, Rebecca Evans, Robin Blaze, Fflur Wyn, Daniel Grice, dir:Harry Fehr, cond: Rinaldo Alessandrini; Welsh National Opera at the Wales Millennium Centre
Reviewed by Robert Hugill on Oct 3 2015
Star rating: 4.0
Strong music values in 1940's setting for Handel's opera examining madness

As part of their Madness season, presenting three very contrasting music theatre treatments of madness (Handel's Orlando, Bellini's I Puritani and Sondheim's Sweeney Todd) Welsh National Opera (WNO) presented Handel's Orlando at the Wales Millennium Centre on Saturday 3 October 2015. Directed by Harry Fehr, designed by Yannis Thavoris, lighting by Anna Watson, video by Andrzej Goulding, movement Kelly Lloyd-Jones (also associate director), the production was originally created for Scottish Opera. The WNO performances featured Lawrence Zazzo as Orlando, Daniel Grice as Zoroastro, Fflur Wyn as Dorinda, Rebecca Evans as Angelica and Robin Blaze as Medoro. Rinaldo Alessandrini conducted the Welsh National Opera Orchestra.

Daniel Grice, Lawrence Zazzo (prone) - Handel Orlando
Welsh National Opera - photo Bill Cooper

From the first notes of the overture, played with the curtain down, it was clear that Rinaldo Aessandrini, who is best known for his work with period instrument groups, had developed a creative partnership with the modern instruments of the WNO orchestra. The overture was crisp and lively with some lovely firm playing, not too much vibrato, and a clear feel of period style.

When the curtain did go up for the first scene, Zoroastro's great scena as he looks at the stars, the setting was a 1940's hospital and instead of the stars, Zoroastro (Daniel Grice) was looking at the output from a device hooked up to Orlando's (Lawrence Zazzo) brain. Harry Fehr and Yannis Zavoris had transported the opera to the 1940's with Orlando and Medoro (Robin Blaze) as injured airmen. Dorinda (Fflur Wyn) was now a nurse with Angelica (Rebecca Evans) a glamorous socialite. There were some neat touches; when, in Act One, Zoroastro talks to Orlando of following the path of glory rather than love, he showed Orlando pictures of the Abdication and the subsequent aftermath with the Duke of Windsor being pictured with Nazis.

new minds, music & futures - Orchestras Live's annual report

Orchestras Live turned 50 this year, and their annual review is rightly celebratory in what they have achieved. Some numbers show the sort of impact we are talking about. During 2014/15:

• 26 orchestras were involved
• 62 promoter partners
• 154 different venues
• 121 concerts
• 465 events
• 55,858 audience members and participants 
• 19% attended a local orchestral concert for the first time
• 42% find new music stimulating

Orchestras Live exists to take orchestras to the parts other organisations do not reach, and to involve people in hard to get communities in orchestral music. There are various strands to their activities. In using music to promote health and well-being they have projects like Essex Folk, Disabled Musicians in Essex, and Able Orchestra. Projects which involve introducing people to a live orchestra for the first time make up important strands, including First Time Live early years including Lullaby Concerts and Flutter and Fly. First Time Live Youth actually puts the young people in charge of the concert, to electrifying effect, with projects like From Dusk 'til Dawn, Harlow First Time Live, Sound Struck and First Time Live 2 in Luton.

Championing new music is another important strand, with 34% of the 121 concerts they co-promoted containing work by living composers. Beyond the Premiere provides a platform for repeat performances of recently commission work, and enabled Gwilym Simcock's new work for clarinet and orchestra, On a Piece of Tapestry to be performed five times.

Of course all this would not be possible without support from a whole raft of supporters including the Arts Council, Cumbria County Councils Neighbourhood Fund, the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, the John Ellerman Foundation, the J Paul Getty Charitable Trust, Kimberly-Clark, Philips Avent, the Royal Opera House, the Sir Joh  Fisher Foundation, the Monument Trust, the Thistle Trust, and media partner Classic FM.

There is a lovely interactive TimeLine on the Orchestras Live website which enables you to explore significant events in their last 50 years. And the full 2014-15 annual review is also available for downloading.

Music from the Dark Side - an encounter with Pavlo Beznosiuk

Pavlo Beznosiuk

Pavlo Beznosiuk is currently the leader of the Academy of Ancient Music, though he wears a number of other hats too including being director of the Avison Ensemble. Pavlo has been busy on the period performance scene for over 25 years and in fact played with the the Academy of Ancient Music first in 1985! He often directs the Academy of Ancient Music and I met up with Pavlo to find out more about his latest project, Music from the Dark Side.

I meet Pavlo for coffee at the National Gallery, and Pavlo comments that he and a group of musicians rather lived here a few years ago when they provided music for the Vermeer and Music exhibition at the National Gallery, performing a huge number of short pop up concerts. This time he is on his way to the Duke of York's Theatre for his first preview of Claire van Kampen's Farinelli and the King; Pavlo is one of team of violinists from the Academy of Ancient Music playing in the show and comments that this will be the longest number of performances of a single piece that he has ever done in one stretch, he will be in 47 of the shows and there are a total of around 100. The play by Claire van Kampen features music written for the castrato Farinelli and it opened at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse earlier this year (see my review). Pavlo comments that there are a few places where the players have a bit of leeway to try and keep it fresh.

Pavlo is the leader of the Academy of Ancient Music and will be directing them in their forthcoming concert on 19 October (in London) and 22 October 2015 (in Cambridge) entitled Music from the dark side. The concert is part of a short series From Darkness to Light in which the orchestra will be taking inspiration from Dante's 14th century poem Divine Comedy and looking at the author's journey through hell (Inferno) and paradise (Paradiso). The artist Monika Beisner will be providing illustrations, a German artist known for her illustrations to children's books and whose illustrations to Dante's Divine Comedy have been published in Germany and Italy.

Pelleas et Melisande from English Touring Opera

Susannah Hurrell - photo credit Richard Hubert Smith

Debussy Pelleas et Melisande; Susannah Hurrell, Jonathan McGovern, Stephan Loges, dir: James Conway, cond: Jonathan Berman; English Touring Opera at the Britten Theatre
Reviewed by Robert Hugill on Oct 1 2015
Star rating: 4.0
Enterprising reduced scale Pelleas

Debussy's opera Pelleas et Melisande is one of those seminal works which fascinates even the opera companies who lack the resources to perform it; though the work is relatively economical with singers and not too long, it needs a very large orchestra. Some years ago, Independent Opera performed it in a reduced orchestration at the Sadlers Wells, Lilian Baylis Studio, and more recently it was performed at the Grimeborn Festival with just a piano. English Touring Opera too has heard the siren call, and as part of its enterprising French opera season is performing Debussy's Pelleas et Melisande in Annalies van Parys abridged orchestral reduction (alongside Massenet's Werther and Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann).

We caught the opening night of English Touring Opera's Autumn tour, 1 October 2015, when James Conway's new production of Pelleas et Melisande was performed at the Britten Theatre, Royal College of Music, with Michael Druiett as Arkel, Helen Johnson as Genevieve, Stephan Loges as Golaud, Jonathan McGovern as Pelleas, Lauren Zolezzi as Yniold and Susanna Hurrell as Melisande. Jonathan Berman conducted, designs were by Oliver Townsend, lighting by Mark Howland, movement by Bernadette Iglich and video by Zakk Hein.

Susannah Hurrell, Jonathan McGovern
photo credit Richard Hubert Smith

Annalies van Parys made her version of Pelleas et Melisande for Muzietheater Transparent in 2012. This reduces Debussy's orchestra down to 13 performers, string quartet, double bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, percussion, harp, harmonium, and the result was remarkably effective with the interludes in particular having a lovely flow to them. Though the loss of the larger body of players did make the individual instrumental lines seem more present, and somehow the reduction had brought greater clarity to Debussy's textures, which is not necessarily a good thing. You felt that the piece had become rather more definite, without the chiaroscuro so essential to the piece. Perhaps more worryingly, the piece was abridged, and two scenes were missing. In fact, director James Conway was troubled enough by this to introduce one section as spoken text.

James Conway and Oliver Townsend set the piece in a box, atmospherically green-blue in colour, and both Mark Howland's lighting and Zakk Hein's videos (projected onto the rear wall) helped to create the right sense of atmosphere. In something of a coup, part of the rear wall became transparent to reveal a warm pink room which was the interior space occupied by Arkel. Costumes were moderately neutral and seemed to be placed loosely in the Edwardian period.

It must frustrate performers to rehearse for weeks and then after opening night, have reviewers commenting that the production was promising but will need time to bed down, but that is what I am going to do. The drama in Pelleas et Melisande comes as much from the way the characters do not interact as in the dialogue. The spaces between the characters are as important as what they say. All this arises from Maeterlink's elusive dialogue and the way Debussy sets it surrounded by a web of orchestral allusion.

Making waves and stepping in, conductor James Feddeck

James Feddeck - credit Benjamin Ealovega

The young American conductor James Feddeck (just 32 and a former assistant conductor at the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra) won the Solti Conducting Award in 2013. Since then he has made a name for himself, notably stepping in at the last moment to conduct the Halle in April 2015 in Mozart and Beethoven (The Guardian said he stepped in "to salvage the concert with style and steel" and is "a conductor to watch"). He also stepped in with the San Francisco Symphony, making his debut conducting Bruckner's Symphony No. 8 to great acclaim.

For the 2015/16 season Feddeck will be returning to the UK to conduct the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra on 13 April 2016 at Birmingham Symphony Hall in Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, with Michael Collins as soloist, and Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony. There is a chance to hear him in action before then as he will be conducting the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra at the National Concert Hall in Dublin on 9 October 2015, in Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 with Alexei Volodin, Hindemith's Mathis der Mahler Symphony and Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier Suite.

The Angry Planet

Bob Chilcott The Angry Planet; BBC Singers, Bach Choir, The Young Singers, London Youth Choir, Finchley Children's Music Group,David Hill; Signum Classics
Reviewed by Robert Hugill on Sep 22 2015
Star rating: 4.0
Environmental issues to the fore in three moving cantatas by Bob Chilcott in performances which underplay the message

The centrepiece of this new disc of music by Bob Chilcott is the cantata The Angry Planet, subtitled An Environmental Cantata performed by the BBC Singers, the Bach Choir, the Young Singers, London Youth Choir, and the Finchley Children's Music Group conducted by David Hill. It is paired with two more of Chilcott's environmentally themed works performed by the BBC Singers and members of the Finchley Children's Music Group conducted by David Hill. In all, there is nearly two hours of Bob Chilcott's music on the Signum Classics set, produced in association with BBC Radio 3.

Bob Chilcott is very much the go-to composer for popular classical music for amateur choirs, almost seeming to be taking on the mantle of John Rutter but writing in a different vein. Those of you who have enjoyed is popular shorter works in performance might quail at the thought of two hours devoted to music of a similar style. But works on this disc, though approachable and highly singable, are also extremely thoughtful. All three are written with words provided by Chilcott's regular collaborator Charles Bennett and all three display something of an environmental, almost political concern. But the character of the pieces comes partly because Bennett's words are not polemical, they are highly poetic, he writes allusive lyrics which need thought when listening to them.

The Angry Planet was commissioned by the Bach Choir in 2011 and first performed at the BBC Proms in 2012. David Hill (conductor of the Bach Choir and of the BBC Singers), had the idea of commissioning a piece which would involve both groups, plus a youth choir and a children's choir in a work which addressed environmental issues. And the other two works on the disc were written for youth choirs, so that this is another thread linking them, though here the works are sung by the BBC Singers.

London Mozart Players supporting the Royal British Legion through music

Howard Shelley

This season the London Mozart Players will be donating all of the profits in two of their concert series to the Royal British Legion, raising funds for those who are serving or have served in the British Armed Forces. The partnership forms part of the London Mozart Players' Harmony in Conflict initiative, which includes projects across the country bringing communities together through music.

The two concert series involved are Mozart Explored / Beethoven Explored and Mozart Explored: 1783, both at St John's Smith Square. Mozart and Beethoven Explored is an 11-part lunchtime concert series (October 2015 - April 2016) in which pianist Howard Shelley and the London Mozart Players look at the piano concertos by Mozart and Beethoven, with Shelley providing introductions which look at the stories behind the music. Mozart Explored: 1783 is a series of four evening concerts (November 2015 - May 2016) in which conductors Graham Ross and Gerard Korsten are joined by soloists Janina Fialkowska, Peter Francomb & the orchestra's Young Artist in Residence, Laura van der Heijden to perform works from Mozart's prolific year 1783. The series also includes the UK premiere of Stephen Oliver's completion of Mozart's opera The Goose of Cairo, conducted by David Parry.

Mozart Explored starts on Wednesday 7 October 2015 with Piano Concerto No. 19 in F K459, whilst Mozart Explored:1783 opens on 26 November with works written for his wife and her sister (Constanza and Aloysia Weber) including concert arias and the Mass in C minor.

Further information and tickets from the St John's Smith Square website.

The lute song re-invented - Amores Pasados

John Paul Jones, Peter Warlock, Thomas Campion, Tony Banks, EJ Moeran, Picforth, Sting; John Potter, Ana Maria Friman, Jacob Heringman, Ariel Abramovich
Reviewed by Robert Hugill on Sep 18 2015
Star rating: 5.0
Evocative new lute songs from musicians normally associated with rock music on this fascinating project from John Potter

This new disc on ECM New Series from John Potter very much asks what is a song, and what is the difference between a popular song and an art song. The performers are a fairly standard period line up with John Potter and Anna Maria Friman (voice), and Ariel Abramovich and Jacob Heringman (lute). But the repertoire is anything but. Here three composers best known for writing songs with bands, write lute songs. So we have songs by John Paul Jones, bass player and co-writer with Led Zepplin, by Tony Banks, keyboard player and co-founder of Genesis, and by Sting. Alongside these are songs by Thomas Campion (whose words are also set by Tony Banks), Peter Warlock and Picforth.

Manfred Eicher, Jacob Heringman, Ana Maria Friman,
John Potter, Ariel Abramovich

The point about these songs is that, though they were written by rock musicians they were written for classically trained musicians to perform acoustically, and set poems (rather than pop lyrics). For Amores Pasados John Paul Jones set three Spanish poets from the golden age, the songs were written for Red Byrd in 1989 and have been recorded by Andrew Lawrence King and the Harp Consort. The music has a hauntingly popular edge to it without ever being pop, and the way John Paul Jones writes for the two lutes together is magical. In fact in Al son de los arroyuelos (Lope de Vega) he often combines hardly moving vocal lines with richly textured accompaniment with a strong rhythmic impulse and the odd contributions from Anna Maria Friman on hardanger fiddle too! No dormia (Gustavo Adolfo Becquer) has a similar minimal feel to the vocal line with some lovely haunting textures. So ell encina (anonymous 15th century) returns to the engagingly rhythmic feel of the first song, but with more of an explicit tune in the voices.

Arrangements of Peter Warlock's Sleep and EJ Moeran's AE Houseman setting Oh fair enough are sky and plain are sung by John Potter with the two lutenists. The arrangements are remarkably effective but does rather transform the Sleep bringing out the rather 17th century inspiration for Warlock's art, and Potter does have a tendency to stretch and squeeze the tone.