A bassoon may have an odd shape, but it’s a double reed woodwind instrument that’s a bear to play.
Okay, then. That sentence makes tons of sense.
(Please excuse the all caps, but that’s how it was posted and I’m too lazy to change it.):
I HAVE SEEN IDOMENEO THREE TIMES, FIRST WITH LUCIANO IN CHICAGO, THEN WITH LUCIANO IN SAN FRANCISCO, BUT THE MOST THRILLING OF THE THREE WAS TUESDAY NIGHT AT OPERA SAN JOSE. CHRISTOPHER BENGOCHEA BOTH SANG AND ACTED THIS DIFFICULT R0LE WITH BEAUTIFUL EXPRESSIVE SOUNDS THAT SHOWED HIM AS A MAJOR TENOR VOICE OF OUR TIME. HE WAS SUPPORTED BY AN OUTSTANDING CAST, REBECCA DAVIS AS ILIA, CHRISTINA MAJOR AS ELETTRA, NOVA SAFO AS ARBACE, AARON BLAKE AS IDAMANTE, AND MATHEW EDWARDSEN AS THE HIGH PRIEST. THE ENTIRE CAST WAS SO SPLENDID THAT THE BEAUTIFUL SETS, COSTUMES, CHORUS AND ORCHESTRA MADE THIS AN EVENING TO REMEMBER FOR OPERA LOVERS. I FLOATED HOME AND THE NEXT DAY BOUGHT TICKETS TO GO AGAIN. FOR THOSE OF US WHO LOVE OPERA, THIS IDOMENEO WAS PURE “OPERA MAGIC!”
Written by Eloise Bouye, here.
Nice! :-)
… but it’s a start, right?
Just a quick note before I have my first (!) meal of the day (yes, it’s nearly 1:00, but I don’t eat early or I get the shakes): the English horn feels like a small toy after playing the bass oboe
Somehow I think playing bass oboe before soloing on the English horn is going to be helpful; I practiced for about 20 minutes on the bass oboe, and then moved to Tango Barroco on English horn. The latter didn’t feel nearly as heavy as it does when I move the other direction, from oboe to English horn. Nice.
Sooo the oboe and the fire alarm ringing outside do not sound good together.
… and a “what was I thinking?” moment.
I am looking at my calendar. Sometimes I look at it and get very sad, due to lack of work. Not so right now. Here’s what I have on the calendar for the next few months:
- For the remainder of this week (through Sunday): 9 private students, 3 Idomeneo performances (principal oboe)
- September 19-25: 13 private students, 5 Idomeneo performances, UCSC begins
- September 26-October 2: 15 private students, UCSC oboe students, 6 Symphony Silicon Valley services (third oboe/bass oboe), Stanford oboe students (I’m filling in for a dear friend this quarter)
- October 3-9: 14 private students, UCSC, Stanford, coaching woodwinds at UCSC
- October 11-17: 17 private students, UCSC, Stanford, 3 services (one full rehearsal, two concerts) soloing with SJ Chamber Orchestra on Tango Barroco (English horn)
- October 17-24: 15 private students, UCSC, Stanford, 6 Symphony Silicon Valley services (English horn: Stravinsky’s Petrushka)
- October 24-30: 17 private students, UCSC, Stanford, UCSC Faculty Recital
- October 31-November 6: 12 private students, UCSC, Stanford, 4 opera rehearsals (Pagliacci/La voix humane)
Do you notice what’s missing? No rehearsals have been scheduled for the faculty recital, and only one has been scheduled for the SJ Chamber Orchestra job! No reed making is scheduled either. Or personal practice time. Obviously those have to be fit in somewhere as well.
I don’t think I’ll even look at the rest of November yet, although I can tell you opera and symphony are both involved. Come December I believe I’ll have Nutcracker. The biggest issue above is making sure I can play all three instruments at the level necessary. It’s one thing to play principal oboe. It’s another to play bass oboe. And then solo English horn?
I’m hearing “What WERE you thinking?!” screaming loudly in my head right now. The only answer I come up with is “I wasn’t.”
But … yeah, have to insert this! … I’m working. I’m back to being busy (“better busy than bored”?!). And I need to remind myself of that, considering my summer of close to no work and very few students showing up. I suppose if it’s a feast or famine thing I should be glad to feast on all this work. I just don’t want to crash and burn.
Whine over ‘n out. I promise. (Especially when I know there are colleagues who have “real” jobs on top of all that I have … how dare I whine, eh?!)
And now I have to go practice! Hmm. Oboe? English horn? Bass oboe? Which to choose, which to choose …?
PS I am hoping for a vacation the minute Nutcracker is finished!
… this one at the blog Not For Fun Only, by blogger “Axel Feldheim”, whom I’ve met on several occasions. We chatted this time, during the first intermission, as you can read:
The San Jose audience was quiet, attentive & appreciative throughout, & they responded with a standing ovation. I attended thanks to the Opera Tattler, & it was a pleasant surprise when we ran across the effervescent Out West Arts during the 1st intermission. We also chatted with Oboeinsight, taking her break without leaving the pit & clearly enjoying this gig. Interestingly, the production is double cast, with Idamante sung by a tenor instead of a mezzo in alternate performances. The cordial Opera San José sells fresh baked chocolate chip cookies in the rear lobby, & the smell is irresistible.
(It’s true, I usually take my breaks staying in the pit. I don’t want to be tempted by the food in the green room, and I find that the noise there tires me more than sitting in the pit or chatting with a few audience members. Or maybe I’m just lazy. You choose.)
Music doesn’t soften the message, it deepens it. Great music, you are somewhat helpless in front of. It is disarming. You have to have your guard sentries stand down while the army invades. You go with it. It moves you. And it touches some idealistic core of your being where even the greatest cynic has not given up hope. That’s why we listen to music.
-Peter Sellars
I read it here.
Guy skateboarding down the street whilst playing an oboe — only in East Van.
(I still say popular artists want to go classical because they want to be taken more seriously and live on after they are gone, and classical artists want to cross over because they have such a desire to be popular. But of course I could be all wrong. It’s happened before.)
But anyhoo … just read an article that begins with this:
As they grow older, it seems more and more adventurous rock and pop stars of the past 30 years are turning their attentions to classical music. Whether to legitimise the latter end of a long career or to appeal to the maturing tastes of their original fans as they, too, grow up – Sting, Elvis Costello and many other rock hall-of-famers have waded into the murky waters of classical crossover with a symphony or string quartet in tow… And with varying degrees of success.
Now Deutsche Grammophon, the world’s oldest classical label, has enlisted alternative singer-songwriter Tori Amos to pen a song cycle drawing on classical themes. The result, Night of Hunters, will be released on September 23. Amos, now 48, fuelled a feminist revolution in popular music during the early 1990s with hits like Cornflake Girl and Crucify. Incisive lyrics, electrifying stage presence at the piano and sales of more than 12 million albums have secured her place in the pantheon of women in rock. She also happens to be classically trained. So why combine the genres now?
I still puzzle over what makes something classical and what doesn’t. And maybe it just doesn’t matter, as long as it’s good.
Remember when I wrote about my issues with my eyes? Well, I am writing this publicly so the next time I have issues focusing someone who reads this will remind me of what the issue is really about:
It’s “eargraine” time!
Sigh.
Yeah, a few days of out of focus eyes means that eventually I’ll get an ear migraine. It arrived in its special wonderfully strong way this morning. Included in this little issue of mine is a painful outer ear (to the point where I can barely touch it) and incredibly loud night pitch screeching. I have to wait it out and while it hurts I know it’ll eventually go away. I just hope that it goes away before the next opera performance. It’s difficult to teach, but performing is even more difficult.
Meanwhile, I’m coping and I’m learning a new instrument!
Yep. I get to play a new instrument at our first Symphony Silicon Valley concert.
What is it, you ask? (You DID ask, didn’t you?)
Bass oboe!
Holst’s The Planets uses three oboes and English horn, and the third oboe part also includes bass oboe. What a section! Symphony rented it from Forrests, and I picked it up from the office yesterday. The fingerings are the same as oboe, and it sounds an octave lower. Thankful it’s written in treble clef so I don’t have to relearn bass clef. (I can play bass clef if I’m sitting at the piano, but otherwise my brain doesn’t really like to read it. At all.)
I’ll see if I can get someone to record me at some point so you can see and hear it. Meanwhile, here’s a photo for comparison:
Doesn’t the oboe look tiny?
We’ve probably gotten more reviews for Idomeneo than anything in a long while! Here’s a part of Mr. Kosman’s review:
The result, in Tuesday’s performance at the California Theatre, was a stretch of elegant pageantry, not always particularly animated but vividly colorful and done with a keen sense of Mozartean style.
That latter quality came courtesy of conductor George Cleve, who led the performance with a combination of assiduous care and theatrical panache. The orchestral playing was streamlined and shapely throughout, and a crisp rhythmic style predominated.
Yep, another good review.
Throughout the three acts of the opera there are spectacular sets, paintings and objects which are authentically in the character of bronze age Crete. Costumes by Johann Stegmeir, wigs by Jeanna Parham and a careful color palate integrate perfectly with the set designs of Steven C. Kemp. Director Brad Dalton maintained a graceful flow of the 73-person cast, largest in the history of the company in keeping with the Opera Seria limitations.
Musical forces radiated from the magical spells cast by Maestro George Cleve, one of the great Mozartians of our era. He led both singers and instrumentalists with finesse.
… and he liked it …
It begins:
The weekend ended in the same tone and fashion as all that had preceded it – with Trojan women lamenting their lot and an opera about another heart of another soldier. Opera San Jose opened up their 2011/2012 season on Saturday with Mozart’s Idomeneo. The company relies on its own in-house resident vocal artists for all of its shows and usually presents performances more frequently over a shorter time period than other companies using two different alternating casts. This system provides some benefits in terms of more protracted rehearsal times and better integration among performers who work together repeatedly over a season in many different productions. When Opera San Jose opens a show, they are good and ready, which was apparent on Sunday when I saw the second performance in the run, which was the first with its particular cast. It was ironic in a way that on September 11, I felt as if Mozart had more to say to me about heroism and loss than Heart of a Soldier did. Within moments of the opening bars of Idomeneo all the insanity of the world seemed to organize itself in a manner humanity could comprehend.
I am happy to say that even the orchestra had extra rehearsals for this particular opera. We usually get one “orchestra only” rehearsal. This time we had four, although they weren’t truly just us, as the Maestro had singers come in; I believe I mentioned earlier that the chorus master sang the first few, blowing us away with his stamina. Following that the cast members sang, and before the sitzprobes they sang from the front of the hall where we could see and hear them very well. I wish we had the opportunity to hear them (and see them) like that for every opera. It does make a big difference to us. Or to me, at least.
I think you have to subscribe to read the whole thing, but here’s a snippet (you can get a free 7 day trial and read it all, which is what I just did.):
The opera is worthwhile, regardless, for a view of Mozart’s most ambitious production, including a decided emphasis on choruses and dance. The company takes full advantage of these elements. Andrew Whitfield’s chorus performs as robustly as I’ve ever heard them, particularly in the opening chorus, “Godiam la pace.” A 15-member dance troupe, meanwhile, performs rustic, athletic interludes – notably in the final coronation scene – choreographed by Ballet San Jose director Dennis Nahat.
It was interesting to see how some of OSJ’s now-familiar voices matched up with the opera’s roles. A perfect example is Sandra Bengochea, who should probably travel the world, seeking out chances to sing Ilia, surviving daughter of the fallen Troy. Ilia’s lilting, lyric lines are a perfect match for Bengochea, and I have never heard her sound more vibrant, particularly in Ilia’s third-act farewell to Idamante, “Zeffiretti lusinghieri.” She makes the most of her phrasing, notably in several beautifully shaped sustenatos, and sings with a relaxed optimism that matches Ilia’s resilient demeanor.
Which includes this:
I have been to most of Opera San Jose’s productions of the past couple of years, and the orchestra has never sounded better. Augmented in number and sounding crisp and swift under George Cleve’s efficient direction, the sound was full but never overbearing. It was a little strange to hear Mozart with a bigger orchestra than previous productions of Puccini and Verdi. There’s no turning back to smaller orchestras now! How puny would Verdi’s La Traviata (later this season) sound with only 3 or 4 strings per section after hearing 6-7 per section in Mozart? These orchestral reinforcements, along with the high-quality set design were only possible through the generosity the Packard Humanities Institute. I wholeheartedly join the San Jose Mercury and San Francisco Classical Voice’s praise for this production. Bravo to all, and good luck on the 2011-2012 season!
In truth our string numbers in all our other operas are 6 first violins, 6 second violins, 4 violas, 3 cellos and 2 basses, per our contract, but yes, there are 4 more firsts, 4 more seconds, 2 more violas and 1 more cello if I’ve counted correctly. I love the increased numbers, but it’s doubtful they’ll keep the orchestra that large due to the cost. I’m not sure how we’d fit all the strings in the pit when we add harp and more brass, either. (I can’t imagine that Mr. Packard would be footing the bill for every opera. That would be asking a bit much, don’t you think?)
But how grateful I am that Mr. Packard put this opera on. It’s great music. The production is outstanding, and it’s well worth attending … more than once! (And don’t tell me you can’t come to at least two; I’m going to eleven. Just a bit of patty humor there.) Reviews have been incredibly positive. Photos of the stage have blown me away. Thanks, Mr. Packard!
And thanks, Mr. Shomler for more fantastic photos!
