New Chair for The Barber
No apologies for returning to the topic of “Live From the Met” at Tinseltown. A performance there on Saturday, March 24, at 1:30 p.m. promises to be a highlight of this or any month — a live relay of Rossini’s very tuneful Barber of Seville. It stars Juan Diego Florez, widely regarded as “the next hot thing” in the ongoing search for successors to the “Three Tenors.” Having now experienced a couple of these marvelously innovative events, I urge you to book tickets at Tinseltown now. Someone said it was as good as going to the Met; it’s not — it is very much better.
The visual direction is superb, with some cameras tracking along the orchestra rail during big ensembles, others mounted backstage for fascinating “singer’s eye” glimpses of the auditorium and more close-ups than even the most demanding opera fan could want. Indeed, if the direction is a bit over-busy at times and the intermission features a touch over-cute, these are small prices to pay for crystal-clear images and wonderful sound. Ah, the sound! New Yorkers tell you the Met has fabulous acoustics — but they lie. It is too big at 4,001 seats for anything other than can belto, as singers strive to be heard over the huge orchestra in a vast hall. The digital sound at Tinseltown ensures that the quality of vocal and especially instrumental detail is brilliantly conveyed. Yes, but it’s not like being in a real-live audience experience. Wrong again! Every opera fan in Louisville was there for a sold-out The Magic Flute, chattering eagerly about the experience, and so were many curiosity-seekers.
If I recomm/files/storyimages/The Barber of Seville on the strength of the tenor you will no doubt hear a distant whirring sound in the background: that of Rossini revolving in his grave. He disliked tenors, and when one had the temerity to sing a high C full-voiced (as opposed to falsetto, as was then the fashion), he said it reminded him of a strangled capon. He was wrong; that high C established the pre-eminence of the tenor in the opera house, which brings us back to the Peruvian, Mr. Florez. He is a handsome dude, can act (sort of) and can sing the high, florid music that is Rossini’s greatest gift to opera. Well worth the $18 a ticket.
Violin Virtuoso
Violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg appears with the Louisville Orchestra March 15 and 16 at the Kentucky Center’s Whitney Hall.
If the Met broadcasts have given you a taste for overwhelming star power, then you need to att/files/storyimages/either the Louisville Orchestra’s Brown-Forman Coffee Classic on Thursday, March 15, at 10.30 a.m., or the next evening’s Hilliard Lyons Classics at 8 p.m., both at the Whitney Hall. The star in question is Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, who is widely thought of as among the greatest violinists now playing. The fact that she is also immensely glamorous helps, and before anyone jumps up and claims that PR hype and an air of exotic glamour have no part to play in serious music-making, let’s remember that many of the great virtuosi of the past were matinee idols who used looks and charisma to advance their careers. Her program is a skillful balance of Bach’s exquisitely beautiful E Major Concerto and a local premiere of the Violin Concerto by Clarice Assad, a Brazilian singer, jazz musician and composer. The concert opens with the Homage to Lorca of Silvestre Revueltas, a Mexican composer who died fashionably young in 1940 and whose reputation is only now being established outside his native Mexico. It ends with Brahms’ First Symphony, replacing the previously announced Second Symphony. I wonder why, unless it is to add a better-known work to the mix; the First Symphony certainly contains the more glorious outpouring of late-Romantic melody. Call 584-7777 for tickets.
In the Studio
Being up-close with creative artists is a special thrill. You can get it at the cozy Victor Jory Theatre at Actors or at a studio run-through of an upcoming show, if you are lucky enough to be invited. One surefire way to experience this intense involvement is at the Louisville Ballet’s Choreographers’ Showcase, March 9 and 10 at 8 p.m. This annual event features new, short works by members of the ballet company and takes place in one of my favorite buildings: the Louisville Ballet’s intimate studio space at 315 E. Main St. There are 11 young choreographers presenting works in a wide range of dance styles and with widely varied musical choices, ranging from Bach and Vivaldi through Chopin to contemporary works. One music choice is especially interesting: Dancer Helen Daigle has choreographed to her brother Joseph’s a cappella choral work for eight voices. It’s a good idea to book in advance, as space is limited and, at $15 per ticket, likely to sell out. Call 58-DANCE.
Final Thought
Building on last month’s thought that the Kentucky Opera’s next season will be a short, compacted semi-festival running from late September to November — and noting that the live relays from the Met start in January (and seem likely to
continue, as they are sell-outs in movie-theater venues throughout the world) — we face the marvelous prospect of an opera season, live and virtual, running for as many as eight months of the year. A true marriage of high art and high tech.
CUTLINE
