Sunsets, Stars, West, Wind
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_mio_babbino_caro
I heard this performed at the local district competition for the Met last Saturday. And again during thus week’s Downton Abbey.
Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon
First Wednesday rolled around again, faster than it seemed possible. I drove back to the plaza after work, barely stopping long enough to grab a quick bite to eat. I arrived with a half-hour to spare, waiting on my long-time friend, Marge, and her husband, Bill. I stayed in the lobby of Unity Temple until about ten minutes to seven, hoping to catch them as they arrived. I gave up and grabbed some seats about midway down the aisle. Marge and Bill arrived with just a couple minutes to spare.
The evening’s program featured the rich, velvet vocals of Lester “Duck” Warner, performing with Tim Whitmer & The Consort Band of Spirituality and All That Jazz.
Lester Warner, affectionately known as “Duck,” is a quiet, soft-spoken man who transforms himself into a spectacular entertainer when he takes the stage. His voice is a rich baritone with a beautiful full falsetto that has been compared to Nat “King” Cole. He is also a gifted instrumentalist who plays trumpet, flugelhorn and trombone. Duck has headlined Japan’s first International Jazz Festival, Kansas City’s Spirit Festival, and The Kansas City Blues and Jazz Festival. He was voted Kansas City’s Best Male Vocalist three years in a row. The International Trumpet Guild has recognized duck as a veteran of the revered “old school” associated with the special brand of Kansas City “Swing” music. Benny Powell, trombonist with the Count Basie Band, calls Duck a “premiere entertainer.”
Tim and the usual suspects took the stage and played a short set of jazz standard instrumentals.
- Autumn Leaves
- Cute … County Basey tune
- They’ll Never Be Another You
After those three songs, Tim introduced Duck Warner and the concert proceeded with only a couple of restarts.
- I’m in Love
- Witchcraft
- Georgia
- Almost Like Being in Love
- Everyday I Have the Blues
- My Romance
- Route 66
- L-O-V-E
After the last song, I finally had a chance to snatch a few minutes of conversation with Marge as we walked to the parking garage. We said our goodbyes and I hit the road for the return trip home (second time, no sunglasses necessary). I made it home by ten after nine o’clock and had trouble finding a place to park. Band practice was still going strong in the band room.
I uploaded the videos I took and went to bed and attempted to sleep, band practice not withstanding.
Tim Whitmer piano interlude:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtBrKtIwBNc?rel=0&w=853&h=480]
Everyday I Have the Blues:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JWXGo8K5ds?rel=0&w=853&h=480]
The Way You Look Tonight:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=py2dpD_GK6w?rel=0&w=853&h=480]
L-O-V-E
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNO9JDvvyws?rel=0&w=853&h=480]
Next month, on the first Wednesday, the day after my birthday, the featured vocalist is Diane ‘Mama’ Ray at Spirituality and All That Jazz. Come on down to the Plaza, sit a spell and savor some cool evening jazz. The best seven bucks you’ll ever spend.
My jazzy friend branched out to opera this month. She invited me to attend a lecture in the ‘At Ease with Opera‘ series sponsored by the Kansas City Lyric Opera Guild. I accepted her invitation, even though it meant driving back on a Monday evening to within sight (a couple of blocks) of where I had just spent eight or nine hours at work.
Monday, August 27 at 7:00 p.m. University of Kansas film professor John Tibbetts, a longtime classical music and opera enthusiast, will present “Backstage at the Opera: Opera at the Movies.” Tibbetts has made a study of operas as portrayed in film, and backstage scenes and opera intrigues as presented in movies. His presentation will feature excerpts from several such films, with commentary and discussion.
I attended a different lecture presented by the same man earlier in the year, prior to the release of John Carter, on Edgar Rice Burroughs. I did learn something new about him at his “Backstage at the Opera” lecture, specifically that he was previously a radio announcer on a former radio station (KXTR) in Kansas City. He also mentioned, somewhat in passing, one of his books entitled Composers in the Movies, where he “surveys different styles and periods from the Hollywood of the 1920s and 1930s to the international cinema of today, exploring the role that film biographies play in our understanding of history and culture.” I couldn’t find a copy available at a local public library, but both KU and UMKC have copies listed as available via WorldCat, which I could probably request via InterLibrary Loan. Not sure I’ll take this research that far at this point.
Tibbetts provided a few examples of operas popping up in films, including:
Tibbetts next played several excerpts from movies that featured backstage moments for various operas.
He began with several clips from The Life of Verdi, a twelve hour mini-series which originally aired in 1982. These scenes portrayed the power of Verdi’s compositions and how they were used in support of il Risorgimento (Italian Unification). Often the subtext of the opera emphasized the nationalist desire to get rid of their Austrian oppressors. The opera Atilla sparked the flame of national pride and caused a near revolution to start in Milan.
Tibbetts also showed us the sarcastic side of Verdi as he rebuts the censors changes to his Masked Ball libretto. And finally the obsession of Verdi later in life not only as a composer but as a director of his operas while rehearsing Otello.
Tibbetts put Verdi to rest and took us forward to the 20th century, the 1930s, and the fabulous baritone Lawrence Tibbett (no relation). He played two clips from the 1935 film Metropolitan (20th Century Fox’s first production following the merger of 20th Century Pictures and Fox Film Corp). The first, a scene featuring the song “On the Road to Mandalay” and the second of “De Glory Road,” a song Tibbett made his own during his legendary career.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSzXoVWjEbo?rel=0]
∞∞∞
http://youtu.be/VAd_enTLYUY\
Tibbetts’ grand finale to his “Backstage at the Opera” came from the movie Topsy Turvy, which he highly recommended both as a film and as a glimpse into all that goes into the making of a stage production. A period piece set at the original premiere of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Mikado in 1885. He selected scenes 27, 30 and 37 from the DVD. Those three scenes intrigued me and prompted quite a few laughs. I may be adding this DVD to my Netflix queue in the near future.
Not surprisingly, the Lyric Opera of Kansas City will end it’s 2012-13 season with the side-splitting comedic masterpiece Mikado next April.
He concluded his lecture with a plug for the October 15th installment called “What’s Opera, Doc?”
Monday, October 15 at 7:00 p.m. ~ “What’s Opera, Doc?” by Dr. Charles Gibbs, a local opera fan. Those of a certain age remember the classic 1950s opera take-off Warner Brothers cartoons featuring Bugs Bunny and similar characters. If you remember the cartoons you will enjoy this program, and if the cartoons are new to you then you are in for a real treat. Dr. Gibbs will show the cartoons, with introductions and commentary. See if you can spot all of the opera tunes and references!
I came home last night to a sweet surprise waiting on my dining room table from my wonderful husband: Beautiful roses, a thoughtful card and a gift card to my favorite local clothing store. I thought I’d share the flowers with friends and family here.
Since Terry hasn’t been feeling well the last few days, we relaxed around the house, watching an episode of Chopped All Stars we’d recorded on the DVR and a couple of last week’s Jeopardy episodes. We ended the evening playing nine holes of Frisbee golf via Wii Resort Sports. Just like we did last year when we played real miniature golf, we tied (one under par for both of us).
Tonight, provided Terry feels up to it, we will meet up with a couple for dinner and attend the annual KCKCC Jazz night at Spirituality and All That Jazz, hosted at Unity Temple on the Plaza.
Here’s more on tonight’s performance:
A full night of Jazz is in store by the Kansas City Kansas Community College Jazz Department, under the direction of Jim Mair. They will be showcasing their 17-piece Big Band Jazz Ensemble, and the 9-piece Latin Jazz Band. These groups have performed at the Montreaux, Switzerland Jazz Festival and are the first and only Community College Jazz group to perform at the New York City JVC Jazz Festival. They’ve also received invitations to play at the Puerto Vallarta, Hawaii and Morocco Jazz Festivals. They will also be featuring the chorales of the #1 Vocal Jazz Ensemble in the Kansas City Metropolitan area directed by John Stafford.
I whirled through Wednesday like the gusty winds whipping through the Midwest the past few days. The minute I dropped off my last rider, I rushed home, ran in the house, snatched some cash from Terry, switched van keys for car keys and flew back to the Plaza (where I had just spent eight or nine hours working). I spent less than five minutes in the house, only having time to pet Roxy and Apollo once each and peck Terry on the cheek (as I fleeced him out of a twenty dollar bill).
When Marge retired in late January, we agreed to reconnect on the first Wednesday of March. We met at the Eden Alley Cafe in the basement of the Unity Temple on the Plaza for dinner, immediately followed by the monthly ‘Spirituality and All That Jazz‘ concert hosted by Tim Whitmer. I touched base with Marge late on Tuesday to confirm and agreed to meet at a quarter to six. I should have said I’d be there by six, not before, as I barely made it back from Lansing in thirty minutes (a record for me actually).
We were seated almost immediately. I had to spend some time reviewing the menu, since it had been over two years (probably close to three years) since I’d last been to Eden Alley. I decided to try their veggie burger and for once I did NOT ask for anything to be left off (since cheese was not automatically part of the dish) with a side of Garlic Bread. Marge and Bill ordered the same dish, the Spinach and Mushroom Meatloaf. We snacked on various types of freshly baked breads, all of which tasted fabulous. Our food arrived quite quickly and I devoured the delicious veggie burger, but decided not to finish the garlic bread. I’ve had that side before and I should have remembered that I don’t care for the aoili. None of us had room for dessert so we paid our tabs, tipped the waitor and headed upstairs for the concert.
We soon learned that the scheduled special guest for the evening, vocalist Monique Danielle, would not be performing. Tim did not enlighten us until after the first set who had agreed to step in at the absolute last minute as a replacement.
The ‘usual suspects’ appeared on stage a few minutes past seven o’clock – Tim Whitmer at the piano, bassist James Albright, percussionist Jurgen Welge and saxophonist and flutist Jim Mair.
First set:
I heard some incredibly stunning soprano sax solos by Jim Mair during that first set. Just mind boggling.
During the brief pause between sets, Tim let the cat out of the bag with respect to Monique’s illness. He got quite a few laughs when he started soliciting the audience for vocal volunteers. After a few minutes, one woman came forward, answering the jazz altar call and blessed us with her voice – the incomparable Millie Edwards.
Second set (with very special guest Millie Edwards):
I love listening to Millie sing. And, surprising to me anyway, her vocal range matches my own voice almost perfectly. I had to really resist the urge to start singing along with her, since I so rarely get the chance to sing in that range (I am no soprano and never want to be one). Her last two songs were just plain fun.
Between songs, Millie shared with us the story of how Tim wrangled her into performing last night. That afternoon she had received an e-mail from Tim with the subject ‘Favor’ and soon discovered the nature of the favor Tim asked of her. Her students became the real beneficiaries as she had to postpone grading papers and a pop-quiz the next day. Millie imparted to Tim the heartfelt gratitude of her students for sparing them from the test gauntlet, at least for a day.
After the concert, I said goodbye to Marge and Bill and headed back home (for the second time in that day). I flipped through my radio presets and caught the last song of the classic music program on KANU – one I actually recognized – a piano arrangement of ‘Pictures at an Exhibition.’ As I exited I-70 and headed north on K-7/US-73, I caught the beginning of Piano Jazz on KPR.
I attempted to call my daughter but as usually happens, I got her voice-mail. So for the second time that day, I called her boyfriend, Nic, who promptly answered his phone (as he always does). We exchanged pleasantries and I asked if he happened to be near my daughter. Unfortunately, she was at a rehearsal (which explained why she didn’t answer her phone). Nic realized Rachelle had forgotten to tell me she finally got a church gig. She is now an Alto II section lead in the Chancel Choir at First UMC of Plano. I think I need to take an extra trip to North Texas next month for Easter services.
I had a great time catching up with Marge (and Bill) and listening to lovely live jazz music in a relaxed and smoke-free environment. Marge and I agreed to return for the May concert which features the KCKCC jazz ensembles (of which my daughter is an alum). I look forward to seeing how the jazz program at KCKCC has progressed in the three years since Rachelle graduated.
Google celebrates Leap Year, ‘Barber of Seville’.
Happy Leap Day!
And it’s also hump day. Halfway to the weekend.
Oh, and I almost forgot. My wonderful husband reminded me that I get to work one extra day this month without any extra pay. Isn’t he adorable? Sheesh! As if I needed a reminder of the joys of being salaried.
I gave up on seeing Mercury (again) as I drove home under ominous low hanging clouds and a fierce northwest wind. I parked the van and entered my home, apologizing to Roxy for not being able to take her on a walk. I caught Terry dicing tomatoes for bruschetta in the kitchen, so I retreated to the great room to get my exercising done before dinner. Roxy and Apollo got a special treat for their dinner. I had to crack open a couple of cans of Pedigree beef stew for them since the large fifty pound bag of dry dog food was nearly empty. They didn’t seem to mind though.
After dinner, we still had over an hour before my daughter’s concert started. I had already redeployed my Linux (Kubuntu distro) and integrated it with the AV receiver, Internet and plasma display. I tested the sound and video quality before letting it apply any security updates and patches it needed since last I turned it on. I flipped the receiver back to the DVR so we could watch the latest NCIS before the concert.
Earlier in the day, I printed out a couple of copies of the program for Handel’s Theodora. Twenty pages long! It took me a couple of printings before I finally got the right mixture of duplex printer settings to product an actual booklet. I kept the program beside me (with a pen) to make notes during the performance. I also found a news article from the local Denton newspaper and a blog post from the Dallas Opera about the performance.
At 7:25, I flipped the receiver back to the computer and made sure the screen saver had sufficient time to not engage for the next hour or two. Then we waited. And waited. And waited some more. As is par for the course at UNT, the performance started about fifteen minutes past the advertised and scheduled time.
I was pleasantly surprised to hear the oratorio sung in English. The reason I go to the trouble to print the programs is most often they are my only lifeline to understanding the text and usually include the original language text and an English translation. Thankfully, all that was needed was one language for Theodora.
During Act I, I made special note of several Airs performed by Jeffrey Snider (as Valens) and Richard Croft (as Septimius). I encourage you to review their biographies in the program. I can appreciate the skill and versatility of the countertenor, Ryland Angel (as Didymus), but I just can’t sit easy listening to him. Theodora (performed by Ava Pine) had some of the most beautiful poetic lines in her airs. Jennifer Lane (as Irene) showed off her range and talents impressively.
The second act included a couple of symphonic interludes bracketing a recitative and air by Theodora which featured mellow soulful melodies sung by wooden flutes. While not specifically featured in a solo, another quest artist, Richard Savino, and his strange looking large chitarrone could easily be seen in the center of the Baroque Orchestra next to the two harpsichords. In fact, I received an e-mail from my uncle asking me what kind of instrument it was and I directed him to the program, specifically the page listing the instruments and their performers.
The highlight of the second act culminated in the final chorus, favored by Handel even above his vaunted Hallelujah chorus (from theMessiah).
He saw the lovely youth, death’s early prey,
Alas, too early snatch’d away!
He heard his mother’s fun’ral cries.“Rise, youth,” He said. The youth begins to rise.
Lowly the matron bow’d, and bore away the prize.
By this time, the clock struck a quarter ’til ten. Way past my bedtime and Terry had already succumbed to slumber. I hung on through the final intermission and the hopefully briefer third act.
Valens and Septimius both had astonishing airs, but the final duet between Didymus and Theodora contained some of the most glorious poetry written by the librettist Thomas Morell (for the complete Theodora libretto, follow this link. The final chorus to the third act ended about twenty minutes before eleven o’clock. While not as stunning as the previous act’s ending chorus, the words imparted the longed for hope of the tragic figures of Theodora and Didymus:
O love divine, thou source of fame,
Of glory, and all joy!
Let equal fire our souls inflame,
And equal zeal employ,
That we the glorious spring may know,
Whose streams appear’d so bright below.
I shutdown the computer, turned off the receiver and plasma and trudged upstairs to bed, leaving the dogs and the husband to fend for themselves.
While not a featured soloist in the production, Rachelle participated as a member of the Collegium Singers during the impressive performance of Handel’s Theodora. She gets to repeat this performance again this evening in Dallas at the AT&T Performing Arts Center.
Handel’s TheodoraGraeme Jenkins, guest conductor
Ava Pine, Theodora; Ryland Angel, Didymus; Richard Croft, Septimius; Jeffrey Snider, Valens; Jennifer Lane, Irene
UNT Baroque Orchestra–Paul Leenhouts, director
Collegium Singers–Richard Sparks, director
A Cappella Choir–Jerry McCoy, director
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. Central
Watch live online at http://recording.music.unt.edu/live
My daughter, Rachelle Moss, a mezzo soprano, performs as a member of the Collegium Singers.
Theodora is an oratorio concerning the Christian martyr Theodora and her Christian-converted Roman lover, Didymus. It is a tragedy, ending in the death of the heroine and her converted lover. The music is much more direct than Handel’s earlier works, transcending the mediocrity of the libretto (which was true for several of his works) so that the characters and the drama are well-defined. Theodora was actually Handel’s favorite of his oratorios. The composer himself ranked the final chorus of Act II, “He saw the lovely youth,” “far beyond” “Hallelujah” in Messiah.
I missed this status update from the Lyric Opera last week (posted on their Facebook page on Friday, January 6, 2012 at 4:00 pm):
Please join the Lyric Opera of Kansas City to celebrate 20 years of educational programming this Sunday, January 8th at 2PM at Rockhurst High School. We are honoring those that have made our programming a success. All are welcome to attend this presentation and reception.
I also missed a similar Tweet sent out by them sent out at about the same time. So, Sunday afternoon, as Terry and I prepared to make home-made Chicken Pot Pie (first attempted successfully back in March 2011), my daughter woke up, read her e-mail and promptly rescheduled my entire Sunday afternoon.
And if I had paid attention to the Kansas City Star, I might have caught the article they published Saturday about both the Giver and the 20 year celebration.
Obviously, my performing arts radar malfunctioned this past week.
While Rachelle scrambled to find something appropriate to wear for performing (slim pickings since most of her clothes are back at her home-away-from-home in Denton, Texas), Terry and I got the first stage of the chicken pot pie completed and stored the results in the refrigerator until our return from the celebration. Rachelle and I traveled to Rockhurst High School (my first time to visit this facility) and spent a pleasant afternoon. Rachelle joined current Lyric Opera Camp attendees and alumni (she is both an alumnus and a past counselor for the camp) on stage to sing a song they all learn during camp.
After refreshments were served, Rachelle also had an opportunity to perform a piece from Così fan tutte. She spent a few minutes (before and after her performance) providing an update to the staff and students on what she’s been doing the last couple of years at UNT. If Rachelle wasn’t returning to Texas this Thursday, she and I would probably attend the world premiere of The Giver opera this Saturday at 2:00 pm.
We returned home and finished crafting our Chicken Pot Pies. We popped them in the oven and enjoyed them for a late supper. A good thing that recipe is very filling, as supper was the only meal either of us (Rachelle or I) ate Sunday.