Mikah Meyer, Pierre-André Doucet and I (collectively, M-PAKT) are very proud to present our educational lecture-recital, "Dr. Mezzo & Mr. High" for the first time ever, at the Bethany Lutheran Church on November 17, 2013 in Crystal Lake, Illinois.
Here's our teaser-trailer:
Musikverein, Schloss Stainz, and Salzburg Festspiele
As a member of the Arnold Schönberg Chor I've had the opportunity to sing in some amazing Austrian venues, including the Musikverein in Vienna, Schloss Stainz, and the Grosses Festspielhaus in Salzburg. We sang Haydn's "Die Schöpfung" (The Creation) at the Musikverein and in Salzburg as the opening concert for the Salzburger Festspiele. We also did Haydn's Nelson Mass at Schloss Stainz, under the baton of Nikolaus Harnoncourt, whose mother actually grew up in the Palace, as Austrian aristocracy.
The Musikverein from the stage. Scene of the famous Wiener Philharmoniker New Year's Concert.
Newspaper clipping of the choir in the Pfarrkirche Schloss Stainz, after the Nelson Mass. Can you see me in the back row?
In the grounds of the Schloss Stainz, on break from Nelson Mass rehearsal.
The Grosses Festspielhaus from the stage, during rehearsal for "Die Schöpfung" at the Salzburger Festspiele.
Walk to work in Salzburg. Not bad!
Barbe-Bleue
I just love the poster for our recent production of Ritter Blaubart (Barbe-Bleue) by Offenbach at the Styriarte Festival in Graz. What an honour to sing a solo under the baton of the great Nikolaus Harnoncourt. As well as being a member of the chorus, I also had a small role - Eleonore (one of Bluebeard's dead wives). I emerged from a coffin and sang a stanza in a hungarian-flavoured quintet.
Here's a picture of me in the background, dressed as a french peasant, on the knee of my soldier beau during the galop.
Highlights from our Klassenabend
Bolcom Cabaret Songs:
George
Toothbrush Time
Amor
excerpt from La Voix Humaine by Poulenc
this recoding is from our dress rehearsal
Berg with Cheryl and Julius
This spring I've been lucky to collaborate with my friend Cheryl Emery, who is a Canadian pianist I met at the Opera NUOVA program in 2011. She's studying in Graz this year with the world-renowned collaborative pianist Julius Drake, and I very fortunate to have the chance to coach with them both. Cheryl and I been travelling back and forth between Vienna and Graz, preparing Brahms' Zigeunerlieder and Berg's Sieben Frühe Lieder for Mr. Drake. Here are recordings of some of the Sieben Frühe Lieder, which we recently performed at Mr. Drake's Klassenabend at the Kunst Uni Graz.
Schilflied
Die Nachtigall
Sommertage
Cheryl and I on top of the Schlossberg during one of my visits to Graz :)
Performers at Julius Drake's Klassenabend
Liz comes to visit
Business at Hotel Humphries is booming! Liz was able to come down from England for a couple of days to see Anna Netrebko's role debut as Tatiana in Eugene Onegin at the Staatsoper. Boy, was the 4-hour wait for standing room tickets ever worth it! Especially when Liz got a picture with Anna after the show! We also saw Boheme at the Staatsoper with Piotr Bezala, and Liz came to our opening night performance of Béatrice et Bénédict. Here's a picture of us at the Opening Night party with the stars of the show, Malena Ernman and Bernard Richter.
Béatrice et Bénédict
I'm thrilled to be performing in the chorus of Béatrice et Bénédict by Berlioz at the Theater an der Wien. Berlioz's music is simply stunning, and the story is a charming excerpt from "Much ado about Nothing" by Shakespeare. One of the biggest thrills for me is sharing the stage with Malena Ernman, our dynamic and hilarious Béatrice. I feel so lucky to be able to stand backstage and listen to her aria "Dieu! Que viens-je d'entendre....Il m'en souvient". Another thrill is the costumes. Think "belle-époque" era. Here's a picture of the party scene. You can sort of see me behind Somarone's right hand. I'm wearing pink :)
Highlights from the production:
Dad comes to visit!
One of the great things about Europe is how easy it is to get around! My dad was recently in Amsterdam on business, and he was able to pop up to England to visit my sister, and then pop down to Vienna to visit me! We had a great time over the Easter week-end (despite the snow!), did some sight-seeing, and hosted an Easter brunch. He was even able to attend our closing night performance of Fidelio. It was Dad's first time in Vienna, and I really enjoyed getting to show him around. Here's a picture of us in front of the Esterhazy Palace in Eisenstadt. (Taken after our unexpected sojourn into Hungary...)
Fidelio
I recently had the great pleasure of performing in the chorus of "Fidelio" at the Theater an der Wien, the very same theatre where it was premiered 199 years ago, and where Beethoven actually lived for a time. The great Nikolaus Harnoncourt was conducting, and I was honoured to share the stage with such stars as Michael Schade, Juliane Banse and Anna Prohaska. O, welche Lust!
Check me out at 4:44!
Jamming at the Hofburg
"Jamming" doesn't really exist in the classical music world. So it's a thrill when I get the chance to spontaneously collaborate with complete strangers: no fear, no expectations, no pressure - just fun.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the Rudolfina-Redoute, a traditional masked ball, accompanied by a couple of fellow musician friends. We coincidentally reserved a table in a room where there was a jazz quartet playing. During one of their set breaks we struck up a conversation with the drummer, and he suggested that I do a song with the group. So after consulting with the pianist, we decided on "Somewhere over the rainbow". Here's how it turned out:
Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the Rudolfina-Redoute, a traditional masked ball, accompanied by a couple of fellow musician friends. We coincidentally reserved a table in a room where there was a jazz quartet playing. During one of their set breaks we struck up a conversation with the drummer, and he suggested that I do a song with the group. So after consulting with the pianist, we decided on "Somewhere over the rainbow". Here's how it turned out:
Just an observation....
Disclaimer: Generalizations and (perhaps pretentious) philosophizing to follow.
European musician: Do you speak Spanish?
Me: Not a word.
European musician:
So why are you doing this Spanish song masterclass?
Me: Because I’m curious about Spanish music and I want to
learn?!?! (Baffled, thinking to
myself “Is it so strange that I want to learn about Spanish music even though I
don’t speak Spanish?)
This question really caught me off-guard, as did the context
of the situation: I was the only participant in this masterclass who didn’t
speak Spanish. Back home it’s
totally normal for singers to intensively study repertoire in a language they
don’t speak. I think this is
partly due to the fact that North American anglophones generally don’t speak other
languages (study yes, but don’t speak), but also because North Americans value
a broad musical education. Do
Europeans consider it inauthentic to perform song repertoire in a language they
don’t speak, or are they not interested, or are they just too busy paying homage to their own country's musical legacy? I'll let you know when I find out.
Canción Española Wien
I'm very excited to be performing in a concert of Spanish vocal music accompanied by piano and guitar, as part of the Canción Española Wien Spanish Music Festival. The concert is on Friday February 8 at 18.30 in the Anton Dermota Saal at the Konservatorium at Johannesgasse 4, 1010 Wien. Bienvenidos a todos!
Here's "Llámale con el pañuelo" from Guridi's Seis canciones castellanas, which I will be performing at the final concert.
Wave to him with your scarf, receive him with honor and pride.
Toss your rosette over the side of his shoulder.
Tease him, entice him.
Torero, cast your cloak, fling your cape:
Do not let the bull seize you, do not let the bull catch you
Young men, if you go to the bulls do not take a cape to harass them,
because the bulls are very brave and many Toreros
get killed by them.
Marcellina and Susanna duke it out
Mozart at his cattiest! Here's a clip from one of our Piano Dress Rehearsals :)
Figaro!
I am very excited to be performing in Mozart's most beloved opera "Le Nozze di Figaro" on Tuesday January 29 and Wednesday January 30 at 19.00 at the historic Schlosstheater Schönbrunn. I am playing the comic role of Marcellina, Figaro's would-be-lover, turned mother! Stage direction by Michael Temme, Musical direction by Peter Marschik, and featuring the Sinfonietta Baden. Tickets are available atwww.oeticket.com, as well as at the Abendkassa. Hope to see you there!
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