Texas Cold’ em

During the January ice storm in Texas, while working for the Austin Lyric Opera, I spent three days stuck in my hotel room as the ice relentlessly pelted the state capitol. Rehearsals had been cancelled- everything had been cancelled. As soon as roads were opened and the weather had cleared, I took to the road in my rental car and cruised the city just for the fun of moving and enjoying the colorful town. My sense of unbridled freedom soared as I cranked up Paul Simon’s 50 Ways to Leave your Lover on the radio. As I sang along with every cool rhyme and rhythm, I started to think about escaping, leaving, changing venues, fleeing situations of danger or oppression, escaping into other states of minds, the lure of new places, ideas, and lovers, this universal compulsion to unleash the imagination in dreams…and the theme of this evening’s program came alive as Jack slipped out the back, and Ryan and I were on the phone just as Gus hopped on the bus…

Road-Trip!

When we get excited about the possibilities in a program, our happiest problem is that there is always so much amazing material to discover, and so much we want to include. As the program was born on the road, we let the road inspire the concert structure into a metaphorical “road-trip of life.” And each section addresses themes related to escape in many different manifestations.

The Vaughan Williams song to the poem of Robert Louis Stevenson sets the tone for the journey into the unknown with the bold insistence, “All I seek the heaven above, and the road below me.” The lure of the exotic is powerfully invoked in the Ravel, Schumann and the folk tune about one woman’s obsession for the Gipsy Davy. In ending the first half, disappointment and disillusionment, and the fleeing an undesirable or dangerous situation are frankly addressed in Weill’s Je ne t’aime pas and Mercer’s excerpt of action and triumph from St. Louis Woman. Following the aftermath of Sleep Peaceful we are lulled by Britten’s use of Puck’s incantation for serene sleep and a harmonious resolution upon waking… “Jack shall have Jill, naught shall go ill, the man shall have his mare again, and all shall be well.”

We begin the second part with several odes to rest and resignation, ending the set with a languorous selection from Larsen’s Cowboy Songs. Continuing with songs of Fauré and Schumann, which touch on nostalgia and dreams that might have been, Nick Drake’s Time of No Reply poses a plaintive questioning of life’s meaning and unanswered questions. The last several songs metaphorically and literally contemplate the afterlife, creating a dialog between the eerie Dickinson poem and the contrasting tones of the Vaughan Williams and Wolf songs. Finally we end with a practical endorsement of alternative afterlife accommodations courtesy of Berlin’s Pack up Your Sins.

The composers and poets whose songs we have selected for “The Great Escape” all spoke to us on levels often moving, sometimes humorous, and always profound- we hope you will find moments of the same on this splendid ride, and will sit back and enjoy “The Great Escape!” - A.Z.

Q: What? A: An original, entertaining and educational program of music, literature/poetry, and art which honors the recent, unprecedented gift of many millions of dollars-worth of modern art to the Dallas Museum of Art. The exhibition of this work, expertly culled from thousands of individual pieces is entitled Fast Forward. Our program should reflect the spirit of this exhibition and pay tribute to the incredible depth and variety of artists represented in this collection. (more on this question in a moment!)

Q: Where? A: Horchow Auditorium, in the Dallas Museum of Art, downtown Dallas, Texas.

Q: When? A: Saturday, March 31st, 2007 at 7:30pm

Q: Why? A: To continue our annual collaboration with the museum, and further develop our audience and recognition in Dallas.

Q: How? A: By maximizing the combined financial, administrative, and artistic forces of A&LL and SEFoS.

You may notice that the only question not assigned a “general” answer by the Dallas Museum of Art is “Who?”. Prior to “generation m” we have been fortunate in our first three presentations in Dallas to have featured three pianists and seven vocalists (not to mention four superb actors) who have each performed brilliantly, embracing this unique performance opportunity, and dazzling some portion of the Arts & Letters Live audience. As a result, we have developed a well-respected trust with our producing partners at the Museum, and the reward is our autonomous control over which artists will be invited to participate on our programs in Dallas. Many contributing factors are evaluated before we are able to clarify final casting decisions: artist availability, repertoire, individual skills which make certain artists more or less appropriate for a given project, fee structure, etc. This year, we were fortunate that after Final Jeopardy, the “Who?” included Courtenay Budd, Jeffrey Picón, and Kathleen Kelly. All of these artists were making their debut with SEFoS in this program and rather fearlessly rewarded our audience last Saturday night with one special moment after another – the administration at Arts & Letters Live, as well as Adriana and I were incredibly grateful to each of them and were collectively moved by their contributions.

Now… allow me to return to the question, “What?”. Arts and Letters Live is primarily a literature series, featuring authors and actors, and a variety of other talented entertainers whose programs delve into the written and spoken word. Our collaboration began four seasons ago when Carolyn asked us if we could devise a musical program which would incorporate not only musical selections, but weave in visual imagery from the Dallas Museum’s permanent collection of art, and excerpts from literature and poetry whenever appropriate. This was a prospect that excited us tremendously. It was also an opportunity to stretch our artistic wings, and create something for which we had no model, and were bound only by our imagination and budget restrictions. Adriana wisely began to use the term ‘resonance’ to describe the pairings of art, literature, and music which would serve as the springboard for these programs, and from that moment on, little by little, the seed took root and grew! Until this past weekend, we had offered three completely unique programs, “ARTsong: a voyage with the muses”, “Secrets of the Sky and Sea”, and “Shakespeare Unplugged.” Our core audience has grown each year, and we have developed a small but loyal following. Of our three previous performances, Adriana took the lead in creating the “ARTsong” program. “Sky and Sea” developed from a recital program that I had offered in Maine the previous summer. Together, Adriana and I collaborated in every sense of the word to produce “Shakespeare Unplugged.” To date, the Shakespeare program was our most ambitious artistic undertaking in any venue. We were now not only responsible for a quintet of musical artists, but for designing a program including four well-respected actors from Shakespeare Dallas under the artistic direction of Raphael Parry. Oh, and not to forget the images (as always) from the Museum’s current collections.

Initial discussions took place last fall regarding the possibility of a musical program inspired by the Fast Forward exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art. Immediately, Adriana’s hand shot up from the front row, waving wildly while her eyes pleaded “Pick me! Pick me!” Now, “generation m” was hers…

The normal cycle of program development necessitates revision and refinement. By the time I got a peek at what Adriana had planned for the musical underpinning of “generation m”, most of that work was finished. She had thrown herself into the project headlong, visiting European collections of art while on an audition tour in the fall, and researched artists, techniques, and thematic elements of their work for countless hours on the internet. She rapidly developed an innate sense of which composers and genres of music perfectly resonated with the artists whose work was featured in Fast Forward, and deftly wove the pairings into what would be a beautiful evening of art immersion.

Into the mix, the museum offered the idea of commissioning a new song to commemorate the evening. After reviewing several options, Adriana and I asked noted composer Robert Beaser if he might have time to create something to premiere during the performance. I met with Robert during the holiday season, and he introduced me to the works of Poet Daniel Mark Epstein, some of whose work he had previously set to music. I was quite taken with his words, and knew that if he agreed to let one of his poems to be scored, it would make for a powerful addition to the program. The resulting “Vision at Dawn” that he composed for our vocal quartet and piano is stunning, and was a perfect conclusion the first half of “generation m.”

Frequently, SEFoS has taken to incorporating elements into our programming outside of what is expected by our audiences or producing partners. Adriana keenly realized that some of the repertoire she was planning would be realized more fully with the addition of a few skilled musicians on percussion. Through some strange miracle of good fortune, the museum had a contact at Southern Methodist University, and suggested that we invite the SMU Percussion Ensemble to join us for the event. Just for the sake of tallying, Adriana at this juncture had now committed us to present four singers, a pianist, five percussionists, a new composition (with composer and lyricist in attendance), five poets, and about 100 images of art from Fast Forward. In the great state of Texas, she had essentially planned a classical hoedown. On the daily rehearsal schedule, I tend to give an acronym to just about everything. The Dallas Museum of Art becomes “DMA” on the schedule. The Horchow Auditorium is called “HCH”. The percussion ensemble was given the acronym “SMUP”. One could (and some did) make a case for the group to be called “SMUPE” to incorporate the word “ensemble” at the end of the acronym, but I was too tired to type five letters on the day I devised the master schedule. Nevertheless, SMUP was amazing. Aaron, Ben, Jenny, Michael, and Scott were thoroughly prepared, expertly intuitive, with their talent and personalities adding so much to this program, and the rehearsal process. Our encore piece, entitled “(nothing but) flowers” called for the singers to call out an exhuberant “Hey!” as we rounded third base toward the final refrain. Spontaneously, we found that it was infinitely more appropriate to replace “Hey!” with an ebullient, “SMUP!” At first I’m not sure how SMUP liked their new moniker, but I think when they discovered how we revered their talent they warmed to the idea. To say that the addition of these five percussionists was anything less than “SMUPtastic” or “SMUPrageous” would be inconceivable.

Finally, Adriana was asked to schedule an opportunity for the five newly commissioned poems to be read aloud during the course of our program. The poets were all Texas-based authors, and were asked to write in response to a visit to Fast Forward. Some of the poems came in quite late in the process, but Adriana was easily able to fold them into the extravaganza adding to the concert’s poignancy, honoring each poet’s voice, and without the slightest wrinkle in the momentum of the evening.

Answers to many questions about “generation m” fell into place as the program evolved once all of our artists arrived and began living with this music and art, in this space, and with one another. However, just days before the performance, a reporter for the Dallas Morning News asked the following questions in the newspaper: “Is there such a thing as music that will stand up to the Fast Forward exhibition at the Dallas Museum of Art? How can music compete with such visual virtuosos as Jackson Pollock, Joseph Beuys and Kiki Smith?” At this point in the process, I think we all felt uniquely qualified to answer this question, but knew that it was not our place to do so (at least out loud). The performance of “generation m” went splendidly on Saturday night, and there were several moments which affected me deeply. Sunday morning, on a whim, I picked up a copy of the Dallas Morning News and tentatively searched to see if the reporter had been able to respond to his own prior inquiry. I found the review, and was pleased with the first sentence, “Words, music and images had quite a lively conversation Saturday evening at the Dallas Museum of Art.” Even better, he went on to specifically reference Adriana’s gift to the audience on Saturday night by acknowledging her incredible instinct and insight. “Whoever dreamed up the juxtapositions did an amazing job. Paintings, sculptures and mixed-media works had witty, evocative things to say about the songs, and vice versa.”

Asked and Answered.

–RT

Last summer, we began by selecting the opera presentation for the Criterion Theatre - Mozart’s comedic masterpiece, Così fan tutte. Once that decision had been made, we selected two free-standing recitals that simultaneously supported the major themes found in the opera: “Gentlemen of Leisure” and “Girls Gone Bad.”

Planning for the 2007 summer season also began with the search for the right opera. This will be our third season to present opera in the beautiful Criterion Theatre in downtown Bar Harbor. Our first season we happily gave in to the desire to produce Puccini’s masterpiece, La Bohéme. After one drama and one comedy under our belt, it seemed almost inevitable that we should select another popular musical drama for the intimate setting of the Criterion. I’m pleased that we settled on Verdi’s masterpiece, La Traviata, featuring soprano Angela Gilbert in the title role of the beautiful courtesan, Violetta Valery. Angela is quickly gaining an international reputation for her remarkable portrayal of Lucia di Lammermoor (San Diego Opera, Kentucky Opera, Connecticut Grand Opera, and the Anna Livia International Opera Festival in Dublin) and has previously sung the role of Violetta with her native Cape Town Opera in South Africa. Tenor Scott Scully and mezzo-soprano Fenlon Lamb, both alums of the 2006 summer season return, along with two other debut artists, stage director Chuck Hudson and music director Jerome Tan.

Irish dramatist Oscar Wilde once said, “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” This particular “chicken or egg” debate fuels the thematic exploration of our three presentations in Bar Harbor this summer. So… when does life imitate art, and when does art imitate life? There is plenty of evidence to support both sides of this substantive debate… but there are also other sides of the equation to consider as well, such as when does art imitate art? Most devotees of La Traviata are aware that the romantic novel La dame aux camélias by Alexandre Dumas has served as inspiration for not only Guiseppe Verdi, but for countless other adaptations in literature, film, and theatre around the globe. In this case, art has imitated art several times over… and I expect it will continue to do so.

During the course of the opera, a beautiful courtesan rebukes her own mortality, and gives herself over to life’s many pleasures. However, when a young man offers her his heart and soul, she realizes the emptiness of her world, and pursues a romantic relationship that leads to tragedy. During this emotional journey, Violetta finds herself at a crossroads more than once, making heartbreaking decisions that lead to her ultimate demise. In honor of this courageous heroine, Fenlon Lamb and Jerome Tan perform “Women on the Verge” as the first vocal recital of the season. The program tangos through a tantalizing tribute to women at their tumultuous turning points… falling in love, getting married, and stirring up a little trouble in the kitchen.

Finally, I’m joined by Scott Scully and Jerome Tan for a program entitled “Songs of Stage and Screen”, to honor the myriad of music’s muses that were created and adapted specifically to be experienced through the art of film or theatre… and in some cases, both!

–RT

We are also in the final stretch of planning for our 07-08 season. Completing the puzzle of the coming SEFoS season is daunting as it continues to expand in scope (not only artistically but geographically as well), and it is a challenge to set the remaining pieces in place. The culmination of these efforts, however, will result in our most adventurous year thus far, with an eclectic mix of venues, artists and programs.

Our cast of four remarkable vocalists arrives in Atlanta this Wednesday evening to begin rehearsals for this weekend’s performances of Rossini’s Petit Messe Solennelle, with the Michael O’Neal singers. Those who quickly (and rightfully) associate endless roulades and vocal acrobatics with the trio of Rossini operas that frequent operatic stages (Il Barbiere di Siviglia, La Cenerentola, L’Italiana in Algeri) will be pleasantly surprised by what they will hear next Sunday and Monday evening, first in Roswell and then in Buckhead. The Little Solemn Mass was the composer’s final contribution to his astonishing musical legacy, and serves as a testament to his exceptional understanding of beauty in melody. From the haunting initial choral “Kyrie” and the vibrant “Domine Deus”, to the passionate, powerful “Agnus Dei”, this work is a triumphant achievement.

–RT

We are in the thick of our 06/07 season. Our first residency at Emory University this past September proved to be an overwhelming success, due in large part to the deeply personal contributions of not only the brilliant cast of artists we were fortunate to engage, but also the faculty and staff who facilitated our performance and work on campus. After Emory, we proudly presented our first solo recital in Atlanta in cooperation with Trinity Presbyterian Church, setting the course for an important artistic expansion for SEFoS.

In a short two weeks’ time, SEFoS will present Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle with the Michael O’Neal Singers. Two weeks after that, we present our fourth collaboration with the Dallas Museum of Art, “generation m”. This project has proven to be our most adventurous and challenging to date, and I think we have assembled just the right cast to sufficiently “wow” our loyal audience in Dallas. Much credit is due to Carolyn Bess, our producing partner with the museum’s Arts & Letters Live series for being able to offer us another wonderful performance opportunity, and for coordinating a world-premiere commission by renowned composer Robert Beaser, a dynamic percussion ensemble, and a few extra surprises as well.

At the same time, big plans are underway for our future projects. This March we will announce our summer collaborations in Bar Harbor, and in May, we will release the details of our exciting 07/08 season, which promises to be bigger and better than ever, with more new artists, artistic partnerships, venues, and musical milestones than ever before!

–RT