New Jersey Symphony – Rune Bergmann, conductor; Marianne Beate Kielland, mezzo-soprano. February 24, 2018.

State Theatre New Jersey, New Brunswick.  Rear Orchestra (Seat S101, $33.)

Program

Overture to Die Meistersinger von Nurmberg by Wagner.

Songs of a Wayfarer by Mahler.

Symphony No. 1 in C minor, op. 68, by Brahms.

Anne had commitments in Chinese New Year celebrations at a local senior center and at church, so while she was busy cooking and putting final touches to the programs, I went to this concert by myself.  And Joe Jr and family are in town, so I left them at our house also.

I misplaced the Program booklet for this concert, so have to work some of this from memory.  Bergmann is a Norwegian conductor who now leads several small(ish) orchestras including the Calgary Symphony, he is described as “imposing and energetic.”  “Imposing” could mean his height, he is at least a head taller than Wyrick, and conducted without a podium.

Wagner’s Meistersinger, which we saw within the last couple of years, is also interesting in a couple of other regards.  Composed on a break between the ring cycle operas, it is nevertheless quite tonal, and is based on a human story rather than Nordic and other legends.  The Program Notes (as I remember it) says there are three themes which Wagner wove together neatly towards the end.  I could hear the themes, but didn’t quite get the weaving part.

After this 9-minute piece, Bergmann talked a little about the program and how compassionate each of the pieces was.  He also introduced Kielland as someone who swims in the ocean every day, which is interesting.  Even more unbelievable though, is that she lives in Northern Norway.

Mahler wrote a suite of six songs after he was rejected by a Johanna Richter.  It was originally written for voice and piano, and was eventually condensed to four, with full orchestration.  The titles of the four songs are a good indication of the mood: when my sweetheart is married; I went this morning over the field; I have a gleaming knife; and The two blue eyes of my beloved.  Kielland conveyed the resignation, sadness, and anger quite well, except every now and then the full orchestra would overwhelm her low notes.  NJPAC is considerably more voluminous than the State Theatre, I wonder how well she would fare then.  The Program Notes pointed out the similarities between the songs (especially the second and the fourth) with Mahler’s first symphony.  The second song’s connection was obvious to me, the fourth escaped me.

Kielland and Bergmann after the performance of Songs of a Wayfarer.  My hands were not steady at all as I was trying to do this quickly before the ushers showed up to stop the photo-taking.

It is well known that Brahms heard “Beethoven’s footsteps behind him” and took 20 years to publish his first symphony.  But it is a great symphony.  The fourth movement, of course, contains a very familiar melody that is reminiscent of Beethoven’s Ninth.  Wyrick had to do some solo passages, which he did beautifully.  The four movements are (i) Un poco sostenuto - allegro - meno allegro; (ii) Andante sostenuto; (iii) Un poco allegretto e grazioso; and (iv) Adagio - Piu andante - Allegro non troppo, ma con brio - Piu allegro.  (Note: these movement markings are from Wikipedia, and not from the Program Notes.)

Bergmann after the Brahms Symphony.

Again the attendance was not good.  Today was college night, and students from several colleges were present.

As concerts go, this was a good one.

Metropolitan Opera – Verdi’s Il Trovatore. February 6, 2018.

Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center. Balcony (Seat B111, $92.50).

Story.  See previous post.

Conductor – Marco Armiliato.  Ferrando – Kwangchul Youn, Leonora – Jennifer Rowley, Count di Lun – Luca Salsi, Manrico – Yonghoon Lee, Azucena – Dolora Zajick.

We have seen this opera before, twice.  Once in 2009, and the second time in 2012 was with Pastor Al and Miss Ruth.  Pastor Al passed away in 2014, and we just visited Miss Ruth in Florida a few days before.  People change, yet this opera has been around for a good 150 years or so (I am typing this inside a plane and thus am guessing a bit.)  We saw the 652^nd performance by the Met, making this an opera of medium high popularity.

The set was designed by David McVicar, and was first used in 2009.  So it looked familiar, and a little tired; time for a refresh soon, I suspect.  The fire pit, which gave me a sense of dread when I first saw it, now looked familiar.  Indeed, the word “familiar” fits much of what I saw today.  Perhaps I finally figured out how the story hangs together, so I could anticipate the drama that was unfolding on stage.

Or perhaps this was a performance that didn’t quite measure up.  At the risk of being racially insensitive, I should point out two of the (five or six) main characters were Koreans.  Korea must have a long tradition of vocal training as many soloists in the Met roster are from that country.  Youn as Ferrando was quite impressive, strong and clear.  Manrico carried himself enthusiastically on stage, and has a very strong voice.  However, he sounded rough at times.  I saw Rowley a couple of times before, once in Princeton, and once substituting for Racette as Roxane in Cyrano.  Quite a career trajectory.  However, she sounded unrefined at times.

I remember from last time how haunting Azucena sounded in one of the arias.  Today I was listening with anticipation, and – alas – didn’t feel it.  Zajick had to be very familiar with the role: she was in the 2009 and 2012 productions I saw.  After the intermission it was announced that she was sick, and couldn’t continue.  I didn’t get the name of her replacement, but she filled in without skipping a beat, even though the heavy lifting occurred in the first two acts.  I couldn’t see a prompter’s box on stage, which made it very impressive.

Curtain Call.  From left: Salsi as Count di Luna, Rowley as , Armiliato conductor, Lee as Manrico, Rachvelishvili as Azucena, and Youn as Ferrando.

Attendance was not very good tonight.  Most of the row behind us was empty, and we moved to it after the intermission.

The New York Times review was also mixed for Lee and Rowley, calling the latter's singing sympathetic, but never galvanizes.  Turns out Rowley is also replacing an ill colleague.  It also mentions Anita Rachvelishvili as being a great Azucena.

Ellie was away on business, so Anne and I went up to Hoboken to see the grandkids, Anne also prepared dinner for them.  For us dinner was at Europan.  Driving into and out of New York was quite straightforward this time of the year.

Daniil Trifonov, piano; Matthias Goerne, baritone. February 4, 2018.

Matthews Theatre at McCarter Theatre Center, Princeton, NJ.  Orchestra (Seat T17, $51.50).

Program

Vier Lieder, op. 2 by Berg (1885-1935).

Dichterliebe, op. 48 by Schumann (1810-1856).

Drei Lieder nach Gedichten von Michelangelo Buonarroti by Hugo Wolf (1860-1903).

3 Lider aus der Suite op. 145 nach Gedichten von Michelangelo Buonarroti by Shostakovich (1906-1975).

Vier ernste Gesange, op. 121 (1896) by Brahms (1833-1897).

This concert should properly characterized as one of art songs with piano accompaniment.  I believe this is one of the few all-vocal solo performances I have attended; and I am quite sure there had been no blog entry for a concert of this nature.

The songs talk mostly of lost love, futility of life, and death.  Interestingly the last song’s lyrics are based on 1 Corinthians 13, on love.

I enjoyed the concert.  We had heard Goerne before and always appreciated his singing.  I don’t know much about vocal techniques, but that this was a 1 ½-hour concert speaks volumes about his stamina. And he will do it again in Carnegie Hall in a couple of days!  While Trifonov mainly acted as an accompanist, his brilliance would come through every now and then.

Goerne and Trifonov.

During the introduction the emcee asked the audience to hold the applause until the end of each group of songs.  Goerne would have none of that, he waved off all applause until the end of the entire concert.

Here is the listing of the songs:

Alban Berg (1885-1935): Vier Lieder, op. 2.

1.     The pain is right (Text: Friedrich Hebbel).

2.     Sleeping, I am carried (Text: Alfred Mombert).

3.     Now that I have overcome the strongest of the giants (Text: Alfred Mombert).

4.     Warm are the breezes (Text: Alfred Mombert).

Robert Schumann (1810-1856): Dichterliebe op. 48. Text: Heinrich Heine (1797-1856).

1.     In the wonderfully beautiful month of May.

2.     From my tears sprout forth.

3.     The rose, the lily, the dove, the sun.

4.     When I gaze into your eyes.

5.     I want to delve my soul.

6.     In the Rhine, in the holy stream.

7.     I bear no grudge.

8.     And if the blooms – the small ones – knew.

9.     There is a fluting and fiddling.

10.  I hear the dear song sounding.

11.  A young man loved a girl.

12.  On a shining summer morning.

13.  I wept in my dream.

14.  Nightly I see you in my dreams.

15.  From old fairy tales beckons.

16.  The old, angry songs.

Hugo Wolf (1860-1903): Drei Lieder nach Gedichten von Michelangelo Buonarroti.

1.     It is quite often that I think.

2.     Everything ends which comes to be.

3.     Is my soul feeling.

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975): 3 Lieder aus der Suite op. 145 nach Gedichten von Michelangelo Buonarroti.

1.     Dante.

2.     Di Morte certo.

3.     La Notte.

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897): Vier ernste Gesange, op. 121 (1896).

1.     One thing befalleth the beasts and the sons of men (Ecclesiastes 3:19-22).

2.     So I returned, and considered all the oppressions (Ecclesiastes 4:1-3).

3.     O death, how bitter is the remembrance of thee (Jesus Sirach 41:1-4).

4.     Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels (1 Corinthians 13:1-3, 12, 13).

To call this a Trifonov “recital” would be a great misjustice to Goerne, nonetheless his name was the only one on the ticket.  When I checked the ticketing website on Saturday, there were lots of seats in the balcony.  One wonders how many people would have come had Goerne been the headliner.  Well, I think I belong to this “shallow” group.  I may look more favorably on vocal recitals from now on, though.

Some false advertising here ...

We came back from a trip Saturday evening, and I decided to go to Princeton to buy a ticket after church, arriving about 30 minutes before the start.  If I had looked more closely, I could have gotten a 30% discount off the ticket price, the offer was sitting in my email in-box.