Beat Columns (Live Music)

Musical theatre thrives on showstoppers — performances of songs or dances so striking that they interrupt a show to potentially eclipse the entire production. Of these, few impress me more than the solo rendition of “I Am What I Am” at the end of Act One in La Cage aux Folles, the celebrated musical that premiered on Broadway in 1983 and opens October 10 for a six-week run at Toronto’s Royal Alexandra Theatre. Its arrival marks the end of a tour noteworthy for sold-out performances and rave reviews, many focussed on Christopher Sieber, the actor playing Albin, a matronly male who morphs into Zaza, a flamboyant drag queen, early in the show and then makes it his own. Sieber’s version of “I Am What I Am” is one of the best I have heard, imbuing Jerry Herman’s passionate lyrics and indelible melody with a sense of personal conviction worth the price of admission alone.

Herman knew the power of his song when he wrote it, which he reveals in his autobiography, Showtune. As a result, he readily agreed to a suggestion by Harvey Fierstein, who wrote the book for La Cage, to use the number to close Act One. He also realized that by introducing the song at the top of the show, which he intended to do, he risked undercutting Albin’s big moment. So he changed the lyric, but only slightly, having the Cagelles, a troupe of men in drag that performs the song at the Riviera, a St. Tropez club (one of the show’s main locations), sing in the plural: “We are what we are, and what we are is an illusion. We love how it feels putting on heels, causing confusion.” When, at the end of the act, Albin substitutes the singular “I” for the Cagelles’ “we,” he highlights the isolation he feels after being betrayed by Georges, his lover of 20 years (played by George Hamilton in this production), and Georges’ 24-year-old son, Jean-Michel, whom he has raised as his own child. Simultaneously, he emphasizes the show’s focus on identity and asserts the defiant stand that informs its politic: “I am what I am/ I am my own special creation. So come take a look, Give me the hook or the ovation.”

The musical version of La Cage aux Folles is the brainchild of three gay men — Jerry Herman, Harvey Fierstein and director, Arthur Laurents — whose achievement cannot be overestimated. Originally a play by Jean Poiret (1973) that was made into a film (1978), the musical was conceived and presented during the early days of the AIDS crisis — a time when sexuality, especially in New York City, suffered acute disapprobation, and homophobia ran rampant. To win backers and attract an audience, the creative team agreed to create “a charming, colourful, great-looking musical comedy — an old-fashioned piece of entertainment,” as Herman writes. The result was a lavish spectacle, as glamourous as any MGM musical, that broke attendance records, won each of its creators a Tony Award, and grabbed three more for good measure, including one for Best Musical and another for George Hearn, the actor who played Albin.

At the time, I was not impressed. I couldn’t reconcile the money spent to feather and sequin the elaborate costumes designed by the legendary Theoni V. Aldredge with the poverty of resources that bedevilled the work of HIV researchers and people dying of AIDS. Fierstein, a gay activist whose play, Torch Song Trilogy, made a Broadway breakthrough in the 1970s, had sold out to the mainstream, in my opinion, and Herman and Laurents were simply playing their politics too safe for my sensibilities. It was with some reluctance, therefore, that I attended a revival of the musical in London in 2009, a production that also won a slew of awards and attracted large audiences.

The London revival of La Cage that was produced at the Menier Chocolate Factory in 2008 created the template both for the production I saw in London’s West End and the show that is touring to Toronto. Conceived and directed by Terry Johnson, it is smaller than the original and much more gritty. The Riviera is down and dirty — more back-street boite than upscale nightclub. The Cagelles are definitely men in drag — as opposed to the ambiguous “showgirls” that Laurents felt obliged to present — muscular mecs whose bustiers slip to reveal tattoos (and more) as they execute the lasciviously acrobatic choreography. The Cagelles’ aggessively physical opening appearance sets the tone for a production both more provocative and more personal than the original. Albin’s betrayal is clearer, and more clearly horrible: Jean-Michel announces his plans to marry the daughter of a virulently anti-gay politician,and demands that Albin absent himself from a family meet-and-greet — in effect, shut himself back in the closet. When Albin subsequently fails to perform a convincingly masculine “uncle” during the visit, questions of “family values” erupt to add freight to the ensuing farce.

For Christopher Sieber, playing Albin is a gift. A gay man who married his same-sex partner last November, Sieber understands the discrimination that Albin protests. In a telephone interview, he makes an (unnecessary) apology for pleading the case for gay rights before he proceeds to discuss his performance. The key to his role, he tells me, is to recognize that it combines two characters in one: “Albin is a needy, emotional, insecure person, but he’s also Zaza, an over-the-top chanteuse.” Sieber uses the duality to turn “I Am What I Am” into his personal showstopper. “Initially, I played the moment as if Albin feels he has no one but the audience left –he’s singing to them. Now I play it differently — as if he is all alone, has no one but himself to rely on, and he’s singing for himself. Ultimately, the song is triumphant, and that’s why it has become such an anthem. I don’t get mad when I sing it, the way some performers have. I use the discrimination as fuel.” He pauses to admit a sly edge to his tone. “Sometimes I become a little more fierce than others ...”

Bloodless: It remains to be seen how Christopher Sieber will play “I Am What I Am” in Toronto. I have no doubt, however, that he’ll stop the show — and that his performance will widen a fan base that already is expanding. I also have no doubt that the Toronto premiere of Bloodless: The Trial of Burke and Hare that opens for a limited run at the Panasonic Theatre on October 11, will introduce another talent, new to Toronto, destined for wide recognition. As I mentioned in my column last March, Joseph Aragon wrote the book and lyrics for this wickedly clever show, as well as composed the music. Until now, he has remained relatively unknown outside of Winnipeg, his home town, a situation that Adam Brazier is hoping to change.

Brazier is the artistic director of Theatre 20 (T20) which, with this production, makes its debut as Toronto’s newest not-for-profit company devoted to the creation and production of musical theatre. Last winter, in a national search for new scripts, he met with Aragon in Winnipeg. “I had never heard of Joseph Aragon before then,” he explains. “Now it is my personal goal for theatre lovers and producers throughout Canada to make sure they know his name.”

Brazier’s choice of Bloodless is appropriate given that a company goal is “to present story-driven musicals by developing new Canadian works ... ” Although the musical premiered at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival in 2008 under the auspices of White Rabbit Productions, since then it has been developed by T20 through workshops with students in Sheridan College’s Music Theatre Performance program. For Aragon, “the [present] show is more economical and streamlined than it was in its Fringe incarnation,” a change that rehearsals have further refined. “The artists at Theatre 20 are, for the most part, significantly more experienced” than the ones Aragon worked with in Winnipeg, and, as he points out, “now the stakes are higher.”

Producing a new musical by a relative unknown is always a gamble. In the case of Bloodless, the stakes are higher than usual because of the subject matter. Based on true events, the book tells the story of William Burke and William Hare, two Irish immigrants to Edinburgh in the early 19th century who, after numerous failed attempts to make a living, resort to selling dead bodies for scientific research. Instead of unearthing the newly deceased, they opt to produce their own corpses. Soon, they are murdering and selling bodies on a daily basis, until their criminal misdeeds are discovered, which leads to “the trial of the century” that Aragon uses to frame his story.

Relying heavily on flashbacks, the book for Bloodless is fast paced and exciting; nevertheless, its story is gruesome, which Brazier took into account while directing the production. “The greatest challenge in creating a piece like Bloodless is making your antagonists human beings we care to watch. Although their conduct and behaviour are deplorable, we work tirelessly to make them relatable and entertaining.” The cast of 14, including well-known Stratford performers Evan Buliung ( William Burke) and Eddie Glen ( William Hare), works very much as an ensemble. “One of the things I most like about the piece is that it offers quality roles for everyone involved,” Brazier comments. “As an artist-led company we are all highly driven by the text and stories we want to tell.”

Aragon banks on the score to keep the audience on side. Noting that it “is based heavily on Irish and Scottish folk music, with some Danny Elfman-like touches to throw things off kilter,” he uses it to calibrate the show’s tension. With a live band (piano, viola, bassoon, clarinet, flute and cello) under the direction of Jason Jestadt, the music invariably prompts comparisons to the score of Sweeney Todd, Stephen Sondheim’s gothic masterpiece. Aragon readily admits the influence. “I’d be lying if I said Bloodless wasn’t inspired in some way by Sweeney Todd, and I knew when I started, just by virtue of the subject and setting, that intersecting Sweeney’s world would be inescapable. That said, we’re doing everything we can to make it as distinct as possible, and in the end, it really is a very different story.”

The mention of Sweeney Todd leads the composer and lyricist to acknowledge that Sondheim’s work has influenced more than this show; it has impacted his creative process. “Sondheim talks about having a ‘puzzle mind’ when composing and writing lyrics, and I happen to see the process the same way — a lot of logical problem solving, trial and error, working backwards, setting up and paying off, choosing words that rhyme and scan correctly, all the while ensuring you’re telling the story and being emotionally honest. He’s also big into content dictating form, and violating structure if the story demands it.”

Including “showstoppers,” Aragon might have added: Sondheim has written more than a few. It will be fascinating to see if and how the neophyte artist follows his lead.

And speaking of showstoppers, there’s more! Political Mother arrives in Toronto for a six-show run at Canadian Stage on October 24. This production has stopped the entire contemporary dance world cold in its tracks, presenting a coup de théâtre that runs for 90 minutes without letting up. Visit thewholenote.com for an extended discussion of this heartstopping show. 

Based in Toronto, Robert Wallace writes about theatre and performance. He can be contacted at musictheatre@thewholenote.com.

One of the most notable developments in Toronto’s opera scene this season is Opera Atelier’s first-ever production of an opera from the 19th-century — Der Freischütz (“The Marksman”) from 1821 by Carl Maria von Weber (1786–1826). Even though the opera is standard repertory in central Europe, it has never had a fully staged professional production in Toronto as far as anyone can determine. The OA production will be the work’s first period production in North America.

What marks Der Freischütz as the first important Romantic opera is its use of local folk legend as the subject matter, as opposed to classical history or mythology, and local folk music as inspiration for many arias and themes. Set in Bohemia near the end of the Thirty Years’ War in 1648, the story centres on the forester Max (Krešimir Špicer), who loves Agathe (Meghan Lindsay) and is set to succeed her father Kuno (Olivier Laquerre) as head forester if he can pass a test in marksmanship. During practice, however, Max continually fails and his fear of losing brings him under the influence of the malevolent Kaspar (Vasil Garvanliev), whose soul is already forfeit to the Devil and who hopes to substitute Max in his place. Max persuades Kaspar to cast seven magic bullets for him to use in the contest. This occurs in the mysterious Wolf’s Glen where Kaspar calls upon the infernal spirit Samiel (Curtis Sullivan) for assistance in the midst of frightening images and demonic sounds. Meanwhile, Agathe, filled with foreboding, is consoled by her friend Ännchen (Carla Huhtanen). The contest itself brings a series of unexpected mishaps but concludes with the advice of a wise hermit (Gustav Andreassen) on how to cope with the outcome.

In a telephone interview with OA co-artistic director Marshall Pynkoski, I learned how OA came to make this leap into the 19th century and how it came to choose Weber’s opera as its first experiment. Pynkoski says, “For a long time Jeannette [Lajeunesse Zingg] and myself and our designers had talked about the concept of a ‘period production.’ It’s hard to believe now, but our first conflict on this point came when we announced we were going to do a period production of The Magic Flute [in 1991]. People told us the idea was ridiculous, that the work was standard repertory and asked why we would do this. We had to draw a line in the sand and say, ‘No, we think there is a very important and legitimate statement to be made by hearing Mozart on period instruments and looking at a period-sensitive production that is unique and has not been said in a long time.’ Now no one even thinks there’s anything odd about Mozart on period instruments.

“Freischütz simply takes the basic concept of Flute and pushes the envelope farther which we’ve wanted to for some time. It’s been a long time since we’ve used the word ‘baroque’ in our company description. We call ourselves a ‘period opera and ballet company’ and our point now is that a ‘period production’ can be a reference to any period. That’s what fascinates. Of course, our initial focus was the baroque and that remains our first love, particularly the French baroque. But it is only natural as you start to explore these things that it keeps pushing you into new directions. It pushes you back and it pushes you forward, into earlier repertoire and into later repertoire. I think it’s a natural progression. The whole reasoning behind it is, ‘What was the original intention of the composer, of the librettist, of the designers? Where does it sit musically, dramatically, politically, artistically? What have we lost touch with over time? Have we lost anything worthwhile that is worth coming back to re-examine and that can challenge us in a new way?’

“I don’t want to do a museum production of Freischütz and I don’t think Freischütz will ever have looked like what we are doing. What we are doing is a Freischütz that explores all the possibilities that would have been open to performers in the early 19th century. Those ‘restrictions’ for want of a better word, have become the most thrilling take-off point, just as they were with Flute, and it has made us make huge jumps musically, dramatically and in terms of design. It’s taken us in directions we never dreamed we were going to go.

“Just to take one example: For the famous Wolf’s Glen scene, full of those wonderful, frightening satanic visions, there is no record of how they were created at the time. My first impulse was that they must have used a cyclorama, a huge painting that passed by on rollers. But such a technique would be far too expensive nowadays. Of course, we have our dancers and they are a tremendous asset. We thought of the magic lantern coming into use at the time, but slide shows have a negative resonance for us today that they did not have in the period. Then we thought if we use images what would they be of? Samiel is referred to as the ‘Black Huntsman’ so images of the hunt seemed natural. I looked at Géricault with his violent scenes of lions and cheetahs tearing animals apart, but they were too exotic. Then I thought of the crazy painting ‘The Nightmare’ by the Swiss-born British painter Henry Fuseli [1741–1825], an exact contemporary of Weber. The more I looked through his catalogue of works, the more I realized his visions of horror were a perfect match for the atmosphere Weber conjures up in the Wolf’s Glen. So it will be images from Fuseli that we will project on stage during that scene in the mode of a period phantasmagoria. We will be doing nothing that was not available to artists in the early 19th century. We will just be using 21st century technology to recreate it.”

How did OA come to choose Der Freischütz as its first foray into a new period? Pynkoski had considered doing a 19th century work for some time and had first considered Beethoven’s Leonore (1805), as the first version of his Fidelio is called. But it was conductor David Fallis, who suggested about three years ago that he and Jeannette Lajeunesse-Zingg have a look at Der Freischütz. What galvanized their attention happened in April last year when Krešimir Špicer was singing the title role in La Clemenza di Tito. Pynkoski, wondering when he and Špicer might ever work together again, said, “Kreš, tell me something you’re dying to do. We’ll do it for you. We just want you to come back. And he said instantly, ‘Well, I think you should be doing Freischütz and I should be singing Max.’” Pynkoski and Zingg went home, immediately listened to the CDs Fallis had given them, were overwhelmed by the work and told Špicer the next day they would be doing it — they didn’t know when — but they would be mounting it as a vehicle for him.

The 19th century may be new territory for Opera Atelier, but it is not for their orchestra, Tafelmusik. Tafelmusik has already played Beethoven’s symphonies to great acclaim and has programmed Chopin for next year. The most practical challenge is that the opera requires a 40-piece orchestra and David Fallis is still trying to figure out where to fit everybody in and around the pit at the Elgin Theatre.

Meanwhile, Pynkoski was bubbling over with news on a completely different topic. Two weeks after Freischütz closes, he and Zingg fly off to Salzburg to begin rehearsals for Mozart’s early opera Lucio Silla (1772), written when he was only 17. As it happens early music conductor Marc Minkowski has become the head of the Mozarteum in Salzburg. Ever since Minkowski first conducted for OA, he, Pynkoski and Zingg have longed to work together again, but Minkowski’s growing fame made scheduling trips to Toronto too difficult. Now he has asked the OA co-artistic directors to direct for him in Salzburg. Lucio Silla will premiere at the Mozarteum during Mozart Week on January 24, 2013, then travel to Bremen and Halle before returning to Salzburg in the summer.

But before that happens, Pynkoski and Zingg are focussing on Der Freischütz. Like The Magic Flute it is a singspiel, with spoken dialogue and sung arias. For Freischütz, the dialogue will be spoken in English and the arias sung in German with English surtitles. Flute and Freischütz make an excellent pairing. Both deal with the supernatural and both move from darkness to light, but Mozart’s focus is on the rational while Weber’s is on the irrational that lies just below the surface in everyday life. Der Freischütz runs from October 27 to November 3 at the Elgin Theatre. For tickets and more information visit www.operaatelier.com. 

Christopher Hoile is a Toronto-based writer on opera and theatre. He can be contacted at opera@thewholenote.com.

Unfortunately I find myself having to devote part of this month’s column yet again to a friend who recently passed away. I refer to Geoff Chapman an accomplished writer and a gentle man. He had wide-ranging interests and they included a great love of jazz, in fact it could rightly be called a passion. In the years that he wrote for the Toronto Star he covered theatre as well, but jazz stirred his emotions more deeply than anything else. Not that he ever made a big outward display of his feelings because nothing ever seemed to disturb that serene quality which has been described as a Buddha-like presence.

He was open-minded, always looking for something positive to say and I’ve yet to hear anyone say an unkind word about him. He was certainly a good friend to musicians, all of whom will think fondly of him.

Along with his talents, occasionally having the good fortune to be in the right place at the right time enabled him to leave the rest of the field trailing behind. I remember one night at the Montreal Bistro and Geoff was there to review the band. It was the same year that the jazz festival, because of imminent tobacco legislation, was about to lose the title sponsor, duMaurier. There was a grace period before the ban on tobacco sponsorship became law, but the sponsor decided to withdraw support as of that year.

To make a long story short, a good friend of the festival at City Hall, Sean Gadon approached the then mayor, Mel Lastman, and convinced him to intervene and call the then President of Imperial Tobacco, Don Brown. So there we were at the Bistro. Geoff was just getting ready to leave in order to file his review and in came a jubilant Sean Gadon with the news that the festival, which we had just cancelled had its funding for another year. Johnny-on-the-spot Chapman made some hasty notes before rushing off to file his story which scooped everybody else in town.

But what made him much more than just a competent writer was that along with his language skills, an inbuilt natural ability to convey with words, he also had a broad knowledge of what he was talking about and a desire to communicate with his audience.

It starts to sound like the qualities of a good jazz musician, doesn’t it?

I remember one evening we had dinner together and in casual conversation I discovered we had shared an unusual childhood activity. As kids we had both chewed tar and to this day I love the aroma of hot tar! I initially thought that it might in some odd way have had something to do with the fact that we were both Brits until quite recently.
 I found a Canadian, albeit with the Irish name of O’Reilly, who, when he heard about our tar traits, exclaimed, “I used to do that!”

A good English beer, a cigar and listening to jazz was his recipe for a good time. Oh, and looking forward to seeing a good football — soccer, not rugby — match on TV.

When I think of Geoff, there is a line from a novel by Charles Dickens, “Our Mutual Friend” which seems a propos — “Have a heart that never hardens, a temper that never tires, a touch that never hurts.”

To The Letter

And now I will digress. My real introduction to acronyms was listening as a child to BBC — an acronym in itself — radio, and to a weekly comedy show starring Tommy Handley called ITMA which was made up from the first letters of the phrase “It’s That Man Again.” The show also introduced a classic, still widely in use today: TTFN — Ta Ta For Now.

Coming up with acronyms is a linguistic process that has existed throughout history. For example it was used in Rome before the Christian era, the official name for the Roman Empire, and the Republic before it, being abbreviated to SPQR (Senatus Populusque Romanus).

But acronyms became much more common in the 20th century with AT&T, Nabisco (National Biscuit Company), TV, Radar (short for for radio detection and ranging) and on and on. Back in the days when people actually wrote letters, some of you may have received or sent correspondence of a personal nature which had the letters SWALK on the back of the envelope meaning that it was Sealed With A Loving Kiss. Try that with a text message (lol).

Jazz has had its share of acronyms. Some of the most widely known were NORK (New Orleans Rhythm Kings), JATP — Jazz At The Phil, a travelling jazz extravaganza produced by Norman Grantz and the MJQ (Modern Jazz Quartet).

All of which is a preamble to KPMT, the Ken Page Memorial Trust which will hold its 14th annual jazz gala at The Old Mill on October 18 with a star-studded line-up including, from the United States, Harry Allan and Ken Peplowski on reeds, Warren Vache, cornet, Russ Phillips, trombone, and on piano Italian virtuoso Rossano Sportiello. The home team will consist of Terry Clarke, Alastair Kay, Reg Schwager, Neil Swainson, Don Thompson, Kevin Turcotte and your faithful scribe. Prior to the main event and in keeping with the goals of the Trust there will be a performance by the Ben Hognestad Trio featuring Matt Woroshyl from the University of Toronto Faculty of Music. You can enjoy them along with a complimentary cocktail. If you have never attended the gala this is a great year to get involved in support of jazz and the musicians who make the music. You’ll not see a line-up like this any place else in Toronto. For details see the ad in this issue of The WholeNote.

Meanwhile, now that the days are turning chilly it’s a good time to move inside and trade the hot sun for some hot choruses. As always, The WholeNote club listings, on page 55, are the town’s best guide to what’s on.

Happy live listening! 

Jim Galloway is a saxophonist, band leader and former artistic director of Toronto Downtown Jazz. He can be contacted at jazznotes@thewholenote.com.

Although the weather man may tell us that fall has officially just begun, for most community ensembles the fall season is well under way. If the fall concert isn’t scheduled for October, it will be in early November at the latest. Before we know it the Christmas concert will be on the horizon. It may even be time to plan and select the repertoire for the spring.

Ah, the repertoire, what is it? That very academic sounding word conjures up many different images for many of us. Is it the next concert program, the music that’s in the rehearsal folder, what’s in the band’s library or ...? The Oxford dictionary defines repertoire as a stock of works that a performer knows or is prepared to perform. Webster defines it similarly. In other words, it isn’t all of that material in the band library that hasn’t seen the light of day for years. It’s the music that the band would be capable of performing with some reasonable rehearsal time.

For most bands, the die is cast for any performances bwetween now and the new year. What about music for 2013? Will it be the same old reliable chestnuts that are rotated regularly between the library and the rehearsal folder, or will there be some new material? For me, this triggers two potentially controversial questions. Who decides what should be in the library, what should be in the rehearsal folder and who plans the programs? My experience is that band members rarely have much say in concert programming. More about that later. Let’s start with the library and then the rehearsal folder.

What should be in a band library? Just about every band has its stock of hackneyed or over performed works, the names of which don’t warrant repeating here; we all know which ones fall into that category. Give them a rest. Put them in retirement for a year or more.

So, here’s where we are asking for reader participation. We are asking you to tell us what you would like to have in your band’s library. We hope to put on The WholeNote website a suggested possible basic library. As a starter, I have come up with 16 categories, with one or two examples of what I consider to be worthwhile repertoire in each category. (Feel free to disagree!) In any case, I invite you to send me your suggestions for what (else) you think should be included in a basic band library. If you have any new categories to suggest, please do so.

Here’s my “Better Band Library” starter kit:

• Suites for concert band: Holst Suite in E-Flat, Vaughan Williams Folk Song Suite.
• Concert overtures: Egmont Overture.
• Overtures to operas and operettas: Poet and Peasant, Light Cavalry.
• Broadway and London musicals: Oliver, Annie.
• Parade marches: The Middy, Invercargill.
• Concert marches: Pentland Hills, Colonel Bogey on Parade.
• Big band era arrangements: Big Band Favorites, Swinging Songs of Yesterday.
• Canadian:Calvert’s Suite on Canadian Folk Songs.
• Traditional: Grundman’s An Irish Rhapsody, Nestico’s All Through the Night.
• Arrangements of operatic solos: Nessun Dorma.
• Latin: Cha Cha for Band, Blue Tango.
• Gentle calming: Ashokan Farewell, Frank Ericson’s Air for Band.
• Arrangements associated with particular performers: As Performed by Sinatra or Eubie.
• Film scores: Titanic.
• TV scores:Mission Impossible.
• Novelty numbers: Lassus Trombone, Bugler’s Holiday.

While many bands perform concerts with choirs and/or vocal soloists, there really is no significant recognized repertoire for such combinations. For now we will not include such categories in our basic library.

The rehearsal folder: So, now that we have our basic library, what should be in our rehearsal folder? Should the rehearsal folder only contain music that is being prepared for performance, or should there be some good rigorous material for the sole purpose of challenging the band members? Each such number could remain in the folder for a few weeks and then be replaced with something new. For some years, I have been playing regularly in a smaller group with a very extensive library. The contents of the rehearsal folder are constantly changing. At any time it contains about half old material and half new. Not a rehearsal goes by without at least one number never seen before and others that haven’t been looked at for a long time. The result is that everyone’s sight reading skills remain well honed. Certainly, some of the material may never be performed for an audience, but it serves a good purpose. I would suggest that it would be worthwhile for a band to have in its rehearsal folder at least one such number at all times with some regular rotation, say once a month. This should help to keep everyone’s reading skills at a consistently good level. Most of us don’t aspire to be renowned virtuosos, but we all enjoy the satisfaction of having played our part of that good music well.

Program selection: Who should have a say in program selection? In most cases this is the sole prerogative of the conductor with some input from the librarian. Who are the other parties whose preferences could, and perhaps should, be considered? Put another way, we might ask for whom is the concert planned? Is it primarily to please the audience, band members, the conductor or, even possibly, sponsors? I would like to suggest that band members should have a greater voice in programming. For most, they play in a band for the personal satisfaction of making music with other like-minded individuals. I would like to see a movement to campaign for band members to have a greater say in the planning of programs. Without their regular participation and devotion, the band would cease to exist. Get band members involved in programming. Even before that, start with the decision of what should go into a rehearsal folder.

Now that we have a library and a rehearsal folder, how about selecting a program. What are the capabilities of the band members who have to perform the material? If your band doesn’t have a hot shot bassoonist at the present time, obviously you don’t include anything with an important bassoon part. If it’s a minor part, some other instrument can play the cues to ensure that the part isn’t missing completely. As for solo parts within selections, who gets to play them? In many bands, the longest serving member in the section automatically gets the nod even though other members of the section may be equally capable, if not more so. Seniority of membership is not necessarily synonymous with level of musicianship. In some bands of my acquaintance, solo excerpts are shared by all section members unless some do not wish to be included. That’s another way to foster proficiency and build confidence.

In recent years many bands have taken to producing concerts with a “theme.” Perhaps it was all music of the movies, disasters, space exploration or something else? Is this what your audiences enjoy? Why not ask them to complete a survey form at intermission?

Do your audiences really enjoy such additions as video excerpts and slide shows or do they feel that this detracts from the musical performance? Put another way, is your band staging a multimedia presentation or a musical concert? What would the band members prefer?

With all of that, who gets to make the decision of what to include in a program? Why not prepare a questionnaire for members to complete? Certainly, some just want to come to the rehearsal and then go home, but others might just have some ideas with merit. I might even suggest a programming committee from within the band. Naturally, in the end, the final decision must rest with the conductor, but let band members provide some creative input.

That’s my two cents worth: Let’s have your comments along with selections to be included in The WholeNote basic library.

Definition Department

This month’s lesser known musical term is Vibratto: child prodigy son of the concertmaster. We invite submissions from readers. Let’s hear your daffynitions.

Coming events: Please see the listings section for full details. 

Jack MacQuarrie plays several brass instruments and has performed in many community ensembles. He can be contacted at bandstand@thewholenote.com.

Music venues are not hospitals and compact discs cannot be made by accident, yet for some reason releasing a CD is often likened to having a baby. Maybe it’s the many months of stressful preparation or the life savings required. At any rate, several young jazz musicians are expecting this month, including two set to deliver their firstborns at The Rex Hotel: guitarist Robb Cappelletto, Wednesday October 24 at 9:45pm and drummer Will Fisher, Sunday October 28 at 9:30pm. Both have been making a name for themselves since graduating from post-secondary institutions honing their chops, writing original tunes and melding together unique ensembles.

Toronto native, 27-year-old Cappelletto began his musical journey in blues, rock and R&B but has been focused on jazz for the past decade; following his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at York University, he recently completed a Master’s degree in composition from his alma mater before getting to work on his self-titled debut.

“The album features an electric approach inspired by 70s Miles Davis with a heavy blues influence. All the originals were written within the past year and I feel they are inclusive of all my musical experiences up to this point,” he says. Cappelletto’s core trio is rounded off by bassist Jon Maharaj (“The electric bass is key to the sound of this group.”) and Cuban-born Amhed Mitchel; with special guests Daniel Easty on soprano saxophone and the all mighty Robi Botos on fender Rhodes. A recipe for intensity!

Upon graduating from Humber College, Will Fisher went on to obtain his Masters in jazz performance from the University of Louisville on a full scholarship. The 24-year-old’s debut album, Portage, is inspired by Fisher’s travels across Canada:

“I wrote and worked on the music while in Victoria, British Columbia, my home town of Truro, Nova Scotia, Toronto and other places,” he says. “Some of the songs were named after specific places and things that I was inspired by.” The cross-generational band features Jon Challoner on trumpet, Mikko Hilden on guitar and Mike Downes on bass; with guest pianists Nancy Walker and Matt Giffin. The album has been nominated for the Music Nova Scotia Award for Jazz Recording of the Year.

Meanwhile, two prominent vocal artists, soprano Dorothy Stone and jazz vocalist Roseanna Vitro, both based in New York City, will be visiting Toronto this month. Besides being seasoned performers, both women are fervently committed to vocal education. Chair of the Vocal Jazz Department at the New Jersey City University since 1998, forward thinker Roseanna Vitro is the creator of an increasingly popular Facebook page called “JVOICE (Jazz Vocalists Offering Instructional Curriculum for Education)” which as of this writing has 2,434 likes. The page is used as a resource for vocal jazz teachers and students from across the globe, addressing everything from jazz pedagogy to vocal health.

“I love teaching and working with singers,” Vitro says. “I’ve learned a great deal from teaching and I’m thrilled at the progress that’s been made and the level of jazz singers we are hearing today. I was drafted into teaching about 15 years ago at New Jersey City University by Ed Joffe, head of the jazz program. I was astounded when I discovered at that time, what wasn’t being offered to singers in college for jazz. I started developing programs for singers who desire good technique but want to sing jazz.”

A dedicated jazzer at heart, Vitro’s most recent recording — her 12th baby — features songs written by award winning singer-songwriter, arranger and film composer Randy Newman. The release garnered a coveted Grammy Award nomination for best jazz vocal album. Vitro had previously recorded albums dedicated to Ray Charles, Bill Evans and Steve Allen. Why Randy Newman?

“I recorded Randy Newman’s composition, “I Think It’s Going to Rain Today” on my 2006 Live at the Kennedy Center album. It’s one of Randy’s poignant songs about caring for your fellow man and I had been singing it for years,” she says. When her husband recommended producing an entire album of Newman “The journey began and I fell into a giant well of great stories and music. I could make three albums of Randy’s music and love every minute of it.”

And just how is singing Randy Newman different for Roseanna Vitro from singing Cole Porter or George Gershwin?

“Anything I sing, I sing with the same voice and care. I’ve made ten straight ahead jazz albums. I love to swing but I also love Brazilian music and Indian music and so on. What I did not do with Randy Newman’s music was try to make it something it’s not. I honoured his stories and melodies and interpreted them in that manner. I only improvised on a couple of songs where I felt it was appropriate. The music was a real blend of pop, blues, jazz, Americana. We had a couple of classical soli with violin and it was all in the service of the music.”

Joined by pianist Mark Soskin and violinist Sara Caswell, Vitro will perform her tribute to Newman at Hugh’s Room on Tuesday October 30, presented as part of the Jazz.FM91 Cabaret Series. Buy your tickets in advance because concerts in this series always sell out!

“If I had one hundred million dollars, I would still be doing what I’m doing — sitting at the piano and teaching my wonderful students,” says Dorothy Stone, who has travelled extensively to coach singers throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and South America. Having attended her Campo Doro Vocal Institute in northeastern Pennsylvania this past summer, I can personally attest to this woman’s considerable gifts as an educator. Aside from knowing vocal technique inside out (“I dissected the human body in medical school so I can tell you exactly how your cords work.”) Stone’s sensitivity to the details of a performance is molecular, drawing from an impressively wide palette of musical styles.

A performer herself, she has achieved critical acclaim on three continents as a Verdi specialist, performing the lead roles in Aida, Il Trovatore, Otello and Un Ballo in Maschera, as well as Carmen, La Boheme, Norma, The Magic Flute and The Marriage of Figaro. Musical theatre credits include Mother Abbess in the Sound of Music, Katisha in The Mikado and Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance.

When I found out that Dorothy will be visiting Toronto to appear in Laurence Tan’s “Butterfly Up High” concert at the Betty Oliphant Theatre (see listings section A, Concerts in the GTA, October 20) and to teach vocal masterclasses at the Musideum (see listings section D, The ETCeteras, Oct.13 and 14) I asked her if she would consider performing a cabaret together. She said, “Yes!”

Come see our collaborative tribute to heroes of the Great American Songbook at the Flying Beaver Pubaret on Friday, October 12. 

Ori Dagan is a Toronto-based jazz vocalist, voice actor and entertainment journalist. He can be contacted at jazz@thewholenote.com.

Missin’ the Trane: There were celebrated nights of packed houses and grim evenings of empty rooms, but the music kept playing for nine admirable years, and there’s no doubt that the Trane Studio will be missed by audiences and musicians alike. That said, I’m not going to give a eulogy to the club just yet; in writing to inform of the club’s decision not to renew the lease at 964 Bathurst, owner Frank Francis pointed out that “this does not mean the end of the business, it is rather an opportunity for us to take a well-deserved break and assess things differently.” Looking forward to catching the next Trane!

Singers and the Norm: Multi-talented Julie McGregor is an exquisite painter who, about a decade ago, turned her focus to singing jazz. More recently, McGregor has begun producing The Singer’s Jazz Series, which features, alongside herself, a variety of Torontonian talent on vocals, with the venerable Norman Amadio on piano. Ironically, it’s the accompanist who’s at the heart of this singer’s series.

“I was inspired by pianist Norman Amadio, one of Canada’s greatest jazz talents and sadly it seems, most under-appreciated,” says McGregor. “I wanted everyone to hear Norm play. At 84, he still plays great ... he loves accompanying and really is one of the most giving, humble and kind musicians I have ever met.”

Indeed, Amadio’s modesty belies his legendary status as jazz pianist, piano teacher, music coach, composer, arranger, session player, band leader and accompanist, dating back to the 1940s. At 17, the precociously gifted Norm left his hometown of Timmins to study with Boris Berlin at the Royal Conservatory, and soon thereafter became influential in starting the bebop scene in Toronto. Amadio became one of the country’s most in-demand players, headlining at New York’s Birdland in 1956 opposite Duke Ellington, and collaborating with far too many jazz giants to mention in this wee column.

At the “September’s Song” installment of The Singer’s Jazz Series, Amadio, along with the wondrous Neil Swainson on bass, will provide the ultimate accompaniment for featured vocalists Sophia Perlman, Vincent Wolfe and Julie McGregor, and jazz poet Chris Hercules. Reservations are recommended for this event, taking place at Hugh’s Room on Sunday, September 16.

Songbook hero: When it comes to the American songbook, there might not be a better keeper of its flame than John Alcorn. His personal approach finds the singer infusing the material with burning passion, but never at the expense of a song’s details. Good news: the beloved crooner this month embarks on The Songbook Series, a weekly Wednesday night residency at the Flying Beaver Pubaret in Cabbagetown. Alcorn will devote an evening a week to the musical works of an individual jazz, theatre or film artist, be it a composer, lyricist or legendary performer. This month he pays tribute to composers Cole Porter (Sept 5), Jerome Kern (Sept 12), Irving Berlin (Sept 19) and George Gershwin (Sept 26). Two stellar players accompany Alcorn in this series: Reg Schwager on guitar and Steve Wallace on bass. Admission is $15 or $10 in advance, except for the very first show, which is free. Who could ask for anything more?

Shepherd’s departure: Back to Hugh’s Room, where on September 29, Elizabeth Shepherd releases Rewind, a departure of sorts for this consummate talent who can pen both strong hooks and insightful lyrics, but chooses not to on this release. Shepherd’s fourth CD takes a surprise turn, shifting gears to standard material that has inspired her to this point. In doing so, the spotlight is redirected to the artist’s intelligent choices as singer and arranger. There’s something undeniably magnetic about Shepherd’s voice; she never quite raises it, nor does she have to. The new album’s highlights include thoughtful transformations of Porter’s “Love for Sale” and Weill’s “Lonely House,” reshaped into contemporary, minimalistic works of art. I’m willing to bet that John Alcorn would approve! 

Ori Dagan is a Toronto-based jazz vocalist, voice actor and entertainment journalist. He can be contacted at jazz@thewholenote.com. 

It’s transition time. Our one month break from publication is over, and it’s time both to reflect on the past few weeks and see what’s ahead for the month of September. It has been an interesting few weeks since I last put “pen to paper.” On the personal side there have been many performances, mostly outdoors, and a few cancellations. I have also had a few more visits to the Baycrest Centre where I am participating in their studies on the influences of musical activity on cognitive function. More about that in another issue.

Concert band reflections: One of the most noteworthy developments on the community band scene has been the evolution of the Sunday evening concert series organized by the Markham Community Band and an organization called Unionville Presents. Initiated last year using the MCB’s inflatable bandshell in a parking lot in Markham, this year the series was expanded in scope and moved to the excellent Unionville Millenium Bandstand. With the exception of one concert, the rain held off; when I arrived to hear the North York Concert Band, the audience out front was limited to one solitary listener under a large yellow umbrella, but on stage there were two dozen or so listeners comfortably seated on each side of the band under the extended wings of the roof. As the concert progressed the rain departed, and by the end of the concert a good-sized audience was seated in front of the band. The crowd the following week was almost the same for the Richmond Hill Concert Band, with a dozen or so listeners also standing on a porch of a house across the road. For all the following weeks, with superb weather, the bands played to a full house of adults, children, dogs and even a trained cockatoo who added his gymnastics to the entertainment of those nearby.

Culture Days: Now for an update on Culture Days. This is a national event, now in its third year, which has obtained much less publicity than it deserves. Cultural Days is a coast-to-coast-to-coast federal government initiative to get artists and arts organizations out in the community and get the public aware of and involved with them. Thousands of activity organizers self-mobilize at the grassroots level to present and coordinate free public activities that take place throughout the country over the last weekend of September each year, this year September 28, 29 and 30. One Culture Days event of interest to community band members, that we are aware of, is an invitation to local brass players by members of the Hannaford Street Silver Band to sit in and join them for an afternoon of music making. Many members of the Hannaford audience are active brass players themselves, and so the Hannaford folks thought that it would be great to get together with them and make some music. The band will be in the sanctuary of the Metropolitan United Church in downtown Toronto on Sunday, September 30 from 2pm to 4pm to play music, enjoy some refreshments, and welcome any and all brass players of any age or ability level to play with them. (For those who might like a practising edge, check back at the Hannaford website www.hssb.ca for updates on this event. They expect to have parts available for download from their website. See also listings section D, “The ETCeteras,” for other Culture Days events.

Happy 140th anniversary to you! A few years ago we made some comments in this column referring to “Canada’s oldest community band.” That sparked quite a response from a number of bands, each of which claimed to be “Canada’s oldest band” or “Canada’s oldest continuously operating band.” Rather than re-ignite that discussion, it is more appropriate to offer congratulations to the Newmarket Citizens Band as they prepare to celebrate the 140th anniversary of the band being recognized as the “Official Town Band of Newmarket.” While a band had been playing in the community prior to then, it was in 1872 that the band was officially recognized as the town band. At that time a petition was circulated amongst the local business community by three sons of the fur trader William Roe. One of the sponsors was Robert Simpson of the Simpson department store chain. The grand sum of $319 was raised to purchase instruments.

To celebrate their 140 years of continuous service in the community, the Newmarket Citizens Band are inviting everyone to a special free concert complete with balloons and birthday cake. They will present a musical journey through time at the Riverwalk Commons, 200 Doug Duncan Dr., in Newmarket, on September 30. Festivities will get underway at 2pm. Bravo to one of the few bands that still participate in parades including, a half dozen or so Santa Claus parades every year.

Something for next month: With the approach of fall, many bands indulge in a bit of retrospection and then plan for concerts, other functions and repertoire for the coming season. An excellent stimulus for that is to meet with members of other bands at the CBA Community Band Weekend. Every October the Canadian Band Association (Ontario) conducts such an event. This is an opportunity for community musicians to meet like-minded individuals, play a broad selection of music under the direction of leading Ontario conductors and perform in a joint concert on the Sunday afternoon with the host band and a composite band. This year’s weekend, hosted by the Silverthorn Symphonic Winds, will take place on October 13 and 14, in Richmond Hill. Check for further details next month.

Endings:Unfortunately, we must report on the passing of two long-time band community members.

John Evans was the drummer for the GTA Swing Band up until last year. Brother John, as he was referred to, also played with the Swansea Community Concert Band led by his brother Frank Evans. John was 90. There will be a memorial service held in the fall.

As an undergraduate at University of Toronto, Ed Nixon was a regular on tuba in the Varsity Band. Years later, when the U of T Alumni Band was formed, Ed was a charter member. I have fond recollections of an incident with Ed while we were both in the Varsity Band. It was back in the days when university football fans travelled to out of town games by chartered train. After a night of celebrating a victory over the Queen’s University team, Ed and I missed our train back to Toronto. The solution was simple: let’s hitchhike home. Wearing our blue and white uniforms and carrying our instruments, we headed out to the highway and raised our thumbs. However, there was one problem: Ed was carrying a sousaphone. We did get a ride in the open rumble seat of an old car. Two carefree happy students, one trombone and one sousaphone made it back from Kingston with just a bit of gawking by passing motorists. Wish I had a photo. Ed was 84.

DEFINITION DEPARTMENT

This month’s lesser known musical term is Vesuvioso: an indication to build up to a fiery conclusion. We invite submissions from readers. Let’s hear your daffynitions.  

Jack MacQuarrie plays several brass instruments and has performed in many community ensembles. He can be contacted at bandstand@thewholenote.com.

It’s all right — I’m talking about the season not the state of the music. Summer fades away, holiday makers come back to the city and the evenings begin to draw in and become cooler.

In Toronto the club activity ranges from the ever active Rex with up to 19 bands a week to other regular but less frequent spots such as Chalker’s, Gate 403, Grossman’s, Mezzetta, Musideum, Pilot Tavern, Quotes, Reservoir Lounge and so on.

For the most part the festival season has run its course, but not quite: on September 14 and 15 there is Jazz & Blues In the Village in Sarnia, now in its ninth year; the All-Canadian Jazz Festival in Port Hope takes place from the 21st to 23rd; and there is the Willowbank Tenth Annual Jazz Festival, a one-day event on September 16.

A David among the Goliaths:A more contemporary program is on offer at the Guelph Jazz Festival from September 5 to 9. Nineteen years ago a group of jazz enthusiasts got together to create a festival showcasing the brand of music to which they were dedicated and I use the word “dedicated” advisably in that they were single-minded about the musical content. Now in its 18th year, they have retained the vision in a way that larger, more commercial enterprises cannot. The Guelph Festival has grown from small beginnings with audiences in the hundreds into a success that draws an audience of 16,000 annually. Now that is peanuts compared to say, Toronto and Montreal, but is bigger always better?

Ajay Heble, the festival’s artistic director, was out of town at the time of writing this piece but I spoke with Shawn Van Sluys, vice president of the Board of Directors of the Guelph Festival and executive director at Musagetes Foundation, an international organization which seeks to transform contemporary life by working with artists, cultural mediators and other partners to develop new approaches community and culture. The co-operation between these two entities makes sense and emphasizes the importance of the community aspect of the festival.

Some of the highlights this year include a solo performance by South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim; Brew, an international trio which features Miya Masaoka on 17-string Japanese koto zither, bassist Reggie Workman and Gerry Hemingway on percussion; a John Coltrane tribute with Ascension; and an interpretation of his masterwork by Bay-Area-based ROVA Saxophone Quartet plus five rhythm, two violins and cornet.

So the ingredients are there — a city, but not too large, a University, strong community involvement, some corporate support, but not to the point where the tail wags the dog, and a dedicated team with a common vision.

This is not a put-down of large festivals. They do what they have to do in order to survive. Rather, it is an expression of regret that they have to dilute the content in order to be financially successful. But remember the immortal words of Yogi Berra: “If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up some place else.”

Any debate about the relationship between size and quality isn’t restricted to jazz festivals and I must confess that when I went online and asked the question, ‘Is bigger better?’ I had a host of replies that belong in a quite different sort of publication than The WholeNote. But I digress.

Of Olympic proportions: Undoubtedly the recent Olympic Games are a case in point. From the relatively innocent days of the early Games we now have a vast, commercial enterprise with a considerable number of events which — and this is a personal opinion — frankly don’t belong, largely because the judging is subjective and open to error or bias. Synchronised swimming requires a huge amount of ability and physical control, but is it really an Olympic event? Then why not include ballet?

However the name of the game is expand the audience base and make sponsors happy. And on the subject of sponsors and just how much influence they exert, here we have a huge event extolling the virtues of fitness and physical prowess sponsored by a huge corporation which sells a range of soft drinks that aren’t exactly health-giving.

Which reminds me of the disappointed Coca Cola salesman returning from his first Middle East assignment.

A friend asked, “Why weren’t you successful?”

The salesman explained, “When I got posted to the Middle East, I was very confident that I would do well as Cola is virtually unknown there and it would be a new and huge market. But, I had a problem; I didn’t know how to speak Arabic. So, I planned to convey the message through three posters , side by side ...

First poster, a man crawling through the hot desert sand totally exhausted and panting.

Second poster, the man drinking our Cola.

Third poster, our man now totally refreshed.

I had these posters pasted all over the place.”

“That should have worked,” said the friend.

The salesman replied, “Well, not only did I not speak Arabic, I also didn’t realize that with Arabic you read from right to left ...”

I will add one Olympic footnote:

The chief executive, ODA (Olympic Delivery Authority), received a basic salary of $578,564.44 CAD plus bonuses paid from the public purse. And the Games’ top executives make substantially more than that. So it was with interest that I read in Britain’s Telegraph newspaper an article saying that the Musicians’ Union had received complaints from members that they had been asked to donate services at the Games “because it’s such great exposure.”

Does that sound familiar to any of you musicians out there? No comment.

In the meantime, happy listening and try to put some live music in your life. 

Jim Galloway is a saxophonist, band leader and former artistic director of Toronto Downtown Jazz.  He can be contacted at jazznotes@thewholenote.com.

The 2012/13 season has a more conservative aura than have the past several seasons. For the large companies, this is likely a result of the perception four to five years ago when choices were made, that patrons with tighter resources would be less inclined to be adventurous. Nevertheless, while there is more standard repertoire on offer, there are still enough small companies in the city to offer the diversity we have grown used to.

COC:Compared to the past few seasons the upcoming choices of the Canadian Opera Company (www.coc.ca) are decidedly mainstream. The fall season opens Verdi’s Il Trovatore, not seen at the COC since 2005. The production from L’Opéra de Marseilles runs September 29 to October 31, 2012, and stars Ramón Vargas as Manrico, Elza van den Heever as Leonora, Elena Manistina as Azucena and Russell Braun as the Conte di Luna; Riccardo Massi sings Manrico on October 28 and 31. Marco Guidarini conducts and Charles Roubaud directs.

Alternating with Il Trovatore is a new COC production of Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss, Jr. The operetta was once one of the COC’s most performed works with eight productions between 1955 and 1991, but neither it nor any other operetta has been staged by the COC since then. The fact that the COC has commissioned its own new production suggests that we will be seeing Die Fledermaus more often. Michael Schade sings Gabriel von Eisenstein, Tamara Wilson is Rosalinde, Ambur Braid and Mireille Asselin alternate as Adele, Peter Barrett is Dr. Falke and, following tradition, Prince Orlofsky is played by a woman, Laura Tucker. The production is directed by Christopher Alden, who has directed the COC’s Der fliegende Holländer and last year’s Rigoletto. Johannes Debus conducts.

The winter season brings the first staging of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde by the COC since 1987. It runs from January 29 to February 23. Ben Heppner is scheduled to sing Tristan with Burkhard Fritz taking over on February 8 and 23. Melanie Diener will sing Isolde with Margaret Jane Wray taking over on February 8 and 23. Famed director Peter Sellars will recreate his production for L’Opéra national de Paris that makes extensive use of video by Bill Viola. Renowned Czech conductor Jiří Bělohlávek will wield the baton. In repertory with Tristan, from February 3 to 22, 2013, is Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito, not seen at the COC since 1991. Michael Schade sings the title role in Christopher Alden’s production created for the Chicago Opera Theater. Johannes Debus conducts.

In the spring season we have Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, not seen since 2004, running from April 17 to May 24, and starring Anna Christie in the title role. In repertory with Lucia is a revival of Atom Egoyan’s staging of Salome, not seen since 2001, running from April 21 to May 22. Erika Sunnegårdh sings the title role with Richard Margison as Herod. In May the two operas are joined by Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites, not seen since 1997, which runs from May 8 to 25. Isabel Bayrakdarian sings Blanche de la Force with Judith Forst as Madame de Croisy. The production from De Nederlandse Opera is directed by Robert Carsen.

Atelier: In 2012/13 Opera Atelier (www.operaatelier.com) breaks exciting new ground with its first-ever production of a 19th-century opera, Der Freischütz (1821) by Carl Maria von Weber. Even though the opera is standard repertory in central Europe, it has never been staged by the COC. The OA production will be the work’s first period production in North America. While the 19th century may seem a stretch for OA, it is not for the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra that has already played Beethoven’s symphonies to great acclaim and has programmed Chopin for next season. Der Freischütz, running October 27 to November 3, stars Krešimir Špicer as the title marksman Max, with Vasil Garvanliev as the villain Kaspar and soprano Meghan Lindsay as Max’s beloved Agathe, whom he hopes to win as his bride in a contest of marksmanship. As usual Marshall Pynkoski directs and David Fallis will conduct Tafelmusik.

In the spring, OA revives its beloved production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, running April 6 to 13. Since both Der Freischütz and The Magic Flute are singspiele (using spoken dialogue instead of recitative) and since both involve the supernatural, they make a fine pairing — Mozart emphasizing the triumph of reason over the irrational and Weber portraying just the opposite. The Magic Flute features many OA favourites including Colin Ainsworth, Olivier Laquerre, Ambur Braid and João Fernandes.

TOT: Toronto Operetta Theatre (www.toronto-operetta.com) will present only two works this season. The end-of-year treat is Franz Lehár’s The Merry Widow from December 28, 2012, to January 6, 2013, starring Leslie Ann Bradley, Elizabeth Beeler, Adam Luther and Keith Klassen. In the spring, TOT has Offenbach’s 1866 operetta La Vie parisienne, not seen at the TOT since 1992, which runs from April 30 to May 5. It features Elizabeth DeGrazia and Lauren Segal, and is conducted by Larry Beckwith.

Beckwith is also the artistic director of Toronto Masque Theatre (www.torontomasquetheatre.com). From May 10 to 12, TMT will present a operatic double bill combining new and old, East and West. The first work will be Venus and Adonis (1683) by John Blow. The second will be the world premiere of The Lesson of Da Ji by Toronto composer Alice Ping Yee Ho to a libretto by Marjorie Chan based on the Ming Dynasty fantasy novel The Investiture of the Gods. Beckwith will lead an orchestra of combined baroque and Chinese instruments.

OH:For further fully staged operas, Torontonians will have to take a trip down to Hamilton. Opera Hamilton (http://operahamilton.ca), which now performs in the more congenial Dofasco Centre rather than in Hamilton Place, will present Verdi’s Rigoletto on October 20, 23, 25 and 27, 2012, and Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers on March 9, 12, 14 and 16. OH has Jason Howard and Simone Osborne lined up for the Verdi and Brett Polegato and Virginia Hatfield for the Bizet.

In concert: Operas presented in concert help give breadth to the season. On November 1 and 3, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (www.tso.ca) will present a double bill of Beethoven’s Symphony No.8 with Manuel de Falla’s one-act opera La Vida breve (1913) with a cast of singers and flamenco dancers from Spain conducted by Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos. On February 15 and 16 the Toronto Consort will present the Canadian premiere of The Loves of Apollo and Daphne (1640) by Francesco Cavalli with Charles Daniels, Katherine Hill and Laura Pudwell.

Opera in Concert (www.operainconcert.com) which is rebranding itself as “Voicebox,” has scheduled the Canadian premiere of Rossini’s Armida (1817) for November 25, 2012, Handel’s Orlando (1733) for February 3 accompanied by the Aradia Ensemble, and Massenet’s Thaïs (1894) for March 24, starring Laura Whalen. Meanwhile, Opera by Request (www.operabyrequest.ca) has immediate plans for Umberto Giordano’s Andrea Chenier (1896) on September 22 and Wagner’s Die Walküre (1870) on September 29 with Rachel Cleland as Brünnhilde.

June opera: June was once devoid of opera — but no longer. Sometime in June the upstart company Against the Grain (againstthegraintheatre.com), known for staging opera in non-traditional venues, plans to present a new version of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro titled Figaro’s Wedding, rescored for piano and string quartet. And also sometime during the month Tapestry New Opera (www.tapestry-newopera.com) will present the Toronto premiere of Shelter by Juliet Palmer to a libretto by Julie Salverson about “a nuclear family adrift in the atomic age” with a child who glows in the dark. Tapestry will also present a workshop production of Ruth by Jeffrey Ryan to a libretto by Michael Lewis MacLennon based on the book in the Old Testament but applying the moral “your people shall be my people” to contemporary Canadian society.

And coming full circle: Speaking of Tapestry New Opera, too late to deal with fully in this column, but just in time for this note, this September 21 to 23 will be the presentation of Tapestry’s 12th annual “Opera Briefs,” featuring the best of the new works arising from its invigorating annual summer composer-librettist workshop affectionately known as the “LibLab.” See the listings, and the Tapestry website, for details. 

Christopher Hoile is a Toronto-based writer on opera and theatre.  He can be contacted at opera@thewholenote.com.

Ushering in the GTA’s fall season of music theatre, April 30th Entertainment presents the world premiere of Queen for a Day: the Musical on September 26, for a 12-show run (ending October 7) at the brand new Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts. With this show, the independent production company, a new player in the city’s burgeoning musical theatre scene, introduces a rarely seen developmental model — a full-scale, professional showcase aimed at future producers as well as current audiences. Not since Garth Drabinsky used the model in the 1980s has a commercial producer emerged to champion the creation and production of new musicals in Toronto, a role primarily left to the city’s not-for-profit companies. Indeed, Queen for a Day is a game-changer in the development of large-scale, original Canadian musicals.

The show’s subject matter is appropriate. Queen for a Day originated on American radio on April 30, 1945, where it ran for over a decade. Picked up by NBC Television in 1956, the show became one of the most popular on TV until its demise in 1964, its “rags to riches” format imitated by numerous game shows such as Strike It Rich and It Could Be You. As a prototype for “reality television,” the show changed American TV, its formula of elevating “ordinary women” to celebrity status, at least for 15 minutes, still a television staple. To win the title of “Queen for a Day,” contestants were invited by program host Jack Bailey to recount recent financial and emotional difficulties before a live studio audience whose “approval rating” was evaluated by an “applause meter.” Winners were then robed, crowned, and seated on a throne where, listening to their their prizes being announced, many broke down and wept. Winners’ prizes also included “extras” — gifts from sponsors that featured vacation trips, kitchen appliances and clothes. Runners-up also were rewarded while the audience clapped and cried its delight.

Queen for a Day garnered as many detractors as fans — which has helped to ensure its importance in the annals of popular culture, and for Linda Barnett, founder of April 30th Entertainment, made it a natural for adaptation to musical theatre — an opinion that her co-producers, Jeffrey Latimer and Natalie Bartello, share. “Being so surrounded by reality TV these last years,” Barnett explains, “Queen For A Day struck a chord as the first reality show on TV. Taking audiences back to the time where [these shows] fascinated and motivated us all, in that everything was done live and the women’s wishes were so simple and real.” The book for the musical (written by Chris Earle and Shari Hollett, with additional dialogue by Paul O’Sullivan and Timothy French) does more, however, than recreate the television show. The musical’s “past narrative,” as she calls it, “centres on the 24 hour period after Claribel Anderson appears on the show ... how her life drastically changes because of the experience.” In the present day narrative, Claribel, in her 80s and living as a hoarder, reflects on her experience for the benefit of Felicia, a troubled adolescent.

The way the two narratives inform each other was what most attracted Timothy French to the production. With a long career as a choreographer and director (recent credits include the acclaimed productions of Altar Boyz and [Title of Show] for Toronto’s Angelwalk Theatre), he joined the creative team over a year ago. Since then, dramaturging the book and directing a workshop of the show has only heightened his interest in the lives of the original participants — women like Claribel whose character is based on an actual winner. “What fascinates me is how that one day had repercussions in the women’s future lives that they never could have guessed.” The way winning the title “Queen for a Day” “changed the winners’ lives” is what he and his fellow writers seek to emphasize in the book.

The showhas an orchestra of ten and a cast of 22 performers, many with considerable experience. Not the least of these is Alan Thicke, the Canadian actor and seven-time Emmy nominee, best known as Dr. Jason Seaver (“America’s Dad”) on the television sit-com, Growing Pains. Thicke’s goal is to make the pivotal character of Jack Bailey as appealing today as he was in the 50s — not an easy feat given the evolution of gender politics. No stranger to musical theatre, Thicke’s credits include the role of lawyer Billy Flynn in the Broadway production of Chicago, and leads in Promises, Promises and Mame at the Hollywood Bowl. Joining him are Stratford veteran Denise Fergusson, who plays the elderly Claribel, and Blythe Wilson, another seasoned Stratford performer, as Claribel’s younger self. An impressive roster of musical stalwarts also includes Marisa McIntyre and Lisa Horner. “All of the cast were attracted to working with Tim,” Barnett explains, “and to the opportunities implicit in a commercial showcase that is still in development.”

Besides working as co-producer of the musical, Barnett assumes the ambitious task of writing and composing its 18 songs, arranged by Noreen Waibel and orchestrated by Mark Camilleri, musical director of the production. Unlike April 30th Entertainment itself, Barnett isn’t new to musical theatre. In 1986, she founded Stage Kids, whose mandate was to make musical theatre accessible to youth who otherwise could not afford to attend performances in main stage commercial venues. Over the next 20 years, she created, developed and produced 18 musicals with two teams of young people drawn from the company, receiving a Dora nomination in 1996 for The Player Principle. Two of her shows toured widely, and many of her “stage kids” have progressed to professional musical careers. One of Barnett’s greatest joys in working on the current show was seeing graduates of her program, résumés in hand, turn up at auditions.

The music in Queen for a Day Barnett characterizes as “eclectic, though much of it is rooted in a 50s sound,” which is fitting given that the younger Claribel wins the game-show in 1953 — the year in which much of the action is set. At that time, the series was telecast from the Moulin Rouge night-club in Los Angeles which the production recreates for a major portion of the show. Tim French is more specific in his comments about the music, noting that “musical motifs from the early 50s weave throughout the show, but there’s no attempt to create a period piece. Swing, boogie-woogie, Latin tango, they’re all there, but so are rock ‘n’ roll, hip-hop and rap — particularly in the contemporary scenes. It was important to write for today’s audience when the show moves to the present ... The songs develop plot and character, as in all musicals, and this is as true for Claribel and Felicia today as for the characters in the past.”

What will happen to Queen for a Day: the Musical after the showcase closes? Barnett and French realize there are various options and possibilities for its future, ranging from more development, perhaps by a regional theatre, to a commercial run and tour, using members of the current cast. What is certain at this point is that the time, money and talent lavished on the showcase ups the ante for the creation of musical theatre in the GTA. Yes, there’s a new player in town, with an eye on the prize of long-running success.

Julie sits waiting: The mandate of Good Hair Day Productions is to explore and challenge the formal possibilities of lyric theatre, and to examine the fragile cracks in human experience. The company’s new show, Julie Sits Waiting, opens in the BackSpace of Theatre Passe Muraille for a limited run on September 14, uniting a team of internationally-celebrated artists whose innovative work invariably excites expectations. Not least of these is Fides Krucker, the show’s producer and female lead, whose contributions to vocal music during the last 25 years in Canada and abroad are such that she recently won a Chalmers’ Fellowship to write a book about her artistic practice, vocal innovation and pedagogy.

Julie Sits Waiting is epic in purpose but small in size, and short in length—“67 minutes,” Krucker notes with pointed precision in an interview. “I need new forms,” she explains, referring to music, theatre, and the creation and performance of both. Because she plays a married mother in the show, a woman involved in a passionate and ultimately tragic love affair with an Anglican priest, her remark could easily apply to new models of intimacy as well, which I point out. She muses for a moment, then asks, “How do we reconcile reason and passion?” Her question resonates not only through the annals of art, but those of politics, love and sex—indeed, through all the profound and picayune intricacies of life and spirituality. Epic.

In 2006, after working with collectives for years, Krucker decided to commission a single writer and a single composer to create the libretto and score of what has become Julie Sits Waiting. For the libretto, she turned to Tom Walmsley, a writer whose brutally honest portrayals of sex and violence in plays such as White Boys (1982), Getting Wrecked (1985) and Blood (1995) led one critic to call him “Canadian theatre’s chief chronicler of the dark underside of Canadian urban life.” Initially intimidated, Walmsley accepted after listening to recordings by Stravinsky, Wagner and other musical iconoclasts that Krucker hand-picked and delivered, finally expressing his astonishment that, in opera, “you get to write the subtext!” Krucker, likewise surprised by the subject of his libretto (the perils of succumbing to love at first sight), now embraces it fully: “Tom’s words are physically connected with the body, not with images; they are visceral.” At the same time, their meaning is “distilled to essences—to poetry, like haiku.”

To find a composer for Julie Sits Waiting, Krucker looked to Quebec where she eventually commissioned Louis Dufort, a Montreal artist known for electroacoustic composition and, in particular, creations for Québeçois dancer and choreographer, Marie Chouinard. Improvising with a group of actor/musicians who voiced Walmsley’s text in a series of workshops, Dufort composed a score that, in Krucker’s estimation, combines “a beauty and grittiness appropriate to Walmsley’s words” with textures that are “edgy and urgent.” It also requires her and fellow performer, Richard Armstrong, to move from speech and chant to virtuosic bel canto and extended-voice singing.

Having worked with Richard Armstrong since the mid-1990s, Krucker was able to convince him to make a rare foray into performing the role of Mick, Julie’s paramour—an undertaking she regards as “a renaissance of sorts, for him, as a performer.” A pioneer of “extended-voice,” a vocal technique that pushes the boundaries of normal singing to include (potentially) all the sounds that the human voice can make, Armstrong, as a founding member of the Roy Hart Theatre in France during the 60s, helped to create one of Europe’s most influential schools of voice and body research. His work as a teacher, director and performer has taken him to over 30 countries and inspired a generation of performers. Associate professor of drama at New York University’s Experimental Theater Wing of the Tisch School of the Arts, his appearance here is a treat.

Krucker has assembled a talented team for the production, worthy of its performers. Directors Alex Fallis and Heidi Strauss, designers Teresa Przybylski (set and costume), Jeremy Mimnagh (video) and Rebecca Picherack (lighting) are joined by Darren Copeland who has the uncanny ability to make complex electronic sound available to human ears while simultaneously amplifying voices so that they still sound human.

Julie sits waiting ... but not for long. My hot tip for the month. 

Based in Toronto, Robert Wallace writes about theatre and performance. He can be contacted at musictheatre@thewholenote.com.