Tenor Tales

ClassicalTV.com

2009-09-08T20:38:00.000-07:00

I am very curious about how this pans out - a new website is out now called ClassicalTV.com which broadcasts Operas, Jazz, and much more. For more on the website check out the LA Times article (CLICK HERE).

Here is one of the many videos I found there - I always get a kick out of the Pavarotti duets. What do you think?

R.I.P. Hildegard Behrens

2009-08-19T10:51:00.000-07:00

The great soprano Hildegard Behrens died in Tokyo yesterday. She was a great contributor to the arts and a wonderful interpreter. Keep singing!

Imogen Heap business model

2009-08-19T07:48:00.000-07:00

I read this article about how Imogen Heap has built her own fan-base and really created her own career. She used technology to its fullest and really connects to her fans. There is a lot in here any performer can learn from. Check it out HERE.

And since I'm talking about Imogen Heap I had to put up one of my favorite videos of her. Enjoy!

Stephen Schwartz Opera

2009-07-29T15:17:00.001-07:00

Now this is my kind of opera - I hope this works!!!

CLICK HERE for more info on Stephen Schwart'z new opera.

A capella - Africa by Toto

2009-07-22T04:15:00.000-07:00

I just thought this was a lot of fun and had to share - thanks Daphne! (sorry, this was the smallest I could make it)

What Classical Singers Can Learn From Rock/Pop Concerts

2009-07-18T06:12:00.000-07:00

The other night I was browsing MSN's Internet TV and came across a complete London concert by Alanis Morissette. I was only a few minutes into the concert when I had to pull my planner out and take some intense notes. The concert seemed pretty standard for its genre, but I was riveted. It lasted just over an hour, and she held my attention the entire time.

I want to be able to captivate audiences that way in my recitals, and I am very aware that I have a lot of work to do to achieve that goal. I am in the process of creating a program that incorporates the following ideas, some of which I'm not sure will work - but I'm going to try :):

Alanis' entire concert was upbeat and quick keeping the pacing up with basically no transition time between songs. This did two things: 1) when she did stop at the climax of the night and switched to only piano and her with intimate lighting and a slow song it was that much more compelling, and 2) she kept the momentum up the entire night. I think when we take long pauses between sets we lose our audience.
You really get the sense that Alanis is completely devoting herself to her audience. She keeps a rapport with them the entire night making interjections and expressing gratitude. You never get the feeling that she feels above them - she is part of them having a good time.
There is a constant change of musical texture. Whether she cuts/adds guitars, changes the sound from the synth or drummer no two songs together were exactly alike in their sound. We have so many opportunities to do the same - different instrumentation, duets/small ensembles, etc.
Alanis does more than just sing. Sometimes she sings by herself, then she would play the harmonica, and in some songs she would accompany herself on the guitar. I remember a fun recital I attended where the singer switched with the pianist on a fun upbeat number. I guarantee that's the piece everyone remembers most from that night.
Change up the level of motion - depending on the style/mood of the song sometimes she was running around the stage, other times she stood firm in front of the mic. Why can't we take up more of the stage if we set it up right?
The stage itself was in constant motion. The other musicians kept up the pace, along with lighting, smoke, and other techniques. Most of the performance spaces we use have the ability to use lighting and other such effects - we should use all of our resources.
Alanis was in constant interaction with the other musicians, giving them credit whenever she could. (I remember one of my early recitals when I was so nervous I never really acknowledged my accompanist - I can't think of that performance without a pang of guilt.) The best performers make way and give space to other greats.
I tend to perform with one set that is more well-known to the audience for a little "relief". Alanis spread her standards around the evening and gave them prominence. This was a great way to break up the motion and yet keep the crowd interested. Maybe the concept of sets is a little overrated? Most of Pavarotti's recitals that I have seen don't really incorporate sets.
In a live event we cannot ignore the theatrical element - it is theater. When we go to the symphony part of the experience is watching - the conductor, the coordinated strings, the motion of the players, etc. It is easy to ignore this element in solo recitals much to our detriment. Alanis may have gone a little crazy for my taste, but for her audience it was what they were doing as well.
Every song in Alanis' concert had a unique feel to it, justifying its existence in the program. Instead of having one or two songs in the performance that I remember, or just an overall feeling, I can quite vividly remember the majority of the numbers as they each stand out separately. She worked harder to make the lesser known songs stand out, and then didn't have to do much for the standards.
She didn't hide the "in-between stuff". In my recitals I usually take a break between sets and go off to drink, spray, catch my breath, rest for a moment, whatever. She did that while the band played the little interludes between numbers, or while she was talking to the band. This kept the concert moving.
No programs - this may seem obvious in a rock concert, but maybe we spoil some of the surprise in our recitals when we give them all of the numbers in advance. Part of the fun of the concert is hoping she will do certain songs just for you, not knowing when they will come. For those of us who sing in different languages we can employ the use of supertitles. They are quite easy to set up now, and keep the audience from having to lean over programs during your theatrical performance.

So, now to try to create a program for myself that incorporates those elements and then go from there. I'm even thinking about perhaps expanding our resources in terms of "re-orchestrating" some of our art songs to take advantage of advances in synthesizer and other similar technology. There is just way to much fun to be had :).

Here is the opening of her concert (incidentally, it was fun to sort through all of the cell phone recordings of this before finding the more professional version - the experience obviously meant something to a lot of people):

If you have Vista or XP Media Center Edition (I think) you can watch the entire concert on their Internet TV.

Brain Music - MRI of the "musical brain"

2009-07-13T08:52:00.001-07:00

Okay, this just completely blows my mind, perhaps quite literally. Just check it out...

How to Listen to Music with Your Whole Body: Evelyn Glennie

2009-06-27T20:48:00.000-07:00

Evelyn Glennie is a world-class percussionist, and has been deaf since she was 12 (not completely, but almost). This video contains some very profound truths about listening to music and to each other, and on how to be a better musician. This also shows where so much of the beauty lies in new music. Enjoy!

Here is a link to her short bio on her website (CLICK HERE) and her Wikipedia article (CLICK HERE).

Rheingold Cartoon

2009-06-17T05:40:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across this last night and thought it was hilarious, and actually quite a fun idea. I think it would be a lot of fun to update the animation and put together a project like this for kids, don't you think? The story and music certainly fit this kind of presentation.

The entire opera was condensed down to 30 minutes (a feat in itself) for television in 1991. Enjoy!

I've never seen a Freia that looked like that ;).

Tom Johnson - Failing

2009-06-10T08:23:00.000-07:00

Here's another piece I recently became aware of in my Music Since WWII class and it's a lot of fun. It's called Failing by Tom Johnson composed for Double Bass. The bass player is supposed to read a written out piece of text while playing little musical figures which get increasingly harder. Unfortunately I couldn't find an example of the score online, but here is a performance (the volume is quite soft, so you'll need to turn it up).

S. Scott "Entrada" & Mark Wingate "Welcome to Medicare"

2009-06-05T19:31:00.000-07:00

I am taking a class right now entitled "Music Since WWII" which I am enjoying immensely. It is a chance to experience many modern composers I have learned to love, and also get to know a lot of new ones. Here a couple of my new favorites:

Mark Wingate, "Welcome to Medicare":

Stephen Scott, "Entrada":
This piece is written for "bowed piano". I'll just let you take it in for yourself.

Masters Recital Clips

2009-06-03T08:22:00.000-07:00

For whatever reason it's taken me a long time to get around to listening to the recording of my Masters Recital. I think I was concerned that I would be overly critical with myself. Well, today I finally listened, and though we always hear things in ourselves we could fix, I am extremely pleased with the performance.

I really enjoyed singing the program, and those who performed with me (Eun Mi Lee on piano, and Sivan Adato on french horn) did incredibly well. It is a great pleasure creating art with such accomplished musicians. I am also deeply grateful for all of those who assisted me in my preparations, particularly my teacher Shirley Close and my coach Valerie Trujillo. I'll miss you all!!

I have posted a few examples from the recording on my website - CLICK HERE for the link.

Why Do You Go to the Opera (Or Why Not?) - Schenk vs. Freyer

2009-05-25T07:23:00.000-07:00

Opera is such a funny thing.

Since deciding to attend the University of Southern California this fall I have been extremely excited about the LA Opera's new production of the Ring cycle by Wagner, set to play in its entirety in the spring. As with any opera there is a lot of discussion as to how to present it. The controversy gets even hotter when comparing this production to the recently laid-to-rest world famous Otto Schenk production that has been at the Met for at least twenty years.

Schenk's production is huge and very (as the New York Times suggests) story-book like. I have enjoyed this production for some time now as I have them all on DVD. The presentation is awe-inspiring - it looks like watching Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies live on stage. Amazing!

During the final run of this production at the Met Schenk (now 78) took curtain calls and received thunderous ovations. This has been the Wagner standard for a generation.

Now another German is in charge of LA Opera's 32 million dollar production of the Ring, and seems to represent much more what is going on in opera productions in Germany. I recently read the book "What the Fach" (a great book for anyone even thinking about a singing/opera career in Germany - see link below) in which the difference between American and German operatic sensitivity is discussed. According to German directors Americans want opera only exactly how the composer intended it because we only see a production of an opera maybe once or twice. Germans have seen everything multiple times, so they need something new each time or they get bored.

So, the new production of the Ring by Freyer (hired by Placido Domingo himself) looks more like a minimilist version of Star Wars. According to my upcoming teacher at USC (Gary Glaze) the production is actually quite stunning and fun to watch, however, the Wagner "purists" are going crazy. So, what is right? Or is there a right and we should we just be allowed to have a little fun? Or, since in America since we all only see one of these operas once should we feel bad that the only productions out there often seem inaccessible and so far from the original?

I have mixed feelings about it, but I'm curious what you all think of it whether you're in opera or not. I'd actually really love to hear from those who don't attend the opera very often. What, if anything, entices you to go? What keeps you from going? In the case of an opera like this, would you be more intrigued by the opportunity to see it exactly how it was to be, or does a new more techie production sound more interesting?

At least in the United States it seems that all of these efforts, whether going forward or backwards, is aimed at reaching some kind of demographic (either trying to get a new audience or secure an old one), and I'm not sure it's working in either direction. In this economy where opera companies are falling left and right there is a desperate push to get more people buying tickets. (In my opinion opera has been too "aloof" from making money for too long and now they're paying the price....anyway....)

So, a big question to opera goers and non-goers - what makes you want to see a production? What makes you want to (or not want to) go to an opera?

Oh, and here is an idea of how the new Freyer production (I have to admit, any opera that gives me the chance to maybe use a lightsaber, really gets me excited):

For the recent NY Times article on the operas, CLICK HERE.

The great book, "What the Fach?"

People Want to "Experience" Things (not own them)

2009-05-19T08:28:00.000-07:00

I was reading in the LA Times this morning an interesting article about the panic in Hollywood over a plummet in DVD sales. Usually when a movie did particularly well in the Box office it would generate a very predictable large amount of DVD sales. It doesn't seem to work that way anymore.

Nowadays, according to the article, people are much more quality conscious. If a movie isn't good, no matter how well it did in initial sales people just aren't interested in owning it or viewing it multiple times.

What particularly struck my interest was the idea that people aren't interest in owning media, they're mostly interested in experiences:

"You could also argue that we now live in a cultural moment where people don't want to own things as much as they want to experience them. That would explain why event-oriented entertainment -- be it in the movie multiplexes and Imax theaters, the concert business or big arena sporting events -- is enjoying considerable success while stay-at-home entertainment (DVD and TV) has seen considerable drop-off."

I've often wondered if in our world now where everything recorded is essentially free or easily accessible if the allure of such media would diminish. A happy byproduct of the decline is a need to see things happen in front of you. This is wonderful news for live performances, particularly those who can really give the audience an experience. In the art music world of recital, operas, concerts, etc. we have an opportunity to shine if we take it upon ourselves to provide that experience.

Let's get to work!

(for the complete article, CLICK HERE).

Marilyn Horne - C is for Cookie

2009-04-23T12:22:00.000-07:00

My singing career started in 2nd grade when I would finish tests really fast, go in the back and put "C is for Cookie" on the record player with head-phones, then sing it at the top of my longs out loud while everyone else was still taking their tests. I have a bit of a legacy with this song, and it's nice to see someone like Marilyn Horne lending her own interpretation to this masterpiece.

Swashbuckler Ad

2009-03-12T07:49:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun watching this family ad. Check it out:

Go play with your kids!

Down to the Earth

2009-03-01T09:40:00.000-08:00

I know it's been some time since I last blogged, and honestly I have quite the list of things I still plan on blogging. But to get back in the swing of things, I just wanted to put something I feel is particularly important today. I have been doing a lot of introspection recently about the things that are most important to me, and the exercise has been very revealing.

We live in a society where we focus a lot on being better than everyone else. Americans now work more hour than the Japanese (click here for more). Now with a recession everyone is concerned about where the money is going to come from - we're stressed, over-extended, and over-worked. So at least at those things maybe we're the best.

I love this country, and I love the opportunities that I enjoy for being a part of it. I just think we can all do a lot for ourselves by just slowing down a little bit and noticing what wonderful things we have around us. Instead of trying to be better than everyone else, it's time to stop competing and start thriving on our blessings.

One of the things that I love about the movie Wall-E is the message that after trying so hard to reach for the stars and get ahead, what we end up wanting in the end more than anything is what we already had. The Peter Gabriel song during the closing credits says this better than anything (CLICK HERE for lyrics, they're great):

Spend time with your families, enjoy a great book, listen to some beautiful music, take a look at the amazing earth we live on. Come "down to the ground", and don't let your ambitions get in the way of your life...

Fach

2008-11-11T05:05:00.000-08:00

I have been searching the web for as comprehensive a Fach (voice category based on vocal timbre, weight, etc.) list I could find (based on the Kloiber buch Handbuch der Oper), and I think I finally found a decent one (CLICK HERE).

Now that I've found the list I have a decision to make. I was told some time ago that in order to have a nice long career it is a good idea to find your Fach and sing one lighter. I believe that I have done that, identifying my "future" self as a Spinto (Jugendliche Heldentenor) Tenor, which means I should sing Lyric Tenor repertoire first (CLICK HERE for the tenor Fach list).

However, I have sung through several arias and even a couple of roles in the Spinto fach, and they feel really good, with a little temptation on some of them to sing heavy. In Germany (where I intend to go and work next fall) they are really picky about choosing things from only one Fach. I am sure that it is harder to find a Spinto Tenor than it is to find a Lyric Tenor, so from a purely marketing standpoint it seems wise to lean that way - plus since I'm 30 my voice is already pretty mature (though there is more to go).

So here is what I think I should do - choose the roles that appear on both lists and prepare those first. Here is what roles that would include:

Berlioz - La Damnation de Faust - Faust
Gounod - Faust - Faust
Puccini - La Boheme - Rodolfo
Puccini - Madame Butterfly - Pinkerton
Smetana - The Bartered Bride - Jenik
Strauss, R. - Capriccio - An Italian Singer
Strauss, R. - Die Frau ohne Schatten - Kaiser (The Emperor)
Stavinsky - The Rake's Progress - Tom Rakewell
Verdi - Rigoletto - Duca

Those become obvious choices, with a few sticking out because they are performed so often, including Faust, La Boheme, Madame Butterfly, and Rigoletto.

In Germany it is essential that you come with some Mozart, which means I do have to make a Fach choice here since my preparation has been in both. In this case I would choose Lyric tenor stuff such as:

Cosi fan tutte - Ferrando
Don Giovanni - Don Ottavio
Die Zauberflote - Tamino

(Interestingly enough, Clemenza di Tito is listed under Spinto.)

So, hopefully choosing those roles to start with, including a couple other lyric roles like Alfredo from La Traviata, Nemorino from L'Elisir d'Amore, Walther from Tannhauser, etc. I put myself in the Lyric fach with definite direction towards Spinto.

Any other opinions out there (rhetorical :) )? Thanks for letting me think "out loud".

Muppets - Habanera

2008-11-06T15:29:00.001-08:00

Another fabulous Muppet video:

And another:

My Clemenza di Tito Review

2008-11-03T10:24:00.000-08:00

After the successful completion of another show, and due to the fact that the reviewer probably attended the performance of the other cast, I thought I would write my own review of the show. This is the true review:

Jessica Marie Dold's (Vitellia) bold sound and glorious high notes kept the audience riveted. She also showed her grasp of color and dynamic range, taking us all on a journey through each of her arias.

Ryan Speedo Green (Publio) looked and sounded about as tough as anyone can on stage, and yet sang with power and beauty. I'm not sure how anyone would dare to mess with Tito with a body guard like that.

Emily Vacek (Servilia) sang with finesse and beauty, and looked just like a Disney princess. Her moments on stage were true gems.

Christina Bakhoum (Annio) showed off the depth in her sound, and played her character in way that put the audience on her side.

Rebecca Grace Fadell (Sesto) charmed the audience with the richness of her voice, and played every side of Sesto. She showed a real ability to bring out the different colors in her voice, all within the context of Mozart style.

The chorus was amazing, blending their voices beautifully, and handling all of those confusing set changes masterfully.

Douglas Fisher showed a deep understanding of Mozart style, and stayed right with the singers at all time. He is trully a singer's conductor.

Matthew Lata's direction gave real theatrical and dramatic depth to a piece that is difficult to perform effectively. Each character had a specific journey, and the overall concept and design was superb.

Great job everyone! It was a real pleasure to work with you all.

Sabbath Songs on iTunes

2008-10-23T11:53:00.000-07:00

Sabbath Songs is now available on iTunes! Just open up your version of iTunes (download at www.apple.com/itunes), click on the iTunes store, then search for either Eric Hanson or Sabbath Songs.

For a hard copy of the CD, CLICK HERE.

Cujus Animam

2008-10-06T11:14:00.000-07:00

Here is a video of the dress rehearsal of me singing Cujus Animam in Costa Rica.

Che gelida manina

2008-10-05T05:09:00.001-07:00

Just a quick note - I've posted video from me singing Che gelida manina in Florida State Opera's 2007 production of La boheme. You can see it at my website (CLICK HERE), or below. Enjoy!

Clemenza di Tito

2008-09-18T07:47:00.000-07:00

I was recently cast in Florida State opera's production of Clemenza di Tito by Mozart as Tito, and it will run on the 1st and 2nd of November in the Opperman Music Hall at FSU. I'm not sure which night I will sing, but it is one of those two nights. I will keep you posted.

This is one of Mozart's more obscure operas written at the same time he wrote The Magic Flute, and is actually the last opera he ever wrote. It is quite difficult to pull off dramatically. So, to prepare you for the show I thought I would run through the plot and show you some of the interesting parts (see if you can keep up):

It's in two Acts,

Act I:
This is a classical operatic love triangle story with a twist. Vitellia (really mean girl) is the daughter of an ex-emperor (not sure how he became an "ex") and she really wants power back. The emperor now is me (Titus or Tito) and he's a really nice guy, but Vitellia doesn't like him because he has all the power she wants. She does have an opportunity though - Sextus (or Sesto) who is Titus' great great friend is in love with Vitellia, which she uses as a chance to get revenge on Titus. Titus was going to marry Berenice (a Roman Jewish queen - daugher of King Herod - yes, that King Herod) but decides not to marry her because he needs to marry a Roman Roman girl (not a Roman Jewish one) - even though he is in love with Berenice. Vitellia tells Sextus to act against Titus, but to wait until after Titus chooses a new bride in hopes that it will be Vitellia (the less violent way of becoming queen).

Now follow me here - Titus does choose a bride, but it isn't Vitellia (uh-oh), it's Servilia. To make matters worse Servilia is actually Sextus' sister (so, he's marrying his best friend's Roman Roman sister). So Titus orders Annius (or Annio - Sextus' other friend) to tell Servilia the "good" news. But here's the problem that Titus doesn't know about - Annius is actually in love with Servilia.

So far:

Titus = loves Berenice, she's not Roman, chooses Servilia

Vitellia = wants power, hopes to be Titus' bride, not chosen

Sextus = Titus' good good friend, loves Vitellia

Annius = Sextus' friend, works for Titus, loves Servilia

Servilia = Sextus' sister, loves Annius, chosen to be Titus' bride

With me so far? Take a moment to catch your breath if you must. If you get all of that the rest isn't so hard - it's kind of like playing dot to dot.

Servilia and Annius are bummed out because they love each other which means Servilia doesn't want to get married to Titus, so she decides to tell Titus. However, being the faithful good Roman that she is she also decides that if Titus insists that she marry him, she will go through with it. She tells Titus, and since he's really a great guy he says he would never come between her and Annius.

Now here is a classic opera "oops" moment - during all of this Titus being nice stuff Vitellia has heard about him choosing Servilia and she's REALLY mad now! So, she convinces Sextus (Titus' good good friend) to assasinate him. Sesto sings a famous aria about it (Parto, parto):

(Check out Vitellia's hair!!)

Now here's the part I'm sure you were expecting - as soon as Sextus leaves to do the deed, Annius shows up with some news. Titus has chosen Vitellia to be his new bride (OOPS!! - what has she done). She feels just a little bit guilty, but it's too late - Sextus is gone.

Sextus himself is off trying to decide if he really wants to go through with this, but cannot stop himself and his friends from burning down the capital. Everyone (but Titus) comes in and reacts in horror to the burning capital - as any of us would. Sextus comes in and announces that he saw Titus get killed, which of course increases the shock and horror in true Mozartian fashion. Sextus is about to admit he did it, but Vitellia stops him. The chorus mourns.

Act II:

Annius comes in (once again with news) and tells Sextus, guess what...Titus is alive! Hooray! Annius saw him walking around the smoke and rubble, which means Sextus mistook him for another. Publius comes in (oh yeah, he's Titus actual good good friend - probably because he's paid to be, his body guard and head of police) and arrests Sextus. He tells Sextus that he had stabbed one of his own co-conspirators dressed as Titus (why was he dressed as Titus?....).

Sextus appears before the senate and is tried while Titus waits in shock. Remember, he thought Sextus was his good good friend. Sextus, feeling very guilty admits his guilt and says he should be put to death. Titus agrees and has him sent away. Now, you may have noticed that the title is "Clemenza" di Tito, which probable implies there will be some clemency somewhere. Just you wait!

Titus has a raging struggle within himself (which isn't easy to do with just recitative, so luckily he has an aria as well):

(in this clip Stuart Burrows really shows the raging internal struggle... ... ... ....)

and decides (yes all of that was one long extended parenthesis) that he will not rule by fear, because he doesn't want servants and subjects devoted falsely because of fear. He tears up the execution order! See, he really is a great guy!

Vitellia is also tormented by guilt, and sings about it.

They gather at the ampitheater where Sextus is to be thrown to the wild beasts, and Vitellia steps forward to admit her part in the plot, which bums out Titus - I mean come on, show the guy some love! But because he is even awesomer than anyone thought, he grants Vitellia clemency as well! What a guy!

Everyone sings about how wonderful he is, and the curtain falls as Victor Borge says - not fast enough.

For more info and fun facts CLICK HERE for the Wikipedia article.

12 Tone Hits

2008-08-21T07:22:00.000-07:00

My teacher just sent me the link to this little gem. Hilarious!