2012.11.17. Opera - King for a day

Seattle Opera's Young Artists Program performed Un Giorno Di Regno by Verdi, in honor of his 200th birthday (almost, 11 months short). Only one show in Seattle.

Cavalier di Belfiore Hunter Enoch
Treasure La Rocca    Matthew Scollin
Baron di Kelbar      Colin Ramsey
Edoardo di Sanval    Theo Lebow
Giulietta di Kelbar  Deborah Nansteel
Marchesa del Poggio  Dana Pundt

Strong voices except for Marchesa (she got better in the 2nd act. A wonderful actress though). Benaroya Hall's recital hall is too small for these voices. Excellent acting, good costume. No stage set except for 6 chairs. One piano, no other instrument. A delightful but silly opera with nice melodies. Short: 2 hours including an intermission.

It's good to see that the venue was almost full. A good support for these young singers.

2012.11.15. Emanuel Ax with Seattle Symphony

After a long and stressful day, I decided to go hear Emanuel Ax to unwind.

Brahms:          Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83   
Henri Dutilleux: The Shadows of Time, for 3 Children's Voices and Orchestra   
R. Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks, Op. 28

I like the 3rd movement more than the other 3 of Brahms' concerto. Overall, I'm not so taken by it. The 4 movements are seemly disjoint. The solo horn opening feels sticky. Dutilleux's is a cacophony of sound: larger orchestra, more percussion, heavy use of the double base. Too loud and messy for my liking. The 5 movements ("Les Heures", "Ariel maléfique", "Mémoire des ombres", "Vagues de lumière" and "Dominante bleue?") have no clear boundary, if there is one. The children's voices are sweet, but I couldn't make out the words. I prefer the last and the shortest piece in tonight's program. Strauss' is also loud at times, but has more of a plot, and some interesting sounds. The audience, however, were more taken by the first 2 works. During the Ask the Artist session after concert, questions were all in these two pieces. Morlot, again, called Dutilleux, "my dearest friend", and praised the poetry in his music, which failed to emerge to a layman like me. I recommend these Q&A sessions for anyone who wouldn't mind getting home late, and I appreciate the artists taking the extra time to enlighten me.

Ax appears very courteous. He moves his head and mouth a lot, especially when he plays strong notes, but not making any noise or over showy gestures like many young pianists nowadays. Tonight, as an encore, he played a Schumann piece with the principle cello Efe Baltacıgil.

2012.11.10. PNB All Premiere

Arms that work:

music   - Barrett Anspach 
choreography - Andrew Bartee
costume      - Mark Zappone

Novel costume, not sure I like it. A row of vertical elastic band. Interesting in forming geometric shapes. But I don't know what it signifies.

Lost in light:

music   - Dan Coleman
choreography - Margaret Mullin
costume      - Alexis Mondragon

No stage set. I didn't like men's costume. It has a waist.

Kammermusik #3:

music   - Paul Hindemith
choreography - Mark Morris, Tina Fehlandt
costume      - Mark Zappone

no stage set. 3 different background height. All red. Music and movement are more in sync. Stronger beat in music. Simple movements but more elaborate combinations.

Sum Stravinsky:

music   - Igor Stravinsky
choreography - Liyon Gaines
costume      - Pauline Smith

no stage set. More conventional dress and movement.

All new pieces. 2 intermissions. Announcement started at 7:37, all done by 9:40. Box office opens 90 minutes before curtain. Rush tickets are $5 more, contrary to rational thinking. No wonder, the house was only ~70% full. A pity for a Saturday night.

2012.11.9. Leonard Cohen at Key Arena

Old Ideas album tour of 2012. At 78, Leonard Cohen doesn't have much voice, but he sang with emotion and tenderness. He usually starts a song kneeling down. He holds the mic so close that his lips touch it. Most of the time he slouches when he sings or recites a poem. Whether new or old, all bleak, sometimes, with cracks where the light comes in (as in his lyrics). Same old style, similar tempo, melancholy, short melodies with small range of pitch + variations. Cohen was very courteous when speaking. He took off his hat whenever introducing a band member, each was given sufficient chance to demonstrate his virtuoso. They are all very talented. My favorite is the guitar guru from Barcelona. All strings in the band wear black hats like Cohen does. All in black suit, including the 3 girls on vocal. No modern and fancy lighting or apparatus.

The concert started 15 minutes late. Not bad. People can go in and out throughout. 2 encores at the end that lasted ~25 minutes. At each finish, Cohen sort of leaped off stage. Over 3 hours of standing. So much energy for someone who's almost 80.

It wasn't a full house. 200 levels are closed behind black drapes.

2012.11.8. Seattle Symphony with John Adams

John Adams    conductor
Jonathan Biss piano
John Adams:   Harmonielehre   
Beethoven:    Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73, "Emperor"

Adams spoke at the beginning of the concert, saying how fortunate to both compose and conduct. Don't know if he'll do the same for the next 2 performances. He is a very energetic conductor. His symphony is loud, except for the very beginning of the 3rd movement. Big orchestra filled to the brim of the stage, 5 guys on percussion, who had to move about their toys. It started rhythmic repetition without much of any melody, but not entire atonal either. I'm not sure I enjoyed it, but I'm glad to have heard it. Beethoven's, in comparison, is music to the ears. Smaller orchestra (~20% less string, ~60% less wind, only 1 on percussion). Biss is a little too loud in my opinion. But the transition between the 2nd and 3rd movement was done beautifully. The audience loved him. He has a way of swaying his body when playing, and leaning back so much after he's done with a segment, that I feared he would fall off the chair. In 3 occasions, I believe (not certain), I could hear his seemingly intentional heavy breathing when playing strong notes, in the same tempo.

After the concert, two of them changed attires and appeared in the lobby to answer questions, which is very gracious of them. One German lady corrected Adams' pronunciation of the title of his own symphony. Whoever spoke lauded them. I took some note of 2 music pieces to check out later.