Baritone Elliot Madore performing at Memorial Hall on Sunday/ Photos provided by Gayna Bassin
When soprano Valerie Eickhoff canceled her debut with Matinée Musicale on about three days notice last week due to illness, it was sheer luck that another singer was available to step in. And conveniently, he lives in Cincinnati. Baritone Elliot Madore wowed the audience on Sunday evening in Memorial Hall with a wide-ranging program that opened with the Liederkreis Op. 39 by Schumann and ended with Rogers and Hammerstein’s “My Boy Bill.”
Madore is a star who is busy singing in opera houses around the world while he is also teaching the stars of the future at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. His collaborative pianist was CCM professor Donna Loewy, who had never played with him before. Madore joined the faculty in August of 2021, and we learned later that this was his Cincinnati recital debut.Read More »
Last week, I had the privilege of talking to opera star Ryan Speedo Green about his upcoming appearance, 3 p.m. Sunday March 27 at the First Unitarian Church in Avondale, presented by Matinee Musicale.
Currently, he is singing his fifth production this season at the Metropolitan Opera, “Ariadne auf Naxos.”
He told me this inspiring story about his 4th-grade teacher, Elizabeth Hughes, who encouraged and believed in him and stayed in touch through thick and thin. I’ve been reading the excellent book about his life, “Sing For Your Life” by Daniel Bergner, and it’s detailed there.
But we touched on many other topics. He has been to Cincinnati before — to audition for graduate studies at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. (He ended up going to Florida State University.) He’ll be giving a free master class at CCM on Saturday. And he has a brother in Dayton.
But he has never set foot in Music Hall.
Here’s a bit about Sunday’s program. He’s opening with the spiritual, “Deep River.” Besides some German lieder by Hugo Wolf and opera arias, he will be singing African American art songs.
“I love showcasing African-American music in a classical style. I will throw in spiritual because, obviously, it’s part of my history and part of African-American history,” he said.
“Then, German is sort of my lifeblood at the moment. It’s where I became a man and a musician in the opera world, living in Vienna. I been living in Europe for almost eight going on nine years, and (singing at) one of the greatest opera houses in Europe at the Wiener Staatsoper for five of those years. I learned so much from there, being immersed amongst the Austrian and German culture and really got to hone my German.”
Green will be singing Mahler, Wagner (an aria from “Der fliegende Holländer”) and one his favorite Verdi arias from “MacBeth.” And, we can expect a piece from one of his favorite oratorios, Mendelssohn’s “Elijah.”
“I consider myself operatically a Verdi – Wagner singer,” he said. “I love Mozart. I love all of these composers. I’m going to give you a little bit of a taste of my future.
“I’m excited to showcase my gambit of musical styles.”
Tickets, $25, at matineemusicalecincinnati.org or call 513-977-8838. Green also performs a free master class, 1:30-3:30 p.m. Saturday March 26 in Werner Hall at University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
Mezzo-soprano Megan Moore. Photo by Jennifer Taylor
Megan Moore, a 31-year-old mezzo-soprano from West Chester Township, has won a 2022 George London Award, which includes a prize of $10,000. She was one of five winners recently announced of the 50th George London Foundation Competition.
The final round with 12 finalists took place at Gilder Lehrman Hall at The Morgan Library & Museum in New York City on Feb. 25. Susanna Phillips, international opera star and 2005 George London Award winner, was the livestream host. (Watch it here.) Megan’s performance begins at 1:01:50 in the video.
The other 2022 George London Award winners are Erik Grendahl, Timothy Murray, Blake Denson and Eric Ferring.
Megan recently completed an Artist Diploma at The Juilliard School.
Last summer, she created the role of Ino in the world premiere of John Corigliano & Mark Adamo’s Lord of Cries at Santa Fe Opera. Megan looks forward to her Metropolitan Opera debut in Brett Dean’s Hamlet, opening May 13. Among her many awards, she has won top honors from Young Concert Artist International Auditions. She’ll make her Kennedy Center debut on April 11, presented by Young Concert Artists — followed by Merkin Hall on April 20 and Carnegie Hall on May 2.
The competition for young American and Canadian opera singers has many winners who have gone on to international stardom – the list of past winners includes Christine Brewer, Joyce DiDonato, Renée Fleming, Christine Goerke, Catherine Malfitano, James Morris, Matthew Polenzani, Sondra Radvanovsky, Neil Shicoff, and Dawn Upshaw.
In the production of Terence Blanchard’s opera Fire Shut Up in My Bones that opened the Metropolitan Opera’s 2021-22 season, six George London Award winners were featured in the cast: Will Liverman, Latonia Moore, Ryan Speedo Green, Norman Garrett, Donovan Singletary, and Errin Duane Brooks.
So far, Megan hasn’t appeared lately on Cincinnati stages, but we hope that is in her future!
CSO on opening night/photo provided by Hannah Kenney
Since the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra officially opened its subscription season this weekend (here’s the review), I decided to look at the arts calendar to see what musical performances I want to get on my November calendar.
Wow! I was pleasantly surprised to see that most of our performing arts are ramping up. My November calendar looks almost normal, which in Cincinnati means that you can be out every night of the week. So here are some of my picks.
Nov. 4, 7:30 p.m. – At CCM, renowned Russian pianist and pedagogue Boris Berman performs a guest recital performance in Robert J. Werner Recital Hall. Admission: FREE.
Nov. 7, 4 p.m. — Linton Music Series “Pure Bach,” featuring violinist Jennifer Koh performing the solo violin works of Bach. First Unitarian Church. For tickets and program, click here.
Nov. 9, 7:30 p.m. – Ariel Quartet, CCM String-Quartet-in-Residence, continues its concert series with Lera Auerbach’s “Frozen Dreams,” which premiered in 2020, and Béla Bartók’s penultimate quartet, String Quartet No. 5. Robert J. Werner Recital Hall
Tickets: Prices start at $29.50.
Daniil Trifonov in recital
Nov. 10, 7:30 p.m., Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov performs a recital at Music Hall, presented by the CSO. His program includes music by Karol Szymanowski, Debussy, Prokofiev and Brahms.
Note: For all CSO events and concerts, click here.
Nov. 11, 8 p.m. —Stephen Hough recital at Xavier. Hough is a longtime visitor to the Xavier Piano Series, and is something of a Renaissance man. This month, he graces the cover of BBC Music magazine. His program includes Schumann’s Kreisleriana, Chopin’s Ballade No. 3 and Hough’s own “Partitia.” It’s in Xavier’s Gallagher Center Theater on the XU campus. For tickets and info about the entire Xavier Music Series, click here.Read More »
The College-Conservatory of Music at UC has been busy adding faculty members recently. Dean Stanley Romanstein announced these prominent new profs this week:
Kristin Lee has been appointed Assistant Professor of Violin beginning Aug. 15, 2021. She is a recipient of the 2015 Avery Fisher Career Grant, as well as a top prizewinner of the 2012 Walter W. Naumburg Competition and the Astral Artists’ 2010 National Auditions.
Pene Pati performing as Romeo in San Francisco Opera’s production of Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette. Cory Weaver/provided by Matinée Musicale.
Matinée Musicale has announced that the renowned Samoan tenor Pene Pati is returning to the Memorial Hall stage, with pianist Ronny Michael Greenberg, for not one, but two, long-awaited live performances: 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 4 and 2 p.m. Sunday, June 6.
Local fans are still talking about his Cincinnati debut in March of 2019. His trip from his home in Auckland, New Zealand, to Cincinnati took two full days, and was complicated by last-minute visa problems and a spring snowstorm in Cincinnati. Pati’s impressive performance resulted in standing ovations, encore after encore, and an outcry for his rapid return.
However, due to Covid, his return engagement had to be postponed.
Pati will be performing the same program for both performances (to be announced). If his last recital is any indication, audiences are in for a rare treat. Here’s the review from that concert.
After recent debuts as Roméo in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette at San Francisco Opera — with Cincinnati favorite Nadine Sierra as Juliet — and Alfredo in Verdi’s La traviata at Moscow’s historic Bolshoi Theatre, Pati has been hailed “the most exceptional tenor discovery of the last decade” (Opéra-Online). In the upcoming seasons, Pati will make debuts at Staatsoper Berlin, Wiener Staatsoper, Teatro San Carlo di Napoli and Opéra National de Paris.
Here’s what I wrote after I was privileged to hear Pati and Nadine Sierra in San Francisco:
“Pati’s singing was the picture of elegance, and he remained fresh until his dying breath in Act V. Romeo’s famous cavatina, “Ah! Lève-toi, soleil” (“Arise, oh sun”) was deeply felt, a feat that combined both beauty of line and ardent, exciting top notes.”
This marks the return of live recitals presented by Matinée Musicale after more than a year. The 107-year-old music series is one of the first small performing arts organizations in our city to return to live, in-person performances.
Covid safety measures at Memorial Hall include wearing of masks and social distancing.
Students of CCM’s Musical Theatre Class of 2022 and alumni guest artists Noah J. Ricketts, John Riddle, Nikki René Daniels, Leslie Kritzer and Stephanie Jae Park. (Screen grab provided by CCM)
If you’ve ever attended a Moveable Feast, the imaginative fundraising event at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, you’ve probably never forgotten it. The idea is to stroll from theater to theater, classroom to classroom, and sample the amazing talent of students in every discipline — from ballet to jazz to scenic design and media arts. You do this while also sampling “dinner by the bite” in wonderful food stations throughout the building.
This year, with Covid, Moveable Feast is re-imagined as a virtual event on Jan. 22. Although there won’t be the thrill of rushing down hallways with dozens of other people to make it in time to a see some Broadway hits before you dash away to catch ballet students in a scene from “Swan Lake” — the event will be able to involve viewers around the country.
It’s presented by CCM Power, a volunteer group of friends, advocates and alumni. The event provides essential support for student scholarships, projects and travel opportunities. This year, COVID-19 cancelled paid work that students rely on and drastically changed students’ family financial circumstances. Scholarship and emergency funds are needed now more than ever.
CCM has produced major stars of stage and screen — from Broadway and Carnegie Hall to Hollywood. Alumni guest artists for the show will include stars of Hamilton, Frozen, Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Netflix’s Dead to Me and much more.
Edward Nelson Highlight Screen – This image features CCM alumnus Edward Nelson performing “Someone to Watch Over Me” for CCM’s virtual Moveable Feast. He is Accompanied by San Francisco Opera guest artist Ronny Michael Greenberg, piano. (Screen grab provided by CCM)
Opera alumnus Edward Nelson (BM, ’11; MM, ‘13) wanted to participate because, he says, “At every step further into my career, I have found myself drawing on my experiences and education from CCM. When the opportunity arose this year to give back to the institution that has given me so much, I jumped on board without hesitation.”Read More »
A lot of us would like to say good riddance to 2020. To celebrate, I’m planning to drink in some lavish performances on PBS and streaming media to ring in the New Year.
At 4 p.m. tomorrow, New Year’s Eve, the Metropolitan Opera is continuing its annual New Year’s Eve gala concert — but this year it’s virtual. The Met rings in 2021 with opera stars Javier Camarena, Angel Blue (who just sang so brilliantly with the CSO this fall), Pretty Yende, and Matthew Polenzani, in a livestream a pay-per-view performance. It is being broadcast from the historic Baroque-style Parktheater, ca. 1886, in Augsburg, Germany.
The New Year’s Eve Gala program will include arias, duets, and ensembles from Donizetti to Puccini, as well as arrangements of operetta and Neapolitan songs.
The concert, part of the Met Stars Live in Concert series, will be streamed live on the Met’s website at 4 pm EST/10 pm CET, and then be available on demand for 14 days. It costs $20.
The gala will be shot with multiple cameras, and linked by satellite to a control room in New York City, where host Christine Goerke will be situated. Gary Halvorson, the Met’s award-winning director of the company’s Live in HD cinema transmissions, will direct.
Tickets can be purchased on the Met’s website at metopera.org. Gala Committee tickets, with enhanced benefits, are also available at a range of donation levels. The gala supports the company.
The performances will be available for on-demand viewing for 14 days following the live event. The programs can be viewed on a computer, mobile device, or home entertainment system (via Chromecast or AirPlay).
The Vienna Philharmonic performs its annual New Year’s Concert in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein
On New Year’s Day, it’s the annual Vienna Philharmonic New Year’s Concert with Riccardo Muti, in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein, which airs over PBS locally on CET Channel 48 and nationwide. The 2021 New Year’s Concert will be broadcast in over 90 countries and followed by millions of television viewers around the world. Due to Covid-19, the 2021 New Year’s Concert will take place without an audience.
Of course, you can expect lots of Strauss waltzes, galops, polkas and marches. Here are the local times for From Vienna: The New Year’s Celebration 2021 on CET (Channel 48). It continues on CETARTs Jan. 4-6 at various times.
The CSO’s first digital experiment last spring in Music Hall was music for four musicians.
What a year! If you’re a musician or a music fan, you probably remember the last live concert you attended or performed before Covid-19 shut down the country in March. Mine was on March 10: My granddaughter’s middle school orchestra concert.
Looking back, I realized that my annual “best of the year” in performances could only apply to the 10 weeks before we were locked down. So I wrote my Year in Review column for the Business Courier in two parts, as BC — Before Covid — and after.
Soprano Angel Blue wowed in Barber in a CSO livestream.
There were some unforgettable shows during both periods. In the second half — a season of screens — I am still enthralled by the Sept. 26 CSO digital program streamed from Music Hall, conducted by Louis Langrée. Gorgeous-voiced soprano Angel Blue gave an emotional performance of Barber’s “Knoxville: Summer of 1915,” a piece rarely heard. And what a treat it was to hear Copland’s “Appalachian Spring” as originally scored for 13 instruments.
And in a rare live performance by Cincinnati Ballet outdoors at Sawyer Point, I loved a new work for four dancers, choreographed (and danced) to Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E-flat (fourth movement) by soloist David
Cincinnati Ballet danced at Sawyer Point
Morse. It was thrilling to see the exuberance and strength, the lifts and turns of the entire company. The program was enhanced by performances by a CSO quartet and Cincinnati Opera singers Victoria Okafor and Maria Miller.
Earlier this year, local critic and retired opera singer Rafael de Acha asked people in the arts to answer the question, “What have you been during during the pandemic?” for his blog, rafaelmusicnotes.com.
I thank him for that, because it made me look back at how I had the opportunity to document the impact of the pandemic on our arts community in the pages of the Business Courier. Here is some of that column:Read More »
CCO musicians performing at Pyramid Hill sculpture park, HamiltonMay Festival Chorus
A new report from the National Center for Arts Research names Cincinnati in the top 20 of large communities for arts vibrancy. The report takes “a data-driven approach to assessing characteristics that make up a community’s vibrancy rather than base the ranking on our own opinion about locations or on a popular vote.” Four measures were analyzed: supply, demand, and public support for arts and culture on a per capita basis.
It’s interesting that such a report would come out during a pandemic, when most arts organizations closed their doors in March, and have been struggling to survive ever since. The reason, the report says, it offers the report “as a celebration and reminder of the arts’ enduring importance, resiliency, and vibrancy.
“We should not forget the essential role that the arts play in fueling community development, emotional health, cultural literacy, social cohesion and integration, and creative expression. Ultimately, the communal nature of arts participation will be a strength to communities hungry to come together again and affirm existential meaning after prolonged isolation, trauma, and polarization.”
