Otello

So you thought you knew your Shakespeare?
Knew your Verdi?

Possibly so, but here comes Opera in the Heights' Rossinian Otello.
And it is different. Violently different.
Physically violent. Vocally violent.

Powerful music played superbly under Maestro Carreon-Robledo who enthusiastically sang along most of the time (inaudibly sure - over the power of the orchestra - but you could see his lips move, and his arms, too, of course ;-)!.

And then there were the principal singers.
Each and every one managing the incredible and rather demanding sounds that Rossini composed.

Soprano Jessica E. Jones (familiar to us from Moores School of Music's Il Postino, and earlier, Elmer Gantry) a very persuasive Desdemona singing with feeling and beauty.

Below Caballe with the Willow song

Mezzo Ann Sauder was her servant Emilia, with a burnished rich and yet clear sound.

BUT the tenors surely had "Vorrang" in this Bel Canto Opera.

Eric Barry as Otello was very credible and seemed at ease with the 2 1/2 octaves the role requires.

While Luke Grooms as Rodrigo (a much enlarged role here), also a Tenor, managed the fiendishly high tessitura without too much trouble. And sounded stunning, once one adjusted to this high sound.

The third Tenor (no not Carreras) was Brent Reilly Turner as Iago.
Which one, too, had to get used to, since Verdi's Iago is a baritone!

And the fourth tenor, the small role of the Doge, was adequately presented by Felipe Gonzalez.

The deepest role, written for a bass, was Desdemona's father Elmiro, sung with stentorian authority by Joseph Rawley, a bass-baritone.

Sure there were other deep voices in the chorus: to count 4 basses, 1 baritone, 3 Mezzo sopranos, but also 4 tenors, 5 sopranos, including the versatile Traci Davis, a long time chorus member.

Anyway, IMO, the update to more modern times felt right as Erica Miller, who previously sang the soprano role of Marie (La Fille Du Regiment), and thus quite at home with high C's by tenors, at OH! spread her wings as Director here. After all we daily read about the abuse of women by husbands and fathers, men stabbing men, men killing women, and so on! We do live in a ever more violent world! So an Otello by Rossini directed in this way by Erica Miller felt almost - almost - normal!

There was a moment which tickled my funny bone:
THE (verbal ;-) fight on stage between Rodrigo and Otello - both enamored of Desdemona!
The image created in my mind resembled nothing less than a crowing and clawing cockfight, or harts matching rack against rack like proverbial stags in heat -
ahem-  just kidding of course, but...

Anyway, here is Juan Diego Florez as Rodrigo..

and if you don't agree that this is treacherous high note singing.... you may need to have a hearing test!

Giorgione The Tempest.

And before all that we heard David Brauer, one of our favorite lecturer at MFAH who spoke on what I call  'painted storytelling ;-)' with his usual wit and humorous interpretations of old masters' paintings, and made us laugh out loud often! 
And he will have a second lecture in that vein Oct 26/27!

Drag out your summer hats...

soon the dreaded summer sadness will set in! 
What the h... do I mean? 
No hockey.
Of course one can, to stave off withdrawal symptoms, transfer one's allegiance to other sports.
No opera.
Or other forms of entertainment.

I, for one, choose not to do so.
I shall take recourse to DVD's about hockey (lol).
And more importantly travel some to see LIVE opera at summer festivals.
But mainly stay in cool rooms and watch DVD's of opera recorded in houses all around the world!
And that, while not perfect, will be, barely, enough to hold me till the fall.

Visits to art museums are also a relief!
And to feast one's eyes on masterpieces.
Titian will come to the MFAH shortly!
I am already salivating ...lol.
Which of his masterpieces will be on show?
But even if only a few will be shown a repeated visit will be worth the time.
Below a few examples.

La Flora

Although he did paint many subjects, he is probably more known for his undulating bodies
(more often than not of females)..

Titans

Just a thought.
Tonight Aeros and Admirals will do battle once more.
And it is hoped they will have risen from the laurel bed and give no quarter to the Admirals, if one is an Aeros fan.
And vice versa, of course, if one is an Admirals fan.
Of course, if one is neither, then just sit back and enjoy a HOCKEY game per se.
Soon enough the seaon will be over.

From the  NHL:
The Sharks, Tampa Bay and the Bruins seem to be on their way.
The Preds and Canucks will play tonight.

From the IIHF:
UPDATE
for Tuesday;
Canada wins in OT vs Switzerland 4-3,
Germany vs Slovakia 3-2;
France vs Belarus 2-1,
Russia vs Slovenia 4-3.
for Wednesday:
The Czechs check Finland 2-1;
Sweden trounces USA with 6-2;
Norway (must have said to Austria NoWay - lol ) shuts out Austria 5-0
and  Denmark wins over Latvia 3-2.

And  the Slovene goalie Robert Kristan is HOT and I mean hot...

in just two games he made 100 saves!! 

                                        

Maybe like that? Just by levitating?  LOL.............

The Arts had it tonight



Paolo Panini



Fuseli: Kriemhild shows Head to Hagen



 





With a visit to the MFAH and "Antiquity Revived" exhibit.

Angelika Kauffman, 1774 Ariadne abandoned by Theseus

( BTW HGO will present "Ariadne auf Naxos" by Richard Strauss in its spring repertoire..

How apropos is that?) and here a sample of Coloratura Kathleen Battle as Zerbinetta.



Death of Marat by David.



Neoclassism in Europe in the late 18th and early 19th centuries was a movement to recapture the 'antiquities and classical arts'. Perhaps as a rebellion against the abundance and lushness of Baroque and Rococo styles. A wish for cleaner and clearer lines? 

Neoclassic Window from Melk, Austria

Panini: Modern Rome




Austrian Neoclassic Clock

 

H. Fuseli, 1778 The artist moved to despair at the grandeur of antique fragments-Kunsthaus Zurich 

 It inspired artists from France to Russia, in their paintings, sculptures, drawings,  

decorative artsand architecture.

Other cultures have other canons of classics, however, and a recurring strain of 'neoclassicism' appears to be a natural expression of any culture at a certain moment in time. 

It can happen to cultures that are aware of themselves, confident of their own high tradition,

but at the same time feels the need to regain something that they may deem to have lost.

Joseph M. Vien: Sale of Eros

The above IS based on a wall painting discovered in Pompey.

Many artists of the Neoclassic period, sought inspiration in Greek and Roman art, but also Norse and other Mythology, even the plays of Shakespeare gave subjects to paint.
The colors of most paintings  are vividly clear, the light luminous.
The human bodies painted or sculpted are voluptuous, a bit still Baroque,
but anatomically correct and show a fluidity that is special to the period.

Antonio Canova 1793, Psyche revived by the kiss of love (Louvre)

Neoclassicism is also represented by Music as f.i. this Opera "Alceste" by Christoph Willibald GLuck (Marilyn Horne sings)

In any case, I really loved the extensive exhibit and recommend a visit-it's truly worth it!

If it's Friday - it's Grand Rapids

Nr. 44 Falk  by Jerina

May St. Christopher look out for Aeros!

LoL bird

Will the Griffins swoop down tonight?

And tomorrow will the Wolves at home howl again?

On Sunday it's back to the TC for a 'Stars'crossed meet with dogs.

Quite a three day stretch for our guys, eh?

But Nr. 44 is back, and Lampman most likely will be in the line up as well. Can we hope for some fresh energy and positive results by these two, even as Scandella is kept up North.

Meanwhile, I totally blew it!
It, the chance to get 'high' at the MFAH...

artandhockey photo

well, what else would you call sipping free champagne while you shop? With a discount, no less?
So,the copy of Rodin's Kiss and other sculptures are perfectly safe.. still there. They wouldn't have fit into shopping bags, anyway!

That was last evening!
I had it on my calendar.

BUT somehow I thought last evening was this evening..  :-D?

So what else is new!

Ah, yes, in order to save the City of Houston has decided NOT to buy any more public art to

grace parks and spaces in front of government buildings.

Although .. ah well, I'll not go there.

Just saying 'The Arts' again the stepchild, and that bugs me!
Because feeding the soul and minds is not deemed important?

Enjoy this!
Art For Music? 
Music For Art?

It's nice to know that...

Of non-profit CEOS the slot as the 6th highest salary recipient in 2008 went to
Peter C. Marzio, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Compensation: $1,054,939

MFAH boasts of being “the largest art museum in America south of Chicago, west of Washington, D.C., and east of Los Angeles.” AND  it is a bastion of art in the southern U.S. with more than 2.5 million visits a year, with outreach and education activities reaching more than 670,000 by the museum’s reckoning. And it does it very well, as Better Half and I can attest .. we do enjoy our mmebership!
Director Peter C. Marzio is the first million-dollar earner on the list, as the 8.27% increase in compensation from 2007 to 2008 bumped him up to the next level. Director since 1982, Marzio has clearly been rewarded for his longtime service. It may be hard to put a price on art, but not on the director of an art museum.
If you are curious about others' compensations in the Non-Profit world go to:
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/10/26/15-highest-paid-charity-ceos.html

MFAH Sculpture Garden
Photo artandhocket 2010