Vocal focus from CCMN*
SOUTHERN CA VOCAL EVENTS
Lauri D. Goldenhersh’s
Weekly Highlights
Please forgive while I wax rhapsodic for a moment:
What is it about Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana that makes it so effective this time of year?
The tumult of spring is giving way to the heat of summer, and perhaps that’s just the right environment for a work steeped in mystery, driving momentum, and rebellious satire. It’s certainly a barnburner of a season finale, and PACIFIC SYMPHONY takes full advantage of “Carmina’s” enduring appeal and unique fascinations with performances starting *next* Thursday, June 5 at Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa. Featuring the combined forces of the orchestra with PACIFIC CHORALE and the SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHILDREN’S CHORUS, the concert features soloists CYNDIA SIEDEN soprano; MARC MOLOMOT tenor; and MICHAEL KELLY baritone, with staging by director ERIC EINHORN. Also on the docket are contemplative works including John Williams’ Exsultate Justi from Empire of the Sun; Charles Ives’ The Unanswered Question and Holocaust explorations by Lukas Foss and Kathy Bowen. Be there early to catch the 7:00PM preview from radio host ALAN CHAPMAN.
(Conductor CARL ST. CLAIR is also hosting a Carmina-related event on Sunday, June 8.) For details and tickets on all of this glorious hubbub, click here.
(Don’t fret – can’t make it to the OC? Catch PASADENA MASTER CHORALE’s chamber version of Carmina on Saturday, June 7 – we’ll have more on that next week.)
Also next Thursday, get ready for the start of SONGFEST’s 19th Annual Song Festival at the Colburn School in downtown LA. This annual series of remarkable concerts is astonishingly **FREE**, and includes world-class talent as well as the up-and-coming artists attending the summer seminar. I’m an alum of Songfest myself, from way back when they were in Orange County, and as the program has grown, the prestige level of their artistic faculty has risen to great heights. This year, they kick off the concerts with a guest artist recital from international opera star KATIE VAN KOOTEN on Thursday, June 5 at 7:30PM, with pianist ROSEMARY RITTER, both setting the bar high for what is sure to be some of the best music you’ve ever enjoyed for nuttin. To learn more about the program, the concerts, and the ‘Songs of California’ Mini-Festival, click here.
In the more immediate future, consider a visit to old Los Angeles on Saturday, May 31:
DA CAMERA SOCIETY returns to the resplendent Doheny Mansion for the world debut of LES SYNC, a mixed chamber ensemble of strings, flute, piano, who are joined for their coming-out performance by mezzo-soprano BUFFY BAGGOTT. The program is very French, with Ravel’s Chansons madécasses and songs from Saint-Saëns and Lili Boulanger, as well as the Prélude, Op.3 from Maurice Duruflé — his only chamber work. LES SYNC includes flutist CHRISTOPHER MATTHEWS, violinist MARJOLAINE LAMBERT, violist AMINA TEBINI, cellist ARNOLD CHOI, and pianist LINDSAY GARRITSON, and you can meet them all at what is sure to be an elegant reception following the concert. This is the last gasp of Da Camera’s grand 40th season, and it’s time to celebrate. Get details
BREAKING NEWS:
Da Camera Society has just announced a second set of two free performances of its Saturday Doheny Mansion LES SYNC concert on Sunday, June 1, 2014 at 12:00 noon & 2:00PM in Tujunga. There will be a reception with artists between performances. Reservations are required – call the Da Camera Society Ticket Reservation Line at (213)477-2956 or e-mail tickets@dacamera.org.
Download complete info (PDF)
Also this weekend are two performances of Handel’s Petrarchian Il Trionfo from BACH COLLEGIUM SAN DIEGO; Cosi at Disney Hall, conducted by GUSTAVO DUDAMEL; and a little inspiration for those who like to get wheels on the highway in summertime: ‘Song of the Open Road‘ from MERITAGE VOCAL ARTS. See these and more on the calendar.
CONTINUING:
The Gondoliers – Sierra Madre Playhouse, thru 6/21
Thais – LA Opera – thru 6/7
Have a wonderful week, and as always, thank you for supporting live singing!
