Latin Grammy concert honors Placido Domingo

By CRISTINA SILVA, Associated Press Cristina Silva, Associated Press – Thu Nov 11, 3:00 am ET

LAS VEGAS – Rock and pop crooners from throughout Latin America praised opera icon Placido Domingo as an inspiration to all Hispanics during a star-studded tribute concert Wednesday in Las Vegas honoring the Spanish tenor's career.

Domingo, known to popular music audiences for his "Three Tenors" performances with Jose Carreras and the late Luciano Pavarotti, was honored as the Latin Grammy Person of the Year for his cultural and philanthrophic accomplishments during the celebration on the eve of the 11th annual awards show.

"This is a great honor for me," Domingo, 69, told the crowd, clutching a crystal trophy to his chest as his eyes teared up. "How many people seated in this room here today deserve to be the Person of the Year. I know there are many."

In previous years, presenters sang the top hits of the Person of the Year during the tribute concert. Domingo instead requested his favorite singers perform the songs that drew him to a life of music.

It was a night for every musical genre.

American harmony group The Lettermen crooned their 1968 hit, "Put Your Head on my Shoulder," while country singer Alexander Fernandez serenaded Domingo with the traditional Mexican ballad "Jurame." Jazz artist Patty Austin performed "Moon River" and Spanish performer Paloma San Basilio purred the lyrics to the Caribbean classic love song "Piel Canela."

Ricky Martin, a past recipient of the award, presented Domingo with his trophy.

But it was Domingo himself who stole the show when he stood on stage for a rousing performance of the opera standard "Granada" as images of the storied Spanish city flashed behind him on a screen. Domingo, dressed in a classic tuxedo, drew the only standing ovation of the night.

Domingo devoted his acceptance brief speech to his love for the Spanish-speaking world, deeming the connection between Spain and its former colonies "extraordinary."

"Our language, our music, our culture, our happiness is contagious and the world has been infected with that music," he said. "Every day more people listen to our music in the world."

Domingo also shared a tender moment with his son.

"If I had the choice to sing like you or be like you, I would prefer to be like you," said composer Domingo Placido Jr. before embracing his father.

On the red carpet, artists such as Spanish rapper La Mala, Mexican conductor Alondra de la Parra and Mexican singer Aleks Syntek cited Domingo as a musical influence.

"He is an inspiration for all of us Latinos," said Syntek, who performed Puerto Rican pop star Luis Fonsi's "Aqui Estoy Yo" during the concert. "He is a legend."

Domingo moved at the age of 8 from Spain to Mexico City, where he studied at the National Conservatory of Music. In 1968, he debuted with The Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

He founded Operalia, a contest for opera singing, and raised million of dollars in benefit concerts for victims of disasters such as Mexico's 1985 earthquake and Hurricane Katrina.

The great maestro has made more than 100 recordings and has won nine Grammy Awards and two Latin Grammy Awards. He also maintains a busy schedule as a restaurateur and director of two opera companies, the Washington National Opera and the Los Angeles Opera.

Domingo underwent surgery to remove a cancerous polyp from his colon in March, but quickly returned to the stage.

Previous recipients of the Person of the Year honor include Gloria Estefan, Julio Iglesias and Carlos Santana.

The awards show is scheduled for Thursday at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas and will be broadcast live on Univision.

NYC Opera offers 2 views of family life

By MIKE SILVERMAN, For The Associated Press Mike Silverman, For The Associated Press

NEW YORK – Two 20th-century works that depict their composers' vastly divergent views of domestic life are on display for the New York City Opera's abbreviated fall season.

Leonard Bernstein's only full-length opera, "A Quiet Place," first performed in 1983, received its New York premiere last Wednesday night. On Sunday afternoon, the company revived Richard Strauss' "Intermezzo," which dates from 1923. They will alternate in repertory through Nov. 21.

Both performances showed the struggling City Opera at its best, with terrific casts, superb playing by the orchestra and high production values. But the Bernstein comes across as an earnest effort to resuscitate a work of limited merit, while the Strauss opus is an unexpected delight.

"A Quiet Place" was conceived by Bernstein and librettist Stephen Wadsworth as a sequel to the composer's 1952 "Trouble in Tahiti." That earlier piece is a jazzy, tuneful series of glimpses into the troubled marriage of a prosperous suburban couple named Sam and Dinah. The later work opens at Dinah's funeral and asks us to care about a family for which the term dysfunctional seems inadequate. There's the gay, schizophrenic, draft-dodging son, Junior, his sister, Dede, and Francois, who was (or still is?) Junior's lover but is now married to Dede. Sam is estranged from all of them, but eventually — after three long acts — they reconcile.

Following an unsuccessful premiere in Houston, the authors revised the work so that "Trouble in Tahiti" now appears as a series of flashbacks in the second act. But the reworking can't hide the fact that the earlier work has far more vitality than the later score.

And if "Trouble in Tahiti," for which Bernstein wrote his own libretto, has a glibness to its satire, the sequel wears its heart on its sleeve, sometimes movingly, but often with an obviousness that borders on banality.

The large cast is uniformly strong, particularly baritone Joshua Hopkins as Junior and soprano Sara Jakubiak as Dede. As Dinah, mezzo-soprano Patricia Risley provides a vivid presence (appearing as a ghost except for the flashbacks), though her voice occasionally has trouble cutting through the orchestra. As Young Sam, baritone Christopher Feigum draws an incisive portrayal of an arrogant husband who neglects his wife and son, has sex with his secretary in the office, and humiliates his defeated opponent at handball. (In one of many inspired touches in Christopher Alden's staging, Sam brandishes his trophy like a giant phallus.)

Conductor Jayce Ogren shows a firm grasp of Bernstein's rhythmically challenging score and draws clear and crisp playing from the orchestra.

"Intermezzo," for which the composer wrote his own libretto, is a far more overtly autobiographical work than "A Quiet Place." Strauss (renamed Robert Storch) made himself the long-suffering hero, and his wife, Pauline, became the hot-tempered, self-indulgent Christine. He based the slender plot on a real incident from their marriage 20 years earlier when his wife had falsely accused him of infidelity.

Musically, "Intermezzo" is not quite top-drawer Strauss, but even off the second shelf, his genius for interweaving gorgeous strands of melody shines through. Written as an extended series of conversations, interspersed with spoken dialogue, "Intermezzo" has no big set pieces such as the arias or ensembles familiar from many of his other operas. But there are some stirring orchestral interludes, as well as a glorious closing passage for the reunited couple.

Any performance of "Intermezzo" must depend to a large extent on the soprano playing the role of Christine, since she is on-stage virtually throughout. City Opera is fortunate in having Mary Dunleavy in the part. Her vibrant voice and lively acting give a warm and sympathetic quality to a character that could easily be seen as merely vain and tiresome. Her tone occasionally turns glassy on high notes, but for the most part, she fills out the lines with grace and beauty.

Baritone Nicholas Pallesen avoids smugness as best he can as Storch, and tenor Andrew Bidlack displays a ringing, full-bodied sound as the young Baron Lummer, with whom Christine takes up an innocent flirtation.

The fast-paced production by Leon Major is a treat, greatly assisted by Andrew Jackness' sliding sets. There's even a simulated toboggan track for a snow scene. Music director George Manahan conducts a buoyant performance that brings out the delicacy of Strauss' orchestral textures.

With hard economic times limiting its fall productions to just two, the company presented Christine Brewer in an all-too-brief gala concert on Thursday.

It was a welcome chance to hear one of today's few true dramatic sopranos on the stage of a New York opera house. Brewer was supposed to star in the Metropolitan Opera's revival of Wagner's "Ring" cycle in spring of 2009, but withdrew because of a knee injury.

She opened with a dazzling "In questa reggia" from Puccini's "Turandot," then offered a moving "Liebestod" from Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde," and closed with a group of songs by Harold Arlen and Jerome Kern. In the latter, she showed she can lighten her voice and move into popular mode without sounding the least bit arch or affected.

 

From http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101101/ap_en_mu/us_city_opera

Today in Music History ~ 10/22

1811 ~ Franz Liszt, Hungarian composer and pianist Read quotes by and about Franz Liszt More information about Liszt

• 1885 ~ Giovanni Martinelli, Opera singer, tenor with Metropolitan Opera for 30 seasons

• 1904 ~ Paul Arma, Hungarian composer and theorist

• 1917 ~ Leopold Stokowski led the Philadelphia Orchestra in its first recording session, for Victor Records.

• 1930 ~ Dory Previn, Songwriter with André Previn

• 1939 ~ Ray Jones, Bass with Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas

• 1943 ~ Paul Zukofsky, American violinist

• 1943 ~ Bobby Fuller, Singer, guitarist with Bobby Fuller Four

• 1945 ~ Leslie West (Weinstein), Singer, musician, guitarist with Mountain

• 1945 ~ Eddie Brigati, Singer, musician with The (Young) Rascals

• 1959 ~ "Take Me Along" opened on Broadway and quickly became an American classic. Walter Pidgeon starred along with Jackie Gleason.

• 1966 ~ The Supremes rocketed to the top of the pop"album charts with "Supremes A’ Go-Go". They were the first all-female vocal group to hit the top of the LP chart.

• 1969 ~ Giovanni Martinelli passed away

• 1969 ~ Michael Tilson Thomas, the 25-year-old assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, took over for ailing conductor William Steinberg in the symphony’s appearance in New York City.

• 1971 ~ Folk singer Joan Baez received a gold record for her hit, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down. It turned out to be her biggest hit, peaking at #3 on the charts on October 2, 1971.

• 1983 ~ Celebrating its 100th anniversary, New York’s Metropolitan Opera featured a daylong concert with some of the world’s greatest opera stars. On stage at the Met were Dame Joan Sutherland, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti.

• 2001 ~ Tom Baker, one of Australia's most respected jazz musicians, died of a heart attack while touring in the Netherlands. He was 49. Baker, a native of California, took up residence in Australia 30 years ago. He was a regular at Sydney's famous jazz club, The Basement. Willie Qua, drummer and co-founder of one of Australia's best-known jazz bands, Galapagos Duck, said Baker had often played as "a part-time member" of the band and was an icon of the Sydney jazz scene. Baker formed his first band, Tom Baker's San Francisco Jazz Band, in 1975, earning himself a reputation as one of Australia's very best jazz musicians. Recently he toured extensively through Europe and America.

Today in Music History ~ 10/19

• 1911 ~ George Cates, Musician, worked with Steve Allen, musical director of the Lawrence Welk Show for 25 years

• 1916 ~ Karl-Birger Blomdahl, Swedish opera composer

• 1916 ~ Emil Gilels, Russian pianist

• 1938 ~ The Bob Crosby Orchestra recorded I’m Free for Decca. Billy Butterfield was featured on trumpet. A few years later, the song would be retitled, What’s New.

• 1939 ~ Benita Valiente, American soprano

• 1944 ~ Peter Tosh (Winston McIntosh), Singer, baritone and musician. He uses homemade instruments and performed reggae with Bob Marley

• 1944 ~ An actor who would become legend in scores of tough guy roles made his stage debut in New York. Marlon Brando appeared in the Broadway hit, "I Remember Mama".

• 1945 ~ Jeannie C. Riley (Stephenson), Grammy Award-winning

• 1953 ~ Julius LaRosa, popular singer of the time, was unceremoniously fired on the air by Arthur Godfrey. "Julie lacks humility," Godfrey told the stunned audience, while putting his arm around LaRosa. He said, "So, Julie, to teach you a lesson, you’re fired!"

• 1956 ~ Nino DeFranco, Singer with The DeFranco Family

• 1957 ~ Karl Wallinger, Musician, keyboards, guitarist with World Party

• 1959 ~ Twelve-year-old Patty Duke made her first Broadway appearance, in "The Miracle Worker". The play would last for 700 performances and become a classic motion picture, launching Patty to fame and fortune.

• 1973 ~ Elvis and Priscilla Presley were divorced after six years and one child (Lisa Marie).

Soprano Joan Sutherland has died, age 83

GENEVA – Soprano Joan Sutherland, whose purity of tone and brilliant vocal display made her one of the most celebrated opera singers of all time, has died at 83 after a four-decade career that won her praise as the successor to legend Maria Callas.

Her family said she died Sunday at her home near Geneva after a long illness.

Called "La Stupenda" by her Italian fans, Sutherland was acclaimed from her native Australia to North America and Europe for her wide range of roles. But she was particularly praised for her singing of operas by Handel and 19th-century Italian composers.

Tenor Luciano Pavarotti, who joined with Marilyn Horne in Sutherland's farewell gala recital at Covent Garden on Dec. 31, 1990, called her "the greatest coloratura soprano of all time."

The term, derived from "color," refers to a soprano with a high range and the vocal agility to sing brilliant trills and rapid passages.

Sutherland's skills made her pre-eminent in the revival of Italian "bel canto" operas, and she was seen by many as having taken on the mantle of Callas.

Sutherland started singing as a small child, crouching under the piano and copying her mother, Muriel Alston Sutherland, "a talented singer with a glorious mezzo-soprano voice," according to Sutherland's biographer Norma Major, wife of former British Prime Minister John Major.

"I was able from the age of 3 to imitate her scales and exercises," she wrote in her autobiography. "As she was a mezzo-soprano, I worked very much in the middle area of my voice, learning the scales and arpeggios and even the dreaded trill without thinking about it. The birds could trill, so why not I?

"I even picked up her songs and arias and sang them by ear, later singing duets with her — Manrico to her Azucena. I always had a voice."

When she began performing in Australia, Sutherland thought she was a mezzo-soprano like her mother, and it took the insight of subsequent coaches to make her realize that she should develop her higher range.

The family statement said Sutherland is survived by her husband, conductor Richard Bonynge, their son, Adam, daughter-in-law Helen, and two grandchildren.

According to the statement Sutherland, who broke both legs during a fall at her home in 2008, requested a very small and private funeral.

___

Former Associated Press Writer Alexander G. Higgins contributed to this report

From http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101011/ap_on_en_mu/eu_switzerland_obit_sutherland