Mozart and Dvorak

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Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra performed with Benjamin Hochman, Pianist and guest Conductor, at Saint Luke’s Lutheran Church (2021 West SR 426 Oviedo FL). It was a bit of a drive but well worth it for this concert. If fount it visually fascinating how Christ floated above the orchestra with his staff and lambs. The stained glass grew dark as the sun set.

Pam Schwartz and I managed to get a front row seat near the cello section. The church was packed yet few people ever choose to sit up front. Dvorak is widely regarded as the most distinguished of Czech composers and of course the prolific Austrian musician Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was among the most
versatile, and popular composers of all time.

The program included Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 12 in A Major and Dvorak’s: Serenade for Strings in E Major.

Opera Orlando at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

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Spring time marked the boisterous rebirth of Opera in Orlando. Opera Orlando presented The Impresario, which is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart‘s “comedy with music”, followed by Les Mamelles de Tiresias, Poulenc‘s “fertile farce.” A small orchestra was set up in the lower balcony. I went to the final dress rehearsal which had a small audience with friends and family.

Mozart’s comedy was quite fun and director Eric Pinder did a fabulous job of modernizing the story so that it referenced Orlando. Two producers contemplated a small low budget opera. They admired the theater and even shot a selfie in the opulent theater. I liked that the ghost lamp remained on stage. A ghost light is put on stage when the theater is unoccupied. Superstition states that it allows ghosts which occupy the theater the opportunity to perform on t empty stage. This appeases the ghosts so they do not sabotage a production. To keep costs down, t he producers decide to stage a production with no set pieces. A diva entered from house left and walked up to the stage. She was an older well established performer who faced rumors that she could no longer hit the high notes. She performed a solo that was comically flamboyant and over the top. She demanded $5000 a performance and stormed off stage.

A theater patron, Deep Pockets, entered and offered a sizable donation if the producers would hire a female singer he had discovered. She turned out to be a bawdy burlesque performer who also demanded $5000 a performance. What followed us a hilarious battle of wills as the two female divas tried to out sing each other. This was a hilarious production that was sung and perform in English, so there us no need for subtitles.

The only hint of the second production, Les Mamelle de Tresias in my sketch, is the large balloon creature in the upper balcony. It had many appendage like an octopus and a snout that looks like a large inflated rubber. This creature would hoover over the audience at the end of Poulenc’s farce about fertility. I plan to go back to do another sketch.

Mark your Calendar! There are two performances left. One is tonight, Saturday April 23rd at 7:30pm. The other is Sunday April 24 at 2 pm. Tickets cost between $10 to $66. You can call the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts (445 South Magnolia Avenue Orlando FL) box office Monday through Friday 10am to 4pm. Saturday from noon to 4pm.

Rehearsing The Quest, Choose your adventure, a musical.

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Central Florida Vocal Arts presents “The Quest” at The Venue, 511 Virginia Drive Orlando FL. I went to the first dress rehearsal on November 9th. In a nutshell the show is about star crossed lovers with a mother in law from Hell. The show’s producer, Theresa Smith-Levin welcomed me warmly to the rehearsal. It has to be nerve wracking to share a production still in rehearsals. The director for the evening was Keith Newhouse. Keith had an Ichibod Cranish enthusiasm that was infectious. Singer and actor Erik Branch had told me about the production several nights earlier at FAVO. When I arrived at the Venue, stage hands were still assembling the simple set.

The Quest Combines Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart‘s The Magic Flute with
Musical Theatre classics such as Steven Sondheim’s Into the Woods and Idle and John Du Prez and Eric Idle‘s Spamalot, The Quest allows the audience to decide
the fate of the characters on stage. Find your grail, rescue a bird
catcher with his dream girl or escape the clutches of the Queen of the
Night, it’s up to you. This engaging and interactive show isn’t your
grandmother’s opera!

The sweet young Pamina, McKenzie Frazier, always looked a bit bewildered when her prince Tamino, Kevin Romero, treated her  coldly, but when she sang, her soprano voice demand attention. I have to say that all the singers could sing operatic and also belt out the Broadway tunes.  This show is a rare case of a truly comic opera with modern flair. Erik Branch played the part of Sorastro, who at first seemed like a villain when he demanded that Pamina be imprisoned,  but as it turns out he was trying to protect Pamina from her evil mother, The Queen of the Night, Nissha Carson. Papageno, David Bracamonte, a baritone was often the comic relief of the show. He wore a  head dress with large pointy feathers and though he longed for love, he had to be content with making people laugh and the attentions of a much older woman.

The intimate nature of the Venue means that the audience will sometimes be surrounded by the cast. There are some stellar voices to be heard. I found myself humming along to the many familiar tunes, and smiling at the relaxed fun many of the actors had performing with comedic fervor. I had a blast, it is a fun night of musical theater. The rehearsal ended before I found out what happens to the lovers, but their fate is in the hands of each audience. Voting changes the plot multiple times so no two shows are the same.

Tickets are on sale now for ONLY FIVE SHOWS!
Show dates are November 14, 20 and 21 at 7:30 PM and
November 15 & 22 at 3:00 PM at
The Venue, 511 Virginia Dr. Orlando 32803.

Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tuti appeared at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

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Florida Opera Theater hired me to create a poster image for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart‘s Cosi Fan Tutti. The title roughly translated means, thus do they all or more commonly, all women are like that. Two sisters are engaged to two soldiers. The soldiers meet an old philosopher in a pub and when the soldiers brag of their fiance’s faithfulness, the philosopher wagers a bet that the women aren’t as faithful as the soldiers claim.

The philosopher proclaims that the soldiers have been called away to battle. The sisters are devastated and proclaim their steadfast love.  The soldiers however return dressed as exotic Albanian bachelors and each woos the others fiance. One sister succumbs rather quickly while the other slowly falls in love. This thematic device of fiance swapping was commonly used in Mozart’s day.

This stage inside the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts was surprisingly small. The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra had supplied a hand full of musicians who performed in the wings at stage left. Having seen several productions as I researched the poster, I was quite familiar with the story which allowed me the freedom to ignore the subtitle translations projected above the stage. Being in a crowded audience made sketching a challenge since it would be distracting to illuminate the sketch. When I squeezed one of my water brushes, it broke and became a water cannon. It shot at Terry by mistake.

Cosi was a lighthearted comic opera that is easy to digest even for a novice opera fan.

Mozart’s Requiem

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As part of the Bach Festival there was a choral concert at Tiedeke Concert Hall. What was unique about this performance is that the entire audience was given sheet music for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Requiem. Music stands at the front of the hall divided the audience into three singing sections. The alto’s were closest to where I stood to draw. Dr. John V. Sinclair, the Bach Festival’s Artistic Director, conducted from the stage while lead singers for each section stood around him.

The requiem is absolutely sublime  and moving with so many voices raised in unison.  This music stands the test of time. Of course having a full orchestra would have made the performance even more stunning, but there is something magical in having so many voices, trained and untrained coming together to perform this piece. The entire Requiem is close to an hour long, but I think only an excerpt was performed on this evening. 

 Mozart’s health faltered as he worked on the requiem. A famous anecdote from his wife, Constanze, is related in Niemetschek‘s early biography: On his return to Vienna, his (Mozart’s) indisposition increased visibly and made
him gloomily depressed. His wife was truly distressed over this. One
day when she was driving in the Prater
with him, to give him a little distraction and amusement, and they were
sitting by themselves, Mozart began to speak of death, and declared
that he was writing the Requiem for himself. Tears came to the eyes of
the sensitive man: ‘I feel definitely,’ he continued, ‘that I will not
last much longer; I am sure I have been poisoned. I cannot rid myself of
this idea.’

At the time of his death, Mozart had many outstanding debts, but the myth that he was buried in a pauper’s grave is false.  His wife arranged to sell his compositions and over time she became financially secure. Mozart’s musical reputation rose after his death with unprecedented enthusiasm for his music. This dark brooding music is the masterpiece of the child prodigy who died far too young at the age of 35. Imagine creating something so beautiful, that people still feel compelled to perform and share it over two hundred years after your death. A toast to art.

Marriage of Figaro

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On election night, I went to a dress rehearsal for The Marriage of Figaro written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This Italian Opera premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna on May 1st, 1786. When I entered the Bob Carr Theater, it was virtually empty and I sat in the second row and immediately started sketching the stage. The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra was also on stage behind the limited set pieces. Soprano, Maureen O’Flynn, who played Susanna, walked on stage and arranged a wedding dress she placed on an arm chair. Baratone, Maurian Pop who was playing Count Almavia checked the set door to see how is swung open.

Count Almavia was bored with his idyllic marriage to his Countess, played by Twyla Robinson, and he decides to exert his feudal privilege of  droit de seigneur, the lord’s right to enjoy the bride of his servant on their wedding night. His engaged servants, Figaro, played by Robert Gierlach, and Suzanna, as well as the Countess, object to his plan. A comedy unfolds as the Countess, Figaro and Susanna make plans to dupe the Count. Identities are exchanged, oaths of undying love are pledged and even accomplices became confused in this “day of madness.”

I didn’t understand a word that was sung and since I was sketching and I didn’t have time to read the projected subtitles. Some things are so beautiful they don’t need to be understood, just felt. The music is memorable and timeless. In the end  there is forgiveness and absolution, every lover finds their mate. There is a performance Friday November 9th at 8PM  and on Sunday November 11th at 2PM at the Bob Carr. Tickets run between $17 and $70.