In a school year marked withĚýdistance,Ěýchallenges, andĚýa list of thingsĚýweĚýweren’t able toĚýdo,Ěýit brings extra joy to see theĚýculmination of work brought to life with brio and tenacity.ĚýĚý
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It isĚýremarkable to witness theĚýcreativity,Ěýperseverance,ĚýandĚýcan-doĚýspirit of ourĚýprofessors, coaches, directors,Ěýand conductors.ĚýAnd it should come as no surprise that the folks at Opera Â鶹AV found ways to deliver on the promise ofĚýhigh-levelĚýeducation and unique performance opportunities.ĚýTo our faculty,Ěýit has always been a question of how.ĚýHow to thrive.ĚýHow to share. How to connect.Ěý
This year marks theĚýveryĚýfirst Lisl Wirth Unboxed Festival: two weekends of performances by Opera Â鶹AV. Works by Handel, RodgersĚý&ĚýHammerstein, Verdi, andĚýBologneĚýare sure to captivate and delight.ĚýĚý
We caught up with some of the artistic staff to learn a bitĚýabout theĚýproductionsĚýandĚýwhat they’ve uncovered, discovered, andĚýcan'tĚýwait to share!Ěý
WEEK 2ĚýPERFORMANCES
Verdi'sĚýUn Giorno di Regno with Opera Â鶹AV and Jennifer Szeto on piano will beĚýwebcastĚýfrom Pollack Hall on
Saturday, April 10 at 7:00 pm
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Joseph Bologne's L'amant anonymeĚýwith Opera Â鶹AV and the Â鶹AV Symphony OrchestraĚýwill be webcast on
Sunday, April 11 at 7:00 pm
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Stephen Hargreaves
conductsĚýstudents from theĚýÂ鶹AV Symphony OrchestraĚýand Opera Â鶹AV in L'amant anonyme by Joseph Bologne,ĚýChevalier de Saint-Georges.
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How did the selection of Joseph Bologne’s opera ł˘â€™ałľ˛ą˛ÔłŮ anonyme come about?
One preamble, Joseph Bologne represented himself in all of his publications and concerts as Chevalier de Saint-Georges; as this is the name he chose, I’ve referred to him as such in these responses.
I understand you had a hand in writingĚýthe score — could you tell me about that? How long did it take?
Ha! I did not write the score —Ěýthat’s all the musical composition of M. Saint-Georges —Ěýbut I created individual instrument parts and a new edition including the detailed markings contained in the Bilbiothèque Nationale manuscript. Developing a new edition by means of transcribing the music is interesting —Ěýmany times there are interpretations to be made that attempt to achieve the desire of the composer which becomes especially difficult when that person has been dead for hundreds of years. I think any two transcribers/editors would come up with quite different versions of the piece. My goal was to fairly represent the intention of Saint-Georges to the best of my ability by viewing each detail within the context of the whole. I began the process in July 2020, distributed musical numbers as they were finished to the cast throughout the fall. The current version was finished around the end of December, orchestra parts were finished not long after. The score is not done though! Many of the discoveries from the rehearsal process will make their way back into the edition afterwards.Ěý
What surprised or delighted you when putting the score together?
Musically, Saint-Georges’ syntax fits within the period he lived —Ěýthere is wit, effervescence, lyricism, and a transparency to the scoring that is both economical and compelling. Yet one of the elements that caught me most off-guard was his unexpected setting of the “love” music: he consistently chose F minor, most often with lots of chromaticism. Most people would not associate a minor key with love which got me thinking about something I had read in Gabriel Banat’s, The Chevalier de Saint-Georges: Virtuoso of the Sword and the Bow. Just prior to the composition of ł˘â€™ałľ˛ą˛ÔłŮ, it is thought that Saint-Georges was in a relationship with a married woman, Mme. Montalembert, and had a child. The husband, when he discovered the child was not his own, sent a squad of assassins including police officers to kill Saint-Georges. He survived the attack, but the assassins were released from jail less than a day later. For Saint-Georges, love may have well been cloaked in a minor key —Ěýperhaps the story of the anonymous lover who is reluctant to reveal his identity is based upon his own undoubtedly complex experiences.
Can you talk about the moment when you heard the music played for the first time? Was it as you imagined?
Live music is never quite how one imagines. I played through every bit of every orchestral and vocal line in my head and at the keyboard but the moment you add another person in the form of a singer, instrumentalist, or dramatic collaborator it all changes and evolves. I have always enjoyed this process — which is why I chose and continue to choose opera as one of the main vehicles of my musicianship.
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Music is definitely a living thing but unlike when I compose myself, my transcription choices and resulting tweaking has more to do with whether I’ve made choices true to the markings (intention) Saint-Georges included in his manuscript. For example, one surprising moment was in the supporting soprano’s aria in Act I — I kept Saint-George’s slur markings in the first and second violin parts. The slurs not only did not match but almost always conflicted! I thought when we first rehearsed the number, I would have to make them align, but, in actuality, the difference of textures between the violins significantly adds to the interest of the accompaniment. Throughout the process, some elements have continued to change — in the dances, even a key signature changed as it was unclear whether it was intended to be in major or minor. And, of course, we keep finding errata — wrong notes, either from my transcription or from the manuscript. The latter poses a particularly challenging problem as we want to correct mistakes that would have been addressed in rehearsals without removing the individual choices of Chevalier de Saint-Georges as an artist.
What’s the most out-of-the-box thing you had to do for this production?Ěý
The final chorus for ł˘â€™ałľ˛ą˛ÔłŮ anonyme in the manuscript is missing text — it is fully orchestrated, around vocal lines which are completely blank. I searched fruitlessly through a plethora of sources to find anything which might have functioned as the chorus text. Over reading week, I gave up and decided to attempt a text based loosely on Alexandrine verse (the poetic style of the time) which was not a success and pretty amusing — I asked my colleague, Olivier Godin, to weigh in and what we came up with hopefully functions until some historian hopefully rediscovers the original text.
Is there anything you’ve learned in the putting together of this production that you’ll box up and take with you?
The importance of a purpose… Patrick Hansen, the students of Opera Â鶹AV, and the orchestra have been so enthusiastic and supportive of this project because this is a work that needs to be heard and explored. In a time when we are all wondering “when will performance return?”, we can and should be re-envisioning and redesigning what it looks and sounds like when it does.
What’s one thing everyone should know about this performance?
At his time, Chevalier de Saint-Georges was widely regarded as one of the finest violinists, musicians, and fencers in Europe. Haydn’s Paris Symphonies were written for Saint-Georges’ orchestra due to its outstanding virtuosity. His musical voice harkens from a time period in Paris with which current audiences have little acquaintance. Prior to the composition of ł˘â€™ałľ˛ą˛ÔłŮ, Saint-Georges was being considered to be the music director of the Paris Opera. He was the top candidate until a trio of singers sullied his chances. Who knows what he might have accomplished if he had larger scale support for his operatic pursuits?
WEEK 2ĚýPERFORMANCES
Watch them all on the Schulich YouTube channel
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Verdi's Un Giorno di Regno with Opera Â鶹AV and Jennifer Szeto on piano will be webcast from Pollack Hall on
Saturday, April 10 at 7:00 pm
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Joseph Bologne's L'amant anonyme with Opera Â鶹AV and the Â鶹AV Symphony Orchestra will be webcast on
Sunday, April 11 at 7:00 pm
If you missedĚýWeek 1 ...
Check out Part 1 of our look inside the Festival with Partenope conductor Dorian Bandy and Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella director Jonathan Patterson
Catch up on Burning Questions with a video featuring Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella artistic teamĚýJonathan Patterson and Chris Barillaro
Both performances of Partenope with Opera Â鶹AV and the Â鶹AV Baroque Orchestra can still be found for the next little while on our YouTube page!
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Keep discovering
A new online database, BIPOC Voices is place to learn about works for voice and instruments by diverse composers.
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