San Francisco Lyric Opera rises again with David Lang's "the little match girl passion"

After being dormant for the last three years, San Francisco Lyric Opera returns next month with David Lang's the little match girl passion. Tonight I unexpectedly ran into Chip Grant at a rehearsal for Ensemble Parallele's upcoming The Great Gatsby and I asked him what he was up to lately. Grant is the driving force behind the brilliant Urban Opera, whose Dido and Aeneas and The Witch of Endor were highlights of the Bay Area opera scene in recent years. Dido made both mine and the SF Chronicle's Joshua Kosman's top ten list in 2009. Urban Opera rose from the ashes of SF Lyric, and now events have come full-circle. This is good news for people in the Bay Area looking for well-staged, intelligent, provocative opera productions.

Lang's work, based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, won the Pulitzer for music in 2008. Co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall and the Perth Theater and Concert Hall, the work is inspired by Bach's Matthew Passion and the recording on Harmonia Mundi won a Grammy in 2010 for Best Small Ensemble performance. Tim Page of the Washington Post wrote "I don't think that I've ever been so moved a new composition as I was by David Lang's the little match girl passion, which is unlike any music I know."

Grant just finished casting the show, which will feature a shear, minimalist style with a quartet of singers doubling on percussion. The story will be told Butoh-style, with choreography performed by Anastazia Loiuse/Bad Unkl Sista. Barnaby Palmer will conduct and Grant will direct the production. Casting details will be forthcoming.

the little match girl passion will be performed in the intimate ODC Theater on March 23, 24, and a matinee on March 25.  Consider it not to missed.

Urban Opera bewitches again

Last summer Urban Opera burst onto the local performing arts scene with a magnificent production of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas that became one of the most discussed and admired performances of the year.  That success made many people wonder what Artistic Director Chip Grant was going to do next, but word from the company on their next production didn't arrive until last month, when they announced they were going to perform "The Witch of Endor," again featuring the music of Purcell. It wasn't really clear what this was actually going to be, since there is no such opera and the initial information given was more intriguing than informative. 

On Saturday at 4:00 in the afternoon, while standing in the courtyard of the Episcopal Church of St. Mary the Virgin waiting for the doors to open, a raggedy man entered pushing a cart full of trash and stood  in front of the church door. He held a crushed can in his raised hand, using it as a clicker to gain people's attention. Then he started to recite Rudyard Kipling's "The Witch of En Dor" and it felt like something out of Cormac McCarthy novel. The doors then opened and we were ushered inside the beautiful small, Scandanavian-looking church, where the small orchestra was playing and the chorus was already seated. From the beginning it seemed like this was going to be something different and it was.

The orchestra, comprised of two violins, viola, two cellos and a harpsichord were playing the chaconne from King Arthur. After the audience was seated, the Rev. Dr. Jason Parkin stood before us and read a passage from Samuel, in a sense providing us with the plot of what we were about to see. A screen was lowered and a 16mm black and white film showing coronation ceremonies, military processions, weird looking old women and more were shown, illustrating the story of Saul's ascent as king and his banishment of witches from the kingdom.

The witch hunt was enacted by a drum circle and actors, followed by the orchestra playing the Canzonetta from Sonata V. This was exciting to watch, as it wasn't clear what was going to happen next. Bare chested men were being roughed up, a beautiful witch in a gorgeous costume was being exiled and then Saul (Colby Roberts) entered and stood center stage to sing "Hear My Prayer O Lord" accompanied by the chorus.

Then we came to the center of the work, beginning with a scene from The Indian Queen where the Goddess of  Dreams- Lindsey McLennan (in another fantastic costume, singing from the rear balcony of the church) tells Saul "seek not to know." The choreography and music were compelling at this point and it was already clear the company was doing something truly visionary and unique.  From there the orchestra performed In Guilty Night, where Saul meets his demise after a warning by Samuel (a fantastic turn by John Mingaro) who has been conjured up the witch (superbly sung by Shawnette Sulker) at Saul's request.

When Saul dies, the chorus, which had steadfastly remained seated in profile during the entire performance, turned to show the hidden sides of their faces had been painted in death skulls. It was a great theatrical touch but it was perhaps just the best of many that were thoughtfully placed throughout the piece. The raggedy man from the beginning (Gary Graves) returned to finish Kipling's poem. And then this  brilliant production was over before an hour had even elapsed. No filler, no fluff, and everything about it moved toward the climax like a bullet shot from a gun in the hand of Aristotle.

Congratulations Urban Opera- not only have you come up with another winner, but this was wholly original, exciting, and like last year's Dido, is probably going to be talked about for a long time. This production confirms the company is no fluke. So let's have some more and please don't make us wait another year before you do something else. Bay Area opera lovers can only hope in vain that the big company at the War Memorial would do something this interesting and well-executed.

Details on Urban Opera's "The Witch of Endor:

Here are the details (Courtesy of Michelle McGill):
music by Henry Purcell, conceived and directed by Chip Grant

October 30 & 31 4:00 p.m.

Urban Opera launches its second production with an expanded work drawn from an English opera scene by Henry Purcell on October 30th and 31st with Shawnette Sulker in the title role and Colby Roberts as King Saul.

The Witch of Endor features “In Guilty Night”; Purcell’s setting of an anonymous libretto, based on a story from The Hebrew Bible. Also featured are selections from Purcell’s liturgical canon as well as excerpts from two Purcell operas, The Indian Queen and Abdelazar. This “new work” is told in the style of an ancient Greek tragedy.

The opera uses modern theatrical devises to bring those unfamiliar with The First Book of Samuel up to speed. Saul, the first king of Israel, seeks guidance as to what he should do as the Philistine army threatens to overrun his kingdom. Saul calls upon God who does not answer; so he goes to Dreams who also does not show him the way. He finally resorts to a medium to call up the ghost of the prophet Samuel for guidance. The ghost gives him the answer although it may not be the answer he was looking for.

Urban Opera brings together singers and actors from across a broad spectrum of the music world. Featured with Ms. Sulker and Mr. Roberts are soprano Lindsey McLennan (Dreams), bass-baritone John Minagro (Samuel), The Urban Opera Chorus and String Ensemble.

Modern costume design coupled with contemporary theatrical devices aid in bringing the opera out of antiquity and into a modern sensibility.

This site-specific performance will take place at The Episcopal Church of St. Mary the Virgin in San Francisco.

Tickets are on sale now at:

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/129072

Urban Opera to perform "The Witch of Endor"

Urban Opera, a local company that made a very impressive debut last year with a brilliant production of Purcell's "Dido and Aeneas," will return in October to perform "The Witch of Endor."

Again performing Purcell, the show will use the scene "In Guilty Night" which will be expanded with a liturgical piece from the opera "Indian Queen." There will also be three short silent films and a poem by Rudyard Kipling.

There will be two performances on October 30 and 31, both 4:00 pm matinees at a venue (or perhaps an outdoor space?) on Union Street. It will be a one hour show.

No further details are available at this time, but I would put this on your calendar and make sure to see at least one of performances. This is an adventurous, talented company and you probably won't want to miss this. When I know more, so shall you.

Urban Opera update

I had the good fortune of running into Chip Grant the other day and after exchanging pleasantries got to ask him something I've been wondering lately- what's next for Urban Opera?- the hugely talented local company whose inaugural production last summer made both mine and Joshua Kosman's top ten list for the year.

Chip said he had the space picked out, but didn't divulge much more, other than to say there will be another production by the company, which is good news for the local opera scene. He did tell me about another project he's about to embark on, which sounds very intriguing and will likely be a great addition to the Bay Area classical music world when it happens. I'm looking forward to it- as well as to seeing more from Urban Opera.

The best of 2009

This past year I saw over 70 different performances, most of which I wrote about, though some were so uninspiring they didn't even merit the time it would have taken to criticize them. However, a number of them were so terrific for one reason or another that I'll probably never forget them.

Listed below, in chronological order, are ten performances I attended this year that in my mind were the best:
LA Opera's Das Rheingold: Director Achim Freyer's first installment of Wagner's Ring cycle was nothing less than a revelation and it was easily the best opera I saw this year. In fact, it's probably one of the five best opera productions I've ever seen. This is opera for the 21st Century: bold, innovative and unafraid of risk, while keeping true to the spirit of Wagner's intentions. While Die Walkure and Siegfried didn't thrill me as much (probably because Rheingold is my favorite opera above all others), LAO's Ring is not to be missed. When they do the entire cycle this summer, the naysayers will surely have their comeuppance.

Anne-Sophie Mutter performing Gubaidulina's Violin Concerto No. 2: What can you say, one of the world's premier violinist's performing a challenging contemporary work dedicated to her. It was enthralling. The Ravel in the second half didn't quite measure up, but really, what could have?

Martha Argerich and Ligeti's Requiem at San Francisco Symphony: Thrilling in every sense of the word. Ligeti's Requiem had both the orchestra and the SFS chorus performing at their absolute peak in a haunting work that heard live is an unforgettable experience. Argerich actually showed up for once, and gave the audience a bravura performance of the Ravel concerto that was loaded with emotion and skill, meriting perhaps the longest ovation I've ever heard in that hall. You should have been there.

Leila Josefowicz and Esa-Pekka Salonen at LA Phil: Josefowicz is the most fascinating violinist on Earth. There is nothing she can't play to perfection and she constantly challenges herself. This concert, part of Salonen's swan song as he departed the LA Phil after one of the most influential and successful tenures ever in the history of American orchestras, was a primer on what classical music is and where it's going. Salonen's Violin Concerto, dedicated to Josefowicz, Ligeti's Clocks and Beethoven's 5th Symphony were flawlessly performed with gusto and meaning. Two artists that should not be missed when they hit your town.

Urban Opera's Dido and Aeneas: The little company that could, and did. This new company rising out of the ashes of San Francisco Lyric Opera, took everyone by surprise this summer by giving us something different, unique, and indigenous to the City. We can only hope for more from Chip Grant and the incredible team he put together for what was one of the most delightful surprises of the year. Come on, Urban Opera- do it again!

August: Osage County: Three hours of the most theatrical dysfunctional family values since Who's Afraid of Virgina Wolff? By turns uproariously funny and frightening. Estelle Parsons can come to a party at my house anytime- hopefully in character, because I love that kind of drama though I always feel bad the next morning. Tracy Letts' play lived up to the Tony hype and then some.

San Francisco Opera's Il Trovatore : For my money, Trovatore is 2nd rate Verdi, but when it's done like this there is nothing to complain about. Sondra Radvanovsky gave a star turn in a production that was perfect at every turn, bringing this tired warhorse to life in a way I thought couldn't be done. The rest of the all-star cast and the superb sets by Charles Edwards made the conservative era of SFO under Gockley more than palatable. If this is what the future looks like for SFO, so be it.

Paulina Rubio at the Fox Theater: Paulina in a great venue, up close and very personal touring in support of Gran City Pop- one of the year's most delighful records. Pure pop bliss.

San Francisco Opera's La Fille du Regiment: Diana Damrau and Juan Diego Florez made me realize I actually do like Donizetti, at least when he's done like this. The pair combined to deliver an evening of vocal beauty and comedic timing in one of the most perfect bel canto evenings I've ever experienced. It left me wanting more, more, more.

La Damnation de Faust at the Met: Robert Lepage's production is a thrilling spectacle. He and Freyer are taking opera in an entirely new direction. The singing on the night I went didn't quite measure up to the production values at hand, but if this is the future, I want to be seated up front. Give kudos to Peter Gelb and the Met for putting on an audacious and thrilling Faust. Lepage's upcoming Ring cycle, like LAO's, is not to be missed based on the sheer brilliance of invention and imagination on display here.

Other performances that gave these a run for their money:

SFO's Porgy and Bess
KISS's Alive 35
Nadja Michael in SFO's Salome
Nino Machaidze in LAO's Elixir of Love
Fela!
With appreciation to Deborah Voigt, a very gracious and talented singer:

And finally, to KD- who would have guessed this moment would lead to so many others...

Urban Opera's maiden outing is an impressive "Dido and Aeneas"

The last line in the program for Urban Opera's Dido and Aeneas, is "If you like what you see, please make it a point to thank them [the performers]." Since I didn't get a chance to do so at the performance's conclusion, I'd like to publicly thank the entire cast, crew and the Jubilate Baroque Orchestra for putting on a damn fine show. It's easy to be skeptical about the promise of a small company in a big town, but Urban Opera's first time outing was more successful than it had any right to be.

To begin with, staging an opera outdoors is a risky proposition under the best of circumstances. When I woke up this morning and saw the customary summer fog, my thoughts turned to my plans for this evening and a voice in my head said this is going to be a cold and ugly night. Sometime in the early afternoon Zeus decided to smile on this company, and the weather made an about-face so surprising I'm not sure I've ever witnessed one like it in the years I've lived here. The weather was perfect. The setting was fantastic- with the Bay to the left, a green lawn spread before us, complete with a twisting, mirrored sperm-like twisted French Horn (the 70's kind) sculpture somewhat resembling the city of Chicago's "Bean", tall bamboo fronting the buildings framing the space and uncanny acoustics for being outdoors in the City, I walked into the performance space and thought- hmm- this looks pretty promising.

But enough of all that- there was opera to be performed, and that was why I was there.

The production begins with a voluptuous Venus in a red dress (Margaret Marshall) and a straight-from-the Playa Phoebus (David Peterson) providing a prologue to bring the audience up to date on what happened in Virgil's version of the story before Purcell's opera begins. Following this, during the overture, the chorus and principals perform a ballet/ pantomime of the fall of Troy and the subsequent chaos in an effective yet succinct way. Particularly striking during this was the evident commitment of the cast to actually act- their faces looking stricken and panicked as they fled across the outdoor space. From that moment forward it was easy to fall under the sway of what unfolded before the audience.

While the entire cast was solid across the board, Kindra Scharich (Dido), Kimarie Torre (Belinda) and Cortez Mitchell (the 1st Witch) truly stood out with terrific vocal and theatrical performances. Milissa Carey was an alluring and, to put it bluntly, highly enticing Sorceress. Purcell didn't give Aeneas too much to work with, but Todd Wedge brought a sensitivity to the role that worked.

The Urban Opera Chorus had some challenging choreography to execute during the evening, which they handled well and their singing was beautiful.

So this is the bottom line: I don't know if we'll ever see another production from this team, led by Chip Grant and Kue King, but I hope we do. There is a dedication and imagination on display in this production from every corner that really impressed me. You have two more chances to see it this weekend- so get yourself a ticket. This really is urban opera- and it's something different, sophisticated and well worth your time.

San Francisco's Urban Opera debuts with Purcell's Dido and Aeneas

San Francisco is about to witness the launch of a new and exciting opera company this weekend as Urban Opera makes its debut with a site-specific production Henry Purcell's Baroque opera Dido and Aeneas. The first opera ever written in English, Dido and Aeneas features "A city that is destroyed by flames, sailors who come and go, and a tragic queen ... [it's going to be] very San Francisco." Set against the Bay as a backdrop, Urban Opera is a filling niche the City hasn't had before now- opera geared toward an audience that feels equally at home at Black Rock City or the War Memorial. Three performances will be held beginning Friday night at The Urban Opera Art Space, located at 409 - 499 Illinois Street (@ 16th Street)in Mission Bay, San Francisco. All performances begin at 7:00 PM, and tickets are available here.

Urban Opera includes artists from San Francisco Lyric Opera, Chanticleer and Volti to bring the City something new: professional singers performing non-standard repertory in challenging new productions specific to the space and time in which they're performed. The production is accompanied by The Jubilate Baroque Orchestra. Since the original music to the prologue has been lost, the production will begin with with a staged overture and spoken prologue, giving those of us who don't completely remember the fourth book of Virgil's Aeneid (and that's most of us) the back story before the action begins.

Kindra Scharich is Dido. Featured with Ms. Scharich, are sopranos Kimarie Torre (Belinda), Milissa Carey (Sorceress), Pamela Igelsrud (Second Woman), tenor Todd Wedge (Aeneas), counter-tenors Cortez Mitchell (First Witch/Mercury) and Michael McNeil (Second Witch/Sailor).

Directed by veteran Chip Grant, with costumes by Kue King, Urban Opera's debut looks to be the most interesting event taking place over this busy weekend. Get yourself a ticket, or be doomed to lament missing it.