Composer Gian Carlo Menotti plucked the plot for “Amahl and the Night Visitors” from the folk tales of his native Italy.
The old tale is in the tradition of pastoral Christmas settings that gave birth to the Nativity scenes, bringing together Luke’s shepherds and Matthew’s Magi. But the one-act opera is more than a pageant of plaster figures come to life. – David Dupont, Sentinel News Editor
The Metropolitan Opera Guild honored legendary soprano Jessye Norman at its 80th Annual Luncheon on November 21, 2014 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. Myra Merritt was one of the forty-five distinguished guest artists invited to attend the event as one of the honored guests of the Metropolitan Opera. Ms. Merritt sang at the Met from 1980 through 1991 and was introduced as one of the artists who sang over 147 performances at the Met.
David Dupont of the Sentinel Tribune writes,
“Composition students at Bowling Green State University tangled with a beast last week.
At the Student Composer Reading Session, five composition students had the chance to hear their compositions played by the Toledo Symphony Orchestra.
Writing a piece for orchestra is no small task, said Chris Dietz, the composition professor who organized the event. He likened the orchestra to a “72-headed dragon.”
Composition students at Bowling Green State University tangled with a beast last week. At the Student Composer Reading Session, five composition students had the chance to hear their compositions played by the Toledo Symphony Orchestra.
Writing a piece for orchestra is no small task, said Chris Dietz, the composition professor who organized the event. He likened the orchestra to a “72-headed dragon.”
Students presenting works were: Chris Lortie, Lydia Dempsey, Alan Racadag, Brian Sears and Kyle Laporte. Their work was selected from about 20 applicants, Dietz said.
Guest composer Steven Stucky, who has worked closely with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, said the students were up to the task. “The whole thing came out very well.” He was especially impressed with the variety of the works presented. “None resembled each other.” Some had robust sections that evoked a movie soundtrack; some had passages of great tenderness.
Sears’ “Fractured Spirits” celebrated the human spirit as it confronts life’s traumas. Racadag’s “ONE” seemed to give voice to mathematical formulae. The pieces required the orchestra to articulate serpentine rhythms with the utmost precision.
A couple pieces had the musicians making up some sounds on the spot. The orchestra, conducted by Michael Lewanski, handled it all with aplomb, Stucky said.
Laporte tackled the notion the orchestra as beast head on in “Fire Breather.” He imagined, he said, the orchestra as “a humongous being” that comes to life in the course of the piece. The orchestra, despite the pieces experimental elements, brought the music to life, he said. “I was very pleased. It was quite experimental.”
To read more, click here.
BOWLING GREEN, O.—The Bowling Green State University Festival Series opens the season of giving with a Christmas opera “Amahl and the Night Visitors.” Presented by the Bowling Green Opera Theater, performances will be at 7 p.m. Dec. 5, and at 4 p.m. Dec. 6 in the Thomas B. and Kathleen M. Donnell Theatre at the Wolfe Center for the Arts.
Composed by Gian Carlo Menotti, the opera is the touching story of Amahl, a poor shepherd boy with a crippled leg, who has an encounter with the three kings who are on their way to visit the newborn Jesus. During their visit, Amahl’s mother is at first tempted to steal the kings’ gold, but her impulse is later tempered into desire to meet this special baby. Amahl offers his crutch as a gift and experiences the miraculous healing of his crippled leg. The opera has captured audiences since Christmas Eve 1951, when it was first broadcast on NBC-TV. Its story line and shorter length make it appropriate for young children.
“With the shepherd’s lilting madrigal, the Kings’ magisterial music, the Mother’s soulful aria, and Amahl’s joyous songs, this opera certainly has something for everyone,” said Kevin Bylsma, BGSU College of Musical Arts faculty member, who prepared the vocalists.
Menotti said of the work, “This is an opera for children because it tries to recapture my own childhood. You see, when I was a child I lived in Italy, and in Italy we have no Santa Claus … Our gifts were brought to us by the Three Kings, instead. To these Three Kings I mainly owe the happy Christmas seasons of my childhood, and I should have remained very grateful to them … But in 1951 I found myself in serious difficulty. I had been commissioned by the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) to write an opera for television, with Christmas as a deadline, and I simply didn’t have one idea in my head. One November afternoon as I was walking rather gloomily through the rooms of the Metropolitan Museum, I chanced to stop in front of the ‘Adoration of the Kings’ by Hieronymus Bosch, and as I was looking at it, I then realized they had come back to me and had brought me a gift.”
That gift has delighted audiences ever since.
With stage direction by Geoff Stephensen, musical preparation by Bylsma and conducting by Emily Freeman Brown, the cast features Jennifer Cresswell as the Mother, Bethany Post and Maddie Russin alternating as Amahl, Tyler Dohar as King Kaspar, Richard Channell as King Melchior, Dean Moore as King Balthazar, Zach Shoot as The Page, and a chorus of shepherds including a dancing boy and girl. Set and lighting design are by Keith Hofacker, choreography by Tammy Metz Starr and stage-managing by Desiree Johnson.
Patrons attending Saturday afternoon’s performance are invited to stay afterwards for the 10th annual Arts X beginning at 5 p.m. in the Wolfe Center and Fine Arts Building. ArtsX is a free event open to the public and offers interactive activities for all ages including art sales, ceramic, glass and jewelry demonstrations, improv ensembles, musical performances, Austrian-born artist Erwin Redl’s LED art installation in the Wolfe Center foyer and a team of aerial acrobats led by Erin Pearson-Garber, among others. Visit BGSU.edu/ArtsX for a complete schedule.
Tickets are $15 for the public and $5 for BGSU students and can be purchased online at bgsu.edu/arts or by calling the Arts Box Office at 419-372-8171.
Associate Professor of Piano, Thomas Rosenkranz, will tour China giving masterclasses and performances from Nov. 20th-30th. He will visit the conservatories of Southwest University in Chongching, Sichuan Conservatory of Music in Chengdu, and Xinghai Conservatory in Guangzhou before performing as part of the Musicarama 2014 at the City Hall of Hong Kong on November 30th. The program features works for two pianos by local Hong Kong composers as well as John Adam’s Hallelujah Junction with pianist, Linda Yim.
More information on Musicarama Hong Kong:
A letter to the Whitman College Community from, Brad McMurchie ’84, Chair of the Board of Trustees:
On behalf of the Board of Trustees it is my great pleasure to announce that Dr. Kathleen Murray, Provost, Dean of the Faculty, Professor of Music, and former Acting President of Macalester College, will become Whitman’s 14th President on July 1, 2015. The Board voted unanimously to appoint Kathy after having received the same endorsement from the Presidential Search Committee.
The Search Committee began its work by developing a set of principles in consultation with all College constituencies. These principles, summarized in the Presidential Prospectus, guided our selection process. Over the intervening 8 months, the Committee reviewed the applications of more than 100 candidates. The College’s strong position allowed us to attract an extraordinarily impressive pool. A series of in-depth interviews and personal interactions culminated with the selection of Kathy.
From the beginning it was clear to the committee that a leading priority would be to find a President with a deep background in the liberal arts as well as the ability to articulate the power of the type of education offered at Whitman. We also sought a candidate able to lead the College in the development of a new strategic plan and with the experience necessary to turn that plan into reality through both their management abilities and fund raising prowess. Kathy stood out from a pool that included leaders from some of the nation’s best colleges and universities. Kathy is described by a peer as a “calm, good listener [who is] able to clearly and respectfully articulate her views.” In Kathy, the Committee found the person with the experience and vision to lead Whitman forward as we build on the success of the last ten years. We also found a person with great warmth, intelligence, and a sense of humor.
At Macalester, Kathy was responsible for the academic program of one of America’s finest liberal arts colleges. She also directed the planning for Macalester’s new $70 million Fine Arts Center and played a key role in the development of the College’s new strategic plan. As a testament to her leadership skills, Macalester’s Board of Trustees selected Kathy to serve as Acting President of the College during the fall of 2013. Away from Macalester, Kathy serves as the Vice Chair of the American Conference of Academic Deans and as a Director of the Minnesota Institute for Talented Youth.
Kathy, as a first generation college student, graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Music (Piano Performance) from Illinois Wesleyan University. She received a Master of Music from Bowling Green State University and a Doctor of Music (Piano Performance and Pedagogy) from Northwestern University. Kathy began her academic career at Lawrence University (a selective liberal arts college and conservatory of music, enrolling approximately 1350 students), where she moved from Department Chair to Dean of the Conservatory of Music to Dean of the Faculty. Before being appointed as Provost and Dean of the Faculty at Macalester in 2008, Kathy served for three years as the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Birmingham-Southern College. She is also a 2004 graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Institute for Educational Management. Please click here to learn more about Dr. Murray.
The campus owes a debt of gratitude to all the members of the Search Committee and, in particular, to Co-Chairs Nancy Serrurier and Janice Abraham. The Trustees, Overseers, faculty, staff, and students on the committee, along with our search consultants from Storbeck/Pimentel, worked tirelessly and collegially to find the next great leader of Whitman. I also want to thank President George Bridges. Our ability to attract such an outstanding pool of candidates is a testament to his hard work and leadership since assuming the Presidency in 2005.
Kathy and her partner Bridget Reischl are excited to join the Whitman and Walla Walla communities. Please join me in welcoming them.
