Tag: music

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The Kings Singers: Vocal Magicians

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Auckland Arts Festival

The King’s Singers, Finding Harmony

Holy Trinity Csthedral

March 14

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

The King’s Singers  are the most well-known and probably the greatest exponents of  cappella singing who have been touring the world’s major  concert venues for the last fifty years.

With their sole Auckland performance, “Finding Harmony they displayed their superb technical skills and an extraordinary blend of vocal cohesion.

As well their ability to sing like a choir of angels they can sing like a rowdy pub crowd or an earnest revolutionary mob.

They understand what music is capable of and why it is important. They are not merely singing great songs with interesting lyrics, they are singing songs which have inspired people at particular times.

Their programme presented songs grouped together with sets from the time of the Reformation, works from Africa, Georgia, Estonia and the Scottish Highlands.

They opened with songs under the title “I have a dream“ featuring music of the US Civil Rights movement including works by Mahalia Jackson and U2.

The U2 song, simply titled “M.L.K.” opened in a sombre mood with some of the voices created a bagpipe-like sound with the voices floating above the hum of the pipes, the  funereal sounds slowly changing to that of the reflective.

Another set was of songs focused on the Estonian struggles against the Soviet occupation of the late twentieth century.

There was “Parismaalase”  a work by Vejio Tormis with its primitive sounds and rhythms  and the refrain “tabu-tabu”  (taboo) repeated 300 times the chant referencing the inability of the Estonians to speak out during the Soviet occupation. Accompanied by a single drum their voices ranbged from that of a whisper to a shout.

With a trio of Georgian songs, the group explored several traditional songs which had a mix of extotic sounds which showed the influence of Eastern music and a different approach to singing with sounds like that of a mouth harp along with a piercing yodel-like sound in one of the works.

They introduced their suite of works under the title of “Lost Songs of the Highlands” with a short history of the Highland Clearances before singing John Cameron’s wistful longing for the Scottish landscape. Their singing of “Loch Lomond” which they made into an achingly sad work telling of the separation of  man and wife as well as the separation of the land. They gave these works a real power with their voices replicating the sounds of the pipes and fiddle along with some plaintive whistling.

They presented music of the Reformation much of which was set in motion by Martin Luther, developing an alternative to the spiritual monopoly of the Roman Catholic Church . This Protestant music changed from the  polyphonic motets sung in latin to a simpler style which was illustrated with  Luther’s very own hymn, “Ein feste Burg”, which became something of an anthem for the Protestant movement, being sung in the common language with more relevant lyrics.

They also sang works by the English composers William Byrd and Thomas Tallis who  were more Catholic in their output favouring elaborate compositions and the singers made the most of this quality with their entwined voices.

The final miscellany of works included a witty mashup of the Mary Poppins  song “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and “Take Care of the Children”,  a work composed by Robert Wiremu, setting the words of Dame Whina Cooper to music. Here the singers also managed to  imitate the sounds of the koauou (flute) and porotiti (whirling hummer). In a tribute to the visionary Māori leader.

The final work on the programme was their version of the Beatles song “When I’m Sixty-four” where the singers imitated the instrumental sounds rounding out a concert filled with moments of vocal magic.

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Beyond Words: a lament, a reflection and a celebration

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Oum with conductor Fawzi Haimor and the NZSO Image Jono Tucker

Auckland Arts Festival

Beyond Words

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra

Auckland Town Hall

March 10

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

The “Beyond Words” concert which had its third performance following its premiere in Christchurch and a performance in Wellington was a collaboration to promote unity and peace through music and to honour the lives lost in Ōtautahi Christchurch on 15 March 2019.

Conducted by Fawzi Haimor the concert featured the Moroccan vocalist OUM  El Ghait Benessahraoui and Cypriot/Greek oud player Kyriakos Tapakis.

Vocalist Abdelilah Rharrabti, saz player Liam Oliver, vocalist and daf player Esmail Fathi, oud player Kyriakos Tapakis, vocalist Oum and composer John Psathas [From Wellington concert] image Jono Tucker

The concert also featured  works by the American Valerie Coleman, Reza Vali, Arvo Pärt and the world premiere of a new work by the New Zealand composer John Psathas.

Psathas’ “Ahlan wa Sahlan”, composed in collaboration with OUM and Tapakis, uses the Arabic welcome to let people know they are in a place where they belong. The work fused together musical styles from Eastern and Western music traditions.

The work features energetic and dramatic sounds with subtle changes of texture and moods, providing a background for the two soloists OUM  El Ghait Benessahraoui and Kyriakos Tapakis.

The composer as previously demonstrated his ability to compose celebratory anthems having written works for the ceremonies at 2004 Athens Olympics and with this work there is sense of the music being both a lament, a reflection and a celebration. With waves of shifting percussive and evocative sounds

OUM was resplendent in her shimmering gown and elaborate head covering  Her voice with its roots in Morocco  and in the tradition of Egyptian singers of the 1930’s like Umm Kulthum drifted and soared above the orchestra’s tapestry of eastern sounds along with answering voice of Tapakis’s oud.

Her singing and movements at times suggested she was in a trance-like state while at other times she exuded an emotional intensity  and in her singing  “Hijra” she sounded like a French chaunteuse. Later there were passages where her voice was close to over-elaborate crooning.

Tapakis provided a riveting performance where he played together with Xylophone and timpani in a filmic sounding section filled with percussive sounds

The other major work in the programme was Arvo Pärt‘s Silouan’s Song which is  fine example of the composer’s low-key minimalism with simple repetition and contemplation sequences of notes.

This was a reflective piece which connected contemporary music with Medieval plainchant and Eastern mystical  music and the various sections were stressed by the meditative silences between them giving the work a ritualistic feel.

In the first part of the programme there were five shorter works including a traditional work sung by Hasbi Rabbi and Molle Mamad Jan which had an achingly unsettling melodic line as well as a beguiling performance by OUM.

There was also  contemplative, work by the Iranian Reza Vali which was filled with despondency and funeral sounds hinting at a vision of paradise.

Kyriakos Tapakis performed his own work “Mantilatos” which was filled with extraordinary sounds and rhythms. While the NZSO accompanied  him, emphasising much of the work it would have been more interesting if he had been able to play as a soloist.

A major disappointment with the programme was the lack of English translations for the various vocal segments. Presumably the lyrics were relevant to the spirit of the event and even though the concert was one that was “beyond words”  with the music conveying emotional and spiritual dimensions it was pity the audience was not able to  appreciate the greater depth which would have come from a knowledge of the word.

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The APO’s colourful “Italian Style”

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Franz Schubert View of Florence

In the Italian Style

Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra

Auckland  Town Hall

February 29

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

In the early nineteenth century it was fashionable to do a Grand Tour with Italy as the prime destination. Artists, writers and composers all sought to travel there to find inspiration.

The APO’s “In The Italian Style” presented works by three composers who were themselves were enthralled by various aspects of Italian music, history and landscape.

The first work on the programme was Schubert’s Overture in C “In the Italian Style” which was not a response to Italy itself but rather to the interest in Italian music at the time , notably the exoticism  of Rossini.  Schubert’s impressionist depiction of Italy conveys images of street life, dances and the leisurely stroll through classical  ruins captures the energy, colours and contrasts of his invented Italy which is a measure of the composer’s ability to convey images and sight he had never seen. The work also shows the young eighteen-year-old trying to move his compositions out of the traditions of Viennese music  of the time.

Mendelssohn was twenty-one when he travelled to Italy where he was captivated  by the art, architecture and landscape. When he was given a commission, he used his impressions of the country as the basis of his Symphony No 4 “The Italian”. While he had been despairing of Italian concert music, he was taken with local Neapolitan folk dance styles like the saltarello. This influence is seen in the final wild, breakneck movement which captures the drama of the dance and Mendelssohn’s vision of Italy.

The first three movements were filled with dramatic contrasts,-  massive sounds  which suggested the grandeur of the Alps as well as softer sounds which evoked contemplation  of art works and architecture.

Conductor Giordana Bellincampi displayed his astute conducting skills throughout the concert, at times creating dynamic waves of sound while at other times having orchestra whisper as in the opening of the second movement which depicts dawn breaking with bursts of sunlight. 

The major work on the programme was Hector Berlioz’s Harold in Italy with Robert Ashworth and his viola taking on the  character of Harold, the heroic figure based loosely on Byron’s Childe Harold, a wanderer who observes scenes of Italian life.

The four movements depicting outdoor scenes from various parts of the country were all derived from the composer’s experiences while travelling in Italy.

While the work is the composer’s personal response to Italy there seem to be reference to Byron’s epic poem throughout the work as in the references to Florence, its landscape and history.

A softer feeling for her fairy halls.

   Girt by her theatre of hills, she reaps

   Her corn, and wine, and oil, and Plenty leaps

   To laughing life, with her redundant horn.

   Along the banks where smiling Arno sweeps,

   Was modern Luxury of Commerce born,

And buried Learning rose, redeemed to a new morn.

Berlioz infuses his music with evocative imagery – the drama of the mountains, the softness of the light and the richness of the country’s art and history.

Robert Ashworth’s muted viola sounds helped paint an initial picture of the world-weary traveller but there were also touches of wonderment, solitude and merriment conveyed by his instrument.

Much of the time Ashworth played as though part of the orchestra, his sounds nestling in the luxurious colours of the orchestra but then there would come passages of sheer exuberance and his playing would rise above the orchestra akin to the emotional outbursts of  Harlod himself in his reactions to scenes and events.

Ashworth himself was attentive to the conductor but also the orchestra and he followed their playing intensely, as though he were Harold witnessing a new spectacle.

There was a clever bit theatricality at the close of the work as Ashworth exited the stage to reappear a few minutes later up by the organ where he was joined by a string trio to play the final moments of the work.

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On the cusp: a trio of masterworks

Review by Peter Simpson

Yeol Eum Son Photo: Marco Borggreve

Beethoven 7

Auckland Philharmonia

Auckland Town Hall

February 22

Reviewed by Peter Simpson

The three works in the second APO concert of the Premier Series for 2024: Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, and the Overture to Rossini’s The Barber of Seville were all written within a thirty year period, 1786-1816: the Mozart in 1785-86, the Beethoven in 1812, and the Rossini in 1816. This period, on the cusp between the ‘classical’ and ‘Romantic’ periods, is one of the most consequential in the history of music. Each of these works is a masterwork in its own right; collectively they made for a supremely enjoyable and satisfying evening. The APO under Giordano Bellincampi, with South Korean soloist Yeol Eum Son in the Mozart, were in fine fettle.

Rossini just missed out on being a contemporary of  Mozart’s by being born in the year after Mozart’s death in 1791; Beethoven was twenty when Mozart died, just on the brink of his great career.

The Overture to The Barber of Seville scurries along entertainingly in Rossini’s instantly recognisable and ingratiating style. It is ‘feel good’ music, clearly enjoyed by the musicians, and bound to put listeners into a receptive frame of mind.

With her pale skin and flamboyant scarlet gown, Yeol Eum Son made a striking visual contrast to the pervasive black-and-white of the orchestra. She proved to be an elegant and forceful soloist plunging instantly and confidently into the minor-key depths and mysteries of one of Mozart’s greatest scores.

One of only two piano concertos in a minor key (the other is No. 20), this work has the most elaborate instrumentation of any of Mozart’s concertos, being scored for one flute, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani and strings: it is especially rare in Mozart for oboes and clarinets to be used simultaneously. One of the great pleasures of seeing this work performed live is to be able to witness as well as hear the subtle and intricate interplay between the wind instruments and strings so important in the emotional ambience of the music. After the rapt complexities of the long opening movement, the limpid simplicity of the slow movement was ravishing; the deft variations of the finale, too, were finely executed.

Apparently the young Beethoven once witnessed a rehearsal of this concerto (presumably with Wolfgang Amadeus at the keyboard) and remarked to his companion: “We shall never be able to do anything like that’. His own break-through piano concerto No. 3 written in 1800, four years later, shares the same C-minor key. Twelve years later Beethoven’s grand Seventh Symphony was one of the triumphs of his career. It was performed with the composer conducting in Vienna in 2013 at a charity concert for soldiers wounded in a battle with the forces of Napoleon (Beethoven’s fallen hero). The first audience apparently demanded an immediate repeat of the second movement allegretto. While not going quite so far as that, the shouts of acclamation from Auckland’s Town Hall audience registered genuine excitement at the conclusion of this electrifying performance. From the solemn and sonorous opening bars to the disciplined frenzy of the finale this marvellous music engaged both musicians and audience alike.

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IMPASSIONED MUSIC ACROSS THREE CENTURIES.

Reviewed by Peter Simpson

Julian Steckel

Passion & Mystery

Auckland Philharmonia

Auckland Town Hall

February 15th

Reviewed by Peter Simpson

This was a concert of impassioned music across three centuries. Or four if you count the exquisite Bach encore played by Julian Steckel after his commanding performance of Shostakovich’s Second Cello Concerto (representing the twentieth century), which was preceded by Gemma Peacock’s sonorous White Horses, representing the 21st century and followed by Tchaikovsky’s mighty Symphony No. 6, The Pathétique, representing the nineteenth century.

‘Passion & Mystery’ was the opening concert of the Auckland Philarmonia Orchestra’s 2024 Premier Series, under its capable conductor Giordano Bellincampi.

I am not a musician; I can’t read a musical score or play a musical instrument, so am incapable of informed discrimination when it comes to performances, though I can point to more than half a century of avidly listening to concerts, radio and records as a dedicated consumer of music.

I found this an absorbing and enjoyable concert. All three works are emotionally intense, as was to be expected given the concert’s moniker, ‘Passion and Mystery’, though sufficiently various in musical idiom to avoid monotony. So far as I could tell the orchestra played splendidly throughout and was well directed by the resident conductor. The house was nearly full and the applause was deservedly prolonged.

Gemma Peacocke’s White Horses is a kind of orchestral tone poem, inspired by an extraordinary event in 1937 when a pioneer female New Zealand aviator, Waud Farmar, fell to her death in the ocean. In the words of the composer – a New Zealander working in the United States – ‘Farmar leapt without warning from a bi-plane above Cook Strait…The pilot saw her hit the sea and disappear.’ The pilot said: ‘The sea was pretty rough, with white horses everywhere’. These words provide the clue for Peacocke’s music treatment with lots of ominous rumblings of percussion, and intermittent sharp accents from strings and wind instruments. The sonic range is impressive, from a poignant violin solo to thunderous orchestral climaxes.

German cellist Julian Steckel was at his best in the intense opening Largo of Shostakovich’s sinewy concerto dating from 1966, the year of the composer’s 60th birthday. Like its predecessor, the concerto was written for the great Mistislav Rostropovich. How fortunate the Russian composer was to have such sublime musicians as Rostropovich, David Oistrakh and Svatoslav Richter for whom to write his concerti! Unsurprisingly the score exploits to the full the virtuosic capacities of the instrument, demands which the soloist was clearly capable of meeting with ease and polish.

Tchaikovsky’s last symphony was first performed just nine days after his death in 1893, and it is hard to avoid inferring that he poured his heart and soul into it as a kind of final testament. The music is remarkably various, from the achingly lovely melody of the opening movement, through the delicacy and fire of the middle movements to the surging, sobbing melancholia of the final Adagio. The orchestra sounded magnificent throughout every nuance of sentiment wrung from the composer’s feelings. A cathartic experience altogether for the satisfied audience.

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“Beyond Words” : music to promote unity and peace

John Daly-Peoples

John Psathas

Auckland Arts Festival

Beyond Words

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra

Auckland Town Hall

March 10

John Daly-Peoples

The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra joins with Aotearoa New Zealand’s Muslim communities and acclaimed international artists to present a unique concert experience at the  Auckland Arts Festival in March.

“Beyond Words” is a special collaboration to promote unity and peace through music and to honour the lives lost and changed forever in Ōtautahi Christchurch on 15 March 2019.

Conducted by Fawzi Haimor featuring powerful Moroccan vocalist OUM and Cypriot/Greek oud virtuoso Kyriakos Tapakis, the NZSO performs the New Zealand premieres of works from American Valerie Coleman, Iranian Reza Vali,  Estonian Arvo Pärt and the world premiere of a new work from renowned Aotearoa New Zealand composer John Psathas.

Psathas’ Ahlan wa Sahlan, composed in collaboration with OUM and Tapakis, uses the Arabic welcome to let people know they are in a place where they belong. Finding inspiration in a quote promoting peace, love and forgiveness from terror attack survivor Farid Ahmed’s memoir Husna’s Story, Psathas, OUM and Tapakis have fused together musical styles from Eastern and Western cultures in Ahlan wa Sahlan.

Psathas has established an international profile and receives regular commissions from organisations in New Zealand and overseas including  fanfares and other music at the  opening and closing ceremonies of the Athens Olympics.

This work has been created with guidance from The Central Iqra Trust and communities across Aotearoa New Zealand.

Vali combines Western orchestration with Persian style for the New Zealand premiere of Funèbre. Coleman’s Umoja, Swahili for ‘unity’, was the first work by a living African American woman premiered by the Philadelphia Orchestra. Pärt’s Silouan’s Song is a powerfully spiritual and meditative work.

Vocalist Abdelilah Rharrabti, vocalist and daf musician Esmail Fathi, and saz player Liam Oliver from Ōtautahi Christchurch’s Simurgh Music School, also join the Orchestra to perform traditional music of the Middle East.

“It is not often one has the opportunity to offer a message of solidarity, love, and compassion through one’s artistic work,” says Psathas.

“This is a rare gift from the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and I am even more fortunate to be able to share this creative journey with two fellow artists: OUM and one of Greece’s most celebrated oud performers, Kyriakos Tapakis. Together we are creating a musical message of welcoming – Ahlan wa Sahlan – a greeting used to tell someone that they’re where they belong, that they’re a part of this place and they are welcome here. It’s a way of saying ‘You’re with your people’.”

Alongside the concerts are a series of free community engagement events in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland in collaboration with Muslim communities and Unity Week, the official commemoration to be held from 15 March.

In each city there will be a community panel discussion with Beyond Words artists about the project. In Christchurch the events include a workshop by the Simurgh Music School, where the public can experience traditional instruments from the Middle East and Islamic world, a spoken word workshop and Share Kai Share Culture, run by InCommon and Mahia te Aroha, both founded in Christchurch in response to 15 March 2019.

In Auckland Town Hall a special calligraphy exhibition will feature works created by distinguished calligraphy artist Janna Ezat. In the Islamic world, Arabic calligraphy is both an art form and an expression of devotion, identity, and cultural heritage. The exhibition includes a powerful piece dedicated to Janna’s son Hussein Al-Umari, commemorating his bravery, and honouring his legacy in the aftermath of the tragic attack.

Beyond Word also performed in Wellington in association with the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts (March 9) and at Christchurch (March 7).

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DakhaBrakha explores the rich past and the future of Ukraine

John Daly-Peoples

Auckland Arts Festival

DakhaBrakha

Auckland Town Hall

March 14

The Ukrainian performance group DakhaBrakha which is having one performance at the Auckland Arts Festival  is known for playing Ukrainian songs which display the traditional polyphonic harmonies of their traditional music. However, they give this music  a contemporary, transformation referencing hip-hop, punk and contemporary dance sounds. While using traditional Ukrainian instruments their performances also  derive from the indigenous instrumentation of Africa, the Middle East, India and Russia.

Their more recent music though has taken on a much more political edges as they try to counter the Russian propaganda which tries to obliterate  the culture, history, and language of Ukraine.

A recent New York Times review of the group references Maria Sonevytsky an ethnomusicologist who says,

“I think one of the most powerful things that DakhaBrakha can offer is that they show both that there is a very rich past in Ukraine, and they show this by bringing together a diversity of musical practices from different regions of Ukraine, from different ethnic groups within Ukraine,” Sonevytsky says. “And they fuse them together in a beautiful way that also suggests a future for Ukraine. It gives the lie to Putin’s propaganda that Ukraine has no culture or history of its own.”

“In fact,” Sonevytsky continues, “what we see in DakhaBrakha’s artistry is a deeply heterogeneous and complex history, the inheritance of multiple imperial experiences, the long history of attempts for Ukrainian sovereignty, and they blend together these kind of fractured pasts into a beautiful whole that is not simple, and it can’t be simply reduced down to a story of one nation that is occupied by one people, but instead suggests a vibrant, if imperfect, democracy.”

A US review enthused about the performance – “How to describe the sound?  A drum kit, djembe, and darbuka were all used together and individually.  A cello, a couple of accordions, and harmonica, along with the varieties of sounds made by the voice – words and sounds.

It was the voices that were so phenomenal – not just used for singing.  How do they get those sounds?  Often high, keeping sounds.  But, and this was my favourite – animal sounds.  Some were made with small tools, but what about the cats?  The owls?  And then, to close out the song, the piercing “CAW”!

Throughout the evening, as an accompaniment, an artistic slide show.  Animation, mesmerizing designs (reminiscent of folk embroidery), background photos of the war and its damage.“ 

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Opera Australia’s memorable Brisbane Ring Cycle

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Brunnhilde and Siegfried on her Walkure platform   Image – Wallis Media

The Ring Cycle

Opera Australia

Lyric Theatre, Brisbane

8 – 14  December 2023

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Opera Australia’s  fully digital Ring Cycle opened in Brisbane last month to critical acclaim and huge audience responses. Three separate seasons of the four-work opera were presented at Brisbane’s Lyric Theatre. The production was originally scheduled for 2020, but postponed twice due to the COVID pandemic,

The scale and scope of the story is epic. It follows the struggles of gods, heroes and several mythical creatures over a magic ring which has been forged by the Nibelung dwarf Alberich from gold he stole from the Rhine maidens. It is a ring that grants domination over the entire world. The drama and intrigue continue through three generations of protagonists, until the final cataclysm at the end of the final opera, “Götterdämmerung”.

Director Chen Shi-Zheng drew on the best of the best talent from Australia, New Zealand and around the globe creating a futuristic version of the Norse mythology into which he wove weave Chinese mythology into the production.

Along with some of the sculptural design features the production will be remembered for the digital staging. Designed by, Leigh Sachwitz, it made use of LED screens with AI auto-generated graphics, audiovisual projections and 3D printed set pieces.

Throughout the operas  abstract patterns and colours were used as motifs for various characters as well as being used  to represent the emotions and the internal struggles of the main characters. 

These design elements were dramatically used in the opening scene of “Das Rheingold” featuring the three Rhine Maidens who were perched on a huge chunk of coral / gold.

The Rhine Maidens              Image – Wallis Media

Above and behind them were their three doubles, who swam and cavorted in the projected waters, waves and bubbles of the Rhine as though in a huge aquarium.

Later we entered the  underground Nibelung, home to the dwarves, with its digitally created atmospheric, dark cave with accompanying brooding music.

At the opening of “Die Walkure” the stage was dominated by a large icy white, bonsai tree which featured the sword Nothung embedded by Wotan in its trunk – the sword which Siegmund later  releases. This is one of Wagner’s many nods to other mythologies in this case Excalibur, the mythical sword of King Arthur which had magical powers related to  the rightful sovereignty of Britain.

Siegmund, Nothung and the tree   Image – Wallis Media

At the conclusion of “Die Walkure” Brunnhilde (Lisa Lindstrom) ascended  a platform/ fortress  which was supported on Walkure spears. At this point as she and her father Wotan (Daniel Sumegi)  engage in an emotive duet about their parting a huge metallic Chinese dragon encircles the  platform to protect Brunnhilde, erupting with flames  from its body.

In “Siegfried” when the hero forges the broken sword, Nothung  after the failure of Mime to do so the digital screens pulsed with giant images of the sword and  flashing flames all accompanied by dancers  rushing around stage trailing ribbons.

When Siegfried enters the forest, the labyrinth he encounters is one of dramatic images, puzzling shapes and symbols while his encounter with Fafner  has him slicing into the dragon-like figure as he progresses from one realm to another though a series of grotesque images.

The final scene of Gotterdammerung     Image – Wallis Media

The conclusion of “Götterdämmerung” featured a pyramidal shape representing  a sacrificial pyre for Siegfried as well as symbolising the ancient notions of life, death and rebirth.

In the final as moments as Brunnhilde mounted the pyramid it blazed with colour while various screen images came alive with bursts of colour and ring images. Then the images which had previously been used throughout the operas were displayed in reverse order as the memories of the gods were replayed in their final moments.

Here the Rhine maidens again appeared, swimming down to retrieve the  ring from Brunnhilde before she was consumed by fire.

There were several  stand out performers in this Ring. Lise Lindstrom was a remarkable Brunnhilde, investing the role with emotional clout. Her presence on stage showed a well-honed acting ability in her various encounters with her lover Siegfried, her husband Gunther as well as her father, Wotan. Throughout her voice was sharp and she conveyed the emotional relationships with both the notions of a  demigod as well as those of a passionate human.

As Wotan Daniel Sumegi was a powerful presence on stage conveying a real sense of a god with his strange godly flaws and weird relationship with wife and daughter.

Warwick Fyfe’s Alberich was a careful mixture of the malevolent and the comic, a menacing presence in the cave of the Nibelung contrasting with his bumbling tussle with the Rhine maidens.

Stefan Vinke as Siegfried had some huge passages to sing and he dealt with them brilliantly both with his macho duet with Luke Gabbedy (Gunther) and his passionate duet with Lise Lindstrom (Brunnhilde).

The Queensland Symphony Orchestra under Phillipe Augin was probably the most impressive part of the four operas, playing for  fifteen and a half hours and never once seeming to flag.

Opera Australia’s 2024 season offers some spectacular operas performances including.

Verdi, La Traviata

2 January – 14 March 2024

Glamour, riches and a tragic secret: La Traviata is the story of a courtesan falling in love. Classic opera with stunning costumes, outstanding music and a fresh perspective.

Gluck, Orpheus & Eurydice

12 – 31 January 2024

Journey to the underworld and back with the grieving Orpheus. Awe-inspiring acrobatics meet Gluck’s exquisite music in this genre-busting production.

Mozart, The Magic Flute

1 February – 16 March 2024, Sydney Opera House
9 – 16 November 2024, Geelong Arts Centre

Embark on an enchanting adventure and meet a host of wondrous characters in Mozart’s The Magic Flute. This production in sung in English.

Bernstein, West Side Story

22 March – 21 April 2024
Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour

A musical masterpiece returns to Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour in a thrilling, larger-than-life staging. Dynamic dance numbers along with fireworks above the harbour.

Puccini, Tosca

24 – 30 May 2024, Margaret Court Arena
25 June – 16 August 2024, Sydney Opera House

A thriller with sensational music, opera’s best villain and an unforgettable ending, Tosca will keep you on the edge of your seat.

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Auckland Choral’s exhilarating performance of Handel’s Messiah

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Auckland Choral and Pipers Sinfonia           Image Randy Weaver

Handel’s Messiah
Auckland Choral and Pipers Sinfonia
Auckland Town Hall
December 17

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Auckland Choral has been singing the Messiah every year at Christmastime since 1856 but despite this long history, each year Auckland Choral manages to bring a fresh interpretation with new singers.

Although it is immensely popular, with great tunes the Messiah can be a challenge to make it a truly great experience.

The work has aspects of an opera but does not have an opera’s dramatic form.  There are no characters as such and no direct speech. Instead, the text provides insights into the spiritual, emotional and psychological dimensions of Christ’s life as well as the joys and struggles of mankind. Part I deals with prophecies by Isaiah and others, and moves to the annunciation and the shepherds, the only “scene” taken from the Gospels. Part II concentrates on the Passion of Jesus ending  with the Hallelujah Chorus. Part III   covers the resurrection and Christ’s glorification in Heaven. 

A great performance of the Messiah needs to have soloists who convey the various narrative lines and psychological nuances of the work, expressing aspects of the life of Christ as well as that of the common man. It also requires an orchestra of exceptional quality to provide the emotional content and drama of the work.

With this year’s Messiah Auckland Choral and Pipers Sinfonia conducted by Uve Grodd achieved all that was necessary with an exhilarating display along with the four soloists: Kristin Darragh (mezzo-soprano), Anna Leese (soprano), Simon O’Neill (tenor) and Wade Kernot (bass).

Conductor Uve Grodd with Anna Leese (soprano), Kristin Darragh (mezzo-soprano), Simon O’Neill (tenor) and Wade Kernot (bass).        Image Randy Weaver

The bass has some of best tunes to sing in the Messiah and Wade Kernot gave them a fresh interpretation making him the stand-out appearance of the concert. His singing of “The people that walked in darkness”, exposed the dark and eerie quality of the oratorio and his “Why do the nations” sounded like a powerful revolutionary call to arms.

Simon O’Neill’s “Comfort ye” was well modulated showing a superbly controlled voice making his opening recitative a moving description. His dynamism extended throughout his singing and his second half “Thou shalt break them” which was delivered with strength and precision was filled with a mix of anger and aggression.

Kristin Darragh lacked power in some of her early arias, but later on the richness of her voice allowed her to give an affecting performance notably with her anguished account of “He was despised and rejected of men” which she imbued with sorrow and despair. In the second part of the that Air she changed tempo and intensity brilliantly; Throughout she used her voice to effectively create an interplay with the orchestra which provided emotional refrains to her lines.

Anna Leese had a great stage presence with a bright, incisive voice full of drama  and feeling. She excelled in some of her singing notably in the duet “He Shall feed his His flock”, while her singing “I know my redeemer livith” showed her ability to project and to use her luxurious voice to create an intimacy with the audience,

Conductor Uwe Grodd proved himself to be a conductor who thinks through the music. There was a balance between the various parts of the orchestra and between choir and orchestra which brought out the best in the music and the singers. The choir as usual turned on a polished performance in which individual voices surfaced and merged providing an opulence and majesty to the work. The choir was electrifying in some of its choruses, producing sounds which ranged from the light and sweet to the vibrant and dark.

Their singing of the Hallelujah Chorus was a highlight while their singing of “All we like sheep” was particularly thrilling and expressive.

Trumpeter Josh Rogan gave a sensational performance in his “The trumpet will sound” ‘duet’ with Stephen Bemelman This section which ends with the words “we shall be changed” seemed to be a more appropriate ending to the whole oratorio given the power of the two performers.

Organist John Wells gave an inspiring accompaniment with some thrilling, burnished sounds which heightened the drama of many of the choruses. At times it seemed he created a cloud of sound which hovered above the choir  while at other times he produced tidal waves of sound which rolled into the audience.

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