Beautiful death in the joyful flame…

by Cazoshay (Shay) Ward - University of Alaska Anchorage

…And that joyful flame is love, a theme that plays prominently in the opera La Boheme. Love is displayed in all its joy and tragedy as the story takes place in 1940’s Paris. La Boheme, as presented by the Anchorage Opera on the evening of February 17th, 2011 primarily tells the tale of the ill-fated love of the penniless painter, Marcello (played by Barry Johnson,) and the embroidering artist Mimi (played by Veronica Mitina.) It should be noted that this production was designed, produced, and performed by the Anchorage Opera using all local talent, including that of the Alaska Children’s Choir, which comprised the Children’s Choir that was featured playfully in Acts II and III.

This opera is filled with all the ups and downs associated with being in love, and ultimately as any good opera does, ends in tragedy. Mitina and Johnson portray the cycle of the relationship between Mimi and Marcello with great emotion. The opera had a prompter with English subtitles playing above the stage, however, all of the players portrayed their roles with such passion, translation was really not necessary.

Conductor Pablo Zinger along with the orchestra literally didn’t skip a beat with matching both the singer’s performance and the mood of the piece. There’s a reason this show was sold out for the first performance several days before the performance was to begin. Set design by Arnulfo Aldonado was captivating, the lighting along with the falling “snow” in the III Act really set the mood as a chilling pre-cursor to the tragic end to this opera.

“The paper will turn to ash and my genius will soar back to heaven…” the words uttered by Marcello to his fellow artist friends as he burned one of his literary works in the stove to provide heat is an example of the eloquence displayed in this opera. If you are new to operas or thoroughly enjoy them, The Anchorage Opera’s presentation of La Boheme has enough interest and romance to keep audiences captivated throughout all four Acts.

Student Dress Rehearsal of La Boheme
Anchorage Opera
Thursday, February 17, 2011 @7pm
Discovery Theatre

Saying it Without Saying it

by Charlotte Titus - University of Alaska Anchorage

The Duke Ellington Orchestra came to Anchorage and performed their signature music this Saturday in the Atwood Concert Hall. The large orchestra consisted of five saxophonists (one alto, three tenor and one baritone) who each played clarinet as well with one who also played the flute. In addition there were three trombonists, four trumpet players, a drummer, a bassist and the orchestra leader, who played piano.

This was Anchorage’s night to hear orchestra instruments played with attitude as these talented musicians played with equal expertise but added their own flare to the many solos featured throughout the evening. The night started with A Train and as each new piece started, the audience responded with applause at the many easily recognizable tunes. Several of the Duke’s compositions were played, including Perdido, Lush Life, Cotton Club Stone, Don’t Get Around Much Anymore, and Satin Doll. The highlight of the concert was Ellington’s famous Mood Indigo, with three key soloists playing clarinet, trumpet and tenor saxophone so quietly as to make the audience almost lean forward to hear the haunting melody.

One of the hardest working members of the orchestra, the bassist (and only female), played through every song of the evening while many of her fellow members were able to rest as other instruments took over during a piece. Besides keeping the beat throughout the night, she was also the member the orchestra leader referred to as "our babysitter" and proved it as she took on the task of frequently reminding him which piece they were playing next in the set.

Ellington was famous for saying, “you’ve got to find some way of saying it without saying it.” His orchestra proved his words true throughout the night, saying volumes to an audience that was swaying in their seats to the dance hall numbers, cheering for their favorites and being reminded of good times and sweet love through music. Even Mayor Dan Sullivan was so moved that he issued a proclamation, welcoming the orchestra to Anchorage that evening.

Many bands in recent years can claim to have an American sound, but Ellington’s orchestra was the originator. Edward Kennedy (Duke) Ellington was the first to brand and give it a unique style, even preferring to call what he wrote “American Music,” as opposed to jazz.

He led his orchestra for 50 years and after his death, first his son and then his grandson kept it going. Today his orchestra is still keeping his music alive and fresh for newer generations.

As Ellington once said, “The memory of things gone is important to a jazz musician.” While Ellington himself may be gone, his music is more than a memory. It’s a feel good slice of Americana unlike any other.

The Duke Ellington Orchestra

KLEF-FM, Classical 98

8:00pm, Saturday, February 19, 2011

Atwood Concert Hall

Getting' Jiggy With Solas

by Lisa Maloney

One could argue that an Irish musician's gift is squeezing so much movement through an instrument that you just have to get up and dance, whether or not you know how. And Solas has it, making the entire packed house at their February 18th performance lean toward the Performing Arts Center's non-existent dance floor and palpably will it into existence.

Some musicians manage to stay fairly still while their instruments rattle the bones of those around them, but the members of Solas gave themselves away: They obviously love what they do. Winifred Horan engaged in an energetic back-and-forth battle with her violin all night long, Seamus Egan's head bobbed and rolled as he bent over his banjo and guitar, and it looked as though Mick McAuley might topple off his stool a time or two as he worked the accordion.

Eamon McElholm was the most stoic of the lot, playing his guitar instead of battling it for most of the night. But even if he didn't kick up his heels much, his energetic grin and agile playing betrayed him. And vocalist Mairead Phelan marked the night not just with her clear, powerful delivery but the ability to rock out on a supposedly non-rockable instrument, the viola.

The only thing missing was a dance or two. Although the band sat slightly off-center on stage, the hopeful empty space to their right was never graced with moving feet. Not that the music was lacking in any way--but if the audience couldn't dance on their own, dancing by proxy would have been the next best thing.

The sound production was initially a little uneven, making a lovely air from Egan and McAuley, on flutes and keyboard respectively, sound boggy and heavier than it should have. But the sound tightened up nicely as the other band members came on stage and the group ripped into a set of so-called "Wiggly Jigs." And another air in the second half of the show, accompanied by the until-then inexplicable grand piano lurking behind the band, more than redeemed that form of music.

If good music is the soundtrack that creates a movie in your head, Solas is Oscar material. Their ability to pull threads of other music styles--folk, bluegrass, country, jazz and more--into traditional Irish music inspires a range of surprising combinations, but at the root of it they remain Irish and Irish-American musicians that yank so hard on your feet and your heart that you just can't sit still.

Solas

Anchorage Concert Association

Friday, December 18, 2011 at 7:30pm

Atwood Concert Hall

A Classic Joy de Vivre

by Charlotte Titus - University of Alaska Anchorage

The opening strains of Overture “Leonore” No. 3 Op. 72a by Ludwig Von Beethoven exemplify the sentiment in The Beatles While My Guitar Gently Weeps, but with violins. The haunting first notes of this piece echoed throughout the Sydney Laurence Auditorium Friday night during The Anchorage Civic Orchestra’s Winter Concert. While the piece started with a palpable restraint, it soon broke into a light dance between violin and flute, which built to a lively movement as each instrument in the orchestra soon joined in. Conductor Tai Wai Li kept the orchestra’s pace perfectly, bringing in each instrument with equal precision and strength.

While the first piece set the tone for a night of solid masterpieces, the highlight of the concert was the performance of Eduard Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole, Op. 21, 1 Allegro non troppo, by 14-year-old violinist, Eunice Kang. Her lively rendition bounced perfectly between the low and high notes played with obvious experience and a light hand. Ms. Kang’s impressive resume includes two second place finishes and one first place in the Music Teachers National Association’s junior strings state competition, (2007/2008, 2009/2010 and 2010/2011, respectively), first chair in the Anchorage Junior Youth Symphony (2008/2009 and 2009/2010), and she is currently the assistant concert master in the Anchorage Youth Symphony. Anchorage will surely be hearing more from this high school freshman in the years ahead.

The concert ended on a beautiful note with Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op 68, by Johannes Brahms. This piece again showed Li’s masterful leadership of the ACO as they played through the four movements with obvious relish. This symphony, along with the other two works performed, belied the fact that the audience was enjoying music played by so-called non-professionals. The joy of music was evident throughout the evening, on the faces of each audience member and in the pleasure of a job well done by one of Anchorage’s lesser known classical gems, the Anchorage Civic Orchestra. Each piece of this concert was polished by the experienced players who appear to enjoy mastering even more difficult pieces than could be expected from even Anchorage’s professional orchestras. This may not have been Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, but it certainly brought a sense of ‘joy de vivre’ to concert goers that winter’s night.

The Winter Concert

Anchorage Civic Orchestra

February 5, 2011 at 7:30pm

Sydney Laurence Auditorium

Suzanne Vega: A Folk Music Superstar

by Arielle Young - University of Alaska Anchorage

I walked into the Suzanne Vega show at Atwood Concert Hall on a chilly Friday night in February, with few preconceived notions of what the concert would be like. I had heard exactly one song of hers, “Tom’s Café,” which is in constant rotation on several local radio stations. I purposefully did not investigate any of her other music because it is often enjoyable to hear new songs for the first time straight from the artist’s mouth. I was not disappointed. Nor was the huge crowd that cheered endlessly for her as she made her way out on stage, a small woman diminished even further by her huge guitar. As she started to sing, however, her big voice filled the concert hall, every note perfect.

As her set went on, I noticed two distinct genres emerging in her music. There were the extreme folksy songs, slightly up-tempo and sounding radio ready. Then there were the slower love songs, such as “small blue thing” and “caramel.” These songs were both extremely beautiful and reminiscent of old-school jazz and blues. These songs especially highlighted the sultry quality of her voice and allowed her vocals to really shine. As amazing as her set of love songs was, however, I feel as though they would have been more resonating with her standing solo on stage without the accompanying bass.

Overall it was a great show, and extremely relaxing. Her voice has a very soothing timbre, and it’s easy to see why the theatre was packed. Most everyone there seemed to be around forty or older, and since she first broke into the music business about 25 years ago, many of her fans have probably been around since the beginning, which really says a lot about an artist.

Suzanne Vega
Anchorage Concert Association
Friday, February 4, 2011 @ 7:30pm
Atwood Concert Hall

You Can Be Free, Too

by Lisa Maloney

Most myths and legends are one-dimensional. Not so for the spirit of Harriet Tubman, brilliantly played by Leslie McCurdy in a one-woman play named for its lead character. Not Tubman in the flesh, but her spirit instead--and you’ll have to sit through the play to find out why she can’t rest just yet.

McCurdy penned this play fourteen years ago, taking it from blank page to stage-ready performance in less than a month. In doing so she reached back into a near-mythological figure’s past and drew forth the mantle of imperfect humanity. The mantle of slavery comes with it, too. How can it not, when Tubman was faced with it at every turn during her early life, and is remembered now for first escaping slavery herself, them returning repeatedly to guide others to freedom?

Thanks to McCurdy’s spooky ability to morph so believably from tottering old lady to robust girl-child and back again, we see Tubman at different stages of her life. It’s like watching a slide show, and in almost every single slide Tubman holds out that mantle of slavery and says, “This isn’t mine.”

But McCurdy and Tubman’s spirit, working together on stage, embody so much more than defiance. They distill the essence of how and why Tubman was so much like the rest of us in the room, bringing us inside the experience of her life. No idle bystanders here--when Tubman cringes at the sights and sounds of brutality during her initial escape, we see and hear them too. But McCurdy weaves enough sly humor through the play to save us from breaking beneath the burdens Tubman somehow bore.

The audience on Friday evening--McCurdy’s only public performance after a week of school performances--was a pleasant mix of shapes, sizes, colors and ages. And although no human should ever suffer what Tubman and so many other African-American slaves lived through, McCurdy’s message was never one of angst. Instead, she and the spirit she brought with her reminded us that we can be free, too, as long as we don’t subscribe to the fears other people try to teach us.

Most plays don’t have opening acts, but The Spirit of Harriet Tubman was preceded by local artists celebrating the start of Black History Month. Appearances included Black Arts North Academy, Our Hands Together, Underground Dance Company, and stunning local violinist Bryson Andres.

Yet as McCurdy pointed out during the question-and-answer session after the show, black history happened year-round -- not just during February. So hopefully we can look forward to seeing McCurdy again some other month, a special woman that holds up a singular spirit to mirror our own hopes and dreams of freedom back to us.

The Spirit of Harriet Tubman

Alaska Junior Theater

Friday, February 4 at 7:30pm

Discovery Theatre