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		<title>Christian Reif Reworks John Adams&#8217;s &#8220;El Niño&#8221;</title>
		<link>https://culturalattache.co/2022/12/20/christian-reif-reworks-john-adamss-el-nino/</link>
					<comments>https://culturalattache.co/2022/12/20/christian-reif-reworks-john-adamss-el-nino/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Craig Byrd]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 20 Dec 2022 08:10:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Classical: Metronome]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[What's Hot]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[American Modern Opera Company]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Anthony Roth Costanzo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bob Hurwitz]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cathedral of Saint John the Divine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christian Reif]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Davóne Tines]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[El Niño]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[El Niño: Nativity Reconsidered]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[J&#039;Nai Bridges]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[John Adams]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Julia Bullock]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Knoxville: Summer of 1915]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nonesuch Records]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rachael Wilson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Samuel Barber]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Cloisters]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Walking in the Dark]]></category>
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					<description><![CDATA[<p>"It basically started with us believing that this piece needs to be heard by more people and performed by more people. Not every ensemble has the resources to perform it. John gave us the blessing for it."</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2022/12/20/christian-reif-reworks-john-adamss-el-nino/">Christian Reif Reworks John Adams&#8217;s &#8220;El Niño&#8221;</a> appeared first on <a href="https://culturalattache.co">Cultural Attaché</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p>There are numerous pieces of the classical music repertoire that are always played around the world at this time of year. Handel&#8217;s <em>Messiah</em> and Tchaikovsky&#8217;s <em>The Nutcracker</em> certainly head that list. If conductor and pianist Christian Reif has influence on what gets added to that list he would add John Adams&#8217; <em>El Niño</em>.</p>



<p>Reif, along with soprano <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2022/11/02/soprano-julia-bullock-wants-to-rock-your-soul/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Julia Bullock</a> (the couple are together), have conceived of a one-hour version entitled <em><a href="https://www.stjohndivine.org/calendar/42514/el-nino-nativity-reconsidered" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">El Niño: Nativity Reconsidered</a></em> that will be performed on Wednesday by the America Modern Opera Company. This is his effort to make this nearly two-hour <em>Nativity Oratorio</em> from 1999 more accessible for a wide range of performing arts organizations and audiences alike. The performance will take place at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York.</p>



<p>Their revision was first performed in 2018 at The Cloisters in New York. As with that performance, Bullock will be joined by countertenor <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2021/08/05/anthony-roth-costanzo-defines-his-place-in-opera/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Anthony Roth Costanzo</a> and baritone <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2021/11/04/baritone-davone-tines-speaks-boldly-about-julius-eastman/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Davóne Tines</a>. Mezzo-soprano Rachael Wilson sings the role at this week&#8217;s performance that was previously sung by <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2022/05/31/jnai-bridges-enters-peter-lorraine-hunt-liebersons-world/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">J&#8217;Nai Bridges</a>. </p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignleft size-medium"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="300" height="169" src="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Anthony-Roth-Costsanzo-JNai-Bridges-and-Julia-Bullock-perform-22El-Nino-Nativity-Reconsidered22-Photo-by-Paula-Lobo-Courtesy-American-Opera-Company-1-300x169.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-17565" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Anthony-Roth-Costsanzo-JNai-Bridges-and-Julia-Bullock-perform-22El-Nino-Nativity-Reconsidered22-Photo-by-Paula-Lobo-Courtesy-American-Opera-Company-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Anthony-Roth-Costsanzo-JNai-Bridges-and-Julia-Bullock-perform-22El-Nino-Nativity-Reconsidered22-Photo-by-Paula-Lobo-Courtesy-American-Opera-Company-1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Anthony-Roth-Costsanzo-JNai-Bridges-and-Julia-Bullock-perform-22El-Nino-Nativity-Reconsidered22-Photo-by-Paula-Lobo-Courtesy-American-Opera-Company-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Anthony-Roth-Costsanzo-JNai-Bridges-and-Julia-Bullock-perform-22El-Nino-Nativity-Reconsidered22-Photo-by-Paula-Lobo-Courtesy-American-Opera-Company-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Anthony-Roth-Costsanzo-JNai-Bridges-and-Julia-Bullock-perform-22El-Nino-Nativity-Reconsidered22-Photo-by-Paula-Lobo-Courtesy-American-Opera-Company-1-696x392.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Anthony-Roth-Costsanzo-JNai-Bridges-and-Julia-Bullock-perform-22El-Nino-Nativity-Reconsidered22-Photo-by-Paula-Lobo-Courtesy-American-Opera-Company-1-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Anthony-Roth-Costsanzo-JNai-Bridges-and-Julia-Bullock-perform-22El-Nino-Nativity-Reconsidered22-Photo-by-Paula-Lobo-Courtesy-American-Opera-Company-1-747x420.jpg 747w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Anthony-Roth-Costsanzo-JNai-Bridges-and-Julia-Bullock-perform-22El-Nino-Nativity-Reconsidered22-Photo-by-Paula-Lobo-Courtesy-American-Opera-Company-1.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Anthony Roth Costanzo, J&#8217;Nai Bridges and Julia Bullock perform &#8220;El Niño: Nativity Reconsidered&#8221; (Photo by Paula Lobo/Courtesy American Modern Opera Company)</figcaption></figure></div>


<p>Earlier this month I spoke with Reif about <em>El Niño</em>, how Bullock&#8217;s relationship with Adams made this project possible and about the miracle of birth. He and Bullock recently had their first child. What follows are excerpts from that conversation that have been edited for length and clarity. To see the full interview, please go to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQfUdH08rahzGKm2Hcawq-g" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">YouTube channel</a>.</p>



<p>The year that <em>El Niño</em> premiere, John Adams gave <a href="https://www.boosey.com/cr/news/John-Adams-in-interview-about-his-new-oratorio-El-Nino/188" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">an interview</a> specifically about this work in which he said, &#8220;I want the work to be flexible and not tied to any one way of presenting it.&#8221; What were the conversations that you and Julia had when you came up with this revised version of presenting <em>El Niño</em>?<em>&nbsp;</em></p>



<p><strong>Julia and I love the piece so much. It&#8217;s one of the great pieces of our times and it has this immediacy and this intensity. We wanted to focus on that intimacy and immediacy of the work which is reflected both in the subject matter, but also how we have decided to perform it. It&#8217;s so hard to cut anything of John&#8217;s music and the poetry, but we tried to focus on the relationship &#8211; the bond between mother and child.</strong></p>



<p><strong>It basically started with us believing that this piece needs to be heard by more people and be performed by more people. The original, which is so impactful and wonderful, is a big, big piece. It has a six soloists, three of them countertenors, a big orchestra, a big chorus and children. Not every ensemble, not every orchestra, not every chamber orchestra has the resources to perform it.&nbsp;John gave us the blessing for it.</strong></p>



<p>I can&#8217;t imagine too many composers being open to having their works altered by other people.</p>



<p><strong>I don&#8217;t know if this is just speculation, but if it was anyone else other than Julia Bullock asking John Adams, since they have such a wonderful close relationship, I&#8217;m not sure he would have been quite as happy or forthcoming. Julia approached him for her Met Museum residency and he was supportive of it. That was one iteration of it, but we there were several parameters during this presentation. </strong></p>



<p><strong>We played it at The Cloisters so it had to be a certain amount of people only. Also the length was an hour. So there were several restrictions that we wanted to break out a bit now for this iteration. I did a lot of arranging of it for the first one, but I didn&#8217;t start from scratch at that point. There was someone else. Now that we&#8217;re performing at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine on December 21st, that is my arrangement and Julia&#8217;s concept.</strong></p>



<p>For people who saw it at the Cloisters in 2018 what&#8217;s going to be fundamentally different about what&#8217;s getting performed this year?</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignleft size-medium"><img decoding="async" width="300" height="169" src="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/The-Cloisters-performance-of-22El-Nino-Nativity-Reconsidered22-Photo-by-Joshua-Bright-for-the-New-York-Times-Courtesy-Modern-Opera-Company-1-300x169.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-17567" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/The-Cloisters-performance-of-22El-Nino-Nativity-Reconsidered22-Photo-by-Joshua-Bright-for-the-New-York-Times-Courtesy-Modern-Opera-Company-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/The-Cloisters-performance-of-22El-Nino-Nativity-Reconsidered22-Photo-by-Joshua-Bright-for-the-New-York-Times-Courtesy-Modern-Opera-Company-1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/The-Cloisters-performance-of-22El-Nino-Nativity-Reconsidered22-Photo-by-Joshua-Bright-for-the-New-York-Times-Courtesy-Modern-Opera-Company-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/The-Cloisters-performance-of-22El-Nino-Nativity-Reconsidered22-Photo-by-Joshua-Bright-for-the-New-York-Times-Courtesy-Modern-Opera-Company-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/The-Cloisters-performance-of-22El-Nino-Nativity-Reconsidered22-Photo-by-Joshua-Bright-for-the-New-York-Times-Courtesy-Modern-Opera-Company-1-696x392.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/The-Cloisters-performance-of-22El-Nino-Nativity-Reconsidered22-Photo-by-Joshua-Bright-for-the-New-York-Times-Courtesy-Modern-Opera-Company-1-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/The-Cloisters-performance-of-22El-Nino-Nativity-Reconsidered22-Photo-by-Joshua-Bright-for-the-New-York-Times-Courtesy-Modern-Opera-Company-1-747x420.jpg 747w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/The-Cloisters-performance-of-22El-Nino-Nativity-Reconsidered22-Photo-by-Joshua-Bright-for-the-New-York-Times-Courtesy-Modern-Opera-Company-1.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Anthony Roth Costanzo, J&#8217;nai Bridges, Julia Bullock and Davóne Tines, sing &#8220;El Niño: Nativity Reconsidered&#8221; with conductor Christian Reif at the Met Cloisters. (Photo by Joshua Bright for The New York Times/Courtesy American Modern Opera Company)</figcaption></figure></div>


<p><strong>It&#8217;s not fundamentally different.&nbsp;We have a 10-piece chamber choir which is one of the major changes. Also the instrumentation is different than we played it at The Cloisters. I added both the clarinet and the horn back into it.&nbsp;I went closer to John&#8217;s music, especially in <em>El Niño</em>, but also in <em>The Gospel According to the Other Mary</em>. In these two oratorios much the heart of the sound are the keyboards: it is piano, it&#8217;s sampler synthesizer and also harp guitar. Those are the heart of it.</strong></p>



<p>In that same interview that I referenced at the beginning of our conversation John Adams said, &#8220;The piece is my way of trying to understand what is meant by a miracle.&#8221; How do you understand what is meant by a miracle?&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>That&#8217;s a big question and I&#8217;m hoping I can answer it somewhat. John is a father and grandfather and now our son was born six weeks ago. That miracle, I think maybe that&#8217;s stereotypical or cheesy, but it is a miracle witnessing birth. Of course we know what is going on in the body and how it&#8217;s all happening. Julia and I researched a lot. But there&#8217;s something special having this miracle of birth and being so close to it. Obviously I didn&#8217;t give birth myself, but I was there every step of the way and that is a very special feeling. So I can only imagine that John was thinking a lot about his own family.</strong></p>



<p><strong>What is so fascinating to me is the selection of poems and poets that John and <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2018/03/15/director-peter-sellars-revisits-insanely-hard-work/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Peter Sellars</a> collected for <em>El Niño</em>. It&#8217;s not, as usually is the case with a lot of Western European music, the birth is not presented through the lens of white men. Rosario Castellanos, an incredible poet, is featured very prominently in both the original and <em>El Niño</em> in our arrangement. It&#8217;s very important to us as well. It&#8217;s an incredible honor and privilege to raise a child. And I think that miracle is being brought through and shines through the whole piece.</strong><em>&nbsp;</em></p>



<p>Do you feel like the piece is going to resonate differently with both of you now as a result of having given birth to a son?&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>I think so, yes. Even just in these last few weeks, when I read the poetry and studied the music, it hits differently. It always impacted both of us in a very deep way. There&#8217;s something inexplicable when you read the beginning that talks about how this other being takes some room in the woman and suddenly your body is not your own anymore. You&#8217;re nurturing another human being. This is the only time you&#8217;ve been alone. Now you will never be alone anymore. That&#8217;s something that you grasp when you have given birth or as the father, the partner being right there. I think that&#8217;s something I wouldn&#8217;t have thought about too closely before.</strong></p>



<p>Does the success of this version of John Adams&#8217;s work make an argument for truncation of larger works in a society that demands shorter pieces because of shortened attention spans?</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignleft size-medium"><img decoding="async" width="300" height="169" src="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Composer-John-Adams-Courtesy-John-Adams-300x169.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-17570" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Composer-John-Adams-Courtesy-John-Adams-300x169.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Composer-John-Adams-Courtesy-John-Adams-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Composer-John-Adams-Courtesy-John-Adams-768x432.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Composer-John-Adams-Courtesy-John-Adams-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Composer-John-Adams-Courtesy-John-Adams-696x392.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Composer-John-Adams-Courtesy-John-Adams-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Composer-John-Adams-Courtesy-John-Adams-747x420.jpg 747w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Composer-John-Adams-Courtesy-John-Adams.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Composer John Adams (courtesy of John Adams)</figcaption></figure></div>


<p><strong>I think being able to experience this work &#8211; it is only an hour long. I think it&#8217;s not too much task for anyone. If it was a Wagner opera of four or five hours, I understand that&#8217;s a daunting thought. But I think to sit one hour and experience a work like this and being able to really delve into it and let everything else go is good.</strong></p>



<p><strong>I think our generation right now wants that, too. They want to be able to let go as well as being impacted deeply. They want an experience. This is some of the most ferocious, most incredible and intense music and lyrics. At the same time, some of the most delicate and wondrous. So I think that is something that would speak to anyone.</strong> </p>



<p><strong>And I know from many conversations with my family who have seen this or experienced the full original version, who might not be necessarily the most adventurous contemporary listeners, but were deeply impacted and and taken by this piece. I think this is a piece that people will be drawn to.&nbsp;</strong></p>



<p>You serve as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVDAAsWnT0Q" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">conductor and pianist</a> on Julia&#8217;s album, <em>Walking in the Dark</em>. It should be noted that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK7bQOY3aM0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Memorial de Tlateloloco</em> from <em>El Niño</em></a> is one of the pieces you recorded for the album. What were the conversations that you and Julia had that led to works that were selected?&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>It&#8217;s her album, but obviously since I&#8217;m conducting and also playing piano and her partner in life, we exchanged a lot of ideas and thoughts. I think it started with her conversation with Bob Hurwitz from Nonesuch Records who told her, &#8220;Don&#8217;t worry about what sells. Don&#8217;t worry if you can tour the album. Think about the time you live in right now. Think of what speaks to you the most. What do you want to say? The album should be a work of art.&#8221; </strong></p>



<p><strong>That really spoke to her. That speaks to me. She has an incredible gift for curation and that comes through in everything she does. She went through many different versions of different ideas of the album; what it might be, what it possibly could be. She asked me for my input with it. She started with talking and working on </strong>[Samuel] <strong>Barber and John Adams.<em>&nbsp;</em>We were traveling together performing Barber&#8217;s <em>Knoxville: Summer of 1915</em>.&nbsp;Since we just are performing Barber, I thought, why don&#8217;t you think about anchoring the album with two bigger orchestral pieces.</strong></p>



<p>I&#8217;m going to go one more time back to that John Adams interview from 2000, because I found it really intriguing. He said, &#8220;Entering into this myth, making art about it and finding your own voice to express it, can&#8217;t help but put you in a very humble position.&#8221; At this point in your career, whether it&#8217;s <em>El Niño</em> or <em>Walking in the Dark</em>, how does your work put you in a humble place and what realizations do you have as a result of that?</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignleft size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="169" src="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Christian-Reif-Photo-by-Stefan-Cohen-Courtesy-ChristianReif.eu_-300x169.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-17571" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Christian-Reif-Photo-by-Stefan-Cohen-Courtesy-ChristianReif.eu_-300x169.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Christian-Reif-Photo-by-Stefan-Cohen-Courtesy-ChristianReif.eu_-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Christian-Reif-Photo-by-Stefan-Cohen-Courtesy-ChristianReif.eu_-768x432.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Christian-Reif-Photo-by-Stefan-Cohen-Courtesy-ChristianReif.eu_-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Christian-Reif-Photo-by-Stefan-Cohen-Courtesy-ChristianReif.eu_-696x392.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Christian-Reif-Photo-by-Stefan-Cohen-Courtesy-ChristianReif.eu_-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Christian-Reif-Photo-by-Stefan-Cohen-Courtesy-ChristianReif.eu_-747x420.jpg 747w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Christian-Reif-Photo-by-Stefan-Cohen-Courtesy-ChristianReif.eu_.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Christian Reif (Photo by Stefan Cohen/Courtesy ChristianReif.eu)</figcaption></figure></div>


<p><strong>The act of conducting, being in connection with each other and with the musicians on stage, is very humbling. I never saw myself as the dictator on the podium. Sometimes I just listen and see what is being offered and make music in real time. It is a very humbling experience. The main thing as a conductor is just to bring everyone together and make sure that everyone can perform on the best level possible. And if you&#8217;re not humble in that, I don&#8217;t think you get that response from people. </strong></p>



<p><strong>As a father of a young boy, it&#8217;s humbling in a different way where I feel my whole being is in service to this young being. Everything else is taking a little bit of a backseat. At the same time I know when I&#8217;m on stage I am onstage fully present. There&#8217;s also nothing like it. </strong></p>



<p><strong>I did one gig in Colorado a few weeks ago. A sister was able to be here and help out, which was wonderful. I missed Lucas and Julia tremendously, but I was also able to just be with the musicians and be completely present and connect with them. That is a very humbling and very wonderful experience.</strong></p>



<p><em>To see the full interview with Christian Reif, please go <a href="https://youtu.be/12evzHIJMMU" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>.</em></p>



<p>Main photo: Christian Reif (Photo ©Simon Pauly/Courtesy ChristianReif.eu)</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2022/12/20/christian-reif-reworks-john-adamss-el-nino/">Christian Reif Reworks John Adams&#8217;s &#8220;El Niño&#8221;</a> appeared first on <a href="https://culturalattache.co">Cultural Attaché</a>.</p>
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		<title>Soprano Julia Bullock Wants to Rock Your Soul</title>
		<link>https://culturalattache.co/2022/11/02/soprano-julia-bullock-wants-to-rock-your-soul/</link>
					<comments>https://culturalattache.co/2022/11/02/soprano-julia-bullock-wants-to-rock-your-soul/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Craig Byrd]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 03 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Classical: Metronome]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Bell Hooks]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Los Angeles Philharmonic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Margaret Bonds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Meshell Ndegeocello]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Michelle Bradley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Michelle Cann]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nonesuch Records]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Peter Sellars]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rhiannon Giddens]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rock Your Soul Festival]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Samuel Barber]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Valerie Coleman]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Walking the Dark]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://culturalattache.co/?p=17271</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>"I made a lot of peace with who I am and how I also am expanding in the various roles that I can take on and feel comfortable in."</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2022/11/02/soprano-julia-bullock-wants-to-rock-your-soul/">Soprano Julia Bullock Wants to Rock Your Soul</a> appeared first on <a href="https://culturalattache.co">Cultural Attaché</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignleft size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="169" src="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Julia-Bullock-2-Photo-by-Allison-Michael-orenstein-Courtesy-Askonas-Holt-300x169.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-17279" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Julia-Bullock-2-Photo-by-Allison-Michael-orenstein-Courtesy-Askonas-Holt-300x169.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Julia-Bullock-2-Photo-by-Allison-Michael-orenstein-Courtesy-Askonas-Holt-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Julia-Bullock-2-Photo-by-Allison-Michael-orenstein-Courtesy-Askonas-Holt-768x432.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Julia-Bullock-2-Photo-by-Allison-Michael-orenstein-Courtesy-Askonas-Holt-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Julia-Bullock-2-Photo-by-Allison-Michael-orenstein-Courtesy-Askonas-Holt-696x392.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Julia-Bullock-2-Photo-by-Allison-Michael-orenstein-Courtesy-Askonas-Holt-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Julia-Bullock-2-Photo-by-Allison-Michael-orenstein-Courtesy-Askonas-Holt-747x420.jpg 747w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Julia-Bullock-2-Photo-by-Allison-Michael-orenstein-Courtesy-Askonas-Holt.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></figure></div>


<p>This year is going out with a bang for soprano Julia Bullock. She&#8217;s curated the <a href="https://www.laphil.com/concerts-and-events/festivals/rock-my-soul-festival" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Rock Your Soul Festival</em> </a>with the Los Angeles Philharmonic that starts in earnest on November 5th and runs through November 22nd. She has her first solo recording coming out from Nonesuch Records. It&#8217;s called <em><a href="https://www.nonesuch.com/albums/walking-in-the-dark" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Walking in the Dark</a></em>. Finally she and pianist/conductor husband Christian Reif are expecting their first child any day now.</p>



<p><em>Rock Your Soul</em> <em>Festival</em> was originally conceived by the LA Phil as a celebration of the work and friendship of Florence Price and Margaret Bonds. The title harkens back to a spiritual (<em>Rock My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham</em>) and a book by noted author and activist Bell Hooks (<em>Rock My Soul: Black People and Self-Esteem</em>).</p>



<p>Amongst the artists Bullock has assembled for the festival are soprano Michelle Bradley, mezzo-soprano <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2022/05/31/jnai-bridges-enters-peter-lorraine-hunt-liebersons-world/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">J&#8217;Nai Bridges</a>, pianist Michelle Cann (look for our interview with her later this week), singer/composer Rhiannon Giddens, conductor Jeri Lynn Johnson, singer/songwriter <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2019/07/11/meshell-ndegeocello-unplugged-and-unmasked/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Meshell Ndegeocello</a> and mezzo-soprano Jasmine White.</p>



<p><em>Walking in the Dark</em> finds Bullock performing works by John Adams, Samuel Barber, Oscar Brown Jr., <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDdUOXpp6Zc" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Connie Converse</a> and Sandy Denny. It&#8217;s a beautiful record that is set for release on December 9th. Reif plays piano on the recording and leads the Philharmonia Orchestra of London as well.</p>



<p>Bullock&#8217;s pregnancy precludes her from performing in <em>Rock Your Soul Festival</em>, but it did allow for other opportunities which she described in our conversation recently. What follows are excerpts from that conversation which have been edited for length and for clarity.</p>



<p>I want to start by asking you about something you told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/25/arts/music/julia-bullock-zauberland-lincoln-center.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Zachary Wolff</a> in the <span style="text-decoration: underline;">New York Times</span> in 2019. It was advice your mother gave you: &#8220;Make sure that your work is making a difference for the betterment of the world.&#8221; You seem to have taken up that challenge and made it your mission. How do you think that has made your career different than others and, by extension, more fulfilling for you?&nbsp;</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignleft size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="169" src="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Julia-Bullock-Photo-by-Allison-Michael-orenstein-Courtesy-Askonas-Holt-300x169.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-17280" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Julia-Bullock-Photo-by-Allison-Michael-orenstein-Courtesy-Askonas-Holt-300x169.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Julia-Bullock-Photo-by-Allison-Michael-orenstein-Courtesy-Askonas-Holt-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Julia-Bullock-Photo-by-Allison-Michael-orenstein-Courtesy-Askonas-Holt-768x432.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Julia-Bullock-Photo-by-Allison-Michael-orenstein-Courtesy-Askonas-Holt-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Julia-Bullock-Photo-by-Allison-Michael-orenstein-Courtesy-Askonas-Holt-696x392.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Julia-Bullock-Photo-by-Allison-Michael-orenstein-Courtesy-Askonas-Holt-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Julia-Bullock-Photo-by-Allison-Michael-orenstein-Courtesy-Askonas-Holt-747x420.jpg 747w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Julia-Bullock-Photo-by-Allison-Michael-orenstein-Courtesy-Askonas-Holt.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></figure></div>


<p><strong>Well, I don&#8217;t know if it&#8217;s made it so much different from other people&#8217;s. I think every artist has a call in one way or another to have a mission or have their their passion realized. I don&#8217;t have a casual relationship with music. In fact, my desire to sing and also share music is because I know the impact that it&#8217;s had on my life and also how it&#8217;s enriched my life and helps me feel more interconnected and engaged. </strong></p>



<p><strong>I guess I&#8217;m always looking for ways to deepen that exploration and enjoy it in the process. I find that most of the artists whose work I really love also have this sort of mission. They&#8217;re very much conscious of the world that was going on around them and trying to make sense of it or call out hypocrisies. I&#8217;m not sure if I feel it&#8217;s so different than what other artists are doing. I guess I&#8217;ve just given myself permission to expand that in as many directions as I can imagine.</strong></p>



<p>I would assume that in doing that, when someone like Peter Sellars says &#8220;Her path is going to be our path,&#8221; that&#8217;s got to be both hugely flattering and also a bit of a mantle to take on on a certain level.</p>



<p><strong>I truthfully don&#8217;t like to be positioned in any capacity. I appreciate that Peter feels that the way that I work, the reflections that I have, and just the fact that I&#8217;m really dedicated to my craft and my own development and learning, is something that he wants to celebrate. I guess I celebrate that, too. That would be part of why, in the performing arts in particular, I don&#8217;t take that pressure on because that&#8217;s just a projection of something. The work that I do is not trying to live into some projection of Julia.&nbsp;</strong></p>



<p>In the liner notes for <em>Walking in the Dark</em> you conclude your statements in the liner notes with &#8220;If our intentions are translated well enough and are clearly in focus, it may lead to some moments of illumination.&#8221; What has been the process of making your intentions perfectly clear with the <em>Rock Your Soul Festival</em>?</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignleft size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="169" src="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Florence-Price-Courtesy-New-York-Public-Library-Archive-300x169.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-17275" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Florence-Price-Courtesy-New-York-Public-Library-Archive-300x169.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Florence-Price-Courtesy-New-York-Public-Library-Archive-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Florence-Price-Courtesy-New-York-Public-Library-Archive-768x432.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Florence-Price-Courtesy-New-York-Public-Library-Archive-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Florence-Price-Courtesy-New-York-Public-Library-Archive-696x392.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Florence-Price-Courtesy-New-York-Public-Library-Archive-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Florence-Price-Courtesy-New-York-Public-Library-Archive-747x420.jpg 747w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Florence-Price-Courtesy-New-York-Public-Library-Archive.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Florence Price (Courtesy New York Public Library Archive)</figcaption></figure></div>


<p><strong>It was their idea, not the title or anything like that, but just the proposal to curate a program that was focusing on the relationship between Margaret Bonds and Florence Price. Other than their vocal music and really just their songs, I was not too familiar with a lot of their repertoire &#8211; the breadth of their repertoire. It was an opportunity for me to again delve into some research and take six, seven months to consider the work of composers that I had not had the time or had this opportunity to look at. </strong></p>



<p><strong>I was reading about their personal lives and also this relationship of mutual support. They had this teacher</strong> (Price)<strong>/ student</strong> (Bonds) <strong>relationship.</strong> <strong>When there were really troubling times for Florence Price in her personal life she went and lived with Margaret Bonds for a period of time. That really communicated this beautiful thing. It wasn&#8217;t just about their artistic output. It was also about nurturing and respecting each other as human beings and fully supporting each other that way. That was something I really wanted to celebrate and acknowledge besides just sharing their repertoire. </strong></p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignleft size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="169" src="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Margaret-Bonds-Courtesy-New-York-Public-Library-Archive-300x169.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-17276" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Margaret-Bonds-Courtesy-New-York-Public-Library-Archive-300x169.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Margaret-Bonds-Courtesy-New-York-Public-Library-Archive-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Margaret-Bonds-Courtesy-New-York-Public-Library-Archive-768x432.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Margaret-Bonds-Courtesy-New-York-Public-Library-Archive-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Margaret-Bonds-Courtesy-New-York-Public-Library-Archive-696x392.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Margaret-Bonds-Courtesy-New-York-Public-Library-Archive-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Margaret-Bonds-Courtesy-New-York-Public-Library-Archive-747x420.jpg 747w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Margaret-Bonds-Courtesy-New-York-Public-Library-Archive.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Margaret Bonds (Courtesy New York Public Library Archives)</figcaption></figure></div>


<p><strong>Every single artist that was invited into the festival there is this feeling of mutual support. Every single composer that I know, that I work with personally and also the composers that I either read their letters or biographies, they openly admit how influenced they are by the people who are around them. And they seek out guidance and advice. They are influenced by what&#8217;s going on socially, politically.</strong> </p>



<p>I think we can learn a lot from what Florence Price and Margaret Bonds did in terms of shared experiences as musicians and as human beings. Because it goes without saying that a lot of people care more about ideologies and less about each other as human beings right now. Perhaps the festival can find a way to bridge that divide.</p>



<p><strong>It can be very closed and people can get very closed. Growing up listening to recordings, my family had vinyls or cassettes playing all the time. A lot of the time we listened to music together. Even if I was alone I was still playing music, not locked into an earphone or earbuds privately, it was something that was heard in the house &#8211; the shared space. I think music can foster some really beautiful acknowledgment of each other.&nbsp;It&#8217;s not just some theoretical exercise. It&#8217;s like actually putting it into practice. I think that&#8217;s probably what drove me and that&#8217;s what drives most musicians to make music. Because you&#8217;re wanting a shared experience and wanting to share your own experience as well.<em>&nbsp;</em></strong></p>



<p>Once you became pregnant and knew that being here for the festival wasn&#8217;t going to be possible did that give you any opportunities to make changes or add other things that maybe couldn&#8217;t fit into the program because you were a part of it at one point and now you were not?<em>&nbsp;</em></p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignleft size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="169" src="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Julia-Bullock-4-Photo-by-Allison-Michael-orenstein-Courtesy-Askonas-Holt-1-300x169.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-17282" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Julia-Bullock-4-Photo-by-Allison-Michael-orenstein-Courtesy-Askonas-Holt-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Julia-Bullock-4-Photo-by-Allison-Michael-orenstein-Courtesy-Askonas-Holt-1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Julia-Bullock-4-Photo-by-Allison-Michael-orenstein-Courtesy-Askonas-Holt-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Julia-Bullock-4-Photo-by-Allison-Michael-orenstein-Courtesy-Askonas-Holt-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Julia-Bullock-4-Photo-by-Allison-Michael-orenstein-Courtesy-Askonas-Holt-1-696x392.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Julia-Bullock-4-Photo-by-Allison-Michael-orenstein-Courtesy-Askonas-Holt-1-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Julia-Bullock-4-Photo-by-Allison-Michael-orenstein-Courtesy-Askonas-Holt-1-747x420.jpg 747w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Julia-Bullock-4-Photo-by-Allison-Michael-orenstein-Courtesy-Askonas-Holt-1.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></figure></div>


<p><strong>I&#8217;m sad. I&#8217;m just not going to be there. Obviously I&#8217;m growing a human being. So that&#8217;s what it is.</strong><em>&nbsp;</em></p>



<p><strong>I was supposed to perform <a href="https://juliabullock.com/met-residency-historys-persistent-voice/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">History&#8217;s Persistent Voice</a>, which featured a lot of  contemporary composers who are all Black women. That was an hour-and-a-half program.<em>&nbsp;</em>I decided to save this for another season and think about another program. </strong></p>



<p><strong>That was a great opportunity to perform one of <a href="https://www.laphil.com/events/performances/1796/2022-11-11/bryan-bonds-price" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Florence Price&#8217; full symphonies</a>. It was also an opportunity then for me to think about the composers who were associated with <em>History&#8217;s Persistence Voice</em> and look at some of their other pieces and see if there was a way to feature their work.</strong>&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>I&#8217;m really excited Courtney Brian&#8217;s <em>Sanctum</em> is included. Her work is just super powerful and I&#8217;m so glad that that is going to have a premiere at the LA Phil. Valerie Coleman&#8217;s selections from her <em>Phenomenal Women</em> will be featured as well. It&#8217;s the first time that she will have anything performed at the Phil.</strong></p>



<p>Your first album is going to be something that was to be considered carefully. Now that you&#8217;ve recorded it, and I know from earlier in this conversation you haven&#8217;t listened to it recently, but what would you like listeners to know about you from hearing the choices that you made for <em>Walking in the Dark</em> and the performances you give? </p>



<p><strong>What do I want them to know about me? I really hope it is just an invitation. All of the music that&#8217;s on this is material I&#8217;ve lived with for honestly two decades and some of it I&#8217;ve performed for a decade. The chance to lay it down and be a part of a recording legacy of some of these pieces that have also been recorded by so many different artists was a rare and wonderful opportunity. It&#8217;s not one that I take for granted. </strong></p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignleft size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="300" src="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Walking-in-the-Dark-Album-Cover-300x300.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-17277" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Walking-in-the-Dark-Album-Cover-300x300.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Walking-in-the-Dark-Album-Cover-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Walking-in-the-Dark-Album-Cover-150x150.jpg 150w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Walking-in-the-Dark-Album-Cover-768x768.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Walking-in-the-Dark-Album-Cover-696x696.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Walking-in-the-Dark-Album-Cover-1068x1068.jpg 1068w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Walking-in-the-Dark-Album-Cover-420x420.jpg 420w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Walking-in-the-Dark-Album-Cover.jpg 1080w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></figure></div>


<p><strong><em>Walking in the Dark</em>, I mean the title of it. I didn&#8217;t write this in the liner notes and I&#8217;ve only brought it up to a few people, but I want to make it very clear that darkness is not something that should have, in fact, any kind of negative association. I feel in some ways that darkness, or blackness even, has been conditioned in certain parts of societies or cultures to have negative connotations and somehow promotes the idea of a white supremacist ideology. That really is not something that I can tolerate. </strong></p>



<p><strong>I guess it&#8217;s been something I have grappled with &#8211; a collective question about identity or I have felt that I have had to question my identity for a very, very long time. I made a lot of peace with who I am and how I also am expanding in the various roles that I can take on and feel comfortable in.</strong></p>



<p>James Agee, who probably needs no introduction to you since his poetry inspired Samuel Barber&#8217;s <em>Knoxville Summer of 1915</em> (which Bullock performs on <em>Walking in the Dark</em>), is quoted as saying, &#8220;Some people get where they hope to in this world. Most of us don&#8217;t.&#8221; I feel like in watching your career over the last number of years that you&#8217;re actively working through your art and through your activism to get the world to where you hope it will be. As a soon-to-be mother, what is the world you&#8217;d like to see your child living in and how do you think your art can pave a path for that to be a reality?&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>Well, I hope that this child will feel safe. That the child will not be limited in anything that they want to invest in and enjoy. That there will be not be a lot of assumptions made or anticipated projections of this child and what they feel they have to represent so that they can just live their lives. But there&#8217;s something in safety that feels really important right now.</strong></p>



<p>Photos of Julia Bullock (By Allison Michael Orenstein/Courtesy Askonas Holt)</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2022/11/02/soprano-julia-bullock-wants-to-rock-your-soul/">Soprano Julia Bullock Wants to Rock Your Soul</a> appeared first on <a href="https://culturalattache.co">Cultural Attaché</a>.</p>
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		<title>Culture Best Bets at Home: June 12th &#8211; June 14th</title>
		<link>https://culturalattache.co/2020/06/11/culture-best-bets-at-home-june-12th-june-14th/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Craig Byrd]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2020 21:56:55 +0000</pubDate>
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		<category><![CDATA[RuPaul]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Samuel Barber]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[San Francisco Ballet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[San Francisco Opera]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sergei Prokofiev]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Seth Rudetsky]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SFJazz]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stratford Festival]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Madness of King George]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Royal Ballet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toby Spence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vanessa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wayne McGregor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yuja Wang]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://culturalattache.co/?p=9266</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Eleven options for culture for this second weekend in June</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2020/06/11/culture-best-bets-at-home-june-12th-june-14th/">Culture Best Bets at Home: June 12th &#8211; June 14th</a> appeared first on <a href="https://culturalattache.co">Cultural Attaché</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p>When there are ten great  options for culture this weekend, it is tempting to call this the Top 10 events you can watch. The only problem is we have eleven. (Sounds very <em>Spinal Tap</em> doesn&#8217;t it?) So when a weekend offers a diverse line-up including Björk, Rita Moreno, Yuja Wang, Jeremy Jordan and a Samuel Barber opera, I think it&#8217;s safe to say these are your Best Bets at Home: June 12th &#8211; June 14th.</p>



<p>Most of the events listed are free. When they are not, they are noted. Links to each event can be found in the individual names of the events.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="169" src="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-company-of-Dance-Theatre-of-Harlems-22Creole-Giselle22-Courtesy-of-Dance-Theatre-of-Harlem-1-300x169.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-9356" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-company-of-Dance-Theatre-of-Harlems-22Creole-Giselle22-Courtesy-of-Dance-Theatre-of-Harlem-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-company-of-Dance-Theatre-of-Harlems-22Creole-Giselle22-Courtesy-of-Dance-Theatre-of-Harlem-1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-company-of-Dance-Theatre-of-Harlems-22Creole-Giselle22-Courtesy-of-Dance-Theatre-of-Harlem-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-company-of-Dance-Theatre-of-Harlems-22Creole-Giselle22-Courtesy-of-Dance-Theatre-of-Harlem-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-company-of-Dance-Theatre-of-Harlems-22Creole-Giselle22-Courtesy-of-Dance-Theatre-of-Harlem-1-696x392.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-company-of-Dance-Theatre-of-Harlems-22Creole-Giselle22-Courtesy-of-Dance-Theatre-of-Harlem-1-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-company-of-Dance-Theatre-of-Harlems-22Creole-Giselle22-Courtesy-of-Dance-Theatre-of-Harlem-1-747x420.jpg 747w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-company-of-Dance-Theatre-of-Harlems-22Creole-Giselle22-Courtesy-of-Dance-Theatre-of-Harlem-1.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption>The company of Dance Theatre of Harlem&#8217;s &#8220;Creole Giselle&#8221; (Courtesy of Dance Theatre of Harlem)</figcaption></figure></div>



<p><em><strong><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Creole Giselle (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.dancetheatreofharlem.org/dthondemand-creolegiselle/" target="_blank">Creole Giselle</a></strong> </em>&#8211; Dance Theatre of Harlem &#8211; Now &#8211; June 19th</p>



<p>The classic ballet <em>Giselle</em> was reconceived by Arthur Mitchell in the early 1980s. In 1984, Dance Theatre of Harlem premiered <em>Creole Giselle</em> at the London Coliseum in England.</p>



<p>The original <em>Giselle</em> choreography was by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot. The production was staged by Frederic Franklin.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Dance Theatre of Harlem - Creole Giselle" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iXH5u7xB_TY?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



<p><em>Creole Giselle</em> garnered rave reviews in both London and New York. For some background on the creation of this work, I suggest reading <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/14/arts/how-the-creole-giselle-took-form.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="this 1984 column (opens in a new tab)">this 1984 column</a> from Burton Taylor writing for the <span style="text-decoration: underline;">New York Times</span>.</p>



<p>Dance Theatre of Harlem is making the full ballet available for free viewing through June 19th. The film they are showing of <em>Creole Giselle</em> aired on television in Denmark in 1987.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="169" src="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Jonathan-Goad-in-22Hamlet22-Photo-by-David-Hou-Courtesy-Stratford-Festival-300x169.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-9357" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Jonathan-Goad-in-22Hamlet22-Photo-by-David-Hou-Courtesy-Stratford-Festival-300x169.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Jonathan-Goad-in-22Hamlet22-Photo-by-David-Hou-Courtesy-Stratford-Festival-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Jonathan-Goad-in-22Hamlet22-Photo-by-David-Hou-Courtesy-Stratford-Festival-768x432.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Jonathan-Goad-in-22Hamlet22-Photo-by-David-Hou-Courtesy-Stratford-Festival-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Jonathan-Goad-in-22Hamlet22-Photo-by-David-Hou-Courtesy-Stratford-Festival-696x392.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Jonathan-Goad-in-22Hamlet22-Photo-by-David-Hou-Courtesy-Stratford-Festival-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Jonathan-Goad-in-22Hamlet22-Photo-by-David-Hou-Courtesy-Stratford-Festival-747x420.jpg 747w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Jonathan-Goad-in-22Hamlet22-Photo-by-David-Hou-Courtesy-Stratford-Festival.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption>Joanthan Goad in &#8220;Hamlet&#8221; (Photo by David Hou/Courtesy of Straford Festival)</figcaption></figure></div>



<p><strong><em><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Hamlet (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.stratfordfestival.ca/AtHome" target="_blank">Hamlet</a></em></strong><em> </em>&#8211; Stratford Festival &#8211; Now &#8211; June 25th</p>



<p>Stratford Festival&#8217;s ongoing series of Shakespeare&#8217;s plays continues with this 2015 production of <em>Hamlet</em>. </p>



<p>Jonathan Goad stars as &#8220;Hamlet&#8221; with Seana McKenna as &#8220;&#8221;Gertrude; Geraint Wyn Davies as &#8220;Claudius/The Ghost&#8221;; Tim Campbell as &#8220;Horatio&#8221;; Adrienne Gould as &#8220;Ophelia;&#8221; Tom Rooney as &#8220;Polonius;&#8221; and Mike Shara as &#8220;Laertes.&#8221; The production is directed by Stratford Festival Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino.</p>



<p>Stratford&#8217;s streaming productions of Shakespeare&#8217;s <em>Timon of Athens</em> and <em>Love&#8217;s Labour&#8217;s Lost</em> are also still available this weekend.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="169" src="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-cast-of-22The-Madness-of-King-George22-©-Nottingham-Playhouse-300x169.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-9358" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-cast-of-22The-Madness-of-King-George22-©-Nottingham-Playhouse-300x169.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-cast-of-22The-Madness-of-King-George22-©-Nottingham-Playhouse-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-cast-of-22The-Madness-of-King-George22-©-Nottingham-Playhouse-768x432.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-cast-of-22The-Madness-of-King-George22-©-Nottingham-Playhouse-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-cast-of-22The-Madness-of-King-George22-©-Nottingham-Playhouse-696x392.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-cast-of-22The-Madness-of-King-George22-©-Nottingham-Playhouse-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-cast-of-22The-Madness-of-King-George22-©-Nottingham-Playhouse-747x420.jpg 747w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-cast-of-22The-Madness-of-King-George22-©-Nottingham-Playhouse.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption>The company of &#8220;The Madness of King George&#8221; (© Nottingham Playhouse/Courtesy of National Theatre Live)</figcaption></figure></div>



<p><strong><em><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="The Madness of King George (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fofiKCV9wGc" target="_blank">The Madness of King George</a></em></strong> &#8211; National Theatre Live &#8211; Now &#8211; June 18th</p>



<p>Many of us first became aware of this Alan Bennett play by seeing the 1994 Nicholas Hytner film starring Nigel Hawthorne and Helen Mirren.</p>



<p>This 2018 Nottingham Playhouse production stars Mark Gatiss as King George and Debra Gillett as Queen Charlotte. It was directed by Adam Penford.</p>



<p>Bennett&#8217;s play depicts a king whose relationship with what is real seems to change on a dime. He&#8217;s both a very powerful man and a wildly erratic leader whose delusions call into question his ability to lead. This prompts others to do whatever they can to undermine the King and take control of the Crown. </p>



<p>This production sold out and earned rave reviews. Bennett wrote staggeringly complicated roles for the two leads. It should be pure theater joy watching Gatiss and Gillett in this production.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="169" src="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Michael-Tilson-Thomas-and-the-New-World-Symphony-Photo-by-Richard-Termine-Courtesy-SF-Opera-300x169.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-9366" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Michael-Tilson-Thomas-and-the-New-World-Symphony-Photo-by-Richard-Termine-Courtesy-SF-Opera-300x169.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Michael-Tilson-Thomas-and-the-New-World-Symphony-Photo-by-Richard-Termine-Courtesy-SF-Opera-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Michael-Tilson-Thomas-and-the-New-World-Symphony-Photo-by-Richard-Termine-Courtesy-SF-Opera-768x432.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Michael-Tilson-Thomas-and-the-New-World-Symphony-Photo-by-Richard-Termine-Courtesy-SF-Opera-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Michael-Tilson-Thomas-and-the-New-World-Symphony-Photo-by-Richard-Termine-Courtesy-SF-Opera-696x392.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Michael-Tilson-Thomas-and-the-New-World-Symphony-Photo-by-Richard-Termine-Courtesy-SF-Opera-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Michael-Tilson-Thomas-and-the-New-World-Symphony-Photo-by-Richard-Termine-Courtesy-SF-Opera-747x420.jpg 747w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Michael-Tilson-Thomas-and-the-New-World-Symphony-Photo-by-Richard-Termine-Courtesy-SF-Opera.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption>Michael Tilson Thomas and the New World Symphony at Carnegie Hall (Photo by Richard Termine/Courtesy of Carnegie Hall) </figcaption></figure></div>



<p><strong><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Michael Tilson Thomas and Yuja Wang at Carnegie Hall (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.medici.tv/en/concerts/michael-tilson-thomas-conducts-wolfe-prokofiev-berlioz-with-yuja-wang/" target="_blank"><em>Michael Tilson Thomas and Yuja Wang at Carnegie Hall</em></a> </strong>&#8211; MediciTv &#8211; June 12th &#8211; June 14th</p>



<p>The  collaboration between Carnegie Hall and Medici.Tv continues this weekend with a concert from May of 2019. Michael Tilson Thomas leads the New World Symphony and America&#8217;s Orchestral Academy. They are joined by pianist Yuja Wang.</p>



<p>The program features Julia Wolfe&#8217;s <em>Fountain of Youth</em> (in its New York premiere); Prokofiev&#8217;s <em>Piano Concerto No. 5</em> and Berlioz&#8217;s <em>Symphonie Fantastique</em>. The encores find the conductor taking to the piano for a solo performance of his composition <em>You Come Here Often?<strong> </strong></em>The concert concludes with Wagner&#8217;s <em>Prelude to Act III </em>of <em>Lohengrin</em>.</p>



<p>There is no charge to watch this program. </p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="169" src="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/San-Francisco-Ballet-in-Pita’s-Björk-Ballet-©Erik-Toson-Courtesy-SF-Ballet-300x169.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-9360" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/San-Francisco-Ballet-in-Pita’s-Björk-Ballet-©Erik-Toson-Courtesy-SF-Ballet-300x169.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/San-Francisco-Ballet-in-Pita’s-Björk-Ballet-©Erik-Toson-Courtesy-SF-Ballet-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/San-Francisco-Ballet-in-Pita’s-Björk-Ballet-©Erik-Toson-Courtesy-SF-Ballet-768x432.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/San-Francisco-Ballet-in-Pita’s-Björk-Ballet-©Erik-Toson-Courtesy-SF-Ballet-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/San-Francisco-Ballet-in-Pita’s-Björk-Ballet-©Erik-Toson-Courtesy-SF-Ballet-696x392.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/San-Francisco-Ballet-in-Pita’s-Björk-Ballet-©Erik-Toson-Courtesy-SF-Ballet-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/San-Francisco-Ballet-in-Pita’s-Björk-Ballet-©Erik-Toson-Courtesy-SF-Ballet-747x420.jpg 747w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/San-Francisco-Ballet-in-Pita’s-Björk-Ballet-©Erik-Toson-Courtesy-SF-Ballet.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption>San Francisco Ballet in &#8220;Björk Ballet&#8221; (Photo © Erik Tomasson/Courtesy of SF Ballet)</figcaption></figure></div>



<p><strong><em><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Björk Ballet (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.sfballet.org/sf-ballet-home/" target="_blank">Björk Ballet</a></em></strong> &#8211; San Francisco Ballet &#8211; June 12th &#8211; June 19th</p>



<p>San Francisco Ballet&#8217;s <em>Unbound Festival</em> in 2019 featured this ballet by Arthur Pita centered on the songs by best-selling singer/songwriter Björk. </p>



<p>Pita used a wide range of her music: from her first album in 1993, <em>Debut</em>, through 2017&#8217;s <em>Utopia</em>. </p>



<p>A playlist on SF Ballet&#8217;s website for <em>Björk Ballet</em> indicates that the songs used are &#8220;Overture&#8221; from <em>Selmasongs</em>; &#8220;All Is Full of Love&#8221; and &#8220;Bachelorette &#8211; Family Tree Version&#8221; from <em>Homogenic</em>; &#8220;Vokuro&#8221; from <em>Medulla</em>; &#8220;Frosti&#8221; from <em>Vespertine</em>; &#8220;The Gate&#8221; from <em>Utopia</em>; &#8220;Hyperballad&#8221; from <em>Post</em> and &#8220;The Anchor Song&#8221; from <em>Debut</em>.</p>



<p>Pita says that the duality he finds in Björk as an artist inspired the story he created for this ballet. “She’s this very playful, naughty fairy, dancing nymph, otherworldly creature, full of light and love. And then you’ve got this very deep, mournful, sorrowful, almost tragedy in some of her songs. So it’s like the theater masks.”&nbsp;</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="169" src="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-Royal-Ballet-company-in-22La-Fille-Mal-Gardee22-Photo-by-Tristram-Kenton-©ROH-300x169.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-9367" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-Royal-Ballet-company-in-22La-Fille-Mal-Gardee22-Photo-by-Tristram-Kenton-©ROH-300x169.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-Royal-Ballet-company-in-22La-Fille-Mal-Gardee22-Photo-by-Tristram-Kenton-©ROH-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-Royal-Ballet-company-in-22La-Fille-Mal-Gardee22-Photo-by-Tristram-Kenton-©ROH-768x432.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-Royal-Ballet-company-in-22La-Fille-Mal-Gardee22-Photo-by-Tristram-Kenton-©ROH-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-Royal-Ballet-company-in-22La-Fille-Mal-Gardee22-Photo-by-Tristram-Kenton-©ROH-696x392.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-Royal-Ballet-company-in-22La-Fille-Mal-Gardee22-Photo-by-Tristram-Kenton-©ROH-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-Royal-Ballet-company-in-22La-Fille-Mal-Gardee22-Photo-by-Tristram-Kenton-©ROH-747x420.jpg 747w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-Royal-Ballet-company-in-22La-Fille-Mal-Gardee22-Photo-by-Tristram-Kenton-©ROH.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption>The Royal Ballet company in &#8220;La Fille mal <em>gardée</em>&#8221; (Photo by Tristram Kenton/©ROH)</figcaption></figure></div>



<p><em><strong><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="La Fille mal gardée (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.roh.org.uk/tickets-and-events/la-fille-mal-gardee-stream-details" target="_blank">La Fille mal gardée</a></strong></em> &#8211; Royal Ballet &#8211; June 12th &#8211; June 26th</p>



<p>A love story between Lise and a young farmer, Colas, is the centerpiece of this ballet choreographed by Frederick Ashton. This ballet had its world premiere in 1960.</p>



<p>The translation of the title is <em>The Wayward Daughter</em>. Clearly her parents aren&#8217;t too keen on her taste in men. Or in this case, her widowed mother.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="La fille mal gardée - Pas de ruban from Act I (The Royal Ballet)" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/H50e7FgcsQE?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



<p>Ashton based this work on a 1789 ballet by Jean Dauberval. The music was adapted by John Lanchberry from an 1828 score by Ferdinand Hérold.</p>



<p>Marianela Nuñez dances the role of Lise. Carlos Acosta dances the role of Colas. The role of Lise&#8217;s mother is danced by William Tuckett.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="169" src="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/SF-Operas-22Il-Trittico22-Photo-by-Cory-Weaver-Courtesy-of-SF-Opera-300x169.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-9365" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/SF-Operas-22Il-Trittico22-Photo-by-Cory-Weaver-Courtesy-of-SF-Opera-300x169.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/SF-Operas-22Il-Trittico22-Photo-by-Cory-Weaver-Courtesy-of-SF-Opera-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/SF-Operas-22Il-Trittico22-Photo-by-Cory-Weaver-Courtesy-of-SF-Opera-768x432.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/SF-Operas-22Il-Trittico22-Photo-by-Cory-Weaver-Courtesy-of-SF-Opera-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/SF-Operas-22Il-Trittico22-Photo-by-Cory-Weaver-Courtesy-of-SF-Opera-696x392.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/SF-Operas-22Il-Trittico22-Photo-by-Cory-Weaver-Courtesy-of-SF-Opera-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/SF-Operas-22Il-Trittico22-Photo-by-Cory-Weaver-Courtesy-of-SF-Opera-747x420.jpg 747w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/SF-Operas-22Il-Trittico22-Photo-by-Cory-Weaver-Courtesy-of-SF-Opera.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption>San Francisco Opera&#8217;s &#8220;Il Trittico&#8221; (Photo by Cory Weaver/Courtesy of SF Opera)</figcaption></figure></div>



<p><strong><em><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Il Trittico (opens in a new tab)" href="https://sfopera.com/opera-is-on/streaming/" target="_blank">Il Trittico</a></em></strong> &#8211; San Francisco Opera &#8211; June 13th &#8211; June 14th</p>



<p>Puccini&#8217;s trilogy of operas seems popular this month. Last week the Royal Opera in London made their 2012 production available. This weekend San Francisco Opera makes their 2009 production available for viewing.</p>



<p>The three operas are <em>Il </em><i>Tabarr</i><em>o</em>, <em>Suor Angelica</em> and <em>Gianni Schicchi</em>. For details on these three operas, check out our Royal Opera House preview <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2020/06/05/culture-best-bets-at-home-june-5th-june-7th/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="here (opens in a new tab)">here</a>.</p>



<p>Cast in this trilogy are soprano Patricia Racette (who performs in all three pieces), contralto Ewa Podles, tenor Brandon Jovanovich and baritone Paolo Gavanelli. Patrick Summers conducts this James Robinson production.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Il Trittico preview from San Francisco Opera" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JFrns0ROAr8?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



<p>San Francisco Opera&#8217;s production received glowing reviews.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="169" src="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-Royal-Opera-House-London-Courtesy-of-Royal-Opera-Facebook-Page-300x169.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-9364" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-Royal-Opera-House-London-Courtesy-of-Royal-Opera-Facebook-Page-300x169.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-Royal-Opera-House-London-Courtesy-of-Royal-Opera-Facebook-Page-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-Royal-Opera-House-London-Courtesy-of-Royal-Opera-Facebook-Page-768x432.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-Royal-Opera-House-London-Courtesy-of-Royal-Opera-Facebook-Page-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-Royal-Opera-House-London-Courtesy-of-Royal-Opera-Facebook-Page-696x392.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-Royal-Opera-House-London-Courtesy-of-Royal-Opera-Facebook-Page-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-Royal-Opera-House-London-Courtesy-of-Royal-Opera-Facebook-Page-747x420.jpg 747w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-Royal-Opera-House-London-Courtesy-of-Royal-Opera-Facebook-Page.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption>The Royal Opera House (Courtesy of their Facebook Page)</figcaption></figure></div>



<p><strong><em>Live from Covent Garden</em></strong> &#8211; June 13th &#8211; 2:30 PM EDT/11:30 AM PDT</p>



<p>This is the first of three live performances from Covent Garden since it had to temporarily close. It takes place on Saturday evening in London. </p>



<p>The event is being streamed live and has an impressive line-up.</p>



<p>Benjamin Britten:&nbsp;<em>On this Island</em>&nbsp;op.11 (1937, to five poems by W.H. Auden), performed by&nbsp;soprano Louise Alder</p>



<p>George Butterworth:&nbsp;<em>Six Songs from A Shropshire Lad</em>&nbsp;(1911, to poems by A.E. Housman), performed by tenor&nbsp;Toby Spence</p>



<p>Ballet Interlude:&nbsp;<em>New pas de deux</em>, choreographed by Wayne McGregor to Richard Strauss&nbsp;<em>Morgen!&nbsp;</em>op.27 no.4 (1894, to the poem by John Henry Mackay). Louise Alder (soprano) and violinist (tbc). Performed by&nbsp;Francesca Hayward&nbsp;and&nbsp;Cesar Corrales</p>



<p>Mark-Anthony Turnage:&nbsp;<em>Three Songs</em>&nbsp;(2000, to texts by Stevie Smith, Thomas Hardy and Walt Whitman), performed by baritone&nbsp;Gerald Finley</p>



<p>arr. Benjamin Britten:&nbsp;<em>The Crocodile</em>&nbsp;(1941, to a traditional text and melody), performed by Gerald Finley</p>



<p>Gerald Finzi:&nbsp;<em>Fear No More the Heat o’ the Sun</em>&nbsp;op.18 no.3 (1929, to a text by William Shakespeare), performed by Gerald Finley</p>



<p>George Frideric Handel: ‘Tornami a vagheggiar’ (from the opera&nbsp;<em>Alcina</em>, 1735, after a story from&nbsp;<em>Orlando furioso</em>), performed by Louise Alder</p>



<p>Georges Bizet: ‘Au fond du temple saint’ (from the opera&nbsp;<em>Les Pêcheurs de perles</em>, 1863, to a libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré), performed by Toby Spence and Gerald Finley</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="169" src="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Glyndebourne-Production-of-22Vanessa22-Photo-by-Richard-Hubert-Smith-©Glyndebourne-Productions-Ltd.-300x169.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-9361" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Glyndebourne-Production-of-22Vanessa22-Photo-by-Richard-Hubert-Smith-©Glyndebourne-Productions-Ltd.-300x169.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Glyndebourne-Production-of-22Vanessa22-Photo-by-Richard-Hubert-Smith-©Glyndebourne-Productions-Ltd.-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Glyndebourne-Production-of-22Vanessa22-Photo-by-Richard-Hubert-Smith-©Glyndebourne-Productions-Ltd.-768x432.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Glyndebourne-Production-of-22Vanessa22-Photo-by-Richard-Hubert-Smith-©Glyndebourne-Productions-Ltd.-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Glyndebourne-Production-of-22Vanessa22-Photo-by-Richard-Hubert-Smith-©Glyndebourne-Productions-Ltd.-696x392.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Glyndebourne-Production-of-22Vanessa22-Photo-by-Richard-Hubert-Smith-©Glyndebourne-Productions-Ltd.-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Glyndebourne-Production-of-22Vanessa22-Photo-by-Richard-Hubert-Smith-©Glyndebourne-Productions-Ltd.-747x420.jpg 747w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Glyndebourne-Production-of-22Vanessa22-Photo-by-Richard-Hubert-Smith-©Glyndebourne-Productions-Ltd..jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption>A scene from &#8220;Vanessa&#8221; @ Glyndebourne. (Photo by Richard Hubert Smith/© Glyndebourne Productions Ltd.)</figcaption></figure></div>



<p><strong><em><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Vanessa (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcxF15BsOWY" target="_blank">Vanessa</a></em></strong> &#8211; Glyndebourne &#8211; June 14th &#8211; June 21st</p>



<p>Composer Samuel Barber won the Pulitzer Prize for his 1958 opera that features a libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti. The world premiere was at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.</p>



<p>This Glyndebourne production took place in 2018. Keith Warner directed and the orchestra is conducted by Jakub Hrůša.</p>



<p>Barber&#8217;s opera is a psychological drama about family relationships. The title character (sung by Emma Bell) finds herself alone after her boyfriend, Anatol, has left her. She pulls away from the world leaving her with only her mother (Rosalind Plowright) and her niece (Virginie Verrez) for company. Their world gets upended when Anatol&#8217;s son (Edgaras Montvidas) shows up twenty years later.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="169" src="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Jeremy-Jordan-Courtesy-of-his-Facebook-page-300x169.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-9362" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Jeremy-Jordan-Courtesy-of-his-Facebook-page-300x169.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Jeremy-Jordan-Courtesy-of-his-Facebook-page-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Jeremy-Jordan-Courtesy-of-his-Facebook-page-768x432.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Jeremy-Jordan-Courtesy-of-his-Facebook-page-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Jeremy-Jordan-Courtesy-of-his-Facebook-page-696x392.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Jeremy-Jordan-Courtesy-of-his-Facebook-page-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Jeremy-Jordan-Courtesy-of-his-Facebook-page-747x420.jpg 747w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Jeremy-Jordan-Courtesy-of-his-Facebook-page.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption>Jeremy Jordan (Courtesy of his Facebook Page)</figcaption></figure></div>



<p><strong><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Jeremy Jordan (opens in a new tab)" href="https://thesethconcertseries.com" target="_blank"><em>Jeremy Jordan</em></a> </strong> &#8211; Seth Rudetsky Concert Series &#8211; June 14th &#8211; 8 PM EDT/5 PM PDT</p>



<p>Seth Rudetsky travels across the country with Broadway stars for evenings of conversation and songs. Unable to take his shows on the road, he&#8217;s bringing them to  our homes.</p>



<p>This week&#8217;s performance features <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2015/09/02/supergirls-jeremy-jordan-sings-oscar-winning-songs-with-the-pasadena-pops/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Jeremy Jordan (opens in a new tab)">Jeremy Jordan</a> who starred in the musicals <em>Bonnie and Clyde</em> and <em>Newsies</em> (for which he received both Drama Desk and Tony Award nominations). He was also featured in the television series <em>Smash</em>.</p>



<p>The live performance takes place as listed above. If you cannot watch that performance, there is an encore presentation on June 15th at 3 PM EDT/12 PM PDT. These are not free events. Tickets are $25 not including service fees.</p>



<p>Upcoming concerts will feature Seth with Jessie Mueller (<em>Beautiful</em>), Lea Salonga (<em>Miss Saigon</em>), Melissa Errico (<em>Passion</em>) and Audra McDonald (<em>Porgy and Bess</em>).</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="169" src="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Rita-Moreno-Norman-Lear-and-the-cast-of-22One-Day-at-a-Time22-Courtesy-of-Rita-Morenos-Facebook-Page-300x169.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-9363" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Rita-Moreno-Norman-Lear-and-the-cast-of-22One-Day-at-a-Time22-Courtesy-of-Rita-Morenos-Facebook-Page-300x169.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Rita-Moreno-Norman-Lear-and-the-cast-of-22One-Day-at-a-Time22-Courtesy-of-Rita-Morenos-Facebook-Page-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Rita-Moreno-Norman-Lear-and-the-cast-of-22One-Day-at-a-Time22-Courtesy-of-Rita-Morenos-Facebook-Page-768x432.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Rita-Moreno-Norman-Lear-and-the-cast-of-22One-Day-at-a-Time22-Courtesy-of-Rita-Morenos-Facebook-Page-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Rita-Moreno-Norman-Lear-and-the-cast-of-22One-Day-at-a-Time22-Courtesy-of-Rita-Morenos-Facebook-Page-696x392.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Rita-Moreno-Norman-Lear-and-the-cast-of-22One-Day-at-a-Time22-Courtesy-of-Rita-Morenos-Facebook-Page-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Rita-Moreno-Norman-Lear-and-the-cast-of-22One-Day-at-a-Time22-Courtesy-of-Rita-Morenos-Facebook-Page-747x420.jpg 747w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Rita-Moreno-Norman-Lear-and-the-cast-of-22One-Day-at-a-Time22-Courtesy-of-Rita-Morenos-Facebook-Page.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption>Rita Moreno, Norman Lear and the cast of &#8220;One Day at a Time&#8221; (Courtesy of Ms. Moreno&#8217;s Facebook Page)</figcaption></figure></div>



<p><strong><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Life in a Pandemic: &quot;One Day At a Time:&quot; Norman Lear and Rita Moreno in Conversation with RuPaul (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.92y.org/event/lear-moreno-rupaul" target="_blank"><em>Life in a Pandemic: &#8220;One Day At a Time</em>:&#8221; <em>Norman Lear and Rita Moreno in Conversation with RuPaul</em></a> </strong>&#8211; 92Y &#8211; June 14th &#8211; 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT</p>



<p>Legendary television producer Norman Lear and living legend Rita Moreno  will discuss the many lives of the reboot of <em>One Day at a Time</em> with RuPaul. This is a live-streaming event presented by the 92Y in New York.</p>



<p>I find it unlikely that any of these three need introduction, but here goes. Norman Lear is the five-time Emmy Award winning creator of such shows as <em>All in the Family</em> and <em>Maude</em>. He has also won a Peabody Award and has been awarded a Kennedy Center Honor.</p>



<p>Rita Moreno is an EGOT. She won two Emmy Awards, one Grammy Award, an Oscar for <em>West Side Story</em> and a Tony Award for <em>The Ritz</em>. She also happens to have a  Presidential Medal of Freedom, a National Medal of Arts, a SAG Lifetime Achievement Award and is also the recipient of a Kennedy Center Honor.</p>



<p>RuPaul is the six-time Emmy Award winning host and producer of <em>RuPaul&#8217;s Drag Race</em>.</p>



<p>Tickets are required for this event which is not free. The price of each ticket is $20. You must be registered in advance in order to get access to the event.</p>



<p>Before we close out our Best Bets at Home: June 12th &#8211; June 14th, here are a few reminders:</p>



<p><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Friday's at Five (opens in a new tab)" href="https://culturalattache.co/2020/05/21/fridays-at-five/" target="_blank">Friday&#8217;s at Five</a> from SF Jazz features Rhiannon Giddens &amp; Francesco Turrisi. This  takes place at 8 PM EDT/5 PM PDT on June 12th.</p>



<p><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="The Metropolitan Opera (opens in a new tab)" href="https://culturalattache.co/2020/06/07/week-13-at-the-met/" target="_blank">The Metropolitan Opera</a> programming this weekend features their April 2020 At-Home Gala on Friday and Saturday. Sunday is the 2011-2012 production of Handel&#8217;s <em>Rodelinda</em> with Renée Fleming.</p>



<p>The musical <em>Allegiance</em> streaming on Broadway on Demand has been extended through June 23rd. You can get details at our preview <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="here (opens in a new tab)" href="https://culturalattache.co/2020/05/29/culture-best-bets-at-home-may-29th-may-31st/" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>



<p>Here ends our list of your Best Bets at Home: June 12th &#8211; June 14th. Enjoy your weekend. Stay safe and healthy!</p>



<p>Main Photo: Elizabeth Powell and Ulrik Birkkjaer in <em>Björk Ballet</em> at San Francisco Ballet (Photo ©Erik Tomasson/Courtesy of SF Ballet)</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2020/06/11/culture-best-bets-at-home-june-12th-june-14th/">Culture Best Bets at Home: June 12th &#8211; June 14th</a> appeared first on <a href="https://culturalattache.co">Cultural Attaché</a>.</p>
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		<title>Laura Karpman: All American Composer</title>
		<link>https://culturalattache.co/2019/08/21/laura-karpman-all-american-composer/</link>
					<comments>https://culturalattache.co/2019/08/21/laura-karpman-all-american-composer/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Craig Byrd]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Aug 2019 22:49:24 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Classical: Metronome]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[What's Hot]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aaron Copland]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[All American]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Anita Owen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Duke Ellington]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Emily Wood Bower]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hollywood Bowl]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[James Ehnes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[James Gaffigan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[LA Philharmonic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Laura Karpman]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Matthew Howard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mildred Hill]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Samuel Barber]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://culturalattache.co/?p=6531</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>"These women were so prominent in their time, why does what remains with us now are the great male composers like Irving Berlin and George Gershwin? Because it hasn't been told like it should be."</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2019/08/21/laura-karpman-all-american-composer/">Laura Karpman: All American Composer</a> appeared first on <a href="https://culturalattache.co">Cultural Attaché</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>&#8220;They said the program was going to be all-American,&#8221; says composer Laura Karpman. &#8220;That&#8217;s a great title for a piece.&#8221; And with that, the composer of numerous classical pieces and countless film and television scores was off and running with her commission from the Los Angeles Philharmonic. And it is indeed entitled <em>All American</em>. Karpman&#8217;s composition will have its world premiere as the first piece on the program at <a href="https://www.hollywoodbowl.com/events/performances/604/2019-08-22/appalachian-spring" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Thursday night&#8217;s concert</a> at the Hollywood Bowl.</p>
<p><em>All American </em>will precede Aaron Copland&#8217;s <em>Appalachian Spring</em>, Samuel Barber&#8217;s <em>Violin Concerto</em> (with James Ehnes as the soloist) and finally <em>Harlem</em> by Duke Ellington. Leading the LA Phil will be conductor James Gaffigan.</p>
<p><figure id="attachment_6535" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-6535" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-6535" src="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Laura-Karpman-Shades-300x169.jpg" alt="The LA Philharmonic commissioned Laura Karpman" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Laura-Karpman-Shades-300x169.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Laura-Karpman-Shades-768x432.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Laura-Karpman-Shades-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Laura-Karpman-Shades-696x392.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Laura-Karpman-Shades-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Laura-Karpman-Shades-747x420.jpg 747w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Laura-Karpman-Shades.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-6535" class="wp-caption-text">Composer Laura Karpman</figcaption></figure></p>
<p>When we <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2018/02/27/composer-laura-karpman-helps-orchestrate-oscar-concert/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">last spoke</a> with Laura Karpman she was curating a program celebrating film scores. This time around it was her own work we got to discuss.</p>
<p>All American is a common term for a particular type of athlete. How did you want the term to be understood vis-á-vis your composition?</p>
<p><strong>This idea of what patriotism is and what it means to me. It weaves it way through a lot of work. Because it is a muscular title, and I say that with great purposefulness, I wanted to take a chance to play with it and see what came out of it that was relevant to me. I wasn&#8217;t thinking so much about football players, I was thinking about what people think about as American music. What makes something American? What is an American sound?</strong></p>
<p>You state in the program notes that you were lead to the idea of the invisibility of women composers. How did that develop as the response to your questions?</p>
<p><strong>I think that my first impulse was to take a John Philip Sousa piece and have some fun with it and turn it upside down. Why am I doing that? I wonder if there are patriotic songs by women composers. I got in touch with a professor at UC Davis who had </strong><b>uncovered songs by women composers &#8211; hundreds of them. These women were so prominent in their time. Why does only the great male composers like Irving Berlin and George Gershwin remain with us? Why have they superseded these women? Because their story hasn&#8217;t been told like it should be.</b></p>
<p>How did these pieces you discovered inform what you wrote?</p>
<p><strong>It&#8217;s a short piece, there are kind of </strong><b>mini-movements which are devoted to the three songs I use.</b></p>
<p><figure id="attachment_6532" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-6532" style="width: 231px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-6532" src="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/large-page-1-231x300.jpg" alt="Laura Karpman used &quot;March On, Brave Lads, March On&quot; as inspiration for &quot;All American&quot;" width="231" height="300" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/large-page-1-231x300.jpg 231w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/large-page-1-768x998.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/large-page-1-788x1024.jpg 788w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/large-page-1-696x904.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/large-page-1-323x420.jpg 323w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/large-page-1.jpg 1000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 231px) 100vw, 231px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-6532" class="wp-caption-text">Sheet music of &#8220;March On&#8230;&#8221; (Image courtesy of University of Oregon Libraries)</figcaption></figure></p>
<p>The three songs she used as inspiration were <em>March on, Brave Lads, March on! </em>by Mildred Hill (best known for co-writing <em>Happy Birthday</em>); <em>Your Country Needs You</em> by Emily Wood Bower and Anita Owen&#8217;s <em>Neath The Fl</em><em>ag of The Red, White and Blue</em>.</p>
<p><strong>The whole opening is from <em>Brave Lads&#8230;</em> </strong>[Karpman hums part of the song.] <strong>If you think of the Copland&#8230;</strong> [she humans part of <em>Appalachian Spring</em>] <strong>&#8230;it&#8217;s the same impetus. It&#8217;s this open-hearted kind of Americana theme. There&#8217;s a dream that we all hang on to. A lot of it is manufactured and a lot of it is real. Those are the tools we use as artists. How do we musicalize that dream? </strong><strong>This is my small way, for six-and-a-half to seven minutes, to acknowledge the inspiration these women had. </strong></p>
<p>In the program notes you also indicate that you are using silverware, baking sheets, pots and pans and your 5-quart braiser. How did you find what their particular musical qualities were?</p>
<p><strong>A lot of it is creating an analogy to other pieces like <em>Fanfare for the Common Man</em>. What&#8217;s another way to create military percussion? I started to buy things. I wondered if there would be a meat tenderizer that would work and I bought five of them. I bought this braiser and started banging it.</strong></p>
<p><figure id="attachment_6534" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-6534" style="width: 169px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-6534" src="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Matthew-Howard-Mathew-Imaging-169x300.jpg" alt="" width="169" height="300" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Matthew-Howard-Mathew-Imaging-169x300.jpg 169w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Matthew-Howard-Mathew-Imaging-576x1024.jpg 576w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Matthew-Howard-Mathew-Imaging-236x420.jpg 236w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Matthew-Howard-Mathew-Imaging.jpg 608w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 169px) 100vw, 169px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-6534" class="wp-caption-text">LA Philharmonic&#8217;s Matthew Howard (Photo by Craig T. Mathew/Mathew Imaging)</figcaption></figure></p>
<p><strong>I spoke with Matthew Howard </strong>[principal percussionist with the LA Philharmonic] <strong>and asked what would work? What would that sound like? He emailed me and asked if should we use clay or metal pots. Let&#8217;s use metal because I was thinking of tubular bells. I listened to John Adams&#8217; use of the wood block, but I didn&#8217;t want to do that. How can I get this by using this stuff associated with the home or kitchen. I wrote the piece with more traditional percussion in mind and thought let&#8217;s use a trash can instead.</strong></p>
<p>The three songs you use are very patriotic. How would you define patriotism in 2019?</p>
<p><strong>Being out loud about who you are and what you believe! And trying to do something with whatever resources you have available to you to love this country and keep it on the right track or take it to the right track.</strong></p>
<p>Writer Barbara Ehrenreich said, &#8220;No matter what, patriotism is too often the refuge of scoundrels. Dissent, rebellion and all-around hell-raising remain the true duty of patriots.&#8221; Do you agree with her and does <em>All American</em> represent your true duty as a patriot?</p>
<p><strong>I&#8217;d like to think so. I value being an American. I understand how complicated and fraught our history is with murderous tragedies. But there is an ideal we have to keep aspiring to. We have to. As a gay person, too. Just what&#8217;s happened in the last 15-20 years is astonishing.</strong></p>
<p><strong>This is personal and you don&#8217;t have to write about it, but it was my spouse&#8217;s birthday and I wanted to throw her a big party. We had a surprise wedding. Because of Prop 8, we never had a celebration. My grandparents never could have dreamt of this kind of freedom. You have to look at these things and appreciate it.  I love being an American.</strong></p>
<p>For tickets go <a href="https://my.hollywoodbowl.com/syos/performance/3582?_ga=2.249211279.94037532.1566423241-1692898018.1559228975" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.</p>
<p>Photos of Laura Karpman courtesy of ID-PR.</p>
<p><em>Update:  This piece has been modified to reflect subtle re-wording requested by Ms. Karpman after publication. They do not in any way change the tone or content of this interview.</em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2019/08/21/laura-karpman-all-american-composer/">Laura Karpman: All American Composer</a> appeared first on <a href="https://culturalattache.co">Cultural Attaché</a>.</p>
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		<title>Must the Devil Have All the Good Tunes?</title>
		<link>https://culturalattache.co/2019/07/22/must-the-devil-have-all-the-good-tunes/</link>
					<comments>https://culturalattache.co/2019/07/22/must-the-devil-have-all-the-good-tunes/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Craig Byrd]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Jul 2019 22:47:38 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Classical: Metronome]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Adagio for Strings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hollywood Bowl]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[John Adams]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Los Angeles Philharmonic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Must the Devil Have All the Good Tunes?]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Samuel Barber]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tchaikovsky]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yuja Wang]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://culturalattache.co/?p=6220</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Hollywood Bowl<br />
<br />
July 25th</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2019/07/22/must-the-devil-have-all-the-good-tunes/">Must the Devil Have All the Good Tunes?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://culturalattache.co">Cultural Attaché</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>March 7th of this year marked the world premiere of a new piano concerto by composer John Adams. <em>Must the Devil Have All the Good Tunes?</em> was played by the Los Angeles Philharmonic with Yuja Wang as soloist. Gustavo Dudamel lead the Phil for those first four performances. They all toured with this work as well and are now returning back to Los Angeles for a concert on <a href="https://www.hollywoodbowl.com/events/performances/582/2019-07-25/dudamel-yuja-wang" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Thursday night</a> at the Hollywood Bowl.</p>
<p><figure id="attachment_6222" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-6222" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-6222" src="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Yuja-Wang-Norbert-Kniat-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Yuja-Wang-Norbert-Kniat-300x200.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Yuja-Wang-Norbert-Kniat-768x513.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Yuja-Wang-Norbert-Kniat-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Yuja-Wang-Norbert-Kniat-696x465.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Yuja-Wang-Norbert-Kniat-1068x713.jpg 1068w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Yuja-Wang-Norbert-Kniat-629x420.jpg 629w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Yuja-Wang-Norbert-Kniat-1920x1281.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-6222" class="wp-caption-text">Pianist Yuja Wang (Photo by Norbert Kniat)</figcaption></figure></p>
<p>What will be fascinating about this performance of the concerto is to see how Wang and the Philharmonic have embraced this piece and what, if any, new insights can be gleaned from this performance. After all, Adams wrote it specifically for her.</p>
<p>The world premiere was phenomenal. It&#8217;s a challenging and amazing piece of writing. I, for one, can&#8217;t wait to see this performance and hope a formal recording will soon follow.</p>
<p>Also on the bill are two familiar works. Samuel Barber&#8217;s <em>Adagio for Strings</em>. Or as some might call it, the music from <em>Platoon</em>. The evening concludes with a performance of Tchaikovsky&#8217;s <em>Symphony #4</em>.</p>
<p>The symphony was written during one of the most tumultuous times in the composer&#8217;s life. Struggling with his homosexuality, he turned to one woman as his asexual confidant. He also had a failed marriage with another. Add into this a suicide attempt. All that emotion and angst is wrapped up in this symphony.</p>
<p>It seems as though if Tchaikovsky were to answer the question posed by the title of the John Adams piano concerto, the answer would be a resounding yes.</p>
<p>For tickets go <a href="https://my.hollywoodbowl.com/syos/performance/3580?_ga=2.14304689.742191426.1563821999-1692898018.1559228975" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.</p>
<p>Photo of John Adams by Vern Evans/Courtesy of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association</p>
<p>Photo fo Yuja Wang by Norbert Kniat/Courtesy of Kanzen Arts</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2019/07/22/must-the-devil-have-all-the-good-tunes/">Must the Devil Have All the Good Tunes?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://culturalattache.co">Cultural Attaché</a>.</p>
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