three gifts of VOICE from svf-11

Why do I call these gifts?

They were all free performances and they all featured Sherrill Milnes.

He's 88 years old now.

Every time I see him, I'm reminded of Daddy...

and that's a good thing.

(smile!)

 

The first of these free gifts, "Voices In Sacred Song",  was held on Sunday prevening, at the First Baptist Church.

There had been a huge downpour for about an hour and I'd debated about skipping the event... but the rain stopped in plenty of time.

That was good!

For eleven years I've enjoyed these concerts, which make the circuit of various places of worship.

This one was a new venue for it, sporting a hundred-year-old organ that took up all four sides of the building.

Timothy Hall made good use of it, too, accompanying three of the singers using that magnificent instrument.

Truly brought up the calibre of the event!

That young woman, Congcong Wang, is from the Tokyo International Vocal Arts Academy and the song she'd selected was a modern classic: "Ave Maria",composed in 1970 by Vladimir Vavilov...

which brings up one of favorite points.

Here was a Japanese woman, singing in Italian a song written by a Russian.

Incredible... and such a sign of the unifying nature of music!

All told, there were 15 arias performed, with each of the 13 artists having the choice of song they would like to present.

That explains why each song had so much heart!

At the end, as is the tradition with this concert, all - including the audience! - stood to sing "Hallelujah" as one voice, with Sherrill Milnes serving as conductor - magnificent!

My thanks to the vocal talents of Emily Gallagher (herder of volunteers like me), Cole Stephenson (the Commendatore/Stone Statue on Saturday evening), Olivia Gasper, Chad Sonka, Congcong Wang, Hope Metts, Melanie Spector (Dona Anna on Saturday evening), Mika Urano, Taka Komagata, Javier Arrey (Don Giovanni on Saturday evening), Seungchan Hong, Anna Farysej, and Clinton Garrison.

i thank You, God.

(smile!)

 

Monday found me for the first event of three at the Charles Morris Center (the final of these will be on Wednesday). 

This one was all Sherrill, all the time!

Was it his birthday???

No, that's in early January, two days after that of Elvis Presley.

(Notice that I just had to slide that one in there... hey, he's on my mind!)

Today's "Opera Movie Night: Homage To Verdi" began with a short I immediately recognized from that first year of pandemic, when the opera season was brought to us online.

Titled "A Moment With The Maestro", it allowed him to talk about Guiseppe Verdi's love of a unified Italy and how a song of his is regarded as a national anthem there.

So cool to see this again!

"The VOICE of the Verdi Baritone" illuminated to me just what is meant by that term.

I had not realized that "Verdi Baritone" was not an allusion to the particular operas where those types of singers are found.

Nope, not at all.

Those types of singers are in Verdi's operas specifically because of their range, as well as due to a certain "ping" or "Squillo" to their voice.

I had not realized the voices of all performers of opera are classified, with those lists maintained by opera houses, so as to prevent miscasting a performer with an unsuitable range for the piece.

How very considerate!

For baritones, there are actually seven categories!!!

And what did I figure out that evening?

Sherrill Milnes has something in common with Mandy Patinkin: both have a warble.

I'm amazed that I had not picked up on it during SVF-8, especially as I watched each of those videos at least twice. 

I wonder if that voice quality is something inherent or learned?

I can say this: now that I've heard mingled with Sherrill's voice, I cannot unhear it.

Perhaps the warble is what the opera houses mean by squillo?

Perhaps.

Maybe I'll have the nerve to ask him about it someday.

(smile!)

On with the highlight of the evening: the 1979 documentary filmed partly at Verdi's house.

(Maria had introduced this event as a night of looking at old videos from family vacations, which did set up the tone nicely.)

Sherrill was 44 then, just a few years older than my first niece, and being at that house, being in the same rooms that Verdi had lived in, was an incredible treat for him.

I could tell he was a bit in awe of his surroundings and the history they represented.

(The video can be viewed, in its entirety, at this link.) 

Here's the thing: his stories that he told tonight at three points in the movie are a treat I cannot share, dear reader.

(smile!)

Chad Sonka would lead him with a series of questions about what was just seen, then a next segment would be viewed and the process repeated, culminating in a Q&A session with several folks in the audience.

What the result was is this: we were treated to performances of Sherrill in his forties, with full voice, in roles he was famous for: Rigoletto, the hunchbacked, jaded jester (including his transformation into the character, applying his own make-up, prosthetics, and bald-cap wig!); Falstaff, the fat, aging, knight who fancies himself a ladies' man; and Iago, the conniving ensign of Otello.

Though, truth be told, that last was in a separate clip, with Sherrill performing the aria "Si pel ciel" with Guiseppe Giacomini as the Moorish general.

We were all thrilled with those dramatic performances, rewarding each - though taped, years ago - with a rousing round of applause!

Magnificent!

I'm glad I had was a volunteer usher for this one, even though it was free.

(smile!)

Today's freebie was also at the CMC and is one I've enjoyed for years, starting with it being held at the Fine Arts Auditorium at Armstrong.

In particular, I enjoy the "Masters In Voice" with Sherrill Milnes leading the Master Class.

This time, there were three singers there to learn how to better their performance.

Well, three on the stage...

and many more, including me, wanting those tidbits of treasure!

Here he is with David Roy, the young man who portrayed Masetto on Saturday.

Today, the Pole sang in Italian to Americans and Japanese in the audience... I loved it!

He was followed by Ashley Nunez, a Latina who sang one of Mozart's songs in German!

Then came Yeongtaek Yang, a Japanese baritone who sang in French about an Austrian prisoner he had to condemn to death.

Positively cosmopolitan!

I left there floating from all the luscious accents strewn throughout the air!

And did I glean some words of wisdom as well?

I did.

1) Keep your fishing tackle box full, as you never know what lure is needed.

2) Even if it's a language you don't speak, even if it's a language that the audience doesn't speak, it's imperative - it's absolutely so - that the audience believe that you understand the words you are singing. 

3) When performing a concert, you have to keep fixed in your mind's eye the character you are singing to, or about, to keep it real.

Magnificent!

(smile!)

Now, I'm going to try to straighten out my front yard before the rain comes.

I'd started on it last week, then got distracted by opera.

(smile!)

Then evening rains had come along and postponed more mowing.

However, I've resolved to get it done, at least until the battery goes kaput.

That should be in about an hour, I'd wager.

Wanna take that bet?