All Hail Anthony Bourdain!

Weekly, I join the blogosphere with a somewhat small-minded, blunt, and hopefully insightful perspective on my life through music.  Of course, I have moments of success and failure and I have shared that, unabashedly, with the world.  But over time, I have wondered why I have a fascination to do so (or why I torture myself through so much rejection).  I love to travel and I love to eat and I love music - it's an uncontrollable passion.  My passion takes me all over the place and I have had many incredible experiences.   Unfortunately, this habit has given me much criticism (especially among Susan Boyle fans) but I hope that my passion in "cultivated music" has sparked some passion in others.

Over the past couple of years, I have slowly and ego-maniacally wanted myself to become a smaller-than-life music version of Anthony Bourdain.  Tony, if you don't already know, has a show "No Reservations" on the Travel Channel.  He is a very blunt, funny, and well renown chef.  His fame rose years ago with a book "Kitchen Confidential" where he exposed the nastiness of the culinary world.  Of course he made enemies, but he is very well respected and IMMENSELY entertaining.  Every Monday, his show features a different location in the world, showing its beauty, history, and brusquely describes his like/hatred for its food and culture.

This Monday, Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" will be showcasing my home of Kansas City!  He filmed last December, and by all accounts, he is on a BBQ rampage through the city with the Black Keys among others.  He also goes to the Chiefs/Packers game and tailgates with his hilariously drunk Russian pal Zamir.  I was so excited to hear about this - whether he has great or horrible things to say about KC, he is bound to have a good time since Zamir came along.  Plus, Kansas City is undergoing a renaissance; whatever you think you know about it, this is the Golden Age for our town - of course the jazz era was great, but the city is alive and new and exciting.

I have the greatest respect for Tony, and I hope to one day get his opinion on opera - and not just any opera, but an excruciatingly long Wagner opera.  I bet it's not as bad as he thinks; as long as they have a wet bar during intermission, he's sure to love the loud music - he's a 70s hard rock fan, so Wagner isn't too far away if you consider that the Helden tenors will essentially be yelling for 4 hours straight.

I hope you take the time to watch my best-friend-I've-never-met, Anthony Bourdain, visit KC this Monday night on the Travel Channel.

Anthony Bourdain with the Black Keys in KC

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This week, I had two amazing experiences.  First, I was a soloist in a production of The Little Match Girl Passion.  It really was one of the most amazing experiences because it was held in the cold and modern surroundings of the Modern Art galleries of the Nelson Atkins Museum.

The piece was brilliantly stark and beautiful.  A modern piece, that was post-minimalist with little dynamic contrast, caused several people to bawl at the conclusion.  The piece mourns the loss of a girl who tries to keep herself warm by striking matches until she freezes to death.  It is really amazing to me; a piece no one in the audience had any prior connection to, a piece that was so different than anything they've heard before, caused so much grief that people cried by its conclusion.

Here is a wonderful review of the piece. http://kcmetropolis.org/issue/april-11-2012/article/frigid-passion

I must correct the reviewer however.  The tenors, were not singing in falsetto, but in sotto voce - an airy/thin version of the real voice.  It was certainly one of the most technically difficult pieces I have ever undertaken.  I hope to have a recording sometime to share with you all, but until then, here's another recording on youtube.

Then on Friday, I sang two Bach cantatas for the monthly "Bach's Lunch" concert at the Conservatory where a packed house of musicians can bring their lunch and eat while they listen to a live performance of a Bach cantata.  I had a particularly difficult aria and I nailed it!  I really don't allow myself to be proud of what I do too often (publicly that is) - but this was one of the times that I truly was proud, whether anyone else knew that or not.  It also was immensely difficult because it is very high and virtuosic; much of the tenor line in the preceding chorale was so high that it could be an alto part, so I was way up there.  If anything, these Bach performances are giving me the spark to jump into the professional Bach world.

Next year, I will be singing the tenor soloist for the Bach B Minor Mass at the Kauffman Center on April 28, 2013 (my birthday) with the Village Choir, Te Deum Chamber Choir, and Kansas City Baroque Consortium, and I will be singing the Evangelist for Bach's St. John Passion.  Both are huge opportunities for me and I am so excited to be a part of it.  Bach is a new world for me and it completely fills my musical soul.  

Mozart, on the other hand, is my enemy at the moment.  I feel trapped singing in the classical style in that it inhibits my emotions and musicality - the baroque is completely free of that for me, and I feel free to be myself with Bach.  Mozart, it's not you, it's me...we need some time away from each other - I need to try new things, and not be tied down right now with perfection.

Also new this week, I was asked to be the tenor soloist for Washburn University's production of Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass.  It will be held at 7:30 on Friday May, 4 at White Recital Hall in Topeka, KS.  I was very honored to be asked - it was out of the blue - and it should be a wonderful experience.

And, I was asked to make a recording with the Simon Carrington Chamber Singers at the end of May.  I am very excited and honored to sing with them.  Simon Carrington is one of the world's most respected and renown conductors.

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The World Premiere Opera Review for this week is:

Waiting for Miss Monroe

by Robin De Raaff

OK, so Robin De Raaff isn't the most beautiful person in the world.

But that doesn't mean he can't make a beautiful composition about a beautiful person, right?  As you may have guessed, Waiting for Miss Monroe is about the lost memoirs of Marilyn Monroe.  It is being premiered in the Netherlands, but it is one of the most shocking opera librettos I've read of in a long time.  Essentially it is Marilyn Monroe's own words set to describe her secret inner turmoil leading to her suicide.

STOP READING IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO IMAGINE EXPLICIT SEXUAL IMAGES

As if the warning didn't already put them into your mind, these are quotes from the libretto - Marilyn saying all of the following:

"I stood naked in front of my full length mirrors for a long time yesterday. I was all made up with my hair done. What did I see? My breasts are beginning to sag a bit. ... My waist isn't bad. My ass is what it should be, the best there is. Legs, knees and ankles still shapely. And my feet are not too big. OK, Marilyn, you have it all there. It is decision time."

OK, not too bad yet...

"Mae says her enemas and orgasms will keep her young until she is 100. I hope she makes it."

WOAH!  Essentially, it appears as if it will be a conspiracy theory invoking show in that Marilyn tells her therapist that she dumped all her pills down the toilet in the days before her death, leaving the possibility open for a possible murder.  But within her therapy sessions, she discusses all kinds of issues including her sexual affairs with, believe it or not, Joan Crawford - also included are JFK, and as to RFK she says:

"Well when he starts having sex with the body all men want, his Catholic morality has to find a way to justify cheating on his wife."

Since the libretto (plot and text) of an opera is arguably the most important part, and with a story as complex and, for lack of a better word, as juicy as this, I have to give this opera a good rating.

One Pav

I can't imagine how awkward it would be to perform one of these arias at an audition, but as long as you look the part (and not like the composer) you'd certainly get someone's attention.

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Pay attention to this blog as we begin our Annual KCVI Celebrity Auction on Ebay this week!

The Other Mary, The Grim Reaper, and SuBo fans

Hopefully you all enjoy the new layout of my blog!  It is simple and should be quick and easy to use.  Last week I started my annual Opera World Premiere Reviews.  And boy did I get some nasty responses!  First of all, I am jealous of Susan Boyle.  She is one lucky person.  But leave it to Susan Boyle fans to write me some horrible and hilarious hate mail!  If you are one of the multitude that criticized me, thank you for providing legitimacy to my egocentricity.  I wonder why people understand if Mozart would annoy me, but not Susan Boyle or...(sigh)...Josh Groban.

Oh well, hopefully I can continue my controversy with this next World Premiere!

"The Gospel According to the Other Mary"
John Adams

I cannot fully express my excitement for this piece.  John Adams is one of the most influential and most important composers in music history.  He is most famous for Nixon in China, but has had several incredible works like Dr. Atomic (opera about the making of the atomic bomb) and Transmigration of Souls (Pulitzer Prize-winning composition).  As Adams describes, this piece is a reaction to his piece on the nativity of Jesus, which is called El nino.  It is designed like a Passion oratorio - something Bach was very famous for.  A Passion restates the events of Christ's death.

This initial production will be performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and everybody's favorite conductor, Gustavo Dudamel (who is only slightly older than I am!).  It is actually an Oratorio, but Peter Sellers will stage the production beginning next year in a style reminiscent of the traditional Mexican funeral rites.  Staged oratorio - opera...eh, what's the difference?

Besides the bible stories of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Lazarus, the libretto is completely based on the poetry of prominent female writers including Dorothy Day, June Jordan, Louise Erdich, and Rosario Castellanos.  The narrators are three countertenors!  (which already implies that only the biggest houses in the world may be able to afford to stage this)  Of course there are other soloists, including Mary Magdalene, orchestra, and a large chorus.  The piece is only 90 minutes long!

Now, if you don't know much about Minimalism, this piece may be a shock to you.  But unlike other minimalist or post-minimalist composers like Glass or Reich, Adams generally composes with great excitement and with HUGE bombastic complexity.  It is kind of like the excitement of John Williams (Star Wars, Indiana Jones) if he were only able to work with 5 chords and a car alarm going off.

Fortunately for us, the Mary Magdalene in this premiere is making a couple of video blogs - they aren't followed by many, so we're going to give her a little boost!  Take a listen to a couple of them, you get to hear two 5 second clips of the music...

As for the rating - this one definitely gets my highest rating of 2 Pav hankies!  I am so excited to hear it!

Last week, I sang the National Anthem at the US Olympic Volleyball Championships.  It was quite incredible.  They had 48 courts, end to end, with bleachers and all - several thousand competitors!  I was honored to sing!

Also, I went to a Sporting KC soccer game FOR FUN!  I don't normally do things just for fun, so I had a great time tailgating with my wife and her cousins.

Shameless promotion for Bud Light
(I will promote other brands if I get free stuff, by the way!)

I cannot help but mention the incredible music I was a part of at the Easter services at Village Presbyterian Church.  Giant choir, brass orchestra, organ reed stops, Celtic Alleluia, Lift High the Cross, Hallelujah Chorus, several thousand people in the congregation, etc., etc. I feel so lucky to be a musician there; the largest church in the entire denomination!  If you love music and live in Kansas City, you MUST experience Village Presbyterian Church sometime!

Next week, we premiere The Little Match Girl Passion at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art - one of the world's greatest art museums.  It is post minimalist and the saddest thing that you have ever heard - but beautiful.  I have a solo in it;  believe it or not, my part is to sputter the word "come" as fast as I can for about 5 minutes.  It is intended to be the voice of a freezing little girl dying on the street corner.  Like I said, it is horrifically sad, but absolutely beautiful.

Finally, here is the last of John Mueter's Three Volga German Songs - Der Zecher.

Secrets

Today is the first day back at the Conservatory for my second year of my doctoral study.  I am very excited to begin and I have some very exciting things planned - the most exciting of which I am doomed never to speak of.  Oh the torture!!  If you don't already know, I divulged the information of an incredibly exciting opportunity on my blog last week, and a few hours later had to censor most of the post because I got in trouble for sharing some secrets.  Well, I will post the whole thing on September 17, but until then I must continue to wait until I have permission to say anything - you can read the censored version here.

(actually, I received an email hinting that I may be able to announce something soon - oh I am so excited.  There is more about "the secret" later in the blog)

In other news, I will be singing some demonstrations for the Conservatory in September over the recitative in Bach's St. John Passion and the recitative in Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas - obviously singing the role of Aeneas. These are both very old and are sung using specialized baroque performance techniques.

(you really should listen to the whole thing, but if you're lazy, fast forward to about 7:30 and watch to the end)

Also, I have accepted a gig to sing the Evangelist in David Lang's "Little Match Girl Passion" here in Kansas City in May - which won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize in Music, one of the world's most prestigious composition awards.  It is obviously a modern piece, but it is based on the Hans Christian Anderson fable by the same name.  Listen to a little bit of it.

It is, for lack of a better description, a minimalist minimalist piece (or minimalism on steroids).  I mean this because it is built on a significantly small scale, but is a very large work, whose harmonic progression is very slow - this doesn't mean minimalism isn't exciting though, personally I absolutely love it.   It appears really simple - perhaps too simple, but is actually super complex; it requires great precision in tone, pitch, and the hardest part of all for singers - counting!  Minimalism makes for some great ambiance, emotion, and best of all - it glorifies perfection - just like the classical era of Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven.  Because minimalist music doesn't quickly evolve - unlike doo-wop or rock musicians playing four chords in relatively quick succession - it is more important for the music to transform between the chord areas over a longer amount of time.  This transforming style works great with the heartbreaking story of the Match Girl: a poor and abused girl, who sells matches, transitioning from life to death, lighting matches so as not to freeze during the night - watch the beautiful Disney animated short film about the story (the music in the Disney film is not from the production we're doing, but it is beautiful as well).

Yesterday, I started my new church job at Village Presbyterian here in Kansas City, the nation's fifth largest Presbyterian Church.  I will be responsible for singing, probably a lot of solo singing, and conducting whatever they need, whenever they need it.  It appears that they will be flexible in working with my INSANE schedule, which I am very thankful for.  I sang for a pot-luck dinner (where the food was so good, you'd think they were Methodists), and met many of the wonderful people that I will be working with, many of whom are highly educated musicians.  They have three choirs, a brass ensemble, three handbell choirs, the Kansas City Wind Symphony, a youth choir, a youth orchestra, and children's choir.  WOW!  I will certainly have a lot of fun.

As to my future schedule, I will of course be doing my cross country audition circus again this fall.  I have selected some exciting things to audition for, and I am very confident - the most confident that I have ever been - going into the new audition season.  I have made a small vocal change over the summer that has brightened and freed my sound very much.

Also the Conservatory will be performing La Nozze di Figaro (the marriage of Figaro) and Carmen coming up, so I may be performing in those.  The auditions will soon take place for those operas and I will give you all the details about that soon.

Okay now, back to some news regarding "the secret":  as you may know, I will be singing with the Kansas City Symphony Chorus during the year, and we have been rehearsing for some coming events, and for a performance of Brahms German Requiem...one of my most favoritest pieces!  However, I was quite humbled last Monday when they announced my news, the same news that I cannot announce publicly yet, in front of all the singers.  I stood and they applauded - I felt so very honored.

But so as to not make too many people upset at my teasing - I have decided to just keep quiet for the moment, trusting that I will be able to simply make a statement at some point beforehand, even if it does not involve any significant details.

Sorry mom, but you probably shouldn't say anything to local newspaper yet...but I won't be able to stop you if your bible study group wants to pray for me, naturally by putting me on the prayer chain...I know some good gossip gets around that way (wink, wink).