Contemporary - my/maSCENA

Evangelista Legacy

By Adrian Rodriguez on 10 October 2017 Contemporary

Evangelista’s sons didn’t fall far from the tree, as both are actively involved in Montreal’s music scene. Gabriel, his elder son, is a sort of musical chameleon: his influences are jazz, Gamelan, classical and salsa. “I describe myself in this order: composer, arranger, musical director and performer,” he says in a serious tone. “My background includes classical music, jazz, Balinese Gamelan, salsa and a little bit of flamenco.” He cites the Bali X album as one of the initiatives of which he is the most proud. “Giri Kedaton [the Gamelan ensemble that had its residence in University of Montreal] and…

Photo: Marc Bourgeois

José Evangelista – Composer in Constant Evolution

By Adrian Rodriguez on 10 October 2017 Contemporary, Obituaries

José Evangelista is a composer who perfectly represents the cultural diversity and historical background of Canada and Montreal. In the early 1970s Evangelista was, like many Spaniards of his generation, in search of a better quality of life and trying to escape the Spanish dictatorship of Francisco Franco. Coming to Canada, he says, was not a straight line. “It was like this,” as he mimics a crooked bumpy road. “It was a combination of circumstances because I am an ex-scientist. I have a Masters in nuclear physics. I was given a bursary to go study in Geneva at the European…

Vale Rideout (Hades), Michael Mayes (Lucifer), Colleen Daly (Persephone); photo by Kathy Wittman and Ball Square Films

The Devil Came Up to Boston for Cerise Lim Jacobs’ New Opera, “REV. 23”

By Charles Geyer on 9 October 2017 Concert Reviews, Contemporary, Opera

REVIEW of REV. 23, a new comic opera that sees beyond the End of Days, conceived and written by Cerise Lim Jacobs, with a score by Julian Wachner; performed September 29, September 30, and October 1, 2017 at Boston’s John Hancock Hall; viewed here September 30 and October 1. The End was at hand, and it was a devil of a good time. The city of Boston recently got a privileged, early glimpse of the Apocalypse – and beyond – courtesy of resident visionary, opera-maker, and eschatologist nonpareil, Cerise Lim Jacobs, who not only conceived and wrote the libretto for…

Love Songs Opéra Not for Everyone

By Adrian Rodriguez on 2 October 2017 Concert Reviews, Contemporary, Opera

What you miss: A great performance by the polyvalent mezzo Marie-Annick Béliveau as she explored with sounds that go from raspy-bluesy to classical to flat out screaming. Saxophonist Jean Derome also showed a big palette of colours and nuances. The music will please any fan of experimental sounds and dissonant harmonies. For those expecting an opera in the traditional sense, be warned, this is more of a song cycle with staging. The sense of the piece seems to be more to explore ways of expressing love than the search of beauty. Grapes: If you’re not a contemporary music lover and instead enjoy…

Against the Grain Theatre #GoForBaroque in 2017/2018 season

By Newswire on 27 September 2017 Baroque and Early, Classical, Classical Music, Contemporary, Newswire, Opera, Vocal

A Handel mash-up and an international co-production comprise AtG’s most expansive season to date TORONTO – Against the Grain Theatre (AtG) returns in its eighth season with BOUND, a pastiche workshop of new interpretations of Handel’s music, and a groundbreaking new production of Berlioz’s arrangement of Glück’s Orphée. AtG’s acclaimed #OperaPub nights return as a monthly fixture at the Amsterdam Bicycle Club, and the company collaborates with Canadian baroque-pop artist Kyrie Kristmanson at the Alliance Française in Toronto. In addition, AtG enters its second season as company-in-residence at the Canadian Opera Company (COC). This December, Artistic Director Joel Ivany and Music Director…

Nora Graham-Smith (Fury), Jamie-Rose Guarrine (Fury), Michael Mayes (Lucifer), Melanie Long (Fury)

Cerise Jacobs is Full of Revelations in Her New Opera, REV. 23

By Charles Geyer on 27 September 2017 Classical, Classical Music, Contemporary, Newswire, Opera

PREVIEW: of the world premiere of Cerise Lim Jacobs’ new opera REV. 23 (music by Julian Wachner), at Boston’s John Hancock Hall – September 29 at 7:30 p.m.; September 30 at 7:30 p.m.; and October 1 at 3 p.m. Boston-based librettist and myth-maker Cerise Lim Jacobs has an imagination that literally knows no bounds, as amply demonstrated by her newest work, the opera REV. 23, which is set to premiere in Boston this weekend and take audiences on an adventure beyond the End-of-Days. Revving for Take-Off The title, REV. 23, is a shorthand formation designating a chapter of the Bible…

SCMQ 2017-2018 Season – Long live today’s music!

By Newswire on 21 September 2017 Canadian Music, Classical Music, Contemporary, Newswire, Opera, Quebec Music, Vocal

Montréal, Septembre 20, 2017 – Société de musique contemporaine du Québec (SMCQ) begins its Homage Series with six concerts plus three “special” events focussing on José Evangelista, a composer on a remarkable path. Evangelista has marked the recent evolution of music through a singular and coherent creative approach, with a greater openness to the world. Since 2007, alternating with the the Montreal New Music festival, the Homage Series allows for the discovery the body of work of a notable Canadian composer, with the cooperation of the cultural and educational milieu who are invited to include their works in their respective…

Set designs by Mimi Lien

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream: Composer Moto Osada’s New Opera at the Japan Society

By Charles Geyer on 12 September 2017 Classical Music, Contemporary, Interviews, Newswire, Opera

It is such stuff as dreams are made on. This week, the Japan Society in New York City plays host to the North American premiere of eminent Japanese composer Moto Osada’s opera Four Nights of Dream. Ironically, given the title, the run is for only three nights – Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, September 13, 15 and 16, all at 7:30 p.m., but it bids fair to be a memorable Western prelude the opera’s premiere in Tokyo later this year. The inspiration for the opera is a literary work entitled Yume Jū-ya by classic Japanese novelist and fabulist Natsume Soseki, active…

Lebrecht Weekly – Ebony Quartet: Unheard (Channel Classics)

By Norman Lebrecht on 8 September 2017 CD and Book Reviews, Chamber Music, Contemporary, Lebrecht Weekly

Quarter of a century ago, Decca sank its Three Tenors profits into an ‘Entartete Musik’ series, breaking the silence that had settled on a generation of composers who had fled Nazi Germany, or died in its concentration camps. Those vital recordings are now hard to find, but the search continues for other member of the silent generation. None of the music on this gripping compilation will be familiar to anyone alive. Even the names of the composers will cause some scratching of heads. Erich Itor Kahn (1905-56) is known to me only from an adoring memoir by his widow. A…

2018 Azrieli Commission for Jewish Music Awarded to Kelly-Marie Murphy

By Newswire on 5 September 2017 Arts Industry, Chamber Music, Classical Music, Contemporary, Music Competition, Newswire

THE AZRIELI FOUNDATION IS PROUD TO AWARD THE 2018 AZRIELI COMMISSION FOR JEWISH MUSIC TO Kelly-Marie Murphy Largest Composition Prize in Canada Celebrates Excellence in New Jewish Music The Azrieli Music Prizes Gala Concert will take place on October 15, 2018 at Maison symphonique de Montréal featuring the McGill Chamber Orchestra (MCO) & Guest Conductor Yoav Talmi For immediate release, September 5, 2017, Montreal, Quebec … The Azrieli Foundation is proud to announce that composer Kelly-Marie Murphy is the winner of the 2018 Azrieli Commission for Jewish Music. This is the second time that the Foundation has awarded the $50,000 CAD prize –…

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