2016-03-24_02 featured press

Place de l’Opera – Only the Sound Remains: hemels én aards

2016-03-23, Place de l’Operam by Kenza Koutchoukali

De voorstelling was in mijn ogen wel degelijk spannend, misschien zelfs een beetje eng. Magisch ook en bovendien waanzinnig goed uitgevoerd. Wat een spel en wat een stemmen! De stem van Philippe Jaroussky (Geest van de jongeman/Engel) was zo helder als je van een engel zou verwachten. En dan de kantele, bespeeld door Eija Kankaanranta: ik zou zweren dat ik de muziek soms bijna zag. Zelden werd ik meer verrast door een onbekend instrument.

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In my eyes, the idea was exciting indeed, maybe even a little scary. It was also magic and additionally incredibly well executed. The playing and the voices! The voice of Philippe Jaroussky (Spirit of the young man/Angel) was as clear as you would expect of an angel. And then the kantele, played by Eija Kankaanranta: I could swear I sometimes almost saw the music. Rarely I was more surprised by an unknown instrument.

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2016-03-19 featured press

8weekly – Alleen het geluid blijft

2016-03-19, 8weekly, by Ewa Maria Wagner

De ster van de avond: Philippe Jaroussky, countertenor, schittert samen met de jonge basbariton Davone Tines in wisselende rollen. Zelfs de geliefde stem van Jaroussky is echter machteloos tegenover de overkill aan mooie klanken zonder dramatiek.

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The star of the evening: Philippe Jaroussky, countertenor, glittering along with the young bass-baritone Davone Tines in varying roles. However, even the beloved voice of Jaroussky is powerless against the overkill of beautiful sounds without drama.

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2016-03-18_02 featured press

Volkskrant – Only the Sound Remains doet een groot beroep op de concentratie – Translation to English

2016-03-18, Volkskrant, by Biëlla Luttmer

Disclaimer

This is a fan translation – no infringement of copyright is intended. If you are the copyright holder and have any objections to this being online, drop us a line and we will remove it immediately. 

We believe the publication fulfills the conditions of “fair use,” for discussion and study.

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[caption:] Fisherman Davone Tines and dancer Nora Kimball-Mentzos in Only the Sound Remains.

Only The Sound Remains makes great demands concerning concentration

Conductor André de Ridder admirably ensures that the orchestra sound, and the singers’ voices take off from the stage. Yet it is immobility that is dominating, sometimes making great demands on the concentration of the Western opera fan.

By Biella Luttmer, March 18, 2016


A fisherman finds a feather mantle, which seems to belong to an angel. “I’ll give you back your cloak, but only if you dance for me,” the fisherman says. The angel agrees, but wants the mantle back first. “How can I trust you?” The fisherman replies. The angel says, “Doubt is for mortals. We have no deceit.”

In Only the Sound Remains, the brand-new opera diptych by composer Kaija Saariaho, big themes such as mortality and desire are sliding past in an unassuming way. Sssss-sounds from a small choir, soft glissandi of a string quartet, and bowed [or brushed? Orig: aangestreken toetsen] bars of a vibraphone can heard. They have been mixed with the earthly jingling of a kantele, an old stringed instrument from Saariaho’s native Finland.

Untheatrical Topic

The pieces are based on two texts from the secular Japanese Nôh-theater. Both deal with the living and the dead, and a mysterious contact between the two worlds. Or, perceived from a more personal view: the ones you lost, who are elusive but which you always carry with you.

It is an introvert, untheatrical topic suitable for a book by Murakami; however, it was lost in the immense opera house at the Waterloo. Saariaho, famous for her magical richness of sound, is devoid of any drama or rhetoric. She gives her audience a spirit and a monk. Or, in the second work, a fisherman with the voice and appearance of a monk, and an angel surprisingly similar to the ghost before.

Director Peter Sellars adds a painting by the Ethiopian artist Julie Mehretu, with abstract, dark lines on a white canvas.

Contrast

The text and the music by Saariaho connect with the painting. Over the lines of the light fabric fall the massive shadows of a monk, a spirit, an angel. The result is an imagery of unreal beauty. Light and dark, distance and proximity, the earthly and the celestial are entering a bond.

Conductor André de Ridder admirably ensures that the orchestra sound, and the singers’ voices take off from the stage. Carefully distorted electronically, they encircle the audience like a wreath.

The first part of the diptych is dark, with a bass flute and the drone of a drum. What is beautiful is the contrast between the dark baritone voice of the American Davone Tines and the ethereal voice of countertenor Philippe Jaroussky.

Immobility

The second part is lighter. The bass flute is replaced by a piccolo, and the static male figures are accompanied by a transcendent graceful dancer: Nora Kimball-Mentzos, the alter ego of the angel.

Still, what prevails here is the the immobility. Mehretu’s artwork is greatly enlarged and discoloured to an intense golden yellow, yet it never succeeds in creating the feeling of witnessing a theatrical performance. Rather you feel like looking at the sublime installation of a visual artist. At the end of the evening, there is suddenly a second fabric, a clone of Mehretu’s work. Both cloths are lowered and raised again – the weakest part of the evening.

With her latest opera, Saariaho puts high demands on the concentration of the Western opera lover, who will, in addition to profoundly magical sounds, also at times be taken into a compelling theatrical development – if only briefly.

Ten days to enjoy the opera anniversary

The Opera Forward Festival gives space to new music and different performance practices.

The Dutch National Opera celebrates its fiftiest anniversary. They are not only putting themselves into the spotlight, but rather involve others to join the festivities. Only The Sound Remains kicks off the new Opera Forward Festival, where opera connoisseurs and musicians, directors and artists alike examine the future of the genre.

For ten days, they gather at three locations in Amsterdam: the Nationale Opera & Ballet, the Muziekgebouw and the IJ en de Stadsschouwburg.

There are performances that are innovative, as the one described above, Only The Sound Remains and Blank Out, an opera for soprano and 3D-movie by the Dutchman Michel van Aa. However, there is also the “old” opera “Il matrimonio segreto” by Cimarosa that can be approached in a new way, shown in a production by the Opera Zuid and the Nederlandse Reisopera.

Finally, the opera of the future is already taking shape in five mini-operas, created by students.

 

 

2016-03-18_04 featured press

nrc – Zelfverzekerde opening van operafestival

2016-03-18, nrc, by Mischa Spel

Dankzij Pierre Audi heeft Amsterdam een rijke traditie op het gebied van ritueel muziektheater. De luisterrijke tover van Messiaens St. Francois d’Asisse, de speelse originaliteit van Tea van Tan Dun en de imposante schoonheid van Claude Viviers Rêves d’un Marco Polo (om er een paar te noemen) stelden een maat die Only the sound remains niet steeds haalt, voornamelijk doordat de intimiteit van de operaatjes wringt met de grote zaal.

Ook de rol van elektronica is niet overal even effectief. De stem van Jaroussky wordt ‘hemels’ vervormd – maar juist in natuurgedaante weet hij vaak een treffender gevoel van onthechting op te roepen.

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Thanks to Pierre Audi Amsterdam has a rich tradition of ritual music theatre. The lustrous magic of Messiaen’s St. Francois d’Asisse, the playful originality of Tea by Tan Dun and the impressive beauty of Claude Vivier’s Rêves d’un Marco Polo (to name a few) set a standard that Only The Sound Remains doesn’t always live up to, mainly because the intimacy of the opera conflicts with the spacious hall.

Also, the role of the electronics is not always effective. Jaroussky’s voice is ‘heavenly’ distorted – however, in its natural form, he often manages to evoke a more effective sense of detachment.

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2016-03-17_03 featured press

CLEEFT – ‘Only The Sound Remains’ brengt goede zang, maar mist meesleepend verhaal

2016-03-17, CLEEFT, by Maaike Schneiders

Het etherische stemgeluid van countertenor Philippe Jarrousky en de diepe duistere stem van bas-bariton Davone Tines vormen gelukkig wel een prachtig samenspel, maar de traagheid van de zang doet ook af aan de meeslependheid van het verhaal.
[…] ‘Only the sound remains’ is een bijzondere ervaring, maar ook een flinke uitdaging voor de onervaren operabezoeker. De zware muziek en het gebrek aan beeld vergen veel van de kijker. Verwacht geen grootse aria’s en mooie jurken, deze opera zal zich grotendeels in je verbeelding moeten afspelen.

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Fortunately, the ethereal voice of countertenor Philippe Jaroussky and the deep dark voice of bass-baritone Davone Tines are a wonderful combination, but the slowness of the singing also detracts from the experience first of the story.
[…] “Only the sound remains” is a special experience, but also a challenge for the inexperienced opera visitor. The heavy music and the lack of imagery require a great deal of the viewer. Do not expect big arias and beautiful dresses – this opera will largely have to take place in your imagination.

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2016-03-16_03 featured press

Place de l’Opera – Kaija Saariaho: ramen openzetten in de geest

2016-03-16, Place de l’Opera, by Francois van den Anker

Mett Only the Sound Remains van Kaija Saariaho opende gisteravond het Opera Forward Festival. Enkele uren voor de wereldpremière sprak François van den Anker met de componiste over haar motieven en het werk aan haar opera. “Ik hoop dat het mensen aan het denken zet over hoe we omgaan met verlies, met dood.”

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2016-03-16_02 featured press

De Nationale Opera on Youtube – Only the Sound Remains: trailer

2016-03-16, De Nationale Opera on Youtube

Only the Sound Remains: trailer – Dutch National Opera

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2016-03-15_02 featured press

Het Parool – De klanken van opera Only the Sound Remains zijn doodeng

2016-03-16, Het Parool, Hans van der Beek

“Only The Sound Remains” begint. Nu ja, je hoort allemaal klanken en een vertwijfelde man loopt over het podium. Op een lichtbalk verschijnt: ‘Tsunemasa vol rusteloosheid.’ Zo klonk het al, ja.
Ook de zang wordt vertaald op de lichtbak, in twee talen. Ik ben daar blij mee. Saariaho, zo wordt mij al snel duidelijk, wil een onheilspellende sfeer creëren en daarin slaagt zij met vlag en wimpel.

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“Only The Sound Remains” begins. Well, all you hear is sounds and a desperate man is walking across the stage. A light bar appears: “Tsunemasa, full of restlessness.” Yes, that’s what I gathered from what it sounded like.
The song is being translated to the light, in two languages. I’m happy with that. Saariaho, I quickly get to realize, wants to create an ominous atmosphere and in this respect, [the production] succeeded with flying colors.
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2016-03-15_03 featured press

Theaterkrant – Delicate Schoonheid bij Saariaho

2106-03-16, Theaterkrant, by Oswin Schneeweisz

Het is mooi, maar ook wat afstandelijk. Dat kon zelfs de hemelse stem van de wereldberoemde counter Philippe Jaroussky niet verhelpen. Die afstandelijkheid is de achilleshiel van Only The Sound Remains, want hoe mooi en indrukwekkend de productie ook is: het blijft halverwege wel heel erg hangen in ‘mooidoenerij’ en een overdaad aan spanningsloze esthetiek.

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It is beautiful, but also somehow distant. Not even the heavenly voice of the world famous countertenor Philippe Jaroussky is able to change that. This detachment is the Achilles heel of Only The Sound Remains – for no matter how beautiful and impressive the production is: it stays half-way in flattery and an abundance of tension-less aesthetics.

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2016-02-01 featured press

Dutch National Opera – Een beetje vreemd en onwerkelijk, dat ligt me wel – Translation to English

2016-03-14, Dutch National Opera, by Joke Dame

Disclaimer

This is a fan translation – no infringement of copyright is intended. If you are the copyright holder and have any objections to this being online, drop us a line and we will remove it immediately. 

We believe the publication fulfills the conditions of “fair use,” for discussion and study.

Source/Read more/See Original: [x]

Translated by RvO

‘A bit strange and unreal, that suits me’

In Kaija Saariaho’s ‘ heavenly ‘ double opera, countertenor Philippe Jaroussky sings in Only the Sound Remains two roles: the spirit and the angel. It fits his voice type and timbre, thinks the singer, who still – in vain – reaches for the high C.

He was not a boy soprano who in puberty didn’t wanted to lose his high voice. Philippe Jaroussky (France, 1978) never sang as a child. He played violin and piano, as a violinist loved Shostakovitch and Stravinsky, and as a pianist Debussy and Fauré, and discovered on his eighteenth suddenly his need to sing. His baritone voice, however, did not captivated him-if he sang loudly he did so with his headvoice.

“Maybe because I felt myself at home and studied violin in the high notes, I do not know … In any case not because I wanted to imitate a woman.”

His mother thought his countertenor voice was beautiful right away. Jaroussky’s father – he came from Russia [translator’s note: according to Wikipedia, his grandfather came from Russia, not his father]: “Ja Russki” (I’m Russian), as he enlisted himself at the French border – had to take some getting used to, but his parents have never stopped him. And he discovered a whole new musical world: the world of the Baroque opera, where his star could rise quickly.

I belong to the first generation high countertenor voices. We are not altos, but mezzosopranists, sopranists even. In the generations before me you saw mainly low countertenors: male altos. Nowadays my high voice type is no longer so rare. If I had to start my career now, it would definitely develop a bit more difficult.

“There will be times in the opera that I just sing and you hear something completely different than what you would expect to find in a voice. A kind of hypnotic soundworld”

Audition.

That he is now in a contemporary opera on stage, he calls “fantastic” and “a refreshing experience” for a countertenor.

Jaroussky: “It’s always so frustrating that most music we sing is written for the castrato voice. That is not written on our countertenor’s body. That is why I also like working together with composers: to get the roles that are composed on my voice.”

The idea to ask Philippe Jaroussky for the latest Kaija Saariaho opera did not come from the composer herself – she didn’t know the countertenor did modern music – but by Director Peter Sellars. The French singer reacted enthusiastically to the invitation, but under subject to change.

“Look, in this kind of projects I would like to know for sure that the composer loves what I do. So I applied for an audition. She first had to hear my voice live and then I wanted to talk about what she could write for my voice and what not. And indeed, she had no idea of what was possible. It was the beginning of a very exciting adventure.”
Wrote Kaija Saariaho special notes for him? O sure, Jaroussky says. “There were whole discussions on what I could do and what not, and that was totally different from what she originally thought. She asked to reproduce some sounds and to give those different soundcolours; on that basis, she has changed a lot in the first part of the score. The second part she altogether composed with my voice in thought. In fact it went exactly so in the Baroque time: the singers asked very specific things from the composer and he was usually most willing to obey.”

The countertenor voice has, more than any other voice type, the ability to evoke the past, but also a non-realistic atmosphere.”In this piece, I am a spirit and an angel, and Kaija uses my voice to strip the supernatural opera characters of their humanity. They are a bit strange and unreal, and that’s what suits me. Initially Kaija thought of a soprano for the angel for the second story. Of course I can not really sing in the extreme soprano range. The high C is still not for me to sing.”

To make his voice even more spiritual and angelic Jaroussky’s voice will be manipulated with the computer. I think that’s amazing-Kajia just tried it out a little bit and the result of the test I found impressive.

There will be times in the opera that I just sing and you hear something completely different than what you would expect to find in a voice. A kind of hypnotic soundworld. This is completely new to me, but in the future I would like to develop myself further in this kind of projects.”

Gendercontrast.The countertenor is a temporary fashion, some people say, but Jaroussky thinks otherwise. He is convinced that the countertenor, which began a revival since its rediscovery in the 1970’s, will remain as one of the possible singing voices amongst others. “I often say: it is not because you have a high voice that people love you, it is because of how you sing.”

“It’s not necessarily femininity that comes to the fore with the countertenor, but it expresses masculinity in a different way”.

The high male voice is now widely known and the public now asks the same qualities of us as from other singers. It is good that we have developed from a rarity to something normal in the world of classical music.

Now we have to convince people that we can sing a lot more than we did in the past. Countertenors sing Rossini, Mozart, we try to come across our borders.
Because I am a counter tenor, that does not mean that I can’t sing songs with piano accompaniment. I sure can and I’m not the only one.”
But there is another reason why Jaroussky thinks the countertenor will never again disappear from the stage.

“The countertenor is a voice that undermines gender contradictions, and therefore are interesting for contemporary composers. Personally, I think a different approach to the man is important.

It’s not necessarily femininity that comes to the fore with the countertenor, but it expresses masculinity in a different way”. It shows another side of masculinity, for example a different sensitivity of the man. This contrast within the gender is also an item in Kaija’s piece: the low, earthy and more legitimate baritone is one and a half hours in dialogue with the high, heavenly countertenor. That is, apart from the story, in itself fascinating to experience. ”

Philippe Jaroussky can be seen from 15 to 29 March in Only the Sound Remains in National Opera & Ballet

2016-02-01 featured press