2016-08-30 featured press

Classique mais pas has been – Philippe Jaroussky : “Le public est plus exigeant” – Translation to English

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2016-08-30, Classique mais pas has been, by youkaalii

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* This is a fan translation; no infringement of copyright is intended, no profit is being made. Translation by GM*

Philippe Jaroussky: The public is more demanding

INTERVIEW – The countertenor opens the festival Musique en Côte-basque with arias from baroque Italian operas that made him a star. Always open to audacious projects, Philippe Jaroussky has told us about his next challenge.

This summer you had to cancel some concerts. What is it like to lose your voice?

PJ: I had a bronchitis, this happens to me every ten years. I have already experienced this at the beginning of my career when I had less experience and more stress. This time I stayed calmer, even calmer than my fans on Facebook who seemed to be very worried (laughs). I prefer the public to be disappointed because they could not hear me than because they did hear me. And I don’t want to be a slave of my voice, to keep a normal life… or nearly normal.

Does the countertenor voice still provoke strong reactions?

The countertenor voice shows a different aspect of the male sensitivity. It is a voice that always provokes strong reactions – fascination or rejection – because it is not “natural”. My success was a big surprise. Although even after my final exams I planned to have a career in music I did not expect to be so exposed. I notice that the reactions changed over time. Proof of this is the new generation of countertenors who are emerging at the moment. These young singers can dream more about a career. The time is very open; never before has so much baroque opera been sung. The experience of the public is richer; the public is still fascinated but also demands dramatic qualities.

Which programme are you going to perform at Musique en Côte-Basque?

I’m returning to my first love, to arias of the first operas, from Monteverdi to Steffani passing Cavalli. The pieces are from 1640 to 1680, forty years of an immense musical richness going from the comical to the warrior to laments. I am surrounded by twelve musicians, and we link together arias and instrumental pieces.

On 29th July at the BBC Proms in London you sang… David Bowie.

A beautiful experience! I sang “Always crashing in the same car” (scroll down for video) in a ethereal version, a little like film music, very far from the original. I accepted because I am fascinated by Bowie. He was androgynous but his voice wasn’t. He needed his unbelievable costumes but at the bottom he was not so exuberant. I find this appealing; singing countertenor is a form of eccentricity.

You like taking unexpected paths, like singing the mélodie françaises. Is this sensible?

It is very tiring to be sensible (laughs). And I am daredevil enough… I will soon sing Les Nuits d’Eté from Berlioz, the entire cycle! [a cycle of mélodies for tenor or mezzosoprano, the editor]. I will attract critics, I know, but there is an irrepressible desire. They have great phrases, parts that are on the lower-middle register of the voice; this demands a patina. I have to work on things that I don’t do often and paradoxically this gives me more ease in the baroque repertory. Each style demands a lot of preparation. When I have to sing a big opera by Mozart, I don’t start preparing two weeks before the event! For Bérlioz I have given myself a year before singing Les Nuits d’Eté on stage.

2016-08-29 featured press

nrc.nl – Bussemaker pleit voor diverser en jonger programma – English translation

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2016-08-29, nrc.nl, by Mischa Spel/Merlijn Kerkhof

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* This is a fan translation; no infringement of copyright is intended, no profit is being made. Translation by MVK*

[The beginning of the Article is about the festival in general]

It would have been better to start with the big star at this year’s festival (The Old Music Festival): countertenor Philippe Jaroussky. On Saturday, with his ensemble Artaserse, Jaroussky presented a balanced program with music by Cavalli, Steffani and Rossi – a repertoire that suits him excellently. On stage, we had a relaxed singer with an enviable vocal mastery, who has also improved on his dosage of embellishments.

Jaroussky with his easily recognizable voice, rich in overtones, can be situated at the ethereal side of the countertenor spectrum. An special edge in the lower sounds, like the one that Bejun Mehta produces, is not present. But is that bad? Even without grim darker tones, Jaroussky has the flair (and sometimes gasp) of a chansonnier, and it is credible. On top of that, he has another trump card: his ensemble is an extension of his voice, and knows how to add the right colors.

Artaserse kept the momentum up, improvising from one aria to the next. Even when Jaroussky was not singing, it was festive: the solos from violinist Raul Orellana – folkish but based on thorough knowledge of baroque rhetoric – were compelling. The absolute highlight was the encore “Si dolce è’l tormento” (Monteverdi), initially only with lute and harp. Unforgettable.

2016-08-28 featured press

Place de l’Opera – Jaroussky’s return to Utrecht is a big party – English Translation

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2016-08-29, Place d’Opera, original by Martin Toet
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* This is a fan translation; no infringement of copyright is intended, no profit is being made. Translation by RvO*

Jaroussky’s return to Utrecht is a big party

(Jaroussky’s retour in Utrecht is groot feest)

In seventeenth-century Italy, the roles of performer and composer were often united in one person. With unprecedented joyful and outside-the-box [the dutch as well as the German word “vogelvrij”/”vogelfrei” means “outlawed” as well as literally “free as a bird”] musicianship, Philippe Jaroussky and his ensemble Artaserse somewhat made these times come to life on Saturday at the Festival TivoliVredenburg. A memorable concert of a vocal superstar.

“Che città!” What a city! This Saturday, countertenor Philippe Jaroussky sang this almost as surprised as the errant page wandering through Fez in Cavalli’s L’Ormindo. The exasperated sigh could also hint at Venice, the theme of the Festival Old Music in Utrecht. Or at the Cathedral City itself… The overwhelming offer in numerous locations is hard to overlook, even for the true enthusiast. The bulky program book and the numerous helpful staff at the cozy Festival Center provide some help.

Ten years ago, Jaroussky surprised at the Utrecht festival with jazzy interpretations of Claudio Monteverdi’s madrigals. This time, with his own ensemble Artaserse, he performed music from the Italian “Seicento,” music from the seventeenth century at  the TivoliVredenburg, [a program] centered around the lively opera scene in Venice.

With the opening of the first commercial theatre in Venice in 1637, the young art form became full-fledged, shedding its ideological feathers. They were done with the sublime, Arcadian themes served for the nobles and humanists in Florence or Mantua. In Venice with its lagoons and islands, everything centered on the the mortal man, with all his passions and weaknesses, nowhere embodied better than in L’incoronazione di Poppea by Monteverdi. His pupil Francesco Cavalli continued the dramatic thread with a long series of successes.

From Poppea, Jaroussky sang “Oblivion soave,” a lullaby sung by the old nurse Arnalta – not in a light and comedic way, as it presumably was rendered in 1642, but with ear-caressing tenderness and unending sustained notes, dissolving in dying string sounds.

The theme of sleep dominated most slow numbers, such as Endimione’s night prayer to Diana in La Calisto, and – awakening from Amor’s grip – the one of the hero in Giasone. These two works by cavalli were right up Jaroussky’s street, but not because of his soporific singing! On the contrary, it is hypnotic how, seemingly effortless, his smooth golden sound ascends to heights that leave other countertenors gasping for breath. In every detail, Jaroussky showed his masterful interpretation of the text. With one word alone, “Fermate,” he aptly expressed Giasone’s overtired passion.

Exemplary phrasing and articulation also graced the big slumber scene from Giustino Legrenzi’s Giustino, a once wildly popular opera of the same name. Jaroussky went into the recitative with a fascinating dialogue with the viola da gamba of Christine Plubeau, a colleague of the first hour at [the ensemble] Artaserse. With twelve persons, the instrumental structure differed probably not so much from the “orchestra pit” in the Venetian theatres (the singers, at the time, used up most financial resources). But what richness of colours rose from this group of strings and the pluckers of harp, theorbo and guitar! Yoko Nakamura laid out a modest basis on the harpsichord and the organ, while two woodwinds with their (un)curved cornetti ensured color. Literally at the centre stood the playful percussionist Michèle Claude. Musical leader Jaroussky, during the instrumental intermezzi from, among others, Marco Uccellini, could watch the joy of playing with confidence.

Violinist Raul Orellana deserves a special mention for his rendition of the Sonata La cesta, by Pandolfi Mealli, composed in the “stylus phantasticus.” Fantastic indeed, these virtuosic but delicate antics, gradually supplemented by Plubeau in a typical Baroque lamento style on the gamba. The Sonata is a musical portrait of the composer Antonio Cesti, of whom Jaroussky performed a yearning plaint of love.

A diverse program indeed, but deliberately constructed with such a tight fit that applause had almost no chance. Of course, in between all the lamentations, there was also space for energetic fast paced numbers. After the break, Jaroussky’s coloraturas were  even smoother than before. Long live the surtitles, so that in Cavalli’s warlike “All’armi mio core,” it became clear how the strings and horns respectively symbolize whistling arrows and clattering weapons.

A pity that the translation was missing for the so expressively interpreted recitative of “Dal mio petto” from Agostino Steffani’s Niobe. Together with the intense lament from Luigi Rossi’s L’Orfeo, written shortly after the death of Rossi’s wife, this belonged to my personal highlights. Above all, that beautiful bridge passage to the da capo! In a powerful show of musicality, Jaroussky filled the relatively simple melodic lines with bold ornaments. Here blurred the border between composer and performer; each repeated phrase sounded like new and seemed to be improvised on the spot.

The enthusiasm of the audience knew no bounds, and was rewarded with three encores. Monteverdi’s immortal “Si dolce è’l tormento” I rarely ever heard worked out so subtly, in flawless interaction of singer, cornet player and violinist. As an official finale, Steffani’s ‘ Gelosia, lasciami in pace ‘ was already a swinging jam session, but in the reprise it was all brakes-off. Percussionist Claude stole the show and the exchange between her and a quasi-offended Jaroussky let everyone return home with a broad smile.

2016-08-26 featured press article dutch

Utrecht Festival Program – Philippe Jaroussky keert terug naar Utrecht – English Translation

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* This is a fan translation; no infringement of copyright is intended, no profit is being made. *
2016-08-27, article in the online festival paper for the concert at the TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht, translation by RvO
Philippe Jaroussky returns to Utrecht
Apart from their Italian origin, names such as Cesti, Luigi Rossi, Uccellini, Steffani and Pandolfi Mealli, probably do not, or at least not quite, live up to the imagination. However, tonight, they will nest in your memory. That is, if you seat yourself in one of the 1717 chairs of the Grote Zaal, at 8 pm, at the TivoliVredenburg. None other than Philippe Jaroussky and his ensemble Artaserse will treat you to an opera program with Jaroussky’s personal favorites.
In a festival dedicated to Venice, the birthplace of commercial opera, the genre of course can not be overlooked. Since his last visit to Utrecht in 2006, Countertenor Philippe Jaroussky has become a true international star. He made a selection of his favorite 17th century operas of Cavalli and contemporaries. Jaroussky is looking forward to it:
“It is a musical-poetic journey through various stages of the development of the opera, without the feeling that you are listening the entire night to loose short pieces by different composers. With my ensemble I constantly experiment with the order, but also with the instrumentation that we choose for each fragment. 17th century music is so beautiful to colorize: here a theorbo, there a Baroque guitar, then a harpsichord. And we provide good dynamics, with enough variety: between slow and fast, between virtuoso and intimate, between understated and outspoken emotions.”
That Philippe Jaroussky owns his own instrumental ensemble also helps.
“These are people with whom I have been working for years, who understand why I make certain choices. A festival like this in Utrecht is the ideal place for this kind of thing to do. The public doesn’t only come to see Philippe Jaroussky, but also because it’s curious about the music by unknown composers. The operas of Cavalli start to become better known, but we can not emphasize enough how big the development of commercial opera was at the time. There is more and more interest in composers of the generation from after Monteverdi. And that is precisely the period in which there was a lot happening in Venice. The music for the general public provided big emotions. By putting different composers from that period next to each other, I would like to show this great development in my program.”
2016-05-29 featured press

Klassieke Zaken – Stem van de toekomst – Philippe Jaroussky – English Translation

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2016-05-29, Klassieke Zaken, by Hein van Eekert

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Klassieke Zaken – Voice of the Future – Philippe Jaroussky

With a contemporary piece, he was in our country. He returns with forgotten baroque composers. Also there are going to be DVD releases with Alcina and Theodora. Philippe Jaroussky tells us about the voice of the future.

When you think of the sometimes un-earthly voice of Philippe Jaroussky, you somehow expect him to come floating to the interview. Nothing like that: It’s a happy, friendly man, courteous, with a sociable presénce, and an enthusiasm that could be called child-like – if it wasn’t rooted in an impressive mountain of knowledge about his own work and that of others. Moreover, even if he knows a lot about the past, he is certainly not “retro.” He can’t be, he says, because “The countertenor is a voice of the future.”

We want to know more. The countertenor voice? The one that is often used to sing the Ancient music of the castrati? “The sound evokes the past, but it’s a modern voice type. It really came back en vogue since the sixties. During the past eight years, I got lots of offers to sing modern music. I often have to decline, because studying requires a lot of time for preparation, and I don’t always have that.” Jaroussky participated in Only the sound remains by Kaija Saariaho, because he know she wanted him and not just the ethereal, androgynous sound of any countertenor: “When I was asked, it was also agreed that this production would be taken on tour to different cities, including Amsterdam. She wrote two scenes for me because I wanted to audition. I wanted her to get to know my voice.” In the end, Jaroussky was cast in two roles in the opera, instead of only one he was originally planned for.

Next to the modern repertoire, there are earlier works. We talk about forgotten composers: there might be a reason why they are forgotten. Bach and Händel are great geniuses, but how about lesser-known names? “Geniuses are not always the greatest innovators,” Jaroussky says. “Agostino Steffani didn’t have Händel’s genius, but he has caused big changes. Alessandro Scarlatti is also very notable. They don’t always have the big hits, but they are bolder and more prone to trying out new things than Händel.”

“Geniuses are not always the greatest innovators”

Jaroussky does a concert tour which also takes him to the Netherlands, with a sample of the works by composers we don’t hear performed often enough. The arias he came up with himself: “I research in libraries, for manuscripts of arias that I want to include in the programs and if you’re looking for something, you often end up finding something even better. You read the sheet music of an aria, you turn the page, and there is suddenly a much more interesting piece.” This involves contemporaries of Bach and Händel as well as composers of an earlier time. “There are composers like Jomelli and Traetta that are yet to be discovered. I also like the era of early Baroque a lot; for example, many operas by Cavalli are being staged. His Ercole amante in Amsterdam was set in scene both modern and Baroque.” That’s meant as a compliment, because Jaroussky is fascinated by the combination of contemporary and historic. This is partly because our modern era allowed the sound of the old music to return in its full glory. “Cavalli has many recitativos: It is really dramatic. And think of Niobe by Steffani: A beautiful opera with da capo arias, dances, and comic relief characters. We now don’t only have the voices, but the orchestras as well, and that’s very important. Producing an opera like Vinci’s Artaserse wouldn’t have been possible without the virtuosity and the lightness of the modern Baroque orchestras. With the recording, we set out to prove that not all countertenors have the same colour of voice. I also discovered that there often is a sad, decadent note to the music written for castrati.” Händel, for example, wrote for the castrato Carestini: the title role in Ariodante as well as the role of Ruggiero in Alcina. “Ruggiero is an anti-hero, who is under Alcina’s thumb. It fits my character more than Ariodante, who I would have liked to sing, but it just doesn’t suit me.” There will be a DVD release, directed by Katie Mitchell: “What is great is that the staging is based on the libretto as well as Orlando Furioso by Ariosto. So Alcina and Morgana are old women, pretending to be young. It is modern and Baroque at the same time.” There it is again: modern and Baroque. The combination characterizes Jaroussky as well: the sound of the past, the voice of the future.

HEIN VAN EEKERT

 

NATURAL HIGH – PHILIPPE JAROUSSKY

The term countertenor has become common knowledge. Yet there are people who yet have to get used to the sometimes apparently unnatural high male voice. For these people, there is but one advice: Listen to Philippe Jaroussky. His voice, tone, and diction are so immediate and natural [vanzelfsprekend en natuurlijk] that they only invite to be surprised and delighted to hear so much beauty. On this compilation CD with some highlights from his oeuvre, every track is a hit. Of course, the French countertenor excels in the Baroque repertoire from Monteverdi to Vivaldi, but he equally feels at home in the early classical works by Johann Christian Bach or a nineteenth-century song by Reynaldo Hahn. And of course, he is surrounded by the best musicians and ensembles such as the Ensemble Matheus and L’Arpeggiata. An introduction for less than ten euros that will prove worth at least double the price. Jaroussky lovers should just buy a few as a gift when they visit friends to bring instead of flowers. Success is guaranteed.

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2016-05-16 featured press

El Universal – Conquista Bellas Artes Philippe Jaroussky – Translation to English

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2016-05-16, El Universal, by Yanet Aguilar Sosa

El contratenor francés, considerado “el Farinelli del siglo XXI”, pisó por primera vez este recinto en Mexico

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Philippe Jaroussky conquers the Bellas Artes

The French countertenor, considered “the Farinelli of the 21st century,” first sets foot in a concert hall in Mexico

By Yanet Aguilar Sosa

Five times he reappeared on stage at the Palacio de Bellas Artes: French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky, accompanied by pianist Jérôme Ducros. Four times to interpret French songs that confirmed his great vocal quality as well as his generosity; the last time solely for saying goodbye to an audience that had risen to their feet.

That evening, the musical warmth of Jaroussky was evident during his only performance at the Palacio de Bellas Artes that the singer with the vocal range of the castrati, the most important countertenor of present times, set foot in for the first time in his life.

When he returned for the encore, the celebrated artist said he was very happy and excited to sing for the first time at the legendary concert hall in Mexico.

Four popular French pieces were Jaroussky’s gift for the audience who gave him standing ovations. There, among the people in the audience, was Mexican tenor Javier Camarena, who always praised the talent of the French countertenor of 38 years who has received numerous awards and recognition for a career that based on a voice that oscillates from refinement to modern touch.

The French singer who is considered “the Farinelli of the twenty-first century” conquered the Bellas Artes with Fine Arts with a sumptuous repertoire of the nineteenth century, with the interpretation of wide-spanning program comprising pieces by Reynaldo Hahn, Poldowski, Gabriel Fauré, Claude Debussy, Emmanuel Chabrier, Ernest Chausson, Józef Szulc, André Caplet, Arthur Honegger, Léo Ferré and Charles Trenet.

The program lasted more than two hours, focusing on melodies and French songs based on poems by Paul Verlaine. He was accompanied by the famous pianist Jérôme Ducros, who also performed four solo pieces.

Visibly excited and happy, the singer sang encores that were equally celebrated by the audience. Roberto Ángulo said at the end of the concert: “How generous he is. Others would just have said ‘I am singing my program and that’s it.’”

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2016-04-15 featured press

NDR – Artist in Residence: Philippe Jaroussky – Translation to English

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2016-04-15, NDR, interview by Marcus Stäbler

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~

Artist in Residence: Philippe Jaroussky

Part 1: Philippe Jaroussky about Thomas Hengelbrock and the Elbphilharmonie

Caption: Born in 1978, countertenor Philippe Jaroussky has been awarded the ECHO Klassik multiple times.

He is one of the superstars among the countertenors of our times: Philippe Jaroussky. In the season of 2016/2017, the Frenchman is Artist In Residence with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester. Marcus Stäbler met him for an interview.

Mr. Jaroussky, during the new season you are going to be artist in residence with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester. How does it feel to be able to establish a somewhat closer relationship with an orchestra and an audience?

Philippe Jaroussky: I am very happy. I feel I am being loved a lot in Germany in recent years (laughs). And I am looking forward to get to know Thomas Hengelbrock, whom I haven’t yet worked with.

If you only know the chief conductor of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester from a distance – what kind of impression do you have of him, and what do you expect from the collaboration?

Jaroussky: I know his recordings and I like them a lot. He has a very diverse repertoire and conducts a lot of different things. What is interesting is that we are both share a passion for Agostino Steffani, a baroque composer who is little known today. Thomas Hengelbrock has re-discovered Steffani’s opera “Niobe,” and I very recently recorded it with a different orchestra. Great music. I sense there’s a common curiosity about works that are rarely performed; I think that Thomas Hengelbrock and I share a certain openness in this regard. 

Quote: “I don’t want to spend my life singing the same 20 arias over and over; I want to surprise the audience as well, and take risks.” – Philippe Jaroussky

From 2017 on, the concerts of the orchestra [the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester] – among others, two programs of yours – are going to take place at the Elbphilharmonie. Because of the high costs and the delays in the construction, the new building is seen very critically, very similar to what happened to the new Philharmonie in Paris, inaugurated in 2015. Is there something we could learn from the experiences there?

Jaroussky: Many people claimed beforehand that we didn’t need another concert hall in Paris, that barely anyone would go there. That’s wrong, as we can see now. There is actually a new audience that is attracted to the Philharmonie – and I am sure the same thing is going to happen with the Elbphilharmonie. Of course, you in Hamburg had to wait too long already for the opening. However, I am sure all of the problems are going to be forgotten when it begins. I have to say that I’m a bit proud to sing at the inauguration of the Elbphilharmonie, because in Paris, I hadn’t been invited (laughs).

Part 2: “To me, it is very important to sing German repertoire as well at a residency in Germany.”

Caption: Philippe Jaroussky doesn’t want to be limited to the classical Baroque repertoire for countertenors.

Let’s talk about the concert programs of your residency. In the series NDR Das Alte Werk you devote yourself to cantatas by Bach and Telemann – what is it that you find interesting about this music?

Jaroussky: I took a little time to study German repertoire. I learned German in school, but talking and singing are two entirely different things, and the German language has an altogether different colour than French or Italian. Because of that, I was a bit afraid to try and approach Bach’s works. His music is said to be difficult for singers, in parts because it is written as if he had been writing for instruments. In the meantime, I feel quite comfortable – and I think that my voice fits, because there is something instrumental about it. Some people say I sound like a violin, after all.

Caption: Just as inseparable from the history of Hamburg like the Gänsemarkt: Georg Philipp Telemann, who had the post of “städtischer Musikdirektor” [Hanseatic Music Director] from 1721 until his death.

Anyhow, to me, it is very important to sing German repertoire as well at a residency in Germany. Moreover, I think the combination of Bach and Telemann is exciting, especially because the composers are very different. Apart from that, I’d like to sing more sacred music in the future. Of course, I still like the “light” pieces, the coloraturas, but my voice has evolved over time.

Your stylistic range mirrors this evolution. At the start of your career, you focused on baroque music, yet in the meantime, you’re at home in other periods as well. For instance, with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester you are going to perform the romantic cycle “Les nuits d’é té “ by Hector Berlioz, …

Jaroussky: … which is very well known with female mezzosopranos. But I’m not the first countertenor: David Daniels recorded the cycle, and excellently! Of course, it is a challenge. However, it is just important for a singer to follow their instinct. With Berlioz, it is not quite as easy to find a balance between me and the orchestra as it is with smaller ensembles – I am sure however that Thomas Hengelbrock will be very delicate about it. Furthermore, my voice has grown in the meantime, it has more body than it used to have.

At the opening night to the new season, titled “Une affaire française,” a contemporary piece is on the bill as well: the “Sonnets de Louise Labé,” for countertenor and orchestra, written for you by Marc-André Dalbavie in 2008. Would you like to briefly introduce the piece?

Jaroussky: It is very hypnotic music, full of emotions. The sonnets that Dalbavie chose as a libretto were written more than 450 years ago. They are written in old French, which means there are more colours than in modern French.

When I first saw the sheet music, I was surprised, because it didn’t appear very “modern” at all, as you would expect from a contemporary composer. I perform it quite regularly, about one or two times a year, and it is really a success with the listeners. The colourful orchestration sounds very French, and there are quite a few subtle interactions between the voice and the instruments.

Part 3: Jaroussky about the occupational image of a countertenor, reactions and emotions

Caption: He used to try to persuade people: nowadays, countertenor Philippe Jaroussky wants to kindle strong emotions.

Countertenors being not limited only to Baroque and Classical but also singing Romantic, Impressionist, and contemporary pieces is a relatively new phenomenon. Has the job description changed during the last years?

Jaroussky: Yes, absolutely. People used to think that countertenor voices were very limited regarding their capabilities. However, the image is changing a lot. When I watch videos on YouTube or listen to CDs, I experience a new generation with incredible voices. It has become much easier to find high countertenors; this used to be altogether different. Maybe we will have a countertenor soon who sings the Queen of the Night, who knows?

A few decades ago, men who sang with high voices were considered quite exotic and, as a result, were sometimes met with supercilious glances. How is it nowadays; are countertenors a part of everyday life, or do you still occasionally get some strange reactions?

Jaroussky: I would say it has become normal. However, there are still people who are going to a concert and don’t know what they are in for. A few years ago, a girl in a church had to laugh out loud the moment I started to sing (laughs). She simply wasn’t prepared for what she heard. Actually, I don’t think it’s a bad thing when we trigger a reaction. Some people love countertenors and rave about angelic voices, others veritably hate it. At the beginning, I wanted to convince everyone. Nowadays, I think this isn’t my job. Emotions are a lot more important. If there are three or four moments of strong emotions during the two hours of a concert, it’s worth something.

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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

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2016-03-18, Volkskrant, by Biëlla Luttmer

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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.

 

 

2016-03-17 featured press

Die Welt – Können Sie dieser Engelsstimme widerstehen? – Translation to English

by by countryby languageby source typeby typeby workconcert reviewgermangermanynewspaperOnly The Sound Remainstranslated into englishwebsite

2016-03-17, Die Welt, by Manuel Brug

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~

Culture – Philippe Jaroussky

Can you resist this angel’s voice?

Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho composed two Japanese operas, tailor-made for the French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky. In Amsterdam now, he let them float.

[caption:] Definitely erotic undertones: Davone Tines, Philippe Jaroussky and Nora Kimball-Mentzos [translator’s note: names corrected] in “Feather Mantle”

Photo: Ruth Walz

The seventh sex. Naturally, its home being the world of singing and opera, with its more than 400 years of gender experimenting fun. After all, there have always been at least six instead of two or three music-theatrical varieties: soprano, mezzo, alto, tenor, baritone, bass.

In addition to that, since the Italian beginnings of the genre, one could never be sure who was wearing the breeches; after all, the play with the actual as well as symbolic guise continued to kindle the sensual desire of mankind. In summary, on stage the guys sometimes were women, whereas in church, angels sang who used to be guys – the castrati.

Since at least a century ago, the latter have been replaced – for humanitarian reasons – by countertenors. However, it has been a long journey until they their emancipation as popular stars. They have been stars in their own right for quite a while now, fitting a zeitgeist that likes to actively toy with gender and role models alike.

No opera house of distinction wants to go without a countertenor

There is hardly any baroque festival without an obligatory summit of countertenors, no opera house of distinction that wants to go without them. And even if – as it just happened in Vienna – based on concerns for suitability of the repertoire, the three countertenor-sisters in Péter Eötvös’ adaptation of Chekhov, “Tri sestri” are sung by women, there is yet another countertenor in the production providing a contrast. Moreover, at the most recent important world premiere at the same house, Aribert Reimann’s “Medea,” the important role of Kalchas was equally composed for a very high male voice.

Countertenor Philippe Jaroussky is reporting back in

Max Emanuel Cencic sang the part in 2010. In the meantime he has evolved from being a mere vocal star to a stage director, producer and agent in personal union as well – another expansion of borders. Maybe countertenors have become a normality. However, they continue to be marveled at more than other singers. And, in addition to that, to a growing extent, countertenors are being used in modern music. Contemporary composers quickly came to appreciate the spherical, pure, but also the extremely expressive qualities of these voices very quickly. Thus, this field is crowded with the most famous of the industry as well, not only with those whose voices won’t allow anything else.

At the English National Opera, the American Anthony Ross Costanzo, a darling of the Metropolitan opera, is triumphing in the title role of “Aknathen.” Right before, during this season, the 33-year old has been vitally contributing to two American opera novelties: as the stage manager – hectic as well as sensitive – in Jake Heggie’s comical backstage drama “Great Scott,” and as the enthusiastically singing terrorist Cesar in the hostage drama “Bel Canto” by Jimmy López.

Frenchman with an ethereal voice as clear as a bell

In that light, the Egyptian anarchic pharao Echnaton from Philip Glass’ opera, premiered 1984 in Stuttgart, is already a countertenor part of recent music theater history, just like Britten’s Oberon in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” and Apollo in his “Death in Venice” (1973). Or like Aribert Reimann’s evil bastard Edgar in “Lear” from 1978. Reimann’s next world premiere, planned for 2017 at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, after three one act pieces by Maurice Maeterlinck, is going to contain important tasks for countertenors as well.

Another countertenor – ardently admired by his fans – likes to emit his vocal art in contemporary music: the Frenchman Philippe Jaroussky, with an ethereal voice as clear as a bell. “The same way as I am devoting myself to the repertoire of French songs, I am trying, at least once a year, to schedule a performance of the orchestral song cycle, ‘Sonnets de Louise Labé’ that was composed for me,” he says. This season, he did this with sustained success at the Musikfest Berlin; before that, at the Salzburg Festival. Even an opera – up to now only having been performed concertante – was created for him: “Caravaggio” by Suzanne Giraud.

[caption:] Signs and sounds: Philippe Jaroussky in “Always Strong”

Following now in Amsterdam – as the opening event of the new “Opera Forward” festival of the Dutch National Opera, co-produced by the theatres in Helsinki, Paris, Lyon, Madrid, and Toronto – are the Jaroussky operas number two and three. Which are two almost one-hour one-act pieces by Kaija Saariaho, separate, but connected by more than just the title “Only The Sound remains.” It is the fourth opera project by the Finnish composer who is in high demand because she continues to be loyal to beautiful sounds indeed, who instantly became known with her first opera, “L’Amour de Loin” at the Salzburg Festival.

The Finnish zither in Japanese drama

Once again, just as in her former project, Peter Sellars is her director as well as giver of ideas. Together, they came up with two equally delicate as well as ephemeral texts from Nô theater plays in the adaption of Ezra Pound and Ernest Fenellosa. And because the shy and modest Saariaho thinks it is “completely pretentious” to try and compose in a Japanese idiom, naturally, she has been looking for an atmospheric equivalent.

On one hand, she found it in the use of the Finnish zither Kantele (played by Elja Krankaanrata), as a whispering, chirping, sometimes even shrill solo part in the already transparent fabric of sound she was weaving for the Dudok string quartet, the flutist Camilla Hoitenga (playing multiple instruments), and Niek KleinJan in charge of the percussion of manageable complexity.

On the other hand, Philippe Jaroussky became Saariaho’s male muse. In “Always Strong,” he embodies the spirit of a warrior fallen in battle whose lute a priest now wants to sacrifice to the gods. In “Feather Mantle” he is a Tennin, a kind of a Japanese version of an angel, whose lost feather mantle – without which he can’t fly – is found by a fisherman who returns it after initial refusal.

Generosity in the twilight

The airy texts are subtle and sensitive, philosophical parables about being and becoming, death and memory, generosity and gratitude. Peter Sellars stages them using his usual minimalistic sign language in the twilight, on a narrow strip of the stage before a black, white and grey prospect by the painter Julie Mehretu. Nothing much happens; it is all atmosphere and suggestion, collected like [droplets] in a tub by Saariaho’s sensitivity for sound, sprawling in what is almost a voluptuous way.

[caption:] The fight for the mantle: Davone TInes and Nora Kimball-Mentzos
Photo: Ruth Walz

Her small orchestra – flowingly and dynamically conducted by André de Ridder – is completed by a vocal quartet placed in the orchestra pit and is amplified, as well as electronically manipulated. This results in the music wafting, waving and surging across the room, in luminous richness and structural transparency, calm and clear in the first, entirely contemplative piece, slightly more lively and with more contrasting elements in the second piece that was composed first, which unfortunately doesn’t succeed in finding a proper ending – or rather, it finds too many.

Disturbing eroticising undertones

Remorseless revelling in pure decency. At least, Peter Sellars is adding a few disturbing eroticising undertones to the two operatic haikus in a gold frame, by developing some noticeable sensual desire between the two rivals, Jaroussky and the visually as well as vocally splendid baritone Davone Tines. In the second piece, this effect is mitigated by Nora Kimball-Mentzos, majestically interrupting with her dance.

But really, why shouldn’t angels and ghosts have any gender? After all, the occasionally still irritating voice of the countertenors heralds exactly this paradox. Someone might sound like an innocent child – yet be a real man. Of whom not just the sound remains.

 

2016-03-16_05 featured press

Süddeutsche Zeitung – Alles schwebt – Translation to English

by by countryby languageby source typeby typeby workconcert reviewgermangermanynewspaperOnly The Sound Remainstranslated into englishwebsite

2016-03-16, Süddeutsche Zeitung, by Reinhard J. Brembeck

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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]

Everything floats

[*translator’s note: In German, the headline reminds of “Alles fließt” – Panta rhei]

In Amsterdam, Peter Sellars stages the new opera by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, with the exceptional countertenor Philippe Jaroussky as an angel.

By Reinhard J. Brembeck

No matter how ludicrous the sequences of notes he conjures, seemingly without any effort, no matter how easily he climbs the greatest heights: the man as well as his voice persistently seem just slightly absent, not completely involved. Philippe Jaroussky is the noblest and the most unusual among the countertenors, one who constantly seems to observe his own actions and, as a result, never completely immerses himself into his music. Due to this quality, both the performances as well as the recordings of this exceptional musician tend to have the allure of an alien. At all times, Jaroussky evokes the impression of a spirit of the air whose true intentions the audience can only guess.

Up to now, no one understood and knew how to use this enchanting idiosyncrasy better than Kaija Saariaho, the composer born in Finnland, and living in Paris. The triumph of her Troubadour opera “L’Amour de loin” made her famous – a piece drenched with esoteric love and longing, performed at the Salzburg Festival. Even back then, she was already joined by Peter Sellars, the director famous for his existentialistic deep-drilling, a kindred spirit of the composer’s. After all, both are on a constant quest, a search for deeper meaning in art, which according to them, can only be captured by musical theatre.

It was Sellars who suggested two adaptations of classical Japanese Nôh-Plays by Ezra Pounds as operatic material to Saariaho, the same pieces he now staged at the world premiere in Amsterdam. The result is “Only the sound remains” – a ponderously calm evening of two and a half hours, surrounded by an air of austere magic – which is also going to be shown in Madrid, Helsinki, Paris, and Toronto.

Nothing here is connected to the earth, everything is weightless

In both pieces, Jaroussky is an apparition from beyond, once the spirit of a field commander and virtuoso lute player, the other time a tennin, an angel. There the singer whose fame was founded by Baroque virtuosic pieces is in his element to such an extent that it is hard to believe he has ever done anything else. The strange air of his appearance is perfect for either of the two roles, both transporting the same message in two different ways: the biggest proof for a world beyond the visible is music, and dance. Whether it is people, female composers, memories, … “Only the sound remains.”

Peter Sellars had Julie Mehretu decorate the forestage with a large, abstract painting reminiscent of Asian calligraphy. The painting, a bench, and a few spotlights suffice as props and setting. Saariaho goes about it equally sparsely. In the orchestra pit, there are only a string, respectively a vocal quartet, a flute player, a percussionist and Eija Kankaanranta, playing a Finnish zither. Under the baton of the conductor, André de Ridder, the ensemble frequently renders an almost orchestral sound, most often austerely stretched and evoking associations with Greek tragedy rather than Japanese music. Saariaho loves to write stretched, gloomy sounds from beyond, the underworld, the realm of ghosts. Nothing here is connected to the earth; everything is weightless, everything floats.

In both of the pieces, Davone Tines is Jaroussky’s counterpart. His elegant bass-baritone is the earthly counterpart to Jaroussky’s elysian countertenor voice. During the necromancy “Tsunemasa,” the two men find each other, the spirit and the priest paying homage to him. Concisely, Sellars explores and exposes the erotic subtext of the piece. In “Hagoromo,” the relationships are more sophisticated. A fisherman nicks a Tennin’s feathered dress, only willing to render it in exchange for a heavenly dance. Dancer Nora Kimball-Mentzos, all a tranquil flutter, breaks the idyll of the two men with her sparse dancing steps, set to music by Saariaho with a very stylized Allemande, clearly contrasting with the wounding sound-continuum, acting as a surprisingly consistent finale. Instantly, the audience rises from their seats, applauding enthusiastically, but after only two curtain calls already, it’s over.