PREVIEW: The flag is up for Cal Phil at Santa Anita

By Robert D. Thomas

Music Critic

Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily
News

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California Philharmonic;
Victor Vener, music director

Opening concerts: June 30 at 8 p.m. at Santa Anita Park;
Arcadia

(see directions at bottom of story)

July 1 at 2 p.m. at Walt Disney Concert Hall (preconcert
lecture at 1 p.m.)

Tickets: $25-$98 (Santa Anita); $25-$100 (Disney Hall)

Information: www.calphil.org

 

60964-BackstretchWEB.jpg

Views from the seating area for Cal Phil concerts in the
infield of Santa Anita Park will include the main racing track and the turf
course, with the San Gabriel Mountains looming in the background.

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For 78 years, Santa Anita Racetrack in Arcadia has achieved
an iconic status in the world of horse racing. Although that hasn’t changed
(Santa Anita will again host the Breeders Cup World Championships Nov. 2-3),
the race track will open a new chapter in its storied legacy when the
California Philharmonic Orchestra unveils its “Festival on the Green” outdoor
music season on the race track infield Saturday at 8 p.m.

 

Music Director Victor Vener will lead the orchestra,
vocalist Vanessa Carlton and 60 members of the USC Marching Band in the
concert. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. The concert repeats Sunday at 2 p.m.
in Walt Disney Concert Hall. The programs will be the usual Cal Phil mixture of
popular and classical fare and Vener’s between-works repartee; the concluding
work will be Respighi’s Pines of Rome, with
the USC Marching Band supplying the offstage brass fanfares in the concluding
movement.

 

The new Santa Anita venue came about after the Los Angeles
County Arboretum switched orchestras from the Cal to the Pasadena Pops
beginning this year. Santa Anita Racetrack had been a Cal Phil sponsor for many
years and jumped at the chance to add a major attraction for the track, which
has no racing in the summertime.

 

60965-Cal Phil ShellWEB.jpg

The new seating area for California Philharmonic concerts at
Santa Anita Racetrack is several feet below stage level.

 

Santa Anita management spent several hundred thousand
dollars excavating a large rectangle inside the actual racing oval creating a
performing space that matches the size of the Great Lawn at the Arboretum. Most
of the 5,000 patrons will sit at round tables or on backed benches that are
below the stage level, while a raised burm at the back will give those who
bring blankets clear sightlines to the stage.

 

In addition, the park built a permanent concrete slab at the
west end of the performance area for the Cal Phil’s shell, speakers and (new
this year) video screens. There are also barbecue pits and a large children’s
play area with pony rides and a musical instrument petting zoo. “We wanted to
make this a truly unique family entertainment venue,” says Vener, “in addition
to having a wonderful performance space.”

 

Among the notable amenities are 5,000 striped parking
places, three full bars (including liquor), permanent restrooms, and a large
number of food options, including those run by Santa Anita along with longtime
Cal Phil supporters Robin’s Restaurant and the Dog Haus.

 

The venue also provides panoramic views of the nearby San
Gabriel Mountains and the track itself (Gate 6 is near the entrance to the
start of the track’s El Camino Real turf course, often used during race
season). Moreover, unless they migrate over, the Cal Phil will no longer have
to contend with the Arboretum’s peacocks.

 

The season continues with concerts on July 14 at Santa Anita
and 15 at Disney Hall, July 28 and 29, August 11 and 12 and August 25 and 26.

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DIRECTIONS TO CAL
PHIL’S PERFORMING SPACE AT SANTA ANITA RACETRACK

 

60966-Santa Anita Map.jpg

The Cal Phil concerts will take place not in the grandstand
but rather in the infield area of the racetrack. Parking is through gate 6,
which is on the northeast side of the track. From the 210 Freeway going east,
exit at Baldwin Ave. Turn right, then make a quick right turn and loop back to
Colorado St. Turn right and continue east, bearing right at Colorado Place to
the gate. From the 210 Freeway heading west, exit at Santa Anita Ave; head
south and turn right on Colorado St. Turn left on Colorado Place and proceed to
the gate. From the south, follow W. Huntington Drive to Colorado Place. Turn
left and continue to Gate 6.

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(c) Copyright 2012, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved.
Portions may be quoted with attribution.

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AROUND TOWN/MUSIC: Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers to perform today at Pasadena Presbyterian Church

By Robert D. Thomas

Music Critic

Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily
News

This article was first
published today in the above papers.

 

While local summer seasons get underway, a couple of
individual concerts are worth noting.

 

Albert McNeil Singers
perform this afternoon in Pasadena

The Albert
McNeil Jubilee Singers of Los Angeles, one of the world’s great choral
ensembles specializing in the genre of what we used to call Negro spirituals,
will perform today at 4 p.m. at Pasadena Presbyterian Church in the Playhouse
District of downtown Pasadena. The concert is free of admission charge,
although an offering will be taken.

 

Although Spirituals have a history that is centuries old,
the arranged spiritual became known in the winter of 1870 when a group of 11
singers — seven women and four men — representing the newly-established Fisk
University in Nashville appeared at the Court of St. James in London. Queen
Victoria’s immediate acceptance helped this a cappella, four-part singing by an
ensemble of students to become known worldwide as a creative religious music
evoking a deep sense of personal spiritual fervor.

 

Since it was founded in 1968, the AMJS has performed 18
sold-out European tours, 12 tours of the United States and Canada, and tours of
the Middle and Far East, Africa and South America. Now an active 92, McNeil has
been the group’s leader since it was founded.

 

Information: 818/209-4635;
www.ppc.net

 

Carmen meets Glee

In a completely different vein, Opera Posse is setting
Bizet’s famous opera, Carmen, in an
American high school and calling it (what else) Carmen High. Think of it as Carmen
meets Glee. The production lands at
the Japan America Theatre in Little Tokyo on Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m.

 

“With Carmen High,
we’ve taken Bizet’s opera and recast it as a high school drama rife with issues
that are current to the real high school experience,” explains Stephanie
Vlahos, founder and artistic director of Opera Posse. “Peer pressure, bullying,
teen pregnancy, violence and what happens to those who are marginalized — all
are incorporated into the opera. But, at the same time, we remain true to
Bizet’s music and concept.”

 

Vlahos — a mezzo-soprano who has sung in a number of
productions with LA Opera and is currently theater coach and stage director for
that company’s Domingo-Thornton Young Artists Program — will direct this
production, which will feature high school and college students in the cast.

 

Information:
626/428-5609; www.operaposse.com

 

Cal Phil to unveil
new home at Santa Anita Racetrack

In the summer season category, the flag is up for Victor
Vener and the California Philharmonic, which will open their inaugural outdoor
season at Santa Anita Racetrack on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and their indoor
season next Sunday at 2 p.m. in Walt Disney Concert Hall.

 

Information:
626/300-8200; www.calphil.org

_______________________

 

(c) Copyright 2012, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved.
Portions may be quoted with attribution.

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OVERNIGHT REVIEW: Pasadena Pops opens new season at L.A. County Arboretum

By Robert D. Thomas

Music Critic

Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily
News

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Pasadena Pops
Orchestra; Marvin Hamlisch, conductor

Saturday, June 16, 2012 Los Angeles County Arboretum,
Arcadia

Next performance: July 21 at 7:30 p.m.

Information: www.pasadenasymphony-pops.org

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Celebrations and colonoscopies (yes, you read that right)
were two of the threads that showed up in the Pasadena Pops concert Saturday
night at the Los Angeles County Arboretum in Arcadia. It was the inaugural
concert in the orchestra’s 25th season and the first in its new
home: the Great Lawn of the Arboretum.

 

It’s been quite a journey for the Pops, which for much of
its career was at Descanso Gardens in La Caada before shifting to a lawn
adjacent to the Rose Bowl two years ago. When the Arboretum decided to revisit
its 14-year-relationship with the California Philharmonic 18 months ago, the
Pops beat out the Cal Phil for the right to camp in the Arboretum for the next
three summers (the Cal Phil subsequently shifted to Santa Anita Racetrack,
where it opens June 30).

 

In many ways Saturday night seemed like a slightly upgraded
version of Cal Phil concerts at the Arboretum. The portable rest rooms were
fancier, four food trucks were added to the collection of eateries for those
who didn’t bring a picnic, and the lighting on the path for those walking south
through the gardens after the concert was brighter.

 

Most importantly, the Pops added video screens on each side
of the stage and shell and the crispness of the screens was a major upgrade
from last year at the Rose Bowl. The sound was quite good for an outdoor
concert even in the farthest reaches of the lawn seating (however, bring
binoculars if you’re parking yourself there). The orchestra played stylishly
throughout the evening.

 

The program, conducted by Principal Pops Conductor Marvin
Hamlisch, was a mixed bag. On the plus side was a sparkling set after
intermission by vocalist Lucie Arnaz (daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz)
who danced and sang her way deftly through a medley of tunes.

 

Arnaz then joined with Robert Klein for portions of the
musical They’re Playing Our Song,
which opened at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles in 1978. With a book by
Neil Simon, lyrics by Carol Bayer Sager and music by Hamlisch, this two-person
show starred Arnaz and Klein when it opened on Broadway in 1979 where it ran
for 1, 082 performances. The Broadway production was nominated for four Tonys
(1979 was the year when “Sweeney Todd” cleaned up) and five Drama Desk Awards.
Arnaz won the Theater World Award for what was her Broadway debut.

 

In some ways, Arnaz (at a very youthful age 60) and Klein
(now 70) might have been more believable than when the musical first opened.
They gave a witty, poignant performance Saturday night with Hamlisch providing
some background of the story. As it did all evening, the orchestra performed
stylishly.

 

Whether you liked Klein’s first-half set of shtick and song
— which began with a song about “Colonoscopies” and ended with one about
“Viagra” — was clearly a matter of taste. Many laughed uproariously at the
somewhat crude humor, which, as one person noted, contained every hoary stereotype
about old age. Others (including this critic) wondered whether humor conceived
for a nightclub was appropriate for a family oriented concert at the Arboretum.

_______________________

 

(c) Copyright 2012, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved.
Portions may be quoted with attribution.

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OVERNIGHT REVIEW: L.A. Phil presents world premiere of John Adams’ oratorio “The Gospel According to the Other Mary”

By Robert D. Thomas

Music Critic

Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily
News

______________________

 

Los Angeles
Philharmonic; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor

John Adams: The Gospel
According to the Other Mary

Friday, June 1, 2012 Walt Disney Concert Hall

Next performances: Today and tomorrow at 2 p.m.

Information: www.laphil.com

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At age 65, John Adams is at the stage of his compositional
life where he thinks big … very big. In 2000, Adams and Peter Sellars — with
whom he has collaborated as librettist and stage director for 28 years —
created El Nio, a staged oratorio
based on the nativity of Jesus and inspired by Handel’s Messiah. Now Adams and Sellars have turned to the end of the life
of Christ for what is, in effect, the bookend to El Nio. This weekend at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Los Angeles
Philharmonic, Los Angeles Master Chorale and six soloists — all under the
baton of Gustavo Dudamel — are presenting the world premiere of The Gospel According to the Other Mary, a
work inspired, in part, by the Passions
of Johann Sebastian Bach.

 

This is a very important work, stunningly performed by all
forces last night. It’s also very long — almost exactly three hours from
downbeat to conclusion — and it’s just in its embryonic form. Next March,
Sellars will direct a staged version of the oratorio first in Los Angeles and
then on tour in London, Lucerne, Paris, and New York City. Adams was reportedly
very late in delivering the score to the Phil; with 10 more months and four
performances to evaluate, it’s interesting to speculate how — or if — Adams and
Sellars will make changes prior to next spring.

 

In the preconcert lecture, Sellars explained that The Gospel According to the Other Mary
is a Passion story framed by two resurrections. It begins with the story of
Jesus raising Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, a week before the events
that would lead to the Last Supper with Jesus’ disciples. The oratorio
continues with Jesus’ crucifixion and — unlike Bach — concludes with Jesus’
resurrection.

 

The title of the work refers to Mary Magdalene, which
theologically presents problems. Most scholars do not believe that Mary
Magdalene is the Mary mentioned in the story of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:
38-42) nor in the episode of the raising of Lazarus (John 1: 1-44). There were
probably several women named Mary who were part of Jesus’ entourage, of whom
Mary Magdalene was certainly one of the most prominent. She provided financial
support to Jesus, traveled with him, was at the foot of the cross when Jesus
was crucified, was present at his burial and was one of the first people to arrive
at the tomb on Easter morning and discover Jesus had risen.

 

However, from oratorio’s perspective, the decision by Adams
and Sellars to conflate Mary Magdalene with Mary of Bethany makes stylistic
sense as does the decision to use Lazarus during the second act in the role
that Bach assigned to the Evangelist, or storyteller, in his Passions. Both decisions simplified the
libretto and having Mary as a tortured soul provided the bridge to the decision
to create the work in multiple layers.

 

In addition to the “traditional” Passion story, Adams and
Sellars set three of the “scenes” in contemporary times, beginning Act I with
what they called a “jailhouse of hospitality” and inserting two scenes into Act
II set amid the Csar Chavez-led farm work protests in the Salinas Valley. As
Adams noted before the concert, Jesus was often surrounded by the very poor and
hopeless, “those who we may give a buck or two on the street and then expect
someone else will solve the problem” as Sellars said, and those upon whose backs
governments try to balance today’s budgets, added Adams.

 

In addition to Old and New Testament sources, Sellars used
texts from American social activist Dorothy Day, novelist and poet Louise
Erdrich, Mexican poet Rosario Castellanos, and 12th century mystic
and abbess Hildegard of Bingen and others to create the multiple “planes” of
the libretto.

 

Whether these “planes” added significantly to the overall
effect can’t be fully appreciated on a single hearing. For Christians, the
Passion story may have been enough; for non-Christians, the other stories may
have been crucial. I didn’t think that Adams’ best writing came in the
non-Biblical sections and, as the person who accompanied me noted, we wondered
whether the context of these contemporary scenes will make as much sense in
Europe or even New York as they do in California.

 

Except for a typically large percussion section (but no
timpani), Adams scored the work for a modest-sized orchestra, which was a good
thing because even with reduced forces, the Phil musicians occasionally swamped
the soloists. Among the instruments were a cimbalon, an ancient Hungarian
stringed instrument, and a bass guitar.

 

There were several riveting orchestral sections, including
the death of Lazarus, Jesus’ three days in the tomb, and dawn breaking on
Resurrection morning. Especially considering how little time the Phil had to
prepare this complex work, the orchestra sounded remarkably cohesive and played
formidably and Dudamel (who used a score) seemed to grow in confidence as the
performance progressed.

 

Ultimately, however, this piece soared on its vocalists,
beginning with 48 members of the Los Angeles Master Chorale, which sang with
rhythmic precision, delivered impressive diction (the projected supertitles
often weren’t necessary when the Chorale was singing), and was mesmerizingly
ferocious in the Golgatha mob scene.

 

The soloists were exemplary, particularly because Adams
pushed the extremes of each singer’s vocal range. Adams wrote the role of Mary
Magdalene for mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor and she brought a riveting,
luminous performance to the complex role that included manic mood swings from
morbid anger to compassion. Contralto Tamara Mumford’s rich tone was perfectly
cast for the role of Martha, and tenor Russell Thomas sang the role of Lazarus
with explosive fervor.

 

The person of Jesus never actually appears in the oratorio;
instead his lines are apportioned among the chorus, soloist and — in particular
— a trio of counter tenors (Daniel Bubeck, Brian Cummings and Nathan Medley)
who often intoned their lines together in close but not displeasing harmonies.

 

Reports are that the original commission called for a
90-minute piece; last night’s performance ran 149. Somewhere in between the two
might have made for a tighter, more focused piece. Nonetheless, it’s too bad
that so many people bailed at intermission  (somewhere between one-quarter and one-third of the audience
by my admittedly unscientific count). If you’re coming this afternoon or
tomorrow, be forewarned about the length but do stay to the end for what is
clearly a major 21st century work.  It will be fascinating to see how the staged version looks
and sounds, but for now this is something special in its own right.

_______________________

 

Hemidemisemiquavers:

The preconcert lecture, with Adams and Sellars conversing
with Chad Smith, the Phil’s vice president of artistic planning, provided
plenty of background on the process of constructing The Gospel According to the Other Mary. It also included a hilarious
metaphor for the collaborative process; I won’t spoil the fun in this post but
if it doesn’t appear in either today’s or tomorrow’s lecture, email me and I’ll
pass it along.

The Phil helpfully provided both printed texts and
projected supertitles. Although Thomas May’s program notes did outline how the
non-Biblical sources were used, it would have been helpful for those reading
the insert in the hall or later at home to have the sources identified as they
appeared.

The singers appeared to be wearing body mics and there
were speakers set up on both sides of the stage but I didn’t sense any
significant reinforcement, which I suppose it a good thing.

The orchestra and Dudamel were dressed in all black with
no coats for the men, similar to what they wore for Don Giovanni.

_______________________

 

(c) Copyright 2012, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved.
Portions may be quoted with attribution.

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