Friday, January 19, 2007

Jan. 22 Support El Centro Su Teatro, receive theater tix

I received this notice through a Denver actors Yahoo group:
El Centro Su Teatro has been working to acquire the property at 215 S. Santa Fe Drive. The first step in this process is to receive a loan from the city. The last several months have been a long process, but finally congratulations are in order as Su Teatro's loan has passed two phases of the review process and is ready to go to City Council. Thank all of you who have been so supportive.

Now, we are asking everyone for your help to let the Denver City Council know that we have your support. All you need to do is show up, the more the better. As an added incentive all who attend will receive free tickets to I Don't Have to Show You No Stinking Badge good any Thursday night from February 15th -March 24th at El Centro Su Teatro at 4725 High.

El Centro Su Teatro Staff and Board
Support Su Teatro on Santa Fe Drive
Denver City Council meeting
Monday January 22, 2007 5:30 PM
Denver City & County Building

So, exercise your right to free assembly, support a Denver theater that does great work, and receive free theater tix! Not a bad deal at all.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

recap of Jan. 12 Thomas Hampson master class

There's a part of me that really wants to title this post "Why Thomas Hampson Is My New Boyfriend." But I'll refrain from such schoolgirlish claims and try to be a grown-up (even though he really is my new boyfriend).

First of all, mad props to my supervisor who, when told on Thursday afternoon of the master class, said, "Oh, well you have to go," and I don't think she even follows classical music (nor do I think she knows about this blog, unless she's secretly tracking my internet history, in which case -- 'sup?). So I did end up taking Friday off, one of the best decisions I made all week.

When I walked into the recital hall at CU at 12:45, my first and recurring thought was, "I can't believe this place isn't already packed." And although more people came in before the class began, I still don't think there were more than 150 people in attendance: students (although certainly not every student in the CU voice program), faculty, a contingent of Ladies Who Lunch who were probably attending every MahlerFest event, and scattered "independents" like me. Mr. Hampson unassumingly entered the hall from the back of the house to no ovation, though he was greeted by long and enthusiastic applause after being introduced that he good-naturedly cut off with a gesture. We, being the good little musicians that we are, obliged subito.

I'm trying really hard to be mature as I write about this, but the giddy voice student in me is waving her hand for attention like Horshack on Red Bull and just needs to say this: Thomas Hampson is so my new boyfriend. OK, girl, just shake it off.

I was hoping that he'd open the master class with a solo of his own, much like my alma mater's most famous alumna did at the master class she gave when I was still a student (after the applause died down, she just said, "Next!" with a gleam in her eye only a spinto would dare). Alas, he didn't sing, only spoke. Well, that's not exactly true, since he sang along with some students or offered up a phrase here or there to illustrate a point.

But what a speaker he is. A couple of times he said, Don't get me started on the Kindertotenlieder or I'll be here all week. To which my response is, Just name the date and I'll be there. Thomas Hampson posesses all of the qualities a modern American opera singer should have. He carries himself as the trained stage actor he is while being completely accessible and bien dans sa peau. He can swoon when describing the poety in one measure of Mahler's orchestrations one minute and later coach the pianist to bring out more inner harmonies because "that's where the sex is." He can go off on a tangent by saying, "I'm sorry, but this currently accepted interpretation we have of 'Ich grolle nicht' is bullshit!" and go on to explain why without feeling he has to apologize for either assuming that everyone in the room is familiar with the song or for the vulgarity. (He had warned us early on that he has the mouth of a sailor at times, yet another reason he's my... well, you know.) Put together with his intelligence, good looks, and beautiful instrument, he is quite simply the Complete Package.

But what about the class, you ask? Well, there is no way that I can adequately relate all that happened or was said, so rather than continue in paragraph form, I'm switching to bullet copy, roughly organized according to the song under discussion. (All songs composed by Mahler, natch, and all singers and pianists were CU students.)

1. Erinnerung sung by a 20-year-old baritone

  • The text is about love's torment, but the kind that "hurts so good." Made me reflect on the fact that as a 20-year-old, I would've just nodded my head if asked, "Do you know what I mean when I say that?" but wouldn't have really known what I was talking about. Let's just say that 10 or 15 (or more) years later, I have gained new insight. Some songs just weren't meant for the young 'uns.
  • The pianist's job is to play the heartbeat in the music, not to accompany the singer.
  • Hear the phrase before you sing or play it, then make audible what you hear.
  • Think upbow with the phrase, not downbow, both in terms of how you're using your body and how you're breathing.

2. Liebst du um Schonheit sung by a 24-year-old baritone

  • To Hampson, this singer seemed to be getting wrapped up in the meaning of the text almost too much, and warned him against making it too personal, which pushes the audience away. Bring the audience to you instead. Our job is not to re-live emotion, but to re-create it for the audience. It reminded me some of the little bit of the Meisner acting technique that I've studied, in which your first job is to stay constantly in the moment with your partner and not get wrapped up in your own emotion. (You might describe Meisner as the "anti-Method.")
  • Hampson had this singer work with his physicality through the use of gestures ("pretend you're an alte rebbe with your hands") and through taking steps backward while singing. The point of stepping backward is that it forces you to center and balance your spine, bringing everything else into alignment, and counters the tendency to hunch forward. Hampson's understanding of what he called Anatomy 101 and its impact on singing was on full display. He contends that "there's nothing 'relaxed' in singing, least of all the jaw."
  • "When I need more energy or I need help, I move backward."

3. Nun will die Sonn' so hell aufgen sung by a 35-year-old baritone, an age Hampson called "the birth of a baritone's life"

  • Here beginneth the Kindertotenlieder lecture series, for which Hampson apologized to the singer for taking up so much of his stage time by talking. But trust me, the audience was eating it up with a spoon.
  • To the pianist: "Try not to be musical... play it as polyphony... make it more ambivalent." Hampson's point was that nature is ambivalent, nature doesn't care about humans but that we project emotion onto nature. But the sun rises each day regardless of the death of children, and the pianist must reflect that ambivalence of nature and not get too musical (read: emotional).
  • To the singer: "You don't have the right to question the mysteries (of life), but you do have the right to understand them."
  • "Profound things may be slow, but very rarely are slow things profound... Don't be slow."

4. Das irdische Leben sung by a 22-year-old mezzo-soprano

  • Again, there was physical work with walking backward to find better balance in the body.
  • As a mezzo whose technique has never been as good as this student's, I must say that I was impressed with her. But Hampson pointed out that she may eventually find herself more comfortable in a soprano fach, as her upper range was stronger than her middle and lower. He told her, "your idea of singing is stronger than your understanding of your body," and then reprimanded everyone in the audience who thought s/he could have a professional career without working out regularly.

One overriding point made with all the singers is that we must constantly strive for a balance between the physical, the emotional (including all the components in playing a role), and the spiritual. A singer is only as good as her/his weakest moment in maintaining that balance. Which reminds me -- I better start practicing again.

Oh, and one more thing: Thomas Hampson is totally my new boyfriend.

Jan. 21 World Yoga Day at Samadhi Center

This Sunday, Samadhi Center for Yoga will celebrate World Yoga Day by hosting an all-levels vinyasa class on a donation basis to raise funds for Medica mondiale. I've barely practiced yoga all year, and I haven't been to a class since Fall 2005, so I'm very much looking forward to this event. Samadhi Center is a studio I've attended a few times, and I look forward to visiting them again. The event is described on their website about midway down this page:

On Sunday January 21st, yoga teachers and schools around the world will donate their time and space to a two-hour yoga session which is devoted to human rights. The aim is to bring as many nations as possible together on this project, especially countries where human rights violation is a more dominant issue.

Lara Catone will be leading this very special session. Every student is encouraged to donate whatever tuition they can afford in support of Medica mondiale. It is a German based organization that acts to support traumatised women and girls in war and crisis zones and views its role as that of an advocate for the rights and interests of girls and women who have survived sexualized wartime violence.

All donations must be in cash or check and made payable to Samadhi. All proceeds will be donated to Medica mondiale. Everyone is welcome to attend whether one can donate funds or not. The money is important to help the victims, but so is the spirit!

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Jan. 18-21 365 Days/365 Plays in CO Springs

According to the pdf calendar on the Curious Theatre website, this week's schedule of 365 Days/365 Plays is being performed in Colorado Springs by THEATREWORKS at UCCS. However, I can find no further information on the THEATREWORKS website.

Next week sees the return of the festival to the Denver/Boulder area.

Jan. 17 Free Day @ Denver Museum of Nature & Science

Today is an SCFD-funded day of free admission to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

2-for-1 Thursdays theater tix

Occasionally, in the search for things to do in Denver, one must actually pay for admission. Yes, it's true.* However, there is a happy medium for those of us with a little pocket money to spare: 2-for-1 Thursdays. There are a few theaters in town that offer discounted tickets on Thursdays as a way to pump up attendance on a school night, such as Curious and Theater 13. I saw I Am My Own Wife at Curious last fall in this manner, and paid half-price for my ticket at the box office since I went by myself. I thought that Shadow Theater also offered 2-for-1 Thursday tickets, but I haven't found anything on their website lately to that effect. I'll add more theaters to the list when I locate them.

UPDATE: Thrifty Thursdays at PHAMALy's Our Town Here's a SPECIAL DEAL. For Thursday performances only, YOU CAN GET 2 FULL PRICE TICKETS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE. It's true, because we want you all to be able to enjoy watching PHAMALy make its dramatic debut. Just contact the box office (303-739-1970) and ask for the Thursday PHAMALy special.

UPDATE: According to a flyer I got, El Centro Su Teatro is offering 2-for-1 Thursdays for its upcoming run of I Don't Have to Show You No Stinking Badges Feb. 15-March 24. The only thing I'm not clear on is if you have to have a flyer in hand in order to get the discount. But it's worth a call to the box office, I'm sure.

UPDATE: The Paragon Theatre offers 2-for-1 Thursday tix, but I don't know if that means solo patrons get half-price tickets or if the offer is only good for pairs. Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune opens on Feb. 10.

* Re: paying for my ticket, let me go on record as saying that I can't wait for the day that I can afford to contribute monetarily to local arts organizations. I'm not a permanent mooch, just a temporary one (I hope).

Monday, January 15, 2007

recap of Jan. 10 Broomfield: Early New Mexican Folk Songs

I attended my first free event of 2007 on Wednesday the 10th (no, I didn't make it to 365 Days/365 Plays last week as I'd planned), the first concert in the CU in Broomfield series: Early New Mexican Folk Songs presented by Brenda M. Romero. As the Chair of Musicology at CU and a native of New Mexico, Dr. Romero was able to introduce each song with some historical background and comments on the style of the music.

Despite how relatively close I live to the Broomfield Auditorium, I arrived late. My drive home from work had taken 95 minutes -- mind you, in clear, dry, accident-free conditions -- bringing my grand total for time spent in my car that day to 2 hours 45 minutes. I walked into the house ready to break something or someone; even the good radio stations sound old after that much time spent in traffic. With only minutes to go before the concert was to begin, I decided I wasn't going to let the The Man keep me down, so I quickly ate a PB&J and jumped back in my car.

I could hear an a cappella solo as I entered the auditorium, Dr. Romero's first number, "Bandita sea Diós!" She was gradually joined on stage over the course of the next couple of songs by guitarist Steve Mullins, cellist Carmen Olguín-Taylor, and violinist Alejandro Gómez-Guíllen, each of whom were given the spotlight to perform a solo at different points in the concert.

The first half of the program focused on Spanish songs that had been handed down over the centuries in New Mexico. Dr. Romero described the performance of folk songs in isolated villages essentially as a "private tradition" up until the mid-20th century, in some cases resulting in the preservation of ancient Iberian lyrics and musical forms. This fact was borne out over the weekend when I was watching a PBS program on Alan Lomax in which an old Spanish woman was filmed trying to remember all the words to "Gerineldo," a ballad that Romero also performed.

The PBS connection worked backward in time as well during Romero's comments in the second half regarding inditas. Translated as a diminutive of "Indian woman," indita is now also a term applied to a song form that developed in New Mexico around the same time as the corrido, about which I had just happened to watch a different PBS program the previous weekend. The indita is considered to be more feminine and less agressive, but still concerned mainly with serious subjects and arising out of a troubadour tradition.

Romero apologized early in the concert for her energy level, explaining that she had just returned from research in Colombia the day before and the quartet had really only that day to rehearse. They did seem to have their heads deep in their sheet music for most of the concert, which Romero attributed to their classical approach and which was most notable by its absence in moments when they relied more on eye contact to stay together, such as when providing hand clap percussion during Mullins's muscular flamenco solo. Romero's singing voice is a folk voice, well-suited to the repertoire and on best display when the ensemble worked together more as a folk group. In fact, my favorite part of the 90-minute concert occurred after I thought the whole thing was already over. After performing the final number printed in the program, the ensemble took their bows and left the stage as the audience of about 100+ applauded. I was pulling my gloves on in the lobby when I heard more applause and the beginning of the encores. And this is where the folk sensibility took over, as these were numbers they apparently hadn't had a chance to rehearse yet. Having to rely more on eye contact and a sense of exploring the music together, the players were able to relax and actually started to swing (if that's possible with folk music). I didn't catch the titles of the songs, but in the last one I thought I caught a refrain of "suspirando por tu amor." Now I don't speak Spanish, having done the practical thing as a girl growing up 1980s Los Angeles by studying French for four years, but that seems to be a damn romantic thing to say to someone.

All in all, the best 90 minutes I spent that day.

Jan. 17 1001 @ DCTC

This Wednesday brings another free play at Denver Center Theatre Company:

1001 by Jason Grote Jan 17, 2007 · 6:30pm · Space Theatre

1001 spins themes and variations from the classic A Thousand and One Arabian Nights to explore the incarnations of love, sex, religion, cruelty and war from ancient Baghdad to the post-9/11 era. Playwright Jason Grote combines savage wit, political insight, Borgesian time-warping, and theatrical ingenuity in a dazzling tour de force that Sheherezade herself would envy. 1001 was selected from the new plays read at the Denver Center Theatre Company’s inaugural Colorado New Play Summit.

For a more indepth look at and other interactive opportunities, visit the 1001 website at http://www.1001worldpremiere.com/.

Remember, the box office opens at 4:30.

http://www.denvercenter.org/page.cfm?id=45096058