The Voice Box recommends

A selective listing of performances for the weekend of August 28-30:

Das Barbecü

From the ACT website:

Seattle Opera originally commissioned this comic adaptation of Wagner's Ring Cycle in 1991. This year, The Ring returns – and so, lest we take it too seriously, does Das Barbecü. It's a lightning-paced musical that grafts Teutonic myth onto Texas twang. Big hair, big hats, and wonderful music – including an infectious ode to guacamole and a tender ditty entitled "Hog Tie Your Man" – make this show a blast for opera buffs and anybody who just loves a good time.

"The delicious fun of Das Barbecü is the deadpan way it superimposes the weirdest ancient Germanic lore onto a batch of down-home, straight-shootin' folk." —The Seattle Times

Friday, August 28th - 8:00 pm
Saturday, August 28th - 8:00 pm
Sunday, August 30th - 2:00 pm
The Falls Theatre at ACT

*****

The Wedding Sangers

From the ACT website:

Join country-tonk favorites Purty Mouth for The Weddin' Sangers, a Das Barbecü companion show that celebrates in song the dysfunction and redemption lurking at the heart of the modern American wedding.

Every Friday and Saturday, directly after Das Barbecü, The Weddin' Sangers will give you an hour of music and laughs from Purty Mouth and special guests.

Each weekend will feature a new theme, inspired by the shenanigans in Das Barbecü. Purty Mouth has been performing in Seattle for most of a decade; their unique take on country and pop music is dialed in from a universe where Brokeback Mountain sits comfortably alongside John Wayne.

Saturday, August 29th - 10:30 pm
The Bullitt Theatre at ACT

*****

The Ring not your thing? Head over to The Triple Door and check out the lovely pop/jazz harmonies of Les Nubians.

From their MySpace page:

Grammy Nominated international recording artists Les Nubians have intrigued audiences for almost a decade with their inventive and glamorous Afropean style. This distinctive sound embodies the timeless vibrations of Miriam Makeba, Ella Fitzgerald, Doudou N'diaye Rose, Fela Kuti, Edith Piaf, The Fugees, and Soul II Soul.

Recognized for their colorful auras, Les Nubians' vogue is a fusion of Funkin' Fashion and Modern Amazon. Adoring fans pay tribute to the French/Cameroonian sister duo for their continuous flow of jazzy nuances, hard hitting drum ‘n' bass lines, harmonious melodies, conscious proclamations and humanitarian endeavors.

Friday, August 28th - 7:30 pm, 10:30 pm
The Triple Door

Upcoming choral auditions

From the Seattle Times callboard:

Bellevue Chamber Chorus will hold auditions for singers in all voice parts on Sep 1. To schedule an audition call 425-881-0445 or visit www.bellevuechamberchorus.net.

ChoralSounds Northwest is holding auditions for new members.
To schedule an audition call 206-246-6040 or visit www.nwassociatedarts.org.

Master Chorus Eastside is holding auditions in all voice parts.
To schedule an audition call 425-392-8446 or visit www.masterchoruseastside.org.

Rainier Youth Choirs is offering auditions by appointment on Aug 27.
For more information, call 206-835-888 or visit www.rainieryouthchoirs.org.

Is It Over Yet?

I've always found that the perceived length of an opera is directly proportional to my level of interest in it; looks like Anthony Tommasini feels the same way. His article on the perception of time in opera is a fun read. He also seems to be trying to send a message to John Adams and Peter Sellars. I have to confess that I stopped watching the broadcast of their most recent work, Doctor Atomic, less than halfway through because I found the dramatic momentum so lacking as to be stagnant. I know I'll give it another chance at some point (and I LOVED the many-storied set piece for the chorus), but I agree wholeheartedly with Tommasini's last thought:

...a similarly gifted composer working in musical theater, especially during the glory days of yore, would have had directors and producers standing around during rehearsals shouting at him: “That song for the girl is too long. You gotta cut it by half!”

Mozart and Verdi had to deal with such people. And their operas are the better for it.

Music

An Opera Can Take Its Time, or Yours

By ANTHONY TOMMASINI

Published: August 25, 2009

The perception of time in music can be very subjective, and this is especially true in opera.

Letters, we've got letters

I read two letters in the NYTimes Magazine this past week that I thought were worth sharing:

Michael Pollan’s article reminded me of just how embedded Julia Child is in the American consciousness, even beyond her intended audience. As a voice teacher, I was feverishly trying to push one of my 20-year-old students to attain the right position on a certain vowel. After I demonstrated for the 50th time, she exclaimed, “You sound just like Julia Child!” After that, I simply asked the student for more Julia Child or sometimes less of her, and she knew exactly what I was talking about. I then tried it on several other students, always with excellent results. Out of the kitchen, onto the opera stage.

JULIAN RODESCU
Philadelphia

This cracked me up, because I have used Julia Child as an example more times than I can remember to help students find vowel positions - usually it helps with an "oo" vowel, but it's also helpful for feeling the open throat and forward, easy vowel position you get if you just relax (harder to do than it sounds, especially when someone is telling you, "Relax!").

Michael Pollan’s article was particularly fascinating in describing how we as a people have delegated cooking activities to others, reducing ourselves to the role of observers and suffering the losses. This sadly continues a progression that has been seen in two other areas of American culture — music and sports — with similar effects.

Broadly, we gave up making music to listen to others do it for us. In our more rural heritage, families and groups gathered around and played enthusiastically and with varying levels of talent, but nonetheless played together as active social groups. Now we pay others to play as we sit and listen, or we even play electronic games that reward pretending to play music. We pay financially and emotionally for sports too, where we pay professionals to play as we sit and watch; less and less often we go outside for a catch. We play video versions of sports now (again, pretendingto play) rather than the real activity, where we might benefit from the exercise and fresh air.

How long before we have a cooking video game called Super Mario’s Hell’s Kitchen?

DAVID VAN NOSTRAND
Oldsmar, Fla.

This letter is all the more interesting because of this week's main article, "While My Guitar Gently Beeps." I agree that in general we have become a nation of spectators rather than participants, particularly where music is concerned. It's part of the reason I continue to teach voice lessons - to help people break out of "spectator" mode and feel comfortable singing in front of others.

However, after having played the incredibly addictive Rock Band video game, I have to say that I think it's a positive development in terms of bringing people back to music participation. Yes, I understand that we're only pretending to play the instruments, but it still requires a sense of rhythm and spatial listening to play the game successfully. Additionally, it encourages singing with at least a basic sense of where the melody is headed, and as you move up the levels of difficulty you're required to have better pitch accuracy, rhythm, and dexterity with both lyrics and melody. But the best part in my opinion is that it gets people out of the mode of watching and judging (a la American Idol), and into actually doing something. No, it's not a substitute for taking guitar lessons or joining a choir, but it does bring family and friends together in the enjoyment of music. Plus, it's just a ridiculously fun game.

On a side note, there is a version of Super Mario Hell's Kitchen. It's called Cooking Mama and if you mess up Mama's eyes turn into fireballs. It's pretty awesome.

Want to share your own experience with video games and music, or just want to talk about how fabulous Julia Child was? Head to the comments section!

Read Michael Pollan's article here.
Read Daniel Radosh's article here.

Opera in 140 characters or less?

Not quite sure what to make of the Royal Opera House's idea to create an entire opera with compiled Twitter postings as the libretto...

From the NYTimes ArtsBeat:

Arts

ArtsBeat: The Twitter Opera and a Baseball Bat With Strings

By By Dave Itzkoff

Published: August 10, 2009

The Royal Opera House will produce a new work, called "The Twitter Opera," in which the libretto will be composed of short messages sent on the popular social network. Also: a violinist for the National Symphony Orchestra performs the national anthem using an electric violin made from a regulation bat.

A Remembrance

I have to apologize for my extended absence from the blog; the month of July was not a good one this year. My best friend Christine passed away July 18th after a 4 year battle with colon cancer. I was lucky enough to spend her last week with her, her other best friend Mandy, and her family in Nebraska, and was able to attend the funeral in Wisconsin as well. Thank you all for your support during this difficult time and for understanding when I had to cancel lessons.

Christine started a blog to chronicle her experience with cancer and chemotherapy that has helped thousands of people in similar situations; if you'd like to know more about her experience, feel free to visit and read. But Christine was not only a powerful advocate for colon cancer patients and survivors, she was also a grad student in the prestigious UCLA Public Health program, a wonderful friend, and an extremely talented actress with a deep love of musical theater. Two of her all-time favorite musicals were Cabaret and Gypsy, and in 2008 she was thrilled to see Patti LuPone perform the role of Mama Rose on Broadway.

This one's for you, Christine:




And here's a little Liza to remind us, as Christine would, to get out there and live!