Parade of Passions: Notes on Three Performances

Abstract

Two recitals and an opera role were performed in lieu of a written dissertation.

The following notes on three dissertation performances, “Ways of Seeing,” “Parade of Passions,” and “Familiar and Well Belovèd,” represent paths through vocal craftsmanship, scholarship and pedagogy as a doctoral student at the University of Michigan. The opera role of Alcina, flanked by two vocal recitals, together built experience in a range of languages, styles, cultural contexts and technical developments. Though the works discussed have diverse origins and narratives, there is a distinctive theme of intimacy in each of these projects. In the first recital, “Ways of Seeing,” perception as a dictate of meaning was explored by proposing a new lens through which to “see” or internalize poetry around a common theme of the female body. The idea of a subjective or shifting interior life was explored in the character of Alcina, particularly as it manifested as a diverse array of musical textures offered by Georg Friderich Handel. Finally, intimate space—whether objective, performative or personal—was explored as a conduit for universal connection and belonging in the recital entitled, “Familiar and Well Belovèd,” featuring the music of Johannes Brahms, Samuel Barber and Benjamin C.S Boyle.

Recital 1: “Ways of Seeing.” November 17, 2018, 5:30 pm, Stamps Auditorium, Ann Arbor, MI. Michael McElvain, piano. Program: “Galathea,” Arnold Schoenberg; “Take, O take those lips away,” Amy Beach; “Pur dicesti o bocca bocca bella,” Antonio Lotti; “Dein blaues Auge,” Johannes Brahms; “Lady when I behold the roses,” William Walton; “Troubled Woman,” Ricky Ian Gordon; “Chanson de mer,” Pauline Viardot; “Ich stand in dunkeln Träumen,” Clara Schumann; “Storia breve,” Ottorino Respighi; “Tus ojillos negros,” Manuel de Falla; “Song to the dark virgin,” Florence Price; “Jane,” Claude Debussy; “El mirar de la maja,” Enrique Granados; “Seit ich ihn gesehen,” Robert Schumann; “The mystery,” Lori Laitman; “Lyric for Truelove,” Undine Smith Moore; “My love in her attire,” William Walton; “Homme au sourire tendre,” Francis Poulenc; “Réversibilité,” Louis Vierne.

Recital 2: In lieu of a recital, the title role in the opera, Alcina, by Georg Friedrich Handel was performed on March 28 and 30, 2019, at the Lydia Mendelssohn Theater, Ann Arbor, MI. Grant Preisser, director; Stephanie Rhodes Russell, conductor.

Recital 3: “Familiar and Well Belovèd.” April 16, 2019, 7:00 pm, Kerrytown Concert House, Ann Arbor, MI. Michael McElvain, Chao Gao and Joshua Marzan, piano; Jessica Dold, soprano, Samuel Kidd, baritone, Brandon Motz, tenor, and Nicholas Music, tenor. Program: Neue Liebeslieder Walzer, Johannes Brahms; Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Samuel Barber; Song of Solomon, Benjamin C.S. Boyle (world premiere).