#6 — THE COC’S MACBETH, OSETINSKAYA IN KOERNER HALL, AND BRYCE DESSNER
PLUS: Our top picks for events happening near you
Welcome back to the smARTcircle Toronto! Michael Zarathus-Cook here again with exclusive interviews, preview chats, and a special batch of our smARTpicks of concerts this week.
Like what you’re reading here? Be sure to check out The smART Ensemble series in our latest issue for more. From soloists and creative duos, to multidimensional composers alongside Canada’s premier orchestra, The smART Ensemble is our coverage of the movers and shakers in classical music on the global stage.
SPERANZA SCAPPUCCI & THE COC’S MACBETH
by MICHAEL ZARATHUS-COOK
Opera is all in the details. From the visual presentation to the sonic impression─it is an artform that requires you to lean forward, regardless of where you’re sitting. Though criticism of the COC’s invention of the “SURTITLES™” only comes from the most conservative corners of opera purists, they do have one thing going for their argument: the surtitles distract a tad bit from the details that sprinkle opera with so much intrigue. Watching the Sunday matinee of the COC’s Macbeth was a bit of an exercise in multitasking, manoeuvring between the incredibly dynamic mise-en-scene, the bombast of a Sandra Horst chorus, the overwhelming music rising out of the pit, and the surtitles high above the stage. I regret not having learned Italian, despite the ample opportunities afforded by Toronto’s Catholic Elementary School system. No, this isn’t an admonition of the COC’s surtitles - it’s by and far a democratising force for good - but an appreciation of conductor Speranza Scappucci’s ability to communicate and accentuate the details of this opera with her informed interpretation of the score.
Scappucci’s eye - and ear - for detail is unmistakable; it is obvious that she doesn't believe there’s only one way to conduct Verdi, but that she has her incredibly precise way of doing it. In preparation for a recent Globe and Mail preview article of Macbeth, I joined Scappucci at the COC’s administrative offices on Front Street for a mid-rehearsal conversation on the music for the production. Even in the thick of preparation, she reserves an almost academic perspective on the historical implications of every decision she’s making on the podium. Her detailed analysis of the score adds another layer to what is essentially a multidimensional collaboration between a Shakespearan classic distilled by librettist Francesco Maria Piave, a high-octane Verdi score, a brooding David McVicar production, and an absolutely committed cast of witches, soldiers and, yes, eerily silent ghost-children.
During the interview, she discussed her approach to the following two scenes, which are often mis-presented in other productions:
sM | What moment in Macbeth have you been fascinated by the most as you were studying it?
SS ── There are many, it's very hard to pick one, of course. One is in the first act, and it's a moment where Verdi goes beyond what was the musical way to orchestrate during his time. And it's in the duet between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth when he's just killed Duncan. Verdi sets the whole scene - from the monologue into the duet - with the strings played on mute. It's about ten minutes of music where the whole scene is muted. And in the score, when they sing, 90% of the time it's written con voce repressa (with a repressed voice) and sotto voce (low voice). Meaning that Verdi was experimenting in the 1860’s with these sounds that are not necessarily what they were used to at that time. And so this whole duet of him being scared for what he just did, and her trying to convince him it's okay─the whole thing is whispered. And sometimes you hear it not done like that, just sung up. And for me, musically, it only works if the voice matches that. Strings with the mute on are very different than without the mute.
And the other moment, which I think is spectacular - besides the big finale act two that we just talked about - is the sleepwalking scene in the fourth act. If I had a piano here, I would play it. With four elements, four little musical cells, Verdi creates a situation. It's a mad scene. Again, we have the mute on the strings, and then this rhythm, - da da dum dum dum tin - [Scappucci rubs her palms together] which is her hands trying to get the blood off. Then there’s the semitone - teeee-dum! - which is exactly the same sound she heard in the first act when the owl in the night is singing. In music we call it perpetual motion, and throughout the whole scene she relives every moment of the opera. So that’s definitely something to listen for.
The COC’s Macbeth runs till May 20th.
Polina Osetinskaya’s Solo Debut at Koerner Hall
by MICHAEL ZARATHUS-COOK
On Saturday, June 3, at Koerner Hall, virtuoso pianist and human rights advocate Polina Osetinskaya returns to Toronto for her Canadian solo debut featuring music from some of the greatest films of all time. Show One Productions and Cherry Orchard Festival present Baroque Music from the Greatest Movies of All Time ─ a sprawling program featuring works by Bach, Handel, Purcell, and Rameau.
Ahead of the concert, Osetingskaya joined smART Magazine to discuss the program she’s assembled:
smARTpicks
TOP CONCERTS AND EVENTS HAPPENING NEAR YOU:
The Dream House Quartet ── Looking for last-minute Wednesday night plans? Then don’t miss this one-night only affair of a unique quartet experience featuring both of the Labèque sisters (piano), Bryce Dessner (one-half of the internationally renowned Dessner brothers), and French composer David Chalmin (voice). When Dessner joined smART Magazine for Issue 11, he spoke to us about what he was looking forward to with this latest project:
sM | The Dream House Quartet is a fairly unorthodox conception of the quartet format─how was this project conceived?
BD ── The Dream House Quartet is a very exciting project for me on many levels. On a personal level, it involves three of my closest friends. Katia and Marielle Labèque are very famous classical pianists in their own right. I wrote them a concerto before, and other music for two pianos, and selfishly, this was my excuse to actually get on stage and play with them. David Chalmin is also an amazing composer/electric guitarist/producer/engineer, and he’s someone I also work with a lot. We all live in France near each other, so it came together organically, and now we’re developing repertoire for this instrumentation.
sM | What’s in store for the spring concerts?
BD ── It turns out that the idea of two electric guitars and two pianos is pretty exciting for composers. We play music composed by myself and Chalmin, but also pair it with what we jokingly call “historical music” by older living composers, like Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Meredith Monk, and David Lang. Then also some more recent work, like a set of pieces by Thom Yorke, and a piece by Icelandic composer Anna Þorvaldsdóttir. Katia and Marielle make us look really good because they’re insanely virtuosic. Being up there next to them is pretty flattering.
Turangalîla-Symphonie | Toronto Symphony Orchestra ── A night at the symphony rarely gets much bigger, more joyful, or more unique than this. For two nights, the TSO will present one of the most enthralling chimaeras of the last century in symphonic literature. It’s a live recording, so you might want to dress up for this, in case the camera pans in your direction. MAY 4–5
Tosca | Canadian Opera Company ── Macbeth is only one-half of the Italian dramas currently gracing the stages of The Four Seasons Centre: Puccini’s Tosca promises just as much toil and trouble, albeit a little less bloodshed. This original COC production stars Sinéad Campbell-Wallace and Keri Alkema in the title role, with direction from Paul Curran, and Giuliano Carella in the pit. MAY 5–27
Bruce Liu ── One of Canada’s brightest emerging talents on piano will be making his Koerner Hall debut this Sunday with a mostly-Chopin program from his 2021 Duetsche Grammophon album. MAY 7
SPONSORED | Cody Fry: Symphonic
Symphonic pop maestro Cody Fry – behind viral hit song “I Hear A Symphony” – recently released a compilation of his best symphonic tracks including “Eleanor Rigby”, “Photograph” and more. Symphonic is released via Decca Records US and is out now.