{"id":46028,"date":"2017-06-15T16:43:12","date_gmt":"2017-06-15T20:43:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=46028"},"modified":"2017-12-29T15:42:16","modified_gmt":"2017-12-29T20:42:16","slug":"scrutiny-toronto-symphonys-seven-deadly-sins-sinfully-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2017\/06\/15\/scrutiny-toronto-symphonys-seven-deadly-sins-sinfully-good\/","title":{"rendered":"SCRUTINY | Toronto Symphony\u2019s Seven Deadly Sins Sinfully Good"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Jennifer
Toronto Symphony\u2019s Seven Deadly Sins has unexpected contemporary resonances with Canadian mezzo Wallis Giunta. (Photo: Jag Gundu)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Decades Project: Seven Deadly Sins. Toronto Symphony Orchestra with Wallis Giunta\u00a0(mezzo) and Peter Oundjian (conductor). Roy Thomson Hall. June 14, 2017.<\/h3>\n

The Decades Project: 1930-1939, a TSO-AGO collaborative effort, dominates the June programming with three notable concerts.\u00a0 We\u2019ve already heard Sir Andrew Davis returning for Belshazzar\u2019s Feast<\/em> a couple of weeks ago. This week it\u2019s Kurt Weill\u2019s The Seven Deadly Sins<\/em>, and the series concludes next week with Orff\u2019s Carmina Burana<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Last evening was the opening of the second in the series. It\u2019s a very interesting and eclectic program, with Kurt Weill\u2019s edgy work as the centrepiece, juxtaposed with the super-romantic Adagio for Strings<\/em> by American composer Samuel Barber, as well as Bela Bartok\u2019s strikingly original Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The concert opened with Kiwetin-acahkos (North Star): Fanfare for the People of the North<\/em>, composed by First Nations composer Andrew Balfour. To be honest, it\u2019s hard to offer anything more than just quick impressions \u2014 two minutes go by too fast!\u00a0 I find it evocative of the great outdoors, of nature, quite economical in its structure and palette of orchestral colours. It ended so abruptly that it felt like someone flipped a switch. I wished it had gone on longer!<\/p>\n

\"Hegedus,
Hegedus, Sirett, Bell, McCausland, Wallis Giunta, Jennifer McNichols (Photo: Jag Gundu)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was followed by Barber, and I was struck by the curious similarities in the orchestral texture of the two, as if the ending of the Balfour and the beginning of the Barber was meant to be. Hard to believe there are 80 years separating the two. In his time, Barber was thought of as old-fashioned and regressive. While there was a stampede towards serialism and atonality, he was staunchly lyrical and romantic. Guess who has withstood the test of time? The TSO strings were simply marvellous here \u2013 it\u2019s like balm on the soul.<\/p>\n

Compared to Barber, the Bartok piece is a totally different kettle of fish \u2014 uh, should I say notes. If it sounds vaguely familiar to you, it might be because quite a lot of it has been used in various movies, including Being John Malkovich<\/em> and The Shining<\/em>. Perhaps it\u2019s just me, but I\u2019ve always find Bartok\u2019s music to be aesthetically somewhat cold and unsettling, and this piece is a perfect example. There are moments in the score that give me a strong sense of foreboding, quite an interesting contrast to the Samuel Barber before. Conductor Peter Oundjian mentioned that the piece touches the heart \u2014 interesting! That shows that music \u2014 and music criticism \u2014 is by nature subjective, the same work can elicit a variety of reactions among the listeners. Your mileage may vary, as they say.<\/p>\n

After the intermission during which Eastman school professor Kim Kowalke, head of the Kurt Weill Foundation, spoke eloquently about the social and historical context of The Seven Deadly Sins<\/em>, we settled back in our seats for the 35-minute \u201csung ballet.\u201d This semi-staged production was in development last year at the Banff Centre, with the same creative team headed by Canadian stage director Joel Ivany, the artistic director of Against the Grain Theatre.<\/p>\n

Seven Deadly Sins <\/em>was quite the cutting-edge work for its time (1933), composed when Europe was in social and political turmoil; the economies were in shambles. In the very few times I\u2019ve seen this work, it has always struck me as a period piece, best understood within its social and historical context, i.e. the rise of National Socialism in Germany in the 1930\u2019s. It\u2019s also worth noting that Weill\u2019s conception of America was not based on firsthand knowledge \u2014 he had never set foot in America at that time.<\/p>\n

That said, how different is it from the other Eurocentric composers like Mozart\u2019s vision of the Middle East in Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail<\/em>, or Puccini in his depiction of the \u201cethnographic other\u201d in Madama Butterfly<\/em> and Turandot<\/em>? The Weill piece may seem quaint, fanciful, even artificial, but given the current world (especially American) political climate, with the rise of Trumpism, of Alt-Right, etc., it has unexpected contemporary resonances.<\/p>\n

\"Peter
Peter Oundjian, Wallis Giunta, Jennifer McNichols (Photo: Jag Gundu)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Simply put, it\u2019s the story of Anna I (and her doppelganger Anna II) leaving home in Louisiana to make money to support their family back home. They travel to seven cities, and in the process, they succumb to the \u201cseven deadly sins\u201d of lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, envy, anger, and pride. The libretto is by Bertolt Brecht, a self-declared communist, and the piece is a thinly veiled social commentary on the evils of capitalism. The TSO production is subtly faithful to that central tenet. The brilliant use of black and white film sequences helped put it back to vaguely the time of the Great Depression.<\/p>\n

The presence of the translations, projected on two huge video screens, helped the non-German speaking audience tremendously. The orchestra was upstage, with sufficient staging area downstage. Choreographer\/dancer Jennifer Nichols was Anna II.\u00a0 Anna I was Canadian mezzo Wallis Giunta<\/a>. There\u2019s an uncanny resemblance between the two women \u2014 they could be twins! The male quartet was made up of tenors Isaiah Bell and Own McCausland, baritone Geoffrey Sirrett and bass-baritone Stephen Hegedus. Given they are not trained dancers, kudos to all five for going above and beyond what can be expected. I found my eyes riveted on them the whole time, when I wasn\u2019t trying to decipher the text on the video screen. The orchestra receded completely into the background! They played marvelously, needless to say.<\/p>\n

I should mention that the singers were individually miked. I noticed it the moment Anna I started to sing, sounding unusually big! Yes, voice amplification is considered verboten in opera, but given the intricate choreography, it was a justified decision. Top vocal honours went to Giunta, whose high mezzo sounded fantastic, and she sang with impeccable German \u2014 her tenure at Oper Leipzig has helped her honed her German in no uncertain terms. And I’d be remiss if I don’t give my strongest kudos to Jennifer Nichols, who was simply amazing as the dancer and choreographer. I\u2019ve only seen this piece live in concert twice, and this TSO performance has greater immediacy. I also liked that it\u2019s not blatantly political. Brecht\u2019s work can be too polemical and hard hitting. What we got was just the right dose \u2014 Bravi tutti!<\/p>\n

The second and last performance is this evening<\/a>, 8:00 p.m. at Roy Thomson Hall. Don\u2019t miss it!<\/p>\n

For more REVIEWS, click HERE<\/u><\/a><\/span>.<\/h3>\n

#LUDWIGVAN<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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