{"id":61211,"date":"2019-06-21T10:12:57","date_gmt":"2019-06-21T14:12:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=61211"},"modified":"2019-06-22T16:57:38","modified_gmt":"2019-06-22T20:57:38","slug":"scrutiny-unlikely-pairing-of-orff-and-korngold-hits-the-spot-in-tso-revival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2019\/06\/21\/scrutiny-unlikely-pairing-of-orff-and-korngold-hits-the-spot-in-tso-revival\/","title":{"rendered":"SCRUTINY | Unlikely Pairing Of Orff And Korngold Hits The Spot In TSO Revival"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Toronto
Jonathan Crow comes to the rescue, and Runnicles’ baton goes flying for an electric night with Carmina Burana and Korngold’s Violin Concerto at the TSO. (Photo: Nick Wons)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Toronto Symphony Orchestra\/Carmina Burana,\u00a0Donald Runnicles (<\/span>conductor),\u00a0<\/span>James Ehnes (<\/span>violin),\u00a0<\/span>Nicole Haslett (<\/span>soprano),\u00a0<\/span>Sunnyboy Dladla (<\/span>tenor),\u00a0<\/span>Norman Garrett (<\/span>baritone),\u00a0<\/span>Toronto Mendelssohn Choir,\u00a0<\/span>Toronto Youth Choir,\u00a0<\/span>Toronto Children’s Chorus at\u00a0<\/span>Roy Thomson Hall, June 19 to 23. Tickets available at www.tso.ca.<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

A counterculture piece of drinking, free love and wild hedonism, Carl Orff\u2019s Carmina Burana<\/em> (1936) was a staple of symphonic programming throughout the \u201860s and \u201870s, gaining currency at the height of the Hippie movement. The Latin text, published in 1847, is based on original 13th-century\u00a0manuscripts discovered in a Benedictine monastery near Munich, Germany. There\u2019s nothing sacred about these poems \u2014 it\u2019s as secular as it gets, all about drinking and fornication and unbridled merriment. \u00a0It shows in no uncertain terms that these medieval monks knew how to enjoy themselves \u2014 at least the defrocked ones!<\/p>\n

I admit I\u2019m a fan of this piece, perhaps because of vivid memories of its counterculture flavour dating to the \u201860s.\u00a0 It\u2019s also unique musically, and when it\u2019s well done, it\u2019s a wonderful evening at the symphony. It was superb two years ago at the TSO, with Aline Kutan, Daniel Taylor and Phillip Addis. Now, we have Scottish maestro Donald Runnicles returning to lead the TSO forces. An old hand in Orff, Runnicles has made a fine recording of this piece with the Atlanta Symphony on the Telarc label in 2002. The fine trio of soloists on this occasion is soprano Nicole Haslett, tenor Sunnyboy Dladla, and baritone Norman Garrett, joined by the Mendelssohn Choir, Toronto Youth Choir, and the Toronto Children\u2019s Chorus.<\/p>\n

From the downbeat of \u201cO Fortuna\u201d onwards, it was a sonic journey of extraordinary impact. Sometimes this piece can come across as a tad bombastic, but under Runnicles\u2019s baton, it was plenty loud but never overdone. There were moments of subtlety, underscoring the inherent lyricism of the work. But at the climaxes, it was thrilling, thanks to the inspired playing by the TSO, notably the brass and the woodwinds. Incidentally, there were two minor stage accidents \u2014 unexpected but nothing truly bad, if anything it brought on much hilarity, for those audience members paying attention, that is!<\/p>\n

First off, we were startled that James Ehnes, the soloist in the Korngold violin concerto, suddenly exchanged violins with concertmaster Jonathan Crow in mid-performance. After five minutes they exchanged again. It turned out a string in Ehnes\u2019s violin came loose, and Crow came to the rescue. It almost looked like an act, given that Crow played the Korngold concerto, beautifully I might add, a couple of seasons ago, deputizing for the no-show Vilde Frang. I adored Crow\u2019s playing last time, and I would be hard pressed to pick a winner. To be sure, Ehnes was flawless as usual, with his trademark singing tone, ethereal when called for, not to mention a bravura technique that knocks your socks off.<\/p>\n

\"Toronto
Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, with conductor Donald Runnicles. (Photo: Nick Wons)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The second stage accident occurred in the second half during Carmina Burana<\/em>. In a moment of exuberance, Runnicles\u2019s baton flew into the auditorium. An audience member picked it up and handed it to the baritone who passed it on to the conductor, who continued without missing a beat \u2014 as they say, expect the unexpected in a live performance.<\/p>\n

The trio of soloists in Orff was terrific. The tenor has only one aria, \u201cCignus ustus cantat\u201d in which a swan laments his fate as a roast on the dinner table. It\u2019s a real challenge given its high tessitura \u2013 most (but not all) sing it in falsetto. Two years ago it was sung by a countertenor.\u00a0 Now we have South African Sunnyboy Dladla. His high register \u2014 in full voice, without any hint of strain \u2014 was nothing short of amazing. \u00a0The baritone has a lot more music to sing, and it requires an unusual upward extension. American Norman Garrett was very good as well, especially in \u201cDies, nox, et omnia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rounding out the trio was soprano Nicole Haslett, a voice unfamiliar to me.\u00a0 The soprano is used sparingly in this piece, but she has the wonderful \u201cIn truitina.\u201d Haslett did not disappoint. Hers is a high lyric soprano with exemplary \u2014 even angelic in purity of tone, tailor-made for this work. Two years ago, Aline Kutan was tremendous. This time around, we are lucky to have an equally wonderful successor. And what can I say about the three choirs, except that they are the best. It was headed by the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, surely a national treasure. The torrents of sounds were thrilling, full-bodied, incisive, rhythmically precise, exactly the way it should sound. The ending, a recap of the opening \u201cO Fortuna,\u201d was exhilarating, bringing the audience to its feet.<\/p>\n

Finally, I can\u2019t resist a comment on the audience. When they started applauding after each movement of the Korngold in the first half, my heart sank.\u00a0 Honestly, I\u2019m not being a snob by thinking it\u2019s wrong to applaud between movements. It has nothing to do with etiquette and everything to do with letting the music speaks for itself without interruptions. Runnicles\u2019s solution in the Carmina Burana<\/em> in the second half was hardly any pauses at all from one movement to the next \u2014 problem solved.<\/p>\n

Three more performances, and not-to-be-missed. Details, here<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

+++<\/p>\n

Update: (June 22, 2019)<\/em><\/p>\n

I just heard from a performer in the opening night Carmina Burana that there was a THIRD stage accident. The beloved, ever-energetic Maestro Donald Runnicles ripped his trousers during the first half of the performance, and at intermission he had to exchange pants with an orchestral musician, who shall remain nameless here. It wasn’t clear if the musician had an extra pair of concert pants with him, but I rather doubt it. In any case it was easier for him to hide the rip as a member of the orchestra and behind the instrument. As I wrote in my original review \u2014 expect the unexpected in a live performance.<\/em><\/p>\n

LUDWIG VAN TORONTO<\/i>
\n<\/b><\/h3>\n

Want more updates on classical music and opera news and reviews? Follow us on\u00a0<\/i>Facebook<\/span>,<\/i><\/a><\/strong>\u00a0Instagram<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>or\u00a0<\/i>Twitter<\/i><\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0for all the latest.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jonathan Crow comes to the rescue. Runnicles’ baton goes flying. Let’s just say it was an exciting night of music making at the TSO with Orff’s Carmina Burana and Korngold’s Violin Concerto.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":61208,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[25164,76,19,52,63],"tags":[660,1070,1666,3360],"yst_prominent_words":[29928,29944,29950,29949,12157,29966,6929,29942,29948,29946,29932,18245,29927,29933,7171,6914,29947,29945,29967,29965],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/06\/TSO-Carmina-Burana.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-fVh","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61211"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61211"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61211\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61237,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61211\/revisions\/61237"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61211"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=61211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}