The UTD Chamber Singers,
directed by Kathryn Evans, in a
program of mystical music including selections
from Philip Glass' Akhnaten and Monteverdi's
Orfeo. Produced by graduate student MaryAnn
Young.
About the works….
L'Orfeo by
Claudio Monteverdi
The Orpheus and Eurydice
legend has long been the inspiration for
many dramatic and music works, and inspired
the first operas ever written (by Peri in
1600 and Caccini in 1602). L'Orfeo by Claudio
Monteverdi, first performed for the Duke
of Mantua in his palace on February 27,
1607, was the first work to successfully
combine drama and music, and is considered
the first fully staged opera. The story
is well known: Orpheus, son of Apollo, is
the greatest musician in the world (he sings
and plays the lyre) and is in love with
Eurydice. Unfortunately, she is bitten by
a snake and dies. Orpheus goes to the Underworld
to attempt to get her back, and his music,
which "moves the rocks to weep",
convinces the gods to release her under
one condition: he must not look back as
he is leading her through the passages of
Hell. Unable to resist the temptation, he
looks back and she is lost to him forever.
The original myth then has Orpheus weeping
loudly, whereupon he is discovered by the
wild Thracian maidens who follow Bacchus.
Upset that he pays them no attention, they
tear him apart, throw his head and his lyre
into the river, where they continue to make
music. Monteverdi, however, preferred a
happy ending (a change apparently made in
the 1609 version), and has Apollo taking
pity on his son, placing Eurydice and Orpheus
in the heavens as constellations, forever
together.
Tonight's concert features
choruses and solos from the work and is
threaded together by narration. The chorus,
as in a traditional Greek play, functions
as nymphs and shepherds in the first few
choruses, celebrating the impending wedding
of Orpheus and Eurydice ("Vieni, meneo",
"Lasciate monti" and "Ecco
Orfeo"). Orpheus enters, singing of
his love of nature. The nymphs and shepherds
ask him to sing some more ("Dunque
fa degni Orfeo") and he speaks of his
love for Eurydice in the famous "Vi
Ricordi". After Orpheus hears the bad
news of Eurydice's death, he vows to bring
her back to life ("Tu se'morta")
and the chorus responds with sympathy and
concern ("Ahi! Casi acerbo").
Orpheus descends to the underworld and,
with the virtuoso aria "Possente Spirto"
sings Charon to sleep so he cross the river
Styx and retrieve Eurydice. All seems well,
until he turns to gaze upon her, and she
returns to Hell. A chorus of spirits comments
on the folly of man ("E la virtute
raggio"). The opera closes with a return
of the nymphs and shepherds ("Vanne
Orfeo felice"), pleased that again
Orpheus is happy and reunited in heaven
with Eurydice.
It is interesting to note
that Philip Glass, the other featured composer
on tonight's concert, also set the same
myth as Orphee in 1993.
– Kathryn Evans
Akhnaten by Phillip Glass
Akhnaten is the third opera from Philip
Glass’ Trilogy including Einstein
on the Beach (the man of math) and Satyagraha
(the man of peace). The story of the Egyptian
Pharaoh, Akhnaten (the man of religion),
is narrated in English by a Scribe, Amenhotep,
but sung in Ancient Egyptian languages.
It’s 1984 World Premieres in Stuttgart
and Houston portrayed two different interpretations
of the work.
Akhnaten begins with the end of the Old
Kingdom as his father Amenhotep III’s
funeral procession begins. The barbaric
sense of order is overturned as Akhnaten
becomes Pharaoh and demands the loyalty
of the new god Aten, the only god. His controlled
reign relies heavily on “peace”
rather than military action. Glass, inspired
by his visit to the Cairo Museum, sees a
different side of Akhnaten and portrays
him as a loving husband and father, despite
the controversy of his gender ambiguity.
The reliefs of Akhnaten and his wife Nefertiti
have an intimacy that does not appear in
the art prior to this. But, his lack of
military action becomes his downfall as
military leaders and the Egyptian people
become tired of their hardships until they
riot and overthrow the kingdom. There is
no historical record of the fate of Akhnaten
and his family. Glass upholds this idea
and creates a scene where the family disappears
among the crowd. He also brings the scene
into the present day with the Scribe’s
transformation into a tour-guide leading
tourists through present day Tell El-Amarna.
Tonight’s program will feature excerpts
from the opera for chorus and soloists.
As Glass did not intend to “create”
a story for periods of Akhnaten’s
life that are not recorded, the opera is
already organized by major events and stands
well on selections alone with the inclusion
of the original narration. Following the
“Prelude”, the Scribe’s
introduction, the “Funeral of Amenhotep
III” is an intense processional used
to awaken the gods and prepare them for
the king’s arrival. As the processional
exits, the audience sees and hears Akhnaten,
his wife Nefertiti, and his mother Queen
Tye (”Window of Appearances”)
for the first time as the symbol of a new
reign. This is followed by a love song of
the king and queen (“Akhnaten and
Nefertiti”). Akhnaten’s unawareness
of the trouble among his kingdom becomes
apparent as he sings alongside his daughter
and wife (“The Family”) as angry
citizens and military officials read translations
from the original Amarna Letters. “Attack
and Fall” marks the climax and downfall
of Akhnaten’s reign as Horemhab (a
general and future king), Amon (high priest),
and Aye (father of Nefertiti) persuade the
chorus to rise up against Akhnaten. As the
royal family disappears, the Scribe returns
to announce the end of Akhnaten’s
rule (“The Ruins”) and exits
the stage. He then returns as a modern tour-guide
who leads a group of tourists through the
current-day ruins. Akhnaten and his family
return as ghosts (“Epilogue”)
unaware of their new surroundings and unwilling
to accept the ruins that were once their
home.
Philip Glass is a minimalist composer
who received an Academy Award nomination
for Original Score for his soundtrack for
The Hours in 2003; an Emmy Nomination in
2004 for an Outstanding Music Composition
for a Series for Pandemic: Facing Aids and
received the 2004 Classical Brit Award of
Contemporary Music for The Hours.
– MaryAnn Young
About the performers….
Kathryn Evans joined the faculty of the
University of Texas at Dallas in 1994. She
was Arts Coordinator for the School of Arts
and Humanities from 1995 to 1998, and Assistant
Dean from 1998 to 1999. Currently, she serves
as the Associate Dean for the Arts in the
School of Arts and Humanities, teaches vocal
and choral music, and directs the UTD Chamber
Singers. She is an accomplished recitalist
and chamber musician; performing in the
Dallas-Ft. Worth area and in Europe. Before
coming to UTD, she was the Director of the
Bach Society Chamber Orchestra and Chorus
in La Jolla, California and the Musical
Director of the Orpheus Ensemble. She founded
and directed the Washington Pro Musica and
the Early Music Ensemble of San Diego. She
has directed European concert tours of Switzerland,
Germany, France and Italy. Ms. Evans holds
Master of Arts degrees in Music and in Mathematics
from the University of California at San
Diego. Ms. Evans has completed tours of
music for voice and guitar with fellow faculty
member Dr. Enric Madriguera in Austria,
Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Mexico.
Ms. Evans released the CD "Voz y Guitarra"
with Dr. Madriguera in October of 2003.
In April, the pair returned to Austria to
judge the Rust International Guitar Competition
and perform selections from their CD.
MaryAnn Young is a graduate student pursuing
her Masters of Arts in Aesthetic Studies
at The University of Texas at Dallas. She
has studied music (both piano and voice)
for over 10 years and teaches private piano
and voice lessons. She has participated
in many performance ensembles and music
courses since entering UTD including Chamber
Singers, Individual Voice Instruction, Master
classes with Voice and Guitar, Jazz Band,
Musical Theatre (excerpts from Once Upon
a Mattress), and the part of Kim in the
Spring 2002 musical Personals. In April
of 2002 and October 2003, Ms. Young participated
in organized a project with the Dallas Museum
of Art in which she performed among other
students as a part of the 100 Works for
100 Years centennial exhibition. During
the Spring of 2002, she was awarded a Bryce
Jordan Arts Scholarship for her musical
achievements. After graduating with her
B.A. in Arts and Performance in May 2003,
Ms. Young entered the graduate program,
where she is a teaching assistant for the
Exploration of the Arts class as well as
an instructor of Understanding Music this
summer. In the Fall of 2004, she was awarded
a full scholarship for her academic excellence.
Tonight's performance of Akhnaten is in
partial fulfillment of the Creative Portfolio
for her M.A. degree.
Hoyt Neal received his
Bachelor of Science in Music from Lamar
University, his Master of Music Education
from the University of North Texas. While
studying for his Doctor of Music Arts at
UNT, Mr. Neal was able to study vocal performance
with Eugene Conley, former leading tenor
with the Metropolitan Opera, and Harold
Heiberg. He has worked as choir director
for various churches, synagogues, and schools.
In 1999, he helped organize and conducted
the Master Chorale of Dallas. His previous
solo performances include Haydn’s
Lord Nelson Mass with the Dallas Symphony
Chorus, Britten’s St. Nicholas cantata,
Schubert’s Mass in G, Haydn’s
Creation, and Mozart’s Requiem with
the combined choirs of Lovers Lane United
Methodist Church and Highland Park Presbyterian
Church, Mendelssohn’s Elijah with
the Brookhaven Chorus, and numerous performances
of Handel’s Messiah.
The UTD Chamber Singers
was formed in 1994 as a performing ensemble
of 20-24 singers. The repertoire for the
ensemble is selected from a broad range
of chamber vocal literature, including both
sacred and secular music spanning the Renaissance
to the contemporary periods of music history
and modern jazz arrangements. The ensemble
performs regularly on campus, including
performances at the Renaissance Faire, the
Annual Holiday Sing during the Fall Semester,
and in concert as a Jazz Singers Ensemble
in the Spring Semester. The UTD Chamber
Singers collaborates with many other ensembles
on campus, including the Jazz Ensemble,
Guitar Ensemble and Dance Ensemble. They
also perform on the Winter and Spring Arts
Festivals every semester. In the Spring,
the Chamber Singers join the UTD Chorale
for a choral concert of large works with
orchestra. Past concerts have included “A
Tribute to the Manhattan Transfer,”
“All Mozart Concert,” “Swing
Thing,” “Birds, Beasts and Bugs,”
“A Victorian Christmas” and
“A Celebration of Monteverdi.”
Students must audition and be accepted in
order to enroll in Chamber Singers. Auditions
are arranged in the Spring for new students
and before every long semester during the
registration periods. |
