7 October 2010 - "Pink Beats" - A Fundraiser for Breast Cancer

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ArsMedia presents Pink Beats, an interactive performance featuring 3 concerts in one evening, for the price of only one ticket! All proceeds go to the Breast Cancer Foundation. This is an event by women for women. Venue is at various halls of The Arts House. The line-up is as follows:

Blue Room: Operatta and Art Songs

Italian Sabrina Zauber, French Florence Coullet and Austalian Nicole Stinton, last seen in operettas concert Belle Epoque, will present operetta and arts songs, in the spirit of the Moulin Rouge,

Living Room: Jazz and Cabaret

The line-up for this segment are Greek Christina Maragkaki, Andayoma, French jazz professional who launched her latest album 'Palette of Colours in May at The Arts House; and Canadian Gabrielle Maes, recently arrived in Singapore and also classically trained mezzo soprano with a strong passion for cabaret music, she currently teaches musical theatre at LASELLE.

The Chamber: Classics
Performers in this segment are Korean soprano Jeong Ae Ree, acclaimed soloist as well as vocal coach of many talents in Singapore, teacher at SOTA as well; Japanese soprano Satsuki Nagatome, soloist and the only professional flamenco vocalist in town; Singaporean Khor Ai Ming, soloist and chorus mistress of the SLO choruses, and French flutist Marielle Manet, who arrived in Singapore one year ago.

Sounds exciting huh! Ticket prices are $100 each, a hefty price tag probably but note that you'll get to watch 3 different concerts by professionals, and that all sales proceeds go to charity. Lovers of the female voice should not give this a miss, and chalk up a few karma points while you're at it! Ticketing information available on the Events Page. 3 types of tickets are on sale, buy based the order you would like to watch the concerts.

LASALLE's "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee"

I'm quite excited to introduce the LASALLE musical theatre faculty's production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, opening next week. Having caught their previous productions Urinetown and a cabaret presentation, I am seriously impressed by the professional standards they showed. So I'm glad to see that they have chosen this lovely ensemble piece for their next production. I've seen another production of this musical and enjoyed it tremendously (which you can read about here). Its a great piece, Tony Award winner actually, that's perfect for this highly trained and talented bunch. So wish I could be here to watch it again. Find out more information about this show on the Events Page.

Domingo singing "Cortigiani"

This aria IMHO is really the heart of the opera (not La donna e mobile, contrary to popular belief). One of the most touching arias in the operatic repertoire. Traslations can be found here:

http://www.aria-database.com/translations/rig12_cortigiani.txt

Domingo's Take on "Rigoletto"

Act 1 was only just performed yesterday and now its on YouTube! Here's Placido Domingo's much hyped live movie performance as Rigoletto. IMHO he still sounds like a tenor singing low, at times resorting to nasal effects for resonance in the lower registers, but he really gets the role and sounds much at home singing Verdi, more so than his earlier efforts in Handel, Mozart, Gluck and Tan Dun.

Here's a glimpse of how his other co-stars Vittorio Grigolo and Julia Novikova fared.



Caro Nome

Renee Fleming’s “Dark Hope”

Track List:


1. Endlessly
2. No One's Gonna Love You
3. Oxygen
4. Today
5. Intervention
6. With Twilight As My Guide
7. Mad World
8. In Your Eyes
9. Stepping Stone
10. Soul Meets Body
11. Hallelujah

I have to say that I have enjoyed this CD tremendously! Some might think of this as a novelty record, but taken on its own terms its still quite a well-produced package.

Now I have never been a fan of indie rock, so how well Renee sings these songs compared to their original versions is unknown to me, and not really an issue in any case since I will never check them out myself if left to my own devices. Thus this CD presents an opportunity for me to explore great music from another genre, guided by the hand of a trusted artist that I am familiar with.

It has to be said though that once the listener gets over how different she sounds compared to her regular work, the vocal performance itself is not much of a showcase. One certainly shouldn’t expect belting histrionics like that of a Mariah Carey or Celine Dion, nor should you expect any interpolated high Cs. Rather, there’s a feeling of conscious effort not to venture into the head voice and sound “operatic” (except for one number for spooky effect), but otherwise her vocalisms mostly fall into the “safe” category.

But what she does bring to the table are fundamentals of good singing that are often taken as a luxury in most rock music, and what makes this such an enjoyable listen: crystal clear pronunciation (lyrics are provided in the CD booklet but hardly necessary), fuss-free musicality that still brings out the most in the tunes and lyrics, and a solid technique that never quavers no matter how high or loud it goes (certainly none of the growling or whining that we hear in so many pop-singers these days). Ironically these are the very qualities that Renee is criticized for lacking in her classical recordings, which goes to show that the occasional step off the beaten track can be benefitial.

David Kahne’s production is equally clean and wholesome, with a steady rock beat and guitars dressed-up with techno beeps and whirls. Perhaps these production values might seem anesthetic to true lovers of this genre, but the slick and attractive production is appreciated by a listener of Renee’s other recordings.

There are many highlights on this album, among them the Endlessly, the first single and Renee’s only attempt at dance music, the hippie optimism of Oxygen, Intervention is a sarcastic critique of (Christian) religious extremism from a family member’s eyes, the spooky With Twilight as My Guide (the one about honour killings where Renee sings “Devil Daughters”), and the gospel tinged In Your Eyes. A fun fact is that Renee's two daughters, Amelia and Sage, and her sister Rachelle sang back-up vocals (the diva probably made it a pre-requisite before signing on). Truth is that I’ve listened to this entire album numerous times in the past month and have enjoyed it tremendously, and so highly recommend that you give it a chance.

Grace Bumbry Masterclass

Here's something that I'm enjoying recently, a masterclass with Grace Bumbry. Unlike the man-eater image of her stage persona, Mme. Bumbry as a mentor is quite a caring if strict mother-figure. If you are a singer with 2 hours to spare, I believe you will gain something out of it too:

Our Third Anniversary

Ah yes, 3 years! Gosh how fast time has flown. The big date is actually 1 Sep, but as I had spent much of the time flying and having internet problems in the hostel (yes I'm back in Taipei now), its only now that I'm writing about it. But that didn't stop other sites from reporting the BIG DAY though. You've read Tou Liang's interview, now here's another article by Derek Lim on the Flying Inkpot, and to show that we are going international, one by Smorgzone from San Diego. Hope you enjoy them!