King David with his harp

Music therapy has been used throughout the ages to help people rise from despair. Greek philosophers used music therapy in ancient times. In Biblical times, King Saul was comforted by David’s playing the harp. Music therapy is taught in universities throughout the world in modern times.

The American Music Therapy Association, Inc. states that music therapy can promote wellness, manage stress, alleviate pain, help express feelings, enhance memory, improve communication, and promote physical rehabilitation.

You don’t have to be a certified musical therapist to see the effects of music on other people. Children in a school setting at times become overly excited or have trouble calming down. All I have to do in the classroom is to play Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” and the children settle down immediately. The music puts them into a totally different emotional state.

The choice of music that people listen to has a great deal to do with their emotions. It is extremely important that young children hear many kinds of music. The reason most people like certain kinds of music is that these are the musical styles with which they are familiar.

The Metropolitan Opera's production of Romeo and Juliette

I am always saddened to hear someone say, “I can’t stand opera. It just sounds like hollering to me.” That tells me that this person was never introduced to classical opera when he was a child. The children in my classroom do listen to opera. They learn about the stories that opera portrays and what types of voices are involved in this complicated art form. Children love drama. They learn that all operas tell a story complete with costumes, scenery and music. They understand that some opera is hilariously funny and other opera productions have sadness as their theme.

Bugs Bunny, imitating the conductor Leopold Stokowski in concert

They find out that no one has to like every opera, but everyone can find some operas that they can enjoy. They are reminded that many songs (or arias) from operas are portrayed in cartoons. When they learn that the “Lone Ranger Theme” is actually the “William Tell Overture,” they realize that they have already been enjoying opera.

Children in my music classes also learn about classical composers and the music they wrote. By the time we have heard many types of compositions, children are requesting, “Can we hear Beethoven today?” as part of their weekly classes.

Country music is also an area we explore. They find out that the Carter family and Jimmie Rodgers were the first recorded “hillbilly” artists and that “country music” has its origin in the folk music of America. They are delighted with the music that the Peasall sisters sang in “Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou?” and to find out that these youngsters are from White House, Tennessee.

Making their own music is always a joy for children. Exploring music instruments is one of their favorite activities. Many have the opportunity of having instruments at home and of taking lessons to improve their skills.

Enjoying music is a life long activity. Schools that continue to have music as part of their curriculum are fortunate because it not only improves the musical talent and education of children, but is proven to increase their abilities in language and mathematical studies as well.

Whether you enjoy music at home, church, in your car or truck, or through the media, you can use music to help you get through hard times. As our lives confront ups and downs, we can always take comfort in music.

If you’re feeling depressed or worried, just listen to some soothing music. It can not only help you get a different perspective, it may also open your mind to more creative ideas.

Patricia Racette as Madame Butterfly. (Photo: Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera

The Met Live in HD continues to captivate a worldwide audience, bringing live, high definition productions of the world’s greatest opera to millions of worldwide viewers. The series continues  with Puccini’s hauntingly beautiful love story, Madama Butterfly, which will be screened at several Nashville venues on Saturday, March 7 at 12 noon (CST).

Opry Mills Stadium 20 Plus IMAX, 570 Opry Mills Drive and  Green Hills Stadium 16, 3815 Greenhills Village Drive, both in Nashville, will screen the live broadcast. In addition, for those who will miss the Saturday showing, Green Hills will screen encore showings on March 18 at 7 p.m. and March 18 at 1 p.m. Running time is three hours and 21 minutes, with two intermissions.

Patricia Racette returns to the title role of Anthony Minghella’s stunning production, a new classic of the Met repertory, opposite Marcello Giordani. Conducting is Patrick Summers, with production by Anthony Minghella, Patricia Racette and Marcello Giordani.

A scene in Act I, with Patricia Racette at Madame Butterfly. 2008 Dress Rehearsal. (Photo: Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera)

ACT I: Madame Butterfly is set in 19th century Nagasaki, and tells the story of Lieutenant B. F. Pinkerton, U.S.N., who is about to  contract a “Japanese marriage” with Cio-Cio-San,  called Butterfly by her friends. Even as Pinkerton explores the little house in which he plans to live with Butterfly,  his plans fall into immediate disfavor with the American Consul, who fears that what may be a mere matter of pastime to the American Naval lieutenant, may have been taken seriously by the Japanese girl and, if so, may prove a matter of life or death with her. In truth, Butterfly is in love, and has renounced faith and family to be with Pinkerton, placing her life in his hands.

A dancer ion the opening scenes of Madame Butterfly. (Photo: Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera)

It is customary with Puccini to create “atmosphere” of time and place through the medium of the early scenes of his operas. It is only necessary to recall the opening episodes in the first acts of “La Bohème” and “Tosca.” He has done the same thing in “Madam Butterfly,” by the employment of the Japanese theme already referred to, and by the crowded episodes attending the arrival of Butterfly and the performance of the ceremony. These episodes are full of action and colour, and distinctly Japanese in the impression they make. Moreover, they afford the only opportunity throughout the entire opera to employ the chorus upon the open stage. It is heard again in the second act, but only behind the scenes and humming in order to give the effect of distance.

The love scene between Pinkerton and Butterfly is extended. From its beginning, “Viene la sera” (Evening is falling), to the end, its interest never flags. It is full of beautiful melody charged with sentiment and passion, yet varied with lighter passages, like Butterfly’s “I am like the moon’s little goddess”; “I used to think if anyone should want me”; and the exquisite, “Vogliatemi bene” (Ah, love me a little). There is a beautiful melody for Pinkerton, “Love, what fear holds you trembling.” The climax of the love duet is reached in two impassioned phrases:– “Dolce notte! Quante stelle” (Night of rapture, stars unnumbered),
and “Oh! Quanti occhi fisi, attenti” (Oh, kindly heavens).

Act II, Part I: Three years have elapsed. It is a long time since Pinkerton has left Butterfly with the promise to return to her “when the robins nest.” When the curtain rises, after an introduction, in which another Japanese theme is employed, Suzuki, although convinced that Pinkerton has deserted her mistress, is praying for his return. Butterfly is full of faith and trust. In chiding her devoted maid for doubting that Pinkerton will return, she draws in language and song a vivid picture of his home-coming and of their mutual joy therein: – “Un bel di vedremo” (Some day he’ll come).

Patricia Racette as Cio Cio San, with her son, as seen in a final dress rehearsal in 2008. (Photo: Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera)

In point of fact, Pinkerton really is returning to Nagasaki, but with no idea of resuming relations with his Japanese wife. Indeed, before leaving America he has written to the Counsul asking him to let Butterfly know that he is married to an American wife, who will join him in Nagasaki. The Councel attempts to deliver his message, but is unable to do so because of the emotions aroused in Butterfly by the very sight of a letter from Pinkerto, which throws her into a transport of joy. The money left by Pinkerton with his little Japanese wife has dwindled almost to nothing, and poverty stares her in the face. Offered marriage to a Japanese man, she will not hear of such an alliance and protests that she is already married to Pinkerton, and will await his return.

Marcello Giordani as Lt. Pinkerton. (Photo: Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera).

Act II, Part II. When the curtain rises, night has passed, dawn is breaking. Suzuki and the baby are fast asleep, but Butterfly still is watching. Again Puccini employs a Japanese melody (the “vigil” theme).

When Suzuki awakes, she persuades the poor little “wife” to go upstairs to rest, which Butterfly does only upon Suzuki’s promise to awaken her as soon as Pinkerton arrives. Pinkerton and Sharpless appear. Suzuki at first is full of joyful surprise, which, however, soon gives way to consternation, when she learns the truth. Pinkerton himself, seeing about him the proofs of Butterfly’s complete loyalty to him, realizes the heartlessness of his own conduct. There is a dramatic trio for Pinkerton, the Counsul, and Suzuki. Pinkerton who cannot bear to face the situation, rushes away, leaving it to the Counsul to settle matters as best he can.

Butterfly has become aware that people are below. Suzuki tries to prevent her coming down, but she appears radiantly happy, for she expects to find her husband. The pathos of the scene in which she learns the truth is difficult to describe. But she does not burst into lamentations. With a gentleness which has been characteristic of her throughout, she bears the blow. She even expresses the wish to Kate, Pinkerton’s real wife, that she may experience all happiness, and sends word to Pinkerton that, if he will come for his son in half an hour, he can have him.

The Counsel and Mrs. Pinkerton withdraw. In a scene of tragic power, Butterfly mortally wounds herself with her father’s sword, the blade of which bears the inscription, “To die with honour when one can no longer live with honour,” drags herself across the floor to where the boy is playing with his toys and waving a little American flag, and expires just as Pinkerton enters to take away the son whom thus she gives up to him.

The Met Live in HD  has been seen in almost 850 venues, with several performances remaining in the current season. A special presentation of The Audition, a documentary about the Met’s 2007 National Council Auditions, will be seen in select theaters. Don’t miss the chance to experience the Met at your local movie theater!

Baritone Gerald Finley as J. Robert Oppenheimer

Doctor Atomic explores a momentous episode of modern history: the creation of the atomic bomb.

Director Penny Woolcock makes her Met debut with this gripping story that changed the course of history. Baritone Gerald Finley plays J. Robert Oppenheimer, the title character. Conductor is Alan Gilbert; production: Penny Woolcock; with the voices of Sasha Cooke, Meredith Arwady, Gerald Finley, Eric Owens, Richard Paul Fink

While program and casting may be subject to change, this global broadcast series brings the Met’s finest music, conductors and voices to a the world. Running times are approximate. Intermissions in these performances are filled with backstage interviews and a glimpse of the action behind the staging of these great opera’s. Tickets for these performances are available now at the following theaters:

* Regal Green Hills 16, 3815 Green Hills Village Drive, Nashville TN 615-269-5910
* Regal Opry Mills 20, 570 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville TN (615) 514-3462

Anna Caterina Antonacci as Carmen

A little-heralded screening of a great opera, Georges Bizet’s Carmen, played Clarksville Thursday evening, the first of four British productions that will air in the next three weeks. Carmen was, in a word, “stunning.”

The Carmike 10 at Governor’s Square Mall did little advertising of this show, staged at Covent Garden with the London Symphony. Every one in the sparsely filled theater had the same comment: “We didn’t find out about this until (Wednesday).” Or “If I known about this sooner several friends would have come with me.”

For the most part, seeing any classical performance, with the periodic exception of something at APSU, classical music is nonexistent; Clarksville residents usually have to leave town to soothe that particular thirst, and that means a trip to Nashville of Louisville for a symphonic concert, a ballet or an opera. The Met: Live in HD offers a global broadcast series of 11 operas from its New York Stage. That series plays two stadium theaters in Nashville, often with standing room only crowds that include large contingent of Clarksville classical fans. The Met series is highly publicized; I hope that the Carmike 10 (or the city’s  Great Escape 16) would do the same.

Such productions have a high ticket price ($15-$22) but are worth every single, solitary cent. Soul food. The Carmike had a few issues with the screening, including a long intermission in which the second half of the opera was late in uploading. We waited.

Ildebrando D'Cacangelo as the toreador, Escamillo

As for the opera itself, I stopped breathing several times, holding onto that intake of breathe at songs so perfectly rendered the rest of the world just fades away, and all that is left is a glorious beauty.

Carmen was my first opera, my first trip to the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center back in 1968. I already knew the music, had read my mother’s 1940’s libretto in French and English, and her her sing some of its music. I was hooked for life.

While the Met broadcast have a better polish and quality of film, the Met’s Carmen is a bit more sanitized that this European version, in which platformed bustlines and ample cleavage lent a realism to the passion and eroticism that is Carmen. This is an earthy Carmen, laced with flamenco rhythm, the solid slap of boots against the earth, the steaming sexual innuendo, all balancing on a thin line between love and hate.

A cast of 147, including a cadre of children, filled and almost overpowered the stage for the village scenes, with an interesting choreography that at one point has two masses of actors moving in opposite directions, creating a visible dimension to flowing crowd outside the factory where Carmen works. The women, gypsies,and prostitutes, pour through an opened gate and into a tumble of merchants and soldiers. The love stories begin. Smoulder. Erupt into tragedy, the hallmark of opera.

The first act moves slowly, inching its way to the heart of the show, acts II and III, exploding in a passionate, fiery conclusion at act IV. The entire production is sung in French without subtitles.

Coming up on Oct. 23,The Royal Ballet performance of The Sleeping Beauty

Anna Caterina Antonacci is a lusty and provocative Carmen, Ildebrando D’Cacangelo exudes power as Escamillo. Jonas Kaufman is striking as the tormented soldier Don Jose, a man spiraling downward in a whirlpool of unrequited passion. Norah Amsellan is the lovely Micaela, pining for Don Jose.

Carmen will be have an encore screening Sunday, October 19 at 1:15 p.m. and the Carmike 10 at Governor’s Square Mall, 2801 Wilma Rudolph Blvd. For more information, call (931) 503-0783

Coming up in this classical series are The Royal ballet with Marius Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty on October 23 at 7 p.m.;  The Royal Opera production of Mozart’s Le nozze de Figaro (date/time TBA); and the Royal Ballet production of Romeo and Juliet (date/time TBA).

Theater staff indicated that the screening of the remaining series would be on successive Thursdays at 7, with possible encores on as Sunday matinees, but the remaining dates (Sleeping Beauty excepted) could not be confirmed. We will keep track, and post the schedule when it becomes available. If you attend any or all of these performances, in Clarksville or in Nashville, it is important to let theater managers know how much you appreciate the availability of classical music and dance.

This initial performance of New York’s unparalleled Metropolitan Opera   aired  September 22. These high definition telecasts are not available in Clarksville; local opera fans must travel (and they do travel) to Nashville’s Green Hills or Opry Mills Cinemas to see these shows. These HD productions will be screened in some 800 venues around the world, with new countries in South America and Europe joining the Live in HD network this season.

A dancer (Hsin-Ping Chang) in the opening scene from Act I of Puccini's Madama Butterfly. Photo: Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera.

For the season-opening gala starring Renée Fleming, Music Director James Levine and Marco Armiliato conduct fully staged performances of the second act of Verdi’s La Traviata, the third act of Massenet’s Manon, and the final scene from Richard Strauss’s Capriccio. Tenor Ramón Vargas and baritones Thomas Hampson and Dwayne Croft join the soprano. Conductors are James Levine and Marco Armiliato with performers Renée Fleming, Ramón Vargas, Thomas Hampson, and Dwayne Croft.

The Saturday performances began October 11 with Richard Strauss’ Salome at 12 noon CST. Karita Mattila caused a sensation when she sang Salome at the Met for the first time in 2004. She reprises her stunning interpretation of the part, including her unforgettable Dance of the Seven Veils. Conductor is  Mikko Franck; production, Jürgen Flimm; with the voices of Karita Mattila, Ildikó Komlósi, Juha Uusitalo, Kim Begley, and Joseph Kaiser.

On Saturday, November 8, 2008 (12 noon CST), John Adams’s contemporary masterpiece Doctor Atomic makes its Met Premiere. Doctor Atomic explores a momentous episode of modern history: the creation of the atomic bomb. Director Penny Woolcock makes her Met debut with this gripping story that changed the course of history. Baritone Gerald Finley plays J. Robert Oppenheimer, the title character. Conductor is Alan Gilbert; production: Penny Woolcock; with the voices of Sasha Cooke, Meredith Arwady, Gerald Finley, Eric Owens, Richard Paul Fink

On Saturday, November 22, 2008 (12 noon CST),  Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust (New Production) will be directed by Robert Lepage, one of theater’s most imaginative directors. Lepage applies his artistry to Berlioz’s contemplation of good and evil. Using projections, Lepage has created a vision for La Damnation de Faust that seamlessly marries art and technology. Marcello Giordani stars in the title role opposite Susan Graham as Marguerite and John Relyea as Méphistophélès. James Levine conducts this rarely staged masterwork, with production by Robert Lepage; and the voices of Susan Graham, Marcello Giordani, John Relyea.

The Met offers its fan a Christmas gift in the form of the Saturday, December 20, (12 noon CST) performance of Massenet’s Thaïs (New Production). Renée Fleming stars as the Egyptian courtesan in search of spiritual sustenance. Thomas Hampson is the monk who falls from grace. Massenet’s sensual opera is presented in a new production by John Cox. Conductoris Jesús López-Cobos; with production by John Cox; and the voices of Renée Fleming, Thomas Hampson, and Michael Schade.

Puccini’s La Rondine (New Production) airs Saturday, January 10, 2009 (12 noon CST) with Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna provide the star power to deliver this ravishing romance from the world’s most popular opera composer. Gheorghiu plays the kept woman who gambles on true love, and Alagna is the man who makes her question the cost of her glittering existence. Nicolas Joël directs the new production of this gorgeously melodic look at love. Conductor is Marco Armiliato; with production by Nicolas Joël; and with the voices of Angela Gheorghiu, Lisette Oropesa, Roberto Alagna, Marius Brenciu, and Samuel Ramey.

Mark Morris’s acclaimed production of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice returns on Saturday, January 24, 2009, at 12 noon CST. This complete vision for Gluck, with choreography by Morris and costumes by Isaac Mizrahi, features the artistry of Stephanie Blythe in the male title role. The alluring Danielle de Niese is Orfeo’s adored wife, Euridice, who inspires the hero to face the underworld for her sake. Music Director James Levine conducts. Productionis by Mark Morris; with Stephanie Blythe and Danielle de Niese.

Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor graces the stage on Saturday, February 7, 2009 (12 noon CST) with Anna Netrebko sings the title role of Donizetti’s fragile heroine for the first time at the Met, with tenor Rolando Villazón in the part of her lover, Edgardo. Baritone Mariusz Kwiecien is her tyrannical brother. Mary Zimmerman’s hit production is staged as a Victorian ghost story. Conductor is Marco Armiliato; and the voices of Anna Netrebko, Rolando Villazón, Mariusz Kwiecien, and Ildar Abdrazakov.

Madama Butterfly, Puccini exquisite love story, plays Saturday, March 7, 2009 (12 noon CST) with Cristina Gallardo-Domâs returns to the title role of Anthony Minghella’s stunning production, a new classic of the Met repertory, opposite Marcello Giordani. Conductoris Patrick Summers; with production by Anthony Minghella; and the voices of  Cristina Gallardo-Domâs and Marcello Giordani.

On Saturday, March 21, 2009 (12:00 noon CST), a new production of Bellini’s La Sonnambula will feature Mary Zimmerman, who directed Natalie Dessay in last season’s hit production of Lucia di Lammermoor, underlines La Sonnambula’s dual elements of sleep and wakefulness in an intriguing staging set in the present. Bellini’s hauntingly lyrical score soars as performed by Dessay and Juan Diego Flórez, back from their sensational run together in La Fille du Régiment. Conductoris Evelino Pidò; with production by Mary Zimmerman; and the voices of  Natalie Dessay, Juan Diego Flórez, and Michele Pertusi.

Rossini’s La Cenerentola airs Saturday, May 9, 2009 (11:30 pm CST). Hot on the heels of her triumphant Met debut as Rosina in last season’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Elīna Garanča portrays another Rossini charmer in this bel canto Cinderella story. Lawrence Brownlee is her Prince Charming. Veteran baritone Alessandro Corbelli demonstrates his impeccable comic timing to match the gravitas of Met favorite John Relyea. Conductor is Maurizio Benini; with production by Cesare Lievi; and the voices of  Elīna Garanča, Lawrence Brownlee, Simone Alberghini, Alessandro Corbelli, and John Relyea.

While program and casting may be subject to change, this global broadcast series brings the Met’s finest music, conductors and voices to a the world. Running times are approximate. Intermissions in these performances are filled with backstage interviews and a glimpse of the action behind the staging of these great opera’s. Tickets for these performances are available now at the following theaters:

• Regal Green Hills 16, 3815 Green Hills Village Drive, Nashville TN 615-269-5910
• Regal Opry Mills 20, 570 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville TN (615) 514-3462

Zambello recreates the sun-drenched and sensual world of 19th century Spain, with its ranks of soldiers and crowds of peasants, its gypsies and bullfighters, its spectacle and its deadly, white-hot emotions.

The story is set in Seville, Spain, circa 1830, and concerns the passionate and volatile Carmen, a beautiful Gypsy with a fiery temper. Free with her love, she woos the corporal Don José, an inexperienced soldier. Their relationship leads to his rejection of his former love, mutiny against his superior, and joining a gang of smugglers. His jealousy when she turns from him to the bullfighter Escamillo leads him to murder Carmen.

At the heart of this story of one woman’s tangled relationship with two men is Carmen herself, played by the fabulous singer-actor Anna Caterina Antonacci. The great Italian soprano is matched by two devilishly handsome men as her love interest; steamingly sexy German tenor, Jonas Kaufmann and the smoldering Italian baritone Ildebrando D’Arcangelo.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Bizet based his opera on based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, which itself was influenced by the narrative poem ‘The Gypsies’ (1824) by Pushkin.

The opera premiered at the Opéra Comique of Paris in 1875, but the opening run was a failure, the work being denounced by the majority of critics. Shortly after the composer’s death only three months later, the production in Vienna (October 1875) began this opera’s path to worldwide popularity.

Bizet worked elements of Spanish music into the score; keeping the music obviously French. Several pieces, especially the Seguidilla and the Gypsy Song make use of the elements of flamenco music. Bizet worked several popular Spanish songs directly into the score. These include El arreglito which became the habanera, and the folk-song Carmen impudently sings when interrogated by Zuniga. The habanera was written to replace an aria that Galli-Marié disliked, and Bizet supposedly wrote over ten revisions.

Since the 1880s it has been one of the world’s most performed operas and a staple of the operatic repertoire. Carmen appears as number four on Opera America’s list of the 20 most-performed operas in North America.For more information, call the Carmike at (931) 503-0783

A little night music by stellar performers Beegie Adair Trio, Dennis Solee, Keri Alkema, Imani Winds and Trio Verlaine headline a season of classical and pop music.

The Austin Peay State University Department of Music and the Center of Excellence for Creative Arts is proud to announce the venue for the Clarksville Community Concert Association’s 2008-09 Concert Series. The series begins at 7:30 p.m., Monday, Sept. 15 in the Music/Mass Communication Building Concert Hall with the Beegie Adair Trio with Dennis Solee.

Entertainment News writes, “Beegie Adair is one of the finest piano players in the world.” Adair has recorded 24 CDs, ranging from Cole Porter standards to Frank Sinatra classics to romantic World War II ballads. She has accompanied such legendary performers as Chet Atkins, Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash and also worked with Lucille Ball, Dinah Shore, Mama Cass Elliott and Peggy Lee. Beegie Adair is accompanied by drummer Chris Brown, one of the most sought after drummers in the South and a veteran of the Maynard Ferguson Ensemble and bassist Roger Spencer, who has played with the Les Brown Band, Ray Conniff, the Page Cavanaugh Trio and Pete Jolly.

The Beegie Adiar Trio’s special guest, Dennis Solee, is an accomplished saxophone, flute and clarinet player who has accompanied Natalie Cole, Sammy Davis Jr. and Bob Hope.

Keri Alkema

Mezzo-soprano Keri Alkema will perform Friday, Nov. 21, at  7:30 p.m.  Alkema has been praised by the New York Times as “being an excellent female lead” and for having “an appealing brew of dark and creamy colors in her mezzo, which she yields with an incisive musicality.”

During the current season, Alkema plays Charlotte in Massenet’s Werther for a return engagement with the Chautauqua Opera, joins the Metropolitan Opera roster in its production of Die Walküre, covering the role of Siegrune and sings Handel’s Messiah with the Tucson Symphony. In Winter Park, Fla., she will be heard in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Florida Bach Festival and in Mozart’s Requiem with the Delaware Symphony. She also will offer a recital in Oberlin, Ohio, under the auspices of the Marilyn Horne Foundation.

In the 2006-07 season, Alkema made her New York City Opera debut as Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, and her Naples Opera debut as Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors and Suzuki in Madama Butterfly.  She sang Brahms’ Alto Rhapsody, Bruckner’s Te Deum with the Florida Bach Festival and Handel’s Messiah with the Virginia Symphony. She also participated in Opéra de Montréal’s Annual Gala concert.  In addition, Alkema gave a solo recital under the auspices of the Marilyn Horne Foundation in Winter Park.

Imani Winds will perform at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Jan. 23, 2009. Since 1997, this Grammy-nominated wind quintet has taken a unique path, carving out a distinct presence in the classical music world with its dynamic playing, culturally poignant programming, genre-blurring collaborations and inspirational outreach programs. With two-member composers and a deep commitment to commissioning new work, the group is enriching the traditional wind quintet repertoire while meaningfully bridging European, American, African and Latin American traditions.

Imani Winds

In the previous season, Imani Winds performed extensively with jazz icon Wayne Shorter, culminating in a summer European tour of jazz festivals in Vienne, France, Lubeck, Germany, Kongsberg, Norway, Copenhagen, Denmark, Limerick, Ireland, and the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam, Netherlands. In 2008-09, the group will play several engagements with the Shorter Quartet, including dates at Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and Is Sanat Art and Culture Centre in Istanbul.

Trio Verlaine

Trio Verlaine will perform a classical concert with flute, harp and viola on Friday, March 6, 2009, at 7:30 p.m.  Trio Verlaine will perform a classical concert with flute, harp and viola. The members of Trio Verlaine are drawn together by friendship and a strong desire to further this unusual instrumental combination first dreamed of by Debussy. Members are Heidi Krutzen, principal harp CBC Radio Orchestra and Vancouver Opera, David Harding, professor of viola and chamber music, UBC, and Lorna McGhee, former co-principal flute BBC Symphony Orchestra, London.

They have appeared at many of North America’s finest chamber music festivals and series, including the Oregon Bach Festival, Music in the Vineyards, Sitka Summer Music Festival, Strings in the Mountains, Music in the Morning and Festival Vancouver. Trio Verlaine can be heard frequently on NPR in the U.S. and CBC radio in Canada. In addition to standard repertoire, Trio Verlaine’s exploration will include arrangements of works suited to this rare combination and the commissioning of entirely new works. Trio Verlaine recently had the honor of being granted a commission from Seattle Chamber Music Society. The new trio by American composer, Jeffrey Cotton, will be premiered at the Seattle Chamber Music Festival in 2008. Other upcoming highlights include a BC tour with guests Jonathan Crow (former Montreal Symphony concertmaster) and Matt Haimowitz (international cello soloist) as well as numerous summer festival appearances.

The 2008-09 concert series concludes at 7:30 p.m., Friday, April 3 with a performance by the John Proulx Trio. Proulx is a sought-after pianist, vocalist, recording artist and Grammy-winning composer in the Los Angeles area. Proulx’s debut CD, with legendary musicians Chuck Berghofer and Joe LaBarbera, was recently released on the Max Jazz label on Aug. 1, 2006.  He has performed with many others including Anita O’Day, Mark Murphy and Marian McPartland. Proulx currently plays in the Mike Barone, Randy Aldcroft and Kim Richmond big bands and loves interacting with the pool of great jazz musicians in Los Angeles.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Clarksville Community Concert Association is a nonprofit organization dedicated to presenting musical performances of high artistic merit and promoting interest in and enjoyment of live concerts throughout the community.

Advanced tickets may be purchased for any of the concerts listed. Subscriptions for up to five concerts are also available for individuals of groups. For more information about advanced tickets or purchasing a subscription, contact Sharon Nass, (931) 647-7288.

Pugh’s exhibition will examine the vessel, both functional and non-functional. “The show is a collection of wheel thrown clay, and lathe turned wood vessels that exam form, texture and color,” he said. “Most of my work is designed to be used as well as enjoyed. The sense of feel is as important as sight when enjoying the pottery and wood bowls in this exhibition.”

Pugh began his college education at Louisiana College more than 50 years ago. After serving in the Vietnam War, he worked in graphic design and the printing industry. “(My life) has come full circle in a return to college to study art,” Pugh said. This exhibit is free and open to the public.

Author Joanne Greenberg to deliver lecture and reading

APSU and the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts’ Visiting Writers Series will present a reading and lecture from award-winning author Joanne Greenberg. The event, titled Great Efforts, will start at 8 p.m., Wednesday, April 16 in the Morgan University Center Room 303. A book signing and reception will follow the reading.

Greenberg has written 12 novels and four short story collections. She also has published under her pseudonym, Hannah Green. Her best-selling novel, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, is a semi-autobiographical account of a teenage girl’s three-year struggle with madness.

Several of Greenberg’s other works deal with the troubles and obstacles that people with disabilities face on a daily basis. The protagonist in Greenberg’s 1965 novel, The Monday Voices, is a man who works for the department of rehabilitation and assists people with physical disabilities in finding work. Her 1970 novel, In This Sign, follows the 50-year relationship of a deaf couple.

Currently, Greenberg tutors in Latin and Hebrew and teaches cultural anthropology and fiction writing at the School of Mines in Colorado. This reading is free and open to the public.

APSU opera workshop to feature music students

Three young women have wishes of living wealthy, becoming famous and having a lover. Does the fulfillment of such wishes make people happy?

That is the question to be answered in the comedy, A Game of Chance, one of two one-act operas to be performed at APSU during the annual Opera Workshop on April 19-20. The second opera, a drama, will be Sister Angelica, by Giacomo Puccini, one of the greatest Italian opera composers.

The operas will be performed at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, April 19 and 3:30 p.m., Sunday, April 20 in the Music/Mass Communication Building Concert Hall. Tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for students. Admission for APSU students is free with APSU I.D. The operas are suitable for family entertainment.

Lisa Conklin-Bishop, director of the Opera Workshop, said the performances represent the work of the entire APSU Department of Music.

“The Opera Workshop is a culmination of everybody’s hard work in the music department. That includes both the students and the faculty,” she said.

The first opera, A Game of Chance, written in 1956 by Seymour Barab, features an eternal messenger of fate who brings to each of three young women her dearest wish: One would like to be wealthy; one would like to be famous; and one would like to have a lover in her life. Each discovers she has not asked for enough. The rich woman misses real friends; the famous author yearns for love; and the third young woman finds marriage a tedious chore.

“The moral is to be careful what you wish for,” Conklin-Bishop said. “We all want too much or too little.”

In Sister Angelica, the main character, Angelica, has lived in the peace of the convent for seven years. Her past life was different, one in which she had an illegitimate son whom she misses every day. What is more, she never has received any news from her family who originally took her to the convent to cover up the scandal.

Her aunt, a princess, eventually visits her. Angelica just wants to know how her son is; however, her aunt tells her that the boy died of fever. Angelica is devastated. Later, Angelica, in a vision, hears her son calling for her to meet him in paradise. She makes herself a poison and drinks it but realizes that in committing suicide, she has damned herself. She begs the Virgin Mary for mercy, and, as she dies, she sees a miracle: The Virgin Mary appears, along with Angelica’s son, who runs to embrace her.

“This opera has the most beautiful aria, ‘Senza mamma,’ in which Angelica expresses her distress that her child died without knowing his mother,” Conklin-Bishop said.

APSU music dept. to host Mingzhe Wang in faculty recital

The APSU Department of Music and the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts will host a concert, featuring clarinetist Mingzhe Wang, assistant professor of music, accompanied by pianist Nathan Carterette, at 5:30 p.m., Friday, April 11 in the Music/Mass Communication Building Concert Hall. The performance is free and open to the public.

The musicians will perform works such as Fantasia da Concerto on the Themes by Luigi Bassi, Fantasiestuke, Op. 73 by Robert Schumann and Sonata for clarinet and piano in e-flat major, Op. 120, No. 2 by Johannes Brahms.

Wang began his musical training at the age of nine. He later was educated at Yale University where he earned his Master of Music and Master of Musical Arts degrees. Currently, he is a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate at Yale University. Committed to promoting both contemporary music and the classics, Wang has worked closely with composers such as Ezra Laderman, Martin Bresnick and Krzstof Penderecki. He also has performed with groups such as The American Classical Orchestra and the Clarion Music Society Orchestra. His performances have been featured in China’s Central Television and New York’s WQXR.

Carterette began his piano studies at the age of 11 and received classical training from Birute and Anthony Smetona. After studying at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and Yale University, Carterette studied privately and performed concerts in Germany with composer-pianist Dafydd Llywelyn. Carterette has been featured at venues such as the Weill Recital Hall in New York, Radford University in Virginia and the Berklee School of Music in Boston.

For more information about these performances, contact the music department by telephone at (931) 221-7818.

“Right to hunt” constitutional amendment passes 105th General Assembly

House Joint Resolution 108 passed on the House floor this week with overwhelming aproval. The constitutional amendment would add provisions to the state constitution establishing the right to hunt, fish, and harvest game subject to “reasonable rules and regulations.” An excerpt from the resolution reads:

Hunting and fishing are honored traditions in the state; citizens have enjoyed the bounty of Tennessee’s natural resources from the time prior to statehood, including hunting and fishing for subsistence and recreation; therefore, hunting and fishing is a vital part of the state’s heritage and economy and should be preserved and protected.

Having already passed the Senate this year, the amendment must now win the approval of the 106^th General Assembly next year by a two-thirds vote. The measure could be on the ballot for referendum as early as 2010.

“Pass the bottle” clears committee

The “Pass the Bottle” legislation, which would ban open containers in vehicles, and one of several DUI bills rolled out as a comprehensive effort to combat drunk driving, passed subcommittee this week and will next be heard in the State and Local Government Committee. The bill has met resistance for the last several weeks, however, members who previously seemed to oppose the bill wrangled over amendments, one of which lessened the charge for having an open container in a vehicle to a misdemeanor and a $50 fine.

If the bill is signed into law, federal funds to the tune of over $13 million could be returned to the road building account, and used in much-needed areas of maintenance such as road paving. Currently, the state receives the federal funds, but is restricted in how the money is spent. Due to these restrictions, much of it is now used for public safety campaigns.

Legislators participate in “Ag Day on the Hill”

Legislators participated in “Ag Day on the Hill,” an event sponsored by the House Agriculture Committee to raise awareness regarding the many things Tennessee farmers contribute to our economy and identity. Representatives from the Tennessee Farmers Cooperative, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and produce, dairy and beef producers were all on hand to meet with legislators and discuss their initiatives and products. Below are some highlights:

Tennessee Farmers Cooperative: Despite a difficult year in which farmers were plagued with drought conditions, the Tennessee Farmers Cooperative reported a successful year due to the hard work and determination of their farmers. All of the state’s feed manufacturing facilities were designated Safe Feed/Safe Food Certified Facilities by the American Feed Industry Association, a rigorous process ensuring safe food.

U.S.D.A.: Although the number of farms in the U.S. decreased slightly, cash receipts from farm marketings increased by 11 percent. The top commodity in the state of Tennessee proved to be cattle.

Produce and Dairy: The Tennessee Department of Agriculture has rolled out a new website, http://www.picktnproducts.org/, that features great gifts, seasonal recipes, games, and where to find fresh produce, and hardy plants.

Dairy farmers reported that Americans are consuming more dairy than ever before. Per capita consumption of total milk has climbed to 605 pounds today from 552 in 1983. Tennessee is part of the Southeast United Dairy Industry Association, which also recently rolled out a new website, http://www.southeastdairy.org/.

For more information, please visit www.tennessee.gov/agriculture.

In brief…

• Schools: The House voted unanimously this week to pass legislation that requires school principals to grant students excused absences for up to 10 days for the purpose of visiting a parent who is stationed outside of the country. Currently, if a student’s parent, custodian, or other person with legal custody or control is a member of the United States armed forces or National Guard, a public school principal must give the student an excused absence for one day when the member is deployed and another day when the service member returns from deployment. Having already passed the Senate, the bill will now be sent to the Governor for his approval.
• Public Records: House Bill 2750 passed the Local Government Subcommittee this week, and will now be heard in full committee. The measure will allow elected bodies to set up websites where they can “instant message” one another, making the “conversations” available for the public and the media’s viewing. The bill was filed in response to the problems associated with the state’s Sunshine Law.
• Energy: The House voted this week to support House Joint Resolution 838, a measure that encourages the governor to establish a goal of reducing fuel consumption by at least 15 percent in the state’s vehicle fleet by June 30, 2010. The resolution was embraced by House members on both sides of the aisle. The sponsor said he believed that 2010 was a realistic goal to reduce the fuel consumption.
• Education: A bold education initiative called “Education Pays” was passed out of the House Education Committee, winning bi-partisan approval. The bill’s sponsor said he was extremely pleased that the Education Committee is thinking outside the box. The Education Pays Act creates a pilot program to give cash rewards to encourage academic achievement among at-risk students.

The week ahead…

• House Bill 3519 exempts home-based kitchens where non-potentially hazardous foods are made and the sale of such foods at farmers’ markets from department regulation. (Agriculture)
• House Bill 3715 requires meat or milk from cloned animals and all food for human consumption that has been genetically altered or modified to be labeled as such and that notice be appropriately given to the public. (Agriculture)
• House Bill 3865 requires all birthing hospitals to provide educational materials for parents of premature newborns. (Health and Human Resources)
• House Bill 3059 creates a Class B misdemeanor offense of consuming alcoholic beverage while driving motor vehicle on public highway and Class C misdemeanor offense of possessing open container of alcoholic beverage within passenger area of motor vehicle on public highway. (State & Local Government)
• House Bill 4023 prohibits the diminution in value of gift cards and gift certificates. (Consumer & Employee Affairs)
• House Bill 3991 creates new Class E and D felony offenses of assault on law enforcement officer; and Class B felony offense of aggravated assault on law enforcement officer. (Judiciary)
• House Bill 4042 authorizes human resource agencies to apply for grants and implement statewide an intervention program called “Moral Kombat.” (Education)
• House Bill 0009 creates K-12 lottery capital outlay special account; establishes grant program for capital outlay projects for K-12 educational facilities administered by comptroller of the treasury. (Education)
• House Bill 4185 adds a new classification of limited resource waters to the Water Quality Control Act of 1977. (Conservation & Environment)

Verdi’s longstanding affinity for Shakespeare is explored in Adrian Noble’s dark yet exhilarating vision for this disturbing work. James Levine conducts and acclaimed baritone Lado Ataneli stars in the towering title role. Bass-baritone John Relyea plays the role of the doomed Banquo.

For tickets, call Regal Cinemas at Green Hills Mall at (615) 269-5910 (address: 3815 Green Hills Village Drive, Nashville) or Opry Mills at (615)514-3462 (address: 570 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville)

Alagna is Romeo of the Montagues, enchanted at first sight with the lovely Juliet (Netrebko) of the Capulets, caring not that their families exist in a state of hatred. Youth, beauty and passion rule, and the innocence of their newfound love must scale more than the balcony rail in pursuit of happiness beyond a feud not of their making.

From the tentative steps of a first dance to the sensual nuance of first love, the audience is drawn into a carefully spun web of intrigue and tragedy. The world knows and loves the story; this transcendent adaptation adds a new dimension to a treasured classic.

The Masked Ball in which the dance of love begins

The Metropolitan Opera’s merger of classic opera and modern technology continues to introduce the majesty and the magic of opera to a new and growing generation of fans, building a global audience entranced with this blend of the visual and the auditory. The scale of these broadcasts is akin to a orchestra center seat at the Met; the next best thing to being there. The 07-08 season has been expanded to eight productions, up from six last year.

The HD Live series includes eight operas brings live high definition broadcasts from the Met stage to theaters around the globe, including theaters at Green Hills Mall and Orpyland Mall in Nashville. There are no performances in Clarksville. The curtain rises at noon local time. Last season’s performances in this series were SRO at Green Hills.

Tickets are $22 per adult, $20 for seniors and $18 for children and a few are still available for this performance through the Met Website or by calling Green Hills 1-800-326-3264 or Opryland Theaters 615-514-3461. The performance runs three hours and thirty minutes. Encore performances are scheduled at many theaters (usually but not always on Sunday); check with your local theater for details.

The series will continue in 2008 with the January 1 production of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, followed by Verdi’s MacBeth (Shakespeare) on January 12, Puccini’s Manon Lescault on Feb. 16, a new production of Britten’s Peter Grimes on March 15, Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde on march 22, Puccini’s La Boheme on April 5, and Donizetti’s La Fille du Regiment on April 26.

Editor’s Note: Clarksville Online will be reviewing this production.

Opera fans, mark your calendars: tickets sales for the 2007-08 performances start October 19, with the first performance, Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet, conducted by Placido Domingo, to air on December 15.

The inaugural series last year reached 325,000 people worldwide. In the United States, some 200,000 people viewed the performances on 151 screens.  

In addition to Romeo and Juliet, the coming season includes:

• Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, a new English language production by Richard Jones (January 1)
• Verdi’s Macbeth with Lado Ataneli (January 15)
• Puccini’s Manon Lescault (February 16)
• Brittens’ Peter Grimes, a new production (March 15)
• Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde (March 22)
• Puccini’s La Boheme with Angela Gheorghiou in Franco Zeffirelli’s classic staging (April 5)
• Donizetti’s La Fille De Regiment, a new production (April 26)

Last season, the Met presented a remarkable series that played to packed theaters at Green Hills Mall Theater and Opryland Theater in Nashville. The series was not screened in any Clarksville theaters, so classical and opera fans had to travel the extra miles for these special screenings.Under the leadership of General Manager Peter Gelb and Music director James Levine, the Metropolitan Opera has launched numerous initiatives designed to connect the companies with larger audiences. The Met has made the commitment to present modern masterpieces alongside classic repertory, with highly theatrical production featuring the greatest opera stars in the world.

Building on 76 years of international Saturday radio broadcasts now heard over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network, the Met recently began using state of the art media distribution and technology platforms to attract new audiences and reach millions of opera fans worldwide. The Met recently launched Metropolitan Opera radio on Sirius, a 24-hour satellite radio channel, broadcasting a mix of live and rare historical performances. With support from RealNetworks, the Met also began free live streaming of performances on its website. For more information, visit www.metopera.org.

Editor’s Note: Can’t think of a better Christmas gift for the music lover in your household than tickets to one or several of these performances.

First performed in 1918, Il Trittico is actually three distinct one-act operas, two heart-wrenching tragedies followed by a light-hearted look at living, dying and “the will.”

The opening segment, Il Tabarro, unfolds its tragedy in the form of a lovers triangle — with the faithless wife Giorgetta (Maria Guleghina) mourning the loss of a child, falling from her husband’s arms into the passionate embrace of an all too eager Luigi (Salvatore Licitra). Guleghina brings a beauty and power to the role, torn between what was, what is and what will be, yearning for the physical love of Luigi, while waging a love/hate war with her husband Michele (Juan Pons), the father of her lost child. Licitar’s voice, in a word, mesmerizes as he sings of his adoration and his frustration at not being able to claim his new love for his own. Pons offers a haunting aria of passion, hatred and despair as he realizes his wife has betrayed him, has triggered in him the power to kill.

The set design is a multi-story set of streets, docks, a boat and bridge that spans stories overhead. It is a dark set, with a somberness that mirrors the pain, suffering and rage of its characters.

The second act is Suor Angelica, a haunting story set in the stark courtyard of a convent, quiet and reverent, with heavily-robed and veiled sisters chanting prayer, moving through the simplicity of their daily lives with God, the ever-present Virgin Mary and each other. These spiritual woman talk of the Virgin, of faith, of their forbidden forays into wishes and dreams, while through them moves Sister Angelica (Barbara Frittoli), a quiet nun relinquished to the convent for some past transgression, surrounded in mystery as she works ‘miracles’ of healing through the plants she tends.

The story unfolds in a languid style; again, dark lighting, shadowed archways echoing the shape of the nuns in their veils, a hint of what may be the Virgin Mary in the recesses of the arch of the doorway, stone niches lit with candles as evening falls.

A guest arrives, an old woman in black, an aunt, asking for Angelica. The story moves from langor to hope, then dropping sharply from sorrow to despair. The listener learns that Angelica disgraced her family with the birth of an illegitimate son, and was banished to God’s service for that unforgivable result of youthful passion. Angelica’s inheritance, held in abeyance, must be released to her sister. Then, in an emotionally fatal blow, she is told that the young son she has dreamed of seeing, of loving, of one day holding in her arms, has died. Her aria, Senza Mamma, is heart-wrenching.

Defying God and the Virgin, Angelica succumbs to despair, looking to her herbs and flowers for the ones that can be the source of her own death. She drinks her fatal potion, immediately regrets this sin of suicide, and begs the forgiveness of the Virgin. Her hands reach up in supplication. From a cross high above the stage, golden light shines upon her her; the doors of the church are opened. In this halo of golden light, in this illuminated path of light across the stone steps and the courtyard, the Virgin and her son stand on the threshold, welcoming Angelica to heaven as she slumps to the ground, dead.

If Act One (Il Tabarro) climbed the mountain of the magnificent, Act Two (Suor Angelica) pushed this reviewer over the top and all the down the other side. Beyond the performances and the music, the sheer artistry of the set design and lighting created a haunting mood of both peace and desolation. In just a few words and in my characteristic bluntness: it doesn’t get any better than this.

Gianni Schicchi is Act Three, a total change of pace. Comedy. Old school comedy. Somewhat predictable, perpetually enchanting. The music lightens. The tenor shifts. Death is still the theme, but so is inheritance. And therein lies the story.

Buoso Donati is dying and has left it all to “the monks.” His family is not happy, and the two young lovers in this lighthearted tale are left without dowry or substantive income, and thus will not be allowed to marry. What to do? Write a new will. Mask the time of death long to let a comedy of mistaken identities put the money in the hands of a gaggle of mercenary relatives and friends..

The choreography of Act Three is delightful — replete with subtleties of movement, pacing, eye contact, gestures — all eked out with meticulous timing and the sharp edge of slapstick. The serious and melodic perfection of O Mia Babbino Caro, sung by Lauretta (Maria Guleghina), one of the anxious young lovers, steps far away from the comic for a few ethereal moments — leaving listeners holding their breath at the sheer beauty of this Puccini classic.

Plot and characters twist and turn around each other in a greedy war with time, each getting their just due. The young lovers emerge as the unsuspecting winners in this game of greed and the calculating Schicchi asides to the audience that his conniving game of fraud and trickery “was all worth it for the sake of love.”

Director Jack O’Brien more than met the challenge of staging this four-hour presentation, seeking three different moods from three distinctly different stories on one adaptable set. He moves Puccini’s characters through the light of love, the darkness of despair, creating an all-encompassing mood for each distinctive piece. Kudos. Peggy Eisenhower and Jules Fisher are to be equally commended for the stunning lightning effects, particularly in the first two segments. Douglas W. Schmidt spent 18 months creating the complex sets for this production. Every bit of it showed. Conductor James Levine masterminded this presentation of Puccini’s score, offering everything Met fans have come to expect.

In 2006, the Met offered its first Live in HD broadcast in North America, Europe and Japan, a technological follow-up to its acclaimed radio and PBS broadcasts. Building on that success, the Met now reaches its audiences through 239 worldwide venues, and 50,000 viewers — and counting. This groundbreaking effort mixes technology and the arts to stunning effect.

If Il Trittore is standard fare for HD broadcasts, the lines will only get longer at theaters like Green Hills or the Belcourt in Nashville. If Clarksville fans get lucky, maybe our Great Escape Theater will lend one or two of its screens to these productions. It’s only eight Saturdays a year. Clarksville music lovers would be queuing up for tickets. and thanking the theater profusely for stepping up to meet one this community’s unfilled musical needs.

Next season

The Metroplitan Opera: Live in HD, will offer eight performances: Charles Gounod’s Romeo and Juliette (December 15, 2007), and in 2008, Englebert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel (January 1), Giuseppi Verdi’s MacBeth (January 12), Puccini’s Manon Lescault (February 16), Benjamin Britten ’s Peter Grimes (March 15), Richard Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde (March 22), Puccini’s La Bomehe (April 5) and Gaetano Donazetti’s La Fille du Regiment [Daughter of the Regiment], April 26.

The broadcasts are heard in Dolby surround sound and include interviews and short features during the ‘intermission’ times.