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| Edwin Crossley-Mercer finally makes NY debut |
It's no secret that like much of the opera world has been eagerly anticipating Edwin Crossley-Mercer's long-awaited New York debut on March 3, 2014 at the Weill Concert Hall. He will be performing Carmina Catulli, a 17-movement song cycle by Michael Linton based on the poems of Catullus, the Latin poet of the late Roman Republic. The song cycle comes with the warning, "Because the poems of Catullus deal with issues of sex in a frank manner, some members of the public might find them objectionable. "
We've certainly been curious about the music for his Big Apple debut and now the following promo video is available for the recital. Let's just say that it's not exactly Schubert's Winterreise. Michael Linton’s music is notorious for its emotional ferocity and extraordinary technical difficulty. The rest of the program will include Linton's Seven Franchetti Songs, settings of poetry by the Italian-American polymath Cody Franchetti. They will be performed by tenor H. Stephen Smith. The accompanist for the concert is Jason Paul Peterson.
Tickets are on sale now at the Carnegie Hall website, but we recommend buying now as the theater only holds 268 people. If you can't make it to the show, the songs were recently recorded in Nashville, Tennessee for release around the time of the recital. We will keep you posted.
If you're in Europe, you can catch Crossley-Mercer as Jupiter in Rameau's Platée at the Theater an der Wien from February 17-28 and again at the Opéra Comique from March 20-30. His next European recital is April 10th at the Auditorium du Musée d’Orsay.
https://vimeo.com/84601184
ReplyDeleteAmabo, mea dulcis Ipsitilla.
An extract from a private Nashville recital which will be part of the recital at Carnegie Hall in March.
What is the point in generating publicity about Edwin Crossley-Mercer's appearance at Carnegie Hall if there is no follow up on the site? Did nobody else except me go? The audience was astounded; I mean taken aback, mesmerized even, and despite the New Yorkers' attachment to recital etiquette, Mr. Crossley-Mercer's interpretation, Mr. Peterson's accompaniment and the composer Michael Linton's composer's dazzling musical demands, moved the attendees into overdrive, for the applause broke out regularly despite the "rules" about waiting until the end of the song cycle. Waken up! This was an event, the magnitude of which will ripple for years to come.
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous: Thank you for your kind comments. Yes, I too was surprised by the audience's applause (and even a couple of "bravos") between songs. New York audiences tend to be pretty strict about their concert etiquette and this was the first time I'd heard this kind of interruption, but it was obviously spontaneous reactions to the musician's performance (and I was of course delighted, and gratified!). The Catullus songs have been recorded and are now in the process of being mixed, and the cycle will be released both digitally on line and in a physical CD on June 17. An announcement will be made on at www.refineresfire.us and I will certainly also remind barihunks. Again, thank you for writing, and for coming. Mike Linton
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