Philippe Sly and Le Chimera Project in klezmer inspired Winterreise

Philippe Sly and Le Chimera Project in Winterreise

Philippe Sly and the Le Chimera Project will reprise their version of Schubert's epic song cycle Winterreise, which they performed to great acclaim in Montreal in April. There will be four performances between January 17-26 in Toronto, Québec, Ottawa and Alma.

Sly and Le Chimera Project have created a fascinating new take on the piece with a fully staged song cycle arranged for violin, clarinet, trombone, and accordion. This Klezmer take on the piece blurs the line between concert and theater.

[Synopsis of "Rast," performed in video: "He reaches a charcoal-burner's hut and, worn out by his long trek through the snowstorm with a heavy backpack, he lies down to rest. In the quiet his cuts and bruises sting sorely."]

When Schubert's Winterreise premiered in 1827, the public was perplexed by the piece, finding it too raw, too dark, too hard to digest. Only the famous song Der Lindenbaum found favor. But Schubert was completely sure that he had created a work of importance; no composition seems to have been as important to him as the musical realization of these 24 poems by Wilhelm Müller.  Of course, today one can't have a serious discussion about great lieder without mentioning Winterreise. The piece's influence on other composers can not be overstated and few baritones having included all or portions of the cycle in their repertoire. 

If you can't wait until next year, you can hear Philippe Sly in Bach's Christmas Oratorio with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal on December 3 and with the Gulbenkian Orchestra on December 13, as well as in Handel's Messiah with the University of Michigan Musical Society on December 7. He returns to the opera stage at the Opera Garnier in Mozart's Don Giovanni in March and Cosi fan tutte in June. 

Martin Achrainer performs semi-staged Winterreise

Martin Achrainer (photos from artist website)

Austrian barihunk Martin Achrainer will perform Schubert's Winterreise in a staged adaptation by Hermann Schneider in the Black Box space at the Theater am Volksgarten in Linz from January 20-Februarty 24. He'll be joined by Tommaso Lepore on piano.

When Schubert's Winterreise premiered in 1827, the public was perplexed by the piece, finding it too raw, too dark, too hard to digest. Only the famous song Der Lindenbaum found favor. But Schubert was completely sure that he had created a work of importance; no composition seems to have been as important to him as the musical realization of these 24 poems by Wilhelm Müller.  

Martin Achrainer as Don Giovanni:

Of course, today one can't have a serious discussion about great lieder without mentioning Winterreise. The piece's influence on other composers can not be overstated and few baritones having included all or portions of the cycle in their repertoire. 

Tickets are available online. 

David Diston posts funny bio for upcoming Winterreise

David Diston

We've been meaning to post about Canadian David Diston for at least a year, but his bio for his upcoming bio for the 24-baritone Winterreise-fest was the best motivation to get this done. Regular readers may recall barihunk Zachary Luchetti's hysterical and epic biography that we posted about in 2015 and Diston's is shorter, but every bit as clever.

"David Diston’s rapidly developing artistry is quickly gaining him recognition as a ‘sonorous baritone’ (Huffpost Alberta) with ‘full-throated and characterful singing’ (Calgary Herald). Also hailed as 'the best baritone ever' (Dave's Mom), Mr. Diston recently performed a most dramatic rendition of Don Giovanni, in his shower. Critically acclaimed for his coffee consumption abilities, David becomes a bigger fan of coloratura with each additional cup. Don't miss David in his upcoming appearances as 'King of the Night' in his living room, and 'passenger' on the 11:43pm Lakeshore West from Union."

You can hear (and see) Diston live in the Tongue In Cheek Productions performance of twenty-four basses and baritones singing Schubert's Winterreise on Wednesday, September 5, 8pm at Lula Lounge in Toronto. Some of the singers include Jason Howard, Doug MacNaughton, Dion Mazerolle, Alexander Hajek, Cairan Ryan, Aaron Durand, Michael Nyby and Olivier Laquerre. Tickets are available online.

Tobias Greenhalgh performing staged of Schubert's Winterreise

American barihunk Tobias Greenhalgh, who joined the ensemble the Young Ensemble of the Theater an der Wien last year, will be performing in the premiere of a newly staged version of Schubert's Winterreise.

Czech choreographer Martin Dvorak has conceived the 2-part song cycle for baritone, a dancer/actor and pianist, who will be Marcin Kabaghe. The initial performance will be on Saturday, October 17th, with three additional shows in the Czech Republic in December. On December 17 and 18, it will be performed at the Museum of Applied Arts in Brno, with an additional performance scheduled in Prague on October 19.

The songs represent the voice of the poet as the lover, and form a distinct narrative and dramatic sequence. In the course of the cycle the poet, whose beloved now fancies someone else, leaves his beloved's house secretly at night, quits the town and follows the river and the steep ways to a village. Having longed for death, he is at last reconciled to his loneliness. The cold, darkness, and barren winter landscape mirror the feelings in his heart, and he encounters various people and things along the way which form the subject of the successive songs during his lonely journey. It is in fact an allegorical journey of the heart.

Tickets, which are only 10,00 EUR, are available online.

Greenhalgh is currently appearing as Littore in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea at Theater an der Wien with Jennifer Larmore as Ottavia, Christophe Dumaux as Ottone and the Valer Sabadus as Nerone.

He'll be back in the U.S. in January to sing Moralès in Bizet's Carmen with the Palm Beach Opera. Also in the cast are Rinat Shaham as Carmen, Zachary Nelson as Escamillo and Riccardo Massi as Don Josè. The production will be directed by the sensational young director John De Los Santos. Tickets are available online.

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