I had the opportunity to attend the final Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra concert yesterday. It was final in many ways. First, it was the final appearance for the conductor Mischa Santora, who is leaving the area to be closer to his family (and baby) in Minneapolis. Second, before the concert began, the president of the board announced that it was the final concert for the group before a major reorganization, the result of which will be a summer festival, rather than concerts throughout the year. Thirdly, it was the final concert of the 40th anniversary year for the group.
The concert included a variety of Italian orchestral and operatic pieces, with Sarah Coburn as the guest singer.
First, I need to thank John M. for offering the tickets he won in a silent auction. Note, the tickets in this silent auction were unbelievable. The four of us who attended sat in the third row and center--close enough to hear all the little noises and small breaths. It was an interesting vantage point, since we were looking forward and up, but with a clear view of everyone's feet.
Here is the program:
Luigi Cherubini: Overture from Medea
Giuseppi Verdi: "Caro Nome" from Rigoletto
Giuseppi Verdi: "Addio del passato" from La Traviata
Giacomo Puccini: I Crisantemi (The Chrysanthemums) for string orchestra
Giuseppi Verdi: "Ah, Fors'e Lui" and "Sempre Libera" from La Traviata
Vincenzo Bellini: "Oh quante volte" from I Capuleti e i Montecchi
Vincenzo Bellini: "Qui la voce... Vien, diletto" from I Puritani
Gioachino Rossini: Overture from Il Barbiere di Siviglia
Gioachino Rossini: "Una voce poca fa" from Il Barbiere di Siviglia
Since the first piece was orchestral, I had a chance to listen and let my eye wander as I relaxed into being at the concert. Here is what I noticed.
These folks do not tap their toes! Well, nearly none of the musicians did. They sat perfectly still in relaxed poses. I began searching all the feet, and indeed did find one viola player in the middle who tapped, as well as one cello player who used his heel occasionally, and one woodwind player who rocked her foot back and forth in time for the more intense passages. Having played in bands and orchestras on two continents while in school, my experience was that toe tapping is common. Might this be the difference between amateur and professional musicians, or is this a hallmark of the CCO under Santora? He is quite an interesting and personable conductor. A very tall Dutch man, quite thin, and not overly intrusive in his directing, he also stood in one location in a relaxed manner, only occasionally moving to direct one side or the other of the orchestra.
The orchestra members made up an amazingly normal-looking group of people. There was a wide range of ages, a generally equal mix of male and female players representing mostly "American" with a few international ones. Some looked nearly aristocratic in posture, others like folks you'd meet at the local small town grocery store. Long hair, as well as short and all lengths in between, where some was neatly groomed and others lacked a decent cut, but clean and combed.
Of course, they were in black, but not in uniform. Some of the women wore skirts, some pants, and there were many varieties of shirts, pullovers and blouses represented. The men were in dark grey or black suits and white shirts, with a variety of colored ties. As a person who is not fond of socks, and who abhors pantyhose, I found it interesting that all the women wore some kind of stocking. From nude to opaque, every ankle was covered. There was also a wide variety of shoes--black patent stilettos, orthopedic-type laced shoes, and very comfy looking sandals and slip ons. I realized that these folks were doing their job and while there were obviously rules, the individuality of each had space to exist.
The second piece brought Ms Colburn to the stage. She walked out and stood in immediate contrast. She wore a robin's egg blue floor length gown with significantly bejeweled straps and bodice. She also wore golden sandals, no hose covering her perfectly pedicured (red) toes. She looked like a beauty pageant contestant in evening gown competition. In addition, she had expertly applied makeup (wait: I had to look at the other women, who wore no makeup at all that I could see, something I missed in my first impressions), and shiny pinkish red lips. Long sparkly earrings glistened in the lights, completing the look. While she was bowing and clasping her hands together in appreciation (no nail polish visible-wait:none of the musicians was wearing nail polish or rings of any kind, but Ms Cohen did wear a wedding ring), I noted that she was one of those very small boned women who when full grown still look quite child-or even bird-like. I was wondering if she was going to belt out notes at all, and if so, where she would find the space in her body to do that. (The accolades lasted a bit longer than necessary, IMHO, leaving plenty of time for all these thoughts.)
After the intermission, she appeared in another costume and hair style. This time she wore an ivory flowing gown with sparkly straps, and had her hair pinned up from the sides. Although this second dress was quite different from the first, it still had the pageant gown look, I realized that divas need to stand out, and that their appearance is indeed part of the performance. She chose two gowns that were fitted closely in the bodice, and cut quite low in front so that you could see most the top of her lungs working.
Well, that girl can sing. Toward the end of her first aria, I felt a tear drip down onto my cheek, and I wasn't feeling as if I was tearing up. Amazing. Being as close as we were, I could watch her breathing while preparing to sing, while singing, and recovery. I think I like the recovery the most. It goes without saying that her control of her breath while singing was masterful. When she would come to a break, she would breathe normally for 3-5 breaths, then take a deep breath and exhale with some force, then breathe normally again. Depending on the length of her break, she would sometimes repeat this. She had quite a narrow upper body, but was able to fill fill those lungs right up to the top to sustain her voice.
The choices of pieces for her allowed the audience to see a bit of how she would act for the piece within the context of the opera. It was good that the conductor "set up the piece" for the audience, as she is a singer, not necessarily an actor. she used a lot of hand clenching and arm pointing, and at the true highlights of passion reached out to the sides. She did use her face muscles well, frowning, smiling, and even smirking once or twice when the context called for deviousness. But I was able to disregard the limited acting opera calls for due to her absolutely amazing voice. From near whistling to a couple lower notes, she has a wide vocal range at softer and louder levels.
So thanks again, John for the opportunity to attend this concert.
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