Vivica Genaux … comes down under trailing a discography as long as your arm.
Jarrod Carland at the launch of Brisbane Baroque Mark II on Wednesday.
One of last year’s more remarkable comebacks was the last minute emergence of Brisbane Baroque, rising phoenix-like from the ashes of the short-lived Hobart early music festival. Thanks to the foresight of the Queensland government, Leo Schofield and Jarrod Carland were able to mount a full-scale assault on the Australian awards system and bag a stunning five Helpmanns, putting an 18th-century wind up the likes of Opera Australia who had to scrape by with the leftovers.
Despite what was dubbed by some in the media as “bogan-gate” – the mini-storm that blew up when Schofield branded the Tasmanian’s intellectually unworthy of a decent arts festival – Australia reckoned the inaugural Brisbane Baroque a triumph.
But how big an achievement was it getting the first Brisbane Baroque up after the Tassie powers that be let Hobart Baroque fall through? “It took an almighty effort,” admits Jarrod Carland, the festival’s Executive Director.
“We had to allocate venues, completely re-budget all the shows and identify Brisbane artists for roles originally assigned to Tasmanians. A Queensland election, a change of government and the Christmas holidays all delayed the launch so in effect we only had two months to get the event from page to stage. What made it possible was the tremendous goodwill and positivity of our Brisbane partners and a collegiality we’d not experienced before.” The willingness of their Brisbane partners to give them a fair go saw superstar Croatian countertenor Max Emanuel Cenčić make his debut down under along with a packed week of musical events. Carland singles out the imported German production of Handel’s Farramondo as his personal highlight.
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Next year’s star vocal event will be the Australian debut of American mezzo Vivica Genaux, at 46 a singer at the very height of her powers. “We had great success with star singers like Julia Lezhneva, Xavier Sabata and David Hansen in Hobart and as a leading baroque mezzo Genaux was obviously on our wish list,” says Carland, explaining that although she’s well known among aficionados, she’s perhaps new to the festival’s broader audience. He shouldn’t worry, the Alaskan-born diva has sung in all the major houses from the Met down and comes down under trailing a discography as long as your arm.
In a move to bring fresh ideas and talents to the party, Schofield and Carland have booked another impressive young artist – acclaimed Iranian-American harpsichord virtuoso Mahan Esfahani. The charismatic musician …
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Following on from Dido and Aeneas this year, Purcell’s semi-opera, King Arthur, will get a semi-staging with the Orchestra of the Antipodes directed by Brett Weymark and soloists including Greta Bradman.
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• Download the full Brisbane Baroque program HERE
• Meanwhile … Hobart was so far ahead of the curve …
Julia Lezhneva: Handel review – an exciting new talent
Julia Lezhneva’s bell-like soprano is one of the most exciting emerging voices around, and she doesn’t disappoint in this recital of early Handel. Surely no instrumentalist’s fingers can move faster than Lezhneva’s vocal cords; she is able to somersault with the violin, hold her tone straight like the oboe, and then out-trill both of them. So there is lots to admire here – but also lots to love. If Lascia la Spina is a little halting, the final number – an aria for Beauty from The Triumph of Time and Truth – is meltingly worthy of the character. She is serious and choirboyish in the church numbers, then brings a touch of sensuality to her aria from Apollo e Dafne, even though she is duetting with a flute that seems determined to upstage her. Giovanni Antonini lets his zingy, energised orchestra get away with a few more such self-consciously scene-hogging episodes than perhaps he should.
From The Guardian HERE where there are full hyperlinks
• John Biggs in Comments: Bogan-gate indeed! What Hobart has missed thanks to those bloody blue-tied bogans who constitute the Tasmanian Liberal Govt. Everywhere you look, decisions by this mob of soulless philistines is making money the old way—and losing it the old way in their witless forestry incursions into National Parks and Heritage areas.
