What do Nelson Riddle, that composer and music arranger extraordinaire and the University of Arizona’s Orchestral and Conducting program have in common? A lot, it seems.

In 1998, the University of Arizona foundation received a gift from the estate of Riddle’s widow, Naomi, establishing the Nelson Riddle endowed chair. A. Edward Ezor, Naomi’s executor, saw to it that the gift also included more than 500 of the composer’s musical scores, royalties from his works, letters and photographs. In 2000, this tremendous financial boost led to the hiring of Thomas Cockrell, a well-respected teacher and conductor on the faculty of the University of California, Irvine, before coming to the U of A. Since that time Cockrell has served as the Nelson Riddle Endowed Chair in Music, as well as, the director of orchestral activities and music director of the U of A Opera Theater.

At that time, little did anyone on the U of A music school faculty know an unexpected benefactor, in the person of James E. Rogers, was going to extend the school’s musical recognition to an even higher artistic level. In 2007, Rogers, a graduate of the University and already a well-known donor (the university’s law school bears his name) was to fulfill a long-held dream of fostering a conducting program at the music school.

The James E. Rogers Institute for Orchestral and Opera Conducting opened in August, 2008, with funding of $1.8 million that was to be doled out over a ten year period. Even better news was the fact Cockrell’s guiding hand would oversee the educational and musical experiences of Jackson Warren and Keitaro Harada, the first conducting students to enroll in the program.

Outsiders might think with that amount of money available and the temptation for the music school to show off its growing notoriety, Cockrell would fill the program with more than two students. But the conductor’s good judgment and varied musical experiences proved with only Warren and Harada in the program, he could offer them a wider variety of musical experiences that would give them solid conducting careers in the future.

Cockrell’s approach has paid off handsomely for Warren and Harada. Both men have been conducting fellows with the Arizona Opera and the Tucson Symphony during their time with the program. Cockrell has also seen to it that they have had opportunities to speak before professional music groups and to organize a variety of orchestral programs. It’s all part of the requirements in today’s musical world for emerging conductors. “They need to have more skills than just to stand on the podium,” said Cockrell.

To finish off their studies at the University, both men have challenging jobs for the summer. Warren is an assistant conductor with Opera in the Ozarks in Arkansas for their 2010 season. And Harada has been invited by the Boston Symphony Orchestra to be a conducting fellow at the Tanglewood Music Festival in Lenox, MA.
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From Seen and Heard International
By: José M Irurzun; Picture © Bayerischen Staatsoper / Wilfried Hösl

Soloists, Bayerisches Staatsorchester. Chor der Bayerischen Staatsoper. Conductor: Marco Armiliato. Nationatheater, Munich 19. 7.2010. (JMI)

Juha Uusitalo (Scarpia) and Karita Mattila (Tosca)

What a great pleasure it is to attend Munich’s Summer Opera Festival year on year, one of the most important events in the calendar. Although Munich probably lacks the glamour of Salzburg or the mystic ambiance of Bayreuth, its quality is second to none as far as I am concerned. My stay in Munich however, began with an almost all star Tosca, which unfortunately failed to meet my expectations.

This is the production that had its premiere at New York’s Metropolitan last September, where it was caused an almighty scandal. The truth is though – at least my truth – is that while different people might like it or hate it, there’s nothing terribly scandalous about it and I can only assume that New York’s reactions to it had more to do with the disappearance of Franco Zeffirelli’s old and much loved production, which seemed to be set as an integral part of the Metropolitan’s structure.

First of all, this is a traditional production, less spectacular than some others, but it follows the libretto faithfully; a rather spartan church in the first act, the Farnese Palace in the second – although it might just as easily be a less that luxurious room in a hotel, and finally a terrace on the fortress, but without the famous statue of the Angel. Costumes are appropriate to the time of the action, and are quite appealing as far as Tosca goes. The lighting could be improved, especially in the first two acts and the stage direction has some interesting details here and there but nothing radical since the three protagonists are what they have always been in so many other productions. The more personal touches happen in Act II, where Scarpia is entertained by a few women of easy virtue, before being stabbed several times by Tosca. Luc Bondy takes away the chandeliers and the crucifixes at the end of the Act, showing Tosca lying on the couch for the last few bars, calming herself by using the Marchesa Atavanti’s fan. It seems that she is not in any hurry to rescue Cavaradossi, even though there are only a few hours (Scarpia says one hour) of life left to him. In fact, she wears a different costume in Act III, presumably having had ample time to go to their villa to change her clothes. Her choice of costume did not seem the particularly suited to take “una tartana por Civitavecchia” either, but the third act remains totally traditional. In short then, the production is fairly conventional, less spectacular than some and not completely convincing at times but it’s certainly no kind of Eurotrash.
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From Seen and Heard International
By: José M Irurzun

Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid, Conductor: Michele Mariotti, Teatro Real de Madrid 29. 6.2010 (JMI)

Teatro Real’s ‘Great Voices’ cycle comes to an end with this concert featuring two of Madrid’s most well loved singers. The concert raised great expectations, especially after Leo Nucci’s triumph in another concert in Bilbao a few weeks back. The Madrid concert was truly spectacular and I have never seen the Teatro Real audience as excited before, a real madhouse.
The first outstanding performance of the evening came from conductor Michele Mariotti, who at 31 is already a splendid maestro. In addition to accompanying the singers with much care and delicacy, he also provided some excellent overtures. If he was very good with La Favorita, his interpretation of the prelude to La Traviata was truly breathtaking and he also gave two other outstanding performances of the overtures to Luisa Miller and Nabucco. He was not quite at the same level of quality – it is true – in I Capuleti but he drew a wonderful result from the orchestra, which has, in fact, improved remarkably in the last two years.

The program was quite demanding for the two singers on stage. Rather than arias, they mostly sang full scenes, ending with real firework encores, as if they had not sung enough during the official concert.

Patrizia Ciofi is one of those singers whose performances must be taken as a whole. Her voice is not spectacular in volume or timbre, her top notes don’t leave the audience breathless, nor is her figure full of “charm” and “glamour” either. She possesses none of these qualities in especially large doses, but all of them are present in her performances all of the time, coupled with a capacity for communication that makes her one of the world’s few singing artists. This is not a singer made for studio recordings, but an artist – here is the word again – to be enjoyed in full on on the stage. After a good prison scene from Maria Stuarda, she sang “Il faut partir” from La fille du Régiment, where she was as exciting as usual in the role of Marie. She finished the concert’s first half with the duet betweeb Lucia and Enrico, in which both she and Leo Nucci brought the house down with a marvellous “Si tradirmi tu potrai”. She was superb when singing Violeta’s scene in Act I from La Traviata.
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