El MALABARISTA
Tenor Rolando Villazón's exciting juggling act
2021 SUMMER FESTIVAL GUIDE select listing
THE STRANGE CASE OF JAMES LEVINE mAKING the case for classical music at the grammys APRIL- MAY 2021
a C o u r t n e y 's Sta r s o f To m o r r o w p u b l i ca t i o n EDITOR IN CHIEF Courtney Carey CONTRIBUTING ART DIRECTOR Emily Zier COPYEDITOR Justin Cohen CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Daniel Billings Angela Brown Liz Colavita J LeVe Jeffrey Mitchell Richard Oliver Leah Partridge Deandre Simmons Jasmine Travers PHOTOGRAPHY Unsplash, Shutterstock, Courtney Carey All festival photos used with express permission Photographers are attributed unless information was unavailable at the time of publication © Courtney’s Stars of Tomorrow 2020. All Rights Reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without written permission of the publisher. All information contained in this magazine is, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of going to press. Courtney’s Stars of Tomorrow cannot accept responsibility for errors or inaccuracies in such information. If you submit unsolicited material to us, you automatically grant Courtney’s Stars of Tomorrow a license to publish your submission in whole or in part in all editions of the magazine. All material is sent at your own risk. Although every care is taken, neither Courtney’s Stars of Tomorrow, nor its employees, agents or subcontractors shall be held liable for loss or damage. Courtney’s Stars of Tomorrow endeavors to respect the intellectual property of the owners of copyrighted material reproduced herein. If you identify yourself as the copyright holder of material we have wrongfully attributed, please contact the office.
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CONT RIBU TORS
Daniel Billings is a Nurse Practitioner Specialist in New York, New York. He graduated with honors in 1999. Having more than 22 years of diverse experiences, especially in NURSE PRACTITIONER, Daniel Billings affiliates with New York-presbyterian Hospital, cooperates with many other doctors and specialists in medical group Trustees Of Columbia University In The City Of New York. (DNP, AGPCNP-BC)
DANIEL BILLINGS
HEALTH & WELLNESS
Angela Brown personifies the ideal soprano: sheer vocal power; luxurious finesse; and shimmering, high pianissimos. With a charming personality larger than life, she unites opera, pops, and gospel in one sensational voice and has graced the leading opera and symphonic stages across six continents. A featured artist on the two-time Grammy Award® winning recording “Ask Your Mama,” Angela’s international reputation continues to grow. Her highly successful Metropolitan Opera debut in the title role of Aida catapulted Angela onto the world’s prestigious opera and symphonic stages. ANGELA BROWN
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Liz Colavita is a freelance writer and editor. Previously, she worked as Associate Editor at The Business Year (TBY) in their head office in Istanbul. At TBY, she also worked on the journalistic side in the field in Jordan, the UAE, and Kuwait. She managed the editorial content for TBY’s special reports and publication analytics. Additionally, she worked for UN Women and Oxfam as a report development consultant, editing and drafting documents for regional programs in Europe and Central Asia. She graduated with a degree in Public Policy and Economics from Duke University. LIZ COLAVITA
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J LEVE
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Jeffrey Mitchell is Vice-president, Client Services for ArtsVision and has previously worked as Director of Artistic Operations for Palm Beach Opera and an Artist Manager at Zemsky/ Green Artists. As a flutist he has performed in Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, Kaufman Music Center and Symphony Space and has presented recitals for the Atlanta Flute Club, Red Door Concerts, and Winter Harbor Music Festival. He earned degrees from the University of Georgia (BM) and the Yale School of Music (MM).
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A native of Louisville, Kentucky, J began as a classically trained singer, allowing them to travel the world and encounter a multitude of cultures. J then found their spark for fashion through the discovery of gender fluidity, sass, 90's Parisian fashion, rebellion and sophistication. J LeVe is a published wardrobe stylist based in New York, NY.
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Richard Oliver is a performing arts critic, music educator, artistic director, and creative based in Dallas, Texas. His arts journalism is featured in several publications from North Texas to Chicago and New York. He received his BFA in vocal performance from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, where he also received his BA and MA in journalism and new media journalism. In his spare time, Richard writes and produces original multi-genre music and works as a creative consultant for various arts organizations and independent artists in North Texas. RICHARD OLIVER
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Leah Partridge is an American soprano, born in Lincolnton, near Augusta, GA. She attended Mercer University and pursued graduate studies in opera at Indiana University, all the while performing in international opera productions. She has been critically praised for her bel canto singing, notably in the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor, as well as in the roles of Violetta in La Traviata, and Gilda in Rigoletto. In the 2008 season, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut as the First Niece in a production of Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes. Her recording Finding Home is available on Apple Music.
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Deandre Simmons is quickly gaining recognition for his velvety voice and incisive musicianship. He has performed successfully with several companies and symphony orchestras including The Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Collegiate Chorale of New York, Opera Panama, Bohème Opera of New Jersey, The Kansas City Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony, Castleton Festival under Maestro Lorin Maazel and others. DeAndre is a three-time fellow of the Music Academy of the West and an alumnus of The Curtis Institute of Music.
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Jasmine L. Travers is an assistant professor of nursing at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing. Her career is dedicated to designing and conducting research to improve health outcomes and reduce health disparities in vulnerable older adult groups using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Her current work focuses on mitigating disparities in appropriate access and use of in-home and facility-based long-term care for older adults. PhD, MHS, RN, AGPCNP-BC JASMINE TRAVERS
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08 EDITOR'S LETTER OVERTURE 10 When Worlds Collide The fanciful world of Mozart's classic opera The Magic Flute comes to life in a new film adaptation.
SUMMER FESTIVAL GUIDE
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A guide to select classical music festivals and their COVID-19 safety protocols. Enjoy your summer with peace of mind.
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FEATURE STORY
AMPLIFIED 38 El Malabarista Tenor Rolando Villazón's exciting juggling act 48 Making the case for classical music at the Grammys
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IN TEMPO
HEALTH & WELLNESS
54 Brown Sounds (LA Opera) Coalition of arts organizations join together to present a celebration of Black art.
78 COVID-19 vaccine FAQs answered by Dr. Jasmine Travers and Dr. Daniel Billings
58 Push Through to Bloom a motivational message
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62 Opera Aficionado (SFO)
84 Harmonious flavor: a product review 86 Tri-Color Quinoa • recipe 88 Sausage and Quinoa Stuffed Zucchini • recipe 89 Jeff's Fingerling Potatoes • recipe
San Francisco Opera’s Opera Aficionado virtual conversations now through June. 64 The Strange Case of James Levine A reflection on the maestro's life and career
STYLE & BEAUTY
ENCORE 90 Easy Listening • Album Picks
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68 Q & A with celebrity stylist Derick Monroe THE A LIST
72 Angela Brown's Favorite Things
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Photo: Luis Zeno Kuhn
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WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE The fanciful world of Mozart's classic opera The Magic Flute comes to life in a new film adaptation BY LIZ COLAVITA
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olfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute, which originally premiered on stage in 1791 (with libretto by Mozart’s colleague, Emanuel Schikaneder), has undergone two film adaptations over the last half-century. Christopher Zwickler sees the potential for magic in a third iteration, one that is both a gateway into the world of modern opera and an updated take on Mozart’s work. With the film in post-production, audiences can look forward to this modern magical tale in autumn/winter of 2022. Zwickler, producer of the opera’s eponymous upcoming film, grew up an avid fan of The Magic Flute and dreamed of creating a contemporary screen adaptation. Director Ingmar Bergman’s 1975 version is more or less a filmed stage play, and indeed, stage performances have allowed for hundreds—if not thousands—of individual perspectives on the original. Another 2006 version, directed by Kenneth Branagh, takes place during World War I and was part of the 250th anniversary celebration of Mozart’s birthday. Looking at the colorful world of The Magic Flute, Zwickler envisioned a film adaptation that would capture the accessibility of songs for the performers themselves, and the accessibility of the story for audiences to “jump into opera.” He elaborates,
“It is a brand that is known all over the world. And even the [arias sung by] the Queen of the Night or Papageno, for example, can be sung by people all over the world. It has quite a broad appeal ... so I thought it would be a great opportunity to tell it in a way that has never been told like this in a film before.” Zwickler’s vision caught the attention of actor and director Florian Sigl during a happenstance meeting at a film festival in Berlin. Sigl studied classical music, and Zwickler had a musical background before getting into film. Combining their talents and backgrounds, the two set to work on developing their apProducers: Wolfart and Zwickler proach to tell the story for a younger, wider audience. This approach includes a few key elements, one of them being the frame story. The audience is introduced to Mozart’s story line through 17-year-old protagonist Tim Walker, who gets a scholarship to
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attend a Mozart boarding school in the Austrian Alps. After traveling by train and arriving at the school, his excitement dissipates as he is faced with the competitive pressure—and an evil headmaster. Reckoning this reality with what he expected of the experience, he wanders the halls at night and ventures into the library. It is here that he discovers his copy of the book, The Magic Flute, fits perfectly in an empty space in a glockenspiel clock. Putting the book into place, he activates a portal mechanism, transporting him into the world of The Magic Flute as the protagonist of the opera, Prince Tamino. This creates the levels of the story, with Tim entering this new world mostly at night. According to Zwickler, the coming-of-age story that happens within the boarding school is about 40% of the film, and the updated Magic Flute story line comprises the remaining 60%. Using Walker and this frame story literally and figuratively draws people, particular the targeted younger audience, into the operatic tale. Sigl echoes Zwickler’s sentiments about the ways in which this third film adaptation intentionally differs from its predecessors. “Bergman made the conscious choice of keeping it as a stage play, whereas Kenneth Branagh mainly changed the setting of the story. Our approach is coming back to the original setting, but staged for a movie with fantastic locations.” Great care went into picking the right locations, in order to “enhance the escapism with a visual and musical experience that only the big screen and acoustic setup of cinema can ensure.” Zwickler elaborates on the importance of setting to distinguish the layers of the story, and the necessity of creativity and resourcefulness when things do not go according to plan. Originally, Morocco and Bavaria were scouted as locales for the magical realm and the boarding school, respectively. However, Covid-19 made filming in
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Director, Florian Sigl, Photo: Marcel Weber
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Morocco virtually impossible, challenging them to come up with a financially feasible solution for constructing multiple worlds a bit closer to home. Working with a local film studio, the film’s art director, Christoph Kanter, devised a plan to use one large studio that, with careful planning, could be transformed into many different settings. One minute it is a bustling market, the next minute (or more realistically a few days later) a temple, then refashioned again into the palace of the Queen of the Night. When not in the studio, the production team was on location in Salzburg, shooting at places like Schloss Leopoldskron, where part of The Sound of Music was filmed. Bavaria makes for a stunning location aesthetically, and is an import-
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Schloss Leopoldskron
the magic flute film
ant nod to Mozart’s original, which premiered at the Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna. In addition to filming on location, another example of the enhanced visual experience provided by film is the snake that chases Prince Tamino/Tim Walker when he first enters this alternate world. The snake is an incredible, life-like CGI effect created by Pixomondo, the company known for the dragons in Game of Thrones. The final element to Zwickler and Sigl’s approach is the music. Even Mozart’s original utilized music in an innovative way through singspiel, or a mix of spoken dialogue and song. Sigl noted that the spoken dialogue and song breakdown in this film is roughly 50/50. “We carefully modernized
the dialogues and transformed, where applicable, most of the recitatives into spoken dialogue. But it’s important to note that we did not change Mozart’s orchestral arrangement at all.” While Sigl and Zwickler did not change the arrangements, “the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg was recorded in 70 channel 3D sound,” adding to the musical experience. With another nod to Mozart’s original intent, Sigl and Zwickler adapted the singing style to each performing character—that is, “the younger the character, the less formalistic the singing style,” comments Sigl. “At the same time, we tried to reflect the evolution of theatrical singing and connect it to our medium [of] film. This allows us a broader dynamic range catering to the specific
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Morris Robinson; Photo courtesy: The Magic Flute Film
or emotional needs of each aria.” Cut to Morris Robinson, a former football player turned opera singer and the film’s Sarastro. From football to opera to film, Robinson calls it all by one name: performing. However, Robinson admits, “this allowed me to play a smaller, more intimate Sarastro ... Because it is a film, I had to learn to adapt really quickly to small frame acting. I’m used to being commanding and utilizing my presence to assert authority. Film, however, works within a small space.” After Zwickler reached out to him on social media, Robinson was drawn in by the opportunity to reimagine a familiar role, but in a different context. “I was able to explore Sarastro
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the human, and this in and of itself was intriguing enough.” Robinson makes very deliberate decisions regarding expansive roles—expansive roles for him personally, and for Black performers generally. This role allowed him to increase his range and blaze the trail for the next generation of opera singers, particularly those who look like him. “Anything I can do to lead the charge and show off our versatility as artists, musicians, and actors, I’m here for it ... I hope this is just another example of our talent, versatility, and range such that other producers and directors look in this direction for Black talent. We are here.”
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Asha Banks, Jack Wolfe, Iwan Rheon; Photo: Marcel Weber
Magic Flute Film cast
This sentiment also refers to opera singers as a talent pool. Robinson sees a wealth of opportunity for the opera world to participate in film. “In the opera world, we are professional actors and actresses already. Why not look at our marketplace, our discipline, our art when outsourcing talent in the world of film?” Casting for the film in general was a pleasant surprise. For one, Robinson will be featured in both the English and German versions of the movie because he has sung Sarastro’s role more times in German than in English, a fun fact that was originally unknown to Zwickler and Sigl. And there were concerns about casting such a young protagonist. Prince Tamino is often portrayed by a trained opera singer in his 30s, 40s, even 50s. Enter “stage” right Jack Wolfe, cast as Tim Walker/Prince Tamino. Zwickler is excited about the “sensitive way” in which Wolfe approaches the arias, adding “a unique ingredient to a piece like this.” The film brings together actors who can sing and opera singers who, as Robinson noted, are already trained actors. Robinson as Sarastro and French soprano Sabine Devieilhe as the Queen of the Night bring their operatic expertise. In addition to Jack Wolfe as Tim Walker/Prince Tamino, Welsh actor Iwan Rheon—again drawing from
Game of Thrones talent—joins the cast with his singer/songwriter chops. This confluence of different talents and worlds is especially exciting because it wasn’t a sure thing that artists in the classical sphere would be so keen on this fresh take. The key to the successful fusion: each performer brings his or her authentic self to the project. And in this way, in convening and showcasing such a wide range of performing arts, Sigl is committed to “showing a broad audience how timelessly beautiful classical music can be, and break[ing] up boundaries that still seem to exist.”
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FEATURE STORY
El malabarista Tenor Rolando Villazón's exciting juggling act
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Photo doodles courtesy Rolando Villazón
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Malabarista (Juggler) masculine or feminine noun, Spanish 1. A person who adroitly balances several activities.
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ne of the many benefits of living as a writer in New York City is the unending inspiration one can stumble upon day to day. The riotously funny guy who plays magic tricks on the corner of 96th and Broadway; the eccentric old lady with the Afro-puff at Columbus
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Circle who appears to be talking to herself, but really she’s singing hymns under her breath; and of course the infamous bands of subway dancers known as the Showtime boys. They all give the city its unique charm and inspired energy. Walking along Central Park West on a sunny day,
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rolando villazón
I see a tall African American man in the distance juggling four balls high into the sky. His face is severe, focused with such silver energy—a level of concentration that no passersby dare break with cheers and applause. But then comes a moment when he stops, and from across the way a question
rings out, “Hey, how do you juggle all of those balls without dropping one?” The juggler replies, Drops are a part of the business, chief. To offset the drops, you start with one ball. Those words ring clarion, and immediately the key to “El Malabarista’s”—aka Rolando Villazón—success becomes clear. A one-ball juggling routine led him to the pinnacle of opera and, as his creativity blossomed and his career aspirations bloomed, that one ball act expanded to incorporate more “balls.” He has carefully added to his artistic juggling routine, and these myriad additions have made him one of the busiest and most fascinating men in the business today. Legend has it that he was discovered while singing in the shower. Is that true? “[There] is truth in it,” he says. “I was singing in the shower, and the director of the performing academy, [baritone] Arturo Nieto, came to visit our neighbors for dinner. He listened to whoever was singing in the shower, and came to knock on the door and asked my mother, “Who is that?” My mother said, “I will tell him to shut up.” Said Nieto, “No, we are holding auditions for the performing arts academy; would he like to come?” Villazón auditioned and
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was admitted to the academy, where he took his first vocal lessons, also studying ballet and theater. Nieto’s knock proved fortuitous, opening the door to a world of possibilities and opportunities. One such opportunity was the 1999 Operalia competition, which thrust Villazón into prominence and launched his career. Although he lost the competition to Bulgarian bass Orlin Anastassov, his electrifying performance of “No puede ser” from Sorozábal ‘s La tabernera del puerto earned him the first Zarzuela prize and was an apparent foreshadowing of the dramatic temperament and magnetic energy that would become his trademark. That volcanic energy has garnered him praise and critique alike, with vocal critics like Richard Morrison of the Times in London wary of over-pressurized vocalism that would surely lead to a shortened career if not corrected. Undeterred, Villazón forged ahead night after night, his vocal luster shining opulently until a 2009 health crisis threatened to dim his star permanently. After a year out of the spotlight, and a deftly performed vocal operation to remove a congenital cyst, he emerged triumphantly! Villazón is a star tenor whose por-
© Dario Acosta/ DG
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