Il Divo Dazzles!

A sensational performance of personality and vocal power

                                                             Presented by Evenko
                                                                     May 28th,2014

 Salle Wilfred-Pelletier in Place des Arts was packed with adoring Il Divo fans and first-timers about to fall under the magic of this charismatic group. People of all ages were there. Such is the timeless appeal these four fabulous singers have – ever since they joined forces to form Il Divo when music producer Simon Cowell first discovered the ‘power of four’.  Fast forward ten years into 33 countries and four world tours during which the dynamic Il Divo established their god-like stature, sweeping audiences off their feet while making classical cross-over-music history. The foursome has sold over 26 million albums and received 160 gold and platinum awards.

Indeed, their confidence, showmanship and connection to the audience was obvious during this May 28th Montreal tour-de-force performance. 
The show’s fitting title, A Musical Affair: The Greatest Songs of Broadway featured popular songs from their sixth and latest album, A Musical Affair.The live 18-member orchestra opened up the show with an instrumental medley of our song favourites from musicals, including Evita, Phantom of the Opera, Cats, West Side Story, Les Misérables and more. And then the spell began: Il Divo’s four dashing figures made their entrance. Smoke slowly swirled from the stage floor, and as their faces came into view, applause thundered and voices roared from the hall’s 2,982 seats.

Their powerful voices blended into rich harmonies no matter the register and tonal challenges within the great variety of song melodies. Whether performing such big numbers as Climb Every Mountain or delivering such heart-wrenching numbers as Some Enchanted Evening, If ever I should love You, and Tonight. These romantic songs showed off the tenderness and the restraint each of these classically trained singers possess. Interestingly, each has his own distinct sound and background. The most opera-sounding voices came from Spanish baritone, Carlos Marín and American tenor, David Miller. Their lush tones melded richly with the pop genre tones of France’s Sébastien Izambard and with former rocker heartthrob, Urs Bühler from Switzerland. Together, the four created a varied vocal fest of sensual expressive brilliance. The volume and range each one displayed was rather mesmerizing, and the arrangements perfect – some parts of song strategically parceled off to the most appropriate voice for that passage in the song. In fact, I would have liked to have heard full length solos from each of them, but each song inevitably brought all four together in most moments of the song and always on the last line. I can’t forget how they ended Somewhere from West Side Story, it fluidly slid out as a piece of vocal silk on a single soft waning note. In contrast was the booming crescendo of such endings in I Did It My Way and I Will Always Love You (Whitney Houston would have been proud).

Glitzy guest diva Lea Salanga, added yet another exotic element. An acclaimed Filipina singer and actress whose multiple awards are as impressive as her lead roles: Kim (Miss Saigon), Jasmine (Disney’s Alladin), and Éponine and Fantine (Les Misérables) – excerpts from the latter two performed during this performance along with  the song Defying Gravity from (Wicked).

She really belongs on that stage; she immediately captivated us with her intensity and beauty. When she sang I dreamed a Dream, you could hear a pin drop; we felt her emotional anguish. That mood completely lightened when the fellows joined her vying for her attention in the song If Ever I Would Leave You (Camelot)                                                 

Indeed, the evening was not without jokes – often made at each others’ expense, such as when Carlos talked about his love and prowess with women; in fact, this boasting would have gone on and on had not one of the guys handed him a small container of those notorious “little blue pills”. That got a big laugh.

Self-deprecating humour about how poorly they spoke French came from Mr. Miller and Mr. Marín, but when the group polished off Céline Dion’s upbeat song, Que Tu M’Aimes Encore, their accents and diction were impeccable. The crowd went crazy cheering, standing on their feet, singing along and clapping the beat.

Projected images on the back wall and effective spotlighting enhanced the show’s presentation. But it was the guys who really stole the stage. Three encores and non-stop clapping continued for about ten minutes after it all ended with the parting song delivered in Italian and English Time to Say Goodbye.

                                        

Into the World of Madness SMCQ Concert

            An extraordinary Tribute to Claude Gauvreau in Soirée à L’asile

The tragic poet, Claude Gauvreau, born in 1925, riled against, Catholicism, repression of all kinds and the fact that words never really correctly express the deep feelings of people. In fact, Gauvreau created his own language, “exploréen”. A genius out of synch with his time, a misfit, and a being not born for human banality, he became a great poet who was largely ignored, unfortunately. We saw a clip of him in the third act of this weird but wonderful evening where he is reading his poetry to a small crowd of people at Théâtre Gésu in Montreal.

He committed suicide – some say and others say he fell off his roof. Undoubtedly, he was a man in extreme turmoil. Acerbated beyond repair when his muse/actor, Muriel Guilbault committed suicide –an artist with whom he collaborated in creating the play, “Bien-être”. He was so obsessed with her that when she died, he saw his sanity slip; Mr. Gauvreau ended up in an insane asylum at one point in his life.

The concert I saw featured the heart-wrenching music composed by, another genius, Walter Boudreau – recent winner of Governor General Prize in the Spectacle Arts in the classical music category.

 The piece we heard first performed on piano by Alain Lefèvre was macabre and magnificently dark. When Matthieu Fortin, joined him to recreate the piece with four hands, the breadth and terror in the piece became so evident. No one would ever play the work without being a virtuoso pianist – and then some.  The composition stunningly brought to the ear and eye how insanity can be translated into a musical score.

The opening of the concert had slow-moving zombies wearing white masks onto the stage. An incredibly large improvised instrument with a myriad of strings tightly taught to a middle spoke ushered in sounds of horror and melancholy as actor, François Papineau took the stage ranting as a mad man. While he acted out his madness, André Pappathomas (the gifted leader of these “zombies” – the singers are actually the choir of Mruta Mertsi) played the huge stringed instrument that stood like a huge door. His fingers nimbly traveled al over the strings that looked like a spider web in terms of their placing on the spoke. His fingers became spindly-type spiders traveled all over the “web’. It was amazing to watch and listen to.

In my mind, the evening belonged to Alan Lefèvre and his partner on the other piano, Matthieu Fortin and of course to Mr. Boudreau who sat slightly in front of the two pianos as he conducted the two awesome artists.

It was an evening where geniuses unite. Is it possible that genius is synonymous with madness? In the case of Soirée à L’asile, it certainly was.

What an astounding concert!

I, DANIEL BLAKE (Directed by Ken Loach) ***** plus

Widower Daniel Blake, (Dave Johns) a 59-year-

old joiner living in Newcastle, has had a heart attack at work. Though his cardiologist has advised him not to return to work, Daniel is deemed fit to do so after a work assessment interview. He is frustrated to learn that his doctor was not contacted about the decision, and applies for an appeal, a process he finds difficult because he is not a computer man. So many attempts are foiled for him.

Daniel befriends a single mother, Katie, (Haley Squires) after she is sanctioned for arriving late for a job centre appointment.

Katie and her children have moved to Newcastle from a homeless hostel in London.  Daniel helps the family by repairing objects, teaching them how to heat rooms without electricity, and crafting wooden toys for the children. Katie is overcome by hunger and breaks down. After she is caught shoplifting, a security guard offers her work as an escort. Daniel surprises her at the brothel, where he begs her to give up the job, but she tearfully insists she has no choice to feed her children.

As a condition for receiving job seekers allowance for work, he must attend a resume workshop, pound the pavements and provide proof of it all. estate. He is offered a job in a scrap yard, but has to turn it down for health reasons. When Daniel's work coach tells him he must work harder to find a job, Daniel spraypaints "I, Daniel Blake, demand my appeal date before I starve" on the building. He earns the support of passersby, including other benefits’ claimants, but is arrested and given a police warning. Daniel sells most of his belongings and becomes withdrawn.

On the day of Daniel's appeal, Katie accompanies him to court. A welfare adviser tells Daniel that his case looks sound.  He will win. The ending is tragic. This amazing well acted film is a cry against the British financial support system for those in need. It kills its applicants slowly but surely.

No sentimentality, just decency and heart from the characters. The acting is exquisite. This is this century's most important film.

Alain Lefèvre and Walter Boudreau Shake the Earth



A performance of indescribable brilliance  

                                            Maison Symphonique de Montréal, January 15^{th, 2013}

Alain Lefèvre

                                                             

On Tuesday evening January 15^th, pianist Alain Lefèvre performed the astonishing Concerto “l’Asile (Création Mondiale) with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal under the baton of Ludovic Morlot. It was composed by Walter Boudreau. The unforgettable concert took place inside the gloriously new Maison Symphonique de Montréal. 

Geniuses – mad geniuses – that is what this concert was about. It took Mr. Boudreau about three years to compose the work whose three movements embody the tortuous life of the late Claude Gavreau, a visionary who inspired the creation of Mr. Boudreau’s concerto. Collaborating intensively with Mr. Lefèvre on the superhuman endeavour, Mr. Boudreau knew that it would take one of the world’s greatest pianists - also a world-class composer - to achieve the final rendering and performance of his massively difficult masterpiece. He knew he wanted to create alongside Alain Lefèvre.

Walter Boudreau

 Mr. Boudreau wrote the work in four years “in and out” as a tribute to the avant-garde Quebec poet and author Claude Gauvreau (1925-1971). 

Claude Gauvreau

During his short life the poet experimented heavily with LSD, modified the French language turning into a new form of incomprehensible poetic communication. He never achieved the recognition or the support which he so wished for. This tragic figure may have ended his life, but his ideas lived on - championed by another mad genius, Mr. Boudreau who is very much alive; he is also the director and conductor of the SMCQ. 

The twelve-tone composition he composed demanded the most prolific piano playing through the 45 minute-long work. Mr. Lefèvre’s herculean technique combined with his immeasurable passion was breathtaking. Hands crossing over hands, non-stop lightning speed cadenzas up and down the keys, octaves, and trills and syncopated lines whose first beats had to join up with the  percussive section, then the flutes, sometimes the horns and strings. Nothing seemed or was written to magically connect together, and yet it all did, in a way that was more fantastic than one could believe possible. In fact, Mr.Boudreau explained that he created this work so that the piano – represented the poet Gauvreau who was off on its own trying to connect to the orchestra which more or less represented the indifference of society. Rhythmically unpredictable is the composition; both protagonists (piano and orchestra symbolizing Gauvreau and society respectively) seemed to embody the pain and punishment endured by Gauvreau himself. Orchestra and piano had a challenging task keeping up with the other. In fact, six minutes into the work, Maestro   Morlot stopped it all, and started the performance again – having left out an entire page! Was it any wonder Mr. Lefèvre kept a handkerchief atop the piano. 

I felt Mr.Lefèvre carried the lion’s share of élan for the entire performance. His extraordinary understanding of the concerto combined with his earth-shattering technique marvelously communicated the dramatic intensity in this exciting work. 

I began to feel that he knew the night had to lie with him. At times, the percussion was a nano-second off the timing of the piano punctuating entrances and final notes, but it was explained to me, that orchestra and pianist had four hours of rehearsal to pull it all together. 

As for the composition itself, the first movement burst into our ears like a tsunami. It rarely let up. The second movement resembled a slow macabre dance. There were heart-breaking moments of utter beauty in melody line but that did not last for long. A sudden interjection of horn would break it all and then the intentional chaos would once again commence. Prokofiev, Schoenberg and Rachmaninov rolled into one is what I could hear; Scriabin, Stravinsky and Liszt as well. Now take the hardest most prodigiously taxing bars to play in all these composers and know that such rigorous demands constitute the entire concerto. Rarely was Mr. Lefèvre allowed to rest. Like the tormented soul of Mr. Gauvreau himself, this great pianist – a world treasure - personified this poet’s genius. He did so with relentless passion and pianistic perfection. This trio of mad geniuses enthralled me! 

This concert was recorded by Radio-Canada’s Espace Musique and will be broadcast coast to coast next January 22^nd at the “Soirees Classiques” hosted by Mario Paquet. Alain will present the Concerto de l’Asile again this Season with the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec and its conductor Fabien Gabel on 
May 29^th and 30^th.

 CD now on Anelekta Label.

JAZZ FEST NEWS: THE PERFORMANCE WORLD GETS BIGGER

        

The Run-down on the Montreal International Jazz Festival

This year (2017) marks this world's most iconic jazz festival's 38^th year... and with it, 17 countries  beyond North America are now added to the rostrum of iconic artists performing at this year’s extraordinary Équipe Spectra event (presented by TD Bank Group in collaboration with Rio Tinto). These additional countries include: Norway, Brazil, Armenia and New Zealand. Now that’s exciting – as is the world-class line-up of the tried and true:  Bob Dylan, King Crimson, The O’Jays, The Four Tops, Melissa Etheridge, Pink Martini and so many more 'gotta-see-greats' are performing. The festival is proudly international; the music composed by virtuoso instrumentalists and vocal artists embraces all genres and sounds: acoustic folk, classical, gospel, old world, classic moods and Caribbean rhythms. You’re going to discover a  planet of new musicians: solo artists, duos, trios, bands and spectacular shows at 11 venues. And don’t forget those free outdoor concerts too. Visit the website at montrealjazz.com. Book your tickets; they go on sale April 28^th. The festival runs from June 28^th to July 8th. 

 

Photos taken at press conference, April 25th at L'Astral
top photo: Festival Co-founder and Artistic Director, André Ménard announcing Bob Dylan
photos 2 - 4: Festival programmers, Laurnen Saulnier &  Maurin Auxéméry

JAZZ FEST (2015)

(2016 concert reviews)

Wainwright Sisters: a Beautiful Duo

Théậtre de Rideau Vert, July 7^th, 2016 (Jazz fest)

              ( photos from concert: montrealjazzfest.com)

                                                                                

Lucy Wainwright Roche lives in New York, Martha Wainwright in Saint-Sauveur,  but they sill manage to do umpteen tours each year. And so we are rather lucky to, for these tow gals have voices whose blending vocals are heavenly. Lucy is like a young Joan Baez. Martha’s voice is an enigmatic mix Emmylou Harris and Bonny Raitt. Textures come in tapestries with her, and unlike a still carpet, she is more kinetic on stage than her calm sister. They are perfectly pitched foils for one another.

Their range is staggering. Martha is able to achieve simultaneously in a single melody line crackle and velvet combos. It's crazy.  Her song, “Around About” moves from high to low in one sentence, sporting blues and passion.
Martha is akin to a palomino; Lucy is a lovely loon.

They performed songs mainly from their latest 2015 album, Songs in the Dark. Both chuckled saying the songs are "slightly depressing lullabies”. 

On “Baby Rocking Medley”, the lyric offers wailing newborns up for adoption willingly; while from the cover of Richard Thompson’s “The End of the Rainbow”, it was sad. The song says: “There’s nothing to grow up for anymore”, one believes this is the real song that hit the most morbid of lullaby songs in the repertoire delivered in the concert.

 Archangel, Martha’s little son  cheered us all up when he came out  on stage holding a violin and bow. he made more of a fuss abut trying to sit on the high stool than playing; in fact, he didn't play. Looking up at his mother, waiting for his cue to play, he may have missed his mark. At the end, he took a bow, and it brought instant laughter.
Full of family anecdotes punched with self-deprecating humour, the pair invited us into their lives through their stories and their magical songs.

Archer Hits the target of Honesty

Australian singer, opened for the sisters. His vocal style interweaves skiffle and mountain old time. His songs center around the outback, nature, death,  hobo days and of course kangaroos - all very homespun, fun and serious.

 It was the kind of performance best suited to a  cozy cafe rather than this impersonal theatre.  My biggest concern was his diction; it seems to stay between his teeth; he was hard to understand. One suspects he is far more a songwriter than a singer. He’s a raw unpretentious artist, and that's rare these days.

Prima Donna: Rufus Wainwright’s Premier Opera
 (Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, Place des Arts, July 2nd)

photo: Montrealjazzfest.com

Part One ran 60 minutes, presented as an encounter of lyric opera and the visual arts. An opera in two acts, Prima Donna relates the story of a diva, Régine Saint-Laurent, inspired by soprano Maria Callas and exploring the themes of doubt, old age and art. It was presented in an abridged format by an orchestra led by American conductor Jayce Ogren, a rising classical music star, with three high-caliber soloists: internationally renowned soprano Québécois Lyne Fortin, equally renowned Québécois tenor Antonio Figueroa and dazzling American soprano Kathryn Guthrie. The performance combined contemporary film soundtrack by Italian artist and director Francesco Vezzoli, with Cindy Sherman playing Maria Callas. It was a true spectacle employing visuals in a big way on the back screen projection.

Post-intermission offered many of the artist’s numero unos. It was a full concert of surprises and anecdotes. Always real, always funny and always surprising. Rufus Wainwright bares his eccentric soul in each of his concerts, and his performance demonstrated this with flamboyancy and genius.

    

PROVERBS TO PONDER by Nancy

The success of a culture or country must not be based on the suppression of another.

Dogs never give up; humans barely even try.

Courtesy is a state of mind, not a momentary utterance, but I’ll take the latter any time.

Whining works wonders for people to leave you alone – even when you want them to stay.

Cell phones destroy human cells; it takes energy to do that. That's why cell phones go dead so quickly.

Shopping is medicine for the bored mind.

When not asked, the only person interested in what you're saying about yourself is only yourself.

God gave us a beautiful earth; we gave ourselves the facility to destroy it.

Pride is the root of all evil and the catalyst for lying. Disassociate yourself from those who lie and malign you to your face and behind your back.

American modus operandi: “Go for the gun”!!! Babies are shot, little kids are shot, teens are shot, adults are shot, grannies are shot; granddads are shot, but for Americans, this is their right –  their cherished form of  freedom – free expression, and the right not just to bear arms but to shoot arms off.

Maybe first nation Americans should bring up their right to scalp to protect themselves too. After all, that action is as old as the right to bear arms. Each is barbaric, but gun killing is more barbaric.  Get- a-gun law was written by literate folk who ought to have known better.  No matter how many or who gets shot, Americans behave as savages disguised in a suit. Civilized? My eye!

How can you expect people to understand you when you don’t understand them - let alone yourself?

The noblest sibling is the one who gets shunned, yet never speaks negatively about the one who did it. 

A friend is like a flower in a field of weeds. If you pick one, water it every day to keep it blooming near you. As for the weeds, they're all around, so keep your eyes open for that flower. 

You never need to explain yourself to one who loves you. However, you will always be explaining to those who don't. 

Love is life's longest journey, yet it only takes a second to fall from grace. 

Silence is not golden when you need someone to talk to you; tell them. 

People who criticize are not just unhappy with you, but also with themselves. Still, what they say you must consider; it sometimes shows you how you are perceived, and they may be right, but it shows you more about them. 

Have you ever noticed that as we age, we become more balanced in our lives, yet our balance is one of the first things to go. Don't fall!

A lot of people can laugh at themselves wanting you to believe they really are humble; but deep down, they know they are prideful.  

Humans bond better and more profoundly with animals than they do with their own ken. That's because we are more primitive than we would like to think. We are beasts begging for love from our animal/pets. And we get it from them - far more and forever than we get from humans.
 
When babies are born, they cry; ever wonder why they don't laugh? They instinctively know life is painful; they express this the moment they're born. It’s an adult’s duty to make them laugh as much as possible – even though we are wracked with pain.

Love God, give yourself to him, and feel the peace within. 

Loneliness stalks us, but look not to others to fill your void. A simple greeting to a stranger works wonders. Enjoy the child you pass outside. Study the patterns in a leaf; look at a single cloud or blade of grass, and realize you are not alone. You are an integral part of it all - even though the universe is as infinite as a black hole.

Don't judge others, but gently judge yourself  with a view to eliminating behavior that harms you and others. 

Failure is simply a risk you took that didn't pan out.

Boredom happens because you're making yourself, rather than others, the centre of your life. Not giving to others is a no go. You are here to give to others. Contrary to popular belief, being wrapped up in yourself can cause endless boredom and dissatisfaction to others and to yours truly. 

Once you accept that you are basically an instrument of God, you will not feel the need to lie; you don't have to pretend you are him.

Getting old is a waste of time, especially yours. 

What's invisible but breaks everyone down? 

Answer:

 Old Age