Explaining how the theme for the Brooklyn
Philharmonic Orchestra’s soon-to-be-concluded season originated,
artistic advisor Evans Mirageas says it came down to one fundamental
concept.
"It was really very simple. We asked ourselves, ’What are
the different things that generate great music that touches people
very deeply?’" Mirageas told GO Brooklyn. The current season’s
concerts, under the rubric "Transformations: The Healing
Power of Music," ends with a program titled "The Power
of Shakespeare," May 9 and May 10 at the Brooklyn Academy
of Music.
The season’s opening concert, Osvaldo Golijov’s musical setting
of "The Passion according to St. Mark," displayed the
power of music based on scripture.
"We wanted a secular counterpart to the power of scripture
set to music … and hands down that’s Shakespeare, who has given
rise to more music than any other writer. These were the two
pendants of our season, beginning with the sacred and ending
with the secular."
Of course, programming an evening of music based on Shakespeare
is difficult simply because of the volume of such works.
"It became a process of winnowing down from an enormous
body of possibilities," said Mirageas. "We wanted to
show how Shakespeare has been used by composers through literal
adaptations, or inspirations, works that don’t have a word of
Shakespeare in them."
For these concerts, both types of works were chosen: British
composer George Benjamin’s "Sometime Voices," a 1996
vocal work based on a speech by Caliban in "The Tempest";
German Hans Werner Henze’s voiceless Eighth Symphony (1993),
inspired by "A Midsummer Night’s Dream"; and the final
act of Giuseppe Verdi’s last (and greatest) opera, "Falstaff"
(1893).
"[Brooklyn Philharmonic Music Director] Robert [Spano]
heard ’Sometime Voices’ at Tanglewood some summers back and remembered
how powerful and beautiful it is," Mirageas says. Scored
for chorus, baritone (Nmon Ford sings at these performances)
and orchestra, Benjamin’s 12-minute work is immediately enticing,
Mirageas said.
"I wish we could send a sound truck through the streets
of Brooklyn blaring the music because we’d probably get more
people to come and hear it," he emphasized.
The 76-year-old Henze’s Eighth Symphony, like "Sometime
Voices," is a New York premiere; the greatest living German
composer has proven his mettle in many genres, from operas to
chamber music, but it is his ongoing series of symphonies that
will be his lasting legacy. (His 10th symphony will be heard
at Carnegie Hall next season.)
"The Boston Symphony commissioned his Eighth Symphony,"
said Mirageas, who was there in ’93, along with Spano, then an
assistant conductor. "Henze himself called me and asked,
’What else is on the program?’ I told him it was Mendelssohn’s
’Midsummer Night’s Dream’ music, and he said, ’Perfect – I’ll
create a symphony based on ’Midsummer Night’s Dream’ – not Mendelssohn
but Shakespeare.’
"And he did! It’s a three-movement work, about 25 minutes
in length, that brings forth the spirit of both Shakespeare and
Mendelssohn," said Mirageas.
The search didn’t last long for a work on the second half of
the program that, although based on Shakespeare, could hold its
own.
"Verdi was a big lover of Shakespeare," Mirageas said.
"He contemplated doing an opera based on ’King Lear,’ wrote
an operatic ’Macbeth’ (1847), then at the end of his life returned
to Shakespeare for his last operas, ’Otello’ (1887) and ’Falstaff.’
"’Otello’ is straightforward Shakespeare translated into
Italian, but for ’Falstaff,’ he and librettist Arrigo Boito compressed
’Henry IV, Part I’ and ’The Merry Wives of Windsor’ because they
wanted to bring Falstaff to the fore. He’s a lovable character
with which you can build a divine comic opera, a faithful translation
of Shakespeare but one that stands alone."
Casting Falstaff, one of the glories of the baritone repertory,
was a no-brainer.
"Sir Thomas Allen has never gotten around to singing
Falstaff, but when he agreed to sing in our current ’Cosi fan
tutte,’ we asked him to be our Falstaff as well," Mirageas
said. "Because Robert [Spano] is such a rising star in the
conducting world, lots of stars want to work with him, and because
we are willing to take risks, established singers like to try
out new things in Brooklyn."
So do audiences, according to Mirageas.
"Our audiences have developed a lot of trust in Robert,"
he said. "They know that he believes in the music he plays,
and that’s enough for them."
The Brooklyn Philharmonic performs
Benjamin, Henze and Verdi at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House,
30 Lafayette Ave. at Ashland Place in Fort Greene, May 9 and
10 at 8 pm. A pre-concert discussion with artistic advisor Evans
Mirageas will be held both evenings, at 7 pm, at the Brooklyn
Music School, 126 St. Felix St. Tickets, $20-$55, are available
by logging on to www.brooklynphilharmonic.org.
For more information, call (718) 622-5555.
