Ann Oliveri

Night at the Opera

In a cross between the Marx Brothers and Les Cages Aux Folles, the Washington Opera Company is staging Verdi's farce, Falstaff, at the Kennedy Center through the end of the month--perfect for Halloween with its goblins and witches and faeries.

Tim Smith, Baltimore Sun, has a review today that sums up the experience, including a description of the "Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo-style flock of male dancers in sylph-y ballerina outfits."  You had to be there and thanks to Goldstar.com, we were, at half-price.

What's remarkable is the imagination of director Christian Räth who took the co-produced Royal Opera sets and Verdi's opera and created something new. Charming.

(Photo by Karin Cooper, Kennedy Center / March 3, 2008, appearing in the Baltimore Sun, October 13, 2009.)

Art of Aspiration

In the Heights is a 21st century Broadway musical, rooted in tradition but freed from cliches.  Lucky for me that this transcendent Latino valentine captured my five traveling companions' hearts as well as mine.  Later all revealed that they despise musicals and were only being polite when they agreed to go with me. No pressure there.

A week earlier, I went--alone, come to think of it--to the 50th anniversary revival of West Side Story in Washington, cashing in reward points for the ticket.  I left at intermission, bored and a little embarrassed by the dated sentiments.  I love the music, the dancers were great, and the addition of dialog in Spanish was welcome, but it was a little like seeing Gilbert and Sullivan, a charming curiosity but empty.  And, the contrast to In the Heights could not be more telling.

Created by Lin-Manuel Miranda, the show's narrator and lead, In the Heights captures the dreams and ambitions of the children of immigrants, tethered to the neighborhood and supported by family--found and extended.  It's a master course in community building.

The voices are authentic, emotions conflicted, themes universal, and all set to a new beat, resonating with musical theater to a rap base and salsa splash.   What was so striking about this show, though, is its affirmation of the power of the arts, an individual's creativity, to create meaning and perspective, expressing an age-old quest in an artful, new way.  Now, that's something to aspire to in our work.

Next to Normal

Half rock opera, half classical tragedy, Next to Normal is a manic-depressive musical that blurs boundaries and hints at the power classical Greek choruses must have once held over their audiences.

The Off Broadway, now Broadway bound, musical is playing at the Arena Stage until January 18 and is an emotional roller coaster ride, that for the most part delivers an authentic one-two punch of love and anger. 

The 2008 New York Times review provides the particulars on the cast and creative team.  You can hear three outstanding songs, including I Miss the Mountains, at the Arena web page plus a video clip.

Live theater somehow makes me feel more alive, but this experience left me feeling more human.  Reading Oliver Sacks helps recalibrate normal, but Next to Normal helps you embrace life whatever shape it takes.

Virtual Vacation

Ready for an escape but worried about the time and money?  Check out NPR Music's Discover Songs page for a Virtual Vacation, a musical swing through unusual destinations. 

Or for a shorter burst of adventure, subscribe to Song of the Day, ideal for those of us needing assistance in discovering new music.

NPR's Song of the Day, All Songs Considered, and In Performance are also gadgets you can add to your customized iGoogle homepage.

So, any other useful suggestions on how to kill time between conference calls?  TGIF.

Crash Course

 The music industry is the perfect prism for viewing the challenge all businesses face at the moment, so what can we learn from an alternative method for preparing future music impresarios?  

NPR Weekend Edition featured a story yesterday on the Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, a program designed to train creative entrepreneurs. After four years, students create and pitch their business venture to a group of industry leaders. 

"If you're able to think entrepreneurially, as a student, you're in a much better position to actually create your own opportunities," says artistic director Jason King. "I don't think it's possible to sustain a career in the music industry unless you have passion, unless you have drive, and unless you are committed to making music that is compelling, meaningful and is really about something."

The NPR story includes links to four songs, used in the on air piece, including Alone by Matt Palmer and Miles Apart by Drew Cappotto.  Students' recently compiled work, From Highs to Lows, was released by the school's label, 194 Recordings. 

Defy Convention

A glutton for punishment, I am returning to the subject of music at meetings.  Just because I failed once to explain how engaging all senses makes events memorable, doesn't mean I can just let it go.  So here's an even more obscure take on the subject.

Music and the arts have been both a backdrop and a counterpoint at the first two Vine Conferences, but this year's program fully integrated the arts into the experience by being created in the moment.  Improvisation was both a subtext on a theme of innovation and experimentation as well as a demonstration of creativity.

On the opening evening, pianist Michael Jones and cellist Stephanie Winters teamed up for the first time, channeling each other and the audience, to create music.  We were not allowed to applaud, and that proved the most difficult part of the experience.  Both musicians, however, stayed on for the next two days, participating in discussions, and resurfacing at the close with an even more remarkable musical contribution.

I can't explain it, but it felt like we as a group were the instrument, reverberating with what we had created as a group and expressed, especially by the cellist Stephanie Winters, in their final performance.  The musicians had tried to tell us how we fed them while on stage, but words only approximated what we all could finally sense at the end, the sound swamping you like a deeply resonant sonar.  It's how I imagine schools of fish or pods of whales must communicate.

Okay I am not a fanciful person nor do I listen to whale songs, so how can I account for this response?  And where do I note it on my meeting evaluation form?  Can't you just see the survey check box choices ranging from "Left me dead inside" to "Connected me to the universe?"  All I can say is that at this conference, music and poetry and film were not entertainment.  All provided transportation to meaning-- without rhetoric.

Anyhoo, I am grateful that Greg Fuson had the foresight to provide us not only with the latest CDs from Michael and Stephanie, but also a copy of Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks.  Although I am a long time fan of Sacks, I had not yet read Musicophilia, and I am still working on it.  I hope his stories provide a way to engage those tone deaf to music's power and language, but open to redefining ways of creating shared meaning.

Alternatively, you could just skip music and host iPod dance parties where everyone listens to their own music but dance together in the space you provide.

"Me We" Muhammed Ali 

Tone Deaf

Last week, I posted "Your Meeting - The Soundtrack" on Acronym, suggesting that meeting planners create a soundtrack, a playlist of music and lyrics that trigger both positive emotions and reinforce the content shared.  My point was if you want to brand a meeting experience, explore all five senses. 

At a minimum, this added dimension can then be reprised when you are fighting for attention in a crowded marketplace. The possibility though is that you could provide a soundtrack of participants' lives, even find your mission's anthem. 

Advertisers use music to pierce through the clutter and reinforce recall.  Can you recognize a television ad for Target or iPod by the distinctive sound?  Neither have jingles per se, but both have plenty of attitude expressed by their selection of artists' music and lyrics.

Distinctive meetings, authentic experiences demand more. Why limit yourself to the ubiquitous two-dimensional name badge?   Up the ante and ask yourself if they can dance to it.
 

Pandora Radio

In a recent post, I asked for help finding new music, new artists.  One response was to check out Pandora Radio, a streaming music internet site.  Pandora allows you to create your own "radio station" by starting with an artist you like and then selecting other recommendations.

Unlike the Amazon approach of generating recommendations based on what others buy, Pandora is based on the research of the Music Genome Project, using more than 400 attributes to describe songs and a complex mathematical algorithm to organize them.

You listen to songs an vote on whether you like them and want to hear more.  You can also learn more about that artist and purchase a CD or just listen online for free.  In half an hour, I created three stations, building off favorite artists Bonnie Raitt, Keith Jarrett, Richard Julian, and discovering both new music and standards new to me.

Warning: Pandora is addictive! It's free if you want to see the ads or available by subscription if  you don't.  No software, no lengthy downloads, and it remembers your selections.  The blog has information on concerts, artists, and other useful information.

Listen while you can.

New Music

The 80s were a disaster in so many ways--what were we thinking with those shoulder pads and big hair--but more importantly, the advent of disco ended the era of great music.  Those of us who grew up with R&B or Rock and Roll, continue to support the work of aging rockers like Bruce and Bonnie, even Bono is moving into this category, but we would like to listen to new artists, too.

Seeking help, a friend just emailed his contact list asking for nominations of new artists' work in any category so he could assemble a collection as a gift to his wife.  All those responding would get the final list.  The post script asked for book suggestions as well.

So what are your favorite new recording artists?  Who have you discovered?