#petergrimes — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #petergrimes, aggregated by home.social.
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‘Grimes’ at the Garden: Britten’s music soars https://www.allforgardening.com/1754590/grimes-at-the-garden-brittens-music-soars/ #AllanClayton #BenjaminBritten #DeborahWarnerProduction #garden #IndividualVersusSociety #JakubHrusa #MobMentality #PeterGrimes #RoyalOperaHouse #SeaInterludes #SuffolkFishingTown
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‘Grimes’ at the Garden: Britten’s music soars https://www.allforgardening.com/1754590/grimes-at-the-garden-brittens-music-soars/ #AllanClayton #BenjaminBritten #DeborahWarnerProduction #garden #IndividualVersusSociety #JakubHrusa #MobMentality #PeterGrimes #RoyalOperaHouse #SeaInterludes #SuffolkFishingTown
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https://www.europesays.com/uk/765575/ Review: Peter Grimes at Leeds Grand Theatre #AnthonyWard #AvaDodd #BenjaminBritten #BlaiseMalaba #Britain #ClairePascoe #DanielNorman #DeanRobinson #England #GarryWalker #GreatBritain #HilarySummers #JamesCreswell #JohannesMoore #JohnFindon #KarolinaSofulak #Leeds #LeedsGrandTheatre #NazanFikret #opera #OperaNorth #PeterGrimes #PhilippaBoyle #PhyllidaLloyd #SeanSable #SimonBailey #StuartJackson #TimClaydon #UK #UnitedKingdom
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𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜’𝗺 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴: "𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀" 𝗯𝘆 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 -
This libretto I chose partly for Classical Music Month and partly for an upcoming 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘕𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘴 podcast that links it to Le Guin's Omelas story!
#books #bookreviews #bookworm #readreadread #tbr #tbrpile #tbrlist #quotes #reading #benjaminbritten #petergrimes #libretto #opera #classicalmusicmonth
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𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜’𝗺 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴: "𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀" 𝗯𝘆 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 -
This libretto I chose partly for Classical Music Month and partly for an upcoming 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘕𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘴 podcast that links it to Le Guin's Omelas story!
#books #bookreviews #bookworm #readreadread #tbr #tbrpile #tbrlist #quotes #reading #benjaminbritten #petergrimes #libretto #opera #classicalmusicmonth
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𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜’𝗺 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴: "𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀" 𝗯𝘆 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 -
This libretto I chose partly for Classical Music Month and partly for an upcoming 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘕𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘴 podcast that links it to Le Guin's Omelas story!
#books #bookreviews #bookworm #readreadread #tbr #tbrpile #tbrlist #quotes #reading #benjaminbritten #petergrimes #libretto #opera #classicalmusicmonth
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𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜’𝗺 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴: "𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀" 𝗯𝘆 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 -
This libretto I chose partly for Classical Music Month and partly for an upcoming 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘕𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘴 podcast that links it to Le Guin's Omelas story!
#books #bookreviews #bookworm #readreadread #tbr #tbrpile #tbrlist #quotes #reading #benjaminbritten #petergrimes #libretto #opera #classicalmusicmonth
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𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜’𝗺 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴: "𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀" 𝗯𝘆 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 -
This libretto I chose partly for Classical Music Month and partly for an upcoming 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘕𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘴 podcast that links it to Le Guin's Omelas story!
#books #bookreviews #bookworm #readreadread #tbr #tbrpile #tbrlist #quotes #reading #benjaminbritten #petergrimes #libretto #opera #classicalmusicmonth
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WNO Peter Grimes
The reason for my flying visit to Cardiff this weekend was to visit the Wales Millennium Centre to catch the opening night of Welsh National Opera’s new production of the Opera Peter Grimes by Benjamin Britten. It was a full house and, being a premiere, there was a fair sprinkling of media types among the crowd. There will no doubt be many reviews but I don’t mind adding to the verbage. I’ve seen this Opera several times and it is one of my favourites in the entire repertoire.
Peter Grimes premiered at Sadler’s Wells in London on 7th June 1945 almost 80 years ago. I wasn’t there – I’m not that old – but I do have an original programme from that season (left), bought in a second-hand bookshop. Perhaps surprisingly, given the grim subject matter and the intense music it was an immediate hit with audiences. Its popularity has not wained. Welsh National Opera gave its first performance in 1946, but is currently facing an uncertain future.
I’ve often heard Peter Grimes described as one of the greatest operas written in English. Well, as far as I’m concerned you can drop “written in English” from that sentence and it’s still true. I think it it’s a masterpiece, fit to rank alongside any by any composer. Searching through the back catalogue on this blog, however, I didn’t find any reviews of it, so the times I’ve seen it must have been before I started blogging back in 2008. I saw an excellent production by Opera North in Nottingham many moons ago, and also remember one at Covent Garden which stuck in my memory for its impressive staging.
Based on a character from the narrative poem The Borough by George Crabbe, the story revolves around the eponymous Peter Grimes, a fisherman, and the inhabitants of a small coastal village in Suffolk. Grimes is by no means a sympathetic character: he is an outcast with no social skills and is prone to fits of violent temper. The Opera begins witha Prologue in which Grimes is in court after the death of his apprentice; he is acquitted of any wrongdoing but the folk of the Borough – apart from the schoolteacher Ellen Orford and retired naval Captain Balstrode – still regard him as guilty. Against all advice, Grimes takes on another apprentice (John) whom he is subsequently suspected of mistreating. When the second boy dies (in accidental circumstances), Grimes flees with the crowd in pursuit. At the end he is given no choice but to take to his boat, sail it out to sea and sink it, taking his own life.
For me the key to the success of this Opera is its treatment of the character of Peter Grimes. In the original poem, Crabbe depicts Grimes is a monstrous figure rather like a pantomime villain. Britten is much more sympathetic: Grimes is misunderstood, a misft who as never been socialised; he just doesn’t know the rules that he should conform to. That’s his tragedy. Britten’s Grimes is not a villain. He’s not a hero either. At one point, shockingly, he even lashes out at Ellen Orford a lady who has shown him nothing but kindness. There’s good and bad in Grimes, like there is in all people. Who of us can say that we don’t share some of the faults of Peter Grimes? And if he’s bad what made him bad? Was he himself abused as a child? Could a little kindness along the way have made him better adjusted?
The Opera not just about Grimes, though. We get a vivid insight into the life of an isolated seaside community: the gossiping hypocrisy of the “good people” of the Borough, the debauchery of the landlady and her two “nieces” who cater to the needs of their male visitors, but above all the importance of the sea in their lives – stressed by Britten’s wonderful interludes describing dawn over the town, moonlight over the sea, and a raging storm. It also sheds light on the common practice of “buying” apprentices from the workhouse, essentially a means of slave labour, a systematic abuse far worse than anything Grimes ever does!
Anyway, to last night’s performance. In short, it was magnificent. The cast was very strong indeed: Nicky Spence shone in the role of Peter Grimes (tenor). Britten wrote the part to suit the characteristics of the voice of his partner, Peter Pears, and it doesn’t suit all tenor voices: the superb arioso When the Great Bear and Pleiades, for example, has dizzying head tones that challenges some singers. Ellen Orford was the excellent Sally Matthews (soprano) and Balstrode was the admirable baritone David Kempster.
I’ll mention three particularly memorable moments, near the end of the opera. The first is after the apprentice John has died; the gorgeous sea interlude Moonlight, which serves as a prelude to the third and final act, is played while the grieving Grimes cradles the lifeless corpse of the boy. The second is when Grimes is on the run, with the chorus calling his name and baying for blood. In fear of his life, he breaks down and is reduced to repeating his own name to himself. I’ve always found that scene unbearably moving and it was that way again last night. Finally, at the very end, the bodies of the two dead apprentices appear, one sprawled on a rock, the other standing eerily in the suspended boat which is tipped up vertically above the stage. When Grimes accepts Balstrode’s advice to drown himself, the two boys come to life; they exchange smiles, hold hands and walk off into the distance. It’s the only time Grimes looks happy in the whole performance. Only in death can he find his peace.
The staging is very spare but cleverly done. The basic set consists of a wet beach sloping up towards the rear above which from time to time a small fishing boat appears, suspended by wires, in a variety of attitudes. Otherwise there is little in the way of scenery. The clever part of this is the use of the dancers of Dance Ensemble Dawns. All the boys’ roles were in fact played by female dancers, including John the second apprentice, a non-speaking role played with great pathos by Maya Marsh whose use of body language was extraordinarily effective. Not only did they portray the boys of the village, often to be found generally misbehaving and taunting Peter Grimes, they also use their movements do evoke the storm in an extraordinarily compelling way. Not content with that they came on from time to time, in stylised fashion, to move scenery and props. The inn, for example, is conjured up by two simple props: a door frame and a window frame, held up by members of the ensemble for other members of the cast to walk or lean through. In all these contributions, the dancers were brilliant.
The simplicity of the staging probably reflects the financial crisis currently engulfing Welsh National Opera. They probably just didn’t have the money to pay for a elaborate sets, but it’s a testament to the skill and creativity of the designers that they were able to pull a triumph out of a financial disaster. I was sitting in the Circle so could see very well into the orchestra pit, where all the musicians of the Orchestra of Welsh National Opera were all wearing “SAVE OUR WNO” t-shirts. They played their hearts out. The WNO Chorus has always been excellent every time I’ve seen them, and last night was no exception.
At the end of the opera, the cast, chorus and dancers were joined on stage not only by the entire orchestra (including instruments, where possible) and many members of the technical team. I’ve never seen that happen before! There were speeches by the co-directors of WNO expressing their determination to carry on through the financial turbulence that threatens to drown them. Welsh National Opera is a wonderful part of the artistic and cultural scene not only in Wales but across the rest of the UK and beyond. It just cannot be allowed to wither.
P.S. Last night’s performance was recorded for later broadcast on BBC Radio 3.
#Cardiff #DavidKempster #NickySpence #PeterGrimes #SallyMatthews #WalesMillenniumCentre #WelshNationalOpera
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WNO Peter Grimes
The reason for my flying visit to Cardiff this weekend was to visit the Wales Millennium Centre to catch the opening night of Welsh National Opera’s new production of the Opera Peter Grimes by Benjamin Britten. It was a full house and, being a premiere, there was a fair sprinkling of media types among the crowd. There will no doubt be many reviews but I don’t mind adding to the verbage. I’ve seen this Opera several times and it is one of my favourites in the entire repertoire.
Peter Grimes premiered at Sadler’s Wells in London on 7th June 1945 almost 80 years ago. I wasn’t there – I’m not that old – but I do have an original programme from that season (left), bought in a second-hand bookshop. Perhaps surprisingly, given the grim subject matter and the intense music it was an immediate hit with audiences. Its popularity has not wained. Welsh National Opera gave its first performance in 1946, but is currently facing an uncertain future.
I’ve often heard Peter Grimes described as one of the greatest operas written in English. Well, as far as I’m concerned you can drop “written in English” from that sentence and it’s still true. I think it it’s a masterpiece, fit to rank alongside any by any composer. Searching through the back catalogue on this blog, however, I didn’t find any reviews of it, so the times I’ve seen it must have been before I started blogging back in 2008. I saw an excellent production by Opera North in Nottingham many moons ago, and also remember one at Covent Garden which stuck in my memory for its impressive staging.
Based on a character from the narrative poem The Borough by George Crabbe, the story revolves around the eponymous Peter Grimes, a fisherman, and the inhabitants of a small coastal village in Suffolk. Grimes is by no means a sympathetic character: he is an outcast with no social skills and is prone to fits of violent temper. The Opera begins witha Prologue in which Grimes is in court after the death of his apprentice; he is acquitted of any wrongdoing but the folk of the Borough – apart from the schoolteacher Ellen Orford and retired naval Captain Balstrode – still regard him as guilty. Against all advice, Grimes takes on another apprentice (John) whom he is subsequently suspected of mistreating. When the second boy dies (in accidental circumstances), Grimes flees with the crowd in pursuit. At the end he is given no choice but to take to his boat, sail it out to sea and sink it, taking his own life.
For me the key to the success of this Opera is its treatment of the character of Peter Grimes. In the original poem, Crabbe depicts Grimes is a monstrous figure rather like a pantomime villain. Britten is much more sympathetic: Grimes is misunderstood, a misft who as never been socialised; he just doesn’t know the rules that he should conform to. That’s his tragedy. Britten’s Grimes is not a villain. He’s not a hero either. At one point, shockingly, he even lashes out at Ellen Orford a lady who has shown him nothing but kindness. There’s good and bad in Grimes, like there is in all people. Who of us can say that we don’t share some of the faults of Peter Grimes? And if he’s bad what made him bad? Was he himself abused as a child? Could a little kindness along the way have made him better adjusted?
The Opera not just about Grimes, though. We get a vivid insight into the life of an isolated seaside community: the gossiping hypocrisy of the “good people” of the Borough, the debauchery of the landlady and her two “nieces” who cater to the needs of their male visitors, but above all the importance of the sea in their lives – stressed by Britten’s wonderful interludes describing dawn over the town, moonlight over the sea, and a raging storm. It also sheds light on the common practice of “buying” apprentices from the workhouse, essentially a means of slave labour, a systematic abuse far worse than anything Grimes ever does!
Anyway, to last night’s performance. In short, it was magnificent. The cast was very strong indeed: Nicky Spence shone in the role of Peter Grimes (tenor). Britten wrote the part to suit the characteristics of the voice of his partner, Peter Pears, and it doesn’t suit all tenor voices: the superb arioso When the Great Bear and Pleiades, for example, has dizzying head tones that challenges some singers. Ellen Orford was the excellent Sally Matthews (soprano) and Balstrode was the admirable baritone David Kempster.
I’ll mention three particularly memorable moments, near the end of the opera. The first is after the apprentice John has died; the gorgeous sea interlude Moonlight, which serves as a prelude to the third and final act, is played while the grieving Grimes cradles the lifeless corpse of the boy. The second is when Grimes is on the run, with the chorus calling his name and baying for blood. In fear of his life, he breaks down and is reduced to repeating his own name to himself. I’ve always found that scene unbearably moving and it was that way again last night. Finally, at the very end, the bodies of the two dead apprentices appear, one sprawled on a rock, the other standing eerily in the suspended boat which is tipped up vertically above the stage. When Grimes accepts Balstrode’s advice to drown himself, the two boys come to life; they exchange smiles, hold hands and walk off into the distance. It’s the only time Grimes looks happy in the whole performance. Only in death can he find his peace.
The staging is very spare but cleverly done. The basic set consists of a wet beach sloping up towards the rear above which from time to time a small fishing boat appears, suspended by wires, in a variety of attitudes. Otherwise there is little in the way of scenery. The clever part of this is the use of the dancers of Dance Ensemble Dawns. All the boys’ roles were in fact played by female dancers, including John the second apprentice, a non-speaking role played with great pathos by Maya Marsh whose use of body language was extraordinarily effective. Not only did they portray the boys of the village, often to be found generally misbehaving and taunting Peter Grimes, they also use their movements do evoke the storm in an extraordinarily compelling way. Not content with that they came on from time to time, in stylised fashion, to move scenery and props. The inn, for example, is conjured up by two simple props: a door frame and a window frame, held up by members of the ensemble for other members of the cast to walk or lean through. In all these contributions, the dancers were brilliant.
The simplicity of the staging probably reflects the financial crisis currently engulfing Welsh National Opera. They probably just didn’t have the money to pay for a elaborate sets, but it’s a testament to the skill and creativity of the designers that they were able to pull a triumph out of a financial disaster. I was sitting in the Circle so could see very well into the orchestra pit, where all the musicians of the Orchestra of Welsh National Opera were all wearing “SAVE OUR WNO” t-shirts. They played their hearts out. The WNO Chorus has always been excellent every time I’ve seen them, and last night was no exception.
At the end of the opera, the cast, chorus and dancers were joined on stage not only by the entire orchestra (including instruments, where possible) and many members of the technical team. I’ve never seen that happen before! There were speeches by the co-directors of WNO expressing their determination to carry on through the financial turbulence that threatens to drown them. Welsh National Opera is a wonderful part of the artistic and cultural scene not only in Wales but across the rest of the UK and beyond. It just cannot be allowed to wither.
P.S. Last night’s performance was recorded for later broadcast on BBC Radio 3.
#Cardiff #DavidKempster #NickySpence #PeterGrimes #SallyMatthews #WalesMillenniumCentre #WelshNationalOpera
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Vanavond #petergrimes ofwel het 'zondebokmechanisme in onze samenleving'
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Vanavond #petergrimes ofwel het 'zondebokmechanisme in onze samenleving'
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Vanavond #petergrimes ofwel het 'zondebokmechanisme in onze samenleving'
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Vanavond #petergrimes ofwel het 'zondebokmechanisme in onze samenleving'
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'Bored', so posting #DanKarlström character pics from #Zauberflöte by #Oper Leipzig + Peter Grimes in Erfurt.
Monostatos alas often being problematic + Bob Boles as a character probably not much better. Good thing I like my villains?
He doesn't seem to be in #TheaterErfurt's last Grimes tomorrow (presumably because he's in La Traviata on 18th) but there's still tickets if you're in Germany.
https://www.concerti.de/oper/opern-kritiken/theater-erfurt-peter-grimes-30-9-23/
https://www.theater-erfurt.de/stuecke/peter-grimes
https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095515961
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'Bored', so posting #DanKarlström character pics from #Zauberflöte by #Oper Leipzig + Peter Grimes in Erfurt.
Monostatos alas often being problematic + Bob Boles as a character probably not much better. Good thing I like my villains?
He doesn't seem to be in #TheaterErfurt's last Grimes tomorrow (presumably because he's in La Traviata on 18th) but there's still tickets if you're in Germany.
https://www.concerti.de/oper/opern-kritiken/theater-erfurt-peter-grimes-30-9-23/
https://www.theater-erfurt.de/stuecke/peter-grimes
https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095515961
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'Bored', so posting #DanKarlström character pics from #Zauberflöte by #Oper Leipzig + Peter Grimes in Erfurt.
Monostatos alas often being problematic + Bob Boles as a character probably not much better. Good thing I like my villains?
He doesn't seem to be in #TheaterErfurt's last Grimes tomorrow (presumably because he's in La Traviata on 18th) but there's still tickets if you're in Germany.
https://www.concerti.de/oper/opern-kritiken/theater-erfurt-peter-grimes-30-9-23/
https://www.theater-erfurt.de/stuecke/peter-grimes
https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095515961
-
'Bored', so posting #DanKarlström character pics from #Zauberflöte by #Oper Leipzig + Peter Grimes in Erfurt.
Monostatos alas often being problematic + Bob Boles as a character probably not much better. Good thing I like my villains?
He doesn't seem to be in #TheaterErfurt's last Grimes tomorrow (presumably because he's in La Traviata on 18th) but there's still tickets if you're in Germany.
https://www.concerti.de/oper/opern-kritiken/theater-erfurt-peter-grimes-30-9-23/
https://www.theater-erfurt.de/stuecke/peter-grimes
https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095515961
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Opéra: Benjamin Britten et sa chronique de la haine ordinaire
L’#opéra de Paris présente une production en forme de réussite absolue, comme il en arrive une fois par décennie: «#PeterGrimes» de #BenjaminBritten. La mise en scène affûtée de Deborah Warner rend toute sa dimension à cette œuvre secrète et subversive.
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Opéra: Benjamin Britten et sa chronique de la haine ordinaire
L’#opéra de Paris présente une production en forme de réussite absolue, comme il en arrive une fois par décennie: «#PeterGrimes» de #BenjaminBritten. La mise en scène affûtée de Deborah Warner rend toute sa dimension à cette œuvre secrète et subversive.
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Opéra: Benjamin Britten et sa chronique de la haine ordinaire
L’#opéra de Paris présente une production en forme de réussite absolue, comme il en arrive une fois par décennie: «#PeterGrimes» de #BenjaminBritten. La mise en scène affûtée de Deborah Warner rend toute sa dimension à cette œuvre secrète et subversive.
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Opéra: Benjamin Britten et sa chronique de la haine ordinaire
L’#opéra de Paris présente une production en forme de réussite absolue, comme il en arrive une fois par décennie: «#PeterGrimes» de #BenjaminBritten. La mise en scène affûtée de Deborah Warner rend toute sa dimension à cette œuvre secrète et subversive.
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Opéra: Benjamin Britten et sa chronique de la haine ordinaire
L’#opéra de Paris présente une production en forme de réussite absolue, comme il en arrive une fois par décennie: «#PeterGrimes» de #BenjaminBritten. La mise en scène affûtée de Deborah Warner rend toute sa dimension à cette œuvre secrète et subversive.
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#somethingbeautiful this evening: #Oregon vistas from my walk at the end of the day, listening to the Metropolitan #Opera live radio stream of #PeterGrimes while watching the leaves fall. 🖤🍂🍁 (Now finishing the livestream in my #sewing workshop.)
Then off to read...
Goodnight, friends ✨ see you in Dreamland
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#somethingbeautiful this evening: #Oregon vistas from my walk at the end of the day, listening to the Metropolitan #Opera live radio stream of #PeterGrimes while watching the leaves fall. 🖤🍂🍁 (Now finishing the livestream in my #sewing workshop.)
Then off to read...
Goodnight, friends ✨ see you in Dreamland
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#somethingbeautiful this evening: #Oregon vistas from my walk at the end of the day, listening to the Metropolitan #Opera live radio stream of #PeterGrimes while watching the leaves fall. 🖤🍂🍁 (Now finishing the livestream in my #sewing workshop.)
Then off to read...
Goodnight, friends ✨ see you in Dreamland
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#somethingbeautiful this evening: #Oregon vistas from my walk at the end of the day, listening to the Metropolitan #Opera live radio stream of #PeterGrimes while watching the leaves fall. 🖤🍂🍁 (Now finishing the livestream in my #sewing workshop.)
Then off to read...
Goodnight, friends ✨ see you in Dreamland
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Between diapers & dishes – the (in)visibility of the female composer
Walkyrien (c) Emil Doepler, via Wikipedia Media
Amsterdam, 8 March 2018. No chance to miss today is women’s day. The media are brimming with articles about the unequal pay for women and their still limited representation in prestigious positions. – In politics, the business world, universities and the arts.
The most conservative is perhaps the classical music world, where the female composer still has to fend for her right to exist. Even in 2018 she still has to cram her creative work in between domestic tasks, it seems. – Will a male composer ever be asked how he combines his work ‘with the children’? Despite tiny steps in the right direction, his female colleague still balances between diapers & dishes.
Perotinus & Leoninus
My own history began in a village in Limburg. I was not allowed to join the local brass band – simply because I was a girl. Later I started my own pop group. Though I wrote all the songs, invariably in interviews my male band members were asked all the questions. During my entire studies in musicology only two ladies were mentioned. Hildegard von Bingen was treated extensively, but after that it remained silent. In my my final year one song by Clara Schumann was analyzed.
During concerts I heard music from Perotinus & Leoninus, Bach and Handel, Mozart and Beethoven, Stravinsky and Bartók. Only in the world of new music I was sparsely treated to works by Galina Ustvolskaya and Sofia Gubaidulina, or Kaija Saariaho and Unsuk Chin. When I started working at Radio 4, I made thematic programs on countless subjects. But the moment I dedicated a series to female composers, I was deprecatingly dubbed ‘Her of the Women’.
Smyth ‘influenced’ by unborn Britten
Undaunted I tried to get work by female composers performed, but I stumbled on a wall of unwillingness and bias. The most poignant was my experience with the opera The Wreckers by Ethel Smyth. Everyone I played a recording to was enthusiastic about the beautiful and powerful music. – Invariably followed by the comment that Smyth had been ‘strongly influenced’ by Peter Grimes of Benjamin Britten.
A hilarious argument: Britten wasn’t even born when Smyth composed her opera in 1906. Indeed, Peter Grimes did not appear until 1945, a year after her death. When I pointed this out, my interlocutors fell silent, baffled. But the penny did not drop and the opera remained unperformed. While a rediscovered second-class composition of a man is not seldom hailed ‘discovery of the century’.
Netherlands’ Men’s Days and Bosmans Prize
During the yearly Netherlands’ Music Days hardly any women’s compositions were performed, so I dubbed them the Netherlands’ Men’s Days; in 2010 the event died a silent death. Even the composition competition named after Henriëtte Bosmans was never won by a woman. After I had criticized this in a column, at least some female jurors were recruited. But it wasn’t until 2008, when an audience prize was established, that this finally went to a female composer. After 2011 also this competition ceased to exist.
When the Festival of Early Music Utrecht put Felix Mendelssohn in the context of his time, not one note from his sister Fanny was played. She was not only Felix’s source of inspiration and sounding board, but also a composer who was highly appreciated in her own time. Most probably she developed the ‘Song without Words’, which is invariably attributed to her brother. After yet another column of mine the all-male concept was somewhat released. Since then, sporadically music by Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, Barbara Strozzi, Hildegard of Bingen or Isabella Leonarda was programmed.
Modern music world forms an exception
A positive exception is formed by the circuit of modern music, such as the Thursday Evening Concerts of Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ. The same goes for the Red Sofa series of De Doelen, the Oranjewoudfestival and Dag in de branding. In Gaudeamus Muziekweek, women’s work sounds regularly, although the competition itself is still dominated by men.
The coming edition of Classical Encounters in The Hague only has male works in store for us, even thought the programmer is a woman. Muziekgebouw Eindhoven features two ladies in its new season; the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra one; the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra none. In the upcoming Opera Forward Festival, only two female composers will be represented.
Bright spots
It is sad that even in the 21st century we have to fight for the music of women composers. Nevertheless, there have been some bright spots recently, thanks in part to the social media. Databases with female composers from all ages can be updated online and this information is shared quickly and easily. The #MeToo discussion also contributes to a greater awareness of the subordination of women.
In terms of policy, some steps have been made as well. Mayke Nas succeeded Willem Jeths as Composer Laureate in 2016. A year later, Kate Moore was the first woman ever to win the prestigious Matthijs Vermeulen Prize. The BBC initiated the project Celebrating Women Composers and the new February Festival gave voice to Fanny Mendelsohn and Clara Schumann. From season 2018-19 onwards, the Concertgebouw and NTRZaterdagMatinee will pay structural attention to composing ladies. Its counterpart AVROTROSVrijdagconcert also regularly features music by women composers.
Small successes that ‘Her of the Women’ will continue to fight for in the future.
Tonight Silbersee will perform music by Seung-Won Oh in Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, I will speak to her during the introduction at 7.15 pm.
Please support independent music jounalism. Any amount is welcome. Thanks!
#ClaraSchumann #EthelSmyth #FannyMendelssohn #GalinaUstvolskaya #HenriëtteBosmans #HildegardVonBingen #KaijaSaariaho #MeToo #PeterGrimes #SofiaGubaidulina #TheWreckers #UnsukChin #WomenSDay
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Between diapers & dishes – the (in)visibility of the female composer
Walkyrien (c) Emil Doepler, via Wikipedia Media
Amsterdam, 8 March 2018. No chance to miss today is women’s day. The media are brimming with articles about the unequal pay for women and their still limited representation in prestigious positions. – In politics, the business world, universities and the arts.
The most conservative is perhaps the classical music world, where the female composer still has to fend for her right to exist. Even in 2018 she still has to cram her creative work in between domestic tasks, it seems. – Will a male composer ever be asked how he combines his work ‘with the children’? Despite tiny steps in the right direction, his female colleague still balances between diapers & dishes.
Perotinus & Leoninus
My own history began in a village in Limburg. I was not allowed to join the local brass band – simply because I was a girl. Later I started my own pop group. Though I wrote all the songs, invariably in interviews my male band members were asked all the questions. During my entire studies in musicology only two ladies were mentioned. Hildegard von Bingen was treated extensively, but after that it remained silent. In my my final year one song by Clara Schumann was analyzed.
During concerts I heard music from Perotinus & Leoninus, Bach and Handel, Mozart and Beethoven, Stravinsky and Bartók. Only in the world of new music I was sparsely treated to works by Galina Ustvolskaya and Sofia Gubaidulina, or Kaija Saariaho and Unsuk Chin. When I started working at Radio 4, I made thematic programs on countless subjects. But the moment I dedicated a series to female composers, I was deprecatingly dubbed ‘Her of the Women’.
Smyth ‘influenced’ by unborn Britten
Undaunted I tried to get work by female composers performed, but I stumbled on a wall of unwillingness and bias. The most poignant was my experience with the opera The Wreckers by Ethel Smyth. Everyone I played a recording to was enthusiastic about the beautiful and powerful music. – Invariably followed by the comment that Smyth had been ‘strongly influenced’ by Peter Grimes of Benjamin Britten.
A hilarious argument: Britten wasn’t even born when Smyth composed her opera in 1906. Indeed, Peter Grimes did not appear until 1945, a year after her death. When I pointed this out, my interlocutors fell silent, baffled. But the penny did not drop and the opera remained unperformed. While a rediscovered second-class composition of a man is not seldom hailed ‘discovery of the century’.
Netherlands’ Men’s Days and Bosmans Prize
During the yearly Netherlands’ Music Days hardly any women’s compositions were performed, so I dubbed them the Netherlands’ Men’s Days; in 2010 the event died a silent death. Even the composition competition named after Henriëtte Bosmans was never won by a woman. After I had criticized this in a column, at least some female jurors were recruited. But it wasn’t until 2008, when an audience prize was established, that this finally went to a female composer. After 2011 also this competition ceased to exist.
When the Festival of Early Music Utrecht put Felix Mendelssohn in the context of his time, not one note from his sister Fanny was played. She was not only Felix’s source of inspiration and sounding board, but also a composer who was highly appreciated in her own time. Most probably she developed the ‘Song without Words’, which is invariably attributed to her brother. After yet another column of mine the all-male concept was somewhat released. Since then, sporadically music by Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, Barbara Strozzi, Hildegard of Bingen or Isabella Leonarda was programmed.
Modern music world forms an exception
A positive exception is formed by the circuit of modern music, such as the Thursday Evening Concerts of Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ. The same goes for the Red Sofa series of De Doelen, the Oranjewoudfestival and Dag in de branding. In Gaudeamus Muziekweek, women’s work sounds regularly, although the competition itself is still dominated by men.
The coming edition of Classical Encounters in The Hague only has male works in store for us, even thought the programmer is a woman. Muziekgebouw Eindhoven features two ladies in its new season; the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra one; the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra none. In the upcoming Opera Forward Festival, only two female composers will be represented.
Bright spots
It is sad that even in the 21st century we have to fight for the music of women composers. Nevertheless, there have been some bright spots recently, thanks in part to the social media. Databases with female composers from all ages can be updated online and this information is shared quickly and easily. The #MeToo discussion also contributes to a greater awareness of the subordination of women.
In terms of policy, some steps have been made as well. Mayke Nas succeeded Willem Jeths as Composer Laureate in 2016. A year later, Kate Moore was the first woman ever to win the prestigious Matthijs Vermeulen Prize. The BBC initiated the project Celebrating Women Composers and the new February Festival gave voice to Fanny Mendelsohn and Clara Schumann. From season 2018-19 onwards, the Concertgebouw and NTRZaterdagMatinee will pay structural attention to composing ladies. Its counterpart AVROTROSVrijdagconcert also regularly features music by women composers.
Small successes that ‘Her of the Women’ will continue to fight for in the future.
Tonight Silbersee will perform music by Seung-Won Oh in Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, I will speak to her during the introduction at 7.15 pm.
Please support independent music jounalism. Any amount is welcome. Thanks!
#ClaraSchumann #EthelSmyth #FannyMendelssohn #GalinaUstvolskaya #HenriëtteBosmans #HildegardVonBingen #KaijaSaariaho #MeToo #PeterGrimes #SofiaGubaidulina #TheWreckers #UnsukChin #WomenSDay
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Between diapers & dishes – the (in)visibility of the female composer
Walkyrien (c) Emil Doepler, via Wikipedia Media
Amsterdam, 8 March 2018. No chance to miss today is women’s day. The media are brimming with articles about the unequal pay for women and their still limited representation in prestigious positions. – In politics, the business world, universities and the arts.
The most conservative is perhaps the classical music world, where the female composer still has to fend for her right to exist. Even in 2018 she still has to cram her creative work in between domestic tasks, it seems. – Will a male composer ever be asked how he combines his work ‘with the children’? Despite tiny steps in the right direction, his female colleague still balances between diapers & dishes.
Perotinus & Leoninus
My own history began in a village in Limburg. I was not allowed to join the local brass band – simply because I was a girl. Later I started my own pop group. Though I wrote all the songs, invariably in interviews my male band members were asked all the questions. During my entire studies in musicology only two ladies were mentioned. Hildegard von Bingen was treated extensively, but after that it remained silent. In my my final year one song by Clara Schumann was analyzed.
During concerts I heard music from Perotinus & Leoninus, Bach and Handel, Mozart and Beethoven, Stravinsky and Bartók. Only in the world of new music I was sparsely treated to works by Galina Ustvolskaya and Sofia Gubaidulina, or Kaija Saariaho and Unsuk Chin. When I started working at Radio 4, I made thematic programs on countless subjects. But the moment I dedicated a series to female composers, I was deprecatingly dubbed ‘Her of the Women’.
Smyth ‘influenced’ by unborn Britten
Undaunted I tried to get work by female composers performed, but I stumbled on a wall of unwillingness and bias. The most poignant was my experience with the opera The Wreckers by Ethel Smyth. Everyone I played a recording to was enthusiastic about the beautiful and powerful music. – Invariably followed by the comment that Smyth had been ‘strongly influenced’ by Peter Grimes of Benjamin Britten.
A hilarious argument: Britten wasn’t even born when Smyth composed her opera in 1906. Indeed, Peter Grimes did not appear until 1945, a year after her death. When I pointed this out, my interlocutors fell silent, baffled. But the penny did not drop and the opera remained unperformed. While a rediscovered second-class composition of a man is not seldom hailed ‘discovery of the century’.
Netherlands’ Men’s Days and Bosmans Prize
During the yearly Netherlands’ Music Days hardly any women’s compositions were performed, so I dubbed them the Netherlands’ Men’s Days; in 2010 the event died a silent death. Even the composition competition named after Henriëtte Bosmans was never won by a woman. After I had criticized this in a column, at least some female jurors were recruited. But it wasn’t until 2008, when an audience prize was established, that this finally went to a female composer. After 2011 also this competition ceased to exist.
When the Festival of Early Music Utrecht put Felix Mendelssohn in the context of his time, not one note from his sister Fanny was played. She was not only Felix’s source of inspiration and sounding board, but also a composer who was highly appreciated in her own time. Most probably she developed the ‘Song without Words’, which is invariably attributed to her brother. After yet another column of mine the all-male concept was somewhat released. Since then, sporadically music by Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, Barbara Strozzi, Hildegard of Bingen or Isabella Leonarda was programmed.
Modern music world forms an exception
A positive exception is formed by the circuit of modern music, such as the Thursday Evening Concerts of Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ. The same goes for the Red Sofa series of De Doelen, the Oranjewoudfestival and Dag in de branding. In Gaudeamus Muziekweek, women’s work sounds regularly, although the competition itself is still dominated by men.
The coming edition of Classical Encounters in The Hague only has male works in store for us, even thought the programmer is a woman. Muziekgebouw Eindhoven features two ladies in its new season; the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra one; the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra none. In the upcoming Opera Forward Festival, only two female composers will be represented.
Bright spots
It is sad that even in the 21st century we have to fight for the music of women composers. Nevertheless, there have been some bright spots recently, thanks in part to the social media. Databases with female composers from all ages can be updated online and this information is shared quickly and easily. The #MeToo discussion also contributes to a greater awareness of the subordination of women.
In terms of policy, some steps have been made as well. Mayke Nas succeeded Willem Jeths as Composer Laureate in 2016. A year later, Kate Moore was the first woman ever to win the prestigious Matthijs Vermeulen Prize. The BBC initiated the project Celebrating Women Composers and the new February Festival gave voice to Fanny Mendelsohn and Clara Schumann. From season 2018-19 onwards, the Concertgebouw and NTRZaterdagMatinee will pay structural attention to composing ladies. Its counterpart AVROTROSVrijdagconcert also regularly features music by women composers.
Small successes that ‘Her of the Women’ will continue to fight for in the future.
Tonight Silbersee will perform music by Seung-Won Oh in Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, I will speak to her during the introduction at 7.15 pm.
Please support independent music jounalism. Any amount is welcome. Thanks!
#ClaraSchumann #EthelSmyth #FannyMendelssohn #GalinaUstvolskaya #HenriëtteBosmans #HildegardVonBingen #KaijaSaariaho #MeToo #PeterGrimes #SofiaGubaidulina #TheWreckers #UnsukChin #WomenSDay
-
Between diapers & dishes – the (in)visibility of the female composer
Walkyrien (c) Emil Doepler, via Wikipedia Media
Amsterdam, 8 March 2018. No chance to miss today is women’s day. The media are brimming with articles about the unequal pay for women and their still limited representation in prestigious positions. – In politics, the business world, universities and the arts.
The most conservative is perhaps the classical music world, where the female composer still has to fend for her right to exist. Even in 2018 she still has to cram her creative work in between domestic tasks, it seems. – Will a male composer ever be asked how he combines his work ‘with the children’? Despite tiny steps in the right direction, his female colleague still balances between diapers & dishes.
Perotinus & Leoninus
My own history began in a village in Limburg. I was not allowed to join the local brass band – simply because I was a girl. Later I started my own pop group. Though I wrote all the songs, invariably in interviews my male band members were asked all the questions. During my entire studies in musicology only two ladies were mentioned. Hildegard von Bingen was treated extensively, but after that it remained silent. In my my final year one song by Clara Schumann was analyzed.
During concerts I heard music from Perotinus & Leoninus, Bach and Handel, Mozart and Beethoven, Stravinsky and Bartók. Only in the world of new music I was sparsely treated to works by Galina Ustvolskaya and Sofia Gubaidulina, or Kaija Saariaho and Unsuk Chin. When I started working at Radio 4, I made thematic programs on countless subjects. But the moment I dedicated a series to female composers, I was deprecatingly dubbed ‘Her of the Women’.
Smyth ‘influenced’ by unborn Britten
Undaunted I tried to get work by female composers performed, but I stumbled on a wall of unwillingness and bias. The most poignant was my experience with the opera The Wreckers by Ethel Smyth. Everyone I played a recording to was enthusiastic about the beautiful and powerful music. – Invariably followed by the comment that Smyth had been ‘strongly influenced’ by Peter Grimes of Benjamin Britten.
A hilarious argument: Britten wasn’t even born when Smyth composed her opera in 1906. Indeed, Peter Grimes did not appear until 1945, a year after her death. When I pointed this out, my interlocutors fell silent, baffled. But the penny did not drop and the opera remained unperformed. While a rediscovered second-class composition of a man is not seldom hailed ‘discovery of the century’.
Netherlands’ Men’s Days and Bosmans Prize
During the yearly Netherlands’ Music Days hardly any women’s compositions were performed, so I dubbed them the Netherlands’ Men’s Days; in 2010 the event died a silent death. Even the composition competition named after Henriëtte Bosmans was never won by a woman. After I had criticized this in a column, at least some female jurors were recruited. But it wasn’t until 2008, when an audience prize was established, that this finally went to a female composer. After 2011 also this competition ceased to exist.
When the Festival of Early Music Utrecht put Felix Mendelssohn in the context of his time, not one note from his sister Fanny was played. She was not only Felix’s source of inspiration and sounding board, but also a composer who was highly appreciated in her own time. Most probably she developed the ‘Song without Words’, which is invariably attributed to her brother. After yet another column of mine the all-male concept was somewhat released. Since then, sporadically music by Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, Barbara Strozzi, Hildegard of Bingen or Isabella Leonarda was programmed.
Modern music world forms an exception
A positive exception is formed by the circuit of modern music, such as the Thursday Evening Concerts of Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ. The same goes for the Red Sofa series of De Doelen, the Oranjewoudfestival and Dag in de branding. In Gaudeamus Muziekweek, women’s work sounds regularly, although the competition itself is still dominated by men.
The coming edition of Classical Encounters in The Hague only has male works in store for us, even thought the programmer is a woman. Muziekgebouw Eindhoven features two ladies in its new season; the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra one; the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra none. In the upcoming Opera Forward Festival, only two female composers will be represented.
Bright spots
It is sad that even in the 21st century we have to fight for the music of women composers. Nevertheless, there have been some bright spots recently, thanks in part to the social media. Databases with female composers from all ages can be updated online and this information is shared quickly and easily. The #MeToo discussion also contributes to a greater awareness of the subordination of women.
In terms of policy, some steps have been made as well. Mayke Nas succeeded Willem Jeths as Composer Laureate in 2016. A year later, Kate Moore was the first woman ever to win the prestigious Matthijs Vermeulen Prize. The BBC initiated the project Celebrating Women Composers and the new February Festival gave voice to Fanny Mendelsohn and Clara Schumann. From season 2018-19 onwards, the Concertgebouw and NTRZaterdagMatinee will pay structural attention to composing ladies. Its counterpart AVROTROSVrijdagconcert also regularly features music by women composers.
Small successes that ‘Her of the Women’ will continue to fight for in the future.
Tonight Silbersee will perform music by Seung-Won Oh in Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, I will speak to her during the introduction at 7.15 pm.
Please support independent music jounalism. Any amount is welcome. Thanks!
#ClaraSchumann #EthelSmyth #FannyMendelssohn #GalinaUstvolskaya #HenriëtteBosmans #HildegardVonBingen #KaijaSaariaho #MeToo #PeterGrimes #SofiaGubaidulina #TheWreckers #UnsukChin #WomenSDay
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Plaginspiratie: Britten haalde zijn mosterd by Ethel Smyth
Op woensdag 8 maart, internationale vrouwendag, presenteert de Concertzender een dag lang muziek van vrouwelijke componisten.
Al twee decennia probeer ik programmeurs en musici ervan te overtuigen hun blik niet zo eenzijdig op (dode) witte mannen te richten. Hoewel de situatie mondjesmaat verandert, is de verhouding man-vrouw nog altijd behoorlijk scheef, getuige ook de recente seizoenspresentaties van het Koninklijk Concertgebouw Orkest en Koninklijk Concertgebouw.
Over mijn taaie strijd schreef ik vele columns, die deels terug te lezen zijn via de site van vrouw en muziek. Omdat de thematiek nog altijd actueel is, zal ik d komende dagen telkens een ervan op dit blog herpubliceren. Enjoy!
Plaginspiratie
Verschenen in Tijdschrift Luister, juni 2006
Wat heb ik toch een heerlijk beroep! Bijna dagelijks leer ik tijdens concerten en via krant of radio nieuwe muziek en inspirerende musici kennen, waardoor mijn leven in beweging blijft en mijn geest gescherpt wordt.
Op een van die concerten hoorde ik het Strijkkwartet van Ethel Smyth, dat in zijn geladenheid verwant is aan het expressionisme van Schönberg. Schitterend stuk, van een kleurrijke Britse componiste en suffragette, die ooit gevangen zat nadat ze een steen door de ruiten van het Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken had gegooid. Vanuit het celraampje dirigeerde ze met een tandenborstel haar medegevangenen in haar rebelse March of the Women. Een vrouw naar mijn hart.
Zoekend naar andere werken vond ik een opname van haar opera The Wreckers. Deze speelt zich af in een Engels vissersdorpje, waar twee buitenstaanders weigeren te voldoen aan de gangbare mores en uiteindelijk worden omgebracht. Het was alsof ik een blauwdruk van Peter Grimes kreeg voorgeschoteld.
Ook muzikaal zijn er veel raakvlakken. Smyth weet misschien nog wel indringender dan Britten het woelen der baren en emoties in noten te vangen. Haar muziek is dramatisch zonder pompeus te zijn en grijpt je meteen bij de lurven, om je tot het tragische einde niet meer los te laten.
Omdat ik vind dat deze prachtopera zo snel mogelijk op de planken moet komen, bestook ik intendanten, artistiek leiders en dirigenten met opnames en partituren. Zonder uitzondering roemen zij de kwaliteit en schoonheid van de muziek. Steevast voegen zij echter toe: ‘Ze heeft wel erg goed naar Britten geluisterd.’ Als ik riposteer dat Smyth haar opera in 1904 voltooide, negen jaar voordat Britten geboren werd, vallen zij stil.
Ooit gaat het me lukken The Wreckers uitgevoerd te krijgen. Dan zal men zich afvragen: betrof de veertig jaar later gecomponeerde Peter Grimes een geval van plagiaat? Of was het inspiratie? Ik hou het op plaginspiratie…
The Wreckers werd op cd gezet door BBC Philharmonic olv Odeline de la Martinez. Een geënsceneerde versie staat op YouTube.
In 1903 werd haar eenakter Der Wald uitgevoerd in de MET in New York, als eerste opera van een vrouwelijke componist ooit.
