LB Miller Trust Opera Aria Finalists

From left to right: Adjudicator Paul Person, Fiona Henry (sop.), Nicole Evans (sop.), Rebecca Keegan (mezzo.), Virginia Nichols (sop.), Claire Barton (mezzo.), Jamie Ling (sop.).

Results from the Christchurch Competitions

Held in The Chapel at the Christchurch School of Music (CSM), Barbadoes St 6th-9th July.
Missing information will be added as soon as possible.

Class 121: Gunner Memorial Prize - own selection 18 and under 25 years
1st. Michael Gray (What pow'r art thou - Purcell)
2nd. Chris Bruerton (The Vagabond - Vaughan Williams)
3rd. Benjamin Caukwell (Pilgrim's Song - Tchaikovsky)
VHC: Susan Townley (Usherette's Blues - Nicholas)

Class 122: 20th Century Art Song - 18 and under 25 years
1st.
2nd.
3rd.

Class 130: German Lieder - open
1st. Rebecca Keegan (Vor ewiger Liebe - Brahms)
2nd. Fiona Henry (Widmung - Schubert)
3rd. Claire Barton (Vergebliches Ständchen - Brahms)
VHC. Michael Gray (Waldesgespräch - Schumann)
HC. Genevieve Jenson (Seligkeit - Schubert)
HC. Nicole Evans (Hans und Grethe - Mahler)
HC. Virginia Nichols (Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer - Brahms)

Class 116: Robert Field-Dodgson Memorial - Novice Solo
1st. Chris Bruerton (It was a lover and his lass - Finzi)
2nd. Anna Argyle (Una donna a quindici anni - Mozart)
3rd. Nic Kyle (You raise me up - Graham)
VHC. Michael Rumping (Where e'er you walk - Handel)

Class 123: British Folk Song - Open
1st. Rebecca Keegan (She moved through the fair - arr. Padraic Colum)
2nd. Chris Bruerton (Brigg Fair - Trad.)
3rd. Fiona Henry (Logan Water - Trad.)
VHC. Genevieve Jenson (The last rose of summer - Trad.)

Class 124: Scottish Song -Open
1st. Rebecca Keegan (Caller Herring - Trad.)
2nd. Susan Townley (Bluebell Polka - Stanley)
3rd. Ingrid Fomison-Nurse (Whistle and I'll come to ye my lass - Trad.)

Class 125: Vernon Griffiths Memorial - Song by NZ Composer - Open
1st. Crystel Benton (Zhreye's Xmas Star - Ritchie)
2nd. Tamsin Braisher (Alas that Spring should vanish with the rose - Mason)
3rd. Jenny Marie Evans (At the Cafe - Jenny Marie Evans)

Class 126 - Duet - Open
1st. Claire Barton and Fiona Henry (Via resti servita - Mozart)
2nd. Ashleigh Watts and Elizabeth Harris (If my Celia could persuade - Blow)
3rd. Susan Townley and Virginia Nichols (Sound the Trumpet - Purcell)

Class 127: British Art Song - Open
1st. Nicole Evans (Blow, blow thou winter wind - Bridge)
2nd. Chris Bruerton (Youth and Love - Vaughan Williams)
3rd. Fiona Henry (Daphne - Walton)
VHC. Claire Barton (Sigh no more ladies - Warlock)

Class 128: Music Theatre Solo - Open
1st. Claire Barton (Bali ha'i - Rodgers)
2nd. Nic Kyle (This is the moment - Wildhorn)
3rd. Rebecca Keegan (Ah, que j'aime les militaires - Offenbach)

Class 129: Judi Pattison Memorial - Baroque Aria - Open
1st. Chris Bruerton (Revenge, Timotheus Cries - Handel)
2nd. Rebecca Keegan (Hence, Iris, Hence Away - Handel)
3rd. Fiona Henry (Care Selve - Handel)
VHC. Crystel Benton (Bless'd the day - Handel)

Class 133: The Christchurch Liedertafel Male Voice Choir Class - Open
1st. Michael Gray (Intermezzo - Schumann, Bonnie Earl o' Moray - arr. Britten)
2nd. Michael Rumping (Was ist Sylvia - Schubert, I will go with my father - Jeffreys)

Class 131: Civic Music Council Scholarship - European Song - Open
1st.
2nd.
3rd.

Class 132: Oratorio - Open
1st.
2nd.
3rd.

Class 134: LB Miller Trust Opera Aria - Open

Finalists:

Virginia Nichols (Soprano)
Fiona Henry (Soprano)
Jamie Ling (Soprano)
Nicole Evans (Soprano)
Claire Barton (Mezzo)
Rebecca Keegan (Mezzo)

1st. Fiona Henry
Je dis, que rien ne m'epouvante from Carmen - Bizet
Se il padre perdei from Idomeneo - Mozart

2nd. Claire Barton
Di tanti palpiti from Tancredi - Rossini
Chacun a son gout from Die Fledermaus - J. Strauss

3rd. Virginia Nichols
Dove sono from Le Nozze di Figaro - Mozart
Il est doux, il est bon from Herodiade - Massenet

Propera in Pictures

The Brindisi from Verdi's La traviata: Stephen, Claire, Nicole, Crystel, Rewi, Fiona.

Bester Jüngling from Der Schauspieldirektor (Mozart): Stephen, Claire, Crystel, Nicole, Fiona.

Fiona wants to be a primadonna-donna-donna! Stephen, Claire, Crystel, Fiona.

Stephen and Crystel in a scene from Manon

Backstage mischief: Crystel, Claire and Nicole.

Propera - Opera with Props!

I was in a rather grumpy mood when i arrived at a rehearsal for Stephen's concert this evening, but by the time i left my mood was considerably lighter. This was mainly due to the hysterics induced when Crystel started dancing around and Terence suggested that Fiona, Crystel and I enter the stage 'dancing' the famous Cygnet part of Swan Lake. This isn't *quite* as random as it sounds as we are supposedly drunk and carousing at a party given by Claire when she sings Orlofsky's aria from Die Fledermaus.

Sooo serious ballet faces, linked arms, turning heads, little scissor jumps (having never done ballet i have NO idea what these are called in French), and little faux ballet steps. Our grand finale is of course the leg lift, sliding down to kneel on the floor with one knee raised. This would all have been grand and good if my foot hadn't been trodden on three times by the lovely Fiona! Terence was so excited we had to do it three times. I was awfully glad i wasn't singing straight after that!

I have a feeling this concert is going to be absolutely hilarious.

A spot of bother for Teddy

Looks like NZ opera singer Teddy Tahu Rhodes has embroiled himself in a little scandaahl of his own making. He's currently in Edinburgh performing Escamillo in Carmen, but has also been busy offstage wooing one of the members of the orchestra by leaving roses under her chair in the pit. The only hitch is that the elderly millionaire partner of the 27 year old violinist that Teddy is trying to seduce is NOT impressed! Full text of the article is here

Singstar shame

Ok its official. I might be an opera singer but that doesnt mean that i'm any good at Singstar. Sure i can beat the people who cant sing anything vaguely resembling a melody, but a 13year old beat me singing Cyndi Lauper's 'Girls just wanna have fun.' God she wouldnt have even been born when it was released. Grrrrrrrr.

Hibernation

I've been hibernating ever since I finished exams exactly a week ago today. I, Miss self styled I-hate-all-popular-culture-and-laud-my-cultural-superiority-over-pe0ns, have done very little except watch more DVDs in the space of 3 or 4 days than i have for the previous 5 months. I have also read a tawdry novel. Sooo what have i watched? Bridget Jones' Diary, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, Chocolat, Van Helsing and Trainspotting. Trainspotting was cool. I love fucked up drug movies a la Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. And Scottish boys have hot accents - so what's not to love?

The tawdry novel i read is entitled The Virtuoso by Dutch author Margriet de Moor and has a fat cherub/child on the front holding up a book of music, with the f holes of a cello visible to the left. It was translated from the Dutch which may explain why it was a little difficult to understand at times, although the narrative also contributed to this - even lapsing into 2nd(!) person at times. Anyway it's the story of Italian Countess Carlotta who was the childhood friend of now famous castrao singer Gasparo. Oh who am I kidding? The entire novel was a thinly veiled excuse for Magriet (trained as a singer) to give long scientific explanations of vocal mechanisms (not all of which i agreed with), interspersed with sex scenes with boys dressing as girls, girls dressing as boys, boys getting in on with boys and girls having a lesbian threesome, as well as Carlotta's more heteronormal relations with Gasparo, her husband, and her French lover. If anyone is interested in buying a copy it's available new and used on amazon from $0.06. Now that's gotta hurt Magriet's feelings...

Chamber Music... Take 2!

This morning's sessions of the New Zealand Chamber Music Secondary Schools Chamber Music Competition were again, full of
(be/a)musement. My favourite group today was called The Pink Flipflops , a trio consisting of flute/flute/clarinet.

They walked onstage and the girl given the task of introducing the trio promptly forgot the name of their group, and had to look at another member. Once aforementioned name was remembered the girl introduced the two pieces the group was to play. The first piece "Minuet" was by a composer whose name, in the programme, looked suspiciously like Mozart, but was introduced as being by Mo-Z(as in Zoo)art. This really has got to be one of my pet hates of all time. After the other item was introduced ("O little sweet one" by Bach) the flutes tried to tune. I say tried, because the second flute was a good semitone flat. This took quite a long time to rectify. The minuet finally began and I recognised the melody, soon rendered unrecognisable when the consecutive major 3rds between the flutes in the B section started sounding more like consecutive augmented 4ths. To add to the ambience the clarinet was out of time.

You might think I'm being mean, but I really do admire these groups getting up to perform. I know it's not easy, especially when you are young, so brava to all who tried their best. I can quite forgive the flat flute, the dodgy intonation, the grossly anglicized mispronunciation of Mozart; I cannot forgive the groups (and there were many) who were under-rehearsed and found that fact hideously amusing.

Mill-Horde

For twenty hours this weekend I am supervising Marama Hall and acting as adjudicator's assistant/stage manager/bored spectator (although not all at once!) for the NZ Chamber Music Secondary Schools Chamber Music Competition. Hmmm... How many times can i listen to bad jazz in classical clothing? If a group plays "The Entertainer" arranged for a combo of "interesting" instruments tomorrow I may scream.

Actually, it hasn't been all that bad. Some of the kids are really cute. They walk onstage awkwardly, bump into each other and their music stands, introduce their piece in an embarrassed manner, and THEN tune.

Occasionally there are humorous gaffes.

"We are going to play Introduction et Final by Mill-horde" - uhh... Milhaud?
"We are The Boisterous Trio" - said in a voice so quiet as to be hardly audible.
"We are going to play such and such in D maj... D minor"

Continuing my musical day I'm about to head off to the Mostly Mozart concert at St. Paul's. At least they won't play "The Entertainer."

Top 3 things I've spotted in town lately

1. A man who looked surprisingly like Ozzy Osbourne outside the hospital.
2. A pianist with beautiful curly hair that made me want to run my hands all through it.
3. An elderly asian man in the central library, drinking some sort of concoction out of a jam jar.