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Velas Tours
an incoming tour operator based in Greece with 34 years experience in both, tours and holidays
velastours.com
an incoming tour operator based in Greece with 34 years experience in both, tours and holidays
velastours.com
TWO UNFORGETTABLE GALA CONCERTS PRESENTED BYTWO UNFORGETTABLE GALA CONCERTS PRESENTED BY THE HELLENIC MUSIC FOUNDATION On November 7th, 2009 the Hellenic Music Foundation presented their 13th Annual Gala Concert at St. Peters Church in Manhattan, New York. This concert was the first in an ambitious and quite adventurous series of concerts employing a medium sized Orchestra and presenting not only instrumental works – showcasing talented soloists – but also extensive excerpts from mainly neglected Operas or Operas that have a Greek subject and/or take place in Greece. The Opera presented this time was the mostly forgotten “IL CORSARO” by Giuseppe Verdi, which is based on the poem THE CORSAIR by Lord Byron. Byron's influence on European poetry, music, novel, opera, and painting has been immense. Lord Byrons “The Corsair” was released to record sales in 1814; it sold out its entire first run, all 10,000 copies, in London in one day. Byrons work was widely read and discussed in his lifetime by the English literary elite as well as the aspiring middle class. The composer Giuseppe Verdi expressed interest in Byron's poem "The Corsair" as early as 1844. It was very much in vogue in Italy during that time and Verdi himself could think of no plot that was “finer, more full of passion or easier to set to music” (Verdis other Byron opera has been I Due Foscari). However, it was several years before he got around to composing the opera, working with a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. By that time, he had begun to cogitate on the more ambitious projects of I Masnadieri and Macbeth. The Opera was premiered in 1848 and wasnt exactly a smash hit; nowadays it is rarely produced. In some ways, the fate of Il Corsaro is understandable. The story has a few holes, and Verdi wrote plenty of operas with more compelling music. But when it comes to opera, Verdi on his worst day was more than a match for just about everyone else in the business. The Act III Gulnara-Corrado Duet can be seen as the prefiguring of a new kind of Duet which will emerge in greater perfection in Act I of Macbeth; It is not the duet of symmetrical, contrasted movements but one in which the musical discourse adapts itself to the course of the dialogue sentence by sentence. Medoras solo, her Act I duet with Corrado, the Andante from Gulnaras aria in Act II and the scene in the prison all have a depth that comes from Verdis increasing harmonic range. Thus said, any chance to hear one of the Verdi operas that generally fly under the radar is a welcome opportunity. And so the Hellenic Music Foundation with a team of dedicated instrumentalists forming the 12-piece Orchestra under the direction of Yannis Xylas on the piano presented about 50 minutes of this short and almost unknown gem of an Opera. The role of the Corsair (Corrado) was taken by Angelo Mazzone and the two soprano leads were sung by the Greek-American Maryann Mootos (as Gulnara) and by the Greek soprano from Thessaloniki Eleni Calenos (as Medora). The first half of the first part of the program started off with the Bach Sonata for Flute and Cello, BWV 1034 performed stylishly by Gina Izzo and Benjamin Capps, accompanied on the piano by Manolis Papasifakis followed by the famous aria “Vesti la giubba” from the opera Pagliacci by Leoncavallo sang in a passionate and powerful way by Tenor Hong Dai. For a total change in pace talented young Harpist Caroline Cole offered “Exosphere”, the strangely alluring first movement of the Suite Galactique by Caroline Lizotte. The next piece was the World Premiere of the Suite for Trombone and Piano by composer John Ellis - who was present in the audience - performed by talented Greek Trombonist Achilles Liarmakopoulos supported by Yannis Xylas on the piano. Then came the first piece for the orchestra and voice, an arrangement by Yannis Xylas of “Longing for Hometown” a well known Chinese song sang in an authentic and touching way by tenor Hong Dai. The “Corsaro” excerpts consisted of Corrados double aria– a slow cantabile section followed by a rousing martial cabaletta - Medoras Romanza exquisitely sung by Eleni Calenos, accompanied by Harp, Flute, oboe and Clarinet and finally the Medora-Corrado duet that closes Act I of the opera, complete with string pizzicatos and harp as well as heavy brass, pre-recorded canon shots and glorious high notes to close the first half of the program. The second half of the program started with an extensive instrumental section featuring talented cellist Benjamin Capps (whose mother is of Greek heritage) teaming with Greek pianist Manolis Papasifakis in the very demanding Sonata for Cello and Piano by Debussy followed by the virtuosic Halvarson arrangement of the Handel Passacaglia for Violin and Cello where Benjamin Capps teamed with the equally talented violinist Regi Papa performing this rousing tour de force. The third offering of the instrumental section was the first movement of the melodious but also demanding Schubert Piano Trio performed by all the above mentioned instrumentalists, earning them a warm round of applause. The program continued with more offerings from the opera IL CORSARO. Greek-American Soprano Maryann Mootos sang Gulnaras very difficult double aria from the second act with aplomb followed by Corrados short solo in the prison from the third act (sung by Angelo Mazzone). The soprano and tenor joined forces for their extensive, agitated duet culminating in an offstage murder during a raging thunderstorm aided by the blasting of the brass and woodwinds of the orchestra as well as sound effects including wind, rain and thunder. The rousing fast closing of the duet brought forth a brief orchestral interlude and the character of Medora (sung by Eleni Calenos) awaiting the return of her beloved one. After an extended and rousing orchestral crescendo with all the instruments joining one by one, leading to a climax (made possible by the simplest means) the three voices joined forces in unison rising to a high B flat expressing their joy as they reunite and are free from the oppressive Pasha. Alas, Medora has taken poison and is dying and so the three principals, alternatively expressing their thoughts eventually join their voices together in the final Trio with its ebbs and tides of sound: Poor Medora dies, Corrado jumps of the cliff and Gulnara left alone collapses after her high D-flat. The program was comprehensive and had variety, encompassing several styles and time periods, and the soloists were warmly applauded for their performance." oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Two weeks later on November 21st, 2009, the Hellenic Music Foundation presented their second November concert at Saint Peter s Church honoring the memory of the most important Operetta composer, the beloved Greek composer Nikos Hatziapostolou. This time it featured 3 singers and a pianist. Celebrated Greek-American award-winning pianist and author Eleni Traganas made her debut appearance with the Foundation performing two showpieces from the pianistic literature: the first was Chopins Polonaise in F-Sharp minor Op. 44 where she displayed a complete mastery of the technical difficulties as well as a fine From left to right: Yannis Xylas, Katia Zallas, Olga Xanthopoulou, Julie Ziavras, and Eleni Traganas (inset). balancing of its more lyrical moments. Her deep affinity for the Russian repertoire was evident by her striking performance of the very demanding Etude in D-Sharp minor, Op.8, No. 12 by Scriabin. The Foundation makes every effort to promote new artists as much as possible and give them an opportunity to present their talents in front of diverse audiences in Manhattan and Queens. This time newcomer soprano from Thessaloniki, Mrs. Olga Xanthopoulou, offered us a charming and seducing rendition of the last section of Marguerites Jewel Song from the opera Faust by Charles Gounod. She proceeded with a very interesting selection from a very important Greek composer Yannis Constandinidis: 3 popular Greek songs based on folk melodies harmonized in the composers very personal idiom and using minimal means to achieve a variety of colors. The rest of the first half of the program was devoted to Opera: Julie Ziavras sang with dignity the very well known Ebben, ne andro lontana from the opera La Wally. Katia Zallas sang one of her more successful pieces: Juliettes song Je veux vivre from Gounods opera Romeo et Juliette and then both joined forces in the charming duet between Susanna and the Contessa from Mozart s opera Le Nozze di Figaro. The second half of the program offered us a lighter fare. Ms. Zallas sang with deep feeling one of her favorite songs which is a great favorite with audiences: To Layiarni by Spathy. Greek Operetta was again well represented in this concert with selections from the perennial favorites Apachides ton Athinon (the charming San Oneiro, sang as a duet by Katia Zallas and Julie Ziavras), Gynaika tou dromou (Kardia p agapi orfani, a song well suited to Julie Ziavras dark-hued voice), I proti agapi, the well known song from the operetta of the same name (sang by Katia Zallas) and the very famous duet Ton kairo ekeino ton palio from the most famous Greek operetta O Vaftistikos. After the series of old Greek songs the singers presented selections from Musicals. Olga Xanthopoulou sang “And this is my beloved” from Kismet, an aria that fits her perfectly; the musical is an adaptation of music by Borodin by Wright and Forrest. It was followed by Katia Zallas rendition of “I could have danced all night”, topping the song off with a high C. The set of songs was rounder off by Julie Ziavras singing I want to be a prima donna from the old American operetta “The Enchantress” earning a warm round of applause for her interpretation of the eccentric wannabe diva. Julie also sang the very popular song Hartino to Feggaraki by Hadjidakis and then Mrs. Zallas offered a medley of five old Greek Kantades; the audience was humming along with the soprano as she went from one song to the other. Everybody was applauded during their final bows at the end including pianist Yannis Xylas who accompanied the singers and then Julie with Katia sang To Yelekaki as an encore to round off a memorable evening of beautiful melodies.
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