Aston Magna

Simon's Rock, Great Barrington, MA
www.astonmagna.org
June 26, 2010
by Debra Tinkham


"Completely Mozart" was the venue at Bard College at Simon's Rock, with eight of the talented Aston Magna musicians. Mozart's quartet in F was a three part quartet, featuring Daniel Stepner on violin, David Miller on viola, Loretta O'Sullivan on cello and Stephen Hammer on oboe.

Allegro began with an oboe solo, joined by a string trio. Hammer demonstrated some difficult passages with nice dynamics. Adagio began like a heavy, broken heart. Although very short, O'Sullivan displayed her usual heartfelt emotion.

With joyful laughter and echoes, Rondeau portrayed an equal blend of strings and woodwind, although the oboe far outweighed the dynamic blend, making it more of a solo instrument. The theme was playful with recapitulation variations. Hammer utilized the full range of his Baroque period oboe but seemed to struggle slightly in the upper register.

Gran Sestetto Concertante's Allegro maestoso, which means quickly majestic, was a sextet of two violins, two violas and two cellos. A new cellist to Aston Magna is Guy Fishman, who made his solo debut with the Handel and Haydn Society Orchestra and in "2002 was their youngest player." At the age of 16, Fishman began his Baccalaureate studies at the Manhattan School of Music and holds a Doctorate from the New England Conservatory of Music. On this night he played a 1704 Roman cello. Fishman is young, experienced, attentive, impressive. Getting back to the other performers, the first movement was emotional and each of these musicians has their own unique style. Fishman is definitely a nice addition.

Andante, which generally implies slow, was not so slow -- very moving in many ways, dramatic and lugubrious. Presto was intensely harmonic, with 60 very busy fingers. This was a "stringed conversation" and everyone wanted to talk at once. Then, back to one conversation, leading into another and another, until they were again all talking at once. The difference between verbal conversations and musical conversations is that with the Aston Magna musicians, six voices talking at the same time are a thing of beauty.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Barrington Stage, Pittsfield, MA
www.barringtonstageco.org
through July 17, 2010
by Karolina Sadowicz

The tale of the murderous, vengeful barber Sweeney Todd has been thrilling audiences for over 30 years with black humor and merciless wit, and has yet to lose its edge. Barrington Stage Company's production is a razor sharp presentation of the dark classic.

After years of imprisonment and other trials, a mysterious man returns to Victorian London and assumes the name of Sweeney Todd (Jeff McCarthy), opening a humble barbershop above Mrs. Lovett's (Harriet Harris of "Frasier" and "Desperate Housewives") pie shop. There, he begins plotting his revenge against the sinister Judge Turpin (Ed Dixon) and impulsively kills a rival barber, setting off a bloody spree and inadvertently and repulsively growing Mrs. Lovett's meat pie business.

McCarthy's Sweeney Todd is more vengeful and angry than brooding, fiercely expressive in his anguish and reluctant to show restraint. Never remotely amiable, he is hardly concerned about winning over other people, even the audience, but it works. His cool response to Mrs. Lovett's increasingly desperate affections provides some comic relief in a story that grows more somber and violent.

Charmingly creaky Harris plays Mrs. Lovett as a bawdy, hilariously immoral pragmatist with a secret longing, committing and accepting all kinds of monstrosities to get what she wants. Despite her own dark secrets about Sweeney Todd's previous life, she deftly mixes both sour and sweet, and is a highlight of the show.

A chartreuse-suited Pirelli played by Branch Woodman is an unabashed scene stealer and a delightful foil to Sweeney. The young sailor Antony (Shonn Wiley) and Johanna (Sarah Stevens), Sweeney's daughter, both offer beautiful singing performances and inject hopeful innocence into a world that seems as polluted as Sweeney believes it is. Christianne Tisdale brings unexpected laughs and tragic peaks in her portrayal of the mad beggar woman.

The play is superbly produced, with efficient and appropriately grimy setting, and outstanding sound production that showcases the considerable talent and discipline of the entire ensemble. It's an exciting production that blends laughs, madness, and even a little fear.

Nina Ananiashvili & the State Ballet of Georgia

Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Becket, MA
www.jacobspillow.org
June 23, 2010
by Amy Meek

The Jacob's Pillow 2010 Festival kicked off Wednesday night with The State Ballet of Georgia's eclectic program of neoclassical and contemporary ballet works led by Ballerina and Artistic Director Nina Ananiashvili. This program showcased ballets by world-renowned choreographers and demonstrated the pride in the rich dance heritage of Georgia combined with a desire to expand the company's horizons.

The first half of the program focused on the choreography of Sir Frederick Ashton, a master choreographer whose works are not often showcased by modern day companies. The first Pas de Deux from Thais was danced by Ms. Ananiashvili, whose effortless fluidity and expressiveness showed why she is one of the greatest ballerinas of her time. All eyes were drawn to her whenever she was onstage, which was unfortunately only for two numbers. The other works, however, were also well danced. The Sylvia Pas de Deux was full of clean lines and balance; La Chatte was a charming ballet with lightness and characterization; and The Voices of Spring Pas de Deux was exquisitely danced with sharpness and expansiveness using lots of waltzing movements and turns.

The piece Duo Concertant, choreographed by George Balanchine, was an interplay between the music and the dance. The musicians and the dancers, who were on stage together, showed the complexity of Stravinsky's music with its speed and precision. The dancers created long lines with their arms and legs and displayed amazing control along with the quickness the music demanded.

The last two dances, Bizet Variations Pas de Six and Falling Angels, were more contemporary and showed the diversity of the company's style. Falling Angels showed alternating group unison movement with unique individual movements to create an ever changing picture on stage.

It was a pleasure to watch the amazing talent of Nina Ananiashvili and The State Ballet of Georgia. Western Massachusetts is very lucky to have Jacob's Pillow to bring such world class dance talent to the area. The rest of the season is sure to be just as exciting!

Big Band Night

Aston Magna

Simon's Rock, Great Barrington, MA
www.astonmagna.org
June 19, 2010
by Debra Tinkahm

Daniel Stepner stole the show. Stepner was the show, with the help of Johann Sebastian Bach, that is. As the Artistic Director of Aston Magna, the oldest annual summer festival in America, Stepner stepped off with the Partita III in E Major. As Stepner explained, "…Partita is to dance vicariously," and dance he did - on his violin. The Preludio was a "brilliant introduction" that portrayed the usual Stepner emotion. Here is a simple stage with a black background, Stepner standing throughout the entire performance, using no music.

The Loure had many subtle two-note chords, which continued throughout this Partita, with purposeful phrasing and short, non-staccato, phrases. Stepner had fun with the lively, beautifully phrased Gavotte. Menuets I and II were a harmonic three-quarter time, while the Bouree's nature was that of a country line dance with clogs. The Gigue implied a British tone.

As Stepner said, "Partita I in B minor affords me double trouble. Within these four movements, there are four shadow movements." The Allemanda was mysteriously dramatic. Corrente, Sarabande and Borea movements were a mix-n-match of variations. Chromatic Fantasy, arranged for violin by Stepner, had some dramatic chromatics. Chromatic implies non-melodic, but this was melodic, just with a lot of notes.

Bach's Partita in D minor was five examples of dramatic and emotional execution. Moving from Allemanda into the Corrente, with nice punctuation and phrasing, one realized Bach's brilliant composing ability, but let the audience not forget Stepner's desire to keep such mastery alive. Sarabanda and Giga showed some fast moving, melodic variations, but the Ciaccona, in Stepner's words were, "…originally a very fast and very lude dance from Mexico, which caught on like wildfire." Later, moving through the European venues, Bach incorporated this dance into a French version of his operatic finales.

For those who have not experienced Aston Magna, there are three more summer concerts. Everyone should enjoy the work of "Stepner and company" at least once in a lifetime.

Los Lonely Boys

Colonial Theater, Pittsfield, MA
www.TheColonialTheater.org
June 17
by Terry Larsen

Proclaimed "the best bar band in the world" by mentor Willie Nelson, Los Lonely Boys burst on to the national scene in 2003 with a multi-platinum studio album. Eight recordings later, LLB has established itself as one of the most popular bands of our day. On an evening in June, the "Texican" rock 'n roll trio performed in the beautifully refurbished Colonial Theater to the enthusiastic reception of an adoring audience

Over its history, rock and roll has developed many sub-genres and iconic performers. Some of these, such as the music of Carlos Santana, Jimi Hendrix, fellow Texan Stevie Ray Vaughan, and the influence of blues masters such as Buddy Guy were immediately evident in the performance. As one might expect of musicians from the heart of Texas, elements of Texas Swing and Tejana were also heard. Henry, Jojo, and Ringo Garza point to the influence of their musician father Enrique (Ringo) Garza as their most important and enduring influence.

LLB played for more than 90 minutes without intermission, one piece often blending into the next. The technical proficiency of each player was thrilling, as was their ability to blend the elements of a wide range of styles into a beautifully unified whole. The singing was first rate - Henry and Jojo sharing the leads, all three providing backup vocals; the timbre of each brother's voice so similar as to be nearly indistinguishable. Jojo, the ebullient bassist and MC, charmed the audience with his patter, physical antics, and his virtuosity on a six stringed electric bass. Henry, quietly charismatic, played shredding licks with ease - a powerful lyricism that was breath-taking. Ringo drove his brothers on by providing a sure, vigorous percussive platform for each song. The dynamic range, degree of nuance, and sophistication in the playing must be heard to be appreciated. LLB may have honed their chops in bars, but the lines they played rival anything played by conservatory-trained musicians. It should be noted that the volume of amplified sound was appropriately loud for rock 'n roll, but not painfully so. Los Lonely Boys rocked our world!

Noises Off

New Century Theatre, Northampton, MA
www.newcenturytheatre.org
through June 27, 2010
by Eric Johnson

Sardines. It's all about the sardines. Well, not really. What Michael Frayn's "Noises Off" is about is love, jealousy, anger, weakness, etc. Sounds like a drama, doesn't it? This play is a comedy about drama, the drama that inevitably occurs when offstage romance blossoms.

New Century Theatre (NCT0 is celebrating their 20th anniversary this year, and the entire season is comprised of audience favorites from the past. Director Sam Rush has assembled a wonderfully talented and experienced cast to take on this production, most of whom are reprising roles from the 2000 season production.

In an ensemble cast, Sara Whitcomb, Phil Kilbourne, Patrick Tango, Lisa Abend, Molly Haas-Hooven, Buzz Roddy, Cate Damon, James Emery and Steve Brady all give spectacular performances in this extremely demanding show. At times the pacing of the play is insanely fast and furious, and this group of actors manages to pull it off without missing a beat. All of the ingredients of a typical British farce are present here - slamming doors, various states of undress, split-second timing, all deftly executed by this cast. Add to this, the actors are playing actors who then have to play characters and it becomes clear just how challenging this show is.

Daniel D. Rist once again creates a lavish set and complementary lighting design that draws appreciative "oohs" and "aahs," and applause from the audience when revealed.

Congratulations to the NCT patrons for picking a marvelous show to kick off the 20th season, and kudos to Sam Rush for his precise direction of what could be a very unwieldy piece in less capable hands.

This reviewer is pretty certain it will be awhile before he can say, or even think of the word 'sardines' without cracking a smile or chuckling to himself.