ain't too much sadder than the tears of a clown

So sang Smokey Robinson, but he was singing about a different clown.

"I Pagliacci" was six years ago with Savannah VOICE Festival!

The clown for SVF13 was "Rigoletto", a hunchbacked jester with a malicious flair no doubt honed by years in the service of a womanizing Duke.

That hunchback was played by Sherrill Milnes to great acclaim at the Metropolitan Opera in 1972, when he was 37 years old.

I wonder what the age was of Jean Carlos Rodriguez, the man who had that role tonight at Asbury Memorial?

That's him, centered in the photo, taking his bows at the end. 

It's quite possible he was in that age range, too. 

 

I admit to being a bit lost at the beginning of the opera.

As well as being occupied with my volunteer duties, I was thrilled to discover we had a live orchestra in the house!

That meant Marc Chesanow and his bass were again part of the show!

So was Richard Ochoa (violin) as well as another I knew: Xiaodi Liu (oboe), whose tall, blonde wife tipped me off to his presence.

Very nice!

However, when showtime arrived, I found myself unfamiliar with the story.

Even worse: I was sitting in the very last row, without my glasses.

Would I be able to read the translated dialogue from back there?

Fortunately, I could... and did!

Ah, and what a tale of woe that befell this clown...

such a sad loss of a beloved Gilda by a father...

and all due to the twisted jester's venomous nature.

Wow.

Here's a surprise: I recognized one of the songs!!!

Gilda had been warned that the Duke was a lecherous beast, but she didn't believe that... not until she heard him boasting in "La donna è mobile", which basically gave him carte blanche to cheat with, and on, women before they could do so to him.

That wasn't very noble of him, was it?

There was one nice bonus, too.

The young man who had helped me and Kim the last time at this space?

He had a right nice amount of stage time!

Juan Angel Johnstone-Chavez played Count Ceprano, a young noble whose wife was one of those seduced by the jester's master, the Duke of Mantua.

Such a very nice baritone that young man has!

I'll be looking forward to more from him next season!

I guess that means this final performance of SVF13 was a success -

it left all of us wanting more!

(smile!)

thrice to the wooded areas we go!

As I told Sherrill Milnes before the show tonight, this is the third time this year that I've been treated to this musical!

The first had been at the same venue as yesterday's SVF13 event, but only middle-school kids were involved.

The second time was at Tybee, less than a month ago.

Good thing I love "Into The Woods"!!!

Mind, I'm not saying that the musical in its entirety was reproduced this time, as that was certainly not the case.

Oh, far from that!

However, of the fourteen songs presented, five were from that one Stephen Sondheim creation.

Impressive!

The First Presbyterian Church was the host site for tonight's "Once Upon A Time: Fairy Tales Come Alive", with the front bedecked with flowers and greenery galore.

'Twas truly lovely!

I had not yet placed the purple cloth bands on the first five rows of pews for the premium patrons before that photo.

I ended up being the volunteer in charge, as Kim left about 20 minutes into our shift.

That was all fine, though, as everyone knew the drill by this time!

After all, there is just one more show before the grand finale party, so we've all become quite familiar with each other and the routine.

The big differences have been with the venue layout and the location of the bathrooms.

The show tonight also had children in attendance, though certainly not as many as there had been at the school venue last night.

How wonderful that there have been $15 tickets to encourage families to come!

Any who were there for the opera would have been treated again to two songs from "Cinderella", the classic they would have known well!

This arrangement was a bit different, though.

Peter Lake sang his part of "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful"...

then the two stepsisters stepped in with their Lament...

before Ashley Nunez sang her portion of the duet with Peter.

Very nice!

Later, there was a fabulous interaction between Eric Šebek and James Williams III when their songs as Shrek ("Who I'd Be") and the Shadow Man ("Friends On The Other Side") played off each other.

Of course I just ate all of that up!

I wonder how many of the folks there knew both of those musicals?

Not that I knew all of these fairy tales.

The lone numbers from "Falstaff" and "Rusalka" threw me, but I recognized those from "The Magic Flute" as well as "Hansel And Gretel". 

Nice to have some music I'd not heard! 

 

Thankfully, we were rain-free, too, except for a slight drizzle as folks were slowly heading out afterward to their cars.

That was good!

The last time Savannah VOICE had a festival event here had been in 2019 and there had been pouring rain before and after.

I'm so glad Joan Silver got me involved with ushering for opera!

These two weeks have been glorious!

I understand why John Suchower would go to Europe every summer to follow the trail of operas being performed.

He certainly wasn't going to get that here, back in the 80's and 90's.

Thank you, Sherrill and Maria, for bringing your dream to life in Savannah.

seagulls and opera?

 

Cenerentola has returned to the stage she left exactly four years ago.

Did I happen t say that it's been exactly four years, to the day?

Well, it has been, and she's a bit taller now, but still radiant!!!

The "she" this time is Carlyle Quinn, the mezzo-soprano whose voice I had been so  taken by in the first SVF13 show.

The swashbuckling prince in her wake as their stroll catches the Maestro's gaze is Stephen Steffens - and, yes, that's his real name.

I don't know why they were on their way to the stage, as showtime was well over an hour hence.

What a handsome pair they are! 

Then, another bewitching hour has lapsed and their tale - "Cinderella's Royal Feast" - has run its course and the seagulls have stolen the show!

That's them, roosting at the highest point on stage, over on the right.

Voiced by Henry Drangel and William Velasco, they truly had the best lines and even told us some jokes!

One bird to the other: "Why is it so easy to steal food from humans?"

The other to the first: "Because they're so gull-ible."

Hahahaha!  Hahaha!!

One bird to the other: "Why do seagulls like to tell jokes?"

The other to the first: Because they're caw-caw-comedians!"

Hahahaha! Hahaha!! 

Sure the jokes are pure corn, but they're from a couple of birdbrains!

Hahahaha! Hahaha!! 

That last one was pure me, y'all - couldn't you tell?

(smile!)

John Tisbert - yes! The 'Tiz!! - played the evil stepdad, Don Magnifico (not to be confused with Mr. Fantastic or Mister Terrific), and he has some choice words, too.

Those are tongue twisters!!!

"She sells seashells by the seashore" was one of those!

What great fun!

And get this: Theo even played a role on stage!!!

The Milnes-Zouves' son was the Fox!

I cannot recall a single time in the past when he has been part of the cast.

Behind the scenes, yes, plenty.

But actually on stage???

With lines???

Wow.

Yes, I said he was the Fox, and yes, there were seagulls, and there were also rabbits, three mice (not blind, just more like a Greek chorus), a cat, two snakes, and even two chimney spiders. 

Remember them?

They're the ones who bit Cenerentola as she cleaned said house chimney, thereby granting her the power to understand all creatures.

That's at least as good as what Spider-Man got from his arachnid bite!

All of that about the animals was straight out of the initial World Premiere of "A Royal Feast" on August 14, 2021. 

I'm sure "Cinderella's Royal Feast" must have some notable differences, as this, too, was deemed a World Premiere performance.

I'll have to ask Michael Ching about that the next time I see him.

Both have certainly been a lot of fun!

And, having it at Yamacraw Center over at Garrison Arts Academy certainly allowed a lot more children easy access to some opera in their life!

I'm so glad this season has been looking to involve more youngsters!

(smile!)

tcb and belated bday67

Laundry day!

After all, it is Wednesday.

I even washed the sheets that were on the bed, so I'll have fresh ones tonight!

Did I separate the sheets from the clothes?

Nope!

It all went into the one quadruple-load machine to spin around together for $5.34 - an unusual amount, but SUDS gives 25% on hump day.

Hooray!

 

That was all done by noon30, the time of so many of the SMF concerts I love to usher!

That was good, as the day had started in the low 80's on its way to the low 90's.

Oh, and let's not forget the return of the +10 heat index.

This is my third day of a new SVF13 position: VoD.

As the Volunteer on Duty, I have been tasked with serving in stand-by mode, for a five-hour shift, in case Lani Winslet needs an errand performed.

I volunteered for four such shifts.

The first was on Monday prevening, from 3 PM until 8 PM.

I checked in with her by text, but she replied she hadn't any tasks for me.

 

When I hadn't heard more by 6:15 PM, I went on to Music Bingo!

Such a lovely time with Sandy, Elissa, Marcia, and Amanda, as well as three of Amanda's coworkers at the Habersham YMCA!

I didn't win anything, but I had lots of fun trading quips with Elissa!

Plus, I found out the kid-sized chicken fingers, grilled, with crispy house kettle chips was perfect for my appetite and my budget - most def a winner!

I had my phone on the whole time and Lani didn't need me.

Good!

Tuesday, knowing I had an evening concert that I didn't want to miss, my VoD shift was scheduled from 11:30 AM until 3 PM. 

Again, I checked in with Lani, and she told me she would check to see if anyone needed me to get anything done for them.

About 1:30 PM, she texted to turn me loose... and I went off to see "Freakier Friday" at AMC and eat popcorn!

That just may be the only A*List movie I see this week.

It was a good one, too, so I am fine with that being the case!

Today was another evening shift for VoD, so I checked in about 1 PM to remind Lani that I was there should a task or two need doing.

She thanked me... and I heard no more.

 

Meanwhile, I took care of things around the house, mostly paperwork.

I considered seeing a movie about 6 PM, but opted to go to Oglethorpe Mall instead.

I had a late birthday gift from Bath & Body Works that expires tomorrow, so... I used it to get a quart of hand soap refill!

I also got a bottle of gel soap in that same flavor - Kitchen Lemon - and my total bill was $3.51.

Hooray!!!

That's because I had a 5-buck gift card from AARP points!

I also had the bday67 Panera gift card from my dear blue-sky Penny in my back pocket - hooray!

So off I went in search of dinner and found it in the form of the new Italian Steak & Mozz sandwich.

I had every intention of just eating half of it, but it was soooo gooood!!!

Thank you, thank you, my dear cousin!

What a wonderful, worthwhile, working Wednesday I've had!

i thank You, God!

genetics and VOICE

"Just because someone's voice is classified as "tenor" doesn't mean they sound just like someone else with that classification. Genetics has something to do with all that, too, as it effects the formation of the vocal chords and mouths, for one thing."

No argument from me on that! I wouldn't expect tenors from different families to sound the same. However, tonight's SVF13 concert was "The Three Tenors: A VOICE Family Concert" and the three men were all related. Christian Šebek is the dad and he sang with his sons, Eric and Zachary, here at Asbury Memorial Church. And, as I told Eric at the reception afterward, they all have such distinctly different voices!!!

"Now, that is interesting! Might those different qualities be due to their ages or builds?"

Well, as can be seen in the photo above, I don't think it's their build. Eric is the one face-on to the camera, standing next to his older brother, Zach. Christian is in the back looking over at someone else. His voice has a little warble to it, like Sherrill's does. Perhaps that is from performing classical operatic pieces, but I believe it to be natural. Just listen to "Impossible Dream" and see what I mean. Zach, who was here as a student of the VOICE program back in 2018 or so, has a... 'clean'... sound, for lack of a better word. No warble like his father, no musical theatre anbling like Eric has. Zach is just a solid tenor., even when he's hamming it up with a love song to a toaster oven! Whereas Eric's sound is brighter, as can be heard when he did "At Last", that famous blues number.

"I see what you mean. They're all rather theatrical on stage, though, as was especially evident when they did that medley."

You mean "Pretty Women/What Is It About/Maria/Johanna"? Yes, that was an amazing number!!! With songs from "Sweeney Todd", "West Side Story", and "The Phantom Of The Opera", that one wove together the love songs from three of my all-time favorites - wow!!! I talked to Christian about that at the reception and he told me he and a friend put that together. What a superb job they did!!!

"Oh, wow!!! I would love to hear that again!!!"

Me, too, but I haven't found it yet. I'll keep looking! Meanwhile, I did find the encore piece they sang for us today! It's one of my favorites, though I've never seen the opera - "Turandot" - that it's from. I just remember hearing it a few years ago by none other than Peter Lake, and wishing that it was on tonight's program as soon as I heard the trio's first song, "Til I Hear You Sing". 

"G'friend! Stop beating around the bush! What was that song???"

Oh, that was "Nessun Dorma"! I though I'd mentioned it. Sorry!

"Okay! Much better! And what's going on in this photo? A movie?"

Yes!!! Two former Savannah VOICE alums, Scott Joiner and Jessica Fishenfeld, had created a little opera for the Šebek trio a few years ago. It's a sketch book set to music about a magic ring and which of the sons will inherit it to continue the singing tradition. Very funny! Even the title of it is a pun: "Death Of A Grailsman" - hahahaha!!! Amazingly, it's free on youTube!!! That has these three tenors - and Beth Howard, the sons' mom - on Memorex, but we had them perform it live!!! I can't wait to share that with my great-nieces and great-nephews! They might get inspired to sing opera some day!

"Hey, that could happen! Here's hoping! Mama would have loved that!"

(smile!) 

before - and after - at oldest church

This time, "Voices In Sacred Song" was at First Baptist Church, which has been here on Chippewa Square for 200 years.

I was the first SVF13 volunteer to show up and happened to catch the singers in mufti.

That's Benjamin Sokol, Henry Drangel, James Wright III, Jason Lambros, Lavonya Johnson, Ina Torres O'Ryan, Ashley Nunez, and Samantha Talora, left to right.

That was just before 4 PM.

Flash forward to about twenty past 6 PM.

The last vibrations of Handel's "Hallelujah" still linger from the 103-year-old organ.

Now our line-up has Benjamin Sokol, Ryan Lustgarten, Ashley Nunez, Henry Drangel, James Wright III, Jason Lambros, Lavonya Johnson, Ina Torres O'Ryan, and Samantha Talora.

That means we started with 8 singers and now have 9.

What gives?

Ryan Lustgarten wasn't there for the rehearsal and used a tablet for the two songs he performed; in solidarity, Samantha Talora also used a tablet for their duet.

Very nice, y'all!!!

I did love singing "Hallelujah" with everyone at the end, too.

That's a long-standing tradition at these free gospel concerts.

The best part is watching Sherrill Milnes as he enthusiastically conducts it!

Very nice!!! 

iz dos geven a niu-yorker kabaret?

Here's the reason I ask.

With cabaret-style, you get a bit of banter between the songs, a bit of insight into how they came to be or some words to set the stage... 

so to speak.

(A little pun to get things rolling!) 

However, this third SVF13 concert had a simple title with a complete absence of that word: "David Friedman: My Simple Wish". 

See what I mean?

And yet, the entire evening's entertainment was most def cabaret!

Even the title song was pure whimsy, sung with as much panache and moxie as Tevye exhibited when he fantasized about being wealthy!!!

Indeed, I laughed repeatedly during "My Simple Wish", especially with Eric Sebek emoting so well during his performance!!!

And what, pray tell, had Friedman's 'wish' been?

To be "rich, famous, and powerful"!!!

Hahahaha!!!

Two out of three ain't bad... as I knew nothing of him before last night.

Even so, I took him to simply be a long-time piano-playing friend of Sherrill and Maria, and a fellow who occasionally wrote music.

Even when I took this photo before the show, when my volunteer duties were waning, I still thought that.

See that tall guy in the glasses and yellow shirt, standing to the right?

That's him, quite possibly chatting with Sherrill and Maria as they also stood.

Well, I'm here to say I was mistaken.

David Friedman just may be famous as well as the other two things he mentioned in "My Simple Wish".

I realized that later in the program, when he broke out the big guns: the songs in several of my favorite Disney musicals for which he was the conductor.

Say what???

Yes, Angela Lansbury sang to him when she recorded "Beauty And The Beast" - done every bit as soulfully tonight by Samantha Talora.

Yes, Robin Williams sang to him when he recorded "Friend Like Me" - done in very animated fashion by James Wright III, with the others backing him up.

Yes, Judy Kuhn sang to him when she recorded "Colors Of The Wind" - done in beautiful voice by the charming, and intelligible, Ina Torres O'Ryan.

[I made sure to compliment her on not "losing the words", as so many sopranos and mezzo-sopranos do when they're swinging for the rafters.]

And, yes, Tom Hulce (my "Amadeus"!) sang to him when he recorded "Out There" - done by Peter Lake in that tenor tone I so love!

Wow.

David Friedman has also written songs for other Disney productions, he's written songs for original Broadway musicals, he's regularly written songs for the "Today Show" on morning television, and he's written books.

Wow.

This was quite a show, tonight, and much more than I'd expected.

Many thanks to David Friedman for being a storyteller and entertainer!

Also, happy 75th birthday, as this year is a special number for him. 

Many thanks to the six singers of his songs - Eric, Ina, James, Samantha, Ashley Nunez (not visible in the photo), and Peter - for bringing out the heart in those songs!

Many thanks to the Savannah Voice Festival for allowing me to be a volunteer!

 

And many thanks to Asbury Memorial Church - and especially to Randy - for making this an easy, and beautiful, venue for SVF13, even on this rainy day!

Right place, right time...

i thank You, God.

bday90 party with aarp!

Remember that "AARP Happy Hour" party that I went to on July 18?

Yeah, the one at Savannah Technical College that no one else attended.

Well, as it turned out, I had the date wrong.

That meant I was double-booked for the real date, which was today.

What to do, what to do?

Well, I did what any busy, vibrant woman would do: I attended both events!

(smile!)

I started off at Eckburg Auditorium, and even had my photo taken!

That's because the AARP Georgia chapter was present, as well as other attendees like myself, unlike that other rainy afternoon.

Hooray!

That photo of me looks pretty good, doesn't it?

I was dressed in my 'blue daisies' dress, with my hair plaited to the right, all ready for my volunteer usher duties at SVF13.

I said I was overbooked, didn't I?

My plan was to celebrate with these folks, then head downtown.

After all, there was food here, and dance music, too!

It was all for the 90th birthday of the Social Security Act, which will actually be on August 14th.

Thank you, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the 74th U.S. Congress!!!

All of us at this shindig, and millions more, would be in deep poverty without that public payroll savings program instigated back in 1935.

That got us in line with other industrialized nations, so that was good.

I wish I could have stayed for some of the games and trivia, but by 5:15 I was out the door, back into a light drizzle, and headed north to Unitarian Universalist Church for the second of two nights of opera at that location.

I'm glad those were Mock Mojitos for that soiree!

(smile!)

cabaret, a la opera!!!

I do so love a cabaret!!!

There's no telling what lyrics may spring forth!!!

Tonight, I laughed and laughed and danced in my seat!

That was in the back pew, situated between two instructors - Timothy Hall and Justin Havard - for the Savannah VOICE experience. 

At the SVF13 tonight, it was "Everything: A Classical Cabaret with Maria Zouves", with lots of contemporary hits from the radio and elsewhere!!!

There was even a fabulously funny farce about french fries that she wrote!!!

(I just had to add that alliteration!!!)

The funniest thing about that?

It's called "My True Love" - hahahaha!!!

But wait... don't I recognize that face of the man center stage?

Of course I do!

That's Richard Ochoa, the first name in violin in this seaport!!!

The fellow in the nice hat is Andrew Sovine, the guest guitarist for this gig.

He's talking to that very nice young pianist, Assaf Gleizner, I met in March.

The gray-jacketed man is the other pianist, David Friedman, who played when Maria was singing one of his songs, "You'll Always Be My Baby". 

(She actually sang two of his numbers tonight. I knew neither song.)

Then, barely visible along the right hand edge with his long white hair and black coat, is Marc Chesanow, the bass player that played with Knauer at the SMF36! 

So very nice to have a band for this cabaret!!!

They really helped round out the sound on the rock ballad (Journey's "Open Arms"!!!), the country ballad (Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me"!!!), the Johnny Mercer hit ("Come Rain Or Come Shine"!!!), the inspirational piece ("Get Happy"!!!), the modern showtune (Wicked's "For Good"!!!) - woohoo!!!

There were a few songs that were new to me.

Michael Ching even took the stage to play his melodica as Maria sang "It's Always Been You", a special composition written for the anniversary of Allan and Arlene Ratner.

How very nice that I actually know those people.

Arlene is a paternal cousin of mi amiga Sandy!

I've enjoyed talking with Arlene at the "Food For Thought" luncheons.

I need to start going to those again!

What a lovely thought from this concert tonight!!!

(smile!)

a season of numbers, like 90

Don't ask me who the other person is; I have no idea, as they were not the focus of my attention.

Sherrill Milnes is the one my camera was aimed at, the gentleman by the window at the Unitarian Universalist Church.

I'd like to think Elvis Presley would resemble that midwestern nonagenarian, if he were still alive.

After all, they were born two days apart in January of 1935.

Yes, Elvis would be 90 years old now, just as Sherrill is, and both are just a year older than my Daddy would have been in April.

What a thought!

At yesterday's opening show yesterday, Maria Zouves spoke of SVF13 being a celebration of numeric milestones (much as I speak of mileage markers).

The first number was '90', her husband's age.

The next was '60', the number of years since he started his operatic career.

(That also happens to be her age now.)

Then came '25', the numbers of years since the couple started the Savannah VOICE Experience to foster the growth of opera in young singers.

(Their son, Theo, is also 25 years old now.)

Those are all nice round numbers.

I like '13', though.

After all, this is the 13th annual Savannah VOICE Festival... and I am here, once more, as a volunteer to welcome folks to this music!

Right place, right time... and it's almost show time!

i thank You, God!

figaro! figaro! figaro! figaro!

"Yo! What's up with all the Mozart shouting?"

Not shouting... singing!!! Four of the seventeen aria-lists total chose songs from that opera to highlight their voices! I'd like to say I recognized all four of those tunes, but I did not. It wasn't until Hunter Thompson stepped to the stage that I heard one I knew: "Non piu andrai". Marvelous! I wonder if Sherrill Milnes had his 90-year-old foot tapping, there in the front row? My feet and hands were keeping that beat!

"Did you just slip a pun in there? And did you make up that word 'aria-lists' based on the 'aerialists' in the SavChTh shows?"

It could also refer to the spring show at TyPostTh... but, hey, good for you! You were paying attention and not distracted by the photo! Yes, I did make up that word, but it was totally in keeping with this first concert of SVF13. Titled "Aria", rather than "Death By Aria" as it was formerly known, it consisted of songs our of context, songs the singers chose, much as I do at karaoke. Well, except they didn't have a cheat sheet of words to keep them on track. Still, these were favorite songs of theirs, much like the songs I choose to sing, so words really weren't needed. Still, it might have been nice to have had some translation available. Only one of the songs was in English... and that was from "Little Women"! I thought for sure that Ina Torres O'Ryan was singing to a guy named 'Joe', not the tomboyish sister, 'Jo'. Very nicely done!

"Wow, that sounds cool! I recall really liking the musical a few years back. I'm sure the opera version is very interesting."

That would be my guess. This year's Savannah Voice Festival has this theme: "Once Upon A Time" - and you know how much I love fairy tales! None of the songs tonight had anything to do with that theme, as far as I know, but I'll be looking for it in the other shows this month. I'm so glad I can volunteer with this!!! Kim Owens was the other usher this evening, with Emily Gallagher riding herd on us. Marvelous!! And for this first concert ever at the Unitarian Universalist Church, this was a splendid outing! The house was packed!!!

"Most excellent! I do hope that will be the case tomorrow night, too. That show is at the same venue, isn't it?"

You are correct! Yes, I hope it will be packed, too. It's actually a rather small church, but the sanctuary makes for quite an intimate setting. Oh, sidebar: this is the church Evelina attends. I do hope it will become one of the regular venues. Even though it's downtown, the parking is free after 5 PM, so that's a nice break. This concert was at 6:30 PM, like the one tomorrow will be. Even with the volunteers arriving an hour early, the parking is still free.

"Oh, that is a nice touch. And the acoustics?"

Fabulous! Maria's voice will be showcased tomorrow, so that will be quite nice. Yes, quite nice, indeed! (smile!)