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Chicago Tribune
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Review: Guerrero and the Grant Park Music Festival close the season with a rousing ‘Carmina Burana'
Highbrow and lowbrow. Sacred and profane. Closing its 2025 season on Aug. 15 and 16, the Grant Park Music Festival argued that the distance between those two poles is rarely as great as it appears. The festival would know that better than most, juxtaposing classical music—and its expectation of monkish silence—with the heart of Chicago's downtown, and the human mix therein. Where else must a soprano nobly compete with police sirens zooming down Lake Shore Drive? The public face of such an organization needs to understand that — someone who marries musical excellence with a come-as-you-are approachability, so that classical music's audience base grows rather than grays. In his first season as Grant Park artistic director and principal conductor, Giancarlo Guerrero has proved he's that person. He's drawn remarkable precision and luster from festival musicians in a range of repertoire, from Mendelssohn's lacy violin concerto to bold new works. He's able to succinctly elucidate the 'why' behind a program — like the holy/unholy dichotomy tying together the finale program, with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's 'Russian Easter Overture' and Carl Orff's 'Carmina Burana.' And he whirrs through it all with an infectious, Energizer-Bunny enthusiasm, practically bouncing through Friday's concert in a pair of white-soled sneakers. Sometimes that translated to a certain restlessness in still moments. Alan Hovhaness's Symphony No. 2, 'Mysterious Mountain,' was once ubiquitous in midcentury concert halls; today, it's the only one of the Armenian-American composer's 67 completed symphonies to get meaningful airtime. Per its nickname, 'Mysterious Mountain' is less a symphony than a 20-minute panorama, which Guerrero more or less strode through. But it was an Olympic feat in ensemble playing, gears large and small clicking into perfect place in the second movement's double fugue, and the violins taking their running lines in lockstep. The orchestra demonstrated the same massed virtuosity in the 'Russian Easter Overture.' Rimsky-Korsakov wrote in his autobiography that he sought to reference pagan as well as Christian spirituality in the piece, resulting in a work that is at once vivacious and big-boned. From the podium, Guerrero allayed the overture's bombastic writing with a buoyant, supple spirit. The musicians even sounded relaxed, as though they were cruising over, rather than sprinting through, Rimsky-Korsakov's most demanding passages. The various solo spotlights were seized by the Grant Parkers with passion and originality: concertmaster Jeremy Black, principal cellist Walter Haman, acting principal flute Jennifer Lawson, and acting principal trombonist Jeremy Moeller. With all the choral-orchestral showstoppers out there, Grant Park ending its season with Carl Orff's 'Carmina Burana' when it did the same in 2018 could seem a little close for comfort. This time, however, Guerrero is the one putting his mark on the blockbuster work, set to an irreverent set of poems by medieval clergy. It's no wonder Guerrero was so eager to show Chicago his 'Carmina Burana.' Friday's performance—with Guerrero conducting from memory and mouthing along with the chorus — sounded as dotingly prepared as the rest of the program, but with an unbridled emotional palette. The pacing here also felt just right: driven, but not hurried. One of Grant Park's great gifts is its platform for artists whose careers are right on the precipice, so we can all say 'I heard her when…' On Friday, that artist was the California-born Jana McIntyre, the same singer who went head-to-head with sirens in 'Dulcissime.' It's been a while since I heard a high soprano with so much poise and control, from her crisp articulations in 'Amor volat undique' to her lofted upper extension in 'Stetit puella.' I'm eager to watch her career continue to unfold. Orff doesn't let any solo singer off easy in 'Carmina Burana.' Baritone Troy Cook was less adroit in his own sky-high passages, but in the sweet spot of his register — as in his purring 'Omni sol temperat' and elastic 'Estuans interius' — his voice was richly textured and full-bodied. Modern performances are still split over whether to feature a tenor or countertenor for 'Olim lacus colueram,' the swan's aria. Orff originally wrote it for tenor, that soloist's single appearance in the cantata. But might he have written it for countertenor, had he had the option? ('Carmina Burana' premiered in 1937, with the countertenor renaissance still a couple decades off.) Reginald Mobley made the countertenor argument compellingly on Friday. Where the strain required for a tenor to hit that upper register lends these verses an acerbic, explosive edge, a countertenor can approach the same lines with lamblike lyricism, as Mobley did. His swan was lachrymose rather than embittered, his aria mounting in urgency as it went on. Much like last year's Mahler blowout, Friday's performance could be hair-raisingly loud. But even atop those peaks, the orchestra and chorus remained well-balanced, and the chorus's diction impeccable. Slicing sibilances in the choruses' first whispered chant chilled to the bone, as did the low voices' declamations against the swan in 'Olim lacus colueram.' Uniting Voices Chicago (formerly the Chicago Children's Choir) joined them in the risers, a ghostly and almost ethereal presence against the fullness of the Grant Park choristers. Already Guerrero seems to be able to convey of-the-moment phrasings and character directions with a few emphatic motions—a roller-coaster swoop here, a waggle of the fingers there—and get an immediate response from the choristers. That's a credit to Guerrero, surely, but also to this nonpareil ensemble and their thorough preparation by chorus director Christopher Bell. As the festival opens a new chapter with Guerrero, five retiring musicians closed theirs. On Friday, the festival sent off Mary Stolper, the orchestra's ever-distinguished principal flute, assistant principal percussionist Joel Cohen, violist Patrick Brennan, cellist and frequent CSO sub Linc Smelser, and chorus bass Jan Jarvis, leaving after a remarkable 52 years with the ensemble. When his name was called, the chorus terrace responded with deafening cheers. Yes, fortune is fickle and the years are long. But if this season is a harbinger of things to come with Guerrero, Grant Park has hit the jackpot.
Epoch Times
30-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Epoch Times
The Composer Behind ‘O Fortuna' and Modern Latin Chant
Carl Orff, born in July 1895, composed numerous pieces, including 18 stage works. Among these, he is best known for the thunderous cantata 'Carmina Burana.' It was his first major work, one that he started writing when he was already 40. It has become one of the most popular classical works of the 20th century. But what is it about 'Carmina Burana' that continues to grip audiences nearly a century after its premiere? Finding Music Within Even if Orff had never composed any memorable music, we would still remember his name today. Early in his career, before he turned to serious composition, he founded a school in Munich where he developed a new method of teaching music to children.
The National
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Carmina Burana review: Modern take on medieval musings is raw, ungainly, but ultimately infused with joy
You don't have to be a ballet buff to recognise the opening bars of Carmina Burana, currently being staged at Dubai Opera until May 24. Ominous and powerful, the music of O Fortuna - that opens and closes this ballet - has become instantly familiar thanks to its overuse on the silver screen. It has been used in Excalibur (1981) The Doors (1991) and Natural Born Killers (1994) - plus countless advertisements, from instant coffee and Old Spice aftershave to Gatorade. So famous is its opening fanfare, in fact, that any performance risks being upstaged by its own overture. Yet, at Dubai Opera — where Carl Orff's piece is being staged by Edward Clug, the artistic director of the Slovenian National Ballet — the sparse, sinuous production ignores the cliche and returns the music to what it is: an exploration of the human spirit. Clug's interpretation is so visually and emotionally arresting that he is able to restore the music to its rightful place of being terrifyingly beautiful. Composed in 1936 by Orff, Carmina Burana is inspired by 11th and 12th century Bavarian manuscripts, written by hedonistic, wandering student-poets known as goliards. Although scholars now question this attribution, it remains a meditation on the human experience: the intoxication of love and the absurdities of life, against the omnipresent hand of fate. Divided into chapters, each deal with a different emotion that remains as relevant today as when it was written 700 years ago. Love, sensuality, the awakening of earthly pleasures, as well as cynicism, spiritual desolation and parody, are all overshadowed by fortune's wheel that hangs menacingly over the stage. This circular motif is repeated through the dance too - as a tightly packed circle, each dancer leaning on the next; as a vast loop covering the stage, the dancers linked just the tips of their fingers; or as individuals, who spin in tight, compact spirals. It signals the ticking of time and a continuous thread that binds us all together. The entire set is likewise a giant circle, part halo, part enclosure and ever-present. Sometimes playful, as when two dancers embrace in a field of legs, moving in the breeze. It can be foreboding, descending almost onto the dancer's heads, this reduction echoing the poem's monastic origins. Yet, despite the brevity, this is a work of surprising tenderness and sensuality, as well as wit, such as when the dancers shiver with insect-like twitches. Clug's taut choreography is beautiful, as a tender embrace, and also difficult to watch, as awkward flailings or rigid tension. It is also demanding, with the dancers, led by Evgenija Koskina, and a 30-strong cast, including Asami Nakashima, Catarina De Meneses and Tijuana Krizman Hudernik, on stage almost every moment. But the raw essence of humanity being laid bare before us is what makes Clug's staging so powerful – it is raw, ungainly and ugly, but also exquisite and infused with joy. Despite the incidental fame of O Fortuna, the rest of the piece is grounded in an almost medieval spirituality that is powerful and sinewy to behold. Clug's work is a reminder that great art, when entrusted to the right hands, will always be astonishing. Carmina Burana is at Dubai Opera until May 24.
Korea Herald
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Dance takes over Busan beaches as International Dance Festival returns in June
For five days in early June, Busan will transform into a sprawling stage as the 21st Busan International Dance Festival brings contemporary movements to its beaches, cinemas and cultural centers. Running June 4 - June 8, the festival is set to fill the city's early summer beaches and urban landscape with the vibrant energy of dance from around the world. This year, more than 30 works will be performed by approximately 300 artists from 10 companies representing 15 countries. Performances will take place at landmark venues including a special stage on Haeundae Beach, the Busan Cinema Center, Gwangalli Beach and the Busan Education Arts and Culture Center for Students. Headlining the festival is "Carmina Burana," a dramatic work set to the music of Carl Orff and choreographed by the internationally renowned Tamas Juronics. The piece, performed by Hungary's celebrated Szeged Contemporary Dance Company, will be staged three times from June 5 to 7 at the Busan Cinema Center. "Carmina Burana" tells the story of a young woman fated to a short and harsh life, who dreams of a new world after encountering the unexpected gift of love. A signature work in SCDC's repertoire, "Carmina Burana" has been performed over 500 times worldwide and has drawn more than 200,000 audience members. Its Busan stage marks its Asian premiere.
Los Angeles Times
12-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Everything you need to know about ‘Carmina Burana,' Hollywood's go-to music for epic movie moments
This Sunday, the Los Angeles Master Chorale will fill the sails of Walt Disney Concert Hall with that stormy, earwormy cantata by Carl Orff: 'Carmina Burana.' The chorale will be joined by an orchestra and two children's choruses, and will also perform the world premiere of Reena Esmail's 'Jahaaṅ: Five Indian Folk Songs.' 'Carmina Burana' is a mainstay of the classical repertoire and one of the most widely recognizable concert works of the 20th century. But what exactly is it — and why do choirs keep returning to this 'circle of fortune'? Here is everything you need to know about 'Carmina Burana.' Where have I heard this before? Oh, maybe in millions of movie trailers during the last 40 years (an exaggeration but barely). The marriage of 'Carmina' and cinema arguably started in 1981 with the film 'Excalibur,' which indelibly used the opening movement 'O Fortuna' as King Arthur rides into battle with his knights. The medieval context was appropriate, but it also robustly demonstrated how damned epic and cinematic this old song was — and the entertainment world, which was beginning an arms race for epicness, started using 'O Fortuna' (the cantata's most famous movement, which bookends the hourlong work) in anything and everything as basically a shot of musical steroids. Oliver Stone needle-dropped it in 'The Doors,' in a scene where Jim Morrison drinks blood in a pagan ritual. (Ironically, the Doors' keyboard player, Ray Manzarek, did a bizarre rock cover of 'Carmina Burana' in 1983.) It was used in countless trailers in the '80s and '90s — from 'Glory' to 'Waterworld' to 'The Nutty Professor.' The latter was an example of how the overuse of this overwrought oratorio made it perfect fodder for parody, and the humor of juicing something comedic with its uber-seriousness. In that spirit, 'O Fortuna' was used in a huge variety of commercials — from Old Spice to Carlton Draught beer — not to mention multiple times in 'The Simpsons.' But many artists continued to take the piece seriously and deployed it to persuade us to take them super seriously. Michael Jackson used it in a montage of his international concerts and the hysteria they produced; rappers and hip-hop artists have sampled it — see: 'Hate Me Now' by Nas — and lots of sports teams have used it to hype up the home crowd. These days, you're most likely to hear 'O Fortuna' used ironically in a TikTok video. Who wrote it: when, where and why? Carl Orff composed 'Carmina Burana' in 1936, drawing upon a disparate collection of poetry and songs, mostly in Latin and mostly by anonymous writers. Dating as far back as the 11th century, these pieces had been discovered in a Bavarian monastery in 1803. The German composer, whose work often plumbed the ancient past, came across them in 1934. He was spellbound. 'Right when I opened it,' Orff reflected, 'on the very first page, I found the long-famous illustration of 'Fortune With the Wheel,' and under it the lines: 'O Fortuna velut Luna statu variabilis…' The picture and the words took hold of me. 'A stage work with choruses for singing and dancing, simply following the pictures and text, sprang to life immediately in my mind,' he said, and he feverishly produced a musical story in 25 chapters for massive choir, soloists and bombastic orchestras. Organized in three parts — 'Primo Vere' (Spring), 'In Taberna' (In the Tavern) and 'Cour d'Amours' (The Court of Love) — it is an alternately tempestuous, frolicking and romantic tour of life, musically recalling Bavarian folk music, drinking songs and love ballads, but all framed with the pounding war cries of 'O Fortuna.' How was it received when it premiered? It was a hit! The work was premiered by the Frankfurt Opera in June 1937, with costumed performers and sets. (It eventually morphed into a pure concert piece.) The reviews in Germany were good, and it was soon given hundreds of performances in Orff's homeland. It took two decades to reach America — premiering at Carnegie Hall in June 1954 — but it quickly seized hold in the classical scene here, very rapidly becoming the most performed, and most recorded, choral compositions of the century. Why was it controversial? Orff wrote the piece in Germany during the Nazi regime, and it was very popular with the Nazis — harmonizing uncomfortably well with their testosterone-fueled propaganda. Orff was never a member of the Nazi party himself, but it's unclear how cozy he was with the people who first embraced his cantata. Another reason is that, if you can translate Latin, some of the lyrics are quite bawdy and politically retrograde. (Example: 'My virginity makes me frisky / My simplicity holds me back.') So ... should I not bring my kids? To each their own, but musically speaking, 'Carmina Burana' is one of the more accessible and infectious concert works of the last century, and it has been a gateway drug for many generations into the larger ocean of classical music. Your kids may have even heard 'O Fortuna' somewhere already, and they'll probably tell you — happily — that it sounds like movie music. What has it influenced? Not only has 'O Fortuna' been used in tons of movies, but its influence is apparent in so many Hollywood film scores, which have routinely used beefy choirs and giant orchestras to approximate a similar feeling. Think of the devilish 'Ave Satani' in Jerry Goldsmith's 'The Omen' score or John Williams' 'Duel of the Fates' from 'The Phantom Menace.' Fun fact: When Stanley Kubrick was deciding on the musical approach for '2001: A Space Odyssey,' he gravitated toward 'Carmina Burana' so much that he actually rang Orff up and asked him to compose the film's score. Orff, then 71, turned him down.
