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I had a wonderful evening listening to UBC piano and clarinet performers at “Premieres: Music by UBC Composers.” The performance took place on Friday March 8, 2019, at the Barnett Hall at UBC. The evening was like nothing that I had ever attended before; certainly, I’ve attended plenty of concerts and I’ve heard lots of classical music growing up as a young pianist and vocalist. However, each piece this evening was performed by a combination of pianos and clarinets. I had never heard these instruments played together and was very curious to ear the combination. Not only that, but I’m not incredibly familiar with the clarinet, so I didn’t know much about its expressive qualities. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that the clarinet is a beautifully emotional instrument! Based on how it’s played, it can sound like a saxophone or trumpet, as well as mimic piano sounds, so it’s quite a versatile instrument. Pieces were (mostly) composed as duets between piano and clarinet, and as such typically most pieces went one of two ways. For example, in the piece beauty after all composed by Jackson Bell and performed beautifully by Astrid Hawkes and Emily Picard, the piano and clarinet worked in tandem, as though the piece were written for one voice and the instruments split them in half so that everyone could get a chance to play; this kind of piece was very cohesive.  On the other hand, it was also possible to listen to songs that sounded so vastly different that it was hard to tell they were of the same piece, yet somehow, they showed signs of cohesion in things like keys and chord progressions – this was illustrated in songs like Underneath composed by Alex Tosh and performed by Miranda Wheeler and Matthew Leung. The song was very unique in that the two melodic lines didn’t fit perfectly, yet certainly complemented each other.

One of the most interesting things about “Premieres” was that all music was written by UBC students, and in addition, performed by UBC students. The pieces were all so unique and so experimental in their own senses (I have never heard music like this before!) – and because they were so impressive, it was hard for me to believe that each piece was written by a composer-in-training, and that the music that I was listening to was not being performed by working professionals. However, realizing this opened my eyes to the amount of great and fantastic talent at the UBC School of Music, and made me proud to be a UBC student.

One piece that really stood out to me was “Flowers on the Train,” composed by Roan Shankaruk and played not just by a clarinet and piano, but by a student on viola as well. This was the only piece of the evening to feature an instrument other than a piano and a clarinet, and it worked absolutely beautifully in the scope of the song. The piece was set up like an argument between two people (between the viola and the clarinet), and the piano in the background acted as a mediator. This song was my favourite because it had characteristics of both types of songs that evening; there were parts where viola and the clarinet were finishing each other’s musical phrases, or “sentences” so to speak, and there were parts where everyone was moving in an entirely different direction.

Overall, I was so grateful to have the opportunity to listen to the songs of UBC composers as performed by UBC students, and I’m certainly going to seek out more opportunities to watch concerts like this again.

Today on March 6, 2019 I attended the UBC School of Music’s Wednesday Noon Hours’ “Brazz” at Barnett Hall.  They were a lively, humorous and passionate brass jazz band that I had the pleasure of listening to.  What had initially sparked my interest in choosing to attend this performance was that work by Paul McCartney and John Lennon were mentioned as being part of the program.  As the Beatles is one of my favourite bands, it was a no-brainer for me to attend this noon hour show.  When I first saw the program, I admit I may have been a bit upset when I saw that there were neither any Beatles tunes nor anything by Lennon/McCartney on schedule to be played.  However, my frown was instantly turned upside down when the band started playing. Sitting in the second row, it was amazing to hear up close, the homophonic texture of each instrument when played together: the French horn, the tuba, the trombone, the trumpet in conjunction with the piano, euphonium, bass and percussion.  I found this experience to be a pivotal moment of realization concerning my ability to listen and observe different elements of music that I had never noticed before.  There are elements in which we have been learning in class, which I was able to apply to my enjoyment of this performance.  The presenter and conductor, Fred Stride was also the pianist and also arranged many of the pieces that were performed.  These pieces were:

A Sleeping Bee (Arlen)

Fanfare for the Common Man (Copeland)

Jitterbug Waltz (Waller)

El Camino Real (Johnson)

Higher Groovin’ (Stride)

Nite Life (Nelson)

Close Your Eyes (Petkere)

First of all, I noticed that all the instruments had similar sound qualities and that reminded me of the concept “consort”.  Further, I noticed in all of the songs, the concept of “concerto solo”.  In each of the pieces, there were at least two solos by two different instruments.  During the solos, the instrument stood out on its’ own and sounded different while the rest of the band was like accompaniment such as the role of an orchestra while soloists perform.  There were also hints of “concerto grosso” as well, the ripieno being the majority of the instruments playing together, while the concertino presented itself as specific groups of instruments playing a special part together.  Further, in “Jitterbug Waltz”, there was use of ostinato.  There was a melody that was repeated multiple times on the xylophone (escalating up and descending down) and it was clear and repeated throughout the entire piece.  It seemed almost a passacaglia was built upon this ascending and descending ostinato so perhaps this piece was meant to be one.

The concepts of consort, concerto solo, concerto grosso, ripieno, concertino, ostinato and passacaglia were present during this performance and definitely not aspects of music that I would ever pay attention to if it hadn’t been for my education in this class.  The material I am learning in class is enhancing my ability to appreciate and observe music in a new way.  Attending these live performances are really helping me to engage with the content.  If you ever have the chance to see Brazz live, I would highly recommend you go see them!

Puccini’s La bohème, a story of love and bohemian life in 19^thcentury Paris, is an extremely well-known opera. It follows a group of young artists as they deal with unpaid rent, unfulfilling work and unstable love. It is a familiar story that can be set nearly anywhere, during any era.

Conducted by Judith Yan, Vancouver Opera’s production of La bohème took the typical setting of fin-de-siècle Paris and pushed it forward a few decades, bringing the set and costumes into 1920s Paris. The production began, however, in modern times. The curtain rises as tourists wander through the streets of Paris’ Latin quarter, inspecting vintage furniture, post cards and souvenirs. A woman puts on an old gramophone, and the opening to the opera, not quite a full-scale overture, begins to play. We are then transported back in time to the 1920s to meet the young bohemians at the centre of the opera.

I must admit that I often find myself listening more for the leading soprano or mezzo rather than for the male voices, probably because I have a better grasp of how the female voice can sound and can be manipulated. It is not very often that I find myself holding my breath for the next time the male lead sings, but such was the case for this performance. While I applauded Mimi’s “Mi chiamano Mimi”, and cried for her during her final aria “Sono andati”, Korean tenor Ji-Min Park ‘s Rodolfo was just so intriguing to watch and to listen to. His aria “Che gelida manina” gave me the chills usually reserved for the high note in a soprano aria. It was his voice I followed closely as he and Mimi walked backstage at the end of act 1, still singing as they catch up to their friends.

After an introduction to the exciting and reactive Musetta in act 2, act 3 once again begins in the present day, this time with an accordion playing the melody of “Musetta’s Waltz” from act two. I saw this production on February 19^th, and Karl Lagerfeld, creative director for Chanel, had died that morning. As a tribute to him, a chorus member walks on dressed in all black, with his signature white ponytail and dark glasses. It was a subtle tribute that worked to the production’s advantage, further strengthening the connection between the past and the present through the idea of the Chanel brand and its popular association with 1920s Paris.

Puccini’s operas have always been very accessible, and are usually what I recommend to those who are new to the genre. It is easy to engage with his music, as his melodies are used frequently in film and television and enhance relatively straight forward plots. La bohème, among other Puccini operas, has been adapted into movies and musicals, most notably Jonathan Larson’s Rent. So, if you are already into musical theatre, La bohème is a perfect introduction to opera. The Canadian Opera Company’s 2013 production of La bohème was the first opera (of many) I ever saw, so it was nice to return to it after 6 years of expanding my opera knowledge.

On Friday, February 1^st, I was treated to the wonderful performance of “Die Zaberflaute”, or “The Magic Flute” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart performed by the UBC Opera. Having seen this opera put on by a professional company in Calgary, I was slightly apprehensive that I would be seeing an “amateur” version, not at the same level of the company I had seen before. However, I was floored by the dedication and talent of the singers, and was constantly surprised by the caliber to which every aspect of the show was held to. The acting was believable and dynamic, while the singing was practically flawless! Having brought my friend who had never seen an opera before, I was glad her first experience was so well executed and look forward to future performances put on by UBC opera.

Having seen this opera before and studied it through the Royal Conservatory, it was a different experience seeing it as a teacher for my friend rather than a student. My friend, who had never seen an opera, had so many questions (“why is it in German?” “what’s up with the subtitles?” “is there even a story?”). But, in my perusing of texts to give her an accurate history of the opera, I discovered some interesting new facts which enriched her, and my own experience. For instance, Mozart composed the vocal music for the characters based on the singing abilities of the original actors; for example, Papageno’s solos are always doubled by an instrument since the actor who played him wasn’t trained much as a singer. As well, Mozart was an active member of the freemasons: much of the symbolism of Sarastro’s kingdom and the ideas he preached were taken from freemason doctrine.

What consistently astounds me about this opera, and Mozart’s work in general, is its ability to be musically complex and thoughtfully composed while still being accessible for the audience. Mozart’s use of homophony, clear and poignant melody, and the understated style of the classical period in a magical fantasy world parallels the situation of the characters themselves: battling beasts and witches, and yet facing situations that are easy for us to relate to such as pursuing love, a lack of self-confidence, and trying to please the in-laws! This is not to say, however, that the compositions are at all mundane: the virtuosity demonstrated by Sarastro and The Queen of the Night is dizzying, while the staccato motif in Papageno and Papagena’s love duet is almost as humorous as the characters themselves! As my former music teacher used to comment, “Mozart is the only person who could write about (the Queen of the Night’s) seething, all-consuming rage in a major key.”

One particular part of the opera which had previously evaded my interest was the overture. Upon listening to it the second time, I noticed that it contained very little of the thematic material from the opera itself, but rather evokes both the solemn, contemplative nature of Sarastro’s kingdom in the chords of the first measures, and the humorous, jolly character typical of an opera buffa in the fast-paced inner section. The overture evokes a sonata-allegro form, a common style for orchestral music in the classical period, with an exposition using repetition of an exciting violin theme, and a development with minor variations and new settings of the theme on different instruments. But again, at the heart of Mozart’s meticulous attention to detail, the overture captures the whimsy, bravado, and lightheartedness of the opera to come.

Overall, my experience at UBC’s production of the Magic Flute was exceptional, and reminded me how much I love to see music that inspires joy, sadness, and even laughter! Kudos to all singers and instrumentalists involved, it was truly an exceptional night.

P.S. on a less serious note…

On February 1^st, I went to see UBC Opera’s production of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, or “The Magic Flute”, at the Chan Centre. Backed by the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, this production was sure to be a spectacular one. Despite having listened to recordings of this opera long before going, I had no idea what the plot was and didn’t have time to read the program synopsis because I was running late (thanks Translink). This opera, however, proved very easy to follow.

In TheMagic Flute, we can see the beginnings of a modern musical theatre genre. The Flute weaves spoken dialogue, characteristic of singspiel, into the mix of arias, recitatives and ensembles, as well as borrows components from various music drama genres.  It is an opera that is difficult to imagine being performed in a monarch’s court, appealing much more to a rowdy, flirtatious, vaudevillean audience. The colourful, lavish costumes and props, including a beautifully crafted cardboard serpent, contrasted the relatively bare set design of white staircases, ramps, and Neoclassical columns. The production seemed like a child’s colourful crayon sketch of fairy-tale characters on a white page, which is fitting for a fantastical opera composed in an era of simplicity in art and architecture.

The story begins with our tenor hero, Tamino, stumbling into a hidden kingdom after being chased by a snake-like creature. He is taken to the Queen of the Night, who sends him on a mission, accompanied by the comical Papageno, to rescue Pamina from Sarastro. Once there, Tamino and Pamina fall in love and discover that Sarastro and his community of priests are actually the good guys, with superior ideals and morals. Tamino, Pamina and Papageno go through a series of trials in order to join Sarastro and his temple.

At the end of Act 1 a chorus comes out to join the priests and Sarastro, producing a wall of sound that comes at and surrounds the audience. This piece, sung by the chorus as priests of the temple, uses homophonic texture to enhance the idea of a religious experience while singing praise to Sarastro, their leader.

As a long-time lover of opera, I was beyond excited to see The Flute. Having listened to the opera before, I knew it had so many well-known pieces that even those most skeptical of classical music would enjoy. One of these pieces is “Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen”, also known as the Queen of the Night’s Aria. As someone who has listened to countless versions of this aria, I was beyond impressed with soprano Sydney Frelick’s rendition. She performed the aria with great confidence and accuracy. It never felt like she was glossing over any notes to get to the more important ones. Each note was given the emphasis it deserved, without sacrificing emotion by sounding overly technical.

Every time I see a production put on by UBC Opera I am blown away by the talent of these students, many of whom I know through my participation in UBC Choirs. I am so excited to see what is to come for these talented young singers and hope to see them performing at major opera companies in the future.

While traveling in Seattle during the reading break, I took the chance to attend the 5^th Avenue Theatre’s debut of the Rock of Ages musical. I knew about this show from its Chinese reproduction and watched a brief clip of rehearsal online. That was when I found myself touched by the song “Dead or Alive”. I have always been more attracted by classical or country music before and deem rock music as somehow consuming. But because of “Dead or Alive” and the coincidence that Seattle was holding the show for the entire February, I decided to give it a try.

I did my research beforehand. Rock of Ages was composed to glorify the classic rock songs by the famous bands from the 1980s, the golden era of rock. That was the reason why songs by Styx, Journey, Bon Jovi and other recognized bands were integrated into its story-telling. It aimed to call for a nostalgic feeling for the rock fans and carry on their Rock n’ Roll spirit. The original Broadway production was revealed in 2009 and the Seattle reproduction was celebrating its 10^th-year anniversary.

Act One introduced how a young girl Sherrie came to Los Angeles in pursuit of her rock star dream and how she met a club busboy Drew. “Sister Christian” was one of the very few songs with a soothing and lyrical texture throughout the show and it expressed Sherrie’s loneliness as well as her firm determination towards setting off her journey. The accompaniment was first full of rapidly repeated chords from the drum kit and electrical bass guitars, until being replaced by a monophonic melody from a keyboard when Sherrie and Drew met. It maintained a romantic atmosphere for a moment and then switched back to the repetitive and heavy drum beats when they started to discuss LA and the rock club that Drew worked at.

Then a highlight of the show started when the inebriated superstar Stacee came after being invited by the owner of the club to give his farewell concert. “I’m a cowboy, on a steel horse I ride; I’m wanted dead or alive”. As the lyrics were sung in a lazy and arrogant voice, he portrayed a rebellious and dissolute figure who was loved and hated by the crowd at the same time. There were heavy metal beats from the percussion accompanying the singing during the climax, creating an orgiastic atmosphere for the audiences.

Act Two was about how the rock lovers in the district fought against the mayor who tried to close down the club under the advice of a German expert. They achieved their goal through collaboration and moreover, through arousing love. In the end, when every character fixed their relationship with their loved ones or found their true love, the people united and sang “Don’t Stop Believing” together in forceful and emotional tones. The voice of Drew (played by Galen Disston) was particularly warm and penetrating. The metal beats by the percussion reached its loudest and strongest and the high notes by the electrical guitars added an even more contagious taste. The whole floor of audiences including me could not help to stand up and sing along. The music became a reminder of our longing for love and pursuit for dreams.

It was in all an eye-opening and fantastic experience. Not only did I discover the charm of rock music, but also become empowered by the human spirit that the music conveyed. There was a poster in front of the theater, and I would like to share its interpretation of the significance of a great musical: “It puts a song in your heart, paints the world with color and adds a certain lightness to your step”. I would love to attend another musical whenever I get a chance.

It was my second time watching Die Zauberflötebut but the first time watching it performed by UBC Opera. My friend and I attended in the sunny afternoon of February 3^rd with a light-hearted mood. We both knew the plot of the opera and were expecting to be amazed and entertained by the dramatic story.

Die Zauberflöte is one of the most well-known masterpieces composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It is a Singspiel as it combines spoken dialogue and singing. The stage setting was not quite exquisite with only four high pillars and some simple furniture such as coaches and chairs. This is understandable since the performance was made by students and there might be a limited budget. However, it made it hard to reproduce the fairy tale atmosphere of this imagined world in the opera. Nevertheless, the sounds from the singers and the orchestra were interesting enough to draw the full attention of the audiences.

It started with the E major overture which brought a powerful and solemn atmosphere suggesting the majesty of the Queen of the Night. Then the fugue pieces performed by various instruments presented a bright and gentle sense of picture as if the spring has just brought in its energy. Then the overture ended with a soft and peaceful feeling.

Act One introduced how the prince Tamino was rescued by the Three Ladies and tasked by the Queen to bring back her daughter Pamina from the chief priest Sarastro. The parts played the bird catcher Papageno, who was comedic as being dishonest and bragging at times, were a highlight. His songs were weirdly tuned and hilarious, which gave the audiences quite a bit of laughter. The acting of the Three Ladies was humorous as well when they showed their affection towards the prince by singing in imitative melodies and librettos one after another. It established their lively characters and brought out the dignified temperament of the prince. There was an interesting duet conducted by Pamina and Papageno when he tried to comfort her from fear and told her about the rescue plan. They sang in melodious and cheerful voices, which portrayed an optimistic mood.

Act Two presented the process of how Tamino and Pamina underwent a series of trials as requested by Sarastro. As the plot moved forward, it was revealed that Sarastro was an upright figure who kept Pamina captive only to protect her from being raised by the Queen and becoming wicked. The baritone’s voice had a rich and firm texture, which reinforced his representation of justice and leadership. His appearance always followed the ensemble of his subordinates, which helped to create a mysterious and majestic atmosphere. Then we heard the famous aria by the Queen with continuous high notes. It was beautifully accurate although not quite as powerful. There were several sensational duets between Tamino and Pamina, one of which Pamina was extremely upset as she was not aware of the trial requesting Tamino to remain silent in front of her; instead, she thought the prince suddenly turned away from her. The soprano sang her aria with full emotion and conveyed a strong sense of desperation. It was deeply touching.

It was a delightful and enriching experience to watch this classic piece again. The fact that German was not the first language of the singers might affect the quality a bit as the nature of the language could have added a more soulful taste to the voices. Overall, the performance was very nice and worthwhile.

As a long time lover of choral music, it was such a joy to get to attend UBC Choir’s Stories concert last Friday, February 15th. The concert featured three of UBC’s Choral ensembles: University Singers, Choral Union, and UBC’s Chamber Choir.

As suggested by the theme, the concert featured works that tell some type of story in one way or another. The concert opened with a set by University Singers, conducted by Dr. Graeme Langager. They opened their set with Hosanna, to the Son of David, a madrigal by Thomas Weelkes. This piece starts with a Homophonic line and then quickly transitions into complex polyphony, a texture that was used until the end of the song. The piece was incredibly rhythmic and exciting, and definitely a great choice for the opening as it set the tone and energy perfectly for the rest of the concert.

Another particular performance that I enjoyed was Eric Whitacre’s Iconic Five Hebrew Love songs – composed to words written in Hebrew by his wife. The thing I love so much about this work is how beautifully it is composed: the word painting and the long melodic lines and the interaction between the choir and the violin and the piano – and UBC’s Choral Union executed it beautifully. The word painting is most evident in Eyze Sheleg (What Snow!): The choir sings “Bong” in unison before the voices come apart and each singer sings bong at their own time, creating the effect of snowflakes falling, while the soprano soloist sings a line that made me visualize a beam of light through the snow. Because of my familiarity with this piece, I did notice that there was a part missing in this performance (the soprano solo that happens after the choir comes in) and I can’t think of a reason why they might have taken it out of the performance. Despite that, I still thought it was one of the more beautiful renditions of Whitacre’s work and thoroughly enjoyed the performance.

Something interesting I noticed was that University Singers and Chamber Choir were much smaller choirs and sang more polyphonic pieces, while Choral Union, the biggest ensemble out of the three, mostly sang in homophony – which I thought was interesting. I can’t say if these choices have anything to do with the levels of the choir and the background the singers have, but I thought it was a particularly great choice considering the number of voices and the powerful effect that many people singing together homorhythmically can create. Another thing I found interesting was the drastic change of tambers between the choirs. Due to the fact that Choral Union was larger, the sound that they created together had significantly more reverb in the space. When they sang together it created this powerful effect that wasn’t necessarily just the volume of the sound, but a richness that could only be the result of that many different voices coming together. The smaller ensembles on the other hand (University Singers and Chamber Choir) had much cleaner, more precise and unified sounds. The dynamic contrasts were more present (I thought their piano dynamic was particularly impressive) and as a result they were able to sing polyphonic lines in a way that was much easier to follow due to the more unified, clean sounds each section had that made it sound like only 4 or 8 different voices were singing together as opposed to 30. It’s important to note as well that the pieces performed came from a variety of different styles and eras and all choirs did a great job of capturing the character of each song and telling each of those stories by changing the overall tone and colour of their voices for each of the different pieces.

One of the coolest things about this concert was when I realized why some experiences that come with live music can’t be recreated through a recording of the performance. Throughout the concert, the choirs stood in a variety of different standing arrangements, and in some of them, you could hear the spatial effects very clearly that drastically changed the listening experience. For example, there was a double choir piece: And So I Go On, Jake Runestad – a song about a loved one passing away, composed in such a way that one choir acts as the voice of the person who is gone and the other choir sings as the voice of the living person left behind). For this piece, the choir was standing such that the first choir stood on the left side and the second choir stood on the right side. This created both a visual effect as well as an audio effect that made the delivery of the message much more engaging and effective. This happened in a few of the other pieces as well when the choirs were standing in their various different standing arrangements (Mixed, SATB parts, etc.)

Overall, I can honestly say that this was one of my favourite choral concerts I have ever attended. The pieces that were chosen were all so beautiful and engaging and I found myself discovering new things about pieces I already knew and finding new pieces to fall in love with. The ensembles executed each piece with a lot of finesse and attention to detail – and I would definitely come to more of UBC Choirs concerts in the future.

I was fortunate to attend UBC Choirs: Stories on the evening of February 15, 2019 at UBC Campus. It was such a phenomenal opportunity; not only were student tickets free, but the concert took place in the iconic Chan Centre on campus – such a perfect venue for choral music and performance! The concert’s theme was how each individual song tells a story, and how when songs are woven together, people are able to construct narratives and meanings from those stories. Directed by Dr. Graeme Langager, each song performed had special meaning to both the members of the choral groups and to the audience.

Three UBC choral groups were featured during the concert. The first of the groups, the UBC University Singers, are the most elite group and travel across the world. Each work performed by the group was sacred in theme, while also exploring other themes such as romantic love and hope. While many pieces were quite formal and serious, one of my favourite pieces by this group was “Rock’a My Soul” composed by Stacey V. Gibbs. The piece was faster in tempo than the other pieces and was the most upbeat piece of this group’s repertoire. It was a choral setting of a spiritual from the American South and was done wonderfully by this ensemble. It featured small groups of soloists during the verses, and additionally featured a wonderful male soloist near the end, doing vocal improvisation over the beautiful Gospel harmonies.

The second group to perform during the concert was the UBC Choral Union. This vocal ensemble is open to all levels of performers and was the largest group of the evening. This group sang some lovely accompanied songs, one of which was particularly unique: “Five Hebrew Love Songs”, composed by Eric Whitacre. The words, as was explained to us by a member of the choir, are in Hebrew and written by Whitacre’s wife. The piece was a tableau of several songs stitched together in meaning. The songs were all about love and relationships and featured sung and spoken text, along with vocal percussion and a lovely violin accompaniment. I hadn’t heard anything like this work before, and I was so glad that I got to hear the UBC Choral Union perform such a unique piece.

The final group of the evening was the UBC Chamber Choir. This group was dressed in light colours and all of them were barefoot; the performers gave off a bohemian vibe and cemented themselves as being quite unique from both other groups. This group performed such a vast group of repertoire selections, from different eras and time periods as well as from different genres. This group was conducted that evening by graduate student Demi Chao, and it was wonderful to see someone else take the conductor’s podium. One of my particular favourites from the Chamber Choir’s repertoire was “Stomp on the Fire” composed by Andrea Ramsey. This song was unique because of the use of the singers’ bodies as percussion. The rhythmic clapping, stomping, and body percussion added a breath of life to this work, and the vocal sound effects of fire being extinguished were very interesting. Also interesting to note was “Si ch’io vorrei morire” by Claudio Monteverdi, a composer who has been mentioned in our class work. The piece was an Italian madrigal and with my background from MUSC 326, I was able to listen critically with appreciation to the polyphonic texture and playful text.

The final piece of the evening was performed by all groups was “Mu isamaa on minu arm” composed by Gustav Ernesaks. The song is a famous Estonian piece representing freedom from the Soviet Union and is considered as the country’s unofficial national anthem. The chamber choir on the stage and the other singers, who were sitting in the audience, stood up and all sang together. This piece, choral and homophonic in texture, was gorgeous and seemed classic compared to many of the unique and experimental songs featured that evening.

Overall, I was so lucky to have the opportunity to watch these groups perform and look forward to another opportunity to do so.

Nothing is more romantic than attending a La Bohème opera on Valentine’s Day. On this Feb. 14th, Vancouver just witnessed its first snow of the year, and was still shrouded in the coldness of thawing ice that was washed against by the drizzling rain. However, it did not hinder Vancouver’s enthusiasm to see the long-awaited debut of La Bohème 2019 in the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Young and old couples all dressed in an elegant fashion, queuing in front of the theatre and waiting to see the most memorable romantic story of the year — La Bohème — a Vancouver Opera’s new production of Puccini’s opera of 1896, which enjoyed enduring popularity over the century. We were privileged and excited to buy Valentine’s Day deal tickets, which granted us the best seats in orchestra circle with only half the prize. It was meant to be an incredible experience at the beginning of the new year!

Featured in timeless music conducted by a Canadian musician and conductor Judith Yan, and stage/costume designed by André Barbe, it was the 12th time Vancouver Opera has presented a MainStage production of La Bohème. I was familiar with some of the main arias and famous duos and was in high hope of hearing some new great voices. I was not disappointed at all! On the contrary, I was overwhelmed by the Korean tenor Ji-Min Park’s smooth,  lyrical and flowing voices, which stole my heart in the first and the most famous aria — “Che Gelida Manina.” It was the young tenor’s 100th performance of this role in La Bohème as Rodolfo. His voice had an absolutely gentle and powerful texture as well as properly-treated emotion, reminding the audience of many great and sophisticated tenor voices in the world, alive or dead. The magnificence and tenderness of his voice almost overshadowed the famous soprano aria that came right after — Mimì’s confession “Si Mi Chiamo Mimì.” Undoubtedly, it was one of the most beautiful aria in the entire opera, and the Quebecois soprano France Bellemare’s interpretation was warm and sensational. Although the preconceived version of Maria Callas, one of the greatest sopranos ever, was truly unforgettable, I was still moved by the emotion in France’s voice and her exquisite performance. The ostinato of this opera was revealed in these two beautiful arias for the first time and would recur throughout the whole piece, while the recitatives were both informative and beautiful. 

As known to all, Puccini’s opera was famous in its sensitivity and detail to everyday subjects. Unlike the grandeur of Wagner’s operas that were generally based on religious or mythical tales, Puccini always portrayed the mundane yet touching stories about the joy and sorrow of young couples falling in love. The libretto for La Bohème was written by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica, who had also collaborated with Puccini with his other two timeless pieces — Tosca and Madama Butterfly. The story was based on French author Henri Murger’s play Scènes de La Vie de Bohème, while the creation of this opera involved a bit of drama, including the rupture of friendship between Puccini and his best friend, a fellow composer Leoncavallo. Nevertheless, it was this mundane love story that I found deeply interesting and touching. In the first Act, Mimì and Rodolfo fell in love in the blink of an eye and highlighted the bohemian lifestyle portrayed in the story — a group of young artists in a Latin Quarter garret struggling to survive the winter while possessing a high spirit of their lives in poverty. The subsequent two Acts presented light-hearted chorus, including dances and spectacles, as well as heartrending duos between Mimì and Rodolfo while they were forced to part — all beautifully done with poetic librettos and music. 

The last Act, namely Act 4, was particularly sensational, as it ended the story with the sudden death of Mimì. Mimì, with her deteriorating health due to tuberculosis, was in her death bed in the last few minutes of the opera. The last duo between Mimì and Rodolfo was so heartbreaking; and it highlighted with Mimì’s reinterpretation of Rodolfo’s famous aria — “Che Gelida Manina,” reminding us of the first scene when the two young lovers met, and broke out in Rodolfo’s desperate outcry of Mimì’s name when she died — a rather unusual unconstrained outburst of voice, which involved a tearing quality because of the extreme sadness. 

Overall, I cannot express how amazed I was by watching this incredible piece of opera — what I still remember is that I hated to see the curtain fall when the last Act closed; I absolutely did not regret that I attended this debut of Vancouver Opera’s new production of Puccini’s La Bohème, for which I had to stand in the coldness on the streets of Downtown at midnight, waiting for a bus that never came while still having an MUSC 326’s midterm on the next day. I appreciated this piece so much as it reminded me of my sincere hope for worldly love as well as my heartfelt love for music; just as the music class brought the passion and enthusiasm for music back to me —  all eventually presenting a message that was transmitted through music — a world full of hope and happiness.