Jonas Kaufmann: An Evening With Puccini

 Hello!

Photo: Gregor Hohenberg - The Telegraph

 My parents are huge fans of German tenor Jonas Kaufmann and his concert DVD You Mean the World to Me is often played in our house. Although until a few nights ago I was not too familiar with opera, I could tell his voice was amazing.

 So when last week Arts Alliance asked if I would like to see his new film, An Evening With Puccini, I was of course delighted. It was to be shown at, among many other places, the Odeon in the Printworks, Manchester, which was handy for me.

 Chinese New Year having just gone, Manchester city centre was a sea of red lanterns, setting the scene for an exotic and exciting night. I navigated the maze of escalators in the Odeon and settled down, ready to be enchanted.

 Before the concert we were treated to a brief interview between Kaufmann and Clemency Burton-Hill, in which the tenor explained how he chose to devote an evening to Puccini as the latter was so expert in conjuring up and playing with human emotion. They also hinted at a surprise to come.

 The film proper begins with Jonas striding purposefully through Milan to dramatic music, which could have been very cheesy but somehow works. He arrives at the La Scala opera house and is visually moved by its golden majesty, charged atmosphere and six levels of seating.

 He introduces the conductor, Jochen Rieder. The amiability and mutual respect between the two men is one of the strongest elements of the film. We meet the orchestra, who play a prelude, over which Jonas tells the life of Puccini. His love for the composer is very evident.

 Kaufmann then walks on-stage to rapture from the audience and performs his first aria. His voice is strong and confident, his acting solid and his joy at telling the story, of sharing something he loves, is radiant.

 The show proceeds fairly methodically: the orchestra will perform an instrumental piece, then Kaufmann will take the stage and perform an aria, then there will be another instrumental and another aria. However, methodical as it is, the evening feels very natural and rings with emotion.

 A range of operas are covered, with pieces from Manon Lescaut, Tosca, Madama Butterfly and La fanciulla del West.

 Of course, he has to end with Nessun dorma, which he performs with gusto. Having heard it many times, I was pleasantly surprised that his version made me feel something I hadn't previously. On the last notes of "I will win", I felt such a power and determination coming from his voice, from him, that it filled me with hope and the idea that maybe I could win, too.

 Finally, of course, come the numerous encores including the surprise hinted at earlier. While I won't spoil it, I will say I'm glad that it was left in the film and that instead of putting Kaufmann off as it could well have done, he embraced it and made it work in quite a positive way.

 The film ended quite abruptly but left me feeling like I had been transported to another place and time - to the point where on my way out, I honestly kept having to remind myself I was in Manchester and not Milan.

 It was a unique experience which has inspired me to watch and listen to more opera and to see more event cinema.

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

Morricone at midnight

*NB. It may seem confusing that this was posted on Saturday but I say it is Friday; this is because I started it on Friday night, finished on Saturday morning (midnight passed) and am posting this now on Saturday.*

 Hello everyone!

 Today is Friday and I am sitting in Halls writing this and listening to "Gabriel's Oboe," the theme from The Mission. It was composed by Ennio Morricone and is beautiful.

 I heard this for the first time in a long time in a lecture yesterday  in a Spanish culture lecture, about Bartolomé de las Casas and the New World, hence the link to this song; it incorporates European music and reaches out towards indigenous American music.

 Our Spanish culture lecturer, Esther, likes to play a piece of music at the start of every lecture, which is great for me because discovering new music that I like is one of my favourite things. And I am so, so glad that she played this. It sounded so familiar to me, and words started playing in my head to it, and I knew that I'd heard it before, as some kind of song.

 I also assumed the original piece of music was an old classical piece. However, it turns out it was written in 1985/6 for a film, The Mission. I genuinely cannot believe that something so beautiful, so pure, so uncontrived (Blogger is telling me "uncontrived" isn't a word; well, I'm inventing it) could have been written so recently.

 I would have thought all the rawest of melodies; the most original and simple and perfect, had been taken by some musician or another long before 1985. But Gabriel's Oboe is beautiful and magical and comes from some natural, faraway place, from which no other music comes. And I know this is getting sentimental, but that is how much this song moves me.

 As for me putting lyrics to it in my mind... I found out later that Sarah Brightman recorded an operatic version called "Nella Fantasia" (in the Fantsay)... but listening to it I don't think that is the version I somehow know and keep remembering pieces of. There is some other song within this song that is somehow a part of my memories and yet I can't quite reach it. Maybe one day I will.

 I must add that I have listened to the version with English lyrics by Hayley Westenra, and I like it but think someone could still write better lyrics than the English or Italian ones in either of the operatic versions.

 On the other hand, maybe adding lyrics to this song is not the right way forward... it was designed as an orchestral piece and it works best as one. An oboe or a piccolo or a French horn can have a voice and sing. Words would be crude and heavy and spoil the song. It is about feeling the meaning of the song, not having it dictated to you in words. Words tell you how you should interpret a song; without them you can make your own stories, have your own visions of what this music is about and what it represents and how we are supposed to feel listening to it.

 I am speaking as someone who is a lover of popular music and country music, and who doesn't listen to as much orchestral music as maybe she should. This has enlightened me. Thank you, Esther.

 I hope you, my reader, have enjoyed this blog post and my thoughts on Gabriel's Oboe. Please give it a listen if you've never heard it (though the likelihood is that you've heard it without knowing exactly what it was. A song can have a presence in your mind before it has a title.)

 I don't usually implore people to listen to songs I like; I just comment on them and hope that maybe you consider listening to them yourself. But I strongly advise you to listen to this particular piece of music. It has had a profound impact on me, at least.

 Thanks for reading.

 Liz x

Song: Gabriel's Oboe - Ennio Morricone - 1985/6

We Are One!

 Hello!

 Today is Sunday, and I have been here a week! And it has been, as promised, one of the most amazing weeks of my life! Mainly because of the brilliant friends I have made ♥

♥

 I went home on Friday night, and it felt so strange being back in Wigan. The main thing I noticed at once was the stars - you never really see that many stars in Manchester; there are too many lights. In Wigan - well, my bit of Wigan at least - the sky was sprinkled with silver.

 I saw all the familiar constellations, and, as always, searched for the Andromeda galaxy. I know where it is, but some nights you can see it and some nights you can't, depending on how clear the sky is.

 I have always loved stargazing; the world can move quickly around you but the stars never change. I can look up and find Cassiopeia, trace my way to Perseus and Andromeda and the square of Pegasus. The stars can be scary, yet they can be reassuring... they are a force so powerful, unbreakable, ancient... I suppose they are an example of what you call the numinous.

 I will have to find out if there is a stargazing society in Manchester; if there isn't I will have to set one up! Anyway, it was lovely to be home and to see everyone again.

♥

 The next day - yesterday - I dragged myself out of bed to get my train back into Manchester in time for bowling and Laser Quest.

 I was a bit disconcerted at first because I didn't seem to know anybody on the excursion; however I soon made some new friends.

 The Laser Quest wasn't the best one I've ever been in, but it was fun and got very competitive! But may I say, whoever invented the need to recharge your gun in Laser Quest... it is the most pointless and annoying thing ever! I have been to Laser Quest venues where you don't have to do that, and I feel it makes the game run a lot more smoothly, and you can relax and get on with it without having to worry about recharging!

 Still, we had fun. We also had a game of bowling, in which I think I ended up coming last. I started out really well, then had a couple of goes in a row where the ball went into the tramlines... Not good. However, I met some more people in my Halls which was nice.

♥

 We then had a barbeque back at the Hall; I hadn't been really excited about the BBQ because I don't usually like BBQ food... but this one was so lovely; the food was nice and we got huge tubs of ice cream! I had caramel flavour and it was delicious!

 The sun was setting as we sat around on the lawn chatting, and it was such a lovely end to Freshers' Week. It was amazing to be celebrating it with my wonderful new friends.

♥

 I then went to the open mic night in the Hall bar; there was a wide array of different musicians and groups; there was even someone who I think said he was from Wigan! I will have to talk to him some time!

 My favourite act of the evening was a jazz quartet; they were really smooth and professional and so talented. Well done to them, and thank you to everyone involved for a great night.

♥

 I am going to share We Are One from The Lion King II; I have not seen this film but I somehow discovered this song when I was at college, and it really captured my heart. It is so beautiful, both the music and the lyrics.

 I am not usually a huge Disney fan, but I love this song ♥

 And in looking for it on YouTube, I somehow ended up on the Portuguese version. I love the Portuguese language - I think it is one of the most beautiful in the world.



 Even if you don't understand Portuguese - and I don't understand all of this song in Portuguese - just the sound of the language is so gorgeous. I would give it a listen.

♥

 I stumbled upon the original version of this song yesterday when looking for songs by the French singer Lio on YouTube and general Lion King stuff came up in the search options, and I thought, I'll listen to We Are One. It perfectly sums up my first week at Uni and the wonderful people I've met and the friendships I've made ♥

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

Songs: We Are One (English) - Cam Clarke and Charity Sanoy - 1998

We Are One (Portuguese)/Somos Um - I don't know who sings this; if anyone could tell me I would appreciate it! - 1998

♥ I've Been In Love Before ♥

 Bonjour!

 Today is the 4th of July which for some people will mean fireworks and celebrations, so I hope that if it concerns you, you are enjoying this special day. For me, however, this date is important for another, more personal reason: it was the 4th of July last year when I first posted my finished Montpellier trip film on YouTube. Here it is:

 We went on this college trip in March/April 2011 and I really loved it. It opened my eyes to the culture of the south of France, where I had never been before.

 I really got the chance to practise my French, and I could feel it improving more and more during the nine days we spent in Montpellier and Carcassonne. And I really enjoyed making the film of the trip - it was hard work but was truly a labour of love. I am so happy with the final result.

 I had such a good time in Languedoc-Roussillon (the region of France we visited) that I went on the trip again this year, and again I had a lovely time. And again, I am making a film so that we can look back and remember the great times we spent together in such an amazing place.

 I'm really pleased with the way this year's film is coming along, and hopefully it will be up on YouTube soon.

 A song I have been listening to a lot recently is I've Been In Love Before by Cutting Crew.

 As well as being incredibly beautiful, this song brings back lots of memories for me: I remember around the first time I started listening to it was on a lovely family holiday in London, and I remember driving down leafy green lanes listening to this in the car. 

 It also brings back memories of another enjoyable trip I went on around the same time; a school trip to Belgium. I remember listening to this on my MP3 player in the coach and being moaned at for having my music too loud! I love this song ♥

 I hope you enjoy it too.

 Thanks for reading, 

 Liz x

Song: I've Been In Love Before - Cutting Crew - 1986/7