Award-winning mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato returns to Santa Barbara with the ambitious multi-period conceptual work EDEN .
Author: Joseph Woodard | January 19, 2023
In the life and career of an opera singer - despite the reputation of the adventurous repertoire - the parameters of the profession are by definition quite narrow. There will be operas. There will be solo concerts. Borders can include cross designs and other unique materials. End of story, more or less.
Such a grounded profile largely determined the brilliant career of the American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, who lived at the highest level of the world of opera and solo. But in the past year, something new and uniquely ambitious has emerged in the form of a conceptual project called EDEN , which UCSB's Department of Art and Lectures presented on Tuesday, January 24, at the Granada Theater.
In fact, DiDonato made his debut in Granada in Santa Barbara in 2018, with an emotional concert. The program showcased his inherent versatility, from Handel to Rossini to Ravel, with the rousing "Over the Rainbow" honoring his Kansas roots. This diversity expands and takes on a new conceptual cohesion with EDEN , whose musical tapestry spans centuries, a new musical theater song commissioned by composers from Gluck and Handel to Mahler, Charles Ives and Rachel Portman. The concept includes elements of theatre, movement, lights and vintage music by Il Pomo d'Oro.
The EDEN album was released last February and began touring last March, with breaks due to DiDonato's heavy and steady schedule. The last operatic sensation of his career was his role in the Metropolitan Opera production of Kevin Poots ' adaptation of Michael Cunningham's novel The Hours , where DiDonato played an original modernist of his own vision - Virginia Woolf - alongside the wonderful stars Renée Fleming. and Kelly O'Hara.
Noted critic Alex Ross questioned the play's musical content in a December review for The New Yorker , but praised Di Donato 's work: “It's still worth seeing because of the wonderful cast, especially Joyce Di Donato. The increasingly distinctive mezzo-soprano Woolf creates a striking physicality, her body language stooped, trembling but firm: I had to remember several times who was on stage.DiDonato was last seen at the Met in a bright, brooding role in Handel's Agrippina . " Hours" departs completely from the individuality of his voice, revealing misty horn sounds in the lower registers and punctuated timbres in the upper registers.
Showing even more versatility, DiDonato's massive EDEN project deviates from tradition in several ways, including handing out seed packets to every listener. This gesture offers literal and symbolic signs of growth and renewal in a work deeply immersed in environmental and humanistic issues.
Another important aspect of the presentation: DiDonato hired children's choirs in every city he visited. During a stop in Santa Barbara, West Sing! run! Program with the Outburst Group of La Colina BHI. Sing! These singers have toured the city's main stages in the past, including with the Santa Barbara Symphony Orchestra and the Santa Barbara Choral Society, but EDEN presents their most popular concert.
While on vacation between the end of The Hours and the start of his EDEN tour, DiDonato graciously agreed to an interview. Edited for length and clarity.
They will return to Santa Barbara and the Granada Theater in 2018 for an unforgettable solo concert, their Santa Barbara debut. This time, of course, it's a much bigger project that will take you here and on the road. Is it an exciting time in the new year to get your idea back on track? Joyce DiDonato: I can't tell you how excited I am to see how EDEN has evolved since we launched about 10 months ago. It's a big challenge and you never really know if it's going to work until you show it to an audience; so you can imagine the excitement when we received such an overwhelming response.
I think this is a project that gets stronger city by city, so I know it will be richer and more impactful than ever.
As for recent projects that caught your eye... Congratulations on the success of The Hours at the Met, which also drew a huge live audience. Were you surprised by Virginia Woolf's interest in opera? I don't know if I had specific expectations. As with any new work, you are nervous and hopeful, but the verdict is in until the audience arrives. But from this piece, from the first rehearsal, I knew it would have a huge emotional impact. I was very touched to experience such a warm response, but more than that, there is a real sense of comfort and peace that comes from this sung story.
People felt seen and understood, especially after overcoming the challenges of this pandemic. It was incredibly promising and timely.
Throughout your career you have effortlessly traversed the ages, from baroque to modern, past Dead Man Walking and Little Women . Has there always been an aesthetic for you, a desire to work in different eras, styles and musical backgrounds? I admit that I have a huge appetite for music that pulses with great curiosity, so I think new music, undiscovered music and genres that challenge and reward me have led me to an international career of more than 23 years and always will. ready for more
EDEN has a strong reputation ahead of him, including a Grammy nomination for the album. It is a unique and ambitious effort that crosses the boundaries between media: opera aria, new songs and aspects of theater, direction, lighting and movement. How did the project come about and when you tackled the concept, can you see the seeds of how it grew beyond your original intentions? I think EDEN is the culmination of my entire career: four centuries of music, opera and song, theater and strong characters/stories. Maybe I've worked like this all my life?
I have always had a strong desire to connect what happens on stage with everyday life, and sometimes in opera we can lose that connection. During the development of this project I really started talking about climate, but EDEN took me on a path that seems to take more of the idea of connection: connecting with each other and the world around us, but really connecting with ourselves .
As I continue to learn from this journey, I realize that we do not care without a direct connection to the world around us. I want EDEN to remind people or awaken their memory or awareness that we are all connected in the vastness and wonder of nature. That's all. [ Laughs. ]
Can you provide background and previous influences on the project? I feel like we flew alone on this one. I participated in the War and Peace project a few years ago, but this project seems quite special. I think the key just gave him permission to be as he saw fit. Because of that freedom we are able to cover music that may have been banned, but I find it helps me see everything in a new and wonderful light.
Great concern for the environment and awareness of the climate crisis are included in the works. Is this message relevant to his mission? I would say that is the purpose of EDEN . Music lovers find so much peace and quiet in a great concert, but often that experience remains in theater and memories. But I find this music so exciting and inspiring that the audience can actually imagine that the changes are actually tangible. And with strong invitation and support from other viewers, they can have the tools for more radical engagement and connection when they return home.
Beginning with Ives' iconic and haunting 'The Unanswered Question' - his voice carrying that haunting four-note motif - you travel through different eras and settle into the gently shifting modern tune 'Seeds of Hope'. The last line gives the theme of the whole piece: "Hear our voice, the message we bring / And hear the song we sing." Did you envision the whole flow and message of EDEN in almost narrative terms as you approached this particular climax? I absolutely do. It begins with a question and the journey begins in Rachel Portman's moving First Morning in the World and the audience is captivated by this search for understanding. I think that many people today - XXI. Since the beginning of the 20th century, without a doubt - that he questions things more aggressively and more urgently than ever before. EDEN reflects this, but offers a path to hope. As you know, none of us will play without hope. Perhaps the most valuable seed we offer the public is hope. If I do, I'm happy.
They incorporate youth choir elements into their performances, including Santa Barbara's Sing! Program Was it important for you to connect with young musicians here, especially in a project about hope for the future? That's all. I don't know how the idea came about, so I guess it was always meant to be. On a very literal level, I feel like we're passing on the grain of music and sharing your voice with the world, and I can't think of a more powerful gift to leave behind. I wanted to leave something alive considering the resources associated with the route and the sustainability and impact. And I can say that the impact is real after working with almost 800 children in 20 cities so far.
Interacting with these amazing kids was the highlight of the trip. I hope that performing arts organizations and touring artists will involve local musicians and children in their projects.
They also commissioned a song by award-winning film composer Rachel Portman, "The World's First Morning," a more contemporary song with roots in musical theater that appeals to audiences unfamiliar with operatic forms. Was it important to you to bring something new and specific to the mix? When we think of EDEN , the idea of creation is obvious and we knew from the beginning that we had to create a new piece of music. What Rachel and Gene Scheer, who wrote the lyrics, have created is truly beyond what I could have hoped for. It is an intimate and penetrating cry for understanding. I love the moment when the audience experiences it for the first time, because there is a tangible feeling of receiving something very healing.
Are you interested in reaching new audiences with EDEN , perhaps those who don't normally tune in to the still somewhat specialized world of opera, for example? I think because EDEN is such a theatrical experience, everyone can participate and have a great experience. One of my favorite parts of this project is that we always try to sit in the children's choir room to experience the performance. They absolutely love it. And you can't fool the kids! I think it's an incredible model for building new audiences and artists: put them front and center so they can feel the power of the music spreading around them.
Are you interested in implementing large and innovative projects like EDEN in the future? Undoubtedly
What projects are you looking forward to in the new year? EDEN But apart from that, I have two big premieres in the next few months: Todd Mahaver 's The Overstory Overture , in March, and I will be singing and recording Carmen for the first time in Strasbourg.
A too broad question, do you find this period particularly rich in your musical life? As a young artist, did you set and exceed your entertainment goals? It is hard for me to express how happy I am and how grateful I am for what I have to do today. I can see some accomplishments (awards, records, etc.), but to really sing with kids all over the world and see them connect with the power of music and voice? I think this is the highlight.
Joyce DiDonato will perform EDEN at the Granada Theater (1214 State St.) on Tuesday, January 24th at 7:00 p.m. See granadasb.org .
