October 2002 - Nr. 10
Cruising Toronto
To
plan a lake cruise is not something that we did lightly. Harlequin Cruises
offered us the opportunity and we said yes after some deliberation. With the
help of Ulli Jeschke and Helmut Gschoesser we put together a nice guest list
and on the appointed day, August 14, we skippered out of Pier 27 and on to
the lagoons between the Toronto Islands.
It
could not have been a more perfect day! While it looked like rain in the
morning we had glorious sunshine throughout our 4 hour cruise. It was warm,
but not hot. We had a breeze, but never got too cold.
The
weather was not the only perfect thing that day. We had ordered a carefully
chosen menu to be catered by Lein’s Delicatessen. Here were two different
salads with buns and butter. Chicken breast stuffed with asparagus and
cheese with hollandaise sauce, Pork roast and gravy went well with roast
potatoes and Spaetzle and mixed vegetables. Everything was tender and very
tasty. To top it off delicious tortes and coffee made for a delightful
desert.
The
bar was stocked with some typical German choices in wine and beer and
brandy. Especially the Winkelhausen was appreciated. The importer also let
us have a few bottles of Beerentz Appelkorn as giveaways.
Together
with other presents we had put together they made for nice surprises towards
the end of the cruise when we played some games and celebrated birthdays
with the 130 guests we had on board.
Some
folks even danced to German music Ulli Jeschke had brought for the DJ to
play, or listened to live accordion music, courtesy Dieter Kahl.
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Our guests came from all over the place. One busload with 46 people arrived from Woodstock. This German Club only travels these days instead of keeping a clubhouse going. What was really wonderful was the fact that some kids and younger people had come along, including a young lady visiting from Paris, France.
At the end of the cruise everyone departed with a smiling face.
Thanks for coming and let’s do it again…! We enjoyed it too!
Neighbourhood Surfing
Yorkville is one of my favourite haunts. In the summer
especially I like to go to Mövenpick and meet friends for lunch or desert,
or wander around and look into the various galleries, visit the ballet’s
Paper Shop, or step into the many other interesting shops of the village.
Close to Bay Street on the North side of Yorkville Avenue is L’Atelier
Gregorian, the best classical record shop in the world, or so
Michael
Schade says. Perhaps that is why he chose to release his newest CD there. We
ran into him and his lovely wife Noreen Burgess, herself a gifted singer
with a marvellously rich and warm alto voice, signing autographs and being
his usual delightful self. A friendly word for everyone comes naturally for
this now world-famous tenor. He is back in Toronto to open the opera season
with a part he has made already famous, Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex, which we
will report about in the next issue.
The new CD on the Hyperion label is called "Of ladies and love…" and an absolute must for lovers of Lieder. The recording took already place in December of 2001 and, as the title suggests, concerns itself mainly with different forms of love and the ladies that were adored in times gone by. Accompanied by pianist Malcolm Martineau Michael Schade presents us with lieder by Beethoven, Schubert, Liszt, Ravel, Fauve and Strauss. No matter which lady he sings about- Adelaide, Elisa, Sylvia, Caecilia or Lydia - with him they are all goddesses to be put on a special pedestal. The adoration and love, lingering sadness, open admiration, impatience, simple joy, even flirtation are equally well communicated with his clear voice that climbs effortlessly up and down the scales tenderly or with tenacity - but always clarity of voice and intention. His diction is perfection regardless whether he sings in German, French or Italian. But best of all he displays a passion for these songs that demonstrate great commitment to his art and courages choices.
I would be hard pressed to choose one or more personal favourites, but the last four songs by Richard Strauss touched a special cord. These songs simply represent the notion of love in its many possible shades and varying tonal hues with an unabashed honesty. Strauss is very appealing and quite different from the other lieder composers. He allows for dramatic effects in song.
But as I said, it is hard to choose. Get a copy and enjoy the joie de vivre Michael Schade brings to some 24 more or less familiar songs. Everything Michael Schade does is just a bit bigger than life, a bit more perfect than the next guy’s efforts, even in his private sphere. He and his lovely wife are expecting not one, but two new arrivals to the family by the end of November. CONGRATULATIONS! To the wonderful CD and the twins!
More on Michael Schade in the next issue…
Downtown Launch
Just days before the first concert in the newly refurbished Roy Thompson Hall a book about the 80 years history of Toronto’s Symphony Orchestra was celebrated with the release of a marvellous book titled "Starts with an oboe".
The
publisher, friends and family were on hand to comment on this lengthy effort
by Richard S. Warren, the symphonies archivist, who unfortunately did not
live to see his work published. Sir Andrew Davies shared a few anecdotes
about the more recent decades of the past and had a lot of praise for the
author and editors, who subsequently finished the book. Mr. Warren’s son was
there with his family to hear the many accolades about his father’s work,
which is published by University Press of Toronto and can be purchased in
Roy Thompson Hall or on the symphonies website. This and the beginning
season were thus eloquently celebrated with speeches, food and wine und a
fine blue sky with a spectacular view of the city’s inner skyline from the
sunken patio on King Street.
Swimming in Praise
Opening night of the opera season saw many festively dressed people arriving at the Hummingbird Centre, as well as those that, encouraged by its artistic director Richard Bradshaw, arrive in street clothing. This tends to spoil it for the traditionalists who prefer to pay homage to the art and artists dressed appropriately, namely formally and festively for this special occasion.
Nevertheless,
everyone was looking forward to the much hailed and touted Tchaikovsky Opera
"Queen of Spades", sung in Russian. The production comes to us from overseas
and has won the London’s Evening Standard Award for Best Opera Production in
2000. If you wan to see it you have to hurry. The opera can only been seen
in October on the 2nd, 5th, 8th and 11th.
The Welsh National Opera production has been so praised that expectations were running high before the opening night. It can be said that no one went home disappointed. The original intention of the story is totally intact, even though time wise it was pulled into a post WWII context, where one does not swear by God but by nature. This intensifies the aberration of life in this story, which is already somewhat surreal. We are thus dealing with a surreal realism of human idiosyncrasies and fascinations with gambling and other routine habits/addictions of people. Except the characters are not ordinary, even if they are performing ordinary acts. The story draws quite a bit of its power from superstitions and the occult against a historical background.
The
cast was a mix of international and local talent; either new or returning to
the COC establishment and points out once again that opera is an
international business, where local talent has to work hard to stay in the
game. Except for the actual Queen of Spades - Judith Forst - most of the
juicy parts went to foreign talent, but ended up a happy marriage of
flavours. The direction by Annilese Miskimmon managed quite well to make use
of the COC’s development program of the Ensemble Studio and integrate the
performers with the international cast. The interesting set on angled floors
and boxed spaces added to the drama. The flavour was very Russian, always
making sure that it is understood that the masses are there, just hovering
beyond the perimeter.
In any event, we can consider ourselves fortunate to have these grand works performed in Toronto and appreciate presentations of Russian background and storylines, as very like is also appreciated by our fast growing Russian immigrant community.
The standing ovation at the end of the performance was more than well deserved and left many of us thinking about our own home-grown gambling establishments and the damage they might do or not…?
Drowning in Laughter
An event of quite different dimensions took place in the Danube Swabian Club, Scarborough. The billing was "Lachfest" and it really was.
The Forget-me-not Family, famous for their many musical talents has another talent, namely that of laughing and making others laugh. With the technique of play back and a lot of research the members of this clan created perfect costumes for their chosen characters that ranged from famous movie stars and singers to musicians.
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Acted out and dramatized to the nines these sketches caused hilarity to a full house. How men and women differ, how they solve problems, why opera singers are sometimes fat, how old folks have fun, and singers of any variety were reminisced about and made fun of, of course. There was Dolly Parton and her oversized Front, and Cher with her undersized Sonny. Country music had a great scene, the sixties were much touted and the sound of music also was in the spotlight.
We liked a sketch about a girl and a guy in a car tremendously. It showed clear enough that woman are from Venus and men are from…who knows, but certainly not the same planet. A sketch about two woman at a train station was hilariously showing how the city slicker and the country bumpkin get it on together…The uniting factor is not make up but food, girls!
If Drowning is mandatory somewhere then drowning in laughter is our choice. It is in fact the best of medicines!
Until next time
Sybille Forster-Rentmeister
Comments to: sfr@echoworld.com
