Category: Lifting Voices

REVIEW: Der Kaiser von Atlantis

Natan Zamansky Leave a comment

Considering the circumstances under which Der Kaiser von Atlantis was written — (it was written in the Theresienstadt concentration camp with the musicians available, and was rehearsed but not allowed to be performed because the Nazis thought the title character seemed a bit too much like Hitler) — it seems reasonable to consider it something akin to an unfinished work. The piece starts out with a really interesting idea which it doesn’t really have the space to explore. The libretto is crudely formed, and reads more like the work of a poet than a dramatist. Each individual moment works splendidly as an exploration of its own theme, but the parts fail to gel into a particularly coherent whole. The title character of Kaiser Overall gets a strong starting point, and a strong ending point, but not the development that brings him from point A to point B.

The opera begins with a prologue, which takes the form of a conversation between Death and the clown Harlekin. The characters converse on their melancholy state. A drum-major announces that Kaiser Overall has declared a universal fight to the death. Everyone will take up arms and kill each other. Death feels quite frustrated by this; he feels overworked, and thinks Overall is being disrespectful of him. So Death goes on strike, and in the ensuing bloodbath, no one can die. In the second scene, Overall gets updates on how the murdering is going, and is distressed to find out that no one is dying. In an effort not to be seen as weak, he tries to turn the situation into a positive, by saying that his soldiers have been given a formula which makes them immune to death.

In Scene III, we meet a soldier and a maiden who are unable to kill each other, so they fall in love instead, casting death aside. And in Scene IV, everyone’s pretty upset about this no-one-being-able-to-die thing — not least the people who are stuck with mortal wounds that should have killed them hours ago. Death shows up, and tells Overall that he will get back to work, but Overall must give up his life first. Overall agrees, and promptly dies, followed by everybody else. A quartet sings a hymn to death, and the opera ends.

I’m not really going to dig into a full dramatic analysis of the opera. It’s a very surreal opera, a very philosophical opera, and not a very complete opera. I don’t think it’s really my place to tell you what you’re supposed to get out of it. Peter Kien’s libretto is vague, doesn’t really apply itself as any specific allegory, and very open to interpretation. Ullman’s score employs a good deal of pastiche and reference, and evokes a variety of composers of the era, including Shostakovich, Szymanowski, and even Kurt Weill. On a moment-to-moment basis the opera is most effective.

Der Kaiser von Overall was presented tonight at the McIntosh Theater in the Earl V. Moore School of Music, directed by Matthew Ozawa, and performed by students in the School of Music, Theater, and Dance. It will be presented again tomorrow, April 7th, at 8pm. Admission is free, and the opera runs approximately one hour. Supertitles in English are projected above the stage.

The singers all gave wonderful performances. Louis Ong as Kaiser Overall and Zachary Crowle as Death imbued their characters with immense gravitas, which Lucas Alvarado and Kayleigh Jardine, as the Soldier and the Maiden contrasted with a lovely tenderness. Daniel McGrew, Jenny Cresswell, and Logan Dell’Acqua had the most abstracted roles, as Harlekin, the Drummer, and the Loudspeaker respectively, and though their characters were not very defined, their performances were definitive. The fourteen-piece ensemble, lead by Timothy Cheek, gave out a sound almost twice its size — though I regret to say an electric keyboard is still no substitute for a real harpsichord.

The production is directed by Matthew Ozawa, and though the theater itself is not very conducive to a tightly-focused dramatic treatment of the work, a lot is done with lighting (also by Ozawa) to carry the piece. There was a lot of apparent symbolism which at places I felt bogged the production down, and there were moments where the sheer size of the stage proved distracting, but I cannot count this against the opera. Der Kaiser von Atlantis is of sufficient interest for its history alone, and any production therefore worth an eye or two.

REVIEW: That Brown Show

Neha Srinivasan 2 Comments

I was very excited to see That Brown Show, and so, it seems, was everybody else in the audience, because they were much more boisterous than usual. In most other settings, this would have been somewhat irritating (in some parts, the audience cheered so loudly that I could barely hear the music), but after attending so many Indian student performances, I’ve accepted that this exuberance is simply part of the show.

I think all the ensembles did a very nice job, but I know I’ve seen much better from some. Sahana Music could have been a little more balanced – the vocalists didn’t perform much, while there were several percussion solos – but I loved the harmonium solo. Taal is capable of far more than what the piece they performed let on. The storyline of their dance, Robin Hood, could have been more connected to their choreography. The choreography itself seemed more fit for a nightclub until they started incorporating movements inspired by Indian classical dance, which they performed much more gracefully. It is possible that this was a deliberate juxtaposition between the more graceful Merry Men and the decadent King Richard, but if so, a more obvious difference would have helped. The Michigan Bhangra team had, as always, a very energetic performance, and their movements were crisp and unified, even those of the handkerchiefs they were flicking around. I wish they hadn’t had a video playing in the background, because after I noticed it all it did was distract me. Michigan Manzil had a really cohesive performance, and I was amazed at the unison they displayed despite the throng of people onstage. Their storyline for the dance – 21 Jump Street – worked really well with their performance, and their style and energy remained consistent throughout even when they were blending moves from different genres of dance. Sahana Dance was my favorite: they did a beautiful job of blending the three styles of dance that were represented onstage. Often, they take turns highlighting each dance style, but this time they managed to dance at the same time, and it worked really well. And they had some really unique music choices (that transitioned well) and some beautiful geometric formations. Michigan Izzat, as per usual, had a really tight performance with their hallmark crisp movements and a very well implemented storyline. Someday, though, I’d like to see them do more lyrical movements. I think it would add a lot of range to their repertoire, and I know they’re skilled enough to perform them. Lastly, Wolveraas had some really lovely musicality and very consistent energy, and they didn’t let that slip even despite a couple minor mishaps. This year, TBS was a competition – why I don’t know, and I hope it isn’t actually going to happen annually – and Izzat won the audience’s vote.

Strangely, Hill Auditorium as a venue didn’t seem to help anyone. Somehow the sound seemed muffled, not as bright as usual, and that leeched energy from everybody’s performances. This was not helpful, because these performances require a lot of energy, and I realized then that not all of that can come from the performers. But that couldn’t really be helped. My last note, though, is something that can be fixed: I really wish they would get their tech together. There were some hiccups with videos, sound editing, and sound balance that seem to happen at every show, and I know those are things that are so easily fixed with some minor attention to detail.

REVIEW: Tillirnanngittuq

audreymg Leave a comment

Why is the UMMA so difficult to navigate?? If you aren’t looking at one of the main exhibits it is just a maze of half levels and random staircases. However, if you manage to find your way through and follow the signs for the Buddhism exhibit, you will find the Power family’s Inuit art collection. It is a fairly small collection, filling on room comfortably. Everything is one of two media, prints or sculptures. The first piece I saw entering the exhibit was a sculpture of two intertwined narwals with their bodes carved out of a beautiful, blueish granite and their horns out of ivory. This was probably the largest of the sculptures and certainly held a place of honor. I really like multi media sculptures; Degas’ dancer sculptures have always been favorites of mine as he uses ribbon and tulle to create a more realistic, and textural representation of his subjects. The Inuit sculptures utilized a similar technique by using ivory and horn to represent tusks, teeth, and horns on their sculptures. This added something extra to the art and made it feel connected with the real life animals that they represented.
The other art form featured in the exhibit was prints. The gallery wall featured some twenty, framed prints of various hues and subject matter arranged on one wall together. Next to the gallery wall was a stone print block for one of the prints on the wall. I generally think of prints being carved on wooden blocks or maybe a plastic like vinyl but many of these prints were carved into stone or ivory. The prints on the wall mainly featured animals and fed into the general hue of the room as many were printed in black or shades of blue while the sculptures were mainly carved out of stone on the black and blue color spectrums. The prints were interesting individually but also as a collection altogether. Many of the prints featuring birds were at the top while polar bears were at the bottom. To my mind, they were roughly arranged so as to put predators at the bottom and prey at the top. Two prints in particular were placed alongside each other creating a story. One print featured a flock of birds while the print next to it featured a smaller flock of similar birds and a hunter with a bow pointed at the birds above them. This interplay between the prints really displayed the beauty of good curation as those prints did not seem to be made by the same artist or necessarily intended as a pair but added something to the gallery when featured as such.

REVIEW: Wang Qingsong/Detroit/Beijing

audreymg 1 Comment

The corner, glass exhibit of the UMMA always holds something new and exciting. Watching it change from season to season is a small way that tired students passing by can experience a little bit of art. When the giant moon balloon was deflated and taken away bright, Chinese writing began appearing on the glass. Like many of my classmates, I was curious what lay inside and took time to venture inside. The Wang Qingsong/Detroit/Beijing exhibit is a recreation of a 1959 drawing by Wang Shikuo. This drawing told the narrative of peasants uprising against their landlord and claiming their rights to the land. Qingsong’s photography project recreates this narrative in Highland Park, a small city in the heart of Detroit. The project was originally meant to be recognized in Beijing but after visiting Michigan the artist was inspired. The exhibit itself features the final photograph and components of the journey to creating it. The Chinese phrases on the glass walls are taken from banners featured in the photograph while the two garments in the center of the room are also featured in the photograph. One garment is a coat in a traditional Chinese style but the fabric is made from a patchwork of American and Chinese clothing tags. The other garment is the bloodstained shirt featured at the center of the photograph. The project is meant to create unity between the communities of Detroit and Beijing in a conversation about capitalism and activism. The photograph is set in an abandoned Highland Park factory and features over 70 volunteers including locals. My favorite aspect of the exhibit was the coat made of tags. It was a great detail that really accentuated the power of consumerism on society.

REVIEW: Sounds from the East to the West

Ronald McTrump Leave a comment

Two of my recent musical passions are classical music and Chinese pop music. Recently I have been listening to Johannes Brahms second symphony and the Chinese band Sodagreen. This concert wasn’t a blend of classical music and Chinese pop music, but it is a western take on Chinese music.

Grace came out to play the first song in a beautiful red dress. What was most interesting about this first piece is that Grace played with only one hand. I am not sure if this is how the piece is supposed to be played, if she was showing off, or was doing a technical exercise, but I can only imagine it is easier to play any song with two hands. My favorite song by Grace was the second song she played Jasmine Flower Fantasia because of how different her right and left hand played in this piece. Her right hand played a peaceful quiet background which sounded like raindrops while her left hand more forcefully played the actual melody. Her left hand reminded me of someone busily basking away, if that makes any sense.

Grace’s style in this concert was very focused around emphasizing loud notes. It was like she would just buildup until she hit a few key important notes and then would start again. For the piano the loudness of the note played is extremely important. Whether the note is banged by a hand crashing down or carefully pressed by a finger makes it a completely different note. This is what I think distinguishes the piano most from other instruments like the guitar.

Oliver Jia was a piano master. He style was fast and quiet. I am not sure what the technical term is, but he would hit a few notes very fast so it sounded like musical notes in a flurry. When doing this if he messed up one note or missed the tempo, it would be a very apparent mistake, so thankfully he played this perfectly. A lot of his songs had a showtooney feel to them, which I assume was the western influence. My favorite song Oliver played was The Bright March in Liu Tianhua Impromptus. It really sounded like a march.

The second half of the performance they played together. Even though I had my wisdom teeth pulled the day before, I felt extremely comfortable sitting there and listening to the beautiful music. Classical music brings up emotions in me that I can’t communicate with words. It was a remarkable performance and I was very happy to see a standing ovation at the end.

REVIEW: Yoni Ki Baat

Nisa Khan Leave a comment

It is unique to have a space centered around women of color and only women of color. It is a space to be vulnerable, powerful, and truthful.

Yoni Ki Baat– which loosely translates from Hindi as “Talks of the Vagina”– is a show that centers around these women, whose voices are often stifled. 

Inspired by The Vagina Monologues, YKB started off for South Asian women. At the University of Michigan branch, the organization expanded to a larger array of diverse performers.

Before the monologues kicked off, there was an art gallery for audiences to observe. Artists were able to talk about their work and explain what inspired them, which added another layer to the gallery. The artwork was presented through a slideshow in Rackham auditorium, but I found it much more effective to view it in person and actually seen the work up close.

The monologues themselves ranged from deeply heart-wrenching to thought-provoking to humorous. The topics varied: stories about first love, war, objectification of women— all specifically tailored to how it affected their lives as well as perceptions of women of color. The performers of Yoni Ki Baat approached their stories with a nuance that is demanded of the space and the topic at hand.

In return, Yoni Ki Baat demands you to be empathetic, kind, thoughtful, comfortable, uncomfortable, and reflective. I was struck by the emotion that came from the performers and the hours of love and work that clearly went into the presentation. Yoni Ki Baat is a crucial organization that fulfill a vital role on this campus and you should absolutely head out to their next production!