Matthew Zadow's opera blog

Wednesday, 22 June 2016

Springtime in Belgium part 3: Bach and birthdays and camping and Sondheim

(*note: this blog was begun June 16th and completed on June 22nd)

Sweeney Todd opened on Tuesday, and by all accounts it seems to have been a success. We have our second performance tonight, so I will not have time to write very much right now... but I will try to bring you "up to speed" on what has been happening for the last six weeks...

Obviously since the second week of May I've been very occupied in rehearsals for Sweeney. But all has worked out very well and the initial response to our show has been extremely positive. The cast and crew make up a really a very nice group of people and it's been a pleasure to prepare the show with them.

Sweeney Todd curtain call

The Vicar of the Marolles - a region of Brussels with a high immigrant population, close to the Gare Midi - died recently, and I was asked to sing the aria "Schlummert ein" from the solo Bach Cantata Ich habe genug, which I gratefully accepted. I last did it in 2010 but it was very easy to get it back in shape, and it was much appreciated. There were at least two princes present at the funeral in the Minimes church, the Mayor, and a number of ministers, and other important people from Brussels, and we had a nice reception afterwards at the Hotel de Ville at the Grand'Place.

Singing the solo cantata "Ich habe Genug" at the funeral for the Abbé of the Maroles

There's been lots of good food available, and lots of birthdays to celebrate. Our friend Andrew requested tarte tatin for his birthday celebration a few weeks back, and with a little research we found an excellent technique that Maggie executed flawlessly... this recipe's a keeper. We made it again for another dinner just this week.

Maggie's killer tarte tatin technique

Both boys have their birthdays in the spring so Duncan and Malcolm both enjoyed homemade cakes.

Duncan's 13th birthday cake (chocolate pomegranate)

Malcolm's orange rum cake (Canadian Living)

Meanwhile we have had a little time to play guitar together...

Malcolm practicing on the terrace

Saskatchewan RRs...

and to garden...

lots of blooms on the balcony

...birdwatch...

Watermael-Boitfort provides some interesting neighbours

...and attend parties.

dressed up for our friend Raoul's birthday party

...at the Moroccan restaurant across the street

We also have had some social time in the country, playing with the dog.

in Genappe for a training run and a camping weekend

Osa has figured out how to play balloon baseball with a frisbee as a bat

you have to have umbrella skills to have a campfire in Belgium

Blossoming trees in Watermael Boitsfort

Spring cleaning and reorganisation of my Val St. Lambert collection

first harvest of rhubarb from our allotment

Malcolm and I out for coffee at the Café Metropole

after our two-Michelin star lunch at the Sea Grill to celebrate his 17th birthday

training run in Genappe/Bousval with Bryan and Kiana

my first trail run: 18km Trail des Trappistes in Florenville

This ticket was attached to my racing bib... I like Belgian trail races...

The view of from the top of the hill, near the finish line of the race

Provisions

As for kitchen equipment, I've also found some things new and had others fixed. Maggie received a black KitchenAid stand mixer for an anniversary present fairly soon after we moved to Toronto, but it runs on 110V, not 220V, so it's stayed in Canada. But this red one was a suitable substitute!

Maggie's new present

I also managed to find someone who could deal with the stubborn calcification inside our Gaggia Classic espresso maker. Olivier descaled it, replaced the pump and brew head gasket, all for around 55 EUR. Quite a good deal and we are happy that we can enjoy a good cup of espresso with crema again.

espresso machine successfully serviced

NYT Mark Bittman no-knead bread, cooked in a Le Creuset dutch oven

Our friend Kiana gave us the recipe for a no-knead bread, that one cooks in a super-heated Le Creuset dutch oven. It's worked out rather well, and as long as one plans ahead and sets the dough up the day before there is no real reason to buy pain rustique from the store any longer.

Duncan post-braces installation

We are happy to have finally sourced some nice rosé from the Languedoc, made by our old friend Gregory Hecht and his colleague Francois Bannier. Our late friend Phil Kaeghi introduced me to Gregory, and the 2003 or maybe 2004 rosé from Hecht and Bannier won a ton of awards and literally changed me into a committed rosé enthousiaste. We've been trying since 2007 to get the rosé when it comes out in the spring, and this year it was possible to order it through DelHaize, for a stunningly cheap price of around 3,89 EUR per bottle. It's really quite good, and we also have bought some of the Languedoc red for around 6 EUR. As well, we will be vacationing in Aix-en-Provence this July, and Gregory has already sent twelve bottles of the more posh côtes de Provence rosé to greet us when we arrive at our guest house there. I'll keep you posted on the difference between it and the less expensive Languedoc.

successful ordering of Hecht and Bannier rosé wine, from DelHaize Wine World

Musically I have had some nice contracts come in: I have been invited to sing the opening two cantatas of the Minimes season in September, which will make sixteen cantatas I've done with the group. I also have an invitation to sing the title role of the Mendelssohn St. Paul oratorio with the Brussels Choir of the European Union in October, which is great; the Elijah is a favourite of mine, and St. Paul has been on my "to do" list for a long time.

As well, Denis Robert, the Canadian ambassador to Belgium called, at the suggestion of our friend the Lithuanian ambassador, Gediminas Varvuolis; Monsieur Robert has invited me to sing the Belgian and Canadian National Anthems at the Hotel de Ville of Brussels, the beautiful building on the Grand'Place, on the occasion of Canada Day. They will hold it a day early, on June 30th, and it promises to be a big deal, with about 300 guests from industry, culture, the diplomatic service, some Belgian ministers, and others. Maggie and the boys and a few of our friends will attend as guests, and then the minister has offered to lend us his chauffeured car to get us over to the Palais de la Monnaie in time for me to sing the closing performance of Sweeney Todd. It really is quite an honour and it is purely thanks to Gediminas that this will all work out. There will be RCMP officers in dress uniforms so you can be sure that I will get my kilt on...

As well there are some other projects in the works. I've had some successful auditions recently and also been contacted about some other very interesting projects that are yet to be confirmed. I am feeling that career momentum is building again, and am looking forward to a productive and challenging 2016-2017 season and beyond...

... this just in... Malcolm just texted me to say that he has passed his exams, so there is no remedial exam for him in September! He really worked hard this year, so we are happy for him. Now we wait and see how Duncan did... he seemed to have better marks than Malcolm going into the exams, so we aren't too worried...

Thursday, 16 June 2016

catching up part 2: Springtime in Belgium

the childrens' choir at Antwerp's deSingel for our Matthäuspassion,
originally scheduled for the day of the Brussels attacks

My main musical project in the springtime was five performances of the St. Matthew Passion of Bach, in three locations: Lier, Antwerp, and Bruges. These were really a pleasure to perform, although one important performance (in Antwerp) that was to be given in the presence of the King and Queen of Belgium was unfortunately cancelled because of the Brussels bombing attacks that shut down the airport for weeks and closed several Metro Stations.

While these closures and the increased security measures and police presence were an inconvenience for many people, in reality most of our daily activities simply carried on as normal. In our own commune of Watermael-Boitsfort people still went about their daily activities, and while the children's school instituted some new security procedures, their classes resumed after a short interruption of a couple of days. The city has already been under an increased security level since the shooting at the Brussels Jewish Museum in May of 2014, so we are not unfamiliar with having uniformed soldiers on guard at sensitive points throughout the city. I'm sure the whole thing was far more disturbing for those who were watching it unfold on television from other countries; as for us, we didn't turn on the radio or television, and restricted our information-gathering sources to newspapers, and even then tried not to read them all the time.

the solists and conductor for the Matthäuspassion in Antwerp and Bruges

The cast for the Lier Matthäuspassion, identical to the 2015 production

Springtime saw a good amount of holiday time. As I have written before, Belgian schoolchildren enjoy a week holiday just before the beginning of Lent, and then another two weeks at Easter. After I finished my fifth and final performance of the Bach St. Matthew Passion that had been rescheduled for the first Saturday of that Easter Holiday, we left for a couple of weeks of house-sitting for our friends the Hammers in Bousval/Genappe, with Osa and the chickens, ducks, and cat, as we have done several times before.

reading up on the rules for Risk while house-sitting in Bousval

Maggie at her embroidery

hugs with Duncan

nice weather for dinner outside

Malcolm creatively splitting wood for fires

There was lots of time for entertaining with friends, but also to engage in our normal recreation practices... like board games, embroidery for Maggie, music listening, reading, and visiting historical sites nearby like the Abbey of Villers la Ville. This monastery was founded by monks of the order of St. Benedict in the 12th century, and today presents as a magnificent ruin. It's definitely worth the visit to walk around the beautiful grounds of the Abbey.

visiting the ruined Abbey at nearby Villers de Ville

Malcolm in the abbey ruins

We also took advantage of the time to visit the Cinquantenaire Museum (free on the afternoon of the first Wednesday of each month) and also Autoworld Brussels, to see the Vespa exhibit and the permanent exhibition.

Amphibious car at Autoworld Brussels

There was also some time spent gardening. Our friends Mike and Joyce are selling their country place, and so we asked if we could transplant some berry bushes. We managed to successfully transplant five currant bushes and about twelve raspberry canes to our garden allotment in Watermael, and gave the extra raspberry canes to Kiana to add to her garden.

digging up raspberry canes, rhubarb and currant bushes for transplant to our garden allotment

garden allotment post-transplantation, and with strawberry plants split off and hilled up in rows

As well I had signed up for a short trail race in the Ardennes, to take place in mid-May; our friends Bryan and Kiana, Lawrence and Tiffany, and Simon and Clare regularly complete trail runs, and two summers ago Maggie and I were the support crew for one of those in Houffalize. This year I was tempted to run the (relatively) short "Trail des Trappistes" of 18km, on the promise of an Orval Trappist Beer as my recovery drink.

The forests around their Genval/Bousval home are perfect for running, and so during the holiday I started my training... starting with 4km and then ramping up from there. For someone who swore never to run unless chased by someone with a weapon, I am a bit surprised how much I like running, especially in the forest! The breathing and pacing is exactly the same as swimming, but the difference is that a) it doesn't cost anything and b) there are no people. Both these attributes recommend it as an alternative to the pool.

my first 8km run in the forest in Bousval

We also had some fun activities around home this spring. Duncan bought some replacement stomp rockets for his toy, and we had a good time in the Bois de la Cambre one Sunday trying them out. Also I found an electric guitar at the pawn shop that I really liked. It's a 1996/1997 model, made by Canada's Godin guitars, and I really like it. Malcolm and I have had some fun playing it, and along with the bass that he received from his Grandfather Zadow he's been exploring playing rock music, mostly by himself but also sometimes with his friend Simonas.

Duncan playing stomp rocket in the Bois de La Cambre

Malcolm, Simonas, Gedeminas and I in the garage

A new guitar: a Canadian original from 1996/1997

No sooner were we back at home than Maggie had to leave to go to Amsterdam for a teaching conference. I went with her for the three days / two nights, and we enjoyed a couple of wonderful dinners out on our own in this great city. It was particularly nice to be there in April; my ten weeks in Amsterdam was during the winter, and so it was much colder then. I also managed to arrange an audition with a conductor while I was in town, as well as some visits to old haunts from my time there back in 2013.

The next week, Malcolm left for his Latin class trip to Rome. He was there for five days, and it was a bit of a nail-biter to get him through the makeshift and complicated security procedures at Brussels Airport, which had re-opened to limited flights, but he managed just fine, and did well on his museum assignments. I'm a little jealous; I've never been to Rome! Maggie visited it on a training conference shortly after injuring her knee skiing, so perhaps we need to make another visit for Duncan and myself.

Malcolm to the airport at 4 am to go to Rome with his Latin class for a week

During that week I sang the Rossini Petite Messe Solenelle in the Netherlands, in the beautiful city of 's Hertogenbosch, the birthplace of the famous Hieronymous Bosch, painter of such famous 15th/16th-century paintings as the one known as The Garden of Earthly Delights. The museum there was having an exhibition commemorating the 500th anniversary of his death, and so museums from all over the world lent their paintings to this exhibition. Unfortunately for me, there were no tickets at all available; by the time I clicked on the museum website they were sold out!

So I had to content myself with Rossini, and getting to know the other soloists. The mezzo, Florieke Bielen, I already knew from singing with here in Amsterdam in The Gambler in 2013, but the other two solists were new to me. But they were great; we got along famously and had a great time.

a lovely portatif organ in the Church in 's Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, where we performed my first Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle

and the large organ in the loft in the same church

Well that pretty much brings us up to the end of April. I also had an audition for the Netherlandse Reisopera the week following the Rossini, and I have had some other auditions since. We'll see if they result in any new work for me.

... next up... birthdays, a little Bach and Sweeney Todd...

catching up part 1: Springtime in Belgium

I have really fallen behind in my blogging, it's been over six months... My apologies but I just haven't had the time or the inclination to publish anything. But I thought I would catch up a bit...

My Canadian concerts were very successful, beginning with the Messiah in Toronto. I had been trying for years to perform something with Lydia Adams and so it was great to achieve that goal, and I was happy to see some old musical friends in the orchestra. This was followed by the two Berlioz concerts with Pax Christi; I was very happy to sing in such good company and there was even a nice review that said that my duet with Nathalie Paulin was one of the best parts of the concert, and that my french was excellent, so that's very satisfying. I coached it a bit here in Brussels, and then worked very hard on it with Don Tarnawski in the days leading up to the performance.

Bruce and I then took the train out to Halifax and stayed there for a few days, for two performances of Messiah with Alexander Weimann and Symphony Nova Scotia. Again, I was in very good company as the other soloists were all people with much more established careers than mine, so it was also very flattering to be singing in their company.

Maggie and the boys arrived in later December and we had a huge Christmas party at Bruce's house a couple of days before Christmas. I think we might not have been able to fit any other people into the house... it was jam-packed! The only downside was that with that many people it was hard to get any time to talk to any one person for more than a few minutes...

Then we were off for some some visits with both sets of Grandparents over the next week or so, in Belleville and Ottawa, as well as a brief visit with my Uncle Gus and Aunt Barb and their grandchildren...

Maggie and the boys had to be home for class to begin in early January, but I stayed on. I had a lot of rehearsal to do to get ready for the "No Tenors Allowed" concert at the Isabel Bader Centre, which turned out to be quite a success... we did a trial run the weekend before, at the Perth Manor, and we knew it was going to be a good concert, but it was challenging with quite a bit of dramatic singing and playing, but we managed to deliver something entertaining, or so the audience led us to believe!

I also gave my first masterclass to the students at the Queen's School of Music and Drama, which in some ways was ever more nerve-wracking than singing. But the students seemed receptive and I received much appreciation from the voice teachers, so I hope it isn't the last time that I am given the opportunity to share some ideas with singing students.

Here are some photos from Canada, in no particular order...