Above: TMO’s Artistic Director and Chief Conductor Sarah-Grace Williams with TMO Principal Trumpet Jenna Smith, who was concerto soloist in this concert.
The four works in The Metropolitan Orchestra’s Met Concert #2 were rich in passion, drama and energy. This came from their musical origins of the opera stage or periods or locations featuring strong nationalism in composition. From opera, music popular from Rossini’s William Tell and Bizet’s Carmen bookended the programme with familiar material.
TMO employed their typically high calibre of concert delivery to recreate classic opera theatre scenes and sounds for us. The centre of the concert introduced us to lesser-known but no less passionate
compositions by Alexander Arutunian and György Ligeti. These works were rich in tension, national flavour and deeply emotional display.
Musical and emotional communication was consistently strong and direct throughout the evening, with the concert title’s concern of ‘Passion’ never being left out of the mix. From the first note of Rossini’s kaleidoscopic William Tell Overture to the final climax of Bizet’s Carmen Suites, the audience were edge-of-the seat participants in the excitement unfolding before them. TMO channelled drama in addition to passion from the scenarios of all works.
Concert programmes open well with an overture. This was definitely the case with Rossini’s overture to William Tell. TMO cellos ably conveyed the beauty of Rossini’s writing in the opening section of this work. The familiar end to this piece’s measured narrative was delivered with compelling unisons and persistent verve.
It was especially good to hear this climax in its original format and not the countless modern borrowings for media and advertising which we have been exposed to. This overture was a fitting preamble for the passion of the works to follow.
TMO principal trumpeter Jenna Smith gave us an impressive introduction to the Trumpet Concerto in A-flat (1950) by Alexander Arutunian. This was beautifully nuanced trumpet playing from Smith, exhibiting fine control at all times. She presented lyrical moments with a warm tone and bravura passages with seamlessly smooth runs and crisp, clear articulation.
Arutunian’s angular melodic trajectories, sometimes taking unexpected twists, were nicely phrased and contoured.
TMO was an admirable and sympathetic accompanist for Jenna Smith in the quality interpretation of this concerto.The passion and flavour of Eastern Europe was well in evidence in the rich orchestral textures and solid support of the soloist.
Prior to interval we heard György Ligeti’s Concert Romanesc. Composed just one year after the Arutunian concerto, it equally celebrates the folk traditions and flavour of his native Romania. TMO presented this patriotic piece’s modern sensibilities with considerable colour and energy.
Mention should be made of the vibrant and well-projected solo violin work from concertmaster Victoria Jacono-Gilmovich and to members of the french horn section for the successful contrast in tone colour and character provided by a switch to valveless horn playing towards the end of the work, amidst Ligeti’s concerns for modernising traditional music.
Following interval we were an opera audience once more as TMO took us on a vivid journey through the emotions which have endeared Bizet’s colourful stage success Carmen to generations of
opera goers. With poignant evocation of scenes, characters and Spanish setting, this delivery of the Carmen Suites 1 & 2 was dazzling in both dramatic and delicate moments as we relived a considerable
quantity of the familiar music.
After having watched the recent Opera Australia production of Carmen, this performance by TMO of the suites instantly transported me back to the colour, joy, suspense and vulnerabilities from the stage story.
Movements were were contrasted and tempi were well chosen, especially for the opera’s big and bold music . As a result, successive large climaxes were sufficiently full of the effortless momentum this drama requires. These suites contained many thrilling tutti moments. TMO met so well against the challenges of the score that they proved themselves to be ready to work as an opera orchestra any time from now.
For the near future, however, apart from the Met Concertseries, we can enjoy more of TMO’s passion, precision and accompanying skill on Sat May 26. TMO joins the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs in a performance of Haydn’s oratorio The Creation at Sydney Town Hall.
Another special event prior to this takes place on Sat May 5. TMO [Facebook] will be led by visiting maestro Alexander Negrin at the Eugene Goossens Hall. The programme aims to impress once more with Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture, Mozart’s ‘Jupiter’ symphony and Symphony No 5 by Beethoven.