Friday, June 28, 2013

French Twist: From Atget to Man Ray


The Delaware Art Museum starts their new exhibit of vintage photographs on Saturday, June 29.  The works are from the collection of Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg and curated by Heather Campbell Coyle.  We were given a press tour by the enthusiastic Margaretta Frederick, who is chief curator for the museum.  Her delight in  the photographs and their history and the time in which they were made was infectious.

Boulevard de Strasbourg Corsets, 1912 
Eugène Atget
When you walk in and see the works in the collection by Eugène Atget, you may have your doubts about their artistic value.  Some are dark, some are gray and bleak and none are splashy, posed photographs that you might hope to see in a museum.  And yet, they represent the coincidence of turning points in history as well as turning points in photography.  Atget took pictures to record history, to record the Paris he knew after World War I, a Paris he sensed would never come back again.  He didn’t care if his work was pretty or artsy or even appreciated – he just wanted to record.   He also wanted his photographs to be regarded as historical documents, an unvarnished view -- not one made to look pretty.
After Atget, the other photographers in the collection seem to have worked harder to intrigue you and stop you cold as you try to puzzle what their photography represents.  Ilse Bing, using a much more modern camera than Atget, starts to look for different views whose unexpected angles and perspectives still show you Paris, but not the one you would see on a postcard. 

Fille de Montmartre playing Russian Billiards,
 Boulevard Rochechouart,  1932-33 Brassaï
Brassaï sneaks you in to those discreet brothels, eerie night clubs and opium dens – the faces captured in them showing an intense bristling as they reveal their secrets.  You can almost hear the surly waiters, the all-knowing demoiselles and their managers in this evocation of the darker side of Parisian life.

Jacques-Henri Lartigue was given a camera when he was six and took pictures of the Belle Époque when all seemed possible – flight of man and flight of fancy as a lady walks her dog down the street.   These early photographs were unearthed by none other than Richard Avedon and their juxtaposition in the display make you think of the optimism of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s Little Prince – the world before the war changed it.

Man Ray’s photographs are fascinating for their inventiveness in concept – as well as his use of solarization – leaving the film to be exposed outside the camera for periods of time.  It was he who called the public’s attention to the work of Eugène Atget.  Man Ray heavily influenced his protégée, Dora Maar, who took his surrealist ideas and pushed them even further.

The highlight of the collection are the striking photos of Henri Cartier-Bresson.  They represent the world in a journalistic, yet artistic way.   A photograph which stuck in my mind and will probably be there forever is one of a matronly lady standing in front of a poster.  The lady is straining her eyes as she looks into the light and the eyes of the young lady in the poster are covered with stickers.   As you gaze at his work, you can see that he communicated his immediate impression of the scene he recorded.  He lets you look through his lens and shows you the view as he caught it in that instant. 

When you leave the exhibit, you will feel as if you were eavesdropping on a long conversation about Paris, art, nightlife, society and the world, and it will fill your mind for days to come.

The exhibit is open until September 15.  For more information and hours, see www.delart.org.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

The Delaware All-State Theatre Takes a Walk on the Dark Side with “Jekyll & Hyde The Musical”


Now in its 6th year, Delaware All-State Theatre (DAST) brings together the “best of the best” student performers from Delaware elementary, middle and high schools to put on a professional level production. From stellar casts to exceptional sets and costumes, DAST’s shows are of the highest caliber. After the group’s 2012 production of the boisterous musical comedy Hairspray, this summer DAST has taken a darker turn with its production of Frank Wildhorn and Leslie Bricusse’s musical thriller Jekyll & Hyde based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Every year I attend the DAST show, and every year I am amazed by the talents of the young adults. At times I forget I’m watching youth and teenagers, not professional performers. This year’s exceptional cast transports the audience to Victorian England where the newly engaged Dr. Henry Jekyll (Chad Michael Jervis) wants to create a remedy to remove the evil that he believes inhabits his catatonic father. After presenting his idea to the Board of Governors of St. Jude’s Hospital and requesting a human subject for testing, the Board quickly dismisses what they consider is a blasphemous proposal. Not having the backing of the Hospital, Dr. Jekyll decides to continue with his project and using himself as his subject.

Dr. Jekyll becomes obsessed with his work, which takes precedence over spending time with his fiancée Emma (Kristina Biddle) and his best friend/lawyer Gabriel John Utterson (Ben Walker). He becomes addicted to his elixir and the evil it brings out of him (Mr. Hyde). His addiction takes over causing him to shun Emma and Gabriel and cause terror and mayhem in the city. Mr. Hyde also begins a lurid affair with a prostitute Lucy Harris (Kayla Saunders), whom Dr. Jekyll befriended at a slum bar (The Red Rat) that he and Gabriel visited for Dr. Jekyll’s bachelor party.   

The stunning production directed by Jeffrey Santoro is dark and harsh, yet lively and engaging. The exceptional sets by DAST’s Technical director, Ryan Stofa and costumes by Lorraine Anderson create the spirit of the 1800s. From the streets of England to Dr. Jekyll’s laboratory to a sordid bar, the sets evoke a time passed by, while the costumes exemplify the divide between sophisticated members of society to prostitutes and peasants.     

However, it’s the cast that drives this musical, led by the captivating Mr. Jervis as both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Mr. Jervis magnificently captures both sides of his character, finding and peeling away the layers of the enigmatic Dr. Jekyll and his alter ego, Mr. Hyde. He easily transforms from a loving and compassionate doctor to a vengeful and sadistic man. He best exemplified his capabilities during the Confrontation number when Mr. Hyde finally confronts Dr. Jekyll before taking over.  

Mr. Jervis shares the stage with equally talented leading ladies. Ms. Biddle as Dr. Jekyll’s high society fiancée, Emma, and Ms. Saunders as Mr. Hyde’s street tough mistress, Lucy, are brilliant! Both ladies have stunning voices that make it very hard to believe they are high school students. Their vulnerability that comes through their sumptuous duet In His Eyes is more than what is expected from high school students. Don’t worry, not every song is dark or sad, Ms. Saunders’s exuberant number Bring on the Men adds some light-hearted FUN to the production.  

The three leads are supported by a strong cast of students who electrify with their acting, singing and dancing talents. With precise musical direction by David Snyder and choreography by Tamara Paulino, this production is a sure fire hit!

Jekyll & Hyde runs through June 30 at the Laird Performing Art Center (Tatnall School). For additional information and/or to purchase tickets visit www.DASTonline.org.  

Monday, June 24, 2013

Artist Profile: Countertenor Gus Mercante

Gus Mercante sings very high notes – and when he does you can feel the audience jerk awake wondering how a man can produce notes in the stratosphere normally reserved for altos and mezzosopranos.  Yet, the quality of upper notes in a countertenor are smoother than a soprano voice, more boyish and without that extra strain that can irritate the listener when an untrained soprano reaches a bit too high in her range.  The countertenor uses a trained upper range that is not a falsetto like Smokey Robinson’s voice (which I also love, by the way), but more like a pure and directed sound which many describe as ‘head voice’.  The trick is to make the transition from that upper range to the lower notes without changing the quality of the vocal production. 

When Gus sings his very high range, it seems as if his voice is landing downwards from a gentle height.  His rounded, well-controlled tones are exactly what has garnered him myriad awards.  He won the 2007 Austrian American Society prize, a 2009 Fulbright scholarship to Germany  which included performances with opera companies in Augsburg, Nurnberg and Munich.  


This week Gus will perform in the Tanglewood Music Festival – a summer training and performing school which has been used to launch giants of American music such as Leonard Bernstein.  Originally, Tanglwood was the site of summer concerts for the Boston Symphony under the baton of Serge Kousevitsky, and it has now grown to a full-time music center which attracts over 350,000 visitors and attendees each summer.  For Gus to perform in the American premiere of George Benjamin’s Written on Skin, conducted by the composer – one of Britain’s prominent musicians -  is quite a coup for our local talent. 

Fame won’t change Gus.  He is always helping others – making calls to organize musicians and delivering scores to be transposed, handing out programs at the Italian festival with the calm of any old volunteer – yet, minutes later, he is singing his heart out to give a startlingly passionate rendition of Di tanti palpiti from Rossini’s Tancredi . His voice soars and resounds – especially in such a reverberant church.  In spite of thunderous applause, Gus’s first reaction is to study what he could have done to improve, which is no doubt why he is so good.

When he is not studying or helping others organize concerts, Gus is an active contributor to charities and worthy causes.  He makes his music work for others with his organization Lifesongs with which he raises money for charities and individuals as well as community-centered projects. 

I encourage you to listen to Gus while he is still a local artist, because those days may be limited.