Countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński Breakdances & Sings For Pepsi Beat

Breakout opera-star Jakub Józef Orliński dances and adds vocals to a new track called "Never Alone" (Nigdy Sam) in a newly-released music video from Warner Music Poland. Known for his high-flying vocal ornamentations of undiscovered Baroque music, the young countertenor is also a well-skilled breakdancer. He puts his beat skills to the test in the high-energy track. Launched to fame with a YouTube performance that went viral (currently at nearly 6 million views...) of Vivaldi's "Vedrò con mio diletto" from Il Giustino, the Juilliard School of Music alumni has become a darling of Europe performing on several tours with Il Pomo d'Oro with whom he has recorded two albums. Check out the discs here. During the time of COVID-19, the Polish singer has done a recital for Aix-en-Provence and concerts with Capella Cracoviensis in Świdnica. Upcoming engagements include a pastiche project staged by Robert Carsen at Dans les Jardins de William Christie Festival in Thiré, France, and a charity concert at Teatr Wielki Opera Narodowa in September.

"Never Alone" (Nigdy Sam) is the second, after the hit 'Where You,' the musical version of the Pepsi Taste The Beat project. Sir Mich again took up the production  and invited a line-up that could only be created on this platform. The first element of this surprising puzzle is Sarius, a top Polish rapper who has taken the Polish scene by storm in recent years. Another is BARANOVSKI, a discovery and great hope for ambitious pop. This absolutely magical trio is complemented by the participation of the repeatedly awarded and delighting countertenor - Jakub Józef Orliński. 'Never Alone' is a pulsating kaleidoscope of talents infecting with positive energy. The publisher of the song is Warner Music Poland and Papaya Films is responsible for the production of the clip directed by  Marcin Starzecki."

"Pepsi Taste The Beat is a timeless music project for those who love music, have their own taste, value their taste and are energized by the energy that lies in beating. This is where we break with the routine, discover the undiscovered, appreciate our sights, cultivate spontaneity and follow our passions! Meet the non-obvious collaborations of artists and a surprising mix of sounds over genres. Get to know a new phenomenon on the Polish music scene. Get carried away by the urban sound. Try this unconventional approach to the subject. This is lifestyle. This is what the city sounds like. This is what Pepsi sounds like. Listen to your taste."

Watch the full video for "Never Alone," the famous "Vedrò" clip, and other videos Jakub has worked on during the quarantine time, after the jump.

[Source, Source, Source]

Seán Curran On Dance For Edwardian "Salome" At Santa Fe Opera

Alex Penda (aka Alexandrina Pendatchanska) in
 a costume designed by Christian Lacroix in
2013 for a Salome production directed
 by Vincent Boussard.

"'You don’t want to end up hating her,' said Seán Curran, choreographer for Santa Fe Opera’s new production of Salome, describing the character with all the veils. Curran has worked on several SFO productions, including 2011’s The Last Savage and Oscar in 2013. 'Why does she ask for what she asks for?,' he said, referring to Salome’s request for the head of Jochanaan (John the Baptist). 'She’s a teenage girl.' Oscar Wilde’s play, the basis for the opera’s text, suggests that she had a sexual yearning for the prophet. In April, the opera flew Curran to Paris to work on the dance. He spent 48 hours in a studio with Salome’s director, Daniel Slater, and their Salome, Alex Penda, who lives in the city. Slater has chosen to set the production in 1905 Europe, the year Richard Strauss’ opera premiered in Dresden. 'It’s very Downton Abbey — Edwardian,' Curran said. 'There are no biblical references. All the slaves become servants. As for the 'Dance of the Seven Veils,' he said that 'it feels like Art Nouveau — like a Toulouse-Lautrec painting.' Curran said Strauss made his job easier. 'Salome is one of the great operas. The music evokes so much emotion — it does the storytelling for you. Strauss does tonal painting. You can see the color of the grass. You can hear the wind. It’s visceral, violent, sexual music to me.' At the rehearsal studio, Curran led a warm-up with Penda — as a way of easing her into the movement but also as a way for him to begin to understand the singer as a dancer. 'Alex has played this part before,' Curran said. 'I directed and choreographed it for Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Danny has never seen or directed the show.' Slater is a director who likes to be involved in every aspect of a production. He knew that Strauss was influenced by the theories of Sigmund

Edwardian Steampunk: Choreographer Seán Curran
 looks like he could be in the current production
 of the SFO Salome.

Freud, which were coming into vogue in Vienna’s intellectual circles at the time of the opera’s origin. 'Slater wanted a psychological take on the dance,' the choreographer said. 'There was an image of an iceberg and the psyche. Here is a woman only exhibiting the tip of the iceberg until she starts to dance. Alex has a fearless physicality,' Curran continued. 'She understands the difference between energy and effort. She’s not afraid to look awkward or ugly.' Together with Slater, they developed movement motifs — 'the silent scream,' 'the mourning section,' and 'the daddy dance.' 'We wound up with a hybrid. My ingredients, Danny with the big picture, and Alex’s contributions.' Curran’s previous experience with the opera gave him an understanding of the physical requirements for the soprano, not just the emotional aspects. 'Salome has to dance. She has to knock it out of the park and then sing nonstop for the last 10 minutes of the opera. You have to have the body of a sixteen-year-old and the lungs of a forty-year-old to do this part.'" [Source] Read about The Santa Fe Opera founder John Crosby and his affinity for Strauss and Salome by clicking here. Watch Alex Penda in the trailer for Nayo Titzin film Unveiling Salome and a video interview with David Robertson who is conducting the SFO Salome, after the jump.

Kathleen Battle Spiritual Is Backdrop For Solo Dancer Kara Wilkes

"In Kara Wilke’s [sic] solo, set to Kathleen Battle’s haunting version of 'Over My Head I Hear Music in the Air,' Wilke moves swiftly from graceful to grotesque, changing the mood from gorgeous grandeur with effortless jumps to unsettling with unexpected kicks outward and flicks of the wrist." [Source]

"Kara Wilkes a native of Wisconsin, began her professional career performing classical and contemporary work for five seasons with Milwaukee Ballet Company. In 2006, she was invited to join Victor Ullate Ballet in Madrid, Spain; she then returned to the United States and was a member of North Carolina Dance Theatre for four seasons. While based in Charlotte, Wilkes performed works by Nacho Duato, Twyla Tharp, Alvin Ailey, Jacqulyn Buglisi, George Balanchine, Dwight Rhoden and Mark Godden. Wilkes was named one of '25 to Watch' by Dance Magazine in 2009 and joined LINES Ballet in 2011." [Source] Learn more about the Alonzo King LINES Ballet by clicking here. Watch a beautiful video, Tracing Lines with Alonzo King by Franck Thibault, after the jump.

"Sophie's Choice" Uses Johann Strauss Jr. For Big Dance Scene

Sophie (Meryl Streep) and Nathan (Kevin Kline) are having an evening of Southern decadence when the scene climaxes with the two characters dancing romantically to "Frühlingsstimmen" of Johann Strauss II. "'Frühlingsstimmen' ('Voices of Spring'), Op. 410, is a waltz by Johann Strauss II, written in 1882, for orchestra and solo soprano voice. Strauss dedicated the work to the pianist and composer Alfred Grünfeld. The famous coloratura soprano Bertha Schwarz (stage name Bianca Bianchi) sang this concert aria at a grand matinée charity performance at the Theater an der Wien in aid of the 'Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Elisabeth Foundation for Indigent Austro-Hungarian subjects in Leipzig.' The waltz was not a great success at its premiere, but was more successful when performed on Strauss' tour of Russia in 1886. A piano arrangement by the composer contributed much to its success beyond Vienna. Bianca Bianchi was then a famous member of the Vienna Court Opera Theatre and Strauss was sufficiently inspired to compose a new work, a waltz for solo voice, for the acclaimed singer. The result was his world-renowned "Frühlingsstimmen" waltz which celebrated spring and remained one of the classical repertoire's most famous waltzes. The piece is sometimes used as an insertion aria in the act 2 ball scene of Strauss' operetta Die Fledermaus. The waltz makes a grand entry in the key of B-flat major with loud chords preceded with the waltz's three beats to the bar ushering the first waltz's gentle and swirling melody. The second waltz section invokes the joys of spring with the flute imitating birdsong and a pastoral scene. The plaintive and dramatic third section in F minor probably suggests spring showers whereas the fourth section that follows breaks out from the pensive mood with another cheerful melody in A-flat major. Without a coda, the familiar first waltz melody makes a grand entrance before its breathless finish, strong chords and the usual timpani drumroll and warm brass flourish. A performance lasts between seven and nine minutes." [Source] Watch Carlos Kleiber conduct an orchestral and Kathleen Battle sing a vocal version of "Frühlingsstimmen," as well as more information on Sophie's Choice, after the jump.

Angela Gheorghiu Provides Live Vocals For Alvin Ailey Dance Troupe

Live From New York: Gheorghiu sings an aria to
accompany a dance depicting violence between a man
 and a woman in a relationship. (Photo: Facebook)

"The joyless 'Uprising' had contradicted this, and so did what followed: the depiction of a mutually abusive male-female relationship that is Mr. Battle’s 'Unfold.' The woman’s showily sustained backbends seem to invite her partner to manhandle her; he duly obliges, and occasionally she gets him back by tugging him down to the floor. If you understand the ecstatically erotic French words of the operatic aria that Mr. Battle takes as his accompaniment here — 'Depuis le jour,' from Gustave Charpentier’s Louise — then you see that Mr. Battle means his duet as an exercise in pointed theatrical irony. The soprano sings of the delicious tremblings arising from her charming memories of living with her lover; the dancing shows us a couple forever locked in grimly flamboyant and aggressive behavior that brings them no joy. Is this really part of the Ailey legacy? To me, it looks wholly anti-Ailey. Usually, 'Unfold' is accompanied by Leontyne Price’s slow, lush recording of the Louise aria. On this occasion, the aria was sung live onstage by Angela Gheorghiu, with Eugene Kohn’s piano accompaniment. Ms. Gheorghiu’s singing, often under the note, was into a microphone; though she makes more of the words than Ms. Price, her singing on this occasion was unusually tense and unsteady. (It’s worth listening to recordings from Charpentier’s day, all of which take a far less dilatory tempo.)" [Source] Ms. Gheorghiu had a similar personal situation back in 2013 regarding domestic abuse. Watch a brief clip of the Alvin Ailey dance after the jump.

Mark Morris Tells Gerard Mortier He Would Rather Watch Opera

Opera Talk: Gerard Mortier [left] makes a point in discussion with Mark Morris.
(Photo: Gloria Nieto/The Globe and Mail)

"It was Mortier, in a previous incarnation as director of the Brussels opera, La Monnaie, who hired a younger Morris to replace his then outgoing director of dance, Maurice Bejart. And it was in Brussels in the late-1980s and early-1990s that Morris created several of his most famous dances, including L’Allegro, The Hard Nut, and Dido and Aeneas. That work, he later confesses, made it easier to re-establish himself in the United States. Morris’s work always begins with the music. 'What a lot of people do is make up a dance,' he explains. 'What I do, in the old-fashioned sense, is go from a piece of music that I love and imagine that I won’t tire of very soon, analyze the score, think about it, and make up a dance with my company.' He adds that he’d rather go to see opera than see dance, 'because if I’m super familiar with someone’s dance work and if I don’t like it, I don’t need to go back. And I won’t go see a three-hour ballet if it only has 10 minutes of good dancing. But I go to the Met [New York’s Metropolitan Opera] a lot.'" [Source]