NY Philharmonic Tribute To William Warfield Role In "Show Boat"

Can't Help Lovin' That Man: The 1962 cast recording of
Show Boat featuring John Raitt, Barbara Cook,  music director
 Franz Allers, and William Warfield. (Photo: Don Hunstein)

"In anticipation of the New York Philharmonic's production of Show Boat, Leonard Bernstein Scholar-in-Residence Carol J. Oja explores the African American baritone William Warfield, whose relationship with the philharmonic began at the summer Stadium Concerts at Lewisohn Stadium with his performance as Joe in a 1952 concert version of Show Boat. The lecture includes clips from the 1951 MGM film featuring Warfield as Joe and his 1976 performance with the Philharmonic in London narrating Aaron Copland's Lincoln Portrait, conducted by Leonard Bernstein." The event is free and takes place at the David Rubenstein Atrium on Wednesday, October 22, 2014, at 7:30 PM. [Source] For more information about the New York Philharmonic production of Show Boat featuring Vanessa William, NaTasha Yvette Williams, Lauren Worsham, and Norm Lewis, click here. "William Caesar Warfield (January 22, 1920 – August 26, 2002), was an American concert bass-baritone singer and actor. Warfield was born in West Helena, Arkansas and grew up in Rochester, New York, where his father was called to serve as pastor of Mt. Vernon Church. He gave his recital debut in New York's Town Hall on March 19, 1950. He was quickly invited by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to tour Australia and give 35 concerts. In 1952, Warfield performed in Porgy and Bess during a tour of Europe sponsored by the U.S. State Department (he made six separate tours for the US Department of State, more than any other American solo artist.) In this production he played opposite the opera star Leontyne Price, whom he soon married, but the demands of two separate careers left them

Gershwin Partners: Leontyne Price and William Warfield
recorded highlights from Porgy and Bess for RCA.

little time together. They divorced in 1972, but were featured together in a 1963 studio recording of excerpts from Porgy and Bess." [Source] "Show Boat is a 1927 musical in two acts, with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Based on Edna Ferber's bestselling novel of the same name, the musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands, and dock workers on the Cotton Blossom, a Mississippi River show boat, over forty years, from 1887 to 1927. Its themes include racial prejudice and tragic, enduring love. The musical contributed such classic songs as 'Ol' Man River,' 'Make Believe,' and 'Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man.'" Watch William Warfield sing "Ol' Man River" from Show Boat, after the jump.

Singer, Dancer, Poetess: Maya Angelou Dead At Age 86

Maya Angelou seen here with President Obama in 2011 when she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

"After graduation, she and her brother rejoined their mother, who had moved to San Francisco. She attended George Washington High School and won a scholarship to study drama and dance at the California Labor School. To earn pocket money, she worked as a streetcar conductor and was, by her account, the first African American woman to hold the job. At 16, after a clumsy sexual encounter with a neighborhood boy, she became pregnant and gave birth to her son, Clyde Bailey Johnson, nicknamed Guy. She graduated from San Francisco's Mission High School and struggled to raise her son on her own through a succession of jobs, including 'a shake dancer in nightclubs, fry cook in hamburger joints, dinner cook in a Creole restaurant and once had a job in a mechanic's shop, taking the paint off cars with my hands.' In San Diego, she was a madam who managed a couple of prostitutes. For a period of time, she was addicted to drugs. In 1949, she married a white ex-sailor, Tosh Angelos, but they divorced after three years. Commandingly tall at 6 feet, with a deep voice and theatrical manner, she moved to New York to study dance, then returned to San Francisco, sharing billing as a singer at the Purple Onion cabaret with comedian Phyllis Diller, who would become a close friend. Riffing off her ex-husband's last name and her brother's nicknames for her, she began performing as Maya Angelou. She won a role in a touring production of Porgy and Bess and performed in 22 countries from 1954 to 1955." [Source] Rare photos after the jump of this wonderful human.

Sylvia McNair Takes Gershwin Tour Back On The Road

"Music and lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin, ‘Here to Stay’ is the multimedia concert event celebrating the greatest team of collaborators in the history of American music. ‘Here to Stay’ provides unique and entertaining insight into the legendary Gershwin duo, and offers rare audio and video footage of the Gershwin’s. Family photos, rare video clips, and elegant, state-of-the-art visuals provide a distinctive and unique experience and an unforgettable offering of the Gershwin brothers’ best." [Source] Tour dates are as follows:

North Carolina Symphony - January 18, 2014
Des Moines Orchestra - February 15, 2014
Austin Symphony - February 21, 2014
Naples (FL) Big Band - March 14, 2014
Chattanooga Symphony - April 4, 2014

Visit Sylvia McNair's official website by clicking here.

Seattle Opera "Porgy and Bess" Showcases Two Young Singers

Mary Elizabeth Williams as Serena with Gordon
Hawkins as Porgy. (Photo: Elise Bakketun/Seattle Opera)

"Porgy is a treasure trove of magnificent music, a compendium of one great number after another. Its status as an opera has always been more a complicated proposition. Discussions about where exactly it fits in the repertoire, not to mention its generic implications, are ultimately unsatisfactory: it is what it is, and the occasional lurches in tone from rather conventional old-school opera to Broadway show are part of its fabric. In a way, Seattle Opera’s production doesn’t particularly try to smooth over these inconsistencies. The show-tune idiom associated with Sportin’ Life’s two big numbers (excellently sung, acted, and danced by tenor Jermaine Smith) are frankly treated as star turns. Alto Gwendolyn Brown’s Maria knowingly achieves considerable theatrical effect with her small character role. Leads Gordon Hawkins as Porgy and Lisa Daltirus as Bess embody a more classical sensibility, and a rather refined one at that. Soprano Daltirus brings stature and a sophisticated musical delivery to a role

Click here for special interview
with Mary Elizabeth Williams.

that swings from near-caricature to gritty realism. Baritone Hawkins, a SO favourite, has a warm, rich sound, and very considerable finesse; on opening night, his sensitive restraint was tarnished by occasional balance issues between singer and brass-heavy orchestra. In subordinate roles, baritone Michael Redding was a virile and effective Crown, with lots of requisite swagger and a ringing sound. Porgy’s second scene proved a fine showcase for soprano Mary Elizabeth Williams, who demonstrated that Gershwin (and librettist Dubose Heyward’s) rather one-dimensional characters are nonetheless capable of surprising psychological depth. Her 'Since my man’s gone now' was raw but astonishingly moving—one of the highlights of a solid, and solidly entertaining, revival of a (the?) great American classic." [Source]

Donovan Singletary as Jake.
(Photo: Elise Bakketun)

"Blue's opening number of 'Summertime' sets the tone perfectly with her soaring voice and only sets up the tragedy even more for when Daltirus reprises it later in the show. And [Donovan] Singletary and Blue are stunning as they portray the new hope of this run down town. Smith and Redding as the villains of the piece are each deliciously despicable in their own way. Redding with his sultry lowness and Smith with his conniving temptations and snake like physicality. Brown tends to steal every scene she's in with her grand, take no prisoners attitude. And Williams' rendition of 'My Man is Gone Now' at the funeral brought the entire house to tears. But the show is called Porgy and Bess and the title characters do not get overshadowed at all by the stellar supporting cast. Hawkins quiet strength is the perfect compliment for Daltirus' broken innocence and the two create the perfect aching chemistry for these heartbreaking lovers. Now you may have noticed I haven't said much about the vocal quality of the performers. Well, that's

Click here for a special interview
with Donovan Singletary.

because it all goes without saying as every single person in the show, from principle to chorus, delivers soul shaking vocal performances. This is made even more awe inspiring as none of the performers are miked. Yes, you heard me. In the grand McCaw Hall, there is no amplification so these amazing singers are literally belting to the rafters. Yes the supertitles are still there as with foreign language operas so we're sure to get every word of the story. But for us jaded musical theater aficionados, listening to real voices able to do what they did is a genuine treat. The production is near flawless." [Source]