Musicians in Wellington

Last weekend I was captivated by two very different musicians. 

Simon O'Neill, the New Zealand tenor was one. He is one of those rare tenors who can sing Wagner repertoire. Since I heard him in 2014 his voice has deepened. It is now a rich and resonant treat. He sang the Wesendonck Lieder and his German diction was flawless. Congratulations Simon, it was a wonderful concert.

The NZSO, with whom he sang, played Bruckner's 4th Symphony after the interval. It is a long and demanding work but they played wonderfully well. . Bruckner is not my favorite composer, mainly because it is difficult to tune your digital player to play the alternating very loud and very soft music that characterises his work - if you adjust to hear the quiet parts the rest blasts you out of the room. In a concert hall however it is a different story and I loved the orchestra blasting out their forte parts - the audience vibrated with the music as the strings and horns threw themselves into the music. They must have needed masseurs the next day.

The other musician I saw on Sunday was very different. He was sitting at a painted piano on the Wellington (NZ) waterfront.  He played the way my self-taught father used to, with the left hand strumming time to the right. I found myself humming his tune all evening.


Addendum 23 June: Today I read that shortly before the Wellington concert, Simon recorded a lullaby in German and Te Reo Maori with the NZSO as a gift for the new baby of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. (More about the recording here.)

Rain and roses

I was in Wellington only five days but hearing Christine Goerke and Simon O'Neill sing up a storm at the Wagner Gala was worth the trip across the Tasman.

Pouring rain greeted me on my return but my pet Valentines Day rose looks very happy despite the wet. It has produced another crop of flowers, the third since I bought it looking dry and sad. It is clearly very pleased with its new pot.  I didn't think roses thrived in Sydney's humid climate but they obviously do when it is cool and wet. I shall be interested to see when my lone rose decides it is time to hibernate and whether it survives our humid warm summer.

Otello in Sydney with Simon O'Neill

Simon O'Neill as Otello  with Lianna Haroutounian as Desdemona.

Photograph: Branco Gaica/Opera Australia

On Wednesday I saw Otello at the Sydney Opera house with Simon O'Neill in the title role, Lianna Haroutounian as his Desdemona and Claudio Sgura as the dreadful Iago.

The singers were all in fine voice - their singing was just glorious and you would never have guessed that Lianna Haroutounian was a last minute stand in.

I am too much of a softie to really enjoy Otello because I just hate watching Otello being so deviously deceived by Iago. I winced and squirmed in my seat, which is a credit to the singers as they performed so compellingly I had no escape!

Apart from the excruciating story, the set in this production also bothered me. The whole performance took place on a steep staircase. As they sang and argued, made love and killed each other I was willing them not to trip and tumble right to the bottom of the stairs. None of them did, although it looked as if O'Neill had done himself damage in his final dying lunge. However he stood up and took his bows with a smile.

More:
Guardian Review
crikey.com review (have a listen to the great clips in this article .... they'll lead you on to an evening of watching more and more.)
Portrait of Simon as Siegmund

Simon O'Neill sings Puccini's Nessun dorma

If you paint a portrait of someone they become part of your life. I have pictures of several of my portrait candidates hanging in my studio and view them with affection.

One is a portrait of the tenor Simon O'Neill.   He has a wonderful voice (see the video) and as you can see in the film about him understudying Placido Domingo at the Met in 2003, he is friendly, outgoing and humble . Just a really nice fellow.

Siegmund's cheek

When I left home late in August I left my large painting Siegmund (portrait of the wonderful New Zealand tenor Simon O'Neill) sitting on my easel so that when I came back in October it would be the first thing I saw and I could decide if I liked it.

Siegmund's cheek

Now I'm back and I like the painting so much I have hung it on the studio wall. What is it that I find so appealing? Perhaps the painterly quality and colour balance?

Studio wall

You can see a close up of the painting at artsmitten though unfortunately it doesn't look nearly as good in the photograph as it does in real life.

Valkurie in Wellington

  The Valkyrie paintings from rehearsals in Wellington, NZ, are now online .... with a little story.

Pietari Inkinen conducts the NZSO

Simon O'Neill sings Siegmund