A most memorable weekend when Philharmonia Fantastique made its LA Phil premiere with the one-and-only Gustavo Dudamel! Gustavo masters both the precision and the depth of feeling in the piece — it’s got both a flashy surface and a deep soul and, it was a real thrill to hear the LA Phil sparkle at the Walt Disney Concert Hall!
On January 26, Mason’s Nomad Concerto received its World Premiere with The Philadelphia Orchestra, led by Yannick Nezét-Séguin and performed by Gil Shaham.
“A violin concerto by Mason Bates receiving its world premiere, follows a wanderer through different worlds, reflected in a succession of musical styles through which Bates moves beautifully. The Nomad Concerto broods, floats and glimmers … ultimately alighting on something poignant for both orchestra and violin, here played by the warmly expressive Gil Shaham … Bates in this new piece once again proves a composer unusually commanding of atmosphere and emotion.” Philadelphia Inquirer
Next season, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music will be co-producing The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay with The Metropolitan Opera, by Mason Bates and Gene Scheer, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Michael Chabon.
The Met has commissioned the work for a future season, and the piece will have its world premiere at the IU Jacobs School of Music in November 2024!
Catch a sneak peek of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs before it opens!
This Friday September 15, come see the astonishing baritone John Moore, who won audiences across the country with his masterful portrayal of Steve Jobs.
We will also hear from beloved soprano Marnie Breckenridge, who sings a the soulful music of Barbara Strozzi and Arvo Pärt, in addition to an aria from Steve Jobs.
These stunning singers will be accompanied by a dozen phenomenal musicians, including the Friction Quartet, under the baton of Maestro Brad Hogarth.
And don’t forget about the other star on the program – the Old US Mint! This iconic building will be transformed by Mercury Soul’s stellar production. We’ll paint the walls with immersive projections and surround the listener with sumptuous beats from DJ Masonic (aka Mason Bates) and DJ Justin Reed. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to experience music in completely new way!
Operas through the centuries are filled with creative characters – from Bohème’s starving artists to Death in Venice’s haunted author. About ten years ago I started dreaming about an opera that would examine a different kind of creative individual: the creative technologist.
Living in the Bay Area for a decade leading up to that moment, I became familiar with the fascinating breed of creative people whose innovations transform civilization.
And no one better exemplified this than Steve Jobs.
As we gear up for The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs at San Francisco Opera this fall, a feeling of homecoming is in the air. Not only is the opera’s story grounded in the Bay Area, but the piece was conceived and written here as well. Matthew Shilvock, General Director of SF Opera, was the first person to jump aboard this production after seeing it premiere at Santa Fe Opera, so SF Opera has played a key role in bringing this piece to life.
After two years that have seen a glorious new production tour through five cities, it’ll be thrilling to see the original production on the grand stage of SFO. This original production is renown for its mix of cutting edge projections and old-fashioned stagecraft, exemplified by the six huge monoliths that combine in endless ways to form the set. The walls of Young Steve’s garage fly apart after the opening scene to create every subsequent scene!
The opera also feels even more resonant in 2023 than it did six years ago, with its message of “look up, look out” extremely relevant in a post-pandemic world. After the challenging years of lockdowns and digital life, many people have embraced the return to true connection. That’s the message of the opera, as sung by Laureen Powell Jobs in her final aria.
As a tech mogul who presented as an artist, Steve Jobs gives us a unique opera subject – both protagonist and antagonist – who journeys from hippy idealist to master of the universe. It’s a story that resonates deeply in the Bay Area, and it is tremendously meaningful to experience this story at San Francisco Opera.
“The Fantasia orchestra” has accumulated many accolades since Disney featured it in 1940, but there’s been nothing quite like the cultural impact made by the Philadelphia Orchestra when it danced with Mickey Mouse. That makes it especially meaningful that Philly is this month performing Philharmonia Fantastique, an animated film celebrating the orchestra very much inspired by Fantasia.
The Disney film combines brilliant animation – sometimes veering into mesmerizing abstraction – with orchestral fireworks from Stravinsky, Bach, and many others. While it’s a mix-tape rather than a through-composed piece, Fantasia ingeniously combines the imaginative storytelling possibilities of animation with the infinite sound world of the orchestra.
Fantasia very much inspired Philharmonia Fantastique, a new guide to the orchestra featuring a magical Sprite that flies inside instruments. I’ve heard many performances of the piece in the two years since its premiere, and having the film released on Apple TV was particularly exciting because of Apple’s Disney-like embrace of creative technology. But up to this moment, the piece hasn’t been performed by “The Fantastia Orchestra.”
That changes this summer at Saratoga Performing Arts Center, a lovely festival in upstate New York showcasing the Philadelphia Orchestra and its many superstar friends (the evenings before my concert feature Gil Shaham and Yo-Yo Ma).
It’s also poignant for me because it’s being conducted by Edwin Outwater, who recorded the soundtrack with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the height of the pandemic. That week in February 2021, Edwin and the CSO and I brave a heavy blizzard and, admittedly, some rusty skills after a year of lockdown. We all have that week seared in our memories as the first real music-making we did during Covid.
I love the Philadelphia Orchestra for its incredible mix of new and old. The orchestra has elements of the Old World sound that Stokowski made famous in Fantasia, but it also has a new energy and crispness thanks to music director Yannick Nezet-Seguin. The musicians combine impeccable chops with a can-do attitude and warmth.
Everywhere Philharmonia Fantastique is performed is a kind of festival, with a huge mix of symphony patrons and kids enthusiastically watching the Sprite journey inside the orchestra. Hearing Philly play the piece has a special resonance – and I’m deeply grateful to the orchestra and Edwin.
The new production of Mason’s GRAMMY-winning opera at Utah Opera caught the attention of Fox 13 Salt Lake City. Check out their segment on the piece and interview with John Moore, who plays the title character.
Mason Bates & Mark Campbell’s The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs
By: The PLACE
Get your tickets now to the upcoming Utah Opera performance of Mason Bates & Mark Campbell’s The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs.
This Grammy-award-winning, “totally user-friendly” opera (Los Angeles Times) is a smart and sleek take on the entrepreneur who changed our modern world forever.
Steve Jobs relentlessly dedicated himself to creating the perfect device while wrestling with his own imperfections.
He created technology to connect us all while struggling to connect with those around him. Faced with his mortality, Jobs re-visits moments that shaped his life –from a young romance to his dramatic fall from the C-suite – and circles back with newfound understanding.
John Moore makes his Utah Opera debut in the lead role and—according to composer Mason Bates—”so vividly creates the lead role that, by the end, you will be half-certain you are witnessing the man himself.”
The production runs May 6-14, 2023, at Capitol Theatre in Salt Lake City.