Jihoon Kim Recital, Royal Opera House

Jihoon Kim is shining proof that the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House, London, develops singers into complete artists. rich, resonant bass is much admired. During his two years as a Jette Parker Young Artist in 2011/13 he was cast in a wide range of roles at the Royal Opera House, from Alessio in Bellini’s La sonnambula and Colline in Puccini’s La bohème to the Ghost of Hector in Berlioz’s Les Troyens. After completing the Programme, he was offered a one year contract as a Royal Opera principal, covering more than 50 performances in the current season - in fact, when he sings Stimme der Wächter on the first night of Strauss’ Die Frau ohne Schatten it will be his 100th performance on the main stage. 

In Verdi Les vêpres sicilennes, Kim’s Robert was so distinctive that  James Sohre wrote in Opera Today that “As one would expect at Covent Garden, all of the minor roles were polished and poised, but I particularly enjoyed Jihoon Kim as Robert. The ROH is right to place such confidence in him and to nurture a performer of such accomplishment and real individuality. His rolling, dark bass surely has a bright future”. Watching the HD broadcast of that production, I noticed how often Director Stefan Herheim used Kim at many critical points in the drama, far more often than the actual singing part required. Kim appeared many times in close-ups because he has presence, even when he was not singing.  

Particpants in the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme have considerable professional experience even before they join the scheme. The programme polishes these skills so they learn all aspects of their profession. Coaching includes languages, musical style, interpretation, stagecraft, acting and movement. There is more to being an opera singer than singing alone. Because the programme focuses on practical performance skills, Young Artists give individual recitals, as well as participating in main house productions. Jihoon Kim’s recital in the Paul Hamlyn Hall in the Royal Opera House in December 2013was unique, however, because he sang Korean Art Song, a genre almost unknown in the west. 

 

Korean Art song or Gagok are songs composed in the Western form. Borrowing the melody of hymns from the end of the 19th century Gagok began in the 1920s, when Korea was occupied by Japan, and continues to flourish today. In South Korea, classical music is cherished and music education standards very high. The songs describe mountains, woodlands and the simple life of Korean peasants, celebrating national culture and identity, much as Grieg and Dvořák did in Europe. The lyricism in the music of Gagok expresses nostalgia, but also a more subtle sensibility. “Deep in the woodland” writes the poet Donghwan Kim, set by composer Wonshik Lim in 1942, “a spring never seen or found trickles secretly……I take a sip, returning home with pleasure, for the spring will remain my own, secretly”

“Another aspect of Korean Art Song”, says Kim, “is that it mainly consists of a lyrical melody (cantilena), which does not require a trained vocalization, to be sung easily by the general public.” Kim is modest, though, for some of these songs are technically sophisticated and benefit from his sensitivity to musical form. Dongsu Shin’s Dear Mountain (1983) is a particularly beautiful song, allowing Kim to showcase the range of colours in his voice. In Hoon Byeon’s Pollack (1952), fast paced, ever-changing rhythms suggest the movement of a fish frolicking in the sea before it gets caught in a net. Kim sang with agile flexibility and freshness, quite unusual in his fach. The fish is “ripped to shreds, my body may disappear but my name will remain, as Pollack, Pollack, I will remain in this world”. There is humour in the song, but also bitter irony. The very fact that Kim was able to express these complex feelings to an audience who did not speak Korean shows how well he can communicate : a valuable skill in opera. Kim could convey meaning so well that many in the audience could follow the spirit of the songs, such as the drinking song, without needing translations at all.

Kim sang some songs accompanied by pianist Jean-Paul Pruna. Pruna, who was a member of the Young Artists Programme in 2010/12, postponed his return to Holland for his current engagement with Reisoper in order to take part. Kim also built the programme to include performances on traditional Korean instruments, in order to show how modern art song connected to traditional form. Hyelim Kim played taegŭm, a transverse bamboo flute. She played Chʻŏngsŏnggok, a melody used in Korean court circles. It was transposed an octave higher in parts to maximize the distinctive buzzing articulation of the membrane within the instrument, which acts as a kind of sympathetic resonator. 

Hyunsu Song played the haegŭm, a two-stringed bowed string instrument. A percussion ensemble joined Kim and the other soloists for larger pieces, such as the three variations of Arirang. The Koreans in the audience started to clap in rhythm with the percussive pulse, underlining the changing shape and form. For westerners, who aren’t used to participating in classical music, this was quite an education. 

For an encore, Kim sang a lullaby his mother sang to him when he was a baby. Although he was so young, he responded to the emotion in the song and used to weep. “Maybe it’s the song that made me become a singer”, he said. The ability to feel and express emotion is perhaps fundamental to the art of song. Kim sang the song first sotto voce, barely above a whisper, conveying the idea of a song heard as distant memory. Then he sang it again with confidence. We could hear the boy grown into a man with a bright future. I was very moved. 

As an extra theatrical touch, Kim wore a hanbok, a spectacular silk costume, loaned by Somssimyoungga, the only luxury traditional company designing bespoke Korean garments. Kim thinks as an opera artist, who understands the importance of visual images. Kim also has exceptional organization skills, putting together the whole programme and people involved on his own initiative. Great attention to detail : at one stage, the bow of the haegŭm brushed too close to a microphone. Without missing a note, Kim bent over and fixed things. 

This was a unique recital, from an unusually promising young singer who has justified the faith the Royal Opera House has placed in him.

See the full review HERE in Opera Today.Photos copyright  Marco Godoy

Jihoon Kim Unusual Concert Royal Opera House

Jette Parker Young Artists at the Royal Opera House are always among the best but Jihoon Kim is unique. Get to his lunchtime recital on Monday 9th in the Paul Hamlyn Hall to hear why. Tickets here,  Kim has presence, he's the Young Artist Principal and gets higher-profile roles. On the HD broadcast of Verdi Les vêêpres sicilennes, I noticed how often Stefan Herheim used Kim at many critical points in the drama, far more often than the actual singing part required. Kim sang Robert, a French soldier, but appeared many times in close-ups because he has presence. He can sing with authority but also project individual personality. 

"As one would expect at Covent Garden, all of the minor roles were polished and poised, but I particularly enjoyed Jihoon Kim as Robert. This promising young singer is a Jette Parker Principal artist, and ROH is right to place such confidence in him and to nurture a performer of such accomplishment and real individuality. His rolling, dark bass surely has a bright future."  wrote Jim Sohre in Opera Today about Verdi Les vêpres sicileinnes. (read more here and here)

The Monday recital is special because Kim is performing classical Korean music with a speciually chosen ensemble of Korean music specialists. In this recital Kim is going to sing every song with piano (Jean-Paul Pruna) and for some songs will add the traditional Koran instruments. "Some of the songs are composed as western style and some are traditional Korean music adapted for western Opera technique. So the audience can feel the Korean rhythm, Korean melody and Korean scales from the songs" he adds, "The audience should be able to see and feel what we are singing about. The traditional way to sing and Operatic style is totally different so I want the audience to know exactly what is going on without changing to much".

 Have you ever noticed how many Koreans get into world-class orchestras and opera houses? That's because music education standards are extremely high. Classical music is taken seriously. Children learn music along with reading, writing and arithmetic. They develop good ears. Talented people get opportunities and respect.

But Koreans also take their own classical tradition very seriously. There is a system of "Cultural Treasures" where various art forms are designated special heritage status. Artists are given support and privileges, so their skills will be handed on to future generations. There's a similar "National Treasure" programme in Japan but nothing like it in the West.

Kim has assembled a group of top Korean instrumental players, some of whom have come direct from Korea for the recital. They will be playing instruments like the Taegum, Haegeum, Kkwaenggwari,  Buk, Janggu, and Jing. If you don't know what these are, this is your opportunity to find out and hear top-class trained Korean classicists play them well. All will be wearing traditional costume.

 Kim's hanbok will be a spectacular silk costume, made by Somssimyoungga, the only luxury traditional company designing bespoke Korean garments. This will in itself be a work of art. Look at their website !

This is an extremely enterprising venture, as not many singers trained in Western classical style are educated in traditional forms. Listen out for the unique phrasing, rhythms and techniques of non-Western music.

Although there's a lot of ersatz Asian music around, this will be the real thing, so don't miss the opportunity. The influence of non-Western music on Western music is shamefully underestimated. Debussy, Ravel, Messiaen and Britten developed their styles from Japanese asnd Indonesian music in particular. Korean instruments are different to Chinese and Japanese instruments (some of which I've written about on this site). This is a whole new sound world, not to be missed. When I was a student, one of the visiting fellows was a member of the Japanese Imperial Household, seriously big deal. He had an entourage. He was an economist, but one evening, he gave a recital of unaccompanied ritual song. The Japanese students listened in awe because that music is never heard outside court circles. (it was OK to do it in a private party in Oxford). I've never heard anything like that since, and have never forgotten. So get to the Paul Hamlyn Hall on Monday : and learn. Composers especially - imagine the possibilities!

More if you're interested :
The story of Arirang, The Sheng and the Sho, Quqin Master and many others under labels like unusual instruments,  Chinese music, Chinese opera and individual composers (seee list at right) This is one of the few genuinely multicultural sites on the web
 
photo of Jihoon Kim, c Bill Cooper 2012

Mozart Salieri and Rimsky-Korsakov - Young Artists Week, Linbury

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's opera Mozart and Salieri (1897) received its first ever performance at the Royal Opera House as the highlight of Meet The Young Artists Week at the Linbury Studio Theatre.

Salieri is jealous because Mozart makes composing look easy. He poisons Mozart but weeps, since he's reading the score for The Requiem, presumably overwhelmed by its beauty. We know the plot is fiction, but the text is by Alexander Pushkin, who lifts it above maudlin melodrama. Salieri can kill Mozart but he can't kill his art. In destroying his rival, Salieri has compromised his integrity. "Can crime and genius go together?" he asks himself, and consoles himself with the thought that Michelangelo  killed his model for the crucified Christ to get a better likeness for death.  Does art justify murder? Pushkin and Rimsky-Korsakov possibly knew the tale was untrue, making Salieri's excuse highly ironic.
 
Mozart and Salieri is unusual. The part of Salieri so dominates the work that it is more psychodrama than opera. Mozart and Salieri barely interact. Mozart isn't a character so much as the embodiment of music. The real protagonists here are Salieri and the orchestra. At critical moments, Rimsky-Korsakov adds apposite musical quotations. Moments of Cherubino's Voi che sapete convey Mozart's youthful impudence. Fortepiano melodies are played, and shrouded figures sing excerpts from Mozart's Requiem.  References to Salieri's opera Tarare and to Beaumarchais and Haydn are embedded into text and orchestration, expanding Salieri's monologue. He can "hear" but he can't create like Mozart can. The Southbank Sinfonia was conducted by Paul Wingfield, with Michele Gamba playing the keyboard Mozart is seen playing invisibly on stage, his hands lit with golden light. A magical moment.

Ashley Riches sang the demanding role of Salieri. His experience and skill come over well, even though he's been a member of the Jette Parker Young Artists programme for barely a month. Later this year, he'll be singing parts in The Royal Opera House Robert le Diable, Don Carlo and La rondine, and covering the title role in Eugene Onegin.  In this opera, Mozart isn't given much to sing, and the range in the part is limited, but Pablo Bemsch developed the role purposefully through his acting. Salieri thinks Mozart is skittish: Bemsch with sheer personality shows that Mozart is a stronger character than Salieri could ever fathom. Bemsch is a second-year Young Artist and has been heard extensively. He's covering Lensky in February 2013.

The Jette Parker Young Artists Programme isn't just for singers but focuses on theatre skills. This production was one of the most sophisticated I've seen for a group with these relatively limited resources. Sophie Mosberger and Pedro Ribeiro designed an elegantly simple set, which suggested that Salieri, despite his  wealth and status, was a fundamentally isolated man. The little puppet figure buffeted by figures in the darkness suggested that both Mozart and Salieri were victims of forces greater than themselves. Exquisite lighting by Warren Letton, colours changing as mysteriously as the music. A stunning finale, where the dark figures singing the Requiem move around lighted candles. Since financial problems will haunt the opera world for a long time to come, this restrained but poetic minimalism may be the way ahead. This production was intelligently thought through, and musically sensitive.

 Before Rimsky-Korsakov's Mozart and Salieri, we heard Mozart's Bastien and Bastienne, written when the composer was twelve years old. It's a slight piece about a courtship between shepherd and shepherdess. Staging this literally would expose the weaknesses of the piece. Ribeiro and Mosberger set the Singspiele in a vaguely industrial landscape, which added much needed good humour and gave the singers more material with which to develop character. The trouble is, neither Bastien or Bastienne are much more than stereotypes. David Butt Philip, another new Young Artist, generates interest with his voice though the part is shallow. Dušica Bijelić sings sweetly but needs to project more forcefully. Jihoon Kim made a much more convincing portrayal of Colas, the wise older man who sorts things out. He was a striking Hector's Ghost in the Royal Opera House Les Troyens in June 2012, and will be singing in several ROH productions in the 2012/13 season.

The photo show Chaliapin singing Salieri in an early production.
A ful review with cast list will appear in Opera Today.

Jette Parker Young Artists Linbury Theatre

Without young artists, no art form will thrive or grow. The Royal Opera House's Jette Parker Young Artists scheme nurtures good things from young artists so that their performances attract thoughtful audiences. All members of the Royal Opera House Young Artists scheme are professionals, not students, and have extensive experience even before they come, as former Young Artist Simona Mihai put it, "to be polished like gemstones". Graduates of the scheme include Marina Poplavskaya, Jacques Imbrailo and Ekaterina Gubanova.

Most of the Young Artists are singers, but the scheme also covers other aspects of opera-making. The singers, director and conductors in the scheme created this special performance of Massenet Le Portrait de Manon and Berlioz Les Nuits d'été to demonstrate their skills.

Massenet composed Le Portrait de Manon in 1894 as a one-act sequel to Manon. It is an excellent choice, coming after the Royal Opera House productions of Manon and Cendrillon. Knowing the background is valuable, as Le Portrait de Manon is essentally an epilogue to Manon. However, this Young Artists production was good enough that it could stand on its own.

Des Grieux (Zhengzhong Zhou) has grown old and bitter, so trapped in his grief that he's irritated when his lively young nephew Jean (Hanna Hipp) falls in love and wants to marry. The set (Sophie Mosberger) is very well designed, emphasizing Des Grieux's isolation, despite the trappings of wealth. There's a long rumination, in which Des Grieux sings about his past. Zhengzhong Zhou worked two years in France, and sang Valentin in Gounod's Faust earlier this month, so although he's only 27, he characterized Des Grieux's personality with emotional depth. His makeup was so well done, he looked as mature as he sounded. Pablo Bemsch, as Tiberge, Des Grieux's friend, was also very convincing, extending our sympathy with the predicament. Des Grieux isn't being unreasonable when he opposes Jean's marriage : perhaps he doesn't want the young man to be hurt as he was.

Love and youth will triumph, after all, as this is opera. Hanna Hipp is one of this year's new members of the Young Artists scheme, but she impressed greatly even as a student several years ago at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Here she's a vivacious young scamp in trousers. Maybe Des Grieux is right, Jean's too young to be tied down. But Hipp and Aurore (Susana Gaspar) are spirited, and their confidence in their roles makes the resolution inevitable. Stunned by Aurore's appearance, dressed as Manon, Des Grieux remembers and relents. If Manon the opera is tragic, Le Portrait de Manon is an invigorating romp, and in this performance, deftly executed.

Berlioz's Les Nuits d'été is a song cycle, and even in the 1856 orchestral transcription heard here, doesn't transfer easily to the stage. In theory, there's no reason why not, and the undercurrent of dream unifies the group of songs. While the staging for Le Portrait de Manon was concise, enhancing, adding to meaning, the staging for Les Nuits d'été was clumsy. One bed might have sufficed. These songs express states of mind, not different characters.

Pablo Bensch had been interesting as Tiberge earlier, so I was looking forward to his Villanelle. Unfortunately orchestra and singer weren't properly aligned, the winds entering insensitively, throwing the vocal line off kilter. Fortunately, Bemsch was better supported in Au Cimitiere. Hanna Hipp and Susana Gaspar sang the other songs. The balance was good, making a case for mixed voices. Berlioz sanctioned this, but it's usually impractical in recital. Another good reason for paying attention to Young Artists Events, where repertoire is often approached in interesting ways.

Opera is like a candle - Zhengzhong Zhou

Opera would wither and die if it weren't for young artists. Every big name.was once young and aspiring. And as older artists retire, new ones emerge. There never was a mythical Golden Age where everyone was fully formed.  Be glad that the Jette Parker Young Artist Programme at the Royal Opera House is one of the finest schemes through which young professionals can develop. Performance is an absolutely integral part of the programme: that's how young artists learn their trade and how older artists pass on what they know. Like a candle, opera needs nurturing.
 

On Sunday 17th July, this year's Young Artists are holding their summer show on the theme Venice -its history, mystery and glamour.The first part of the programme is built around lesser-known Rossini, and the second part around Donizetti, Offenbach and Britten. The show is devised by the young artists themselves, who include stage directors and conductors.

Zhengzhong Zhou is singing. Does the name ring a bell? He's in the current Madama Butterfly at Covent Garden, the one which has audiences buzzing because it's so fresh and vivacious and the singing is so good.  Zhou sings Yamadori. It's not a huge part but it's significant. Often Yamadoris are played like villains because they're rich and powerful, ergo, "bad", but the evidence in the score suggests otherwise. Zhou made Yamadori sympathetic. Yet he's only 27 years old. How does a singer develop the artistic imagination? Every person in thius world is unique and has something to offer. Interesting people can make interesting art.

Please read more in Opera Today. For Zhou, music is a powerful emotional force. The Jette Parker Young Artists Programme channels those with proven potential. It's a gracious act of giving. Nurture the young today, and they enrich the art of the future.

Haydn L'isola disabitata - Young Artists

Joseph Haydn's operas are hardly unknown - even the genuinely obscure Il ritorno di Tobias has  several times in the last few years - in Rome and in London. L'isola disabitata,  a Young Artists presentation in the Linbury Studio at the Royal Opera House proves decisively that the idea of Haydn being box office "unsexy" is ironic.

Full review in Opera Today HERE  It's MUCH better than this, so read the link. I wasn't feeling well when I wrote this so it's pretty basic. The "real" review is infinitely better. And production photos too. There's a review of the 2009 Gotham City Opera L'isola disabitata on Opera Today HERE. Although that involved Mark Morris,  it seems less successful production than the Young Artists in London, I think.

Written in 1799, just before the three best known operas, L'isola disabitata is enjoying a major revival all of its own,  thanks to the 2007 edition used here. This is Haydn for those who think they don't like the composer or don't even like baroque. It's short, snappy, and no high voices!

Because the programme notes cite the opening Sinfonia  as "an impressive example of Sturm und Drang", everyone's quoting that verbatim. What it means is that Haydn is responding to what were then modern ideas. Classical poise tempered high baroque opulence. Then, the turbulence of Sturm und Drang stirred up what was to become what we now call Romanticism. No wonder it's easier for modern audiences to relate to.

L'isola disabitata uses only four voices, distinctly defined and characterized.  Until they're united at the end, they sing alone, reflecting the characters' inability to link up. The orchestra's small - mainly strings, with only two horns, two oboes, bassoon and flute. Minimalist by 18th century standards. Perfect for the modern trend towards chamber opera. The plot's minimal, too. But that's its strength.

As with so much pre 19th century music, avoid long, elaborate libretti which confuse the real issues. In this case the plot's simple : keeping faith. Constanza (Elisabeth Meister) has been on a island for 13 years with her then infant sister Silvia (Anna Devin). Note her name - Constanza means "constancy".  Yet she's no doormat like Penelope who put up with Ulysses's wanderings. Constanza thinks she's been deserted so she gets mad. She spends the years carving deep graffiti into a rock, cursing her husband .

Just as she's about to give up and die, Gernando (Steven Ebel), her husband, turns up on the island. He didn't run off, he was kidnapped and he's come back to save her. So faith conquers adversity, no matter how ludicrous the plotline. Silvia and Enrico (Daniel Grice), Enrico's sidekick, form a romantic subplot that jazzes up the almost existentialist anomie of the basic Constanza story.

Even the island's only a framing device to the basic idea. Jamie Vartan's set reflects Constanza's emotional landscape - she's desolate, ruined, shattered because she put so much faith in marriage.  The smoke, the rocks - all there in the text. Silvia on the other hand is completely feral, having grown up in isolation. She's shocked about Enrico's anatomy, (though Hadyn doesn't make this too explicit) because she's known nothing but Constanza's bitterness against men. But nature wins over nurture.

It's a surprisingly modern storyline, once you get away from mythical trappings which even Hadyn doesn't indulge in. Musically, it's also "modern", the voice parts direct and communicative, without excess adornment. The orchestra follows the words intimately. Sometimes one instrument shadowing a voice. In the Sinfonia that serves as overture, you can hear glimpses of Haydn as symphonist. He doesn't need to overpower to make his point. Prototype Mozart, rather than musical dead end.

Elisabeth Meister and Steven Ebel excel. Both have been  prominent in the Jette Parker Young Artists scheme for some time, and have been heard many times in smaller roles in the main House. Meister memorably stepped in at short notice to sing the Fox in the Cunning Little Vixen. She sang with Ebel in Ebel's The Truth about Love at the Linbury last year. (read Steven Ebel's interview on Rilke). He also sang Rimenes in Arne's Atarxerxes.

Daniel Grice's Enrico was also good - I'd like to hear more of him. Anna Devin's singing was rather obscured because she had to jump about so much. It's in keeping with the idea of Silvia as a feral child unfettered by society, so director Rodula Gaitanou and movement director Mandy Demetriou  are making a valid point,  but even wild animals aren't manic.

But the point of Young Artists presentations is learning through experience. There's more to performance than technical prowess. Life skills count too. Please read "Polishing gemstones" where Simona Mihai and Kai Rüütel speak on the benefits of the Programme, one of the most highly regarded in Europe. The scheme also trains people in all aspects of opera, such as the conductor Volker Krafft, the director, designer, lighting and fighting. It's tough being a creative artist especially in this financial climate. But if this excellent performance of Haydn L'isola disabitata is anything to go by, the Young Artists have proved themselves.


Photo credits : Elisabeth Meister : Brian Tarr, Steven Ebel : Novo Artists