Ravinia 2021 - Issue 2

KRISTIN HOEBERMANN (DEYOUNG); RAVINIA/PATRICK GIPSON (MURPHY) I I ; I I I I theme for a set of nine variations in the Ada- gio of Korngold’s Piano Quintet in E major (1921). The veiled “Wenn ich’s erlaub” motive associated with Luzi appears near the end. Korngold composed an early version of the final song in 1915 for his father, according to a handwritten note on the autograph manu- script: “My dear father for his 55th birthday. Of six diatonic, absolutely unreadable sketch- es of songs, already discarded by me, two more, still to be thrown away.” The original text, “Österreichischer Soldatenabschied” (Austrian Soldier’s Farewell), was likely Er- ich’s own, written on behalf of untold num- bers of departed lovers during World War I, many of whom never returned. This song was substantially reworked and fitted with newly crafted verses by Ernst Lothar for Lieder des Abschieds . The musical richness and dramatic effects in “Gefaßter Abschied” (Calm Fare- well), especially in the orchestrated version, recall the vocal finale of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, “Das himmlische Leben” (The Heaven- ly Life), which anticipates heavenly pleasures and the sound of angelic voices. One night in October 1923, Erich donned a tailcoat and finally proposed to Luzi in the parlor of her home. The Korngolds were joined in marriage on April 30, 1924, in the Rathaus (Town Hall) on Vienna’s Ringstraße. They were inseparable during more than 30 years of marriage—two individuals united as one soul. Erich remained eternally devoted to “his beloved wife and best friend” and their two sons. Luzi supported her husband’s ca- reer by proofreading and correcting scores, rehearsing singers, and offering insightful feedback on his compositions. “From the mo- ment my friendship with Erich Korngold be- gan,” Luzi wrote years later, “to the last when I lost this friend for good, I may say that my life has been one long and happy love story.” –Program notes © 2021 Todd E. Sullivan Photograph of Luzi Korngold by Georg Fayer (1927) MICHELLE DEYOUNG, mezzo-soprano Growing up in Colorado and California, mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung was sur- rounded by music from an early age. In 1992 she won the Metropolitan Opera National Au- ditions and has regularly returned to the Met ever since. An acclaimed Wagnerian singer, DeYoung has portrayed Kundry in Parsifal , Venus in Tannhäuser , Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde , and Fricka, Sieglinde, and Waltraute in the four-opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen . Her repertoire also includes Strauss’s Salome (Herodias), Berlioz’s La damnation de Faust (Marguerite) and Les Troyens (Didon), Saint- Saëns’s Samson et Dalila (female lead), Ver- di’s Don Carlos (Eboli) and Aida (Amneris), Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle (Judith), Thomas’s Hamlet (Gertrude), Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex (Jocaste), and Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia (title role), as well as the Shaman in Tan Dun’s The First Emperor , a role she created. In ad- dition to the Met, DeYoung has performed with the opera companies of Chicago, Phila- delphia, Houston, Seattle, Berlin, Hamburg, Paris, and Tokyo, as well as at the English Na- tional Opera, La Scala, Théâtre du Châtelet, and the Bayreuth Festival. In 2015 she was a resident artist at Wolf Trap Opera. A frequent guest of the New York, Los Angeles, and Vien- na Philharmonics; Cleveland, Minnesota, and Philharmonia Orchestras; and Boston, Chica- go, and Pittsburgh Symphonies, among many others, this season she appeared in concert with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Shang- hai and Cincinnati Symphonies. DeYoung has been a featured artist on two Grammy-win- ning recordings— Les Troyens (London Symphony Orchestra, 2002) and Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder and Symphony No. 3 (San Francisco Symphony, 2004)—and she most recently recorded Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with the Shanghai Symphony. Her hon- ors also include the Marian Anderson Award (1995) and an honorary doctorate from Cali- fornia State University–Northridge, her alma mater (2010). Michelle DeYoung featured in Ravinia’s Living Room Lawn Party last sum- mer and returns tonight for her 10th season at the festival, following her debut as a Ravinia Steans Music Institute fellow in 1995. She is also a guest on the RSMI faculty this summer following returns in 2013 and 2016. KEVIN MURPHY, piano New York native Kevin Murphy studied pia- no performance at Indiana University under Menahem Pressler and James Tocco, com- pleting a Bachelor of Music, and later studied piano accompaniment at the Curtis Institute, earning a master’s degree. In 1992 he was in- vited to be the first pianist to participate in the Lindemann Young Artist Program of the Metropolitan Opera, where he was an assis- tant conductor from the following year until 2006, when he was named director of musical studies for the Paris National Opera. Murphy has played harpsichord continuo with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in produc- tions of Rossini’s La Cenerentola and Mozart’s Così fan tutte , Le nozze di Figaro , Idomeneo , La clemenza di Tito , and Don Giovanni (sev- eral of which he has also performed at Ravin- ia), and traveled with the company on tour to Japan, where he has played and been a musi- cal assistant for the Seiji Ozawa Opera Proj- ect. He also regularly collaborates with such artists as Michelle DeYoung, Gary Lakes, Kathleen Battle, Nathan Gunn, Bryn Terfel, Cecilia Bartoli, Frederica von Stade, Plácido Domingo, Renée Fleming, Gerald Finley, Kiri Te Kanawa, and Pinchas Zukerman. Murphy has been a vocal coach at San Francisco Op- era’s Merola Program, the International Vocal Arts Institute, Glimmerglass Opera, Tan- glewood, and The Juilliard School; an opera coach for the Canadian Opera Company and Netherlands Opera; and a regular adjudicator for the Metropolitan Opera National Coun- cil Auditions. He was director of music ad- ministration for New York City Opera from 2008 until 2011, when he joined the faculty of Indiana University as professor of practice and head opera coach, and in 2013 he was appointed artistic consultant of the Tucson Desert Song Festival. This is Kevin Murphy’s 11th season in performance at Ravinia, where he first appeared in 2004, and his 10th year as director of the Ravinia Steans Music Institute Program for Voice. J. NICOLE BROOKS, poetry reader J. Nicole Brooks is an actor, author, direc- tor, and educator based in Chicago. Brooks’s writing practice includes playwriting, screen- writing, essays, and poetry. As a theater artist, Brooks is an Ensemble Member and Mellon Foundation Playwright in Residence at the Tony Award–winning Lookingglass Theatre Company. Other artistic affiliations include artistic membership at Collaboration and Sideshow Theatre Company. As a playwright, Brooks has created original works including Black Diamond: The Years the Locusts Have Eaten , Fedra Queen of Haiti , HeLa , and the award-winning Her Honor Jane Byrne . Up- coming writing projects and commissions in- clude an adaptation of Eve L. Ewing’s book of poetry 1919 for Steppenwolf Theatre, Rainbow Beach for Chicago Children’s Choir, a science play for ManhattanTheatre Club, and various audio and screenplays. Brooks has also served as director and associate director mounting successful theater productions of Mr. Rick- ey Calls A Meeting , Thaddeus & Slocum: A Vaudeville Adventure , Her Honor Jane Byrne , Sex with Strangers , and Black Diamond: The Years the Locusts Have Eaten . Honors in- clude TCG Fox Foundation, 3Arts, Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts’ Kilroy List. Brooks is also an award-winning actor, appearing in theatri- cal productions at Goodman Theatre, Look- ingglass, Court Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, and Theatre at Boston Court. Recent televi- sion credits include guest recurring roles on South Side (Comedy Central, HBOMax), The Chi (Showtime), Chicago Fire (NBC, Hulu), and the critically acclaimed fourth chapter of Fargo (FX) starring opposite Chris Rock. Brooks will also appear in the highly antici- pated horror film Candyman (Say My Name) directed by Nia DaCosta and produced by Jordan Peele. RAVINIA.ORG • RAVINIA MAGAZINE 51