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Issue 22

10 March 2013

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De bijzondere vomrentaal van een bijzondere architect: René van Zuuk

Julia Thornton, international opera singer:

the voice as a musical instrument

ramatic soprano Julia Thornton made her

debut at Freiburg Theatre in June 2008 as

Helmwige in their acclaimed new production of Die

Walküre (by Wagner). She repeated this role in the

ensuing 2009/2010, 2010/2011 and 2011/2012

seasons in Freiburg.

In August 2007 she debuted in the role of Micaela in

Carmen with the State Opera Orchestra of Plovdiv,

Bulgaria, for Opera Classica Europe. Other operatic

roles have included Countess in Le nozze di Figaro,

for the Oxford University Opera, the Governess in

The Turn of the Screw for the Britten-Pears School,

Aldeburgh and Nedda in Pagliacci, also for the

Opera Classica Europe.

In the 2009/2010 season she performed the role of

Brünnhilde in Theater Freiburg’s unique hip h’opera

for teenagers and young adults Der Rap des Nibe-

lungen. Everything she sang was from Richard

Wagner’s original score, but working with professio-

nal musicians from the Berlin hip-hop/rap scene,

she also learned how to rap; she was highly praised

for her vocal and acting skills.

Julia has sung internationally as a concert singer.

In March 2012 she enjoyed great personal success

for her appearances as soprano soloist at the

inaugural Música em Trancoso International Festi-

val in the Brazilian state of Bahia, performing arias

by Puccini, Verdi, Gershwin and Bernstein, with the

Orquestra Juvenil da Bahia under their conductor

Ricardo Castro alongside artists such as Katia and

Marielle Labeque and soloists from the Berlin

Philharmonic Orchestra.

In 2006 she toured Brazil, singing the soprano

solo in Verdi’s Messa di Requiem and an

Italian opera gala programme (featuring arias

and duets from La Bohème, Tosca and the

2nd Act Finale of Aida ) in prestigous venues.

D

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Julia Thornton sings Francis Poulenc

Julia Thornton —

“Fêtes galantes”

by Francis Poulenc (audio excerpt )

Francis Poulenc 1899 -1963

Francis Poulenc was a well-known

French composer who wrote solo

piano music, chamber music, oratorio,

choral music, opera, ballet music and

orchestral music. He was a member

of the French “Groupe des Six”, with

Auric, Durey, Honegger, Milhaud,

Tailleffere and Satie. The name “Les

Six” was given in 1920 by the critic

Henri Collet to this group of six com-

posers working in Montparnasse in

Paris. Their music is often seen as a

reaction against the musical style of

Richard Wagner and the impressio-

nist music of Claude Debussy and

Maurice Ravel. Francis Poulenc was

born into an industrial family which

gave its name to the pharmaceutical

company Rhône-Poulenc.

His mother, a gifted pianist, gave him

first piano lessons when he was still

very young. As a composer Poulenc

was an autodidact; he presented his

first work to the public when he was

about 18, without ever having been

taught composition. Poulenc is said to

have been able to create new melo-

dies at a time when it was felt there

was little scope left for new develop-

ments in music. His first surviving

composition, Rapsodie Nègre (1917),

caught the attention of one of the

most influential composers of the 20th

century: Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky.

Live recording in Freiburg, Germany with

pianist Hansjacob Staemmler, April 2011.

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ulia Thornton, was born and educated in

the cathedral city of Chester, England.

She trained at the Royal Northern College of Mu-

sic and, after completing her studies in Manches-

ter, she took part in masterclasses at the Britten-

Pears School for Advanced Musical Studies in

Aldeburgh (Great Britain). Benjamin

Britten (1913-1976) was one of the great compo-

sers of the twentieth century, and Peter Pears

(1910-1986) one of its outstanding tenors.

“I was very shy as a young child,” Julia says.

“In fact my parents were advised by a doctor

to try ballet lessons for me, to encourage me to

‘come out of myself’. This is how I discovered my

love of music - through dance. I took ballet les-

sons until I was about 16 years old, studying at

quite a small, famous school of dancing, but gra-

dually I found classical music, and espe-cially

opera, much more interesting. At school I played

the cello and the flute. But I started

having singing lessons at the age of 16. Then, at

the Royal Northern College of Music in Man-

chester, where I studied, I took acting lessons.

I think my training as a ballet dancer helped me

to move well on stage. I gradually developed

from a lyric to a dramatic soprano. To sing

dramatic roles you need more: more intensity,

more contrast, more support from your body,

more voice, more words. Perseverance is also

very important; being an opera singer is such a

long road, you have to develop your voice, which

takes years. But my technique is founded on lyri-

cism, I still sing lyric repertoire. At the moment I

am working on the role of Aida by Verdi,

I love working with my coaches on Aida. There

are so much challenges in Aida. Technically,

Verdi demands everything from his soprano -

you have to sing softly, loudly, dramatically,

lyrically, and soar over the orchestra, spinning

out long phrases. It is physically challenging but

also beautifully written for the voice. Verdi knew

the soprano voice so well by this stage in his ca-

reer. Understanding the libretto is of course also

incredibly important, and portraying the charac-

ter.” After her study at the Britten-Pears School

Julia was a private student of celebrated Czech

soprano Antonie Denygrová in Prague. Since

2003, she has studied with renowned singing

teacher Anna Reynolds and vocal coach Marga-

ret Singer, and she is also working to master

Aida with her vocal coach Rolando Garza.

“Liebestod”,

Tristan & Isolde, Wagner

(Audio excerpt)

J Julia Thornton: from a ballet dancer to an opera singer

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Julia Thornton: 3 vocal coa ches, 1 voice Fine-tuning the voice: an art in its own right

Julia Thornton has been working with three vocal coaches to pre-pare herself for the next steps in her career: Rolando Garza, Margaret Singer and Anna Reynolds. At the moment she takes coaching sessions with Rolando Garza in Basel and Margaret Singer in Karsruhe. Her aim is to master more dramatic, difficult pieces, to enrich her repertoire and to continue to improve her vocal qualities. Julia emphasises that mezzo soprano Anna Reynolds was the one who guided her first towards a more drama- tic repertoire. “The most important thing she taught me was to support my voice with the whole body. With Mar-garet, we often talk about the character that I'm singing, her motivation, getting inside the skin, the personality of the person I am playing. Singing Italian music requires a slightly different technical approach and that’s why I have chosen Rolando to help me with this.” The human voice is like any other instrument, in that it not only needs careful attention and handling, but also main-tenance. This means practising, almost “gently caressing” it, but most of all, not overburdening it. The human voice is the mu-sical pearl of the body and needs to be treated with the utmost respect. This also means observing a careful diet and even antici-pating weather conditions. Both warm and cold temperatures can affect the voice. Carried by the breath flowing through the body, like water through a river, the voice should be embedded in a healthy physique. Singing with feeling therefore not only requires the ut-most concentration, mental strength and years of practice, but also having control of external circumstances and self-awareness. Fine-

Working on Aida with her Mexican coach Rolando Garza

Since about one year Julia Thornton works with

Rolando Garza, a much-praised conductor,

opera, gala and vocal coach. Julia has been

working on her Italian repertoire with Rolando

Garza, an outstanding, young conductor and

vocal coach who is based in Basel for about a

year. Rolando Garza arrived in New York at the

age of 23, where he studied piano at the Man-

hattan School of Music in New York City.

After achieving his masters, he stayed on as a

répétiteur and worked with some of the best

vocal coaches of the Metropolitan Opera in the

United States. He also worked in the vocal stu-

dio of Mignon Dunn, a leading American

mezzo-soprano. Rolando Garza, born in Mexico, speaks fluently Italian. He is the one Julia Thornton

chose to study Aida by Giuseppe Verdi, one of her dream roles. Giuseppe Verdi wrote the music for

the world-famous opera in 4 acts in 1871. Rolando Garza specializes in Italian opera, having studied

Verdi, Puccini, Donizetti and Bellini. The vocal coach was engaged as the répétiteur for the premiere

of Bernard Lang’s opera “Der Alte vom Berge” (The Old Man of the Mountain) at Theater Basel in

2007. He is regularly invited to act as a conductor and vocal coach at opera summer schools.

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Anna Reynolds - leading soprano who sang the greatest roles

The famous English mezzo-soprano, Anna Reynolds (born as Ann), was a leading British mezzo-soprano with a strong Italian operatic career. She studied piano as a girl. It was to train as a pianist that she went to London to attend the Royal Academy of Music. While she was there, her vocal talent became clear, and she changed her area of study to vocal teacher. She went to Rome to continue her vocal studies with Debora Fambri and Re Koster. She sang major roles such as

Geneviève in Debussy's Pelléas et Méli-sande and also Fricka (Die Walküre) and Waltraute (Götterdämmerung). In 1963 she performed the part of the Angel in Edward Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius in London. Reynolds first sang at the Metropo-litan Opera in 1968-1969, as Flosshilde in Wagner's Das Rheingold. Julia Thornton studied with Anna Reynolds from 2003 until about 2010. She looks back at an instructive period, in which she learned a lot from her. Julia: ”Anna taught me to sing with my body, not just with my throat, to support my voice properly, to sing a real legato line and to sing simply - not to put "extra" effects on to my voice or try to make it bigger than it is, just to sing with my "real" voice. This is harder than you think. She also learned me

to place the voice properly - so that the sound has lots of over-resonances and carries well. And to pay attention to the composer's markings and the text. She improved my technique a lot.”

Margaret Singer: working with the greatest of classical music

Julia Thornton’s American vocal coach, Margaret Singer works as what is known as a répétiteur in

opera, a skilled pianist responsible for coaching solo singers and choir members and playing the

piano for music and production rehearsals. Margaret Singer is an experienced vocal coach, who

accompanied the greatest artists of classical music. She worked with the Three Great Tenors: José

Carreras, Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti. She even accompanied Dame Eva Turner in

her private studio in Oklahoma. Margaret felt honoured to study and work with the Legend of

Opera, Eva Turner, (“The Professor of Voice”), who once said: “When at 13 I saw ’Il Trovatore’ by

Verdi, I knew I had to sing.” Margaret also accompanied Leonard Bernstein, Ingrid Bjoner, James

King and Tatjana Serjan. Later she worked with talented young singers such as Thomas Hampson

and Sharon Sweet, who made enormous careers.

Margaret Singer was about 9 or 10 when she

started accompanying her mother on the piano,

while her mother sang. “Already at the age of 12

I started accompanying singing

teachers and worked with singers. I

studied at the Royal Academy of

Music in London, after graduating

from Oklahoma College for

Women.” “I do a lot of German reper-

toire with Julia, but I am also going to

work with her on Aida. We have al-

ready worked on the arias together.

I worked on an Aida production at

the well-known Bregenz Festival in

Austria and I know it very well.

And I think Julia is ready for Aida.”

Vocal coach Margaret Singer together with

Julia Thornton in her private studio in Germany

Brazilian passion: music exploding in the open air

In 2012 opera star Julia Thornton performed in the Musical Festival “Música em Trancoso”, in the

south of the state Bahia, in the northern part of Brazil (2012). It was the start of a wonderful, new

classical music festival near the beach of Trancoso, between sea, cliffs and wonderful nature, where a

new amphitheatre is being built. The impulse for this festival was given by four idealists, who created

a special festival in a special atmosphere: Sabine Lovatelli,

the Musical Director of the Festival and the founder of the

“Mozarteum Brasileiro”; Carlos Eduardo Bittencourt, a

multi-talented man; the famous Luxembourg-based archi-

tect François Valentiny, and Reinold Geiger, an Austrian

who loves Brazil and owns a house in Trancoso. He is

always on the look-out for new challenges. Together they

founded an impressive theatre and festival, thus giving

both the Brazilian people, and music lovers from all over

the world a ’musical and cultural gift’.

In 2012 the Festival “Música em Trancoso” took place in a

specially designed temporary amphitheatre. The new per-

manent auditorium incorporating two stages will be fully

operational in 2014. The Festival is a superb eight-day

event in an idyllic spot on the Brazilian coast and offers

classical and popular concerts. Over 200 musicians, ran-

ging from members of Brazilian youth orchestras to

major names in classical and contemporary Brazilian and

international music come to Trancoso. Julia Thornton

loved singing in “Música em Trancoso”. She sensed the

special atmospere, and felt ‘in touch’ with the audience,

who enthusiastically welcomed her. She performed four

times in the Brazilian Festival, both in duet with young

Polish tenor Tadeusz Szlenkier, and performing solo

arias.

Julia: ”Singing in the open air requires a special skill as a singer. But fortunately I have had a lot of

experience with this, so I know the right approach. In fact, I have done almost more open-air concerts

than anything else! When singing in the open air, you can’t hear your own voice as easily as if you

are singing in the theatre, where the acoustic can be much more resonant. Often the music appears

just to disappear into the space in front of you, and you have to be careful not to push or strain your

voice. So you have to be very sure of your vocal technique and concentrate on producing your warm-

est, richest sound. Perhaps some deli-

cate nuances will get lost, these are not

so important in an open-air concert as

giving the audience a glorious legato

line and a rich sound. For this you have

to support your voice especially strongly

with your body – it is hard work physi-

cally! In Trancoso Julia sang the aria

“Summertime” from Porgy and Bess

by George Gershwin (watch video clip

next page), and also “Mi chiamano

Mimi” from La Bohème by Puccini.

Finally she performed the aria “Tacea

la notte placida” from Il Trovatore

by Giuseppe Verdi.

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7

Polish-English synergy in 2012 Brazilian Music Festival

Spinto tenor Tadeusz Szlenkier and dramatic soprano

Julia Thornton conquered the hearts of the audience

Polish tenor Tadeusz Szlenkier, born in Warsaw, studied philosophy at the University of Warsaw.

He completed his vocal studies at Yale University in the USA. He won first prize in the International

Vocal Competition Klassik-Mania in Vienna. Since that time he has performed in many important

theatres across Poland and abroad.

Tadeusz, who describes himself as

being “somewhere in between a lyric

tenor and a spinto tenor”, very much

enjoyed performing with Julia in the

Festival of Trancoso.

Tadeusz: ”Julia is a wonderful pro-

fessional. She evolved from a lyric

soprano to a dramatic soprano. She

is continuously making progress.

We work very well together, there is

a synergy between us, which is important. In opera the singing and acting skills of the singers must

complement each other.“

Sabine Lovateli, the Musical

Director of the 2012 Festival

of Trancoso, Brazil, was

very satisfied with the per-

formances of Julia Thornton

and Tadeusz Sklenkier.

Sabine Lovatelli: ”They were

one of the factors that made

the Festival succeed. It was

a totally new festival and

singing in the open air is not

at all easy. They conquered

the hearts of the audience.

Julia had a good expression

and a wonderful voice. She

immediately caught the

audience. She opened and

closed the festival with

Tadeusz. We had several youth orchestras of Brazil and we also invited soloists and instrumenta-

lists from the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam and the Bayerische

Rundfunk. The Festival became a roaring success.”

Stage Fright

The great Italian operatic tenor, Enrico Caruso, who sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses

of Europe and North and South America, was known to have suffered from stage fright. He used to

say that his throat was paralyzed due to spasms caused by intense fear. Nevertheless, by speaking

authoritatively, he managed to overcome his fear. Julia Thornton admits that there is always a certain

excitement before she has to come on stage. “But rather than anxiety, I experience more a kind of

tension that raises my adrenalin levels and makes me perform better.” Tadeusz says opera singing is

very demanding, especially for a huge audience and you have to be mentally very strong and con-

centrated. “I always feel a lot of anxiety before I perform, but you need to control yourself,” he says.

1813-2013: 200 years Richard Wagner, the master of “music dramas”

a man who was far ahead of his time

2013 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Richard Wagner. The famous composer (1813 – 1883) is primarily known for his operas (or, as Wagner himself called some of his later works, "music dramas"). His significance as a com-poser and musical innovator is undisputed. Some regard him as one of the greatest composers of all times, because he wrote the librettos of his operas as well as the music. Wagner’s poetic gifts have been highly praised. He was also a conductor, theatre director and an inveterate polemicist.

His compositions, particularly those of his later period, are notable for their complex textures, rich harmonies and orches-tration, and the elaborate use of leitmotifs - musical phrases associated with individual characters, places, ideas or plot elements. His musical language greatly influenced the devel-opment of classical music; his opera Tristan und Isolde is sometimes described as marking the start of modern music. Other famous operas of Wagner are Die Walküre, Rienzi, Der Ring des Nibelungen, Parsifal, Die Meistersinger, Götterdämmerung, Siegfried, Der fliegende Holländer and Das Liebesverbot, which he already wrote at the age of 22. One of his first successes was Rienzi, an early opera which won great acclaim in Dresden in 1842.

Unlike most opera composers, Wagner wrote both the libretto and the music for each of his stage works. Initially establishing his reputation as a composer of works which were very romantic, Wagner transformed operatic thought through his concept of the Gesamtkunstwerk ("total work of art"). It sought to synthesise the poetic, visual, musical and drama-tic arts, with music subsidiary to drama, and was announced in a series of essays between 1849 and 1852. Das Festspielhaus in Bayreuth, Germany.

Wagner realised these ideas most fully in the four opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung). He had his own opera house built, the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, which con-tained many novel design features. It is here that his most important stage works continue to be performed today in an annual festival run by his descendants. The effect of his ideas can be traced in many of the arts throughout the 20th century; their influence spread beyond composition into conducting, philosophy, literature, visual arts and theatre. Julia Thornton first sang with the Bayreuth Festival Chorus whilst still a student at the Royal Northern College of Music in 1993 until the year 2006, when she left to concentrate on solo work. Her association with the works of Richard Wagner continues, however. She sang the role of Helmwige in Freiburg Opera’s production of Die Walküre in 2008/9 and Brünnhilde in Freiburg’s hip h’pera project Der Rap des Nibelungen.

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Melina Russo: the seamstress behind the singer

Where would an opera star be without her

dressmaker? Julia Thornton has chosen

Melina Russo as her special dressmaker.

This full-blooded Sicilian craftswoman can

turn her hand to any item of clothing she

sets eyes on, from skirts, evening dresses,

blouses, trousers, wedding dresses, and ga-

la gowns to stoles and theatrical costumes.

Melina Russo is a fully fledged “sarta maes-

tra” (master seamstress). She studied fash-

ion design in Catania, Sicily, and has years

of practical experience in combining colours

and picking out the right materials.

“A woman needs to feel free - certainly at

the opera,”’ says Melina. “The gown an

opera singer wears must be elegant and

even extravagant. It must fit perfectly so that

she feels good on stage. And it must im-

press the audience the moment she steps

on stage, creating a glamorous image right

from the start. It’s a very satisfying feeling to

see a singer wearing one of my dresses on

stage. È una cosa bellissima.”

“A soprano’s best friend is her dressmaker” “People really love the clothes I wear,” says Julia Thornton. “It is very important for me to look good and feel good when I sing.” Melina Russo is a professional seamstress at Freiburg Theatre, who made the elegant stoles for me and altered my dresses so that they fitted perfectly. A soprano’s best friend is her dressmaker! Melina not only has the fee-ling and knowledge needed to make a perfect gown, she also knows down to the last detail how it should be worn.” Melina Russo, born in Sicily, has been one of the regular staff of professional tailors turning out dresses and costu-mes at Freiburg Theatre for the past 18 years. She also has a private studio in Freiburg, making bespoke clothing for men and women, She started learning the art of dress- and costume-making from a young age.“The only way of learning all the secrets of this craft is to work in a private atelier.” Melina learned what it takes to be a good seam-stress in Catania on Sicily. “You have to have a feeling for how an opera singer should wear a dress,” she says. “Dressmaking for an opera singer is a highly specialised skill. I learned the tricks of the trade at the fashion design school in Catania, and I had my own atelier there for 11 years. It is a very rewarding profession. You have to know how to put your heart into your creations. Fashion design is at a very high level throughout Italy. True fashion comes from Italy.”

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Transforming Der Ring des Nibelungen in Der Rap des Nibelungen

Opera meets rap at Freiburg Theatre Brünnhilde sings while Siegfrieds raps

Sonja Doerbeck

German drama coach Sonja Doerbeck from Stuttgart worked together with Markus Kosuch to produce

„Der Rap des Nibelungen“ at Freiburg Theatre in 2010. This hip h‘opera for young people is based on

Richard Wagner‘s Der Ring des Nibelungen, a cycle of four epic operas described by the author as a

trilogy with a preliminary evening. The cycle consists of the four works Das Rheingold (The Rhine

Gold), Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), Siegfried and Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), which are

intended to be performed in series.

Julia Thornton took on the title role

of Brünnhilde. Sonja Doerbeck was

very satisfied with the project and

the perfomance of Julia Thornton.

She says: “After 1½ years of prepa-

ration the dream became reality:

Wagner‘s Ring was a cross culture

project on stage at the Freiburg

Stadttheater with 4 opera singers,

3 professional rappers and Youth

Crew. When Julia was chosen to

take the role of Brünnhilde, there

was absolutely no doubt that an

opera singer of Julia’s quality was

capable of mastering the difficult

score. In this project she also had to

bring Brünnhilde to life as a dramatic character. This was no small task for an opera singer, especially

as the part of Siegfried was to be played by the professional rapper Prinz Pi. Julia had no experience

of rap rhythms, but made a strong impression with her powerful singing. With the help of the actor

training she developed her own Brünnhilde.” Julia: ”Der Rap des Nibelungen could inspire young

people to take an interest in opera through the art forms of rap, hip-hop and breakdancing.” Josef

Lienhart, former President of the International Association of Wagner Societies was full of praise for

the spectacular production of Der Rap des Nibelungen. ”It was most impressive. In particular the

gloomy, black-as-night passages from Götterdämmerung came over very well in rap. The threatening

scenes have been transformed seamlessly from Wagnerian tone language to the language of rap.”

Der Rap des Nibelungen (2010), produced by director and author

Markus Kosuch and director and drama coach Sonja Doerbeck

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