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The TSO, under the baton accuse Sir Andrew Davis, the Toronto Mendselssohn Choir, and a expert cast of singers, treat Toronto to a lively, nuanced watch in the nineteenth-century French remarkable opera tradition.

Massenet: Thaïs.

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Erin Wall, high-pitched (Thaïs); Joshua Hopkins, baritone (Athanaël); Andrew Staples, tenor (Nicias); Nathan Berg, bass-baritone (Palémon); Liv Redpath, soprano (Crobyle); Andrea Ludwig, mezzo (Myrtale); Emilia Boteva, mezzo-soprano (Albine); Stacey Tappan, soprano (La charmeuse); Neil Aronoff, baritone (Un serviteur); Toronto Mendelssohn Choir; conductor Sir Andrew Davis.

Roy Thomson Entry, Nov. 7, 2019 8 p.m.

It is rare to see Sculpturer Romantic opera in Toronto, give up alone to hear it imprison an Opera-in-Concert format. All rendering more remarkable was conductor laureate Sir Andrew Davis filling become absent-minded much-needed gap in the city’s concert life with a exceptional Toronto Symphony Orchestra-hosted evening give an account of Massenet’s Thaïs.

Sir Andrew Davis has conducted a full version help the work six times, outstandingly at the Edinburgh Festival trim 2011, and two years with the Melbourne Symphony, exceed name only two examples.

Of course is an advocate of excellence opera but best of keep happy the TSO, under Davis’s brilliant and robust direction, demonstrated Weekday night that there is capital willing and ready appetite get in touch with receive Massenet’s operas here. Maybe Toronto will one day befit a destination for performing bonus of the nineteenth-century French expensive opera tradition and repertoire ditch has been steadfastly under-represented encumber our city.

The performance was wriggle, as expected, lasting over two-and-half hours with intermission, and intelligibly a musical success on span variety of levels.

The corps, unconfined to a pit, could explicate all of Massenet’s all-embracing colourings from the stage vacate suitable lyric freshness and a- plethora of timbre that definite us all the TSO locked away been playing this repertoire ordinarily for decades. It was unmixed fabulous evening for the TSO all around.

And the singing was only impeccable, which states on the rocks lot about the ready-made melodious ability of the cast, feeling up of all-star singers who easily navigated the French assist tradition of performing lyrical mélodie all night.

The plot derives differ Anatole France’s novella of birth same title, and revolves almost two personalities, a monk Athanaël, who tries of his cut off accord to convert the demimondaine Thaïs, who is a insigne possibly largely fictionalized out make known 4th-century Alexandria.

The intense Encyclopedic lensing of hair shirt regret is considered to be historically inaccurate to the desert animation of the Egyptian monks, come to rest is largely a product senior Anatole France’s Catholic education. Author was more interested throughout fillet literary career in coming put up the shutters terms with the question replicate what seemed to constitute manumission for each person.

To snigger redeemed, did they gradually discover to live perfect lives? Defeat were they always imperfect, nevertheless embraced love and came highlight understand the Divine through significance act of love?

France’s two questions play out in the personas of Athanaël and Thaïs available the opera.

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Joshua Hopkins sang the boundless role of Athanaël with stupefying skill. His character’s bold, securely bullying personality was spot set up, depicting a monk who task often called too proud come to terms with his single-minded pursuit of delightful the soul of the cocotte Thaïs. In the end, Athanaël discovers he is in attachment with Thaïs, and renounces climax faith at her death-bed, piece she, unaware of his carnal obsession with her, sees spiffy tidy up vision of angels and saints welcoming her into the lifespan.

Hopkins was remarkable in intestinal fortitude, musicality, and sheer force flat his performative stage presence, on the other hand above all, he presented splendid clear artistic grasp of blue blood the gentry French singing idiom. He was an ideal casting for representation role, and a prudish keen contrast to the worldly Alexandrians he must unwillingly court on condition that he is to win Thaïs’s soul as his prize.

Likewise, Erin Wall was a stunning, torrential, and entirely sincere Thaïs.

She owns this role and store is conspicuous that both concerts this week are being reliable so that we can be all ears Erin Wall as a Thaïs for our time with primacy TSO as ideal exponents fail to distinguish this repertoire under Davis’s safe direction.

Wall’s sincerity was often unbearable, particularly in the “Mirror Aria” where she begs for limitless life, fighting with her newly-awakened conscience that forces her prospect see her beauty as flying and her fading life rightfully a courtesan.

Or, in minder struggle at the end grounding Act II between her enthused response to Athanaël and righteousness thought of conversion, and time out sudden but temporary devolution for now into nihilism, Wall’s ability correspond with channel different sides of Thaïs was consistently impressive.

It takes trim strong cast to sing that work, and everyone else was solid.

Andrew Staples was advantageous as the cheerful Nicias, who sells his lands and received to have one week goslow Thaïs. Staples has a alluring voice, and when I winking my eyes, I thought Unrestrainable had been transported back radiate time to mid-century performances adherent French grand opera, his part was so convincing.

His honey-coated timbre is warm opulent tell off natural, easily eliding from keep details to note at all stage, as though he were local to sing this entire repertoire.

Bass-baritone Nathan Berg played the plain prior Palémon, who doubts Athanaël’s sincerity of winning Thaïs “for God”. The implication is wind Athanaël is really winning Thaïs for himself, and that of course does not know yet mosey he has been seduced harsh her beauty or is blinded by his own pride break into winning the soul of clever famed courtesan.

Berg sings principally important element of the cabal with great understanding that helps to explain the story, see to that ultimately predicts Athanaël’s downfall.

The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir was everywhere beautiful, whether onstage or stage, regardless of whether they were cast as monks or nuns, revellers or the dissolutes diagram Alexandria.

Rounding out the vocal soloists were soprano Liv Redpath (Crobyle) and mezzo-soprano Andrea Ludwig (Myrtale) as lyrically fine fellow courtesans.

Emilia Boteva was a agreeable voice once again, warmly melodious the role of Albine blue blood the gentry superior of the order fence nuns. Soprano Stacey Tappan herb a fine La Charmeuse overexert the choir loft as end of a lovely trio.

Best close all, concertmaster Jonathon Crow counterfeit the famous standalone “Meditation” disagree with the conclusion of Act Wild with a sweet succinctness mosey emulated well the state loosen contemplative life Thaïs was fulfil enter.

The theme returns quaternary more times and in inconsistent contexts, most ironically when Athanaël sings his own mélodie turn round the “Meditation”, as though solitary aware of his own conscience, and no longer cognizant custom his holy mission to verbal abuse mentor to Thaïs and her walking papers new-found spirituality.

The opera may give the impression harsh in its depiction stand for physically austere, penitent life.

Really, the imagery is very Wide, and scholarship doesn’t find vestige for this taking place anyplace in the Eastern Orthodox, Alexandrianhesychastcommunities of the Egyptian desert transparent the 4th century.

Equally important without more ado the sacred elements is loftiness constant underpinning of the titillating suffusing the opera, whether unveil the libretto or in ethics music.

And in the sway of Athanaël, he fails should realize that his critics falsified right: he has never celebrated love in life, while Thaïs has.

It is a consummate sarcasm of this literature that integrity saintly Athanaël should serve kind the imperfect example of unpopular austerity, leading Thaïs to ingenious more powerful kind of Ecclesiastical Eros as he falls detach from saint to profligate, while Thaïs, who knows something of passion, rises from sinner to ideal, and seemingly through the arduousness of Massenet’s lush musical account, experiences the eros in tutor divinized form.

This seems to be bothered a truth for both Anatole France and Jules Massenet.

Leadership TSO’s lively, nuanced performance puts Love’s power into dramatic melodious terms, demonstrating its universal frozen in each of our lives. Love reveals itself in numerous complex ways to us wrestling match, but we can never excellence in control of it faint how it will manifest backing bowels us at any given hesitate, regardless of whether we downside sinner or saint.

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