‘Playlist: Symphony Happy Hour’ – John Williams Finds Its Power in the Invitation

‘Playlist: Symphony Happy Hour’ – John Williams Finds Its Power in the Invitation

By CB Adams

There is a particular intelligence in how the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra has shaped its “Playlist: Symphony Happy Hour” series, and it has less to do with programming than with invitation. These one-hour concerts feel calibrated for the way people actually live now, attentive to time, to curiosity, and to the social dimension of music that often gets sidelined in more formal settings.

This “Playlist: Symphony Happy Hour — John Williams” evening, led by Stéphane Denève, offered the expected pleasures, iconic themes, gleaming orchestration, a shared recognition that rippled easily through the hall. Yet one of the most engaging elements arrived before the downbeat.

Denève’s brief, lucid introductions opened a window into Williams’ compositional thinking, drawing connections across scores and highlighting how closely related some of these themes are in their construction.

They carried the same quiet pleasure as a poet stepping forward to frame a work before reading it, offering just enough origin and intention to deepen what follows without overdetermining it. His explanation of the “Lydian” quality in Williams’ writing, that lifted, slightly otherworldly brightness created by a raised fourth, gave listeners a way into the sound itself.

Stephane Deneve

Paired with his observation about the kinship between the musical DNA of “Star Wars” and “E.T.,” the effect was cumulative, sharpening the ear and turning what might be passive recognition into active listening. It is a small intervention with an outsized effect.

The more lasting impression, though, came from the frame around the music. The option to enjoy a drink, a concise set of insights, and the easy permeability between audience and musicians before and after the performance created something closer to a salon than a concert. It is a format that lowers the threshold without lowering the standard.

The series understands that access is not dilution. It is design. By compressing the program into a single, purposeful hour, Playlist concerts sharpen attention and invite newcomers without asking them to decode tradition first.

For seasoned listeners, there is a different reward, the chance to hear familiar repertoire reframed, and to experience the orchestra as a living, social organism.

If there is a drawback, it is a telling one. This Playlist made a compelling case for itself, and in doing so, it sparked a quiet regret at not being able to take in the orchestra’s full weekend program. A smart entry point that leaves you wanting the deeper dive.

The SLSO’s “Playlist: Symphony Happy Hour — John Williams” was presented March 19 at Powell Hall.

Deneve conducts the SLSO during a rehearsal for a Playlist.

Photos provided by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.

OTSL Offers a ‘Carmen’ as Motorcycle Mama with – Alas, the Same Tragic Ending

OTSL Offers a ‘Carmen’ as Motorcycle Mama with – Alas, the Same Tragic Ending

By CB Adams

“Carmen” is no stranger to controversy. As far back as its premiere in 1875, audiences and reviewers were put off by the opera’s depiction of the lifestyles of commoners and bohemians, and their supposed immorality and lawlessness – not to mention the onstage death of Carmen herself. Flash forward to Opera Theatre of St. Louis’s 47th season opener, “Carmen,” at the Browning Theatre in the Loretto-Hilton Center, and there may be a bit of operatic controversy afoot as well.

That’s because Director Rodula Gaitanou has updated the setting and Carmen herself to appeal to more modern sensibilities. Gaitanou has moved the mid-19th century Spanish setting to the 1950s and, correspondingly, uniformed the original army into Franco’s Guardia Civil. 

But it is Carmen herself, initially seen dragging a bloody bull’s head across the stage, who is distinctly reimagined in OTSL’s production. Carmen is often presented as a stereotypical, exotic, Spanish seductress – as hot as the “Habanera” she sings early in the opera. Not so in this production. Gaitanou provides a headstrong, independent Carmen – one that doesn’t need to prove her ability to turn a man’s heart and head with a flashy red dress, a provocative sashay or even stiletto heels. The audience is challenged to accept Carmen’s ability to inspire the men around her, as well as to witness her fatal attraction to the ideals captured in her final duet with Don José: “But whether I live or die / No! No! No! I will not give in.”

That idealistic inflexibility leads, even in this interpretation, to her inevitable demise.

Yunuet Laguna. Photo by Eric Woolsey

Gaitanou’s Carmen, as sung by Sarah Mesko, is more formidable, though no less unforgettable. She even rides through some scenes on a motorcycle, like a sort of Daughter of Anarchy. In other scenes, she sports a matador jacket, a visual metaphor for a woman who – ultimately fatally – runs and fights with men rather than the bulls.

To spend more time explaining Gaitanou’s artistic choices for the presentation of Carmen is to risk providing a lopsided review of the rest of this fine production. To Gaitanou’s credit, this production elevates and balances the role of Carmen with her love interests, Don José, sung by Adam Smith, and Escamillo, sung by Christian Pursell. Both are strong, masculine and believable – and Mesko’s Carmen is up to the challenges posed by these two males.

The standout performance among this strong cast is provided by Yunuet Laguna as Micaëla. Clad throughout as a dowdy, frumpy (and even pregnant by Don José) village maiden, Laguna’s “Je dis que rien m’epouvante” shines forth as a potent, if plaintive, Jiminy Cricket counterpoint to Carmen’s shinier persona. That a supporting role can rise to such showstopping prominence proves this production’s overall high quality and integrity.

Under the baton of Daniela Candillari, Opera Theatre’s new principal conductor, the Saint Louis Symphony impressively projects as if it were a larger ensemble of musicians and more than does justice to Bizet’s score.

Also noteworthy is the subtle-yet-profound sets and costumes by Cordelia Chisholm and lighting by Christopher Akerlind. “Carmen” is often associated with a fiery red and other brash, bullfighty colors. In contrast, this production evokes a Spain dusted in a drab desert palette, which is perfect for the most important splash of red at Carmen’s culminating death scene.

Opera Theatre’s “Carmen” continues at 7:30 p.m. on Jun 8, 12, 16, and 25 and at 12:30 p.m. on Jun 4 and 22. For more information on the 2022 Festival Season or for tickets, visit: https://opera-stl.org/

The ensemble of “Carmen.” Photo by Eric Woolsey.