{"id":2983,"date":"2020-12-29T17:18:16","date_gmt":"2020-12-29T23:18:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anngumpperdesign.com\/?page_id=2983"},"modified":"2020-12-29T17:20:38","modified_gmt":"2020-12-29T23:20:38","slug":"carousel-reviews","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/anngumpperdesign.com\/index.php\/carousel-reviews\/","title":{"rendered":"Carousel Reviews"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"2983\" class=\"elementor elementor-2983\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-e7bc355 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"e7bc355\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-33 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-f15a24e\" data-id=\"f15a24e\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0104642 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0104642\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<header class=\"entry-header article-header\"><div class=\"header-title-area\"><div class=\"headline-area\"><div class=\"headlines\"><h1 class=\"entry-title\"><span class=\"dfm-title\">Minnesota Orchestra gives \u2018Carousel\u2019 a fine spin<\/span><\/h1><\/div><\/div><div class=\"article-share\"><div class=\"sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled\"><div class=\"robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon sd-sharing\"><div class=\"sd-content\"><p>\u00a0<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/header><div class=\"article-content\"><div class=\"article-content-wrapper\"><div class=\"header-features\"><figure><div class=\"image-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-article_feature lazyautosizes lazyloaded\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.twincities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/wpid-20150319__150320ae-mnorch_hicks_helgesoncredit.jpg?w=234\" sizes=\"955px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.twincities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/wpid-20150319__150320ae-mnorch_hicks_helgesoncredit.jpg?w=234 620w,https:\/\/www.twincities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/wpid-20150319__150320ae-mnorch_hicks_helgesoncredit.jpg?w=294 780w,https:\/\/www.twincities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/wpid-20150319__150320ae-mnorch_hicks_helgesoncredit.jpg?w=384 1020w,https:\/\/www.twincities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/wpid-20150319__150320ae-mnorch_hicks_helgesoncredit.jpg?w=434 1280w,https:\/\/www.twincities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/wpid-20150319__150320ae-mnorch_hicks_helgesoncredit.jpg?w=434 1860w\" alt=\"\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.twincities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/wpid-20150319__150320ae-mnorch_hicks_helgesoncredit.jpg?w=234\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.twincities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/wpid-20150319__150320ae-mnorch_hicks_helgesoncredit.jpg?w=234 620w,https:\/\/www.twincities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/wpid-20150319__150320ae-mnorch_hicks_helgesoncredit.jpg?w=294 780w,https:\/\/www.twincities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/wpid-20150319__150320ae-mnorch_hicks_helgesoncredit.jpg?w=384 1020w,https:\/\/www.twincities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/wpid-20150319__150320ae-mnorch_hicks_helgesoncredit.jpg?w=434 1280w,https:\/\/www.twincities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/wpid-20150319__150320ae-mnorch_hicks_helgesoncredit.jpg?w=434 1860w\" \/><\/div><figcaption>Conductor Sarah Hicks (Courtesy photo: Greg Helgeson)<br \/><br \/><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"meta\"><div class=\"time\">PUBLISHED:\u00a0<time datetime=\"2015-03-18 18:01:00\">March 18, 2015 at 11:01 p.m.<\/time>\u00a0<\/div><div>\u00a0<\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"article-body\"><div class=\"body-copy\"><p>Bye-bye, Bob Neu. If you\u2019ve enjoyed any of the Minnesota Orchestra\u2019s semi-staged presentations over the past two decades (like its popular Sommerfest opera finale), you can thank director Robert Neu. Whether for the Minnesota Orchestra or Skylark Opera, a Neu show always features tightly choreographed movement, cleverly concocted stage business and vivid characterizations throughout the cast. But Neu has left his post as the Minnesota Orchestra\u2019s general manager for a position with the Colorado Symphony, so this weekend\u2019s presentation of Rodgers and Hammerstein\u2019s musical \u201cCarousel\u201d is the theatrical swan song of his Minnesota Orchestra tenure.<\/p><p>If that sounds a little sentimental, it\u2019s appropriate, since musicals don\u2019t get much more tear-tugging than \u201cCarousel.\u201d The tale of love and loss in a Maine fishing village has some of Richard Rodgers\u2019 most moving music, including the beautiful ballad, \u201cIf I Loved You,\u201d the tour de force \u201cSoliloquy,\u201d and one of the great lump-in-the-throat producers, \u201cYou\u2019ll Never Walk Alone.\u201d<\/p><p>Thursday\u2019s midday first performance at Orchestra Hall had a Neu production\u2019s customary energy and ensemble of richly developed characters. It\u2019s an entertaining staging that overcomes the musical\u2019s shortcomings with some strong singing and a fine performance by conductor Sarah Hicks and the orchestra.<\/p><p>That said, \u201cCarousel\u201d is a problematic work. You may come away wondering what Time magazine was thinking in calling it \u201cthe best musical of the 20th century.\u201d Its male lead is an abusive lout, its ingenue undeveloped and the story moves slowly, lingering too long in set pieces and inconsequential encounters. But it\u2019s a rare pleasure to hear a really good orchestra playing the \u201cCarousel Waltz\u201d and supporting the singers splendidly.<\/p><p>Gabriel Preisser displays appropriately uncertain swagger and a gentle yet powerful voice as Billy Bigelow; while Sarah Lawrence makes his mill worker amour, Julie Jordan, as endearing as the slim script allows, her soprano smooth in its middle range but a little thin when the notes are high and held. Kersten Rodau and Paul R. Coate do marvelous things with Rodgers and Hammerstein\u2019s music as the secondary couple.<\/p><p>Penelope Freeh creates impressive choreography and executes it gracefully as Louise, her second-act seaside ballet the most magical scene in an otherwise earthy musical about romance, poverty, violence and death. By the end, Rodgers\u2019 music is so effective in its emotional button-pushing that even a cynic is advised to bring tissues.<\/p><p>Rob Hubbard can be reached at\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:rhubbard@pioneerpress.com\">rhubbard@pioneerpress.com<\/a>.<\/p><p><b>Capsule:\u00a0<\/b>Nothing semi- about this staging\u2019s spirit.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-33 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-3ffd91e\" data-id=\"3ffd91e\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-606ba95 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"606ba95\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"page-purpose\"><div id=\"article-header\"><h1>Minnesota Orchestra&#8217;s &#8216;Carousel&#8217; is all about the music<\/h1><div id=\"byline\" class=\"has-comments\" role=\"contentinfo\" aria-label=\"Byline\"><a id=\"primary_container\" class=\"primary_container \" href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalmpr.org\/topic\/features\" data-pjax=\"true\">Classical Music Features<\/a><a class=\"author-photo\" href=\"http:\/\/minnesota.publicradio.org\/about\/people\/mpr_people_display.php?aut_id=31265\">Jay Gabler<\/a>\u00a0\u00b7\u00a0<span class=\"dateline\">MINNEAPOLIS<\/span>\u00a0\u00b7\u00a0<time datetime=\"2015-03-20\">Mar 20, 2015<\/time><\/div><figure class=\"full primary\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"responsiveImage\" src=\"https:\/\/img.apmcdn.org\/b4dcf827d82e3284342fe8c643c00edb61c81bb7\/uncropped\/94cdc9-20150319-carousel.jpg\" sizes=\"(max-width: 840px) 100vw,  66vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/img.apmcdn.org\/b4dcf827d82e3284342fe8c643c00edb61c81bb7\/uncropped\/cc7940-20150319-carousel.jpg 400w,https:\/\/img.apmcdn.org\/b4dcf827d82e3284342fe8c643c00edb61c81bb7\/uncropped\/66121f-20150319-carousel.jpg 600w,https:\/\/img.apmcdn.org\/b4dcf827d82e3284342fe8c643c00edb61c81bb7\/uncropped\/94cdc9-20150319-carousel.jpg 952w\" alt=\"Minnesota State Fair carousel\" \/><figcaption class=\"no-number\">Minnesota State Fair carousel\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">Nikki Tundel\/MPR<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><div id=\"article-share\" data-canonical=\"http:\/\/www.classicalmpr.org\/story\/2015\/03\/19\/carousel-minnesota-orchestra\">\u00a0<\/div><div id=\"article-body\" class=\"share-align\"><p>When the lights went up at Orchestra Hall for intermission at yesterday&#8217;s matinee performance of\u00a0<em>Carousel<\/em>, the woman sitting next to me sighed. &#8220;Things were so much simpler,&#8221; she said, &#8220;in the days of those old musicals.&#8221;<\/p><p>Well, yes \u2014 in a sense. There weren&#8217;t any smartphones, sure, but there was unemployment, there was sexual harassment, and there was death. When it came to things like domestic violence, today&#8217;s viewers of the 1945 musical might be inclined to think, a little\u00a0<em>more<\/em>\u00a0simplicity might not have been a bad idea. You know, just a bit of moral clarity around whether someone can hit you in a way that shows he really loves you.<\/p><p><em>Carousel<\/em>\u00a0is a landmark of American musical theater, a masterwork from the era when artists like Rogers and Hammerstein were demonstrating that Broadway musicals could have operatic scope and depth. As in an opera, Rogers&#8217;s orchestra is an independent voice in\u00a0<em>Carousel<\/em>; songs stop, start, reverse, and recur, deployed not just as song-and-dance interludes but as flexible thematic material.<\/p><p>That depth of expression was required to make\u00a0<em>Carousel<\/em>\u00a0work at all: it&#8217;s a thorny tale centering on Billy Bigelow, an antihero who beats his wife (whether hitting her once counts as &#8220;beating&#8221; her is a matter of repeated debate) and who isn&#8217;t given many redeeming qualities to offset his many shortcomings.<\/p><p>Everything is ambiguous here: Billy quits his job as a seedy carnival barker to marry a nice young lady, but it may well be that he should have just kept it. He&#8217;s a victim of an act of violence that could have been portrayed as noble, but instead is regarded to be pathetic. His story arc involves a redemption, but it&#8217;s a redemption that&#8217;s given, not earned.<\/p><p>Stiff stuff, despite being presented among joyful songs like &#8220;June is Bustin&#8217; Out All Over&#8221; and hopeful hymns like the classic &#8220;You&#8217;ll Never Walk Alone.&#8221;\u00a0<em>Carousel<\/em>\u00a0has all the ingredients of a feel-good family saga, but Rogers and Hammerstein were cooking with the heat of hellfire.<\/p><p>The semi-staged production now being presented by the Minnesota Orchestra under the confident baton of Sarah Hicks \u2014<span style=\"color: #333333;\">there are three more performances,<\/span> and tonight&#8217;s will be broadcast live by Classical MPR starting at 8:00 p.m. \u2014 does the orchestra the service of lifting them out of the pit. The audience gets the treat of hearing and seeing the players at center stage, where the details of Rogers&#8217;s brilliant score come to life.<\/p><p>The downside of this arrangement is that it throws off the balance between the orchestra and the singers, who wear body mics to make up the difference. Yesterday, there was wide variability in how effectively this was done, but hopefully the sound problems were just a matter of ironing some kinks out before the weekend performances.<\/p><p>Preisser&#8217;s Billy is introspective and gruff; he effectively conveys the character&#8217;s inner torture, though he&#8217;s such a forbidding figure that I had to stretch my imagination to find a spark of romance between him and his bride Julie (a charming Sarah Lawrence, who summons great emotion in the final scene). Preisser has a huge voice, and he&#8217;s utterly commanding in his epic &#8220;Soliloquy,&#8221; one of the most distinctive numbers in\u00a0<em>Carousel<\/em>. Rodau and Coate are fine actors as well as singers, and present a winning counterpoint to the weighty woes of the star-crossed leads.<\/p><p>This semi-staged production, directed by Robert Neu, is staged enough that there&#8217;s quite a bit of dance; the choreographer Penelope Freeh shows up onstage herself in the character of young Louise, dancing a duet (with Matthew Keefe) that nicely balances classical precision with Broadway flair.<\/p><p>In a work as complex and challenging as\u00a0<em>Carousel<\/em>, no single production can pretend to be definitive. While other productions might bring out more of the dramatic subtleties of this material, the Minnesota Orchestra&#8217;s version puts the music first, making a strong case for the underappreciated skills of Rodgers as not just a melodist but a master of orchestral arrangement. You have to hear this music to believe it, and Hicks and her band make certain you do.<\/p><p>by Jay Gabler<\/p><p>Digital Producer, MPR<\/p><\/div><\/article>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-33 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-ce8bec7\" data-id=\"ce8bec7\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b3e2404 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b3e2404\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"l-article-topper\"><h1 class=\"article-headline\">Minnesota Orchestra performance of &#8216;Carousel&#8217; is mixed<\/h1><div class=\"article-subhead\">Rich portrayals and score overshadowed by dated story, too-loud orchestra.\u00a0<\/div><div class=\"article-byline-mod \"><div class=\"article-byline\"><strong>By William Randall Beard\u00a0<\/strong><\/div><div class=\"article-byline\">Special to the Star Tribune\u00a0<\/div><div class=\"article-dateline\">MARCH 19, 2015 \u2014 7:55PM<\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"l-article-body\"><aside class=\"article-share\"><div class=\"share__textsize\">\u00a0<\/div><\/aside><div class=\"article-body resizeFont\"><p class=\"Text_Body\">I understand why Minnesota Orchestra chose Rodgers and Hammerstein\u2019s \u201cCarousel\u201d to inaugurate its new annual series of musical theater performances. Of all the classical musicals, this has one of the richest scores.<\/p><p class=\"Text_Body\">Gone are the familiar 16-bar tunes in favor of songs with complicated sections of melodies. There are also plenty of opportunities for the orchestra to shine, including \u201cThe Carousel Waltz\u201d and a ballet in Act II.<\/p><p class=\"Text_Body\">But it\u2019s difficult to sit through the book, which is overly long and melodramatic, and ultimately misogynistic in its Neanderthal justification of spousal abuse, suggesting that sometimes a slap can feel like a kiss.<\/p><p class=\"Text_Body\">That said, director Robert Neu stages a strong production \u2014 not semi-staged, as the orchestra usually presents such works, but a fully staged rendition that serves the play and the audience well.<\/p><p class=\"Text_Body\">The cast of talented singing actors delivered a spirited performance.<\/p><p class=\"Text_Body\">Gabriel Preisser makes an ideal Billy Bigelow. He is sexy and passionate, but rough and brutish as well.<\/p><p class=\"Text_Body\">He also has a mellifluous baritone that makes the most of his extended \u201cSoliloquy.\u201d Paul R. Coate was the other strong vocalist, bringing a robust tenor, and perfectly capturing the stuffed shirt Mr. Snow.<\/p><p class=\"Text_Body\">As the female leads, Sarah Lawrence as Julie Jordan and Kersten Rodau as Carrie Pipperidge, were nicely contrasted as the romantic lead and the second banana. Lawrence\u2019s warm soprano successfully negotiated the ballads, \u201cIf I Loved You\u201d and \u201cWhat\u2019s the Use of Wonderin,\u2019\u2009\u201d while Rodau added a nice bit of comedy.<\/p><p class=\"Text_Body\">Kathleen Humphrey sang with an excessive vibrato, but her rendition of \u201cYou\u2019ll Never Walk Alone\u201d was deeply moving.<\/p><p class=\"Text_Body\">Ironically, the biggest problem was the orchestra itself. Conductor Sarah Hicks allowed the orchestra to play so loudly that it became a distraction \u2014 the focus of the performance rather than an accompaniment. As a result, the singers had to be miked so loudly that the voices came off sounding artificial.<\/p><p class=\"Text_Body\">The ballet was dramatically inert, dragging out the second act. Even Penelope Freeh\u2019s choreography, and her fine performance, could not inspire much interest.<\/p><p class=\"Text_Body\">Despite these criticisms, the inspiring ending brought tears. For those who can accept the show\u2019s limitations, this can be a satisfying performance.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Minnesota Orchestra gives \u2018Carousel\u2019 a fine spin \u00a0 Conductor Sarah Hicks (Courtesy photo: Greg Helgeson) PUBLISHED:\u00a0March 18, 2015 at 11:01 p.m.\u00a0\u00a0 Bye-bye, Bob Neu. If you\u2019ve enjoyed any of the Minnesota Orchestra\u2019s semi-staged presentations over the past two decades (like its popular Sommerfest opera finale), you can thank director Robert Neu. Whether for the Minnesota [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2983","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anngumpperdesign.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anngumpperdesign.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anngumpperdesign.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anngumpperdesign.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anngumpperdesign.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2983"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/anngumpperdesign.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2983\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2987,"href":"https:\/\/anngumpperdesign.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2983\/revisions\/2987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anngumpperdesign.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}