Photo by Jonathan Kirn
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra with the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus
In April 2024, longtime Shepherd Express critic Rick Walters passed away, and I have felt his absence through the 2024-25 Milwaukee arts season. Rick had a particular passion for opera, so I felt a sense of responsibility in covering the MSO’s season finale “Great Moments in Grand Opera.” At face value, this event title suggested any combination of opera selections. I initially assumed there might be some guest singers performing arias or scenes. But the concert’s actual concept was a series of opera choruses, sung by the MSO Chorus, along with some overtures and other instrumental music. Fine, nothing wrong with that. The program consisted of Wagner, Mozart, and Verdi. Again, fine. Some of the most important opera composers of all time. Guaranteed crowd-pleasers. But could there have been room for something composed after 1871? Benjamin Britten or John Adams could have provided highlights from the grand opera tradition continuing into the 20th century.
The Wagner section began with Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, excerpting the Prelude and three choral scenes. The Prelude’s opening came off a little bland to me, with the winds uncharacteristically messy in their first entrance. The orchestra fared better in the big climaxes with full Romantic sound. The perky staccato section was crisp and well-developed. In Act I, Scene I (“Da zu dir der Heiland kam”), the chorus entered with polished sound. The oboe and cello solos landed nicely. “Johannistag” had a vivid, buoyant mood. In “Wach’ auf!” the chorus floored me with their opening sound. This music had glorious moments of nobility and an impressive finish. It was neat to hear the full power of a Wagner opera finale live, which would normally require several hours of investment.
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The Transformation Music from Parsifal was simply beautiful. The strings excelled in this chromatic, melty, passionate music. The Lohengrin section succeeded as well. The trombones and tuba delivered in their featured theme in the Prelude to Act III. And there was nothing to complain about with the Bridal Chorus. The chorus all held up their folders in front of their faces to create an effect of distance, then gradually lowered them to mimic the procession. Maestro Ken-David Masur conducted with delicate gestures, drawing phrases out. And to cap off the first half of the concert, we got Act III, Scene 1 from Tannhauser, where I was quite impressed with the a cappella tenors and basses.
After intermission, in the Overture from Mozart’s The Magic Flute, the orchestra took a minute or so to find their groove after the break (something I’ve seen in other recent concerts). In this case, the slow opening was a bit sluggish. But the ensemble hit their stride in the faster main material. It all scampered along nicely and Masur emphasized accents for a forceful, energetic interpretation. The selected scene, “Zum Ziele führt dich diese Bahn,” gave me a bit of whiplash in its explicitly humanist theme after some very Christian texts in the Wagner. More on that later. But overall, this Mozart selection was a good choice as a palette cleanser between two heavy Romantics.
All Verdi
The rest of the show was all Verdi. The Overture from La forza del destino featured some exciting conducting and a very nice clarinet solo from assistant principal Jay Shankar. The chorus and orchestra gave a lovely rendition of the famous bel canto melody “Va, pensiero” from Nabucco. In the Prelude from La traviata, Masur gave a sensitive treatment of the melody, with strong contributions from violas and cellos. The also-famous drinking song “Libiamo ne’ lieti calici” was properly vivacious. What I remember most from the Triumphal March from Aida was excellent trumpets and horns, and the Anvil Chorus from Il trovatore ended the concert with heft and committed singing.
It was a strong performance overall, and the opera-chorus format grew on me. But an odd side-effect of the choice of rep was being confronted with conflicting dogmas, from the Germanic Christian claims of the Wagner choruses (along with the eyebrow-raising line “We still would have the holy German art”), to the Enlightenment ideals of Mozart, to praising the gods of Egypt in Aida. “Va, pensiero” is a chorus of Jewish slaves longing for a homeland, but that piece has attained a more universal quality. I guess this points to the frequent role of opera choruses in conveying a group belief in the context of a story. Whatever the case, the dramatic power of opera makes for good concertgoing. Maybe a semi-staged production will arrive at Bradley Symphony Center in the next few years…
