UMS Concert Program, January 14, 1991: University Musical Society --

Season: 112th
Concert: Eighteenth
Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan

UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY
in association with Manufacturers National Corporation
LEONTYNE PRICE
Soprano
David Garvey, Pianist
Monday Evening, January 14, 1991, at 8:00 Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan
The University Musical Society is pleased to present this recital by Leontyne Price
as the opening event in seven days of activities at the University of Michigan
commemorating the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Musical Society expresses gratitude to Manufacturers National Corporation for its generous underwriting support of Leontyne Price's recital. We salute its chairman, Gerald V. MacDonald, with special thanks to Walter G. Byers, Sandra K. Campbell, Shari S. Cohen, and Thomas Collins for their commitment to the performing arts in our city.
Leontyne Price appears by arrangement with Columbia Artists Management Inc., New York City;
Miss Price's Personal Manager: George B. Price, Brigadier General, U.S. Army Retired.
RCA, London, and Angel Records.
Mr. Garvcy plays the Stcinway piano available through Hammell Music Inc., Livonia.
For the convenience of our patrons, the box office in the outer lobby will be open during intermission for purchase
of tickets to upcoming Musical Society concerts.
Eighteenth Concert of the 112th Season 112th Annual Choral Union Series
PROGRAM
i
Se pieta di me non senti, from Giulio Cesare .......George Frideric Handel
O smania! O Furie! . . . D'Oreste, d'Ajace,
Recitative and Aria from Idomeneo.......Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
11
Waldseligkeit (Richard Dehmel) ................Joseph Marx
Marienlied (Novalis) .....................Joseph Marx
Herr Lenz (Emanuel von Bodman) ..............Richard Strauss
Befreit (Dehmel)......................Richard Strauss
Ich liebe dich (Detlov von Liliencron).............Richard Strauss
HI Pace, pace mio Dio, from La Forza del Destino..........Giuseppe Verdi
INTERMISSION
IV
Bleuet (Guillaume Apollinaire)................Francis Poulenc
Villanelle (Theophile Gautier).................Hector Berlioz
Extase (Jean Lahor)......................Henri Duparc
Le Printemps (Theodore de Banville) .............Reynaldo Hahn
V 'Wild Nights (Emily Dickinson)..................Lee Hoiby
Goodby, Goodby World (Thornton Wilder, from "Our Town")
Always It's Spring (e.e. cummings) 'There Came a Wind Like a Bugle (Emily Dickinson)
VI Ride On King Jesus....................an. Hall Johnson
Copyright 1988 by Southern Music Publishing Co. Inc., New York.
Translations and Texts
Se pieta di me non senti, from Giulio Cesare
Handel (1685-1759)
If you do not feel mercy for me, just heaven, I shall die.
Give peace to my torment, or this soul will die.
O smania! O Furie! . . . D'Oreste, d'Ajace, from Idomeneo
Mozart (1756-1791)
0 madness! O Furies! O desperate Electra! Shall 1 see Idamante in the arms of another
Ah, no! I will follow my kinsman Orestes into the dark abysses And companion him in a hell of eternal woe and endless tears.
Waldseligkeit
Marx (1882-1964)
The forest begins to rustle; the night approaches the trees as though, happily listening. They touch each other tenderly and under the branches there I am entirely alone. There I am entirely by myself. I am entirely yours.
Marienlied
Marx
1 see you in a thousand pictures, Maria, delightfully expressed. But none can describe you as my soul sees you.
I only know that the world's tumult has since blown away like a dream And an indescribably sweet heaven eternally stays in my thoughts.
Herr Lenz
Strauss (1864-1949)
Spring bursts through the town today in blue trousers,
Anybody with two good legs feels the sap rise
And leaps gladly in the sun to buy raffle tickets from him.
There he goes past the gabled house with his pockets full of presents
And everybody holds out his hands to get a bouquet to give to his girl.
I'll find myself a pretty one and fetch her away from her chores.
Hat's on! We race across the square:
"Mr. Spring," What about a dainty blossom for her bodice
Befreit
Strauss
You will not weep, softly, softly,
You will smile and, as if before a journey
I will respond with a glance and a kiss.
Our lovely four walls, you gave them life,
I have made them for you into a whole world,
Oh, happiness!
Then you will warmly clasp my hand,
And surrender to me your soul, will leave me with our children.
You gave me all your life, I will give it back to them,
Oh, happiness!
It will be very soon, we both know it;
We have freed each other from pain,
And so I gave you back to the world.
Hence forth, you will come to me only in dreams,
To bless me and to cry with me,
Oh, happiness!
Ich liebe dich
Strauss
Four noble horses before our carriage,
We live in the castle in proud content.
Waves of morning light and presently lightning -
Everything it lightens is our possession.
And should you wander forsaken, outcast through the land;
With you through the alleys in poverty and shame!
Your hands bleeding, your feet sore,
In four cheerless walls here no dog knows us.
If in beaten silver your coffin stands at the altar,
Let them bring me to you on the bier,
And far away on the heath should you die in affliction,
My knife from my sheath! I am near you in Death!
Pace, pace mio Dio, from La Forza del Destino
Verdi(1813-1901)
Peace, O mighty Father, give me peace!
Bitter misfortune has brought me low.
I suffer now as I did the very day
I entered these long years of hardship.
Peace, O mighty Father, give me peace! I loved him, it is true!
But Heaven had given him such beauty and courage
That I cannot help loving him still,
Nor expunge his image from my heart.
A tragedy! A tragedy!
That a fatal accident should have driven us apart in this world!
Alvaro, I love you, but it is the decree of Heaven
That I shall never see you again!
Oh Father everlasting, let me die;
For only in death shall I ever find peace.
In vain this soul of mine seeks rest but is a prey to long and bitter woe.
Miserable food, you have come only to prolong a life of wretchedness.
But whom do I hear approaching
Who dares profane this sacred place
The curse! The curse!
Bleuet
Poulenc (1899-1963)
Young man of twenty years,
You who have seen such terrible things,
What do you think of the men of your childhood
You have seen bravery and cunning;
You have seen death face to face over a hundred times;
You do not know what life is.
Hand on your fearlessness to those who will come after you.
Young man, you are full of joy your memory is steeped in blood;
Your soul, too, is red with joy.
You have absorbed the life of those who fell beside you.
You have resolution.
It is five o'clock and you would know how to die
If not better than your elders, at least with more piety,
For you know death better than life.
O sweetness of former days, slow moving beyond all memory.
Villanelle
Berlioz (1803-1869)
When the new season comes, when the cold has vanished,
We shall go together, my fair one,
To gather the lilies of the valley in the woods.
Our feet scattering the pearls of dew
That are seen trembling at morn,
We shall go to hear the blackbirds warbling.
The spring has come, my fair one, it is the month blessed by lovers,
And the bird preening its wing, sings a refrain on the edge of the nest.
Oh! Come then to this mossy bank to talk of the delights of our love,
And say to me in your sweet voice, Forever!
Far, very far, straying from our paths,
Let us put to flight the hidden rabbit.
And the deer, in the mirror of the springs,
Admiring its great bending antlers;
Then towards home, quite happy, quite contented,
With interlaced fingers for baskets,
Let us return bringing the strawberries from the woods.
Extase
Duparc (1848-1933)
On a pale blossom my heart sleeps a slumber sweet as death.
Blissful death perfumed by the breath of the beloved.
On thy pale bosom my heart sleeps a slumber sweet as death.
Le Printemps
Hahn (1874-1947)
There you are, smile of Spring: the lilacs are in full bloom!
The lovers, whom you cherish, release their cascades of hair!
Beneath the rays of brilliant gold the ancient ivy withers!
There you are, smile of Spring: the lilacs are in full bloom!
We recline by the pond, that our bitter ills may be healed!
A thousand fabulous hopes are nourished; our hearts move and throb.
There you are, smile of Spring!
Wild Nights
HoiBY (b. 1926)
Wild Nights, Wild Nights, were 1 with thee.
Wild Nights should be our luxury.
Futile the winds to a heart in port.
Done with the compass; done with the chart!
Rowing in Eden, ah, the sea!
Might I but moor tonight, in thee!
Goodby, Goodby World
HOIBY
Goodby, goodby world. Goodby, Grover's Corners, Mama and Papa;
Goodby to clocks ticking and Mama's sunflowers and food and coffee,
And new-ironed dresses and hot baths and sleeping and waking up.
Oh, Earth, you're too wonderful for anyone to realize you.
Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it
Every, every minute
Always It's Spring
HOIBY
Who knows if the moon's a balloon,
Coming out of a keen city in the sky
Filled with pretty people
And if you and I should get into it,
If they should take me and take you into their balloon,
Why then we'd go up higher, with all the pretty people
Than houses and steeples and clouds
Go sailing away and away,
Sailing into a keen city which nobody's ever visited,
Where always it's Spring and ev'ryone's in love
And flowers pick themselves!
There Came a Wind Like a Bugle
HOIBY
There came a wind like a bugle.
It quivered through the grass
And a green chill upon the heat so ominous did pass.
We barred the windows and the doors
As from an emerald ghost;
The doom's electric moccasin that very instant passed.
On a strange mob of panting trees and fences fled away
And rivers where the houses ran
Those looked that lived that day.
The bell within the steeple wild the flying tidings told.
How much can come and much can go and yet abide the world.
American composer Lee Hoiby was born in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1926. After preliminary music studies in Madison, he took piano lessons with Egon Petri at Mills College, where he received a Master of Arts degree in 1952. He studied intermittently with Menotti at Philadelphia's Curtis Institute of Music and then pursued studies in Rome and Salzburg. In 1957, Hoiby received an award from the National Institute of Arts and Letters. Best known for his operas on contemporary subjects, he has also composed other vocal works, chamber and orchestral music, and works for flute, violin, and piano.
Ride On King Jesus
an. Johnson
Ride on, King Jesus No man can-a hinder me
For He is King of kings, He is Lord of lords.
Jesus Christ the first and last No man works like Him.
King Jesus rides a milk-white horse No man works like Him.
The river of Jordan, He did cross No man works like Him.
King Jesus rides in the middle of the air;
He calls the saints from everywhere.
Ride on, King Jesus No man can-a hinder me.
He is the Lord, He is the King!
Ride on, ride on Jesus!
le Price, with Eugene Ormandy and The Philadelphia Orchestra, receives applause at the
1971 May Festival.
Leontyne Price is regarded as one of the greatest artists of our time. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1961 as Leonora in ( Trovatore to one of the most pro?longed demonstrations of enthusiasm ever witnessed at the opera house, and Time mag?azine hailed her as the "diva di tutte le dive" when she sang arias by Verdi, Richard Strauss, and Puccini "with resplendent warmth and freshness" at the 100th Anniver?sary Gala of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Miss Price was born in Laurel, Missis?sippi; she played the piano at the age of five and later sang in the Junior Choir. Her goal in her youth was to become a music teacher. She attended Central State College in Wilberforce, Ohio, where her singing with the Glee Club attracted much attention and she was encouraged to follow a singing career. Upon graduation with a Bachelor of Arts degree, she was awarded a scholarship to The Juilliard School of Music in New York City. Miss Price was soon heard in the premieres of works by Stravinsky, Barber, La Montaine, and other composers.
In 1952 she made her Paris debut in Virgil Thomson's Four Saints in Three Acts and also made her debut in the Robert Breen production of Porgy and Bess, which toured Vienna, Berlin, London, and Paris. At her Town Hall debut recital in 1954, she sang the first performance of Samuel Barber's Her?mit Songs with the composer at the piano. Shen then made her operatic debut (1955) with the NBC-TV Opera Company in the coast-to-coast presentation of Tosca. Appear?ances followed with the Boston Symphony, The Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and a U.S. Department of State (ANTA) tour to India, as well as the San Francisco Symphony and her debut at the San Francisco Opera (Madame Lidone in Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites). In 1958, Herbert von Karajan invited Miss Price to appear at the Vienna State Opera, where she made her debut in the title role of Aida under Maestro von Karajan's direction; when she performed the role at La Scala, a critic wrote that "our great Verdi would have found the ideal Aida." Triumphant engagements followed at Salzburg, Covent Garden, Ver-
ona, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Paris Opera, Teatro Colon, and the Metropolitan Opera, which presented her in seven different roles during her first year with the company.
Described by Harold C. Schonberg in The New York Times as "the Stradivarius of singers," Miss Price has starred in Aida, Don Giovanni (Donna Anna), Tosca, 11 Trovatore (Leonora), Madama Butterfly, Un Ballo in Maschera (Amelia), Manon Lescaut, La Forza del Destino (Leonora), Emani (Elvira), and Ariadne aufNaxos. Miss Price created the role of Cleopatra in Samuel Barber's Antony and Cleopatra, written for the opening night of the new Metropolitan Opera House at Lin?coln Center. Apart from the operatic stage, the artist continues to appear internationally in recital. She has given recitals and concert tours in Vienna, Paris, Lucerne, Salzburg, Hamburg, Berlin, and in Japan, all as legend?ary as her tours of the United States. She always includes songs by American composers and Negro spirituals in her recitals. Many of her performances have been widely seen on special telecasts. In 1985 at a White House ceremony, when President Reagan presented her with the First Medal of Arts, Opera News commented, "No native-born singer of her era has been so honored as Leontyne Price. Her name on a poster or handbill has always been the guarantee of a sold-out perfor?mance."
Miss Price has been the recipient of many additonal honors and awards. She is the first opera singer to have received America's highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, given to her in 1965 by President Johnson. The Republic of Italy bestowed upon her its Order of Merit, and the Govern?ment of France named her a Commandeur of the French Order of Arts and Letters in January 1986. She has also been presented with the Silver Medal of the San Francisco Opera, and in May 1985 she received the Handel Medallion, the highest civil and cul?tural honor of the City of New York. In addition, she has been recognized by New York State Senate Resolution 1721, "hon?oring famed singer Leontyne Price, distin?guished opera singer." In 1980, she was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honor, in recognition of "great achievement in the performing arts," and was the only honoree invited back to sing at the 1981 Honors Ceremony. In 1987, she received the Image Award from Associated Black Charities. Miss
Price is also a Fellow of the American Acad?emy of Arts and Sciences. Her numerous other honors include awards from the New York Council of Churches, Concert Artists Guild, Young Audiences Inc., and the Amer?ican Society of Concert Managers. In 1986, she received awards from Union Local 1 and the American Academy of Achievement.
In 1978, Leontyne Price was invited by President and Mrs. Carter to give a recital in the White House; the program was televised nationwide, and the artist received an Emmy Award from the National Academy of Tele?vision Arts and Sciences. In September 1983, Miss Price was awarded her second Emmy award for her performance with the New York Philharmonic "Live from Lincoln Center." During the 1983-84 television season, Miss Price was hostess for the PBS-TV series "In Performance at the White House," for which she received her third Emmy Award. Miss Price's numerous recordings have won many prizes, incuding nineteen Grammy Awards from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. In recognition of her unique stature as a recording artist, she was honored with a lifetime Grammy Award in 1989.
Miss Price represented American musi?cians at the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty signing ceremonies and also sang at the wel?coming ceremonies for Pope John Paul II,
Leontyne Price with UMS President Emeritus Gail Rector after her 1984 recital.
both held at the White House. She returned to the White House to sing for the Prince and Princess of Wales at the invitation of Presi?dent Reagan. In the spring of 1983, Miss Price again represented American musicians when she sang at the International Economic Summit Conference held in Colonial Williamsburg. She was the only opera singer included in Life magazine's Bicentennial issue, "Remarkable American Women -1776-1976." She has been featured in cover stories by Time magazine and more than two dozen other international publications, in?cluding recent recognition among "One Hun?dred Major Women of the Past 100 Years" in Good Housekeeping magazine.
Leontyne Price has received honorary doctorates from Amherst College, Howard University, Dartmouth College, Fordham University, Harvard University, Yale Univer?sity, Columbia University, Mannes School of Music, Juilliard School of Music, William Carey College, Spelman College, Rust Col?lege, and Central State University. One of her many benefit concerts assisted in the building of the Leontyne Price Library at Rust
College, Holly Springs, Mississippi. She is also a vice-president of the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Memorial Foundation, vice chair?man of the National Institute for Music Theatre, a life member of the NAACP, a member of the Metropolitan Opera Associa?tion, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Dance Theater of Harlem. She recently became a member of the Board of Trustees of New York University.
In 1989 Miss Price performed at the White House for the first State Dinner of President and Mrs. Bush. She received the 1990 Essence Award, and her first book a children's book on Aida was published in October 1990.
Over the past 34 years, Ann Arbor concertgoers have had the opportunity of following Miss Price's career. She first ap?peared in the 1957 May Festival in a concert version of Verdi's Aida. Then came three more May Festivals: Verdi's Requiem in 1960, arias of Mozart and Verdi in 1965, and Strauss's Four Last Songs in 1971. Recitals followed in 1978, 1980, and 1984, all with David Garvey.
Since 1955, David Garvey has been the exclusive partner of Leontyne Price. With her, he has performed four times at the White House, including her Emmy Award-win?ning televised recital. Miss Price and Mr. Garvey were artistic representatives of the United States at the signing of the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, and during the summer of 1984, he appeared with Miss Price for the fifth time in recital at the prestigious Salzburg Festival, as well as the June Festival in Vienna. He also has record?ings with her on the RCA and Angel labels. Recently, Mr. Garvey has been called upon to give master classes in song repertoire and accompanying at such schools as Drake University, University of Illinois, North Car?olina School of the Arts, and Wheaton Col?lege. Four years ago, he joined the faculty of the University of Texas at Austin as professor, coaching singers on the graduate level and giving master classes. Mr. Garvey is recog?nized especially for his playing of American music.
David Garvey has served as associate pianist with many of the world's greatest artists, traveling in Europe, the Far East, South America, Australia, and across the North American continent. He now makes his fourth Ann Arbor appearance, following his three previous recitals with Leontyne Price.