June 16th 2014

EUPHONIA & LULA LOUNGE PRESENT

RICHARD WAGNER - SIEGFRIED IDYLL

RICHARD WAGNER - WESENDONK SONGS

Orchestrated by Simon Capet

Soprano, Susan Tsagkaris

JACQUES IBERT - DIVERTISSEMENT

June 16th (doors 7 pm, show 8 pm)

1585 Dundas Street West, Toronto, www.lula.ca (416) 588 0307

$15 cover charge. Dinner reservations guarantee seating.

On June 16th we will travel from the sublime to the ridiculous. The sublime being Wagner’s outpourings of love for two different women; Siegfried Idyll and Wesendonk Songs, and the intentionally ridiculous being Jacques Ibert’s irreverent and eclectic Divertissment.

Ibert was a confidently independent composer who remained unswayed by any “school” or aesthetic pressure-group. One critic wrote of Ibert’s music, “There is about it, as about his person, an air of good fellowship. He pleases without trifling.” His music is direct, identifiable and satisfyingly emotional. His Divertissement, from 1929, is a collection of music that he wrote for a production of Eugène Labiche’s play, The Italian Straw Hat. The piece overflows with wit and high spirits and is great fun to play.

In 1849 Wagner was forced to flee Saxony as the result of his involvement in the Dresden uprising. He ended up exiled for 9 years on the Swiss estate of Otto Wesendonk, Wagner’s most important financial backer. During his exile he became infatuated with Mathilde Wesendonck, the wife of his patron. Mathilde was an accomplished poet and as an expression of his feelings for her he made musical settings of five of her poems. Joining us to sing these beautiful songs is the glorious voice and personality of Susan Tsagkaris.

Wagner composed the Siegfried Idyll as a birthday present to his second wife, Cosima in 1869. It was first performed on Christmas morning, 25 December 1870, by a small ensemble of the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich on the stairs of the Wagner’s villa at Tribschen, Switzerland; Cosima waking to its opening melody.

If you have yet to hear euphonia, this will be a great show to catch. The group plays with passion and skill and their often sold out monthly shows at Lula Lounge are attended by a refreshing mix of people of all ages and backgrounds. They’ve been called “The Hippest Band Around Town” by David Farrell of newcanadianmusic.ca; “Toronto’s Hottest Classical Band” by John Terauds of musicaltoronto.com; Robert Rowat of the CBC highlighted them as a ‘Hot Trend’, and in a bachtrack.com poll of the world’s favourite orchestras of 2013 they made the top 100.