Facing Forward/Looking Back
Carla LeFevre & Karen Coker-Merritt
sopranos
with:
James Douglass
piano
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
7:30 pm
Recital Hall, Music Building
Program
Two Ballads Benjamin Britten
Mother Comfort (1913-1976)
Underneath the Abject Willow
Ms. Coker-Merritt and Ms. LeFevre
Songs from Letters Libby Larsen
So Like Your Father’s (b. 1950)
He Never Misses
A Man Can Love Two Women
Working Woman
All I Have
Ms. LeFevre
Autumn Evening Roger Quilter
from Four Songs (1877-1953)
Winter Dominick Argento
from Elizabethan Songs (b. 1927)
When Spring Comes
from Songs about Spring
Screw Spring Richard Hundley
(b. 1931)
Winter’s Hubris Lee Hoiby
Summer’s Retort (1926-2011)
Mr. Coker-Merritt and Ms. LeFevre
Cabaret Songs Benjamin Britten
Tell me the truth about love
Funeral Blues
Johnny
Calypso
Ms. Coker-Merritt
Facing Forward/Looking Back Jake Heggie
Motherwit (b. 1961)
Grounded
Mother in the Mirror
Facing Forward
Ms. Coker-Merritt and Ms. LeFevre
The Serpent Lee Hoiby
Ms. Coker-Merritt and Ms. LeFevre
Program Notes
The poem Mother Comfort was written by Montagu Slater, known for his collaboration
with Benjamin Britten as librettist for the opera Peter Grimes. Britten’s song setting is
the only publication of the poem, which likely represents a dialogue between two
confidantes in which they discuss the love interest of the one, and its potential impact
on the friendship of the two. W.H. Auden dedicated his poem Underneath the Abject
Willow to Britten. The poet encourages his younger friend to “sulk no more…”
because “all that lives may love,” so “come, walk then, no longer numb, into your
satisfaction.”
Texts for Libby Larsen’s Songs from Letters, were extracted from the publication,
Calamity Jane’s letters to her daughter , whom she addresses as Janey in letters dated
1880-1902. Upon her death, these letters supposedly were found with a bundle of
papers near Calamity Jane’s body. The letters surfaced when a Jean Hickok Burkhardt
McCormick, claimed in her application for government assistance to be the daughter
of Martha Jane Canary (Calamity Jane) and James Butler Hickok (Wild Bill Hickok).
McCormick provided the letters as partial proof that she was the daughter of the
legendary characters, who according to her claims, had married in 1873. Many
historians have disputed the story, as well as much of the folklore surround the “wild
west” frontierswoman, who was known for inconsistencies in her stories about her
life. There are varying accounts as to when and to whom she was married, and how
many children she had. Several citations indicate that Calamity Jane had a daughter
who indeed was raised by someone else, as one can surmise from the letters. There is
little dispute that she was a tough woman, who worked as a scout for U.S. soldiers
during their frequent skirmishes with the Indian tribes, as well as a prostitute, nurse,
Wild West Show performer, and rancher.
“Seasons’ Greetings” is a set of songs compiled by the performers to represent the
various perspectives, both positive and negative, one may have toward each of the
seasons.
Cabaret Songs by Benjamin Britten are the product of the composer’s collaboration
with poet W.H. Auden. The songs were composed over a two-year period for cabaret
singer Hedli Anderson, with whom Britten and Auden became acquainted through
their work with an experimental theatre group called The Group Theatre. The texts
are inspired by the Berlin cabaret nightlife Auden enjoyed in the 1930’s, and Britten’s
compositional style reflects the genre. Upon hearing Anderson perform the four songs
for Britten, he entered the statement in his diary, “They are going to be hits, I feel!”
Facing Forward/Looking Back was commissioned by the Ravinia Festival for its Steans
Institute. For this project, Jake Heggie asked three writer friends for texts on the
theme of the complicated mother/daughter relationship—Charlene Baldridge
(Motherwit), Eugenia Zukerman (Grounded), and Armistead Maupin (Mother in the
Mirror). The fourth song, Facing Forward, is based on a poem and melody that Heggie
wrote when he was nineteen years old. His father, whom he never really knew,
committed suicide when he was ten, and Heggie created conversations with him as a
way of working through difficult times.
The song writing of composer Lee Hoiby was championed by singer Leontyne Price,
who frequently included his music in her recitals. “The Serpent” was composed in
1979 and published as part of the cycle, Songs for Leontyne, in 1985.
Biographies
Soprano Karen Coker-Merritt began her professional career as an apprentice with
Pittsburgh Opera, where she performed the roles of Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte,
Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, Norina in Don Pasquale, and Lady with a Cake Box in
Dominick Argento’s Postcard from Morocco. Her tutelage in Pittsburgh included study
with opera legends Renata Scotto, Régine Crespin, and Renée Fleming. She made her
Baltimore Opera debut as Micaëla in the studio production of Peter Brooks’ La
Tragédie de Carmen. While a member of the opera studio at Baltimore, she also added
to her repertoire the roles of Marguerite in Faust, Musetta in La Bohème, and Pamina in
Die Zauberflöte.
Dr. Coker-Merritt’s international endeavors have included participation in the Ezio
Pinza Council for American Singers of Opera (EPCASO) in Italy, where she had the
rare opportunity to study with renowned artists such as Claudia Pinza, Maria Chiara,
and Virginia Zeani. She toured England in the 2004-2005 season as the title role of
Venus in Opera North of the UK’s production of Kurt Weill’s One Touch of Venus. She
reprised the role of Venus at the Ravenna Festival in Italy, as well as London’s
Sadler’s Wells Theatre.
Dr. Coker-Merritt has maintained a private teaching studio for many years, and
served as Head of Voice Faculty for the professional Boys Choir at Grace Church in
New York from 2006-2008. She received her Master of Music degree from UNC-Greensboro
and completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Vocal Performance
at Florida State University, where she performed as Tatiana in Eugene Onegin. and
Love Simpson in Cold Sassy Tree. Dr. Coker-Merritt currently serves as adjunct voice
faculty at the University of North Florida.
Carla LeFevre has extensive experience in the performance of oratorio and art song,
and her operatic repertoire includes numerous leading roles. She is a versatile
soprano with over fifty oratorio performances ranging from the Bach passions to the
Verdi Requiem, and her opera roles vary from Poppea in Handel’s Agrippina to the
Governess in Britten’s Turn of the Screw. For many years, her strength as a musician
was demonstrated through her performances of contemporary music, such as
Schönberg’s highly challenging Pierrot Lunaire. She has been an active recitalist,
known for frequently including Broadway selections in her programs.
Dr. LeFevre has taught master classes at various universities, including Boston
University, Florida State University, University of Iowa, Michigan State University,
the University of Missouri, and many others. Dr. LeFevre holds the Doctor of Musical
Arts degree in vocal performance and pedagogy from the University of Iowa, and has
been a member of the voice faculty at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro
for twenty-four years. She was the primary voice teacher for the National Opera
Company for its two final seasons, and she continues to coach and teach young
professionals in addition to her work at the university.
Students of Dr. LeFevre’s have distinguished themselves as first-place winners in
district and regional Metropolitan Opera auditions, NATS state and regional
competitions, and various national vocal competitions. They have participated in
young artist programs for many of the major opera companies, including San
Francisco, Santa Fe, Glimmerglass, Pittsburgh, Chautauqua, Central City, Des Moines,
and many others.
James Douglass, associate professor of collaborative piano and auditions coordinator
for applications to the Accompanying and Chamber Music degree program, has been
involved in diverse genres including chamber music, vocal arts, opera, choral arts,
symphonic repertoire, jazz, cabaret, and musical theater. He received the BM and MM
in piano performance from the University of Alabama and the DMA in collaborative
piano from the University of Southern California where he was a student of Dr. Alan
L. Smith; additional studies with collaborative Anne Epperson and Martin Katz.
While at USC he received a Koldofsky Fellowship and the Outstanding Keyboard
Collaborative Arts award. Douglass has served on the faculties of Mississippi College,
Occidental College LA, USC, and Middle Tennessee State University where he was
coordinator of the collaborative piano degree program. From 2004-2010, he was a
faculty member for the summer study program AIMS (American Institue of Musical
Studies) in Graz, Austria as the instructor of collaborative piano and a coach in the
lieder program with Harold Heiberg. Performances as a collaborative pianist have
included recitals and television/radio broadcasts across the United States and in
Europe (France, Germany, Austria, Hungary); in master classes given by artists Dawn
Upshaw, Carol Vaness, Vladimir Chernov, Norman Luboff, Paul Salamunovich,
Natalie Hinderas, Leon Bates. Douglass is also active as a clinician and recently
completed a recording with soprano Hope Koehler of John Jacob Niles songs which
was released on the Albany label in 2008.
Upcoming Events at the
UNCG School of Music, Theatre and Dance
MUSIC: Hye-Jin Kim, violin – Guest Artist Recital
Tuesday, Jan. 21 5:30 Recital Hall
Free
MUSIC: Neeraj Mehta, percussion – Faculty Recital
Friday, Jan. 24 7:30 Recital Hall
Free
MUSIC: The Late, Great Bach – professor Andrew Willis, fortepiano
Jan. 31, Feb. 14, Feb. 21 10:00pm Organ Hall
Free
MUSIC: Robert Wells, baritone; James Douglass, piano – Faculty Recital
Thursday, February 6 7:30 Recital Hall
Free
MUSIC: Fabián López, violin; Ināra Zandmane, piano – Faculty Recital
Friday, February 7 5:30 Organ Hall
Free
MUSIC: The Vivaldi Project – Guest Artist Recital
Friday, Feb. 7 7:30 Recital Hall
Free
MUSIC: Red Clay Saxophone Quartet – Faculty and Guest Artist Recital
Tuesday, Feb. 11 7:30 Recital Hall
Free
MUSIC: Carolina Band Festival – Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble
Friday, Feb. 14 7:30 Aycock Auditorium
Free
THEATRE: Pride and Prejudice
Feb. 14-23 Taylor Theatre
$15 adults / $10 seniors, students / $7 UNCG 334-4392 or brownpapertickets.com
MUSIC: Carolina Band Festival – Honor Band
Saturday, Feb. 15 2:00 Aycock Auditorium
If any of these events interest you, more information is available at
http://performingarts.uncg.edu/events
