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I signed up for the livestream and I was able to catch only bits and pieces of the performance as my family and I were on vacation at the time.  What I was able to see/hear matched the reports of very fine singing.  The staging was kind of mimimal and forlorn from what I could tell, but maybe it looked better in the theater (it's always better in the theater).  Things did get very colorful at the end, so maybe the parts I missed were also a little more dynamic visually.  I certainly miss seeing Bard performances in person, but the livestream is the next best thing. The singers did look/sound pretty intense, so I wish I could have seen the whole performance. It seems like a lot of past Bard Summerscape operas end up on the Fisher Center website and YouTube channel, so hopefully I will get another chance to see it at a later date.  My favorite part was when I was trying to catch the overture while my son was learning to milk a cow at a petting zoo.  He was enjoying himself ("I could milk that cow all day!", he exclaimed) and went back for a second try and that's when I was able to sneak my first peek at the opera.  I caught some more later in the taxi on the ride home and my son watched a little bit with me.  He thought it was alright.  One of these days, I'll take him to Bard to see the opera in person.  He's seen opera performances before, but I think the Bard experience is its own thing.

I'd like to thank Hurwitz for correcting my pronunciation of Gernsheim.

I got to hear some snippets of the broadcast today.  Everything I heard sounded great!

There's an Edward MacDowell exhibit this week at the University of Maryland's Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.  It's part of the free "NextNOW" festival, which is described as "a signature event in University of Maryland's Arts for All initiative, which leverages the combined power of the arts, technology and social justice to address the grand challenges of our time."  Inside the Clarice Smith Center, there is a performing arts library called the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library and the MacDowell exhibit is housed within a gallery that connects the library to the larger building.  The information on the NextNOW website is a little confusing as it seems to indicate that the exhibit is only available at 5:00 p.m. on Friday and 6:00 p.m. on Saturday.  That seemed a little odd to me, so I called over there and I was told that the exhibit is open whenever the library is open.  The library's hours are listed as being 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Friday.  The library website lists Saturday, September 10th as a day the library is closed; however, the NextNOW festival is still going on Saturday, so one would think the exhibit would still be available then.

Here's the official blurb:

The current exhibit at the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library features Edward MacDowell (1860-1908), who was one of the first seven people to be inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and known as the first internationally recognized American composer. The artists' residency and workshop in New Hampshire (known now as MacDowell) is named after him. The exhibit showcases the life and works of this pianist and composer with scores, letters, and photographs from the Special Collections in Performing Arts (an archive housed in MSPAL).

Venue:

Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library

Since I live nearby, I stopped by over the weekend to see it and, frankly, there's not much there.  Unless you live nearby, I wouldn't recommend a trip to see it. 

Here's what I saw:

7 placards:
1. Edward MacDowell: An American Composer's Legacy
2. Compositional Process
3. MacDowell and Music Publishing
4. Marian, Edward and Peterborough, New Hampshire
5. Piano Compositions
6. Early Recorded Piano Music
7. Margery Lowens and Collecting on MacDowell


5 display cases:
- 1 case was about the MacDowell colony
- 1 case was about Ann McMillan, who spent several months at the MacDowell colony in 1970/1971
- 1 case had some old 78 records and published sheet music
- 1 case included a string quartet sketch, a piano sketch, a note from his wife explaining his health situation to his publisher and some pages showing the composer experimenting with text setting
- 1 case included a draft of a concert program, photographs and letters to fans

1 tablet with 5 selections:
1. Gong Song by Ann McMillan
2. Hexentanz
3. Piano Concerto No.2 (first movement)
4. Sonata Tragica
5. To a Wild Rose

All the exhibits in the display cases came from the Dr. Margery Morgan Lowens collection on Edward McDowell, which is housed there at the library.

Here's an hour-long documentary on the 1994 Bonn production of "Il Guarany" with Domingo:

https://www.operaonvideo.com/placido-domingos-tales-from-the-opera-4-forest-fever-il-guarany-bonn-1994/

Just an update that I gave the CD of Gernsheim symphonies to my brother.  He has pretty wide open listening habits, so we'll see what he thinks.  He had never heard of Gernsheim, so maybe it's better he got the CD instead of someone who's already familiar with the composer.

Thanks for reminding me of the opera "Il Guarany".  I had forgotten about it.  I was lucky enough to see a production by Washington National Opera with Placido Domingo in 1996.  It was one of the first operas I attended.  Here is a contemporary review of the production:  https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1996-11-12-1996317094-story.html
This performance would have been from around the time that the recording with Domingo came out.  I will have to revisit it! 

Also, thanks for the heads up on the BBC show.  I will have to check it out.  I believe the opera house that's featured in the TV show is the same opera house featured in the film "Fitzcarraldo" directed by Werner Herzog.  Interestingly, Herzog also directed the production of "Il Guarany" that I saw in 1996.

I appreciate the efforts to get me to give the Gernsheim symphonies one more chance and, indeed I have pulled out the album a couple times over the years to see if my initial impression had changed.  After every listen, I always ended up coming to the same conclusion, that the symphonies were not really my bag.  Nevertheless, as per the last suggestion, I went ahead and gave the fourth movement of the fourth symphony another spin.  And now I can truly say that the opinions expressed here are right on:  the music is conservative and does sound like Brahms wouldn't have composed  it.  Thanks for the encouragement,  however.   I really value the opinions of the members here.  In any event, I was never trying to sell the CD.  I just wanted to get it into the hands of someone who would appreciate it more than I do.  Still looking for any takers.   

The commenters are right:  the four Gernsheim symphonies on 2 CDs is a great bargain.   Sadly, the symphonies did not resonate with me.  If you are interested in owning this set, drop me a line and I'll send it to you.  This is a no strings attached offer (also a no pun intended offer), but if you want to send me something you're not listening to, it might be a fun trade.

I was chuffed to see that Bard College's Fisher Center website is streaming a performance of "The Wreckers" from 2015 as part of their "Upstreaming" series.  A fantastic performance to watch again for those of us who got to see it in person, but now hopefully more folks can check it out.

I am happy to report that after three days and 9 or 10 attempts, I was able to download the video of the Oresteia performance at Bard.  Coincidentally (or maybe not), I received an email from Bard the same day informing me that the Oresteia performance (as well as other performances) was now available to stream on Bard's Fisher Center "Upstreaming" page.  There was also an encouragement to make a contribution to Bard to offset the fact that their annual Summerscape festival has been postponed until next summer.

I was chuffed to see a performance of Oresteia from the 2013 Bard Festival in the downloads section; however,   I was unable to get it to download.  Has anyone else had any luck?  Has Bard been sharing video of its Summerscape operas?  I saw there was another more recent Bard performance listed in the download section as well.

I like that piece a lot!  Thanks for reminding me to check out this neglected/newly rediscovered composer.  I remember reading about when all her papers were found in that old house and then I never got around to checking out any of her music.

I am a little late with my reply, but I also saw the Bard performance this summer and I second the review from scottevan3.  The score is very lush, even exotic/otherworldly.  As with all Bard Summerscape productions I have seen (a half-dozen over the years), this production was staged and sung at a very high level.  I enjoyed the choreography during the dream sequence (I think it was a dream sequence!) where many dancers dressed as Heliane are mimicking/commenting on her movements.  Very ethereal and worked very well with the music.  The ending was rapturous and uplifting and ended the performance on a high note (so to speak!).  I would encourage anyone who has even an inkling of attending a Bard performance to just go for it.  Whatever it is, you will not be disappointed.  As in previous years, I didn't have my plans together until the last minute and there were still good seats available when I finally decided to go.  One question I have is:  has anyone been to any of the panels or discussions that go along with the "...and His World" series of performances?  I'm assuming they are also well done, but I have not made it out to any of them yet.  Have there ever been any "..and Her World" productions?  I can also recommend the nearby Spiegeltent for before and after refreshment.

I caught the second-to-last performance of Bel Cantanti's staging of "The Tsar's Bride" last Saturday. There was a good-sized crowd in the small theater, including support from the local Russian community.  The company director, from Belarus, expressed her desire before the performance to share Russian culture by presenting Rimsky-Korsakov operas like "The Tsar's Bride", "Sadko" (last season – sorry I missed it!) and "May Night" (next season, apparently).  It was obviously a labor of love to put on this opera and I'm going to say that the company largely succeeded.  I was impressed with the voices of the young singers, although some singers had more stage presence than others.  The synopsis in the program was a little confusing and the opera started off a little slowly for me.   Each character got a chance to lament his or her own situation and, while some of the arias were quite lovely, I was not fully engaged until midway through the second act when the plot picked up steam and I was able to figure who was who and what everyone's motivations were.  After that, I was totally engaged.  The Marfa character got all the best music and I think the singer who was cast in the role was probably the best performer overall.  She really got into the character, including a convincing mad scene at the end.  I would say the whole cast gave it their all and a couple, like the singer who played Marfa, really stood out.  I will definitely have to seek out a recording of the opera to hear the full orchestration.  The small orchestra (four strings, four winds and a piano) only rose up to a big orchestral thrill once, which was probably to be expected.  The sets lived up to my expectations, which were not much.  Really minor quibbles, though.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself and it was good to see a nice turnout for the unsung composer!