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Soprano Ying Fang, who says her voice is especially suited to music by Handel and Mozart is in Messiah at Houston Grand Opera Credit: Ying Fang<\/p>\nHouston Grand Opera calls it \u201ca surreal and mesmerizing theatrical spectacle.\u201d\u00a0 In this production of Handel\u2019s Messiah, not only has Mozart arranged it (and, of course, changed things up a bit) but the late Robert Wilson has imposed if not narrative structure, then at least some eye-popping moments to hold onto.<\/p>\n
As HGO describes it: An astronaut wanders among the chorus. A lobster is on a leash held by a mannequin without a head. A bale of hay plays with a young girl.<\/p>\n
Chinese soprano Ying Fang is considered one of the world\u2019s leading interpreters of Mozart, who she calls \u201ca titan of a piece of the Baroque style.\u201d She has sung Messiah several times before with, for instance, the Houston Symphony Orchestra in a concert years ago and with the Philadelphia Orchestra as well.<\/p>\n
The difference this time is the staging which she describes as \u201cstylish. Very simple but beautiful.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Another difference, she said, is that \u201cthis version is actually Mozart\u2019s version. Mozart rearranged Handel\u2019s Messiah and he also rearranged the orchestration so the color is different and also he reassigned a couple numbers to different voice types.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor instance, the soprano\u2019s famous number \u2018Rejoice Greatly\u2019 is now assigned to a tenor. And then some of the tenor\u2019s recits and arias like \u201cBehold and See\u2019 is now mine. It\u2019s interesting how Mozart thought how particular voices should sing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others in the production include countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, tenor Ben Bliss and bass-baritone Nicholas Newton. \u00a0Alexis Fousekis as the dancer. \u00a0HGO Artistic and Music Director Patrick Summers conducts.<\/p>\n
Soprano Ying Fang, who says her voice is especially suited to music by Handel and Mozart is in Messiah at Houston Grand Opera Credit: Ying Fang<\/p>\n
New York-based Fang grew up in China where singing competitions are very popular. When she was 12 or 13 she went to a regional competition and won and immediately her parents were ready to sign her up for lessons. \u00a0<\/p>\n
She applied for entrance to a very prestigious high school in Shanghai. Among what she said were hundreds of applicants with only five spots available for vocal students, she was accepted.<\/p>\n
From there she went to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music where she got her bachelor\u2019s degree before going on to get her master\u2019s from Julliard in New York City. \u00a0She picked Julliard because she wanted to be in New York City for the experience and the artistic opportunities there. \u00a0Since then, she has performed in any number of international opera and concert venues including a solo recital at the Lincoln Center and Fidelio at the Met, where she had been a part of their young artists program.<\/p>\n
Messiah continues to be an audience draw both for religious reasons and because it\u2019s almost a ritual to hear it, Fang said. \u201cHandel in his time was a superstar and he still is now, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked why she likes singing Messiah and why people should come to the performances, she said:<\/p>\n
\u201cI am lucky because my voice fits the style of baroque and also of Mozart. But also I think it\u2019s the divine melodic writing of Handel and also of Mozart . It\u2019s hard to not love their music.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe music will speak for itself. Mozart\u2019s rearrangement, it adds this beautiful warmth and color to the orchestra and\u00a0 think it will bring the audience a new experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso in the staging of the great Robert Wilson. It\u2019s really a masterpiece of visual theater. I think the audience will find meaning through the stillness. Through the abstract and think that\u2019s an incredible theatrical experience. \u201c<\/p>\n
Performances are scheduled for April 17 through May 3 at \u00a07:30 p.m. \u00a0Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sundays at Wortham Theater Center, 501 Texas. Sung in English with projected English. For more information, call 713-228-6737 or visit houstongrandopera.org. The Friday May 1 performance is a special \u201cUnder 40 Friday\u201d with discounted tickets for audience members under 40 years old. $25-$290.50.<\/p>\n
\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Houston Grand Opera calls it \u201ca surreal and mesmerizing theatrical spectacle.\u201d\u00a0 In this production of Handel\u2019s Messiah, not…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":248242,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[11002,226,56,11001,58,57,94337,25589],"class_list":{"0":"post-248241","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-hgo","9":"tag-homepage","10":"tag-houston","11":"tag-houston-grand-opera","12":"tag-houston-headlines","13":"tag-houston-news","14":"tag-messiah","15":"tag-ticket-prices"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248241\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}