FREE SPIRIT PUSHES BEYOND OPERA'S WALLS.Byline: - Reed Johnson Reed Cameron Johnson (born December 8, 1976 in Riverside, California) is an outfielder for the Toronto Blue Jays of the American League East division of Major League Baseball. He weighs 180 lb (82 kg) and is 5'10" tall. THE FACTS Dawn Upshaw swings easily between the secular and sacred, the popular and the consciously profound. Her recitals are well-known for daringly rubbing classical and contemporary works together like flint stones, and letting the sparks fly where they may. At 37, the Chicago-bred singer has assembled a repertoire that can accommodate virtually any composer from Monteverdi, Mozart, Stravinsky or George Crumb to Rodgers and Hart, Aaron Copland and British postpunker Joe Jackson. Four years ago, her wrenching account of Gorecki's Third Symphony helped propel the Polish composer's mournful mourn·ful adj. 1. Feeling or expressing sorrow or grief; sorrowful. 2. Causing or suggesting sadness or melancholy: the mournful sound of a train whistle. ode to an astonishing a·ston·ish tr.v. as·ton·ished, as·ton·ish·ing, as·ton·ish·es To fill with sudden wonder or amazement. See Synonyms at surprise. No. 6 on Britain's pop music charts. A few months later, her sunny soprano could be heard chirping chirp n. A short, high-pitched sound, such as that made by a small bird or an insect. intr.v. chirped, chirp·ing, chirps To make a short, high-pitched sound. ``O, Kay you're OK with me'' on the Nonesuch none·such also non·such n. 1. A person or thing without equal. 2. See black medic. none re-recording of the Gershwins' featherweight romantic comedy ``O Kay!'' Then, for a change of pace between performances of ``The Rake's Progress'' and ``Der Rosenkavalier,'' she graced Joe Jackson's pop-classical chamber work ``Heaven and Hell'' before an audience of Manhattan hipsters on West 54th Street. ``I think that's a pretty cool concept, that CD,'' she says of Jackson's high-concept album. ``It was certainly a different world to step into briefly.'' It puzzles Upshaw slightly whenever critics or audiences seem surprised that these seemingly mismatched songs could coexist in the same person. ``Maybe I'm a little bit surprised,'' she says, speaking by phone from San Francisco. ``I think you know it all comes from my own interests, but I suppose there are people out there that think - or maybe they don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. - that I'm trying to prove something, and I'm really not. I'm fortunate that I can pick and choose.'' ``I was afraid for a while that, `Geez geez interj. Used to express mild surprise, delight, dissatisfaction, or annoyance. [Shortening and alteration of Jesus1.] , everybody's going to be so confused that they're not going to know where I fit in.' '' Barriers don't apply In fact, since the late 1980s, Upshaw has been fitting in at opera houses, recital halls and recording studios around the world. Tonight she begins a three-concert engagement with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LAP) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. History Founded in 1919 by William Andrews Clark, Jr. . She'll perform ``Laurie's Song'' from Copland's opera ``The Tender Land,'' along with a signature aria, ``No word from Tom,'' from Stravinsky's ``The Rake's Progress,'' and Lukas Foss' 1960 ``Time Cycle,'' which brings together texts by W.H. Auden, A.E. Housman, Franz Kafka and Friedrich Nietzsche. She'll be back in town March 15 for a solo recital with pianist Gilbert Kalish. Candid and refreshingly unaffected, Upshaw has an unusually good rapport both with audiences and critics, who've generally praised her willingness to take risks. As her career keeps pushing in new directions, certain anecdotes keep getting recycled to explain her open-mindedness, her close attention to text, and her staunch advocacy of American music. One frequently cited factoid fac·toid n. 1. A piece of unverified or inaccurate information that is presented in the press as factual, often as part of a publicity effort, and that is then accepted as true because of frequent repetition: is that both her parents performed in folk groups and that she grew up listening to Peter, Paul and Mary The trio Peter, Paul and Mary (often PP&M) is a musical group from the United States; they were one of the most successful folk-singing groups of the 1960s. The trio comprises Peter Yarrow, Noel "Paul" Stookey and Mary Travers. , Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell. Yes, Upshaw says, it's true her parents' house was full of music, but the folk recitals weren't ``a big deal, it was not an ambitious or aggressive kind of thing. It was not something that took up a big part of my home life.'' Like other classical performers who've ventured successfully into new areas, she shuns the dread ``crossover'' label and wonders why it's so hard to acknowledge that musical artists naturally are drawn to different kinds of material. A more significant ``crossover'' act may be Upshaw's entry into parenting. She and her husband now have an 8-year-old girl and a boy, 4. ``For me, I feel like it keeps things in perspective. It reminds me all the time that if I'm disappointed with the way some opera rehearsal has gone, I'm very commmitted to what I do, but now I come home and I say, `It's just opera.' That's my choice, and I feel like even though in a way it has complicated my life it has calmed me down a little bit.'' What: Dawn Upshaw with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Where: Dorothy Chandler Pavilion The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is one of the halls in the Los Angeles Music Center (which is one of the three largest performing arts centers in the United States). The Music Center's other halls include the Mark Taper Forum, Ahmanson Theatre, and Walt Disney Concert Hall. , Music Center of Los Angeles County, 135 N. Grand Ave. When: 8 tonight and Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $8 to $63. Call (213) 850-2000. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Dawn Upshaw |
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