Red Deerians will get a free and flavorsome taste of opera — albeit without Viking helmets and spears — when classical singer Helen Hassinger teams up with pianist Matthew Whitfield for a May 13 concert.
The duo will perform German songs (or lieder) from Richard Strauss and Franz Schubert as well as Austrian composers Joseph Marx and Hugo Wolf, from 1 to 2 p.m. in the Snell Auditorium of the Red Deer Public Library.
They hope any Central Albertans who are curious about operatic music will come out and sample these poetic “art songs.” They will invoke, often on an epic scale, the universal themes of joy and heartbreak.
“Even if you don’t understand German, you will still understand (these) and be moved by this music,” promised Hassinger. She noted these tunes were the popular music of their day — “like their Beyoncé.”
The Wisconsin native — who narrated the Christmas concert for the Red Deer Symphony Orchestra during a visit in December— is back in the city this spring to see her partner, a Red Deerian.
She’s taking the opportunity to share her love of German lieder with another aficionado — Red Deer-based pianist Whitfield — who will be musically collaborating with her on stage.
Hassinger said this 19th Century music will be as virtuosic for Whitfield to play as it will be for her to sing. But “I enjoy the challenge of learning about the characters” in the songs, she explained, “and getting to the bottom of their intentions and motivations…
“I want to do my best to tell their stories on stage in a way that’s relatable to the audience.”
Hassinger will transform herself into a lass at her spinning wheel as she performs Schubert’s Gretchen am Spinnrade. One of Schubert’s most popular songs is about a girl who’s creating yarn from wool while thinking about her lover, who’s left her brokenhearted.
“You will hear the agony in the vocal line and the sound of spinning in the piano line,” said Hassinger.
Having graduated with a master’s degree in vocal performance from Boston University in 2018, she’s since performed with the Memphis Opera, Opera Maine, Chautauqua Opera. Hassinger has also solo-ed with many groups, including the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, the Twin Cities Catholic Chorale and the Rochester Aria Group.
Whitfield, an Ontario native who has a master’s degree in music from the University of Toronto, has explored repertoire from all centuries but has a soft-spot for German art songs.
“What I love about (them) is the way in which content and form are perfectly balanced,” said Whitfield. “Each song has deeply expressive text and equally dramatic music, all organized into these perfect little structures.”
The challenging, but also fun part, he added, is to perform this music while making it sound easy, effortless, and “sublime.”
Whitfield joked that he and Hassinger are really like “synchronized musical ducks — calm on the surface, but paddling like hell” below the water line.
The pianist and organist has conducted many large-scale choral and vocal works. He’s performed masterclasses, won prizes in a number of national and regional organ competitions, and given concerts in Canada, as well as France, and Austria.
Whitfield and Hassinger are excited to be performing for Red Deer-area residents. The free concert is being presented by the library and City of Red Deer as a way of bringing classical music to a wider audience.
lmichelin@reddeeradvocate.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter