Rehearsal

(Mezzo-soprano Katalin Halmai sits waiting for conductor Matyas Antal to begin the afternoon rehearsal of Alma. )

Rehearsals are exciting, especially for me, a non-musician out in the audience watching and listening. I had the honor of sitting next to Harold during the rehearsal of ALMA. He had told me that the mezzo-soprano singing the Alma solos was top-flight, and so she was. Katalin Halmai's Alma was strong yet nuanced, and her passion for the cantata was obvious; I saw her singing along with chorus, even though she, as soloist, could have remained silent, saving her voice for the big solo moments.




Katalin obtained her diploma at the Franz Liszt Music Academy of Budapest. From 1990 onwards she participated in several singing competitions and has been an active member of Hungary's music life. She has performed, among others, with the Bach Academy of Stuttgart, the Munich Chamber Orchestra, the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig and the Vienna Philharmonic. Conductors that worked with her include Rilling, Hager, Blomstedt, Norrington and Iván Fischer. From 1995 she sang frequently in the two opera houses of Vienna (Rosina, Cindarella, Cherubino, Zerlina, Siebel). Since 2002 she has been taching at the Franz Liszt Music Academy in Budapest.




And the evening's performance? I was so excited I forgot to take photographs! The performance was breath-taking. I sat transfixed, when I was not humming along with the singers.




The Győr Philharmonic Orchestra
(Győri Filharmonikus Zenekar)
on the stage of the orchestra's home:
The János Richter Hall, Győr, Hungary.
Photograph courtesy of the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra
(http://www.gyorifilharmonikusok.hu/)


To top it all off, Emoke B'racz , of Asheville's Malaprop's Bookstore, appeared after the conclusion of the cantata, having received a special invitationn to attend when I learned she would be in Gyor that very day. Emoke hails from the countryside around Gyor, and I told her the landscape, with its black soil and cornfields, reminded me of my own childhood place in S. Georgia.

Emoke, as most people in our WNC region know, is both a bookseller and a poet. Here are her words about the importance of poetry:

"Poetry is still my favorite way to educate my soul. Words carry the appropriate space between them for my soul to meander in and learn new paths for being. The universe measures how much time we spend there and gifts those brave enough to walk a lyrical life.” -- Poet’s Corner by Emoke, Malaprops bookstore and cafe, Asheville NC--from wnc-woman.com/0804emoke.html.



(Emoke in Malaprop's bookstore)