Melba
Hall
The
University of Melbourne
Thursday 30 October 2014
The
secret is in the socks.
The
singers generally had eight or nine minutes between finishing one aria and
going back on to re-orient their head-space towards the next. Perhaps they
liked to walk about a bit backstage to hum the orchestral introduction and sing
the entry.
The
orchestra, in this case Simon Bruckard, had less than half a minute to get the
key, time signature, the nature of the aria and the opening dynamics settled in
his head. That’s why accompanists have shiny knees. Not just from praying to St
Cecilia. They have no time to find a hanky before he/she makes their entry so they
wipe their sweaty palms on their trousers. In a few seconds Simon transported himself
in time: from Mozart to Menotti, from Bellini to Bizet. Once oriented, he played
each opening section to match what he knew would be the singers’ own dynamics:
speed, volume and density of sound. The voice entries were seamless; Simon saw
to that.
 |
| Simon Bruckard, Image courtesy of Victorian Opera http://www.victorianopera.com.au/about/master-of-music-opera-performance-2014/ |
We
saw all this tonight. Unsung, unacknowledged, except in the last few seconds of
the recital, the orchestra – because that’s what he was – formed the base on
which the singers built their magic. Even the invitation to drinks asked us to
meet the singers – not the musicians, just the singers. Without his art, his
magic, his solid expertise, his underpinning musicianship, no amount of
wonderful acting – even that new-found skill of Matthew Tng, no amount of
first-class singing would have saved the singers.
He
didn’t follow. He didn’t lead. He was there with them, singly and together in
ensemble every note of the way. Like a great hockey player he knew where the
ball was going to go so he ran with them to that point. And if he is as good as
he appeared to be in tonight’s performances they wouldn’t have realised he was
doing it.
Simon
is a virtuosic pianist:
but he is more than that. He’s that rare musician: an
accompanist. And more than that he’s a répétiteur: pianist, language coach,
voice coach and rehearsal coach. He provided the lovely running figure under
their lovely legato lines in Cosi. He
provided the chromatic and timing structure for then to be secure in the
recitatives in Figaro: spot-on all
the time. He provided the frenetic dance colour in Carmen. He provided the beautiful cello-ish line in Die Zauberflöte. His was a superb
performance. Sometimes I would have like more assertiveness, though, f or ff
instead of mf, because it’s better to
ask, I think, ‘Am I too loud?’
 |
| Simon Bruckard, Image courtesy of Victorian Opera http://www.victorianopera.com.au/about/master-of-music-opera-performance-2014 |
How
did he, in an instant, transport his head in time – Délibes to Donizetti? It’s
the socks. He has three pair. Look for the Tardis.
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