Varda Kotler
Encyclopedia
Varda Kotler is an Israel
i soprano
singer, who in recent years has been performing and recording mainly in France
.
. She began her professional career at the New Israeli Opera, and continued in the opera houses of Zürich
, Monte Carlo
, Lausanne
, Messina and the Wiener Operntheatre in Vienna
, performing operas and concerts with the conductors Pinchas Steinberg
, Siegfried Köhler, Lawrence Foster
, Kees Bakels
, Arthur Fægen, Steven Sloane
, Mendy Rodan, and Hugo Weisgall
with the New York Chamber Symphony
Orchestra. Among the opera roles she has performed are Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro
, Rosina in The Barber of Seville
, Siebel in Gounod
's Faust
, Stéphano in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette
, and Flora in La traviata
.
In recent years Kotler has turned to the genre
s of oratorio
, lied
er and chamber music
of various ensamble
s, including piano
, harpsichord
, flute
, cello
, violin
and guitar
. Among the works she has performed are:
Kotler has also performed, among other places, at The Théâtre de Beaulieu in Lausanne
, the opera house of Opéra de Monte-Carlo
, the Conservatoire de musique de Genève
in Geneva
, and at The Y Hall in New York City
with the New York Chamber Symphony orchestra.
and his compositions, Varda Kotler and Alex Ansky appeared in 2005 in the concert "Songs of the Lost Treasure" as part of the Holon Theater's festival of "Women Creators in Art". In this show, Kotler performed works by Paul Ben-Haim, together with Mozart
aria
s and melodies by Vivaldi
, Berlioz
and Schubert
– poetic texts with poetic music. Kotler sang in the original languages, and Ansky read Hebrew
translations.
With Jeff Cohen – piano:
:
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
singer, who in recent years has been performing and recording mainly in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Career
Kotler is a graduate of the Rubin Academy of Music (now known as Buchmann-Mehta School of Music), Tel Aviv UniversityTel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...
. She began her professional career at the New Israeli Opera, and continued in the opera houses of Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
, Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
, Messina and the Wiener Operntheatre in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, performing operas and concerts with the conductors Pinchas Steinberg
Pinchas Steinberg
Pinchas Steinberg is an Israeli conductor.He was a violin student in the USA and a composition student in Berlin. His conducting debut was in 1974 with the RIAS Symphony Orchestra, Berlin. He was a regular guest conductor with the Vienna State Opera from 1986-1993...
, Siegfried Köhler, Lawrence Foster
Lawrence Foster
Lawrence Foster is an American conductor.He became the conductor of the San Francisco Ballet at the age of 18, and served as Assistant Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta...
, Kees Bakels
Kees Bakels
Kees Bakels is a Dutch conductor.Bakels began his musical career as a violinist, and later studied conducting at the Amsterdam Conservatory and the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy...
, Arthur Fægen, Steven Sloane
Steven Sloane
Steven Sloane is an American-born conductor based in Germany.He has been musical director of the Symphony Orchestra in Bochum since 1994. He is also musical director of the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra in Stavanger, Norway, a post he has held since 2007.In August 1999, Sloane was appointed Music...
, Mendy Rodan, and Hugo Weisgall
Hugo Weisgall
Hugo David Weisgall was an American composer and conductor, known chiefly for his opera and vocal music compositions...
with the New York Chamber Symphony
New York Chamber Symphony
The New York Chamber Symphony was an American chamber orchestra based in New York City. It was active from 1977 to 2002.It was founded in 1977 by its founding music director Gerard Schwarz, and Omus Hirshbein. Its original name was the Y Chamber Symphony, and it was the resident ensemble at the...
Orchestra. Among the opera roles she has performed are Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro
Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
, Rosina in The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville, or The Futile Precaution is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's comedy Le Barbier de Séville , which was originally an opéra comique, or a mixture of spoken play with music...
, Siebel in Gounod
Charles Gounod
Charles-François Gounod was a French composer, known for his Ave Maria as well as his operas Faust and Roméo et Juliette.-Biography:...
's Faust
Faust (opera)
Faust is a drame lyrique in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Part 1...
, Stéphano in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette
Roméo et Juliette
Roméo et Juliette is an opéra in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. It was first performed at the Théâtre Lyrique , Paris on 27 April 1867...
, and Flora in La traviata
La traviata
La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
.
In recent years Kotler has turned to the genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
s of oratorio
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
, lied
Lied
is a German word literally meaning "song", usually used to describe romantic songs setting German poems of reasonably high literary aspirations, especially during the nineteenth century, beginning with Carl Loewe, Heinrich Marschner, and Franz Schubert and culminating with Hugo Wolf...
er and chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
of various ensamble
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
s, including piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, harpsichord
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
, flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
and guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
. Among the works she has performed are:
- BachJohann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's MagnificatMagnificat (Bach)The Magnificat in D major, BWV 243, is a major vocal work of Johann Sebastian Bach. It was composed for orchestra, a five-part choir and four or five soloists. The text is the canticle of Mary, mother of Jesus, as told by Luke the Evangelist .Bach composed an initial version in E flat major in 1723...
, in Israel with the Israel Kibbutz Orchestra and at the Église française in ZürichZürichZurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
. - MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
's RequiemRequiem (Mozart)The Requiem Mass in D minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was composed in Vienna in 1791 and left unfinished at the composer's death. A completion by Franz Xaver Süssmayr was delivered to Count Franz von Walsegg, who had anonymously commissioned the piece for a requiem Mass to commemorate the...
, at the Madlen Church in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... - Mozart's Great Mass, at various churches in Paris and Zürich.
- HandelGeorge Frideric HandelGeorge Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
's cantataCantataA cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
s. - BerliozHector BerliozHector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts . Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a...
' Les Nuits d'Ete (Summer Nights). - Luciano BerioLuciano BerioLuciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian composer. He is noted for his experimental work and also for his pioneering work in electronic music.-Biography:Berio was born at Oneglia Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (October 24, 1925 – May 27, 2003) was an Italian...
's Folk SongsFolk Songs (Berio)Folk Songs is a song cycle by the Italian composer Luciano Berio composed in 1964. It consists of arrangements of folk music from various countries and other songs, forming "a tribute to the extraordinary artistry" of the American singer Cathy Berberian, a specialist in Berio's music. It is scored...
.
Kotler has also performed, among other places, at The Théâtre de Beaulieu in Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
, the opera house of Opéra de Monte-Carlo
Opéra de Monte-Carlo
The Opéra de Monte-Carlo is an opera house located in the principality of Monaco.With the lack of cultural diversions available in Monaco in the 1870s, Prince Charles III, along with the Société des Bains de Mer, decided on the construction of an opera house. Initially, it was Charles III's...
, the Conservatoire de musique de Genève
Conservatoire de musique de Genève
The Conservatoire de musique de Genève is a music school in Geneva, Switzerland.Founded by François Bartholoni in 1835. This conservatory is the oldest music education institution in Switzerland and one of the oldest conservatory in Europe. Franz Liszt has taught at this conservatory during the...
in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, and at The Y Hall in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
with the New York Chamber Symphony orchestra.
Honoring Paul Ben-Haim
In dedication and honor to Paul Ben-HaimPaul Ben-Haim
Paul Ben-Haim was an Israeli composer. Born Paul Frankenburger in Munich, Germany, he studied composition with Friedrich Klose and he was assistant conductor to Bruno Walter and Hans Knappertsbusch from 1920 to 1924...
and his compositions, Varda Kotler and Alex Ansky appeared in 2005 in the concert "Songs of the Lost Treasure" as part of the Holon Theater's festival of "Women Creators in Art". In this show, Kotler performed works by Paul Ben-Haim, together with Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
aria
Aria
An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment...
s and melodies by Vivaldi
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi , nicknamed because of his red hair, was an Italian Baroque composer, priest, and virtuoso violinist, born in Venice. Vivaldi is recognized as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and his influence during his lifetime was widespread over Europe...
, Berlioz
Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts . Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a...
and Schubert
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
– poetic texts with poetic music. Kotler sang in the original languages, and Ansky read Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
translations.
Unique Recordings
Kotler is active in quest for unique works of music, and she performs such music in recitals and chamber music concerts. Some of these works have also been recorded and published:- The album "Melodies" of Paul Ben-Haim compositions, many of which are first performances of manuscriptManuscriptA manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
s she found in the National Library of Israel archives. - Previously unknown English melodies by Charles Gounod found in London library.
Awards
Two of Kotler's albums won the annual French Victoires de la Musique Classique prize:- 2002: the album "Charles Gounod (1818-1893): 19 Mélodies londoniennes" accompanied by the pianist Veronique Barraud.
- 2005: the album "Melodies", of Paul Ben-Haim compositions accompanied by the pianist Jeff Cohen.
Discography
With Veronique Barraud – Piano:- Récital, works by Giovanni Battista PergolesiGiovanni Battista PergolesiGiovanni Battista Pergolesi was an Italian composer, violinist and organist.-Biography:Born at Iesi, Pergolesi studied music there under a local musician, Francesco Santini, before going to Naples in 1725, where he studied under Gaetano Greco and Francesco Feo among others...
, George Frideric HandelGeorge Frideric HandelGeorge Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
, Georges BizetGeorges BizetGeorges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a...
, Maurice RavelMaurice RavelJoseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
, Francis PoulencFrancis PoulencFrancis Jean Marcel Poulenc was a French composer and a member of the French group Les six. He composed solo piano music, chamber music, oratorio, choral music, opera, ballet music, and orchestral music...
and Joaquín RodrigoJoaquín RodrigoJoaquín Rodrigo Vidre, 1st Marquis of the Gardens of Aranjuez , commonly known as Joaquín Rodrigo, was a composer of classical music and a virtuoso pianist. Despite being nearly blind from an early age, he achieved great success...
, REM 311326 X.C.D, 1999 - Charles GounodCharles GounodCharles-François Gounod was a French composer, known for his Ave Maria as well as his operas Faust and Roméo et Juliette.-Biography:...
(1818–1893): 19 Mélodies londoniennes – Chants d'amour et d'exil / Love and exile songs, REM 311333 XCD (Austria) , 2000
With Jeff Cohen – piano:
- Paul Ben-HaimPaul Ben-HaimPaul Ben-Haim was an Israeli composer. Born Paul Frankenburger in Munich, Germany, he studied composition with Friedrich Klose and he was assistant conductor to Bruno Walter and Hans Knappertsbusch from 1920 to 1924...
, "Melodies", Arion ARN68643, February 2004
Video
Two of Kotler's video clips were aired on the "Sequences Classic" strip of the French television channel Mezzo TVMezzo TV
Mezzo is a French television channel devoted to classical music , jazz and world music. It was formed in 1992 and was called France Supervision until 1998.Its slogan is 'Écouter, Voir, Oser' ....
:
- "My Beloved Spake", from her 2001 album of Melodies by Charles GounodCharles GounodCharles-François Gounod was a French composer, known for his Ave Maria as well as his operas Faust and Roméo et Juliette.-Biography:...
. The lyrics of this clip are from King James Version translation of Song of SongsSong of songsSong of Songs, also known as the Song of Solomon, is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. It may also refer to:In music:* Song of songs , the debut album by David and the Giants* A generic term for medleysPlays...
– chapter 2, verse 10. Gounod wrote this piece and all others in the album when living in England, between 1870 and 1874. - Maurice RavelMaurice RavelJoseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
: "Vocalise Etude en form de Habanera", from Kotler's album "Récital".
External links
- Varda Kotler – official web site
- Review of the Paul Ben Haim "Melodies" album in Revue des Deux Mondes (in FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
) - Varda kotler in Bibliothèque nationale de France (in FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
) - Charles Gounod: Mélodies Françaises
- Radio France: Varda Kotler in the program Le jardin des dieux par François-Xavier Szymczak (in FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
) - Archives have a Life of their Own—New Discoveries in Ben-Haim’s Legacy
- Paul Ben-Haim (1897-1984) German and Hebrew lieder
- American and Israeli Jews Performing Together
- Radio Canada: Varda Kotler in the program musique classique avec Sylvia L'écuyer
- Radio France: Varda Kotler in the program Le Magazine par Lionel Esparza