Hugh Jackman romances crowd at Academy of Music's 156th
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Hugh Jackman romances crowd at Academy of Music's 156th
Peter Dobrin, Inquirer Classical Music Critic
Saturday night, no one was safe from the charms of Hugh Jackman. As guest for the Academy of Music’s 156th Anniversary Concert and Ball, the Australian actor sang a few songs and waved his wit around stage. He bumped fists with the concertmaster and dedicated a tune, “Soliloquy” from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel, to his father.
For “Mack the Knife,” he paid a visit to Box One of the Academy of Music, the booth just to the left of the stage, and danced briefly with the governor’s wife. When he kissed Susan Corbett, you could sense that most of the women in the house - and a decent percentage of the men – were living that moment along with her. Yes, Gov. Corbett, this sort of thing goes on in Philadelphia concert halls and theaters every night of the week.
Classical die-hards could find something to love in Jackman, even if it was the fact that he praised the orchestra on stage a dozen times in his 40-minute set. This wasn’t exactly a night of artistic growth for the Philadelphia Orchestra or music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin. But what a neat trick: the actor set out, and apparently succeeded, in thanking every member of the ensemble, rattling off in alphabetic order, with dramatic moments of struggle along the way, their first names.
“Actually, this was a surprise to me,” said Nézet-Séguin at dinner after the concert, wondering whether there wasn’t some help being whispered electronically into Jackman’s headset.
The star’s voice was more than adequately amplified, though it seemed the penetrating, slightly brassy tone was being accurately conveyed. Jackman works hard with the instrument he has at his disposal, and, not unlike Anthony Newley, a focused sound and fast vibrato get the words across with great energy. Deeper connections between text and music, however, remained subservient to charisma.
Nézet-Séguin was a great sport. Often, singers have brought in their own conductors to take over their portion of the program. But after a Strauss waltz, a polka and the William Tell Overture, Nézet-Séguin stayed (at one point to have Jackman dab the conductor’s brow with a Philadelphia Union jersey). If the orchestra was under-used this year, it was still a pleasure to hear the orchestrations in “Soliloquy” and “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning” rendered so richly.
And there was an unadvertised bonus. Doing away with the usual classical guest artist, Nézet-Séguin stepped down from the podium briefly and led the orchestra from the keyboard in the middle movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major, K. 467. We’ve heard him on harpsichord before, in Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, but that was woven into the texture, and here one could appreciate a delicately resonant, if careful, treatment of a part of greater prominence.
The last Saturday night of every January, the Academy of Music’s anniversary fete reliably brings out the city’s political, business and cultural leadership, and so it was this year. But Joanna McNeil Lewis, the Academy’s volunteer president since 2007, has tinkered with the formula with the goal of ushering in younger support. Jackman’s career is more of-the-moment than some of the mature rockers who have been recent guests (James Taylor, Billy Joel), and Saturday night Cole and Heidi Hamels came out on stage to recite a few facts about the Academy (it once hosted a football game) and to hold themselves up as youthful first-timers at the ball.
“Who would have thought we were learning culture Saturday mornings watching those cartoons?” asked Corbett after the orchestra played the William Tell Overture. You know that a younger visage for the 156-year-old hall comes not a moment too soon when even the old guard is experiencing classical music through a pop-culture lens.
sounds elite.......not for the common man, i guess— beefbre- You don't speak for the common man. Your comment really sounds ignorant, pompous, and prejudiced since I know you didn't even read the whole article. Trolling and commenting on pictures and headlines. Go back to your Springer and Miller beer. I'm a common man, a blue collar worker and I love the arts because my parents made sure we got to go to the ballet, the Philarmonic, and the shows at the Academy, in which you've never set foot in. Where did your parents take you? Wrestling?
— phillyroll - beefbre-- uh, ya, it was not Wing Bowl, if that's what you mean.— jimphilly5
- well to be fair- this was a fundraiser for the Academy. So the ticket prices were very high and therefore attended by people who can afford to offer their support by paying such a high price. The Arts should be able to be enjoyed by everyone, but events like this, out of necessity, are anything but "blue collar".— pfeif34
- Heyyyyyyyy, phillyroll! I was taken to wrestling but I still love the Arts! Don't generalize, please!— katb723
- I love all kinds of music.Payroll beefbre does make a point.Music should be enjoyed by everyone and made available to everyone no matter what the cost.Instead of closing the doors to the so called "common man"should have develop a "pay as you wish or can" like the Art Museum does.Award public school students with tickets for good grades or set up reward incentive programs.The Academy of Music would not be in such dire straights if they did a little more community out reach from the start.Katb723 can you smell what I'm cook'n?-I love wrestling too.— vrb1955
- beefbre....you are ignorant and a moron. You can see a show at the Academy for less than the cost of an Eagles game. And at the same time, you can get some class to. It IS for the common man.— FishtownFitz
- Wrestling, YUCK!— phillyroll
- Wrestling, YUCK!— phillyroll
- An Anthony Newley reference???
THAT will mean a lot to every reader born since 1965...— vessel - This is an annual fund-raising event, the point of which is to raise money, so yes, ticket prices are high. The reality is that the Kimmel Center & the Phildelphia Orchestra offer a whole host of free and low cost events both in Center City & in neighborhoods. Tickets are much less costly than those to am Eagles or Flyers game. I'd love to see everyone get out of their chairs, drop the remote and come to a concert. There is something for everyone, and yes, lots of composers living in Philadelphia bring new music to audiences. The negativity & ill informed comments on this site do nothing to educate, inform or discuss. It is disheartening that this is the best Philly.com has to offer.— Portena
- Hugh Jackman is flawless!— tbtante
Peter Dobrin is a classical music critic and culture writer for The Inquirer. Since 1989, he has written music reviews, features, news and commentary for the paper, covering such topics as the Philadelphia Museum of Art at the Venice Biennale, expansion of the Curtis Institute of Music, the Philadelphia Orchestra's bankruptcy declaration in 2011, Philadelphia's evolving performing arts center and the general health of arts and culture.
Dobrin was a French horn player. He earned an undergraduate degree in performance from the University of Miami, and received a master's degree in music criticism from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, where he studied with Elliott Galkin. He has no time to practice today.
