Out There :: Cash With A Gay Twist

From the land of Down Under came word of a bank promotion that embraced gay culture during the recent Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. ANZ bank transformed several ATMs in central Sydney, Australia into dazzling "GAYTM s" inspired by lesbian and gay culture. That meant cash-dispensing machines given a makeover in hand-bejeweled rhinestones, sequins, studs, leather, denim and fur. Motifs included unicorns, drag queens, rainbows, tattoos, anchors aweigh, and big, open mouths (for deposits?). Screens were programmed to greet customers with gay come-ons like, "Hello, Gorgeous!" Receipts carried cheeky messages like, "Cash out and proud!" Why can't we have GAYTMs here in the "Gay Mecca?"

Debut Recital

Soprano Natalie Dessay will make her Davies Symphony Hall debut in a solo recital of French and German art-songs this coming Saturday night, March 15, at 8 p.m. She will be accompanied by her long-time collaborator, pianist Philippe Cassard.

Not yet one year ago (June 2013), the famed coloratura soprano announced she would leave the opera-house stage, but it appears she's far from calling it quits. Reshaping her career, Dessay's focus is now on the more intimate repertoire of a recitalist, and she's taken a foray into the pop world as well. Her CD released last October Entre elle et lui - Natalie Dessay sings Michel Legrand was awarded a gold disc by the Erato label and Warner Music France. She is featured as Violetta in Verdi 's La Traviata in the two-hour documentary Becoming Traviata (2013) by French filmmaker Philippe Beziat. And she has expressed interest in returning to her dramatic acting roots.

San Francisco Opera audiences first knew Dessay cast as Lucia in Donizetti 's Lucia di Lammermoor in 2008, and last year she appeared as Antonia in SFO's production of Offenbach 's Tales of Hoffmann. The Davies Hall solo recital is set to include works by Schumann - Clara, that is - Brahms, Duparc , Strauss, Faure, Poulenc and Debussy. Tickets are available at sfsymphony.org, (415) 864-6000, or at the Symphony Hall box office.

OT Playlist

We've been listening to "Morning Phase" (Capitol), the new album by Beck. Like his 2002 "Sea Change," it's slow and stately, with a string section and slow-strummed guitar. The strings were arranged by Beck's father David Campbell, who did similar duty for recording artists in the 1970s.

This is mostly quiet, introspective, contemplative music, just our cuppa tea. In a song like "Wave," Beck sings a lament above the strings exploring a minor key. If OT has one reservation about the album, it's the message in many of its lyrics that solitude equals punishment. "I'm so tired of being alone," Beck sings in "Blue Moon." "These penitent walls are all I've known./Oooh blue moon, don't leave me on my own./Oooh blue moon, left me standing all alone." As a corrective to all the whining, we offer this lyric from Sam Phillips ' recent album "Push Any Button": "When I'm alone now, when I'm all alone,/I'm not lonely, no I'm not lonely." Spoken, or rather sung, like a contented introvert.

The first album by Mehliana - aka keyboardist Brad Mehldau and drummer Mark Guiliana - is out from Nonesuch, and it's called "Taming the Dragon." Mehldau has long been at the top of our list of jazz pianists -- he's bringing his trio (with Larry Grenadier on bass, and Jeff Ballard on drums) to SFJazz on April 5 -- but his range has always been wide. He plays his own compositions as well as his variations on standards, and has even written the suite "Love Songs," settings of poems by e.e. cummings and Sarah Teasdale, accompanying mezzo Anne Sofie Von Otter in performance.

"Taming the Dragon" is another animal entirely. Mehldau plays vintage synthesizers, with Guiliana on drums and effects, and the duo have a loose, improvisatory feel. Plus, they swing. On the title tune, Mehldau offers a spoken-word anecdote that links creative energy with the Id. From there it's a magical mystical tour into well-wrought funk.

Last week brought the sad news that avant-garde American composer Robert Ashley had died. Ashley's biographer Kyle Gann said in a statement, "Bob was one of the most amazing composers of the 20th century, and the greatest genius of 20th-century opera. I don't know how long it's going to take the world to recognize that. And it hardly matters. He knew it. That the world was too stupid to keep up was not his problem."

Discovering Ashley's 1983 "TV opera" "Perfect Lives" was one of those art moments that changed our life. Before MTV even existed, Ashley was exploring the possibilities of "music video" uncompromised and committed to his vision. "These are songs about the Corn Belt, and some of the people in it, or on it." His other great works include "Atalanta (Acts of God)," "Improvement (Don Leaves Linda)," "Celestial Excursions," and "Dust." He finished his last opera, "Crash," three months before his death; it's having its premiere at the 2014 Whitney Museum Biennial. He was one of the greats in contemporary art-music.