Talise Trevigne: At the Statue of Venus
Featuring an opera by Jake Heggie and Terrance McNally
and the Santa Fe songs by Glen Roven
At the Statue of Venus is Talise Trevigne's debut CD. A passionate supporter and interpreter of contemporary music, Miss Trevigne sang the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s song cycle ‘Pieces of 9/11 – Memories from Houston’ at Houston Grand Opera, and her solo CD, ‘At the Statue of Venus’ (GPR Records), written by Mr Heggie and Glen Roven—award-winning composers both—quickly climbed to the top of the US record charts. She is featured on Jake Heggie’s latest CD release, ‘here/after, songs of lost voices’ alongside Stephen Costello, Joyce DiDonato and Nathan Gunn. She is in constant demand in Opera Houses throughtout the world but is perhaps best known for creating the role of "Pip," in Heggie's opera of Moby Dick.
from At The Statue of Venus
Talise Trevigne
as Pip in Moby Dick
at the Nothin' Like a Dame benefit
Electronic Press Kit
It was during an extensive search to cast the demanding role of Pip in Moby-Dick that I first heard of Talise Trevigne. It was a very particular type of soprano I wanted for this crucial role, and she had proved to be very hard to find. Several long months went by before I got the call: “We found her!” And boy, did we. Talise proved to be a dream on every level. First, there’s the voice: a silvery, glamorous, shimmering soprano with extraordinary range and color, great agility, and fantastic diction. The actress: committed, fearless, natural, radiant onstage, deeply connected, entirely committed to the character and drama. And the person: generous, giving, delightful, funny, human, real, genuine – and a killer baker. None of us in the original production of Moby-Dick will forget the rehearsal when Talise brought in some homemade goodies and put us all into a food coma. She is an artist and friend I will turn to again and again in the years to come, and it is a great thrill and honor to be part of her first solo CD.
Jake Heggie, Composer
This is a stunning CD from Talise Trevigne!!! Her voice is lovely and brilliantly shines
on these pieces from some of our greatest living composers. I'm so happy to
be one of the first people to buy this CD.
I truly believe this could be a Grammy Contender for next year!
I'm excited to see her in San Diego Opera's "Moby Dick" also written by the amazing Jake Heggie.
This is a CD you will want to own.
Everyday Opera
David Browning, Taminophile
Read the article from the Santa Fe Magazine
Pasatiempo and Glen Roven composing
The Santa Fe Songs
The centerpiece of this CD is Jake Heggie's "At the Statue of Venus". The songs as a whole are quite beautiful, showing the conflict and fear in the woman's heartand the humor of the libretto at the same time. Miss Trevigne gives us lyrical, passionate,
beautifully heartfelt performances of these songs. This work is worth the price of the CD.
"The Santa Fe Songs," are settings by Mr. Roven of eight poems by various poets each related in some way to Santa Fe.
Mr. Roven discloses in his liner notes how finding the volume that contains these poems
offered some solace in the dazed period after suffering a tragic loss.
Among my favorites are "Listening to jazz now" (Jimmy Santiago Baca),
a joyful song about simple pleasures. "Bowl" (Valerie Martìnez)
contemplates a bowl as metaphor for the cosmos, the earth and sea, and a chalice
that unites all mankind. In "Flying Backbone" (Christopher Buckley),
Mr. Roven's piano part reflects the logy feeling of the first verse
("...our selves water heavy and/Low, lusterless as river bottom clay. ") and the more airy feeling of the second. "Bone Bead"
and "Sowing the Pecos Wilderness" (both Thomas Fox Averill) are about
the emptiness and eventual hope felt after flinging a loved one's ashes to the wind.
Miss Trevigne sings these songs, somewhat more complex in melodic nature than those of
Mr. Heggie, with beauty of tone and feeling for the poems. As with all the songs on this album,
it is easy to understand her English diction. This is a major accomplishment for any singer.
Bowl (Roven)