…..about the Eastside Sinfonietta
In the hands of Garretson and company, these 60-year-old art songs
sound not just relevant but revelatory, yanked into the present by
Tracy Wannamoe’s soprano sax and Jason Payne’s sharp-angled
drumming. The bitter material has an obvious attraction for these
seasoned players, who have paid the bills backing everyone from Macy
Gray to Rufus Wainwright. According to keyboardist and co-producer
Joseph Berardi, “Those songs sum up the experience of every
artist I know here who’s trying to do something that’s
not part of the company line. It still applies.”
But Garretson shows her deepest personal connection in her intimate
reading of “Surabaya Johnny,” a torch song to end all
torch songs. Converting the narrator’s rage into something like
acceptance, she nearly whispers the choruses: “You’ve
got no heart, Johnny . . . but I still love you so.” Garretson
explains, “When I do the song, I’m thinking about the
different Surabaya Johnnies in my own life. By the third verse, I’m
thinking about my relationship with my father.” That this interpretation
holds its own against formidable — and often angrier —
recordings by Marlene Dietrich, “legit” soprano Teresa
Stratas and the composer’s wife, Lotte Lenya, is a tribute not
just to Garretson, but to Brecht and Weill themselves." Franklin
Bruno, LA Weekly
“Hollywood of old was also evoked by the Eastside Sinfonietta,
which updates Brecht songs by Kurt Weill and Hanns Eilser…With
Weba Garretson as an arresting, latter-day Lotte Lenya, the songs
- sour and sensuous - seemed just about perfect for our own times………Los
Angles Times.
“Singer Weba Garretson executes the multilingual interpretation
with cool and grace; Joseph Berardi works up piquant harmonies on
vibes and pump organ; Ralph Gorodetsky and J. Payne oom-pop the rhythms
on bass and drums; Tracy Wannomae's woodwinds spiel out perfect obbligatos
--- and suddenly you understand why those dead Germans can still draw
a crowd." LA Weekly
“The spiky Garretson has a smoky, haunted voice that lends itself
well to 'Bilbao Song' and ‘Surabaya Johnny..'”
Daily News
"Interspersed throughout the evening were musical selections
from Brecht, Weill and Eisler, performed by Weba Garretson and The
Eastside Sinfonietta. Poured into a skin-tight, figure-revealing sheath,
wearing high-heeled boots and with her steel-gray hair cropped short,
vocalist Garretson brought down the house with her rich voice and
unique, new interpretations of songs from the Brecht Canon."
COMMUNICATIONS from the International Brecht Society
…..about Weba Garretson in HAPPY END
“Garretson is the firm center of the theatrical chaos. She has
a limited but effective voice and knows how to use it to put across
text and emotion….it’s hard not to sound rigid balancing
on high beams with the band seemingly miles away down below --- but
Garretson’s sheer theatrical exhilaration at breaking theatrical
boundaries is enough compensation.”
Los Angles Times."
‘The Bilbao Song’ ‘The Sailor's
Tango’ ‘The Mandelay Song’ and ‘Surabaya Johnny’
are brilliant. It's good to see this production of Happy End, because
it's always interesting to see famous songs in context. And because
Weba Garretson really cares about the words, and the savage, sensual
vision of decayed romantic life they convey. She puts the songs across."
KCRW
…..about Weba Garretson & Bill Viola’s The
Passions
"In a seminal work of the most delicate beauty and poise, Catherine's
Room (created in close collaboration with the actress Weba Garretson),
Bill Viola has found a home and a habitation for the interior life,
an imaginary retreat." Peter Sellars, The Passions at JP Getty
Museum, Los Angeles: January 23-April 27th,
National Gallery, London: October 22, 2003 - January 4, 2004
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