Deborah Voigt opens the MSMF

The ancients had a saying that when opportunity comes at you headlong, you have to seize it by the whiskers, because it’s bald in the back. Once it’s gone by, there is nothing to be done. And Miami, a booming city that aspires to become a cultural destination, with all the benefits that implies, must come to terms with the reality that it sorely needs a summer festival of classical – erudite, cultured or whatever you want to call it – music.

The fact is that from Savonnlina (Finland) to Jackson Hole (Wyoming), the idea of enjoying good music in the summer has taken root everywhere, and there’s no reason why it couldn’t here, especially now that Miami has stopped being a “seasonal” city and the heat is no longer an excuse. It gets much hotter in some cities that don’t turn their backs on music. Nevertheless, the concept is still bold – for us – and will likely clash with comfortable assumptions that ignore the precedent of the highly successful Beethoven by the Beach festivals of the now-defunct Florida Philharmonic. Those fondly remembered marathons led by James Judd are still proof positive that the interest and the opportunity are both there, just waiting.

Seizing, for the second straight year, the opportunity that the off season provides is Michael Rossi, founder and artistic director of the Miami Summer Music Festival or MSMF. Rossi is putting his efforts and hopes into this enterprise, one as eagerly anticipated as it is difficult. It should be noted that the MSMF is basically a student festival, attended by young people from all over the world who want to test and improve their skills in opera, piano, orchestra and composition with the help of prominent soloists and professional instructors. Last year’s success spurs the unstoppable Rossi, who has managed to double the festival’s budget. His objective is an established festival that will one day compete with its famous summer counterparts, such as Ravinia, Tanglewood, Santa Fe, Marlboro, Aspen, Sun Valley, Santa Barbara, Menlo or Glimmerglass.

“Why not?” was the first question posed by this dynamic New Yorker, who came to Miami on vacation and was surprised (he is not the first) to learn that in this city musical activity comes to a virtual standstill from June to October. A positive answer was not long in coming, and Rossi has received support from local entities. This year, Florida International University’s music composition chair and Giselle Brodsky’s Miami International Piano Festival are both collaborating, as is Barry University, which lends the festival its facilities and provides lodging for participants, so becoming “the MSMF campus.”

For its second season, the festival is planning an attractive program that includes pieces at the edges of the standard repertoire that are not played as often as they should in Miami. That is the case with Hansel and Gretel and Cendrillon, two beautiful operas patiently awaiting introduction to the very young – and not-so-young – audiences. They are being staged along with Don Giovanni and Britten’s Albert Herring. The festival runs July 5 to August 2 and includes zarzuela, chamber music, Broadway hits and piano and opera recitals.

On July 11, Metropolitan Opera soprano Deborah Voigt performs the first half of an opening gala devoted to Wagner and Richard Strauss arias, while the second features Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, an ambitious program conducted by Rossi. Another important addition to the music scene is the Shepard and Ruth K. Broad Performing Arts Center at Barry University in Miami Shores, newly converted into a 1,000-seat auditorium boasting an ample stage, an orchestra pit and abundant free parking, sparing aficionados a small nightmare.

Some chamber performances are scheduled to take place at The Betsy Hotel, which is sponsoring several events. Managed by Rossi, the festival’s grand finale, set for July 25 at the New World Symphony’s New World Center, features The Rite of Spring, opera arias and the winner of the piano competition. In short, there will be something for everyone at affordable prices. In fact, many performances are free.

With a 100-piece orchestra composed of students from Julliard, Oberlin and other prestigious national and international conservatories (out of 1,000 applicants, some 200 were accepted) and master classes taught by Deborah Voight and Sherrill Milnes, in addition to Andrés Cárdenas, Michael Heaston, Bernard Rands and the venerable Grzegorz Novak conducting Richard Strauss’ A Hero’s Life), the MSMF promises to alleviate the long hot summer with good music provided by young enthusiasts, now that Miami finally enjoys adequate facilities.

May the MSMF be a promising first chapter, rich in possibilities and achievements, providing a summer full of much-needed good music. The opportunity has been seized, and Miami is more than grateful.

Click here for complete information.