Democrat and Chronicle from Rochester, New York • Page 39

6C WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18, 2008 DemocfatandChronicle.com DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE ROCHESTER INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL OPERA Jazz Drama reaches zenith as the slim lady sings i a- i i i i i She says she had been considering the surgery on health grounds for years, long before the black dress incident "I didn't need the Royal Op-era House to tell me I was fat," Voigt said. "I knew I was fat" She now concedes she wouldn't have been right for the production, and thinks opera's increased focus on image is here to stay. "I think that the face of opera is changing," Voigt said. "To assume that one can weigh 300-plus pounds and still be viable on today's opera stage is naive. I tell that to young singers.

"Opera has changed immensely in my generation and it is going to change more." In 2006, the Royal Opera rehired Voigt announcing she would return to the role of Ariadne in the 2007-08 season. Beyond that, the company refuses to discuss the incident, saying only that rehearsals have gone well and it is "looking forward with great excitement to Deborah Voigt's performances in Ariadne." The ebullient Voigt seems to have put the episode squarely behind her. She has nothing but praise for her "warm and welcoming" reception by the Royal Opera and has poked fun at the furor by releasing a YouTube video titled "The Return of the Little Black Dress," in which she and her slinky nemesis make up. Ariadne auf Naxos runs until July 1. OSCAR DURAND The Shirantha Beddage Quartet played at Robert Mondavi Big Tent.

Relive the show, or hear the band for the first time, on an audio slide show at DemocratandChronicle.comjazz. FROM PAGE 1C Drumsticks diet In a festival this year that's notable for drummers Al Foster, Ben Riley, Jae Sinnett, Cyro Baptiste of Supergenerous and our own John Beck Cindy Blackman is surely the most schizophrenic. She's known as a pop-rock drummer for folks like Joss Stone and Lenny Kravitz. But for her first set at the Harro East, she was all jazz, no sign of DEMOCRATAND' CHR0NICLE.COM What did you think of the concerts? Share your reviews by clicking on this story. rock, accompanied by sax, piano and upright bass.

Leading her own quartet, Blackman's drums were at the front of every song, strong and loud. Inside story The Americana of the Philadelphia father-son duo Beau-coup Blue, playing on the outdoor stage on Gibbs Street, is my kinda thing. But getting hit by lightning isn't, so after one song about dead people, I fled the coming thunderstorm for Max of Eastman Place and crooner Sachal Vasandani. "Even if you're not liking the music, I'll bet you're glad you're inside," Vasandani said. A Chicago native now playing in New York City, Vasandani reaches deep into the vintage songbook for semi-rare chestnuts and writes his own that seem from a dustier age.

Scaggs FROM PAGE 1C can music. It wasn't the sorta soul thing that came out of Stax Records and the South, and a lot of the music I was exposed to growing up in Texas. It was the new synergy of the black expression, really." Like many white musicians blue-eyed soul is how they are often referred to by the musicologists Scaggs found that black sound to be a good fit. "That's my culture, as much as Hank Williams is my culture," he insists. "It's an evening's trend of relaxed crooning with standards such as "Pennies From Heaven." When you're a vocalist and a trombonist, it's best to not do both at the same time.

But you can do one or the other while tap-dancing. Today's jazz haiku Letting yourself go with strings, drums and piano; it's about falling And letting go Two years ago, when it was one of the hottest jazz acts in Europe, Sweden's e.s.t. (the Esbjorn Svensson Trio) played this festival. "I'm not really sure JILL LAWLESS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Deborah Voigt is back, in black. The American soprano returned to the Royal Opera House stage in London on Monday, four years after the company fired her for being too big for the little black dress chosen for the title character in Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos.

The decision sparked a debate about weight discrimination in opera. Now a slimmer Voigt is back in the same opera, the same role and wearing "that" dress. "When I got the call from my manager, I have to admit my first reaction was to laugh because we had come full circle," Voigt said. "When that happened, I didn't anticipate ever coming back because I didn't think they would invite me." Voigt, one of the world's leading opera singers, had been scheduled to play the lead in the Royal Opera's summer 2004 production of Ariadne. But the casting director decided the titular Greek goddess should wear a black evening dress and believed Voigt would not look right in it.

"I was angry about it at the time and for quite a while afterward," said Voigt, who once called the attitude toward overweight people "the last bastion of open discrimination in our society." Voigt had gastric bypass surgery in June 2004, three months after the story broke, and has lost 135 pounds. thing wrong with trying to make everything perfect? "It's a bad thing," Scaggs says. "It's very limiting, really anti-creative. It's really stifling and smothering and claustrophobic to live like that. I still have to go through a dance with myself to get something I can hang my hat on.

"We call it 'Chasing the They just don't feel as good as the demo. It's a very real thing. Sometimes you just replay things too much. Insecurities and consciousness really compound in certain ways." But by 1988 he was back, releasing albums, moving forward on all of those insecuri DEM0CRATANDCHR0NICLE.COM Find hundreds of events and things to do. gate one hour before closing); $8 advance tickets available at all Wegmans locations and a $2 coupon is available on the RHBA Web site.

(585) 272-8222 or www Humane Society at Lollypop Farm: Shelter hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays to Fridays; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays; closed major holidays.

99 Victor Road, Perinton. Free. (585) 223-1330 or www.lollypop.org. Lamberton Conservatory: Botanical garden featuring displays of exotic flowers and foliage plants from around the world in lush tropical settings. 10 a.m.

to 4 p.m. daily. Highland Park, 180 Reservoir Ave. $1 seniors and ages 6-18; free ages 5 and younger. (585) 753-7270 or www.monroecounty.gov parks-highland.

php. Seneca Park Zoo: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. 2222 St.

Paul St. $7 seniors; $5 ages 3-11; free zoo society members and ages 2 and younger. (585) 467-9453 or www.senecaparkzoo.org. Performing Arts All Shook Up: A small sleepy town in the 1950s will never be the same after a mysterious stranger arrives riding on a motorcycle and carrying a guitar. Inspired by and featuring the songs of Elvis Presley.

Performances run through June 21 2 and 7:30 p.m. June 18. Merry-Go-Round Playhouse at Emerson Park. 6877 E. Lake Road (Route 38A), Auburn.

Discounts available for seniors, students with ID and ages 17 and younger. (315) 255-1785, (800) 457-8897 or www.merry-go-round.com. Pride and Prejudice: Romantic comedy based on the classic novel by Jane Austen. Performances continue through June 22, 8 p.m. June 18.

Geva Theatre Center, 75 Woodbury Blvd. (585) 232-4382 or www RAPA Auditions: Roles for ages 8 to 15 for upcoming production of Annie Jr. 7 p.m. June 18. RAPA Playhouse, 727 E.

Main St. Call for details. (585) 325-3366 or www.rapaonline.us. The Musical of Musicals (The Musi-call): Sendup of Broadway musicals where one story becomes five charming and witty musicals. 2 p.m.

June 18. Bristol Valley Theater, 151 S. Main Naples. $28; $26 seniors; $5 college students; $10 children. (585) 374-6318 or www.bvtnaples.org.

Recreation Argentine Tango Dance with Jan Bares: 7 p.m. June 18. Nasty D's, 140 ON TELEVISION what we're trying to do," Svensson told the Democrat and Chronicle in an interview before that 2006 show at Kilbourn Hall. His band was frequently referred to as the European Me-deski Martin Wood because of its fusion of styles. "Maybe confusion.

Playing music is about losing control. You have to let go of yourself, just be with the music. It's really about falling." Svensson died Saturday in a scuba diving accident. He was only 44. His band was a fine piece of what has become a significant aspect of this festival, the Nordic acts.

KPEVAK.aDenKKratandChronde.com and touring first. And it was a big change going from 100 to 0 in a short time." The well-known story is that Scaggs was running a San Francisco nightclub called Slims. The lesser-known story is, "I couldn't go in there," Scaggs says. "I was everybody's best friend, and I'm actually a pretty private person. For the price of a beer, you're kind of on the spot.

That was a hell of an enterprise for me, and an unsuccessful one, because I couldn't participate." He never turned his back on music, and he's never quite overcome his feelings of inadequacy. But is there really any KEN HUTH Pride and Prejudice heads into its final days at Geva. 271-1880 or www.rmsc.org. FoodDrink Strawberry Festival: Picnic food and assorted strawberry delights. 5 to 7 p.m.

June 18. Trinity Reformed Church, 909 N. Landing Road, Brighton. Call for details. (585) 381-5330.

Strawberry Festival: Picnic food, entertainment and homegrown strawberries from Green Acres. Music by Lou DeLio (accordion) and the Don Newcomb Band. 4 to 7:30 p.m. June 18. Greece Historical Museum, 595 Long Pond Road, Greece.

$4.50. (585) 225-722L Just for Kids Pre-K Story Time: Jammy Time: Literature, games, songs, crafts and more for pre-K children and their families. 7 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays through June 20 (except Naples school holidays). Naples Library, 118 S.

Main Naples. Call for details. (585)374-2757. Other Guided Tour of Rochester: Walking or van transportation available. Visits historic sites such as the George Eastman House, Susan B.

Anthony House, Hiram Sibley Mansion and Frederick Douglass' office. 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 18. Washington Square Park, Clinton Avenue and Court Street.

discounts available for students and seniors. (585) 461-8336 or www.freewebs.com. Homearama 2008: Featuring seven homes, including the "Build Green. Live Green." home. Sponsored by the Rochester Home Builders' Association.

2 to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday; noon to 6 p.m. Sunday; through June 29.

Magnolia Manor, off Route 31F east of Route 250, Perinton, $9 (no tickets sold at the 9 lit Y- He has a nice, happy tenor, and once Vasandani puts a few miles on it, he may put some distance between himself and the Michael Bubles of the world. But with the two stories of windows behind Vasandani streaming with rain and lightning snaking through the sky over his head, the music was very fine, indeed. More irony, please With the Helluva Cheese folks having been bought out, and not handing out free samples, many folks have noted the absence of cheese at this year's festival. Not so. In the Big Tent, the Todd Londagin Quartet continued the interesting subject that can be exposed.

Rock and roll came out of New Orleans, went up the river and through the Delta. A whole lot of what we do is based on that. It gets adulterated in some ways, gets enhanced in other ways. We all owe something to it, and take something from it." He struggled for years with it, a critics' favorite, until he became a fans' favorite as well with Silk Degrees. But then, in 1980, he seemed to have disappeared.

"I went on hiatus," Scaggs says. "I was working pretty much constantly for pretty much 10 years. I'd made a num Chris Matthews Show averages about 2.3 million viewers, less than CBS' Face the Nation and more than Fox's show with Chris Wallace. Matthews was considered a candidate to replace Bob Schieffer on Face the Nation this year, until Schieffer decided to stay on a few more years. Matthews, who has a long history of strong opinions, would have to change his style to fit Russert's Meet the Press reportorial template.

Washington hands David Gregory and Andrea Mitchell are lesser-known but fit into the objective reporting format that made Meet the Press with Russert the first stop for Washington newsmakers. Outsiders Gwen Ifill of PBS" Washington Week, a former NBC correspondent, and CNN's John King could fit the same mold. There's some sentiment within NBC News to have top anchor Brian Williams or retired anchor Tom Brokaw to sit in temporarily, perhaps through the election. That course would give NBC the chance to find a new host and build a format around that person's strengths outside the crucible of an election season. 4M Vi r- r.

MniMi II i hi i mirri Minimn.Ali inTimm i ii rr -i ii ties. Including the voice that he and pretty much only he felt wasn't up to the job. "Only in the last 10 years can I listen to my voice," Scaggs says. He's recorded new versions of songs like "Lowdown," ones he can listen to, and has an album of jazz standards coming out this fall. Slim's didn't prove to be the outlet, or the distraction, that he had hoped.

He's found others. "I'm happier now than I've ever been," Scaggs says. "My wife and I bought some property in Napa Hills and put in a couple of acres of grape vines. We're going to make wine." JSPEVAK dOemocratandChronicle.com Alexander St. $4.

(585) 256-1000 or www.midnighttango.com. Kayak and Canoe Rentals: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 18. Canaltown Paddlesports, off Union Street just west of the gazebo, next to the canal, Spencerport.

$15 tandem or canoe and $12 single kayak, each per hour. (585) 355-7855 or www.canaltownpaddlesports.com. Swing Dance: 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. June 18. DancEncounters, 1115 E.

Main St. $6. (585) 473-8550. Wednesday Night Paddling Race: Start the course between 6 and 7 p.m. Wednesdays through Aug.

6. BayCreek Paddling Center, 1099 Empire Pent ield. $5. (585) 288-2830 or www.baycreek.com. Talks American Wars Book Group: The Rough Riders, by Theodore Roosevelt.

7 p.m. June 18. Barnes Noble Booksellers, The Mall at Greece Ridge, Greece Ridge Center Drive, Greece. Free. (585) 227-4020 or www.bn.com.

Book Discussion: Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen. 7 p.m. June 18. Ironde-quoit Public Library. Helen McGraw Branch, 2180 E.

Ridge Road. Ironde-quoit. Free. (585) 336-6060. Book Discussion: John Banville: The Sea.

7 p.m. June 18. Brighton Memorial Library, 2300 Elmwood Brighton. Free. (585) 784-5300, TDD (585) 784-5302 or www.brightonlibrary.org.

Theme Parks Darien Lake Theme Park Resort: 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. June 18. 9993 Allegheny Road, Darien Center. Call for details.

(585) 599-4641 or www.godarienlake Roseland Waterpark: 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. June 18. 250 Eastern Canan-daigua. Call for details.

(585) 396-2000 or www.roselandwaterpark.com. Seabreeze Amusement Park: 10 a.m. June 18. Seabreeze Amusement Park and Raging Rivers Waterpark, 4600 Culver Road, Irondequoit. Call for details.

(585) 323-1900 or www Get listed E-mail details of your event two weeks in advance to Roc-lnfo DemocratandChronicle.com (with Events Calendar in the subject line) or mail to Events Calendar, co Information News Desk, 55 Exchange Rochester, NY 14614. Events must be open to the public. For more info, call (585) 258-9770. ber of records, the last few years rising to a crest as big as the Silk Degrees album. But I was tired; I just wanted to take time off.

I had two young sons to take care of on the home front. "Six months turned into a year, and it became other things. I needed to get away from it all. I wasn't feeling entirely successful in certain areas. I had a lot to take care of in my personal life.

"I felt guilty about it for a while, but I got over it. I've always had a heavy work ethic, and that was always directed toward my music career. Now I wasn't thinking about recording THINGS TO DO TODAY Concerts All That Jazz: Students from the Hoch-stein Music Therapy Department. 6 p.m. June 18.

Hochstein Performance Hall, 50 N. Plymouth Ave. Free. (585) 454-4596 or www.hochstein.org. Eastman Youth Jazz Orchestra: Combo.

Rochester International Jazz Festival. 7:15 p.m. June 18. Rochester Area Community Foundation Jazz Street Stage, Gibbs Street and East Avenue. Free, www.rochesterjazz.com.

ECMS Saxology: Rochester International Jazz Festival. 6 p.m. June 18. Rochester Area Community Foundation Jazz Street Stage, Gibbs Street and East Avenue. Free, www.rochester jazz.com.

Jae Sinnett Quartet: Part of the Rochester International Jazz Festival. 6:45 and 8:45 p.m. June 18. Christ Church, 141 East Ave. $20.

(585) 454-3878 or www.rochesterjazz.com. Mike Cottone: 1 p.m. June 18. Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County, 115 South Ave. Call for details.

(585)428-8350. Music Educators Jazz Ensemble: Rochester International Jazz Festival. 9:15 p.m. June 18. Rochester Area Community Foundation Jazz Street Stage, Gibbs Street and East Avenue.

Free, www.rochesterjazz.com. New Energy Jazz Orchestra: Rochester International Jazz Festival. 6 p.m. June 18. Robert Mondavi Big Tent, Gibbs and Main streets.

$20 or Club Pass. www.rochesterjazz.com. Rochester Area High School Jazz Bands: Rochester International Jazz Festival. 4:30 and 5:15 p.m. June 18.

Rochester Area Community Foundation Jazz Street Stage, Gibbs Street and East Avenue. Free. Rochester Jazz at the Philharmonic: All Star Jazz Session: 8 p.m. June 18. Eastman Theatre, 60 Gibbs St.

(585) 232-1900 or www Wegmans Concerts by the Shore Series: Me and the Boyz: 7 to 9 p.m. June 18. Ontario Beach Park, Lake and Beach avenues. Free. (585) 865-3320 or www.cityofrochester.gov.

ExposShows Victor Farmers Market: 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesdays through Oct. 15. Mead Square, Main Street and Maple Avenue, Victor. Free.

(585) 742-6320 Films i 1 Gloria: (1980, John Cassa) Gena Row-I lands. 8 p.m. June 18. Dryden Theatre, George Eastman House, 900 East Ave. $6: $5 students; $4 members.

(585) 271-3361 or www.eastmanhouse.org. Pulse: A Stomp Odyssey: 2 p.m. June 18. Strasenburgh Planetarium, Rochester Museum Science Center, 657 East Ave. $8 seniors and college students with ID; $7 ages 3-18.

(585) The Associated Press file photo 2007 Tim Russert's death is a personal loss to his colleagues and a dilemma to NBC, which must choose the right successor. Grieving NBC has a decision to make DAVID BAUDER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Still reeling from Tim Russert's death, NBC News must now contemplate replacing the man who not only dominated the Sunday morning talk shows but also served as chief political commentator and ran the Washington bureau. The Meet the Press host had what was arguably the most important and far-reaching job in television news, particularly in an election year. He died of a heart attack Friday. NBC wasn't talking about potential successors while planning Russert's memorial service to be televised at 4 p.m.

today on MSNBC (cable channel 46) from the Kennedy Center. NBC has potential successors to Russert on Meet the Press already within the company. The decision has big financial implications because the show reportedly earns more than $60 million a year in profits with relatively few expenses. Hardball host Chris Matthews is the best-known internal candidate. He already has a Sunday talk show syndicated by NBC Universal that's very competitive with the networks, despite taping on Friday.

The.