This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Nov. 19, 2010 - Nicholas McGegan landed for the first time in St. Louis on a snowy day in 1979. "It was a long, very long time ago, so long ago I came in on TWA. It was snowing, and it was Jan. 14, my birthday," he said.
Should this sound like the beginning of a sad, sad tale of a fellow being set down in a bleak winter landscape in a faraway place, feeling desperately sad and alone on his birthday, forget it. This is the ebullient Nic McGegan, and of that day he said, "Because of the time change I had 14 more hours of celebrating," And for the man who would become celebrated far and wide as a musician, a pedagogue and raconteur, that day marked the commencement of a rich and happy relationship, now three decades old.
Curtis Price, now Sir Curtis Alexander Price K.B.E., Warden of New College, Oxford, was teaching at Washington University then, and he greeted young Nic at the airport. McGegan had come to St. Louis to teach at Washington U on what was thought to be only a one-semester appointment. It extended through the mid-1980s, however; and during that time, McGegan made extraordinary contributions to the musical life of the community.
The first sensation shone forth in the early '80s, when he mounted a production of an early 17th century opera, "Il ballo delle ingrate." It was performed by candlelight in Mary Brooks Holmes Lounge at Washington U. The effect was more than enchanting, creating not only a magical visual effect but a revealing glimpse of techniques of stagecraft employed at opera's birthing in the 17th century.
"Maybe this is romantic," McGegan said on the telephone Sunday morning, "But I find candlelight magical. The sort of acting that is used for Baroque performances is directed with the idea it will be seen in candlelight. If you look at paintings from the period, for example, they show exactly what happens on the stage in the Baroque productions - it is as if the paintings are frozen operas, and that is what makes them so incredibly atmospheric."
Today, McGegan said, electric lights offer a good imitation of the flickering magic of candlelight, so the code-busting, fire-hazardous candles can be removed. The real tallow-and-wick candlepower of the "Dance of the Ungrateful Women" at Washington U. burned with the flames of revelation. Thanks to its being so remarkable, McGegan caught the attention of many influential members of the universe of music: Richard Gaddes, then general director of Opera Theatre, among them. Gaddes engaged McGegan to do something quite different from that early 17th century opera, which was to conduct "H.M.S. Pinafore" at Washington University at Christmastime in 1981. It was a huge hit for Savoyard-starved St. Louisans.
In a recent conversation, McGegan remembered the late Colin Graham, who was stage director for "Pinafore," and praised Graham not only for his extraordinary artistic gifts but also for his humanity.
On "Pinafore's" opening night, McGegan appeared wearing a fancy Sgt. Pepper-ish red military jacket, and almost stole the show when he took the podium. He brought incredible music forth from a tiny ensemble of players assembled before him, and rather than stealing the show added enormously to the general amiability and apparent seamlessness of it, as well as to its huge success. "The Pirates of Penzance," also triumphant, also conducted by McGegan, followed "Pinafore" in 1982.
In 1983, McGegan reached back into the Baroque repertory and brought "Orlando" to the stage, again at Edison Theatre. "Orlando" was part of an interdisciplinary and dizzyingly impressive Baroque Festival Symposium put together by art historian Mark S. Weil, a long-time member of the department of art and archaeology at Washington U.
My son James was having a bit of a child opera star time then, and McGegan brought him in as a page in that show. I luxuriated in being allowed the privilege of hanging out for rehearsals. In a life fortunate for having been in the opera house for many a transforming moment, "Orlando" ranks in the top 10 of my accounting. For one thing, the celebrated countertenor Drew Minter was there and his music making was electrifying. For another, it was so educationally important, allowing me to see the piecing together the puzzle of authenticity and to be exposed to scholarship of the most exacting sort.
Once again, the stagecraft was dazzling and literally explosive thanks to a fireworks display. This production set another jewel in Nic McGegan's ever more radiant diadem and put a million-candle-power spotlight on St. Louis.
In 1985, McGegan moved to the Bay Area, where he became conductor of the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. He has held that position ever since and, as he said, "25 years is a pretty long inning." He said he was a "Messiah" virgin until 1986, when he conducted the oratorio with the late Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. McGegan and Lieberson performed together often and were close friends as well as colleagues. Lieberson died in 2006 from breast cancer.
He has played in St. Louis regularly, returning at least once a year most years since 1986. And since leaving in the mid-'80s, he has gone from strength to strength, claiming an international reputation as a conductor of the music of the Baroque and classical repertories, and displaying fearlessness when it comes to tackling other music, including the work of contemporary composers. When we talked Sunday, although at home in California, he was still on Stockholm time, having conducted the Goteburg Symphony in a Mozart program.
Friday and Saturday Oct. 22-23, at 8 p.m., McGegan will show his classical muscle again when he conducts the Beethoven Fourth Symphony and Franz Schubert's Mass No. 6 in E-flat major. D 950.
The former gets rather short shrift, probably because of being in the deep shadows cast by the symphonies before and after it. "The Fourth is stuck between he Eroica and the Fifth," McGegan said. "It is not ground breaking, but it is Beethoven. The heart of the work is a very extended and beautiful slow movement. The Fourth is an absolutely gorgeous piece, but not on the grand scale of the works surrounding it."
Clearly, the Fourth's companion on this weekend's program has captivated him. Schubert's Mass No. 6 is a soaring work, filled with a calm but exulting emotional quality that, besides being affecting for the listener, is important for its important place in the development of 19th century music and its movement toward Romanticism.
"It is not done often," McGegan said, "and that is a shame." The Mass No. 6 is one of the last, perhaps the last work composed by the astonishingly prolific Schubert, who died at 31. "It is terribly poignant, and even strange. The final music, the 'Dona nobis pacem' is some of the most beautiful music ever."
McGegan said he is looking forward to performing the piece with the Symphony Orchestra, not the least because it gives him an opportunity to work with the St. Louis Symphony Chorus. "When Thomas Peck (the former chorus conductor) died, I assumed they'd never find anyone as good. But guess what, they did, with Amy Kaiser.
"It is the finest chorus I know. It is a great ornament for St. Louis." He said one strong indication of the strength and talent of the chorus is the fact that no soloists have been brought in for the Schubert Mass.
"That," McGegan said, "is not only good for the bank balance but also a great compliment to the chorus - 55 minutes of putting the chorus center stage rather than behind a rather famous group of singers. Not everyone can do that."
McGegan wasn't the musical architect of the program. "This is a great pairing," he said, "not at all a shotgun wedding. When I looked at my diary at the months to come and saw what was to come in St. Louis, I said, 'Thank God! I can't wait to do that one.'
"You can tell, I suppose: I'm thrilled."