COMFORT YE 2024

Artists raising money for the homeless at Lauren Flanigan's annual "Comfort Ye"

It doesn't really feel like Christmas until we experience the annual event called "Comfort Ye", a most engaging concert created by acclaimed American Soprano Lauren Flanigan joined by Maestro Kamal Khan at the piano. For 29 years funds and goods have been donated by audience members who join to hear great music and to alleviate hunger in the homeless population of New York City. The emphasis has always been on working for social change and promoting a culture of self reliance.

Ms. Flanigan is renowned for her work with young singers in her Music and Mentoring House, by means of which we have discovered young talent who need all the help they can get. We have felt a special bond with this amazing woman who does so much social good and has given the opera community so many memorable performances. We admit that our favorite was always her Lady Macbeth in a characterization that grabbed Verdi's music and amplified its emotional impact by a power of ten.

The superstar herself graced the stage a few times last night singing music by Ricky Ian Gordon (his tango-inflected "Coyote") and William Bolcom (his unsettling "George" from Cabaret Songs). Mo. Khan thrilled us with Chopin's "Barcarolle, Opus 60". One after another, opera stars graced the stage, wowing the audience with their favorite arias and songs.

Since our focus is on young singers we would like to begin with mezzo-soprano Shengnan Yang who initially impressed us as a student at Mannes.  My, how her voice has grown! We noticed the same intensity that we have always admired in Ms. Flanigan as she threw herself into "Condotta ell'era in ceppi", the very upsetting aria sung by Azucena in Verdi's Il Trovatore. What was quite remarkable was the power at the very bottom of the register. It pleased us no end that Ms. Yang has been cast in the role of Carmen which will suit her beautiful appearance far better than the role of Azucena.

Another performance that struck us was that of coloratura soprano Lusilla Mazi whose interpretation of the Queen of the Night in "O Zitt're Nicht" from Mozart's Die Zauberflöte managed to show us the dangerously manipulative purpose underlying the character's warmly seductive approach to Tamino. This was a revelation because we have seen so many performances that showed us only a powerful woman who just wanted to protect her daughter.

J'Nai Bridges, whom we recently reviewed, performed the sad and moving "Ah! Je vais mourir" Didon's lament from the final act of Berlioz' Les Troyens. This superlative mezzo-soprano succeeded in conveying the grief of a woman who has loved and lost, since Énée has been persuaded by the gods to leave Carthage for Italy. Ms. Bridges just garnered superb reviews for her performance as Didon at the Seattle Opera. We can certainly see why!

Another suicidal character, the eponymous La Wally from the Catalani opera was brought to life by soprano Elizabeth Blancke-Biggs who also performed the moving "O patria mia" from Verdi's Aida with a most generous sound. Her accompanist was Michael Recchiuti.

Ziwen Xiang offered everyone's favorite tenor aria "Ah mes amis" from Donizetti's La fille du régiment. Perhaps the rest of the audience was reveling in the high C's but our attention was drawn to the manner in which Mr. Xiang conveyed both the exuberance of announcing his new found love and the tenderness he felt toward Marie.

The diva quality of a famous actress' "humble bragging" was capture by soprano Brittany Olivia Logan in "Io son l'umile ancella" from Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur. Umile, she ain't!

The humorously satirical song "Twelve Days After Christmas by F. Silver was performed by Olanna Goudeau; the lyrics were so clever that we had to look them up online.

Soprano Manna K. Jones offered a selection from Handel's Messiah and bass Daniel Sumegi offered Wotan's aria from Das Rheingold-- "Abendlich strahlt der Sonne Auge". Yet another bass, Seth Malkin offered a couple Christmas songs, and the entire company joined vocal forces for Adolphe Adam's beautiful "O Holy Night".

It was an altogether memorable night, one to treasure, an event that benefited the audience as much as the homeless, and, we hope, left the artists feeling as elevated as we did.

© meche kroop

 

A PREMIERE COMPETITION

 

Eric Margiore and Premiere Opera Foundation Competition Finalists

We just attended the Live Finals of the 8th annual Premiere Opera Foundation International Vocal Competition and the artistry was so evenly divided we can't imagine how the judges managed to make their decision. Fortunately, we are not a judge and had the freedom to choose our own favorites. Generous prizes were awarded but we are not here to discuss money, just to discuss our own impressions. Admittedly, our preferences are often colored by the match between singer and repertoire and our favoring certain periods within the opera canon. Rest assured, Dear Reader, that our opinions and our prose are entirely our own and artificial intelligence has not been consulted!

We heard over a dozen singers within the space of a few hours and then waited patiently for the judges to deliberate, a period during which we attempted to reconcile our memories of each artist's performance in the first half with our memories of their performance in the second half. Occasionally we changed our opinion of the artist due to a more suitable choice of material. Mostly our opinions were consistent and here we will present our memories of what impressed us.

To begin, we rarely get to hear a contralto and the statuesque Canadian Rose Naggar-Tremblay took us right into Wagner's Das Rheingold with "Weiche Wotan, Weiche", in which the prescient Erda foreshadows the unhappy end of the Ring Cycle some 18 hours or so later. This performance gave us chills and, as many such superb performances do, created the scene in our mind's eye--in this case the Schenck version from ?1990 which was unforgettable and never equalled. This riveting artist won the Audience Favorite prize (the only one we will mention) so our admiration was not exclusive.

Standing out in our memory was the coloratura of Kathryn Henry which was amplified by some fine acting in "The Jewel Song" from Gounod's Faust. It was so effective that we could see the jewels with which Marguerite adorned herself. 

Another performance that touched us was that of Eva Rae Martinez whose "Prendi, per me sei libero" from Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore gave us a peak into Adina's realization of her growing affection for Nemorino.

Still another affecting performance was that of South Korean soprano Luna Seongeun Park who perfectly created the character of Sophie, an innocent young woman understandably impressed by the customs of the aristocracy. This performance also brought the scene to mind and our imagination recreated Sophie's lavish nouveau riche home with all its servants bustling about, excited about their upcoming elevation to the nobility.

Let us mention some of the male performances that stick in our mind. South Korean bass-baritone Sunghoon Han brought Leporello to life with an amusing delivery of everyone's favorite, the "Catalogue Aria" from Mozart's Don Giovanni. This is an aria that singers can have a lot of fun with but it is difficult to bring something new to it; it seemed to us that Mr. Han added a few twists, gestures and facial expressions that made it fresh for us.

It was a good night for male voices and Mexican bass Raul Morales Velazco had a great time with "Vous qui faites" from Gounod's Faust which he filled with menace and irony.

South African baritone Thandolwethu Mamba also evinced a flair for comedy as he created the character of Dr. Malatesta, putting one over on the eponymous Don Pasquale in the Donizetti opera. No matter how many times one sees this opera, that scene is always a pure delight.

Darren Drone lent his fine baritone to the introductory"Si puo"  from Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, which ended the program. By this time we didn't think we had any listening energy left-- but he woke us up. This would have been a great aria to have opened the program with.

As usual, the excellent accompaniment was provided by Michael Fennelly

The overall level of artistry was very high and the singers we failed to mention were no less marvelous and at a professional performance level. We are only sharing our "take home" which comprises the results of an imperfect memory. If you want to hear about all the other superb singers you can read about them at www.premiereoperafoundation.org. If you are feeling Christmas-generous,you can also make a donation there.

© meche kroop

A MOST GALA GALA

  A scene from Mozart's Cosi fan tutte

Unless you are new to Voce di Meche, you are familiar with our delight in institutions that share our goal of fostering the careers of young opera singers. Having impressed us year after year with results, Classic Lyric Arts tops our list of institutions worth supporting.  Recently expanded from their three summer programs of total immersion in Italy, France, and the Berkshires, yearling CLAVA (Classic Lyric Arts Vocal Academy) is now flourishing, providing advanced year-long training to a select group of students.

Last night we attended the annual gala in which students and alumni got to show off their vocal, linguistic, and dramatic skills. Following a two handed piano arrangement of the overture to Don Giovanni (I-Hsiang Chao and Hannah Harnest) we were treated to the tender duet "Ange adorable" from Gounod's Roméo et Juliette with Sofia Gotch lending her brilliant instrument to the role of the shy heroine with tenor Yulin Wang giving an affecting performance as the ardent Roméo. The French diction succeeded beyond the customary skill of most young singers, evidence of some fine coaching. Daniel Isengart's astute direction had the two circling each other in a dance of seduction.

Following was the delightful light hearted duet from Hahn's comic opera Ciboulette, an interesting choice to show off the charms of Alison Kessler and Kevin Douglas in the duet "Nous avons fait un beau voyage", sung in French that was as Gallic as one might wish for. Hyojeong Ham accompanied.

The crazy scene from Mozart's Cosi fan tutte was so cleverly directed by Mr. Isengard that the nonsense between the six main characters made sense and we were plunged right into the craziness. Ms. Harnest accompanied the frolic with Annelise Burghardt, Brigid Mack, Yunxin Dorothy Nie, Benjamin Truncale, Jongho Woo, and Brian Linares bringing the scene to vivid life with  Ferrando and Guglielmo feigning suicide to win the affections of Fiordiligi and Guglielmo, whilst Don Alfonso and Despina enjoy the chaos they created.

Soprano Kerrigan Bigelow used her delicate vibrato to portray the shy Micaëla in her Act I duet with Don Jose, convincingly portrayed by tenor Philippe L'Esperance who has never sounded better, although we have always enjoyed his performances. Ms. Ham accompanied.

A riveting and star-making duet from Bellini's Norma ("Mira, o Norma") gave an opportunity for stellar soprano Sara Stevens to tackle this difficult number with the well loved mezzo-soprano Briana Hunter providing fine harmony as Adalgisa. The acting was particularly effective as the two women drew closer to one another. Again, Mr. Isengart's staging was right on point. Ziyi Hong accompanied.

A different Fiordiligi, Haiming Wu, succumbed to the importunate Ferrando of Mr. Truncale in "Far gli amplessi", a bit further along in the story.  There was so much going on in the aforementioned sextet that we didn't have the opportunity to focus on any one singer, but in this duet we noticed Mr. Truncale's embouchure and how that contributed to his most Italianate sound. Ms. Wu gave an excellent rendering of Fiordiligi and I-Hsiang Chao accompanied.

Comedy filled the air as Mr. Wang showed that his Italian was just as good as his French in "Se inclinassi a prender moglie" a duet from Mozart's L'Italiana in Algeri in which Lindoro evades the wishes of Bey Mustafa, well portrayed by  Juan Angel Johnston-Chavez.  Shaobai Yuan accompanied.

If there is one scene in Massenet's Manon that moves us it is when the eponymous heroine seduces her former lover who has joined the priesthood! Soprano Brea Marshall used every vocal and dramatic device in her repertoire to accomplish her goal. Her victim Des Grieux was well sung by Jack Hicks and Hyojeong Ham accompanied.

John Viscardi, Executive Director of CLA, is well known to us in both the tenor and baritone fach and made a fine impression as he stepped right into the role of Marcello, lamenting his lost love in the final act of Puccini's La Bohême. Portraying his friend Rodolfo was tenor David Freides and we enjoyed the way the two men balanced each other. Marianna Vartikian accompanied.

Closing the program was a very funny scene from Rossini's Le Comte Ory, well staged by Mr. Isengart who, we might mention, is on the faculty of CLA. The most remarkable feature of his directing is that even an opera neophyte could understand what is happening in a scene, even without benefit of knowing the language. But there were also his well written and concise program notes as insurance! Ziyi Hong provided the lively accompaniment.

Artistic Director Glenn Morton, well known as a faculty member of all three music conservatories in New York City, gave a warm welcome to the guests who were also treated to a lovely reception before and after the program, giving guests an opportunity to mingle with the young artists and to compare notes on the performances. This format seems more agreeable than the customary costly sit-down dinner with a high price tag used by other foundations to raise money and celebrate young singers.

We don't have enough good things to say about our own experience with CLA, not to mention the feedback we get from the students, as well as the evidence of our own ears. Their format of total immersion seems most effective. There is something more to be told, Dear Reader, something we will announce in due time.  So....stay tuned, as they say.

© meche kroop

A MUSICAL POWER COUPLE

Ahmed Alom and Rosario Armas

We searched our brain for words to describe an artistic partnership that is more than an artistic partnership. When you take an unusually gifted mezzo-soprano and put her onstage with her equally gifted conductor/pianist husband, the musical consequence is more than transporting. We apologize for our clumsy attempt to represent the love and connection between Mexican  Rosario Armas and her Cuban husband Ahmed Alom by juxtaposing two photos. The two speak the same language as well as the same musical and emotional language.

The occasion for sharing in this love fest was the final concert of The Washington Square Music Festival, of which Mr. Alom is the Musical Director. The concert was held at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery and drew a standing room only crowd of music lovers. Beside our favorite musical couple, The Festival Chamber Orchestra was on hand, about which more later.

The part of the program that best expressed the mutual affection of this darling couple was a set of songs by Clara Schumann who, as is widely known, defied her strict parents to marry the famous Robert Schumann, whose output of art songs was stimulated by his adoration for Clara. We wish that more vocal concerts would include her excellent songs and felt grateful that Ms. Armas gave them the attention they deserve. 

The passionate "Er ist gekommen in stürm und regen" was followed by Clara's  gentle setting of "Liebst du um Schönheit" (also set by Gustav Mahler) and "Warum willst du and're fragen".  Ms. Armas' instrument has both depth and breadth and remained even throughout the entire register. The tone quality was moving in its varied emotional coloration and the vibrato was just right for the material.

Mahler was not to be neglected. His Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen rivals Schubert's Die Winterreise in its depiction of the agony of lost love. No doubt, Mahler's wife Alma and her constant stream of lovers inspired this painful song cycle. The singer must convey  the many shades of sorrow, disappointment, rage, and failed attempts to rise above it all with an assist from the natural world. This was brilliantly achieved by Ms. Armas with Mr. Alom echoing the feelings every step of the way. We were fighting back tears throughout and hoping that the artists will never ever have to experience such pain!

The final vocal event on the program consisted of a song cycle Canciones de la Muerte op.20  by Julián de la Chica, a living composer with whom Ms. Armas has frequently worked. It is quite an honor to participate in an orchestral world premiere and the sonorities captured by the orchestra were various and often pungent. However, we found the death-oriented text by Padre António da Ascençao (translated from Portuguese into Spanish by the composer) to be too solemn, grim, and ponderous for our taste.

Also on the program was Johann Sebastian Bach's Brandenburg Concerto no. 5 conducted from the piano by Mr. Alom, who achieved a lively and concise reading. For our musical tastes however, we preferred Debussy's Prelude à l'après midi d'un faune for its dreamlike exoticism. The introductory flute solo was beautifully handled by flutist Sheryl Henze who was joined by clarinetist Mitchell Kriegler.

It was a lovely well-balanced and varied program. The memories we will take away, however, will be that of the lovely attunement of Ms. Armas and Mr. Alom!

© meche kroop

A NEW WORLD CARMEN

 Melisa Bonetti Luna with dancers Mariana Parma and Leonardo Sardella

What a pleasant surprise! The last time we saw an adaptation of Bizet's masterpiece was over 5 years ago and it was Peter Brooks' La Tragédie de Carmen.  Tact precludes our naming the company that produced a work that we found worthless and insulting to both Bizet and to Merimée, the author of the original story upon which the opera Carmen was based.

We approached La Carmencita  with, admittedly, some trepidation. We only agreed to attend based on our admiration for some of the artists. To our delight, the enterprise was not only entertaining but valid in its concept. When we were new to opera, we couldn't understand why this very Spanish work was sung in French. Well, we got to hear it in Spanish and it sang extremely well!  Adapted by producer Sasha Gutiérrez (who also translated her Spanish libretto into English for the titles and furthermore sang the role of Micaëla), the 1871 masterpiece was transformed into a Tango opera in one passionate and swiftly moving act. As in Peter Brook's 1981 reinvention, this condensed and telescoped version preserved our favorite arias, ditching the chorus and extraneous characters. But it succeeded where Brooks failed.

The emphasis shifted to the interaction between the four main characters and their intense interaction. Since it is the specifics that involve us in any story, let us describe them. The action takes place in a cafe in Buenos Aires in which Carmen is a featured performer, along with a pair of tango dancers as seen in the photo above. Escamillo is an impresario who promises Carmen professional advancement. Jose is a fan and Micaëla is his novia. The geometry of the plot involves two triangles with Carmen being pursued by two men and José  being torn between two women. Jealousy, rage, power dynamics, and passion made for an absorbing story.

The music was provided onstage by pianist Juan Lázaro and bass Pedro Giraudo who created the reduction and also composed the tango music. Other members of the Pedro Giraudo Tango Quartet were bandeonista Javier Sánchez and violinist Nicolás Danielson.

Thankfully, the singers were up to the challenge both vocally and dramatically. This Carmen, mezzo-soprano Melisa Bonetti Luna, was her own woman and delivered the arias we know and love with fine style. The besotted José was effectively portrayed by tenor Juan Hernández. As Escamillo, the formidable guest artist baritone José Luis Maldonado gave a riveting performance. Ms. Gutiérrez' fine clear soprano made for an appealing Micaëla.

The work was effectively directed by Rebecca Miller Kratzer. Costuming was done by Megan Rutherford. The titles fortunately matched the dialogue and were projected in both Spanish and English. We don't know the composition of the audience but we do know that they were vociferous in their applause. Is there room for such adaptations of works in the canon? We think so, as long as the work enhances our understanding of the relationship of the characters and adds a different perspective.  When done out of directorial arrogance such adaptations do not work.

This enchanting evening was a presentation of The Opera Next Door which was started by Ms. Gutiérrez four years ago as informal stoop concerts in Brooklyn. Their mission is to bring opera to a broader audience and it seems to us that this was a major step in achieving that mission. The work was produced by Zack O'Farrill, Santiago Gutiérrez, and Felipe Hoyos-González along with Ms. Gutiérrez. She was also joined by Mr. Hoyos for the Spanish adaptation and for the English translation by Ms. Kratzer. It would seem that what we enjoyed so much was a successful collaboration of all the aforementioned people.

© meche kroop