EARLY HALLOWEEN

  The priceless Creatine Price

Who else but Andrew Ousley of The Death of Classical could have created such an extraordinary event (a fortnight ahead of our favorite holiday) already pushing the envelope of entertainment, artistry, and spookiness. Thousands of celebrants rambled around the multiply branching pathways of Greenwood Cemetery in dark of night to participate in the revelry. Absent a full moon, these pathways were lit by strings of lights. Celebrants strolled through with flashlights and cellphones to guide them, helped along by volunteers who were always willing to guide them to the next event.

These events comprised performance art, videos, various types of music, and, best of all, our favorite male mezzo-soprano Creatine Price in full outrageous drag, offering the "Habanera" from Bizet's Carmen and "Stride la vampa" from Verdi's Il Trovatore. When not singing, Ms. Price served as DJ for those who wished to let it all hang out on the dance floor. We think Ms. Price will forgive us for blowing her cover; under that fabulous wig and gown we recognized Jordan Weatherston Pitts!

Attracting a huge crowd were the members of the Bindlestiff Family Circus offering sword swallowing and tightrope walking. A beautiful female taxidermist demonstrating the conversion of a deceased black crow into a stuffed one captured our curiosity and attention. A woman in Victorian attire danced with a bloody garment, attended by a man manipulating body parts. Mausoleums were decorated with swirling projections. Various types of music filled the air with sound. We hope, Dear Reader, that you will see our Facebook and Instagram entries (also as "Voce di meche") since, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. So stop reading already and go look at the pictures!

We believe tonight's final event has been sold out but you never can tell. If you can snag a ticket you will have the time of your death life.

© meche kroop

FROM CANON TO CREATION

 Cris Frisco, David Khang, Daniella Brancato, andYulin Wang

Sponsored by the Gerda Lissner Foundation, held in the studios of WQXR, and introduced by renowned announcer Midge Woolsey, a generous program of opera arias, duets, and ensembles featured students from Mannes Opera as well as esteemed graduates. As is our wont, we will focus our comments on the students. If we are still writing about opera ten years hence, we will no doubt be overlooking these students who we expect will by then have gained fame, and we will be writing about the next crop of emerging artists.

Although New York City is home to three conservatories of music, Mannes perhaps gets less love from us due to their focus on contemporary opera and definitely not due to any lack among their students. As a matter of fact, Arthur Levy and Glenn Morton (two of our favorite voice teachers) are on their faculty and have introduced us to some extraordinary young singers.

The enthusiastic audience showed equal appreciation for the famous graduates and the not yet famous students, regardless of their choice of repertory. From our point of view, however, performing "White Moon", one of Five Songs written by Ruth Crawford Seeger,  once a student at The New School (of which Mannes is a part) on the same program as "Song to the Moon" from Dvořak's Rusalka only served to point out the deficiencies of vocal compositions written in the past century. Nonetheless, mezzo-soprano Ruijia Dong used her beautiful instrument to make the former work vocally interesting and the text clear. In the Dvořak, soprano Daniella Brancato, tenderly accompanied by Bryan Wagorn's piano,  relished the composer's lavish melodies and simple sentiment, setting the bar way too high for the Crawford song which followed.

Staying with the lunar theme, we had the opportunity to revisit Huang Ro's An American Soldier  that we heard last year at the Perelman Performing Arts Center which strangely piped in the orchestra from somewhere else! How much better to hear a fine piano reduction sensitively played by Cris Frisco whilst soprano Hannah Cho and tenor Yulin Wang sang the "Moon Duet" facing away from one another, an appropriate stance since the ill-fated young soldier and his girl  are geographically separated. 

We enjoyed the opening duet a lot since baritone Sean Seungho Cha and bass-baritone David Kahng gave it their all, sometimes in harmony and sometimes in unison. "Suoni la tromba" from Bellini's I Puritani  was a fine choice to show off their musical and linguistic artistry. We noticed a definite focus on the embouchure and wondered whether that is emphasized in the tutelage at Mannes. It certainly produces a satisfying warm round sound.

We thought that soprano Adrinelle Chiesa deserved better than the aria she performed from an opera being workshopped. She gave a deeply felt performance and made ample use of gesture in a work with an uninteresting vocal line, although the piano part was quite lovely. Perhaps contemporary opera should be composed by singers!

We liked a duet called "Schönste Nacht" from a work Korngold wrote for Broadway that was not performed there but was eventually produced in Germany. It was performed by  mezzo-soprano Daria Tereshchenko and the aforementioned Mr. Cha.

We also enjoyed Yulin Wang's performance of "Salut! Demeure chaste et pure" from Gounod's Faust. Accompanied by Mr. Wagorn, he employed a lovely pianissimo that was well suited to a serenade. This was followed by the final trio from the opera in which Mr.Wang was joined by Ms. Brancato as Marguerite and Mr. Kahng as Mephistopheles.

Although much of the program was not our taste, we were happy to have gotten better acquainted with some of the excellent Mannes students. We vote for more  canon and less creation!

© meche kroop

SHORT AND SWEET

Carson Cook

The singer is tall but the program was way too short. We acknowledge that it's a good idea to leave your audience wanting more but Carson Cook's recital was just a bit longer than an hour and we would have happily enjoyed another hour. When we think of what makes a recital a hit, we would have to put audience engagement at the top of the list, right next to vocal quality. Mr. Cook's audience was attentive and met his engagement with their own.

One would do well to wonder what creates audience engagement in a vocal recital. Evidence is that audience members are not looking at their cell phones or nodding off. They may even lose interest in the provided translations because the singer conveys the meaning of the song by means of facial expression and gesture and also vocal coloration. From the standpoint of an audience member, one may feel that the singer is telling us a story in a highly personal way. Mr. Cook has a relaxed demeanor and addressed the audience directly with a minimum but adequate amount of information about each song.

The all-too-short program managed to achieve considerable variety and showcased the artist's facility with languages as well as fine vocal technique with a fach that we can only describe as baritenor. We will stay tuned to see how things shake out in the future. When singers change teachers there are often shifts, both profound and subtle. We have heard Mr. Cook several times in the past but this recital marked a major leap forward. 

The first half of the program gave us a taste of Mr. Cook's facility in Italian aria and canzone,  French chanson, and German lieder. Diction was equally fine in all three languages and we never had to look at the translations to understand the text. "Bel piacere" from Händel's Agrippina revealed some fine fioritura. Even in English we understood every word of the very sad "Oh loss of sight" from the same composer's oratorio Sansom.  A spirited canzone by Durante "Danza Danza Fanciulla" lightened the mood.

Reynaldo Hahn's gentle "A Cloris" was marked by some lovely legato phrasing, whilst Gabriel Faure's "Mandoline"  involved some painterly storytelling, bringing a visual aspect to the singing.

Three very different lieder demonstrated other aspects of Mr. Cook's artistry.  From our favorite Schubert song cycle Die schone Mullerin, we heard "Am Feierabend" in which we could actually see the young miller seated near the hearth in the evening with his boss and the tempting boss' daughter. This would be a great cycle for Mr. Cook to learn since he has the wherewithal to create the character of the hero. Kenneth Brown's skillful pianism created the rhythmic mill wheel reflecting the labor of the preceding day.

Gustav Mahler's "Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen" involved a totally different change of color. The composer is telling a story of withdrawal from the world and Mr. Cook succeeded in creating a stillness by means of a delicate delivery and a fine vibrato. Brahms' "Vergebliches Stänchen" involves a dialogue between an importuning young man and his resistant sweetheart. We think a little bit of work on a duality of body placement and alteration of color from one character to the other would take this performance to a higher level.

The second half of the program was a song cycle in the making, one with text by Rachel Joy Scott who died in the Columbine massacre. It was with great surprise that we actually enjoyed a work in English. What was particularly interesting was that each entry was set by a different composer. The text comprised Ms. Scott's diary entries and was definitely not prosy or pedantic. Her optimism must have inspired each composer to write a lovely melodic vocal line.

We enjoyed. the four songs we heard composed by Brandon Zhou, Chris Cooley, Dina Pruzhansky, and Chris Cooley who took over from Mr. Brown and played his dense complex score himself. We were very happy to learn that there are composers writing singable music!

Two hits from Rodgers and Hammerstein ended the program and confirmed our belief that Broadway songs, sung without amplification by a good singer, are really 20th century American art songs. Who doesn't love Sound of Music and The King and I!  Mr. Cook gets an "A" but the audience flunked! Invited to whistle along in "I Whistle a Happy Tune" not one person came across, thus defying the message of another song which Mr. Cook should have offered first--"Anyone Can Whistle"!

A cheerful encore of Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" left the audience in a joyful mood.

© meche kroop

A GIFT FROM SPAIN

Enriique Torres Dominguez and Lucia Iglesias

Carmen Larios and Eduardo Pomares

Brought to New York City by Musica Viva, an important organization in support of the arts, the young artists from Teatro Real of Madrid presented a most satisfying concert of favorites from the world of opera and zarzuela. Regular readers can guess what excited us the most. In light of the facts that we get to hear a lot of arias and duets from the operatic canon but rarely get a taste of the delicious works from the world of zarzuela, it was the end of the program that captured our heart, and the encore which left us ecstatic.

Readers who are unfamiliar with this traditional Spanish art form and its evolution in the New World would do well to learn more than we have space for here. Let us just mention that zarzuelas involve elaborate and convoluted plots mostly about (like Italian operas of the 19th century) love and patriotism. What is outstanding about zarzuelas is the presence of gorgeous melodies, similar to works of that period, even those that were composed in the early 20th century. What is unique is the presence of a very large cast including dancers, a feature that makes zarzuela a costly and difficult art form to produce here in the United States. We must content ourselves with the occasional aria or duet.

The singers from the young artist program of Teatro Real made a fine showing also in the operatic genre but please allow us in our enthusiasm to wax rhapsodic over the zarzuela portion of the program. Morena Torroba's Luisa Fernanda was produced here in NYC a couple years ago by Opera Hispanica and it is a real winner. From this work we heard "Lucha la fe por el triunfo" performed by lyric baritone Enrique Torres Dominguez who surely conveyed the aspect of the dashing military man Xavier.

Following this we heard the familiar "No puede ser" from Sorozabal's La tabernera del puerto, sung by tenor Eduardo Pomares. Even more striking was a surprise encore featuring all four singers in the Habanera "Todas las mananitas" from Manuel Penella's Don Gil de Alcala--and what wouldn't we give to see this zarzuela performed in its entirety!

We already knew how beautifully integrated were the four voices because the program had ended officially with "Libiamo" from Verdi's La Traviata which always sends the audience out on a high note-- so to speak.

Speaking of high notes, we enjoyed both sopranos --Lucia Iglesias and Carmen Larios. We were particularly impressed by Ms. Iglesias' apt interpretation of the role of Musetta in "Quando m'en vo" from Puccini's La Boheme. She captured every nuance of Musetta's teasing of Marcello without tawdry overacting. 

Carmen Larios delivered Juliet's waltz "Je veux vivre" from Gounod's Romeo et Juliette in fine French. The program notes provided a clear answer to the question of both soprano's musicality. They each studied piano from an early age; that may be a clue. Their duet "Sull'aria" from Mozart's Nozze di Figaro with Ms. Larios enacting the Countess and Ms. Iglesias taking the role of Susanna was a highlight of the evening. The different colors of their respective voices made the duet particularly appealing.

The two men also had a duet--everyone's favorite of course being "Au fond du temple saint" from Bizet's Les pecheurs du perles. In spite of the well chosen and well performed program, it is the zarzuela pieces that we will remember and hold closest to our heart. The accompanist for the evening was Gonzalo Villarreal who opened the program with a piano solo from Manuel de Falla's The Three Cornered Hat.

© meche kroop

   

GILBERT AND SULLIVAN MEET TOLKIEN

The Mikado presented by Utopia Opera and Forbear! Theatre

What a gloriously entertaining evening! Regular readers will recall the distaste we have for ill advised transpositions of the classics of the operatic canon. Fortunately we have no such reservations about more lighthearted and comedic works. We don't mean to imply that Gilbert and Sullivan's works are trivial. As a matter of fact, W.S. Gilbert tackled important topics such as Great Britain's complicated legal system, peculiar politics, class structure, and artistic pretensions; and he did so with the cleverest of lyrics. So the transposition of The Mikado from Japan to Middle Earth did not trouble us, although the names of the characters only hinted at the original designation.

In Forbear! Theatre's founder and artistic director Rachel Gianesse Middle, William Remmers, founder and artistic director of Utopia Opera, has met his match. Each is prodigiously gifted and successful at bringing beloved works to the public in unique and original ways.  For example, Remmers, with his rubbery long limbs and mobile face, brought new elements to the role of Klok-Cow, the lowly tailor promoted to Lord High Executioner. Middle brought a bright soprano and a winsome attitude to the role of Mna-y'um.  Middle also directed the drama whilst Remmers directed the music. 

And what great music it was with the winds taking a strong position, giving all 24 (!) of Sullivan's gloriously tuneful musical numbers their due. Also impressing us was Dan Cavendish as the Mikado of Pa'gaen who delighted the audience with his list of miscreants and the corresponding appropriate punishments. John Faal ably handled the role of the hapless wandering minstrel AEthel-Run. 

Although much of the cast was British and unknown to us, we were happy to see the familiar face and hear the familiar voice of the enormously funny Matthew Wages in the key role of P'fugal Fa, the possessor of infinite titles, each with its own responsibilities and privileges. Kathleen Brenner did a fine job as the shrewish Kottilska, although far younger and more attractive that the usual Katisha.

All of the smaller roles were similarly well handled, and the costumes were colorful and inventive, especially those for the chorus. The staging worked well, especially in view of the limited playing area. Much of the excellent 24-piece orchestra occupied stage left. With such compelling musical and dramatic aspects, we can have no greater wish than that each and every one of our readers could score tickets to the remaining performances Saturday and Sunday.

Lingering in our memory, from among all 24 delightful numbers is "Three Little Maids from School", The Mikado's "I've Got a Little List", Remmers' courtship of Kattilska in "Tit Willow", and Middle's solo "The sun whose rays". There was also a brilliantly composed sextet in Act II that was given a fine performance.

To close we would like to mention that no people of the Japanese nationality were degraded or insulted. 😂 Furthermore, we received no writing help from AI.  We own everything we spelled wrong or misidentified.  Never mind.  Go see it!!!!!

© meche kroop

A TRIBUTE TO STEPHEN SONDHEIM

 

Curtain Call for SAS Performing Arts Company's Sondheim Tribute Revue

When we think of opera of the 19th century, a number of giants come to mind--Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, and Verdi. When we think of the 20th century we think of Puccini, Richard Strauss, and Stephen Sondheim.  How does Sondheim fit into this illustrious group? We haven't even mentioned Rorem or Britten. 

We take full responsibility for our opinion that no one has spoken to us as Sondheim did.  No one entertained us as Sondheim did. No one had us leave the theater humming his tunes with such pleasure. An evening tribute to his vast repertory, presented by SAS Performing Arts, left us completely satisfied.

What is unique about SAS Performing Arts is their embrace of three cornerstones of performing arts: opera, musical theater, and drama. Beginning a company at the time of Covid, as Stephen Scovasso did, was a brave act and is likely the reason that we were unaware of their (mostly virtual) productions until recently. We are happy to report that this season promises to be an exciting one, with productions of Grecian's Dracula, Menotti's The Medium, Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, Thornton Wilder's Our Town, and a night of Rodgers and Hammerstein. Sounds ambitious!

We avoid drawing a line between opera and music theater when neither is amplified. It's all about telling a story with music. Hopefully, the story resonates with us and the music stays in our ear, giving us pleasure long after the performance ends.

What is unique about Sondheim is the fact that he wrote both lyrics and music, allowing an uncommon fit between clever rhymes and melodies that captured the emotional intent and rhythms of the phrases. Of course we are aware that he was a successful collaborator, writing music for other lyricists and providing lyrics for other composers' music, most notably for Bernstein's West Side Story. But what we heard last night comprised works that were totally his.

The revue was produced and directed in a most satisfying manner by Mr. Scovasso (we see that there are lots of S's in both names), an experienced musicologist, conductor, director, and author. The cast of ten artists were seated onstage at café tables so that the artists performing a particular song could rise and join one another as called for. They worked well as an ensemble and we will name them all before ending our review.

Sondheim's greatest hits were each given a few songs and we particularly enjoyed renewing our acquaintance with Sweeney Todd, which, we insist, is an opera by virtue of its serious consideration of morality and fate, along with a most arresting score. Who but Sondheim could tell such a dark tale with flashes of humor as in "Try a Little Priest"--reminding us of Shakespeare's tendency to leaven some of his tragedies with humor.

Another favorite of ours is A Little Night Music with its sharply drawn characters and romantic entanglements that a 21st century audience can relate to. The poignancy of missed connections in "Send in the Clowns" is so intense that the work has become a favorite of cabaret artists. As a matter of fact, most of the selections chosen for the evening's entertainment were stand alone favorites.

Of course, knowing the entire work always makes the individual numbers more deeply felt; "Into the Woods" from the work of the same name, took us back a few months when we saw the work performed by students of Manhattan School of Music. We enjoyed it so much we saw it twice and if you, Dear Reader, care to know more, enter the title of the show in the search bar.

Participating artists, in alphabetical order, were Brian Alvarado, Tyler Ayala-Van Tassel,  Jorge Blakely,  Janice Hall, Dan Drew, Daryl Glenn, Elisabeth Ritscher, Emily Samuelson, Veronica Shea, and Deborah Surdi.  Accompanying on the piano was Nick Stamatakis.

And now, Dear Reader, since nothing is perfect, we have come up with a few quibbles. An unnecessary microphone made a couple unwelcome appearances, as did the loathed music stands. The acting was, on the whole, a major contribution to the success of the performances which were most relatable when the music stands disqppeared. Sondheim's clever text would have benefitted from some clearer enunciation. Surprisingly, it was in the ensembles that the words came across most clearly. (We have noticed in the opera world that enunciation of English is best by artists from other cultures who work hard to get the words across clearly.)

We were overjoyed to make the acquaintance of Sondheim's works that were less familiar to us than Sweeney Todd and A Little Night Music. We were delighted that our foreign born companion enjoyed the evening almost as much as we did. There is something about Sondheim's melodies and the cadence of his  rhymes that delight the ear; and there is something quintessentially New York about his storytelling, even when the stories take place in London, Sweden, Rome or Paris. Sondheim was indeed an American treasure whose music will endure in the same way as Verdi's.

© meche kroop

A BARGAIN WITH THE DEVIL

 Maria Brea as Marguerite in Village Opera's production of Gounod's Faust

We have given this a lot of thought lately. When we began writing about small opera companies and young opera singers about a dozen years ago, Manhattan was home to a dozen small opera companies that provided performance opportunities for these young opera singers. They operated on a shoe string, transforming church basements and black box theaters into makeshift playing areas. Costuming was equally improvisational but storytelling was generally excellent and imaginative, ticket prices were affordable, audiences had a great time, and a considerable number of people were introduced to the art form.

So, what happened? Part of the answer can be found in the Covid epidemic which kept people at home and then forced them to wear uncomfortable masks in public places. Other companies dropped out for other reasons, often financial. Sometimes it was just the inability to break even or gross financial mismanagement;  in one case, a too rapid New York Times induced fame led to premature arrogance and self-satisfaction. Other times, a successful production team disintegrated when one partner jumped ship or moved away.

What is left, other than the successful long-established Regina Opera Company in far flung Brooklyn, and the equally distant Bronx Opera Company and The Lighthouse Opera, both of which attract sizable audiences. Here in Manhattan we have Heartbeat Opera which can be wonderful but often goes off the rails, and the struggling Amore Opera which badly needs a better venue.

We do get annual two-day visits from the superb Teatro Nuovo, which presents marvelous bel canto discoveries performed by young singers for a packed house; and we had a one day major success from Classic Lyric Arts Vocal Academy who gave us a vocally superb and dramatically powerful production of Puccini's Il Tabarro. What we need is a small company to perform the classics on a regular basis, giving performing opportunities to young singers.

But never fear, Dear Reader, if anyone can accomplish this, we place our bets on Felix Jarrar, well known as a composer, conductor, and pianist. Although the early efforts of his Village Opera just came to our attention, we found his concert version of Gounod's Faust to be promising. There was much to enjoy that Sunday afternoon and enjoy we did.

The lion's share of our pleasure can be attributed to the stunning performance of soprano Maria Brea in the role of Marguerite. We have been following Ms. Brea since her performance as Marie in the much missed Prelude to Performance's production of Donizetti's Fille du Regiment. Her performance was not only vocally admirable but she did not let the music stand of this concert version prevent her from relating to her fellow cast mates.

This feature was also notable in a vocally powerful and dramatically connected performance of William Clay Thompson in the role of Mephistopheles. He also reached beyond the limitations of the concert production style and gave us a snarly and scary character.

Maestro Jarrar performed a piano reduction of the score that captured all the colors of an orchestra and gave necessary support to the singers, which included tenor Eric Botto as Faust, Joseph Canuto Leon as Valentin, Christina Marie Esser as a believable Siebel, Evan Fleming as Wagner, and Brooke Larimer as Marthe. There was good support from the chorus which comprised the cover cast.

It was a very short while ago that we attended a rather overproduced and concept driven production of this same opera, a production that distracted us from Gounod's gorgeous melodies. The Village Opera production, minus titles, allowed us to focus on the music and singing.

It would be our dearest wish if Mo. Jarrar could work his way toward  traditionally staged productions of other masterpieces of the operatic canon, giving young singers an opportunity to learn a new role and giving Manhattan residents an authentic operatic experience. We could do without elaborate sets and a minimum of costuming would suffice. What we really need are sound musical values and some good storytelling . Where there's a will there's a way!

© meche kroop

THE BUTTERFLY LOVERS

 Ma Renjie and Xuan Cheng

(photo by Rosalie O'Connor, courtesy of Hong Kong Ballet)

It comes as no surprise that The Butterfly Lovers is one of China's four major folk tales. Dating back to about the 3rd or 4th c. AD, the poignant story of star-crossed lovers has inspired plays, films, a violin concerto, music videos, a figure skating act, and several operas, although we could find no evidence of it being performed by the Peking Opera.

Storytelling has been part of human culture since the dawn of speech, long before the alphabet and written language. Mankind has always loved stories, sharing them by means of music, song, and dance, and eventually through books and film. There is a commonality between opera and ballet in that both performing arts drive straight to the emotions, often bypassing the critical thinking part of the brain. And therein lies their special value.

Last night we had the privilege of attending a performance of the Hong Kong Ballet which was formed in 1979, fortunately escaping the meretricious intentions of The Cultural Revolution. Judging by their repertoire, they are firmly in the camp of classical ballet as exemplified by the choreographers whose works they perform. We are glad, however, that our first experience of their repertoire was The Butterfly Lovers, since we are a great devotée of Chinese culture.

The themes of The Butterfly Lovers are universal--forbidden love, gender inequality, classism, societal norms, and the transcendence of love. Although similar stories can be found in many cultures (Romeo and Juliet, Yentl) here the story is told through a Chinese lens with concept and choreography by Hu Song Wei Ricky and librettist/associate choreographer Mai Jingwen. The story is told episodically with sequential scenes illuminating the relationship of the heroine Zhu Yingtai with her aristocratic parents, her gender secret admission to an academic institution, her meeting with fellow student Liang Shanbo, their developing relationship (including their awkward mutual sexual awakening) and the tragedy which follows her being called home for a forced marriage.

A particularly lovely scene was the sexual awakening when Liang discovers that Zhu is a girl. The set designer Tim Yip (who also designed the stylized but period authentic costumes) had our romantic couple side by side on a nearly vertical bed, giving the audience full view of their awkward and playful interaction. Meanwhile, in a most effective directorial and choreographical gambit, a different pair of dancers created a sensual and tender pas de deux. 

The New York City Ballet Orchestra, under the baton of Maestro Lio Kuokman, performed the varied score of Tian Mi. Did we hear strains of the violin concerto entitled Butterfly Lovers, composed by He Zhanhao  and Chen Gang whilst students at the Shanghai Conservatory? We were inspired to listen to the work performed by Joshua Bell and a group in Singapore playing on Chinese instruments instead of the Western orchestra it was written for. It is a splendid piece of music that was composed in 1959 and was repressed until the Cultural Revolution ended.

As for the dancing, we found it satisfying in every respect. Relationships between characters were made very clear. Zhu's pas de deux with her father was completely different from her pas de deux with Liang. Choreographic combinations flowed with what in opera might be called legato technique. Lifts and carries were exciting and sensual. 

For purposes of variety there were large ensembles in colorful costumes, at times dancing aggressively to aggressive music. There was only one scene that seemed off to us.  It involved a corps of female dancers in white tutus, looking as if they wandered in from another ballet. We just shrugged that off as an anomaly or something that went over our head.

Finally, we would like to mention how the lighting by Yeung Tsz Yan added visual interest to the simple but effective scenic design. We hope that The Hong Kong Ballet will return soon and hopefully perform one of the other four famous Chinese legends. Regular readers will recall our distaste for the didactic and the abstract. Story ballets are what we want to experience, and an Asian company is best suited to introduce us to Asian stories!

© meche kroop

SLEEPWALKING

 Abigail Lysinger, Abigail Raiford, Teresa Castillo, and Christopher Bozeka

"Nothing with kings

Nothing with crowns;

Bring on the lovers, liars and clowns"

The clever lyrics of Stephen Sondheim from the 1962 hit musical Something Happened on the Way to the Forum came to mind, contrasting Teatro Nuovo's production of Bellini's 1831 La Sonnambula with the prior evening's performance of Verdi's Macbeth which we just reviewed. Will Crutchfield's instructive program notes call this work an opera semiseria, differentiating it  from opera buffa, a genre we are all familiar with, thanks to the earlier creations of Rossini.

It is serious because it deals with real human emotion but the comic designation comes from the fact that it has a happy ending. (Truth to tell, it didn't seem so happy to us that the sweet and innocent young Amina (sung  by soprano Teresa Castillo in sensational coloratura form) would be shackled for life to the immature and narcissistic land owner Elvino (played by tenor Christopher Bozeka). 

He is so mistrustful of his bride that he is ready to abandon her on their wedding day and so fickle and vengeful  that he plans to immediately marry another woman. Well, autre temps, autre moeurs. Amina seems a forgiving sort and we hope that the immature Elvino will grow up. It might have seemed less dire if the role had been played by a jejune youth who seemed ready to grow up.

What thrilled us about this performance were the musical values of this period-correct orchestra . Elisa Citterio served as Primo Violino e Capo d'Orchestra often conducting with her bow; Mo. Crutchfield served as Maestro al Cembalo; Derrick Goff was Maestro del Coro.  Bellini's long lyrical lines melded with Felice Romani's flowing poetry to excellent effect. The vocal artistry was nearly perfect, which we will get to later.

What bothered us most was the lack of staging and costuming. At the previous night's Macbeth, we scarcely noticed these deficiencies but there was something a bit "off" about the staging and acting in this Sonnambula. It seemed as if the characters were each performing in a different mode and time period. At times we perceived a sly "meta" wink at the story; at other times a period appropriate sincerity. All in all, the women came across better than the men.

The villager Alessio (bass-baritone Vincent Graña) is in love with the inn-keeper Lisa (soprano Abigail Raiford) who is pursuing the afore-mentioned Elvino, who is about to marry Amina. Amina's somnambulism is not understood by the villagers and, when accused of unfaithfulness, only her mother Teresa (mezzo-soprano Abigail Lysinger) stands by her side. It is the arrival of the long absent Count Rodolfo (bass-baritone Owen Phillipson) that both precipitates and then resolves the crisis.

Ms. Castillo's performance was impeccable with stunning execution of the difficult fioritura; no doubt some of the cadenzas were devised by the artist herself but there were some outstanding embellishments of the vocal line that had been written by Bellini himself but never performed! We invite you, Dear Reader, to hear Mo. Crutchfield's demonstration online in a brief clip including Ms. Castillo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSX8kuNc6l4.  We would love to hear your comments below.

Unfortunately, we have no equivalent encomia to offer about Mr. Bozeka's performance. He seemed to be having a bad night, particularly in Act II when challenged by the high tessitura. The work was performed in its original key which is higher than that which audiences have previously heard.

Both Abigails performed their parts well with Ms. Raiford playing Lisa for contemporary laughs. The audience loved it and, if the comic emphasis had been consistent, we might have loved it as well. Still, the story is so not contemporary by virtue of the villagers' ignorance and belief in specters that we doubt it would have worked. Sometimes it's best to treat an historical work with authenticity and leave out the irony. 

In sum this was a rare and rewarding opportunity to hear the work as Bellini meant for it to be heard. With appropriate Swiss peasant costuming and a firm directorial hand, this production would put that of any famed opera house to shame.

© meche kroop

THE SCOTTISH OPERA

 

Romeo Lopez, Martin Luther Clark, Ricardo José Rivera, Alexandra Loutsion, and Cumhur Görgün

Verdi's masterpiece Macbeth does not seem to be burdened by the superstitions surrounding Shakespeare's brilliant tragedy. There were no mishaps Wednesday evening at New York City Center when Teatro Nuovo produced an absolutely riveting performance of Verdi's original 1847 version of the opera, composed during his early period. This version is rarely performed, having been supplanted by a revised version Verdi created nearly twenty years later, at a time when his compositional style had evolved. 

Our first contact with the opera was a quarter century ago, before we began writing about opera. Nevertheless we will never forget Lauren Flanigan's performance as the ambitious Lady Macbeth. Since then we have seen a few productions that were well done, especially one by Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble, which also brought the earlier version to light. 

Thanks to Maestro Will Crutchfield and Teatro Nuovo we were able to appreciate an intensely blood and guts creation, heavily influenced by the bel canto period with its plethora of audience favored cabalette.  Crutchfield's pre-performance lecture, given as usual without notes and drawing from an inexhaustible fund of knowledge, went a long way toward our appreciation of Verdi's incomparable skill in expanding the bel canto tropes of the period to great effect on the emotions. We have no opportunity to compare the two versions side by side but trust Crutchfield's instruction. We heard a few cabalette that were dropped for the later version as Verdi's architecture became more sophisticated. We found them rousing and most satisfying.

Sometimes we appreciate the sophistication a composer achieves in his later years, as in Mozart's final few symphonies. At other times we prefer works of an artist's early period when he or she was more daring and searching for a new voice. (In the world of visual arts we were surprised to learn how much we liked Picasso's work before he evolved into cubism). But as far as Macbeth goes, the early version we heard affected us emotionally on a deeper level. For example, in the final act when the chorus (here given a larger part) mourns the sad fate befalling Scotland, we couldn't help but think of the sad path currently being forced upon the United States by power mad forces. This is exactly what art should do--confront us with our situation in an indirect manner that allows us to draw the connection ourselves. Just as the English came to help the ailing Scotland, we fantasized that Canada would come to rescue the United States from the scarily burgeoning Fascism.

It was interesting to learn how enthusiastic the Florentine audience was in 1847, demanding many repeats. It is even more interesting when we learned that no one in Italy knew of Shakespeare's play or the glory of iambic pentameter in his use of the English language.  Probably largely responsible for the roaring success was the combination of Verdi's passionate music and Maria Piave's adaptation of Shakespeare's tale. What a partnership this pair created!

 Jakob Lehmann has the commanding presence of a man twice his size. As Maestro Concertatore e Direttore he was in full command of the orchestra, organized as is customary with Teatro Nuovo with all musician's facing each other. Lehmann conducts with his entire body and sitting close was a real treat for us.

We have nothing but praise for the singers. As the eponymous hero, tenor Ricardo José Rivera managed to color his excellent instrument with increasing darkness, having started out rather mildly but, driven by his wife's ambition and the dark work of the witches, the colors became suitably darker. Embellishments of the vocal line were clean.

Soprano Alexandra Loutsion made an equally compelling Lady Macbeth, at times seductive and at times driving, coloring her huge instrument to the text. The lavish fioritura seemed no challenge for her flexible instrument. Although it was difficult to feel sympathy for Macbeth, the gentle compassion of Lady Macbeth's  lady-in-waiting toward the sleep-walking "heroine" rubbed off on us, an amazing emotional shift.  But no wonder! It was the superlative young soprano Jihye Seo who impressed us so thoroughly this year in her performance of Cio-Cio-San and here did such a fine piece of work as the lady-in-waiting.

Another young artist that grabbed our attention was the up-and-coming tenor Martin Luther Clark whose grief-stricken Macduff tore at our heartstrings . We also enjoyed Derrick Goff as Duncano, the doomed King of Scotland, Macbeth's first victim. Bass Cumhur Görgün did well with the role of Banquo, killed off to early in our opinion! As Duncan's son Malcolm we heard Romeo Lopez who, by contrast, appeared too late. What we mean to say is we would like to hear more of them!

Let us say a few words about the staging. In place of sets we had projections--not the annoying distracting moving variety.  Just a series of still photos establishing the various locations in the castle, a woodland clearing, and Burnham Wood. There was no stage furniture save for a lone modern chair on which Lady Macbeth sat briefly. The sole attempt at staging was a roaring success-- the scene for the witches in which they danced around an impressive cauldron. The scene was inordinately powerful with young artists singing and dancing around the flaming cauldron. 

The minimal staging is quite likely due to a lack of funding which also called attention to itself in a lack of costuming a more serious lack, one which might have been remedied at minimal expense. We have seen small impoverished companies create costuming suggestive of period and place; so, we surmise, the priority of Teatro Nuovo is on top quality  music as evidenced by the superlative singing and outstanding orchestral performance. Oddly, the child Fléance sported a white tunic. Everyone else dressed in black garb or suits. With such intensely satisfying musical values, please, Dear Reader, take this as an observation, not a complaint.

Indeed, this will go down as one of the year's best productions, by virtue of its musical values, it's dramatic impact, and the unique novel effect of being introduced to a rarity.

© meche kroop

© meche kroop

ANCIEN REGIME

 

The Versailles Royal Opera Orchestra

We are, by default, members of the Second Estate in late 17th c. France, guests of a gracious host, being royally entertained and plied with drink and nibbles, witnessing all manner of entertainment in a rococo palace,  We do not realize we are the last remaining exemplars of the French aristocracy .

Well, actually, we are attending a gala event at the rococo fashion emporium Printemps, produced by prominent New York impresario Andrew Ousley who knows well how to do "immersive". Putting together such an event requires an inordinate amount of coordination and contacts, as one can well imagine.

The centerpiece of the evening, for us classical music addicts, was the first United States performance of the Versailles Royal Opera Orchestra which performed on instruments of the Baroque period with winds softer and gentler than modern winds, conducted by Concertmaster Stefan Plewniak.

 The anachronistic program included works by Rossini who was not due to arrive on the musical scene for well over a century later. We recognized  works from Tancredi and Semiramide and enjoyed the performance of countertenor Franco Fagioli, as did the rest of the rather large audience.  An unknown piece (unknown to us, that is) was identified by a seatmate as K-Pop, about which we may choose to remain ignorant.

There was more music to delight the ear, much more. The second floor space of Printemps in downtown Manhattan is vast with many rooms connected by corridors, each space affording a new delight. There was a string quartet and a theorboist Dušan Balarin accompanying soprano Ariadne Greif. Adam Young performed on the viola da gamba.

After working our way through the corridor of music we arrived at a series of tableaux vivants, set up within spacious repurposed fitting rooms, illustrating scenes from the "Affair of the Poisons" that created a tumultuous tidal wave in the court of Louis XIV. This led us to inform ourself about this period of French history, about which we knew nothing. Lots of secret poisonings, arrests, and executions.  Live and learn! What good is art if one doesn't also learn something thereby.

The many salons and corridors were peopled by members of Company XIV, actors and performers in lavish period appropriate costumes and powdered wigs. There was also some period dancing which we missed. There was so much going on that one would have had to clone oneself to take it all in. We did catch the end of a sword swallowing act in which the woman swallowed something that was at least as long as a sword but seemed to be neon lit.

Our attention, toward the end of the evening, was riveted by Creatine Price, a singer of our acquaintance who shall remain unidentified  until he gives us permission to reveal it. We admit to loving drag performance, but especially so when performed by a genuine opera singer with a great voice. We particularly enjoyed the no-hold-barred "Habanera" from Bizet's Carmen.

Having enjoyed such a dazzling evening of entertainment and revelry, we have a special reason to mention the high quality wines which were poured, courtesy of Bouchaine Vineyards in Napa County, California. What made this significant is the participation of the owners, Tatiana and Garrett Copeland, who not only provided the wine but were responsible for bringing the Versailles Opera Orchestra to North America for their first tour, including performances in Napa Valley, Toronto, and Montreal. Although the Versailles Opera Orchestra was not in existence at the time of Louis XIV, they were founded in 1770 by Louis XV--before the colonies here declared independence from Great Britain.  Now that's history.

There will be another performance by the Versailles Royal Opera Orchestra tonight at Florence Gould Hall of the Alliance Française but we regret to inform you that the event has long been sold out. Next time Mr. Ousley announces an event we advise you to jump on it. Of course, Dear Reader, you already know about his Death of Classical events at The Crypt? If not, just ask us.

© meche kroop

THE DRAMA OF THE LIED

 

Lara Saldanha, Victoria Falcone, and Nina Riley (photo by Andrew Bisdale)

If you were fortunate enough to have attended Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble's concert last night at the A.R.T. Center you would have experienced what a lieder recital can and should be. In a program conceived by Maestro Chris Fecteau, each set of songs became a mini opera, since each set had a theme.

There was an overall unity to the program since all of the texts were written by Paul Heyse who translated them from Italian--hence the title of the concert Italienische Liederbuch. Most fans of lieder have heard Heyse's poetry as set  by Hugo Wolf under that very name. But many of us, ourself included, did not know the wealth of material set by other composers. 

We did, of course, know that other German texts have been given multiple settings by different composers but this assemblage had a dramatic intent, the realization of which was an original and effective undertaking. Although no director was listed in the program, we will hazard a guess that Mo. Fecteau undertook the task and it was a fine undertaking indeed.

The material was not organized by composer, but rather organized along the principle of theme, so each listener was swept into the mini dramas and offered an opportunity to access his or her own memories and imagination.

Hermann Goetz's brief period of composition predated that of the late 19th century Hugo Wolf whereas Joseph Marx's heyday was somewhat later. Nonetheless, there is enough similarity within German Romanticism to unite the works, which also included one by Brahms and also Arnold Mendelssohn (a relation of Felix). There was no jarring as there might have been if modern compositions had been included.

The first set of songs was entitled "Young Lovers" and found the bright-voiced soprano Nina Riley locking gazes with the richly voiced mezzo-soprano Victoria Falcone. Both singers amplified the vocalism with dramatic enactments of flirtation. Accompanying with panache at the piano was Lara Saldanha.

We have special admiration for singers who deliver their material "off the book" which makes for better audience contact and soprano Ellen Teufel accomplished that with ease, accompanied by Mo. Fecteau himself who is always a pleasure to hear.

Following was an exploration of a love triangle comprising soprano Heather Bobeck, mezzo-soprano, Olivia Ericsson, and tenor Stephen Steffens. The facial expressions and gestures of the two women were priceless. Furthermore, it was a pleasure to hear Mr. Steffens in gentler material than that written by Mozart for Emperor Tito, which we had heard the night before.

The relationship between Father and Daughter was well explored by soprano Elizaveta Kozlova and bass Jason Adamo who presented a very distant father who seemed never to look at his lovely daughter. David Stech accompanied and also provided an absolutely delightful interlude.  Felix Mendelssohn' Songs Without Words do not need words but his "Barcarolle" in the hands of Mr. Stech produced images of Venice in my mind's eye, a gentle swaying in my body, and strangely enough, in my mind's ear, the lonely musings of the gondolier paddling himself home at the end of the night! Words were not needed but they came unbidden.

Soprano Clara Lisle joined with tenor Andres Penalver for songs about love transcending death, accompanied by Ms. Saldanha. Just when we thought the program was over, we were fortunate enough to have two more songs by Ms. Teufel accompanied by Mo. Fecteau. We observed that Ms. Teufel is always "off the book" and in a position to make good contact with the audience. In the Wolf "Gesegnet sei" she was very still but seemed to loosen up with her gestures in Marx's "Ständchen". We had the thought that her artistry could go from an "A" to an "A-plus" if she could make her gestures more specific. This is a fine point we have been becoming more aware of recently. It takes a performance to a higher level.

Although we could happily have listened to more, we did feel satisfied by the program, which succeeded in accessing our own memories and associations. As in the other two events of Dell'Arte's 25th season, we were very happy with the organization of the space and the clarity of the supertitles. We found ourselves wishing there were more events!

© meche kroop

WITTEN IN HASTE, ENJOYED FOR CENTURIES

 Barbee Monk, Valérie Filloux, Elizaveta Kozlova, Stephen Steffens, Sarah Nelson Craft, Jason Adamo

Mozart's opera seria La Clemenza di Tito was "dashed off" in 1791 within weeks of its commission, to celebrate the coronation of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, as King of Bavaria. (This commission was first offered to the more senior composer Antonio Salieri.) The libretto by court poet Caterino Mazzolà was edited from an original version by Metastasio which had been set numerous times. At the time, Mozart was actually in the middle of composing Die Zauberflöte and careful listening to the score reveals a number of similarities.

As centerpiece of its 25th season, Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble chose this treasure to present in an original reduction of the score by Maestro Chris Fecteau. We lack the time and energy to fulfill every request for a review and we pick and choose on the basis of our interest in the work, an opportunity to hear a singer we like, a recommendation by a friend or colleague, or our particular affection for the producing company.  It is often the case that we find ourselves more impressed in the viewing/hearing by a feature we weren't expecting. 

Our long term affection for Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble seemed reason enough to attend a Mozart opera that is not among our top four. To our delight, we heard elements of the score that were illuminated by Mo. Fecteau's reduction, elements that delighted the ear and impressed us with their effectiveness. We love vocal duets but what astonished us last night was the idea of a duet between a singer and an instrument, in this case mostly the clarinet. It was as if there were an invisible singer offstage in dialogue with the actual singer, one repeating an idea of the other, or advancing a complementary melody. We might say that our ears received the gift of an education, or a revelation.

The reduction of the score involved piano, violin, cello, and four winds--the aforementioned clarinet (played by Katie Curran), flute, bassoon, and French horn. There was a remarkable clarity in the voicing and we heard the score with fresh ears.

Metastasio's story features the titular Tito, a loving and generous ruler who puts the well being of his subjects ahead of his own desires. If Mozart chose to flatter the anointed Leopold we wouldn't be a bit surprised. We couldn't help fantasizing that our contemporary self-appointed "King" might change his ways if he deigned to visit a performance at the Kennedy Center! We wish!

Tito (tenor Stephen Steffens) casts aside his intended Beatrice because she is a foreigner (ahem!) and chooses a local lady, sister of his friend Sesto (mezzo-soprano Sarah Nelson Craft in travesti)  Unfortunately Servillia (soprano Elizaveta Kozlova) is in love with Annio (Valerie Filloux also in travesti) another one of his friends. With generosity of spirit, the magnanimous Tito wishes her well and turns his marital ambitions toward Vitellia (soprano Barbee Monk) who, unfortunately, has persuaded her most ardent admirer Sesto to murder Tito to avenge her father whom Tito had deposed.

The unlucky Sesto is weak-willed and easily manipulated by the vengeful Vitellia (although the lucky singer who sings Sesto gets to sing the memorable "Parto, parto") and the suspense is whether the loyal Sesto will betray her to save his life or will this narcissistic woman realize the error of her ways and tell Tito that she was the one who set the assassination plot in motion. If you want to learn what happens you will have to attend one of the upcoming performances on June 20th and 22nd. The sixth member of the able cast is Publio, sung by Jason Adamo.

We recommend the performance but we don't recommend reading the Director's Notes as Benjamin Spierman tries to mansplain why the innocent toga-clad Servillia (the kindest character in the opera) is sporting a black leather motorcycle jacket. Fortunately Vitellia's Ancient Rome attire is a propos and we will just assume that Costume Designer Eric Lamp was just trying to fulfill a directorial concept. Please don't ask us why there was a videographer wandering around from time to time with the results projected onto the walls!

The black box playing space is comfortable with raked seating along two sides of the box and the chamber orchestra along the third side. Again, let us praise the clear titles that are adequate in size and projected where every audience member can read them.

© meche kroop

VOICE OF HER HEART

 Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble is celebrating its 25th Anniversary with some compelling evenings this week and next. The season opener was a delightful evening celebrating women composers and songs about women, sung by an all-female cast. Among the singers we heard some fine young singers comprising those singing currently with Dell-Arte and some alumnae that we recall from years gone by.

We were enchanted by the first half of the program which represented various stages of a woman's life, apparently inspired by Adelbert von Chamisso's text which was set by Robert Schumann and Carl Loewe (Frauenliebe und Leben). We would never hold one above the other; each composer invested the text with different shades of emotion, within his compositional style. 

Both sopranos served the music well, as did collaborative pianist Lara Saldanha. We have been hearing Elizaveta Kozlova quite a bit recently whereas Victoria Falcone has been off our radar screen since 2017 when we loved her performance in Janaçek's Cunning Little Vixen at Manhattan School of Music. It is always rewarding to hear singers remembered from their conservatory years. This part of Act I was called Enchanted and we were indeed enchanted, especially by the sopranos opening and closing the set with a Schumann duet.

Separating Enchanted from Betrothal  Ms. Saldanha delighted our ears with Clara Schumann's Fier Flüchtige Stücke, no. 3.

The Betrothal section also focused mainly on the Schumann and Loewe settings. The fine singers were soprano Jennifer Gliere, well remembered for a stunning Violetta about 8 years ago in Amore Opera's production of La Traviata, and mezzo-soprano Valerie Filloux who performed so well just last year with Dell'Arte.  We couldn't help noticing that the young narrator of the von Chamisso text was so much calmer in "Ich kann nicht fassen, nicht glauben" than the one portrayed by Schumann. We were also glad to hear  a lied by Clara Schumann, a setting of a Rückert text which was later set by Richard Strauss--"Liebst du um Schönheit". The fine accompaniment was performed by David Stech.

The third section, also accompanied by Mr. Stech,  was entitled Motherhood, and was performed by sopranos Nina Riley (new to us) and Jenny Ribeiro whom we reviewed at least a decade ago as a fine Susanna and an even finer Rosina, surprising us with her take on a role usually assigned to a mezzo-soprano. Augmenting the most welcome excerpts from the Schumann and Loewe cycles, were two duets, one by Mendelssohn ("Volkslied") and one by Richard Strauss ("Muttertanderlei") which never fails to amuse us with two mothers boasting about their respective offspring.

The final section of Act I was entitled Departed with Ms. Filloux returning, joined by soprano Barbee Monk accompanied by Ms .Saldanha. The two lovely ladies opened with a Brahms duet "Klänge 1" and closed in perfect harmony with Maestro Chris Fecteau's arrangement of the tragic "Nun hast du mir den ersten Schmerz getan", weaving together Schumann and Loewe, whose compositional voices joined as successfully as the voices of the two singers had.

It is always a pleasure to hear Maestro Fecteau at the piano but we cannot express the same enthusiasm for Act II as we did for Act I. Perhaps it is unfair to try to appreciate contemporary compositions when one has just swooned over the 19th century greats. Three female composers from New York City were given voice--Martha Sullivan, Valerie Saalbach, and Ellen Mandel.

Forgive us Dear Reader if we seem somewhat vague but try as we might, we could not keep our 19th century-tuned ears involved in the compositions, one of which was a setting of text by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. However, we did appreciate hearing some new voices. The soprano of Andrea Chinedu Nwoke is an astounding instrument, full of power but also luscious in its overtones We were not surprised to learn that she has a past in the mezzo-soprano fach. 

We were also happy to get another hearing of soprano Antonina Ermolenko, who we remember for having sung some delightful Ukrainian songs perhaps two years ago. We were also glad to get a further hearing of Clara Lisle. She was a bright light in a regrettable 2018 production of Eugene Onegin which we are glad she survived! She closed the program with Ellen Mandel's setting of a text by Seamus Heaney entitled "Sleep".  Our opera singer companion thought the program should have ended with a more rousing finale but we actually enjoyed the soothing quietude.

The second half of the program involved a dancer of the Modern Ballet persuasion which involves a lot of floor work and is not to our taste. We are great fans of virtuoso classical ballet which commands our full attention, especially when it brings Tchaikovsky's music to visual life. What we saw was  more a distraction in its abstractness and did not appear to add anything to the music. We are quite sure however that there were many in the audience who found pleasure in it. We are just rather particular in our taste.

We cannot close without praising the titles which were projected in full view of everyone in the audience, and sufficient in size and illumination. This seems rather basic but we recently had an experience where the text was tiny and obliterated by the set for most of the time, and washed out by the lighting.

Dell'Arte has two more events in store that we are looking forward to and you should too. The Italienische Liederbuch will be presented on 6/19 and 6/21. Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito will be performed on 6/18, 20, and 22.

©meche kroop