HARRY T. BURLEIGH AND ANTONIN DVOŘAK

 

 

Joseph Parrish, Alexander Fortes, and Margaret Kampmeier

Sponsored by Five Boroughs Music Festival, The Orchestra of St. Luke's has presented a program, as enlightening as it was entertaining, across all five boroughs of New York City, culminating in Monday's performance at the Lincoln Center Performing Arts Library which, fortunately has a beautiful and comfortable theater. The theme of the recital was "Finding an American Voice" and featured New York City's preeminent young baritones, a gifted violinist, and a worthy pianist, all of whom conspired to entertain and educate.

Baritone Joseph Parrish has been dazzling us for the past few years, not only by means of a highly burnished baritone but also by his engaging stage presence. Through his performances we have become interested in African American music, about which we had known almost nothing. That this music inspired one of our favorite European composers came as a surprise and has led to some self-education. Music tends to do that, especially for us.

Anonín Dvořak, he of the melodic symphonies and the composer of the much loved opera Rusalka, was lured to New York at the end of the 19th century to helm the National Conservatory of Music. Not only do we adore Dvořák's music but we feel a special attachment to his legacy, having lived for three years in an apartment next door to the brownstone he occupied with his family whilst he was in NYC.  (We were fortunate to have been given a tour by one of the residents who showed us a bronze plaque. Tragically, Beth Israel Hospital's expansion led to the demolition of this house and we shed a few tears over it.)

What was new to us was his artistic partnership with one Harry T. Burleigh who was a student at the conservatory and assistant to the great European master. Having heard baritone Burleigh singing spirituals, Dvořák became entranced and incorporated the melodies in his works. We are a bit embarrassed to admit that we always assumed that these wonderful melodies were Czechoslovakian folk tunes.  Well, Dear Reader, now we know better and so do you!

Mr. Parrish comes from an ecclesiastical family so his ease with spirituals comes naturally. In addition to his musical gifts, one cannot help but be impressed with his ability to communicate the emotions of the music by means of vocal color and not by excessive showmanship. Every time he performs he introduces us to songs we had never heard, along with some with which we had only a vague familiarity.

In addition to a set of spirituals we heard a set of art songs composed by Burleigh that stand alongside those of Stephen Foster as emblematic of the American experience of the 18th century. We would like to list the spirituals for you so that you can find them online and enjoy the depth of feeling as much as we did. "Little David Play on Your Harp", "I Got a Home in-A Dat Rock", "Dry Bones" and the somber "My Lord, What a Morning". We particularly enjoyed Mr. Parrish's use of falsetto for the ending of the first selection, and his use of dynamics in the second.

In another set, he introduced us to several of Burleigh's art songs. We enjoyed the blatant romanticism of the melody in "The Glory of the Day Was in Her Face", and the vocal swells of "Tide". "And As the Gulls Soar" was brief and impressionistic. A gentle prelude by pianist Margaret Kampmeier introduced the pensive "The Dove and the Lily".

Not only was Ms. Kampmeier a fine piano partner for Mr. Parrish, but also served violinist Alex Fortes very well. The Allegro movement from Dvořák's Four Romantic Pieces, Op. 75 was tuneful and switched readily from major mode to minor. The Sonatina in G major for Violin and Piano, Op. 100 comprised four movements, beginning with a dance-like Allegro in which the melody was tossed back and forth between piano and violin, highlighting Mr. Fortes' impeccable artistry. A plaintive Larghetto led to a spirited Scherzo and a Finale Allegro featuring rhythmic syncopation and some well executed trills on the violin.

No less wonderful was Southland Sketches for Violin and Piano with it's folksy Andante, lyrical Adagio, an Allegretto that featured variations on Stephen Foster's "Suwanee River" ("The Old Folks at Home"), and ended with a propulsive and lighthearted Allegro that reminded us of a Rossini opera.

Both instrumentalists succeeded at conveying the many colors and moods that characterize Dvořák's instrumental work and also allowed us to hear how the master's sojourn in New York and his collaboration with Harry T. Burleigh added so much dimension to his output. We listened. WE. enjoyed. We learned. What more could one ask for?

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A DIVINE COMEDY

Enes Pektas as Gianni Schicchi

Having succeeded so admirably in last year's production of Il Tabarro, Classic Lyric Art Vocal Academy has continued with their production this year of another part of Puccini's Il Trittico--Gianni Schicchi. And what a great choice it was, making full use of CLAVA's ability to collaborate as an artistic community to create a work that was greater than the sum of its parts.

These "parts" comprise an astute director (Daniel Isengart) who knows how to come up with original ideas and then to trust the cast members to take these ideas and run with them; a musically gifted conductor (Mo. Michelle Rofrano); a superlative pianist who created an entire orchestra with ten fingers (Luc Xu Cheng) and a gifted group of singers, members and graduates of CLAVA. These singers, having spent so much time with their colleagues, are imbued with ensemble spirit. There is no individual grandstanding, each singer served the telling of the tale.  And tell it they did!

Like Verdi, Puccini tackled comedy rather late in his career at the age of 60. Both of these Italian titans avoided the slapstick humor of Rossini (which we also love) and used their comedic gifts to shed light on human foibles. Verdi's Falstaff invites us to laugh at the pomposity of a Shakespearean knight of centuries earlier, whereas Puccini used humor to shed light on one of the less attractive features of Italian culture as exemplified by Dante in his Divine Comedy, also written centuries earlier. One might conclude that the temporal distance from the butt of humor makes it easier to laugh at.

No doubt there are still grasping families who can't wait for an elderly progenitor to leave this world so they can enjoy the benefits of his wealth. It is all in the telling of the tale and  Mr. Isengart told it well, making ample use of choreography that varied from chaos-- as the Donati family ransacks their dead relative's home for his will-- to elements of swirling unity as they agree on a common plan.  The character of the eponymous Schicchi is based on a real person, someone related to Dante's wife. As usual, the dramatist heightens and amplifies reality to make a dramatic point.

Puccini's librettist Giovacchino Forzano took Dante's story and embellished it, much as Mr. Isengart put his own stamp on it. What we most appreciated about the storytelling was that each character differentiated him/herself. As many times as we have seen this opera we could never tell one member of the family from another. Perhaps it was the clarity of direction and the dramatic skill of the singers, or perhaps the fact that we were sitting on the front row, we had no problem differentiating one from another.

The adorable Gherardino (Iris Whelen) was the first onstage, totally convincing as a little boy. His father Gherardo (Samuel Ng) and mother Nella (Estelina Syla) left no doubt about their annoyance with the child. Tia Zita (Miastasha Gonzales-Colon) convinced us that she was matriarch of this squabbling family and totally in control of her nephew Rinuccio (Fernando Silva-Gorbea) and his hoped for marriage to the lower-classed Lauretta (Laura Soto-Bayomi). Rinuccio's idea to bring Lauretta's father Gianni Schicchi (Enes Pektas) on board to help the family will be his ticket to romantic fulfillment.

And there's impoverished  Cousin Betto di Signa (Christopher Lau) and the wise patriarch Simone (George Baolin) with his son Marco (Henry Horstmann) and Marco's wife La Ciesca (Sofia Durante). All of them grasping, all of them furious that the dead Donato has left his wealth to the monastery, all of them willing to have Schicchi perjure himself to make themselves wealthy.

Alejandro De los Santos portrayed both doctor and notary with Quinlan Sellars portraying Pinellino the cobbler, both adding to the comedy.

And oh, how Puccini's musical ideas heighten the drama. The opening rhythmic motif that stirs our funny bone, the dirge that accompanies the phony grief of the Donati family, the lyrical love song that stirs our heart "Lauretta mia, staremo sempre qui!", the ladies' trio "Spogliati, bambolino!", and Rinuccio's philosophical paean to Florence "Firenze è come un albero fiorito". What about the most famous aria of the opera? "O mio babbino caro" was given an original interpretation that made perfect sense. Lauretta is just as devious as her father and is manipulating him into securing her future. Mr. Cheng was masterful in capturing both lyricism and humor, confusion and despair whilst Mo. Rofrano's firm conductorial hand kept it all together.

Missing were the lavish Florentine set and costumes and we can only say that the fine musical and dramatic values made them superfluous. The grieving family all wore black and the set comprised nothing but a four-poster bed for the dying Donato. Nothing more was needed.

Regular readers know that we are sick and tired of directorial conceits that must be elaborately explained in the "Director's Notes". This production managed to tell this story of comeuppance in a most relatable way with the most meager of resources. Mr. Isengart's notes were strictly academic and intellectual backstory for those who find such background information worthy of reading. Thankfully, there were no narcissistic ramblings and justifications.

It is thrilling to watch Classic Lyric Arts develop their performing arm. Although the selection of operas is probably designed to show off the talent that is available on any given year, as an audience member we felt as if the work had been chosen for our delight. The enormous space that held the performance and audience members was absolutely packed and very deserving of a proper theater with raked seating. From the front row we had no complaint but we wondered how the people in the rear fared. We cannot help but wonder why the best city in the United States has no suitable small theater. Any ideas, Dear Reader, will be welcome and passed along.

As you may know from our prior writings on the topic, New York City badly needs a small opera company to present the best of the canon in authentic productions. With our three music conservatories producing strange operas that no student needs in their repertory (I'm looking at you, Mannes) or putting weird spins on familiar works (I'm looking at you, Juilliard and Manhattan School of Music), we support CLAVA's gradual expansion and are pleased to note that next season may bring us two productions.  Stay tuned!

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GIULIO GARI FOUNDATION HONORS A MAJOR STAR AND SOME RISING ONES

 

Aprile Millo

The presence of esteemed and legendary soprano Aprile Millo must have been an inspiration for the young artists who entertained us Sunday at the annual Winner's Concert of the Giulio Gari Foundation. What a superb legacy of the late tenor! Awarding young singers is a not only a source of funding but an encouragement in a world that offers lots of heavy work for slim rewards.

Sunday's concert gave us the opportunity to acquaint ourself further with the gifts of seven young artists, all of whom  we have heard before and enjoyed. The splendid Mary Pinto accompanied them with flourish.

Let's do "ladies first"! We have reviewed Soprano Luna Seongeun Park a half dozen times recently, her having won awards from all of the award giving foundations in New York. What impressed us is her tackling so many different arias in different languages and styles and excelling at all of them. On Sunday, she commanded rapt attention from the audience as she created the character of Musetta who commands attention from the crowd at Café Momus in Puccini's La Bohême. 

Concluding the program was a duet with Son Jin Kim, in which she created a not-so-unwilling Zerlina who holds out for a credit card before exiting with the Don Giovanni of Mr. Kim, about whom more later. It was a clever wrinkle in Mozart's opera and the audience enjoyed it immensely. This gifted young soprano has many more roles ahead of her.

Mezzo-soprano Ruijia Dong employed a pleasing legato as she interpreted "O ma lyre immortale" from Gounod's lesser known opera Sappho. There was a divine depth and fine facility in French that pleased the ear. This was quite a change from our recollection of her weirdly costumed Ruggiero in Händel's Alcina at Mannes College for Music. As you may have guessed we prefer to focus on the voices than on trying to figure out some director's self important concept.

We really enjoyed Ms. Dong's performance of Angelina's final aria from Rossini's Cenerentola "Non più mesta". This is the test of any mezzo's mettle what with its rapid fire fioritura and large leaps. Our singer passed with flying colors and managed to also create a sympathetic character leaving us with pleasure at her "happy ever after" condition.

This was our second time hearing soprano Anna Thompson in a month, since she just won an award from The Gerda Lissner Foundation. She really got into the role of Rosalinde pranking her husband in Johann Strauss' Die Fledermaus. Both slow and fast sections were compelling and the German was on point.

As for the men, the afore mentioned bass Son Jin Kim made a fine impression in this generally late maturing fach. He showed a real flair for comedy in Don Basilio's comic aria "La calunnia" from Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia. His technical assurance permitted a gradual buildup of excitement and his well thought out gestures contributed to the success of the performance.

This very extroverted aria was finely contrasted with the more introspective "Cavatina" from Rachmaninoff's Aleko in which Mr. Kim sustained the sad mood of loss--loss of youth and loss of love,  since his fickle Zemfira has abandoned him for a young lover. There was an effective contrast between his melancholy first section and the second section in which he remembers a happier time.

We had one more opportunity to take the measure of Mr. Kim's talent when he took the role of Don Giovanni seducing Zerlina in Mozart's eponymous opera. So this marvelous  bass gave us a dose of fun, a dose of melancholy and one of manipulation, all within an hour!

We also got to hear two fine tenors. We first reviewed Ben Reisinger when he was a baritone and noted his superb upper register in "O vin, dissippe la tristesse"  from Thomas' Hamlet. Then we heard him at a master class when he was struggling with the transition. We are pleased to report that the transition is now a complete success. He completely captured Lensky's pathos in "Kuda, kuda" from Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. An appropriate vibrato lent just the right color to his voice and his command of dynamics was best appreciated in a delicate and moving diminuendo. Furthermore he handled the linguistics well, not allowing the difficult consonants to cheat the vowels.

The other tenor Alec Carlson performed "O tu che in seno agli'angeli" from one of our favorite Verdi operas La Forza del Destino. We observed a fine Italianate embouchure, beautiful legato phrasing, and a reassuring lack of tension at the top of the register. The long held "money note" was lovely. We have reviewed Mr. Carlson a number of times, at competitions and at Santa Fe Opera. We are impressed that he has such a diverse repertoire.

We also heard a fine baritone who delighted the audience with "Some Enchanted Evening" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific. We have no problem appreciating this as an aria from an American opera; but in spite of a worthy performance there was something missing, something cultural. The character of Emile de Becque is a specific one. He is French and he has his secrets. Falling in love with an American Army nurse was unexpected and the singer needs to convey the wonder of it all. Very few singers nowadays study the character and the situation, so performances tend to come across as generic and imitative. I hope that Yoonsoo Jang will put in a bit more work towards making the aria his own. We heard him recently creating the character of Dr. Malatesta in Donizetti's Don Pasquale so we know he is up to the challenge.

It was a fine evening and a wonderful opportunity to catch up with citizens of Planet Opera and to hear young artists who will carry the torch into the future. All we need is a small opera house in Manhattan so we can put them all to work!

© meche kroop

LIFE, DEATH, SPIRIT, AND ART

 A Night at Greenwood Cemetery with Death of Classical

When Andrew Ousley announces an event we don't think twice before accepting. We did, however, wonder what the connection was between The Metropolitan Opera and Greenwood Cemetery. We are quite familiar with the Mexican Day of the Dead and the manner in which it is celebrated, especially in Oaxaca, on October 3lst and November 1st. We have honored the day in our home with an ofrenda and pan de muertos. We have even dressed up as La Catrina.

Likewise, we have visited museums in Mexico City and the colorful labor oriented murals of Diego Rivera in public buildings. We have marveled over the deeply unsettling paintings of Frida Kahlo that show us the world of a woman severely injured in an accident who transformed her chronic pain into art. And now, we have learned of an opera utilizing contemporary music, a Spanish language libretto, and magic realism to tell the tale of two tempestuous lovers who fought as hard as they loved. This opera will open at The Metropolitan Opera on May 14th and is entitled El Ultimo Sueno de Frida y Diego.

Imagine a panel discussion of said opera in Manhattan, drawing a handful of curious opera lovers. Now imagine a huge crowd packing a central area of Greenwood Cemetery, at least an hour's distance from Manhattan (Culture Central). Imagine paying big bucks to attend.  Who could accomplish this?

Wonder no longer. Who else but impresario Andrew Ousley of Death of Classical who knows how to get people excited about something. This won't be the first event of his that got us to leave the confines of Manhattan! Mr. Ousley manages to pull things together to make people want to participate

In this case, there were Mexican dancers and singers scattered about and many tables of fine tequilas as well as intriguing elixirs for the teetotalers. There was the excitement of waiting in line and experiencing something unique--an EVENT, if you will.

The main event, so to speak, was a panel discussion between composer Gabriela Lena Frank and librettist Nilo Cruz;  they were interviewed by Mila Burns who got them to answer all the questions one might have about a new work of art--the inspiration, the intention, the realization, the difficulty of getting produced. 

The opera, which we hope to see, is a telling of the tale of Kahlo returning to earth on the Day of the Dead, as spirits in Mexico are wont to do, and encountering Rivera. The tale will be told utilizing magic realism, a literary device with which we are familiar from the literature of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It is a device that seems to work best in the hands of Latin Americans; with gringos, not so much.

As much as we enjoyed hearing from the two creators, we enjoyed even more hearing excerpts from the work sung by soprano Vanessa Isiguen who sings the role of Catrina and mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard who portrays Kahlo. We first heard Ms. Isiguen in 2012 as part of a Marcello Giordani concert and in 2014 in a concert at Mannes College of Music. We began writing about Ms. Leonard about the same time period and her superb performances made their way into our blog at least a dozen times until her star rose way beyond the horizon of "emerging artist" that we write about. What a pleasure it is for us to see these "emerging artists" outgrow that designation.

The male artists, on the other hand were new to us. Baritone Carlos Alvarez took the role of Rivera and the spiritual part of Leonardo was sung by Nils Wanderer whose countertenor suited the role perfectly. Renowned pianist Howard Watkins served as accompanist.

We have found a photo of a Diego Rivera mural which portrays the artist walking alongside La Catrina with Kahlo a bit behind. Let us try to put a portion of the very large and detailed mural below. It would seem to summarize a lot of the intention of the opera.

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ALL ABOUT CARMEN

 Final tableau--Don José has murdered Carmen

Carmen is Bizet's most successful opera and also one of the most famous in the canon. There is no mystery to explain. The characters are compelling, the plot moves swiftly, and the tunes are eminently hummable.  France saw its birth in 1875, at which time it was known as an "opéra comique" due to the use of spoken dialogue instead of sung recitativo. 

The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The two librettists made essential changes to the original story, as you can see if you read his novella.

 The story is a tragic one but not equal to the tragedy of Bizet dying without knowing how beloved and enduring his final work would become.  Even folks who know nothing about opera will recognize the "Habanera" and "The Toreador Song".

Another tragedy is the contamination of the work we have witnessed so many times as self-serving directors have tampered with the time and place of the opera, the authenticity of which, we believe, is essential to the story. In its time it scandalized the public and broke ground for future verismo operas.

Last night we saw an authentic production, so authentic that we thought the trek to Brooklyn was worth every mile. Fortunately the good folks at Regina Opera have never succumbed to the fad of "making opera relevant". Opera is relevant because it shows us naked passions expressed through memorable melodies!

The three major figures of this dramatic triangle are a naîve soldier from the countryside, a gypsy who works in a tobacco factory with a side hustle as a smuggler, and a famous toreador. The non human character of the story is the belief in the occult. Probably in the 19th century, audiences would have believed in curses and fortune telling. We had no trouble putting ourself in their place!

The opera is called Carmen but it might as well have been called Don José since it is his tragedy as well. Unlike the Don José of the Merimée novella, this man is a simple country boy who has been enchanted by a bruja. Once Carmen has thrown a flower at him and cast her spell, the plot has been set in motion and his fate is sealed. Think of the "fate theme" expressed so eloquently in the overture, a brilliant overture we might add.

Carmen, often trivialized as a hedonistic "free spirit", is actually a narcissistic sociopath who uses one man after another with no regard for the damage she wreaks. Micaëla, on the other hand, is imbued with a genuine caring nature, venturing into the scary city of Sevilla to relay messages from Don José's mother. She is by no means a wimp because she manages to escape from a group of horny soldiers in Act I, and in Act III she screws her courage to the sticking post, as they say, and makes her way into the scary mountains.

Perhaps it was due to the superb performance of soprano Yujin Zeng that our strongest memory from last night was her aria "Je dis que rien ne m'épouvante".  She may be a shy country girl but she is spunky and loyal and will complete her mission come hell or high water. Her faith in God is as strong as Carmen's faith in her occult powers..

The rest of the cast was effective with the fine-voiced mezzo-soprano Melina Jaharis portraying Carmen in a manner that we found excessively and contemporaneously seductive. This  might be the intention of the director Helen Van Tine. Our perception of the character leans more to an intensity of will rather than overly obvious signaling of sexiness

Tenor Christopher Trapani did a fine job of conveying Don José's  

vulnerability to  Carmen's wiles and his desperation at the prospect of losing her. Veteran baritone Robert Garner (whom we have reviewed many times) portrayed Escamillo,  who is always portrayed as the equivalent of a modern day rock star; we see things differently. In Spain, killing the bull is seen as an art, almost a religious ritual, somehow tied to the martyrdom of Jesus. His casual manner when meeting his rival in Act III is confident but not arrogant and showy. He is a rather good natured chap who enjoys his success with women.

We enjoyed the scene with the smugglers and their accomplices, both musically and dramatically. Frasquita was played by soprano Veronica Mak and Mercedes was sung by mezzo-soprano Grace Verbic. Their card reading scene brought some lightness into the scene, contrasting with the death predicting reading of Carmen. The quintet involving Dancaïro (baritone Daniel Chu) and Remendado (tenor Ethan Ellis) was a musical highlight of the evening. The role of Zuniga was performed by Victor Jaquez and Warren B. Harding sang the role of Morales.

Maestro Scott Jackson Wiley conducted the orchestra with his usual fine hand and we particularly appreciated the wind section. The harp and flute accompaniment to Micaëla's aria was a highlight

We were not impressed with the sets. The stage is a shallow one and their bulk detracted from the playing area. Strangely, there were sets of steps that contributed nothing and looked out of place in every scene. We would have wished for better staging.

Let us close by saying that we attended the dress rehearsal and if the lighting was not perfect it will be by tomorrow. It appears that every performance has a different cast; so you, Dear Reader, will probably not experience the same performances as we did.  You will probably never miss the long parade of the costumed participants nor the cheering crowds of Act IV. This production is a more intimate one, focusing on the relationship between the principals; we do hope you will appreciate the traditional nature of the production as much as we did. And if your interpretation of the characters is different from ours, we hope you will comment below.

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 Maestro Patrick Quigley and Lauren Snouffer

(photo by Jennifer Packard)

It is always an exciting event when the D.C. based Opera Lafayette comes to town. They always introduce us to music with which we are unfamiliar, concentrating as they do on the 18th century. Furthermore, the scholarship is impressive since it puts the music into historical perspective and offers a new way of appreciating it. What a compelling idea it was to compare music written by men for castrati with music written by women for female voices. We confess that we had never heard of any 18th century female composers! What a discovery!

The first half of the program opened with Gluck's "Se mai senti spirarti sul volto" from La clemenza di Tito, based on the same tale which Mozart would later put to good use. Soprano Lauren Snouffer sang with bright clear tone and lovely phrasing, but we yearned for her to step away from the music stand. Although other audience members may not mind, we find it disconcerting when a singer keeps looking down and turning pages.

We remember Ms. Snouffer from small roles in years gone by. Exactly eight years ago we wrote favorably about her role as Amor in another Gluck opera--Orfeo ed Euridice. Even before that we found her charming as a winsome pig (!) in a contemporary opera for children presented at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. But we have vague memories from when we first began writing of her standing out in a gorgeous duet in Strauss' Dafne, perhaps at a summer music festival. So, it comes as no surprise that her career has flourished abroad and at venues outside of New York. It is sad that New York City has no mid-sized opera company or suitable theater to keep emerging artists right here.

Her fine vocal instrument competed with a solo oboe in J.C. Bach's concert aria "Ebben si vada...Io ti lascio". We loved the way they alternated on the same melodic pattern and then "sang" in duet.

The second half of the program introduced us to two female composers who impressed us with their unique voices. Maria Antonia Walpurgis (what interesting associations we have for that name!) was a princess, composer, patron of the arts, and a singer as well. She wrote an opera Talestri, regina delle Amazzoni from which we heard the overture and an aria "Vado, ma il core, o Dio!". In spite of the loathed music stand, the passion of the aria, especially the brief fury of the middle section, brought Ms. Snouffer's involvement with the audience to its peak. 

Maria Martines was a celebrated intellectual in Viennese society, famed for her composition and keyboard skills. Ms. Snouffer performed her concert aria "Berenice, a che fai?" which offered many opportunities for coloration, embellishment of the vocal line, and strength in the lower register.

We should mention how much we appreciated the projected titles which were consistently visible and made linguistic sense. We would love to hear more of the compositions by Walpurgis and Martines and we would love to hear Ms. Snouffer again  without a music stand.

The program also included some fine orchestral writing by (Franz) Joseph Haydn. Maestro Patrick Quigley took firm command of his orchestral forces, comprising mainly strings but also the aforementioned oboe played by Dan Bates, a flute and bassoon doubling on recorder, a pair or horns, a fortepiano, and a harpsichord.

As is true of every visit from Opera Lafayette, we felt educated as well as entertained. There is so much worthy music that the public never gets to hear.

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THE FORGOTTEN VICTOR HERBERT

We have been enjoying and writing about The Victor Herbert Renaissance Project Live, also known as VHRPL!, for several years as the very creative Alyce Mott has been producing his legendary operettas with plot modifications to make them more accessible to contemporary audiences. We had no trouble falling in love with his tuneful melodies and being enchanted by the stories. We watched with pleasure as the company expanded from church to theater and graduated from piano to full orchestra.

Unfortunately, Ms. Mott has decided to move on to other projects so R.I.P. to VHRPL!  Mott ensured that this project would be going out with a bang by means of a concert of Herbert's orchestral music.  That being said, if Ms. Mott changes her mind and decides to resuscitate VHRPL! there will be a big cheer from us and many others who became interested in this turn of the 20th century composer. We have wondered why some of his foreign contemporaries like Puccini have survived while his works have faded into near oblivion.

As a parting gesture, Ms. Mott produced an evening of Herbert's orchestral works at Eglise St.John-Baptiste Catholic Church on the Upper East Side, upstairs from the comfortable mid-sized theater on the lower level where we enjoyed so many Herbert operettas. We were curious about these works and last night's well attended program sampled many of them.  Maestro Steven Byess conducted.

It was indeed a treat to hear works we had never heard before and probably will never hear again. We have never heard them in a concert hall and likely might have enjoyed them more since the acoustics of the very large and extremely beautiful sanctuary did not lend themselves to orchestral music. Textures were often muddied. Furthermore, what we are sure was a very interesting narration by Mott herself was amplified to the extent that little could be understood. We wished that there had been written program notes.

The works presented spanned a time period from 1893, when a youthful Herbert composed Suite for Cello and Orchestra, Op 3 to 1924's Suite of Serenades. The former predated his marriage and move to the United States when he was invited to play the cello in the Metropolitan Opera orchestra. The latter mature work had four sections each representing a different culture, happily avoiding stereotypical tropes. The Spanish movement manifested only delicate Iberian influences; the Chinese movement utilized a vaguely exotic scale and ended with a clash of cymbals; the Cuban movement had a dancelike rhythm; the fourth movement was labeled "Oriental" and we have no idea what image that was meant to evoke.

Herbert seems to have had a great affection for marches, of which we heard several. His 1901 American Fantasia  would be perfect for the Macy's July 4th celebration. It began with much pomp and circumstance, and incorporated several American folk melodies like "Yankee Doodle", "Dixieland", "The Star Spangled Banner" and Stephen Foster's "Old Folks at Home".

His 1892 Irish Rhapsody had both bombastic passages and pensive parts, some of which we thought sounded like a movie soundtrack. Strangely, our mental imagery was that of Tara, the plantation in Gone With the Wind. 

The Auditorium Festival March quoted from "Auld Lang Syne" and filled it out with many variations on the theme.

Our overall impression of Herbert's symphonic output was that of a composer with too many ideas who never quite managed to create a cohesive work. Perhaps someday we will get to hear more and remain open to changing our mind. However, we would be far more eager to hear one of his operettas. Perhaps that is where his heart lay.

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