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