tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2523828658161915352024-03-17T23:02:48.907-04:00VOCE DI MECHEReviews of performing arts with emphasis on young artists and small opera companies.mechehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09752033708046142327noreply@blogger.comBlogger1553125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-252382865816191535.post-64257123705174083142024-03-10T09:08:00.000-04:002024-03-10T09:08:41.498-04:00ARCTIC (and other) EXPLORATIONS<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEitjcMNJMysYXMkayD1gXGILnVIehp8lR2ewYZm25sFAdrpjiSKBvd01DUC4Zd0HoK1W-3Y3O-XIMcn7y7Q39pWDh_ifj1KVNJUFPfG-F2R52sjSW8aulc16IjoNp96k_97OWFEpbm6NNIHGVkcpDj01tvBdNzwhgr_vUvwnwMFVzn2sOlfFlZCU2O1k-A4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEitjcMNJMysYXMkayD1gXGILnVIehp8lR2ewYZm25sFAdrpjiSKBvd01DUC4Zd0HoK1W-3Y3O-XIMcn7y7Q39pWDh_ifj1KVNJUFPfG-F2R52sjSW8aulc16IjoNp96k_97OWFEpbm6NNIHGVkcpDj01tvBdNzwhgr_vUvwnwMFVzn2sOlfFlZCU2O1k-A4=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> Curtain Call at Arctic Exploration</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans;">Contemporary works often leave us bored or annoyed, and it takes something special to attract our attendance. The idea of an opera written about the search for a Northwest Passage aroused our curiosity and the opportunity to see four of the principles after a considerable gap in their New York City appearances presented an additional incentive. We were not disappointed although it was difficult to perceive<b> Michael Dellaira</b>'s composition as a "folk opera". Last week we reviewed an "oratorio" that seemed to us to be an opera and the work we saw last night seemed to be more of an oratorio.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans;">Aside from seeing four artists that we had written about in the past, what we enjoyed most about <b>Arctic Explorations </b>was the theme of mankind's drive for discovery. We didn't need the Director's program notes to draw parallels with contemporary society's drive to conquer space. The price we pay for mankind's expansionist tendencies is the despoiling of nature.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans;">The onstage presence of Inuit dance drummer and storyteller from Greenland (<b>Nuka Alice</b>) gave us something to think about since the survival of Inuit culture is threatened as much as that of the skinny starving polar bears we have all seen in photos and videos. Of course, one of the main <i>raisons d'être </i>of a work of art is to hold a mirror up to us and to make us think about issues. Lately, current issues have been addressed in unmusical operas with prosy polemic scripts. Arctic Explorations was different.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans;">There was a sequence of scenes telling the story of the mid-19th c. naval officer Elisha Kent Kane (believably portrayed by <b>Colin Levin</b>) . He was, at the behest of Present Zachary Taylor (a persuasive <b>Michael Celentano</b>) persuaded to search for the longed for Northwest Passage. President Taylor was, in turn, prevailed upon by Lady Jane Franklin (<b>Erin Brittain</b>) whose husband had gone in search of this Northwest Passage to connect the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean. He had never returned from this ice-blocked part of the world and she persuaded Taylor that the Unites States might succeed where Great Britain had failed, and lay claim to this vital channel that, as we understand it, could avoid the treacherous shipping route of "rounding The Horn".</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans;">Also exploring a different aspect of "the unknown" was Maggie Fox (the lovely soprano <b>Nicole Haslett</b>) who explored the world of "spirits" by running séances which were popular in this period of history. Ms. Fox was definitely connected to Kane although it is debatable whether they wed or not. Their letters found their way into the script.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans;">It is to Mr. Dellaira's credit that the work led to a deep conversation with our companion for the evening and, furthermore, a considerable amount of reading online! Apparently, some artistic license was taken but nothing prevented our appreciation for this fascinating story.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans;">Mr. Dellaira's music was pleasing and appealed to us most when it sounded like folk music. The instrumentals were provided by an onstage chamber group called <b>The Harlem Chamber Players,</b> an unusual septet comprising Clarinet (including our favorite instrument, the Bass Clarinet), Guitar, Banjo, Violin, Viola, Double Bass, and Percussion. We enjoyed the music and found the orchestration interesting in its varied textures.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans;">The massive <b>New Amsterdam Singers Chorus</b>, led by<b> Clara Longstreth</b> since its founding 56 years ago ( ! ) did a considerable amount of heavy lifting which is one of the main reasons we thought of the piece as an oratorio. As a curtain raiser, they performed three works, one from the turn of the 17th c. and two contemporary pieces. We enjoyed the pianistic contributions of <b>Pen Ying Fang</b> in "Storyteller" by B.E. Boykin who set the text of a Tlingit poet named Ishmael Angaluuk Hope.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans;">The director of Arctic Explorations was <b>Kira Simring</b> and the effective costuming was achieved by <b>Danielle Hartley</b>. The success of the evening can be attributed to the fine performances and direction that gave life to the story and the Harlem Chamber Players and New Amsterdam Singers Chorus that brought Michael Dellaira's music to life. The presence of Nuka Alice lent authenticity to the evening and we were gratified to learn how much she contributed to the realization.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans;">And this reminds us to share one further thought about the work. The expedition of the British Franklin failed because they had contempt for the people who were native to Greenland. The exploring party all died. That the American Kane returned alive can be attributed to his acceptance of help from the same people for whom Franklin had contempt. That we are all connected in this world of ours is a most important takeaway. At a time when divisiveness has infected our entire planet, it is vital that we learn to value and trust "the other", to share what we know and to learn to respect the viewpoints of others, even when we don't see things the same way.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans;">(c) meche kroop</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p>mechehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09752033708046142327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-252382865816191535.post-79523103195959053632024-03-09T08:11:00.002-05:002024-03-09T08:11:46.365-05:00SHORT BUT SWEET<p style="text-align: left;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhVcKE-DOJkb6oRc0JWXJhG8fEj8f2uXgvtjhqP8pjtH9VelWMr3fKK66ytUZRoxvlo_LnVEuP5Mt2Dw_WXgUYbHKw0qXjOmm64RSpaMO3dVDz1TE7KwyQbzWCLnKQ0USjYpTKmm2yhBc6L_7QWPmC_PPqEB5TGApoJ86Jr7lo9T7Q8JkPXN1VCEDkPn-Z6" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhVcKE-DOJkb6oRc0JWXJhG8fEj8f2uXgvtjhqP8pjtH9VelWMr3fKK66ytUZRoxvlo_LnVEuP5Mt2Dw_WXgUYbHKw0qXjOmm64RSpaMO3dVDz1TE7KwyQbzWCLnKQ0USjYpTKmm2yhBc6L_7QWPmC_PPqEB5TGApoJ86Jr7lo9T7Q8JkPXN1VCEDkPn-Z6=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">Meghan Kasanders</p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Thanks to <b>Carnegie Hall Citywide</b>, New Yorkers were treated to another lovely vocal recital at St. Paul and St. Andrew United Methodist Church on the Upper West Side. Our only complaint was that it ended too soon. It left us wanting more.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We love what we do to support young singers in New York City, following them through their conservatory years and getting a thrill witnessing their respective stars on the rise. This is far easier when they remain in the area but most of them wind up leaving for Europe which seems to offer more opportunities, or they sing with companies in other cities, or join young artist programs.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">And so it happened that our numerous reviews of dramatic soprano <b>Meghan Kasanders </b>are all from 5 to 7 years ago. Although we missed witnessing the gradual evolution of her artistry, we got plenty of satisfaction from re-reading those reviews (available by typing her name in the search bar) and observing that we recognized her talent even when she was an undergraduate at Juilliard.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">This gifted artist has taken everything she learned at Juilliard and all her experience winning awards and prizes, and added them to her naturally ebullient and engaging personality in order to craft an exciting career. Yesterday's recital was a fine taste, but we crave the entire vocal banquet of which she is more than capable of serving.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">She opened her program with <i>Sieben frühe Lieder</i> by the early 20th c. composer Alban Berg. These seven songs are nowhere near as accessible as those of the 19th c. composers of art song. The harmonies are strange to an ear accustomed to those of the 19th c. and the melodies wander. With this in mind, we were impressed by the way Ms. Kasanders conveyed the mood. There is one song that always stands out for us-<i>-"Die Nachtigall" ;</i> we like the text by 19th c. poet Theodor Storm so much that we enjoy reading it aloud to appreciate the rhyming scheme and the iambic rhythm. Perhaps that is what inspired Berg to write a melody that remains in one's memory.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Nonetheless, we found much more to cherish in the set of songs by Sergei Rachmaninoff. We got the feeling that the artist really enjoys singing them. There is considerable variety which permitted dramatic interpretation-- from the frisky "The Ratcatcher" to the mournful. "Sing not to me, beautiful maiden", to the ecstatic and timely "Spring Waters". Our companion, who is fluent in Russian, granted a seal of approval.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans";"><span style="font-size: medium;">The program ended with a humorous curiosity that struck a chord with every woman in the audience and gave the artist an opportunity to show off her comedic skills. We are not familiar with the composer Richard Pearson Thomas. who seems to have used as his text some Yelp ratings of hairstylists. He entitled the work <i>Hair Emergency</i>. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans";">The work encompasses five songs, each one relating the experience of the writer, but with music adding another layer, that of emotion. It was difficult to tell who was having more fun, Ms. Kasanders or the audience. We love to see an artist let go and immerse herself in storytelling; the overall impact was that of a woman telling a friend about her (mis)adventures at a hair salon. The facial expressions and gestures came across as spontaneous; however we suspect it involved a great deal of </span><span style="font-family: Open Sans;">experimentation and coaching to achieve.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We have yet to say anything about the artist's vocal technique. When the technique is perfect, we get to focus on interpretation and connection. The singer becomes a conduit through which the audience can connect with the music and the text.When one is served a five-star meal, one doesn't think about whisking and tempering and searing! </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We can, however, say that Ms. Kasanders possesses an ample voice, one with pleasing tone and lots of overtones that filled the sanctuary of the performance space. We could definitely see her in Verdi roles and we think she'd make a fine Sieglinde, which just so happens to be our favorite character in Wagner's <i>The Ring Cycle.</i></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">At the risk of repeating ourself, it is quite a thrill to hear an artist achieving the potential that was recognized years ago! We are still smiling.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Collaborative pianist for the recital was Dror Baitel, also a graduate of Juilliard (Doctoral Program) who will probably be familiar to those of you who love Broadway shows.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">© meche kroop</span></p>mechehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09752033708046142327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-252382865816191535.post-32597927242369734182024-03-07T07:55:00.003-05:002024-03-08T08:04:27.343-05:00TERRIFIC TUTELAGE PLUS TALENT<p> </p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh76YSbOhco8NP07mD0jc7-SmO3pEDRsPVpzoMH2RNAEk_sSD6iSUPQrhU6YRoYIDJE6bu8Oc1ECVoSxX4eIwQoaUaDHL-N772zHgeqUOszYRfz7oIohk7iDg46KMK8NRRAjT1iqAE2EfNbTPA3d8BTyGyIkAUsmZIrU2cUJo0q_9G7Y3rKuOdd9D18JVjz" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh76YSbOhco8NP07mD0jc7-SmO3pEDRsPVpzoMH2RNAEk_sSD6iSUPQrhU6YRoYIDJE6bu8Oc1ECVoSxX4eIwQoaUaDHL-N772zHgeqUOszYRfz7oIohk7iDg46KMK8NRRAjT1iqAE2EfNbTPA3d8BTyGyIkAUsmZIrU2cUJo0q_9G7Y3rKuOdd9D18JVjz=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Curtain Call at Classic Lyric Arts Concert</div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: large;">Just as we love watching young singers develop their artistry, we love watching an institution grow in ambition, reach, scope, and impact. We have been watching </span><b style="font-family: "Open Sans";">Classic Lyric Arts</b><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: large;"> grow for a number of years and attended their gala </span><i style="font-family: "Open Sans";">soirées </i><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: large;">at The Kosciuszko Foundation. We have been introduced to so many fine young singers and have interviewed them about their experiences at the immersive summer programs in Italy and in France. We have watched them expand their summer programs to include an intensive exploration of Mozart operas in the Berkshires. We have heard nothing but enthusiasm and never heard a word of disappointment.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We have also witnessed the growth of their faculty to include master teacher of dramatic arts <b>Daniel Isengart</b>. Founder and Artistic Director <b>Glenn Morton</b> is a highly esteemed faculty member of all three music conservatories in New York. The Executive Director <b>John Viscardi </b>was one of their first graduates of CLA Italy in 2009. Enjoying a brilliant worldwide career himself, he is in a unique position to guide young artists toward professional success.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Mr. Isengart, resident stage director and performance coach for CLA, has enjoyed a brilliant career performing cabaret, teaching, and coaching. We have been fortunate enough to observe his coaching, watching singers embellish their performances by means of imagination and involvement.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Last night, in celebration of their 15th anniversary, CLA presented a concert at Merkin Hall of the Kaufman Music Center. An announcement was made that brought us enormous joy. CLA is expanding yet again and initiating a year round academy which will help bridge conservatory training and professional careers for emerging singers.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: large;">By now,</span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: large;"> Dear Reader, you are probably impatient to hear about the concert itself and we will not disappoint you. Everyone onstage was connected with Mr. Morton as a former student, current student, or future student. To inspire the young singers we had performances of two stars of the worldwide stage, both "on loan" from The Metropolitan Opera and both accompanied by Mr. Morton.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Could anyone portray a more beguiling daughter working on her father than <b>Nadine Sierra</b> performing <i>"O mio babino caro" </i>from Puccini's <i>Gianni Schicchi! </i>We loved the way she extended and colored the<i> "pietà".</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Tenor<b> SeokJong Baek </b>thrilled the audience with his<i> "Nessun dorma" </i>from Puccini's<i> Turandot.</i> We loved his<i> pianissimo </i>and the manner in which he grew the sound to a dramatic conclusion. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">A highlight of the evening was a chorale work conducted by <b>Michael Sheetz</b> in which everyone participated. It was the New York<i> premiere </i>of <i>Le parole dei mesi </i>composed by <b>Raphael Fusco</b> who is on the faculty of CLA Italy. Thankfully, Mr. Fusco was unaffected by the awful tendencies of contemporary composition. The work was gloriously melodic and <i> </i>had twelve sections, one for each month and involved a delightful interweaving of vocal lines for each<i> fach </i>and sufficient variety to hold one's interest from<i> capo </i>to<i> fine. </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We would love to tell you about all of the sixteen scenes but let us focus instead on the overall picture, created by Mr. Isengart. The young artists entered the stage in pairs or triplets, a few at a time and took up positions that were visually interesting and fluid. Some sat, some stood. Their attention was directed unwaveringly toward whomever was performing. This focus served to increase the focus of the audience as well.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Since all of the performances achieved excellence it is difficult to choose just a few to illustrate the dramatic impact of the staging but we will try, hoping that none of the dozens of singers participating will feel slighted.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">In. <i>"Dunque io son"</i> from Rossini'a <i>Il barbiere di Siviglia</i>, soprano <b>Sarah Fleiss </b>showed great spunk as the wily Rosina, confronting her "jailer" Bartolo played by<b> Jared Bybee</b>. When the scenery and costumes appear in your mind's eye we know the singers are "doing it right". And this pair succeeded.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The intimate connection between Norina (<b>Yvette Keong)</b> and Ernesto (<b>Philippe L'Esperance</b>) in Donizetti's <i>Don Pasquale </i>was deliciously convincing.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Whilst soprano<b> Eliza Masewicz </b>and mezzo-soprano <b>Monique Galvao</b> were performing the exquisite duet<i> "Dôme épais"</i> from Delibes'<i> Lakme,</i> the facial expression and body language told us everything we needed to know about the warm relationship between the two women.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We must mention the perfect French diction of<b> Sara Stevens</b> and <b>John Viscardi </b>expressing the ecstasy of "<i>Nous vivrons à Paris" </i> from Massenet's <i>Manon.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The staging for the famous </span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: large;">quartet of Verdi's <i>Rigoletto</i> was particularly well done. We have heard this quartet too many times so it was a distinct pleasure to be shown an iteration that held our interest. Soprano<b> Sofia Gotch</b>, stood on a chair as if she were peering through a window watching the seductive Maddalena (Ms. Galvao) working her womanly wiles on the all too receptive Duke (Mr. L'Esperance) whilst Rigoletto (<b>Suchan Kim</b>) shares her pain, plus anger of his own. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">There were three scenes from Offenbach's <i>Les Contes d'Hoffmann,</i> all well staged. The one that lingers in our mind is from the act in which Antonia's mother (mezzo-soprano <b>Alexandra Olson Andersen</b>) is presented as a spirit, standing on a chair with a veil over her head, urging her daughter (soprano <b>Sara Mortensen</b>) to sing. Of course, her image has been conjured by the evil Dr. Miracle (Mr. Kim). Antonia collapses dead into the arms of two men and is carried offstage. Very powerful!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Another scene from the same opera involved the famous barcarolle <i>"Belle nuit",</i> gorgeously sung by soprano <b>Maia Sumanaweera</b> and mezzo-soprano <b>Rosario Armas,</b> alumni of CLA.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We have run out of room but must mention the scene from Mozart's <i>Le nozze di Figaro</i> in which the suspicious Count (baritone <b>Kevin Douglas Jasaitis</b>) gets outwitted by the clever Susanna (<b>Temple Hammen</b>). and his flustered wife <b>(Johanna Will</b>). Mr. Isengart's staging made full use of the playing area and made it easy to imagine the locked closet and all the shenanigans.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We must here mention the marvelous accompaniment by several pianists in "tag team" mode (Luc Xu Cheng, Shaobai Yuan, Lana Norris, Javor Bračic, Marianna Vartikian, Michael Sheetz, Hong Ziyi, Zihan Wang, and Vladimir Soloviev, reminding us that CLA also trains collaborative pianists!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We always have a quibble. We wanted a second act!!!! The 90 minute program whetted our appetite for more. We own the sin of greed. We hope. there won't be too long a wait for another concert in which CLA can show off their latest success.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: large;">© meche kroop</span></p>mechehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09752033708046142327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-252382865816191535.post-78528608667572050692024-03-02T08:14:00.020-05:002024-03-03T06:58:09.506-05:00ORATORI-OH?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCpoEovy-Gw5N-Q7ZOgRs-h0M5Rej5QQ5-byDFuMqVjs5JbN1FBnmMyH3q3pdUeuFpuB-UHwJRXNg0NmXZjjlXMxvuyx5kiDnz_5pgeb6DBbVww14O0vIT0C8nMhOmdiOqAOH7QknYBn9zr_zTSXjbb8rDk9QOdBS7AMql9voA9VwEzDGwL0t3VfuPLNRW/s8640/_DSC7295.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5760" data-original-width="8640" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCpoEovy-Gw5N-Q7ZOgRs-h0M5Rej5QQ5-byDFuMqVjs5JbN1FBnmMyH3q3pdUeuFpuB-UHwJRXNg0NmXZjjlXMxvuyx5kiDnz_5pgeb6DBbVww14O0vIT0C8nMhOmdiOqAOH7QknYBn9zr_zTSXjbb8rDk9QOdBS7AMql9voA9VwEzDGwL0t3VfuPLNRW/w640-h426/_DSC7295.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Curtain Call at Premiere of <i>Emigré</i></div><div style="text-align: center;">(Photo by Chris Lee)</div> <p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans;">The project began with a co-commission for an oratorio by </span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans";"><b>The New York Philharmonic </b>and </span><b style="font-family: "Open Sans";">Maestro Long Yu</b><span style="font-family: "Open Sans";"> of the </span><b style="font-family: "Open Sans";">Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. </b><span style="font-family: "Open Sans";"><i>Emigré </i></span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans";"> premiered in Shanghai last November and had its American premiere last night in the Wu Tsai Theater at Lincoln Center. Perhaps an oratorio was requested of composer <b>Aaron Zigman</b> and librettists <b>Mark Campbell</b> and <b>Brock Walsh</b>; but what they got was a music theater piece with one foot in the opera house and the other on Broadway.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We think of an oratorio as a sacred work performed concert style without sets, costumes, or acting. The only sacred moments in <i>Emigré </i>were the first few when the <b>New York Philharmonic Chorus</b> sang phrases from the Hebrew Kaddish and a Buddhist prayer. That the work is dramatic is all to the good since music theater moves us more than music alone.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans;">For this dramatic success, credit goes to <b>Director Mary Birnbaum</b> who did a fine job of telling the story with nothing more than the strip of stage in front of the massive forces of the New York Philharmonic and a small area in front of the equally massive forces of The New York Philharmonic </span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans";">Chorus on the level above, plus the stairways connecting the two.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The story is well worth telling. In two visits to The People's Republic of China, we never learned that Shanghai played host to Jewish refugees fleeing The Holocaust. That China suffered a holocaust of their own at the hands of the Japanese during WW II was, however, known to us from films such as Spielberg's<i> Empire of the Sun</i> and history books describing the Rape of Nanking.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">For us there is great appeal in a work of art that meets our "Three E Requirements". We want to be entertained, educated, and enlightened. <i>Emigré</i> hit the mark. However, our preference would be to see it in a medium-sized opera house in which the excellent opera singers could be heard unamplified, with a small orchestra. The piece could also work on Broadway although we detest amplification.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">However, that was not what was intended by the commission; it is just our preference. We are well acquainted with some of the singers, somewhat familiar with the others; all deserve to be heard better which is impossible with orchestral and choral forces of such magnitude.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The story concerns two brothers fleeing Germany for Shanghai after Kristallnacht, understandably devastated by leaving their parents behind. Otto (tenor<b> Matthew White)</b> is religious and bonds with a rabbi (bass-baritone <b>Andrew Dwan</b>) whose daughter Tovah (soprano <b>Diana Newman</b>) welcomes him and sings the lovely "In a Woman's Hands".</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Josef (tenor <b>Arnold Livingston Geis</b>) is a young doctor who wanders into a Chinese pharmaceutical shop, eager to learn about Chinese medicine. He experiences an instant and mutual attraction with the doctor's daughter Lina Song (soprano <b>Meigui Zhang</b>). Her father (bass-baritone <b>Shenyang</b>) is rejecting but older sister Li (mezzo-soprano<b> Huiling Zhu)</b> is more sympathetic.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The couple have a lovely courtship in the Yu Garden and an equally lovely song "In a Perfect World". All is well until Shanghai isolates the Jews in a ghetto and, since the couple defied their family's wishes and became man and wife, there is nowhere for them to go.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Here we have a situation just made for opera--political issues driven home and made personal by romantic consequences. Just think of all the situations in the world today in which love is made difficult or impossible by barriers of one sort or another. Consider the plight of displaced people with nowhere to go. Think of the heavy cost of cultural insularism and fear of "the other". This work touched so many bases for us and probably had many audience members talking about it afterward.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">As far as the music is concerned, there is plenty of variation of styles--what one might call eclecticism. There was nothing excruciatingly "post-modern" about it and we found it accessible. Composer <b>Aaron Zigman</b> has written scores for film and television and has orchestrated for jazz and popular singers.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The libretto by<b> Mark Campbell, </b>whilst not quite as wonderful as the one he wrote for <i>The ( R ) evolution of Steve Jobs, </i> has avoided the trap of long prosy lines but in keeping the phrases short and rhyming, the effect verged on doggerel at times. The lyrics contributed by songwriter <b>Brock Walsh</b> were more than usually accessible.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><b>Maestro Long Yu</b> commanded the aforementioned "massive forces" with aplomb and Chorus Master <b>Malcolm J. Merriweather</b> ensured that every word was comprehensible. We consider it rather a miracle to have achieved this degree of clarity with such a huge chorus.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Projections by<b> Joshua Higgason</b> were notable for being <i>apropos</i> and non- intrusive. There were stills and film clips in black and white of street scenes and battle scenes from China during WW II, as well as colorful Chinese symbols. Titles were projected overhead but rarely needed since everyone's diction was clear.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Our only disappointment was that these excellent singers were not given the opportunity to show their superlative voices. Audience members who had never heard them on the opera stage missed what we cherish in our memories of prior performances.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We walked home deep in thought about all the issues brought up by the work. We had a couple hours of entertainment and quite a bit of education and enlightenment. We enjoy doing the work of seeing something historical and comparing it with what is going on in the world today. So many directors these days deprive us of that participation.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">© meche kroop </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>mechehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09752033708046142327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-252382865816191535.post-7061010900476600742024-02-26T04:47:00.000-05:002024-02-26T04:47:00.109-05:00A RARE YOUNG ARTIST--A WELL DONE RECITAL<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdoWS4sdI_j4XMt8eJ5vI_dZWMHmFXHzfZdrJ9fUQeW-6iVWhi-8QnVXK6e5jlWJaqklT2cSISflJzbpmWRt-IhlPc5Orf96oqZgGAuhm-MAhZ3um2pPyaKaNH6Q7NYoTXrIDmDEeag8gUPAFKX3aTok0YVwqeutnVQ1kbn-S2_eDwmDBshbWK7cUS3W5c/s4032/IMG_3048.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdoWS4sdI_j4XMt8eJ5vI_dZWMHmFXHzfZdrJ9fUQeW-6iVWhi-8QnVXK6e5jlWJaqklT2cSISflJzbpmWRt-IhlPc5Orf96oqZgGAuhm-MAhZ3um2pPyaKaNH6Q7NYoTXrIDmDEeag8gUPAFKX3aTok0YVwqeutnVQ1kbn-S2_eDwmDBshbWK7cUS3W5c/w480-h640/IMG_3048.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> Joseph Parrish</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded;">What can we say about bass-baritone <b>Joseph Parrish</b> that we haven't already said? We were curious to see how many times we have reviewed this gifted artist who seems to be singing everywhere these days, especially after being chosen by Young Concert Artists in 2022. We believe the first time was in Pauline Viardot's <i>Cendrillon</i> with City Lyric Opera as the Baron Pictordu. His gifts were already evident and noted.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded;">Yesterday we heard him again, thanks to <b>Carnegie Hall Citywide</b> at St. Paul and St. Andrew United Methodist Church with collaborative pianist <b>JoyAnne Amani </b>whose fine playing kept up with him every step of the way. There were two instances however, when Mr. Parrish elected to accompany himself, a situation we perceive as rather miraculous. To be excellent in one art is impressive. To be excellent at two? Astonishing!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded;">The program was untitled but every song was about love! There was plenty of variety from German<i> lied</i> and French <i>mélodie </i>to songs of The American Songbook. We have learned from our dear Steven Blier that the category doesn't matter. If a song is well written it merits our esteem.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded;">Mr. Parrish opened the program with a pair of songs by Henry T. Burleigh, a composer who, as Mr. Parrish shared with the audience, was the first to record spirituals on paper. But we were not to hear those spirituals yesterday; we heard his love songs--four of them, all of them tender and melodic.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded;">One of Mr. Parrish's most appealing features is the manner in which he addresses the audience, as if he were in a room full of friends, completely natural and without any pretension whatsoever. The sanctuary was packed and the members of the audience were held spellbound.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded;">His fine technique includes the use of <i>rubato</i> and dynamic variation for emotional effect, as well as the generous use of gesture and facial expression to tell a story. This was most notable in his performance of "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" from Lerner and Loewe's<i> My Fair Lady </i>in which he created quite a portrait of Henry Higgins.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded;">We have heard him before accompanying himself in "Calling You" written by Bob Telson for the film<i> Baghdad Cafe</i> and we are always happy to hear it again. He sang it simply and played the spare searching accompaniment with depth of feeling.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded;">After a generous program ranging from Schubert, Debussy, and Duparc to Dizzy Gillespie, Cole Porter and Jerome Kern, this versatile artist ended with a more recent song by Adam Guettel which emphasized the importance of community. We then realized that Mr. Parrish had created a community within the audience. Somehow we think everyone there felt both loving and loved.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded;">An encore was demanded and we believe it was Luther Vandross' "Only for One Night" in which we heard a fine <i>falsetto</i>!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded;">© meche kroop</span></div><p></p>mechehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09752033708046142327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-252382865816191535.post-89142733261203034222024-02-24T08:45:00.000-05:002024-02-24T08:45:30.885-05:00JUILLIARD DOES ERISMENA<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHJGNvesFdKpCP-GNX3-YK3tR-gqxPtIQ6DLNFaPlOVvvZreGevmKsY34pYwCXbPS1076nYuN7VnzOU1ueep4ZjKWjBMeO6_fKX__k5y95yryQ5eu8WcQqZb7fBF_NXvonDUsDV0EKEJQGdGhAxxyUCTdy4NF4MQ-Z07-8oyns0Yujjp-h9Bx1aHcajjNd/s4032/IMG_3026.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHJGNvesFdKpCP-GNX3-YK3tR-gqxPtIQ6DLNFaPlOVvvZreGevmKsY34pYwCXbPS1076nYuN7VnzOU1ueep4ZjKWjBMeO6_fKX__k5y95yryQ5eu8WcQqZb7fBF_NXvonDUsDV0EKEJQGdGhAxxyUCTdy4NF4MQ-Z07-8oyns0Yujjp-h9Bx1aHcajjNd/w640-h480/IMG_3026.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> The Cast of Cavalli's <i>Erismena</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">When <b>Francesco Cavalli</b> composed the music for <i>Erismena</i>, opera was in its infancy. The work premiered in Venice in the mid 17th c. and is reported to have been a success. The music is absolutely gorgeous with subtle harmonic touches that could be better described by an expert in Baroque music. The<i> libretto</i> by Aurelio Aureli seems influenced by Shakespeare's comedies with lots of gender bending and unpredictable twists and turns, surprising revelations, and a happy ending.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">The credit for the opera's success at Juilliard this week rests on the shoulders of the nine post-graduate students of the Vocal Arts Department, the performances of the instrumental ensemble led by <b>Maestro Avi Stein</b>, and the heroic work of Director<b> Lisenka Heijboer Castañon</b> who took on a challenge of immense proportion. We never read the Director's Notes until after the opera so we can allow the work to speak for itself. How gratifying it was to not have to read the customary drivel about what the director was trying to say. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">Rather, this artist of the stage employed her notes to describe the Herculean task of assembling an opera from several extant versions and laboring to discover the essence of the opera in a way that would be meaningful for the audience. That we understood the story, in spite of confusing names and an even more confusing storyline, is evidence of her success. Participating in the revision of Aureli's<i> libretto</i> were Mo. Stein, Scenic and Costume Designer <b>Julian Crouch</b>, and Ligiana Costa. One never had the feeling of "too many cooks". Fortunately, the prologue was omitted since it added nothing to the story.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">For us, the <i>libretto</i> had many angles and many stories to tell. One of them was about finding out your true identity, another was about the fickleness of lovers, another still about the wanton exercise of power, yet another about accepting the losses of aging, not to mention the value of forgiveness. Yet, it all came together as a meaningful whole.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">The aging King Eramante was played by the entire ensemble carrying a model of a kingly head with four arms, manipulated by various cast members who also sang his lines in turn. A frightening nightmare about losing his crown and his power has made him rather testy. He wants to marry the beautiful Aldimira (portrayed by the silver-voiced and appropriately beautiful soprano <b>Song Hee Lee</b>) who has grown up in his court. She already has two lovers--the Iberian Prince Erineo who is disguised as a servant (whose low-lying part was effectively handled by mezzo-soprano <b>Stephanie Bell)</b> and the gallant Orimeno, (terrific tenor <b>Geun-hyeong Han</b>) who pulls feathers from his helmet and bestows them on others.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">Aldimira is fickle and toys with her lovers until she meets the titular character Erismena (marvelous mezzo-soprano<b> Tivoli Treloar</b>) who has disguised herself as a male warrior from Armenia who was injured in battle and rescued by two compassionate members of the enemy forces, Orimeno and Argippo (the very fine baritone <b>Dongwei Shen</b>). They take her to Aldimira who, thinking she is a man, promptly falls head over heels in love. (Oh, that naughty child Amor with his bow and arrow!)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">The eponymous Erismena was loved and abandoned by Erineo who is really Idraspe. She recognizes him and wants revenge but he doesn't recognize her.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">It is interesting how this all turns out. We know how librettists make use of a <i>deus ex machina </i>to sort things out!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">Since this is a comedy, we must have our comic relief which comes in the person of the aging Alcesta who once was a wet nurse (we won't tell you who she nursed) and is now bemoaning her loss of beauty. In a directorial stroke of genius, the part, originally written for a contralto, was performed by the bearded baritone <b>Trevor Haumschilt-Rocha</b> dressed in a 17th c. gown, complete with<i> panniers.</i> He was clearly having a great deal of fun with this role, almost as much as we had from watching and listening.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">There is also a secondary romance between Argippo and Flerida played by the winsome soprano <b>Gemma Nha</b>. The other roles were also well sung. Bass <b>Younggwang Park</b> sang the part of Diarte, a prison guard. Mezzo-soprano <b>Kate Morton</b> sang the role of Clerio, servant to Erineo/Idraspe. Everyone handled the lavish decoration of the vocal line with aplomb.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">We enjoyed the singing all around, especially because the diction was quite clear, making the titles redundant. However, having listened to the video recording from the Aix-en-Provence Festival of 2017 with counter-tenor<b> Jakob Josef Orlinski </b>(an alumnus of Juilliard)<b> </b>as Orimeno, we strongly prefer the Italian version. As one might expect, the rhythm of the Italian language matches the melody far better than English. The English<i> libretto</i> was created for the British public a couple decades after its Venetian premiere and was quite a success there. The language is rather archaic and, we repeat, we think it should have been performed in the original Italian.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">The instrumental ensemble. made use of harpsichords, a pair of violins, a cello, a theorbo, and a harp. How gorgeously they played Cavalli's music! We just learned from the program book that Barbara Strozzi, one of our favorite Baroque composers, was a student of Cavalli.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">We particularly admired the scenic design and costumes of<b> Julian Crouch</b>. The set was simple but effective--a wide short staircase leading up to the stage. Six Roman shades separated the downstage and upstage playing areas. Panels were raised and lowered as necessary. Contrasting with the simple sets, the costuming was lavish and effective in limning the characters. The photo above will tell you more than our words.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">We would call the evening a complete success, leaving us smiling broadly and thinking about fate and the vagaries of love.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">© meche kroop</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><p></p>mechehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09752033708046142327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-252382865816191535.post-36474352425539732912024-02-23T08:36:00.005-05:002024-02-23T08:36:49.687-05:00I WANT MY COFFEE!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7koTBMfJkF6euYNzF53N8P5IKoiKcwbPThgvsypTjUBwsLirb2lVU_6MDDAvFjjbBqQQl4D2IeI4WLp1MS4sNPl73aSse3xSpl0ZNvW984GBWnfQye0-bPzkvc1bH3q7FktdVTGcOhET_G8GI9BG5W_kedytUnosZEmV2iWCsZI0lSqZPm8svxa_LXW30/s4032/IMG_3012.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7koTBMfJkF6euYNzF53N8P5IKoiKcwbPThgvsypTjUBwsLirb2lVU_6MDDAvFjjbBqQQl4D2IeI4WLp1MS4sNPl73aSse3xSpl0ZNvW984GBWnfQye0-bPzkvc1bH3q7FktdVTGcOhET_G8GI9BG5W_kedytUnosZEmV2iWCsZI0lSqZPm8svxa_LXW30/w640-h480/IMG_3012.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> Bernard Holcomb, Philip Cokorinos, and Christine Lyons</div><div style="text-align: center;">(photo by meche kroop)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">No other company we know of does what <b>On Site Opera </b>does; they make a perfect match between an opera and a venue, taking us to many places we have not previously visited. Two of our favorite matchings were their production of Mozart's <i>La Finta Giardiniera</i> in a community garden on the Upper West Side and the production of Puccini's<i> Il Tabarro</i> on a vessel docked at the South Street Seaport. Well, Dear Reader, we have added a third! Bach's <i><b>Coffee Cantata</b></i> taking place currently at The Lost Draft, a charming coffee shop on Broome Street. We regret to inform you that the run is sold out (as all of their productions are) so we will make an attempt to paint the picture for you.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">After being welcomed into the premises, we were seated along the wall, the table in front of us set with coffee cups, cookies, and popcorn. Magically, the barista (<b>Bernard Holcomb</b>) became the narrator of the piece, a 45 minute comic opera written in the 1730's by J.S.Bach and (get this!), presented in a coffee house in Leipzig. And here we are three centuries later immersed in a family drama between an authoritarian father (<b>Philip Cokorinos</b>) who wants his rebellious daughter (<b>Christine Lyons</b>) to stop drinking coffee.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Papa uses all manner of manipulations and threats to convince her to give up her addiction. She only agrees if she is allowed to marry; she secretly plans to ensure that the marriage contract contains a clause that allows her to caffeinate herself to her heart's content. It is a simple story and we had no problem with its adaptation to contemporary times.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Total immersion involved the artists going behind the counter, making and serving coffee, whilst the actual employees of the coffee shop became supernumeraries, although there was no chorus, LOL. Everything was happening in real time and three different coffees were served. We could readily imagine being in a Leipzig coffee house in the 1730's even though dress was contemporary (costuming by Beth Goldenberg) and the work was sung in English, with a very fine loose translation by Music Director <b>Geoffrey McDonald.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We confess that Bach has never been one of our favorites. Aside from this winning piece of fluff, he never wrote an opera and we find oratorios and cantatas ponderous. However, the charming nature of this piece allowed us to recognize his compositional skills, particularly his intricate counterpoint, as it served the witty dialogue perfectly.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The singing was delightful and there were titles available by using one's cell phone but we preferred not to take our eyes off the action, directed by Sarah Meyers. The charming score was performed by a quartet of fine musicians, comprising the American Modern Ensemble-- Violinist Nikita Yermack, cellist Valeriya Sholokova, guitarist Dan Lippel, and flutist John Romero who also played the recorder. Maestro McDonald's orchestration was completely on point. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We have only one quibble. It was over too soon. We enjoyed the flirtation between the barista and young lady and all the hijinks of the stage direction. We wanted a second act! We wish Bach had written about the interaction after the young lady gets married!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We raise our coffee cup to toast On Site Opera and the lovely staff at The Lost Draft! And now, we are going to make ourself a cup of coffee!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">© meche kroop</span></div><p></p>mechehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09752033708046142327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-252382865816191535.post-48497086808566189112024-02-22T06:44:00.001-05:002024-02-22T06:44:02.927-05:00ALL TOGETHER NOW<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh571DqW-9AhRXJrhmaDfEeuGiPEoG7yaoSIWTU7bDQFaOOd_sgV5tp44FMtEndK8AOa3S0D1AmF8L9iiKEIn2YksBSuORy1n2yWV21LACMennaDQOyzQVOoHnf77gTWOdOzEDfgWgCrkC2Z9yS6mePOoRVwwPTGkeE4B3sz1P9hGK0gqnjqYFF-l89a-gj/s4032/IMG_2914.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh571DqW-9AhRXJrhmaDfEeuGiPEoG7yaoSIWTU7bDQFaOOd_sgV5tp44FMtEndK8AOa3S0D1AmF8L9iiKEIn2YksBSuORy1n2yWV21LACMennaDQOyzQVOoHnf77gTWOdOzEDfgWgCrkC2Z9yS6mePOoRVwwPTGkeE4B3sz1P9hGK0gqnjqYFF-l89a-gj/w640-h480/IMG_2914.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> Daniel McGrew, Erin Wagner, Chelsea Guo, Megan Moore, Joseph Parrish, and Francesco Barfoed</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">What a fortuitous collaboration it was at Merkin Hall last night when<b> New York Festival of Song</b> joined forces with <b>Young Concert Artists</b> for an evening of ensemble singing. Five fantastic singers gifted a most delighted audience songs from five hundred years of music history. It would have been a great thrill to spend an evening with any one of those gifted artists, but five at once? It was like winning a trifecta, or to coin a phrase, a "pentecta". Both NYFOS and YCA share the same mission which just so happens to coincide with ours--fostering gifted young singers. It is no coincidence that there is overlap between NYFOS performers and YCA winners.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">Regular readers know how fond we are of duets but we rarely get to write about ensembles with the exception of a few reviews of Brahms' <i>Liebeslieder,</i> which would have been right at home on last night's program; however our dear <b>Steven Blier</b> loves to introduce his NYFOS audience to works they likely have not heard before.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">Although we loved the accompanying piano of Mr. Blier and <b>Francesco Barfoed</b>, we must say that there is something even more special when voices are heard<i> a cappella.</i> Take for example the opening number which just happens to be the oldest and also our favorite of the night. The song by Clément Janequin, a famous French composer of the 16th c., entitled <i>"Les cris de Paris," </i>was thrilling in its harmonies and surprisingly contemporary in its text. One could imagine it describing a marketplace in any populous town.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">From Mozart we heard two of his<i> Sei Notturni,</i> one of which might have been a sketch for his soon-to-be-penned<i> Cosi fan Tutte.</i> Schubert has written more than one serenade but the "<i>Ständchen"</i> we heard was a group effort which, we imagine, occurred when a man gathered his friends together to bolster his self-confidence as he went to woo his beloved.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">We never thought of Beethoven as a composer of songs but he did set 12 Irish Songs--folk songs by nature. We were completely distracted by the density of the piano accompaniment, so well played by Francesco Barfoed that our ears were teased by a recurrent phrase that must have inspired Mendelssohn. Discussing it afterward with a couple singer friends, no one was able to identify it but it did make us think of the music for <i>Midsummer Night's Dream </i>and a fairyland scene. Or could it have been a Schubert <i>lied </i>about a supernatural creature? Dear Reader, if you heard it too and could possibly set our mind to rest, please write your thoughts in the comment section below. Otherwise, your reviewer will lose a lot of sleep!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">Brahms' lovely <i>"Die Meere"</i> was written in 3/4 time signature and, like any <i>barcarolle</i>, had us swaying in our seats. The French also had their voices heard, namely Camille Saint-Saëns' <i>"Pastorale"</i> and Gabriel Fauré's <i>"Pleurs d'or"</i>, the text of which was so lovely that we want to read Albert Samain's text aloud.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">We never knew that Shostakovich set Jewish Folk Poetry, and in Yiddish no less. His mid 20th c. compositions have never tickled our ear but we appreciated his evocative setting of "Winter" which actually gave us a chill.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">Not all music of the last hundred years is distasteful to us. We actually enjoyed Libby Larsen's very funny "Jack's Valentine" in which each singer's lines overlapped another's with the repetition of "I love you. A whole lot. Very very much. A whole bunch. Forever." No piano accompaniment was needed. One could enjoy the vocal lines weaving together in a humorous tapestry.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">A special treat was the New York premiere of Matt Boehler's setting of Robert Louis Stevenson' "Let Beauty Awake". We knew of Mr. Boehler as a singer and we have always said that vocal music should be written by singers and this proved our point. Mr. McGrew and Mr. Parrish did it justice.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">Was there anyone in the audience who remembers The Beach Boys? Leave it to Mr. Blier to arrange Owen Wilson's "In My Room", a popular song from the 1960's, for the five voices. We looked it up online and, well, it was as different as day is from night. We loved the harmonies although the text sounded like teenage <i>angst.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">But wait! The closing number was even more radical. We admit that we had never heard of The Bobs, an 80's pop band, let alone the song "Trash" written by Gunnar Madsen and Richard Greene. We couldn't wait to get home to look for it online. Well, Mr. Blier always says "No song is safe from us" and in this case, his arrangement made a proverbial silk purse out of a sow's ear. The five singers grabbed microphones and had the audience in stitches, singing about a slovenly man whose presumably female companion couldn't deal with his trash.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">We have avoided listing who sang what (with one exception) because this was truly an ensemble effort by soprano <b>Chelsea Guo,</b> mezzo-soprano <b>Megan Moore</b>, mezzo-soprano <b>Erin Wagner</b>, tenor <b>Daniel McGrew,</b> and bass-baritone <b>Joseph Parrish</b>. We have reviewed all of them except for Ms. Guo who is still an undergraduate and plays piano as brilliantly as she sings. In the final number, the group used microphones and she appeared to have just the right style and flair. What a fine group of singers! All seem well on their way to stardom and we feel privileged to have heard them as they launch.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">© meche kroop</span></div><p></p>mechehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09752033708046142327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-252382865816191535.post-41027527242741606222024-02-21T06:17:00.003-05:002024-02-21T06:20:15.770-05:00TOYS FOR GROWNUPS<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6sibAMR00zHOYGcAkZ08DapnVlyBGVKKkIEnMuMwUUNlhxXMh84F6zKFCnEl4c72WjJUXOGwk9pKjSaMYy2VzhBAPUfnq6yECuZ9J6c-1Vcji2nA_vi0w-OT-TI8PXOPOR0MnG7rGT7IgDo7vZ7oWACUTF49toVGMGKs0hvcBrSBmuP-4sr6IKja9IAG9/s4032/IMG_2899.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6sibAMR00zHOYGcAkZ08DapnVlyBGVKKkIEnMuMwUUNlhxXMh84F6zKFCnEl4c72WjJUXOGwk9pKjSaMYy2VzhBAPUfnq6yECuZ9J6c-1Vcji2nA_vi0w-OT-TI8PXOPOR0MnG7rGT7IgDo7vZ7oWACUTF49toVGMGKs0hvcBrSBmuP-4sr6IKja9IAG9/w640-h480/IMG_2899.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> Matthew Wages, Alexa Devlin and. Ryan Allais</div><div style="text-align: center;">(photo by meche kroop)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">We have no idea who was the intended audience for Victor Herbert's turn-of-the-20th c. hit musical<i> Babes in Toyland</i> nor are we experts in what is suitable for children these days. All we can say is that we spent a most delightful hour with <i>VHRPLive! </i>which, regular readers will know, stands for Victor Herbert Renaissance Project Live. We wish that this magical musical hour had gone on longer!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">Let us mention that there is nothing "naughty" that is unsuitable for children and, if you have any, it might be fun to bring them along. Of course, today's children are accustomed to snark and smarm so we dare not predict the extent of their interest. But for those of us of the adult persuasion, it is very refreshing to watch a work so charming and innocent, played without a shred of condescension. What fun to awaken the child in oneself!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">The main attraction is Mr. Herbert's memorable melodies. Contemporary composers could use a lesson from the prolific Mr. Herbert who penned enough operettas to keep VHRPLive! (celebrating its tenth anniversary) going for at least another decade. When is the last time you left a theater smiling and humming? We want to give credit to the late Dino Anagnost for compiling the score some three decades ago.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Encode Sans Semi Expanded"; font-size: medium;">What is also quite wonderful is the manner in which Founder and Artistic Director <b>Alyce Mott</b> has revised the libretto to bring the story to its charming peak, as she usually does. Furthermore she has tinkered with Glen MacDonough's lyrics to great advantage, with contributions from Craig Timberlake and Mr. Anagnost. We take umbrage when an opera director alters the original intent and setting of our beloved classic tragedies such that they make no sense. This is a completely different "story", so to speak. We sincerely believe that if Mr. Herbert had been in the audience he would have shared our delight.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Encode Sans Semi Expanded"; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Encode Sans Semi Expanded"; font-size: medium;">The "book" is nothing like Pixar's film <i>Toy Story.</i> The characters are not toys, they are nursery rhyme characters that most of us recall from childhood. Here they are all assembled in an imaginary place called Toyland, under the supervisory eye of Mother Goose, portrayed by mezzo-soprano <b>Alexa Devlin </b>who was costumed exactly as we might have imagined her (no credit for costuming in the program). Her warm sound introduced us to "Toyland" which is probably one of Herbert's more familiar songs.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Encode Sans Semi Expanded"; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">The romantic couple comprised BoPeep andTom, Tom, the Piper's Son. Soprano <b>Joanie Brittingham</b>, a VHRPL regular, was adorable in the role which had her being both tearful and fearful, as she searched for her missing sheep. New to the company is tenor<b> Ryan Allais </b>as Tom, as wonderful a romantic lead as we could have hoped for. His singing and dancing were completely on point and we don't mean on point shoes!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">The villain of the piece was an almost unrecognizable <b>Matthew Wages</b> whose mellow baritone was twisted into a nasty snarl as he portrayed Silas Barnaby, waving a foreclosing mortgage that threatens to put an end to Toyland. He was accompanied by two henchmen, the brainy Rodrigo, played by tenor <b>Chaz Peacock </b>and the brawny Gonzorgo, played by tenor <b>Andrew Buck.</b> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">Mr. Barnaby wants to marry BoPeep but...(we are not going to give away the plot but we were thinking of the last act of Falstaff). Does the villain twirl his mustache? Does he get his just desserts? You are going to have to find out for yourself. We hope you can snag tickets for the two remaining performances and you can thank us later.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">You will enjoy the company of Humpty Dumpty (mezzo-soprano<b> Sarah Bleasdale</b>, Wee Willie (baritone <b>Keith Broughton</b>), Mary Mary Quite Contrary, doubling as a gorgeous butterfly (soprano <b>Gabriella Giangreco</b>), Little Miss Muffet <b>(Maggie Langhorne</b>), tenor<b> Joe Marx</b> and soprano <b>Kathleen Raab</b> (both making their debuts with the company) as Jack and Jill, soprano <b>Mariah Mueller</b> as Curly Locks, baritone <b>Zachary Wobensmith</b> as Simple Simon, tenor <b>Matthew Youngblood</b> as Little Boy Blue, and the familiar veteran baritone <b>David Seatter</b> as Old King Cole. Mr. Seatter is a founding artist of the company and has never missed a performance. We always await his presence with anticipation.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">As far as the music is concerned we delighted in the live orchestra under the baton of<b> Maestro Michael Thomas.</b> We might add that The Theatre at St. Jean's is a rare find, a mid-sized theatre with an orchestra pit and raked seating. Everyone gets an unobstructed view and perfect sound. There is some voluntary audience participation in the finale and if you want to participate, learn the words to "Toyland". In terms of clever lyrics, we were particularly fond of "I Can't Do the Sum".</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">The choreography by Christine Hall was simple and stylish, adding a great deal of interest, as did the colorful but uncredited costuming. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">© meche kroop</span></div><p></p>mechehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09752033708046142327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-252382865816191535.post-24441778813979519412024-02-19T06:38:00.000-05:002024-02-19T06:38:16.852-05:00JOFFREY CONCERT GROUP<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhEtyieAE5ays15w7bxeYd6SfybSIIVPLzYCZGAf5j7YXVgJJ4UeX0GgugmED5mhwTzt_GDF7yNpbpBpx3nClug3FVVM3XfQvcprI5skikNLqrj4hoBIKClkMqSzWRRpxUDWbM0H1VG9-sJgORAzeMQIpe5lgWrOUVjxpupzoIWxqyufEHE9toD3_I9e5A/s1190/Screenshot%202024-02-19%20at%203.56.51%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="828" data-original-width="1190" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhEtyieAE5ays15w7bxeYd6SfybSIIVPLzYCZGAf5j7YXVgJJ4UeX0GgugmED5mhwTzt_GDF7yNpbpBpx3nClug3FVVM3XfQvcprI5skikNLqrj4hoBIKClkMqSzWRRpxUDWbM0H1VG9-sJgORAzeMQIpe5lgWrOUVjxpupzoIWxqyufEHE9toD3_I9e5A/w640-h446/Screenshot%202024-02-19%20at%203.56.51%20AM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> "The Relentless Nature of Dreaming"</div><div style="text-align: center;">(Photo by Kyle Froman)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Our introduction to ballet came by means of <b>The Joffrey Ballet</b> which performed regularly at The New York City Center Theater on 55th Street. We loved their style and we loved the dancers. We particularly remember a ballet about ruthless capitalists called "The Green Table" and "The Moor's Pavane", a terpsichorean representation of Shakespeare's <i>Otello. </i>We wept crocodile tears when this esteemed company left New York City. We have always wished that they would return and hoped that the recent visit of <b>The Joffrey Concert Group </b>might give us a sense of the past.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">That was not to be the case. Art moves forward and new American choreographers seem far more interested in the abstract than in telling a story. Our jam is story-telling and we rarely attend the ballet unless we are going to see one of the classics such as <i>Swan Lake, Giselle</i>, or <i>Romeo and Juliet</i>. And so, Dear Reader, please take our lukewarm words with a sense of where we are coming from. The audience at the Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater (also coincidentally on 55th St.) were vociferous in their applause and the seats were literally shaking.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We found a number of appealing moments, one of which we have chosen for the photo above from a ballet entitled, for no apparent reason, "The Relentless Nature of Dreaming". Bradley Shelver, Artistic Director of The Joffrey Concert Group, clearly states the mission of this project, entitled "In My Art" which is the culmination of the 2024 Creative Movers Choreographic Initiative designed to explore creative experimentation and promote the work of new American choreographers. The evening provided a "voice" for two of them.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The entire evening seemed to represent classical ballet dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century, whether willing or not. We witnessed much crossover with modern dance, which we have seen at the annual Fall for Dance, with an interesting variation. Dancers here were wearing soft ballet slippers, not bare feet. And point shoes made a welcome appearance for certain sections without our understanding the rhyme or reason.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The opening work entitled "Dawn of Love" was choreographed by Vernard J. Gilmore. Although some moves were reminiscent of classical ballet, arms were wildly windmilled with splayed fingers. The work began with dancers wearing floaty pale costumes designed by Jon Taylor and Erica Johnston. Later in the work, costuming was more colorful. There was a nice solo by Mari Murata and a duet performed by Annika Davis and Sydney Williams and another by Breeanna Palmer and Faahkir Bestman.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The second work on the program was "Random People With Beautiful Parts", choreographed by Mr. Shelver himself who also created the costumes-- simple dark leotards The percussive score included some Bach who appeared to be favored over the course of the evening. There seem to be only 3 or 4 men in the company so we got to see Mr. Bestman again, this time partnering Akari Kata.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The third work on the program, choreographed by Eryn Renee Young, "The Relentless Nature of Dreaming", appealed to us more. The dancers were costumed by Erica Johnston in simple leotards in varying shades of pink. Bach's music appeared again-- the Allegro movement of "Piano Concerto #1 in D Minor" almost unrecognizable because of the poor sound system. Bach was uneasily partnered with an original commissioned score by Heather Cook. The work was more appealing to us because of an interesting duet performed by a male couple that was unfortunately interrupted before it had a chance to develop. Somehow, dancers held aloft seemed more appealing than dancers somersaulting on the floor which made us question the flow of the work. The work desperately needed an Adagio movement.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The final work,"Oof", also choreographed by Mr. Shelver gave Ms. Johnston an opportunity to counterbalance her classic pink leotards in the prior ballet with some outrageous motley costuming. The music seemed to be Latin jazz. The movements themselves were foreign to us and seemed to be a parody of something like break dancing. Body positions were deliberately awkward and exaggerated. Clearly it was meant to be humorous. The woman next to us was screaming in joy so we came to the conclusion that we were missing the point. What popped into our mind was "Ballet slippers do not ballet make".</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">© meche kroop</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p></p>mechehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09752033708046142327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-252382865816191535.post-56695879124110968042024-02-18T05:25:00.005-05:002024-02-19T22:08:19.392-05:00GEORGE AND NORA LONDON FOUNDATION COMPETITION<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJTeWiG1Ni2KIGDLiKbMQSycQWmCXVhmBZTaxcaDVcUAs-tUYgMNrUF6yVhiAtNBjIk1bbVP4hiyyprlBDNYU0xu6mvWWh3emBKtl66iuDQSBE_CSyY_705O0SMlZ1GomAyWb4X2fPw0GZECH8nNewGyF7FDdsE3UfFU57IUv5U_Su7oo_Szt0JE5bTxTY/s3300/George%20London%20Award%20winners%20and%20judges,%20London%20Foundation%20Competition,%20Feb.%2016,%202024,%20photo%20by%20Beth%20Bergman.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1976" data-original-width="3300" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJTeWiG1Ni2KIGDLiKbMQSycQWmCXVhmBZTaxcaDVcUAs-tUYgMNrUF6yVhiAtNBjIk1bbVP4hiyyprlBDNYU0xu6mvWWh3emBKtl66iuDQSBE_CSyY_705O0SMlZ1GomAyWb4X2fPw0GZECH8nNewGyF7FDdsE3UfFU57IUv5U_Su7oo_Szt0JE5bTxTY/w640-h384/George%20London%20Award%20winners%20and%20judges,%20London%20Foundation%20Competition,%20Feb.%2016,%202024,%20photo%20by%20Beth%20Bergman.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> Finalists and Judges of the<b> George and Nora London Foundation</b> 2024 Competition </div><div style="text-align: center;">(Photo by Beth Bergman)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Whilst the esteemed judges (Carolyn Blackwell, Dimitir Pittas, John H. Hauser, and Susan Quittmeyer) were debating over the dozen finalists, audience members were ushered into the lobby where they enjoyed the opportunity to mingle with the finalists, offering hope and encouragement; they were also debating over their favorites and trying to outguess the judges. It is always a tense 45 minutes or so, softened by wine and nuts.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The twelve singers had made a fine showing, one and all. The audience was treated to a particularly diverse and enjoyable program and now were discussing among themselves the relative merits of their favorites. After this lively and intense interlude, we were welcomed back into the auditorium of The Morgan Library to learn which six singers would receive the generous awards of $10,000 each whilst the other six finalists would be awarded $2000. It is a step upward in the world of vocal competitions to ensure that all finalists receive something. It is not our wont to tell you, Dear Reader, how much each finalist received. If that issue is important to you, we refer you (as we usually do) to the foundation's website.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We prefer to share with you our impressions of our most favored singers which, interestingly enough, were shared by our companion, a professional singer. The opening aria was a stunning one as soprano <b>Adia Evans</b> tackled Elisabeth's aria <i>"Dich teure Halle"</i> from Wagner' <i>Tannhäuser</i>. We liked the way she modulated her sizable instrument, shading it to the demands of the text. Furthermore, her German diction was quite good with no dropping of final consonants.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Baritone<b> Benjamin Dickerson</b> gave an excellent performance of the cynical aria <i>"Nemico della patria"</i> from Giordano's <i>Andrea Chénier</i>. He employed his finely textured instrument in a highly emotional fashion and used the full stage and his entire body to convey Gérard's complex feelings whilst preserving the legato line.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Mezzo-soprano <b>Erin Wagner</b> chose an aria that is a paean to music, sung by The Komponist-<i>-"Sein wir wieder gut". </i>This rhythmically difficult aria from Richard Strauss' backstage comedy <i>Ariadne auf Naxos</i> was a fine choice. Ms. Wagner handled the upper register with aplomb (Strauss wrote it for the soprano <i>fach</i>) and showed us all the intensity of a young composer in a most convincing fashion.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">In Elisabetta de Valois' aria "<i>Tu che la vanita" f</i>rom Verdi's <i>Don Carlo</i>, the soprano gets to show off her skills with<i> bel canto legato</i> and also her wide range of registers. <b>Katerina Burton</b> did not disappoint, evincing a firm center and a pleasing <i>vibrato</i> that shows great promise for other V</span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: large;">erdi roles.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Baritone <b>Darren Drone</b> got to perform<i> "Schicchi's Aria"</i> from Puccini's one-act opera <i>Gianni Schicchi</i> and perform he did! We enjoyed the personality with which he filled out the role and experienced all the requisite humor. This artist has personality to spare and so convincingly inhabited the character that his fine technique receded to the background. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Piano accompaniment was provided by <b>Maestro Michael Fennelly</b> who can play just about anything. At moments when the voice was silent, we noticed his many gifts, especially in Massenet's <i>Sapho </i>and Britten's <i>Peter Grimes</i>.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The remaining singers each showed something noteworthy and if we didn't elaborate here, it is likely because they chose an aria that didn't suit their voice or their style. Their names can be found on the foundation's website. We enjoyed them all to a great extent and had only two criticism, one of which we have often mentioned here. We wish tenors wouldn't push their high notes, especially for the climax; we can feel our own throat constrict. It ain't pretty! Learn to float those high notes please!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We also have a criticism for the women. Please do not wear anything gaudy! When you are famous and giving a recital at Carnegie Hall, you can be as glamorous as you please, but when auditioning or competing, it would serve you better to dress simply, so as not to distract from your singing. 'Nuff said!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">© meche kroop</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p></p>mechehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09752033708046142327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-252382865816191535.post-24313464688529944782024-02-16T01:42:00.001-05:002024-02-16T01:42:25.946-05:00A BLISSFUL HOUR AT THE KOSCIUSZKO FOUNDATION<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLU3ZF6rgm1b0nTKtaXB85ta7eWuftVLJUHb30qYlnMVMx9BEmGI132ZzIY8z0hCUIc479s9j65WIVJTycm4CA7HVjhZ3PoYwO7tnu5lIfmwnyjmc7VC5AuhuwFJIcwbFucle_ye8KN4gJsbupgG1kPkQDR2shHltNhZcQPkPq-ayDI6GQcohoHeX9rWcd/s4032/IMG_2850.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLU3ZF6rgm1b0nTKtaXB85ta7eWuftVLJUHb30qYlnMVMx9BEmGI132ZzIY8z0hCUIc479s9j65WIVJTycm4CA7HVjhZ3PoYwO7tnu5lIfmwnyjmc7VC5AuhuwFJIcwbFucle_ye8KN4gJsbupgG1kPkQDR2shHltNhZcQPkPq-ayDI6GQcohoHeX9rWcd/w480-h640/IMG_2850.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Nicholas Kaponyas and Yohji Daquio</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Last night's brilliant recital at the Kosciuszko Foundation was warmly introduced by Ewa Zadworna who spoke briefly about the good works of the foundation, named after the Revolutionary War hero who gave extraordinary help to the new colonies as they broke free of Great Britain. This reminded us of how dedicated Poland has been to the Ukrainian cause. We prefer to discuss music and not politics but for years we have admired Kosciuszko's portrait which hangs in the place of honor in the second floor space which has been home to so much fine music over the years. The foundation is celebrating their centennial, so cheers to the next hundred years.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Of all the recitals we have heard in that elegant historic brownstone, we cannot remember a better one than the one we heard last night in which a marvelous pianist collaborated with the scintillating soprano <b>Yohji Daquio</b> for a stunning hour of vocal music that left us feeling the same satisfaction we experience after a gourmet meal of artfully arranged small courses, leaving us smiling and satisfied and eager to return for more.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">In a world of superlative sopranos, Ms. Daquio stands out for perfect technique that never calls attention to itself but allows the listener to feel her involvement with both text and music, bringing each selection to vivid colorful life. The performing area of the space offers plenty of room for a singer to move in and Ms. Daquio took advantage of it. She has a vibrant personality and knows how to use gesture, bodily posture, and facial expression to fill out the intention of each selection.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: large;">She entered the performance space singing <i>"Je veux vivre"</i> from Gounod's <i>Romeo et Juliette</i> which we have heard her sing on prior occasions. It just keeps getting better! We loved the way she limned the fleeting moments of sorrow peeking out from behind Juliette's joy of being young and alive. The contrast was achieved by means of variation in color and dynamics. We have no doubt that every phrase had been studied and </span><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">practiced, but the final impression was one of spontaneity. Now that's art!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Similarly, in<i> "Regnava nel silenzio", </i>Lucia's entrance aria from Donizetti's <i>Lucia di Lammermoor</i>, she gave the character lots of room to breathe, to fear, to hallucinate. We could see the spooky vision through Lucia's eyes and feel the change in her mood as she thought of Edgardo, her beloved. Again, the artist used variation of color and dynamics to lend emphasis to the daring<i> fioritura </i>which was stunningly precise in execution..</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">This precision was also notable in <i>"Der Hölle Rache" </i>from Mozart's <i>Die Zauberflöte,</i> a point in which the audience realizes that this "doting mother" is not what she seems but an angry vengeful woman. We have our own ideas but never mind, this is what Mozart wrote and Ms. Daquio captured every bit of rage with pinpoint accuracy. These are the <i>coloratura</i> moments that make an audience swoon, and swoon we did. If anyone in the standing-room-only audience was new to opera, they are surely devoted fans by now.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">In a sweeter vein was the much loved <i>"O mio babbino caro" </i>from Puccini's <i>Gianni Schicchi.</i> No father could have resisted her blandishments and Ms. Daquio perfectly enacted a perfectly spoiled daughter.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">A pleasant surprise was Constancio de Guzman's <i>"Bayan Ko!"</i>, a sad love letter to her colonized homeland (The Republic of the Philippines) sung in Tagalog, which seems to be a beautiful language, at least coming from Ms. Daquio. The melody was a lovely one and Ms. Daquio sang it with the requisite sincerity.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Yet another treat was the artist's original take on "Poor Wand'ring One" sung by Mabel to Frederic in Gilbert and Sullivan's <i>Pirates of Penzance</i>. In spite of the difficulty of diction in the soprano range, every one of Gilbert's words were crystal clear and the audience loved the way Ms. Daquio involved them. The song is a bid for love and the the audience responded fully and joyfully.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Come to think of it, the audience was involved from the beginning since she introduced each song and aria in a most unaffected manor, recapitulating the mood of a salon.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Her facility with French was evident in a pair of Poulenc songs but the use of a music stand interfered with her ability to emote. Texts by Louis Aragon are clearly anti-war, written in 1943, during the German occupation. <i>"C" </i>is mournful and <i>"Fêtes Galantes" </i>rather frantic.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Collaborative pianist for the evening was <b>Nicholas Kaponyas</b> and his artistry was never overshadowed. He began the evening with a pleasing performance of Chopin's<i> Waltz in G-flat major Opus 70, #1</i>. This was charmingly played with even more <i>rubato</i> than is customary with some breath-holding moments. We liked it a lot more than the modern piece by Grażyna Bacewicz--the Vivo movement of <i>Piano Sonata #2</i> which appeared devilishly difficult to play with lots of percussive themes and a dense texture.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The encores were well chosen--Isabelle Aboulker's <i>"Je t'aime"--("Vocalise amoureuse pour Soprano éperdue"</i>) and "Love is Where You Find It" composed for the 1948 film<i> The Kissing Bandit,</i> written by </span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: large;">Ignacio (colloquially, Nacio) Herb Brown. This was a clever pairing for post-Valentine's Day, the first a tantrum by a rejected woman and the second a paean to love.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Ms. Daquio has earned our love and admiration. We have the highest expectations of this young artist who has already garnered many awards and prizes.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">© meche kroop</span></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p></p>mechehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09752033708046142327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-252382865816191535.post-64650828990528428392024-02-02T08:14:00.003-05:002024-02-02T08:14:55.834-05:00A VERY GRAND FINALE TO RENEE FLEMING'S SONGSTUDIO<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH3DoZgVkA1vVRasc7S9mic5fFP1ItV2q71NDAXA28zlYbzmv7eOFnW0bJc5Zcy8pGh2p_AT9-K4u2dQiKEtRoJ6SwK47b00p5vqzI1Z4mwskOk2yVrbXRwsrLrvNYIfOtLy5xfcjtIHYJ0fJ0nbE6f-AZxWftRlMRobMiPIQyGj2QyFPC835XDphBYrA4/s593/Screenshot%202024-02-02%20at%206.02.31%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="593" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH3DoZgVkA1vVRasc7S9mic5fFP1ItV2q71NDAXA28zlYbzmv7eOFnW0bJc5Zcy8pGh2p_AT9-K4u2dQiKEtRoJ6SwK47b00p5vqzI1Z4mwskOk2yVrbXRwsrLrvNYIfOtLy5xfcjtIHYJ0fJ0nbE6f-AZxWftRlMRobMiPIQyGj2QyFPC835XDphBYrA4/w640-h426/Screenshot%202024-02-02%20at%206.02.31%20AM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Zankel Hall in the Round </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Photo by Richard Termine)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall underwent a surprising transformation for an in-the-round presentation of the <b>Young Artists Recital</b>, presented as the final offering of the annual <b>SongStudio</b> in which young artists are given a week of coaching, workshops, and master classes, helmed by the world-renowned soprano <b>Renee Fleming</b>, Artistic Director and Host.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The goal was to shed new light on the art song by adding novel elements-- designed to bring the audience closer, both physically and emotionally. We wish we'd been able to attend the daily masterclasses as we usually do, but time constraints limited our participation to witnessing the end result without observing the daily progress.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We hope that the goal of bringing new audiences to this art form by endowing it with a fresh perspective was successful. For our own part, we have always loved art song recitals and have always experienced the requisite intimacy by sitting on the front row. For this experience we were sitting rather far back and therefore felt rather less intimacy. To be fair, far back was not very far back because Zankel Hall had been reconfigured with the audience on all sides and the artists in the center. This must have been a challenge for the singers who were obliged to move around more than usual which could also be seen as a benefit. There was no "park and bark", an expression which grates on us as much as does the stolid stance.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The "theater-in-the-round" concept has been used off-Broadway with mixed results. The negatives are that the audience always feels that they are missing something when the performers' backs are turned. In the case of art songs in a foreign language, there seems to be no way to project titles.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">On this particular evening, scenes were semi-staged with more than one singer on the "stage" (performing area?} at the same time with one of them reading the text. If they were rather minimally poetic in their reading, it can be excused by their being singers, not poets. The advantage was that the audience did not have to try to read translations and were able to focus on the singers. Were we meant to feel as if we were participating in a salon? Perhaps it will take awhile to adjust to this particular form of concert but we were left with mixed feelings.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Aside from the readings and the attempt at creating a scenario, we were "treated" to a dancer in a white garment who performed some kind of shapeless modern dancing that did nothing to echo or enhance the singing but served more as a distraction.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Aside from our mixed feelings about the staging, we enjoyed the young singers a great deal and found absolutely no disappointment in their collaborative pianists, who also participated in the week of coaching and workshops.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We loved the opening number--Brahms' <i>"Ein kleiner, hübscher Vogel"</i> from his <i>Liebeslieder Walzer</i>. The voices of soprano <b>Khayakazi Madlala</b>, mezzo-soprano <b>Gabrielle Barkidjija</b>, tenor<b> Edmond Rodriguez</b>, and bass-baritone <b>Florian Störtz</b> balanced beautifully and wove a tapestry of sound that was charming in its deceptive simplicity. Pianists were<b> Jeong-Eun Lee</b> and <b>Yuriko Watanabe</b>. We would have been content to sit there all night and listen to the entire song cycle which we adore.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">But then we might have missed the riveting performance by counter-tenor <b>Chuanyuan Liu</b> of an 11th c. Chinese song by Su Chi entitled "When will the clear moon shine?". We hope we are not alone in loving Chinese art song and we grant that not everyone loves the counter-tenor <i>fach</i> as much as we do. The cadence of the language and the eerie sound of the voice filled us with emotion. How amazing that should occur ten centuries after the song was composed! Mr. Yuan's collaborative pianist was <b>Ye In Kwak.</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We also responded to his performance of Fauré's <i>"La lune blanche"</i>and George Crumb's "Night" all accompanied by Ms. Kwak. How interesting that all three of his selections related to the moon!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">There were so many other highlights. We always love hearing Debussy's<i> Songs of Bilitis</i> and mezzo-soprano<b> Ruby Dibble</b>, accompanied by <b>Tzu Kuang Tan </b>performed it with as much delicacy, mood shifts, and dynamic variation as one could wish for.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Similarly, baritone<b> Gabriel Rollinson</b>'s interpretation of Ravel's<i> Don Quichotte à Dulcinée </i>captured the varying moods of the songs, transitioning readily from the romantically worshipful to the prayerful to the bibulous. And then--</span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: large;">Surprise!--Ibert's elegiac "Song of Death" from his cycle <i>Chansons de </i></span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: large;"><i>Don Quichotte</i> <i>et Chanson de Sancho</i>. We have never heard them sung on the same program but in that order it worked magnificently. Collaborative pianist was Ms. Watanabe.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: large;">Settings of text by </span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: large;">Shakespeare were well handled by baritone <b>Felix Gygli </b>who moved comfortably between the styles of various composers. Our favorite was Korngold's setting of "Come Away Death". Pianist was <b>Aleksandra Myslek.</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Ms. Madlala conveyed the perfume of the linden blossom in Joseph Marx's <i>"Nocturne"</i>, accompanied by<b> Natalie Sherer</b>. Another German song we love is Alma Mahler's <i>"Laue Sommernacht"</i> performed by Mr. Störtz and Ms. Lee. With a similar mood but in a different language (Russian) Mr. Rodriguez sang Rachmaninoff's "Night is Mournful" accompanied by <b>Daniel Peter Silcock.</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Mr. Stortz brought the program to a stunning conclusion with Mahler's <i>"Um Mitternaacht",</i> accompanied by Ms. Lee.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">There was one selection on the program that seemed just wrong. It was a prosy anti-war "lecture" with obvious and jejune sentiments, a text of the composer's own devising. "What Can One Woman Do?" by Stacy Garrop. That one should have stayed at home.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">© meche kroop</span></div><p></p>mechehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09752033708046142327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-252382865816191535.post-68677289024132296752024-01-29T00:49:00.001-05:002024-01-29T00:49:23.137-05:00AMORE OPERA. PRESENTS DON GIOVANNI<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi38ocC-I9VC8Ilc7xKIb4J-F7v5yYz9fI_ctQYZU2gQvOLg5Q3nsf9cb3p1msO6KaDt2Pr7ujeZYJHapxhAmtM_5fdAhHhdq37B4q6X8T9BJ-lCG3_uvbZZ17F5jj2Feg0PCTtmqsjHtLaKsbL-XWAj-pUCKzBtv57iMpM5lTxlhHACSyMdl8mK6uHndtc/s800/IMG_4781.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi38ocC-I9VC8Ilc7xKIb4J-F7v5yYz9fI_ctQYZU2gQvOLg5Q3nsf9cb3p1msO6KaDt2Pr7ujeZYJHapxhAmtM_5fdAhHhdq37B4q6X8T9BJ-lCG3_uvbZZ17F5jj2Feg0PCTtmqsjHtLaKsbL-XWAj-pUCKzBtv57iMpM5lTxlhHACSyMdl8mK6uHndtc/w640-h480/IMG_4781.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> Maestro Richard Cordova and the cast of Don Giovanni</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Let us begin by saying that we enjoyed opening night of Mozart's <i>Don Giovanni</i> so much that we attended the <i>matinée</i> the following day. If we had another free night we would see it again. Anything more than double casting is a boon to the young singers who get experience in their particular roles. However, there is a price to pay and we can just imagine the challenge to the director, in this case <b>Jenna Stewart</b>, who had the additional challenge of taking over from someone else. In spite of a plethora of challenges, no one in the audience could have guessed since everything ran smoothly.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We became aware of <b>Amore Opera</b>, risen</span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: large;"> like a phoenix from the ashes after the untimely death of Artistic Director </span><b style="font-family: "Open Sans";">Nathan Hull, </b><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: large;">when we came to see a most excellent production of Puccini's</span><i style="font-family: "Open Sans";"> La Bohême</i><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: large;">. We were very fond of the gifted Mr. Hull and we have nothing but praise for Connie I. (his partner) for the welcome revival of the company. Sets and costumes were apparently sacrificed due to storage costs and we never expected that the spirit of the company would live on.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Because of constraints of time and space, we will save our rant about the future of opera for another day but let us just say that we have watched so many promising young companies go under due to poor management, lack of funding, and needlessly experimental productions. So let us all do what we can to help Amore Opera to not just survive but to thrive.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">To begin, <b>Maestro Richard Cordova</b> led his mostly young musicians in a fine reading of the score, adapting the<i> tempi</i> to the needs of the different singers. Gone were the amateur string players and, in their place, some younger musicians willing to follow his lead from the shattering opening D minor chord to the D major conclusion.We heard an occasional cracking from the French Horn but that is just the nature of the beast.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The singers were uniformly excellent, some better than others, but no one spoiled the ensemble nature of the group. In the cast we heard on opening night, we thought the women took home the gold. Soprano<b> Nina Mutalifu</b>, whom we have reviewed before, made a superb Donna Elvira, especially powerful in the excoriating <i>"Mi tradì quell'alma ingrata"</i> as she vented her fury. In the other cast <b>Yushin Chow </b> presented a slightly softer Donna Elvira, a bit sadder and a bit less enraged; she was particularly effective when begging Don Giovanni to mend his ways in <i>"L'ultima prova dell'amor mio".</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><b>Roseann Ackerley</b>'s portrayal of Donna Ann was an affecting one. In the opening scene she seemed to be a force to be reckoned with but in Act II, she is tender whilst delaying her marriage to Don Ottavio in <i>"Non mi dir"</i>. Her counterpart in the other cast,<b> Jihye Seo</b>, was especially persuasive in the <i>recitativo</i> with her fiancé Don Ottaavio, getting the rhythm of the speech exactly right.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Both Zerlina's were charming and partly innocent, partly manipulative--both <b>Hyune Kwon</b> and <b>Yingjie Zhou</b>. were equally persuasive in <i>"Batti, batti o bel Masetto" </i>and <i>"Vedrai carino". </i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The role of Leporello is a great one and gives the opportunity to the singer to garner laughs. At this, <b>Ting-Yi Chen</b> succeeded admirably. In the other cast<b> Brian Alvarado </b>excelled vocally whilst not playing so much for comedy.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">In the role of Masetto, we liked both<b> Bo Joseph Wang</b> and <b>Ziliang Hao</b> although their body types encouraged different impressions. Mr. Wang appeared cuddly and Mr. Hao appeared endearingly goofy with his lanky and somewhat awkward frame. It is interesting how, in the creation of a character, body type can matter as much as vocal color.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">In the role of Don Ottavio,<b> Julio Mascaro</b> adopted the posture of an older father figure with protective instincts toward Donna Anna, patient and helpful with her until driven to the edge by her stalling. We liked his beautifully phrased <i>"Il mio tesoro"</i> so much that we wanted to rewind to Act I and hear the unfortunately cut <i>"Dalla sua pace"</i>. In the other cast, <b>Woojin Dong</b>'s very youthful appearance did not help his performance, although he sang well.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Now, what about the eponymous Don. We have known many narcissistic sociopaths and can smell one a mile away. Did either of these two excellent singers manifest the charm that such characters employ to ensnare their victims? In this case, he has already ensnared Elvira and is up to the gaslighting stage. His serenade of Elvira's maid<i> "Deh, vieni alla finestra"</i> touched upon his seductive quality as did his <i>"La ci darem la Mano"</i> duet with Zerlina whom he is about to victimize. We believe that the Don must also charm the audience. In spite of his fine singing, <b>Peter Hakjoon Kim </b>didn't quite make it and our other Don, <b>Colin Safely</b>, came a bit closer. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The Commendatore was played by<b> Rick Agster</b> in one cast and <b>Gennady Vysotsky</b> in the other.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">In terms of stage direction, horses were changed midstream, so to speak, and <b>Jenna Stewart</b> made the best out of a concept she inherited. Blocking was always fine but there was a misguided attempt to bring the story into the 21st c. with contemporary attire and renaming the characters in the program. The Don became a wealthy bachelor and Leporello his assistant. In our opinion, works from other epochs work best when time and place are respected. This allows the audience members to do the work of comparing--finding differences and similarities with our own epoch. We rail against spoon feeding the audience a concept. We feel more involved when we do the "work" ourselves.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><b>Mozart</b> and his librettist <b>Lorenzo Da Ponte</b> created this work during The Enlightenment when ideas of democracy were floating around. How apt that they should choose to create operas that poke fun at the aristocracy who take themselves too seriously and then elevate the cleverness of the serving class. Dressing all the characters as the original director requested according to her "concept" removed that cornerstone. Everyone looked the same.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Another item in her concept which came completely out of left field is an unnamed lesbian lover of Donna Anna who appeared at key moments to comfort her. We suppose that director (who kindness precludes us from naming)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">could not accept the fact that Donna Anna is avoiding commitment to Don Ottavio because he is an elderly friend of her late father and an arranged marriage. So, contrary to so many interpretations of the role, Don Ottavio is definitely not a weakling; he knows he is a father figure and is being circumspect.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">With no place for flats in the Center at West Park, the set consisted of a few pieces of furniture, and strangely enough, a ticket booth in the scene in Act I in which the Don and Leporello are speaking together. Lighting by Laura Bremen comprised a simple wash of white, blue, or red. We think there is need for improvement. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Producing opera these days is getting more and more difficult with many companies folding or slimming down their seasons. Finding a suitable venue to present one in a valid fashion is a huge undertaking and the fact that the church was packed is evidence of the high esteem in which Amore Opera is held. We are thrilled to see musical values upheld.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Don't be a loser! Get your tickets before they sell out. Performances continue until Saturday February 3rd.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">© meche kroop</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p></p>mechehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09752033708046142327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-252382865816191535.post-2815576827767462722024-01-26T09:14:00.002-05:002024-01-26T18:47:15.545-05:00DVORÁk'S REQUIEM AT CARNEGIE HALL<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiS8e-ioYw7rfVYhG3UbsKlAKxdKZhTLcAEnLlEqPqlEK2PYydINzya7XanJKPXeB9r62H32TnqYs-Hu2b_XeNh9QYgx5quIZp-cYrAmzd9ANipFp3rW74baxoJ0oBk2E1ixEb2jAvr0B1ZKqdvECXzK-2SsP0maCUnVOlSPIPzBHqPpsonjAP7af2_Zli/s4032/IMG_2347.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiS8e-ioYw7rfVYhG3UbsKlAKxdKZhTLcAEnLlEqPqlEK2PYydINzya7XanJKPXeB9r62H32TnqYs-Hu2b_XeNh9QYgx5quIZp-cYrAmzd9ANipFp3rW74baxoJ0oBk2E1ixEb2jAvr0B1ZKqdvECXzK-2SsP0maCUnVOlSPIPzBHqPpsonjAP7af2_Zli/w640-h480/IMG_2347.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Stefan Egerstrom, Joshua Blue, Lindsay Ammann, and Leah Hawkins </div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">It was a rare opportunity to hear <b>Dvorák's Requiem</b>, a piece commissioned by the Birmingham Festival in England where it premiered in 1891, shortly after the master returned from his long stay in the United States. Our initial interest in the composer was aroused by living next door to his former home on 17th Street. A kindly neighbor invited us into the house and we were thrilled. The home was demolished and the property was taken over by the hospital down the street during the AIDS epidemic and was later converted into a homeless shelter. We always felt that was a low blow, not giving sufficient respect to a seminal figure in the "musicverse".</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Perhaps that disrespect resonated with us last night when the four singers were positioned behind the orchestra where they could not be seen, at least not from our seat in the orchestra. They could be heard due to the strength and focus of their singing and when the orchestra was in a quiet place, but we would say that the desired balance was not achieved.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><b>Maestro Leon Botstein</b> had a huge chorus (<b>The Bard Festival Chorus</b>, directed by <b>James Bagwell</b>) and orchestra (<b>American Symphony Orchestra</b>) at his command and would have received praise had he not given the singers such short shrift. That being said, the work is rarely performed and we must be grateful that we had the opportunity to hear it.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">It is our mission to write about singers so we will begin there. Two of the singers are well known to us. Soprano <b>Leah Hawkins</b> won our admiration a few years ago when she was a member of the Lindemann Young Artists Program. Her voice is full-bodied and expansive with overtones that fill the hall. Tenor<b> Joshua Blue</b> has been on our radar since his days at Juilliard and we never missed a chance to hear him at the student recitals and operas. To his credit, he never pushed his voice and managed somehow to float above the orchestra. It is a lovely sound and deserved to be heard.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Mezzo-soprano <b>Lindsay Ammann</b>. is new to us and we long to hear her in a friendlier acoustic environment. The sound is rich, full, and satisfying. <b>Stefan Egerstrom</b>'s sturdy bass resounded well. Our favorite movement, the<i> "Hostias"</i>, was a quiet one and we had the best opportunity to hear the singers, beginning with Mr. Egerstrom, then Ms. Ammann , then Mr. Blue, and finally Ms. Hawkins. We also liked the harp played by Ruth Bennett and the way the voices overlapped as if in a fugue. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The work is a long one and therefore performed with intermission. It struck us as less nationalistic than the works with which we are more familiar. We know him best through his operas (actually, <i>Russalka </i>is the only one we know) and the song cycle <i>Songs My Mother Taught Me</i>, which we loved in German and loved even more the one time we heard it sung in Czech. His music definitely belongs to the Romantic Period. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans;">This work is a somber one, as befits a Requiem, and very different from the other works we have heard. </span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans";">The opening <i>"Requiem aeternum"</i> began with a spare melody but a sudden eruption from the chorus let us know that we were in for a wild ride. There were frequent sharp bursts of <i>fortissimi</i> and a sobbing motif. The <i>"Graduale"</i> introduced a brief swirling motif of four notes-- a <i>gruppetto</i>. Voices bounced off each other and at a couple points our unconscious led us into Wagnerian territory which we are unable to pinpoint.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We particularly enjoyed the quietude of the gentle <i>"Quid sum miser"</i>. We liked the flute solo in the<i> "Recordare, Jesu pie"</i>. The <i>"Lacrimosa"</i> involved some insistent violins. The <i>"Offertorium</i>" had a lot of variety--a gentle opening that built and swelled and a lively rhythmic section. The <i>"Sanctus"</i> was written in 3/4 time. The <i>"Pie Jesu"</i> had a lovely chorale of wind instruments. The <i>"Agnus Dei" </i>that closed the work finally allowed us to hear the soprano.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We couldn't help wondering what the work might sound like if the orchestra were in the pit. Perhaps it is just my taste but we felt the singers and the text merited more importance.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">© meche kroop</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p></p>mechehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09752033708046142327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-252382865816191535.post-76579151855716642192024-01-22T06:42:00.002-05:002024-01-22T06:42:12.244-05:00OPERA INDEX HONORS MATTHEW POLENZANI<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixHeQurnZOl_ct23PGD35zfLGCuCmEeTOsGQNpC6g_b0OCFDe7_xL8iMapVgtkQHuJk9-WWg5HXdI55HABm85rp8WNxg7_qZ35-aY8V2NLM-ol9ZgzUJ2p51VHAiSuJE36C55euCcMscnLkUxg1wCs0P-Vv49iXzm-9YKNYXDYpteLwRoDVGX66MNCJ_J0/s4032/IMG_2329.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixHeQurnZOl_ct23PGD35zfLGCuCmEeTOsGQNpC6g_b0OCFDe7_xL8iMapVgtkQHuJk9-WWg5HXdI55HABm85rp8WNxg7_qZ35-aY8V2NLM-ol9ZgzUJ2p51VHAiSuJE36C55euCcMscnLkUxg1wCs0P-Vv49iXzm-9YKNYXDYpteLwRoDVGX66MNCJ_J0/w480-h640/IMG_2329.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> Tenor Matthew Polenzani</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">It is surely a capstone of one's career to be publicly honored with an award, especially one from <b>Opera Index</b>. It is perhaps a more private honor to witness the next generation of singers, knowing how many have learned from you, directly or indirectly. Mr. Polenzani, a much loved tenor, is at the peak of his brilliant career and his gracious unassuming manner must be an inspiration to upcoming opera singers.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The occasion was last night's <b>Opera Index Gala</b>, at which event the denizens of Planet Opera gather every year to honor a distinguished artist and to celebrate the prizewinners of their competition. Unlike open competitions at which observers form their own opinions and argue the merits of their favorite singers, Opera Index's competition takes place behind closed doors. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We think it fair to say that this year's winners were well selected from among 400 applicants and are totally deserving of their awards. Singers are notoriously financially strapped, what with the cost of lessons, tuition, coaching and such. Those donating funds to Opera Index can be confident that their funding goes a long way toward helping these young artists to achieve their goals.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We heard seven promising young artists artists last night, all outstanding in their own way. Piano support was provided by the well known collaborative pianist <b>Kamal Khan</b> who slides gracefully from one period of music to the next. A warm welcome by Opera Index President <b>Jane Shaulis, </b>who put together a most satisfying. evening, was warmly received. Let us tell you about it without reference to the size of each individual's award, as is our wont.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The program opened with baritone <b>Ben Reisinger</b> performing everyone's favorite drinking song<i> "O vin, dissippe la tristesse" </i>from Thomas' <i>Hamlet</i>. Glass in hand, he illustrated the character's exuberance with a lovely resonant texture, fine phrasing and sufficient variety of<i> tempi</i> to hold our interest. We love the way his voice opens up at the upper end of the register.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Following, we heard the adorable soprano <b>Sofia Gotch</b> singing <i>"Je veux vivre" </i>from Gounod's <i>Romeo et Juliette</i>. She conveyed all the breathless enthusiasm (which takes enormous breath control) of a young woman bursting with life. She paced the aria well and evinced bright clean top notes. There were some trills that gave us thrills and chills! The command of the French style and diction were remarkable.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Tenor <b>Travon Walker</b> began his performance seated on the edge of the stage, accurately reflecting the despair of young Sam in "Lonely House" from Kurt Weill's 20th c. opera<i> Street Scene</i>. Mr. Walker, having established the mood of his character, proceeded to get up and walk around, delivering his aria with fine technique and (gasp) understandable English. We enjoyed the way he used dynamic variation and felt emotionally affected--a good thing.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">It is quite a challenge for any young singer to portray an older person but bass <b>Younggwang Park</b> achieved it in his performance of <i>"Vi ravisso"</i>, Count Rodolfo's nostalgic aria from Bellini's <i>La sonnambula</i>. We sensed a connection with the depth of the character as much as we perceived the depth of tone. As is common in Bellini's writing, the demands on the singer are vocally great, especially in terms of the breath control needed for his long lyric phrases. Mr. Park handled it deftly, especially in the runs.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Soprano <b>Luna Seongeun Park</b> (no relation) gave a spirited performance of <i>"Chacun le sait"</i>, the regimental song from Donizetti's<i> La fille du regiment</i> in which Marie, the titular character, expresses her pride in the regiment that has raised her. We observed a consistency through the registers, culminating in a pure tone at the top. We liked the smoothness in negotiating the <i>portamenti.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Bass-baritone <b>Byeongmin Gil </b>proved himself to be a forceful interpreter of Procido's joy at returning to his beloved homeland after a period of exile in <i>"O tu Palermo"</i> from Verdi's<i> I vespri Siciliani</i>. Variety in dynamics and a keen sense of pacing did justice to this showpiece. The texture of Gil's voice created a sound that was sufficiently mature.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Closing the musical portion of the evening was <b>Yeongtaek Yang'</b>s impassioned delivery of<i> "Nemico della patria" </i>from Giordano's <i>Andrea Chenier</i>. He effectively portrayed Gérard's cold calculating nature as he lists the accusations toward Chenier, accusations that he may not truly believe. The sound was full and the menace was palpable. Mr. Yang built the emotion to an intense <i>crescendo</i> at the end.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">This fulfilling program was followed by the award ceremony and dinner. This was indeed a memorable night! We might close by urging you to join Opera Index in supporting these gifted young artists. The membership fee is extremely modest.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">© meche kroop</span></div><p></p>mechehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09752033708046142327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-252382865816191535.post-77163916207861578642024-01-21T08:00:00.001-05:002024-01-21T08:00:14.110-05:00FROM THE GOOD FOLKS AT DELL'ARTE OPERA ENSEMBLE<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6rPVQ2PEmF38b0wiGBHXeUWLP6ySkLDBevumvc9jfsHJWdktgG4B0oB-MZWzJAuv040EnSmiJaA4dga49dowCXInsAXvW-bu54n5HTX96Ge8WyG0rK9eIc1ayQI8DLVXn2myeHf_tPxKR5irR9gCm5PGNQ1qhqYBWfeB-_jtYbNXNPxl_-L2ZBmIiTh0O/s4032/IMG_2265.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6rPVQ2PEmF38b0wiGBHXeUWLP6ySkLDBevumvc9jfsHJWdktgG4B0oB-MZWzJAuv040EnSmiJaA4dga49dowCXInsAXvW-bu54n5HTX96Ge8WyG0rK9eIc1ayQI8DLVXn2myeHf_tPxKR5irR9gCm5PGNQ1qhqYBWfeB-_jtYbNXNPxl_-L2ZBmIiTh0O/w640-h480/IMG_2265.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> Maestro Chris Fecteau, Jonathan Harris, Clara Lisle, and Morton Cahn</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Last night we felt transported back to the 19th c. when artists and their followers gathered around a piano and created music at home. We adore this manner of appreciating music up close and personal and have created many such salons in our own home. What a pleasure to not only hear artists perform but also to be able to socialize with them and other music lovers.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans";">Our hostess for the evening was the lovely artist, mezzo-soprano, and cat-lover <b>Barrett Cobb</b> whose magnificent townhouse gave pleasurable stimulation to the eye. So many senses were involved--the ear, the eye, and tastebuds too, </span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans";">with food and drink courtesy of <b>Maestro Chris </b></span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans";"><b>Fecteau</b> and his lovely wife <b>Karen Rich, </b>those good folks from <b>Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble</b>. The apt theme of the evening was "Among Friends".</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans";">The multi-talented Maestro, chef and </span><span style="font-family: Open Sans;">connoisseur of wine, was our accompanist for the evening and the musical artists comprised soprano<b> Clara Lisle</b>, bass-baritone <b>Jonathan Harris</b>, and double bass player <b>Morton Cahn</b>. We were especially delighted that the artists introduced their selections and told a little about each one.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The beautiful Ms. Lisle opened the program with a very fine performance of Musetta's Act I aria from Puccini's <i>La Bohême</i>. All the vocal nuances and gestures were there resulting in a most believable performance, <i>sans </i>sets and <i>sans </i>costume.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Not to be outdone, Mr. Harris tackled a concert aria by Mozart, the ardent<i> "Per questa bella mano"</i> with Mr. Cahn performing the <i>obligato</i>. Mr. Harris does not lack for flexibility as demonstrated in some fine melismatic passages reminding one of a <i>vocalise. </i>He also deftly handled the wide leaps which Mozart often gave to his sopranos (i.e. Fiordiligi).</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Ms. Lisle showed off some excellent German diction in a trio of songs by Hugo Wolf. We find Wolf's songs less accessible than those of Brahms, Schubert, and Schumann but not less interesting.. Our favorite of the three was <i>"In dem Schatten mine Locken"</i> from the composer's <i>Spänischer Liederbuch</i>. The warm and tender colors of Ms. Lisle's voice were matched by Mo. Fecteau's piano.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The Allegro section of Bach's <i>Sonata in G minor</i>, written for <i>viola da gamba</i>, was given an attractive reading by Mr. Cahn.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Having recently heard an entire evening of Czech songs, our ears were quite ready for four folk songs set by Petr Eben, a Czech composer unknown to us. In spite of being composed in the 20th c. they are melodic as folk songs usually are and were charmingly sung by Mr. Harris. The final two were about abandoned women and it is to Mr. Harris' credit that he colored his voice differently for the one who was in despair and the other one who was ready to move on to a new lover.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Mo. Fecteau gave a most expressive performance of a movement from <i>A Novel </i>composed by Ukrainian Sergei Bortkewiecz, also unknown to us.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Leonard Bernstein set a poem by Walt Whitman entitled "To What You Said" and we found it prosy and not very interesting. The vocal <i>obligato </i>was taken over by Mr. Cahn.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We far preferred the piano- bass duet entitled "Skipper's Call which was written by Ms. Cobb herself! We know what it's like to write music that you never get to hear performed so we shared in Ms. Cobb's joy upon hearing it for the first time.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Ms. Lisle performed <i>"Le Chat" </i>in fine French. It was commissioned by Dell'Arte from Ellen Mandel. Mr. Harris had the audience in stitches with Libby Larsen's "The Apple Song". He picked up all the suggestive inferences and capped it all off by throwing off his coat. If you never heard this very American song, we urge you to Google the lyrics.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The program ended with Mendelssohn's melodic <i>"Salve Regina"</i> which allowed Ms. Lisle to show off her bright top notes. Mr. Harris performed one of Poulenc's non-ironic songs, the timely <i>"Priez pour paix" </i>in which Mo. Fecteau's piano echoed the contemplative mood.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">It was a varied and altogether satisfying evening. We wish to alert you to some upcoming Dell'Arte events so--as they say--stay tuned!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">© meche kroop </span></div><p></p>mechehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09752033708046142327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-252382865816191535.post-43855298083762728512024-01-14T06:19:00.000-05:002024-01-14T06:19:03.742-05:00SENSATIONAL SOPRANO ARIAS<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAfNsBe8wBUsn4mn2sextI2sBmuLLbgdqwLbcuIfe9sd_9VJKASzNMdGXW0V9vrU4Iy6Lw7slBzZIGxVfw2woFq85Ldq1ooGgBBhr3sD7zVm99WEsT16_VtBiIQ2ncNJmSMhrLPnoj_mW3MW_mEz6OZf5aAXAJ3NGBGyZzBIJcbBK8Rk5rPZOQLCWXfWqF/s4032/IMG_2219.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAfNsBe8wBUsn4mn2sextI2sBmuLLbgdqwLbcuIfe9sd_9VJKASzNMdGXW0V9vrU4Iy6Lw7slBzZIGxVfw2woFq85Ldq1ooGgBBhr3sD7zVm99WEsT16_VtBiIQ2ncNJmSMhrLPnoj_mW3MW_mEz6OZf5aAXAJ3NGBGyZzBIJcbBK8Rk5rPZOQLCWXfWqF/w640-h480/IMG_2219.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> Eduardo Gutierrez, Saul Ibarra, Elizabeth Pope, and François Gizycki</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">The sanctuary at Jt. Johns in the Village was "standing room only", a rare condition for a vocal recital in Manhattan. Apparently, word had gotten out that a remarkable young artist named <b>Elizabeth Pope</b> would be performing a challenging program of arias. We are happy to tell you that the promise was fulfilled. We love hearing singers at the start of their professional careers and following them as they mature and become successful on the world's stages.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">Yes, the program was a challenging one, covering several periods and several languages. As extensive as was this survey of soprano arias, the audience begged for more and, trooper as she is, Ms. Pope gifted the audience with three encores.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">Let us begin by saying that she is an engaging young woman who spoke easily to the audience, showing neither stiffness nor reserve. This created a welcoming atmosphere that drew us in collectively. Having come from a family of musicians <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> (</span>all present for the concert) and having received excellent vocal training, this young artist "picked up the ball and ran with it". It was clear that a lot of work and study had gone into the preparation of a most ambitious program but Ms. Pope succeeded in making it all appear effortless, even as she gave her all.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">The program opened with <i>"Tornami a vagheggiar" </i>from Händel's <i>Alcina</i> which immediately gave evidence of a bright pure tone and a facility with ornamentation. The trill was clean as were the <i>staccato</i> passages. There was a nice contrast between the sections. Along the same lines was<i> "Armate face et anguibus" </i>from Vivaldi's oratorio <i>Juditha Triumphans</i>, in which the artist tore into this vengeance aria with a vengeance, making us think of the Queen of the Night. Her superlative collaborative pianist <b>Saúl Ibarra</b> was as undaunted by the racing piano score as she was by the florid decoration of the vocal line.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">Was that the same artist switching easily to a 19th c. work-- Jules Massenet's <i>Hérodiade</i>? In<i> "Il eat doux, il est bon"</i> she showed us an adolescent girl besotted with the prophet Jean, and did so in fine French. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">This was far more effective dramatically than Violetta's first act scena <i>"É strano..Sempre Libera" </i>from Verdi's<i> La Traviata</i>. The vocalism was fine but, in spite of the generous use of gesture and facial expression, we were not convinced that this was a desperate woman weighing the choice between a chance at love and frantic partying. We think a few years of emotional experience on the part of the artist will result in a more convincing portrayal. We admit that we are very demanding of our Violettas since she is our favorite operatic character. Tenor <i>Fernando Silva-Gorbea</i> made an all-too-brief appearance as Alfredo but there was insufficient stage time to establish any chemistry between them.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">Far more believable was her Nedda, the unfortunate heroine of Leoncavallo's <i>I Pagliacci.</i> As Ms. Pope sang<i> "Qual fiamma...Stridono lassú",</i> we could feel the yearning for freedom of a young woman in unhappy marital "captivity", envying the birds overhead. This gave us optimism that the dramatic skills are there, just waiting to be coaxed out by a good director.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">We felt the same about Fiordiligi's aria <i>"Come scoglio"</i> from Mozart's <i>Cosi fan tutte.</i> We wish that portraying a young woman with intended characterological firmness might come a bit more easily to Ms. Pope than it did. Perhaps negotiating those huge leaps in the score took a great deal of concentration. Focus on the character may come later as she develops. Perhaps it was the sophisticated sequined gown that was partly at fault, fighting, as it were, with the image of a teenage girl.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">On the other hand, it did not distract from the half-mad desperation of Margherita from Boito's <i>Mefistofele</i> as she confusedly tries to deal with her guilt for poisoning her mother and drowning her baby. We haven't often heard <i>"L'altra notte in fondo al mare"</i> but we found it convincingly moving.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">The program closed with an excellent performance of movements I and II from Heitor Villa-Lobos' <i>Bachianas Brasileiras no.5.</i> We were impressed by the fact that Ms. Pope herself arranged the work for the cello, played by <b>Francois Gizycki, </b>and guitar, played by <b>Eduardo Gutteres</b>. In this work she achieved the heights of expressivity, especially in the <i>vocalise</i> part in which the cello emphasized the memorable theme whilst the guitar filled in the harmonies. Even more astounding was the humming part which left us amazed. Whilst Part I is often heard, Part II (Dança) is less commonly performed. The excitement made a fine contrast with the tender <i>vocalise.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">The first encore was a Maria Grever song <i>"Te quiero, dijiste" </i>which Grever wrote for a child she lost. It is a beautiful song with which we are quite familiar and we were happy to hear it once more. Following another encore, a song by Debussy, the audience wanted more. We got a repeat of the <i>Bachianas Brasilieras</i> and finally the audience was satisfied.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">For any more, we will have to wait for Ms. Pope's next recital. We will be eager to watch her growth as an artist.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;">© meche kroop</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Encode Sans Semi Expanded; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p></p>mechehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09752033708046142327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-252382865816191535.post-75977846112682503622024-01-07T07:34:00.002-05:002024-01-07T23:46:21.317-05:00WE'VE GOT A LITTLE LIST<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkVeLpUyYpzgH8wmKdpV9Nf2kKEfI2yghhfUEmuoalzevcXz06rGHY6x5ii7e54rKbVanGRnkH_wHvtypHX6yMl1MRS4NivF1UvCbpscz9SVo5OSNgYVFXZuZqrjG4dWNLQb-X7jv-4gfDXbHxvHEDJnRx5l7_wMvrNYOs7Y9bdpa8PHmGkW5H2ZcoepBf/s887/Screenshot%202024-01-07%20at%205.00.58%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="887" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkVeLpUyYpzgH8wmKdpV9Nf2kKEfI2yghhfUEmuoalzevcXz06rGHY6x5ii7e54rKbVanGRnkH_wHvtypHX6yMl1MRS4NivF1UvCbpscz9SVo5OSNgYVFXZuZqrjG4dWNLQb-X7jv-4gfDXbHxvHEDJnRx5l7_wMvrNYOs7Y9bdpa8PHmGkW5H2ZcoepBf/w640-h382/Screenshot%202024-01-07%20at%205.00.58%20AM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> The Gilbert and Sullivan Players presents THE MIKADO</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Dank was the night and gloomy were our spirits; but three minutes of Arthur Sullivan's tunes and our smile might have lit up the stage of The Kaye Playhouse. For three hours we were transported to the Japan of Victorian Era England. It hadn't been long since Japan had become open to the West and the English were fascinated by Japanese artifacts.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Indeed, in the clever prologue devised by <b>David Auxier-Loyola</b>, we get to see an imagined scene in the offices of the D'Oyly Carte Company in which <b>W.S. Gilbert </b>(played by Mr. Auxier himself) gets his idea for <i>The Mikado</i> from examining a selection of Japanese <i>objets d'art. </i>Gilbert and his composer partner <b>Arthur Sullivan</b> (played by <b>David Macaluso</b>) had just premiered a hit and were looking for inspiration for their next creation.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Perhaps Mr. Auxier was inspired by Mike Leigh's 1999 film <i>Topsy-Turvy</i> which we highly recommend to all lovers of Gilbert and Sullivan since their tempestuous but artistically rewarding partnership was given a most satisfying treatment.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Getting back to the music that so rapidly changed our mood, <b>Maestro Joseph Rubin </b>put his orchestra through their lively paces with conductorial glee. We have been humming the tunes all night and those ear-worms have sustained that smile we spoke of. There is a reason why certain works of art become classics; in the case of music theater, the public wants tunes and rhythm, married to an engaging story with lyrics that fit the music, just as "the punishment fits the crime".</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Although we despair of attempts by narcissistic directors to make their mark on the classics and thereby wind up destroying them (i.e. the current production of Bizet's <i>Carmen</i> at the Metropolitan Opera), we have no objection to the little touches employed in this production to bring the work into the 21st century. Do not worry, Dear Reader, Nanki-Poo does not carry a cell phone. We do believe it is customary for the director of this operetta to update The Mikado's hit number (which we call "I've Got a Little List") to include contemporary references to politics and social customs. We are not going to spoil it for you, Dear Reader; you will have to go and hear for yourself, be you lucky enough to get a ticket.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><b>David Wannen</b> made a fine, funny, and arrogant Mikado and his excellent performance was matched by the entire cast. We particularly enjoyed the Nanki-Poo of tenor <b>John Charles McLaughlin</b> who was more than commonly affecting in his creation of a young innocent Candide type youth. His "A Wand'ring Minstrel I" was sung with pure tone, lovely phrasing, and dramatic conviction.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">As his beloved Yum-Yum, <b>Rebecca L. Hargrove</b> delivered one of the best ever examples of female vanity in her major aria "The Sun Whose Rays are All Ablaze". She provided plenty of humor in her off-again on-again intention to wed our hero, dependent upon whether she would be buried alive, a situation handled with dry British humor.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The part of Koko, Lord High Executioner of Titipu, was portrayed by Mr. Macaluso with admirable physicality that garnered much laughter from the audience. His desperate courtship of Katisha could be considered a lesson in clowning. This made his tender aria "Willow, Tit-Willow" even more soulful by contrast.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The character of Pooh-Bah is a matchless vehicle for comic acting and <b>Matthew Wages </b>more than lived up to the challenge with physical humor to spare. Just look at the gestures he employs as he describes his multiple offices and his greedy eyes as he extracts bribes without compunction.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">None of these characters could be considered evil, just opportunistic. The character who comes closest to evil is the unpleasant Katisha (played by <b>Hannah Holmes</b>), the "Daughter-in-law Elect", but even she has a softer side. It was fun watching her melt to Koko's love song in contrast with her customary rage. This reminds us that miserable people are most often suffering from a lack of love. When she interrupts The Mikado's entrance with her insistent "daughter-in-law elect" we see the attention-seeking as an attempt to compensate for being rejected earlier by Nanki-Poo. She knows she is unattractive and therefore shows excessive pride in her shoulder and elbow. Her costume reminded us of that of Carabosse, the evil fairy in the ballet <i>Sleeping Beauty</i>.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Which reminds us to credit <b>Quinto Ott </b>for the colorful and apt Costume Design. The blend of Victorian fashion with Japanese elements is most successful. The female chorus is decked out in high Victorian style with bustles and exposed <i>crinolettes</i>. The male chorus ("We are Gentlemen of Japan") is dressed in typical Victorian gentlemen fashion with some Japanese decoration.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><b>Anshuman Bhatia</b> designed the simple but effective set with Koko's tailor shop stage right and the Titipu railway station stage left, lent verisimiltude by the sound effect of the approaching train, heralding the arrival of the "Three Little Maids from School" and later The Mikado and Katisha.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><b>Elizabeth Cernadas</b> had the role of Pitti-Sing and Peep-Bo was played by <b>Sarah Hutchison.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Mr. Auxier did a fine job directing and choreographing, and <b>Maestro Albert Bergeret</b> served as Music Director. Kudos to all!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans";"><span style="font-size: medium;">Since we always need some minor detail to grumble about, it would be some ineffective enunciation on the part of the chorus and some of the female performers. Surtitles would have been welcome since Gilbert's text is so very clever. It seems a shame to miss a word of it.</span></span></div><p></p><div><span style="font-family: "Open Sans";"><span style="font-size: medium;">© meche kroop</span></span></div><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p></p>mechehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09752033708046142327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-252382865816191535.post-48729404248465226662023-12-17T06:11:00.000-05:002023-12-17T06:11:11.492-05:00CHASING LIGHT AND FINDING ILLUMINATION<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz560cK89mu_oQCb88mo4arhSDER_bSWhJ07mCRuqwCPYqkOO61UNKiRUckHPRFA9VU-ftyYaSUxwy-5I6DINc4gZXearzf7qf9XStsA-WygNxc-K99teAjAvqsZRSV3XU1JlDLSfxymoZ_Ngiy9uiVTQ2f7noGm6yrAT5MefpeuemaX8PId6DzzK2QJY9/s4032/IMG_1944.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz560cK89mu_oQCb88mo4arhSDER_bSWhJ07mCRuqwCPYqkOO61UNKiRUckHPRFA9VU-ftyYaSUxwy-5I6DINc4gZXearzf7qf9XStsA-WygNxc-K99teAjAvqsZRSV3XU1JlDLSfxymoZ_Ngiy9uiVTQ2f7noGm6yrAT5MefpeuemaX8PId6DzzK2QJY9/w480-h640/IMG_1944.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlytHzYbCtwn7s4LQRtpTDsEjIWlCVbv2a8CIsb-ZWbyVrXUJ5-m47YaS0ztDBzaV6L2Kas11YkDnGhyHsX_q7cLKpEVe87Yi2ynxYpyagBdcmd9RRgwcYOcm8hsEYFJZgrlB0Fn4-X9RZszleb2sKAly3TgcLfEW_8N-7su4zoFqtvkOXfsOLArjuzj2T/s4032/IMG_1956.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlytHzYbCtwn7s4LQRtpTDsEjIWlCVbv2a8CIsb-ZWbyVrXUJ5-m47YaS0ztDBzaV6L2Kas11YkDnGhyHsX_q7cLKpEVe87Yi2ynxYpyagBdcmd9RRgwcYOcm8hsEYFJZgrlB0Fn4-X9RZszleb2sKAly3TgcLfEW_8N-7su4zoFqtvkOXfsOLArjuzj2T/w480-h640/IMG_1956.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">At the urging of one of our favorite directors (<b>Bea Goodwin</b>) we were persuaded to trek to a performance space in the East Village to listen to some new music--instrumental music, no less, called <i>Chasing the Light.</i> Our lack of enthusiasm turned to rapture within the first five minutes. To us "new music" (anything in the last 3/4 of a century) has meant sitting in a concert hall dimmed to the point of obscuring the boring composer's notes in the program, figuratively scratching our head, looking at our watch, impatient for the piece to end so we could get on to the Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, or Mahler that we came to hear. Little did we know that "new music" could take us to places buried in our unconscious or places never before imagined. For an hour and a half we were transported to inner space and outer space.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The closest we have ever come to such an experience was at events called "happenings" that we attended long long ago. But this event, immersive as it was, took at its starting point the music of <b>Whitney George </b>which she herself conducted. The work comprised 16 episodes (movements?) that had as a unifying theme the use of the interval of a 2nd with the two notes on the scale rubbing against each other and creating overtones that bounced around the performing space. There were brief motifs and partial scale passages but no melody to speak of.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Ms. George's composition was performed by six musicians--a pianist, a flutist, a clarinetist, a violinist, a cellist, and a percussionist. We doubt we have ever heard such interesting textures. Often, the combination of instruments led us to believe that there were more than six instruments involved. We've never heard that before.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">But this was not just a musical event. It was an immersive experience that went far beyond. "mixed media". Fortunately, there were none of those projections that annoy and distract us. Rather there were "light boxes", also vaguely recalled from long long ago, projecting biomorphic images on the walls.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The space was pitch black, which augmented the experience of focusing on the moment as well as, paradoxically, allowing the imagination to run wild. Each episode had its own "light show" , illuminating inner space and sometimes outer space. One was continually surrounded by an environment which enhanced the music.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Another element was that of dance, or body movement if one prefers that term. In one episode the dancer's silhouette was projected as shadows on the walls. The most striking episode was one in which the space was filled with fog and one could see the dancer, or part of her body, through the fog as it shifted around the space. She was accompanied by the violin. This evoked a long forgotten memory of being stranded at the top of the Matterhorn in Switzerland during a whiteout in which we waited for the briefest interludes in the fog to slowly pick our way down the mountain. Only later did we learn that the episode included the use of the scent of pine, which we might have perceived at an unconscious level. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Our words here are only a feeble attempt to describe something that was meant to be experienced. We can only say that we spent an hour and a half in an altered state and left filled with wonder. The chamber music collective which created this work is called <b>Curiosity Cabinet.</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: large;">© meche kroop</span></p>mechehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09752033708046142327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-252382865816191535.post-28702093355737397322023-12-12T07:58:00.002-05:002023-12-12T07:58:37.601-05:00THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdlWwT-DdflUlniuoU12tHqIysE2dC2gqLWoELBkUti4Ca57BekGZb4w2MYwe7TUSkrZy454r7V7ubo3RMUkiOEHN3IC7q0CMDaVAVf54hZzy9EtPFKt21UddlVFNx64jh8kecCeJ6H-GYPLeqsJDRUkmOvkGtRTJynJWm4HSuaF_qar8HgeTpE04X9AB4/s4032/IMG_1734.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdlWwT-DdflUlniuoU12tHqIysE2dC2gqLWoELBkUti4Ca57BekGZb4w2MYwe7TUSkrZy454r7V7ubo3RMUkiOEHN3IC7q0CMDaVAVf54hZzy9EtPFKt21UddlVFNx64jh8kecCeJ6H-GYPLeqsJDRUkmOvkGtRTJynJWm4HSuaF_qar8HgeTpE04X9AB4/w640-h480/IMG_1734.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Victoria Magnusson, Anna Maria Vacca, Scott Rubén La Marca, Huiying Chen, Tamara Teine-'Aulelei Bowden, Alexander Young, and Zhenpeng Zhang</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Mozart wrote <i>La Finta Giardiniera</i> when he was 18 years old! That it has survived for 250 years is a testament to its sparkling melodies, tumbling over each other whilst suffering from a case of<i> l'abbondanza.</i> Mozart ha been characterized as "classical", overcoming the excesses of the <i>Baroque</i> period and preceding the lavish embellishments of the <i>Bel Canto</i> period. Watching his youthful excursion into opera, one could be forgiven for debating that assertion.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The youthful voices of <b>The Manhattan School of Music Graduate Opera Theatre</b> did exemplary justice to Mozart's composition. The<i> libretto</i> (variously attributed) is silly but no sillier than many operas of the late 18th c. The tropes invariably involve mismatched lovers and disguises. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The kindly servant Roberto, under the assumed name of Nardo <b>(Zhenpeng Zhang</b>) is taken with the devious servant Serpetta <b>(Victoria Magnusson</b>) who is in love with her befuddled boss the Podesta (mayor) played by <b>Alexander Young</b>. He, in turn, is in love with the unhappy gardener Sandrine (<b>Huiying Chen</b>) who has entered his employ to escape from her former existence as The Marchioness Onesti. She is still in love with the fickle Count Belfiore (<b>Scott Rubén La Marca</b>) who stabbed her in a fit of jealous rage. The Count arrives at the home of The Podesta to marry the latter's demanding niece Arminda (<b>Samara Teine-'Aulelei Bowden</b>) who is rejecting her former lover, the loyal Cavalier Ramiro (<b>Anna Maria Vacca </b><i>in travesti)</i>. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Got all that? If you have a few moments to spare, you might enjoy reading our humorous take on these romantic entanglements in a review from several years ago. Here's the link. http://www.vocedimeche.reviews/2015/08/crazy-in-love.html</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Actually, we saw this charming work thrice in the space of two years and always enjoyed it.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Every member of the cast was outstanding both vocally and dramatically. If we were not otherwise engaged we would return to see it tomorrow with a different but equally excellent cast and again on Wednesday with the same cast! We had a smile on our face for two hours and are smiling again, recalling the joyful performance. We reckon that the cast enjoyed themselves equally.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The work was directed by<b> Jennifer Williams </b>who made the complicated relationships quite clear but did not have a solution for the weird scene in the forest which Eric Einhoirn wisely omitted in the On Site Opera production we also reviewed. In her defense, neither the Santa Fe Opera production nor The Juilliard Opera Center production made sense of it either.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">But it mattered little in the overall scheme of things because by whatever <i>deus ex machina</i>, all the couples get sorted out by the end. Reading the program notes on the way home confirmed our opinion that the so-called "Director's Notes" should be left out of the program. Either a work speaks for itself or it doesn't. As a matter of fact, it speaks to each of us differentially, dependent upon what we bring to it. Given a certain orientation one might even put a social class interpretation upon it, as we might on Mozart's <i>Nozze di Figaro.</i> We might see it as an expression of poor romantic judgment, or of forgiveness, or of emotional growth, or of acceptance of fate. Whatever!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans";"><span style="font-size: medium;">We find mating behavior fascinating--pursuit, rejection, betrayal, reconciliation--far more than stories about terrorism, politics, and inventions. We wish more contemporary composers would write about romance. Don't we all love to see our foibles onstage?</span></span></div><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans";">The work was conducted with liveliness and precision by </span><b style="font-family: "Open Sans";">Maestro Djordje Nesic</b><span style="font-family: "Open Sans";">, who also served as Vocal Coach. The responsive chamber orchestra of strings was augmented by a keyboard, played by </span><b style="font-family: "Open Sans";">Eric Sedgwick</b><span style="font-family: "Open Sans";">, leading us to mistakenly hear some sounds of wind instruments.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The set by <b>Matthew Leabo</b> was simple with some large mirrored panels behind which characters could hide and some very apt gardening implements, including a lawn mower, which established the setting. A tray full of psychedelically colored mushrooms may have been an attempt to establish the setting as a "rave" which Ms. Williams intended, as we read after the performance.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The costumes by <b>Asa Benally</b> helped to establish the characters identity. and were mostly white. Sandrine and Nardo wore coveralls, the Podesta wore a natty suit suitable to his station whilst Belfiore's white suit smacked of narcissism. The pants role of Ramiro was less ostentatious. Armida, as befitting her demanding personality, wore riding boots and wielded a riding crop.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We never did figure out Serpetta's manipulation of a device which projected meaningless abstract projections on a side wall. Oh well, we seem to be seeing projections everywhere these days and find them distracting.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The bottom line is--this is a "must see". You won't regret it! Let us hope there are still tickets to be had.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">© meche kroop</span></div><p></p>mechehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09752033708046142327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-252382865816191535.post-50127662654857150542023-12-11T01:22:00.001-05:002023-12-11T01:22:19.003-05:00PETER AND THE WOLF IN CENTRAL PARK<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_nuNJt_iTZjDCMPjVjeWNlC76PXis8FrICRQ6WlKrrkegvekPlkkpqhyphenhyphen2EK8ro73oOE5j-yK7R51t2Eo6PQnlq3RnrwGnp_C1RKm7LZyNcasAhHpUZ3wlg-IV4K14LX7pOTSWm2aM-BCK4YEvKa85WQ40IA43NPYlNyPWfqoKhMoAZXtwF-lzXEZ8dn5m/s713/Screenshot%202023-12-10%20at%2011.55.46%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="385" data-original-width="713" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_nuNJt_iTZjDCMPjVjeWNlC76PXis8FrICRQ6WlKrrkegvekPlkkpqhyphenhyphen2EK8ro73oOE5j-yK7R51t2Eo6PQnlq3RnrwGnp_C1RKm7LZyNcasAhHpUZ3wlg-IV4K14LX7pOTSWm2aM-BCK4YEvKa85WQ40IA43NPYlNyPWfqoKhMoAZXtwF-lzXEZ8dn5m/w640-h346/Screenshot%202023-12-10%20at%2011.55.46%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> the Cast of Peter and the Wolf</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p></p><div style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sergei Prokofiev's 1936 symphonic fairy tale <i>Peter and the Wolf</i> was our very own introduction to classical music and led to a lifelong appreciation. To this day we cannot hear a bassoon without thinking of Peter's grandfather. The iterations of the piece are multiple and we once spent an inordinate amount of time searching for a copy of a jazz/rock version on the Deutsche Grammophon label. We failed.</span></span></div><div><div style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But we always come to hear <b>Isaac Mizrahi</b>'s version at the Guggenheim museum, part of their <b>Works and Process</b> series. The multi-talented Mr. Mizrahi conceived and directed the show, performed the engaging and droll narration, and designed the apposite costumes for the performers.</span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">String players are placed stage right, percussion is stage left, and the wind instruments representing the various characters share the stage with some very fine dancers performing choreography by <b>John Heginbotham. Maestro Michael P. Atkinson</b> conducted the ensemble. The music is tuneful and accessible, not to mention enchanting.</span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The role of Peter was performed by <b>Kara Chan </b>wearing a propeller beanie. Peter's antics were represented by five string players (string quartet plus bass from </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Ensemble Connect).</span></span><b style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Paige Barnett Kulbeth</b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"> made a finely feathered bird, dancing on point with true avian disregard for gravity. Her flightiness was represented by the richly ornamented flute melody played by </span></span><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Anjali Shinde. </span></span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Marjorie Folkman</b> lurched around on large flipper feet as Sonya the Duck, represented by the mournful oboe of <b style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Joseph Jordan</b>, whilst <b>Zach Gonder</b> exhibited feline friskiness as the Cat, whose nimble motion was echoed by <b>Bixby Kennedy</b>'s clarinet. </span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There was plenty of humor in Grandfather's untimely appearance which was gently remonstrated by Mr. Mizrachi. The role was performed by <b>Norton Owen </b>whose elderly plodding was seconded by the bassoon of<b> Marty Tung.</b></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">But oh, that wolf! </span></span><b style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Daniel Pettrow</b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"> was sitting on a park bench, hiding in plain sight behind an open newspaper, waiting for his cue. Never has the French Horn (<b>Ryan Dresen</b>) sounded so menacing! This lupine creature was kind of adorable, even as he terrorized the bird and the cat. He managed to swallow the duck whole but never fear for the tender feelings of your rugrats. She somehow survives and the wolf is taken to the local zoo.</span></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Making an appearance toward the end is the Hunter, in this case, since we are in Central Park, a chubby and somewhat foolish park ranger, played by <b>Derrick Arthur, </b>supported by the booming percussion of<b> Brandon Ilaw. </b>Knitting the music together was the piano of <b>David </b></span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"><b>Bernat.</b></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Judging by the rapt attention of the children in the audience, this modernized version of a Russian folktale made sense. It is rather sanitized and avoids the unconscious significance of the dangers of the forest which </span></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Bruno Bettelheim described as being useful in the psychological development of children in his book </span></span><i><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Uses of E</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">nchantment.</span></i></div><div><i><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Nonetheless, it remains a fine means of introducing children to classical music. Unfortunately, we attended the final performance of this year but do keep it in mind for next December, as we are sure Works and Process at the Guggenheim will present it again.</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">© meche kroop</span></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></div>mechehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09752033708046142327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-252382865816191535.post-31036787537041356902023-12-09T06:43:00.002-05:002023-12-09T06:43:19.041-05:00THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL PASSION<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhv7Xhe_2IM6JRAL7x4fmEHDEzeDOZRiXI4ZpDR6fggtzFs_65tO5sytWv_PlgzwfmxGhP8-63wZ9kt6U-w-mYK2_WvIqIFLZn-xVFSXmvzL2zIl0li_-RhwXp5OAhwT9HptzpmpEuhGV3s51akj7YjDbNtpAFgRjtZcJ_yY4_YybDbturuH_TPdS2HxqX6" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhv7Xhe_2IM6JRAL7x4fmEHDEzeDOZRiXI4ZpDR6fggtzFs_65tO5sytWv_PlgzwfmxGhP8-63wZ9kt6U-w-mYK2_WvIqIFLZn-xVFSXmvzL2zIl0li_-RhwXp5OAhwT9HptzpmpEuhGV3s51akj7YjDbNtpAFgRjtZcJ_yY4_YybDbturuH_TPdS2HxqX6=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">Ekmeles Vocal Ensemble at The Crypt</p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We give <b>Andrew Ousley</b> a great deal of credit for creating unusual and compelling evenings in his series <b>Death of Classical</b>. We cannot, however, give him credit for the boiler breakdown at The Church of the Intercession as we sat shivering in The Crypt. We will say this. The atmosphere added to our sympathy for "The Little Match Girl", who freezes to death on the street on the last night of the year whilst having visions of warmth and food. According to the fairy tale recorded by the 19th c. Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen, after envisioning her dear departed grandmother, she joins her in heaven.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Composer <b>David Lang</b> was given the commission for this piece by the National Chamber Choir of Ireland and the work premiered in 2008. It was written for four voices, percussion, and chamber choir. The version we saw last night omitted the choir; the four voices we heard brought the text to vivid life and the accompanying percussion went a long way toward amplifying the mood.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Mr. Lang followed the model of Bach's St. Matthew's Passion with the Andersen text interrupted by outpourings of grief, guilt, remorse, repentance, and cries for mercy. Most of these interpolations seemed to be the voice of a mother who has wronged her daughter. We fantasized that perhaps it was the mother of the little girl sent out to sell matches on a cold wintry night. Personally, we would have been just as moved if the composer had simply set the fairy tale. But Mr. Lang had something more spiritual in mind and evidently wanted to draw a connection with the Bach piece.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The story is heartbreaking and reminded us to not take our warm home and nourishing food for granted when refugees and hostages alike are suffering in the Middle East. We think of the approaching cold weather and the poor soldiers in Ukraine fighting for their freedom, as well as the Russian soldiers conscripted unwillingly. Yes, we do feel sorrow for them also and we feel sorrow for their wives, mothers, and children. The world is a cruel place for many but Andersen seems to imply that one can be hopeful nonetheless, as the little girl did when she hallucinated warmth and food and love by the light of her matches.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Now, what about the music? Regular readers recall our distaste for contemporary music but let us mark this as an exception. This was our first time hearing the<b> Ekmeles Vocal Ensemble </b>and we found them to be artistic and effective.The music is tied together by a recurring motif comprising an interval of a fourth followed by just a note or two or three of an ascending scale passage. This motif not only ties the work together but amplifies the chill of the score. Rarely do we hear a work in which the vocal line so well matches the text. No, it isn't at all lyrical but it serves the work well.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">This motif is established and repeated by the alto part, strongly sung by <b>Amber Evans </b>who also made good use of the glockenspiel. The soprano part was sung by <b>Charlotte Mundy,</b> who also played the sleigh bells and scraped lightly on a disc called a break drum, which was new to us. Also new to us were the crotales, small tuned cymbals. Tenor <b>Tomás Cruz </b> took the tenor part and also played the glockenspiel and tubular bells. Bass <b>Steve Hrycelak</b> also played the bass drum. Each percussion instrument contributed a unique sound. The harmonies were interesting and appropriately chilling in effect, with great use of the dissonant second interval. Maestro <b>Jeffrey Gavett</b> succeeded in keeping everything balanced and The Crypt was filled with pungent overtones. The overall effect was hypnotic.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We have never heard anything boring or commonplace at <b>Death of Classical</b> and always eagerly await the announcement of the next adventure. Now we understand that these adventures will be expanding to other cities. We hope they find an audience as appreciative as the New York audience.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans";"><span style="font-size: medium;">© meche kroop </span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p>mechehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09752033708046142327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-252382865816191535.post-31481144023281637612023-12-07T08:57:00.000-05:002023-12-07T08:57:48.569-05:00LIGHTHOUSE. OPERA CHAMPAGNE GALA<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZNTGIfZyx-fX9Qzss2owbqV2z3G7MJpbRMZ5Rc9hTqSAdqG4nVM0dHpUI7E-y8U0DWhuPWamo89_bvuLyK65S89zcASPC5Paf0Dq0eG7AZFrWun2qximn6JeSbyT0f_8ZFNxRj7ju2r9nQ0EK7meA4_8ZnhXxdv29ZdXRnS0J1b-vWp8BrK4DscMvBzA4/s4032/IMG_1692.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZNTGIfZyx-fX9Qzss2owbqV2z3G7MJpbRMZ5Rc9hTqSAdqG4nVM0dHpUI7E-y8U0DWhuPWamo89_bvuLyK65S89zcASPC5Paf0Dq0eG7AZFrWun2qximn6JeSbyT0f_8ZFNxRj7ju2r9nQ0EK7meA4_8ZnhXxdv29ZdXRnS0J1b-vWp8BrK4DscMvBzA4/w640-h480/IMG_1692.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> Lighthouse Opera Singers in Act I scene from Verdi's La Traviata</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The Bronx is way out of our territory but the one time we went up there last year was to see one of our favorite artists perform the role of Violetta in Verdi's masterpiece<i> La Traviata</i>. How fitting that we got to see her in the ensemble that closed last night's gala--the party scene from Act I of the same opera. We also had the opportunity to hear other members from that same cast, but we will get to that later.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Our dearest pleasure in life is witnessing the growth of young singers. Lyric soprano <b>Shaina Martinez</b> is one of them. We have been writing about her since her time at Manhattan School of Music and watching her expand her repertoire. Last night we particularly enjoyed her performance of<i> "Ernani involami"</i> and are happy to see her expanding into new repertory as her voice grows in dimension. The aria was sung with both depth and breadth of tone and the fireworks of the <i>cabaletta</i> were finely executed, the ornamentation reminding us that Verdi composed on the heels of the <i>bel canto</i> composers we admire so greatly.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We also enjoyed a favorite aria from Bizet's <i>Carmen.</i> Alone and scared in the mountains near Seville, poor Micaëla "whistles in the dark", using her faith to bolster her courage in <i>"Je dis que rien ne m'épouvante"</i>. Ms. Martinez successfully conveyed that mixture of terror and resoluteness that we want to see in the character, and did so with grand and powerful singing, filling the hall with overtones and filling the text with meaning.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Her Alfredo from the production we saw last year in The Bronx was tenor <b>Michael Celentano</b>, another singer whose progress delights us. . He made a convincing Don Jose in the final scene from <i>Carmen</i>--as convincing vocally as he was dramatically. We preferred him in that role as he portrayed Don Jose's complex emotions than his portrayal of Walter von Stolzing from Wagner's <i>Die Meistersinger</i>. The<i> fach</i> of <i>heldentenor</i> may be more accessible somewhere down the road. If we noticed one thing that would top off Mr. Celentano's performance it would be some coaching in French and German.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">His Carmen was portrayed by mezzo-soprano <b>Ema Mitrevic </b>whose selections of the evening involved three seductive women. Her defiant Carmen in the death scene with Mr. Celentano was a real hit and more believable than the <i>"Seguidilla"</i> in which she tries to seduce Don Jose with some not very Spanish wiggling. We found her far more believable as Dalilah in <i>"Mon coeur s'oeuvre a ta voix"</i> from Saint-Saëns's <i>Samson et Delilah</i>, creating seductiveness by means of vocal color.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Ms. Mitrevic has stayed in my memory as the Flora in The Lighthouse Opera's<i> La Traviata, </i>and the fourth singer remembered from that production was tenor <i>Scott Rubén La Marca</i> who had portrayed Gaston. Last night he employed his sweet tenor to portray Ferrando in Mozart's <i>Cosi fan tutte</i>, singing "<i>Un aura amorosa"</i> with youthful romantic ardor.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Where he really shone was in a duet from the final act of Torroba's <i>zarzuela Luisa Fernanda</i> in which the heroine (beautifully sung by Ms. Martinez) tells his character Javier that she cannot marry him. (By a strange coincidence we just heard last night another duet from the same zarzuela!) Although the role of Luisa was written for the mezzo-soprano<i> fach</i>, it posed no challenge for the talented Ms. Martinez and the two singers worked quite well together.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The only other singer on the program that we had heard before was tenor <b>Omar Bowey.</b> Unfortunately, we had not had the chance to witness his vocal growth over the past decade and it was like hearing someone new. We cannot remember what he sounded like that long ago but last night we noticed an interesting <i>vibrato.</i> He injected a lot of dynamic variety into <i>"Dies Bildnis its bezaubernd schön"</i> from Mozart's<i> Die Zauberflöte</i>. However, we enjoyed his portrayal of the Duke in the quartet from Rigoletto even more.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We also got to hear some singers for the first time, which is always exciting. Bass-baritone <b>Charles D. Carter</b> has the resonant low notes and authoritative stage presence to make a fine Sarastro singing <i>"O Isis und Osiris"</i> from <i>Die Zauberflöte. </i>He also made an excellent Sparafucile from Verdi's <i>Rigoletto</i> showing characterological versatility--all the way from heroic to villainous. He offered his assassination skills to the hunchback Rigoletto, excellently realized by baritone <b>Robert McNichols, Jr.</b> who was a guest artist for the evening.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Also new to us was baritone <b>Phillip K. Bullock</b> whom we only got to hear once. His portrayal of the virile and self-satisfied Escamillo in <i>Carmen</i> was memorable, blending nonchalance and arrogance. It left us wanting more.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Finally, soprano <b>Lisa Eden</b> showed a facility for French in <i>"Depuis le jour"</i> from Charpentier's <i>Louise</i>. We thought this aria suited her voice better than <i>"Piangero la sorte mia"</i> from Händel's <i>Giulio Cesare</i>. Perhaps she just liked the character more.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">In the quartet from Rigoletto, Ms. Eden took the role of Gilda, Ms. Mitrovec took the role of Maddalena (another seductive woman!), Mr. Bowey performed the Duke, and Mr. McNichols, Jr. portrayed Rigoletto. The voices balanced perfectly.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">As seen in the photo above, the evening concluded with the party scene from Verdi's <i>La Traviata</i> leaving the audience humming.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">© meche kroop</span></div><p></p>mechehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09752033708046142327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-252382865816191535.post-11383201780591372922023-12-06T07:23:00.000-05:002023-12-06T07:23:16.116-05:00GRACIAS A LA VIDA<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuEMkPqKoi1Mch8J8Vh5xLy0SY7OCaCG4QQGhhVAUHrRxae63DXbMSdx6D4Q5eGXKurmtkBT2v3wI8RnBsRtCz44SsKm2e4w1RB-TDllkVQmbyesZunyZqYngqo2U9WrUzcAiGS_Vu7lGXL6-OrozYBbfB-hv6b-82Ws0a5qVduFaY3S69UOAq77DDkZ6-/s4032/IMG_1620.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuEMkPqKoi1Mch8J8Vh5xLy0SY7OCaCG4QQGhhVAUHrRxae63DXbMSdx6D4Q5eGXKurmtkBT2v3wI8RnBsRtCz44SsKm2e4w1RB-TDllkVQmbyesZunyZqYngqo2U9WrUzcAiGS_Vu7lGXL6-OrozYBbfB-hv6b-82Ws0a5qVduFaY3S69UOAq77DDkZ6-/w480-h640/IMG_1620.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> César Andrés Parreño, Steven Blier, and Shelén Hughes</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The only song on the <b>New York Festival of Song</b>'s satisfying program last night that was familiar to us was Chilean composer Violeta Parra's <i>"Gracias a la Vida"</i>. We never knew that it was a farewell to life, written before her lamentable suicide. We must admit that this wonderful piece of music that always had filled us with joy filled us with sadness upon learning of its origins. Nonetheless, we felt<i> "gracias a la musica"</i>, which we always feel after having spent an evening with <b>Steven Blier </b>and his well chosen artists and carefully curated program.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">There is definitely a degree of magic in these evenings and we are not alone in feeling that. In a city in which there is such strenuous competition for an audience, Mr. Blier's concerts always fill the house, the house being the gracious Merkin Hall at the Kaufman Music Center. We come to be introduced to new songs (not newly composed, but newly "discovered" by Mr. Blier); we come to hear the cream of the crop of young singers chosen by Mr. Blier; we come for Mr. Blier's charming anecdotes and fascinating tidbits about the composers.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Last night offered the additional benefit of focusing on Latin American music, music which is dear to our heart. Standing against the academic leanings of the early and mid 20th c., Latin American composers appear to have stood their ground in writing music with lyrical vocal lines and underlying rhythm that is so prevalent in the Southern Hemisphere. Folk music has been given a European classical treatment, elevating music of the people into an art form for the ages. If texts that rhymed and scanned were not found they were written by the composers themselves. There is no boring prose to weigh down the music.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">The program comprised songs from Argentina which went way beyond the tango, a song from Ecuador, from whence hails the compelling tenor<b> César Andrés Parreño</b>, a song from Bolivia, the native country of the adorable soprano<b> Shelén Hughes</b>, and more songs from Venezuela, Chile, Brazil, and Peru. It was a veritable <i>banqueteado!</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Ms. Hughes and Mr. Parreño are both in the Artist Diploma Vocal Studies Program at Juilliard but we have been enjoying their performances from earlier in their careers and have a secret sense of satisfaction from knowing that we spotted their gifts early on. Both of them share a common facility for expressiveness that makes each song come alive. Gestures are broad and illustrative whilst facial expressions reveal exactly what the composer/libretticist intended. It is more than acting. It is a form of channeling that we always appreciate. It is a quality one must admire in some popular singers, even when one doesn't care for their music.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">We wondered what it must be like for Ms. Hughes to have shared the <i>cuenca</i> of her <i>compatrioto</i> Willy Claure who wrote the charming courtship song <i>"Cantarina". </i>We almost fell out of our chair when the brilliant bass-baritone Joseph Parrish, about whose recital we just wrote, joined her onstage for the dance! Guitar accompaniment was provided by the renowned Oren Fader.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Similarly, for Mr. Parreño to have shared<i> "Despedida"</i>, the sad <i>pasillo</i> of his <i>compatrioto</i> Gerardo Guevara must have been a special experience.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">There were so many other delights on the program that we scarcely know where to begin. It is no secret that we favor duets and the opening duet by Guastavino <i>"Las puertas de la mañana"</i> was particularly lovely as was the lyrical <i>"Anhelo"</i>. The closing duet <i>"Odeon" </i>by Brazilian Ernesto Nazareth offered the pair an opportunity for storytelling, painting a picture of some old time movie going. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Rivaling Gilbert and Sullivan's patter songs was <i>"El </i></span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: large;"><i>Currucha" </i>by Venezuelan Juan Bautista </span><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Plaza. It seemed more of a challenge for our ears to grasp than it was for Mr. Parreño to sing. We admired how he made it look so easy.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Ms. Hughes shone brightly in two Brazilian songs. Heitor Villa-Lobos' <i>"Evocaçao" </i>composed in a minor mode and given a soulful and intense performance. Ernesto Nazareth's <i>"Você nao me da!"</i> offered her an opportunity to show her charming personality.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">Of course there had to be an encore. which was yet more charming, a flirtatious duet from the zarzuela <i>Luisa Fernanda --"Caballero del alto plumero"</i>. What more could a lover of Lain American music wish for!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: medium;">© meche kroop</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"> </span></div><p></p>mechehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09752033708046142327noreply@blogger.com0