OUT OF THE CONCERT HALL AND INTO THE PARK

Sung Shin and Sara Jayne Blackmore in Washington Square Park

Opera Under the Arch of Washington Square Park is Sung Shin's baby; it's a year old and thriving. One would expect the Artistic Director to snag the best parts for himself but baritone Shin took a back seat and left us wanting to hear more of his marvelous baritone. He did appear in some duets which we will get to anon.

What a treat to be outdoors in lovely June weather listening to world class singers. It is difficult to say who enjoyed it more, the ever-growing crowd of listeners or the singers themselves. We were in seventh heaven and the "noobie" we brought has become a convert to opera because of the winning performances and the delightfully casual atmosphere of the event. We are not sure if we were the first to write about this event last year, but we won't be the last. The media has been quick to pick up the novelty of the experience, especially the part about singers standing on top of the piano!

Some of the singers are advanced students and others are starring in operas both in the USA and abroad. A special treat was hearing bass Hidenori Inoue tear into "Mentre goniersi l'anima parea" from Verdi's Attila. In this aria, Attila relates a discouraging dream he had about turning back and giving up. Mr. Inoue grabbed this aria by the throat and delivered a powerful performance. It is said that the bass is a late-maturing fach but this youthful artist truly showed a vocal maturity that would serve any bass role.

Also on hand was soprano Yvette Keong who sang Stephen Foster's "Beautiful Dreamer" with such tonal brilliance that we heard it afresh. We have always associated it with mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne so this was an entirely new experience. This versatile young artist, as beautiful vocally as she is in appearance, was particularly convincing in "Quando m'en vo", Musetta's show stopper in Puccini's La Bohème. A gal has to be really gorgeous to get away with that one and she is!  More surprising was her lush delivery of Rachmaninoff's "Spring Waters" in excellent Russian.

A soprano of a totally different kind, Alaysha Fox shows great promise in the dramatic soprano fach. We recall her excellent Lady Macbeth and her stunning performance of Donna Elvira's aria "Or sai chi l'onore" from Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Finals. What a treat to hear her reprise that success up close and personal. Just as compelling was her performance of "Ernani involami" from Verdi's opera of the same name. We expect a lot of Ms. Fox!

Soprano Alexis Rose Seminario opened the evening with a beautiful delivery of "Depuis le jour" from Charpentier's seldom heard opera Louise and was joined by Mr. Sung for the charming duet from Reynaldo Hahn's operetta Ciboulette -- "Nous avons fait un beau voyage". The chemistry and the harmony worked well and the French was completely understandable; it was romantic and endearing as operetta should be.

Mr. Sung seemed to be ever ready to join his wonderful baritone with other artists. We do love duets and heard two of them from Donizetti's delightful comedy Don Pasquale.  He made a fine Dr. Malatesta with Sarah Jayne Blackmore as his Norina in "Pronto io son". We always love this duet as the wily doctor coaches the widow Norina in how to present herself as his convent bred sister.

Continuing as Dr. Malatesta, Mr. Shin conspired with John Brakatselos as a very funny Don Pasquale. The two baritones have very different qualities but both excelled at the rapidfire patter. Mr. Brakatselos has a deep baritone that seemed just right for Macbeth's lugubrious "Pietà, rispetto, amore". Showing his versatility, he performed "Italian Street Song" by our dearly beloved Victor Herbert, reminding us of our many delightful evenings with Victor Herbert Renaissance Project Live!

Soprano Nicoletta Julia Berry gave a touching performance of Gilda's falling-in- love aria "Caro Nome" from Verdi's Rigoletto, evincing a killer trill, a delicate diminuendo, and a perfect portamento--all the things we want in a coloratura aria.

Soprano Shelén Hughes sang a Bernstein song we'd never heard before from Wonderful Town--"A Little Bit in Love". The song starts out with humming and moves on to the almost speechless wonder of falling in love; we think we fell a little bit in love with Ms. Hughes! She also gave a charming performance of "Il bel sogno di Doretta" from Puccini's La Rondine.

Soprano Ripley Lucas-Tagliani invested "Frère! Voyez!" from Massenet's Werther with Sophie's enthusiastic innocence and lovely tonal quality. We noticed the same qualities in her "O mio babbino caro" from Puccini's Gianni Schicchi.

Saving our terrific tenor for last, Emmet Cahill almost moved us to tears with "Una furtiva lagrima" from Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore, sung when Nemorina realizes that Adina must really love him.  And we love him too! He also delighted us as the love-besotted Tony in "Maria" from Bernstein's West Side Story and the heartfelt audience-pleasing "Danny Boy".

What an evening!  A banquet of song, catered by master chef Sung Shin who surely has earned his first name. Accompanying all this marvelous singing on the piano was Eric Sedgwick, whose artistry we have long admired and written about, and Curtis Serafin who is new to us.

What an effective way to win a new audience for opera. There were all ages in attendance and the children were as spellbound as their parents. Opera is for everyone, not just the elite!  Spread the word folks!

(c) meche kroop

METROPOLITAN OPERA NATIONAL COUNCIL FINALS

MONC Finalists onstage at the Metropolitan Opera

It was a wild rollercoaster ride yesterday at The Metropolitan Opera when nine young singers competed in the MONC finals. Host Anthony Roth Costanzo, who won in 2009, made an excellent and witty host; he explained to the crowd of opera fans how the National Council is run by volunteers and about how rigorous the selection process is, narrowing down applicants in several stages.We were happy to hear that the competition is extending to include Mexico! There are so many fine voices coming from our southern neighbor!

We love so many things about this competition except for one issue which we will mention later. If you want to know which of the nine singers "won", you won't get that from us. For us, they are all winners.

We love that each singer gets two chances to show different aspects of their artistry. We love the fact that they get generous coaching. Each singer used the stage with "presence" and effectively conveyed the emotions of the character they were portraying. Everyone was linguistically adept. Although all are in their twenties, they are already singing around the world, winning competitions, and participating in young artist development programs. So, winning this competition is another feather in the cap and perhaps a step up on the path to stardom.

Here, we will issue a disclaimer. We confess to being partial to singers we "grew up with", those whom we have been reviewing for a few years. This means students from Juilliard and Manhattan School of Music; both schools were well represented as well they should be.

We are also more involved when a singer's repertory is consistent with our taste in opera, which favors the 19th c.  That being said, we make every effort to overcome our biases.  So here goes!

Knocking it out of the box was tenor Miles Mykkanen whose very unusual artistry has always delighted us at Juilliard and with New York Festival of Song. Mr. Mykkanen has sung some very unusual arias and duets that show off his unique personality. Yesterday his presentation was on the conservative side but the artistry survived intact. His "Kuda, kuda" from Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin plumbed the depths of Lensky's soul and left us with tears rolling down our face. He used the consonants well to project his gorgeous tone up and out. His Russian was impeccable.

We also loved his "Je crois entendre encore" from Bizet's Les Pécheurs du Perles which was delivered with long Gallic line and perfect French. The dynamics he chose were highly effective as was the vibrato. There was a decrescendo that spun out to a fine thread and high notes that floated up to the balcony and hung in the air. We scarcely breathed!

The bass fach was never one of our favorites, except for James Morris. That is until we heard William Guanbo Su at Manhattan School of Music.  Mr. Su is now at Juilliard and did credit to both institutions. The bass voice is considered to be a late maturing fach; we do expect there is a Wotan in his future. 

Yesterday he sang the rapid fire "Sorge infausta una procella" from Händel's Orlando and demonstrated plenty of flexibility in the embellishments, in spite of the substantial weight of his voice. Fortunately, his second selection "Vi ravviso" from La Sonnambula showed off his facility with Bellini's long legato lines which were beautifully phrased. We enjoyed hearing both sides of his artistry.

Meghan Kasanders, also known from many recitals at Juilliard, has a sizable soprano and "Dich, teure Halle" from Wagner's Tannhäuser revealed her Wagnerian promise with an heroic quality that never compromised the tender aspect. Her top notes soared and thrilled the ear.

We don't recall hearing her Russian before but she sounded superb in an aria from Tchaikovsky's Pique Dame which she brought to an expressive climax.

Tenor Dashuai Chen, also from Juilliard, is less well known to us but we found the sweetness of his instrument to be immensely appealing. In "Fra poco a me ricovero...Tu che a Dio spiegasti l'ali" from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, he established his character in the recitativo and never let up. The performance was exquisitely modulated to evoke our sympathy.

In "Salut! demeure chaste et pure" from Gounod's Faust, his French flowed like miel and the delivery emphasized the character's motivation to seduce, rather than a tenor's grandstanding. We loved every minute!

Tenor Piotr Buszewski also has roots in Juilliard. His first selection was "Seul sur la terre" from Donizetti's Dom Sebastien, an aria with which we are not familiar. We loved the sweetness of his tone until he pushed on a few high notes. We enjoyed the way his voice played against the harp.

We preferred his second selection which was in Polish. We never heard Moniuszko's opera The Haunted Manor but we were inspired to learn about the opera; all we could find is that it is a romantic and patriotic comedy written in the 1860's, much loved in Poland but rarely produced outside of Poland. We would love to get one of our local opera companies to mount a production. (But where would they find all those Polish singers?) The melody was gorgeous, the orchestration colorful, the harmonies inventive, and Mr. Buszewski's delivery was stirring, even though we had no idea what it was about. Sometimes we just love the beauty of sound. 

Alaysha Fox is a soprano of great promise with a sizable instrument and fine dramatic instincts. We recently heard her at a salon which we enjoyed a great deal but admit to being unprepared for her artistry in a huge house like the Met. She was a highly persuasive Donna Anna in "Or sai chi l'onore" from Mozart's Don Giovanni.

Her second selection was "Ich ging zu ihm" from Korngold's Das Wunder der Heliane, another aria with which are unfamiliar. The overtones were bouncing around the Met in great profusion. It made us want to hear this opera.

Soprano Elena Villalón was the youngest singer of the group but already quite accomplished. She made a lovely Giulietta in "Oh! quante volte" from Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi. She and the harp made some lovely music, the harp with its arpeggi and Ms. Villalón with a lovely legato line. The coloratura was splendid and the embellishments in the final section very well handled.

We were even more impressed by Sophie's aria "Ich bin Euer Liebchen sehr verbunden" from Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier. Her voice literally sparkled and the top soared to the stratosphere.

Mezzo-soprano Michaela Wolz performed "Addio addio, o miei sospiri" from Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice with some thrilling melismatic singing. So much for Gluck's rebellion against ornamentation!

She delighted the audience with Stefano's aria "Que fais-tu blanche tourterelle?" from Gounod's Roméo et Juliette in which she pranced around the stage wielding an imaginary sword and created a very believable character. We have one quibble. If a female singer performs a breeches role wearing a man's suit, she shouldn't have to do it in pumps with heels!

Thomas Glass utilized a fine lyric baritone in the aria "Captain Ahab? I must speak with you". Although he made every word clear, he couldn't make us want to see this Jake Heggie opera Moby Dick. We cannot get a good idea of a singer's voice in English.

Fortunately, he turned to French for his second selection, the oft heard aria sung by Valentin in Gounod's Faust--"Avant de quitter ces lieux" which succeeded in giving us a better picture of his vocal assets. He created a long lyrical line even when the orchestra depicts a military march. He colored his voice differently for each section, which we appreciated.

Whilst the judges met to do their thing, bass-baritone Christian Van Horn, a winner from 2003 who is having a successful career at The Met, entertained us with "Ella giammai m'amo" from Verdi's Don Carlo. It was technically fine but failed to limn King Philip II's character, neither the evil filicidal side nor the pathetic whimper of an old man.

Maestro Carlo Rizzi's handling of the always wonderful Metropolitan Opera Orchestra was always brilliant. Whatever he asked for, they delivered.

And then...the "winners" were announced and this is the part where we tell you what we do not like about this competition. Five "winners" are announced and the other four are left hanging out to dry. If there were three winners chosen out of the nine it would not be so egregious. Just sayin'!

(c) meche kroop

HERstory by CITY LYRIC OPERA

Kanae Matsumoto, Cristina Maria Castro, and Kathleen Spencer

We have come to count on City Lyric Opera to sate our voracious artistic appetite. Co-founders and Artistic Directors Kathleen Spencer and Megan Gillis have managed to create a viable artist-centered company that not only serves the artists and entertains the audience but also provides some very appealing opportunities for supporters and donors. What a thrill it can be to sponsor a singer or the orchestra, the venue or the artistic staff. Here, one can truly feel a part of the production. Opera is expensive but these two lovely ladies appear to have a great business sense and have attracted a loyal following in just three years. Viva les femmes!

Last night's salon evening was held in a glamorous apartment overlooking Lincoln Center and was generously hosted by a charming couple newly making their home in the Big Apple. A crowd of beautiful people gathered to make new friends, partake of a particularly generous buffet accompanied by fine wines, and--most importantly--to welcome several young singers who gave their all to the music.

Regular readers will recall how disdainful we are of contemporary American song that utilizes boring text and cannot seem to come up with a pleasing melody. We were delighted to have our prejudice exploded, at least for one contemporary American composer by the name of Lori Laitman who was present at the salon and received all the accolades that her work merits.

With scintillating soprano Cristina Maria Castro taking the soprano part and the vivacious Ms. Spencer herself taking the mezzo-soprano part, we thoroughly enjoyed "I am in need of music" with text by Elizabeth Bishop from the poem "Sonnet" written in 1929. The text flowed and so did the music. The two voices intertwined in gorgeous overlapping phrases; we were enthralled.

We wish we could say the same about the two Sheila Silver songs which were settings of text by Edna St. Vincent Millay from "Beauty intolerable". We thought that soprano Rachael Braunstein gave them a lovely performance but that the poems did not seem to need music and the music they were given was rather jazzy and overwhelmed the vocal line.

On the other hand, Heinrich Heine's "Die Lorelei" seemed made to be sung and apparently, several composers agreed with me including the underrated Clara Schumann. Soprano Alaysha Fox, a young lady full of personality and warmth, gave an impressive performance of this story-telling song. Ms. Fox is a Metropolitan Opera National Council finalist and we simply cannot wait to hear her on March 31st.

We also enjoyed her performance of Amy Beach's "Ah, love, but a day" with text by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. The piano writing is quite lovely and never overshadowed the vocal line, although we think it would be difficult for anything to overshadow Ms. Fox! She invested this lovely song with varying vocal colors and brought it to a powerful climax.

Ms. Castro was particularly elegant with her French in three songs by Lili Boulanger who died tragically at the age of 24. (Lili was the younger sister of the famous composer and teacher Nadia Boulanger.) Not only did Ms. Castro honor the long Gallic vocal line but exhibited beautiful overtones. The three songs, as she explained, addressed three stages of romance, reminding us a bit of the three different moods of Debussy's Songs of Bilitis with their three different colors.

The superb soprano Maria Brea performed two songs from Ms. Laitman's Five Lovers, settings of autobiographical poems by Jäma Jandroković. The text referred to various lovers the poet enjoyed after her divorce.  Judging by the text, she did enjoy them! "On meeting again" was delicate and wistful, whereas "Lovely in his bones" was lively and enjoyed a feeling akin to Jobim's "The girl from Ipanema".

Ms. Brea's generous soprano brought the evening to a brilliant close with Maria Grever's romantic "Te quiero, dijiste", the words of which will make any woman weak in the knees. The song was delivered with full-throated passion but ended on an exquisitely floated final note.

It was a perfect way to end a female-centric program. Among the female singers, composers, and poets, only Heinrich Heine stood out as the lone male. But his poem was about a woman so we will admit him to the sisterhood!

(c) meche kroop

MSM MAKES MAGIC WITH MOZART

Jana McIntyre, Christopher S. Lilley, and Lisa Barone

Paull-Anthony Keightley

There was a great deal of fun to be had at Manhattan School of Music last night when Mozart's opera Die Zauberflöte (actually a singspiel) was presented with an excellent cast, featuring star-making turns by bass-baritone Paull-Anthony Keightley as Papageno, one of Planet Opera's most endearing characters, and soprano Jana McIntyre as Queen of the Night.  We have seen Mr. Keightley's Papageno before at New York Opera Exchange and it would be fair to say that he owns the role. As adept at comic timing as he is talented at singing, his shtick kept the audience in stitches.

Ms. McIntyre is new to us but we definitely want to hear more of this compelling coloratura whose vocal fireworks were marked by accuracy and artistry. The rapid-fire embellishments came across without any slurring; every note was well articulated.

As Prince Tamino, tenor Christopher S. Lilley sang with a plush tone and enviable legato; he never pushed for his top notes. His romantic partner, Princess Pamina, was given a fine portrayal by Addie Hamilton who has a lovely sweet soprano; she articulated the embellishments nicely.

As Sarastro, bass Shi Li presented a solid tone with depth of coloring. We only wished that the lines he spoke in English were as clear as the German that he sang. As The Speaker, bass Scott Russell left nothing to be desired.

We always love the Three Ladies as they argue over who gets to stay behind and watch over the unconscious Prince. Last night, sopranos Alaysha Fox and Kelsey Fredriksen and mezzo Lisa Barone were superb and their trio was exceptional.

We were also quite taken with the Three Spirits, here portrayed by EphiGenia Kastanas, Crystal Glenn and Hannah Dishman as three giggly prep school boys. Their trio is marked by gorgeous harmonies.

As the evil head servant Monostatos, K'idar Miller captured both the malice and the humor.  His face-off with Papagena was hilarious.

Soprano Carina DiGianfilippo made a perky Papagena without making as much out of the role as one would hope. Her speaking voice when she approaches Papageno pretending to be an old lady was nothing if not irritating and sounded more like a screech owl than an old woman.

The chorus was exemplary and much credit goes to Chorus Master Miriam Charney.  We'd also like to give props to Diction Coach Marianne Barrett. When we don't need to read the titles we know whom to credit!

The production was an adventure in and of itself and required explanation by Director Jay Lesenger in the program. It was helpful to learn in the pre-performance lecture that the audiences of 1791 did not expect their "magical operas" to make sense.--helpful because we have been trying to make sense of this opera since the first time we saw it.  So, the fact that Mr. Lesenger's production did not make much sense did not interfere with our enjoyment.

We appreciated the additional English dialogue however. We were also tickled by the notion that Pamina and Papageno were half-siblings. Moreover, that the Queen of the Night was enraged because her late husband turned his power over to Sarastro, which fueled her wish for revenge.  And we always thought she was a good woman trying to protect her daughter!

There were directorial choices that, while fun, seemed to make even less sense than other productions. The production team went for a 1960's look with a touch of sci-fi thrown in.  The monster slain by the Three Ladies was a robot. The priests in the temple were wearing identical suits and ties, sitting around a table in a board room, leaving us to wonder how corporate America could be a symbol for Reason, Nature and Wisdom!

Within the parameters of the setting, the costumes by B. G. Fitzgerald were apt with special compliments for the black and silver creation for the Queen of the Night. The simple set by Steven Capone and Ron Kadri comprised an eye-catching 7-pointed gold star and large discs in gold and silver which were raised and lowered to symbolize the ascendancy of lightness (wisdom) over darkness.

George Manahan did his customary excellent work leading the MSM Orchestra. Mozart's profusion of melodies is notable for limning each character. He wrote this work as a favor for his friend the impressario and singer Emanuel Schikaneder who wrote the libretto and played the role of Papageno. We have no way of knowing how he played it but we'll happily settle for Mr. Keightley.

Should you wish to share the joy, the same cast will perform the Sunday matinée and on Friday night a different cast will take over. We were fortunate enough to hear a few members of that cast perform during the pre-performance lecture and found tenor Oliver Sewell to be a fine Tamino; soprano Eunmi Park did a splendid job of revealing the Queen of the Night's subtle changes of intention.

And if you can't snag a ticket we urge you to watch Ingmar Bergman's magical film of Die Zauberflöte, filmed in 1975.

(c) meche kroop

A MACBETH OF ANOTHER COLOR

The brilliant cast of Ernest Bloch's Macbeth at Manhattan School of Music

The opening scene of the opera presented the three witches on a windswept heath in Scotland.  The eerie music gives aural representation to the visual image of three very scary creatures cavorting on a battlefield of fallen soldiers--plucking out eyes, cutting off hands and drinking blood.  World class director Dona D. Vaughn has made sure that we get the message right from the start.  Wars are born and bred in hell and only hellish creatures reap the "benefits".

The witches were fantastically costumed by Daniel James Cole with Hair and Makeup Designer Anne Ford-Coates' contributions; branches sprouted from their heads and the herky-jerky movements of their fingers became twiglike.  The three singers portraying the witches gave evidence of intense instruction in movement as well as voice; they were soprano Anna Dugan, mezzo Minyoung Kim, and mezzo Michelle Siemens.  Their fine work established the mood for a riveting evening of musical drama.

Ernest Bloch's Macbeth premiered in Paris at the Opéra-Comique in 1910 with a libretto by Edmond Fleg, who adapted it from the Shakespeare play.  It hews fairly closely to the original play with liberties taken for musical and dramatic purposes. Comparisons with Verdi's opera are unnecessary.  This is a very different work and stands on its own as an underappreciated masterpiece.  Thankfully, it was sung in the original French--for the first time in the USA. The phrasing and inflection of the language and music were admirably consonant; we would not wish to hear this opera in English!

There are no longueurs here; the work moved along at a rapid pace sustained by the propulsive music which seems to serve the psychology of the characters.  By turns mysterious, alarming, seductive, cacophonous, or introspective it gave us insight into the thoughts and perceptions of the characters.  Fortunately, the French conductor Laurent Pillot was on hand to guide the fine players of the Manhattan School of Music Orchestra.  The winds were particularly on point.  The textures and harmonies of Bloch's music are compelling.  At times we heard echoes of Debussy; at other times we thought of Richard Strauss. The interludes between scenes were astonishingly beautiful.

The singing was superb all around with French diction so accurate that we were actually able to understand the words.  In the titular role we were impressed by baritone Robert Mellon whose full-throated voice sailed over the orchestra.  He portrayed the conflicted Thane with subtle nuance and scored high in believability. His hallucinatory aria when he sees the dagger was masterful.

As he triumphed over his remorse and shame, Lady Macbeth, originally psychopathic in her lack of guilt, took on the mantle of remorse. Soprano Alaysha Fox sang the role well and was convincing both in her seductiveness in Act I and her aria in Act III ("Out out damned spot").

As King Duncan, tenor Elliott Paige (well remembered from his starring role in Orlando Paladino last year) was as effective in a serious role as he was in a comedic one.  We loved the way his character's benevolence and goodwill were reflected in the orchestral accompaniment.  Sadly, he got killed off in Act I!

As his son Malcolm, the fine tenor Carlton Moe was crowned at the end with great rejoicing from the excellent chorus.  Kudos to Miriam Charney Chorus Master!

Macduff, leader of the opposition, was sung by the excellent baritone Xiaomeng Zhang who lived up to the promise made by his earlier appearances.  As his poor wife, soprano Alexis Aimé made a fine appearance with mezzo Kendra Broom convincing as her cocky son.  It was heartrending to witness their senseless murder.

All other roles were well sung, including James Ludlam as Banquo, Xiaoming Tian as a herald, and Joshua Arky as an old man.  Most of the singers were graduate level students working on their Masters of Music but Mr. Mellon is a graduate and now a guest artist.

It is no small feat to get everything working together and last night was a perfect example of musicianship and stagecraft joining forces to produce a work that kept us riveted for a few hours.  If the Metropolitan Opera could put together a production like this in which the intentions of the composer and librettist were so honored, we might still be a subscriber.

There is a matinee performance on Sunday.  A word to the wise....

© meche kroop