ZEMLINSKYS ZIMMER

Michael Boley, Mary-Hollis Hundley, and Eric McKeever

(photo by Philip Schneidman)

There seems to be a number of options available to opera goers in New York City. We have selections from the canon given lavish productions by the Metropolitan Opera and beloved standards given bare bones productions by an ever diminishing number of scrappy companies like Amore Opera. There is a slow stream of contemporary works with polemic subjects and non-musical music that no one ever cares to revisit as well as exciting productions of newly discovered works from the 18th and 19th century (by Lafayette Opera and Teatro Nuovo respectively). There are the daring companies like Heartbeat Opera that put original spins on the classics, and finally companies that bring to light some rather odd pieces that merit a hearing.

Of course we are speaking of Little Opera Theater of New York, known as LOTNY, which has just brought a rarity to light at The Fisher Center of The Brooklyn Academy of Music. We were pleased to attend opening night of Zemlinskys Zimmer and found much to enjoy--some fine singing in well-enunciated German, an excellent chamber orchestra that gave an admirable reading of Roland Freisitzer's reduction of the Zemlinsky score, and some gorgeous colorful projections by Kylee Loera.

The cultural scene of fin de siècle Vienna was responsible for a number of innovations in the visual and performing arts as well as some socio-sexual experimentation.  One has only to think of the wild adventures of Alma Schindler who threw aside composer/conductor Alexander Zemlinsky for composer/conductor Gustav Mahler, whom she also threw aside for a succession of lovers. One might speculate that Zemlinsky's choice of Oscar Wilde's unfinished play A Florentine Tragedy  (translated into German by Max Meyerfeld) as a subject for the opera we saw last night was based on his experience with the faithless Alma.

The story involves a woman named Bianca (how ironic!) who entertains a nobleman named Prinz Guido Bardi right under the nose of her merchant husband Simone. As directed by Philip Schneidman, the lustful lovers exercise minimal restraint in hiding their feeling. Simone (baritone Eric McKeever) plays a cat-and-mouse game with the Prince (tenor Michael Boley) and Bianca (soprano Mary-Hollis Hundley) who appear to ignore the warning signs of the rage behind Simone's obsequious behavior. The evening ends in a duel and a strangling of the Prince, after which Bianca fawns over her previously despised and disparaged husband. One imagines that Zemlinsky might have wished to strangle Mahler! One wonders whether Mahler and Alma were present at a performance.  Now that would have made a fine opera!

The three cast members are to be complimented on their fine singing as well as their not-so-subtle acting. The adulterous story was prefaced by the lovely Ms. Hundley reclining on a chaise longue, apparently awakening from a dream and singing Zemlinsky's luscious setting of Richard Dehmel's "Maiblumen blühten überall" against that afore-mentioned projected background reminiscent of visual arts of that period. 

This was followed by Mr. Boley  performing "Liebe Schwalbe" from Walzer Gasänge Op. 6,  a setting of text by Ferdinand Gregorovius. It seemed a marvelous opportunity to get acquainted with works by a composer who was quite famous in his time but whose light diminished when he fled the Nazis and wound up in New York.

Costumes by Lara Bruijn were a propos, as were the garments Simone brought out for the Prince to wear. Only one element stood out in a jarring way and that was the black corset worn by Bianca. We thought it should have been white like the other undergarments.

Now what about the score!  Stage left held most of the musicians; strings were joined by sufficient winds to provide color, including flute, clarinets, oboe, horns, trumpet, and trombone. On stage right, thrillingly right under our nose, were a celeste, a piano, and some exciting percussionists. Concertmaster was Stani Dimitrova and Maestro Tiffany Chang brought it all together, filling the space (comprising blessedly raked seating) with thrilling sound.

We will also mention that the titles by Dalia Sevilla were not the ordinary barely legible afterthoughts but made a part of the projections which also did a fine job of establishing time and place.

© meche kroop

 

BASS' NEW HOME

Miori Sugiyama, Tami Petty, Michael Brofman, Kristina Bachrach, Laura Strickling, Dominic Armstrong, and Tobias Greenhalgh

The Brooklyn Art Song Society is a unique treasure on the New York City musical scene. We have trekked to the farthest reaches of Brooklyn to hear their roster of splendid singers and to immerse ourselves in their innovative programming.  We are pleased to report that BASS, has begun their seventh season in a new and permanent home--the Brooklyn Historical Society. We are even more pleased to report that the location is a grace note away from several subway stops and marvelously close to Manhattan.

This season's ambitious undertaking has a theme--Wien: Fin de Siècle-- and comprises an exploration of that period of musical maximalism we call Late Romanticism.  Our eyes love Klimt.  Our ears love Mahler. The nine songs by Alexander Zemlinsky that we heard last night filled our heart with joy to the point of bursting.

The opening event of the season was a benefit recital and the large space was packed. What a pleasure to see the results of Founder, Artistic Director and Collaborative Pianist Michael Brofman's consistently excellent programming.  Preceding the recital was a lecture by NYU Professor of History Larry Wolff on the political and cultural environment in Vienna during this epoch.

The aforementioned Zemlinsky songs were shared by soprano Kristina Bachrach and baritone Tobias Greenhalgh. Ms. Bachrach sings with a melting tone and a fine vibrato. She seemed to immerse herself in each song and drew the audience toward her.  The songs are brief vignettes, mostly about love, with "Hütet euch!" bearing a shift from the lighthearted arrival of love to the warning about love's equally precipitous departure. The change in coloration was admirable.

Mr. Greenhalgh has recently returned from the Wiener Kammeroper; although we had no complaints about his fine German diction before, we noticed a crispness that might have had us taking him for a native speaker. We particularly enjoyed the baritonal resonance of his instrument when he struck a lulling tone in "Schlaf nur ein!" The change of color from the anxious tone of the insomniac to the lulling reassurance at the end of each verse was quite lovely. We also loved the ardent romanticism of "Unter blühenden Bäumen".

It was no fault of Mr. Greenhalgh that we could not relate to the lengthy and less accessible piece "An den Mond" by Hans Pfitzner. The text by Goethe is filled with troubled emotions; the vocal line is less melodic; the harmonies are more ambiguous. Mr. Brofman's piano captured the anxiety.

The second half of the program comprised almost as much Strauss as we wanted to hear.  The great thing about Strauss is that he is like champagne for the ear.  One can imbibe to excess but one can never get enough! Miori Sugiyama took over for this set as collaborative pianist.

Soprano Laura Strickling has a warm stage presence and great ability to form a connection with the audience. Her German diction is a thing of beauty.  Perhaps the charming "Ständchen" was our favorite in this set; the melody always accompanies us on our way home. We enjoyed her in storytelling mode when she gave a convincing performance of "Die Nacht", another melodic gem. Strauss is a perfect fit for her brilliant tone.

She also sang Joseph Marx' "Selige Nacht".  Every time we hear a Marx song we wonder why his songs appear so rarely in lieder recitals. Ms. Strickling captured the romantic mood and used superb dynamic control from the pianissimo beginning to the thrilling climax. Marx' "Nocturne" gave Ms. Sugiyama an opportunity to show off some dazzling runs on the keys.

Tenor Dominic Armstrong used a gently caressing and tender tone for Strauss' "Heimliche Aufforderung" but became quite ardent at the end, pushing his tone a bit. We noticed this also in "Zueignung" when we wished he would float the top notes instead. One can be passionate at less volume!

We were quite taken, however, by his performance of "Allerseelen", another favorite of ours. On this one day of the year, the poet (Hermann von Gilm zu Rosenegg) can reunite with the spirit of his loved one and Mr. Armstrong appeared to be seeing her spirit and, consequently, so did we.  It was a powerful effect and an interpretation we will long recall.

The final set on the program was the perfect conclusion. Soprano Tami Petty, first brought to our attention as a Joy of Singing winner, has a voice that is made for Strauss. She performed his autumnal Vier letzte Lieder and held the audience spellbound. Three of the texts are by Herman Hesse. 

The songs are said to be autobiographical, the summing up of the composer's life. "September" contains several melismatic passages that Ms. Petty made the most of, while "Beim schlafengehen" brought out all of Ms. Sugiyama's expressiveness.

The two artists worked well together and the final piece "Im Abendrot" (text by von Eichendorff) was filled with ethereal ambiguity. The end of the recital?  The end of Strauss' career? The end of his life?

We heard five superb singers paying tribute to four fine composers. We eagerly await the next installment of Wien: Fin de Siècle on November 4th.  "Wien II" will tackle the music of Hanns Eisler's Hollywood period. It will be a wonderful opportunity to hear another side of Ms. Bachrach's artistry and to reconnect with tenor Nils Neubert--yet another favorite singer of ours.

(c) meche kroop

JUILLIARD VOCAL ARTS HONORS RECITAL

William Kelley, Juliana Han, Eric Jurenas, and Theo Hoffman

We confess to greediness where pleasure is concerned. Last night's Vocal Arts Honors Recital at Juilliard could easily have gone on for another hour.  It left us wanting more--not in any way unsatisfied, just wanting more goodies from the four gifted artists who graced the stage at Alice Tully Hall.

The two singers were nominated by their voice teachers for a competitive audition and then selected by distinguished judges.  Each chose his own program and that lent a degree of excitement to the evening--learning a bit about how they experience their own particular talent.  The two pianists were chosen from the Collaborative Piano Department.

The first half of the evening was performed by counter-tenor Eric Jurenas accompanied by the lovely Juliana Han. If you read our review of Anthony Roth Costanzo last week, you may recall how fond we are of this special fach.  If you are a regular reader, you may recall that we do not prefer singing in English. We are now back-pedalling since Mr. Jurenas' superb English diction and Henry Purcell's lavish melodies ensured that this was our favorite part of his offerings.

Mr. Jurenas has a finely focused instrument that is brilliant in the upper register and manages to bring an amazing roundness of tone in the lower register.  Although no one knows what the castrati sounded like, we were imagining that was the sound. We are glad, however, that Mr. Jurenas was never called upon to make the necessary sacrifice.  Hard work is sacrifice enough!

The Purcell songs were the perfect choice for his instrument and he brought the text to life with dramatic expressiveness, dynamic variety and thoughtful word coloring.  "Music for a While" from Oedipus has rarely fallen on our ears with such delight.  In "Sweeter than Roses" from Pausanias, we loved the melismatic singing on the word "victorious"; what Mr. Jurenas did with the word "freeze" made us shiver!

He showed some fine French style in Ravel's Épigrammes de Clément Marot which gave Ms. Han an opportunity to shine.  He evinced equal skill with German in a selection of songs by Alexander Zemlinsky and Gustav Mahler. We have always enjoyed "Lob des hohen Verstandes" from Des Knaben Wunderhorn--a metaphor for ignorant audience members (the donkey) who can't tell good music (the nightingale) from bad (the cuckoo).  Of course that doesn't apply to New York audiences! Mr. Jurenas sang it with great style and humor.

Another text from Des Knaben Wunderhorn--"Das irdische Leben" was given all the tragic interpretation Mahler wrote into it, a real heartbreaker. No one can do tragedy like Mahler!

The second half of the program belonged to baritone Theo Hoffman and collaborative pianist William Kelley. Mr. Hoffman has impressed us since his very beginnings at Juilliard and he just keeps getting better. His many awards and multiple castings indicate that we are not alone in being impressed.

He sang three Tchaikovsky songs that were wildly romantic. We do not speak Russian but they sounded very authentic to our ears.  More importantly,  the words came across as if they tasted delicious in his mouth. His dynamic range is huge; he began at barely a whisper and opened up to an astonishing crescendo of passion.

The concluding song of the set, "Whether day dawns", gave Mr. Kelley a chance to tear into the passionate postlude.  The set of songs were so powerful and so dramatically sung that the next set of songs by Carlos Guastavino allowed the temperature in the hall to cool slightly while still upholding artistic intensity.

Guastavino composed in the early 20th c. when poetry still scanned and rhymed.  The vocal lines are lovely and Mr. Hoffman's Spanish was perfect, according to our native Spanish speaking companion. In "Ya me voy a retirar" the pain of the poet's loss is converted into beauty.

Our favorite of the set was "La rosa y el sauce", a plaintive song that ended in a dazzling vocalise.

Mr. Hoffman's program ended with the New York premiere of Three Tennyson Songs by Jonathan Dove, a contemporary composer who manages to write melodically. Perhaps choosing a "good" poet like Alfred Lord Tennyson brings out the best in a composer. Mr. Kelley had a great time with the prelude to "O Swallow, Swallow" and played some interesting octaves in "Dark House" while Mr. Hoffman employed vivid word coloring.

We longed for some encores but there were none.  We comfort ourselves knowing that there will be many more opportunities to hear these artists in the future. They have been winning prizes hand over fist and are already much in demand.

(c) meche kroop

MAN OF THE (50 minute) HOUR

Janai Brugger, John Brancy, Steven Blier and Michael Barrett

Our dear Steven Blier seems never to run out of original ideas for recitals for New York Festival of Song, of which he is the Artistic Director.  Last night's recital was entitled "Art Song on the Couch: Lieder in Freud's Vienna" and Mr. Blier introduced the program from the piano by describing Gustav Mahler's four-hour session walking with psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud.  He waggishly pointed out that it seemed to have helped and left Mahler transformed for the better.

We in the audience had but two hours to be transformed for the better.  Reading the program notes describing the circumstances in Victorian Vienna up to the 1930's gave an excellent background for appreciation of the music.  A society pretending to be respectable and controlled was seething with rebellion underneath, just as a person with a conservative exterior may be hiding some pretty wild secrets.

New ground was being broken in all fields and so it was with music.  We no longer hear the strophic melodies and reassuring harmonies of Schubert, Schumann and Brahms. Instead we are hearing experiments in rhythm, strange harmonies, and a searching quality in the melodies.

Bringing this challenging music to vivid life were two superb artists--one well known to us for several years since Juilliard days--baritone John Brancy-- and the other a dazzling soprano new to NYFOS--Janai Brugger.  It's thrilling to witness the meteoric rise of someone we have long appreciated and it's thrilling to hear someone as a recitalist whom we have previously heard only on the opera stage (as Liu in Puccini's Turandot at the Metropolitan Opera).

The evening opened and closed with Mahler.  The first set of songs comprised Herr Mahler's "Erinnerung" and his wife Alma Mahler's "Laue Sommernacht".  The first made use of Mr. Brancy's baritone and Ms. Brugger's soprano in alternating stanzas exploring the relationship between song and love.  The final couplet was sung as a duet and we found the entire song quite lovely.  

But Frau Mahler's "Laue Sommernacht" was even lovelier with it's intense yet intimate feel.  She was taught by Alexander Zemlinsky and Herr Mahler was disapproving of her composing--perhaps because of societal restrictions or perhaps out of envy.  Who knows?

After many wonderful songs by Hugo Wolf, Erich Korngold, Arnold Schoenberg, Alexander Zemlinsky and Richard Strauss, we were treated to an encore of a 20th c. Tom Lehrer song "Alma" which satirizes Frau Mahler's succession of famous husbands. We will spare you the lengthy list of lovers.  What a gal!

The songs were nearly all new to us with the exception of two cabaret type songs which we had heard at the Austrian Cultural Forum.  Hugo Wolf's "Erstes Liebeslied eines Mädchens" was sung by Ms. Brugger who communicated all the naughty suggestiveness of the lyrics.  She did the same for Schoenberg's "Der genügsamer Liebhaber", a song one would expect to have been sung by a man.

But Mr. Blier is fond of gender-free casting and put Zemlinsky's "Das bucklichte Männlein" into the mouth of Mr. Brancy who picked up the humor ball and ran with it all the way to the goal post.  (Forgive us our sports metaphor.)  Mr. Brancy is usually a contained stage presence, using vocal colors to convey the drama so this was novel and fun seeing him let loose.  Here, although the lyrics are funny, the piano line conveys substantial anxiety.

Ms. Brugger's finest moments were in "Frühlingsfeier" when she cried out for Adonis and in "Drei Ophelia-Lieder" both by Strauss.  Her dramatic instincts are as fine as her beautiful instrument.

We also enjoyed Mr. Brancy's amusing delivery of Korngold's unpublished early song "Die Geniale".  Short but sweet.

The two fine singers joined voices for the final work on the program "Arie aus dem Spiegel von Arcadien".  Apparently we were in a particular mood for humor last night. We had trouble imagining the super-serious Schoenberg setting the light-hearted words of the long-dead Emanuel Schikaneder.  But he did and we enjoyed it.

We measure the success of this type of recital by how many hours of reading they inspire.  We have been reading about the denizens of turn-of-the-20th c. Vienna for hours.  What a fascinating junction of time and place--zeit und stelle.

ⓒ meche kroop