A DIFFERENT "MOSTLY MOZART"

Charles Gray, Jennifer Zamorano, Allegra Durante, Hannah Madeleine Goodman, and David Serero

Opera fanatics might have gotten their knickers in a twist at last night's production of Mozart's Nozze di Figaro but everyone else, ourself included, had a grand time. Gone were the lengthy intermissions, missing were a few characters, and lengthy recitativi were replaced by English dialogue that advanced the action. We are happy to report that most of the major arias were retained, giving us the opportunity to appreciate some fine singing.

This adaptation was written and directed by baritone David Serero, a larger-than-life character with a larger-than-life personality. Mr. Serero himself took on the part of Figaro and played to the (nonexistent) balcony. If we had been at the Met, his voice would have reached the Family Circle and his acting would have successfully limned his character to the audience thereof.

Mr. Serero likes to put his own spin on things and the dialogue he wrote was peppered with Yiddish expressions. A mysterious figure appeared from the wings at one point, accompanied by a theme from the film The Godfather. This presence represented the sneaky Don Basilio; a photo of this character (actually Mr. Serero with a mobster accent and mafioso costume) can be seen in the carousel of photos on our Facebook page (called Voce di Meche). At another point, Charles Gray's Count Almaviva appeared dressed as Darth Vader, accompanied by appropriate music. That's one way to threaten a wife!

At another point Mr. Serero interpolated the "Figaro Aria" from Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia. Forget the "fourth wall". Mr. Serero does everything he can to engage the audience and they all adore him; they even sang along at his bidding. A Tom and Jerry cartoon of this aria was projected and reminded us of our very earliest exposure to opera.

If this sounds like your cup of borscht, we urge you to go and have a good time. Make sure you bring an opera "noobie". The one we invited had a swell time.  Not only will you have a great time but you will hear some fine voices.

As the sprightly Susanna, we heard Hannah Madeleine Goodman who was completely convincing as the practical problem-solver, a fine match for her Figaro. She deftly illustrated quite different responses to her beloved fiancé and toward the importuning Count. In what would have been Act IV, her "Deh vieni, non tardar" was beautifully rendered and quite moving, by virtue of some exquisite dynamics.

As the neglected Countess Almaviva, Jennifer Zamorano made her entrance in sunglasses and shopping bags. It was easy to accept her as a woman of dignity, reduced to seeking help from her servant Susanna.  She shone in both arias--"Porgi amor" and "Dove sono", eliciting compassion in the midst of all that hilarity. Her instrument has a lovely vibrato and opens up beautifully in the upper register.

Equally convincing was the Cherubino of Allegra Durante who did justice to both of her arias "Non so piu" and "Voi che sapete". The scene in which the Countess and Susanna dress Cherubino up as a girl wound up on the cutting room floor, along with Marcellina, Dr. Bartolo, and Barbarina. It seems to us to be quite a challenge to retain the thread of the story whilst eliminating all the subplots--but it worked just fine.

As Almaviva, Charles Gray also evinced a different relationship with Susanna and with his wife. He sported a cockeyed white perriwig and satin coat. It was interesting that the male characters were in period dress whilst the female characters were in contemporary attire. Notes to the Count were handled by text with appropriate sound effects, bringing this costume drama right into the 21st c. and adding to the general merriment.

There was no set to speak of but projections sufficed to establish the setting.

The piano score was well played by composer Felix Jarrar who switched readily from Mozart to cinematic score.

Once more, Mr. Serero has done his part in bringing opera to new audiences with his creative slant. This production was held in the comfortable theater of the Center for Jewish History and was presented by The American Sephardi Federation which generously supports these works. He shared with the audience information about Lorenzo Da Ponte, who was Jewish. He related how Da Ponte brought opera to New York City--a tale which was well told by Divaria Productions which we reviewed in May of 2018; it can be read at this link if you are interested. http://www.vocedimeche.reviews/2018/05/don-giovanni-in-new-york.html

There will be a couple additional performances and we hope you will take advantage of the opportunity for some hearty laughter.

We are looking forward to the production of Anne, a musical about Anne Frank which will take place in September.

(c) meche kroop

HAVING A BALL

Chorus of Amore Opera's Un Ballo in Maschera 

Not that it has much to do with Verdi's 1859 masterpiece, but the life of the 18th c. King Gustav III of Sweden is fascinating. Not too many people know that he was an enlightened ruler who championed the arts in Sweden and also made his nation the first to recognize The United States. Whether he was a member of the LGBTQ community (as was rumored) is however of no interested to us.

French writer Eugène Scribe wrote a libretto about him in 1833 for an opera by Daniel Auber; it was called Gustave III; 10 years later Saverio Mercadante wrote another entitled Il Reggente. Giuseppe Verdi used Antonio Somma as his librettist to tell the tale and Somma, as was customary in those days, adapted Scribe's libretto. As one might expect, liberties were taken to make the historical account more stage worthy and to provide a romantic interest.

Verdi's opera had a difficult birth. The topic of regicide was considered too fraught and the censors rejected it. After a lengthy legal battle, the story was transported across the Atlantic Ocean to Boston with Gustav replaced by the Governor of Boston called Riccardo. The names of all the characters were changed as well.

In last night's gripping performance by Amore Opera, the work took place in Sweden with the names of the characters retained from the "Boston" version. The performance was completely satisfying for a devotée such ourself, and also compelling for the "noobie" we brought with us. Anytime we win a convert to opera we feel like celebrating. Several rows of the jam packed Riverside Theater were occupied by high school students who seemed similarly captivated.

What made the performance so special can be attributed to Nathan Hull's finely detailed direction and a a triumph of casting. Verdi asks a lot of his singers and these artists rose to the occasion, giving 100%.

As the conflicted King we heard fast-rising tenor José Heredia whose thrilling artistry revealed both vocally and dramatically the dilemma he faced. Here is a ruler who is light-heartedly basking in the adoration of most of his subjects and in denial about the threat posed by some unhappy ones. He is lusting for the wife of his loyal secretary, here called Renato. From his first aria "La rivedrà nell'estasi" we were captivated. The barcarolle he sang whilst pretending to be a fisherman "Di' tu se fedele" truly rocked our boat.

The object of his passion is here called Amelia and the intensity of Aida Carducci's performance matched that of Mr. Heredia. Her lengthy scene at the gallows gave her the opportunity to color her generous voice from terror all the way to a confession of love in response to the King's pleading. Still, it was in the scene in which her husband vents his rage and threatens her life that we witnessed the full range of her vocal power. We were quite moved when she begged to have a last embrace from her child in "Morrò, ma prima in grazia".

The King's secretary and best friend (here called Renato) was performed by the always excellent baritone Robert Garner, who seems to be getting better and better. His rage at his faithless wife was chilling. We were impressed by the change in voice and body when his affection for the King changed to the vengefulness of a betrayed husband.

As the page Oscar, soprano Allegra Durante played an important role throughout and we noticed her fine acting right from the first scene. Her voice was just right for the part and her teasing "Saper vorreste" was in the spirit of French opéra comique, providing just the right setup for the tragedy to follow.

Furthermore we were wowed by Sarah Knott's performance as the witch Ulrica. The mood in that scene was abetted by Lighting Designer Duane Pagano's lighting artistry playing upon Richard Cerullo's set design, not to mention Verdi's sinister music. Her "Re dell'abisso, affrettati" was powerful enough to summon any demon and the final "Silencio" took her to the bottom of her range without difficulty and made us shudder.

The two co-conspirators Samuel and Tom were played by bass Nicholas Hay and baritone Charles Gray with the appropriate degree of nastiness and the sailor who asked Ulrica to tell his fortune was played by baritone Muir Ingliss.

The always excellent chorus was directed by Susan Morton. The orchestra was conducted by Maestro Douglas Martin and we particularly enjoyed the English Horn which accompanied Ms. Carducci's scene at the gallows. The harp made welcome additions to the aural tapestry from time to time--especially during the duet at the gallows; it seduced our ears just as the King seduces Amelia into confessing her love. The percussion was stirring and effective.

There were so many moments of aural bliss too numerous to mention but one stood out; it was the trio at the end of Scene 2 in which the overtones of each voice built on the others and filled the theater with magic.

We love Verdi and we don't get enough of him. It is difficult to find voices hefty enough to sail through the orchestra and also beautiful; we are glad that Mr. Hull was able to find them. 

There will be two more performances--one tonight and another Sunday afternoon. If you too love Verdi, get yourself up to Riverside Theater!

(c) meche kroop

AMORE OPERA CELEBRATES

NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY (Act II) of DIE FLEDERMAUS

Holiday time generally offers two types of music--the religious and the secular.  The religious music is generally serious, like Handel's Messiah. the secular music is particularly frivolous, like "Jingle Bells" (of which we hope to hear no more). But if one is really fortunate, one gets to celebrate the holiday with a big dose of fun--thanks to Amore Opera's effervescent production of Johann Strauss II's  Die Fledermaus, which premiered in 1874 at the Theater an der Wien.

The libretto, by Karl Haffner and Richard Genee, was based on a French vaudeville play by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halevy--a very funny story about one Gabriel Eisenstein who becomes the butt of an elaborate prank instigated by his friend Falke whom he had embarrassed some time earlier with a far simpler prank that would not have satisfied for an evening's entertainment.

In Act I, we are introduced to the characters. Frau Eisenstein, a loving wife, is pestered by pleas from her saucy maid Adele who has received a letter, ostensibly from her sister, inviting her to a fabulous New Year's ball. Two splendid sopranos sang these roles to perfection with effective acting, involving us in their stories from the very beginning. Iris Karlin was totally believable as the much put-upon woman of the house who has heard every excuse in the book from Adele.

Adele was given a perfect portrayal by Haley Marie Vick--a properly over-the-top performance as she cajoled and wheedled and complained of a sick aunt. What persuades Frau Eisenstein to give her the night off?  Well, Alfredo, an Italian tenor from her past, broadly interpreted by Riad Ymeri, comes to pay court. He is in fine voice and tosses off the first few lines of every famous tenor aria. Not only does Mr. Ymeri have a fine ringing tenor, but delightful comedic skills. The loyal wife runs him off.

Herr Eisenstein (mellow baritone Matthew Ciufitelli) receives an invitation to the same ball from his friend Falke; although he is due at the local jail to serve a brief sentence,  he is lured to postpone serving the sentence by the promise of meeting beautiful women at the ball. He is told to assume a faux French identity. 

Alfredo returns and Frau E.'s resistance weakens. When the prison warden Frank (the fine baritone Jay Gould) shows up to cart Herr E. off to jail, he mistakes Alfredo for the prospective prisoner. To spare her reputation he goes along, but not without pressing his advantage and securing several farewell kisses!

Falke lets Frau E. know that her husband will be at the ball and tells her to come and observe, to wear a mask and pretend to be a Hungarian Countess. Company President and Director Nathan Hull made a fine Falke.

Act II is a show-stopper. Prince Orlofsky, a bored Russian aristocrat, has agreed to host the ball to watch the "entertainment" --watching Herr E. posing as a Marquis running into his chambermaid wearing his wife's gown and posing as an actress! Their confrontation gives Ms. Vick an opportunity to deliver the sparkling aria "My dear Marquis".  Even more entertaining is watching Herr E. courting his own wife who is masquerading as a Hungarian Countess.  This gives Ms. Karlin an opportunity to deliver a stunning czardas. She is equally believable in both roles.

And mezzo-soprano Hayden DeWitt, who specializes in trouser roles, gets a chance to deliver the famous "Chac'un a son gout" with great style.  As if this were not sufficiently entertaining, soprano Michelle Pretto was a guest artist who sang "Meine Lippen Sie kussen so heiss" and sang it wonderfully well. (The aria comes from Franz Lehar's Giuditta which wasn't premiered until 1934, but is so beautiful that we may overlook that anachronism.)

What we could not overlook was an interpolated "ballet" that was so badly choreographed and performed that we will decline to mention the guilty parties. It was supposed to be Russian ballet and was neither Russian nor ballet. They have spoiled "The Blue Danube" for us! 

Adele's sister Sally was performed by Sarah Daniels. It was quite a moment when Sally is shocked to see Adele, who learns that Sally did not invite her to Prince Orlofsky's ball.

Eisenstein's blundering lawyer Dr. Blind was portrayed by Jeffrey Kurnit.

Confusion and mistaken identities are all resolved in Act III and everything ends happily. In a non-singing role we had the beloved David Seatter enacting the bibulous jailer Frosch who rivals Frank in his intoxication. There were jokes aplenty and some of them topical. We will not spoil them for you because we hope you will experience this effervescent production for yourselves. It is playing at the Theatre at St. Jean's through January 1st with a special evening on New Year's Eve in which you may hear the same excellent cast that we heard.

The orchestra was conducted by Maestro Douglas Martin. The gorgeous period costumes were designed by Ghislaine Sabiti. The simple sets by Richard Cerullo served the production well and were lit by Lauren Bremen.  

Most impressive was Mr. Hull's direction. Every bit of stage business was motivated and made dramatic sense. Nothing interfered with the sense of fun.

We personally would have preferred to have heard the work in German. The translation was quite good and there were sufficient rhymes to satisfy the ear.  BUT, it is funnier in German and the German language is easier to comprehend. The quality of the articulation was variable and we missed a lot of the funnier lines which lay in the upper register. The chorus sounded even muddier.

Let it be known that the very busy Amore Opera is also presenting Hansel and Gretel in English for a few more matinee performances. It is worth knowing that the Theatre at St. Jean's has superb sight lines and your children will not be crawling onto your laps.

(c) meche kroop