MUSIC AND WINE

The Verona Quartet: Jonathan Ong, Abigail Rojansky, Jonathan Dormand, and Dorothy Ro

Imagine being in a glamorous penthouse in Tribeca.  Imagine being surrounded by a bunch of the "beautiful people" of New York City. Imagine being entertained in this private salon by a world class string quartet. Imagine a charming sommelier introducing you to some interesting beverages including champagne, hard cider, and stout. Imagine nibbling on interesting cheeses.  (No pepper jack or generic Swiss here!)

If you were a member of Mise-en-Scène Studios, affectionately called MESS, you might have shared this stellar experience with us. This was just one of three exciting experiences this week created by MESS founders Lachlan Glen and Ben Bliss.  Just in case you don't know them, Mr. Bliss is the Metropolitan Opera's new star tenor and Mr. Glen travels the world as solo pianist, conductor, and collaborative pianist.

MESS programs allow for lots of socializing between sets of music and sommelier Andrew Stenson (who also happens to be a terrific tenor) curated the wines to match the musical program.

Guests were treated to several movements of Beethoven's final String Quartet Op. 135, of which we preferred the slow movement.  As a matter of fact, we would have preferred to hear the work in toto and in its proper order but no one else seemed to mind its balkanization.

The Beethoven was interspersed with movements of Jánaček's "Intimate Letters" Quartet which was informed by the composer's unfulfilled longing for a young married woman. We heard some of this work this week at other MESS events but, in this venue, it was easier to concentrate on just how engaging is the artistry of the Verona Quartet.

Each member seemed totally involved with the music. Moreover they have engaging personalities and each one shared a bit about themselves as well as information about their respective instruments--some new and some centuries old.

They also played a work they commissioned from contemporary composer Julia Adolphe. I appreciated their description of the composer's intent but regular readers will recall how strongly I believe a work should speak for itself. Whatever the message of "Star Crossed Signals" was, we unfortunately failed to get it. Not a criticism.  Just our taste.

Speaking of taste, we loved Mr. Stenson's taste in beverages and admire the way he tried to pair them with the music.

We absolutely cannot wait for the next MESS event on December 11th in Williamsburg. We never miss the annual "Goyishe Christmas", devised by the beloved Steven Blier of New York Festival of Song, and comprising Christmas music written by Jewish composers.  Don't miss it!

(c) meche kroop

A CLOSE SHAVE, A NOT-SO-ILL WIND, AND SOME GLITTERY GAIETY

The highly gifted cast of MESS:IES event

Two back-to-back events at Brooklyn's Paper Box, featuring the same cast, revealed to us just how talented and versatile is every member of the Mise-en-Scène Ensemble. Having seen each singer in a variety of roles and different languages in such temporal proximity gave us a new appreciation, quite different from hearing them weeks or months apart. 

Furthermore, being exposed to brief scenes from operas we never enjoyed (like Berg's Wozzeck)--up close and personal--allowed us to experience more dramatic impact than we ever experienced from a distance.

Last night's opener involved tenor Andrew Stenson as the arrogant, callous, and narrow minded Herr Hauptmann getting a very close shave from military barber Wozzeck, portrayed intensely and convincingly by baritone Will Liverman. Berg's difficult atonal music only served to highlight the painful position Wozzeck occupied in his world.

Another riveting scene from Wozzeck involved soprano Jacquelyn Stucker as Marie, putting up with the taunts of mezzo-soprano Renée Rapier as her neighbor Margret.

The famous and famously wonderful Verona Quartet gave a luminous account of the Adagio from Janáček's String Quartet #2.  Although this is nothing like the composer's more accessible music for Vixen Sharp-ears, our ears picked up snippets of folk tunes that were most agreeable.

A particularly powerful scene from Massenet's Werther was enacted by Ms. Rapier as the conflicted Charlotte and tenor Ian Castro as the eponymous Werther. Charlotte gives in to her feelings for Werther and then, filled with shame, rejects him. Charlotte, in her flustered state is discovered by her husband Albert (baritone Theo Hoffman) who then orders pistols to be delivered to Werther. Never on the stage of a major opera house have we felt so involved with Charlotte's ambivalence, Werther's despair, or Albert's jealous rage. For us, these three major singers provided the highlight of the evening.

Accompanied by Mr. Nielsen, soprano Felicia Moore portrayed the grieving Elettra with great depth of feeling in the aria "O Smania" from Mozart's Idomeneo.

That was not the end of the Mozart. We loved the scene from Cosi fan tutte in which the lovers are separated under false pretenses, with Don Alfonso (Erik van Heyningen) laughing up his sleeve at the prank of his own devising. Ms. Stucker sang Fiordiligi, Ms. Rapier sang Dorabella, Mr. Castro sang Ferrando, and Mr. Hoffman sang Gugllielmo. It's a funny scene and Paul Curran's direction added a few additional humorous touches. Mozart's exquisite harmonies in "Soave sia il vento" were well handled and Mr. Reynold's piano added to the enjoyment.

We heard several excerpts from Bernstein's Candide, the seldom heard "Nothing More Than This", poignantly sung by Mr. Stenson, and the ironic "Glitter and Be Gay" delivered with brilliant fioritura by coloratura soprano Brandie Sutton, both accompanied in very different colors by pianist Chris Reynolds.

And the closing number "Make Our Garden Grow" was performed by the entire cast with several singers doubling up on roles; doubling up on the piano were Mr. Reynolds and the excellent Adam Nielsen. Those four hands made a lot of music. Maestro Glen's conducting was astute throughout.

It was a sell out crowd with many new faces, which bodes well for the future of the company. Word has certainly gotten out! We can scarcely wait for the next MESS event.

(c) meche kroop

GETTIN' MESSIE

Maestro Lachlan Glenn at Paper Box-- M.E.S.S. Event

The streets were messy as all get-out last night but "Messies" (members of Mise-en-Scène Studios) and their friends somehow got themselves to the depths of Brooklyn for the first of two events at Paper Box. Co-founders star tenor Ben Bliss and Maestro Lachlan Glenn welcomed the huge crowd and introduced a magnificently varied program of opera, dance, and instrumental music. The program had something for everyone and everyone seemed wildly enthusiastic.

It is a wise idea to introduce young people to opera, not as a lengthy ordeal to endure, but rather a small taste to relish, with the expectations that those exposed to world class singers in small increments will want to hear more. It seems to be a great approach and even a seasoned opera-goer such as ourself found the program both entertaining and stimulating.

The initial entry was the opening scene from Britten's The Rape of Lucretia in which tenor Andrew Stenson narrated and three Roman soldiers discussed the fidelity of the women left behind. Tenor Will Liverman as Prince Tarquinius and baritone Theo Hoffman as Junius are soured on wives and lovers who betrayed them. They are envious of Collatinus (bass Erik van Heyningen) whose wife is faithful. Fueled by alcohol and testosterone, the two soreheads plot to get Collatinus' wife to betray him as well. The singing was powerful on all accounts and the direction by Paul Curran made the scene all too believable.

Following an interlude of "Danse Russe" from Stravinsky's ballet Petroushka, played "one piano four hands" by four of the best hands we know (two belonging to Adam Nielsen and two belonging to Chris Reynolds), we witnessed a scene from Berlioz' Béatrice et Bénédicte that had as much estrogen as the prior scene had testosterone.

Felicia Moore wielded her clarion soprano instrument deftly in fine French as she expressed her love for Claudio. The role of Ursule, her lady-in-waiting, was sung by the marvelous mezzo-soprano Renée Rapier.

A less familiar aria from John Corigliano's The Ghosts of Versailles-- "Long Live the Worm"-- was sung with intense gesture and vocal expressiveness by Mr. Stenson, accompanied by Mr. Reynolds. This must be Mr. Stenson's "signature area" because we don't recall being quite that riveted by Bégearss' nasty aria on prior hearings.

The format of MESS events allows for a break between sets so that guests can enjoy socializing, drinking, and eating--in this case bespoke crepes. Food for the tummy as well as the ears!

The well known final quartet from Verdi's Rigoletto is a "can't fail" number as long as you have great singers in all four fachs. In this case, Gilda was sung by soprano Jacquelyn Stucker with the eponymous jester portrayed by Mr. Liverman. The pair cowered below stage, eavesdropping on the onstage pair--the lascivious Duke (Ian Castro) working his charms on the innkeeper's sister Maddalena (Ms. Rapier). It was absolutely thrilling.

We got an advance taste of the entertainment scheduled for next Spring, a program involving Indian dancer Preeti Vasudevan and singer Roopa Mahadevan, wearing traditional garments and bringing a lot of color to the evening.  See photos on our FB page Voce di Meche.

The final scene from Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier is another scene we love and here we had soprano Brandie Sutton as Sophie and the versatile Ms. Rapier as Octavian. Ms. Moore appeared again lending vocal and gestural dignity to the role of the Marschallin. The three voices harmonized so beautifully and Mr. Reynolds created an entire orchestra in the piano. The "silver rose" theme came through gently but clearly.

An interlude of the third movement of Mozart's String Quartet #23 in F Major, performed by the superb Verona Quartet, was followed by the Finale of Act II of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor.  In this scene, poor Lucia (Ms. Stucker) is being reluctantly married off to the unwitting suitor Arturo (Mr. Stenson) by her desperate brother Enrico (Mr. Liverman). Lucia's true love Edgardo (Mr. Castro) arrives at a crucial moment and bloodshed is threatened with Raimondo (Mr. Van Heyningen) trying to keep the peace. The other singers for the evening composed the chorus. Again, the direction was astute and the scene was not only finely sung but believably acted.

Maestro Glen has been known to us for years as an outstanding pianist but just wait until you witness his conducting acumen! 

There were excellent titles for the operas in foreign languages but there were also useful brief summaries of the scenes in the program.

Tomorrow's event promises to be just as compelling with the same superb singers on hand. Tonight proved just how versatile these artists are and we have no doubt about their ability to handle all the goodies on tomorrow's program.  We don't want to give everything away but let's just say there will be something wonderful from Bernstein's Candide and something by Mozart that everyone will love.

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DEUS EX MACHINA

Andrew Stenson and Ying Fang  (photo by Marty Sohl)

The production of Christoph Willibald Gluck's Iphigénie en Aulide was so outstanding we do not know whom to credit first.  Undeniably, conductor Jane Glover had a hand in it, or should we say "two hands" as she used them in balletic fashion to guide Juilliard415 (Juilliard's period-instrument orchestra) through Gluck's lean expressive score.  From the very first theme of the overture, heard at key moments later in the opera, we knew we were in good hands.  We want to call her Jane Goodhands, no "gloves" necessary.

Gluck can be said to have revolutionized opera in the mid 18th c.  By eliminating many excesses of the baroque, he paved the way for Mozart's genius.  By selecting libretti with authenticity of emotion, psychological insight, and sincere simplicity, he engages the listener who can examine his or her own predicaments and find resonant parallels.  Who has not struggled with desires that conflict with duties?  In this case, the libretto by du Roullet was based on the Racine play of 1674.  The opera premiered in 1774 in Paris.

Still, it is the singers themselves that carry the opera and we found the performances to be beyond criticism.  Each and every singer, drawn from the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program and Juilliard Opera, was astutely cast, vocally perfect and dramatically affecting.  Were it not for the unexpected happy ending (unexpected because we had not read the synopsis beforehand) we would have gone home in tears.  Thankfully, due to the intervention of the goddess Diane, the innocent Iphegénie gets to live and to marry her beloved Achille.

Soprano Ying Fang made a perfect Iphegénie, using her expressive limpid voice, face and body to convey the nobility of character that enables her to express both despair over losing her young life and submission to her fate as a sacrifice.  At one point, convinced that Achille had been unfaithful (a ruse), she summoned up quite a lot of outrage.

Similarly, her intended husband Achille, as performed by tenor Andrew Stenson, conveyed rage at Agamemnon, tender love and protectiveness toward his bride and also had to exhibit outrage at being falsely accused of infidelity.  He accomplished all this without compromising his warm appealing tone.

As the conflicted Agamemnon, baritone Yunpeng Wang limned the character of a man torn between love for his daughter and duty to the gods who demanded the sacrifice. Mr. Wang has a round sturdy baritone that can sound authoritative when necessary to control others, angry when confronting the recalcitrant gods and yet tender when thinking of his child.

Mezzo-soprano Virginie Verrez was stunning as the mother Clytemnestre.  She has a true rich mezzo sound with a great deal of depth.  In the closest thing to a mad scene that one might see in a pre-19th c. opera, she nearly loses it in her rage at her husband--all without losing her magnificent phrasing and tone.  At her entrance she is all regal dignity and it was upsetting yet understandable to watch her decline into near madness as she wished to substitute her life for her daughter's.

As the high priest Calchas, bass-baritone Brandon Cedel demonstrated why he has been winning prizes everywhere.  His lordly tones expressed the matter-of-fact information that Iphegénie must be sacrificed.  It was in different tones that he announced toward the end of the opera that the goddess Diane had arrived.

As Achille's friend Patrocle, baritone Takaoki Onishi gave his usually fine performance, lending truth to the saying in the theater world that "There are no small roles".  

All of the singers mentioned so far are familiar to us as we have watched their growth from one year to the next.  But last night we heard two singers for the first time and enjoyed their performances enormously.  Serbian bass Sava Vemić made a fine showing as Arcas, Agamemnon's lieutenant who is responsible for conveying messages important to the plot.  His rich substantial sound made us want to hear more of him.  As Diane, soprano Liv Redpath had the enviable role of the "deus ex machina" making everyone happy.  It will make us happy to hear her again.

As Three Greek Women, Angela Vallone, Kara Sainz and Mary-Elizabeth O'Neill made a fine showing as well.

Although billed as a "concert version" the young artists, performing onstage in front of the musicians, acted up a storm.  The only features missing were costumes and sets; we never missed them due to the persuasive acting and fine singing.  David Paul directed the enterprise, a collaboration of The Metropolitan Opera and The Juilliard School.

Finally, let us not forget to mention the fine French diction.  Even the chorus, positioned on the sides and at the rear of the orchestra made the language comprehensible.  There is only one more performance on Saturday at 2:00.  Miss this at your own peril.  Don't say we didn't tell you!

(c) meche kroop

RICHARD TUCKER DAY, HOORAY!

Bryan Wagorn, Erin Morley, Nicholas Pallesen, Ailyn Perez, Andrew Stenson, Stephen Costello, Anthony Ross Costanzo and Isabel Leonard

Thursday was Richard Tucker Day and New York opera lovers lined up to attend the recital at the Ethical Culture Society; they thronged to the stage afterward to congratulate the group of singers, none of whom were a hair shy of stellar.  All were accompanied by the versatile piano partner Bryan Wagorn.

There are advantages and disadvantages to a program of arias without orchestra.  One might miss the orchestral colors but one has an opportunity to focus on the voice.  The voice, so exposed, had better shine-- and these voices surely did.  The other problem is that the artists must jump into the material without the buildup; they have no sets, no costumes, no stage business to help things along.

Last night's singers succeeded on all accounts.  Tenor Andrew Stenson opened the program with a big bang in Tonio's  famous aria from Donizetti's Fille du Regiment.  He sang it with a clear ringing tenor and an abundance of enthusiasm. The high C's were knocked off with ease and the "money note" at the end was sustained so long and so beautifully that we wondered at what underwater sport Mr. Stenson gained his breath control.

Soprano Wendy Bryn Harmer gave a most moving account of "L'altra notte" from Boito's Mefistofele and an equally impassioned "Tu che di gel sei cinta" from Puccini's Turandot.  Her impressively large voice is never harsh or forced and her characterizations were completely convincing.

Nicholas Pallesen employed his fine baritone as Enrico, showing many sides of his character's mood in "Cruda, funesta smania" from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor.  We heard his anger, his fear and his despair.

Ailyn Perez and Stephen Costello have become the #1 opera couple and we love to see them perform together as they did last night in two duets from Bernstein's West Side Story.  They also performed alone with Mr. Costello's fine tenor enjoying a Broadway/Hollywood break in "Without a Song" and "Be My Love".  Ms. Perez was touching in  "Je dis que rien ne m'epouvante".  She absolutely nailed the faith that keeps Micaela's terror at bay.

Soprano Erin Morley, fresh from her brilliant success in Santa Fe as the titular character in Stravinsky's Le Rossignol, switched from Russian to German and was a complete knockout in selections from Mozart's Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail--the aria "Marten alle Arten"--and in the duet with Mr. Stenson "Welch ein Geschick!"

Mezzo Isabel Leonard took the deceptively simple lullaby "Cancion de cuna para dormer a un negrito" by Montsalvatge and made such art of it that we were close to tears.  We love her singing whatever but in Spanish she is sensational.  We never knew that gal could tap dance but tap dance she did in an hilarious duet with Anthony Ross Costanzo--"I Got Rhythm" by the Gershwins.  Such fun!

Counter-tenor Mr. Costanzo was also heard in "Venga pur, minacci e frema" from Mozart's Mitridate.  We are extremely fond of Mr. Costanzo's unusual voice.  There aren't many around like him!

All of these sensational artists have been recipients of awards and grants from The Richard Tucker Foundation.  They are all having brilliant careers.  Foundation support is instrumental in getting a career off the ground.  Let's have a big round of applause for the RTF!

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MET + JUILLIARD = MAGIC

Pureum Jo, Mario Chang, Alexey Lavrov and Ying Fang in L'Elisir d'Amore (photo by Nan Melville)

A satisfying synergy results when The Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program partners with The Juilliard School.  We fondly recall the operas of seasons past and were sufficiently delighted by last night's entry, a concert of comic operas.  One of the major delights was hearing how the fine Juilliard Orchestra responded to the baton of our beloved James Levine.  Indeed the orchestra occupied the stage with the singers performing in a shallow space in front which unfortunately drowned out the voices on occasion.

We enjoyed lengthy scenes from four comic operas, two famous ones flanking two lesser known entries. The program opened with Act I of Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, known in English as The Abduction from the Seraglio, a seraglio being a harem.  Tenor Andrew Stenson made an appealing Belmonte, arriving at Pasha Selim's landhaus to find his dear Konstanze (the always excellent Ying Fang).  Bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green turned in an hilarious performance as the gruff Osmin who denies entry to Belmonte.  Tenor Benjamin Bliss portrayed the wily servant Pedrillo in as fine a portrayal of this role as we have heard.  Baritone Jake Alan Nelson seemed to be the only undergraduate on the program but was excellent in the role of Pasha Selim.

Igor Stravinsky's one act satire Mavra brought Daniel Stewart to the podium to conduct the arresting score, notable for its unusual combination of instruments, heavy on the winds and light on the strings.  He was highly successful at bringing out the idiosyncratic harmonies and unpredictable rhythms.  It has been a bit over a year since we saw Mavra performed by the Mannes School of Music and we are compelled to say that the staging and costumes made it seem funnier than last night's performance.  The work was performed in English which we found unsatisfying due to the verbal accents colliding with the musical accents.  Nonetheless, Mary-Jane Lee sang beautifully as Parasha, the wayward daughter of the bourgeois Mother who is moaning about the loss of her cook.  What a pleasure to hear the divine Margaret Lattimore in that role with another fine mezzo-soprano Lacey Jo Benter as The Neighbor.  Mr. Bliss reappeared as the Hussar who gains access to the house by donning drag and getting hired as the new servant.

Benvenuto Cellini may not have the most interesting plot but Berlioz' muscular music is riveting and Maestro Levine marshalled the forces of the large orchestra to great effect.  The brief appearance of superb bass-baritone Brandon Cedel was nearly submerged in the huge avalanche of sound.  But Ms. Fang's focused upper register cut right through in Teresa's aria, as did Anthony Kalil's terrific tenor as the eponymous hero.  Their love duet was, well, lovely.  Baritone Yunpeng Wang provided comic relief as the rejected lover Fieramosca, eavesdropping and slithering along the floor.

The program ended with a scene from Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore, the scene in which Nemorino purchases his love potion from Dulcamara and proceeds to get inebriated.  Tenor Mario Chang excelled as the unfortunate imbiber with Mr. Green, in cloak and top hat, employing his big booming bass as the wily Doctor D.  Nemorino's rival was sung by baritone Alexey Lavrov who put his own stamp on the role of Sergeant Belcore.  Soprano Pureum Jo sang the role of Adina's friend Gianetta and Adina herself was performed by Ying Fang whose bel canto technique is impressive, filled with thrills and trills and pinpoint scale passages.

Although our preference would have been for a fully staged opera we were pleased to have the opportunity to hear some of our favorite young singers essaying new territory.  And as we said at the start, the orchestra blew us away.

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TRIPLE THREAT

 

Do we take for granted what is in our own backyard?  We were asking ourselves that question during last night's recital by the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.  Here in New York the six gifted artists we heard are known as "young artists" or "emerging artists".  If we lived in any other city in the United States or any European City, they would be (and actually are) considered superstars of the opera stage.  They often assume relatively small roles on the stage of The Metropolitan Opera but are uniformly capable of assuming lead roles in other companies.

Take for example tenor Mario Chang who will sing the Italian Tenor in Der Rosenkavalier next season at the Met but who just performed Nemorino abroad.  Last night we enjoyed his full-throated round Italianate voice, his melting messa di voce and melismatic grace in five Venetian songs by Reynaldo Hahn, accompanied by equally talented Alexandra Naumenko.  His use of the music stand, however, diminished his connection with the audience; we were far more thrilled at the end of the recital when he sang Turina's Poema en forma canciones without the music stand and we could fully appreciate his connection.  It also gave Ms. Naumenko an opportunity to show her stuff in the "Dedicatoria".  

Let us then consider Russian baritone Alexey Lavrov who is only in his first year at Lindemann and will sing some small roles at the Met this season but has sung the title role in Eugene Onegin at the Rheinsberg Festival in Germany.  Mr. Lavrov has a mature sound and an uncanny gift for choosing a variety of songs that showed off his dramatic skills.  In "Chi sprezzando" from Händel's The Passion he was stiff and harsh as the text demands.  In "Deh vieni alla finestra" from Mozart's Don Giovanni he was louche, lounging against the piano and smirking.  His partnership with collaborative pianist Bryan Wagorn is a match made in vocal heaven.  Rimsky-Korsakov's "Redejet oblakov", a setting of poetry by Pushkin, thrilled us with its passion, Mr. Lavrov's matched by Mr. Wagorn's. In Georgy Sviridov's "Oh, my homeland" he was absolutely heroic.  In "An eine Äolsharfe" we heard him caress each vowel without shortchanging the consonants.  The only other singer we know who can perform this magic is Jonas Kaufmann.

Also a yearling, tenor Andrew Stenson has sung Orphée at the Seattle Opera, amongst other roles.  Last night, accompanied by the brilliant Nimrod Pfeffer, he performed Beethoven's "Adelaide" with such connection to the material that we could visualize all the elements of nature described therein.  Just watching and listening, one could tell that Mr. Stenson was seeing them as well.   In Schubert's "Epistel 'An Herrn Josef von Spaun'" Mr. Pfeffer's control over dynamics and rhythmic thrust impressed us greatly, as did his fleet fingering in the Liszt.  It was in the Liszt Tre Sonetti di Petrarca that Mr. Stenson loosened his grip on the piano and stepped forward, giving himself a major step forward in engaging the audience.

What great fortune to hear these six talented artists right here in our own backyard!

(c) meche kroop