EARLY STRAUSS

 Maestro Leon Botstein congratulates soprano Angela Meade

 

In yesterday's discussion of the various forms of opera available to New Yorkers, we neglected to mention a most important one--that of the concert presentation as exemplified by the American Symphony Orchestra as well as New Amsterdam Opera. As a matter of fact, our first exposure to opera came through Eve Queler's Opera Orchestra of New York. We recall sitting up in the 4th balcony, following along with the libretto and forming our taste in opera.

There are benefits and drawbacks to concert presentations of operas. There are rarely titles and following along with the libretto, as our companion did, may help you identify the characters and appreciate the linguistic and diction skills of each individual singer. However, it also deprives you of the opportunity to focus on the music and the voices. In the context of a staged opera there is plenty of drama and characterization to focus on as one can observe body movement in service of those aspects. Sadly, this is missing in a concert presentation.

Last night, at American Symphony Orchestra's concert production of Richard Strauss' first opera Guntram, for which the composer wrote his own libretto, we chose to focus on the aural experience. Given our lack of familiarity with the rather inert story we were happy to focus on the orchestral writing until a bit of singing captivated our ear.

After Guntram's modest success in 1894 in Weimar, it flopped in Munich the following year and was forgotten until recently. Musicologists blame its lack of success on its purported similarity to Wagner's opus. Indeed, perhaps the music world had heard enough about Medieval minnesingers, sin, and redemption. Although we have never thrilled to Parsifal and Tannhaüser, we have experienced no end of delight from Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg with its more captivating story.

We very much enjoyed Strauss' orchestral writing for Guntram and if there were echoes of Wagner, they were of Wagnerian innovations that we favor. We particularly enjoyed the opening leitmotiv that reappeared in various forms throughout the opera, a rhythmically memorable descending pattern that Strauss renewed throughout the work in different keys, providing unity to the work.

The orchestral writing was indeed lavish and lavishly orchestrated. Had it been a symphony we would not have missed the voices. However, it was an opera and there were voices, all of them at least serviceable but often thrilling. In the only opera Strauss wrote with the male role as  the most important, we must say that it was soprano Angela Meade who ran away with the honors. 

Entering the stage in a gilded gown, she appeared like the Greek god Helios, drawing his golden chariot across the sky. Her voice, similarly, seems a gift from the gods--strong and gleaming when called for yet tender in the final love scene with the eponymous Guntram, sung by tenor John Matthew Myers. The role of Guntram is extremely demanding with long arias in each of three acts. Prior to the final scene we found Mr. Myers'  voice somewhat irritating and forced in the upper registers, although far more agreeable in the middle and lower ranges. (The mighty Strauss orchestra, conducted by Maestro Leon Botstein, is rather a beast to be heard over but Ms. Meade's steely soprano cut right through the dense orchestration.)  However, we must admit that in the final scene of love and renunciation, Mr. Myers' voice sounded much more musical, perhaps inspired by the tenderness of the love he felt compelled to renounce.  Or perhaps, he had just been saving himself for the end.

Bass-baritone Kevin Short sang the role of Freihild's father, the Old Duke, and impressed with his deep resonance. As the wicked Duke Robert we heard baritone Alexander Birch Elliott, as unpleasant a character as one might imagine. Indeed, the opera begins with his wife Freihild running toward the lake to drown herself and one could truly understand why.

As we learned from reading the synopsis, Freihild and Guntram are birds of a feather whose mutual empathy is understandable. Too bad that Guntram kills Robert and decides to spend the rest of his life in solitary atonement--not because he murdered but because he "sinned in his heart" by loving a married woman!  Perhaps there are some out there who might find this story worthy of a staged production but we do not.

Aside from the final scene of love and renunciation, there were a few vocal moments that took our attention away from the instrumentals. One was a chorus of four men whose voices combined and intertwined in the most delicious harmonies. Unfortunately, since we were not following along with the libretto, we are unable to identify them. Nor are we able to identify a male singer who came on for a brief aria on stage right and sang with beautiful clarity of tone. If you were there and can say who the singer was, please leave a comment below.

Mezzo-soprano Katherine Goeldner put in a brief appearance in Act I as an old woman with tenor Bernard Holcomb as an old man. Bass-baritone Nate Mattingly sang the role of Friedhold. 

Thanks to the American Symphony Orchestra for giving us this opportunity to hear some gorgeous orchestral writing and for giving us the gift of Ms. Meade. We wouldn't have missed it for the world!

© meche kroop

OPERA IS ALIVE AND WELL

Curtain Call time at Richard Tucker Gala at Carnegie Hall

We don't have to worry about the future of opera as long as The Richard Tucker Foundation is around to support young singers. The sold out house testifies to the fact that there is an audience for opera and the standing ovation tells us just how enthusiastic this audience is. The gala was live streamed on medici.tv and can be seen and heard on Facebook. This is the foundation's 44th year and has succeeded admirably in honoring the memory of the great Richard Tucker.

Audience members received a warm welcome from Barry Tucker followed by two uninterrupted hours of pure aural delight. We have every intention of telling you about this year's winner but something else excited us so much that we are just bursting with enthusiasm to tell you about it.

Perhaps our enthusiasm is because we have been writing about soprano Nadine Sierra since we began reviewing and have a special interest in her career and a deep attachment to her success. Her winning the 2017 award last year surely helped to advance her rapid rise to stardom both in the USA and abroad.

Last night she literally stole the show. She gave a lesson in seduction the likes of which we have never witnessed. Sporting a slinky backless red gown, she proceeded to tear Des Grieux away from the priesthood in a manner that recalled the desperation of Madam Arkadina working her wiles on Trigorin in Chekhov's The Seagull.  We have always thought of Ms. Sierra as "the diva next door"--all girlish innocence; so it was a revelation to hear her use her gorgeous instrument in the service of manipulation. On the receiving end of this manipulation in "N'est-ce plus ma main?" from Massenet's Manon was 2014 Richard Tucker Award winner tenor Michael Fabiano.

We saw a totally different side of this versatile soprano in a charming and lighthearted aria ("Me llaman la primorosa") from El Barbero de Sevilla, a zarzuela composed by Gerónimo Giménez and Manuel Nieto. This is a gloss on the Rossini opera and the singer is the soprano of a young company rehearsing that opera. Regular readers know of our enthusiasm for zarzuela and we love this aria but never heard it done so well. The fioritura virtually sparkled and there was a lovely "competition" with the flute.

So, dear readers, we received a lesson in seduction from a young woman of outstanding physical and artistic gifts; but we also got a lesson in seduction from a mature woman who dazzled us with an over-the-top rendition of the "Habanera'" from Bizet's Carmen. If you have already guessed that this was a surprise appearance by mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe (1999 award winner), you deserve one of the red roses that she showered upon the audience and Maestro Marco Armiliato, as well as the Concertmaster. This artist can still raise the temperature in the room and we love her dearly.

We might add that we got a bit teary-eyed when she sang "Take Care of This House" from Leonard Bernstein's 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Our tears sprang from the realization that no one is taking care of the White House these days. "This house is the hope of us all", sang Abigail Adams in the show. We comforted ourself by converting the house in the song to Carnegie Hall; this is a house we can take care of! And we must!

And now, let us move on to 2018 award winner Christian Van Horn. He is one of only three bass-baritones to have ever won the Richard Tucker award. He opened the program with an exciting aria from Verdi's Nabucco in which the high priest Zaccaria responds to his people's lament "Va Pensiero". (The incomparable Metropolitan Opera Chorus was on hand and we wished that his aria had been set up with a performance of that work.) It was a fine impassioned performance nonetheless, demonstrating the artist's flexibility in the cabaletta.

Later on, he tackled the complex "Ella giammai m'amò" from Verdi's Don Carlo, in which we are meant to feel compassion for the evil King Philip who oppresses his people and has stolen his son's intended bride. He even asks the Grand Inquisitor for permission to kill his son!  It is only Verdi's music aided and abetted by Mr. Van Horn's artistry that permitted "sympathy for the devil".

The rest of the evening's program achieved its customary level of excellence. With big voices like these, we got to hear quite a bit of Verdi. Mr. Fabiano, the 2014 winner, performed "Quando le sera al placido" from Luisa Miller with pleasing vibrato, delivering a lot of angst in the recit and plenty of lyricism in the aria. We liked his use of dynamic variety and color.

Soprano Angela Meade tackled the fiery "No,no! giusta causa" and wrestled it to the ground. Ms. Meade, the 2011 award winner, is a force of nature with a rich tone and a soaring upper register. There were some gorgeous tones floated up toward the balcony but it was the fiery cabaletta that grabbed us. There were significant contributions from the Metropolitan Opera Chorus. We have never heard this early opera by Verdi-- I Lombardi al prima crociata, but somehow we feel we got the best moment!

Baritone Quinn Kelsey performed "È sogno? o realtà", from Falstaff.  Accompanied by the horns, he delineated with building intensity, the ultimate expression of masculine pride and poisonous jealousy, as Mr. Ford believe his wife to have been unfaithful.

We had never heard tenor Yusif Eyvazov but what a sweet sound he has! He knows just how long to hold a note without strain or excess and his tone just sailed over the orchestra in Manrico's beloved aria "Di quella pira" from Il Trovatore. We liked the change of color and intensity in the recapitulation.

There were plenty of goodies besides Verdian ones. We were particularly fond of soprano Christine Goerke's performance of "Es gibt ein Reich" from Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos. Her voice and phrasing did justice to the composer's soaring vocal lines.

Ms. Goerke, the 2001 award recipient, reappeared as the excommunicated Santuzza singing the Easter hymn from Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana, supported by the chorus and organist--another superb performance.

Tenor Javier Camarena addressed the audience with a humorous anecdote before launching into an aria from an opera unknown to us--Manuel Garcia's Florestan. Himself a singer and father of two singers (Pauline Viardot and Maria Malibran) Garcia knew how to write for the voice. We loved the way Mr. Camarena handled the French and are pleased to learn that he is interested in promoting the career of Garcia, whom we only know of through a musical evening we reviewed that celebrated his introduction of Mozart operas to the USA.

In a lovely duet with Ms. Meade from the lesser known Rossini opera Armida, we enjoyed his flexibility in the fioritura, as he portrayed the Christian knight Rinaldo being seduced by the titular sorceress.  More seduction!

We got to hear one more selection from Mr. Van Horn in the stunning duet "Suoni la tromba" from Bellini's I Puritani.  Sharing the duet with Mr. Kelsey, it was a fine example of harmonic writing for contrasting voices, in martial rhythm.

We were waiting to hear soprano Anna Netrebko sing "Pace, pace" from Verdi's La Forza del Destino but that never happened. But we did hear her in a duet with Mr. Eyvazov, the final duet from Giordano's Andrea Chenier in which Maddalena and Chenier go to their death on the guillotine. Their two large voices filled Carnegie Hall with overtones.

Maestro Armiliato conducted the always wonderful Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; both orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera Chorus added greatly to the evening.

It was a sensational evening. We heard some of our favorite singers and some that were not yet known to us. We heard several arias and duets that we don't often get to hear. We renewed our appreciation for the Richard Tucker Foundation. And we made plans to attend Boito's Méfistofélè at The Met so that we could hear Mr. Van Horn, Ms. Meade, and Mr. Fabiano together!

(c) meche kroop

IL BELLISSIMO BELLINI

Angela Meade

Santiago Ballerini

What a superb farewell for the "Bel Canto at Caramoor"' program.  After twenty years of bel canto, the opera program at this beautiful Venetian estate will revert to its original mission of presenting opera from many different traditions and to continue training and fostering the development of young singers through its Schwab Vocal Rising Stars program; Maestro Will Crutchfield will move his Bel Canto program to the nearby Performing Arts Center at SUNY Purchase. The new program will be called Teatro Nuovo and we will keep our readers informed as details become available.

The glorious farewell piece was Vincenzo Bellini's third opera Il Pirata. Inspired by Mozart and admired by Wagner, Donizetti, and Chopin, Bellini was a child prodigy trained at the conservatory in Naples. He came from a family of musicians and attended by virtue of a scholarship.

The head of the school gave him a valuable lesson that we wish the composers of today would heed.  To paraphrase, if you don't master melody, you will wind up as a church organist in some small town. This must have stung since that pretty much described Bellini's family!

Fortunately, young Vincenzo heeded the advice and became known for his melodic gifts.  It seems to us that he spun out long silken melodies like a silkworm whereas Rossini's melodies tumble out helter skelter. If his brilliant fioritura is reserved for moments of heightened passion, it permits long lyric lines to unspool at leisure.

So it was with Il Pirata, so magnificently performed by some major stars with Maestro Crutchfield conducting the Orchestra of St. Luke's. Soprano Angela Meade, about whom we have written before, needs no introduction. She is a confirmed superstar with a luxurious sound that sets the air to vibrating and a generous palette of vocal colors. Her coloratura in the final mad scene drove the audience wild with appreciation.

On the other hand, Argentinean tenor Santiago Ballerini just appeared on our event horizon but we recognize a star when we hear one. His physical stature is on the slight side but his vocal stature towers over most of the tenors we have recently heard. Not yet thirty years old, he has created a sensation in South America and is just achieving recognition in the United States.

The timbre of his voice is hugely appealing and he does not push or oversing. He possesses a stunning messa di voce and manages to float the high notes without apparent effort. We consider ourself a fan.

The opera itself does not have the most interesting libretto but Felice Romani worked exceptionally well with Bellini and the poetry of the text is outstanding, especially as married to Bellini's gorgeous melodies.

The story concerns two rivals for political supremacy and for the love of a woman. Gualtiero, the Count of Montalto (Mr. Ballerini) had been defeated by Ernesto, the Duke of Caldora (bass Harold Wilson) and lost everything except for his love for Imogene (Ms. Meade) who was obliged to wed Caldora to save her father's life. That's the backstory.

When the opera opens, Gualtiero is a pirate and he is losing his ship. This is recounted by the superb chorus, comprising the Bel Canto Young Artists who performed magnificently throughout the opera.

In the subsequent two acts he and Imogene recognize one another and realize that their love will never be consummated. The two men duel. The Duke dies. The Count turns himself in and is executed. Imogene goes mad.

Not much of a story but this was only 1827 and the beginning of the Romantic period of opera. Since the opera was semi-staged there was no ship and no shipwreck, just a lot of fantastic singing--not only arias but some impressive duets, trios, and ensembles.

We were particularly happy to hear tenor Sean Christensen, one of Caramoor's Young Artists in the substantial role of Itulbo, Gualtiero's lieutenant. We have been writing about Mr. Christensen's pleasing tenor for some time now and admired his growth as an artist.

As Goffredo, Gualtiero's former tutor, bass-baritone Joseph Beutel (well remembered from Santa Fe Opera) made a fine showing as well.  And soprano Robyn Marie Lamp excelled in the role of Adele, Imogene's companion, a more generous role than that usually given to companions.

It was a splendid evening and a genuine pleasure to hear such grand voices all onstage together. As Caramoor's operatic interest will expand to include different orchestras and conductors and Teatro Nuovo will continue to present bel canto masterpieces, there will be a strong impetus to pull this city girl upcountry! Caramoor's 2018 offering will be Handel's Atalanta.

We wish both programs well as we reflect on all the wonderful singing we have heard at Caramoor and all the special artists to whom we have been introduced.

(c) meche kroop

DONIZETTI DISCOVERY

Italo Marchini, Aaron Blake, Angela Meade, Eve Queler, Yunpeng Wang, Sava Vemic, and Mia Pafumi

We gave away the plot to Donizetti's rarely performed 1833 opera Parisina d'Este in last months's archived review (COVERS UNCOVERED) when the cover cast for Opera Orchestra of New York treated us to excerpts from the opera. We were enthralled and bursting with anticipation for Maestro Eve Queler's conducting of the entire opera. Last night at the Rose Theater, our hopes were completely fulfilled.

As a matter of fact, this opera goes on our wish list as one we'd love to see tackled by The Metropolitan Opera. During this concert version, we saw the entire opera in our head--sets and costumes included. 

The flow of the music and the complete involvement of the singers succeeded admirably in evoking the story--a typical 19th c. melodrama which librettist Felice Romani adapted from a poem by Lord Byron.

The tale moves forward without any distracting side plots. The characters are sympathetic and victims of their time (15th c.), place (Ferrara) and culture (arranged marriages). Duke Azzo and his wife Parisina are both miserable and political triumphs cannot relieve the gloom of the court.

Yunpeng Wang established his character (Duke Azzo) from the very start. He is madly in love with his wife who does not love him. Although it is difficult to forgive his behavior at the end of the opera, Mr. Wang's gorgeous baritone and warmth let us feel Azzo's pain. His duet with his minister Ernesto was nothing short of sumptuous. And to hear him change vocal coloration when he sang about battles was most impressive.

Sava Vemić's youthful appearance did not prevent him from creating a believable character who is both a loyal minister and a loving father trying to save his son from danger. Mr. Vemić's rich bass filled the theater and thrilled the ear. His character has the big "reveal" at the climax of the opera.

As the son Ugo, tenor Aaron Blake overcame some early problems with intonation to deliver a beautifully sung and well-phrased performance. Ugo is a man so obsessed with his childhood sweetheart, who now belongs to another, that he cannot preserve his own life.

Soprano Angela Meade gave a riveting performance as the eponymous Parisina, married to the Duke but in love with Ugo. In this opera, Donizetti eschewed lavish fioritura, but what embellishments there were to the vocal line were beautifully negotiated.

As Imelda, Parisina's confidant, soprano Mia Pafumi looked and sounded beautiful. Her duet with Ms. Meade was movingly tender.

Under Maestro Queler's baton, The Opera Orchestra of New York played Donizetti's profusion of melody with the excellence we have come to expect of them-- minus a recalcitrant trumpet. We heard foreshadowing of music from Lucia di Lammermoor, which he would write two years later, and echoes of "The Senator Song" from L'Elisir d'Amore, which he had written the year before. 

In Parisina, Donizetti relied heavily on the wind sections and Maestro Queler brought out every line. Perhaps (dare we say it??) the Rose Theater offers some acoustic advantage over Carnegie Hall. (Gulp!)

The New York Choral Ensemble, under the leadership of Italo Marchini, commented on the action and filled in the narrative. As all good choruses must, they made their words count.

With such high quality conducting, playing, and singing, we would count this as one of the highlights of the season.

Maestro Queler conducted this once before with Montserrat Caballé, James Morris, and Luis Quilico over 40 years ago. It is difficult to believe that this energetic youthful conductor has been around that long. We hope we won't have to wait that long to hear this wonderful opera again!

(c) meche kroop

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NORA LONDON

Craig Rutenberg, Danielle Orlando, Nicholas Pallesen, and Angela Meade

Some songs were old and some were new; perhaps some were borrowed and many were blue.  It was a most unusual program at the Morgan Library as Nora London's birthday was celebrated yesterday.   As you have read here, the George London Foundation for Singers is renowned for supporting young singers.  Winners of the annual competition are invited back to perform in a series of superb recitals.

Both baritone Nicholas Pallesen and soprano Angela Meade have been setting the opera world on fire and garnering lavish praise and precious prizes for their dazzling vocal artistry.  Yesterday we got to see and hear them "up close and personal".

Mr. Rutenberg, a peerless piano partner, opened the program with some introductory remarks about Francis Poulenc's 1942 song cycle Chanson villageoises, written under the German occupation of France.  France under siege is a topic that cannot help but resonate with us today.  Poulenc's songs are spiky, filled with irony and somehow reminiscent of the cabaret.  We have never heard this cycle before but hope to become more familiar with its treasures.

Mr. Pallesen is a singer of great artistry, demonstrating a consummate ability to communicate the intentions of the composer.  He is equally comfortable with the charming, the frisky and the angry.  His technique is so refined that one doesn't notice it.  We found ourself overwhelmed by the drama, particularly in the bitter "Le mendiant" and the sad "Le retour du sergent".  Poverty and war are never pretty but Mr. Pallesen made them moving and upsetting.

Continuing in the French language, Ms. Meade offered a quartet of songs by Giacomo Meyerbeer that we had likewise never heard before.  Her piano partner Danielle Orlando leapt right into "Le voeu pendant l'orage" with some rumbling in the piano which shifted to some rather tinkly figures.  She is fearless in her accompanying and a perfect partner for Ms. Meade who grabs a song by the throat and doesn't let go. Her operatic expressiveness served her well in these songs of melodic richness and rhythmic intensity.  These songs also merit a second hearing.  Truth to tell, we would happily have had an instant replay of the entire recital!

This ground-breaking portion of the program was not over yet.  Mr. Pallesen and Mr. Rutenberg returned for "Ha! noch einen ganzen Tag!....Ha! welche Lust aus schönen Augen" from Der Vampyr by  Heinrich Marschner, a contemporary of Meyerbeer. This is a role Mr. Pallesen has been performing and he filled the aria with great excitement and power without neglecting German diction.  Every word was clear as crystal; consonants were crisp without cheating the vowels.  We never noticed the absence of titles.

The second half of the program took us to more familiar territory.  Ms. Meade initiated with "Crudele!...Non mi dir", Donna Anna's aria from Mozart's Don Giovanni. This was the perfect vehicle for Ms. Meade to show the ample size of her beautiful instrument, her elegant phrasing, and ease with embellishments.

Five songs by Charles Ives were then sung by Mr. Pallesen; our favorite was "Charlie Rutledge" which he sang with a Texas accent with some contributions from Mr. Rutenberg.  What fun!

The four Strauss songs chosen by Ms. Meade for the next set are very familiar to us but that never detracts from the pleasure we get from the passionate importuning "Stänchen", the joyful "Zueignung", the soulful "Allerseelen" and the enthusiastic "Cäcilie".  Indeed, Ms. Meade brought her unique communicative skills to the performance and made the songs new again.  Her voice seems made for Strauss!

To close the program, both singers joined to perform one of Verdi's father-daughter duets--"Figlia t'avanza...Tu pur lo sai" from I Due Foscari.  In this duet, a woman begs the Doge of Venice, her father-in-law, to intervene on behalf of his son.  It is beyond our understanding how he could resist!  It was such a captivating performance that we now yearn to hear the entire opera, if and when we get the opportunity.

So...happy birthday Nora London and many thanks for the fine way in which you honor your husband's memory.

© meche kroop

BELLISSIMO CANTO

Vincenzo Bellini

Could Joan Sutherland and Marilyn Horne have sung it any better in 1961?  Having never seen nor heard Vincenzo Bellini's Beatrice di Tenda, we jumped at the chance to hear a concert version of this rarely performed masterpiece of the bel canto period.  Long luscious vocal lines and gorgeous instrumentation made up for the rather tedious libretto by Felice Romani.  Have we heard this story before? Tyranical husband?  Check.  Falsely accused wife?  Check.  Husband in love with another woman?  Check.  The tyrannical Duke of Milan is in love with Agnese who is in love with Orombello who is in love with the widow Beatrice who should never have married the Duke.  Got all that?

This timeless but overworked plot is familiar this year by way of Anna Bolena at the Met.  If only the famous soprano who valiantly attempted the bel canto style of singing had coached with Angela Meade!  Her voice is as ample as her body and filled Carnegie Hall with ringy-pingy sound that was never harsh but somehow soothing and simultaneously exciting to the ear with perfectly executed fioritura, perfect vibrato and liquid trills.  Mezzo Jamie Barton, another big girl with a big voice, did equal justice to the role of Agnese, singing with poise and the requisite phrasing so necessary for Bellini.  The evil Duke of Milan was sung by baritone Nicholas Pallesen in wonderful style, fearless technique and all-around gorgeousness.  His final scena in which he expresses his ambivalence toward his wife's sentence kept us on the edge of our seat. Tenors Michael Spyres and Nicholas Houhoulis were no less terrific.  This was a case of luxury casting indeed!  Voices blended beautifully in duets and the Act II quintet.

James Bagwell conducted the American Syphony Orchestra with gusto and precision, limning Bellini's matchless melodies and orchestration.  We heard some delightfully delicate harp playing accompanying Agnese's opening offstage aria as well as some fine sounds from the wind section toward the end.  The Collegiate Chorale, positioned as a Greek chorus admonishing or supporting the major players, was glorious.  This opera surely deserves more attention.

(c) meche kroop