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.

© meche kroop

A CHAMPAGNE KIND OF EVENING

Lindemann Young Artist Development Program Concert at The Juilliard School

Could an evening have been more bubbly, more sparkling?  No way. Our admiration and affection for the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program is no secret.  Although Peter Gelb, General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera, introduced the young artists on last night's program as "works in progress", we beg to differ. This is a group of extremely talented and highly trained artists; any opera house would be honored to have them onstage.  Indeed they have already sung in many venues around the world.  If they lack anything it is "name recognition" and we all know that big names sell tickets. Do we mean that there is no room for growth?  Of course not!  Artists should always keep growing and expanding.

Last night's program was well designed and gave the Patrons of The Met an opportunity to see these young artists in a varied program of scenes which were presented in an interesting format with each scene blending seamlessly with the one before and after.  The opening scene was from Mozart's La Clemenza Di Tito, conducted by Daniel Stewart and directed by Stephen Wadsworth.  Soprano Mary-Jane Lee was perfect as the seductive and manipulative Vitellia with mezzo Cecelia Hall in the pants role of Sesto, the object of her manipulations.  The duet between the two was marked by gorgeous harmonies; the fioritura was perfect.  Mezzo Samantha Hankey was equally effective as Annio.  Ekaterina Deleu accompanied the recitativo on the harpsichord and Nimrod David Pfeffer gave excellent support on the piano.

Ms. Hall remained onstage for the next scene from Handel's Orlando in which she sang the role of the eponymous hero.  The bass role of Zoroastro the Magician was magnificently handled by Brandon Cedel singing "Sorge infausta una procella" with Bryan Wagorn doing his customary fine work on the piano.  And how we enjoyed Benjamin Bliss' sweet tenor in "Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön" from Mozart's Die Zauberflöte!

Two bel canto scenes followed.  Ms. Hall reappeared, this time in a stylish gown, as Rosina in Rossini's Il Barbiere Di Siviglia.  David Paul directed this very funny scene in which Rosina and Figaro get to demonstrate the many facets of their relationship.  Baritone Yunpeng Wang made a marvelously funny and sly Figaro drawing laughs from the audience.  Mr. Stewart conducted and Mr. Pfeffer accompanied.

In a scene from Donizetti's Don Pasquale, bass Ryan Speedo Green made a sympathetic titular character while baritone Alexey Lavrov performed the role of the wily Dr. Malatesta.  Both men demonstrated superlative flexibility in the patter verses.  The scene was well directed by Mr. Wadsworth and finely conducted by Mr. Stewart.  Ms. Deleu accompanied effectively.

Ms. Hall returned for two stunning arias sung in fine French.  She was saucy and sultry as Elle in Messager's "J'ai deux amants" from L'Amour Masqué and convincingly angry as Concepción in Ravel's L'Heure Espagnole.  Mary Birnbaum directed both scenes and the amazing Lachlan Glen accompanied, as they did in Giordano's Andrea Chénier which followed.  The role of Carlo Gérard gave Mr. Wang an opportunity to show his serious side in this powerful deeply felt performance.  Not only can he be hilarious but he can be lyrically expressive.

It's been quite a while since we've heard Prince Andrei's philosophical musings in Prokofiev's War and Peace and we delighted in Alexey Lavrov's moving exploration of the Russian soul with Ms. Deleu on the piano.

Two scenes from Verdi operas followed.  Simon Boccanegra is one of our favorites and we thoroughly enjoyed the highly dramatic scene in which Boccanegra's nemesis Paolo (Mr. Green) produces great anguish in Gabriele Adorno (the wonderful tenor Mario Chang) by accusing the latter's lover Amelia (Ms. Lee) of cheating.  What tension they created!  Mr. Paul directed this intense scene and Mr. Glen kept the tension going in the piano.  Mr. Wadsworth directed the next scene from Ernani, another dramatically intense one; Mr. Green portrayed the unloved De Silva with Ms. Lee as his unloving fiancée.  Her two suitors in this scene of confrontation were excellently played by Mr. Chang as Ernani and Mr. Lavrov as the Emperor of Spain.

Tenor Anthony Kalil then sang one of the best tenor arias written by Puccini--"E lucevan le stelle" from Tosca.  Mr. Kalil sang it with heartbreaking passion and in true Italianate style. One could fairly smell the garlic!  Following that was the comic sextet from Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro in which Figaro discovers his parentage.  We enjoyed hearing Mr. Glen on the harpsichord as he accompanied Ms. Hankey and Mr. Green as the newly discovered parents, Mr. Wang as the foiled Count Almaviva, the adorable Ying Fang as the baffled Susanna, Brandon Cedel as Figaro himself, and a very funny Mr. Bliss as the notary Don Curzio.  Mary Birnbaum directed with a sure hand and Mr. Stewart conducted the  ensemble.

The final scene was from Haydn's L'Incontro Improvviso, an opera heretofore unknown to us.  Listening to the gorgeous trio of blended voices (Ms. Fang as the Princess of Persia with Ms. Lee and Ms. Hall as her two best friends) we were made to want more of this opera.

We must not fail to mention the presentation of a scene from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, the scene in which both men have been mistakenly enchanted to desire the formerly rejected Helena and to reject Hermia.  No, there was no music.  We think we know why it was included.  It answered our mental question "How did these singers get to be such good actors?"  We imagine that they get superb instruction in the dramatic arts as part of the curriculum.  The scene was directed by Stephen Wadsworth and performed by Ms. Lee, Ms. Fang, Mr. Bliss and Mr. Cedel.

After the recital the audience joined the artists for champagne which perfectly matched the effervescence of the evening.

© meche kroop

AN EMBARRASSMENT OF RICHES

Prizewinners onstage at Alice Tully Hall

The venerable Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation awarded prizes to a long list of young artists and also gave a generous gift to the opera lovers of New York--a Sunday afternoon parade of prizewinners who got onstage at Alice Tully Hall and gave their all to the grateful and appreciative audience.  Centenarian Signora Albanese came onstage to greet the audience and merited all the adulation she received, not only for her long illustrious career but also for her unstinting efforts to share her skills and wisdom with younger generations of singers.  Administrative/Artistic Director Stephen De Maio put together a superb program; Midge Woolsey hosted and contributed a great deal by giving the audience a concise explanation of the content of the aria and its place in the opera.

All of the singers performed at their peak; each voice we heard was special but a few touched us deeply. Tenor Anthony Kalil blew us away with a goose-bump inducing performance of "E lucevan le stelle" from Puccini's Tosca; he succeeded in making the aria his own.  Baritone Takaoki Onishi, who has been winning awards left and right, sang Rodrigo's arias from Verdi's Don Carlo, building from a subdued start to a smashing and powerful climax. 

We heard two superb Courtneys, both sopranos:  Courtney Mills has a sizable soprano that is very free at the top, supremely suited to "Ritorna Vincitor" from Verdi's Aida; the "junior" Courtney, still an undergraduate but with considerable promise, sang a charming duet from Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia: "Dunque io son".  Her Figaro was the charming baritone Tobias Greenhalgh who captured his character's lovable wiliness.

"Oh Mimi, tu più non torni" from Puccini's La Bohème was movingly sung by tenor Aaron Blake and baritone Ricardo Rivera.  Regular readers know how much we love duets!  From the same opera we heard "O soave fanciulla" sung by soprano Marina Costa-Jackson and tenor Dominick Chenes.  Two more duets graced the program: in the "Brindisi" from Verdi's La Traviata, glamorous soprano Mary-Jane Lee sang Violetta with a lovely vibrato; her Alfredo was tenor Viktor Antipenko who has an open generous sound. The flower duet from Delibes' Lakmé is one of our favorites and Shelley Jackson's bright soprano melded beautifully with Shirin Eskandani's dark mezzo.
Soprano Jennifer Rowley has a lovely liquid sound that flows like heavy cream; she sang "Come in quest'ora bruna" from Verdi's Simon Boccanegra.  There were several fine baritones on the program with superb voices whom we will enjoy far more as they develop more contact with the audience.  With the exception of the following, all singers were accompanied by the Opera Orchestra of New York, conducted by Eve Queler.

There were also a number of performances given by recipients of Distinguished Achievement Awards.  We were most impressed by soprano Jennifer Check who has managed to lose weight without losing any of the gorgeous qualities in her voice; her "Vieni t'affretta", accompanied by Jonathan Kelly, from Verdi's Macbeth was memorable.  Kristin Chavez' "Habanera" from Bizet's Carmen was steamy and involved some audience interaction; Arlene Schrut accompanied.  Eglise Guttierez sang Puccini's "Oh mio babbino caro" from Gianni Schicchi and Ricardo Tamura sang "Nessun Dorma" from Puccini's Turandot.

"Cent'anni" to Signora Albanese!  Oh wait, she already got there.  Well, here's to another century!

© meche kroop

THE HIGHS AND THE LOWS

Anthony Kalil

Ryan Speedo Green

Nimrod David Pfeffer

Bryan Wagorn

The highs and the lows referred to the notes; tenor Anthony Kalil had some ringing high notes and bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green had the sonorous low notes; we had a grand time feeling the resonance in various body parts.  Just sayin'!

Expectations for participants in the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program run high and are generally met or surpassed.  Such was the case at yesterday's recital when yearling Anthony Kalil demonstrated real tenor chops to an audience that may not have been familiar with his work elsewhere but will surely be seeking him out in the future.  With Bryan Wagorn as collaborative pianist, the teamwork paid off in a stunning performance of three selections from Copland's Old American Songs.  But it was in the three Italian selections that one could appreciate the promise of his impressive Italianate style.  There was no hint of sharp raw garlic in his voice but rather the mellow flavor of long-roasted garlic.  We particularly enjoyed that old Donaudy chestnut "O del mio amato ben" which he made sound fresh and new.  His "When the sun arises" from Kurt Weill's The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny was powerful and Mr. Wagorn was with him every step of the way.  It is such fun to hear a young singer for the first time and to imagine him in all the roles you see in his future.

Mr. Green, on the other hand, is quite well-known in the New York area and hearing his booming base-baritone makes one feel as if all is right in this world.  Partnered by Nimrod David Pfeffer he performed "Arise, ye subterranean winds" from Purcell's The Tempest with all the force it required.  Mr. Pfeffer's piano let us feel the very tempest in our bones.  He was a fine storyteller in Liszt's "Die Vätergruft".  Mr. Pfeffer did some fine piano work in two songs by Florence B. Price which sounded appropriately mysterious.

At a bare one hour, the recital seemed too short by half.  We look forward to Mr. Kalil's Met debut as the Young Man in Die Frau Ohne Schatten and have already seen Mr. Green on the Met stage in Parsifal and Turandot.  Stay tuned.  So much more to come from these fine artists.

(c) meche kroop