VOTING WITH OUR APPLAUSE

Warren Jones, Amy Owens, and Anthony Dean Griffey at George London Foundation Recital

We first heard the adorable coloratura soprano Amy Owens five years ago when she was an Apprentice at the Santa Fe Opera. She sang Zerbinetta's aria from Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos and dazzled us with her high flying voice and presentation. Since then we have heard her at the George London Competition, with Steve Blier's New York Festival of Song, with New Amsteram Opera, and with On Site Opera. She excels at everything she does but we were particularly delighted to hear her reprise the role of Zerbinetta yesterday onstage at the Morgan Library. She absolutely owns that role! We wanted to hear it again right on the spot. 

Audiences let the artists know what they like best with their applause and we must say that the rest of the audience was as impressed as we were with her stage presence, acting, phrasing, and artistic use of her natural gift--a bright and clear instrument that is as flexible as it is sonorous.

The applause was not nearly as generous for Donald Waxman's Lovesongs for Soprano, Violin, and Piano. Ms. Owens used the detestable music stand, although she barely glanced at it. Perhaps the lack of musicality in the vocal line made it too difficult to commit to memory.

As is the case with post-Strauss art song, we found ourself listening more to Warren Jones' customary excellence at the piano and Cindy Wu's violin weaving through the piano part. We heard Ms. Owens' voice as just another instrument, a very pleasing instrument that was especially ethereal at the upper end of the register. Perhaps that is what Mr. Waxman intended but we prefer the human voice singing a melody.

The high tessitura of Darius Milhaud's Chansons de Ronsard presented no challenge to her. We enjoyed the sound of the French language and the way she used gesture to convey the various moods. 

Although Ms. Owens enjoys a wide variety of material, we feel singers do well to select works that highlight their special gifts. If we consider audience applause as votes, the Strauss won the day.

We had similar feelings for the performance of tenor Anthony Dean Griffey. We did not have the same opportunity to watch him "grow up". He was already famous when we heard him and we always associate him with the lead role in Britten's opera Peter Grimes.

Yesterday we enjoyed him best in a group of folk songs because of their melodic vocal lines. It was the first time we heard the strophic song "The Roving Gambler" and quickly decided that was our favorite. The situation of a man winning a woman away from her family of birth is one that is not tied to any epoch or ethnic group; it is something we can all relate to, one that evokes memories or anticipations. 

What struck us about Mr. Griffey's performance is how deeply he feels whatever he sings. One gets so caught up in the mood or the story he is telling that one almost forgets to notice the exquisite nature of his instrument. No matter how much labor went into polishing a performance it always feels spontaneous. That is no small gift!

We were less enchanted by Three Songs for Tenor, Cello, and Piano by Frank Bridge. We have on occasion enjoyed Bridge's songs but there was something about the poetry that dictated a vocal line of less than customary interest. We found ourselves listening more to the melodic line of David Heiss' cello as it wove through Mr. Warren's piano tapestry. 

That being said, Mr. Griffey's terrific timbre and expressive delivery made the most of what amounted to a monotonous vocal line. 

Mr. Griffey seemed to be personally invested in "Mitch's Aria" from André Previn's opera A Streetcar Named Desire, a Tennessee Williams play which never asked for music and never needed it. He also performed "Sam's Aria" from Carlisle Floyd's Susannah with great intensity.

Aside from the thrilling Strauss, our second favorite piece on the program was "The Song That Goes Like This" from Eric Idle's Spamalot. This clever duet is a meta-observation about songwriting and singing. The phrases are short and punchy; and they rhyme. Ms. Owens and Mr. Griffey gave it their all and the audience responded in kind.

The program ended with "You are Love" from Jerome Kern's Showboat. As far as music from the 20th c., we vote for American Musical Theater over pretentious "art song".

(c) meche kroop                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

A MEMORABLE NIGHT OF OPERA SCENES AT MSM

Joseph Andrew Yu, Xiaoya Guo, and Yvette Keong

We go to the opera to have a good time, not to boast of our interest in "highbrow culture". Last night we had a wonderful time watching scenes from four different operas at the Manhattan School of Music, all directed by the inventive Laura Alley, who never "plays a wrong note". Each scene was "pitch perfect".  The students, drawn from many parts of the world, exhibited healthy young voices with fine technique and impressive dramatic skills.

Two of the operas were oft-heard standards given beautiful productions and two of them were new to us but significant in the history of MSM. Scott Eyerly's The House of Seven Gables was given its world premiere by MSM in 2000 and Marc Blitzstein's spoof The Harpies was given its premiere in 1953 by MSM. It is rare that we enjoy contemporary opera in English but we did last night!

The program began with a scene from The House of Seven Gables in which boarder Holgrave (bass Weichang Wang) is photographing the Pyncheon family, comprising Aunt Hepzibah (mezzo-soprano Xiaoya Guo), Clifford (tenor Joseph Andrew Yu), and lovely young Phoebe (soprano Yvette Keong) who is having a lighthearted flirtation with Holgrave. We were pulled into the story and wanted to see the rest of the opera! Regular readers will be surprised since our taste for the modern is very rarely positive. The music was appealing, the acting was engaging and the voices just glorious.

Second on the program was The Harpies, which reminded us a bit of Offenbach by virtue of its wit.

The blind oracle Phineus (tenor Alexander Mason) is tormented by the avian Furies (Emilyn Badgley, Natalie Rumer, and Erin Wagner) who are not nearly as sweet as the Rheinmädchen in Wagner's The Ring Cycle.  Oh no, they eat Phineas' food and smell bad! Along come three Argonauts to the rescue (Taicheng Li, Daniel Rich, and Zachary Brown) and in a sensationally staged battle and chase scene, Phineas' wellbeing is restored.  The gorgeous goddess Iris (a radiant Shelén Hughes) appears in rainbow attire and sends the Harpies off to torture other victims. The voices were as fine as expected but the ensemble work was even better. We always love harmonies!

Returning to the familiar, we were delighted by the scene from Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos. Christina Roszhart has a huge soprano with promising roles in her future. She excelled as the eponymous Ariadne, abandoned on the isle of Naxos by her erstwhile lover Theseus. In lovely contrast were the voices of the three nymphs Najade (Hyeree Shin), Echo (Yejin Lee) and Dryade (Sarah Brownawell) who danced and sang their pity for her in suitable choreography and gorgeous vocal harmony.

Enter the feisty Zerbinetta (Kelly Singer) in full commedia del'arte attire, along with her troupe of entertainers. Esteban Zuniga portrayed Brighella, Alexander Mason had the role of Scaramuccio, Harlekin was portrayed by Marcel Sokalski, and Truffaldin was enacted by Edward Lim. Not only was the singing uniformly excellent but the staging and acting left no doubt about the talent onstage.

THE SUBLIME AND THE RIDICULOUS

Anthony Robin Schneider, Jarrett Ott, Matthew DiBattista, Liv Redpath, and Terrence Chin-Loy (photo by Ken Howard for Santa Fe Opera)

Liv Redpath and Amanda Majeski
(Photo by Ken Howard for Santa Fe Opera)

Richard Strauss' 1916 opera Ariadne auf Naxos offers countless delights as well as a wonderful message--comedy can overcome tragedy and love can eliminate grief and stress. The richest man in Vienna is throwing a dinner party and has commissioned an opera to entertain his guests.  Unbeknownst to the unwary young composer, he has also engaged a comedy troupe starring the flirtatious and fickle Zerbinetta. This is enough to throw the arrogant and temperamental stars of this opera seria into a frenzy of disdain and scorn.

When the Major Domo announces in the plummiest of British accents (spoken dialogue was in English) that both troupes will perform simultaneously in order to finish in time for the fireworks, the composer and singers go ballistic. It is time for the young composer to face the reality of the music business! On a happier note, he and Zerbinetta fall for one another.

The show must go on with poor Ariadne singing in Act II (now in German) about her wish to die.  Theseus has loved her and left her, abandoned on a lonely island. She longs for Mercury to come and take her to the "other side". Zerbinetta and her troupe dance and sing and try to cheer her up, to no avail. Zerbinetta even tries to talk to her woman to woman about taking new lovers. Eventually, the young god Bacchus arrives on Naxos and becomes smitten with her. In a lovely directorial touch (Tim Albery) the Composer arrives at the side of the set and appears delighted at the apparent success of his opera. He is joined by Zerbinetta and the two couples are seen embracing in tandem.

As Zerbinetta, 2017 Apprentice Singer Liv Redpath simply stunned us with her glorious coloratura and engaging stage presence. Every note and every gesture served to illuminate her delightful character. She was far more appealing than the dour Ariadne, sung by South African soprano Amanda Echalaz. Ms. Echalaz was effective in Act I as the imperious prima donna but in Act II, her performance as Ariadne lacked the beauty and color we have come to expect in this role. Tenor Bruce Sledge distinguished himself by getting through this challenging role with beauty of tone and lovely phrasing.

The other Amanda in this tale of two Amandas surprised us. We have never been a great fan of Amanda Majeski, but in the travesti role of The Composer, usually sung by a mezzo-soprano, she absolutely shone and was totally convincing in her artistic despair and in her budding romance with Zerbinetta.

Zerbinetta's troupe of commedia dell'arte players was performed with great lively style by Apprentice Artists--Jarrett Ott, Anthony Robin Schneider, Matthew DiBattista, and Terrence Chin-Loy, whose singing and dancing (!) added so much to the evening's delight.

Sarah Tucker, Samantha Gossard, and Meryl Dominguez (photo by Ken Howard for Santa Fe Opera.

Accompanying Ariadne on the isle of Naxos were three lovely ladies portraying the nymphs Echo (soprano Sarah Tucker), Najade (soprano Meryl Dominguez), and Dryade (mezzo-soprano Samantha Gossard). Strauss gave them some beautiful harmonies and they gave some beautiful singing to the audience. We got to thinking about Mozart's three ladies and then about Wagner's Rheinmadchen. We can think of no greater treat than three female voices in harmony. And those gals can really sing!

Smaller roles were all well handled. Kevin Burdette's Major Domo was a study in pomposity and self-importance. Rod Gilfrey portrayed the Music Master in a piece of luxury casting. Jarrett Logan Porter played the wigmaker, so badly abused by the temperamental tenor. Brent Michael Smith was the scurrying footman and Jesse Darden played an Officer. Brenton Ryan made a fine dancing master.

Maestro James Gaffigan did a swell job with Strauss' lavish orchestration and Tim Albery directed with a sure hand. Jodi Melnick's choreography for Zerbinetta's troupe was delightfully different and done in vaudeville style with the men sporting walking sticks. Who knew those guys could dance!!!!

Set and Costume Design by Tobias Hoheisel was highly unusual. The set for Act I was realistic and accurate to the period. We were shown a corridor in the rich man's home with a series of doors to dressing rooms.  Except, in a droll turn, one of them turned out to be a broom closet. During the overture, we could see the arrival of all the artists and get a good idea of their personalities.

The set for Act II was abstract with a pair of curved architectural elements enclosing Ariadne's "cave" which was shaped like a shallow bowl colored red. Thomas C. Hase's lighting design worked its magic.

Ariadne wore a long black dress, suited to her grief.  Zerbinetta and her troupe were not costumed in traditional commedia dell'arte garb but sported garments suited to the early 20th c. Zerbinetta herself looked like a model for Poiret.

We cannot close without mentioning our thought that Strauss often worked through his personal issues through his operas. In this case, he and his librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal almost came to blows as they worked out the necessary compromises to get this opera on the page and on the stage. Could we not notice similar attempts at working through issues in his Capriccio and in his Intermezzo?  In these cases, art surely imitates life!

(c) meche kroop

Caroline Miller, Angela Dinkelman, Jazmin DeRice, Rebecca Paul, and Adam Klein

It is astonishing that the small and scrappy Utopia Opera would even consider mounting a challenging opera like Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos. It is even more astonishing that they succeeded admirably, presenting a highly entertaining and honorable production of this century old work. But then company founder and director William Remmers is undauntable and unflappable in the face of any challenge. His motto must be "Bring it On!"

Hugo von Hofmannsthal's libretto is replete with humor but bears serious undertones. We are in the home of "the richest man in Vienna" who has planned an evening's entertainment involving a new work by a young composer, an opéra seria about Ariadne, abandoned on the island of Naxos by her lover Theseus. This is to be followed by a light entertainment of the opéra comique genre involving commedia del'arte characters. We are led to consider a society's concern with "high art" versus "low art". We are not the first generation to face this choice.

In order to be finished in time for the 9:00 fireworks, it has been decided at the last minute to present the two works on the same stage at the same time--a preposterous notion of course but a juxtaposition leading to some interesting situations when the flirtatious Zerbinetta (Jessica Philpot) tries to get the suicidal Ariadne (Rebecca Paul) to cheer up and find a new lover. Ariadne longs for death and the arrival of the god Bacchus (Adam Klein) is mistaken for Hermès who will take her to the underworld.

The music is lush, complex, and heavily orchestrated. Happily, the live orchestra, conducted by polymath Mr. Remmers, was up to the challenge and the textures of Christopher Fecteau's orchestral reduction ensured that nothing was lost.

The parts were well cast, for the most part, and the sizable voices did justice to the work. Elizabeth Bouk was dramatically convincing as the neophyte composer who was understandably furious about the trashing of her work but somewhat mollified by the attentions of Zerbinetta.

Notable were the three nymphs who sang in gorgeous harmony, reminding us that Richard Wagner had considerable influence on Strauss.  Sopranos Angela Dinkelman as Naiad and Caroline Miller as Echo were joined by mezzo-soprano Jazmin DeRice as Dryade. Not only were they gorgeously costumed (wardrobe by Eric Lamp) and spectacularly made up by Rachel Estabrook, but they sported long ribbons from each finger which somehow made us think of the Rhinemädchens.

The difficult music for the three leads was well-performed and the smaller roles were as well. Zerbinetta's companions Truffaldino (Roman Laba), Scaramuccio (Samuel Themer), Brighella (Gilad Paz who also sang the role of the dance master), and Harlekin (Jonathan Rohr who sang a fine duet with Ms. Philpot)--all of them added horseplay and humor.

Veteran baritone Richard Holmes did a fine job as the Music Master who tried to console the young composer with the wisdom that age brings. One does best to accept what one cannot change! The officious Major-Domo, a spoken role, was well handled by David Seatter. Stage Director Benjamin Spierman took on the role of a Lackey and also translated the excellent titles. Notably, everyone's German was comprehensible.

Fortunately for New York opera lovers, there will be THREE more performances, one tonight and again next Friday and Saturday nights--all at 7:30 at Hunter College. Tickets are very modestly priced for this quality of work. Don't miss an opportunity to hear some stirringly conducted music and a finely directed drama.

(c) meche kroop