THE MARTYR OF ANTIOCH

Alexis Cregger, Adam C.J. Klein, William Remmers, Caroline Tye, and Duncan Hartman

We didn't expect to find much of interest in a dramatic oratorio with a religious theme, especially one sung in English. But.  Big but. Where William Remmers goes, we follow. Such is the cred he has built with us after several years of engaging and stimulating productions by Utopia Opera.

The most impressive part of the performance was seeing what Maestro Remmers could achieve with a full orchestra in the sanctuary of Rutgers Presbyterian Church on the Upper West Side. His conducting is astute and highly energetic, and a bit balletic. 

We couldn't help noticing that The Utopia Opera Choir, having sounded rather muddy in the first scene, became suddenly crisp and clean in the second scene when he left the podium (whilst we were dazzled by an outstanding organ solo, performed by Mary Nelson) and focused his conducting attention on the choir.

The setup in the sanctuary put the strings at audience level with winds elevated on the stage and the choir behind. The splendid soloists sang in front of the strings, and therefore behind Mr. Remmers. It all worked just fine.

Although we knew that Arthur Sullivan had written serious music, we never paid much attention to it, since it is rarely heard on symphony programs. When we think of Sullivan, it is generally in connection with his partnership with W.S. Gilbert, with whom he wrote so many wickedly humorous and satirical operettas--works that are often heard on professional stages, not to mention in schools and summer camps.

What a discovery to hear Sullivan's late Romantic style in its full glory. With the help of Gilbert in adapting the poem of Rev. Henry Hart Milman, a work of musical and spiritual value was created.  It premiered as a piece d'occasion at the Leeds Music Festival in 1880 with Mr. Sullivan on the podium; last night was the United States premiere of the orchestral version.

If, dear reader, you are interested in details about the changes wrought by G&S on Milman's text, we refer you to gsarchive.net. Let it be noted that the text is in iambic pentameter; whereas the original is in blank verse. Gilbert ensured that we would have some rhymes to tickle the ear.

The work takes place in Syria in the 3rd c. and involves the martyrdom of Margarita (the daughter of Callias, the Priest of Apollo) who has converted to Christianity. The poem celebrates the steadfastness of her faith as she sacrifices her love for Olybius, the Roman Prefect and probably her life. With 21st c. cynicism, we see it as the stubbornness of a delusion.

As the martyr Margarita, the stunning soprano of Alexis Cregger filled the nave with clear bright sound that thrilled the ear. The sweet tenor instrument of Adam C.J.Klein was just right for his aria "Come, Margarita, come!" in Scene 1; he became more forceful in Scene 3 when he tried to persuade Margarita, and he darkened the color appropriately for their confrontation when she refused to relent.

Duncan Hartman's dark bass was perfect for the role of Callias, the pompous priest of Apollo, who was understandably stentorian when angry at his daughter's betrayal of the family faith. Their confrontation was rather chilling and made for a fine duet.

Utopia Opera regular Caroline Tye used her rich chocolatey mezzo-soprano in the role of Julia, the speaker of the choir. She colored her voice even darker as she opined that Margarita would die. If we are not mistaken, this role was not in the original poem but was created by G&S. And we are glad they did!

Baritone Kevin Miller sang well in the small role of Fabius, Bishop of Antioch. We liked the mellow sound of his voice.

Except for the choir, all the soloists enunciated clearly so that the text could be understood. We never take that skill for granted.

We enjoyed Evan Chertok's gusto on the timpani as well as Mr. Remmers' picking up some of the percussion by striking the triangle. We have never before seen a conductor do so.

Mélanie Genin's harp solo accompanying Margarita's ode to her lyre was a special treat, as was the cello solo in scene 2.

It was a fine evening, full of surprises and enlightenment. We love to be surprised and we love to be enlightened.

(c) meche kroop

NYFOS GALA CELEBRATES GILBERT AND SULLIVAN

Chris Reynolds (piano), David Hyde Pierce, Abigail Levis, Hal Cazalet, Lauren Worsham, and Bryce Pinkham

There was, as usual, lots of dry humor in Steven Blier's account of his childhood fascination with Gilbert and Sullivan.  Last night's New York Festival of Song Spring Gala at the Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall offered patrons the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hear Broadway stars joyfully tackle duets and ensembles from several comic operas composed by that incredibly gifted writing team.

Writing during the Victorian period, Gilbert's librettos satirized the political and social constructs of that epoch. The stories treat the most absurd situations as if they were normal, turning the world upside-down--hence the title of that marvelous film Topsy-Turvy. Sullivan wrote the most singable melodies, tunes that get inside the ear and brain and never let go.

When one thinks of marvelous writing teams in America one thinks immediately of Rogers and Hammerstein.  In England, one thinks of Gilbert and Sullivan. We have written often about how difficult it is to set the English language. Serious works often appear deadly and boring, without much vocal line. Comic or ironic works seem to lend themselves better to musical involvement.  Think Cole Porter and Steven Sondheim.

As Maestro Blier so aptly pointed out, most of G&S' comic operas deal with the strange laws and customs that keep lovers apart and the clever ways the characters get around the law.  With his marvelous sense of humor he pointed out that Nanki-Poo in The Mikado would never wind up with Katisha because "tenors don't marry contraltos". It does seem that each and every one of their operas has some peculiarly absurd--but logically absurd--solution to the problem that results in a happy ending and a happy audience.

Last night's happy audience enjoyed selections from The Mikado, H.M.S. Pinafore, Iolanthe, Ruddigore, and Princess Ida. There was no printed program so we will rely on our memory to share a few of the very special moments.

Mezzo-soprano Abigail Levis was hilarious as Mad Margaret in Ruddigore, being brought down from her mania by the safe word "Basingstoke". Mr. Blier's hilarious contribution was the joke that "the portraits of the disapproving ancestors could be removed to the Frick--where no one would ever see them".

The three gentlemen of the cast--David Hyde Pierce, Hal Cazalet, and Bryce Pinkham had a great time with the cross-dressing scene in Princess Ida, which they performed solely with acting and without benefit of costume changes.

Soprano Lauren Worsham was delightful in the trio from H.M.S. Pinafore as she turns Sir Joseph Porter's lesson in class distinction around to suit her own romantic ideals. And when Mr. Pierce sang the famous number about his rise to Admiral of the Queen's Navy, the rest of the ensemble indulged in some hilarious hand-jive in unison.

Accompanying the singers were Maestro Blier himself, assisted by Chris Reynolds, whose playing we enjoyed so much at a prior NYFOS event.

It was an altogether charming evening! Our only reservation was the sporadic use of scores.  One might have hoped that the cast would have memorized the material.

(c) meche kroop

NEITHER FISH NOR FOWL

Hunter Parrish and Deborah Voigt (photo by Erin Baiano)

So The Collegiate Chorale, after 74 seasons, is now Master Voices. And Gilbert and Sullivan's masterpiece The Pirates of Penzance has been itself press ganged into the service of cheap entertainment. This does not of course mean that the press has ganged up on them!

Actually, the audience laughed wildly and applauded just as wildly at this peculiar performance, which we found ill-conceived and ill-performed. This makes us feel like a cranky scold but we did not have a good time.  And Gilbert and Sullivan's operettas always promise a good time.

W. S. Gilbert's clever words and Arthur Sullivan's highly tuneful music go together like bangers and mash, like fish and chips. We have often held the pair up as examplars who created the perfect melding of text and melody; they created vocal lines that are highly singable and they knew how to handle the English language. Short punchy lines with clever rhymes bring out the best of our mother tongue.

Although the intricacies of the British political system in the Victorian Age may not be known to us, the basics of political corruption and the British national character are familiar sources of satire and we of the 21st c. can look back at their satire with glee.

But satire is not slapstick and the Borscht belt version we saw at New York City Center Thursday night left us in tears. The flaws were many. Let us enumerate.

Although we prefer fully staged opera, we are no stranger to concert versions (as in Opera Orchestra of New York) during which we can focus on the music and the singing. But the hybrid we saw was just irritating with the performers trying to (over)act with books in hand.

The amplification was irritating and the diction was poor with only Broadway star Phillip Boykin (as the Pirate King) and Douglas Hodge (as Major General Stanley) exhibiting good enough diction to catch most of the words.  Gilbert's text is so clever it is criminal not to enunciate clearly.

As Frederic, TV star Hunter Parrish couldn't sing his way out of a paper bag and his usually fine acting was severely hampered by carrying the libretto.

Deborah Voigt, lured from the opera stage, was wasted as Ruth.

Julia Udine, however, made a fine Mabel and has a lovely warbly soprano just right for the part. We would like to hear her someday without the distortion of amplification. There was one piece of satire that passed by without tampering and we were grateful for it.  G&S loved to satirize opera and Lucia Lammermoor's mad scene, in which she sings a wildly embellished vocal line in duet with a glass harmonica, was here rendered as a duet with the flute in "Poor wandering one". Nicely done! And no insult to Donizetti.

Some of Stanley's daughters sang well but we could not differentiate one from another.

The Orchestra of St. Luke's played rather well from the original scoring of the work. We heard a lovely oboe solo in the overture.

The massive forces of Master Voices were on bleachers onstage behind the actors and seemed to be wasted with all the histrionics distracting from the music. Ted Sperling conducted and directed. Presumably the histrionics and pratfalls were his idea.

Costume Consultant Tracy Christensen was guilty of too much and too little.  Tri-cornered hats on the pirates and the costumes of the Police took us back to Queen Victoria's day but Mabel and the Stanley girls looked like debutants from the mid 20th c. with silly little white caps on their heads. Most egregious was Ms. Voigt's pirate costume which was disastrously unflattering, making her look....FAT!

The alternative title of The Pirates of Penzance is the Slave of Duty. And so we did our duty and sat through the entire evening hoping that the memory will not spoil future performances of the piece by, say, New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players who generally do a fairly reverent job in the spirit of the original intent.

(c) meche kroop

ANOTHER HAT FOR MR. REMMERS

William Remmers and Rachel Selan

We could scarcely believe our eyes and ears witnessing Founder/Artistic Director/Conductor/Emcee/Raconteur William Remmers wearing yet another hat. This time we were witnessing his hilarious comic timing as Thomas Brown, the Duke of Islington in disguise, in Sir Arthur Sullivan's 1875 curtain raiser The Zoo.  This charming one-act had disappeared from the operatic scene for nearly a century and lucky for us that it was rediscovered in the 1960's and there for us onstage at Hunter College last night as the second part of Utopia Opera's bill of two one-act operas.

The name is strange since Utopia stands for near perfection and this scrappy and very personal opera company offers everything but perfection.  Their performances are put together on a shoestring, with whatever serves as scenery and costumes contributed by the cast.  But what it doesn't offer in perfection it makes up for in sheer uninhibited fun in a "Let's put on a show" mode.  Who knew opera could be so much fun!  This is a poorly kept secret as masses of people crowded the 4th floor hallway waiting to be admitted to William Remmer's funhouse.

Sullivan wrote this work without W.S. Gilbert but librettist B.C. Stephenson, using the alias of Bolton Rowe, was no slouch.  The lines are brief and punchy and the theme is one of skewering Great Britain's peculiar worship of the aristocracy.

Thomas Brown's love interest runs the refreshment stall at the London Zoo.  Her reputation is somewhat suspect, as we learn in her very funny aria. Rachel Selan was an effective performer, singing of her various experiences with various lovers while hoisted in the air on a chair.  To win her affection, Mr. Brown devours all her refreshments until he passes out.  He finally wins her hand by offering to make her the Duchess of Islington.

There is a second romantic pair, of course.  Soprano Katherine Peck has a lovely voice and gave a fine portrayal of Laetitia Grinder, a lovesick maiden whose recalcitrant father (played by Alan Smulen) refuses to let her marry the apothecary who courts her, (a fine Erik Bagger).  Of course he keeps threatening suicide.  Our nobleman in disguise saves the day with a generous check.

Now who, you may ask, was conducting the fine orchestra whilst Mr. Remmers took to the boards?  None other than Jeremy Weissmann.  And what an orchestra we had, squeezed as usual onto the right third of the stage and spilling over into the aisles. Under Mr. Weissmann's alert conducting, all the humor of Sullivan's score was captured. Francisco Miranda did some amazing things on the keyboard.

The first part of the evening, conducted by Mr. Remmers, was given over to Ravel's delightful L'enfant et les sortiléges, a work dating back to 1925, a setting of a story by Colette.  In this short work a very naughty child, convincingly portrayed by Elsa Quéron, is treated to reprimand and revenge by all the things he has abused--animate and inanimate.  Although it has its humor there is also a beautiful dénouement as the boy learns his lesson and becomes humanized.

The funniest bit was the song and dance of the Teapot and the Teacup, performed respectively by Erik Bagger and Brittany Fowler singing a strange amalgam of French, Japanese and Mandarin. Likewise funny was the feline "romance" between Joshua Miller and Shawn Farrar.  More touching than funny was the Princess from a fairy tale (the lovely Winnie Nieh) who was in trouble because the boy had torn up the pages of the book that showed her Prince rescuing her with a sword. Jason Brook's flute solo made a fine accompaniment to her aria.

But it was not until the garden scene when the boy is confronted with the tree he wounded with his knife that the shift begins. Ultimately he binds the wound of the Squirrel (Sarah Marvel Bleasdale, who also played Maman), learns compassion and is forgiven.  We found this scene touching.

At the Monte Carlo opera, the dancing was choreographed by Balanchine, but we were not deprived of dancing furniture and, even better, dancing frogs, birds and bats. It was impressive the way a simple scarf could become wings and rubber bands could create ears from hair. We have rarely enjoyed ourselves so well at an opera and had an ear-to-ear smile all the way home.  We are still smiling!

Utopia's next production will be Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos, expanded to four performances on June 5, 6, 12, and 13.  We are having trouble imagining how that can be done on a tiny stage on a tiny budget but we are getting accustomed to the idea that William Remmer can accomplish anything with his superfluity of imagination and creativity.  Stay tuned!

(c) meche kroop