BARD SUMMERSCAPE

Mascagni's IRIS at Bard SummerScape

It took three and a half hours on the bus to arrive at Annandale-on-Hudson, home of the beautiful Bard campus, but the pleasant greenery and dinner at the fashionable Spiegeltent restored our spirits.  The sight of Frank Gehry's Fisher Center dazzled the eye; the interior impressed with its comfort, excellent acoustics and fine sight-lines.

But we came for the music--an opportunity to witness a fully staged production of an important but neglected opera--which is the mission of this summer festival.  Pietro Mascagni was a contemporary of Giacomo Puccini, who was both friend and rival. Best known for his 1890 Cavalleria Rusticana, and his L'Amico Fritz of 1891,  Mascagni premiered Iris (also in Rome) in 1898. If one hoped to hear the gorgeous music for which this composer is remembered, one would not be disappointed. 

A chorus celebrating the Sun opens and closes the work and Chorus Master James Bagwell provided the depth and strength the work called for. Similar encomium can be offered to Maestro Leon Botstein, who led his American Symphony Orchestra in an articulate performance of the gorgeous score.  The singers left absolutely nothing to be desired in their performances.

Talise Trevigne's expansive soprano sailed over the orchestra and was just right for the lead and, like the other artists, she did her best to enact what the director requested, although she did not appear completely comfortable dramatically. Mezzo-soprano Cecilia brought a fine timbre to her role as Geisha and enacted a severe presence. Gerard Schneider's full-throated tenor met all of Mascagni's challenges; we felt sorry for him trying to perform a seduction on a most uncomfortable slab.

Douglas Williams seemed most comfortable onstage and exhibited a fine presence as well as a resonant bass-baritone just right for the role of Kyoto.  As the Blind Father, Matthew Boehler's bass truly delivered and he blundered around onstage in a convincing fashion. Samuel Levine's terrific tenor didn't show up until Act III but sounded just fine.

The flaw lay in the libretto. If one hoped for a cogent story with characters one could relate to, as in Cavalleria Rusticana, one definitely would be disappointed!  Since the Victorian era, Europe was in the grip of le japonisme, a fascination with Japan, a country which had been hidden from Western eyes for a very long time and was seen as a highly exotic place.  Composers from Puccini to Arthur Sullivan dipped their toes in Japanese waters.

It is puzzling that Luigi Illica, who would produce such a compelling libretto for Puccini's Madama Butterfly a few years later, would come up with such a weird and static story for Mascagni. Perhaps for audiences of that epoch, the "racy" story of a woman kidnapped for sexual slavery might have been titillating. In common with Madama Butterfly, we are witnessing the story of innocence despoiled. But Puccini's opera offers us some romance along with a remarkably naïve heroine being taken advantage of by narcissistic men!

Iris (Talise Trvigne) is a young girl living with her blind father (Matthew Boehler). She catches the eye of a wealthy fellow Osaka (Gerard Schneider) who teams up with the brothel keeper Kyoto (Douglas Williams) to trick Iris by means of a puppet play that affects her deeply.

The play is performed by three Geishas (dancers Jasmine Albuquerque, Justine Clark, and Kristen Leahy) and three Samurais (Jordan Isidore, Aaron Burr Johnson, and Sam Shapiro).  Chief "Geisha" (sic) was beautifully performed by Cecelia Hall. The "sic" is because Illica's idea of a geisha as a prostitute was only his fantasy.

In the puppet play, a young woman is abused by her father, sold into sexual slavery, and rescued by a figure of transcendence who gives her a spiritual death. Unlike the puppet heroine, Iris is highly valued by her father.

Once brought to the brothel, she mistakes it for paradise and does not respond to the sexual advances of Osaka.  Her father, shamed by her new "status" rejects her. She jumps into a sewer to escape and winds up in some kind of garbage dump of the mind where she encounters a Ragpicker (Samuel Levine).

We prefer our operas to tell a logical tale, rather than an Expressionistic one. We have the same unappreciative response to Pelleas et Melisande, although we love the music.

We are quite sure that James Darrah's monotoned production delighted many but we are not among them. We own up to being rather literal and if a little girl sings about a doll, we'd like to see her playing with it.  If she sings about waking up from a portentous nightmare, we don't understand why she would be dancing around the stage with gleeful abandon. If she mentions her new black sandals, we don't want to see her barefoot.

The set designers (Emily Anne MacDonald and Cameron Jaye Mock) created a bare grey and white set for Act I which takes place in Iris' home. There is nothing but a white wall on which Adam Larsen's designs of shadows were projected. The evil characters occupied a space above.  There was not a single element suggestive of Japan. There was a lot of stuff falling from the sky.  Leaves? Snow?

For the brothel scene of Act II, everything was slick black and white with red neon. Again, nothing was suggestive of Japan nor of the 19th c. The red slab on which Osaka attempts to seduce Iris looked so incredibly uncomfortable we wondered if any seduction could have ever succeeded!

The sewer scene of Act III seemed to be a tower of discarded refuse with the ragpickers searching for anything shiny.  They might have looked in the set for Act II!  Should you be wondering how we thought it might have been better staged, we would have recommended  a concert version, thus avoiding the problematic story!  In the words of the Blind Father "Questo dramma è menzogna tutto! Malvagio in testo".

Peabody Southwell's costumes were consistent with the overall design.  Innocent Iris wore an unflattering ankle-length white dress that did nothing to make her look child-like.  Her blind father looked the most realistic.

The denizens of the red light district all wore black and looked like comic book villains.  The so-called Geishas wore garments suggestive of S&M with lots of straps and thigh-high boots. Kyoto was dressed in a jump suit which plunged to the waist revealing Mr. Williams' handsome chest. (No complaints on that account!)

Bard SummerScape offers many more programs centered around shorter operas and excerpts, offering something for everyone. They provide a lovely respite from the barren summer landscape. Head north and enjoy!

(c) meche kroop

WINNERS ALL AT THE GEORGE LONDON COMPETITION

Nora London surrounded by a bunch of winners!

The George London Foundation has been generously awarding grants to young singers for 45 years now. Nora London has done a fantastic job of honoring the memory of her late husband.  Last Friday afternoon six eminent judges awarded $73,000. to the 23 finalists, culled from a field of 85 applicants.

The overall quality of the performances exceeded our expectations from prior years. We generally put a star on the program next to the name of the singers we like the best.  By the time we starred the first four singers we realized there was no point trying to second guess the judges. We are glad we were not called upon to put one performance above another.  For those readers for whom the amounts of the awards are of interest, we refer you to the press release...

http://www.wadacommunications.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Winners-Announced-for-George-London-Foundation-45th-Annual-Awards-Competition-February-19-2016.pdf 

For our part, we prefer to share with readers our own impressions without regard to the level of the award. Our bias is toward singers who relate to the text and can communicate that to the audience. Having spoken to some of the singers we believe that the singer does best if he/she loves the song.  Each singer submits a list and then is told what the judges wish to hear.

So...here goes! Soprano Jacqueline Piccolino wowed us from the first second with her thrilling sound, a garlic-scented dramatic coloratura, an unusual fach to be sure.  She performed "Bel raggio lusinghier" from Rossini's Semiramide with marvelous flexibility in the cabaletta and a true diva's command of the stage.

This year there was no shortage of big voices. One can always count on soprano Marina Costa-Jackson for a fine performance and she showed her stuff with the heart-breaking "Morrò, ma prima in grazia" from Verdi's Un ballo in maschera.

Antonina Chehovska used her wonderful soprano for the challenging "Letter Scene" from Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. She mined every phrase for dramatic meaning and conveyed all the passionate intensity of a young woman in the throes of first love.

Lighter sopranos were also in evidence and we loved Claudia Rosenthal's "Non monsieur mon mari" from Poulenc's Les mamelles de Tiresias. It was an unusual choice but it gave full access to her vibrant personality and acting skills.

Another lovely performance in French was that of mezzo-soprano Cecelia Hall who filled "Oh! La pitoyable aventure!" from Ravel's L'heure espagnole with plenty of humor.

Soprano Kirstin MacKinnon excelled in the "Jewel Song" from Gounod's Faust and used her bright instrument effectively, bringing the aria to a stunning climax. 

Mezzo-soprano Shabnam Kalbasi performed "Nacqui all'affano...Non più mesta" from Rossini's La Cenerentola with a lot of charm and evenness throughout the wide-ranging skips and jumps.

Considering the male singers, baritone Steven LaBrie performed "Pierrot's Tanzlied" from Korngold's Die Tote Stadt with a great deal of feeling and artistry to swoon over.

Bass Colin Ramsey was simply wonderful in "The Catalog Aria" from Mozart's Don Giovanni. We haven't heard him sing since his undergraduate days at Manhattan School of Music and were thrilled to hear how his voice has developed.

Speaking of developing voices, we detected something new and exciting in the baritone of John Viscardi who filled the room with glorious sound in "Avant de quitter ces lieux" from Gounod's Faust. He sang with an enviable legato and wisely modulated the dynamic intensity in accordance with the text.

Baritone Sean Michael Plumb used his rich voice and dramatic skills in "O Carlo ascolta...Io morro" from Verdi's Don Carlo.  It was most convincing.

Baritone David Pershall sang "Starbuck's Aria" from Heggie's Moby Dick with power and eloquence, sensitive to the character's moral dilemma.

Bass-baritone Michael Sumuel sang "Blick'ich umher" from Wagner's Tannhäuser and pleased us with his breadth of tone.  The dynamic variety was well achieved and there was some lovely delicacy in the pp passages.

Baritone Jared Bybee sang "Vision Fugitive" from Massenet's Herodiade with lovely alternation between intensity and delicacy.

Craig Rutenberg was the accompanist for the singers and one could not have wished for better. We particularly enjoyed his playing of Wagner and Tchaikovsky.

We have heard the future of opera and we are not worried.  Au contraire, there are plenty of superlative artists.  All we need are the companies to employ them!

(c) meche kroop

(AD)VENTURE OPERA

Christian Zaremba, Marquita Raley, Amy Shoremount-Obra, Yujoong Kim, Philip Cutlip, Eric Downs, Matthew Patrick Morris, Cecelia Hall

We are always excited about a new opera company and eager to see what they have to offer. Every now and then we experience a company with a vision that goes beyond the standard one of providing performance opportunities for young singers or attracting a new audience.  Last night we witnessed the birth of an exciting new company--Venture Opera--without any excruciating labor pains. We are sure that much labor went into their production of Mozart's Don Giovanni but we missed all that.  We got to greet the welcome new baby in all its glory.

Thursday night we heard Jonathon Thierer sing at the Classic Lyric Arts Gala (reviewed beneath this review) but last night he wore a different hat--that of Founder and General Director of Venture Opera. We welcome this new baby with open arms.

Ordinarily we don't like to see our favorite classics altered in any way, but this non-traditional presentation did not take anything away from Mozart's tragicomic masterpiece but rather added something new that led to a more visceral understanding of librettist Lorenzo da Ponte's message.

The production was designed and directed by Edwin Cahill with a sure hand. The arc of the story moved along swiftly and all the encrusted clichés and tropes were swept away. The inherent tragedy was made even more poignant by the framing device which was set up during Mozart's portentous overture.


The ghost of Tirso de Molina, the author of the original Don Juan story, (Joel Reuben Ganz in a non-singing role) calls up the souls of the characters from Purgatory and, when the actual opera begins,  they relive their lives and their sins. They are barefoot and their fingernails and toenails are painted a ghostly white.

Both Tirso de Molino and Lorenzo Da Ponte were born Jewish and obliged to convert to Catholicism, even becoming priests--the former in late 16th c. Spain and the latter in 18th c. Venice. What better venue for this work than the Angel Orensanz Center, a deconsecrated 19th c. synagogue built in the Gothic Revival style of the grand cathedral of Cologne. Most of the action was staged on the pulpit but the aisles and balconies were put to good use as well.

The eponymous Don Giovanni in this performance, as played by the formidable baritone Philip Cutlip, is sinful in many ways--he is a rapist and a serial seducer, he abuses his servant, he lies and tricks people. Mr. Cutlip's Don oozes menace, not charm.  He is a corrupt priest of the Catholic church who abuses his power.   Lust, gluttony, greed and pride color his every action.

Most of the characters are guilty of manipulation. Donna Anna, powerfully sung by the stunning soprano Amy Shoremount-Obra, manipulates her fiancé Don Ottavio, stringing him along, clearly never intending to marry him.  Her bright and well-focused instrument was well employed in the service of the character.

The peasant girl Zerlina, marvelously portrayed by Cecelia Hall, has her fiancé Masetto, well sung by sturdy bass Matthew Patrick Morris, wrapped around her finger, much as she wraps him in the white cloth that later serves as the sheet on their nuptial bed. She betrays him on their wedding day and uses her sexuality and hyperbolic offers of submission to win his forgiveness.

Leporello, portrayed without the customary shtick by baritone Eric Downs, is a coward and easily bought by the Don's money, even if it is stolen from the collection plate. He is an accessory to the Don's crimes.

Only Donna Elvira is straightforward. Marquita Raley sang the role with great power. Her voice is a special one with lots of texture and overtones that made her seem a force with which to be reckoned. She is protective toward Zerlina, warning the peasant girl--and not just because she wants the Don for herself.

She is capable also of forgiveness but guilty of self-deception, like many women who think they can reform a bad dude. She suffers from wrath and also envy.  Just see her smirk at the finale! Donna Anna has Don Ottavio. Zerlina has Masetto.  She has nobody and will enter a convent. Surely she begrudges others what she cannot get.

Don Ottavio comes across as the only good guy onstage. We reviewed Yujoong Kim three years ago at Juilliard and wrote that we wanted to hear more of him. He has a beautiful sweet ringing tenor that is filled with romantic promise. He was an ardent suitor in this production and sang "Il mio tesoro" with great lyricism and finesse. "Dalla sua pace" was omitted but again..."We'd like to hear more".

We don't know why this noble soul wound up in Purgatory, nor why the Commendatore was there either. Perhaps they committed sins we hadn't heard about! Christian Zaremba sang the role of the Commendatore with a substantial and grounded bass.

In sum, the casting was perfect and each singer was as superb dramatically as he/she was vocally. The musical values were excellent. Maestro Ryan McAdams has an energetic style just right for this opera and commanded his orchestra effectively.

The orchestra was situated off to the side so that his back was to the singers and he was obliged to turn around from time to time. During the party scene, the musicians playing the rustic tune departed the orchestra, which was playing a minuet, and sat on the opposite side of the stage--a novel and effective way to illustrate the differing tastes of the different social classes present.

Pauline Kim Harris played the lute solo onstage during the serenade scene.  Every opportunity to make use of this interesting and acoustically wonderful venue was seized.

Costume Design by Bradon McDonald was apt. Don Giovanni and Leporello were dressed in vivid red and black. The women were dressed in white, grey and touches of black. Don Ottavio wore a white dinner jacket. It all seemed to fit with their characters. Effective lighting was by Yael Lubetzky.

All through the performance we were noticing little things that meant a lot toward underscoring the inherent violence of the tale. Donna Anna dons her dead father's bloody glove.  Elvira twists a scarf in her hands as she thinks of strangling Don Giovanni. Don Ottavio threatens with a red pistol.

The only directorial choice that struck us as wrong was in the final scene when Don Giovanni snorts cocaine instead of indulging his gastronomic gluttony. If you understand the Italian or if you are reading the titles, the discrepancy between action and words is unsettling.

We can scarcely wait to see what Venture Opera comes up with for their next adVenture.

(c) meche kroop

CRAZY IN LOVE

Cecelia Hall and Susanna Phillips (photo by Ken Howard)

Dear Dan Savage,

Who else but you could help me with my savage feelings! I recently started working for an important guy in my town. I fell madly in love with his housekeeper but she is hanging in there with high hopes of marrying her boss.  I'm sure she doesn't have a chance with him and I know I am the right guy for her but she is one difficult woman!  She keeps rejecting me.  How do I convince her?  I'm just a working stiff but I'm reliable.  Doesn't that count?

Yours truly,

Nardo the Nebbish

----------------

Dear Abby,

I just about convinced my boss to marry me, after several years of keeping house for him.  He's old but he's rich and I'm tired of working.  I thought I had a lock on him but he recently hired a gardener, a woman gardener.  There's something phony about her and she's got him wrapped around her finger.  How can I expose her and get him back?

Sincerely,

Serpetta

________________

Dear Dan,

It's tough being a guy with position and money.  I've been alone for years and was thinking of marrying my housekeeper so she could ease my later years.  Recently I hired a woman to tend my garden and, well, how do I put this delicately?  The sap is rising!  She doesn't seem particularly interested but I'm sure it's because she is depressed.  There must be something in her past that causes her to overlook a catch like myself.  How can I get her to look at me and see how much I have to offer her?

Yours in renewed rapture,

Don Anchise

________________

Dear Dan,

I suspect you are going to tell me to DTMFA, but I hope you will not because I am so in love with this guy.  He has anger management problems and, in a fit he attacked me with a knife. He left me for dead but I survived and I want him back.  I know we are meant for each other!  He's really a wonderful guy and I think I could get him to go for therapy. The problem is this--I decided to totally change my life by giving up everything and going to work at something menial. (My boss is interested in me but I can't even look at him.)  Imagine my shock when the man I love showed up at his home and is engaged to his niece.  They blow hot and cold and if he found out that I'm alive I'm sure he would give her up and return to me.  Please help!

Sandrina

_________________

Dear Dan,

I am a bad boy.  Here I am engaged to a beautiful woman who is capricious and always wants things her way, a real princess. But I cannot forget my ex-lover who I may have killed in a fit of jealousy. At the time I thought I was justified!  I saw in my fiancée's uncle's house a woman who reminds me so much of her.  I cannot believe it and I think I want to back out of my engagement.  Am I a total A-hole?

Belfiore

_________________

Dear Dan,

What a jerk I am.  I have been hanging around this gorgeous gal who keeps stringing me along.  She is so fickle.  Now she just got engaged to someone else. She's independent and bossy but I love her anyway. Do you think there is some way I can coax her away from this other dude?  Please answer quickly Dan.

Ramiro

__________________

Dear Abby,

Can you help me with a quandary?  It's time I married.  I have been keeping company with a swell guy but he is so devoted I started to take him for granted.  Along comes this exciting guy who swept me off my feet.  But he is fickle and seems to be flirting with someone in my uncle's employ.  Should I choose the exciting one or the loyal one? I might add that whichever one I choose, I will rule the roost. I am accustomed to getting my way. For the kind of woman I am, which guy would make the best match?  I'm counting on you Abby.

Arminda

_______________

Now that you understand the plot of Mozart's youthful opera  La Finta Gardiniera (LOL), let it be said that the Santa Fe Opera gave it a delightful production.  The cast was all around superb.

The Marchioness Violante, disguised as Sandrina the gardener, was portrayed by Heidi Stober. As the spoiled and demanding Arminda, Susanna Phillips sang and acted up a storm, stepping out of the usual gentle sweetness we associate with her.

Soprano Laura Tatulescu portrayed Serpetta with rather more unpleasantness than wiliness.

As the flip-flopping Belfiore, tenor Joel Prieto made a fine impression. As the Podestà, tenor William Burden more than fulfilled the demands of the role.

Mezzo-soprano Cecelia Hall was extraordinarily convincing as Ramiro and Joshua Hopkins, in the role of Nardo, impressed us with his superb baritone and sympathetic portrayal.

The production was gorgeous and true to the period.  Tim Albery's direction kept things moving at a swift pace and Harry Bicket's precise attack on Mozart's marvelous music kept up.

Hildegard Bechtler's stunning set took us right back to the 18th c. as did Jon Morrell's lavish costume design. The Podestà's overdone costume and wig were a source of giggles and Ms. Phillips looked exquisite in her gown, with the widest paniers we have ever seen.

Sandrine and Serpetta were drably dressed in black but they were servants and perhaps that is how servants were dressed in those days.

This was not Mozart's first opera and his enthusiasm for the form is unmistakeable. Melodies tumbled after each other all night long. All he needed was a good librettist and thank goodness Da Ponte came along.  Now that was a match made in heaven!

This was the last opera we heard in Santa Fe this season and we were overjoyed to end on such a happy note. By the end of the opera, everyone was happily coupled except for the Podestà and he was hopeful about his romantic future.  Delightful!



(c) meche kroop

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARILYN

Brian Zeger and Susan Graham

As far as song recitals go, Susan Graham has everything one would wish for in a performer--stage presence, communicative skills, understanding of the text, linguistic perfection, a gorgeous instrument, a sensitive partnership with her collaborative pianist (the eminent Brian Zeger) and that something extra that makes people adore her.

Her performance at the conclusion of the Marilyn Horne Song Celebration at Zankel Hall seemed to be a lesson for prospective lieder singers and a superlative way to honor Ms. Horne, whose contributions to the world of song is legendary.  Significantly she has mastered the rare art of making French comprehensible.  We wish we could say the same for the other singers on the program.

Alfred Bachelet's "Chère nuit" was given a rapturous and romantic reading, as was "Quand je fus pris au pavillon" by Bachelet's contemporary Reynaldo Hahn.  Poulenc came along at a later period and his waltz "Les chemins de l'amour" filled us with nostalgia for our own sacred memories.  As encore, Ms. Graham and Mr. Zeger offered another Poulenc song of a more surrealistic nature--the well known languorous "Violon".

Of the rest of the program, we feel obligated to point out that it was not as celebratory as we had hoped.  Glamorous mezzo-soprano Cecelia Hall made some fine music in Arnold Schoenberg's Vier Lieder, Op.2 with its many references to natural elements and colors--poet Richard Dehmel must have been very fond of gold and green, red and blue.  Ms. Hall has a fine stage presence and a fine instrument that sounds rather soprano-y for the most part.  

Her German was excellent but her French diction in Ravel's Cinq mélodies populaires grecques fell short.  A native born French speaker of my acquaintance shared the same opinion.  The words to these charming folk songs deserve to be understood! The melodies nonetheless came through with charm to spare.  Renate Rohlfing's accompaniment was marked by a delightfully soft touch.

A last minute replacement for a singer who was generously "lent out" to the Philharmonic, bass DeAndre Simmons has a marvelously resonant sound.  He and his piano partner, the superb Brent Funderburk, were asked to step in with a program they had already prepared for another engagement.  In the entire Brahms canon, we cannot think of a group of songs we like less than "Vier ernste Gesänge".  To our ears they are painfully preachy and the bible is not what we want to hear quoted in an evening of celebration. Perhaps we are alone in this opinion but that is how we felt.

That being said, Mr. Simmons sang them well with an expressive rich tone and fine German diction.  Mr. Funderburk's piano handled the many scale passages with elegance.  It is obvious that he studied with Mr. Zeger!

Edward Parks has a marvelous baritone that we have enjoyed to the point of fanaticism on prior occasions.  Last night his delivery of selections from Schubert's Schwanengesang did not live up to his earlier performances. Schubert knew he was dying at the time of their composition and the settings of Heine's poetry are tinged with underlying sadness, even when they appear cheerful at first hearing.

We always love the lilting "Das Fischermädchen" and the eerie arpeggios of "Die Stadt"; the music made by pianist Keun-A Lee was extraordinary.  We just wanted a little more color and variety from Mr. Parks, the color and variety he lent to Schubert the last time we heard him.

We got plenty of color and variety from soprano Alison King, accompanied by Peter Walsh, in a selection of songs by Pauline Viardot. This musical polymath should be included in more vocal recitals!  As a singer, she wrote exceptionally well for the voice.  Her Havanaise had some marvelous melodies and exciting rhythm.  

Ms. King sounded a lot better in German than she did in French, mainly because of the diction.  We understood every word of the delightful "Nixe Binsefuss" and she injected an interesting bit of irony in Ms. Viardot's setting of "Das ist ein Schlechtes Wetter" in which Mr. Walsh conveyed the state of the weather in stormy fashion. We prefer the Viardot setting of the Heine text to that of Richard Strauss.

And so the week of celebration came to a successful conclusion with Ms. Graham's stunning appearance.  Lieder lovers come from all over the world for this glorious week of song.  We hope some new converts were made.

© meche kroop

THE SONG CONTINUES 2014

Ken Noda (Christian Steiner)

Cecelia Hall (Pat Arnow)

The week of recitals, concert and master classes celebrating Marilyn Horne's birthday (she can't really be 80 and is still beautiful!) got off to a breathtaking start last night with a Spotlight Recital that literally left us breathless.  Mezzo-soprano Cecelia Hall and collaborative pianist Ken Noda teamed up for an hour that seemed to last but ten minutes and left us totally satisfied and yet eager for more.

The program was perfectly designed to show off Ms. Hall's numerous assets and Mr. Noda's uncanny ability to match her, phrase for glorious phrase.  The aforementioned assets are vocal, dramatic and linguistic.  Ms. Hall sang in English, Italian, German and French with equally fine diction.  A native French speaker in the audience who comes every year for this event (and is rarely satisfied with a singer's French) confirmed my favorable opinion.

Ms. Hall's vocal assets are remarkable.  The voice is pleasing to the ear and the technique is so invisible that the listener can focus on the interpretation.  And it is here that Ms. Hall shines.  She used her voice, which has as many colors as the rainbow, her facial expression and her body to communicate the text--be it sad, joyful, nostalgic or coquettish.  She demonstrated what we want every singer to demonstrate--connection with the material and connection with the audience.

The program went from the Baroque Period to the 20th c.  Let's take a closer look.  We loved the melismatic phrases of Purcell's "If music be the food of love" in which she reveled in joy and "I attempt from Love's sickness to fly" that was no less expressive.  When she sang the only existing fragment of Monteverdi's L'Arianna-- "Lasciatemi morire" we felt the pain in our own heart.

Music from the Romantic Period was handled with the same devotion.  If you wanted to know what Robert Schumann felt about his marriage to Clara Wieck, all you'd have to do was  listen to Ms. Hall sing "Widmung".  In his "Mondnacht", Ms. Hall literally spread her wings in a glorious balletic gesture while Mr. Noda created the sensation of moonlight on the piano.

And just hear how Mr. Noda created the sounds of the lark, the bees and the rustling of the linden branches in Mahler's "Frühlingsmorgen"!  Ms. Hall dedicated "Liebst du um Schönheit" to her husband and this may have been the most expressive singing of the evening and also offered her the opportunity to let loose in her upper register, to great effect. Four early songs by Schoenberg were erotic and mysterious.

The French conclusion of the recital was pure delight.  André Messager's "J'ai deux amants" from L'amour masqué allowed the singer to show her coquettish side and delighted the audience.  The lassitude of Poulenc's "Hôtel" was never made clearer nor the nostalgia of "Les chemins de l'amour".  The final selection was a 1929 cabaret piece entitled "Quand je danse avec lui" which was re-created by our talented duo from a film because the sheet music n'existe plus!  Mr. Noda's waltzy arrangement probably surpassed the original.

As encore we enjoyed the brothers Gershwin's fine song "Lorelei".  We were enchanted and emerged from the recital on a cloud of joy.

After an hour's break, Ms. Horne herself took the stage for a master class and generously coached four young singers and pianists.  We were quite impressed with mezzo Kate Jackman who gave a lovely reading of Elgar's "Where corals lie", accompanied by Mario Antonio Marra.  Ms. Horne gave her some useful suggestions about where to take her breaths and counseled her to add a little lilt to the key phrase.

Soprano Natalie Conte, accompanied by Nathan Salazar, sang Strauss' "September" and was helped to make the delivery more ethereal.  In Ms. Horne's own words "Put a halo around it".

Baritone Leo Radosavljevic, accompanied by Brent Funderburk, offered Copeland's folksy lullabye "The Little Horses" and was coached to imagine holding a baby.  Let it be noted that Mr. R.'s talent for baby-holding needed more coaching than his excellent singing!  The audience really enjoyed the spectacle.

Tenor Christian Ketter, accompanied by Marek Ruszczynski, got some fine help with Cordillo's "Core 'ngrato" regarding placement of the voice.  Ms. Horne most definitely favors placing the voice in the "mask" and the advice seems to work wonders.

As long as Ms. Horne is around, we do not have to worry about the future of the art song!  All is well in studio and onstage.  There are lots more events to come, culminating in a grand recital Thursday night at Zankel Hall.

© 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