SORROW FOR THE SUOR

Leonarda Priore and Megan Nielson (photo by Janette Pellegrini)

Although not billed as a  "site specific" work, Chelsea Opera's choice to set Giacomo Puccini's Suor Angelica in Christ and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church was a fine idea, in spite of the uncomfortable pews and poor sightlines. The acoustics are excellent and the atmosphere suggestive of the 17th c. convent to which poor Angelica had been hustled seven years before the opera began.

In 21st c. America, women may deliberately have the babies they want without "benefit" of matrimony; indeed, many of them do.  But until very recently, bearing a child out of wedlock was considered shameful, sinful, and deserving of scorn.  In many parts of the world it still is.

 In Suor Angelica's case, she has dishonored her prominent aristocratic family and was given no choice but to be locked away for life.  Nonetheless she appears to have made a life for herself within the convent walls, becoming an expert in herbs and flowers.

Soprano Megan Nielsen was superb in the title role. Her voice filled the church with a ringing tone and her vocal colors varied according to the emotional changes she underwent-- from her almost cheerful entrance to the grief when she learned that her child had died, to the resolute decision to take her life, to the panic she felt when realizing she had committed a mortal sin, to the rapture she felt when she believed herself to be forgiven by the Virgin Mary and to be reunited with her lost son.

No less wonderful was mezzo-soprano Leonarda Priore who inhabited the role of La Zia Principessa as if she were born to it.  She has come to the convent to visit her niece Suor Angelica and if you were in the latter's shoes, you might have been delighted about the visit and wondering if you'd been forgiven for your transgression.

But no, such is not the case. This stunningly remote character has nothing but scorn for her sister's child and has come to the convent to get her niece to sign away any rights to her inheritance because her younger sister is to be married. The frigid air with which Ms. Priore colored her rich mezzo-soprano was chilling, even in the warmth of the church. The confrontation was so painful, we felt all of Zia Principessa's rejection; the coldness with which she told her niece that her child had died had our eyes brimming over with tears.

The huge cast did not have a weak link. Many of them have a history with Chelsea Opera and some were making auspicious debuts. Soprano Terina Westmeyer portrayed La Badessa and the role of the punitive Suora Zelatrice was portrayed by mezzo Juliana Curcio. Soprano Joanie Brittingham was lovely as the young Suor Genovieffa.

The other sisters were beautifully sung by Juli Borst, Samantha Geraci-Yee, Evelyn Carr, Kimmy Norrell, Mary Kathryn Monday, Jennifer Allenby, Rachel Weishoff, Ali Funkhouser, Alexandra M. Priore, Erin Brittain, Elizabeth Moulton, Loren Silber, and Sandy MacDonald.

Carol Wilson did a fine job of directing, establishing a functional community of women. Costuming  by Brent Barkhaus involved simple white habits for the nuns but a long black dress for Zia Principessa that perfectly echoed her stiff personality. Although there was no set, the astute lighting of Alexander Bartenieff was effective in showing the changing emotional content.

The four-member male chorus sounded fine as the voices of angels, adding to our impression of strong musical values.

This powerful and tightly focused opera is the centerpiece of Puccini's Il Trittico and clocks in at under an hour. As "curtain raisers", Maestro Benjamin Grow did an admirable job of conducting the superb Chelsea Opera Chamber Orchestra in three short pieces, with the most interesting (to us lovers of vocal music) the "Salve Regina" beautifully sung by soprano Samantha Kantak, accompanied by Daniel Ficarri on the organ--a very special treat.

There will be one more performance tonight and we urge you to "get to the church on time" because last night there was "standing room only".

(c) meche kroop

JAZZ NATIVITY AT CHELSEA OPERA

David Gordon, Emily Gu Siegel, and Larry Long

We all know where great matches are made; Chelsea Opera joined forces with Kindred Spirits to produce a fine family-oriented Christmas entertainment--Bending Towards the Light...A Jazz Nativity.  Chelsea Opera is well known to us and has been reviewed by us many times; we have spent many evenings enjoying their productions.  Kindred Spirits is new to us; it was created to educate through music. Their Children's Jazz Choirs educate inner city children, teaching them songs of the great American composers.

The jazz artists on the program, although unknown to us,  seem to be famous in their field and the source of a great deal of energy, shaking the rafters of Christ and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church. We spotted drums and piano, trombone and trumpet, and more types of saxophone than we ever knew existed.  They seemed analogous to the several fachs of the human voice. Moreover, we spotted a teeny tiny trombone! We even witnessed some wildly competitive tap dancing.

This was a highly American version of the nativity story. When we first arrived in New York, we recall attending Dave Brubeck's "La Fiesta de la Posada".  Lo and behold, there was Brubeck's arrangement of "God's Love Made Visible" played on the piano by Adam Asarnow.

But the loveliest song was "Bending Towards the Light".  Early in the program it was sung by Chelsea Opera's own Leonarda Priore, substituting for the absent Deborah Voigt who could not have sung it any better. We think of Ms. Priore as an opera singer but she clearly has a way with jazz as well, in this arrangement by Anne Phillips who also conducted and performed as a Guardian Angel.

An adorable youngster, pictured above, gave it a second hearing.  Music by Bob Kindred, lyrics by Henry Timm and Anne Phillips. It's penultimate iteration was sung by the company and the final one was performed by the band. We were glad that this jazz was pre-Ornette Coleman and quite listenable. We heard some fine scat-singing as well.

The program was first presented in 1985 at St. Peter's Lutheran Church and since that time has been performed at St. Bartholomew's, the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, Avery Fisher Hall (a name we choose to preserve in spite of the renaming), Birdland, B.B. King's (in Spanish), and venues all over the United States.  Last night it was co-produced by Ms. Priore, Lynne Hayden-Findlay and Ms. Phillips.

It was quite a celebration and a perfect example of synergy, when forces combine to create something that is unique and greater than the sum of its parts.

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MARIO! SU!

Hugo Vera, Thomas Woodman, and Edgar Jaramillo (photo by Robert J. Saferstein)

Regina Grimaldi (photo by Robert J. Saferstein)

Why do we love Puccini's Tosca so much? For starters, the melodramatic story moves forward at a rapid pace with no ridiculous twists and turns or irrelevant side-plots. The characters, although larger than life, have emotions with which we can identify--love, lust, terror, protectiveness, rage, and defiance.

The power mad Baron Scarpia will stop at nothing to possess the famous singer Floria Tosca. She is in love with the church painter Mario Cavaradossi, and her intense jealousy is turned against her by Scarpia. Mario is a good soul, torn between fear of the authorities and the wish to protect his friend Cesare Angelotti, in political disfavor and hunted by the police.

We had just read Fred Plotkin's persuasive argument against titles at the opera and last night at Chelsea Opera's production, we had an opportunity to enjoy Tosca as a site-specific work without titles, focusing instead, as Mr. Plotkin suggested, on the music.

Fortunately, we are sufficiently familiar with Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa's superb libretto that we did not need the titles.  We are not sure how audience members felt if they were not so familiar with the story, but we suspect that Lynne Hayden-Findlay's direction and the fine acting of the ensemble made everything clear.

Thus it was that we were able to focus our attention strictly on the music and how well Puccini's melodies followed the words of the libretto. We also appreciated a certain unity of the score with motives occurring and recurring and bouncing between singer and orchestra.

Conductor Samuel McCoy is of the restrained type but that was no impediment to his pulling an arresting propulsive performance from the excellent Chelsea Opera Chamber Orchestra. Karen Stern's harp frequently compelled our attention.

The singers all gave honorable performances. As the eponymous heroine, soprano Regina Grimaldi used all her assets in a deeply moving performance.  There was a generosity to her acting that managed to match the amplitude of her voice. Since her performance was perfumed with that "garlic" that we love, let us call it "l'abbondanza". Every facial expression and bodily gesture was consonant and à propos. Her "Vissi d'Arte" was memorable.

On the same page was tenor Edgar Jaramillo who always sings from deep within his soul and evokes our sympathy for whatever character he portrays. Here, he created a character we could believe in, every emotion showing on his expressive face and in his expressive voice. He has a warm Latin sound with excellent phrasing. "E lucevan le stelle" was heartbreaking.

Bass-baritone Thomas Woodman as the evil Baron Scarpia, Chief of Police,  leered while his agent Spoletta (tenor Hugo Vera) sneered. Both of them were so convincing that we felt fear just sitting there on those hard wooden pews.  (Yes, that is the price one pays for enjoying such excellent productions by the Chelsea Opera).

We also enjoyed bass-baritone Brace Negron's frantic performance as the terror-stricken Angelotti. Baritone Jared Guest made a fine jailor in the third act while bass-baritone Luis Alvarado created a believable Sacristan in the first act. Baritone James Shaffran sang the role of another police agent. Benjamin Barham-Wiese appeared as the shepherd whose simple solo introduces the third act. For unknown reasons, he sang onstage but may as well have been an offstage voice.

The staging of the opera made good use of St. Peter's Church, what with the private chapel for Angelotti to hide in, candles, and crosses; everything was put to good use. This served to foster the illusion that the first act was happening in real time and a real place.

Not only did Ms. Hayden-Findlay do a great job directing but also with the costume design, with major contributions from the Theater Development Fund costume collection. There was no doubt that we were in the early 19th c.; the opera premiered at the beginning of the 20th c. and here we are enjoying it in the 21st c.  The minimal set was provided by Leonarda Priore who, along with Ms. Hayden-Findlay co-founded Chelsea Opera over a decade ago.

The chorus made a significant contribution, led by Chorus Master Dean William Buck who is better known as the Conductor of Loft Opera.

There will be an afternoon performance on Saturday but tickets are scarce. Word has gotten out about Chelsea Opera's splendid productions and the church was packed from front to back.

(c) meche kroop

NEVER ENOUGH PUCCINI

Jon Thomas Olsen, Jessica Sandidge, Sonja Krenek and Steven Wallace

We can never get enough Puccini!  Hours after Chelsea Opera presented an evening of scenes from Puccini's opera, we are still singing the wonderful melodies.  We think it's likely that many people in the audience are doing the same.  The concert was underwritten by Project 142; Christ and St. Stephen's Church on the Upper West Side was filled to overflowing, with bridge chairs hastily being commandeered in an attempt to accommodate the capacity crowd.

The evening opened with scenes from Turandot, the opera Puccini never finished. Ping, Pang and Pong (sorry but we can never remember which is which) have a wonderful trio and tenors David Kellett and Jon Thomas Olson with baritone Scott Lindroth brought it to vivid life.

Liù's suicide scene was movingly performed by soprano Rosa Betancourt who created a sympathetic character and enlived her with some persuasive acting.  She has a lovely vibrato and we enjoyed her later performance of "O mio babbino caro" from Gianni Schicchi.

From the very early Edgar, composed when the master was only 26 years old, we heard bass-baritone Bryan Glenn Davis sing "Questo amor, vergogna mia". We liked him even better as the evil Scarpia from Tosca when he sang "Tre sbirri...Una Carrozza...Presto!" which suited him well.

From Le Villi we heard soprano Sonja Krenek sing "Se come voi piccina".  She made a fine Mimi in the "breakup" scene from La Bohème with tenor Steven Wallace as Rodolfo.  The heartbreaking scene was given comic relief by the embattled lovers Musetta (soprano Rosa Betancourt) and Marcello (baritone Scott Lindroth) whose music is in counterpoint with Mimi and Rodolfo's.

Our Tosca for the evening was the versatile Megan Nielsen who wowed the audience with her "Vissi d'arte". What a change from the character she portrayed just before--Suor Angelica from the eponymous opera.  Talk about heartbreak!  The poor woman was put away in a convent by her aristocratic family, after bearing an illegitimate child. Her aunt, La Zia Principessa, cold-heartedly tells Angelica that the child has died. Mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Moulton, a lovely jovial person in real life, demonstrated fine acting chops as she assumed her imperious manner. Poor Angelica sings out her grief in "Senza mamma".

Tenor Taras Chmil sang the favorite tenor aria of audiences everywhere--"E lucevan le stelle" from Tosca.   We realized that Puccini wrote his best music for characters who were about to die! Mr. Chmil also sang "Ch'ella mi creda", Dick Johnson's aria from La fanciulla del West.  Fortunately, Dick Johnson does NOT die!

Stacey Canterbury has a sizable soprano and used it well in "Un bel di" from Madama Butterfly, another heartbreaker.

Soprano Julia Rolwing sang Manon's final aria from Manon Lescaut--"Sola, perduta, abbandonata"--another death aria!  David Kellett sang Des Grieux's "Donna non vidi mai".

The delightful closing scene was from La Rondine featuring the quartet from the photo above.  For this scene, Magda was sung by Sonja Krenek with soprano Jessica Sandidge impressing us with her sweet voice and sparkling personality as Lisette. Steven Wallace sang Ruggero and Jon Thomas Olsen sang Prunier.  Happily, the rest of the cast became the onstage partygoers and, as directed by Lynne Hayden-Finley, were completely convincing.

In place of an orchestra, we had Christopher Cooley, who accompanied beautifully.

The delightful evening served to whet our appetite for the upcoming Tosca which will be performed in St. Peter's Church in Chelsea on 6/4 and 6/6.  It seems pretty far down the road but Chelsea Opera will also present Suor Angelica in a year's time.  We would be happy to hear Megan Nielsen once more in that role.

(c) meche kroop

THE PAST INTRUDES ON THE PRESENT

Benjamin Robinson and Molly Mustonen (photo by Robert J. Saferstein)

The Little Opera Company That Could--Chelsea Opera--having won a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, is on a roll.  Last night they presented two one-act works by the prolific Henry Mollicone, with libretti by John S. Bowman.  Each opera was commissioned by an opera company with the stipulation that the work relate to the home town of the company.  The theme of each would appear to be a blending of the past and present.

The brief curtain-raiser, The Face on the Barroom Floor, was commissioned by Central City Opera in 1978 and has been performed annually in Colorado ever since. It involves a love triangle from Gold Rush days, one that comes to a violent end. The story is told within the framework of the present day; the love triangle and its violent end are recapitulated.  

The beautiful Molly Mustonen used her lustrous soprano to good advantage as she portrayed a present day chorister as well as the historic saloon singer.  Lyric tenor Benjamin Robinson sang sweetly as the chorister's beau in the present and also as the starving artist of long ago who pays his bar tab by painting the saloon singer's portrait on the floor.  Baritone John E. Callison, whom we have been hearing and enjoying more and more lately, made a fine bartender.

With meager financial resources, set designer Anna Yates managed to create a very believable saloon with faux stained-glass windows, a simple bar and a few tables and chairs (amusingly occupied by company co-founders Leonarda Priore and Lynne Hayden-Findlay playing denizens of the bar).

Mr. Mollicone was present for the occasion; his piano was accompanied by flutist Kevin Willois and cellist Emily Brausa from the Chelsea Opera Chamber Ensemble. The music is jazzy and there are touches of American folk melodies woven in.

The second and more substantial work on the program, the 1981 Emperor Norton, was commissioned by the San Francisco Opera and deals with a legendary character in that city's past.  He was at least eccentric and probably quite mad as he declared himself Emperor.  He died as a derelict on the street.

The interesting treatment of the story is told in a somewhat mystical way.  Two actors are mysteriously summoned to audition for a role in a play about Norton.  The playwright, magnificently performed by one Vira Slywotzky (a singer we just love to hear, calling herself a soprano but with a voice that suggests strong mezzo coloring), uses their help to finish the play.

The two actors--the excellent soprano Rosa Betancourt and the fine tenor David Gordon--are soon joined by an imposing figure from another time.  We shall know him by his costume!  He is, of course, the spirit of Norton (big-voiced baritone Justin Ryan) and he has come to offer correctives to his reputation and the way he is being represented in the play.  The ending has a lovely twist and is marked by a marvelous quartet.

For this opera, conductor Noby Ishida took over. Mr. Mollicone at the piano was joined by violinist Stanichka Dimitrova and cellist Emily Brausa. Thankfully, the music is tonal and lyrical.

We particularly enjoyed Ms. Betancourt's impersonation of the dancer Lola Montez, which had the audience laughing out loud, and her impersonation of a Chinese woman who sang a stunning melismatic aria.

Stage direction by Ms. Findlay was always effective.  Costumes in both operas were also designed by Ms. Findlay with some contributions from the Theater Development Fund Costume Collection.  We particularly admired Ms. Mustonen's saloon singer gown and the period-appropriate 1940's costumes for Emperor Norton.

The only thing missing was titles.  Somehow they are not deemed necessary when an opera is sung in English but, as we frequently point out, English is more difficult to sing and more difficult to understand than Italian or German, especially in the upper registers.  We missed quite a bit of Norton's story because of this.  We heard enough and the acting was sufficiently effective that we understood the story but we would have enjoyed it more if we'd heard all the details.

(c) meche kroop

YES, WE ARE IN KANSAS

Chad Kranak and Joanie Brittingham (photo by Robert J. Saferstein)

Aaron Copland's The Tender Land premiered sixty years ago at the now defunct (and sorely missed) New York City Opera.  If it has been performed since then we have missed it and are doubly glad that the Chelsea Opera decided to revive it for the final work of their tenth anniversary season.  Originally written for television, its intimate nature makes it far more suitable to a small company like Chelsea Opera.

Like most 20th c. operas, it strikes us as a play with music--and what fine music it is indeed.  With the impressive Maestro Samuel McCoy on the podium, the excellent Chelsea Opera Chamber Orchestra comprising thirteen musicians filled St. Peter's Church with Copland's accessible music.  The score reduction is attributed to Murry Sidlin.

The opera was well cast with soprano Joanie Brittingham starring as the young Laurie Moss; her petite stature gave no evidence of the substantial size of her voice but went a  long way toward convincing us that she was perhaps 18 years old and about to graduate high school.  She successfully colored her voice to sound young and then (spoiler alert) added more mature coloration when she stands up to her possessive family and leaves home for the wider world outside the farm.

Her splendid performance was matched by tenor Chad Kranak in the role of Martin, an itinerant farmhand who stops by the farm and wins her heart.  Mr. Kranak also has a lovely instrument and his love duets with Ms. Brittingham were, well, lovely.  His "should I stay or should I go" ambivalence was well reflected in his singing and acting.

Accompanying Martin is his drifter buddy Top who is the "player" in that duo, always on the make, a less winning character perhaps but the voice of reality which Martin needs to hear.  Baritone Peter Kendall Clark, often seen/heard at Chelsea Opera, did not pander to the audience but used his ample sound and dramatic presence to bring out every unlikable nuance of the character. 

The production was anchored by mezzo Leonarda Priore, co-founder of Chelsea Opera, who totally convinced as Ma Moss who worries about her two daughters.  We have heard Ms. Priore in recital but it is on the stage that her talent best expresses itself.  We were moved by her aria (actually, a folk song) "Long Time Ago", sung with beauty and deep feeling.  The piano accompaniment was done by polymath Assistant Conductor Dean William Buck, composer and conductor and co-founder of the excellent Brooklyn-based Loft Opera.

Another superb performance was delivered by bass Steven Fredericks as Grandpa Moss whose ample rumbly voice was perfectly expressive of the loving but controlling patriarch of this family, often making us wonder how they all have his name and why there is no father around.

In the role of the postman Mr. Splinters, tenor David Kellett fit right in with the Depression Era and the Midwestern locale.  Only Evelyn Carr as younger sister Beth stood out as being stagey and actorish.  The ensemble of friends and neighbors were excellent.

The libretto by Horace Everett is burdened by every cliché one could imagine from that time and place.  Nonetheless, who could not identify with a young woman's coming of age, spreading her wings and leaving home for the world outside?

There were some special moments in the evening beside Ms. Priore's solo--a chorale "The Promise of Living" with tenor joined by soprano and then additional voices one by one was thrilling to hear. 

The budget of Chelsea Opera is small (donations always welcome) and production values are modest.  A picket fence and a table and a chair made up the set; a rocking chair on the porch would have made sense.  More might have been done with the lighting to suggest the time of day but these are small quibbles.  Costumes were rustled up from the TDF costume collection and were appropriate to time and place.

There is only one more performance today at 4:00 PM and there may still be a few tickets available.  Last night the house was packed in spite of the deluge outside and the back-breaking pews inside. Bring a cushion!

© meche kroop

NEW POSSIBILITIES=NEW VOICE

Lara Ryan, Kate Oberjat, Benjamin Perry Wenzelberg, Lidiya Yankovskaya, Alexandra LoBianco, Anna Noggle

A work in progress is not meant to be reviewed so let us just call this a "progress report".  Benjamin Perry Wenzelberg's opera The Sleeping Beauty has been presented previously by Chelsea Opera in a piano reading.  Now Act I has been orchestrated and excerpts were presented with the Bloomingdale School of Music Chamber Orchestra and members of the Chelsea Opera Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Lidiya Yankovskaya.

Our test for new operas is as follows:  "Does the music add anything to the narrative".  In this case it does.  And how!  The sophistication of Mr. W.'s music belies his youth (he is barely 14) and shows skill in writing for the voice with lovely melodies and interesting harmonies and textures in the orchestra.  It is eminently listenable and accessible but not at all derivative.

The scenes excerpted from Act I included the christening of Rosamond with the Evil Wise Woman powerfully portrayed by huge-voiced Alexandra LoBianco who limned every nuance of evil.  The Last Wise Woman was portrayed by Anna Noggle whose beautiful soprano conveyed benevolence in its color; her diction and phrasing were so fine that not a word was lost.

In the second scene Rosamond (Kate Oberjat) is now a young woman wandering the castle yearning for a prince.  The use of the harp was lovely and the melismatic singing on the word "love" was gorgeous.  Lovely harmonies emphasized the phrase "his heart would link in mine".  As the young princess imagines the future there was a sprightly allegro passage.

In the third scene, our heroine encounters the Evil Wise Woman and her spindle.  The brass section foreshadows the evil to come, along with the lower strings.  And when she pricks her finger the bass drum gives us a feeling of dread.

Mr. W.'s work is being supported by a grant from the Nicholas S. Priore New Possibilities Fund, established by Leonarda Priore in memory of her brother.  What an appropriate recipient is Mr. W.!   He has a lifetime of possibilities ahead of him.  We can scarcely wait to hear the rest of the opera.

©meche kroop

TRAGEDY TONIGHT! COMEDY TONIGHT!

Chad Kranak, Samantha Britt, Robert Balonek, Darcy Dunn (photo by Sheryl Liu)

If you shed a tear or two during Richard Wargo's Ballymore-Part One: Winners, not to worry because Seymour Barab's La Pizza Con Funghi will send you out with a grin from ear to ear.  Chelsea Opera Co-Founders Leonarda Priore and Lynne Hayden-Findlay wisely chose to balance tragedy with comedy much as Puccini did when he followed Il Tabarro with Gianni Schicchi.  Irish dramatist Brian Friel penned Lovers as a two-part play comprising Winners and Losers.  That he chose to see the 17-year old couple Mag and Joe, fated to die in a boating accident on the same day as the play takes place, as winners is an interesting concept.  Perhaps they are winners because they died with their hopes for the future intact before life came along and whupped 'em upside the head.  We saw the play exactly one year ago (The Actors Company Theater) and recall that Losers was about a middle-aged couple trying to have some intimacy under the watchful eyes of the woman's bedridden mother who did everything to prevent it.  That was indeed humorous and we understand that Mr. Wargo similarly adapted Part II which we would be happy to see/hear in view of how greatly we enjoyed Part I.

The work was introduced by some lovely lilting music, played by Jerry O'Sullivan on the Uilleann Pipes, which went a long way toward setting the mood.  Scenes of the pregnant Mag (not just pregnant but 1960's Ireland pregnant) and her fiancé Joe are commented upon by two Ballad-Singers, beautifully costumed in ancient attire, looking very much like Isolde and King Marke.  Costume Design was credited to Ms. Hayden-Findlay herself.  In the play, they were merely narrators so this was quite a lovely touch.  They described how the two young people arrived at the hilltop overlooking the town of Ballymore and what happened to them afterward, a rather dry and factual commentary offsetting the intensity of the interaction between Mag and Joe as they planned their wedding and life together.  One senses that all is not rosy since Joe will have to give up his goal of a university degree to assume responsibility for a family.  Mag is so exuberant that he is unable to study for his maths exam, which had been the goal for the day.

The role of Mag was sung by the bright-voiced soprano Samantha Britt who did a great job of convincing us that she was but 17.  Her opening aria looking down at her hometown was splendid. Tenor Chad Kranak portrayed Joe, appearing somewhat older than the part called for; he sings her a lovely lullabye as she sleeps.  We would have appreciated titles since there were times when Ms. Britt's voice was overridden by the 14-piece Chelsea Opera Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Guest Conductor Steven M. Crawford, or when the diction was insufficiently clear.  The Ballad-Singers were mezzo Darcy Dunn and Robert Balonek, both in fine voice.

The music was far more accessible than that of most contemporary operas and the arias quite beautiful.  We always ask ourselves whether the music has added anything to the play and in this case the answer is a resounding yes, although some of the recitatives might as well have been spoken for better comprehension.  Friel's writing is rather musical on its own and Mr. Wargo's writing emphasized it.  Special note was taken of Stephanie Barbirak's harp and Kevin Willois' flute.

How amazing it was to witness the same four artists in radically different roles in the second half of the program.  Seymour Barab, in writing both music and lyrics, created an hilarious sendup of opera seria that had the audience rolling in the aisles from the very first moment when Guest Conductor  Samuel McCoy assumed the podium in high camp style.  If he were mimicking someone particular, do not ask us to reveal the name!  The work was adapted from Michael Green's play Il Fornicazione (seriously) and takes place in the 18th c. with the most outrageously elaborate wigs and quite gorgeous costumes.  An adulterous wife named Voluptua (the versatile Ms. Britt, this time perfectly audible) confides in her maid Phobia (the very funny Ms. Dunn) that she is bored with her husband of six weeks, Count Formaggio (Robert Balonek) and has taken a lover Scorpio (Chad Kranak, this time looking perfect for the role) who suffers from chronic tardiness.  Every trope of opera seria is burlesqued and references to Falstaff, Il Trovatore and Nozze di Figaro (among others) are slipped in.  We will not spoil the fun any further because you will have an opportunity to catch the final performance today at 4PM at St. Peter's Church in Chelsea.

What makes this comic opera work so well is Mr. Barab's facility with fitting words and music together, much like Gilbert and Sullivan combined into one person.  The rhymes are inventive and hilarious and the music emphasizes each one.  We would gladly see this again!

The minimal set design by Sheryl Liu worked well and the outrageous wigs and makeup by Andrea Calabrese were a further source of hilarity.  Sure-fire direction was by Ms. Hayden-Findlay who never missed a trick.

© meche kroop

HALF SONG-CYCLE, HALF OPERA, ALL WONDERFUL

We don't know what to call it but we loved it and you will too if you can get yourself to Christ and St. Stephen's Church by 3PM tomorrow.  Reading about American history always seemed tedious to us but last night in A Distant Love the history achieved dramatic and musical life that brought tears to our eyes as we considered the sacrifices made by our "founding fathers".  We are only a couple short weeks away from Independence Day and this production is most timely.

The first act--John Adams in Amsterdam: a Song for Abigail--gave stellar baritone Peter Kendall Clark (barely recognizable without his beard) an opportunity to use his sizable round instrument to express the various emotions experienced by the statesman who would become the second president of the USA.  He was not very enchanted with the French but grew increasingly delighted with the Dutch, having been sent there as ambassador and raiser of funds for the struggle for independence.  He writes to his wife (my "dearest friend") and describes his ever-growing reputation in Holland as well as his longing for home and family.  He warmly describes the Dutch as learned, artistic and hard-working with a penchant for skating and mushrooming.  He sorely misses his family and expresses his longing for home and family as well as his fear of isolation from the prospect of being a man of importance on the world's stage.  Ha!

The second act--Abigail in the Colonies: a Song for John--permitted soprano Victoria Tralongo to create a character any woman could identify with.  She is a courageous woman, a feminist and an abolitionist who wants the same freedom for slaves as the colonists are demanding from Great Britain.  But she is still a woman and yearns for "sentimental effusions of the heart" from her husband, enduring a decade of separation with love and fidelity.  If there is one song in the work that best stands alone as a concert aria it would be "Loneliness".  We wish to quote the moving first line: "If you should lie awake and call my name".  There is also a slightly more lighthearted song, lighthearted yet serious in its description of the effect of war on the women left behind--scarcity of food and medicine, inflated prices, the presence of the enemy, illness and death--but above all, a need for PINS!  The stalwart Mrs. Adams wants Mr. Adams to send her lots of pins that she can sell in the colony.

Terry Quinn was responsible for developing the libretto from the actual letters in the historical archive and Gary S. Fagin wrote the music.  Our regular readers likely know how unimpressed we are by contemporary writing; so our praise for this score is doubly remarkable.  The string quartet was an excellent choice for this lyrical and evocative music; string quartets were popular during the latter part of the 18th c.  Mr. Fagin's music held our attention throughout; it had a martial flavor when war was discussed and a decidedly romantic flavor during the recitations of longing.  It was always singable.

Guest conductor of the Chelsea Opera String Quartet was the renowned conductor Jorge Parodi; musicians were violinists Garry Ianco and Bruno Peña, violist Cait O'Brien and cellist Jameson Platte.  Maestro Parodi's affection for the score was evident in his expressive conducting.

The work was given an effective staging and costuming by co-producer Lynne Hayden-Findlay; she wisely kept the singer (and letter writer) in the foreground with just enough movement to illustrate the text and the recipient of the letters in the background going about their daily routine.  The two singers, clearly chosen for their splendid voices, were bewigged by Andrea Calabrese and appeared totally convincing.  We especially loved watching Abigail performing her chores, embroidering and baking bread.  The set by Leonarda Priore was simple but worked well--a writing desk, a table and chair, a coat rack, a quill pen and other similar accoutrements of 18th c. life.

The nine-year old Chelsea Opera, founded by Ms. Priore and Ms. Hayden-Findlay, has a lot of wonderful productions in store for next year but don't wait.  Enjoy this splendid event TODAY!

© meche kroop

WAGNER & VERDI

Giuseppe Verdi

Richard Wagner

What an excellent idea to present a program of arias composed by two 19th c. titans born two centuries ago!  The feisty Chelsea Opera, helmed by Lynne Hayden-Findlay and Leonarda Priore, took on this bicentennial celebration.  Christ and St. Stephen's Church was bursting at the seems with loyal fans.

The first part of the program was devoted to the works of Richard Wagner, works we all know and love.  Wagner is notoriously difficult to sing and the performances came across as rather mixed.  Soprano Maria Russo tackled Brünnhilde's "Hojotojo!" with a great deal of gusto and volume and tenor Caleb Stokes performed "Winterstürme wichen dem wonnemond", one of our favorite Wagnerian arias.  Jennifer Behnke performed "Der Engel" from Wesendonck Lieder.  Soprano Elizabeth Beers Kataria was convincing as Senta in "Traft ihr das schiff im meere an" from Die Fliegende Holländer but did not seem to have much connection with bass Steven Fredericks in their duet "Wie aus die Ferne"

Caleb Stokes reappeared as Parsifal in "Nur eine waffe taugt" and Ms. Russo returned for Isolde's "Liebestod" from Tristan und Isolde in which she failed to float her line successfully over the piano.  The best part of the Wagner program was the ensemble from Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in which the voices blended and balanced well; the aforementioned singers were joined by Monica Hershenson Thuris and Shawn Thuris.

One would never call Verdi easy to sing but the singers in Part II, which was devoted to his works, managed considerably better.  Baritone Robert Kerr made a fine Falstaff in the eponymous opera, singing a rather touching "Va! Vecchio John".  In  "Reverenza", mezzo Leonarda Priore herself was quite amusing, enjoying her role as Mistress Quickly to the fullest, while tenor Jonathan Morales took the role of Bardolfo.  Mr. Kerr reappeared later in "Per me, giunto...O Carlo, ascolta!" from Don Carlo and impressed us with his Verdian legato and dramatic commitment.

We greatly enjoyed soprano Regina Grimaldi whose generous and expressive voice animated "Ernani, Ernani, involami" from Ernani.  She has a lovely vibrato and needs only a bit more support in her lower register.  She also did a fine job with "Morró, ma prima in grazia" from Un Ballo in Maschera. 

Mr. Morales reappeared as the Duke in Rigoletto.  The audience enjoyed his "Questa o quella".  Tenor David Kellett performed "Madre, non dormi?" as Manrico with the part of Azucena being taken by Ms. Priore.  Mr. Kellett reappeared later as Macduff from Macbeth in the deeply felt aria "O figli, figli miei".  To close the evening, the entire company sang the moving "Va pensiero" from Nabucco.  Accompanying the singers throughout the evening was Steven M. Crawford.

(c) meche kroop

BIBLE STORIES

 



We rarely enjoy operas composed after Richard Strauss lay down his pen; we almost never enjoy operas sung in English; and we do not care for biblical stories.  And yet.  And yet we had a perfectly fine evening spent with Chelsea Opera last night, happy to have our prejudices overcome.

The curtain raiser was Benjamin Britten's Canticle II, Opus 51-Abraham and Isaac, composed in 1952 and played here by Guest Conductor Steven M. Crawford at the piano.  God is testing Abraham's obedience by asking him to sacrifice his favorite son Isaac.  In the beginning the boy is reluctant but he becomes resigned to his fate; his obedience to his father neatly parallels the father's obedience to his god.  Tenor Eapen Leubner used his robust tenor voice as the father while the son was portrayed by treble Benjamin Perry Wenzelberg who used his pure affecting tone to great advantage. The harmonics of the two voices in the duets were a delight to the ear.  Let it be noted that Mr. Wenzelberg is writing an opera based on Grimm's "Sleeping Beauty" for which we are filled with anticipation.  This youth is someone to watch!

The second half of the program comprised The Mark of Cain, a new work by Matthew Harris with libretto by Terry Quinn.  The story appears to be a fantasy about Cain's life many years after the fratricide, but it is actually based (loosely perhaps) on the Koran and the Jewish Midrash as well as other ancient texts.  It certainly illustrates how sexual jealousy and greed can result in tragedies of bloodshed.  Cain's sister Zellah tracks him down to avenge the death of their brother Abel, masquerading at first as Abel's ghost.

The story is an engaging one and well-handled.  The music is far more interesting than most contemporary music we have heard.  The themes are at times vaguely Middle Eastern but always accessible and listenable.  The 18-piece Chelsea Opera Orchestra played well under the baton of Maestro Crawford; we were particularly taken with the harp motives, sensitively performed by Kathryn Andrews and the thrilling percussion (Paul Robertson and Charles Kiger).

Bass-baritone Brace Negron made a convincing Cain with some good strength in his lower register while mezzo Blythe Gaissert was an excellent choice for Zellah who must convince Cain that she is Abel's ghost before she reveals herself as the sister.  Soprano Kate Oberjat portrays the serpent who tempts Cain; she was in fine voice and got to do some dancing as well.  Tenor Jonathan Kline and baritone Jonathan Estabrooks provided some comic relief in their non-biblical costumes as Moradesh and Caleb who serve to introduce us to the character of Cain.  God is played in a spiffy white suit by bass Tom McNichols who seemed to have bottom to spare.

Direction by Lynne Hayden-Findlay was effective and her costuming was well-done; we especially enjoyed Cain's royal robes and crown.  Her co-founder Leonarda Priore was responsible for the set decoration and the two women introduced the program in unison in their customary charming fashion.  Bringing a work such as this one before the public is always a risk, one that here payed off for the artists and the audience alike.  One would do well to take advantage of the opportunity to see a compelling new work with more performances scheduled for Friday and Saturday night as well as a matinee on Saturday.

(c) meche kroop

POVERA BUTTERFLY

Even as New York City Opera is shrinking in its presence in the opera scene, so smaller companies are exhibiting a greater one.  Among the many small companies we have always enjoyed is the Chelsea Opera founded by Lynne Hayden-Finlay and Leonarda Priore. The former served as director of the current production of Madama Butterfly and co-producer along with Ms. Priore.  For the most part we found the direction to be exemplary, making good use of the small "stage" of St. Peter's Church in Chelsea and giving characters stage business that was apt but never fussy or distracting.  We were, however, puzzled by Cio-Cio San's final disembowelment when her initial attempt at ritual suicide was the more culturally correct slashing of the carotid artery.  The simple set achieved by Ms. Priore served well and was much enhanced by Michael Megliola's lighting design.

Maestro Carmine Aufiero can always be counted on; he led the Chelsea Opera Chamber Orchestra in a sensitive reading of Puccini's lavish score, here reduced by Richard Balcombe and played by 15 fine musicians in the pit and one very versatile keyboardist named Cory Battey who was obliged to provide the percussion and harp sounds.

Among the singers, the two whose voices fell the loveliest onto our ears were tenor Aaron Blankfield who portrayed Goro, the marriage broker and the lovely Yajie Chen who exhibited a true mezzo sound throughout her vocal range in the role of Suzuki.  Unlike the leads, we experienced her as living the part and not "acting".  Of course, it helps a great deal that she is Asian.  We are not saying that there haven't been some great Caucasian performers portraying Asian people--just that it was not necessary to suspend disbelief.  It WAS necessary to do just that in the pairing of soprano Christina Rohm as Cio-Cio San and tenor Daniel Rodriguez as Lt. Pinkerton.  Both appeared to be working rather hard at singing and acting but there was a notable absence of chemistry between them.  Ms. Rohm has some lovely squillo at the top, singing the "Un bel di" quite well, but was occasionally hard to hear.  The absence of surtitles made us wish for better diction.

Lynn Abeles sang the role of Kate Pinkerton and baritone Justin Ryan was the much put-upon U.S. Consul.  Cio-Cio San's child was played by a very winsome Kevin Wielczyk.

We understand that next year's season will include two contemporary operas and are pleased to note that the Chelsea Opera has grown to embrace a most enthusiastic audience.  We wish them all the best.

(c) meche kroop