STRANGE BEDFELLOWS?

Theo Hoffman, Christine Taylor Price, Steven Blier, and Bénédicte Jourdois

(Photo by Cherylynn Tsushima)

What do Francis Poulenc and Stephen Sondheim have in common?  That is the question that Steven Blier, Artistic Director of New York Festival of Song, proposed to answer in a rewarding program of art song presented at Merkin Hall Tuesday evening. The well thought out concept may have been more interesting to other members of the packed house; for us, it was more than enough to hear two superb singers bring to vivid life a lot of songs that were new to us.

A decade ago at Juilliard was a magical time, a time when the young singers of the Vocal Arts Department made a lasting impression on us. We have lost track of the number of times we wrote about the vocal and dramatic triumphs of soprano Christine Taylor Price and baritone Theo Hoffman. As the decade passed by, we were fortunate enough to update ourself on their growing artistry from time to time, but what remains predominantly in our memory are the earliest stages of their respective careers. We do love recognizing future stardom!

The program was an interesting one in that we heard some of Sondheim's less well-known works, works that predate our arrival in New York City and our interest in music theater.  We were quick to love Sondheim from our early experiences with Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, and Sweeney Todd. Among the lesser known works of his introduced to us by Mr. Blier were excerpts from Saturday Night, Anyone Can Whistle, Dick Tracy, The Frogs, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and a song that was cut from A Little Night Music--"Silly People".

Poulenc, on the other hand, was not on our radar until we got interested in opera and art song. Unlike our immediate affection for Sondheim, our appreciation of Poulenc has grown slowly. Most of the works on this program were new to us. It seems that there are a few of his works that have become common in recital and only Mr. Blier has dug deeply enough to find some lesser known true gems.

What always strikes us about a NYFOS concert are the singers that Mr. Blier chooses.  Not only do they have great voices but they are also impressive interpreters. They give the same value to art songs, Broadway songs, cabaret songs, and popular songs. Such was the case at Poulenc/Sondheim. Each and every song was a miniature gem. We would have to name as our favorite the final number on the program featuring both singers-- "No One is Alone" from Sondheim's Into the Woods, a show we attend every chance we get, most recently at Manhattan School of Music when their Music Theater Department gave it an outstanding production. There wasn't a bit of "Sondheim snark"--just an inspiring wrap-up to a show that exploded all our fairytales.

The encore number "Old Friends" from Merrily We Roll Along was similarly delightful. "Finishing the Hat" from Sunday in the Park with George gave our two singers an opportunity to interact, bringing back memories of a long ago time when we saw the show on Broadway. Ms. Taylor Price's delivery of "Ladies Who Lunch" made us wish we had seen Sondheim's Company.  Mr. Hoffman's performance of  "Fear No More" from The Frogs had us experiencing the Shakespeare text in a new way. We were fortunate enough to have seen The Frogs recently, thanks to Master Voices.

As far as the Poulenc work on the program, the song we liked best was "Fancy" sung by Ms. Taylor Price, showing a great respect for the melodic line which seemed more melodic than Poulenc's usual songs. We enjoyed Mr. Hoffman's soulful delivery of "Montparnasse", with text by Apollinaire, and, almost as much, the bibulous delivery of "Chanson a boire". 

As is customary, Mr. Blier narrated the program with wit and humor, garnering giggles from the audience. He took turns with Bénédicte Jourdois accompanying the singers. It was a stellar evening start to finish and was no less than what we have come to expect from a NYFOS evening. This is their 38th season and are still going strong!

© meche kroop

NARCISSUS...ISSUS...ISSUS...ISSUS

Matteo Fiorani as Narcissus (photo by Lora Robertson for Satellite Collective)

Satellite Collective’s deconstruction of the myth of Echo and Narcissus, seen Friday night at the Brooklyn Academy of Music Fisher Center, lasted barely over an hour. The reconstruction performed by us and our companion lasted at least twice as long. If not totally comprehensible, the performance was engaging and held our attention by means of some lovely dancing. To watch Matteo Fiorani in the role of Narcissus was unadulterated pleasure and the lithe and lovely Michaela Rae Mann made a fine counterpart in the danced role of the nymph Echo. The dancing might accurately be called modern ballet but was informed by hints of modern dance. Kudos to choreographer Norbert De La Cruz III. 

But this collaborative work also incorporated music by Aaron Severini which was always interesting in its orchestration (violin, double bass, flute, clarinet, bassoon, trombone, and percussion) and well played by Shouthouse, under the baton of Alex Burtzos. At times raucous and dissonant, there were also lovely quiet passages and we particularly admired the percussion of Brandon Ilaw. 

Wasted were the vocal gifts of soprano Christine Taylor Price and baritone Philip Stoddard (who also directed) who were given vocal lines lacking in melodic structure and “lyrics” which were not always intelligible, in spite of, or because of, the amplification.  These two artists have magnificent voices which we have reviewed multiple times; their natural voices can sail over a full symphony orchestra. We urge anyone who thinks that's what opera singers sound like to attend a recital or a traditional opera.

Writer Kevin Draper seems to have interpreted the myth in his own idiosyncratic manner but we were reminded of how common in both literature and opera is the theme of a woman torn apart when her beloved is responsible for the death of a member of her family. Think of Romeo and Juliet and Forza del Destino.

It was not clear how Echo’s brother died or in what manner Narcissus was responsible. Projection designer Simon Harding showed us some cars in the street.  Did Echo’s brother die in a car crash? Was Narcissus driving? We could not answer.

There were projections of mechanical objects and robots. Did this refer to Narcissus being an unfeeling person? We cannot answer that either. What left no doubt in our mind was that two robots with a red spot in the chest area symbolized love, and that streams of light flowing from head to head and pelvis to pelvis symbolized mental and physical attraction.

In Ovid’s Metamorphosis, the goddess Juno curses Echo for her loquaciousness by dooming her to only repeat the words of others. Indeed, Ms. Price in her sparse dialogue did repeat Mr. Stoddard’s words. At the end, however, when Narcissus wants Echo to tell the police he is innocent, she refuses to echo his words. We felt free to interpret that our own way.

There were three other excellent dancers—Timothy Stickney, Joslin Vezeau, and Tara Youngman. In the first scene, they wore capes and seemed to be animals that Narcissus was hunting. Later on, lavender colored long skirts were worn but we could not figure out the meaning. We would have to ask Keiko Voltaire the Costume Designer. We definitely liked the many layered loincloth worn by Mr. Fiorani which highlighted his very fine figure; for this we require no explanation!

Artistic Director Kevin Draper wrote the piece and designed the production.  His Satellite Collective “works at the intersection of dance, visual art, and music” and has been doing so for eight years and garnering awards and citations from the Borough of Brooklyn.

Readers who attended the production are invited to comment below and to attempt to explain the meaning that has eluded us.

© meche kroop

PROTEST!

(seated) Steven Blier and Jack Gulielmetti
(front on left side) Shereen Pimentel and Christine Taylor Price
(back row) Jacob Scharfman, Joshua Blue, Dimitri Katotakis, Andrew Munn, and Rihab Chaieb

At the end of last night's concert of protest songs, Maestro Steven Blier uttered his first words, "Garbo Speaks". The consequent laughter was related to the absence of his customary narration and anecdotal contributions.  This time, M. Blier wanted the songs to speak for themselves.  They did speak--they more than spoke; they lamented, they howled, they challenged negativity.

This New York Festival of Song show was originally presented at Juilliard and at Henry's Restaurant as part of their Sing for Your Supper series, staged by the terrific director Mary Birnbaum.  It deserved a wider audience and was therefore presented last night at Merkin Hall once again, this time directed by Mo Zhou, who did a great job of moving the artists around the stage and adding gestural meaning to the material.

The theme resonated with the audience, inasmuch as we have so much to protest in today's political climate. Perhaps the most vociferous applause was in response to Woody Guthrie's unpublished "Old Man Trump". As we know, POTUS comes from a real estate family and his father was the racist landlord mentioned in Mr. Guthrie's song; Guthrie was incensed when Trump tried to keep Beach Haven white. The mid 20th c. song was performed by baritone Dimitri Katotakis, beginning a capella, then joined by Jack Gulielmetti's guitar.  At one point he played the harmonica!

Another very powerful song was the ballad "Joe Hill", written by Alfred Hayes and Earl Robinson and performed with great depth of feeling by bass Andrew Munn who "mined" his real life experience in Appalachia to give the song a very present quality that struck us right in the gut.

Accompanied by Mr. Blier's very bluesy piano, tenor Joshua Blue began his very personal performance of Fats Waller's "Black and Blue" (lyrics by Andy Razaf) with a feeling of puzzlement that grew in power before reaching the anguished climax.

Jacob Scharfman impressed with his full low voice, lending gravity to "The Lavender Song" by Mischa Spoliansky and Kurt Schwabach; a high voiced campy delivery would have undermined the intense message of the song but Mr. Scharfman's body movement made it clear that the song was about self-expression of the marginalized homosexual community--a half century before the Stonewall Riots.

We have saved the ladies for last. Soprano Shereen Pimentel brought back personal memories with her performance of Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" which we actually experienced in Canada sung by Joni Mitchell! She truly did the song justice and we loved the backup group doing the "doo wop"--Mr. Katotakis, Christine Price, and Rihab Chaieb.

Soprano Christine Taylor Price preceded her performance of Bernstein's "A Julia de Burgos" by reciting Burgos' poetry with such apt dramatic intent that we understood the song for the first time. We knew Burgos was a feminist poet from Puerto Rico and we have heard the song a few times without "getting" it.  All it took was a true vocal and dramatic artist to get it across!

The very talented mezzo-soprano Rihab Chaieb sang "A Prayer to the New Year" in Arabic. It was the most contemporary piece on the program; the text by Fadwa Tuqan was set by Mohammed Fairouz and we found it inspirational. We wish it had been the final piece on the program because it left us with hopeful feelings for the future.

Many feelings were expressed over the course of the short program. "El Cambalache" by Enrique Santos Discépolo was translated into English by William Bolcom and Mr. Sharfman brought out every ounce of cynicism, making it the most contemporary of the offerings.

Other songs we heard protested fascism in Mussolini's Italy and in Argentina. The refugee situation and exile were addressed as well as racial and religious discrimination and the despoiling of our environment. There is so much to protest!

Do we need to tell you how superb all the voices were and how heartfelt the performances? The entire cast joined in for the encore, Jane Ritchie's "Now is the Cool of the Day" sung by the entire cast in beautiful harmony and a capella. Like most strophic folk tunes, it lingers in the ear.

(c) meche kroop

THE INNOCENT MERRIMENT OF THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR

Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor at The Juilliard School (photo by Richard Termine)

The overwhelmingly talented students of the Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts at The Juilliard School deserved the thunderous applause given at the end of their production of  Otto Nicolai's opera, based, as so many fine operas are, on a work by Shakespeare.  The Merry Wives of Windsor has produced many iterations, including Salieri's earlier Falstaff (produced recently by Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble) and the subsequent Falstaff by Verdi, a staple in the canon.

Nicolai's version is quite different and filled with interesting characterizations and some of the jauntiest music we have heard in some time. The German composer, co-founder of the Vienna Philharmonic, received his musical education in Italy, and died way too young. His music shows both Italian and German influences.

We wish the term "comic opera" had not been wasted on what we would call "dramas with happy endings". Because this work is truly comic in the best sense of the word. The students, most of them at the graduate level, mined the work for its humor and delivered the lovely vocal lines with equal measure of vocal beauty. The mid-19th c. tradition of bel canto is prominent.

Nicolai himself called the work a "komisch/fantastiche Oper"; it was written in the form of a singspiel, with spoken dialogue. In this case, the spoken dialogue was delivered in English and arranged by Director John Giampietro to include lines from Henry IV (both parts) and from A Midsummer Night's Dream. The young romantic couple Anna (soprano Jessica Niles) and Fenton (tenor John Chongyoon Noh) recite to one another lines spoken by Oberon and Titania.

The production was a clever one; the action remained in Windsor but the time was updated to the 1940's and the action took place in a munitions factory which was owned by the wealthy Spärlich (tenor Matthew Pearce). Working on the bombs at opposing tables were two friends--Frau Fluth (Christine Taylor Price) and Frau Reich (mezzo-soprano Kady Evanyshyn).

The two married women are being simultaneously "courted" by Sir John Falstaff (bass Alex Rosen in a fat suit). The major plot shows how the women get their revenge by humiliating him and how he is forgiven, once he shows remorse, in a burst of community spirit. This theme is particularly relevant today as misbehaving men are being publicly shamed and humiliated by women they have wronged.

In a plot point reminiscent of the Countess Almaviva's revenge on her jealous husband (in Mozart's Nozze di Figaro), Herr Fluth (baritone Hubert Zapiór) gets his comeuppance as well.  There is even a scene where he locks the door before looking for his wife's imagined lover.

Librettist Salomon Hermann von Mosenthal transferred parenthood of young Anna to the Reich's thereby giving them more stage time. Frau Reich has selected a suitor for Anna--Dr. Cajus (bass Andrew Munn with an hilarious French accent); Herr Reich (bass William Guanbo Su) has chosen the aforementioned wealthy owner of the factory.

Anna has a mind of her own and manages to marry Fenton, giving them some gorgeous duets. They seem to have escaped the war between the sexes.

Fleshing out the funny bones of this opera is the most delightfully melodic music. Conductor Teddy Poll kept things moving along at a brisk pace and the four-handed piano reduction was brightly performed by Chris Reynolds and Adam Rothenberg, two of our favorite pianists at Juilliard. They played behind a wall, out of sight.

It would be remiss not to mention the two lovely instrumentalists who accompanied Mr. Cho onstage--violinist Cherry Choi Tung Yeung and Lisa Choi who deftly handled the piccolo part, especially when she imitated the lark.

If we mentioned every musical and dramatic moment that tickled us, we would have to go on for hours, but let us mention just a few.  The Act I duet between Ms. Price (whom we are thinking of as Ms. Pipes) and Ms. Evanyshyn was a perfect representation of what a soprano and mezzo can do with gorgeous intertwining lines.

Mr. Rosen's "serenade" was hilariously pompous. It was quite a thrill to hear three basses in one opera. They were all different and all superb.

Dazzling our ears was Mr. Zapiór's rich and mellow baritone. He was also hilarious stomping around with his cane in a jealous rage and climbing into the laundry basket to look for Falstaff.

Ms. Price nearly stole the show practicing her seductive moves on a factory worker whose facial expressions in response were classic. Her contentious duet with Mr. Zapiór was another highlight.

Ms. Niles' interaction with Mr. Cho was as tender as their singing. Their voices were perfect for the ingenue roles they performed.

Mr. Pearce got some laughs when he agreed to marry Anna whom he thought he might "grow to love in time".  His tenor fell beautifully on the ear.

The chorus of townspeople commenting on the action was well integrated-- Khady Gueye, Brittany Hewitt, Ryan Hurley, Connor Ouly, Shereen Pimental, James Rootring and Maggie Renée Valdman. Mr. Hurley had a brief appearance as Prince Hal and Brittany Hewitt performed Mistress Quickly.

Scenic Designer Alexis Distler created a very believable munitions factory as seen in the photo above, and Kate Ashton lit it cleverly. Audrey Nauman's costumes were appropriate to the time and place, including the head scarves one sees in photos of female factory workers of the time.

As is our wont, we don't read program notes until after the performance, hoping that the production will speak for itself. This one did. We got every nuance that Mr. Giampietro was going for.

Since the performing space was flanked by audience seated on both sides of the room, we had an opportunity to observe the wide smiles on the faces across from us, whenever we could tear our eyes away from the action. It is rare to have that much fun at the opera! It was difficult to tell whether the cast or the audience was enjoying more.

If we have one beef it is only that too few people will get to see this worthy show. It surely deserves a wider audience!

As fine as the piano reduction was written and played, we would love to see this opera again with a full orchestra. Listening to the overture online, we concluded that Nicolai had a wonderful feel for orchestration.

This opera deserves to be right up there with Rossini's comedies!

(c) meche kroop

THE GARDEN OF JUILLIARD

Christine Taylor Price, Marie Engle, Joshua Blue, Tamara Banješević, and Jacob Scharfman (photo by Hiroyuki Ito)

Mozart was just shy of 19 years of age when he composed La finta giardiniera which premiered in Munich in 1775. In spite of a trivial libretto (insecurely attributed to Calzabigi), one can readily appreciate Mozart's exuberant melodic invention and skills at orchestration. The opera achieved but 3 performances and fell out of the repertory until a copy of the score was rediscovered in the 1970's.

That we have seen the opera three times in two years gives some indication of the many glories of the score and the challenging roles it provides for seven singers. The seven we heard last night at Juilliard Opera seemed to enjoy their performances as much as we in the audience did. What vocal glories!

We love to see romantic foibles onstage--the mismatches, the betrayals, the fights, the reconciliations. We have no need for modern sets or costumes to recognize our own passions and obsessions.  The blind child shoots those darts and we are helpless.

The Marchioness Violante Onesti (splendid soprano Tamara Banješević) had been stabbed by her jealous lover Conte Belfiore (terrific tenor Charles Sy) on their wedding day. Left for dead, she recovered, took the name of Sandrina, disguised herself as a gardener, and sought refuge by gaining employment at the estate of the Podesta Don Anchise (tremendous tenor Joshua Blue) who has fallen in love with her.

The Podesta's housekeeper Serpetta, portrayed by the gifted soprano Christine Taylor Price, would like to marry her boss and fights off the courtship of the gardener Nardo, Violante's servant Roberto in disguise--a role delightfully inhabited by Baritone Jacob Scharfman.

Meanwhile, the Podesta's bossy-pants niece Arminda (glorious voiced soprano Kathryn Henry) arrives at the estate to be joined in matrimony with none other than Belfiore. If we could overlook his tendency to commit violence on his brides, we might even feel a tinge of pity for the ambivalent count. He thinks he recognizes Violante in disguise but she denies her identity.

In the role of Cavalier Ramiro, Arminda's rejected suitor, we heard the marvelously convincing mezzo-soprano Marie Engle in travesti.

To make this crazy mixed up story clear, we had the talented young director Mary Birnbaum who has a very special way of getting her cast to work as an ensemble and to interact in believable ways, no matter how preposterous the story.

The first act moved along at a lively clip but there was a scene at the end of the second act that baffled us and our companion. It is the scene in which Belfiore goes mad and Violante gets kidnapped by Arminda (or was it vice versa?). When Tim Albery directed this opera at Santa Fe Opera, it didn't make much sense either and when Eric Einhorn directed it for On Site Opera, he omitted the scene entirely which was probably the best choice!

Both Ms. Henry and Ms. Prize dazzled us with their coloratura but the aria we remember best belonged to Ms. Engle who managed the extensive fioritura while conveying masculinity at the same time in "Va pure ad altri in braccio". Not only does everyone get an aria but there are interesting ensembles that foreshadow Mozart's later works.
 

Another memorable moment was Nardo's courting of Serpetta in several languages; Mr. Scharfman was irresistible in the role.  Mr. Blue pompously strutted around the stage but also conveyed the manner of a kind man. Ms. Henry did a great job creating a real bitch of a character. We loved the moment when she arrived with a horse and her servant Giuseppe (bass William Guanbo Su).

The Juilliard Orchestra performed in their usual exemplary fashion under the baton of Joseph Colaneri who brought subtle understanding to the various and changeable moods of the work. The continuo comprised Michael Biel on the harpsichord and Clara Abel on the cello.

Much favorable comment could be devoted to Amanda Seymour's luscious period costumes and even more to scenic designer Grace Laubacher's witty sets. After a clever prologue in which Joan Hofmeyr and Olivia McMillan portrayed two gossipy housemaids relating the backstory in English (another one of Mary Birnbaum's clever inventions), servants carried in trompe l'oeil set pieces. Even the horse was two dimensional but reared convincingly.

Lighting Designer Anshuman Bhatia spared no effort in changing the mood; one scene takes place in near darkness and the ensuing confusion reminded us of the final act of Nozze di Figaro.

Once again, Juilliard Opera has given us a memorable evening in which superlative production values provide a setting for the splendid singers--the jewels of Juilliard.


(c) meche kroop

A MASTER CONDUCTOR'S MASTER CLASS

Participants in Emmanuel Villaume Master Class at Juilliard (photo by Michael DiVito)

Thursday's Master Class at Juilliard was unusual and unforgettable. Most master classes involve a single singer getting coached in the finer points of song interpretation. The class conducted by Maestro Emmanuel Villaume (through the Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts and the Collaborative Piano Departments at Juilliard) involved three duets and one ensemble. As one might have expected, the charmingly Gallic maestro worked exclusively in French.

Apparently, he had already worked with this select group of students, all graduate students, because they sounded just terrific before their coaching. That being said, each pair reached a new level of artistry within their strictly allotted half hour. The progress was remarkable. Maestro Villaume has a profound understanding of each character, as much as any director; but he fosters characterological authenticity within the musical context. Show me anyone else who achieves this depth!

In general, he likes to play with the concept of tension and release in the vocal line. He urged the students to find reasons for the silences between phrases by focusing on the thoughts the character might be having. He advised the students to listen to each other, which, we imagine, is even more difficult than it is in the theater, given that there are so many other things with which to be concerned.

Two coaching sessions involved Georges Bizet's masterpiece Carmen, a masterpiece which the composer thought was a failure when he died, never knowing that it would achieve the position of the most-produced opera ever. We had tenor Alexander McKissick as Don Jose in the Act I duet with Micaela, portrayed by soprano Maria Fernanda Brea, accompanied by Michael Biel. 

They worked effectively on character. Don Jose is happy to see her but rather ambivalent in his affection due to his recent encounter with Carmen. Of course he wants to hear how his mother is in "Parle-moi de ma mere". He can be gentle here but he must color the phrase differently when he repeats it. One can sing agitato while singing piano.

Micaela must be shy but also flirtatious.  She means to marry Don Jose as his mother wishes. But she is innocent and knows nothing of his situation.  Ms. Brea also conveyed a sense of her character's inner strength which she would call upon in Act III when she goes into the mountains to find the wayward DJ.

Next we heard soprano Christine Taylor Price as Leila and tenor Miles Mykkanen as Nadir in the Act II duet from Bizet's Les pecheurs de perles. This provided the perfect demonstration of the tension/release concept we noted above, to avoid metronomic phrasing which is just boring. Collaborative pianist Will Kelley was astute in getting that point.

A phrase from pharmacotherapy came to mind which can also apply to a scene.  "Start low and go slow". Obviously if you begin a scene with great intensity, there is nowhere to go. In this scene, Leila must listen closely to Nadir's line and to enter not only at the right time but at the right level of intensity. No wonder we love duets!

Further instructions were given to use the consonants to project the vowels. We have noticed this deficit rather often in American singers who often sound afraid of the consonants. A further point was made that French opera is "softer" than Italian opera.

This point was reiterated in the next duet from  Jules Massenet's Werther. There is no melodrama in French opera! "Il faut nous separer" is a suspended waltz which, like the relationship between Werther (sung by tenor Gerard Schneider) and Charlotte (mezzo-soprano Natalia Kutateladze), goes nowhere. CP for this duet was the excellent Katelan Terrell.

Much time was devoted to phrasing and knowing which words in a phrase to weight. The crescendo on long notes can continue in intensity through the silences. The singer can feel without "acting".

A fine point of French diction was to allow the final "e" of a word (like "cherche") to evaporate.  It's there but it should never be obvious.

The final coaching was the most fun and apparently delighted the audience as well as the singers. We will never be able to hear the Act II quintet from Carmen without remembering the points made by Maestro Guillaume. We would tend to agree that making this scene light-hearted like a cabaret sets up the audience for the tragedy to come. 

Le Dancaire (sung by baritone Dimitri Katotakis) and his sidekick Le Remendado (tenor John Noh) are trying to persuade Frasquita (soprano Anneliese Klenetsky) and Mercedes (mezzo-soprano Kady Evanyshyn) to come along on their next smuggling adventure. 

Only Carmen (mezzo-soprano Amanda Lynn Bottoms) refuses.  And then....she drops the bombshell!  She is "amoureuse". The group is incredulous. We have never scene this scene done so effectively; it was accomplished by increasing the tempo and getting each singer to make a more decisive entrance. The entire quintet must be propulsive. Nathan Raskin at the piano had much to contribute in this regard.

Singing about duty (devoir) and love (amour) requires very different coloration.

Another point was that Dancaire's portamento can be used to show his humorous incredulity.  Very effective! These characters are having fun and in a way are playing themselves, perhaps a bit self-consciously. Maestro Villaume injected one final touch that was very effective--a rivalry between Frasquita and Mercedes. The latter sings a line and the former repeats it while upstaging her.

What a worthwhile class! So much information imparted graciously and effectively. 

(c) meche kroop

ON THIS ISLAND...AND OTHERS

Ho Jae Lee, Steven Blier, Benjamin Dickerson, Hannah Dishman, Jack Swanson, Christine Price

It comes as no surprise that Steven Blier (Artistic Director of New York Festival of Song, collaborative pianist, educator, coach, recording artist, etc.) graduated from Yale with Honors in English Literature. His program notes are always invaluable and highly instructive. Furthermore, they are so well written that we find ourself wanting to quote directly from them instead of finding our own words. So, dear reader, when you see a phrase in quotes, please know exactly whom we are quoting, which surely beats plagiarizing. We hope the generous Mr. Blier will feel complimented.

The theme of last night's recital was Four Islands--comprising Ireland, Cuba, Madagascar, and Manhattan. Mr. Blier finds island dwellers to be "fundamentally different from our landlocked neighbors". Having been "under attack from outside enemies (we) must learn to protect ourselves from invasion".  Just think about that when you are trying to push through the throngs of Times Square to get to the theater!

The program opened with some Irish folksongs and regular readers will recall how taken we are with folk melodies. In "Siul A Ghra", soprano Christine Price and mezzo-soprano Hannah Dishman created some exquisite harmonies a cappella, even before Mr. Blier chimed in with a spare piano accompaniment. We haven't a clue what Gaelic is supposed to sound like but to our ears it sounded authentic. 

Ms. Dishman was then joined by baritone Benjamin Dickerson for a cute romantic ditty entitled "The Palatine's Daughter". From Mr. Blier's program notes, we learned that the Palatines were a German-speaking group who were forced out of their country by war in the early 18th c. and given asylum by England. Apparently they assimilated successfully, in this case through romance. The accompaniment by the flute of Marco Granados was lovely.

Let us skip over the song by Arnold Bax, a Brit who was as entranced by Ireland as was Victor Herbert, about whom we wrote last week.  But we won't skip without mentioning the powerful piano of Ho Jae Lee whose artistry on the piano is astonishing.

John Corigliano also set Irish folksongs and Ms. Price's clear and lovely soprano wove in and out of the fanciful line of the flute.

But the song from Ireland that captured our heart was Houston Collisson's "Eileen Og" which was given a charming and humor filled performance by tenor Jack Swanson, joined by Mr. Granados' flute. The song contained a very particular lesson for men who go a-courtin'.

The ship was ready to sail and off we went to Cuba where the "Spanish elements suppressed, resisted, slowly co-opted, and finally embraced the rhythms of the oppressed Afro-Cubans". Does that scenario sound familiar? Afro-Cubans were not freed from slavery until 1886 and yet, today, seem far more integrated than Afro-Americans.  Cuban music is a "grafting of Spanish elegance onto the complex throb of African rhythms".  (Wish we'd written that!)

It took four hands of piano (Mr. Blier and Mr. Lee) to give enough textural support to Mr. Swanson and Mr. Dickerson as they performed "Guarina", a lyrical serenade written by the untrained but gifted composer Sindo Garay.

Ms. Price, accompanied by Mr. Lee, excelled in Ernesto Lecuona's setting of "Quiero ser hombre", text by the Uruguayan feminist poet Juana Ibarbourou.

Cuba must stand among the nations of the New World which adapted the Spanish operetta known as zarzuela to their own use. Mr. Brier's droll explication added much to our enjoyment of "Aria de Matilde" from Jose Mauri's La Esclava. It was not the only piece to highlight difficult social issues like interracial romance, but it was one of the first.  Dark-skinned heroine (soprano) has dark-skinned lover (baritone) but gets seduced by aristocratic light-skinned man (tenor) gets pregnant and commits suicide. In this case, however, the aria was sung by a mezzo and Ms. Dishman sang it with lovely tone and depth of feeling.

The funniest song in Cuba must have been Emilio Grenet's "Tu no sab ingle" (sic) which sounds like a Spanish answer to ebonics. Mr. Dickerson (whom we have now heard in French, German, English, and Spanish) was hilarious lecturing his friend about his linguistic failure with American girls.

After the interval, we weighed anchor once more and set sail for Madagascar. The traditional Zulu melody, gloriously harmonized by Ms. Price, Ms. Dishman, and Mr. Swanson thrilled us with its strange words and interesting harmonies. 

However, as hard as we tried to like Maurice Ravel's Chansons Madecasses, we were unable to relate to the music. The French text of "Nahandove" and "Il est doux" was incredibly sensual which we readily picked up from Mr. Lee's piano and the delicacy of the cello, beautifully bowed by Nan-Cheng Chen. However, the vocal line did nothing for us and Mr. Dickerson's use of the music stand prevented us from feeling the connection we felt in the Zulu piece.

We were very happy to dock in Manhattan and Cole Porter's "I Happen to Like New York" perfectly expressed our sentiments. All four singers and all four hands on the piano were enlisted for this exciting final song with its punchy Anglo-Saxon rhymes.

But let us not omit the other wonderful songs in the Manhattan group. Ms. Price gave a galvanizing performance of "One Life to Live" from Kurt Weill's 1941 Lady in the Dark, in which she has a YOLO moment.  Ms. Dishman gave a highly convincing portrait of an auditioning actress in Jason Robert Brown's "When you Come Home to Me". (We sincerely hope that none of last night's artists ever have to endure such humiliation.)

Mr. Swanson sang an unpublished song by Irving Berlin, cut from the musical As Thousands Cheer. "Through a Keyhole" was considered too risque for its Depression-era Broadway and it certainly is filled with naughty innuendo which Mr. Swanson captured without exaggerating.  It was done just right.

As encore, we heard a composition by Villa Lobos based on the NewYork Skyline. 

It was a great cruise and we are glad to be home safe and sound to tell you all about it.

(c) meche kroop

STRAUSS AS HE'S MEANT TO BE HEARD

Brian Zeger, Julia Wolcott, Alex Rosen, Christine Taylor Price, Kathryn Henry, and Samantha Hankey

When we learned who was singing at the Juilliard Songfest at Alice Tully Hall last night, we knew we were in for a special treat. When we saw the program, our eyes opened wide--all those songs by Richard Strauss that we had never heard before! As is the case with Schubert (whose output was considerably larger than that of Strauss, and larger than anyone else's for that matter), certain songs become popular and appear frequently on recital programs while others languish unfortunately unsung.

Brian Zeger, Artistic Director of Juilliard's Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts, was on hand as collaborative pianist and, in this case, perhaps more importantly, as curator for this thrilling evening. There were only a few familiar songs on the program and the others were delightful discoveries.

That Strauss loved sopranos is not news; indeed he had a fruitful marriage with one!  But just hear the three sopranos and singular mezzo-soprano who brought these songs to vivid and meaningful life!  Each one has remarkable technique which she applied to bring out the best of her glorious instrument. We will get to the bass later.

Kathryn Henry is a sensational soprano whom we previously had only heard briefly, and in French. We enjoyed her pure and lovely sound even more in German and in the songs selected for her to sing. She opened the program with a set of four of his songs--"Nichts", "Nachtgang", "Leises Lied" and "Die Georgine", all beautifully performed.

Later in the program she sang "Ich liebe dich" and the more familiar but very sad "Befreit". Her delivery was deeply felt and marked by perfect phrasing. Mr. Zeger introduced this wonderful song with some gorgeous arpeggios.

Soprano Christine Taylor Price has a pure crystalline sound that soars into the stratosphere.  We have enjoyed reviewing her work on prior occasions (reviews are archived) but don't recall hearing her sing Strauss; her instrument is just perfectly Taylor-ed (pardon the pun) for it. 

She opened the second half of the program with a set of four songs, each one a precious jewel--"Ich schwebe", the familiar and worshipful "Du meines Herzens Kronelein", the tender "Meinem Kinde", and the expansive "Fruhlingsgedrange".  To hear her spin out a pianissimo line is to experience pure auditory joy.

We loved "Die sieben Siegel", a setting of a text by Friedrich Ruckert, and the gentle "Traum durch die Dammerung" in which her vocal colors matched the text "weiches samteness Band"--soft velvet ribbon indeed!

Soprano Julia Wolcott performed "O susser Mai" and another Ruckert song "Morgenrot" to our delight. We make no apologies for enjoying text that scans and rhymes and Ruckert always fills the bill on that count! Our appreciation for this lovely artist grew as we witnessed her talent for drama and comedy. "Muttertandelei" is the outpouring of maternal pride. No one on earth has such a child!  Ms. Wolcott showed a real flair here and, moreover, got to show up a facility for melismatic passages that were beautifully handled.

Strauss included plenty of roles for mezzo-sopranos in his operas and we hope we will be hearing Samantha Hankey performing them in the near future. The timbre is just right.  Just thinking that the artists we heard tonight would comprise a perfect cast for Der Rosenkavalier (one of our favorite operas).

"Waldseligkeit"is a wonderful paean to nature and Ms. Hankey's voice expanded in a rapturous climax at the end. In "Lob des Leidens" she evinced the beauties to be found in sorrow. Our favorite, however, was "Einerlei" which speaks to the irony of diversity coming from sameness.

The evening truly belonged to the female voice but bass Alex Rosen was on hand to perform a few songs which were perhaps written for that fach, but we have been unable to verify. "Aus den Lieder der Trauer" was sung with intensity. Mr. Rosen certainly does have the strength in the lower register as heard in his mastery of the low tessitura of "Das Tal".

We liked him better in the light-hearted "Ach weh mir ungluckhaftem Mann' in which a poor man fantasizes about going courting in high style.  And our favorite was the gentle "Traum durch die Dammerung".

The encore was perfectly chosen for the four female voices, a setting of Heinrich Heine's "Fruhlingsfeier"; we are not sure if it has ever been arranged for four voices before but it was a stirring way to end a splendid evening.

© meche kroop

A DIFFERENT ENLIGHTENMENT

Kara Sainz and Theo Hoffman (photo by Richard Termine)

Miles Mykkanen (photo by Richard Termine)

The most wonderful aspect of Mozart's operas, beside their glorious music, is their humanity. The singspiel that he wrote for his friend, the singer/actor/impresario Emanuel Schikaneder, is generally presented in all its mythic glory with elaborate costuming and sets. Many of these productions can be appreciated in the current exhibit at the Lincoln Center Library of the Performing Arts.

The production we saw last night at The Juilliard School was a production with another dimension. Gone were the fairy tale trappings of exotic sets and costumes, and, in their place, Director Mary Birnbaum gave us a human drama. We could identify with the universal psychological issues we face as we attempt to unravel the complexities of our existence and to evolve into more complete human beings.  This gave a new meaning to "enlightenment"--not just the 18th c. philosophical movement.

In Ms. Birnbaum's take on the opera, we witnessed real people, not cartoon characters, and not stereotypes. Tamino is not dressed like a prince but he evolves into a princely fellow, having earned the love of Pamina.  As sung by the incredibly sweet-voiced tenor Miles Mykkanen, he starts out as the helpless victim of...a row of hedges he takes to be a serpent! During the course of the opera he achieves menschheit by facing his fears during the trials. We witness his growth and cheer him on.

Pamina, perfectly portrayed by soprano Christine Taylor Price, must learn to accept the fact that her mother is flawed. She must integrate the "good mother" who wants to protect her and the "bad mother" who is possessive and filled with rage. She must learn to accept a father (or father figure) who loves her but has failed to protect her from the evil Monostatos and has placed her in a virtual prison. Ms. Price did well at creating a character who moves from innocence and helplessness to a position of equality-- "standing by her man" as he goes through the trials.

Not everyone is cut out to be a spiritually enlightened person. In a star turn unlike no other, baritone Theo Hoffman represented "Everyman". He wants his food, his wine, and his woman. His life has no meaning otherwise. His Everyman is not one to which one condescends; this is an Everyman to love; he is an Everyman who makes the world work. Mr. Hoffman revealed impressive comedic skills, utilizing flexibility of body and mobility of facial expression to get this across. . His task in life is to learn honesty and modesty. He learns that from the Three Ladies who also serve the Queen of the Night.

That role was wonderfully filled by coloratura soprano Liv Redpath whose top notes gave us chills by virtue of their clear ringing tones and pinpoint accuracy. The Three Ladies were performed by two superb sopranos (Alexandra Razskazoff and Caitlin Redding) and mezzo-soprano Avery Amereau whose smoky voice is completely distinctive and entirely memorable.

One of the funniest scenes was the first one in which these Three Ladies fight over the limp body of Tamino who has fainted from fright.

We loved the way bass Önay Köse created a Sarastro who was anything but pompous. He projected the air of a leader who was entirely human and not at all ecclesiastically boring. His voice rang out with power and authority.

As the wicked seducer Monostatos, handsome tenor Alexander McKissick had a hard time convincing us that he was "hässlich" but easily convinced us of his evil intentions toward Pamino. He had her imprisoned in an off-kilter underground bunker, reminding us of all those stories in the news about men who kidnapped young girls and kept them for years as sex slaves. We were quite relieved when she was rescued and Monostatos got punished! Tenors don't usually get to sing the bad guy and Mr. McKissick sang it very very well.

Mezzo-soprano Kara Sainz as Papagena was the perfect partner for Mr. Hoffman's Papageno. Not only was her singing excellent but she created a charming character who was totally convincing as an old lady climbing onto Papageno's lap, trying to convince him to marry her--one of the funniest moments of the evening.

The Three Spirits were adorable and harmonized just as finely as did the Three Ladies.  Dressed as schoolgirls in uniform, they represented the innate and instinctual wisdom of youth which contrasted well with Sarastro's hard-won rational wisdom. Christine Oh, Sophia Kaminski, and Kelsey Lauritano gave wonderfully physical performances.

Sarastro's crew of followers, dressed in suits, seemed to be a no-nonsense lot. Bass-baritone Thesele Kemane was excellent as The Speaker. Baritone Fan Jia and tenor Matthew Swensen made important contributions as First and Second Priest respectively, while tenor Samuel Levine did equally well as The Armed Man.

Ms. Birnbaum made sure that all the characters related to one another as people. That is one of the benefits of having a group of artists who know each other and can work well as an ensemble. It enabled so many moments of emotional depth and so many moments of humor. This could never happen at The Metropolitan Opera with stars flying in from all over the world!

The sets by Grace Laubacher were said to have been inspired by Joseph Cornell and his boxes. Indeed, they were boxlike and punctuated by doors down low and windows up high. Birds were flown from the balconies, Japanese-style, delighting the audience.

Anshuman Bhatia's lighting emphasized the difference between the darkness of the Queen of the Night and the light of Sarastro's temple.

Costumes by Maria Sine Clinton comprised streetwear for the most part but we were dazzled by the masks worn by the beasts who were tamed by Tamino's magic flute.

Choreography was shared by Adam Cates and Sean McKnight. The wildly successful break-dancing was performed by Jakub Jozef Orlinski who has delighted our ears with his angelic counter-tenor and here dazzled our eyes with his astonishing dancing. Now we know!

The singing was so fine all around that we decline to single out any one artist. The Juilliard Orchestra never disappoints; under the baton of David Stern they filled the Peter Jay Sharp Theater with glorious sound. During the overture, Maestro Stern's firm control allowed us to distinguish the emphatic chords and their progressions. We could hear things we'd never noticed before in the play of the strings against the winds. Totally wonderful!

(c) meche kroop