CHRISTMAN OPERA COMPANY'S DOUBLE HEADER

Rachel Barg, Sooyeon Kang, Theodore Christman, Madison Marie McIntosh, Jennifer Allenby, Alyssa Brode, and Nobuki Momma

Theodore Christman has been on our radar screen for two and a half years,  since Madison Marie McIntosh performed a song cycle he wrote and accompanied at the piano. Mr. Christman writes music that is accessible and tuneful; it is anything but academic. We were very enthusiastic.

We have since heard a couple of short operas he composed which he customarily pairs with a well known opera by a "dead white male". Yesterday, at the National Opera Center, we heard two of his one-act operas--a reiteration of Adriana McMannes and a new opera entitled A Metamorphosis.

The first is is an Upstairs/Downstairs tale in which a widower falls in love with his daughter's governess. The obstacle to their marriage is the widower's mother-in-law who spreads ugly gossip about the governess' mental stability. Fortunately she is made to retract her words and the tale has a happy conclusion.

A new director, Mark Watson, has changed the tone of the work and pushed it in the direction of over-the-top comedic melodrama, with exaggerated gestures. Marvelous mezzo-soprano Madison Marie McIntosh gamely gave the director what he asked for with no sacrifice of her prodigious vocal skills. She was particularly excellent with the coloratura work in the second act, in which she batted her eyelashes in time with the trill. Her love duets with the miscast tenor Kevin Courtemanche produced some lovely harmonies.

Reprising her role as Mrs. Fowler was Sarah Knott, a very different sort of mezzo-soprano who relished her role as the mother-in-law from hell. Soprano Eugenia Forteza made a fine showing as the disagreeable Mrs. Tonti who employed Adriana.

The flaw in the work was Anna  Winslow's libretto. The story seems to belong to a different epoch, one in which the rumor of mental illness might lead to ostracism and when a woman making an overture toward a man would be shocking. We couldn't help thinking of Britten's comedy Albert Herring, the libretto of which is also "old fashioned" but consistent, whereas this libretto is uneven in tone. Furthermore, many of the words seemed tortured into submission in order to fit the vocal line, especially in the recitativi.  Mr. Christman's music deserves better!

The second work on the program, A Metamorphosis, also seemed burdened by an anachronistic and awkward libretto. A woman named Arinyae (mezzo-soprano Rachel Barg) runs a theater named Shadowland as a sort of commune, providing food and shelter to homeless teens, in exchange for their services as actors and artists. 

The framing device was a lonely old woman named Juniper who is reflecting back on her youth as a part of this group. In this role, Ms. McIntosh used bodily gesture as well as vocal color to portray both the elderly woman and the teenager she recalls. Her singing was exceptional.

But the story is muddled with an unnecessary sub-plot about the members of the group dealing drugs by delivering paintings to Buzzman, the owner of a lamp store played by Mr. Courtemanche, who was more believable in this role than he was as a romantically inclined widower.

One of the members of the group named Peter (sung by the fine baritone Nobuki Momma) falls in love with the daughter of an insect-obsessed drug addict client (bass baritone Sean Kroll); her name is Clover (bright voiced soprano Alyssa Brode) and she joins the theater commune as well, to the dismay of Juniper who also loves Peter.  

There is also an overdose by Soka (soprano Jennifer Allenby) and Ariyae's death with the theme of soul possession. Does this sound like too many threads for a one-act opera?  It did to us! A retrospective view of the 60's is a great idea but this tale did not succeed.

The piano score was played to perfection by Music Director Marijo Newman. We do not know whether Mr. Christman has orchestrated the works but that would surely be something to look forward to. We would like to see his music get the libretto it deserves. 

We acknowledge that the libretti we heard yesterday did rhyme and scan, which is admirable, but they were clunky and often unsingable. We think a one-act opera should focus on a simple story and be told clearly. English is spoken in short phrases that are "punchy"; it is difficult to be lyrical in English. Broadway lyricists seem to have mastered the art. So should opera lyricists!

(c) meche kroop

SOMETHING OLD AND SOMETHING NEW

Robert Davidson, Maestro Ian Shafer, Madison Marie McIntosh, Jonathan Hare, and Francesco Pavesi

This is  Christman Opera Company's second evening, the first having been reviewed 6 months ago. Pianist and keyboard teacher Theodore Christman seems headed for a future as a composer of works that are entertaining. This is the second time he has presented a short work of his own composition, with Anna Winslow as his librettist; he pairs his own work with a well-established work and casts them both with fine young singers.

As we pointed out in our prior (archived) review his music is anything but academic; it is meant to be entertaining and employs melody to enhance the story line. The tunes and the text work together well in the manner of a Broadway musical. 

The work we heard last night at the National Opera Center was called "The Dreamer" and involved an encounter between Aidan, a businessman visiting Chicago in the 1940's and Elizabeth, the daughter of the bookseller whose shop he is patronizing. Aidan becomes infatuated with Elizabeth who dreams of becoming a novelist. She rejects him because she believes him to be married, but there is a surprise twist that leads to a happy ending.

The lovely mezzo-soprano Marie Madison McIntosh, whose growth we have been chronicling, made a winsome Elizabeth, with the role of Aidan being taken by bass Derrell Acon whose melismatic singing had particular luster. Accompaniment was by one piano four hands, two belonging to Juan Condor and the other two belonging to Vesela Kirova. The arias were quite listenable with thematic repetition making the melody memorable--perhaps with a shade too much repetition. But, as we pointed out, it was a pleasure to hear words and music marching together. Unfortunately, the recitativi were a trifle awkward but the words were clear.  English diction was mostly good except for the high-lying passages of Elizabeth's arias. The best part was the harmonic writing for the duets.

It was a worthy entry as far as contemporary opera goes and held our interest far more than most entries in that field, even though it comprised a dialogue between two characters, without any activity.

Rossini was a composer who understood the concept of entertainment and if you do not find Il Barbiere di Siviglia wildly entertaining, your funny bone must be broken!  This opera has endured for two centuries exactly!  Rossini knew just how much repetition to use and just how far to carry a joke. The music sparkles and the plot moves along at breakneck speed. The characters are lovable although each has his foibles.

As the eponymous hero, baritone Jonathan Hare carried the evening with his pleasing and flexible voice, portraying a jack-of-all-trades with a winning personality and enough charm for several characters. He made ample use of gesture and facial expression to get this across. His "Largo al factotum" was as fine as one would wish and his excellence carried right through to the end.

Ms. McIntosh was a spunky Rosina, willful and devious when needs be, as she struggles to get out from under the domination of the controlling Dr. Bartolo. Ms. McIntosh has recently made the transition from soprano and her voice sparkles in the upper register; the breadth in her lower register keeps growing and there is a nice seamless quality from the tippy top almost to the bottom. The low notes are there and just a little work should integrate them more perfectly.

We love the way she delivered "Una voce poco fa" with plenty of razzle-dazzle in the fioritura; some of the embellishments seemed new to us. 

As Count Almaviva, tenor Francesco Pavesi sang the role beautifully, wafting garlic with every beautifully turned phrase. He had to portray frustration in the opening scene when Fiorello (baritone Clayton G. Williams) and his band of musicians fail to get Rosina to appear. He had to be conspiratorial with Figaro, romantic with Rosina, and drunk in his first appearance in Don Barolo's villa. His serenade of Rosina was ardent and beautifully modulated.

Soprano Erin Brittain shone in Berta's aria, lamenting her character's loneliness. She has a fine clear tone and an expressive manner. We look forward to hearing her in a larger role.

There were no titles but a minimal knowledge of Italian would have seen any listener through each scene, and for this we credit the fine direction of Eowyn Driscoll who did such a fine job as the Sorceress in Dido and Aeneas. She had no set to work with and no costumes, the only prop being a chair; wisely she focused on the interaction between the characters.

Bass-baritone Robert Davidson made a sturdy Dr. Bartolo who handled the patter well; he joined forces with Don Basilio (Mr. Acon) in an attempt to rule the unruly Rosina. "La calunnia" is always fun!  And so is the "Buona sera" scene when the conspirators try to get rid of the unwelcome Don Basilio. As a matter of fact, this opera has no mediocre arias, and especially notable are the ensembles which close each act, a Rossini trademark, in which all the characters are stupefied or chaotic.

Maestro Ian Shafer effected a suitable balance in this chamber orchestra, situated on half the stage, with the action taking place on the other half. Beside the string quartet there was a bass, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and two horns which behaved very well in spite of the horrendous weather.  Mr. Condor played the continuo part on the piano, in the absence of a harpsichord. Daniel Moreno was responsible for the fine guitar accompaniment.

Judicious cuts were made and toward the end there was a loss of continuity due to the omission of the scene in which Bartolo turns Rosina against Almaviva. The singing lesson scene also was truncated. None of these compromises proved fatal. A good time was had by all!

(c) meche kroop

A NEWBORN ARRIVES!

Madison Marie McIntosh as the dying Dido and Constance Rogalski as Belinda in Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas

It is indeed a privilege to be present for a birth and we were honored to be among the guests witnessing the birth of a new opera company--the Christman Opera Company. Although no mission statement was present in the program, we gather that the mission is for fledgling opera composer Theodore Christman to present his work to the public while balancing the program with a long-established piece.

Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas has been kicking around since the 1680's, which certainly qualifies it as long-established. We are not sure why so many small companies have presented it in the past year (Heartbeat Opera and Utopia Opera, among others); it is neither the anniversary of Purcell's death nor birth. Since we have already written a great deal about the opera's history, we leave it to you readers to use the search bar so that we may focus on the performances.

The musical values were successful all around with singers chosen for their fine vocal artistry, accompanied by Musical Director Lochlan Brown conducting a fine string quartet from the piano. Mr. Brown was responsible for the excellent reduction of the score.

As the unfortunate Dido, Queen of Carthage, Madison Marie McIntosh could be heard expanding her wide range from the stratospheric coloratura reaches down to a richly textured and strong lower register. The final "When I Am Laid in Earth" was heartbreaking.

As her handmaiden Belinda, Constance Rogalski exhibited an attractive crystalline soprano but failed to make the text clear. This task is nearly impossible with that high tessitura and we longed for surtitles to maximize comprehension. Beier Zhao nicely complemented Ms. Rogalski as another handmaiden.

A riveting performance as the Sorceress was delivered by Eowyn Driscoll whose richly resonant voice filled out the text beautifully. Her two accomplices, Raquel Nobile and Sarah Knott completed the trio of tricksters and we could not keep from thinking of Shakespeare's "weird sisters" as they plot to bring Dido down. We observed that somehow Ms. Nobile's diction made the text rather clear, in spite of the high range, especially when she doubled as the faux-Mercury, leading Aeneas astray. What a terrific trio!

John Ramseyer sang the role of Aeneas and sang it well.  All that was needed to make it a fine performance was a measure of dramatic investment, especially in his interaction with the woman he is wooing and abandoning.

A fine performance was given by Thomas Massey who sang the notoriously humorous "Sailor's Song". He exhibited not only fine vocal skills but a lot of personality.

The chorus contributed a great deal and comprised Shawn Palmer, Clayton G. Williams, and Hajeong Lee, as well as whomever was not singing front and center.

The second half of the program introduced us to Mr. Christman's new opera Adriana McMannes, with libretto written by Anna Winslow (who also was director for the entire evening). We have complained a great deal about contemporary opera being devoid of melody and not being entertaining. We had no such complaints last night.

Mr. Christman's writing offered tuneful vocal lines suggestive of mid-20th c. popular music--much in the same way that Johannes Brahms incorporated folk tunes into his serious music.  This is anything but "academic" music and totally accessible, a point noted by our operatic-newbie companion who enjoyed it enormously.

The story is an Upstairs/Downstairs tale in which a widower falls in love with his daughter's governess. The obstacle to their marriage is the widower's mother-in-law who spreads ugly gossip about the governess' mental stability. Fortunately she is made to retract her words and the tale has a happy conclusion.

Ms. McIntosh demonstrated her versatility in the role of Adriana with Mr. Ramseyer as her intended. His Broadway style in this role did not mesh perfectly with her operatic vibrato. 

We were delighted to have another opportunity to see more of Ms. Knott who did a marvelous interpretation of the bibulous mother-in-law from hell. And likewise, seeing Ms. Nobile as Adriana's imperious boss was another treat as she delivered some very funny lines. This was also a great scene for Ms. McIntosh who came across as a modern day Cinderella.

Mr. Brown accompanied on the piano. We know of no plans to orchestrate the score but it was fine just as it was performed. We will eagerly await his next offering!

(c) meche kroop