MORE GRIST

Brandie Sutton and Reri Grist 

Marisan Corsino and Reri Grist

Renowned soprano and esteemed teacher Reri Grist was introduced by Martina Arroyo as a friend of fifty years duration, an announcement that evoked torrents of applause from the audience-- eager to hear the divine Ms. Grist coach young singers--part of the Prelude to Performance program.

We have previously noted that each master teacher seems to focus on one thing above all others and Ms. Grist's focus was largely on a forward sound placement. Each of the four students in her master class benefited by bringing the voice up and forward and out of the throat. This was particularly valuable in descending vocal lines.

If you love Puccini's Madama Butterfly as much as we do, you will not want to miss soprano Brandie Sutton's performance as Cio-Cio San on July 9th and 11th at Hunter College. Her glorious instrument soared in the final act aria "Che tua madre" and needed only a few hints from Ms. Grist--hints that made all the difference. In this case, Ms. Grist asked Ms. Sutton to use the initial consonant to help project the "ah" sound into the mask, achieving a rounder sound. A gentle boost from the diaphragm was also helpful.

Donizetti's Fille du Regiment will be performed on July 10th and 12th (matinée) and soprano Claire Coolen will be covering the role of Marie.  We never wish ill on a performer but if Ms. Coolen manages to sing one of the performances we would be thrilled to hear her. She sang "Chacun le sait" with panache and spunk and brilliant tone.  She was coached to take her time between phrases. 

Tenor Jon Jurgens gave full voice to "Addio fiorito asil", Lt. Pinkerton's final act aria from Madama Butterfly, a role he is covering.  He was coached to "cool it" in Ms. Grist's well-chosen phrase--to save his voice and not push.  Our own thoughts were along the same lines. We wanted him to start more gently and build to a climax when he realizes how vilely he has behaved toward Butterfly. Using his diaphragm helped him to get up and out of his throat.

Mezzo-soprano Marisan Corsino, the Suzuki cover, sang "Una voce poco fa" from Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia. At first, she delivered it to the audience and Ms. Grist coached her to pretend she was singing it to her image in the mirror, which made a world of difference. Moving around the stage also helped to eliminate the presentational quality. Another great suggestion was to achieve more variety when a phrase is repeated several times. A bit of playfulness with the rhythm added still more to the performance.

Soprano Maria Brea, who is cast as Marie on July 10th and 12th sang "Par le rang et par l'opulence" from Act II of Fille du Regiment. Ms. Grist worked with her on character interpretation and when the aria was performed with purity and simplicity it became not just a beautiful tone but a meaningful portrayal.

Tenor Alexander Wook Lee, who will be singing Goro in Madama Butterfly, did not need any help in the acting department. He sang Beppe's serenade (as Arlecchino) to Nedda (as Columbina) from Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, with an abundance of humor and personality. He received good coaching from Ms. Grist on increasing his support on the high notes, getting the song up and out of his throat. The tips on vowel modification were also helpful.

Ms. Grist taught with warmth, generosity, and humor. Accompanist Ed Bak did the usual fine job of supporting each singer. We noticed he has a special affinity for Puccini.

The prolonged period of individualized and group coaching ensures that the performances of these two beloved operas are guaranteed to delight the audience as they do every summer. We urge you to get your tickets quickly before they are all gone.

(c) meche kroop

MAESTRO RICHARD BONYNGE MASTER CLASS

Chungfeng Li coached by Maestro Richard Bonynge

A few fortunate folk got to sit in on Maestro Richard Bonynge's master class, presented as part of the intensive training given to the lucky young singers participating in Martina Arroyo's Prelude to Performance program.

The famous conductor and recording artist speaks softly and carries a big stick!  No, not the baton; we mean it figuratively. He is quiet but very firm, insisting the students repeat the same phrase until they get it right. An acknowledged bel canto specialist, his gentle corrections made a noticeable difference in the students' performances. He is not at all like other master teachers who fawn all over the students telling them how marvelous they are and suggesting they add just one tiny thing "if it works for you". 

No! Mo. Bonynge does not even listen to the entire aria. He will stop a student immediately and get to work. He is not there to praise and support but to teach. There was a theme running through the afternoon. Almost all the singers were trying too hard; they were going for volume and big effects and Mo. Bonynge persuaded them to "bring it down a notch". This is bel canto and going for the "bel" seemed to be the message.

Maria Brea opened the program with "Par le rang et par l'opulence" from Donizetti's Fille du Regiment, which will be presented at Hunter College on July 10th and 12th, the culmination of the months of work by the students in the program. Ms. Brea worked hard on observing the piano markings on the score.  Master and student also worked on extending the vowels and achieving more flow through the cadenza.

Hyo Chang An sang "Pour me rapprocher Marie" from the same opera and was instructed to work on his legato and to lighten up the finally "e" at the end of several words. This was another theme on which we heard a great deal. Singers were mistakenly emphasizing that final syllable and were instructed to just touch it. He was also instructed to control the decrescendo in the descending scale passage and to open the vowels a bit more

Karolina Pilou has a large deep voice with an interesting quality. She sang "Fia dunque vero?...O mio Fernando" from Donizetti's La Favorita. She was instructed to eliminate the crescendi and the extra breaths which she consequently wouldn't require. She was also taught to not rush or push and to save something for the cabaletta.

Spencer Hamilton performed "Ah! mes amis....Pour mon âme" and he too had to work on decreasing his force and increasing the tonal beauty with rounder vowels. It seemed that pushing the end of the phrases was not at all helpful.

Claire Coolen and Jacopo Buora performed the duet "La voilà...Au bruit de la guerre" from Fille du Regiment and again we heard quite a bit about lightening up the final "e". We began to wonder whether another coach had insisted that they all work on emphasizing it! Ms. Coolen worked on eliminating the crescendo on her trills and indeed they sounded much better. Her vowels also needed to be rounder.

Chungfeng Li sang "La calunnia è un venticello" from Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia. He sang it so well that he was not interrupted. The only suggestion he got was to pay attention to doubled consonants, a feature of Italian to which all singers should attend.

A lot of Mo. Bonynge's corrections were performed by the use of his expressive hands which meant that his often inaudible words were unnecessary. We got his very important messages. At the piano, Ed Bak performed in true yeoman fashion, serving each singer and his/her material.

Each singer progressed and we hope they will continue to work on these corrections that made such a difference in their performances. Tickets to Madam Butterfly and Fille du Regiment are going fast and if you plan on being in town in July, these two operas could make a profound difference in an operatically barren summer.

(c) meche kroop