NOPERA

Malena Dayen, Daniel Irizarry, Eugenia Forteza, Suchan Kim, Mouna R'miki, and Marcelo Guzzo

Defying our concept of opera at every turn, Astor Piazzolla's 1968 tango operita was nonetheless a compelling piece of music theater which captivated the audience with some fine performances and musical values. The main characters, Maria and El Payador, were portrayed by mezzo-soprano Malena Dayen and baritone Marcelo Guzzo who introduced us to the work six years ago, performing excerpts as part of the Opera Hispanica Festival.

The work itself was performed at Le Poisson Rouge in Greenwich Village. Beth Greenberg's inventive direction was accompanied by program notes, providing an exegesis of Horacio Ferrrer's libretto, comprising surreal poetry which we found to be abstruse. We are quite sure that those who love poetry were better able to plumb the depths of the very symbolism which baffled us. If one hadn't seen the work before or read about it, one would have no clue as to the story.

The work has been produced recently by the New York City Opera and by Arizona Opera, among other companies.  But for this sold-out run by Bare Opera, Ms. Dayen, herself a Porteño, got her chance to direct the piece; she staged it in the spacious rear gallery of the Bellewether with plenty of "meta" input from a videographer whose images were projected in real time on the rear wall of the space, behind the musicians. It is a powerful but puzzling production.

We enjoyed the boutique orchestra, especially the piano of Music Director/Conductor David Rosenmeyer and the bandoneón of Rodolfo Zanetti. The rest of the orchestra comprised guitar, flute, a string quartet, a double bass, and two percussionists. There was even some recorded music. The persistence of a descending scale of five notes recurred throughout the piece, lending unity.

The pleasures of enjoying the unamplified operatic voice went missing, although we admit that the amplification was not excessive. Much of the text was recited rather than sung.

Ms. Dayen and Mr. Guzzo are both powerful and intense; they performed with commitment. Also onstage were two women who often mirrored Ms. Dayen's movements--Eugenia Forteza and Mouna R'miki. 

The male roles were performed by Suchan Kim and Daniel Irizarry.  Ms. R'miki and Mr. Irizarry were listed as "Duende", the role of the trickster spirit, although that was not conveyed dramatically.

We thought highly of the choreography of Troy Ogilvie who made singers look like dancers, creating effective movement that was minimally challenging. Maximally challenging were the movements of Mr. Irizarry who may find a new career as a break dancer; he climbed the steel beams overhead with the agility of a simian.

Anthony Tornambene's lighting design was effective; at a couple points, the women held small lights in the palms of their hands and moved them around their bodies providing eerie illumination.

Taylor Mills' Costume Design was simple and executed in neutral unobtrusive colors.

This female led company is noted for five years of unconventional productions, never failing to reinvent the opera-going experience. Entering "Bare Opera" in the search bar above will give you the opportunity to read about some of their other revolutionary additions to the operatic landscape.

(c) meche kroop

YIN AND YANG

Johanna Rusanen, Maestro Kent Tritle, and Takaoki Onishi

What a well-balanced program we heard last night at Carnegie Hall! The first half was delicate, ethereal and feminine. The second half was powerful, riveting and masculine. The Oratorio Society of New York, with Maestro Kent Tritle at the helm, surely earned the standing ovation and any forthcoming accolades.

The first piece on the program was Part II of Hector Berlioz' Tristia, Op. 18 entitled "La mort d'Ophelie", which was sensitively conducted by Maestro David Rosenmeyer. Berlioz fell in love with the English actress who played Ophelia in Paris in 1827; she became his muse and initiated his life long love of Shakespeare. 

Who cares that they married and split up when we music lovers have reaped the benefits --Roméo et Juliette, Béatrice et Bénédict, and the lovely piece we enjoyed last night. 

Gertrude's lines from Act IV of Hamlet were adapted by Ernest Legouvé and Berlioz set the text as a solo song in 1842; it was arranged for a soprano/alto chorus in 1849. Last night, the female members of the Chorus and the Orchestra of the Oratorio Society of New York distinguished themselves with the clarity and delicacy of their performance. It was ethereal.

Maestro Tritle took over the podium to conduct Part III of Claude Debussy's Nocturnes, entitled "Sirènes". If we didn't know that the word means "mermaid" in English, we would have thought it meant "serene". This piece has nothing to do with an angry sea causing storms and shipwrecking sailors. This is a calm sea, as introduced by some lovely arpeggi on the harp.

In this piece, the all female chorus delivers a filmy tapestry of sound inspiring feelings of peace and calm. There were no words, just a blended vocalise of gorgeous harmonies. This was just what one needed to hear after a stressful day!

The second half of the program was quite different; we would call it exciting and demanding of both the singers and the audience. The sound of the Finnish language is strange to the ear and the text has a music of its own which Jean Sibelius matched and emphasized in his inimitable musical language.

Sibelius grew up in a country that had been ruled by Sweden since the Middle Ages and by Russia from 1809 onward. The time had come for Finland to fight for its independence and for the use of its own (very difficult) language, which is not related to the Scandinavian languages but somewhat related to Estonian.

A friendship with two brothers active in the Finnish nationalist movement, not to mention his romance with their sister, drew him into the movement. Finnish folklorist Elias Lönnrot had published a collection of folk stories in 1835 entitled Kalevala. In 1891, Sibelius returned from musical studies in Berlin and Vienna, determined to compose this five-movement symphonic and choral poem. It would be the first major composition in Finnish.

The Kalevala comprises 50 songs and the part which Sibelius set is called Kullervo Op. 7,  and begins at number 30. (We heard the first song sung by Meghan Kasanders at Alice Tully Hall and loved it.) It tells the story of a most unfortunate young man who endured a tragic childhood and wound up seducing a woman who turned out to be his long lost sister. He comes to a sad end, impaling himself on his own sword.

The role of Kullervo was sung by the brilliant baritone Takaoki Onishi who has made quite a name for himself since his days at Juilliard when we first started praising his thrilling instrument and the artistry with which he employs it. In this case, we can forgive the singer for his use of the music stand. Trying to read the language is sufficient challenge, but singing it???? In spite of the challenge Mr. Onishi sounded wonderful with his expansive round tones filling Carnegie Hall with overtones.

We will heap the same praise on soprano Johanna Rusanen who had the advantages of being a Finnish national and of having performed the work before. She has a sizable instrument that has an exciting ring to it and she sang the parts of the three resistant women Kullervo tries to seduce. As number three, she succumbs to his show of wealth.

The heavy lifting was done by the men of the Oratorio Society, augmented by a male contingent from the Manhattan School of Music Symphonic Chorus who blended in seamlessly. It falls to the chorus to tell the story. The text makes use of repetition reminding us that these stories were told and told again.

The introduction was symphonic, as was the event of the consummation of Kullervo's lust, and also the music for the battle. The music was varied but thematically connected, giving the work a feeling of unity. Sibelius' orchestration was inordinately colorful. Thrumming strings underscored the scene in which Kullervo and his sister tell of their origins and timpani revealed the portent of his discovery and his shame.

We wouldn't hesitate to hear more works like this. We cannot stop thinking about all the folk stories involving unrecognized family members. The Greeks had their Oedipus and the Norse had their Wälsung twins. 

We would also like to hear the other parts of the Berlioz and the Debussy. Perhaps the Oratorio Society of New York, now in their 146th year (!) could be persuaded to give us the "full Monty" next year!

(c) meche kroop

BARE OPERA GALA

Kirsten Scott, Suchan Kim, SungWook Kim, and Liana Guberman with Laetitia Ruccolo at the piano

Last night Bare Opera initiated their fourth season with a "let out all the stops" celebration that will linger in our memory for a long time. The singing was beyond wonderful, but before we get to that, we'd like to tell you what made the evening somewhat unusual.

First of all was the audience. Our heart is made very glad when we see young people having a great time at the opera. The guests last night remained totally silent during the performances (in spite of the generous bar and buffet of goodies) but exploded into enthusiastic applause and "bravo"s after each performance. 

If opera is to survive it must be performed with artistry and commitment and it must be taken to venues were twenty-somethings feel comfortable. Last night's "opera party" was held in a fine resonant space, an art gallery on East 46th Street which was generously donated for the use of Bare Opera. There were only a couple chairs and the crowd was happy to stand.

Secondly, Music Director Laetitia Ruccolo, involved the audience in learning the choral parts to "Nessun Dorma" and later to "Toreador". Not only did everyone participate but they sounded great. As any wise teacher/coach might have, the engaging Ms. Ruccolo first taught the pronunciation of the words, and then, the melody. People are learning that opera can be fun!  Perhaps Karaoke parlors will soon include operatic arias!

As to the performances, most of them involved the four mainstays of the company--soprano Liana Guberman, mezzo-soprano Kirsten Scott, tenor SungWook Kim, and baritone Suchan Kim.  Each one is a gem but their ensemble singing revealed genuine unselfish collaboration.

In the opening quartet from Puccini's La Rondine, the four characters offered a toast to love. In the final ensemble, the cast joined in for the "Brindisi" from Act I of Verdi's La Traviata.  There is nothing like a drinking song to put people in a party mood! 

Everything in-between was similarly successful. We have never warmed to John Adams' Doctor Atomic, although we have seen it twice.  But mezzo-soprano Briana Hunter performed Kitty's aria (text by Muriel Rukeyser) with deep feeling and clear enunciation which, taken together, made sense of Kitty's loneliness. More credit for the lovely texture of her instrument!

Delicious pleasure was provided by Ms. Guberman as Poppea and Ms. Scott as Nerone in "Pur ti miro, pur ti godo" from Claudio Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea", a work Bare Opera will produce next month. The exquisite harmonies and overlapping lines still resonate in our ears. As a matter of fact, we have an "ear worm".  Not bad for a work written at the very dawn of opera!

SungWook Kim dazzled the audience with a powerful performance of "Nessun dorma", backed by the audience/chorus, Ms. Ruccolo's aforementioned master stroke.

Ms. Guberman and Suchan Kim seemed to have as much fun as the audience in a charming performance of the Papageno/Papagena duet from Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. Clever use was made of the space as they began from opposite sides of the gallery and moved closer together, each exhibiting a spunky personality.

For vocal blending, nothing can beat the final quartet from Verdi's Rigoletto. On one side of the gallery, Ms. Guberman enacted the innocent Gilda, appalled by witnessing the Duke's flirtation with Maddalena on the other side of the gallery. As her father, the court jester, Suchan Kim appeared to comfort her distress.  Meanwhile, Ms. Hunter as the tantalizing Maddalena flirted shamelessly with the deceiving Duke, sung by SungWook Kim.  Each character is singing something different but Verdi's writing and the artists' performances brought everything together.

Without missing a beat, the versatile Ms. Guberman changed character and became Violetta as she reconsidered her attitude toward love in "Sempre libera" from Verdi's La Traviata. Sungwook Kim played the offstage Alfredo.

Suchan Kim assumed the appropriate attitude and vocal coloration as he performed the Toreador song from Bizet's Carmen, with dramatic assistance from three adoring ladies (Ms. Guberman, Ms. Scott, and Ms. Hunter) and vocal assistance from the audience/chorus. One truly felt a part of the action!

The penultimate number before the final "Brindisi" came as a complete surprise. Accompanied by Maestro David Rosenmeyer, Argentinian artist Malena Dayen performed "Yo soy Maria" from Astor Piazzolla's 1968 tango operita. We have heard the work before-- but not performed as powerfully as we heard it last night. Bare Opera will produce it in the Spring and we can barely wait.

We left feeling satisfied in head and heart, wanting for nothing. Opera can do that!

(c) meche kroop