SONG STUDIO YOUNG ARTISTS RECITAL

Curtain Call with all the young artists of Renée Fleming's Song Studio

For many years we had shared our birthday with Marilyn Horne's Birthday Week at Carnegie Hall (and even before she moved it to Carnegie Hall). Now we are happy to share it with renowned and beloved soprano Renée Fleming who shares our own goal of supporting and celebrating young singers.

Last night at Zankel Hall, Ms. Fleming related her admiration for the magical art form that combines poetry and music in a highly intimate fashion. Zankel Hall, in our opinion, is way too large to achieve intimacy; but the number of people wanting to attend this concert apparently dictated the choice.

The students chosen are all gifted and have been singing around the country and also abroad; this week of study and master classes can be thought of as polishing the gems. We hope it's not out of bounds to say that the lovely costuming could be considered settings for the polished gems. If no one sang we might have thought we were attending a fashion show!

But sing they did, so we will focus on that aspect. We confess that our appreciation is often affected by the choice of the material. A familiar song by a composer of whom we are fond can produce welcome memories and feelings of recognition. Being introduced to a composer who is unknown to us can produce feelings of discovery and delight.

Such was the case hearing Xenia Puskarz Thomas singing "Kolysanka", a Polish lullaby by Stanislaw Niewiadomski, a composer unknown to us. We were unable to learn anything about him online except what we could translate from the German; he was not only a composer but a director, teacher, and critic. What was important to us was the beauty of the language as sung by this lovely mezzo-soprano; how anyone could create such a lovely legato line in this consonant-heavy language is beyond us! 

Ms. Thomas continued to give us joy in a cleverly staged "scene" created from Mahler's "Verlor'ne Müh" from Des Knaben Wunderhorn. There was plenty of humor to be uncovered in an importuning woman trying to get the attention of a newspaper-reading man who wants nothing to do with her. Baritone Dominik Belavy did a fine job as the indifferent man, growing ever more hostile as the woman kept trying harder. Richard Fu gave his customary conviction as collaborative the pianist. 

Although Stravinsky is a bit modern for our taste and the text of "A Song of the Dew" did nothing for us, we loved the way mezzo-soprano Kady Evanyshyn filled the verses with varying colors and moods and made dramatic sense of the song by shaping. Collaborative pianist Nara Avetisyan was right with her, alternating lovely arpeggi and sharp staccato passages; the duo brought the work to a dramatic climax.

Soprano Natalie Buickians, accompanied by Sandy Lin on the piano, captivated us with "De dónde venis, amore?" from Joaquin Rodrigo's Cuatro madrigales amatorios. The piece is short but pungent with the suspicious singer giving her wayward lover a hard time.

It has been a week since we heard for the first time "Hat dich die Liebe berührt" by Joseph Marx. In our review we expressed the wish to hear more of him, so imagine our glee when soprano Meghan Kasanders performed this impassioned song, accompanied by the always brilliant Cameron Richardson-Eames. We also enjoyed Alban Berg's "Nacht", given an hypnotic performance by this delightful duo.

Our dear friend, pianist Lachlan Glen, was all excited to hear songs by the unfortunately short-lived Lili Boulanger. We were excited to hear the voice of soprano Anneliese Klenetsky whose performances at Juilliard had made such an impression on us. It was only the final song of the set "Nous nous aimerons tant", sung in a register low enough to understand the words, that our expectations were met.

Ms. Klenetsky's collaborative pianist Anna Smigelskaya enhanced the performance measurably with her gentle hands emphasizing the tender aspect of the text.

We were more than pleased by tenor Eric Carey's performance, accompanied by Tomomi Sato's fine work at the piano. We are crazy about Schubert and thought the pair made fine sense of "An die Entfernte", exhibiting a great deal of nuance in this song of loss. One cannot go wrong with text by Goethe who also supplied the text for "Rastlose Liebe" in which Ms. Sato's piano evinced the perpetual motion of someone trying to escape the inevitable.

"Stay in My Arms", with music and text by Marc Blitzstein, struck us as surprising and satisfying with interesting internal rhymes. It seemed as if it should be part of an opera and was quite a departure from what we expect from Blitzstein.

We do love the Spanish language and greatly enjoyed Jaime León's "Rima"; it seems to us that Spanish composers held onto melody in the 20th c. at a time when American composers were annihilating it! Baritone Laureano Quant, whom we know from Manhattan School of Music, gave it an affecting emotional performance.

What we didn't know about Mr. Quant is that he is also a composer; he performed two selections from his cycle Sombras which he strangely separated by the insertion of "Rima". The selections were dramatic and dark and should have been performed consecutively. It is brave indeed to perform works that one has written. There is just so much riding on the performance! Toni Ming Geiger was a worthy piano collaborator; we heard a lot of low grumbling in the accompaniment.

The closing number was astonishing. The hall went dark and we thought there might have been a power failure. We were wrong. The stage was set for a dramatic performance by baritone Johnathan McCullough, whom we have often reviewed. Accompanied by Michael Sikich on the piano and projected videos of a father and his child, Mr. McCullough gave a powerful performance of David T. Little's "Two Marines" from his cycle Soldier Songs. 

We later read Mr. Little's text on the page and the words themselves, replete with anger and loss, are stinging and relevant with their anti-war message. There were interesting lighting effects and an empty pair of boots spotlighted at the end with Mr. McCullough's voice rising to near falsetto.

Baritone Dominik Belavy is one of our Juilliard favorites. He performed selections from Ravel's Histoires naturelles, employing his story-telling gift to portray three different members of the animal kingdom. He utilized ample gesture, showing sympathy for the disappointed peacock. We especially enjoyed his portrayal of the bossy guinea hen. John Robertson's accompaniment was sturdy, if perhaps a bit heavy-handed at times.

What we did not appreciate was the audience applauding after every song, interrupting the flow of the set. Actually they did that all evening, to our surprise. We would expect an audience of song lovers to know better!

Tenor Randy Ho performed three songs by Gerald Finzi, accompanied by Celeste Marie Johnson. We did not relate at all to the first two songs, although we adore Thomas Hardy as a novelist. However, the final song, "The Market Girl", rhymed and scanned and tickled us. Mr. Ho's diction was perfect so we could appreciate the sentiment as well as the rhyming.

What an event! With Ms. Fleming as our Host and Artistic Director and Gerald Martin Moore as Program Curator, one would expect no less. We only regret that we were unable to attend the master classes taught by Ms. Fleming, Elina Garança and Hartmut Holl. We love monitoring progress! However, dear reader, you can read an account of two of the classes, written by guest reviewer Ellen Godfrey, in an earlier entry.

Photos of the classes can be seen on our Facebook page Voce di Meche.

© meche kroop

TWO MASTERS

René Fleming and Elina Garança

Guest Review by Ellen Godfrey:

One of the most eagerly awaited events this year was the Song Studio program in the Weill Music Institute /Resnick Education Wing of Carnegie Hall. The renowned American soprano, Renee Fleming, is the Artistic Director. In the second year of this program, she continues to help mentor singers and collaborative pianists. The program focuses on art songs and refreshing the art of vocal concerts. The emerging young singers receive voice training through a week-long series of workshops, master classes, private coaching, and performing opportunities. 

On the last day of the program, a recital is held in the Judy and Arthur Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall (review forthcoming) to showcase the talents and progress of these gifted singers. The Song Studio program builds on the legacy of the great Marilyn Horne’s program, “The Song Continues,” which supported young artists in the repertoire of song recitals.

Renee Fleming brought several famous artists to this year’s Song Studio to help mentor the young singers;  The great Latvian mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca; the multi-talented young American vocalist, Julia Bullock;, and the renowned and most sought after German piano accompanist, Hartmut Hall.

On Thursday afternoon, Elina Garanca gave a wonderful masterclass to five of the singers. She was born into a musical family and her whole life has been spent in music. In 2013 she was given the honorary title of Kammersangerin by The Vienna State Opera. She is a major star throughout the world in both opera, symphonic concerts, and song recitals. Her life long love of opera has made her a great master teacher as well.  She works gently but seriously with each of her emerging singers. Her focus is mostly on improving their technique, but she is also attentive to their pronunciation.

The first singer on the program was mezzo-soprano Kady Evanyshyn, who was accompanied by pianist Nara Avetisyan .She sang a song by Clara Schumann. Ms. Evanyshyn has a beautiful sweet sound to her mezzo voice.  She also has a charming personality and relates well to the audience. Ms. Garanca begins her work with each singer first asking them what they are looking for in the song. Ms. Garanca told her to put all the love into the music and at certain spots slow down and let the audience take in the singing. She was given some technical hints to make the sound vibrate behind the neck. The fine pianist was Nara Avetisyan, who set up the scene at the beginning of the song.

The second singer was baritone Laureano Quant, who sang a jaunty song by Francis Poulenc. He has a big, lovely baritone sound and he acquitted himself quite well in the rapid singing at the beginning of the song and the A la la la la in parts of the song.  However, his tone was a bit raw, without a lot of high resonance. Ms. Garanca told him to sing while holding his nose so that the resonance would be higher by sounding in the back rather than pushed down on the lower front part of the body.  This made his voice sound richer and less stressed and Mr. Quant was pleased with the sound. Toni Ming Geiger was an excellent pianist who supported Mr. Quant very well.

The third singer was tenor Eric Carey, who sang a Spanish song by Joaquin Turina.  His accompanist was Tomomi Sato, who played very delicately.  Mr. Carey has a beautiful sounding big voice and good diction. Ms. Garanca told him that he should see the picture of the song in his head and take as much time as needed.  He was advised to slow down and not to push but rather bring the air up from the bottom and release the pressure from high notes.

The fourth singer was mezzo-soprano Xenia Puskarz Thomas, who sang a Gustav Mahler song.  She has a good voice which can produce beautiful sounds. Ms. Garanca's coaching was to prepare better for the high notes. She worked with the singer to get the sound she wanted to hear; finally in the middle part of the song Ms. Garanca told her that the twelve notes she had just sung were the most relaxed for her and produced a beautiful sound. Ms. Garanca said she should try to get this sound throughout the whole song. She added that every singer should find a phrase in the music that helps get through the whole song with a beautiful sound. Her pianist was Richard Fu, who supported her singing very well.

The final singer was baritone Dominik Belavy, who sang a romantic song by Maurice Ravel.  He has a nice baritone sound, however, he had some problems in the lower part of the voice. Ms. Garanca had him hold his nose, as did an earlier singer, and it helped to relax him and make the lower part of his voice sound better. She told him to let his voice out gently and not to press on the larynx too hard.  His supportive pianist was John Robertson.

Ms. Garanca congratulated all of the singers and pianists for their good work. Later this month she will be performing in Berlioz' La Damnation de Faust at the Metropolitan Opera.

The day after Ms. Garanca’s master class, the great pianist and accompanist, Hartmut Holl, gave a master class. He is known for his sensitivity to sound and his ability to think beyond the notes to create atmosphere and lyrical emotions. For ten years he was the performance partner of the great German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. They presented acclaimed lieder recitals for major festivals in Europe, Japan, and the United States. For almost 20 years he toured with Renee Fleming in Europe, Australia, Asia and the United States. He has also recorded more than 60 CDs.

Mr. Holl’s first singer of the day was baritone Dominik Belavy, accompanied by pianist John Robertson. Mr. Belavy sang a song by Franz Schubert. His voice has a nice quality and he had lots of personality. He was also quite relaxed. Mr. Holl worked with the pianist, John Robertson. He used his arms, like a conductor, at the beginning of the song, showing John how to make the music more sweeping. He worked with the baritone to get certain phrases to have the right tone and the right meaning.

The second singer, Meghan Kasanders, is a wonderful soprano. She has a shimmering sound and good resonance and is able to float a tone. She sang a song by Joseph Marx. Mr. Holl made some minor changes in the size of the tone for parts of the song and Ms. Kasanders picked up on his corrections. The pianist Cameron Richardson-Edwards accompanied her and he was also attentive to all the suggestions given by Mr. Holl.

The third singer was the tenor Randy Ho, and his accompanist was Celeste Johnson, who is a fine young pianist.  Mr. Holl, played the piano to show her how to make the music start softly and then get louder. He played the notes that he wanted her to work on and she absorbed his teaching. Mr. Ho has a sweet tenor sound but at the beginning seemed to push too much. Mr. Holl worked with him to relax and have a softer sound. He also worked with him on pronunciation of vowels .

The fourth singer was soprano Natalie Buickians, who sang a song by Edvard Grieg. She was accompanied by pianist Sandy Lin. Ms. Buickians has a nice lyric soprano voice with easy production. Mr. Holl worked with both of them to speed up the music in certain places and worked on some phrasing.

The final singer was Laureano Quant  a dark-voiced baritone with good diction who is capable of making good pianissimi. He sang a song by Schubert. Mr. Holl worked with him to get some phrases to go from from loud to soft and also went over some of his corrections several time until it was the sound he wanted. 

Both Ms. Garanca and Mr. Holl gave excellent master classes. Each of them had different ideas of what they wanted to present to the singers. Ms. Garanca concentrated more on the technique of singing whereas Mr. Holl worked more on diction and phrasing.  Both of them also gave valuable advice to the accompanists. One of the great attributes to Ms. Fleming’s Song Studio is giving the young artists the opportunity to be exposed to different styles and techniques.  

We look forward to following the progress of these young and talented singers.

© meche kroop

 

  

 

SING WHAT YOU LOVE!

Chris Reynolds and Dominik Belavy

Dominik Belavy and Joshua Stauffer

"Sing what you love" was the advice offered by a famous conductor/coach to a Juilliard student (now world-famous) during a master class. That was his only comment. And it was great advice. Perhaps some of our readers were there and know of whom we are speaking. We will keep mum on that point unless pressed to reveal.  Hint: The former was JL and the latter was IL.




It came to mind yesterday when Dominik Belavy performed his graduation recital; he will receive his Master of Music Degree from Juilliard this year. We have had six years to appreciate his gentle lyric baritone and now it is time to see him move on. This is always a bittersweet time for the young artists and for this not-so-young reviewer. We love to see them move on to a professional career but we will miss them.


The reason we thought of that memorable moment from so many years ago was our witnessing the stunning manner in which Mr. Belavy came alive for the final set of his program, comprising Maurice Ravel's Histoires naturelles. This would never be on our short list of favorite cycles because of it's prosy quality, but Mr. Belavy's interpretation brought it up several levels in our estimation.

With great involvement he limned the self-important peacock, the frightened cricket, the cloud-obsessed swan, the combative Guinea hen, and above all, the image of a Kingfisher alighting on a fishing rod. His commitment to the text helped us to see everything in our mind's eye. It was a brilliant performance. We are sure that Mr. Belavy adores these songs. Oh, and did we mention that his French was as fine as one would wish and perfectly understandable?

What we adore is Schubert and collaborative pianist Chris Reynolds appears to share our feeling. His partnership with Mr. Belavy was most successful; still it is fair to say that Mr. Reynolds partners well with just about everyone. 

What we love about Schubert's lieder are the memorable melodies. The strophic nature of the songs helps these melodies to play over and over again in one's head so the delight is more than momentary. The major/minor shifts remind us that every joy has a touch of sadness and every grief has a touch of joy. Mr. Belavy responded by matching Mr. Reynold's variety of dynamics and color.

It is difficult to pick a favorite but "Des Fischers Liebesglück" is so filled with peaceful pleasure that we lean in that direction. Mr. Reynolds created the rocking of the boat and Mr. Belavy successfully negotiated the upward skips as he related the images of a courting couple out on the lake for a midnight row.

"Alinde" is right up there as well. Even though we just heard it recently it felt fresh and gave us the same pleasure at the end when the long-awaited Alinde finally arrives. Better late than never!

We found no flaw in Mr. Belavy's German and heard the same clarity in his performance of a selection of 17th c. English songs by Henry and William Lawes. These songs were accompanied by the theorbo, that magnificent instrument, here so well played by Joshua Stauffer, who also switched to baroque guitar for one song.

If we didn't relate to them we can attribute that to the use of the detestable music stand. Perhaps Mr. Belavy was too busy with other work to learn the songs sufficiently well to perform them off the book but we felt absolutely no connection. The tone was sweet, the words were clear, but the message stayed on the page. We found ourself focusing on that magnificent theorbo.

It occurred to us that perhaps Mr. Belavy did not love those songs so they stayed forlorn on the page. To give a song wings, one must love it and want to share it. So, JL was astute in his advice.  Mr. Belavy, sing what you love!

(c) meche kroop

JUILLIARD VOCAL HONORS RECITAL

Richard Fu, Bronwyn Schuman, Shakèd Bar, and Dominik Belavy

For those readers who have not read our prior descriptions of the Juilliard Vocal Arts Honors Recitals, here's the short version. Voice teachers at Juilliard nominate students of uncommon promise who then go through a rigorous audition process in which a distinguished panel of judges make their selection. The chosen recitalists work with their respective collaborative pianists to design a program for a recital at Alice Tully Hall. This is a win-win situation in which the artists get to perform for the general public and the public gets to join the Juilliard family as recipients of a generally thrilling evening of vocal entertainment.

Last night at Alice Tully Hall we enjoyed what amounted to two recitals for the price of one. Wisely, the artists did not alternate. We had a full hour of Schubert performed by baritone Dominik Belavy accompanied by collaborative pianist Richard Fu, and a very different recital of Israeli songs performed by mezzo-soprano Shakèd Bar with Bronwyn Schuman as pianist.

Although we loved Schubert's lieder long before, it was Lachlan Glen's year-long perusal of over 600 Schubert songs that revealed the wide scope and variety of his prolific output. Not every song he wrote is of equal quality but it is strange that most recitalists turn to the same handful of lieder for their programs. Not Mr. Belavy! He selected several of Schubert's less frequently performed songs and we found them to be of great value.

We cannot claim to have never heard them owing to Mr. Glen's ambitious venture about seven years ago; but we can claim to have perhaps forgotten them and to have enjoyed them afresh last night. The remarkable aspects of Schubert's compositions are a singable vocal line and a piano part that reveals the poet's subtext. He always finds the bittersweet element--the other side of the emotional coin, so to speak. He was also astute in his choice of text so that his music might enhance the intent of the poet. If only contemporary composers could do the same, we might be more open to contemporary art song.

We have been writing about Mr. Belavy for over four years and we are thrilled to witness his achieving the promise we then noted. His comforting baritone is warm and round. What struck us was his quiet command of the stage. He is not given to grand theatrical gestures but seems to get inside the song and to draw the audience in by means of phrasing and judicious changes in dynamics. 

We are so glad that he chose Schubert for his recital since we have already heard him sing in opera and also in art songs by other composers. We would like to add that not only did we find his German diction perfekt, but it passed muster with our German born companion. If there were one quality we wish to hear more of it would be variety of coloration.

Schubert set Goethe's "An den Mond" twice and we wish we had heard the two iterations consecutively to gain a better appreciation of Schubert's compositional evolution. They are both characterized by Schubert's bittersweet approach to mood, mode, and harmony.

Our favorite lieder however related to the water. In "Lied eines Schiffers an die Dioskuren"  (text by Mayrhofer) the lied is introduced by some rumbling in the piano, so effectively played by Mr. Fu. Both singer and pianist became forceful when addressing the confidence of a man facing a storm. 

"Des Fischers Liebesglück" (text by von Leitner) tells a charming story in which the fisherman's sweetheart joins him for a rapturous sail on the lake. So why is it written in a minor key? We don't know but the mood is sweet and gentle and the strophic verses lulled us into a blissful state. Mr. Belavy smoothly negotiated the repeated upward skips and Mr. Fu was particularly expressive.

The lively charm of courtship was revealed in "An die Laute" (text by Rochlitz), a simple folklike song which was followed by the anxiety ridden "Alinde" in which a man queries a succession of people passing by whether they have seen his sweetheart, who seems to be long delayed. We were happy to have not known the song because our anxiety built with each person too busy to help the poet look; consequently, we enjoyed the relief when the sweetheart finally appears at the end!

"Nachtstück" is a lied more familiar to us; it is a song about death but a peaceful welcomed death--given a peaceful performance by the two artists. "Der Winterabend" was also peaceful but there was a marked swelling of intensity before the final verse in which the poet waxes nostalgic over a lost love in his past.

Mr. Belavy and Mr. Fu ended their program with Schubert's final song, the familiar "Die Taubenpost" (text by Seidl) from Shwanengesang. This was performed by Mr. Belavy with plenty of personality which set us up for the final change of mood; the poet's faithful companion is longing. Schubert was no stranger to mixed feelings!

Before moving on to Ms. Bar's adventuresome programming, let us mention that Mr. Belavy is having his Master's of Music recital on April 4th at 4:00 and will be performing these Schubert songs again. We will not miss this and neither should you!

Ms. Bar honored her Israeli homeland by performing a program of songs in her native tongue and we confess to being amazed by how beautiful the language sounded in song. We have heard Hebrew spoken and could never have predicted that this harsh language could be so lyrical. Israeli song has a brief history, barely more than a century. 

The young composer Noa Haran was given a commission by Juilliard and was present in the audience for the world premiere of her work Be'ad Ha'eshnav, translated as Through the Lattice. The text by Hadas Gilad seemed to be fantasies based upon passages in the bible. "Edat Re'iya" seemed to be a story about Potiphar's wife seducing or being seduced by Joseph. "Yevava" seemed to be the lament of a mother when her son fails to return from battle.

Ms. Bar is a compelling performer, as is her collaborative pianist Bronwyn Schuman. The audience could not hold their applause and erupted with enthusiasm after every single number. In contrast to our long standing appreciation of Mr. Belavy's artistry, Ms. Bar has only recently appeared on our radar screen as a compelling interpreter of the role of Dido in a recent highly original production of Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas at Juilliard (review archived). Now that we have seen another side of her artistry we are further impressed.

We loved her opening song "Khalamti et Shirat Hazamir" by Moshe Rapaport. If we never learn another word in Hebrew besides shalom, we will never forget that shirat hazamir means "nightingale's song". Not only did Ms. Schuman's piano create the song of the nightingale but Ms. Bar let loose with a volley of coloratura fireworks in the melismatic passages that exceeded that of any avian species! We do love sensual music!

A very different image was evoked in "Orkha bamidbar" as a caravan of camels wended their way through the desert. Ms. Schuman's piano clearly limned the oriental mode of the melody as well as the plodding of the camels. Later, her piano brought out the lyrical theme in "Shai" by Levi Sha'ar and was forceful in "Echezu Lanu Shualim" by Tzvi Avni.

The lengthy "Vidui" by Alexander Argov evoked feelings of anguish. Although we didn't always grasp the text, the feeling in the music came across. We appreciate the mashup of popular song, folk song, and art song; perhaps we may consider them one and the same. A good song is a good song, no matter its genre.

There were settings of texts from the Old Testament as well. Ms. Bar offered a lovely a capella start to Nira Chen's "Dodi Li" and the piano churned through Paul Ben-Haim's "Gan Na'ul". Aharon Harlap set Psalm 112 and 98. It was a thorough introduction to Israeli music.

(c) meche kroop

LIKE PORNOGRAPHY

Front Row: Mer Wohlgemuth, Kady Evanyshyn, Chance Jonas-O'Toole
Second Row: Shakèd Bar, Dominik Belavy
Third Row: Myka Murphy

Art is like pornography; we cannot describe it for you but we know when we see it! Last night at Juilliard we experienced ART without a whiff of the "artsy-fartsy". Real art. Or should we say real arts. The art of composition by Henry Purcell, the art of poetry by Nahum Tate, the art of conceptualization, realization, and direction by Mary Birnbaum, the art of singing by the students of Juilliard Vocal Arts, the art of Early Music by Juilliard415, the art of scenic design by Grace Laubacher, the art of lighting by Anshuman Bhatia, the art of costuming by Oana Botez, and the art of choreography by Claudia Schreier. WOW!  That was a lot of artistry onstage.

In 2016 we saw three or four iterations of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas--one with Broadway stars, and a couple by small companies. We mostly enjoyed them but can barely remember them. Last night's production stood out for so many reason that we are unlikely to forget it.

It is unlikely that you, dear reader, will be able to score a ticket so we feel compelled to be more than usually descriptive of our experience. Since this is, first of all, an opera, let us begin by praising the young singers. Certain qualities stood out in every single one--consummate skill in the melodic vocal lines accompanied by clear English diction and convincing dramatic performance. The English was sung with such excellent legato that it may as well have been Italian. Projected titles seemed redundant.

In Nahum Tate's libretto, which does not completely follow the story as told in Virgil's Aeneid, poor Trojan Aeneas is tricked into abandoning Dido, Princess of Carthage, in order to found Rome. Or so he is told by the false Mercury, enlisted by the Sorceress. No reason is given for the Sorceress to have such enmity toward Dido although the costuming lets us believe that the Sorceress and her witches come from the serving class.

As Dido, mezzo-soprano Shakèd Bar gave a riveting performance as a far stronger Carthaginian Queen than we have heretofore imagined or seen. Every note and gesture and facial expression supported her interpretation. She seemed born to sing the Baroque repertory. 

As Aeneas, her somewhat weaker romantic interest, baritone Dominik Belavy turned in a fine performance. He is obliged to be a bit "wishy-washy", agreeing to the false Mercury's demands and then changing his mind. His flowered brocaded suit was in strong contrast with Ms. Bar's "Wonderwoman" costume with thigh high boots.

As Dido's two handmaidens, we enjoyed soprano Mer Wohlgemuth as Belinda, and mezzo-soprano Kady Evanyshyn as Anna.  Anna enjoys a charming flirtation with the First Sailor who was here presented as Aeneas' companion and sung by tenor Chance Jonas-O'Toole who has a most captivating vibrato. We love the part where Anna leaves a flower for him as she exits the playing area.

Who else could have portrayed the Sorceress but mezzo-soprano Myka Murphy, who erupted with malevolent glee coloring her impressively rich voice. Her accompanying witches were soprano Shereen Pimentel, mezzo-soprano Olivia Cosio, and soprano Britt Hewitt who had the task of deceiving poor Aeneas.

And now, let us set the stage for you. The playing area was surrounded on three sides by the audience and dominated by an enormous faux stone table with seating for guests on faux stone boulders. Places were set and pompously correct servants dressed in glittery black brought the food. Guests wearing wild costumes and even wilder wigs and headgear devoured food with their hands or ate in slow motion. 

What a strange court this is! What a disorienting effect! We seemed to be in another world completely, as if on a planet invented by a science fiction cartoonist. Shall we call it Baroque Sci-Fi? In any case it was a world that could conceivably contain sorcerers and witches and evil powers.

All these courtiers were played by the superb chorus which comprised, in addition to any principals who were not featured in any given scene,  Joan Hofmeyr, Richard Pittsinger, Santiago Pizarro, Carlyle Quinn, William Socolof, Luke Sutliff, and Maggie Renée Valdman. Chorus Master David Moody made sure that their singing was impeccable, as was their diction.

We surmise that the singers had extensive dance training since they executed the choreography with style and grace.

Maestro Avi Stein conducted members of Juilliard415 from the harpsichord. Joshua Stauffer was a standout on the theorbo and we could not imagine this work better played. We were very comfortable with the interpolation of extraneous music by Purcell; these additions filled out the characters' interaction and provided enough substance to make the work sufficient for the evening, instead of using it as a curtain raiser for another one act opera.

We are always happy to have our prejudices overcome and to enjoy a work in English. Aside from Arthur Sullivan, we can think of no other English composer who so effectively matched the rhythm of the English language.

Another prejudice against "reinterpretation" was overcome, thanks to Ms. Birnbaum's astute and timely choice to bring out the power of the two women-- Dido and the Sorceress. This Dido is no victim! There was a jaw-dropping ending in which she emerges from the fiery pit and stalks offstage. There was no violation of the spirit of the work and for this we are grateful.

This outstanding production will be going on tour to England and France; we are thrilled that the company is getting such recognition and that more people will get to enjoy it.

We would like to share the news that Ms. Birnbaum will be directing La Bohême at Santa Fe Opera this summer and we will be there to see what sort of originality she can bring to that warhorse. You, dear reader, will be the first to know.

(c) meche kroop

MAESTRO YANNICK NÉZET-SÉGUIN'S MASTER CLASS AT JUILLIARD

Jacob Scharfman, Onadek Winan, William Guanbo Su, Dominik Belavy, Kathryn Henry, Meghan Kasanders, John Chongyoon Noh and Maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin (photos by Claudio Papapietro)

Yesterday's Master Class at Juilliard was somewhat of a departure from the typical master class for singers. The audience was welcomed by Brian Zeger, Artistic Director of the Vocal Arts Department. He prepared observers by saying that this would not be a one-on-one event with an individual getting coaching on a prepared aria. It would be a renowned conductor (Music Director elect of the Metropolitan Opera) teaching Juilliard Singers how to perform in an ensemble.

The Maestro is a highly engaging presence, filled with humor as well as prodigious artistic knowledge and experience; it was deeply satisfying to witness how the students trusted his judgment and followed his suggestions.

The highlight of the class was the septet from Act I of Mozart's Don Giovanni. This highly elaborate piece of writing makes different demands on each singer. Each character has a different intention.

Donna Anna (soprano Meghan Kasanders) and her intended Don Ottavio (tenor John Chongyoon Noh) are praying for divine protection in "Protegga il giusto cielo". The maestro suggested more direction from Ms. Kasanders. Donna Elvira (soprano Kathryn Henry) needed more "fire".

The rapid-fire duet between Don Giovanni (baritone Dominik Belavy) and Leporello (bass William Guanbo Su--being reviewed for the third time this week!) was greatly improved when the two of them got in rhythm and in tune with each other. 

Zerlina (soprano Onadek Winan) needed to exhibit repressed anger. Masetto (baritone Jacob Scharfman) was helped to get into character and coached to put different colors and emphasis on the repeated "Va bene!".

We confess that we were happy with the first run through but after hearing the improvements we were thrilled. The gifted pianist Michal Biel can always be counted on to accompany skillfully.

We also got to hear two different singers perform the roles of Donna Anna and Don Ottavio in their first act duet "Ma qual mai s'offre oh Dei...Fuggi crudele, fuggi". Their voices were magnificent! They were coached to trust Mozart's dynamics (didn't we just hear that at last night's master class?). Jinhee Park did her customary fine accompaniment on the piano.

Subtle changes can make a big difference and we agree with the maestro that the singer must draw people in. Much of the work was on using the breath to amplify the gestures.  Used judiciously, it can be used to highlight emotional breathlessness.

We also enjoyed the coaching for the marriage scene from Gounod's Roméo et Juliette. Soprano Tamara Banješević was encoouraged to be an excited 14 year old girl. The entire scene needed to be more intimate and less "ceremonial".  Vocal colors were encouraged to avoid a "four square" sound. Too many singers establish a color and then abandon it too soon. 

Bass Alex Rosen made a fine Friar Lawrence and tenor James Ley did well as Roméo with mezzo-soprano Myka Murphy portraying Gertrude. Art Williford accompanied beautifully.

The class closed with some questions from the audience and some general remarks from the maestro about how exceptional vocal and language preparation allows the singer the freedom to personalize his/her performance. The result is the alignment of heart and mind. We couldn't agree more!

(c) meche kroop

SCORES BY THE "FOUR SCORES"

Nicole Thomas, Gregory Feldmann, Matthew Pearce, Kathryn Henry, Dominik Belavy, and Myka Murphy celebrating the 80th birthdays of William Bolcom and John Corigliano

It was quite a party, celebrating two elder "statesmen" of the music world with Steven Blier as host. New York Festival of Song collaborates annually with The Juilliard School for a special evening, giving graduate students of the Vocal Arts Department a chance to stretch themselves, cross some boundaries, and have some fun.

It was the fun numbers that we enjoyed the most. Take for example the closing number of the first part of the program which was devoted to the works of John Corigliano. The sure directorial hand of Mary Birnbaum was felt in "Liebeslied" when the simple repetition of the common phrase "I love you" was repeated in endless variety, each iteration carrying its own message as interpreted by various groupings of the six singers. For us, it was the highlight of the evening.

Similarly, the encore--William Bolcom's "Amor"--was performed by the ensemble, giving each woman an opportunity to revel in the fantasy of commanding the attention of an entire small town. We have often heard and enjoyed this song as an encore, but never heard it performed by a group!

Oh, those women!  Kathryn Henry lent her stunning soprano to "Otherwise" from Bolcom's Briefly it Enters; this is a simple song about the ephemeral nature of life and the fleeting nature of its bounty. Jane Kenyon's text was pithy and moving, and the piano accompaniment had a searching quality.

We also enjoyed the simplicity of her delivery in "Forever Young" from Corigliano's setting of text by Bob Dylan. Much of it was sung a capella or with minimal accompaniment and she made every word clear, which we truly appreciate.

Mezzo-soprano Myka Murphy grabbed the audience's attention and held it firmly from start to finish in "At the Last Lousy Moments of Love" from Bolcom's Cabaret Songs. All the bitterness of the text came through because of her clear enunciation; not a word was missed.

Mezzo-soprano Nicole Thomas was memorable in "Marvelous Invention" from John Corigliano's  Metamusic. It's been a long time since the iPod was the thing to own; each generation has its own way of listening to music but the threatened replacement of live music with "portable instant listening devices" is a hot topic. The prop was supplied by Steve Blier from his personal collection!

The singers were accompanied by Mr. Blier and by Chris Reynolds who never fails to delight. His piano perfectly limned the sound of chimes in "Chimes of Freedom", Corigliano's setting of text by Bob Dylan from Mr. Tambourine Man.

Getting to the men on the program, baritone Gregory Feldmann had the responsibility of singing the world premiere of Mr. Corigliano's song cycle Rhymes for the Irreverent. Our favorite among this group was "The Odds-on Favorite" which he performed with ample gesture and plenty of personality. "Critical" brought the challenge of a very low register which he met successfully. We loved his melismatic singing on the word "bloom" in "One Sweet Morning".

Baritone Dominik Belavy showed his acting chops several times in the evening. In "Dodecaphonia", Corigliano makes fun of 12-tone music and Mr. Belavy, suitably costumed, portrayed a detective tracking down the notorious "serial" criminal Twelve-Tone Rose. Mark Adamo's text was quite clever.

Tenor Matthew Pearce made a perfect permissive priest hearing the sexy confession of Nicole Thomas in "His Manner is Gentle" from Bolcom's Lucrezia. Accompanied by the fine guitarist Jack Gulielmetti, he sang "Soneto de la dulce queja" from Bolcom's Canciones de Lorca. We were glad that the got off the book for "El poeta llega a la Habana" with it's spirited rhythms which got the entire ensemble dancing.

The evening ended with a love fest among the singers and the venerable composers--lots of balloons and hugs and audience appreciation.  Another fabulous night at Juilliard!

(c) meche kroop

SURE BEATS COCKTAIL HOUR

Dominik Belavy, Nicolette Mavroleon, Samantha Hankey, Caitlin Redding, Nathan Haller

In terms of "attitude readjustment", nothing beats a Liederabend at Juilliiard. One's workaday stress ebbs away and one becomes flooded with positive emotions.  The music itself is always wonderful and fulfilling but the artists who perform it fill one with gratitude that a fine institution like Juilliard exists to hone their skills and bring them to the point of stage worthiness.

Yesterday's program was headlined by tenor Nathan Haller who has everything one could wish for in a tenor, with none of the common tenor problems.  He is an unfussy singer who manages to sustain his energy throughout the song and to involve the listener in the text.  The tone gleams like silver and there is no sign of strain.  He achieves variety through dynamics and phrasing. Every word could be understood.

He performed four songs from Schubert's Schwanengesang--well chosen for their variety of mood--expertly accompanied by the intuitive collaborative pianist Valeriya Polunina.  In the lighthearted "Liebesbotschaft" we could hear the babbling brook in her piano.  The portentous opening of "Kriegers Ahnung" was in marked contrast. Mr. Haller was even effective in the very lowest part of his register.  He dramatically conveyed the horror and eeriness of "Der Doppelgänger" and moved on to the joyfully lilting "Die Taubenpost".  It was a noteworthy performance.

A pair of Strauss songs were performed by baritone Dominik Belavy, accompanied by HoJae Lee.  Mr. Belavy was listed on the program as a baritone but there was a great deal of depth in his lower register.  Perhaps there is a bass-baritone in the making. He evinced a round tone with a pleasing vibrato and has an easy stage presence. We were astonished to learn that he is only 19 years old.

The romantic "Traum durch die Dämmerung", for example, lies rather low for a baritone but Mr. Belavy was undaunted. The sad "Ach Lieb, ich muss nun scheiden" was sung expressively.  Unlike most very young singers, Mr. B. knows how to use his body.

We were delighted by mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey's performance of Trois Chansons de Bilitis by Debussy.  Her elegant stature and poise contributed to the long elegant French lines and Gallic atmosphere.  Edward Kim's accompaniment was correspondingly light and delicate.  Our only suggestion would be to make the words of this beautiful text better understood.  French seems to be rather more challenging in that regard, not just for Ms. Hankey but for most American singers.

Brahms' folk-like setting are deceptively simple but honestly charming.  Mezzo-soprano Caitlin Redding performed five of them with her excellent piano partner Martha Mingle.  Ms. Redding did her own translations and her expressive singing showed a comfort with the text. The unhappy "Mädchenlied" is one of our favorites; we had hoped for better diction to accompany the quality of her singing but we missed a lot of the phrases.  For some reason, the final lied "In stiller Nacht" was better understood.

Soprano Nicolette Mavroleon was also overcome by the German diction.  Her voice soars into the upper register with great passion and sounds best in the melismatic passages when unimpeded by the words.  Other than that her performance of Strauss' Vier letzte Lieder was vocally exciting.  The low-lying "Frühling" was followed (naturlich) by "September".  The set closed with the lovely "Beim Schlafengehen".  Kristen Doering was a fine piano partner.

What a splendid hour we passed at Juilliard.  Sadly, one gets this opportunity but once a month.  Yesterday's program was coached by the marvelous Vlad Iftinca who seems to know just how to pair up singer with pianist.  We wish we could end every workday in such fine fashion.

© meche kroop