DON da DON DON

Melanie Spector, Gabe Reitemeier, Yeseul Choi, Laura Alley, Maestro Steven Crawford,  Joshua DeVane, YoungKwan Yoo, Nam Won Huh, and Matthew Greenberg

Seeing and hearing young artists onstage and forgetting that they are "young artists" is a special treat we experience when attending one of Prelude to Performance's productions. Given a professional production and the right coaching the young artists who have completed this program are uniformly excellent in both musical and dramatic values. Happily, the productions are generally traditional, just the way we like them.

In the case of Donizetti's Don Pasquale, director Laura Alley created a comic drama with a successful overall arc; each individual scene was as coherent as a well written phrase of music. There was undeniable rhythm to the performance, and loads of laughs. Replete with duets and a stunning quartet, the score invites such effective direction.

We noticed a theme to this season's productions.  Both of the eponymous heroes are older men who lust after younger women. Both stories involve their humiliation and reformation. Both stories make them likeable by the time the curtain falls. This isn't just in the libretto but in the music and the dramatic skills of the singer portraying them. In the Falstaff we just reviewed, José Maldonado made the Fat Knight seem loveable at the end, and last night, Joshua DeVane's remarkable performance made us care about poor Don Pasquale.

This theme dates back to commedia dell'arte in which the foolish old man was a stock character. We can't help thinking that we never lose our desire for love and "dirty old men" need love too.

Another stock character is the wily doctor and YoungKwan Yoo was a fine choice for the role of Dr. Malatesta as he plans some trickery to get Don Pasquale to give up on wanting a wife and to let Ernesto marry his beloved Norina.

Of course, the audience is rooting for the success of the young lovers and ready to forgive the three conspirators for their misdeeds. Yeseul Choi made a splendid Norina. We loved the scene in which Dr. Malatesta coaches her on how to act modest and shy like the cloistered sister whom he is passing her off as.  

Another favorite moment is the one in which Norina slaps Pasquale and realizes she has gone too far. One could readily read the shame on Ms. Choi's face and understand so much of her character. Sometimes we do shameful things in pursuit of our goals-- so we get it.

Ms. Choi's musicality was in evidence throughout but really dazzled us in the final scene in which Donizetti provided the soprano with plenty of vocal fireworks, all excellently sung.

NamWon Huh made a very convincing Ernesto, basically a good fellow and loyal to his beloved, but rather entitled. He created a believable character and sang well in the lower and middle register, evincing a lovely messa di voce. To bring his performance up to a "10", he will have to learn to float his top notes. Nothing mars an otherwise fine performance than a tenor who thinks he must push out the top notes at top volume.  Float 'em baby, float 'em!

Gabe Reitemeier created a very funny bit as the notary. Pasquale's servants were performed by Melanie Spector and Matthew Greenberg.

Maestro Steven Crawford led a spirited reading of the tuneful score. From the melodic cello solo in the overture, we knew we were in good hands. There was a brief moment in the prelude to Act II when the strings had some intonation problems but we are sure it had to do with the heat and humidity since we ourselves felt a bit unstrung. 

As usual, Charles R. Caine's costumes were perfect, especially the red velvet gown worn by Ms. Choi as she was leaving for the theater. Steven Horak's excellent wig and costume design allowed us to see the handsome young Mr. DeVane transformed into an elderly man,. Of course, Mr. DeVane's acting sealed the deal. It was very humorous to watch him trying to pick up a barbell with arthritic knees and spine, but to witness how he perked up when Dr. Malatesta told him a wife had been found.

We ourself perked up from our heat-driven lethargy and found ourself dancing and humming on the way home.

(c) meche kroop

MASTERFUL JUSTIN AUSTIN

Christopher Cooley and Justin Austin at Manhattan School of Music

What a relief!  Two terrific recitals back to back, not simultaneous! Each brilliant event deserves its own review so let us begin with baritone Justin Austin who has truly earned his Master of Music degree.  We first heard Mr. Austin in Cavalli's La Doriclea some three years ago and have been a fan ever since.  We have heard him singing art songs with New York Festival of Song, and most recently heard him as Dr. Malatesta in Donizetti's comedic masterpiece Don Pasquale, playing off the Norina of his beautiful wife Amanda. Imagine our pleasure as we saw that a scene from this opera would be reprised as the finale of Mr. Austin's graduation recital!

We just loved the interaction between Dr. Malatesta as he imitates the old Don and instructs Norina in how to portray his convent-educated sister Sofronia in order to prank Don Pasquale. Thomas Muraco was credited for help with this "Pronto io son" and we recall that Maestro Muraco coached and conducted the opera just 6 months ago. We might add that Mrs. Austin's soprano is just as dazzling in her fach as her husband is in his.  A true operatic power couple. 

There were plenty of goodies before the finale, of course. What we love about Mr. Austin is the expressiveness and depth of involvement that he lends to everything he sings. He has a sunny stage presence that the members of the audience appreciated as much as we did. The texture of the vibrato is as ear-pleasing as one might wish.

We loved his accuracy in German and understood every word of his Wolf and Schubert. He sang a sole selection from each of our two favorite song cycles. From Winterreise he invested "Die Krahe" with a tinge of horror and madness such that we seemed to experience the entire cycle as a hologram.  In "Halt!" from Die Schone Mullerin there was excitement to spare and the piano of Christopher Cooley kept those mill wheels turning.

Mr. Cooley also excelled in Ravel's cycle Don Quichotte a Dulcinee, establishing a rocking rhythm in support of Mr. Austin's finely nuanced interpretation. It came as no surprise that a program insert, which thanked all the people who had helped his artistic advancement, credited his teacher Catherine Malfitano for working with him on that cycle. We all know what a fine flair the divine Ms. M. has with the French repertory. The phrasing was Gallic and so was the pronunciation. We didn't miss a word!

Significantly, at least to us, was the fact that his English was also exemplary. We heard two very different soliloquies; the first was Billy's from Rogers and Hammersteins's Carousel, for which he credited his coach Erick Sedgwick, and the second was Coalhouse's from Stephen Flaherty and Terrence McNally's Ragtime. Mr. Austin captured all the hopefulness and pride of the first, and all the sorrow and despair of the second.

We also loved his performance of Aaron Copland's "The Little Horses" which was sung with tenderness and a lovely intermittent pianissimo. Mr. Cooley's piano was delicate and helped to sustain the hypnotic mood. For this piece, Stephanie Blythe's assistance was credited.

Margaret Bonds' setting of Langston Hughes "Minstrel Man" was deeply affecting, as was Mark Hayes' arrangement of the hymn "Amazing Grace" for which Mr. Austin was joined by baritone Kenneth Overton. The two men achieved a fine balance in their harmonies.

We are not sure why we didn't relate to Ricky Ian Gordon's "When Sue Wears Red", another setting of a Langston Hughes text. The piano seemed to drown out the words and we didn't care for the music. But the rest of the audience seemed to love it so perhaps it was just at odds with our taste.

The concert ended with a love fest! Mr. Austin is gracious to a fault and thanked and embraced his teacher Ms. Malfitano and spoke most movingly about all the people who helped him along the way in his 6 years at Manhattan School of Music. He also thanked his parents profusely and his wife's parents as well. His parents came up to the stage and his father, a tenor, announced that the two would join forces for duo recitals in Switzerland. Now that's something we'd love to hear!

He dedicated his encore to his family--"I Want Jesus to Walk with Me", sung a capella. We walked out feeling all warm and fuzzy.

(c) meche kroop

COMMEDIA DELL'ARTE LIVES ON

The cast of DIVAria Productions'  Don Pasquale

This is the third time we have had the pleasure of reviewing a DIVAria production and we left thinking that with directors like Anton Armendariz Diaz on "team opera", we do not have to worry about opera's future. 

Yes, we know that The Metropolitan Opera is trashing its beloved productions and losing subscribers en masse.  Yes, we know that the reborn New York City Opera is floundering due to poor artistic choices and inadequate marketing. Yes, we know that DiCapo Opera went under.  But, big but here, New York is replete with small companies that are redefining opera for new audiences with fresh ideas and presenting them in unexpected venues.

Last night we attended a production of Donizetti's 1843 opera buffa Don Pasquale that had excellent musical values and high spirits to spare, delighting the youthful audience and this reviewer.  Musical Director Fabio Bezuti performed at the piano in a reduced score which included two violins and a cello. The small group captured all of Donizetti's effervescence right from the overture.

Mr. Diaz' direction went a long way toward making up for the lack of titles. With our minimal Italian vocabulary and the dramatic skills of the cast, we knew exactly what was happening. Additionally, there was a narrator invented by Mr. Diaz with dialogue written by himself and Andrew Bell. This was no ordinary narrator but the chief servant in Don Pasquale's home who gossiped about the crazy situation and filled in the points of the plot. This non-singing role was taken by Christen Mathern who did a swell job.

The singing was uniformly up to snuff. Arias, duets, trios and quartets all came off well. Voices were well balanced in every case.

In the title role we had Jorge Ocasio whose resonant bass and fine comic timing excelled. His interpretation of the role was short on "nasty" and "pathetic", rather evoking sympathy for this poor old man who wants to recapture his youth by marrying a young woman. In an invented scene, choreographer Jody Oberfelder had him dancing in fantasy with a quartet of young women in poodle skirts, emphasizing the memories an old man would have of his youth. His performance was the very embodiment of Pantalone.

As Norina, Ashley Bell sang with bright coloratura.  This is the third time we have reviewed her performances and remain impressed. In keeping with the commedia dell'arte origins of the libretto, the acting was over the top. In a plot to get around the "foolish old man" character, she is obliged to masquerade as Sofronia, a shy convent girl who changes into a hellion once the marriage contract is signed. Ms. Bell handled the transformation well with some help by costume changes. She was the embodiment of the wily Columbina.

The "Scapino" role of Dr. Malatesta was wonderfully sung and acted by baritone Jim Wright who conveyed chicanery to spare, and the "Pierrot" role of Ernesto, Don Pasquale's nephew, was well sung by tenor David Guzman. This scheming trio treated Don P. so badly that our sympathies were shifted toward the poor old man.

The original 19th c. librettist Giovanni Ruffini removed his name from the score, so distressed was he by Donizetti's dominance. But the story is a variation of a story dating back to 16th c. Italy and associated with carnevale. And so, in keeping with tradition, Mr. Diaz has interpreted the tale in his own fashion. That it spoke to our need to see ourselves in all of our clichéd glory was made evident by the abundant laughter and applause.

Aren't we all a bit foolish? a bit devious? a bit gullible?

(c) meche kroop

THE MASTERY of XIAOMENG ZHANG

David Stech and Xiaomeng Zhang

We hear a lot of baritones and most of them are quite listenable. But the current crop of graduates has been remarkable. (See May 4th review of Xiaoming Tian). Last night Xiomeng Zhang presented his graduation recital as he is about to be granted a Masters Degree from Manhattan School of Music. His recital gave evidence of a great deal of work and yet he appeared completely relaxed onstage and made every song appear easy. 

In our opinion, his voice is perfect for the bel canto repertoire. His Italian flows like olive oil from one phrase to the next with perfect legato. The timbre of his voice is warm and exceedingly pleasant with just the right vibrato. His interpretations are particularly expressive.

Although he is perhaps too young in appearance for the part, his voice was perfect in "Bella siccome un angelo" from Donizetti's Don Pasquale. The crafty Doctor Malatesta is trying to pass off Ernesto's beloved Norina as his convent-educated sister Sofronia.  Mr. Zhang got it just right.

No less wonderful were the other well known selections by Gluck and Bellini. Perhaps our favorite was Verdi's "Non t'accostare all'urna" which is filled with bitterness and therefore gives an opportunity for intensity of performance.

Mr. Zhang's facility in Italian was equalled by his facility in French. We were sure we never wanted to hear Ravel's Don Quichotte à Dulcinée again, having heard it on every single baritone program the past few months. Nonetheless, Mr. Zhang made it his own with lovely Gallic phrasing and good dynamic control. The variety from the dreamy "Chanson romanesque" to the passionately reverent "Chanson épique" to the bubulously expansive "Chanson à boire" held our interest.

With crisply enunciated German, Mr. Zhang performed the first seven songs of Schumann's Dichterliebe op.48. Heinrich Heine's incomparable poetry inspired Schumann to some glorious writing for piano and voice and Mr. Zhang interpreted it well. The cycle begins with the promise of love but by the end he is "singing a different tune" so to speak--one of disappointment and bitterness.

There was more to come in the program, songs in English and songs in Mandarin, which we wish we had understood. Even the best English diction is never as clear as Italian or German but Mr. Zhang's was as good as anyone else's. For the final song in Mandarin, he was joined by soprano Amy Frances Kuckelman. At times the voices were in unison, at other times they harmonized beautifully, and at other times the vocal lines were completely different but woven together.

Wolfram's aria "Oh, du mein holde Abendstern" from Wagner's Tannhäuser was the perfect encore, showing yet another aspect of Mr. Zhang's talent. Could anything be more welcome when one is about to step out into the night?

After hearing the artist sing so well in five languages we confess to being impressed. His collaborative pianist David Štech is also his coach and surely deserves some credit.

(c) meche kroop

FUN PASQUALE

Deanna Breiwick, Tobias Greenhalgh, Jeongcheol Cha

What fun we had at Juilliard last night where Donizetti's comic masterpiece Don Pasquale was presented by artists from Juilliard Opera and Juilliard Orchestra.  The story is right out of the commedia dell'arte tradition--a foolish old man wants to marry and gets his comeuppance.  In most productions, we feel great sympathy for the disinherited nephew Ernesto who is so in love with the poor  Norina that he refuses to marry the rich bride his uncle favors, thereby provoking the uncle to seek a bride and produce an heir.

But, in this case, Jeongcheol Cha created such a sympathetic character that our sympathies shifted toward him and less toward the slacker nephew, portrayed by Javier Abreu, a rather unprepossessing fellow who appeared unworthy of the beautiful and spunky Norina, performed by Deanna Breiwick.  The crafty Doctor Malatesta, portrayed by the too young and too handsome Tobias Greenhalgh, initiates a plan to show Don Pasquale how awful marriage is by presenting Norina as his convent-raised sister Sofronia, the perfect wife.  Naturally as soon as the fake marriage contract is signed, Norina proceeds to go through the Don's fortune and to demolish his self-esteem with her wanton ways.  There was a very moving moment when Norina realized how she has injured her future father-in-law; remorse was written all over Ms. Breiwick's lovely face.

Mr. Cha's sturdy bass-baritone served him well in the bel canto style; Mr. Greenhalgh who, in spite of his matinee idol looks and youth, created a dashing image of a doctor who manages to pull off the stunt with panache; his baritone was most pleasant to the ear.  Ms. Breiwick, whose gorgeous golden locks were hidden under a dowdy brown wig, used her lustrous soprano and superior technique to illuminate the coloratura passages with distinction.  Just listen to that liquid silver trill!  Mr. Abreu has a sweet but small tenor and failed to enlist our sympathies for his character.

In a bit of luxury casting, some of Juilliard's finest singers composed the ensemble.  In Swinging Sixties wigs and costumes we had fun trying to recognize them.

The conductor Stephen Lord and the director James Robinson were imported from St. Louis; we were not impressed.  Donizetti's music must sparkle like a diamond and what we heard sounded more like a rhinestone.  Not bad, just a bit lackluster.  The Juilliard Orchestra has sounded better on other occasions.

As far as the direction goes, we saw no reason to place the story in the 1960's, a decade no more relevant to our lives today than the time period in which Donizetti and librettist Giovanni Ruffini placed the action.  This anachronism left us in a disjointed frame of mind when horses and coaches were mentioned.  We were not outraged as we are when serious classics are trashed, just mildly irritated.  There should be a point and there isn't one.  To make matters worse, there were even more contemporary touches like the personal trainer and the green juice drink that didn't belong to the 60's at all.  That being said, these funny bits were....funny.

Set designer Shoko Kambara created a beautiful set for the Don's home with overstuffed furniture and burnished wooden walls that made us think we were going to see an epoch-valid production.  When Norina has the home redecorated, everything appeared to be of the art deco period, another anachronism.

Costumes by Amanda Seymour were colorful and apropos the period.  Still, we were left wondering why Norina, appearing as the modest Sofronia in a black dress, would be wearing bright shiny red stilettos.  In sum, this was a production in which one would do well to forget dramatic logic and just listen to the delightful young artists as they embark on what promises to be some very illustrious careers on the opera stage.

(c) meche kroop