MANHATTAN OPERA STUDIO

Manhattan Opera Studio's production of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte

Not all summer training programs take place in Europe.  Some are right here in New York City. Manhattan Opera Studio attracted a lot of students from out-of-town for their Summer Festival. Students applied by audition and those accepted received month-long coaching and master classes, with an opportunity to appear in a fully staged role with orchestra.

A few days ago we reviewed their Hänsel und Gretel and last night we returned to the National Opera Center to hear Die Zauberflöte,  Mozart's delightful singspiel. The work premiered in 1791 and is replete with references to Freemasonry, which was practiced by both Mozart and his librettist Emanuel Schikaneder, who sang the role of Papageno. Sarastro represents the values of The Enlightenment--reason and wisdom. His nemesis, the Queen of the Night, represents emotionalism and hysteria.  Do we see the sexism here?

Mozart composed the delightful music with concern for the varied vocal abilities of his cast. Allowances were made for those less experienced or less gifted, whilst great challenges were presented to the famous singers who were cast as the Queen and Sarastro. There was also some variability in the artistry of the cast we heard last night.

There were no allowances made for the orchestra and Maestro Keith Chambers led a spirited performance from the reduced orchestra which played Bryan Higgins' fine reduction of the score. We always listen for the glockenspiel, so well played here by Lucas Barkley.

The opera was performed in German and everyone in the cast deserves props for their linguistic skills as well as their singing. Certain singers made a big impression. Conrad Schmechel is a stage animal and created a marvelous version of Papageno, the opera's representation of the "common man", happy with food and wine and a wife. Fortunately he was awarded the delightful Papagena of Laura Schachner who had little stage time but has a sit-up-and-take-notice style about her. Mr. Schmechel was reviewed last summer in Opera Breve's Carmen.

Taylor Surratt made a fine Tamino with lyrical line and a princely bearing, representing the man who is amenable to reason, changing his mind when confronted with new information. His "Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön" was especially fine. As his beloved Pamina, Kathleen Norchi sang with sincerity and a lovely line in "Ach, ich fühl's".

The incredibly difficult role of the Queen of the Night was well performed by Xi Lyu. Her revenge aria "Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen" was even better than her "O zittre nicht mein lieber Sohn". Her fiery delivery was just right.

Christian Ohlenschlaeger's Sarastro would have benefitted from some more forceful acting. We have always found Sarastro to be a pompous and not very likeable character, but he must be firm in gesture and voice.

Eamon Pereyra, whom we havea heard before, handled the vocal demands of Monostatos perfectly well but is just too sweet looking to convince us of the character's evil nature.

The Three Ladies (Ashlee Woodgate, Kailee Miranda Mhoon, and Olivia Ottinger) harmonized beautifully. We wish that Stage Director Lisa Nava had gotten them to relate to one another more. As a matter of fact, there were several instances in which other characters sang directly to the audience instead of to each other. This should be easy to correct and would make the performance work much better.

We always love the Three Spirits; the three lovely young women who sang them (Brittany Stetson, Mary McKinnis, and Maya Davis) managed to sound like three boy sopranos which made them inordinately appealing.

Although sung in German, the spoken dialogue was in English; everyone spoke clearly so not a word was lost. The chorus also did very well. Duets and ensembles were all well balanced.

There were no sets and no props which allowed the audience members to use their imagination. We borrowed bits and pieces from our memory including a particularly vivid memory of a production seen years ago in Bregenz, Austria, in which the action took place on a large floating stage in the middle of Lake Constance and the serpent came up out of the lake!

We liked the lighting which dimmed for the major arias, allowing the singer to perform in a spotlight. We also liked the costumes which were basic but effective.

The orchestra played on one side of the room with the audience seated on the other side. The effect was somewhat less than stereophonic but is one of those compromises made on Planet Opera where we desperately need a small opera house with an orchestra pit.

There will be another performance at The National Opera Center Sunday at 6:30 and Flute lovers who hope to attend will be well advised to reserve tickets. Last night was standing room only. Sitters and standees were equally enthusiastic in their standing ovation for the singers.

(c) meche kroop

A DIFFERENT ENLIGHTENMENT

Kara Sainz and Theo Hoffman (photo by Richard Termine)

Miles Mykkanen (photo by Richard Termine)

The most wonderful aspect of Mozart's operas, beside their glorious music, is their humanity. The singspiel that he wrote for his friend, the singer/actor/impresario Emanuel Schikaneder, is generally presented in all its mythic glory with elaborate costuming and sets. Many of these productions can be appreciated in the current exhibit at the Lincoln Center Library of the Performing Arts.

The production we saw last night at The Juilliard School was a production with another dimension. Gone were the fairy tale trappings of exotic sets and costumes, and, in their place, Director Mary Birnbaum gave us a human drama. We could identify with the universal psychological issues we face as we attempt to unravel the complexities of our existence and to evolve into more complete human beings.  This gave a new meaning to "enlightenment"--not just the 18th c. philosophical movement.

In Ms. Birnbaum's take on the opera, we witnessed real people, not cartoon characters, and not stereotypes. Tamino is not dressed like a prince but he evolves into a princely fellow, having earned the love of Pamina.  As sung by the incredibly sweet-voiced tenor Miles Mykkanen, he starts out as the helpless victim of...a row of hedges he takes to be a serpent! During the course of the opera he achieves menschheit by facing his fears during the trials. We witness his growth and cheer him on.

Pamina, perfectly portrayed by soprano Christine Taylor Price, must learn to accept the fact that her mother is flawed. She must integrate the "good mother" who wants to protect her and the "bad mother" who is possessive and filled with rage. She must learn to accept a father (or father figure) who loves her but has failed to protect her from the evil Monostatos and has placed her in a virtual prison. Ms. Price did well at creating a character who moves from innocence and helplessness to a position of equality-- "standing by her man" as he goes through the trials.

Not everyone is cut out to be a spiritually enlightened person. In a star turn unlike no other, baritone Theo Hoffman represented "Everyman". He wants his food, his wine, and his woman. His life has no meaning otherwise. His Everyman is not one to which one condescends; this is an Everyman to love; he is an Everyman who makes the world work. Mr. Hoffman revealed impressive comedic skills, utilizing flexibility of body and mobility of facial expression to get this across. . His task in life is to learn honesty and modesty. He learns that from the Three Ladies who also serve the Queen of the Night.

That role was wonderfully filled by coloratura soprano Liv Redpath whose top notes gave us chills by virtue of their clear ringing tones and pinpoint accuracy. The Three Ladies were performed by two superb sopranos (Alexandra Razskazoff and Caitlin Redding) and mezzo-soprano Avery Amereau whose smoky voice is completely distinctive and entirely memorable.

One of the funniest scenes was the first one in which these Three Ladies fight over the limp body of Tamino who has fainted from fright.

We loved the way bass Önay Köse created a Sarastro who was anything but pompous. He projected the air of a leader who was entirely human and not at all ecclesiastically boring. His voice rang out with power and authority.

As the wicked seducer Monostatos, handsome tenor Alexander McKissick had a hard time convincing us that he was "hässlich" but easily convinced us of his evil intentions toward Pamino. He had her imprisoned in an off-kilter underground bunker, reminding us of all those stories in the news about men who kidnapped young girls and kept them for years as sex slaves. We were quite relieved when she was rescued and Monostatos got punished! Tenors don't usually get to sing the bad guy and Mr. McKissick sang it very very well.

Mezzo-soprano Kara Sainz as Papagena was the perfect partner for Mr. Hoffman's Papageno. Not only was her singing excellent but she created a charming character who was totally convincing as an old lady climbing onto Papageno's lap, trying to convince him to marry her--one of the funniest moments of the evening.

The Three Spirits were adorable and harmonized just as finely as did the Three Ladies.  Dressed as schoolgirls in uniform, they represented the innate and instinctual wisdom of youth which contrasted well with Sarastro's hard-won rational wisdom. Christine Oh, Sophia Kaminski, and Kelsey Lauritano gave wonderfully physical performances.

Sarastro's crew of followers, dressed in suits, seemed to be a no-nonsense lot. Bass-baritone Thesele Kemane was excellent as The Speaker. Baritone Fan Jia and tenor Matthew Swensen made important contributions as First and Second Priest respectively, while tenor Samuel Levine did equally well as The Armed Man.

Ms. Birnbaum made sure that all the characters related to one another as people. That is one of the benefits of having a group of artists who know each other and can work well as an ensemble. It enabled so many moments of emotional depth and so many moments of humor. This could never happen at The Metropolitan Opera with stars flying in from all over the world!

The sets by Grace Laubacher were said to have been inspired by Joseph Cornell and his boxes. Indeed, they were boxlike and punctuated by doors down low and windows up high. Birds were flown from the balconies, Japanese-style, delighting the audience.

Anshuman Bhatia's lighting emphasized the difference between the darkness of the Queen of the Night and the light of Sarastro's temple.

Costumes by Maria Sine Clinton comprised streetwear for the most part but we were dazzled by the masks worn by the beasts who were tamed by Tamino's magic flute.

Choreography was shared by Adam Cates and Sean McKnight. The wildly successful break-dancing was performed by Jakub Jozef Orlinski who has delighted our ears with his angelic counter-tenor and here dazzled our eyes with his astonishing dancing. Now we know!

The singing was so fine all around that we decline to single out any one artist. The Juilliard Orchestra never disappoints; under the baton of David Stern they filled the Peter Jay Sharp Theater with glorious sound. During the overture, Maestro Stern's firm control allowed us to distinguish the emphatic chords and their progressions. We could hear things we'd never noticed before in the play of the strings against the winds. Totally wonderful!

(c) meche kroop