MIRACLES OF LOVE/DEATH

 

Ausrine Stundyte and Daniel Brenna in Erich Korngold's Das Wunder der Heliane
(Photo by Stephanie Berger)

It seems to be a miracle when an opera lays dormant for nearly a century and finally makes it to the stage. For such miracles we count on Maestro Leon Botstein who has made it his mission to bring works out of the dark and into the light for his summer adventure Bard Summerscape. We make it our business to make the lengthy bus trip up to Annandale-on-the-Hudson at least once each year. Sometimes we are thrilled; sometimes we are not.

Erich Wolfgang Korngold was a child prodigy in his native Germany and achieved success as a teenager. Die tote Stadt is oft performed and remains famous for two arias--"Marietta's Lied" and "Pierrots Tanzlied". His Das Wunder der Heliane premiered in 1927 and met with critical disdain although several members of the opera community heaped high praise on the work.

Due to Nazi suppression, the work fell into obscurity until recently and last night was its American premiere which we did not want to miss. The work is famous primarily for the aria "Ich ging zu ihm" which one can hear on YouTube sung by Renée Fleming and by Lotte Lehmann. Take your pick. Listen to both.

The story is a strange one with the libretto written by Hans Müller-Einigen. A totalitarian ruler is bitter over his unconsummated marriage with Heliane. He is  also disturbed by a messianic stranger who has brought joy to the repressed populace. He wants the stranger dead.

Heliane goes to comfort him on his last night on earth and becomes captivated by him. She grants him the favors he requests--to show her hair, her bare feet, and her body. She refuses him lovemaking.

The ruler is infuriated and wants them both dead. There is a trial in which Heliane can prove her chastity by raising the stranger from death. She does but there is a lot of stabbing and shifting responses by the populace. It was difficult to determine what exactly happened at the end but perhaps the couple found love on another plane.

The music has been described as lush and romantic; we found it muscular and dissonant. There is no denying that the music is "interesting" and Maestro Botstein succeeded in bringing out the details of the colorful orchestration. We heard lots of Straussian influence. There were pockets of lyricism which we did enjoy, especially when the harp added its voice. Perhaps it takes several hearings of the score to get "friendly" with this type of music. It is not instantly relatable.

In the titular role, soprano Ausrine Stundyte looked as fine as she sounded and was as convincingly innocent as one could hope for. As The Ruler, bass-baritone Alfred Walker gave his customarily fine performance, singing with rich resonant tone and creating a brutal tyrant.  Heldentenor Daniel Brenna pushed his voice in the upper register and failed to create a compelling figure onstage, i.e. someone who could beguile a populace. As in Siegfried, the role would seem to beg for a sweet-voice lyric tenor who could never be heard over the densely textured orchestration!  A real Catch-22.

We have always liked mezzo-soprano Jennifer Feinstein who created a very nasty and vengeful Messenger.  Tenor David Cangelosi was excellent as The Blind Judge who turns out to be Heliane's father. Bass-baritone Nicholas Brownlee made a fine impression as The Porter.

The other judges at the trial, rather peculiarly costumed, comprised Nathan Berg, Scott Conner, Michael J. Hawk, Derek Taylor, Kevin Thompson, and Richard Troxell.

Stage Director Christian Räth had his work cut out for him, making sense of this odd story. Esther Bialas, whose costume design we so admired in the Mostly Mozart Magic Flute, dressed the judges in strange red garments with large ruffs around their necks. Heliane looked as innocent as she was meant to look; The Ruler looked as totalitarian as he was meant to look; The Stranger needed something more ethereal or spiritual. Functionaries resembled futuristic airline stewardesses.

Sets were all grey and totalitarian looking with movable towers backed by staircases. Thomas C. Hase's lighting was effective with menacing shadows cast on the rear wall. Under James Bagwell's direction, the chorus sounded fine with beautiful solos from Aine Hakamatsuka and Caroline Miller as Celestial Voices.

Catherine Galasso's choreography was also on the odd side. A "ballet" of the functionaries was just plain ugly with awkward lifts. But Act III opened with a graceful dance for a clutch of women dressed like Heliane who imitated her movements or manipulated her body. We haven't a clue what this was meant to represent but at least it was graceful.

We took a look online at a production from Berlin which was done in contemporary street clothes, making this production look much better.

If 20th c. opera is your thing, there will be four additional performances.

© meche kroop

SWEET TO THE TONGUE AND SWEET TO THE EAR

Kyle Pfortmiller, Maestro Keith Chambers, Ira Siff, Aaron Blake, Olivia Vote, and Sandra Lopez

The tantalizing buffet of homemade sweets and the free-flowing champagne might have distracted us from the thrilling entertainment provided by New Amsterdam Opera at their Sweet Surprise Salon.  Indeed sugar is sweet but music is even sweeter and more nourishing to the spirit.

The salon inaugurated NAO's second season; if you, dear readers, read our reviews from the first season you may recall our enthusiasm for their fine Fidelio, their equally fine Forza del Destino, and a compelling gala concert--all performed with impressive professionalism and fine casting decisions.

Artistic Director Maestro Keith Chambers hand picked the quartet of singers for last night's salon and the excellent program which comprised not a single dud.  There were three acts of four selections each with an opportunity to socialize before, after, and inbetween. Many luminaries of Planet Opera were in attendance and we were so happy to learn that Maestro Eve Queler of Opera Orchestra of New York has generously donated all her orchestral scores, giving NAO just the impetus they need to present more operas that deserve to be heard but are not regularly performed.

The evening was hosted by the inimitable Ira Siff--singer/educator/raconteur/writer/radio personality. We know Mr. Siff for a longer period of time than any other singer. One of his youthful performances was responsible for our love of singing. His witty introductions had the audience in stitches.  He began rather straight-faced talking about the need for "budget operas" in today's economic climate but then rattled off a list that seemed to come right out of the late and lamented Gran Scena Opera Company, of which he was the star.  Who remembers Madame Vera???

We always love duets, especially when the voices are well balanced.  Opening the program were soprano Sandra Lopez and mezzo-soprano Olivia Vote (whom we enjoyed so much at Santa Fe Opera) singing "Belle nuit" from Jacques Offenbach's magnificent work Les contes d'Hoffman. Ms. Lopez' instrument is bright and beautiful with Ms. Vote's terrifically textured voice complementing hers to great effect. French diction was just about perfect.

If there is a more gorgeous duet for male voices than "Au fond du temple saint" from Georges Bizet's Les pecheurs de perles, we have yet to hear it. Tenor Aaron Blake joined forces with baritone Kyle Pfortmiller in this male bonding piece; both artists had an opportunity to show their dramatic chops in this emotional roller coaster. Like the two female artists, their French was impeccable.

As far as language is concerned, Mr. Pfortmiller distinguished himself with his superlative German in "Mein sehnen, mein Wahnen" from Erich Wolfgang Korngold's Die tote Stadt. This song of longing and nostalgia ends with the word "zuruck" (apologies for not having diacritical marks available) and Mr. Pfortmiller drew out the final "u" (the one with the umlaut) in an attenuated decrescendo that brought out the sentiment in a way that we have never heard before.

Readers may recall how fond we are of zarzuela and can imagine how delighted we were to hear "Maria la O" from the the 1930's work by Cuban Ernesto Lecuona. We just reviewed the same aria last week and are of the opinion that New York is ready for more zarzuela. Ms. Lopez gave it a fine performance, filled with sazon. To our ears, Spanish sings as well as Italian and caresses the ear.

Of course, there was Italian on the program as well. Ms. Vote performed "Stella del marinar", Laura's prayer for guidance from Amilcare Ponchielli La gioconda. Her vibrato was perfect and filled the room with overtones that bounced off the elaborate piano score, performed by Maestro Chambers, who was accompanist for the evening.

"Parigi, o cara" is the heartbreaking final duet from Giuseppe Verdi's La traviata, a duet filled with false hope and wishful thinking.  Ms. Lopez and Mr. Blake invested it with profound emotional resonance.

Equally heartbreaking is Edgardo's aria of suicidal despair from Gaetano Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, in which Mr. Blake threw himself into the high notes with thrilling abandon.

It is rare that a piano reduction can come close to Richard Wagner's dense orchestration but Maestro Chambers got it right in "Einsam wachend in der Nacht", Brangane's Act II warning to Isolde, here performed by Ms. Vote.

Three of the artists enjoyed the opportunity to sing lighter works from the American musical theater. Mr. Blake let out all the stops for "Be My Love", popularized by Mario Lanza in 1950. It was passionate, persuasive, and very expressive.

Mr. Pfortmiller performed the English language lyrics to "Stars" from Claude-Michel Schonberg's Les Miserables.  Having heard Alain Boublil's French lyrics, we would have preferred that version, but the English lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer are quite good and Mr. Pfortmiller was strong and determined and overcame our preference.

The musical Kismet has Borodin's music written all over it; indeed Robert Wright and George Forrest adapted it for the Broadway stage and it opened in 1953 with an absurdly complicated plot and Borodin's luscious music. If we are not mistaken "And This is My Beloved" comes from the third movement of his String Quartet #2. Forgetting the elaborate plot, Ms. Lopez performed the song with beauty and simplicity.

The program concluded with the festive party song from Johann Strauss II's Die Fledermaus, which brought this quartet of superb singers together in an exhibition of brotherly love-- "Sing to Love' which we know as "Bruderlein, bruderlein und Schwesterlein".  Again, we prefer the original language but it was just fine.

After this banquet of vocal delights, we repaired to the banquet of gastronomical delights and shared our pleasure with the enthralled members of the audience.

The evening was a fund raiser for New Amsterdam Opera and this yearling company deserves your dollars. Their goal is to identify young talent and to give them performance opportunities right here in New York City. It seems as if the USA provides the best training for singers but is sadly lacking in performance opportunities.  So many of our gifted young artists leave for Europe where their artistry is more highly valued. Let's turn that around!

(c) meche kroop

GEORGE LONDON RECITAL

Spencer Myer, Steven LaBrie, and Erin Wall

Sunday was the first recital of the season for the George London Foundation with the lovely Nora London present as usual. One of the greatest aspects of the George London Foundation is that if one returns year after year (preferably as a subscriber) one gets to observe the artistic growth of the competition winners when they are invited back to give a recital.

This season got off to a splendid start with baritone Steven LaBrie joining soprano Erin Wall for a program so satisfying that we don't know where to start.

So, let's start at the end because we do so love a good duet. As seen in the above photo, this talented duo delighted the audience with "Lippen schweigen" from Franz Lehar's Die lustige Witwe, also known as The Merry Widow. There was quite nice chemistry in evidence in this wonderful waltz. We were wishing the pair would soon perform the entire operetta.

Mr. LaBrie's voice has been expanding, deepening and darkening since we first heard him several years ago.  It was just right for "Prince Yeletsky's Aria" from Tchaikovsky's Pique Dame, otherwise known as Queen of Spades. This is an aria that we like better with every hearing and we cannot recall hearing it better sung. The messa di voce at the end was gorgeous.

Mexican songs are very high on our list of delights and Mr. LaBrie treated us to an entire set of them. Although we are equally fond of zarzuela, what we love about Mexican song is the sound of New World Spanish, as opposed to the sibilant sounds of Castilian Spanish. 

In "Dime que si" by Alfonso Esparza Oteo, Spencer Myer's piano provided the rhythmic thrust. Agustín Lara's "Humo en los ojos" was our personal favorite both for its sentiment and its melodic line. Maria Greever's much recorded "Júrame" had a lovely rhyme scheme for the singer and some potent rhythm in the piano.

Mr. LaBrie also sang a collection of songs by Claude Debussy La mer est plus belle--Ballades de François Villon. One could discern a foreshadowing of Ravel's Don Quichotte à Dulcinée. The first song was filled with passion and bitterness, the second with religious devotion, and the third with humor and wit. Mr. LaBrie captured the various moods successfully.

Erin Wall is a polished performer with plenty of presence onstage. She has a wonderful instrument with a bright bloom in the upper register that is exactly right for the songs of Richard Strauss. We could not say that we liked his Gesänge des Orients as well as some of his more frequently performed songs but they received a marvelous delivery from Ms. Wall. Actually, we could not discern what these songs had to do with Asia. There must be a story there!

Our preference was for the extravagant sentiment in "Schwung", an encomium to Bacchus; we also enjoyed the tender "Liebesgeschenke".

Ms. Wall also brought Erich Wolfgang Korngold's Drei Lieder to life. "Was Du mir bist" had a romantic flavor.  "Mit Dir zu schweigen" was made meaningful by her expressive dynamics.  But our favorite was "Welt ist stille eingeschlafen" which showed off the artist's expansive upper register and offered a delicate decrescendo at the conclusion.

"No Word from Tom" from Igor Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress was marked by superlative diction.  Rarely do we understand every word sung in the upper register but here we did.  Poor Ann Trulove is steadfast (as her name implies) in her love for Tom Rakewell and here defies her father. It was intense!

It was an altogether satisfying program encompassing both the familiar and the unusual. 

(c) meche kroop

MAN OF THE (50 minute) HOUR

Janai Brugger, John Brancy, Steven Blier and Michael Barrett

Our dear Steven Blier seems never to run out of original ideas for recitals for New York Festival of Song, of which he is the Artistic Director.  Last night's recital was entitled "Art Song on the Couch: Lieder in Freud's Vienna" and Mr. Blier introduced the program from the piano by describing Gustav Mahler's four-hour session walking with psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud.  He waggishly pointed out that it seemed to have helped and left Mahler transformed for the better.

We in the audience had but two hours to be transformed for the better.  Reading the program notes describing the circumstances in Victorian Vienna up to the 1930's gave an excellent background for appreciation of the music.  A society pretending to be respectable and controlled was seething with rebellion underneath, just as a person with a conservative exterior may be hiding some pretty wild secrets.

New ground was being broken in all fields and so it was with music.  We no longer hear the strophic melodies and reassuring harmonies of Schubert, Schumann and Brahms. Instead we are hearing experiments in rhythm, strange harmonies, and a searching quality in the melodies.

Bringing this challenging music to vivid life were two superb artists--one well known to us for several years since Juilliard days--baritone John Brancy-- and the other a dazzling soprano new to NYFOS--Janai Brugger.  It's thrilling to witness the meteoric rise of someone we have long appreciated and it's thrilling to hear someone as a recitalist whom we have previously heard only on the opera stage (as Liu in Puccini's Turandot at the Metropolitan Opera).

The evening opened and closed with Mahler.  The first set of songs comprised Herr Mahler's "Erinnerung" and his wife Alma Mahler's "Laue Sommernacht".  The first made use of Mr. Brancy's baritone and Ms. Brugger's soprano in alternating stanzas exploring the relationship between song and love.  The final couplet was sung as a duet and we found the entire song quite lovely.  

But Frau Mahler's "Laue Sommernacht" was even lovelier with it's intense yet intimate feel.  She was taught by Alexander Zemlinsky and Herr Mahler was disapproving of her composing--perhaps because of societal restrictions or perhaps out of envy.  Who knows?

After many wonderful songs by Hugo Wolf, Erich Korngold, Arnold Schoenberg, Alexander Zemlinsky and Richard Strauss, we were treated to an encore of a 20th c. Tom Lehrer song "Alma" which satirizes Frau Mahler's succession of famous husbands. We will spare you the lengthy list of lovers.  What a gal!

The songs were nearly all new to us with the exception of two cabaret type songs which we had heard at the Austrian Cultural Forum.  Hugo Wolf's "Erstes Liebeslied eines Mädchens" was sung by Ms. Brugger who communicated all the naughty suggestiveness of the lyrics.  She did the same for Schoenberg's "Der genügsamer Liebhaber", a song one would expect to have been sung by a man.

But Mr. Blier is fond of gender-free casting and put Zemlinsky's "Das bucklichte Männlein" into the mouth of Mr. Brancy who picked up the humor ball and ran with it all the way to the goal post.  (Forgive us our sports metaphor.)  Mr. Brancy is usually a contained stage presence, using vocal colors to convey the drama so this was novel and fun seeing him let loose.  Here, although the lyrics are funny, the piano line conveys substantial anxiety.

Ms. Brugger's finest moments were in "Frühlingsfeier" when she cried out for Adonis and in "Drei Ophelia-Lieder" both by Strauss.  Her dramatic instincts are as fine as her beautiful instrument.

We also enjoyed Mr. Brancy's amusing delivery of Korngold's unpublished early song "Die Geniale".  Short but sweet.

The two fine singers joined voices for the final work on the program "Arie aus dem Spiegel von Arcadien".  Apparently we were in a particular mood for humor last night. We had trouble imagining the super-serious Schoenberg setting the light-hearted words of the long-dead Emanuel Schikaneder.  But he did and we enjoyed it.

We measure the success of this type of recital by how many hours of reading they inspire.  We have been reading about the denizens of turn-of-the-20th c. Vienna for hours.  What a fascinating junction of time and place--zeit und stelle.

ⓒ meche kroop