CLASSIC LYRIC ARTS GALA-2018 EDITION

Classic Lyric Arts students in recital at the Kosciuszko Foundation

We have often written about the contributions made by Classic Lyric Arts to the field of opera. With summer programs in both Italy and in France, CLA offers total immersion programs for emerging artists--young singers who will eventually fill the stages of opera houses around the world. Vocal repertoire is taught through the prism of language, history, and culture--including food! We often recognize former students onstage around town; their linguistic and diction skills are always impressive.

Last night was CLA's 10th gala, heavily attended by supporters who enjoyed a lavish cocktail hour, followed by a thrilling recital, and ending with a dessert buffet at which an abbondanza of macarons were almost inhaled. It was notable that the glamorous servers were the young artists themselves!

President and Artistic Director Glenn Morton welcomed the crowd to the stunning upstairs salon of the Kosciuszko Foundation, speaking to us of the special impact of the human voice and describing the value of taking young singers to the source of the music they will sing, providing a means to become part of the culture and its history for a period of several weeks.

Two alumni of the program in Italy shared their experiences with CLA and how it has affected their lives and professional development. The work at CLA is very intimate and students often maintain relationships with their coaches after the program ends. Tenor Ganson Salmon attended the program in 2017 and baritone Xiaomeng Zhang (who sang so beautifully the prior night as an Opera Index winner) attended in 2014.  Being a fan of both these young artists, we can attest to the benefits they derived from their time in Italy. 

Of course, dear reader, you want to know about the singers and the program last night. The main point we'd like to make is how well every singer utilized the text in their delivery. Everyone sounded natural and authentic. There was no linguistic clumsiness to distract from the music making. It was evident from the several ensemble works on the program how well the singers were able to connect with one another.

The program began with the "Gloria tutti" scene which closes Mozart's delightful Nozze di Figaro and ended with the closing scene "Make our garden grow" from Bernstein's Candide. It seemed to us that the hard work in foreign languages had benefited the students in their English diction as well, since we understood every word. That is not to be taken for granted! Jonathan Heaney conducted the Bernstein from the piano.

A couple performances stood out for us and merit our focus. Baritone Fernando Cisneros, already quite well known on the international opera stage, made the most frightening Baron Scarpia we have ever heard. He created a character that was coming from a position of power more than lust. His vocal colors were chilling and his face actually snarled!  All this occurred in perfect Italian with a long legato line and no loss of vocal tone. Puccini would have loved it.

We might add that his interpretation of Count Almaviva down on his knees in apology to the Countess was humble and sincere with appropriate vocal coloration.  He is indeed versatile!

Mr. Zhang revealed his bel canto artistry as Belcore in "Venti scudi" a scene from Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore in which he manipulates the gullible and desperate Nemorino (the aforementioned Mr. Ganson) into signing up for the army. The two men worked well in bringing the scene to life. We think of this role as Mr. Zhang's "signature role" since we've seen him perform the entire opera with ARE Opera (now called City Lyric Opera) and recall thinking he was the best Belcore we'd ever heard.

We heard some very fine singing from tenor Zachary Goldman and baritone Sunyeop Hwang in everyone's favorite French duet for two men--"Au fond du temple saint" from Bizet's Les pêcheurs de perles. The Gallic phrasing and pronunciation were just right and the harmonies delightful.

Another delight was the duet from Mascagni's L'amico Fritz in which Fritz first meets Suzel. Stephanie Guasch's soprano soared and Taicheng Li's tender tenor matched well with her both vocally and dramatically.

We also enjoyed "Soave sia il vento" from Mozart's Cosi fan tutte in which the two sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella (Sarah Bacani and Rosario Hernandez) watch their lovers sail away, joined by Don Alfonso (Ari Bell). Mozart's lovely line was filled out with equally lovely harmonies.

Also on the program were two ensembles. One was the septet from the Giulietta act of Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffman. The other was the "Gran pezzo concertato" from Rossini's Il Viaggio a Reims, conducted by Lochlan Brown who is also responsible for CLA's new website--www.classiclyricarts.org.  We urge you to take a look and see how you too can become part of the CLA family.

Pianists for the evening were all excellent--Mina Kim, Lochlan Brown, Marianna Vartikyan, Jonathan Heaney, and Cherie Roe.

Other singers and members of the chorus included Chantal Brundage, Aleea Powell, Melanie Dubil, Leah Israel, Travis Benoit, Yongjae Lee, Blair Cagney, Daniela Magura, Rachel Querreveld, Victoria Policht, Emily Hanseul Park, Shan Hai, Yue Huang, Bela Albett, and Nathan Seldin.

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MUSIC BEATS POLITICS

Fernando Cisneros, Riccardo Gatto, Sandra Buongrazio, Meixu Lu, Xiaojie Fan, Feifei Yang, Jiajun Hong, Yuxiao Chen, Xiaofen Min, Jinghan Zhang, Zhongbei Wu, and Qian Liang

Last night's glorious concert at Weill Recital Hall spoke to us loud and clear.  "What the world needs now is more music and less politics." Where politics is divisive, music unites.  Thanks to Blossom Season International Culture Media, a creation of baritone/pianist Jiajun Hong and his beautiful wife soprano Jinghan Zhang, we heard a delightful melding of Chinese, American, and European traditions in music.

The first half of the program was a splendid introduction to the predominantly Chinese audience of opera from Italy and France, as well as German operetta. It was wise to choose selections from Verdi, Puccini, Mozart, Bizet, Donizetti, and Lehar. Every selection was tuneful and accessible, not to mention superbly performed.

Opening the program was Ms. Zhang, whose luminescent soprano was well matched by the silky baritone of Fernando Cisneros, whose impeccable linguistic skills are a product of some intense work with Classic Lyric Arts programs. They performed "Pronto io son" from Donizetti's Don Pasquale.

Mr. Cisneros made an impressively virile Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen, strutting around the stage with just the right degree of self confidence, bordering on arrogance.  He went on to command the stage as Figaro in "Non più andrai" from Mozart's Nozze di Figaro. It was a treat to see him take on such a variety of roles, inhabiting each one as if he owned it.

Mezzo-soprano Sandra Buongrazio threw herself into her performance of Carmen's "Habanera" with all the right moves and a smoky sound that was just right.

We liked her even more in "O don fatale" from Verdi's Don Carlo in which the larger than life Princess Eboli shows her remorse for entrapping her Queen. The overtones filled the hall and we noticed how Mr. Hong's piano and Ms. Bunograzio's voice changed color at the same point in the aria.

Having just seen Puccini's Tosca at The Metropolitan Opera, we were very ready to hear an alternative interpretation of "Vissi d'arte" and enjoyed Ms. Buongrazio's passion and commitment, emphasized with dynamic variety.

It is always a treat to hear a tenor who sings with ease and Riccardo Gatto is just such an artist. Tenors risk a great deal when they take on an aria made famous by Luciano Pavarotti. Mr. Gatto owes no apologies for his very excellent performance of "Che gelida manina" from Puccini's La Bohème. It was performed with all the ardor of a young writer trying to impress a new woman.

In "Nessun dorma" his color changed completely and his performance was expansive, in keeping with the expression of Prince Calaf.

The quartet from Verdi's Rigoletto is a real showstopper and almost always appears on programs by Judith Fredrick's Opera New York. It shows off all four fachs and requires exquisite balance among them.  In this case, Ms. Zhang, Ms. Buongrazio, Mr. Gatto, and Mr. Cisneros were well matched and balanced.

The second half of the program brought some very special treats. The stage was filled with Chinese musical instruments commingled with Western ones. Our evenings spent reviewing Chinese music were excellent preparation for recognizing the haunting bamboo flute, the elaborate zither-like guzheng, the slender erhu, and the gorgeous pipa, which is plucked upright.

We heard the premiere of Qian Liang's "Spring's rosy color fades from forest flowers".  Oh, if only contemporary American composers could be as melodic! Ms. Zhang sang it with tender word painting, and was no less lovely in a Xin Jiang Folk Song "Si Lian" that had the feeling of a barcarolle but was actually about longing.  Still...our thoughts turned to Venice and Rossini.

Mr. Hong and Ms. Zhang seemed to be celebrating their own love in "Lippen schweigen" from Lehar's Die Lustige Witwe.  Mr. Hong left the piano and sang the duet with his wife; we even got a waltz!

We wondered who wrote the arrangements of Western music for the interesting ensemble of piano, cello, violin, bamboo flute, erhu, pipa and guzheng. This genius' name is Wenhao Pei and he deserves a lot of credit.

The program closed with three Italian songs.  Mr. Gatto let loose with "Non ti scordar di me", written for Beniamino Gigli by Ernesto de Curtis, and popularized in our generation by Mr. Pavarotti. The singer subtly enhanced his vibrato for this piece and was accompanied by Xiaojie Fan's exquisite violin solo. Mr. Curtis was also the composer of "Torna a Surriento". Eduardo di Capua was the composer of the final selection "O sole mio" in which the entire ensemble participated.

Praise must be offered to Xiaopeng Teng who directed the opera scenes.

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CLASSIC LYRIC ARTS GALA

Classsic Lyric Arts Gala at The Kosciuszko Foundation

We believe in evidence.  Last night's recital at the Kosciuszko Foundation featured an incredibly talented and beautiful group of young artists who attended L'Art du Chant Francais and/or La Lingua della Lirica last summer in France and Italy respectively. The evidence for the success of the programs can be found in the superlative performances we witnessed. Every single artist revealed splendid diction and a feeling for the style inherent in the language.

This is not magic but the result of hard work under the tutelage of masters and total immersion in the culture and its traditions. The French program accepts ten singers each year and provides tutelage under principal coach Michele Sénéchal who emphasizes the music inherent in the text.

The Italian program accept twice as many students and instructs them in the bel canto tradition. The principal coach in Italy is Ubaldo Fabbri. We are not mentioning any names but we recently heard a rather well known singer perform in Italian with final vowels that were just wrong.  "A"s become "o"s and vice versa.  No graduate of La Lingua della Lirica would make that mistake!

The nurturing environment permits these young artists to take risks and try new roles.  And that is how an artist can make a major leap forward and gain confidence.

Every singer was excellent and the choices on the program were a mixture of the usual and the unusual.  Many of the selections featured large ensembles, the success of which was probably related to the group having spent so much time together--studying, eating,  playing, and performing for the appreciative locals.

After a warm welcome from Glenn Morton, President and Artistic Director, the program opened with a scene from Rossini's La Cenerentola sung in perfect Italian and accompanied by Mina Kim. Closing the program was the final scene from Verdi's Falstaff, a ten-part fugue skillfully conducted by Ms. Kim with Sophia Zhou at the piano.

Another fine ensemble piece was the sextet "Chi mi frena in tal momento" from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, for which Cherie Roe provided the piano accompaniment.

Special guest star was baritone Jared Bybee about whom we have been writing since we began writing. We love watching young artists grow and, no doubt, Mr. Bybee's earlier participation in CLA has added to his lustre. We enjoyed him as an Apprentice Singer in Santa Fe and witnessed his performances in award recitals from all the major foundations.  Last night he performed "Largo al factotum" from Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia. He sang with full rich Italianate tone and gave Figaro a lively winning personality. Hsini Huang was his accompanist.

We will not be able to give all the singers the credit they deserve but would like to point out a few performances that stood out.  Tenor Zachary Goldman and baritone Fernando Cisneros harmonized beautifully in "O Mimi tu piu non torni" from Puccini's La Boheme. Mr. Goldman is notable for a lovely unforced sound and Mr. Cisneros seemed to appear in many scenes, singing with full round tone,  a winning stage presence and the ability to inhabit a role, even a Falstaff.

Soprano Yvette Keong and tenor Ryan Hurley put a lot of tenderness into their performance of "Tornami a dir che m'ami" from Donizetti's Don Pasquale.

Moving on to the French part of the program, we were delighted to hear "Va, je t'ai pardoné" from Gounod's Roméo et Juliette sung by the stunning soprano Larisa Martinez, about whom we have often written, and tenor Vincent Festa who sang Romeo with his ringing tenor and ardent involvement. We have heard him several times over the past 3 years and always enjoy his performances. Ms. Martinez made a winsome Juliet and both employed fine French diction. The air was literally ringing with overtones.

We didn't know that Reynaldo Hahn wrote an operetta and were tickled to hear "Nous avons fait un beau voyage" from Ciboulette which was based on the same Murger stories which inspired La Bohème. William Guanbo Su, who impressed us at his graduation recital and several performances which maximized the lower end of his register, surprised us with his facility at the upper end of his register; soprano Ashley Lea made a splendid partner in this cream puff of a duet.

Another operetta unknown to us was Ganne's Les Saltimbanques.  "C'est l'amour" featured Angela Candela and Mitchell Kasprzyk with Fabio Bezuti at the piano. Ms. Candela gave us yet another opportunity to appreciate her fine French in "Nocturne à deux voix" from Chabrier's Le roi malgré lui, performed in happy harmony with Amanda Nelson.

From Massenet's Cendrillon, we heard soprano Blair Cagney and mezzo-soprano Daniela Magura as the happily reunited couple in "Vous êtes mon prince charmant". Ms. Magura also had another opportunity to show off her fine French in "Nuit paisible et sereine" from Berlioz' Béatrice et Bénédicte. In our opinion, this gorgeous duet rivals "The Flower Duet" from Delibes' Lakmé and we hope to hear it again soon. 

So many fine singers have come out of this excellent program! We predict glorious futures for these young artists if they take what they've learned and use it well.  Great teachers present students with opportunities. Great students take what they need and incorporate it.

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