KISSED BY EUTERPE

Maestra Speranza Scappucci and soprano Felicia Moore

Between the Verdi and the glories of Felicia Moore singing Beethoven we felt more at home at a symphonic concert than we usually do.  For this commencement concert, the remarkable Juilliard Orchestra was fortunate to have Maestra Speranza Scappucci on the podium. Juilliard is indeed her home.

One could also say she was kissed by Terpsichore since she used her entire body to elicit a focused and stunning performance from the students. The overall sound was that of a professional orchestra and better than many we have heard.

The program opened with Giuseppe Verdi's overture to La forza del destino, the music of which we hold dearer than that of any other Verdi opera.  Unfortunately the opera is rarely performed due to the three demanding major roles. The overture comprises the melodies from the opera itself and was added a few years after the opera premiered.

It opens with a propulsive theme conveyed by the brass but a lyrical melody follows close upon its heels. There is a wealth of melodic material and we particularly enjoyed the brass chorale. The familiar initial theme which we call the fate theme recurs several times with alterations, lending unity to the piece.

It is sad that Beethoven composed only one opera (Fidelio) so we must content ourself with a concert aria he wrote as a young man.  Who better to sing "Ah! perfido...Per pietà, non dirmi addio," Op. 65 than the stunning soprano Felicia Moore. 

It's the old abandoned woman story but it gives the singer an opportunity to marshal all her gifts in conveying a range of emotions from rage and revenge to self pity and pleading. We are left to imagine the opera Beethoven might have written around such a story.

Ms. Moore has uncommon talent and a huge voice that sails over the orchestral forces. We loved the range of emotion she displayed.

The final work on the program was Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 4 in A major, composed in his youth and known as The Italian Symphony. It began with a rhythmic Allegro that any lover of classical music would recognize immediately. Still, we prefer the weary minor key Andante with the basses plodding along. Even better was the third movement in waltz time with some lovely horn calls. The work ends with a Saltarello (an Italian dance form) played Presto. After a forceful introduction there were swirling figures moving through the orchestra that made us think of the music Mendelssohn wrote for Midsummer Night's Dream.

(c) meche kroop

SOME ENCHANTED AFTERNOON

John Relyea and Lori Guilbeau

"Some Enchanted Evening" was chosen by soprano Lori Guilbeau and bass John Relyea for their encore duet at the George London Foundation recital this afternoon.  Thanks to Daylight Savings Time, it became an enchanted afternoon with marvelous Warren Jones at the keyboard keeping pace with the artists.

We remember Miss Guilbeau as a promising young voice from her days at Manhattan School of Music and are happy to report that she has fulfilled that promise, opening the program with a stirring rendition of "Dich, teure Halle" from Richard Wagner's Tannhäuser. Her sizable soprano filled the hall at the Morgan Library--and then some.  Not only is the instrument one to celebrate but the feelings were up front and personal as she rejoiced over her lover's imminent arrival.  No wonder her career has taken off!

We are not great fans of Samuel Barber but we admired the crisp diction that made his English words totally understandable in "Give me some music" from Antony and Cleopatra; Ms. Guilbeau's acting chops were on fine display as she brought the seductive Cleopatra to musical life.  We preferred Ms. Guilbeau's choice of Rachmaninoff's Midsummer Nights.  "Lilacs" was sung and played with delicate filigree; "To Her" was filled with sad longing; "The Pied Piper" was suitably jaunty and the passionate and familiar "Spring Water" seemed quite timely.  In the final offering of the recital, "Or siam soli...Una donna son io" from Verdi's Forza del Destino we loved the way she portrayed the desperate Leonora seeking refuge from the guardian at the monastery, stunningly portrayed by Mr. Relyea whose booming base lent authority to the role.

We liked Mr. Relyea best in this operatic role, much as we loved his portrayal of The Water Sprite in Dvořak's Russalka, just seen at The Metropolitan Opera.  He is as well known as a recitalist as he is on the opera stage and we did enjoy his performance of Mussorgsky's Songs and Dances of Death in which he employed his sizable bass to good advantage.  The songs involve Death as a character who comes to relieve the suffering of a sick child, then as a knight to rescue a sick young woman, then as a woman to escort an elderly drunk to his final rest and ultimately to gloat over all the bodies in a battlefield. Thinking of Schubert's "Erlkonig", we would have liked a little more variety of color between the two characters in the first song as the mother dialogues with Death.

Mr. Relyea's choice of Strauss songs appeared to us as unfortunate. Our ears yearned for a far higher register than a bass can muster! Nonetheless, we greatly enjoyed Mr. Jones piano and the variety of colors he evinced.

The many pleasures of the afternoon served to overcome the lassitude engendered by the sleep deficit caused by the onset of Daylight Savings Time and we emerged into the still-sunny afternoon with a lighter step.

© meche kroop