STRANGE BEDFELLOWS?

Theo Hoffman, Christine Taylor Price, Steven Blier, and Bénédicte Jourdois

(Photo by Cherylynn Tsushima)

What do Francis Poulenc and Stephen Sondheim have in common?  That is the question that Steven Blier, Artistic Director of New York Festival of Song, proposed to answer in a rewarding program of art song presented at Merkin Hall Tuesday evening. The well thought out concept may have been more interesting to other members of the packed house; for us, it was more than enough to hear two superb singers bring to vivid life a lot of songs that were new to us.

A decade ago at Juilliard was a magical time, a time when the young singers of the Vocal Arts Department made a lasting impression on us. We have lost track of the number of times we wrote about the vocal and dramatic triumphs of soprano Christine Taylor Price and baritone Theo Hoffman. As the decade passed by, we were fortunate enough to update ourself on their growing artistry from time to time, but what remains predominantly in our memory are the earliest stages of their respective careers. We do love recognizing future stardom!

The program was an interesting one in that we heard some of Sondheim's less well-known works, works that predate our arrival in New York City and our interest in music theater.  We were quick to love Sondheim from our early experiences with Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, and Sweeney Todd. Among the lesser known works of his introduced to us by Mr. Blier were excerpts from Saturday Night, Anyone Can Whistle, Dick Tracy, The Frogs, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and a song that was cut from A Little Night Music--"Silly People".

Poulenc, on the other hand, was not on our radar until we got interested in opera and art song. Unlike our immediate affection for Sondheim, our appreciation of Poulenc has grown slowly. Most of the works on this program were new to us. It seems that there are a few of his works that have become common in recital and only Mr. Blier has dug deeply enough to find some lesser known true gems.

What always strikes us about a NYFOS concert are the singers that Mr. Blier chooses.  Not only do they have great voices but they are also impressive interpreters. They give the same value to art songs, Broadway songs, cabaret songs, and popular songs. Such was the case at Poulenc/Sondheim. Each and every song was a miniature gem. We would have to name as our favorite the final number on the program featuring both singers-- "No One is Alone" from Sondheim's Into the Woods, a show we attend every chance we get, most recently at Manhattan School of Music when their Music Theater Department gave it an outstanding production. There wasn't a bit of "Sondheim snark"--just an inspiring wrap-up to a show that exploded all our fairytales.

The encore number "Old Friends" from Merrily We Roll Along was similarly delightful. "Finishing the Hat" from Sunday in the Park with George gave our two singers an opportunity to interact, bringing back memories of a long ago time when we saw the show on Broadway. Ms. Taylor Price's delivery of "Ladies Who Lunch" made us wish we had seen Sondheim's Company.  Mr. Hoffman's performance of  "Fear No More" from The Frogs had us experiencing the Shakespeare text in a new way. We were fortunate enough to have seen The Frogs recently, thanks to Master Voices.

As far as the Poulenc work on the program, the song we liked best was "Fancy" sung by Ms. Taylor Price, showing a great respect for the melodic line which seemed more melodic than Poulenc's usual songs. We enjoyed Mr. Hoffman's soulful delivery of "Montparnasse", with text by Apollinaire, and, almost as much, the bibulous delivery of "Chanson a boire". 

As is customary, Mr. Blier narrated the program with wit and humor, garnering giggles from the audience. He took turns with Bénédicte Jourdois accompanying the singers. It was a stellar evening start to finish and was no less than what we have come to expect from a NYFOS evening. This is their 38th season and are still going strong!

© meche kroop

NAUBURG HONORS ERIN WAGNER AND VICE-VERSA

Maureen Zoltek and Erin Wagner

Having won the Naumburg Vocal Award in 2021, the impressive mezzo-soprano Erin Wagner presented a stunning recital at Manhattan School of Music, from which she received her BM in 2019. She was accompanied by the equally impressive collaborative pianist Maureen Zoltek who received her DMA from the same institution in 2013. The two artists did credit to their alma mater and to the Naumburg Foundation.

The recital was a very personal one. Ms. Wagner has strong tastes about what she wants to present and how she does so. She opened the program with Hugo Wolf's 1888 setting of the Mignon Lieder, taken from Goethe's Wilhelm Meisters Leehrjahre. We are mostly familiar with the setting by Schubert and it was a challenge to wipe those easy Schubertian melodies from our brain and open our ear to the more difficult harmonies of Wolf. Will we ever be able to really hear the settings by Schumann and Tchaikovsky? The text is so compelling that it is a wonder that more composers have not made the attempt but we are glad of it.  In perfect German and with deep emotion, Ms. Wagner brought this sad tale to vivid life.

Next on the program was a contemporary work, a setting of text of Larry Eigner by David Clay Metten. In the program notes, Ms. Wagner described her connection with both poet and composer and the personal involvement was clear. Nonetheless, we found nothing in the text or vocal line to relate to and shifted our attention to the piano. Ms. Zoltek is a remarkable pianist and tackled the challenging and varied piano part with relish. We might add that her erect posture and graceful arms added to our fascination.

The first half of the program jumped from the 19th century to the 21st but the second half brought us to the 20th century with a late life composition by Francis Poulenc, one that we always enjoy hearing--the intensely dramatic "La dame de Monte Carlo" which gave Ms. Wagner an opportunity to let out all the stops dramatically, creating a character and telling her story in as fine a French as one could wish for.

The program concluded with Samuel Barber's Hermit Songs of 1953. This collection of ten songs represents texts casually inscribed by medieval monks. And what a collection it is!  Some of the texts are sacred ("St. Ita's Vision", "The Praises of God", "The Crucifixion") and some are profane ("Promiscuity") and some are just charming and worldly  ("The Monk and His Cat"). It seems likely that the authors of the text were different men with different moods and Ms. Wagner gave each writer his due.

The audience demanded an encore and we got one--"Sure on this Shining Night", a Barber setting of text by James Agee.

We have been writing about Ms. Wagner for at least six years and have witnessed her winning one competition after another. She continues to surprise us and we are willing to follow where she leads. We have said nothing this time about her vocal and linguistic strengths but they are legendary. If you wish to appreciate her growth as an artist, we urge you to enter her name in the search bar so you can catch up.

© meche kroop

MORE FRENCH

Martin Néron, Jean-Bernard Cerin, Christopher Reames, and Laure-Catherine Beyers

Last night at the National Opera Center we attended the Gérard Souzay Award Showcase presented by Dalton Baldwin in collaboration with Joy in Singing and The Art Song Preservation Society of New York.

Coming on the heels of the afternoon recital by Stéphane Sénéchal and Mark Markham, perhaps the recital did not get the attention it deserved. Perhaps we just overdosed on French mélodies. We found our attention wandering to the pianist Martin Néron to whom we paid insufficient attention on the two prior occasions on which we heard him. He is an absolutely marvelous collaborative pianist and we admired his delicate touch and the sensitivity with which he related to the singers.

During the recital, a certain valuable memory rose to consciousness. It was the advice a prominent conductor/coach gave to a young singer at a master class. "Sing what you love", he said. When baritone Jean-Bernard Cerin (winner of the first Gérard Souzay Prize for Best Performance of a French Mélodie at the 2018 Joy in Singing Song Competition in NYC) performed Maurice Ravel's Histoires naturelles we could tell that he loved those songs.

Earlier in the program we found his involvement a bit wanting; we found his facial expressions excessive to the point of mugging and his gestures underdone. But in the Ravel he blossomed! He was particularly excellent in his portrayal of the courting peacock in "Le Paon" and the embattled guinea hen in "La Pintade".

There are those who like their singers of art song to stand still and use only the voice to tell the story. But as we learned at the Sénéchal recital early in the day (review just below), we like acting. We like gesture. We like storytelling. It's a matter of taste.

Similarly, when mezzo-soprano Laure-Catherine Beyers performed Henri Dutilleux's "Féerie au clair de lune" with generous use of color and gesture, we were captivated as we were not in her earlier performance of Reynaldo Hahn's "L'heure exquise", in spite of the fact that it is one of our favorites. She closed the program with a highly dramatic performance of the tango inflected "Youkali" from Kurt Weill's Marie Galante, convincing us of how cabaret style music can exist comfortably alongside opera.

We have heard and enjoyed tenor Christopher Reames on a couple prior occasions and enjoyed his performances more than we did last night. Curiously, on both occasions it was Debussy's settings of Paul Verlaine's text in Fêtes galantes I; we don't exactly know what was missing. His voice is sweet with a fine vibrato but perhaps we were looking for more "acting". Mr. Cerin had just performed Fauré's setting of "En sourdine" which also left us cold. 

We might have enjoyed hearing the two versions of "En sourdine" back to back, so to speak. We would also have enjoyed the libretto in French, instead of just English, and enough illumination to follow along.

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L'ART DU CHANT FRANÇAIS

Mark Markham and Stéphane Sénéchal

Presented by the Art Song Preservation Society (founded and directed by Blair Boone-Migura), was a brilliant recital by French tenor Stéphane Sénéchal and collaborative pianist Mark Markham. The recital was part of a 10-day festival

of master classes and recitals held at the Manhattan School of Music, an annual event.

This was a very special recital and one marked by the revelation of true French technique passed down from father Michel (the legendary late character tenor who knew Francis Poulenc) to son. What an experience to hear French music sung by a tenor of great artistry--to hear it as it is meant to be sung. One could consider the recital to be a lesson in the art of singing French mélodies.

The composers represented on the program comprised many of the greats of the 19th and early 20th c.--Reynaldo Hahn, Henri Duparc, Claude Debussy, Francis Poulenc, Gabriel Fauré, Charles Gounod, and even Jacques Offenbach who contributed the encore piece.

Instead of performing a set by each composer, Mr. Sénéchal mixed them up and seemed to stick with one theme for each set. For example the first set comprised songs dealing with love and romance. Who can do that better than the French! We confess to being hypnotized.

Reynaldo Hahn's "À Chloris" is very familiar to us but we have never heard it sung with such intense feeling, achieved with delicacy and refinement. A lovely pianissimo cresendoed to a passionate fortissimo. This tenor makes his dynamic changes count by using them sparingly.

In Henri Duparc's "Extase" his coloration reflected the underlying Wagnerian harmonic shifts, something that we've heard about but never actually heard. Claude Debussy's "Zéphyr" was downright erotic; Gabriel Fauré's "Après un rêve" offered an opportunity for melismatic singing that reinforced the coloration of the word at the end of a phrase--"mirage", "lumière", "mensonges" and "mystérieuse".

A second set of mélodies seemed to focus on loss. Most of Fauré's works are little gems but "La Chanson du pêcheur" took its time to develop the theme of loss of the beloved by means of death. In Théophile Gautier's poem, the fisherman ends each verse of lament with the intention of going to sea. We wondered if "going to sea" was a metaphor. Mr. Markham's piano was particularly effective in adding to the despair.

There were even more treasures in the second half of the program; we particularly enjoyed Fauré's "Ici-bas" which filled us with sorrow as the artists concluded with an affecting decrescendo, tapering off to a fine filament of sound hanging in the air. In Duparc's "Lamento" the chords in the piano underscored the mournful sentiment.

There were also several songs by Poulenc on the program. The texts he chose seem obscure to us and less direct. Although he is not our favorite French composer, we will say that we enjoyed his pieces more yesterday than we ever have.  It's just that irony is not our favorite; we prefer music that evokes emotions, not ideas. We don't listen to music in order to think, to puzzle out the intent. We listen to feel.

Fortunately, the final work on the program relieved all that sorrow and left us feeling cheerful. It was Charles Gounod's "Viens! Les gazons sont verts!" in which a youth wants his beloved to wake up and enjoy la belle nature with him. As if that were not enough, there was an encore from Jacques Offenbach's operetta La Périchole in which Piquillo complains about his wife's behavior.

Thinking about the recital and why it was so exceptional, our conclusion is that Mr. Sénéchal doesn't "perform". Instead, it seems as if he is improvising. We suppose that every facial expression and gesture has been considered but it doesn't appear that way. There is a spontaneity that feels as if he is inhabiting the world of the song and sharing it with his audience, drawing us into a world.  He is a consummate storyteller. Mr. Markham was with him every step of the way. It was a landmark recital.

(c) meche kroop

LARGER THAN LIFE

Ken Noda, Will Liverman, and Michelle Bradley at the Morgan Library

Soprano Michelle Bradley and baritone Will Liverman are two artists whose careers we have been following for some time and whose performances we have been reviewing. Ms. Bradley has dazzled us with her sizable voice heard through the Lindemann program and Mr. Liverman has been on our radar screen since he won an award from Opera Index. Mr. Noda has been one of our favorite collaborative pianists for many years.

What a pleasure to have all three onstage at the same time yesterday at the George London Foundation recital series, held at the Morgan Library. The recital hall there has very lively acoustics which have been helpful to smallish voices but these acoustics kind of overwhelmed us when applied to such large voices, voices which easily fill the farthest reaches of The Metropolitan Opera House.

We heard a varied program of opera and art songs, with a generous helping of Christmas music as encore pieces. Given the size of the voices we preferred the operatic arias to the art songs. Ms. Bradley's voice is perfect for Wagner, Verdi, and Strauss. We greatly enjoyed "Es gibt ein Reich" from Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos which we just reviewed Friday night in an evening of scenes at Manhattan School of Music.

Ms. Bradley's upper register has power and brilliance but the depth in her lower register betrays her mezzo-soprano roots. She was every inch an abandoned princess waiting for Death. Later in the program Strauss' Ständchen was delivered with delicacy and romance, a nice contrast.

We adore Verdi's La Forza del Destino and wish it would be produced more often. Still, we grab any chance we get to hear Leonora's "Pace, pace, mio Dio", even though we know that poor Leonora will never get the peace she longs for. Ms. Bradley performed magnificently in this aria and Mo. Noda's piano limned the forceful theme with urgency.

We liked all of the above far more than Barber's Hermit Songs which we have heard a bit too often this year. Still, every singer gives her own interpretation and we liked the contrast between the joyful "The Heavenly Banquet" and the sorrowful "The Crucifixion". "The Desire for Hermitage" was quietly moving.

Mr. Liverman was at his best in "Heiterkeit und Fröhlichkeit" from Albert Lortzing's 1842 comic opera Der Wildschütz. We were so taken with Mr. Liverman's performance that we put Lortzing's opera on our "must see" list. We believe that this joyful song is sung by the Count.

Another favorite was "Grigory's Aria" from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's The Tsar's Bride, an 1899 tragedy in which Grigory tries every trick in the book to win Marfa who is in love with another man but also chosen by the tsar as his bride.  You just know this will not end well. Our Russian speaking companion pronounced Mr. Liverman's Russian to be excellent. We are grateful to be introduced to some wonderful music, so well sung by Mr. Liverman, and hope someday to see this potboiler onstage!

In contrast, the Quatre Poèmes de Guillaume Apollinaire by Francis Poulenc seemed downright lighthearted with surreal poetry and plenty of irony in both voice and piano.

We are not crazy about Ralph Vaughan Williams' Songs of Travel which seem to be a favorite of baritones. We found ourself listening more to Mo. Noda's piano which produced some amazing ripples in "Let Beauty Awake" and some gorgeously modulated arpeggi in the lively "The Roadside Fire".

This banquet of music was served with a seasonal dessert. Mr. Liverman accompanied himself on the piano with a jazzy arrangement of "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" which incorporated riffs from other carols. Ms. Bradley's encore was a gospel arrangement of The Lord's Prayer.  

The final encore was sung a capella. Both singers took turns singing verses of "Silent Night" with a gospel inflection. The third verse was sung in glorious harmony with both artists joining voices. Several audience members were overheard commenting that the encores were their favorite part of the program.

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LEAH CROCETTO CARNEGIE HALL DEBUT

Leah Crocetto

FROM CLASSICAL TO JAZZ...guest review by Ellen Godfrey

On Thursday, lyric spinto soprano Leah Crocetto made her Carnegie Hall Debut with a carefully chosen selection of classical art songs and cross-over jazz and blues songs.  She performed in the intimate Weill Concert Hall, a perfect setting for her prodigious voice and her innate ability to communicate each song personally. It was obvious that all of this music is very close to her heart. Her pianist for this concert is one of today’s finest accompanists and soloists, Mark Markham.  He is at home with classical music as well as jazz and other popular music. 

Ms. Crocetto is fast becoming one of the great singers of her generation. She has a big beautiful voice supported by a great technique. She never pushes her voice and is capable of scaling it down when intimacy is required. Her diction in all four languages (French, Italian, Russian, and English), is very clear. In addition to concerts, she has already made her mark performing operas in opera houses around the world.

Ms. Crocetto walked on stage in a beautiful long green dress, and immediately engaged with the audience.  The concert began with four songs composed by the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi. (1883-1945).  When she started to sing, her powerful voice soon filled the hall, washing over the audience with her glorious sound.  She is very much at home singing in Italian. "Nebbie" is one of Respighi’s most popular songs, and she sang it with great intensity. The most interesting song was "Mattinata". Pianist Mark Markham quietly introduced it on the piano with the sound of tolling church bells, setting the mood for the whole song.  As Ms. Crocetto sang quietly, along with the bells, her singing became more joyous as she praised the Virgin Mary.

The second group of four songs was composed by 20th century composer Francis Poulenc. Poulenc engaged Louise de Vilmorin, to write the words for the song called “Violin.” She was familiar with Hungarian nightclubs and Ms. Crocetto ,along with Mr. Markham, performed the song in cabaret style to go with the words. "Les chemins de L’amour" is a waltz that  evokes the long gone happiness of love. Ms. Crocetto sang the waltz tune with good phrasing and a soft gentle French style. 

The third group of songs were by the Russian composer, Sergei Rachmaninoff, who lived around the same time as Respighi. Most of his songs were in the Russian romantic style.“How fair this spot” is a song about peace and tranquility sung in a quiet, dreamy way by Ms. Crocetto, ending in a gorgeous high note. “What happiness” is a fast paced song full of high notes stunningly sung by Ms. Crocetto, conveying the happy state of love.

Following these songs, there was a world premiere of a piece composed by the counter-tenor and composer Gregory Peebles. The title of the work, “Eternal Recurrence,” comes from a  philosophical theory that the universe and all existence and energy has been recurring and will continue to recur an infinite number of times across infinite time or space. The piece is in 10 sections.  The music is very melodic and starts with a piano introduction expressing the first musical theme. There are also some sung recitatives. Mr. Peebles states that travel is at the heart of “Eternal Recurrence.” Ms. Crocetto used her powerful voice and dramatic instincts to introduce this unusual and interesting piece to the audience.

The concert closed with selections from the Great American Songbook with songs composed for musical theatre by the Gershwins, Harold Arlen, Richard Rodgers, and  Sammy Fain.  Ms. Crocetto put her own personal stamp on the songs and it was a revelation for those of us who never heard her in this repertoire. She was spellbinding, singing these songs with a softer, less operatic voice, conveying the sentiments in a very personal way. She really loves these songs and gives you the feeling that she is singing directly to you. Her voice carried throughout the theatre even though she had softened it. She also has the freedom of a jazz singer…taking some liberties with the timing of the music and singing them in her own way.

She sang “The Man I love” in a very dreamy way; “I’ll be seeing you” was very quiet, going from a low register to a high one, singing with a lot of feeling, and “The Man who got away” was very moving.

At the end of the program the whole audience stood up and gave Ms. Crocetto and Mark Markham standing ovations. There were two wonderful encores: Jerome Kern’s “Cant Help Lovin Dat Man of Mine” and Jimmy McHugh’s “I’m in the mood for love” and then more loud applause.

She has certainly now established herself as a wonderful concert singer of both classical opera and crossover jazz and the blues. We can all look forward to hearing her in her next concert, which I hope will be soon.

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HOLIDAY IN THE CRYPT

Countertenor John Holiday

This will be the fifth time we reviewed countertenor John Holiday and his artistry just keeps on growing. The very first time we heard him was over five years ago at Lachlan Glen's year-long survey of Franz Schubert's 600+ songs. We noted the sweetness of his voice. Later that year we had a lot more to say about his performance in the title role of Handel's Radamisto, noting his artistry in the legato lines and his fireworks in the fioritura.

In 2015 we swooned over his rather good natured Cesare in Vivaldi's Catone in Utica, presented by Opera Lafayette. And in 2016, we loved his performance in Huang Ro's Paradise Interrupted, as part of the Lincoln Center Festival.

Last night we heard new aspects of his artistry in an all-too-short (but nonetheless satisfying) recital in the Crypt of the Church of the Intercession, a bit spooky in atmosphere but with incredible acoustics. The recital was part of the sold-out Unison Media series, curated by Andrew Ousley who has managed to come up with several unusual recitals.  Keep reading, dear reader, and we will tell you what he has up his musical sleeve for the summer and fall.

But first look at what Mr. Holiday had up his sleeve! He baited his hook with some delicious Italian and French favorites so that by the time he got to music that was somewhat outside our sphere of devotion, we were hooked and it was too late to protest that it wasn't "our kind of music".  Obviously, everything Mr. Holiday performed was dear to his heart; the communication from his heart to those of the audience members was so effective that people spontaneously burst into applause after every single song.

He began with "Frondi tenere e belle...Ombra mai fu" from Handel's Serse. We've heard so many singers try to do justice to this gorgeous paean to nature but Mr. Holiday simply nailed it.  His high pitched instrument is never effete but full and rich. We speculate that the famous castrati back in the day were so widely praised because they sounded like this. Thankfully, Mr. Holiday's sacrifices for his art did not extend that far!

There followed a series of songs in French, from the wistful "Romance" of Claude Debussy, to the ennui of Poulenc's "Hôtel", and three familiar songs of Reynaldo Hahn--"Si mes vers avaient des ailes", "Offrande", and "À Chloris". We loved the way Mr. Holiday can spin out a pianissimo like a silken thread, even at the top of his register. The overtones bounced around the room like pingpong balls.

When an artist is this good we are willing to follow him anywhere and we were surprised at how much we enjoyed Margaret Bonds' mid 20th c. setting of Langston Hughes' text. The phrases are short and the composer matched melody to text better than any other composer we have heard who set Hughes' text. "Minstrel Man", "Dream Variations", and the forceful "I, too am American" affected us deeply.

Theodore Morrison was commissioned by countertenor David Daniels to write a song cycle and we felt privileged to hear his setting of text by James Joyce. The music was blissfully accessible without a whiff of "the academy" to make our eyes roll. Our favorite was the final song "I hear an army charging upon the land" in which Mr. Holiday gave us some very powerful singing and some delicious melismatic singing. We believe that this is the same Theodore Morrison who composed the opera Oscar which we heard in Santa Fe a few years ago.

We also heard Hall Johnson's arrangement of the spiritual "I'm Gonter Tell God All O' My Troubles" in which Mr. Holiday bent the tone as if it were putty in his hands.

Pianist Kevin J. Miller did a fine job as Mr. Holiday's partner for the aforementioned  part of the program; for the remaining part, Mr. Neeki Bey took over and seemed to be an expert at jazz improvisation.

At this point, the piano scores disappeared from the piano and a snazzy fedora appeared on Mr. Holiday's head. Although jazz is not our thing, we found much to enjoy except for the first piece--a jazz arrangement of "Summertime" from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. That opera is sacred to us and we didn't want it messed with!

The following standards were all enjoyable with the bluesy "Round Midnight" being our hands down favorite. There was a time when we did like jazz, before we fell in love with opera, and we are quite sure that we listened to recordings of this song by Sarah Vaughn and perhaps also by Ella Fitzgerald. What a surprise to learn that Thelonious Monk wrote it when he was 18.

We admired Mr. Holiday's word painting in Karl Suessdorf's "Moonlight in Vermont" and tapped our toe to Fats Waller's jaunty "Ain't Misbehavin". Mr. Bey had a piano solo in this and in the following lively Nat King Cole song "Straighten Up and Fly Right" which way played in a medley with "My Funny Valentine", sung at a slow tempo with a swoop up to the highest register.

There was more to come by way of encores. Mr. Bey abdicated the piano and Mr. Holiday sat down and let loose with "Amazing Grace" and "This Little Light of Mine". We are sure everyone in the audience left feeling lighter than when they arrived. Standing ovations do give us that impression!

We promised to tell you what Mr. Ousley and Unison Media have in store. Perhaps motivated by the success of The Crypt Sessions, they are planning a series in the catacombs of Greenwood Cemetery! The first entry will be in June and the series is already half sold out! So be a chooser, not a loser and stake your claim now.  See www.deathofclassical.com (really!) for details.

(c) meche kroop

LINDEMANN RECITAL

Kidon Choi, Zalman Kelber, Ian Koziara, Nate Raskin, and Rihab Chaieb

Once again, we are in the position of singing the praises of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. Regular readers are familiar with the high esteem in which we hold this program. Since singing praises is not what you are here for, let's talk about the actual singing.

There were three splendid singers and two sensitive collaborative pianists on the program, all of whom we have reviewed before, all winners of various competitions, all with great futures ahead of them. That they all have terrific technique is a given, so let's take a look at their artistry, the interpretive technique that kicks their vocal skills up a notch. All three singers had performed their own translations which generally leads to a convincing delivery.

Mezzo-soprano Rihab Chaieb had just the right manner of conveying the sense of the Apollinaire poetry that Francis Poulenc set so aptly. There are several moods expressed in  Banalités and our preference was for the most banal of all. Ms. Chaieb knew exactly what she was singing about and the languorous line of  "Hôtel" was just about perfect. The very brief "Voyage à Paris" was nothing short of sheer delight, filled with the charming notion of escapism.

Her collaborative pianist Nate Raskin was with her cent pour cent, employing just the right light touch for these chansons.

Later in the program, tenor Ian Koziara performed Tel jour, telle nuit, a collection of nine Poulenc songs, settings of text by Paul Éluard. Mr. Koziara introduced the songs by admitting that they sound like nonsense and, indeed, that is exactly how the surreal poetry struck us.

If his French had not been so fine, we might have had an easier time of pretending that it was a language we didn't know but that is exactly what we had to attempt. We just paid attention to the fit between the sound of the voice,  and the sound of Zalman Kelber's lovely piano. The two artists matched each other beautifully, especially in the energetic "À toutes brides" and in the gentle  "Une herbe pauvre".

Mr. Kelber's piano was most impressive in "Figure de force brûlante et farouche". The song that most approached comprehensibility was "Nous avons fait le nuit", a paean to a beloved. Here, the appealing nature of Mr. Kozaria's instrument stood out.

Baritone Kidon Choi performed three songs from Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn, putting us on more familiar territory. We are far more familiar with the "cute" songs from this collection, which often have an edge, but the songs chosen by Mr. Choi were filled with horror and heartbreak.

It is one thing to speak out against war but hearing the three personal tragedies of which he sang grabbed us by the throat and never let go. These are difficult songs to get across but Mr. Choi succeeded admirably by dint of being very involved. Through his eyes, we could see "Der Tamboursg'sell" being led to the gallows.  He used intense dynamic variations with a heartbreaking pianissimo on "Gute nacht"; Mr. Kelber's piano provided the grumbling drumrolls.

We liked the way Mr. Choi softened the color of his hearty baritone when he portrayed the girl welcoming what we took to be the ghost of her soldier-lover at dawn in "Wo die schönen Trompeten blasen". And Mr. Kelber nailed the interesting figures in the piano.

The powerful intensity continued throughout "Revelge" in which a fallen soldier has no one to carry him back to his quarters.  His mates are marching as skeletons.  It was completely chilling.

Fortunately, we were not sent back out of the Bruno Walter Auditorium in that mood of despair.  Ms. Chaieb closed the program with a set of songs by Sergei Rachmaninoff, each and every one a beauty. We always love songs about nature and about love!

In "Lilacs", Ms. Chaieb was so present that we could inhale the fragrance of our favorite flower. We have walked along Lilac Walk in Central Park every May and June, just to have the experience that this artist created so successfully.  

The only song that wasn't joyful was "Do not sing, oh beautiful one"; but there is pleasure to be found in sadness also, especially when the melody is so haunting and sung with such longing.  The recital ended with the very appropriate "Spring Waters", given an ecstatic delivery by Ms. Chaieb and Mr. Raskin. Gorgeous and timely!

(c) meche kroop 

SONGS FROM THE CELLAR

Michal Biel and Alex Rosen

The only event that could psych us up as much as the debut of a new opera company is the debut of a new vocal series. A vocal series that highlights the advanced students from the Juilliard Vocal Arts and Collaborative Piano Departments would have been at the top of our wish list. We attend and love the monthly liederabends at Juilliard and the graduation recitals as well.  But we are greedy for vocal music and we admire the entrepreneurial spirit that made possible this extra-curricular series of performances.

In this case, two of our favorite Juilliard pianists--Katelan Terrell and Michal Biel-- have coordinated a new series called Songs from the Cellar, having joined forces with Alessandro Pittorino, Executive Director of Arts at Blessed Sacrament where he serves as organist.  Indeed, descending the staircase at the 71st St. entrance, one would expect to find oneself in a cellar; but no, we find ourselves in a spacious performing space with a big wide stage and ample seating with excellent sightlines. What a find!

That stage was graced and held last night by bass Alex Rosen and pianist Michal Biel. Mr. Biel, who graduated from Juilliard last year, has played at so many recitals there that we knew exactly what high quality to expect. Mr. Rosen has also been seen, heard, and reviewed by us multiple times but we had yet to hear him perform a complete recital.

Just a couple weeks ago he starred as Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor and gave a rousing performance filled with pathos and humor, not to mention full deep round tones. But his appearance was heavily disguised by makeup and a fat suit. Last night he appeared au naturel and we were reminded of how much we had enjoyed his way with Strauss' unique and lesser known songs, his part in Mozart's Requiem and his Monteverdi (with Opera Lafayette).

As soon as Mr. Rosen began singing some serious songs by Schubert, we recalled that we had heard him sing two of them before. When a singer performs songs we don't care for in a way that brings us to favor them, it tends to stick in our memory. The sacred "Grenzen der Menschheit" and the profane  "Prometheus" make a fine pair. We especially love Prometheus confronting Zeus with his anger and disappointment. In between the two we heard the sad tale of "Der Atlas", sung with powerful intent and plenty of variety in the piano.

What impresses us most about Mr. Rosen, aside from the textured tone, diction, and phrasing, is his storytelling ability. Each song becomes a mini opera; he pulls us into each story with his involvement in the text. He is not afraid to throw himself into the text with generous gesture and facial expression.

Happily there was plenty of Schubert on the program. The opening set was particularly suited to the storm outdoors which the appreciative audience had braved for the occasion. There were storms at sea, boatmen, rivers and such. When Schubert wrote strophic songs, he must have hoped that they'd find their way into the repertoire of singers like Mr. Rosen who would know how to change the vocal color from one stanza to the next.

We particularly enjoyed "Liebhaber in allen Gestalten", with its romantic text by Goethe, and "Auf der Donau", in which the two outer sections allow the singer some lyrical legato singing, with plenty of contrast for the turmoil in the central section. Mayrhofer's text is introspective and philosophical and the vocal line revealed the beauty of Mr. Rosen's lower register.

In terms of charm, we loved "Fischerweise", von Schlechta's tale of a fisherman and a "wanton" shepherdess who is not going to catch that fish!

Hugo Wolf's songs made an appearance on the program with his Michelangelo Lieder--Wolf in his most serious mood. "Alles endet, was entstehet" gave Mr. Rosen an opportunity to show off his lovely pianissimo.  "Fühlt meine Seele das ersehnte Licht" ended with a heart stopping downward scale in the piano.

Just as actors love a good death scene, singers love a good drinking song and Wolf wrote some that were fresh to our ears--"So lang man nünchern ist" and "Ob der Koran von Ewigkeit sei". They were fun but there was even more fun on the program.

Francis Poulenc's very first youthful song cycle--Le Bestiaire-- comprised six short poems selected from 30 written by Guillaume Apollinaire about denizens of the world of fauna.  We wish that he had set them all, or at least published the additional six about which we have only heard. There is such a variety of rhythm, color, and mood that it takes a singer of Mr. Rosen's caliber to make the most of them. We kid you not, dear reader, but Mr. Rosen actually made a face like a camel and moved like a shrimp!

Our only complaint about this recital was its brevity.  But then it's always good to leave your public wanting more.  There will indeed be more, but not more of Mr. Rosen who has been snapped up by Les Arts Florissants, Opera Philadelphia, and Cincinnati Opera.

We urge you to get out your calendars and save March 9th, April 15th, and April 28th. We personally know the artists and can guarantee you a splendid evening at a modest cost.

About 6 or 7 years ago, pianist Lachlan Glen launched a series comprising Schubert, all Schubert, and nothing but Schubert lieder. Folks on Planet Opera are still talking about it.  We hope that 6 years from now, folks will be talking about Songs from the Cellar!  Don't miss out!  It's casual, comfortable, artistic...and there are projected titles so one doesn't have to look down at libretti.

(c) meche kroop

THE SINGER'S SINGER

Donald Sulzen and Anna Caterina Antonacci (photo by Sarah Shatz)

Zankel Hall made a fine home for an unusual recital by "the singer's singer" Anna Caterina Antonacci and the collaborative pianist who partners her well, measure by measure, phrase by phrase. The recital was presented by New York City Opera and the excitement began at the end when impressario and General Director Michael Capasso got down on his knee (we kid you not) to present flowers to Ms. Antonacci.  Now that is something we have never seen before, but exactly right when one encounters royalty!

There were so many opera lovers wanting to hear Ms. Antonacci that we had to wait for the second night to get tickets. The recital was eagerly awaited; we don't believe Ms. Antonacci has performed in New York City since 2013 when she gave an outstanding performance of baroque music for Lincoln Center's White Light Festival. That was quite a show involving unusual staging, scenery, and costuming (review archived and available through the search bar).  Last night's recital was also unusual, but unusual in a different way.

We begin by saying that our taste in music was best met by the encores. The brief piece by Girolamo Frescobaldi entitled   "Se l'aura spira" thrilled us to the bone and lingers in our ears like the early 17th c. jewel that it is.

The second encore astonished us by making the familiar fresh. Ms. Antonacci sang the "Habanera" from Carmen as an intimate chanson rather than an operatic aria. One must recognize Ms. Antonacci as an idiosyncratic artist who will put her individual stamp on things!

The program itself held surprises for us. Most impressive was Francis Poulenc's major concert aria "La Dame de Monte Carlo" which is almost an entire opera in and of itself, or at the very least, a character study of a depressed widow, addicted to gambling. and down on her luck. No longer young and loved, she plans on drowning herself in the Mediterranean. Ms. Antonacci brought out every nuance of despair and bitterness.

There were further contributions from Poulenc on the program--Le Travail du Peintre is a cycle of songs, settings of text by Paul Éluard who created verbal descriptions of the famous painters of the early 20th c.  Poulenc created the musical portraits and Ms. Antonacci gave us an aural tour which reminded us conceptually, but not musically, of Moussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. Perhaps it is only coincidence that we favored the magic realism of Marc Chagall as we visualized the huge murals at the entrance to The Metropolitan Opera!

Another surprise was the nearly perfect English with which Ms. Antonacci sang Benjamin Britten's On this Island. We are not wild about W.H. Auden's text nor Mr. Britten's music but we definitely enjoyed the artist's ironic delivery of "As it is, plenty". This is a difficult text to make sense of, but she succeeded.

"Nocturne" , from the same cycle, began meditatively, grew in emphasis and power, and ended in a quiet postlude.

The program also comprised Debussy's lovely settings of Paul Verlaine's evocative text, of which our favorite was the sensuous "C'est l'extase langoureuse" in which Ms. Antonacci seemed to savor every word.  This made a nice contrast to the opening "Mandoline", a frisky affair.

We have heard a great deal about Nadia Boulanger as a composition teacher to many 20th c. composers, but had never heard her own vocal compositions. "Versailles" struck us as ethereal but we preferred the melody of "Cantique", with text by Maurice Maeterlinck.  "Elle a vendu mon coeur" , text by Camille Mauclair, is an affecting tale of betrayed love and consequent bitterness.

With so much French on the program, we were happy to hear some Italian. Ottorino Respighi's Deità Silvane gave Mr. Sulzen a chance to shine with some rippling figures in "Crepuscolo". However, we found the marriage of text and music most impressive in "Acqua".

We are happy indeed that New York City Opera is bringing us more than opera! We have feasted on music today and are replete.

(c) meche kroop

THE ARTISTRY OF SANDRA HAMAOUI

Thomas Muraco and Sandra Hamaoui

We believe that the first time we heard soprano Sandra Hamaoui perform, it was two years ago with the International Vocal Arts Institute and we were more than usually impressed with her crystalline voice, her warm stage presence, her musicality, and her superb French. We heard her again last summer in an IVAI production of Gounod's Romeo et Juliette and found her to be even better. We were there when she received an award from Opera Index and also for the Metropolitan Opera National Council. It is not difficult to recognize a superstar in the making and here is one to illuminate the stage.

Last night she appeared as the winner of the Mary Trueman Art Song Vocal Competition, selected from 150 applicants. This is the first year in which the Art Song Preservation Society of New York (Founded and Directed by Blair Boone-Migura) partnered with the Manhattan School of Music for a Spring Into Art Song Festival, which we hope will be an annual event. There was a week of master classes and two recitals but this was the only event we were able to attend.

ASPS and MSM share common goals--those of promoting the art song repertoire and giving opportunities to young artists for education and performance. We all think we know what "art song" is but it helps to be reminded that it is a marriage of poetry to voice and instrumental music. The singer interprets the text and the collaborating instrumentalist interprets the music. Our enjoyment is increased when the voice is a beautiful one and the poetry meaningful.

At last night's recital, Maestro Muraco's artistry married well with that of Ms. Hamaoui. The larger part of the program was French and the language appears to have been imbibed with Ms. Hamaoui's (French) mother's milk. We tend to overlook so many of the shortcomings we've noticed in non-native-French-speakers, as long as we understand the words; but hearing the language sung as it is meant to be is very special indeed.

French art song (chanson) can sometimes sound effete when the singer tries too hard to maintain the long lyrical vocal line while avoiding undue emphasis.  There was not a moment last night in which we perceived this flaw. Ms. Hamaoui has a way of slipping gently into a phrase and ending it with grace. This phrasing appears to be due to exquisite breath control. Final "e's" are evident but evaporate the way Emanuel Villaume taught in a master class we attended.

There is a modesty bordering on self-effacement by which this young singer enters a song and inhabits it. She seems to be visualizing whatever the text describes and we seem to be experiencing the moment through her eyes. Her gestures are spare but always meaningful; there is never any "semaphoring" of the arms.  The voice is well placed and the upward skips well negotiated, never interrupting the line.

These fine qualities were evident throughout the French sets, especially that of Debussy, of which our favorite was "Pierrot" in which Ms. Hamaoui's charm was readily matched by Maestro Muraco's. There were three sets of songs by Poulenc, several settings of texts by Louise Lalanne and Louise de Vilmorin. We don't always grasp poetry but in "Paganini", we could comprehend the many imaginative ways of perceiving a violin.

A set of songs by Rachmaninoff brought out different qualities, i.e. a more expansive and passionate style suited to the rhythms of the Russian language and the intensity of the texts. We did not see the translations until later so we tried to guess what each song was about, or, at least, the emotion of the song. It is testament to the artistry onstage that we were correct in our guesses. 

It is interesting that we of the audience have learned the names of operas and songs whether they be in Italian, French, or German. This never happens in Russian so that any given song appears to have several names, depending upon the translator. So whether we call the song "It's so beautiful" or "It's good to be here", we can revel in the artists' depiction of wonder.

We particularly enjoyed "The Bird Cherry Tree" for its ardent appreciation and "Fountain" for the gorgeous piano of Maestro Muraco and Ms. Hamaoui's dynamic artistry. Her voice began limning the delicate cloud in pianissimo but grew in intensity as the fountain reached its "sacred height" and then returned to delicacy as it "fell back to earth".

Our notes for "At night in my garden" read "a plaint in a minor key". When we read the translation it was about a weeping willow crying bitter tears! Our notes for the final song "A-oo" read "anxious despair"; the song is about someone searching the wilderness for a loved one.  How effectively these two artists conveyed the emotions!

Since the 93-year-old Ned Rorem was being honored, we feel obliged to mention the set of his songs. Gertrude Stein's brief and punchy rhymed couplets in "I Am Rose" inspired a song we enjoyed. Robert Silliman Hillyer's "Early in the Morning" painted a lovely picture of Paris and we could almost taste the croissants. The other songs did not thrill us, but readers will recall that contemporary English poetry and American art songs rarely please us.  That being said, Ms. Hamaoui could sing a laundry list and give us pleasure!

The encore, Poulenc's "Les Chemins de l'Amour" was dedicated to Mr. Blair Boone-Migura and his husband.  It was performed at their wedding. We have no reservations about this song--the melody is unforgettable, the poetry accessible, and the performance delightful!

(c) meche kroop

WOMEN ON THE VERGE

Rachel Stewart

Years ago there was a saying about double features--"one piperoo, one stinkeroo". Let no one say that about the operatic double feature we enjoyed last night performed by the Opera Repertoire Ensemble of Manhattan School of Music.  Actually, there was plenty of resonance between the two tales of female suicide.

The heroine of Francis Poulenc's 1959 monodrama La Voix Humaine (adapted from a play by Jean Cocteau) suffers from romantic illusions whilst the heroine of Puccini's 1918 Suor Angelica suffers from religious illusions (or delusions, as the case may be).

   

Monica Talavera and Amber Evans

In both cases, the women have put their centers of gravity outside themselves, one willingly and the other as a victim of cultural and familial forces. The pairing, taking Suor Angelica out of it's place in Puccini's oft-produced trilogy, leads us to see the work in a new light. The only downside is leaving the theater feeling the full force of the tragedy without the relief of Puccini's light-hearted comedy Gianni Schicchi.

In the Poulenc, a woman with no name is having a much interrupted conversation with a lover who has ended the relationship. Clearly she is not ready to let him go and is still using terms of endearment. The role calls upon the soprano to sing a minimalistic vocal line based upon French speech patterns, and to inject her
lines with a full spectrum of emotions.

The listener hears only her half of the conversation.  The words of the man are left to the imagination of the listener to fill in from his/her own experience. He must obviously care for the woman to some extent to stay on the phone and listen to her protestations of love and her made-up stories which she later recants.

Continual interruptions and disconnections add to the fragmentary nature of the monologue, and are symbolic of the emotional disconnection. As "Elle", soprano Rachel Stewart rose to the vocal challenges and gave a shattering performance, involving the audience by means of her own involvement with the role. We wonder about a character who would give up her life for five years and center it around a man--but this was over a half century ago.  Autre temps, autre moeurs. 

Even further back in history, a century ago, getting pregnant out of wedlock was enough to cause a family to reject the unfortunate mother-to-be and to hustle her off to a convent to do penance for her "sin". Nowadays women who prefer to be unwed can deliberately create a child and raise it alone or en famille.

Suor Angelica's aristocratic family has immured her in a convent and deprived her of any contact. She suffers mightily from neglect and wants nothing more than to embrace her son. When she finally gets the longed-for visit from her aunt, La Principessa, there is no forgiveness or acceptance. The purpose of the visit is to get her to sign over her inheritance. Even worse, she learns that her child died several years earlier.

She poisons herself with an herbal concoction, becomes terrified about being damned, prays, and believe herself forgiven. She hallucinates her child welcoming her to heaven.

With meager resources at hand, the Opera Repertoire Ensemble gave the piece an excellent production, thanks to the breadth of vocal talent available.  The piece opens with the superb chorus singing an Ave Maria. The eponymous Suor Angelica was sung by the excellent soprano Amber Evans who was moving in her portrayal and sang with a light clear tone regardless of whether she was in ecstasy or despair.

The other superb performance was that of contralto Monica Talavera who created a character who was as cold as she was arrogant; her rich instrument stood in lovely contrast with Ms. Evans' soprano.

The entire cast of nuns sounded wonderful with voices raised in gorgeous harmonies and the brief solo lines were well handled by each and every nun.

Although we missed Puccini's lush orchestrations, a great job was done by pianists Jiwon Byung and Yi Xin Tan together with Jia Jun Hong filling in with special effects on the synthesizer.

As usual, Maestro Thomas Muraco's sensitive conducting pulled everything together to create a most worthwhile evening. Watching his hands is a treat in and of itself.

There will be a second performance tonight with some cast changes and we recommend it highly if you can snag a ticket. Last night had a waiting line to deal with so go early.

(c) meche kroop

A WINTER ROSE

Ken Noda and Hyesang Park

It was a cold and nasty late winter day outside, but inside the vast St. Michael's Church on the Upper West Side, Spring was in the air and in the ear. Ushering in the delights of the upcoming Spring was star soprano Hyesang Park with the incredibly sensitive accompaniment of Ken Noda. The occasion was a Neighborhood Concert produced by the Weill Music Institute of Carnegie Hall in partnership with St. Michael's church. The concert is part of the Marilyn Horne Legacy at Carnegie Hall, and the divine Ms. Horne was in the audience for this very special event.

We have reviewed Ms. Park over a half dozen times (all reviews archived) and fell all over ourselves the first time we heard her in 2013. But she just keeps getting better and better, even when there seems to be no room for improvement. Her instrument is bright but never shrill; her technique is flawless; but it is something else that draws the listener in, as if the fragrance of a rose slipped around your heart.  To hear her is to love her. Her voice is like a bell that summons one away from whatever dark place you may have been stuck in.

Perhaps the rose analogy came out of the gorgeous rose-colored gown she wore but there is no denying that her inner beauty, revealed when she modestly addressed the audience, informs everything she sings. We don't know of another singer who can close her eyes in rapture without losing contact with the audience. 

We have been most familiar with her bel canto roles and a Mozart concert aria.  Yesterday's recital revealed a number of other aspects to her versatility. Our companion, fluent in both French and German, agreed with our high opinion of Ms. Park's linguistic skills. We can attest to her authenticity in Spanish.

The program opened with Joaquin Rodrigo's Cuatro madrigales amatorios, four memorably tuneful songs of widely divergent moods; the mournful "Con que la lavare" and the teasing "De donde venis, amore?" were our two personal favorites. These songs are heard frequently on recital programs but Ms. Park made them fresh and new.

Also in Spanish were three selections from Enrique Granados' Canciones amatorias, with which we were unfamiliar. In these, Mr. Noda's collaborative piano was outstanding. He always impresses us with his profound involvement with the singer and the two of them made marvelous music together.

Clara Schumann's songs deserve to be on more recital programs and we were happy to hear five of them, all sung with superlative German diction and a remarkable depth of feeling. Mrs. Schumann's song output was certainly overshadowed by her husband's but she was no minor talent! Just hear her setting of "Liebst du um Schonheit", the Ruckert text that was famously set by Gustav Mahler!

We have often heard the vocalise of Heitor Villa-Lobos' Bachianas brasileiras No. 5. When Ms. Park sang it, our thought was "Angels can speak without words".  We cannot recall ever hearing the beautiful text about nightfall. Ms. Park handled the vocalise, the text, and the humming section with equal skill. We are not familiar with Portuguese but we shall assume that it was perfect.

Poulenc seemed to favor surrealistic texts to which we have trouble relating; however, Ms. Park's dramatic gifts allowed us the illusion that we understood! Now that is a strange phenomenon. She captured a sort of cabaret feeling to them without depriving them of their seriousness. We particularly enjoyed "Paganini" from Metamorphoses and the pictorial "C" from Deux poemes de Louis Aragon. The ironic "Fetes galantes" was performed at rapid-fire speed without missing a single syllable.

It is a courageous act for a Korean woman to sing Tosti songs, usually best sung by an Italian tenor breathing garlic into every phrase. We go on record here as saying that Ms. Park did them justice, even bringing something new to them. In "Aprile", she painted an aural picture of Spring along with Mr. Noda's lilting arpeggios. "L'ultima canzone" was so heartbreaking we could scarcely breathe. (We managed to make a one minute video which you can find on our Facebook page Voce di Meche.) The joyful "Marechiaro" was sung in accurate dialect.  We loved every moment.

Ms. Park closed the program with a lovely setting of the 23rd Psalm by N. Unyoung. Although religious music is not our favorite, the words are in Korean and Ms Park sang from the depths of her soul. It is clear from what place she derives spiritual sustenance, the more power to her.

As encore, she offered "O, mio babbino caro" from Giacomo Puccini's Gianni Schicchi. As the true artist she is, Ms. Park made this oft-heard aria completely her own.  She made the church her own.  She made the audience her own. This beautiful young woman is destined for stardom on the world's stages; and she deserves it!

(c) meche kroop