LONDON COMPETITION FINALS

Korin Thomas-Smith, Nicholas Newton, Trevor Haumschilt-Rocha, John Arida, John H. Hauser, Tiffany  Choe, Adia Evans, and Anna Thompson

The George and Nora London Foundation Competition is one we look forward to every year. We get to see a group of talented young singers, many of whom are new to us.  We may become fans of theirs and follow their careers with great pleasure. We still remember the year that Nadine Sierra won; we recall having a delightful conversation with her whilst waiting for the judges to do their thing. We called her "the diva next door" in our review. Her star has risen!

This year, we were again on the outlook for a winning performance and we witnessed a few. First among them was that of soprano Tiffany Choe whose performance of "Senza mamma" from Puccini's Suor Angelica brought tears to our eyes. We don't recall ever being so moved by this aria in spite of at least a dozen hearings. When a performance is this powerful we forget to note the phrasing, the diction, the resonance, or any other technical details. The most important aspect of a vocal performance, in our opinion, is the communication of the intent of the composer and the meaning of the text.

Contrasting with that tragic offering was the comedy of "Come un ape ne giorni d'Aprile" from Rossini's La Cenerentola. In this aria, the Prince and his servant Dandini have exchanged roles and Dandini is very much overplaying the role of a prince and having the time of his life. Baritone Korin Thomas-Smith has great stage presence and was clearly enjoying himself which allows us, as members of the audienc, to enjoy along with him.  His connection with the character was equivalent to that of the lovely Ms. Choe.

In Rachmaninoff's opera Aleko, the eponymous "hero" sings a cavatina in which he engages in a bit of introspection before murdering his unfaithful wife and her lover. Although we have never seen the opera, we have heard one of our favorite young singers perform this aria on a few occasions, giving us the opportunity to appreciate the performance of Nicholas Newton, whose textured bass-baritone and tortured demeanor connected us to the character and held our interest. John Arida's piano introduction established an air of portent.

In Strauss' comedy Ariadne auf Naxos, Ariadne delivers the very serious aria "Es gibt ein Reich" in contrast with some rather comical elements occurring simultaneously. Soprano Adia Evans employed an imposing stage presence and powerful instrument to create a formidable character.

Soprano Anna Thompson created a lovely Thaïs in "Dis-moi que je suis belle" from the Massenet opera but we wanted her to reveal more of the character's vanity and insecurity. The listener should not be reminded of Marguerite in Gounod's Faust who is also looking in the mirror!

Lately we have been hearing a lot of "Mein Sehnen, mein Wähnen" and actually had the opportunity to coach it. We found nothing missing in the vocalism of baritone Trevor Haumschilt-Rocha but we missed the feeling of nostalgic reminiscing which could best be conveyed with the eyes.  We did like the pianissimo ending.

Mezzo Grace Ryan exhibited some lovely colors in the lower register in her performance of "Sgombra è la sacra selva" from Bellini's Norma. However, we longed to hear a bit of Adalgisa's ambivalence and guilt.

Tenor Matthew Sink gave a full-throated and powerful performance of "Mein lieber Schwan" from Wagner's Lohengrin. His delivery would benefit from the replacement of stock gestures with some more specific movement and expression.

Jennifer Robinson has a lovely instrument, well suited to coloratura roles like Amina in La Sonnambula; we found her "Care compagne" appealing. The contrast between Bellini's lengthy legato lines and the vocal fireworks of the cabaletta was well executed.

We are completely unfamiliar with Danielpour's Margaret Garner, so when mezzo-soprano Maiya Williams sang "Margaret's Lullaby" we had nothing to base our opinion on. In spite of some lovely pianissimi and gentle coloring, we were not tempted to hear any more of this opera. We were, however, interested in reading about it and it seems to have a compelling story about the African-American slave experience. But given the choice we would prefer the lullaby "Summertime" from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. Opera of the 21st century has not delighted our ears.

Much credit for the success of the program must be given to collaborative pianist John Arida whose playing is always in support of the singer.

Before ending we would like to express a few thoughts. Moving the competition from the Morgan Library to Merkin Hall enhanced the intimacy of the event. However, we do not like the idea of giving large awards to half the competitors and small encouragement grants to the rest. It reminds me of the Laffont Competition at The Metropolitan Opera. We would prefer a more traditional approach, one more graduated.

And finally, we will likely expose ourself to criticism on this point but we would like to see female competitors dress down a bit. Bare skin, exposed breasts, long slits in the skirts, spangles, and glitter all distract from the performance. Male competitors don't have to deal with this issue and we find it much easier to focus on the voice. 

We close with fond memories of Nora London whose gracious and welcoming manner cannot be duplicated. That being said we are grateful to John H. Hauser, President and Executive Director of the Foundation, for keeping the torch lit and fulfilling the mission of supporting young opera singers in their uphill climb to success.

© meche kroop

A VERY GALA GALA

 Sophia Baete, Shiyu Zhuo, Kate Morton, Yoonsoo Jang, Grace Ryan, Sarah Rachel Bacani, 

Adam Catangui, Jihye Jang, and Clothilde Benard

If any of our dear readers have yet to be introduced to Opera Index, let us begin by telling you of our long term and rewarding relationship with this fine organization. It is well known for supporting young opera singers at the early stages of their careers, as well as for bringing together a group of opera lovers who share in their mission. Last night was the special event we members have been eagerly anticipating, the annual awards ceremony.

The event was held at The Metropolitan Club in their spacious formal dining room, with cocktail hour held in the anteroom. This is a valuable part of the evening when members and their guests are able to circulate, to meet and greet, whilst enjoying plentiful libations and tasty passed hors d'oeuvres. The energy level was scintillating as we connected with fellow citizens of Planet Opera and rubbed elbows with some very famous singers, including Ryan Speedo Green. 

At the appointed hour, the dining room was opened. We are pleased to relate that dinner was served after the entertainment, which comprised a recital given by nine top prize winners. This allowed us to focus on the singers without the interruption of food service. As is our wont, we will not say which singer was awarded how much money but we will tell you that the sum of $59,000 was awarded to twenty young artists, chosen by means of audition from a large pool of applicants. We would have liked to have heard the winners of Emerging Artists Awards and Encouragement Awards and we hope that we will in the near future.

A warm welcome and introductory comments were made by President Jane Shaulis and a well deserved Distinguished Achievement Award was given to the  renowned mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves whose glamorous appearance belies her four decades on the opera stage.

But, Dear Reader, you want to hear about the program so you can watch out for these gifted young artists, all of whom are pursuing advanced degrees and/or performing in major roles around the country. Indeed it was a wonderful program, encompassing several languages and styles. Providing lots of vocal thrills to begin the program was French soprano Clothilde Benard who dazzled us with vocal acrobatics in Marguerite's aria from Gounod's Faust--"Ah, je ris de me voir" sung as only a native born French woman could sing it. Trills were thrilling; leaps successfully conveyed the character's excitement.

Although we do not speak nor understand Czech, we do understand the legato  phrasing, vibrato, and dynamic control found in soprano Jihye Jang's interpretation of the water sprite's yearning in "Song to the Moon" from Dvořak's famous opera Russalka . Her silvery tone reminded one of moonlight and the performance took us out of the ballroom and into nature. We liked the highly dramatic ending.

Taking us into Mozartean territory was tenor Adam Catangui who gave an impeccable performance of Don Ottavio's moving tribute to Donna Anna in "Il mio tesoro" from Don Giovanni. Mr. Catangui has a sweet tenor so we particularly enjoyed the way he darkened his voice when singing about vengeance. We further appreciated the embellishments of the vocal line. 

We wish that soprano Sarah Rachel Bacani had chosen a different aria than the one she did which was "Laura's Song" from Copland's The Tender Land. We have nothing negative to say about her performance and, although we are not fond of mid-20th century American opera, Ms. Bacani did a fine job of creating the character of a simple young woman. It is just that her repertory, as related in her biography, has several more melodic and more dynamic roles to offer. We would love to hear her Juliette or Micaëla.

The role of Rosina in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia is one of our favorites and Grace Ryan did not disappoint. With a true mezzo sound, she brought the character to life and engaged the audience by descending from the stage and "working the room", showing us Rosina's personality as well as her own. We particularly enjoyed the cabaletta with its elaborate rapid fire flourishes.

Our ears always perk up for bel canto and the Rossini was followed by some Donizetti. Baritone Yoonsoo Jang made an effective Doctor Malatesta describing the perfect woman he was proposing to Don Pasquale in the eponymous opera. "Bella siccome un angelo" is a splendid vehicle for the artist to create a character not so far removed from commedia dell'arte. Furthermore we enjoyed the rich texture of Mr. Jang's  instrument.

Mezzo-soprano Kate Morton performed. "Nobles seigneurs, salut!" from Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots. We confess our ignorance of this opera but rest assured, Dear Reader, we made significant efforts to understand the plot to learn at which point this aria is sung. We admit utter failure. We could not even find a role for a mezzo-soprano in the cast list. What we did learn is that this opera, although rarely performed, was a hit in its day. The plot is Byzantine! Let us content ourself with having enjoyed Ms. Morton's singing and a most artistic descending scale passage.

A more familiar French entry was "Non monsieur mon mari" from Poulenc's Les Mamelles de Tiresias, Poulenc's surrealist opéra bouffe that we did see years ago as a student production. Soprano Shiyu Zhuo charmed the audience by offering a verbal introduction to the piece which involved not only some fine singing but successful creation of a character--with an assist from collaborative pianist Kamal Khan who portrayed her husband! It was fun!

Bringing the program to a stunning close was mezzo-soprano Sophia Beate who performed Dorabella's challenging aria "Smanie implacabile" from Mozart's Cosi fan tutte.  It was a flawless performance which, as such performances tend to do, allowed us to create the scene in our mind's eye, forgetting all issues of technique and just enjoying the performance.

Opera Index does a fine job of finding and fostering young talent and giving them a career boost. We are proud to be a long term member. We are looking forward to the Spring concert which we will certainly announce on our Facebook page.

© meche kroop