IL TURCO IN ITALIA

 Hans Tashjian and Mattia Venni

Fun and frivolity ruled the evening as Maestro Will Crutchfield brought the all-too-brief Teatro Nuovo season to a stunning close with an effervescent production of an opera that we might otherwise never have seen. We heard the title and wrongly assumed that this opera would be Rossini's send up of his own L'Italiana in Algeri. Far from it. As a matter of fact, the unfortunate title may have contributed to the opera's lukewarm reception at La Scala and its fading from the canon.  Nonetheless, it was a stunning freshman work by a 22-year-old Rossini who had already enjoyed a number of successes!

As Mo. Crutchfield pointed out in his pre-performance lecture, Rossini's works are marked by symmetry of form and an architecture of proportion, as well as by a rather cold-eyed and cynical view of human nature. They are also marked by bubbly melodies with impressive embellishment of the vocal lines. It is a given that one leaves humming the melodies although maybe not with the fioriture!  If he cribs from his other operas and one is momentarily transported to a different Rossini opera, you will not hear us complain.

Crutchfields' notes in the program are always instructive but never vain attempts at justifying a director's arrogant "interpretation". The works are allowed to speak for themselves and need no justification. If you might have missed some parallels between librettist Felice Romani's manipulative poet Prosdocimo. (Hans Tashjian) and that of DaPonte's Don Alfonso in Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, Maestro prevented that from happening. This is what we want to read or to hear in a lecture.

However, none of this information could be considered necessary to the enjoyment of this piece of musical fluff and our pleasure was echoed by the generous applause and standing ovation it received.

The dramatic device which sets it apart is the use of a character representing the librettist who directs the action of the characters onstage and also addresses the audience directly, a kind of "meta" situation.  The story he is directing involves a very flirtatious wife named Donna Fiorilla (Kresley Figueroa) married to an older wealthy man named Don Geronia (Mattia Venni). She has a "side piece" named Don Narciso (Max Alexander Cook) and she uses her seductive wiles on a visiting Turkish prince named Selim (Vincent Graña) driving her husband into fits of despair and hilarious helplessness. Meanwhile... Selim is being pursued by a former slave named Zaida (Sabatina Mauro) who has joined a ban of gypsies (thereby providing a chorus).  Are you laughing yet?

Of course it is silly but there is room in the world of comedy for just this kind of silliness especially when the delicious music amplifies it. The singing was superb all around and there was not a weak link in the chain of performance. Ms. Figueroa was particularly engaging and sufficiently beautiful and sexy to be convincing in the role. Mr. Venni's physical comedy was over the top. Mr. Tashjian's portrait of a kindly, creative, and inventive storyteller pulled it all together. Let us not fail to mention David Freides whom we heard the preceding night at the pre-performance recital in which his vocal gifts shone like a beacon. His role in this opera might have been small (Albazar, a Turkish friend of Selim and Zaida) but he acquitted himself nobly in his 2nd act aria.

As was the case the prior evening, the projected slides of Adam J. Thompson served admirably, representing the Naples waterfront and Don Geronio's lavish home.  We never missed the costuming because the (uncredited) direction was so astute. The story just swept us along on a wave of melody.

We were further impressed by Elisa Citterio who served as Capo d'Orchestra and also Primo Violino, excelling as both. Maestro al Cembalo was Derrick Goff and, as usual, Mo. Crutchfield was Maetro del Coro.

Let us not fail to mention the Pre-opera Serenade devoted to music by the legendary Garcia family. Our favorite piece was a trio by Manuel Garcia--"Senti, che ognun ti chiama" performed a cappella by soprano Brittany Rose Weinstock, tenor Justin E. Bell, and baritone Jason Augustus Rober.

AFter two satisfying evenings spent with Teatro Nuovo, we can say without reservation that they are the jewel in Manhattan's opera crown. Would that they would produce many more operas during the year! They might rescue our "small town" from its opera doldrums.

© meche kroop

PERFECTLY PURCELL

 Chelsea Helm and Mary ElizabethWilliams

A most welcome visit from Washington, D.C.- based Opera Lafayette provided the usual banquet of aural and visual delights for which they are known. Departing from their customary emphasis on opera of the 18th century, we took a step into the distant past to the Baroque era work Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell. At least our ears were transported thereto. Our eyes however confronted a rather contemporary setting looking very much like a library or common room in an educational institution. Identically costumed young women confirmed our speculation.

Having missed the pre-performance lecture, we were left to our own devices to figure out the disjunction. It only took a few minutes to realize that the taller women were either teachers or proctors and that they would be rehearsing Purcell's masterpiece, which (a fact dredged from our memory) was written for a girls' school in England in the last quarter of the 17th century. 

This concept by Stage Director Corinne Hayes was brought to realization by Set Designer Lisa Schlenker and Costume Designer Lynly Saunders. Having two tall women as the "teachers" and a clutch of shorter youthful women/girls as students (playing the choral roles) facilitated the illusion. Our vision is not the best but the acting convinced us that they were unruly schoolgirls, not the obedient schoolgirls of the 17th century but perhaps more like Dalton girls, sporting uniforms with plaid skirts, well directed to tease each other and assume children's postures and gestures.

Purcell's instrumental prelude tuned our ears, however, to a different time and place and it took several minutes to integrate what we were hearing with what we were seeing. Once the singing began however, and we realized they were putting on a show, we were able to settle in and enjoy the music. Furniture was repurposed as props and makeshift costumes for the two "teachers" were devised. Purcell's gorgeous duet for Dido (Mary Elizabeth Williams) and Belinda (Chelsea Helm) reminded us how skillfully Purcell set the English language (and what a rare and forgotten skill that is!), tailoring his elaborate vocal line to emphasize the words of Nahum Tate who wrote the libretto. Most music lovers are familiar with "Dido's Lament" which closes the opera, but not many would recognize the gorgeous duet in which two sopranos, with voices of different weight, wove their vocal lines into a tapestry with the glorious music.

For those of you who don't know the story, it is a simple one of two lovers parted by fate, leading to a suicide. It's an old story but just think how times have changed. Fate, in the 17th century, meant angry gods or witches and thus we had bass-baritone Hans Tashhjian who's made quite a name for himself in the dozen years since the first time we reviewed his performance as Wurm in Luisa Miller. Why this sorceress has it in for Aeneas we never learn but he employs deceit to lure Aeneas to Rome and to thus abandon Dido, Queen of Carthage.

In succeeding centuries, lovers were separated by political rivalries, vengeful paramours, and unequal social standing. Today, it is more likely personal whim or ghosting. Suicide over romantic disappointment is rare. By 21st century psychology, Dido seems petulant and histrionic. Our thoughts ran along the lines of  "So, dear girl, your lover gets called out of town. Move on. Find yourself a new one." Presenting the story as Virgil intended gives us perspective into the changing meaning of love and the relationship between men and women.

Musical values were excellent all around with Patrick Quigley serving as Music Director and the superb Opera Lafayette Orchestra comprising mainly strings with a couple of winds. Oftentimes the theorbo  seems indistinguishable to our ears but at this performance Dušan Balarin took  the part and made himself heard. Perhaps it's the way Purcell scored it but we heard it distinctly and we loved it.

We have yet to mention the third soprano. We hardly know what to make of a male soprano and how that fach differs from a counter-tenor, but the role of Aeneas was played by Elijah McCormack. Perhaps it was just a height issue but Ms. Williams, with her strong dramatic soprano and imposing height, seemed to overshadow him.  Another soprano  Kayleigh Sprouse made an impression with her convincing acting. The deep contralto of Cecilia McKinley made her a believable  witch.

It was a fine evening with the tragic tale leavened by some rowdy sailors' chorus, Purcell's gorgeous music, Tate's concise libretto, and all around excellent musical values.

© meche kroop

SLAYLEM WITCH TRIALS

 Judge and Witches at Heartbeat Opera's "Slaylem"

 Those Heartbeat Opera mischief-makers were at it again with this year's version of their annual drag show, this year held at the venerable and oh-so-appropriate Judson Memorial Church, home to wild theatrical events since our earliest days in Manhattan.  Here's a little secret "dish" for you, Dear Reader. Someone very famous in the opera world got his start there portraying The Operatic Prince in Al Carmine's radical interpretation of the fairy tale Snow White. What a glorious thing to return to our very first exposure to NYC's radical theatrical scene!

We have never missed any of Heartbeat Opera's annual drag shows, always marveling at the creativity, originality, and gender bending. One can always count on stunning performances and fabulous costuming and makeup. This year was no exception and an enormous crowd of revelers had the time of their lives enjoying the exposure of hypocrisy from America's past history. 

In the 17th c. the colonies were not immune to the witch hunting craze consuming Europe. Arthur Miller chose to dramatize this embarrassing piece of history with a serious drama The Crucible, referencing McCarthyism, whilst Heartbeat Opera's devilish crew chose to treat the subject with satiric ridicule, which mass hysteria richly deserves. We hope at least some members of the audience were able to draw parallels with some of the issues being dealt with even today four centuries later.

It appears to us that Heartbeat is moving in a more popular direction than it has in prior years, engaging more of the audience by adaptation, changing of lyrics, and inclusion of more contemporary references for which we needed some assistance from our companion who is more familiar with pop culture and pop music than we are.

Some pieces were instantly recognizable such as the "Lacrimosa" from Mozart's Requiem, and "I am the Wife of Mao Tse Tung" from John Adams' Nixon in China. Our opera singer companion was able to identify some bel canto numbers that we missed. And who could have failed to identify Copland's "Simple Gifts" although we did not know it came from a ballet Appalachian Spring, written for the Martha Graham Company.

But this was not the point. The point was to entertain, to amuse, to play mind games by means of double entendre and gender bending, to poke fun at the pompous, and, above all, to make everything outrageously sexual as seen through the LGBTQ lens.  The work brought the audience to their collective feet.

The performers got into their characters with glee, intensity, and over-the-top humor. The always notable John Taylor Ward made good use of his long lanky frame to portray The Judge and Jamilyn Manning White went from Abigail to a sexy red-clad devil. The similarly long and lanky Hans Tashjian portrayed Misery; Bernard Holcomb took the role of Clemency; Angela Yam performed the role of Rebecca; Mercy was portrayed by Rodolfo Girón; Chastity was brought to life by Curtis Bannister. Needless to say, the voices are operatic and nothing was out of their vocal reach. It was a real mind fuck to hear familiar melodies with new English lyrics and to be unable to identify the music!

These unexpected lyrics were supplied by Director Nico Krell, violinist Jacob Ashworth, and Co-writer Garrett Bell. Mr. Krell did a fine job of keeping the story moving with raunchy vignettes. All three are credited as "Creators".

Under the direction of Dan Schlosberg, the orchestra comprised Mr. Schlosberg himself at the piano, Mr. Ashworth playing violin, with Mira Williams playing viola and Julia Henderson playing cello. Just as fantastically costumed (see our entries on Facebook and Instagram) as the stage performers, they did a fine job moving seamlessly from classical music to numbers of the popular genre.

The fantastic costumes were designed by David Quinn and we were most impressed by Ms. White's red devil costume. A sexier devil we have never seen! The costumes of the Pilgrims were grim on the outside but often hid racier elements. Maiko Ando's makeup added to the effects.

This queer extravaganza ended with a touching group sing of "Make Our Garden Grow" from Bernstein's Candide. As Generation Z would say "They ate and left no crumbs.

© meche kroop

STEALING MY HEART

Alisa Jordheim and Erik van Heyningen in Rossini's La Gazza Ladra
(Photo by Steven Pisano)

All it took to convert a cranky critic (thanks to insufferable heat and the MTA) into a smiling audience member was the overture to Rossini's opera semiseria La Gazza Ladra, so charmingly played by the conductorless Teatro Nuovo Orchestra. Beginning with an astonishing roll of the drums, the sparkling melodies tumbled out helter-skelter in an amazing variety of rhythms, time signatures, and tempi. The march let us know that someone was coming home from the army. The profusion of melody that followed made us wish that some of them could be lent to today's composers who seem unable to produce a single one of their own!

We were tickled to meet the titular character played by one Christopher Hochstuhl--a handsome bird indeed, dressed in a black cape with feathered collar, representing the thieving magpie himself. We have noticed this bird on various ski trips due to its vivid black and white markings but we never knew that it is known for its intelligence and is the only non-mammal that can recognize itself in the mirror.  But we digress.

We begin in the home of the Vingradito family. Pippo is organizing a welcome party for young Giannetto who is returning from military service. Especially excited is the servant Ninetta who is in love with him. His father Fabrizio is perfectly happy with the match but his mother Lucia is not.

In the pants role of Pippo, a family friend, we heard mezzo-soprano Hannah Ludwig who impressed us with the rich texture of her voice and her lively warm stage presence, not only in the opening scene but throughout the opera when she provides loving support for Ninetta.

Soprano Alisa Jordheim, who delighted us in the role of Serpetta in On Site Opera's production of Mozart's La Finta Gardiniera, impressed us again last night with her brilliant focused instrument, equally well deployed in the lyrical cavatina and in the coloratura passages of the cabaletta. She has a winning stage presence that makes you want to see her happy.

Baritone Rob McGinness sang well and was convincing as Fabrizio. His wife Lucia was brilliantly portrayed by mezzo-soprano Allison Gish, whom we have often reviewed in her work with New Camerata Opera, Cantanti Project, Dell'Arte Opera, and ARE Opera (now City Lyric Opera). We are not surprised that this excellent young singer is cast a lot; her voice is richly textured and her acting thoroughly convincing. We loved the change in vocal color at the end when she begins to care for her future daughter-in-law.

Tenor Oliver Sewell had the part of Giannetto, singing and acting with conviction. Each time we have reviewed him we have had the same thought. How much better he would sound if he stopped trying so hard. Even when the orchestra was silent he seemed to push for unnecessary volume, depriving his upper register of the spin and ping we'd like to hear. The promise is there but the work needs to be done to kick his performance up to a "10".

The plot is set into motion by the arrival of Ninetta's father Fernando, superbly sung by bass-baritone Erik van Heyningen. Mr. Heyningen has been on our radar since his apprenticeship at Santa Fe Opera. We think he has a great deal to offer! Fernando has deserted the army after an unfortunate incident with a superior officer.  He needs money with which to flee his fate and asks his daughter to sell some silver and leave the proceeds for him in a secret place. His initials on the silver are the same as those of Ninetta's boss and when Lucia notices some missing silver she accuses Ninetta of theft.

Ninetta has sold her father's silver to the peddler Isacco, well portrayed by tenor Spencer Viator, whose performance as Count Belfiore (in the same production in which we heard Ms. Jordheim) was recently reviewed. Isacco cannot come to Ninetta's defense because he has already sold the silver. Ninetta cannot defend herself without implicating her father; she remains silent.

There is an evil Podestà who has been trying for some time to win Ninetta's affection; his importuning has only alienated her. At this point he decides to press his advantage and get her to submit.  Another #metoo moment! The role was well portrayed by bass Hans Tashjian whom we have also reviewed a number of times. We seem to like him more and more with each performance. Of course, he always plays "the heavy" but such is the fate of basses.

Fernando risks his own life to come and support his daughter and things look pretty bad for both of them. Ninetta is convicted of theft and led to the gallows, accompanied by a funeral march that surely inspired Chopin, who was a big fan of Rossini (as are we).

Fortunately, the missing silver is discovered in the magpie's nest and Fernando has been pardoned by the King. Lucia now accepts her daughter-in-law to be, everyone is happy except for the Podestà, left to stew in his own remorse.

Aside from gorgeous arias (Ninetta and Giannetto each have a sweet cavatina) there are a number of stunning duets, not only between the lovers but between father and daughter. There was a trio in Act I involving Ninetta, Fernando, and Il Podestà in which the harmonies were so exquisite we got a bit teary-eyed. Father would risk his own life to save his daughter's honor!

Ninetta's prayer in Act II was another highlight, as was the septet at the end of Act I in which everyone is confused, just like in Rossini's comedies. It is no secret that Rossini stole from himself and all through the opera one can hear melodies from his other operas. Do we mind this? Absolutely not.

The only thing we minded, come to think of it, was the overly long scene in Act II which was so repetitive that we would have cut it by half at least. And one other cavil which also troubled us the previous night. The font of the surtitles made the words more difficult to read than they needed to be.

We sat on the other side of the theater than we had the prior night and got a better look at the arrangement of the orchestra, how they related to one another, and how maestro al cembalo Rachelle Jonck conducted. There was an exquisite solo on the baroque flute with some competition from the baroque oboe, both wooden and soft in tone.

Teatro Nuovo's second year has exceeded our expectations and we support Will Crutchfield's effort to restore bel canto opera to its original form. Count us fans!

(c) meche kroop

THAT SCOTTISH OPERA

Mary Ann Stewart as Lady Macbeth (photo by Brian Long)

Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble's "Summer of Shakespeare" is providing an oasis of opera for thirsty opera-lovers in the midst of summer's desert.  We have only good things to say about the production of Verdi's Macbeth which was given some admirable direction by Myra Cordell.  We favor the traditional and Ms. Cordell hewed closely to period, place and dramatic intent.  (The last Macbeth we saw at the Met involved some peculiar artistic choices so we were especially pleased with this production.)  One coup de theatre that we appreciated -- when Banco is murdered, his body is left on the floor, only to rise as his ghost in the banquet scene.

Musical value were excellent all around.  Maestro Christopher Fecteau marshaled the forces of his twenty excellent musicians and from the very first oboe solo we knew that they and we were in good hands.  The strings were situated to our left and the winds and percussion at the rear of the playing area, leading to a most interesting stereophonic effect.  We particularly liked Ellen Hindson's English Horn; Barbara Allen made some interesting sounds for the witches sabbath.

Mary Ann Stewart, a winner of the Osgood/Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble prize. just about stole the show with her riveting performance as Lady Macbeth.  Her sizable soprano was used effectively with notable skill in the coloratura embellishments that lingered from Verdi's bel canto predecessors.  Moreover, her acting was first-rate as she rotated through encouragement, importuning, shaming and manipulation to get Macbeth to do her bidding. Her "Vieni! t'affretta" in Act I was a real show-stopper.

As the eponymous (anti)hero, tenor Jason Plourde was equally convincing as the weak Thane who becomes greedy for power at the behest of his wife.  One could almost feel sorry for him as he was seduced by the predictions of the witches.

The three witches were outstanding. Soprano Monica Niemi's voice rang out in clarion tones with mezzo-sopranos Elizabeth Bouk and Jackie Hayes in fine collaboration.

We are always delighted to hear new voices in small roles that we hope to hear more of in the future.  Tenor Marques Hollie sounded just grand as Malcolm; we noticed his beautiful sound earlier in the evening as part of the ensemble.  Isaac Assor, reviewed twice before at the Manhattan School of Music Summer Voice Festival, also stood out with his fine full sound.

Milica Nikcevic always gets our attention; she won the Osgood/dell'Arte Opera Ensemble prize in 2013.  And bass Hans Tashjian excelled as Banco, sounding better than ever.

With minimal resources, Nina Bova created costumes that were simple but effective.  The three "weird sisters" wore tattered capes over tights and sported wild hair and gruesome makeup.  The men wore sashes of their respective clans and Lady Macbeth a long dun-colored dress with impressive jewelry around her neck.

Karen Tashjian's simple scenic design comprised a low platform upstage, flanked by slender tree trunks.  Lighting designer Scott Schneider cleverly produced a cauldron substitute into which the three witches could throw their nasty bits.

There will be two more performances on 8/22 and 8/24.  We hope there will still be a couple seats available.

(c) meche kroop

LUISA MILLER AT LAST

Charles Williamson, David Anchel, Hans Tasjian, Michael Morrow, Lauren Onsrud, Jason Plourde

Heard several years ago at the Met, we have wondered how and why Luisa Miller vanished from the repertory and were thrilled to learn that Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble would present this thrilling opera in concert version.  Coming from Verdi's middle period, with a libretto by Salvatore Cammarano, adapted from a Schiller story, this is a true mid 19th c. potboiler with political intrigue, frustrated love, murder and suicide.  The more cool ironic contemporary opera we see, the more we crave passion and melodrama.  Luisa Miller has that in spades.

Poor Luisa is in love with "Carlos", not knowing that he is Rodolfo,the son of her father's enemy Count Walter.  The slimy and appropriately yclept Wurm has the hots for lovely Luisa and plots with Count Walter to destroy the romance by extorting a letter from her denying her love for Rodolfo.  The Count agrees because he wants his son to marry the Duchess Federica, a childhood friend.  The injured Rodolfo drinks poison and gives some to Luisa.  End of story.

But there is more going on here than meets the eye and ear.  Verdi wrote many operas dealing with the father-daughter relationship and it is notable that Miller only wants his daughter to be happy whereas Count Walter want to control and manipulate his son to fulfill his own wishes.  The concept of letting one's daughter choose her own spouse must have seemed revolutionary in Verdi's time.

The music is gorgeous and was well-played by Andrew Sun at the piano.  The roles were well cast and the singers all did a fine job, conducted by Christopher Fecteau, Artistic Director of the company, who decided to present this opera when blessed with a generous supply of singers able to do the job.  Tenor Michael Morrow invested Rodolfo's arias with a lot of color and had a lovely ardent sound. Baritone Jason Plourde made a sympathetic Miller. Renowned bass David Anchel (yes, Matthew's father) was striking and forceful as Count Walter.  Bass Hans Tashjian was chilling as the evil Wurm. We couldn't help thinking of Sparafucile.  As a matter of fact, we saw the perfect cast for Rigoletto up there onstage and hope that Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble will consider doing that next season--but not in Las Vegas!

On the female side, we enjoyed mezzo Kathryn Allyn in the low-lying role of Federica.  As far as the eponymous heroine, we got to enjoy three excellent sopranos, a different one in each act. Monica Niemi was perfect for Act I in which Luisa is a sweet innocent girl in love. The more powerful soprano Andrea Chinedu Nwoke has a larger richer voice and a mature sound that was perfect for the second act and Lauren Onsrud had the chops to handle the death scene in Act III.

We loved the Luisa-Rodolfo duet in Act I and also the duet between Rodolfo and Federica.  The act ended with a stunning quartet.  In Act II we thrilled to the father-son duet and the father-daughter duet in Act III.  The final trio was heartbreaking.  No one can break your heart like Verdi.

© meche kroop

A POPPEA THAT POPS

Anna Farysej and Nacole Palmer--photo by Brian Long

Perhaps the mayhem and immorality under the Roman Emperor Nero resonates with our current political climate.  Indeed we have seen three versions of Monteverdi's 1643 masterpiece L'incoronazione di Poppea in the past year.  On the other hand, its recent popularity may be due only to the beauty and expressivity of the music.

Last night at the intimate 13th Street Theatre, Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble presented their version as part of their Tenth Anniversary Season, and a fine version it was!  The cast we saw only performed that singular night; we felt privileged to be in the sold-out house to hear some amazing young voices advancing in their careers, helped along by the intense instruction and guidance of Dell'Arte Ensemble.  Artistic Director Maestro Christopher Fecteau has a knack for selecting promising young performers and guiding them into the next stage of their careers.

Witness the plenitude of bright shining sopranos who mastered the art of baroque singing without compromising their acting skills.  As Poppea, Anna Farysej created a character who was more ambitious than evil; she lured Nero (an excellent Nacole Palmer) with abundant wiles and overt sexuality to abandon his "infertile and frigid" wife Ottavia, portrayed by strong mezzo Heather Antonissen, so that she Poppea could become Empress.  Ottavia gets to sing a heartbreaking lament to which any 21st c. discarded wife could relate.  To paraphrase, "We give birth to men who then torment and abuse us."

In opposition we had the rejected lover Ottone, played by counter-tenor Jeffrey Mandelbaum (who is at a more advanced stage of his career, having graced the stage of The Metropolitan Opera); Ottone was solicited by Ottavia to murder Poppea.  To this end he has enlisted the assistance of the kooky and pliant Drusilla, performed by the adorable Noelle McMurtry who lends him her clothes as a disguise.

The ending is not exactly tragic.  Drusilla and Ottone fall all over themselves trying to take the blame for the failed murder attempt to protect the other but Nerone does not slaughter them; in an act of clemency he sends them into exile along with his discarded wife.  That Poppea and Nerone are portrayed more favorably than in history books tells us something about the 17th c. audience.  Indeed Amore herself (an effective Briana Sakamoto) ensures that they have a happy ending, singing a gorgeous duet to close the opera; Amore himself, the blind child-god, has triumphed over the bickering Fortuna (a funny Amaranta Viera) and Virtu (the very young and talented Sarah Ann Duffy) who each claimed primacy over the other in controlling human history.  But no, in the end, it's all about LOVE.  Using the three gods as a framing device drives the point home.

The only tragedy in this opera is the death of Seneca, Ottavia's tutor, ordered by Poppea to eliminate a roadblock in her path.  This is also an artistic tragedy because it takes place in Act II and we wanted to hear more of bass Hans Tashjian who beguiled us with his superb singing and strong stage presence.

In an unusual casting move, mezzo Melissa Kelly, a fine singer and actress, portrayed both Arnalta (Poppea's nurse) and Nutrice (Ottavia's nurse).  Her funny bit came when she sang about her elevation of status as the nurse of the new Empress.  In smaller roles, we heard Ray Calderon, Nicholas Connolly, Edwin Vega and Nathan Letourneau.  All sang well.

The backbone of this excellent production was Monteverdi's gorgeous music, played by The Sebastians, a baroque ensemble led by harpsichordist Jeff Grossman.  The captivating theorbos and lutes were played by John Lenti and Charles Weaver while the heavenly harpist was Christa Patton.  Rounding out the ensemble were violinists Daniel S. Lee and Dongmyung Ahn with Ezra Seltzer playing the cello.

Stage Director Victoria Crutchfield and Costume Designer Nina Bova, obviously working with a very small budget, managed to create the illusion of more.  This placed the emphasis on the singers and the music which was a good thing.  We applaud Dell'Arte Ensemble not only for nurturing young singers but also for putting great art onstage with modest ticket prices, allowing New Yorkers unfamiliar with opera to dip their collective toes in the operatic waters and giving New Yorkers who are familiar with opera the opportunity to see operas that have gone unproduced at the Met.  There are a couple more performances of "L'incoronazione di Poppea" and one couldn't spend a better evening.

© meche kroop