LIEDERABEND A LA RUSSE

Mary-Elizabeth  O'Neill, Jessine Johnson, James Edgar Knight, Fan Jia, and Sophia Kaminski

A recital this special does credit not only to the artists but to the coach; so let us acknowledge Gina Levinson right at the beginning. It has taken us longer to appreciate Russian song than songs in the languages that we speak and understand. It never struck us as a particularly beautiful language, but from the hearts, voices and hands of these young Juilliard artists it was suffused with beauty.

The dramatic skills were notable all around and each singer used gesture and body language to get the text across, without ever losing vocal artistry.  Each collaborative pianist conveyed the intention of the composer to paint vivid pictures that dazzled the mind's eye.

A particular knockout was mezzo-soprano Mary-Elizabeth O'Neill who conveyed us to a 19th c. nursery with a little girl and her doll, a nanny, a hobby horse, a naughty cat, and an even naughtier little boy. We wonder if Modest Mussorgsky, who wrote his own text, was writing from his own experience.

But there was no doubt that Ms. O'Neill was very much in touch with the text herself and we were not surprised to learn that she did her own translations. Readers must know by now that we are not a fan of "park and bark" and love it when a singer uses her entire body to get a song across. The image of Ms. O'Neill galloping around the stage on her imaginary hobby horse is one that we will not soon forget.

The colors of her voice were manipulated to distinguish between the nanny and the child and later the child and his mother. All this was accomplished without losing tone or phrasing. Kathryn Felt at the piano joined in the fun and left us smiling until our cheeks hurt.

Gorgeously melodic songs by Tchaikovsky, of the same generation as Mussorgsky, appeared twice on the program. What a surprise to learn that the lovely soprano Sophia Kaminski is still an undergraduate. She clearly demonstrated how Tchaikovsky's melodies followed the rhythm of the language and her clear bright voice floated on the surface of the melody with a fine and pleasing vibrato.

In the strophic song "Was I not like the grass in the field?" she brought out the plaintive lament of a young girl married off to an old man she did not love.  It was heartbreaking. In the rhythmic"A Gypsy Song" she had the opportunity to show a more light-hearted side as a young woman who has no problem bidding adieu to her most recent lover. Her collaborative pianist William Kelley was particularly fine in this song.

Baritone Fan Jia, accompanied by Hea Youn Chung, was equally impressive in another set of Tchaikovsky songs. He began the set with the beautiful "No, only he who has known".  Although the text is attributed to one Lev Mey, we are sure they were Goethe's words from Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre, which were also set by Schubert and Beethoven.

Mr. Jia sang it beautifully with plenty of the requisite pathos and longing. There is a tender texture to his instrument that makes it most powerful when his sings pianissimo. He was accompanied by Hea Youn Chung and the pair made quite an impression with these lovely songs. Our second favorite was "Believe it not, my friend" with text by Tolstoy. We do believe that our affection for 19th c. composers has much to do with their choice of text to set.

James Edgar Knight performed some fine songs by Rachmaninoff who composed a generation after the aforementioned composers. His songs are wildly passionate and Mr. Knight used his tenor in a manner that emphasized this passion. Our favorite was the popular "Do not sing, my beauty, to me", the haunting melody referencing Russian suffering. Ava Nazar is always a fine and sensitive accompanist, here bringing out the pathos.

It was a bit of a relief to hear the more wistful "A Dream" in which Mr. Knight brought it down a notch. The hopeful and seasonable "Spring Waters" ended the set.  Mr. Knight seems to taste the words he sings, which we love.  We would love his performances even more if he relaxed his high notes a bit. His voice is very powerful!

The program closed with a set of songs by Shostakovich from Satires. The impressive soprano Jessine Johnson explained that Shostakovich composed them during the postwar economic depression of the 20th c. The playfulness on the surface is actually ironic.

The music is more modern than the earlier music we prefer but Ms. Johnson sang the songs with clarity, style and involvement, which brought us into the music.  We particularly liked the irony of a "better future" in "Descendants".  Her accompanist HoJae Lee was particularly fine in that song.

Every visit to Juilliard presents fresh delights for the ear and this recital yesterday was a real winner. Hearing this superb music sung and played by these gifted young artists has brought us to a newer and more profound appreciation of Russian song. Our companion at the recital, completely new to vocal recitals, has become a fan of the art song. And that's saying something!

(c) meche kroop

LIEDERABEND AT JUILLIARD

Hea Youn Chung and Angela Vallone

At Juilliard's latest liederabend, with Natalia Katyukova's coaching, all 10 Juilliard artists performed exquisitely, which is not to say that we enjoyed all of them equally. It was the final set of  songs by Joseph Marx, performed by the lovely soprano Angela Vallone in collaboration with pianist Hea Youn Chung, which captured our heart. Of all the composers on the program, Marx is the one most suited to our 19th c. ears and Ms. Vallone sang the songs most expressively.

Not only do we favor the Romantic period but we prefer songs about love and nature to those about war, depression, religion and conflict. Love is something to sing about!  And Marx carried over the mood of the 19th c. right into the 20th.  We particularly enjoyed "Nocturne" with its A-B-A form and lovely writing for piano.

Benjamin Britten set Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo, also about love. These belong firmly to the 20th c. and are not nearly as melodic. They were passionately sung by the wonderful tenor Miles Mykkanen with William Kelley at the piano.  Mr. Mykkanen has been extending himself in new directions, which we applaud.  That being said, we most enjoy his particular artistry in songs of humor and irony.

Soprano Razskazoff joined forces with Valeriya Polunina to perform three selections from Olivier Messiaen's Poèmes pour Mi, written for his violinist wife in 1938.  Ms. Razskazoff has a marvelously poised stage presence and a sizable voice just begging for the opera stage. Of the three selections, only "Le collier" expressed a sentiment to which we could relate.  But Ms. R's voice was thrilling, especially in the extended melismatic passages.

Bass-baritone Tyler Zimmerman utilized his voice and body in a most expressive fashion in two songs by Alexander Zemlinsky--both expressing anti-war sentiments with irony and bitterness. Mr. Zimmerman did his own translations of both. He also sang a trio of songs by Shostakovich--of later origin and lesser melodic interest. Kathryn Felt was his fine collaborative pianist.

Tenor Alexander McKissick performed six Poulenc songs with Ava Nazar as pianist. Poulenc chose to set texts by Apollinaire who survived World War I.  The poetry is surreal and said to reflect the visual arts--i.e. Cubism.  Our personal favorite was "Mutation". Notably, Mr. McKissick did his own translations.

It was greatly appreciated that each singer introduced the set of songs to be sung and told a little about their origins.

© meche kroop

LIEDERABEND AT JUILLIARD

Martha Mingle and Theo Hoffman

We couldn't imagine a better way to spend "cocktail hour" than attending a Liederabend at Juilliard.  It is a golden opportunity to hear the stars of tomorrow. Indeed we have a rather substantial list of artists whom we first heard at a Juilliard Liederabend who are now onstage at the Metropolitan Opera and other renowned venues.

Last night we heard eight promising artists--four singers and four collaborative pianists--in a program of 20th c. English art songs.  Our 19th c. ears have never taken to 20th c. English or American songs but last night's recital brought us closer to a state of appreciation that we have ever experienced.

For this we credit the superb diction of all four singers whose phrasing and performance style made sense of the poetry.  Additionally, the composers on the program selected excellent texts to set.  Who would not love Thomas Hardy, W.H. Auden and Dante Gabriel Rossetti! Their poetry scans and rhymes and is well suited to musical elaboration.

Most impressive was baritone Theo Hoffman who formed a perfect partnership with pianist Martha Mingle.  They delivered a highly polished performance of three songs from Ralph Vaughan Williams' The House of Life.  Rossetti's poetry is highly romantic and Mr. Hoffman sang the songs with an economy of gesture but a lavish application of word-coloring and depth of expression.  Ms. Mingle seemed to breathe with him in a stunning duet.

We enjoyed Hannah McDermott, whose lovely mezzo voice we have admired before. Her time spent with Steven Blier's New York Festival of Song cabaret evenings has served her well and she uses her personality effectively to get a song across.  Last night's performance of four of Benjamin Britten's Cabaret Songs was delightful. Pianist Kathryn Felt joined her for the lilting "Tell Me the Truth About Love"--we loved the way she sang the phrase "Brighton's bracing air" with a charming buzz on the "br"s.  "Calypso" was given the proper propulsion but our favorite was "Johnny", her account of a lively girl dealing with a grumpy boring boyfriend.

Tenor David Smolokoff performed Gerald Finzi's setting of Thomas Hardy's A Young Man's Exhortation.  "The Dance Continued" was deeply felt but our favorite was the bittersweet "The Sigh" in which a man has been unable to forget or understand why his now-deceased wife emitted a deep sigh when he first kissed her.  We enjoyed the mystery.  Ava Nazar's piano was particularly lovely in the searching melody of "The Comet at Yell'ham".

Heard for the first time was soprano Tiffany Townsend with Hea Youn Chung as her piano partner.  These Finzi songs from Hardy's Till Earth Outwears are mournful ones--filled with nostalgia and memories of lost loves.  Anyone who's read Hardy's wonderful novels will have recognized his voice.  Ms. Townsend sang them with lovely phrasing, word coloring and excellent diction.  Our favorite was "Life Laughs Onward".

It will be so rewarding to observe these young artists as they continue their training at Juilliard.  Last night's program was coached by Andrew Harley.  Well done!

(c) meche kroop