COMEDY TONIGHT TIMES TWO

    

Marc Martinez, Colin Safley, Angela Scorese, Yong Hoon Lee, Victor Jaquez, and Melissa Perry

Lately we have been mourning the loss of the many small opera companies that we wrote about B.C. (before Covid). So, Dear Reader, imagine how excited we felt when learning about a new company. Perhaps the drought is over! It takes courage to plunge into the scene and Director Natan Zamansky seems to have gotten things off to a good start with Opera Picciona.

We thought the name of the company might have been a paradoxical neologism derived from the Italian word for small (piccolo) given a contradictory  ending that suggests grand size. Or was it named for the New York City bird we love and hate--the pigeon?  No matter!  Mr. Zamansky has avoided the trap of presenting grand opera on a diminutive scale, drawing unhelpful comparisons from his audience. Instead, he has chosen two complementary one-act operas of a lighthearted nature, operas that many have not seen/heard before.

Bastien und Bastienne, Mozart's early attempt at opera, written as a pubertal 12-year-old (and what's YOUR 12-year-old up to?) is a comedy in the sense that it has a happy ending whilst Jacques Offenbach's early operetta Le 66 is, under Mr. Zamansky's direction, laugh-out-loud funny.

The Mozart piece served as opener and the cast of three tackled their parts with relish. The story is a simple one in which a couple is reunited after a period of estrangement. There is a great deal of pretense between Bastien, the shepherd with a roving eye (tenor Yong Hoon Lee) and his sweetheart Bastienne, a rather innocent and lovelorn shepherdess (soprano Melissa Perry).  This pretense would be as familiar today as it was in the 18th century. A "sorcerer", actually a wise older fellow named Colas (bass Victor Jaquez), counsels the young lady to pretend indifference to win over her erstwhile lover.  After much pretense, the lad rises to the occasion and, to quote the Bard, "All's Well That Ends Well". 

There is nothing original in that story but Mozart's charming music and some fine vocalism made for a pleasant hour. Additionally, Mr. Jaquez' comic antics overcame the challenging staging in which "offstage" was achieved by singers hiding behind two black screens, since there was no place to go in the otherwise satisfactory performing area.  The acting during the musical numbers was fine but we wished for a bit more stage business during the "downtime".

There were no such lulls in the Offenbach which followed after the intermission. Perhaps Mr. Zamansky devoted more directorial effort to a work that generated genuine laughs. He had at his disposal a trio of singers who not only sang well but who also evinced an understanding of comic timing, making use of both facial expression and bodily gesture.

The story, although not as timely as the Mozart romance, concerns a couple hiking through the Austrian alps.  Grittly (soprano Angela Scorese) and Frantz (tenor Mark Martinez) are working their way through the alps by singing and playing their guitars (in this case, ukuleles) on their way to Strasbourg to console Grittly's sister who is grieving her husband's death. A dramatic device of an upside down lottery ticket leads to some laugh-out-loud situations with a peddler (baritone Colin Safley), some funny costume changes, some tension between the two wandering minstrels, and a deus ex machina ending that leaves everyone happy.

The story is just as silly as other Offenbach operettas but it provided the opportunity for some charming duets and trios, some Bob Fosse-like choreography, and the clever repurposing of some boxes to create the illusion of mountaineering.

No one is credited with costuming or props but creativity can compensate for lack of resources and so it did. We value good singing over lavish scenery and professional costuming.

As enjoyable as the singing was the performance of the score by an octet of musicians, half strings and half winds. Music Director Eric Peterson provided fine background for the singing.

The spoken dialogue in Mozart's singspiel and Offenbach's operette were easily understood by those of us who are familiar with German and French and for those who were not, projected titles were legible, unlike those of other recent performances we have attended.

Before closing we would like to point out the excellence of the Director's Notes, a sample of which were in the printed program and the more elaborate comments which were available electronically. No arrogant justifications for directorial narcissism, just academically interesting information that made for some good reading.

If you are unable to snag tickets for the rest of the run, at least you can consider yourselves advised to watch out for Opera Picciona's next venture. We certainly will!

© meche kroop

 

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

FOUR LOONY DIVAS

Cáitlyn Burke, Alexis Cregger, Sarah Best, and Anne Slovin at The Players

This is the 13th year for Light Opera of New York, co-founded by Carol Davis. We have enjoyed their operettas, four of which have been recorded, as well as their more casual cabaret evenings at The Players on Gramercy Park South. Last night was special! It was special because we heard four lovely ladies of the opera world performing a great variety of songs from the world of opera, light opera, cabaret, American musical theater, and whatever. We love the fact that there were no dividing lines. Any song that is well written and well sung can stand along any other song with the same qualifications.

Director for the evening was the engaging Gary Slavin who introduced the program. Able accompaniment was provided by Music Director Seth Weinstein.

We love Gilbert and Sullivan and were delighted by the opening number "I have a song to sing, O" from Yeoman of the Guard sung by the entire ensemble. The patter song "I am the very model of a modern Major General" from their H.M.S. Pinafore provided no obstacle for these four songbirds!

"Cheerily carols the lark" from Ruddigore was given a lovely interpretation by Sarah Best and Cáitlin Burke. "I cannot tell what this love may be" from Patience was sung by Anne Slovin and Alexis Cregger.

We never tire of Gilbert's clever wordplay or Sullivan's memorable tunes and we enjoyed this Savoy feast.

There were other lighthearted songs on the program. "Vodka" (makes me feel oddka) was given a delightful performance by Ms. Best. This song came from the 1926 musical by George Gershwin and Oscar Hammerstein II  called Song of the Flame. The lyrics are clever and Ms. Best's interpretation was, well, "the best".

We also enjoyed her subtle rendering of "Meadowlark" from Stephen Schwartz' The Baker's Wife as well as  "I hate men" from Cole Porter's Kiss Me Kate. "Always true to you in my fashion" from the same show was given a knowing delivery by Ms. Cregger.

Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I produced so many fine songs and "Something Wonderful" was beautifully performed by Ms. Burke, as was "Climb Every Mountain" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music.

From a failed show entitled Rags by Charles Strouse we loved the song "Children of the Wind" sung by Ms. Slovin.

Since we did not grow up in the world of American musical theater, most of these songs were new to us and hearing them was a revelation. We are far more familiar with the world of opera and operetta.

From the world of operetta we heard the beautiful "Vilja" from Franz Lehar's Die Lustige Witwe sung by Ms. Cregger and Ms. Slovin's rendering in lovely French "J'en prendrai un deux, trois" from Jacques Offenbach's Pomme d'Api.

From the familiar world of opera, we found Ms. Slovin's performance of Norina's aria "So anch'io al virtù magica" from Donizetti's Don Pasquale to be absolutely enchanting and dramatically valid .

We have saved for last our thrill at hearing the versatile Ms. Cregger perform "Dich, teure Halle" from Wagner's Lohengrin with heroic sound and lots of impetus from Mr. Weinstein's equally heroic piano!

What a splendid night going from one gorgeous song to another with nary a longueur. The time just flew by! Everyone left smiling. Good music will do that for you!

(c) meche kroop

SWEET TO THE TONGUE AND SWEET TO THE EAR

Kyle Pfortmiller, Maestro Keith Chambers, Ira Siff, Aaron Blake, Olivia Vote, and Sandra Lopez

The tantalizing buffet of homemade sweets and the free-flowing champagne might have distracted us from the thrilling entertainment provided by New Amsterdam Opera at their Sweet Surprise Salon.  Indeed sugar is sweet but music is even sweeter and more nourishing to the spirit.

The salon inaugurated NAO's second season; if you, dear readers, read our reviews from the first season you may recall our enthusiasm for their fine Fidelio, their equally fine Forza del Destino, and a compelling gala concert--all performed with impressive professionalism and fine casting decisions.

Artistic Director Maestro Keith Chambers hand picked the quartet of singers for last night's salon and the excellent program which comprised not a single dud.  There were three acts of four selections each with an opportunity to socialize before, after, and inbetween. Many luminaries of Planet Opera were in attendance and we were so happy to learn that Maestro Eve Queler of Opera Orchestra of New York has generously donated all her orchestral scores, giving NAO just the impetus they need to present more operas that deserve to be heard but are not regularly performed.

The evening was hosted by the inimitable Ira Siff--singer/educator/raconteur/writer/radio personality. We know Mr. Siff for a longer period of time than any other singer. One of his youthful performances was responsible for our love of singing. His witty introductions had the audience in stitches.  He began rather straight-faced talking about the need for "budget operas" in today's economic climate but then rattled off a list that seemed to come right out of the late and lamented Gran Scena Opera Company, of which he was the star.  Who remembers Madame Vera???

We always love duets, especially when the voices are well balanced.  Opening the program were soprano Sandra Lopez and mezzo-soprano Olivia Vote (whom we enjoyed so much at Santa Fe Opera) singing "Belle nuit" from Jacques Offenbach's magnificent work Les contes d'Hoffman. Ms. Lopez' instrument is bright and beautiful with Ms. Vote's terrifically textured voice complementing hers to great effect. French diction was just about perfect.

If there is a more gorgeous duet for male voices than "Au fond du temple saint" from Georges Bizet's Les pecheurs de perles, we have yet to hear it. Tenor Aaron Blake joined forces with baritone Kyle Pfortmiller in this male bonding piece; both artists had an opportunity to show their dramatic chops in this emotional roller coaster. Like the two female artists, their French was impeccable.

As far as language is concerned, Mr. Pfortmiller distinguished himself with his superlative German in "Mein sehnen, mein Wahnen" from Erich Wolfgang Korngold's Die tote Stadt. This song of longing and nostalgia ends with the word "zuruck" (apologies for not having diacritical marks available) and Mr. Pfortmiller drew out the final "u" (the one with the umlaut) in an attenuated decrescendo that brought out the sentiment in a way that we have never heard before.

Readers may recall how fond we are of zarzuela and can imagine how delighted we were to hear "Maria la O" from the the 1930's work by Cuban Ernesto Lecuona. We just reviewed the same aria last week and are of the opinion that New York is ready for more zarzuela. Ms. Lopez gave it a fine performance, filled with sazon. To our ears, Spanish sings as well as Italian and caresses the ear.

Of course, there was Italian on the program as well. Ms. Vote performed "Stella del marinar", Laura's prayer for guidance from Amilcare Ponchielli La gioconda. Her vibrato was perfect and filled the room with overtones that bounced off the elaborate piano score, performed by Maestro Chambers, who was accompanist for the evening.

"Parigi, o cara" is the heartbreaking final duet from Giuseppe Verdi's La traviata, a duet filled with false hope and wishful thinking.  Ms. Lopez and Mr. Blake invested it with profound emotional resonance.

Equally heartbreaking is Edgardo's aria of suicidal despair from Gaetano Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, in which Mr. Blake threw himself into the high notes with thrilling abandon.

It is rare that a piano reduction can come close to Richard Wagner's dense orchestration but Maestro Chambers got it right in "Einsam wachend in der Nacht", Brangane's Act II warning to Isolde, here performed by Ms. Vote.

Three of the artists enjoyed the opportunity to sing lighter works from the American musical theater. Mr. Blake let out all the stops for "Be My Love", popularized by Mario Lanza in 1950. It was passionate, persuasive, and very expressive.

Mr. Pfortmiller performed the English language lyrics to "Stars" from Claude-Michel Schonberg's Les Miserables.  Having heard Alain Boublil's French lyrics, we would have preferred that version, but the English lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer are quite good and Mr. Pfortmiller was strong and determined and overcame our preference.

The musical Kismet has Borodin's music written all over it; indeed Robert Wright and George Forrest adapted it for the Broadway stage and it opened in 1953 with an absurdly complicated plot and Borodin's luscious music. If we are not mistaken "And This is My Beloved" comes from the third movement of his String Quartet #2. Forgetting the elaborate plot, Ms. Lopez performed the song with beauty and simplicity.

The program concluded with the festive party song from Johann Strauss II's Die Fledermaus, which brought this quartet of superb singers together in an exhibition of brotherly love-- "Sing to Love' which we know as "Bruderlein, bruderlein und Schwesterlein".  Again, we prefer the original language but it was just fine.

After this banquet of vocal delights, we repaired to the banquet of gastronomical delights and shared our pleasure with the enthralled members of the audience.

The evening was a fund raiser for New Amsterdam Opera and this yearling company deserves your dollars. Their goal is to identify young talent and to give them performance opportunities right here in New York City. It seems as if the USA provides the best training for singers but is sadly lacking in performance opportunities.  So many of our gifted young artists leave for Europe where their artistry is more highly valued. Let's turn that around!

(c) meche kroop

MALFITANO MAGIC

Catherine Malfitano's third-year voice students at Manhattan School of Music

Getting a crowd to spend their Saturday night listening to third-year music students sounds like a hard sell but then Greenfield Hall at Manhattan School of Music was filled to the last row with enthusiastic music lovers who were there to celebrate the unique achievements of this wildly talented group of young artists, talented beyond their years.  There must be a cause!  Of course there is!

The ebullient soprano Catherine Malfitano has taken this class of 26 singers and, over the course of a year, transformed them into an ensemble that can use nothing but their voices and their bodies to lead you down the path of enjoyment of works both familiar and lesser known. Sets are superfluous when the acting is so on point. Although we enjoyed the familiar works, we were most interested in the introduction we received to operas we have never seen produced.

The evening comprised French opera scenes, most of them lighthearted, and we are pleased to note that French diction was held to the highest standard.  Even when the scenes were new to us, the French was so well enunciated and the emotions so well revealed that there was no difficulty understanding what was happening.

Gounod and Bizet were represented but the most scenes were given to works by Jacques Offenbach and Jules Massenet. Casting was accomplished with a great deal of flexibility with many roles shared by two or three singers. Occasionally, roles were given to singers from a fach variant to that which the composer intended, but it was never a problem. Every singer sounded absolutely right. That in itself is a small miracle.

We love Offenbach and have seen and adored his 1868 opera bouffe, La Perichole. The heroine is a sassy piece of work and was here performed jointly by sopranos Aleksandra Durin and Tzuting Tsai with tenor Mimi Chiu as her lover Piquillo. The staging allowed for some competition between the two Pericholes. The music, performed on the piano by Eric Sedgwick, was filled with music hall joy.

The composer's 1858 parody of Gluck's Orfeo,  Orphee aux Enfers involved a Eurydice who is not losing any love over her Orphee. We were impressed by the fine tenor Ramon Gabriel Tenefrancia who had two superb Eurydices to annoy with his virtual violin--Ashely Lea and Hyejin Yoon.

The final work on the program was Offenbach's more serious 1881 work, Les contes d'Hoffmann. We got to hear three Giuliettas, all admirable--Shelen Hughes, Monica Gonzalez, and Makila Redick. Baritone Yichen Xue gave a fine performance of "Scintille, diamant" in which Dapertutto convinces Giuietta to steal Hoffman's reflection. Hoffman was portrayed by Joshua Ross with Rong Yue as Nicklaus. This is one of our favorite operas and we were delighted to get a hearing.

Massenet was represented by his often seen 1884 Manon, a tragedy, and his 1905 comedy Cherubin, which seems ripe for revival with its convoluted plot and gorgeous music. In the former, we enjoyed the first scene in which the aristocrats from Paris arrive with their three "actress" companions and, express their quality of entitlement to the beleaguered innkeeper (Clayton Matthews). The aristocrats were sung by Yiqiao Zhou and Yichen Xue. Their companions were portrayed by Blair Cagney, Melanie Hope Long, and Shelen Hughes. We have never seen singers have so much fun with their roles!

Manon herself was sung by the tiny powerhouse Lauren Lynch who captivated one and all with her "Profitons bien de la jeunesse".  In the Act IV quartet, Ms. Long exchanged roles with Ms. Lynch.

Massenet's Cherubin is yet another entry in the tale of the Count and Countess Almaviva and Cherubino, but done more as a French farce. In the scene from Act II, soprano Juliana Levinson sang the part of L"Ensoleillad with mezzo-soprano Gabriella Chea singing the eponymous hero. It was difficult to tell who was seducing whom but the audience loved the uninhibited body language and we loved the way the voices blended.

This opera goes on our wish list, as does Charles Gounod's 1864 Mireille in which the title role was shared by two lovely sopranos who harmonized to perfection--Ms. Redick and Ms. Hughes.

There were also two scenes from Carmen, Georges Bizet's 1875 masterpiece. We always love the scene in which Carmen declines to join her smuggler friends and elicits their hilarity with her protestation of being amoureuse. Mezzo-soprano Catarina Veytia mad a fine Carmen with Gabriella Will and Ms. Cagney as Frasquita and Mercedes. Mr. Matthews sang El Dancairo and El Remendado was sung by Mr. Zhou.

The Act III fortune-telling scene had Cynthia Soyeon Yu as Frasquita and Ziyi Dai as Mercedes. Mr. Sedgwick's piano was particularly wonderful in this portentous scene.

It was a most delightful evening from start to finish and left us incredulous that third-year music students could perform in such an accomplished fashion. What a pleasure to hear healthy young voices in the service of drama, entertainment, and artistry. Ms. Malfitano's magic never ceases to amaze!

(c) meche kroop

BIMODAL BEAUTY

Kenneth Merrill, Rebecca Ringle, and William Ferguson

At recitals, our sense of hearing is the one we rely upon for engagement. Last night at the opening offering of the Salon/Sanctuary season, we had a feast for the eyes as well as the ears. The 1890 Playel instrument from Klavierhaus looked as beautiful as it sounded, its tone soft and gentle, perfectly suited for the French program.

Not only that but the handsome tenor William Ferguson and the stunningly glamorous mezzo Rebecca Ringle were also a feast for the eyes. One is not supposed to care what a singer looks like but--sorry, not sorry--we love beauty in all its forms.

And now, to the program!  Founder and Artistic Director Jessica Gould, generally committed to early music, widened her scope to present an evening of 19th c. French music entitled On the Margins of the Opèra Comique--not serious chansons but light-hearted music suitable for the salon or cabaret.

The music on the program was composed by three Jewish composers whose oeuvre was purportedly dismissed due to anti-semitism. To our ears, there was nothing dismissable about the charming songs we heard.

Ms. Ringle has a true mezzo sound, unlike many singers who claim that fach.  It has a distinctive timbre that filled the auditorium of the Abigail Adams Smith House. Ms. Ringle's French is flawless and her phrasing high in musicality. 

Our favorite performance of the evening was the encore! We just heard "Ah quel diner", from Jacques Offenbach's La Perichole, a few reviews back. We loved it then and we loved it last night. Just as actors love a good death scene, singers seem to enjoy a drinking song, or, in this case, a drunken song. Ms. Ringle appeared to be having the time of her life and the joy was absolutely infectious.

She is best when she can show her personality and the three Fontaine fables set by Offenbach delighted us no end. In "Le berger et la mer", the moral seemed to be to stick with what you do well and not gamble on a tempting future.

In "La cigale et la fourmi", a stingy and judgmental ant gives a moral lecture to the carefree but destitute cicada who sang all summer long. The song ends with a remarkable trill. Kenneth Merrill's piano captured all the sounds of nature.

The moral of "Le rat de ville et le rat des champs" seemed to be that a simple meal eaten in peace is better than a fancy one eaten in fear.

Mr. Merrill's piano was noticeably wonderful in many of the songs. We could hear the village bell's sonority in Giacomo Meyerbeer's "Ma barque légère", the nightingale in Fromental Halévy's "Les heures du soir", and the wind in the same composer's "Le follet".  No doubt the special sound of the Playel contributed to the effect.

Only two songs on the program were familiar to us and that was because of the text. Meyerbeer set the Heinrich Heine poem and called it "Komm", the only song on the program not in French.  Franz Schubert named it "Das Fischermädchen" and composed it as part of his cycle Schwanengesang. It is one of our favorite Schubert songs but now it is one of our favorite Meyerbeer songs.  

The other familiar text was that of Théophile Gauthier "Dites, la jeune belle" set by Offenbach as "Barcarolle". We know it as "L'isle inconnue" from Hector Berlioz'cycle Les nuits d'été.

There seems to be quite a bit of metaphor going on in this epoch in which the sea represents both the delights and fears of love. We heard this in "Komm" and again in another Meyerbeer song "Ma barque légère".

 

For the Halévy duet "Est-ce-une peine? Est-ce un plaisir?" Ms. Ringle was joined by tenor William Ferguson whose sweet sound took the upper line while Ms. Ringle's mezzo took the lower one.  We tried in vain to recall duets between tenor and mezzo and hope that readers will add some suggestions to the comment section below.

Even Mozart did not write one for Dorabella and Ferrando in Cosi fan Tutte! It is actually quite a wonderful combination and the two artists harmonized with great beauty. The work is written with complicated overlapping voices, requiring the use of the score, not a desirable circumstance in our book! But the sound was thrilling.

There are probably many more songs like these that the public doesn't get to hear and we thank Ms. Gould for bringing them to our attention and we thank Ms. Ringle for her magnificent performance and for her highly instructive program notes.

(c) meche kroop

ON WITH OFFENBACH

Byron Singleton and Anna Farysej

Jacques Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffman is one of our favorite French operas--loved for its three very different heroines and for the role of the Muse, even though Hoffman is the main character and has the largest part.

Vocal Productions NYC, in what we believe to be their fourth season, has given New York City two weekends of this gripping work and has put their own stamp on it, as most companies do, since the work has many versions.  We cannot recall seeing any two productions that rendered it in the same manner. This production followed the order of acts designated by Offenbach but avoided Offenbach's intention to have the three loves portrayed by the same singer. We were happy about this because we had the opportunity to hear three different sopranos do what they did best.

Much of the credit goes to Conductor Jason C. Tramm and his magic baton, bringing out aspects of the orchestration that we never noticed before.  We would be surprised if he did not interpolate some rarely performed music.  At least we heard it anew and with great freshness. Solos were particularly excellent, especially that of the clarinet. Francisco Miranda, Artistic Coordinator and Associate Conductor, was at the piano. The theater at Washington Irving High School has a marvelous period feel but no orchestra pit. The downside was that several voices failed to sail above or through the orchestral output.

More credit goes to Director Kevin Courtemanche who did much with little resources by virtue of a keen imagination. He brought the action into vaguely contemporary times without doing any damage to the story. We still have writers who ruin their lives with drink and ill-advised love affairs. They still have companions who act as muses, trying to get them to focus on their art. And they still have nemeses who always turn up to spoil their fun.

The most impressive performances were those of the sopranos creating the roles of Hoffman's three loves. Anna Farysej gave a stunning portrayal of Antonia, the doomed singer under the "care" of the evil Dr. Miracle. Not only did she excel vocally in her introductory aria "Elle a fuit, la tourterelle", but also in her duet with Hoffman. We have written about Ms. Farysej for a few years now and have enjoyed watching her growth as an artist. When she sang of the fragility of the rose, one understood through her dramatic artistry and vocal coloring, that Antonia was aware of her own fragility. It was a memorable performance and should lead to future performances with other companies, or so we hope.

Soprano Monica Pasquini created an equally memorable Olympia. Director Courtemanche created a scene out of Bride of Frankenstein in which, sporting a scary black and white wig, red minidress and red boots she wiggled and bopped around the stage until ready to pass out. Dr. Spalanzani (Jared Goldstein) revived her with cardiac paddles emitting clouds of smoke. Theatrics aside, Ms. Pasquini's coloratura was right on the mark and served the character well in "Les oiseaux dans la charmille".

Soprano Su-Ling Huang seemed a counter-intuitive choice for Giulietta inasmuch as her tiny frame would never have convinced as a famous 19th c. courtesan but did just fine as the hostess of this strange costume party dressed like Anna May Wong. Again, the voice worked well for the part.  The duet barcarolle "Belle Nuit" was lovely except that Emma Lavandier did not project over the orchestra, a pity because her acting was excellent. This deficiency marred a performance that was dramatically believable. Only the top of her register rang out. The middle and lower parts got lost.

Tenor Byron Singleton sang the punishing role of Hoffman with distinction but would have profited by better costuming and a wig. How odd that costumer Sangying Li exhibited such creativity with the other characters but put Mr. Singleton in a suit, tie and trench coat. It was difficult to think of him as a troubled poet! 

There was no problem believing the booming voiced bass Claudio Mascharenas as the collective nemeses Lindorf, Coppelius, Dr. Miracle, and Dappertutto. His large frame and imposing posture served him well and the threat was palpable. He made ample use of vocal coloring and varied between intensely dramatic gesture and stolid menace.

Excellent in several roles (Cochenille, Pittichinaccio, and Andreas) was Sam Varhan who lent a note of comic relief as Franz, the deaf servant of Antonia's father Crespel (Bill Atkinson, who also serves as Chorus Director). The chorus was fine musically but required crisper diction.

Mairi Mason appeared briefly as Stella, the opera singer who represents the embodiment of all Hoffman desires. Antonia's mother, as conjured by Dr. Miracle, was performed by Zhanka Melnechuk whose voice also failed to cut through the orchestra. Gene Howard had the role of tavernkeeper Luther and Victor Chapman sang Hermann and Schlemil.

The simple set is credited to Kent Gasser with special mention of the gondola in which Giulietta departs. Effective lighting by Serena Wong provided variety. We were sorry that Antigoni Gaitana's excellent supertitles were only intermittently legible, varying with the lighting of the set.

(c) meche kroop

WE HEART HEARTBEAT OPERA

Gary Ramsay, Karin Mushegain, and Nicole Haslett (photo by Christopher Ash)

What could make a veteran opera goer happier than seeing a house full of 20-somethings laughing and cheering at the opera?  We have nothing but accolades for the yearling Heartbeat Opera, the members of which put all their heart and soul into presenting Jacques Offenbach's one-act ribald opera Daphnis and Chloe.  It was a wise choice and high in entertainment value. In spite of claims of minimal means, the production appeared rich in imagination, creativity and color.

Even before the opera began, the audience was serenaded by the chamber group Cantata Profana comprising Nathan Lesser violinist, Colin Brookes violist, Samuel Suggs bassist, Joshua Anderson clarinetist and Andrew Parker Oboeist; the graceful strains of the latter teased our ears with the opening theme. Their motley attire added to the fun. The hands-on batonless conductor was the fine Louis Lohraseb and Offenbach's score was arranged for the quintet by Daniel Schlosberg.

The voices were uniformly excellent with winsome soprano Nicole Haslett (well remembered from Martina Arroyo's Prelude to Performance and from The Ghosts of Versailles at Manhattan School of Music) performing as Chloe, mezzo-soprano Karin Mushegain taking the role of Daphnis, Gary Ramsey (remembered as the lead in Dell'Arte Opera's production of Salieri's Falstaff) playing the raunchy Pan.

The four Bacchantes were excellently sung and acted by Tynan Davis, Kristin Gornstein, Alexandra Loutsion and Molly Netter.  It was a treat for the eye to see the costuming by Beth Goldenberg; the four women were decked out in feather boas, layers of underwear, chains and safety pins and lots of plastic.  Their faces were decorated with paint and their wild hairdos augmented by whatever artistry Jon Carter brought to the table. Perhaps he was also responsible for Pan's goat feet and horns.

The story is a simple one. The shepherd Dafnis and the shepherdess Chloe are sweet on one another but haven't a clue about how to express it.  The god Pan, pretending to be his own statue, is enamored of Chloe and determines to initiate her into the art of love whereas the Bacchantes, all crazy about Dafnis, plot to seduce him with the waters of forgetfulness from the River Lethe.  They succeed and the lovers are then ready to wed.

This silly tale offered the canny Offenbach an opportunity to make lots of rowdy jokes which amused last night's audience as much as they must have amused his 19th c. audience.  You had to be there to appreciate Pan's pipes.

The effective set by Reid Thompson included a backdrop of silver streamers, a floor strewn with flowers and a sequined pedestal to permit Pan to hide his goat feet. Oliver Wason's lighting was effective.  Choreography was by Chloe (sic) Treat (sic).

The entire affair can be attributed to Heartbeat's Co-Artistic Directors Ethan Heard and Louisa Proske who also directed.  The two came out of the Yale School of Drama which has been the source of so many superlative productions and skilled artists.  We love and support their mission to bring opera to youthful audiences in intimate venues.

Our only cavil with the evening was the English translation. Presumably the intent was to make it more accessible but we would have preferred to hear it sung in French with English dialogue.  Some of the singing in English was not clear enough to be understood anyway.  Still, it was not that important since the story was simple and well told by the performers' physicality.  Just sayin'.  We prefer the cadence of French.

(c) meche kroop

THE GRANDEST DUCHESSE OF THEM ALL

Susan Graham and Paul Appleby (photo by Ken Howard)

When the divine Susan Graham is onstage with the equally divine Paul Appleby, comedic chemistry takes over.  Last year we might have called Mr. Appleby "up and coming" but by now he is well-established for his warm inviting tone and dramatic excellence.  But who knew he had comedic chops?

Offenbach's La Grande Duchesse de Gerolstein is a trifle, a cream puff filled with air that could collapse if it were roughly handled.  Not so here!  The work was affectionately and gently handled by Director Lee Blakely.  There is nothing here to sink your teeth into but there is plenty to get the corners of your mouth to turn up.  We dare you to try to wipe the grin off your face.

The story concerns one very domineering Duchess who refuses her suitor, the pink-suited Prince Paul -- hilariously portrayed by the versatile baritone Jonathan Michie (who apprenticed at SFO for two years)-- in favor of Fritz, a very clumsy private in the army whom she elevates to general.  One can imagine the irate reaction of General Boum, hilariously portrayed by bass Kevin Burdette who has a real flair for Offenbach (seen in that composer's  La Périchole at New York City Opera) who gets successively demoted as Fritz gets promoted.  Mr. Appleby has major fun portraying Fritz who is transformed from a bumbling private into a confident general. 

His sweetheart was beautifully sung by lovely soprano Anya Matanovič. The Baron Puck was performed by a funny Aaron Pegram, a character tenor of great talent.  We were further delighted to see several apprentices onstage, doing justice to their roles as Baron Grog (Jared Bybee), a notary (Dan Kempson), an aide-de-camp (Theo Lebow) and bridesmaids (Shelley Jackson, Julia Ebner, Sarah Mesko and Sishel Claverie).


The wild onstage antics and sight gags are so effective that it is easy to lose sight of the glorious singing onstage but mezzo Ms. Graham never disappoints and throws herself into the outrageous role with delicious abandon.  We loved the chorus lineup of soldiers collapsing like dominoes and we loved the sound they produced (thanks to Chorus Master Susanne Sheston).  We laughed ourselves silly over Fritz' going into battle on a wooden pyramid masquerading as a horse.  We loved the seduction scene between clueless Fritz and the predatory Duchess.  Other scenes that captured our fancy include the group of women reading letters from their soldier sweethearts and Fritz describing his triumph over the enemy by getting them drunk. 

The frothy melodies kept the orchestra on their collective toes, conducted in true Gallic style by Maestro Emmanuel Villaume.  Scenic design by Adrian Linford was effective, as was lighting by Rick Fisher.  Dazzling period costumes and resplendent officer's uniforms were by Jo van Schuppen. We would be remiss not to mention the no-holds-barred choreography by Peggy Hickey; it seemed to us the dancers had as much fun as the singers, dancing the can-can with wild abandon.  Oh how the audience of 1867 must have loved that!  But the audience of 2013 loved it no less.

Dialogue by Mr. Blakeley was spoken in English; songs were sung in French.  Diction was excellent on all accounts.  Our only tiny quibble was setting the piece in a military academy when it is clearly an army outpost.  To have a Duchess, you would have had to have a European army.  We do not think that this "adjustment" made the piece any more relevant to a contemporary audience.

© meche kroop

CAN YOU CAN-CAN?

Maestro Jorge Parodi

Director Dona D. Vaughn

 With stunning showmanship, Director Dona D. Vaughn has presented a memorable Orphée aux Enfers at the Manhattan School of Music.  Marshaling abundant musical resources, far outweighing meager budgetary resources, the performance of Jacques Offenbach's first full-length opera from 1858 was of the highest quality--dramatically, visually, and musically.  We have dared to call it an opera because we believe the title "operetta" would diminish its value.  We believe that opera can be, no should be, above all else, entertaining,

Liberated from some prior licensing restrictions, Mr. Offenbach was free to tackle his topics in greater depth, to give free rein to his gentle satire and to delight his audience with ideas that must have seemed risqué at the time.  We are fortunate that his oeuvre has aged well and that we today can be as delighted as were his contemporaries.

The tale being told is a frisky retelling of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.  In Gluck's opera Orphée et Eurydice, quoted musically in Offenbach's work, Orpheus grieves for his beloved Euridice and goes to the underworld to beg for her release.  In Offenbach's off-kilter version, the two dislike each other and Euridice is happy to be dead so she can be with her lover Pluto who had appeared to her disguised as a shepherd.  It is only the character known as Public Opinion who represents morality and insists that the recalcitrant Orpheus travel to the underworld to beg Pluto for her release.  After many plot twists and turns, there is a happy ending in store for all.  All except for Public Opinion who has been defeated.

Offenbach's music readily engages the ear with charming melodies right from the overture when the wind section seems to be having a blast, punctuated by pounding of the bass drum.  The small orchestra responded to the lively and impassioned conducting of Maestro Jorge Parodi (whom we have seen a great deal of lately, and only in the best places) with some superb musicianship.  We would expect no less!

And the singing!  There must be a great deal of depth in the Opera Program, of which Ms. Vaughn is the Artistic Director, to allow the parts to be so perfectly cast.  It is difficult to believe that the performers are all seniors in the program and that this is their first fully-staged performance with orchestra.  Monica Danilov used her bright lyric soprano and charm to fill out the role of the fickle Eurydice.  Stephen Biegner used his fine tenor as the musician Orpheus whose violin playing irritates his wife to the point of distraction.  This gorgeous melody was performed by Concertmaster Sven Stucke in the orchestra.

Sweet-voiced tenor Christopher Lilley turned in a fine performance as Pluto, god of the underworld masquerading as the shepherd Aristée; the score calls for some very amusing falsetto singing which he handled well.  Baritone Tyler Schoen made a superb Jupiter whose randy escapades were clearly annoying to his wife Juno, well performed by mezzo Claire Gellert.  (Hello Wotan and Fricka!)  Mr. Schoen was rolling-on-the-floor hilarious when he transformed himself into a lusty fly and made Euridice fall in love with him.

Mezzo Kendra Dodd was completely adorable as Cupid and used her voice well, as did mezzo Megan Samarin as Venus. Tamara Rusqué has a sizable soprano voice and used it well in Diana's showpiece aria.  Mr. Offenbach certainly knew how to write for the voice and all three women fulfilled the promise of the writing.

Baritone Alexander Chen provided even more laughs as the tipsy John Styx whose business it was to keep our heroine under lock and key in the underworld, to her obvious disdain.  Only Public Opinion was serious and mezzo Noragh Devlin made the pomposity funny.  We all love to see these scolds get the wrong end of the stick, don't we?  The chorus was superb and the can-can of the gods was enjoyed by audience and performers alike.  Denise DiRenzo is credited with the choreography.

The dialogue was appropriately spoken in English while the arias were sung in French.  Diction (coached by Bénédicte Jourdois) was as excellent as the singing.  Titles were present but barely necessary.  Sets and props were minimal, leaving the focus on the singers.  Costumes were partly improvised and coordinated by Rachel Guilfoyle, but that doesn't take away from their effectiveness.  There was not a wrong note (pun intended) in the entire evening.

An evening that puts a grin on your face for two hours should not be taken lightly.  The problem is that it is seven hours post-performance and we are still grinning.  Can we still call it opera?

© meche kroop