DVORÁk'S REQUIEM AT CARNEGIE HALL

Stefan Egerstrom, Joshua Blue, Lindsay Ammann, and Leah Hawkins 

It was a rare opportunity to hear Dvorák's Requiem, a piece commissioned by the Birmingham Festival in England where it premiered in 1891, shortly after the master returned from his long stay in the United States. Our initial interest in the composer was aroused by living next door to his former home on 17th Street. A kindly neighbor invited us into the house and we were thrilled.  The home was demolished and the property was taken over by the hospital down the street during the AIDS epidemic and was later converted into a homeless shelter. We always felt that was a low blow, not giving sufficient respect to a seminal figure in the "musicverse".

Perhaps that disrespect  resonated with us last night when the four singers were positioned behind the orchestra where they could not be seen, at least not from our seat in the orchestra. They could be heard due to the strength and focus of their singing and when the orchestra was in a quiet place, but we would say that the desired balance was not achieved.

Maestro Leon Botstein had a huge chorus (The Bard Festival Chorus, directed by James Bagwell) and orchestra (American Symphony Orchestra) at his command and would have received  praise had he not given the singers such short shrift. That being said, the work is rarely performed and we must be grateful that we had the opportunity to hear it.

It is our mission to write about singers so we will begin there.  Two of the singers are well known to us. Soprano Leah Hawkins won our admiration a few years ago when she was a member of the Lindemann Young Artists Program.  Her voice is full-bodied and expansive with overtones that fill the hall.  Tenor Joshua Blue has been on our radar since his days at Juilliard and we never missed a chance to hear him at the student recitals and operas. To his credit, he never pushed his voice and managed somehow to float above the orchestra. It is a lovely sound and deserved to be heard.

Mezzo-soprano Lindsay Ammann. is new to us and we long to hear her in a friendlier acoustic environment. The sound is rich, full, and satisfying. Stefan Egerstrom's sturdy bass resounded well.  Our favorite movement, the "Hostias", was a quiet one and we had the best opportunity to hear the singers, beginning with Mr. Egerstrom, then Ms. Ammann , then Mr. Blue, and finally Ms. Hawkins.  We also liked the harp played by Ruth Bennett and the way the voices overlapped as if in a fugue. 

The work is a long one and therefore performed with intermission. It struck us as less nationalistic than the works with which we are more familiar. We know him best through his operas (actually, Russalka is the only one we know) and the song cycle Songs My Mother Taught Me, which we loved in German and loved even more the one time we heard it sung in Czech. His music definitely belongs to the Romantic Period. 

This work is a somber one, as befits a Requiem, and very different from the other works we have heard. The opening "Requiem aeternum"  began with a spare melody but a sudden eruption from the chorus let us know that we were in for a wild ride. There were frequent sharp bursts of fortissimi and a sobbing motif. The "Graduale" introduced a brief swirling motif of four notes-- a gruppetto. Voices bounced off each other and at a couple points our unconscious led us into Wagnerian territory which we are unable to pinpoint.

We particularly enjoyed the quietude of the gentle "Quid sum miser". We liked the flute solo in the "Recordare, Jesu pie". The "Lacrimosa" involved some insistent violins. The "Offertorium" had a lot of variety--a gentle opening that built and swelled and a lively rhythmic section. The "Sanctus" was written in 3/4 time.  The "Pie Jesu" had a lovely chorale of wind instruments.  The "Agnus Dei" that closed the work finally allowed us to hear the soprano.

We couldn't help wondering what the work might sound like if the orchestra were in the pit. Perhaps it is just my taste but we felt the singers and the text merited more importance.

© meche kroop

MATCHMAKER MATCHMAKER MAKE ME A MATCH

 PRINCIPALS ALEXANDRA RAZSKAZOFF, MARCUS DE LOACH, AND JOHN BELLEMER

(PHOTO BY GUSTAVO MIRABILE)

Teatro Grattacielo is known for producing realismo operas that one is unlikely to see elsewhere. We have lost count of the the number of worthy works they have brought to our attention. So many of them have been heavyweight tragedies but yesterday's production of Mascagni's L'Amico Fritz was just what we needed after the prior night's tragic impact. For this we thank General Director and Artistic Director Stefanos Koroneos.

Cavalleria Rusticana is Mascagni's masterwork and we never ever turn down a chance to see it.  We recall seeing a rather odd production of his rather odd opera Iris at Bard College's Summer Festival a few years ago. But this may be our first exposure to the simple story of L'Amico Fritz.  Of course, any opera lover would have heard the "Cherry Duet" performed as a set piece.

This is a slight work but the simple story is easily relatable. A confirmed bachelor is tricked into marriage by his well meaning friend. In this case, the local rabbi David (baritone Marcus DeLoach) loves to get people married off but Fritz, a local landowner,(John Bellemer) is a confirmed bachelor. The nubile daughter (Alexandra Razskazoff) of one of his tenant farmers seems like a good match and David figures out a way to get them together. Bravi tutti!  A happy ending!

The outstanding features of the evening were the voices and the musicianship of the Queens Symphony Orchestra, conducted by James Bagwell. If the other two principal roles had not been so well sung, we would have said that Ms. Razskazoff ran away with the show. What made her performance so outstanding was not just her sweet finely produced soprano voice but her acting. She completely embodied a shy young country girl trying to deal with a crush on a man of high social status.

Due to the lack of a firm directorial hand by Mr. Koroneos and Malena Dayen, the cast pretty much stood around woodenly with nothing to do. Indeed it was billed as "semi-staged" but the fact that the theater has wrap around balconies that were put to use indicates that there was an attempt at story telling. The absence of set was unfortunate; a mere stepladder for Suzel to climb to pick cherries would have been welcome; we supplied one in our mind's eye. There was a huge chandelier that was eye catching but did not contribute anything.

Mr. Bellemer came alive dramatically as the evening progressed and Mr. DeLoach did his best but they seemed to be floundering onstage with nothing to do. We understand a concert performance in which singers use music stands but this was not the case. It would have been simple to have a couple pieces of furniture or props.

An attempt to involve multi-media seemed to us to be a complete failure. We will not mention the names of those involved but the projections were nothing if not distracting. We would not have minded a still shot in the background of a farm or a living room but the kinetic falling ellipses (cherry blossoms maybe) distracted from the singing. Even worse were the closeups of the singers' faces as they sang.

Costuming by Theresa Miles was generic but serviceable. Since the story is not particular to epoch or locale, it was fine. Except for Beppe, a gypsy of indeterminate gender whose costume was just weird.  Nonetheless, Mariya Kaganskaya did a lovely job with her aria.

There was a servant (Kiena Williams) and a couple friends (David Santiago and Rick Agster) who mainly just stood around and a chorus who made a nice vocal contribution.

Mr. Bagwell drew a lovely performance from the orchestra and we just loved the melodic arias and the aforementioned duet.

In sum, it was a delightful evening of music that only needed some directorial ideas and a few props to make it work as drama.

© meche kroop

BELLISSIMO CANTO

Vincenzo Bellini

Could Joan Sutherland and Marilyn Horne have sung it any better in 1961?  Having never seen nor heard Vincenzo Bellini's Beatrice di Tenda, we jumped at the chance to hear a concert version of this rarely performed masterpiece of the bel canto period.  Long luscious vocal lines and gorgeous instrumentation made up for the rather tedious libretto by Felice Romani.  Have we heard this story before? Tyranical husband?  Check.  Falsely accused wife?  Check.  Husband in love with another woman?  Check.  The tyrannical Duke of Milan is in love with Agnese who is in love with Orombello who is in love with the widow Beatrice who should never have married the Duke.  Got all that?

This timeless but overworked plot is familiar this year by way of Anna Bolena at the Met.  If only the famous soprano who valiantly attempted the bel canto style of singing had coached with Angela Meade!  Her voice is as ample as her body and filled Carnegie Hall with ringy-pingy sound that was never harsh but somehow soothing and simultaneously exciting to the ear with perfectly executed fioritura, perfect vibrato and liquid trills.  Mezzo Jamie Barton, another big girl with a big voice, did equal justice to the role of Agnese, singing with poise and the requisite phrasing so necessary for Bellini.  The evil Duke of Milan was sung by baritone Nicholas Pallesen in wonderful style, fearless technique and all-around gorgeousness.  His final scena in which he expresses his ambivalence toward his wife's sentence kept us on the edge of our seat. Tenors Michael Spyres and Nicholas Houhoulis were no less terrific.  This was a case of luxury casting indeed!  Voices blended beautifully in duets and the Act II quintet.

James Bagwell conducted the American Syphony Orchestra with gusto and precision, limning Bellini's matchless melodies and orchestration.  We heard some delightfully delicate harp playing accompanying Agnese's opening offstage aria as well as some fine sounds from the wind section toward the end.  The Collegiate Chorale, positioned as a Greek chorus admonishing or supporting the major players, was glorious.  This opera surely deserves more attention.

(c) meche kroop