ROMEO AND JULIET FOR TODAY

Scott Ingham and Kendra Berentsen-photo by Jacob Lopez

In Shakespeare's play, we are moved by the language; in Sir Kenneth MacMillan's ballet, the choreography gives us thrill after thrill; in Charles Gounod's opera Roméo et Juliette, the music goes straight to the heart.  As presented by the New York Opera Exchange this past weekend, we were presented with a modern dress version performed by some superb young artists and the New York Opera Exchange Orchestra, conducted by David Leibowitz.

Gounod's music always relates to the emotions of the scene and serves to augment the feelings.  The overture is portentous and has some interesting fugue-like figures originating with Concertmaster Suxiao Sue Yang.  We want to commend the chorus (comprising singers with smaller roles) for such fine diction.  French is one of the more difficult languages to sing clearly and, in this case, every word was understood.  We wondered who coached them--perhaps Music Director Alden Gatt?

We were very impressed with soprano Kendra Berentsen who made an innocent and vulnerable Juliette, expressing her emotions with a room-filling sound and beautiful phrasing.  The challenging aria "Je veux vivre" is filled with trills, thrills and scales, none of which daunted her; her easeful upper register resonated gloriously.  The harmonies with her Roméo were delightful and emphasized the chemistry between the two.  Tenor Scott Ingham was superb in that role, demonstrating a powerful sound and some top-notes that were free of the strain so often heard in young tenors.  We loved his "Ah! Lève-toi soleil". We eagerly awaited the softer orchestral passages in the final scene in order to hear what he sounded like at reduced volume.

Special mention must be made of baritone Nicholas A. Wiggins who performed the role of Mercutio as well as we have ever heard it.  The "Ballad of Queen Mab" was superb.  Mezzo Rebecca Henry made the most of her role as Gertrude, Juliet's nurse.  Initially she was quite disapproving of her charge's romance but she comes around to a place of empathy.  In the pants role of Stephano, mezzo Sarah Miller gave a spirited performance and sang "Que fais-tu blanche tourtourelle?" with a lovely sound and fine vibrato.

Bass-baritone Colin Whiteman was fine as Frère Laurent, Victor Starsky sang the role of Tybalt, Joseph Palarca performed the role of Benvolio, Joseph Beckwith was a kindly father Capulet and Javier Ortiz was Paris.

We were delighted to observe the youthful nature of the audience; perhaps they related more to the contemporary clothing (costumes?).  We, sadly, did not.  The story is a window into another century and another country.  It could not have happened in the USA in present times.  We did not miss the swordplay but we did miss the authenticity.  For example, a sleeping potion would not be given by a cleric to his parishioner whereas a friar would have known all about herbs and potions.  Similarly we found the bizarre headdresses used to replace the masks at the ball to be a distracting touch; indeed Juiette was obliged to wear a schooner on her head!  But these are minor quibbles when the overall production and musical values were so excellent.  The production was directed by Andreas Hager.  We are looking forward to Die Zauberflöte in February!

© meche kroop

BRING NEWBIE FRIENDS

So, Escamillo strides cockily down the center aisle of the ravishing St. Ann's Church in Brooklyn Heights and kisses the critic's hand.  "Oh", we think, "this evening had better be good because it would be very difficult to criticize after that winning gesture".  Fortunately, it was good.  It was very good.  The entire evening, presented by the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra and New York Opera Exchange (strangely uncredited in the program) was delightful, comprising scenes from operas you know and love, and will be repeated this Sunday at 3PM.  Consider yourself urged to attend and to bring friends who aren't sure they will like opera.  They will leave thanking you and looking forward to more opera.

Under the baton of Nicholas Armstrong for the past 14 years, the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra has become known as one of the finest community orchestras in New York; they showed up best in the Prelude to Verdi's La Traviata in which the themes were clearly articulated and well contrasted.

Since we do not have a TV, nor have ever had one, we are not tired of hearing the "Flower Duet" from Lakme.  Last night it was beautifully sung by soprano Candace Matthews who has a lovely "ping" (not to mention a glamorous gown) and mezzo Kate Wiswell whose fine vibrato was well-remembered from her performance last season as Dorabella in Cosi Fan Tutte.  The two voices blended well and soared above the sizable orchestra.

Next we heard a rather raucous reading of the Bacchanale from Samson et Dalila by Camille Saint-Saëns, complete with clashing cymbals.  The first half of the program ended with the Act I finale of Rossini's L'Italiana in Algeri.  Who doesn't love Rossini's wild and crazy ensembles!  In this case, the embellishments were well-articulated and the voices well balanced across the board.  The clever Isabella was performed by mezzo Nichole Peyreigne who left no doubt that she is a true mezzo, not a soprano with a good lower range.  Her superb performance was matched by the fine baritone of Joseph Beckwith as Mustafa.  In this role, a slim handsome baritone in a dinner jacket must convince us that he is a fat unwholesome pasha; that's a stretch but his singing compensated for it.  Tenor Aaron Short made a fine Lindoro; we remember him from several performances at Manhattan School of Music.  John Erban sang Taddeo, Haly was sung by Douglas Balkin, Elvira was sung by Alexandra Lang and Zulma by Natasha Nelson; all were excellent and each held his/her own.

The second half of the program was entirely operatic, comprising scenes from Act II of Carmen by Georges Bizet and the Act II finale of Gaetano Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor.  The cast of Carmen managed a semi-staged performance without a stage by means of some well-considered acting.  Nicholle Bittlingmeyer's Carmen handled the eponymous heroine's initial lovelorn state and her final contempt for Don Jose with equal aplomb.  Her sequined red gown and fiery mien made the whole scene believable.  The aforementioned Escamillo was sung by Robert Balonek whose finely honed baritone won him a grant from Opera Index.  Scott Ingram made an ardent Don Jose and avoided being pitiable.  The Dancaire of Paul Khuri-Yakub and the Remendado of Francisco Corredor made an excellent and humorous quartet with Frasquita and Mercedes.  The role of Mercedes was sung by Natasha Nelson, well-remembered from her performance as Despina in last season's Cosi fan Tutte while Frasquita was sung by soprano Alexandra Lang; the two gals seemed to have a lot of fun with their roles.

The program closed with the tragic nuptial scene of Lucia.  Selfish brother Enrico was sung by the generous-voiced Joseph Beckwith who was not here obliged to convince anyone that he was a fat Pasha.  Arturo, the hapless husband, was sung by Justin Werner; Edgardo, the equally hapless lover was sung by Aaron Short; John Erban sang Raimondo. The emotional confrontation was quite affecting.  Poor Lucia was sung by Rebecca Shorstein.

We remain impressed by the high quality of the emerging artists who find their way to New York Opera Exchange.  Stay tuned for more information on their season.

©meche kroop