A TALE OF TWO FATHERS

Sarah Mikulski, Joshua Arky, Brian Michael Moore, Young Kwang Yoo, Maestro Thomas Muraco, Yulan Piao, Woo Yong Yoon, Edwin Davis, and Ü Lee

One doesn't generally get to hear a Verdi opera at a music conservatory, but last night we were fortunate enough to hear Luisa Miller at Manhattan School of Music. Presenting a Verdi opera with such a young cast was a risky enterprise but the risk paid off in spades. The evening was a stunning success with first rate musical values.

The opera had its premiere in 1849, thus belonging to the earlier portion of Verdi's "middle period", before his success with Rigoletto. The libretto by Salvadore Cammarano was based on Friedrich von Schiller's play Kabale und Liebe (Intrigue and Love).  It is not part of the standard repertory but we admire it greatly. Like so many operas composed by Verdi, there is a strong emphasis on a father/daughter relationship.

The two fathers could not be more different, but they share one important feature.  Each loves his child and wants the best for him/her. Miller want his daughter to be happy and his only concern is whether the man to whom she pledged her love will be honest and faithful. The Count de Walter wants his son to be privileged and powerful. He has chosen Rodolfo's bride--The Duchess Federica, and will stop at nothing to tear his son away from Luisa, Miller's daughter.

The opera is overflowing with gorgeous melodies. There are arias aplenty and duets for all possible  fach combinations, plus stunning trios and quartets to bring the acts to a close. As the innocent Luisa, soprano Yulan Piao sang with  terrific technique and enough dramatic intensity to get us to care about her character. She has a brilliant instrument and fine Italianate phrasing. The coloratura was so impressive we were thinking "There's a budding Queen of the Night!"

As her lover Rodolfo, Woo Yong Yoon was ardent and used his lyric tenor well, without any of the pushing that bothers us so much in young tenors. His love duets with Ms. Piao were marked by singular harmonic beauty.

As the Duchess that Count de Walter wants his son to marry, mezzo-soprano Ü Lee was resplendent both vocally and dramatically.  Her rich chocolate instrument was employed to great dramatic effect as she created a multi-dimensional character--a woman who has loved Rodolfo since childhood and is suffering a major disappointment that he loves another woman, and yet not at all vengeful toward her rival. The facial expressions and gestures she used as she went through a panoply of emotions were arresting; one could not take one's eyes off her. This gifted artist is also a coach, conductor, pianist, and composer. Additionally she is developing music software.  She is an alumna of MSM, while the other artists are all graduate students.

We were also impressed by baritone Young Kwang Yoo who played Miller, the devoted caring father of Luisa. Their duets were no less fine than those of Gilda and Rigoletto. He has a nice full baritone and an effective stage presence.

As Walter, the sneaky manipulative and threatening father of Rodolfo, bass Joshua Arky showed admirable vocal flexibility for this fach. The only thing that would take his performance to the next level would be some physical flexibility. Even a character we hate has to move around the stage with grace.

As the nasty henchman Wurm, bass Edwin Davis succeeded in creating one of those characters one loves to hate. His bass has a juicier sound than Mr. Arky's and the contrast between the two basses was one of those casting miracles that we love.

Soprano Sarah Mikulski sounded lovely in the small role of Laura and Brian Michael Moore stepped in for an ailing Timothy Lanigan in the other small role of Un Contadino. Please note that the casting for Friday night is different and that Mr. Moore will be singing Rodolfo--ensuring that the experience will be as fine as last night's was.

Maestro Thomas Muraco did a fine job of preparing these young artists for the performance. The maestro conducts with his expressive hands and one can observe him breathing along and silently singing along with them. The score was arranged for two pianos four hands (Jeremy Chan and Jonathan Heaney) with parts taken by the keyboard (Jia Jun Hong doing the organ stuff) and clarinet (Adam Gallob). The melodic lines given to the clarinet were wonderfully played.

The chorus sang well. There was no attempt at costuming or sets. They would have been superfluous. The evening was about the music and we consider it a 100% success. You have one chance to experience this rare treat on Friday night at 7:30, IF you can get tickets. Last night the standby line stretched all the way down the hall. Word must have gotten out!

(c) meche kroop

CAN'T BEAT THIS TOM-TOM

Thomas Muraco and cast of La Bohème at Manhattan School of Music

Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème is arguably the favorite opera of many; however, some opera lovers of our acquaintance refuse to see it unless there is a notable debut in one of the roles at The Metropolitan Opera.  Indeed, the Zeffirelli production is spectacular and astonishingly realistic and also tends to overwhelm the story and the singers.  Not so the production we enjoyed last night at the Manhattan School of Music.

Conductor Thomas Muraco guided his Opera Repertoire Ensemble through an intimate and involving production; he clearly loves this music and his young artists, most of whom are graduate students working on their Master's Degree.  If great sums of money were not lavished on the production, compensation was in the form of attention to detail and the achievement of intimacy.  The emotional intensity built slowly from the first act--all horseplay and romance--to the last, which left us in tears.  Such involvement is worth more than fancy sets.  What more do we want from opera than to be transported to another century, another country, another life?

In this case, we are in late 19th c. Paris in the world of starving artists and the women who love them.  Tuberculosis is running rampant and would claim the life of Mimi by the final act, forever altering the lives of these carefree young people. We are made to think of the late AIDS crisis which claimed so many young lives.

The orchestra was supplanted by two pianos, four hands, belonging to Jeremy Chan and Dura Jun with Yeon Hwa Chung's harp making significant contributions.  Mr. Muraco himself did the orchestration and we were able to hear strands of melody and motives that have gone unnoticed when hearing a full orchestra.  

The singing and acting were equally impressive.  No director was credited and we were given to understand that the young artists came up with the stage business themselves.  Perhaps that was why we found the storytelling to be so effective.  Who knows youth better than the young?  Witness the horseplay in Act I and Act IV.

In Bryn Holdsworth we met a slightly different Mimi--not quite as innocent as other Mimi's we have seen.  She used her lovely expressive soprano and her highly expressive face and gesture to show us a young woman a bit desperate for her next meal, a bit sly in her seductiveness, a bit manipulative--but also capable of deep love for Rodolfo.  It was a stellar performance, given her fine phrasing and just right vibrato. We couldn't take our eyes off her as she eavesdropped on the duet between Rodolfo and Marcello in Act III as she= is being confronted with the loss of her own life.

Brian Michael Moore made an ardent Rodolfo and his inability to accept Mimi's death at the end arose from a deep understanding of the character. He knows she is dying by Act III but he doesn't really let it register. He is living in denial. His fine tenor faltered a bit in Act I, probably a consequence of pushing for volume at the top of his register, but he settled in nicely for the rest of the performance.

Young Kwang Yoo's pleasing baritone was just right for the lovesick Marcello. He's the one the two lovers consult (separately) when their romance is in trouble; he reacts just the way a young man would.  And then, just as a young man would, he behaves in a manner contradictory to his advice. His duet with Mimi was just gorgeous.

As Musetta, his love interest, soprano Yun Melody Xie played the part to the hilt, much to the audience's delight.  Her bright instrument and expressive body conveyed everything we needed to know about this survivor who uses every tool at her disposal to get by.  Her Act II aria "Quando me'n vo" was spectacular and so was her red gown.  We loved the way she tormented her elderly date Alcindoro (Stefano de Peppo) who also played the part of Benoit the landlord in Act I.  What a handful!!!

The delights of Act I involved not only Rodolfo and Marcello but also Colline the philosopher and Schaunard the musician.  Schaunard (excellent baritone Juan Daniel Melo) tells his hilarious tale of poisoning the parrot and the three "bohemians" sit around the table devouring the provisions he has supplied owing to his latest job.  His fine baritone went unnoticed by his flatmates but not by us.

Joshua Arky used his bass voice well in his portrayal of Colline.  The horseplay from Act I has been recapitulated in Act IV but the tone is rapidly changed when the dying Mimi is carried upstairs.  Everyone is sacrificing something and he is pawning his "Vecchia zimarra". Clearly, he is saying goodbye to his innocent youth, not just his old overcoat.

Similarly when Musetta is praying for Mimi, her candle goes out just about the time Mimi expires.  Witnessing the story in a small space, up close and personal, provides many such precious moments that we will recall the next time we see the opera. Unlike some of our friends, we hope that won't be too far in the future and we won't need to wait for a big debut at the Met.