A THING OF BEAUTY AND A JOY FOREVER

Brian Holman and Julio Mascaro

A tenor voice can be "a thing of beauty and a joy forever", to borrow a phrase from Keats. The fact that it is often not is a pain in the throat, at least to our throat which closes up every time a tenor presses for volume and emits a harsh sound. The voice of tenor Julio Mascaro is of the first type, a voice one could listen to forever, a voice that lingers in the ear long after the concert ends. The total silence during the performance can be taken as evidence that we were not alone in our rapturous attention.

At Friday night's recital at Opera America, Mr. Mascaro's interpretations were so well calibrated to the emotional content of his selections, one might have gotten lost in the effect. It took a great deal of effort to note the fine technical points that underlay the vocal performance. We were impressed by the stunning messa di voce, the delicately floated high notes, and some final decrescendos that trailed off into fine filaments of sound hanging in the air. Climaxes were achieved without bombastic shouting. German and French were as successfully pronounced as Mr. Mascaro's native Spanish.

And now, let us say more about the well-curated program, the first half of which was sung in Spanish. Could one have chosen two better Mexican songs than Manuel Ponce's "Estrellita" and Maria Grever's "Te quiero, dijiste"?  Let us mention that a wonderful way to connect with the audience is to tell them something interesting about a song. Some people in the audience might have been surprised to know the true and sad story of the Grever song which we would be happy to share with you someday.

From the cycle Cinco canciones populares Argentinas by Manuel Ponce, we heard the lament  "Triste", followed by a more modern work by Jaime León Fierro entitled "Letra para cantar al son del arpa"  which provided a grand opportunity for collaborative pianist Brian Holman to show his stuff. As we have written before, Hispanic composers never fell for serialism and atonality. There is always a lovely melody to enchant the ear. 

To close the set, we heard a passionate rendition of "No puede ser" from the zarzuela -La tabernera del puerto by Spaniard Pablo Sorozabal. This is arguably one of the top ten zarzuela arias and a most affecting cry of a hopeful lover. We were inspired to read the very complex plot of the zarzuela and are happy to share with you the fact that the singer of the aria, young Leandro, does get the girl.

The second part of the program revealed Mr. Mascaro's operatic artistry and linguistic skills. We heard  "Vainemant ma bien aimée" from Edouard Lalo's Le Roi d'Ys followed by "Lonely House" from Kurt Weill' Street Scene. Italian passion was brought to the forefront in Tosti's "Vorrei morire".

If we have heard a better Nemorino than the one brought to life by Mr. Mascaro we cannot remember it. "Una furtive lagrima" can be considered a turning point ("the worm turns") in Donizetti's charming L'elisir d'amore. Nemorino is one of our favorite male characters in opera because he achieves emotional growth during the opera and we love cheering him on in his quest to win Adina.

"Ich baue ganz auf deine Stärke" from Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail was sung in perfect German and in true Mozartian style.

The evening ended with a unique and highly personal event which profited from an introduction. Mr. Mascaro's maternal grandfather, José Ernesto Monzón, was a well known artist in Guatemala and our singer brought onstage his late grandfather's guitar before sharing three of his songs with the audience. They say a playwright shouldn't bring a gun onstage unless he plans to have one of his characters shoot another. So, Dear Reader, we were waiting for Mr. Mascaro or Mr. Holman to play said guitar. Sadly, this was not the case.

All is forgiven, however, because the songs are delightful. "Canto a mi Guatemala" was filled with patriotic fervor and was followed by the charming "Muñequito" and the highly rhythmic  "La Sanjuanerita". Dear Reader, do yourself a favor and listen to this on YouTube. You are sure to be as charmed as we were!

© meche kroop

DESTINY AND FATE

 Cast of Lighthouse Opera's production of Bizet's Carmen

The last time we saw Bizet's popular 1875 masterpiece, we were sorely disappointed in the director's betrayal of the intent of the composer and his librettists Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy.  Although they did not adhere strictly to the 1845 novella by Prosper Mérimée, the opera, as written, is a powerful character study of an independent woman who is governed by her will (a Sigma woman, in contemporary parlance) facing off against a weak man who is governed by his feelings.

The third "character" of the story, the only character to which Carmen will submit, is that of Fate. Within the construct of Romany culture, all is destined. If one listen carefully to the music and the dialogue, Carmen knows even before she reads her cards that she will die. Don Jose, the hapless soldier who falls for her, is also a victim of superstition; he believes that Gypsies can cast spells and that the rose that Carmen throws at him has put him under a spell he is unable to resist.

Set in modern times, one would be tempted to assign psychiatric diagnoses to these characters, all the more reason to avoid such folderol.

On a huge stage with elaborate sets and costumes, it is easy for the listener him/herself to be seduced by the seductive rhythms and memorable melodies of Georges Bizet. Hearing the opera in concert  version, as produced last night in a special Manhattan performance at the National Opera Center by Lighthouse Opera (native to The Bronx), we were undistracted by spectacle and able to hear the piano reduction anew (sensitively played by Jason Wirth) and to relate to the aforementioned characterological issues.

The female characters stole the show. As the eponymous Gypsy, mezzo-soprano Victoria Thomasch remained in character for the entire three hours that she was onstage and held our attention throughout. Equally compelling in the "Habanera" and the "Seguidilla", she played against her Nordic appearance and convinced us totally of her self-determination, utilizing the darkish color of her impressive instrument.

No less compelling was the touching performance of soprano Lena Yasmin whose expressive instrument brought Micaëla's character into fine focus. The false bravado came across effectively, especially in her "Je dis que rien ne m'épouvante". It made us wonder what would happen to her after this tragedy, a thought that we had never had before.

Tenor Chad Kranak portrayed the tormented Don Jose whose loyalty to his mother and his intended were destroyed by a Gypsy spell, his belief in such magic, or maybe just plain lust. We enjoyed his vocalism the most in the pianissimo passages. 

Baritone Chris Fistonich made a confident self-assured Escamillo without the hackneyed arrogance. The sweetest male voice we heard all evening belonged to baritone Sung Shin who eschewed the customary comic relief in the role of the smuggler Dancaïro. Mr. Shin has not been heard as often recently as we have wished and it was a genuine pleasure to hear him once more, as it was to hear tenor Julio Mascaro in the role of Remendado, although Mr. Mascaro has had a frequent stage presence recently. The two of them had a fine duet in Act II.

The remainder of the group of smugglers comprised soprano Olanna Goudeau as Frasquita and mezzo-soprano Tomoko Nago as Mercédes. One of our favorite scenes was the fortune-telling scene when the three female smugglers fantasized their futures in charming harmony, Carmen's dark prediction contrasting with the wish fulfillment of the other two.

The role of Zuniga was taken by Vladimir Avetisian and that of Moralès, by Yun-Jui Hsieh. Special accolades to the chorus who added color to the proceedings.

The entire evening was well-shaped by Maestro Brian Holman who kept things moving at a brisk tempo with energetic rhythmic propulsion. We particularly enjoyed the accelerating pace of the afore-mentioned trio in the card-reading scene of Act III. Other highlights were the duet between Don Jose and Micaela in Act I, the duet between Dancaïre and Remendado in Act II, and Carmen's dance "Je vais danser en votre honneur ... La la la".

It was a most compelling evening and we enjoyed appreciating the story, the score, and the characters in a new light.

© meche kroop

AMORE OPERA. PRESENTS DON GIOVANNI

 Maestro Richard Cordova and the cast of Don Giovanni

Let us begin by saying that we enjoyed opening night of Mozart's Don Giovanni so much that we attended the matinée the following day. If we had another free night we would see it again. Anything more than double casting is a boon to the young singers who get experience in their particular roles. However, there is a price to pay and we can just imagine the challenge to the director, in this case Jenna Stewart, who had the additional challenge of taking over from someone else. In spite of a plethora of challenges, no one in the audience could have guessed since everything ran smoothly.

We became aware of Amore Opera, risen like a phoenix from the ashes after the untimely death of Artistic Director Nathan Hull, when we came to see a most excellent production of Puccini's La Bohême.  We were very fond of the gifted Mr. Hull and we have nothing but praise for Connie I. (his partner) for the welcome revival of the company. Sets and costumes were apparently sacrificed due to storage costs and we never expected that the spirit of the company would live on.

Because of constraints of time and space, we will save our rant about the future of opera for another day but let us just say that we have watched so many promising young companies go under due to poor management, lack of funding, and needlessly experimental productions. So let us all do what we can to help Amore Opera to not just survive but to thrive.

To begin, Maestro Richard Cordova led his mostly young musicians in a fine reading of the score, adapting the tempi  to the needs of the different singers. Gone were the amateur string players and, in their place, some younger musicians willing to follow his lead from the shattering opening D minor chord to the D major conclusion.We heard an occasional cracking from the French Horn but that is just the nature of the beast.

The singers were uniformly excellent, some better than others, but no one spoiled the ensemble nature of the group. In the cast we heard on opening night, we thought the women took home the gold. Soprano Nina Mutalifu, whom we have reviewed before, made a superb Donna Elvira, especially powerful in the excoriating "Mi tradì quell'alma ingrata" as she vented her fury. In the other cast Yushin Chow  presented a slightly softer Donna Elvira, a bit sadder and a bit less enraged; she was particularly effective when begging Don Giovanni to mend his ways in "L'ultima prova dell'amor mio".

Roseann Ackerley's portrayal of Donna Ann was an affecting one. In the opening scene she seemed to be a force to be reckoned with but in Act II, she is tender whilst delaying her marriage to Don Ottavio in "Non mi dir". Her counterpart in the other cast, Jihye Seo, was especially persuasive in the recitativo with her fiancé Don Ottaavio, getting the rhythm of the speech exactly right.

Both Zerlina's were charming and partly innocent, partly manipulative--both Hyune Kwon and Yingjie Zhou. were equally persuasive in "Batti, batti o bel Masetto" and "Vedrai carino".  

The role of Leporello is a great one and gives the opportunity to the singer to garner laughs. At this, Ting-Yi Chen succeeded admirably. In the other cast Brian Alvarado excelled vocally whilst not playing so much for comedy.

In the role of Masetto, we liked both Bo Joseph Wang and Ziliang Hao although their body types encouraged different impressions.  Mr. Wang appeared cuddly and Mr. Hao appeared  endearingly goofy with his lanky and somewhat awkward frame. It is interesting how, in the creation of a character, body type can matter as much as vocal color.

In the role of Don Ottavio, Julio Mascaro adopted the posture of an older father figure with protective instincts toward Donna Anna, patient and helpful with her until driven to the edge by her stalling. We liked his beautifully phrased "Il mio tesoro" so much that we wanted to rewind to Act I and hear the unfortunately cut "Dalla sua pace". In the other cast, Woojin Dong's very youthful appearance did not help his performance, although he sang well.

Now, what about the eponymous Don. We have known many narcissistic sociopaths and can smell one a mile away. Did either of these two excellent singers manifest the charm that such characters employ to ensnare their victims? In this case, he has already ensnared Elvira and is up to the gaslighting stage. His serenade of Elvira's maid "Deh, vieni alla finestra" touched upon his seductive quality as did his "La ci darem la Mano" duet with Zerlina whom he is about to victimize. We believe that the Don must also charm the audience. In spite of his fine singing, Peter Hakjoon Kim didn't quite make it and our other Don, Colin Safely, came a bit closer. 

The Commendatore was played by Rick Agster in one cast and Gennady Vysotsky in the other.

In terms of stage direction, horses were changed midstream, so to speak, and Jenna Stewart made the best out of a concept she inherited.  Blocking was always fine but there was a misguided attempt to bring the story into the 21st c. with contemporary attire and renaming the characters in the program. The Don became a wealthy bachelor and Leporello his assistant.  In our opinion, works from other epochs work best when time and place are respected. This allows the audience members to do the work of comparing--finding differences and similarities with our own epoch. We rail against spoon feeding the audience a concept. We feel more involved when we do the "work" ourselves.

Mozart and his librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte created this work during The Enlightenment when ideas of democracy were floating around. How apt that they should choose to create operas that poke fun at the aristocracy who take themselves too seriously and then elevate the cleverness of the serving class. Dressing all the characters as the original director requested according to her "concept" removed that cornerstone. Everyone looked the same.

Another item in her concept which came completely out of left field is an unnamed lesbian lover of Donna Anna who appeared at key moments to comfort her. We suppose that director (who kindness precludes us from naming)

could not accept the fact that Donna Anna is avoiding commitment to Don Ottavio because he is an elderly friend of her late father and an arranged marriage. So, contrary to so many interpretations of the role, Don Ottavio is definitely not a weakling; he knows he is a father figure and is being circumspect.

With no place for flats in the Center at West Park, the set consisted of a few pieces of furniture, and strangely enough, a ticket booth in the scene in Act I in which the Don and Leporello are speaking together. Lighting by Laura Bremen  comprised a simple wash of white, blue, or red. We think there is need for improvement. 

Producing opera these days is getting more and more difficult with many companies folding or slimming down their seasons. Finding a suitable venue to present one in a valid fashion is a huge undertaking and the fact that the church was packed is evidence of the high esteem in which Amore Opera is held. We are thrilled to see musical values upheld.

Don't be a loser! Get your tickets before they sell out.  Performances continue until Saturday February 3rd.

© meche kroop

A WINTER NIGHT AT THE OPERA

 Eric Sedgwick, Julio Mascaro, and Daniela Yurrita

Your self-styled opera critic, Dear Reader, has strong opinions that not all of you will agree with. There are opera lovers that focus on the minutiae of vocal technique and get all bent out of shape if a note is a trifle sharp or flat, or if the soprano interpolates a higher note than is written, just because she can. (We actually read an entire argument on this point in a youtube of a performance by a famous soprano, who shall remain nameless.)

We, on the other hand, come to the opera to be entertained. No matter how exquisite the singing is (and last night's concert of arias certainly did have some exquisite singing) we want to be transported to another time and place by believable characters, inhabited by artists who share our predilection. This is, of course, easier to achieve on the stage of an opera house with the help of sets and costumes. To do so in a recital is far more difficult, and yet it can be done.

 

Our passion for opera was preceded by a passion for theater and this verisimilitude is essential for us to enjoy an aria or duet. We have seen and heard some very famous artists stand in front of a full orchestra to "deliver" an aria with admirable vocal perfection. These events were not really "performances" and likely were not meant to be; still, they left us cold.

In a highly satisfying concert of arias we attended at St. John's in the Village, well known for providing a home for such concerts (a few of which we produced B.C.), our highest expectations were met. A pair of young artists sang with such involvement in their characters that we were drawn into the operatic scenes they were creating as if they were in costume and immersed in a set.

When rising star soprano Daniel Yurrita and terrific tenor Julio Mascaro sang a few selections from Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore, there was plenty of time to develop the characters of Adina and Nemorino. Both the center aisle of the sanctuary and the side door were employed to show their comings and goings. "Una parola Adina" gave the pair an opportunity to illuminate their individual characters as well as to establish their one-sided relationship with one another.  In "Una furtiva lagrima" we could feel Nemorina's elation as he realizes Adina's underlying affection for him. By the time Adina gives us "Prendi, per me sei libero" our heart was filled with joy for the success of their relationship.

A different slant on the independent woman was created by Ms. Yurrita as Manon in "Je marche sur tous les chemins...Obeissons" and Mr. Mascaro was similarly convincing as the love-stricken des Grieux  in "En fermant les yeux".

This made his creation of the elderly Don Ottavio even more impressive. All of his paternal caring for Donna Anna came across in the devilishly difficult "Il mio tesoro" from Mozart's Don Giovanni. Similarly Ms. Yurrita changed from the world conquering Manon to the despairing Pamina in "Ach, ich fühl's" from Mozart's Die Zauberflöte.

An entirely different set of emotions were conveyed in the tragic final duet from Verdi's La Traviata. In"Parigi o cara", Violetta is hopeful to the point of delusion and poor Alfredo is both grieving and ashamed.

Another set of emotions were limned in a charming selection from Torroba's Luisa Fernanda, one of our favorite zarzuelas. "Caballero del alto plumero" is a featherweight flirtation with the most memorable melody involving a turn that has become a dangerous "ear worm".

We haven't even gotten to the elation of "Maria" from Bernstein's West Side Story in which Mr. Mascaro differentially colored each iteration of his beloved's name. And how about the quieter romanticism of "Un aura amorosa"!

The evening comprised even more delights but we think you, Dear Reader, will get the point. Every emotion was covered from ecstasy to despair! So, how was this magic achieved? Much of it with vocal coloration but also with full use of the performing area, bodily freedom, facial expression, and minimal props. This is artistry!

For once, we have not a single criticism of the vocalism which was always used to develop character, rather than for show. We particularly admire the way bel canto style was used to convey character. Accompanying on the piano was the superbly versatile Eric Sedgwick.

©meche kroop