ON HEROES AND MISSING LINKS

Christopher Bozeka, William Lee Bryan, Teresa Castillo, Jennifer Rowley, Derrek Stark, Mingjie Lei Elena Snow, and Junhan Choi

The hero of Mayr's 1813 opera Medea is Giasone (Jason of the Golden Fleece) and he ain't our idea of a hero at all.  More on that anon. For us, the hero of the evening was Will Crutchfield who has a mission of exploring Bel Canto opera--its traditions, and the radical implications of its history. In this mission, he has introduced us to several barely known and rarely produced operas. This summer he has moved from his lengthy stint at Caramoor to a new home at Purchase College, for a summer festival entitled Teatro Nuovo. 

Last night, his pre-opera lecture filled us in on "the missing link", i.e. how we got from Mozart to Rossini. How did Classical opera become Bel Canto? The question rests on the shoulders of one Giovanni Simone Mayr (né Johannes Simon Mayr in Bavaria). It is a strange mystery how such a seminal character is so ill-known today when he was all the rage in Italy from the end of the 18th c. on. He put down roots in Bergamo and had a three decade career from his initial commission by La Fenice in 1794, receiving commissions from La Scala in Milan and Teatro San Carlo in Naples. His operatic output numbers about 70!

In 1806 he opened a school and gave young Gaetano Donizetti all the knowledge he needed to become the next great star in the operatic firmament. He also had significant influence on Rossini and Bellini. Hearing his opera one was tempted to think he plagiarized them but he came first and his influence on them is clear.

Before Mayr, the tradition of opera seria involved a happy ending in which order is re-established. Was Medea the first serious opera in which people die? Subsequently, serious operas almost always involve death. In Mayr's operas, the number of set pieces is reduced but their development is enhanced by greater length and a variety of sections--recitativ, cantabile, and cabaletta. These tripartite arias now served a dramatic purpose and were no longer fungible. Furthermore, he changed the nature of the recitativi by using the orchestra, rather than the harpsichord as accompaniment. 

The forms he used were Italian but he brought Germanic technique to them by the use of winds and the use of a chorus. Harmonies became more "modern" and orchestral colors became more, well, colorful.

Just as Maestro Crutchfield's lecture enhanced our appreciation of the opera, so did a minimal knowledge of the backstory. The eponymous heroine Medea is one Bad Girl. She has a long history of evil deeds, including murdering her brother. Her love for Jason kept her busy with misdeeds, ensuring his political success.  Jason ain't no prize neither! After all Medea did for him, he has abandoned her and their two sons to enter into matrimony with Creusa, daughter of Creonte.

Guess who comes to spoil the wedding! Yes, it's Medea and she joins forces with Egeo, King of Athens, who has been spurned by Creusa. Hell hath no fury like a pair of scorned lovers acting in concert!

The singing last night was uniformly excellent. Resident Artists who failed to make much of an impression at Tuesday's recital dazzled us on the operatic stage. Guest Artist soprano Jennifer Rowley made a fiery Medea, grasping the audience with her entrance aria and an intense duet with Giasone.  In Act II, when she summons her underworld demons (singing from outside the open side door of the theater) she made our blood run cold. Her revenge aria clearly showed the ambivalence she felt between her maternal instinct and her wish to torment Giasone.

Tenor Derrek Stark made a fine Giasone, even though it seemed unlikely that his fickle romantic history would have made him a suitable husband for a Princess of Corinth! His tone was pleasing, as was his Italianate phrasing and his romantic duet with Creusa was lovely.

Creusa was performed by soprano Teresa Castillo whose performance of a zarzuela aria we just reviewed a few days ago. She showed herself to be an incredibly versatile artist by completely changing the color of her voice to one of melting sweetness.

Tenor Mingjie Lei has a gorgeous instrument and used it well in his portrayal of Egeo. We had a sense that big roles will be coming his way.

Baritone William Lee Bryan sang the role of Creonte, King of Corinth whilst tenor Christopher Bozeka sang the role of Creonte's confidant Evandro. Both were excellent.

There are no small roles, as the say, and we were happy to hear baritone Junhan Choi as Tideo, a friend of Giasone. The role was, we believe, written for the tenor fach, but that seemed to present no problem for Mr. Choi.  Mezzo-soprano Elena Snow also made the most of her portrayal of Medea's friend Ismene.

The Teatro Nuovo Chorus sang well under the direction of Derrick Goff and the Teatro Nuovo Orchestra played Mayr's accessible music with panache. Jonathan Brandani was  Maestro al Cembalo and Jakob Lehmann served as Primo Violino e Capo d'Orchestra. The arrangement of the orchestra was the same as in Tancredi, reviewed last week. The violins could face each other and coordinate their bowing without a conductor on the podium. The period winds and brass were pure delight and we heard some memorable solos from flute and clarinet.

But the most special solo of all was at the beginning of Act II when harpist Frances Duffy delighted our ears with a lengthy onstage solo.

If we were to name one aspect of this melodramma tragico that disappointed, it would be the libretto by the otherwise wonderful Felice Romani, who adapted it from Euripides and Pierre Corneille.  All the action happens offstage and the characters onstage just talk (sing) a lot. Of course, this was his earliest effort, as far as we can determine. He would get better!

(c) meche kroop

CANTAMI D'AMORE

Resident Artists of Teatro Nuovo in recital at Purchase College

There are so many superb events taking place at Purchase College this week that we cannot stay away. We loved the Tancredi (scroll down for review) and we are looking forward to this weekend's Medea.  But we also love vocal recitals and always welcome the opportunity to hear singers who are new to us. 

Three of the singers, however, were well known to us.  Mezzo-soprano Madison Marie McIntosh has never disappointed us over a period of about five years and we have been watching her star on the rise with great pleasure; we aver that her success is partly due to consistent devotion to her art and partly due to a mature sense of self and the determination to map and pursue her own course.

Last night, in a program comprising only Italian canzone, she performed a trio of excellent Donaudy songs, two of which we know well ("O del mio amato ben" and "Spirate pur, spirate") and another-- "Tregua non ho"-- which was new to us. They were sung with perfect Italianate phrasing and that rich mezzo we love hearing. The longing for lost love was beautifully conveyed.

Soprano Mary-Hollis Hundley has been on our radar screen for almost as long. Two years ago at the Santa Fe Opera Apprentices Recital, we thrilled to her dignified Countess in Mozart's Nozze di Figaro; we heard her Russian in "Iolanta's Arioso" from the Tchaikovsky opera at the George London Awards Recital; he have seen her perform with Utopia Opera a couple of times.

Last night we enjoyed her duet with the fine tenor Christopher Bozeka in Ciro Pinsuti's "Sovvenir", involving some lovely harmonies. We were not so thrilled with a pair of beloved Tosti songs because she made use of the loathed music stand and failed to connect. 

She was not alone in this detested usage. Several singers created the irritating image of trying to act whilst looking back at the score.  This is just wrong for a song recital and we cannot be persuaded otherwise. Singers! If you want to connect with your audience, take the trouble to learn the score and ditch the music stand. If you don't you run the risk of boring us!

Tenor Mingjie Lei is also known to us for the past five years, first as a student at Manhattan School of Music and then from award recitals of the Licia Albanese Foundation, the Giulio Gari Foundation, and the Gerda Lissner Foundation. One night, his Nemorino was so moving that we ourself suffered from una furtiva lagrima. Last night we only heard one song--"Torna piccina mia"-- by Cesare Andrea Bixio and admired the phrasing and expressive use of dynamics. 

Mezzo-soprano Elena Snow impressed us only when she ditched the music stand for Trindelli's "L'ombra di Carmen" in which the Gypsy Carmen explains herself to Don Jose. What an interesting concept! 

Mr. Bozeka was as fine in his solo--Donaudy's "Vaghissima sembianza"--as in the aforementioned duet. Just imagine the 14-year-old composer creating such compositional beauty! Mr. Bozeka also closed the program with the famous Bixio song which lent its name to the program--"Parlami d'amore, Mariú". The sound is a sweet one! 

An audience favorite was the jazzy Bixio song "Vivere" sung by tenor Derrek Stark whom we heard once with the Palm Beach Opera Young Artists Program.  In the group of Tosti songs, he sang our favorite "L'alba separa dalla luce l'ombra", whilst baritone Junhan Choi won our admiration with "Aprile". Mr. Choi was even better in Mascagni's "Serenata".

William Lee Bryan lent his mellow baritone to Luigi Denza's "Occhi di fata".

It was a great opportunity to hear some little known songs by the 20th c. composer Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari whose Italienisches Liederbuch is very different from that of Hugo Wolf. Five selections were performed by soprano Celeste Godin who imbued these popular Tuscan songs with personality and wry humor.

The accompanist and engaging host for the evening was Timothy Cheung, whom we also remember from our evening with the Palm Beach Opera Young Artists Program.

It was quite a treat to be acquainted with Italian songs performed by young artists! I would call the program "Cantami d'amore".

(c) meche kroop

REMEMBERING DMITRI

The cast of Talents of the World paying tribute to Dmitri Hvorostovsky

Dmitri Hvorostovsky brought us to tears twice.  Once when he sang Rodrigo in Verdi's Don Carlo at the Met, and once when he died prematurely. Honoring this legendary baritone was such a splendid idea! In a recital produced by Talents of the World at Zankel Hall last night, his friends and colleagues from all over the world joined together onstage for a generous program of operatic arias, Neapolitan songs, and Russian romances.

Baritone David Gvinianidze, president and founder of Talents of the World is much honored and also beloved from his hosting a TV show in his native Georgia. He took it upon himself to sing the aforementioned aria  "O Carlo, ascolta...Io morró", which must have been even more emotional for him than for us.

A duet from the same opera--"Dio, che nell'alma infondere" was sung in perfect harmony by tenor Raúl Melo (who actually sang this duet with Hvorostovsky) as the eponymous Don Carlo, and baritone Oleksandr Kyreiev taking the role of Rodrigo.

In a long and varied program such as this, we get the opportunity to hear singers in a variety of roles and languages. We have to say that we enjoyed Mr. Melo the most when he sang opposite another singer. For example, his duet with mezzo-soprano Nino Surguladze--the final scene from Bizet's Carmen--was riveting, not just vocally but dramatically.  We believed every horrifying moment, even minus sets and costumes. We enjoyed this more than his solo song--Leoncavallo's "Mattinata" in which he performed for the audience rather than getting the message of the song across.

Regarding Mr. Kyreiev, we enjoyed him most when he sang in his native tongue. The song was not on the printed program so we were unable to identify it but there was no mistaking Mr. Kyreiev's ease, which allowed the timbre of his voice to be appreciated, along with variety of color and dynamics.

His voice blended well with others but his solo aria "O Vin Dissipe la Tristesse" from Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet seemed unidimensional and needed more variety.  What singer does not love a good drinking song! It's the operatic equivalent of an actor's death scene. He could do so much more with it!

"The impossible dream" from Man of La Mancha revealed an excellent facility with English but was plagued by the same lack of variety noted in the Thomas aria.

Obviously Russian songs (here we must admit to the error of lumping together Russian, Ukrainian, and Georgian) bring out the best in Russian singers.  A highlight of the program was Mr. Gvinianidze's performance of "Tolko raz", a sentimental song about longing that was sung with great depth of feeling.

This same intensity of feeling was noted in the performance of "Core 'ngrato" by Giovanni Formisano, a tenor with such an Italianate sound that the scent of garlic permeated Zankel Hall! He also wowed us with Federico's lament from Cilea's L'Arlesiana.

Speaking of being wowed, we took great pleasure in the performance of baritone Junhan Choi. This artist impressed us with his sincerity in every role he sang. There was no trace of "showiness" but rather a dedication to the character he was performing.

He made a believable Dr. Malatesta in Donizetti's Don Pasquale, singing the duet "Pronto io son" with soprano Olga Lisovskaya, who kept trying on faces and gestures with which to convince the titular character that she was an innocent convent girl. 

He absolutely shone in the warhorse "Largo al factotum", bringing new life to an overheard aria, showing a lot of personality and variation in color. Some of the embellishments sounded original to our ear and the tongue-twisting patter moved briskly along.

Ms. Lisovskaya is not only a wonderful singer but also a director, teacher, and producer, serving as director of Talents of the World. She made an excellent host for the evening and made a brief appearance as Oscar in a scene from Verdi's Ballo in Maschera in which Mr. Melo used his gorgeous instrument to portray Riccardo's anguish over his illicit love for Amelia.

Mezzo-soprano Nino Surguladze made several appearances, all of them excellent, giving evidence of her versatility. She made a fine Dalila, seducing Samson in "Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix" from the Saint-Saëns opera. There was a lovely decrescendo to an almost whispered pianissimo, a distinctive timbre to her voice, and variety of dynamics that contributed to a highly expressive delivery.

We had never heard of El Salvadorean pianist William Gomez and we will be ever grateful to Ms. Surguladze for introducing us to his arrangement of "Ave Maria". The lovely melody sounds nothing like other contemporary music but neither does it owe anything to the Schubert setting. The sound of Spanish fell on the ear gently. There is even a humming section!

Her duet with Mr. Gvinianidze--Albinoni's "Adagio" was lovely.

Soprano Anni Kolkhida performed "Vissi d'Arte" from Puccini's Tosca, creating a nice spin in the upper register but not exhibiting enough breath support in the middle and lower parts of the register. Her dramatic skills emerged in "Mira, d'acerbe lagrime", her duet with Count di Luna (Mr. Gvinianidze) in which she tries to save the life of her lover Manrico. The pair also did well in Vincenzo Di Chiara's isolated hit song "La Spagnola".

There was also a strange iteration of Robert's aria from Tchaikovsky's Iolanta performed by Mr. Gvinianidze, Mr. Kyreiev, and Mr. Choi! Not bad, just odd.

Whenever you get a soprano, a mezzo, a tenor, and a baritone in the same room, you just know you will get the final quartet from Verdi's Rigoletto.  And we did. Mr. Formisano sang the Duke, Ms. Lisovskaya sang Gilda, Ms. Surguladze sang Maddalena, and Mr. Kyreiev sang Rigoletto.

The two pianists for the evening were Alexandra Naumenko and Victoria Ulanovskya, who played an improvisation dedicated to Mr. Hvorostovsky entitled "The world is empty without you".

We miss Dima and he is not replaceable, but our world will never be empty as long as there are singers and songs!

The proceeds of the concert will go to organizations researching childhood cancer, a superb way to honor an artist who gave many concerts to benefit children in need.

(c) meche kroop