NAUGHTY NAUGHTY

The cast of Naughty Marietta

Over the past few years we have been made aware of a couple small companies in New York City that present operettas; thankfully Victor Herbert Renaissance Project Live! (VHRP LIVE!) has just crossed our radar screen.  We say "thankfully" because we just passed a completely delightful evening with them getting acquainted with a very naughty girl named Marietta who first delighted audiences in 1910.

We are not a member of the group that finds these works outmoded, any more than we would call a Renoir "outdated". We can only express our joy that the ambitious Alyce Mott has seen fit to share the works of Mr. Herbert with present day audiences.

Ms. Mott is the Founder and Artistic Director of VHRP LIVE! and has also written a new pocket libretto for Mr. Herbert's tuneful operetta. The story was narrated by Georga Osborne who appeared in the speaking role of Marie Le Valleau, a voodoo queen of late 18th c. New Orleans. Ms. Mott's libretto has made some nips and tucks that serve to move the story along and eliminate unnecessary distractions.

Musical values were grand all around with conductor Michael Thomas moving things along and pianist Wilson Southerland excellently playing the overture and intermezzo, as well as supporting the superb singers.

Soprano Sarah Caldwell Smith excelled as the eponymous Marietta, a runaway Italian contessa, recently escaped from a French convent.  Her sparkly bright instrument was perfect for the role and she effectively portrayed a spunky young woman who was going to create her own future.

Tenor Glenn Seven Allen sang beautifully as Captain Richard Warrington, leader of a group of rangers sent by General George Washington to arrest a pirate plaguing the territory.  He was most effective as Marietta's love interest.

His competition was Etienne Grandet, the son of the Lieutenant Governor, actually none other than the pirate himself, sharing his booty with his father. Baritone Justin Ryan sang and acted up a storm.

His quadroon mistress Adah was wonderfully played by soprano Vira Slywotzky whose larger darker soprano lent itself to the role and gave gravitas to her fear of being sold when Etienne tired of her.

Comic relief was provided by David Seatter whose song "Sweet By and By" reminded us of a Gilbert and Sullivan number. Further comic relief was on hand courtesy of Stephen Faulk who portrayed the Captain's aide Simon O'Hara with a brogue as thick as molasses. Nathan Brian was amusing as Rudolfo who owned the marionette theater and gave disguise and employment to Marietta, pretending she was his long-lost son.

If the plot sounds confusing, rest assured that in the performance everything was made clear. Although we were fascinated by the politics of the period, one didn't need to be in order to appreciate the fun and the music. In fact, this is very close to the period in history John Guare illuminated in his play A Free Man of Color, which we saw half a dozen times!  

New Orleans changed hands a couple times before the Louisiana Purchase and at this time it was owned by Spain but dominated by the French. It was a free-wheeling time with ample sophistication and wealth. But it was also a time when people of color were bought and sold. A beautiful quadroon like Adah could expect to be set up in a house with beautiful clothes and jewelry. Just this little bit of knowledge served to enhance our appreciation.

Some musical highlights were "Taisez Vous" sung by the Rangers and the "casquette girls", women given dowries by the King of France so they could come to the New World and find husbands--(Natalie Ballenger, Katherine Corle, Mitchell Roe, and Matthew Wages).

Ms. Caldwell Smith led the company in "Italian Street Song" filled with coloratura fireworks. Her duet with Mr. Allen "It Never, Never Can Be Love" was outstanding. Ms. Slywotzky had a delightful duet with Mr. Faulk --"If I Were Anybody Else But Me". Mr. Ryan's solo "You Marry A Marionette" was deliciously witty.

Of course the finale was the peak of the evening--"Ah Sweet Mystery of Life". Captain Dick has helped Marietta finish her unfinished song and the couple who tried hard not to fall in love has been united. Adah has been purchased by Captain Dick and freed. And now the audience can leave the theater feeling really really good.

(c) meche kroop

SLEEPING BEAUTY WAKES UP

Anna Noggle, Sara Beth Pearson and Justin Ryan

Most of us grew up with the Disney version of Sleeping Beauty which began as a tale handed down orally for a very long time before being recorded by a succession of chroniclers, with Perrault and Grimm being the most well-known.  It is the Grimm version that Disney used for his classical telling of the tale which is sufficiently "grimm" without Perrault's references to cannibalism and child murder.

As a ballet, the story succeeds brilliantly with an entire act being devoted to the celebration of Aurora's marriage to The Prince and entertainment being provided by various characters from children's literature.  To the best of our knowledge, there has been no operatic treatment....until now when wunderkind Benjamin Perry Wenzelberg undertook to compose an opera meant for families with children.

We have been fortunate to have witnessed the evolution of the work which the young Mr. W. began composing at the age of eleven.  His creativity has not gone unrecognized.  Indeed the work won a 2014 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award and the Charlotte V. Bergen Scholarship prize.  He is this year's National Young Arts Foundation Merit winner in Classical Music Composition.  He has won the affection and support of the Chelsea Opera as well.  We have heard him sing and play piano brilliantly but we sadly missed his conducting debut at age 11 at the Crested Butte Colorado Music Festival.

Last night we heard the entire work performed onstage at the York Theater with Mr. W. conducting from the piano.  Against a painted backdrop of what appears to be Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, a stellar cast brought the work to life.  All that remains is for Mr. W. to finish orchestrating the second act; we wouldn't miss that for the world.

This young artist shares our goal of bringing young people to the opera so they can come to love it as much as he clearly does.  The love emanates from his shining face and enthusiastic body language.

The score is impressive; it is melodic and accessible without being derivative.  In the overture and the prelude to the second act, he makes use of heraldic themes which likely will be orchestrated for brass.  The melody literally jumps when the frog, winningly portrayed by Nicole DeLuca, announces an upcoming pregnancy to the Queen (Sara Beth Pearson) who has a lovely aria with much melismatic singing.  And there is a finely written duet with the King (Justin Ryan) involving some lovely harmonies.

He has also written a wonderful aria for Rosamond the Princess (Kate Oberjat) who can trill with the best of them.  Interestingly, her bel canto vocal line was supported by some pretty energetic and jazzy writing in the piano as she wishes for her prince to come.  Happily, her diction sufficed to make the words understood, even at the top of her register.

There is a drinking song in a tavern in Act II in which Mr. W. showed his skill in complex choral writing.  In the forest scene there is a fine hunting chorus and a gorgeous aria for the Prince.  Dominic Armstrong made a handsome and vocally firm Prince.  There were some light moments of swordplay of sorts as the Prince fought first with an Old Man who tries to prevent him from tackling the bramble covered castle and then an hysterical sword fight with the Evil Wise Woman, his nemesis.

These two opponents wound up being our favorite characters of the evening.  The Old Man was sung by baritone John Hancock whose diction was remarkable.  His aria was a recapitulation of the story up until that time and served to compensate for some not so perfect diction in Act I.

And who was that making the Evil Wise Woman the evilest wise woman ever seen and heard??? None other than star soprano Lauren Flanigan who used every vocal and dramatic asset at her disposal to avenge her being left out of the christening party. (You see, the royal couple possessed only a dozen place settings so she got left out.)

Soprano Anna Noggle created the role of the Last Wise Woman (the good fairy) and used her voice and dramatic skills well to create a beneficent character that did what she could to protect Rosamund from the death spell and to guide the Prince to her chamber.  Her scene competing with Ms. Flanigan for control of the Prince's sword was hilarious.

There are lots of predictions in the story.  The Frog predicts the pregnancy; the Evil Wise Woman predicts the spindle accident; the Last Wise Woman predicts the Big Sleep.  And now we would like to make a prediction.  Benjamin Perry Wenzelberg has a great future in store.  We can't wait to witness it.

(c) meche kroop

DISNEY, NOT!

We cut our teeth on the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty and grew up with the Disney motion picture; as an adult we grew to love the ballet with its "rose adagio".  But we never thought we would hear an opera of this touching tale.  Leave it to 13-year-old wunderkind Benjamin Perry Wenzelberg to write one!  Mr. W. is no flash in the pan.  This young man, a Juilliard pre-college student, got his operatic start in the children's chorus at The Metropolitan Opera and is no novice at composing; he also plays several instruments.  Do we have a 21st c. Mozart here?

Last night we had the rare pleasure of hearing a reading of Act I of The Sleeping Beauty, presented by Chelsea Opera, a lively small company that has the wisdom to recognize and foster his rare talent.  Indeed, the concert was presented in memory of Nicholas S. Priore, Esq. and introduced The Nicholas S. Priore New Possibilities Fund (donations accepted). Pending Mr. W.'s orchestration, to be heard next January, the reading was accompanied on the piano by Guest Music Director Lidiya Yankovskaya who tackled the original and captivating score with gusto. 

Mr. W.'s music offers what much contemporary operatic writing lacks--it is, most importantly, tuneful.  The vocal writing held our interest from beginning to end and was not only tailored to each individual character but was "singable", likely because Mr. W. has such a strong vocal background.  If we had only heard the embellishments he wrote for Princess Rosamond, convincingly performed by soprano Elisabeth Halliday on the syllable "Ah!" and those he wrote for The Frog, which he himself performed, we would have been convinced of his gifts.  He cites his major influences as Britten, Debussy and the bel canto composers.  As lovers of the bel canto repertory, we confess to hearing that influence most ardently.

Ms. Halliday made a lovely teenaged princess and Mr. W. made a fine frog, leaping onstage and then transforming himself into a prophet, both in gesture and musically.  Another outstanding performance was by dramatic soprano Alexandra LoBianco who used her large steely voice and her acting skills to perform the role of The Evil Wise Woman.  Notable was the menacing music in the piano that accompanied her terrifying aria.  No less wonderful was soprano Anna Noggle who portrayed The Last Wise Woman (otherwise known to balletomanes as The Lilac Fairy) with a moving tenderness, music to match, natch!  Soprano Lara Ryan and baritone Justin Ryan sang the Queen and the King--duets of yearning for the opening, in which a child is wished for, a lovely aria for The Queen along the same lines, and exclamations of joy when her pregnancy is heralded by the Frog/Prophet. 

The chorus of eight portrayed the Citizens of the Realm and Mr. W. writes as well for them as he does for the central roles.  His harmonies are interesting, and so are his dissonances.  The opera opens with a heraldic statement of open fifths and we could easily imagine the horns taking that part.  Mr. W. has a mere 6 months to finish orchestrating Act I and we have already marked the date on our calendar--January 17th to be exact.  How exciting it is to be around at the birth of a new work and to watch it grow up!

It will be similarly exciting to watch Mr. W. grow up.  When asked what he will do when his treble voice changes, he replied that someone else will have to sing The Frog!

© meche kroop

POVERA BUTTERFLY

Even as New York City Opera is shrinking in its presence in the opera scene, so smaller companies are exhibiting a greater one.  Among the many small companies we have always enjoyed is the Chelsea Opera founded by Lynne Hayden-Finlay and Leonarda Priore. The former served as director of the current production of Madama Butterfly and co-producer along with Ms. Priore.  For the most part we found the direction to be exemplary, making good use of the small "stage" of St. Peter's Church in Chelsea and giving characters stage business that was apt but never fussy or distracting.  We were, however, puzzled by Cio-Cio San's final disembowelment when her initial attempt at ritual suicide was the more culturally correct slashing of the carotid artery.  The simple set achieved by Ms. Priore served well and was much enhanced by Michael Megliola's lighting design.

Maestro Carmine Aufiero can always be counted on; he led the Chelsea Opera Chamber Orchestra in a sensitive reading of Puccini's lavish score, here reduced by Richard Balcombe and played by 15 fine musicians in the pit and one very versatile keyboardist named Cory Battey who was obliged to provide the percussion and harp sounds.

Among the singers, the two whose voices fell the loveliest onto our ears were tenor Aaron Blankfield who portrayed Goro, the marriage broker and the lovely Yajie Chen who exhibited a true mezzo sound throughout her vocal range in the role of Suzuki.  Unlike the leads, we experienced her as living the part and not "acting".  Of course, it helps a great deal that she is Asian.  We are not saying that there haven't been some great Caucasian performers portraying Asian people--just that it was not necessary to suspend disbelief.  It WAS necessary to do just that in the pairing of soprano Christina Rohm as Cio-Cio San and tenor Daniel Rodriguez as Lt. Pinkerton.  Both appeared to be working rather hard at singing and acting but there was a notable absence of chemistry between them.  Ms. Rohm has some lovely squillo at the top, singing the "Un bel di" quite well, but was occasionally hard to hear.  The absence of surtitles made us wish for better diction.

Lynn Abeles sang the role of Kate Pinkerton and baritone Justin Ryan was the much put-upon U.S. Consul.  Cio-Cio San's child was played by a very winsome Kevin Wielczyk.

We understand that next year's season will include two contemporary operas and are pleased to note that the Chelsea Opera has grown to embrace a most enthusiastic audience.  We wish them all the best.

(c) meche kroop