THE STARS AT NIGHT ARE BIG AND BRIGHT

Sylvia d'Eramo, Cory McGee, Gina Perregrino, Alec Carlson, Elizabeth Sarian, and Santa Fe Apprentices

The stars this night were big and bright and dazzling, and we are not even in Texas! We are at the Santa Fe Opera and it is the night we have been waiting for, the night when the Santa Fe Apprentices get to take starring roles in eight scenes. Usually the eight scenes comprise seven winners and one dud, the dud  being related to a poor choice of scene. 

Last night there was no disappointment. Each scene was well cast and well directed and our fussy ears were gratified by some exemplary singing, some by singers we have reviewed and enjoyed before, and some by singers new to us whom we look forward to hearing in the future.

As far as the direction, we noticed that one of our favorite directors, Mary Birnbaum, is now directing a cast of singers we know and love in La Bohême, an event we are looking forward to and will be reviewing this week. We were happy to witness the directing artistry of David Paul (new to Santa Fe, we believe), Katherine M. Carter who is new to us, Paul Curran, and Kathleen Clawson, whose directing skills have always impressed us.

The scenes were well chosen to highlight the available talent as well as to delight the audience who, we are inclined to believe, love melody as much as we do. Certain operas thrill us no matter how many times we have seen them. Their melodies wind themselves around our brain in loving embrace.

Take, for example, the opening scene of Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro. Mr. Paul filled this prenuptial scene with warmth and joy, showing us a couple who can tease and bicker harmlessly as a prelude to a satisfying life together. We were reminded of the newly wed couple we saw in the Plaza yesterday and how touching is the promise of new beginnings. Bass Brent Michael Smith has the role of Figaro down pat and his Susanna, portrayed by soprano Cheyanne Coss, made a worthy counterpart, both vocally and dramatically. Their onstage chemistry was a delight to behold. 

Antonin Dvorák's Rusalka is best known for the title character's "Song to the Moon", a difficult aria which soprano Regina Ceragioli sang expressively. The Ježibaba of mezzo-soprano Kate Farrar was outstanding and we foresee a great future for her, given her textured instrument and stage presence. Significantly adding to the scene were Will Elphingstone's watery lighting and Hannah Schatzle's gorgeous costumes: a blue-green gown with a train trailing the width of the stage, used by Ms. Carter's direction to indicate the water from which this water nymph must free herself; and Ježibaba's costume with a huge cape which Ms. Farrar swirled around with malicious glee.

Everyone loves Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia and the Act II quintet is so brilliantly written that we never tire of hearing it. Along with Ms. Carter's astute direction, we had some excellent costuming by Maria Laura Sandoval and Harley Haberman's gorgeous wig for mezzo-soprano Katherine Beck who made a fine Rosina. Bass-baritone Alan Higgs, costumed in an elegant red robe, nearly stole the scene with some impressive acting and singing as Dr. Bartolo.

Baritone Jarrett Logan Porter made a splendid Figaro with tenor Angel Romero as the determined Almaviva and bass-baritone Seungyun Kim as the silly Don Basilio whom the others cannot seem to get rid of. "Buona sera mio signore" has been dancing around our brain all night!

In the Act I duet from Donizetti's La favorita, we were wowed by the vocal gifts of mezzo-soprano Katherine De Young in the title role and of tenor Anthony Ciaramitaro as her Fernando who, like Don Basilio just will not leave. Both artists impressed us with the size and color of their instruments and the artistry with which they employed them. Mr. Ciaramitaro sang with the most perfect Italian and we understood every single word. 

We confess to being dismayed by the huge disparity in their heights, making their embrace an awkward affair. But that is a minor quibble. The maid Inès had but few lines but we want to hear more of mezzo-soprano Ruby Dibble who sounded excellent. Naomi Beetlestone Detre's costumes were appropriate to the early 19th c.

On a simple set of boxes of graduated heights, mezzo-soprano Leia Lensing's Orfeo tried to lead a reluctant Euridice out of the underworld in Gluck's most famous opera. Who doesn't love "Che faro senza Euridice", known to every beginning vocal student! How wonderful to hear it sung by the excellent Ms. Lensing who gave each return of the verse a different set of ornamentation. It was all very tasteful in true Classical style, doing away with some of the excesses of the Baroque Era. Grace Kahl was convincing as the newly deceased Euridice who does not want to leave the peace of the Underworld. Becca Updyke's costumes were simple and right on the mark.

Of Wagner's entire Ring Cycle, our very favorite scene is the opening one of Die Walküre in which the woeful and weary warrior takes refuge in a hut in which he discovers a loveless woman who just so happens to be his beloved and long lost sister. Listening to Wagner's glorious music and poetic description of the discovery of a soulmate is unequalled in our book. 

As Sieglinde we were thrilled to hear the splendid soprano Mary-Hollis Hundley who seemed to have been made to sing Wagner. At this stage in her development, this is the perfect role for her; with her sizable instrument, we predict lots of heavier Wagnerian roles in her future. As her hapless brother/lover we were impressed by tenor Robert Stanley who not only sang with power and sensitivity but grew in stature and color as he discovered his identity. The sword Nothung was buried in an onstage tree, a sword which could only be extracted by himself. He blossomed as Sieglinde gave him the name of Siegmund. We felt a blossoming in our very own heart!

The final two scenes were exquisitely directed by Mr. Curran. Our only tiny quibble of the evening was that we wished the hilarious scene from Puccini's Gianni Schicchi had ended the evening so that the audience might have left in a great mood. The direction of this scene was so astute as to highlight Rinuccio's aria about the glories of Firenze; in this role we thrilled to the voice and stage presence of the very young tenor Joseph Tancredi about whom we have often written when he was an undergraduate at Manhattan School of Music. 

Mr. Curran had choreographed the unappealing members of the squabbling Busoni family to move in unison, all disparaging Rinuccio's attempt to bring his sweetheart's father Gianni Schicchi onboard to solve the inheritance dilemma. The more they unanimously scorned him and the unaristocratic Schicchi family, the more he stood out and we heard more in that aria than ever before.

As his sweetheart Lauretta, the versatile Ms. Coss gave a sweet rendition of "O mio babbino caro" with a marvelous messa di voce. In a clever directorial twist, she was complicit with the plot. Baritone Will Hughes was excellent in the title role, completely convincing as the wily manipulator. Ms. Lensing made a nicely nasty Zia; bass William Meinert made a very funny Dr. Spinelloccio, another character who just won't leave. There was a very funny bit with a bedpan. The remainder of the family comprised Elliot Paige, Andrew Moore, Ian Burns, Ms. Dibble, and Grace Kahl.

The evening ended with the final scene from Bizet's Carmen in which mezzo-soprano Gina Perregrino filled out the role as successfully as she filled out the shocking pink ruffled flamenco gown with which she was costumed by John Polles. Mr. Curran's direction emphasized the violence of the relationship which was almost too convincing. Ms. Perregrino's superb singing was matched by excellent stage presence and chemistry with her discarded and vengeful lover Don Jose, performed with notable artistry by tenor Alec Carlson. Both of them sang with fine French diction.

For some reason, the action of the characters did not always match up with the dialogue. When Carmen most forcefully demands to be let go, she should be blocked or restrained by Don Jose.

Baritone Cory McGee portrayed Escamillo; soprano Sylvia D'Eramo sang the role of Frasquita and mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Sarian joined in as Mercedes. Strangely, they were costumed as mid-20th c. sorority girls and Carmen's gown was open in the front revealing what looked like a black leotard. Only Escamillo seemed appropriately costumed.

It was an evening that could not be duplicated for sheer entertainment value. Those new to opera were offered the most tempting delicacies to tease their palate whereas experienced opera goers were given fresh looks at old standards and the opportunity to hear the stars of tomorrow.

There will be a new and different set of scenes next Sunday and if you are anywhere near Santa Fe we urge you to come on by, although we admit that this was a tough act to follow!

(c) meche kroop

APPRENTICES RECITAL AT SANTA FE OPERA

Jarrett Logan Porter, Kaitlyn McMonigle, Elliot Paige, and Samantha Gossard (photo by Bobby Gutierrez for Santa Fe Opera)

Bille Bruley and Regina Ceragioli (photo by Bobby Gutierrez for Santa Fe Opera)

One of the very best parts of the Santa Fe experience is attending the Sunday night recitals of the Apprentice Singers. Chosen from among a huge pool of applicants, the current crop includes many young artists whose performances we have enjoyed in New York City, as well as some young artists we are discovering for the first time. Witnessing the artistic growth of the former is our delight; your delight would be catching these emerging talents before they are well known. 

It is astonishing to us that for a paltry $15, one can spend an entire evening in their company, seeing and hearing a well-chosen variety of scenes from all sorts of operas. There is indeed something for everyone, whatever your taste may be. Each scene is assigned to a director and is accompanied by a pianist. Singers who perform in the chorus or in small roles with the major productions here get to be center stage.

We attended the first of these recitals Sunday night and were impressed by a number of young voices. When a singer gets us to relate to an opera we don’t ordinarily favor, we know that something special is happening onstage.  Such was the case when tenor Bille Bruley performed excerpts from Act I of Benjamin Britten’s Billy Budd. His truly remarkable dramatic skills complemented his fine vocalism, first in a scene with superb soprano Regina Ceragioli portraying Ellen Orford and then in a scene with Baritone Kenneth Stavert in the role of Captain Balstrade. Bruley’s exceptionalism was matched by both his scene partners who astonished us with their total immersion in their characters and their connection with Grimes, as well as with the audience.  The stage was bare except for a couple simple props, a wise choice by director Kathleen Clawson. Patrick Harvey did his part as accompanist. Hilary Rubio’s costumes were perfect. We were on the edge of our seat!

Another success of this type was that of Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti, another work which never held our attention.  In this case, also directed by Ms. Clawson and accompanied in jazzy style by Mr. Harvey, Mezzo-soprano Samantha Gossard did a star turn as Dinah. All eyes were upon her as she described the ridiculous film she had just seen. Her terrific singing was accompanied by some wild and totally appropriate gestures. Preceding her scene, which took place in a bar, we enjoyed the lively trio of waitstaff, portrayed by mezzo-soprano Kaitlyn McMonigle, tenor Elliot Paige, and baritone Jarrett Logan Porter, who sang and danced their way into our heart. We also enjoyed baritone Michael J. Hawk as Sam. Kenan Burchette’s appropriate 1950’s costumes added to the fun.

Another performance that blew us away was that of contralto Leia Lensing who sang the role of Cornelia in Händel’s Giulio Cesare. Her scene partner was mezzo-soprano Hannah Hagerty in the role of Sesto and their parting duet was both effective and affecting. Clinton Smith played Händel’s music with superb style; James Robinson directed the scene with admirable simplicity and James Ramsay Arnold’s costumes were gorgeous.

Hector Berlioz’ Les Troyens has the most luscious love duet between Didon and Énée, so beautifully played by pianist Francesco Milioto, accompanying the beautiful mezzo-soprano  Siena Licht Miller and tenor Terrence Chin-Loy. Magnificently costumed by Brighid DeAngelis with stunning makeup and hair design by Meredith Keister, Ms. Miller delighted both eye and ear. Mr. Chin-Loy sounded superb in the pianissimo passages; we hope he will learn that high doesn’t need to be loud and that floating notes in the upper register is way preferable to pushing them. Director for this scene was Fernando Parra Borti.

Mr. Borti also directed the final scene from Charles Gounod’s Faust. We did not care for the modern touch to the costumes by Rebecca Kendrick. Bass Anthony Robin Schneider in a dinner jacket managed to convey Méphistophélès' menace by means of his voice and presence. Tenor Justin Stolz in disheveled attire successfully colored his voice to reflect his desperate state; soprano Sarah Tucker in her blue prison jumpsuit was highly convincing as a woman gone mad with guilt and remorse. Mathew Mohr’s effective lighting turned the stage golden as she is “saved”.  Clinton Smith accompanied .

We loved Mo Zhou’s direction of the final scene of Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore. What an abundance of dramatically valid stage business and believable gesture and facial expression! These touches were so original in their conception and so fine in their execution that we almost lost our focus on the singing! When two young people are meant to be together but are blocked by their individual forms of pride, there is room for all kinds of activity and Ms. Zhou elaboratd every nuance. Of course, she had great material with which to work; soprano Sylvia D’Eramo seemed to be having great fun as Adina and tenor Rafael Moras was completely convincing as the lovelorn Nemorino. We hope he will work on bringing his voice forward, which would bring his vocal performance to the same level as his dramatic performance.  Keun-A Lee accompanied to perfection. Sage Foley’s costume design for Adina was a wedding dress and Nemorino wore a cowboy hat. 

Ms. Zhou’s direction of a scene from Richard Strauss’ Arabella was similarly interesting. We particularly enjoyed the touch of Count Elemer (portrayed in all his arrogant glory by the excellent tenor Jesse Darden) addressing some of his comments about Arabella to the dress form on which was displayed her debutant gown. For us, however, this scene was impaired by being updated to the 1950’s. We almost always want to see operas performed in the original time and place. When the two sisters speak of sleigh rides we have a hard time accepting that they are living in the 1950’s! We do understand the concept of placing the opera in a period in which society women needed to find rich husbands but we can’t imagine 1950’s parents dressing up their younger daughter as a boy because they couldn’t afford two “coming out” parties.

A further problem was the paucity of choices for 1950’s costumes.  Poor soprano Mathilda Edge was obliged to appear in a most unflattering dress; we wonder if she had been in appropriate period attire whether she might have had a better handle on the character of Arabella, which failed to come across. Soprano Jana McIntyre transcended her feminine beauty and appeal to be convincing in the role of the cross-dressing Zdenka, as convincing as the afore-mentioned Mr. Darden. Financially embarrassed and desperate parents were played by bass Anthony Robin Schneider as Baron Waldner with mezzo-soprano Kathleen Felty as his wife Countess Adelaide. Carol Anderson did her best at the piano but we missed Strauss’ lush orchestrations.

We could not make much of the scene from Ricky Ian Gordon’s The Grapes of Wrath. We couldn’t stop thinking that Steinbeck’s moving book did not ask for music, nor did Mr. Gordon provide any. Pianist James Lesniak did his best with the score, as did the large cast of singers, but we love melody and did not hear any. Mezzo-soprano Katherine DeYoung as Ma Joad surmounted the musical deficits with the lovely texture and expressiveness of her instrument and soprano Amy Owen sang sweetly as Rosasharn.  Mackenzie Dunn’s costumes were suitably drab. James Robinson’s direction provided an elevated platform to serve as a truck which held the migrating Joad family, portrayed by Ms. DeYoung, Ms. Owen, Vartan Gabrielian, Benjamin Taylor, Michael J. Hawk, Jarrett Logan Porter, Jesse Darden, and Seiyoung Kim. Bass-baritone Erik van Heyningen appeared as the Inspector who gives the family the good news that they have arrived in California. We cannot fathom why this scene was chosen as it didn’t give any of the men much chance to show off their vocal artistry.

There will be an entirely different program this upcoming Sunday and we recommend the experience wholeheartedly.

(c) meche kroop