ROMA

Kristin Gornstein, Michael Brofman, Stanichka Dimitrova, Nana Shi, Tami Petty, and Michael Kelly

Roma! Perhaps you thought the name of this review referred to the Italian 

Capitol.  It does not! It refers to a people without a homeland, a people both revered and despised, sometimes scorned--but in the 19th c. elevated to a position of artistic reverence by the quest for exoticism inherent in the Romantic tradition. (We felt like writing ROMAntic.)

In its tenth anniversary season, the Brooklyn Art Song Society, helmed by pianist Michael Brofman, chose a theme of national identity as expressed through music, encapsulated by the word "Home". What a splendid theme! Last night we heard the first concert of the season, one which focused on the Roma people. 

Although we came for the songs and enjoyed the program immensely, what lingers in our ears is Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody #2 in C-sharp minor, one of our favorite keys. This was the first time we experienced the piano artistry of Nana Shi. One minute she was giving perfect pianistic support to the gifted soprano Tami Petty and the next, without pause for applause, she launched into this rhapsodic Rhapsody which likely symbolises best the feeling of gypsy music.

The trills made us think of the flutter of hummingbird's wings and the playing in the upper register suggested the sound of the cimbalom. Liszt's melodic invention is astounding and Ms. Shi's brilliant technique gave different colors to the mad succession of themes. We particularly enjoyed the wild abandon of the fast section which had us almost dancing in our chair.

We don't want to give short shrift to Ms. Petty's performance of Liszt's evocative "Die drei Zigeuner". Ms. Petty is a consummate storyteller, using a variety of dynamics and vocal coloration to tell the tale. The timbre of her voice is gorgeous and she knows how to spin a top note into a silken thread of sound. We had to stifle our applause until the end of the instrumental piece but we enjoyed the buildup of tension.

Mr. Brofman himself accompanied baritone Michael Kelly for Antonín Dvorák's Zigeunerlieder Op. 55. We have heard this cycle of seven songs sung in Czech (fantastic), in German (wunderbar), and in English (meh!)--but somehow we never heard it sung by a man and we don't know why. Mr. Kelly's delivery was meticulous and passionate at the same time. The text fulfills every fantasy anyone ever had about the free gypsy life and Mr. Kelly gave it full expression. We enjoyed the melismatic passages in "Mein Lied ertönt" but our favorite was "Als die alte Mutter". Each song is a painting and all together they formed a magnificent mosaic.

Ms. Shi is equally excellent as a soloist and as a collaborative pianist. The lush violin playing of the adorably named Stanichka Dmitrova reminded us of how like the human voice is the violin. The two artists seemed to breathe together whether in the long legato lines (like an operatic aria) or in the spirited and fiery plucked passages (like a cabaletta).

For our 19th c. ears, Pablo Sarasate's Zigeunerweisen Op. 20 held a bit more interest than the more modern Tzigane by Maurice Ravel which opened with a prolonged solo and kept Ms. Dimitrova in the lower register for quite some time whilst Ms. Shi's fleet fingers raced up and down the keyboard. It sounded to us like a deconstruction of gypsy melodies, as if the themes were cut in pieces and thrown into the air to land in a new arrangement.

We wish we could say something lovely about Brahms' Zigeunerlieder, Op. 103 but there is just something about the use of the music stand that distracts and distances us from the artist. We have heard and enjoyed Kristin Gornstein's pleasing mezzo-soprano on prior occasions but last night we were bored and our attention wandered. There was one lied in the cycle of eight that did pull us in. "Wißt ihr, wann mein Kindchen" is a song in which a boy and girl take turns expressing what they like about the other, offering the singer an opportunity to alter the coloration to suit.

Let us not fail to mention the encore--a tribute to the late Jesse Norman. Ms. Petty sang Strauss' Morgen, putting the audience in a pensive mood, quite a change from the high-spirited gypsy songs.

The theme of "Home" will continue on November 1st with Chants D'Auvergne by Joseph Canteloube; the complete cycle will be performed at the Brooklyn Historical Society.

© meche kroop

BACK TO THE GARDEN

ON SITE OPERA CURTAIN CALL

Sitting in the fragrant and manicured West Side Community Garden on W. 89th St. we couldn't help thinking of that classic rock tune by Crosby, Stills, and Nash with the lyrics "And we got to get ourselves back to the garden".

Had On Site Opera's production of Mozart's The Secret Garden not been so compelling the gorgeous colors of the Spring flowers might have upstaged it.  Happily, nothing could have upstaged this production, one that left us with a big smile which should last us at least through the weekend. Looking at the faces of the audience members indicated that our joy was a shared experience

The wildly creative stage director Eric Einhorn has so many tricks up his sleeve that we never know what he will come up with next.  Except we do know and we will tell you a bit at the end of this review. The entire premise of On Site Opera is to match the production to an appropriate setting. Regular readers will know exactly what we refer to but others can enter "On Site Opera" into the search bar to fill in their knowledge, lest we repeat ourselves.

Right now, it is the current production that commands our attention and mobilizes our face into a goofy grin. What an inspiration to present Mozart's La finta giardiniera in a garden! The site was perfect with the audience sitting around the perimeter of a large grassy circle with the action taking place both within the circle and in the aisles around and behind the audience. The cast of seven could remain interacting with each other whilst the principal participants in that scene were "center stage". Occasionally, cast members interacted with members of the audience.

It seemed so organic but probably an incredible amount of labor was necessary to produce that effect of spontaneity. To our surprise the acoustics were excellent. Calzabigi's libretto was translated and obviously adapted by Kelley Rourke, and a very fine translation it was. The scene in which Sandrina and Count Belfiore go insane was wisely cut and the 90 minute production moved along swiftly, relying on spoken dialogue in place of recitativi to move the action forward. Readers may be shocked to learn that we enjoyed the English but there was great skill involved in converting this silly and unwieldy story into an hour and a half of pure delight. Focus was placed squarely on the interactions of the lovers.

The story concerns seven would-be lovers all at odds with one another until they learn certain lessons. The three male suitors must learn how to court the women they desire. Count Belfiore (beautifully sung by tenor Spencer Viator) has anger management issues that drove away his beloved Lady Violet (the marvelous soprano Ashley Kerr) who is hiding out working for the Mayor (performed by terrific tenor Jonathan Blalock), as a gardener named Sandrina,

Superb baritone Jorell Williams (a product of Martina Arroyo's Prelude to Performance some years ago) portrayed Lady Violet's servant who has accompanied her, also disguised; he learns to court the Mayor's servant Serpetta (splendid soprano Alisa Jordheim) in a foreign language which she clearly finds far more romantic than English.

The modest Ramiro (portrayed by marvelous mezzo Kristin Gornstein, well known from Heartbeat Opera) must overcome his diffidence and pursue the Mayor's niece Arminda. Soprano Maeve Hoglund created quite a character--what the French would call exigent. She only accepts Ramiro when he gets forceful. Faint heart never won fair lady, as they say.

We find mating behavior fascinating--pursuit, rejection, betrayal, reconciliation--far more than stories about terrorism, politics, and inventions. We wish more contemporary composers would write about romance. Don't we all love to see our foibles onstage?

There were plenty of sight gags to add to the fun. Props like rakes, spades, and garden hoses were put to good use which you will want to see for yourself.

So the story was engaging, the singers splendiferous, the setting delightful, the English diction perfect. Even the lighting (designed by Shawn K. Kaufman) was inventive with strings of white lights encircling the garden, changing to blue when the Count was desperate and to red when things heated up. Costume design by Beth Goldenberg was right on point with Arminda appearing quite glamorous in her Schiaparelli pink costume and hat. Even the shoes were perfect with Sandrina (Lady Violet) wearing yellow Wellies and the Count wearing violet patent leather.

But this is opera and we have yet to say a word about Mozart's music.  He was but 18 years old when he composed the work (and what's YOUR 18-year-old doing?). The melodies that tumbled out one after another from his teen-aged pen were brilliantly conducted by Maestro Geoffrey McDonald with his customary stylish verve. The reduced orchestration was accomplished by horn player Yoni Kahn and Thomas Carroll. Orchestration was effectively distributed among a pair of oboes, a pair of period clarinets, a pair of bassoons, a pair of horns, and a double bass. The group calls itself Grand Harmonie and lives up to its name. The vocal lines are all melodious and the ensembles filled with pleasing harmonies.

The fact that On Site Opera presented this gift to our community (a new initiative of theirs) is astonishing and surely merits one's consideration of a generous donation.

This is a co-production with The Atlanta Opera and will be presented at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens next weekend. So, unless you want to travel south, we strongly urge you to show up tonight and to show up early. The production begins at 7 so don't say we didn't warn you. Saturday night is the final performance. The address is 123 W. 89th St. in Manhattan.

W promised to tell you a bit about what On Site Opera has coming up.  The United States premiere of Darius Milhaud's The Guilty Mother will be presented at The Garage, 611 W. 50th St. on June 20, 22, 23 and 24. If you've ever wondered what happened to the folks DaPonte wrote about, this will be your chance.

Finally, we would like to mention that we have a lot more to say about this opera which we reviewed two years ago at the Santa Fe Opera. If you enter "Crazy in Love" into the search bar above, you will be directed to a funny psychological analysis which we wrote about their very fine traditional production.

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COME TO THE CABARET....IN BROOKLYN

Spencer Myer, Kristin Gornstein, Justine Aronson, Richard Valitutto, Samantha Malk, and Michael Brofman

Last night at the beautiful Brooklyn Historical Society, the Brooklyn Art Song Society presented their fifth and final entry in a season devoted to Vienna in the first half of the 20th c.  It was a time of decadence, intrigue, and radicalism....and marvelous music. Cabaret was the subject of last night's sold out performance and we enjoyed witnessing three singers we love pushing their boundaries.

Cabaret is a broad term but, in our opinion, it should be naughty and counter-culture. To our ears, it sounds best in German because of the sound and taste of the words as well as the facility with rhyming. Toward this end, soprano Justine Aronson's performance of Arnold Schoenberg's Brettl Lieder more than fulfilled our expectations.  We have heard his "Galathea" performed onstage but we have never heard it the way Ms. Aronson sang it, with devilish glee.

Although she used the loathed music stand, somehow she managed to incorporate ample gesture to accompany her ironic coloration and the song became completely new. We believe she plumbed the depths of meaning and came up with pearls. "Gigerlette" and "Der genugsame Liebhaber" were replete with doppelbedeutung. Richard Valitutto made a fine collaborative pianist.

Her performance of a set of French cabaret songs was a far different affair--not satirical but soulful. We particularly enjoyed Edith Piaf's "La Vie en Rose", Poulenc's "Les chemins de l'amour",  and Erik Satie's "Je te veux" -- but it is Piaf's "Padam padam" that keeps going around in our head.  It's a song that we first heard sung by Kim David Smith who performs a totally different type of cabaret. The piano accompaniment of Artistic Director and Founder Michael Brofman sounded just right.

Mezzo-soprano Kristin Gornstein is well known to us from Heartbeat Opera, so we have never seen her without extravagant makeup design. Last night was the first time we heard her in recital format, although that word fails to describe the intense performance she gave of Kurt Weill's music, for which Berthold Brecht wrote the lyrics. Mr. Valitutto's piano was forceful but never overwhelmed the voice.

We far prefer "Mack the Knife" in German but Marc Blitzstein's translation is quite good and Ms. Gornstein made every word count.  In "The Ballad of Sexual Obsession" there was plenty of ad libbing, about a man with an orange face and stringy yellow hair, that had the audience laughing out loud. This topicality meets a major requirement of cabaret!

Accompanied by Spencer Myer,  mezzo-soprano Samantha Malik performed a set of songs by William Bolcom, making each song into a little opera. The songs are mainly about contemporary society. Ms. Malik's interpretations were all right on point--romantic disappointment, a party turned sour, an overnight date that lasted too long. The most familiar of the set was "Amor" which we have often heard and enjoyed as an encore number. But the hymn-like "Waitin'", short, sweet, perfectly written and sung, seemed out of place with the other songs.

Ms. Malik also performed some songs by Benjamin Britten, settings of texts by W.H. Auden. They were fine songs but did not strike us as cabaret.  Perhaps we need to broaden our definition but we found them lacking in satire and naughtiness.

Although this was the conclusion of the series on Viennese music, B.A.S.S. is not finished with their season. On March 31st there will be a fine program of Debussy, Hahn, Poulenc and Heggie at National Sawdust.

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OUR HEART BEATS FOR HEARTBEAT OPERA

The cast of Queens of the Night: Mozart in Space

Our customary Halloween Party lost out to Heartbeat Opera; when Co-Artistic Directors Ethan Heard and Louisa Proske plan an event, it takes precedence over anything else we might be doing. We know of no other organization in NYC that has its finger on the pulse of opera-curious young people. It gives us great pleasure to hear a sell-out crowd of 20-somethings hootin' and hollerin' for opera.

How does Heartbeat Opera do this?  Somehow, without diluting the art form, they manage to expand it to include elements that appeal to the young. They choose casual venues (this time the wonderful performance space National Sawdust in trendy Billyburg).

They cast excellent young performers (sopranos Jamilyn Manning-White and Marie Marquis, mezzo-soprano Kristin Gornstein, tenor Jordan Weatherston Pitts, and baritone John Taylor Ward). They have a crew of talented designers (Jon Carter, Miodrag Guberinic, Reid Thompson, Oliver Wason, and Joey Moro). They have excellent Co-Music Directors (Jacob Ashworth and Daniel Schlosberg.

The singing is topnotch and Mozart's music was arranged for string quartet plus bass and keyboard-- which worked well in the wide shallow space with a wide shallow stage. The musicians were clustered at one side of the stage with the rest of the stage available for all manner of fun stagecraft. 

The concept was something about aliens in space with the robot being portrayed by the petite dancer/choreographer Emma Jaster. There was liberal use made of the language of space travel in the script--re-entry and lift-off, control panels and pods, aliens and robots. Costuming and make-up (by MAC) was extravagant and candy-colored wigs completed the colorful imagery. There was unlimited imagination and creativity in evidence.

We got fresh takes on many Mozart standards. If the genius were alive today we think he would have gotten a kick out of Papagena and Papageno discovering sex through touching elbows. He would have laughed out loud seeing Tamino in a dress and wig. He would have thrilled to the fantabulous costume of the dragon, portrayed by Taurean Everett.

But what would he have made of the dragon lip-syncing to Aretha Franklin's version of "Nessun dorma"? We were giggling inside imagining him saying something racy about "that Puccini fella".

Well, everything else was Mozart and if the Puccini got a huge hand, Ms. Manning-White's Queen of the Night garnered an even larger one. 

The event was a benefit and even the fund-raising effort was memorable. We watched a captivating performance that raised $2000 in less than 10 minutes! This young company (just over 2 years old) deserves our support. The future of opera lies with young people and they are drawn in by adventure, creativity, color, imagination, and vitality.  Heartbeat Opera has it all.

Bizet's Carmen and Puccini's Madama Butterfly will be re-invented by Heartbeat in May.  We will be there!  See you there!

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GETTIN' HI WITH WILD HEARTBEAT

Joshua Jeremiah, Kristin Gornstein, Jamilyn Manning-White, Emma Jaster, Louisa Proske and Ethan Heard

Nothing Heartbeat Opera does is commonplace. The work of Co-Directors Louisa Proske and Ethan Heard is marked by daring originality and intense creative effort. The results continue to win new friends for opera.

Last night, in partnership with Friends of the High Line, a fabulous free event right on The High Line introduced a vast crowd of New Yorkers to an art form with which many were unacquainted. If some were not opera fans when they arrived, they were surely opera fans when they left.

Heartbeat Opera originated when Yale graduates Ms. Proske and Mr. Heard undertook to take a fresh look at opera--not the way regietheater folk contort an opera to fit their own wacky ideas but rather by bringing out the wackiness of the art form itself.

They have freed opera from the strictures of traditional performance in traditional venues and can be considered a shining light among the new and nimble small companies making opera compelling to young people.  They have established quite a following.

We personally had a blast and, since there were folks sitting on both sides of the thrust stage, we got a good look at other folks having an equally marvelous time.  The cast managed somehow to keep moving so that each side got equal time.  During "The Flower Duet" from Delibes' Lakmé, the "groundlings", seated on mats in front of the chair section, waved flowers back and forth in time with the music. Later, the flashlights on cell phones were similarly waved back and forth. Up close and personal, we all felt like part of the show.

The three singers were well chosen to cover all the bases (except bass and tenor) and each artist was able to choose his/her own material, guaranteeing that heart(beat) and soul would go into each and every performance.  

Wisely, familiar pieces were chosen from the well-known operas of Mozart, Handel, Puccini, Verdi, Bizet, Rossini, and....Rogers and Hammerstein, thus lending authenticity to our dearly held belief that Broadway music represents the counterpart of "opera" in the 20th c.

The composers of Broadway musicals wrote music for the people of their time that was accessible in the way that Verdi was to Italians in the 19th c. Their works appealed to the masses with rip-roaring drama and characters with which the audience could identify, singing memorable tunes.

The three singers were infallibly on point and incredibly entertaining. Although we have favorably reviewed all three before in better acoustics, we somehow didn't mind the amplification made necessary by the outdoor venue.

Soprano Jamilyn White opened the program with "Quando m'en vo" from Puccini's La Bohème and was followed by Kristen Gornstein performing the "Habanera" from Bizet's Carmen.  The two women harmonized beautifully in the aforementioned flower song--"Sous le dôme eépais".

Baritone Joshua Jeremiah wooed the audience with "Some Enchanted Evening" from Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific; he sang it with all the respect given to any operatic aria.  He made a fine Don Giovanni to Ms. Gornstein's overly enthusiastic Zerlina who jumped onto his back in "La ci darem la mano".  We enjoyed his "Largo al factotum" from Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia;  His voice melded beautifully with the women's in "Soave sia il vento" from Mozart's Cosi fan tutte.

Ms. White drew great applause for her dazzling Queen of the Night from Mozart's Die Zauberflöte.

There was no printed program but Emma Jaster, a tiny pixie of a dancer, wearing a flesh-colored leotard and a rainbow wig, bore placards announcing the composer on one side and the opera on the other--giving each side equal time.  Happily, she was granted solo time and her corporeal expression of the ethereal "Meditation" from Massenet's Thaïs was heartfelt and beautiful to behold.

Since we have arrived at a discussion of costuming, let it be noted that the baroque (in one sense of the word) and motley designs of Jon Carter added greatly to the fun of the evening.  There were lots of spangles and spandex, vests and vestments. Wigs were baroque (in the historical sense of the word). MAC Cosmetics provided the materials for the wild make-up. We refer readers to our Facebook page "Voce di Meche" on which we will post an array of photos showing what words can only approximate.

The musical arrangement by Co-Music Directors Jacob Ashworth and Daniel Schlosberg was just as original as the rest of the evening.  A three piece band comprised a keyboard played by Mr. Schlosberg, a violin bowed by Mr. Ashworth, and an array of saxophones blown badly by an unknown musician. A couple sour notes failed to impair our delight.

Producing director for the event was Jennifer Newman. Effective lighting was by Oliver Wason and equally effective sound design was by Harrison Keithline who gets props for not assaulting our ears with excessive amplification.

Balloons were tossed and popped, flowers were waved, cell phones were waved, photos were snapped. We didn't see a single unhappy face.  Yes, Virginia, opera can be FUN!

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GENDER QUEER OPERA

Kristin Gornstein

Last night we entered a room jam-packed with young people primed to enjoy opera under the most original circumstances.  The occasion was a benefit drag performance of Miss Handel, an evening of (mostly) Handel's music performed by artists who were not only vocally skilled but outrageously and winningly outfitted in period costumes. Sequins, feather boas, powdered wigs, beauty marks, and size 12 pumps were exhibited in abundance but never distracted from the fine musical values.

Heartbeat Opera, founded by Co-Directors Ethan Heard and Louisa Proske, is one of the small boutique opera companies that have been springing up lately, perhaps stimulated by the demise of New York City Opera. Last year we were completely won over by their highly original Daphnis et Chloé (review archived and available through the search bar).

Last night's extravaganza was wildly entertaining and drew a mostly young crowd. We wondered how many of them had not enjoyed opera before; we further wondered if Handel's music acquired some new fans from among the newbies. We tend to think so and applaud any and all attempts to cultivate a young audience.

As far as musical values, we found nothing to criticize. Co-Music Directors Jacob Ashworth and Daniel Schlosberg produced the lovely baroque sounds of violin and harpsichord, augmented by Hsuan-Fong Chen's oboe, Sarah Stone's cello, and Jude Ziliack's violin.

The superb singing was done by Kristin Gornstein, Lauren Worsham, Stanley Bahorek, Scott Mello, and John Taylor Ward. Ms. Gornstein is known to us through her work with Lachlan Glen's Schubertiade and Ms. Worsham through her performances with Steven Blier's New York Festival of Song. The male voices were new to us but everyone excelled in the baroque genre. It is astonishing how the artists could camp things up and strut around in drag while still maintaining vocal quality.

The gender bending mistresses of ceremony were Ato Blankson-Wood (new to us) and James Cusati-Moyer (whose performance last year as the devil in Stravinsky's Soldier's Tale blew us away). The pair introduced each number in oh-so-clever rhymed couplets written by dramaturge Antigoni Gaitana and Mr. Heard. The identically gowned ladies faced each other through a mirror frame and lip-synched "Myself I Shall Adore" from Handel's Semele. It was hilarious.

The other numbers were all sung and perhaps our favorite was "Iris, hence away" from Semele, sung by Ms. Gornstein. Not all arias were sung in English and we particularly enjoyed the one in Italian.

The only non-Handel number was the final duet from Bernstein's Candide, a particularly humorous example of the exchange of clothes and gender roles. It was deliciously raunchy.

Obviously a mountain of imagination was substituted for a molehill of a budget. The production was designed by Seth Bodie, Jon Carter, Reid Thompson, and Oliver Wason.

It is incredibly gratifying to see how much can be done with a small budget and how exciting it is to experience opera up close and personal. The skin tingles and, YES, the heart beats! What a perfect name for this company.

We heartily recommend this production if you can possibly snag a ticket for one of the two remaining shows tonight.

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WE HEART HEARTBEAT OPERA

Gary Ramsay, Karin Mushegain, and Nicole Haslett (photo by Christopher Ash)

What could make a veteran opera goer happier than seeing a house full of 20-somethings laughing and cheering at the opera?  We have nothing but accolades for the yearling Heartbeat Opera, the members of which put all their heart and soul into presenting Jacques Offenbach's one-act ribald opera Daphnis and Chloe.  It was a wise choice and high in entertainment value. In spite of claims of minimal means, the production appeared rich in imagination, creativity and color.

Even before the opera began, the audience was serenaded by the chamber group Cantata Profana comprising Nathan Lesser violinist, Colin Brookes violist, Samuel Suggs bassist, Joshua Anderson clarinetist and Andrew Parker Oboeist; the graceful strains of the latter teased our ears with the opening theme. Their motley attire added to the fun. The hands-on batonless conductor was the fine Louis Lohraseb and Offenbach's score was arranged for the quintet by Daniel Schlosberg.

The voices were uniformly excellent with winsome soprano Nicole Haslett (well remembered from Martina Arroyo's Prelude to Performance and from The Ghosts of Versailles at Manhattan School of Music) performing as Chloe, mezzo-soprano Karin Mushegain taking the role of Daphnis, Gary Ramsey (remembered as the lead in Dell'Arte Opera's production of Salieri's Falstaff) playing the raunchy Pan.

The four Bacchantes were excellently sung and acted by Tynan Davis, Kristin Gornstein, Alexandra Loutsion and Molly Netter.  It was a treat for the eye to see the costuming by Beth Goldenberg; the four women were decked out in feather boas, layers of underwear, chains and safety pins and lots of plastic.  Their faces were decorated with paint and their wild hairdos augmented by whatever artistry Jon Carter brought to the table. Perhaps he was also responsible for Pan's goat feet and horns.

The story is a simple one. The shepherd Dafnis and the shepherdess Chloe are sweet on one another but haven't a clue about how to express it.  The god Pan, pretending to be his own statue, is enamored of Chloe and determines to initiate her into the art of love whereas the Bacchantes, all crazy about Dafnis, plot to seduce him with the waters of forgetfulness from the River Lethe.  They succeed and the lovers are then ready to wed.

This silly tale offered the canny Offenbach an opportunity to make lots of rowdy jokes which amused last night's audience as much as they must have amused his 19th c. audience.  You had to be there to appreciate Pan's pipes.

The effective set by Reid Thompson included a backdrop of silver streamers, a floor strewn with flowers and a sequined pedestal to permit Pan to hide his goat feet. Oliver Wason's lighting was effective.  Choreography was by Chloe (sic) Treat (sic).

The entire affair can be attributed to Heartbeat's Co-Artistic Directors Ethan Heard and Louisa Proske who also directed.  The two came out of the Yale School of Drama which has been the source of so many superlative productions and skilled artists.  We love and support their mission to bring opera to youthful audiences in intimate venues.

Our only cavil with the evening was the English translation. Presumably the intent was to make it more accessible but we would have preferred to hear it sung in French with English dialogue.  Some of the singing in English was not clear enough to be understood anyway.  Still, it was not that important since the story was simple and well told by the performers' physicality.  Just sayin'.  We prefer the cadence of French.

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DRAWING TO A CLOSE

Lachlan Glen, Kyle Bielfield, Andy McCullough, Kristin Gornstein

As the New York opera season draws to a close, so does Schubert&Co.'s perusal of Franz Schubert's output of over 600 songs.  What an opportunity we have had all year, hearing rising stars of the opera world up close and personal in the rather intimate venue of Central Presbyterian Church.  If you have attended regularly, as we have, you know whereof I speak.  If you have not, you have only a few more opportunities to appreciate this remarkable endeavor of collaborative pianists and Co-Artistic Directors Lachlan Glen and Jonathan Ware.  Today there is a 3PM recital that sounds enticing but the 8PM recital is an absolute necessity for lieder lovers when the incomparable baritone Ed Parks will sing Schwanengesang.

Last night's recital offered mezzo-soprano Kristin Gornstein and two very different but equally impressive tenors, both known from former years when getting their Master's Degree from Juilliard.  The texts were by Mayrhofer whom, as Mr. Lachlan suggested in his introductory remarks, was likely a devoted partner to Schubert since they slept in the same bed for years.  Furthermore, poor Mr. Mayrhofer defenestrated himself shortly after poor Schubert met an untimely end.  Would that they both had lived longer and created more songs!

Andy McCullough has a powerful tenor and shone especially in "Schlaflied" and "Rückweg" in which he demonstrated low notes a baritone would envy.  Perfectly partnered by Mr. Glen, the pair demonstrated perfect control of dynamics.  We were rather taken by the poignant melody of "Rückweg".

Kyle Bielfield is a tenor of a different sort--gentle, sweet and endearing.  The two songs he performed with intense involvement were said to be representative of Schubert and Mayrhofer's awareness of their "outsider" status and perhaps a reflection of their putative secret relationship.  The loneliness of being different is expressed in "Abendstern, D.806" while "Nachtviolen, D.752" references a sacred union.  Mr. Bielfield lovingly caressed each vowel in a moving display of erotic love.

To Kristin Gornstein was given a quartet of songs, the most delightful of which was the drinking song "Zum Punsche".  How we love a good drinking song!  She has a true mezzo quality in her voice and Mr. Glen's piano brought out the thunder referenced in "Abendlied der Furstin" and some very gentle harp-like sounds in "Liedesend".  And just listen to the postlude of "Atys"!  Absolutely transporting!

We urge you to attend this weekend; you will not be disappointed.  Au contraire, you will be thrilled.

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SCHUBERT'S UNPUBLISHED SONG CYCLE

Leave it to Schubert&Co. to discover an unrecognized cycle of songs--settings of poetry by Karl Wilhelm Friedrich von Schlegel.  As Co-Artistic Director Lachlan Glen explained, there is every evidence that Schubert intended these settings, composed around the same time as Die Schöne Müllerin, to be a cycle but they remained unpublished and not organized in an appropriate order at the time of Schubert's untimely death.  (One of the problems presented by this collection is the wide range of voicing; Mr. Glen solved this problem by dividing the songs amongst three singers with different ranges.) But we got to hear (and heart) them all last night at Central Presbyterian Church and so did you, if you took our advice.

Soprano Catherine Hancock has a winning bright sound and was pleasantly playful in the opening song "Der Schmetterling"; it is always delightful to see an artist enjoying herself to such an extent. Mezzo Kristin Gornstein has a brilliant upper register that would be the envy of any soprano, but has that chocolatey mezzo richness at the bottom.  We particularly enjoyed the wistful "Das Mädchen".  We would urge singers to pay more attention to the final "ch" and "ig" in their German.  Many American singers shy away from enunciating them and we wonder if it is fear of mispronouncing.  In any event, it is an easy flaw to correct.

Baritone Benjamin Bloomfield has no such problem.  He demonstrated different colors last night than he did the prior night.  We especially enjoyed the interesting mood changes in "Der Schiffer" and the peaceful feeling of "Der Wanderer".

Last night's guest pianist was Michael Brofman of the Brooklyn Art Song Society who distinguished himself by bringing out the Baroque leanings of "Vom Mitleiden Maria" and the references to nature in "Die Gebüsche" and "Im Walde".

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SCHUBERTIADE

If you have been attending Schubert&Co.'s lieder recitals then you already know what a gift is being given to New York City's lieder lovers by Artistic Directors Lachlan Glen and Jonathan Ware, plus all the gifted singers who are presenting over 600 Schubert songs over a one year period.

If for some reason you have not yet attended the recitals at  Central Presbyterian Church, it is not too late to start.  There are plenty of recitals to come including one tonight at 8PM and Sunday at 6PM (at a different venue).  If you heard baritone Benjamin Bloomfield last night, you will surely want to hear him again tonight, as we did and will.  Amongst his four selections, we particularly enjoyed a most sensitive rendering of "Im Abendrot", a setting of an exquisite poem by Karl Gottlieb Lappe.  Gone was the gloomy poetry of Goethe; Lappe is nothing if not sunny.

One of our favorite sopranos, Devon Guthrie lent her superlative artistry to a group of songs which were settings of poetry by A.W. Schlegel.  The lengthy strophic setting of "Abendlied für die Entfernte" with its several changes from major to minor gave Ms. Guthrie ample time to show off her warm personality and delicious resonance.

Mezzo Kristin Gornstein was charming in a Claudius poem entitled "Zufriedenheit".  Soprano Charlotte Dobbs has a clear attractive soprano, bringing to life another Claudius poem entitled "Phidile".  Tenor James Baumgardner also sang a Claudius lied entitled "Täglich zu singen".  Herr Claudius may become our new favorite poet. 

Collaborative pianist Lachlan Glen, newly returned from Germany and Switzerland, provided sensitive accompaniment to the singers.  We were so delighted by the informal style of this Schubertiade that two more recitals this weekend do not feel like too many.

(c) meche kroop