ENJOYING RAPE

Kurt Kanazawa and Avery Amereau (photo by Ken Howard)

We are filled with wonder whenever brought to the point of appreciating that which we might have disdained.  Whom do we credit for the reversal of taste?  In the case of Benjamin Britten's The Rape of Lucretia, credit must be shared by the super-talented young artists and the incredibly astute production team.

The libretto by Ronald Duncan did not sound promising; the evil Etruscan prince Tarquinius rapes the faithful wife of Collatinus, his comrade in arms. But look what director Mary Birnbaum has made out of this slender story.  She has placed the Greek chorus firmly in the 21st c., allowing them to comment on the story through the prism of Christianity and also to address the characters in this 500 BCE story. For the most part, the narrators appear to be reading from a history book.  She has mined the tale for contemporary relevance, highlighting the contrast between the creative productivity of women and the destructive power-seeking and war-mongering of men.

Jocelyn Dueck merits special mention for getting each and every artist to enunciate each and every word clearly so that not a single word was missed, thereby overcoming our dislike of operas sung in English.  The dialogue, based on Le Viol de Lucrèce, a play by André Obey, has language that rivals that of Homer with some beautiful metaphors that deserved to be heard and savored. They were.

And what a cast!  There is such strength in Juilliard's Vocal Arts Department that each role could be perfectly cast.  As the eponymous Lucretia, mezzo-soprano Avery Amereau fulfilled the demands of the role both vocally and dramatically.  She has a rich and resonant instrument that she employs skillfully and flawlessly.  Dramatically, she was totally convincing as the beautiful and innocent Lucretia who, in a fit of self-directed "slut shaming", stabbed herself after being raped.

As the rapist, the good-natured baritone Kurt Kanazawa transformed himself into an arrogant entitled brute who cannot bear the fact that his fellow comrade-in-arms Collatinus is married to the only faithful woman in Rome.  His mellow voice was given a bitter edge that was chilling. His wild ride into Rome was breathtaking.

As the aforementioned Collatinus, bass Daniel Miroslaw, whom we had not previously heard, made a fine showing--the only sympathetic male character amongst the warriors.  We look forward to hearing his booming bass in the future.

Baritone Joe Eletto portrayed Junius, another soldier, with great vitality.  He too has been cuckolded and feels resentment toward Collatinus' good fortune but would not act on it.  All the ambivalence was there in his wonderful voice and body language.

The three military men have a wonderful scene in their encampment outside Rome as they malign women and strut about emanating testosterone-fueled rage.  It was made clear how humiliation leads to rage and that rape is an act of rage, not sex.

Tenor William Goforth beautifully handled the role of narrator (Greek chorus), telling the story in a meaningful manner and with supernally clear diction. Mezzo-soprano Marguerite Jones held up the female part of the chorus with her customary skill.

As Lucretia's two women servants, mezzo-soprano Amanda Lynn Bottoms impressed as the maternal Bianca as did soprano Christine Price as Lucia.  One of our favorite scenes was that of the three women joining voices in a stunning trio while spinning wool on spindles.  Might we add that they appeared to know exactly how this task is accomplished!  Britten's music at this point was extraordinarily lovely.

The opera itself was composed by Britten as one of a group of chamber operas written in the impoverished post-World War II period when faith and funds were in equally short supply. Members of the excellent Juilliard Orchestra, under the baton of Mark Shapiro, brought the compelling score to vivid life.  We do so love the harp and Marion Ravot's playing was ravishing. The wind section was particularly well employed.

The simple but effective set by Grace Laubacher comprised a simple table and chairs for the two narrators and a large rotating platform for the historical scenes. Lighting was by Anshuman Bhatia. Costumes by Sydney Maresca were effective, particularly the soldiers' garb. Adam Cates choreographed Tarquinius ride and the rape scene most grippingly.

Who could ask for anything more?

© meche kroop

STARS OF TOMORROW

Raymond Wong and William Goforth

Yesterday we attended Juilliard's 168th Liederabend.  Have we attended all 168 of them?  No, but we wish we had because they are monthly treats we heartily anticipate.  If you attend one of them, you will likely become a regular, such is the high quality of the performances.  To make the deal even sweeter, there is absolutely no charge whatsoever!  Even when we have an event to review at 7:30 (as we did Thursday night), we find it worth the effort to dash up to 65th St. for a delightful hour discovering the stars of tomorrow.  Then you can say "I heard him/her when he/she was a student" and be complimented for your perspicacity.

Yesterday's recital was the first of the year and we heard four voice students of great promise, all of whom we would love to hear again.  The four collaborative pianists were of equally impressive skill.  First on the program was William Goforth,  whose sweet tenor we recall fondly from last year.  Accompanied by Raymond Wong, the pair performed Beethoven's An die ferne Geliebte, an outpouring of German Romanticism but still carrying over much from the Classical Period.  These songs of romantic longing are performed without a break, relying on chord progressions to weave them together.  Mr. Goforth sang them in fine German with  admirable word coloring, possibly due to having translated the text himself.  

Mr. Goforth seemed to "taste" each word and we understand because we too love the taste of German in our mouth.  He increased the dramatic impact with dynamic variety.  As the cycle progressed his involvement grew and we felt drawn into the world of nature.  Mr. Wong contributed a great deal by emphasizing the changes to minor and back to major.  His light fingers created the sounds of nature--twittering birds and babbling brooks.  The three descending notes from "Wo die Berge so blau" have haunted us all night.

Soprano Onadek Winan has a nice ring to her voice, quite suitable for Richard Strauss.  She performed three songs from his Mädchenblumen and captured nicely the various moods of the flowers, representative of women-- the modest cornflower in "Kornblumen", the fiery poppy of "Mohnblumen" and the soulful ivy of "Epheu".  Mr. Strauss must have had a fine time limning the characterizations of all the various types of women he came across.  We confess to enjoying the fiery poppy the most.  Edward Kim was Ms. Winan's piano partner and fell right in with the three moods.

Marguerite Jones has a nice-sized mezzo and a facility for story telling which she used to play the role of Anzoleta encouraging her lover Momolo in a gondola race.  Rossini's La regatta veneziana requires a lot of intense excitement on the part of both pianist and singer.  Ms. Jones' personality carried the day; she sang in the Venetian dialect, as is customarily done.  Again, performing her own translations probably contributed to her success.  She produced three distinct moods in the three songs of the cycle.  We loved the rocking barcarole rhythm in HoJae Lee's piano.

Baritone Kurt Kanazawa, also remembered from last year, performed a cycle of songs by Guy Ropartz (a contemporary of Strauss) entitled Quatre poems d'apres L'Intermezzo d'Henri Heine.  (We guess that's what they call Heinrich in France!)  The Prelude and Postlude gave pianist  Kristen Doering a chance to shine and the four songs between were of unrelieved romantic despair; it was up to Mr. Kanazawa to provide some variety which he did by varying the dynamics and exploring the depth of feeling in the text.  The final song had the rhythm of a funeral march.  We know little of the composer and were not particularly impressed with the cycle.

We hoped to return to a more cheerful aspect with Kara Sainz and William Kelley performing Manuel de Falla's lively cycle Siete Canciones populares Espanolas but it was time to leave for Carnegie Hall to hear Luca Pisaroni.  So, we apologize to Ms. Sainz; we heard her last year and are sure she did a fine job.

© meche kroop

MORE BUDS ON THE VOCAL ARTS BRANCH OF THE JUILLIARD TREE

Alex McKissick, Nicolette Mavroleon

Kurt Kanazawa, Virginie Verrez, Laura Levoir, Jessine Johnson

Lachlan Glen, Theo Hoffman, Leann Osterkamp, Mary-Elizabeth O'Neill

A week of recitals at Juilliard have left us reeling with pleasure. There wasn't a mediocre singer in the bunch; all were promising but some seem to have a better sense of what suits their particular voices and interpretive skills.  It takes a lot of courage to introduce a new work or to choose songs that are rarely performed.  Sometimes a gem is discovered and sometimes we are left realizing why a particular work has been neglected.  (Anyone who has worked with Steven Blier knows of his gifts for choosing songs and finding the right singer to inhabit them.)

Let us begin with Theo Hoffman whose third-year undergraduate status tells us absolutely nothing about his prodigious talents.  His generous smoky baritone was heard twice on Thursday.  At the Vocal Arts Department's Liederabend (an all-Schumann program) he sang in perfect German four lovely lieder, perfectly modulated in volume and word-coloring.  He was accompanied by the fine Ari Livne.

And two hours later he was onstage at his third-year recital with the amazing Lachlan Glen (whose new CD we will be reviewing shortly) as piano partner, making music out of some songs in English that we did not expect to enjoy; it is testament to the talents of these two artists that we found ourselves loving the material.

Mr. Hoffman has preternatural stage poise and dramatic chops; he can really bring a song to life.  He drew selections from the oeuvre of Jonathan Dove, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Benjamin Britten, John Musto, Samuel Barber, Rufus Wainwright and Marc Blitzstein.  One cannot go wrong with poetry by Alfred Tennyson, Robert Louis Stevenson or William Butler Yeats.  But the big surprise was Rufus Wainwright's "True Loves" and Marc Blitzstein's "Stay in My Arms". Both men composed their own texts and both songs were pure delight.  As encore, Mr. Hoffman sang Noel Coward's "Uncle Harry", a reprise of his success at a recital at the National Opera Center. What fun!!!

Sharing the program was mezzo Mary-Elizabeth O'Neill whom we enjoyed in those wonderful Schubert songs from Gesänge aus Wilhelm Meister.  She was just the right interpreter for these songs of the mysterious Mignon.  We were somewhat less enchanted by her choice of Mirabai Songs, John Harbison's setting of texts by Robert Bly.  The writing for piano was difficult and dense, performed well by the fine collaborative pianist Leann Osterkamp, but the vocal line was spare and not melodic.  The work obviously meant a great deal to Ms. O'Neill but we found ourselves incapable of caring about the Hindu princess who left her family to devote herself body and soul to Lord Krishna, although Ms. O'Neill's diction in English was easily understood.

To return now to the all-Schumann Liederabend, we enjoyed baritone Kurt Kanazawa, accompanied by Joseph Yungen, having a great deal of fun with his choices.  His light and pleasing baritone sounded wonderful and seemed particularly suited to songs about seduction--"The Hidalgo" for example.  He is one of those singers who uses his body and facial expression to good advantage, as in his imitating the ladies of Seville with their fans and mantillas.  What a storyteller!

Soprano Laura LeVoir with her piano partner Zsolt Balogh sounded especially fine in "Der Sandmann", "Schmetterling" and "Schneeglöckchen", singing with lightness, delicacy and charm.

Jessine Johnson has a larger voice that was well suited to the tragic "Der Soldat" and the scary "Muttertraum".  The Rückert lied "Mein schöner Stern" was equally impressive.  Siyi Fang followed along with her as piano partner, contributing to the apt interpretations.

Mezzo Virginie Verrez, accompanied by Miles Fellenberg, undertook the very sad Gedichte der Königin Maria Stuart.  Her very textured voice was expressive and she demonstrated exquisite phrasing, dynamic control and word coloring.  We were moved and enthralled.

Soprano Nicolette Mavroleon and tenor Alex McKissick shared a third-year recital and made a fine showing, the most amazing part of which was their versatility.  Just a few days earlier we heard them both singing in a cabaret (also reviewed here) and were impressed with the ease with which they shifted gears.

We always love Dvořák and were thrilled that Ms. Mavroleon chose to sing a quartet of his songs, three of which were about unfulfilled love.  We especially loved the typical Czech melody of "My heart often becomes mournful".  Piano partner Valeriya Polunina captured the mood perfectly.

She also sang a Schubert concert aria in Italian that was filled with emotion--"Vedi quanto adoro ancora ingrato!"  How wonderful to discover a new side of Schubert; we would not have recognized it as Schubert.  Two songs by Rimsky-Korsakov followed and we were blown away by the erotic "A Midsummer Night's Dream".

Tenor Alex McKissick essayed selections from Die Schöne Müllerin which we have always considered to be best sung by a young man.  He conveyed enthusiasm and contentment, tenderness and exultation. We liked the way he changed color for the various voices in "Am Feierabend".

He has a facility for Spanish and did a fine job conveying the insecurity of the serenader in "Te quiero, Morena" from the zarzuela El Trust de los Tenorios by José Serrano.  José Padilla's "Princesita" had a lovely melody.  Raymond Wong was his able accompanist.

A week spent at Juilliard provided a lifetime of musical memories!

© meche kroop

GREAT BRITTEN

Pierre Ferreyra-Mansilla, Nathan Haller, Angela Vallone, Brian Zeger, Jessine Johnson, Samantha Hankey, Eric Jurenas

A Juilliard Songfest last night at Alice Tully Hall offered an opportunity to get your fill of Benjamin Britten's songs, curated by Artistic Director Brian Zeger who also lent his prodigious talent as collaborative pianist.  The ten singers are in various stages of training at the Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts but we dare you to distinguish between the graduate students and the undergraduates; all have superb voices and stage presence to spare.

The opening piece on the program turned out to be our personal favorite, the 1952 Canticle II: Abraham and Isaac, Op. 51.  We first heard this work a year ago at Chelsea Opera in a fully staged and costumed version with young Benjamin Perry Wenzelberg doing more than justice to the role of the young Isaac about to be sacrificed by his father.  Tonight in this role we heard counter-tenor Eric Jurenas with tenor Miles Mykkanen as Abraham in a semi-staged performance that worked beautifully, both vocally and dramatically.  The most arresting singing was the voice of God produced by the two men singing in the most amazing unison.

The other major work on the program comprised Songs and Proverbs of William Blake, written in 1965 for Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
1965.  Last night this vocally demanding material was finely handled by two exemplary baritones--Theo Hoffman whose fine work is familiar to us and Kurt Kanazawa whom we had never heard before but look forward to hearing again.

The remainder of the program consisted of a grouping of sorrowful folk songs and a grouping of joyful ones.  We particularly liked tenor William Goforth's connection with the text in "At the mid hour of night" and Mr. Kanazawa's humorous complaint "Lord! I married me a wife". Tenor Nathan Haller gave a moving performance of "The Children".  Tenor Michael St. Peter demonstrated a lovely vocal quality in the strophic "O Waly, Waly", standing out against the chordal accompaniment.

In the set of joyful songs, we particularly enjoyed Mr. Haller's performance of "Bonny at Morn".  Mr. Jurenas' performance of "The Miller of Dee" was set against piano work by Mr. Zeger that left no doubt that mill wheels were turning.  Mr. St. Peter's strophic "Plough Boy" was pure delight.

Several songs were accompanied by the guitar of Pierre Ferreyra-Mansilla who seemed to have a very personal relationship with his instrument.  Our favorite was the jaunty "Sailor Boy" sung by Mr. Haller.  The program was not entirely male; sopranos Jessine Johnson and Angela Vallone and mezzo Samantha Hankey made valuable contributions to both groups of folk songs.  Ms. Vallone sang "The Big Chariot" and "How sweet the answer". The closing number of the evening was a duet "Underneath the Abject Willow" performed by Ms. Johnson and Ms. Hankey.  Their voices blended splendidly and y'all know how much we love duets!

If you didn't get your fill of Britten last night, don't despair.  It's his centennial and you will have many more opportunities.

© meche kroop