Maestro Patrick Quigley and Lauren Snouffer

(photo by Jennifer Packard)

It is always an exciting event when the D.C. based Opera Lafayette comes to town. They always introduce us to music with which we are unfamiliar, concentrating as they do on the 18th century. Furthermore, the scholarship is impressive since it puts the music into historical perspective and offers a new way of appreciating it. What a compelling idea it was to compare music written by men for castrati with music written by women for female voices. We confess that we had never heard of any 18th century female composers! What a discovery!

The first half of the program opened with Gluck's "Se mai senti spirarti sul volto" from La clemenza di Tito, based on the same tale which Mozart would later put to good use. Soprano Lauren Snouffer sang with bright clear tone and lovely phrasing, but we yearned for her to step away from the music stand. Although other audience members may not mind, we find it disconcerting when a singer keeps looking down and turning pages.

We remember Ms. Snouffer from small roles in years gone by. Exactly eight years ago we wrote favorably about her role as Amor in another Gluck opera--Orfeo ed Euridice. Even before that we found her charming as a winsome pig (!) in a contemporary opera for children presented at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. But we have vague memories from when we first began writing of her standing out in a gorgeous duet in Strauss' Dafne, perhaps at a summer music festival. So, it comes as no surprise that her career has flourished abroad and at venues outside of New York. It is sad that New York City has no mid-sized opera company or suitable theater to keep emerging artists right here.

Her fine vocal instrument competed with a solo oboe in J.C. Bach's concert aria "Ebben si vada...Io ti lascio". We loved the way they alternated on the same melodic pattern and then "sang" in duet.

The second half of the program introduced us to two female composers who impressed us with their unique voices. Maria Antonia Walpurgis (what interesting associations we have for that name!) was a princess, composer, patron of the arts, and a singer as well. She wrote an opera Talestri, regina delle Amazzoni from which we heard the overture and an aria "Vado, ma il core, o Dio!". In spite of the loathed music stand, the passion of the aria, especially the brief fury of the middle section, brought Ms. Snouffer's involvement with the audience to its peak. 

Maria Martines was a celebrated intellectual in Viennese society, famed for her composition and keyboard skills. Ms. Snouffer performed her concert aria "Berenice, a che fai?" which offered many opportunities for coloration, embellishment of the vocal line, and strength in the lower register.

We should mention how much we appreciated the projected titles which were consistently visible and made linguistic sense. We would love to hear more of the compositions by Walpurgis and Martines and we would love to hear Ms. Snouffer again  without a music stand.

The program also included some fine orchestral writing by (Franz) Joseph Haydn. Maestro Patrick Quigley took firm command of his orchestral forces, comprising mainly strings but also the aforementioned oboe played by Dan Bates, a flute and bassoon doubling on recorder, a pair or horns, a fortepiano, and a harpsichord.

As is true of every visit from Opera Lafayette, we felt educated as well as entertained. There is so much worthy music that the public never gets to hear.

© meche kroop

ORPHIC MOMENTS

Anthony Ross Costanzo, Bobbi Jene Smith, and Keir GoGwilt (photo by Erin Baiano)

Christoph Willibald Gluck wrote his glorious version of the Orpheus myth--Orfeo ed Euridice-- in 1762.  Last night at the Rose Theater, we saw the piece, magnificently sung by countertenor Anthony Ross Costanzo in the title role, with soprano Kiera Duffy as Orpheus' beloved Euridice, and soprano Lauren Snouffer as the god Amor. The vocalism could not have been better, nor the acting. The 130 voices of Ted Sperling's Master Voices brought the many choral numbers to vivid life. The Orchestra of St. Luke's was perfectly wonderful in evoking the subtleties of Gluck's music.

There we were, feeling the pain of losing someone dear, half lost in the music, half reveling in the sound of Italian, so well sung that we scarcely needed to look at Cori Ellison's excellent titles. Mr. Costanzo painted the perfect portrait of a man bereft, half crazed by grief. The adorable Ms. Snouffer entered and offered him the hope of rescuing Euridice from Hades. (As a god, Amor knows of Orpheus' great talent as a singer. He will use this talent to save her.) 

We were experiencing his struggle confronting the Furies and doomed souls of Hades, so well staged by Movement Director Julia Eichten who ensured that the singers onstage all looked like dancers. We felt his joy in finding Euridice.  We felt the annoyance that Euridice was mistrustful of Orpheus and were so involved we had to restrain ourself from calling out to her "Shut up and follow him".

And then, as abruptly as any pleasure interruptus, the music turned irritating, the vocal line became unmusical, and the words became incomprehensible. This was composer Matthew Aucoin's interpolation of the Orphic Moment--his imagining of what went on inside the brain of our hero as Euridice gets into her "You don't really love me" mode.  

We never read the program notes until after we have experienced a performance because we want a work to speak for itself.  If it requires explanation and exegesis, the work has failed. What Mr. Aucoin said he was thinking about was that Orpheus is such an aesthete that he needed more tragedy of which to sing more gorgeously. At least, that's how we understand what he wrote.

Well, perhaps if there had been titles for the English text, we might have gotten something out of it beside the irritation of trying so hard to understand the words. We canvassed the audience members nearby and a dozen people in the elevator to see if anyone had heard enough text to tell us but not a single soul had understood. That's just a problem of singing inEnglish.  Titles should always be provided.

But we don't think anything could have gotten us to enjoy the music. Perhaps there were some gods in the audience who would have allowed Orpheus to keep his reputation as the champion singer of all time but we would have revoked the award on the spot.

Sometimes we appreciate a fresh take on an old work but when our ears perform the aural equivalent of eyes glazing over, this is not going to happen.

The Orphic Moment episode, which involved modern dancer Bobbi Jene Smith and solo violinist Keir GoGwilt, seemed interminable but finally things got back to normal for Orfeo's famous aria--"Che faro senza Euridice" with its gorgeous melody. Mr. Costanzo invested it with all the requisite feeling, achieving artistry through the skills of word coloration and dynamic variation. His messa di voce almost made up for the prior alienation we felt.

Ted Sperling's conducting was as excellent as we expected and Zack Winokur's direction was fine, especially in the opening scene which is a wedding celebration turned funeral ode when Euridice gets bitten by a snake.

Stacey Berman's costumes were simple and, for some unknown reason, everyone was barefoot. The next time we attend a wedding in a garden, we will make sure to wear shoes, lest we get bitten by a serpent!

Douglas Fitch's set was simple--the banquet table became a slab for the dead bride, but was later hoisted into the flies, dangling there ominously in view of the audience.

We understand that this creation was a joint work of Mr. Costanzo and Mr. Aucoin and has been seen at National Sawdust and the Salzburg State Theater. We wish them well but in our opinion, Gluck's masterpiece did not ask to be "improved" by anyone else's concept.

We will try to remember the evening with the interpolation excised, focusing on the musical glories of three excellent singers, the splendid Orchestra of St. Luke's,  and the massive forces of Master Voices.

(c) meche kroop

GOD MEETS GIRL

 Andreas Schager,  Regine Hangler, and Franz Welser-Most (Photo Credit: Stephanie Berger)

You'll want to know the backstory to Strauss' 1938 "bucolic tragedy" Daphne.  Then you can decide for yourself if it's a tragedy or not. Apollo has insulted Cupid by mocking his skill as an archer.  In revenge, Cupid has let loose two arrows.  The sharp one, tipped in gold, has the power to create insatiable lust; this arrow has struck Apollo, god of the sun. The second arrow, tipped in lead, has the power to cause the rejection of all things romantic; this arrow has struck Daphne. God sees girl, god pursues girl, girl rejects him, he turns her into a tree. For a better synopsis, we refer you to Ovid's Metamorphosis.

The last time we saw this infrequently produced opera was in Santa Fe about 8 years ago. It was given an honorable production, directed by Mark Lamos.  Last night, it was performed in concert version as part of the Lincoln Center Festival; this made perfect sense since staging this opera is challenging, at the very least. And this decision allowed us to focus on Strauss' incomparable music which missed no opportunity to depict the events.

We have never scorned programmatic music. We loved the bucolic and gentle opening theme and there was no question about the wildness of the Dionysian celebration. When Daphne sings of her love of nature, one can hear the rustling of the leaves, the song of birds, and the rushing of streams. The storm rivals Verdi's storm in Rigoletto. The final scene of the heroine's arboreal transformation was luminous.

The massive forces of The Cleveland Orchestra filled the stage of Avery Fisher Hall and Maestro Franz Welser-Möst, who has a special interest in opera, made sure that every nuance of Strauss' challenging score was manifest. Also onstage was the fine Concert Chorale of New York, singing the parts of the shepherds attending the Dionysian rites which open the opera. They are directed by James Bassi.

The notoriously difficult leading roles were handled successfully. Dramatic soprano Regine Hangler, making her New York debut, was fearless in her approach to Strauss' difficult high-lying tessitura. Her voice literally sailed over the huge sound of the orchestra without losing technical accuracy and emotional expressivity.

Heldentenor Andreas Schager made a mostly fine Apollo, ardent in his Wagnerian forcefulness, but straining at times of high volume plus high tessitura,  It is indeed a punishing role. Apollo has heard Daphne's yearning for more sun in her life and makes a persuasive case in wooing her.  Poor Daphne finally realizes that his offer includes romance and flees.

Likewise, she flees from her childhood friend Leukippos who comes across as a manipulative whiner and a poor loser. Tenor Norbert Ernst sang well but did not make his character as sympathetic as we would have wished. We did not feel much regret when Apollo dispatched him with an arrow.

Ain Anger employed his booming bass to good effect as Daphne's dad Peneios, a fisherman but also a river god. As mum, mezzo-soprano Nancy Maultsby made a believable Gaia, a kind of mother earth goddess.

One of the highlights of the evening was a duet gorgeously sung by Lauren Snouffer and Anya Matanovic. Their part in the plot is to dress Leukippos up in the very feminine garment eschewed by Daphne, so he can "get close to her". (Another example of operatic cross-dressing). Of course, Apollo exposes the ruse in his own courtship.

Equally effective were four wonderful male soloists singing the parts of shepherds. Bass Ryan Speedo Green onstage in a small role like that can be considered "luxury casting". We further recognized the fine Matthew Plenk. And if we have never heard Christopher Feigum before, or Nikola Budimir, rest assured that we would love to hear them again.

So yes, the opera is bucolic.  But is it a tragedy? The heroine realizes her dearest wish to live among nature free from importuning men. Her leaves will be used to honor heroes forevermore. We would like to crown the artists with laurel leaves right this very minute.

(c) meche kroop

PIG-TURE PERFECT

Gorgeous Gloria, as sketched by Doug Fitch

You have exactly two opportunities to catch Gloria--a Pig Tale at the Metropolitan Museum of Art:  tonight at 7:00 and Sunday at 2:00.  Since this is the first contemporary piece that left us happy and artistically fulfilled, we want you to share our joy. By some mysterious magic, all the elements of music, story and design came together in a delightful barnyard stew.

The fine music by the Viennese composer HK Gruber has the jazzy and raucous flavor of German cabaret mixed with French comic opera.  One could not have asked for a better performance than that given by Juilliard's AXIOM ensemble comprising a solo violin and harp, two percussionists, and lots of wind instruments including our beloved bass clarinet, tuba, flugelhorn and several varieties of saxophone.  As conductor, the eminent Alan Gilbert not only led the ensemble but joined in the fun.  There was a stunning moment at the end of Act I when the musicians quit the ensemble one by one, leaving only the violinist bowing away at her instrument.  One could not help thinking of Poulenc's Dialogue des Carmelites.

The libretto by Rudolf Herfurtner is a lot more sanguine than Janacek's  well known The Cunning Little Vixen, making it suitable for children.  The story concerns a very beautiful pig named Gloria who has glorious golden curls.  She is, as they say, "pretty as a pig-ture" and, like Cunegonde in Bernstein's Candide, she knows it.  But she is different from her swinish family and feels lonely and rejected.  At the end of Act I, she dreams of her Prince Charming and the music becomes absolutely luminous.

But the man she expects to rescue her from her sad state turns out to be (YIKES!) a farmer who means to butcher her.  And then the REAL prince charming shows up, a wild boar named Rodrigo, and comes to her rescue.  In the epilogue, there is a family of piglets and Rodrigo feels.....trapped.

The success of this whimsical tale rests upon the artistic design and for this we must thank the director, costume designer and co-set designer Doug Fitch.  The masks were witty and, realized by Anna Yates, outstandingly effective, allowing the singers voices to emerge successfully while still conveying pigs and boar, not to mention the frogs and birds and sausages.

About those singers we have nothing but praise.  Each of the five cast members assumed many roles.  Soprano Lauren Snouffer made a winsome pig and tenor Alexander Lewis shone in the role of the farmer/butcher.  Mezzo Brenda Patterson and baritone Carlton Ford were also excellent while bass Kevin Burdette almost stole the show as a sexy wild boar with a most effective boar's head around his torso which nodded when he moved his pelvis.

We loved the chorus of frogs and the duet for sausages.

Co-Set Designer was Kate Noll and Lighting Designer was Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew.  The fairy-tale designs were colorful and apropos.

We have only one small criticism.  The English diction left much to be desired and, although the gist of the story was easy to understand, we missed a lot of the dialogue which we think was probably too clever to be missed.  We would have appreciated projected titles or, even better, to have heard the work in it's original German since it is a work of singular Austrian flavor.  There is no point in presenting a work in translation if the English is not crystal clear.  The English version was by Amanda Holden.  Maestro Gilbert warned us at the beginning that we might not understand the animals who were speaking gibberish, but that was only a small part of the libretto.

This work was part of the New York Philharmonic Biennial Festival and a worthy entry.  Giants are Small was founded in 2007 by the above-mentioned Doug Fitch and the Swiss filmmaker and producer Edouard Getaz with multimedia entrepreneur Frédéric Gumy.  We can barely wait to see what they come up with next.

© meche kroop