TANCREDI AND THE BIRTH OF BEL CANTO

Tamara Mumford as Tancredi

Maestro Will Crutchfield has decamped from Caramoor after twenty years and set up camp as "Teatro Nuovo" at Purchase College, which has given him a compelling Bel Canto Festival to celebrate the type of opera we love the most. We will follow Will wherever he goes and we hope his loyal fans will do likewise. There is a training program attached to this festival and young artists are surely flocking to Purchase to participate.

There is an adventure seeking motive at work in that there are some interesting explorations into performing traditions involved as well as the use of period instruments in the newly formed orchestra. At last night's Tancredi, this newly formed orchestra could have fooled us into believing that they have been around forever. 

Maestro Crutchfield is not only Artistic Director and General Director of the festival but performed at the harpsichord as well, with Jakob Lehmann as Concertmaster, leading the orchestra. We loved the softer sound and craned our neck to get a better look at the unusual woodwinds and brass.

For this year's festival, along with lectures, panel discussions, recitals and master classes, there are two major operatic productions, or should we say two and a half.  We will review a recital on Tuesday and Mayr's Medea in Corinto next weekend. Last night we heard Tancredi which Rossini composed within a month when he was but twenty years old! It was commissioned by La Fenice in 1813.

By that time, he had already written nine operas and had achieved success with the genre of opera buffa, but Tancredi launched his career as a composer of originality, creating works that served as a bridge between the Classical period and the Romantic period. He established the forms that would serve the art form for a century. He moved opera seria into new territory, writing extended duets and choruses which commented on the action. He set up the scena, comprising recitativo-cantilena-cabaletta.  He extinguished the happy ending.

As a matter of fact, the original Tancredi did have a happy ending but Rossini was persuaded to rewrite it in a manner that more accurately reflected Voltaire's 1760 play Tancrède, on which the libretto (by Gaetano Rossi) was based. The "half opera" we mentioned earlier will be presented at the festival on August 5th as Tancredi Rifatto, and includes a wealth of vocal material that Rossini added for various performances, ostensibly to suit the voices of different singers--and also includes the unhappy ending.

Well, you won't hear any objections to happy endings on our part and forgiveness is best appreciated when the one forgiven goes on living, or so we believe.

After incredible popularity in the 19th c. the opera fell out of the repertory but was brought back when Marilyn Horne chose to champion it. (Thank you Jackie!)

The opera takes place in the 11th c. in Sicily where the Byzantine Empire is threatened by the Saracens. Our hero Tancredi had been exiled as a child and you, dear reader, will recognize the prototype of the "outsider" as one of the great contributions of the Romantic period.

He is loved by Amenaide, the daughter of Argirio, a nobleman who has just achieved a truce with Orbazzano, a nobleman of another faction. He is marrying off his daughter to Orbazzano to cement the truce, but she isn't having any of it.

The plot thickens because a letter she wrote to Tancredi has fallen into the wrong hands and she is suspected of writing to the Saracen leader, an act of treason punishable by death. Although he is feeling betrayed, Tancredi engages in single combat with Orbazzano, her accuser, and saves her.

In the title role we heard mezzo-soprano Tamara Mumford, of whom we have been a fan since hearing her in a recital at the Metropolitan Museum, before we even started writing. We enjoyed her performance at The Metropolitan Opera as Smeaton and her performance at Caramoor as well. There is no denying her vocal artistry and distinctive sound. For us, the highlight of the evening was her delivery of "Di tanti palpiti". There are echoes of this melody in Wagner's Die Meistersinger.

As Amenaide, soprano Amanda Woodbury made a strong impression, handling Rossini's lavish fioritura with aplomb and conveying a sense of the character's challenging predicament. She was as splendid in her duets as in her arias.

As her father Argirio, we heard tenor Santiago Ballerini tear into Rossini's challenging vocal fireworks like a hot knife through butter. Small in stature but large in vocal gifts, this is a tenor to watch. His Act II scena beautifully expressed his ambivalence about signing his daughter's death warrant. There is something about his decrescendo that astonished us; he spun the vocal line out to the finest filament.

Bass-baritone Leo Radosavljevic, whom we well remember from Juiliiard and several vocal competition award recitals, did justice to the role of Orbazzano, making his sound burly in times of anger. He's a man who just can't believe that his intended has other intentions.

Mezzo-soprano Hannah Ludwig was excellent as Amenaide's chief support Isaura. We loved the way she stood up for her friend.  Similarly, mezzo-soprano Stephanie Sanchez excelled as Roggiero, Tancredi's esquire.

As far as semi-staged operas go, we were happy that the entire cast was "off book" (except for the excellent Teatro Nuovo Chorus) but we really missed sets and costumes. We were hoping for some projections that would suggest time and place and some simple costumes. Instead, we had a bare stage with female singers wearing gowns and male singers in dinner jackets. At the very least, we wished that the two women performing pants roles had abandoned high heels. It's one thing for Isaura to totter around the stage but Tancredi and Roggiero should have been wearing boots. It's difficult to walk like a man wearing high heels!

And that is the only quibble we have with a superb production that gave us insight into the birth of Bel Canto and an enduring ear worm of "Di tanti palpiti" which we have been singing all night.

The Bel Canto Festival will continue until August 5th and Purchase is but an hour away. Consult their website and pick something.  Pick anything! You won't be disappointed.

(c) meche kroop

OPERA INDEX WINNERS

Michael Fennelly, Leo Radosavljevic, Emily Pogorelc, Jane Shaulis, Andres Benavides Cascante, and Jaeman Yoon

Last night was the Opera Index annual membership party which consisted of some exciting entertainment and a buffet supplied by the members, who, we might add, are all given to l'abbondanza. We love great food to go along with great singing.

And great singing was definitely on the menu. Five splendid singers entertained us royally in between les hors d'oeuvres and le grand buffet.

Soprano Hayan Kim performed first since she was on her way to an audition. With a crystalline soprano at her disposal she performed "Je veux vivre" from Charles Gounod's Roméo et Juliette. We were impressed by her ability to engage the audience with her charming stage presence and involvement with the text. She conveyed all the youthful passion required by the role. A fine vibrato ensured that the molecules of air danced around the hall.

Gounod was not the only composer to have tackled Shakespeare's tale of young love. Vincenzo Bellini took a different tack and we were fortunate to hear soprano Emily Pogorelc sing "O quante volte" from I Capuleti e i Montecchi. This aria comes along later in the plot when Juliette has already fallen for Romeo and we had the impression that Ms. Pogorelc knew exactly what she was singing and sang it in beautiful bel canto style.  We liked her phrasing of Bellini's long lines and use of dynamic variation.  And we loved the way pianist Michael Fennelly played Bellini's arpeggi.

Bass-baritone Leo Radosavljevic employed perfect French in his performance of "Riez Allez" from Jules Massenet's Don Quichotte. In this aria Sancho Panza is scolding the people who made fun of his master Don Q. We particularly enjoyed the texture of Mr. Radosavljevic's instrument and his expansive delivery.

Baritone Andres Benavides Cascante evinced a great deal of vocal flexibility in his portrayal of Count Almaviva in "Hai gia vinta la causa" from Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro. The poor Count is clueless and covers it up by being indignant.  All this was conveyed to the audience because Mr. Cascante knew the text and knew it well. 

Baritone Jaeman Yoon wowed the audience with his big round sound and pleasing vibrato as he performed an emotionally intense "Nemico della patria",  Gerard's aria from Umberto Giordano's verismo opera Andrea Chénier.

Three of the artists graciously provided encores of a lighter nature. Ms. Pogorelc performed "Kiss Me Again" from Victor Herbert's comic operetta Mademoiselle Modiste. This is a lovely tuneful song which Ms. Pogorelc graced with some divine portamenti.

Mr. Radosavljevic performed William Bolcom's "Black Max" (our all time favorite Bolcom song). Not since we heard cabaret artist Kim Smith's interpretation have we truly enjoyed this song which requires an enormous amount of dramatic interpretation. We were very impressed by Mr. Radosavljevic's ability to paint a picture with his voice.

And finally, Mr. Cascante sang "Mi Aldea" the opening aria of Jacinto Guerreros' zarzuela Los Gavilanes.  In this opening scene, Juan returns to his village from a long sojourn in Peru. The delivery was delightful and readers may recall how greatly we treasure zarzuelas.

This year Opera Index has awarded $55,000. to 16 singers.  Judging by tonight's sampling, the judges of the competition did a great job winnowing from a large field of applicants. There will be a gala on January 21, 2018, at which we will hear more of the winners.

Opera lovers who have not yet joined Opera Index are encouraged to do so at the modest membership cost of $45. There will be many opportunities to meet fellow opera lovers and help young singers. The list of winners from bygone years is astounding and includes so many of the greatest names in opera.

(c) meche kroop

THE SONG CONTINUES 2014

Ken Noda (Christian Steiner)

Cecelia Hall (Pat Arnow)

The week of recitals, concert and master classes celebrating Marilyn Horne's birthday (she can't really be 80 and is still beautiful!) got off to a breathtaking start last night with a Spotlight Recital that literally left us breathless.  Mezzo-soprano Cecelia Hall and collaborative pianist Ken Noda teamed up for an hour that seemed to last but ten minutes and left us totally satisfied and yet eager for more.

The program was perfectly designed to show off Ms. Hall's numerous assets and Mr. Noda's uncanny ability to match her, phrase for glorious phrase.  The aforementioned assets are vocal, dramatic and linguistic.  Ms. Hall sang in English, Italian, German and French with equally fine diction.  A native French speaker in the audience who comes every year for this event (and is rarely satisfied with a singer's French) confirmed my favorable opinion.

Ms. Hall's vocal assets are remarkable.  The voice is pleasing to the ear and the technique is so invisible that the listener can focus on the interpretation.  And it is here that Ms. Hall shines.  She used her voice, which has as many colors as the rainbow, her facial expression and her body to communicate the text--be it sad, joyful, nostalgic or coquettish.  She demonstrated what we want every singer to demonstrate--connection with the material and connection with the audience.

The program went from the Baroque Period to the 20th c.  Let's take a closer look.  We loved the melismatic phrases of Purcell's "If music be the food of love" in which she reveled in joy and "I attempt from Love's sickness to fly" that was no less expressive.  When she sang the only existing fragment of Monteverdi's L'Arianna-- "Lasciatemi morire" we felt the pain in our own heart.

Music from the Romantic Period was handled with the same devotion.  If you wanted to know what Robert Schumann felt about his marriage to Clara Wieck, all you'd have to do was  listen to Ms. Hall sing "Widmung".  In his "Mondnacht", Ms. Hall literally spread her wings in a glorious balletic gesture while Mr. Noda created the sensation of moonlight on the piano.

And just hear how Mr. Noda created the sounds of the lark, the bees and the rustling of the linden branches in Mahler's "Frühlingsmorgen"!  Ms. Hall dedicated "Liebst du um Schönheit" to her husband and this may have been the most expressive singing of the evening and also offered her the opportunity to let loose in her upper register, to great effect. Four early songs by Schoenberg were erotic and mysterious.

The French conclusion of the recital was pure delight.  André Messager's "J'ai deux amants" from L'amour masqué allowed the singer to show her coquettish side and delighted the audience.  The lassitude of Poulenc's "Hôtel" was never made clearer nor the nostalgia of "Les chemins de l'amour".  The final selection was a 1929 cabaret piece entitled "Quand je danse avec lui" which was re-created by our talented duo from a film because the sheet music n'existe plus!  Mr. Noda's waltzy arrangement probably surpassed the original.

As encore we enjoyed the brothers Gershwin's fine song "Lorelei".  We were enchanted and emerged from the recital on a cloud of joy.

After an hour's break, Ms. Horne herself took the stage for a master class and generously coached four young singers and pianists.  We were quite impressed with mezzo Kate Jackman who gave a lovely reading of Elgar's "Where corals lie", accompanied by Mario Antonio Marra.  Ms. Horne gave her some useful suggestions about where to take her breaths and counseled her to add a little lilt to the key phrase.

Soprano Natalie Conte, accompanied by Nathan Salazar, sang Strauss' "September" and was helped to make the delivery more ethereal.  In Ms. Horne's own words "Put a halo around it".

Baritone Leo Radosavljevic, accompanied by Brent Funderburk, offered Copeland's folksy lullabye "The Little Horses" and was coached to imagine holding a baby.  Let it be noted that Mr. R.'s talent for baby-holding needed more coaching than his excellent singing!  The audience really enjoyed the spectacle.

Tenor Christian Ketter, accompanied by Marek Ruszczynski, got some fine help with Cordillo's "Core 'ngrato" regarding placement of the voice.  Ms. Horne most definitely favors placing the voice in the "mask" and the advice seems to work wonders.

As long as Ms. Horne is around, we do not have to worry about the future of the art song!  All is well in studio and onstage.  There are lots more events to come, culminating in a grand recital Thursday night at Zankel Hall.

© meche kroop