AN EXALTATION OF WOMEN

Cory Gross and MaKayla McDonald in front; 
Kristina Malinauskaite, Brian Alvarado, and Jessica Harika in the picture frame
(Photo by Brian E. Long for Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble)

We have written at length about how Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble contributes to the development of young singers; so let us get right to the point--the performances of last night's program Voices from the Tower.  What a great theme for this summer's festival--presenting operas composed by women. Last night's program involved three separate parts. The first part was a one act opera composed by Pauline Viardot entitled Cendrillon.

Faithful readers will recall my ecstatic reviews of Ms. Viardot's melodies; that she wrote a chamber operetta was news to us. The work was performed in 1904 at the salon of the composer, then in her 80's. One immediately observes a youthful freshness that belies her age. We were struck most by the thrilling bel canto singing of the delightful score, written long after such tuneful music was in fashion. Clearly the work was not written to impress the academic establishment but to delight her friends. Delight it did!

Whilst the music is Italianate, the libretto contains much Gallic wit, particularly when Papa discovers some commonality with the Prince's assistant who has been masquerading as the Prince. The storyline echoes the original Perrault fairytale but is more lighthearted than the Rossini and the Massenet versions.

The two step-sisters are not wicked and are only slightly vain. There is no nasty stepmother. The Fairy Godmother not only transforms Cendrillon but appears at the ball and sings a song. The scene at the ball in Act II provides opportunities for improvisation according to the gifts of the members of the cast. Anarka Fairchild made a fine contribution.

Cendrillon, here called Marie, was winningly sung by soprano MaKayla McDonald whose instrument has a pleasing vibrato and whose expressive face contributed to the characterization. Her two sisters were named Maguelonne (sung by the superb soprano Kristina Malinauskaite) and Armelinde (sung by the marvelous mezzo-soprano Jessica Harik). A highlight of Act I was the trio sung by the three sisters in the most gorgeous harmony.

The entrance of La Fée was marked by soap bubbles and the performance marked by the lofty coloratura singing of the splendid soprano Heather Bobeck.  Baritone Brian Alvarado (in a very ugly wig) threw himself into the humour of the role and sounded great as Le Baron de Pictordu. Tenorrific Tyler Dobies exhibited some fine singing and winning stage presence as Le Comte Barigoule. The role of Le Prince Charmant was handled well by tenor Cory Gross.

The piano score was ably handled by Beau Dream and Lauren Hlubny's direction was apt. And if she created the humorous dances in Act II she deserves double credit. In an imaginative display, the transformation of elements into a coach for Marie involved the two stepsisters rotating wheels.

Jessie Chen's set was simple but effective--a couple of chairs and a suspended gilt picture frame which doubled as a mirror. Marie swept up rose petals which created a lovely picture. Heather Denny's costumes were simple. Marie's red jump suit hid under a drab black outfit just waiting to be removed. 

The mark of an opera's success for us is wanting to hear it again and the presence of melodies running through our head. This succeeded on both counts.

Geddy Warner and Anna Woiwood (photo by Brian E. Long)

The second part of last night's program comprised a few scenes from Victoria Bond's Mrs. President. We are not a fan of contemporary opera in English but--SURPRISE!--we truly enjoyed the scenes so much that we will be looking for a performance of the entire opera in the future!

Although we didn't leave humming the tunes, we did enjoy the music, the story, and the arresting performances. The story is that of Victoria Woodhull whose interesting life offered enough material for several operas or plays. Ms. Woodhull was quite a character--not only was she the first woman to run for President, a champion of women's suffrage and free love, but also a medium-- not to mention the fact that she had a seat on the New York stock exchange!

The scenes we saw began with choral music in which the voices of her seance attendees joined in strange affecting harmonies as they strove to reach the spirits of men they lost in the Civil War. Soprano Woiwood did a splendid job interpreting the role of the headstrong and independent title character as she roused her followers to her cause and as she seduced the hypocritical preacher Henry Ward Beecher, a man who practiced "free love" in secret while putting up a false front to his congregation. Tenor Geddy Warner was scarily convincing in his role, at first threatening Ms. Woodhull but succumbing readily to her advances, but only after she threatened to expose him.

Emily Bishai's excellent direction made the story both effective and affecting. Jessie Chen's set design included a desk stage left and a pile of pillows stage right. Nothing more was needed.

Tenor Tyler Dobies sang superbly as the rejected lover Joseph Treat. Other excellent cast members included Addie Rose Forstman as Beecher's sister, Jessica Harika as Victoria's mother,  and Robin Clifford as Elizabeth Tilton.

The excellent singing and riveting drama captured our interest from the first moment. We wish all contemporary opera was as well written. Hilary Bell's libretto lent itself readily to the music and was dramatically valid.

Lisa Faieta and Gabriel Hernandez (photo by Brian E. Long)

We wish we could say the same about the third part of the evening. We have seen a number of plays and films about Mary Queen of Scots which fascinated us but Thea Musgrave's opera missed the mark in spite of Emily Bishai's apt direction and some superb performances by soprano Lisa Faieta as the titular character, tenor Gabriel Hernandez as James, Earl of Bothwell who was supposed to be her protector, Connor Lidell as her brother James, and Jonathan Harris as Lord Gordon. Andrea Howland was affecting as the Queen's companion, also named Mary.

The problem for us lay in the unmusical music and awkward libretto. Although Ms. Musgrave has an excellent reputation in academic and critical circles, we simply could not get involved. Ms. Musgrave wrote her own libretto but the words seemed shoehorned into the vocal line, which was, in any case, non-melodic. The hoped for marriage between language and line was woefully missing. Much as we cared for Mrs. Woodhull in the prior scenes we found ourselves not caring at all for the destiny of the Queen. So unfortunate to have an excellent evening end in disappointment!

Director Emily Bishai succeeded in keeping the story moving, although the sword fight was somewhat less than convincing. Jessie Chen's set comprised a bed and a chair. Whitney George effectively conducted the chamber orchestra.

Well, two out of three ain't bad! We are looking forward to tonight's performance of Princess Maleine, composed by Whitney George, whose work is unfamiliar to us, with libretto by Brittany Goodwin, whose work we have always admired. Perhaps we will have an opportunity to get a better appreciation of the versatility of the singers.

(c) meche kroop

BUBBLY CHAMPAGNE!

Elisabeth Harris as Prince Orlofsky and Chorus in Act II of Die Fledermaus

We never tire of Johann Strauss II's comic operetta Die Fledermaus. The witty libretto by Karl Haffner and Richarde Genée pokes a finger in the eye of late 19th c. Vienna with all its hypocrisy, class consciousness, and upper-class frivolity. The composer's music is equally witty and the score is well knit from overture to finale with glorious melodies tumbling out one after another--danceable waltzes and duple meter ones as well. Conductor Valéry Ryvkin and his excellent orchestra didn't miss a beat or a bubble in this champagne score.

Last night's production by Prelude to Performance was somewhat simplified as compared with the lavish one of 2016 with evening dress substituted for period costumes and projections standing in for elaborate sets. Nonetheless, the evening glittered by virtue of some outstanding performances.

If you don't know the story, dear reader, please enter Die Fledermaus in the search bar; we have told the story too many times to repeat it--once for Prelude to Performance and once for Amore Opera (both outstanding iterations.)

We have written every summer about Prelude to Performance which is celebrating 15 years of training young artists in many areas of performance, most notably that of character interpretation. We have never seen/heard anyone in one of their performances that failed to fully inhabit their character and bring it to vivid life. That is thanks to input from Artistic Director Martina Arroyo, the legendary soprano who has devoted her post-performance years to developing the talents of the up and coming young singers in her program.

Take, for example, soprano Lisa Faieta who gave us a complex and believable Rosalinde. Whether fighting off the attentions of Alfred (the aptly named Congju Song whose prodigious talent is new to us), soothing her about-to-be-jailed husband, rejecting the pleas of her maid Adele, or affecting the identity of an Hungarian Countess. As a matter of fact, it is in the latter guise that we were best able to appreciate her skills. Voice and gesture joined in this convincing portrayal and we were dazzled by a stunning messa di voce in "Klänge der Heimat". Two years have passed since we heard Ms. Faieta  with IVAI; her voice has developed wondrously.

Soprano Yejin Lee took the role of Adele and impressed us with her sprightly portrayal and dazzling coloratura. We had only seen her briefly before as one of the nymphs (Echo, we believe) in Ariadne auf Naxos; it was great to see more of her. As Rosalinde's maid she went over the top in her wheedling efforts to get the night off. In Act II, wearing Rosalinde's gown, she pretended to be the actress "Olga" and audaciously confronted Eisenstein when he recognized her. She absolutely scored in her "Adele's laughing aria". In Act III as she tried to convince Frank of her acting potential, we thought she could have been more convincing. That's the right place for some over-acting.

Mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Harris made an excellent Prince Orlofsky, emphasizing his bizarre personality and his ennui. Her arias were marvelously delivered. We always love "Chac'un a son goût" and the "Champagne song" in which the excellent chorus joins in. We could scarcely believe Ms. Harris' versatility, having reviewed her in several roles at Manhattan School of Music. What a contrast between Orlofsky and the cold-hearted Aunt Hannah in Tobias Picker's Emmeline!

As Eisenstein, baritone Jimin Park was lovable even when cheating on his wife (or so he thought). On his way to a brief jail sentence, he was lured to attend Prince Orlofsky's party. His dissembling with his wife Rosalinde and again at the party where he pretended to be Marquis Renard, established his character. His embarrassment when he sees Adele there was hilarious, as was his pidgin French with Frank the jailor who was posing as Chevalier Chagrin (neither man knew a word of French beyond "merci"), not to mention his flirtation with his own wife. All this comedy was accompanied by some fine singing that exhibited a tenorial quality in the upper register. We want to hear more of this young artist.

In the role of the jailer Frank, we heard baritone Yichen Xue, whom we heard two years ago singing "Scintille diamant" at Manhattan School of Music. We noted his excellent performance then and were glad to hear how his instrument has expanded. The scene in Act I in which he arrives to take Eisenstein to jail and finds Albert instead was a very funny one, as Rosalinde must pretend that Albert is her husband to preserve her reputation. He was quite funny again in Act II, pretending to be French.

The mastermind of this elaborate plot is Falke, so well sung by baritone Michael Parham, possessor of a fine instrument and elegant stage bearing--so elegant that we can just imagine the humiliation Falke must have experienced from Eisenstein's prior prank (the backstory) and his delight in the revenge.

Tenor Esteban Jose Zuniga, had a fine time and a funny one in the role of Dr. Blind, confirming everyone's worst expectations of the legal profession. 

Stage Director Alan Fischer did a fine job of keeping the action moving along at a galloping clip. We could not find credit for the direction of the chorus but they were excellent. Vera Junkers as language coach made sure that everyone's German was crisp and clear.

One measure of the success of this production is that the opera "newbie" we brought had a fine time. Wasn't this operetta the perfect introduction?

We should also mention that during Act II, the action was suspended for performances by some famous singers who appeared as guests introduced by WQXR's Robert Sherman. We particularly enjoyed the performance of soprano Nicole Haslett in Nanetta's aria, a role she performed with Prelude to Performance in 2012 and reprised last night! She got our attention then and we reviewed her 4 years ago as a George London competition winner. But what really stood out for us was her performance as Chloe in Offenbach's Daphnis and Chloe. 

That was the night we fell in love with Heartbeat Opera. Both Ms. Haslett and Heartbeat Opera are thriving, and to bring things full circle, she will be performing with them again next season in Der Freischutz. Nothing could keep us away!

Also on hand were soprano Mariana Zvetkova who sang "Io son l'umile ancella" from Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur, soprano Harolyn Blackwell who sang "O mio babbino caro" from Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, and tenor Noah Stewart who performed "Donna non vidi mai" from Puccini's Manon Lescaut.

We could not imagine a more entertaining evening!

(c) meche kroop