TRANSATLANTIC RISING STARS

 Enrique Torres, Lonwabo Mose, Pablo Puertolas, Sophia Baete, Lucia Iglesias, Angel Raii Gomez, Yasmin Forastiero, and Laura Santamaria

Has it really been a year since Musica Viva NY gifted us with a recital of talented young singers from Madrid, shared with us by Teatro Real's Crescendo program! This year they returned and were joined by young singers from their counterpart in New York City -- the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program of the Metropolitan Opera. Both programs give emerging artist of great talent and promise the opportunity to grow into their full potential. We consider ourself to be a citizen of the world and love the fact that opera is such an international art form.

The audience packed into All Souls on the Upper East Side and gave these Rising Stars the accolades they deserved. The program joined young artist from both programs in a kind of mix and match that gave the young artists an opportunity to share scenes in a new way and to experience new collaborations. We will identify each artist with an "L" for the Lindemann Program and a "C" for the Crescendo Program.

For no other reason than our deep appreciation for zarzuela, let us first mention baritone Enrique Torres' (C ) performance of "Luche la fe por el Triunfo" from Luisa Fernanda by Federico Moreno Torroba. This 20th century work was one of the last romantic zarzuelas to be written and is still beloved and oft performed, although not often enough for our taste. In this aria, the noble Vidal shows his true character. Similarly, Mr. Torres showed his true talent, both vocally and dramatically. We have heard this aria before but never sung by a Spaniard. To our ears it seemed to have more sazón.

Making a similarly strong impression on us was Argentinian mezzo-soprano Yasmin Forastiero (C ) whose interpretation of "Mon coeur ouvre a ta voix" from Saint-Saëns' Samson et Dalila taught us something new about seduction with her stately and composed bearing and vocal coloration. A confident woman does not need provocative gestures; rather she invites a man to participate in something mysterious and promising. We love it when a performance helps us to see something in a new way! Furthermore the French was fine and fluid. 

We were happy to hear her French again in the duet from Massenet's Werther in which two sisters with very different personalities combine voices in equally fine French. In "Bonjour, grande soeur" Ms. Forastiero's calm aspect as Charlotte contrasted with the lively soprano of Lucia Iglesias (C ) as Sophie. As different as they seemed the two singers conveyed a sympathetic sisterly understanding.

Ms. Iglesias' sparkly soprano was just perfect for "Ah, je veux vivre" from Gounod's Romeo et Juliette. Her petite frame and ease with the upper register made her a most believable and engaging heroine. She scaled the vocal heights with ease and made good use of the entire stage.

We do love duets and we were happy that the program included "Au fond du temple saint" from Bizet's Les pecheurs de perles. It is admittedly a rather silly opera but this duet is a fine showpiece for male voices in harmony. The role of 

Nadir was performed by tenor Pablo Puertolas (C ) who earlier employed a pleasing vibrato in a lovely aria from Cilea's L'Arlesiana --"É la solita storia del pastore". The role of Zurga was well sung by Mr. Torres and the voices harmonized beautifully.

 Sophia Baete (L) a "home team" mezzo-soprano, was particularly persuasive as the sympathetic Dulcinée in Massenet's Don Quichotte . In Act IV, she lets the Don (Lonwabo Mose) down with the tender "Oui, je souffre votre tristesse". She also impressed us with "Must the Winter Come So Soon" from Barber's Vanessa which she imbued with a chill feeling of isolation.

Mr. Mose (L) got an opportunity to show off his low resonant baritone in an aria from Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro -- "Non piu andrai" in which the eponymous hero teases the naughty Cherubino. His apt gestures joined his vocal expertise to create the personality of the all too resourceful Figaro.

Mozart's masterpiece has so much to offer! We had even more magnificent Mozart in the ensemble "Riconosci in questo amplesso" in which soprano Laura Santamaria (L) as Suzana gets to slap her intended bridegroom Figaro.  But it was in "O mio babbino caro" from Puccini's Gianni Schicchi that we got to appreciate her fine instrument and lovely phrasing as she works her wiles on her father.

Before running out of space let us applaud the daring delivery by tenor Angel Raii Gomez (L)  "Ah! mes amis" from Donizetti's La fille du regiment, a true showpiece that always has the audience holding their collective breath waiting for the volley of nine staggering high C's.

There were several fun ensembles and some fine piano accompaniments by Carlos Alfonso Ferri (C ) and John Morefield (L). We got the sense that these young artists got as much pleasure out of the trans-Atlantic collaboration as we did in hearing the splendid results. We feel grateful to Musica Viva NY for making this happen. We can barely wait to learn what they have in store for next year!

© meche kroop

            

A GIFT FROM SPAIN

Enriique Torres Dominguez and Lucia Iglesias

Carmen Larios and Eduardo Pomares

Brought to New York City by Musica Viva, an important organization in support of the arts, the young artists from Teatro Real of Madrid presented a most satisfying concert of favorites from the world of opera and zarzuela. Regular readers can guess what excited us the most. In light of the facts that we get to hear a lot of arias and duets from the operatic canon but rarely get a taste of the delicious works from the world of zarzuela, it was the end of the program that captured our heart, and the encore which left us ecstatic.

Readers who are unfamiliar with this traditional Spanish art form and its evolution in the New World would do well to learn more than we have space for here. Let us just mention that zarzuelas involve elaborate and convoluted plots mostly about (like Italian operas of the 19th century) love and patriotism. What is outstanding about zarzuelas is the presence of gorgeous melodies, similar to works of that period, even those that were composed in the early 20th century. What is unique is the presence of a very large cast including dancers, a feature that makes zarzuela a costly and difficult art form to produce here in the United States. We must content ourselves with the occasional aria or duet.

The singers from the young artist program of Teatro Real made a fine showing also in the operatic genre but please allow us in our enthusiasm to wax rhapsodic over the zarzuela portion of the program. Morena Torroba's Luisa Fernanda was produced here in NYC a couple years ago by Opera Hispanica and it is a real winner. From this work we heard "Lucha la fe por el triunfo" performed by lyric baritone Enrique Torres Dominguez who surely conveyed the aspect of the dashing military man Xavier.

Following this we heard the familiar "No puede ser" from Sorozabal's La tabernera del puerto, sung by tenor Eduardo Pomares. Even more striking was a surprise encore featuring all four singers in the Habanera "Todas las mananitas" from Manuel Penella's Don Gil de Alcala--and what wouldn't we give to see this zarzuela performed in its entirety!

We already knew how beautifully integrated were the four voices because the program had ended officially with "Libiamo" from Verdi's La Traviata which always sends the audience out on a high note-- so to speak.

Speaking of high notes, we enjoyed both sopranos --Lucia Iglesias and Carmen Larios. We were particularly impressed by Ms. Iglesias' apt interpretation of the role of Musetta in "Quando m'en vo" from Puccini's La Boheme. She captured every nuance of Musetta's teasing of Marcello without tawdry overacting. 

Carmen Larios delivered Juliet's waltz "Je veux vivre" from Gounod's Romeo et Juliette in fine French. The program notes provided a clear answer to the question of both soprano's musicality. They each studied piano from an early age; that may be a clue. Their duet "Sull'aria" from Mozart's Nozze di Figaro with Ms. Larios enacting the Countess and Ms. Iglesias taking the role of Susanna was a highlight of the evening. The different colors of their respective voices made the duet particularly appealing.

The two men also had a duet--everyone's favorite of course being "Au fond du temple saint" from Bizet's Les pecheurs du perles. In spite of the well chosen and well performed program, it is the zarzuela pieces that we will remember and hold closest to our heart. The accompanist for the evening was Gonzalo Villarreal who opened the program with a piano solo from Manuel de Falla's The Three Cornered Hat.

© meche kroop