THE PEOPLE'S OPERA IN BRYANT PARK

 

Ashley Galvani Bell, Victor Starsky, Tatev Baroyan, Maestro Joseph Rescigno, Irina Rindzuner, Todd Thomas, and Woo Young Yoon

What a grand night for singing! Last night was the centenary of the death of Giacomo Puccini. What a grand way to celebrate his life and his 42 year career of composing some of the world's best loved operas! The crowd filled Bryant Park from end to end and side to side. We would be surprised if anyone noticed that we were sitting in a canyon of skyscrapers. We would be delighted to learn that some members of the audience were new to opera and became converts. 

If they did, perhaps they were enchanted by Puccini's melodic vocal lines or perhaps it was the quality of the singing (although difficult for our ears to appreciate due to electronic amplification, necessary because of the venue). What we mostly appreciated was the fact that there were representative arias (or duets, or ensembles) from every single opera the master ever wrote--performed in chronological order so that one might appreciate his evolution over a period of four decades. It was an interesting novelty for which we thank the venerable New York City Opera .

The program began with an ensemble from Puccini's 1884 Le Villi, which we had never heard. Similarly, an aria from Edgar, performed by stellar soprano 

Ashley Galvani Bell, was new to our ears. One definitely got a sense of a major compositional artist in the making and Puccini needed only a fine librettist to make a major impact.

We very much appreciated being introduced to two singers we had not heard before. Dramatic soprano Irina Rindzuner  made a fine Manon and a powerful Tosca. Even better was her Minnie in the tension driven card game scene from La fanciulla del West. Her Jack Rance was played by baritone Todd Thomas who was as chilling as he was singing Scarpia in the Tosca.

What we appreciated even more was reconnecting with artists whose earliest years were noted and admired by us. For example, the sweet lyric tenor of Woo Young Yoon first impressed us nine years ago when he was a student at Manhattan School of Music. We noted his artistry not too long thereafter in a master class with Prelude to Performance when he dazzled us with his Rodolfo.  How fitting that he sang the first act duet from La Bohême with Ms. Bell, whom we will get to shortly. That is truly his signature role, leading to an award from Opera Index. We also heard his award winning performance of some Mozart and Donizetti at a Marcella Sembrich competition. What a great pleasure to witness his artistic development!

We have similar feelings for Ms. Bell. We became acquainted with her artistry through a number of productions by Divaria Productions, every one of which was unique and elicited different aspects of her artistry. Her performance of "Un bel di" last night recalled her performance of Cio-Cio San with New York Opera Collaborative in which she appeared in full Japanese dress. Her involvement in the role has only gotten deeper.

Similarly, we have witnessed Victor Starsky's artistic development since 2015 when he sang Don Jose with New York Opera Exchange and later when he sang Rodolfo with Bare Opera, a role he revisited recently at a gala. Last night he let out all the stops in "Nessun dorma" from Turandot. These moments are precious to us. Future engagement will be even more so!

Soprano Tatev Baroyan has been on our radar for a short period of time. Just a month ago at the Gerda Lissner Award Recital, we noted her fine performance of Liu's aria from Turandot, the same aria she performed last night. It was quite affecting and we hope to hear it again soon (unamplified). 

It was a most successful evening and we are already looking forward to NYCO's production of a fully staged Tosca in Bryant Park on August 23rd and 24th. 

© meche kroop

LA BOHÊME FOR THE PEOPLE

 

Carl DuPont, Gustavo Feulien, Inna Dukach, Gregory Turay, Elizaveta Ulakhovich, and Alexander Boyd

It is only three weeks since we last saw Puccini's heartbreaking masterpiece but La Bohême always offers fresh insights. Last night, at an outdoor performance in a very crowded Bryant Park, we took a macroscopic view of the story as an indictment of a society that doesn't care very well for its young and the ill. We didn't need modern dress or veiled references to any modern "plagues" to achieve such a realization. It happened because the direction was led by the music and the text without any directorial arrogance or program notes about the "concept". Costumes were of the period and the minimal set pieces let us know we were in the 19th c.

This by no means intends to shortchange the microscopic view--that of feckless youth  forming instant relationships without consideration of common values, future plans, or compatibility.  There are little moments that stand out. Consider the self-styled "artist" whose works don't sell, a writer who ekes out a modest living writing articles for a magazine, a philosopher who can barely afford to buy used books, and a musician who plays for a parrot. Who cannot help but think of contemporary times when young hopefuls share apartments in slums, living on ramen packages! To make matters worse, they are rarely covered by health insurance. La plus ça change, la plus c'est la meme chose!

 Yet it is perceived by the public as a "love story";  but it is also about the loss of innocence. At the end of the opera, this group of youths will be forever changed. Perhaps Musetta and Rodolfo will be inspired to love better. Perhaps some of them will look for jobs. The libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa does not tell us, nor did the episodic novel written by Henri Murger. So we are free to form our own speculations. What a rich work that can be appreciated on so many level!

In this abridged production by New York City Opera (The Peoples's Opera!) several scenes were cut, but Director Michael Capasso took the stage as narrator and described what had happened that wasn't shown. We completely understand the challenges of cutting the opera to fit into a time frame and to suit the interests of a crowd in which many members were not hard core opera fans. We can only hope that some of them were sufficiently enchanted to seek out a complete performance. Although the Metropolitan Opera has replaced so many of its magnificent productions with disappointing ones, it would be a grave mistake to ditch the impressive Zeffirelli production with its lavish second act Xmas Eve scene or the snow falling quietly and merchants passing through the city gates when Mimi leaves the city to find Marcello in the third act.

My companion for the evening is a theater and film director and an opera "newbie"; we wanted his opinion on the dramatic aspects. Since there were no titles and no summary, we wondered whether the story was told as clearly as we thought. He definitely got the gist of things, thanks to the effective stage direction; however he made an interesting suggestion that narration could have been better accomplished by having one of the minor characters narrate the story. Also it would have been better to hear the plot before the scene, not afterward.

All things considered, the singers did a fine job of storytelling. Soprano Inna Dukach made a most sympathetic Mimi and tenor Gregory Turay was a most ardent Rodolfo. We are personally uncomfortable with amplification and are never sure we are hearing the voices as they are meant to be heard. We were rather delighted with Mr. Turay's pianissimi but not so delighted with his forcing the volume in the upper register. Perhaps it is just not possible to float the high notes under such circumstances but we do not know enough about sound design to say so.

Soprano Elizaveta Ulakhovich gave a splendid performance as Musetta but, due to the elimination of the populous café scene, she was obliged to sing her show-stopping "Quando m'en vo" to a man recruited from the audience instead of flirting with the café customers and soldiers. So, we had a bit of audience involvement.

Her love-hate relationship with Marcello was well realized and baritone Gustavo Feulien filled out his role as well as one could have hoped. To complete the group of bohemians we had Carl DuPont as the philosopher Colline and Alexander Boyd as the only member of the group who seems to find employment. To those who know the opera, the story of his being hired to play for a parrot brings a moment of comic relief; even funnier is the fact that his three flatmates are so famished that they can only focus on the victuals he has provided and completely ignore the story. There wasn't room for much comic relief in this production and we missed the way the four youths put one over on their landlord Benoit when he comes to collect the rent.

Fortunately Colline's Act IV aria "Vecchia zimarra" was not cut so we enjoyed the low voice of Mr. DuPont and appreciated the symbolism of his sacrifice. As most of you already know, Dear Reader, he pawns his old overcoat to buy medicine for the dying Mimi. He too is "adulting".

Of course, the scene that sets the drama in motion is the first act meeting between Rodolfo and Mimi in which Rodolfo gets Mimi to stay by hiding her key and she gets Rodolfo to take her out for dinner with the hint of more to come later. So much subtext in one scene! So reminiscent of 21st c. dating! Still, the music tells us only of their rapturous feelings.

Speaking of the music, we found the aural balance to be wanting and there were a couple occasions of feedback. Maestro Joseph Rescigno did his best with a chamber orchestra which played at ground level (of course) in front of the slightly elevated stage. These are the hazards of outdoor opera and we will not make harsh judgments of the orchestral balance.

As a matter of fact, we recall the long ago productions of The Metropolitan Opera in Central Park every summer which were abandoned in favor of concerts of arias. We recall laying blankets out at sunrise in order to sit in the first "row"; we remember asking the police officers in attendance how they enjoyed the opera (very much so), and how grateful and uncritical we were. So, in that spirit, we thank the artists who brought this production to the public free of charge and hope that a few converts to opera were made.

© meche kroop