THE GERDA LISSNER FOUNDATION VOCAL COMPETITION WINNERS CONCERT 2024/2025

 Top Row: Magdalena Kuzma, Giorgi Guliashvili,, Tatev Baroyan, Sofia Gotch, and Shelén Hughes

Bottom Row: Amanda Batista, Erin Wagner, Michael John Butler, Bridget Esler, and Ashlyn Rock

The generosity of the Gerda Lissner Foundation is legendary--not just generosity in awarding prizes to young singers but also generosity toward the opera loving public. Free tickets to a grand show were offered to the public and a better show could not be provided for any amount of money.  The ten chosen singers are accomplished and already sought after by opera companies around the country and also abroad. Still, young singers need all the help they can get when government assistance for the arts is virtually non existent with no hope for improvement in the near future--and this foundation provides such assistance.

Last night at Zankel Hall, ten superb artists got the opportunity to show off their respective artistry. We have decided to ignore our copious notes and to summarize our overall impressions of how singers present themselves at such events and also to highlight performances that stuck with us overnight. Here let us mention that we are neither judge nor vocal coach and that our impressions are biased by a number of factors. 

There are singers whose growth we have been witnessing over a number of years and toward whom we admittedly feel a certain attachment. There are languages we prefer to hear. There are musical periods that resonate more strongly than others. (This is a circumspect way of saying we don't much care for contemporary works or the English language.)

One thing we observed is that the way singers choose to present themselves may or may not reflect their best qualities. One would hope that their teachers or coaches might point them toward works that show off their unique gifts. A singer may really enjoy singing a particular work that just isn't meant for them. On the other hand, a singer taking pleasure in a particular song or aria might just involve the audience to a greater degree.

With this is mind, we are going to ignore our copious notes and dip into our feelings to highlight the performances that resonated with us personally. The first one that comes to mind is that of Erin Wagner whose Mignon lied "Kennst du das Land" by Hugo Wolf transported us to a feeling of nostalgia for a place that we, like Mignon in the Goethe story, may not return to. It brought tears to our eyes which is not a bad thing. Much can be said for catharsis and shared feelings.

The second one that comes to mind is soprano Shelén Hughes' performance of the Snow Maiden's aria from Rimsky-Korsakov's Snegurechka. We have heard her sing this aria many times, the first being when she was a student at Manhattan School of Music. It was our first exposure to the opera and we were enchanted by the fairy tale and the composer's melodic gifts which Ms. Hughes brought to vivid life.

The third one that comes to mind is soprano Sofia Gotch's depiction of an innocent young woman's awakening to love in "Caro nome" from Verdi's Rigoletto. Every vocal ornament so magnificently rendered by Ms. Gotch served to highlight Gilda's romantic rapture.  

The gusto with which tenor Michael Butler sang Strauss' "Heimliche Aufforderung" had an immediate uplifting effect on our spirits. Soprano Amanda Batista's interpretation of Mimi in Puccini's La Bohême showed us two sides of her character, the somewhat brazen flirtation alternating with a reactive shyness, which struck us as typical of the very young experimenting with mating behavior.

When a singer adds dancing to her performance, it is bound to make a lasting impression and soprano Tatev Baroyan got into the Roma spirit in Emmerich Kalman's "Heia, in den Bergen", from Die Czardasfürstin. And finally soprano Magdalena Kuzma gave a perfect interpretation of the playful Susana really laying it on to tease her husband Figaro by pretending to be anticipating a romantic tryst with the Count in Mozart's Nozze di Figaro.

We believe we have made the point that audience reaction is a very personal matter, relating to the mood and past experiences of the listener. We would like to point out that the excellent singers pictured above whom we did not mention were not inferior in any way. We just wanted to see what struck us without consulting our notes.

We would like to mention also the fine accompaniment of Francesco Barfoed, collaborative pianist for the first half of the program (art songs) and that of Arlene Shrut for the second half (arias). Our hostess for the evening was the delightful Midge Woolsey who did a fine job of summarizing each number in advance for audience members who were unfamiliar with the repertory.

We would also like to share our delight over the appearance of the honorees for the evening--mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke who was a competition winner fifteen years ago, accompanied by the renowned pianist Warren Jones. The pair shared a special piece written by Michael Tilson Thomas for Leonard Bernstein's 70th birthday. It was upbeat and jazzy and spoke of gratitude. We soaked that up like a sponge, feeling grateful for the Gerda Lissner Foundation, the collaborating Kosciuszko Foundation and all those gifted young singers who brought so much joy to our week.

© meche kroop

NUN-PLUSSED

 

Curtain Call for Dialogues des Carmelites

We were privileged to have attended opening night of Juilliard Opera's outstanding production of Francis Poulenc's mid 20th century masterpiece Dialogues des Carmélites, for which he wrote both score and libretto. The choice of this opera, telling a disturbing story taking place during the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution, struck us as particularly timely inasmuch as we are on the verge of an upheaval in our own country. It certainly illustrates the consequences of unbridled anger between political factions with horrifying effects on innocent victims.

This is a fictionalized version of the story of the Martyrs of Compiègne, Carmelite nuns who, in 1794 during the closing days of the Reign of Terror  were guillotined in Paris for refusing to renounce their vocation.

Poulenc chose to set the work tonally giving the orchestra great variety of coloration. The vocal lines are predominantly recitativi  and follow the intonation of the French language, making us wonder how that could be accomplished within an ill-advised translation into English. Poulenc himself wished the work to be performed in the vernacular of any given country and indeed the work premiered in Italy--in Italian. Here in the USA, it has been given in French and in English so we were very happy that Juilliard elected to perform it in French.

So if there is nothing like an aria or duet to be enjoyed, one can still appreciate the melodic nature of the spiritual choruses, most notably the Salve Regina in the final scene as the nuns ascend the scaffolding to submit themselves to the blade of the guillotine. As the blade successively falls with a chilling thud, the voices are reduced until there are only the last two martyrs, the former aristocrat Blanche de la Force, excellently sung by mezzo-soprano Ruby Dibble, and the always cheerful Sister Constance, effectively portrayed by Moriah Berry.

A remarkable piece of acting was offered by mezzo-soprano Lauren Randolph as Madame de Croissy, the Prioress of the convent who dies a very unspiritual death, suffering such physical agony that she upsets the two young postulates. Before dying she puts Mother Marie of the Incarnation (well sung and acted by mezzo-soprano Anna Kelly) in charge of Blanche who has been recognized as needing emotional and spiritual support.

Indeed, Ms. Dibble, by means of vocal coloration as well as acting, made it perfectly clear in the opening scene that she was emotionally fragile . The political situation was discussed during that scene by the Marquis de la Force (superbly sung by the rich-voiced bass-baritone Son Jin Kim) and his son the Chevalier de la Force (beautifully sung by tenor Michael John Butler) who would later visit his sister in the convent with an offer of help that she refuses.

Maestro Matthew Aucoin marshaled the forces of the Juilliard Orchestra in a fashion that brought out the varying colors of each section and infused the overall performance with feelings of foreboding and terror, except for the aforementioned religious choruses. We heard some fine solos by a clarinet and great work from the brass section. If we are not mistaken, there were moments reflecting his earlier post WWI short ironic works.

Louisa Muller's direction was tight and straight to the point, fortunately avoiding anything superfluous. It was exactly the way the story needed to be told, holding one's interest throughout and leaving us feeling grief at the end. We do recognize that some very religious viewers might have found the ending spiritually uplifting. We recall a production in Santa Fe in which the director had an actual guillotine right onstage and as the blade fell, cabbages rolled across the stage. It was so convincing that patrons ran fleeing from the theater! It was a relief to be spared such realism.

Kara Harmon's costumes for the first scene had the aristocrats accurately clad in late 18th century glory, as were the soldiers who came in the last act to evict the nuns from their convent. The nuns were, well, dressed like nuns.

Wilson Chin's set design comprised just a few period pieces of furniture for the first scene and a very modern box-like structure with transparent walls to serve as the various rooms of the convent.

Before closing we would like to mention at least some of the other singers that contributed to the success of the evening. Soprano Jasmin Ward impressed as the new Prioress Madame Lidoine. In some "luxury casting" other sisters included Kate Morton and Naomi Steele. Yihe Wang did double duty as a servant and a doctor. Jin Yu was notable as the Chaplain. Jailers and soldiers included Zhongjiancheng Deng, Yoonsoo Jang, Lin Fan, Nazrin Aslan Alyman and Jack Hicks. 

© meche kroop

COSI FAN WHAT?

Minki Hong, Dongwei Shen, Michael John Butler, Maestro Patrick Furrer, Kayla Stein, Tivoli Treloar, and Theo Hayes

All we could think of at the opening performance of Cosi fan tutte at Juilliard was a song from Chorus Line entitled "Dance 10, Looks 3"--only we were thinking "Music 10, Production 3". We heard six superb singers doing justice to Mozart's comedy, and the excellent Juilliard Orchestra, under the baton of Maestro Patrick Furrer, filling the Peter Jay Sharp Theater with glorious sound.  The set by Charlie Corcoran was colorful and appealing--but where were we? Surely not in Naples. We are in front of the City Lights Bookstore, so it must be San Francisco.

The costuming by Andrea Hood appears rather odd but it's not the 18th century, that's for sure. As is our wont, we have not studied the Director's Notes prior to the opera. We try to keep an open mind and to let a work speak for itself. This one spoke not with the intention of Lorenzo Da Ponte and dear Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart but rather with the political intention of director Mo Zhou who, bless her heart, was trying to make points about women's liberation. What a heavy weight to place on a classic that is perfect just the way it was written. Do we need to sneak into the Metropolitan Museum of Art at night and paint over the Rembrandts and the Degas?

We sense lately a mistrust of the audience who really could be trusted to see this masterwork and enjoy what was apt to the times and compare it with the mores of today. Instead of involving the audience and letting them do the work, Ms. Zhou saw fit to impose her point of view. She even, as the program notes mention, modeled the two sisters after the debutant Nixon sisters and portrayed the two boyfriends as surfer dudes! And the manipulative jokester Don Alfonso as the poet Allen Ginsberg, appearing to be in the same generation.

These sisters have agency! They sense Don Alfonso's plot and get their revenge by walking out on the men. Wooooo!!!!  Very definitive, in spite of Mozart's music that leaves us unsettled, never very sure whether the girls will return to their respective fiancés or stay with their swapped lovers? And what about altering the libretto to suit the "concept".  "Well, we can just fool the audience the way the men in the opera tried to put one over on the young women; maybe we can count on no one knowing Italian, stupid Americans as they are."

Nevertheless, the performance was worth attending for its excellent musical values; we would expect no less of Juilliard students. Some of the singers are pursuing their Artist Diploma and others, their graduate degrees.  All were in fine voice and did exactly what the director asked of them, much of it leaning toward the physically excessive. Similarly, the costumes  were too much of a muchness. Although the 1960's are as remote to us as the 18th century, we have seen enough newsreels to know how Jackie Kennedy dressed and what "hippies" looked like. Only the excellent set was consistent with the chosen epoch and location, with the unmistakable Golden Gate Bridge in the background.

Nonetheless, it is the voices that count and the six singers will leave this production with their respective roles "performance ready". If we were a casting director, we would hire all of them on the spot.

Beginning with the Fiordiligi of Kayla Stein, this super soprano had no problem negotiating the huge jumps in "Come scoglio", the acrobatics of which were reputedly created to skewer Da Ponte's mistress whom Mozart didn't like as she was cast in the role. The more gentle "Per pietà, ben mio, perdona" was affecting and persuasive. Ms. Stein has a lovely generous soprano, marked by agility.

Tivoli Treloar, as her sister Dorabella, successfully portrayed the more adventurous of the two and employed her pleasing mezzo-soprano instrument successfully in the emotional "Smanie implacabili" and later in "È amore un ladroncello" in which she justifies her behavior to her more faithful sister who is more successful at holding out against the importunate Ferrando.

Michael John Butler made a fine Ferrando. The hit tune "Un aura amoroso" is the aria the audience is waiting for but the hopeful sentiment becomes less hopeful in the subsequent "Io lo veggio" commanding a different more hesitant color in his warm tenor instrument.

As Guglielmo, Dongwei Shen's sweet baritonal sound helped to ensure a successful courtship of Ferrando's fiancée Dorabella. "Non siate ritrosi" does not lead to immediate success but before long, he is a singing a sweet duet with Dorabella "Il core vi dono", the two voices melding in perfect harmony. (Who could resist?) We loved the scene in which his gloating over his success triumphs over his sympathy for the less successful Ferrando. Of course, his gloating is short-lived as his Fiordiligi eventually succumbs to the advances of Ferrando.

As the worldly wise Despina, mezzo-soprano Theo Hayes overcame some ludicrous costuming to give a vocally excellent performance, warning the two sisters about soldiers "In uomini, in soldati, sperare fedeltà?" and later, encouraging them to find new lovers after the young men have presumably gone off to (the Vietnam) war. (Drafted in error, according to this "modernization"). We wondered whoever wore a punk hairstyle in the 60's but, there it was.

The character who puts the plot in motion is Don Alfonso and it was difficult visually to perceive Minki Hong as a worldly wise older man due to the costuming but his excellent singing triumphed over both concept and clothing.

As a lover of ensemble singing, we particularly enjoyed "Soave sia il vento" as the sisters and Don Alfonso watch the ship sail off. Additionally there is a scene at the end of the first act in which all six characters are in a frenzy, suggesting to us the seedling that grew into the famous Rossini sextets. Interesting that we never noticed that before.

As noted, Mozart's character revealing music rose above any attempt to make the story "relevant". It may not be politically correct (we of course, are not) to mention that members of both genders in that age group often play fast and loose with the feelings of their lovers. (Maybe all lovers do, even those that transcend genderhood.) One could easily rewrite this opera and reverse the genders but we hope no one does. Our feeling is that if you object to the values and morals of a story, write your own damn opera!  Leave Mozart alone!!!!

© meche kroop