OPERA INDEX GALA

Michael Fennelly, Brittany Nickell, Tamara Banjesevic, James Ley, Bryan Murray, Courtney Johnson, William Guanbo Su, and Jane Shaulis

Sunday evening was special for many reasons. The Opera Index Gala is a golden opportunity to socialize with fellow opera lovers in the beautiful Essex House on Central Park South. Most of the luminaries of the opera world were in attendance. 

It is also a chance to witness the future of opera by hearing six stellar singers who filled our ears with music in between salad and steak.  Trust us! With talent like this, one needn't worry about the future of opera.

Mistress of ceremonies was Opera Index President Jane Shaulis who did a fine job keeping the evening moving along briskly and giving due honors to the lovely Mignon Dunn, recipient of the Opera Index 2018 Distinguished Achievement Award. Both women possess the gracious and dynamic presence so specific to great singers.

Opera Index is a nonprofit volunteer organization with a mission to advocate for opera and support its artists. The six singers who so delighted us at the gala were among a group of sixteen young artists who received a total of $55,000. in awards. You too, dear reader, can be a member of this fine organization for the paltry membership fee of $45/year. Members have a number of activities to enjoy and share with other opera lovers.

As is our wont, we will focus on the singers and the songs, not on the amounts of the awards. The recital opened with the sparkling soprano Tamara Banjesevic who enchanted the members with Juliette's paean to life "Je veux vivre" from Charles Gounod's Roméo et Juliette. She let loose volleys of joy in fine French as she left the stage and circulated between the tables just as Juliette might have done at her birthday party.

Baritone Bryan Murray evinced oceanic depths of feeling in his performance of "Mein Sehnen mein Wähnen" from Erich Korngold's Die tote Stadt. His mellifluous baritone was well suited to the requisite sincerity of expression. His fine phrasing, superb German diction, and dynamic variety made for a splendid performance.

Soprano Courtney Johnson's performance of "Come scoglio" from Mozart's Cosi fan tutte revealed a vocal firmness that echoed Fiordiligi's firmness of character (at least at this point of the opera). This firmness extended from the bottom to the top of her register, allowing the wide skips of this difficult aria to be successfully negotiated. An impressive ease in the fioritura was icing on this delectable cake.

James Ley has the sweetest tenor which he put to good use in "Vainement, ma bien-aimée" from Edouard Lalo's rarely performed opera Le roi d'Ys. (Interestingly, one of the luminaries in attendance at the Gala was Eve Queler who conducted her Opera Orchestra of New York in a concert version of this opera in 1985!) Although this opera is in no way comedic, this particular aria is a love song sung by the knight Mylio to his lady love and Mr. Ley's light touch and delicate French were perfect, as was the accompaniment by pianist Michael Fennelly, who can always be counted on for taking his lead from the singer. 

Bass William Guanbo Su is one of those young basses whose advanced vocal development belies their youth. Considered a late maturing fach, it is tempting to mentally cast him in all kinds of marvelous roles with a lengthy and enduring career. He sang "Vi ravviso", Count Rodolfo's Act I aria from Bellini's La Sonnambula and he totally convinced us that he was a man returning to the beautiful land of his childhood. It was a completely wonderful performance.

Closing the entertainment portion of the evening was soprano Brittany Nickell who employed her fine instrument with intense expressivity in "Robert, toi que j'aime" from Meyerbeer's Robert le Diable. There was ample brilliance at the top and Mr. Fennelly's piano matched the singer's urgency. We particularly admired the very fine vibrato which suited the aria perfectly.

Having heard six such excellent singers at the Gala, and a few more at the November Membership Party, we commend the judges for their fine choices. We would have happily exchanged our steak for more music! But we suppose that the belly demands its due as well as the ears and the heart.

(c) meche kroop

DONIZETTI DISCOVERY

Italo Marchini, Aaron Blake, Angela Meade, Eve Queler, Yunpeng Wang, Sava Vemic, and Mia Pafumi

We gave away the plot to Donizetti's rarely performed 1833 opera Parisina d'Este in last months's archived review (COVERS UNCOVERED) when the cover cast for Opera Orchestra of New York treated us to excerpts from the opera. We were enthralled and bursting with anticipation for Maestro Eve Queler's conducting of the entire opera. Last night at the Rose Theater, our hopes were completely fulfilled.

As a matter of fact, this opera goes on our wish list as one we'd love to see tackled by The Metropolitan Opera. During this concert version, we saw the entire opera in our head--sets and costumes included. 

The flow of the music and the complete involvement of the singers succeeded admirably in evoking the story--a typical 19th c. melodrama which librettist Felice Romani adapted from a poem by Lord Byron.

The tale moves forward without any distracting side plots. The characters are sympathetic and victims of their time (15th c.), place (Ferrara) and culture (arranged marriages). Duke Azzo and his wife Parisina are both miserable and political triumphs cannot relieve the gloom of the court.

Yunpeng Wang established his character (Duke Azzo) from the very start. He is madly in love with his wife who does not love him. Although it is difficult to forgive his behavior at the end of the opera, Mr. Wang's gorgeous baritone and warmth let us feel Azzo's pain. His duet with his minister Ernesto was nothing short of sumptuous. And to hear him change vocal coloration when he sang about battles was most impressive.

Sava Vemić's youthful appearance did not prevent him from creating a believable character who is both a loyal minister and a loving father trying to save his son from danger. Mr. Vemić's rich bass filled the theater and thrilled the ear. His character has the big "reveal" at the climax of the opera.

As the son Ugo, tenor Aaron Blake overcame some early problems with intonation to deliver a beautifully sung and well-phrased performance. Ugo is a man so obsessed with his childhood sweetheart, who now belongs to another, that he cannot preserve his own life.

Soprano Angela Meade gave a riveting performance as the eponymous Parisina, married to the Duke but in love with Ugo. In this opera, Donizetti eschewed lavish fioritura, but what embellishments there were to the vocal line were beautifully negotiated.

As Imelda, Parisina's confidant, soprano Mia Pafumi looked and sounded beautiful. Her duet with Ms. Meade was movingly tender.

Under Maestro Queler's baton, The Opera Orchestra of New York played Donizetti's profusion of melody with the excellence we have come to expect of them-- minus a recalcitrant trumpet. We heard foreshadowing of music from Lucia di Lammermoor, which he would write two years later, and echoes of "The Senator Song" from L'Elisir d'Amore, which he had written the year before. 

In Parisina, Donizetti relied heavily on the wind sections and Maestro Queler brought out every line. Perhaps (dare we say it??) the Rose Theater offers some acoustic advantage over Carnegie Hall. (Gulp!)

The New York Choral Ensemble, under the leadership of Italo Marchini, commented on the action and filled in the narrative. As all good choruses must, they made their words count.

With such high quality conducting, playing, and singing, we would count this as one of the highlights of the season.

Maestro Queler conducted this once before with Montserrat Caballé, James Morris, and Luis Quilico over 40 years ago. It is difficult to believe that this energetic youthful conductor has been around that long. We hope we won't have to wait that long to hear this wonderful opera again!

(c) meche kroop

THE LICIA ALBANESE-PUCCINI FOUNDATION 2014 WINNERS

The glorious assemblage of prizewinners of the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation's 2014 International Vocal Competition (photo by Ania Farysej)

Although lost to this world,  Signora Albanese might have been smiling down at the proceedings onstage at the Rose Hall of Lincoln Center.  The 40th anniversary of the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation's inception reminds us all of the long term generosity that has provided awards, scholarships, study grants and master classes to young artists.  With Brian Kellow as host, tributes were paid and honors bestowed. New York's opera lovers packed the house to hear this year's crop of winners.

Additionally, winners from prior years returned for their Distinguished Artists Achievement Awards and to share their artistry, serving to demonstrate how wisely the foundation bestows its gifts.  Lyric soprano Lisette Oropesa, a winner from 2007, opened the program with "Prendi!" from Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore, an aria as lovely as the artist; she has a pleasing vibrato and effortless fioritura.  We enjoyed the final high note with its precipitous but gentle descent.

Tenor John Matz, a 2001 winner, sang "Lamento di Federico" from Francesco Cilea's L'Arlesiana; he exhibited a powerful tenor that is also capable of tenderness. Dramatic soprano Lori Phillips, a 1995 winner, sang Minnie's Act I aria from Puccini's La Fanciulla del West.  We cannot believe how much time has passed since we thrilled to her singing with her sister Mary at a Marilyn Horne recital.  Time has only enhanced her luster.  

The above guest artists were accompanied on the piano by Arlene Shrut and Jonathan C. Kelly.  For the 2014 award winners, Maestra Eve Queler mounted the podium and wielded her formidable baton, bringing the Opera Orchestra of New York to a peak of performance.

We have heard most of these young award-winning singers before, either at other competitions or as recitalists, and we have nothing but good things to say about the foundation's choices.  It must have been challenging for the judges to put any one ahead of the others.  We are relieved not to have been put in that position.

First we heard mezzo Ewa Plonka Nino joining forces with baritone Jarrett Ott for the delightful duet from Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia--"Dunque io son".  Ms. Nino made a captivating Rosina and Mr. Ott was splendid as the wily Figaro with flexibility of voice and body.  We liked the variety of tempi and enjoyed a few giggles when Rosina produced her note for "Lindoro" from her bosom, thus astonishing and outdoing Figaro's craftiness.

We do love duets and were pleased to hear the beautiful Alexandra Schenck make comedy and harmony with the firm-voiced baritone Ricardo Rivera in the "Papageno-Papagena Duet" from Die Zauberflote.  We think Mozart would have been as pleased as we were to hear it.  

Another Mozart duet, "La ci darem la mano" from Don Giovanni, was given a fine performance by soprano Marina Costa-Jackson as an all-too-willing Zerlina, and the fine baritone Jared Bybee (whom we admired so much last summer at the Santa Fe Opera) as the Don himself.  

And yet another smashing duet that we all know and love, "Au fond du temple saint" from Bizet's Les pêcheurs de perles, was performed by tenor Mingjie Lei and baritone Brian Vu, both of whom sang with clarity and lightness.  The appropriately named Grace Paradise contributed a great deal as harpist and the gorgeously harmonized duet ended in a flourish of winds.

Baritone Kidon Choi exhibited maturity and a sense of authority in his performance of "Si Puo? Si Puo" from Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci.  His storytelling skill matched his vocal beauty.  The contribution from the violins was notable.

The second half of the generous program brought on tenor Paul Han for "Fantaisie aux divins mensonges" from Delibes' Lakme.  He exhibited a marvelous messa di voce and fine Gallic subtlety.  We swooned over his sustained pianissimo.

Capturing our admiration for yet another stellar performance was mezzo Shirin Eskandani who performed "Non piu mesta" from Rossini's La Cenerentola with sparkle to spare and enough vocal fireworks for any Rossini fan to cherish. With such a rich voice and flexibility throughout her range, she has made the role her own.  It didn't hurt that she appeared in a glamorous sequined gown that seemed to have been bestowed by her fairy godmother.

Octavian's first act aria "Wie du warst" from Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier was given a finely polished and passionate performance by mezzo Virginie Verrez, expressing all the wild abandon of the teenage boy she portrayed.  In spite of her feminine beauty, she managed to convince us totally with her excellent phrasing and vocal coloring.

We are always delighted to hear soprano Courtney Johnson who sang Liù's aria "Signore, ascolta" from Puccini's Turandot; Liù is such a wonderful character and Ms. Johnson's angelic voice limned her innocence to the point of breaking our heart.

Baritone Alexey Lavrov used his powerful voice in a well-modulated performance of "Questo amor vergogna mia" from Edgar, Puccini's second opera, one which he later repudiated; he sang Frank's aria with authority,control, and fine phrasing.

We got to hear that lovely harp once more in "Stridono lassu" from Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci, finely sung by Rebecca Pedersen, well on her way to becoming a dramatic soprano of distinction.  Her top notes just rang out and filled up the hall and the vibrato was just right.

We would expect nothing less from bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green who wowed the crowd with the buffo aria "Solche hergelaufne Laffen" from Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail.  Not only was it perfectly sung but Mr. Green captured all the angry/funny business, a noteworthy performance.

Tenor Benjamin Bliss capped the prizewinners' portion of the afternoon and captured the hearts of the audience with a flawless performance of "Una furtiva lagrima" from Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore, using his sweet tone to illuminate the character of the hapless Nemorino who finally realizes he has gained Adina's love.

Maestra Queler and her musicians packed up and left with the final performances by the Distinguished Artists to be accompanied by piano. Roberto Iarussi, a 1999 winner used his impressive Italianate tenor in the moving aria "Non piangere, Liù" from Puccini's Turandot.  The program ended with 2008 winner Jan Cornelius, whose lovely lyric soprano was perfect for "In quelle trine morbide" from Puccini's Manon Lescaut, in which Manon confides in Lescaut her disillusionment with her life of wealth.  Ms. Cornelius has great ease in her top notes and a marvelous messa di voce.  We heard an enviable pianissimo, evidence of perfect breath control.

It was a splendid afternoon and we have the highest expectations of all the gifted young artists we heard.  We long to hear them again soon and wish them the very best in their careers.

© meche kroop

EVE QUELER AND FRIENDS

Musa Ngqungwana, Yunpeng Wang, Ashley Kerr, Shirin Eskandani, Rochelle Bard and Eve Queler

Could the season of vocal music have gotten off to a better start than the Musicians Emergency Fund recital at Alice Tully Hall?  We think not.  Maestra Eve Queler and her fine Opera Orchestra of New York served as background to showcase five superlative singers, all of whom we would happily listen to over and over again. The Opera Orchestra of New York has a long and venerable history in New York City, having presented over 100 operas in concert version and the Maestra has proven her worth, not only as a conductor, but as someone with a great ear for emerging stars. Similarly, the Musicians Emergency Fund has a history going back to the Great Depression and has also brought talent to the public's attention.

The five singers could not have been better chosen, nor could their material which, in each case, served to highlight the singer's special skills.  Let us begin with the sopranos.  Everything sung by Rochelle Bard was nothing short of sensational.  Her glamorous appearance served to augment her vocal skills as she portrayed the eponymous Tosca in Puccini's masterpiece. Her "Vissi d'arte" was deeply emotional and heart breaking.

In"Vivi,ingrato" from Donizetti's Roberto Devereux, her portrayal of an outraged and betrayed woman was so intense that the audience broke into wild applause before the cabaletta.  

This versatile young artist showed off the most beautiful legato in "D'amor sull' ali rosee" from Verdi's Il Trovatore, which ended in a thrilling trill.  As encore, she sang "The Vilja Song" from Franz Lehar's  The Merry Widow.

Soprano Ashley Kerr showed off a gorgeous instrument and an impressive French style in "Depuis le jour" from Charpentier's Louise.  She exhibited fine dynamic control and when she sang the word "delicieusement" we thought that was the perfect description of her manner of performing. 

In an entirely different style, she sang Donna Anna's aria "Non mi dir" from Mozart's Don Giovanni; her fioritura was just about perfect. In yet a different vein, she performed Musetta's aria "Quando m'en vo" from Puccini's La Boheme, always a great showpiece.  And "Song to the Moon" from Dvorak's Rusalka was another showstopper that revealed Ms. Kerr's seamless transitions throughout the registers.

Mezzo-soprano Shirin Eskandani turned in an excellent performance of "Non piu mesta" from Rossini's La Cenerentola; what made it a standout over other ones we have heard is that her fioritura seemed to emerge from deep within the generous character of the heroine, happy at last and ready to share her joy with everyone. And who wouldn't want to hear "Parto" from Mozart's La clemenza di Tito sung by such a talent.  We wanted to hear more!

There wasn't a tenor onstage but we never missed it because the two male singers were so outstanding.  Baritone Yunpeng Wang opened the program with "O Lisbon" from Donizetti's rarely heard Dom Sebastien which he sang in fine French, making every word clear, a great advantage since there were no translations.  Mr. Wang has a most pleasing tonal quality and ample coloring as he shifted from longing to passionate outbursts.

From Verdi's  La Traviata, his "Di Provenza il mar" was consummately persuasive, coming from a deep place of a father's anguish.  The legato line was a delight and had us wondering whether Mr. Wang is the Verdi baritone we have been waiting for.

Bass-baritone Musa Ngqungwana pleased us with one our favorite arias from Puccini's La Boheme.  In "Vecchia zimarra", Colline is bidding farewell to the beloved overcoat he is about to pawn to raise money for the dying Mimi's medicine. He sang this with superb dynamic control and deeply felt grief.

In another mood entirely, his "Serenade" from Gounod's Faust employed the desirable word coloring that makes the devil so chilling.  The "Ha, ha, ha, ha" made our hair stand on end.

His interpretation of Leporello's "Catalogue Aria" from Don Giovanni was original.  We are accustomed to a Leporello who is sick and tired of his master's hijinx and humorously ironic in this aria.  Mr. N. presented the character as serious, severe and nearly menacing.  It was difficult to evaluate presented as a stand-alone but it was surely well sung.

The final work on the program comprised a duet between Mr. N. and Mr. Wang.  "Suoni la tromba" from Bellini's I Puritani offers some delicious harmonies and long lyric phrases.  The voices blended well and all that was missing was some connection between the two artists.

Maestra Queler led her orchestra as well as we have come to expect and we heard some lovely solos emerging from the orchestra.  The wonderful thing about opera (well, ONE of the wonderful things) is that each time you hear an aria you hear something new.  Yesterday, for us, it was some beautiful clarinet work in the "Parto".

To have so much talent onstage in one afternoon felt like an embarrassment of riches.  But we are gluttons for pleasure.  It was like the old adage about champagne--even if you have an excess, you can never have enough.  And if you didn't leave this recital walking on air, you must have been wearing cement shoes!

(c) meche kroop

EVE QUELER & SEVEN EMERGING ARTISTS

We have enjoyed Maestra Eve Queler's conducting of the Opera Orchestra of New York for more years than we can count--perhaps more for the opportunity to hear singers we don't always get to hear than to hear scores belonging to the same category.  Today we happily listened to seven emerging artists that she had cast in smaller roles last season, but we had the pleasure of hearing them perform as the stars they are meant to be, singing arias we know and love, accompanied by Ms. Queler herself on the piano as well as by Douglas Martin.

Each of these fine artists has been making a name for him or herself singing important roles in some fine companies and winning prestigious prizes.  It appears difficult for such gifted singers to get cast in major roles at the Met and we can only hope that someone from that august institution was in the audience today to be as impressed as we were.

What a banner year this is for soprano Megan Hart who makes us feel fortunate for having heard her three times already.  Her sensational coloratura in "Caro Nome" from Verdi's Rigoletto and in "Regnava nel silencio" from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor were well complimented by her duet with baritone Steven LaBrie in the "Silvio/Nedda duet" from Leoncavallo's Pagliacci and the "Parigi o cara" from Verdi's La Traviata, sung with tenor Kevin Ray. Not only did she exhibit different vocal colors for the different characters but showed fine dramatic skills.  As Gilda, she totally convinced as a young innocent in the thrall of infatuation.  As Lucia, she managed to foreshadow the heroine's mental fragility.

Mezzo Jennifer Feinstein impressed us with the passionate "Wie du warst!" from Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier.  This is a sizable voice that still manages to sound like young Octavian, as it should.  She sang "Les Larmes" from Massenet's Werther accompanied not only by the piano but by Kevin Ray's saxophone.  "Casta Diva" from Bellini's Norma was performed by soprano Maria D'Amato with long melting phrases.

When tenor Kevin Ray was not playing the saxophone, he gave us a healthy dose of German, first in the moody "Durch die Wälder" from Weber's Die Freischütz and "Winterstürme" from Wagner's Die Walküre.  We heard him pull the sword from the tree just recently at the Gerda Lissner award recital and have decided he will make an excellent Siegmund.

We were likewise delighted to have another hearing of baritone Steven LaBrie whom we suspect of having been hard at work on his Italian which came across just fine in his "Largo al Factotum" from Rossini's  Il Barbiere di Siviglia.  "Ya vas lyublyu" from Tchaikovsky's  Pique Dame showed another side of this versatile artist, as did his lovely French in "Vision Fugitive" from Massenet's Herodiade.  Tenor Samuel Levine presented "Dies Bildnis" from Mozart's  Die Zauberflöte and "Fra poco a me" from Lucia di Lammermoor.

Saving the best for last, powerful baritone Ricardo Rivera projected a profoundly  protective image in "Avant de quitter ces lieux" from Gounod's  Faust and an even more profoundly self-absorbed one as Escamillo in the "Toreador Song" from Bizet's  Carmen.  Having seen some rather weak Escamillos at the Met recently, we totally relished the animal magnetism and role-appropriate arrogance that so enthralled the eponymous heroine. 

This satisfying recital was a gift to New York opera lovers and we wish to thank Ms. Queler from the bottom of our heart.

(c) meche kroop