BUT IS IT OPERA?

Pablo Zinger, Linda Collazo, Maria Brea, and Juan Hernandez

We just spent a delightful evening enjoying one of our favorite art forms with a group of the finest interpreters of this art form at Fiesta de la Zarzuela. Regular readers have heard me write most enthusiastically about zarzuela and have read a bit about its origins; for those who are new to this blog, the short form of its history is that it originated in 17th century Spain, performed for the aristocracy, and ended up in the mid 20th century in the New World, enjoyed by the common folk. Not so different from the story of opera, right?

In what category shall we place zarzuela? We have our own ideas on this issue. In our opinion, a piece of musical theater that is sung by operatically trained singers without amplification qualifies as opera when the music tells the story. By this measure, we could count works by Rogers and Hammerstein, Sondheim, and Bernstein, as operas under the aforementioned circumstance. Zarzuela has incorporated its original nationalistic stamp into the genre, much as the best of American musicals have done. We see these included under the operatic umbrella whereas some contemporary works, prosy an unmelodic, seem left out in the rain.

This is, of course, only one opinion--more experiential than academic.  Some people would say that if The Metropolitan Opera produces it, it is an opera. Some people would say that spoken dialogue is a disqualification which would eliminate Carmen (as Bizet first composed it). This is obviously a moot point and we are willing to hear other people's opinions.

What we heard last night at Teatro Circulo comprised excerpts from a number of zarzuelas from the 19th and 20th century in predominantly chronological order. Three very talented Latin American singers made up the cast and we were treated to some engaging narration by Maestro Pablo Zinger who accompanied the singers on an electronic keyboard and (surprise!) led the audience in a singing lesson after the performance. We have never attended a performance in which the entire audience exited with such wide smiles.

We are hoping that Mo. Zinger will find a way to produce an entire zarzuela in the near future since we have only had that pleasure twice. Once before Covid when we enjoyed Maria Brea as the lead in the delightful comedy El Barbero de Sevilla and a post Covid production by Mo. Jorge Parodi of the more serious Luisa Fernanda. Let us hope! Meanwhile we have contented ourself with the occasional appearance of an aria or duet on a concert program.

Last night' production was a complete delight and created quite an impression with modest resources--a black box theater with thankfully raked seating, a minimal set comprising a pair of wrought iron benches, and singers dressed in black, accessorized with colorful mantónes de Manila.  A screen upstage projected slides illustrating famed zarzuela singers and composers of yore. We would have preferred English translations!

All three singers were superb. We usually write about singers at very early stages of their careers and love watching their careers flourish. We have fond recollections of the superb soprano Ms. Brea singing the role of Marie in  Martina Arroyo's Prelude to Performance over a dozen years ago. How rewarding it is to witness her as she fulfills her potential. We especially enjoyed the closing number "Salida de Cecilia" from Gonzalo Roig's Cecilia Valdes. We love the bright open top of her voice and the way she created a few different characters.

We have also written about mezzo-soprano Linda Collazo a number of times, many of them in recitals with Ms. Brea. Her facility with Latin American music and the Spanish language has always impressed us. Last night we particularly appreciated her performance of "Chancletera soy yo" from Ernesto Lecuona's Maria la O. Everything she sang was filled with passion and intention. And let us not forget to mention her pleasing resonance and apt phrasing.

Unlike our lengthy experience with the two female singers, our experience with tenor Juan Hernandez was limited to one occasion prior to Covid and please bear with us Dear Reader as we quote from our own review, which we feel is important to let you know how impressed we were even then. 

"We were also introduced to a very young tenor who showed a great deal of promise with a sweet unforced sound and amplitude of feeling. Juan Hernandez is his name and he is someone to watch. With the correct embouchure he produced a lovely Italianate sound in "Una furtiva lagrima" from Donizetti's comedy L'Elisir d'Amore. There was a lovely downward glissando, some admirable melismatic singing, and a finely drawn out decrescendo at the end. We thought of a fine silken thread suspended in the air."

Last night we made note of his lively personality and open-throated delivery in "Caballero de Gracia" from Chueca y Valverde's La Gran Via.  He exhibited all the right moves in the duets and trios as well. Come to think of it, we have heard Ms. Brea and Ms. Collazo in duets countless times and Mr. Hernandez melded perfectly into the scenes, providing some delightful trios.

We have only touched the surface of this excellent program, most of which was entirely new to us. Mo. Zinger can be credited with wearing many hats beside conceiving, directing, narrating and accompanying. Although the project of producing a zarzuela seems impractical considering dancers, an orchestra, a costumer, chorus, set designer, and lighting designer--if it could be accomplished we would turn to Mo. Zinger. Let us hope!

© meche kroop

Y VOLVER

 Pablo Zinger, Verónica Villarroel, Sonia Olla, and Ismael Fernández

Last night found us at the stunning theater of El Museo del Barrio for an exciting evening of Spanish music presented by the newly reborn Opera Hispanica. It was an exciting evening for us, dear Reader, not just because of the thrilling performances, but because we were there at the original birth of Opera Hispanica some years ago, with Daniel Frost Hernandez at the helm. We were overwhelmed with excitement that New York City would have a company to bring Spanish music to the forefront of the cultural scene.

And now, with brilliant conductor Jorge Parodi at the helm, Opera Hispanica is receiving a timely rebirth, just when we need Spanish music the most. Two years of pandemic restrictions and isolation have left our populace low in spirits and what could be better than Spanish music to lift them from lethargy to passion!

The title of the program Y Volver (I will come back) is not only the title of one of the songs on the program (Jorge Ramón Lucero/María I Lo Forte) but also symbolic of the comeback of Opera Hispanica and the comeback of the arts in NYC.

Starring in this extravaganza were world renowned Chilean opera star Verónica Villarroel,  Spanish flamenco dancer Sonia Olla, Spanish cantaor Ismael Fernández, and Uruguayan pianist Pablo Zinger who used his multiplicity of talents to provide interesting commentary on the program as well as to accompany.  As Musical Director, he also arranged many of the selections.

Before telling about the program, let us mention the fine guitar work of Olli Hirvonen, the double bassist Pedro Giraudo, and the percussionist Danny Mallon. Yang Yu's lighting design comprised brilliantly colored washes on the rear screen that consistently set off the artists' costuming and set the mood. As far as Anthony Riveron's sound design, it is worth mentioning, since we have no affection whatsoever for amplification, that is was never overamplified.

The program itself demonstrated the wide variety of Spanish and Latin American music. Not only was the singing in crossover mode but also the instrumentals.  Boleros, tangos, canciones populares, and Spanish art song existed side by side and melded into a guisado deliciosa.

Regular readers could probably guess that our personal preference lay in the unamplified delivery of Carlos Guastavino's "La Rosa y el Sauce", a tender art song that never fails to touch our heart. We have no doubt that Ms. Villarroel's voice could have easily filled the theater without amplification for the entire evening which we would have preferred.

Each artist had at least one selection that was unforgettable. Isaac Albéniz' "Tango in D" was stunningly delivered by Mr. Zinger and Mr. Giraudo.  We think Mr. Zinger must have a special connection with Albeniz because his performance of "Cádiz" was performed with particular attention to a gorgeous recurrent theme that lingered in the ear.

Mr. Fernández' emotional performance of Astor Piazzolla's "Oblivion" gave a flamenco slant to the tango master's composition,  accompanied by Mr. Zinger with Mr. Hirvonen's guitar solo capturing the ear.

Flamenco dance has long been a subject of our admiration but we have eschewed the sanitized over-choreographed performances that seem to have taken over the stage in recent years. We will probably never get to see a real tablao in a cave in Seville but Ms. Olla's performance surely satisfied our yen for authenticity. Her precise footwork was marked by rhythmic intensity; her arms were exquisitely expressive; the arch of her back was perfect. In one number she made great use of an enormous red mantoncillo--at first covering her entire body like a curtain and then swirling it around with great poetry of motion.

We always love the Canciones Españolas Antiguas which were arranged and popularized by Federico García Lorca; in this case they were jazzed up and amplified which may have pleased other members of the audience more than me.

Similarly, the romantic songs of the Mexican composer Maria Grever are among our favorites and we heard "Júrame" and the lovely "Te quiero dijiste".  Just the phrase "muñequita linda" gives us goosebumps. We would have preferred less jazziness. Still, we are always happy to witness a celebration of female composers. The program ended with the lovely "Gracias a la Vida" by Violeta Parra.

We have a quibble (when don't we?) that will not surprise our regular readers.  That quibble is the loathed music stand.  Just as amplification interferes with our auditory appreciation of a singer's natural voice, so does the music stand interfere with our visual connection. A phrase begins, we connect, the singer glances down, the connection is broken.  Just sayin'!

What we have seen and heard of Opera Hispanica' season has been exciting and rewarding. There is more to come and we refer you to www.operahispanica.org for details. 

© meche kroop

 

WE ARE BACK IN ACTION

Our voce has been silent for these past 15 months due to- you know-Covid. We actually had forgotten how to access our blog and required assistance from Google! To celebrate the return of live music we have chosen a new typeface which we hope will be as easy on the eyes as Saturday night's concert was easy on the ears.

Eurasia Foundation's Aza Sydykov found a lovely and comfortable venue with adequate spacing between chairs and was wise enough to start the new "live season" with the magnificent mezzo-soprano Linda Collazo who, incidentally, has been singing for us at our musicales, garnering wild applause and many new fans from among the guests.

Saturday's recital focused on arias and songs by strong women and about powerful women in all their glory, among whom we count Ms. Collazo who is advancing her career with great care and dedication. A friend of ours, not easily impressed, who always compares young talent to the greats of ages long gone, was similarly dazzled by this gifted young artist. There is an admirable evenness of tone throughout her range, which is a wide one. All of our chakras were vibrating in turn.

Her Carmen brought new roundness to the character that had us visualizing each scene in our mind's eye. Collaborative pianist (and expert on Spanish music) Pablo Zinger let loose with his own jazzy accompaniment to the second verse of the Habanera, a work that we would have enjoyed more as a solo, the better to focus on its inventiveness. Ms. Collazo's seductive Seguidilla was no less exciting. No Don Jose could have resisted!

Bizet is surely not the only composer limning the characters of powerful women. Rossini loved not only mezzo-sopranos but also strong female characters like Isabella in L'Italiana in Algeri.  "Cruda sorte" bemoans the character's unhappy fate as she has been shipwrecked, separated from her lover, and threatened with being in a harem. Just listening to the artist's interpretation, you would realize that Isabella is not going to accept her fate and that she would triumph in the end. The contrast between the aria and the cabaletta was stunning and such a show of vocal fireworks!

The same could be said for "Una voce poco fa" from the master's Il barbiere di Siviglia. Ms. Collazo's skills with fioritura were matched by the vivacity of her acting. This was one spunky Rosina who would be sure to get her way. Those of you who love zarzuela as much as we do would have been as enchanted as we were by the lively presto of "Carceleras" from Las hijas de Zebedeo. Oh how we would love to see onstage the entire work, of which this is the hit song.

Is there anyone out there unfamiliar with the songs of the early 20th c. composer Maria Greve? Of course you have heard "Jurame" and "Te quiero dijiste" before but probably not as stirringly sung as by Ms. Collazo, who is just as adept at romantic ballads as she is with vocal fireworks.

"Bésame mucho" is another familiar Mexican song, this one by a young 20th c. composer named Consuelo Velásquez. There is so much wonderful music coming out of Mexico that we wondered what they put in their tortillas.

Not to shortchange North American composers, the program was rounded out by "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man of Mine"  from  Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein's Showboat, the United States' first serious musical. What brought that under the umbrella of powerful women is that it was adapted from a novel by Edna Ferber.

The evening was narrated by Mr. Zinger who is a fount of information about Spanish music, providing anecdotes about the works and the composers. This added a great deal to the evening, especially if you love learning new things as much as we do.

The recital ended far too soon. We had been starved for live music and this was like an exquisite "amuse bouche" whetting our appetite for more.  Shall we call it an "amuse oreille"?

© meche kroop

AROUND THE WORLD IN SONG

Aza Sydykov, Alvar Mayilyan, Kofi Hayford, César Parreño, Maria Brea,
Pablo Zinger, Pallavi Seth, Claire de Monteil, and Dashuai Chen
(photo credit: Bruce-Michael Gelbert)

by Guest Reviewer Eli Jacobson

Meche Kroop introduced this recital program by saying that she started this series of recitals spotlighting young classical singers from around the world performing their native music in response to the xenophobia, prejudice and fear of the “other” being promoted by governments around the world including our own.  Meche feels that music is a healing and uniting force that counteracts hatred and prejudice.  The recital (which was performed on February 28th at St. John’s Church in the Village) had each singer performing the native music of their homeland.  Aza Sydykov was the musical director and pianist.

The recital began with soprano Maria Brea from Caracas, Venezuela singing six songs from her native country.  Brea’s soprano is luscious, rich in overtones with a shimmering fast vibrato.  The songs ranged widely in style from a simple folk lullaby sung a capella (“Duérmete mi niño”) to Latin American pop (“Arrunango”), zarzuela (“Alma llanera”), flamenco (“Quiero sembra”) and jazz cabaret (“La Negra Attilia”) styles.  

I heard music that reminded me of Antônio Jobim, Astor Piazzolla and Heitor Villa-Lobos.  Each song was strongly contrasted from the others.   Brea wasn’t afraid to dig into chest voice or darken or lower her voice to create a different sound.  Throughout this varied program, Brea displayed a distinctive beauty of timbre and projected her music with poise and command.  

The bolero torch song “Desesperanza” by 20th century female Venezuelan composer Maria Luisa Escobar is the favorite song of both Maria’s father and her sister who sings it herself but in a different, more pop-inflected style.  Maria brought a more classical timbre and a thrilling high note at the end that were very much her own.  Hispanic music expert and musicologist Pablo Zinger accompanied Maria on the piano with great insight and stylistic command.  

Delhi-born, New York trained mezzo-soprano Pallavi Seth sang two classical Indian songs – one semi-classical “Huri” and one classical bandish from “Raag Khamaj” both self-accompanied on Tanpura.  Seth began singing classical Indian religious songs under the guidance of her guru and later studied as a Hindustani classical vocalist under the legendary Benares gharana singer Girija Devi.  Vacations in the U.S. led to an interest in European classical music and study at Westminster Choir College and Mannes School of Music.  

Seth performed the two songs seated on the stage with great spiritual insight and self-communion.  The songs began with keening wordless vocalise and then the Hindi text was chanted.  Both songs involved melismatic writing and keening high notes where Seth’s opera background became evident – there was a flexibility of tone and purity of attack that showed her operatic training.  Seth believes in blending cultures and also performs songs by Adele and Amy Winehouse, sings with a progressive jazz rock band, has done American musical theater and loves Bollywood music.  At age 26, Pallavi Seth is open to the entire world of music and eager to explore everything.


Paris-born French soprano Claire de Monteil has studied at AVA where she performed operatic roles like Leonora in Il Trovatore and the title role in Ariadne auf Naxos.  This is a large, forward placed and deeply resonant soprano with a wide range of dynamics.  Monteil did not program French opera which I would like to hear her in (the great falcon roles are something she would excel in).  Nor did she explore the classical French song repertoire of Poulenc, Chausson or Massenet.  

Instead for this recital, de Monteil turned to the French cabaret songs of German-born Kurt Weill and Hungarian-born Joseph Kosma.  Operatically trained sopranos like Teresa Stratas have sung Weill’s German and French ballads with success as has rock singer Marianne Faithfull and the Italian pop singer Milva.  All these singers are very different from Lotte Lenya, Weill’s wife and muse and all have made this music their own.  

Her first song “Youkali” is a song about hope and a mythical place where all your dreams come true: “pays de nos désirs”.  The text was projected with both clarity and specificity and the melody was shaped persuasively.  The brilliant final climax was operatic.  Weill’s “Je ne t’aime pas” is a tormented ballad about a conflicted lover who, as much as they are trying to convince themselves that they don’t want or love the object of their affections – repeating the title phrase over and over – cannot emotionally tear themselves away from this person.  Monteil sang each repeat with a different expression and inflection as the protagonist wrestled with their feelings.  It had the rawness of Piaf with the grandeur of Crespin!  

The last song was the pop favorite “Les feuilles mortes” or “Autumn Leaves” by Kosma.  Here I felt that de Monteil’s vocal scale and brilliance detracted a bit from the sense of intimacy and nostalgic reflection in the song – a softer grain to the tone and a darker color would have brought out the melancholy in the piece.

The first half ended with two short pieces by the Ghana West Africa-born bass Kofi Hayford.   The two pieces were national anthems: the first the official one in English “God Bless Our Homeland Ghana” by Victor Gbeho and the second the unofficial folk anthem “Yen Ara Asaase Ni” by Ephraim Amu in the Akwapim Twi language (only one of eleven languages in Ghana!).  It turns out that Victor Gbeho was Kofi’s great uncle!  

The first was a grand scaled oration which got a new English sung text in the 1970’s.  The second folk anthem which translates as “This is our native land” is a declamatory warning instructing the Ghana people not to lose their native values in emulation of European wealth and power but to respect their own heritage and customs.  Hayford’s focused and resonant bass gave it the declamatory force of an operatic high priest or ruler!  I have admired Hayford’s silken black bass in several performances by local opera groups.  

The second half brought more Latin American music courtesy of Guayaquil, Ecuador-born tenor César Parreño who was also accompanied by Maestro Pablo Zinger (who Parreño confessed he had only met 30 minutes prior to performing! One never would have known!).  Parreño, a Juilliard student, sang five Ecuadorian pasillos which are folk ballads usually sung to guitar accompaniment at parties or fiestas.  The pieces had great variety ranging from “Despedida” a song of farewell by Gerardo Guevara (who studied in Paris with Nadia Boulanger) and the dashing “El Aguacate” a love ballad sung beneath the avocado tree of the title composed by César Guerro Tamayo.  Parreño has a plangent, sweet lyric tenor with a bright timbre that bears a distinct resemblance to the lovely voices of Mexican tenors Javier Camarena and Ramon Vargas.

Armenian mezzo-soprano Alvard Mayilyan performed four songs in colorful native costume.  Three of these songs were songs of love: “To Him” by Perperian – a passionate woman awaits her lover willing to give all of herself; “Hoy Nazan” by Komitas has two lovers meeting joyously and finally “Lullaby” by Kanachyan which is the love of mother and child where the two are one and the rest of the world does not exist.  (Mayilyan is the mother of two and sings this to her own children).  

The last song was the dance-like “Drinking Song” by the very famous composer Aram Khachaturian (best known for the ballet “Spartacus”).  Khachaturian also wrote many songs and this was a catchy and colorful piece.  Mayilyan’s voice has a warm vibrant color typical of Armenian voices resembling a rich sparkling red wine.  Occasionally around register breaks the tone would go out of focus briefly – with each song this became less evident.  Each song was vividly characterized and sung with passion.

Our final performer was tenor Dashuai Chen, a native of Shanghai China, with three Chinese songs in Mandarin.  Chen was a 2019 winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.  I was surprised how lyrical and non-Eastern sounding these three songs were – they sounded more Western in style and weren’t reminiscent of Chinese opera or folk music.  “The Three Wishes of the Rose” by Zi Huang sounded more like a European art song in Mandarin.  “Teach me how to forget him” by Yuanren Zhao was lyrical and full of melancholy longing and regret.  The final piece “Love for the sea” by Guangnan Shi started as a reverie to nature but seemed to turn inward with sadness and then outward with an outpouring of passionate melody as if the protagonist’s love of the sea turned to thoughts of their beloved.  

Chen possesses a major instrument: the first two songs were written low in the middle voice which misled me into thinking that Chen was a lyric baritone.  However, the overwhelming climax of the third song had Chen pouring out high tessitura and a climactic high note that firmly announced his tenor status.  Chen seems to have lots of voice everywhere.  Initially in the first song, Chen seemed a little stiff and preoccupied but with each song he loosened up and revealed more of himself culminating in the overwhelming vocal and emotional outpouring of the final song.  The final phrases of “Love for the Sea” could have come from the passionate final scene of an Italian verismo opera sung in Chinese translation! 

I was impressed with how Maestro Aza Sydykov managed to learn all this unfamiliar music of widely disparate national styles and genres adapting so well to each singer’s different needs and methods.  

Meche asked each singer to sing something that meant something to them – music that they had a personal connection with.  Too often in recitals the encores outshine the main program.  Usually (and especially in student recitals), the recitalist performs European classical music from a distant culture and time period that is foreign to their culture that they have been carefully coached in.  So, the recital has the feeling of a lesson well learned and dutifully executed without personal engagement or identification.  

The encores include pieces that the singer chooses themselves, often popular songs in their own language.  Suddenly, the performer’s own personality and temperament shines through and they relax and connect with the piece and through the piece connect with the audience.  That was what we saw with this recital – each singer had probably heard or performed this music as a child or student in their home country.  Perhaps they first sang these songs with their families or at school concerts discovering music and their own joy of singing.  The words are in their language and reflect their sense of self.  Nothing here was dutiful or by rote and each singer projected a very distinctive and highly developed individuality of sound, interpretation and communication.  They connected with the music and through the music connected with us – and we connected to them and to cultures from around the world through a shared love of music.  

Mission accomplished.

©meche kroop\

PUENTES SI! MUROS NO!

Pablo Zinger, Linda Collazo, Maria Brea, and Shaina Martinez

At a time when our country has become divided over so many issues, it is especially valuable spending time on Planet Opera where the population unites to celebrate beauty, talent, and artistry.

Last night we celebrated Latin American vocal music with Voces Unidas: Por un mundo en armonía, a worthy organization founded by Maria Brea, Linda Collazo, and Cynthia López Pérez, that provides the community with charitable events and includes artists from several different Latin American countries. Voces Unidas donated 75% of the proceeds to Raíces, a non-profit organization that provides legal services for families that are separated.

The superb vocal artistry we heard included songs both serious and "popular" (whatever that means); the program was punctuated by brief examples from the singers outlining how their families came to the United States, often impoverished, and how they thrived here, producing children who have achieved success and recognition in many fields, not just the field of music.

Long before this concert we had felt nothing but anger towards those political forces that would keep refugee families from entering and would separate children from their parents. Singers speculated about what a loss there would have been if those draconian measures had been applied to their own families. Our nation was different then and we hope that we will return to the former welcoming condition as soon as we can effect a political change.

As far as the singers and the songs, we have nothing but a glowing report  to offer.  Every song was so affecting that we are unable to choose our favorites. The one quality that we observed in every singer was an intense dedication to the music, without extraneous or artificial effects. There was a way of honoring the composer and the lyricist that had us feeling the same intensity that the singer appeared to be feeling.

María Brea, who comes  from the slums of Venezuela, used her charming personality to bring to life the lyrics of "Me llaman la primorosa" from the zarzuela El barbero de Sevilla by Gerónimo Jiménez. There was a subtle change of mood in the central section announced by the piano, which was in the good hands (so to speak) of Pablo Zinger. We heard some lovely descending scale passages and a lengthy vocalise when words were insufficient to portray the feelings.

The popular "Bésame mucho" by Consuelo Velázquez required the blending of a bit of chest voice without any loss of classical technique and was given a jazzy piano accompaniment.

Ms. Brea also sang a duet with Ms. Collazo, "Niñas que a vender flores"  that delighted us with its delicious harmonies. The composer, Francisco Asenjo Barbieri, wrote this zarzuela, Los Diamantes de la corona in the 19th c., our favorite period.

We also got to hear Ms. Collazo sing "Nana", the beautiful lullaby written by Manuel de Falla as part of Siete Canciones Populares Españolas, and what a lovely tender reading she gave it!  We experienced a completely different side of her artistry as she performed "Tango de la Menegilda" from Federico Chueca and Joaquín Valverde Senior's La gran via, in which she portrayed a female thief with a winning personality.

We were somewhat less than enthusiastic about the performance of the "Habanera" from Bizet's Carmen. The problem was not with the singing but rather with the piano arrangement provided by Mr. Zinger, "in the style of Astor Piazzola". This would have been very entertaining on its own, as would have been Ms. Collazo's singing; the problem was the disjunction between the piano and the voice; there was no support for the vocal line.  We might call this an interesting experiment that failed.

Shaina Martinez is another singer of great gifts. From a Peruvian background, she offered a song in Quechua, a language spoken by her abuela. Peruvian composer Theodoro Valcárcel wrote "Allqamari kanki" in the early 20th c. and the words and music fell lightly on the ear.

On the more familiar end of the spectrum, she sang Augustín Lara's  "Granada" with arresting expressiveness and a beautifully expanding upper register. She must adore this song because it seemed to come right from the heart.  The same intensity was applied to  "Hija del amor" from the zarzuela Cecilia Valdés, by the 20th c. Cuban composer Gonzalo Roig.

Two excellent singers from the Boston Conservatory did not make the curtain call because they had to get back to Boston. But the two made a fine impression with their performances.   

Cynthia López Pérez performed "Somewhere" from Bernstein's West Side Story.  Informed by the rest of the program, this song acquired a new significance as we  thought about finding a place for refugees.  Significantly, this artist's family comes from  the  Texas/Mexican border.  Down with walls!

Her performance of  "De mi amor" from Felipe Villanueva's  Keofar  revealed  a beautifully free and full upper register.

We were astonished to learn that the terrific tenor on  the  program,  Daniel Lugo, is only 20 years old!    Short of years but tall of talent , he dazzled our ears  with the oft performed "No puede ser"  from Pablo  Sorozábal's La taberna del puerto.  He further delighted us with the popular Mexican song  "Estrellita" by Manuel Ponce.  It is so exciting to hear a singer of such promise at a very early stage of his career.  

All of the singers we heard are under 30!   Very impressive indeed!  The program ended with María  Grever's "Júrame", sung by Ms. Brea, Ms. Collazo, and Ms. Martinez in perfect harmony. And that's what it's all about!

We hope there will be more recitals to come!

© meche kroop