DISCOVERIES OF THE SEASONS

 Wm. Clay Thompson, Samuel Kidd, Raquel Gonzalez, Lucia Bradford, and Peter Dugan

We do believe it was Steven Blier himself who said that "No song is safe from New York Festival of Song". Aside from Mr. Blieer's pianistic gifts and engaging personality, one of the reasons that NYFOS has thrived for 36 years is the creative curating of songs and the astute organization of these songs to form satisfying evenings for his worshipful audience. The gloomy rainy autumnal evening could not keep us away.

Last night's theme was a seasonal one, with each season being given its due, each in a different language. We are not ashamed to admit that most of the program was new to us because Mr. Blier and his piano partner Peter Dugan spared no effort in their curating. One is never bored at a NYFOS concert!

Autumn was introduced by a two-piano four-hand performance (a format sustained for the entire evening) of Gabriel Fauré's "Berceuse" from the Dolly Suite, a work from the turn of the 20th c. The work makes use of the minor mode to express tenderness and melancholy. The remainder of the Autumn section was performed by  bass Wm. Clay Thompson whose dark resonant instrument did justice to "Dans la forêt de septembre" with its imagery drawn from nature. There was a welcome contrast with "Moisson", a rhythmic and festive piece in which the high spirits were underscored by the piano. 

Our favorite, however, was Felix Mendelsson's "Herbstlied", a duet sung with baritone Samuel Kidd forming a bridge to the Winter section in which Mr. Kidd would take over, singing in German. The harmonies were so affecting that we found ourself wishing that Mendelsson had written another verse. The vocal lines wove around each other reminding us a bit of Brahms. This was the most familiar work of the evening (for our ears anyway) but we had heretofore only heard it sung by two female voices. We are sure Mr. Blier chose that lied because it expresses his dismay over the end of summer. It served well to segue into the next season, sung in German.

We, however, are great fans of Winter and had the opportunity to hear Mr. Kidd perform a pair of songs by Richard Strauss that we had never heard, and which we prefered to the contemporaneous songs by Hugo Wolf. We found ourselves wishing the program had included something from Schubert's Die Winterreise.

Spring was given over to the Spanish language (and some Catalan dialect) for which soprano Raquel Gonazález seemed to have a particular affinity. It was a particular delight for us to hear her and witness the enormous personal growth achieved since her student days at Juilliard which we remember well. 

The set began, however, with an instrumental work by Astor Piazzolla arranged for two pianos-four hands by Pablo Ziegler. It is a colorful work and one could almost hear the bandoneón in the piano. The rhythmic introduction had Mr. Dugan drumming on the wooden part of the piano.  A lovely lyrical section yielded to a jazzy conclusion.

To Ms. González was given the charming romantic song "Larirà-Abril" in which a book of poetry brought to a forest tryst went unread. The Basque composer Juan Lamote de Grignon is rather unknown but, leave it to Mr. Blier to discover such treasures! Another song in the Catalan dialect, composed by Eduardo Toldra, was marvelously interpreted by the artist who allowed us to see, through her eyes and voice, the imagery of elements of nature. 

The biggest surprise to us was "Remancillo" composed by Joaquin Rodrigo. We have long loved his Concierto de Aranjuez but never knew he composed song(s) as well. The text, by an anonymous poet refers to a man in a dark prison who listens for birdsong. We couldn't help speculating that the blind composer may have written the text himself. The minor mode in the piano and the guitar-like elements were very sad and very Iberian.

Th Spanish section was brought to a close with a sweetly nostalgic duet "Mares y arenas" by Rosendo Ruiz, for which our lovely soprano was joined by a similarly lovely mezzo-soprano by the name of Lucia Bradford. The emotional content came through clearly and we enjoyed the piano interlude as well.

Closing the evening was the Summer set, sung in English. We confess we are completely ignorant of popular music and the selections by James Taylor, Carole King, and Stevie Wonder were new to us. We were familiar with the names but not the music. We enjoyed the way in which Ms. Bradford could bend a note and move us into jazzy territory in fine style.

The one piece in this set that resonated the most with us was written by Stephen Sondheim (whose music IS familiar to us) and was written early in his career as incidental music for a play of the same name Girls of Summer. We always appreciate Sondheim's irony.

We were gifted an encore from another favorite composer--the quartet from Gilbert and Sullivan's Ruddigore, a piece in madrigal form expressing the unique joys of each season.  What a treat!

© meche kroop

CHILLS AND THRILLS AT CARNEGIE HALL

Önay Köse, James Edgar Knight, Joshua Gersen, Avery Amereau, and Raquel González

As if Beethoven's Ninth Symphony were not sufficiently thrilling, we got to witness the Carnegie Hall debuts of four of our favorite Juilliard graduates who took on the roles of soloists in the famous fourth movement--The Ode to Joy.  What a joyful afternoon it was for performers, audience, and for us. 

In the lyrical third movement (Adagio molto e cantabile) a rising fanfare announces the excitement to come. The impressive New York Youth Symphony, which has been performing for over a half century, showed particular strength in the lower strings with dynamic control and clarity of attack.

And then bass Önay Köse took over the bass solo with his booming voice and majestic phrasing. An emotionally penetrating sound was achieved by tenor James Edgar Knight.  The voices of mezzo-soprano Avery Amereau and soprano Raquel González literally sailed over the orchestra.

The New York Choral Society, under the direction of David Hayes, handled the rest with crisp diction and a warm sound perfectly suited to the inspiring text. The entire affair was conducted by Joshua Gerson who was far more intense in his conducting than in a prior work.  It was as if the majesty of the music brought out the best in everyone.  Even the unruly horns were on their best behavior.

This was our second Beethoven symphony this week and we never fail to appreciate the master's sense of structure and inventiveness, not to mention the unity of the movements achieved by motifs running throughout. In this piece however, we always feel as if we are at a splendid meal but somehow aware of the dessert to come--the sweetness of brotherhood and the mood of rejoicing.

The curtain raiser was Rossini's Overture to La Gazza Ladra in which the energetic young conductor Harrison Hollingsworth created quite a riveting figure on the podium with his flowing blond locks and athletic body. The young musicians responded well to his intense style.  A drumroll paved the way for a theme in march rhythm with those unruly horns cracking left and right. Following on its heels a familiar theme in the strings that is quintessential Rossini. A spritely way to begin the afternoon!

The remainder of the first half of the program comprised the première of an interesting piece by the young Molly Joyce entitled Fresh, which was commissioned by the New York Youth Symphony's First Music program.  It stood very well on its own merits except for needing more of a climax. Ms. Joyce wrote in the program that she aimed to have the orchestra take over the rhythm of the percussion section.  This, sadly, we did not hear but that is a small matter since the piece spoke for itself of a budding compositional talent. What we did like was the portentous nature of the theme in the drums and lower strings. 

It was a pleasure not only to see our much admired singers onstage but to hear the fine accomplishments of the New York Youth Symphony. The organization is nationally recognized for orchestral training, conducting, chamber music, jazz and composition--all tuition-free, made possible by scholarships on merit-based auditions. Talented teens need apply.

(c) meche kroop

VISITORS FROM WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA'S YOUNG ARTIST PROGRAM

Tomoko Nakayama, Michael Brandenburg, Aleksandra Romano, Keriann Otaño, Raquel González, and Wei Wu

As part of Opera America's Emerging Artist Recital Series, the Washington National Opera's Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program presented an enjoyable recital in the intimate auditorium of the National Opera Center. We love the experience of hearing singers up close and personal.

The five singers and sole pianist were chosen from among the ten singers and two pianists who take part in the two-year program, currently experiencing its 13th season. The emerging artists in the program are given lessons, coaching, career counseling, and performance opportunities.

We were overjoyed to hear soprano Raquel González once more; we have missed her since her Juilliard days. In impeccable French and with radiant warmth, she sang a pair of songs by Reynaldo Hahn and one by Alfred Bachelet. She wisely scaled her voice to the size of the room and channeled all that love of nature.

The other singers were new to us. Soprano Kerriann Otaño also sang of nature and Spring--but she sang in Russian.  These Rachmaninoff songs, given their Russian nature, were more passionate. In "O You, My Grain-Field", the poet uses the wheat as a metaphor for his thoughts. Such torment was relieved by the joyful "Spring Waters" which we have heard at least three times this week and never tire of.

Mezzo-soprano Aleksandra Romano also sang in Russian with a resonant and pleasingly penetrating sound. Tchaikovsky must have written more songs than we'd ever imagined because we have rarely heard the same one twice. There was an abundance of bitterness and sorrow in "Over Burning Ashes" but "The Sun Has Set" was a tender romance.

Tenor Michael Brandenburg performed three well-known songs from the Richard Strauss oeuvre: the persuasive "Cäcilie" the exuberant "Zueignung", and the tragic "Befreit" in which the singer must convey the sorrow of a man losing his youngish wife. The words speak of acceptance and even joy but the pain must also come through.

Bass Wei Wu introduced us to the other Chansons de Don Quichotte--those written by Jacques Ibert to text by Pierre de Ronsard. It was in this set that we heard what collaborative pianist Tomoko Nakayama could do. She totally captured the flavor of Spain. We will be reviewing a program called Don Quixote in Music this Thursday at the Hispanic Society and wonder whether these songs will be included!

The second half of the program was devoted to American songs, mainly from the Broadway genre. We were over the moon hearing these gems sung unamplified by such superior voices. All five singers were onstage together and interacted with one another, lending a naturalistic feel. Michael Heaston directed with panache.

Ms. González sang  Jerome Kern's "The Siren's Song" and astonished us with her versatility. We never knew she had a coquettish side and it tickled us. Mr. Brandenburg sang Nicholas Brodszky's "Be My Love" and sang it to all three women in turn. Although it was written to be sung to a "one and only", portraying the singer as a Don Juan was a delightfully fresh approach.

Ms. Otaño was really funny in the William Bolcom's bluesy "Toothbrush Time" about a woman who can't wait to get rid of her sleep-over date. Ms. Romano sang Bolcom's "Amor" without saying anything new, but she sang it engagingly.

Mr. Wu was convincing in "This Nearly Was Mine" from Rodgers/Hammerstein's South Pacific. The program ended with the entire cast singing "It's a Grand Night for Singing" and indeed it was!

How wonderful that New York could welcome these visitors from the nation's capitol. We hope they came back soon.

(c) meche kroop

OLD WINE IN A NEW KEG

 Takaoki Onishi and Raquel Gonzalez (photo by Richard Termine)

We are thrilled to the bone after another splendid evening at Juilliard, witnessing the gifted young artists of the Juilliard Opera bring new life to Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin.  It's not as if we have anything against the several traditional productions we have seen; it's just that this chamber reduction allowed us to experience the story and the music in a new way.  Discovering something new is always a treat.

Director Mary Birnbaum has mined the story and found gold.  By focusing on the four young people at its core and emphasizing the psychological aspects, she has revealed the opera's heart; it's a coming of age story.  Each singer has plumbed the depths of his/her character and come up with meaningful and dramatically valid choices.

As Tatiana, soprano Raquel González captured all the vulnerability and recklessness of a girl's first love, having no trouble looking about 16 in pigtails.  In the final two scenes, she demonstrated the poise of a woman who has been married to a Prince for perhaps 6 years and has firmed up her boundaries, so to speak.  Although she is still in love with Onegin, she will not dishonor her husband.  She used a multiplicity of vocal colors as well as posture, gesture and facial expression to convey her maturation.  Her fine instrument and diction served the character and was never used to call attention to itself.

Likewise, Takaoki Onishi's creation of the eponymous Onegin was creative and original.  He avoided the clichés of arrogance but evinced a character that was perhaps 19 years old and full of himself in the opening scene when he meets Tatiana.  He thinks he knows himself--a man who could never love and settle down to domesticity.  He is only as honest with Tatiana as he is with himself; he suffers from the blindness of youth. He is not cruel to her; he seems almost avuncular as he advises her to keep a lid on her passions.  He acts out his boredom with country life by flirting with his friend's sweetheart--provocative in the way a thwarted teenager can be.  When the situation goes too far, he is remorseful but he cannot put a halt to the chain of events he has initiated.  By the end of the opera, he realizes he has ruined his life.  The tumultuous emotions never interfered with Mr. Onishi's luscious baritone sound.

Lensky was so stunningly portrayed by tenor Miles Mykkanen that we wept for his youthful benightedness.  At the beginning he is carefree and madly in love with Olga.  He endures paroxysms of jealousy when Olga responds to Onegin's overtures.  Again, we heard an incredibly wonderful instrument that disappeared into the characterization.  His "Kuda, kuda" was imbued with all the colors of the palette of an artist, which, of course, he is.  We heard doubt, fear, regret and passion.  We suffered along with him.

Mezzo-soprano Avery Amereau has a rich caramel voice and turned in a splendid performance as the light-hearted Olga, the carefree younger sister.  During the orchestral prelude, a pantomime of two little girls had established the warmth of the relationship between the sisters as well as the difference of their characters.  We always wondered what happened to Olga after her fiancé was killed in the duel but Ms. Amereau's characterization led us to believe that she recovered from the shock and went on to lead a rather carefree life post-opera!

Because the opera was presented chamber-style we enjoyed the feeling of intimacy that provided and never missed the huge chorus or ball scene in the last act.  Madame Larina and Nanny Filipyevna were combined into one character, portrayed by the excellent mezzo Samantha Hankey with soprano Marguerite Jones as the maid Anya.  For comic relief there was the foppish Monsieur Triquet, portrayed with fine style by the excellent tenor William Goforth.

Bass Önay Köse had a single aria in the final act which was perfectly sung; he was every inch a Prince Gremin who has achieved favor with the court by virtue of his military success.  One could amazingly hear all this in his voice, as well as his tender feelings for his wife Tatiana who has brought youth and joy to his later years.  Bass-baritone Tyler Zimmerman made a fine Captain Zaretsky who was so proud of running a duel according to meticulous standards.  Indeed, there are no small roles!

Musical values were superb.  Youthful conductor Matthew Aucoin surely deserved all the foot-stamping at the end, as much as the singers merited their thunderous applause.  Under his baton and dancing hands, interesting melodic and harmonic elements emerged that generally get lost in a full orchestra in a large house. The reduced orchestration by Jonathan Lyness for the dozen musicians of the Juilliard Orchestra  worked very well for the small space of the theater.

Brian Zeger, Artistic Director of the Marcus Institute, said that this work is not meant as a replacement for the full-length work but rather an intimate look at the piece.  That being said, we will never look at the opera in the same old way, not ever.  And given the choice, we would prefer to see this version with its stunning insights.

We wonder how many operas there are that would lend themselves to such a treatment as Ms. Birnbaum provided.  There would seem to be a plethora, as long as there are musicians to do the reduction and gifted singers who can withstand such intimate scrutiny. 

© meche kroop

STAR-SPANGLED MASTER CLASS

Renée Fleming (photo by Andrew Eccles)

She made us "get" The Star Spangled Banner for the first time in our lives (probably several million other people felt the same way)--and here she is, the world-reknowned soprano and Juilliard alumna conducting a master class at Juilliard, coming across as the big sister next door to whom you look for advice.  Major WOW!  We felt privileged to be in attendance at this instructive afternoon event that was live-streamed on the Juilliard website.

There were four fortunate participants who received the benefit of Ms. Fleming's wisdom and experience.  She began by asking the young artists, graduate students all, to share with the audience the context of their respective arias and ended by telling how impressed she was by the quality of their performances.

There were several themes running through her suggestions.  She encouraged everyone to think more about color and less about volume.  She left each singer with something to work on at home, especially about getting the sound forward and into the "mask".  Less power, less effort, more "spin" seemed to be the watchwords.  A minimal start is best, leaving some room for the voice to expand and blossom.

Opening the program was the fast-rising soprano Raquel González who performed an excerpt from Tatiana's "Letter Scene" from Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin.  Ms. González was assisted in the interpretation, encouraged to show some adolescent insecurity, some introspective searching quality and some awareness of how crazy her character's thoughts were.  She was also advised to show more variety in her movement vocabulary.  The youthful passion was already there and the new ideas made a noticeable difference.

Tenor Miles Mykkanen followed with "Lensky's Aria" from the same opera.  Mr. Mykkanen inhabits this role like a bespoke suit and we are looking forward with great anticipation to seeing him and Ms. González perform an interesting character-centered version of the opera next week at Juilliard.  We witnessed Mr. Mykkanen establish the many tragic dimensions of this character with every phrase seeming to come from deep inside.  During his work with Ms. Fleming he learned to put more variety in the opening repetitions of "Kuda" and to shape the phrases a bit better.  His crescendi became more on the level of resonance than on volume.

How happy we were to see soprano Pureum Jo as the third participant since we didn't get enough of her Tuesday evening.  She worked on "Deh vieni, non tardar" from Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro.  Her sparkling personality is a perfect fit for Susana and she used her face and gesture in tandem with her voice.  She was encouraged to put more excitement into the recitativo, to make it lighter and "throw it away".  She also worked on putting a smile into the sound and connecting the thoughts.  We hope to hear her perform this role in the future.

The final participant was soprano Hyesang Park who sang "Ah, non credea mirarti...Ah! non giunge" from Bellini's La Sonnambula.  With a bright instrument and some enviable coloratura she gave a dazzling performance which Ms. Fleming worked on fine-tuning.  She asked Ms. Park to produce a slimmer sound and float the notes more.  She further worked on being less effortful and creating more "spin".  The dazzling cabaletta needed to be tossed off--and it was.

Let us also credit the fine accompanists who teamed up so well with the singers: Bretton Brown, Dimitri Dover and Daniel Fung.  There was so much talent onstage!

The afternoon closed with a Q and A in which the students sitting in the audience (and the invited Patrons) were invited to ask their questions which Ms. Fleming answered with grace and modesty.

© meche kroop

SIR RICHARD'S BEL CANTO

Maestro Richard Bonynge

Is there no limit to the ways in which Juilliard serves the world of music?  Last night the Georg Solti Accademia celebrated its tenth anniversary in collaboration with the Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts by bringing in the esteemed maestro Richard Bonynge to teach a master class--a gift to the capacity crowd that jammed the Peter Jay Sharp Theater.  There is no peer in the world of bel canto like Sir Richard.  The singers chosen were also peerless in bel canto technique and not one of the five failed to benefit from the maestro's gentle but firm instruction.

Although each singer received individual instruction on his or her aria, certain themes repeated themselves from one participant to the next.  The beauty of the tone should be emphasized far more than the volume.  The long legato lines should not be interrupted by unnecessary breaths.  The singer should not work too hard but should keep the sound light and expressive.  High notes should not be pushed.  It is alright to "sit on" the most exciting note but otherwise not alright.  Care must be taken with triplets not to emphasize the second note.  The recitative must not be sung as if it were an arioso; keep it moving.  Portamenti must not degenerate into "scooping".  There must be variety of color and an element of surprise.  Start a long phrase pianissimo and build it to a climax.  Do not cut off the ends of phrases but rather let them float away.  Do not give all the beats equal emphasis.  Scales must be articulated.

All five singers made us sit up and take notice.  Soprano Elizabeth Sutphen negotiated the huge skips, the trills and the even scale passages of Verdi's "Caro Nome" (Rigoletto) with great aplomb.  Soprano Hyesang Park was lovely in "Eccomi...O! Quante Volte" from Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi.  Soprano Raquel Gonzalez demonstrated her beautiful bel canto chops in "Piangete voi...Al dolce guidami castel natio" from Donizetti's Anna Bolena, prompting Maestro Bonynge to urge her to learn the entire role for future performance.  (We definitely want to be there when she sings it!)

Mezzo Virginie Verrez also chose an aria from the same opera, "E sgombro il loco".  She has a lovely sound and abundant stage poise with excellent connection with the text.  It always amazes us when a singer comes out on a recital stage and sings an aria that creates, with just her voice and gesture, the presence of invisible sets and the missing characters.

Baritone Takaoki Onishi sang "Ah! per sempre" from Bellini's I Puritani; we enjoyed it so much that we plan to return to Juilliard tonight to hear more of him.  He sounded even better when he eliminated some unnecessary breaths, doing justice to Bellini's long legato lines.

No one knows bel canto like Richard Bonynge and it was quite a thrill to be in attendance.  We not only had the pleasure of hearing five exemplary singers but we learned a great deal about the finer points of bel canto singing.  We could have sat there all night long.

© meche kroop

CZECH-MATE

Karen Vuong and Julia Bullock-photo by Nan Melville

We haven't shed tears at the opera since Violetta died, but we had tears streaming down our face at the conclusion of the Juilliard Opera's production of The Cunning Little Vixen.  It is difficult to believe that Leoš Janáček wrote his own libretto based on a child's comic strip.  As if a child could comprehend those deep philosophical ideas!  The 1926 work deals with man's relationship to the natural world and shows a deeply compassionate but unsentimental view of the cycles of birth and death.  There were also some anti-capitalist overtones to absorb.

Much credit for the emotional impact (as well as the aural delight) goes to the superior work of the singers of the Juilliard Opera who fulfilled the direction of Emma Griffin and to that of the musicians of the Juilliard Orchestra under the baton of Anne Manson.  The ensemble work was impressive yet each unique character stood out on his/her own merit.  Soprano Julia Bullock did everything right in her portrayal of the feisty vixen who outwits her captor in search of freedom, finds a mate, starts a family and meets her sad end (as people also sometimes do) due to an overweening sense of invulnerability.

Soprano Karen Vuong turned in a superior performance in the portrayal of the vixen's mate.  The foxy pair have a shotgun wedding when the vixen discovers she is pregnant and the neighbors are gossiping.  Bass-baritone Aubrey Allicock made a fine Forester who captures the vixen and treats her like a pet until her inborn qualities lead her to destroy his hens;  then he must tie her up like his dog (a fine Laura Mixter) and she must escape to the freedom of the forest.  Mezzo Lacey Jo Benter portrayed his wife who is somewhat intolerant of his bringing home strays.

Baritone John Brancy turned in another deeply felt and beautifully sung performance as Harašta the poacher who shoots the vixen (thus, the tears) because he wants a fur muff for his bride, the gypsy Terynka.

There is some comic relief in this production in the form of a gaggle of hens presided over by a rooster, played by a very funny Raquel González in male drag.  Soprano Mary Feminear was the "lead hen", and a fine "lead hen" she was. The hens all wore blond wigs and short nighties while the rooster wore suspenders.  We couldn't help thinking of a pimp with his group of "ladies of the evening".  Oh, the risks of anthropomorphization!

Tenor Martin Bakari played the drunken schoolmaster who also wanted to marry the gypsy Terynka; his drinking buddy the priest was played by sturdy bass Önay Köse who also played the badger whose home the vixen appropriated.  Elliott Hines, a bass-baritone, was the innkeeper with mezzo Rachael Wilson as his wife.  There was not a single vocal misfire in the cast.

Surprising was how effectively the cast performed Jeanne Slater's choreography; we were sure the dancers came from Juilliard's Dance Department and later learned that everyone came from the Vocal Arts Department.  If you think that watching dancers cavorting onstage in street clothes pretending to be woodland critters would be preposterous, guess again; the movement was entirely convincing.  And if you were wondering why woodland critters would be wearing street clothes, you would have to ask the director.   To us, the point being made was how much alike are humans and animals.  We humans are animals; we are not them but we are OF them.  Respect for their well-being is called for.  They live, they hunger, they mate, they thrive, they suffer, they die, just as we do.

This concept was further emphasized by Laura Jellinek's set which had nothing of the woodlands about it.  The humans and the animals all use the same brass bed, table and chairs; it was as if two worlds were sharing the same space.  The costumes by Jessica Trejos were witty and reinforced the same concept.

With all this visual and philosophical cud to chew, we still had the music in mind throughout; it held our ear with its Moravian folk melodies and interesting harmonic structure.  Although we would have preferred to hear it sung in Czech, we were quite pleased with the translation by Yveta Synek Graff and Robert T. Jones; the right syllables seemed to fall on the right beats of the music.  The jarring problems of most translations were completely avoided.

Major kudos to the Juilliard Opera and Orchestra for bringing this work to vivid life!

A NIGHT AT THE OPERETTA

Steven Blier and Friends

Steven Blier's artistic generosity and modest demeanor hide the fact that he is a most successful impressario; indeed his many NYFOS evenings have broadened our own appreciation for works at the fringes of the opera world.  Last night at Henry's on the Upper West Side,  he put together a delightful program of songs from operettas both native and foreign, using the wealth of talent available at The Juilliard School.  One would never suspect that the singers are students; we have seen and heard professionals whose talents fall way short of what we heard last night.  The good news is that next season Henry's will play host to an entire NYFOS series!

Raquel González portrayed the femme fatale in "Ich schenk' mein Herz" from Carl Millöcker's Die Dubarry, captivating the audience as well as the five gentlemen of the cast.  Next she sang a duet with Nathan Haller from Lehár's "Die lustige Witwe".  Miles Mykkanen sang "There Isn't One Girl in the World for Me" from Jerome Kern's Sitting Pretty, subtly coloring his timbre and varying his vibrato to sound like a recording of that period.

"Je suis Lazuli" from Chabrier's L'Etoile was sung in the best of French from the very French Virginie Verrez.  Philip Stoddard donned a silly rajah's turban for the amusing "Chant birman" from Messager's  L'Amour masqué; what was most remarkable was that he gave the rajah's nonsense language a French accent.  Absolutely hilarious.

Rachel Wilson infused her zarzuela number with a pinch of sazón; Barbieri's El barberillo de Lavapiés is a zarzuela we long to hear in its entirety.  A splendid duet with some lightning fast patter was performed by Kyle Bielfield and Davone Tines from another zarzuela entitled La del manojo de rosas by Sorozábal; it involved a humorous dispute between two men courting the same woman.

Simone Easthope sang "The Amorous Goldfish" from Sidney Jones' The Geisha and Kyle Bielfield sang "Je suis gai" from Offenbach's La Belle Hélène, perhaps the most famous of the operettas on the program.  The seasonal duet "April Snow" from Romberg's Up in Central Park was sung by Rachel Wilson and Nathan Haller.  The program ended with John Philip Sousa's humorous "Against the Spanish Army" from El Capitan.  Somehow we never knew that the famous composer of marches wrote an operetta!

Throughout this generous evening, Mr. Blier narrated from the piano, letting the audience in on the plot and characters.  It was just one of those evenings that you wish would never end.  Sadly, it is over and these talented performers are leaving for summer programs elsewhere.  But Mr. Blier is not going anywhere and we will be enjoying his exploration into unusual vocal music tonight and on May 13th.  You should as well!

© meche kroop

HOW DO WE LOVE THEE SCHUBERT? LET US COUNT THE WAYS

Takaoki Onishi, Dimitri Dover, Raquel Gonzalez, Mary Feminear, Theo Hoffman

Those of you who have been attending the Schubert&Co. recital series will recognize some of the outstanding participants in the photo.  But, what's this?  A new face?  A new voice?  Co-Artistic Directors Jonathan Ware and Lachlan Glen are at the forefront of discovering new talent and last night we had the privilege of hearing baritone Theo Hoffman in his Schubert&Co. premiere. 

Mr. Hoffman is but a freshman at Juilliard but already shows a great deal of promise.  His instrument is fresh and flexible; his technique is outstanding.  But let's take a look at the artistry.  He opened last night's program with "Der Schäfer und der Reiter"; he used his sweet light baritone when singing the invitation by the light-hearted shepherd such that we heard a tenorial quality, but when the gloomy warrior replied, Mr. Hoffman darkened his tone.  We are a sucker for that sort of dramatic contrast and commitment to the text.

In another set of songs "Don Gayseros I, II and III, D.93", we heard what amounted to one long story of a Spanish aristocrat who is courted by a strange knight.  She becomes suspicious of him when he fails to partake of her Catholic rituals and he identifies himself as a Moorish king and abducts her.  He is slain by two mercenaries and she spends the rest of her life i  mourning and prayer.  A sad tale, well told by poet Friedrich La Motte-Fouque, and well sung by Mr. Hoffman, a natural storyteller. 

Prize-winning baritoneTakaoki Onishi has a very different sort of baritone, a large sound with a finely grained vibrato that delights the ear; he has never failed to thrill us with his performances.  He sang songs of futile love ("Vergebliche Liebe" and "Hippolits Lied") and several songs referencing nature.  We loved his control of dynamics and phrasing.

Two of our favorite sopranos were on the program as well.  Raquel Gonzalez sang "Der Jüngling auf dem Hügel" with great attention to dynamics and mood.  "Abschied, D.829" was done most artistically in sprechstimme, with the lyricism occurring in the piano, performed by the always impressive Dimitri Dover who is unfailingly supportive of the singer.

Soprano Mary Feminear closed the program with the one familiar song on the evening's program--"Frühlingsglaube".  We confess to humming it all night long; it's just that kind of song!  But we most enjoyed Ms. Feminear's bright sound in the light-hearted and frisky "Hänflings Liebeswerbung" about a lovesick linnet.

There are only a couple more recitals left to finish with Schubert's massive output of over 600 songs.  You would be well-advised to get on the bandwagon before it is too late!

© meche kroop

MORE ROMANTIC ANGST AT JUILLIARD

  In last night's Cosi Fan Tutte at Juilliard we were enveloped in romantic entanglements as experienced by two young couples.  In a fortuitous coincidence last night's Liederabend comprised Hugo Wolf's Italienisches Liederbuch, settings of anonymous Italian poetry translated into German by Paul Heyse.  As presented by Vocal Coach Ken Noda, five different couples enacted (and we do mean "enacted") various stages in different kinds of romantic relationships.  This enabled 10 gifted young singers from the Institute for Vocal Arts and 5 collaborative pianists the opportunity to experience an entire spectrum of emotions from delight to despair, from triumph to abjection, from abandonment to enmeshment, from satisfaction to frustration, from scorn to adoration.  One of the glories of this style of presentation is that the singer not performing has the opportunity to react to the dramatic content of each song as sung by his/her partner.

Such a presentation of lieder moves it just a bit closer to opera and fortunately, all of the 10 singers are as gifted dramatically as they are vocally.  Soprano Ying Fang showed the pain of separation in "Mir ward gesagt" and brought much personality to the humorous "Mein Liebster hat zu Tische mich geladen"; tenor Yujoong Kim was ardently romantic in "Ihr seid die Allerschönste".  Soprano Pureum Jo put tenor Nathan Haller on notice in "Nein, junger Herr" for his woeful misbehavior; on his part, he expressed his reaction to her anger in "Wie soll ich fröhlich sein".

Soprano Raquel González and tenor Miles Mykkanen performed the next set of songs.  In "Wer rief dich denn?" Ms. González puts Mr. Mykkanen in his place with an ultimatum; in turn, Mr. Mykkanen defended himself movingly in "Was soll der Zorn, mein Schatz".  The following pair comprised soprano Julia Bullock who amusedly denigrated her lover in "Mein Liebster ist so klein" and baritone Takaoshi Onishi (who just won the Met National Council New York District Finals) after much futile praising of his lover finally turned things around in "Hoffärtig seid Ihr, schönes Kind".

The final set of songs was performed by soprano Deanna Breiwick and baritone Tobias Greenhalgh.  Ms. Breiwick had the audience laughing as she sang "Wie lange schon war immer mein Verlangen" in which the singer's dreams of having a musician as her lover are finally realized.  Collaborative pianist Lachlan Glen managed to evoke the halting violinist as Ms. Breiwick showed her bemused tolerance of his scratching away.  Mr. Greenhalgh wound up with most of the romantic songs and excelled at every one.

Aside from Mr. Glen, the other four collaborative pianists accompanied these pairs of singers with sincerity and sensitivity.  In order of appearance, they were Daniel Fung, Dan K. Kurland, John Arida and Dimitri Dover.  Their contributions to the success of the program were notable.

As if we were not sufficiently thrilled by the Liederabend, we spent the rest of the evening trying to figure out how a stage full of pre-college instrumentalists could outplay some major big town orchestras we have heard.  The Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra conducted by Adam Glaser tackled Mahler's Fourth with great attention to dynamics and sonorities.  Christine Price performed the songs in the final movement.  We first heard this symphony in 1980 when Walter Weller conducted the NY Philharmonic.  Our young ears were seduced as soon as we heard the sleigh bells.  We returned for a couple subsequent performances and have loved this work ever since.  The young musicians truly honored the piece.  It was preceded by two lovely French works, "Fêtes" from Debussy's Nocturnes and Camille Saint-Saens' Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op.22.  Sarina Zhang played with power and delicacy as needed.  Her fleet fingers made the runs look like child's play.

All of the evening's music originated in the late 19th c., perhaps our favorite period.

(c) meche kroop