GENEROSITY IS CONTAGIOUS

Lauren Flanigan, Amanda Villegas, Elizabeth Blancke-Biggs, Daniel Sumegi, Mark Delavan, Stephen Gaertner,
and David Adam Moore performing in Comfort Ye

Comfort Ye marks a quarter century of superfine singing to support feeding the homeless. This is Lauren Flanigan's baby. The marvelous Ms. Flanigan has given to New York City in at least three ways: first with her triumphant operatic performances, secondly with her Music Mentoring House which houses and fosters young musicians, and finally with her community activism. Those looking for an icon of social justice need look no further.

Comfort Ye is a musical event we look forward to every year, an event at which Ms. Flanigan's numerous opera friends share their talent for a worthy cause--the West Side Campaign Against Hunger, helmed by Greg Silverman. The focus of feeding the homeless has evolved this year into a concept that is more dignified and healthier than giving out canned goods. The food pantry at St. Paul and St. Andrew's is set up like a market with fresh food for clients to select as needed. Audience members were encouraged to pay cash so that the food pantry could purchase what they need wholesale and stretch the food dollars. Audience members opened their hearts and their wallets; many brought blankets, coats, and toys as well.

The entertainment was priceless, including both the already famous and the going-to-be-famous. Musical Director Kamal Khan provided most of the accompaniment. Stars of the world stage dropped in unannounced to add to the already generous program. To list every vocal contribution would take more time and space than we have so let us try to hit the highlights.

Ms. Flanigan herself performed Lady Macbeth's Act I aria and we are pleased to report that her voice has lost none of its luster and her interpretation has only gained in dramatic effect--powerful and seductive, well suited to this power hungry character. The mood was so sustained and so gripping that an errant cell phone could not break it. She was accompanied by the supremely gifted young collaborative pianist Nicole Cloutier.

Soprano Sharleen Joynt is new to us but we became an ardent fan within the first minute of her performance of the showpiece "The Bell Song" from Delibes' Lakmé. With clarion tone and impeccable technique, she had us entranced. The lengthy melismatic passages, the fine trill,  the well-negotiated leaps, and a stunning downward portamento conspired to emphasize the exotic nature of Delibes' melodies. She was similarly dazzling in "Der Hölle Rache" from Mozart's Die Zauberflöte.  It was truly unforgettable.

Tenor Thomas Massey made some beautiful music in "De' miei bollenti spiriti" from Verdi's La Traviata. We just wrote about tenors who push their high notes and expressed a wish to hear some floated notes; we were overjoyed by Mr. Massey's easeful tenor tone that sounded natural and unforced with masterfully musical phrasing. Alfredo is the perfect role for this engaging young tenor.

He is also well suited to the role of Rodolfo as evidenced by his duet with the excellent baritone Stephen Gaertner as Marcello. The two "Bohemians" joined voices in mourning their lost loves in Puccini's moving tragedy La Bohême. The expression on their faces at the end of the duet was priceless.

Mr. Gaertner further distinguished himself in the Prologo to Leoncavallo's Pagliacci; it was so convincing an invitation to the commedia dell'arte that we wanted to stay for the show!

There was plenty of baritone talent on hand. Mark Delavan performed "Nemico della patria" from Giordano's Andrea Chénier, using his powerful vocal resources and legato phrasing to create a believable character, a victim of politics who is filled with bitterness.

David Adam Moore may have a darker colored baritone or perhaps it was the material he chose but his selections touched us deeply. "Der Leiermann" is the final lied of Schubert's tragic song cycle Die Winterreise. The tragic romantic hero comes to the end of a journey both geographic and spiritual. The song is mysterious and open to interpretation. Mr. Moore's delivery was so intense that we felt the same grief that we feel upon hearing the entire cycle.

His performance of "Urlicht" from Mahler's Second Symphony was likewise deeply felt.  In both cases, we found Mr. Kahn's accompaniment to be a great contribution. Probably it's because lieder highlight the piano-voice partnership, whereas a piano reduction for an opera aria thrusts the focus onto the voice.

A stunning performance of "Es gibt ein Reich" from Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos was given by dramatic soprano Elizabeth Blancke-Biggs. We were swept away by the power of her instrument which filled out each phrase; nonetheless, there was no sacrifice of subtleties of color and dynamics.

Another large voice did total justice to "Acerba voluttà" from Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur. Mezzo-soprano Eve Gigliotti conveyed all the mixed feeling of the Princesse de Bouillion, even getting us to feel sorry for her. There was some impressive strength in the lower register, making this a perfect role for Ms. Gigliotti.

Rebecca Ringle, another mezzo-soprano, used the fioritura of "É sgombro il loco" in the service of the character Smeton in Donizetti's Anna Bolena. We liked the precision and accuracy.

Amanda Villegas Beck used her powerful soprano to create an entire scene for us in "Dich teure Halle" from Wagner's Tannhäuser by utilizing the entire width of the performing area so that we seemed to be in the very hall Elisabeth was greeting. 

Baritone Stefanos Koroneos departed from the printed program and gave us the marvelous character Dulcamara peddling his wares to the credulous crowd in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore. Mr. Koroneos sure knows how to create a character and was just as entertaining as Gianni Schicchi in the eponymous Puccini opera. He has a real flair for humor and the staccato passages were particularly well executed.

Bass-baritone Daniel Sumegi has an instrument the tone of which makes us think of the bass clarinet, one of our favorite instruments. The way he varied his coloration and dynamics in Prince Gremin's aria from Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin was nothing short of five stars.

We will skip over the popular music and Christmas songs, although we did appreciate the selections from Händel's Messiah rather more with just the piano reduction than we have with full orchestra. It seems strange but the work seemed to have more intimacy.

We will not close before mentioning the spirited performance of the Ebony Ecumenical Ensemble. Of the three selections we greatly preferred the Nigerian Christmas carol "BeTeLeHeMu". If you guessed that stood for Bethlehem, you were correct. The audience participated under the direction of the Rev. Eugene Palmour.

Lest we forget, a strange medley on paper--Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" and Richard Strauss' "Allerseelen"-- worked beautifully in the hands of Mr. Kahn and the voice of Ms. Flanigan.

Before adjourning, the cast that remained on site joined forces for Adam's "O Holy Night". This yearly event makes its mark on all who attend. It's not just the feast of music but the spirit of generosity that marks us!

© meche kroop

BIMODAL BEAUTY

Kenneth Merrill, Rebecca Ringle, and William Ferguson

At recitals, our sense of hearing is the one we rely upon for engagement. Last night at the opening offering of the Salon/Sanctuary season, we had a feast for the eyes as well as the ears. The 1890 Playel instrument from Klavierhaus looked as beautiful as it sounded, its tone soft and gentle, perfectly suited for the French program.

Not only that but the handsome tenor William Ferguson and the stunningly glamorous mezzo Rebecca Ringle were also a feast for the eyes. One is not supposed to care what a singer looks like but--sorry, not sorry--we love beauty in all its forms.

And now, to the program!  Founder and Artistic Director Jessica Gould, generally committed to early music, widened her scope to present an evening of 19th c. French music entitled On the Margins of the Opèra Comique--not serious chansons but light-hearted music suitable for the salon or cabaret.

The music on the program was composed by three Jewish composers whose oeuvre was purportedly dismissed due to anti-semitism. To our ears, there was nothing dismissable about the charming songs we heard.

Ms. Ringle has a true mezzo sound, unlike many singers who claim that fach.  It has a distinctive timbre that filled the auditorium of the Abigail Adams Smith House. Ms. Ringle's French is flawless and her phrasing high in musicality. 

Our favorite performance of the evening was the encore! We just heard "Ah quel diner", from Jacques Offenbach's La Perichole, a few reviews back. We loved it then and we loved it last night. Just as actors love a good death scene, singers seem to enjoy a drinking song, or, in this case, a drunken song. Ms. Ringle appeared to be having the time of her life and the joy was absolutely infectious.

She is best when she can show her personality and the three Fontaine fables set by Offenbach delighted us no end. In "Le berger et la mer", the moral seemed to be to stick with what you do well and not gamble on a tempting future.

In "La cigale et la fourmi", a stingy and judgmental ant gives a moral lecture to the carefree but destitute cicada who sang all summer long. The song ends with a remarkable trill. Kenneth Merrill's piano captured all the sounds of nature.

The moral of "Le rat de ville et le rat des champs" seemed to be that a simple meal eaten in peace is better than a fancy one eaten in fear.

Mr. Merrill's piano was noticeably wonderful in many of the songs. We could hear the village bell's sonority in Giacomo Meyerbeer's "Ma barque légère", the nightingale in Fromental Halévy's "Les heures du soir", and the wind in the same composer's "Le follet".  No doubt the special sound of the Playel contributed to the effect.

Only two songs on the program were familiar to us and that was because of the text. Meyerbeer set the Heinrich Heine poem and called it "Komm", the only song on the program not in French.  Franz Schubert named it "Das Fischermädchen" and composed it as part of his cycle Schwanengesang. It is one of our favorite Schubert songs but now it is one of our favorite Meyerbeer songs.  

The other familiar text was that of Théophile Gauthier "Dites, la jeune belle" set by Offenbach as "Barcarolle". We know it as "L'isle inconnue" from Hector Berlioz'cycle Les nuits d'été.

There seems to be quite a bit of metaphor going on in this epoch in which the sea represents both the delights and fears of love. We heard this in "Komm" and again in another Meyerbeer song "Ma barque légère".

 

For the Halévy duet "Est-ce-une peine? Est-ce un plaisir?" Ms. Ringle was joined by tenor William Ferguson whose sweet sound took the upper line while Ms. Ringle's mezzo took the lower one.  We tried in vain to recall duets between tenor and mezzo and hope that readers will add some suggestions to the comment section below.

Even Mozart did not write one for Dorabella and Ferrando in Cosi fan Tutte! It is actually quite a wonderful combination and the two artists harmonized with great beauty. The work is written with complicated overlapping voices, requiring the use of the score, not a desirable circumstance in our book! But the sound was thrilling.

There are probably many more songs like these that the public doesn't get to hear and we thank Ms. Gould for bringing them to our attention and we thank Ms. Ringle for her magnificent performance and for her highly instructive program notes.

(c) meche kroop