A BLISS-FUL RECITAL

Lachlan Glen and Ben Bliss

Our writing skills are insufficient to do justice to the artistry we witnessed onstage yesterday at the recital of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. We felt enthralled for 80 short minutes and wanted more. How do we find the words to convey what it's like to have one's heart and soul swept away in torrents of music? We may fail but we must make the effort.

Tenor Ben Bliss has a remarkable instrument, the timbre of which has a near magical effect on the very cells of the body. The phrase "liquid balm" comes to mind. One hears the tone and it's as if one is in touch with the music of the spheres.

Add to this the musicianship--the phrasing, the diction, the pacing--and every song became a mini-opera. Mr. Bliss seems to be so involved with the emotional tone of each song and conveys it so successfully that it becomes a shared experience. We sat with moist eyes, partly from the sheer beauty we heard and partly from identifying with the emotions in many of the songs.

To add to the intensity of the experience we had the piano partnering of Lachlan Glen who touches the keys and thereby touches the heart. He seemed to become one with the instrument and brings forth joy and sorrow, delicacy and passion, each in its own turn.

The first half of the program included songs of Vincenzo Bellini and Ottorini Respighi. The three canzone by Bellini are well known to us and much loved. "Malinconia, Ninfa gentile", "Vanne, o rosa fortuna", and "Ma rendi pur contento", which was rendered with great delicacy. We are sure that Bellini would have loved the interpretations which were imbued with a great variety of color.

As far as the Respighi songs, they belong to the category of songs that we've heard that never made much of an impression on us. All that was changed by Mr. Bliss and Mr. Glen who took them to an entirely new level. 

In "Pioggia", the poet (Vittoria Aganoor Pompilj) speaks of "il tumulto dei colori" and Mr. Bliss sang in such a tumult of colors!  In "Nebbie" the lonely unloved feelings of the poet (Ada Negri) came through with such clarity that we wept. The gradual crescendo led to feelings of near horror at the conclusion. We have written before about how a deeply felt performance can change the way we feel about a song and such was the case.

Franz Liszt's "Pace non trovo" from Tre Sonetti di Petrarca was filled with passion and clearly illustrated the poet's bafflement over his contradictory feelings towards the mysterious Laura. Each feeling came through by means of adept and artistic word coloring. There was a suspenseful pause just before the final pair of lines ("In questo stato son") in which we realized we were holding our breath!

The second half of the program included the participation of The Kleio Quartet: violinists Christina Bouey and Clare Semes, violist Isabel Hagen, and cellist Madeline Fayette. Ralph Vaughan Williams composed the evocative On Wenlock Edge in 1908, scored for tenor, piano and string quartet. The influence of Maurice Ravel is marked. The text is from A.E. Housman's A Shropshire Lad.

The instrumental effects are poignant and add greatly to the tenor's storytelling. We heard "From far, from eve and morning", followed by the very sorrowful " 'Is my team ploughing" in which the texture of cello and piano alternated with the voices of the violins and viola. Mr. Bliss brought out the chilling end, as a storyteller must.

Mr. Glen employed his piano artistry well in "Bredon Hill"; there was no missing the pealing of the church bells. This sad tale had the violins weeping.  And we wept along.

Mr. Glen had his chance to shine in his performance of Ravel's "Jeux d'eau" for solo piano. He addressed the audience and shared that the piece represents the river goddess laughing as the waters of the Fountain of Versaille tickle her. Needless to say, our ears were equally tickled as Mr. Glen's fingers tickled the ivories.  What a performance!

The program closed with a few unusual choices. Mr. Bliss began "As I went down to the river to pray" a capella and with great simplicity.  Then the piano entered and each verse grew in fervor. It became a work of wonder.

Ann Ronnel's "Willow weep for me" was followed by "Orange colored sky" by Milton De Lugg and Willie Stein, a jazzy number that Mr. Bliss sang with flair and more than enough facility with "scat".

As encore we heard in impeccable German the luscious arietta "Magische Töne" from Karl Goldmark's 1875 opera Die Königen von Saba. The music and the words are equally seductive and Mr. Bliss floated the notes of his upper register in a lingering pianissimo. We could feel the "milde abendluft".  Pure Bliss!

(c) meche kroop

A BEAUTIFUL TRIBUTE

Leonarda Priore, Benjamin Perry Wenzelberg, Lynne Hayden-Findlay

Leonarda Priore, co-founder of Chelsea Opera, has honored the memory of her brother Nicholas, an attorney and a singer who died prematurely, with evenings of song and also by establishing a fund called New Possibilities.  Young musical prodigy Benjamin Perry Wenzelberg is the first recipient.  The two singers joined hands in both the physical realm and the spiritual realm in last night's concert.

Most affecting and most in tune with the memorial was Ms. Priore's performance of Ottorino Respighi's "Il Tramonto".  The text by Percy Bysshe Shelley involves a man dying too young and seemed heartbreakingly relevant.  Accompanying Ms. Priore was the Chelsea Opera String Quartet, comprising Marc Uys and Bruno Peña on violin, Jen Herman on viola and Troy Chang on cello.  It isn't often that one hears a work for string quartet and mezzo so this was a special treat.  The quartet was well-balanced throughout and also did a lovely job with Ennio Morriccone's love theme from Cinema Paradiso.

The remainder of the evening transpired in varying styles--a lovely folk song adapted by Carl Stommen that was moving in its simplicity; the "Pie Jesu" from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem in which Mr. Wenzelberg's treble blended beautifully with Ms. Priore's mezzo; Mr. Wenzelberg's exuberant solo of "Rejoice Greatly" from Handel's Messiah, in which he dazzled the audience with his pinpoint fioritura; a jazz-inflected "Bending Towards the Light" from A Jazz Nativity by Bob Kindred with lyrics by Anne Phillips and Henry Timm; and several selections from the world of Broadway and cabaret.

Ms. Priore has a broad background and handled the diverse styles without compromising any of the material.  Jule Styne's "Winter Was Warm" suited her voice particularly well.  The two singers blended beautifully in the duet "See the Light" by Alan Menken.  There were some fine selections by Stephen Schwartz, David Friedman and Irving Berlin.  When we saw Wicked on Broadway it was so heavily amplified that we couldn't understand the lyrics.  Last night we were able to hear and understand and appreciate them.

The evening closed with a surprise guest; Lynn Hayden-Findlay, co-founder of Chelsea Opera, emerged from her "retirement" to sing Jerry Herman's "Bosom Buddies" from Mame.  It was absolutely delicious!  Bill Doherty did a magnificent job accompanying throughout the evening.

The Chelsea Opera has been encouraging and supporting Mr. Wenzelberg for about four years now and is currently, through the Nicholas S. Priore New Possibilities Fund, helping to launch Mr. W.'s opera The Sleeping Beauty.  We were there for the piano/vocal reading and will be there on January 17th for the young composer's orchestral reading.  And you should be there as well!

© meche kroop

SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL AT JUILLIARD

Takaoki Onishi and Dimitri Dover

A good recital shows the artist off to his/her best advantage and comprises, with certain exceptions, a variety of styles, moods and languages.  A GREAT recital does all the above with finely honed artistry.  Such was the case last night at Juilliard when a capacity crowd was treated to a memorable recital, as is so often the case at Juilliard.  One tends to run out of superlatives.  As they say, "You had to be there!"

We have seen both artists perform before and are always impressed by their musicianship and total involvement.  Last night seemed like a culmination although Mr. Onishi has been accepted in the Artists Diploma Program and we are glad of it since it will provide a further opportunity to hear this stunning young baritone.  He has a large voice that sets the very molecules of air to vibrating but this generous sound is under complete control.  His tone is consistent throughout the register.  In spite of the fact that none of the languages are his first language, he makes absolute sense out of all the poetry.

He began the program with four songs by Respighi that we never before found very interesting since the poetry is rather spare.  But Mr. Onishi's artistry brought out subtleties that we'd never before heard, such as the exquisite diminuendo in "Nebbie".  Mr. Dover's artistry contributed a great deal as he elucidated the descending chords, emphasizing the sadness and loneliness.  In "Pioggia" his pianism so realized the falling rain that we nearly reached for an umbrella.

Mahler's Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen is a song cycle much beloved by us and what a treat it was to hear it sung with such depth of feeling. The abundant melodies are familiar from Mahler's symphonies.  The composer himself wrote the poetry and it is heartbreaking.  A young man's beloved has married another and he is filled with despair, then anger, then regret and resignation.  Finally he finds peace under a linden tree.  This gives the singer an opportunity and a challenge to convey all these mood swings with word coloring.  Mr. Onishi rose to the challenge and left us stunned.  His intense involvement with the work made us hope that he has not had such a heartbreak in his own life and that it was "only" artistry.

We also enjoyed the stylish way he performed Ravel's songs from Don Quichotte à Dulcinée.  He sang "Chanson romanesque" with impressive nobility, "Chanson épique" with earnestness and "Chanson à boire" with a lively sense of fun.

He closed the program with three songs by Rachmaninoff.  If we preferred "Vesennije vody" it was only because it was more familiar to our ear.  Mr. Dover's piano conveyed the rushing of the water.  How appropriate to end the recital with a reference to Spring!

But fortunately for the audience Mr. Onishi graciously provided two encores.  Since most of the program was on the sad side, it made perfect sense for this fine artist to share his humorous side with Tartaglia's aria from Mascagni's "Le Maschere" in which the stuttering commedia del'arte player cannot quite sing out what he wants to say.  The second aria was a lovely strophic Japanese folk song that made everyone feel relaxed after the high-wire breath holding of the rest of the evening.

(c) meche kroop