THE TRIUMPH OF MUSIC

Fanyong Du, Anna Viemeister, Ricardo Rivera, Richard Owen, Megan Nielsen, Riad Ymeri, and Andrew Cummings in Camerata New York Gala

How well we remember last year's star-studded Camerata New York Gala! This year's version was equally thrilling. The theme was "The Triumph of Music" and the same successful formula that packed St. Jean Baptiste Church last year was again put into play. Favorite arias and duets from well known operas were performed by a cast of international opera stars; each piece was introduced by Maestro Richard Owen who gave the audience just a brief synopsis.

Once again, we had the notion that the audience was partly opera devotés and partly newcomers attracted by the stellar cast, the popularity of the pieces, and a modest ticket price--less than one would pay for a balcony seat at the Met. There were no titles and we didn't see many people reading the translations.  We got the impression that people were truly listening and feeling entertained.  And that's what opera is all about, isn't it?

Readers will recall how much we love duets and the program opened with a solo performed by two tenors!  After the wonderful Camerata New York Orchestra treated us to the Easter Morning Prelude to Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana, not neglecting the underlying menace in this familiar melody, the "Siciliana" was sung by Fanyong Du and Riad Ymeri, both sounding tenorrific. Pardon our neologism!

Mr. Du appeared again with baritone Ricardo Rivera in the Act IV duet from Puccini's La Bohème in which the two Bohemians chat about their lost loves with seeming carefree nonchalance. Puccini's music gives the lie to their jolly chatter. Mr. Du's sweet tenor balanced beautifully with Mr. Rivera's substantial baritonal colors.

These two singers make a fine pair, as manifested in their "Au fond du temple saint" from Bizet's Pêcheur de Perles, in which their love/lust for the temple priestess Leïla threatens their friendship. By the end of the duet, they are affirming their amity.  But we know better that one of them is going to break that vow of friendship!

Yet another sensational duet was the final scene from Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin in which Tatiana, still in love with Onegin, dismisses him partly out of duty to her husband Prince Gremin, and partly out of suspicion that Onegin is only interested in her because she has a high position in society. The lovely soprano Megan Nielson made a fine ambivalent Tatiana and baritone Andrew Cummings excelled as the importuning Onegin who just won't take "nyet" for an answer.

The final duet on the program was the Act I finale of Puccini's Madama Butterfly in which Butterfly was performed by Ms.  Nielson with Mr. Ymeri as Pinkerton. Mr. Ymeri's voice is so sweet we could scarcely believe that he is such a heel who will abandon this Butterfly with whom he is so taken. Their two voices soared as they invoked nature and he distracted her from the rejection she suffered at the hands of her family. It was a lovely way to end this very special evening.

But we are not ending our review here because we have yet to mention the marvelous arias we heard. Mr. Ymeri got a huge round of bravos for his portrayal of the troubled Riccardo, Governor of Boston, in Verdi's Ballo in Maschera. He must send away his aide Renato because of his love for Amelia, Renato's wife. Mr. Ymeri gave this aria "Forse la solia" an emotional reading without any hint of tightness.

Renato's rage, as he believes Amelia to have been unfaithful, permeated Mr. Cummings' affecting performance of "Eri tu".

Mezzo-soprano Anna Viemeister did her best with Ulrica's aria "Re dell'abisso" but did not always penetrate the dense orchestration with the very low-lying tessitura. 

We enjoyed her much more in "Senta's Ballade" from Wagner's Der Fliegende Holländer, which is a soprano role.  Go figure! But she had the power and the top notes and the touch of madness needed to show us that Senta was a bit off-kilter. It was a splendid performance with the intervals of descending fourths particularly affecting.

We heard two popular arias from Gounod's Faust. Mr. Rivera's performance of Valentin's "Avant de quitter ces lieux" was particularly well handled with the prayerful part colored with tenderness and the patriotic part with resolve. Mr. Du did equally well with Faust's serenade of Marguerite "Salut! Demeure chaste et pure" which was filled with romantic longing, fine French phrasing, and a lovely messa di voce. 

Although opera was the major focus of the evening, the Camerata New York Orchestra was given their opportunity to shine, not only in the Easter morning prelude to Cavalleria Rusticana, but also in the "Polonaise" from Eugene Onegin. The lively ballet from Faust had a lovely lyrical central section. Similarly, the Prelude to the Madama Butterfly duet was filled with tenderness. Maestro Owen has wonderful command of his orchestral forces.

We found the harp accompaniment (Hannah Murphy) to the Mascagni particularly lovely and also heard a lovely flute solo in the Verdi.

The only downside to the evening was the overly resonant acoustics of the gorgeous St. Jean Baptiste church. This tended to smear the sound, but what can we do? Placing the orchestra at audience level with the singers behind is not a great solution but there seems to be no alternative. There are no suitable midsize theaters with an orchestra pit in Manhattan, although there are dozens of small opera companies that need one. To coin a phrase..."If you build it, they will come".

Let us call the evening "The Triumph of Music Over Acoustics"!

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DON GIOVANNI IN NEW YORK

Jordan Weatherston Pitts, Ashley Galvani Bell, Helena Brown, Tyler Putnam and Natalie Rose Havens surrounding Ricardo Rivera

Aristotle claimed that Art Imitates Life; Oscar Wilde claimed that the converse was more likely to be true. Let us say that both positions are valid. Last night, Divaria Productions presented a fascinating exploration of how the extravagant lives of librettist Lorenzo da Ponte and singer Manuel Garcia influenced and were influenced by the opera Don Giovanni.

We have always suspected that the rebellious Mozart saw himself in the unrepentant Don Giovanni who refuses to bow down to the father figure--the Commendatore. But we hadn't given much thought to da Ponte's identification with the libertine character of that anti-hero. Nor did we know anything about the connection with the Garcia family and the opera's first production in New York.

Thanks to the diligent scholarship and astute writing of Andrew Bell, the scripted production of Don Giovanni in New York left us with much to think about, as well as some memorable performances dancing around our brain. If the facts were stretched a bit for dramatic purposes, our rejoinder is "Se non è vero è ben trovato". Much of the dialogue was drawn from the memoirs of the Garcia family and those of Signor da Ponte.

The performance took place in the Old St. Patrick's Cathedral in Soho, of which da Ponte was a parishioner. It is a fact that the Garcia family was brought to the United States by da Ponte who was responsible for introducing Italian opera to New York. 

The Garcias opened Don Giovanni at the Park Lane Theater on this exact date (May 23rd) in 1826! (We do believe a French opera by Grétry was performed in the Louisiana Territory in 1784). Mr. Bell tells the story of this production, using excerpts from the opera to illuminate the inner feelings of the characters.

The many layered story we witnessed comprised several strands. By all accounts, both Garcia and da Ponte led scandalous lives with many ill-advised sexual liaisons. Furthermore, Garcia terrorized his daughter Maria so thoroughly that she escaped from him by marrying a much older man and quitting singing. (That she left this husband and resumed a highly successful singing career in Europe is not germane to this story.)

Garcia cheated on his wife, a singer also, with another member of the cast. Mr. Bell's script plays off the characters of the opera and there was drama aplenty. The astute lighting by Anthony Tornambene went a long way toward making clear which were real scenes between the characters and which were scenes from the opera and which were scenes showing memories of the characters.

If this sounds confusing, well, it was a bit. It would have been helpful to have read the extensive program in advance to understand why scenes from the opera were drastically out of sequence.  It would also have helped to have better acoustics. The cathedral is highly resonant which served the singers better than it did the actors portraying the characters of Da Ponte and the Garcias. We missed a lot of the dialogue but heard enough to get the gist of the story.

The singers were well cast and we enjoyed the arias and duets, even out of sequence. We wondered whether this would be more meaningful to people who knew the opera or to those who did not.

The vocal part of Don Giovanni was sung by the very physical baritone Ricardo Rivera (our favorite Escamillo) who was as compelling vocally as he was dramatically. His sidekick Leporello was superbly portrayed by bass Richard Bernstein who gave as fine a performance of "The Catalogue Aria" as we have ever heard. 

In this story, the nascent production at first lacked a tenor to play Don Ottavio, but they found one in Jordan Weatherston Pitts who performed "Dalla sua pace" with gorgeous tender tone and fine phrasing. Bass Tyler Putnam, well remembered from multiple performances at Santa Fe Opera, was effective as Masetto and chilling as the Commendatore in the final scene of the opera.

The female parts were similarly well cast and sung. Soprano Ashley Galvani Bell made a superb Donna Anna and sang a melting "Non mi dir". Her duet with Mr. Pitts "Fuggi crudele, fuggi" was masterful.

As Donna Elvira, the big beautiful sound of Helena Brown was perfect. We have reviewed her performances many times in the past five or six years and have sometimes called her a mezzo because there is so much texture in her tone. Her "Mi tradi quell'alma ingrata" was riveting and delivered within the context of Garcia's wife berating her husband for seducing the singer performing Donna Anna.

The role of Zerlina was sung by mezzo-soprano Natalie Rose Havens whom we well remember as Lola in Martha Cardona Opera's Cavalleria Rusticana. Her "Vedrai carino" was here sung with a different emphasis--the singer is thinking of her real-life lover, not Masetto.

The speaking parts were as follows: Michal Gizinski created the persona of da Ponte who narrated the evening. Anton Armendariz Diaz created the character of Manuel Garcia, the singer imported from Spain to introduce opera to New York City. The role of his browbeaten daughter Maria was performed by Paulina Cossio and her fiancé was performed by Jon Faughnan. Their marriage was accompanied by Jared Lamenzo, the Basilica organist.

Mozart's score was given to the New Asian Chamber Society, a string quartet augmented by the piano of Music Director Nicolo Sbuelz. To say that the music was marvelous would be an understatement. 

Direction was by Mr. Diaz. No costumer was credited but the entire cast looked great and we felt transported back to the 1820's.

The performance will be repeated in Sag Harbor at the Bay Street Theatre on September 22. And yes, it would be worth the trip! Not only for Mozart's music and the fine performances, but also for new insights into the manner in which we identify with literary characters and/or project our own characters onto them.

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CARMEN CONDENSED

Doug Durlacher, Sichel Claverie, Brent Reilly Turner

We had barely recovered from the emotional impact of Heartbeat Opera's Madama Butterfly when we were hit with another wallop by their Carmen. When we planned this "double feature" evening, we were expecting a pair of "Cliff Notes" of the two operas.  After all, how much could one say by truncating an opera into an hour and a half?  Surely we were in for a light-weight experience!

How wrong we were! The right people can say a great deal in a short period of time. By knowing just what to strip away and where to put the emphasis, a revised and abbreviated version of a beloved opera can have a huge impact and take us to new places. Co-Artistic Director of Heartbeat Opera Louisa Proske directed a compressed essence of Carmen that left us feeling stabbed in the heart.

This condensed Carmen took us to a new place, a borderland between two places where anything might happen. Kate Noll's set was a guard house with a chain-link fence surmounted by barbed wire. A very athletic Carmen is creeping on the ground, then climbing up and over the guard house. Was it Chloe Treat's amazing choreography that had her crawling in and out of doors and windows trying to escape the guards? In any case, it was raw and realistic.

There is no cigar factory.  There is no bullfight. There is no card game or mountain passes. No Mercedes, no Frasquita, no Remendado or Dancaire.  No Lilas Pastias' Tavern. There is only the story of four people and two triangles. Micaela loves Don Jose. He is conflicted.  His mother wants him to wed this "good girl" and lovely soprano Jessica Sandidge was perfect in the part. She was most affecting in her aria "Je dis que rien ne m'epouvante". Her body language and voice joined forces to make us feel both her terror and her faith.

But Don Jose (the fine tenor Brent Reilly Turner) has become entranced by this highly intense Carmen, portrayed with wild abandon and stamina by the impressive smoky mezzo-soprano Sichel Claverie. Her infatuation fades when she encounters Escamillo--a bullfighter by libretto, but in this case a hopped-up coke-snorting hoodlum. In this role, baritone Ricardo Rivera gave an amazingly physical performance that had elements of humor that the audience appreciated.

Mr. Ricardo is no stranger to singing this role but we are quite sure he has never performed it like this before. One funny moment occurred as he entered with "You know who I am? Play my song!". The audience roared with glee but hushed as soon as the jazz orchestra (saxophone, guitar, violin, viola, bass, and piano) struck up a unique arrangement of "The Toreador Song".

Daniel Schlosberg was Music Director for this production, both conducting and playing the piano, as well as arranging the score. In the afore-mentioned scene, the musicians have joined Carmen and Don Jose and a generic smuggler (Parker Drown) to dance and swill beer in an improvised fiesta under colored lights.

Ms. Claverie gave an enticing delivery of the "Seguidilla" and we thought we wouldn't get to hear the "Habanera" but she sang it after Don Jose stabbed her as a kind of postlude commentary. After the knockdown dragout fight with the violent Don Jose (Fight Director was Rick Sordelet) we don't know how she found the breath to fill out the phrases so well but she did.

So we got most of Bizet's luscious music along with a fresh look at an old favorite.

Beth Goldenberg's costumes were a propos.

The opera world is becoming increasingly specialized with so many small companies occupying their own niches. Heartbeat Opera has established theirs in presenting radical adaptations of the classics, being both physically and emotionally right in your face. That they are speaking to the 21st c. is evident from the youthful composition of their audience. Their new home at the Baruch Performing Arts Center appears to be just right with ample student input!

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HOJOTOHO! HEIAHA!

Scene from Die Walküre--Santa Fe Opera Apprentices-Photo by Ken Howard

Ensemble from Il Viaggio a Reims--photo by Ken Howard

The second and final recital of opera scenes by the Santa Fe Opera Apprentices left nothing to be desired.  The packed house greeted these promising young artists with an avalanche of appreciative applause.  Everyone benefits since the apprentices thrive on onstage experience and profit by learning new roles.  No expense is spared in terms of production values: direction, costumes, staging and accompaniment are all first rate.  The only thing missing is the orchestra.

That was an advantage, not a deficit, in the strong opening number "Ride of the Valkyries" since the young singers were not obliged to shriek over massive orchestral forces. Clad in fabulous steampunk inspired costumes by Kelsey Vidic, the lovely ladies entered through the aisles and terraces (direction by Shawna Lucey) and joined voices for Wagner's thrilling music.  Alexandra Loutsion, Rebecca Witty, Sarah Larsen, Daryl Freedman, Bridgette Gan, Allegra De Vita, Katherine Carroll and Annie Rosen were the glamorous warrior maidens.  Manuel Jacobo and Amanda Clark were responsible for the stunning wigs and makeup design.  WOO!

That was a tough act to follow but soprano Amanda Opuszynski was a lovely Lucia in Donizetti's masterpiece Lucia di Lammermoor, effectively negotiating the scale passages and acting up a storm in the scene with her brother Enrico, beautifully portrayed by baritone Joseph Lim.  The two succeeded in showing various sides of their characters and eliciting our sympathy-- both for the panicky Lucia who does not want to marry her brother's choice and for Enrico who is desperate for this political marriage to save his own hide.

Hearing baritone Ricardo Rivera and mezzo-soprano Annie Rosen animate the characters of Robert and Kitty Oppenheimer in John Adams' Doctor Atomic was a special treat.  We didn't relate at all to the production at the Met and we were surprised and happy to change our opinion.  Sung English is often difficult to understand but their diction was perfect and we didn't miss a word.  Vocally and dramatically the scene was a hit.  Kathleen Clawson directed.

Alone among the eight scenes, the one from Mozart's La finta giardiniera was updated to the mid 20th c. and made no sense at all. What director Michael Shell seemed to be going for was the awkwardness of waking up in bed with a "one-night-stand".  The audience laughed but the libretto could not be believably bent into that situation and was not what Mozart and his librettist intended.  Nonetheless, the singers sounded lovely and did what was asked of them.  Soprano Jenna Siladie was the disdainful hussy Arminda, smoking under a lamppost.  Mezzo Emma Char portrayed the importuning Ramiro.  As the two "hookups" soprano Abigail Mitchell and tenor Rexford Tester did justice to Mozart and had the audience in stitches.

The opening scene of Verdi's Simon Boccanegra, directed by Bruce Donnell, took us back to more traditional territory with Rebecca Witty's lovely soprano convincing us as Amelia who believes she is an orphan.  As her lover Gabriele, tenor Daniel Bates was soulful and ardent.  Erin Levy's costumes were appropriate as to time and place.

In the trio from the final act of Puccini's Madama Butterfly, we were impressed by Joshua Conyers' firm baritone and sympathetic portrayal of Sharpless.  Julia Dawson sang Suzuki and Christopher Trapani portrayed the remorseful B. F. Pinkerton.

William Walton's Troilus and Cressida was a strange choice.  This is not an opera we would care to hear in toto but the scene from Act I was well directed by Shawna Lucey who seems to have a knack for placing singers where they ought to be.  Tenor Jubal Joslyn sang the role of Troilus and mezzo Sarah Larsen brought some beautiful tones and fine diction to her portrayal of Cressida.  Tenor Aaron Short made impressive use of word coloring as Pandarus.

The closing scene was the spirited ensemble from Rossini's Il viaggio a Reims. The spoiled aristocrats were devastated that there were no horses for their carriages to attend the coronation of King Charles X.  As is typical of Rossini, the musical excitement grows and grows. We particularly noticed the gorgeous coloratura work of Amy Owens who handled the embellishments perfectly.  The stunning empire costumes were by Lauren Pivirotto and the direction by Kathleen Clawson was charming with one exception; we did not relate to the ensemble breaking into late 20th c. dance moves.  It was jarring and anachronistic.

We would call the evening a total success and hope to see much more of the rising stars selected by the Santa Fe Opera to participate in this fine program.  Bravissimi e Gloria Tutti!

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CARMEN

Ana Maria Martinez and Roberto De Blasio (photo by Ken Howard)

The current trend in opera is "concept".  Directors are falling all over themselves trying to make opera relevant, changing locations, changing time periods, doing all kinds of things to attract new audiences.  We are not among those that appreciate this trend.  Occasionally this fiddling works but more often than not the audience is left baffled.  Such was the case last night at the Santa Fe Opera's Carmen; Bizet's masterpiece was updated to mid-20th c. and moved to somewhere on the Mexican-American border, although that was only revealed piecemeal. The time is ripe for an opera about illegal immigration and the plight of Mexicans but grafting that concept onto an opera that we adore in its original time and place seemed ill-advised.

Bizet's music trumps everything else and if you closed your eyes and listened to Rory Macdonald's apt conducting of the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, you might have had a fine time.  With your eyes open, you might have expected to be in Spain with vintage black and white films of bullfights projected onto the set.  The picture of the dead bull might have made you wonder if this was meant to be symbolic of Don Jose's stabbing of Carmen in the final scene. Interestingly enough, that scene does take place in an arena-like area.  But why was Carmen trying to escape through locked doors when she was resigned to dying?

Many other inconsistencies and questions about Stephen Lawless' direction distracted us from enjoying the music.  Why were the girls of the tobacco factory behind bars?  They were dressed in identical uniforms so one wondered whether they were meant to be in prison and given time in the yard for a smoking break.  Why was Escamillo's entrance so tacky, passed out on a mechanical bull?  Why was Micaela standing on the American side of a chain-link fence?  We could go on and on about the inconsistencies and ill-conceived ideas.

Carmen is not just a factory-worker (if that is even true) but she and Frasquita and Mercedes don wildly colorful costumes (by Jorge Jara) as onstage entertainers in Lilas Pastias' tavern while the customers dance the lindy to Bizet's music!  There is more coke-snorting than we would ever want to see onstage-- to no meaningful effect.  Were the smugglers smuggling drugs or were they smuggling "wetbacks".  Why are the "wetbacks" pushing the truck right up to the Border Patrol?  Did we need to see a trashy hooker distracting the border guard so a few illegal immigrants could climb the chain-link fence?

Well, let us move on to what we did like about the production.  Most of the video projections by Jon Driscoll served to open up the story in a cinematic way.  The scene of Micaela tending to Don Jose's critically ill mother gave us some insight into their relationship.  The scene of Micaela and Don Jose attending his mother's funeral showed us that Micaela still had some affection for him; she made sidelong glances meaningful.

Benoit Dugardyn's set design was simple enough not to interfere and was flexible enough to create the soldier's locker room, a prison, a bullfight arena, ramparts and a background for projections.  Pat Collins' lighting was sometimes effective,  creating shadows that highlighted the action; at other times the light fell in the wrong place and the action was cast into darkness.

As Carmen, soprano Ana Maria Martinez created a character that had very little by way of redeeming qualities.  Perhaps it is only that we prefer the role to be sung by a mezzo-soprano but her voice seemed uneven through the wide range Bizet wrote; her voice improved as the evening wore on.       Her acting was forceful but appeared to be based on something that she or the director considered to be sexy. The sexiness did not seem to come from within but rather was based on gyrations and cliched mannerism. 

Tenor Roberto de Biasio also got off to a weak start but improved vocally in the second act. He produced a fine messa di voce.  However, his acting was stiff until he reached places where he was given over to violence.  Baritone Kostas Smoriginas struggled to achieve some dignity and the arrogance the role requires; the direction was not kind to him, what with that mechanical bull and having to hold a microphone onstage and gyrate like Elvis Presley.

We liked Joyce El-Khoury's performance as Micaela; she has an expressive soprano and managed to evoke sympathy which the other principals did not.  Her duet with Don Jose was tender and their hands reaching out toward one another was perhaps the most moving moment of the evening.

The smaller roles were more effective.  Bass-baritone Evan Hughes was outstanding as Zuniga, using his booming voice, imposing height and dramatic skills to create a more interesting character than we are accustomed to.  He too has his eye on Carmen and, by the time his pants are around his ankles in her prison cell,  she has escaped.

Baritone Ricardo Rivera was a strong Morales, also making much of a role that usually makes no impression.

We liked baritone Dan Kempson as Le Dancaire and tenor Noah Baetge as Le Remendado, the two smugglers.  It was amusing to watch their interaction with Carmen's two friends Frasquita (soprano Amanda Opuszynski) and Mercedes (mezzo-soprano Sarah Larsen).  Grant Neale made a slimy Lillas Pastia.

Before ending. we would like to contribute this factoid.  In Mexican bullfights, they do not kill the bull.

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SIX RISING STARS

Rexford Tester

Dan Kempson and Annie Rosen

Jenna Siladie and Ricardo Rivera

Amanda Opuszynski

Six talented members of the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Singers Program, accompanied by Robert Tweten, collaborated for an early evening recital that delighted the audience at the First Presbyterian Church.  The artistry of the singers was matched by the enthusiasm of the audience.

Talented tenor Rexford Tester opened the program with "Ah! mes amis, quel jour de fete" from Donizetti's Fille du Regiment.  He sang with panache and fine French diction. He nailed the nine high C's (but who's counting?)  His penchant for French continued later in the program as he sang Faure's "Lydia".

From Verdi's Falstaff, Ricardo Rivera sang Ford's aria.  Mr. Rivera has a lot of depth in his baritone, the type of voice known as a kavalier bariton; we heard an abundance of strength in the lower register, a very Italianate embouchure and an intensity of involvement with the text.

Soprano Amanda Opuszynski delighted with "Je suis encor tout etourdie" from Massenet's Manon.  Her crystalline sound was perfect for conveying the young Manon's innocence and excitement.  The embellishments were carried off with razzle-dazzle.

From Mozart's Nozze di Figaro, we heard "Crudel! Perche finora farmi languir cosi?", the duet in which Figaro (Mr. Rivera) puts the moves on Susanna, sung by the lovely soprano Jenna Siladie who later won audience acclaim with the "Silver Aria" from Douglas Moore's The Ballad of Baby Doe.

Mezzo-soprano Annie Rosen was simply splendid as Rosina in her duet with the marvelous lyric baritone Dan Kempson.  In this duet "Dunque io son" from Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Figaro is acting as go-between so that the Count can get together with Rosina.  The pair of singers had great chemistry together and charmed the audience.

Ms. Rosen sang Schumann's "Widmung" with fine dynamic control.  We especially loved the dreamy central section.  It was nearly perfect but we would love to see Ms. Rosen get a better handle on the final "ch" in words such as ich, mich, and dich.  So many American singers seem afraid of this sound and change it to ick, mick and dick or else they drop the sound altogether.

Ms. Opuszynski was charming in her Rossini song "La pastorella dell'Alpi" and gave a fine example of yodeling, complete with echo.

Mr. Kempson was nothing short of sensational in "Pierrot's Tanzlied" from Erich Korngold's Die tote Stadt.  The nostalgic feelings were palpable and his German diction is perfect.

To close the program, the entire cast performed the ensemble "Alla bella Despinetta" from Mozart's Cosi fan tutte.  The program seemed all too short!

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OSCAR!

David Daniels, Composer Theodore Morrison, Heidi Stober and Director Kevin Newbury--photo by Ken Howard

Much of contemporary opera comes across as theater with music and Theodore Morrison's fine new opera Oscar, premiered at Santa Fe Opera, is just that.  The text has been adapted by John Cox from quotations by Oscar Wilde himself and by his contemporaries.  It is a sad story of persecution of homosexuals by the British justice system.  The story telling makes it clear that Mr. Wilde contributed to his own downfall by letting his love for "Bosie" (Lord Alfred Douglas) cloud his judgement.  His pretty young lover had a big grudge against his father The Marquess of Queensberry and used Wilde badly by pushing him to sue his father for libel.  This resulted in Wilde's conviction for committing "acts of gross indecency" resulting in a two year sentence to hard labor and solitary confinement.  By the end of the opera, our hero has become a broken man but enlarged in spirit such that he is admitted by Walt Whitman into the hall of literary immortals.

Director Kevin Newbury did a fine job of limning the story.  Conductor Evan Rogister conducted briskly.  The music is powerful and is in many places closely allied with the words but not always; at times it seemed as if Morrison were trying for an ironic effect.  There are some arresting uses of winds, percussion and harp.

The set by David Korins with lighting design by Rick Fisher created some vivid images suitable to the story.  The very Victorian Redding Gaol where Wilde was imprisoned was frighteningly convincing.  Costumes by David C. Woolard were appropriately Victorian.

Famous countertenor David Daniels was convincing as the eponymous hero; indeed it appears that the role was written for him.  There are vocal melismatics reminiscent of Handel.  There is a wonderful warm scene in Wilde's friend Ada Leverson's nursery which she has offered to him when he has been denied lodging all over London.  Soprano Heidi Stober portrays this character beautifully and their singing about Wilde's preference for absinthe is delightful.  In this scene they are joined by Wilde's other friend Frank Harris, sung by the always excellent William Burden.

Another wonderful scene--this one upsetting, not delightful--occurs in the prison the night before a man will be hung and the inmates are mad with anxiety; this was a case in which the music reinforced the text.  As awful as the prison was, Wilde did enjoy a modest period of kindness from a kindly warder named Thomas Martin, sympathetically portrayed by fast-rising baritone Ricardo Rivera, also seen as an unpleasant hotel manager who refuses Wilde lodging. 

The scene in which Wilde's show trial is staged as a farce with nursery toys re-enacting the proceedings is a directorial marvel.  The very funny bass Kevin Burdette portrayed Mr. Justice Sir Alfred Wills and the Jury Foreman was portrayed by Reuben Lillie.  Mr. Burdette was also seen as the vicious Colonel Isaacson who ran Reading Gaol with an iron fist.

The prologue and epilogue featured a fine Dwayne Croft as the American poet Walt Whitman who befriended Wilde.

Several apprentices appeared in smaller roles--Patrick Guetti as a pompous butler, Yoni Rose as a bailiff, Aaron Pegram and Benjamin Sieverding as detectives and prison warders--the latter joined by David Blalock as patients in the infirmary.

Having the role of "Bosie" taken by a dancer instead of a singer was an interesting decision and Reed Luplau was a fine casting choice.  Choreography was by Sean Curran.  So, instead of some love duets between Wilde and Bosie, we got to watch some fine ballet because Bosie's image appeared regularly to Wilde.  Although Bosie managed to forget Wilde and leave the country, Wilde remained deeply affected by his love for Bosie.

This was a worthy entry into the world of contemporary opera and we were glad for the opportunity to attend its premiere.

© meche kroop

APPRENTICES ON PARADE

A supremely talented group of eight apprentices from the Santa Fe Opera presented a parade of popular arias as a summer community concert at First Presbyterian Church. The 43 apprentices were chosen from 450 applicants and one can only conclude that the young singers who made the cut were chosen for their vocal artistry combined with dramatic skills and an ability to communicate with the audience. Heard at the opera house in small roles and in the chorus, these artists are also given a chance to shine at various events, chief among which are the two Sunday Apprentice Recitals. But this afternoon's recital was a special treat, allowing the listener to get up close and personal. The parade of performances was led by soprano Lacy Sauter who sang Mozart's "Alleluia" in a pure bright soprano with excellent mastery of the fioritura. Her upper register manifested a large open feeling and the "B" section an effective change of color and mood. Tenor Jonathan Blalock followed with the serenade "Ecco ridente in cielo" from Rossini's Barber of Seville. His pleasing voice was augmented by a lot of heart and soul which is a basic minimum requirement if you want a lady to descend from her balcony! Mezzo Sarah Mesko sang "Oh, dischiuso e il firmamento!" from Verdi's Nabucco with a rich chocolatey sound. Mezzo Samantha Korbey has a big ringing sound and gave an excellent performance of "Sein wir wieder gut" from Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos, marred only slightly by some very aggressive piano playing by accompanist Kirt Pavitt. Since he supported the singers well in every other case, one can only assume that he was carried away by Strauss' luscious music. Soprano Hailey Clark invested "Che il bel sogno di Doretta" from Puccini's La Rondine with a great deal of charm and employed her big ringing upper register to fine effect. Bringing down the house (the church, actually) was Ricardo Rivera's swaggering Escamillo from Bizet's Carmen. His sizable baritone was used with confidence and authority; his manner was hypnotic and it was easy to understand how he lured Carmen away from Don Jose. Tenor Yoni Rose has a lovely color to his voice and sang "Che gelida manina" from Puccini's La Boheme with fine legato phrasing, closing with a distinctive diminuendo. We particularly enjoyed the duet "Belle nuit, o nuit d'amour" from Offenbach's Tales of Hoffman, sung by Hailey Clark and Sarah Mesko; the voices blended beautifully. Similarly, the quartet from Act III of Verdi's Rigoletto was stirringly sung by Ms. Korbey, Ms. Sauter, Mr. Rose and Mr. Rivera. Flutist Daniel James provided an instrumental interlude with the gently melodic "Pastorale" by Germaine Tailleferre. The program ended with baritone Jared Bybee singing The Lord's Prayer with deeply felt sentiment and gorgeous phrasing. AND--"America" sung by the entire ensemble. One could not have imagined a more fulfilling recital! Bravi tutti!

EVE QUELER & SEVEN EMERGING ARTISTS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(c) meche kroop