JÚRAME...FULFILLING THE PROMISE

Pablo Zinger, Linda Collazo, and Maria Brea

Yesterday we were lured into Brooklyn by the promise of zarzuela; regular readers will recall our fondness for this Hispanic art form. The promise was fulfilled and our highest expectations were met. Moreover we got to learn more from Mr. Zarzuela--Maestro Pablo Zinger who was the collaborative pianist at this fulfilling recital.

Ms. Brea and Ms. Collazo make a dynamite duo and, as much as we loved their solos, our enjoyment was over the top when they harmonized in duets--Maria with her bright expansive soprano and Ms. Collazo with her firmly centered and textured mezzo. We have heard them together before since they co-founded Voces Unidas to raise money for RAICES. Is there a better way to use one's gifts than to help others?

The venue and the sponsoring organization were new to us, largely because we rarely have time to venture across the bridge. Vertical Player Repertory is a pioneer of the alternative opera movement in New York City and was founded by sculptor/singer/impresario Judith Barnes over 20 years ago in a Brooklyn storefront. Many of her performances take place in unconventional venues; an ongoing series entitled "miniatures behind the door" comprises interesting programs beyond vocal recitals but it is the latter which interests us.

The first half of the program consisted of zarzuelas and nothing but zarzuelas; we were in seventh heaven. Maestro Zinger explained how these entertaining pieces of musical theater were birthed in 17th c. Spain by King Philip IV and how they became popular in the mid 19th c. as composers were encouraged to express nationalistic fervor. Although influenced by Italian opera, Spain needed its own art form. Zarzuela achieved a new impact in the New World as Spaniards immigrated to Latin America. A new emphasis was racial and class distinction as we heard later in works from Cuba.

From the fertile period of the mid 19th c. (our favorite musical period) we heard Ms. Brea and Ms. Collazo harmonize beautifully in "Niñas que vais a Granada" from Francisco Asenjo Barbieri's Los diamantes de la corona. The duet speaks to us of the dangers of losing one's heart to a love bandit.

From Federico Chueca's La Gran Via, Ms. Collazo gave a charming interpretation of a loveable maid with unloveable qualities in "Tango de la Menegilda". She created a quite different mood in the rapid fire "Carceleras" from Ruperto Chapí's Las hijas del Zebedeo. This is a passionate tongue twister if ever we heard one! Even more radically different was "Yo soy María" from Astor Piazzolla's tango operita which we just heard and reviewed the day before. Frankly, we liked Ms. Collazo's interpretation better since it was unamplified and we could understand the words.

Ms. Brea achieved the same variety in her selections. We have heard her sing "Me llaman la primorosa" before and it always makes us want to see Miguel Nieto's El barbero de Sevilla in its entirety. The plot involves a company producing the Rossini opera. Ms. Brea's character is very proud of her physical attractions! In "Petenera" from Federico Moreno Torroba's La Marchenera a woman describes her love and, if we are not mistaken, suggests a doble oído. She is waiting for her rose bush to bloom so she can give her beloved the first rose!

From the 1939 zarzuela Cecilia Valdés, composed by the Cuban composer  Gonzalo Roig, she performed "Salida de Cecilia Valdés" with help from a "chorus" comprising Maestro Zinger and Ms. Collazo. The character she plays is completely irrepressible! The rhythms had us swaying in our chair. 

There was one more duet that delighted us--the Habanera: "Canta y no llores", from Don Gil de Alcalá, composed by the Spaniard Manuel Penella and set in a Mexican convent. Here the rhythm was a gentle swaying one.

The second half of the program would have been more familiar to the average lover of art song. Indeed there was nothing we haven't heard many times before but we found much to appreciate in the performances. 

Ms. Brea performed Cuatro madrigales amatorios by the 20th c. Spanish composer Joaquin Rodrigo. (We are embarrassed to admit that we never connected his name with the Concierto de Aranjuez which we have known and loved for decades!) The songs have different moods and we loved the way Ms. Brea colored her voice differently for sorrow and shame, lust, jealousy and anger, and elation. Maestro Zinger shared what the songs were really about.

She also performed "Allí está riyendo" from Manuel de Falla's 1913 opera La vida breve which put Spain on the musical map. The heroine, a gypsy, is so heartbroken she dies of love. Maestro Zinger gave us some giggles when he pointed out that in Italian opera the heroine must die violently.

Ms. Collazo brought new life to Xavier Montsalvatge's 20th c. song cycle Cinco canciones negras. "Cuba dentro de un piano" has text that is symbolic whereas "Punto de Habanera" is more descriptive. Our favorite has always been "Canción de cuna para dormir a un negrito". The text is heartbreaking to our 21st c. sensibilities but it is so beautiful to hear!

The program closed with some "popular" songs and y'all know how we feel about that distinction. Hearing trained voices without amplification surely blurs the difference between "popular" and "art" songs. Ms. Brea performed one by the Mexican composer Consuelo Velásquez which has achieved worldwide popularity; who doesn't know "Besame mucho"! She invested the song with a lot of variety from one verse to the next and met the challenge of a low tessitura. 

Ms. Collazo's contribution was the melodic "Te quiero dijiste" composed by the Mexican María Grever who studied with Debussy in France. Isn't it interesting that two such gifted women composers came out of Mexico in the early 20th c.? And today we have so many fine young singers coming from our southern neighbor.

So we had two fine female Latin American singers performing songs by two fine female Latin American composers!  The program closed with the two singing Grever's "Júrame" with lovely overlapping phrases. The promise was fulfilled!

(c) meche kroop

UNA VOZ UN MUNDO

Danza Familia Latina

The people of Guatemala, a country we visited and loved, has suffered some dreadful blows in June and July, from volcanic eruptions to earthquakes. So many worthy organizations have come to the rescue.  Last night, Una Voz, Un Mundo, an organization devoted to humanitarian aid, arts advocacy, and the celebration of cultural diversity, presented a concert in support of the People of Guatemala.

There was something for everyone on the program, from lively colorful folk dancing to zarzuela (YAY!) and opera, not to mention jazz saxophone, and classical piano. There was also some amplified shrieking that hurt our tender ears but on that we will not dwell.

Both accompanist and soloist, Abdiel Vázquez delighted us with "Chopin's D-flat Major Nocturne", followed by a welcome medley of Gershwin tunes.

He accompanied three singers that we greatly enjoyed. Soprano Teresa Castillo put a great deal of her own flirtatious personality into "Carceleras" from Ruperto Chapí's zarzuela-- Las Hijas del Zebedeo. Her bright sound and pleasing vibrato were especially lovely in the vocalise portion. There was another song in Spanish the title of which we did not get, since the program was incomplete.  But it seemed to be about the jungle and the shade--selva y sombra.

We don't hear Spanish music as often as we would wish and hoped that more of the program would be in that beautiful language. We had most of our desires met.

After a fine performance of "Anzoleta avanti la regata" from Rossini's La regata veneziana, the excellent mezzo-soprano Kat Liu delighted us with two Spanish songs by Federico Garcia Lorca--the haunting "Las Morillas de Jaën" and "Los Cuatro Muleros".

Tenor Mario Arévalo, Founder and Artistic Director of Una Voz, Un Mundo, put his powerful voice to good use, first in Carlos Guastavino's melancholy "La Rosa y el Sauce", and then in "Dein ist mein ganzes Herz" from Franz Lehar's Das Land des Lächelns. 

He joined Ms. Castillo for the duet "Tonight" from Bernstein's West Side Story which was, for unknown reasons, as cruelly amplified as the performance of the screaming pop singer. Such attractive and well trained voices do not require amplification which distorted the natural sound of their voices.

There was some jazz saxophone music played by Thomas A. Giles on an alto sax; we liked the piece by Astor Piazzolla but have no idea who arranged it for saxophone; there was an interesting contemporary piece by Antonio Truyols involving tapping on the instrument and rhythmic breathing.

We also heard some original jazz piano music played by Francis Hon entitled "Morningstar"--all of which was quite nice. There was also a poetry reading.  

We would call this a highly entertaining and eclectic evening. We are reminded of a benefit performance given some years ago for the Chilean earthquake which was organized by our friend Kala Maxym, an event which launched our career writing about opera!

Instead of whining about how tragic something is or praying for people, it is a far better thing to do something concrete. All of the artists involved volunteered for this concert and this makes us very very happy and proud of the music community.

(c) meche kroop

SOARING VOICES, SOARING VAULTS

David Galvez and Amaya Arberas

The Museum of the City of New York has mounted a superlative installation of the works of Rafael Guastavino, the Valencian architect responsible for so many of New York City's tiled arches.  The Consulate General of Spain in New York generously sponsored a musical evening highlighting musical works from the same period--late 19th c.

We could think of no finer artists to convey the parallels between music and architecture than soprano superstar Amaya Arberas (previously reviewed and found in our search bar) and guitar virtuoso David Galvez (also reviewed previously, also found by entering his name in the search bar).

We do not hear enough classical Spanish music here in New York which strikes us as a sad state of affairs. The melodic music bears both restraint and passion in delightful balance and the language itself is highly singable with vowels similar to those of the Italian language.  If we were given a single wish for the opera scene in NYC, it would be to have a company present zarzuelas and Spanish art songs.

Ms. Arberas has a brilliant soprano with a finely grained vibrato and a sparkling resonance.  One rarely gets to hear these art songs performed by a native Castilian and there were many moments that produced goosebumps and the teary eyes that come from witnessing beauty, be it musical, painterly or sculptural.

The two songs on the program that were familiar to us were Manuel de Falla's "El Paño Moruno" in which Ms. Arberas slyly conveyed the song's symbolic subtext and Fernando Obradors' "Del Cabello Mas Sutil" in which the tenderness brought tears to our eyes.  A very dramatic piece from Ruperto Chapi's zarzuela , Las Hijas del Zebedeo, absolutely blew us away.

Songs by Fernando Sor and Eduardo Toldrá rounded out the vocal part of the program and the beautiful "Cantares" by Joaquin Turina gave Ms. Arberas an opportunity to show another aspect of her artistry in the melismatic passages.

The vocal selections were stunningly accompanied by Mr. Galvez, a special treat to our ears, especially Miguel Llobet's "El Testament d'Amelia", a barcarolle like song in 3/4 time.  Mr. Galvez had several opportunities to play solos as well.  We have mainly been exposed to the guitar in works of the Baroque period and we realize how greatly we prefer works of the Late Romantic period. 

In Isaac Albeniz' "Asturias" we admired the deft rasqueados of the right hand.  In Sor's "Variaciones de Mozart" we appreciated the subtle dynamic and rhythmic variety and the insistent phrase which we cannot get out of our ears, nor would we wish to do so.  The moving "Recuerdos de la Alhambra" was yet another favorite.

As encores, Ms. Arberas switched to the Italian language, performing two lovely songs by Vicente Martin y Soler--"La Costanza" and "Volubile".  They were as lovely as the Spanish songs and brought the audience to their collective feet.

Sadly, the recital is over but the Guastavino exhibit can be seen until September 7.  There is a video installation on display in "Palaces for the People".  Or you could visit all the places in NYC to which the famous architect contributed his arched tile ceilings.  Or you could do both!

© meche kroop

PIN-UP GAL

Bryan Wagorn and Wallis Giunta

Ms. Giunta's flowing strawberry blonde hair was pinned up cleverly to create a 1930's look to match the theme of her recital and her slinky red satin gown.  But there was nothing "pinned up" about her performance.  No indeed!  It flowed seamlessly and dramatically from one song to the next.  It flowed gracefully from German to French to English to Spanish to Italian--all sung with perfect diction.

The theme chosen by this supremely gifted Canadian mezzo was Brecht and Weill's Die Sieben Todsünden with a variety of songs interspersed between verses of what was written as a ballet chanté commissioned by one Edward James, whose wife Tilly Losch was a ballerina.  The plan was to split the character of Anna into two, with Anna I being sung by Weill's wife Lotte Lenya and Ms. Losch dancing the part of Anna II.  Characteristic of Brecht, the text satirizes the bourgeoisie.  One is never quite sure whether Anna I and Anna II are different aspects of the same woman who visits seven cities in the USA, each city used to demonstrate a different sin.

We particularly enjoyed the group of songs chosen to illustrate the sin of sloth.  Weill's "Youkali" was followed by Poulenc's "Hôtel" from Banalités and an extremely funny song called "The Sloth" by Michael Flanders and Donald Swann.  So much textual and dramatic variety were conveyed not only in Sloth, but also in Pride, Wrath, Lust, Greed, Gluttony and Envy.  Mr. Weill's "Die Muschel von Margate", used to illustrate Greed was particularly relevant today.

Perhaps the two songs we enjoyed the most were used to illustrate the sin of lust: Cole Porter's "Love for Sale", given a unique dose of irony by Ms. Giunta and "Al Pensar en el Dueño de mis Amores" from Ruperto Chapí's zarzuela Las Hijas del Zebedeo which evinced the soul of flamenco.

John Lennon's "Imagine" was movingly sung a capella.  Stephen Foster's "The Old Folks at Home" was sung sitting on the edge of the stage with the tenderest of piano work from the estimable Bryan Wagorn who succeeded brilliantly in keeping up with all of Ms. Giunta's many shifts of mood and period.  She did step outside the 1930's a few times, for the Foster, the Lennon, for Schubert's "Der Zwerg", for Monteverdi's "Addio Roma" from L'Incoronazione di Poppea and the zarzuela.

It was in every respect an original and compelling program that showed off Ms. Giunta's linguistic facility and dramatic skills as effectively as her burnished mezzo.  At this level of performance, fine technique can just be taken for granted and the listener can focus on the artistry and communicative skills of the performers.  Ms. Giunta's greatest gift is that she makes each song her own, and always in a way that involves the audience.

We were left wondering what magic is being performed by the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program which seems to regularly turn out such impressive performers.  Ms. Giunta is completing her second year with the program and simultaneously completing an Artist Diploma in Opera Studies at The Juilliard School.  She has several recordings to her credit and sings all over the USA and her homeland Canada as well as in Europe.  A stellar career would seem to be a foregone conclusion.

© meche kroop

A TOUCH OF ESPANA

David Shelton

Amaya Arberas

David Galvez

"Always leave them wanting more" could have been the motto for today's most enjoyable recital, given by Spanish coloratura soprano Amaya Arberas accompanied by Peruvian guitarist David Galvez and British pianist/violinist David Shenton.  The encore, composed by late 19th c. composer Ruperto Chapí brought the audience to their collective feet.  It isn't often that we New Yorkers get to hear zarzuela and we  hope that Opera Hispanica will remedy this lack.

We also loved the genuine Spanish flavor of Fernando Sor's "Si dices que mis ojos" and "Mis Descuidados ojos"  as well as Joaquin Turina's "Cantares".  An instrumental by Astor Piazzolla entitled "Oblivion" was performed by Mr. Galvez and  Mr. Shenton on violin, an instrumentation that evoked more subtleties than the bandoneon.

Ms. Arberas has a finely focused voice with a beautiful  fioritura, especially lovely in Mauro Giuliani's "Ad altro laccio" and the better known "Di tanti palpiti" in which she showed some lovely effects on the scale passages and some knockout embellishments of the vocal line in the final stanza. 

Ms. Arberas' French was quite lovely in Reynaldo Hahn's "A Chloris" and Gabriel Fauré's "Après un rêve".  We were less taken with one of her encores "If I loved you" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel; we found the Spanish accent to be not quite fitting.  We hope this marvelous recital will be a harbinger of more Spanish music to come.  Olé!