NEW AMSTERDAM OPERA SALON GALA

Kofi Hayford, Kevin Johnson, Maestro Keith Chambers, Jonathan Green, Rachelle Pike, Sara Beth Pearson, Raymon Geis, and Eugenia Forteza

What a special Saturday night!  We enjoyed a surfeit of aural, culinary, and intellectual nourishment provided by New Amsterdam Opera. The legendary culinary creations of Leslie Ritch were accompanied by appropriate libations; renowned artist manager Ken Benson was on hand to instruct us about Massenet's rarely heard opera Hérodiade and how it differs from Richard Strauss' Salome; the cover cast of the upcoming May 10th (SAVE THE DATE) production by New Amsterdam Opera provided the entertainment, teasing us with a selection of arias, duets and an ensemble from the opera.

As much as we enjoyed eating, drinking, and socializing with the luminaries of the opera world who attended (including Eve Queler and Jane Shaulis) let us get right to the music which was outstanding. We were wondering "If the cover cast is this stellar, what must the first cast be like?" Maestro Keith Chambers was at the piano and the works were performed concert style, mainly "on the book".

There were only two selections that are well known. "Il est doux, il est bon", which we just heard at the Manhattan School of Music Ades Competition, is a tender aria upon which Massenet lavished abundant melody. Soprano Sara Beth Pearson as Salomé gave it a beautiful reading with bright tone in the upper register. As Mr. Benson pointed out in the introductory lecture, she is not the lascivious heroine of the Strauss opera, but an innocent young woman in love with the prophet Jean (John the Baptist).

There is an impressive duet between Hérode (sung by the fine baritone Jonathan Green) and his wife Hérodiade (given intense life by the excellent mezzo-soprano Rachelle Pike). Here the music was strange to our ear. "Venge-moi...Ne me refuse pas" is a wife's attempt to get her husband to soothe her injured feelings in a kind of "Let's you and him fight!". Ms. Pike sang with appealing resonance and fiery drama. 

In "Calmez donc vos fureurs", the lovesick Salomé tries to win over the resistant Jean, sung by the terrific tenor Raymon Geis.

The duet "Que ce philtre...Vision fugitive" is the other selection from the opera that one gets to hear rather often. Here, Hérode acquires some kind of sleeping potion from a Babylonian woman, portrayed by soprano Eugenia Forteza, whom we are always happy to hear. Here, we got a clearer picture of Mr. Green's pleasingly textured vibrato.

Just like at the Metropolitan Opera, we had an intermission special--an opera quiz which was way too challenging for us but not for the contestants--critic John Yohalem, pianist William Hicks, and OperaWire co-founder and editor-in-chief David Salazar.

Bass Kofi Hayford lent his interestingly textured voice to "Dors, o cité perverse!...Astres étincelants" in the role of Phanuel, an astrologer. We look at the stars and see STARdom!

Awaiting execution, Jean sings "Ne pouvent réprimer" and here we got to appreciate Mr. Geis' delicate vibrato and emotional connection, as well as some lovely arpeggi in the piano accompaniment, so beautifully played by Maestro Chambers.

The Act III ensemble "Peuple juif" brought all the singers together, along with Vitellius, the Roman Consul, sung by Kevin Johnson in warmly resonant low tones.

All of the singers exhibited fine French and were easily understood. We don't know who has been cast for the May 10th performance at The Center at West Park on West 86th St. but we would not have a moment's disappointment to hear any of the singers we heard tonight.

We hope you will be tempted to share this performance with us. We don't believe New York City has heard this opera in twenty years when Maestro Eve Queler conducted it with Opera Orchestra of New York at Carnegie Hall. It's about time to revive it!

We cannot close without lauding the encore which was from Richard Strauss' comic opera Die ägyptische Helena. Soprano Kirsten Chambers has a voice made for Strauss and we loved her aria "Zweite Brautnacht". Perhaps New Amsterdam Opera might consider giving us the whole enchilada!

If you like the sound of this gala evening, you too can become a member of the New Amsterdam Opera family. The post-salon reception lasted way longer than planned because the "family" remained in lively and rewarding conversation long after the food and drink were stowed.  Now that's a memorable evening!

(c) meche kroop

DONIZETTI UNEARTHED

Robert Garner as Severo and Sara Beth Pearson as Paolina in Donizetti's Poliuto at Amore Opera

 

 

We love Donizetti for his melodic bel canto writing and we love Amore Opera for unearthing one of his rarely performed tragic operas. Donizetti's music is always kind to our ears, whether it is underscoring a frothy comedy or a serious tragedy. If one doesn't care for the story, one can always revel in the music.

The libretto for his Poliuto was written by Salvatore Cammarano, loosely based on Pierre Corneille's tragic 1640 play Polyeucte. The birth of the opera was a difficult one: problems with censorship by the Catholic King of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, rewriting for the Opera Francaise, translating that into Italian, and the suicide of the tenor.

The story has significant resonances today. In third century Armenia, the ruling Romans saw Christianity as a threat to be eliminated. Christians met secretly in caves to hold their baptismal ceremonies. (Indeed, we once crawled into caves in Central Turkey where Christians lived and worshipped in secret.) Today Christianity is an accepted and prominent world religion with some members who would like to annhililate other religions. It seems like just another manifestation of  "My God is the right one.  Yours is the wrong one." Will mankind ever learn?

It would be fair to say that the story is distasteful to us. We don't understand martyrdom or the belief that all will be remedied in some mythical paradise after death.  All we could think of was the current plague of suicide bombers.  In Poliuto, at the end, the heroine joins her husband in just this sort of death without regard to the effect on her father.

Paolina was in love with the Roman Proconsul Severo. Believing him dead, she married Poliuto. He is jealous and mistrustful and a convert to Christianity without being aware that his jealousy and pride are "sinful" by their standards.

Severo shows up very much alive and she resists his blandishments. Misled by Callistene, the evil High Priest of Jupiter, Poliuto believes her to be unfaithful and pridefully resists all her claims of innocence.

Nearco, Poliuto's friend and leader of the growing Christian sect of Armenia, refuses to name him to the authorities but the "noble" Poliuto turns himself in, happily martyring himself, looking forward to his salvation in heaven.

Paolino insists on joining him although Severo does everything to prevent her. The martyrs get thrown to the lions.  And that's that.

But what marvelous melodies we heard, conducted by Daniele Tirilli! This is Donizetti at the top of his game. Even the overture offers one beautiful theme after another--an opening mournful one, then an urgent propulsive one, then a lively martial one.  The opening chorus of Christians filled the theater at the Sheen Center with harmonies.

Soprano Sara Beth Pearson made a splendid Paolina, singing with a substantial sound that was also flexible and just right for the fioritura. Her acting skills matched her singing, as she slowly became enchanted with Christianity. We loved her aria "Di quai soave lagrime, aspersa è la mia gota "
Baritone Robert Garner continues to impress us with his full-throated singing and convincing acting. He actually made us feel sympathy for Severo by showing many dimensions to his character. We liked his tender love aria "Di tua beltade imagine è questo sol ch'io miro ".

Tenor Lindell Carter seemed not quite comfortable in the title role, as evidenced by some mugging and wide-eyed staring.

Tenor Michael Celentano made a fine Nearco while tenor Douglas McDonnell handled the small role of Felice with fatherly grace.

Bass Jay Gould made a formidable Callistene, the man we love to hate.

Christians were portrayed by Daniel Kerr, James Stephen Longo, and Ruben Navarro.

The direction by Nathan Hull was straightforward, as we prefer. When the two major players of a company (Mr. Hull and Maestro Tirilli) have sung opera, you can rest assured that the singers will come first. No one was put in a physically or vocally threatening position. This is something we truly appreciate.

Costumes by Amy Leubke were elegant and colorful, appearing appropriate to the period. Simple painted sets by Richard Cerullo served their purpose.

Special mention must be made of the fine chorus who added so much to the proceedings, thanks to Chorus Manager Janet Johnson. The opera contains several choral pieces, often augmenting the ensemble writing at the conclusion of a scene.

We may never get to hear this wonderful piece again and were so happy to have had the opportunity. Thanks Amore Opera for unearthing this buried treasure.

(c) meche kroop

SLEEPING BEAUTY WAKES UP

Anna Noggle, Sara Beth Pearson and Justin Ryan

Most of us grew up with the Disney version of Sleeping Beauty which began as a tale handed down orally for a very long time before being recorded by a succession of chroniclers, with Perrault and Grimm being the most well-known.  It is the Grimm version that Disney used for his classical telling of the tale which is sufficiently "grimm" without Perrault's references to cannibalism and child murder.

As a ballet, the story succeeds brilliantly with an entire act being devoted to the celebration of Aurora's marriage to The Prince and entertainment being provided by various characters from children's literature.  To the best of our knowledge, there has been no operatic treatment....until now when wunderkind Benjamin Perry Wenzelberg undertook to compose an opera meant for families with children.

We have been fortunate to have witnessed the evolution of the work which the young Mr. W. began composing at the age of eleven.  His creativity has not gone unrecognized.  Indeed the work won a 2014 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award and the Charlotte V. Bergen Scholarship prize.  He is this year's National Young Arts Foundation Merit winner in Classical Music Composition.  He has won the affection and support of the Chelsea Opera as well.  We have heard him sing and play piano brilliantly but we sadly missed his conducting debut at age 11 at the Crested Butte Colorado Music Festival.

Last night we heard the entire work performed onstage at the York Theater with Mr. W. conducting from the piano.  Against a painted backdrop of what appears to be Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, a stellar cast brought the work to life.  All that remains is for Mr. W. to finish orchestrating the second act; we wouldn't miss that for the world.

This young artist shares our goal of bringing young people to the opera so they can come to love it as much as he clearly does.  The love emanates from his shining face and enthusiastic body language.

The score is impressive; it is melodic and accessible without being derivative.  In the overture and the prelude to the second act, he makes use of heraldic themes which likely will be orchestrated for brass.  The melody literally jumps when the frog, winningly portrayed by Nicole DeLuca, announces an upcoming pregnancy to the Queen (Sara Beth Pearson) who has a lovely aria with much melismatic singing.  And there is a finely written duet with the King (Justin Ryan) involving some lovely harmonies.

He has also written a wonderful aria for Rosamond the Princess (Kate Oberjat) who can trill with the best of them.  Interestingly, her bel canto vocal line was supported by some pretty energetic and jazzy writing in the piano as she wishes for her prince to come.  Happily, her diction sufficed to make the words understood, even at the top of her register.

There is a drinking song in a tavern in Act II in which Mr. W. showed his skill in complex choral writing.  In the forest scene there is a fine hunting chorus and a gorgeous aria for the Prince.  Dominic Armstrong made a handsome and vocally firm Prince.  There were some light moments of swordplay of sorts as the Prince fought first with an Old Man who tries to prevent him from tackling the bramble covered castle and then an hysterical sword fight with the Evil Wise Woman, his nemesis.

These two opponents wound up being our favorite characters of the evening.  The Old Man was sung by baritone John Hancock whose diction was remarkable.  His aria was a recapitulation of the story up until that time and served to compensate for some not so perfect diction in Act I.

And who was that making the Evil Wise Woman the evilest wise woman ever seen and heard??? None other than star soprano Lauren Flanigan who used every vocal and dramatic asset at her disposal to avenge her being left out of the christening party. (You see, the royal couple possessed only a dozen place settings so she got left out.)

Soprano Anna Noggle created the role of the Last Wise Woman (the good fairy) and used her voice and dramatic skills well to create a beneficent character that did what she could to protect Rosamund from the death spell and to guide the Prince to her chamber.  Her scene competing with Ms. Flanigan for control of the Prince's sword was hilarious.

There are lots of predictions in the story.  The Frog predicts the pregnancy; the Evil Wise Woman predicts the spindle accident; the Last Wise Woman predicts the Big Sleep.  And now we would like to make a prediction.  Benjamin Perry Wenzelberg has a great future in store.  We can't wait to witness it.

(c) meche kroop