THE USES OF ENCHANTMENT

 

Emma Ritto, RJ Flud, Noelle Carlson, Maestro Keith Chambers, Director Sarah Beckham Turner, Morena Galan, Jessica DeGennaro, Brooklynn King, and Elizabeth Barsalou

People go to the opera for all kinds of reasons: some consider it an elegant social event, some go to hear famous stars, some go because they love the music.  Having come to opera from the world of theater, we find ourselves happiest when we see a good story amplified by music and brought to life by skilled artists. We love melody and feel alienated by prosy dialogue and non-melodic music. We find ourself favoring operas from the baroque period through the period of realismo with a special affection for bel canto.

Last night, thanks to Manhattan Opera Studio, we got to enjoy one of our favorite operas, Hänsel und Gretel composed by Engelbert Humperdinck and premiered in 1893, conducted by none other than Richard Strauss. Aside from a student production at Manhattan School of Music (with piano accompaniment) which we enjoyed and an overblown production at the Metropolitan Opera which we did not enjoy, Manhattan Opera Studio has been the major presenter of this charming and ultimately satisfying opera.

This is their third mounting of the opera and, in our opinion, the most successful.  For once, all the roles were well cast and the astute direction by Sarah Beckham Turner confirmed our opinion that opera singers make the best directors.. As usual, the conducting of the chamber orchestra by Maestro Keith Chambers was right on point and (perhaps because of the necessarily odd arrangement of the orchestra on the side of this long narrow hall at the National Opera Center) seemed to favor the winds.  We have no complaints on that situation. As a matter of fact, our only complaint of the evening was the projection of titles in an awkward rhyming translation that added nothing, since the story is well known and the singers' German was universally quite good.

We admit that our two prior reviews (available by entering Manhattan Opera Studio in the search bar of this website) were rather detailed on the story of this opera's composition and quite eloquent on the subject of fairytales and Bruno Bettelheim's psychological analysis thereof. We eschew self-plagiarizing and hope, Dear Reader, that you will take advantage of the search bar!

Let us instead focus on the very special performances of the young artists, all of whom we heard in recital recently. It was particularly revealing to see how well they handled their characterizations, abetted by costuming, cosmetics, and fine direction. Performing in a theatrical piece draws on many more talents than singing arias and duets in concert.

The lead roles were taken by mezzo-soprano Morena Galan as Hänsel and soprano Jessica DeGennaro as Gretel. Their voices harmonized beautifully and their interaction reflected an abiding affection as well as sibling rivalry and endearing gender based differences. Not every mezzo soprano is as convincing in a pants role as Ms. Galan and we found ourself touched by the brother-sister interaction.

Brooklynn King was equally convincing as their mother Getrud, portrayed as a basically decent person who was so concerned about the lack of food that she took it out on the children as anger at their laziness. Who hasn't seen a mother punishing her children for her own failures and guilt!

RJ Flud's Father Peter did an excellent job portraying a man drunk with success selling brooms-- and also by a  celebratory stop at the local tavern. Gertrud's hostility melts when she realizes that he has fulfilled his role as provider.

The Gingerbread Witch was brought to vividly wicked life by Noelle Carlson whose facial expressions and body movements went almost over the top. Riding a broom (one perhaps made by Peter?) brought to mind the origins of the myth of the broom-riding witches used to burn witches in the darker ages of Europe.

As the Sandman we saw Elizabeth Barsalou disguised beyond recognition with shaggy white beard and hair.  Emma Ritto made a fine Dew Fairy and injected some sly humor as she tried and tried to wake the sleeping children from their forest slumber. 

The chorus of angels dressed in white did double duty as the children who had been baked into gingerbread cookies by the witch. They comprised Abigail Hite, Tang Li, Lauren D'Ottavio, Andrea Sandor, Erin Hinds, and Abbey Engelmann. In a fine directorial touch, their blank stares melted when they received the human touch of Hänsel and Gretel.

Maestro Chamber's conducting elicited every melodic theme of the score and never neglected the Wagnerian harmonic touches.

In place of sets, there were a few storybook projections above the stage that helped to orient the setting without interfering with the action or storytelling.

Bettelheim's thesis in his book The Uses of Enchantment, posited that fairytales help children to work through their psychological struggles and fears.  Here we have a happy ending to the fear of parental abandonment. Perhaps our adult satisfaction with the opera suggests that adults may still be working through the same fear!

© meche kroop

LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA

Elizabeth Caballero, Kevin Thompson, Lisa Chavez, Luis Ledesma, and Sarah Beckham-Turner on board The Eldorado (Photo by Sarah Shatz)

In 1985, the famous Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez published his novel Love in the Time of Cholera, a brilliant work of magic realism, the themes of which seem to have influenced Daniel Catán's striking opera Florencia en el Amazonas. The opera, with libretto by Catán's student Marcela Fuentes-Berain, was the first Spanish language opera to be commissioned by a major United States opera company; indeed it was a co-commission by the Houston Grand Opera, the Los Angeles Opera, and the Seattle Opera; it premiered in 1996 and it took twenty years to get to New York!

As our readers may have noticed, we love the sound of the Spanish language which "sings" as well as Italian. We can scarcely believe that we were enthralled by a contemporary work but indeed we were. The music is lush and the orchestration lavish, not very far removed from Puccini.  Under the baton of Maestro Dean Williamson, the dense orchestration was given clarity and definition. New York City Opera presented it at the Rose Theater last weekend.

There was not a weak leak in the vocal department nor was there a single dramatic lapse. As the eponymous Florencia, soprano Elizabeth Caballero sang her heart out and was totally believable as a diva traveling incognito to the opera house in Manaus, where she hoped to reconnect with the lost love of her youth, not knowing whether he was dead or alive.

Also on board, for further romantic interest (we eschew modern opera when it is political--we want our operas to be about love) were two couples. Soprano Sarah Beckham-Turner was completely convincing as the young woman who has been taking notes for two years for a book she hopes to write about Florencia. Her focused instrument sailed over the orchestration.

Her potential love interest, the young nephew of the captain, is named Arcadio. He is vaguely unhappy with the tedium of shipboard life and longs to be free to explore the world. Terrific tenor Won Whi Choi inhabited this character perfectly and sympathetically.

In contrast with this young couple who are facing their fears of falling in love and relinquishing their independence, there is a second middle-aged couple suffering from the curdling of their love.  Paula (marvelous mezzo Lisa Chavez) and Alvaro (the gifted Mexican baritone Luis Ledesma) are painfully embattled, bickering over everything. It is only when he is washed overboard during a storm that she realizes that pride has overwhelmed her love for him.

Unlike the dissatisfied Arcadio, the captain of the Eldorado, strongly sung and played by bass Kevin Thompson, is thoroughly content with his lot in life, plying the waters of the Amazon. He represents stability and the world of reality.

The mystical world is represented by bass-baritone Philip Cokorinos, in the role of Riolobo (river wolf). His singing was superb but he was visually more believable as the sturdy first mate than as a spiritual being. His appearance as a butterfly was, well, kinda strange.

The last character of the opera was not sung.  It was the Amazon itself and well represented by the orchestra.  It gives life and it takes life.  The orchestra did a fine job of creating a wilderness of birdsong and waters that can be peaceful or churning. The latter was abetted by the agile dancers of Ballet Hispanico's BHdos who tumbled artistically in front of and below the stage proper.

This production originated from Nashville Opera, conceived by John Hoomes, who directed, with Barry Steele (Video and Lighting Designer) and Cara Schneider (Set Designer); it was bursting with creativity. Contributing enormously to its success were the effective rear projections; it made us feel as if we too were traveling on the riverboat with scenery passing by.  The shallow stage of the Rose Theater served well as the deck of the boat with ropes strung across and a captain's wheel.

When Florencia is alone in her cabin during the storm, we experienced the claustrophobia as well. Although magic realism lends itself more to the medium of the novel, the projections provided sufficient visual metaphors to realize the intentions of the story.  At the end, Florencia is transformed into a butterfly joining her beloved Cristóbal, a butterfly collector.

Ildikó Debreczeni's costumes were appropriate to the early 20th c. and quite lovely.

Some vocal highlights included not only Ms. Caballero's moving arias but the duets between Ms. Beckham-Turner and Mr. Choi. The point of the story seems to be that Florencia sacrificed her love for the sake of fame but came to realize that this love was the wellspring of her success. Hopefully, Rosalba and Arcadio will allow their love to blossom and find sustenance therefrom.

If you have read this far, we would like to share with you a linguistic point that you might have missed if you are not Spanish speaking.  Just as the boat approaches Manaus, the passengers cannot disembark for Florencia's recital because the city has been stricken by the fatal cholera.  The word "cólera" represents not just a disease but also means "passion, ire, anger". We believe that the librettist, as well as García Márquez, was making a point about love that endures for decades.  Please let us know what you think.

(c) meche kroop

LOTNY--Not so little

Little Opera Theatre of New York

In celebration of Carlisle Floyd's 90th birthday, LOTNY presented an evening of scenes from several of his works at the DiMenna Center last night; this presentation was part of New York Opera Fest's two-month-long festival featuring members of the New York Opera Alliance.

Although our 19th c. ears may never be completely able to wrap themselves around Mr. Floyd's 20th c. musical idiom, it would have taken a hurricane to keep us from hearing some of our favorite young singers make musical sense out of his work. Although his operas have been called accessible, our ears are often left hungry for melody. We had enjoyed a double feature of his operas last season and had loved the way they were staged and performed by LOTNY.

That the capacious performing space was packed is testament to the fact that there are many New Yorkers who find substantial nourishment in Floyd's music.

A special treat, one for which we were unprepared, was the presentation of scenes from his freshly composed opera Prince of Players in which he tackles the tale of the secret love affair between Villiers, Duke of Buckingham (tenor John Kaneklides) and actor Edward Kynaston (baritone Michael Kelly). The action takes place during the Restoration, when Charles II sat on the English throne and ended the careers of actors who had customarily portrayed women onstage. Good for women, bad for the guys.

If we have heard two singers creating more electricity together than Mr. Kelly and Mr. Kaneklides we can not recall it. The scene in which Villiers ends the relationship with Kynaston was heartbreaking and so was the scene in which Kynaston's dresser (soprano Sarah Beckham-Turner) comforts the injured actor. All three voices were excellent and the music seemed more lyrical than that of Mr. Floyd's previous operas.

The choice of material resonated more with us than that of Mr. Floyd's post-WWII opera Slow Dusk because somehow there seems to be a disjunction between the genre of opera and the plain home-spun country dialect of the libretto.  Puccini, Mascagni, and Leoncavallo got away with verismo; perhaps everything just sounds better in Italian.

Which brings us to that old bugaboo-- English diction. The higher the tessitura in English, the more difficult it seems to understand the language, putting sopranos and tenors at a distinct disadvantage, although the tenors on the program were perfectly understandable.

Ms. Beckham-Turner shared the role of young Sadie in Slow Dusk with Carolina Castells. Both sopranos sounded just fine, diction aside, with the bright focused voice of the former best suited to the ingenue quality of the first selection and the wider richer tone of the latter best suited to the tragic dimension.

Mezzo-sopranos Janice Meyerson and Jennifer Roderer shared the role of Aunt Sue with tenor Bray Wilkins performing Micah and baritone Robert Balonek reprising his role as Jess. Director Philip Shneidman, founder of LOTNY, did an excellent job of creating theatrical meaning without benefit of sets or costumes.

Also recalled from the double bill was Floyd's Markheim (1966), another good choice of theatrical material--a battle of wills between a desperate wastrel (bass Tyler Putnam, whom we admired so much in Santa Fe) and a steadfast pawnbroker (tenor Scott Six) that one just knows will not end well. The second scene was even more riveting when tenor Marc Schreiner appeared as the Stranger (maybe the devil?).

There were also selections from Floyd's 1980 political opera Willie Stark with baritone Ron Loyd delivering a powerful and persuasive aria about the law which is "like a single bed blanket".

The program closed with a selection from Of Mice and Men from 1969 with Mr. Balonek portraying the much put-upon but tolerant George with fine resonance and lucidity, and Mr. Six giving a convincing and moving performance as the mentally handicapped Lennie. They had a fine rapport in this moving scene.

Accompaniment was provided by Music Director Richard Cordova and Associate Music Director Catherine Miller.  The performing space, while generous in size, suffers from overly active acoustics and the piano sounded louder than it should have, at times threatening to drown out the singers.

Mr. Lloyd's most famous opera Susannah was not represented. Nonetheless, we left the performance feeling a bit more at ease with Mr. Lloyd's music than we felt when we arrived, thanks to the excellent work of the singers.

(c) meche kroop

NYOE GETS LUCIA RIGHT

Adam Fieldson, John Viscardi, Sarah Beckham-Turner, Alden Gatt, Joseph Michael Brent and Antoine Hodge

Lucia di Lammermoor is a sensational opera.  Onto Salvadore Cammarano's libretto, Gaetano Donizetti lavished endlessly glorious melodies.  It is so precious to us that we doubly value a company that does it justice and would malign one that trivializes it in any way.  We are delighted to report that New York Opera Exchange has gotten it right and if you are fortunate enough to snag one of the few remaining tickets for today's matinee, you will probably send us flowers or chocolate in gratitude for the tip.

The success of the opera rests heavily on the shoulders of the eponymous tragic heroine whose mad scene is one of the finest in all operadom.  Last night, soprano Sarah Beckham-Turner tore into the demanding coloratura of the scena with wild abandon.  She was completely convincing as a fragile creature completely unhinged by the machinations and manipulations of her politically desperate brother.  Her gown spattered with blood and her hair undone, she immersed herself totally in the role. Every gesture and flight of fioritura was spot on. Who could ask for anything more! This young woman will surely go places in the opera world.

As said conniving brother, baritone John Viscardi was superb. His recent switch of fach from tenor to lyric baritone was a wise one.  His voice sat comfortably in this range, enabling him to focus on a well-rounded interpretation of the role of Enrico, far better than the nasty sneering interpretation we are accustomed to hearing.  He seemed like a fairly decent fellow who was pushed by circumstances into doing bad things.  His remorse in witnessing his sister's downfall seemed authentic and allowed the audience to have some pity for his position.

As Lucia's ill-fated lover Edgardo, tenor Joseph Michael Brent sang well and exhibited all the requisite emotions except for one; we wanted to see some tenderness toward Lucia in their initial scene together to explain why she would have defied her family to pledge her love to him.  He did much better in the scene in which he returns from France to find Lucia married to Arturo and bristled with anger. 

Bass-baritone Antoine Hodge was the voice of normality in this power-crazed family, giving substance to the role of Raimondo, the family's spiritual counselor.  Captain of the Guard Normanno was the character who set the tragedy in motion by spying on Lucia's encounters with Edgardo and then egging on the brother Enrico.  Tenor Adam Fieldson overcame the natural sweetness of his instrument and lent sneering arrogance to the part.

The role of Arturo was finely sung by tenor Vincent Festa and mezzo-soprano Chelsea Laggan did well as Alisa, Lucia's companion who warns her to stay away from Edgardo of Ravenswood, enemy of her clan, the Lammermoors.

Conductor Alden Gatt deftly led the full orchestra through their paces. There was some fine work during the mad scene by flutist Felipe Tristan, and the wind chorales which opened several scenes were powerful.  A keyboard sufficed for the harp.There were a few times when the size of the orchestra overpowered the singers, likely due to their placement on the same level as the audience.

The effective direction was by Christopher Diercksen; the pace was kept up and the story moved along briskly.  There was no set to speak of but it wasn't missed.  Taylor Mills' costuming was minimal.  Street clothes seemed to be the order of the day with motley plaid sashes on some of the cast members. We would have liked to see all the men wearing the same plaid to indicate membership in the same clan, with Edgardo wearing a different plaid.  This would have emphasized the substance of the tragedy--the destructiveness of rivalry with and hatred of "the other", a feature that still exists in many parts of the world.

We wish to counteract the claim that "opera is dying" with the observation that opera is alive and well in the hands of small companies like New York Opera Exchange which rely on talent rather than "big names".  We similarly wish to counteract the claim that "opera is for old folks" with the observation that the packed house at The Church of the Covenant on 42nd St. comprised mostly 20-somethings.

We are already anticipating NY Opera Exchange's production of Carmen in May.

(c) meche kroop