ABDUCTED!

Edwin Davis, Brian Michael Moore, Janet Todd, Sarah Mikulski, and Matthew Hernandez

How lucky are we to hear TWO Mozart singspiels on two successive nights.! Our head is just bursting with gorgeous melodies. The youthful Mozart composed Die Entführung aus dem Serail in 1782 when the Ottoman Empire was a source of great interest to the Austrian people and the singspiel was an immediate success.

Last night,  Maestro Thomas Muraco led his Opera Repertoire Ensemble through this charming piece at Manhattan School of Music. He certainly does know his singers; he knew he had the right cast to tackle this comedy which contains two of the most challenging arias in the repertoire.

All of the singing was fine but two performances stood out for their vocal and dramatic excellence. Soprano Janet Todd portrayed Konstanze, an elite Spanish woman who was purchased by Pasha Selim from pirates and installed in his harem. He has not abused her but has been trying to win her love. Everything about Ms. Todd's performance was spot on. Her attack of the elaborate fioritura was sharp as could be but the melting lyricism of the expressive vocal line left nothing to be desired. Although the role is unidimensional, she created a warm character, loyal to her fiancé Belmonte. We held our breath throughout "Martern aller Arten", astonished at her facility.

Bass Edwin Davis impressed us with his portrayal of the comically nasty Osmin, servant to the Pasha. He so immersed himself in the role that it never seemed like acting. It would have been a mesmerizing performance if he had never sung a note; but his booming room-filling voice was marvelously employed to serve the role.  The difficult third act aria "Ha, wie will ich triumphieren" contains some of the lowest notes in the bass repertory and he nailed them.

His duet with Blonde, Konstanze's English maid who was also purchased by the Pasha, was pure delight. It's a bit unusual for both female roles to be written for the same fach; soprano Sarah Mikulski made a most effective Blonde both dramatically and vocally; we enjoyed her sparring with Osmin whom she is rejecting just as successfully as her mistress is rejecting Selim.

Not only are both female characters sopranos but both male characters are tenors. Brian Michael Moore took the role of Belmonte, Kostanze's fiancé who has come to rescue her; Matthew Hernandez performed the role of Belmonte's servant Pedrillo.  What a pleasure to hear healthy young voices sing with clarity. Mr. Moore might improve his performance by not putting so much volume in his upper register.

Pasha Selim, a non-singing role, was performed by Paul Goodwin-Groen who might have better spoken his narration without amplification. At times the microphone was too close or too far from his mouth, leading to drastic changes of volume.

Maestro Muraco and his talented musicians reduced the score for two pianos (Jeremy Chan and Jonathan Heaney) and percussion (Stefano Baldasseroni and Jia Jun Hong). The percussion comprised a bass drum, cymbals, and a triangle in order to reproduce the sounds of a Turkish marching band.

We loved the the overture with its A-B-A-B form. We loved the duet between Osmin and Blonde, which included a lot of feminine retaliation with a broom. We enjoyed  Pedrillo's serenade in Act III and the love duet between Kostanze and Belmonte in which each got to sing the melody while the other held the same note constant. We loved the quartet of reconciliation when the two pairs of lovers forgive each other. We just then realized that all of Mozart's comedies seem to have two pairs of lovers.

We must also put in a good word for the chorus who seemed very well rehearsed.

The set was minimal--just a trio of screens to suggest "the Orient".

Costumes were streetwear for the Europeans and an appropriate turban and vest for Osmin.

There will be another performance tonight. Take advantage! Although the plot is simple, the music is marvelous.

(c) meche kroop

A TALE OF TWO FATHERS

Sarah Mikulski, Joshua Arky, Brian Michael Moore, Young Kwang Yoo, Maestro Thomas Muraco, Yulan Piao, Woo Yong Yoon, Edwin Davis, and Ü Lee

One doesn't generally get to hear a Verdi opera at a music conservatory, but last night we were fortunate enough to hear Luisa Miller at Manhattan School of Music. Presenting a Verdi opera with such a young cast was a risky enterprise but the risk paid off in spades. The evening was a stunning success with first rate musical values.

The opera had its premiere in 1849, thus belonging to the earlier portion of Verdi's "middle period", before his success with Rigoletto. The libretto by Salvadore Cammarano was based on Friedrich von Schiller's play Kabale und Liebe (Intrigue and Love).  It is not part of the standard repertory but we admire it greatly. Like so many operas composed by Verdi, there is a strong emphasis on a father/daughter relationship.

The two fathers could not be more different, but they share one important feature.  Each loves his child and wants the best for him/her. Miller want his daughter to be happy and his only concern is whether the man to whom she pledged her love will be honest and faithful. The Count de Walter wants his son to be privileged and powerful. He has chosen Rodolfo's bride--The Duchess Federica, and will stop at nothing to tear his son away from Luisa, Miller's daughter.

The opera is overflowing with gorgeous melodies. There are arias aplenty and duets for all possible  fach combinations, plus stunning trios and quartets to bring the acts to a close. As the innocent Luisa, soprano Yulan Piao sang with  terrific technique and enough dramatic intensity to get us to care about her character. She has a brilliant instrument and fine Italianate phrasing. The coloratura was so impressive we were thinking "There's a budding Queen of the Night!"

As her lover Rodolfo, Woo Yong Yoon was ardent and used his lyric tenor well, without any of the pushing that bothers us so much in young tenors. His love duets with Ms. Piao were marked by singular harmonic beauty.

As the Duchess that Count de Walter wants his son to marry, mezzo-soprano Ü Lee was resplendent both vocally and dramatically.  Her rich chocolate instrument was employed to great dramatic effect as she created a multi-dimensional character--a woman who has loved Rodolfo since childhood and is suffering a major disappointment that he loves another woman, and yet not at all vengeful toward her rival. The facial expressions and gestures she used as she went through a panoply of emotions were arresting; one could not take one's eyes off her. This gifted artist is also a coach, conductor, pianist, and composer. Additionally she is developing music software.  She is an alumna of MSM, while the other artists are all graduate students.

We were also impressed by baritone Young Kwang Yoo who played Miller, the devoted caring father of Luisa. Their duets were no less fine than those of Gilda and Rigoletto. He has a nice full baritone and an effective stage presence.

As Walter, the sneaky manipulative and threatening father of Rodolfo, bass Joshua Arky showed admirable vocal flexibility for this fach. The only thing that would take his performance to the next level would be some physical flexibility. Even a character we hate has to move around the stage with grace.

As the nasty henchman Wurm, bass Edwin Davis succeeded in creating one of those characters one loves to hate. His bass has a juicier sound than Mr. Arky's and the contrast between the two basses was one of those casting miracles that we love.

Soprano Sarah Mikulski sounded lovely in the small role of Laura and Brian Michael Moore stepped in for an ailing Timothy Lanigan in the other small role of Un Contadino. Please note that the casting for Friday night is different and that Mr. Moore will be singing Rodolfo--ensuring that the experience will be as fine as last night's was.

Maestro Thomas Muraco did a fine job of preparing these young artists for the performance. The maestro conducts with his expressive hands and one can observe him breathing along and silently singing along with them. The score was arranged for two pianos four hands (Jeremy Chan and Jonathan Heaney) with parts taken by the keyboard (Jia Jun Hong doing the organ stuff) and clarinet (Adam Gallob). The melodic lines given to the clarinet were wonderfully played.

The chorus sang well. There was no attempt at costuming or sets. They would have been superfluous. The evening was about the music and we consider it a 100% success. You have one chance to experience this rare treat on Friday night at 7:30, IF you can get tickets. Last night the standby line stretched all the way down the hall. Word must have gotten out!

(c) meche kroop