IL BELLISSIMO BELLINI

Angela Meade

Santiago Ballerini

What a superb farewell for the "Bel Canto at Caramoor"' program.  After twenty years of bel canto, the opera program at this beautiful Venetian estate will revert to its original mission of presenting opera from many different traditions and to continue training and fostering the development of young singers through its Schwab Vocal Rising Stars program; Maestro Will Crutchfield will move his Bel Canto program to the nearby Performing Arts Center at SUNY Purchase. The new program will be called Teatro Nuovo and we will keep our readers informed as details become available.

The glorious farewell piece was Vincenzo Bellini's third opera Il Pirata. Inspired by Mozart and admired by Wagner, Donizetti, and Chopin, Bellini was a child prodigy trained at the conservatory in Naples. He came from a family of musicians and attended by virtue of a scholarship.

The head of the school gave him a valuable lesson that we wish the composers of today would heed.  To paraphrase, if you don't master melody, you will wind up as a church organist in some small town. This must have stung since that pretty much described Bellini's family!

Fortunately, young Vincenzo heeded the advice and became known for his melodic gifts.  It seems to us that he spun out long silken melodies like a silkworm whereas Rossini's melodies tumble out helter skelter. If his brilliant fioritura is reserved for moments of heightened passion, it permits long lyric lines to unspool at leisure.

So it was with Il Pirata, so magnificently performed by some major stars with Maestro Crutchfield conducting the Orchestra of St. Luke's. Soprano Angela Meade, about whom we have written before, needs no introduction. She is a confirmed superstar with a luxurious sound that sets the air to vibrating and a generous palette of vocal colors. Her coloratura in the final mad scene drove the audience wild with appreciation.

On the other hand, Argentinean tenor Santiago Ballerini just appeared on our event horizon but we recognize a star when we hear one. His physical stature is on the slight side but his vocal stature towers over most of the tenors we have recently heard. Not yet thirty years old, he has created a sensation in South America and is just achieving recognition in the United States.

The timbre of his voice is hugely appealing and he does not push or oversing. He possesses a stunning messa di voce and manages to float the high notes without apparent effort. We consider ourself a fan.

The opera itself does not have the most interesting libretto but Felice Romani worked exceptionally well with Bellini and the poetry of the text is outstanding, especially as married to Bellini's gorgeous melodies.

The story concerns two rivals for political supremacy and for the love of a woman. Gualtiero, the Count of Montalto (Mr. Ballerini) had been defeated by Ernesto, the Duke of Caldora (bass Harold Wilson) and lost everything except for his love for Imogene (Ms. Meade) who was obliged to wed Caldora to save her father's life. That's the backstory.

When the opera opens, Gualtiero is a pirate and he is losing his ship. This is recounted by the superb chorus, comprising the Bel Canto Young Artists who performed magnificently throughout the opera.

In the subsequent two acts he and Imogene recognize one another and realize that their love will never be consummated. The two men duel. The Duke dies. The Count turns himself in and is executed. Imogene goes mad.

Not much of a story but this was only 1827 and the beginning of the Romantic period of opera. Since the opera was semi-staged there was no ship and no shipwreck, just a lot of fantastic singing--not only arias but some impressive duets, trios, and ensembles.

We were particularly happy to hear tenor Sean Christensen, one of Caramoor's Young Artists in the substantial role of Itulbo, Gualtiero's lieutenant. We have been writing about Mr. Christensen's pleasing tenor for some time now and admired his growth as an artist.

As Goffredo, Gualtiero's former tutor, bass-baritone Joseph Beutel (well remembered from Santa Fe Opera) made a fine showing as well.  And soprano Robyn Marie Lamp excelled in the role of Adele, Imogene's companion, a more generous role than that usually given to companions.

It was a splendid evening and a genuine pleasure to hear such grand voices all onstage together. As Caramoor's operatic interest will expand to include different orchestras and conductors and Teatro Nuovo will continue to present bel canto masterpieces, there will be a strong impetus to pull this city girl upcountry! Caramoor's 2018 offering will be Handel's Atalanta.

We wish both programs well as we reflect on all the wonderful singing we have heard at Caramoor and all the special artists to whom we have been introduced.

(c) meche kroop

BARE SHARES

Sean Christensen, Colin Whiteman, Kristina Bachrach, Kirsten Scott, and Inbar Goldmann

It was a night of sharing. The Lyric Chamber Music Society of New York and Bare Opera Company joined forces and audiences to present a compelling evening of arias at the beautiful Kosciuszko Foundation townhouse on the Upper East Side. The singers shared their gifts and the audience shared their applause. And at the conclusion, artists and audience shared a lovely repast.

Bare Opera is barely two years old and we've written about them several times. They present innovative versions of operas in unusual venues. A new audience is drawn by the quality of their work, the intimacy of the productions, and the artistry of their singers. Music Director Laetitia Ruccolo was one of the founders and did an exemplary job of accompanying the singers.

Most of their regular singers are known to us and highly valued. Lest we show favoritism, let us describe the program in sequence. Almost the entire ensemble was introduced in the lively "Bevo al tuo fresco sorriso" from Puccini's La Rondine.

"Aprite, presto aprite" from Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro gave soprano Kristina Bachrach's Susanna the opportunity to chase Kirsten Scott's Cherubino around the playing area, to the audience's amusement. This is a wonderful scene to introduce newbies to the opera and we suspect there were a few newbies in the audience.

Star soprano Larisa Martinez performed the soulful "La Maja y el Ruisenor" whilst Ms. Ruccolo provided plenty of Latin flavor from the piano. It was indeed a chorus of nightingales, one vocal and one instrumental.

Ms. Scott returned as the bratty boy of Maurice Ravel's L'enfant et les Sortileges, which was Bare Opera's first production. The superb lyric tenor Sean Christensen portrayed the Chinese Teapot with mezzo Inbar Goldmann reprising her role as the Chinese Teacup; they were very funny. Kristina Bachrach also reprised her role as the forlorn Princesse who confronts that bad boy with the consequences of his bad behavior.

Tenor Sungwook Kim sang the well known "Una furtiva lagrima" from Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore.

The very humorous scene from Mozart's Die Zauberflote brought onstage the Three Ladies--Ms. Bachrach, Ms. Goldmann and Ms. Scott, to take the lock off Papageno's mouth and to present him and Tamino with the Magic Flute and Magic Bells. Bass-baritone Colin Whiteman made a perfect Papageno whilst Mr. Christensen made a terrific Tamino.

From Rossini's first opera, recently presented by Bare Opera, Ms. Scott and Mr. Whiteman reprised their roles as servants Clarina and Norton. What a joy to be reminded of that delightful production.

You, dear readers, will be the first to know that Die Zauberflote will be given a highly original production by Bare Opera in a highly unusual venue--on June 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. We just heard coloratura soprano Yungee Rhie sing "Der Holle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen" and you will not want to miss her fabulous fireworks!

Ms. Martinez gave a sparkling account of "Je veux vivre" from Gounod's Romeo et Juliette, and was joined by her romantic Romeo Mr. Christensen for "Ange adorable". If that didn't melt your heart, you must have a stone in your chest!

The gorgeous trio from Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, "Soave sia il vento" was harmonized beautifully by Mr. Whiteman as Don Alfonso, Ms. Martinez as Fiordiligi, and Ms. Scott as Dorabella.

The program closed with "Arpa gentil" from Rossini's Il Viaggio a Reims. In this scene, all the characters are mesmerized and entranced by the offstage voice of Corinna (Ms. Martinez).  Guess who else was mesmerized and entranced!

There were two lovely touches to the evening. One was that the cast members alternated in introducing each upcoming aria with a description of what was happening. No newbie could have felt left in the dark.

The other touch was that the women's gowns were provided by Shoperatic, the Opera Diva Dress Collection, which we believe recycles gowns for opera singers.  What a great idea!

We would not be at all surprised if some of the chamber music lovers in the audience have become opera lovers. All it takes is an evening of good performances.

We have the upcoming Die Zauberflote on our calendar already. And so should you.

We would also like to share one more idea with you. If you are inclined to rebel against the upcoming cuts to the NEA, do make a donation to this excellent young company...www.bareopera.org/donate.
If the arts are to survive, it is up to US.

(c) meche kroop

VIOLETTA AND HER SISTERS--by Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble

Sean Christensen as Des Grieux and Nick Webb as his father in Massenet's Manon
(photo by Mark Baker)

Bonnie Frauenthal as Violetta embraced by Jose Heredia as Alfredo in Verdi's La Traviata (photo by Mark Baker)

Scene from Leoncavallo's La Bohème (photo by Mark Baker)

Scene from Puccini's La Rondine (photo by Mark Baker)

Every August we hurry back from Santa Fe to enjoy Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble's season, which always offers fresh delights. The theme of this year's season was "Violetta and her Sisters", comprising a selection of operas, the heroines of which were members of the demimonde. A very fine program note by Director Victoria Crutchfield provided new insights into the subculture of these women. It is happily left to the audience to ponder whether such women exist in 21st c. America.

Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble serves young artists by bridging the gap between academic training and a successful career; participants receive coaching, master classes, and performance opportunities. They serve the opera loving public by providing low cost high quality performances. One gets to see the stars of tomorrow at the early stages of their careers.

Verdi's La Traviata was given a highly moving production, thanks to some wonderful performances. As Violetta, soprano Bonnie Frauenthal sang and acted as beautifully as one might wish; right from the "Sempre libera" of Act I, we knew she was right for the part.

As her young respectable lover, tenor Jose Heredia pulled his performance from a very deep place.  He seemed to live the role, rather than act it; his pure voice has a lovely tonal quality. We particularly enjoyed his "De', miei bollenti spiriti".

Mezzo-soprano Hillary Grobe was an impressive Flora and soprano Ileana Santamaria made a fine Annina.  Violetta's patron Barone Douphol was portrayed by the versatile baritone Nobuki Momma with Boris Teodoro as the Marchese d'Obigny and Kofi Hayford as the good Dottor Grenvil.

Christopher Lilley sang the role of Gastone who sets the plot moving by introducing Alfredo to Violetta. Jeremiah Johnson brought very little to the role of Giorgio Germont, Alfredo's father, delivering an unattractive sound and no variation of color.

Famous baritone Kyle Pfortmiller directed; we especially enjoyed his staging of the party scenes. John Spencer IV conducted the Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble Festival Orchestra in a fine reduction suitable for the score of musicians. We appreciated Mary Ellen Stebbins lighting design in the final act when imaginary drapes are opened and dawn lights up the set.

Violetta happens to be one of our favorite characters in opera and Manon is one of our least favorite. Violetta has character and dignity. Manon is just a selfish manipulative tramp who destroys those around her.  In this production, directed by Victoria Crutchfield, we see her as the materialistic slut she really is.

Even in Act I, as portrayed by soprano Olivia Betzen, she does not seem to be all that innocent. Apparently her family is shipping her off to a convent for some very good reasons.

Her admiration of the three  glamorous "kept women" and her flirtation with the arrogant Guillot Montfortaine (superbly portrayed by Andrew Surrena) plus her stealing of the coach give us ample indication of her lack of character. One can dislike the character and admire the performance, which we did, especially her "Adieu, notre petite table". 

As the foolish Des Grieux, Sean Christensen handed in a stellar performance. The tessitura is high but he rose to the challenge, singing with pure tone, lovely phrasing, and impeccable French diction. The sincerity of his acting had us feeling very sorry for the character.

Baritone Nick Webb was superb as his severe father who was just as critical of his involvement with the church as he was of his son's involvement with Manon.

We did not care for the Lescaut of baritone Stan Lacy whose harsh voice lacked variety of color. The versatile Mr. Momma made a slimy Brétigny who joined forces with Lescaut to pry the all-too-willing Manon from the arms of Des Grieux.

We very much enjoyed the performances of the three "actresses"--Kristina Malinauskaite as Poussette, Perri Sussman as Javotte, and Hillary Grobe as Rosette.

Chris Fecteau himself wielded the baton, guiding the Festival Orchestra through Massenet's gorgeous melodic score. Anyone possessing a pair of ears could not help but leave humming the several tunes that wove the score together.

A third evening paired Act I from Puccini's reasonably well known La Rondine with Act I and Act IV  of Leoncavallo's forgotten La Bohème.  Director Brittany Goodwin staged the Puccini work in the 1960's, which worked surprisingly well.

Soprano Rebecca Richardson sang the role of Magda, a woman supported in high style by the grumpy but generous Rambaldo (Mr. Momma again!) but eager for a new experience with the young Ruggero (Mr. Christensen again). We enjoyed her recapitulation of the aria "Chi il bel sogno di Doretta", introduced by the poet Prunier (Douglas Sabo).

Emily Hughes shone in the role of Lisette, Magda's personal maid, who amusingly helps herself to Magda's attire. Her scene with the contemptuous Prunier criticizing her taste was amusing.

Magda's three friends, in full hippie regalia, were pure delight. Yvette was sung by Zoe Hart, Bianca by Taylor Kirk, and Suzy by Sophia Mortensen.

The surprise of the season was Leoncavallo's version of the same Henri Murger stories we know from the Puccini work. Leoncavallo wrote his own libretto whereas Puccini employed the services of Illica and Giacosa. Although the music is wonderful, the libretto may have been responsible for the failure of the Leoncavallo work to survive.

The characters are pretty much the same, although Marcello has been assigned the lead role in the tenor fach. In Act II, Marcello gets a wonderful aria "Io non ho che una povera stanzetta" which was recorded by Enrico Caruso but not heard on this particular night.

Jose Heredia made a fine Marcello with the lovely Magda Gartner as his girlfriend Musetta. Jay Chacon sang the baritone role of Rodolfo with soprano Ileana Santamaria singing beautifully as Mimi. Mr. Momma portrayed Schaunard who, in this version, has a clingy girlfriend Eufemia (mezzo-soprano Nicholle Bittlingmeyer) whom he treats dismissively. Colline was sung by Bert Boone.

Direction was by Joule Voelz. This is the first season for the Opera Leaders Mentorship Program in which young stage directors, designers, conductors and pianists get expert guidance on the job.

All participants in the program leave with something of value. The singers have at least one new role "under their belt" and many of them have several. This surely enhances their employability.

And members of the audience appear to be enjoying themselves enormously as evidenced by the standing ovations.  These were evenings well spent!

(c) meche kroop

LA CLEMENZA D'IL BARBIERE AT CARAMOOR

Sean Christensen, Thomas Lynch, Tamara Mumford and Georgia Jarman in Rossini's Aureliano in Palmira

Upon hearing the overture to Rossini's Aureliano in Palmira, one might be forgiven for believing that one had mistakenly wandered into a production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia. At the age of 20, Rossini had already composed nearly a dozen operas and in this long-forgotten one, we hear the young master literally bursting with melodic invention and injecting romantic notions into moribund classical forms and themes.

Due to a number of problematic issues, the 1813 production amounted to a stillbirth with body parts harvested for future operas. Il Barbiere di Siviglia would not be composed for another 3 years with Aureliano's music repurposed; the autograph version of Aureliano in Palmira was lost. There was no authoritative score extant--until now, when Caramoor's Director of Opera, Maestro Will Crutchfield, accepted the invitation of Pesaro's Rossini Foundation and laboriously reconstructed a version of the score, restoring all the original music. We are not at all surprised that this version won first place for 'Best Rediscovered Work' at the 2016 International Opera Awards in London.

None of this history means anything unless the results are both artistic and entertaining. Thanks to Caramoor's sensational casting decisions and Rossini's magnificent music, the nearly four-hour semi-staged production seemed to fly by. The libretto by the equally young Felice Romani relates a very simple story. Roman Emperor Aureliano does battle with Palmyran Princess Zenobia who is assisted by her loyal lover Arsace, Prince of Persia.

The Romans keep winning and Aureliano, who has fallen in love with the warrior princess Zenobia, suffers from ambivalence. He wants to win Zenobia and push Arsace out of the picture; he wants also to punish the rebellious pair; but he also admires their steadfastness and eventually forgives them in a magnanimous gesture.

An amicable solution is found. They will be free to continue their relationship and to rule if they swear allegiance to Rome. So we have neither comedy nor tragedy but an opera seria with a happy ending. There is no onstage action, just a musical exploration of the characters' feelings.

In this production it was the consummate artistry of the singers that successfully conveyed the emotional nature of the characters. An uncredited lighting designer flooded the backdrop with colors that suited the emotions being expressed. It was simple but effective.

As Zenobia, Georgia Jarman, a soprano whom we greatly enjoyed at the Santa Fe Opera as Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto, handled this difficult role with ease. Gilda is an ingenue but Zenobia is a warrior; she must convey great strength in the role, but also tenderness in her divine duets with Arsace. Her facility with vocal coloring was matched by the force of her sound and the accuracy of her phrasing and embellishments.

Mezzo-soprano Tamara Mumford, whom we so highly praised as Smeaton in Anna Bolena at the Metropolitan Opera, made a superb showing as Arsace. The role was written for a famous castrato of that time and we are happy to report that Ms. Mumford appeared to have made no sacrifices, anatomic or artistic. Her burnt umber timbre made her completely convincing and the involvement with which she approached the role was stunning.  She too brought out all the subtle refinements of color in her character--different colors for the lover and the warrior.  Her prolonged second act aria offered more fireworks than Independence Day.

Tenor Andrew Owens, heretofore unknown to us, handled the role of Aureliano well enough, but if we had to place him as either lover or warrior, the timbre of his voice leans more toward that of a tender lover.  Of course, the way his character is written, he is not given to raging and fuming. In any case, he produced a sweet sound!

Regular readers know by now how much we love duets and this work has a plethora of stirring duets, both confrontational and romantic. The romantic duets between Zenobia and Arsace could melt the coldest heart! And their mutual devotion in fact succeeded in melting the heart of Aureliano.

Paving the way for Verdi was Rossini's luxurious choral writing.  Members of the Caramoor Bel Canto Young Artists and Apprentices sounded sensational whether they were priests praying (to the tune of Fiorello's serenade of Rosina) or shepherds and shepherdesses sheltering Arsace when he escaped from prison. Props to Chorus Master Derrick Goff.

Three young artists excelled in small roles. Tenor Sean Christensen sang beautifully as Oraspe, the Palmyran General. We have been writing about Mr. Christensen for a couple of years and are so pleased by his artistic growth.  It has been slightly over a year since we reviewed Xiaomeng Zhang Master's Degree Recital at Manhattan School of Music and it delighted us to witness his excellent performance as Licinio, a Roman tribune.

New to us were mezzo-soprano Chrystal E. Williams who made a successful appearance as Publia, a Roman noblewoman crushing on Arsace and baritone Thomas Lynch who made a fine High Priest of Palmyra. Now that we've heard them we will surely be looking forward to future opportunities.

We also spotted some young artists in the chorus whom we have heard and enjoyed onstage in New York City.  Mezzo-soprano Madison Marie McIntosh is lovely in so many roles, and was recently heard in Beethoven's Fidelio as Marzelline, with the New Amsterdam Opera; and Alison Cheeseman made a lovely lead in Massenet's Cendrillon at Utopia Opera. How exciting to see them onstage in the chorus.

Maestro Crutchfield conducted as if he'd written the work himself which is understandable, considering his personal involvement. We could not find the names of the instrumentalists in the program but were impressed by the harpsichordist, the first violin who had an excellent solo, and some fine sounding horns.

What a wonderful gift Mr. Crutchfield gave to the opera world, discovering and refurbishing a memorable masterpiece that Rossini himself probably forgot.

(c) meche kroop

LA CLEMENZA D'IL BARBIERE

Sean Christensen, Thomas Lynch, Tamara Mumford and Georgia Jarman in Rossini's Aureliano in Palmira

Upon hearing the overture to Rossini's Aureliano in Palmira, one might be forgiven for believing that one had mistakenly wandered into a production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia. At the age of 20, Rossini had already composed nearly a dozen operas and in this long-forgotten one, we hear the young master literally bursting with melodic invention and injecting romantic notions into moribund classical forms and themes.

Due to a number of problematic issues, the 1813 production amounted to a stillbirth with body parts harvested for future operas. Il Barbiere di Siviglia would not be composed for another 3 years with Aureliano's music repurposed; the autograph version of Aureliano in Palmira was lost. There was no authoritative score extant--until now, when Caramoor's Director of Opera, Maestro Will Crutchfield, accepted the invitation of Pesaro's Rossini Foundation and laboriously reconstructed a version of the score with all the original music. We are not at all surprised that this version won first place for 'Best Rediscovered Work' at the 2016 International Opera Awards in London.

None of this history means anything unless the results are both artistic and entertaining. Thanks to sensational casting decisions and Rossini's magnificent music, the nearly four-hour semi-staged production flew by. The libretto by the equally young Felice Romani relates a very simple story. Roman Emperor Aureliano does battle with Palmyran Princess Zenobia who is assisted by her loyal lover Arsace, Prince of Persia.

The Romans keep winning and Aureliano, who has fallen in love with the warrior princess Zenobia, suffers from ambivalence. He wants to win Zenobia and push Arsace out of the picture; he wants also to punish the rebellious pair; but he also admires their steadfastness and eventually forgives them in a magnanimous gesture.

An amicable solution is found. They will be free to continue their relationship and to rule if they swear allegiance to Rome. So we have neither comedy nor tragedy but an opera seria with a happy ending. There is no onstage action, just a musical exploration of the characters' feelings.

In this production it was the consummate artistry of the singers that successfully conveyed the emotional nature of the characters. An uncredited lighting designer flooded the backdrop with colors that suited the emotions being expressed. It was simple but effective.

As Zenobia, Georgia Jarman, a soprano whom we greatly enjoyed at the Santa Fe Opera as Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto, handled this difficult role with ease. Gilda is an ingenue but Zenobia is a warrior; she must convey great strength in the role, but also tenderness in her divine duets with Arsace. Her facility with vocal coloring was matched by the force of her sound and the accuracy of her phrasing and embellishments.

Mezzo-soprano Tamara Mumford, whom we so highly praised as Smeaton in Anna Bolena at the Metropolitan Opera, made a superb showing as Arsace. The role was written for a famous castrato of that time and we are happy to report that Ms. Mumford appeared to have made no sacrifices, anatomic or artistic. Her burnt umber timbre made her completely convincing and the involvement with which she approached the role was stunning.  She too brought out all the subtle refinements of color in her character--different colors for the lover and the warrior.  Her prolonged second act aria offered more fireworks than Independence Day.

Tenor Andrew Owens, heretofore unknown to us, handled the role of Aureliano well enough, but if we had to place him as either lover or warrior, the timbre of his voice leans more toward that of a tender lover.  Of course, the way his character is written, he is not given to raging and fuming. In any case, he produced a sweet sound!

Regular readers know by now how much we love duets and this work has a plethora of stirring duets, both confrontational and romantic. The romantic duets between Zenobia and Arsace could melt the coldest heart! And their mutual devotion in fact succeeded in melting the heart of Aureliano.

Paving the way for Verdi was Rossini's luxurious choral writing.  Members of the Caramoor Bel Canto Young Artists and Apprentices sounded sensational whether they were priests praying (to the tune of Fiorello's serenade of Rosina) or shepherds and shepherdesses sheltering Arsace when he escaped from prison. Props to Chorus Master Derrick Goff.

Three young artists excelled in small roles. Tenor Sean Christensen sang beautifully as Oraspe, the Palmyran General. We have been writing about Mr. Christensen for a couple of years and are so pleased by his artistic growth.  It has been slightly over a year since we reviewed Xiaomeng Zhang Master's Degree Recital at Manhattan School of Music and it delighted us to witness his excellent performance as Licinio, a Roman tribune.

New to us were mezzo-soprano Chrystal E. Williams who made a successful appearance as Publia, a Roman noblewoman crushing on Arsace and baritone Thomas Lynch who made a fine High Priest of Palmyra. Now that we've heard them we will surely be looking forward to future opportunities.

We also spotted some young artists in the chorus whom we have heard and enjoyed onstage in New York City.  Mezzo-soprano Madison Marie McIntosh is lovely in so many roles, and was recently heard in Beethoven's Fidelio as Marzelline, with the New Amsterdam Opera; and Alison Cheeseman made a lovely lead in Massenet's Cendrillon at Utopia Opera. How exciting to see them onstage in the chorus.

Maestro Crutchfield conducted as if he'd written the work himself which is understandable, considering his personal involvement. We could not find the names of the instrumentalists in the program but were impressed by the harpsichordist, the first violin who had an excellent solo, and some fine sounding horns.

What a wonderful gift Mr. Crutchfield gave to the opera world, discovering and refurbishing a memorable masterpiece that Rossini himself probably forgot.

(c) meche kroop

GOYESCAS

The cast of Bare Operas' Goyescas

Enrique Granados' "opera" Goyescas has lain dormant for a century, just like Sleeping Beauty. We put opera in quotes because the way we experienced it was as a dance/ song/ theater piece. The marvelous music pulls it all together. Maestro Sesto Quatrini himself did the arrangement for his 14 piece orchestra which played Granados' music as beautifully as one might hope for.  Music Director Laetitia Ruccolo really knows the piano, the instrument for which the music was originally written.

Granados was inspired by the paintings of Francisco Goya who depicted the bohemians of the 18th c.  --the  majos and majas of Madrid.  Librettist Fernando Periquet y Zuaznabar was obliged to fit the text to the melodies of Granados' previously written suite for piano.

The story is a simple one. One of the majos, the bullfighter Paquito, flirts with Rosario a woman of the upper classes, angering his girlfriend Pepa and enraging Rosario's high-born boyfriend Fernando. Fernando will let Rosario attend their dance but only if he comes as her protector. At the dance, the intrusion is resented and insults are exchanged. Paquito and Fernando fight; Fernando dies in Rosario's arms.

This is not the frothy plot of a zarzuela; it reminded us of how many operas have men killing each other, or at least threatening each other, over a flirtatious woman. Eugene Onegin comes to mind and Cavalleria Rusticana, among several others. We are here dealing with more than simple jealousy, however, since class issues are involved.  We wondered what would happen today if some Wall Street types crashed a party in the projects.

The four leads came across rather well with the standout being tenor Sean Christensen who sang with a full-throated tenor, much enlarged since we last heard him sing. Furthermore he seemed every inch an aristocrat, sneering disdainfully at the punk/majos.

Soprano Lauren Yokabaskas sang the role of Rosario and sang it well; she convinced us that she loved Fernando, even if she didn't convince him!  What was missing was an understanding of why and how she was flirting with Paquito or why she even wanted to attend the party. But the librettist didn't give us anything to go on. She was lovely in the wistful aria about the nightingale in the third scene and the subsequent duet when Fernando arrives, just before the fatal duel.

Hee-Pyoung Oh has a substantial baritone instrument and was quite convincing as the tough majo Paquito. He swaggered and threatened in a menacing manner which was quite different from the subtle threat and menace he portrayed when we heard him a couple months ago, singing the role of Giorgio Germont.

Molly Boggess as Pepa exhibited a fine mezzo-soprano and snarled in jealousy as her relationship with Paquito was threatened.

The work was fortunately sung in Spanish but our Latin American companion had as much trouble as we did understanding the Spanish. He also observed that the translation (by Angela Marroy Boerger) was often inaccurate. But the titles (Briana Hunter and Enrico Lagasca) were essential.

We agree with Bare Opera's goal of instituting innovations that make opera fresh and visceral, achieving intimacy in unorthodox spaces. Their first production took place in an art gallery. This production took place in a long narrow space (Bat Haus in Bushwick). The room was arranged so that everyone had a great view and a sense of intimacy, with the long side of the room providing a very wide but shallow playing space. Characters entered and exited by means of a staircase since there were no "wings". The orchestra was at the far end of the space. It all worked just fine. To our delight, we observed the mostly young audience enjoying themselves. Bare Opera is doing something right, selling out six performances. Tomorrow's matinée will have some of the same cast members and some different ones.
There was a stunning curtain raiser that served to set the mood. Excerpts from Isaac Albéniz' 1886 Suite Española filled the air with rhythm and color and the sounds of a guitar, imitated but not present. Stunningly choreographed by Liz Piccoli, who also served as Assistant Director, three dancers interpreted five of Albéniz' tributes to cities in Spain. Although our taste in dance runs heavily toward classical ballet, we were surprised to find so much to like in the dancing of Sharlane Conner (the girl in white), Tiger Brown (the girl in red) and Vivake Kamsingsavath (the boy in rags).

The dancing was varied and seemed to ride on the surface of the music as if it were being created spontaneously.  Ms. Conner is delicate but intense and uses her hands beautifully.  Ms. Brown is fiery and athletic with great leaps. Mr. Kamsingsavath showed great ease with the moves of hip-hop but made them artistic in "Castilla". There was a tender duet between him and Ms. Conner in "Granada". There was an interesting use of a rope as the three dancers seemed to work out their relationship with one another.  In "Asturia"  (our favorite) they were crowned with headgear made of tiny lights. In "Aragon", the crowns came off and the dancing became frisky and playful.

As much as we liked the dancing in Suite Española, we did not care for the dancers invading the space of Goyescas any more than the majos and majas enjoyed the invasion by the aristocrats.  We found it distracted us from the singing.

We were not pleased by the costuming. Obviously Costume Designer Laura Kung was going for a certain look but the costumes were not especially attractive and required even less attractive undergarments. Neither were we taken by her costumes for the women in Goyescas. According to the program notes, she had in mind the designs of Balenciaga for the aristocrats but we doubt that the audience would have been familiar with his work of that epoch. Fernando's black suit and shirt seemed just about right but Rosario's costume with loose plaid pants looked unflattering.

Stage Director Jonathan Warman elected to set the work in 1980, or at least to be inspired by Pedro Almodóvar's films of that period, when Franco's death in 1975 initiated repercussions of anarchic freedom, individuality, and the new wave of punk.

This is only the second production by Bare Opera which attempts to, and has succeeded at, providing a fresh modern take on the opera experience. Visual arts are put on equal standing with music. That doesn't mean that the set was lavish. There was only a small platform and a large banner proclaiming "Juventud Socialista Unida"...United Socialist Youth, as we translate it.

So yes, it was rather bare in framework but the dancing and singing made it a fine evening!

(c) meche kroop

LA MAESTRA ITALIANA

Donata D'Annunzio Lombardi and Sean Christensen

Most master classes are both instructive and educational; they usually focus on interpretation, diction, phrasing--rarely on voice production, leaving such matters to the participants' own voice teachers.  Yesterday's master class was an exception--and it was exceptional.  Sponsored by Classic Lyric Arts which hosts programs of advanced studies in language, culture and classical repertoire in Italy and France, the class was taught by Donata D'Annunzio Lombardi, Director of Daltro Canto, dedicated to R&D of new approaches to vocal pedagogy.  The emphasis is described as "spontaneous vocal production through an understanding of energy flow and increased mind/body awareness".  Doug Han accompanied the artists.

As an observer and auditor, we noticed impressive changes in all four participants, sopranos Tamara Rusque, Elizabeth Novella and Dorothy Gal and tenor Sean Christensen.  We had never heard any of them sing beforehand but were able to compare their performance before working with Maestra Lombardi and after a half-hour of coaching.  The methods were new to us and seemed to involve a profound knowledge of anatomy and bio-energetics.  The guidance was given in Italian and translated by Glenn Morton, Artistic Director of Classic Lyric Arts.

There was some overlap but each participant was handled differently.  Signora Lombardi seemed to know exactly where each singer's tension was located and how to release it.  The entire body was brought into play, from the feet up.  There was a lot of emphasis on the spine and the hip joint.  Singing on one leg with the other swinging back and forth seemed to work wonders, as did wiggling the spine in serpentine fashion.

Much work was also done with the face.  Holding the lower lip between the fingers produced quite a difference as did wiggling the upper lip.  Who knew before today that showing the lower teeth could change the voice?  Or that the diaphragm was connected to the cervical vertebrae?  One singer was given a Ricola to hold between her back teeth.  Another interesting strategy was to bite the lower lip and vocalize.  Lacking the knowledge to understand how these strategies work we are nonetheless sure that the participants who are taking her weekend workshop will come away with a great deal of valuable knowledge.  The maestra is not only an amazing teacher but is a gifted artist herself--well known in all the famous opera houses of Italy as well as Paris, Zurich and Stuttgart.  How admirable that she is sharing her unique discoveries with the next generation.  Bravissima!

© meche kroop