PRINCE OF PLAYERS

John Kaneklides, Shea Owens, and Jessica Sandidge (photo by Tina Buckman)

Little Opera Theatre of New York, referred to as LOTNY, has been around for a dozen years. Grand in ambition and great in execution, we have trouble with the adjective "little". Founder and Artistic Director Philip Shneidman knows how to put on a show; for the premiere of Carlisle Floyd's opera Prince of Players, he has assembled a talented production team and two wildly talented casts and put them through their dramatic paces with great style.

The libretto was adapted from Jeffrey Hatcher's oft revived play Compleat Female Stage Beauty, which also spawned the film Stage Beauty in 2002. The story, inspired by an entry in the diary of Samuel Pepys, seems to have been little altered. There are two main themes: the first is the difficulty of adapting to a radical change of politics (a very current concern!) and the second is reflective of last night's review of Opera Lafayette's production of Leonore--the theme of a woman rescuing a man.

We are in London in 1661 and Charles II has regained the throne, ending twenty years of repressive Puritan rule. Edward Kynaston, so movingly portrayed by baritone Shea Owens, is famous for performing female roles, since women had not been permitted on the stage. Samuel Pepys (spoken by Hunter Hoffman) acknowledged Kynaston as the most beautiful actor on the stage...and the most beautiful woman in London.

His female dresser Margaret Hughes is not only in love with him but wants very much to be him and to strut the boards. She copies his every gesture. Soprano Jessica Sandidge created a most believable character, carefully balancing her love for him with her competitiveness.

As his friend and lover Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, tenor John Kaneklides was totally convincing and delivered a very fine aria in which every word, enunciated in a plummy English accent, was understandable--something which we wish we could say about everyone.

The pompous King Charles II was played by tenor Nicholas Simpson who also managed some fine singing, superb acting, and clear diction, in spite of being in the upper register a great deal of the time.

As his mistress Nell Gwynne, petite soprano Sharin Apostolou (barely half the size of the King) had the spirit of a woman twice her size. She also longed to play upon the stage and was partly responsible for the King's edict to give women the right to perform. Her big moment came when she sang a folk ballad for her audition, a moment we truly enjoyed.

Bass Matthew Curran portrayed the theater manager Thomas Betterton who will do anything to keep his theater afloat and will steer his ship through the eddies of the current political climate.

Smaller roles were just as well cast and performed. Comic relief was provided by two hilarious performances: Soprano Michelle Trovato played Miss Frayne while mezzo-soprano Hilary Ginther portrayed Lady Meresvale. The scene in which they try to find out Kynaston's gender was hilarious. But it turned ugly when Sir Charles Sedley (effectively played by tenor Neal Harrelson) appeared, seeking sexual favors.  Kynaston played along with a prank in which he tried to sell the favors of his two lady companions. Sedley was outraged and humiliated when he discovered Kynaston's male equipment and developed a vengeful streak.

This vengeful streak led him to have our hero badly beaten, giving Ms. Hughes the opportunity to rescue him and nurse him back to health. Then she does something that leads to his transformation.  More, we will not tell you!

Mezzo Jane Shaulis had great fun with her role as Mistress Revels, putting poor Kynaston onstage in a bawdy performance in a tavern, way beneath his talent but the only job he could get once his roles were taken by women. It was the hallmark of a fine performance to witness Kynaston's descent from fame and arrogance to shame and humiliation--and later to....no, we won't tell you the ending!

The direction was right on point and we felt as if we were watching a fine play. The set by Neil Patel and Cate McCrea utilized the stage of the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College to create a playing area in the center with balcony seating created on either side with metal risers. It was most effective, as was Nick Solyom's lighting.

Costumes by Lara De Bruijn were outstanding and completely a propos the 17th c.  Wigs by Rachel Padula Shufelt looked great, except for Kynaston's which always looked unconvincing.

So...as theater it worked brilliantly and we were very entertained and also moved by the characters.  But this is an opera and we have yet to mention the music!

Taste in music is a very personal thing and, in spite of giving Mr. Floyd's music our full concentration, we were unable to find much to enjoy, although he is considered America's preeminent composer. After last night's Gavreau and the prior night's Handel, this music sounded unmusical to our ears. We were sort of okay with the orchestral interludes, beautifully played by the orchestra conducted by Richard Cordova. We heard something of value in the sex scene between Kynaston and Villiers. The pompous music for King Charles sounded about right. 

But for the rest of the time we did not experience the music as adding to the drama or the development of the characters. We felt very sorry about that because the elderly Mr. Floyd was present in the audience and we would have so much enjoyed congratulating him, but could not. 

We have heard these singers on prior occasions and they all have splendid voices but this music could not show them off to their best advantage. For that, one needs long legato lines.  English text discourages that feature.

It is just possible that this story does not require music. Or perhaps it wanted something more melodic. Perhaps Mr. Floyd's music will thrill you in a way that did not thrill us.

We are however pleased to recommend the production and hereby let you know that this superlative cast will be singing the Sunday matinee performance.  Examination of the other cast lets us advise you with confidence that tonight's performance will be just as enjoyable.

(c) meche kroop

2017 GEORGE LONDON FOUNDATION AWARDS COMPETITION FINALS

Nora London and 2017 Award Recipients

Award recitals are such fun.  We get to see and hear the young singers we know and love; we get to witness the fruits of their long years of study; we get to participate in honoring them.  All award recitals are fun but the George London Foundation Awards Recital offers something special. The judging takes place at the end of the competition whilst we wait outside the hall at the Morgan Library and Museum. The finalists are there with us so we have the opportunity to speak with them about their selections, their preparations, their anxiety (or lack of), their training, even their gowns.

What a generous history has the George London Foundation!  And an even greater present since the ante was upped this year. $75,000 in prizes was awarded to the 18 singers. Every single finalist received an award. In our eyes as well, they were all winners. About half of them are known to us from prior recitals and competitions and the other half will, we hope, perform in New York City so that we can hear them again.

We have written every year about the foundation and the role of Nora London in perpetuating the memory of her husband, the famous George London. What better way to honor someone than to pass the torch.

As is our wont, we will not tell you the size of anyone's award, information you can find on the Foundation's website. We are more interested in the quality of the performance. Often, we agreed with the decisions of the judges; when we did not, we are prepared to admit that they recognized a quality or a promise that we missed. 

We surely agreed with them about soprano Michelle Bradley who gave an electrifying performance of "D'amor sull ali rosee" from Verdi's Il Trovatore. Here is a true Verdian voice with an expansive top and plenty of strength in the lower register. We loved the variety of color and dynamics and the lavish expressiveness.

Bass-baritone Cody Quattlebaum impressed us with the devilish demeanor with which he invested Mefistofele in "Vous qui faites l'endormie" from Gounod's Faust.  The lovely French lines were punctuated with mocking laughter. Sympathy for the Devil indeed!

Aaron Blake's sweet tenor drew us into Edgardo's suffering in "Tombe degli avi miei" from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. The resonance was just right for the character and the portrayal was more than usually affecting. We felt his pain.

Some of the choices of arias seemed a bit strange to us but, as we learned, the judges selected from the artists' lists the one they wanted to hear. We observed an emphasis on 20th c. works, some of which we had never heard, some of which we had heard and disliked, and one which we actually had enjoyed at Juilliard. In any case, one can love the singer and not love the song!

For example, baritone Shea Owens did a beautiful job with "Batter my Heart" from John Adams' Doctor Atomic. We truly loathed the opera BUT Mr. Owens made the aria meaningful and intense. Happily he made every word count.

Another example--we don't think we could sit through hours of Alban Berg, but Lara Secord-Haid gave a stunning and expressive performance of "Lied der Lulu" with its jagged vocal lines. Her German was enviable and crisp.

A couple works by Benjamin Britten put in an appearance. A most convincing performance of the "Mad Scene" from Peter Grimes was given by tenor Kyle van Schoonhoven. There aren't too many mad scenes for men in the operatic canon; this one is a doozy. We believed every word of it. Although it is more difficult to evaluate someone's voice in a piece like this, the artist was totally immersed in the dramatic intent. 

"I know a bank" from Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream was performed by countertenor Daniel Moody, who made the aria live with some superb acting, word coloration, and apt dynamic variation. He succeeded in creating an otherworldly character.

We do love countertenors and there were two of them. Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen performed "Dawn, still darkness" from Jonathan Dove's Flight. Having seen the opera recently at Juilliard (and enjoyed it) we were able to put the work in context and understand why the character was feeling such pain--pain that Mr. Cohen conveyed successfully.

Baritone Brian Vu sang Onegin's response to Tatiana's letter and he sang it in excellent Russian, an opinion we got from our Russian speaking companion. His voice has a lovely quality and he employed gentler colors than customary to create a kinder more avuncular Onegin, an interpretation with which we are comfortable. We never think of Onegin as a heel, but rather as a Dutch Uncle. Tchaikovsky surely gave him some wonderful music to sing.

More Russian was on hand from Rimsky-Korsakov. Baritone Will Liverman has a substantial sound that seemed just right for "Grigory's Aria" from The Tsar's Bride.

We were even treated to some Wagner as tenor Errin Duane Brooks sang "Siegmund heiss ich" from our favorite part of The Ring Cycle when Siegmund pulls his father's sword out of the ash tree in Hunding's hut. This always gives us goosebumps.

A tenor of a different type, Jonas Hacker sang "Salut demeure chaste et pure" from Faust--and he sang it in excellent French with a nice easy delivery. It was great to hear someone sing it without any straining.

We witnessed a high quality of singing in several women. Andrea Nunez generated a lot of coloratura excitement in "No, no, I'll take no less" from Handel's Semele. Her upper range was so scintillating we kept thinking "Queen of the Night".

Soprano Danielle Beckvermit sang "Depuis le jour" from Charpentier's Louise. We liked her French and the attractive resonance of her voice which has a nice bloom in the upper register.

Mezzo-soprano Megan Marino sang "Connais-tu le pays" from Ambroise Thomas' Mignon, another iteration of Goethe's Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre. I liked the pronounced vibrato which lent additional sympathy to a sympathetic character.

Soprano Lauren Margison sang one of our favorite Mozart arias--"Porgi amor" from Le nozze di Figaro. This one is a real heartbreaker!

Mezzo-soprano Carolyn Sproule invested Charlotte's "Air des lettres" from Massenet's Werther with a great deal of emotional power.  Her French was quite good.

Good English is even more difficult to find but mezzo-soprano Evanna Lai made every word understandable in "Things change Jo" from Mark Adamo's Little Women. It was a persuasive and lovely performance.

We heard 18 singers in two hours and enjoyed them all. We hope that the awards will further their careers so we can hear more of them.

(c) meche kroop

A FORGOTTEN MASTERPIECE DISCOVERED

Maestro Israel Gursky and the cast of Vittorio Gnecchi's Cassandra

If ever a neglected work merited unearthing Vittorio Gnecchi's Cassandra fills the bill. Thanks to the efforts of Teatro Trattacielo's Founding Executive and Artistic Director Duane D. Printz, New York City's dedicated opera lovers had the opportunity to hear this work in concert form at the highly suitable Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (part of CUNY).

There was a crime of sorts in the suppression of this magnificent work, the result of a scandal of plagiarism in which those taking the part of Richard Strauss (but not Strauss himself) accused Gnecchi of plagiarizing his 1908 Elektra, in spite of the fact that Cassandra premiered in Bologna in 1905! Significantly, Toscanini himself conducted the premiere. Italian musical politics were really something! They still are.

Luigi Illica's libretto was adapted from Aeschylus' Oresteia and deals with the part of the story of the fall of the House of Atreus in which Agamemnon returns as a hero from the Trojan war, bringing as concubine the seeress Cassandra.  

In Agamemnon's absence, Clytemnestra has been frolicking with her husband's brother Aegisthus. She apparently truly loves her brother-in-law but is also seeking revenge against her husband who had sacrificed their beloved daughter Iphegenia to secure favorable winds to carry him to Troy to fetch the naughty Helen who had run off with Paris.  Sounds like a telenovela, right?

As in Puccini's Turandot (of which we heard echoes in the music), the titular character does not appear until Act II. But she is worth waiting for! This is a superb role for a mezzo-soprano and Alessandra Volpe fulfilled the task with magnificence and a large dusky sound that made her prophesies poignantly terrifying. Her generous tone cut through the orchestration like a warm knife through butter.

The entire cast was well chosen and there wasn't a disappointing voice in the bunch. Soprano Elena O'Connor made a stunning Clitennestra, showing her character's rage in her first aria "No, non propiziarie preci!". We enjoyed the change of colors when she sang of her love for Egisto.

Her romantic duets with baritone Shea Owens as Egisto involved overlapping voices and thrilling harmonies.  And we loved Mr. Owens' aria "Il Fato volge in suo turbine". When Agamennone returns in triumph the crowd welcomes him but Egisto sneers in "Udir cantare Agamennone, e ridere!"  The subsequent confrontation between the two brothers is powerful and dynamic.

The role of Agamennone is a difficult one and veteran tenor Arnold Rawls tackled the punishingly high tessitura with aplomb. His return to Argolis is marked by the sweetest sound, as if he is totally unaware of the tragedy to come. 

Baritone Stefanos Koroneos has never sounded better than he did singing ll Prologo with superb diction, making every word count and elucidating the story, which is more than we can say for the choruses. The New Jersey Choral Society and The Connecticut Choral Society, along with the Festival Youth Chorus, lay down a lovely carpet of sound but did not have the crisp diction to which we are accustomed.

In several roles, soprano Meredith Mecum made a fine forceful showing with a brilliant tone; we particularly enjoyed her brief solo as Una Coèfora "Placato mare ed aera placato!"  Baritone Joseph Flaxman excelled as Il Fazionario (The Guard). Baritone Peter Kendall Clark came across well as Il Navarca as did Jon Tetelman in a tenor solo. Young Nicholas Newman piped up as the child Orestes, requesting his father's sword.

One could consider the star of the evening to be conductor Israel Gursky who brought out the many nuances of this impressive score.  There is nothing shocking about the chromatic harmonies but there was ample lyricism to satisfy our 19th c. ears. One could identify Puccini-esque elements in the opening Prologue.

The introduction to Act I was particularly lyrical when a lovely melody floated through the sections of the orchestra on gossamer wings. We loved the portentous sound at the end of Clitennestra's rage aria, not to mention the use of the harp when Egisto sings of leaving Clitennestra.

As Agamennone approaches by ship, Maestro Gursky guided the orchestra into a recreation of the surging sea.  Upon his arrival at Argosy the music is triumphant with brass. The orchestra gives us the full monty at the bloody conclusion.

Whew!! This powerful story was given the exactly right music by Signor Gnecchi and the opera was given the exactly right production by Teatro Grattacielo.

It's too bad we must wait another year for more of Grattacielo's discoveries.

(c) meche kroop

FROM RUSSIA WITH (MUCH) LOVE

Dina Kuznetzova, Dalit Warshaw, Steven Blier, Michael Barrett, and Shea Owens

Last night our dear impressario, raconteur, and pianist Steven Blier presented a program "From Russia to Riverside Drive: Rachmaninoff and Friends". We are always happy to hear Russian songs and Rachmaninoff's extravagant lyricism is at the top of our list. The more we hear, the more we want to hear. This concert was presented as part of  the New York Philharmonic's Rachmaninoff festival.

Soprano Dina Kuznetzova has appeared frequently with New York Festival of Song and always impresses us with her glorious voice and intense involvement with the text--a true songbird she is! Baritone Shea Owens has similarly appeared with NYFOS and is also known to us from the Santa Fe Opera. He is always a pleasure to hear with his romantic leading-man sound and the sincerity of his stage presence.

New to us is composer/pianist/theraminist Dalit Warshaw. We have always been fascinated by this strange instrument, played without touch, but we never expected to have the opportunity to hear and see one played live. We had a fine time trying to figure out how Ms. Warshaw drew such sounds out of it.

We spoke with her at the post-concert reception and learned that our speculation was only half right.  Yes, the right hand creates the pitch but no, the sound is not created but rather the silence is sculpted from the sound made by the theramin. Does that make sense? Well, we think one would have to actually confront the instrument oneself to understand! It's inventor, one Lev Sergeyevich Termen, might have been anticipating the advent of electronic music!

The program included a few songs with which we are familiar due to their presence on a lot of recital programs. Sergei Rachmaninoff started composing songs at the age of 17 and, after leaving Russia, never wrote another. One of our favorites dates back to this early time period and "In the Silence of the Night" shows the influence of his teacher Tchaikovsky. How could it be anything but intensely moving--a song of lost love. Mr. Owens sang it with a lot of inner fire but without a lot of outward "signaling".

We noticed this also when he sang the meditative "She is as Lovely as the Noon" with its bursts of melismatic singing.  Meanwhile, Mr. Blier's piano reveled in a lot of exotic purling figures. In "The Torrents of Spring" he showed appropriate exuberance with Michael Barrett's piano enjoying the passionate postlude.

But it was toward the end of the program when Mr. Owens sang Rachmaninoff's only comic song "Were You Hiccupping?" that we got a complete picture of his dramatic range and flair for humor.

Although Mr. Owens is not Russian born, my Russian-speaking companion pronounced his Russian "exemplary". We do not know if he speaks Russian but his diction succeeded in every way.

Miss Kuznetzova is Russian born so her diction is not an issue. The major aspect of her performance was the intensity of her involvement in "Russian soul". Every phrase seemed deeply felt and produced with a most attractive vibrato.

In "No Prophet, I", Mr. Blier's piano rippled along while she used a variety of dynamics, exhibiting a beautiful pianissimo in the line about being a singer with the lyre as a weapon.

Among the many songs new to us was "Melody" with its whispers of Orientalism in the piano and a text that idealizes a beautiful death.  We also enjoyed her performance of the searching "A-oo!"

And what about that theremin!  It makes an eerie kind of whiny sound that sounds like nothing else on earth. We enjoyed it most in duet with the voices.  The final work on the program was the famous "Vocalise, Op. 34, No. 15". Without any words, the voices of Ms. Kuznetzova and Mr. Owens expressed a dozen different feelings; the various combinations with and without the voice of the theramin encompassed a variety of textures.

As encore we heard the 1945 Buddy Kaye/Ted Mossman "Full Moon and Empty Arms", a blatant theft from Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto #2, performed by the ensemble, including the theramin.

The program also included songs by composers Rachmaninoff knew when he immigrated to the USA. We heard Joseph Schillinger's "Orientalia"--two vocalises written for voice  but performed by Ms. Warshaw and Mr. Barrett.  Also a bluesy number by Duke Ellington ("On a Turquoise Cloud") in which Ms. Kuznetzova's voice blended beautifully with Ms. Warshaw's theramin and Mr. Blier's piano.

However, from this portion of the program, our personal favorite was "Little Jazz Bird" from the brothers Gershwin's 1924 opus Lady, Be Good!  Mr. Blier went absolutely wild on the piano and Mr. Owens sang it charmingly. We hope it will be scheduled on one of the "Sing for Your Supper" evenings at Henry's.

We are eagerly awaiting the next NYFOS recital at Merkin Hall, featuring songs by Schubert alongside those by The Beatles. There is always something compelling coming up. As Mr. Blier says "No song is safe from us."

(c) meche kroop

BEL CANTO/CAN BELTO

Paying tribute to Steve Blier are Shea Owens, Alec Carlson, Christopher Reynolds, Chelsea Morris and Julia Dawson

If you have yet to spend an evening in the company of Steven Blier you don't know what you are missing but we plan to let you in on the good news.  Song is alive and well in his hands; he curates an evening of music around a given theme, unearths an amazing selection of songs, shares tidbits of information about them with his audience, and shows equal respect for the old masters and the contemporary ones. He accomplishes all this while discovering young talent and bringing them to the attention of the song-loving public.

Founder and Artistic Director of New York Festival of Song, Mr. Blier has fingers in many pies as master teacher, mentor, coach, collaborative pianist, arranger, writer, and raconteur. Last night's recital at Merkin Hall was the culmination of a weeklong training residency at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts--the Terrance W. Schwab Vocal Rising Stars program.  And what rising stars we heard!

To begin with the encore, soprano Chelsea Morris, mezzo-soprano Julia Dawson, tenor Alec Carlson and baritone Shea Owens joined voices in a gorgeous arrangement (courtesy of Maestro Blier) of Henry Mancini's "Moon River" from the film Breakfast at Tiffany's.  If this didn't stir you, you must be made of wood.  It sent the audience out the door with happy faces and dancing feet.

Speaking of dancing feet, a NYFOS first was an ear-dazzling tap dance by.....  (get this!) Christopher Reynolds!  Mr. Reynolds is a talented collaborative pianist who took over Associate Artistic Director Michael Barrett's piano bench, sharing the accompanying duties with Mr. Blier. As if one major talent were not enough for one man! This amplified the pleasure of the quartet of singers joining voices for Harry Warren's "The Girlfriend of the Whirling Dervish" from Garden of the Moon.  The lyrics by Al Dubin and Johnny Mercer are highly politically incorrect and highly hilarious.

We have no idea how Mr. Blier finds these treasures but find them, he does.

The first half of the program comprised songs of the bel canto period by Italian masters while the second comprised 20th c. songs by Italian-American composers--a veritable treasure trove of gems.  Of course Bellini, Rossini and Donizetti were represented.  Bellini's long lyrical lines were given fine treatment by soprano Chelsea Morris in "La ricordanza", the music being recycled later for Elvira's mad scene in I Puritani.  Ms. Morris handled the fioritura with aplomb and precision.

Julia Dawson was equally excellent in one of Rossini's numerous settings of Pietro Metastasio's "Mi lagneró tacendo" with all of its broad skips and complex fioritura. The delightful duet "A consolarmi affrettisi" from Donizetti's Linda di Chamounix was performed by Ms. Morris and tenor Alec Carlson.  Once again we thrilled to the accuracy of the embellishments.

Mr. Carlson sounded just as fine in the opening number, a barcarolle by  Alfredo Catalani entitled "In riva al mare", with its simple lilting piano. In a clever piece of stagecraft, baritone Shea Owens burst onto the stage, interrupting their bows with a confident stage presence and terrific tone, performing Giuseppe Verdi's Brindisi with all the bibulous panache one could wish for.  We hasten to tell you that it was all acting since Mr. Owens does not imbibe.  Coulda fooled us!

Composers who came on the scene a bit later maintained the tradition of beautiful melody--well into the 20th c. verismo period.  Stefano Donaudy actually called his collection of songs Arie di Stile Antico. He composed his "Vaghissima sembianza" when only 13 years of age. Both text and music evince confounding maturity. Mr. Carlson sang it simply and sweetly.

Franco Alfano not only finished Puccini's Turandot but also composed songs; many were settings of poetry by Rabindranath Tagore. We loved Mr. Owens command of color as he transitioned from the quiet meditative verse to the passionate one in "Non nascondere il segreto".  

Ms. Morris impressed us with the vocally spare "I pastori" by Ildebrando Pizzetti with text by Gabriele d'Annunzio and Ms. Dawson with her singing of a charming piece in Hebrew by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco "Ulai laze yihie li ometz", one of three works not in Italian. Another was "Wer hat das erste Lied erdacht" by Ferruccio Busoni, composed when he was 13 years old.  That made two adolescent composer honored on the program and Mr. Carlson again sang very sweetly.

The first part of the program ended with our favorite --"Sérénade napolitaine" a French song by Ruggero Leoncavallo in which Ms. Dawson's mezzo and Mr. Owens' baritone blended beautifully.

The second half of the program included many well known Italian-American composers, most of them friends of Mr. Blier.  Although we rarely find 20th c. American songs sufficiently melodic, the songs Mr. Blier chose were unanimously tuneful.  We heard Dominick Argento's "Spring" and Norman Dello Joio's "There is a lady sweet and kind".  We enjoyed the irony  of John Musto's "Penelope's Song" from his song cycle of the same name.  But we loved what the ensemble did with the irreverent "Some Last Words" from The Book of Uncommon Prayer.

Two selections from John Corigliano impressed.  Ms. Dawson sang the lovely "Irreverent Heart" (text by Yip Harburg) with great depth of feeling and the two lovely ladies performed a scene from his opera The Ghosts of Versailles.  With the two female voices and two pianos the texture was undeniably rich and thrilling.

"This Much is New" was written by Mark Adamo three years ago for Mr. Blier's wedding and this was the first time the piece (text by Mark Campbell) was performed in public.  A perfect marriage of melody and text, feelingly sung by Mr. Owens.

What a special evening!  We are already on board for the next entry on April 28th, Letters from Spain: A world of Song in Spanish Poetry.  Hope to see you there.

(c) meche kroop