MASTER AT THE PIANO

Matthew Pearce, Tamara Banješević, Katerina Burton, Shereen Pimentel, Courtenay Cleary,
and Cameron Richardson-Eames

Last night we attended Cameron Richardson-Eames' Master of Music recital at Juilliard and we were rewarded with a night of magnificent music making. We know Mr. Richardson-Eames mainly through his performances with students from the Vocal Arts Program and had never really considered that collaborative pianists play with other instrumentalists. We are happy to report that this one "plays well with others".

We thrilled to his performance of César Franck's Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major; the violinist was the superlative Courtenay Cleary and did they ever make music together! The first movement, Allegretto ben moderato opened with some descending arpeggi of minor triads which soon yielded to a theme of descending scales. These two themes would reappear periodically knitting the work together with a feeling of unity and familiarity. The overall emotion was one of nostalgia.

The Allegro which followed opened with some rumbling in the piano, leading to a veritable storm of anxiety. There was an "eye" to this hurricane but the storm recurred with increased passion.

The third movement (Ben moderato) seemed reflective to us and we liked the liquid manner in which the arpeggi reappeared in the piano, whilst the violin was given some lovely trills.

The fourth movement reminded us of a vocal duet in which the piano and violin each had a different melody with both contributing to a whole that was greater than the sum of the parts. In no way do we consider ourself to be knowledgeable about piano technique but we know artistry when we hear it because we get "the feels".

The second half of the program was on more familiar territory for us since Mr. Richardson-Eames collaborated with four different singers, singing four different styles of song, readily demonstrating his adaptability.

Soprano Katerina Burton, just reviewed a few days ago for some lovely performances of Joseph Marx lieder, has a real feel for this composer and sang "Hat dich die Liebe berührt" and "Nocturne" in which the interludes of rippling in the piano tickled the ear. Ms. Burton's voice opened like an umbrella at the top giving us tons of overtones. We cannot wait to see how Juilliard will polish this particular gem.

Already polished and enjoying a fine career overseas, Tamara Banješević was on hand to perform a pair of songs by Henri Duparc. Chansons can get a bit effete but not these! We have missed hearing Ms. Banješević and found her presence last night to be a very pleasant surprise. "Chanson triste" sounded splendid with the two artists in lovely harmony, both of them expressive and making good use of dynamic variety. "L'invitation au voyage" was performed with almost indecent sensuality and we loved it!

Tenor Matthew Pearce performed two songs in English from the early 20th c. We didn't get much out of Herbert Howells' "The Goat Paths" with its simple vocal line which didn't stay with us, and its spare accompaniment. We preferred the rather silly "I have twelve oxen" by John Ireland, a strophic song that sounded like a folk song. The rhythm was fun and Mr. Pearce has a lovely high register achieved without pushing, and an admirable clarity of diction.

The program ended with soprano Shereen Pimentel singing two songs from Stephen Schwartz' 2003 Wicked--"The Wizard and I" and "I'm Not That Girl". We would far prefer to hear these songs than what passes for contemporary "art song". Ms. Pimentel has incredible stage presence and a lively personality best suited to songs that require dramatic intent. We once sat through Wicked on Broadway, with teeth clenched against the cruel amplification, unable to understand the words. Last night we heard the songs unamplified and could appreciate the artistry of the composition as well as the artistry of Ms. Pimentel's performance.

It was a perfect way to end the recital and we left completely satisfied. Mr. Richardson-Eames demonstrated his artistry and flexibility and is a credit to his teacher, the highly esteemed Brian Zeger.

(c) meche kroop

LIEDERABEND AT JUILLIARD

Gregory Feldmann, Thomas West, Kathryn Henry, Minjung Jung, Nathaniel LaNasa, Jinhee Park, and Tamara Banješević

We enjoyed another fulfilling Liederabend at Juilliard yesterday.  The lovely soprano Vivian Yau opened the program with some interesting songs written by Rebecca Clarke, a composer heretofore unknown to us, who seemed to be drawn to poetry of a mystical nature. Ms. Yau's beautiful timbre was well suited to the ethereal nature of the songs; her collaborative pianist Ji Yung Lee contributed some delicate arpeggi and the two artists matched each other in dynamics with some gorgeous pianissimi, well suited to the material.

Baritone Thomas West performed the next set with collaborative pianist Mariel Werner. We look forward to hearing Mr. West sing something more sympathetic to our ears. The 20th c. songs sung in English were not to our taste, and the English diction was largely unclear. For us, the problem lay in the text.

The only text we might have enjoyed (Hilaire Belloc's "Tarantella") had short punchy rhymed phrases and was set to rapid fire music by Witold Lutoslawski that was entirely as grim as the final verse. We might have enjoyed it more if Lutoslawski had set us up with something frisky and then punched us in the gut at the end. We only had this thought upon returning home and reading the text which was not clear during the performance. Unfortunately, the hall was very dim and we couldn't follow along.

The late 19th c. songs of Edvard Grieg were far more appealing and the performance of Tamara Banješević was compelling. Jinhee Park made a sympathetic piano partner and the two of them performed four selections from Sechs Lieder in happily comprehensible German. Perhaps it is the crisp consonants of German that make it so much better to sing than English.

We were held spellbound throughout. Grieg wisely chose text by Heinrich Heine for "Gruss",   Johann Wolfgang von Goethe for "Zur Rosenzeit",  and Emanuel von Geibel for the romantic "Ein Traum", which we never tire of hearing. Grieg succeeded in enhancing the words with his music; Ms. Banješević and Ms. Park succeeded in enhancing both text and music with their deeply felt performance.  It is exactly what one hopes to find in a lieder recital.

Pianist Nathaniel LaNasa was a worthy piano partner for baritone Gregory Feldmann. We particularly enjoyed the way he evoked the rolling waves in Alexander Zemlinsky's "Nun schwillt der See so bang".  Mr. Feldmann has a lovely timbre in his instrument and excellent German diction. 

Although contemporaneous with Mahler and Strauss, Alexander Zemlinsky is not as frequently performed. We were glad to be introduced to his oeuvre but did not feel compelled to seek out more of his songs. We found "Tod in Ähren" to be unrelievedly grim, whilst "Der Tag wird kühl" offered the two artists multiple opportunity for variety in the color palette.

What would a lieder recital be without some Richard Strauss! Thanks to soprano Kathryn Henry and pianist Minjung Jung, we heard three songs--all setting of text by Heinrich Heine, whose poetry was wisely taken up by so many composers.

The tessitura of "Mit deinen blauen Augen" seemed low for the soprano fach but Ms. Henry handled it beautifully. In "Schlechtes Wetter", Heine sees a small woman tottering down the street on a dark and stormy night; he speculates that she is shopping for ingredients to bake a cake for her spoiled daughter. What an interesting imagination!  But it gives the soprano ample story telling opportunity. 

In "Frühlingsfeier" Heine describes a disturbing picture of some wild women lamenting the loss of the beautiful youth Adonis in a pagan ritual. This Springtime ritual symbolizes the death and rebirth undergone by la belle nature. This song really requires Strauss' full orchestration but  Ms. Henry and her excellent piano partner Minjung Jung went a long way toward creating the wild passion.

Another great experience presented by the Juilliard Vocal Arts Department, this one curated and coached by Cameron Stowe.  Keep 'em coming!

(c) meche kroop

THE GARDEN OF JUILLIARD

Christine Taylor Price, Marie Engle, Joshua Blue, Tamara Banješević, and Jacob Scharfman (photo by Hiroyuki Ito)

Mozart was just shy of 19 years of age when he composed La finta giardiniera which premiered in Munich in 1775. In spite of a trivial libretto (insecurely attributed to Calzabigi), one can readily appreciate Mozart's exuberant melodic invention and skills at orchestration. The opera achieved but 3 performances and fell out of the repertory until a copy of the score was rediscovered in the 1970's.

That we have seen the opera three times in two years gives some indication of the many glories of the score and the challenging roles it provides for seven singers. The seven we heard last night at Juilliard Opera seemed to enjoy their performances as much as we in the audience did. What vocal glories!

We love to see romantic foibles onstage--the mismatches, the betrayals, the fights, the reconciliations. We have no need for modern sets or costumes to recognize our own passions and obsessions.  The blind child shoots those darts and we are helpless.

The Marchioness Violante Onesti (splendid soprano Tamara Banješević) had been stabbed by her jealous lover Conte Belfiore (terrific tenor Charles Sy) on their wedding day. Left for dead, she recovered, took the name of Sandrina, disguised herself as a gardener, and sought refuge by gaining employment at the estate of the Podesta Don Anchise (tremendous tenor Joshua Blue) who has fallen in love with her.

The Podesta's housekeeper Serpetta, portrayed by the gifted soprano Christine Taylor Price, would like to marry her boss and fights off the courtship of the gardener Nardo, Violante's servant Roberto in disguise--a role delightfully inhabited by Baritone Jacob Scharfman.

Meanwhile, the Podesta's bossy-pants niece Arminda (glorious voiced soprano Kathryn Henry) arrives at the estate to be joined in matrimony with none other than Belfiore. If we could overlook his tendency to commit violence on his brides, we might even feel a tinge of pity for the ambivalent count. He thinks he recognizes Violante in disguise but she denies her identity.

In the role of Cavalier Ramiro, Arminda's rejected suitor, we heard the marvelously convincing mezzo-soprano Marie Engle in travesti.

To make this crazy mixed up story clear, we had the talented young director Mary Birnbaum who has a very special way of getting her cast to work as an ensemble and to interact in believable ways, no matter how preposterous the story.

The first act moved along at a lively clip but there was a scene at the end of the second act that baffled us and our companion. It is the scene in which Belfiore goes mad and Violante gets kidnapped by Arminda (or was it vice versa?). When Tim Albery directed this opera at Santa Fe Opera, it didn't make much sense either and when Eric Einhorn directed it for On Site Opera, he omitted the scene entirely which was probably the best choice!

Both Ms. Henry and Ms. Prize dazzled us with their coloratura but the aria we remember best belonged to Ms. Engle who managed the extensive fioritura while conveying masculinity at the same time in "Va pure ad altri in braccio". Not only does everyone get an aria but there are interesting ensembles that foreshadow Mozart's later works.
 

Another memorable moment was Nardo's courting of Serpetta in several languages; Mr. Scharfman was irresistible in the role.  Mr. Blue pompously strutted around the stage but also conveyed the manner of a kind man. Ms. Henry did a great job creating a real bitch of a character. We loved the moment when she arrived with a horse and her servant Giuseppe (bass William Guanbo Su).

The Juilliard Orchestra performed in their usual exemplary fashion under the baton of Joseph Colaneri who brought subtle understanding to the various and changeable moods of the work. The continuo comprised Michael Biel on the harpsichord and Clara Abel on the cello.

Much favorable comment could be devoted to Amanda Seymour's luscious period costumes and even more to scenic designer Grace Laubacher's witty sets. After a clever prologue in which Joan Hofmeyr and Olivia McMillan portrayed two gossipy housemaids relating the backstory in English (another one of Mary Birnbaum's clever inventions), servants carried in trompe l'oeil set pieces. Even the horse was two dimensional but reared convincingly.

Lighting Designer Anshuman Bhatia spared no effort in changing the mood; one scene takes place in near darkness and the ensuing confusion reminded us of the final act of Nozze di Figaro.

Once again, Juilliard Opera has given us a memorable evening in which superlative production values provide a setting for the splendid singers--the jewels of Juilliard.


(c) meche kroop