FEATHERS, FUR AND FRUIT

Seth Shirley as Lysander getting the love potion from Drew Paramore as Puck
photo by Brian Long

The score of Henry Purcell's 1692 masque opera The Fairy Queen was lost upon his death and rediscovered a bit over a century ago.  This obsolete theatrical medium has been made relevant by Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble; they made good use of the directorial and choreographic artistry of the esteemed Christopher Caines.  One might say that Purcell's work was "more honor'd in the breach than the observance", to quote the Bard himself.  So, five hours was trimmed down to three, some original text restored and some contemporary references added as a framing device.  The melodic Baroque music was preserved and various types of dance included.

It must have been a challenge to find performers who could sing and dance as well. All the voices were fine but we were most impressed with sopranos Noelle McMurtry (whom we reviewed before) and Tamra Paselk (who was new to us).  They captured the Baroque style with pure tones that floated beautifully in the upper register.

We were familiar with baritone John Callison (also reviewed previously) and were impressed by how his voice has grown in depth.  It was always firmly structured and his phrasing was lovely.  Bass Andy Berry impressed with his secure sound.  Tenor Leslie Tay exhibited fine dynamic control.  Countertenor Brennan Hall was hilarious in drag in a duet with Mr. Callison in which he portrayed a maiden unwilling to be kissed.

The marvelous music was provided by The Sebastians, a well-known Baroque ensemble we have often heard at Salon Sanctuary concerts.  Co-director Jeff Grossman conducted his able musicians from the harpsichord and one could not ask for anything more. Notable were lutenist/theorbist Charles Weaver and cellist Ezra Seltzer.

The performer who virtually stole the show was Drew Paramore in the role of Puck, dba Robin Goodfellow.  We cannot sufficiently praise his wonderful dramatic skills and high energy performance.

Another high note of the evening were several pas de deux performed by Aynsley Inglis and Luke Tucker.  Classical ballet would not evolve from Baroque dance for another two centuries after Purcell's time but who cares!  We welcome any opportunity to see a beautiful couple using the vocabulary of classical ballet in such a fine fashion.

The effective framing device established by Mr. Caines is that a nanny named Carmen (Elisa Toro Franky) is walking in Central Park and her charge Ariel (Gabriel Griselj) is kidnapped by the fairies.  Not to worry, he gets returned at the end.  The fairies of Central Park just love to tease and pinch and tickle unsuspecting humans and, in this case, had a fine time with a pot-smoking slacker.

The scenes from Shakespeare were well directed and acted but the spoken dialogue lacked the poetry one would hope for.  Imani Jade Powers portrayed Titania and also Hippolyta.  Jason Duverneau enacted Oberon and also Theseus.  Seth Shirley was Lysander and Zach Libresco was Demetrius.  The scenes of their rivalry were particularly funny. Cassandra Stokes Wylie made a fine Helena but, as Hermia, Amanda Goble spoke without poetry in an unpleasant high-pitched voice.  Nonetheless, her very physical acting served her well.  A scene from Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest revealed just how fine their acting skills were without the challenge of speaking the Bard's poetry.

As Nick Bottom, Andrew Gelles excelled.  The "mechanicals" were transmogrified into an acting troupe and Nick Bottom wanted to assume ALL the parts.  His transformation into a donkey was achieved with a large construction that permitted his words to be heard.  If Titania's affection for the donkey did not make you laugh, then nothing would.

Costuming by Nina Bova was exceptional.  The fanciful fairies bore feathers, fruit and fur.  The two couples with their mating problems were meant to be Dalton graduates on their way to Ivy League universities.  They were identified by Puck by means of the Brooks Brothers labels in their clothing.

The program notes, written by Mr. Caines, contained a fine description of the origins of masque opera and the history of the period from whence it arose. It was clear from the performance that he labored long and hard to apply his artistry and to make the work relevant.  He absolutely succeeded!

(c) meche kroop

JEFFERSON IN LOVE

Melissa Errico & Campbell Scott

Jessica Gould & Tony Boutté

Photos by Stephen de las Heras






How thrilling it was to occupy the same space occupied by our third president Thomas Jefferson--to hear the story of his lengthy epistolary romance with Maria Cosway, to hear music she wrote for him, to learn about the private life of this great man of The Enlightenment.  In a site-specific work taking place in a room at Fraunces Tavern in Lower Manhattan, Salon Sanctuary Concerts presented "More Between Heaven and Earth", an interdisciplinary performance conceived and curated by Jessica Gould, with script and direction by Erica Gould.  The authentic costumes and wigs were by Deborah Wright Houston.

The time straddled the turn of the 19th c.  and the events took place in Paris and London.  Jefferson and Cosway, a multiply gifted married woman, met in 1786 in Paris and carried on a correspondence for the next four decades, with a brief reunion and a lengthy break.  There was clearly a meeting of the minds, a sharing of souls, and perhaps some heartbreak involved. The script did not make clear whether the romance was consummated physically but that matters little.  Her marriage and his duties to the newly born United States of America were insurmountable obstacles.  There is no love like forbidden love!

Actress Judith Hawking narrated the story with a wink and a twinkle in her eye.  Beautiful Melissa Errico gave an excellent portrayal of Maria Cosway and was quite moving in her performance of songs that this amateur musician composed.  We have never seen them in books of baroque or classical songs but would wish to learn them; they are quite excellent in their directness and simplicity, especially "Ogni dolce aura".  The great man himself was brought to sympathetic life by actor Campbell Scott.

Vocal honors were shared by Jessica Gould herself who lent her powerful soprano to the aria "Cesse cruel amour"  (from Sacchini's opera Dardanus which Jefferson and Cosway had seen together) and tenor Tony Boutté  who sang "Jours heureux" from the same opera.  More excerpts were to follow with much appreciative applause from the audience who sat along the perimeter of the historical room.

Music was provided by members of The Sebastians; leader and harpsichordist Jeffrey Grossman accompanied the singers and also played a lovely solo by Jacques Duphly entitled La Medée; violinist Daniel Lee joined him for the Adagio from Archangelo Corelli's Sonata in G minor.

© meche kroop

MYTHOLOGY, MAYHEM, MUSIC AND HISTORY

We wonder what to call an original event synthesizing mythology, music and history;  we will just call it "wonderful".  When the multi-talented Gould Gals come up with an idea for one of their Salon/Sanctuary Concerts we just know it will be thoroughly researched, well-cast, effectively produced, enlightening and always entertaining.  Last night's event at the Broad Street Ballroom was all of the above.

The premise for The Heirs of Tantalus was that some of the more lurid events of Ancient Roman history bore interesting parallels with Greek mythology (leading one to wonder whether our own culture re-enacts the myths of our own past.)  Specifically Nero's murder of Agrippina paralleled Orestes' murder of his mother Clytemnestra in The Oresteia.  There are still parts of the world where revenge and retaliation take precedence over rationality; the work is highly relevant.

Musical research by Jessica Gould was responsible for some fine selections from works by baroque composers--mostly from Handel's Agrippina and Monteverdi's  L'Incoronazione di Poppea.  Ms. Gould herself employed her generous soprano in  solos and in some fine duets with countertenor José Lemos.  We particularly enjoyed the stunning harmonies in the duet "Pur ti miro" from L'Incoronazione di Poppea.

Narration and dramatic readings from Suetonius, Aeschylus and Euripides were adapted by Erica Gould and spoken by fine actors Steven Rattazzi and Ethan Peck, both of whom hit exactly the right tone.  Female roles were portrayed by Rosalyn Coleman Williams who seemed to overact to some extent.  The wonderful resonance of the performing space made the amplification of the actors seem unnecessary and unwelcome.

Stage direction by Erica Gould was interesting but also led to much swiveling around in the chairs to see who was speaking at the rear of the audience space.  Fortunately, the singing took place on an elevated stage which also held the ravishingly talented musicians--The Sebastians Chamber Players, conducted from the harpsichord by Jory Vinikour.  We enjoyed the fine playing of Deborah Fox on the theorbo.

Costumes by Lara de Bruijn were effective, as was lighting by Alexis Caldwell.  It was a stimulating evening and sent us out into the night with many thoughts about the mythology of our own cultural past (The Wild West, the gunslinger, the resourceful pioneer) and how that influences our present day politics.  Many thanks to the Gould Gals!

© meche kroop

A POPPEA THAT POPS

Anna Farysej and Nacole Palmer--photo by Brian Long

Perhaps the mayhem and immorality under the Roman Emperor Nero resonates with our current political climate.  Indeed we have seen three versions of Monteverdi's 1643 masterpiece L'incoronazione di Poppea in the past year.  On the other hand, its recent popularity may be due only to the beauty and expressivity of the music.

Last night at the intimate 13th Street Theatre, Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble presented their version as part of their Tenth Anniversary Season, and a fine version it was!  The cast we saw only performed that singular night; we felt privileged to be in the sold-out house to hear some amazing young voices advancing in their careers, helped along by the intense instruction and guidance of Dell'Arte Ensemble.  Artistic Director Maestro Christopher Fecteau has a knack for selecting promising young performers and guiding them into the next stage of their careers.

Witness the plenitude of bright shining sopranos who mastered the art of baroque singing without compromising their acting skills.  As Poppea, Anna Farysej created a character who was more ambitious than evil; she lured Nero (an excellent Nacole Palmer) with abundant wiles and overt sexuality to abandon his "infertile and frigid" wife Ottavia, portrayed by strong mezzo Heather Antonissen, so that she Poppea could become Empress.  Ottavia gets to sing a heartbreaking lament to which any 21st c. discarded wife could relate.  To paraphrase, "We give birth to men who then torment and abuse us."

In opposition we had the rejected lover Ottone, played by counter-tenor Jeffrey Mandelbaum (who is at a more advanced stage of his career, having graced the stage of The Metropolitan Opera); Ottone was solicited by Ottavia to murder Poppea.  To this end he has enlisted the assistance of the kooky and pliant Drusilla, performed by the adorable Noelle McMurtry who lends him her clothes as a disguise.

The ending is not exactly tragic.  Drusilla and Ottone fall all over themselves trying to take the blame for the failed murder attempt to protect the other but Nerone does not slaughter them; in an act of clemency he sends them into exile along with his discarded wife.  That Poppea and Nerone are portrayed more favorably than in history books tells us something about the 17th c. audience.  Indeed Amore herself (an effective Briana Sakamoto) ensures that they have a happy ending, singing a gorgeous duet to close the opera; Amore himself, the blind child-god, has triumphed over the bickering Fortuna (a funny Amaranta Viera) and Virtu (the very young and talented Sarah Ann Duffy) who each claimed primacy over the other in controlling human history.  But no, in the end, it's all about LOVE.  Using the three gods as a framing device drives the point home.

The only tragedy in this opera is the death of Seneca, Ottavia's tutor, ordered by Poppea to eliminate a roadblock in her path.  This is also an artistic tragedy because it takes place in Act II and we wanted to hear more of bass Hans Tashjian who beguiled us with his superb singing and strong stage presence.

In an unusual casting move, mezzo Melissa Kelly, a fine singer and actress, portrayed both Arnalta (Poppea's nurse) and Nutrice (Ottavia's nurse).  Her funny bit came when she sang about her elevation of status as the nurse of the new Empress.  In smaller roles, we heard Ray Calderon, Nicholas Connolly, Edwin Vega and Nathan Letourneau.  All sang well.

The backbone of this excellent production was Monteverdi's gorgeous music, played by The Sebastians, a baroque ensemble led by harpsichordist Jeff Grossman.  The captivating theorbos and lutes were played by John Lenti and Charles Weaver while the heavenly harpist was Christa Patton.  Rounding out the ensemble were violinists Daniel S. Lee and Dongmyung Ahn with Ezra Seltzer playing the cello.

Stage Director Victoria Crutchfield and Costume Designer Nina Bova, obviously working with a very small budget, managed to create the illusion of more.  This placed the emphasis on the singers and the music which was a good thing.  We applaud Dell'Arte Ensemble not only for nurturing young singers but also for putting great art onstage with modest ticket prices, allowing New Yorkers unfamiliar with opera to dip their collective toes in the operatic waters and giving New Yorkers who are familiar with opera the opportunity to see operas that have gone unproduced at the Met.  There are a couple more performances of "L'incoronazione di Poppea" and one couldn't spend a better evening.

© meche kroop