LAST OF THE LINDEMANN

Valeriya Polunina and Michelle Bradley

Not to worry, it is only the last Lindemann recital for this season; we have every reason to believe that this valuable program will survive any cuts in governmental funding. We have often written about the value of this partnership between The Metropolitan Opera and The Juilliard School. The young artists chosen for this program get access to the resources of both institutions and performance opportunities aplenty.

We have been observing the progress of these rising stars for some time and think of the Lindemann Program as a finishing school for opera singers.  Of course, training never ends and even famous superstars take lessons!

Last night's program included mezzo-soprano Virginie Verrez, bass Sava Vemic, soprano Michelle Bradley, and coloratura soprano Hyesang Park. They are all well known to us and have given us abundant musical delights over the past few years.

Ms. Verrez, as a native speaker of French, was the perfect artist to perform Ravel's Sheherazade, which she translated herself. It truly does make a difference when a singer has that kind of in depth understanding of the text. In this cycle, Ravel's music captures the fantasy and eroticism of Tristan Klingsor's text. The poet was quite an armchair traveler!

Ms. Verrez has an unassuming presence and does nothing to call attention to herself, but rather submerges herself into the music, allowing the listener to see through her eyes all the imagery of the song. Judicious word coloring paints an aural picture. It goes without saying that the voice is a magnificent one and the phrasing is just what one hopes for in chanson. Ms. Verrez is always a consummate musician.

Her collaborative pianist Giuseppe Mentuccia did justice to the lavish accompaniment. In "Asie"; his fingers raced up and down the keys, adding to the air of exoticism.  In the haunting postlude to "La flute enchantee", Ms. Verrez' absorption sustained the mood. We enjoyed the feeling of unfulfilled longing in "L'indifferent".

Bass Sava Vemic chose a set of songs about death which he also translated himself. Schubert's "Der Tod und das Madchen" begins with some portentous chords in the piano expressing the fear of the young woman.  The work gave Mr. Vemic the opportunity to sing in two different colors. In the second verse, Death reassures the maiden of his gentleness and the change of color was arresting. He had to dig down deep for a really really low note.

Brahms' "O Tod, wie bitter bist du" also shows two sides of Death--bitter to some and welcome to others.

Our favorite songs came from Mussorgskuy's Songs and Dances of Death, predominantly because Mr. Vemic's thrilling timbre lends itself so well to the Russian language. We just this week heard the composer's Songs of the Nursery and it was wonderful to hear another aspect of his artistry. We enjoyed "Serenada" but our favorite was "Trepak" in which 

Mr. Metuccia again provided fine collaboration on the piano with a rumbling accompaniment.

In this song, the pairing of text and music was so apt that we could not imagine the work being sung in translation. Here Death is both seductive and comforting, blanketing an old peasant in snow.

Soprano Michelle Bradley has a diva's presence and a large sound that thrills the ear.  She performed  Samuel Barber's Hermit Songs and performed them as mini-dramas that created the world of Irish monks and scholars. There is great variety in the text and consequently in the music. Ms. Bradley invested each with its own meaning. We particularly enjoyed the enthusiasm of "The Heavenly Banquet", the contentment of "The Monk and His Cat", and the knowing wink of "Promiscuity", the two lines of which Ms. Bradley invested with a world of meaning.

She altered her vibrato to put an evocative chill into "The Desire for Hermitage" which closed the set.  In this set the accompanist was Valeriya Polunina whom we have always admired for her ability to focus on the singer. The pair made a fine team.

Sadly, due to a prior commitment, we had to take our leave before hearing Hyesang Park whom we absolutely adore. We wish we might have cloned ourself.

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LINDEMANN RECITAL

Julia Pilant and Petr Nekoranec

For those of you who don't know, the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program was created in 1980 by James Levine to identify and develop extraordinarily talented young singers, coaches, and pianists. Those fortunate enough to get accepted have access to all the resources of The Metropolitan Opera and, since 2010, to Juilliard School as well. These young artists are in demand all over the world, as well as onstage at the Met.

Friday evening was spent at the Bruno Walter Auditorium to enjoy one of their recitals. We went for the voices and the voice that captured our attention first was that of the French horn. We have always loved the sound and getting up close and personal for the first time allowed us to see how vocal an instrument it is and how sensitive. Valves must be removed and drained, for example. To play it is difficult.  To play it well is quite a gift.

The recital opened with Britten's Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings, Op. 31--with nary a string in sight. Apparently someone who was uncredited in the program had arranged it for tenor, horn, and piano. We had no interest in the text but we surely did enjoy the artistry of the performance. The work is moody and elegiac but is punctuated by muted announcements from the horn, which brought the work to life. For the Epilogue, the horn was heard from offstage, a very special moment. 

Petr Nekoranec, in his first year of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program is the possessor of exactly the type of tenor we most enjoy. It is a sweet sound but with a rich texture; moreover his English diction (thanks to English Instructor Patricia Brandt and coach Jocelyn Dueck) is exemplary and puts to shame that of native American speakers. We enjoyed the melismatic passages of the Sonnet movement.

Giuseppe Mentuccia's piano wove together the voice and the horn and the entire work was well-balanced. We are looking forward to hearing Mr. Nekoranec sing a work in which we can appreciate the unique qualities of his voice. We imagine that Dvorak's songs would be lovely. 

The program for this recital was a challenging one, both for the artists and the audience. We are sure there were people in the hall who enjoy Olivier Messiaen but we are not among them. There are works that grow on you with repeated exposure and there are works that never capture one's affection. Poemes pour Mi are in the latter category.

That being said, The composer's sincerity was matched by the equally sincere performance of soprano Clarissa Lyons. She sang with fine French diction  and made sense of the text which she had translated herself. Fortunately she appeared later in the program singing Joseph Haydn's concert aria "Berenice che fai", a passionate work with different colors in each section. Her voice is well centered from top to bottom and beautifully phrased. It was altogether a polished performance with excellent support from pianist Valeriya Polunina who has a delicate touch.

The third pair of artists on the program comprised tenor Ian Koziara with pianist Zalman Kelber. Uh oh! More Britten! On This Island is another work we are not adding to our hit parade. Mr. Koziara has a large powerful dramatic tenor with plenty of strength in the lower register. We would have liked to hear him sing some Verdi. Mr. Kelber's piano was insistent in "Now the leaves are falling fast" and gently rippling in "Seascape".  Perhaps "Nocturne" had the loveliest melody.

As far as 20th c. music goes, Frank Bridge's setting of Mary Coleridge's "Love went a-riding" was unusually accessible and pleasing to the ear.  For Wagner's "Traume", one of the Wesendonck Lieder, we would have preferred a lighter vocal touch. There is plenty of Wagner more suited to such a hearty voice.

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MARILY HORNE SONG CELEBRATION

Ken Noda, Gerald Martin Moore, Javier Camarena, Eugene Villanueva, Mario Chang, Valeriya Polunina, Michelle Bradley, J'Nai Bridges and Warren Jones

Whether we call it "Marilyn Horne's Birthday Week" or "The Marilyn Horne Legacy" or "The Song Continues 2017" it still adds up to be the exciting week in January when we get to celebrate the art of the song recital  Last night's "Marilyn Horne Song Celebration" at Zankel Hall (of Carnegie Hall) delivered the goods, bringing together four rising stars in the vocal firmament and superstar tenor Javier Camarena. The programming was superb and the audience was highly appreciative.

Several of the singers and collaborative pianists are well known to us and have been reviewed multiple times. Readers will recall how exciting it is for us to watch their growth over the half dozen years we have been writing. Among these singers, and standing out in our memory for having delivered a performance of perfection, is mezzo-soprano J'Nai Bridges whose constant appearances at award recitals stands as testament to her talent.

Ms. Bridges has always had a flair for French with consummate skills at diction, phrasing, and the creation of long lyrical lines. Dressed in a slinky turquoise gown that made her look like a mermaid, her voice was as seductive as that of the Loreley of German fame, the one whose compelling voice lured sailors to their doom.  But in this case, the luring was toward acoustic delights. Her interpretation of Claude Debussy's Chansons de Bilitis was right on point. She captured the innocence of the young girl in "La flute de Pan", the developing sensuality of the young woman in "La chevelure" and the disillusionment of a mature woman whose love has gone sour in "Le tombeau des naiades".

Warren Jones' delicate touch served to add to the spellbinding performance, no less excellent in Ernest Chausson's melancholic song of regret "Le temps des lilas" and in two songs by Georges Bizet. We loved the long arching phrases of "Chanson d'Avril" and the "Orientalist" fantasy of "Adieux de l'hotesse arabe" who cannot seem to keep her young European lover. There are endless colors in Ms. Bridges' vocal palette.

Variety of vocal colors seemed to be exactly what was missing in the otherwise fine performance of Richard Strauss' Vier Letzte Lieder by the powerful soprano Michelle Bradley, about whom we have also written before. This is a grand and glowing instrument with great promise and one that will take some time to get under firm control. The composer's swan song comprised the four last songs he wrote that were put together by his publishers. They are autumnal in quality and begged for more variety and gesture. Valeriya Polunina's accompaniment served her well with notable inclusions of the song of larks.

Warren Jones' piano contributed similarly to the performance of baritone Eugene Villanueva, whose talents are new to us. After hearing a set of Brahms songs and a set of Hugo Wolf songs, we have concluded that this fine young singer is far more interesting when he has a character to portray. And Wolf gives the singer plenty of characters! In "Der Rattenfanger", he gave the character a seductiveness of menace, not like Schubert's jolly ratcatcher!  Mr. Villanueva really got into the role and showed a great deal of personality.

A different sort of personality was called for in "Abschied" in which Morike's text describes an unwelcome visit from a critic whom the poet kicks down the stairs with great relish. Mr. Villanueva clearly enjoyed singing these characters and we enjoyed his performance. We would propose that the next time he sings Brahms' lovely "Von ewiger Liebe",  he might put himself into the mind of the cautious young man and the passionately committed young woman. We longed to hear the two voices colored differently. We enjoyed his voice most when he sang pianissimo.

Tenor Mario Chang is another singer we have been enjoying for several years; we were pleased that he chose several Spanish songs. Joaquin Turina's early 20th c. cycle Poema en forma de canciones begins with a selection for piano entitled "Dedicatoria" in which collaborative pianist Ken Noda established an Iberian flavor for the songs that followed, all expressing various ironies of love.

Mr. Chang has some beautiful technique at the ready and we heard a delicate decrescendo in "Nunca olvida". Similar to our critique of Mr. Villanueva, we longed to hear a different color for the woman who expresses her anxieties in "Los dos miedos".  The man narrating should sound different than the woman he is describing.

We heard another notable decrescendo in Tosti's "Ideale", a good choice for Mr. Chang. And we have heard him sing Miguel Sandoval's "Sin tu amor" before and consider it Mr. Chang's signature piece. There were a few times in his performance that he was pushing at the top of his register.  He does not always do this and when he does we wish he would lighten up. He has the notes  and higher doesn't always mean louder.

Such pushing was not heard in tenor Javier Camarena's performance of Liszt's Tre sonetti di Petrarca! So many fine singers have come out of Mexico and he is one of them. His guest appearance with collaborative pianist Gerald Martin Moore was pure pleasure. He has a gorgeous instrument and colors to spare--enough actually for the singers on the program who were deficient in that regard.

His delivery provided all the variety of dynamics one would wish for; he can achieve maximum volume without shouting or pushing his voice. One doesn't often here such an exquisite messa di voce. The depth of his feeling is operatic and we loved it. We are still hearing that long downward sigh in "Benedetto sia'l giorno" and a finely floated high note in "I' vidi in terra angelici costumi".

It was an altogether fine note and a fitting capstone for a week of celebration. Too bad we have to wait another year for a similar celebration.

Lovers of song will find other recitals in other venues--we recommend Steven Blier's New York Festival of Song for a different kind of song recital, and Joy in Singing for yet another. Watch the calendar at Opera America for more.

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EIN LIEDERABEND

Jacob Ingbar, Christine Oh, María Fernanda Brea, Mikaela Bennett

A liederabend at Juilliard is always an event. We often feel as if we are discovering the stars of tomorrow at the early stages of their careers and that is exciting. Yesterday we heard four undergraduates, each one a promising artist. We also heard a counter-tenor who is a post-graduate; but Jakub Jósef Orliński is already famous and missed the photo-op in order to make a plane to Europe where he is performing.

It was just a month ago that we heard and enjoyed his performance of some Italian baroque arias. Yesterday we heard him sing in French with a lovely tone that is youthful but never thin. He sang five songs by Reynaldo Hahn; we loved the way his floated top notes lingered in the air. Although the French line was perfectly legato, our favorite chanson was the lively "Fêtes Galantes".

Soprano María Fernanda Brea is well remembered from last summer's Fille du Regiment , in which she performed a charming Marie for Prelude to Performance (review archived). Yesterday she sang once again in French--Alfred Bachelet's "Chère nuit" in which she perfectly negotiated the dramatic upward leaps. There were also three fine songs by Massenet. We loved "Le printemps visite la terre". In the serenade "Nuit d'Espagne" collaborative pianist Valeriya Polunina varied her technique to provide suggestions of a guitar, sometimes strummed and sometimes plucked.

Baritone Jacob Ingbar not only has a pleasantly mellow sound but the gift of storytelling. He wisely chose Robert Schumann's Romanzen und Balladen Op. 53, comprising three stories requiring a hefty dose of dramatic interpretation which Mr. Ingbar handled expressively.  Kathryn Felt's piano was particularly lovely in "Loreley".

Soprano Christine Oh, accompanied by Jinhee Park, who has a soft touch on the keys, sang selections from Hugo Wolf's Italienisches Liederbuch. Ms. Oh has a fine vibrato and a voice that opens up on top like an umbrella. We wanted just a bit more expression in "Wie lange schon war immer mein Verlangen".  When the poet finally gets a musician boyfriend she might show a bit of dismay when he scrapes away at the violin.  Alternatively, she might blissfully ignore his ineptitude.  In either case, we want the singer to have a reaction. In  "Mein Liebster singt am Haus" the poet is given to adolescent hyperbole and we'd like to see more of the histrionics as she weeps a river of blood. Happily, Ms. Oh captured the humor of "Ich hab' in Penna einen Liebsten wohnen", the feminine equivalent of Leporello's "Catalogue aria".

Soprano Mikaela Bennett closed the program with four songs by André Previn. We have heard Ms. Bennett sing with NYFOS and were dazzled by her voice and stage presence as she sang American cabaret classics.  Yesterday she put heart and soul into Previn's songs but we could not say we liked the songs or wanted to hear them again. She sang "Do You Know Him?" a capella and once again impressed us with her tone and her phrasing as well as her commitment to the text. We were also impressed with her diction; every word was clear. Emil Duncumb was her collaborative pianist.

We applaud these young singers for their talent, for their hard work, and for the effort put into memorizing the material so that they could make excellent contact with the audience. There were some minor flaws in the nasal vowels of French and an occasional inconsistency with the final "ch" in German but the diction was always clear and the text well communicated.  Bravissimi!

GERALD FINLEY MASTER CLASS

William Kelley, Joe Eletto and Gerald Finley

Every master class is different but they all share something in common. A famous singer with the ability to impart his/her knowledge works with a few different students, usually for about a half-hour each, and tries to give each one something useful.  Some students readily pick up on these gifts and others seem unable to grasp them, possibly because of the stressful circumstance of learning in front of an audience.

Yesterday's master class at Juilliard was exceptional in that baritone Gerald Finley possesses not only a great knowledge of his art but also the ability to find a point of entry to reach each student. The other reason it was exceptional is that the students of Juilliard's Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts are preternaturally receptive and relaxed in front of an audience.

Most master teachers have a main theme to convey and Mr. Finley's had to do with the many aspects of intimacy. In contrast with the expansive "reaching out" of opera, lieder singing is an "inviting in" kind of performance. The singer must express who he/she is as an artist, emphasizing simplicity and vulnerability. It's a "heart-to-heart" kind of thing, an expression we ourselves have used to describe a number of Juilliard-trained singers. The singer must be the music and be the emotion so that the members of the audience can feel those feelings.  We are totally in agreement!

The first student was bass Daniel Miroslaw, working with collaborative pianist Valeriya Polunina. We were delighted that he chose to sing a song in his native Polish entitled "Whence the First Stars" by M. Karlowicz. Ms. Polunina was coached to begin with a note expressing the distance from the stars; one could hear the distance as this set the stage for Mr. Miroslaw. She also was coached to slow the tempo just a bit.

Mr. Miroslaw has a wonderfully rich instrument and he was coached to take his inspiration from the text and reminded to focus on the tone and the line, especially when singing his own language. Rests in the music become a cue to express emotion. He needed to ease up on the effort and this made an impressive difference. By the end of the half-hour we could feel the remoteness of the heavens!

The second singer was countertenor Eric Jurenas with Juliana Han at the piano. They began with Henry Purcell's "Sweeter than Roses". Mr. Finley instructed Mr. Jurenas to sing his English as if it were Italian, shifting the English "O" to an Italian "AW". It is always advisable to go by how it feels in the body rather than how it sounds. Since and open vowel resonates better less air is needed. Furthermore, it was advised to take more breaths and to make them meaningful. Ms. Han did so well with the Baroque style and the pair worked very well together.

Baritone Joe Eletto performed next with the always wonderful William Kelley producing marvelous colors on the piano. They performed "Schöne Fremde" from Robert Schumann's Liededrkreis, Op.39. Mr. Finley made an interesting point about knowing what came before a particular selection within the cycle.  He emphasized the necessity, when singing German lieder, to be totally aware of the text and to sing the words "immaculately". Every syllable requires vitality and energy.

In this song, the poet is expressing the strangeness of being in a foreign place; the place is indeed beautiful but overwhelming in its strangeness. After this bit of coaching we could indeed feel these unique feelings and were reminded of some of our stranger travels. Mr. Kelley sustained this mood right into the postlude.

The final student was soprano Christine Price who possesses an instrument just made for Strauss. She sang the moving "Mein Herz ist stumm, mein Herz ist kalt" from Sechs Lieder aus Lotosblätter, Op. 19, accompanied by William Kelley. The same advice about opening the vowels served here as well. How many times have we heard voice teachers saying to avoid widening the mouth on "AH". Attention was paid to the final consonants and their strict enunciation.

It was a master class in which each artist grew in intimacy and communication--a worthwhile class for both artists and audience.

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LIEDERABEND AT JUILLIARD

Hea Youn Chung and Angela Vallone

At Juilliard's latest liederabend, with Natalia Katyukova's coaching, all 10 Juilliard artists performed exquisitely, which is not to say that we enjoyed all of them equally. It was the final set of  songs by Joseph Marx, performed by the lovely soprano Angela Vallone in collaboration with pianist Hea Youn Chung, which captured our heart. Of all the composers on the program, Marx is the one most suited to our 19th c. ears and Ms. Vallone sang the songs most expressively.

Not only do we favor the Romantic period but we prefer songs about love and nature to those about war, depression, religion and conflict. Love is something to sing about!  And Marx carried over the mood of the 19th c. right into the 20th.  We particularly enjoyed "Nocturne" with its A-B-A form and lovely writing for piano.

Benjamin Britten set Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo, also about love. These belong firmly to the 20th c. and are not nearly as melodic. They were passionately sung by the wonderful tenor Miles Mykkanen with William Kelley at the piano.  Mr. Mykkanen has been extending himself in new directions, which we applaud.  That being said, we most enjoy his particular artistry in songs of humor and irony.

Soprano Razskazoff joined forces with Valeriya Polunina to perform three selections from Olivier Messiaen's Poèmes pour Mi, written for his violinist wife in 1938.  Ms. Razskazoff has a marvelously poised stage presence and a sizable voice just begging for the opera stage. Of the three selections, only "Le collier" expressed a sentiment to which we could relate.  But Ms. R's voice was thrilling, especially in the extended melismatic passages.

Bass-baritone Tyler Zimmerman utilized his voice and body in a most expressive fashion in two songs by Alexander Zemlinsky--both expressing anti-war sentiments with irony and bitterness. Mr. Zimmerman did his own translations of both. He also sang a trio of songs by Shostakovich--of later origin and lesser melodic interest. Kathryn Felt was his fine collaborative pianist.

Tenor Alexander McKissick performed six Poulenc songs with Ava Nazar as pianist. Poulenc chose to set texts by Apollinaire who survived World War I.  The poetry is surreal and said to reflect the visual arts--i.e. Cubism.  Our personal favorite was "Mutation". Notably, Mr. McKissick did his own translations.

It was greatly appreciated that each singer introduced the set of songs to be sung and told a little about their origins.

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SURE BEATS COCKTAIL HOUR

Dominik Belavy, Nicolette Mavroleon, Samantha Hankey, Caitlin Redding, Nathan Haller

In terms of "attitude readjustment", nothing beats a Liederabend at Juilliiard. One's workaday stress ebbs away and one becomes flooded with positive emotions.  The music itself is always wonderful and fulfilling but the artists who perform it fill one with gratitude that a fine institution like Juilliard exists to hone their skills and bring them to the point of stage worthiness.

Yesterday's program was headlined by tenor Nathan Haller who has everything one could wish for in a tenor, with none of the common tenor problems.  He is an unfussy singer who manages to sustain his energy throughout the song and to involve the listener in the text.  The tone gleams like silver and there is no sign of strain.  He achieves variety through dynamics and phrasing. Every word could be understood.

He performed four songs from Schubert's Schwanengesang--well chosen for their variety of mood--expertly accompanied by the intuitive collaborative pianist Valeriya Polunina.  In the lighthearted "Liebesbotschaft" we could hear the babbling brook in her piano.  The portentous opening of "Kriegers Ahnung" was in marked contrast. Mr. Haller was even effective in the very lowest part of his register.  He dramatically conveyed the horror and eeriness of "Der Doppelgänger" and moved on to the joyfully lilting "Die Taubenpost".  It was a noteworthy performance.

A pair of Strauss songs were performed by baritone Dominik Belavy, accompanied by HoJae Lee.  Mr. Belavy was listed on the program as a baritone but there was a great deal of depth in his lower register.  Perhaps there is a bass-baritone in the making. He evinced a round tone with a pleasing vibrato and has an easy stage presence. We were astonished to learn that he is only 19 years old.

The romantic "Traum durch die Dämmerung", for example, lies rather low for a baritone but Mr. Belavy was undaunted. The sad "Ach Lieb, ich muss nun scheiden" was sung expressively.  Unlike most very young singers, Mr. B. knows how to use his body.

We were delighted by mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey's performance of Trois Chansons de Bilitis by Debussy.  Her elegant stature and poise contributed to the long elegant French lines and Gallic atmosphere.  Edward Kim's accompaniment was correspondingly light and delicate.  Our only suggestion would be to make the words of this beautiful text better understood.  French seems to be rather more challenging in that regard, not just for Ms. Hankey but for most American singers.

Brahms' folk-like setting are deceptively simple but honestly charming.  Mezzo-soprano Caitlin Redding performed five of them with her excellent piano partner Martha Mingle.  Ms. Redding did her own translations and her expressive singing showed a comfort with the text. The unhappy "Mädchenlied" is one of our favorites; we had hoped for better diction to accompany the quality of her singing but we missed a lot of the phrases.  For some reason, the final lied "In stiller Nacht" was better understood.

Soprano Nicolette Mavroleon was also overcome by the German diction.  Her voice soars into the upper register with great passion and sounds best in the melismatic passages when unimpeded by the words.  Other than that her performance of Strauss' Vier letzte Lieder was vocally exciting.  The low-lying "Frühling" was followed (naturlich) by "September".  The set closed with the lovely "Beim Schlafengehen".  Kristen Doering was a fine piano partner.

What a splendid hour we passed at Juilliard.  Sadly, one gets this opportunity but once a month.  Yesterday's program was coached by the marvelous Vlad Iftinca who seems to know just how to pair up singer with pianist.  We wish we could end every workday in such fine fashion.

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MORE BUDS ON THE VOCAL ARTS BRANCH OF THE JUILLIARD TREE

Alex McKissick, Nicolette Mavroleon

Kurt Kanazawa, Virginie Verrez, Laura Levoir, Jessine Johnson

Lachlan Glen, Theo Hoffman, Leann Osterkamp, Mary-Elizabeth O'Neill

A week of recitals at Juilliard have left us reeling with pleasure. There wasn't a mediocre singer in the bunch; all were promising but some seem to have a better sense of what suits their particular voices and interpretive skills.  It takes a lot of courage to introduce a new work or to choose songs that are rarely performed.  Sometimes a gem is discovered and sometimes we are left realizing why a particular work has been neglected.  (Anyone who has worked with Steven Blier knows of his gifts for choosing songs and finding the right singer to inhabit them.)

Let us begin with Theo Hoffman whose third-year undergraduate status tells us absolutely nothing about his prodigious talents.  His generous smoky baritone was heard twice on Thursday.  At the Vocal Arts Department's Liederabend (an all-Schumann program) he sang in perfect German four lovely lieder, perfectly modulated in volume and word-coloring.  He was accompanied by the fine Ari Livne.

And two hours later he was onstage at his third-year recital with the amazing Lachlan Glen (whose new CD we will be reviewing shortly) as piano partner, making music out of some songs in English that we did not expect to enjoy; it is testament to the talents of these two artists that we found ourselves loving the material.

Mr. Hoffman has preternatural stage poise and dramatic chops; he can really bring a song to life.  He drew selections from the oeuvre of Jonathan Dove, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Benjamin Britten, John Musto, Samuel Barber, Rufus Wainwright and Marc Blitzstein.  One cannot go wrong with poetry by Alfred Tennyson, Robert Louis Stevenson or William Butler Yeats.  But the big surprise was Rufus Wainwright's "True Loves" and Marc Blitzstein's "Stay in My Arms". Both men composed their own texts and both songs were pure delight.  As encore, Mr. Hoffman sang Noel Coward's "Uncle Harry", a reprise of his success at a recital at the National Opera Center. What fun!!!

Sharing the program was mezzo Mary-Elizabeth O'Neill whom we enjoyed in those wonderful Schubert songs from Gesänge aus Wilhelm Meister.  She was just the right interpreter for these songs of the mysterious Mignon.  We were somewhat less enchanted by her choice of Mirabai Songs, John Harbison's setting of texts by Robert Bly.  The writing for piano was difficult and dense, performed well by the fine collaborative pianist Leann Osterkamp, but the vocal line was spare and not melodic.  The work obviously meant a great deal to Ms. O'Neill but we found ourselves incapable of caring about the Hindu princess who left her family to devote herself body and soul to Lord Krishna, although Ms. O'Neill's diction in English was easily understood.

To return now to the all-Schumann Liederabend, we enjoyed baritone Kurt Kanazawa, accompanied by Joseph Yungen, having a great deal of fun with his choices.  His light and pleasing baritone sounded wonderful and seemed particularly suited to songs about seduction--"The Hidalgo" for example.  He is one of those singers who uses his body and facial expression to good advantage, as in his imitating the ladies of Seville with their fans and mantillas.  What a storyteller!

Soprano Laura LeVoir with her piano partner Zsolt Balogh sounded especially fine in "Der Sandmann", "Schmetterling" and "Schneeglöckchen", singing with lightness, delicacy and charm.

Jessine Johnson has a larger voice that was well suited to the tragic "Der Soldat" and the scary "Muttertraum".  The Rückert lied "Mein schöner Stern" was equally impressive.  Siyi Fang followed along with her as piano partner, contributing to the apt interpretations.

Mezzo Virginie Verrez, accompanied by Miles Fellenberg, undertook the very sad Gedichte der Königin Maria Stuart.  Her very textured voice was expressive and she demonstrated exquisite phrasing, dynamic control and word coloring.  We were moved and enthralled.

Soprano Nicolette Mavroleon and tenor Alex McKissick shared a third-year recital and made a fine showing, the most amazing part of which was their versatility.  Just a few days earlier we heard them both singing in a cabaret (also reviewed here) and were impressed with the ease with which they shifted gears.

We always love Dvořák and were thrilled that Ms. Mavroleon chose to sing a quartet of his songs, three of which were about unfulfilled love.  We especially loved the typical Czech melody of "My heart often becomes mournful".  Piano partner Valeriya Polunina captured the mood perfectly.

She also sang a Schubert concert aria in Italian that was filled with emotion--"Vedi quanto adoro ancora ingrato!"  How wonderful to discover a new side of Schubert; we would not have recognized it as Schubert.  Two songs by Rimsky-Korsakov followed and we were blown away by the erotic "A Midsummer Night's Dream".

Tenor Alex McKissick essayed selections from Die Schöne Müllerin which we have always considered to be best sung by a young man.  He conveyed enthusiasm and contentment, tenderness and exultation. We liked the way he changed color for the various voices in "Am Feierabend".

He has a facility for Spanish and did a fine job conveying the insecurity of the serenader in "Te quiero, Morena" from the zarzuela El Trust de los Tenorios by José Serrano.  José Padilla's "Princesita" had a lovely melody.  Raymond Wong was his able accompanist.

A week spent at Juilliard provided a lifetime of musical memories!

© meche kroop

THE BUDS OF SPRINGTIME

Art Williford, Valeriya Polunina, Eva Gheorghiu, Angela Vallone

For Voce di Meche, the greatest pleasure of Springtime is not the budding of the trees but rather the budding of vocal talent.  This is the time of year when music students get to give recitals.  We can think of no greater seasonal satisfaction  than witnessing these young artists whose full flowering we anticipate in the years to come.  It is a long journey for them and this is but one crucial step.

There will be more reviews this week but let us focus on last night's satisfying recital at Juilliard where we heard two fine sopranos, both students of Edith Wiens.

Eva Gheorghiu (no relation to Angela) has a crystalline tone and a fine sense of drama.  She performed two very different arias: "Frère! Voyez!" from Jules Massenet's Werther and "Prendi, per me sei libero" from Gaetano Donizetti's  L'Elisir d'Amore.  In the first, young Sophie tries to cheer up the morose Werther and Ms. Gheorghiu captured the spirit and nailed the French diction.

In the latter, Adina lets Nemorino know that she has bought back his military contract and that she loves him; she tells him with flights of rapturous coloratura, leaving us enraptured.

A quintet of songs by Prokofiev which she herself translated  permitted her to demonstrate a lovely diminuendo  and strength in the lower register.  Valeriya Polunina accompanied with a light sensitive touch and fleet fingering.

Soprano Angela Vallone, working with the excellent collaborative pianist Art Williford, performed songs in Russian, French and Swedish.  We just saw her three days earlier performing in a cabaret and were impressed by her versatility. 

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Nightingale and the Rose" has the most exotic melody and delighted the ear.  In Rachmaninoff's  lavish "In the silence of the mysterious night", Ms. Vallone allowed the passionate sentiment into her voice to fine effect.

A pair of Debussy songs--"Regret" and "Paysage Sentimental" were delivered in fine French that was understandable without the printed text.

But where Ms. Vallone truly shone was in the concluding set of songs by Jean Sibelius with which she clearly connected.  We have always loved "Var det en dröm?" but it was "Flickan kom ifrån sin älsklings mote" that truly spoke (or, rather, sang) to us because of her deep involvement.

Stay tuned for more "buds" tomorrow!

© meche kroop

GREAT COACHING=GREAT PERFORMANCE

Mitchell Lyon, Bretton Brown, Elizabeth Sutphen

Once more, a "cocktail hour" spent at Juilliard was more intoxicating than a cocktail.  This "six à sept" was notable by the fact that it comprised only Italian canzone and that the singers were coached by Diego Tornelli.  When all of the actors in a play are terrific, we generally acknowledge the brilliance of the director.  When all the singers are terrific, some credit must go to the coach.

The lovely soprano Elizabeth Sutphen opened the program, along with her collaborative pianist Bretton Brown, singing Rossini's "L'invito"; she has a fine vibrato in her voice with an open-throated upper register and a warm sincere stage presence.  In Ponchielli's "Piangea", Robynn Quinnett's violin wept along with the sad text.  In Ponchielli's "Eternamente", Mitchell Lyon's cello made some beautiful harmonies with her voice.  We have enjoyed witnessing Ms. Sutphen's growth as an artist on her way through Juilliard.

The same could be said for tenor Nathan Haller, whose piano partner was Valeriya Polunina.  He gave a rather subdued performance of Verdi's "Non t'accostare all'urna", a song of bitterness that we have cherished as one of Verdi's best songs; he was absolutely undaunted by the low notes, starting pianissimo and building to a passionate crescendo.  He followed up with some Tosti songs; we thought that "Ideale" suited his voice perfectly and observed a deep connection with the text and a sustained mood.  In Respighi's "Invito alla danza", he loosened up and evinced a lot of charm.

Also on the program were some singers we had not heard before but hope to hear again.  Tenor Hyunho Yoo, accompanied by Miles Fellenberg, sang Cimara's "Non più" with a sweet sound and legato phrasing.  He also sang a few songs by Castelnuovo-Tedesco, our favorite of which was "Al tè", a charming song with a lighthearted text describing conversation around a tea table.  But we noticed the most connection with the text when Mr. Yoo sang about nature, as in Davico's "O maggio bello" in a later set.  Mr. Fellenberg shone in Campogalliani's "Piangete occhi".

Also new to us was mezzo Avery Amereau who sang early 20th c. canzone by Santoliquido.  Ms. Amereau has a true mezzo sound, and a most agreeable one at that, in contrast with many young mezzo-sopranos who tend to sound like sopranos with low notes.  We liked the way her voice opened up when she sang the passionate "L'incontro".  Her pianist was Art Williford and they worked well together.

The program closed with baritone Elliott Hines, accompanied by Siyi Fang who has a lovely delicate touch, performing songs from several different periods.   Calestani's 17th c. "Accorta lusinghiera" was the earliest and Castelnuovo-Tedesco's charming "Nova angeletta" the most modern.  Mr. Hines seemed as comfortable with the baroque as with the "modern".  The final work on the program was Schubert's "Il traditor deluso"; had we not read the program we would never have recognized Schubert's compositional hand.  What a surprise!

We left Paul Hall feeling as if we'd taken a course in the history and evolution of canzone.  We also observed the value of having the singer do his/her own translations.  This was a real Halloween treat, the only "trick" being the Schubert!

© meche kroop