A VISIT FROM THE PEABODY INSTITUTE

Holden Turner, Laurie Rogers, Cierra Byrd, Julie Knott, Daniel LaRue, Rira Kim, and Sara Nealley

Perhaps every other opera lover in New York City spent the afternoon at The Metropolitan Opera undergoing the tense atmosphere of the Laffont Competition. Meanwhile we were enjoying a relaxed and rewarding afternoon up close and personal in the WQXR recording studio downtown hearing six superb young singers from the Vocal Studies Department at Peabody Conservatory.

With typical New York City chauvinism, we had hardly realized that a superb vocal training program might exist outside of Gotham until The Gerda Lissner Foundation began sponsoring a series of broadcasts about which we have been writing this year, a series hosted by the well known Midge Woolsey. Introducing and narrating the program was Elizabeth Futral who, incidentally, won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Competition (now called the Laffont Competition) in 1991, went on to enjoy a brilliant career, and now occupies the position of Marc C. Von May Distinguished Chair of Vocal Studies at Peabody Institute.

The six young singers made a fine showing, doing credit to the program. They chose their selections well, each one highlighting his/her own strengths. No criticism could be made of their vocalism and we were able to focus on their dramatic presentations which were consistently special.

Coming to mind first was the Rosina of mezzo-soprano Julie Knott who took us right into the scene in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia in which she plots to outwit her controlling possessive guardian. The lavish embellishments in"Una voce poco fa" served to limn her character and we were delighted by the performance. Ms.Knott is also capable of quietude and underplaying as she demonstrated in the soulful mystic chant of Hildegard von Bingen, performed a cappella. Her dynamic variation kept the simple line interesting. 

Soprano Rira Kim made a marvelous Marguerite, so impressed by the cask of jewels she received from Faust in "Ah, je ris" from Gounod's Faust. We also enjoyed a Korean folk song "Baetoolga" in a contemporary setting by Jean Ahn.

Mezzo-soprano Cierra Byrd is as adept in French as she is in German, giving Fauré's "Après un rěve" a lovely long Gallic line and giving Mahler's chipper folksong "Wer hat dies Liedlein" the requisite humor, even in the vocalise part.

Soprano Sara Nealley tackled some difficult material. If one were unfamiliar with James Joyce's text, one would have a difficult time understanding Barber' setting of "Nuvoletta" and the soprano range doesn't help to elucidate the text. Her other selection was an emotional aria from Janáček's Katya Kabanova, a tragedy about an unhappy wife who drowns herself after an episode of unfaithfulness. We are not familiar with the Czech language but we did pick up on the loneliness.

Tenor Daniel LaRue gave a fine performance of Schubert's masterful lied "Erlkonig", differentiating the voices of the frightened child, the seductive elf king, and the father who tries to reassure the child.

Baritone Holden Turner was convincing as the self important Count Almaviva in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro.  He is completely baffled by the machinations of Figaro, Susanna and the Countess in "Hai già vinta la cause" and plots his revenge.

Accompanist for the recital was Laurie Rogers who admirably kept up with the many changes of style.

Before closing, here's a reminder for you that The Gerda Lissner Foundation is celebrating the winners of their annual competition on April 29th at Zankel Hall. Ticket supply is dwindling and we urge you to move quickly to secure a seat for this consistently thrilling event.

© meche kroop

 

A GIFT FROM UPSTATE

 

Kayo Iwama, Ryan MacEvoy McCullough, Evan Katsefes, Michael Adams, Benjamin Truncale, and Leonor Vasconcelos

Having focused for so many years on Manhattan's three music conservatories, it was enlightening to see how much talent there is coming from upstate--Bard College Conseservatory of Music to be exact. Thanks to the Gerda Lissner Young Artist Showcase, we were privileged to be in the studio audience at The Greene Space of  WQXR for a most engaging recital.

As the recital progressed we noticed that all the students of the Bard College Vocal Arts Program shared a number of features in common. All of them had an admirable facility for language and all of them were so expressive that our attention was riveted throughout. We heard four of the advanced students in the program (two sopranos and two tenors) and a highly successful graduate, not to mention renowned mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe who, as artistic director, seems to be getting enormous rewards from guiding young singers--a pleasure we fully understand. 

There was quite a lot of French mélodie on the program and every one of the young artists conveyed a fine understanding of the Gallic style--a gentleness and subtlety, a delicacy that matches the sentiments of the poetry. Our favorite of this group was Pauline Viardot's appropriately titled "Havanaise" performed by Leonor Vasconcelos who switched easily from the legato slow section to a spirited fast section marked by bel canto style fioritura. Ms. Vasconcelos has an animated stage presence and made generous use of facial expression and gesture to tell the story. We were enchanted.

Similarly, soprano Michael Adams evinced great depth of feeling and a delicate vibrato in her performance of Fauré's "C'est l'extase", evoking images of nature and romance at once.

Soprano Lucy Fitz Gibbon, a graduate of Bard's Vocal Arts Program, introduced us to a pair of songs by Adela Maddison, a student of Fauré heretofore unknown to us; we do love discovering "new" music (new to us) much more than we appreciate "New Music" (recently composed). As Ms. Fitz Gibbon introduced the work, one could tell how invested she is in such discoveries and how personal is her investment. We are ill equipped to place value on a composition but we can say that the music and its performance did not pale in comparison with the rest of the songs. We felt as if we shared in the singer's discovery.

Benjamin Truncale gave a lovely performance of Duparc's "L'invitation au voyage", evincing ample vocal coloration and dynamic variation in setting the sensual mood of Baudelaire's text. We observed that his gestures were non specific and he was telling the story vocally, unlike the women who used specific gestures to amplify the storytelling.

Tenor Evan Katsefes moved easily from the fine French of Fauré's "L'hiver a cesse" to the German text of Hermann Alllmers "Feldeinsamkeit" which had been set by Brahm's a few years earlier. It was an interesting exercise on Ives' part but we prefer the Brahms.  He also moved easily into the English of Florence Price's. "Hold Fast to Dreams".

There were many more treasures in the generous program but let us move on to the surprising ending which took us into the world of 20th century German kabarett. Ms. Vasconcelas  demonstrated a great facility for cabaret in her performance of a very early Schoenberg song called "Gigerlette". This was so charming we wished that Schoenberg had never gone on to give birth to the 12-tone system!

Ms. Fitz Gibbon performed Kurt Weill's "Berlin im Licht" and Ms. Blythe, whose dusky mezzo is perfect for German, gave us a jazzy arrangement (by Ryan MacEvoy McCullough who accompanied her) of Holländer's "Wenn ich mir was wünschen dürfte". It was a gloriously expressive performance, somewhat marred however by the presence of the loathed music stand.

It is clear that the vocal training at Bard emphasizes the text and the singers appear to have done their own translations.  The motto seems to be "speak it before you sing it" which seems to be responsible for the excellent performances which gave us such pleasure. The superb piano accompanists for the evening were Kayo Iwama and Mr. McCullough. Bravi tutti!

© meche kroop

FROM THE CITY OF BROTHERLY LOVE

 Miloš Repický, J'Nai Bridges, Evan Gray, Katie Trigg, and Sarah Fleiss

A favorable confluence of musical forces delivered an outstanding hour of music yesterday at WQXR's "The Greene Space". Sponsored by The Gerda Lissner Foundation and hosted by WQXR's  Midge Woolsey, five fantastic artists from The Curtis Opera Theater succeeded in lifting the spirits of an attentive studio audience and, we hope, listeners at home. In these dark days, musical beauty has become even more valuable in showing why life is worthwhile. And what could be more beautiful than vocal music.

An alumna of Curtis Institute of Music, the prodigiously gifted superstar mezzo-soprano J'Nai Bridges not only sang her heart out, but also, as we understand, spent a week in Philadelphia giving master classes to the three young singers whose artistry touched our heart and gave us hope for the future. Upon hearing young singers, we often enjoy mentally casting them in roles that we think would suit them. Sometimes we guess well and learn that they have actually performed those roles, giving us a somewhat smug sense of satisfaction.

Regular readers know how dearly we love duets and ensembles and we particularly enjoyed the opening duet "Belle nuit, ô nuit d'amour" from Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffman performed in delicious harmony by Ms.  Bridges and rising star soprano Sarah Fleiss. The two filled The Greene Space with luscious harmony and brought back happy memories of the opera, seen most recently at the Santa Fe Opera.

Ms. Bridges is a gloriously centered and gracious stage presence (as well as a warm and delightful off-stage presence) and we loved the way she got the three young singers to talk about the songs they were about to sing. Since the program was "singer's choice", we got a glimpse of how the singers see themselves by means of their selections.

For example, Ms. Fleiss put so much intention into her performance of two of Samuel Barber's Hermit Songs that we felt an understanding of the appeal of solitude in "The Desire for Hermitage". This was paired with the contrasting companionate pleasure of "The Monk and His Cat". Let it be noted that Ms. Fleiss' diction was so perfect that we understood every word. This cannot be said of most American singers who tend to slur their words when singing English.

New Zealand native Katie Trigg, a mezzo-soprano,  introduced us to some Maori songs that, we could tell, meant a great deal to her. We were surprised to learn how singable the language is, with vowels similar to Italian. The sentiments were lovely, the melodies pleasing, and the performance intimate. We enjoyed the way she built the pianissimo beginning of "Whisper of Heaven" to a thrilling climax.  There was a very brief song in which a newborn, as yet unnamed, tells his mother (presumably) in reply to her question "What shall I call thee?", "Joy is my name". We wanted Ms. Trigg to give different colors to the mother's voice and the infant's voice.

Swiss bass-baritone Evan Gray delighted us with Schubert's lilting "Die Taubenpost" which suited his voice perfectly, reminding us that no one has ever equalled Schubert in setting poetry for the voice. However we also liked Jonathan Dove's setting of Three Tennyson Songs. The collaborative pianist Miloš Repický--so admirably supportive of the singers throughout--made much of the dissonant intervals of a 2nd in "Dark House" as well as some empty chords which emphasized the feeling of loneliness. In "The Sailor Boy" we wished for more contrast of color between the voice of the narrator, the warning voice of the mermaid, and the response of the reckless sailor boy himself. This dramatic "fine-tuning" will take the performance over the top.

One of the best scenes in Mozart's Cosi fan tutti is the trio in which Don Alfonso, Fiordiligi, and Dorabella watch the young men sail away, or so the young ladies are led to believe.  The harmonies are exquisite and the three young singers completely captured the vocal beauty.

Ms. Bridges captivated us with a couple of songs. Florence Price's "Hold Fast to Dreams" with text from a poem by Langston Hughes, carried a message of hope, much needed in today's political climate.  But it was the spiritual "Whole World", arranged by Margaret Bonds, that touched us deeply--and for a strange reason.  This lovely artist chose to alternate verses with "He/Him" and "She/Her". There are those that might have preferred "They/Them" but not us. We were reminded of our trip to Zimbabwe when we learned about the dual god/goddess of the Zambezi River (Nyami Nyami).

The evening ended on a hopeful note with our four artists joining voices for "You'll Never Walk Alone" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel. It was a splendid evening giving us hope for the future! If we lived in Philadelphia, we would be haunting the halls of Curtis Institute instead of those of Juilliard and Manhattan School of Music.

© meche kroop

AT THE GREENE SPACE

Jennifer Johnson Cano

Michael Fabiano

When a singer we've been writing about makes it "bigtime" we get an incomparable thrill.  And that's exactly what happened at the Greene space last night when WQXR presented "Serenata Italiana", a very special evening celebrating some major talents.

Jennifer Johnson Cano, accompanied by her understandably happy husband Christopher Cano on the piano, threw heart and soul behind her stunning mezzo instrument to thrill us and everyone else present with highly dramatic renditions of an Italian aria, an Italian art song, and a Russian song added for good measure.

Vitellia's aria "Non più di fiori" from Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito was sung with gorgeous vibrato, enviable dynamic control and phrasing, true strength in the lower register, flexibility in the fioritura, lovely legato phrasing and a most exciting ritornello.  What more could one ask?

We have heard Liszt's "Pace non trovo" many times in master classes and know just how difficult it is to sing.  We have never before heard it sung by a woman until we heard Ms. Cano sing it, which we reviewed on a prior occasion.  This was a "sit up and take notice" event.  The lover's agony was performed with moving intensity that made sense of the text--Petrarch's superlative sonnet.  She ended with an exquisite decrescendo.  Major WOW!  We hope there will be a third hearing somewhere down the line.

Although the evening was meant to be an Italian one, we had no objections to the soul stirring performance of Rachmaninoff's "Spring Waters".  Ms. Cano is taking on the role of Hansel in the Humperdinck opera at the Met and should make an enormous success.

Tenor Michael Fabiano, capably accompanied by the always wonderful Laurent Philippe, absolutely blew the audience away with his powerful voice and enough intensity for a trio of tenors.  He offered "Federico's lament" from Cilea's L'Arlesienne, filling the room with Italianate passion.  Tosti's "L'alba separa dalla luce" was given equal intensity.  It is wonderful to witness Fabulous Fabiano's career skyrocketing.

Naomi Lewin interviewed both artists and it was fun learning interesting little facts about their lives and careers.  But when the magnificent Renata Scotto joined the group onstage, there was no denying the overwhelming impact of her outsized personality, manifested by wonderfully outspoken opinions, her expressive face and gesture, and a refreshing sense of humor.  We confess to being completely mesmerized.  What a worthwhile evening!

(c) meche kroop