BUTTERFLY REDUX

 

Sarah Benzinger, Alex Wang, Chris Drago Fistonich, Kimberly Milburn, Yulin Wang, Yeawon Jun

We enjoyed Amore Opera's production of Puccini's Madama Butterfly so much that we returned to see it with a different cast. Taking seats on the front row made the experience a bit less satisfying musically but more satisfying dramatically, since we were able to see more dramatic details, bringing us even more into the story. 

One might call these details insignificant but we liked noticing household servants spying on the newlyweds and the reactions of the wedding guests. We noticed an elderly guest being carefully led down the hill by a younger woman. There were many more details of Tami Swarz' astute direction, among which appeared to be elements of Japanese theater, particularly the moon and stars appearing as actors bearing masks during Cio-Cio-San's nightlong vigil, with a sun mask announcing daybreak.

However, it was the change of singers that we came to hear. Tenorrific Yulin Wang made a splendid Pinkerton with his strong instrument cutting right through the orchestration. There was something interesting about his characterization as well. One got the impression that his Act I behavior--jingoistic and sexist--was not necessarily a form of narcissism but rather demonstrated his youthful unquestioning acceptance of distorted cultural values. More significantly, his behavior in Act III was indeed cowardly but also seemed truly repentant. His "Ah, sono vil" was not performative as was last night's tenor's performance. It left us with the feeling that he has learned and grown from the tragedy created by his behavior.

Cio-Cio-San was beautifully sung by soprano Yeawon Jun and her petite frame next to Mr. Wang's grandeur reinforced the relative status of their relationship. Ms. Jun's vocal performance left nothing to be desired and we cannot explain why it felt less moving. Let us just attribute it to the fact that we shed all our tears the prior night.

The Sharpless of baritone Chris Drago Fistonich impressed us far more than the prior night's Sharpless who seemed cold and distant. We like the way Mr. Fistonich seemed more caring and concerned, whilst still maintaining his official position. He was appropriately angry at Pinkerton for creating such a mess!

Kate Pinkerton was played by Sarah Benzinger whose portrayal was not as warm and sympathetic as the prior night's Kate.  One wondered how successful would be her motherly skills toward the child Sorrow. This is what makes repeated nights of seeing different casts a worthwhile goal. There is no right or wrong way to play a character and each tiny gesture can affect the way one feels about the story.

Kimberly Milburn's Suzuki made it clear that she knew what Cio-Cio-San was going to do and how powerless she felt to stop the inevitable hara-kiri.

Alex Wang made a darling Sorrow and size wise looked younger than the prior night's Sorrow which worked to advantage.

Xavier Yunxuan Zhu was appropriately slimy as Goro and we were happy to see Ting-Yi Chen again as an elegant Prince Yamadori who graciously accepted Butterfly's refusal of his marriage proposal and did it with pleasantly resonant low tones. We were so glad that the character was not presented as a buffoon. Butterfly does not reject him because he is a fool. She rejects him because she is holding out hope for Pinkerton.

All in all, we enjoyed the performance and were never bored. We would happily see the third cast if we had the time.

© meche kroop

A MOST GALA GALA

  A scene from Mozart's Cosi fan tutte

Unless you are new to Voce di Meche, you are familiar with our delight in institutions that share our goal of fostering the careers of young opera singers. Having impressed us year after year with results, Classic Lyric Arts tops our list of institutions worth supporting.  Recently expanded from their three summer programs of total immersion in Italy, France, and the Berkshires, yearling CLAVA (Classic Lyric Arts Vocal Academy) is now flourishing, providing advanced year-long training to a select group of students.

Last night we attended the annual gala in which students and alumni got to show off their vocal, linguistic, and dramatic skills. Following a two handed piano arrangement of the overture to Don Giovanni (I-Hsiang Chao and Hannah Harnest) we were treated to the tender duet "Ange adorable" from Gounod's Roméo et Juliette with Sofia Gotch lending her brilliant instrument to the role of the shy heroine with tenor Yulin Wang giving an affecting performance as the ardent Roméo. The French diction succeeded beyond the customary skill of most young singers, evidence of some fine coaching. Daniel Isengart's astute direction had the two circling each other in a dance of seduction.

Following was the delightful light hearted duet from Hahn's comic opera Ciboulette, an interesting choice to show off the charms of Alison Kessler and Kevin Douglas in the duet "Nous avons fait un beau voyage", sung in French that was as Gallic as one might wish for. Hyojeong Ham accompanied.

The crazy scene from Mozart's Cosi fan tutte was so cleverly directed by Mr. Isengard that the nonsense between the six main characters made sense and we were plunged right into the craziness. Ms. Harnest accompanied the frolic with Annelise Burghardt, Brigid Mack, Yunxin Dorothy Nie, Benjamin Truncale, Jongho Woo, and Brian Linares bringing the scene to vivid life with  Ferrando and Guglielmo feigning suicide to win the affections of Fiordiligi and Guglielmo, whilst Don Alfonso and Despina enjoy the chaos they created.

Soprano Kerrigan Bigelow used her delicate vibrato to portray the shy Micaëla in her Act I duet with Don Jose, convincingly portrayed by tenor Philippe L'Esperance who has never sounded better, although we have always enjoyed his performances. Ms. Ham accompanied.

A riveting and star-making duet from Bellini's Norma ("Mira, o Norma") gave an opportunity for stellar soprano Sara Stevens to tackle this difficult number with the well loved mezzo-soprano Briana Hunter providing fine harmony as Adalgisa. The acting was particularly effective as the two women drew closer to one another. Again, Mr. Isengart's staging was right on point. Ziyi Hong accompanied.

A different Fiordiligi, Haiming Wu, succumbed to the importunate Ferrando of Mr. Truncale in "Far gli amplessi", a bit further along in the story.  There was so much going on in the aforementioned sextet that we didn't have the opportunity to focus on any one singer, but in this duet we noticed Mr. Truncale's embouchure and how that contributed to his most Italianate sound. Ms. Wu gave an excellent rendering of Fiordiligi and I-Hsiang Chao accompanied.

Comedy filled the air as Mr. Wang showed that his Italian was just as good as his French in "Se inclinassi a prender moglie" a duet from Mozart's L'Italiana in Algeri in which Lindoro evades the wishes of Bey Mustafa, well portrayed by  Juan Angel Johnston-Chavez.  Shaobai Yuan accompanied.

If there is one scene in Massenet's Manon that moves us it is when the eponymous heroine seduces her former lover who has joined the priesthood! Soprano Brea Marshall used every vocal and dramatic device in her repertoire to accomplish her goal. Her victim Des Grieux was well sung by Jack Hicks and Hyojeong Ham accompanied.

John Viscardi, Executive Director of CLA, is well known to us in both the tenor and baritone fach and made a fine impression as he stepped right into the role of Marcello, lamenting his lost love in the final act of Puccini's La Bohême. Portraying his friend Rodolfo was tenor David Freides and we enjoyed the way the two men balanced each other. Marianna Vartikian accompanied.

Closing the program was a very funny scene from Rossini's Le Comte Ory, well staged by Mr. Isengart who, we might mention, is on the faculty of CLA. The most remarkable feature of his directing is that even an opera neophyte could understand what is happening in a scene, even without benefit of knowing the language. But there were also his well written and concise program notes as insurance! Ziyi Hong provided the lively accompaniment.

Artistic Director Glenn Morton, well known as a faculty member of all three music conservatories in New York City, gave a warm welcome to the guests who were also treated to a lovely reception before and after the program, giving guests an opportunity to mingle with the young artists and to compare notes on the performances. This format seems more agreeable than the customary costly sit-down dinner with a high price tag used by other foundations to raise money and celebrate young singers.

We don't have enough good things to say about our own experience with CLA, not to mention the feedback we get from the students, as well as the evidence of our own ears. Their format of total immersion seems most effective. There is something more to be told, Dear Reader, something we will announce in due time.  So....stay tuned, as they say.

© meche kroop