THE DELICIOUS FRUIT OF THE LINDEMANN TREE

Dan Saunders, Michelle Bradley, Yunpeng Wang, and Kang Wang

Thanks to Mother Nature holding off on the threatened rain and thanks to the Lindemann Young Artist Program (and all the city agencies and foundations supporting the Summer Recital Series), a large audience at Jackie Robinson Park had the pleasure of hearing a thrilling recital of arias and duets last night. Our only complaint is the brevity. Not that the artists were stinting in their generosity; just that our ears were greedy for more!

The program was wisely chosen with well-known arias and duets that most people would have recognized. Even small children were held spellbound; even the page-turner got applause during the standing ovation.

Do we tire of these familiar numbers?  Oh no!  Each one is so well written that there is room for a great artist to tell us something new about the character who is assigned that particular piece of music. Although each Lindemann artist is uniquely gifted, there is a common thread among them all; they do not just "perform", but rather they inhabit the character so completely that our mind's eye supplies the sets and costumes and story leading up to the aria or duet.

However, in a generous touch that impressed us, each artist introduced her/himself and explained what was going on. In that fashion, audience members who were not familiar with the piece and who may not have understood the language were made to feel  a part of the proceedings.  No one could have felt left out. We hope those who were introduced to the joys of opera will proceed to investigate further.

Michelle Bradley not only has a thrilling soprano but she is a true diva, commanding the stage with real presence. Equally adept at the long French lines of "Depuis le jour" from Charpentier's Louise and the round delicious flavor of Italian, she made good use of her stature and ability to engage; the audience was completely carried away. She has a special gift for portraying young women in love, as seen in the afore-mentioned and also in "Mercè, dilette amiche" from Verdi's I Vespri Siciliani and in "Doretta's Song" from Puccini's La Rondine. Her voice, expansive with resonant overtones, swells magnificently from a firm center. Her encore piece "He's got the whole world in his hand" brought the audience to their collective feet.

Tenor Kang Wang has the sweetness and ease that we so love in the tenor instrument but do not always hear.  He never pushes and therein lies the aural pleasure we experienced. He excels at young men in love.  "Una furtiva lagrima" from Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore  was given a tender timbre; "Lunge da lei...De'miei bollenti spiriti" was sung with heartfelt enthusiasm; encore piece  "No puede ser" from Pablo Sorozábal's zarzuela La Tabernera del Puerto was colored with incredulity.  "La donna è mobile" from Verdi's Rigoletto required a bit more caddishness which we suspect is foreign to this lovely artist.

Baritone Yunpeng Wang was in top form. Every time we hear him he seems to grow in stature. He sang Figaro's "Largo al factotum" from Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia as if he were born to sing it; every expression and gesture served the character. He colored his voice completely differently as he portrayed Germont Père in "Di Provenza" from Verdi's La Traviata; although he was portraying a character twice his age, he channeled his own father and became completely convincing. 

Probably one of the less familiar numbers on the program was "O du mein holder Abendstern" (from Wagner's Tannhäuser), one of our very favorite baritone arias, and here given a beautiful interpretation by Mr. Wang. Accompanist Dan Saunders, fine throughout the evening, recreated the harp arpeggios on the piano and Mr. Wang's ornamentation on the word "engel" was exquisite. One senses the Italianate influence of Verdi on Richard Wagner but one can also appreciate Mr. Wang's crisp German diction and the depth at the very bottom of his register.

In Padre, Padrone, a film by the Taviani brothers, the hero hears this aria when he is a young shepherd in the mountains of Sardinia--and it changes his life. That's just the kind of aria it is. We imagined that Mr. Wang's performance changed some lives last night.

Mr. Wang's encore piece was the "Champagne Aria" from Mozart's Don Giovanni in which he got to express his impressive versatility.

Several duets were presented which permitted various combinations of voices. "Au fond du temple saint" from Georges Bizet's "Les Pêcheurs des Perles" allowed both Wang's to join voices in perfect harmony.  From Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, Ms. Bradley and Mr. Yunpeng Wang performed the realismo love scene between Nedda and Silvio. Ms. Bradley and Mr. Kang Wang created the joy of young love in "O soave fanciulla" from Puccini's La Bohème.

To have heard such a recital with so much talent onstage and all that great energy was one of the summer's greatest gifts.

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DONIZETTI DISCOVERY

Italo Marchini, Aaron Blake, Angela Meade, Eve Queler, Yunpeng Wang, Sava Vemic, and Mia Pafumi

We gave away the plot to Donizetti's rarely performed 1833 opera Parisina d'Este in last months's archived review (COVERS UNCOVERED) when the cover cast for Opera Orchestra of New York treated us to excerpts from the opera. We were enthralled and bursting with anticipation for Maestro Eve Queler's conducting of the entire opera. Last night at the Rose Theater, our hopes were completely fulfilled.

As a matter of fact, this opera goes on our wish list as one we'd love to see tackled by The Metropolitan Opera. During this concert version, we saw the entire opera in our head--sets and costumes included. 

The flow of the music and the complete involvement of the singers succeeded admirably in evoking the story--a typical 19th c. melodrama which librettist Felice Romani adapted from a poem by Lord Byron.

The tale moves forward without any distracting side plots. The characters are sympathetic and victims of their time (15th c.), place (Ferrara) and culture (arranged marriages). Duke Azzo and his wife Parisina are both miserable and political triumphs cannot relieve the gloom of the court.

Yunpeng Wang established his character (Duke Azzo) from the very start. He is madly in love with his wife who does not love him. Although it is difficult to forgive his behavior at the end of the opera, Mr. Wang's gorgeous baritone and warmth let us feel Azzo's pain. His duet with his minister Ernesto was nothing short of sumptuous. And to hear him change vocal coloration when he sang about battles was most impressive.

Sava Vemić's youthful appearance did not prevent him from creating a believable character who is both a loyal minister and a loving father trying to save his son from danger. Mr. Vemić's rich bass filled the theater and thrilled the ear. His character has the big "reveal" at the climax of the opera.

As the son Ugo, tenor Aaron Blake overcame some early problems with intonation to deliver a beautifully sung and well-phrased performance. Ugo is a man so obsessed with his childhood sweetheart, who now belongs to another, that he cannot preserve his own life.

Soprano Angela Meade gave a riveting performance as the eponymous Parisina, married to the Duke but in love with Ugo. In this opera, Donizetti eschewed lavish fioritura, but what embellishments there were to the vocal line were beautifully negotiated.

As Imelda, Parisina's confidant, soprano Mia Pafumi looked and sounded beautiful. Her duet with Ms. Meade was movingly tender.

Under Maestro Queler's baton, The Opera Orchestra of New York played Donizetti's profusion of melody with the excellence we have come to expect of them-- minus a recalcitrant trumpet. We heard foreshadowing of music from Lucia di Lammermoor, which he would write two years later, and echoes of "The Senator Song" from L'Elisir d'Amore, which he had written the year before. 

In Parisina, Donizetti relied heavily on the wind sections and Maestro Queler brought out every line. Perhaps (dare we say it??) the Rose Theater offers some acoustic advantage over Carnegie Hall. (Gulp!)

The New York Choral Ensemble, under the leadership of Italo Marchini, commented on the action and filled in the narrative. As all good choruses must, they made their words count.

With such high quality conducting, playing, and singing, we would count this as one of the highlights of the season.

Maestro Queler conducted this once before with Montserrat Caballé, James Morris, and Luis Quilico over 40 years ago. It is difficult to believe that this energetic youthful conductor has been around that long. We hope we won't have to wait that long to hear this wonderful opera again!

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DEUS EX MACHINA

Andrew Stenson and Ying Fang  (photo by Marty Sohl)

The production of Christoph Willibald Gluck's Iphigénie en Aulide was so outstanding we do not know whom to credit first.  Undeniably, conductor Jane Glover had a hand in it, or should we say "two hands" as she used them in balletic fashion to guide Juilliard415 (Juilliard's period-instrument orchestra) through Gluck's lean expressive score.  From the very first theme of the overture, heard at key moments later in the opera, we knew we were in good hands.  We want to call her Jane Goodhands, no "gloves" necessary.

Gluck can be said to have revolutionized opera in the mid 18th c.  By eliminating many excesses of the baroque, he paved the way for Mozart's genius.  By selecting libretti with authenticity of emotion, psychological insight, and sincere simplicity, he engages the listener who can examine his or her own predicaments and find resonant parallels.  Who has not struggled with desires that conflict with duties?  In this case, the libretto by du Roullet was based on the Racine play of 1674.  The opera premiered in 1774 in Paris.

Still, it is the singers themselves that carry the opera and we found the performances to be beyond criticism.  Each and every singer, drawn from the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program and Juilliard Opera, was astutely cast, vocally perfect and dramatically affecting.  Were it not for the unexpected happy ending (unexpected because we had not read the synopsis beforehand) we would have gone home in tears.  Thankfully, due to the intervention of the goddess Diane, the innocent Iphegénie gets to live and to marry her beloved Achille.

Soprano Ying Fang made a perfect Iphegénie, using her expressive limpid voice, face and body to convey the nobility of character that enables her to express both despair over losing her young life and submission to her fate as a sacrifice.  At one point, convinced that Achille had been unfaithful (a ruse), she summoned up quite a lot of outrage.

Similarly, her intended husband Achille, as performed by tenor Andrew Stenson, conveyed rage at Agamemnon, tender love and protectiveness toward his bride and also had to exhibit outrage at being falsely accused of infidelity.  He accomplished all this without compromising his warm appealing tone.

As the conflicted Agamemnon, baritone Yunpeng Wang limned the character of a man torn between love for his daughter and duty to the gods who demanded the sacrifice. Mr. Wang has a round sturdy baritone that can sound authoritative when necessary to control others, angry when confronting the recalcitrant gods and yet tender when thinking of his child.

Mezzo-soprano Virginie Verrez was stunning as the mother Clytemnestre.  She has a true rich mezzo sound with a great deal of depth.  In the closest thing to a mad scene that one might see in a pre-19th c. opera, she nearly loses it in her rage at her husband--all without losing her magnificent phrasing and tone.  At her entrance she is all regal dignity and it was upsetting yet understandable to watch her decline into near madness as she wished to substitute her life for her daughter's.

As the high priest Calchas, bass-baritone Brandon Cedel demonstrated why he has been winning prizes everywhere.  His lordly tones expressed the matter-of-fact information that Iphegénie must be sacrificed.  It was in different tones that he announced toward the end of the opera that the goddess Diane had arrived.

As Achille's friend Patrocle, baritone Takaoki Onishi gave his usually fine performance, lending truth to the saying in the theater world that "There are no small roles".  

All of the singers mentioned so far are familiar to us as we have watched their growth from one year to the next.  But last night we heard two singers for the first time and enjoyed their performances enormously.  Serbian bass Sava Vemić made a fine showing as Arcas, Agamemnon's lieutenant who is responsible for conveying messages important to the plot.  His rich substantial sound made us want to hear more of him.  As Diane, soprano Liv Redpath had the enviable role of the "deus ex machina" making everyone happy.  It will make us happy to hear her again.

As Three Greek Women, Angela Vallone, Kara Sainz and Mary-Elizabeth O'Neill made a fine showing as well.

Although billed as a "concert version" the young artists, performing onstage in front of the musicians, acted up a storm.  The only features missing were costumes and sets; we never missed them due to the persuasive acting and fine singing.  David Paul directed the enterprise, a collaboration of The Metropolitan Opera and The Juilliard School.

Finally, let us not forget to mention the fine French diction.  Even the chorus, positioned on the sides and at the rear of the orchestra made the language comprehensible.  There is only one more performance on Saturday at 2:00.  Miss this at your own peril.  Don't say we didn't tell you!

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EVE QUELER AND FRIENDS

Musa Ngqungwana, Yunpeng Wang, Ashley Kerr, Shirin Eskandani, Rochelle Bard and Eve Queler

Could the season of vocal music have gotten off to a better start than the Musicians Emergency Fund recital at Alice Tully Hall?  We think not.  Maestra Eve Queler and her fine Opera Orchestra of New York served as background to showcase five superlative singers, all of whom we would happily listen to over and over again. The Opera Orchestra of New York has a long and venerable history in New York City, having presented over 100 operas in concert version and the Maestra has proven her worth, not only as a conductor, but as someone with a great ear for emerging stars. Similarly, the Musicians Emergency Fund has a history going back to the Great Depression and has also brought talent to the public's attention.

The five singers could not have been better chosen, nor could their material which, in each case, served to highlight the singer's special skills.  Let us begin with the sopranos.  Everything sung by Rochelle Bard was nothing short of sensational.  Her glamorous appearance served to augment her vocal skills as she portrayed the eponymous Tosca in Puccini's masterpiece. Her "Vissi d'arte" was deeply emotional and heart breaking.

In"Vivi,ingrato" from Donizetti's Roberto Devereux, her portrayal of an outraged and betrayed woman was so intense that the audience broke into wild applause before the cabaletta.  

This versatile young artist showed off the most beautiful legato in "D'amor sull' ali rosee" from Verdi's Il Trovatore, which ended in a thrilling trill.  As encore, she sang "The Vilja Song" from Franz Lehar's  The Merry Widow.

Soprano Ashley Kerr showed off a gorgeous instrument and an impressive French style in "Depuis le jour" from Charpentier's Louise.  She exhibited fine dynamic control and when she sang the word "delicieusement" we thought that was the perfect description of her manner of performing. 

In an entirely different style, she sang Donna Anna's aria "Non mi dir" from Mozart's Don Giovanni; her fioritura was just about perfect. In yet a different vein, she performed Musetta's aria "Quando m'en vo" from Puccini's La Boheme, always a great showpiece.  And "Song to the Moon" from Dvorak's Rusalka was another showstopper that revealed Ms. Kerr's seamless transitions throughout the registers.

Mezzo-soprano Shirin Eskandani turned in an excellent performance of "Non piu mesta" from Rossini's La Cenerentola; what made it a standout over other ones we have heard is that her fioritura seemed to emerge from deep within the generous character of the heroine, happy at last and ready to share her joy with everyone. And who wouldn't want to hear "Parto" from Mozart's La clemenza di Tito sung by such a talent.  We wanted to hear more!

There wasn't a tenor onstage but we never missed it because the two male singers were so outstanding.  Baritone Yunpeng Wang opened the program with "O Lisbon" from Donizetti's rarely heard Dom Sebastien which he sang in fine French, making every word clear, a great advantage since there were no translations.  Mr. Wang has a most pleasing tonal quality and ample coloring as he shifted from longing to passionate outbursts.

From Verdi's  La Traviata, his "Di Provenza il mar" was consummately persuasive, coming from a deep place of a father's anguish.  The legato line was a delight and had us wondering whether Mr. Wang is the Verdi baritone we have been waiting for.

Bass-baritone Musa Ngqungwana pleased us with one our favorite arias from Puccini's La Boheme.  In "Vecchia zimarra", Colline is bidding farewell to the beloved overcoat he is about to pawn to raise money for the dying Mimi's medicine. He sang this with superb dynamic control and deeply felt grief.

In another mood entirely, his "Serenade" from Gounod's Faust employed the desirable word coloring that makes the devil so chilling.  The "Ha, ha, ha, ha" made our hair stand on end.

His interpretation of Leporello's "Catalogue Aria" from Don Giovanni was original.  We are accustomed to a Leporello who is sick and tired of his master's hijinx and humorously ironic in this aria.  Mr. N. presented the character as serious, severe and nearly menacing.  It was difficult to evaluate presented as a stand-alone but it was surely well sung.

The final work on the program comprised a duet between Mr. N. and Mr. Wang.  "Suoni la tromba" from Bellini's I Puritani offers some delicious harmonies and long lyric phrases.  The voices blended well and all that was missing was some connection between the two artists.

Maestra Queler led her orchestra as well as we have come to expect and we heard some lovely solos emerging from the orchestra.  The wonderful thing about opera (well, ONE of the wonderful things) is that each time you hear an aria you hear something new.  Yesterday, for us, it was some beautiful clarinet work in the "Parto".

To have so much talent onstage in one afternoon felt like an embarrassment of riches.  But we are gluttons for pleasure.  It was like the old adage about champagne--even if you have an excess, you can never have enough.  And if you didn't leave this recital walking on air, you must have been wearing cement shoes!

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A COOL TREAT ON A SCORCHING EVENING

Dan Saunders, Ginger Costa-Jackson, Mary-Jane Lee and Yunpeng Wang (photo by Ellen Godfrey)

It seemed as if the theme of last night's recital (one of several in The Metropolitan Opera's Summer Series) was seduction.  We the audience were seduced into sitting attentively in the nearly unbearable heat under a threatening sky.  And many of the well-chosen arias, duets and trios were about someone seducing or being seduced.  The fact that the three singers were bursting with sex appeal made each scene totally believable.

Take the gorgeous sultry-voiced mezzo-soprano Ginger Costa-Jackson singing the Habanera from Bizet's Carmen--both onstage and mingling with the audience.  If she doesn't own that role in her generation we will be very surprised.  In "Dunque io son" from Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia, she is planning on seducing Lindoro (actually the Count) but must first seduce Figaro into being her go-between.

The wonderful baritone Yunpeng Wang as Figaro was the perfect foil for her foibles.  The two worked very well together, as seen/heard in the duet "Là ci darem la mano" from Mozart's Don Giovanni.  He was seductive and just a bit menacing while she demonstrated her ambivalence and eventual yielding.  It is such a pleasure watching singers who can act so well that the scene comes to life without scenery or costumes.

Mr. Wang was also a perfect match for the beautiful soprano Mary-Jane Lee in the duet from Leoncavallo's Pagliacci.  In this case, he portrayed Silvio importuning the unhappily married Nedda to leave her husband and run off with him.  We would be surprised if there weren't a few women in the capacity crowd who fantasized running away with him.

Ms. Lee was riveting in "Meine Lippen, sie küssen so heiss" from Lehar's Giuditta, showing as great a facility with German as she demonstrated in Italian.  Not only that but she also sang in Czech--"Song to the Moon" from Dvořák's Russalka, one of our favorite arias.

Mr. Wang also has a facility with languages and did a fine job with "O vin, dissipe la tristesse" from Thomas' Hamlet, showing interesting variety of color in the central section.  We enjoyed his "Di Provenza" from Verdi's La Traviata, yet another seduction, convincing Violetta to break off with his son.

The two lovely ladies harmonized beautifully in "Belle nuit, ô nuit d'amour" from Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann and, joined by Mr. Wang, "Soave sia il vento" from Mozart's Così fan tutte.  It was so convincing that we almost felt a breeze in the sultry summer air!

We loved the way each artist introduced him/herself and presented the story of each work before singing it.  This added a great deal for people who may not have been familiar with the operas. As if this excellent program were not enough, the lily was gilded with three encores, all solos.

The lovely Ms. Lee sang "Lovely" from Sondheim's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and she sang it with great style.  Ms. Jackson sang "I Could Have Danced All Night" from Lerner and Loewe's My Fair Lady.  And oh, how she danced! Readers may feel free to disagree with us but we put these songs, sung by classically trained singers, in the same category as operatic arias.  They truly earned their place on the program.

Mr. Wang's encore was a heartfelt rendition of a song in which the singer yearns for his homeland.  It was composed by a Chinese composer living in Europe in the 1950's and had a moving folk-like simplicity that touched the heart.

Dan Saunders did a yeoman's job as accompanist, switching effortlessly from one style to the next.  The wildly enthusiastic crowd gave the quartet of artists a standing ovation which they richly deserved.

The necessary amplification for an outdoor concert was not excessive but, of course, somewhat impaired the ability to appreciate the colors of the voices and the accuracy of the fioritura.  For the "full Monty" you will have to buy a ticket!

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A TRANSFORMATIVE RECITAL

Bryan Wagorn, Lachlan Glen, Yunpeng Wang, Mary-Jane Lee

We get accustomed to hearing a favorite piece of music and we sit smugly waiting to have our taste reconfirmed.  But occasionally we are presented with this piece of music and hear it more intensely; the work doesn't have to be performed in a radically different way but we are so marked by the performance that we want to keep that performance close to our hearts and not have it spoiled by a further hearing of lesser quality.  We suppose one could call this a "definitive" performance.

Such was the case last night at a Lindemann recital when baritone Yunpeng Wang and pianist Lachlan Glen performed Gustav Mahler's Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen.  Such was the resonance between these two gifted artists, both in their first year in the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, that we were caught breathless and shaken to the core. 

Mr. Wang's large round sound was even throughout his range and exhibited great power in the low notes; the word coloring was impressive--"traurig" was never sadder, nor "süss" ever sweeter nor "dunkles" ever darker.  Mr. Glen's piano milked every drop of emotion and color from these songs, painting an aural picture in a perfectly modulated performance that evoked birdsong and sunshine, the woe of loss, a silvery laugh, and ultimately the peace of acceptance at the end, trailing off into sleep.  It was stunning.

This astonishingly well-matched pair of artists also did a fine job with two selections from Franz Liszt's Tre sonetti di Petrarca--the tumultuous "Pace non trovo" and the sweet "I vidi in terra angelici costumi".  Mr. Wang's Italian was just as perfect as his German and Mr. Glen is just a beautiful beast at the piano. 

By no means do we mean to give short shrift to the other superb pair on the program.  Bryan Wagorn's artistry at the piano is remarkable and we have delighted in it for his three years as a Lindemann artist.  He has a special skill for collaboration with a variety of singers and tonight he played with soprano Mary-Jane Lee who appears to have a splendid career ahead of her.  She has it all--glamorous good looks and a voice of distinctive timbre, sounding at times like a mezzo with ringing top notes.  She sang Richard Strauss' Vier Letzte Lieder in which the composer set texts by Herman Hesse and Joseph Karl von Eichendorff, the last three of which are about sleep, dying, loss and mourning.  We wondered if the composer's choices were influenced by his anticipation of his own life ending.

Ms. Lee sang them well, exhibiting the beautiful high notes that Strauss loved so well and some lovely melismatic singing.  Mr. Wagorn's postlude in "Im Abendrot" was a work of art in and of itself.  The performance was very different from the spirited performance of Benjamin Britten's Cabaret Songs, setting of texts by W. H. Auden.  It seemed to us that Ms. Lee had as much fun singing them as Britten did setting them; she really knows how to get a song across with charm and style.  We found Auden's texts a bit frivolous and awkward in their scanning and rhymes but perhaps not meant to be taken seriously.

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MET + JUILLIARD = MAGIC

Pureum Jo, Mario Chang, Alexey Lavrov and Ying Fang in L'Elisir d'Amore (photo by Nan Melville)

A satisfying synergy results when The Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program partners with The Juilliard School.  We fondly recall the operas of seasons past and were sufficiently delighted by last night's entry, a concert of comic operas.  One of the major delights was hearing how the fine Juilliard Orchestra responded to the baton of our beloved James Levine.  Indeed the orchestra occupied the stage with the singers performing in a shallow space in front which unfortunately drowned out the voices on occasion.

We enjoyed lengthy scenes from four comic operas, two famous ones flanking two lesser known entries. The program opened with Act I of Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, known in English as The Abduction from the Seraglio, a seraglio being a harem.  Tenor Andrew Stenson made an appealing Belmonte, arriving at Pasha Selim's landhaus to find his dear Konstanze (the always excellent Ying Fang).  Bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green turned in an hilarious performance as the gruff Osmin who denies entry to Belmonte.  Tenor Benjamin Bliss portrayed the wily servant Pedrillo in as fine a portrayal of this role as we have heard.  Baritone Jake Alan Nelson seemed to be the only undergraduate on the program but was excellent in the role of Pasha Selim.

Igor Stravinsky's one act satire Mavra brought Daniel Stewart to the podium to conduct the arresting score, notable for its unusual combination of instruments, heavy on the winds and light on the strings.  He was highly successful at bringing out the idiosyncratic harmonies and unpredictable rhythms.  It has been a bit over a year since we saw Mavra performed by the Mannes School of Music and we are compelled to say that the staging and costumes made it seem funnier than last night's performance.  The work was performed in English which we found unsatisfying due to the verbal accents colliding with the musical accents.  Nonetheless, Mary-Jane Lee sang beautifully as Parasha, the wayward daughter of the bourgeois Mother who is moaning about the loss of her cook.  What a pleasure to hear the divine Margaret Lattimore in that role with another fine mezzo-soprano Lacey Jo Benter as The Neighbor.  Mr. Bliss reappeared as the Hussar who gains access to the house by donning drag and getting hired as the new servant.

Benvenuto Cellini may not have the most interesting plot but Berlioz' muscular music is riveting and Maestro Levine marshalled the forces of the large orchestra to great effect.  The brief appearance of superb bass-baritone Brandon Cedel was nearly submerged in the huge avalanche of sound.  But Ms. Fang's focused upper register cut right through in Teresa's aria, as did Anthony Kalil's terrific tenor as the eponymous hero.  Their love duet was, well, lovely.  Baritone Yunpeng Wang provided comic relief as the rejected lover Fieramosca, eavesdropping and slithering along the floor.

The program ended with a scene from Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore, the scene in which Nemorino purchases his love potion from Dulcamara and proceeds to get inebriated.  Tenor Mario Chang excelled as the unfortunate imbiber with Mr. Green, in cloak and top hat, employing his big booming bass as the wily Doctor D.  Nemorino's rival was sung by baritone Alexey Lavrov who put his own stamp on the role of Sergeant Belcore.  Soprano Pureum Jo sang the role of Adina's friend Gianetta and Adina herself was performed by Ying Fang whose bel canto technique is impressive, filled with thrills and trills and pinpoint scale passages.

Although our preference would have been for a fully staged opera we were pleased to have the opportunity to hear some of our favorite young singers essaying new territory.  And as we said at the start, the orchestra blew us away.

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A CHAMPAGNE KIND OF EVENING

Lindemann Young Artist Development Program Concert at The Juilliard School

Could an evening have been more bubbly, more sparkling?  No way. Our admiration and affection for the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program is no secret.  Although Peter Gelb, General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera, introduced the young artists on last night's program as "works in progress", we beg to differ. This is a group of extremely talented and highly trained artists; any opera house would be honored to have them onstage.  Indeed they have already sung in many venues around the world.  If they lack anything it is "name recognition" and we all know that big names sell tickets. Do we mean that there is no room for growth?  Of course not!  Artists should always keep growing and expanding.

Last night's program was well designed and gave the Patrons of The Met an opportunity to see these young artists in a varied program of scenes which were presented in an interesting format with each scene blending seamlessly with the one before and after.  The opening scene was from Mozart's La Clemenza Di Tito, conducted by Daniel Stewart and directed by Stephen Wadsworth.  Soprano Mary-Jane Lee was perfect as the seductive and manipulative Vitellia with mezzo Cecelia Hall in the pants role of Sesto, the object of her manipulations.  The duet between the two was marked by gorgeous harmonies; the fioritura was perfect.  Mezzo Samantha Hankey was equally effective as Annio.  Ekaterina Deleu accompanied the recitativo on the harpsichord and Nimrod David Pfeffer gave excellent support on the piano.

Ms. Hall remained onstage for the next scene from Handel's Orlando in which she sang the role of the eponymous hero.  The bass role of Zoroastro the Magician was magnificently handled by Brandon Cedel singing "Sorge infausta una procella" with Bryan Wagorn doing his customary fine work on the piano.  And how we enjoyed Benjamin Bliss' sweet tenor in "Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön" from Mozart's Die Zauberflöte!

Two bel canto scenes followed.  Ms. Hall reappeared, this time in a stylish gown, as Rosina in Rossini's Il Barbiere Di Siviglia.  David Paul directed this very funny scene in which Rosina and Figaro get to demonstrate the many facets of their relationship.  Baritone Yunpeng Wang made a marvelously funny and sly Figaro drawing laughs from the audience.  Mr. Stewart conducted and Mr. Pfeffer accompanied.

In a scene from Donizetti's Don Pasquale, bass Ryan Speedo Green made a sympathetic titular character while baritone Alexey Lavrov performed the role of the wily Dr. Malatesta.  Both men demonstrated superlative flexibility in the patter verses.  The scene was well directed by Mr. Wadsworth and finely conducted by Mr. Stewart.  Ms. Deleu accompanied effectively.

Ms. Hall returned for two stunning arias sung in fine French.  She was saucy and sultry as Elle in Messager's "J'ai deux amants" from L'Amour Masqué and convincingly angry as Concepción in Ravel's L'Heure Espagnole.  Mary Birnbaum directed both scenes and the amazing Lachlan Glen accompanied, as they did in Giordano's Andrea Chénier which followed.  The role of Carlo Gérard gave Mr. Wang an opportunity to show his serious side in this powerful deeply felt performance.  Not only can he be hilarious but he can be lyrically expressive.

It's been quite a while since we've heard Prince Andrei's philosophical musings in Prokofiev's War and Peace and we delighted in Alexey Lavrov's moving exploration of the Russian soul with Ms. Deleu on the piano.

Two scenes from Verdi operas followed.  Simon Boccanegra is one of our favorites and we thoroughly enjoyed the highly dramatic scene in which Boccanegra's nemesis Paolo (Mr. Green) produces great anguish in Gabriele Adorno (the wonderful tenor Mario Chang) by accusing the latter's lover Amelia (Ms. Lee) of cheating.  What tension they created!  Mr. Paul directed this intense scene and Mr. Glen kept the tension going in the piano.  Mr. Wadsworth directed the next scene from Ernani, another dramatically intense one; Mr. Green portrayed the unloved De Silva with Ms. Lee as his unloving fiancée.  Her two suitors in this scene of confrontation were excellently played by Mr. Chang as Ernani and Mr. Lavrov as the Emperor of Spain.

Tenor Anthony Kalil then sang one of the best tenor arias written by Puccini--"E lucevan le stelle" from Tosca.  Mr. Kalil sang it with heartbreaking passion and in true Italianate style. One could fairly smell the garlic!  Following that was the comic sextet from Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro in which Figaro discovers his parentage.  We enjoyed hearing Mr. Glen on the harpsichord as he accompanied Ms. Hankey and Mr. Green as the newly discovered parents, Mr. Wang as the foiled Count Almaviva, the adorable Ying Fang as the baffled Susanna, Brandon Cedel as Figaro himself, and a very funny Mr. Bliss as the notary Don Curzio.  Mary Birnbaum directed with a sure hand and Mr. Stewart conducted the  ensemble.

The final scene was from Haydn's L'Incontro Improvviso, an opera heretofore unknown to us.  Listening to the gorgeous trio of blended voices (Ms. Fang as the Princess of Persia with Ms. Lee and Ms. Hall as her two best friends) we were made to want more of this opera.

We must not fail to mention the presentation of a scene from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, the scene in which both men have been mistakenly enchanted to desire the formerly rejected Helena and to reject Hermia.  No, there was no music.  We think we know why it was included.  It answered our mental question "How did these singers get to be such good actors?"  We imagine that they get superb instruction in the dramatic arts as part of the curriculum.  The scene was directed by Stephen Wadsworth and performed by Ms. Lee, Ms. Fang, Mr. Bliss and Mr. Cedel.

After the recital the audience joined the artists for champagne which perfectly matched the effervescence of the evening.

© meche kroop

OPERA HISPANICA FESTIVAL

 

Amaya Arberas

What a stellar kickoff to the Opera Hispanica Festival!  The two stellar sopranos pictured here would have offered sufficient entertainment value but there was so much more that it is difficult to know where to begin.  Wednesday evening's event, the Festival Opening Concert and Reception, in cooperation with the Consulate General of Argentina, was a celebration of the arts and culture of Argentina and the tango was very much present.  We have room to describe only the highlights.

The violin of Sami Merdinian and the cello of Yves Dharamraj were joined by the piano of Artistic Director Jorge Parodi and the exciting bandoneón of JP Jofre for Mr. Jofre's

"Tango Movements" which he composed originally for symphony orchestra.  The spirited first movement gave way to a soulful center section and the contrast of Mr. Jofre's playing was fascinating to see and hear.

Fleet-fingered guitarist Tali Roth played her own devilishly difficult arrangement of Libertango, heard earlier in the program on violin and cello.  World-reknowned soprano Isabel Leonard thrilled with her performance of Xavier Monsalvatge's Cinco Canciones Negras, accompanied by Mr. Parodi.  The program closed with selections from Maria de Buenos Aires, a tango opera by Astor Piazzolla which will be the capstone of the festival.  Maria was sung by mezzo Malena Dayen and the baritone role by Marcelo Guzzo, with a small orchestra conducted by Mr. Parodi.  Mr. Jofre again dazzled with his bandoneón, played with artistry and passion.

The following evening at the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute was no less exciting as Daniel Hernandez, Founder and Executive Director of Opera Hispanica, assembled an illustrious group of experts for a panel discussion of zarzuela. Playwright/diplomat Íñigo Ramírez de Haro served as moderator while composer Ricardo Llorca discussed the musical origins of zarzuela in 18th c. Spain.  There was an interesting cultural phenomenon which finds parallels in today's world; as the aristocracy went into decline, there evolved an imitation of the lower classes in musical taste as well as dance.  Having originated in France with aristocrats dressing as peasants and frolicking in the countryside, the trend spread throughout Europe.  The zarzuela used traditional Spanish music melded with European forms and became a popular tradition, carried over to the New World, evolving still further in Cuba, Mexico and S. America.

Dr. Janet Sturman, an ethnomusicologist from the University of Arizona and author of Zarzuela: Spanish Operetta described how classical-historical tales gave way to populist tales, in much the same way as opera seria eventually gave way to realismo.  The art form requires superb singers who can also act and dance since this is a story-driven form with few arias that can be excerpted for concert performance.

Maestro Parodi filled us in on the art form from the Argentinian perspective.  In his country, the upper classes were Spanish but the immigrants who arrived came from Italy and brought along their operatic heritage which competed with the Spanish tradition.  It was interesting to learn that in the early 20th c. there were five major opera theatres in Buenos Aires.  With Piazzola's Maria de Buenos Aires, it is evident that Argenina has made zarzuela its very own.

There was a lot of information to digest and like a tonic for weary minds, the superb soprano Amaya Arberas demonstrated for the audience "Carceleras" from Las hijas del Zebedeo by Ruperto Chapi and baritone Yunpeng Wang, winner of the Zarzuela Award in Placido Domingo's international opera competition Operalia performed "Amor vida de mi vida" from Maravilla by Federico Moreno Torroba.  Guitar accompaniment was by the excellent David Galvez.

The festival will continue with tonight's recital by Eglise Gutiérrez and Maestro Parodi at the Americas Society with next week's offering being the tango opera at Le Poisson Rouge.  It is worth noting and celebrating the fact that Mr. Hernandez has established the one and only opera company in the United States devoted exclusively to Spanish and Latin American music and music dealing with that culture.  He has surely filled a gap in the world of music.

(c) meche kroop