CLASSIC LYRIC ARTS SUPER-SALON

 Pianists Patrick Gallagher and Marianna Vartikian with singers Enes Pektas, Sophia Durante, 

Sara Stevens and David Freides

It was far more than a private salon that we attended yesterday in a gorgeous Manhattan penthouse. It was a celebration of the first year of Classic Lyric Arts Vocal Academy ( hereafter known as CLAVA) giving a chance to first year attendees to show off the impressive results of their intense post-graduate training. Young opera singers are not always getting the training they need at the conservatories in order to survive in the highly competitive and demanding world of opera. Through CLAVA they will get the rigorous training they need, at a more comprehensive level than the students at CLA summer programs get.

One has only to listen to the results to know that CLAVA is on the right track. Students are learning the repertoire that will get them jobs, not roles in obscure modern works that will never become part of the canon. That they are profiting mightily from this training is obvious. There were moments in the recital when we heard such a fresh connection between the music, the text, and the inner feelings of the character that we had chills, and, at one point, tears. This is what opera really should be!

We cannot describe the entire generous program but we would like to share a few highlights. If we have little to say about technique, it is because we were captivated by the way in which the technique dissolved into the emotions of the character.  No sets! No costumes! Just "acting" coming from such a deep place that the singer dissolved into the character.

Take, for example, the performance of soprano Sara Stevens in "Marietta's Lied" from Korngold's Die Tote Stadt.  We felt all the melancholy, the sehnsucht, the sense of the transitory nature of happiness.  Of course the German was perfekt and the dynamics contributed but our attention was taken by the emotions.

Similarly, soprano Sophia Durante completely inhabited the character of Rosina from Rossini's Il Baribiere di Siviglia, making her adorably spunky by means of lavish, daring, and accurate fioritura, thus illustrating Rosina's willful determination. We just wanted to see her get her way (forgetting, for the moment, the unhappy Countess she becomes in Mozart's Nozze di Figaro).

We haven't heard soprano Yvette Keong in a number of years and we were delighted to witness how she has grown as an artist. The clarity of her diction made every word clear in "My Ship Has Sails" from Kurt Weill's Lady in the Dark. The beautiful text was lent a hint of an unbalanced character that inspired us to look up the plot of this 20th century American opera (unfortunately called a "musical"--but that's just an opinion of ours that regular readers will understand). Indeed, the character is troubled and undergoing psychoanalysis. Could it be just an accident that Ms. Keong conveyed that? We think not.

There were two male artists performing as well, both new to us. Turkish baritone Enes Pektas enacted the clueless Count from Mozart's Nozze di Figaro, wringing from the text every ounce of male piggishness. By what magic can dynamics and phrasing create a character? We wanted to laugh at his pomposity but also felt sorry for him! We found Mr. Pektas to be quite the storyteller.

Tenor David Freides impressed us greatly. with "E lucevan le Stelle" from Puccini's Tosca. We have heard this aria sung by all the great singers of the world and admired their technique and tone but we don't think we have ever felt so invited into a man's heart at the point of his imminent death--the flood of happy memories tinged with the feeling of loss. It was at this point that we became a bit tearful, feeling Mario's depth of character, rather than admiring the overtones.

Not only was the singing first-rate but the piano accompaniment was right on point. Accompanying duties were shared by Glenn Morton, Patrick Gallagher and (new to us) Marianna Vartikian.

What an incredibly special afternoon it was! We not only enjoyed the superlative singing but we feel we learned something about the artistry that is too often neglected, overlooked, or overwhelmed by excessively showy "grandstanding".

© meche kroop

CARNEGIE HALL CITYWIDE

 

Yvette Keong  

Dear Reader, if you haven't yet heard about the free vocal concerts offered by Carnegie Hall, let me tell you about them now. Yesterday, in collaboration with St. Paul and St. Andrew United Methodist Church, we had the opportunity to catch up on a singer we have been following for the past five years since her undergraduate days at Manhattan School of Music. Nothing gives us greater pleasure than watching a young singer go from "promising" to "rising star".

We have enjoyed Yvette Keong , a lovely Chinese-Australian soprano, in a number of roles, in a masterclass, as a Gerda Lissner award winner, and outdoors in Washington Square Park a few summers ago. These memories came flooding back when Ms. Keong satisfied the audience with an encore--Stephen Foster's "Beautiful Dreamer" which we may consider her "calling card", sung as it was with perfect diction, gorgeous legato, and the tenderest of feeling.

The program was a challenging one, beginning with four songs by Arnold Schoenberg notable for their mysterious texts by Richard Dehmel and Johannes Schlaf. Two songs by the 20th c. composer Joseph Schwantner utilized texts that were translated from Spanish poetry of Agueda Pizarro that might better have been left in Spanish, which we find far more singable than English. There were some jagged vocal lines that were well handled by the singer but we enjoyed it more when she produced some gorgeous melismatic singing that reminded us of a vocalise. However, the piano writing was colorful and evocative--well performed by collaborative pianist Gracie Francis.

The lyrical "La maja y el ruiseñor" by Enrique Granados was far more to our liking. Ms. Keong's voice represented the girl of the title and Ms. Francis' piano played the part of the nightingale. Ms. Keong's eyes followed the bird in much the same fashion as Nedda's followed the birds in I Pagliacci. So we not only heard the nightingale but we saw it through the eyes of the girl. How completely compelling!

Six songs by Rachmaninoff covered a great deal of emotional territory from the sorrowful imagery of "In my garden at night" to the frisky "The rat-catcher" to the passion of "The Quest"--all sung in impeccable Russian and with flowing vocal line.

The final five songs on the program were our favorites. There is something about Chinese poetry that stirs our soul; there is a timelessness that carries through from the 11th c. to the 20th that we can only begin to appreciate in the English translation but which inspires the most exquisite melodies in the 20th c. composers.  The marriage of vocal sound and piano accompaniment left us feeling more than satisfied.

The next vocal recital in the series will be 4/13 when Jonathan Mc Cullough will perform. . Thanks Carnegie Hall!

© meche kroop

                       

GERDA LISSNER AWARD RECITAL

 

Arlene Shrut, Mary Pinto, Midge Woolsey, Ethel Trujillo, Yvette Keong, Teresa Perrotta, Evelyn Saavedra, Shannon Keegan, Gregory Feldmann, Eleomar Cuello, Kevin Godínez, and Eric Ferring

Oh, how we have missed the Gerda Lissner Foundation annual awards recitals! So much has happened in the past couple years--the sad losses of Stephen De Maio who gave so much to the opera community in so very many ways, as well as serving as president of the Gerda Lissner Foundation, and of Brian Kellow, longtime host of the annual concerts.

But the Foundation goes on with some welcome additions and changes.  As host we had the lovely well known Midge Woolsey who is another champion of young singers. And the best news of all was the institution of a Zarzuela and Operetta Division.  Regular readers know how fond we are of zarzuela  and how delighted we have been to see this art form represented increasingly on recital programs. 

This division was chosen to replace the Wagnerian Division with the belief that young voices are better suited to Chapí than to Wagner. Thus we were fortunate enough to hear the lovely Mexican soprano Ethel Trujillo sing "Me llaman la Primorosa" from Giménez'  El Barbero de Sevilla.  This was a most apt showpiece for Ms. Trujillo's bright and well supported coloratura as well as for her ability to give herself totally to the character. There was a charming duet with the voice of the piano that we relished.

Costa Rican baritone Kevin Godínez gave us a powerful yet nuanced performance of "Junto al puente de la Peña" from Serrano's La Canción del Olvido, approaching his character with requisite confidence and presence.

Cuban soprano Evelyn Saavedra in a smashing red gown with a red flower in her hair and fan in hand created the character of a woman with two suitors in the well known "De España vengo" from Carné's El Niño Judio. Her splendid voice was matched by her acting and Hispanic presence.

In the Lieder Division, we were happy to reacquaint ourselves with baritone Gregory Feldmann and soprano Yvette Keong. Ms. Keong recreated the "Beautiful Dreamer" of Stephen Foster's masterpiece with effective word coloration. We loved her expressiveness and the naturalness of her gestures as well as the bright clear top and fine vibrato. Excellent enunciation made every word clear, a feature that is generally missing in sung English.

Mr. Feldmann delighted us with "Auf Der Brücke".  We can never get enough Schubert and Mr. Feldmann's unforced tone and dynamic variation did justice to the lied. The major/minor shifts were handled sensitively with different coloration and the German diction was perfect.

In the General Division, mezzo-soprano Shannon Keegan performed "Ô petite étoile" from Chabrier's opéra bouffe-- L'étoile, a charmer if we ever heard one. The aria has a delicate piano introduction but calls for the singer to crescendo into a powerful position. Ms. Keegan's voice has a most interesting texture and she used her personality to create a charming character. Her onstage poise was apparent when she gracefully silenced a premature applauder and continued the aria. It was a lovely moment.

We suppose every opera lover already knows the "legend" that Mozart wrote "Come scoglio" in Cosi fan tutte for a soprano he abhorred and deliberately made it challenging to defeat her.  We don't know if that is true or not but we do know that soprano Teresa Perrotta was undefeated! Oh, those challenging skips and demanding coloratura were no match for this brave Fiordiligi. We hope to see her this summer when we will be reviewing Santa Fe Opera.

Perhaps "Mein Sehnen, mein Wähnen" is one of Erich Korngold's most famous arias. Baritone Eleomar Cuello filled "Pierrot's Tanzlied" from Die tote Stadt with longing and nostalgia by means of an emotional vibrato. He swelled to a powerful climax, sustained the mood throughout the piano interlude, and ended with a gorgeous pianissimo.

Eric Ferring's arresting quality is a sweet unforced tenor tone with beautifully floated top notes. Although several of the awardees sang two selections which we have insufficient space to discuss, we must mention Mr. Ferring's contrasting choices. The even legato of the tormented De Grieux from Massenet's Manon, sung in true Gallic style, was contrasted with a fiery performance of "Il tuo sangue" from Handel's Ariodante. The fioritura was cleanly articulated and was the perfect invigorating end to this thrilling concert.

Collaborative pianists were Arlene Shrut and Mary Pinto about whom we have nothing but good things to say.

What a pleasure to have this competition back!  Such a benefit for these highly gifted young singers and such a thrill for us opera lovers.

© meche kroop

OUT OF THE CONCERT HALL AND INTO THE PARK

Sung Shin and Sara Jayne Blackmore in Washington Square Park

Opera Under the Arch of Washington Square Park is Sung Shin's baby; it's a year old and thriving. One would expect the Artistic Director to snag the best parts for himself but baritone Shin took a back seat and left us wanting to hear more of his marvelous baritone. He did appear in some duets which we will get to anon.

What a treat to be outdoors in lovely June weather listening to world class singers. It is difficult to say who enjoyed it more, the ever-growing crowd of listeners or the singers themselves. We were in seventh heaven and the "noobie" we brought has become a convert to opera because of the winning performances and the delightfully casual atmosphere of the event. We are not sure if we were the first to write about this event last year, but we won't be the last. The media has been quick to pick up the novelty of the experience, especially the part about singers standing on top of the piano!

Some of the singers are advanced students and others are starring in operas both in the USA and abroad. A special treat was hearing bass Hidenori Inoue tear into "Mentre goniersi l'anima parea" from Verdi's Attila. In this aria, Attila relates a discouraging dream he had about turning back and giving up. Mr. Inoue grabbed this aria by the throat and delivered a powerful performance. It is said that the bass is a late-maturing fach but this youthful artist truly showed a vocal maturity that would serve any bass role.

Also on hand was soprano Yvette Keong who sang Stephen Foster's "Beautiful Dreamer" with such tonal brilliance that we heard it afresh. We have always associated it with mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne so this was an entirely new experience. This versatile young artist, as beautiful vocally as she is in appearance, was particularly convincing in "Quando m'en vo", Musetta's show stopper in Puccini's La Bohème. A gal has to be really gorgeous to get away with that one and she is!  More surprising was her lush delivery of Rachmaninoff's "Spring Waters" in excellent Russian.

A soprano of a totally different kind, Alaysha Fox shows great promise in the dramatic soprano fach. We recall her excellent Lady Macbeth and her stunning performance of Donna Elvira's aria "Or sai chi l'onore" from Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Finals. What a treat to hear her reprise that success up close and personal. Just as compelling was her performance of "Ernani involami" from Verdi's opera of the same name. We expect a lot of Ms. Fox!

Soprano Alexis Rose Seminario opened the evening with a beautiful delivery of "Depuis le jour" from Charpentier's seldom heard opera Louise and was joined by Mr. Sung for the charming duet from Reynaldo Hahn's operetta Ciboulette -- "Nous avons fait un beau voyage". The chemistry and the harmony worked well and the French was completely understandable; it was romantic and endearing as operetta should be.

Mr. Sung seemed to be ever ready to join his wonderful baritone with other artists. We do love duets and heard two of them from Donizetti's delightful comedy Don Pasquale.  He made a fine Dr. Malatesta with Sarah Jayne Blackmore as his Norina in "Pronto io son". We always love this duet as the wily doctor coaches the widow Norina in how to present herself as his convent bred sister.

Continuing as Dr. Malatesta, Mr. Shin conspired with John Brakatselos as a very funny Don Pasquale. The two baritones have very different qualities but both excelled at the rapidfire patter. Mr. Brakatselos has a deep baritone that seemed just right for Macbeth's lugubrious "Pietà, rispetto, amore". Showing his versatility, he performed "Italian Street Song" by our dearly beloved Victor Herbert, reminding us of our many delightful evenings with Victor Herbert Renaissance Project Live!

Soprano Nicoletta Julia Berry gave a touching performance of Gilda's falling-in- love aria "Caro Nome" from Verdi's Rigoletto, evincing a killer trill, a delicate diminuendo, and a perfect portamento--all the things we want in a coloratura aria.

Soprano Shelén Hughes sang a Bernstein song we'd never heard before from Wonderful Town--"A Little Bit in Love". The song starts out with humming and moves on to the almost speechless wonder of falling in love; we think we fell a little bit in love with Ms. Hughes! She also gave a charming performance of "Il bel sogno di Doretta" from Puccini's La Rondine.

Soprano Ripley Lucas-Tagliani invested "Frère! Voyez!" from Massenet's Werther with Sophie's enthusiastic innocence and lovely tonal quality. We noticed the same qualities in her "O mio babbino caro" from Puccini's Gianni Schicchi.

Saving our terrific tenor for last, Emmet Cahill almost moved us to tears with "Una furtiva lagrima" from Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore, sung when Nemorina realizes that Adina must really love him.  And we love him too! He also delighted us as the love-besotted Tony in "Maria" from Bernstein's West Side Story and the heartfelt audience-pleasing "Danny Boy".

What an evening!  A banquet of song, catered by master chef Sung Shin who surely has earned his first name. Accompanying all this marvelous singing on the piano was Eric Sedgwick, whose artistry we have long admired and written about, and Curtis Serafin who is new to us.

What an effective way to win a new audience for opera. There were all ages in attendance and the children were as spellbound as their parents. Opera is for everyone, not just the elite!  Spread the word folks!

(c) meche kroop

ALBERT HERRING/ ALBERT HERRING

Sung Shin, Gabriella Chea, Joseph Tancredi, Riley Bragg, Adam Goldstein, Erin Wagner, Edward Lim, Yvette Keong,
Christina Parsons, and Sam Krivda

By a strange quirk of scheduling, we found ourself at two different productions of Britten's Albert Herring two nights in a row. We could never consider ourself a big fan of Britten but we recalled a delightful production of the comedy seen in 2010 at the Santa Fe Opera and decided to explore the opera further. 

The work premiered in 1947 at Glyndebourne, using the same chamber orchestra used for Britten's 1946 tragedy The Rape of Lucretia. The work is perfect for presentation by a conservatory, offering juicy roles for 13 singers and not requiring massive orchestral forces.

For anyone who does not know the story, it is about a bumbling but virtuous (inhibited) youth who rebels against his mother's domination with the subversive help of a pair of friends. Because the selection committee is unable to find a sufficiently virtuous young woman to serve as Queen of the May, Albert is chosen to be King. His friends surreptitiously get him drunk and he goes out on a bender, driving his entire village into a state of anxiety and then mourning when they believe him to be dead. When he turns up alive and disheveled their grief turns to anger. But he has cut the apron strings!

At Manhattan School of Music Friday night, the MSM Senior Opera Theater brought the work to comic life with Dona D. Vaughn's detailed direction, offering many sly comic touches which, along with Britten's writing, gave each character his/her own particular character. Maestro Jorge Parodi's crisp conducting brought out the nuances of the score, particularly in the fugal sextet which closed the first scene. Act II brought a gorgeous duet in which an alto flute (Michelle Pokley) joined harmonics with a bassoon (Morgan Davison). We also enjoyed Sonia Bize's harp.

The singers were uniformly sensational and one could scarcely believe that they are all undergraduates! In the title role we had the sweet-voiced tenor Joseph Tancredi whose growth we have been watching for a couple of years. As agile of acting as he is of singing, we enjoyed watching his resentment grow until he liberated himself and got out from under his mother's thumb. His discomfort about being manipulated into his role as King of the May was a joy to observe.

As his naughty friends, Sam Krivda made a superb Sid, a young man with a carefree and wild side; as his sweetheart Nancy, Christina Parsons was especially likable when she sang of her remorse over tricking Albert with spiked lemonade.

The imperious and judgmental Lady Billows was given a fine realization by Riley Bragg; Gabriella Chea, as her equally judgmental housekeeper Florence Pike, sang well and also had the best and plummiest accent in the cast.

The selection committee comprised Vicar Gedge, whose arias were beautifully realized by Sung Shin; schoolteacher Miss Wordsworth, gorgeously sung and enacted by Yvette Keong; Mayor Upfold, finely etched by Adam Goldstein; and Superintendent Budd, sung by Edward Lim, whose rich bass could only have been tutored by James Morris. Their scene in Lady Billows' drawing room was filled with Britten's sendup of self importance.

Erin Wagner cut a fine figure as Albert's strict and controlling mother. Three children of the town were believably portrayed by Melissa Lubars, Hyejin Yoon, and Yunchan Zhou. They comprised a sort of Greek chorus, commenting on the action. The scene in which Miss Wordsworth tries to get them to sing for the May Festival was absolutely adorable.

Maureen Freedman's sets and costumes were just about perfect. In the opening scene, everyone was in grey monotones. In the Festival scene, ridiculous flowered hats added to the fun. The embarrassed Albert was made to wear a white suit with a crown of blossoms. Poor Albert!

The effective set for Mrs. Herring's greengrocer shop included a pot bellied stove, burlap sacks of potatoes and turnips, trays of herbs, bins of produce, and flowers. It was all deliciously realistic.

We have but minor quibbles. One is that the stage was elevated about three feet off the ground with seating on three sides, causing the audience to be always looking up and also obscuring the titles. It might have been better to have raised the audience!

The presence of titles was rendered almost unnecessary by the clarity of enunciation, thanks to Kathryn LaBouff. Perhaps this is too much to expect of undergraduates but we would have liked to hear different accents from the working class than we heard from the professional class. That's just how it is in England!

In spite of the charm of the "book" we found Eric Crozier's libretto to be somewhat leaden. Setting English is so challenging. W.S. Gilbert was long dead by then and Sondheim not yet born. It was obvious that Crozier could at times rhyme and scan but those moments were few and far between. As is usual in 20th c. opera, the interesting music is in the orchestra with not much melody going on in the vocal lines. It is to the credit of these young singers that their phrasing and tonal quality made music. We could scarcely believe that they are Seniors (and one Junior). What a wealth of talent!

OPERA FOR THE PEOPLE

Sung Shin at Opera Under the Arch of Washington Square Park (photo by Ken Benson)

The ever-expanding crowd did not give up when Opera Under the Arch was delayed due to a prior event occupying their space.  New Yorkers know a good thing when they hear it, and the audience has been growing in this, the second year of Opera Under the Arch, a public festival organized by baritone Sung Shin.

Perhaps there were some tourists in the audience as well, and apparently everyone left satisfied by the exceptional performances, when the festival was obliged to move along at 10:00 by some complaining neighbors. Who could possibly object to such gorgeous music on a warm summer night!

The musical values were of the highest order and the audience was unusually attentive.  Yes, cell phones were out but only to take photographs. No one was texting or talking. The selections were wisely chosen from among the most popular opera standards, reminding us that in the 19th c. opera was a popular art form, not "highbrow culture". How good it felt to see people having a good time!

Baritone Sung Shin chooses his singers and collaborative pianists wisely. At the keyboard we had composer/ pianist Hohyeon Kyung and Andrew King. Sopranos included Show Yang, Yvette Keong, Natalie Eccleston, Sara Jayne Blackmore, and Isabel Vigliotti; mezzo-sopranos included Jordyn Goldstein and Lu Liu; the two tenors were Joseph Tancredi and Omar Bowey; baritone roles were performed by Sung Shin himself; our notable bass was Hidenori Inoue. We have reviewed them all and have only good things to say about them.

The program opened with "Dôme épais" from Léo Délibes' Lakme, an audience pleaser if ever there was one. Ms. Yang's crystalline soprano was joined by Ms. Goldstein's well-matched mezzo in that soaring melody we so love.

The aptly named Mr. Tancredi did a swell job as the Duke in "Questa o quella" from Verdi's Rigoletto, showing us everything we needed to know about the fickle Duke. Mr. Tancredi has a fine set of pipes and Italianate phrasing. His voice is perfumed with garlic!  Later in the evening we got another look at the licentious Duke when Mr. Bowey performed "La donna e mobile".

Ms. Yang returned for Blondchen's aria "Durch Zärtlichkeit und Schmeilchen" from Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, showing as much facility with German as she exhibited in the French.

Ms. Keong wowed us with her bel canto technique in Norina's aria "Quel guardo il cavaliere" from Donizetti's Don Pasquale. Later we heard Mr. Shin and Mr. Inoue exhibiting wonderful comedic chops in the very funny "Cheti cheti immantinente" in which neither one was daunted by the rapid-fire patter. 

From Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito, we enjoyed the duet "Ah perdona al primo affetto", performed by Ms. Vigliotti as Servilia and Ms. Goldstein as Annio.

Sara Jayne Blackmore captured all the excitement of the innocent Juliet in "Je veux vivre" from Gounod's Roméo et Juliette and the audience responded with wild applause.

Response was similarly enthusiastic for Ms. Eccleston's winsome performance of Adele's Laughing Song "Mein Herr Marquis" from Johann Strauss' Die Fledermaus. Her voice was bright and the trill delicious.

Mr. Sung delighted us with "The Impossible Dream" from the 1965 Broadway musical Man of La Mancha composed by Mitch Leigh with lyrics by Joe Darion. This sounded more operatic than some of the contemporary operas we've heard in the past few years, especially the way Mr. Sung sang it.

The audience went wild for Mr. Inoue's performance of "Le veau d'or" from Gounod's Faust. A small dog in the audience joined in for some canine tenor input and Mr. Inoue broke the surrounding fourth wall and interacted with the audience. He certainly made Lucifer fun and accessible!

Délibes showed up again in an aria from Les Filles de Cadix that we have never heard before. Ms. Vigliotti's sensational performance made us want to hear the entire opera with its Spanish inflected score. She ended with a crystal-breaking high note.

We have heard "Una voce poco fa" from Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia many times this month and always enjoy seeing what a different singer can do with it. Ms. Liu's marvelous mezzo, personal charm, and artistry with embellishments brought something new to the aria, as we had hoped it would.

What a win-win situation! Greenwich Villagers had another evening of priceless entertainment and the talented young singers got to do what they love doing. There was so much enthusiasm and responsiveness on both sides, especially toward the end when the audience was encouraged to close in around the piano. We were all moved by the spirit of community and that is one of the great features of good music!

Watch our page on Facebook (Voce di Meche) for information on the next installment of Opera Under the Arch--most likely in July.

(c) meche kroop

MAGICAL MASTER CLASS

Fabio Bezuti, Zachary Goldman, Xiaotong Cao, Glenn Morton, Oleksii Kuznietzov, Donata D'Annunzio Lombardi, Yvette Keong, and Tal Heller

How does it feel when a master teacher comes along and contradicts everything a singer has learned about her voice and vocal production?  We guess it feels pretty good when the results seem magical. We just attended such a class taught by famed Italian soprano Donata D'Annunzio Lombardi. This is our third or fourth opportunity to observe her working with young singers and the results have left a huge impression on us.

Her teachings are based on extensive experience with anatomy, bioenergetics, and osteopathy. She has assembled valuable advice from several famous singers. She can immediately diagnose exactly where tight muscles are blocking sound production and provide strange seeming exercises and postures to ease the blockage. We have heard dramatic changes in the students' voices within minutes!

Her focus is very much on accessing the back of the body and the several diaphragms that are apparently as important as the familiar one. The commonly taught posture and method of breathing into the belly seems to be all wrong.

Students got down on their hands and knees.  They lay on their belly and swam on the floor. They pinched their lips. They showed off their uvulas. They bent over the piano. Wow!

Participating students were sopranos Xiaotong Cao and Yvette Keong, mezzo-soprano Tal Heller, tenors Zachary Goldman and Oleksii Kuznietzov, and baritone Sunyeop Hwang. They all sounded just fine initially but after a half hour work with Ms. Lombardi they each sounded glorious with enhanced resonance. Accompanist was Fabio Bezuti.

We found ourself wishing that we had begun our vocal studies with Ms. Lombardi.  The bad news is that it is too late for us but the good news is that it isn't too late for you. This remarkable teacher, brought to us by Glenn Morton of Classic Lyric Arts, will be returning in October.

If you are a singer you absolutely must attend.  And if you are not, you can come and enjoy witnessing some miracles.

(c) meche kroop

CLASSIC LYRIC ARTS GALA

Classsic Lyric Arts Gala at The Kosciuszko Foundation

We believe in evidence.  Last night's recital at the Kosciuszko Foundation featured an incredibly talented and beautiful group of young artists who attended L'Art du Chant Francais and/or La Lingua della Lirica last summer in France and Italy respectively. The evidence for the success of the programs can be found in the superlative performances we witnessed. Every single artist revealed splendid diction and a feeling for the style inherent in the language.

This is not magic but the result of hard work under the tutelage of masters and total immersion in the culture and its traditions. The French program accepts ten singers each year and provides tutelage under principal coach Michele Sénéchal who emphasizes the music inherent in the text.

The Italian program accept twice as many students and instructs them in the bel canto tradition. The principal coach in Italy is Ubaldo Fabbri. We are not mentioning any names but we recently heard a rather well known singer perform in Italian with final vowels that were just wrong.  "A"s become "o"s and vice versa.  No graduate of La Lingua della Lirica would make that mistake!

The nurturing environment permits these young artists to take risks and try new roles.  And that is how an artist can make a major leap forward and gain confidence.

Every singer was excellent and the choices on the program were a mixture of the usual and the unusual.  Many of the selections featured large ensembles, the success of which was probably related to the group having spent so much time together--studying, eating,  playing, and performing for the appreciative locals.

After a warm welcome from Glenn Morton, President and Artistic Director, the program opened with a scene from Rossini's La Cenerentola sung in perfect Italian and accompanied by Mina Kim. Closing the program was the final scene from Verdi's Falstaff, a ten-part fugue skillfully conducted by Ms. Kim with Sophia Zhou at the piano.

Another fine ensemble piece was the sextet "Chi mi frena in tal momento" from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, for which Cherie Roe provided the piano accompaniment.

Special guest star was baritone Jared Bybee about whom we have been writing since we began writing. We love watching young artists grow and, no doubt, Mr. Bybee's earlier participation in CLA has added to his lustre. We enjoyed him as an Apprentice Singer in Santa Fe and witnessed his performances in award recitals from all the major foundations.  Last night he performed "Largo al factotum" from Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia. He sang with full rich Italianate tone and gave Figaro a lively winning personality. Hsini Huang was his accompanist.

We will not be able to give all the singers the credit they deserve but would like to point out a few performances that stood out.  Tenor Zachary Goldman and baritone Fernando Cisneros harmonized beautifully in "O Mimi tu piu non torni" from Puccini's La Boheme. Mr. Goldman is notable for a lovely unforced sound and Mr. Cisneros seemed to appear in many scenes, singing with full round tone,  a winning stage presence and the ability to inhabit a role, even a Falstaff.

Soprano Yvette Keong and tenor Ryan Hurley put a lot of tenderness into their performance of "Tornami a dir che m'ami" from Donizetti's Don Pasquale.

Moving on to the French part of the program, we were delighted to hear "Va, je t'ai pardoné" from Gounod's Roméo et Juliette sung by the stunning soprano Larisa Martinez, about whom we have often written, and tenor Vincent Festa who sang Romeo with his ringing tenor and ardent involvement. We have heard him several times over the past 3 years and always enjoy his performances. Ms. Martinez made a winsome Juliet and both employed fine French diction. The air was literally ringing with overtones.

We didn't know that Reynaldo Hahn wrote an operetta and were tickled to hear "Nous avons fait un beau voyage" from Ciboulette which was based on the same Murger stories which inspired La Bohème. William Guanbo Su, who impressed us at his graduation recital and several performances which maximized the lower end of his register, surprised us with his facility at the upper end of his register; soprano Ashley Lea made a splendid partner in this cream puff of a duet.

Another operetta unknown to us was Ganne's Les Saltimbanques.  "C'est l'amour" featured Angela Candela and Mitchell Kasprzyk with Fabio Bezuti at the piano. Ms. Candela gave us yet another opportunity to appreciate her fine French in "Nocturne à deux voix" from Chabrier's Le roi malgré lui, performed in happy harmony with Amanda Nelson.

From Massenet's Cendrillon, we heard soprano Blair Cagney and mezzo-soprano Daniela Magura as the happily reunited couple in "Vous êtes mon prince charmant". Ms. Magura also had another opportunity to show off her fine French in "Nuit paisible et sereine" from Berlioz' Béatrice et Bénédicte. In our opinion, this gorgeous duet rivals "The Flower Duet" from Delibes' Lakmé and we hope to hear it again soon. 

So many fine singers have come out of this excellent program! We predict glorious futures for these young artists if they take what they've learned and use it well.  Great teachers present students with opportunities. Great students take what they need and incorporate it.

(c) meche kroop