PRELUDE TO PERFORMANCE DOES CARMEN

Emily Righter and Ben Werley

Last night we attended opening night of the 13th season of Prelude to Performance, Martina Arroyo's summer program in which 75 participants study for 6 weeks learning roles. They are given instruction in language, dramatic interpretation, recitativi, and stage combat; they receive coaching and also participate in several master classes, some of which we have reviewed. This program is unique in that the young artists receive stipends, thanks to the generosity of the donors who support the program. Many graduates go on to major careers.

Judging by the tumultuous applause that greeted the curtain call of Bizet's Carmen, the program is, as it has been, a major success. Participants learn a great deal and walk away with a role "under their belts" that should serve them well in the future. And the audience, comprising a Who's Who of Planet Opera, walks away happily entertained.

If you share our taste, it's likely that you have longed for a traditional production of Carmen. We have gotten rather tired of updatings and novel interpretations, with the exception of one very radical Carmen produced by Heartbeat Opera. One can always count on Prelude to Performance to do a traditional production and to do it exceptionally well.

Last night's Carmen can be seen again Saturday night and we hope you will still be able to secure tickets. You will see the beautiful mezzo-soprano Emily Grace Righter as Carmen and tenor Ben Werley as Don Jose. This tragic character must evolve from a rather buttoned up corporal as the opera commences into a raging murderous maniac at its conclusion. Mr. Werley's plangent tenor was most remarkable in his second act aria "La fleur que tu m'avais jetee"; he was totally convincing as the lovesick corporal and evinced a lovely legato.

We recall Ms. Righter from four years ago when we reviewed her performance in a small role in Rossini's Mose in Egitto, presented by New York City Opera. She is maturing into a fine performer with a very lovely instrument and fine stage presence.  As she grows into this role, we hope she will dig deeper into the earthiness, a difficult task given her refined appearance. There was nothing wrong with her seductive acting but we feel that there is a need for a deeper more organic approach.

Baritone Brian Major has a fine instrument well suited to the role of Escamillo but also needs a bit more work in creating the character from the inside out. Soprano Sarah Cooper performed the role of Micaela and grew in stature such that her third act aria "Je dis que rien ne m'epouvante" brought down the house.

We greatly enjoyed the performances of soprano Shana Grossman (Frasquita) and mezzo Olivia Johnson (Mercedes) who threw themselves into their roles with abandon. As a matter of fact, our favorite part of the opera was the second act quintet which provides some necessary comic relief. Baritone Dan Ewart as Le Dancaire and tenor Hector Mir as Le Remendado turned in some fine performances as they joined the three women in the humorous planning of a smuggling operation.

Bass Zaikuan Song handled the role of Zuniga, Don Jose's superior and competitor. Phillip Bullock used his mellow low voice in the role of Morales, pressing his attentions on the shy Micaela at the beginning of the opera.

The chorus sang well and there was no fudging the French anywhere.

The work was finely directed by Laura Alley with some very lively business on the streets of Seville in front of the tobacco factory, and later at Lilas Pastia's tavern. There was also a twist at the end which we decline to reveal but it worked well. Recitativi were sung, not spoken. The long scene in Act IV with the parade of picadors was cut but no one seemed to miss it.

As usual, costuming (Charles R. Caine) was lavish, as one can see on the carousel of photos which we posted on our Facebook page (Voce di Meche). The tobacco factory girls were scantily clad (for that time period) and the gypsies and smugglers looked just the way one wants gypsies and smugglers to look. The military men looked exactly right.

Also as usual, the set (Joshua Rose) was simple but effective, making use of projections. The lighting was fine, especially in Act III where the dark lighting elicited a sense of menace, leaving the audience to imagine the mountain pass.

The overture began somewhat raggedly but Maestro Daniel Lipton brought the unruly strings under control rather rapidly and we particularly enjoyed solos by flute, clarinet, oboe and the brass section. 

Tonight we will be reviewing an evening of Puccini and hearing the large cast of women in Suor Angelica, most of whom are new to us. We are particularly looking forward to hearing Leah Marie de Gruyl as La Zia Principessa, having heard her in a master class.

No one will leave depressed because that opera will be followed by another one-acter by Puccini that always leaves us laughing--Gianni Schicchi. Remember "O mio babbino caro"? This is the opera from which that aria comes. But you knew that already, didn't you?

Do consider catching both the Puccini double feature tonight and Carmen tomorrow night!

(c) meche kroop 

HOW SWEET IT IS!

Lynnesha Crump, Sharon Sweet, Woo Young Yoon, Molly Burke, Spencer Hamlin, and Zaikuan Song

We almost always enjoy master classes. It is exciting to learn things we might not pick up on our own. We can feel personally satisfied with a singer's performance of an aria but when the master teacher makes some changes we hear the aria again and recognize what we may have missed the first time.

We are planning to attend as many Prelude to Performance master classes as possible this month to prepare ourself for the upcoming season at Hunter College--7/6-7/9. We love getting to know the singers better, to hear what they are capable of, and in what way they can improve their performance.

Legendary soprano Martina Arroyo knows how to select the very best master teachers. It was truly a coup to enlist another legendary soprano Sharon Sweet to teach these five impressive artists who are now headed for major careers--at least, that is our opinion! Some master teachers make nice and fall all over themselves complimenting the students and just tentatively offering some little change "to see if it works" for them.

Not so Ms. Sweet! With high spirits and great humor, she "calls 'em as she sees 'em". She is direct but never offensive. The best support one can give, after all is said and done, is honest feedback. All five of last night's students profited greatly from the work they did with Ms. Sweet. There was no "boilerplate" that was given to all.  Each singer got something special and unique.

Woo Young Yoon sang first with "La fleur que tu m'avais jetee" from Bizet's Carmen. His sweet ping-y lyric tenor grabbed us from the first note and held us captive 'til the end. But in the process of his highly individual instruction, he and we both learned something new that took the performance to a new level.

We had never heard the phrases "onset" and "offset" but they deal with the initiation of a phrase without "scooping" and the ending of a phrase without trailing off.  Also, there are places in the line where the singer must not take a large inhalation but rather permit a subtle release of the abdominal muscles. When one does take a full inhalation, think about the entire phrase. Ms. Sweet does not speak of "legato" but rather of singing a phrase horizontally, not vertically. We understood exactly what she meant.  Great advice!

Soprano Lynnesha Crump blew us away with "Senza mamma" from Puccini's Suor Angelica, one of the operas to be performed in July. Ms. Sweet asked her to create a backstory for Angelica and to portray the vulnerability of a woman who has just been shocked and grief stricken to learn that her illegitimate son has died, and also disappointed that the visit from La Principessa had a cold, rejecting, and strictly practical object. 

Ms. Crump was urged to get down on the floor and to feel her inner thoughts. We were blown away with twice the force! And there was a technical issue that we would hear again later--using the tongue to articulate, not the jaw.

Just imagine two fine tenors in the same class. Spencer Hamlin, who will be singing Renuccio in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi during the July season, gave us a foretaste with "Avete torto...Firenze e come un albero fiorito". Mr. Hamlin possesses a fine squillo but sounded even better after his work with Ms. Sweet.

He was advised to take his time in the recit whilst scolding his squabbling family. There was a lot of emphasis on rhythm. Dotted 1/8 notes are not to be sung like triplets. Grace notes must be brought out. He was also urged to sing the aria with his hands in his pockets, acting solely with his face and his voice. We heard about the jaw again as well. And we heard some general tips about never clearing the throat or drinking water, both of which are abrasive to the vocal cords..

Zaikuan Song performed Leporello's "Catalogue Aria" from Mozart's Don Giovanni and was admonished to pay more attention to the rhythmic markings, i.e. singing the "ma" off the beat. It is necessary to count the beats carefully in Mozart! Also we heard a suggestion about double consonants which are best sung connected to the subsequent vowel. Mr. Song came prepared with his "catalog" in hand which the audience loved. Ms. Sweet urged him to act less with his body and more with his voice, for example in the repeating phrase "La piccina, la piccina, la piccina". Mr. Song (how well named he is!) has a wonderfully full bass and we are looking forward to hearing his Zuniga in Bizet's Carmen during the July season.

Last on the program was mezzo-soprano Molly Burke who performed "Acerba Volutta" from Francesco Cilea's verismo opera Adriana Lecouvreur. Her voice struck us as a force of nature with a future in Wagner. (Let us hope!) Her performance launched a valuable discussion of using the head voice, and of not being afraid of the passaggi. She was given vocal exercises to deal with the descent from pure head voice and taught how to move the same amount of air faster. The other great tip was to create space for the highest note in a phrase during the inhalation. The singer needs to start with the palate elevated.

There was one exercise that seemed helpful for all the singers--the lip trill. Singers can practice doing a phrase with the lip trill before adding the words.  They can learn thereby when and where they run out of breath.

Accompanist for the evening was Dan K. Kurland who was ready, willing, and very very able.

(c) meche kroop