LOVE: RUSSIAN STYLE

Dina Pruzhansky, Briana Hunter, Meryl Dominguez, Sungwook Kim, and Paul An

In its annual coproduction with the Lyric Chamber Music Society, Bare Opera presented a delightful evening of Russian song and arias. The cast could not have been better chosen, nor could the material have been better curated. Composer/pianist Dina Pruzhansky contributed to the pleasure in several ways--first by narrating and introducing the selections, encouraging the singers to give their take on the material--but, more significantly by her stunning pianism.

Regular readers will recall our distaste for contemporary compositions but the pen of Ms. Pruzhansky plays a different tune, paying tribute to the composers of the 19th c. whom we so greatly admire. We do love melody and her songs have no lack of melodic invention. We noticed most of all how well the melodies reflected the sound of the Russian language. One advantage of hearing songs in a language one doesn't speak is that one can hear the abstract connection between the language of the poet and the rise and fall of the vocal line.

The poet in question was Alexander Blok, a symbolist poet whose words were probably not completely comprehensible in Russian and rather untranslatable into English. In this case, tant mieux! Meryl Dominguez, a singer we remember well from Santa Fe Opera, gave the four miniatures an excellent performance with great attention paid to the sound of the words. Each song had a different mood and the final one was filled with anxiety. We are really looking forward to hearing more of Ms. Pruzhansky's music at Carnegie Hall on March 3rd.

Ms. Dominguez' soprano is a generous one and her performance of Shemakha's "Hymn to the Sun" from Rimsky-Korsakov's The Golden Cockerel was glorious in its melismatic seduction, all done in an Eastern mode. Her voice opened like a parasol at the top of the register. We loved that opera in Santa Fe when Ms. Dominguez was in the chorus. We would love even more to hear her sing the role of Shemakha! We shall put that on our wish list.

Mezzo-soprano Briana Hunter, always astonishing in her ability to enter a role and give it all she's got, gave an outstanding performance of Olga's arioso "Ah, Tanya, Tanya" from Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. She explained to the audience how unusual it was to assign the role of a light hearted girl to the mezzo fach; yet when she sang it the feeling was perfectly natural and it was easy to visualize the reserved Tanya sitting in a chair nearby, mildly accepting the loving teasing from her extroverted sister.

The sister, we know, is no saint and somewhat lacking in judgment, having also teased her devoted Lensky by flirting outrageously with Onegin, thus provoking a duel--which takes us to the next selection on the program. Tenor Sungwook Kim was so convincing in Lensky's aria "Kuda, kuda" that our emotions got drawn in. We had to stifle the urge to rush up and stop the duel! And Mr. Kim accomplished all this with pure vowels and crisp consonants. He paced himself well and built to a searing climax.

Bass Paul An shone in Aleko's cavatina "The entire Gypsy camp is asleep" from Rachmaninoff's first opera Aleko, adapted from Pushkin's poetry, as was Eugene Onegin, and so many other works on the program. The piano prelude was particularly portentous. Mr. An impressed us with a pianissimo note, floated at the upper end of the register; this is exactly what we like to hear from tenors and hearing it from a bass just blew us away.

Strangely enough, three days ago we reviewed a song cycle by Janáček about a young peasant who runs off with a gypsy woman. Aleko begins where that cycle ends!

Three songs by Rachmaninoff were finely handled as well. Ms. Dominguez exhibited her fine vibrato in the upper register in "Sleep" whilst Ms. Pruzhansky's piano created a dreamlike state with some gorgeous arpeggi.

Mr. Kim performed "Dream" in lovely fashion; he surely knows how to swell a note in careful crescendo and how to hold a note with sustained energy--all evidence of superlative breath control. He generated lots of excitement in an expansive delivery of "Spring Waters", amplified by parallel excitement in the piano.

Ms. Pruzhansky delighted us with a solo--Tchaikovsky's Nocturne in C# minor, begun at a leisurely tempo but moving on to a livelier theme and ending with what in vocal performance would be called embellishment of the line. We hope pianists will forgive our lame description but we are unaccustomed to writing about piano music.

The conclusion of the program was a quartet by Alexandre Dubuque, a 19th c. composer of French origin who was raised in Russia. The song "Don't Be Cunning" involved men making advances and women rejecting them. The gimmick of the performance, which took it right into the 21st century, was that the men kept trying to take selfies with the women. It was all in good fun and made the perfect end for a perfect concert.

© meche kroop

LONDON'S LOVELY LADIES

Ken Noda, Julie Adams, and Emily D'Angelo

After two weeks of operas about women being suppressed and abused it came as quite a relief to enjoy a George London Foundation recital in which two women made a strong showing of artistry and presence. Soprano Julie Adams and mezzo-soprano Emily D'Angelo have no qualms about showing both beauty and strength. We couldn't have imagined a better recital, well worth the soaking we got from yet another rainy day.

The big surprise was how Ms. D'Angelo's artistry surpassed our inherent dislike of American 20th c. songs. We have suffered through Copland's settings of Emily Dickinson's poetry on a few occasions and we were not expecting to be so drawn in. But, there it is! True artistry can bring out hidden qualities in anything. (We are thinking of how Moroccan Cauliflower Soup changed our mind about that previously detested vegetable.)

We felt as if this gifted young singer were composing the poetry as she sang it but actually, she was "merely" channeling Ms. Dickinson. Words on a page became experienced reality. "Heart we will forget him" was particularly affecting. She is a true story-teller!

She performed two works about eerie myths in a single set. In "The Seal Man" by 20th c. composer Rebecca Clarke, she related the story of a woman so madly in love that she follows her beloved into the sea and drowns-- quite a metaphor! We preferred Clara Schumann's telling of the tale of "Die Lorelie", probably because we prefer German lieder of the 19th c. better than 20th c. songs in English. The former rhymes and scans; the latter is prosy.

Ms. D'Angelo's instrument has a wonderful texture and her artistry has earned awards and recognition including a 2018 George London award. All the ingredients for success are there; it is gratifying to read about the many roles for which she has been chosen.

It take courage to include Schoenberg and Berg on a recital program. The vocal lines are strange to the ear and the text even stranger. And yet she made sense of them with her precise German and apt phrasing.

Nonetheless, our favorite among Ms. D'Angelo's selections was "Sein wir wieder gut" from Strauss' comedy Ariadne auf Naxos. She captured all the enthusiasm of a young composer who recognizes the reconciliation required of this most sacred art.

Ms. Adams is likewise the recipient of many awards including a 2015 George London award; she too has earned recognition for her powerful dramatic soprano which lent itself so well to "Elsa's Dream" from Wagner's Lohengrin. She sang with ardent passion and ringing tone, bringing out the yearning in Elsa's character. We loved it!

Lovers of Strauss (and we count ourself in that group) could not help but thrill to her performance of two songs--"Morgen" and "Beim Schlafengehen". Both songs are of a peaceful nature, the first one a shared peacefulness, and the second one a solitary peace. In "Morgen" we realized we were holding our breath! At the word "stumm", her coloration and diction took us into a new place. The violin accompaniment by David Chan echoed the vocal line to great effect.

And look how she interpreted a pair of songs by Rachmaninoff! We generally expect "Ne poy, Krasavitsa" to be sung by a man so it was an interesting choice. It is so filled with Russian soul that we could feel the pain in our heart. We love the way the piano echoes the Oriental mode of the vocal line and vice versa. In "Son" we enjoyed the dreamlike rippling in the piano. This seems like a good place to tell how much we appreciate Ken Noda's playing, about which we will have more to say further along.

Grieg too wrote about a dream. In "Ein Traum" the dreamer's dream becomes reality and what passion we heard in Ms. Adams' coloration! This set of songs included some low lying passages but this did not daunt our singer, not even in the regret filled "Zur Rosenzeit".

We were thinking how perfect the recital would have been had there been a duet. Lo and behold, these two lovely ladies provided an encore that was the perfect cherry on the sundae--"Belle nuit" from Offenbach's Contes d'Hoffman. We had just heard it Friday night but would be happy to hear it again tomorrow. The harmony of the two contrasting voices was delicious and it didn't hurt that these two ladies looked the parts they played. There was shapely Ms. Adams with flowing blond locks, very believable as an enchanting courtesan; and next to her the stately Ms. D'Angelo with her short hair and androgynous attire, looking like a young student.

We could end here on a high note, so to speak, but we would be remiss not to say more about the superb violinist Mr. Chan who opened the program playing the "Allegro vivo" from Debussy's Sonata in G minor. We know very little about violin technique but we know artistry when we hear it and noticed how similar the violin is to the human voice in terms of dynamics and phrasing. Both Mr. Chan and Mr. Noda began with a delicate touch that quickly swelled into passion. Mr. Noda's piano produced purling figures to accompany and support the wordless voice of the violin.

The two instrumentalists were even more impressive in the "Méditation" from Massenet's Thaïs in which the violin sang its secrets supported by some gorgeous arpeggi in the piano. We love the way tenderness gave way to passion.

What an exceptional concert! We love the fact that the George London Foundation supports these young singers at the early stage of their careers and then invites them back a few years later so we can assess their growth. We love witnessing promise becoming perfection!

(c) meche kroop

FIRST LIEDERABEND OF THE SEASON

Cameron Richardson-Eames and Xiaomeng Zhang

In the several years we have been attending the liederabende at Juilliard we have watched the sparse audience grow to a packed house.  And why not!  Music lovers have an opportunity to hear some splendid singers accompanied by polished pianists in some compelling programs. And attendance is free!

Last night's program was curated and coached by Gina Levinson and comprised entirely Russian songs. This was an ambitious undertaking for the new semester and the young singers acquitted themselves with poise and some fine performances.

We liked the fact that the singers introduced themselves and said a few words about their program but very much wished that they had spoken more slowly and clearly.  Obviously, projecting the spoken voice is a different skill than projecting the sung voice.

Furthermore, we wished that the detestable music stand had been left offstage where it belongs. We do understand that it is early in the semester but a performance is a performance and the main goal is to connect with the audience. The music stand is always an obstacle, even when the singer barely glances at it.

Take for example the difference in communication when soprano Shakèd Bar abandoned the stand for a Tchaikovsky song "To forget so soon" after not reaching us at all with a set of four songs by  Prokofiev.  All we remember of the Prokofiev is that she was undaunted by a somewhat low tessitura. 

When the singer does not reach us we tend to focus on the piano and Richard Fu was marvelous, creating sunlight when called for and pleasing our ears with some thrumming chords in the final Prokofiev and producing a delicate arpeggiated ending in the aforementioned Tchaikovsky song of lost love. At this point Ms. Bar connected by being off-book and we enjoyed the variety in her tone color.

Soprano Lydia Graham achieved a rewarding rapport with five Tchaikovsky songs.  We loved the lively Italianate "Pimpinella", with which the singer and her collaborative pianist Brandon Linhard appeared to be having as much fun as we did. We liked the variety with which the pair imbued the delicate "Lullaby in a Storm", the intensity of "I Wish I Could in a Single Word" and the mournfulness of "Not a Word, O My Friend". In the pessimistic "Does the Day Reign?" we heard some admirable ripples in the piano.

Mezzo-soprano Olivia Cosio, partnered by pianist Mariel Werner, performed a quintet of songs by Rimsky-Korsakov, a composer responsible for our childhood love of classical music.  We wished she had not read the introduction but she was off-book for the songs and impressed us with some lovely melismatic singing in "A Nightingale Sings to a Rose" which just happened to be our favorite song of the set. It makes use of a mode that just might be Phrygian and we hope a reader will clarify that for us.  It is a distinctively Eastern sound, like a minor scale on steroids. It tugs at the heart.

We heard it again when the long admired baritone Xiaomeng Zhang performed with pianist Cameron Richardson-Eames the gorgeous and well known Rachmaninoff song "Do Not Sing to Me, My Beauty". Mr. Zhang's melismatic singing and Mr. Richardson-Eames grumbling chords in the lower register conspired to tear at our heart, in spite of the music stand.  It seemed to be a crutch that Mr. Zhang really does not need.  I hope he will become more secure in this song and abandon the book because it suits his voice well.

We also enjoyed the dynamic variation of "The Dream".  He stowed the stand for "In the Silence of the Mysterious Night" and thrilled us with a passionate climax.

He did not need any crutches for a performance of a pair of songs by Sviridov, whose writing managed to avoid the tedium of most 20th c. composers.  In "Foreboding" the forceful piano was met by some lovely singing in which Mr. Zhang connected with the text, employing variations in color and dynamics to express the emotions of the text.  

"Drawing Near to Izhory" was lively and fun--a perfect way to end the Liederabend.

(c) meche kroop

GIMME SOME BLUES!

Joshua Blue onstage at Juilliard

A tenor with a point of view took the stage at Juilliard yesterday in a very personal program filled with passion, as befits his middle name, which is Vaspassion. Mr. Blue is about to be awarded a Master of Music Degree and he chose a theme for his graduation recital--the theme of oppression. Different sets were devoted to political oppression, sexual oppression, and racial oppression.

Mr. Blue has a voice that can caress or strike hard and he always colored his voice to suit the material. He employed the services of a number of different artists which made for a very compelling recital, although we have no doubt that he could have carried the recital on his own.

His collaborative pianist, Amir Farid, opened the program with the oceanic prelude to Rachmaninoff's "Arion", the setting of a text by Pushkin, selected from the composer's 14 Romances. Voice and piano worked together, creating both storm and peace.

Next we heard Sechs Hölderlin Fragments and were surprised at how significantly we preferred Britten's setting of German text over his setting of English. We cannot say whether it was Mr. Blue's powerful presence or the fact that German sings so much better than English. The rhythm of Britten's music seemed to fit the rhythm of the text in far better fashion. Mr. Farid's piano was exceptional in "Hälfte des Lebens".

For Ravel's Chansons madécasses, Mr. Blue and Mr. Farid were joined by cellist Matthew Chen and flutist Jonathan Slade who effectively created the bird song in "Il est doux". The songs related to the oppression produced by colonialism. "Nahandova" speaks of desire for the indigenous and exotic woman whilst "Aoua" speaks of betrayal by the colonializers.

Three art songs by some rather unknown Soviet composers captured our attention with marvelous melodies and texts that often seemed ironic in their praise of life under Communism. Perhaps these works were commissioned by the State but we have no way of knowing. 

"Lullaby" sounded suspiciously reassuring. "Times Have Changed" glorified life under Lenin and Mr. Blue amplified his forceful Russian with dramatic gestures. 

The final work on the program filled the stage with drama and fellow musicians. Guitarist Jack Gulielmetti, whom we remember from his appearances with New York Festival of Song, was joined by drummer T.J. Reddick and the four artists performed the world premiere of Andrew Seligson's rousing Break Your Chains--the subject of which was the Afro-American experience. 

We don't know whether to call it a cantata or a cycle of songs. We don't know what genre to which we can attribute it. Jazz Rock maybe?  It doesn't matter. It spoke to us and to the audience that greeted its conclusion with cheers. Although Mr. Blue warned the audience that they might be upset and close their ears to this cry of pain and injustice, he was preaching to the choir. The energy in the room was that of people truly listening, truly hearing, and those willing to be inspired.

Text for this work was provided by Andre Cardine, Epiphany Samuels, Preston Crowder, B.J. Tindal, the composer, and also Mr. Blue. There was a lot of anger and drive behind the words.

The message of the program has remained with us. Every battle needs a battle anthem! There are people all over the world fighting against oppression at this very moment. We see no reason for Mr. Blue to have included oppression of women in his program but our thoughts went toward women fighting to be free from sexual harassment, women in Saudi Arabia who seem to have won the right to drive, and Iranian women who are fighting against a rigid patriarchal dress code. Music is so powerful in mobilizing and inspiring people!  

(c) meche kroop

JOHN AND PETER

Peter Dugan and John Brancy

Hearing baritone John Brancy Thursday night in recital with pianist Peter Dugan got us wondering about how long we have been witnessing his artistic growth. The earliest review we could find was 2011, just about the time we began writing about young singers. He was one of the Juilliard students participating in Lachlan Glen's year long perusal of Schubert's 600+ songs.

But we are sure we were impressed with his singing even before that date! We have heard him win converts to the art of the song several times with New York Festival of Song, with Marilyn Horne's program "The Song Continues", at the Brooklyn Art Song Society, at the National Opera Center, as an Opera Index Competition awardee, in recital at Carnegie Hall, and as Apollon in the Gotham Chamber Opera's production of Charpentier's 1686 work, La descente d'Orphée aux enfers.  

Coming back to his Juilliard roots, Mr. Brancy and his superb collaborator Peter Dugan (also a graduate of Juilliard) presented an interesting program entitled "Armistice: The Journey Home" in the 20th annual Alice Tully Vocal Arts Recital. The two artists met whilst at Juilliard and seem to have a knack for programming. They have their very own approach to art song, encompassing classic works that we love from the 19th c. to modern popular music and original arrangements of American song.

The standing ovation at the end of the recital plus the large crowd lining up to buy their debut CD ("Silent Night") attest to the success of their approach. Many of the works on the program were by composers who lived through The Great War.

The program opened with Mr. Dugan's fleet fingers flying through Gustav Holst's "Jupiter: The Bringer of Jollity". We enjoyed the popular song of that epoch by Oley Speaks--"When the Boys Come Home" .  Mr. Dugan's brother, composer Leonardo Dugan, contributed "I Have a Rendezvous with Death", a dramatic setting of some depressing text involving a searching theme in the piano.

It was moving to hear the first verse of Pete Seeger's "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" sung by Mr. Brancy a capella, with Mr. Dugan's piano joining in, tentatively at first, including an extra verse which we had never heard.

We are not sure how the three songs of Franz Schubert fit into the theme but we were very happy to hear them, especially "Der Wanderer" and "Du bist die Ruh". For some reason, they alternated with songs by Rudi Stephan who composed a century later.  We found Stephan's songs to be grim and depressing, but then, war is grim and depressing.

Three glorious songs from Sergei Rachmaninoff restored our mood, especially the seasonal delight "Spring Waters" which seemed just right for the tail end of Winter and the coming of Spring.

Irving Berlin's "Goodbye France" was a swell reminder of how happy people must have been to greet their loved ones returning from the war.  We could use some of that patriotism in the 21st c.! A pair of songs by Ivor Novello followed, not making much of an impression on us, and the program closed with another Vaughan Williams song; frankly, we had heard enough from Williams in the first half of the program, having heard songs #1-8 already!

The encore brought back our optimism with "When You Walk Through a Storm" the inspirational song from Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel.

(c) meche kroop

SALON DE LA VOIX

Nathaniel LaNasa and Helaine Liebman at the National Opera Center\

The inauguration of a new vocal series is music to our ears both literally and figuratively.  Shall we say "fig/lit"? As so many talented singers are doing these days, young artists are not waiting around to be cast but are casting themselves in starring roles. We heartily approve of this trend.

Ms. Liebman's idea is to update the concert experience and to encourage music lovers to attend with an informal approach.  One helps oneself to a glass of wine, one meets and chats with the artists, one listens, learns, and enjoys.  One is even encouraged to ask questions and to submit suggestions for future recitals of which we hope there will be many.

In place of titles and libretti, Ms. Liebman introduced each song in an engaging fashion. We felt as if we were invited to a friend's home for a party with entertainment. And what entertainment it was! In a beautifully balanced program, we heard opera, art song, and cabaret--all serving to demonstrate the versatility of this excellent young soprano. Last year she performed a fine Micaëla for Amore Opera and we also heard her several months ago in ARE Opera's Gianni Schicchi. It was about time for us to see another side of her artistry.

The program opened with Ilia's aria from Mozart's Idomeneo--"Padre, germani, addio". Ms. Liebman conveyed all the ambivalence of the Trojan princess who has lost everything and is now a captive of the Greeks whom she hates, except for Idamante, the son of Idomeneo. With a bright resonant sound and the subtle use of expressive dynamics, we learned everything we needed to know about the character.

Four songs by Franz Liszt allowed the artist to show off her fine French. The texts were all by Victor Hugo and all were about love, but the moods were different.  Ms. Liebman employed a warm vibrato for "S'il est un charmant gazon" and the delicacy of Mr. LaNasa's piano augmented the romantic feeling. 

"Oh! Quand je dors" has an exquisite melody and builds to a thrilling climax.  Here, Mr. LaNasa's piano made much of some lovely arpeggi. "Comment, disent-ils" was delivered with charm and personality. Plus, there was a trill to thrill. "Enfant, si j'etais roi" had a different expansive mood and an insistent accompaniment on the piano.

How does one choose Schubert songs to perform from his oeuvre of over 600 lieder? Actually, it doesn't matter much because one cannot go too far wrong with anything Schubert wrote.  We found the three selections we heard a good "tasting menu". "An die Musik" was sung with earnest simplicity. The sentiment requires no embroidery.

"Gretchen am Spinnrade" in which Mr. LaNasa's piano gave us the obsessive background of the text as well as the relentless spinning wheel, allowed Ms. Liebman some moments of erotic rapture as she imagined Faust's kiss. This had us wishing that Schubert had written an entire opera based on the Faust legend.

In "Die junge Nonne", we were given a very clear character study and we knew exactly why this troubled young woman chose a cloistered life.

The Kurt Weill song from Street Scene seemed like a cabaret song.  We understood every word of "What Good Would the Moon Be" and enjoyed the melody.  This was not so for two selections from Daughters of Britannia by Iain Bell.  We could only catch a word here and there. The sounds were interesting and we liked the propulsive piano writing and some interesting figuration but the heroines are part of British history and so unknown to us that we really didn't care about them.

We won't mind if we never hear those songs again but the Rachmaninoff that followed was enchanting. We cannot believe that we used to think that Russian was an ugly language!  The more Russian songs we hear the better we love the sound. "Z'des khorosho" was particularly lovely.

"Siren" had a repetitive figure in the right hand of the piano that resonated particularly strongly with us.  But our personal favorite was (and probably always will be) "Ne poy krasavitsa pri mne" in which the text expresses nostalgia for a love left behind, accompanied by the most haunting melody. There is a vocalise in this song that always gets us right in the heart! We love the way the melody in the voice alternates with the melody in the piano.

"Ditja, kak cvetok ti prekrana" is Rachmaninoff's setting of a translation of the tender Heinrich Heine poem "Du bist wie eine blume" which was set by Robert Schumann and about a hundred other composers.  The program ended with the very timely "Vesenniye vody" or "Spring Waters" as we know it. This song was bursting with excitement as the snow melted and the streams produced white water.

We even got an encore, "Someone to Watch Over Me" by George and Ira Gershwin from their 1926 musical Oh, Kay! We love to hear American musical theater treated with the same care as lieder and chansons. It was the perfect end to a beautiful recital.

Watch our FB page (Voce di Meche) and we will let you know about the next installment of Salon de la Voix which we believe will take place in June in Brooklyn. You won't want to miss it!

(c) meche kroop

HONORED BY JUILLIARD

Chris Reynolds and Natalia Kutateladze

Chris Reynolds and Felicia Moore

Last night we attended the Juilliard Vocal Arts Honors Recital at Alice Tully Hall. Voice teachers nominate singers to audition for this honor and the competition is keen. One of the judges happened to be Jennifer Zetlan, a Juilliard alumna whom we just reviewed last night in On Site Opera's Morning Star.  

Each singer chose her own program and both were accompanied by the talented collaborative pianist Chris Reynolds.

The ravishing mezzo-soprano Natalia Kutateladze opened her half of the program with a chanson by Jules Massenet; The text by Louis Pierre Gabriel Bernard Morel-Retz, entitled "Amoureuses" was highly romantic and Ms. Kutateladze performed it in perfect French with spot-on phrasing.

A set of songs by Tchaikovsky showed how they sound at their very best, sung by someone so comfortable in the language that the songs are more inhabited than performed. Although we do not speak or understand Russian, we were able to appreciate the marvelous marriage of music and text.

"None but the Lonely Heart" is a setting of a Russian translation of Goethe's text "Nur wer die sehnsucht kennt" from Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre, a text so potent that it appealed to a list of composers longer than the text. We mostly know it as one of the Mignon songs.

"Was I Not a Blade of Grass in the Field?" struck us with the sadness of a young woman married off to a man she does not love. She compares herself to a blade of grass that was mowed down.

Tolstoy's text "Amidst the Din of the Ball" motivated Tchaikovsky to write a most marvelous and memorable melody. A man sees a woman at a ball and thinks he has fallen in love with her.

With all that gorgeous melody, we still think the Pushkin text "Don't Sing to Me, My Beauty" is our favorite Russian song. Rachmaninoff gave it a haunting melody that could make anyone homesick. Each and every one of these Russian songs was sung with artistry and deep emotional commitment.

The final set on the program comprised Manuel de Falla's Siete canciones populares españolas.  The advantage for us was that we understand Spanish and thus were able to appreciate Ms. Kutateladze's skill for word coloration and the creation of a mood. We adore this cycle, the first song of which gives us an ironic metaphor for men's negative attitude towards women's sexual expression. "El Paño Moruno" describes a cloth that has lost its value because of a stain.

The same judgmental attitude appears in "Seguidilla murciana", only this time the metaphor is a coin that has passed from hand to hand so much that it has become blurry and no one will accept it!

"Asturiana" is a song of deep sorrow and the search for consolation in nature, whereas "Nana" is a tender lullaby. "Canción" tells of lost love in a mournful way, whilst "Polo" tells of lost love in an angry bitter way.

It was a revelation to hear Ms. Kutateladze create the right mood for each song and to color each important word in a way that extracted every ounce of significance. With her gorgeous instrument, vital stage presence, intense involvement, and consummate musicianship, this is an artist to watch, one destined for stardom. Watch for her in the upcoming Juilliard Opera next month.

Soprano Felicia Moore walks onstage with such presence that one knows in advance that one is in for a treat.  Of course, having heard her many times before, we have advance knowledge. We can tell when a singer loves to sing!

One doesn't get enough Sibelius at song recitals so we were happy that Ms. Moore decided to invest so much energy into learning to sing in Swedish. From Five Songs, Op. 37, she sang one we'd never heard "Soluppgång", and two we know and love.

"Flickan kom ifrån sin älsklings mote" tells of a girl who hides the signs of a lovers' meeting from her mother until she suffers from her lover's abandonment.  "Var det en dröm" is a song of nostalgia in which the poet recalls his lost love as a dream. Ms. Moore invested each song with depth and meaning.

Her gleaming instrument was put to good use in songs from Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder. We particularly loved the way collaborative pianist Chris Reynolds created a meditative mood for "Im Treibhaus" in which Wesendonck uses the metaphor of plants in a hothouse to represent the feelings of someone who is far from their homeland. We speculated that she herself was away from home but we were wrong.  She was German through and through.

In "Stehe still!",  Mr. Reynolds hands created the pianistic equivalent of a perpetual motion machine, indicating the rushing of time. Ms. Moore responded in beautiful partnership. By the fourth verse, things have calmed down and both artists responded with lyricism to the concept of souls sinking into each other.

"Traume" recreates the evanescent world of dreams in a highly poetic way and gave Ms. Moore another opportunity to create a sound world of delicacy.

Her program ended with selections from Aaron Copland's Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson. We confess to no great love for poet or composer, which didn't stop us from appreciating Ms. Moore's superb performance. There were little touches that lent a high degree of artistry such as the enhanced vibrato on the final word of "Nature, the Gentlest Mother" and the way she left the final note of "The Chariot" hanging in the air.

The cutest song was the most timely--"Dear March, Come In!" a cute sentiment that made us want to like Dickinson more than we do.  It is just a fact that each of us has his/her taste and ours leans toward any language but English and any period prior to (but including) Richard Strauss!

That being said, Copland wrote some very interesting figures for the piano part of "Nature, the Gentlest Mother", and Mr. Reynolds' smashing piano technique and interpretive artistry brought them out.

Like nearly all the singers coming out of Juilliard Vocal Arts Department, Ms. Moore evinces those Juilliard qualities--presence, dramatic skills, expressive vocal technique, fine phrasing, and linguistic skills.  There must be something in the water!

(c) meche kroop

A FLAWLESS LIEDER RECITAL AT WEILL RECITAL HALL

Ying Fang, super-star soprano (photo by Dario Acosta)

A perfect performance of the kind of music one prefers to hear can totally transform one's mood. The rainy day glum gave way to a sunshine-y kind of joy under the influence of Ying Fang's artistry. With the superlative collaborative pianist Ken Noda, we heard the kind of music that formed the basis for the art song recital.  Happily (for us), no new ground was tilled. We don't go to lieder recitals to be intellectually challenged by obscure texts.  We go to be delighted and emotionally moved. 

Ms. Fang has been the object of our adoration for at least six years. What great fortune for the opera world that Mr. Noda discovered her in Shanghai! Her advanced studies at Juilliard brought her to our attention.  Perhaps the first review was for her Zerlina. We also adored her Susanna. Several appearances in recitals just continued to impress us with her artistry.

It was a coup for Carnegie Hall to snag her for this eagerly awaited recital. Weill Recital Hall was a perfect venue for her intimate performing style. Although she has the physical beauty and fashion sense to come across as a diva, she does not. She commands the stage by virtue of confidence and professionality. She draws us into her world with a nod, a smile, or a well-timed glance.

In programming this recital, she took us to the very roots of lieder, with a few other selections to pepper the tasty stew. Her focused bell-like soprano delights the ear and her lightness of touch seemed perfect for Mozart. She knows exactly what she is singing about and brings out the subtext with subtle artistry. This may be the first time we appreciated the symbolism of a flower that blooms too early, or one that willingly sacrifices itself for love.

Mozart's melodic magic was everywhere evident and his abrupt shifts from major to minor were strongly delineated by Ms. Fang and the very present Mr. Noda. The German text was clearly enunciated and the word coloration conveyed every nuance, amplified by Ms. Fang's expressive face.

This made us think about the artifice of the lieder recital. The preparation is intense but the performance must seem spontaneous and natural. 

The sets alternated between Mozart and Schubert, who came along a generation or two later, but seemed to have composed with Mozart whispering in his ear and guiding his pen. If only one of them could return to earth and guide the pens of today's composers! That they both chose wonderful texts, texts that rhyme and scan, like those of Goethe and Müller, surely affected the flow of melody and phrasing. Ms. Fang and Mr. Noda seemed totally tuned into these aspects and gave each text apposite phrasing.

We loved the sweet and happy songs like Mozart's "Un moto di gioia" and "Ruhe sanft, mein holdes Leben",  an aria from his unfinished opera Zaide. We had similar pleasures from Schubert's passionate "Ganymed". But there were other emotions to hold dear, like the angry "Als Luise die Briefe" by Mozart, and Schubert's wistful "Im Frühling".  But our most profound feeling came from Mozart's "Abendempfindung" which brings tears to our eyes when it is well performed.  It was and it did!

Mr. Noda's artistry always impresses us.  Last night we loved the hymn-like prelude to Schubert's "Im Abendrot" and the rocking piano which gave "Nacht und Träume" the feel of a lullaby.  There was plenty going on in the piano part of "Viola" and we observed how deeply the two artists listened to one another and reflected upon each other. This lengthy lied comprises multiple moods and varied tempi.

For opera lovers, we had Susanna's final aria from Mozart's Nozze di Figaro, a role in which we have enjoyed Ms. Fang's performance. Without excess, she subtly let us know that Susanna was "performing" for her new husband. The wide upward skips were artistically negotiated.

The final work on the program was Mozart's concert aria "Misera, dove son"; the opening messa di voce grabbed our attention and the lavish embellishments reinforced the character's anguish.

Thankfully, we were gifted with two encores, loudly demanded by the capacity crowd--"In trutina" from Carl Orff's Carmina Burana (sung in Latin), and Rachmaninoff's "The Dream". We could say that the entire evening was like a dream come true!

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TRANSATLANTIC OPERA

Danny Miller, Vasilisa Atanackovic, and Alison Miller

They call themselves TransAtlanticOpera and they made quite an impression last night at the National Opera Center, the end of their tour of Canada and The United States. They comprise a most unusual ensemble, of whom only three are pictured. The other two members are Brian Holman (the pianist with magic fingers) and the fine clarinetist Krishna Veerappan. They met in Sicily and formed an ensemble of interesting proportions and sonorities.

We are accustomed to hearing voice with piano or guitar accompaniment or with full orchestra so the novelty of the arrangements by violinist Danny Miller allowed us to hear familiar works with fresh ears.

Aside from arias performed by the engaging soprano Vasilisa Atanackovic, the four member ensemble performed instrumental versions of operatic highlights. When they played Mozart's "Porgi amor" from Nozze di Figaro, we could see the Countess and hear her voice in our head.

The "Meditation" from Massenet's Thais was absolutely gorgeous and featured Alison Miller's violin. "Casta diva" from Bellini's Norma featured Mr. Veerappan's clarinet. Similarly gorgeous was the "Intermezzo" from Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana. Mr. Holman's piano was exceptional in the "Intermezzo" from Puccini's Manon Lescaut.

But it was the singer we came to hear, so let us praise Ms. Atanackovic's bright and beautiful soprano and her passionate involvement in getting the arias across. Dvorak's shimmering score for Russalka lost little in translation (or rather arrangement) and Ms. Atanackovic melded beautifully with Mr. Holman's piano part. We loved the Bohemian harmonies and the way her voice swelled in the upper register.

Liu's plea "Tu che di gel" from Puccini's Turandot came across well and we loved the Rachmaninoff song "Polubila ya" (I have grown fond of sorrow).

We hate to harp on things that detract from an otherwise stellar performance but the dreaded music stand appeared, disappeared, and reappeared on several occasions.  It truly is a barrier between singer and audience. The singer makes contact and then that slender thread is broken every time she glances down and turns a page.

Actually, we were quite surprised that this happened with a singer so intensely intent on communicating--especially at the end of a tour!  In "O mio babbino caro" from Puccini's Gianni Schicchi (the opening piece) she lost us and we found ourselves shifting our attention to the unusual instrumental arrangement. Since Lauretta is pleading for something, it was particularly egregious to not focus on an imaginary Babbo in the audience.

Also on the program was the famous Neapolitan song "O sole mio" and the famous Spanish song "Besame mucho" performed with just the piano and marked by dynamic variety and rubato.  "Black Swan" from Menotti's The Medium (just reviewed a couple days ago) would have been so much better off the book!

There was a very emotional delivery of "Vissi d'arte" from Puccini's Tosca (an opera we are going to review in a couple days) but we have saved the best for last because this must be Ms. Atanovackovic's signature role--"Senza mamma" from Puccini's Suor Angelica. Everything was there and we could appreciate not only the wonderful instrument but the phrasing and, above all, the connection with the audience that allowed us to really feel the text. A major score!

We hope that when this excellent ensemble returns that the music stand will have been relegated to the ash heap!

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SIX LANGUAGES, NO LESS!

Suchan Kim, Dina Pruzhansky,Kinneret Ely, Shu-Yu Hsiung

Regular readers recall how fond we are of bel canto. of duets, and of hearing wonderful songs we've never heard before.  All three conditions were experienced last night when versatile soprano Kinneret Ely performed a most enjoyable recital at The National Opera Center.

Let us begin with the new. While singing well in Italian, Russian, German, French and English, Ms. Ely seemed most at home in Hebrew. A 20th c. song by Nachum Nardi took us on a journey into the desert with the lovely melody bringing in the sounds of the camels' bells--beautiful achieved by Dina Pruzhansky. A lullaby by Yehiel Halperin took us to a gentler landscape, whilst Nira Chen's setting of a verse from the Song of Songs was exquisite.

All three songs were performed with simplicity by Ms. Ely who has a most winning stage presence, graciously telling the audience about each song on the program. Her exciting coloratura was saved for other material on the program. We never tire of "Una voce poco fa" from Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Ms. Ely paid full attention to Rosina's spunky nature.

In the lengthy mad scene from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Ms. Ely accurately conveyed the many shades of madness experienced by the eponymous heroine. Here, Shu-Yu Hsiung's flute joined Ms. Pruzhansky's piano and the accompaniment left nothing to be desired.

It was a great benefit to have such a fine robust baritone as Suchan Kim on hand to perform Rigoletto to Ms. Ely's Gilda in the scene where she confesses and her father consoles. We've heard Verdi's Rigoletto several times in the past couple months and that is another scene of which we never tire.

In the less familiar "Doute de la lumière" from Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet, the couple switched from a paternal relationship to a romantic one and that was so swoon-worthy that we wanted to hear the entire opera.

Ms. Ely also gave us three sets of lieder in her generous program. There was a trio of Tosti songs that we enjoyed, although we would have wished for a little more legato to truly achieve the Italianate style.

A trio of Strauss songs delighted us with Ms. Pruzhansky especially wonderful in Morgen. Ms. Ely clearly knows how to pronounce the difficult "ch" as she demonstrated in the word "glücklichen"; so we hope she will become more consistent as in "Zecher" and "Becher", where more definition was needed. (We confess to being rather nit-picky with our German.)

A pair of Rachmaninov songs rounded out the program and sounded fine. (We confess to knowing very little about Russian diction!) Ms. Pruzhansky nailed the sound of the rushing water in "Spring waters" whilst Ms. Ely nailed the hopefulness engendered by the coming of Spring.

As encore, we heard the delightful "Vanilla Ice Cream" from the Harnick/Bock musical She Loves Me, which Ms. Ely sang in a most charming manner.

At a time when most young sopranos sound identical, it was a pleasure to hear one with a unique tone involving substantial vibrato. Interestingly, in the role of Rosina, there was a rich mezzo-soprano quality in her lower register.

We are sure to be hearing more from this promising young artist.

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ROUGE ET CHARBON

Renée Fleming (photo by Andrew Eccles)

We live in an age in which opera singers are expected to be beautiful and glamorous. An adoring audience was well rewarded last night at Carnegie Hall when the beautiful and glamorous soprano Renée Fleming was joined by the equally beautiful and glamorous collaborative pianist Olga Kern. We wondered whether we were at a fashion show or a vocal recital.  Let us get the visuals out of the way first.

For the first half of the program, Ms. Fleming appeared in a striking charcoal gown with a voluminous skirt and black elbow length gloves, the fingers of which were adorned with rings (bling credited to Ann Ziff for Tamsen Z) with Ms. Kern in a skin-tight strapless red gown that hugged her gorgeous figure right down to the knees at which point it flared out into a fishtail.  For the second half of the program, the singer wore a far more flattering red satin gown with matching stole, while Ms. Kern became the wearer of the charcoal, a stunning gown with lines similar to the one she wore for the first half. We were surprised not to find designer credit in the program.

And now we may move on from the arresting visual images to the aural impressions. The highlight of Ms. Fleming's performance was, for us, her third encore--"O, mio babbino caro" from Puccini's Gianni Schicchi. If she never performed in that opera she certainly should have! The aria was delivered with all the passion Puccini wrote and we left Carnegie Hall singing it to ourselves, singing it all the way home. Ms. Fleming seemed far more comfortable with opera than she had been with lieder, although there were several highlights that lifted the evening out of the mundane.

The main problem was the unwelcome presence of the music stand which hampered her connection with the audience. She was not constantly relying on the score but kept it to one side. Still, every occasional glance down and every page turn broke the delicate thread that connects the audience to the singer and the song. 

Ms. Fleming announced that this was the first time she had performed Robert Schumann's magnificent song cycle Frauenliebe und leben and it seemed to us as if she were not quite comfortable with it. It was an appropriate choice of material, coming on the heels of International Women's Day and it is one of our favorite pieces of music; but the performance seemed flat and lacking in variety of color. The performance picked up toward the end with the sweet "Süsser Freund, du blickest" in which the young married woman reveals her pregnancy to her husband.  The final song "Nun hast du mir den ersten Schmerz getan" is a real heartbreaker but we were less moved than we generally are by this incredible work.

A group of songs by Rachmaninoff fared better and seemed to be a more comfortable fit for Ms. Fleming's lush instrument. We loved the heart rending "Sing not to me, beautiful maiden", filled as it is with depths of homesickness. The gentle "The Waterlily" was short and sweet, while the passionate "Spring Waters" seemed seasonally appropriate.

We particularly enjoyed Ms. Kern's piano solo. Rachmaninoff himself arranged "Lilacs" for solo piano and she imbued her performance with delicate filigrees of sound that took us right into Central Park's Lilac Walk which we visit every April.

Ms. Kern had another solo during the second half of the program and she dazzled us with "Feux d'artifice" from Debussy's second book of Préludes from 1913. One might say that the performance was filled with fireworks!

The set of Debussy songs was well performed by the two lovely ladies. We always love the langorous "C'est l'extase" but the final song "Chevaux de bois" was our favorite with its dynamic variety and excitement, all of which was captured by the two artists.

The final set comprised five songs by Patricia Barber and we would agree with Ms. Fleming that these are art songs; be they jazz or blues, they surely deserved to be on the program, even though they are not our taste. Ms. Fleming seemed very comfortable with them and appeared to be having a fine time, especially in the final song in which the singer gives the boot to a man who has served his purpose.

As encores we heard "Danny Boy" with Ms. Kern providing a most interesting accompaniment, and "Shall We Dance" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I  now playing on Broadway.

And then....to waft us homeward, the glorious "O, mio babbino caro".

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THE MASTERY OF WILL KELLEY

Will Kelley

It is incredibly rewarding to witness artistic growth and especially so when an artist you have been enjoying for some time is achieving a master's degree. We arrived at Juilliard last night rain-soaked and wind-blown but by the end of the recital our frown had turned upside down, a phenomenon that will be familiar to music lovers.

Mr. Kelley is an outstanding collaborative pianist, as we already knew.  But last night was an opportunity to hear him work with several different singers and a cellist heretofore unknown to us. He subtly adjusted his prodigious technique to suit each and every circumstance.

First on the program, he was joined by countertenor Jakub Jozef Orlinski and tenor Matthew Swensen for Benjamin Britten's Canticle II: "Abraham and Isaac" which we saw performed last year at Chelsea Opera. (Review archived). We are never fond of bible stories but this is one of the most immoral and despicable of all. In our opinion, true morality is doing what is right regardless of what one is told, whereas doing what you are told regardless of what is right is nothing more than obedience.

Personal distaste for the subject matter aside, the three artists performed magnificently with Mr. Swensen as the misguidedly obedient father and Mr. Orlinski portraying the heartbreakingly obedient and trusting child. Even with scores in hand they acted with body as well as voice; Mr. Kelley modulated his playing to fit every mood change. The harmonies of the final duet were strikingly accomplished.

The next work on the program was Francis Poulenc's Sonata for Cello and Piano. Mr. Kelley pointed out that both the Britten and the Poulenc were written contemporaneously in the post WWII period. This was an excellent opportunity to hear Mr. Kelley partner with another instrumentalist, a new experience for us. 

Julian Schwarz' playing was just as fine as Mr. Kelley's; the two seemed to have a superb partnership and both navigated the many moods evinced within the four movements. The first was light-hearted; the second was lyrically somber and marked by gorgeous glissandi and a peaceful conclusion; the third was downright frisky by way of staccati given a Gallic shrug; and the fourth exhibited tension, ponderousness, then a music hall type franticness. Whew!

The second half of the program brought us to more familiar territory. By this time we had decided that Mr. Kelley chose his partners well and mezzo-soprano Caitlin Redding was just the right singer for a quartet of early songs by Arnold Schoenberg and three selections from Cinq poèmes de Baudelaire set by Debussy.  

Among the Schoenberg songs we loved the evocative "Erwartung" and the sensual "Schenk mir deinen goldenen Kamm". It has taken many hearings for us to appreciate Schoenberg but the artistry of Ms. Redding and Mr. Kelley brought us farther along the path.

Among the Debussy selections, our favorite was "Le jet d'eau" in which Mr. Kelley's piano limned all the rippling and splashing of the fountain.  Indeed we decided that Debussy did for fountains what Beethoven did for moonlight.

The final part of the program comprised four selections from Sergei Rachmaninoff's Six Romances, Op. 38 for which soprano Christine Price was an excellent choice.

The more we listen the greater is our admiration for the art of Collaborative Piano. It is not enough to be an excellent pianist; there is so much involved in matching the other artist's tempi, coloring, and dynamics.  We'd say that Mr. Kelley has mastered the art!

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GIANANDREA NOSEDA CONDUCTS JUILLIARD ORCHESTRA

Concertmaster Kevin Chen and Maestro Gianandrea Noseda

It's some state of affairs when the Juilliard Orchestra sounds much better than the New York Philharmonic! We don't know why but perhaps it has something to do with youthful enthusiasm and dedication pitted against middle-aged boredom.  Perhaps it has something to do with the students being exposed to different conductors and learning from each.

In any event, the young instrumentalists gave Maestro Gianandrea Noseda exactly what he asked for.  And ask he did! Among so many varied styles of conducting, we give Maestro Noseda the Terpsichorean Prize. He uses his entire body and uses it dramatically to elicit the passion that he wants from his players.

Last night's program at Alice Tully Hall opened with Sinfonia, the overture to a 1932 opera entitled La donna serpente; we have never heard this opera and probably never will but we were happy to hear the overture.  It's a vigorous work that opened with a strong initial attack. There was a sprightly theme in the brass and another theme introduced by the woodwinds. Percussion was there for emphasis and the entire work involved an interesting harmonic language. Our companion heard echoes of Stravinsky.

Second on the program was the expansive 1909 Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor by Rachmaninoff, known as "Rach 3". The orchestra played well but the work never quite came together as the piano soloist Colton Peltier seemed to be rushing through the highly challenging piano part, not giving the work a chance to breathe. The romantic sweep somehow got lost.

The final work on the program was Schumann's 1845 Symphony No. 2 in C major, an idiosyncratic work that provided much aural delight. We were particularly fond of the Scherzo in which we heard echoes of Mendelssohn and several changes of mood that reminded us of the concept of following an aria with a cabaletta.

Most affecting was the third movement, an Adagio filled with lyricism and sorrow. There were horn calls throughout the work which lent unity.  The final movement was forceful and a contrast with the Adagio.

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DOUBLE SPOTLIGHT

Clarissa Lyons (photo by Marielle Hayes)

Miles Mykkanen (photo by Kristin Hoebermann)

Thursday night's Spotlight recital featured two fine young singers, both of them in collaboration with the wonderful pianist Ken Noda. The recital is part of the Marilyn Horne legacy at Carnegie Hall. The program, part of the week-long The Song Continues, was filled with delights.

Soprano Clarissa Lyons is new on our radar screen but tenor Miles Mykkanen has been delighting our ears for several years as he pursued his training at Juilliard.  The Divine Mr. M. is always full of surprises, tackling unusual material or presenting old songs in new ways. Thursday night there was no gender bending, which we have enjoyed when he sings with New York Festival of Song.

Mr. M. is always a compelling performer and has a unique sound that is distinctive and memorable; the quality of the vibrato lends a textural richness. The tone is sustained right through the lower register.

He sang five songs from Benjamin Britten's On This Island and sang them with perfect English diction, a rare quality indeed. Britten will never be among our favorite song composers but we certainly did enjoy this particular performance, particularly the despairing "Now the leaves are falling fast" and "As it is, plenty" in which Mr. M. was able to exhibit his passionate intensity. In "Seascape" he painted with words and handled the rapid notes of "Nocturne" with aplomb.

We were far more enthusiastic about his trio of Schumann songs--the bittersweet "Des Sennen Abschied" was our favorite.  His German is impeccable. Mr. Noda's pianism was thrilling, especially in the arpeggios of "Requiem".

The final set comprised three songs by Grieg and it was here that we enjoyed ourselves the most. "Takk for dit råd" expresses the strong impulse toward freedom which Norwegians associate with the sea. Mr. M. captured the essence of the text.

He introduced the song "En svane" with a sad and romantic tale about the poetry and the "fact" that swans only sing when they die. Mr. Noda's playing here added so greatly to the depth of feeling. But his final song "En drøm" filled us with the joy of love achieved and passionately appreciated. What a performance!

Soprano Clarissa Lyons filled the stage with beauty. Her statuesque presence reminds one of a Modigliani painting. Her voice is a lovely one with a diamantine sparkle. We were pleased to hear two songs by Joseph Marx, a composer of whom we do not hear enough. "Ständchen" was given a convincing delivery and "Selige Nacht" had some lovely word coloring to delight the ear.

We heard three songs by Poulenc, settings of surrealistic poetry by Louise Lalanne. "Le présent" and "Chanson" were of a whimsical nature but "Hier" was filled with longing. It was a fine way to show off the singer's versatility.

Next we heard a pair of songs by Rachmaninoff--"A Dream" and "Au!", which comes to an end without resolution. We loved Ms. Lyon's involvement in the text.

Her final set comprised two selections from Barber's Hermit Songs--"Saint Ita's Vision" and "The Desire for Hermitage". We have often heard them but cannot love them. We did love the way she sang them however, with deep commitment.

Both singers collaborated on an encore which sent us out smiling--Bernstein's "Wrong Note Rag".  This was the only wrong note in a wonderful recital. So much ground to cover in an hour! But the artists made every minute count.

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AMERICAN FINE ARTS FESTIVAL

Carmine M. Alfiero and Marisan Corsino

We just spent over 2 1/2 hours (without intermission) listening to budding artists at Weill Recital Hall in a winner's recital produced by the American Fine Arts Festival, now in their twelfth year of providing performance opportunities by means of audition.

This is our first experience with AFAF and we are unable to find much information on their website and there is almost nothing in their program. Consequently we can say little about the performers, particularly since there were errors in the programming, not to mention misspelling of names. The young woman given the task of verbally announcing such changes was inaudible, even from the front row.  Never mind.  Let's get to the performances.

There were two standouts in the vocal area. Mezzo soprano Marisan Corsino, winner of the Russian Seasons Competition, demonstrated skills in both art song and opera. In what sounded to us like excellent Russian, she sang "The Soldier's Wife" by Rachmaninoff, a tale filled with grief. Ms. Corsino is a self-contained artist and used the colors of her voice, rather than gesture.  In Polina's aria from Tchaikovsky's Pique Dame, she employed her entire register all the way down to a deep affecting bottom.

Soprano Becca Conviser is a very different sort of singer, making ample use of facial expression and gesture. She has a big voice and tackled "Dich Teure Halle" from Richard Wagner's Tannhaüser. It was a rousing success. She also performed "Tutte nel cor vi sento" from Mozart's Idomeneo and did just fine negotiating the tortuous skips up from the very bottom to the upper register.

We also liked Shubhangi Amitkumar Das' coloratura in Händel's "Rejoice Greatly O Daughter of Zion", which she followed up with Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Think of Me" from Phantom of the Opera.

There were several other singers on the program, most of them not really performance-ready. We do understand that such recitals as these are meant to provide such experience but there are certain basics that should had been taught, even how to smile at the audience and how to take a bow. These youngsters rushed on and off the stage. There was nothing in the program to tell what age group they belonged to but we suspect that most were far younger than they appeared. Lavish gowns and high heels lead an audience member to expect a more polished performance. Furthermore, the pieces chosen (by whom??) for them to sing were often beyond their capabilities.

There were lots of instrumentalists on the program (over two dozen budding artists and their accompanists) and some of them were quite wonderful. It seems as if the voice is the most difficult instrument to master, since some of the instrumentalists were quite young and yet quite accomplished. The program opened with Lauren Elizabeth Kim playing Four Tales by Medtner. She appeared to be under 10 years of age but played with admirable assurance.

Young violinist Rhys Evans played "Sicilienne and Rigaudon" by Fritz Kreisler.  Not only did he play beautifully but we suspect that his accompanist was his sister. She had a touching rapport with him. We wished the program had been more explicit.

Natalie Lin delighted us with her cello performance of selections from Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococco Theme.  Julia Angelov was poised on the violin, playing part 3 of  Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1. 

Jacob Katz excelled in a couple of Chopin's challenging Etudes. Evangeline Gao tacked Liszt's Etude No. 3 and played beautifully.  Evgeni Petrichev drew some wonderful colors from an Etude by Rachmaninoff. We also heard a guest artist from Russia--Nikita Galaktionov--who polished off a pair of Etudes by Scriabin and won our heart with Prelude #2 by Gershwin, filling it with jazzy styling.

Finally we wish to call attention to a pianist from Russia who captured all the anxiety of Prokofiev's Sonata #3 in A minor, and managed to come up smiling. No one else smiled all evening; these youngsters were all so serious! It was heartwarming to witness one who enjoyed performing.

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