BACK TO THE 19th CENTURY

What a splendid evening we enjoyed pretending we were in a long dress at a musicale chez Herr Franz Schubert, listening to friends singing the songs he dashed off that day with the maestro himself at the piano!  But no, it is 2013 and we were visiting the spacious digs of one of the co-Artistic Directors of Schubert@Co. listening to three lovely ladies with gorgeous voices and two talented pianists.

The lovely lady #1, soprano Devon Guthrie, showed off some new darker colors, most appropriate to the sad songs she performed--Schiller's poetry for "Des Mädchen's Klage" and Kenner's "Grablied".  Lovely lady #2, Australian soprano Elena Perroni sang threee lieder which were settings of poetry by von Leitner--songs related to finding comfort in nature, in tears and in nostalgia for childhood.  In the strophic "Die Sterne", we enjoyed the repetitive rising pattern brought out by Bretton Brown's fine pianism.  Ms. Perroni continued with two settings of Metastasio poetry, showing off her fine Italian.  We could easily believe that Rossini was sitting next to Schubert when he wrote these bel canto inflected lieder.

Lovely lady #3, mezzo Samantha Malk, accompanied by the wonderful  Dimitri Dover, sang the one familiar lied on the program, Craigher de Jachelutta's "Die junge Nonne"; Mr. Dover perfectly reflected the change of mood from tormented to peaceful.  This was quite a change from the humorous "Das Echo", setting of poetry by Castelli; Ms. Malk is quite the story-teller and we loved the tale of the young woman who blames the echo for her falling into a romance with her suitor.  Translations were totally unnecessary, given Ms. Malk's fine diction and dramatic skills.

It was a memorable recital and the evening finished off with some more informal singing, much as we imagined Schubert would have had at his musicales so long long ago.  We felt connected to a lovely unbroken tradition.  May it continue!

(c) meche kroop

GEORGE LONDON FOUNDATION AWARDS

With consummate generosity, the George London Foundation provides sizable grants for young singers who win their competition.  Over 250 applicants from the United States and Canada are winnowed down to 90 auditions (all without application or audition fee) from which 24 are selected to sing in the finals.  Seven of these gifted young artists walk away with a $10,000 grant; seven more receive a $1000 award; the remaining ten receive $500 as an honorable mention.

Competitions are stressful for the applicants and also for the witnesses.  We hear someone who connects with the material and with us; we want so badly for that singer to win a top prize.  Should the distinguished judges agree with us, we feel vindicated in our superb taste; if they overlook our favorites we ache for that person whose excellence was only minimally rewarded.

No one could have overlooked baritone Nicholas Pallesen whose "È sogno? O realtà?" from Verdi's Falstaff was as superb vocally as it was dramatically.  Mr. Pallesen won an Encouragement Award last year and we were happy to see him "promoted".  Likewise, tenor Dominic Armstrong, who won an Encouragement Award in 2008, blew us away with his mad scene from Britten's Peter Grimes.  His tenorial vibrato and his acting chops were highly affecting.  Baritone Jamez McCorkle, only 24 years old, evinced a fine French and admirable phrasing in "Avant de quitter ces lieux" from Gounod's Faust.  Tenor Noah Baetge had a lovely quality in "Walter's Preislied" from Wagner's Die Meistersinger, and is well-remembered from his appearance last year when he was an Encouragement Winner.

On the distaff side, the big winners were three: soprano Jessica Muirhead, who sang "Non mi dir" from Mozart's Don Giovanni with some lovely sounds in her upper register; soprano Felicia Moore who used her expansive instrument well in "Einsam in trüben Tagen" from Wagner's Lohengrin; and soprano Marcy Stonikas who used her large voice to animate "In questa Regggia" from Puccini's Turandot.

In the category of the $1000 awards, a curious event occurred.  Two singers won for the same song!  Soprano Shirin Eskandani and mezzo Rihab Chiaeb, both Canadians, sang "Parto, parto ma tu ben mio" from Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito, giving the audience a golden opportunity to hear the same aria sung by a different voice type.  Marina Costa-Jackson won with her "Stridono Lassù" from Leoncavallo's Pagliacci; there was some thrilling resonance and brilliant tone that made us want to fly with her.

Male winners in the $1000 category were baritone John Brancy who sang "Pierrot's Tanzlied" from Korngold's Die Tote Stadt with superb phrasing and German diction and a mature sound that belies his 24 years.  "Look! Through the port..." from Britten's  Billy Budd was given a compelling performance by baritone Jonathan Michie, who seems to be on his way to becoming a Britten specialist, having excelled in Albert Herring at the Santa Fe Opera.  Another baritone, Steven LaBrie, performed admirably in Silvio's aria ("E fra quest' ansie") from Leoncavallo's Pagliacci  And finally, tenor Adam Bonanni sang "Una Furtiva Lagrima" from Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore, showing a fine command of dynamics.

We were thrilled for all the winners but a bit disappointed that some fine performances received only Honorable Mention.  We particularly enjoyed soprano Deanna Breiwick's charming "En proie a la tristesse" from Rossini's frivolous Le Comte Ory and soprano Miriam Khalil's "Si mi chiamano Mimi" from Puccini's La Bohème.  And bass Ben Wager's delivery of "Aleko's Cavatina" from Rachmaninoff's Aleko made us yearn to hear the entire opera.

In sum, it was a thrilling afternoon and we hope to hear more from these gifted young artists.  Major props to The George London Foundation for helping advance their careers, a goal we share and support.  And much gratitude to Linda Hall for her fine consistent accompaniment.

(c) meche kroop

SCHUBERT'S UNPUBLISHED SONG CYCLE

Leave it to Schubert&Co. to discover an unrecognized cycle of songs--settings of poetry by Karl Wilhelm Friedrich von Schlegel.  As Co-Artistic Director Lachlan Glen explained, there is every evidence that Schubert intended these settings, composed around the same time as Die Schöne Müllerin, to be a cycle but they remained unpublished and not organized in an appropriate order at the time of Schubert's untimely death.  (One of the problems presented by this collection is the wide range of voicing; Mr. Glen solved this problem by dividing the songs amongst three singers with different ranges.) But we got to hear (and heart) them all last night at Central Presbyterian Church and so did you, if you took our advice.

Soprano Catherine Hancock has a winning bright sound and was pleasantly playful in the opening song "Der Schmetterling"; it is always delightful to see an artist enjoying herself to such an extent. Mezzo Kristin Gornstein has a brilliant upper register that would be the envy of any soprano, but has that chocolatey mezzo richness at the bottom.  We particularly enjoyed the wistful "Das Mädchen".  We would urge singers to pay more attention to the final "ch" and "ig" in their German.  Many American singers shy away from enunciating them and we wonder if it is fear of mispronouncing.  In any event, it is an easy flaw to correct.

Baritone Benjamin Bloomfield has no such problem.  He demonstrated different colors last night than he did the prior night.  We especially enjoyed the interesting mood changes in "Der Schiffer" and the peaceful feeling of "Der Wanderer".

Last night's guest pianist was Michael Brofman of the Brooklyn Art Song Society who distinguished himself by bringing out the Baroque leanings of "Vom Mitleiden Maria" and the references to nature in "Die Gebüsche" and "Im Walde".

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SCHUBERTIADE

If you have been attending Schubert&Co.'s lieder recitals then you already know what a gift is being given to New York City's lieder lovers by Artistic Directors Lachlan Glen and Jonathan Ware, plus all the gifted singers who are presenting over 600 Schubert songs over a one year period.

If for some reason you have not yet attended the recitals at  Central Presbyterian Church, it is not too late to start.  There are plenty of recitals to come including one tonight at 8PM and Sunday at 6PM (at a different venue).  If you heard baritone Benjamin Bloomfield last night, you will surely want to hear him again tonight, as we did and will.  Amongst his four selections, we particularly enjoyed a most sensitive rendering of "Im Abendrot", a setting of an exquisite poem by Karl Gottlieb Lappe.  Gone was the gloomy poetry of Goethe; Lappe is nothing if not sunny.

One of our favorite sopranos, Devon Guthrie lent her superlative artistry to a group of songs which were settings of poetry by A.W. Schlegel.  The lengthy strophic setting of "Abendlied für die Entfernte" with its several changes from major to minor gave Ms. Guthrie ample time to show off her warm personality and delicious resonance.

Mezzo Kristin Gornstein was charming in a Claudius poem entitled "Zufriedenheit".  Soprano Charlotte Dobbs has a clear attractive soprano, bringing to life another Claudius poem entitled "Phidile".  Tenor James Baumgardner also sang a Claudius lied entitled "Täglich zu singen".  Herr Claudius may become our new favorite poet. 

Collaborative pianist Lachlan Glen, newly returned from Germany and Switzerland, provided sensitive accompaniment to the singers.  We were so delighted by the informal style of this Schubertiade that two more recitals this weekend do not feel like too many.

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SIMPLY STELLAR

One expects excellence from The Juilliard School but we are never surprised when an event exceeds our high expectations.  Such was the case last night at the Vocal Arts Honors Recital in which two supremely talented sopranos, chosen by competitive audition, presented programs selected by themselves and their collaborative pianists.  Let's take a look at what they chose.

The glamorous Hungarian-American Lilla Heinrich-Szasz, partnered by the competition-winning pianist Lachlan Glen (well known by Voce di Meche readers as the founder and co-artistic director of Schubert & Co.) began their half of the program with four of our favorite Grieg songs.  The performance highlighted the gentle sincerity and delicacy of these gems.  Ms. Heinrich-Szasz delighted the audience with her unfussy and winning delivery; her connection with the material and with the audience was remarkable, especially in the humorous "Lauf der Welt".

Four songs by Debussy revealed the fine vibrato of her upper register; our ears thrilled to the pingy resonance.  Still, our heart was taken most by the Spanish songs of her final set.  We had never before heard José Serrano's "Marinela" from La Canción del Olvido but we hope to hear it many more times in the future.  On the other hand we have heard Fernando Obradors "Del cabello más sutil" more times than we can recall but never with a more haunting feeling of yearning.

Mr. Glen's piano was totally supportive of the delicacy of the songs.  One had a sense of filigree that tickled the ear.  Ms. Heinrich-Szasz performed an encore in Hungarian which was everything an encore should be, showing her skill with yet a fourth language and her willingness to let her hair down and dance; the delighted audience joined her in rhythmic clapping to the spirited "Heia in dem bergen" from Die Csárdásfürstin.

The second half of the program starred the equally glamorous award-winning Julia Bullock and her superb piano partner Daniel Fung.  When we saw the program, we were skeptical about the Messiaen songs from Chants de terre et de ciel but need not have been concerned.  Ms. Bullock and Mr. Fung made music together in spite of the inaccessibility of the music and poetry.

Much more to our taste were Mussorgsky's songs from The Nursery in which Ms. Bullock gave free rein to her considerable dramatic skills; our personal favorite was "With Nanny", heard many times before but never with such charm.  Richard Strauss' Drei Ophelia Lieder followed, songs which sound very different from Strauss' other songs.  It is so interesting that English had been translated into German and the German translated back into English by Ms. Bullock herself for the program.  Indeed, Ms. Bullock also translated the French and the Russian songs!  Without a break, Ms. Bullock seguéd right into Harry T. Burleigh's "Deep River", driving the audience into a frenzy of adulation with her gorgeous lustrous voice and compelling stage presence.  Mr. Fung was with her every step of the way.  These are four compelling artists to watch!

(c) meche kroop