GETTIN' YER IRISH UP

The lassies: Joanie Brittingham, Vira Slywotzky, and Katherine Corle
The lads: Jason Robinette, Ross Brown, Anthony Maida, David Seatter, Richard Holmes and Jovani McCleary

No, no, no, we are not angry.  Au contraire, we are absolutely tickled with our evening spent with Victor Herbert Renaissance Project LIVE! about whom we have written before.  VHRPL is celebrated for bringing the works of this early 20th c. composer to lively life. Last night's concert, in anticipation of St. Patrick's Day, presented a selection of his songs celebrating his Irish heritage.  Imagine the shock of finding out that Mr. Herbert probably never set foot in Ireland, a rather new discovery!

Still, he had an Irish soul, thanks to his mother and maternal grandfather with whom he lived for a period in England. As a matter of fact, he set some of his grandfather's poetry and we were fortunate to hear some of Samuel Lover's text, one of which was sung by the excellent and versatile soprano Vira Slywotzky (one of the founding members of VHRPL) who also narrated the evening with great style and dulcet tone. The song, entitled "Angel's Whisper" was based on the legend that when a baby smiles in his/her sleep it's because of conversation with an angel.  In the song, which touched our heart, a mother is reassured about the safety of her mariner husband when her baby smiles.  Awwww!

Mr. Lover also wrote humorous songs and we just loved "The Birth of St. Patrick" which described the embattled Irish temperament with two camps disagreeing about the date St. Patrick was born. A diplomatic priest added the two dates together and came up with the 17th, thus solving the problem. Too bad "the troubles" could not have been so easily sorted out! The song was performed by tenor Anthony Maida and baritones Jovani McCleary and David Seatter.

Another favorite of ours involving the grandfather's poetry was the romantic "Live in My Heart and Pay No Rent", for which the versatile fellow also wrote the music. Mr. Maida gave it a fine performance.

Of all the gentlemen, the one whose timbre was closest to what one expects in an Irish tenor was Jason Robinette, whose delivery of "Mary Came Over to Me" touched the heart with the joy of a reunion of two lovers when the woman finally arrives in America.

Tenor Ross Brown shone as the Irish Don Juan in "Barney Maguire" from Mr. Herbert's 1906 show "Miss Dolly Dollars". The charming choreography by Director/Choreographer Emily Cornelius brought in the lovely sopranos Joanie Brittingham and Katherine Corle.

The ensemble work was in every instance delightful, particularly when all six men joined in for the drinking song "The Cruiskeen Lawn" which was performed a cappella. The admirably crisp enunciation we had enjoyed in solo pieces carried over and we understood every rowdy word of this folk song arranged by Mr. Herbert.

We wish to alert our readers to the upcoming performance of Herbert's 1917 operetta Eileen on April 25th and 26th because the songs on last night's program taken from that show were so special. If you've never heard "My Little Irish Rose", you will be enchanted. Ms. Corle sang it beautifully. There were three other songs from the show on the program, all memorably melodic. Notably, Eileen will have an orchestra!

Some of the songs were about Ireland's struggle for freedom from oppression and some were about the contributions of the Irish to America's cause in The Great War.

There was still more to interest the listener. Adding to Herbert's Irish heart were the skills of composition that he learned growing up in his father's Germany. Ireland had never produced a song cycle before and Mr. Herbert wrote one entitled The Bards of Ireland which was performed in 1908 for the Society of Friends of the Sons of Ireland. Thomas Moore's lyrics to Old Irish Airs were arranged by Mr. Herbert. We make no claims that this cycle rivals those of Schubert and Schumann but it was surely a treat to hear a work that was never published.  Leave it to Artistic Director Alyce Mott!

Strangely, however, our favorite part of this song cycle was the piano solo "Lament for Owen Roe O'Neill" played on the piano by Music Director Michael Thomas. Sometimes words are superfluous. Baritone Richard Holmes gave a lovely performance of "Remember the Glories of Brien the Brave".

We believe it is important, particularly at this time in our history, to acknowledge the contributions made to the USA by the Irish. Every ethnic group that has come to our great nation has been at first despised, later accepted, and eventually celebrated.  Let us not forget that!  It's time to make America great again!  Yes, by welcoming immigrants.  And you can quote us on that one!

(c) meche kroop

VOCALIS CONSORT

Martin Neron, Sonya Headlam, Sahoko Sato Timpone, Christopher Sierra, and Sean McCarther

The Vocalis Consort is new to us but the pianist is not. We have heard him before at Opera America and the prospect of hearing him perform Spanish (and Spanish influenced) music was a tempting one. We wished that the concert might have been better attended since the offerings were most fulfilling.

The first half of the program comprised music by Spanish composers. Tenor Cristopher Sierra has a nice unforced sound and sings with sazon. We enjoyed a pair of songs by Fernando Obradors, a self taught Catalan composer who arranged his country's folk songs.  Folk songs are always appealing due to their memorable melodies; his are no exception. We have always loved the beautiful sentiment of "Del cabello mas sutil" and Mr. Sierra sang it as beautifully as it was written, with both passion and tenderness in equal measure. Mr. Neron's rippling piano accompaniment was lovely.

Soprano Sonya Headlam has a lovely voice but was unfortunately "on the book" for her selections from Joaquin Nin-Culmell's Sephardic songs. There was no audience contact and we felt shut out. But we did enjoy the piano accompaniment in "La rosa enflorece".

Argentinian composer Carlos Guastavino is a favorite of ours and baritone Sean McCarther sang the violent "Milonga de Dos Hermanos" with pleasing tone but a deficiency of passion.

Guastavino's melancholy "La rosa y el sauce" was given a nice interpretation by mezzo-soprano Sahoko Sato Timpone. The brightness of her tone brought "Jota" to life--one of a pair of songs from Manuel de Falla's Siete canciones populares espanolas. Mr. Neron's piano provided the rhythmic thrust. The gentle lullaby "Nana" was lovely.

Ms. Sato Timpone surely captured the humor of Obradors' "El Vito".

The second half of the program comprised Robert Schumann's Spanisches Liederspiel op 74.  Schumann was not the only composer to set German translations of Spanish folksongs. We have often heard Hugo Wolf's "Spanisches Liederbuch" but this was our first hearing of the Schumann. All four singers took the stage and joined forces in various combinations and with gorgeous harmonies. We were reminded of Brahms' Liebeslieder Walzer, and that's a good thing!

The actor Igor Correa was on hand to weave the songs into a story. Perhaps Schumann's Dichterliebe can have a story imposed upon it but it was a mighty stretch to form a story out of his Spanisches Liederspiel. Nonetheless, Mr. Correa narrated it well.

Ms. Headlam and Ms. Sato Timpone harmonized beautifully in the charming "Erste Begegnung". The men took over with equivalent success for "Intermezzo". Come to think of it, however one paired the voices, they sounded swell together. We particularly enjoyed the two numbers in which all four members of the ensemble sang together--"Es ist verrathen" and "Ich bin geliebt". 

In a work of this sort, being "on the book" makes sense and would seem necessary. We do have one suggestion however. We would have liked the texts in the original language, as well as the English translations.

We were delighted to be introduced to such a superb song cycle and equally delighted to see a new group on the music scene of New York City.  We look forward to future performances and to Vocalis Consort reaching a wider audience.

(c) meche kroop

APPLE OF OUR EYE (and ear)

Ken Noda, Sarah Mesko, and Paul Appleby

What gives us the greatest pleasure in life is witnessing the growth of young artists. We have thrilled to the performances of tenor Paul Appleby since we started writing--no, even before--from Juilliard to leading roles on the stages of the world's greatest opera houses. We have been there when he was showered with awards from all the leading foundations. And yesterday he appeared as the "senior" member of a duo at the George London Foundation recital series, having been awarded a half dozen years ago. His rapid ascent can be attributed to his impressive expressive qualities and commitment to whatever he sings.  Besides all that, he has a tonal quality that goes straight to the heart.

The final piece on yesterday's program at The Morgan Library (a very special series for those of us who adore the human voice) was a duet with the "junior" member of the team mezzo-soprano Sarah Mesko, who was honored by the foundation just two years ago. The duet was the final scene from Georges Bizet's Carmen, a scene which has always seemed to go on a bit too long for our taste causing us to inwardly mutter "Stab her already".  But not yesterday!  The performance was so intense that we had to restrain ourselves from leaping onstage to prevent Don Jose from stabbing Carmen.

This frightening reality was created without set or costumes. We have never seen/heard it performed better. When Don Jose cradled the dying Carmen in his arms we could not hold back the tears. Ms. Mesko has experience with the role and Mr. Appleby absolutely must add this to his already substantial repertoire. Don Jose is a complex character and Mr. Appleby's artistry captured all of it. Interestingly, the two artists appeared together at the Santa Fe Opera a few years back in Offenbach's La Grand Duchesse de Gerolstein, which we reviewed so enthusiastically.

With that bedazzlement out of the way, let us consider the remainder of the program. Ms. Mesko's voice has the quality of liquid caramel and felt so totally perfect for Brahms whose "Die Mainacht" was the standout of her first set. Accompanied by the fine violist Andrew Gonzalez, she also gave a beautiful interpretation of Brahms' Zwei Gesange, op.91. The artist filled "Gestillte Sehnsucht" with restless longing. "Geistliches Wiegenlied" is a lullaby to the Christ child that we have often heard. Mr. Gonzalez' line echoed the vocal line and the repetition of the phrase "stillet die Wipfel" will not quit our ear.

We might add that Ms. Mesko's German diction was superb and she filled Hugo Wolf's "Der Mond hat eine schwere Klag erhoben" with wonder. She also accomplished a rare feat by singing English with superb enunciation. As far as the French, we found Gabriel Faure's "Clair de lune" to be wanting more fluidity of line to bring out the sensuality achieved by Ken Noda's superb accompaniment.  We even had the curious thought that the English song preceding the "Clair de Lune" had set her up for a choppier delivery.

We liked the way Ms. Mesko addressed the audience and told about her choices. She related how Hector Berlioz added something to Virgil's account of Dido's death when he wrote the libretto for Les Troyens. When she sang "Ah! Je vais mourir" we got Dido's anger at the abandoning Aeneas...followed by Berlioz' addition of an adagio section in which she expresses her gratitude for the good things in her life. In this part, we heard the longer legato line that we wanted to hear in the earlier "Clair de lune".

Mr. Appleby, so passionately convincing in opera, revealed a different side of his artistry in a set of songs by Britten. He is a thinking man's artist and can only be admired for choosing material that resonates with him. That it doesn't resonate with us does not take away anything. His attention to text is impressive and he mines every song for meaning. When we read the title of the song cycle On This Island, all we could think about was Mr. Appleby's thrilling performance at the Met in Enchanted Island! But this set of songs, settings of text by W.H.Auden, although they did not enchant us, held our interest.

We enjoyed the embellishments in "Let the florid music praise!" and the Brecht/Weill flavor of "Now the leaves are falling fast". The dirge-like "Nocturne" appealed to us because the text rhymed and scanned. But the most affecting was the sardonic and bitter "As it is, plenty" which Mr. Appleby invested with great dramatic import.

We cannot say that the set of Poulenc songs held our attention. Tel jour, telle nuit was set to text by Paul Eluard which struck us as surreal and not worthy of setting.

We would have been happy to have left the recital all shook up by the Carmen but the generous artists supplied encores. Ms. Mesko gave a delightful delivery of "Everybody Says Don't" from Sondheim's 1864 Broadway show Anyone Can Whistle. The show did not do well but the song is a winner.

Mr. Appleby's encore was Ned Rorem's paean to "The Lordly Hudson". Well performed as one would expect, but we would prefer to see the river through the eyes of a painter of the Hudson River School!

The talented pair closed the program with Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Dirge for Fidele" also known as "Fear no more the heat o' the sun", text from Shakespeare's Cymbeline. The overlapping voices and peaceful harmonies were perfect.

But the most perfect performance of all was that of collaborative pianist Ken Noda who is as supportive of the artist as he is brilliant on the keys.

(c) meche kroop

THE GRANDEST OF GRAND DUKEDOM

Kevin Miller and Hanne Dollase as Dr. Tannhauser and the Baroness von Krakenfeldt

Who else beside W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan could churn out one hit after another with such relevance to their time and place, and yet still feel relevant today! Who but William Remmers and his Utopia Opera could capture the wild and crazy spirit with which they invested their works! Opera (without getting into a discussion of whether operetta and music theater fit under that umbrella) must be both artistic and entertaining. This production of The Grand Duke, alternatively titled The Statutory Duel, definitely filled the bill.  Lucky for you, dear reader, you will have two chances next weekend to enjoy the piece that entertained us so royally (ahem!) last night.

Gilbert and Sullivan began their joint writing career for the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company with a work entitled Thespis in which a theatrical company aspires to political power. How fitting then that their final collaboration in 1896 took on the same theme. No opportunity was lost to skewer political patronage, an issue still dear to our hearts. A further theme, written about so eloquently in Mr. Remmers' program notes, deals with the extent to which one's role in life, echoed by the role the actors assume in the theater, affect the script of one's life and that of other people.

The conceit of the story is that interpretation of the law can alter lives in multiple ways. The so-called law of the (fictional) land of Pfennig Halbpfennig is one of dueling by drawing playing cards, a situation in which the loser is "dead for a day" and the winner assumes all his responsibilities and debts. The law is uncovered by the notary Dr. Tannhauser who later discovers a loophole, a deus ex machina which permits a happy ending in which everyone can marry someone.

Until that time, Ludwig, the leading comedian of the troop (the talented Ben Cohen), was engaged to marry the soubrette Lisa (the beautiful and sweet voiced Kat Liu);  then wed to the British comedienne Julia Jellicoe (the hilarious Hannah Spierman) whom he "inherited" when he trounced theater manager Ernest Dummkopf (the superb Matt Hughes); then to the aristocratic Baroness von Krakenfeldt (the smoky voiced Hanne Dollase) whom he took over from Rudolph the stingy and despotic Grand Duke of Pfennig Halbpfennig (the excellent performer Martin Everall); then to the Princess of Monte Carlo (delightful Allyson Herman) to whom he was betrothed as a child.  Is that clear?

It all centers around a plot to depose the Grand Duke who is none too popular. Much of the audience laughter would suggest a certain contemporary topicality. Gales of laughter also greeted many of the scenes. The late arrival of the Prince of Monte Carlo (the fine David Tillistrand) who paid off his debts by inventing roulette, involved the worst and funniest French accent ever heard.  Come to think of it, how topsy-turvily funny it is that this German (or Austrian) theatrical company spoke in British accents whilst the British comedian spoke with a rather spotty German accent.

The parts were perfectly cast and the voices were all eminently listenable. Duets and ensembles were particularly fine, Gilbert was such a fine wordsmith and Sullivan such a fine tunesmith! That some critical opinion opined that this 14th and final collaboration of the pair was not up to par did not mar our opinion a whit. What we did consider is that the two "smiths" had had a falling out and perhaps that inspired the plot in which the lead comedian takes over the position of the theater manager by means of a "statutory duel" in which no one gets hurt.  Converting daily struggles into art is what the artist is supposed to do.

There was no scenery to distract one from the fine performances. Fortunately there were titles so that none of Gilbert's clever words and rhymes would be missed. All of the players sang and spoke clearly but the words of the chorus did not come through and we were glad to have titles.

Costuming by Eric Lamp and Angel Betancourt added to the fun.

Mr. Remmers conducted the orchestra which occasionally sounded a bit ragged but always brought out the excellence of Sullivan's music, whether it was waltz or march or ballad. Once or twice we heard echoes of Offenbach. At the turn of the 20th century, entertainment was evolving and there would be no more Gilbert and Sullivan. How glad we are to have the oeuvre that we do and to have had the opportunity to enjoy a show that had been unknown to us!

(c) meche kroop

COME TO THE CABARET....IN BROOKLYN

Spencer Myer, Kristin Gornstein, Justine Aronson, Richard Valitutto, Samantha Malk, and Michael Brofman

Last night at the beautiful Brooklyn Historical Society, the Brooklyn Art Song Society presented their fifth and final entry in a season devoted to Vienna in the first half of the 20th c.  It was a time of decadence, intrigue, and radicalism....and marvelous music. Cabaret was the subject of last night's sold out performance and we enjoyed witnessing three singers we love pushing their boundaries.

Cabaret is a broad term but, in our opinion, it should be naughty and counter-culture. To our ears, it sounds best in German because of the sound and taste of the words as well as the facility with rhyming. Toward this end, soprano Justine Aronson's performance of Arnold Schoenberg's Brettl Lieder more than fulfilled our expectations.  We have heard his "Galathea" performed onstage but we have never heard it the way Ms. Aronson sang it, with devilish glee.

Although she used the loathed music stand, somehow she managed to incorporate ample gesture to accompany her ironic coloration and the song became completely new. We believe she plumbed the depths of meaning and came up with pearls. "Gigerlette" and "Der genugsame Liebhaber" were replete with doppelbedeutung. Richard Valitutto made a fine collaborative pianist.

Her performance of a set of French cabaret songs was a far different affair--not satirical but soulful. We particularly enjoyed Edith Piaf's "La Vie en Rose", Poulenc's "Les chemins de l'amour",  and Erik Satie's "Je te veux" -- but it is Piaf's "Padam padam" that keeps going around in our head.  It's a song that we first heard sung by Kim David Smith who performs a totally different type of cabaret. The piano accompaniment of Artistic Director and Founder Michael Brofman sounded just right.

Mezzo-soprano Kristin Gornstein is well known to us from Heartbeat Opera, so we have never seen her without extravagant makeup design. Last night was the first time we heard her in recital format, although that word fails to describe the intense performance she gave of Kurt Weill's music, for which Berthold Brecht wrote the lyrics. Mr. Valitutto's piano was forceful but never overwhelmed the voice.

We far prefer "Mack the Knife" in German but Marc Blitzstein's translation is quite good and Ms. Gornstein made every word count.  In "The Ballad of Sexual Obsession" there was plenty of ad libbing, about a man with an orange face and stringy yellow hair, that had the audience laughing out loud. This topicality meets a major requirement of cabaret!

Accompanied by Spencer Myer,  mezzo-soprano Samantha Malik performed a set of songs by William Bolcom, making each song into a little opera. The songs are mainly about contemporary society. Ms. Malik's interpretations were all right on point--romantic disappointment, a party turned sour, an overnight date that lasted too long. The most familiar of the set was "Amor" which we have often heard and enjoyed as an encore number. But the hymn-like "Waitin'", short, sweet, perfectly written and sung, seemed out of place with the other songs.

Ms. Malik also performed some songs by Benjamin Britten, settings of texts by W.H. Auden. They were fine songs but did not strike us as cabaret.  Perhaps we need to broaden our definition but we found them lacking in satire and naughtiness.

Although this was the conclusion of the series on Viennese music, B.A.S.S. is not finished with their season. On March 31st there will be a fine program of Debussy, Hahn, Poulenc and Heggie at National Sawdust.

(c) meche kroop

EINE UBERRASCHUNG!

Babette Hierholzer, Stephen Tharp, Anne Riegler, and Katrin Bulke at German Forum Concert

The most amazing and wonderful surprise occurred smack in the middle of a compelling concert given by the German Forum in the sanctuary of St. Peter's Church. Phenomenal young baritone Aneas Humm stopped by on his way to the airport to dazzle us with a selection of lieder from Schumann's Liederkreis, with one lone selection from Myrthen.

We first became acquainted with Mr. Humm last year when the German Forum introduced him. His resonance has deepened over the year of concertizing in Europe with collaborative pianist Babette Hierholzer. His interpretive skills have also deepened and he used a full range of colors in his singing, from the expansive "Im wunderschonen Monat Mai" to the fierce "Ich grolle nicht" to the excited "Die Rose, die Lilie, die Taube, die Sonne". The final selection "Du bist wie eine Blume" might just have been part of the cycle; it fit right in. Mr. Humm seems to taste and savor and color every single word without sacrificing legato phrasing.

This was just icing on the delicious cake of a recital as sweet as a Mozartkugel. There was more variety than usual, since a prodigious pianist from Germany was on hand to delight us with several of Ravel's tributes to other composers, and a versatile soprano who showed her skills as a coloratura, and also as an operetta heroine.  Moreover we heard some interesting organ music resonating through this cavernous space which has such excellent acoustics.

Since opera is our thing, let us begin with Ms. Katrin Bulke who electrified the audience with the famous Queen of the Night aria from Mozart's Die Zauberflote. "Der Holle Rache" is known for it's high-lying tessitura and need for pinpoint accuracy. Ms. Bulke fulfilled every requirement, as she did with Amina's sleepwalking aria from Bellini's La Sonnambula, "Ah non credea mirarti" with its stunning cabaletta "Ah non giunge".

Later on, the artist, accompanied by Ms. Hierholzer, gave us two arias from operettas.  We heard Fanny's aria from Johann Strauss'  Die Tanzerin Fanny Eisler--"Draussen in Sievering". It was obvious to us that the requisite technique was no different from that of Queen of the Night. In a more Hungarian vein, we heard "Meine Lippen, sie kussen so heiss" from Franz Lehar's operetta Giuditta. We even got a little barefoot dance, perhaps a Czardas but, who knows!

Accomplished pianist Anne Riegler engaged the audience with her charming introductions to each piece and held our attention with some fine playing. We heard a Sonata by Joseph Haydn with its gloriously contemplative Adagio--and then a tribute to Haydn written by Maurice Ravel, variations written on the letters of his name. 

A frisky and propulsive scherzo by Alexander Borodin was followed by Ravel's brief "Valse a la maniere de Alexander Borodin".  A baroque piece by Francois Couperin was succeeded by Ravel's Prelude to Le tombeau de Couperin.  The concept is an interesting one and the basis for Ms. Riegler's recording, soon to be released in the United States.

And that was not all! Organist Stephen Tharp, stepping in for his indisposed wife, performed the rhythmic and melodic "Toccata for Organ" from Leon Boelllmann's Suite Gotique. But even better was his duet with Ms. Hierholzer on the piano--Cesar Franck's Fugue and Variations op. 18 for organ and piano. Mr. Tharp's refined Gallic melody was played with a reedy sound whilst Ms. Hierholzer supported with dynamically varied arpeggios. This sounded unlike anything we have heard before and delighted us far more than the closing piece--Mendelssohn's Overture to the Oratorio Saint Paul which just sounded like typical church music.

The German Forum continues to impress us with the quality of the talent they unearth from the German speaking world. Membership is now open and worth every penny. We might add that there was also a generous repast of delicacies accompanied by wine and beer. This made for an evening that was nourishing to body and soul. Korper und Seele!

(c) meche kroop

PASTA MEETS OPERA

Jessica Rose Cambio and Won Whi Choi in the love scene from Act I of Puccini's La Boheme

"If music be the food of love, play on", said the Bard. Last night, at Giovanni Rana Pastificio, we enjoyed both music and food together, but, thankfully, in alteration--thus removing the conflict between savoring the food or the music. We got to concentrate on each in turn.

Michael Capasso, General Director of New York City Opera, rounded up three sublime sopranos and three terrific tenors to entertain us between courses of Mr. Rana's perfect pastas. Mr. Capasso himself narrated the program, supplying interesting tidbits about the life of Giacomo Puccini (especially his love life).

To begin, Jessica Rose Cambio and Won Whi Choi gave a deeply heartfelt performance of the love scene from Act I of Puccini's 1896 opera La Boheme. Who could not be affected by two young people pouring out their stories to one another! We listened and felt their attraction blossoming.

Then Kristin Sampson and James Valenti performed the scene from Act I of Puccini's 1900 Tosca. The jealous Floria Tosca confronts her lover Mario Cavaradossi with her suspicions when she notices that his painting of the Virgin has blond hair and blue eyes. The superb duet ended with Mr. Valenti dabbing dark paint onto the eyes of the painting on the easel.

The final duet was another love scene from Act I of Puccini's 1904 Madama Butterfly. Inna Dukach made a lovely delicate butterfly landing gently on the arm of her new husband Pinkerton, ably sung by Jason Karn. One could almost forget the tragedy that would come to pass.

Piano accompaniment was provided by Kathryn Olander. Costume design by Derek Lockwood was outstanding and totally appropriate for each scene.

It is a very difficult thing to perform in a restaurant where people eat and drink and talk. It was amazing that these fine voices rose above the din and captivated the crowd. We believe that the fine entertainment succeeded in bringing new people to the opera house. To have heard three such excellent duets is to become a convert.  Indeed, patrons of the restaurant were offered a 20% discount on seats to Ottorino Respighi's La Campana Sommersa which will be produced by NYCO from March 31st through April 5th. New York City has not heard a performance of this opera since 1929!

If music is food for the soul, pasta is music for the taste buds and we got to taste several varieties of Mr. Rana's creations, all of them original. His restaurant is in the Chelsea Market. What a swell evening!

(c) meche kroop