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

MORE #METOO

Scott Lindroth, Amelia Hensley, Helena Brown, Andrew Dwan, Allison Gish, Victor Khodadad,
Julia Tang, and Barbara Porto

Social movements generally take a while to get off the ground and then, it seems, they reach critical mass and dominate the conversation. In the past ten days we have reviewed a half-dozen operas with the theme of women suffering from egregious male misbehavior-- being intimidated by male power and made to feel guilty for male lust. We will indeed be overjoyed when this situation is eliminated. New Camerata Opera has joined the movement with an excellent realization of The Rape of Lucretia.

The Rape of Lucretia was composed by Britten as one of a group of chamber operas written in the impoverished post-World War II period when faith and funds were in equally short supply in Great Britain. The libretto by Ronald Duncan is prosy, declamatory, filled with special pleadings for Christianity, and marked by poetic metaphors--some of which were lovely, i.e. "Thirsty evening has drunk the wine of light". Others were more obscure. There wasn't much in the way of vocal line to appreciate.

Serving as narrators of the story were Victor Khodadad and the powerful soprano Helena Brown. In a masterstroke by Stage Director Bea Goodwin, a "silent" narrator, in the person of actor Amelia Hensley, "doubled" the role of Lucretia; she enacted the words in American Sign Language, thus driving home the point of women being silenced. We wondered how the expressive Ms. Hensley co-ordinated her signing with the dialogue and learned that there were titles projected toward the stage as well as toward the audience.

We might mention right now that the English was so clearly enunciated that titles were uncharacteristically redundant. We would also like to mention that the female members of the cast learned enough ASL to incorporate some signing as gestures whilst singing. We have only a slight familiarity with ASL but enough to recognize a few of their signs and to know of their legitimacy. We found this to be extraordinarily powerful and quite compelling, adding to their expressivity.

The story is reported rather differently in various historical sources but is thought to take place around 500 B.C.E. A group of soldiers, fueled by resentment, alcohol and testosterone, rail against the unfaithfulness of women. Their wives have cuckolded them in their absence; the air is thick with shame.  Only the wife of Collatinus (bass Andrew Dwan) has remained chaste and the others are jealous. The evil Etruscan Prince Tarquinius (baritone Stan Lacy) has no wife, just a bunch of whores.

Egged on by Junius (baritone Scott Lindroth), Tarquinius decides to make a wild late-night ride to Rome to prove Lucretia false. There was an interesting but subtle directorial move here; the urging of conscience takes place in one ear and the urging of lust in the other.

This ride was a highlight of the evening for several reasons. One is the creative use of the cast members to create the image of this mad ride with a violently whipped and furiously galloping horse; the other was the driven music (under the baton of Maestro Justin Bischof) which did not quite equal Richard Wagner's "Ride of the Walkyries" but was exciting in its own right.

When Tarquinius arrives at Collatinus' home, the faithful Lucretia (superb mezzo-soprano Allison Gish) feels intimidated and obliged to offer him hospitality. During the night, he enters her room. Whilst asleep she responds briefly to the rapist, thinking it to be her husband. When she awakes she fights back to no avail. The next morning, mad with shame and guilt, she sends for her husband. He understands and absolves her but she stabs herself.

Adding greatly to the story, by showing the contrast between the men's world of violence and the women's world of peaceful spinning and cultivating flowers, are Lucretia's two companions, her motherly nurse Bianca (mezzo-soprano Julia Tang) and the younger flirtatious Lucia (soprano Barbara Porto). In their spinning scene, the visuals were creative and the melismatic singing gave us an opportunity to appreciate the lovely tonal quality of their instruments.

Like most post-Puccini operas, this one struck us as a "play with music". For our personal taste, the best part of the score was the gentle music played whilst Lucretia slept, emphasizing the harp. Otherwise, the score is dissonant and complex as befits the story. Maestro Bischof conducted the strings of the chamber orchestra on stage right with the winds occupying stage left. Percussion was placed behind the performers.

Luther Frank's set was minimalistic as were Sarah Dixey's costumes. We were far more interested in Ms. Goodwin's effective storytelling and visual imagery, as well as the excellent singing. Photos of the production can be seen on our Facebook page--Voce di Meche.

After three experiences with this opera we acknowledge its powerful message and its relevancy but it will never be in our "Top 100". And yet, we recommend it highly for the originality of this production and its successful execution.

(c) meche kroop

CLASSIC LYRIC ARTS SALON

Alexei Kuznietsov, Johanna Will, Carlos Arcos, Temple Hammen, Daniela Magura, Carolina López Moreno,
and Jake Landau

Last night we attended a lovely private salon held by Classic Lyric Arts, at which we were introduced to some very promising young singers and also had another opportunity to enjoy the ringing tenor of Alexei Kuznietsov who made such a strong impression at Monday's Around the World in Song.


We have written often about CLA and their total immersion programs held every summer for the past ten years in Italy, and almost as long in France. Every time we hear students from those programs we have been impressed by their facility with language and also by the sense that they know what they are singing about.

Because we love duets, we found ourself particularly pleased by "Belle nuit" from Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffman. Here, the role of Niklaus was sung by mezzo-soprano Daniela Magura and soprano Julianna Will sang the part of the courtesan Giulietta. Collaborative pianist Jake Landau skillfully kept the gondola rocking!

We would not hear Ms. Magura in a solo aria but enjoyed her very much in the closing duet "Dôme épais" from Leo Delibes' Lakmé in which she sang Malika to the Leila of soprano Carolina López Moreno. The French was as fine as one could wish and the harmonies were luscious.

Ms. Moreno has a soprano of great promise and we thrilled to her emotional performance of "Tu che di gel sei cinta" from Puccini's Turandot. She has a real feel for Puccini as we heard in "Chi il bel sogno di Doretta" from his La Rondine. In both cases, the Italian diction and phrasing were admirable and her voice opens beautifully at the top.

Ms. Will's fine instrument was heard in the "Jewel Song" from Gounod's Faust and in "Un bel di vedremo" from Puccini's Madama Butterfly. We are pleased to tell that her Italian was excellent and the sound of her voice was glorious.

Soprano Temple Hammen performed "Se il padre perdei" from Mozart's Idomeneo and the delightful "Du gai soleil" from Massenet's Werther. Both French and Italian were lovely.

Mr. Kuznietsov performed "Amor ti vieta" from Giordano's Fedora with an appealing vibrato that caught our ear. He also proved that a singer doesn't have to be Spanish to capture the essence of zarzuela. His "No puede ser" from Sorozábal's La tabernera del puerto was given full expression with plenty of variation in color.

Baritone Carlos Arcos performed Tosti's "Non t'amo più" with plenty of Latin passion and variety of dynamics, all the way down to a delicate pianissimo. His phrasing in "If ever I would leave you" from Loewe's Camelot reminded us of the very permeable border between opera and musical theater.

Mr. Landau's piano was supportive throughout without ever overwhelming the singers.

It was a very fulfilling evening and we are looking forward to hearing more of these special singers.

(c) meche kroop

AN UNLIKELY MARRIAGE

Patrick Kilbride, Paul Max Tipton, and Lucía Martín Cartón  (photo by Russ Rowland)

It seemed like a strange coupling but strange couplings often produce very special children and such is the case with the marriage of Heartbeat Opera with Opera Lafayette. Opera Lafayette is a longstanding (25 years) fixture in D.C. and we have enjoyed their annual visits to NYC for some time since they bring lovely productions of Baroque opera. Heartbeat Opera has been growing for only five years and is best known for their radical reinterpretations of the classics, thus achieving impressive recognition and honors from the opera community.

The lovechild of this visit was a riveting production of Alessandro Stradella's 1681 opera La Susanna, a retelling of the story from The Book of Daniel about an innocent young woman blackmailed by two venerable but lustful judges and condemned to death. The story has a happy ending due to a deus ex machina in the person of the youth Daniel who cross-examines the two judges, thus exonerating Susanna and condemning the wicked judges to death.

This story was the inspiration for Carlisle Floyd's 1955 opera Susanna and the Elders, remembered primarily for the soprano aria "Ain't it a Pretty Night". The story has been immortalized by many Renaissance painters; many of the works so inspired were exhibited in the Gallery of BAM Fisher where last night's opera was performed.

Ethan Heard's direction shed so much light on the issue presented by the story that we had tears dripping from our eyes. The story was presented with specificity, leaving us to identify with Susanna and her predicament; memories were evoked that left us shaken and angry. Good art should make us feel and think; this Mr. Heard accomplished, all while the Baroque ensemble soothed us with lovely harmonies. 

If this had been set by a contemporary composer, it would likely have had a jagged atonal setting that would have just left us irritated. The contrast between the lovely music and the horrifying story worked to great advantage.

The framing device for the story was an academic lecture on female studies and also art history, since the scenes of the violation employed a stop-action or freeze strategy which imitated the many paintings we saw in the Gallery. This narration is generally performed by a male character named Testa, but was here performed by Sara Couden whose powerful contralto was employed both effectively and musically to further the characterization.

As the eponymous Susanna, the plangent soprano of Lucía Martín Cartón could not have been better. She radiated joy and innocence in Act I, and conveyed both fear and hope in Act II. 

As the wicked judges we heard two fine singers who had the unenviable task of making us hate them. Tenor Patrick Kilbride and bass-baritone Paul Max Tipton were scarily convincing in their lust and deceit. Moreover they sang a particularly fine trio with Ms. Couden in Act I.

Soprano Ariana Douglas rounded out the cast. She didn't have much to do as a student in Act I but in Act II she portrayed Daniel as a White Knight who got involved by conducting the cross-examination whilst Ms. Couden's professor kept her distance.

These fine voices were matched by some splendid playing of the chamber orchestra off to the side. We never would have expected to hear Ryan Brown, founder and artistic director of Opera Lafayette and Jacob Ashworth, music director of Heartbeat Opera (as well as music director of Cantata Profana) sitting side by side bowing their violins! A theorbo, a cello, a bass, and a harpsichord completed the group.

Reid Thompson's scenic design was simple and effective. There was a large round vessel center stage which served well for Susanna's Act I bath, as well as a prisoner's docket for Act II. There were three enormous statues onstage,  male authority figures--a statesman, a priest, and a soldier--representative of all types who have been involved in abuse of power toward women.  All were carried offstage at the end. Lighting by Oliver Wason was effective.

Beth Goldenberg's costumes for Act I were perfect. Susanna wore a shimmering body suit for which, fortunately, she had the right body; it fostered the image of happiness, innocence, and moisture. (In place of water there were tiny sparkly confetti.) The judges were dressed in what appeared to be Renaissance robes.  

In Act II, Susanna wore an orange prisoner jumpsuit which jolted us into contemporary times. Our main quibble was with the Professor who was costumed a bit too glamorously for someone giving an academic lecture. It would have been more appropriate had she been wearing a tailored pantsuit.

Emma Jaster's movement direction was as fine as we have come to expect from her.

Of course this story has contemporary resonance. What upset us the most, among the many memories that were evoked, was a documentary we saw that was smuggled out of a Middle-Eastern country in which an innocent woman was buried up to her neck and stoned to death--all captured on film. Every time we see a woman on the streets of New York who has been taught to cover up her beauty so as not to inflame a man's lust, we feel the same anger; oh, the injustice of it all! 

The success of this particular treatment of this particular opera drove the point home without spoonfeeding, without hammering us on the head with contemporary examples.  Therein lay the artistry.

Although opening night was sold out, perhaps you will be able to snag tickets for tonight, tomorrow or Sunday matinée. We recommend it highly. We reviewed two operas this past week in which the directors tried too hard to make the stories "relevant". This was different.

(c) meche kroop

AROUND THE WORLD IN SONG

José Maldonado, Tamara Kim, Sulgi Cho, Alexandra Linde, Marcel Sokalski, Alexei Kuznietsov, Xeni Tziouvaras, and Tongyao Li

Guest Review by Cullen Gandy

It was back to the West Village again, one of my very favorite places, this time for a special evening of song. This effort was brought about by some familiar faces in the opera community-- Meche Kroop and Amber Evans; two figures who have consistently championed the cause of supporting young talent in the city. This concert, too, was aimed toward that end. It featured a select crew of young talent, that they have mined from around town. Their national patrimonies each (funny enough) spanned from all across the world.

The singers, 6 in all, chose to sing songs from the languages native to the countries of their origin; or those with which they had a close familial connection. As you can imagine, this made for quite the eclectic evening of art! Swedish, Polish, Korean, Ukrainian, Greek, and Spanish were on the menu — while they are beautiful languages, I won’t have too much authority to speak on diction.

The first young singer of the night was a soprano by the name of Alexandra Linde, from Sweden. The most salient selection from her set was a Swedish aria by the name of "Ack hvad behag ett hjärta njuter" (Krauss). I had to do a double take when looking at this one, because it sounds almost identical to something Mozart would have written. It is a pleasing light lyric soprano voice, and showed some really nice ability to sing in the legato parts of the set. Sometimes, though, she faltered a bit with the fioritura passages. I think Mozart will be a great fit for her as she progresses through her professional career.

Marcel Sokalski offered a set of Polish art songs. The Canadian baritone had a clarion type of sound, especially through the middle and top, without sacrificing too much on the bottom. His voice reminds me of some great lyric baritone contemporaries like John Brancy, where people marvel at just how easy it sounds up there. His acting was good for the majority of the set, but there was a bit of indicative hand gesturing going on, at times. He will be attending Chautauqua this summer; featured in the role of Demetrius from A Midsummer’s Night Dream.

Sulgi Cho explained that the “modern” art song didn’t exist in Korea, because of the lack of pianos and western musical norms there. She offered several traditional songs, with the addition of a fairly recent Korean art song. She was the only person to have brought a prop to the show, a little hand fan, which was cute. I really enjoyed the ethereal quality of Cho’s voice. It seemed to emanate throughout entire space of the room, like a sunbeam. She also displayed several stylized gestures during the course of her singing, which reminded me of French Baroque operatic styling. Interesting stuff.

As the night progressed, so too did the maturity of the artists in certain ways. Alexei Kuznietsov, a Ukrainian tenor, was an interesting example of that. In his bio, it reads that he has garnered a fair amount of acclaim in his native country, by winning an X-Factor competition there. You would never know it, from how unassuming and bashful his stage demeanor is, when he introduces his work.  The voice, though, enamored. He has put in so much solid technical work through the passaggio that I couldn’t help but admire the sounds that were coming out. It is very Gedda-like, in my opinion (sure enough, he has performed Lensky and other such signature roles). While the acting, much like the speaking, was generally understated, he did show a bit of flair in his final selection Dyvlyus” ya na nebo. The high note at the end was immense and satisfying, the kind of high singing to which younger, less experienced tenors, ought aspire.

Greek mezzo-soprano Xeni Tziouvaras was probably one of the most polished acts of the evening. The initial things that I appreciated about her were that she gave a succinct, well though out description of what she was about to sing, and she encouraged the audience to hold applause until after the end of the set. I cannot bear sitting through a concert where the audience claps after every single song. She offered an interesting Greek translated version of Ravel’s 5 Popular Greek Songs (ironically, usually sung in French). Her voice was mature, but not over darkened; as some eager young mezzos are oft to be. She had a gorgeous, well-connected sound, with no audible cues of a shift in technique. The major revelation was how that voice connected to her dramatic capability. Her gestures and expressions were always well-informed by the context of the song, and they always seemed genuine and extemporaneous, as a result.

José Maldonado, a Mexican-American baritone I had the pleasure of hearing just a day before, closed out the evening with the more 'crowd pleasing’ Spanish, feel-good songs. He has a powerful instrument that really bursts out in a wall of sound on top. Sound output through the passaggio, and the climax on top, make me think of a Quinn Kelsey-esque Verdian instrument. His acting chops were ample, too — he left so much on the stage after Granada that he looked fatigued! I expect people will be seeing him on some larger stages sooner rather than later.

The pianists showcased some diverse skills, themselves. David Ji, Tongyao Li, and Tamara Kim were all keenly attuned to the needs of the songs and their collaborators, while still maintaining their own careful styles. I was particularly impressed when Kim and Maldonado were able to synch up their entrances in and out of rubati (the Spanish set being the only one with which I had enough experience/knowledge to criticize).

The evening was delightful, and it gave a chance for each of the young talents to shine in their own ways. If I had one critique, it would be that the structure of the concert could have done with a bit more exactitude. People were standing around chatting like fifteen minutes into the concert that was supposed to start at 8, there was no discernible set way that the artists were to be ushered onstage/introduced, and there were no parameters around the explanations of the pieces. This caused some of them to be a bit too long or convoluted. All-in-all the overarching idea was to provide young singers with a low pressure platform to showcase their skills, and I think Meche and Amber achieved that with gusto. There were also brownies and wine after, so 10-out-of-10 for the night; as far as I am concerned.

(c) meche kroop

SWEETHEARTS

Sweethearts by Victor Herbert, brought to you by Victor Herbert Renaissance Project LIVE!

At the beginning of the 20th century, when modernism began to undermine the basic grammar of music, some of the principles that underpinned the workings of opera inevitably came under attack, too. Those of us who have sat through some pretty tedious atonal bores find relief in the music of Victor Herbert who kept audiences entertained and delighted with silly stories and melodious music. Last night's Sweethearts was the perfect antidote to works liked only by academia.

His Sweethearts premiered in 1913, just before The Great War, with a libretto by Fred DeGresac and Harry B. Smith. As is usually the case, Artistic and Stage Director Alyce Mott has rewritten the libretto to make the story flow smoothly and to appeal to modern taste. Happily, she has not attempted to change the period and we are left free to form our own associations to today's mating behavior and romantic (mis)adventures. Even more happily, Herbert's engaging music has been preserved and given over to the New Victor Herbert Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Michael Thomas with the superb William Hicks at the piano.

The ensemble nature of the company allows us to appreciate the same voices at every production with some new ones thrown into the mix for good measure. Soprano Claire Leyden has a remarkable voice and charming onstage presence that made her performance of the lead role a true delight. The large voiced Vira Slywotzky, generally cast in matronly roles, always tickles us with her humorous delivery. In this case, the excellent Joanie Brittingham played the "bad girl" part whilst the fine soprano Sarah Caldwell Smith was joined by Caitlin Ruddy, JoAnna Geffert, and Emily Geller; they made excellent music together as Dame Paula's four daughters.

They open the story and set the stage right after Dame Paula's narration. You see, Dame Paula, also called Mother Goose, owns a laundry in Bruge where the sisters complain about ironing all day. They are always flirting with soldiers who soon appear--Al-Jabril Muhammad, Drew Bolander, Jonathan Hare, and Keith Broughton.

Adopted daughter Sylvia is in love with a rake, Lieutenant Karl (played to the hilt by Jack Cotterell), who is having a flirtation (one among many) with Liane, a millinery girl played by Ms. Brittingham. Dame Paula warns Sylvia about this rascal but, just like girls of today, she loves him anyway.

Meanwhile, the Prince of Zilania (the fine Jovani Demetrie) falls for Sylvia, not knowing that she is really the heir to his throne, something of which she is ignorant as well.

The story concerns the machinations and manipulations of all the people who would stand in her way--the hypocritical and grasping Mikel, a diplomat of Zilania (played by the very funny Jonathan Fluck); von Tromp, a German diplomat (portrayed by Matthew Wages) who wants to grab the land to build a casino; and Algernon Percival Cuthbert Slingsby (the superb veteran operetta performer David Seatter) who wants to marry the lost princess, whomever she may be, to impress his father.

Liane, a thoroughly nasty girl, is co-opted into the plan but gets what she deserves. The message is of course that the kindhearted folk win in the end and the grasping nasty folk lose out.  Order is restored, romance wins, and we leave with a smile. Of course. Balm for the spirits.

Ms. Mott directed with her customary astuteness and Susanna Organik contributed some delightful choreography, particularly the waltzes and the opening song "Iron Iron, Iron".  The hit tune of Act I "Sweethearts" became so famous that it led to Herbert fighting all the way to the Supreme Court to establish ASCAP!

Beside those, there were so many other delightful numbers. "Mother Goose" was filled with humor, sung by Sylvia and the other four daughters. Von Tromp led the men in singing "Pretty as a Picture" about how women enhance their appearance, a song just as relevant today as a century ago.

Dame Paula, Mikel, and the daughters were engaging in the humorous "What She Wanted..And What She Got". Mr. Seatter delivered the spoken dialogue of "I Don't Know How I Do It, But I Do" in the first example of a number spoken over an instrumental score. 

Ms. Leyden's gorgeous voice maximized the impact of "The Angelus", a tender prayer for guidance. When Prince Franz joins her you just know things will work out for them in the end.

Everything about the music and its performance was topnotch and we loved the combination of instruments in the New Victor Herbert Orchestra. Not only did we have Mr. Hicks' wonderful piano but violin, cello, string bass, flute, harp, and percussion.

This is the end of the fifth season of VHRPL during which 10 staged productions and five concerts have been offered. We are very gratified to have seen the audience swell to capacity. New Yorkers know a good thing when they see/hear it. 

We got a peek at next season's productions and are giving you fair warning, dear readers. If you hope to see what this wonderful company can accomplish, be prepared to get your tickets in advance. It would be a shame to be shut out of such glorious glee!

(c) meche kroop

A NEW SPANISH LANGUAGE ORATORIO LOOMED LARGE OVER WEST VILLAGE AUDIENCE

El Caminante de Nazaret at United Methodist Church of the Village

Guest Review by Cullen Gandy:


I wish I could say that I enjoyed the new Spanish Easter “Opera in 5 acts” El Caminante de Nazaret, yesterday, but there were a few things that were just too imposing which prevented me from doing so. The evening spanned around three hours, and covered the same type of territory that one would expect to hear in any large scale oratorio; such as Bach St. Matthäus Passion, Mendelssohn Elijah, or Handel's Messiah. It was, in effect, a full rendering of the passion story. Start to finish. In Spanish, composed by Rafael Grullón.

The issues I had with the piece/production weren’t, for the large part, the singing that I heard from the soloists during yesterday’s performance. In fact, the evening featured some rather impressive and limpid voices.

The main soloists were pooled from a serious group of young singers. Among the principal voices was Linda Collazo, who played Mary Magdalene. Her voice was elastic and luxurious; opening up nicely through the top. A stentorian tenor Juan del Bosco played Jesus, who did most of the heavy lifting in terms of time spent singing. His voice was a force to be reckoned with, and it evoked dreams of Verdi’s Requiem or Aida. It is always great to hear healthy, full-throated singing. Baritones came to play, as well, in the voices of Pablo Garcia (Judas), Jose Maldonado (Pilate), and Frank Colón (Peter). Both Jose and Pablo had large, Verdian instruments to put on display, adding to the drama. Mr. Colón, while possessing a more slender instrument, engaged with the emotional intent of his struggle nicely, with gestures and thought out emotional response. Each one manifesting in his voice, to good effect.

My complaints didn’t necessarily extend to the effort surrounding the concert, either. It was refreshing to see a new-ish company shell out the money, and take the time, to hire and feature great local talent (including the awesome full orchestra). As a Juilliard grad myself, I was able to pick out a handful of outstanding musicians from my years there; hiding among the cadre. These are serious professionals, not amateurs.

The bulk of what bothered me about this performance had to do with how it was produced and how it was prepared. Whoever was in charge of the recording and amplification set-up for these concerts majorly dropped the ball. The whole concert sounded like a condensed recording, where loud and soft sounded none-too-different. Also, after the major climaxes of the heavier voices and ensembles, there was always a large feedback flare of the microphone. It was so loud, and happened so often, that it gave me and my girlfriend both headaches. It also threw the balance of the piece way out of whack. Someone thought it would be a good idea to mic this concert as though it were being performed in an arena outside, instead of inside a Methodist church with vaulted ceilings.

Not that the balance or blend presented in the piece was ever in danger of being good. The chorus suffered from a continual problem with blend and intonation. Many of the vowels were harsh, and individual voices stuck out everywhere. The microphone situation exacerbated this, by having random microphones pointed in careless directions among them. This made it so certain unpleasant individual voices from the smaller ensemble of disciples/choristers jetted out all the more.

I was initially encouraged by the overture of the piece, as it seemed to have a Romantic sensibility, worthy of the large voices under employ for the evening. However, as the concert went on, I realized that much of the concert sounded as if it were derived from various composers. At certain points in the program I would lean over to my girlfriend and say, “that sounds like…” Berlioz, or Mozart, or Verdi, or Beethoven.

While the composer did write in contrast with respect to tempi, time signature, and tessitura, all of the music (with very little exception) was sung syllabically. That means that each note was accompanied by one syllable of a word. This is a mechanism to get through text rather efficiently, but, at the same time, makes things sound homogeneous; especially if there is no break from it. The arias sounded much like the choruses, which sounded like the ensembles (what few duos, or other small ensembles there were). It made the music feel like I was listening to two and a half hours of very dramatic Spanish laundry lists, and it made most of the choruses feel monophonic…even when they were polyphonic.

There was narration over the music at regular intervals, too; spoken and amplified over the speaker in the hall, in English. It was so grating and loud that it startled me even when I knew it was coming. That is not to say that the narrators (either Elizabeth Arredondo or Emily Kitchens) did a poor job of narrating. They were actually quite emotive, and acted convincingly. I am sure that our narrator was a professional actress, from the way she payed attention to diction and inflection.

Lastly, the absence of an intermission until before the final (fifth act) was about two acts too late. Many audience members got up and walked around during some portion of the performance, because of how long it was. I understand why the intermission was placed where it was (because of the significance of the death of Christ on Good Friday), but at some point one must think logistically. If we have a group of largely over 50 year olds watching a three hour Easter marathon, they’re going to need a break. My girlfriend clued me in to that for good measure, as well.

For a summation, I say this — ditch the mics, iron out the balance (by adjusting the strength of the orchestra playing as needed), blend the chorus (and make sure they are singing uniform vowels and consonants at the same time), and give us another small intermission. Barring that, I wouldn’t recommend seeing this one yet. Too much left to iron out.

(c) meche kroop