MOSTLY CAVALLI

L'Arpeggiata with Nuria Rial

Until the day when New York City gets a small company performing baroque opera in an intimate house, we will have to be content with an occasional exposure and an evening such as we experienced last night at Zankel Hall when we were treated to an all-too-brief evening of arias by Francesco Cavalli, a protegé of Claudio Monteverdi.

Opera flourished in the mid-17th c. in the independent Venetian Republic whose well-to-do populace enjoyed this new form of music theater. Plots involved mythology; staging was elaborate; singers were superstars. 

Bringing these riches to us were the superb musicians of L'Arpeggiata who graced the stage with their authentic instruments and impressive musicianship, under the artistic direction of Christina Pluhar, master of that curious instrument the theorbo (which we failed to differentiate from last week's archlute).

Composing the ensemble are Francesco Turrisi and Haru Kitamika who traded places on the harpsichord and organ, Veronika Skuplik on the baroque violin, Eero Palviainen playing lute and baroque guitar, Rodney Prada on the viola da gamba, Josetxu Obregon on baroque cello, Boris Schmidt on bass, Doron Sherwin on cornetto, with David Mayoral serving as percussionist.

Our attention was mostly drawn to the cornet which produced a unique penetrating sound and carried the melody most of the time. We were dazzled by Mr. Sherwin's playing of the interesting decorations of the line in the lament "Dammi morte" from Artemisia and his duet with the baroque violin in "Ninfa bella" from Calisto.

As far as the percussion goes, we had never before thought about the role of percussion in early music but last night there was no way not to think about it. In an instrumental Ciaccona by Maurizio Cazzati we heard all kinds of drums, tambourine, and jingly chains to accompany the handclapping.  In the Spanish flavored encore, we heard castanet playing that rivalled that of any flamenco artist.

But the reason we came to the performance was for the singing and soprano Nuria Rial more than fulfilled our expectations. We hasten to reassure you that bel canto (beautiful singing) did not originate in the 19th c. we so dearly love. Ms. Rial's lovely voice made the lavish embellishments sound effortless, particularly in the lovely "Restino imbalsamente" from Calisto, emphasizing the poignant upper register.

She has an unassuming manner that allows her to immerse herself in the song although the use of the music stand occasionally interfered with her engagement with the audience. Her ease with body movement and gesture enhanced the experience of the rhythm of the music.

Many of the arias were laments and her voice brought out the melancholy.  But some of the songs were jolly like "Non è maggior piacere" from Calisto, with its extended melismatic passages. "Che città" from Ormindo was downright frisky.

The lovely evening lasted only slightly more than an hour but we surely could have enjoyed more. Our taste for beauty is insatiable.

(c) meche kroop

ON THE VIENNA-BHUTAN EXPRESS

Benjamin Dickerson, Dominick Corbacio, Maria Brea, and Kendrick Pifer

Franz Lehár's Das Land des Lächelns is translated as "The Land of Smiles". Our pleasure in the performance we saw at Manhattan School of Music was so intense that one might think the term referred to the effect of the piece on the audience.

Although Lehár's fame was established by his 1905 Die Lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow), we consider this 1929 operetta to be a superior work with greater depth and lovelier music. Whoever has not thrilled to "Dein ist mein ganzes Herz" has probably never heard it. Hearing it sung last night by tenor Dominick Corbacio in the role of Prince Sou Chong was pure heaven. The song made Richard Tauber famous and we hope it will do the same for Mr. Corbacio. Accomplished way beyond his senior student status, he has a pleasing tone and floats his high notes without pushing.

The plot of this work likely satisfied the needs of the Viennese public to be exposed to the exoticism of Asia and the equivalent need to see Vienna as the best place on earth. It concerns Lisa (the lovely soprano Maria Brea), daughter of General Lichtenfels (effective bass Gabriel Rollinson), who graciously turns down the marital offer of Count Gustav von Pottenstein (superb baritone Benjamin Dickerson) to run off with Prince Sou Chong to wed him in his own kingdom.  Although the work was set in 1912 China, by the costuming we believe we were meant to be in Bhutan.

The Prince's Uncle Tschang (baritone Seok Jong Baek, excellent in a thankless role) does not recognize the marriage and insists that the Prince marry "the chosen one". This does not sit well with Lisa and when the Prince turns unpleasantly authoritarian, she realizes she cannot live under such restrictions and must be rescued by Count Gustav. This requires the lovely Maria Brea to go through a spectrum of emotions which she achieved, while retaining the clarity of tone and fine phrasing that made her a winning heroine.

A subplot involves the Count falling for the Prince's sister Mi,  sung by the delightfully charming Kendrick Pifer who brought the role alive with her winning personality and admirable coloratura. Their duet "Zig, zig, zig" was enchanting. When the Count left she switched moods and became wistful in "Wie rasch verwelkte doch!"

The bittersweet ending has everyone accepting their fates and relying on smiles to cover up the sorrow. Lisa is happy to return to her wonderful Viennese home.

It was hard to believe that the cast comprised undergraduates.  Although it is called Senior Opera Theater, some cast members were in their third year, But they could have fooled us easily!  Tenor Joseph Klebanoff made a fine showing as Cousin Rudi who sang "Seufzergässchen" as welcome comic relief.

Baritone Jonathan Thierer portrayed Colonel Bloch, who annoyed everyone except for the irritable Countess Frida (mezzo-soprano Erika Rush Robinson) whose lovely duet with him "Wer hat die Liebe" melted her icy demeanor.

Tenor Giovanni Pinto portrayed Fu-Li, the Prince's major-domo; the more officious and pretentious he got, the funnier.  The chorus of women were excellent at Lisa's birthday party. Lehár's wonderful waltz tunes permitted some charming choreography by Francis Patrelle.

All of these delights were pulled together by Dona D. Vaughn who directed with a sure hand, which we have come to expect. The work was treated with honesty, respect, and sincerity. No attempt was made to update the dialogue or the appositely stilted delivery.  It came across just as it should. We always prefer retention of the original style.

It was an excellent decision for the dialogue to be spoken in English; the songs were sung in German that was so accurate that we didn't need to read the titles. Kudos to Diction Coach Marianne Barrett.

Maestro Jorge Parodi led the orchestra with his customary relaxed rigor, bringing out every gorgeous tune that Lehár composed. The music flowed forth like honey on a warm day.

Sets were simple. For the General's home, a table and a pair of chairs, some topiary and some chandeliers were enough to suggest bourgeois comfort.  For the Prince's palace, a huge gong and some potted palms sufficed.  Nothing more was needed.

Costumes by Summer Lee Jack were colorful but often ill-fitting and appeared thrown together. They suggested some indeterminate Asian country.

We would wish to have more operettas produced here in New York. They were a valuable bridge between European opera and the American Musical Theater. They are invariable tuneful and always worth a rehearing; this is more than we can say for contemporary opera which we endure and never wish to hear again!

(c) meche kroop

THE DIVA FROM NEXT DOOR

Susan Graham (photo by Benjamin Ealovega)

What strikes one the most about mezzo-soprano Susan Graham is an unaffected quality that brings the audience closer than one would usually feel toward a major star of the opera world. One feels as if one could sit down over coffee and have a delightful personal chat.

Having revelled in Ms. Graham's public performances countless times (we will never forget her hilarious performance as the eponymous heroine of Offenbach's La Grande Duchesse de Gerolstein at the Santa Fe Opera or her Octavian in Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier) we were thrilled to our toes by the opportunity to hear her up close and personal for a most original program.

The circumstance was a benefit for Classical Action: Performing Arts Against Aids (an arm of Broadway Cares: Equity Fights Aids); Chris Kenney of that organization introduced Ms. Graham and told a bit about all the good things these organizations accomplish. This particular series was underwritten by the Michael Palm Foundation established in honor of Mr. Palm who supported the cause with private house concerts.

As to the program for the evening, what made it original was a concept devised by Ms. Graham and her irrepressible collaborative pianist Malcolm Martineau.  They wanted to present Robert Schumann's 1940 Frauenliebe und Leben (one of our favorite song cycles) but with variations, the variations being the interpolation of a variety of songs from the repertory which fit in with the various stages of a woman's life as represented in Schumann's cycle.

In her most engaging manner, Ms. Graham explained the work thoroughly for those in the audience who may not have been familiar with the cycle. She introduced a fact that was unknown to us--that the subject of Adelbert von Chamisso's 1830 poetry was, in fact, a governess who married "above her station". This seems to shed new light on her position of disbelief that the exalted man would fall for her.  As the Italians might put it..."Si non è vero è ben trovato".

We generally don't care for "concept" but in this case it worked well, thanks to Ms. Graham's heartfelt delivery and Mr. Martineau's seamless pianism.  The cycle begins with the wild excitement of a young girl over a presumably older man in "Seit ich ihn gesehen" which was well complimented by Edvard Grieg's charming "Møte", the excitement of which was felt in both piano and voice, without loss of phrasing or tonal quality.

"Er, der herrlichste von Allen", a paean to the beloved, was paired with John Dankworth's somewhat jazzy setting of the Shakespeare sonnet "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?".  The young woman's incredulity was expressed in "Ich kann's nicht fassen, nicht glauben" matched with Grieg's "Jeg elske dig". Although we are unfamiliar with Swedish, Ms. Graham's delivery sounded convincingly Nordic.

And now came the fun part! In "Du Ring an meinem Finger" Ms. Graham let loose with her dynamic dramatic skills and told the tale just as we wished to hear it--and even more so in Mahler's charming "Rheinlegendchen" from Des Knaben Wunderhorn. We were grinning from ear to ear as she mowed the wheat, cast the ring into the water, laid out the fish on the king's table, found the ring and put it on her finger. This was the ultimate delivery of one of our favorite songs that will always be remembered just as she performed it.

The wedding day song "Helft mir, ihr Schwestern" was followed by Ravel's "Tout Gai" from his Cinq Mélodies Populaires Grecques. As far as the honeymoon period, von Chamisso sort of left that out but Ms. Graham and Mr. Martineau filled in the sexual gap, so to speak, with two intensely erotic songs: Henri Duparc's "Phidylé" was given a shimmeringly subtle interpretation which was quite different from the other three times we heard it this week alone.  And Debussy's "La Chevelure" from Songs of Bilitis was performed better than we have ever heard it.

Now we return to the remainder of the Schumann cycle with "Süsser Freund, du blickest mich" in which the husband is made to realize (by voice and piano) that he is on his way to fatherhood. Tchaikovsky's lovely "Lullabye", which was new to us, paired well with "An meinem Herzen an meiner Brust" in which the woman is ecstatic over her new baby. (We wonder how Heidi Stober missed that one in last week's recital. See preceding review).

The cycle ends sadly when the man dies. There are no songs about married life!  She has a baby and he dies--hopefully not in childbirth. Wisely, that very sad song was withheld until the end with two other songs interposed. Hector Berlioz' "L'absence" from Les Nuits d'Été was a wise choice as it suggests perhaps a period of illness, and likewise Enrique Granados' "O muerte cruel" from Tonadillas en Estilo Antiguo which sort of prepares us for the shocking chord of the widow's anger in "Nun hast du mir den ersten Schmerz getan". Just hearing the color Ms. Graham gave to the word "lehr" was enough to make one weep. It is a complex song filled with emotions of bitterness and grief but ending with a postlude in the piano which reflects the melody heard at the beginning of the cycle, bringing the evening to a satisfying conclusion.

Lest the audience leave the recital in a state of deep depression, our artists gave us two delightful encores. Not to disappoint those of us who know of her fame in French, Ms. Graham sang Reynaldo Hahn's "À Chloris" with overwhelming beauty of tone and phrasing. Finishing off the evening with joy, we heard Artie Butler's "Here's to Life".  Indeed!

These two gifted and generous artists gave of themselves without reservation and that is exactly the spirit in which the audience received the gift.

(c) meche kroop

KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR

Sophia Muñoz and James Edgar Knight

Tenor James Edgar Knight strode onstage clearly eager to delight the audience and delight he did. No shining armor on this knight but rather a suave velvet jacket and bowtie; sporting a David Niven moustache, he looked rather debonair. He and his glamorous collaborative pianist Sophia Muñoz made an elegant pair.

His love of singing was infectious. He made the effort to translate all the texts--French, German, Italian, and Russian--into English.  This clearly showed in the singing which was full of commitment and connection. Further, he demonstrated comfort with different types of material from lied to Broadway; we definitely heard the Steven Blier influence.

He began the program with our three favorite Duparc songs. He sang "L'invitation au voyage" with a powerful round sound, painting a picture that was more than usually visible to the mind's eye. We loved the way he swelled into a full crescendo. "Le manoir de Rosemonde" was filled with excitement and urgency.  In "Phidylé" he brought it down several notches and emphasized the delicacy of the text. One could not tear away one's eyes or ears.

The same connection with the material was evident in the five songs of Richard Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder. But, sadly, the connection with the audience was impaired by the use of a music stand.  Violinist Basma Edrees and cellist Talya Buckbinder joined Ms. Muñoz for the gorgeous accompaniment. Our personal favorite is always "Im Treibhaus" with its pattern of four ascending notes reminding us of Tristan und Isolde. 

Mr. Knight won our heart with "On the Street Where You Live" from Frederick Loewe's My Fair Lady. He sang it with romantic fervor and involvement.

We also greatly enjoyed the trio of Tosti songs. Although not the possessor of an Italianate timbre, Mr. Knight could never be accused of lacking Italian passion. "L'ultima canzone", Ideale", and "Non t'amo più" were equally stirring-- but the first offering has that melismatic vocalise at the end that drove us wild.

The program closed with three Rachmaninoff songs which Mr. Knight sang "on the book" which again interfered with total audience connection. In "Do not sing, my beauty" he floated his high notes ethereally and the piano accompaniment was more than usually stirring.  The seasonally appropriate "Spring Waters" was luscious.

It was the encore that engaged us the most. We are convinced that Mr. Knight was channeling Richard Tauber for whom "Dein ist mein ganzes Herz" was written by Franz Lehár; it was for the 1929 operetta Das Land des Lächelns.  Fritz Löhner-Beda wrote the romantic lyrics that scan and rhyme and go perfectly with the music. It was just the right end to the recital which was given to fulfill the requirements for a Master of Music Degree from Juilliard.

This reminds us to mention that Manhattan School of Music is presenting that very operetta this weekend, conducted by the wonderful Jorge Parodi. We will be there of course and happy to hear the song once more.

(c) meche kroop 

NYFOS LOVE FEST

John Brancy, Annie Rosen, Theo Lebow, Paul Appleby, Julia Bullock, Michael Barrett and Steven Blier

Last night at Weill Recital Hall, New York Festival of Song threw itself a party.  They called it a gala recital; we call it a love fest.

There isn't a shadow of a doubt how much Maestro Blier cares for the young singers he has championed and likewise how much they care for him.  He has nurtured their careers, coached them, taught them, encouraged them to develop in new directions and gotten them up onstage with programs of songs that are always as meaningful as they are entertaining.

They have learned well and we have witnessed their artistic growth over the past few years. Each and every one has broadened his/her reach and increased their versatility. Retreats at Caramoor have contributed to these Emerging Artists and the scope of the program continues to grow, gathering fans everywhere.

There was no printed program last night--it felt more like a celebration than a recital.  What joy to hear good songs without amplification, all treated with the same respect given to the repertory from other centuries.

Readers will forgive us, we hope, if we cannot correctly quote the correct title of each song and its composer.  We will do our best to share our wonderful memories. Mr. Blier narrated in his customary engaging manner and accompanied with an occasional relief from Mr. Barrett who is Associate Artistic Director of NYFOS.

Mezzo-soprano Annie Rosen began the program with a torchy ballad-- Bob Telson's "Calling You", to which Mr. Blier's piano contributed some harmonically interesting ascending figures. She clearly knows how to get a song across, which is true of all of these young artists. Later in the evening she sang "J'attends un navire" from Kurt Weill's Marie Gallant. Ms. Rosen sang it with passion and intensity.  Whew!

Baritone John Brancy sang a soulful version of Cole Porter's "Night and Day" to a wild piano arrangement. Later in the program he sang "I'm a Jonah Man" with as much substance as style. We always enjoy whatever Mr. Brancy gets his hands on.  Later he sang "If Ever I Would Leave You" from Lerner and Loewe's Camelot--a real romantic stunner.

Tenor Theo Lebow sang "The Judgment of Paris" from Offenbach's La Belle Hélène, in fine French; he sang it with such excellent dramatic instincts that it wasn't necessary to understand the French. Later he sang a Swedish song, the title and composer of which we did not catch.  Mr. Lebow has a fine flair for languages.

Tenor Paul Appleby has admirable dramatic instincts married to a fine voice and we have enjoyed hearing him for years.  Last night he sang Paul Simon's "So Far Away From Home". And he sang something from a song cycle by William Bolcom which we did not recognize, with four hands at the piano.  We enjoyed him the most in his duet with Julia Bullock-- "Only Make Believe" from Oscar Hammerstein and Jerome Kern's Showboat.  These two gifted performers gave a sincere and affecting performance that had an interesting twist at the end when Mr. Brancy joined the twosome and made a threesome.

Ms. Bullock, a soprano of incomparable artistry, could sing the phonebook and we'd be enthralled. When she performed "Little David Play on Your Harp" we forgot we didn't like "spirituals".  Now we do!  That's amazing when a performance can turn you around like that!

The program ended with the entire cast performing a song about which we know nothing.  Was it "Zumba"?  It matters little.  Everyone enjoyed themselves, as did the audience.

Long may NYFOS thrive.  Viva NYFOS!  They sing the songs.  We sing their praises.

(c) meche kroop

TEMPEST IN A TEAPOT

Thomas Richards, Jennifer Zetlan, and Abdiel Jacobsen (photo by Richard Termine)

One might think of Gotham Chamber Opera's newest entry in terms of Richard Wagner's concept of gesamtkunstwerk--combining poetry, music, singing, dancing, set design and, of course video projections.  Another way to perceive the work is, as our companion for the evening called it--a haiku of a Shakespeare play.  We thought of it as a meditation on Shakespeare's Tempest with contributions from the 18th and 21st centuries.

The entire affair was directed and choreographed by Luca Veggetti, using four amazing dancers from the Martha Graham Dance company who impressed us with their dramatic intensity.  Peiju Chien-Pott stood out for her flexibility and breathtaking extensions, defying her peculiar costume of jeans and boots.  Abdiel Jacobsen partnered her effectively in some outstanding duets.  The other two dancers, Ying Xin and Lloyd Mayor were, for unknown reasons, swathed entirely in black which was unfortunate because they are very attractive performers.

Singing roles were taken by soprano Jennifer Zetlan, whom we had much admired in Two Boys at The Metropolitan Opera, and bass-baritone Thomas Richards, whom we would like to hear again, singing different material.

We are somewhat familiar with the music of Kaija Saariaho from her Amour de Loin which we saw in Santa Fe a few years ago. It may be very fine music but every time the program switched to songs of Henry Purcell from his 1712 version of The Tempest, we felt our taut nerves relaxing and our ears smiling. We particularly enjoyed Purcell's "Halcyon Days".

Purcell's songs are melodic and pleasing; Saariaho's belong to that category of post-modern composition that does not fall gently on the ear.  Many songs were declamatory and approached sprechstimme.  It is easy to evaluate a singer's quality in the Purcell (both singers were fine) but it was impossible to evaluate with the Saariaho. In one song, "Bosun's Cheer", Richards mentioned "roaring, shrieking, howling, and jingling". We wondered whether he was referring to the sea or to the sounds he was asked to reproduce!

The same issue occurred with the instrumental music.  The combination of period instruments conducted by Maestro Neal Goren sounded delightful in the Purcell songs. The Gotham Chamber Orchestra comprised a string quartet, a bass, a harpsichord and an archlute which we mistook for a theorbo.  (Following the performance we had just enough time to visit the Met's exhibit of Caravaggio's paintings of musicians and their instruments.  There were also real antique instruments under glass. Nice tie-in!)

We did not find the Saariaho delightful--interesting, dramatic, but not delightful.

The simple but effective set by Clifton Taylor, who also did the moody lighting, included a huge globe on which were projected images suggestive of a tempest at sea, and later showed images of the performers themselves.  Video projections were by Jean-Baptiste Barrière.

Costumes by Peter Speliopoulos did not amount to much. Ms. Zetlan was clothed in a shapeless shift that achieved the goal of timelessness without flattering her figure. Others wore street attire.

Gotham Chamber Opera is known for taking risks and this one seemed to please the audience in the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium at the Metropolitan Museum. We consider it a worthwhile adventure although not altogether pleasing.  Let us say rather that it was dramatic and interesting.

(c) meche kroop

HEIDI STOBER

Heidi Stober (photo by Simon Pauly)

We have long been a fan of lyric soprano Heidi Stober whom we have enjoyed several times on our summer sojourns to the Santa Fe Opera. We particularly recall her delightful performance as Folly in Platée and as Zdenka in Arabella.

Her New York recital debut at Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall revealed her artistry as a recitalist. She spoke readily of her joy as mother to a two-year-old and, indeed, based much of her recital on that premise.

Her bright and penetrating instrument is particularly suited to Strauss and her set of songs by that composer comprised songs that referred directly to motherhood like that amusing narrative "Muttertänderlei" in which a mother boasts of her very special child, the worshipful "Meinem Kinde", and "Jungenhexenlied", the charming tale of a young witch racing home to her little boy.

More of a stretch in terms of interpretation were "Ich trage meine Minne" and "Mein Auge" which we had always thought referred more to romantic love.  Never mind!  It all worked out well and now we have an interesting new way to hear these lovely songs.

Speaking of a stretch, we could not fathom the connection between the five excellent Schubert songs in the next set.  Ms. Stober told the audience that her collaborative pianist, the affable and sensitive Craig Terry, came up with the idea of providing a backstory and sequel to "Der Zwerg".

Here-- a "Gute Nacht" from Winterreise.  There-- an "Am Feierabend" from Die Schöne Müllerin.  Then the lovely waltzy "Auf dem Wasser zu singen" and--as postlude "Im Abendrot" with its profoundly spiritual nature.

Ms. Stober is a born storyteller and each song was compelling and deeply felt.  But they did not add up to a narrative.  We mostly enjoyed "Am Feierabend" as Ms. Stober colored her voice differently for the young poet/apprentice, his miller/boss, and the miller's daughter.

Four selections from Debussy's Ariettes oubliées were sung in fine French with long languorous lines except for the passionate climaxes. We heard "C'est l'extase", "Il pleure dans mon coeur", "Spleen", and (our favorite) the lively "Chevaux de bois" which injected welcome variety.

Selections from Jake Heggie's From the Book of Nightmares belong to that category of contemporary works that make us wonder why a composer would choose such unmusical poetry (by Vermont poet laureate Galway Kinnell).  Heggie's writing for piano and cello was most interesting with David Heiss bringing out the interest in the cello line and Mr. Terry doing the same on the piano. But the vocal line did not "sing" although Ms. Stober brought all her artistry to the table.

The final set had the theme of Ms. Stober's home state--Wisconsin. The most substantial work was Cécile Chaminade's wonderful "Chanson de neige" in which Ms. Stober heightened the emotions almost to the point of irony.

Max Reger's "Die bunten Kühe" brought in some light-hearted humor. Henry Leland Clarke's "Of Cheese" struck us as trivial.  Alec Wilder's "Milwaukee" was fun and in the jazz-pop mode.

It was a generous recital given by a beautiful star who comes across as the girl next door.  This girl next door graced the audience with yet one more song.  As encore, she continued the motherhood theme with "This Child is Born" with music by Thad Jones and lyrics by Alec Wilder.

(c) meche kroop