FOR THE BIRDS

Jessica E. Jones and Tamara Mumford in The Thirteenth Child
(photo by Curtis Brown for the Santa Fe Opera)

In terms of audience appreciation, Mother Nature won out over the opera onstage last night at the Santa Fe Opera. Cannon rounds of thunder and jagged bolts of lightning garnered audience applause and cheers that outstripped what we thought was an overly generous show of applause at the end of the world premiere of The Thirteenth Child. Indeed the opera had to be suspended for some time until the show of sound and light abated.

Everything we loved about the prior night’s production (see review below) was missing from this disappointing evening. In fact we enjoyed reading Cori Ellison’s essay in the program book more than the opera itself.  The creators of the opera are highly esteemed but failed, in our opinion, to provide an evening of coherent entertainment. 

Librettists Becky and David Starobin created an interpretation of a Brothers Grimm fairytale that did more telling than showing. Important scenes were omitted with the intervening action described later by one or another of the characters. The dialogue was awkward and unpoetic, giving the lie to the claims made in the program book. Characters were not fully developed nor did they inspire identification. It was difficult to care about the outcome.

Poul Ruders' music was occasionally interesting in its orchestration but the vocal lines were unmelodic. Real operas have melody even in the recitativi. Here we had dialogue that wasn't even as melodic as sprechstimme.

The opera The Thirteenth Child is an adaptation of a genre of fairytales dealing with personal sacrifice in order to preserve the family. In his book The Uses of Enchantment, Bruno Bettelheim posits that fairy tales help children solve existential problems such as oedipal conflict, sibling rivalry, and separation anxiety.  Ms. Ellison’s essay described several volumes that categorize fairy tale themes that are universal, having iterations in many different cultures worldwide.

Personally, we love fairy tale operas. We have had no problem caring for Cinderella and identifying with her sibling rivalry;  the melodies of Massenet and Rossini just amplify the pleasure. Similarly, we care easily for the siblings of Hansel and Gretel as they deal with parental neglect.;  Humperdinck’s music serves to augment and legitimize our caring.

This fairytale, given better treatment, might have affected us in the same way. The story concerns a King (David Leigh) who is turned against his twelve sons by Drokan (Bradley Garvin) , the evil Regent of a neighboring kingdom who lusts after the King’s wife (Tamara Mumford) and crown. Fortunately his pregnant wife delivers a female child named Lyra (Jessica E. Jones). The boys have been banished but, in this opera, we don’t find out until 18 years have passed.

On the mother’s deathbed she tells Lyra about her twelve older brothers and Lyra goes off to find them. They are living in a forest and surviving by hunting.  The family reunion is a joyous one until Lyra innocently cuts the red lilies that represent their souls and the young men are transformed into ravens.  The dead Queen reappears and tells Lyra that only 7 years of silence will restore her brothers.

Prince Frederic of the neighboring kingdom, of which the evil Drokan is Regent, loves the mute Princess and plans to marry her. Drokan plots to destroy them and seize the crown. The 12 ravens rescue Lyra and the spell is broken.  All are returned to human form but the youngest brother Benjamin (Bille Bruley) has been fatally injured in the battle. He has sacrificed his life to restore the family. With all those unfamiliar Medieval names, we wondered about the name “Benjamin”.  Like much else, it just didn’t fit.

The dramatic performances were barely adequate, except for the winning portrayal of the youngest brother by Bille Bruley. We cannot comment on the singing due to the awkward libretto and unmusical vocal lines. The chorus of Santa Fe Apprentices sounded fine, as we have come to expect, under Susanne Sheston’s able direction.

Maestro Paul Daniel elicited fine playing from the orchestra and we heard some interesting sounds coming from the percussion section. Was that a celeste we heard?

The set design by Alexander Dodge comprised a post-modern assemblage of geometric forms with staircases leading nowhere. Strangely, there was a Thonet bentwood chair as the sole piece of furniture. Aaron Rhyne’s projections of flying birds brought the Hitchcock film to mind. Projections of greenery onto the set did not a forest make. York Kennedy’s lighting had to compete with Mother Nature’s. Rita Ryack’s costume design was apt, with the royalty dressed, well, royally, and the brothers dressed in garb suitable for woodland hunting. The chorus in the last act were costumed as if in Dialogue of the Carmelites.

The one entertaining moment of the evening occurred when the brothers arrived back to their (invisible) hut demanding types of meat, many of which would be known only to 21st century gourmets.

We don’t know what to say about Darko Tresnjak’s direction, given the libretto. We suppose he did his best to make the story clear. Still, we would have wanted to see more chemistry between the characters. 

We believe an opportunity was lost to provide some fairytale magic. The production seemed inert and we were often bored. The tender scene between mother and daughter begged for a lyrical duet. There was none. Must we abandon all hope for 21st c. opera? We keep ourself hoping based upon the incredible success of last year’s The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs right here at Santa Fe Opera.

© meche kroop

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THE PEARL IN THE OYSTER

Corinne Winters  and Ilker Arcayürek in Les Pêcheurs de Perles
(photo by Curtis Brown for the Santa Fe Opera)

Last night was our first night at the Santa Fe Opera and we have nothing but wonderful things to say about their production of Bizet's Les Pêcheurs de Perles. Is this the same production we saw seven years ago? We recall enjoying it but last night's iteration brought the work into sharper focus, both dramatically and musically. This is an opera that is not frequently heard but almost every opera lover is familiar with the famous Nadir-Zurga duet "Oui, c'est elle, c'est la déesse" in which both men make vows going against the nature of love. Almost every competition and recital in New York has this duet on the program.




But hearing the entire opera is a special treat and offers several more arias and duets that merit ones attention. If you, dear reader, have never listened to the opera in toto, we recommend it highly. Even better, come to Santa Fe for one of the two final performances on 8/16 and 8/23.




Much of the credit for this success can be attributed to the excellent casting. In the role of the Brahmin Priestess Leíla, we heard one of our favorite sopranos enjoyed so often at New York Festival of Song--Corinne Winters. Opera, lieder, and cabaret are three very different categories and it is astonishing to hear someone gifted in all three. This petite young woman has a voice that is anything but petite--the timbre and resonance are appealing and the vocal colors with which she imbued the various scenes showed the measure of her artistry. Nor could one fault her superb acting.




As the Hunter Nadir who simply cannot forget her, we heard tenor Ilker Arcayürek, previously unknown to us, but making a fine impression with his pleasing instrument, fine phrasing, and convincing acting.




Equally impressive in the role of Head Honcho Zurga we heard baritone Anthony Clark Evans who sang with beautiful phrasing and heartfelt emotion. He too was successful at coloring his voice in ways that enhanced our understanding of his emotional journey. 




As happy as we were that Leíla and Nadir escaped their death sentence and went off to live happily ever after, we were equally sad for Zurga who overcame his rage at Leíla for preferring Nadir and his pain and anger at Nadir's betrayal. His vengeful anger, his forgiveness, the nobility he expressed in self-sacrifice--all were perfectly portrayed.




Bass Robert Pomakov was scarily convincing as the High Priest Nourabad. His rumbling bass and aggressive postures were chilling.




The chorus of Santa Fe Apprentice Singers performed brilliantly as usual and for this we acknowledge Susanne Sheston, whose fine work has impressed us from one year to the next




Director Shawna Lucey showed us aspects of the story that we had previously overlooked. Although the love triangle and the issues of revenge and forgiveness are universal. Ms. Lucey went a long way toward giving us the  specific context within which the story develops. The trend of setting libretti in exotic locales was common in the 19th c.--a trend that we love--and librettists Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré selected the island formerly known as Ceylon with the action taking place in a community of pearl divers.




The risk of this occupation was made clear with drowned bodies being washed ashore; the devotion in the ensuing funereal Hindu ritual was also made clear. And so we have a greater understanding of the vital role of the visiting priestess Leíla and the importance the community placed on her chastity whilst she sang and prayed all night for their safety.




The issues of love versus duty, betrayal and revenge, all can be generalized from the specific; similarly the domination of a vengeful leader whipping his followers into a frenzy of murderous rage can also be generalized and seems particularly relevant to our time. It is this work the listener performs in finding analogies with the present that we find so woefully missing in "updated" productions.




On the podium we had Maestro Timothy Myers who elicited some fine playing from the orchestra. Bizet's music is inventive of melody, lush of harmony, and colorful of orchestration. Mo. Myers brought out every recurrence of every theme. We heard an outstanding oboe solo and a beautiful chorale of muted brass. We also enjoyed the contributions of the harp. We heard what sounded like a Venetian barcarolle that certainly evoked the seaside nature of the locale.




Jean-Marc Puissant's set was serviceable but not remarkable. The action was surrounded by a gilded frame, reminding us that this is an escapist fantasy. But why did some action take place in front of the frame? And what was meant by the presence of a very European desk and chair that seemed to serve no purpose. In the final act, the gilt frame was askew and the stage was filled with broken furniture and a huge plaster sculpture that we finally figured out was the hand of a Buddha statue. Perhaps all this was meant to suggest the destruction wrought by angry gods over Leíla's betrayal of her vow of chastity.




Lighting by Rick Fisher was augmented by Mother Nature who seemed to provide flashes of lightning at all the right times, as is so often the case at Santa Fe Opera. (We recall a terrific storm one night in the final act of Rigoletto which outdid Verdi's orchestral storm.)




Brigitte Reiffenstuel's costumes for the chorus and principals were apt but Leíla's second costume was breathtaking. She looked like a mermaid sitting on a rock, or perhaps like the Lorelei luring men to their destruction.  Who could resist?




The opera premiered in 1863 at the Théâtre-Lyrique de Paris. Neither comic nor tragic, it was considered insufficiently grand for the Opéra but too serious for the Opéra-Comique. It languished until the mid 20th c. and we are glad that it has entered the repertoire.




Do see it!




(c) meche kroop

OPERA WITH A TWIST

Soprano Amanda Zory onstage at National Opera Center

Accustomed as we are to reviewing emerging talent, we spend a lot of time enjoying bel canto and the lighter repertory to which the flexibility of young voices lends itself so well. We rarely get to hear large voices so it is a special treat for us to hear Verdi and Verismo opera arias and duets.

Thanks to Opera With a Twist we had a satisfying exposure to some works that we love. The "twist" was a surprise--some outstanding unamplified singing of cabaret and jazz which we will get to later.

There were several highlights to the operatic portion of the evening. The Executive Producer of Opera With a Twist is Amanda Zory, one of those big beautiful girls with big beautiful voices. As much as we love duets, we would have preferred to have heard her solo, since we didn't find her male stage partners to be as interesting. 

What we liked about Ms. Zory, other than her richly textured instrument, was her total commitment to whatever role she sang. As the seduced and abandoned Santuzza in Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana, she was totally convincing in her revenge seeking aria ("O Signore vi mando"), exposing Lola's transgressions to Lola's husband Alfio, a moment which sets the tragedy in motion. 

As Alfio, we heard promising baritone Joseph Gansert who sang with power and fullness of tone. To take his performance to the next level, he would do well to take some acting lessons. He needs to learn how to react to what his scene partner is revealing. 

He would also do well to learn to color his words to suit the material. This was particularly clear in "Eri Tu" from Un Ballo in Maschera, an aria in which Renato must express a wide palette of emotions toward the wife he suspects of infidelity. He sounded far more believable singing Alfio's joyous aria "Il Cavallo Scalpita" from Cavalleria Rusticana, an aria not requiring as much variety.

Ms. Zory's other scene partner, seasoned tenor Salvatore Motisi, certainly knows how to act and sang with a lot of "garlic", but with such volume that one could smell the garlic all the way to Seventh Avenue. We don't know why an experienced singer did not know how to scale his voice to the size of the hall. There was a deafening level of shouting. This was unfortunate because Ms. Zory's acting and singing were impressive in her aria of confrontation with Turridu "Ah lo vedi". 

Another performance we enjoyed in the operatic part of the evening was that of mezzo-soprano Vivien Shotwell whose choice of "O Don Fatale" from Verdi's Don Carlo was a good one, exploiting the rich texture of her voice.

The aforementioned cabaret/jazz performance highlighted the gifts of vocalist Leah Reis-Dennis. Our favorite of the set was "Bewitched" by Rodgers and Hart. To hear it performed without affectation and just enough gesture delighted us. There are probably lots of songs we would enjoy outside the realm of opera if we could hear this lovely lady sing them. She also performed Wardell Gray's "Twisted" and Duke Ellington's "Hit Me with a Hot Note". Christopher Wilson, the excellent Music Director/Pianist easily made the transition from op to pop and gave her the instrumental support that was required. 

Should we consider Sondheim's Follies an opera? Don't mind if we do! "Too Many Mornings" was given a nice performance by Ms. Zory and baritone Brian Michael Henry. We don't know this show but felt tempted by this duet to explore further.

Soprano Heather Petruzelli and tenor Byron Singleton performed a not terribly convincing "Ah, soave fanculla" from Puccini's La Bohême. Once again, the tenor shouted. We longed for a floated high note! Soprano Karen Luna did not capture our ear with a lackluster performance of "Se come voi piccina" from Puccini's Le Villi, an opera/ballet which we have never seen.

Perhaps the low point of the evening was the trashing of the "Flower Duet" from Leo Delibes' Lakme, a work which we usually find transporting. Ms. Luna and Ms. Petruzelli were upstaged by a distracting "modern dancer" named Kristen Mangione who reminded us of the satirical cartoons of dancers by Jules Feiffer in the late lamented Village Voice. The duet is about beauty of nature and flowers so why the harsh angular movements and pained facial expression? Why the hideous costume in two shades of maroon with bra straps showing? It was so appalling that we did not photograph it. Just in case you don't remember Jules Feiffer you can see these cartoons by googling "Jules Feiffer dancers'.

As per our custom, photographs of the other artists can be seen on our Facebook page Voce di Meche. 

If you are a fan of large voices you will want to attend a subsequent performance on Friday August 9th at 7:00 PM at the National Opera Center. Even when your picky reviewer was disappointed, the rest of the audience seemed to be having a wonderful time.

(c) meche kroop

AH, YOUTH!

Isabel Leonard, Maestro Sir Antonio Pappano, and the National Youth Orchestra at Carnegie Hall
(photo by Chris Lee for Carnegie Hall)

Were it not for our long term admiration for mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard, we might never have gotten acquainted with the National Youth Orchestra, an astonishing collection of musical prodigies. We rarely have time to review orchestral music but when we saw that Ms. Leonard was performing Hector Berlioz' song cycle Les nuits d'été, we knew right away that we could not miss it.

As far as song cycles go, it is one of the first to be presented with orchestra, although Berlioz first scored it for voice and piano in 1841. By 1856 he had completed the orchestration of all six songs and went on record as having preferred the orchestral version. Indeed he brought his considerable skills as an orchestrator to bear upon this cycle which manages to nevertheless sound delicate.

His work seems to have inspired other composers (Mahler and Strauss to name a couple) to tackle the instrumental song cycle. His texts were chosen from the works of Théophile Gautier and revolve around the theme of love lost and love found. Of course!  Both composer and poet were French! They do not tell a sequential story and thus the cycle distinguishes itself from those cycles by Schubert for voice and piano

If other artists could have done more justice to this work than Ms. Leonard, we cannot think of them. Her voice soared to the upper reaches of Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium, especially at the passionate moments at the end of each verse of "Le spectre de la rose", a work we know primarily through the ballet. Even more important than the quality of Ms. Leonard's instrument, we value the expressiveness that drew us into the emotional content of the work.

"Villanelle" is a lively expression of young love and the appreciation of nature. "Le spectre de la rose" was given a leisurely sensual performance, enhanced by the string section and a yearning melody in the flute. "Sur les lagunes" is a mournful dirge, the heartbreak of which was evinced by Ms. Leonard's vocal coloration, picked up by the muted brass. The longing of "Absence" was brought to musical life by Ms. Leonard's tonal quality producing overtones that seemed to hang in the air. The grieving "Au cimitière" was followed by the sunny "L'île inconnue" that was almost ecstatic and brought the cycle to a sanguine close. It was quite the performance!

We were so involved with Ms. Leonard's interpretation that we paid scant attention to the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America, so skillfully conducted by Maestro Sir Antonio Pappano. Fortunately the second half of the program put them in the spotlight with a stirring performance of Richard Strauss' 1915 Eine Alpensinfonie, op.64. This masterwork falls into the category of a symphonic tone poem, a programmatic work which Strauss wrote to give a musical voice to his very own youthful mountain climbing experience.

We have never hiked in the Alps but we have skied through meadows and wound up on the wrong side of the mountain in some farmer's pasture; and so we were challenged to visualize through Strauss' colorful writing what the Alps might be like in the Spring. 

The work begins with a peaceful but spooky description of night with all its mysteries, awe, and murkiness. Sunrise happens with a clash of symbols. Let it be noted that the stage was filled with what appeared to be over a hundred young musicians uniformly clad in black tops and red pants, making quite a visual impression that was matched by their stunning performance. There were no less than five musicians in the percussion section. There was what seemed to be a wind machine and a thunder device that created a storm surpassing even that in Verdi's Otello and the one in his Rigoletto!

But that storm was preceded by depictions of all kinds of events and landscapes--forest, waterfall, meadow, thicket,and glacier, all leading to the climax of achieving the summit. Strauss needed a humongous orchestra to tell this story the way he wanted it told. That may be why we have waited so long to hear the work performed live.

The work ended as night approached and we enjoyed the piping of the piccolo followed by a slow decrescendo to match the climbers slow descent to the bottom.

All we can say about the superb National Youth Orchestra is that we forgot they were youngsters; they can be held to the same high standards as any orchestra-- but perhaps they play with more zest. We always stay up Friday night to hear the 6AM broadcast of From the Top; we have concluded that musical talent knows no age!

(c) meche kroop

WAGNER'S DOMESTIC DRAMA

Wil Kellerman, Elisabeth Shoup, and William Reed in Manhattan Opera Studio's production of Die Walküre

We will never forget the first time we saw Richard Wagner's Die Walküre at the Metropolitan Opera; the Otto Schenk production emphasized the mythological character of the story. We were privileged to see this version a few times before it was retired in favor of the present post-modern variation (not a favor, thank you very much) which alienated us completely. We would prefer to see it without any production values whatsoever and that is exactly what we got last night from Manhattan Opera Studio.

A number of years ago we discussed with our dear friend soprano Olivia Stapp the possibility of producing The Ring Cycle in a small accessible theater with a reduced orchestra. And THAT is exactly what we got last night.

Everything in life is a trade-off. At times we missed the sheer overwhelming sound of the Wagnerian orchestration that envelops one in emotion. On the other hand, Maestro Benoit Renard created a viable soundscape with less than a dozen instrumentalists, offering an opportunity to isolate the strands that were woven into a tapestry of sound; one could clearly hear each leitmotif. 

This gave an opportunity to young voices to explore the roles, voices that may not be ready for the cavernous Metropolitan Opera. The only time that we truly missed the full orchestra was in the famous "Ride of the Valkyries".

All the singers wore black with no attempt at costuming. There was no set. The action took place in front of the upstage orchestra giving the singers an experience of better aural contact with the instrumentalists, or so we were told.

The opera is actually a domestic drama. There are a series of confrontations, each one involving moral ambiguity. A sad browbeaten wife is rescued from her brutal husband by a sad unfortunate stranger. A jealous wife confronts her philandering husband and demands his defense of marriage. A controlling father confronts his rebellious daughter and exacts severe retribution.

The Wotan of this second part of The Ring Cycle is not the powerful god of Das Rheingold. Christiaan Snyman portrays him as a broken man, diminished by the unforeseen consequences of the bad decisions he made out of greed. Like any man losing his power, he exerts what little power he has left on someone he can intimidate, his favorite child. Mr. Snyman not only sang this demanding role to fine effect but conveyed a lot about the character that we had not heretofore appreciated.

As his rebellious daughter Brünnhilde, Lauren Hunt turned in a fine performance, singing with luster and power; she created a relatable character who does her best to fulfill the inner desires of her father-- with disastrous consequences. Through Ms. Hunt, we witness an impetuous young woman who uses the same manipulative devices that she has observed in her father, in order to save her skin. As she matures, she accepts her fate and wins a concession from Wotan. 

Both of them now know that the child in Sieglinde's womb is the only chance to save the world. Everything is set up for the next installment of the cycle--Siegfried. Although Ms. Hunt does not look like a warrior woman she scored points for her singing and for limning a relatable character.

We have long wanted to hear Elisabeth Shoup singing Wagner and we got our wish. The texture of her voice was just right for Sieglinde and she too showed maturation in the character she portrays. The "marriage" she has with Hunding is not the kind of marriage we would recognize today outside of India and the Middle East. In the Dark Ages, women were bought and sold or conquered as the spoils of battle. We are firmly in tribal territory here!

We admired the change in vocal color as she emerged from her terrified shell and allowed herself to flower in the warmth of love. Additional vocal colors emerged as she and Siegmund fled from the pursuing Hunding. Still more coloration illustrated her self-castigation and guilt. And then there was the grief stricken widow, uncaring whether she lived or died. A shred of hope crept into her voice when Brünnhilde tells her she is carrying her twin brother's child.

In the role of the hapless Siegmund we heard William Reed whose short pudgy frame did nothing to match Ms. Shoup's tall slender body. Fortunately, his finely nuanced singing and acting compensated for the physical mismatch. Helped along by Wagner's music we mentally cheered him on as he drew Nothung from the (invisible) ash tree. Of course we know that Wotan will shatter the sword and he will die, but still we wanted him to win the battle --because Mr. Reed's performance made us care about him.

The scene in which Brünnhilde announces his death is our third favorite scene in the opera. His eloquence, his love for his sister/bride, his refusal to submit to his destiny--all brought tears to our eyes.

In the role of Fricka, we had the powerful Lorraine Helvick who brought all her jealousy of Wotan's other women to bear upon her wish to destroy Siegmund. She must defend the rites of marriage, even though her definition of marriage is not consonant with our own. The scene between Wotan and Fricka is a compelling one and she can be just as manipulative as he is. He knuckles under and we are angry with him for his weakness. Her believability in the role matched her vocal gifts.

Wil Kellerman made a fine Hunding, twisting his handsome features into snarls of suspicion, domination and resentment. According to unwritten laws of the time, he must offer hospitality to the stranger Siegmund--but will try to kill him in the morning. Mr. Kellerman has a fine instrument with great resonance in the lower register and seems born to play the "heavy".

We mentioned our third favorite scene but there are two scenes vying for first and second place. "Du bist der Lenz" is the one joyful scene in the opera and we hear two lost souls finding each other, love, and meaning.

The other masterpiece is "The Ride of the Valkyries". Anyone who sees our Facebook page "Voce di Meche" has noticed the photo at the top, taken a few years ago at Santa Fe Opera. All of the Valkyries were in the Apprentice Program; we wonder where they are now. We have no intention of changing the photo!

Last night we heard Grace Kim, Julie Van de Grift, Belem Abraham, Melinda Harper, Amanda Kendrick, Brittany Walker, Isabella Stollenmaier, and Marja Kari. We loved the way they stood together in fellowship, narrating the offstage foibles of each other and their respective horses.

Much credit for the success of this production goes to Stage Director Lisa Nava whose direction emphasized the interaction of the singers. Often she had them circling each other, a device repeated from scene to scene. The suspicious Hunding circles the exhausted stranger Siegmund. Wotan circles Fricka in their battle of words. Wotan circles Brünnhilde as he makes her take responsibility for her disobedience. And finally, a ring of fire must circle the sleeping warrior maiden.

The fire of course was in our imagination and the sets of Günther Schneider-Siemssen appeared in our mind's eye, along with the costumes of Rolf Langenfass. Better to have a bare production filled in with memories and imagination than some meretricious "regietheater" abomination.

We consider the evening a total success. The five hours seem to fly by. We are eager to see what Manhattan Opera Studio comes up with next!

(c) meche kroop

DIVINE DIDO AND ARDENT AENEAS

Maestro Francisco Miranda and Anna Viemeister in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas
Vocal Productions NYC

Henry Purcell wrote this operatic masterpiece in the 1680's for a girl's school, utilizing a concise libretto by Nahum Tate. We have lost track of how many times we have heard it, enjoyed it, and written about it. Yesterday we sat in the beautifully landscaped gardens of St. John's in the Village and enjoyed it to the maximum, just as up close and personal as we would wish.

In the space of just one hour, Tate's libretto gets right to the point without any padding and Purcell's music delights the ear with memorable melodies. It is believed that the story of Queen Dido of Carthage abandoned by the Trojan hero Aeneas is a metaphor for the British people being abandoned by James II, under the spell of the Catholic church, represented in the opera by a sorcerer. But no one can say for sure so let's focus on the music making.

Anna Viemeister inhabited the role as if she were born to play it. Over the past few years we have reviewed her performances many times and have admired her delivery of arias by Verdi and Wagner. We have never quite decided whether to think of her as a dramatic soprano or a mezzo with great high notes. But we never thought of her as a Baroque singer. What a revelation!

She could charm the birds from the trees and actually did so as they joined in from time to time. Outdoor performances do have their special delights. 

We always love a believable performance and this one was so special that we could feel every emotion along with her. How sweet are the delights of succumbing to Cupid's dart and how painful is the loss of love. And we understood how a woman could let her pride prevent her from forgiving a man who dares to even think of leaving her, even if he subsequently changes his mind.

As Aeneas we heard tenor John Ramseyer whom we heard in the role a few years ago when we thought he sang well but needed more dramatic investment. We are happy to report that he has grown in the role and made it his own. He evinced the character's ambivalence about leaving and sang with a gentle pianissimo. We have heard him sing a variety of roles and notice that he always vanishes right after curtain, depriving us of the opportunity to congratulate him in person!

New to New York is countertenor Rodolfo Girón who delivered a marvelous performance of the Sorcerer. We love that fach and see a great deal of promise by way of fine phrasing and an interesting instrument. His two accomplices were well played by Justyna Giermola and Anna Marie Wood who harmonized beautifully and made great use of malevolent facial expressions.

Countertenor Jonathan Goldsmith portrayed the faux Mercury (without any accoutrements) and also the sailor who sings a funny ditty.

Dido's two handmaidens were portrayed by Juliet Morris and Meghan Wilmott whose piping voice sounded just like that of a boy soprano. Her portrayal of the role of Belinda requires more clarity of diction and greater dramatic investment than just imitating the gestures of comforting .

Aside from that, diction was clear and perhaps this was the first time we got almost every word, the better to appreciate the story.

Maestro Francisco Miranda conducted from the piano and had a firm command of the strings--all six of them. The chorus contributed their comments on the action in fine harmony.

Our two favorite vocal numbers were the duet for Dido and Aeneas in which he offers to violate the supposed order of the gods and to stay with Dido whilst she, on her high horse, rejects the offer. Our heart was breaking along with hers. And of course the concluding "When I Am Laid to Rest" -- the one aria everyone would think of if one mentions this opera.

We do not know who staged and directed the piece but it worked well, utilizing whatever existed in the garden of the church-- a garden for all since the 1980's.

The costuming was of the shoestring variety and perhaps was left up to each artist. Mr. Girón's black garments were enhanced by a spectacular feathered mask and showed evidence of a fashion/design background. Ms. Viemeister accessorized her black dress with jewelry indicative of ancient times. We wanted the faux Mercury to have wings on his shoes or a helmet but he did not.

All told, we were completely drawn into the production and recommend it highly. To accommodate the many who were turned away, there will be an additional performance at 3:00 on Sunday August 4th.

(c) meche kroop

MIRACLES OF LOVE/DEATH

 

Ausrine Stundyte and Daniel Brenna in Erich Korngold's Das Wunder der Heliane
(Photo by Stephanie Berger)

It seems to be a miracle when an opera lays dormant for nearly a century and finally makes it to the stage. For such miracles we count on Maestro Leon Botstein who has made it his mission to bring works out of the dark and into the light for his summer adventure Bard Summerscape. We make it our business to make the lengthy bus trip up to Annandale-on-the-Hudson at least once each year. Sometimes we are thrilled; sometimes we are not.

Erich Wolfgang Korngold was a child prodigy in his native Germany and achieved success as a teenager. Die tote Stadt is oft performed and remains famous for two arias--"Marietta's Lied" and "Pierrots Tanzlied". His Das Wunder der Heliane premiered in 1927 and met with critical disdain although several members of the opera community heaped high praise on the work.

Due to Nazi suppression, the work fell into obscurity until recently and last night was its American premiere which we did not want to miss. The work is famous primarily for the aria "Ich ging zu ihm" which one can hear on YouTube sung by Renée Fleming and by Lotte Lehmann. Take your pick. Listen to both.

The story is a strange one with the libretto written by Hans Müller-Einigen. A totalitarian ruler is bitter over his unconsummated marriage with Heliane. He is  also disturbed by a messianic stranger who has brought joy to the repressed populace. He wants the stranger dead.

Heliane goes to comfort him on his last night on earth and becomes captivated by him. She grants him the favors he requests--to show her hair, her bare feet, and her body. She refuses him lovemaking.

The ruler is infuriated and wants them both dead. There is a trial in which Heliane can prove her chastity by raising the stranger from death. She does but there is a lot of stabbing and shifting responses by the populace. It was difficult to determine what exactly happened at the end but perhaps the couple found love on another plane.

The music has been described as lush and romantic; we found it muscular and dissonant. There is no denying that the music is "interesting" and Maestro Botstein succeeded in bringing out the details of the colorful orchestration. We heard lots of Straussian influence. There were pockets of lyricism which we did enjoy, especially when the harp added its voice. Perhaps it takes several hearings of the score to get "friendly" with this type of music. It is not instantly relatable.

In the titular role, soprano Ausrine Stundyte looked as fine as she sounded and was as convincingly innocent as one could hope for. As The Ruler, bass-baritone Alfred Walker gave his customarily fine performance, singing with rich resonant tone and creating a brutal tyrant.  Heldentenor Daniel Brenna pushed his voice in the upper register and failed to create a compelling figure onstage, i.e. someone who could beguile a populace. As in Siegfried, the role would seem to beg for a sweet-voice lyric tenor who could never be heard over the densely textured orchestration!  A real Catch-22.

We have always liked mezzo-soprano Jennifer Feinstein who created a very nasty and vengeful Messenger.  Tenor David Cangelosi was excellent as The Blind Judge who turns out to be Heliane's father. Bass-baritone Nicholas Brownlee made a fine impression as The Porter.

The other judges at the trial, rather peculiarly costumed, comprised Nathan Berg, Scott Conner, Michael J. Hawk, Derek Taylor, Kevin Thompson, and Richard Troxell.

Stage Director Christian Räth had his work cut out for him, making sense of this odd story. Esther Bialas, whose costume design we so admired in the Mostly Mozart Magic Flute, dressed the judges in strange red garments with large ruffs around their necks. Heliane looked as innocent as she was meant to look; The Ruler looked as totalitarian as he was meant to look; The Stranger needed something more ethereal or spiritual. Functionaries resembled futuristic airline stewardesses.

Sets were all grey and totalitarian looking with movable towers backed by staircases. Thomas C. Hase's lighting was effective with menacing shadows cast on the rear wall. Under James Bagwell's direction, the chorus sounded fine with beautiful solos from Aine Hakamatsuka and Caroline Miller as Celestial Voices.

Catherine Galasso's choreography was also on the odd side. A "ballet" of the functionaries was just plain ugly with awkward lifts. But Act III opened with a graceful dance for a clutch of women dressed like Heliane who imitated her movements or manipulated her body. We haven't a clue what this was meant to represent but at least it was graceful.

We took a look online at a production from Berlin which was done in contemporary street clothes, making this production look much better.

If 20th c. opera is your thing, there will be four additional performances.

© meche kroop