THE FORGOTTEN VICTOR HERBERT

We have been enjoying and writing about The Victor Herbert Renaissance Project Live, also known as VHRPL!, for several years as the very creative Alyce Mott has been producing his legendary operettas with plot modifications to make them more accessible to contemporary audiences. We had no trouble falling in love with his tuneful melodies and being enchanted by the stories. We watched with pleasure as the company expanded from church to theater and graduated from piano to full orchestra.

Unfortunately, Ms. Mott has decided to move on to other projects so R.I.P. to VHRPL!  Mott ensured that this project would be going out with a bang by means of a concert of Herbert's orchestral music.  That being said, if Ms. Mott changes her mind and decides to resuscitate VHRPL! there will be a big cheer from us and many others who became interested in this turn of the 20th century composer. We have wondered why some of his foreign contemporaries like Puccini have survived while his works have faded into near oblivion.

As a parting gesture, Ms. Mott produced an evening of Herbert's orchestral works at Eglise St.John-Baptiste Catholic Church on the Upper East Side, upstairs from the comfortable mid-sized theater on the lower level where we enjoyed so many Herbert operettas. We were curious about these works and last night's well attended program sampled many of them.  Maestro Steven Byess conducted.

It was indeed a treat to hear works we had never heard before and probably will never hear again. We have never heard them in a concert hall and likely might have enjoyed them more since the acoustics of the very large and extremely beautiful sanctuary did not lend themselves to orchestral music. Textures were often muddied. Furthermore, what we are sure was a very interesting narration by Mott herself was amplified to the extent that little could be understood. We wished that there had been written program notes.

The works presented spanned a time period from 1893, when a youthful Herbert composed Suite for Cello and Orchestra, Op 3 to 1924's Suite of Serenades. The former predated his marriage and move to the United States when he was invited to play the cello in the Metropolitan Opera orchestra. The latter mature work had four sections each representing a different culture, happily avoiding stereotypical tropes. The Spanish movement manifested only delicate Iberian influences; the Chinese movement utilized a vaguely exotic scale and ended with a clash of cymbals; the Cuban movement had a dancelike rhythm; the fourth movement was labeled "Oriental" and we have no idea what image that was meant to evoke.

Herbert seems to have had a great affection for marches, of which we heard several. His 1901 American Fantasia  would be perfect for the Macy's July 4th celebration. It began with much pomp and circumstance, and incorporated several American folk melodies like "Yankee Doodle", "Dixieland", "The Star Spangled Banner" and Stephen Foster's "Old Folks at Home".

His 1892 Irish Rhapsody had both bombastic passages and pensive parts, some of which we thought sounded like a movie soundtrack. Strangely, our mental imagery was that of Tara, the plantation in Gone With the Wind. 

The Auditorium Festival March quoted from "Auld Lang Syne" and filled it out with many variations on the theme.

Our overall impression of Herbert's symphonic output was that of a composer with too many ideas who never quite managed to create a cohesive work. Perhaps someday we will get to hear more and remain open to changing our mind. However, we would be far more eager to hear one of his operettas. Perhaps that is where his heart lay.

© meche kroop

LOVE OF THE ART AND THE ART OF LOVE

 Daniel Jimenez, Diego Fernandez, Amir Farid, Joseph Parrish, and Shelén Hughes Camacho

We cannot recall being as enraptured at a vocal concert as we were last night when artistic "power couple" Shelén Hughes Camacho and Joseph Parrish performed A Love Letter to the Americas at Merkin Hall.  We owe thanks to The George and Nora London Foundation for this gift of love. Love was definitely in the air--not just the love of music and love for homeland, but also the very obvious love this couple has for one another. It was so present that it spilled off the stage and encompassed the entire theater.

Assisted by a trio of excellent musicians--pianist Amir Farid, guitarist Diego Fernandez, and percussionist Daniel Jimenez, our lovebirds shared the stage for 90 minutes, sometimes singing a duet or listening intently to each other's solos. The intensity of the energy held us so firmly that we never once looked at the program nor did we take a single note! Diction was always crystal clear and, if the Spanish language was unfamiliar to you, Ms. Camacho's gestures told the story.

Let us see how much we can recall without benefit of notes. The program began with several duets which, presumably, the couple staged themselves in a manner that was not lifted from some production but rather seemed original. Figaro took measurements while Susanna preened and tried to get his attention.  This scene segued into Belcore's wooing of Adina, which then continued into Suzel's cherry picking aria, and finally into Don Giovanni's seduction of Zerlina. The last one was particularly well staged as the two began from distant parts of the stage with Zerlina being reeled in like a fish. We are so familiar with the vocal artistry of these two artists that we didn't monitor the embellishments or the phrasing or the vocal quality (all of which were superb) but we allowed ourself to just enjoy the various dramas.

Gershwin's Promenade gave pianist Amir Farid a chance to shine and the remainder of the program comprised art songs, folk songs, and spirituals. We agree with Steven Blier that good songs are just good songs with popular music, Broadway tunes, folk songs, and art songs being programmed side by side.

The program continued with welcome contributions from guitarist Diego Fernandez and percussionist Daniel Jimenez adding a latin flavor.

We particularly enjoyed the spirituals, some of which we have heard before and others which were new to us. Moses Hogan's arrangement of "Were You There" gave Mr. Parrish an opportunity to invest each "tremble" with a different color. Lead Belly's "Sylvie" was new to us but Hall Johnson's "Dusty Road" has been on Mr. Parrish's other programs. Both are now favorites.

Latin American music always falls gently on our ear and especially when given voice by Ms. Camacho. We enjoyed some songs in Portuguese by Villa-Lobos and the romantic "Cuando vuelva a tu lado" by Eydie Gormé.

This concert confirmed our belief in the future success of these two very special artists about whom we have written many time. Their stars are on the rise and the many prizes they have won include The George and Nora London Foundation and Opera Index. Their careers are taking them far and wide and we secretly enjoy congratulating ourself on having predicted their successes from the start. They just keep getting better and better with each inspiring the other, as one could see from the program. They even join in supporting the same charity-- Voices for Bolivia. It is by the generosity of those foundations that support young artists that these emerging talents are able to achieve a wider audience and performance opportunities.

© meche kroop

GERDA LISSNER COMPETITION

 

Pianists Arlene Shrut and Francesco Barfoed, singers Anna Thompson, Finn Sagal, Titus Muzi III, Magdalena Kuzma, Jennifer Robinson, Korin Thomas-Smith, and Ben Reisinger

Last night at Zankel Hall we experienced the most memorable vocal competition winners recital in our memory. For once we were in complete agreement with the judges' choices and were thrilled by the performances. As always, host Midge Woolsey did a great job introducing the singers and giving brief but concise summaries of each song or aria. Collaborative pianists Arlene Shrut and Francesco Barfoed provided sensitive accompaniment tailored to each piece. As icing on the cake, we were treated to a delightful performance by honoree Stephanie Blythe, about which more later--just because we know, Dear Reader, that what you want to read about first is the performances of the young artists.

Out of 400 applicants, 34 finalists were chosen, and we fortunate members of the audience got to hear the top winners of the 2025 Art Song Competition and the 2026 International Vocal Competition. Each and every artist shone, not only in terms of vocal technique and linguistic skills, but also in stage presence. Rarely have we seen so many young artists on the same stage at the same time with each one so totally immersed in the character and the meaning of the text that we scarcely paid attention to technique.

Most arresting was the performance of baritone Finn Sagal who showed several aspects of his dramatic chops with very different songs. How readily he changed from  Schubert's spooky "Der Doppelgänger" to the hilarious "Zipperfly" by Marc Blitztein. (Dear Reader, when is the last time you heard us enjoy an American song?) What a storyteller is Mr. Sagal! The Schubert song gave us chills as the artist built in intensity this somber vignette, making superb use of his lower register.

 

We were so lost in that chilling mood that we almost missed the delicacy of the following "Automne" by Fauré. However, the Blitztein was so engagingly delivered that we were pulled into the humor and actually laughed out loud a few times. We should also mention that Mr. Sagal knows how to use the entire stage in service of the drama.

Also in the art song category were two lovely sopranos with very different vocal qualities. We have reviewed Magdalena Kuzma a number of times, most recently as a winner of the Marcella Sembrich competition, and have always thought of her as a fine artist. Last night she showed off her facility in three languages, giving superb dramatic import to Rachmaninoff's "Son", Wolf's "Die Bekehrte", and Sibelius' "Var det en drom?" Aside from the exquisite interpretations we noticed something very interesting about Ms. Kuzma. She seems to taste the words! There was such relish and appreciation of the flavor of each language!

Jennifer Robinson is an artist with different vocal qualities. She connected so well with Ricky Ian Gordon's "Will There Really Be a Morning?" that we discovered an appreciation for Emily Dickinson's poetry, the words of which were sung with clarity and meaning. Following Joseph Marx's gentle "Nachtgebet" we heard Richard Strauss' "Cäcilie" sung with passion--and we confess to loving extravagant emotion, if only onstage.

All three art song winners were accompanied by Mr. Barfoed and for the succeeding opera winners, Ms. Shrut took over. It's been quite a while since we heard tenor Ben Reisinger. The first time was at least seven years ago in Martina Arroyo's Prelude to Performance when he sang a couple of minor baritone roles in Gianni Schicchi. He won an Opera Index award as a baritone and we noted his excellent upper register. And then we heard him in a Joyce Di Donata master class when he was just transitioning to the tenor fach. Ms. Di Donata gave him some pointers about building the intensity of his aria and he seems to have picked it up and run with it, as they say. We loved the way he built "Che gelida manina" from Puccini's La Bohême which he ended with a finely wrought diminuendo.  Even better was "Kuda kuda" from Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. The extroverted Rodolfo became an introspective Lensky and every nuance of his looking death in the face was explored. 

It was time to lighten the mood and baritone Korin Thomas-Smith got the audience laughing with a very funny "Come un'ape ne' giorni d'aprile", Dandini's aria from Rossini's La Cenerentola. Thomas-Smith is a most expressive actor and didn't miss an opportunity to create his character. What a surprise then to hear him give such romantic tenderness and longing to the character of Hérode in Massenet's Herodiade as he sings "Vision fugitive".

Baritone Titus Muzi III  demonstrated dramatic facility in creating the character of Count Almaviva in an aria that reveals his narcissism and pomposity--"Hai gia vinta la causa" from Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro. The jealous husband Ford got equally authentic treatment in "E sogno o realtà" from Verdi's Falstaff. The way he used his consonants allowed him to express rage without shouting. Every gesture was on point. 

Soprano Anna Thompson closed the program with lavish histrionics portraying two very different women--the seductive courtesan Thaïs of the Massenet opera of the same name in "Dis moi que je suis belle" and the spirited Rosalinde pretending to be an Hungarian countess in the czardas "Klänge der Heimat" from Johann Strauss' Die Fledermaus. Rosalinde is clearly putting on a show for her wayward husband and Ms. Thompson's extravagant acting made it clear throughout both slow and fast sections.

We will not end before sharing with you a highlight of the evening. Superstar mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe, accompanied by the incomparable Warren Jones, enraptured the audience with the same type of duo as we heard from the youthful artists. Two very different songs showed off two different aspects of her dramatic gifts. First was the very first song she ever sang--Brahms' "Wie melodien zieht es mir"--followed by  Cole Porter's  very witty "Tale of the Oyster".

What a glorious evening. We have come to have very high expectations of these annual Gerda Lissner Competition recitals but this one exceeded our expectations! Judging by the reaction of the audience we were not alone. How wonderful that one woman's legacy has affected so many young singers at the beginning stages of their careers by providing financial support and exposure. If only we could let her know!

© meche kroop

FALLING FOR FALSTAFF

 

Juilliard Opera Theater's production of Falstaff 

(photo by Maria Baranova)

One can always count on Juilliard Opera to produce a musically superb production with the young singers showing great artistic promise and the Juilliard Orchestra doing great credit to the music. In this case it was Maestro Joseph Colaneri's baton putting the musicians through their paces with a lively interpretation of Verdi's score.

Writing music with a comedic tilt is just as difficult as directing and performing comedy and Verdi's score manages to be light-hearted but never trivial. Much of the comedic influence can be heard in the wind section.

Let us now credit some winning performances. Minki Hong is not the huge mountain of a man that we have come to expect in the role and if he were wearing a "fat suit" it was not very padded. Nonetheless he gave a fine interpretation of a lovable rascal and employed his baritone instrument to fine effect.

As far as those "Merry Wives of Windsor" (from which Shakespeare play Verdi's librettist Arigo Boito drew, along with material from King Henry IV), each one brought something very special to their respective roles. As Alice Ford, Page Michels used her vocal and dramatic skills to create a believable character, as did Sophia Baete who employed both vocal and thespian artistry as Meg Page.

Lauren Randolph created a Mistress Quickly like no other and Shiyu Zhuo made an adorable Nannetta. We completely relished their plotting their revenge against the Fat Knight, as he is called.

The men were equally exceptional with Titus Muzi admirably limning the character of the jealous Ford. Falstaff was not written with any emphasis on arias but his "È sogno? o realtà?" was a special moment.

As Fenton, Adam Catangui was so cute in his duet with the adorable Ms. Zhuo (the photo above shows them together) that one just wanted to see them wed at the end of the opera. And yes, the voices were fine with color suited to the character.

It was difficult to see the young Chester SeungYup Han as Dr. Caius, the unpleasant elderly suitor intended for Nannetta's hand; however he sang as well as everyone else and we have no complaints on that regard. Nathan Romporti took the role of Bardolfo and Pistola was played by Lin Fan--both fine and funny.

Having dispatched our encomia for the superb singers, let us express our distaste for the production. We most definitely belong to the Werktreue camp, and not the Regietheater camp. Director Marcus Shields is entitled to his artistic philosophy; we read his notes following the performance and found them to be self-referential doublespeak. We are not lacking in intellect but his theories made no sense to us. We prefer our performances to be true to the story, including time and place.

In Mr. Shields production we are in a bare white room with a rectangular hole cut into it and a trap door in the floor. There are two nondescript chairs but singers generally sat on the floor, thanks to Scenic Designer Frank J. Oliva. The final scene in Windsor Park was a great relief. It was performed in near-dark allowing us to use our imagination.

Costume Designer Avery Reed seemed to have no concept whatsoever.  Some of the costumes appeared to be of the 1960's but nothing related to the characters or the story.

Several irritating or disappointing moments come to mind. When the women try to hide Falstaff from Ford and the enraged mob, they put him in what seems to be a pillow case, reminding us of the final act of Rigoletto. The Thames is not even suggestd when servants carry him offstage. When Mistress  Quickly comes to manipulate Falstaff with her "Reverenza!" she has been presumably directed not to manipulate but to seduce by means of weird twerking motions. We could go one and on but we won't.

Was it funny? The audience's laughter seemed to line up with the projected titles rather than with the action onstage. We felt disgruntled until the final scene which we did enjoy to some extent. We were moved to consult our prior reviews of Falstaff, going back to 2012 when Martina Arroyo's Prelude to Performance (much missed) gave us a magnificently directed and costumed production which she repeated a few years later. Santa Fe Opera did a decent historically accurate production which suffered only from an excess of stage business. Del'Arte Opera did a minimalistic production that worked by means of dramatic validity. Until last night we had never felt so turned off. The performance was only rescued by the voices.

In sum, the operagoer should not need Director's Notes. The work should speak for itself. Verdi's rich orchestration and Boito's clever lyrics are sufficiently humorous and humanistic to not require such directorial interference.  We would say "Keep your theories in a book and keep your directorial arrogance off the stage!" Oh we feel so much better getting that off our chest!

© meche kroop

LIMITED RUN--UNLIMITED JOY

 

New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players' production of Utopia, Limited

We had high expectations of last night's performance of New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players' production of Utopia, Limited and these expectations were actually exceeded. Utopia, Limited was the penultimate creation of that brilliant writing team and has been given a lavish production with some truly splendid performances. One wonders why it is so rarely performed.

The themes are familiar. Gilbert loved to skewer the British government and, although their institutions are not the same as ours, loopholes and corruption abound everywhere and are always ripe for mocking. In this work, colonialism also gets a good kick in the pants since The Flowers of Progress (the alternate title of the work) have been brought back to this island nation of Utopia by The Princess Zara (played by the sweet-voiced soprano Sophie Thompson) who just returned from being educated in England. The work would seem to have been inspired by a contemporaneous event; Hawaiian Princess Kaiulani had been educated in England and there was much speculation as to how her contact with English "civilization" would affect her homeland.

There were other topical references the contemporary viewer may not be aware of.  A woman named Anna Leonowens had written a book about her six year employment as governess to the children of the King of Siam.  (No doubt you have heard of a Broadway show entitled  The King and I, which was developed from her book.) In Utopia, Limited  there is a governess named Lady Sophy (played by the marvelous contralto Hannah Holmes) who had been hired by King Paramount (the very funny Matthew Wages) to instruct his two younger daughters (Laura Sudduth and Alexandra Imbrosci-Viera--both adorable). The British audience of the 1890's would have caught the reference

The "flowers of progress" comprised six English gentlemen of the military and government, including Princess Zara's love interest Captain Fitzbattleaxe (!) performed by tenor Cameron Smith who had the funniest song in the show.  He opened Act II with "Oh, Zara, my beloved one, bear with me!" including  some very funny lyrics about tenors having vocal difficulties when in love; this was illustrated vocally, a moment we truly loved.

Much of the King's interaction took place with his two Supreme Court judges (Vince Gover and Lance Olds) who added a great deal to the humor, as did Sam Balzac who portrayed the Chief Exploder--a role for which we have many mental pictures but for which we cannot find words--and we are rarely at a loss for words.

Not only are British political institutions mocked but also courtship rituals when two of the visiting "flowers of progress" proceed to instruct the two younger sisters in the behavior of English girls in "Then I may sing and play?"

As far as the visiting English "flowers of progress" we were particularly delighted by David Auxier as Captain Sir Edward Corcoran who seemed to be visiting from H.M.S. Pinafore, complete with his "Never! Well, hardly ever". There is great satisfaction in getting an inside joke! Notably, Mr. Auxier was also responsible for the excellent choreography which added a great deal to the performance.

The visiting "flowers of progress" bring English institutions to the supposedly benighted Utopians, including the concept of a "limited company" which I guess we Yankees would call "incorporation", thereby solving a multitude of problems and much irony as other problems are created. Ultimately those very problems are solved by the institution of a two-party system. Lest we laugh too heartily at the British let us remember what happens to the pot that calls the kettle black.

Let us give due credit to the remaining "flowers of progress"--Jack F. Murphy portrayed Lord Chamberlain Dramaleigh; Logan Pitts took the role of Mr. Goldbury, Company Promoter;  James LaRosa performed Sir Bailey Barre; Pru Lord Remmert enacted Mr. Blushington.

Although political satire is the major focus, the work includes, of course, two romances--one obvious and one a surprise revelation.  Guess which!

Under the baton of Maestro Joseph Rubin, Sullivan's music sounded absolutely delightful with sparkling melodies and toe-tapping rhythms. 

Although the set design by Joshua Warner was minimalistic, the colorful costume design by Quinto Ott delighted the eye. We wondered why the chorus of local island women were dressed in high British fashion of the period and then we surmised that it was done that way in Savoy Theater time. When the island women became "anglicized", the lines of the dresses remained the same but the colors were subdued. At the outset, the colors were bright and varied.

The direction by James Mills was above and beyond. There was plenty of physical comedy to delight the eye when the ear might have missed some of Gilbert's witty rhymes. And that brings us to our one complaint. The voices are excellent and the Kaye Playhouse is of modest size. We object to amplification as we usually do. These works were presented in the 1890's without amplification. Does anyone think that microphones add to the experience?

What would add to the experience would be projected titles. The dialogue is so witty and the rhymes so pungent that it is a pity to miss them.

Dear Reader, you may have to wait at least two years for an opportunity to enjoy this gem. The 2026-2027 season has already been announced with the popular The Mikado and The Pirates of Penzance being joined by The Gondoliers which we have never seen but are very much looking forward to.

© Meche Kroop

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS?

Theo Hoffman, Christine Taylor Price, Steven Blier, and Bénédicte Jourdois

(Photo by Cherylynn Tsushima)

What do Francis Poulenc and Stephen Sondheim have in common?  That is the question that Steven Blier, Artistic Director of New York Festival of Song, proposed to answer in a rewarding program of art song presented at Merkin Hall Tuesday evening. The well thought out concept may have been more interesting to other members of the packed house; for us, it was more than enough to hear two superb singers bring to vivid life a lot of songs that were new to us.

A decade ago at Juilliard was a magical time, a time when the young singers of the Vocal Arts Department made a lasting impression on us. We have lost track of the number of times we wrote about the vocal and dramatic triumphs of soprano Christine Taylor Price and baritone Theo Hoffman. As the decade passed by, we were fortunate enough to update ourself on their growing artistry from time to time, but what remains predominantly in our memory are the earliest stages of their respective careers. We do love recognizing future stardom!

The program was an interesting one in that we heard some of Sondheim's less well-known works, works that predate our arrival in New York City and our interest in music theater.  We were quick to love Sondheim from our early experiences with Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, and Sweeney Todd. Among the lesser known works of his introduced to us by Mr. Blier were excerpts from Saturday Night, Anyone Can Whistle, Dick Tracy, The Frogs, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and a song that was cut from A Little Night Music--"Silly People".

Poulenc, on the other hand, was not on our radar until we got interested in opera and art song. Unlike our immediate affection for Sondheim, our appreciation of Poulenc has grown slowly. Most of the works on this program were new to us. It seems that there are a few of his works that have become common in recital and only Mr. Blier has dug deeply enough to find some lesser known true gems.

What always strikes us about a NYFOS concert are the singers that Mr. Blier chooses.  Not only do they have great voices but they are also impressive interpreters. They give the same value to art songs, Broadway songs, cabaret songs, and popular songs. Such was the case at Poulenc/Sondheim. Each and every song was a miniature gem. We would have to name as our favorite the final number on the program featuring both singers-- "No One is Alone" from Sondheim's Into the Woods, a show we attend every chance we get, most recently at Manhattan School of Music when their Music Theater Department gave it an outstanding production. There wasn't a bit of "Sondheim snark"--just an inspiring wrap-up to a show that exploded all our fairytales.

The encore number "Old Friends" from Merrily We Roll Along was similarly delightful. "Finishing the Hat" from Sunday in the Park with George gave our two singers an opportunity to interact, bringing back memories of a long ago time when we saw the show on Broadway. Ms. Taylor Price's delivery of "Ladies Who Lunch" made us wish we had seen Sondheim's Company.  Mr. Hoffman's performance of  "Fear No More" from The Frogs had us experiencing the Shakespeare text in a new way. We were fortunate enough to have seen The Frogs recently, thanks to Master Voices.

As far as the Poulenc work on the program, the song we liked best was "Fancy" sung by Ms. Taylor Price, showing a great respect for the melodic line which seemed more melodic than Poulenc's usual songs. We enjoyed Mr. Hoffman's soulful delivery of "Montparnasse", with text by Apollinaire, and, almost as much, the bibulous delivery of "Chanson a boire". 

As is customary, Mr. Blier narrated the program with wit and humor, garnering giggles from the audience. He took turns with Bénédicte Jourdois accompanying the singers. It was a stellar evening start to finish and was no less than what we have come to expect from a NYFOS evening. This is their 38th season and are still going strong!

© meche kroop

BUT IS IT OPERA?

Pablo Zinger, Linda Collazo, Maria Brea, and Juan Hernandez

We just spent a delightful evening enjoying one of our favorite art forms with a group of the finest interpreters of this art form at Fiesta de la Zarzuela. Regular readers have heard me write most enthusiastically about zarzuela and have read a bit about its origins; for those who are new to this blog, the short form of its history is that it originated in 17th century Spain, performed for the aristocracy, and ended up in the mid 20th century in the New World, enjoyed by the common folk. Not so different from the story of opera, right?

In what category shall we place zarzuela? We have our own ideas on this issue. In our opinion, a piece of musical theater that is sung by operatically trained singers without amplification qualifies as opera when the music tells the story. By this measure, we could count works by Rogers and Hammerstein, Sondheim, and Bernstein, as operas under the aforementioned circumstance. Zarzuela has incorporated its original nationalistic stamp into the genre, much as the best of American musicals have done. We see these included under the operatic umbrella whereas some contemporary works, prosy an unmelodic, seem left out in the rain.

This is, of course, only one opinion--more experiential than academic.  Some people would say that if The Metropolitan Opera produces it, it is an opera. Some people would say that spoken dialogue is a disqualification which would eliminate Carmen (as Bizet first composed it). This is obviously a moot point and we are willing to hear other people's opinions.

What we heard last night at Teatro Circulo comprised excerpts from a number of zarzuelas from the 19th and 20th century in predominantly chronological order. Three very talented Latin American singers made up the cast and we were treated to some engaging narration by Maestro Pablo Zinger who accompanied the singers on an electronic keyboard and (surprise!) led the audience in a singing lesson after the performance. We have never attended a performance in which the entire audience exited with such wide smiles.

We are hoping that Mo. Zinger will find a way to produce an entire zarzuela in the near future since we have only had that pleasure twice. Once before Covid when we enjoyed Maria Brea as the lead in the delightful comedy El Barbero de Sevilla and a post Covid production by Mo. Jorge Parodi of the more serious Luisa Fernanda. Let us hope! Meanwhile we have contented ourself with the occasional appearance of an aria or duet on a concert program.

Last night' production was a complete delight and created quite an impression with modest resources--a black box theater with thankfully raked seating, a minimal set comprising a pair of wrought iron benches, and singers dressed in black, accessorized with colorful mantónes de Manila.  A screen upstage projected slides illustrating famed zarzuela singers and composers of yore. We would have preferred English translations!

All three singers were superb. We usually write about singers at very early stages of their careers and love watching their careers flourish. We have fond recollections of the superb soprano Ms. Brea singing the role of Marie in  Martina Arroyo's Prelude to Performance over a dozen years ago. How rewarding it is to witness her as she fulfills her potential. We especially enjoyed the closing number "Salida de Cecilia" from Gonzalo Roig's Cecilia Valdes. We love the bright open top of her voice and the way she created a few different characters.

We have also written about mezzo-soprano Linda Collazo a number of times, many of them in recitals with Ms. Brea. Her facility with Latin American music and the Spanish language has always impressed us. Last night we particularly appreciated her performance of "Chancletera soy yo" from Ernesto Lecuona's Maria la O. Everything she sang was filled with passion and intention. And let us not forget to mention her pleasing resonance and apt phrasing.

Unlike our lengthy experience with the two female singers, our experience with tenor Juan Hernandez was limited to one occasion prior to Covid and please bear with us Dear Reader as we quote from our own review, which we feel is important to let you know how impressed we were even then. 

"We were also introduced to a very young tenor who showed a great deal of promise with a sweet unforced sound and amplitude of feeling. Juan Hernandez is his name and he is someone to watch. With the correct embouchure he produced a lovely Italianate sound in "Una furtiva lagrima" from Donizetti's comedy L'Elisir d'Amore. There was a lovely downward glissando, some admirable melismatic singing, and a finely drawn out decrescendo at the end. We thought of a fine silken thread suspended in the air."

Last night we made note of his lively personality and open-throated delivery in "Caballero de Gracia" from Chueca y Valverde's La Gran Via.  He exhibited all the right moves in the duets and trios as well. Come to think of it, we have heard Ms. Brea and Ms. Collazo in duets countless times and Mr. Hernandez melded perfectly into the scenes, providing some delightful trios.

We have only touched the surface of this excellent program, most of which was entirely new to us. Mo. Zinger can be credited with wearing many hats beside conceiving, directing, narrating and accompanying. Although the project of producing a zarzuela seems impractical considering dancers, an orchestra, a costumer, chorus, set designer, and lighting designer--if it could be accomplished we would turn to Mo. Zinger. Let us hope!

© meche kroop