MAKE LOVE NOT WAR

 Les Surprises de L'Amour

"Versailles, le 28 Novembre, 1748

Ma Chère Amie,

Quel dommage que vous ayez été contraint de partir Versailles, car vous avez manqué un événement splendide.. Hier soir Notre chère Madame de Pompadour a organisé un divertissement sur le thème de l’amour triomphant de la guerre et de la raison. Elle a commandé la ravissante musique à Monsieur Rameau, tandis que le poète Monsieur Bernard en a écrit les charmants vers. Tous nos amis y ont pris part, et Madame de Pompadour elle-même a tenu plusieurs rôles.

Tout le monde a apprécié, sauf — gardons cela pour nous — que Sa Majesté s’est assoupie. Je crains qu’avec toutes ces dépenses, il mettra fin à ces merveilleuses soirées qui nous ont procuré tant de plaisir.

 J'espère que vous retournerez à Versailles quand le temps s'améliorera."

Well Dear Reader, we have invented the above because the stunning production of Rameau's Les surprises de l'amour  by Opera Lafayette left us feeling like royalty at an intimate production which is exactly what the work was meant to be. King Louis XV held court at Versailles and his cultured and intelligent mistress Madame Pompadour created what amounted to amateur shows for the court with members of the court all taking part.

Director Chas Rader-Schieber got this across with consummate originality. With absolutely no harm done to the musical values (Maestro Patrick Quigley conducting a sizable orchestra) the performers were cleverly directed to miss cues so that Madame Pompadour (coloratura soprano Elizabeth Sutphen), who played the parts of Uranie and Venus, could be seen directing her fellow royals who managed to be convincingly amateurish. The "meta" aspect of the entire evening was delightful.

The evening's entertainment was only 90 minutes in length but His Majesty King Louis XV (William Townsend) could be seen dozing off on his throne. We were so involved in the spirit of the direction that we found ourself wondering whether Madame Pompadour would be audacious enough to tell sleepy Louis that his behavior was rude!

As was typical of Baroque opera, the theme involved gods and goddesses. In the Prelude, god of war Vulcain (baritone Hadleigh Adams) and his team of arms makers were conquered by the goddess of Justice Astrée (soprano Emilie Kealani) who pleads for peace and has the arms makers convert their efforts into making arrows for Cupid. Bass-baritone Phillip Lopez portrayed Father Time and soprano Kayleigh Sprouse took the role of Un Plaisir.

Following the Prelude were two acts. "La Lyre Enchantée"  told of the young Linus (Mr. Adams) in love with the goddess Uranie (Ms. Sutphen) who places reason above love. With the help of Cupid (a very funny Ms. Sprouse) who provides an enchanted lyre, Linus is able to win his lady love. What a strategy! She picks up the lyre and what comes out of her mouth are love songs. She is amazed and we in the audience are delighted!

The next act,"Adonis"  involves the conversion of a young man (Mr. Lopez). He is a follower of Diana, goddess of the hunt, who has convinced him that love is a very bad state that must be avoided. Enter Cupid who convinces him otherwise, with the help of Venus, Goddess of Love (Ms. Sutphen).

By the end of the evening, there is no doubt that Love conquers all.

Not only was Rameau's ravishing music gloriously interpreted by the Opera Lafayette Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Patrick Quigley, but the charming dances choreographed by Isaac Lerner delighted the eye. Costuming by Jimmy Stubbs was colorful and a propo.

It is no surprise. that the charming work was expanded for the opera stage a few years later but we fortunate attendees of the Opera Lafayette modern day premiere of the original work had a unique and thrilling taste of 18th century royal life! The notable exception was that the cast of singers were uniformly superb and well versed in the techniques of the baroque period. No amateur royals were cast!

© meche kroop

A TRUE STAR TURN

 Lindell Carter, Robert Garner, Jihye Seo, Christopher Trappani, Manya Gaver-Holmes

Regina Opera Company in Brooklyn offers what Manhattan cannot manage to provide--authentic productions of beloved operas with full live orchestra and casting that is at the very least adequate and often stellar, giving opportunities  to emerging young artists. We have witnessed a highly gifted young soprano tear into the role of Lucia (Makila Kirschner) and yesterday a formidably talented soprano (Jihye Seo) make more of the role of Cio-Cio San than one might have hoped for. 

Our appreciation of opera was preceded by a deep love for drama and storytelling. Believability is crucial. No matter how famous the soprano is, her excessive avoirdupois will distract us from her consumptive Violetta, no matter how precise her fioritura. Similarly, a middle aged Caucasian soprano in a black wig will not succeed in convincing me that she is a 15 year old Japanese geisha. Of course acting comes into play but that can go just so far. And it is here that Ms. Seo has an advantage; she looks the part and has mastered the art of coloring her voice  and making her gestures not only modestly Japanes but also innocent. We do not know whether the artist actually worked on her character's maturation or whether it was unconscious but it lent verisimilitude.

Oddly enough, in this production, directed by John Schenkel, six years are supposed to have elapsed which makes the heroine's maturing more evident. We cannot imagine the reason for the doubling of Pinkerton's absence unless it was to put someone's child onstage in the role of Sorrow, Cio-Cio San's child. Said child appeared older that five by several years and failed to show a shred of stage presence or connectedness with his adoring mother. Go figure! We wouldn't expect a toddler of two to have much reaction but a child of five????

Otherwise, Mr.Schenkel did a satisfactory job in telling the story. This is not a love story Dear Reader. It is a story of an unfortunate teenager who idealizes her abuser; and yes Pinkerton is not only a jingoistic narcissistic cad with his performative grief and regret in the final scene, but also a child abuser. Convince me otherwise! If tenor Christopher Trapani's voice was somewhat less than beautiful it certainly avoided the prospect of the audience liking him too much and not seeing him for the slimeball that he is. Lest you think that we would like to see a more romantic telling of the tale, we firmly deny it. Tell it like it is!

As the American consul Sharpless, veteran baritone Robert Garner brought his years of experience to bear on the character, creating a believable moral foil to Pinkerton's immorality. If his character is less than expert on Japanese customs, at least he has a moral compass and Mr. Garner made his disapproval of Pinkerton quite clear.

As the loyal Suzuki Manya Gaver-Holmes projected the right mix of disapproval, disappointment and compassion. Lindell Carter was just right for the part of Goro. His mugging has interfered with his performance of serious roles but was just perfect for this detestable character, the Japanese equivalent of a pimp. He seemed to survive on commissions, providing "wives" the same way he provides real estate. 

He clearly would like to get a commission for providing a succession of wives for the wealthy Yamadori, and it is here that baritone Handong Fu made a fine impression in a brief period onstage His voice and bearing reflected the personality of an aristocrat who buys wives as it pleases him. He made his entrance on an invisible sedan chair, toted by servants--a chairless sedan chair! His characterization was a lot more successful than making Yamadori a fool and thereby too easy for the heroine to reject. Her rejection of this option is on a par with her rejection of returning to her former life as a geisha. Hara-kiri is her only choice. Dying with honor is better than living without honor.

In the thankless role of Pinkerton's American wife, Lauren Stokke left us rather curious about her willingness to travel to Japan to help her husband adopt a racially mixed child which would have been a difficult situation in America a century ago. But that's another opera and someone should write it!

We have no clue as to how audiences of the early 20th century might have perceived the story. What we do know is that the version that was presented initially was not successful and it was revised four times! We are left wondering what the audience found wanting. All we know for sure is that an intermission was inserted to break up the second act. At the performance we just saw, a lovely dancer (Yoko Yamashita) performed a graceful dance in which she manipulated the sleeves of her kimono as if they were butterfly wings. We suspect that she choreographed it herself and we suspect that someone mistrusted the audience to listen to music without eye candy. No complaints from this quarter since we love dance

So Puccini made several changes to the score but did librettist Giuseppe Giacosa make changes to the text or did subsequent translators?  We could be mistaken but every time we see this opera we see different words projected which certainly changes the way we perceive the characters. Note that Luigi Illica created the dramatic structure, although neither librettist was credited in the program.

Production values were successful all around with a modest set and excellent costuming. There are two more performances next weekend Dear Reader and a trip to Brooklyn for a matinée will make your weekend worthwhile. The cast we saw will be performing on Saturday and the cast on Sunday is familiar to us and, we assure you, well worth seeing and hearing.

© meche kroop

TWO PLUS TWO EQUALS 100%

Jason Wirth, Abigail Raiford, Sophia Baete, and Winnie Zheng

Thanks to the wise choices of the judges at last year's Opera Index Competition  an audience of opera cognoscenti  were swept away by a tidal wave of talent, as impressive in its way as the blue wave that swept across the United State. We were not alone in recognizing the wealth of talent onstage at. the American Opera Center. We have rarely seen an audience so involved.

Soprano Abigail Raiford, accompanied by our much admired Jason Wirth presented a "tag team" recital with mezzo-soprano Sophia Baete, accompanied by Winnie Zheng, a most sensitive collaborative pianist who is new to us. The concert was introduced by Opera Index President Jane Shaulis who announced that Opera Index has been able to award $100,000 this year to advance the careers of young opera singers. If the concert we enjoyed so much is representative of the effects of these awards, the funds have been well deserved and well spent. 

Each singer and her accompanist sang a set of two or three songs and left the stage to the other with her respective accompanist. Both collaborations struck us as being especially well matched. Both singers had that special connection with the audience that took their performances to a level at which comment about technique would seem superfluous. What struck us was that each singer seemed to channel the words of the poet/librettist and also seemed to feel the. particular quality of the musical composition in their respective bodies. No doubt, an enormous amount of work is involved in giving the impression of spontaneity!

So let us bypass discussions of phrasing, ease with tessitura, perfect use of vibrato, and linguistic excellence; instead, let us try to describe some special moments in this generous and thoughtful program. This will be difficult because each song was special in some way but let us rise to the challenge.

First, let us tell you the special thrill of hearing an aria that has always left us cold that we now understood for the first time. "Must the winter come so soon" from Barber's Vanessa  is the perfect example. We rarely have anything positive to say about operas in English, but Ms. Baete's involvement with the character's complexity made us care what happens to her.

Similarly, Ms. Raiford's interpretation of Mozart's "Abendempfindung" touched our heart deeply, recalling a tragic loss  that seemed so unfair at the time and yet, hearing the artist's interpretation, seemed to us a means of connection and transcendence that felt healing. A set of songs in French by Milhaud, Duparc, and Debussy projected a feeling of calm as if we were transported to some lovely outdoor setting.

Ms. Baete impressed us with her storytelling and emotional breadth and depth in her delivery of Manuel de Falla's Siete Canciones. This cycle touches on a wide range of emotions--slyness, irony, gentle sorrow, deep pain, tenderness, and the conspiratorial joy of a secret love. We were particularly impressed that Ms. Baete was not afraid to make an "ugly" sound in portraying the pain of a rejected lover in "Polo".  All of these emotion were transmitted so that we experienced waves of feeling.

 Venturing far from opera and art song, Sondheim's witty lyrics were no challenge for Ms. Raiford who portrayed a very conflicted modern day Cinderella in "On the Steps of the Palace" from Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods. And Ms. Baete delighted the audience with a Patsy Cline country song entitled "Back in Baby's Arns". It was, as they say, a "hoot and a holler".

We could go on and on describing a succession of highlights in this very diverse program, but let us not fail to mention the duet. Regular readers recall how much we love harmony. Probably in the top three of female duets is the "Barcarolle" from Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffman. Ms. Raiford made a fine Giulieta and Ms. Baete gave us a very "knowing" Nicklausse. We were enchanted.

In fifteen years more or less, we have reviewed hundreds of vocal recitals. A few were torture to sit through, most have been enjoyable, a few have been superior. It would be fair to say that, aside from a couple recitals of Schubert's song cycles, we have not heard a better one. Bravissimi to the two lovely ladies and to their collaborative pianists who were supportive every step of the way through all styles of music.

© meche kroop

THE DEMON BOTTOM OF FLEET STREET

Eliza Bonet, Nathaniel Sullivan, and Matt Dengler

(photo by Russ Rowland)

Were you fortunate enough to score tickets to Heartbeat Opera's annual drag show? Judson Memorial Church holds a significant number of people and the sold out run was a lengthy one. We hope that the people who had such a wonderful time will become opera fans, if they weren't already. What tickled us about the show The Demon Bottom of Fleet Street was the mashup of Broadway and opera, the clever parody, the use of excellent voices and superb production values.

We are quite sure that the audience members were well prepared for the very very naughty humor because we didn't spot anyone clutching their pearls and the laughter was so loud that some of the funniest lines were drowned out. Nonetheless, there was no mistaking the visual humor. There were sight gags aplenty. The creativity that went into this production was formidable. 

Let us credit right away the wicked cleverness of Director/Choreographer Kemar Jewel, the apt choice of music by Co-Music Directors Jacob Ashworth and Dan Schlosberg, the clever dialogue of Garrett Bell and Peregrine Teng Heard. The impression we got is that all of these talented people contributed and swapped ideas, fertilizing each other's creativity.

The parody was astute and more than usually clever. Sweeney Todd has become Queeney Todd (with apologies to Stephen Sondheim), a razor wielding bottom, mad at the world because he has lost his twink* status (glossary at the end of the review for those who don't understand) and seeks revenge on tops* by slicing off their copulatory organs to be sold as dildos* by his landlady Mrs. Lovedick in her sex shop. The role of Queeney was marvelously and wildly created by Nathaniel Sullivan and the super talented Matt Dengler appeared as Mrs. Lovedick who had "the worst thighs in London". The poor woman couldn't get any dick* util Queeney supplied her with a collection of amputated penises.

The adorable Eliza Bonet presented as a serious shopper at the sex shop named Rosina. All three leads had splendid voices and met the vocal demands successfully. Jonathan Burke entranced the audience with some very erotic dancing and Imara Miles scored points as a succession of tops* who were downloaded from Grinder with the dialogue projected onscreen.

The show surmounted any and all criteria for tastelessness and satirized gay computer hook up culture. It was, did we say? hilarious. The "setting" for this comic gem was the stage of Judson Memorial Church, transformed effectively into Mrs. Lovedick's sex shop and Queeney's upstairs room by means of video projections by Doaa Ouf. David Quinn created dazzling Victorian Costumes, whilst Maiko Ando realized equally fantastic Make-up. The Stonewall Chorale contributed their excellent voices. Mr. Ashworth's violin was joined by Wil Dannenberg's horns and Anjali Shinde's flutes. The music making left nothing to be desired.

It is quite a feat to assemble so many enormously talented people and to put together an evening that worked on so many levels.  Just choosing the right arias and adapting the lyrics to the situation must have taken a lot of joint creativity. We had a grand time enjoying the clever adaptation of the story, laughing at the gags, and identifying so many beloved arias and choruses by Puccini, Rossini, Donizetti, Verdi, Händel, Offenbach, and Bizet. Where we failed and yielded to our companion was identifying non-operatic music, although we think we did get Gypsy. 

Although this has nothing to do with Heartbeat, the three johns* reminded us of our very first theatrical exposure which took place at Judson Memorial Church. It was composed by the late Al Carmines who was minister at the time. The work was called The Legend of Snow White and in Mr. Carmine's radical retelling, three princes. came to wake the sleeping Snow White. There was a rock and roll prince, a country prince, and an opera prince. We spent years trying to find the score to no avail but we can still remember the clever lyrics and tuneful music. Three princes and now three tops. Everything comes back around.

Glossary: a twink is a teenage boy with no body hair; a dildo is a fake penis, a dick is a real penis, and a top is the half of a homosexual encounter who calls the shots, so to speak. He is generally the penetrator.

We are out of space, Dear Reader, and we close with apologies to anyone whose talent we might have inadvertently overlooked.

© meche kroop

 

LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES

Samuel Kidd, Megan Moore, Christine Taylor Price, and Greg Feldmann

Thinking of Forrest Gump on the way home from Tuesday eening's New York Festival of Song recital seemed odd to us until we realized that NYFOS recitals are always varied, always delicious, and one never knows what one is going to get. Some songs are sweet, some are nutty, and others are fruity. This most recent evening comprised songs with women's names as titles and we would never have guessed that there were enough to fill an entire program.

The three singers worked well together (or played well, if you prefer) and comprised a baritone we admired at a prior NYFOS recital (Samuel Kidd) and two female singers about whom we have been writing for a decade. It always gives us a special thrill to witness a singer's professional growth. Mezzo-soprano Megan Moore has been having some great successes in her career development and so has soprano Christine Taylor Price who seems to have accomplished something that writers are not supposed to talk about. We will anyway. She has shed some weight and achieved a glamorous appearance that provides a swell setting for her lovely voice. She is also making great strides in her career, moving readily between opera and musical theater.

It is rare that we enjoy every single song in a diverse program, but there is a first for everything. Let us just point out the ones that stayed in our memory over the past few days. We do so love duets and when Ms. Moore and Ms. Price  joined forces for Schubert's "An  Sylvia" we broke into a wide smile and we are smiling now as we recollect the performance. It was in the same set that Mr. Kidd performed Beethoven's "Adelaïde". Well I guess we are just revealing our preference for the classics, which will not surprise regular readers.

Mr. Kidd's delicate delivery was just perfect for Henri Duparc's "Phidylé" and his artistry with Gallic style was matched by Ms. Price's performance of Reynaldo Hahn's "A Chloris" which carried the loveliness into the 20th century. Schubert's "Ganymed" gave Ms. Moore an opportunity to show a special kind of artistry. She appeared to savor each German word and, in her mouth, the lanuage lost any trace of harshness.

The final section entitled "Rogues Gallery" included Ms.Moore's unique ballad style arrangement of the famous Beatles song "Michelle"and the marvelously funny song by Tom Lehrer called "Alma". Most classical music lovers are aware that Gustav Mahler's wife Alma had quite the reputation for her affairs and Mr Lehrer had quite a bit of fun with his clever rhymes. It was a fun way to end a delightful evening. Having sampled all the chocolates in the box we were able to pick our favorites, as did everyone else in the audience. No one left unsatisfied.

Accompaniment was provided by Steven Blier and Nathaniel LaNasa. An unnamed musician accompanied occasionally with guitar and banjo; Greg Feldmann showed up for an encore.

© meche kroop

ITALIAN OPERA IN THE AGE OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

 Sarah Fleiss and Morgan Mastrangelo

Although we have taken no pleasure in operas infused with directorial conceits. the imposition of a theme on the vocal concert is an entirely different matter. A theme brings focus to a vocal recital and allows the audience member to perceive similarities and trends. Such was the case with a most agreeable concert we enjoyed Monday evening at the beautiful Italian Academy of Columbia University.

We confess to not having given much thought to the leadership of baroque performance groups but hearing the results of a singer-led performance has given us pause to reflect. Under the leadership of soprano Sarah Fleiss and tenor Morgan Mastrangelo, the newly founded group called Split the Lark has taken music from the 17th and 18th century and made it their own.  

Both voices have a great deal to recommend them musically including beautiful tone and apt phrasing. However, what impressed us the most was the clarity of diction. There were probably translations available online but we felt no need to distract ourself from the gorgeous music and our comprehension of the Italian was sufficient to understand the text.

Most remarkably we could understand the text of two songs by Thomas Arne, with whom we were not familiar. We have bemoaned the fact that American singers are careless with their English enunciation but these two artists made every word count. Another remarkable feature of the performance was the dramatic engagement between text and artist. There was no "park and bark" here! We enjoyed the facial expressiveness as well as the bodily flexibility.  And above all, there were no music stands to create a barrier between singer and audience. That goes a long way toward explaining the complete involvement of the audience. The sizable hall was packed with enthusiastic listeners. It always makes us happy to witness this level of connection.

As far as the theme of the evening, songs were selected from the period around the American Revolution. We were dimly aware that operas were presented in the colonies during that period but we were happy to learn that art songs were sung in theaters as curtain raisers. We actually fantasized about restoring that tradition! We are always happy to learn something new from program notes, however brief.

Arias from baroque Italian operas delighted the ear as Ms. Fleiss and Mr. Mastrangelo took turns putting their unique interpretations on works by Händel, Vivaldi, Pergolesi, Scarlatti, and Piccini. We listened without expectations since none of the works were familiar to us. The techniques, of course, were familiar and we delighted in the crisply articulated fioriture as well as the contrast between legato sections and staccato sections. We have already mentioned the generosity of dramatic interpretation and clarity of diction.

What a surprise that we enjoyed the selections in English by Arne. Surprisingly, casting against expectations worked out well with Ms. Fleiss attacking the martial aria from Ataxerxes with it's giant leaps. Then, Mr. Mastrangelo took on the more nature inspired aria from the same opera, bringing it to a stunning climax.

We have never enjoyed Händel's English operas as much as his Italian ones, but Ms. Fleiss' performance of "O Sleep why dost thou leave me" from Semele hit all the right notes, so to speak; she invested the work with a pleading tone and Händel's ascending patterns emphasized the character's beseeching.

Although we had only heard Mr. Mastrangelo once or twice before in small roles, we have reviewed Ms. Fleiss several times over the past seven years, beginning when she captured our attention as a mezzo-soprano studying at Curtis Institute and as a student of Classic Lyric Arts, making quite an impression performing at their annual gala.

We shall not close without giving full credit to the superb instrumentalists of Split the Lark. We were sitting way off to the side and couldn't help admiring the tone of the two wooden oboes (Emi Ostrom and Gillian Bobnak) and the bassoon (Ezra Gans). There was a string quartet plus a bass, harpsichord, and theorbo laying down a luscious carpet of sound but the only time we took our eyes off the singers was for the woodwinds.

Somehow we had never given any thought to what the colonists did during wartime for culture and entertainment so this concert was not only entertaining but instructive We left feeling both entertained and enlightened as well as grateful to the artists for opening our eyes and ears. 

© meche kroop

THE BELLES OF BEL CANTO

                                     Anna Tonno, Ashley Galvani Bell, and Alla Milchtein 

Gorgeous arias! Melodic duets! Riveting storytelling! Lavish costuming! Convincing acting! Effective set! Were we at the opera? No, we were not but our involvement matched that which we experience at the opera house. As a matter of fact, we were at La Espacia de Cultura at New York University, enjoying a musical event created by DIVAria Productions, helmed by Ashley Galvani Bell.

We have reviewed a number of performance by this superb soprano; however it is the three DIVAria Productions she created (at least the three that we have seen) that set her apart from other singers. Like us, Ms. Bell seems captivated by the Bel Canto period of the early 19th century and her strong but agile instrument lends itself generously to the fioritura of the period. For this work, Mrs. Rossini Meets Madame Malibran, her stage partner mezzo-soprano Anna Tonna took the role of Madame Malibran (née Maria Garcia of the famous Garcia family, which brought opera to New York) whilst Ms. Bell portrayed Isabella Colbran Rossini.

Both women were superstars of the world opera stage who had interesting lives as well, lives worth dramatizing, as we learned. Both singers were as effective dramatically as they were musically with Ms. Bell portraying the older Colbran and Ms. Tonna bringing the younger Ms. Malibran to vivid life. Early in the evening, we witnessed Colbran meeting the child Maria and the portrayal was so dramatically convincing that Ms. Tonna completely submerged her womanly identity and became a six-year-old!  What a feat of acting! It was effective in spite of the lower register and timbre of her beautifully colored instrument. Sadly, the legendary mezzo-soprano did not lead a long life but she did lead a rather colorful one and survived a horrific horseback riding accident.

Colbran presented a rather more settled and resigned mien, finally accepting the romantic blandishments of the young Rossini and surviving a disappointing marriage with the philandering composer. It was so interesting to watch events unfold through the words of the women in letters , amplified by arias composed by Rossini, Michele Carafa, and Saverio Mercadante, as well as songs composed by the two superstars themselves.

The flow of the evening was so intense that we never looked at our program! In spite of our familiarity with Bel Canto the arias and songs we heard were new to our ears and consistently delightful. By means of Ms. Bell's scholarship and judicious editing we felt as if we knew these two divine women. Let us give credit to the fine directing of Anton Armendariz Diaz and the accompaniment by Alla Milchtein. Was there an opera ready to spring forth? Perhaps, but at the very least we hope Ms. Bell will "take this show on the road". Anyone who loves opera will share in our delight.

© meche kroop