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

BALTIC OPERA FESTIVAL

 Lech Napierala and Ryan Speedo Green

It was quite the gala event at The Kosciuszko Foundation Monday night introducing the Baltic Opera Festival which will take place the first week in July in Gdansk and Sopor. Those fortunate enough to travel to Poland will get to experience the first two operas of Wagner's Ring Cycle. A lucky visitor could get to experience Das Rheingold (strangely described as "a children's opera") on July 1st and Die Walküre on July 2nd--both at the Sopor location and sung in Polish, on the 150th anniversary of the premiere of Wagner's magnificent opus.

Additionally, one could also enjoy a staged performance of Joseph Beers' Polish Wedding, a tribute to to Penderecki, and a recital by German soprano Anett Fritsch. What a way to begin a new festival!

Guests for this very special event were seated in the gorgeous second floor salon of The Kosciuszko Foundation where we have enjoyed so many thrilling musical events, all under the watchful eye of a portrait of the very handsome Thaddeus Kosciuzko himself, a hero of the American Revolution.

There were a lot of speeches and a warm welcome but our interest was in the singing. It was probably no accident that most of the singers belonged to the cast of The Metropolitan Opera's production of Tristan and Isolde and we got to enjoy them "up close and personal" as we most enjoy. Perhaps it was their night off!

We never have an opportunity to be that close to such renowned singers with the exception of Ryan Speedo Green. We have been writing about this exceptional bass-baritone since 2012--witnessing his rapid rise to stardom and loving every step of the way as he made his way through the Lindemann Program and kept winning competitions. On this occasion about which we are writing, Mr. Green delighted us with "Wotan's Farewell". If we ever get over our total devotion to James Morris' take on the role, it will be Mr. Ryan's. Currently at The Met singing King Marke, you are hereby urged, Dear Reader, to make an acquaintance with this super star.

The rest of the Tristan and Isolde cast also gave remarkable performances, accompanied by Lech Napierala. Soprano Lise Davidsen (portraying Isolde at The Met) is just as phenomenal as we heard she was. Aside from the gorgeous instrument and sensitive interpretation, we were most impressed by the way she scaled her voice to the room. She sang a pair of songs from Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder--"Der Engel" and "Stehe Still!"

Tenor Michael Spyres ( The Met's Tristan) sang "Im Treibhaus", mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova (The Met's Brangäne) performed “Schmerzen", and Tomasz Konieczny  (The Met's Kurvenal) sang  "Traume".

We also got to hear an excerpt from the aforementioned Polish Wedding --Monika Radecka and Piotr Buszewski  performed the  "Duet of Jadzia and Bolesław" (presumably the. couple getting married). If the entire opera is as good as the duet, it must be a hit!

As a final vocal treat we got to hear Aleksandra Kurzak perform “Vissi d’arte” from Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca. Having thrown herself into the role, we got a fine taste of drama as well as some mighty fine vocalism.

There were also some piano solos rounding out a very generous program, one worthy of a festival! As is common at The Kosciuszko Foundation, the evening ended with a reception where we enjoyed some pierogi and wine. We left feeling nourished body and soul.

© meche kroop

A VOCAL TRIUMPH AT JUILLIARD

 Marianna Vartikian and Kimberly Alexandra Adam

We generally review concerts at the request of the artist, the producing institution, or the publicist. Sometimes we long to go to a concert or recital for our own pleasure or out of curiosity. Last night, we casually dropped by Juilliard to see and hear more of a singer whom we heard very briefly at the Classic Lyric Arts Gala. We had no intention of writing a review but how could we not when we were so impressed and wanted so much to share with our dear Readers.

To hear "Song to the Moon" from  Antonin Dvorák's Rusalka is always a treat but to hear it actually performed was transporting. So artistic was the interpretation by soprano Kimberly Alexandra Adam that we could see the moonlight, the rays of which, according to the movement of the artist's eyes, were temporarily obscured by clouds, causing her glance to search the heavens. We felt the longing in our chest. We forgot we were in an auditorium in Juilliard. And Dear Reader, that is art--something that goes beyond a gorgeous round sound and astute phrasing.

All of Ms. Adam's selections were related to the moon and included Fauré's "Clair de lune" and Bellini's charming "Vaga luna" with its interesting contrast of legato and staccato. Schubert's "An den Mond" involved some arpeggios in the piano, beautifully rendered by Marianna Vartikian, which reminded us of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.

Lugo's expressive singing was accompanied by Olivia Tilley, the two voices joining in exquisite harmony.

The fairytale of the rose and the nightingale has inspired other works, mainly a short story by Oscar Wilde and a stunning song written by Rimsky-Korsakov in 1866 in which the soprano has a similarly gorgeous melody to sing. Someday we hope to hear them side by side.

Lending credence to our belief that the best of Broadway music represents 20th century American opera, Ms. Lugo gave  a warm romantic tone to "Till There Was You" from Meredith Wilson's The Music Man, so much more listenable than abstract academic music of the period.

Two contemporary pieces rounded out the program. Osvaldo Golijov's "Lúa descolorida" sung in its Galician dialect and  Eric Whitacre's "Goodnight Moon" with its surreal but amusingly rhymed text by Margaret Wise Brown. Ms. Adams is an artist to watch. Still a junior at Juilliard, we foresee a grand career. 

Another soprano on the program also made a fine impression. Dalila Lugo opened the program with a stunning vocalise by Saint-Saens, "Le Rossignol et la rose" from Parysatis--incidental music composed for a play at the turn of the 20th century. Regular readers will recall our affection for the harp, and here Ms.

Aside from the Saint-Saëns vocalise, our favorite piece  was "Canción de Paloma" sung by the aspiring opera singer heroine of Francisco Asenjo Barbieri's El barberillo de Lavapiés, a zarzuela we heard once downtown a few years ago. Ms. Lugo captured the high spirited self-confidence of the winning heroine and her accompanist Rodrigo Garcia Vargas captured the rhythms and moods of zarzuela, one of our favorite musical art forms.

It was a lovely evening of moonlight and birds singing. We walked home with a lighter step than we entered with. Good music will do that for you!

© meche kroop

 

MASTER(FUL) VOICES

Soprano Mikaela Bennett, Maestro Ted Sperling, and Baritone Justin Austin

The MasterVoices Chorus and the Orchestra of Saint Luke's

(Photo by Erin Baiano)

It was an unusual evening and one that was very well received by a huge crowd of fans filling up Alice Tully Hall.  Recent renovations put a pipe organ on display with Orchestra of St. Luke's organist Matthew Lewis having the time of his life.  Other members of OSL included a sole violin among a generous string section, and winds comprising a pair of bassoons, a pair of horns, a pair of percussionists and (our favorite) an angelic harp.

Our overall impression of Fauré's Requiem in D Minor is that it is a kinder gentler work than other requiems we have heard. The "wrath of God" and dire warnings are absent and it seems more a lullaby sending the departed off to a restful repose. It was indeed performed at Fauré's death and we hope he is enjoying a richly deserved peaceful sleep!

The composer began work on the piece in 1888 and revised it several times until 1900. We lack the knowledge to identify which version we heard but it was a satisfying one with the massive voices of MasterVoices singing the seven movements, ending with Fauré's unique "In Paradisum" sending the departed one off to paradise. The orchestration gave lots of attention to the horns which blared in as stentorian fashion as trumpets. However, we were most taken with the harp, played by the appropriately named Grace Paradise!

Strangely, Fauré gave the vocal soloists little to do and, since we are great fans of soprano Mikaela Bennett and baritone Justin Austin, we felt a bit disappointed to see them sitting there for a half hour with only small parts.

The second piece on the program made up for that, giving the two artists some interesting and challenging texts which were unfortunately amplified to the point of muddying the clever words. Far be it from us to sit and read from the program during a performance; we wished that titles had been projected. Upon returning home we read the libretto and realized what we had missed.

Maestro Ted Sperling came up with the incredibly clever idea for Seven: a Cycle of Sins,  putting the seven deadly sins up for grabs, so to speak, allowing a herd of contemporary composers to "choose their own sin". Each one contributed something in his own voice. Most notable (if only because we were very recently introduced to his music) was the "Envy" of Jason Robert Brown. Voices overlapped in a manner reminiscent of Stephen Sondheim. Mr. Brown's comments pointedly referred to his failure to achieve entrance into Juilliard and he did so in the wittiest fashion.

On the other hand Ted Hearne's gloss on "Greed" employed a boring political text relating to the Occupy Movement. This reminded us of the contemporary operas we dismiss as polemic.

Michael Abels illustrated "Lust" with a brief recreation of lovemaking sounds culminating in orgasm. This was so direct that it may well have achieved the status of audience favorite. "Love to Love You Baby", recorded by Donna Summer and released in 1975, accomplished great popularity but was banned by several radio stations. Apparently "classical music" performed in a concert hall can get away with things that popular recordings cannot.

The superb composer Gregory Spears took the easy way out and illustrated the sin of "Vanity" with a lengthy quote from Ecclesiastes. Heather Christian's take on "Wrath" used similarly wordy text.

Composer/lyricist team of William C. Banfield and Michael R. Jackson got philosophical about politics in "Sloth", perhaps a too heavy a burden with its wordy unsingable argument. The team of Will Aronson and Dolan Morgan undertook to illustrate "Gluttony" by an argument between "Everything in the World" and "People", another wordy discussion.

There is an eighth deadly sin folks, and no one ever speaks about it. That is the sin of "Acedia"--apathy and despondency--whih seems to be afflicting our culture today. Who wants to write a song about it?

You may have gathered by now, Dear Reader, that we vote for "Lust". It was short, sweet, and direct. Lyrics that are wordy and deep, in our opinion, belong on the printed page. 

That being said, Sperling's idea was an interesting one; giving composers carte blanche led to some curious offerings. When someone brings up The Seven Deadly Sins, we will no longer be thinking of the Kurt Weill opera/ballet but we will be thinking of Sterling's commission. Will it be performed again? Will it become part of the vocal canon? What do you think Dear Reader?

© meche kroop

 

NAUBURG HONORS ERIN WAGNER AND VICE-VERSA

Maureen Zoltek and Erin Wagner

Having won the Naumburg Vocal Award in 2021, the impressive mezzo-soprano Erin Wagner presented a stunning recital at Manhattan School of Music, from which she received her BM in 2019. She was accompanied by the equally impressive collaborative pianist Maureen Zoltek who received her DMA from the same institution in 2013. The two artists did credit to their alma mater and to the Naumburg Foundation.

The recital was a very personal one. Ms. Wagner has strong tastes about what she wants to present and how she does so. She opened the program with Hugo Wolf's 1888 setting of the Mignon Lieder, taken from Goethe's Wilhelm Meisters Leehrjahre. We are mostly familiar with the setting by Schubert and it was a challenge to wipe those easy Schubertian melodies from our brain and open our ear to the more difficult harmonies of Wolf. Will we ever be able to really hear the settings by Schumann and Tchaikovsky? The text is so compelling that it is a wonder that more composers have not made the attempt but we are glad of it.  In perfect German and with deep emotion, Ms. Wagner brought this sad tale to vivid life.

Next on the program was a contemporary work, a setting of text of Larry Eigner by David Clay Metten. In the program notes, Ms. Wagner described her connection with both poet and composer and the personal involvement was clear. Nonetheless, we found nothing in the text or vocal line to relate to and shifted our attention to the piano. Ms. Zoltek is a remarkable pianist and tackled the challenging and varied piano part with relish. We might add that her erect posture and graceful arms added to our fascination.

The first half of the program jumped from the 19th century to the 21st but the second half brought us to the 20th century with a late life composition by Francis Poulenc, one that we always enjoy hearing--the intensely dramatic "La dame de Monte Carlo" which gave Ms. Wagner an opportunity to let out all the stops dramatically, creating a character and telling her story in as fine a French as one could wish for.

The program concluded with Samuel Barber's Hermit Songs of 1953. This collection of ten songs represents texts casually inscribed by medieval monks. And what a collection it is!  Some of the texts are sacred ("St. Ita's Vision", "The Praises of God", "The Crucifixion") and some are profane ("Promiscuity") and some are just charming and worldly  ("The Monk and His Cat"). It seems likely that the authors of the text were different men with different moods and Ms. Wagner gave each writer his due.

The audience demanded an encore and we got one--"Sure on this Shining Night", a Barber setting of text by James Agee.

We have been writing about Ms. Wagner for at least six years and have witnessed her winning one competition after another. She continues to surprise us and we are willing to follow where she leads. We have said nothing this time about her vocal and linguistic strengths but they are legendary. If you wish to appreciate her growth as an artist, we urge you to enter her name in the search bar so you can catch up.

© meche kroop

A VISIT FROM THE PEABODY INSTITUTE

Holden Turner, Laurie Rogers, Cierra Byrd, Julie Knott, Daniel LaRue, Rira Kim, and Sara Nealley

Perhaps every other opera lover in New York City spent the afternoon at The Metropolitan Opera undergoing the tense atmosphere of the Laffont Competition. Meanwhile we were enjoying a relaxed and rewarding afternoon up close and personal in the WQXR recording studio downtown hearing six superb young singers from the Vocal Studies Department at Peabody Conservatory.

With typical New York City chauvinism, we had hardly realized that a superb vocal training program might exist outside of Gotham until The Gerda Lissner Foundation began sponsoring a series of broadcasts about which we have been writing this year, a series hosted by the well known Midge Woolsey. Introducing and narrating the program was Elizabeth Futral who, incidentally, won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Competition (now called the Laffont Competition) in 1991, went on to enjoy a brilliant career, and now occupies the position of Marc C. Von May Distinguished Chair of Vocal Studies at Peabody Institute.

The six young singers made a fine showing, doing credit to the program. They chose their selections well, each one highlighting his/her own strengths. No criticism could be made of their vocalism and we were able to focus on their dramatic presentations which were consistently special.

Coming to mind first was the Rosina of mezzo-soprano Julie Knott who took us right into the scene in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia in which she plots to outwit her controlling possessive guardian. The lavish embellishments in"Una voce poco fa" served to limn her character and we were delighted by the performance. Ms.Knott is also capable of quietude and underplaying as she demonstrated in the soulful mystic chant of Hildegard von Bingen, performed a cappella. Her dynamic variation kept the simple line interesting. 

Soprano Rira Kim made a marvelous Marguerite, so impressed by the cask of jewels she received from Faust in "Ah, je ris" from Gounod's Faust. We also enjoyed a Korean folk song "Baetoolga" in a contemporary setting by Jean Ahn.

Mezzo-soprano Cierra Byrd is as adept in French as she is in German, giving Fauré's "Après un rěve" a lovely long Gallic line and giving Mahler's chipper folksong "Wer hat dies Liedlein" the requisite humor, even in the vocalise part.

Soprano Sara Nealley tackled some difficult material. If one were unfamiliar with James Joyce's text, one would have a difficult time understanding Barber' setting of "Nuvoletta" and the soprano range doesn't help to elucidate the text. Her other selection was an emotional aria from Janáček's Katya Kabanova, a tragedy about an unhappy wife who drowns herself after an episode of unfaithfulness. We are not familiar with the Czech language but we did pick up on the loneliness.

Tenor Daniel LaRue gave a fine performance of Schubert's masterful lied "Erlkonig", differentiating the voices of the frightened child, the seductive elf king, and the father who tries to reassure the child.

Baritone Holden Turner was convincing as the self important Count Almaviva in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro.  He is completely baffled by the machinations of Figaro, Susanna and the Countess in "Hai già vinta la cause" and plots his revenge.

Accompanist for the recital was Laurie Rogers who admirably kept up with the many changes of style.

Before closing, here's a reminder for you that The Gerda Lissner Foundation is celebrating the winners of their annual competition on April 29th at Zankel Hall. Ticket supply is dwindling and we urge you to move quickly to secure a seat for this consistently thrilling event.

© meche kroop