THE GOLDEN AGE

The Cast of "The Golden Age"

Under the loving leadership of Artistic Director Judith Fredricks, the delightful singers of Opera New York have taken opera out of the concert hall and into the places where people eat and drink. One might think this would be noisy or distracting but that is not the case. People became very quiet until each number ended and then they burst into enthusiastic applause.

The pleasant and welcoming venue was Mont Blanc 54, a Swiss restaurant on West 54th St. We indulge in fondue only during the winter but the room was filled with people dipping bread into cauldrons of bubbling cheese or enjoying Veal Zurichoise. We can however attest to the quality of the french fries, of which we ate way to many!

Last night, the cast abandoned the world of opera for that delightful hybrid of opera and Broadway musical theater--operetta. Ms. Fredricks herself narrated the evening with interesting tidbits about the composers and the singers who popularized their work. The way it seems to us is that operetta began in Europe as light entertainment and was brought to the USA by composers who left their homeland for the New World and brought their music with them. This would seem to have evolved into "The Golden Age" of Broadway. 

We are ardent fans of The Victor Herbert Renaissance Project Live! which presents several Victor Herbert operas each year, so his music is familiar to us. Soprano Elena Heimur, a regular cast member of Opera New York, had a wonderful time singing the "Italian Street Song" with a lot of "zing-zing". This song was the hit tune of Herbert's 1910 Naughty Marietta. Ms. Heimur was joined by the male ensemble, comprising Walter Hartman, Scott O'Brien, Carlos Correa, and Robert Montgomery.

Heartthrob baritone Roberto Borgatti, another regular, had the audience members swooning with Sigmund Romberg's "One Alone" from the hokey operetta The Desert Song. Today we find these stories silly but a century ago they provided an escape from the upheavals of The Great War.

Herbert's Student Prince was given a lot of stage time, enough to grasp the familiar plot of an aristocrat courting a commoner. Soprano Tate Chu was lively as the barmaid serving steins of beer to the Ensemble and lovely as the love object of tenorrific Edgar Jaramillo (another regular) who leaned into the romance with gusto and open-throated singing.

The clever lyrics of "Every Day is Ladies' Day with Me" from Herbert's The Red Mill was performed by veteran bass Walter Hartman. We have seen the entire operetta, thanks to VHRPL! and cherished the opportunity to once again giggle along with the funny rhymes.

Who doesn't love The Merry Widow by Franz Lehar! The title role was sung by Ms. Heimur and we were dumbstruck at one point in "Vilja" when she leapt to a delicately floated high note and launched into a magnificent crescendo. She was accompanied by the ensemble. Her lover Danilo was persuasively performed by Mr. Borgatti who created a dapper "creature of the night" in the winning song "Maxime's", in which he tells of the many ladies of the nightclub --Frou Frou, and LuLu, or something like that.

But the number we all wait for is "The Merry Widow Waltz", which Mr. Borgatti sang in German and Ms. Heimur in English. Frankly, we prefer the German. The pair got to show off their ballroom skills in a charming waltz.

Rudolf Friml's Rose-marie is so silly that one couldn't play "Indian Love Call" straight and so Ms. Heimur and Mr. Jaramillo camped it up and the audience loved it.

There was also a surprise! As a teaser for the upcoming concert of Disney songs, soprano Zoë Lowenbein sang a song from The Little Mermaid. Although we prefer Dvorak's Russalka, we were quite happy to hear the charming Ms. Lowenbein's winning performance.

Accompaniment was provided by Michael Pilafian, another Opera New York regular. It seemed as if the artists enjoyed themselves as much as the audience!

(c) meche kroop