THE INNOCENT MERRIMENT OF THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR

Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor at The Juilliard School (photo by Richard Termine)

The overwhelmingly talented students of the Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts at The Juilliard School deserved the thunderous applause given at the end of their production of  Otto Nicolai's opera, based, as so many fine operas are, on a work by Shakespeare.  The Merry Wives of Windsor has produced many iterations, including Salieri's earlier Falstaff (produced recently by Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble) and the subsequent Falstaff by Verdi, a staple in the canon.

Nicolai's version is quite different and filled with interesting characterizations and some of the jauntiest music we have heard in some time. The German composer, co-founder of the Vienna Philharmonic, received his musical education in Italy, and died way too young. His music shows both Italian and German influences.

We wish the term "comic opera" had not been wasted on what we would call "dramas with happy endings". Because this work is truly comic in the best sense of the word. The students, most of them at the graduate level, mined the work for its humor and delivered the lovely vocal lines with equal measure of vocal beauty. The mid-19th c. tradition of bel canto is prominent.

Nicolai himself called the work a "komisch/fantastiche Oper"; it was written in the form of a singspiel, with spoken dialogue. In this case, the spoken dialogue was delivered in English and arranged by Director John Giampietro to include lines from Henry IV (both parts) and from A Midsummer Night's Dream. The young romantic couple Anna (soprano Jessica Niles) and Fenton (tenor John Chongyoon Noh) recite to one another lines spoken by Oberon and Titania.

The production was a clever one; the action remained in Windsor but the time was updated to the 1940's and the action took place in a munitions factory which was owned by the wealthy Spärlich (tenor Matthew Pearce). Working on the bombs at opposing tables were two friends--Frau Fluth (Christine Taylor Price) and Frau Reich (mezzo-soprano Kady Evanyshyn).

The two married women are being simultaneously "courted" by Sir John Falstaff (bass Alex Rosen in a fat suit). The major plot shows how the women get their revenge by humiliating him and how he is forgiven, once he shows remorse, in a burst of community spirit. This theme is particularly relevant today as misbehaving men are being publicly shamed and humiliated by women they have wronged.

In a plot point reminiscent of the Countess Almaviva's revenge on her jealous husband (in Mozart's Nozze di Figaro), Herr Fluth (baritone Hubert Zapiór) gets his comeuppance as well.  There is even a scene where he locks the door before looking for his wife's imagined lover.

Librettist Salomon Hermann von Mosenthal transferred parenthood of young Anna to the Reich's thereby giving them more stage time. Frau Reich has selected a suitor for Anna--Dr. Cajus (bass Andrew Munn with an hilarious French accent); Herr Reich (bass William Guanbo Su) has chosen the aforementioned wealthy owner of the factory.

Anna has a mind of her own and manages to marry Fenton, giving them some gorgeous duets. They seem to have escaped the war between the sexes.

Fleshing out the funny bones of this opera is the most delightfully melodic music. Conductor Teddy Poll kept things moving along at a brisk pace and the four-handed piano reduction was brightly performed by Chris Reynolds and Adam Rothenberg, two of our favorite pianists at Juilliard. They played behind a wall, out of sight.

It would be remiss not to mention the two lovely instrumentalists who accompanied Mr. Cho onstage--violinist Cherry Choi Tung Yeung and Lisa Choi who deftly handled the piccolo part, especially when she imitated the lark.

If we mentioned every musical and dramatic moment that tickled us, we would have to go on for hours, but let us mention just a few.  The Act I duet between Ms. Price (whom we are thinking of as Ms. Pipes) and Ms. Evanyshyn was a perfect representation of what a soprano and mezzo can do with gorgeous intertwining lines.

Mr. Rosen's "serenade" was hilariously pompous. It was quite a thrill to hear three basses in one opera. They were all different and all superb.

Dazzling our ears was Mr. Zapiór's rich and mellow baritone. He was also hilarious stomping around with his cane in a jealous rage and climbing into the laundry basket to look for Falstaff.

Ms. Price nearly stole the show practicing her seductive moves on a factory worker whose facial expressions in response were classic. Her contentious duet with Mr. Zapiór was another highlight.

Ms. Niles' interaction with Mr. Cho was as tender as their singing. Their voices were perfect for the ingenue roles they performed.

Mr. Pearce got some laughs when he agreed to marry Anna whom he thought he might "grow to love in time".  His tenor fell beautifully on the ear.

The chorus of townspeople commenting on the action was well integrated-- Khady Gueye, Brittany Hewitt, Ryan Hurley, Connor Ouly, Shereen Pimental, James Rootring and Maggie Renée Valdman. Mr. Hurley had a brief appearance as Prince Hal and Brittany Hewitt performed Mistress Quickly.

Scenic Designer Alexis Distler created a very believable munitions factory as seen in the photo above, and Kate Ashton lit it cleverly. Audrey Nauman's costumes were appropriate to the time and place, including the head scarves one sees in photos of female factory workers of the time.

As is our wont, we don't read program notes until after the performance, hoping that the production will speak for itself. This one did. We got every nuance that Mr. Giampietro was going for.

Since the performing space was flanked by audience seated on both sides of the room, we had an opportunity to observe the wide smiles on the faces across from us, whenever we could tear our eyes away from the action. It is rare to have that much fun at the opera! It was difficult to tell whether the cast or the audience was enjoying more.

If we have one beef it is only that too few people will get to see this worthy show. It surely deserves a wider audience!

As fine as the piano reduction was written and played, we would love to see this opera again with a full orchestra. Listening to the overture online, we concluded that Nicolai had a wonderful feel for orchestration.

This opera deserves to be right up there with Rossini's comedies!

(c) meche kroop

ANOTHER JUILLIARD LIEDERABEND

Äneas Humm and Tomomi Sato

A liederabend at Juilliard is such a consistently fine experience that one is at risk for taking them for granted. Since we have been reviewing them, we have watched the audience grow as fast as asparagus; one can barely secure a seat these days. That is understandable because New Yorkers can listen to the stars of tomorrow without cost. Many of them have performed already around the world and are at Juilliard to acquire a final polish.

Take Swiss baritone Äneas Humm for example. We first heard Mr. Humm through The German Forum a few years ago whilst he was still an undergraduate  and immediately recognized his artistry. He has had quite a career in Europe and  recently recorded an excellent CD. He is now under the tutelage of Edith Wiens, as were so many of the excellent singers heard last night. We reviewed a recital of her students last week.

Last night, accompanied by the lovely collaborative pianist Tomomi Sato, he treated us to a set of lieder which took on new luster when sung by a native German speaker. Two lieder by Hugo Wolf  ("Verschwiegene Liebe" and "Und willst du deinen Liebsten sterben sehen") stretched his instrument to the lowest part of the register. We preferred "Nimmersatte Liebe" which allowed Mr. Humm to express his lively personality.

Following were a pair of lieder by Viktor Ullmann whose early 20th c. works merit a wider hearing. "Vorausbestimmung" and "Betrunken" are colorful songs about intoxication and we are reminded how much singers enjoy songs about inebriation.  As do audience members! Mr. Humm had a swell time with these colorful songs and so did we. Ms. Sato was particularly fine in the last one, attacking the wild accompaniment with gusto.

We have been particularly aware of the artistry of soprano Felicia Moore who impresses us more and more each time we hear her. She absolutely commands the stage with a secure and welcoming stage presence, drawing us in with her magnificent instrument and connection with the material. She seemed to know exactly what she was singing about and when we returned home and looked at the translations we noticed that she had translated the songs herself. We wish all singers did so!

In "L'invitation au voyage" we enjoyed the expansive soaring top of her voice and the artistry with which she employed vocal coloration. The word "volupté " gave us goose bumps. In "La vie antérieure" she captured all the elusive nostalgia of the Baudelaire text which was matched by the passionate pianism of the always excellent Adam Rothenberg.  "Phidylé" moved from languid affection to passion.  In the entire set, the French was beyond reproach.

Georgian Mezzo-soprano Natalia Kutateladze performed that glorious Spanish cycle by Manuel de Falla--Siete Canciones Populares Españolas--a cycle of which we never tire. Ms. Kutateladze imbued the songs with her own intense personality which amplified the intensity of the songs. After the ironic cautionary tales "El paño moruno" and "Seguidilla murciana" came our very favorite--"Asturianas" which she colored with appropriately deep sorrow.  The combination of the text, the music, and her interpretation had a profound emotional effect.

Happily the charm of "Jota" cheered us up. We couldn't figure out why the lullaby "Nana" seemed so sad but mining works for their subtext keeps a work interesting and we were captivated. "Canción" was so filled with pain, as was "Polo" that we had to sit still for a while to collect ourself. This is artistry at work. It is a compliment to collaborative pianist Cameron Richardson-Eames to say that he kept up with her.

Some of our favorite Strauss songs were offered by soprano Rebecca Pedersen and pianist Candace Chien. Ms. Pedersen warmed up with "Allerseelen" and reached more of her potential with "Cäcilie" which she had fortunately translated herself. We are quite sure that was responsible for an increased sense of involvement. We liked the way she brought out the climactic moments and we related to the heartfelt nature of "Befreit". Her German was a bit four square and will benefit from more work on phrasing.

Mezzo-soprano Khady Gueye was accompanied by Rosa Li on the piano and, just from the point of view of our very own idiosyncratic taste, we hope to hear her sing something we like in the future. We have never warmed to the songs of Charles Ives and find the vocal lines uninteresting, causing our attention to rest on the accompaniment. Ms. Li has lovely soft hands and we enjoyed listening, especially in "Tom Sails Away" in which she evoked the mysterious nature of memory.

In "Feldeinsamkeit", we wanted crisper enunciation of the German consonants, as we did in the two Schönberg songs which followed--"Erwartung" and "Erhebung". These songs are not our favorites either but they did serve to bring out the texture of Ms. Gueye's instrument.

We can scarcely wait for the next liederabend.  No taking things for granted at this end!

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AND STILL MORE RUSSIAN

Jinhee Park and Rebecca Farley

Last night's liederabend at Juilliard impressed us on two counts. Firstly, we got to increase our rather newly established appreciation of Russian song. Secondly, we got to hear some singing in English that was comprehensible, a feature that is rarely the case. For the Russian we have Natalia Katyukova to thank since she coached last night's students in the Vocal Arts Department. We were pleased that each singer and collaborative pianist introduced her/himself and told something about the works they were going to sing.

Baritone Dimitri Katotakis opened the program with a quartet of songs by the 20th c. composer Georgy Sviridov--two from the early stage of his composing career and two from the late stage. Fortunately, there are places in the world where serialism and 12-tone experimentation were ignored! If we did not grasp all the themes of the poetry outlined by Mr. Katotakis, we did observe that he thought about what he was singing and filled the songs with meaning. 

Much of the text involved bells--all kinds of bells from sleigh bells to those in the belfry--and collaborative pianist Adam Rothenberg made each one clarion clear. Our favorite song was the spirited "Winter's Road" in which Pushkin's text describes an eager lover on his way across a snowy landscape to join his sweetheart. The artists created an aural picture.

Mezzo-soprano Nicole Thomas, accompanied by pianist Dror Baitel, sang a pair of songs by Nikolai Medtner and a pair by Sergei Rachmaninov--all of them about flowers.  She described the drama of Medtner's approach as contrasted with Rachmaninov's more delicate approach to the fragility of flowers. 

Goethe's text for "Das Veilchen" had been so exquisitely set by Mozart over a century earlier and, in our opinion, could not be improved upon.  In Medtner's hands the charming tale became a bit heavy-handed for our taste. But we enjoyed Ms. Thomas' singing and Mr. Baitel's lavish piano accompaniment.

Russia has always had a thing for the French, so it was not too surprising that Aleksandrt Grechaninov, a student of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, set selections from Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du Mal.  Once again we heard yet another setting of "L'invitation au voyage" but remain attached to the Henri Duparc setting, although there is nothing shabby about the lesser-known setting by Emmanuel Chabrier. Accompanied by Sora Jung, tenor Chance Jonas-O'Toole performed this and two others in a pleasantly sweet tenor. We think there is room for improvement in his French.

Baritone Dominik Belavy, whose second language is English, impressed us with the clarity of his diction in Charles Ives' "Tom Sails Away". We have heard him before and love the mellow sound of his voice; last night we found something new to appreciate. To tell a story one needs to make every word clear, and he did. 

Although his German is equally fine as was his delivery of Ives' setting of "Ich grolle nicht", this is another case where an earlier setting was infinitely superior.  Robert Schumann set Heinrich Heine's text in his cycle Dichterliebe with many compositional devices to highlight the irony. The placement of accents and chromaticism are just perfect.  The Ives did not achieve anything close.

Although we did not understand Mr. Belavy's choice to pair Ives' songs with those of the 20th c. composer Pavel Haas, we surely did enjoy them. Haas was a Jewish Czech composer who set Chinese poetry whilst confined in the Nazi concentration camp Theresienstadt, after which he was transferred to Auschwitz and gassed. In spite of the tragedy of his curtailed life, he left behind a fair amount of music.

Notably, Mr. Belavy translated the Czech (which had been translated from Wang Wei's original text by Bohumil Matthesius). If something was lost in this double translation, we know not but we do know that we appreciated Mr. Belavy's singing in Czech, especially after hearing Jamie Barton discussing the difficulties of this enterprise! Mr. Haas had a unique compositional style which pianist Rosa Li interpreted beautifully.

The program ended with soprano Rebecca Farley singing Samuel Barber's "Knoxville Summer of 1915". The text was extracted from a so-called "prose poem" by James Agee that later became the prologue to his book A Death in the Family. It was beautifully and expressively sung but has never resonated with us. We cannot think of many instances in which we have enjoyed prose set to music. It seemed to us that the text was tortured into place reminding us of a tailor trying to make a garment fit a body with lots of bulges.

Nonetheless, the piece is often heard in vocal recitals and many people love it for its nostalgia. We are looking forward to hearing Ms. Farley's solo recital on Feb 16th to see how she sounds in a variety of material.  Her collaborative pianist Jinhee Park had a chance to shine in the instrumental interlude and did a fine job creating the sounds of the streetcar--the iron whining, the bell ringing, and the spark crackling were all heard. Good job!

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STEPHANIE BLYTHE MASTER CLASS at JUILLIARD

Stephanie Blythe

Stephanie Blythe is our hero, or heroine, if you will. You may know her as the highly acclaimed mezzo-soprano, but she is also an acclaimed master teacher.  Her direct "no nonsense" approach to teaching never fails to offer the student useful pointers. The proof of the pudding is the change one hears in the half-hour allotted to each student.

What is remarkable about the audience is how supportive they are, partly mirroring her supportive attitude and partly reflective of the overall mood we have noticed within Juilliard's Vocal Arts Department.

Each of yesterday's participants has a special vocal quality that Ms. Blythe never failed to praise.  But she made the point that a beautiful sound is not enough; she points the student toward maximum artistry and connection with the audience.  This artistry does not come from histrionics but from simplicity and understanding of the text.

Two of the composers represented in the program were present in the audience.  We wondered what the young singers felt.  Probably a lot of excitement and some additional pressure.  They didn't seem to show any anxiety however. The singers were apparently encouraged to choose their own songs. Each one had prepared by intensely studying the text--extremely important in art song performance.

First on the program was bass-baritone Cody Quattlebaum who performed John Musto's setting of James Loughlin's "Rome: In the Café" from the cycle Viva Sweet Love. Mr. Quattlebaum clearly had spent time with the text and we particularly enjoyed his reading of it. There is a haunting mystery about the subject observing a woman in a café and the drama of her daily appearance to meet a man who attempts to console her as she weeps.

Mr. Quattlebaum was rather eloquent as he described his learning the text and his thoughts about it.  Ms. Blythe coached him on spinning the tone, even on the shortest notes, advice we would hear again and again. As we keep hearing, it is the BREATH that connects the notes.  Ms. Blythe spoke about string instruments and bowing, a useful metaphor indeed; phrases must have direction.

As the possessor of a low voice, Ms. Blythe had some special tips for Mr. Quattlebaum and also for mezzo-soprano Kelsey Lauritano who followed with Ricky Ian Gordon's  "X" from the cycle Late Afternoon.  There was no doubt that Ms. Lauritano has a deep feeling for Jean Valentine's text about a brother who died of AIDS and parents who didn't want his name on the AIDS quilt; she had found the cycle herself and chose to learn the song.

Her coaching involved allowing a bit more head voice in the mix to carry the sound. She was asked to sing the song with intimacy and simplicity. We have never heard it put this way before but we loved the concept that eye contact creates an active audience.

Tenor Matthew Swensen performed "The Lake Isle of Innisfree",  Ben Moore's setting of a text by William Butler Yeats.  He sang it with the most beautiful sound which Ms. Blythe praised--but she wanted him to look at the audience more and connect. She initiated a valuable discussion of rubato and the "give and take" which that score marking indicates; the singer must take time here to take us to the place of tranquility of which Yeats wrote.

She further advised more attention to the dynamic markings of the song.  Other points included smiling with the heart instead of the mouth and not furrowing the brow. There was a valuable trick offered--running a piece of Scotch tape across the brow so that one can be made aware of this bad habit and correct it.  Now that's something everyone can try!

The final entry on the program was soprano Julia Wolcott's performance of "Orinda Upon Little Hector Philips" from Ben Moore's cycle So Free Am I. The sad text by 17th c. poet Katherine Philips is a eulogy to her babe who died. The text is difficult to speak, let alone to sing--especially at the upper register of the soprano range. 

We loved the sound of Ms. Wolcott's voice but had to look up the text online. Ms. Blythe's coaching was, of course, to pay more attention to enunciating the text! There was also the suggestion to use less histrionics. 

There was more discussion of vibration and taking time to spin the tone, especially on the short notes--and where did we hear that advice before! When taking a breath, the singer should maintain the space of the prior phrase--all great advice.

Pianists for the master class were excellent: Michal Biel, Katelan Terrell, and Adam Rothenberg.

Ms. Blythe is a champion of contemporary music, of which we are not.  When she summed up the afternoon she expressed her belief that music recently written speaks to us today. It has not so far spoken to us, however!  Yet we acknowledge that what we heard today was more successful at reaching us.  We think of it as perhaps a whisper that may grow in volume as in Rossini's "La calunnia" sung by Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia.

It was a truly valuable experience, for the audience as well as for the singers. Ms. Blythe stressed the fact that singers could try out what she offered and "take it or leave it".  We hope they will take it!

(c) meche kroop

THE WOLF AT JUILLIARD'S DOOR

Jake Alan Nelson, Dror Baitel, Michal Biel, Katelan Terrell, Sora Jung, Adam Rothenberg, Sophia Kaminski, Kara Sainz, and Liv Redpath

The beautiful program of Wolf songs at Thursday's Liederabend at Juilliard required no lengthy academic introduction. Some folks get a lot out of context, but we prefer to let the music speak for itself. Hugo Wolf's songs are somewhat less accessible than those composed by Schubert but become more interesting with every hearing

The songs on the program were all settings of poetry by Eduard Mörike.  The five singers who performed them were topnotch, as were the five collaborative pianists. We were very impressed by baritone Jake Alan Nelson who is a natural born storyteller. There is a lot of breadth and resonance in his instrument but it is the personality and connection with the audience that got our attention.

In the opening lied, "Fussreise",  he took us for a walk in the countryside with a lot of enthusiasm.  In the quiet "Um Mitternacht" he colored his voice completely differently. He invested "Zur Warnung" with a full measure of bibulous humor. But his performance of "Der Feuerreiter" held us spellbound with its macabre horror. His Collaborative Pianist Dror Baitel followed each mood and color to perfection.

Tenor Seiyoung Kim (who missed the photo op) has a sweet instrument; his voice fell softly on the ear. He exhibited a lot of warmth in "Jägerlied" and "Heimweh" but we liked him best in the charmingly frisky "Der Gärtner".  Sora Jung was his fine CP.

Soprano Sophia Kaminski employs excellent phrasing and we enjoyed her best in "Der Knabe und das Immlein". We attribute this to the fact that she translated the song herself. There was no mistaking the enhanced connection with that particular text. Her excellent CP was Michal Biel.

Soprano Liv Redpath made a fine showing with the excited "Er ist's" but was even finer in "Das verlassene Mägdlein", a mini drama that always breaks our heart. She caught all the humor and double entendre of "Erstes Liebeslied eines Mädchens". In "An eine Äolsharfe", collaborative pianist Adam Rothenberg magically recreated the sound of a lute on his piano.

Mezzo-soprano Kara Sainz has a distinctive sound that she can open up like a capacious golf umbrella. We loved "An die Geliebte" and in "Nimmersatte Liebe" she sang as if she herself had written the text.  Katelan Terrell was her excellent CP.

As usual, we walked out on air, overjoyed to have heard such fine music-making. The evening was coached by Cameron Stowe.

(c) meche kroop

SEASON OPENER AT JUILLIARD

Ava Nazar, Michal Biel, Piotr Buszewski, Samantha Hankey, Tatum Robertson, Angela Vallone, Cherie Roe, Andrew Harley, and Adam Rothenberg

A new semester begins at Juilliard and we are so happy on two counts. Firstly we get to hear some new singers and collaborative pianists; secondly we get to reconnect with young artists that we enjoyed so much last year.

Last night's Liederabend was a splendid one, mixing up the familiar and the new. It was the first time we heard soprano Tatum Robertson who did a fine job with selections from Samuel Barber's Hermit Songs. Twentieth century American songs may never be among our favorites, but Ms. Robertson sang them so expressively that we are growing in appreciation.

We especially enjoyed the warmth and affection we heard in her voice when she performed "The Monk and his Cat". "Promiscuity" was brief but given outsized significance by vocal coloring and facial expression. In "The Desire for Hermitage", dynamics were used effectively to convey the longing for solitude. Ms. Robertson's instrument is a sweet one and her diction was so fine that not a word was missed.

Collaborative pianist Cherie Roe matched Ms. Robertson's expressiveness in a most supportive manner.

Another singer was new to us, tenor Piotr Buszewski who performed three songs by Henri Duparc. In "Phidylé", he established a nice line in the French style, evincing a fine delicate vibrato. We loved the delicate messa di voce on the word "repose". Otherwise the delivery was on the restrained side.

The mood changed completely with "Le manoir de Rosemonde" which was filled with drama and excitement, echoed by the piano of Michal Biel. We had no trouble understanding every word of Mr. Buszewski's French.

Soprano Angela Vallone had impressed us last year and we were delighted to hear her once again. Her selections were Claude Debussy's Ariettes oubliées, settings of texts by Paul Verlaine, most of which she had translated herself. We do believe that such an exercise gives the singer a better handle on the song.

The sweet sadness of "Il pleure dans mon coeur" gave way to the wild excitement of "Chevaux de bois". Ava Nazar made a fine piano partner, creating the various moods of the songs along with Ms. Vallone, whose French is mighty fine.

The final set on the program comprised a quartet of songs from Gustav Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn, songs of which we never tire. Hearing them sung by mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey, well remembered from last year, was a special treat.

Mahler's music always has a special poignancy, even the humorous and cheerful songs. "Ablösung im Sommer" ostensibly describes the nightingale replacing the cuckoo but has a deeper resonance for us about loss in general, making way for the new. Perhaps our favorite song in this group is "Rheinlegendchen" in which one can discern the same theme. The farmer throws his golden ring into the Neckar when his sweetheart abandons him; but a fish will swallow it and wind up on the King's table where the girl will get it and return to the farmer.  Loss and replacement.

All this was beautifully conveyed by Ms. Hankey accompanied so well by Adam Rothenberg. The two of them captured the painful irony of "Das irdische Leben" in which the mother's stalling leads to her child's death by starvation, a dreadful commentary on the life of the poor. 

The final selection "Wer hat die Liedlein erdacht" allowed Ms. Hankey space for some impressive melismatic embellishment. It was a fine performance needing only one small correction to make it perfect.  More attention needs to be paid to the "ch" sound. So many American singers avoid pronouncing it altogether because they are afraid it will sound harsh. But it is required!

Last night's excellent program was coached by Andrew Harley. The artists are students from the Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts and the Collaborative Piano Department.

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