PUENTES SI! MUROS NO!

Pablo Zinger, Linda Collazo, Maria Brea, and Shaina Martinez

At a time when our country has become divided over so many issues, it is especially valuable spending time on Planet Opera where the population unites to celebrate beauty, talent, and artistry.

Last night we celebrated Latin American vocal music with Voces Unidas: Por un mundo en armonía, a worthy organization founded by Maria Brea, Linda Collazo, and Cynthia López Pérez, that provides the community with charitable events and includes artists from several different Latin American countries. Voces Unidas donated 75% of the proceeds to Raíces, a non-profit organization that provides legal services for families that are separated.

The superb vocal artistry we heard included songs both serious and "popular" (whatever that means); the program was punctuated by brief examples from the singers outlining how their families came to the United States, often impoverished, and how they thrived here, producing children who have achieved success and recognition in many fields, not just the field of music.

Long before this concert we had felt nothing but anger towards those political forces that would keep refugee families from entering and would separate children from their parents. Singers speculated about what a loss there would have been if those draconian measures had been applied to their own families. Our nation was different then and we hope that we will return to the former welcoming condition as soon as we can effect a political change.

As far as the singers and the songs, we have nothing but a glowing report  to offer.  Every song was so affecting that we are unable to choose our favorites. The one quality that we observed in every singer was an intense dedication to the music, without extraneous or artificial effects. There was a way of honoring the composer and the lyricist that had us feeling the same intensity that the singer appeared to be feeling.

María Brea, who comes  from the slums of Venezuela, used her charming personality to bring to life the lyrics of "Me llaman la primorosa" from the zarzuela El barbero de Sevilla by Gerónimo Jiménez. There was a subtle change of mood in the central section announced by the piano, which was in the good hands (so to speak) of Pablo Zinger. We heard some lovely descending scale passages and a lengthy vocalise when words were insufficient to portray the feelings.

The popular "Bésame mucho" by Consuelo Velázquez required the blending of a bit of chest voice without any loss of classical technique and was given a jazzy piano accompaniment.

Ms. Brea also sang a duet with Ms. Collazo, "Niñas que a vender flores"  that delighted us with its delicious harmonies. The composer, Francisco Asenjo Barbieri, wrote this zarzuela, Los Diamantes de la corona in the 19th c., our favorite period.

We also got to hear Ms. Collazo sing "Nana", the beautiful lullaby written by Manuel de Falla as part of Siete Canciones Populares Españolas, and what a lovely tender reading she gave it!  We experienced a completely different side of her artistry as she performed "Tango de la Menegilda" from Federico Chueca and Joaquín Valverde Senior's La gran via, in which she portrayed a female thief with a winning personality.

We were somewhat less than enthusiastic about the performance of the "Habanera" from Bizet's Carmen. The problem was not with the singing but rather with the piano arrangement provided by Mr. Zinger, "in the style of Astor Piazzola". This would have been very entertaining on its own, as would have been Ms. Collazo's singing; the problem was the disjunction between the piano and the voice; there was no support for the vocal line.  We might call this an interesting experiment that failed.

Shaina Martinez is another singer of great gifts. From a Peruvian background, she offered a song in Quechua, a language spoken by her abuela. Peruvian composer Theodoro Valcárcel wrote "Allqamari kanki" in the early 20th c. and the words and music fell lightly on the ear.

On the more familiar end of the spectrum, she sang Augustín Lara's  "Granada" with arresting expressiveness and a beautifully expanding upper register. She must adore this song because it seemed to come right from the heart.  The same intensity was applied to  "Hija del amor" from the zarzuela Cecilia Valdés, by the 20th c. Cuban composer Gonzalo Roig.

Two excellent singers from the Boston Conservatory did not make the curtain call because they had to get back to Boston. But the two made a fine impression with their performances.   

Cynthia López Pérez performed "Somewhere" from Bernstein's West Side Story.  Informed by the rest of the program, this song acquired a new significance as we  thought about finding a place for refugees.  Significantly, this artist's family comes from  the  Texas/Mexican border.  Down with walls!

Her performance of  "De mi amor" from Felipe Villanueva's  Keofar  revealed  a beautifully free and full upper register.

We were astonished to learn that the terrific tenor on  the  program,  Daniel Lugo, is only 20 years old!    Short of years but tall of talent , he dazzled our ears  with the oft performed "No puede ser"  from Pablo  Sorozábal's La taberna del puerto.  He further delighted us with the popular Mexican song  "Estrellita" by Manuel Ponce.  It is so exciting to hear a singer of such promise at a very early stage of his career.  

All of the singers we heard are under 30!   Very impressive indeed!  The program ended with María  Grever's "Júrame", sung by Ms. Brea, Ms. Collazo, and Ms. Martinez in perfect harmony. And that's what it's all about!

We hope there will be more recitals to come!

© meche kroop

NOCHE DE SAN JUAN

Pablo Castillo, Rosa Betancourt, Laura Virella, José Heredia, and Keith Chambers

As explained in a most welcoming introduction by Laura Virella, La Noche de San Juan is a festive Latin American holiday, almost coinciding with the Summer Solstice--an amalgam of a Catholic holiday and a pagan celebration, involving bonfires and other festivities.

We were overjoyed to share this celebration (without bonfires) at the Inwood Art Works Culture Hub, a very new community center for the arts in Inwood. It is so new that the large crowd attending this special evening of art song and zarzuela was rather unexpected. We believe this to be Inwood's first cultural center and it is already wildly successful. "If you build it they will come."  And come they did!

We have noticed that along with the many small opera companies carving out niches for themselves, there has also been a movement toward bringing the arts to the various neighborhoods. When we first began writing, our world centered around Lincoln Center. Now we find ourselves traveling to the farthest reaches of Brooklyn and Manhattan, seeing new faces, new neighborhoods, and new venues.

The evening was an unqualified success. Readers know how highly we prize Latin American music and the program comprised both art song and selections from a zarzuela that we plan to produce next year in its entirety--Federico Moreno Torroba's 1932 Luisa Fernandez.

Three of the singers were known to us as was the accompanist Maestro Keith Chambers, who seems to be everywhere these days. He pulled some interesting sounds from an electronic keyboard.

Mezzo-soprano Laura Virella possesses a lovely expressive voice and a passion for Latin American art song that gives her delivery a jolt of drama, bringing each song to vivid life. She opened the program with a trio of songs about the sea by Jack Délano, settings of texts by female poets. 

The marriage of music to text in these mid 20th c. songs was pure delight, the likes of which we have not observed in 20th c. songs from our own country. It is obvious that Latin American composers were not taken in by weird academic movements that took songwriting into areas devoid of melody! These songs are delightfully tuneful!

Soprano Rosa Betancourt has a brightness in her instrument that was employed to highlight the cheerful beginning of Rafael Hernánez' "Lamento borincano" but there was an interesting switch to the minor mode when the hopeful merchant fails to find customers and pathos is heard. Mr. Chambers provided some lovely arpeggi in the left hand.

For her performance of Campos' "Felices días", she was accompanied by Ms. Virella playing the Guiro, a gourd with ridges that is stroked for a raspy sound. This song is typical of the "Danza", a turn of the 20th c. type of song that elevated folk music to the level of art song. (Think Stephen Foster).

Tenor José Heredia has a generosity and ease of sound that brought great passion to "Granada", written by Mexican composer Agustín Lara in 1932. He never forces his high notes and displayed a lovely messa di voce.

Ms. Virella returned for a quartet of songs by Puerto Rican composer Narciso Figueroa, written in 1976. We doubt that there is anything in the Puerto Rican song literature that Ms. Virella does not know. Her charm is like a perfume that scents everything she sings. We loved the romantic "Madrugada" and the regretful "Muerta". "Vida criolla" is a song in praise of ignorance and the simple life.

"Amapola" by Spanish composer José María Lacalle García, which was composed in 1920, is as recognizable as "Granada", a wonderful serenade. To hear Mr. Heredia sing it was a thrill. He easily assailed the "money note" without a hint of pushing.

Chilean Baritone Pablo Castillo closed the first half of the program with a 1965 composition by his countryman Vicente Bianchi, the setting of a text by Pablo Neruda called "Antes de amarte", followed by a tango by Argentinean Astor Piazzolla called "Los pájaros perdidos". Mr. Castillo has a lovely resonant sound and sang expressively in these songs which bore a less folklike theme and a more sophisticated text.

The second part of the program was devoted to zarzuela, the art form that has so captured our interest.  Torroba's Luisa Fernanda is one of the best and the four singers captured the essence of the story with a series of excerpts. Like all great stories, it involves a love triangle against a background of revolutionary politics in 1868, just prior to the revolution against Queen Isabel II, who will be dethroned.

The heroine Luisa (Ms. Virella) is fed up with her off-and-on lover, Javier, a military man (Mr. Heredia). She is courted by the wealthy older landowner Vidal (Mr. Castillo) who knows she loves Javier but is hopeful. Meanwhile, the Duchess Carolina (Ms. Betancourt) has her eye on Javier for reasons as political as they are romantic. She also has designs on Vidal who doesn't quite trust her.

This zarzuela has it all--a compelling story, unforgettable melodies, comedy, romance, pathos, and politics. At times we heard tunes that sounded downright Neapolitan. No wonder this zarzuela has seen over 10,000 performances.  That is NOT a misprint!

The evening closed with an excerpt from a different zarzuela of the same period--"El último romántico" by Sotullo and Vert. We heard Mr. Heredia perform the aria "Bella enamorada", a perfect way to end a glorious evening.

(c) meche kroop

OLE!

Sharon Isbin and Isabel Leonard

Last night at Zankel Hall, two world-renowned artists graced the stage and demonstrated all the magic of Spanish music.  If you came for emotion, you got it.  If you came for gorgeous sound, you got it.  If you came to feel the multi-cultural aspect of music from Spain, you got it.  If you came for glamour, you got it. 

As we have pointed out, Spain is geographically part of Europe. Almost. Sharing a border with the south of France, it juts out into the Atlantic, almost kissing Morocco. Spain is culturally its own, with strong influences from N. Africa dating back to the period of Moorish domination.

Much of the music coming out of Spain in the 19th and 20th c. bears echoes of flamenco.  It is surprising but much of the music we associate with guitar was originally written for the piano.

We have often written about zarzuela, the Spanish version of operetta, but last night's recital contained no arias, only art songs written by Spain's best composers. The recital was unique in that there was no collaborative piano, rather a collaborative guitar played by the world class guitarist Sharon Isbin who seemed to breathe in tandem with Ms. Leonard and whose solos astonished us with their virtuosity.

Nothing astonishes us about Isabel Leonard whose spectacular mezzo-soprano sheds magic on whatever she chooses to sing. We have often written about the rich overtones of her voice which lend it a most particular texture. Her stage presence is stunning but accessible and her phrasing always makes artistic sense.

She has a long intense involvement with Spanish music. Let us begin at the end when Ms. Leonard finally discarded the music stand which had impaired our connection for most of the evening.  More on that later.

Manuel de Falla wrote his Siete canciónes populares españolas in the early 20th c.  Ms. Leonard really connected with the audience and used her innate sense of drama to wring every ounce of color and change of mood from the seven songs. We particularly enjoyed the playful "Jota" in which Ms. Leonard conveyed the secret passion of the young lover; Ms. Isbin's guitar contributed the texture.

The intense "Polo" was so deeply felt that we experienced a pain in our very own heart. That's what a song should do for us!

In the remainder of the program, Ms. Leonard used a music stand, even for music which we know she knows well. Judging by the applause which interrupted every set after each and every song, the rest of the audience didn't care.  But we did.

This is our own personal bugaboo. When a singer breaks contact to look down or to turn the page, we feel the fine thread of attachment snap and we then retreat to reading the translation, instead of feeling the connection. The singer may very well be totally involved with the material but not with the audience.  We want to feel what they feel about the song and we lose it.

This deficit was experienced all through the marvelous and varied program. We love Federico Garcia Lorca's Canciónes españolas antiguas, settings of folk songs, strangely presented in two sets separated by two guitar solos. Ms. Leonard is a gifted storyteller and engaged the audience with her easy natural introductions. We particularly enjoyed "Romance de Don Boyso" and "Los mozos de Monléon" which allowed the artist room for a dramatic reading over the voice of the guitar.

Two selections from Xavier Montsalvatge's Canciónes negras, arranged by Ms. Isbin, were performed, of which our favorite was the tender lullaby "Canción de cuna para dormir a un negrito" which our companion found to be racist. (Well, yes, but the De Falla songs are sexist--both products of their time and place and, in our opinion, beyond criticism).

A special treat was a composition by Joaquín Rodrigo. We have long loved his 1939 Concierto de Aranjuez but never knew that he extracted the Adagio and that his wife wrote text for it, a nostalgic piece of poetry in French. Victoria Kamhi was a Sephardic Jew, born in Turkey, and a pianist who gave up her career to assist her blind husband.  So, we don't know why it is in French but we loved Ms. Leonard's French diction.

A contemporary work by the American composer Richard Danielpour was commissioned by Carnegie Hall and saw its première on the program as well. The text is based on the poetry of Rumi, the 13th c. poet whose life story is filled with fascinating detail.

Writing in what was then the Persian Empire, presumably in Farsi, the poet wrote of love and spirituality. Raficq Abdulla's translation, while considered one of the finest, did nothing for us. Perhaps they are more interpretations than translations.  Perhaps they have lost much in the translation.

"Listen" seemed to be shoehorned into rhymed couplets and came across as doggerel which did not scan at all. Although we loved the music as played by Ms. Isbin, it seemed to us that it missed the eroticism of the second two selections--"This Night of Love" and "Your Beauty".

We did find the work far more listenable than most contemporary music, and Ms. Leonard's English diction lacked for nothing. The most musical part was when she sang on the syllable "La"; it probably would have sounded a lot better in Farsi! It is our opinion that before setting a text, a composer should think about whether the text needs music to enhance it!

We will not close without casting compliments on Ms. Isbin. We heard two late 19th c. masterpieces--Enrique Granados' "Andaluza" from his 12 danzas españolas and Isaac Albeniz' Asturias, arranged by Andres Segovia--written originally for piano. Ms. Isbin's powerfully rasqueadas instilled the pieces with flamenco flavor.

The familiar melodies are marked by strong bass notes with a fine filigree. We definitely were feeling the "gypsy soul" and recognized the guitarist as an artist who communicates what she herself is feeling. Her playing involved subtle changes of dynamics and technical mastery of the highest order.  In Francisco Tárrega's Recuerdos de la Alhambra, the tremolo in the right hand called forth the vision of the plashing fountains.

As encore, we heard the Mexican composer Agustín Lara's 1932 "Granada" which brought the audience to their collective feet. We felt magnificently entertained.

We cannot end without returning to our comment about glamour. If an artist mentions her designer we feel called upon to comment. Austin Scarlett provided one hit and one miss.  The beautiful Ms. Leonard sported a red strapless gown that spilled into a pool on the floor; it was breathtaking. The lovely Ms. Isbin had a gown that appeared matronly, unbecoming, and uncomfortable.

(c) meche kroop

HAIL CÉSAR!

César Delgado

How many wonderful Mexican tenors can you name? Although Placido Domingo was born in Madrid, he was vocally trained in Mexico. Rolando Villazon's debut sent an earthquake through the opera world.  Javier Camarena actually had an encore in La Cenerentola last year at the Metropolitan Opera, a very rare event.  Could César Delgado be the next big discovery? After hearing his recital at Mannes this afternoon, celebrating his being awarded a Professional Artists Diploma, we consider him a strong front-runner.

We first heard Mr. Delgado at the Hispanic Society of America some months ago (review archived) and couldn't wait to hear him again. They must have some excellent training in Mexico; Mr. Delgado received his Artists Diploma from the Sinaloa Opera Program. 

 

He opened this afternoon's program with Tata Nacho's "Intima" and one could tell immediately that his instrument is an impressive one.  It filled the hall where a lesser voice might not have cut through Alla Milchtein's enthusiastic accompaniment on the piano. "Despedida" by Maria Grever followed and it became evident that Mr. Delgado knows how to express Latin passion. We feared we would overdose on romance.

"Mario's Farewell" from Daniel Catán's last opera Il Postino, made famous by Placido Domingo, was given a winning and moving performance. The Mexican section ended with "Dime que sì" by Esparza Otero. Mr. Delgado can end a song in a burst of passion or with a delicate diminuendo.

The second half of the program showed what Mr. Delgado could do in other languages and rest assured there was no loss of involvement in the material. In charmingly accented English, he expressed exactly what one would have wishes from Tony's aria "Maria" from Bernstein's West Side Story.

Rachmaninoff's "Spring Waters" clearly showed how Russian passion and Spanish passion are akin to one another. Lehar's "Dein ist mein ganzes Herz" from Das Land des Lächelns showed good facility with German.  "Questa o Quella" from Verdi's Rigoletto gave Mr. Delgado an opportunity to change from a tender romantic to an arrogant Duke; he succeeded admirably.

The closing number, the familiar "No puede ser" from Sorozabal's La Tabernera del Puerto came at just the moment when we were thinking about zarzuela. We can never get enough vocal music in the Spanish language. We have been hearing it on programs more and more recently. Our fondest dream would be to see a complete zarzuela performed. Is anyone listening?

A sincerely wished-for encore delighted us no end--Agustin Lara's "Granada", calling forth our memories of having visited the Alhambra. Good music will do that to you!

Mr. Delgado is off to Italy where he will sing the role of Nemorino. We don't doubt that he can lay aside his confident manner to portray the shy hero. We wish we could be there to witness.

(c) meche kroop