THE MIRACLE WORKER

Justina Lee, Shannon McGinnis, Aaron Crouch, Maya Amir, Keymon W. Murrah, Alexandra Nowakowski, and
Joyce DiDonato (photo by meche kroop)

Guest review by Ellen Godfrey:

April in New York means that opera lovers get to see the wonderful three day event of master classes led by the exceptional and multitalented mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. Most masterclasses take place on only one day, but she has the same four singers for three days in a row on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. In addition, she works with the young singers during the daytime as well. Students are selected through auditions of singers from around the world.

The classes are part of the Weill Music Institute held at the Resnick Education Wing of Carnegie Hall. The sessions are always filled to capacity and many of the audience members return year after year.

Joyce Di Donato is the most original and talented Master Class teacher of all the master classes I have seen over many many years.  She is so supportive of the students; they feel right at home with her.  She has a second sense about knowing what she can do to help each student and she uses a lot of physical exercises to free up the singer’s body and mind. She is like a dog with a bone; she will work on just a few measures over and over again and not give up until the singers succeed in finding their own personal way to sing those notes.

Ms. DiDonato made some opening remarks before the first session began. She emphasized that she is not a pedagogue nor a voice teacher. Her mission is to guide the singers in how to perform, to be artistic and to find the drama in what they are singing. We have the total liberty to cry or to laugh or to be daring. This is a playground, a chance to liberate ourselves and be free.

Ms. DiDonato welcomed the first singer, Alexandra Nowakowski, a Polish- American soprano.  She thanked Alexandra for taking the risk of being the first to  perform on the program. Ms. Nowakowski sang the “Caro Nome” from Verdi’s Rigoletto. She was very confident in her singing, had good resonance, a good trill, a beautiful messa di voce, and good portamenti. Her phrasing was also lovely and she  received a big hand from the audience. It seemed like a perfect performance to us, but there was still work to be done.

Ms. DiDonato asked her if, as Gilda, she felt different this day then the day before when she had encountered a handsome young man as she came out of church. Rigoletto is such a popular opera, everyone knows how it goes and they stop listening…so she was told to compose as though she were Verdi and to search out Gilda’s character.  Ms. Di Donato also told her not to be a coquette, but to have elegance; also to anticipate the beat and not just land on it. After she sang the aria again, the audience was astonished to see how much progress she made.

In the second session, she again sang a lovely “Caro nome.” She was advised to try to discover more in the music and text and to live it as though she didn’t want the moment to end.  Alexandra was quick to catch on to what she was being told and the modifications could be heard. 

She sang a different aria for the third class… “Come per me sereno” from Bellini’s La Sonnambula. Alexandra told us that this was the first time she sang this aria in public.  She sang it beautifully, with gorgeous high notes right on pitch.  Ms. DiDonato was very pleased with it but felt it lacked some fragility and suggested she be bold enough to play with the dynamics more. 

The second singer was the Israeli mezzo-soprano, Maya Amir, coming to New York for the first time. She sang Ottavia’s aria “Disprezzata regina” from Claudio Monteverdi’s opera L’incoronazione di Poppea. She has a lovely mezzo voice and a nice delicacy to her voice, but was told that she sometimes needs to make her voice ugly.  She is the Queen and needs to act as one. Ms. DiDonato worked with just the words of the aria several times to get her to be more dramatic. "You need to show your hate and you must spit out the consonants."  She was told after a lot of repetition of the phrase “Disprezzata regina”  that she was a thousand times better.

For the second session she chose the well-known aria “Lascia la spinta” from Handel’s oratorio Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno,  (I wish young singers would announce the name of their arias and their own name by projecting their voices so that we in the audience can hear their names and what they are performing). She sang with great fragility and softness. She was praised by Ms. DiDonato but she felt that somehow it seemed that Maya didn’t want to be seen or heard. She gave her a water bottle in each hand to use to give her energy as she sang.  After some work on this she told Maya that she had improved and she was coming out more.  For the final session, she sang Ramiro’s aria from Mozart’s La Finta Giardineri ,“E giunge a quest segno.” Ms. DiDonato said she needed more attack on the notes and that more grit is required for this aria. She complimented Maya for getting more out of herself.

For the first session, tenor Aaron Crouch, a native Bostonian, sang “Il mio tesoro” from  Mozart’s Don Giovanni. It was sung with good breath control and good coloratura, but there were a few times when his voice got a bit ugly. He is very personable and communicates well. "Welcome to where you are now", she said; "I’m sure you will be a major talent but you have to be patient and have a plan. We know what we want to sound like but it should be natural; you have an infinite amount of options and colors.  I love what you did this morning…just take some time to digest it".  

He started the second session with “Total Eclipse” from Handel’s Samson, which he also sang in the third session.  He was told that he has a lovely tone and that this would be a good audition aria for him. Ms. DiDonato worked with him a long time on the “e” vowel.  She said, "Don’t think about the sound you are making; you should feel the sensations". He made great progress from the second session and sang this aria beautifully with lots of feeling in the final session. 

Counter-tenor Keymon W. Murrah was the final singer on Friday. He sang Orfeo’s aria “Amour, viens rendre a mon âme ta plus ardente flamme.” from Gluck’s Orfeo. He had no trouble with the coloratura singing and used his breath well. Ms. DiDonato said "I love this piece and how you sing it. I want to hear the words enveloped in your glorious sound. You have so much natural talent but we have to get to the next level; you have to be patient." 

Keymon sang “Where'er you walk” from Handel’s Semele for the second session. Ms. DiDonato worked with him tirelessly on just a few words and getting the sound lighter and easier. She talked about comforting people and making the world a better place.  She then told him to go out and sing to the people individually in the audience. He made eye contact with members of the audience as he sang and sometimes shook their hands.  This was a beautiful moment and the audience gave him a big round of applause. Keymon said that he felt freer to be himself.  In the final session he sang “A quel giorno” from Handel’s Semiramide. He sang with freedom and good range from top to bottom. Ms. DiDonato had him sing with a pencil in his mouth to help his breathing and keep the vowels in place.

Justina Lee and Shannon McGinnis were the wonderful pianists who accompanied the singers.   

All four singers made wonderful progress under Ms. DiDonato. It was also evident that she loves working with these young singers and helping them to pursue their careers. 

MARCELLA SEMBRICH INTERNATIONAL VOICE COMPETITION

WooYoung Yoon, Hubert Zapiór, and Alexandra Nowakowski

What better way to honor the legendary soprano Marcella Sembrich than by nurturing the next generation of singers and inspiring their careers! Under the artistic direction of another wonderful singer Edyta Kulczak (review of her recital can be found through the search function on this blog), this year's competition, sponsored by the Kosciuszko Foundation, drew entries from all over the world. We were fortunate to attend the finals yesterday and were impressed by the quality of the final round singers. If only there were more days in the week we would have happily attended the semi-finals.

Top three prizes were awarded to soprano Alexandra Nowakowski, baritone Hubert Zapiór, and tenor Woo Young Yoon. Each contestant sang two songs; this is a very good idea because versatility is important and there is rarely a single song or aria that can show off the artistry and strengths of any individual artist.

Ms. Nowakowski, heard and admired last year at the Gerda Lissner award recital, has a pleasing vibrato that lent special impact to a song by Paderewski entitled "Gdy ostatnia roza zwiedla". We don't often get to hear Polish songs and enjoyed the way in which the melody followed the sound of the text. Yet, it was the subsequent aria "O luce di quest' anima" from Donizetti's Linda di Chamounix that got us to sit up and take notice. We were impressed by her bright coloratura sound and the accuracy of her fioritura, not to mention her charming stage presence. She received all the applause deserved by her excellent performance.

Mr. Zapiór has captured our attention all year and we have not missed a single opportunity to review his performances. He has made quite a splash in New York City and has been garnering awards left and right. Accompanied by Katelan Trân Terrell, one of our favorite collaborative pianists, he gave an unforgettable performance of Figaro's aria from Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia.

This aria offers the baritone an opportunity to create a memorable character, one who is a man of many parts, as they say, and just a touch full of himself. No two baritones sing it exactly the same way; we loved the way Mr. Zapiór colored his voice differentially when he spoke of the ladies and when he spoke of his gentlemen clients. His eyes sparkled and his gestures were generous. We wanted to become his client that very minute! To add to the interest, the patter part was perfectly realized--rapidly but with no loss of clarity.

Bel Canto is Mr. Zapiór's strong suit and we loved the way he sang "Ah!, per sempre...Bel sogno beato", Riccardo's aria from Bellini's I Puritani. There was legato to spare, some gorgeous melismatic measures, and warmth of tone.

Mr. Yoon dazzled the audience with "O Wie Angstlich", Belmonte's aria from Mozart's singspiel Die Entführung aus dem Serail. We noticed that this artist sets up each aria well. It is clear that he knows what his character is about and what the text has to say. He imbued the aria with plenty of dynamic variety and kept it interesting.

His second selection was "Ah mes amis" from Donizetti's comic charmer Fille du Regiment. He had all the right gestures and readily established the lovability of his character whilst hitting all the high C's. To put a "plus" on this "A" performance, we would like to see him ease up on those high C's and trust them more. And one other little thing--although his French was quite good for the most part, a little tweaking of the pronunciation of the word "main" would be helpful, since the word occurs several times.

The other three singers were superb and we would have hated being in the position of those esteemed judges. Particularly admirable was soprano Hayan Kim whose poignant "Piangeró la sorte mia" from Händel's Giulio Cesare was a real heartbreaker. Her bright expressive instrument was stunning in its legato; in the cabaletta there was astonishing fire. She is a master at using dynamic variation and we loved the embellishments in the return of the slow section.

Moving from the 17th c. to the 20th c. she performed Sophie's aria "Ich bin ever liebden" from Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier. She just melted our heart with Sophie's adorable sweetness! We thought it the perfect role for her.

Megan Moore, new to us, sang a melodic Polish song by Moniuszko-- "Powiedzcie mi", making us wish we understood the language or had a translation. She followed this with "This Journey" from Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking in which the nun asks her god for guidance. Her diction was impeccable and we understood every word. Perhaps, however, singing in English is not the best way to show off a singer's gifts.  

Daniel Miroslaw, heard and enjoyed many times at Juilliard, performed a fine Tchaikovsky song "Blagoslovlyayu vas, lesa" (I bless you forest!) with a deep resonance and interesting texture.  In "La calunnia" from Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia, he created a very pompous Basilio for us, employing comedic skills with the excellent pianist Brent Funderburk echoing the humor in the piano.

Not only do the winners receive generous cash prizes but they also are given recitals in Poland. The audiences in Poland are in for a treat!

(c) meche kroop

GERDA LISSNER 2017 WINNERS RECITAL

Hostess Midge Woolsey applauding Honoree Susan Graham and winners of the Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition of 2017

It is always a major event when we denizens of Planet Opera gather to celebrate. Last night at Zankel Hall the Gerda Lissner Foundation, in association with The Liederkranz Foundation, presented a dozen top prize winners to delight our thirsty ears. This is a tough competition and there were four hundred or so applicants from all over the world, out of which 33 were chosen for awards.

Hostess Midge Woolsey and honoree Susan Graham, the superstar mezzo we all adore, were delightful as always and kept their comments brief. The stunning mezzo-sosprano addressed the importance of these awards to young singers who are between school and major careers. They are facing auditions, competitions, the search for effective management, and church jobs to keep going. They need people to believe in them and support them, and that's where we come in. We in the audience serve to validate them and offer them the confidence to keep going in these scary and uncertain times. And we thought we were just there for the pleasure of listening! It was helpful to be reminded that these award recitals are a two-way street.  Mutual benefit is always good!

So let's all have a big hand for the generous Gerda Lissner Foundationk. Ms. Lissner lived for over a century and her memory lives on through the foundation that was established in 1995. The dedicated President Stephen de Maio has served since 2007. Two years ago a lieder competition was established to foster the survival of the art of the song.

We opine that the judges, the list of whom looks like a "Who's Who on Planet Opera", chose well. Some of the winners were known to us from other competitions or from our local music conservatories, or from the Apprentice Program at Santa Fe Opera. Others were new to us.

We will never tire of hearing soprano Vanessa Vasquez singing "Un bel di vedremo" from Puccini's Madama Butterfly. In addition to a sizable instrument with thrilling overtones , Ms Vasquez has the special ability to get the listener to see what she is singing about, through her eyes. We feel that we know and understand Cio-Cio San through her artistry. Most likely, the pacing and dynamics were carefully worked out, but it felt spontaneous as she built to a passionate finale.

Bass-baritone Andre Courville also has a "signature number" that we have heard and enjoyed before. It makes no difference to us if singers choose to put their own stamp on an aria that we've heard countless times, or whether they choose a little known aria and make it their own, as Mr. Courville did with the "Air du Tambour-Major" from Ambroise Thomas' Le Caid. He entered from the rear of the house and sat on the edge of the stage, making the character completely his own before rising to the occasion, so to speak. He used all his artistry, swooping up and down the register in fine French. We couldn't help wondering whether his Louisiana background contributed to his Gallic charm. In any case, he owns that aria!

Alasdair Kent has also been appearing in (and winning prizes in) lots of competitions. We have come to look forward to his sweet timbre that goes right to the heart. Unlike so many tenors who can't sing at the top of their register without pushing and going for volume, Mr. Kent knows how to float the tone in the most rapturous pianissimo. From Bizet's Les pecheurs de perles, he poured his expressive soul into the aria of the lovesick Nadir "Je crois entendre encore". There was an extended decrescendo at the end through which we held our breath. What incredible breath control! His, not ours!

Mezzo-soprano Emily d'Angelo is yet another young artist destined for success. Her instrument has texture to it and she knows how to get an aria across, She made a fine Rosina in "Contro un cor che accende amore" from Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia in which she created a character so effectively that the embellishments seem to come from within, not pasted onto the vocal line for effect. She was generous with gesture and we thought we learned more about Rosina's personality.

Another mezzo, Suzanne Hendrix, sang Erda's warning to Wotan in Wagner's Das Rheingold--"Weiche Wotan weiche" and she sang it with splendid dynamic control. We heard the making of a contralto in her future and so did our companion, but a voice teacher we spoke with did not agree. In any case, the texture of her instrument is dense and resonant and just right for Wagner.

Perhaps not right or not yet ready for this particular Wagner, bass-baritone Lawson Anderson did his best with "Abendlich strahlt der Sonne Auge", also from Das Rheingold. We have heard Mr. Lawson sing Gounod, Mozart, and Wolf--all beautifully. There was nothing bad about his Wagner but we are not sure why he was asked to sing Wotan. To compete for the Liederkranz, he might have better chosen Wolfram's aria "Oh du mein holder abendstern" from Tannhauser, which we believe would better suit his young voice. Still, the Liederkranz Foundation awarded him a major prize so....just sayin'.

Soprano Alexandra Nowakowski sang the "Bell Song" from Delibes' Lakme with crystalline tone and complete comfort with the vocal acrobatics. Actually, it was a bell-like sound! We couldn't stop thinking what a fine Queen of the Night she would be, although she is already scheduled to sing Pamina. We would surely love to hear her Lucia.

Mezzo-soprano Megan Mikailovna Samarin sang "Deh! Tu, bell'anima" Romeo's final aria at Giulietta's tomb in Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi. Her lovely liquid vibrato was completely exposed in the introductory bars until the piano joined in. She was particularly lovely in the pianissimo passages.

There was more R&J to come, this time from Gounod's Romeo et Juliet. Mezzo-soprando Corrie Stallings sang Stephano's aria "Que fais-tu, blanche tourterelle" with ample expressiveness, creating the vivacious character of a young page. Her French was fine and we liked her vivacity.

We heard still more Gounod in the person of Bass-baritone Joseph Barron who performed "Vous qui faites l'endormie" from Faust. Punctuated by devilish laughter, his expansive delivery grew in impact. He modulated his performance with some admirable phrasing and considerable variety.

Like any good hostess, we have put the "guests" first, having saved our New York City singers for last. What a pleasure to hear soprano Angela Vallone sing the rarely heard "Azael! Azael! Pourquoi m'as tu quittee?" from Debussy's L'enfant prodigue. This maternal lament hasn't been heard since Bare Opera produced the work exactly two years ago. Ms. Vallone gave full measure to the flowing lyric lines which were interrupted by the mother's anguish over her missing son. Her tone was beautifully sustained throughout the pianissimo passages.

And finally, there was the lovely soprano Maria Brea, well known for her stylish performances with Martina Arroyo's Prelude to Performance. She gave a lovely performance of "Chi il bel sogno di Doretta" from Puccini's La Rondine. Her expressive voice soared up to a beautiful top and we enjoyed the finely controlled crescendo.

As usual, excellent piano accompaniment was provided by Arlene Shrut and Jonathan Kelly.

The concert was followed by a cocktail hour and dinner, giving the fortunate guests an opportunity to tell the young artists how highly we value their performances. They are already singing roles around the country and abroad and we foresee some fine futures ahead for every one of them.

(c) meche kroop