NEW YORK OPERA COLLABORATIVE

Suchan Kim, Seung Hyeon Baek, Michael Fennelly, Victor Starsky, Ashley Bell, Augusta Caso, Jordan Pitts, Nicole Guberman, and Jason Tramm

There can never be too many small opera companies in New York City and we felt privileged to attend the stunning debut of New York Opera Collaborative at The National Opera Center last night. A collaboration between Host and Co-Producer Andrea DelGiudice (herself a renowned spinto soprano, voice teacher, and Vocal Director of the Narnia Festival) and Artist Manager and Co-Producer Peter Randsman (whom we recently met judging a vocal competition), this venture brought in such a large audience that extra chairs had to be brought in to accommodate the crowd. Somehow, good news travels fast on Planet Opera.

Most of the cast was known to us and we expected to hear some fine performances in this concert version of Puccini's beloved masterpiece Madama Butterfly. We were not disappointed. Voices were glorious all around and the Italian diction perfectly clear--a good thing when there are no titles to read. Each singer created a believable character--there was nothing generic in any performance.

New York Opera Collaborative shares our mission of keeping opera alive; it was created to sponsor and mentor young artists and to give them a chance to try out new roles in a safe environment. Several of the young artists will go on to perform these roles with other companies like Heartbeat Opera (one of our favorite companies) for example, or as a Studio Artist with Sarasota Opera. We found ourselves wishing that the cast had committed the roles to memory since being on the book presents a barrier between fellow artists and between artist and audience. The dramatic skills each brought to the role was in evidence but a bit difficult to sustain, what with the glancing and page turning.

Soprano Ashley Bell wore the role of Cio-Cio San as well as the kimono and tabi she sported. The intensity of her "Un bel di" was shattering and she brought every skill in her armamentarium to bear on her delivery. The remainder of her performance was marked by a bright clear tone, excellent phrasing, and a wide palette of colors. She convinced us as a naive and hopeful 15-year-old, a deluded bride, an angry woman when challenged, and a resolute and noble figure who refuses to live without honor. It was a bit difficult to imagine her motherly feelings without a child present but the colors of her voice did the trick.

In the thankless role of the arrogant US Naval Lieutenant Pinkerton, tenor Victor Starsky played his role to the hilt. He sang with a lovely legato. Our wish for him is the same as our wish for most tenors--that they learn that sometimes less is more--singing high doesn't mean singing loud. Mr. Starsky sounded the best in the tender passages at a pianissimo level. His transformation to a place of anguish and remorse at the end of the opera was quite moving.

As Suzuki, mezzo-soprano Augusta Caso sang with a lovely rich tone and was quite believable as the voice of reason, whether she was comforting or confronting Butterfly. We have heard Ms. Bell and Ms. Caso sing together on a prior occasion and find them extraordinarily well matched. Their duet was a true high point of the evening.

Our favorite character in the opera is Sharpless--he is the one with "eagle vision", able to predict but helpless to forestall the coming trainwreck. Baritone Seung Hyeon Baek, recently so astonishingly effective in Cardona Opera's Cav&Pag, was able to capture the dignity and humanitarian nature of the man, while producing his customary burnished sound that falls so pleasantly on the ear. Significantly, he sang off the book and more credit to him.

In what amounts to a cornering of the baritone market by Koreans, Suchan Kim did double duty as the angry Bonze and the suitor Yamadori, whom he wisely portrayed as a serious suitor, avoiding all the silly kitsch that has become a boring accretion to the role. In this case, we know that Butterfly does not reject him because he's a fool but because she is faithful to her Pinkerton and still believes he will return to her.

In the role of Goro, we heard Jordan Pitts whose sweet tenor fell on the ear like warm butterscotch. He too avoided overplaying the part and we were able to focus on his mellifluous sound. It is still sounding in our ear.

Soprano Nicole Guberman is new to us and, since Kate Pinkerton has few lines to sing, we can only say that we very much want to hear more of her.

Conductor Jason Tramm, sitting off to the side, was totally immersed in his conducting and seemed to be breathing along with the singers. We always enjoy that kind of involved conducting.

At the piano, we had Michael Fennelly whom we have heard countless times but not in a full length opera. He is so noticeably involved with both the score and the singers that there was never a lapse of support. He seemed to know exactly when to exert full power on the keyboard and when to lighten up and give the singers plenty of room. We were able to hear subtleties in the score that we never noticed with a full orchestral reading. Such nuance is appreciated.

In spite of the music stands, this was one of the most affecting performances of Madama Butterfly we have heard. What an auspicious debut! We count ourself in for this company's future performances.

(c) meche kroop

COMMEDIA DELL'ARTE LIVES ON

The cast of DIVAria Productions'  Don Pasquale

This is the third time we have had the pleasure of reviewing a DIVAria production and we left thinking that with directors like Anton Armendariz Diaz on "team opera", we do not have to worry about opera's future. 

Yes, we know that The Metropolitan Opera is trashing its beloved productions and losing subscribers en masse.  Yes, we know that the reborn New York City Opera is floundering due to poor artistic choices and inadequate marketing. Yes, we know that DiCapo Opera went under.  But, big but here, New York is replete with small companies that are redefining opera for new audiences with fresh ideas and presenting them in unexpected venues.

Last night we attended a production of Donizetti's 1843 opera buffa Don Pasquale that had excellent musical values and high spirits to spare, delighting the youthful audience and this reviewer.  Musical Director Fabio Bezuti performed at the piano in a reduced score which included two violins and a cello. The small group captured all of Donizetti's effervescence right from the overture.

Mr. Diaz' direction went a long way toward making up for the lack of titles. With our minimal Italian vocabulary and the dramatic skills of the cast, we knew exactly what was happening. Additionally, there was a narrator invented by Mr. Diaz with dialogue written by himself and Andrew Bell. This was no ordinary narrator but the chief servant in Don Pasquale's home who gossiped about the crazy situation and filled in the points of the plot. This non-singing role was taken by Christen Mathern who did a swell job.

The singing was uniformly up to snuff. Arias, duets, trios and quartets all came off well. Voices were well balanced in every case.

In the title role we had Jorge Ocasio whose resonant bass and fine comic timing excelled. His interpretation of the role was short on "nasty" and "pathetic", rather evoking sympathy for this poor old man who wants to recapture his youth by marrying a young woman. In an invented scene, choreographer Jody Oberfelder had him dancing in fantasy with a quartet of young women in poodle skirts, emphasizing the memories an old man would have of his youth. His performance was the very embodiment of Pantalone.

As Norina, Ashley Bell sang with bright coloratura.  This is the third time we have reviewed her performances and remain impressed. In keeping with the commedia dell'arte origins of the libretto, the acting was over the top. In a plot to get around the "foolish old man" character, she is obliged to masquerade as Sofronia, a shy convent girl who changes into a hellion once the marriage contract is signed. Ms. Bell handled the transformation well with some help by costume changes. She was the embodiment of the wily Columbina.

The "Scapino" role of Dr. Malatesta was wonderfully sung and acted by baritone Jim Wright who conveyed chicanery to spare, and the "Pierrot" role of Ernesto, Don Pasquale's nephew, was well sung by tenor David Guzman. This scheming trio treated Don P. so badly that our sympathies were shifted toward the poor old man.

The original 19th c. librettist Giovanni Ruffini removed his name from the score, so distressed was he by Donizetti's dominance. But the story is a variation of a story dating back to 16th c. Italy and associated with carnevale. And so, in keeping with tradition, Mr. Diaz has interpreted the tale in his own fashion. That it spoke to our need to see ourselves in all of our clichéd glory was made evident by the abundant laughter and applause.

Aren't we all a bit foolish? a bit devious? a bit gullible?

(c) meche kroop

LA DOLOROSA

Anton Amendariz

Amaya Arberas

Ashley Bell

Eliam Ramos

José Daniel Mojica

We always jump at the chance to hear zarzuela; when we were alerted to a production of José Serrano's La Dolorosa we knew there was no place we would rather be on Saturday night.  That it was being produced by a small company heretofore unknown to us--Divaria Productions--was an added inducement.  That one of the four leading roles was being performed by Amaya Arberas whom we reviewed twice before (see archive) sealed the deal.

The somewhat abridged production was mounted in collaboration with the Spanish company La Rioja Lirica and was charmingly introduced by Mr. Angel Capellán from the Spanish consulate who discussed this uniquely Spanish art form, filled with vitality and passion.  For those readers unfamiliar with zarzuela, it is the Spanish counterpart to operetta and was very popular in Latin American countries from about the mid 19th c. to the mid 20th c.  The plots can be funny or tragic but the music is always glorious.

La Dolorosa is a love story--young innocent love between Perico (tenor Anton Armendariz Diaz) and Nicasia (soprano Amaya Arberas) and ambivalent mature love between Dolores (soprano Ashley Bell) and Rafael (José Daniel Mojica).  Dolores and Rafael were sweethearts from the same village where she was seduced and abandoned by someone else.  The broken-hearted Rafael had come to a monastery where he is painting a portrait of the Virgin who has Dolores' face.

Fate has arranged that Dolores has wandered far from home with her newborn and has collapsed on the road where she is rescued by a local couple, José and Juana.  Perico, Rafael's apprentice, recognizes her resemblance to the portrait. The remainder of the story is how Rafael comes to realize that his motivation to protect this woman and her baby is greater than his devotion to spiritual pursuits.  The Prior (Eliam Fuentes) is a humanist and accepts Rafael's departure. We cannot help wondering how the Spain of 1930 reacted to such a rejection of religion and embracing of humanism.

The performances were, in every case, first-rate.  Soprano Ashley Bell has a fine full voice that is strong in the lower register and brilliant in the upper register.  She was convincing as the dishonored woman and sang especially well in a glorious duet with Rafael in Act II.  She is also the President of Divaria Productions.

Soprano Amaya Arberas has a bright resonant instrument which she uses well.  She was particularly charming in a duet with Perico in which they plan their wedding.

Tenor José Daniel Mojica has a sweet generous voice that is filled with sazón, the Spanish equivalent of the garlic in the voice of an Italian tenor.  He created a sympathetic portrait of a man unable to forget his lost love and struggling with his own ambivalence --religious obligation versus a secular and humanistic life.  He was particularly moving in his confessional aria towards the end; this would make a wonderful stand-alone concert aria.

Tenor Anton Armendariz Diaz made a fine Perico, the none-too-bright assistant to the painter Rafael.  Not only does he have a pleasing voice but he also served as director.

The only low voice in this zarzuela was that of El Prior, played by Eliam Fuentes whose bass-baritone filled the bill nicely.  His compassionate demeanor was in counterpoint to that of the rigid close-minded Lucas (non-singer Ngo Okafor) who thought Rafael was under the influence of Satan.

The work was performed in the magnificent basilica of the original St. Patrick's Cathedral in Soho, dating to the early 19th c.  This historic landmark has a major asset--the only large 19th c. pipe organ left in the U.S. in its original space.  Its 2500 pipes, expertly  played by Jared Lamenzo, provided much of the accompaniment with pianist Marnie Laird supplying the remainder.

The acoustics of the basilica were kinder to the singers than to the actors, although Rafael Abolafia came across well as José.  As Juana his wife, Nana Gouvea was excessively histrionic and her words were swallowed up in the vast space.

Special mention must be made of the  Basilica Schola which served as the chorus under the direction of Joshua South.