BIG JIM

Cast and Creatives of Big Jim and the Small-time Investors

We have decided that it's all opera--whether we call it opera theater, theater opera, music theater, or opera theater.  If trained voices are singing unamplified and music is used to tell a story, it's opera.  We have no interest in splitting hairs, no matter what distinctions the creators try to make.

The story told in Big Jim and the Small-time Investors is that of a con man who fleeces people by getting them to invest in "The Dream Machine", apparently some sort of virtual reality that allows people to experience their wildest dreams. Big Jim himself is kinda virtual.  Makes sense, doesn't it?

The story is reasonably well told with Big Jim's appearance inside a frame suggesting a TV or computer, although we think the idea that he is but a hologram could have been gotten across better through props and lighting which were otherwise quite satisfactory.  Tyler Learned is credited for Lighting Design.

Composer Eric Salzman, recently deceased, has written a score comprising violin, viola, cello, keyboard and electronics (opus 87 Piano Quartet) augmented by an accordion and percussion. The instrumental music was well played but if one were hoping to find a melody, one would have had to wait until after the curtain call when we heard a fine rendition of "Happy Birthday" sung by the cast to a member of Salzman's family.

There was not a single mediocre voice onstage.  Not only did everyone sing with fine tone but the diction was uniformly successful. We only wish that the libretto by Ned Jackson had been more "musical". Between the unmelodic vocal line and the unmusical language, we found ourself, as we often do during contemporary works, focusing more on the drama.

We have heard Rodolfo explaining himself to Mimi a hundred times and have never had our attention wander.  Last night when Big Jim (the excellent tenor Scott Joiner, whom we so enjoyed as Bob Cratchit at Gramercy Opera) was explaining himself to Kim (the superb soprano Jessica Fishenfeld whose career has taken off since we reviewed her in 2013 as the Sandman at Manhattan School of Music's Hansel und Gretel) we got no help from the words or the music in understanding either character.

It isn't true that Salzman could not write a melody because he gave a lovely tango to the accordion, well played by Denise Koncelick, and well danced by Ms. Fishenfeld and baritone Aaron Theno, who created the character of Stan, Big Jim's salesman. It's just that the vocal lines were, well, forgettable.

With such lack of melody, we would have to say that we preferred the duets and ensembles which offered interesting harmonies. We liked the duet between Big Jim and Stan about trust, and also the one between Big Jim and his mother, convincingly performed by soprano Darynn Zimmer. We wanted to know more about their relationship but all we learned was that he was taken away from her and raised by his father in a desert. When she learns who her son really is she keels over dead!

The duet between Jim and Kim--"How does it feel?" was a highlight.

The chorus of investors played several roles each and were admirable in their acting as well as singing. We enjoyed soprano Helena Brown who is always larger than life. We started writing about her 5 years ago and always loved her big mezzo soprano sound.

Soprano Allison McAuley is a familiar presence on New York opera stages and always delights us. Jami Leonard is new to us but we hope to hear her lovely soprano again soon.

The three men in the chorus were similarly effective. Baritone Benjamin Bloomfield has been on our radar screen since Lachlan Glen's perusal of all 600+ Schubert songs. We hear he has been having great success as Falstaff. Big guy, big voice! Tenor Alex Frankel and bass-baritone Blake Burroughs were new to us; they handled their roles effectively.

Conductor Victoria Bond wielded her baton with energy and style. Aside from conducting, she is a well known composer in her own right, and is Artistic Director of Cutting Edge Concerts New Music Festival which she founded a couple decade ago.

The work was directed by J. Griffith Brown who kept thing moving along nicely. Scenic Designer Abby Walsh created an effective set with a lot of imagination and apparently small budget.  There were lots of cardboard boxes onstage and ski goggles doubled for virtual reality goggles.

The production was a collaboration between Gramercy Opera, Quog Music Theater, and Welltone New Music, Inc.  The Leonard Nimoy Thalia was the perfect size for a production of this type and the audience that packed the theater seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely. We enjoyed ourself moderately. We are still waiting for a contemporary opera that we'd want to see a second time.

(c) meche kroop

WALL STREET GREED! POLITICAL CORRUPTION! RACISM!

Cast of Bonfire of the Vanities....(Photo credit- Lucas Syed)

Let us begin by saying that we had a helluva good time at Bonfire of the Vanities, a contemporary opera based on Tom Wolfe's 1987 page-turner about Wall Street dishonesty and greed, political opportunism and corruption, and the prevalent racism. Has anything changed in 3 decades? The fact that very little about the story needed to be changed seems to answer the question.

Readers may be astonished that we found so much to like in a contemporary opera sung in English. We don't even need all the fingers of one hand to enumerate the contemporary operas that we enjoyed.  Mostly, we are sitting there gritting our teeth and wishing to escape. So let's take a closer look at the grounds for success. 

First and foremost is Stefania De Kenessey's eclectic music. There is not a whiff of academia about it; it is clearly written to appeal to contemporary musical tastes of the public, not to critics; it is totally accessible and melodic.  One can't help recalling that the titans of the golden age of opera wrote for the PEOPLE and addressed contemporary concerns, whether they were obliged to disguise the theme or not.

The 18-piece chamber orchestra played well under the baton of the excellent Daniela Candillari who successfully captured the mood of the scene, whether serious or funny. There is nothing inherently funny about the themes of the opera but there is usefulness in humor. Art holds a mirror up to society and it is easier to accept what we see when we are able to laugh at ourselves.

So, leavened with some funny lines and absurd situations we are able to laugh at greedy hucksters designing bond issues in which people borrow from themselves (we can't claim to have understood the finance logic), mothers singing lullabies to their children on their iPad's while shopping for luxury goods, rich white folk fawning over and throwing money at black hucksters pleading the cause of philanthropy, furious landlords recording tenants who are abusing rent control, frustrated lawyers looking for guilty white folks to skewer, and alcoholic reporters ready to distort the truth to succeed in tabloid journalism.

Indeed, in the entire story, there is only one honorable character--the one who cannot be found in Mr. Wolfe's book--Tamara Kilmore, an Afro-American attorney who defends the hero Sherman McCoy because SHE BELIEVES HE IS INNOCENT. As sung by the terrific Adrienne Danrich, she is the one character who steps out of our preconceived notions and acts like a fully realized human being.

Randal Turner does an excellent job of portraying the (anti)hero and even evokes sympathy for a man who must lose everything to find his soul. Like so many wealthy people he is unable to really see those outside of his race and class. He has never developed empathy. He just wants to be Master of the Universe. How ironic that he lives on credit and has no money! People who work and save are, in his eyes, objects of contempt.

As his wife Judy, Ann-Carolyn Bird is believable. Will she or won't she stand by her douchebag of a cheating husband??

We particularly enjoyed the characterization of Arthur Ruskin. Benjamin Bloomfield did a superlative job and we were sorry that he was killed off in the first act. In the book he lasted longer, but that was just one of a few alterations of the plot made when the book was adapted as an opera.

As his floozy wife Maria who had sex with anyone and everyone who could serve her interest, we heard Ying Jie Zhou, who was pretty and sexy but whose voice was a bit on the weak side and whose acting was riddled with cliché. The role might have been better cast.

As the cynical Assistant District Attorney who wants to advance his career by nailing a guilty white male, Glenn Seven Allen turned in a superlative performance. We loved his duet with Ms. Danrich. Another excellent characterization was that of Kyle Van Schoonhoven as the alcoholic tabloid journalist Peter Fallow. 

As the hospitalized youth Henry Lamb (sacrificial lamb?) whose injury sparked the racial conflagration, Aaron J. Casey gave a fine performance.  We liked him best in his soliloquy which became a moving ensemble piece.

Kevin Maynor's Reverend Bacon, a characterization that was probably meant to represent Al Sharpton., had no problem bilking the Rich White Folk or the two pastors (Matthew Tuell and Brett Mutter) who gave him money to establish a day care center for Poor Black Kids. He was masterful at pushing the racial guilt buttons. 

Matthew Tuell reappeared heavily disguised as the landlord Kovitzky who garnered a lot of laughs.

What about the libretto? Michael Bergmann, who also directed, wrote short punchy lines that did well in terms of colloquiality and in terms of working with the music. We have observed that ponderous texts in the English language yield incomprehensible music but in this case the short rhyming lines, bordering on doggerel (NOT meant as criticism!) worked extraordinarily well.

Video projections by Doug Underdahl succeeded in creating a New York City atmosphere. Costumes by Christina Hribar were perfect for Reverend Bacon and for the ghetto kids. For the "social X-rays" at the cocktail party and the Wall Street hustlers, they seemed only approximate. Hair and makeup by Ron Wolek were particularly effective for Mr. Bloomfield and Mr.Tuell.

Having updated the work by 30 years, iPads and cell phones could be introduced without detriment and nothing was lost. 

The 3 1/2 hours (including two intermissions) flew by without a single longueur. This is what contemporary opera should be--and that's entertainment! It doesn't matter whether you call it opera or American musical theater. The voices were almost all good and they were unamplified.  And that's more than enough for our satisfaction.

Finally, let us add that the theater at El Museo del Barrio is the perfect size for this type of work, and that the acoustics were fine. In addition to clearly enunciated English (much easier because of the way the language was employed) the excellent titles were useful in case one missed a word here and there.

(c) meche kroop

A BARBER OF A DIFFERENT CUT

David Blalock, Rod Nelman, and Monica Yunus

It comes as no surprise that the innovative On Site Opera has come up with yet another daring idea--The Figaro Project--presenting all three Beaumarchais-based operas over a period of three years. Forget Rossini, forget Mozart, forget Corigliano. The three "alternates" are Giovanni Paisiello, Marcos Portugal and Darius Milhaud.

Paisiello's librettist for Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Giuseppe Petrosellini, hewed rather more closely than did Rossini's librettist Cesare Sterbini to the Beaumarchais comedy; the love interest between Rosina and "Lindoro" (Count Almaviva in disguise) was given more weight than the cleverness of the famed barber. The work premiered in 1782 and was wildly popular. Rossini's version did not enter the opera stage until 1816 and it took a long time for it to supplant the Paisiello. Today, Rossini's version is preeminent and Paisiello's has faded into obscurity.

Thanks to On Site Opera, this oversight has been remedied and we spent a delightful evening revisiting the story with "new" music at a particularly apt venue that added to the enjoyment.  We began the evening sitting in the courtyard of the Fabbri Mansion which dates back a century and has been landmarked. The singers were finely costumed by Candida K. Nichols in garb of that same period.

The sweet-voiced tenor David Blalock as Count Almaviva is nervously trying to serenade Rosina, the cloistered ward of the controlling Dr. Bartolo. Figaro, portrayed by baritone Andrew Wilkowske, is here a musician who has fallen on hard times and has taken up barbering. He and the Count recognize each other and set the plot in motion.

In Paisiello's version there is no band hired for the serenade but we did not feel at all cheated since the music coming from the chamber orchestra  was so delightful. Newly appointed Music Director Geoffrey McDonald (much enjoyed on prior occasions at the White Box Center's Alcina and Gotham Chamber Opera's El Gato con Botas) led a chamber orchestra comprising a string quartet augmented by woodwinds and a guitar which handled the recitativi better than any harpsichord.

At a balcony overhead, the doors parted and the lovely soprano Monica Yunus stepped out. We felt like part of the action, perhaps a neighbor witnessing the serenade. We love the idea of a site-specific work and the Fabbri Mansion worked perfectly well. One could see into the mansion from which emerged the foolish and controlling Dr. Bartolo who is cutting back on Rosina's fresh air privileges. Rod Nelman's hearty bass-baritone was perfect for the buffo role.

Also emerging from the mansion were two servants who provided plenty of comedy with their snuff-dipping, sneezing, and yawning. Baritone Benjamin Bloomfield portrayed Svegliato and later, lavishly bewigged, the notary who marries Rosina and the Count. In this production, the tenor role of Giovinetto was sung by the adorable soprano Jessica Rose Futran who kept us laughing.

When the action moved inside, the audience was ushered into the library of the mansion and seated along the two long sides of the room. Everyone had a good view of the action and many were involved in the performance to a small extent. We felt grateful to On Site Opera for taking us out of the theater and into a place that felt real.  A few props sufficed and the entire affair was subtly and effectively lit by Shawn Kaufman.

The dapper Don Basilio was portrayed by bass-baritone Isaiah Musik-Ayala who lived up to his name. "La Calunnia" was well sung but not nearly as well-developed as Rossini's version.

The scenes were pretty much the same as in the Rossini version and the melodies were charming. Every voice effectively expressed the character and the Italian was so fine that the projected titles were scarcely necessary. Clearly, leaving the concert hall requires no sacrifice of musical or dramatic values. General and Artistic Director Eric Einhorn has earned our admiration and respect. When we could tear our attention away from the action, we glanced around the room and saw rows of smiling faces.  Does one see that at the Met?

We can scarcely wait for next year's Nozze di Figaro, written by Marcos Portugal in 1800 and never before seen in North America. The following year we will get to see La Mère Coupable, written by Darius Milhaud.

If you move quickly you may be able to snag a seat for one of the three remaining performances on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Last night there was not a seat to be had. On Site Opera has only been around for a couple years but word has gotten out. We know quality when we see/hear it.

(c) meche kroop

A HANDS-ON MASTER CLASS

Benjamin Bloomfield, Tito Capobianco, Yuriy Yurchuk

Master classes generally offer the student something of value from the master teacher's experience.  The student may very well recall who taught them what, if it was of value.  But for the observer, all the acquired wisdom seems collective.  Yesterday was different.  Tito Capobianco's hands-on way of teaching was likely unforgettable to everyone who witnessed the transformative nature of his teaching style.

He opened, in true Socratic fashion, getting students to understand the importance of self-awareness, gained only by looking within--not from any formula.  He defined acting as...lying (what we would call pretending)-- being someone else.  He urged the student to develop their imagination, to know the language, to understand that spontaneity comes from motivation and conviction.

This "hands-on" director led each student by physically moving their arms, legs and head while they were singing.  Maria Fernanda Brea became even more believable as Adina when Mr. C. guided her into the demonstration of overcoming shyness.  Stephen K. Foster as Dulcamara was shown how to make his gestures and phrasing more persuasive as he was peddling his nostrums.  Smitha Johnson's portrayal of Antonia was deepened as she wavered between her state of bliss from playing the piano to the sadness of reality.  Yuriy Yurchuk was shown how to make his Dr. Miracle truly frightening to Joseph Brent's Hoffmann and Benjamin Bloomfield's Crespel.  Kirsten Scott was coached how to handle the violin in Nicklaus' violin aria, how to present the instrument to Hoffmann.

But the most stunning piece of coaching was for Javier Bernardo's Nemorino.  "Una furtiva lagrima" is a "stand-and-deliver" piece.  Who would expect him to sing it curled up in fetal position?  Who wouldn't be shocked to hear him sing it with the stored-up anger from Adina's prior rejection?  And yet.  And yet.  We interviewed Mr. Bernardo after the class and he reported that his voice seemed freer than ever before and he felt better able to express the many nuances of Nemorino's emotional state at that moment.

Readers!  The proof of the pudding is in the performance and, having heard both casts over the past month, we can only urge you to catch as many performances as possible to hear as many of these gifted young artists as possible.  Performances will take place at Hunter College with Les Contes d'Hoffmann on 7/11 and 7/13 at 7:30PM and L'Elisir d'Amore on 7/12 at 7:30 and 7/14 at 2PM.  The performances are fully staged, elegantly costumed, and presented in the original languages (French and Italian respectively) with subtitles.  Let's not forget the orchestra and chorus!  Come to honor the great Martina Arroyo.  Come to give yourself a summer treat.  Satisfaction guaranteed!

© meche kroop

SCHUBERT'S UNPUBLISHED SONG CYCLE

Leave it to Schubert&Co. to discover an unrecognized cycle of songs--settings of poetry by Karl Wilhelm Friedrich von Schlegel.  As Co-Artistic Director Lachlan Glen explained, there is every evidence that Schubert intended these settings, composed around the same time as Die Schöne Müllerin, to be a cycle but they remained unpublished and not organized in an appropriate order at the time of Schubert's untimely death.  (One of the problems presented by this collection is the wide range of voicing; Mr. Glen solved this problem by dividing the songs amongst three singers with different ranges.) But we got to hear (and heart) them all last night at Central Presbyterian Church and so did you, if you took our advice.

Soprano Catherine Hancock has a winning bright sound and was pleasantly playful in the opening song "Der Schmetterling"; it is always delightful to see an artist enjoying herself to such an extent. Mezzo Kristin Gornstein has a brilliant upper register that would be the envy of any soprano, but has that chocolatey mezzo richness at the bottom.  We particularly enjoyed the wistful "Das Mädchen".  We would urge singers to pay more attention to the final "ch" and "ig" in their German.  Many American singers shy away from enunciating them and we wonder if it is fear of mispronouncing.  In any event, it is an easy flaw to correct.

Baritone Benjamin Bloomfield has no such problem.  He demonstrated different colors last night than he did the prior night.  We especially enjoyed the interesting mood changes in "Der Schiffer" and the peaceful feeling of "Der Wanderer".

Last night's guest pianist was Michael Brofman of the Brooklyn Art Song Society who distinguished himself by bringing out the Baroque leanings of "Vom Mitleiden Maria" and the references to nature in "Die Gebüsche" and "Im Walde".

(c) meche kroop

SCHUBERTIADE

If you have been attending Schubert&Co.'s lieder recitals then you already know what a gift is being given to New York City's lieder lovers by Artistic Directors Lachlan Glen and Jonathan Ware, plus all the gifted singers who are presenting over 600 Schubert songs over a one year period.

If for some reason you have not yet attended the recitals at  Central Presbyterian Church, it is not too late to start.  There are plenty of recitals to come including one tonight at 8PM and Sunday at 6PM (at a different venue).  If you heard baritone Benjamin Bloomfield last night, you will surely want to hear him again tonight, as we did and will.  Amongst his four selections, we particularly enjoyed a most sensitive rendering of "Im Abendrot", a setting of an exquisite poem by Karl Gottlieb Lappe.  Gone was the gloomy poetry of Goethe; Lappe is nothing if not sunny.

One of our favorite sopranos, Devon Guthrie lent her superlative artistry to a group of songs which were settings of poetry by A.W. Schlegel.  The lengthy strophic setting of "Abendlied für die Entfernte" with its several changes from major to minor gave Ms. Guthrie ample time to show off her warm personality and delicious resonance.

Mezzo Kristin Gornstein was charming in a Claudius poem entitled "Zufriedenheit".  Soprano Charlotte Dobbs has a clear attractive soprano, bringing to life another Claudius poem entitled "Phidile".  Tenor James Baumgardner also sang a Claudius lied entitled "Täglich zu singen".  Herr Claudius may become our new favorite poet. 

Collaborative pianist Lachlan Glen, newly returned from Germany and Switzerland, provided sensitive accompaniment to the singers.  We were so delighted by the informal style of this Schubertiade that two more recitals this weekend do not feel like too many.

(c) meche kroop

MORE SCHUBERT, MORE GOETHE

Goethe

Schubert

Not everything in last night's recital was Schubert's settings of Goethe's poetry but it would be fair to say that the best of the program was just that.  Soprano Devon Guthrie opened the program with a trio of such marvels; our favorite was "Der Schatzgräber" in which the poet learns how to have a good life: "Work by day!  Guests by evening!  Hard weeks!  Merry feasts!"  This sounds like good advice to us! 

The supremely talented Ms. Guthrie was joined by bass-baritone Tyler Simpson for the scene from Goethe's Faust in which an evil spirit does everything in his power to intimidate poor Gretchen; Mr Simpson's large sound was produced in an admirably effortless manner.  He demonstrated comfort in his higher register in a subsequent song.

Soprano Mary Feminear used her agile voice and charming manner to good advantage in "Wer kauft Liebesgötter" and "Der Fischer", two lied we hope to hear again at some point.  The long strophic tale of "Der Gott und die Bajadere" also made a fine impression, reminding us of what a fine storyteller Goethe is.   Baritone Benjamin Bloomfield gave a powerful reading of "An Schwager Kronos" and shone as the defiant "Prometheus"; he is also capable of harnessing this power for some beautiful pianissimo singing. We further enjoyed the sweet countertenor of John Holiday who sang "Geistes-Gruss", "Trost in Tränen", and Meeresstille".

As usual the pianism of Artistic Directors Lachlan Glen and Jonathan Ware was exemplary.  We particularly enjoyed Mr. Ware in "Lied der Anne Lyle" and Mr. Glen's "Ganymed" in which we distinctly heard the nightingale call.

Again, we commend these artists for their total commitment to bringing over 600 Schubert lieder to life.  More to come!

(c) meche kroop