A ROYAL CELEBRATION

Curtain Call at the George London Foundation Celebration Concert

The 45-year-old George London Foundation has partnered with The Morgan Library and Museum for the past 20 years and has succeeded in three important areas: they have supported no less than 400 singers at the early stages of their careers; they have built a devoted audience of opera lovers; and they have honored the legacy of bass-baritone George London.  

All of this has been accomplished under the stewardship of Nora London who was honored last night by a gala recital, performed by opera royalty, some of the brightest stars of the operatic firmament. It is a wonderful tribute that recipients of the foundation's awards returned to honor Mrs. London with performances that left us dazzled by their brilliance.

The evening was hosted by the retired Canadian tenor Ben Heppner who also ended the evening by treating the audience to Weatherly and Woods' 1916 song "Roses in Picardy", sung with touching depth of feeling and dynamic variety. It was a great treat to hear him sing again.

We tried to define what made this concert stand out above all the superb concerts we have seen this year.  What did all these luminaries have in common? Other than their artistry, dedication, and commitment, we sensed a joy in singing. Most likely they chose material that they loved to sing; they appeared to be having a wonderful time. 

Christine Brewer has a huge soprano which she scaled to the size of the hall and the tenderness of the songs selected from Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder. We have heard her "huge" and we have heard her "funny", but we have never before heard her "tender". Collaborative pianist Craig Rutenberg, by all accounts an engaging presence, matched her delicacy perfectly in "Der Engel" and "Träume".

Later, she sang the stirring "My Long Life" from Virgil Thomson's The Mother of Us All, paying tribute to Susan B. Anthony by making every word and phrase count in what could be taken as a lesson in English diction for young singers. She closed the program with a tribute to Mrs. London--"If I Could Tell You" by Firestone.

Soprano Sondra Radvanovsky gave a riveting account of "Song to the Moon" from Dvorak's Russalka. Her enormous voice was just bursting with overtones and her intense involvement with the emotional content shook us to the core. 

Later in the program, with mezzo-soprano Susanne Mentzer, she performed "Mira, o Norma" from Bellini's opera of the same name. There was maximum sympathetic impact from these two incredible voices harmonizing in sound and spirit. Actually, we perceived the performance as a trio with Mr. Rutenberg's piano weaving in, around, and under the vocal lines.  It was thrilling.

Ms. Mentzer delighted the audience with "Sein wir wieder gut" from Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos--a real tribute to music as a "heilige kunst".

When soprano Ailyn Pérez took the stage, the electricity in the room was palpable. With consummate Latin fire, she performed a quartet of songs by the 20th c. Spanish composer Fernando Obradors.

"La mi sola, Laureola" began with an a capella passage for the soprano and then the gentle filigree of the piano entered. We became entranced. By the time the pair got to "Del cabello mas sutil" we were melting into the seat. "El vito" is a folk song which Obradors set in wild rhythm and it was performed with incredible vitality.  Even the gifted but unassuming collaborative pianist Ken Noda caught fire!  

This Latin charmer showed another side of her artistry with the verismo aria "Ebben! Ne Andrò Lontana" from Catalani's La Wally.

The three male singers were all bass-baritones, as was George London!  It is one thing to hear established stars up close and personal for the first time. One doesn't know what they sounded like when they were young and promising, although we are sure there were at least a few people in the room who heard James Morris and Eric Owens when they were starting out.

 It is quite another thing to hear someone young enough that we have been able to observe the growth of their artistry.  Such is the case with Brandon Cedel who just keeps getting better and better. Even at the very lowest part of his range, his voice is exciting. But there is no sacrifice of flexibility as he demonstrated in Count Rodolfo's aria "Vi ravviso, o luoghi ameni" from Bellini's La sonnambula.

Later, he performed the folksong "Boatmen's Dance", set by Aaron Copland; the performance was marked by lively personality, good variety of dynamics, and such fine English diction that not a single word was lost.  It was fun!  And just looking at Mr. Noda's face told us that he was sharing the fun and showing it through his nimble fingers.

Another bass-baritone to perform was Eric Owens, who always gives a splendid performance. Don Ruy Gomez de Silva's aria "Infelice! E tuo credevi" from Verdi's Ernani was given an expansive reading with Mr. Owens employing all the depth and breadth of his instrument in a show of intimidating aristocratic force.

His second choice was the "Chanson à Boire" from Ravel's song cycle Don Quichotte à Dulcinée. His bibulous performance began while Mr. Rutenberg was still shuffling the pages of the piano score and the audience loved it.  

A medley of songs from M. Leigh's Man of La Mancha was so magnificently performed by the venerable James Morris that we were finally able to "accept" him as someone other that Wotan. We never had the opportunity to hear him in his youth but we heard him as Wotan so many times that we had trouble imagining him portraying any other character.  But his rich voice and compelling stage presence made him totally convincing as Don Quixote. We loved it!

There was one charming bagatelle that we must mention.-- Mr. Rutenberg on the treble side of the piano and Mr. Noda on the bass side performing Tchaikovsky's own arrangement of "The Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy" from The Nutcracker Suite.

What a celebration! A celebration of George London's legacy, a celebration of a mutually beneficial partnership, a celebration of Nora London's dedication, a celebration of vocal and pianistic merit, a celebration of "heilige kunst".

(c) meche kroop

GEORGE LONDON RECITAL

Craig Rutenberg, Christine Brewer, Dominic Armstrong

Yesterday was the final George London Foundation for Singers recital of the season and a fine recital it was.  This series pairs younger artists with more senior ones, by which we mean those who have recently won an award from the Foundation with those who were given awards some time ago.  In this case, Dominic Armstrong was a 2013 winner and Christine Brewer won her award "at an early stage in her career".

Mr. Armstrong appeared and sounded nothing like a "junior partner".  He is a highly polished performer, relaxed and poised onstage in a way that allows him to serve the music.  He has a stunningly clear tenor with beautiful resonance and an enviable musicality, the kind of artist for which we have no reservations.  Apparently, the rest of the opera world thinks so too as his "dance card" is filled.

Ms. Brewer has a ginormous soprano that thrills and fills the hall with its particular texture.  What we like most about her is her comic style.  We greatly enjoyed her performance in the role of Lady Billows in Britten's Albert Herring at the Santa Fe Opera in 2010 and wrote about it (on a different website).  We have not heard her since and were delighted to hear her again yesterday.

Both artists were accompanied by the illustrious Maestro Craig Rutenberg who made an Idina Menzel-type gaffe when introducing Ms. Brewer.  She responded with gracious good humor.  And let it be said that that was the only false note in Mr. Rutenberg's performance; he played with consummate artistry and subtlety.

Mr. Armstrong opened the program with Beethoven's lengthy  "An die ferne Geliebte" which he sang in perfect German.  (Could this be Beethoven's most melodic work?)  Like a painter with a full palette, he never ran out of colors.  Longing for the beloved gave way to passion, angst and joy.  His phrasing was impeccable and, even in passages where Beethoven gives the singer the same note repeated many many times, he invested each with individuality.  And he knows when to stretch a phrase.

Some settings of Shakespeare's texts by Roger Quilter were sung with every word given its full measure.  We were very charmed by a lagniappe--a song not on the program--a setting of a Thomas Moore poem "'Tis sweet to think".

We were not as charmed by a group of sonnets by Michelangelo in which the flowery Italian text seemed to be at odds with Britten's music.  But we did notice that Mr. Armstrong's Italian was as perfect as his German.

Ms. Brewer sang three songs by Richard Strauss.  The walls themselves seemed to tremble when she sang in the upper register, although there is a somewhat harsh metallic edge at the very top.  There was a magnificent portamento in "Breit über mein Haupt", less frequently sung than "Allerseelen" and "Die Nacht" but now one of our favorites.  Ms. Brewer got the chance to exhibit a gorgeous portamento.

She did her entire performance "on the book" and we experienced that as a barrier between her and the audience.  We could understand how it was necessary for the world premiere of Douglas Cuomo's interesting piece "Sorry for Your Loss" in which the singer is trying to leave a phone message for an old lover whose mother had just died.  After a succession of embarrassing false starts which she deletes, we were convinced that an old-fashioned hand-written note was called for!  Unlike much contemporary music, we felt that the music added to the drama.

Three folksongs arranged by Benjamin Britten were given a most respectful and sincere performance by Ms. Brewer and Mr. Rutenberg.  In "The Salley Gardens" and "O, Waly, Waly" the music fulfilled the text but in "The last rose of summer" they seemed to be disjunctive.  But Mr. Rutenberg's well-articulated rolling chords were delightful to the ear.

The maestro took the opportunity to play Virgil Thomson's "Two Sentimental Tangos" which were not at all like the tangos to which one dances but were short and sweet to hear.

Ms. Brewer sang Mr. Thomson's "My Long Life" from The Mother of Us All, dating from 1946.  We reviewed the entire opera when presented this past season at the Manhattan School of Music and found that Gertrude Stein's peculiar writing style was better served with sets, costumes and staging illuminating the life of Susan B. Anthony.  The aria as a "stand alone" was a strange choice for a recital.

The final work on the program was from Britten's Gloriana--a duet between Queen Elizabeth and Essex.  We loved the drama of the scene as well as the singing.  And the lark in the text could clearly be heard in Mr. Rutenberg's piano.

As encore, the three artists joined forces for "My Hero" from Oscar Strauss' operetta The Chocolate Soldier.  The voices blended beautifully and Mr. Rutenberg's piano was appropriately tender.  It was a perfect conclusion to a most satisfying season at The Morgan Library.

© meche kroop