DELAWARE VALLEY OPERA BENEFIT

Eric Barsness, Christopher Berg, Youtha Franklin, Erin Ring-Howell, Violetta Zabbi, Kathy Geary, Kevin Hanek, Margaret Meyer, Gail Bedi, Carol Diefenbach, and Tshombe Selby

Sunday afternoon in the fine concert hall of Opera America, the Delaware Valley Opera Company offered a program of opera arias and American song.  For 29 years, DVO has been presenting opera and vocal recitals in the upper Delaware Valley of New York and Pennsylvania.  Their mission is to offer performance opportunities for singers at every level of experience, age, and professionality.

This was an opportunity to hear singers we would not ordinarily get to hear and, in one case, to hear an aria we'd never heard before.  The aria from Tchaikovsky's The Enchantress was called "Kuma's Arioso" and was sung by soprano Erin Ring-Howell. Although she has sung several times before in New York (as well as regionally) this was our first time hearing her; she has a lovely instrument to work with and did well conveying the love of nature expressed in the aria.  Her Russian was pleasing to the ear.  

She distinguished herself later in the program with "Tallulah's Aria" from Thomas Pasatieri's 2007 opera Hotel Casablanca.  Given our lack of enthusiasm for contemporary opera, we were  pleased to admit that we enjoyed it and would happily see the opera, given the opportunity.  Her perfect English diction made every word clear.

Also impressive was soprano Margaret Meyer who sang Donna Anna's "Non mi dir" from Mozart's Don Giovanni.  Ms. Meyer is sufficiently comfortable onstage to express all those feelings that bring the aria to life. Not only was she adept in Italian but also in English, dioing a fine job with "What good would the moon be?" from Kurt Weill's Street Scene and "Mr. Snow" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel.

A new young tenor on the scene is always good news and Tshombe Selby made an excellent impression \himself with Lensky's aria "Kuda, kuda" from Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. Along with superior tone, he showed a good command of Russian and of dynamic control with a delicate decrescendo at the end.  But the final work on the program blew the audience away.  "Ride on King Jesus" was given all the spiritual passion necessary to put the song across.

Besides these three promising newcomers, contributions were made by some veteran performers.  Carol Diefenbach, one of the co-founders of DVO entertained with a spirited rendition of the Seguidilla from Bizet's Carmen, in an English translation, no less. Kevin Hanek sang "La fleur que tu m'avais jetée" from the same opera, this time in French.  Kathy Geary sang "Io son l'umile ancella" from Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur with depth of feeling.  Youtha Franklin contributed "Voi lo sapete, o mamma" from Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana and Gail Bedi sang "S'altro che lacrime" from Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito.

All were accompanied by the marvelous pianist Violetta Zabbi whom we have often heard and admired.  But composer Christopher Berg accompanied bass Eric Barsness who sang a trio of Ives songs. The second half of the program comprised mostly American songs, many from Broadway. All singers can be heard at DVO when you are in the neighborhood.

(c) meche kroop

DOWN IN THE VALLEY

Alexandra Haines, John Kaneklides, Terina Westmeyer, Eric Barsness

The Delaware Valley Opera has been providing live opera performances for residents of the Upper Delaware River Valley and Western Catskills for a quarter of a century, fostering both local talent and the emerging young singers to whom we are so very devoted.  Their summer residence is in Narrowsburg, NY and if we were given to driving we would surely have made the trip.  With our non-driver status, we were relegated to attending their benefit last night, right here in NYC.

Several performances knocked our proverbial socks right off our feet.  We have written before about tenor John Kaneklides about whom, if you haven't heard already, you will very soon.  If you recall the early performances of Rolando Villazon you will know exactly the delights of which I am speaking.  His ringy-pingy tenor, backed by some fine technique and intense involvement with the text, made Edgardo's desperate aria from Lucia de Lammermoor ("Fra poco a me recovero") feel like a stab in the heart. 

New to us but impressive were two very different sopranos.  Terina Westmeyer is one of those big beautiful girls with big beautiful voices, seemingly on the path to roles as a Verdi soprano.  One doesn't often hear arias from Verdi's Attila sung during recitals; her "Santo di Patria" was delivered with a penetrating and powerful sound that set the concert hall vibrating.  Admirable was her flexibility in the fioritura and her dramatic commitment that held the stage.

Alexandra Haines has a very different light lyric soprano that has a youthful brightness just perfect for Susana's final aria in Nozze di Figaro.  We liked the fine resonance and her expressive manner.  There was a lovely change of color toward the end when Mozart shifts to the minor key for just one phrase before ending in a glorious burst of major key exuberance.  Our only cavil regards the use of the music stand.  We hope that the next time we hear her she will have memorized the material and won't have the need for that "security blanket".

We do not have the same enthusiasm for bass Eric Barsness.  He certainly has the low notes but his unattractive voice sounded reedy in the upper register.  More serious is his lack of expressiveness.  We had a hard time staying interested and found our ears reaching out to the expressive piano of Christopher Berg.  The lack of color in his voice was relieved only occasionally and, similarly, the lack of movement vocabulary.  We found this astonishing since Mr. Barsness has a background in dance and choreography.  We generally admire people with the courage to branch out in a new direction but wish that he had brought some terpsichorean influence into his career change.

Part of the problem was his choice of material.  Although we have enjoyed other bass' performance of Sarastro's arias, we have never related to Brahms' "Vier ernste Gesange" with their rather stuffy texts from the bible.  We did hear some variety of color in "O Tod, wie bitter bist du".  The Charles Ives songs, usually so colorful, left us cold.  We missed the childlike excitement of "Circus Band".  In "Tom Sails Away" we missed the narrative engagement we usually experience.

And now…for the big surprise!  Readers may have realized that we have little affection for contemporary compositions but we heard an unusual work that we absolutely loved--loved for the clever text by Mary Griffin and for the apposite music composed by Joe Hannan.  There was a perfect marriage of text and music and a real ability by Mr. Mr. Hannan to write for the voice.  And there was HUMOR!

The work is called Christina the Astonishing and, since we only heard about half of it, we are left with a craving to experience the work in toto.  It is a retelling of the 13th c. biography of Christina, hilariously dubbed the Patron Saint of Psychiatrists by Pope John XXIII in 1950.  Thomas de Cantimpré's biography, written shortly after her demise, describes a shepherdess who died in 1224 and returned to life at her own requiem mass during the Agnus Dei.  She purportedly was sent back to earth to bear terrible sufferings on behalf of the tormented souls she had seen in hell.  Right!

In Ms. Griffin's libretto, Christina (Ms. Westmeyer) appears as a bag lady in NYC in our own times, scorned on the streets and subways.  Even her biographer (sung by Mr. Kaneklides) suspects that her sanctity is insanity.  Ms. Haines with her angelic soprano was just right as An Angel and Mr. Barsness took the role of god.

The work opened with the quartet sounding like church bells in perfect harmony with overlapping voices contributing more delights. Mr. Berg's marvelous piano was augmented by James Byars on the English Horn.  We consider this performance a musical triumph.

As encore, Mr. Barsness sang one of Mr. Berg's own compositions, a setting of Frank O'Hara's lightly humorous poem "Lana Turner Has Collapsed".  He seemed to come to life at this point.  Perhaps irony is his strong suit.

© meche kroop

BARE BONES FLESHED OUT

Meredith Hudak, John Kaneklides, Violetta Zabbi, Julie-Anne Hamula, Wayne Line, Carol Castel, Georgios Papadimitriou

How much of an opera can you strip away and not lose the essence?  If our experience of Delaware Valley Opera's stripped-down version of La Traviata last night taught  us something it is this:  it's all about the music.  Given good voices who can create convincing characters and some astute direction we can walk away feeling incredibly satisfied.

We are sitting in the small acoustically marvelous theater at the National Opera Center, aware that it is Columbus Day and it is an important year for Giuseppi Verdi celebrations, his 200th anniversary.  How fitting to mount one of his greatest creations!  DVO will be presenting the work in its entirely with the North Duchess Symphony Orchestra this Sunday at 3PM in full costume, but as a special gift for us New Yorkers we got the same gifted principals and a piano score performed by the talented Maestra Violetta (!) Zabbi who never missed a trill.

Violetta (our favorite opera heroine) was given an astonishing performance by soprano Julie-Anne Hamula whose brilliant soprano and thrilling embellishments were augmented by the most subtle and heart-rending acting.  This was a Violetta any woman could understand and relate to.  In Act I, her ambivalence about giving up her shallow life of pleasure for the richer but scarier life of love was made plain vocally and amplified by gesture, facial expression and body language.  Her death scene moved us to the very core.

Similarly, her Alfredo was beautifully sung and enacted by talented tenor John Kaneklides.  His commitment to the character of the young provincial man who loses his heart to the beautiful courtesan was total; his ringing tenor, a young yet manly sound, is one to watch.  We witnessed his moods of romantic adoration, disappointment, anger and remorse with never a false moment.

Baritone Wayne Line was not quite as convincing in his portrayal of Germont.  His transition from arrogance to sympathy didn't quite make it.  Mezzo Meredith Hudak supported the enterprise in the roles of Flora and Annina.  Georgios Papadimitriou was onstage briefly as Dr. Grenvil and has a lovely baritone.

The esteemed Carol Castel directed with a sure hand.  We have always loved the Zeffirelli production at The Metropolitan Opera, now sadly retired; we will never forget the fine production with Renee Fleming and Rolando Villazon.  But the new "stripped down" version mounted at the Met with it's gigantic clock, ugly chorus and ever present Dr. Death left us cold.  Not so this DVO production.  Minus chorus, minus sets, minus the gambling scene--we were left with what amounts to a very intimate opera in which we were allowed to care deeply for the ill-fated Violetta and her remorseful lover.  Bravi tutti!

© meche kroop