THE DRAMA OF THE LIED

 

Lara Saldanha, Victoria Falcone, and Nina Riley (photo by Andrew Bisdale)

If you were fortunate enough to have attended Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble's concert last night at the A.R.T. Center you would have experienced what a lieder recital can and should be. In a program conceived by Maestro Chris Fecteau, each set of songs became a mini opera, since each set had a theme.

There was an overall unity to the program since all of the texts were written by Paul Heyse who translated them from Italian--hence the title of the concert Italienische Liederbuch. Most fans of lieder have heard Heyse's poetry as set  by Hugo Wolf under that very name. But many of us, ourself included, did not know the wealth of material set by other composers. 

We did, of course, know that other German texts have been given multiple settings by different composers but this assemblage had a dramatic intent, the realization of which was an original and effective undertaking. Although no director was listed in the program, we will hazard a guess that Mo. Fecteau undertook the task and it was a fine undertaking indeed.

The material was not organized by composer, but rather organized along the principle of theme, so each listener was swept into the mini dramas and offered an opportunity to access his or her own memories and imagination.

Hermann Goetz's brief period of composition predated that of the late 19th century Hugo Wolf whereas Joseph Marx's heyday was somewhat later. Nonetheless, there is enough similarity within German Romanticism to unite the works, which also included one by Brahms and also Arnold Mendelssohn (a relation of Felix). There was no jarring as there might have been if modern compositions had been included.

The first set of songs was entitled "Young Lovers" and found the bright-voiced soprano Nina Riley locking gazes with the richly voiced mezzo-soprano Victoria Falcone. Both singers amplified the vocalism with dramatic enactments of flirtation. Accompanying with panache at the piano was Lara Saldanha.

We have special admiration for singers who deliver their material "off the book" which makes for better audience contact and soprano Ellen Teufel accomplished that with ease, accompanied by Mo. Fecteau himself who is always a pleasure to hear.

Following was an exploration of a love triangle comprising soprano Heather Bobeck, mezzo-soprano, Olivia Ericsson, and tenor Stephen Steffens. The facial expressions and gestures of the two women were priceless. Furthermore, it was a pleasure to hear Mr. Steffens in gentler material than that written by Mozart for Emperor Tito, which we had heard the night before.

The relationship between Father and Daughter was well explored by soprano Elizaveta Kozlova and bass Jason Adamo who presented a very distant father who seemed never to look at his lovely daughter. David Stech accompanied and also provided an absolutely delightful interlude.  Felix Mendelssohn' Songs Without Words do not need words but his "Barcarolle" in the hands of Mr. Stech produced images of Venice in my mind's eye, a gentle swaying in my body, and strangely enough, in my mind's ear, the lonely musings of the gondolier paddling himself home at the end of the night! Words were not needed but they came unbidden.

Soprano Clara Lisle joined with tenor Andres Penalver for songs about love transcending death, accompanied by Ms. Saldanha. Just when we thought the program was over, we were fortunate enough to have two more songs by Ms. Teufel accompanied by Mo. Fecteau. We observed that Ms. Teufel is always "off the book" and in a position to make good contact with the audience. In the Wolf "Gesegnet sei" she was very still but seemed to loosen up with her gestures in Marx's "Ständchen". We had the thought that her artistry could go from an "A" to an "A-plus" if she could make her gestures more specific. This is a fine point we have been becoming more aware of recently. It takes a performance to a higher level.

Although we could happily have listened to more, we did feel satisfied by the program, which succeeded in accessing our own memories and associations. As in the other two events of Dell'Arte's 25th season, we were very happy with the organization of the space and the clarity of the supertitles. We found ourselves wishing there were more events!

© meche kroop

WITTEN IN HASTE, ENJOYED FOR CENTURIES

 Barbee Monk, Valérie Filloux, Elizaveta Kozlova, Stephen Steffens, Sarah Nelson Craft, Jason Adamo

Mozart's opera seria La Clemenza di Tito was "dashed off" in 1791 within weeks of its commission, to celebrate the coronation of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, as King of Bavaria. (This commission was first offered to the more senior composer Antonio Salieri.) The libretto by court poet Caterino Mazzolà was edited from an original version by Metastasio which had been set numerous times. At the time, Mozart was actually in the middle of composing Die Zauberflöte and careful listening to the score reveals a number of similarities.

As centerpiece of its 25th season, Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble chose this treasure to present in an original reduction of the score by Maestro Chris Fecteau. We lack the time and energy to fulfill every request for a review and we pick and choose on the basis of our interest in the work, an opportunity to hear a singer we like, a recommendation by a friend or colleague, or our particular affection for the producing company.  It is often the case that we find ourselves more impressed in the viewing/hearing by a feature we weren't expecting. 

Our long term affection for Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble seemed reason enough to attend a Mozart opera that is not among our top four. To our delight, we heard elements of the score that were illuminated by Mo. Fecteau's reduction, elements that delighted the ear and impressed us with their effectiveness. We love vocal duets but what astonished us last night was the idea of a duet between a singer and an instrument, in this case mostly the clarinet. It was as if there were an invisible singer offstage in dialogue with the actual singer, one repeating an idea of the other, or advancing a complementary melody. We might say that our ears received the gift of an education, or a revelation.

The reduction of the score involved piano, violin, cello, and four winds--the aforementioned clarinet (played by Katie Curran), flute, bassoon, and French horn. There was a remarkable clarity in the voicing and we heard the score with fresh ears.

Metastasio's story features the titular Tito, a loving and generous ruler who puts the well being of his subjects ahead of his own desires. If Mozart chose to flatter the anointed Leopold we wouldn't be a bit surprised. We couldn't help fantasizing that our contemporary self-appointed "King" might change his ways if he deigned to visit a performance at the Kennedy Center! We wish!

Tito (tenor Stephen Steffens) casts aside his intended Beatrice because she is a foreigner (ahem!) and chooses a local lady, sister of his friend Sesto (mezzo-soprano Sarah Nelson Craft in travesti)  Unfortunately Servillia (soprano Elizaveta Kozlova) is in love with Annio (Valerie Filloux also in travesti) another one of his friends. With generosity of spirit, the magnanimous Tito wishes her well and turns his marital ambitions toward Vitellia (soprano Barbee Monk) who, unfortunately, has persuaded her most ardent admirer Sesto to murder Tito to avenge her father whom Tito had deposed.

The unlucky Sesto is weak-willed and easily manipulated by the vengeful Vitellia (although the lucky singer who sings Sesto gets to sing the memorable "Parto, parto") and the suspense is whether the loyal Sesto will betray her to save his life or will this narcissistic woman realize the error of her ways and tell Tito that she was the one who set the assassination plot in motion. If you want to learn what happens you will have to attend one of the upcoming performances on June 20th and 22nd. The sixth member of the able cast is Publio, sung by Jason Adamo.

We recommend the performance but we don't recommend reading the Director's Notes as Benjamin Spierman tries to mansplain why the innocent toga-clad Servillia (the kindest character in the opera) is sporting a black leather motorcycle jacket. Fortunately Vitellia's Ancient Rome attire is a propos and we will just assume that Costume Designer Eric Lamp was just trying to fulfill a directorial concept. Please don't ask us why there was a videographer wandering around from time to time with the results projected onto the walls!

The black box playing space is comfortable with raked seating along two sides of the box and the chamber orchestra along the third side. Again, let us praise the clear titles that are adequate in size and projected where every audience member can read them.

© meche kroop

VOICE OF HER HEART

 Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble is celebrating its 25th Anniversary with some compelling evenings this week and next. The season opener was a delightful evening celebrating women composers and songs about women, sung by an all-female cast. Among the singers we heard some fine young singers comprising those singing currently with Dell-Arte and some alumnae that we recall from years gone by.

We were enchanted by the first half of the program which represented various stages of a woman's life, apparently inspired by Adelbert von Chamisso's text which was set by Robert Schumann and Carl Loewe (Frauenliebe und Leben). We would never hold one above the other; each composer invested the text with different shades of emotion, within his compositional style. 

Both sopranos served the music well, as did collaborative pianist Lara Saldanha. We have been hearing Elizaveta Kozlova quite a bit recently whereas Victoria Falcone has been off our radar screen since 2017 when we loved her performance in Janaçek's Cunning Little Vixen at Manhattan School of Music. It is always rewarding to hear singers remembered from their conservatory years. This part of Act I was called Enchanted and we were indeed enchanted, especially by the sopranos opening and closing the set with a Schumann duet.

Separating Enchanted from Betrothal  Ms. Saldanha delighted our ears with Clara Schumann's Fier Flüchtige Stücke, no. 3.

The Betrothal section also focused mainly on the Schumann and Loewe settings. The fine singers were soprano Jennifer Gliere, well remembered for a stunning Violetta about 8 years ago in Amore Opera's production of La Traviata, and mezzo-soprano Valerie Filloux who performed so well just last year with Dell'Arte.  We couldn't help noticing that the young narrator of the von Chamisso text was so much calmer in "Ich kann nicht fassen, nicht glauben" than the one portrayed by Schumann. We were also glad to hear  a lied by Clara Schumann, a setting of a Rückert text which was later set by Richard Strauss--"Liebst du um Schönheit". The fine accompaniment was performed by David Stech.

The third section, also accompanied by Mr. Stech,  was entitled Motherhood, and was performed by sopranos Nina Riley (new to us) and Jenny Ribeiro whom we reviewed at least a decade ago as a fine Susanna and an even finer Rosina, surprising us with her take on a role usually assigned to a mezzo-soprano. Augmenting the most welcome excerpts from the Schumann and Loewe cycles, were two duets, one by Mendelssohn ("Volkslied") and one by Richard Strauss ("Muttertanderlei") which never fails to amuse us with two mothers boasting about their respective offspring.

The final section of Act I was entitled Departed with Ms. Filloux returning, joined by soprano Barbee Monk accompanied by Ms .Saldanha. The two lovely ladies opened with a Brahms duet "Klänge 1" and closed in perfect harmony with Maestro Chris Fecteau's arrangement of the tragic "Nun hast du mir den ersten Schmerz getan", weaving together Schumann and Loewe, whose compositional voices joined as successfully as the voices of the two singers had.

It is always a pleasure to hear Maestro Fecteau at the piano but we cannot express the same enthusiasm for Act II as we did for Act I. Perhaps it is unfair to try to appreciate contemporary compositions when one has just swooned over the 19th century greats. Three female composers from New York City were given voice--Martha Sullivan, Valerie Saalbach, and Ellen Mandel.

Forgive us Dear Reader if we seem somewhat vague but try as we might, we could not keep our 19th century-tuned ears involved in the compositions, one of which was a setting of text by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. However, we did appreciate hearing some new voices. The soprano of Andrea Chinedu Nwoke is an astounding instrument, full of power but also luscious in its overtones We were not surprised to learn that she has a past in the mezzo-soprano fach. 

We were also happy to get another hearing of soprano Antonina Ermolenko, who we remember for having sung some delightful Ukrainian songs perhaps two years ago. We were also glad to get a further hearing of Clara Lisle. She was a bright light in a regrettable 2018 production of Eugene Onegin which we are glad she survived! She closed the program with Ellen Mandel's setting of a text by Seamus Heaney entitled "Sleep".  Our opera singer companion thought the program should have ended with a more rousing finale but we actually enjoyed the soothing quietude.

The second half of the program involved a dancer of the Modern Ballet persuasion which involves a lot of floor work and is not to our taste. We are great fans of virtuoso classical ballet which commands our full attention, especially when it brings Tchaikovsky's music to visual life. What we saw was  more a distraction in its abstractness and did not appear to add anything to the music. We are quite sure however that there were many in the audience who found pleasure in it. We are just rather particular in our taste.

We cannot close without praising the titles which were projected in full view of everyone in the audience, and sufficient in size and illumination. This seems rather basic but we recently had an experience where the text was tiny and obliterated by the set for most of the time, and washed out by the lighting.

Dell'Arte has two more events in store that we are looking forward to and you should too. The Italienische Liederbuch will be presented on 6/19 and 6/21. Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito will be performed on 6/18, 20, and 22.

©meche kroop

GUILTY PLEASURES

 Curtain Call for Guilty Pleasures

Friday night, Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble gave us two one-act pieces that made us think. Last night, they gave us an evening of pure entertainment. Is pure entertainment a guilty pleasure? LOL! We refuse to feel guilty about pleasure. We had a wonderful time, as did our companion. 

We think it's a great idea for opera singers to try their hand at cabaret; the need for gesture and facial expression should serve them well on the opera and concert stage. And from the audience standpoint, it was a real treat to hear the natural voice singing  the kind of music we usually avoid due to an intolerance of amplification.

Every artist was excellent and appreciated by a most enthusiastic audience. Some made a greater impact than others and only one interfered with audience engagement by the use of the loathed music stand. Let us mention a few of our favorite performances.

Mezzo-soprano Allison Deady, so effective as Annie in the previous night' production of Tickets, Please! showed a real flair for Offenbach in "Last night" from Christopher Columbus, an operetta with which we are not familiar and was equally impressive ending the show with the rousing "One Touch of Venus" from the eponymous Kurt Weill show.

From the same show, mezzo-soprano Rachelle Pike performed a sexy rendition of "Speak Low". Earlier in the evening, she delighted us with "Toothbrush Time" by William Bolcom, sharing an interesting anecdote with the audience.

Also from that show, Olivia Ericsson gave an expressive reading of "I'm a Stranger Here Myself", needing only to move around the stage more to take her performance to the next level.

Kaitlyn Tierney scored points for "Good 'n' Evil" from Frank Wildhorn's Jekyll and Hyde. Helen Haas did a great job using gestures and voice to build up to a climax in some French songs that were completely new to us. 

Elizaveta Kozlova, so effective as Anna I  in the prior night's performance of Kurt Weill's The Seven Deadly Sins, showed a completely different side of her artistry, having fun with "Whatever Lola Wants" from Adler and Ross' Damn Yankees. Valerie Filloux's charming performance of a pair of Schoenberg songs from his Brettl-Lieder reminded us that the composer wasn't always atonal. The songs were most accessible.

We enjoyed Thomas Walter's rendition of the "Alabama Song" from Kurt Weill's Mahagonny because he made every verse different. And Maestro Chris Fecteau tossed off an impressively novel arrangement of "Mack the Knife", making the old trite song fresh to our ears.

It was a fun evening and the audience left smiling. What more could one ask for on a Saturday night!

© meche kroop

THE WAGES OF SIN

 Tickets, Please!

(Photo by Brian Long)

Dear Reader!  We are halfway through Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble's exciting Spring season and having a fine time. We would, however, want you to have an even better time than we did, so we urge you to prepare yourself before the upcoming double bill of  Tickets, Please and The Seven Deadly Sins. We make it a point to avoid reading about productions before attending, hoping that the works will speak for themselves. In this case, some preparation would have been helpful.

What we enjoyed at the double bill was some excellent singing and acting and some highly astute direction by Jessica Harika. Maestro David Štech conducted and Maestro Chris Fecteau provided keyboard accompaniment. What was missing was a program with a synopsis. There were no projected titles and one's ability to understand rested heavily on the clarity of each singer's enunciation. The setup was a stage with areas of seats facing each other, somewhat reminiscent of "theater in the round" in which actors are often facing away from you and not clearly audible.

The best preparation for Tickets, Please would be reading the short story with the same title which was contained within D.H. Lawrence's compilation England My England which was published in 1922. Lawrence had plenty to say about the effects of The Great War on British society, particularly about the absence of men on the home front and the masculinization (liberation) of women who were allowed (needed) to take on "man's work". Part III of the story was adapted by Sidney L. Berger and set to some agreeable music by Robert Nelson.

The work is accessible and can be experienced as social commentary with amusing moments and rueful ones. In the past century, the battle for gender dominance has not been won, making the work relevant. A group of women employed as transit workers gang up on their supervisor who has been careless with the affections of Annie (the excellent Allison Deady). The boss John Turner (effectively portrayed by Dicky Dutton is beaten and humiliated by his crew, comprising Rachelle Pike, Sadie Spivey, Helen Sanchez, Kaitlyn Tierney, and Carlyle Quinn. You will have to see for yourself (and we do recommend it) to learn whether Annie gets vindication, or...........

VOCE DI MECHE GOES UNDERGROUND

Catherine Swindle, Elizaveta Kozlova, Alexandra Lang, Angela Candela,
Jason Wirth, Manami Aoki, and Jose Luis Maldonado

Once upon a time, we wrote about underground restaurants and got chubby; writing about underground singers makes us happy. For these delightful showcases at Scorca Hall in the National Opera Center, we have soprano Angela Candela to thank. Long on our radar screen as a singular soprano with divine dramatic instincts, Ms. Candela has proven to be an inventive impresario.

Her Underground Salons provide a supportive environment for rising stars to try out new material in front of an accepting audience. The singers may want to use this material for upcoming auditions so they value the experience of running their selections past a live audience.

From our point of view, it is a golden opportunity to hear singers we love trying out new roles and also to get acquainted with new singers. Let us begin with Ms. Candela herself whom we have always appreciated for bringing a character to vivid life.

Under workshop circumstances, we tend to be more forgiving of the presence of a music stand, especially when the language involved is Czech. Dvorak's "Song to the Moon" from Rusalka presents vocal challenges and linguistic ones as well, both of which Ms. Candela met easily. But it was the dramatic aspect that captivated us.

We always feel super involved when the singer allows us to see the scene through his/her eyes and this is a skill at which Ms. Candela excels. We couldn't take our eyes off her face as she watched the virtual moon disappear behind virtual clouds and then reappear. It was all reflected in her face and we were transported. Soon, the occasional glances at the score will be unnecessary and there will be a stunning audition piece in her portfolio.

Baritone José Luis Maldonado is another singer who has been on our radar screen for some time. Again, it is not just his powerful instrument or refined technique that draw us in, it is his ability to create a living breathing and believable character.

Last night he gave us a livid Falstaff, berating Pistola and Bardolfo for defending their "honor" when he requested their services in delivering identical letters to Meg Page and Ann Ford. His Falstaff is larger than life, just as he should be. Every gesture, every facial expression, every variation of dynamics seemed spontaneously motivated by the text. Probably it takes a lot of work to seem so spontaneous!

He also performed Figaro's aria with uncanny ability to go from the lowest end of the register to a mincing falsetto top. He was perfectly flexible in Rossini's rapid patter section and we held our breath as he extended his held notes, evincing superlative breath control.

Elizaveta Kozlova, also well known to us from Mannes and IVAI, performed Pamina's Act II aria from Mozart's Die Zauberflöte--"Ach, ich fuhl's". She appropriately darkened her bright soprano instrument to reflect Pamina's despair and painted a sympathetic portrait of a woman who feels she has lost her lover. We noted a pleasing vibrato and some well negotiated descending scale passages.

We were happy to hear her second selection from Rimsky-Korsakov's The Snow Maiden. Of course Ms. Kozlova is totally comfortable in Russian which added to our pleasure. We enjoyed the opportunity to get reacquainted with this gem of a Russian fairytale which we so greatly enjoyed at Manhattan School of Music last year. There were some lovely melismatic passages to delight the ear.

Alexandra Lang is another singer we have been watching for a few years. Possessor of a generous dramatic soprano instrument and passionate acting skills, we have been unable/unwilling to pigeonhole her talent. Last night she performed Hélène's Act V aria from Verdi's Les vêpres siciliennes. There were some impressive vocal effects including a lovely liquid trill and a stunning climax.

New to us was soprano Manami Aoki who wanted to try out her French.  Alfred Bachelet's sensuous "Chère nuit" offered her an opportunity for a well modulated performance demonstrating warmth of tone and lovely phrasing. She also sang Micaëla's aria "Je dis que rien ne m'épouvant" which suited her voice and stature perfectly. The vibrato in her upper register was a joy to hear. The sound was Gallic and the small imperfections in the language can be readily improved.

Also new to us was soprano Catherine Swindle who sang "I am not my own" from Mark Adamo's Lysistrata. We always have a hard time overcoming our dislike for contemporary American opera and this is not the one to win us over. As Ms. Swindle explained to the audience, it is about a woman who refuses to abandon her anti-war stance. It is difficult to appreciate a voice singing in English and we wish Ms Swindle had chosen a different selection. We did not understand a lot of the words which so often happens with English. About all we could say is that we enjoyed her middle register. We would like to hear her again singing something in Italian!

Jason Wirth was the worthy accompanist for the evening and excelled at everything he undertook. We particularly enjoyed his spirited playing in the Verdi.

This is a finely designed showcase and we appreciated how each singer introduced her/himself and described the background of each aria.

© meche kroop

AN EVENING OF OPERA SCENES BY IVAI

Students of International Vocal Arts Institute

Last night we attended a delightful evening of duets, trios, and ensembles performed by participants in the International Vocal Arts Institute at Mannes College of Music. We were both pleased and astonished to witness the growth of these young singers in the space of only one week.

It was interesting to note the difference in performance quality as each singer worked with one or more scene partners, in contrast with their performances in solo arias. We imagine it is far easier to slip into a role under such conditions as opposed to singing an aria whilst imagining the presence of the other singers. Singers who hadn't captured our interest on prior nights made a significant impression; those we admired before made an even better impression last night.

The scenes that were performed were well chosen (heavy on the Mozart) for these young voices, effectively coached by Artistic Director Joan Dornemann, Jane Steele, Pei-Wen Chen, and Dura Jun. Directing the scenes were Brittany Goodwin (whose work we have always admired) and Marc Verzatt (whom we do not know). What we have to say about the direction is that every scene worked with only a few black boxes onstage and a curtain covering the windows, which made a fine hiding place for Cherubino. More about that later. Maestro Brent Chancellor was conductor for the evening.

The program opened with a charming scene from Mascagni's L'amico Fritz--the "Cherry Duet". Soprano Jennifer Jaroslavsky made a perfect shy Suzel and we loved the part where she climbed the tree (a black box) to pick the cherries. We could see the tree in our mind's eye! Tenor Alonzo Jordan Lopez made a fine Fritz and there was wonderful romantic tension between the two of them as they moved closer and closer. In our mind we were urging them on! And that's an effective performance!

There were two scenes from Mozart's Nozze di Figaro. Soprano Miriam Chaudoir had the role of the terrified Countess with baritone Robbie Raso as the jealous Count. Helping Cherubino (mezzo-soprano Megan Mateosky) escape was the clever Susanna portrayed by the excellent soprano Elizaveta Kozlova who, we were informed, stepped in at the last minute. We have enjoyed her performances all week and are presently even more impressed with her versatility. Watching her racing around the stage and hiding behind pillars made us chuckle. We have her tagged as one of those "stage animals".

This scene was followed by the Act III sextet in which Susanna (the lovely soprano Eugenia Forteza) convincingly showed her character's fury at discovering her fiancé Figaro in the arms of Marcelina (mezzo Nicole Karrs). There is so much warmth and humor in the reconciliation that we were grinning from ear to ear. 

Although we had to get accustomed to a different Susanna, the Count was again portrayed by Mr. Raso. Figaro (baritone Luka Jozic) was delighted to reunite with his mother and father Dr. Bartolo (baritone Gabriel Garcia) and we got "the feels", which is exactly what this scene should achieve. Tenor Nicolas Gerst took the role of Don Curzio, sharing the Count's dismay.

To thrill an audience, Léo Delibes' Lakmé requires two beautiful female voices. In this performance of the "Flower Duet" soprano Jessica Bayne in the title role and mezzo Xiaohan Chen as Malika could charm the birds from the trees with their gorgeous voices, their exquisite harmonic blending, and sympathetic friendship. We particularly enjoyed the change of vocal color in the repeat.

We returned to Mozart with a scene from Così fan tutte in which the wily Despina (Ms. Kozlova again) tries to convince the two sisters to accept the two prospective lovers. Ms. Kozlova accurately made the social class distinction between herself and her employers-the resistant Fiordiligi (soprano Hrun Osk) and the less resistant Dorabella (mezzo Emma Guo) who has the task of winning her sister over to the romantic adventure to follow.  It was all well done and dramatically convincing.

The prelude to Claudio Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea is not always included in performance but it makes a charming "stand alone" scene as three sopranos, symbols of three qualities, make a case for their own importance. Megan Mateosky exuded confidence as Fortuna. Kaylene Dahl presented Virtù with appropriate smugness, but we all know who wins out in the end. It is Isabel Springer as Amor! Of course, if it were a singing contest we could never have chosen the winner. They were all excellent.

Another return to Mozart brought us to Don Giovanni-- to a crucial scene in which each character reveals his/her own true character. Soprano Jinni Shen reveals her mistrust of Don Giovanni, soprano Angela Canela was particularly fine as the conflicted Donna Elvira, Don Giovanni (Luka Jozic) shows his deceitful nature and the supportive Don Ottavio (tenor Zachary Sebek) is there for his betrothed. We were glad to see Mozart's genius composition honored so well.

The opening scene of Mozart's Die Zauberflôte is a masterpiece of vocal writing in which Papageno (baritone Gabriel Garcia) can only hum his vocal line because he has a padlock on his mouth--a punishment for lying. The three ladies (sopranos Mithuna Sivaraman and Wenjia Wei with mezzo Heather Jones) offer forgiveness if he will go with Tamino (Yunxuan Zhu) to rescue Pamino. They present Tamino with a magic flute and Papageno with some magic bells. The complex vocal writing was beautifully realized by all five of them and the direction and props added to the fun.

The program closed with the oft-performed scene from Donizetti's Don Pasquale in which Dr. Malatesta (the versatile Mr. Raso) explains his plot to Norina (soprano Emilia Poma) in which she will portray his convent-bred sister and marry the elderly Don Pasquale. This offers a grand opportunity for acting and the two singers rose to the occasion. We particularly enjoyed the directorial move of having her gestures timed to the beat of the music. We could hardly keep a straight face.

Photos of these scenes can be seen on our FB page-- Voce di Meche.

There will be another similar evening tonight and we wouldn't miss it for the world. And you shouldn't either!

(c) meche kroop