NOTHING ECLIPSED THEIR ARTISTRY

Michael Fennelly, Jessica Faselt, Megan Esther Grey, James Ley, Rebecca Pedersen, Jane Shaulis, Dashuai Chen, Brent Michael Smith, and Jeff Byrnes at Opera Index Award Dinner

It was the coldest night of the year and also the night of a total lunar eclipse. Yet nothing could eclipse the talent onstage at the Opera Index Award Dinner honoring the lovely and beloved soprano/voice teacher Diana Soviero who was so lovingly introduced by her student Jennifer Johnson Cano and by the famous WQXR radio announcer and personality Nimet Habachy.  If you are seeing all the "love" words you will know how we personally feel about the tribe gathered to celebrate at the Essex House. 

Ms. Habachy's anecdotes about the honoree tickled everyone's funny bones and Ms. Cano had warm and devoted words about her teacher. We have been extolling Ms. Cano's vocal virtuosity since we began writing our blog but we never knew that she was a student of Ms. Soviero. It is always heartwarming to hear credit given where it is due.

The entertainment portion of the evening was provided by seven of the sixteen prize winners of the Opera Index annual competition for young singers, accompanied by piano wizard Michael Fennelly. The nine others, some of whom graced the stage of the annual Opera Index Members Party, were presumably occupied singing around the country and abroad, along with so many winners from prior years who have achieved fame on opera stages.

We were particularly impressed, or should we say "blown away" by soprano Jessica Faselt's performance of "Dich, teure Halle" from Richard Wagner's Tannhaüser. Adjectives that came to mind were "electrifying" and "convincing". The overtones bounced around the room and delighted our ears. Wagnerian voices are rare indeed and we predict a grand future for this captivating young woman.

Baritone Jeff Byrnes utilized his richly toned instrument to create the character of Count Almaviva, clueless in the face of his wily servant Figaro. "Hai gia vinta la causa" from Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro gives the baritone an opportunity to color his voice with bafflement, resentment, and an entire range of emotions; Mr. Byrnes seized this opportunity and ran with it from start to finish in a dramatically valid performance. 

Mezzo-soprano Megan Esther Grey performed "All'afflitto è dolce il pianto", the first act lament of Sarah, Duchess of Nottingham from Donizetti's Roberto Devereux.  Poor Sarah is pining for the titular Roberto, her husband's best friend. Ms. Grey sang with an appealing vibrato and plenty of strength in the lower register. There was a well controlled pianissimo, indicating excellent breath control.

"Dein ist mein ganzes Herz" from Franz Lehar's Das Land des Lächelns was a great choice for the full-throated tenor James Ley who sang in impeccable German and without any vocal strain. We enjoyed his commitment to the ardent romanticism of the aria.

What would a program be without a little verismo! Soprano Rebecca Pedersen gave a fine performance of "Stridono lassù" from Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci. Reinforced by Mr. Fennelly's piano artistry, she created the character of the repressed Nedda envying the freedom of the birds. Mr. Fennelly provided the birdsong...music to our ears, so to speak.

The only English aria on the program was, happily, one by Purcell--"Arise, Ye Subterranean Winds" from The Tempest. It is always a joy to hear such flexibility in a bass and the very lowest part of the register did not daunt Brent Michael Smith, who managed to invest each verse with different coloration.

Closing the program on a high note, so to speak, was tenor Dashuai Chen who gave a polished and winning performance of the Duke's famous aria "La donna è mobile" from Verdi's Rigoletto. Everything was in place and his legato was notable. The audience went wild for his s-u-s-t-a-i-n-e-d "money note" at the end.

Speaking of the audience, it was gratifying to see that the frigid weather did not keep away the ardent supporters of Opera Index who turned out in glamorous finery suited to the occasion. It is the generous membership of this fine organization which supports these young singers and nurtures their careers.

(c) meche kroop

OH THE INTIMACY OF IT ALL!

Chunfeng Li, José Rubio, Eric Delagrange, Jeff Byrnes, and Dángelo Diaz (photo by Jen Joyce Davis)

Regular readers will recall the high esteem in which we hold Martina Arroyo's Prelude to Performance which has been providing training and performing experience to young artists for the past dozen years. So let us get down to the specifics of last night's La Bohème--the anti-Zeffirelli version. We do not mean to express the slightest dissatisfaction with that version and would despair if the Met replaced it, as it has regrettably done to so many of Zeffirelli's masterpieces.  We only want to suggest that P2P has provided a different way of looking at this intimate story--a story of growing up and accepting reality.

P2P's annual performances always accomplish miracles by focusing on the interactions between the characters, who seem to grow before our very eyes. In the horseplay of Act I, Scene I (pictured above) we see a group of young men sharing a garret in Paris, unable to afford food and wood for the fire.  We do not need modern dress or contemporary slang to identify with their predicament. They joke and tease and cheer each other up. They pull a fast one on their landlord Benoit (a hilarious performance by Eric Delagrange) by getting him tipsy, drawing him into a confession of sexual escapades, and then mock-shaming him.  So puerile!  So believable! How can one not think of the young men who converge upon NYC and cram themselves into a tiny space, just for the stimulation of living here! 

Director Ian Campbell did not miss a single trick in illuminating the personalities of the frustrated writer Rodolfo (Dángelo Diaz), the equally frustrated painter Marcello (Jeff Byrnes), the unshaven philosopher Colline (Chunfeng Li) and the musician Schaunard (José Rubio) who seems to be the provider of sustenance.  

When Schaunard is relating the amusing story of how he earned money to bring home the bacon, no one pays attention because they are only interested in stuffing their famished mouths. Joking about saintliness and placing a large round platter behind the head to look like a halo in a religious painting was another clever touch. Every bit of Puccini's well-considered orchestration was employed to support the onstage action.

When Mimi (Jessica Sandidge) enters to get a light for her candle, the entire mood changes and the frisky tunes turn lyrical. Anyone who has had the experience of meeting a potential lover will recognize the verisimilitude of this scene in which Rodolfo sings about himself in boastful terms and Mimi, visibly impressed, searches modestly for something to relate about her own life, and gradually opens up emotionally and vocally.

Eric Delagrange, Claire Coolen, and Jeff Byrnes (photo by Jen Joyce Davis)

In Act II, the wealthy fop Alcindoro (Mr. Delagrange, revealing significant versatility) is outraged by the behavior of Musetta.  We have never witnessed a production that so cleverly used Puccini's music.  Three admirers of Musetta successively present her with roses (yellow, of course) just before her big aria--all set up by Puccini's score and realized by Mr. Campbell.  

She inches her chair ever closer to the man she really loves (Marcello), leaving poor Alcindoro sitting at the table by himself. This "relationship" makes one think of the wealthy older men and the nubile young women who meet on the website "Seeking Arrangements". Sugar Daddies and Sugar Babies. Everything old is new again.

Even Mimi's character is revealed a bit more in this scene as she flirts with a gendarme--and Rodolfo's jealousy emerges.  He has just bought Mimi a bonnet and now that he has invested in her he needs to protect his investment. 

The rowdy children and their put-upon mothers were well-portrayed as the children begged for toys from Parpignol (portrayed by Sergio Stefani).

In Act III, the scene opens at the city gates with a passive-aggressive Sergeant (a most believable Thomas Petrushka) who is going to take his sweet time drinking his coffee while the tradespeople are kept waiting in the cold. Does this not remind us of civil servants of today?

Mimi has come to find Marcello to get some advice. Rodolfo's affections have cooled. Marcello confronts him and, like any young man of today, he first blames Mimi for being a flirt, but finally owns up to his deepest fear-- she is terribly sick and he cannot even express the fear that she will die and leave him.

Mimi is hidden in the shadows eavesdropping and one can witness her dawning realization of the extent of her illness. We get to see her inner strength of character. We feel the grief of young people whose lives will be terminated before they have time to have lived them.  This act was a masterpiece of direction and acting.

Dángelo Diaz and Jessica Sandidge (photo by Jen Joyce Davis)

In Act IV, Rodolfo and Marcello pretend to each other that they don't care about their lost loves but their private thoughts are revealed both musically and lyrically. Who cannot relate to these attempts to deny loss! We get to see Musetta's noble character that underlies her superficial histrionics.

When Colline clutches the overcoat he will pawn we know he is bidding farewell to far more than a piece of clothing.  Can we all remember a time when we suffered a nearly unbearable loss and just knew that our lives would never ever be the same?

This group of six young people will be reduced to five. In some ways, their lives will be diminished but in other ways they will have grown up.  The final tableau when, one by one, they realize that Mimi has died was a stark one and perfectly matched Puccini's tragic music.

We have dealt at such length with the characters themselves because that is what struck us most. A sterling production like this one causes us to relate to people of other times and places. P2P's productions are always authentic. Mr. Campbell's direction served the libretto of Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. There was no pandering to "modern audiences".  There was no self-serving egotism.

  

But let us not neglect the musical and production values which underlay the excellence of the drama. The singing was of the highest order and always supported the characterization. Ms. Sandidge's lovely soprano was appropriately colored between moments of joy and moments of anxiety and pain.  It was a knockout performance.

Another knockout performance was that of Ms. Coolen whose robust soprano sailed over the orchestration and was accompanied by all the right gestures of a woman accustomed to manipulating men. Her delivery of "Musetta's waltz" had an astonishing diminuendo that was spun out beautifully for a time in which we held our breath!

Mr. Diaz' tenor has a wonderful timbre and he established good chemistry with Ms. Sandige. Like many young tenors, he will have to learn not to push for his high notes but rather to work on floating them. 

Mr. Byrnes uses his baritone instrument well and impressed us with his sincerity and musicality.

We have nothing but admiration for the way Mr. Li's bass resonated in his "Vecchia Zimarra" and for Mr. Rubio's recounting of the tale of the parrot and the poisoned parsley.

Mr. Delagrange delighted and Mr. Petrushka evoked some knowing nods.

Maestro Willie Anthony Waters led his orchestra with clarity of line but occasionally overwhelmed the singers. There were times when we wanted him to just lighten up.

Noby Ishida provided for a very well trained chorus.

Charles R. Caine's costume designs were just about perfect.

April Joy Vester's set utilized something resembling large shoji screens as background which served well as garret windows but were just confusing in the Café Momus scene as well as the scene taking place at the city gates. However, it did allow for short intermissions! The furniture in the garret was appropriately minimal.

Joshua Rose's lighting was effective, indicating when the fire in the stove was burning hot or dying down.

Italian diction was excellent, with much credit to Italian coach Sergio Stefani. We never noticed when the titles vanished for we-don't-know-how-long. Every word was crystal clear.

This most remarkable success came out of six weeks of intense work in every aspect of performance and the establishment of a true ensemble feel. All this training is provided at no cost to those accepted into the program; and this year, for the first time, the generosity of patrons permitted stipends for the performers. 

There will be another performance with this same wonderful cast on Saturday night. And on Friday night and Sunday matinée, other members of this program will perform Johann Strauss' Die Fledermaus. We can scarcely contain our excitement.

(c) meche kroop