MADELEINE

Shane Brown, David Seatter, Keith Broughton, JoAnna Geffert,
Claire Leyden, Jonathan Hare, Andrew Klima, and Thomas Woodman

There was much to enjoy in Victor Herbert Renaissance Project Live!'s production of the composer's 1914 one-act opera Madeleine. The talent onstage was excellent. The chamber orchestra played beautifully under the baton of Jestin Pieper. William Hicks' superb musicianship on the piano was augmented by violin, cello, bassoon, and harp. Alyce Mott's direction was on point, as usual.

Mr. Herbert's enormous contribution to the music theater canon is vast. He can be considered the source for American Musical Comedy. Few people know that he wrote two operas. After finishing the grand opera Natoma, which premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in 1911 (and was produced a century later by VHRPL!), he created Madeleine, with libretto adapted by Grant Stewart from a play by Decourcelles and Thibaut. Frankly, the words were dated and stilted, something one doesn't recognize when opera is sung in a foreign language.

Probably, the story was more charming in French. A highly narcissistic opera diva, much spoiled by suitors bearing gifts, is alone on New Year's Day. Every one of her suitors has declined her invitation to dine at her home because each one is dining with his mother. Even her maid has refused her. We guess that spending time with mama on New Year's Day was a French custom.

She throws a terrible tantrum and fires everyone. A visit from a good-natured childhood friend Didier restores her balance. Narcissists require a great deal of admiration and support, rarely considering the feelings of others. However, his invitation to dine with his humble family touches her. She considers the invitation but realizes what an intrusion it would be and stays home dining with a painting of her mother which Didier has restored.

It is evidence of the vocal and dramatic artistry of soprano Claire Leyden that we were able to care for this self-centered woman and to consider how narcissists act out their inner emptiness by manipulating and preying upon others.

As Didier we enjoyed the believable performance of baritone Jonathan Hare who has a lovely warm tonal quality. We remember well his charming portrayal of Figaro in Christman Opera Company's Il barbiere di Siviglia.

As the maid Nichette mezzo-soprano JoAnna Geffert created a lovely unselfish character to which she lent her finely textured instrument.

As the suitors we had three fine gentlemen--Andrew Klima, Keith Broughton, and Thomas Woodman--all of whom sang well and created interesting characters. 

The servants were effectively portrayed by Shane Brown and David Seatter, who has appeared in every single VHRPL! performance.

The musical scholarship that went into reducing this work for such an unusual combination of instruments impressed us. William Hicks spent a year and a half performing what one could call a "labor of love". All of Herbert's music was preserved with the lines distributed among the instruments. This "experiment" parallels Herbert's experiment in writing opera, indeed a huge pushing of boundaries all around.

Critics in 1914 were not enthralled with the work and we would be inclined to agree. The story was fine and character driven, whereas Herbert's operettas were story driven.  No problem there. The problem for us was the lack of tunes. What we have enjoyed of Herbert's operettas has been the luscious melodies and the set pieces of waltzes and marches as well as the chorus.  None of that here!

In a lecture by Ms. Mott, we learned of the influences upon this opera by Debussy, Strauss, Wagner, and Puccini--all composers we like. But we were unable to discern the leitmotifs for each character. Possibly if one were to listen to the opera several times it might have become apparent.

There were some musical moments that made the evening worthwhile. To have heard Ms. Leyden sing "When I am Happy" made us happy. Her crystalline soprano opened to a ringing top. For Didier's aria about the pursuit of elusive happiness, Mr. Hare's performance was affecting. We heard a lonely bassoon when he left.

The conclusion moved us, with piano and harp mourning the loss of Madeleine's own mother, whose portrait would be her dinner companion.

In sum, it was a worthwhile project to undertake and a rare opportunity to experience a musical titan pushing his own boundaries. We wouldn't have missed it for the world. We are looking forward, however, to VHRPL!'s resumption of operetta with Mlle. Modiste on May 5th and 6th!

© meche kroop

SWEETHEARTS

Sweethearts by Victor Herbert, brought to you by Victor Herbert Renaissance Project LIVE!

At the beginning of the 20th century, when modernism began to undermine the basic grammar of music, some of the principles that underpinned the workings of opera inevitably came under attack, too. Those of us who have sat through some pretty tedious atonal bores find relief in the music of Victor Herbert who kept audiences entertained and delighted with silly stories and melodious music. Last night's Sweethearts was the perfect antidote to works liked only by academia.

His Sweethearts premiered in 1913, just before The Great War, with a libretto by Fred DeGresac and Harry B. Smith. As is usually the case, Artistic and Stage Director Alyce Mott has rewritten the libretto to make the story flow smoothly and to appeal to modern taste. Happily, she has not attempted to change the period and we are left free to form our own associations to today's mating behavior and romantic (mis)adventures. Even more happily, Herbert's engaging music has been preserved and given over to the New Victor Herbert Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Michael Thomas with the superb William Hicks at the piano.

The ensemble nature of the company allows us to appreciate the same voices at every production with some new ones thrown into the mix for good measure. Soprano Claire Leyden has a remarkable voice and charming onstage presence that made her performance of the lead role a true delight. The large voiced Vira Slywotzky, generally cast in matronly roles, always tickles us with her humorous delivery. In this case, the excellent Joanie Brittingham played the "bad girl" part whilst the fine soprano Sarah Caldwell Smith was joined by Caitlin Ruddy, JoAnna Geffert, and Emily Geller; they made excellent music together as Dame Paula's four daughters.

They open the story and set the stage right after Dame Paula's narration. You see, Dame Paula, also called Mother Goose, owns a laundry in Bruge where the sisters complain about ironing all day. They are always flirting with soldiers who soon appear--Al-Jabril Muhammad, Drew Bolander, Jonathan Hare, and Keith Broughton.

Adopted daughter Sylvia is in love with a rake, Lieutenant Karl (played to the hilt by Jack Cotterell), who is having a flirtation (one among many) with Liane, a millinery girl played by Ms. Brittingham. Dame Paula warns Sylvia about this rascal but, just like girls of today, she loves him anyway.

Meanwhile, the Prince of Zilania (the fine Jovani Demetrie) falls for Sylvia, not knowing that she is really the heir to his throne, something of which she is ignorant as well.

The story concerns the machinations and manipulations of all the people who would stand in her way--the hypocritical and grasping Mikel, a diplomat of Zilania (played by the very funny Jonathan Fluck); von Tromp, a German diplomat (portrayed by Matthew Wages) who wants to grab the land to build a casino; and Algernon Percival Cuthbert Slingsby (the superb veteran operetta performer David Seatter) who wants to marry the lost princess, whomever she may be, to impress his father.

Liane, a thoroughly nasty girl, is co-opted into the plan but gets what she deserves. The message is of course that the kindhearted folk win in the end and the grasping nasty folk lose out.  Order is restored, romance wins, and we leave with a smile. Of course. Balm for the spirits.

Ms. Mott directed with her customary astuteness and Susanna Organik contributed some delightful choreography, particularly the waltzes and the opening song "Iron Iron, Iron".  The hit tune of Act I "Sweethearts" became so famous that it led to Herbert fighting all the way to the Supreme Court to establish ASCAP!

Beside those, there were so many other delightful numbers. "Mother Goose" was filled with humor, sung by Sylvia and the other four daughters. Von Tromp led the men in singing "Pretty as a Picture" about how women enhance their appearance, a song just as relevant today as a century ago.

Dame Paula, Mikel, and the daughters were engaging in the humorous "What She Wanted..And What She Got". Mr. Seatter delivered the spoken dialogue of "I Don't Know How I Do It, But I Do" in the first example of a number spoken over an instrumental score. 

Ms. Leyden's gorgeous voice maximized the impact of "The Angelus", a tender prayer for guidance. When Prince Franz joins her you just know things will work out for them in the end.

Everything about the music and its performance was topnotch and we loved the combination of instruments in the New Victor Herbert Orchestra. Not only did we have Mr. Hicks' wonderful piano but violin, cello, string bass, flute, harp, and percussion.

This is the end of the fifth season of VHRPL during which 10 staged productions and five concerts have been offered. We are very gratified to have seen the audience swell to capacity. New Yorkers know a good thing when they see/hear it. 

We got a peek at next season's productions and are giving you fair warning, dear readers. If you hope to see what this wonderful company can accomplish, be prepared to get your tickets in advance. It would be a shame to be shut out of such glorious glee!

(c) meche kroop

SOMETHING OLD AND SOMETHING NEW

Robert Davidson, Maestro Ian Shafer, Madison Marie McIntosh, Jonathan Hare, and Francesco Pavesi

This is  Christman Opera Company's second evening, the first having been reviewed 6 months ago. Pianist and keyboard teacher Theodore Christman seems headed for a future as a composer of works that are entertaining. This is the second time he has presented a short work of his own composition, with Anna Winslow as his librettist; he pairs his own work with a well-established work and casts them both with fine young singers.

As we pointed out in our prior (archived) review his music is anything but academic; it is meant to be entertaining and employs melody to enhance the story line. The tunes and the text work together well in the manner of a Broadway musical. 

The work we heard last night at the National Opera Center was called "The Dreamer" and involved an encounter between Aidan, a businessman visiting Chicago in the 1940's and Elizabeth, the daughter of the bookseller whose shop he is patronizing. Aidan becomes infatuated with Elizabeth who dreams of becoming a novelist. She rejects him because she believes him to be married, but there is a surprise twist that leads to a happy ending.

The lovely mezzo-soprano Marie Madison McIntosh, whose growth we have been chronicling, made a winsome Elizabeth, with the role of Aidan being taken by bass Derrell Acon whose melismatic singing had particular luster. Accompaniment was by one piano four hands, two belonging to Juan Condor and the other two belonging to Vesela Kirova. The arias were quite listenable with thematic repetition making the melody memorable--perhaps with a shade too much repetition. But, as we pointed out, it was a pleasure to hear words and music marching together. Unfortunately, the recitativi were a trifle awkward but the words were clear.  English diction was mostly good except for the high-lying passages of Elizabeth's arias. The best part was the harmonic writing for the duets.

It was a worthy entry as far as contemporary opera goes and held our interest far more than most entries in that field, even though it comprised a dialogue between two characters, without any activity.

Rossini was a composer who understood the concept of entertainment and if you do not find Il Barbiere di Siviglia wildly entertaining, your funny bone must be broken!  This opera has endured for two centuries exactly!  Rossini knew just how much repetition to use and just how far to carry a joke. The music sparkles and the plot moves along at breakneck speed. The characters are lovable although each has his foibles.

As the eponymous hero, baritone Jonathan Hare carried the evening with his pleasing and flexible voice, portraying a jack-of-all-trades with a winning personality and enough charm for several characters. He made ample use of gesture and facial expression to get this across. His "Largo al factotum" was as fine as one would wish and his excellence carried right through to the end.

Ms. McIntosh was a spunky Rosina, willful and devious when needs be, as she struggles to get out from under the domination of the controlling Dr. Bartolo. Ms. McIntosh has recently made the transition from soprano and her voice sparkles in the upper register; the breadth in her lower register keeps growing and there is a nice seamless quality from the tippy top almost to the bottom. The low notes are there and just a little work should integrate them more perfectly.

We love the way she delivered "Una voce poco fa" with plenty of razzle-dazzle in the fioritura; some of the embellishments seemed new to us. 

As Count Almaviva, tenor Francesco Pavesi sang the role beautifully, wafting garlic with every beautifully turned phrase. He had to portray frustration in the opening scene when Fiorello (baritone Clayton G. Williams) and his band of musicians fail to get Rosina to appear. He had to be conspiratorial with Figaro, romantic with Rosina, and drunk in his first appearance in Don Barolo's villa. His serenade of Rosina was ardent and beautifully modulated.

Soprano Erin Brittain shone in Berta's aria, lamenting her character's loneliness. She has a fine clear tone and an expressive manner. We look forward to hearing her in a larger role.

There were no titles but a minimal knowledge of Italian would have seen any listener through each scene, and for this we credit the fine direction of Eowyn Driscoll who did such a fine job as the Sorceress in Dido and Aeneas. She had no set to work with and no costumes, the only prop being a chair; wisely she focused on the interaction between the characters.

Bass-baritone Robert Davidson made a sturdy Dr. Bartolo who handled the patter well; he joined forces with Don Basilio (Mr. Acon) in an attempt to rule the unruly Rosina. "La calunnia" is always fun!  And so is the "Buona sera" scene when the conspirators try to get rid of the unwelcome Don Basilio. As a matter of fact, this opera has no mediocre arias, and especially notable are the ensembles which close each act, a Rossini trademark, in which all the characters are stupefied or chaotic.

Maestro Ian Shafer effected a suitable balance in this chamber orchestra, situated on half the stage, with the action taking place on the other half. Beside the string quartet there was a bass, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and two horns which behaved very well in spite of the horrendous weather.  Mr. Condor played the continuo part on the piano, in the absence of a harpsichord. Daniel Moreno was responsible for the fine guitar accompaniment.

Judicious cuts were made and toward the end there was a loss of continuity due to the omission of the scene in which Bartolo turns Rosina against Almaviva. The singing lesson scene also was truncated. None of these compromises proved fatal. A good time was had by all!

(c) meche kroop