JUILLIARD DOES MOZART

Bass Alex Rosen, Tenor Matthew Swensen, Mezzo-soprano Kelsey Lauritano, and Soprano Julia Wolcott

Concertmaster Carter Coleman, Maestro Gary Thor Wedow, Soprano Felicia Moore, and Collaborative Pianist Yun Wei

Mozart would have been completely satisfied with last night's dazzling evening which comprised his music, both sacred and secular. Where else but at Juilliard would one find the depth and breadth of talent in the vocal and instrumental areas to fill out such an ambitious program!

The first half of the program was devoted to secular music. Although our favorite Mozart symphonies remain his final two, there was plenty to enjoy in his Symphony No. 38 in C Major (the "Linz"). We have no idea why all the musicians, save the cellists and the tympanists, played in a standing position; if any readers have insight into this unusual configuration we hope they will comment below. We enjoyed most the melodic Andante and the spirited Presto Finale. 

But the pleasure of the symphony was far overshadowed by the knockout performance of the concert aria "Ch'io mi scordi di te?...Non temer, amato bene". Soprano Felicia Moore is as ample of voice as she is of stature, commanding the stage and owning the work. Her resonant voice filled Alice Tully Hall with overtones, the very molecules of air vibrating. There was plenty of bloom on top with substantial weight in the lower register. 

Ms. Moore has such command of technique that she was able to submerge herself in the text and to lean into certain notes with consummate expressivity. The various sections were differentially colored, lending the work enormous dramatic impact.  As her piano partner, Yun Wei's delicate hands flew over the keys, successfully limning Mozart's elaborate embellishments, also negotiated accurately and tastefully by the singer.  What a performance!

STRAUSS AS HE'S MEANT TO BE HEARD

Brian Zeger, Julia Wolcott, Alex Rosen, Christine Taylor Price, Kathryn Henry, and Samantha Hankey

When we learned who was singing at the Juilliard Songfest at Alice Tully Hall last night, we knew we were in for a special treat. When we saw the program, our eyes opened wide--all those songs by Richard Strauss that we had never heard before! As is the case with Schubert (whose output was considerably larger than that of Strauss, and larger than anyone else's for that matter), certain songs become popular and appear frequently on recital programs while others languish unfortunately unsung.

Brian Zeger, Artistic Director of Juilliard's Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts, was on hand as collaborative pianist and, in this case, perhaps more importantly, as curator for this thrilling evening. There were only a few familiar songs on the program and the others were delightful discoveries.

That Strauss loved sopranos is not news; indeed he had a fruitful marriage with one!  But just hear the three sopranos and singular mezzo-soprano who brought these songs to vivid and meaningful life!  Each one has remarkable technique which she applied to bring out the best of her glorious instrument. We will get to the bass later.

Kathryn Henry is a sensational soprano whom we previously had only heard briefly, and in French. We enjoyed her pure and lovely sound even more in German and in the songs selected for her to sing. She opened the program with a set of four of his songs--"Nichts", "Nachtgang", "Leises Lied" and "Die Georgine", all beautifully performed.

Later in the program she sang "Ich liebe dich" and the more familiar but very sad "Befreit". Her delivery was deeply felt and marked by perfect phrasing. Mr. Zeger introduced this wonderful song with some gorgeous arpeggios.

Soprano Christine Taylor Price has a pure crystalline sound that soars into the stratosphere.  We have enjoyed reviewing her work on prior occasions (reviews are archived) but don't recall hearing her sing Strauss; her instrument is just perfectly Taylor-ed (pardon the pun) for it. 

She opened the second half of the program with a set of four songs, each one a precious jewel--"Ich schwebe", the familiar and worshipful "Du meines Herzens Kronelein", the tender "Meinem Kinde", and the expansive "Fruhlingsgedrange".  To hear her spin out a pianissimo line is to experience pure auditory joy.

We loved "Die sieben Siegel", a setting of a text by Friedrich Ruckert, and the gentle "Traum durch die Dammerung" in which her vocal colors matched the text "weiches samteness Band"--soft velvet ribbon indeed!

Soprano Julia Wolcott performed "O susser Mai" and another Ruckert song "Morgenrot" to our delight. We make no apologies for enjoying text that scans and rhymes and Ruckert always fills the bill on that count! Our appreciation for this lovely artist grew as we witnessed her talent for drama and comedy. "Muttertandelei" is the outpouring of maternal pride. No one on earth has such a child!  Ms. Wolcott showed a real flair here and, moreover, got to show up a facility for melismatic passages that were beautifully handled.

Strauss included plenty of roles for mezzo-sopranos in his operas and we hope we will be hearing Samantha Hankey performing them in the near future. The timbre is just right.  Just thinking that the artists we heard tonight would comprise a perfect cast for Der Rosenkavalier (one of our favorite operas).

"Waldseligkeit"is a wonderful paean to nature and Ms. Hankey's voice expanded in a rapturous climax at the end. In "Lob des Leidens" she evinced the beauties to be found in sorrow. Our favorite, however, was "Einerlei" which speaks to the irony of diversity coming from sameness.

The evening truly belonged to the female voice but bass Alex Rosen was on hand to perform a few songs which were perhaps written for that fach, but we have been unable to verify. "Aus den Lieder der Trauer" was sung with intensity. Mr. Rosen certainly does have the strength in the lower register as heard in his mastery of the low tessitura of "Das Tal".

We liked him better in the light-hearted "Ach weh mir ungluckhaftem Mann' in which a poor man fantasizes about going courting in high style.  And our favorite was the gentle "Traum durch die Dammerung".

The encore was perfectly chosen for the four female voices, a setting of Heinrich Heine's "Fruhlingsfeier"; we are not sure if it has ever been arranged for four voices before but it was a stirring way to end a splendid evening.

© meche kroop

FIRST LIEDERABEND OF THE SEASON AT JUILLIARD

Alex Rosen, Julia Wolcott, Onadek Winan, Maria Brea, and Thomas West

Everything about yesterday's liederabend at Juilliard delighted us--the entire program was in German and, since it was coached by Brian Zeger, the German diction was excellent and not a word was slighted. The choice of composers included our favorites and the young artists performed them well, each with his/her own style.

We haven't spoken to Mr. Zeger about this but we suspect that he encourages each singer to honor his/her own performance style and each one seemed comfortable with his/her own choice. There is no right or wrong in lieder performance.  Some artists are highly expressive and make ample use of gesture to get across the meaning of the text. Others are more reserved and rely on vocal colors and the barest minimum of dramatic expression.  We can appreciate the entire spectrum.

Soprano Maria Brea opened the program and we enjoyed her highly expressive style in a half dozen songs by Richard Strauss. Not only did she employ ample gesture but used her facial expression to fine effect.  Even her eyes danced along with the music. Her bright tone was just right for Strauss. 

She opened the set with the sprightly "Wozu noch, Mädchen" and invested the final repetition of the opening verse with sufficient variation. She captured the sensuality of "Breit' über mein Haupt". The blind hope of "Hoffen und wieder verzagen" was made clear; the closing "Mein Herz ist stumm, mein Herz ist kalt" had appropriately chilly colors. Collaborative pianist Nathan Raskin provided excellent dynamic support.

Baritone Thomas West performed a quintet of songs by Brahms--songs with which we are unfamiliar--from Lieder und Gesänge, Op. 32.  Most of the Brahms songs that we love are of a folksy nature; these songs are quite serious and deal with more complex and troubling emotions.

Mr. West is an artist of the more reserved type, employing an economy of gesture and relying predominantly on vocal colors to convey the mood. That he translated the songs himself lent a word-by-word authenticity to his performance.  In "Wie rafft ich mich auf", Brahms repeats certain phrases and Mr. West handled this beautifully. His piano partner Jinhee Park evinced ample strength.

We particularly enjoyed the final song "Wie bist du, meine Königen", a more romantic affair to be sure, and a lied which permitted Mr. West to use a lighter tender tone, especially in the final verse. Every time he repeated "Wonnevoll!" we felt an inner smile.

Bass Alex Rosen performed a pair of serious songs by Schubert, lieder with opposing spiritual values. In "Prometheus" Goethe's text speaks of anger toward Zeus; the cynicism is so thick you could cut it with a knife.  In "Grenzen der Menschheit", the same poet speaks with spiritual reverence.

Mr. Rosen captured both attitudes and did it with low notes to spare. Collaborative pianist Chérie Roe made a powerful statement throughout.

Some genie must have read our Friday night review of the Brooklyn Art Song Society in which we expressed the wish for more songs by Joseph Marx to appear on recital programs.  How delighted we were that soprano Julia Wolcott performed four of them! Although he came along a generation after Strauss, his music is entirely accessible and melodic. Ms. Wolcott's performance was lovely and her instrument brilliant in tone.

We had heard two of the songs "Nocturne" and "Selige Nacht" Friday night and had enjoyed them entirely. How delightful to hear them again. Piano partner Dror Baitel enjoyed the dazzling runs of the former and Ms. Wolcott clearly enjoyed the sensuality of the latter, which has become one of our favorites. It is interesting that Otto Erich Hartleben wrote the text for both of them.

Soprano Onadek Winan closed the program with four selections from Strauss' Brentano-Lieder, Op. 68. which she translated herself; this lent an immediacy to her performance. Our ears feasted on her beautiful tone and our eyes on a lovely stage presence.

In "An die Nacht" piano partner Ho Jae Lee's passion matched hers.  But our favorite is always "Amor" in which she gave a charming reading and some stunning vocal fireworks.  Mr. Lee's piano was particularly fine in "Als mir dein Lied erklang".  This summed up the recital for us--"Your song rang out to me"!  Indeed, these five singers managed, in 80 minutes, to erase an entire day's cares.  Long live music.  Long live song!

(c) meche kroop

STEPHANIE BLYTHE MASTER CLASS at JUILLIARD

Stephanie Blythe

Stephanie Blythe is our hero, or heroine, if you will. You may know her as the highly acclaimed mezzo-soprano, but she is also an acclaimed master teacher.  Her direct "no nonsense" approach to teaching never fails to offer the student useful pointers. The proof of the pudding is the change one hears in the half-hour allotted to each student.

What is remarkable about the audience is how supportive they are, partly mirroring her supportive attitude and partly reflective of the overall mood we have noticed within Juilliard's Vocal Arts Department.

Each of yesterday's participants has a special vocal quality that Ms. Blythe never failed to praise.  But she made the point that a beautiful sound is not enough; she points the student toward maximum artistry and connection with the audience.  This artistry does not come from histrionics but from simplicity and understanding of the text.

Two of the composers represented in the program were present in the audience.  We wondered what the young singers felt.  Probably a lot of excitement and some additional pressure.  They didn't seem to show any anxiety however. The singers were apparently encouraged to choose their own songs. Each one had prepared by intensely studying the text--extremely important in art song performance.

First on the program was bass-baritone Cody Quattlebaum who performed John Musto's setting of James Loughlin's "Rome: In the Café" from the cycle Viva Sweet Love. Mr. Quattlebaum clearly had spent time with the text and we particularly enjoyed his reading of it. There is a haunting mystery about the subject observing a woman in a café and the drama of her daily appearance to meet a man who attempts to console her as she weeps.

Mr. Quattlebaum was rather eloquent as he described his learning the text and his thoughts about it.  Ms. Blythe coached him on spinning the tone, even on the shortest notes, advice we would hear again and again. As we keep hearing, it is the BREATH that connects the notes.  Ms. Blythe spoke about string instruments and bowing, a useful metaphor indeed; phrases must have direction.

As the possessor of a low voice, Ms. Blythe had some special tips for Mr. Quattlebaum and also for mezzo-soprano Kelsey Lauritano who followed with Ricky Ian Gordon's  "X" from the cycle Late Afternoon.  There was no doubt that Ms. Lauritano has a deep feeling for Jean Valentine's text about a brother who died of AIDS and parents who didn't want his name on the AIDS quilt; she had found the cycle herself and chose to learn the song.

Her coaching involved allowing a bit more head voice in the mix to carry the sound. She was asked to sing the song with intimacy and simplicity. We have never heard it put this way before but we loved the concept that eye contact creates an active audience.

Tenor Matthew Swensen performed "The Lake Isle of Innisfree",  Ben Moore's setting of a text by William Butler Yeats.  He sang it with the most beautiful sound which Ms. Blythe praised--but she wanted him to look at the audience more and connect. She initiated a valuable discussion of rubato and the "give and take" which that score marking indicates; the singer must take time here to take us to the place of tranquility of which Yeats wrote.

She further advised more attention to the dynamic markings of the song.  Other points included smiling with the heart instead of the mouth and not furrowing the brow. There was a valuable trick offered--running a piece of Scotch tape across the brow so that one can be made aware of this bad habit and correct it.  Now that's something everyone can try!

The final entry on the program was soprano Julia Wolcott's performance of "Orinda Upon Little Hector Philips" from Ben Moore's cycle So Free Am I. The sad text by 17th c. poet Katherine Philips is a eulogy to her babe who died. The text is difficult to speak, let alone to sing--especially at the upper register of the soprano range. 

We loved the sound of Ms. Wolcott's voice but had to look up the text online. Ms. Blythe's coaching was, of course, to pay more attention to enunciating the text! There was also the suggestion to use less histrionics. 

There was more discussion of vibration and taking time to spin the tone, especially on the short notes--and where did we hear that advice before! When taking a breath, the singer should maintain the space of the prior phrase--all great advice.

Pianists for the master class were excellent: Michal Biel, Katelan Terrell, and Adam Rothenberg.

Ms. Blythe is a champion of contemporary music, of which we are not.  When she summed up the afternoon she expressed her belief that music recently written speaks to us today. It has not so far spoken to us, however!  Yet we acknowledge that what we heard today was more successful at reaching us.  We think of it as perhaps a whisper that may grow in volume as in Rossini's "La calunnia" sung by Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia.

It was a truly valuable experience, for the audience as well as for the singers. Ms. Blythe stressed the fact that singers could try out what she offered and "take it or leave it".  We hope they will take it!

(c) meche kroop

GENDER QUEER BAROQUE

Jacob Thoman, Alexander McKissick, Sean Lammer, Samantha Hankey, Jakub Józef Orliński (photo by Rosalie O'Connor)

The playing area was filled with nymphs and satyrs, gods and goddesses--strange figures to be sure; and yet their concerns are our concerns today.  The social media generation did not invent unfulfilled romantic longing, sexual dalliances overcoming chaste intentions, rejection, cross-dressing, lesbian love, romantic deception, nor vengeful wives. There was something particularly thrilling about seeing ourselves onstage in a work dating back nearly four centuries.  Not just thrilling but moving as well. Love and sex will always be with us until the robots take over!

A particularly fine cast at Juilliard brought Francesco Cavalli's 1651 opera to vivid life.  It is difficult to believe that this marvelous work lay dormant until 1970.  How fortunate we are that it was discovered and revived.  It lets us in on what the mid 17th c. Venetians expected from a rather new popular art form. Cavalli was there at the birth of opera.

Impresario/librettist Giovanni Faustini had created many operas with Cavalli; this one was their penultimate production. The story was derived from Ovid's Metamorphosis and recounts the story of Jove pretending to be the goddess Diana in order to seduce the beautiful chaste Calisto. The tale is padded out with the love story between the real Diana and the shepherd Endimione. In every case, chastity falls under the weight of sexual desire. 

Let us describe a few of the vocal and dramatic treasures in the production, which was directed and choreographed by the wildly talented polymath Zack Winokur. The wily Mercurio (fine tenor Michael St. Peter) convinces Giove (authoritative baritone Xiaomeng Zhang) that persuasion is no match for deception when trying to seduce a woman. Their duet was musically gorgeous and also quite humorous. 

In the title role, the beautiful soprano Angela Vallone impressed with the grace of her movement and the beautiful tonal quality of her voice as she sang about wanting to lead a chaste life, devoted to the goddess Diana. In a clever bit of stage business, Giove transforms himself into Diana and the exceptional mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey completely convinced us by means of vocal coloring and masculinized body movement. The two women had a tender duet before entering a cave to exchange chaste kisses (which led to much more).

When the real Diana appears her voice and gestures are very different and there is no doubt that she is the real thing. When Calisto refers to their makeout session, Diana is outraged by the inference and tosses Calisto out of the virginal sisterhood. 

Diana, on her part, is secretly in love with the shepherd Endimione who expresses his longing for her in the most exquisite aria. Countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński was the perfect choice for this role, appearing innocent and singing with the sweetest sound.

Comic relief was provided by three nymphs of the sisterhood--all portrayed by men in a delightful gender bending bit of casting. Two of the nymphs (Sean Lammer and Jacob Thoman) were borrowed from Juilliard Dance, as was Nicholas Jurica and Evan Rapaport who, with Mr. Lammer, comprised the three Furies from hell. But oh, that third nymph! We always knew that tenor Alexander McKissick had comedic talents, but here he rose to new heights as Linfea, one of the sisterhood who would very much like to give up her virginity.

In spite of her desperation, there is no way Linfea is going to settle for the importuning of Satirino (the fine mezzo-soprano Caitlin Redding, sporting goat horns and hooves).  He is a member of the clutch of satyrs, of which the leader is the god Pane, marvelously portrayed by tenor Matthew Swensen. As Silvano, one of the satyrs, bass-baritone Cody Quattlebaum turned in a fine and physical performance. One of the funniest scenes was the one in which the nymphs win a battle with the satyrs.

Act II brought on new delights as Giunone, the jealous wife of Giove, appears with her furies bearing her aloft under her huge golden skirt, in a stunning bit of stage business. Soprano Julia Wolcott gave her all to the revenge aria in which she instructs women not to put up with philandering husbands but rather to take revenge.  Her particular revenge is to transform Calisto into a bear.

The singing was so fine all around that we could not have imagined better casting. Surely it helped that Cavalli wrote such singable music. As far as the orchestra goes, it was a small chamber orchestra, such as it was in its own time. Juilliard415 is the school's principal period-instrument ensemble and they did full justice to Cavalli's writing, conducted by the renowned Stephen Stubbs. There were theorbos and lutes, guitars and violins, cello, bass, harpsichord and some percussion used for dramatic effect. The bass stood out, playing with force and providing emphasis.

The costumes by Austin Scarlett were stunning. The nymphs wore soft graceful gowns; the satyrs really did appear goatlike; Giove was regal, Giunone was imposing in her golden gown, and Mercurio had appropriate wings on his head and feet.

Scenic design by Charlap Hyman & Herrero comprised backdrops painted like woodlands with a few screens for characters to hide behind when spying on one another. Misha Kahn's golden chandelier and sconces looked just right. Marcus Doshi's lighting design was effective.

The overall result was an evening that was not only entertaining but thought-provoking. We wondered why human nature has not evolved in four centuries! We can only imagine what this opera looked like in Venice in 1650 but we can be fairly certain that the librettist put onstage dilemmas that were familiar to his audience.

Our feeling of connection with the 17th c. left us feeling very joyful;  a time and place that, while very distant, was made to seem so familiar.

(c) meche kroop