S&M OPERA???

Brett Umlauf and Amber Youell

If we were asked to consider sadomasochism in connection with the opera, our first thought would be sitting through Moses und Aron (with apologies to you Schoenberg fans).  But now there is a new point of reference.  The highly original Morningside Opera Company presented an evening of Pergolesi in which there was a serious consideration of the validity of taking pleasure in another's pain.  Serious, but filled with humor, just like Pergolesi's music.

The poor fellow died of tuberculosis at the age of 26 but managed to produce a considerable amount of delightful music, bridging the Baroque and the Classical. Shortly before his death in a monastery, he composed the gorgeous Stabat Mater about the indescribable pain of Mary watching her son's agony on the cross.  The music is nearly frivolous--melodic and lighthearted while the words are excruciatingly painful.  Dare we enjoy it?

The evening took place in a so-called black box theater which was....WHITE!  Just another disjunction. The performing area was situated between the two sections of seats occupying the long walls of the space, giving everyone a good view.  The two superb performers were just as adept in acting as they were in singing.  Soprano Brett Umlauf and alto Amber Youell entered in their undies with their hair compressed by stocking caps.  For awhile they faced each other and mirrored each other's actions.

As the piece progressed, they donned and doffed various articles of clothing--purple tights, black pumps, a black leather corset, opulent 18th c. gowns and white wigs topped by little bird cages.  They enacted various scenarios of power--dominance and submission.  Periodic hand-washing movements reminded one of Lady Macbeth and the interactions suggested Jean Genet's The Maids.  Other images suggested Michelangelo's Pietà.  Choreography was by Laura Careless .

Both women have highly expressive voices and the harmonies were incredibly pleasing to the ear. Musical accompaniment was provided by the superb all-female Siren Baroque, comprising violinists Claire Bermingham and Antonia Light Nelson, cellist Anneke Schaul-Yoder, with harpsichordist Kelly Savage providing the continuo and serving as Musical Director.

The second piece on the program was a short opera buffa composed by Pergolesi a few years earlier--La Serva Padrona.  Initially intended as an intermezzo for an opera seria, it was so beloved that its fame far outlived the opera seria.  It's a simple story of a female servant who blackmails her elderly master into marrying her.

But, in the hands of Morningside Opera it became something completely different. The servant Serpina, addressed as "Mistress", is now a professional dominatrix and Uberto is her client.  He is quite fond of her and can't quite detach himself. She is costumed in a black corset and boots and comes equipped with whip and ball gag.

Although we generally want our opera sung in the original language, there was a very important reason to sing this one in English.  It was astonishing to see how the very 18th c. language which suited the power dynamics of a master and his servant worked so well to limn the power dynamics of a dom and her client.  It is generally understood that the member of an S&M duo that holds the power is the masochist.

Baritone Michael Shaw made an excellent Uberto who rails against his servant but has strong needs for what she has to offer.  As the servant/dom Serpina, soprano Brittany Palmer was effectively winsome. Several modern references were interpolated, such as eHarmony and Face Time.  The music handily depicts the beating of hearts when such is called for.

Stage direction and costume design for both pieces was by Annie Holt (Executive Artistic Director of Morningside Opera) and the Production Design was by Dante Olivia Smith.

Morningside Opera has been delighting audiences since 2008 and we were thrilled to have discovered such a creative group of performers and designers; we hope to review more of their work in the future.

© meche kroop

MONDAY NIGHT DOUBLE HEADER

 
Only in New York could you go out on a Monday night and witness two extraordinary musical events.  In the first, Opera Feroce presented a pasticcio, an operatic model popular in the baroque period when singers often interpolated their favorite arias into operas by other composers.  Since 2012 began we twice saw "The Enchanted Island", another pasticcio,  at the Met and enjoyed ourselves to the limit.  The latter was based on a couple of Shakespeare plays whereas last night's Amor and Psyche was based on the 2nd c. novel Metamorphosis by Apuleius.

The story is that of the beautiful Psyche who is envied by the goddess Venus.  Cupid gets pricked by his own dart and falls in love with her.  Venus torments Psyche with impossible tasks.  With boundless creativity, the members of Opera Feroce have filled in the story with arias by Handel, Dowland, Porpora, Mancini, Lotti, Stradella, Campion, Durante, Coprario, Soresina, Savatelli, and, not to neglect the Germans, Adam  and Johann Philipp Krieger.

This was an original entertainment that delighted the audience, most of whom seemed to be natives of the Upper West Side.  Amor was well sung and charmingly acted by mezzo Hayden DeWitt who was also responsible for the arch program notes.  Soprano Beth Anne Hatton made a charming and equally well sung Psyche.  Their duet "Dormono l'aure estive" was beautifully moving. The other roles were all handled by countertenor Alan Dornak whose extravagant mugging seemed too campy by half.  He sounded best in his more mournful duet with Psyche, Handel's "Son nato a lagrimar".

Kelly Savage at the harpsichord was joined by baroque violinist Vita Wallace and Motomi Igarashi who played the viola da gamba.  The trio played superbly.

Being a group effort, no one person has taken credit for the concept, direction or musical research--all of which deserve credit.  The black baroque costumes were particularly a propos.

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As if any more entertainment were necessary we made it to Steven Blier's event "Sing for Your Supper" at Henry's Restaurant.  The New York Festival of Song never fails to delight but tonight was more delightful than ever as nine of our favorite singers from Juilliard presented "Invitation to the Dance".  As usual, newlywed Steven Blier excelled at his duties as host, arranger and accompanist  Andrew Stenvall played some gentle percussion. Stepping out of their roles as opera and lieder singers, the students easily made the transition to "popular" song, without any of the pretentiousness usually heard when opera stars do crossover material.  Notably, microphones were not necessary and the audience was blissfully quiet and attentive.  Not only was the singing first rate but these guys and gals know how to get a song across.  To ice the cupcake, they danced!  The education at Juilliard never ceases to amaze me.

Heard with great joy were Elizabeth Sutphen, Karen Vuong, Rachael Wilson and Simone Easthope on the distaff side; the men were Kyle Bielfield, Leo Radosavlijevic, Miles Mykkanen, Nathan Haller and Tobias Greenhalgh.  So uplifted were we that we virtually floated home in the faint drizzle.

(c) meche kroop