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...........

DEGENERATE MUSIC

Nathaniel LaNasa and Gregory Feldmann

Guest Review by Ellen Godfrey:

Friday night in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, the audience was treated to a performance by this year’s winners of the 2019 Joy in Singing International Art Song competition. This marks the 56th award debut recital and is the second year that the competition took place in Weill Hall. 

The mission of The Joy in Singing, Art Song Institute is to nurture the love for art song, and to explore the variety in classical songs through education and performance.  This mission is implemented by developing and refining exceptional vocal talent. It also offers workshops and training in all facets of song performance.

Thanks to the generous support of patrons and other music lovers, the foundation is able to offers multiple prizes each year and one grand prize. This year’s competition’s grand prize was awarded to baritone Gregory Feldmann and pianist Nathaniel LaNasa. 

New York based Gregory Feldmann is a rising young singer, both in opera and art song recitals.  Just a few weeks ago he sang the role of the Composer in Juilliard Opera’s sold out performances of Virgil Thomson’s The Mother of Us All, held at the Met Museum. This summer he will return to Opera Theatre of St. Louis to sing Morales in their production of Carmen and also will cover Oliver Sacks in the world premiere of Tobias Picker’s Awakening.

Mr. LaNasa is very interested in contemporary classical music and is discovering fresh possibilities for sonority and gesture in music; he has had several works written for him. He is a vocal coach and a staff pianist at the Juilliard School of Music. He has also performed in musical venues in NYC, including Alice Tully Hall and in the New York cabaret, Le Poisson Rouge. The two artists are frequent collaborators.

On February 27th, the pair made their Weill Recital Hall debut performing songs that were written by composers who were censored under the Nazi regime. The mission of the Nazis was to destroy and suppress what they considered to be “degenerate” music. The pair were amazed how such music has been ignored and felt that the wonderful music created by these great composers, in the face of such stressful conditions, should be heard.

The concert was made up of six groups of songs. Before each group of songs, the two men gave a short preview of the songs and composers. Mr. Feldmann and Mr. LaNasa, both superb musicians, have a wonderful connection, obviously enjoying working together.  Each seems to know what the other is thinking. Mr. LaNasa plays with great sensitivity and deep feeling which is the best way to also describe Mr. Feldmann’s singing. His beautiful baritone is even from top to bottom and he has great control of his fine instrument. He is indeed a master storyteller, a quality we look for in singers of art songs.

The first group of songs was a light-hearted group, beginning with “Berlin im Licht”, a cabaret song by Kurt Weill, who fled the Nazi’s in 1933 and remained in New York the rest of his life.  The artists had just the right feel for this music.  The next three songs were written by Franz Schreker.  The Nazi’s removed him from the directorship of two of his posts in the 1930’s; he died in 1934.  His song “Sommerfaden” (summer threads)  is about the end of summer. Mr. LaNasa's delicate playing conveyed the light spirit of summer and the rushing waters. Mr. Feldmann colored his voice with tenderness.

The next group of songs was composed by Alexander von Zemlinsky, who fled from Austria to the United States in 1938 to avoid the Nazis. His song ”Entbietung” or “Invitation” is perfect for the baritone voice. The song concerns a man praising his loved one and asking when she will come to him. The singer's diction was very clear as he started off singing lightly with a crescendo toward the end.. Another song, “Nun schwills Der See so bang” (“Now the sea swells so fearfully”) is a short exciting song requiring a good sized voice with wonderful arpeggi supporting the singer. Both artists excelled.

The final group of the first part of the concert comprised songs by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, a pianist and classical composer, best known for his music for Hollywood movies. As the Nazi party was gaining strength in 1934, the famous theatre director Max Reinhardt invited Korngold to Hollywood. “Austrian Soldier’s Farewell” tells of a soldier saying farewell to a girl as he is about to leave for war; the music has a modern sound.  In "Vesper" Mr. Feldmann kept his voice high, still maintaining the beauty of the sound while Mr. LaNasa was brilliant in his imitation of the bells. Composers can't go wrong setting text by Josef von Eichendorff!

After the intermission we heard songs composed by Viktor Ullmann, Pavel Haas, and Hanns Eisler.   Both Ullmann and Haas ended up in Theresienstadt after having been fired from their jobs in music. In 1944 both of them were gassed in the death camp Auschwitz-Berkenau. Eisler escaped death by going into exile in other countries when these works were banned by the Nazis.  He arrived in America in1938 and Brecht arrived there in 1941 after many long journeys. The program ended, as you will see, with the product of their collaboration!

Ullman’s  humorous Liederbuch des Hapis was composed in the face of the horrors of the war. “Worausbestimmung” was set in waltz rhythm and was marked by some dissonance. There was a jaunty tune played with great fun by Mr. LaNasa.  “Betrunken” began with some dialogue underscored by the piano  and then morphed into a drinking song.  Singers seem to love drinking songs and Mr. Feldmann revelled in his performance without losing his stellar vocal technique.

The next song cycle Four Songs on Chinese Poetry was composed by Pavel Haas to a text in Czech. In “Far is my Home, O Moon” the piano started with a dark color and mysterious sound, played gently.  One can feel the glow of the moon; the ending is very quiet.  In the song “I hear the cry of the wild geese”, the poet laments being so far away from home. This was sung with great care and understanding.

The program ended with “Friedenslied,” a strophic song composed by Hanns Eisler after World War II with lyrics by Bertold Brecht.  This song calls for peace to the earth, to the home, to all nations and all people. The song is both simple and profound, affecting the audience due largely to its superlative and sincere performance.

There was a standing ovation at the end calling for an encore, which brought forth Zemlinsky's "Empfängnis". Cheers to the artists for this inspired program and masterly performances. The unique program merits future performances both here and abroad.

© meche kroop

 

 

20th CENTURY POLITICAL OPERA

Michael Barrett, Steven Blier, Rebecca Jo Loeb, Sari Gruber, Alex Mansoori, and John Brancy

Last night at Merkin Hall, Steven Blier's New York Festival of Song scored another hit with songs excerpted from two political operas of the early 20th c.; the songs were joined together by narration from Mr. Blier and his co-collaborative pianist Michael Barrett. We are not sure whether we would have wanted to see either opera in full production but we valued the opportunity to have an exposure to two rarities that we may never hear of again.

Of the two works, we preferred the 1933 singspiel Der Silbersee, the run of which was truncated by the rising forces of Nazism, causing the composer Kurt Weill to flee Germany. Of course we can see parallels with our own situation here in 21st c. USA; nonetheless, this odd work seemed strangely dated.

The translation of Georg Kaiser's pungent lyrics was performed by Jonathan Eaton who did a fine job of creating punchy lines that scanned well and rhymed; still, we think it would have come across with greater power in the original German. The story is an odd one in which a starving man steals a pineapple and gets shot by a policeman who then feels guilty. With money won by lottery, the policeman buys a castle in which he cares for the thief. When the thief learns who his caretaker is he must lock himself in the basement lest he take revenge for his wounding.

Meanwhile, the policeman hides away in the tower out of fear for his life. It is only when they get thrown out of the castle by the devious "rich bitch" Frau Luben that they achieve forgiveness and reconciliation. With the company of Frau Luben's poor relation Fennimore, the pair make their way back to Silbersee where they experience hope and salvation. This story wended its way from realismo to some version of German magic realism.

In spite of the peculiar nature of the story, we heard some performances that knocked our hosen off. Tenor Alex Mansoori and baritone John Brancy (both well known to us for some time and worthy of our consistent admiration) delivered "Gravediggers' Duet" in close harmony with an abrasive edge.

The smashing soprano Sari Gruber (well remembered from long ago Marilyn Horne recitals) and adorable mezzo-soprano Rebecca Jo Loeb (whom we last heard singing in Czech in a rarely heard Martinu opera) performed the cute "Shopgirls' Duet". We recognized strains that came right from Brahms' Liebeslieder Walzer and could barely believe our ears.

In tango rhythm, Mr. Masoori delivered the ironic "Lottery Agent's Song" which was the most typically Weill-like number in the work, along with "Caesar's Death", sung by Ms. Loeb--a number that surely riled the Brown Shirts.

"You Take the Highway", sung by Ms. Loeb and Mr. Mansoori, had a haunting melody, ending with some hurdy-gurdy music in the dual pianos. 

Ms. Gruber's acting as the unpleasant Frau Luber was sensational, giving us a few good laughs as she and Baron Laur exemplified greed in "A Rich Man's Land", contrasting with the poverty of the other characters.

Mr. Blitzstein's 1941 No For an Answer seemed particularly dated and the need for a librettist seemed acute. The composer did seem to try to write short punchy phrases but reading them on the page seemed to add to the impression that a good librettist could have done a better job.

But no singers could have done a better job than the foursome and much of Blitzstein's music is appealing. Our hands down favorite was John Brancy's delivery of "Purest Kind of Guy", a tribute to a character who was gunned down; this is a great stand alone piece and one we hope Mr. Brancy will add to his repertoire.

The very funny Mr. Mansoori was hilarious with "Penny Candy", a song in which the character describes how he works on a wealthy woman's sympathy to extract some charity and then humiliates her by revealing his ruse. This was performed with a heavy accent which added to the fun.

Mr. Brancy had a beautiful love duet with Ms. Loeb entitled "Francie" in which Ms. Loeb prattles on and Mr. Brancy, portraying her husband Joe, recently released from prison, sings nothing but her name Francie over and over again.

It was an altogether interesting evening, although we would not be in a rush to hear either work in toto. But we will always be eager to hear more of those four splendid singers. Mr. Brancy has a real gift for sincerity and getting to the heart of a song whilst the other three have extraordinary comedic gifts. And today, we need all the humor we can get!

© meche kroop

MORE FRENCH

Martin Néron, Jean-Bernard Cerin, Christopher Reames, and Laure-Catherine Beyers

Last night at the National Opera Center we attended the Gérard Souzay Award Showcase presented by Dalton Baldwin in collaboration with Joy in Singing and The Art Song Preservation Society of New York.

Coming on the heels of the afternoon recital by Stéphane Sénéchal and Mark Markham, perhaps the recital did not get the attention it deserved. Perhaps we just overdosed on French mélodies. We found our attention wandering to the pianist Martin Néron to whom we paid insufficient attention on the two prior occasions on which we heard him. He is an absolutely marvelous collaborative pianist and we admired his delicate touch and the sensitivity with which he related to the singers.

During the recital, a certain valuable memory rose to consciousness. It was the advice a prominent conductor/coach gave to a young singer at a master class. "Sing what you love", he said. When baritone Jean-Bernard Cerin (winner of the first Gérard Souzay Prize for Best Performance of a French Mélodie at the 2018 Joy in Singing Song Competition in NYC) performed Maurice Ravel's Histoires naturelles we could tell that he loved those songs.

Earlier in the program we found his involvement a bit wanting; we found his facial expressions excessive to the point of mugging and his gestures underdone. But in the Ravel he blossomed! He was particularly excellent in his portrayal of the courting peacock in "Le Paon" and the embattled guinea hen in "La Pintade".

There are those who like their singers of art song to stand still and use only the voice to tell the story. But as we learned at the Sénéchal recital early in the day (review just below), we like acting. We like gesture. We like storytelling. It's a matter of taste.

Similarly, when mezzo-soprano Laure-Catherine Beyers performed Henri Dutilleux's "Féerie au clair de lune" with generous use of color and gesture, we were captivated as we were not in her earlier performance of Reynaldo Hahn's "L'heure exquise", in spite of the fact that it is one of our favorites. She closed the program with a highly dramatic performance of the tango inflected "Youkali" from Kurt Weill's Marie Galante, convincing us of how cabaret style music can exist comfortably alongside opera.

We have heard and enjoyed tenor Christopher Reames on a couple prior occasions and enjoyed his performances more than we did last night. Curiously, on both occasions it was Debussy's settings of Paul Verlaine's text in Fêtes galantes I; we don't exactly know what was missing. His voice is sweet with a fine vibrato but perhaps we were looking for more "acting". Mr. Cerin had just performed Fauré's setting of "En sourdine" which also left us cold. 

We might have enjoyed hearing the two versions of "En sourdine" back to back, so to speak. We would also have enjoyed the libretto in French, instead of just English, and enough illumination to follow along.

(c) meche kroop

LADY IN THE DARK SHINES ITS LIGHT ON NEW YORK

Amy Irving and Victoria Clark (photo by Richard Termine)

Guest review by Ellen Godfrey:

Lady in the Dark achieved legendary status from the day it opened in New York City in 1941, where it ran for 491 performances. The musical made stars of the already well known Gertrude Lawrence, who’s picture was featured on the cover of Time magazine, and a young comic actor named Danny Kaye, who’s tongue twister of the song “Tchaikowsky" made him an instant star.  The creative team for the show were already giants in the field of theatre and music. Lady in the Dark was a ground-breaking work due to the unusual plot and the rich score. It was a bridge between the more light hearted and less sophisticated musicals preceding it and the more serious integrated musicals that followed.

The original idea for the dramatic musical show, involving psychoanalysis, was developed by Moss Hart, whom for many years had sought relief from his own depression and insomnia through psychoanalysis.  (His granddaughter  performed the small role of Barbara in the show).  Ira Gershwin wrote the extraordinary lyrics on his return to Broadway after the death of his composer brother George. 

The music was composed by the great Kurt Weill, who fled Germany in 1935 with his wife, the legendary cabaret singer Lotte Lenya. His 1938 musical Knickerbocker Holiday had a short run in New York, but introduced the “September Song” to America and the world. His first big Broadway hit was Lady in the Dark, which opened in 1941. Despite its great success, it was never revived for Broadway until Encores presented it to inaugurate the opening of their first Encore’s season in 1994.  It was made into a movie in the 1940’s.  

Weill wrote several other musicals including Street Scene, and One Touch of Venus  (starring Mary Martin).  He also composed some songs for movies and some orchestral music as well.  He died in 1950.

We owe great thanks to Ted Sperling, for bringing this wonderful work back to New York, along with his Masters’ Voices Chorus ,for three semi-staged performances. Mr. Sperling fell in love with this show when he was in college and was happy to present these performances as part of New York City Center’s 75th anniversary.

Before going any further, let me say that both Victoria Clark as Liza Elliot and David Pittu, as Russel Paxton were  terrific in their roles.  Tony Award winner Victoria Clark has brought her theatrical and vocal art to twelve Broadway musicals. With her ravishing voice and fine acting she was a perfect Liza Elliot.  David Pittu, who played the magazine’s photographer and the ringmaster in the circus dream, was charged with getting out all 50 Russian composers’ names in 35 seconds for the Tschaikowsky song and was appropriately applauded for his work.

The story of Lady in the Dark, involves a very successful and driven female fashion executive of a magazine called Allure, who decided to be  psychoanalyzed in order to conquer the fears and demons from her childhood.  The structure of the show is very original.  It is divided into three 20 minute acts, each with a different dream surrounded by pure play structure. We hear a bit of the song “My Ship” when we are first introduced to Liza at the beginning of the first act and this song is woven like a Wagnerian motive throughout the whole musical. At the end of the play, her psychiatrist has finally helped her to figure out why she was so disturbed. Suddenly all of the words of “My Ship,” come to her and she is finally at peace with herself.

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“My Ship,” it is one of the most well-known and beloved songs of the musical and is sung quietly and hauntingly by Victoria Clark.  The other two popular songs are “The Saga of Jenny,” who couldn’t make up her mind, sung in a jaunty manner by Victoria Clark and the Tschaikowsky song. These three songs occur one after the other at the end of the musical .

Kurt Weill was a composer who could write in many styles. He was trained in his native Germany as a classical musician but he decided to write popular music to appeal to the people.  Throughout this musical there is a variety of musical styles; bolero, cabaret, romantic, fox trots, catchy tunes and music that points back to the Weimar Republic.

The show was performed as a semi-staged concert.  Ted Sperling led a dramatic and beautiful reading of the score. The great Orchestra of St. Lukes, one of America’s most distinguished orchestras, played the complicated score to perfection. The wonderful 120 person Master Singers were on bleachers in the rear of the stage. In addition to their glorious singing, they also were always in character.

The stage area was small and with only a few props…a lamp, a sofa, a desk, and a chair, Doug Fitch, the director of the show, was able to create the right atmosphere for each for the three dream acts.  The choreographer, Doug Varone, choreographed a series of dances for each of the three dream sequences, making great use of the small areas of the stages.  The dancers whirled around in circles or groups and gave energized performances.

In the musical, Liza  Elliott is a fashion executive so Ted Sperling and his Costume Designer Tracey Christensen decided to go to fashion designers to create high fashion outfits. Hamish Bowles, Vogue’s international editor at large, helped introduce them to appropriate designers for the dream sequences. For the Glamour dream sequence, Zac Posen designed outfits for Victoria Clark and the female dancers; for the Wedding dream sequence the Bridal gown was designed  by Marchesa, and for the Circus dream, Thorn Browne designed outfits  for the  principal actors and the jury. 

The actors were an excellent ensemble of Broadway theatre professionals. Many of them also worked in television and movies. Amy Irving, played a very sympathetic psychoanalyst and the scenes between her and Victoria Clark seemed real. Ashley Park, as Miss Foster, made her a very efficient secretary and helper for Liza. Ron Davis played up the self importance of the Hollywood star Randy Curtis. Christopher Innvar was excellent in his portrayal of Charley Johnson whom Liza found annoying at first, but by the end of the musical realized his kindness.  Ron Raines was patient as the character Kendall Nesbitt who was Liza’s boyfriend, even though he was already married. He was wonderful in the scene where, in a trial, he has to give evidence of her inability to change her mind and expresses his sadness and surprise when Liza decided she didn’t want to marry him. 

There was great applause at the end of the show from the very appreciative audience. Hopefully, we will not have to wait another 25 years for its return to Broadway.

(c) meche kroop

SALON DE LA VOIX

Nathaniel LaNasa and Helaine Liebman at the National Opera Center\

The inauguration of a new vocal series is music to our ears both literally and figuratively.  Shall we say "fig/lit"? As so many talented singers are doing these days, young artists are not waiting around to be cast but are casting themselves in starring roles. We heartily approve of this trend.

Ms. Liebman's idea is to update the concert experience and to encourage music lovers to attend with an informal approach.  One helps oneself to a glass of wine, one meets and chats with the artists, one listens, learns, and enjoys.  One is even encouraged to ask questions and to submit suggestions for future recitals of which we hope there will be many.

In place of titles and libretti, Ms. Liebman introduced each song in an engaging fashion. We felt as if we were invited to a friend's home for a party with entertainment. And what entertainment it was! In a beautifully balanced program, we heard opera, art song, and cabaret--all serving to demonstrate the versatility of this excellent young soprano. Last year she performed a fine Micaëla for Amore Opera and we also heard her several months ago in ARE Opera's Gianni Schicchi. It was about time for us to see another side of her artistry.

The program opened with Ilia's aria from Mozart's Idomeneo--"Padre, germani, addio". Ms. Liebman conveyed all the ambivalence of the Trojan princess who has lost everything and is now a captive of the Greeks whom she hates, except for Idamante, the son of Idomeneo. With a bright resonant sound and the subtle use of expressive dynamics, we learned everything we needed to know about the character.

Four songs by Franz Liszt allowed the artist to show off her fine French. The texts were all by Victor Hugo and all were about love, but the moods were different.  Ms. Liebman employed a warm vibrato for "S'il est un charmant gazon" and the delicacy of Mr. LaNasa's piano augmented the romantic feeling. 

"Oh! Quand je dors" has an exquisite melody and builds to a thrilling climax.  Here, Mr. LaNasa's piano made much of some lovely arpeggi. "Comment, disent-ils" was delivered with charm and personality. Plus, there was a trill to thrill. "Enfant, si j'etais roi" had a different expansive mood and an insistent accompaniment on the piano.

How does one choose Schubert songs to perform from his oeuvre of over 600 lieder? Actually, it doesn't matter much because one cannot go too far wrong with anything Schubert wrote.  We found the three selections we heard a good "tasting menu". "An die Musik" was sung with earnest simplicity. The sentiment requires no embroidery.

"Gretchen am Spinnrade" in which Mr. LaNasa's piano gave us the obsessive background of the text as well as the relentless spinning wheel, allowed Ms. Liebman some moments of erotic rapture as she imagined Faust's kiss. This had us wishing that Schubert had written an entire opera based on the Faust legend.

In "Die junge Nonne", we were given a very clear character study and we knew exactly why this troubled young woman chose a cloistered life.

The Kurt Weill song from Street Scene seemed like a cabaret song.  We understood every word of "What Good Would the Moon Be" and enjoyed the melody.  This was not so for two selections from Daughters of Britannia by Iain Bell.  We could only catch a word here and there. The sounds were interesting and we liked the propulsive piano writing and some interesting figuration but the heroines are part of British history and so unknown to us that we really didn't care about them.

We won't mind if we never hear those songs again but the Rachmaninoff that followed was enchanting. We cannot believe that we used to think that Russian was an ugly language!  The more Russian songs we hear the better we love the sound. "Z'des khorosho" was particularly lovely.

"Siren" had a repetitive figure in the right hand of the piano that resonated particularly strongly with us.  But our personal favorite was (and probably always will be) "Ne poy krasavitsa pri mne" in which the text expresses nostalgia for a love left behind, accompanied by the most haunting melody. There is a vocalise in this song that always gets us right in the heart! We love the way the melody in the voice alternates with the melody in the piano.

"Ditja, kak cvetok ti prekrana" is Rachmaninoff's setting of a translation of the tender Heinrich Heine poem "Du bist wie eine blume" which was set by Robert Schumann and about a hundred other composers.  The program ended with the very timely "Vesenniye vody" or "Spring Waters" as we know it. This song was bursting with excitement as the snow melted and the streams produced white water.

We even got an encore, "Someone to Watch Over Me" by George and Ira Gershwin from their 1926 musical Oh, Kay! We love to hear American musical theater treated with the same care as lieder and chansons. It was the perfect end to a beautiful recital.

Watch our FB page (Voce di Meche) and we will let you know about the next installment of Salon de la Voix which we believe will take place in June in Brooklyn. You won't want to miss it!

(c) meche kroop

COME TO THE CABARET....IN BROOKLYN

Spencer Myer, Kristin Gornstein, Justine Aronson, Richard Valitutto, Samantha Malk, and Michael Brofman

Last night at the beautiful Brooklyn Historical Society, the Brooklyn Art Song Society presented their fifth and final entry in a season devoted to Vienna in the first half of the 20th c.  It was a time of decadence, intrigue, and radicalism....and marvelous music. Cabaret was the subject of last night's sold out performance and we enjoyed witnessing three singers we love pushing their boundaries.

Cabaret is a broad term but, in our opinion, it should be naughty and counter-culture. To our ears, it sounds best in German because of the sound and taste of the words as well as the facility with rhyming. Toward this end, soprano Justine Aronson's performance of Arnold Schoenberg's Brettl Lieder more than fulfilled our expectations.  We have heard his "Galathea" performed onstage but we have never heard it the way Ms. Aronson sang it, with devilish glee.

Although she used the loathed music stand, somehow she managed to incorporate ample gesture to accompany her ironic coloration and the song became completely new. We believe she plumbed the depths of meaning and came up with pearls. "Gigerlette" and "Der genugsame Liebhaber" were replete with doppelbedeutung. Richard Valitutto made a fine collaborative pianist.

Her performance of a set of French cabaret songs was a far different affair--not satirical but soulful. We particularly enjoyed Edith Piaf's "La Vie en Rose", Poulenc's "Les chemins de l'amour",  and Erik Satie's "Je te veux" -- but it is Piaf's "Padam padam" that keeps going around in our head.  It's a song that we first heard sung by Kim David Smith who performs a totally different type of cabaret. The piano accompaniment of Artistic Director and Founder Michael Brofman sounded just right.

Mezzo-soprano Kristin Gornstein is well known to us from Heartbeat Opera, so we have never seen her without extravagant makeup design. Last night was the first time we heard her in recital format, although that word fails to describe the intense performance she gave of Kurt Weill's music, for which Berthold Brecht wrote the lyrics. Mr. Valitutto's piano was forceful but never overwhelmed the voice.

We far prefer "Mack the Knife" in German but Marc Blitzstein's translation is quite good and Ms. Gornstein made every word count.  In "The Ballad of Sexual Obsession" there was plenty of ad libbing, about a man with an orange face and stringy yellow hair, that had the audience laughing out loud. This topicality meets a major requirement of cabaret!

Accompanied by Spencer Myer,  mezzo-soprano Samantha Malik performed a set of songs by William Bolcom, making each song into a little opera. The songs are mainly about contemporary society. Ms. Malik's interpretations were all right on point--romantic disappointment, a party turned sour, an overnight date that lasted too long. The most familiar of the set was "Amor" which we have often heard and enjoyed as an encore number. But the hymn-like "Waitin'", short, sweet, perfectly written and sung, seemed out of place with the other songs.

Ms. Malik also performed some songs by Benjamin Britten, settings of texts by W.H. Auden. They were fine songs but did not strike us as cabaret.  Perhaps we need to broaden our definition but we found them lacking in satire and naughtiness.

Although this was the conclusion of the series on Viennese music, B.A.S.S. is not finished with their season. On March 31st there will be a fine program of Debussy, Hahn, Poulenc and Heggie at National Sawdust.

(c) meche kroop

COME TO THE CABARET

Toni Goldman, Tino Honegger, Hanna Elizabeth Young, Lars Redlich, and Erich Rausch

The mission of The German Forum is to provide performance opportunities in the USA for young artists from the German speaking world and to provide unique cultural events for New Yorkers. There are at least four events each year and we would hate to miss a single one.

Last night was Cabaret Night at the Gotham Comedy Club and the gemütlichkeit of the evening brought pleasure to a wide audience. Natürlich, if one spoke German you could understand more of the words-- but our non-German speaking companion had a marvelous time. There were plenty of songs in English and the ones in German were either translated or needed no translation, due to the communication skills of the artists. The evening was hosted by Henry Meyer-Oertel, President of the German Forum.

The partnership of Lars Redlich and Tino Honegger is a remarkable one, marked by lots of synergy. We have heard the "Habanera" from Carmen countless times but we have never heard it performed the way Mr. Redlich did it--releasing his inner anima (look it up!) in fine falsetto and with rap dialogue.  We cannot imagine how George Bizet might have reacted, but the audience responded with gales of laughter and wild applause.

Mr. Redlich kicked it up a notch for "Frauensongmedley" in which he parodied popular American songstresses.  You have never heard "You Made Me Feel Like a Natural Woman" sung like that!

Even funnier was "Sockensong" which paid tribute to the lonely socks whose partners have mysteriously disappeared.

The opening number gave Swiss artist Tino Honegger an opportunity to sing Bodo Wartke's "Liebeslied" in a plethora of languages, including Finnish. We got a kick out of "Taubenvergiften im Park" by Austrian-American composer/cabarettist Georg Kreisler which reminded us of Tom Lehrer's song "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park".  We were driven to find out who copied whom but learned that each man claimed his work was original!  Apparently both cultures enjoy black humor!

Toni Goldman has a deep soulful voice and entertained us with Bob Dylan's "Things Have Changed"  and a song by Michael Kingsley which she has recorded--"The First Crack". We also liked "Irgendwo in Berlin" (Peter Plate/Ulf Sommer). She was accompanied by Erich Rausch on keyboard.

Hanna Elizabeth Young is a different type of singer--bluesy and torchy--and lovely to listen to.  She sang Joe McCoy's "Why Don't You Do Right", and "Speak Low" (Kurt Weill/Ogden Nash).  Our favorite was "Wenn ich mir was wünschen dürfte" by Friedrich Hollaender (whose daughter married the afore-mentioned Georg Kreisler). She also was accompanied by Mr. Rausch.

The program ended with a bi-lingual version of "Mack the Knife" in which everyone participated. Who doesn't love Kurt Weill's music! We prefer the original German text of Bertolt Brecht which cuts deeper (pun intended) than Mark Blitzstein's translation which was moved into pop territory by Frank Sinatra.

What a team these five artists made! Ms. Goldman herself directed the evening, entitled "Love Lost and Found Again".

As is customary with German Forum evenings, a lavish buffet preceded the performance with more to eat and drink afterward. The artists mingled with the audience and many toasts were made with fine German beer.

Anyone who appreciates German culture would do well to join the German Forum and participate in their wonderful evenings!

(c) meche kroop

ALREADY EMERGED

Rachel Sterrenberg and Jarrett Ott--Opera Philadelphia Emerging Artists

 

 

Once opera stars are "playing in the major leagues" we can no longer call them "emerging artists". What a pleasure it was to spend an hour listening to two artists already assuming major roles with Opera Philadelphia whose Emerging Artists Program is only in its second year and already a success.

Soprano Rachel Sterrenberg and baritone Jarrett Ott are both graduates of Curtis Institute. Mr. Ott is well known to us but Ms. Sterrenberg is new to us. We foresee a glorious future for both of them.

Since we love opera and we love duets, it comes as no surprise that our favorite part of the program was the father-daughter duet from Francis Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites--"Je vois qu'il n'y a heureusement". Mr. Ott's rich baritone and paternal concern coupled with Ms. Sterrenberg's purely voiced religious convictions had us believing the scene even taken out of context.

Their closing duet "We'll Go Away Together" from Kurt Weill's Street Scene was a more joyful one and no less enthralling.

Happily, there was more Poulenc on the program.  Happily, because both artists showed a facility with French and also because we are coming to appreciate his music more and more these days. Mr. Ott sang "Fameux représentant de toute autorité" from Les Mamelles de Tirésias. His interpretation was considerably different from the one heard at Juilliard last week. It's always interesting to hear what different artists do with the same material.

Ms. Sterrenberg performed his La Courte Paille and performed it with grace, charm and humor. We loved the lullabye "Le sommeil", the waltzy "La reine de coeur" and the adorable "Le carafon".

The remainder of the program was in English and the very first thing we observed was that EVERY WORD WAS CLEAR! Both of these artists must have had superior training in English diction. Of the Ned Rorem songs, our favorite was the evocative "Early in the Morning" from Evidence of Things Not Seen. It was beautifully sung by Ms. Sterrenberg and reminded us of being very young in Paris.

The romantic "A Glimpse" was given a special thrill by Mr. Ott's perfect vibrato.  Collaborative pianist Grant Loehnig was most impressive in "The More Loving One".  "For Poulenc" is a setting of text by Frank O'Hara and came from the 1968 cycle Four Songs.  Ms. Sterrenberg conveyed all the loneliness and disappointment in a way that touched our own feelings.  And isn't that what a song recital is all about?

Also included was John Musto's Shadow of the Blues, the four songs of which Mr. Ott delivered in an admirably non-fussy way, letting the irony, sadness, and bitterness speak for themselves.

Should you be inclined to give Jennifer Higdon's Cold Mountain another shot, you will hear Ms. Sterrenberg as Sara and you might hear Mr. Ott as Inman since he is covering the role. Worth a trip to Philadelphia?  We think so!

The program was part of a series--Opera America's Emerging Artist Recital Series. It is worth joining this valuable institution if only for the tickets to this series!

(c) meche kroop

WE ARE MELTIN' FOR MELTON

John Parr and Heidi Melton

Just another big beautiful gal with a big beautiful voice?  Not exactly. Dramatic soprano Heidi Melton has been garnering awards and plum roles for the past nine years or so and was presented yesterday at the Schimmel Center of Pace University as part of their Rising Opera Stars in Recital series.

Such honors and accolades do not come easily and much work evidently went into Ms. Melton's seemingly effortless  performance.  She credited John Parr, her collaborative pianist and coach, with encouraging her to explore the Wagner repertory.  Apparently she picked up that ball and ran with it all the way to the goalpost.

Following Beethoven's concert aria "Ah! Perfido", Ms. Melton gifted us with Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder, a quintet of wondrous songs which Wagner set to poetry by Mathilde Wesendonck. What we love about these songs is the variation of mood, giving the soprano many opportunities to express herself through word coloring.

The gentle quietude of "Der Engel" was followed by the propulsive quality of "Stehe Still!".  Only in the last verse do we feel the sustained rapturous mood in the words "versinken" and "verstummt". Our favorite in this group is always "Im Treibhaus" in which the rising sequence of four notes in a scale passage bring to mind the composer's Tristan und Isolde. How can just four notes do this???  Amazing! The room was so still we were sure the audience was collectively holding their breath.

In "Schmerzen", Ms. Melton allowed her voice to expand to its fullest which is full indeed. But she brought it back for "Träume" and built slowly to a climax.

We have only good things to say about Claude Debussy's Chansons de Bilitis to text by Pierre Louÿs. The impressionistic music serves the poetry and Ms. Melton served the music. The work takes us out of our world and to a magical place.

Recently brought under the umbrella of works we enjoy are Alban Berg's Sieben Frühe Lieder. It takes a good interpreter to make sense of the vocal lines which are not nearly as accessible as those of Schubert, Schumann and Brahms. But Ms. Melton is a fine musician as well as a fine singer and we enjoyed them, especially "Die Nachtigall" in which she allowed her voice to expand at the top of her register.

The final set comprised songs by Kurt Weill. In "Je ne t'aime pas", we enjoyed Ms. Melton's French, especially in the pianissimo passages which drew us in.  Only a few words at the top of her register got lost.

Interestingly, her English diction was so superb  in "September Song" from Knickerbocker Holiday, "Stay Well" from Lost in the Stars, and "My Ship" from Lady in the Dark that we didn't miss a single word! Regular readers will recall how often I complain about needing titles for songs in English.  No problem with that here.

As encore, the old Irving Berlin song "Always" delighted the audience. It was a privilege to hear a wonderful dramatic soprano whose instrument is outstanding and who is also a fine musician. We would like to add that Mr. Parr was with her every step of the way, always supportive and never overwhelming.

(c) meche kroop

MUSIC FOR MOTHERS...AND OTHERS

Gyu Yeon Shim, Rachael Braunstein, Jimin Lee, Margaret Newcomb, Paull-Anthony Keightley

Whether any mothers of these five promising artists were in the audience we do not know.  But if they were, we are quite sure they would have been proud of their offspring who are finishing up their year at Manhattan School of Music--some graduating and others finishing their first post-graduate year, two of them familiar to us and three of them new.  We were happy to be a maternal stand-in.

Collaborative pianist Jimin Lee demonstrated consummate expressiveness in her playing and admirable flexibility working with diverse materials and singers with varied styles.  It was a program designed, we believe, to show off these qualities.

Mr. Keightley (does that rhyme with knightly?) whose Papageno we so greatly admired, showed a very different side of himself in Schumann's profound song cycle Dichterliebe.  His German diction was just about perfect and allowed us to give his performance our full attention, instead of looking at translations.  But Mr. Keightley's attention was divided between his score and his audience.  It would not be honest to deny that this was distracting.  We are sure there was a good reason for it but we have criticized some very famous singers for this misdemeanor.  Granted, it is NOT a felony!

He has a fine baritone and uses it well.  We particularly enjoyed the livelier songs like "Die Rose, die Lilie, die Taube, die Sonne" and "Aus alten Märchen winkt es".  Both baritone and piano shared a lovely crescendo and decrescendo in "Ich hab' in Traum geweinet".  The sense of drama in "Die alten, bösen Lieder" was in fine contrast with a lovely pianissimo.

It is too early to assign a singer to a particular category but, at this point, we will offer an opinion that Mr. K. belongs on the opera stage where his larger-than-life personality and agility can achieve full expression.  Perhaps grim material is too restraining.

Soprano Gyu Yeon Shim had only three songs to touch our heart and she succeeded.  She sang Amy Marcy Cheney Beach's Three Browning Songs, op. 44.  She has a light and well-focused soprano with a pleasing vibrato and sings without visible effort.  We were especially fond of "I send my heart up to thee!"

Mezzo Rachael Braunstein sang Three Songs, op.45 by Samuel Barber with a rich sound and fine diction.  We favored "A green lowland of pianos" in which she captured all the surreal humor that the poet (Czeslaw Milosz) had in mind.  We believe Milosz' verse was based on that of the Polish Jerzy Harasymowicz.

Closing the program was soprano Margaret Newcomb who pleases us every time she performs.  She sang selections from Kurt Weill's The Seven Deadly Sins.  She succeeded in bringing out the drama of the two Anna's by employing different voices.  She did particularly well acting out the seductiveness of "Pride" with a louche appearing Mr. Keightley.  We would someday love to hear her sing the entire roster of Sins--and we would especially love it if she sang Brecht's original text in German.  We are not sure whose translation was used but we felt a disjunction between the words and the musical phrasing.  This is so often the case and begs for presentation in the original language to avoid such awkwardness.

It was a fine recital and we look forward to future hearings of these promising artists.

© meche kroop

PORTS OF CALL

Annie Rosen, Olivia Betzen, Theo Hoffman, Miles Mykkanen, Steven Blier

It's been a scant three weeks since we enjoyed New York Festival of Song's delightful evening "Itinerary of Song" at the National Opera Center.  So why would we brave the nasty April weather to see it again?  Because we were over the moon the first time and yearned to hear those wonderful singers and songs once more.  (To read the original review, please insert "The Singer and the Song" in the search bar.)  The sensational singers from Juilliard tend to graduate or get their advanced degrees and move on, so each performance they give must be treasured.

Since many of these songs are cabaret songs, it was fun to hear the program in the lively and casual atmosphere of Henry's Restaurant on the Upper West Side.  The welcome is warm, the food is delicious and the service unobtrusive, so the audience can feel free to relax and laugh at the humorous lyrics--and laugh they did!

Tenor Miles Mykkanen opened the program with "Sing for Your Supper" from the 1938 Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart 1938 musical The Boys from Syracuse.  As a matter of fact, the title of this entire series at Henry's is "Sing for Your Supper--NYFOS After Hours".  We admit to some concern about who could ever sing this charming ditty when Mr. M. is engaged elsewhere.  He just oozes personality and good humor from every pore and evokes every nuance from the clever lyrics.

The staging of our other favorite number, Cole Porter's "The Kling-Kling Bird" had the two lovely women in the cast playing the part of the birds admonishing the traveler to stay away from the ladies of foreign lands, one of whom was a cannibal. The traveler at risk was, of course, Mr. M.  We were grinning from ear to ear.

Mr. M. is no less affecting when he is serious; Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov's "Song of the Indian Merchant" was sung in beautiful Russian.

Baritone Theo Hoffman had his turn at humor as well and the audience responded with peals of laughter to his delightful delivery of Noël Coward's "Uncle Harry"; he described in a charming British accent the adventures of Uncle Harry the missionary which led to his departure from an unnamed third world country.  Just a tad naughty.  Wheeee!  In perfect Spanish he showed his serious side in Carlos Guastavino's "Pampamapa".

Mezzo-soprano Annie Rosen gave a moving account of Kurt Weill's "J'attends un navire".  Soprano Olivia Betzen was the perfect choice to sing Ernesto Nazareth's "Nenê" by virtue of being beautiful and scintillating as the song requires.  These two lovely ladies were joined by the men for the hilarious tale of a newly widowed British mum who goes wild in "A Bar on the Piccola Marina" by Noël Coward.

And they also raised their voices together in gorgeous harmony for Wilhelm Stenhammar's song about Turkey "I Seraillets Have".

As is customary, Maestro Steven Blier accompanied on the piano and narrated the evening in his charming style.  Quel raconteur!  Although a few songs from the prior performance were omitted we did not feel cheated.  The joy of the audience was palpable as they surrounded and congratulated the artists.  We walked out into the nasty April weather, now oblivious to it, feeling only the contentment of an hour well spent.

As attached as we have become to these impressive young artists we have confidence that Mr. Blier will come up with other engaging evenings of song.

© meche kroop

THE SINGER AND THE SONG

Theo Hoffman, Annie Rosen, Olivia Betzen, Miles Mykkanen

Sometimes the singer "makes" the song; he or she puts an interesting new spin on a song we never liked much or have grown tired of.  Sometimes the song "makes" the singer; it is so well written that it brings out the best in the one who sings it.  And sometimes both singer and song are perfectly matched.  Such is the case when recital wizard Steven Blier creates an evening of song for the New York Festival of Song, of which he is Artistic Director.  He always has an unusual theme in mind and always curates just the right songs and finds the right singers to bring them to life.

The theme of last night's recital was travel.  Composers who used texts describing adventures in other more exotic lands were given a hearing, for example Anton Rubinstein's setting of a text by Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt "Gelb rollt mir zu Füssen" based on an Azerbaijani text describing Persia.  Now that's rather international in scope!

The recital was a culmination of a weeklong professional training residency at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts and the five rising stars on the program appeared to have had a great deal of fun along with their prodigious efforts.  The joy they felt in singing was contagious; we comprised a happy audience.

Coming out on top of the collection of songs were those by Cole Porter and Noël Coward; the English language lends itself so well to humor!  The remarkable tenor Miles Mykkanen, who has acting chops to match his matchless voice, gave a performance of "The Kling-Kling Bird on the Divi-Divi Tree" that is unlikely to be equalled.  It beggars description.  You will just have to attend tonight's repeat performance at 7:00 and you will likely write us a thank you note for the recommendation.

The marvelous baritone Theo Hoffman, not to be outdone, gave an hilarious performance of Coward's "Uncle Harry", not missing a single opportunity to draw giggles from the audience.  Both of these versatile artists joined forces for Hoagy Carmichael's "Hong Kong Blues", while Mr. Blier accompanied them with some very jazzy riffs on the piano.

Mr. Hoffman showed his serious side in Carlos Guastavino's "Pampamapa, aire de Huella" which expresses the pain of exile.  He sang it in perfect Argentinian dialect with some admirable melismatic singing.  It was heartbreaking.

Soprano Olivia Betzen is new to us but we will be very happy to hear more of her.  Her performance of Georges Bizet's "Adieux de l'hôtesse arabe" (one of the few songs on the program with which we are familiar) was delivered with sensuality and a fine trill.  We also enjoyed her performance of Enrique Granados' "Callejeo"; we are always delighted with zarzuela and tonadillas.

Mezzo-soprano Annie Rosen, also new to us, was delightful in William Bolcom's "To My Old Addresses" in which Leann Osterkamp (who shared accompanying with Mr. Blier) got an opportunity to show off her skill at the piano.  Ms. Rosen was heart-wrenching in the desperate "J'attends un navire" by Kurt Weill.

The four singers and Ms. Osterkamp worked very well as an ensemble.  We particularly enjoyed Coward's "In a bar on the Piccolo Marina" for its raunchy English music hall humor.  In Wilhelm Stenhammar's "I seraillets have" their harmonies teased the ear with pleasure, as they also did in the encore, Frank Loesser's "Slow Boat to China".

In an all-too-brief 90 minutes we were transported to South America and Europe, Scandinavia, India, Asia and the Middle-East--all without fighting for space in an overhead compartment.  Viva NYFOS, and ....thanks for the memories.

© meche kroop

PIN-UP GAL

Bryan Wagorn and Wallis Giunta

Ms. Giunta's flowing strawberry blonde hair was pinned up cleverly to create a 1930's look to match the theme of her recital and her slinky red satin gown.  But there was nothing "pinned up" about her performance.  No indeed!  It flowed seamlessly and dramatically from one song to the next.  It flowed gracefully from German to French to English to Spanish to Italian--all sung with perfect diction.

The theme chosen by this supremely gifted Canadian mezzo was Brecht and Weill's Die Sieben Todsünden with a variety of songs interspersed between verses of what was written as a ballet chanté commissioned by one Edward James, whose wife Tilly Losch was a ballerina.  The plan was to split the character of Anna into two, with Anna I being sung by Weill's wife Lotte Lenya and Ms. Losch dancing the part of Anna II.  Characteristic of Brecht, the text satirizes the bourgeoisie.  One is never quite sure whether Anna I and Anna II are different aspects of the same woman who visits seven cities in the USA, each city used to demonstrate a different sin.

We particularly enjoyed the group of songs chosen to illustrate the sin of sloth.  Weill's "Youkali" was followed by Poulenc's "Hôtel" from Banalités and an extremely funny song called "The Sloth" by Michael Flanders and Donald Swann.  So much textual and dramatic variety were conveyed not only in Sloth, but also in Pride, Wrath, Lust, Greed, Gluttony and Envy.  Mr. Weill's "Die Muschel von Margate", used to illustrate Greed was particularly relevant today.

Perhaps the two songs we enjoyed the most were used to illustrate the sin of lust: Cole Porter's "Love for Sale", given a unique dose of irony by Ms. Giunta and "Al Pensar en el Dueño de mis Amores" from Ruperto Chapí's zarzuela Las Hijas del Zebedeo which evinced the soul of flamenco.

John Lennon's "Imagine" was movingly sung a capella.  Stephen Foster's "The Old Folks at Home" was sung sitting on the edge of the stage with the tenderest of piano work from the estimable Bryan Wagorn who succeeded brilliantly in keeping up with all of Ms. Giunta's many shifts of mood and period.  She did step outside the 1930's a few times, for the Foster, the Lennon, for Schubert's "Der Zwerg", for Monteverdi's "Addio Roma" from L'Incoronazione di Poppea and the zarzuela.

It was in every respect an original and compelling program that showed off Ms. Giunta's linguistic facility and dramatic skills as effectively as her burnished mezzo.  At this level of performance, fine technique can just be taken for granted and the listener can focus on the artistry and communicative skills of the performers.  Ms. Giunta's greatest gift is that she makes each song her own, and always in a way that involves the audience.

We were left wondering what magic is being performed by the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program which seems to regularly turn out such impressive performers.  Ms. Giunta is completing her second year with the program and simultaneously completing an Artist Diploma in Opera Studies at The Juilliard School.  She has several recordings to her credit and sings all over the USA and her homeland Canada as well as in Europe.  A stellar career would seem to be a foregone conclusion.

© meche kroop

THE RISE AND THE FALL

The fate of the work itself has significantly paralleled the fate of the eponymous city.  It started life in 1927 as an experimental non-opera singspiel of one act's duration, premiering in Baden Baden.  It became a succès de scandale and shocked the audience with Kurt Weill's jazzy melodies and unusual orchestration and with Bertolt Brecht's radical countercultural themes. 

In 1930, the work was expanded to three acts and, having been too shocking for Berlin, premiered in Leipzig with some of the raunchier scenes toned down.  Brecht's libretto, strongly influenced by his Marxist view of capitalism, managed to skewer politics, the judicial system, materialism and sex.  There were riots.  By 1933, the Nazis banned the work and The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny did not achieve regular productions in the USA until the 1960's.

This was a daring choice for the Manhattan School of Music.  Opera singers have invested a great deal of blood, sweat and tears learning to inhabit a role and getting the audience to identify with their characters.  In this "theater of alienation" the performers are meant to distance themselves from their characters and we of the audience are not meant to identify, but rather to use our brains and think about what is being presented to us.  Brecht held a mirror up to the culture of his epoch and wanted to shame society.  It is a distorting mirror but a mirror nonetheless.  We wonder, "Has society changed?"

With the esteemed Dona D. Vaughn as Director, with valuable contributions from Set Designer Beowulf Boritt, Costume Designer Tracy Dorman and Lighting Designer Tyler Micoleau, the goal was largely reached.  The production had a surreal and cartoony aspect that suited the improbable story of three fugitives from the law whose truck breaks down in the middle of nowhere; they decide to build a city that seems to be one where capitalism runs rampant without any civilizing forces.

No attempt is made in the direction of geographic validity or character development.  There is a curtain on a long cable which is slid back and forth.  There are titles announcing the content of each scene.  The lighting is directly over the scene and anything but atmospheric.  (Are you alienated yet?)  The costumes are splendid, especially for Jenny and the six prostitutes that come to the city to destroy any illusion of romance.  (Anti-opera, remember?) 

Rob Greene and J. Jared Janas are credited with wig, hair and makeup design and credit must be given; Rachelle Pike went unrecognized, although we had just seen her as Marthe in Faust!  But the generous mezzo voice was unmistakable in her superb performance as The Widow Begbick.  Soprano Cree Carrico employed a bright soprano to fine effect as Jenny the whore who won't give up her money to save her man from the electric chair.  The six prostitutes who sang "The Alabama Song" were fetchingly costumed Kerstin Bauer, Ann Louise Glasser, Nan Li, Kathleen Spencer, Leela Subramaniam and Ellen Teufel.

The men were no less wonderful.  Arriving in the truck with The Widow Begbick were Fatty the Bookkeeper, sung by tenor Peter Tinaglia, and Trinity Moses, sung by bass-baritone James Ioelu, well remembered from his role as Méphistophèles in Faust.  It is always exciting for us to witness an artist's versatility.

The four lumberjacks were perfectly cast: Tenor Aaron Short sang the role of Jim Mahoney who is sentenced to death because he can't pay his bar bill or bribe the judges; tenor Scott Ingraham performed the role of Jack O'Brien who dies from grotesque overeating; bass Brett Harrison Vogel sang the role of Joe who dies in a prizefight; baritone Jason Cox was the only surviving lumberjack--Bill.  Michael Papincak was Toby.

Musical values were first-rate with Maestro Kynan Johns on the podium and some mighty fine MSM musicians in the pit.  Weill's radical scoring included two saxophones and an onstage player of mandolin, banjo and bass guitar as well as the marvelous Juan Pablo Jofre playing the bandoneon.  (He seemed to be the only Argentinean involved in the production, but if you started counting New Zealanders you might run out of fingers.)  There is no praise sufficient for the chorus who were given some outstanding music and served to tie together all the loose ends.

This production used the Michael Feingold translation.  Dialogue was spoken in English and the songs were sung in German and English, as they were written originally.  Perhaps Mr. Brecht saw the USA as emblematic of lawlessness and materialism.  Perhaps we still are.

© meche kroop