THE THREE BARITONES

Glen Roven, Jarrett Ott, Steven LaBrie, and Tobias Greenhalgh

Glen Roven is a composer, pianist, and impresario. His recording company has just released a new CD-- Remember starring three rising stars of the opera world; last night a celebration was held at Weill Recital Hall. Mr. Roven mentioned that this is the first recording for each of these "exploding stars". 

Each of the three celebrated baritones are well known to us from Juilliard, Brooklyn Art Song Society, Santa Fe Opera, and from competitions they have won.  What a treat to hear them all together! As pointed out by Amy Shoremount-Obra, there was a lot of testosterone backstage!  And a lot of handsomeness, we might add.  We are not fond of the designation "Barihunks" but we cannot think of a better description.

From the informative program notes by pianist Michael Brofman, we learned that the baritone fach originated in the bel canto period.  Who knew! More reason to appreciate Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti.

The program opened with three guest artists with low voices, men who are more advanced in their career arcs.  Arranged by Mr. Roven, Ouverture dei Baritoni involved baritones Robert Wesley Mason and Kyle Pfortmiller, along with bass Branch Fields performing a medley of operatic hits in unison and also sequentially. We were delighted to hear arias by Mozart, Verdi, Rossini, Bizet, and also some Broadway tunes. There was even a cancan performed to the "Toreador Song" from Carmen and choreographed by James Gray. What fun! 

Guest artist soprano Amy Shoremount-Obra performed John Duke's Four Poems by Emily Dickinson, using her generous instrument, lovely phrasing, and crisp enunciation to bring out Mr. Duke's appealing vocal line and Ms. Dickinson's deeply felt text. Andrew Rosenblum's piano did justice to Mr. Duke's many moods bringing out the tumultuousness of "Heart, we will forget him!" and the sweetness of "Nobody knows this little Rose".

She also performed Mr. Roven's duet "The Promise" with Mr. Fields; the texture of the two voices blending and overlapping was quite attractive but Jane Hirshfield's poetry went by without our comprehension.

Tobias Greenhalgh provided a preview of an aria from John Adams' Dr. Atomic, which we will be reviewing this summer at Santa Fe Opera. His performance was a deeply felt and expressive one but we cannot say that John Donne's text wanted to be set to music.

The remainder of the program comprised selections from the new recording.  Mr. Roven related that all the works on the CD were written by living composers. This is probably a big drawing card for many music lovers since Weill Recital Hall was packed. Contemporary vocal music is just not our taste, as regular readers already know. We keep listening and hoping to find something we like but it rarely happens. We were surprised to have liked the John Duke settings as much as we did. 

Accompanied by Mr. Brofman, Mr. Greenhalgh sang Four Surreal Songs by Mr. Roven, settings of text by Paul Éluard. Mr. Greenhalgh has a firmly centered baritone and used every color in his vocal palette to make sense of rather senseless poetry. We liked some of the piano writing, especially the descending arpeggi of "Arc of Your Eyes".

Accompanied by Adam Nielsen, Steven LaBrie exhibited a great deal of vocal power, an interesting texture, and some fine French diction for Benjamin C.S. Boyle's  Le passage des rêves, a setting of text by Paul Veléry.  We liked Mr. Nielsen's delicate piano in "La dormeuse".

Lori Laitman's setting of text by Joan Joffe Hall "The Joy of Uncreating" did not ring our bell. We wondered whether the poet of "Illumination" was writing of the experience of waking from a coma; the piano part was far more appealing than the vocal line.

Jarrett Ott's appealing baritone served well for Jake Heggie's Of Laughter and Farewell. Vachel Lindsay's text "Under the Blessing of your Psyche Wings" rhymed and scanned and we wished the vocal line had done more with it. The piano part, played by Daniel Zelibor, for "By the Spring, at Sunset" was more appealing than the vocal line.

Jennifer Higdon, composer of the opera Cold Mountain, which we heard at Santa Fe Opera, set excerpts of Walt Whitman's poem "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" and created a piano and baritone arrangement specifically for Mr. Ott and dedicated the work to him. We kept wishing that we could catch the fragrance of our favorite flower, the one for which we visit Lilac Walk in Central Park every May. We did not. We couldn't keep from thinking about "Le temps des Lilas" by Chausson which gives us an olfactory thrill.

Fortunately, the final work on the program appealed to our ears to a far greater extent. Mr. Roven took to the piano himself for his composition "Remember", setting of a text by the 19th c. English poet Christina Rossetti. Perhaps it was the fact that the sentiment was meaningful and comprehensible; perhaps it was the fact that the text rhymed and scanned; perhaps it was the sound of all three baritones together. (Mr. Roven pointed out that the recording was made with each artist recording in a different city and tracks assembled later. But we were privileged to hear them singing it together for the first time!)  In any case, it ended the recital on an auspicious note.

The enthusiasm of the audience makes us want to encourage you to buy the CD, if contemporary music is to your taste.  On our part, we prefer to hear the artists singing other material. We'd love to hear Ms. Shoremount-Obra sing some Wagner. We yearn to hear Mr. LaBrie as Escamillo. Mr. Greenhalgh's Eugene Onegin would throw us into a joyous delirium. As far as Mr. Ott, well, we are going to hear him sing Maximilian in Bernstein's Candide within 3 months in Santa Fe.  Watch out for the review!

(c) meche kroop

CANDIDE-LY SPEAKING

The cast of Leonard Bernstein's Candide onstage at Carnegie Hall

In celebration of the Bernstein Centennial, Carnegie Hall presented a one-night benefit performance of Candide, with Rob Fisher conducting the huge orchestral forces of the Orchestra of St. Luke's, and the enormous Mansfield University Concert Choir, all onstage.

Let us avoid any discussion of whether this charming work is an opera or a musical comedy. No matter how many times we have seen the work, nor in whatever venue, we have always enjoyed it and walked out humming numbers from Bernstein's tuneful score. 

The work is an enduring one, and an endearing one, and its arias have appeared on countless recitals, especially "Glitter and Be Gay", a favorite of coloratura sopranos. The work seems to be critic-proof and, in spite of it's initial cool reception, continues to appear in various iterations, each worthy on its own terms.

The concert version we saw last night at Carnegie Hall was new to us, since our prior experiences have been with the Harold Prince version. This one was Bernstein's final intention, realized and recorded shortly before his death in 1989. What a thrill to hear songs we hadn't heard before and to see scenes we hadn't previously seen. We are reminded that opera composers of the 19th c. also revised their operas many times such that a definitive performing version can be negotiable.

Not only do we love the music but we adore the book by Hugh Wheeler, which touches upon so many serious themes, beneath a comic facade.
In this story of innocence betrayed and reality accepted, we are exposed to countless trials and tribulations; we witness the heroes of the story pursuing their ideals and surviving their hardships. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that the public has such affection for the work.

The literary work upon which it is based is Voltaire's 1759 novella, a satiric attack on war, religious persecution, and the positivist philosophy of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz who claimed that whatever happens in this world is divinely ordered and for the best.

What we didn't know was that one of the episodes is based upon true events. In Lisbon, the horrendous death toll of an earthquake resulted in religious persecutions meant to "appease God". Well!  If that doesn't sound like some contemporary stuff going on in the Middle East we will eat the score for breakfast!

If anyone doesn't know the story, it involves the picaresque adventures of an innocent youth named Candide and his beloved Cousin Cunegonde who were tutored by one Dr. Pangloss, a stand-in for Leibniz. The two survive the horrors of war, shipwrecks, deceits and betrayals, as well as the aforementioned auto-da-fe;  they get continually separated and reunited more than once until at the end they decide to have a quiet life with modest pleasures.

One couldn't ask for a better Candide than tenor Paul Appleby, about whom we have written since his student days at Juilliard. No opera or concert appearance or award gala performance has failed to impress us artistically or to touch us emotionally. With the ensuing years he has grow as an artist but has not lost the sweet freshness of his tenor. Once again, last night, he touched our heart as his innocence kept him afloat from one disaster to the next.

He was particularly memorable in his ballads "Life is Happiness Indeed" and in his lament in Scene 2. His duet with Cunegonde "You Were Dead, You Know" was a knockout.

As Cunegonde, the brilliant soprano Erin Morley, another favorite of ours, turned in a landmark performance. Repeated hearings has never dulled the sharp character delineation created in "Glitter and Be Gay" which shows Cunegonde's ambivalence about her stint in a brothel, being patronized on alternate days by an Archbishop (Len Cariou) and Don Issachar the Jew (Danny Burstein)--a scene that drove the audience wild. 

The poor girl laments the loss of her honor but revels in the pleasures of the jewels showered upon her. We think of Marguerite's "Jewel Song" in Gounod's Faust. Another highlight of the evening was her duet with Patricia Racette-- "We Are Women", a number we had not heard before.

It was difficult to imagine Patricia Racette in the role of The Old Woman because she is far too young and attractive. Nonetheless, she employed a "high Middle Polish" accent and appropriate gestures that made her performance convincing. Her version of "I Am Easily Assimilated" always tickles us.

Making a brief appearance in a wheelchair was legendary mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne in a speaking role as the Queen of Eldorado. We loved her line--"We have no lawyers or courts here; no one is angry."

In a bit of luxury casting we heard William Burden's fine tenor as the lustful Governor of Buenos Aires. Glenn Seven Allen, Kyle Pfortmiller, and Ross Benoliel made a fine trio in "Auto-da-fe".

Other roles were assumed by Broadway stars. John Lithgow made a convincing Dr. Pangloss and also narrated as Voltaire himself. His singing is about as good as Rex Harrison's was in My Fair Lady. Ryan Silverman portrayed Cunegonde's vain brother Maximilian and appeared later as the Grand Inquisitor and a Jesuit.

Paquette was performed by Bryonha Marie Parham who sang in several ensembles. Her character did not have the same stage time as in the Hal Prince version.  The Baron and Baroness were also cut, as were the singing sheep in the Eldorado scene.

If we were to name all the numbers that delighted us we would surely run out of space but we absolutely must mention the delightful "What's the Use" which takes place in the casino in Venice. We can't stop humming it!

Although it was a concert version, taking place on a shallow area in front of the orchestra, there was enough action to hold our attention.  Director Gary Griffin did a fine job on this account.  Costumes by Tracy Christensen were quite wonderful. 

In place of sets we had projections designed by Wendall K. Harrington and they were superb. All of the locales in the show were represented above the heads of the choristers and some of them had moving figures. For example, when the characters were at sea, we saw maps of the Atlantic Ocean with images of a several-masted schooner tacking back and forth! Each scene was suitably accompanied by these visuals and the audience loved them.

If there were one flaw in the evening, and of course there would have to be "in this best of all possible worlds", it would be the sound design. The lyrics to the songs are so clever that it was a shame to miss so much of them. Of all the singers, Mr. Appleby's words came across the best. We are not sure what kind of amplification was used but it was far from satisfactory. Since there were several songs that were new to us, we will have to look for the lyrics online.

(c) meche kroop

VIOLETTA AND HER SISTERS--by Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble

Sean Christensen as Des Grieux and Nick Webb as his father in Massenet's Manon
(photo by Mark Baker)

Bonnie Frauenthal as Violetta embraced by Jose Heredia as Alfredo in Verdi's La Traviata (photo by Mark Baker)

Scene from Leoncavallo's La Bohème (photo by Mark Baker)

Scene from Puccini's La Rondine (photo by Mark Baker)

Every August we hurry back from Santa Fe to enjoy Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble's season, which always offers fresh delights. The theme of this year's season was "Violetta and her Sisters", comprising a selection of operas, the heroines of which were members of the demimonde. A very fine program note by Director Victoria Crutchfield provided new insights into the subculture of these women. It is happily left to the audience to ponder whether such women exist in 21st c. America.

Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble serves young artists by bridging the gap between academic training and a successful career; participants receive coaching, master classes, and performance opportunities. They serve the opera loving public by providing low cost high quality performances. One gets to see the stars of tomorrow at the early stages of their careers.

Verdi's La Traviata was given a highly moving production, thanks to some wonderful performances. As Violetta, soprano Bonnie Frauenthal sang and acted as beautifully as one might wish; right from the "Sempre libera" of Act I, we knew she was right for the part.

As her young respectable lover, tenor Jose Heredia pulled his performance from a very deep place.  He seemed to live the role, rather than act it; his pure voice has a lovely tonal quality. We particularly enjoyed his "De', miei bollenti spiriti".

Mezzo-soprano Hillary Grobe was an impressive Flora and soprano Ileana Santamaria made a fine Annina.  Violetta's patron Barone Douphol was portrayed by the versatile baritone Nobuki Momma with Boris Teodoro as the Marchese d'Obigny and Kofi Hayford as the good Dottor Grenvil.

Christopher Lilley sang the role of Gastone who sets the plot moving by introducing Alfredo to Violetta. Jeremiah Johnson brought very little to the role of Giorgio Germont, Alfredo's father, delivering an unattractive sound and no variation of color.

Famous baritone Kyle Pfortmiller directed; we especially enjoyed his staging of the party scenes. John Spencer IV conducted the Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble Festival Orchestra in a fine reduction suitable for the score of musicians. We appreciated Mary Ellen Stebbins lighting design in the final act when imaginary drapes are opened and dawn lights up the set.

Violetta happens to be one of our favorite characters in opera and Manon is one of our least favorite. Violetta has character and dignity. Manon is just a selfish manipulative tramp who destroys those around her.  In this production, directed by Victoria Crutchfield, we see her as the materialistic slut she really is.

Even in Act I, as portrayed by soprano Olivia Betzen, she does not seem to be all that innocent. Apparently her family is shipping her off to a convent for some very good reasons.

Her admiration of the three  glamorous "kept women" and her flirtation with the arrogant Guillot Montfortaine (superbly portrayed by Andrew Surrena) plus her stealing of the coach give us ample indication of her lack of character. One can dislike the character and admire the performance, which we did, especially her "Adieu, notre petite table". 

As the foolish Des Grieux, Sean Christensen handed in a stellar performance. The tessitura is high but he rose to the challenge, singing with pure tone, lovely phrasing, and impeccable French diction. The sincerity of his acting had us feeling very sorry for the character.

Baritone Nick Webb was superb as his severe father who was just as critical of his involvement with the church as he was of his son's involvement with Manon.

We did not care for the Lescaut of baritone Stan Lacy whose harsh voice lacked variety of color. The versatile Mr. Momma made a slimy Brétigny who joined forces with Lescaut to pry the all-too-willing Manon from the arms of Des Grieux.

We very much enjoyed the performances of the three "actresses"--Kristina Malinauskaite as Poussette, Perri Sussman as Javotte, and Hillary Grobe as Rosette.

Chris Fecteau himself wielded the baton, guiding the Festival Orchestra through Massenet's gorgeous melodic score. Anyone possessing a pair of ears could not help but leave humming the several tunes that wove the score together.

A third evening paired Act I from Puccini's reasonably well known La Rondine with Act I and Act IV  of Leoncavallo's forgotten La Bohème.  Director Brittany Goodwin staged the Puccini work in the 1960's, which worked surprisingly well.

Soprano Rebecca Richardson sang the role of Magda, a woman supported in high style by the grumpy but generous Rambaldo (Mr. Momma again!) but eager for a new experience with the young Ruggero (Mr. Christensen again). We enjoyed her recapitulation of the aria "Chi il bel sogno di Doretta", introduced by the poet Prunier (Douglas Sabo).

Emily Hughes shone in the role of Lisette, Magda's personal maid, who amusingly helps herself to Magda's attire. Her scene with the contemptuous Prunier criticizing her taste was amusing.

Magda's three friends, in full hippie regalia, were pure delight. Yvette was sung by Zoe Hart, Bianca by Taylor Kirk, and Suzy by Sophia Mortensen.

The surprise of the season was Leoncavallo's version of the same Henri Murger stories we know from the Puccini work. Leoncavallo wrote his own libretto whereas Puccini employed the services of Illica and Giacosa. Although the music is wonderful, the libretto may have been responsible for the failure of the Leoncavallo work to survive.

The characters are pretty much the same, although Marcello has been assigned the lead role in the tenor fach. In Act II, Marcello gets a wonderful aria "Io non ho che una povera stanzetta" which was recorded by Enrico Caruso but not heard on this particular night.

Jose Heredia made a fine Marcello with the lovely Magda Gartner as his girlfriend Musetta. Jay Chacon sang the baritone role of Rodolfo with soprano Ileana Santamaria singing beautifully as Mimi. Mr. Momma portrayed Schaunard who, in this version, has a clingy girlfriend Eufemia (mezzo-soprano Nicholle Bittlingmeyer) whom he treats dismissively. Colline was sung by Bert Boone.

Direction was by Joule Voelz. This is the first season for the Opera Leaders Mentorship Program in which young stage directors, designers, conductors and pianists get expert guidance on the job.

All participants in the program leave with something of value. The singers have at least one new role "under their belt" and many of them have several. This surely enhances their employability.

And members of the audience appear to be enjoying themselves enormously as evidenced by the standing ovations.  These were evenings well spent!

(c) meche kroop

ALUMNI PRIDE

Caleb Stokes, Kyle Pfortmiller, Laura Pfortmiller, Jason Plourde, Monica Niemi, Jeffrey Mandelbaum, Jill Dewsnup, Jennifer Moore, Sarah Heltzel

Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble has much of which to be proud.  Dedicated to nurturing emerging opera singers and helping them bridge the gap between academia and stageworthiness, they can rightly take pride in the success of their alumni.  Last night nine alumni of their program took the stage and presented scenes from various operas.  Such talent deserves to be celebrated and the informality of the event felt very much like a celebration.

We were delighted to witness Kyle Pfortmiller's interpretation of Papageno as a tipsy fellow growing tipsier with each verse.  He elected to sing an English version entitled "I'd Give My Finest Feather" which, we were relieved to learn, rhymed, sang well and fit the melody.  No credit was given for the translation but it was a good one and Mr. Pfortmiller used his charming personality well and engaged the audience.  His fine baritone voice is versatile as we learned later in the program when he sang Marcello's duet with Mimi from Act III of Puccini's La Boheme.  Mimi was sung by Laura Pfortmiller and she created a sympathetic character with her generous soprano.

The Act I duet from Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos was performed by brilliant voiced soprano Jennifer Moore as Zerbinetta and full-voiced mezzo Sarah Heltzel as the Komponiste.  The voices blended superbly but performing "on the book" always strikes us as a barrier between singer and audience.

The same issue detracted from the final duet and trio from Verdi's Luisa Miller.  Reprising his role as the Father, Jason Plourde was even better than last November when Dell'Arte presented a concert version of the opera.  His fine baritone and sympathetic stance make him a good choice for Verdi!  We well remember coloratura soprano Monica Niemi who performed Luisa in Act I at that same event.  We were pleased to see her transformation into the more mature and troubled young woman of Act III without any loss of luster in her brilliant voice.

Tenor Caleb Stokes sang Rodolfo and, although he sounds fine when pianissimo singing is called for, he seemed to be pushing his voice during the forte passages.  Later in the program, he came across better as the "soft-spoken" Königssohn in a scene from Humperdinck's Königskinder, an opera we adore which was presented by Dell'Arte a couple years ago to great critical acclaim.  Jennifer Moore was perfect for the role of die Gänsemagd employing her high bright soprano to portray an innocent young maiden.

Countertenor Jeffrey Mandelbaum sang "I know a bank" from Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream; he sang it beautifully and he sang it "off the book", permitting him to enact the role of Oberon and to make excellent contact with the audience.

The final scene of the evening was the final trio from Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier, in which Ms. Moore reappeared as the bewildered Sophie, Ms. Heltzel as the ambivalent Octavian and impressively large voiced soprano Jill Dewsnup as Die Marschallin.  She seems made for Strauss and Wagner.  The three voices harmonized to perfection conducted by Maestro Christopher Fecteau.

Maestro Fecteau, Founder and Artistic Director of Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble, was a busy man all evening.  He accompanied the singers and when he wasn't at the piano he was conducting while Andrew Sun accompanied.  The musical values of the evening were excellent all around.  It was a real pleasure to get a second hearing of these talents on the rise.

© meche kroop