CLARA AND ROBERT

Brian Zeger, Keshav Moodliar, Chance Jonas-O'Toole, Libby Sokolowski, Chris Reynolds, Lauren Norvelle, Jessica Niles, Kyle Miller, and Erin Wagner

Last night at Alice Tully Hall, Juilliard presented one of their Songfests, an occasion we never miss. The program, curated by world renowned collaborative pianist Brian Zeger, who just so happens to be the Artistic Director of the Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts at Juilliard, was one of enormous value for several reasons.

Primarily, we were impressed by the concept of presenting the lives of Clara and Robert Schumann in a theatrically valid way, involving dramatic readings of their letters interspersed with songs that were related to that particular period in their romance. This shed new light on the songs and affected us in a new way.

Clara's letters were brought to vivid life by recent Juilliard graduate Lauren Norvelle who was most remarkable in expressing the young Clara's childhood infatuation with Robert. She was but a pre-teen prodigy when Robert fell deeply in love with her. It was a long courtship since Clara's father was vehemently opposed to the match, even though Robert had been his student; the two were obliged to wait 9 years for Clara's 21st birthday to wed.

Robert's letters were read by Keshav Moodliar, also a Juilliard drama student who keenly expressed Robert's youthful extravagant expressions of love.

Previously known for his piano compositions, 1840 brought forth a torrent of lieder, filled with joy. Apparently, years of separation had made his heart fonder and fonder; the consummation was therefore amplified by the power of ten. Anyone who has yearned for an impossible love will recognize this phenomenon.

The opening duet of the program "Er und Sie" was performed by soprano Jessica Niles and tenor Chance Jonas-O'Toole; the subtle dynamics, the sweet voices, and the blended harmonies successfully expressed the joys of mutual love. The boughs of "Der Nussbaum" inclined their delicate heads to kiss in sincere symbolism, tenderly sung by soprano Libby Sokolowski. 

Symbolism was not necessary in "Intermezzo, Op. 39, No. 2" which speaks openly of the singing of the heart. Baritone Kyle Miller gave it a lovely interpretation.

Mezzo-soprano Erin Wagner expressed a woman's youthful infatuation in
"Seit ich ihn gesehen" from Robert's song cycle Frauenliebe und Leben and later she sang of the joys of sharing pregnancy with "Süsser Freund" from the same cycle. Indeed, the Schumann's would have eight children!

"Widmung", so passionately sung by Mr. Miller, was composed as a wedding gift for Clara and Mr. Miller allowed the song to grow in intensity and passion.

Of course, as we all know, there is no "happily ever after" in real life and Robert's early enthusiasm became increasingly manic and his low periods became increasingly black. Unfortunately, in the early 19th c. there was no effective treatment for mental illness and poor Clara was left to cope with a large family, all the while championing Robert's music, performing at the piano, and composing.

The first time we heard her "Liebst du um Schönheit" we thought of it as having been surpassed by Mahler's setting. However, the more we hear it the higher it grows in our estimation and Ms. Niles gave it a lovely performance.  She was similarly effective in Clara's "Er ist gekommen" which seemed filled with anxiety. We heard a sense of loss in Clara's "Ich stand in dunklen Träumen", finely performed by soprano Libby Sokolowski.

Schumann's compositions toward the end of his life are dark. Listening to Mr. Miller's performance of "Der Spielmann" we can take the Hans Christian Andersen text (translated by Adelbert von Chamisso) as more than usually meaningful. "It's hideous for a man to die in this way, When his heart's still young and striving for joy" and "Let none of us go mad: I too am just a poor musician". We can only wonder what kind of visions and hallucinations troubled the unfortunate musical genius. Similarly, we can only wonder what his artistic output might have been if treatment had been available.

We were sitting close enough to the stage to feel as if we were participating in a salon at the Schumann's home. Singers and actors were all onstage together; it was a highly effective way of presenting the music. Mr. Zeger shared the accompanying duties with the super-talented Chris Reynolds. It was an altogether worthwhile evening that fulfilled both as theater and concert.

© meche kroop

ORA BELLISSIMA

Kenneth Merrill, Bénédicte Jourdois, Junseok Hwang, Jared Werlein, Michael McDermott, Katherine Herbert, Libby Sokolowski, and Song Hee Lee

We love reviewing students! The "students" we hear at Juilliard are generally not what one would think of as students since they are already performing around the country, and sometimes even abroad.  But last night we reviewed six first year students. We weren't expecting much but we were astonished at the high caliber of singing we heard. Apparently, a young singers needs to be quite advanced to get accepted at Juilliard.

Each singer had stage presence and a good command of Italian. Each one seemed to know what he/she was singing about and lent appropriate expression to the delivery. The raw material was all there and we hope we will be able to review them as they progress through the impressive training provided by the Juilliard Vocal Arts Department.

As soon as we saw the beautiful harpsichord onstage and saw Kenneth Merrill's name on the program we knew we would be delighted by some Baroque songs which are so suitable to young voices. Mr. Merrill provided the lovely harpsichord accompaniment for the first part of the program.

The excellent Bénédicte Jourdois was the collaborative pianist for the second half of the program which took us into the 19th and 20th c. The two were responsible for preparing and coaching the program. That's just an example of the fine training offered by Juilliard.

The appropriately named soprano Song Hee Lee opened the program with Claudio Monteverdi's "Quel sguardo sdegnosetto" the tempo of which was so fast that we could not understand the words. What we did understand is that this young lady has a voice of crystalline clarity most beautiful at the very top of the register. We liked the way she leaned into the appoggiatura at the end.

She closed the program with "Good Morning Midnight", André Previn's setting of a text by Emily Dickinson. The tempo here was slow enough for us to appreciate her excellent English diction and her ability to make sense of the text.

Soprano Katherine Herbert's bright instrument pleased the ear in "Ah! crudel, il pianto mio" from Händel's Rinaldo. In the fast section, her fioritura was crisp and clean. The ritornello offered some fine embellishments. We particularly enjoyed the trill. It was quite a treat to hear Mr. Merrill's accompaniment augmented by Ana Kim's mellow cello, also heard in several other selections.

Ms. Herbert was also fine in Britten's "The Last Rose of Summer" in which we enjoyed the vocal line, a familiar tune. We like the way she sustained the feeling during the silences; the spaces between the notes are also important!

Soprano Libby Sokolowski evinced an appealing vibrato and a pretty trill in "Credete al mio dolore" from Händel's Alcina. The sound is an exciting one with lots of resonance. Händel's arias do go on but Ms. Sokolowski provided plenty of variety of coloration and dynamics to keep the ear engaged.

Libby Larsen set Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "How do I love thee?" and Ms. Sokolowski made excellent sense of the text, showing another side of her artistry.

Jared Werlein has a pleasing lyrical baritone and gave evidence that he truly understood what he was singing about in Giulio Caccini's "Non ha'l ciel cotanti lumi", a lovely song of deep sentiment that he colored beautifully. 

He also made sense of the text "Youth and Love' by Ralph Vaughan Williams which he brought to a quiet conclusion.

Vivaldi's "La tiranna avversa sorte" from Arsilda, regina di Ponto, is a strange aria in which the harpsichord and cello play staccato with the vocal line written in legato.  Tenor Michael McDermott met that challenge neatly and demonstrated some impressive melismatic singing in a forceful tone suited to the determination of the character. We liked what he did with the dotted rhythm.

Mr. McDermott achieved a different mood, one of quietude, in Charles Ives' "Berceuse". We liked the clarity of enunciation and the expressiveness.

Baritone Junseok Hwang's first number was Purcell's "Music for a While" which we generally associate with a voice belonging to a fach of higher register. Once he let go his grip on the harpsichord and stepped forward toward the audience, his hands were free to gesture which added significantly to his performance. He successfully lightened the weight of his voice for the embellishments and brought the piece to a beautiful end. 

He also sang our favorite Bellini song "Vaga luna che inargenti" which has been running through our head all night long. The texture of his voice was well suited to the song and his gestures were appropriate, once he let go of the piano and stepped forward. It's a small point and once Mr. Hwang realizes how much more he connects when he steps forward, he will have made a giant step forward, so to speak. We are sure his teacher must nag him about it!

We enjoyed the program and the singers and Ms. Kim's cello, which made such a fine addition to the program. We look forward to hearing these singers again and watching them grow.

(c) meche kroop