AN AUTHENTIC LUCIA AT REGINA OPERA

Curtain Call at Regina Opera for Lucia di Lammermoor

It is quite a trek from Manhattan to the farthest reaches of Brooklyn but last night's performance of Donizetti's gothic tragedy Lucia di Lammermoor made the trip worthwhile, since this is one of our favorite operas. The latest iteration at The Metropolitan Opera left us with a bad taste in our mouth, staging the opera ridiculously in the Rust Belt of the USA in contemporary times. Although the singing was stellar we sat in anger wondering why the poor girl did not just get a bus ticket and leave her controlling brother! Fortunately, Stage Director Sabrina Palladino honored the libretto by sticking to Scotland in the late 17th c., a time of political turmoil and clan rivalry. 

Salvatore Cammarano's libretto, based somewhat on a Sir Walter Scott novel,  resonates with us today since it shows the enormous personal cost of tribal rivalry and the subjugation of women. Poor Lucia (the stunning coloratura soprano Makila Kirchner) is robbed of the love of her life, Sir Edgardo of Ravenswood (tenor José Heredia), by her selfish manipulative brother Enrico (Jonathan R. Green), who forces her to marry Lord Arturo Bucklaw (Josh Avant) to save himself from political ruin. This cannot end well and of course it doesn't. Lucia goes mad, stabs Arturo, hallucinates, and dies. Edgardo stabs himself when he learns of her death. Enrico is filled with remorse and shame.

This opera, an exemplar of the Bel Canto period, has traditionally been a vehicle for a star soprano, without which the work would fall flat. Ms. Kirchner did not disappoint, building her character from her first scene with her companion Alisa (mezzo-soprano Manya Gaver). In this scene, the soprano must foreshadow her psychotic break with reality by evincing an unstable psychological nature as she hallucinates the ghost of a murdered woman appearing at the fountain. At this, Ms. Kirchner got us about three quarters of the way there.

However, in the final act, her mad scene was totally convincing and Donizetti's decoration of the vocal line was used in the service of the character's madness. Trills, descending scale passages, the duet with the flute (sorry folks, no glass harmonica), cadenzas, and the ascent into the vocal stratosphere were all dazzling. Her acting was as on point as her fioritura. We cannot wait to hear more from this promising young artist.

Mr. Heredia gave a creditable performance as her unfortunate lover Edgardo. We have heard him a number of times in the past and are impressed by the consistency and reliability of his performance. He has a sizable instrument and uses it well.

Mr. Green's burly baritone suited the role of Lucia's controlling brother. We would have liked to have seen more variety of coloration in his voice and more specificity in his gestures. As it was, we found his interpretation to be unidimensional. The libretto makes it plain that he is a desperate man and his future can only be assured by Lucia's marriage to Bucklaw. Still, a little less violence and a little more pleading would have taken his performance to another level.

Jongwon Choi's performance as the family minister Raimondo was similarly lacking in dramatic intent. Like Mr. Green, his gestures were of the stock variety and failed to convince us that he was torn in his loyalties. At times, the low tessitura seemed to challenge him. We have seen him perform better.

The small role of Arturo does not give the tenor much to do and Mr. Avant did not do much to create a character. On the other hand Normanno, Captain of the Guard, has an important role inasmuch as he sets the tragedy in motion by spying on Lucia and reporting to her brother. The role needed a more forceful interpretation than that provided by tenor Lindell Carter. We have seen Mr. Carter a number of times and have found him fine sometimes and at other times we have been distracted by his tendency to mug and to make gestures inappropriate to the character.

Maestro Scott Jackson Wiley brought a nice shape to the performance and we heard some lovely sounds coming from the small wind section. The arpeggi  from the harp in Act I were enchanting. The orchestra was seated at ground level with the stage elevated. Although Ms. Kirchner's voice cut right through the sound, not every singer was so successful. We do not think this was a conducting flaw but rather that some of the singers did not project well.

We have always thought that singers make the best directors and were not surprised to learn that Ms. Palladino is indeed a singer. (She did similarly fine authentic work for Amore Opera's La Bohême.) The placement of the singers always made dramatic sense and no singer was asked to sing in a ridiculous position, something we have noticed happening at The Metropolitan Opera which seems to have become enchanted with directors who know nothing about opera.  

Similarly, costuming was completely appropriate, and flattering to the singers. The set was simple but effective, with small changes taking us from the castle to the garden to the Ravenswood tomb. The chorus sang well and added to the success of the production.

We greatly appreciate Regina Opera for giving us traditional opera, and so did the most enthusiastic audience. We learned that this company has survived for over half a century and, unfortunately, has no wish to perform in Manhattan.  More's the pity! 

© meche kroop

VERY VERY VERDI

Anna Viemeister, Manya Steinkoler, Francisco Miranda, Julianna Milin, Katrin Bulke, Lindell Carter, and Hyung Joo Eom

It isn't every day that we get to hear Verdi arias. Thanks to Vocal Productions NYC and Father Graeme Napier, who warmly welcomed us opera lovers to the gorgeous space of St. John's in the Village, we are replete.  As a matter of fact we have been humming Verdi's memorable tunes all night.

Il Trovatore is a most difficult opera with a near-inscrutable plot and some treacherous pitfalls in the vocal lines. How brave of VPNYC's group of singers to tackle it! If their success was not total we can certainly understand. 

Soprano Julianna Milin did well in lending expressiveness to Leonora's aria of anticipation "Tacea la notte...Di tale amor". We liked the overtones of her voice resounding through the church and the pace of the cabaletta. A little work on the trill should put the finishing touch on her performance.

Mezzo-soprano Anna Viemeister sang "Stride la vampa" and her stylish appearance worked against her.  We were trying to picture her in an ugly wig and makeup but failed. Our biggest complaint was that the notes in the lower register were not in line with the rest of the voice but sounded as if they came from someone else. 

She performed the duet "Non son tuo figlio...Mal reggendo all'aspro" with tenor Lindell Carter. Mr. Carter has improved dramatically since the last time we heard him sing, with much less distracting mugging. But we didn't feel him connecting with the character of Manrico nor was there any mother-son chemistry between the two of them. We would like to see Mr. Carter loosen up onstage since his gestures seem stilted.

Baritone Hyung Joo Eom has a pleasing instrument that is most pleasing at the lower end of the register. He performed "Il balen del suo sorriso" with a nice reduction of volume as the aria itself began. We would like to have heard even more dynamic variety; this was true for every performance in the Il Trovatore part of the program, which mostly suffered from sameness.

Watching a singer trying to emote while turning pages on a music stand gives us no pleasure whatsoever so we decided to withhold judgment of soprano Manya Steinkoler's abilities for later in the evening. Yes, we know "D'amor sull'ali rosee...Miserere...Tu vendrai" is a helluva challenge and, as we understand, this was Ms. Steinkoler's performing debut.

We were glad we waited because we truly enjoyed Lady Macbeth's aria "Una macchia e qui tuttora" which Ms. Steinkoler performed off the book and without glasses, permitting a far better connection with the audience. We liked her Italian, the legato, and the dynamic variety which we so missed in the first half of the program.

We also got another opportunity to hear Ms. Viemeister who put impressive dramatic intensity into Lady Macbeth's "Vieni t'affretta", following Verdi's interesting chord progression played by accompanist Francisco Miranda. We also liked the dramatic commitment in "O don fatale...O mia Regina" from Don Carlo. But we still felt uncomfortable with the disconnection of the low notes from the rest of the vocal register.

Her performance of "Dido's Lament" from the Purcell opera was filled with feeling and performed with crisp English diction, a skill we never take for granted.  We understood every word.

We also enjoyed Mr. Carter's delivery of "Dio, mi potevi" from Verdi's Otello, in which the tenor seemed to connect more with the character in a convincing manner.  He seemed to know what he was singing about, exactly what was lacking in the duet from Il Trovatore. Perhaps he likes being a powerful general more than being a bandit!

He was even better in Mac Duff's aria from Macbeth . "Ah la paterna mano" in which his vibrato served to underscore the character's grief.

He also performed a duet with Mr. Eom "Dio che nell'alma infondere" from Verdi's Don Carlo, which our narrator (substituting for titles) called a "bromance". The presence of the detestable music stand prevented their connecting but the voices did harmonize nicely.

Soprano Katrin Bulke did not tackle any Verdi and we were glad of it. She seems to know what her voice is suited for and gave a lovely performance of "Regnava nel silenzio" from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, a performance invested with lovely legato, flexibility in the fioritura, and dynamic variety. We would like to see a bit more fragility in the character, to foreshadow her decompensation later in this tragic tale.

We loved the bit of "fluff" she brought in, both singing and dancing in the delightful "Heia Heia in den Bergen" from Imre Kalman's Die Csárdásfürstin. We are always ready for some Hungarian fun!

Watch Vocal Productions NYC's Facebook page for some upcoming concerts which you are sure to enjoy.

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THE STORY OF HARRIET TUBMAN

Lindell Carter, MaKayla McDonald, William Remmers, Markel Reed, Karmesha Peake, and Virdell Williams in Thea Musgrave's "The Story of Harriet Tubman"

The story must be told and who better to stage it than William Remmers' Utopia Opera!  Maestro Remmers has never shrunk from a challenge and audience members who voted for this work never shrink from providing him with these challenges. So this, his eighth season, began with a chamber reduction of Ms. Musgraves grand opera Harriet, the Woman Called Moses, which premiered at Virginia Opera in 1985.

With ongoing assistance from the composer, Julian Grant accomplished the orchestration for three strings, three winds, percussion and keyboard, conducted by Maestro Remmers. Direction by Viktoria I.V. King was effective in telling the story, which left us inspired and moved.

Harriet Tubman was a slave who escaped from slavery and sacrificed her personal happiness and safety to return to the south 18 times to rescue over 300 slaves over the Underground Railroad, aided by the Quaker abolitionist Mr. Garrett, here portrayed by Andrew Dwan.

The work opened strongly with Harriet's father Ben (portrayed magnificently by the deep voiced Virdell Williams) singing the heartfelt spiritual "Go Down Moses". Prose narration was offered by Harriet's brother Benjie (portrayed well by tenor Lindell Carter) and was augmented throughout the work by various other cast members.

The eponymous Harriet was given a superlative interpretation by MaKayla McDonald who elicited both admiration and sympathy by her fine portrayal. As her beloved Josiah, Markel Reed was appealing and completely believable. Mama Rit was performed by Karmesha Peake who held the stage with her excellent presence and fine singing.

The story is told fairly and Caucasians are presented as both bad guys and good guys. The Master, sympathetically portrayed by Tadeusz von Moltke, cares for his slaves as part of the family and does not want to sell them to other masters who might mistreat them.  But his son Preston (nastily portrayed by Luke Jackson) is a wastrel and wants his father to sell off some slaves to pay his gambling debts. We don't want to reveal how this plays out because we want you to see the show! The other bad dude is the Overseer, convincingly acted by Kristoffer Infante who comes across as one scary dude.

The ensemble had voices as strong as the principals. Costumes by Eric Lamp and Angel Betancourt were simple but effective.

Every culture has its myths (i.e. American Thanksgiving) and every country has its shame (i.e. Germany's Holocaust). How one deals with these is relevant beyond words. Our nation is now dealing with the myth espoused by our own Statue of Liberty versus the reality and shame of the way POTUS is dealing with Latin American refugees. Slavery is part of our past and can never be denied.

Art is a wonderful way to confront people with issues in a way far better than hectoring and writing an opera is a fine way to show us our shameful history. We just wish we liked the music and libretto better. The instrumental music is more "interesting" than beautiful and there were no appealing vocal lines except for the aforementioned "Go Down Moses" and "Swing Low Sweet Chariot", beautifully sung by Ms. McDonald. Mr. Reed sang "Lonesome Road" in a tender touching fashion.

Ms. McDonald was given a tuneless aria "Can't Live Without Ben" and we couldn't help thinking of "My Man's Gone Now" from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. There's a reason that Gershwin's opera stays in the repertoire.  There's a reason that singers use the arias as audition pieces and in recital.  That reason is that there is melody. When will contemporary composers realize that melody is memorable!

Although the "book" is excellent, the libretto is less so. Dialect was mixed with what we would call contemporary educated speech and the sentences were too long. We think it would have worked better with short conversational phrases spoken completely in dialect. We were grateful for the surtitles accompanying the singing and would have enjoyed them for the dialogue as well.

In spite of these minor disappointments, we recommend this work highly for its dramatic impact and convincing performances. We would welcome the opportunity to hear any of the singers again; we honor the idea of dramatizing the struggle of Afro-Americans and the reality of giving so many worthy singers an opportunity to perform.

(c) meche kroop

BEETHOVEN'S SINGLETON

Lindell Carter, Madison Marie McIntosh, Steven Herring, Brent Reilly Turner, Maestro Keith Chambers, Kirsten Chambers, Kevin J. Langan, Kian Freitas, and Richard Cross

Last night we had the privilege of being present at a birth.  The birth went smoothly and the newborn is healthy and gave some lusty cries. The birthplace was adequate but this baby needs some growing room!  The babe was named....New Amsterdam Opera and was delivered by Maestro Keith Chambers,

We consider it ambitious to have tackled Fidelio, Beethoven's sole opera; thanks to some fine and highly accurate conducting as well as some excellent casting, the night was a huge success. The large church was filled to capacity and the standing ovation impressive. Musical values were so high that sets and costumes were not missed.

Beethoven wrote this opera in 1805 but tinkered with it until its final version was completed in 1814. Two interesting decisions were made by Maestro Chambers: although there were never any recitativi, the opera contained spoken dialogue and Mr. Chambers replaced this with narration by the eminent Richard Cross; although the original overture (thought to be too weighty for the opera) is generally presented as a concert piece, here it was inserted between the two scenes of Act II, not an original idea to be sure but not a treat one can take for granted. 

The story is a straightforward one. The wife of a political prisoner disguises herself as a man and gets a job at the prison where her husband has been unfairly incarcerated. She wins the trust of the warden and finally manages to rescue her beloved. She also inadvertently wins the love of the warden's daughter Marzelline who is pursued by Jaquino.

Soprano Kirsten Chambers has a sizable voice with great overtones, one in which musical values are never sacrificed for volume. As the loyal and heroic titular character (first "Fidelio" and later "Leonora" when her gender is disclosed) she was completely believable. We loved her passionate aria in Act I.

We also loved the duet between Ms. Chambers and Madison Marie McIntosh, whose focused voice and youthful appearance perfectly suited the role of the innocent Marzelline. The two very different sopranos sounded brilliant together.

We do not get to hear the voice of the imprisoned aristocrat Florestan until Act II. The character has been starving in a dungeon for two years but tenor Brent Reilly Turner managed to color his robust voice to indicate  both hope and faith. His big aria is introduced by a sorrowful theme in the orchestra, with Maestro Chambers' handling of the brass particularly impressive.

As the jailer Rocco, bass Kevin J. Langan was particularly fine, both vocally and dramatically. His German was especially fine, a quality we prize inasmuch as there were no titles. We were sitting to the side and his clarity was evident no matter which side of the stage he occupied.

Baritone Steven Herring has a powerful voice and created a threatening character in the role of Don Pizarro, the nobleman who was responsible for jailing Florestan.  We found ourselves hating the character and loving the singer in equal measure!

Entering at the very end of the opera, announced by offstage trumpet, was the Governor Don Fernando. Bass-baritone Kian Freitas did justice to the role.  It was a special moment when he allows the unmasked Leonora to remove her husband's chains. He makes the theme of the opera very clear--story and music both reflect Beethoven's passion for liberty and heroism.

Some special moments that we enjoyed were the quartet in Act I and the prisoner's chorus in Act II. Their placement up high behind and above the orchestra allowed their voices to be heard. Props go to Chorus Master Tony Bellomy.

We cannot comment on tenor Lindell Carter's portrayal of Jaquino because we could not hear him. Part of this can be attributed to his being stage right whilst we were sitting on the other side. Still, singers with larger voices or better focused voices could be heard from wherever.

And that brings us to our one disappointment with the evening. West Park Presbyterian Church does not have great acoustics. The orchestra filled the stage and the singers were placed in front. Our dearest wish for this new company is that they find a home with an orchestra pit or an elevated playing area. They deserve it!

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DONIZETTI UNEARTHED

Robert Garner as Severo and Sara Beth Pearson as Paolina in Donizetti's Poliuto at Amore Opera

 

 

We love Donizetti for his melodic bel canto writing and we love Amore Opera for unearthing one of his rarely performed tragic operas. Donizetti's music is always kind to our ears, whether it is underscoring a frothy comedy or a serious tragedy. If one doesn't care for the story, one can always revel in the music.

The libretto for his Poliuto was written by Salvatore Cammarano, loosely based on Pierre Corneille's tragic 1640 play Polyeucte. The birth of the opera was a difficult one: problems with censorship by the Catholic King of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, rewriting for the Opera Francaise, translating that into Italian, and the suicide of the tenor.

The story has significant resonances today. In third century Armenia, the ruling Romans saw Christianity as a threat to be eliminated. Christians met secretly in caves to hold their baptismal ceremonies. (Indeed, we once crawled into caves in Central Turkey where Christians lived and worshipped in secret.) Today Christianity is an accepted and prominent world religion with some members who would like to annhililate other religions. It seems like just another manifestation of  "My God is the right one.  Yours is the wrong one." Will mankind ever learn?

It would be fair to say that the story is distasteful to us. We don't understand martyrdom or the belief that all will be remedied in some mythical paradise after death.  All we could think of was the current plague of suicide bombers.  In Poliuto, at the end, the heroine joins her husband in just this sort of death without regard to the effect on her father.

Paolina was in love with the Roman Proconsul Severo. Believing him dead, she married Poliuto. He is jealous and mistrustful and a convert to Christianity without being aware that his jealousy and pride are "sinful" by their standards.

Severo shows up very much alive and she resists his blandishments. Misled by Callistene, the evil High Priest of Jupiter, Poliuto believes her to be unfaithful and pridefully resists all her claims of innocence.

Nearco, Poliuto's friend and leader of the growing Christian sect of Armenia, refuses to name him to the authorities but the "noble" Poliuto turns himself in, happily martyring himself, looking forward to his salvation in heaven.

Paolino insists on joining him although Severo does everything to prevent her. The martyrs get thrown to the lions.  And that's that.

But what marvelous melodies we heard, conducted by Daniele Tirilli! This is Donizetti at the top of his game. Even the overture offers one beautiful theme after another--an opening mournful one, then an urgent propulsive one, then a lively martial one.  The opening chorus of Christians filled the theater at the Sheen Center with harmonies.

Soprano Sara Beth Pearson made a splendid Paolina, singing with a substantial sound that was also flexible and just right for the fioritura. Her acting skills matched her singing, as she slowly became enchanted with Christianity. We loved her aria "Di quai soave lagrime, aspersa è la mia gota "
Baritone Robert Garner continues to impress us with his full-throated singing and convincing acting. He actually made us feel sympathy for Severo by showing many dimensions to his character. We liked his tender love aria "Di tua beltade imagine è questo sol ch'io miro ".

Tenor Lindell Carter seemed not quite comfortable in the title role, as evidenced by some mugging and wide-eyed staring.

Tenor Michael Celentano made a fine Nearco while tenor Douglas McDonnell handled the small role of Felice with fatherly grace.

Bass Jay Gould made a formidable Callistene, the man we love to hate.

Christians were portrayed by Daniel Kerr, James Stephen Longo, and Ruben Navarro.

The direction by Nathan Hull was straightforward, as we prefer. When the two major players of a company (Mr. Hull and Maestro Tirilli) have sung opera, you can rest assured that the singers will come first. No one was put in a physically or vocally threatening position. This is something we truly appreciate.

Costumes by Amy Leubke were elegant and colorful, appearing appropriate to the period. Simple painted sets by Richard Cerullo served their purpose.

Special mention must be made of the fine chorus who added so much to the proceedings, thanks to Chorus Manager Janet Johnson. The opera contains several choral pieces, often augmenting the ensemble writing at the conclusion of a scene.

We may never get to hear this wonderful piece again and were so happy to have had the opportunity. Thanks Amore Opera for unearthing this buried treasure.

(c) meche kroop

WERTHER brought to you by MARTHA CARDONA OPERA

Kian Freitas, Katy Lindhart, Maestro Keith Chambers, Thomas Cannon, Ola Rafalo, and Alex Richardson

The stage of Merkin Concert Hall is not large but it was large enough to hold an orchestra, with the singers giving a semi-staged performance over to the side. The somewhat reduced orchestra, conducted by Maestro Keith Chambers, came together nicely after a very slightly ragged overture and did full justice to Massenet's marvelous score for Werther.

The opera premiered in 1892, first in German (!) and shortly thereafter in the original French in Geneva. In a couple years it was presented by The Metropolitan Opera in New York, and a few years later found a home at the Opéra Comique in Paris. It remains part of the standard repertory until this very day and we were delighted that the Martha Cardona Opera, founded by Daniel Cardona, decided to present it.

We keep learning new things about opera with every performance and what we learned last night was that the singers cannot really hear the orchestra when they are on the same level. This did not stop mezzo-soprano Ola Rafalo, in the role of Charlotte, from cutting right through their sound with her distinctive and richly textured voice. The interesting texture and generous vibrato were very much to our liking. She was outstanding in her moving third act aria "Va! Laisse couler mes larmes".

Baritone Thomas Cannon created a sympathetic portrait of Charlotte's husband Albert, a role upon which we do not customarily focus. In Act II, he is rather sympathetic to Werther's predicament--that of loving a woman he cannot have. But when he realizes that Werther might be a rival for Charlotte's affection, you could see the change in his body and gesture, as well as hear the alteration in his vocal color. He is only too happy to provide the pistols to Werther! This fine baritone exhibited a creamy and mellow sound that was most agreeable to the ear.

As little sister Sophie, soprano Katy Lindhart used her bright and focused soprano to provide a vocal and dramatic foil for her big sister. We liked her stage presence as well as her voice. Her Act III scene with Charlotte was pure delight.

Baritone Kian Freitas made a fine papa, caring and loving toward his children but also able to join his friends Schmidt (tenor Lindell Carter) and Johann (baritone LaMarcus Miller) for some tippling at the tavern. All three men sang well.

Tenor Alex Richardson seemed to be having a bad night. When the orchestra was playing at low volume, we heard some sweet sounds, of which we'd like to hear more. Sadly, when the orchestra was playing in full force, he tended to push his voice in the upper register, instead of floating the notes. This is a feature to which we are highly sensitive and it was not pleasing to the ear. On the plus side, he did throw himself into the role of the unfortunate Werther and his French diction could not be faulted.

The excellent children's chorus was provided by The Long Island City Academy of Music Youth Choir. The young singers portraying Charlotte's brothers and sisters included Bryan Acosta, Ellis Adams, Lara Akarca, Nina Benson, Bianca Benson, Sebastian Czaplicki, Leah Friedman, Isabel Söhngen, and Nora Yoo. Musical preparation was by Oliver Söhngen.

The story takes place in the late 18th c., a time when deathbed promises were made and kept, a time when romance was not the chief justification for marriage. Charlotte had promised her mother to marry Albert as the mother lay dying. Before the marriage was performed, when Albert was absent, she apparently spent a lot of time with Werther, reading poetry and doing other harmless things. She repressed her growing attraction to him but he was unable to do the same.

Once she wed, she was obliged to send him away.  When he returns, the charade could no longer be sustained.  They embrace and she rejects him. He kills himself with Albert's pistols but achieves some happiness by dying in her arms.

This scenario, adapted from an epistolary novel by Goethe, is such a product of an earlier epoch, that it demands more stylized comportment than was exhibited onstage in this semi-staged production. Modern dress did nothing to create the illusion we wanted to experience. That is the negative consequence of this type of production.  A positive aspect is that one gets to focus on the music.

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