AHHH-PERA

No star in the sky dazzled with as much brilliance as the glamorous Danielle de Niese at the Central Park Summer Stage last night.  A favorite of ours since her days in the Lindemann program, Ms. de Niese just keeps getting better and better, her voice as sparkling as crystal and matched by some mighty fine interpretations and some gracious hosting of the first evening of the Metropolitan Opera's Summer Recital Series.  Our favorite moment was hearing for the first time a concert aria composed by Mozart to accommodate the wishes of a soprano who wanted to replace his "Deh Vieni" from Nozze di Figaro--as Ms. N. explained before singing--"something with a lot of high and low notes".  She was equally fine in several arias and duets by Donizetti, so light-heartedly perfect for a warm summer evening.  Likewise for her "O mio babbino caro" from Puccini's Gianni Schicchi which surely made all the men in the audience want to satisfy her wishes.  The coloratura was always quick and clean.

Partnered by venerable bass-baritone John Del Carlo in duets from Don Pasquale and L'Elisir d'Amore, not a shred of drama was lost; in the absence of sets and costumes, it is all up to the singers and, so good were they that the mind's eye supplied what was missing. Mr. Del Carlo commanded the stage in "A un dottor della mia sorte" from Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia. Dan Saunders accompanied and the orchestra went unmissed.  Tenor Dimitri Pittas sang with equal  dramatic intensity and some truly lovely diminuendi.  Sadly, he tended to push his high notes instead of floating them.  Not that the attentive audience had any reservations, judging by the applause for his "Una furtiva lagrima".  His duet from L'Elisir d'Amore with Mr. Del Carlo was hilarious.

These outdoor events are generally plagued by much distraction from munchers, quaffers and texters.  Let it be said that even opera neophytes who applauded in the middle of arias were more than usually attentive.  That's what happens when such stellar beings take the stage.  There are more performances to watch out for.  Take note.  Don't say we didn't tell you!

(c) meche kroop

THE BARD OF LINDEMANN

Whether you perceive Elliot Madore as barihunk or baribard depends upon whether you were using your eyes or your ears.  Mr. Madore sings as if he wrote the poetry and the music himself and that is one rare gift.  In his recital last night for the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program he demonstrated skills as a recitalist that equal his skills onstage at the Met where we recently thrilled to his performance of the role of Lysander in Enchanted Island.  Wisely, he scaled down his strikingly rich voice to suit the size of the room and similarly modulated his dramatic intensity to just the right degree.

Accompanied by Natalia Katyukova, he opened the program with a song by Glinka entitled “I remember that magical moment” which allowed him to express a wide range of emotions.  Two songs by Tchaikovsky followed--”At the ball” and “Don Juan’s Serenade”.  It was during the latter that Ms. Katyukova’s piano skills were most evident.

Switching from Russian to the deceptively light hearted Banalités of Poulenc, we enjoyed the humor of “Chanson d’Orkenise”, the languor of “Hôtel”, the wistfulness of “Voyage à Paris” and the exquisite diminuendo at the end of “Sanglots”

But it was Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen that broke our heart as Mr. Madore seemed to be authoring on the spot the compelling emotional journey of a young man disappointed in love.  Using impressive dynamic control and word coloring, he made the trip from grief to irony and false joy to fury and finally acceptance.  One could scarcely hold back the tears and deal with the lump in the throat.  Comprising only four songs, this cycle, Mahler’s first, covers similar material to Die Schöne Müllerin and Winterreise only far more succinctly.

The program closed with some songs by Ives, one of which is a setting of Heine’s poem “Ich grolle nicht” which, while beautifully sung, could never match the setting by Schumann in his Dichterliebe.  As encore, Mr. Madore sang “My Boy Bill” from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel.  He sang it with the same dramatic intensity and connection with the text that was shown in the rest of the program.

As Mr. Madore finishes his second year with the Lindemann program and pursues his operatic destiny we wish him all the best.  With talent like that, luck is unnecessary.  We hope to see him at the Met singing Don Giovanni, perhaps his signature role?

© meche kroop