SHAKESPEARE IN SONG

Richard Fu, Marie Engle, Aaron Keeny, Bronwyn Schuman, and Erik van Heyningen

If a composer wanted to set English text to music, he couldn't do much better than Shakespeare. In a fine program curated by Dr. Lydia Brown for Juilliard Vocal Arts entitled "Shakespeare: The Bard in Song", we heard those marvelous young Juilliard artists interpreting a wide variety of these songs, culled from the 18th, 19th, and 20th c.

The main draw is the partnership between singer and pianist. All of the collaborative pianists were exquisitely sensitive to the singers they accompanied; all were supportive and light in touch. Nothing destroys a lieder recital more than a heavy-handed pianist. 

The highlight for us was the performance of soprano Anneliese Klenetsky with Bronwyn Schuman on the piano. Two sets were performed on the same theme--Ophelia from Hamlet--and the audience was so enraptured that they allowed both sets to proceed without interruption. It was so interesting to hear Brahms' Funf Ophelia Lieder contrasted with Richard Strauss' Drei Ophelia Lieder.

The text had been translated into German and was almost identical but the musical styles were totally different and Ms. Klenetsky's delivery was right on point. She opened with the Brahms and drew us in with the delicacy of her storytelling, as well as the way she used her gorgeous instrument. The Strauss was quite a contrast. Whereas Brahms' Ophelia came across as a pathetic victim, Strauss' Ophelia came across as deranged, intense and violent.

Much was asked of the artists and much was delivered. We came away wishing someone would write an opera from Ophelia's point of view, much as Tom Stoppard wrote a play from Rosenkranz and Guildenstern's point of view. Ophelia's distracted ramblings tell us things that went on "behind the scenes" so to speak, about her being dishonored.

Mezzo-soprano Marie Engle, just heard at Carnegie Hall Monday night, performed Erich Korngold's Four Shakespeare Songs, with Richard Fu as her superb piano partner. We liked the way Korngold used the text and loved the way the artists performed it. Desdemona's "Willow Song" from Othello emphasized the rhyme scheme without hitting us over the head with it. 

The other three songs used text from As You Like It. "Blow, blow, thou winter wind" made use of repeated downward scale passages and open fifths in the piano to emphasize the cold atmosphere. Our favorite, however, was "When birds do sing" which Ms. Engle and Mr. Fu invested with light-hearted expressivity.

The other 20th c. composers did not impress us as much. Gerald Finzi was represented by his Let us garlands bring, Op. 18, performed by baritone Erik van Heyningen and collaborative pianist Brandon Linhard. We definitely preferred the joyful and tuneful "Who is Silvia?" from Two Gentlemen of Verona and the lively "O mistress mine" from Twelfth Night which Mr. van Heyningen seemed to relish performing. Similarly for "It was a lover and his lass" from As You Like It.

Baritone Aaron Keeny was greatly appreciated for his relaxed and inviting stage manner. We cannot say we liked Michael Tippett's music. As far as 20th c. composers go, we far preferred his contemporary Korngold. His Songs for Ariel from The Tempest provided a low tessitura in "Full fathom five" but no melody to tease our ears. "Where the bee sucks" suited Mr. Keeny best and we enjoyed Jae Eun Park's pleasing piano accompaniment.

The two artists also dipped their toes into the 18th c. with Haydn's "She Never Told Her Love" from Twelfth Night, to which he and Ms. Park gave a grave and subtle delivery. We enjoyed the varied dynamics and Mr. Keeny's lovely messa di voce.

If you have never attended a liederabend at Juilliard you owe it to yourself to attend one before the semester ends. They never disappoint and you will have an opportunity to hear the stars of tomorrow just before their stars ascend.

(c) meche kroop

MATTHEW POLENZANI WAS VERY PRESENT AT ZANKEL HALL--but the farm boy disappeared.

Kathleen O'Mara, Marie Engle, Megan Esther Grey, Jennifer Johnson Cano, and Matthew Polenzani

Julius Drake and Matthew Polenzani

Matthew Polenzani is a beloved tenor, well known to those who frequent The Metropolitan Opera. Perhaps there is no tenor in his generation who can fill the Metropolitan Opera with so much beautiful sound. But do all of our readers know what a superb recitalist he is?

It is a special thrill to experience his artistry in a smaller house.  It has been four years since we heard his recital at Alice Tully Hall and six years since his recital at the Morgan Library as part of the George London Foundation recital series--a return which celebrated his 1998 award.

Yesterday's recital at Zankel Hall was even more intimate and we appreciated 

Mr. Polenzani's generous Italianate tone in both German and Czech; it is replete with resonance and his diction, thankfully, makes every word count. Still, the house lights were kept at a level that permitted those who do not understand foreign languages to read the translations.

The sound is huge and operatic when passionate intensity is called for-- but our preference was for the tender passages in which he mined great depth of feeling at even the most pianissimo level of dynamics.

Accompanied by the fine pianist Julius Drake, he opened his program with a half dozen Schubert lieder. He and Mr. Drake make a fine partnership since Mr. Drake's sensitive playing is never short of supportive. In the slow and melancholy "Nachtstück", the old man's harp was recreated by Mr. Drake's delicate arpeggi; Mr. Polenzani colored every word for maximum meaning.

In "Im Frühling", our personal favorite, the singer waxes nostalgic for happier days and Mr. Polenzani trailed off in a delicate decrescendo at the end. Schubert's brief interpolation of the minor key was well negotiated for maximum emotional effect. "Der Einsame" is a song of contentment and we have always called it "the cricket song" since the pianist gets to simulate their sound.

We haven't heard "Ständchen" so tenderly performed since we heard Paul Appleby sing it in Santa Fe. What an affecting performance with the tenderness yielding to passionate intensity!

Beethoven's song cycle An die ferne Geliebte is marked by a smooth segué between songs, creating a sustained mood. Alois Jeitteles' text uses imagery taken from the natural world to express longing for the beloved. Our favorite part is in "Wo die Berge so blau" when the piano echoes the unforgettable downward scale passage "Schauen herein" as it does in the subsequent "Möchte ich sein" and "Innere Pein" (now in a minor key) and "Ewiglich sein". That motif pulls on the heart as only Beethoven's can do.

The bittersweet "Es kehret der Maien" opens with a lilting piano that shows us an aural picture of birds and babbling brooks. The cheerful mood dissipates in the last two verses but acceptance is achieved in the final song "Nimm sie hin denn, diese Lieder". That sounds like a good life lesson; when you can't fulfill your longings, accept it gracefully.

Of Brahms' Zigeunerlieder, beautifully sung by mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano, our favorite was "Brauner Bursche fürht zum Tanze" with its spirited rhythm. This took Ms. Johnson Cano into some lower register territory which she negotiated without strain. Her performances always delight us.

The second half of the program was devoted to Leoś Janáček's song cycle The Diary of One Who Disappeared. There is an interesting story about the text by Josef Kalda; in an elaborate hoax, which will resonate to those of our generation, the work was presented in 1916 in a Brno newspapers as "From the Pen of a Self-Taught Peasant", claimed to have been written by a farmboy who had mysteriously disappeared, leaving behind a story of having been seduced by a gypsy girl who bore his child, and then running off with her and her gypsy family.

This is not so different from "Songs of Bilitis" which were given a false origin as well.  And what about films that are purported to be "found footage"? Today we are accustomed to such pranks but we wonder if people of a century ago would have been enraged over the deception. Fortunately, they never found out because the hoax went unrevealed until 1998!

In any case, the work is an interesting one and Janáček's passionate outpouring of music expressed his unfulfilled longing for a much younger married woman. Czech is such a difficult language and it is impressive how well the composer matches its rhythms in his music. We notice that the lines of text are short. 

The story is an appealing one and filled with detail of farm life, such as fashioning a new shaft for a broken plow. There are also plenty of details about the seductive gypsy girl with her black hair and white breasts. The poor farm boy is driven mad with desire and post-coital regret, with the sexual congress depicted in a piano solo. This allowed Mr. Drake to let out all the stops!

Music stands were used and, in this case, we can understand and tolerate their presence; but we must say that the part we enjoyed the best was when Ms. Johnson Cano walked onstage to sing the part of the gypsy Zefka--off the book! And she sang the hell out of it!

Contributing to the texture of the music was a chorus of three women who sang from the balcony--soprano Kathleen O'Mara and mezzo-sopranos Marie Engle and Megan Esther Grey. They sounded like a choir of angels!

This was interesting music, filled with pungent harmonies and wild rhythms. We don't know if we will ever get to hear it again but are very glad to have experienced it once.

As usual, the audience rose to its collective feet and showered the artists with accolades. Mr. Polenzani pointed out that the final work was a "tough act to follow" but he nonetheless rewarded his fans with a heartfelt delivery of "Danny Boy".

(c) meche kroop

FROM CELLAR TO SANCTUARY

Katelan Terrell, Michal Biel, Marie Engle and Äneas Humm in Songs from the Cellar

Before we tell you about one of the best art song recitals we have ever seen, we have some exciting news about the venue, shared by Alessandro Pittorino, Executive Director of Arts at Blessed Sacrament Church. 

The church has acquired a magnificent Steinway piano in the sanctuary so that recitals can be held there instead of in the cozy cellar. We had no beefs about the cellar but the acoustics in the sanctuary are undeniably better. And the piano has a particularly fine sound, especially as played by our two collaborative pianists Katelan Terrell and Michal Biel.

We have heard Robert Schumann's song cycles more times than we can count but we cannot recall hearing them performed better. The program began with mezzo-soprano Marie Engle, who sounds like eine engel, performing Frauenliebe und -Leben in partnership with Ms. Terrell. Perhaps it is our imagination, but having two women performing the cycle added a new dimension and kinda sorta made up for the fact that the text, written in 1830 by Adelbert von Chamisso and then set within the decade by Robert Schumann, involved men!

We do not know whether this was the poet's interpretation of a woman's life and loves or whether this was culturally accurate but the content would have us believe that a woman's life begins when she meets her future husband and ends when he dies! Nothing happens in between childbirth and widowhood!

In order to enjoy the many pleasures of the cycle, one has to set aside our contemporary view of female equality and self-fulfillment. The middle of the 20th c. seems just as remote as the 19th c.  Just ask your mothers and grandmothers!

The pleasures of the cycle are the perfect union of text and music and the marriage of vocal line to piano accompaniment. Last night, the extra pleasure was experiencing the many moods of the subject which our performing artists conveyed with consummate communicative skill.

"Seit ich ihn gesehen" is filled with wonder, bordering on awe. "Er, der Herrlichste von allen" is replete with excitement as the girl idealizes her beloved. In "Ich kann's nicht fassen, nicht glauben", she is overwhelmed by being the chosen one. In "Du Ring an meinem Finger" she expresses her exalted intent (like Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier) to devote herself fully to her husband; the ring symbolizes the husband-to-be. 

In "Helft mir, ihr Schwestern", the piano provides a wedding march for the girl's special day. In "Süßer Freund" she becomes more solemn as she hints to her husband that she is pregnant. We were enjoying Ms. Engle's word coloring all along but there was something special she did with "lust". The tempo increased as did the woman's heartbeat.  Yes, she has gone from girl to woman.

Her excitement over nursing her infant in "An meinem Herzen" seemed ecstatic--almost delirious.  And then....hubby dies. The terrible chord in the piano announces the shock and the woman experiences that frightening mixture of grief and anger that is so common in loss. Ms. Engle's coloring of the word "leer" (empty) gave us cold chills with its subtle alteration of vibrato. The piano postlude recalls the first time the woman laid eyes upon the man. 

We were left shaken, no longer scoffing at the archaic nature of the text. This was completely due to the intense involvement of Ms. Engle and Ms. Terrell. We might add that Ms. Engle's German was perfect and so clearly enunciated that we didn't miss a word. Titles were superfluous.

The second half of the program comprised a performance of Schumann's Dichterliebe, the likes of which we have never heard. Swiss baritone Äneas Humm came to our attention through the German Forum when he was but 20 years old and already famous in Europe. We loved his voice and communicative skills 3 years ago but we have noted an impressive development in the texture of his voice after just one year at Juilliard, where he studies with Edith Wien. His voice filled the sanctuary with overtones.

We have reviewed Dichterliebe half a dozen times within the year and three times within the past month!  We have not tired of it because each singer has offered a different interpretation. This is one of the distinguishing features of a great work of art. Mr. Humm's very personal interpretation was fully in the present. This was not a reflective summation of a love affair gone wrong. Mr. Humm seemed to be experiencing the events in the moment. Mr. Biel's piano supported that interpretation.

In "Im wonderschönen Monat Mai", the poet suffers from limerence but Michal Biel's piano hinted at a less sanguine reality. The vocal line trailed off unresolved and we began to hear some anxiety in "Aus meinen Tränen sprießen". The subject idealizes his beloved with intense excitement in "Die Rose, die Lilie, die Taube, die Sonne".

We loved the change of color with which Mr. Humm invested the voice of the beloved as she professes her love in the phrase "Ich liebe dich".  This is how the subject wants to hear it!

Things got dark in "Im Rhein, im heiligen Strome" when the subject became serious, spooked out by seeing the beloved's face in an inappropriate place (a portrait of the Virgin in the cathedral). The dark colors of Mr. Humm's lower register struck deep.

"Ich grolle nicht" is the song of the cycle in which we have heard the most variety. The subject seems to be keeping a stiff upper lip but the piano lets us hear the depth of his suffering. Mr. Humm artistically portrayed the melange of anger, bitterness, and pain.

"Das ist ein Flöten und Geigen" involved unadulterated bitterness with Mr. Biel's piano adding much emotional tone. His piano gave us brief respite in the gentle "Hör ich das Liedchen klingen" before the renewed bitterness and irony of "Ein Jüngling liebt ein Mädchen" which was introduced by a jaunty piano tune.

Another highlight of the cycle was "Ich hab' im Traum geweinet" which began with a capella voice and was then punctuated by portentous chords. We also loved the twist at the end of "Allnächtlich im Traume".

Mr. Biel's descending arpeggi in "Die alten, bösen Lieder" served to highlight the subject's attempt to find closure by sinking a coffin filled with his old love songs into the waters of the Rhein. Was this just adolescent hyperbole?

We have read that the poet Heinrich Heine was satirizing Romanticism but we are not sure. That is what is so special about Schumann's setting and the singer's interpretive skills. That is the reason why we can hear this cycle several times in a month and not get bored!

Mr. Humm and Mr. Biel took us on an exhaustive emotional journey through joy and excitement to anger, bitterness, and despair, with a final acceptance. Fortunately we were not to be left in gloom.  Oh, no. There was a perfectly upbeat duet in which Schumann set a charming folksong "Wenn ich ein vöglein wär" performed by the two singers and piano four-hands. Somehow we were reminded of Brahms, which is always a good association.

"Songs from the Cellar" has gotten off to an impressive start, with all the artists coming from Juilliard. Ms. Terrell and Mr. Biel are the Co-coordinators of this art song series. The two have come a long way in one short season by providing top quality entertainment and artistry for the Upper West Side Community. We have watched with great pleasure the growth of the audience. We don't know yet whether they will change the name of the series to "Songs from the Sanctuary". It doesn't matter what they call it; it is worth your while.

We can barely wait for the Autumn season and promise to keep you informed.

(c) meche kroop

 

DOUBLY TALENTED

Minjung Jung and Ji Yung Lee at uilliard Morse Hall

Last night was a chance for Ji Yung Lee to shine with dual artistry. She appeared first as a singer, offering three selections from Richard Strauss' Mädchenblumen in which the text compares different flowers to different types of women. This is an opportunity for the singer to exhibit different colors and moods, which this lovely soprano had no difficulty achieving.

Her bright soprano sounded beautiful in the upper register, but we could best appreciate her facility with German in "Epheu" which has a lower tessitura.  Our only complaint was the use of the music stand. This loathed piece of stage furniture was used for the entire recital, to our dismay. The collaborative pianist for the Strauss was the excellent Minjung Jung.

For the remainder of the program, Ms. Lee served as collaborative pianist; it would be an understatement to say that we are impressed when an artist can do justice to two fields. 

Her accompaniment of bass William Guanbo Su was excellent; she has a real feel for Brahms. We confess to a certain antipathy for this composer's  Vier Ernste Gesänge largely due to their pious nature. The Bible comes in last in our appreciation of literature. We far prefer the sanguine Brahms with his lighthearted folk songs and ironic romantic despair.

That being said, a wonderful singer can nudge our appreciation in a positive direction and this was accomplished by Mr. Su whose richly textured instrument and expressive coloration went a long way toward alleviating the tedium of the preachy text.  He was particularly fine in the lowest end of the register.  Now, if only he could abandon the music stand!

If mezzo-soprano Marie Engle continued this connection-blocking habit, we were feeling more tolerant since she was a last minute replacement for the ailing Kady Evanyshyn. We are sure she has studied Schumann's Frauenliebe und -leben for some time, however, because she invested the work with all the various moods and colors called for by the text.

Ms. Engle has a pleasant voice quality and a fine command of German. Her interpretation of the earlier songs dealing with naiveté, excitement and girlish glee were right on point. That she was also able to convey shock and sorrow came as a surprise to us since that emotion is more difficult to convey by acting. In the final song, she employed a wider vibrato that added to the depiction of grief and despair.

It was in the affecting major/minor shifts that the two artists showed their stuff, leading to a very effective performance in spite of the music stand! We would love to hear this pair perform the same cycle off the book.  Put it on my wishlist!

(c) meche kroop

BAD BOY!

Cast of Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges at Alice Tully Hall

What a treat!  Last night the Juilliard Orchestra was joined by members of the Vocal Arts Program for an evening of French music, the capstone of which was Ravel's short opera L'enfant et les sortilèges. Although the program notes suggest a somewhat different origin, we had always believed that this work was intended as a ballet for the Paris Opera but wound up as an opera, with ballet sequences choreographed by none other than George Balanchine.  There is no disagreement about Colette's authorship of the libretto. The work made its premiere in 1925 at the Opéra de Monte Carlo.

Until three years ago we had never seen it performed but then enjoyed two performances in close temporal proximity, one by Utopia Opera and shortly afterward as the initial work by Bare Opera. We became an instant fan of this delightful work with its charming story and eclectic score.

That the members of the Juilliard Vocal Arts Program were able to capture the spirit of the work on a very narrow strip of stage in front of the Juilliard Orchestra seemed a minor miracle; the miracle worker must have been the director Edward Berkeley. Credit for the brilliant reading of this enchanting score goes to Maestro Emmanuel Villaume whose feeling for French music is in his genes. But credit for the performances must be shared by the cast of singers whose ensemble spirit could only be realized by a lot of time spent rehearsing.

Heading the cast was mezzo-soprano Kelsey Lauritano who made a very convincing naughty boy, one of those children whose destructive energy emerges when they are given insufficient stimulation, at least that was our conjecture! Ms. Lauritano never hits a wrong note, not vocally and not dramatically. We wanted to jump up onstage and hold her down!

The role of the mother was sung by Myka Murphy who has a very different sort of mezzo and we hear a definite contralto in the making. We couldn't keep from fantasizing about the roles she will take down the road from now.

Soprano Onadek Winan was glorious in her coloratura in all three roles: Le Feu, La Princesse, and Le Rossignol.

Baritone Xiaomeng Zhang always impresses us with his fine tone and phrasing; he excelled as the wounded tree and as Le Fauteil in his duet with La Bergère (performed by soprano Anneliese Klenetsky who handled the scale passages with aplomb).

Another successful duet was that of the two cats. Mezzo-soprano Nicole Thomas and baritone Gregory Feldmann had a rather sexy catfight until they turned their attention to Maestro Villaume who played along in a most sportsmanlike manner. Mr. Feldmann was also memorable as the broken clock, holding his arm askew as the pendulum.

Mezzo-soprano Kady Evanyshyn made an adorable Chinese tea-cup with tenor Matthew Pearce as the teapot, spouting a pidgin Asian mix, accompanied by tuba.

Tenor James Ley made quite a strict arithmetic teacher, known in the script as Le Petit Veillard. Soprano Kresley Figueroa had a sweet duet with mezzo-soprano Marie Engle as a pair of country folk from the torn storybook.

It seemed that for the second part, every cast member took on another role as an animal, with soprano Vivian Yau standing out as a bat whose mate had been killed by the naughty boy. The chorus added to the overall effect.

Quite in tune with this week's theme of behavioral change and redemption (see two prior reviews below) the bad boy of the first part is confronted in the second part by critters he has injured. He is transformed and the audience is satisfied by a successful conclusion to the story. The critters forgive him and so do we.

Although we rarely review instrumental works, it would be churlish not to mention how successfully performed were the two works in the first half of the program. Ravel wrote his Menuet antique when he was but twenty years of age; it took him 34 years to orchestrate it!  And what an incredible orchestrator he was. Someday we would love to hear the original piano version followed by the orchestral arrangement.

We very much enjoyed Debussy's La mer although the programmatic nature of the piece escaped us. Without being told that it was about the sea, we would not have guessed it. What stood out for us were the orchestral colors. First cellist Matthew Chen gave a stunning performance and we also enjoyed the harp and celeste.  No doubt about it, the Juilliard Orchestra rules!

(c) meche kroop

THE GARDEN OF JUILLIARD

Christine Taylor Price, Marie Engle, Joshua Blue, Tamara Banješević, and Jacob Scharfman (photo by Hiroyuki Ito)

Mozart was just shy of 19 years of age when he composed La finta giardiniera which premiered in Munich in 1775. In spite of a trivial libretto (insecurely attributed to Calzabigi), one can readily appreciate Mozart's exuberant melodic invention and skills at orchestration. The opera achieved but 3 performances and fell out of the repertory until a copy of the score was rediscovered in the 1970's.

That we have seen the opera three times in two years gives some indication of the many glories of the score and the challenging roles it provides for seven singers. The seven we heard last night at Juilliard Opera seemed to enjoy their performances as much as we in the audience did. What vocal glories!

We love to see romantic foibles onstage--the mismatches, the betrayals, the fights, the reconciliations. We have no need for modern sets or costumes to recognize our own passions and obsessions.  The blind child shoots those darts and we are helpless.

The Marchioness Violante Onesti (splendid soprano Tamara Banješević) had been stabbed by her jealous lover Conte Belfiore (terrific tenor Charles Sy) on their wedding day. Left for dead, she recovered, took the name of Sandrina, disguised herself as a gardener, and sought refuge by gaining employment at the estate of the Podesta Don Anchise (tremendous tenor Joshua Blue) who has fallen in love with her.

The Podesta's housekeeper Serpetta, portrayed by the gifted soprano Christine Taylor Price, would like to marry her boss and fights off the courtship of the gardener Nardo, Violante's servant Roberto in disguise--a role delightfully inhabited by Baritone Jacob Scharfman.

Meanwhile, the Podesta's bossy-pants niece Arminda (glorious voiced soprano Kathryn Henry) arrives at the estate to be joined in matrimony with none other than Belfiore. If we could overlook his tendency to commit violence on his brides, we might even feel a tinge of pity for the ambivalent count. He thinks he recognizes Violante in disguise but she denies her identity.

In the role of Cavalier Ramiro, Arminda's rejected suitor, we heard the marvelously convincing mezzo-soprano Marie Engle in travesti.

To make this crazy mixed up story clear, we had the talented young director Mary Birnbaum who has a very special way of getting her cast to work as an ensemble and to interact in believable ways, no matter how preposterous the story.

The first act moved along at a lively clip but there was a scene at the end of the second act that baffled us and our companion. It is the scene in which Belfiore goes mad and Violante gets kidnapped by Arminda (or was it vice versa?). When Tim Albery directed this opera at Santa Fe Opera, it didn't make much sense either and when Eric Einhorn directed it for On Site Opera, he omitted the scene entirely which was probably the best choice!

Both Ms. Henry and Ms. Prize dazzled us with their coloratura but the aria we remember best belonged to Ms. Engle who managed the extensive fioritura while conveying masculinity at the same time in "Va pure ad altri in braccio". Not only does everyone get an aria but there are interesting ensembles that foreshadow Mozart's later works.
 

Another memorable moment was Nardo's courting of Serpetta in several languages; Mr. Scharfman was irresistible in the role.  Mr. Blue pompously strutted around the stage but also conveyed the manner of a kind man. Ms. Henry did a great job creating a real bitch of a character. We loved the moment when she arrived with a horse and her servant Giuseppe (bass William Guanbo Su).

The Juilliard Orchestra performed in their usual exemplary fashion under the baton of Joseph Colaneri who brought subtle understanding to the various and changeable moods of the work. The continuo comprised Michael Biel on the harpsichord and Clara Abel on the cello.

Much favorable comment could be devoted to Amanda Seymour's luscious period costumes and even more to scenic designer Grace Laubacher's witty sets. After a clever prologue in which Joan Hofmeyr and Olivia McMillan portrayed two gossipy housemaids relating the backstory in English (another one of Mary Birnbaum's clever inventions), servants carried in trompe l'oeil set pieces. Even the horse was two dimensional but reared convincingly.

Lighting Designer Anshuman Bhatia spared no effort in changing the mood; one scene takes place in near darkness and the ensuing confusion reminded us of the final act of Nozze di Figaro.

Once again, Juilliard Opera has given us a memorable evening in which superlative production values provide a setting for the splendid singers--the jewels of Juilliard.


(c) meche kroop