DRAMATIC VOICES AND OPERA GEMS

Natasha Novitskaia, Joanna Parisi, Maria Brea, Maestro Jason Tramm, Alla Perchikova,
Dongwon Shin, and Kevin Short

Unless you are a regular subscriber at The Metropolitan Opera, opportunities to hear large voices are rare. Since we generally focus on reviewing young artists, we are accustomed to hearing recitals of arias from the Bel Canto period which require light flexible voices. Voices of weight are not unknown to us but are surely not our daily bread and butter.

Last night at Merkin Concert Hall we heard some large voices that cut right through the full sound of The MidAtlantic Philharmonic Orchestra, led with panache by Maestro Jason Tramm. The concert was a joint production of Grandi Voci Concerts, Mathew Laifer Artists Management and MidAtlantic Artistic Productions.

The cast of seasoned performers was joined by Maria Brea, a young soprano whose star is on the rise, one we have been reviewing for the past few years. Regular readers will recall the satisfaction we achieve from witnessing the progress of young artists. 

Not all rising stars make it but Ms. Brea is appearing just about everywhere this year and dazzling us with her poise, enchanting sound, and versatility. We have enjoyed her in opera and in zarzuela (recently with New Camerata Opera); she will appear this Friday with Around the World in Song, singing songs from her native Venezuela.

Last night she performed the melodic and memorable "Depuis le jour" from Charpentier's Louise, sung in fine French. We felt as if we were taken on a romantic journey through this well modulated performance. The resonance was highly pleasing to the ear and was accompanied by some fine playing by the harpist.

The other singers on the program are already well established and treated us to some worthwhile performances which were interspersed with instrumental selections which we will describe later.

Concert performances of operatic arias deprive the singers of costuming, sets, and supporting chorus members. It is entirely on the shoulders of the singer to take us someplace. This is easier for the audience if they are familiar with the aria and its place in the opera.

For us this was easiest when bass Kevin Short sang "Ella giammai m'amo" from Verdi's Don Carlo. We are very familiar with the aria and always marvel at the way Verdi was able to evoke sympathy for a horrible character who steals his son's fiancée and then plots to have him killed!

The solo cello begins the sympathy-evoking process and the orchestra picks up on it. The plaintive violins portray the suffering of a man who never foresaw the unintended consequences of his behavior. Mr. Short's covered sound indicated King Philip's morose reflections in Italianate fashion. There was a fine decrescendo of despair at the end.

In an entirely different mood his reflective vocal coloration was exchanged for an expansive and powerful one in "Le veau d'or" from Gounod's Faust. There was no "sympathy for the devil"!

Soprano Alla Perchikova began "Vieni! t'afretta" from Verdi's Macbeth with some dramatic speaking, leading into an impassioned recitativo. Her urgency was reflected in the orchestra as she uses all her resources to lead her husband down a dangerous path.

Following the gorgeous "Intermezzo Sinfonico" from Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana (Oh, that harp again!) we had mezzo-soprano Natasha Novitskaia taking on the soprano role of Santuzza in "Voi lo sapete" in which Santuzza explains her predicament to her lover's mother. Her upper register handled the tessitura just fine but there was an occasional problem with intonation.

Tenor Dongwon Shin created a portrait of a bitter miserable clown singing about how he hides his pain behind costume and makeup. Of course we are speaking of "Vesti la Giubba" from Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci.

He too had an opportunity to show his versatility in "Di quella pira" from Verdi's Il Trovatore which requires varied dynamics and coloration. The audience loved it although we found the voice a bit pushed as the orchestra grew louder.

As a lead-in to the "Habanera" from Bizet's Carmen, we had the highly accomplished young violinist Hyojin Kim performing Sarasate's Carmen Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra. We thought of the violin as playing a highly embellished vocal line and relished the glissandi and what singers call fioritura. The scene from Lilas Pastia's tavern was spirited, even frenzied and we saw it vividly created in our mind's eye. The seductiveness of the "Habanera" was well realized.

We were puzzled when the aria was performed right afterward by soprano Joanna Parisi and we did not feel the same seductiveness. Our view of her was blocked, which may have been partly responsible, but we think the seductiveness should have come through better in the vocal coloration.

Similarly, Ms. Novitskaia's "Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix" from Saint-Saëns' Samson et Dalila did not offer as much seductiveness as we have heard before. But we did love the harp accompaniment. Oh that harp again! Unfortunately, the musicians were not credited in the program.

We enjoyed the duet from Verdi's Aida in which Amneris tricks Aida into revealing her feelings for Radames--"Fu la sorte dell'armi". Cat and mouse; mezzo and soprano! 

What we most appreciated about Ms. Perchikova is what amounted to a lesson in legato singing. There was a long line of vowels with consonants seemingly dropped in. It was a masterpiece of Italianate singing. It seemed as if she were caressing each word inside her mouth.

Another feature we noted in her singing was a successful handling of the low tessitura in "Suicidio!" from Ponchielli's La Gioconda.

The entire cast performed the "Libiamo" scene from Verdi's La Traviata as an encore, sending the audience out in a joyful mood.

© meche kroop

VIVA VERDI

Mikhail Svetlov, Alla Perchikova, Zoya Gramagin, Jacqueline Quirk, Francisco Casanova, Kristian Benedikt, Natasha Novitskaia, and Gustavo Ahualli

Writing as we do about young artists, most of the voices we hear are light lyric ones. Last night we had the opportunity to hear some seasoned voices of larger dimensions singing the hell out of Verdi. The arias and duets we heard were those from operas that one must hear at the Metropolitan Opera. What was interesting about the performances we heard last night at the National Opera Center was how successfully the artists were able to summon up the entire opera in a single aria or duet.  It was like feeling the ocean in a single wave.

There was something else all of the singers had in common--a very Italianate embouchure--something every voice teacher tries to get her students to emulate. We are not sure how many of these singers studied in Russia but we'd guess at least half. There must be some wonderful training there or else it's genetics!

The arias we heard came from some of Verdi's best operas--Aida, Forza del Destino, Otello, Un Ballo in Maschera, Macbeth, Il Trovatore, and Don Carlos. The "Recordare" from his Requiem reminded us how Verdi can make religious music sound so very secular--very operatic indeed, as sung by sopranos Zoya Gramagin and mezzo-soprano Natasha Novitskaia.

Ms. Novitskaia lent her powerful voice to the creation of the character of Ulrica in "Re dell'abisso, affrettati" from Ballo in Maschera. The way she used the texture of her mezzo instrument created an aura of suspense. We loved the final "Silencio!". In the lower register she has a contralto quality.

She "plays well with others" as we saw in the numerous duets. She was a very commanding and devious Amneris in the duet "Fu la sorte dell'armi a' tuoi funesta" from Aida, tricking her rival Aida. The Ethiopian princess was well portrayed by dramatic soprano Alla Perchikova who showed her character's panic and ended the duet with a delicate pianissimo.

We heard more from Ms. Perchikova's Aida in "Qui Radamès verra...O patria mia". The phrase "mai piu" occurs at least a dozen times and she managed to make each iteration different. She also excelled in "Vieni t'affretta" from Macbeth in which she limned Lady Macbeth's resolute character by judicious use of her fioritura. The last time we enjoyed that aria as much was when we heard Lauren Flanigan sing it.

Our favorite Verdi opera, one seldom heard, is Forza del Destino--mainly for the insistent recurring theme that weaves in and out. Soprano Zoya Gramagin sang "Pace, pace mio Dio!" convincingly with gorgeous tone. There was plenty of strength at the bottom of the register and we enjoyed the fortissimo climax. Craig Ketter, Music director and accompanist for the evening, did a superlative job all evening long but was particularly remarkable in this aria, bringing out the theme that we love so dearly.

With all due respect to the attention paid to women this month, we must move on to the male singers of which there were four celebrated exemplars. Tenor Francisco Casanova is famed for his Verdi heroes. As the remorseful Otello who has killed his dear wife Desdemona in a fit of irrational jealousy, he mined every ounce of torment and remorse in "Niun me tema". As any actor does, he made the most of his death scene. What a performance!

We also enjoyed his resolute Radames in the duet "L'aborrita rivale a me sfuggia" with Ms. Novitskaia as his Amneris.

Another tenor, Kristian Benedikt, used his fine instrument with gravitas as he interpreted "La vita è inferno...O tu che in seno agli angeli" from La Forza del Destino.

Verdi did indeed enjoy writing for the baritone fach and Gustavo Ahualli used his dark instrument in a measured and deeply felt performance of "Eri tu che macchiavi quell'anima" from Un Ballo in Maschera in which Renato expresses his anger and sorrow. Mr. Ahualli achieved characterological complexity by means of dynamic variation.

He was totally different as the Conte di Luna in "Mira, d'acerbe lagrime" a duet from Il Trovatore with Ms. Gramagin as the disdainful Leonora; Ms. Gramagin handled both the low register and the fioritura with grace.

We needed a bass voice to round out the evening and one couldn't have asked for anyone better than Mikhail Svetlov who managed to create "sympathy for the devil", with some help from Verdi of course. King Phillip has stolen his son's intended bride and then feels sorry for himself that she never loved him! How can one feel sympathy for this evil man who will order his son killed!!! We don't know; all we know is that Mr. Svetlov's impassioned but introspective delivery left us feeling pity for a man facing the consequences of a bad decision.

We heard very little of soprano Jacqueline Quirk but would like to hear more. She appeared in the Act IV Finale of Il Trovatore which closed the program, alongside Ms. Novitskaia, Mr. Casanova, and Mr. Ahualli.

Of course we had an encore and nothing beats "Libiamo" from La Traviata which put us in a perfect mood for the champagne reception.

It was a splendid evening and left us feeling grateful for the opportunity to hear such voices up close and personal. Dramatic voices mature rather late and we doubt whether we will hear them in our tours through the local music conservatories.

(c) meche kroop

WE HAD A BALL

Raul Melo, David Gvinianidze, Tamar Iveri, Arsen Soghomonyan, Ruslana Koval, Natasha Novitskaia, Olga Lisovskaya, Ludmila Fesenko, Alexandra Naumenko (accompanist) Victoria Ulanovskaya (accompanist), Anna Kolkhida, Zachary James, William Meinert, Shaina Martinez, Natasha Novitskaia, Wooyoung Yoon. (photo by Ellen Godfrey)

Guest review by Ellen Godfrey....

Talents of the World concluded their highly successful three day Festival at Carnegie Hall with a Christmas Ball, described as a merry evening of opera, operetta, international songs and Christmas Carols. And a merry evening it was. Right from the beginning, when several couples waltzed onto the stage, it was evident that this would be a joyful evening.  The wonderful baritone David Gvinianidze, who is the President and founder of Talents of the World, welcomed the audience to the concert.

The evening featured the four winners of the Talents of the World’s first vocal competition in New York City and they were all amazing. Tenor Wooyoung Yoon, brought down the house early in the evening with his performance of the difficult tenor bel canto aria…”Ah mes amis” from Donizetti’s La Fille du Regiment.  I have heard him sing this aria several times, and each time he adds a little something different.  After he sang the first part of the aria, the audience erupted in applause…which was echoed even louder after the fast moving cabaletta with the 9 high C’s. He has wonderful resonance and is delightful on stage.  He immediately connects with the audience.

Following Wooyoung Yoon, was the mezzo soprano winner Megan Moore, who performed Cenerentola’s aria “Nacqui All’Affanno…non più mesta.”  Megan has a lightly colored mezzo-soprano, even from top to bottom and with excellent coloratura singing.  She also portrayed the character of Cenerentola well.

Shaina Martinez, the soprano winner, was totally delightful singing and acting the comic romanza, “Carcelaras" from the Spanish zarzuela Las Hijas de Zebedeo. She had great fun singing it. She related with the audience who showed their delight in her performance and her beautiful soprano voice.

For a change of pace, the bass winner, Zachary James sang Javert’s song “Stars,” from the musical Les Miserables. He has a fine bass voice and good presence on stage.

Another young bass was William Meinert who sang Varlaam’s song from Boris Godunov. He had a somewhat darker bass and he sang this song with the vigor it demanded. Mr. Meinert also performed a charming duet from Pergolesi’s rarely heard comic intermezzo La Serva Padrona, with Olga Lisovskaya, director of the U.S. branch of Talents of the World. They both projected their characters well as well as highlighting the comedy inherent in the piece. Olga’s coloratura and lovely singing voice combined well with Mr. Meinert’s deep bass voice. The pianist Alexandra Naumenko received great applause for her extraordinary accompaniment. 

Soprano Ruslana Koval, who enthralled all who heard her big beautiful voice on Friday, gave another great performance of Mozart’s "Queen of the Night" aria.  She fearlessly and precisely sang all of the high notes in this difficult aria. There was great clarity to her diction and she brought out all of the drama and anger in the aria.

Arsen Soghomonya performed a wonderful "Granada" with his great dramatic tenor voice.

To wind down the end of the first part of the concert, we were treated to some wonderful operetta excerpts and songs.

Tamar Iveri has a big beautiful voice and she can do anything she wants with it.  She sang the popular Neapolitan song “ A Vucchella” by Paolo Tosti with great warmth and love. Her phrasing is always beautiful and, when called for, she can diminish her voice expressively.  The wonderful accompanist Victoria Ulanovskaya was there with her all the way.

Tenor Raul Melo gave a wonderful, funny, performance of the Ballad of the grotesque dwarf Kleinzach, from Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann. He has a big dark tenor voice and caught both the comedy and sadness of the character and was very entertaining. 

Three tenors…Raul Melo, Wooyoung Yoon, and Arsen Soghomonyan,whose big dramatic tenor voice blended well with the other tenor voices, sang the Neapolitan song“O Sole Mio" à la Three Tenors, each one taking their turn and revealing the differences in their tenor voices.  Later in the evening they sang another Neapolitan song together, "Torno a Sorento".

Adele’s "Audition aria" from Johann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus was sung by the lovely soprano, Olga Lisovskaya.  She did a wonderful job of overacting, as was called for. Bass Zachary James and mezzo-soprano Megan Moore also added to the humor of the scene.

The second part of the program consisted of more ensembles and also included many beloved Christmas Carols. It started off with beautiful delicate singing by Tamar Iveri of the song "Autumn Flowers" by Kvernadze. She used many different colors in her voice…The pianist Victoria Ulanovskaya followed her beautifully.

Anna Kolkkhida entered the stage to sing "Silent Night". She began singing very softly with her beautiful soprano voice; then Shaina Martinez, followed by mezzo-soprano Megan Moore sang some verses.  The ending was sung in beautiful harmony with an angelic sound.

Adam's "O Holy Night" was sung as a quartet with Megan Moore leading on stage followed by Raul Melo, Wooyoung Yoon and Shaina Martinez all to good effect.

Baritone David Gvinianidze and soprano Ruslana Koval’s voices blended beautifully together as they sang and danced the waltz from The Merry Widow.

There was more solo singing in this half of the program. Mezzo-soprano Natasha Novitskaia, came out with a red dress and red flower…she gave a very sexy performance of Carmen’s aria “L’amour est un oiseau rebelle.”  Her mezzo voice easily dipped down to the lower register and up to the higher notes in her range.  At the end, she threw a red flower into the audience. 

Soprano Ludmila Fesenko sang a wonderful Ukrainian song “Dniprovsky Vals" by I. Shamo. Her lovely lyric voice reached up to the heights above high C.  She has lots of personality and acted as well as she sang.  She brought down the house. She was immediately followed by the mezzo-soprano Jenni Bank, who gave an equally great performance of “I am easily assimilated” from Leonard Bernstein’s  Candide.  She was delightful and funny in the role, singing with a comic made-up foreign accent.  She and the pianist, Alexandra Naumenko had a good time together.  Tamar Iveri sped through Rossini’s tarantella, "La danza,", and sang with great style. Pianist Alexandra Naumenko followed her perfectly.

 All the singers joined in a toast, “Libiamo”,  from the first act of La Traviata. Raul Melo, Ruslana Koval and David Gvinianidze sang and performed well in this scene.  The other singers surrounded them and sang the chorus. All the singers joined in (with Ruslana Koval’s voice soaring above everyone else's) toasting champagne and wishing us a Merry Christmas. Several couples danced as they had at the beginning of this wonderful evening.

Congratulations not only to the singers, but also to both pianists Alexandra Naumenko and Victoria Ulanovskaya. They provided great support and encouragement to all of the singers.  Congratulations also to David Gvinianidze and Olga Lisovskaya for putting together such a delightful evening, and for all the added touches to the production.  I certainly look forward to the return of the Talents of the World at Carnegie Hall next year.

(c) meche kroop