THE ASTONISHING ASCENT OF THE FALLEN WOMAN

Paul Han and Cecilia Violetta Lopez (photo by Jen Joyce Davis)

It's been over a decade since we heard a thrilling La Traviata.  It was at The Metropolitan Opera and Rolando Villazon made his debut as Alfredo with Renée Fleming as Violetta.  Since then we have gritted our teeth and held our nose through productions that violated the spirit of the work.  Last night at The Kaye Playhouse of Hunter College, Martina Arroyo's Prelude to Performance presented Verdi's masterpiece in a manner that restored our deep love for this work.

Credit can be given to the three principals and to Laura Alley, the astute director.  To begin with the singing, Cecilia Lopez dazzled as the "fallen woman".  Her warm ample soprano has a superb squillo in the upper register and an overall evenness throughout.  Interesting overtones caused the very molecules in the auditorium to dance.  In "Ah, fors'è lui – Sempre libera", she employed different vocal colors to limn her conflicted feelings.

Tenor Paul Han made an excellent Alfredo and sang with maximum musicianship and fine phrasing.  His "De' miei bollenti spiriti " was extraordinary. We suspect he was suffering from a respiratory disorder, having heard him singing in French not too long ago at the Gerda Lissner Awards Recital when his sound was not as covered.

In terms of dramatic impact, the two leads had excellent chemistry and were completely convincing--she as a woman facing death and trying to stare it down by wild living, he as a young man from Provence besotted by this glamorous creature of the night.  His emotional range included rapt devotion, childish rage when he believed himself to be betrayed and later, abject remorse.  Ms. Lopez also created a dramatic arc--the Act I "party girl", the tender lover in Act II, the stoic but suffering woman of Act III and the desperate dying woman in Act IV.

The third main character is Germont Père who has come to rescue his son from this threatening alliance.  The magic in Verdi's music and Francesco Maria Piave's libretto is that each of these characters is multidimensional.  Violetta may be a member of the demi-monde but she has a nobility of character and a readiness to give up everything for love.  Alfredo is loving and devoted but capable of having a childish tantrum.

Papa Germont comes on as a narrow-minded bigot but he is also a concerned father who wants the best for his son and daughter.  Each character undergoes growth.  Robert Kerr, the baritone singing the role of Germont evinced a full rich voice and did justice to his character and his emotional shifts.  His Act II arias bore intense charges.  His shame for his son in Act III was palpable.  When he embraced Violetta as his daughter in Act IV, we could literally feel his remorse.

To speak of Laura Alley's direction also requires a host of superlatives.  She wisely kept the action exactly where and when it belongs; it is a story very much of its time.  Instead of imposing a ridiculous "concept" on the work, she used her creativity to bring in small bits of stage business that deepened our understanding of the characters.

For example, at the end of Act I when Alfredo leaves with the idea of returning the next day, he actually returns at that moment and Violetta rushes into his embrace, which tells us exactly how passionate they are for one another and how impulsive.  This sets us up for Act II.

When Alfredo crumples and discards Flora's invitation, his father picks it up so we don't have to wonder how he can find his son in Act III.  Alfredo comes to Flora's party with a new woman on his arm.  This shows just how hurt and betrayed he feels.  And in Act IV, Violetta kneels on a prayer bench when she questions her god about her fate.  These are just a few of the refined directorial touches that we appreciated.

Baritone Samuel McDonald created a very believable Baron Douphol who is annoyed with the young whippersnapper who is poaching his mistress.  As the threat level increases, so does his rage, building up to the point that he challenges Alfredo to a duel.  And Mr. McDonald accomplished all this while using his generous baritone in some fine singing.

Mezzo Marisan Corsino sang the role of Violetta's friend Flora and soprano Elizabeth Kelsay sang Annina, Violetta's faithful servant.  Bass Eric Delagrange made a fine concerned but helpless Dr. Grenvil who had the air of having seen many young people die of tuberculosis.  Baritone John Callison portrayed the Marchese d'Obigny, Flora's "patron".  The interaction between him and Flora in the palm-reading sequence succeeded as comic relief.  Tenor Tyrone Chambers II sang the role of Gastone.

Conductor Daniel Lipton did his best with the reduced orchestration but we noticed a lack of balance with the brass overwhelming the strings in places, especially in the overture.

Costumes by Charles Caine were gorgeous and totally appropriate.  Violetta had completely different looks in each act.  There was no stinting in that department!

Set and Lighting Designer Joshua Rose designed sets that were appropriate without being overly fussy. 

All said, it was a thrilling theatrical experience and an opportunity to hear some promising voices that we are sure to hear more of in the future.  As you probably already know, Ms. Arroyo's program bridges the gap between academic training and a major professional career.  The fortunate singers who get accepted receive, without fee, six weeks of intense training by the best talents in the field.  Support for Prelude to Performance is always welcome.  It is extremely gratifying to witness the successful results of one's philanthropy.

There will be one more performance of La Traviata Saturday night with the same glorious cast.  And tonight sees the opening of Il Barbiere di Siviglia.  Tragedy last night; comedy tonight!  Need we say more?

© meche kroop

WAGNER & VERDI

Giuseppe Verdi

Richard Wagner

What an excellent idea to present a program of arias composed by two 19th c. titans born two centuries ago!  The feisty Chelsea Opera, helmed by Lynne Hayden-Findlay and Leonarda Priore, took on this bicentennial celebration.  Christ and St. Stephen's Church was bursting at the seems with loyal fans.

The first part of the program was devoted to the works of Richard Wagner, works we all know and love.  Wagner is notoriously difficult to sing and the performances came across as rather mixed.  Soprano Maria Russo tackled Brünnhilde's "Hojotojo!" with a great deal of gusto and volume and tenor Caleb Stokes performed "Winterstürme wichen dem wonnemond", one of our favorite Wagnerian arias.  Jennifer Behnke performed "Der Engel" from Wesendonck Lieder.  Soprano Elizabeth Beers Kataria was convincing as Senta in "Traft ihr das schiff im meere an" from Die Fliegende Holländer but did not seem to have much connection with bass Steven Fredericks in their duet "Wie aus die Ferne"

Caleb Stokes reappeared as Parsifal in "Nur eine waffe taugt" and Ms. Russo returned for Isolde's "Liebestod" from Tristan und Isolde in which she failed to float her line successfully over the piano.  The best part of the Wagner program was the ensemble from Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in which the voices blended and balanced well; the aforementioned singers were joined by Monica Hershenson Thuris and Shawn Thuris.

One would never call Verdi easy to sing but the singers in Part II, which was devoted to his works, managed considerably better.  Baritone Robert Kerr made a fine Falstaff in the eponymous opera, singing a rather touching "Va! Vecchio John".  In  "Reverenza", mezzo Leonarda Priore herself was quite amusing, enjoying her role as Mistress Quickly to the fullest, while tenor Jonathan Morales took the role of Bardolfo.  Mr. Kerr reappeared later in "Per me, giunto...O Carlo, ascolta!" from Don Carlo and impressed us with his Verdian legato and dramatic commitment.

We greatly enjoyed soprano Regina Grimaldi whose generous and expressive voice animated "Ernani, Ernani, involami" from Ernani.  She has a lovely vibrato and needs only a bit more support in her lower register.  She also did a fine job with "Morró, ma prima in grazia" from Un Ballo in Maschera. 

Mr. Morales reappeared as the Duke in Rigoletto.  The audience enjoyed his "Questa o quella".  Tenor David Kellett performed "Madre, non dormi?" as Manrico with the part of Azucena being taken by Ms. Priore.  Mr. Kellett reappeared later as Macduff from Macbeth in the deeply felt aria "O figli, figli miei".  To close the evening, the entire company sang the moving "Va pensiero" from Nabucco.  Accompanying the singers throughout the evening was Steven M. Crawford.

(c) meche kroop

FLAWLESS FALSTAFF

It is with no small degree of embarrassment that we confess to not appreciating the charms of Verdi's final opera--not until tonight, that is.  Under the stewardship of Artistic Director Martina Arroyo, the program Prelude to Performance once again provided a matchless evening of entertainment, fun and artistic merit to a delighted audience as well as performance opportunities to young singers at the cusp of major careers.  Now how does she do all this????

By doing what the Metropolitan Opera, with all its vast resources, cannot.  She hires the best talent in the business to coach and direct the young performers in a concentrated program; the ensemble feeling is evident from one moment to the next.  We were privileged to attend several master classes and gratified to see how the young artists put their new skills to good use.

Under the astute direction of Matthew Lata, the story made complete sense and every character was well-rounded and believable.  Falstaff, as portrayed by the generously proportioned (voice as well as girth) Robert Kerr (photographed by Jen Joyce Davis and seen above), was not just a self-deluding has-been and a figure of scorn; he became an object for our empathy as well.  His two down-at-the-heels henchmen, ably sung and hilariously performed by tenor Christopher Longo (Bardolfo) and bass Christian Zaremba (Pistola), kept us in stitches with their hijinks. 

Mezzo Nichole Ashley Peyreigne had a marvelously resonant voice and impressive comedic skills as Dame Quickly; we were impressed by the variety of tone she gave to her salutations to Falstaff--"Reverenza" never sounded so good.  We were dazzled by the spine-tingling soprano of Nicole Haslett whom we first heard and enjoyed in The Ghosts of Versailles; she gave an outstanding interpretation of a young woman trying to learn something about life from the older housewives--Dame Quickly, Meg Page (a fine mezzo Kiri Parker) and her mother Alice Ford (an equally fine Allyson Herman whom we remember well from Summer and Smoke at Manhattan School of Music).  Tenor Brandon Snook, belying his youthful good looks, was made up to look like the cranky old fogey Dr. Caius and sang with distinction.  Tenor Youngchul Park, well known to Prelude audiences, was a likable Fenton and did a fine job with one of the very few arias in Falstaff--the meltingly beautiful "Dal labbro il canto".  The other aria, sung by baritone Matthew Gamble as Mr. Ford was equally delightful to hear.

Fortunately, Mr. Lata, unlike some of the new directors hired by the Met, made no self-serving attempts to alter time and place.  This is very much a 16th c. tale and the Elizabethan costumes designed by Charles Caine were dazzling.  See photo of Mr. Kerr's  Falstaff above.  Not much scenery was necessary but Peter Harrison used a few pieces to convey a sense of atmosphere.  We especially enjoyed the laundry hanging out to dry which provided a playground and hiding place for Fenton and Nannetta as they sang their love duet.  The illusion of being alongside the Thames was abetted by the subtle lighting of Traci Klainer Polimeni.  We loved the scene of Falstaff and his page (Natan Mulady) swimming down the river and climbing out which was augmented later by the illusion of Fenton poling his way downstream.

Finally we were most impressed by the fine-tuned conducting of Maestro Willie Anthony Waters who pulled some fine playing from his pickup orchestra.  There is one more performance on Sunday afternoon and one could do no better on a stuffy day in New York City than to drag one's fatigued body up to Hunter College and to fill your ears with Verdi's swan song and your heart with laughter.  If we had one operatic wish (and we have not yet shared this with Ms. Arroyo) it would be to have her productions all year round.  As it is, one must wait for the dog days of summer--but the experience is worth waiting for.  You will see us tonight at Cosi fan Tutte which promises to be equally rewarding.  Come and revel!

(c) meche kroop