LONDON FINALS

 Finalists at the George and Nora London Foundation Competition

(photo by Joan Greenberg)

For as long as we can remember we have considered this competition a highlight of the musical season. Not only are the finalists some of the very best young singers in the country, but we in the audience get to share the excitement with them after their respective performances whilst the judges perform the nigh impossible task of deliberating. Unlike some other competitions which we will not mention, the group is not divided cruelly in half. Of course five of them will get cash awards that are significantly higher than the other seven but no one is left feeling like a loser.

As usual, we would like to address the smooth running of the competition, held at The Morgan Library. There was no excessive fanfare nor lengthy speeches. The overall quality of the performances indicates marvelous futures for these young artists. Please do not count on us to tell you how much each singer won or who was "the best". That information is probably available on the Foundation's website, if you care about such things. The judges are all luminaries in the opera world and must have had a most difficult time.

 Gracing the piano bench was a dear friend of ours, the renowned Lachlan Glen who managed to switch gears from one singer to the next and to give each one the necessary support. That aspect alone lent a very special quality to the fast moving display of artistry.

Readers will recall that we lack affection for contemporary opera and for the English language. We all have our preferences and it is most rewarding when we hear a performance of something we did not expect to like and find ourself relating to it and wanting to learn more about the opera. Since all of the voices were beyond excellent, we would like to focus on audience engagement and dramatic presentation.

Take, for example, the riveting performance of "A Dream Wasted" from an opera completely unknown to us--Highway One, USA by W.G. Still, performed by bass-baritone Joseph Parrish. Mr. Parrish has been on our radar for quite some time; no surprise that he was selected by Young Concert Artists after making quite a splash as a Santa Fe Opera Apprentice. His performance was so intense and seemed spontaneous; we got a real sense of the character and intend to learn something about the opera. We might add that alone among the singers who sang in English, Mr. Parrish made every word comprehensible.

Another dramatically riveting performance was that of another bass-baritone Evan Lazdowski, well remembered from his time at Juilliard, who performed Bottom's aria from Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream. This was a highly physical performance that showed off his dramatic skills. There was Bottom crawling around the stage and hiding under the piano. Even if you didn't know the Shakespearean plot, you would have marveled at the convincing nature of the characterization and the humor. 

And whilst we are talking about convincing male performances, bass-baritone Sam Dhobhany made a fine Figaro in "Non più andrai" from Mozart's  Le nozze di Figaro. Similarly, baritone Korin Thomas-Smith enacted a perfectly arrogant and perfectly clueless Count Almaviva in "Hai già vinta la causa". We could have cast Mozart's masterpiece right then and there.

Bass Alan Williams utilized his splendid instrument to limn the nastiness of Claggart in Britten's Billy Budd. Tenor Alec Carlson did equal justice to Peter Grimes' mad scene from the eponymous Britten opera. Both men awakened us to Britten's skill at writing music specific to unlovable characters.

Let us move on to the women on the program. We were particularly excited to learn that soprano Shelen Hughes would perform an aria from the very same role that we heard her sing at Manhattan School of Music some years ago. Rimsky-Korsakov's Snegurechka (The Snow Maiden) is so rarely performed and it is truly a gem of a fairy tale, allowing the singer an opportunity to reveal a variety of emotions. We loved it back then and we loved it even more last night as Ms. Hughes has grown in her artistry. We might add that her Russian sounded fine to our ear, although it is not one of our languages.

Soprano, Magdalena Kuźma, is another singer we have admired and she also sang in a language that is not one of ours. We have always enjoyed the music of Moniuszko and his opera Halka is one we yearn to see, especially after hearing Ms. Kuźma's portrayal of the romantically betrayed village girl.

Happily French is a language we do understand and especially enjoyed mezzo-soprano Ruby Dibble's portrayal of Carmen, the heroine of Bizet's beloved opera. Carmen is anything but a stock character and we love to hear a singer who can make the role her own. Ms. Dibble's Carmen was a clever one, and a woman of mercurial emotions, confident of her power over men.

Mozart seemed to be a favored choice among the women as well as the men. Soprano Dalia Medovnikov as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte presented just the type of heroine we want to see, full of innocence but fearful of the loss of her love. 

Soprano Emily Damasco brought some fine singing to her portrayal of Fiordiligi in Mozart's Cosi fan tutte. In "Come scoglio", Fiordiligi emphatically declares her steadfast faithfulness but the audience can see that she will soon lose her resolve.

Closing the program was a puzzling selection from Jonathan Dove's children's opera The Enchanted Pig. Soprano Rachel Kobernick threw herself into the role of Adelaide but, truth to tell, we had to look up the opera to get an idea what it was about. Apparently Adelaide is a witch's daughter who wants to marry a King who is destined for someone else. Had Ms. Kobernick's English diction been clearer we might have gotten some inkling of the story but we did not. She sang with a lot of "personality" but our ignorance of the situation and inability to understand the text added up to disappointment.

On the whole, we were sufficiently impressed by the dozen finalists (selected from 175 applicants), that we considered the afternoon a complete success. We don't believe in heaven, but if we did, we would think of George and Nora London looking down with pride and pleasure.

© meche kroop

OPERA INDEX 2025 WINTER GALA

 Jasmine Ward, Abigail Raiford, Magdalena Kuzma, Luna Seongeun Park, Shelen Hughes, Joseph Parrish, Benjamin Sokol, Son Jin Kim, and Minghao Liu with Jane Shaulis at the podium

Opera Index is an organization that fulfills a number of needs within our opera community, providing financial and career support to emerging opera singers; it is run by volunteers and sustained by donors. To look through the list of their honorees is to look at a Who's Who of Planet Opera. This year's honoree was renowned Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel, given the award by Barry Tucker son of the late great tenor Richard Tucker.

It has been our great pleasure to be a member of Opera Index lo these many years and to have written about the galas and also the less formal recitals at which we get a more substantial hearing of some of the winners. Among the 2024 winners were several young artists that have thrilled us with their undergraduate and post-graduate performances, artists well deserving of awards, attention, and future success.

As is our wont, the ranking of prizes and their commensurate cash value will not be mentioned here; for us these artists are all grand prize winners. If such is your need to know, let us refer you to www.operaindex.org where you can learn more about this storied foundation and (of course) make a donation. President Jane Shaulis opened the evening with some very welcoming remarks, and then....let the excitement begin!

Opening the program was soprano Luna Seongeun Park who let her voice and personality shine in "Chacon le sait" from Donizetti's La fille du regiment, showing not only vocal beauty but capturing Marie's lively temperament. We haven't enjoyed the aria this much since Natalie Dessay performed it at The Metropolitan Opera.

More soprano superiority was to follow with Shelen Hughes showing a melting legato and rich tone in Suzel's charming aria "Son Pochi Fiori" from L'amico Fritz, Mascagni's second most famous opera. Mascagni meant for his music to show us how Suzel won the heart of the landowner and, similarly, Ms. Hughes won the hearts of the audience.

Figaro's unjustified suspicion of Susanna's infidelity is always a crowd pleaser and bass-baritone Son Jin Kim made the most of "Aprite un po' quell occhi" from Mozart's masterpiece Le nozze di Figaro. Mr. Kim's phrasing, dynamics, and rhythmic acuity brought his character to vivid life.

Taking us from comedy to tragedy was soprano Jasmine Ward whose soaring soprano did justice to the tragic lament "My man's gone now" from George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, the only American opera represented in last night's program. The audience's rapt attention was palpable.

Moving on from tragedy to rage, Abigail Raiford tore into the role of Queen of the Night in "Der Holle Rache" from Mozart's Die Zauberflote. Always a showpiece and a chance for a coloratura soprano to show her stuff, Ms. Raiford evinced clarity in the lavish fioritura and skill with the high tessitura.

From rage to fear we go! So much emotion in one evening!  In Verdi's Macbeth, Banquo senses the upcoming slaughter of himself and his young son in "Come dal ciel precipita". Bass-baritone Benjamin Sokol used the excellent resonance of his instrument to create the character, a superlative performance indeed.

Tchaikovsky's Iolanta is not often produced and we welcomed hearing the heroine's Arioso sung with sensitivity and dynamic variety by soprano Magdalena Kuzma, whose warm voice was echoed by a warm stage presence.

Who doesn't enjoy a good Belcore! Bass-baritone Joseph Parrish delighted us with "Come Paride vezzoso" from Donizetti's  L'elisir d'amore, employing his lustrous tone and charming personality to create a likable and amusing character. Having heard Mr. Parrish sing mostly in Russian and English, we relished the opportunity to enjoy his Italianate phrasing and legato. (With three excellent bass-baritones on the program, we were dying to learn what Sir Terfel thought, but we were sure he would not say!)

Closing the program was the sole tenor of the evening Minghao Liu who is having a fine career in bel canto roles, as well he should. His instrument has tonal warmth which he employs with consummate legato. We particularly enjoyed the way he used the entire staging area for Lindoro's aria. "Languir per una bella" from Rossini's dramma giocosa, L'Italiana in Algeri. We mentally cast him in a few other bel canto roles.

As Collaborative Pianist we had Matthew Lobaugh who easily changed mood and color to suit the varying emotions onstage. Indeed, all the artists succeeded in carrying us from comedy to tragedy to anger to charm. What a splendid celebration of young artists, all of whom are well on their way to successful careers. Bravi tutti!

© meche kroop

AN AMERICAN SODIER--AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY

 Nina Yoshida Nelson and Brian Vu

(Photo by Marc J. Franklin)

It was the first time we ventured anywhere near the former site of the World Trade Center. It was our first time visiting the Perelman Performing Art Center. We were glad for the occasion to replace our sad memories with a satisfying experience. The neighborhood has been transformed by new energy, new residents, and new businesses-- the result of a daring conception and successful execution of a plan to revitalize the area.

The first thing we noticed at PAC NY was that the gorgeous new theater was completely packed. How impressive it was to see such a turnout for a contemporary opera! The standing ovation at the conclusion testifies to the success of the project.

What a brilliant choice it was to present An American Soldier, the true story of Private Daniel Chen, whose suicide whilst serving the country he so believed in left an ugly stain on the U.S. Military. The fact that the Sergeant who bullied him so relentlessly was virtually exonerated provokes fury; Danny's tragic death provokes deep sorrow.

The superb direction of Chay Yew told the tale effectively with scenes taking place with Danny's "ghost" witnessing. The acting of the principals (tenor Brian Vu as Danny Chen, mezzo-soprano Nina Yoshida Nelsen as Mother Chen, soprano Hannah Cho as Danny's girlfriend Josephine Young, and baritone Alex DeSocio as Sgt. Aaron Marcum) was so intense that it confirmed our impression that this was a play with music, as much as an opera; we will have more to say about that later.

We have followed Mr. Vu's artistic ascent for at least ten years since he was a baritone. We heard him as he won many competitions, singing Tchaikovsky, Ravel, Rossini, Sondheim, Mozart, and Rossini with equal artistry. It brought us joy to witness the fulfillment of his early promise in a performance that touched us deeply. He was totally believable as a second generation Chinese-American who defied the wishes of his mother by enlisting in the US Army, as so many innocent young men are wont to do, without considering the consequences. That he wanted to prove himself as a real American just added to the tragedy.

Ms. Nelsen was similarly affecting as his mother, attempting to deal with her sorrow by seeking justice, which ended up being unattainable. Ms. Cho, well remembered from her appearances with Classic Lyric Arts and as the eponymous bird in On Site Opera's Sound of the Nightingale, was persuasive as Danny's girlfriend and injected a note of humor as she delicately and tactfully translated Danny's letters to his mother who did not read English. Unfortunately, the audience did not get to hear her astonishing coloratura.

But, oh, the villain of the piece! Mr. DeSocio was so convincing as the bigoted, hateful, brutal Sgt. Marcum that we almost forgot that we were in a theater. 

Several other fine young artists portrayed various roles, among them the stunning soprano Shelén Hughes, mezzo-soprano Cierra Byrd, Ben Brady, Joshua Sanders, Christian Simmons, and James C. Harris--all of whom we have heard in the past few years around NYC and at Santa Fe Opera. It was indeed a well-chosen cast.

That the vocal lines did not offer an opportunity to hear the remarkable vocal gifts of these young artists is our very own particular disappointment, as it was of the tenor who accompanied us. We know that esteemed composer Huang Ruo can write for the voice as we recall from his Paradise Interrupted from 2016. That he can write interesting music for the orchestra we also recall from the 2014 Santa Fe Opera production of Doctor Sun Yat Sen.

We have enjoyed the dramas of David Henry Huang going back for years to his play The Dance and the Railroad. The libretto he wrote for An American Soldier was fine and terse, avoiding the pitfalls of prosy libretti. So how come we have not enjoyed his partnership with Mr. Ruo? This, we cannot figure out. (We also found fault with their partnership for the 2022 production of M. Butterfly at Santa Fe Opera.) We stayed on after the performance to hear a panel discussion in which Mr. Ruo and Mr. Huang seemed highly satisfied with their partnership; we listened carefully to their descriptions of their work together; we still left without a clue.

Of course, a story like this one could be seen to demand a great deal of orchestral dissonance; but Verdi and Puccini told tragic and angry stories with passionate music whereas Mr. Ruo's music struck us as closer to a film score, inasmuch as it may have served to unconsciously heighten the emotions. There were two opportunities for a musically kinder or more tender touch. One was the love duet between Danny and Josephine, and the other between Danny's "ghost" and his mother at the conclusion of the opera.

We have more to say about the music. Perhaps the PAC NYC theater has no orchestra pit because the musicians were behind the scrim which served as a screen for some excellent projections designed by Nicholas Hussong. David Bullard's sound design left much to be desired. The American Composers Orchestra, conducted by Carolyn Kuan sounded like recorded music. If others in the audience found fault with the amplification we do not know.

Daniel Ostling's suitable set design was bare with an occasional table and chairs or a short metal stepladder to suggest a room or a rooftop. The aforementioned projections were excellent and showed the New York skyline and the mountain range of Afghanistan. Linda Cho's costumes were apropos.

The bottom line was that we enjoyed the storytelling and the performances but continue to be disappointed with contemporary opera which seems to ignore the fact that opera is a singer's medium. 

© meche kroop