Sarah Fleiss and Morgan Mastrangelo
Although we have taken no pleasure in operas infused with directorial conceits. the imposition of a theme on the vocal concert is an entirely different matter. A theme brings focus to a vocal recital and allows the audience member to perceive similarities and trends. Such was the case with a most agreeable concert we enjoyed Monday evening at the beautiful Italian Academy of Columbia University.
We confess to not having given much thought to the leadership of baroque performance groups but hearing the results of a singer-led performance has given us pause to reflect. Under the leadership of soprano Sarah Fleiss and tenor Morgan Mastrangelo, the newly founded group called Split the Lark has taken music from the 17th and 18th century and made it their own.
Both voices have a great deal to recommend them musically including beautiful tone and apt phrasing. However, what impressed us the most was the clarity of diction. There were probably translations available online but we felt no need to distract ourself from the gorgeous music and our comprehension of the Italian was sufficient to understand the text.
Most remarkably we could understand the text of two songs by Thomas Arne, with whom we were not familiar. We have bemoaned the fact that American singers are careless with their English enunciation but these two artists made every word count. Another remarkable feature of the performance was the dramatic engagement between text and artist. There was no "park and bark" here! We enjoyed the facial expressiveness as well as the bodily flexibility. And above all, there were no music stands to create a barrier between singer and audience. That goes a long way toward explaining the complete involvement of the audience. The sizable hall was packed with enthusiastic listeners. It always makes us happy to witness this level of connection.
As far as the theme of the evening, songs were selected from the period around the American Revolution. We were dimly aware that operas were presented in the colonies during that period but we were happy to learn that art songs were sung in theaters as curtain raisers. We actually fantasized about restoring that tradition! We are always happy to learn something new from program notes, however brief.
Arias from baroque Italian operas delighted the ear as Ms. Fleiss and Mr. Mastrangelo took turns putting their unique interpretations on works by Händel, Vivaldi, Pergolesi, Scarlatti, and Piccini. We listened without expectations since none of the works were familiar to us. The techniques, of course, were familiar and we delighted in the crisply articulated fioriture as well as the contrast between legato sections and staccato sections. We have already mentioned the generosity of dramatic interpretation and clarity of diction.
What a surprise that we enjoyed the selections in English by Arne. Surprisingly, casting against expectations worked out well with Ms. Fleiss attacking the martial aria from Ataxerxes with it's giant leaps. Then, Mr. Mastrangelo took on the more nature inspired aria from the same opera, bringing it to a stunning climax.
We have never enjoyed Händel's English operas as much as his Italian ones, but Ms. Fleiss' performance of "O Sleep why dost thou leave me" from Semele hit all the right notes, so to speak; she invested the work with a pleading tone and Händel's ascending patterns emphasized the character's beseeching.
Although we had only heard Mr. Mastrangelo once or twice before in small roles, we have reviewed Ms. Fleiss several times over the past seven years, beginning when she captured our attention as a mezzo-soprano studying at Curtis Institute and as a student of Classic Lyric Arts, making quite an impression performing at their annual gala.
We shall not close without giving full credit to the superb instrumentalists of Split the Lark. We were sitting way off to the side and couldn't help admiring the tone of the two wooden oboes (Emi Ostrom and Gillian Bobnak) and the bassoon (Ezra Gans). There was a string quartet plus a bass, harpsichord, and theorbo laying down a luscious carpet of sound but the only time we took our eyes off the singers was for the woodwinds.
Somehow we had never given any thought to what the colonists did during wartime for culture and entertainment so this concert was not only entertaining but instructive We left feeling both entertained and enlightened as well as grateful to the artists for opening our eyes and ears.
© meche kroop
