THE BARD OF LINDEMANN

Whether you perceive Elliot Madore as barihunk or baribard depends upon whether you were using your eyes or your ears.  Mr. Madore sings as if he wrote the poetry and the music himself and that is one rare gift.  In his recital last night for the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program he demonstrated skills as a recitalist that equal his skills onstage at the Met where we recently thrilled to his performance of the role of Lysander in Enchanted Island.  Wisely, he scaled down his strikingly rich voice to suit the size of the room and similarly modulated his dramatic intensity to just the right degree.

Accompanied by Natalia Katyukova, he opened the program with a song by Glinka entitled “I remember that magical moment” which allowed him to express a wide range of emotions.  Two songs by Tchaikovsky followed--”At the ball” and “Don Juan’s Serenade”.  It was during the latter that Ms. Katyukova’s piano skills were most evident.

Switching from Russian to the deceptively light hearted Banalités of Poulenc, we enjoyed the humor of “Chanson d’Orkenise”, the languor of “Hôtel”, the wistfulness of “Voyage à Paris” and the exquisite diminuendo at the end of “Sanglots”

But it was Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen that broke our heart as Mr. Madore seemed to be authoring on the spot the compelling emotional journey of a young man disappointed in love.  Using impressive dynamic control and word coloring, he made the trip from grief to irony and false joy to fury and finally acceptance.  One could scarcely hold back the tears and deal with the lump in the throat.  Comprising only four songs, this cycle, Mahler’s first, covers similar material to Die Schöne Müllerin and Winterreise only far more succinctly.

The program closed with some songs by Ives, one of which is a setting of Heine’s poem “Ich grolle nicht” which, while beautifully sung, could never match the setting by Schumann in his Dichterliebe.  As encore, Mr. Madore sang “My Boy Bill” from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel.  He sang it with the same dramatic intensity and connection with the text that was shown in the rest of the program.

As Mr. Madore finishes his second year with the Lindemann program and pursues his operatic destiny we wish him all the best.  With talent like that, luck is unnecessary.  We hope to see him at the Met singing Don Giovanni, perhaps his signature role?

© meche kroop

THE JEWEL IN NEW YORK'S MUSICAL CROWN

Every time I attend a function at Juilliard I come to a new and greater appreciation of its value to the NYC musical scene.  Last night I heard a recital of first year students from the Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts.  Students were coached by Matthew Odell and David Moody who accompanied on piano and harpsichord.  To their credit, each student connected well with their material and manifested clear diction.  Although some voices seemed more performance-ready than others, each one was a pleasure to hear.  Judging by the highly enthusiastic and occasionally misplaced applause, one could surmise that the audience comprised lots of family members and friends.  They had much of which to be proud.

Starting with the sopranos, Nicolette Mavroleon sang Purcell’s “Sweeter than Roses” and Liszt’s “Pace non trovo”.  There was a nice contrast between gentleness in the former and agitation in the latter.  Angela Vallone sang “Ah! Spietato” from Handel’s Amadid di Gaula and brought the evening to a rousing close with a charmingly acted piece by Victor Herbert entitled “Art is Calling for Me”, better known as “I want to be a prima donna”.  Eva Gheorghiu lamented heartbreakingly in “Piangero” from Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto; later she performed “Monica’s Waltz” from Menotti’s The Medium, demonstrating clearly when Monica was singing what she wanted to hear from Toby and when she was singing her own thoughts.

As for the mezzos, Hannah McDermott sang “Tristezza Crepuscolare” from Santoliquido’s I Canti della Sera and performed Purcell’s “Mad Bess of Bedlam” with disheveled hair and bare feet, which added to the effect.  Kenita Hopper sang Scarlatti’s “Gia il Sole dal Gange” and “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child”.  Mary-Elizabeth O’Neill sang Purcell’s “If Music be the Food of Love” and performed Donizetti’s “Il segreto per esser felice” from Lucrezia Borgia with champagne flute in hand.

A trio of tenors included Aaron Mor singing Legrenzi’s “Che Fiero Costume” and Beach’s “I send My Heart Up to Thee”; David Smolokoff singing Handel’s “Tuo drudo e mio rivale” from Rodelinda and Charles’ “And So Goodbye”; and Alexander McKissick singing “Del mio sol vezzosi rai” from Handel’s Ariodante and Korngold’s “Sweet Melody of Night”.

Baritones were noticeably absent!  “They really won’t be missed”.

It will be a special pleasure to watch these young people as they acquire additional poise onstage and supplement their talent with vocal refinements.  We wish them all good luck!

© meche kroop

MOZART FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

When the curtain rises on Gotham Chamber Opera’s  Il Sogno di Scipione we see three bodies in bed together.  Since Mozart wrote this work (opera seria?  cantata?) as a probably randy adolescent, one could readily conclude that he would have loved it.  The libretto by Metastasio comprises an allegory in which two goddesses vie for the attentions of Scipione, a Roman general--dry stuff indeed for our epoch until brought to sexy life by director  Christopher Alden.  Fortuna (Susannah Biller) and Constanza (Marie-Eve Munger) are two very sexy ladies. The blond (natch) Fortuna is tempestuous and vain; we know this because she is obsessed with her hair, makeup and glamorous outfits, designed by Fabio Toblini.  Constanza, the brunette, is also beautiful but she is loyal and spiritual; we know this because she rises from bed and performs a succession of yoga poses.  We can guess who wins; it is the Enlightenment after all.

The two coloratura sopranos chosen for the roles are both goddesses of the dacapo aria, not only beautiful to look at but exciting to hear.  The fioritura was rendered perfectly; these ladies are fearless and tackled Mozart’s high-lying tessitura with open throats and brilliant sound.  Tenor Michele Angelini was also a knockout as the eponymous hero; he has a lovely sound and an effortless way with phrasing.  He “wakes up” in paradise and in bed with two goddesses, completely bewildered since he fell asleep alone in a palace in Africa.  He reacts like Everyman; he lights up a cigarette.  (The awkward moment of watching someone presumably a non-smoker try to smoke onstage was matched only by Fortuna trying to walk in stilettos!)

Scipione’s dream includes not just the two goddesses but also some meetings with his deceased forebears.  Publio was magnificently sung by tenor Arthur Espiritu hobbling around on one leg and two crutches, having been injured in a prior African campaign.  His diction was remarkable and not a word was slighted.  Scipione’s father, excellently sung by tenor Chad A. Johnson arrived via wheelchair pushed by a nurse, suffering from spasticity and seizures--neither of which impaired his lovely singing.  However, one wondered about these directorial decisions since physical impairments are supposed to be left behind when one enters paradise!

Leaving aside a few over-the-top choices, most of the direction leavened the material considerably and the stage business mostly suited the characters and the text.  I would have preferred to see Costanza less interested in the cosmetics that so occupied Fortune, the better to have limned her character.

The epilogue was finely sung by soprano Rachel Willis-Sorensen.  It adds nothing to the tale but somehow the dog must be wagged.  In Mozart’s day it was written to flatter a patron and in our day was used to flatter the patrons of Gotham Chamber Opera.  On the plus side, it gave the audience an opportunity to hear more of Mozart’s glorious music and Ms. Willis-Sorensen’s superb singing.

The simple set by Andrew Cavanaugh Holland comprised a mattress on the floor, some tangled sheets, a lamp and a mysterious wardrobe from which Fortuna drew a plethora of far out costumes seemingly designed for some provocative role-playing.  Additionally, the two forebears made their entrances and exits in similar fashion.  The chorus entered through the windows.  Lighting by Allen Hahn added to the excellence but a chance was missed to reflect the dark storm with appropriate effects. Happily, Neil Goren, Artistic Director of Gotham Chamber Orchestra, conducted his fine orchestra; the harpsichord was played by Keun-A Lee and Sibylle Johner played the cello continuo.

Gotham Chamber Opera is filling an instrumental  place in the New York City musical scene and has a most excellent home at the John Jay College where the intimate size of the auditorium gets us as close to Mozart as we will ever be.  Congratulations all around!
© meche kroop