TAL HELLER HAS GRADUATED!

Lochlan Brown and Tal Heller

It's been a year and a half since we heard mezzo-soprano Tal Haller sing at the Classic Lyric Arts gala.  My how her talent has grown under the tutelage of Arthur Levy!  The only flaw we could find in her splendid graduation recital at the National Opera Center was the brevity. Not that we were disappointed; although she gave an excellent sampler of her skills, we could have happily listened to her for another hour.

Ms. Heller has a pleasingly bright instrument that has a lovely soprano-y sound in the upper register. The vibrato is just about right and the overtones are most agreeable. She scored well in the expressive department and we found ourselves pulled into the songs.

Mozart's concert aria "Vado, Ma Dove?" opened the program in true Italianate style.  But it was the set of Reynaldo Hahn songs that impressed us with their excellent French. Ms. Taller's sojourn with CLA in France served her well. "L'Heure Exquise" was quite romantic and the large upward skips were perfectly negotiated.

From Hector Berlioz's Les Nuits D'Été, we heard a lovely performance of "Sur Les Lagunes", a sorrowful chanson with some very low notes. Ms. Taller performed it with great commitment to the text.

We love Brahms' settings of German folk songs and "Von Ewiger Liebe" is one of our favorites.  It requires the singer to color differentially the voices of the young man concerned about the reputation of his sweetheart and the sweetheart's firmness in her unshakeable love. This Ms. Taller accomplished most effectively.

The second half of the program comprised two Tosti songs.  "Ridonami La Calma" was sung with prayerful feelings and successful dynamic variety.

We also heard a pair of Mahler songs with which we were strangely unfamiliar.  We could not fathom what the text had to do with Don Juan but "Serenade" and "Phantasie" were well done and gave the artist another opportunity to hit those very low notes.

We noticed one little thing about Ms. Taller's German that could be improved. Often the final "ich" was glossed over as if she were afraid to "do it wrong". That being said, she had no problem with words like "nicht" and "nacht".  It would be a simple matter to borrow the "ch" from those words.

Closing the program were two songs by Ricky Ian Gordon, a contemporary American composer. The most important facet was the excellent English diction that made the words completely comprehensible. And the words to "My Mother is a Singer" are critical. The melody of "A Horse with Wings" was more interesting and the words made us think that Ms. Taller herself is the one with wings, ready to fly.

What happy news that she is staying on at Mannes College for Music to get her Master's Degree! But the summer break will take her to Chicago to sing the role of Mrs. Herring in Britten's Albert Herring. That should be a fine opportunity for her and a delight for the Chicago audience.

Collaborative pianist Lochlan Brown made a perfect partner for her fine singing. We particularly enjoyed his playing in the Berlioz.

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COVERS DISCOVERED

Jessica Rose Cambio, John Kaneklidis, Erik Van Heyningen, Eve Queler, Steven Herring, Antoni Mendezona, and Douglas Martin

Last night at The Kosciuszko Foundation we had the rare opportunity to learn something from Maestra Eve Queler about the singers who cover roles; this is something to which we have not given much thought. These singers learn a role that they may or may NOT ever get to perform. The five superb singers we heard are covers for the upcoming performance of Gaetano Donizetti's 1833 tragedia lirica Parisina d'Este which will be performed in concert version on May 4th at Rose Hall.

Eve Queler will be conducting, as she did when she introduced New York to this rarely heard opera in 1973-- with Montserrat Caballé, Luis Quilico, and James Morris. On May 4th there will be an all-star cast including Angela Meade, Yunpeng Wang, Sava Vemić, and Mia Pafumi.

Last night we heard the covers for these superstars and they are themselves far along the way to stardom. The opera was introduced by Maestra Queler and we heard a generous selection of arias, duets, and ensembles from the opera, with the singers explaining what was going on at that particular point in the plot.

The libretto by Felice Romani is based on a poem by Lord Byron which was, in turn, based loosely on real historical characters. The plot is a real pot-boiler! The story of a man who marries the woman beloved by his son was tackled later in Verdi's Don Carlo. You just know this is not going to end well.

In 15th c. Ferrara, women were chatel and were often married off for political reasons.  Poor Parisina is in love with Ugo who is the son of Duke Azzo's banished first wife. Ugo was raised by the Duke's minister Ernesto who has kept the parentage secret. Poor Ugo does not enjoy the favor of the court, especially when the Duke finds out that his second wife Parisina is in love with him, a fact the Duke learns when she talks in her sleep.   Uh-oh!

On this framework, Donizetti has lavished his melodic and harmonic genius. We can only wonder why the opera is so rarely produced. Perhaps it is because the singing is so challenging. The young singers serving as covers acquitted themselves brilliantly.

As Parisina, we heard soprano Jessica Rose Cambio who invested the lyric passages with beautiful phrasing and firm sound.  She has weight to her voice and an exciting upper register but more than enough flexibility for the fioritura; she was particularly remarkable in each cabaletta. 

She had a lovely duet with her handmaiden Imelda, tenderly sung by soprano Antoni Mendezona, and a touching love duet with Ugo in a melting minor key. Her lyrical phrasing was most evident in the aria in which she sings herself to sleep.

Her Ugo was stunningly sung by tenor John Kaneklides who opened the program with a duet with his foster father Ernesto, sung by Erik Van Heyningen, the strength of whose bass-baritone belied his youthful appearance. The two voices blended beautifully and the cabaletta was filled with excitement as Ernesto tries to warn Ugo to hightail it out of Ferrara.

Mr. Kaneklides' depth of feeling and lovely legato phrasing was manifest in his final aria as he accepts his tragic fate.

Baritone Steven Herring made a fine Duke Azzo as his feelings toward his wife morphed into murderous rage.  What a fiery cabaletta he produced!

The final quartet was marked by Donizetti's rich harmonies, alone sufficient reason to spend an evening with OONY. Piano accompaniment was provided by Douglas Martin.

Don't miss this opportunity to hear a largely undiscovered highlight of the bel canto repertory!

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ABDUCTED!

Edwin Davis, Brian Michael Moore, Janet Todd, Sarah Mikulski, and Matthew Hernandez

How lucky are we to hear TWO Mozart singspiels on two successive nights.! Our head is just bursting with gorgeous melodies. The youthful Mozart composed Die Entführung aus dem Serail in 1782 when the Ottoman Empire was a source of great interest to the Austrian people and the singspiel was an immediate success.

Last night,  Maestro Thomas Muraco led his Opera Repertoire Ensemble through this charming piece at Manhattan School of Music. He certainly does know his singers; he knew he had the right cast to tackle this comedy which contains two of the most challenging arias in the repertoire.

All of the singing was fine but two performances stood out for their vocal and dramatic excellence. Soprano Janet Todd portrayed Konstanze, an elite Spanish woman who was purchased by Pasha Selim from pirates and installed in his harem. He has not abused her but has been trying to win her love. Everything about Ms. Todd's performance was spot on. Her attack of the elaborate fioritura was sharp as could be but the melting lyricism of the expressive vocal line left nothing to be desired. Although the role is unidimensional, she created a warm character, loyal to her fiancé Belmonte. We held our breath throughout "Martern aller Arten", astonished at her facility.

Bass Edwin Davis impressed us with his portrayal of the comically nasty Osmin, servant to the Pasha. He so immersed himself in the role that it never seemed like acting. It would have been a mesmerizing performance if he had never sung a note; but his booming room-filling voice was marvelously employed to serve the role.  The difficult third act aria "Ha, wie will ich triumphieren" contains some of the lowest notes in the bass repertory and he nailed them.

His duet with Blonde, Konstanze's English maid who was also purchased by the Pasha, was pure delight. It's a bit unusual for both female roles to be written for the same fach; soprano Sarah Mikulski made a most effective Blonde both dramatically and vocally; we enjoyed her sparring with Osmin whom she is rejecting just as successfully as her mistress is rejecting Selim.

Not only are both female characters sopranos but both male characters are tenors. Brian Michael Moore took the role of Belmonte, Kostanze's fiancé who has come to rescue her; Matthew Hernandez performed the role of Belmonte's servant Pedrillo.  What a pleasure to hear healthy young voices sing with clarity. Mr. Moore might improve his performance by not putting so much volume in his upper register.

Pasha Selim, a non-singing role, was performed by Paul Goodwin-Groen who might have better spoken his narration without amplification. At times the microphone was too close or too far from his mouth, leading to drastic changes of volume.

Maestro Muraco and his talented musicians reduced the score for two pianos (Jeremy Chan and Jonathan Heaney) and percussion (Stefano Baldasseroni and Jia Jun Hong). The percussion comprised a bass drum, cymbals, and a triangle in order to reproduce the sounds of a Turkish marching band.

We loved the the overture with its A-B-A-B form. We loved the duet between Osmin and Blonde, which included a lot of feminine retaliation with a broom. We enjoyed  Pedrillo's serenade in Act III and the love duet between Kostanze and Belmonte in which each got to sing the melody while the other held the same note constant. We loved the quartet of reconciliation when the two pairs of lovers forgive each other. We just then realized that all of Mozart's comedies seem to have two pairs of lovers.

We must also put in a good word for the chorus who seemed very well rehearsed.

The set was minimal--just a trio of screens to suggest "the Orient".

Costumes were streetwear for the Europeans and an appropriate turban and vest for Osmin.

There will be another performance tonight. Take advantage! Although the plot is simple, the music is marvelous.

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A DIFFERENT ENLIGHTENMENT

Kara Sainz and Theo Hoffman (photo by Richard Termine)

Miles Mykkanen (photo by Richard Termine)

The most wonderful aspect of Mozart's operas, beside their glorious music, is their humanity. The singspiel that he wrote for his friend, the singer/actor/impresario Emanuel Schikaneder, is generally presented in all its mythic glory with elaborate costuming and sets. Many of these productions can be appreciated in the current exhibit at the Lincoln Center Library of the Performing Arts.

The production we saw last night at The Juilliard School was a production with another dimension. Gone were the fairy tale trappings of exotic sets and costumes, and, in their place, Director Mary Birnbaum gave us a human drama. We could identify with the universal psychological issues we face as we attempt to unravel the complexities of our existence and to evolve into more complete human beings.  This gave a new meaning to "enlightenment"--not just the 18th c. philosophical movement.

In Ms. Birnbaum's take on the opera, we witnessed real people, not cartoon characters, and not stereotypes. Tamino is not dressed like a prince but he evolves into a princely fellow, having earned the love of Pamina.  As sung by the incredibly sweet-voiced tenor Miles Mykkanen, he starts out as the helpless victim of...a row of hedges he takes to be a serpent! During the course of the opera he achieves menschheit by facing his fears during the trials. We witness his growth and cheer him on.

Pamina, perfectly portrayed by soprano Christine Taylor Price, must learn to accept the fact that her mother is flawed. She must integrate the "good mother" who wants to protect her and the "bad mother" who is possessive and filled with rage. She must learn to accept a father (or father figure) who loves her but has failed to protect her from the evil Monostatos and has placed her in a virtual prison. Ms. Price did well at creating a character who moves from innocence and helplessness to a position of equality-- "standing by her man" as he goes through the trials.

Not everyone is cut out to be a spiritually enlightened person. In a star turn unlike no other, baritone Theo Hoffman represented "Everyman". He wants his food, his wine, and his woman. His life has no meaning otherwise. His Everyman is not one to which one condescends; this is an Everyman to love; he is an Everyman who makes the world work. Mr. Hoffman revealed impressive comedic skills, utilizing flexibility of body and mobility of facial expression to get this across. . His task in life is to learn honesty and modesty. He learns that from the Three Ladies who also serve the Queen of the Night.

That role was wonderfully filled by coloratura soprano Liv Redpath whose top notes gave us chills by virtue of their clear ringing tones and pinpoint accuracy. The Three Ladies were performed by two superb sopranos (Alexandra Razskazoff and Caitlin Redding) and mezzo-soprano Avery Amereau whose smoky voice is completely distinctive and entirely memorable.

One of the funniest scenes was the first one in which these Three Ladies fight over the limp body of Tamino who has fainted from fright.

We loved the way bass Önay Köse created a Sarastro who was anything but pompous. He projected the air of a leader who was entirely human and not at all ecclesiastically boring. His voice rang out with power and authority.

As the wicked seducer Monostatos, handsome tenor Alexander McKissick had a hard time convincing us that he was "hässlich" but easily convinced us of his evil intentions toward Pamino. He had her imprisoned in an off-kilter underground bunker, reminding us of all those stories in the news about men who kidnapped young girls and kept them for years as sex slaves. We were quite relieved when she was rescued and Monostatos got punished! Tenors don't usually get to sing the bad guy and Mr. McKissick sang it very very well.

Mezzo-soprano Kara Sainz as Papagena was the perfect partner for Mr. Hoffman's Papageno. Not only was her singing excellent but she created a charming character who was totally convincing as an old lady climbing onto Papageno's lap, trying to convince him to marry her--one of the funniest moments of the evening.

The Three Spirits were adorable and harmonized just as finely as did the Three Ladies.  Dressed as schoolgirls in uniform, they represented the innate and instinctual wisdom of youth which contrasted well with Sarastro's hard-won rational wisdom. Christine Oh, Sophia Kaminski, and Kelsey Lauritano gave wonderfully physical performances.

Sarastro's crew of followers, dressed in suits, seemed to be a no-nonsense lot. Bass-baritone Thesele Kemane was excellent as The Speaker. Baritone Fan Jia and tenor Matthew Swensen made important contributions as First and Second Priest respectively, while tenor Samuel Levine did equally well as The Armed Man.

Ms. Birnbaum made sure that all the characters related to one another as people. That is one of the benefits of having a group of artists who know each other and can work well as an ensemble. It enabled so many moments of emotional depth and so many moments of humor. This could never happen at The Metropolitan Opera with stars flying in from all over the world!

The sets by Grace Laubacher were said to have been inspired by Joseph Cornell and his boxes. Indeed, they were boxlike and punctuated by doors down low and windows up high. Birds were flown from the balconies, Japanese-style, delighting the audience.

Anshuman Bhatia's lighting emphasized the difference between the darkness of the Queen of the Night and the light of Sarastro's temple.

Costumes by Maria Sine Clinton comprised streetwear for the most part but we were dazzled by the masks worn by the beasts who were tamed by Tamino's magic flute.

Choreography was shared by Adam Cates and Sean McKnight. The wildly successful break-dancing was performed by Jakub Jozef Orlinski who has delighted our ears with his angelic counter-tenor and here dazzled our eyes with his astonishing dancing. Now we know!

The singing was so fine all around that we decline to single out any one artist. The Juilliard Orchestra never disappoints; under the baton of David Stern they filled the Peter Jay Sharp Theater with glorious sound. During the overture, Maestro Stern's firm control allowed us to distinguish the emphatic chords and their progressions. We could hear things we'd never noticed before in the play of the strings against the winds. Totally wonderful!

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COMMEDIA DELL'ARTE LIVES ON

The cast of DIVAria Productions'  Don Pasquale

This is the third time we have had the pleasure of reviewing a DIVAria production and we left thinking that with directors like Anton Armendariz Diaz on "team opera", we do not have to worry about opera's future. 

Yes, we know that The Metropolitan Opera is trashing its beloved productions and losing subscribers en masse.  Yes, we know that the reborn New York City Opera is floundering due to poor artistic choices and inadequate marketing. Yes, we know that DiCapo Opera went under.  But, big but here, New York is replete with small companies that are redefining opera for new audiences with fresh ideas and presenting them in unexpected venues.

Last night we attended a production of Donizetti's 1843 opera buffa Don Pasquale that had excellent musical values and high spirits to spare, delighting the youthful audience and this reviewer.  Musical Director Fabio Bezuti performed at the piano in a reduced score which included two violins and a cello. The small group captured all of Donizetti's effervescence right from the overture.

Mr. Diaz' direction went a long way toward making up for the lack of titles. With our minimal Italian vocabulary and the dramatic skills of the cast, we knew exactly what was happening. Additionally, there was a narrator invented by Mr. Diaz with dialogue written by himself and Andrew Bell. This was no ordinary narrator but the chief servant in Don Pasquale's home who gossiped about the crazy situation and filled in the points of the plot. This non-singing role was taken by Christen Mathern who did a swell job.

The singing was uniformly up to snuff. Arias, duets, trios and quartets all came off well. Voices were well balanced in every case.

In the title role we had Jorge Ocasio whose resonant bass and fine comic timing excelled. His interpretation of the role was short on "nasty" and "pathetic", rather evoking sympathy for this poor old man who wants to recapture his youth by marrying a young woman. In an invented scene, choreographer Jody Oberfelder had him dancing in fantasy with a quartet of young women in poodle skirts, emphasizing the memories an old man would have of his youth. His performance was the very embodiment of Pantalone.

As Norina, Ashley Bell sang with bright coloratura.  This is the third time we have reviewed her performances and remain impressed. In keeping with the commedia dell'arte origins of the libretto, the acting was over the top. In a plot to get around the "foolish old man" character, she is obliged to masquerade as Sofronia, a shy convent girl who changes into a hellion once the marriage contract is signed. Ms. Bell handled the transformation well with some help by costume changes. She was the embodiment of the wily Columbina.

The "Scapino" role of Dr. Malatesta was wonderfully sung and acted by baritone Jim Wright who conveyed chicanery to spare, and the "Pierrot" role of Ernesto, Don Pasquale's nephew, was well sung by tenor David Guzman. This scheming trio treated Don P. so badly that our sympathies were shifted toward the poor old man.

The original 19th c. librettist Giovanni Ruffini removed his name from the score, so distressed was he by Donizetti's dominance. But the story is a variation of a story dating back to 16th c. Italy and associated with carnevale. And so, in keeping with tradition, Mr. Diaz has interpreted the tale in his own fashion. That it spoke to our need to see ourselves in all of our clichéd glory was made evident by the abundant laughter and applause.

Aren't we all a bit foolish? a bit devious? a bit gullible?

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UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH YING AND NODA

Ying Fang and Ken Noda

Newly landmarked St. Michael's Church played host for yesterday's Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concert presented by the Weill Music Institute, as part of the Marilyn Horne Legacy. The gorgeous sunshine outside was no match for the gorgeous sunshine experienced within as the radiant soprano Ying Fang joined her vocal artistry with that of the renowned collaborative pianist, coach, and educator Ken Noda.

We get a special thrill from witnessing the development of young artists over the years and we have been writing about Ying Fang since 2012. She made a grand impression on us from the very start and we can only say that she keeps getting better and better, garnering prizes and roles at The Metropolitan Opera.

What great fortune for us to hear her up close and personal. This young lady has all the ingredients necessary for a major career. Her bright instrument is pure and clear and highly focused.  Her phrasing is gorgeous; her coloratura outstanding; her language skills prodigious.  But all this pales when one considers her ability to share her textual understanding with her audience. Every song becomes a mini-drama.

Three Handelian moods were conveyed in the opening set--the sensuality of "Endless Pleasure, Endless Love" from Semele contrasted well with the desperate supplication of "Angels Ever Bright and Fair" from Theodoro and the pure joy of "Oh, had I Jubal's Lyre" from Joshua. Her English diction was so clear that we forgot that we never enjoy singing in English.  This time we did!

Ken Noda's playing was crisp and precise and well suited to the material.  In the next set of Wolf songs, his playing became more lyrical and legato while Ying's singing brought apt story-telling to the selections from Wolf's Italienisches Liederbuch. We had just heard the sorrowful "Mir war gesagt" the night before but Ying put her own stamp on it.

The final two songs "Du denkst mit einem Fädchen" and "Mein Liebster hat zu Tische" provided opportunities for Ying to demonstrate her delightful sense of humor.

A trio of Bizet songs brought the first half of the program to a stunning conclusion with the seasonal "Chanson d'avril" followed by the charming "La coccinelle", a delightful ditty that gave her three voices to play with--that of the peevish girl, her shy lover, and the wise ladybug. Facial expression and gesture accompanied and amplified the changes in vocal color.

We loved what Maestro Noda and Ms. Ying did with "Ouvre ton coeur"; the piano marched forcefully but shifted continually from major to minor while the voice conveyed a Spanish influence.

The second half of the program opened with a trio of traditional Chinese folk songs by 20th c. composers.  "A little path" and "Spring Yearning" reminded us that all cultures, no matter what their politics are, deal with love, both anticipated and disappointed. The final song "Night Mooring at Maple Bridge", was replete with moody piano writing and evocative images. Ying sustained the image by painting pictures that we could see. It was as if her voice created a hologram of a painting. Moreover, the sound of Mandarin was particularly lovely.

The recital closed with six romantic songs by Sergei Rachmaninoff, all of them gorgeously sung. We enjoyed the contrast between the ethereal "Son" accompanied by Maestro Noda's dreamlike piano, and the passionate "A-u!"

We were completely satisfied by the program and yet we would never have missed the encore--the "Shepherd's Song" from Wagner's Tannhäuser, much of it sung in breath-holding (ours, not hers) a capella. This is a role she has performed at The Met. It was a special thrill!

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FROM MIGNON TO MIGNON

Christiane Karg and Malcolm Martineau

Superb German soprano Christiane Karg made her New York recital debut last night at the Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall; she took the stage with perfect poise and carried the enthusiastic audience on a journey through Europe starting and ending with two settings of the story of the mysterious Mignon, a character in Goethe's Wilhelm Meister's Lehrjahre.

This tale has inspired numerous composers.  Our journey began with "Kennst du das Land", the familiar version by Hugo Wolf, and ended with the somewhat less familiar "Romance de Mignon" by Henri Duparc.

And what a journey that was!  Ms. Karg is a wonderful guide and storyteller. Although there is nothing unusual about her instrument, it is a pleasing one; what astonished us is the way she employs it to squeeze every drop of meaning from each word and phrase. She seems to be tasting every word!

Such intense involvement with the text is exactly what makes a fine lieder recital. It seems to invite the audience to share the singer's experience. And we felt that involvement from the very first phrase. The trick is to make the performance seem, no matter how rehearsed, to be created spontaneously at that moment.

What a pleasure to hear Wolf's intricate songs flowing forth so effortlessly from a native speaker of German. Although the opener was our hands-down favorite, we loved the selections she chose from the Italienisches Liederbuch. There was the sad song of leave-taking "Mir ward gesagt", the frustrated maiden's "Mein Liebster singt am Haus", the ironic "Ich liese mir sagen", and the humorous "Mein Liebster ist so klein" and "Ich hab in Penna einen Liebsten wohnen".

No less pleasurable were the selections from Wolf's Spanisches Liederbuch. We particularly enjoyed the tender "In dem Schatten meiner Locken" in which the singer allows her lover to sleep, disdaining to wake him.

We do so love to be introduced to composers and songs that were unknown to us. Jesús Guridi composed his Seis canciónes castellanas in the early 20th c. and we hope we get to hear them again in the near future.  We do so love folk songs!  Our favorite, "Sereno!" had the most gorgeous melody and one would search far and wide to hear a more romantic song than "Como quieres que adivine".

The second half of the program was entirely in French, and sung with quite nice French diction. We were delighted to hear the familiar gem by Henri Duparc "L'invitation au voyage" sung with such sensuality.

Ms. Karg took no breaks for applause and launched right into Ravel's "Cinq mélodies populaires grecques"--a collection of charming folk songs that cover all the emotional bases. The romantic "Chanson de la mariée", the arrogant "Quel galant m'est comparable", the lively "Tout gai!"--all were performed with panache.

Malcolm Martineau's always wonderful piano partnership here became appropriately delicate.

There were two sets of songs that we'd never heard.  We know Reynaldo Hahn as the composer of very singable melodies that echo much earlier music. We'd never heard "Études latines" but did not care for the classical texts all that much.

There was also a trio of Charles Koechlin songs from his Op.56 and Op.84 which did not resonate with us as much as the rest of the program.

With a quartet of songs by Francis Poulenc we were back in more familiar territory; they were all settings of texts by Apollinaire and filled with irony, which Ms. Karg brought out splendidly.

The final song, the aforementioned "Romance de Mignon" sounded far more passionate than any Duparc songs we've ever heard.  The text for this one was written by Victor Wilder and it was quite lovely.

Ms. Karg and Mr. Martineau generously provided three encores which Ms. Karg fortunately announced clearly.  Might we add that her English is superb!

The first was Hahn's "A Chloris" which is the Hahn we know and love. The second was Barber's "Solitary Hotel", the setting of a text by James Joyce. And the final one, "Nana", a lullabye by Manuel de Falla, reminds us to mention the excellent Spanish with which Ms. Karg performed the Guridi songs.

Ms. Karg has some exciting opera appearances coming up. She is someone to watch, for sure!

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