The Opera Insider Blog

Showing some love for Lindemann

2011-12-06T22:12:00.001-05:00

In light of the glut of overcooked “concept operas” these days, it can be an extraordinary treat to hear opera scenes in which the gifts of the performers-- vocal, dramatic and pianistic, combine to give us the essence of what the composer and librettist intended. Such was the case on Sunday when the artists of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program showed their stuff, without benefit of sets and costumes, and without the dubious benefit of videos and machines. The program was created in 1980 by James Levine with the mission of identifying and developing young talent in the world of opera--singers, coaches and pianists. Proof of their success is the vast number of graduates of the program who are dazzling audiences worldwide. The recent partnership between The Juilliard School and The Metropolitan Opera has only added luster to both programs.

Here was a golden opportunity to see and hear these young artists in a variety of roles as they hone their already remarkable craft. Tenor Paul Appleby showed his comic side as a very fine Ferrando, with baritone Evan Hughes as an equally fine Guglielmo and bass Ryan Speedo Green as the older and wiser Don Alfonso, with Mr. Wagorn accompanying on the harpsichord. Let it be noted that Mr. Wagorn has a special flair for Mozart, as he accompanied soprano Emalie Savoy as Fiordiigi, this time on the piano. Later, Mr. Appleby tackled the role of Tom Rakewell and won, with soprano Layla Claire’s Anne Truelove and mezzo Renee Tatum’s Baba the Turk competing for his attention and Natalia Katyukova offering piano support. Further along in the program he excelled as Benedict with gorgeous soprano Wallis Giunta as his Beatrice, accompanied by the versatile Bryan Wagorn on the piano.

Ms. Claire later did justice to the role of the inconsolable Dorinda in a scene from Handel’s “Orlando”, accompanied again by Mr. Wagorn. Ms. Tatum was glorious as Medoro and soprano Lei Xu, whose voice is as supple as her figure and as bright as a penny, sang the role of Angelica. The three voices were perfectly balanced as one enhanced the other. Ms. Xu also made a stunning Juliette and was totally convincing in her scene with Romeo in the Gounod. First year artist Mario Chang’s Romeo was excellent and we are looking forward to hearing him again.

Tenor Alexander Lewis exhibited true comic flair as Nemorino with baritone Luthando Qave an equally impressive Belcore, while Alexandra Naumenko accompanied with panache. Mr. Lewis was heard later as Count Almaviva with the adorable Elliott Madore as the mischievous Figaro, this time with Ms. Naumenko essaying both piano and harpsichord. Mr. Madore and Ms. Xu made superb musical sense of a scene from Debussy’s “Pelleas et Melisande”, an opera that had heretofore eluded me. Ms. Katyukova’s pianisme was perfect.

Baritone Evan Hughes also has a delightfully humorous side as seen in a scene from Rossini’s “L’Italiana in Algeri”. Ms. Tatum’s Isabella was memorable for its cleanly articulated coloratura. Bass Ryan Speedo Green, accompanied by Mr. Wagorn, was a powerful Blitch in his quest for divine forgiveness in Floyd’s “Susannah”.
The program came to a close with one of those tickling Rossini sextets “Fredda ed immobile” from “Il Barbierre di Siviglia” that sends the audience out humming this not unwelcome earworm. Ms. Giunta was captivating as Rosina; Mr. Lewis hilarious as the “drunken” Count; Mr. Qave a riot as Figaro pushing Mr. Green’s Bartolo around. This time, Ms. Katyukova did the pianistic honors while Mr. Wagorn put in an appearance as the arresting officer.

Scenes were directed by Stephen Wadsworth, Fabrizio Melano and Gina Lapinski. All the scenes were directed with style and substance and allowed each member of the program to shine. What a grand asset to the opera world is the Lindemann Program. Bravissimi tutti!

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

A Gala Evening of Music, Food, and Drink

2011-12-04T08:52:00.000-05:00

Among the many generosities of the Gerda Lissner Foundation--support for young singers and support for other organizations that support young singers--we must add the joyful holiday musicale. This year, introduced by Foundation President Stephen De Maio and hosted by Brian Kellow, author and features editor of Opera News Magazine, glamorous supertenor Jonas Kaufmann and fast-rising soprano Angela Meade were honored. Four young artists provided the entertainment for the enormous crowd of luminaries of the opera world-- past, present and future.

Mr. Kaufmann spoke briefly and engagingly about donating his award to his favorite charity which is involved in music education for the children of Munich. Then the enthusiastic audience was serenaded by mezzo Kathryn Leemhuis singing the “Seguidilla” from “Carmen”. Following this, baritone Liam Bonner gave us a very beautifully nuanced rendition of Yeletsky’s aria from “Pique Dame”; Tchaikovsky could not have been in better hands. Lots of “garlic” was dished up by tenor Leonardo Capalbo in “Ma se m’e Forza perderti” from “Un Ballo in Maschera ”; this is an exciting voice discovered a few years ago by Marilyn Horne and sounding better and better.

Bass-baritone Brandon Cedel did a fine job with “Aleko’s Cavatina” from Rachmaninoff’s seldom-heard “Aleko”. The program closed with Angela Meade singing “Io sono l’umile ancella” from “Adriana Lecouvreur”; it surpassed Georghiu’s performance recently at Carnegie Hall. This generously proportioned voice has a brilliant future. Piano accompaniment was provided by Jonathan Kelly, and for Ms. Meade, Arlene Shrut.
After all that food for the heart and soul, dinner seemed but an afterthought but gave the attendees many opportunities for socializing and sharing. Thank you to the Gerda Lissner Foundation!

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Michele, ma belle

2011-12-04T08:51:00.001-05:00

So much culture, so little time! December 1st offered so many tempting musical events that I almost missed a most fulfilling recital by Montreal mezzo Michele Losier, seen and reviewed a few nights earlier as Siebel in “Faust”. I dithered over whether an entire evening of French chansons might be a bit effete. Not to worry, the evening was delightful and varied; my decision was a good one. Mlle. Losier is a gifted recitalist who surely merits many more such evenings; Brian Zeger was intensely supportive as her piano partner.

The first half of the program comprised 19th c. romantic songs. Mlle. Losier’s extensive operatic background served her well as each song was imbued with drama. Cesar Franck’s “Le mariage des roses” was charming and melodic, whereas George Bizet’s “Adieux de l’hotesse arabe” was complex and intense; the singer reveals all the emotions and strategies of a woman who doesn’t want a man to leave. Massenet’s “Elegie” had the additional pleasure of Meta Weiss’ cello echoing the melody of the singer. “Bizet’s “La Coccinelle” offered ample opportunity for humor which the audience especially enjoyed.

Comprising the second half of the program were some 20th c. songs by Ravel, Poulenc, Satie and Weill. Ravel’s “Chanson Madecasses” had Mlle. Losier joined by Ms. Weiss and also flutist Daniel James. In this case, the voice was melded into the texture of a quartet. The irony of the Satie songs and the Weill offered an interesting contrast. Mlle. Losier and Mr. Zeger performed Grieg’s “Ein traum” as the sole encore and sole non-French offering. One could not have wished for a better recital but one does wish for more from this divine duo.

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Faust, meet Dr. Atomic

2011-12-02T07:19:00.001-05:00

This is a meeting that should never have taken place. In spite of some superb performances, Des McAnuff’s production is a bomb, one that failed to explode but just lay there like soggy cornflakes. One hopes Mr. McAnuff will stay on Broadway where he belongs. It would be a charitable speculation that he was trying to mine some serious philosophy according to Goethe but that is not the opera composed by Charles Gounod, a story of love and betrayal adapted from Michel Carre’s play “Faust et Marguerite” which in turn was loosely adapted from Part I of Goethe’s “Faust.” This is a Romantic opera which has charmed audiences for a century and a half with its direct emotional appeal and melodies that delight the ear and linger there as a fine wine lingers on the palate. In this production it was weighted down by symbolism.

The post-modern set by Robert Brill comprises walkways flanked by circular stairways reminding one of “L’Amour de Loin”. This is meant to represent some kind of facility that produces atomic devices. Chorus members dressed in white coats observe the action. There is a sink in which Marguerite drowns her baby. Pardon me while I puke!
The saviors of the evening were Canadian Yannick Nezet-Seguin whose baton led the fine Met Orchestra in a stirring and lyrical account of Gounod’s thrilling music; the fine Met Choristers; the compelling tenor Jonas Kaufmann who manages to caress every difficult French vowel and stay comprehensible; the formidable bass René Pape who made Mephistopheles as debonair as he is wicked (and, who knew, with a delightful note of humor); and the penetrating soprano of Marina Poplavskaya who showed some excellent acting chops. She was totally believable as an innocent maiden, aided and abetted by costumer Paul Tazewell and a very youthful wig. She struggles mightily against the seductive Faust, but who could resist the very seductive Mr. Kaufmann and his very seductive aria. Hot stuff!!!

Marthe was sung by Wendy White and Russell Braun was a rather stolid Valentin. Mezzo Michele Losier was a fine Siebel and will be reviewed shortly as a recitalist of great merit. It was good to have a native French speaker aboard. Also enjoyable was Kelly Devine’s choreography; not so the distracting video projections of Sean Nieuwenhuis. What on earth is the point of projecting the singers’ faces on a scrim? As a matter of fact, what is the point of hiring directors who seem to know nothing of opera and want only to “express themselves” at the expense of dramatic and vocal integrity??? The devil take them!

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Mi chiamono Hei-Kyung Hong

2011-12-02T07:14:00.001-05:00

A singer cannot really steal La boheme from Puccini, nor from Zeffirelli, but she can fulfill the role of Mimi with such lyrical glories, focused tone, legato phrasing, total commitment and believability that one feels the story to be fresh and novel. Such was the case with Hei-Kyung Hong who was so beautiful and heartbreaking in her performance at the Met that one marvels at her artistry. There is not a trace of the self-serving prima donna about her performances. Quite simply, we adore her!

Susanna Phillips’ performance as the coquettish and fickle Musetta was nearly as impressive with her bright but warm soprano, allowing us to be tickled by her histrionic hijinks but ready to receive the generous heart underlying them.
Dimitri Pittas disappointed as he failed to convey much chemistry with Ms. Hong in the love scenes in Act I and II; his intonation was faulty in spots, he failed to float his upper register over the orchestra, and the legato line one hopes to hear just wasn’t there. It was curious that he connected better with Ms. Hong during Act III after he confesses to his buddy Marcello that he cannot deal with Mimi’s poor health and in Act IV when she is dying.

Alexey Markov’s healthy baritone seemed about right for Rodolfo, the jealous and frustrated lover of Musetta and Patrick Carfizzi sang Schaunard with good humor as he described playing for the parrot who died of “parsenic” poisoning. Bass Matthew Rose gave a fine account of “Vecchia zimarra,” an ode to his old overcoat that he is pawning to pay for the dying Mimi’s medicine; this is a most moving aria and we in the audience just know he is bidding adieu to more than just a coat.
Paul Plishka was delightful in both roles, as the befuddled landlord coming to collect the overdue rent from the four young men and getting sidetracked by their shenanigans, and later as Musetta’s wealthy elderly “admirer."

Conductor Louis Langree got the most out of his brass fanfares and lamenting strings; more importantly he did something unique and very effective by extending the moment of silence when Mimi dies. This accentuated the heartbreak of that very minor chord that never fails to bring tears to our eyes.

Finally, what can one say about Zeffirelli’s lavish production about which everything has already been said. Here’s what the Balcony Boxer has to say: we appreciate it for its verisimilitude. We are transported to early 19th c. Paris much as we are transported in Cavalleria Rusticana to late 19th c. Sicily. We are sick to death of the updated and modernized versions of Regietheater. We can make our own connections to the counter-culture youth of today and their moral provocations just as we can to the tragedies of young people dying of the diseases of poverty and poor living conditions. We love the way Puccini’s music is used to dictate the dramatic “business” onstage. We want this 30-year-old production to last forever and beg the Met not to retire it as they did with the glorious La traviata.

Now, what of Puccini’s music? How curious that La boheme was scorned by most critics during the late 19th and early 20th c. but adored by the public. Audience members have always had a strong emotional response to the lyricism of the score, the melodic invention, the subtle shifts that use the same themes to convey differing emotions in the four acts. It is well-known that Puccini gave a rather hard time to his two lyricists Giacosa and Illica who developed the libretto from the stories of Henri Murger. And we in the 21st c. are so glad he did. The result is a poignant and moving story told through glorious music that will thrill generations to come. If you have friends new to opera, this is a great introduction. And if you have seen it dozens of times as we have, you will never tire of it.

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

From ghetto to palazzo

2011-11-22T00:06:00.000-05:00

This original program, conceived by Jessica Gould, Artistic Director of Salon/Sanctuary Concerts, presented the seminal music of the 16th c. Mantuan Jew Salamone Rossi Ebreo. Soloists of the Clarion Music Society, and Steven Fox as Music Director can be credited with giving sensitive performances. Liturgical pieces were sung a cappella in the Hebrew language; secular songs were sung in Italian and accompanied by David Walker on theorbo and Gabe Shuford on harpsichord. Although all the soloists sounded superb in the ample space of the Italian Portuguese Synagogue, we were particularly taken by Molly Quinn’s heartfelt performance of “Tirsi mio, caro Tirsi”.

One could be forgiven for being ignorant of the historical and social underpinnings but the program notes went a long way toward dispelling this ignorance. The history lesson was most welcome and augmented the appreciation of this relatively unknown composer whose music was lost for two centuries. The Gonzaga court of Mantua engendered a rare period of humanism and tolerance for Jews who had for centuries been walking a fine line between acceptance and exile. Only three professions were permitted--medicine, banking and entertaining. Under the protection of the Gonzagas, Mantuan Jews experienced a Renaissance of their own with renewed interest in the Hebrew language and scholarship. Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga struggled to withstand pressure from the Vatican during the Counter-Reformation to ghettoize the Mantuan Jews. This allowed Rossi (1570-c.1630) to distinguish himself by publishing 13 volumes of music (half liturgical and half madrigals and canzonettas that have much similarity with the works of Monteverdi). He introduced the bold innovation of polyphony in sacred music which challenged existing liturgical precepts and offended more conservative members of his community who thought that only monody was acceptable in the synagogue.

And what happened to this community? Sadly, Austrian troops invaded in 1630 and destroyed the ghetto whose inhabitants fled or were killed. The Great Synagogue of Mantua, founded in 1529, was razed by Mussolini. But fortunately for us, Rossi’s music survived to be “discovered” by Baron Edmond de Rothschild on a tour of Jewish communities of Northern Italy in the 19th c. The first modern edition of Rossi’s music was published in 1876.

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

A Family Affair

2011-11-22T00:04:00.001-05:00

Accompanied with great artistry by his beautiful daughter Joana Pons, reknowned baritone Juan Pons gave a most fulfilling recital at the Bruno Walter Auditorium, under the auspices of The New York Opera Society and The Institut Ramon Llull. The mission of NYOS comprises identification, funding and production of premiere performance opportunities, supporting the development of professional artists’ careers and expanding audiences for both traditional and contemporary operatic repertoire. The mission of The Institute Ramon Llull is to promote the culture and language of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands. Both missions succeeded admirably, resting on the broad shoulders of this gifted dramatic baritone. Although known to most of us from his innumerable performances on the opera stage, this recital gave his fans an opportunity to experience his artistry in an intimate situation and in his native tongue.

Although the composers and lyricists were unknown to us and the language sounded quite different from Spanish (as different as Portuguese), the songs were lovely and clearly came from a golden age of song-writing. Whether singing of love, of loss, of death or of war, Mr. Pons invested each one with deep feeling. In spite of using the score, he demonstrated a remarkable ability to connect with the audience.

Following several songs by Antoni Parera Fons (lyrics by Guillem d’Efak), R. Martinez Valls (lyrics by Capdevila and Mora) and J. Ortega Monasterio (lyrics by Tofol Mus), the Pons family ended the recital with two Verdi arias, “Io Morro” from Don Carlo and “Cortigiani, vil razza dannata” from Rigoletto. We could have listened all night long but still felt satisfied and enlightened about a neglected artistic heritage. Thank you NYOS and Institute Ramon Llull.

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Six arias and a couple duets

2011-11-14T06:58:00.000-05:00

One of our favorite groups in support of young opera singers had their annual membership party, offering six of the eight winners of “Encouragement Grants” the opportunity to sing for their supper--the bountiful buffet provided by the members themselves. President Murray Rosenthal offered a touching memorial to Robert F. Crosby who served Opera Index well from 1996 until his death. The sadness and feelings of loss were rapidly dispelled by the roster of young singers who delighted the membership with their talent and enthusiasm for performing. Tenor Adam Bonanni and baritone Julian Arsenault began the program by singing Mr. Crosby’s favorite, the duet from “Pearl Fishers”. Judging by the applause, it is the favorite of a lot of opera lovers.

Two fine mezzos treated us to some French favorites; J’nai Bridges sang the Habanera from “Carmen” and Kristina Lewis offered “Mon coeur s’ouvre a ta voix” from “Samson et Dalilah” --two very different seductions. Two terrific tenors were also on hand to tip the balance toward German; Kevin Ray sang “Wintersturme wichen dem Wonnemond” and Mr. Bonanni sang “Dein ist mein ganzes herz”. Lone baritone Mr. Arsenault essayed some Russian in “Jas Vas Lyublu” from “Pique Dame”. The sole soprano Maria D’Amato sparkled in “Chi il bel sogno di Doretta” from “La Rondine”. Accompanying the singers as piano partner was Michael Fennelly.

The ensemble closed the program with a drinking song which gave way to some wine-imbibing and food-devouring by the membership. This annual event gives the singers a good opportunity for exposure and allows the OI membership to see the stars of tomorrow. One look at the list of famous singers who received OI awards in the past is illuminating. The winners of the largest awards get to perform at other OI events later in the year.

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Medium-rare and Well-done

2011-11-13T07:33:00.000-05:00

Gian Carlo Menotti’s darkest opera “The Medium” is RAREly done and was WELL-DONE by the Chelsea Opera at St. Peter’s Church. This is not the most comfortable venue for audience members, what with the hard wooden pews and poor sight-lines, but none of that mattered when Maestro Carmine Aufiero picked up his baton. He led his 14 musicians through Menotti’s interesting score, notable for its harmonic dissonance wedded to an innate lyricism that effectively parallels the emotional language of the singers. Listening is an altogether eerie experience suitable to a ghost story.
The story is compact with no subplots and the opera lasts under two hours including intermission. That is just the right amount of time to illustrate the mental decompensation of the (anti)heroine, one Madame Flora who runs phony seances. Once she begins to have tactile and auditory hallucinations she turns to religion and refunds her clients’ money.

At Saturday night’s performance the title role was performed by mezzo Mary Clare McAlee who gave her all vocally and dramatically; she was totally believable in her descent from general meanness into paranoia and madness.
As the daughter whom she bullies into assisting at the seances, the lovely soprano Rachel Sitomer sang beautifully but was not always intelligible. This may be due to the difficulties of singing English in the upper registers but one longed for either better diction or the presence of surtitles. Mr. and Mrs. Gobineau were sung by soprano Susan Holsonbake and baritone Giuseppe Spoletini. They sang well and were quite affecting as a couple trying to contact their long-dead little boy. Mezzo Patrice P. Eaton was equally affecting as a mother wanting desperately to believe that the white robed figure of Monica was the teenage daughter she lost. One of the major plot points is the gullibility of the bereaved who want more seances, even when Madame Flora tells them of her fraudulence.

The one character that failed to convince was the role of Toby, a mute gypsy boy that Madame Flora had taken in and then exploited, beat, and finally killed. It may have been his appearance that defied believability or perhaps it is very difficult to act without the use of the voice, but one should experience Toby’s death at the end as devastating, especially since Monica and he are in love. But the chemistry between the two of them just wasn’t evident.

The production was effectively directed by Laura Alley whose work is always superb; the actors seemed to move comfortably about the stage and their “stage business” always seemed connected to the lyrics. The simple set and lighting by Joshua Rose and Michael Megliola made the most of the limited playing area of the church. Costume design by Lynne Hayden-Findlay was true to the period of the story, the 1940’s.
One cannot help but think of Stephen Schwartz’ “Seance on a Wet Afternoon” performed last season at New York City Opera. What will be next, vampire operas? Stay tuned.

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Big Hair, Big Voice

2011-11-12T07:42:00.000-05:00

Every inch the Principessa, force of nature mezzo Anita Rachvelishvili easily won the Act III catfight with Adriana Lecouvreur in the eponymous realismo opera by Francesco Cilea given by The Opera Orchestra of New York in concert version at Carnegie Hall. Such female rivalry seems to be a common theme in 19th c. opera. Think Aida, Anna Bolena, Norma. In this early 20th c. opera, the one with the bigger voice took the day. Both women looked ravishing, lavishly gowned and coiffed. But, painful to say, poor Angela Georghiu, so effective in La Rondine last season, was rather overwhelmed by the part. Her lovely voice shimmered when the orchestra was silent, but otherwise it was swallowed up, even in the alpine reaches of Stern Auditorium where the sound is usually superb. It appears that a bigger voice is needed to do the role justice.

On the other hand Ms. Rachvelishvili let loose with a large and dusky sound that filled the house. You loved her even as you hated the character. Her scenes with glamorous tenor Jonas Kaufmann generated far more chemistry and excitement than his scenes with Ms. Gheorghiu. There is something amiss when an unrequited love is more exciting than a requited one. Mr. Kaufmann had sung with Ms. R. in the final scene from Carmen Sunday evening at the Richard Tucker Gala and the same excitement was evident; they seem to be opera’s new power couple. It didn’t make much difference whether it was the man or the woman who went unloved; the singing was intense and riveting. The third remarkable presence of the evening was baritone Ambrogio Maestri, performing in New York, I believe, for the first time--but not the last. His upcoming performance at The Met as Falstaff is one to be highly anticipated. As Michonnet, stage manager of La Comedie Francaise, he created a character with a heart as big and warm as his voice.

It was strange to see anyone on the podium but Ms. Queler, the founder and conductor laureate of OONY, but Maestro Alberto Veronesi was a welcome presence and conducted with panache. The New York Choral Ensemble did a fine job, but somehow not as fine as the Metropolitan Chorus.

As far as the libretto goes, perhaps the less said the better. Adapted by Arturo Colautti from the drama by Eugene Scribe and E. Legouve, it concerns a romantic intrigue leading to the death of the heroine--death by poisoned violets as a matter of fact. Nothing was done to make the story clear; the lengthy and confusing summary in the program was no help. The situation dictated that one sit back and revel in Cilea’s gorgeous tunes which wove in and out of the action almost like Wagnerian leitmotifs.
Also heard were the fine Nicola Pamio as the almost comic Abbe and the equally fine Craig Hart as the cuckolded Principe. Various members of the acting company were portrayed by Danielle Walker, Jennifer Feinstein, Zachary Nelson, and Alexander Lewis from the Lindemann Young Artist Program.

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Lindemann comes to Austria

2011-11-09T06:58:00.000-05:00

A good recital fills your heart with gladness and lightens your step. Such was the case when three gifted members of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program paid a welcome visit to the glamorous townhouse occupied by the Austrian Cultural Forum. Everyone benefited. The Lindemann program got some great publicity, the Austrians promoted their culture, the singers acquired many new fans and the audience got an evening to hold to the heart.

Beautiful soprano Lei Xu stepped out on the small stage, dressed in a becomingly draped gown, looking every inch the star. Her three Schubert songs gave ample opportunity for her to run the gamut of emotions from the exultation of “Ganymed” to the anguish of “Gretchen am Spinnrade”. Ms. Xu seems to get inside a song and plumb its depths; and it all feels spontaneous as if she had written the poetry herself. Later in the program, she sang Hugo Wolf’s setting of “Ganymed”; the gestures and word colorations were completely different and totally in line with Wolf’s less classical harmonies.

Baritone Elliot Madore (madore-able) gave us four contrasting songs from Schubert’s “Schwanengesang”, from the powerful “Kriegers Ahnung” to the lyrically impassioned “Standchen” which could have charmed the birds from the trees, not to mention luring the object of his affection from her boudoir. This seductive charm was utilized even more effectively in a duet with Ms. Xu given as an encore. You guessed it! Don Giovanni and Zerlina! What a delightful display of an entire opera scene presented on a tiny stage. One could not imagine a better performance. Likewise, the other duet from Herr Mozart “Bei Männern” from “Die Zauberflöte” showed just how suited to Mozart this pair is. Fortunately, diction was crystal clear and every word could be understood.

Five songs of Fauré were sung by Ms. Xu and the “Siete canciones populares” were presented by Mr. Madore. A delicate and tender side was most welcome in the lullaby “Nana”. How refreshing to hear a lullaby sung by a man, and affectingly sung at that.
Pianist Bryan Wagorn completed this terrific trio with his skilled piano partnering, always supporting the singer without becoming “invisible”. His work shone as he created Gretchen’s spinning wheel. One hopes that there will be more ventures like this to look forward to. Much gratitude to the talented trio, to the ACFNY and to the LIndemann Program. Bravissimi tutti!

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Star-spangled Sunday

2011-11-07T07:09:00.001-05:00

This year’s edition of the Richard Tucker Gala can be considered an unqualified success. All the stars, both new and familiar did their best to make the early evening event glorious. After a somewhat disjointed rendition of the erotic “Bacchanale” from “Samson et Dalila” conductor Emmanuel Villaume brought it all together with a display of precision and drama that led the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra to its customary peak of performance. Even allowing for the unfortunate absence of Marcello Giordani and Marina Poplavskaya, there was an abbondanza of talent onstage. Not to mention the huge forces of The New York Choral Society.

Angela Meade, a young soprano who has been winning competitions and dazzling audiences for the past few years lived up to her potential in “Santo di patria” from Verdi’s “Atilla”. Her voice is as ample as her body and she is sure to have a stunning future, with several appearances upcoming at the Met. Later in the program, she assayed the trio from Bellini’s “Norma” (the finale of Act I) with Dolora Zajick and Frank Porretta, a tenor who brought very little to bear on the performance. It was here that Ms. Meade revealed some minor shortcomings in the coloratura that a few more years should dissolve.

Ms. Zajick’s powerful voice was heard later in the program in Tchaikovsky’s aria “Tsar vishnikh sil” from “The Maid of Orleans”. Comparing this with a later duet, “Tu, qui?” from “Cavalleria Rusticana” demonstrated how much she requires another singer onstage to relate to. The first was rather lackluster, but bouncing off Yonghoon Lee’s persuasive tenor inspired her to a far higher level of performance; the acting was searing in its intensity. Mr. Lee, on the other hand was equally persuasive by himself in Massenet’s “O Souverain” from “Le Cid”. Just recently we had enjoyed his performance in “Nabucco”. He is a tenor to watch!

In the tenor department, Jonas Kaufmann made a splendid showing as Turridu in Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana”, squeezing every ounce of passion from “Mamma, quel vino e generoso”. There is something about his way with dynamics that tears at the listener’s heart. He can trumpet out a great big sound and then gently caress the vowels in a pianissimo that is still very audible. His duet with Bryn Terfel, “Dio, che nell’alma infondere” from Verdi’s “Don Carlo”, was thrilling, their two voices being so well matched.

Mr. Terfel was equally brilliant in his solo aria “Udite, udite, o rustici” from Donizetti’s “L’elisir d’amore” in which he was able to show a delightfully relaxed and humorous side of himself, engaging both the conductor and the audience. One wondered what he might have done with the role of Wotan, had he been unencumbered by “the machine” and clumsy costume and wig.

Two other “forces of nature” were on hand. Mezzo Stephanie Blythe gave a luminous performance of Ambroise Thomas’ melodic “Connais-tu le pays” from “Mignon”. One could listen to her large and lovely voice all night and never feel bored. Soprano Maria Guleghina also let loose with “Vissi d’arte” from Puccini’s “Tosca”. If there had been scenery one could say that she chewed it up. It was very emotional and very convincing, as was her performance in the aforementioned “Nabucco”.
Baritone Zeljko Lucic is always a pleasure to hear and his “Eri tu” from Verdi’s “Ballo in Maschera” was finely wrought and beautifully accompanied by flute and harp solos.

As a special treat added to the program, we got to hear and see the dazzling young mezzo Anita Rachvelishvili as she rejects Jonas Kaufmann’s Don Jose in the final act of Bizet’s “Carmen”. It is difficult to imagine anyone rejecting the glamorous Mr. Kaufmann, but she gets to die in his arms instead of falling to the ground. Oh rapture unforeseen!

The program closed with the final fugue from Verdi’s “Falstaff”, with parts being played by two stunning women, soprano Deanna Breiwick and mezzo Renee Tatum and by tenors Theo Lebow and Ta’u Pupu’a, baritone Edward Parks and bass Keith Miller. The orchestra played brilliantly and the voices blended masterfully, bringing this star-spangled event to a rousing close.

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Siegfried!

2011-11-02T11:14:00.001-04:00

So much has already been written about “the Machine”! I finally found someone who liked it. He was sitting in the balcony box with me and he told me he is an architect. That figures. As for me, I feel like poor Papageno who has been given water instead of wine and stones instead of bread. I wanted magic and got technology. I feel punished. The machine is noisy and clunky and distracting. And what about the 3-D projections? As the cute little yellow bird flitted around the stage I kept thinking of the eponymous calypso song... ”Yellow bird, up high in banana tree.” Were those earthworms crawling around before Act I? I guess it depends on where you sit. From the balcony boxes, where sight lines are generally partially obstructed, one could get a fine view of Mime’s subterranean lair which might not have been so visible from the orchestra. Likewise the fake lake. Lots of the projections reminded me of those gigantic photo murals on the walls of dental offices. Enough said. What about the singing?

The third act was quite wonderful with the radiant Deborah Voigt showing singing and acting chops as the stunned Brunnhilde awakening from her long sleep. She was totally convincing in her fear of her newly mortal longing for her nephew Siegfried, the hero meant to save the world. Her capitulation was quite touching and she seemed to bring out the best in tenor Jay Hunter Morris who might have been saving himself for the big duet. The major shortcoming of the scene is when the actions did not fit the words, but at least we were spared the sight of Brunnhilde hanging upside down by her feet. As a matter of fact, at the beginning of the scene, she walked on, lay down and put the shield on her chest. Perhaps this was another mechanical failure that the audience is asked to overlook. The endless loop of projected flames grew very tiresome.

Bryn Terfel sang with power and more stage presence than in the first two installments. He seems to be growing into the role of Wotan, now called The Wanderer, but cannot fill James Morris’ shoes. Fortunately the horrible stringy dark wig that covered his face has been retired and replaced by a stringy white wig that doesn’t, but he still does not seem perfectly at ease.

Eric Owens has less stage time as Alberich but sings with great power and finesse, hampered only by a ridiculous costume. His brother Mime is portrayed by German tenor Gerhard Siegel who whines and wheedles and tries to induce guilt in the boy he has raised as an investment in trying to recapture the ring from the dragon (in this case a funny snake) who is really Fafner. The ludicrous aspect of this snake robs Siegfried’s killing of him of its power.

Glamorous Irish mezzo Patricia Bardon, gowned in a slinky black number, looked like anything but Mutter Erda but sounded fine. German soprano Mojca Erdmann, so adorable as Zerlina last week, is not seen at all but delights the ear as the Forest Bird. German bass Hans-Peter Konig is heard briefly as Fafner, lending some menace to that silly snake. Derrick Inouye conducted, not badly but not brilliantly. Mr. Levine simply cannot be replaced.

Final Score: Wagner 10, LePage 2

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Intimacy at the Met

2011-11-02T07:38:00.000-04:00

The art of the lieder recital requires the creation of a sense of intimacy. But, with what? The audience? The piano partner? The music? The entire idea is baffling and no one since Pavarotti has given such a recital at the Met until last Sunday afternoon when tenor-of-the-moment Jonas Kaufmann did so with piano partner Helmut Deutsch. Staring at this beautiful and talented tenor through my opera glasses from a balcony box was not the best circumstance for a feeling of intimacy I am not sure that sitting in the front row of the orchestra would have helped since the size of the house mitigates against the feeling of “you, me and the music”. But it is unlikely that one would ever have the opportunity to see and hear such a super-star in a tiny venue.

This cavil aside, it was a great privilege to be in the audience and to hear Mr. Kaufmann’s impressive artistry and to see his engaging stage presence. He and Mr. Deutsch opened the program with some lesser-known songs by Franz Liszt, including the charming “Die drei Zigeuner” a setting of a poem by Nikolaus Lenau that gives us good advice on dealing with the darkness of life by smoking, sleeping or playing music.
Next Mr. Kaufmann gave us Mahler’s Ruckert Lieder which allowed him to show off his lovely phrasing, varied moods, and marvelous control of tone and color. In spite of having a dark Germanic sound, he can float a pianissimo with the best of them. He is quiet and poised onstage and restrained in his gestures, allowing his voice to convey the emotions.

After a handful of chansons by Henri Duparc, who chose some fine poets to set including Baudelaire, our artists moved on to six songs by Richard Strauss, and it is here that Mr. K. did his most thrilling singing. He clearly has a special feeling for Strauss. Who would not weep listening to “Befreit” or feel the peaceful joy of “Morgen!” or the exaltation of “Caecilie?

The audience demanded encore after encore and Mr. K. generously provided a half dozen, sounding just as fresh as he had at the beginning. Strauss followed Strauss followed Strauss; perhaps “Zueignung” was the favorite. He closed the program with “Dein ist Mein Ganzes Herz” from the Lehar operetta “Das Land des Laechelns”. We left the Met grinning from ear to ear and humming along with several other people who apparently were similarly affected. Bravo Jonas!

(c) Meche Kroop for The Opera Insider

Mariusz! Mariusz! Mariusz!

2011-10-31T07:28:00.001-04:00

“Oh, Mr. Kwiecien, you have seduced and abandoned me but I love you still. You are exciting, dangerous and compelling. You are in control. Nothing diverts you from your purpose in life. You are a Don Giovanni for our age.”

Watching and thrilling to this year’s version of Don G. at the Met I realized that if anything is going to “show me something new” about any given opera, it is going to be the cast and the conductor, not the director. Much has been written about the disappointment of Michael Grandage’s production and its failure to say anything new. Whatever new that can be said about this opera was “said” by Fabulous Fabio Luisi’s crystal clear conducting which brought forth new delights by limning inner voices with astounding clarity. Whatever new insights that could be found were discovered by the sensational international cast who made each character believable.

Not only the Polish Mr. K. but, in no particular order, Mexican tenor Ramón Vargas’ stalwart Don Ottavio who expressed his devotion to Donna Anna with meltingly legato llines; Latvian soprano Marina Rebeka’s Donna Anna, Italian soprano Barbara Frittoli’s angry and frustrated Donna Elvira, Venezuelan bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni’s comic Leporello (made more so by Don G’s seriousness), the adorable German soprano Mojca Erdmann’s coquettish Zerlina, equally adorable Australian bass Joshua Bloom as her understandably angry hubby Masetto, and Slovakian bass Stefan Kocan as the murdered Commendatore. This United Nations of Singers said it all and said it well.
I don’t think Mr. Grandage owes us any apologies. It is true that the sets and costumes, credited to Christopher Oram were not exciting, but they permitted all the attention to be focused on the excellent singing. They were not nearly as egregious as Don G’s I have seen that were set in front of tenements or in church basements or funeral homes. When did opera become a director’s medium? Let the singers and conductors reclaim the art form! I wish to see and hear what the composer and librettist had in mind, not the “concept” of some director who wants to impose his vision on a revered work. Let us not repaint the Mona Lisa!

Please comment whether you agree or disagree.

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Oh, Oh Obradors

2011-10-25T04:27:00.000-04:00

A selection of songs by early 20th c. composer Fernando Obradors were given a splendid performance at the Morgan Library in collaboration with The George London Foundation for Singers by the gifted young soprano Ailyn Perez. When the recital by Ms. Perez and her equally gifted young tenor husband Stephen Costello was announced, I was filled with anticipation, having enjoyed her performance as Marguerite (in Gounod’s Faust) so much last summer in Santa Fe, and having enjoyed Mr. Costello’s performance as Lord Percy at the Met just a few days earlier. My very high expectations were met and perhaps exceeded. Ken Noda as piano partner contributed enormously to the success of this recital. He is always impressively attuned to the singers he accompanies.

Ms. Perez used her thrilling voice and her acting chops in the program opener--”Salce, salce” and “Ave Maria” from Otello. So committed a performer is she that my mind conjured the set as if I had just then seen the entire opera. Mr. Costello followed with some songs by Paolo Tosti; the two sung in Italian “Ideale” and “Non t’ami piu” were especially affecting, as sung in a beautiful Italianate style. The other two were settings of English and it seemed to me that the English language does not lend itself as well to beautiful vocal lines. Such was also noted in the premiere of Mr. Pasatieri’s “Bel Canto Songs”, taken on by Ms. Perez. These settings of texts by William Blake, according to the program notes “employ a pure bel canto aspect in the vocal line but which also feature a contemporary harmonic palette in the piano part”. Okay, that may have been the intention but it did not come through in the execution, in spite of Ms. Perez’ excellent technique. Mr. Pasatieri writes beautifully for the piano but the vocal line did not hold interest, and for this I blame the poetry--lovely to read on paper but in no way singable the way Italian is.

The program closed with a charming scene from Mascagni’s “L’Amico Fritz” a duet between Suzel and Fritz in which nothing is discussed but birdsong and cherry ripening; BUT, the lyricism of the vocal line tells us more than words could how these two people love one another. Noting that Ms. Perez and Mr. Costello both won awards from The George London Foundation in 2006, I wondered whether they had met one another at that time and fallen in love. Hearing such a romantic duet certainly prompts romantic fantasies! The only thing that might have added to this satisfying recital would have been more duets. More duets please!

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Burnin' down the house!

2011-10-13T14:22:00.000-04:00

There was lots of fire at the Met’s revival of the Elijah Moshinsky production of “Nabucco”: fire coming from the pit with Paolo Carignani’s spirited Italianate conducting of Verdi’s lavishly melodic score, fire from the gifted cast and real fire as the Bad Babylonians burned down the temple of the persecuted Judeans.

From the opening fanfare of trombones, one knew that a treat was in store. The overture alone was packed with enough tunes to keep one humming for weeks; the Met orchestra rewarded Maestro Carignani with luminous playing and the audience rewarded both orchestra and conductor with thunderous applause. This is early Verdi, composed when he was just 28 years old and marked a distinct departure from the bel canto style of mid 19th c.
Here we have some interesting characters in a rather stock situation. The vindictive Babylonian princess Abigaille is in love with the Judean Ismaele who is in love with Abigaille’s sister Fenena and seems to betray his country. The deluded Babylonian king Nabucco is drunk with power and declares himself to be not king but god. He goes mad and Abigaille seizes the crown; but his prayers to the Hebrew god restore his sanity and he reclaims the throne. It is easy to see how many opportunities this tale offers for impassioned singing and tender prayers.

This may be soprano Maria Guleghina’s best performance ever. She chewed up the scenery and spat it out. She easily leaped from chest tones to high C’s and dazzled with her virtuosity. Second year Lindemann artist mezzo Renee Tatum painted a believable portrait of Fenena with her fine supple voice and lovely appearance. So outstanding was her prayer in Part Four, one might wish that Verdi had written more for her. This is her largest role at the Met so far and we are looking forward to hearing much more from her.

Baritone Zeljko Lucic delivered his customary fine performance in the title role and was quite affecting in each of his many moods, from arrogance to pathos. Bass Carlo Colombara did full justice to the role of Zaccaria, the high priest of the Judeans. Tenor Yonghoon Lee in his second appearance at the Met was compelling in the role of Ismaele; he has a fine substantial voice that makes one yearn to hear more.
Perhaps more than in any other opera, the chorus is of critical importance and they did not disappoint. Their performance of “Va, pensiero” could make one weep. One cannot help thinking of the current upheavals in the Middle East--peoples trying to create or defend a homeland, nations struggling to redefine themselves. Not much has changed in two and a half millenia.

This is one production that the Met should keep in its repertory; one shudders to think how badly the opera could be damaged by some director’s “concept”. “Nabucco” belongs to the conductor and the singers who bring it to life. John Napier’s sets and J. Knighten Smit’s direction may be called “old-fashioned” but they are absolutely perfect. There is no elaborate stage business to distract one from the story-telling and the singing. The only false note was the presence of two gibbets in the final act. One doubts whether hanging was a biblical method of execution. Without knowledge of what people wore 2500 years ago, it is difficult to criticize the costuming of Andreane Neofitou. One could only say that the armies looked military, the Judeans looked only slightly drab, Ismaele looked just right to play Calaf, and the two women looked absolutely gorgeous.

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Isabellissima!

2011-10-07T05:31:00.000-04:00

Why rush to see yet another Barber after having seen it well over a dozen times? The best reason is to witness gorgeous talented Isabel Leonard make the most out of the role of Rosina. Having followed her career with delight after hearing a student recital at Juilliard, I am delighted to report that she is fulfilling her promise in spades (and diamonds for her sparkle and hearts because you will love her too). She has a sumptuous mezzo and flawless technique both in the legato and in the coloratura passages with precision of articulation not often heard. It was a pleasure to see her in a dress, and Catherine Zuber’s costumes were most becoming, as was the wig, something we cannot take for granted.

I wish I could say the same for Mexican tenor Javier Camarena, making his debut at the Met in the role of Count Almaviva. We loves us some Mexican tenors but this performance did not make the grade. In his Act I serenade “Ecco Ridente” coloratura passages seemed rather muddy and high notes felt strained, although he improved in Act II and in the ensemble work. He just doesn’t command the stage as, for example, Juan Diego Flores does. Towering over him by virtue of talent and height was Swedish baritone Peter Mattei who had enough stage presence for both of them. His generous baritone and ease on stage are always a pleasure to watch and his chemistry with Ms. Leonard far exceeded that of Mr. Camarena.

Bass-baritone Maurizio Muraro sang the role of the foolish possessive Dr. Bartolo with great style and humor. Georgian bass Paata Burchuladze sang the role of slimy music teacher Don Basilio and Lindemann graduate Jennifer Check did just fine in Berta’s Act II aria, as did another Lindemann graduate John Moore who portrayed Fiorello in Act I. Rob Besserer garnered lots of laughs as Dr. Bartolo’s elderly servant.
Maurizio Benini conducted with vigor and lyricism this opera which is nearly 200 years old, composed when Rossini was only 24 years old. Melodies just poured out of the young Gioachino, melodies that perfectly match the charming libretto by Cesare Sterbini based on the play by Beaumarchais. No wonder that “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” has survived for nearly two centuries and remains in the repertory of so many companies. Audiences love it and this production met with thunderous applause at the time of curtain call. One wishes that Rossini had written more than the 30 gems he left us with.

I personally am not fond of the Bartlett Sher production or Michael Yeargan’s sets. The stage is rather bare but cluttered with doors and one second story balcony achieved by staircase. There is entirely too much distracting business in the direction and a burro led onstage for no apparent reason. I don’t see much point in Figaro being “loved up” by hordes of women, some of whom are put to work pulling his beauty salon on wheels. I would have preferred to have seen the burro do the pulling and the women do the singing. However, I must be in the minority because all the pratfalls brought forth peals of laughter from the audience and it certainly is a pleasure to see an opera audience having fun!

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Red Bed and Yellow Jacket

2011-10-05T09:24:00.002-04:00

Aside from the gorgeous singing (more on that in a moment), what stands out in this monochromatic production of “Anna Bolena” is The Queen’s Red Bed and The King’s Yellow Jacket. Set Designer Robert Jones has given the production a castle with moveable walls, much like the sliding shoji seen in Japan. The costumes of Jenny Tiramani are absolutely accurate in their period detail, down to the undergarments. (Don’t ask how I know this.) However, the consistent use of black and white against the grey walls is fatiguing to the eye which yearns for some color. Fortunately, the astute lighting of Paule Constable goes a long way toward providing some atmosphere.
The production by David McVicar could best be described as static. Granted that not much happens in the opera. King Henry VIII has tired of wife #2 who has borne only a daughter and has his eye (and both hands) all over Jane Seymour, Anne’s lady-in-waiting. His method of dealing with this situation is to invite Lord Richard Percy (Anne’s great love whom she left to marry Henry) to return from exile and to thereby entrap Anne and get her convicted of adultery and dispatched by The Lord High Executioner of Titipoo, sorry, England. He implements the plot by manipulating Smeton, Anne’s pet musician who is also in love with her.

The Met’s superstar soprano du jour Anna Netrebko also has the entire audience in love with her. Well, most of the audience. She makes a huge impression with a weighty voice and some nice squillo at the top; she is ravishingly beautiful in spite of the recent “baby fat” and she chews up the scenery with a succession of emotions--pride, indignation, despair, jealousy, rage, terror, forgiveness, you name it. But something undefinable is missing. One has only to listen to some youtube recordings of Callas or Sills (from the New York City Opera’s mid 1970s heyday) to feel the goosebumps missing from Netrebko’s performance. Detracting still further was her poor diction in Italian and a bit of sloppiness in the coloratura. It wasn’t a bad performance, it just didn’t thrill the soul.

American tenor Stephen Costello was affecting as the lovelorn Percy, a role of daunting tessitura, and his Italian was far easier to understand. Ildar Abdrazakov was a virile and intimidating Henry. In the trouser role of Smeton, Lindemann graduate Tamara Mumford was outstanding. Her acting was completely convincing and her mezzo absolutely gorgeous. Ekaterina Gubanova sang Jane Seymour with a metallic edge to her voice that made it difficult to empathize. Keith Miller and Eduardo Valdes were fine in the smaller roles of Lord Rochefort and Sir Hervey.

Marco Armiliato conducted Donizetti’s dazzling melodies. There was one exquisite moment when Smeton is playing the lute for Ann, rather doing an excellent job of miming, while harpist Deborah Hoffman (I believe) is playing the actual music.
Having seen both the HD and the live performances, I wanted to close by reiterating a point made after attending 8 HD performances last month. The HD director has a large contribution to make and nowhere in the program was credit (or debit, in this case) given. The HD was even darker than the production itself and long shots were used when closeups were called for, and vice-versa. Opportunities for “reaction shots” were missed. I can only guess that the HD direction was somehow given short shrift or insufficient rehearsal. Or perhaps because it was filmed live during an actual performance. If any reader knows more, I welcome your comments. Also, if you agree or disagree on anything, please leave your comment.

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Candidely Charming

2011-09-28T09:08:00.003-04:00

To pursue yesterday’s line of thought about the importance of chamber opera companies on the New York opera scene, much credit must be given to Coopera: POM as in “Project Opera of Manhattan” (or, as the case may be, “Pom Wonderful”). Last weekend’s production of the 1973 one-act version of Candide, credited to Harold Prince, was wildly entertaining, cast with uniformly talented young professionals and supported by a fine orchestra conducted with panache by the equally talented Jorge Parodi.

Discussions of whether Candide is an opera or musical theatre are pointless. According to Anthony Tommasini’s criteria, it is both an opera because it is musically-driven and it is musical theatre because it is dialogue driven. One might consider the music to be one of Leonard Bernstein’s finest creations while the lyics by Richard Wilbur are extraordinarily witty and clever. I suspect that much or perhaps most of the wit was provided as “additional lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and John La Touche”. The Sondheim contribution is most evident. The story is loosely based on Voltaire’s “Candide”. The master himself was played by John Martello who stepped easily into the role of Dr. Pangloss.

Evan McCormack has a meltingly beautiful tenor and played the title role to innocent benighted perfection. Soprano Rosa Betancourt certainly has the high notes and portrayed Cunegonde most winningly. Their duet about marriage was charming. Sophia Benedetti was a very frisky Paquette while velvet-voiced Jorell Williams had a great deal of fun portraying the vain self-involved Maximilian. Laura Virella (cofounder and artistic director of the company) used her rich mezzo to great advantage in the hilarious role of “The Old Lady” who gets by with one buttock. The audience went wild for her big aria “I Am Easily Assimilated”.

The final choral number integrated their voices with those of Aaron Mor, Scott Power Elliot, Dorian Balis, Gregory M. Spock, Gerad O’Shea, Tricia Ostermann, Meagan Amelia Brus, Monica Hershenson Thuris and Christine Price who all had assumed various roles in the production. There wasn’t a single disappointing voice in the cast.

Coopera has a mutually beneficial relationship with the Players Club, a lovely venue for chamber opera with a large flexible room that permits a variety of seating and staging options. In this case the stage was a slightly raised platform in front of the 13-member orchestra. There were only minimal costumes and virtually no scenery to compete with the music and acting and one quickly forgot about the lack. The New York City Opera presented the work in 2005 and 2008 and I distinctly recall the cast comprising both Broadway people and opera people. Sadly, it was amplified. Yes, the sets and costumes were lavish but I prefer the intimate production I just saw. Never mind that NYCO called itself “the people’s opera”. I would say that Coopera is REALLY opera for the people!

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Off-Broadway Opera

2011-09-27T08:35:00.002-04:00

Opera lovers wanting an alternative experience to the Metropolitan Opera will be pleased to hear about some exciting options. Chamber opera is alive and well here in Manhattan. Just as one doesn’t need to compare apples to oranges, one doesn’t need to measure the works of these small companies to that of the Met. In place of famous singers, lavish sets, huge orchestras and ground-breaking (but not always cherished) productions one is offered an intimate experience with talented young singers, conductors and musicians without the distraction of binoculars and dubious cinematic production values.

Literally one block from Broadway the Calhoun School offered an 1812 Rossini opera never produced commercially in New York, a delightful farce entitled “L’Occasione Fa Il Ladro” that would make a perfect companion piece for “Gianni Schicchi”. The Calhoun School supports this company calling themselves Gotham Bel Canto and one certainly heard some uniformly excellent bel canto singing from the cast of 6. No programs were provided but the FB page identified the tenor lead as Nicholas Simpson, the baritone as Diego Matamoros, and the very funny bass as Pablo Provencio. The soprano roles were beautifully sung by Stacey Stofferahn and Sharee Seal. Brian Joyce also did justice to his tenor role. The director was Giovanni Pucci who missed no opportunity for “funny business”.

What pulled this entire collaborative enterprise together was the astute conducting of Ms. Ü Lee who accompanied the recitativi from the keyboard and drew a fine reading from her 18 musicians. Attacks were precise where they should be and equally gentle in appropriate places. The balance among the sections was perfect. One could detect a great deal of effort that went into making the music sound so effortless and effervescent. Some of the musicians came from the Calhoun School, as did the director and Mr. Provencio. Others knew each other from Manhattan School of Music.

There was also some magic present. The audience was more than half children, many of whom could not read the titles, but the wriggle quotient was nearly zero and the young faces were rapt. The story of the opera is one of misplaced suitcases and mistaken identity. If anyone asks how to deal with the aging of the audience for opera, we now have the answer. We must introduce our children at an early age to tuneful music and a story with lots of physical humor. They will “get” it even if they don’t speak the language which is sung.

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Cav/Pag

2011-09-23T13:49:00.002-04:00

Opera Lyra Ottawa Presented Cavelleria Rusticana and Pagliacci at the National Arts Centre Southam Hall in Ottawa on Saturday, September 10 at 8 p.m. with additional performances on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, September 17

There were more empty seats than the producers probably hoped for at the opening of Opera Lyra Ottawa's twin-bill production of Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo's Pagliacci. Although an evening of “Cav and Pag” used to be one of the staples of nearly every opera company, but in recent decades its star has fallen.

Why is that?

Perhaps it's because both operas have essentially the same plot. Cav and Pag tell of sordid yet plausible events, but how much adultery and bloody revenge do we need in an evening? Opera audiences are becoming more sophisticated bit by bit.

Cavalleria is widely, perhaps unfairly, considered the weaker of the two and opera companies tend to expend more of their usually finite resources on Pagliacci. So it was with this production.

There were many good things about the Cavalliera, chiefly the singing and acting. Richard Crawley was especially fine as Turiddu as was his opposite number, Lisa Daltirus, who sang Santuzza. The other principals were nearly as good, particularly Gae(aigu)tan Laperrie(grave)re who sang an Alfio not to be messed with.

The staging was a little wooden and the deployment of the chorus alternated between over-busy to virtually static. The costumes were not bad except for the one Wallis Giunta wore as Lola. In contrast to the black and other somber colours the other women were wearing, and would have worn in real life, she was dressed in bright colours and frequently had her shoulders bare. She is a slut of course, but it's inconceivable that she would advertise it like that.

Richard Buckley's musical direction was flaccid in Cavalleria, but more pointed and muscular in Pagliacci. In the latter, Michael Cavanagh's staging was effective, including the movements of the chorus.

Richard Leech was a superb Canio/Pagliccio, never hamming things up, never holding the high notes to show of the considerable beauty and power of his voice. And he did not shout or bellow the famous last words, “La commedia e(grave) finita.” He delivered them in a sinister whisper. Yannick-Muriel Noah was convincing as his wife, Nedda.

Gae(aigu)tan Laperrie(grave)re, the only principal to sing in both operas, played the combined role of the Prologue and the black-hearted Tonio. He was sinister and repulsive as the latter, but suitably animated and persuasive as the former.

Among the lesser roles, Jonathan Estabrooks' Silvio was particularly well sung and acted.

It was a shame that Cavalleria was not as well done as it should have been. A fair comparison between the merits of the two operas was scarcely possible. It's true that Pagliacci is more cleverly crafted, but Leoncavallo's musical language is very similar to Puccini's without having quite the same stamp of genius. Mascagni's melodies are more original and are endlessly beautiful.

Richard Todd for The Opera Insider

Si si to HD

2011-09-06T16:10:00.001-04:00

Has it been only a year since I wrote about reluctantly trying opera in HD? This summer I attended all eight with a great deal of enthusiasm and mourned the cancellation of the first two due to hurricane Irene. It is evident by now that the combination of the operatic arts and the cinematic arts is of great value. Many people in the audience let me know that they had never seen an opera live and only came because it was free and there was nothing better to do in the waning days of summer. In every case they manifested a high level of enjoyment and indicated a willingness to shell out some real dough for a live performance. So, in terms of audience building, the Metropolitan Opera’s offering, supported by a generous grant from The Neubauer Family Foundation and corporate sponsorship by Bloomberg (a big thank you to both!), is an unqualified success.

The 3000 groundlings who crowded the Lincoln Center Plaza were treated to an unending cascade of delights to the eye and ear; we saw more than the trust-fund babies saw, sitting in prime orchestra seating during the season. Many details of staging that were missed during live performances, details that helped make sense of the stories, were not only visible but highlighted by the respective HD Directors.

Barbara Willis Sweete, who impressed me last year with her “Carmen”, continued to do excellent work with Gluck’s “Iphigenie en Tauride”. Now the Prologue, indicating Iphigenie’s rescue by the goddess Diane, was gloriously visible as were the memories and fantasies of the unhappy siblings. Likewise Sweete’s direction of “Fanciulla del West” allowed us to see Minnie’s hiding of the cards in her sock so she could win the poker game with the Rance. Her “Lucia” was equally impressive and permitted us to understand the ghost in the fountain. I recall the live performances in both cases when I wondered what was going on.

Gary Halvorson who had a hit and a miss with last summer’s offerings was right on the money with this summer’s productions. For example, in his “Don Carlo”, he was wise enough to give us a close-up of the photo of DC that King Philip finds in his wife’s jewel box so we would have no doubts as to why the King was so angry.
Brian Large’s “La Rondine” gave us great views of the details of Magda’s opulent quarters and costumes so we would know just how privileged and irresistible was her life as a “kept woman”. In his Boris Godunov he chose to focus on the Holy Fool in the opening and closing scenes, giving this character the significance he deserves. We see the faces of the suffering in the crowd instead of a massed chorus.
The one “miss” of the festival was Peter Sellars’ “Nixon in China”. His HD direction of his own production could not do anything to make this musically boring and dramatically inert opera worth watching or hearing. It was the only night that people fled in droves. His HD direction only compounded his felony by offering the audience a close-up of Chairman Mao forcing one of his acolytes to masturbate him. This was matched in offensiveness only by the scene of Scarpia being fellated in last year’s Tosca. The Bad Boy of Opera just cannot resist his puerile impulses. Well, thankfully, the one rotten apple did not spoil the barrel of delights on the other seven nights.

With such fine direction by Sweete, Large and Halvorson I am willing to allow the HD director to guide my gaze. Relieved of the burden of shifting from opera glasses to full stage to titles, we become free to follow the story and enjoy the music. During the overture, if nothing is happening onstage we are treated to close-ups of the musicians. In sum, HD has taken opera to an entirely new level. This is to be celebrated!

(c)meche kroop for The Opera Insider

The final installment...

2011-09-01T16:10:00.000-04:00

My musical sojourn in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains was brought to a most satisfying conclusion by the annual Apprentice Scene Program, at which the apprentices at the Santa Fe Opera get to strut their stuff. The program was begun by John Crosby to give young singers and technicians opportunities for advanced training and professional experience. The vocal apprentices appear in small roles and in the chorus of the five summer operas. But on this night they get to star. Tickets are inexpensive and the house is always packed, everyone looking for the next star.

All the apprentices performed well in their chosen scenes from Janacek’s “The Cunning Little Vixen”, Hoiby’s “Summer and Smoke”, Corigliano’s “The Ghost of Versailles” and Handel’s “Semele”. But it was not until the second half of the program that I heard some young singers who not only entertained the ear but also the eye with convincing performances. Will Liverman, a recipient of a grant from New York’s own Opera Index put in a totally committed and believable performance as Porgy in Gershwin’s opera “Porgy and Bess”. (Yes, Virginia, it is music-driven and it is an opera, in spite of whatever cockamamie interpretation is coming to NY this season). Stephanie Washington sang Bess with real feeling, although she hadn’t swept me off my feet in Part I. Michael Dailey made a splendidly seductive Sportin’ Life.

Alissa Anderson was notable as Carmen, with the roles of Frasquita and Mercedes being sung respectively by Rebecca Nathanson and Emma Char. Maria Lindsey made a winsome Semele with Randall Bills impressive as Jupiter trying to distract her from her plans for immortality.

The Apprentice Program is a great addition to the SFO scene and well worth your while if you enjoy discovering new talent.

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Hit or Miss, Part Tre

2011-08-25T09:56:00.001-04:00

One would have to call the revival of Paul Curran’s production of La Bohème part hit and part miss. I recall enjoying the 2007 incarnation a lot more, possibly due to better casting or possibly to the freshness of the concept. In the past four years, I have seen several productions of this opera updated to the early 20th Century, and I can only ask myself WHY? Henri Murger wrote his autobiographical Scènes de la vie de Bohème in 1848 about his impoverished youth, and meant the story to occur in 1830. An updating by the New York City Opera used a WWI setting to illustrate a conception of the story as one of lost innocence; they had something new to say and said it rather well. In the case of the SFO production, updating the story adds nothing in terms of relevance. In this production, Musetta is dressed in Poiret (costume design by Kevin Knight) while Mimi is wearing drab attire from a prior period, thus illustrating Musetta’s success in social climbing and acquiring financial goodies from wealthy admirers.

The hit is, of course, Puccini’s music, conducted by Leonardo Vordoni with lots of “garlic”. The vocal interpretations were adequate but there were no goosebumps. The direction missed several opportunities to translate Puccini’s precious moments into stage business. Rodolfo (sung by David Lomeli) wipes Mimi’s face with a rag where Puccini’s music clearly indicates water splashing on her face. Puccini’s music tells us when the fire in the old stove blazes up momentarily and then dies; the stage direction and lighting (Rick Fisher) ignored this. In Act III the characters sing about the snow and the cold but no snowflakes were to be seen.

Mimi was sung by Ana Maria Martinez, Musetta by Heidi Stober, Marcello by Corey McKern. Even Colline’s fourth act elegy to his overcoat, sung by Christian Van Horn, failed to touch my heart. Markus Beam replaced Keith Phares as Schaunard. It should have been funnier when he tells his hilarious story about giving poisoned parsley (parsenic?) to his employer’s parrot while his starving roommates focused only on the food he has brought. I attribute the lack of excitement in this evening to a lack of good direction. Sorry to say this but our favorite “oldies but goodies “ require the same attention to detail as the glamorous new productions. Try harder Santa Fe!

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Hit or Miss, Part deux

2011-08-23T16:54:00.000-04:00

So Faust was a hit. What about the miss? I regret to report that Vivaldi’s “Griselda” was a disaster. Never fond of Peter Sellars’ bad boy approach to opera, I still had no trouble believing what I overheard--that he accepted this commission from SFO with a great deal of reluctance, having called it “the worst opera ever written”, and only because he wanted to spend the summer in Santa Fe. There is nothing wrong with Vivaldi’s music as conducted by Grant Gershon whose balletic hands were far more interesting than anything happening on stage. Sadly, the arias are very long and very repetitive and were only brought to life through the stellar singing of mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard, soprano Amanda Majeski’s brilliant coloratura (in a pants role !), the superb counter-tenors David Daniels and Yuri Minenki (who did amazing things by way of fioratura) and some nice legato phrases by Paul Groves who sounded a bit frayed on top as he assayed a thankless role. Meredith Arwady has a huge contralto that thrills and an equally huge body that made the ardent love protestations of her suitor a laughing matter. As a matter of fact, so much that transpired onstage produced titters and giggles which seemed to provide the long-suffering audience some relief from tedium.

The source for Carlo Goldoni’s libretto was the final tale of Boccaccio’s “Decameron”; it may have excited the pilgrims escaping from plague-ridden Venice but it does nothing for a 21st c. audience, dealing as it does with the wife of Gualtiero, King of Tessaglia, who subjects his loyal wife to about 16 years of abuse and rejection before taking her back; I kept thinking of Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale”. Why was this dead opera resurrected? Why was so much talent wasted? Just because it had not had a major production in the US? Just to allow the so-called artist Gronk the right to install his eye-assaulting gronky painted backdrops? The costume designer Dunya Ramicova saw fit to dress the beautiful Ms. Leonard like a third-world prom queen and the Queen’s unwelcome suitor as a hip-hopster in a pork-pie hat. Isabel’s suitor and his brother made appearances in suits of blueberry and kiwi hue.

The direction was, in every instance, embarrassing. Ms. Leonard was made to grovel on the floor with no motivation; indeed, none of the stage business was motivated by the dialogue or situation or even the music. Automatic weapons, pistols and microphones were ubiquitous. One could almost believe that Mr. Sellars wanted to express his disdain for this “worst of all operas” by trashing it. Enough of Regietheater already! It’s time to respect music and story.

I hope that Mr. Mackay has chosen better for the 2012 season. There are so many deserving and underproduced operas from the past 300 years that could be given thoughtful productions and thereby win friends instead of enemies for the world of opera. At the final moment of the opera, poor Meredith Arwady, dressed like a janitor and pushing a broom, having learned that her husband is taking her back, stands there with a puzzled expression on her face. I saw the same expression on the faces of the departing audience.
© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Hit or Miss

2011-08-23T15:15:00.001-04:00

The most desirable opera-going venue in the U.S. --thanks to the fragrant mountain air and cool breezes--sometimes gets things right and sometimes wrong. What could be better than an imaginative production of Faust by Stephen Lawless, conducted by Frederic Chaslin with true Gallic spirit and thrillingly sung by a young attractive cast? This French retelling of the German myth, based on a play “Faust et Marguerite” by Michel Carre which was in turn based on Goethe’s “Faust”, deals with issues to which we, as a modern audience, can still relate: the issues of desire versus morality, the corruption of innocence, cynicism toward religion, the despair of an unfulfilling llife and obsession with the road not taken. For this libretto by Carre and Jules Barbier, Faust composed melodies of incomparable beauty. Indeed, I found myself humming them even after attending several more operas!

A completely committed performance of the role of Marguerite was given by young soprano Ailyn Perez, a 2006 George London Award winner who will be giving a recital at the Morgan Library on October 16th (afficionados take note); her bright clear soprano fulfilled every vocal demand of the role and her acting was so convincing that she seemed not to be acting at all. Dimitri Pittas did justice to the role of Faust and was especially convincing as the elderly doctor railing against god in Act I. Mark S. Doss made a most charming and rascally Mephistopheles. Valentin was sung by Christopher Magiera and Siebel by Jennifer Holloway. Jamie Barton sang at her customary skillful level but was poorly directed as Marthe. There was just something wrong about her stealing Marguerite’s jewels and her scenes with Mephistopheles were made tasteless by his very visible show of disgust at romancing her.

There were other directorial excesses. Updating the story to the late 19th c. was not a problem and afforded ample opportunities for creative expression. The Kermesse scene was a carnival with townspeople (dressed very much like Lucia de Lammermoor at the Met) enjoying circus performers , a side show, and an onstage ferris wheel. The Walpurgisnacht ballet was performed by a sextet of opera heroines (Salome, Helen of Troy, Manon, Carmen, Cleopatra, and Delilah) emerging from tableaux vivant to dance Gounod’s gorgeous melodies. However, Mephistopheles restoring Faust’s youth with a giant hypodermic needle and a face transplant seemed over the top, as did Faust giving Marguerite an entire bijouterie in place of a cask of jewels, especially when the clumsy bijouterie kept getting stuck while being wheeled onstage. Mephistopheles’ appearance causes townspeople to go into spasms on the ground. It is only the strength of Gounod’s melodies that prevent these unnecessary flourishes from overwhelming the music.

So the creativity props given to Stephen Lawless’ direction, and Benoit Dugardyn’s sets are somewhat undermined by their not knowing when to stop. Costume design by Sue Wilmington was apt and colorful. On the whole, this was a splendid night at the opera and can be considered a true hit. Viva Gounod!
© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

The Art of Dell'Arte

2011-08-22T12:19:00.001-04:00

It is a difficult task for young opera singers to make the transition to the professional stage and I heartily applaud Dell’Arte Opera Ensemble for giving them intensive coaching in stagecraft, body movement, languages, diction and mime and then giving them the opportunity to perform in fully staged productions. Scenery and costumes are kept to a minimum to focus attention on the performers themselves. For the past two weekends, New Yorkers were privileged to hear and see two excellent productions in an intimate setting, with four performances of each. This means that four different casts were trained, collectively and individually.

I have seen the dazzling production of Ariadne auf Naxos at the Met and I have seen the modest one presented at the East Thirteenth Street Theatre; the latter, surprisingly, was more delightful. The accomplished conducting by Christopher Fecteau of his own orchestration brought out every nuance in the Strauss score. There were interesting melodies and unusual harmonies that had gone unnoticed until then, so distracted was I at the Met by directorial and costuming excess. Maestro Fecteau’s orchestration included violin, viola, cello, bass, keyboard, French horn, trumpet, clarinet, oboe, bassoon and flute. And what a full, rich sound they made, without a trace of muddiness.
The singers all did justice to their roles and acted them convincingly; the strong directorial hand of Benjamin Spierman was evident. The libretto by Hugo von Hoffmansthal equally skewers inflated artistic egos and benighted bourgeois taste, as evidenced by the bizarre demand of the (probably parvenu) host who wants to combine the high art of opera with the low art of musical comedy in order to get the fireworks started on time. Everyone thinks only of his/herself. The stars of the opera serie have tantrums that are recognizable and therefore hilarious.The shenanigans of the musical comedy troupe are endearing to everyone but the stars of the opera serie who are wildly insulted. The young composer is crushed by the trashing of his work, but mollified by the attentions of the too-seductive-by-half soubrette of the comedy troupe.

Lovely harmonies were sung by Naiad, Dryade and Echo. The Major Domo, a speaking role performed by Eric Kramer drew major laughs with his over-the-top German rigidity. I will decline to single out any of the singers since I only saw one cast. Suffice it to say that there was a true ensemble feel which can only be created by a long period of rehearsal and much labor.

Dell’Arte also presented Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte on alternate nights. Maestro Fecteau again did the orchestration, this time without violin and viola but with paired horns and clarinets; this suited the work perfectly. For this work, the conductor was Samuel McCoy and the stage director was Susan Gonzalez who kept the action moving along with some clever English dialogue which she herself wrote. It managed to walk a fine line--never archaic and never egregiously hip. Again, fine harmonizing was heard by the Three Ladies who fought over the unconscious Prince Tamino and by the Three Boys (sung by women) who show up to prevent Pamina from stabbing herself and to prevent Papageno from hanging himself. Emanuel Schikaneder certainly emphasized the numeral three! The work was composed as a Singspiel and clearly relates to Mozart’s and Schikaneder’s interest in Masonic rituals.

At times, the story tends to drag and can be insulting to women. Several lines state that a woman without a man should not be a ruler, that a woman needs to rely on a man, that women’s speech will lead a man astray, and so forth. We are free to tune out that dated nonsense and to glory in Mozart’s magical music.

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Amuse-oreille...

2011-08-17T13:25:00.000-04:00

All great meals begin with an amuse-bouche; and, so I decided, a week of opera in Santa Fe should begin with an amuse-oreille, perhaps an afternoon vocal recital. I miscalculated. The planned amuse-oreille was a recital by the brilliant bass-baritone Eric Owens presented by the Santa Fe Concert Association which has been delighting natives and visitors to Santa Fe with glorious concerts for 75 years. This was their first summer series of vocal recitals and it was a huge hit. The recital was an entire meal for this musical gourmet and wound up being the highlight of my ten-day musical sojourn in The City Different.

Mr. Owens is a highly skilled performer, known to New Yorkers for his stunning performance of the role of Alberich in the new Ring Cycle at the Metropolitan Opera. But here one had the opportunity to enjoy his deliciously deep and rapturously resonant voice in an intimate house, the Scottish Rite Center. Maestro Joseph Illick, Executive and Artistic Director of the SFCA as well as conductor of the SFCA Orchestra and Chorus, made the perfect piano partner.

The pair began with Mozart’s “Mentre ti lascio” which showed off Mr. Owen’s vocal agility and moved right along to some of Schubert’s more serious songs--”Prometheus”, “Fahrt zum Hades” and “Gruppe aus dem Tartarus” which showed off his vocal power. Next he performed two songs by Henri Duparc--the well-known “L’invitation au voyage” and the lesser-known but no less lovely “Elegy” and “La vague et la cloche”; these songs enabled Mr. Owens to show a lighter and more charming aspect of his voice.
In all of these well-chosen songs, Mr. Owens “acted with his voice”; he is a very centered and unfussy performer. During the final set however, Ravel’s delightful songs “Don Quichotte a Dulcinee” were performed with ample and appropriate gestures that delighted the audience. Just another side of this versatile performer! Two stunning encores followed that revealed still more. King Phillip’s poignant aria from “Don Carlo”--”Ella giammai m’ami”-- when sung with such pathos can make us feel sympathy for the hateful King. The second encore opened an entirely new door. Generally sung by counter-tenors, Purcell’s “Music for Awhile” brought out Mr. Owens’ soft and delicate side and brought the audience to their collective feet.
What an outstanding afternoon! I only felt sad that I had missed the prior two recitals presented by the Santa Fe Concert Association--one by mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard (a personal favorite) and another by bass-baritone Daniel Okulitch. It is with great anticipation that I look forward to next summer’s offerings. And if I had remained longer in Santa Fe, I would have been lining up for tickets to the August 28th Gala Opening Concert. If you live in the Southwest, don’t pass it up!

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Prelude to Performance

2011-08-05T11:12:00.001-04:00

There are many reasons one has for going to the opera. Sometimes it’s to hear that famous tenor hit all the high C’s, or maybe an opportunity to catch someone’s debut in a role. Sometimes it’s to “give a chance” to a new opera. But best of all circumstances is when one goes to the opera knowing one is going to be royally entertained.

After dozens of Don Giovanni’s, what is left to be said? What could one possibly add to all the stellar performances one has seen? Just ask much-honored Maestra Martina Arroyo and her dedicated and gifted faculty whose total commitment to performance skills enabled such a winning production to take place at the Kaye Playhouse of Hunter College. Nothing could compare to the joy of experiencing this opera with an ensemble of perfectly coached young singers who threw themselves into their roles with complete abandon.

No elaborate sets were necessary--a few pillars, a bench. However, appropriately period costumes by Charles Caine contributed much to the telling of the tale. And tell the tale they did! The ensemble work was most impressive to the extent that I would not venture to “name names” lest I shortchange the members of the casts that I did NOT hear. But I will make special mention of Laura Alley who directed her young Mozarteans with both style and substance. No action was unmotivated and stage business always supported the music. Don Giovanni is a long opera but not once did the action flag nor did the attention of the audience sag. Robert Lyall conducted with skill and gusto.

Could such a success be repeated with another opera? Need you ask? Although La Rondine would seems to be a piece of fluff next to Don G. the opera rose to the same heights on the shoulders of the talented singers who were utterly convincing in their dramatic interpretations. This one also had two casts and I have every reason to believe that the cast I did not see was just as accomplished as the one I did see. Again, the charming costumes were designed by Charles Caine but this time, Nicholas Fox conducted in true Puccinian style and Joseph Bascetta directed. In both cases the impeccable makeup and wigs were by Steve Horak.

I understand that these 40 gifted young singers, all in the early stages of their careers, were selected by audition from a pool of four hundred by the very same faculty who would coach them in every aspect of performance other than vocal production. Master classes were given (and open to the public) by Stephanie Blythe, Cori Ellison, Ken Benson and Ben Vereen. The valuable evidence of the superiority of this coaching was the performances themselves. Most impressive is the fact that the selected students pay no tuition for this valuable training. This year marked the seventh consecutive year of operatic delights presented by the Martina Arroyo Foundations’s “Prelude to Performance”. We wish them seven times seven more.

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

FOXY!

2011-06-26T08:44:00.001-04:00

So impressed was I by Doug Fitch’s direction of Janacek’s The Cunning Little Vixen that I was inspired to search my notes on his 2005 Turandot at Santa Fe Opera. Here’s what I wrote. “This is the best Turandot I have ever seen. During the intimate scene in Act I between Liu, Calaf and Timur, there are minimal distractions.” So, much of the credit for The New York Philharmonic’s presentation of “The Cunning Little Vixen” must go to director Mr. Fitch who filled the stage with captivating woodland creatures cavorting on a simple but effective set and costumed with consummate cleverness and dazzling originality.

Among these creatures, the Vixen herself was convincingly portrayed by the captivating soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian whose vocal and physical ease made the drama believable. Mezzo Marie Lenormand was equally gifted in the role of her mate. Baritone Alan Opie was excellent as the Forester. The roles of the Schoolmaster and the Parson were finely performed by tenor Keith Jameson and bass Wilbur Pauley who also doubled as a Mosquito (!) and a Badger. Australian baritone Joshua Bloom portrayed the poultry dealer Harasta and was the only singer whose diction was so perfect that one didn’t need to read the English titles. Mezzo Kelly O’Connor was a totally adorable dog.
Although every small role was performed at the same high level, it was particularly rewarding to notice some personal favorites recognized from Juilliard who have been making names for themselves around town and winning competitions--sopranos Devon Guthrie and Emalie Savoy and mezzo Lacey Benter.

Alan Gilbert led the NY Philharmonic in a beautiful reading of a delightfully tuneful score. Special notice was taken of some interesting melodies in the wind section. Karole Armitage did some outstanding work as choreographer and there was a charming solo danced by Emily Wagner as the desirable young woman of the village. Cookie Jordan was responsible for the elaborate make-up which perfectly complemented Mr. Fitch’s costume designs.

My personal preference would have been to hear the opera sung in the original language, the better to appreciate the rhythm of the language dancing with the rhythm of the music. I suspect that there are not many singers available who can learn the role in Czech but I hope no one is claiming that it is easier to relate to operas sung in the language of the audience. Save for the one singer noted above, the titles were essential to understand the words which tended to get swallowed up in the cavernous Avery Fisher Hall. That being said, it was with profound joy and gratitude to the NY Philharmonic that we were able to experience a rarely seen opera during the operatic off-season. Let’s have more!

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Of Queens and Fairies

2011-06-18T11:29:00.001-04:00

Upon first hearing of Big Apple Baroque’s production of Purcell’s 1692 “The Fairy Queen”, I was not overwhelmed with enthusiasm. Little did I know! I went to witness the performance of our own dear Kala Maxym, expecting to be a bit bored with much of the rest of the evening. On the contrary, I found the entire work to be engaging and vastly entertaining with charm and laughs to spare.

The Fairy Queen is not exactly an opera but a masque; a great deal of research has gone into recreating the authenticity of the period and the work is a glorious gathering of baroque music, arias for the singers, pageant, dances and spoken dialogue, the latter credited to Shakespeare himself. It helped to be familiar with “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” since the story gets a bit fragmented here and there, and interrupted by political in jokes. Had I not been otherwise engaged, I would have loved to attend the interdisciplinary conference of historians, musicologists and performers from the US and the UK. Still, I was able to find quite a bit of background on Wikipedia, too much to print here but readily available to any readers with curiosity.

It came as a surprise to me that the roles of Titania and Oberon were NOT sung but rather spoken, and to my Shakespeare-lovin’ ears, not that well spoken but glaringly amplified. This did not matter all that much since what went on with the orchestra and the singers would please any Purcell-lovin’ ears. In addition to more modern instruments, the violone, theorbo and recorder could be heard. Ms. Maxym lent her sweet soprano to the role of nymph, a charming aria involving a racy scene taking place in the hay. She reappeared after intermission singing the gorgeous duet with alto Alison Cheeseman, a duet in praise of marriage.

There was much humor to be enjoyed, particularly in the scene with “the Mechanicals” and later in the “echo scene” where voices performing the echos were scattered around Kaye Playhouse (Hunter College). It is difficult to know how a late 17th c. audience might have responded to the idea of the “Indian Boy” being Titania’s “boy toy”. Perhaps it was performed that way over 300 years ago or perhaps it was in the same category as the modernized dances performed by the Dusan Tynek Dance Theater which worked just fine in spite of their anachronistic nature.

Credit must be given to the authentic costumes designed by Carisa Kelly and props by Juliana Ross. The entire production left the audience with smiles of delight.

(c) Meche Kroop for The Opera Insider

Hoffman Redux

2011-06-16T11:29:00.001-04:00

What good fortune it was to have not just one additional opportunity to see Les contes d’Hoffman this year not just once but twic. Having previously written contrasting the Alden production in Santa Fe with the Scher production at the Met, my understanding of this opera has been further enriched by Linda Lehr’s production at the Regina Opera Company. A few hours on the N train were richly rewarded by a modest but effective production that drew me back for a second viewing/hearing. The talented Ms. Lehr not only directed but also designed the unit set on the compact stage of Regina Hall in Brooklyn. Texts of Hoffman’s stories printed in Old German papered the walls, lending an air of verisimilitude. A wine barrel and a few pieces of furniture were brought on and offstage as needed, a mirror for the Giulietta act, a transparent portrait for the Antonia act and the suggestion of a gondola in the Venice act completed the minimal set. Ms. Lehr made sure that every action was motivated with no extraneous stage business. These became Tales we could believe; we relished in the storytelling.

Under the enthusiastic baton of Scott Jackson Wiley, the small orchestra delighted the ear with Offenbach’s delicious melodies. Since the opera has been put together in various ways over the century, no one minds if the Venice act comes before the Antonia act. Special note was made of a celestial cello section with standout contributions from the winds. The singing was well done all around. Starting with the women, Maryann Mootos dazzled as Antonia and brought the audience to their collective feet with her luminous lyric soprano. The doll Olympia was winningly sung by an adorable Andrea Bargabos who got all the coloratura absolutely right. Christina Rohm did full justice to the courtesan Giulietta. Mezzo Margaret O’Connell was completely effective in the role of Hoffman’s muse.

As for the men, Bryce Smith turned in a riveting performance as the villains of the piece. He used his big beautiful bass to great effect, always menacing but subtly changing the colors of his voice to suit the characters of Lindorf, Coppelius, Dapertutto and Dr. Miracle. The menacing characterizations were further abetted by the skillful makeup by Andrea Calabrese and Wayne Olsen (who also did the set graphics) and costuming by Julia Cornely and Francine Garber-Cohen who were particularly clever dressing the Spirits of Wine and Beer.

Hoffman himself was well sung by tenor Ubaldo Feliciano-Hernandez who, like Filianoti at the Met, appeared a bit too dapper for the role of a dissipated alcoholic. As the younger Hoffman having his destructive love affairs such a look works fine, but during the prologue and epilogue I wanted to see him disheveled and dissipated. For want of space, all the outstanding singers in smaller roles will not be singled out except for one. The tenor Alex Guerrero singing Nathanael delighted with a sweet tenor and I hope to hear more of him.

Les contes d’Hoffman is a tale of seduction; the Muse is seducing Hoffman, Hoffman is seducing women, Spalanzani and Coppelius are seducing Hoffman, Dapertutto is seducing Giulietta to seduce Hoffman, Dr. Miracle is seducing Antonia and finally the melodies are seducing our ears.

Let us raise our wine glasses to Offenbach, The Great Seducer.

© meche kroop

On vocal recitals

2011-06-05T14:53:00.000-04:00

Are there any readers who attend vocal recitals and care very much whether they are hearing arias or lieder? In the case of a program of arias, you are generally hearing a piano reduction of the score and you have to fill in the orchestra with your mind’s ear and the scenery in your mind’s eye, as well as remembering at what point in the story the aria is delivered. If you are an opera lover, this should be easy. Your focus lands squarely on the vocal skill of the artist and his/her own dramatic abilities. Should the singer “tone down” the drama or “let it all hang out”? I personally love the emphasis on the drama but recently shared an experience with some family members who are not very familiar with opera; one of them found a performance “excessive”. The glamorous and talented soprano Emily Duncan-Brown (reported to be “indisposed” but not to my ear) delivered a thrilling account of “Je veux vivre” from Gounod’s “Romeo et Juliette”. She actually got inside the song and wore it with as much style as the red gown she rocked. It was the entire romance encapsulated and truly filled the heart.

Further contributions were made by soprano Jessica Rose Cambio, mezzo Filomena Francesca Tritto, the on-the-brink-of-fame tenor Taylor Stayton, and baritone Shannon De Vine. Everyone sang beautifully but Ms. Duncan-Brown put her heart and soul into the performance. Piano partners were Douglas Martin and Maestra Eve Queler who generously provided this recital for her many fans from The Opera Orchestra of New York, which she founded and served for more years than her youthful appearance would indicate.

Now, what about the lieder recital? Here we have works written (usually) for voice and piano; it becomes even more incumbent upon the artist to tell a story. The text had better be good! Brahms, Schubert, Schumann, Mahler and Strauss generally chose beautiful poetry to inspire their equally beautiful music, whereas many 20th and 21st c. composers choose flaccid or prosaic texts. Leave it to dear Thomas Bagwell who, under the auspices of The Lotte Lehmann Foundation, makes the effort to find gifted young singers and match them with worthwhile but lesser known songs. This inaugural season brought us three concerts of impressive variety and depth and introduced some young singers who are fulfilling their promise. The last recital of the season brought us the impressive mezzo Heather Johnson who put her Scandinavian background to good use in a program of rarely heard songs, the most outstanding of which were the light-hearted “En Possitivvisa” by Wilhelm Stenhammar, “Fylgia” by Ture Ranstrom, Grieg’s better known “En Svane” and Sibelius’ “Var det en drom”. Pure magic!
Barihunk (forgive me!) Christopher Dylan Herbert gave us a lovely set by Korngold and made vocal gold out of Roussel’s “Le Jardin Mouille”, Auric’s “Le Gloxinia”, and Faure’s setting of a Victor Hugo poem “Puisqu’ici-bas toute ame”. Maestro Bagwell himself was the piano partner and played with his customary sensitivity and delicacy, always supporting the singer; indeed they seemed to breathe together. So...which will it be, lieder or arias? Thankfully in New York we can enjoy both. I will close by expressing my deepest gratitude for the foundations that provide this embarrassment of riches.

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Double Delight

2011-05-31T08:02:00.001-04:00

Much as we love Cav ‘n Pag (and we DO!) it is exciting to be introduced to two short operas that have been rather overlooked. For this blessing, we thank Duane Printz, Founding Executive and Artistic Director of Teatro Grattacielo. She has ceretainly found a niche in New York and fills it admirably. Her motto seems to be “No worthy realismo work will go undiscovered and unheard.” This year’s production was given at the Rose Theater and was well attended by an audience of enthusiasts. David Wroe conducted the Westfield Symphony Orchestra with a great deal of style. And this marvelous music deserved all the fine attention he gave it.

First on the program was Primo Riccitelli’s comedy “I Compagnacci”,which won first prize at a national opera competition in 1922 and premiered in Rome to great critical and audience acclaim the following year. Having studied with Mascagni, Riccitelli made good use of what he learned; his score is delightfully melodic and the orchestrations are fresh and tickle the ear. In America critics were not so kind and reviews of that epoch demonstrate a lack of appreciation for the way in which each generation of composers builds upon the works of prior generations. (This same flaw of music critics is heard today when they scorn tuneful works as “derivative”.)

The piece is one of a very few comedies of the realismo period and takes place in 15th c. Florence. In Giovacchino Forzano’s libretto a young woman is about to be married off by her inflexible uncle to a man she doesn’t love; she is rescued by the man she does love on the basis of a wager concerning the friars who are planning to walk on hot coals to prove Savonarola innocent. One need not be versed in Italian political history to enjoy the jokes at the friar’s expense; there are giggles to be had even by the ignorant and if you don’t understand Italian and are not up to following the libretto, the well-crafted music will tell you when to laugh! If one has seen “Gianni Schicchi” at the Met, one could very well visualize the setting in one’s mind’s eye and forget that one is listening to a concert version. All of the voices were fine and suited to the parts, with Jessica Klein portraying the young woman, Gerard Powers singing her beloved, and Peter Castaldi as the recalcitrant uncle.

Second on the bill was Giordano’s final opera “Il Re”, premiered in 1929 at La Scala and never before seen in the United States. This was a time when modernist composers were trying to change the musical language of opera and Giordano’s opera was considered old fashioned. But never mind what the critics had to say, the audience loved it. (Does this sound familiar?) To judge by the applause, 21st c. New York audiences loved it also. The music is filled with wit and humor; themes are bounced around from one section of the orchestra to another. The same librettist as that of “Il Compagnacci” seems to have had a love of humor. The story concerns a young woman who rejects her fiance after seeing the king, resplendent in his royal robes. She hears a chickadee singing (oh, that flute!) about her future as the king’s bride and she cannot be convinced otherwise. Her parents and her fiance ask the king for help and he agrees on one condition; they must send her to his royal rooms that very night. When the king removes his royal robes and wig she is horrified to see him as he really is and runs fleeing to the arms of her fiance. Problem solved.

Vocal honors for the evening went to Joanna Mongiardo whose dazzling soprano brought the audience to it’s collective feet. John Maynard sang Il Re, James Price the fiance, and the parents were portrayed by Lawrence Long and Eugenie Grunewald.
One can only hope that one of our small opera companies will decide to produce this charming double bill with sets and costumes. There is a built-in audience for sure.

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Ariadne auf Naxos

2011-05-22T12:42:00.001-04:00

The Elijah Moshinsky production of Ariadne auf Naxos is delightful fun. The libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal does a great job of handling the dialectic of high art versus popular art, far better than Capriccio handled the dialectic of music versus lyrics. In the prologue we meet the characters--all stereotypic. There is the prima donna, powerfully sung by Violetta Urmana, the commedia dell’arte soubrette portrayed by coloraturist par excellence Kathleen Kim, petulant primo tenore Robert Dean Smith, and the frustrated underappreciated composer sung by the always excellent Joyce DiDonato. A benighted “Patron of the Arts” in 18th c. Vienna is entertaining his guests with a performance of a new tragic opera AND a comedy performance by the commedia dell’arte troupe. In order to get through in time for the fireworks he has ordered the two pieces to be performed simultaneously. The composer and the opera stars are outraged but the comedy troupe is sure they can improvise a solution. In this Prologue, the Music Master (Thomas Allen) tries to get the composer to compromise. He fails, but the flirtatious Zerbinetta, leader of the comic troupe, is so seductive that the composer relents.

The second act is the opera itself. The comedy troupe invades Naxos and tries to cheer up the forlorn abandoned Ariadne. Miss Kim has a marvelously stratospheric aria following Miss Urmana’s moving lamentation. There is also a deliciously harmonic trio by three nymphs Naiad, Dryad and Echo (Audrey Luna, Tamara Mumford and Lei Xu) who try to console Ariadne.

The sets and costumes by Michael Yeargan are appropriate to the time and place and gorgeously rendered. The first act scenery actually looks like a palace in 18th c. Vienna while the second act scenery is more abstract and merely suggests a lonely place with a cave. The ship of Ariadne’s rescuer Bacchus is suggested upstage.

Fabio Luisi conducted the small-by-Straussian-standards orchestra. The audience was as generous with their applause as the singers were with their performances. It was just that kind of night when everyone goes home smiling.

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Orful

2011-05-18T08:54:00.000-04:00

Gluck’s music for Orfeo ed Euridice, often heart breaking but never showy, barely falls into the category of opera. It could almost be considered a cantata and might best be done in concert version. There isn’t much of a story. Newly wed Euridice has already died when the work begins; her distraught husband goes to the underworld to try and retrieve her, assisted by Amore. All he has to remember is not to look back at her. (Right. Don’t think about a pink elephant.) So boy loses girl but--deus ex machina--he gets a second chance and everyone goes home happy. So...how does one make this dramatically interesting?

Choreographer Mark Morris made the choice to decorate the stage with a number of highly distracting elements. There is set designer Allen Moyer’s three-tiered balconies filled with the members of the Metropolitan Opera Chorus, each one garbed as one historical personage or other. Out come the binoculars. “Oh look, there’s Babe Ruth! Who’s that Native American down below? Yeah, a little to the right. Is that Goering? Wait, is that Queen Elizabeth? And who’s the one in the huge hat?” Gratuitously entertaining but not serving the opera.

Likewise, Morris’ dances add nothing. Clothed in boring contemporary street attire (costumes by the usually creative Isaac Mizrahi) they walk, they reach, they bend, they turn, looking very much like a class in your local gym. In the underground they are clad in grey; in the Elysian Fields they are all in white; at the end they are dressed in bright colors and the dancing is mildly more interesting but there is a total absence of poetry in the movement.

Fortunately, the regal Kate Royal is arrestingly gowned in white (Take THAT Kate Middleton!) and wins our attention away from the galleries above with her plangent soprano. The other soprano, Lisette Oropesa, is completely charming as Amore, descending from the heavens strangely attired in a pink polo shirt. Counter-tenor David Daniels gave a lovely performance of the hit aria “Che faro senza Euridice?” but was not always audible above the orchestra, conducted by Antony Walker.

Just another case of not trusting the material and tricking it out with irrelevant production values. Ho Hum.

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Soneto de amor y muerte

2011-05-15T09:02:00.000-04:00

Opera Hispánica, in cooperation with El Museo del Barrio, presented New York City with a generous Cinco de Mayo gift--an evening of Spanish music and dance created by Music Director Juan Pablo Horcasitas and Artistic Director Camille Ortiz-Lafont. The seed for the evening was a poem by Pablo Neruda entitled “Si Alguna Vez tu Pecho Se Detiene”. From this seed, they devised the story of a love affair between a young woman and her sweetheart who meet and marry. He is drafted and dies at war, but his spirit returns to console her and inspire her to go on.

Upon this framework songs from various sources (classical and popular) were interpolated to convey the wide range of emotions in this story. Perhaps best known were Pablo Sorozabal’s “No Puede Ser” and Xavier Montsalvatge’s “Cinco Canciones Negras”. Also heard were Enrique Granados’ “La Maja Dolorosa #1 and #2,” as well as his “La Maja y el Ruiseñor”.

A special treat was a tango performed by Sara and Ivan Terrazas who managed to be sexy without being slimy. Their fleet footwork reminded one of the wings of hummingbirds. The bandoneon, as played by Juan Pablo Jofre, was made to speak and to sing with great eloquence. It was a truly exquisite performance. Francisco Roldan performed with great sensitivity on the classical guitar. Ms. Ortiz-Lafont herself provided some delightful singing as did soprano Anna Noggle, tenor Aniello Alberti, and baritone Vaughn Lindquist.

New York has been too long deprived of the glories of Spanish music and San Antonio native Daniel Frost Hernandez aimed to rectify that situation by founding Opera Hispanica. Let us anticipate many more such evenings of celebration! Viva Opera Hispanica!

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Music 10, Concept 2

2011-05-03T16:30:00.000-04:00

Wagner’s glorious music for “Die Walkyrie” was passionately conducted by our own dear James Levine and just as gloriously sung by one of the best casts heard over the past few years. Soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek as Sieglind and tenor Jonas Kaufmann as Siegmund made a winning pair and watching their love develop, supported by the tenderest theme in all of Wagner’s work, is a highlight of the evening. Another highlight was the eight valiant Walkyries; the Met managed to find and cast women as well-endowed vocally as they were physically. Vocal honors must be heaped upon mezzo Stephanie Blythe, whose Fricka let us know who’s boss on that stage. Soprano Deborah Voigt portrayed Brunnhilde as heroic but vulnerable. Bass-baritone Bryn Terfel sang better without his hair hanging in his face as it was in “Das Rheinhold”. He still seems to be finding his way as Wotan; his tenderness towards Brunnhilde at the end was quite touching but he has not yet mastered the commanding aspect of gottheit, which came so naturally to James Morris. Bass Hans-Peter Konig made a fearsome Hunding, his presence perfectly matching the sound of his theme in the brass section.

On the other hand, the concept of Robert Lepage and the set designed by Carl Fillion remain as irritating as they were in “Das Rheingold”. Every culture has its myths and their concomitant visual representations. The Dark Ages of Europe, during which this epic seems to be set-- as evidenced by its tribal nature and its oppression of women--calls forth images from the fairytales of our childhood and not this high-tech monstrosity, many of whose images called forth titters. The Walkyries arrived sitting on seesaws? boogie boards? sliding boards? Yes, the concept is original, but it doesn’t at all suit the mood, the time, or the place. Siegfried arrives in Hunding’s hut and curls up on top of a rather well-carpentered table with matching camp stools which tucked neatly underneath like something you would get at the Door Store for a starter apartment. Fricka rolls in on a throne flanked by a pair of rams. It might have been an interesting idea to have Siegfried surrounded by Hunding’s vengeful clansmen during the fight, but his sword never shatters! We don’t see the shattered sword until Brunnhilde brings Sieglinde to her sister Walkyries. When Wotan is bidding Brunnhilde farewell there is a huge iceberg? behind them with projected avalanches of snow. The opera ends with her hanging upside down like the Hanging Man card in a tarot deck.

Aside from these peculiarities, the singers moved around the set effectively and interacted appropriately to each other and to the remarkable music, which is the true setting of the story. For want of Otto Schenk’s dearly missed production, it is best to mentally superimpose recollected images of same onto the travesty onstage.

(c)meche kroop for The Opera Insider

The Peculiar Pleasures of Grief

2011-05-01T10:15:00.002-04:00

The song cycles of Schubert, sad as they are, can leave us feeling emotionally drained and spiritually transformed in much the same way as Wagner’s Ring Cycle--but only when they are performed with great artistry, as they were this week by baritone Jesse Blumberg and piano partner Martin Katz. We leave behind our 21st c. irony when relationships are ended on Facebook and we enter the passionate romantic world of the 19th c. when a broken love affair could leave us with dozens of different shades of despair.

The hero of “Die Schöne Müllerin” starts out on a joyful journey of self-discovery--finding useful work that is appreciated and finding a girl to love (the boss’ daughter). Things do not go well for him because the girl is fickle and rejects him in favor of a hunter. He winds up drowning himself in a stream. Nowadays, we are more likely to hear about suicides in the young caused by academic failure or electronic humiliation.

Wilhelm Muller’s poetry scans and rhymes, a quality of great advantage to the composer, one which we have lost in our time. Schubert’s music artistically reflects the emotions of joy, determination, pride, hopefulness, elation, jealousy, and despair.

The hero of “Die Winterreise” endures a darker journey through the wintry European landscape. This cycle comprises mostly shades of mourning and loss that dig even deeper into the soul than Elizabeth Kubler-Ross could imagine. This young hero has already lost his love and any minor joys he experiences are in his dreams, from which he wakes up in anguish. If the Eskimo language has dozens of words for snow, the German language has dozens of words for grief.

It is the duty of the singer and the pianist to convey to us these subtle differences and Messieurs Blumberg and Katz accomplished this with consummate artistry; every word was caressed and colored. Mr. B. himself seemed inhabited by the hero; indeed, during the final song of “Die Winterreise”, such was the alteration of his voice, body and spirit, it was as if he channeled Herr Muller and Herr Schubert. It is worth noting that the voice is one of beautiful tone but it is the storytelling that counts in this case.

Much has been written about how mature a singer must be to take on these difficult cycles but Mr. B., while young, definitely had the maturity to take us on a very emotional journey with him.

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Warhorses Expertly Ridden

2011-04-30T18:02:00.000-04:00

There are reasons why middle-period Verdi is so popular with the opera-going public. The stories are larger than life, dare we say “operatic”. Verdi’s music propels the story sans longueurs and limns the characters in Shakespearean fashion. His melodies wraps themselves around our hearts and linger in our brains forever after for future savoring. We have intense arias that tell us what the characters are feeling, impassioned duets, complex ensembles and stirring choruses that comment on the action and fill in the backstory. What’s not to love?

We can enjoy these so-called warhorses when they are adequately sung, but when they are superbly cast and sung we are transported. As a Verdi lover I enjoyed back-to-back performances at the Met of Rigoletto and Il Trovatore. The Otto Schenk production of Rigoletto transports us to 16th c. Mantua with such respect for time and place that we forget we are in an opera house. Zack Brown’s sets and costumes appear completely authentic. One feels very protective of this 1989 production and hopes it won’t be discarded in favor of some post-modern deconstruction with the Duke being fellated onstage!

We are in a palace in the middle of a wild party attended by the degenerate courtiers of a licentious Duke (nicely sung, except for some strained notes in the upper register, by tenor Giuseppe Filianoti); he gets his jollies by seducing their wives. Misshapen in body and spirit, the humpbacked jester Rigoletto (sung with great intensity by baritone Zeljko Lucic) derives whatever power and status he has from the Duke. So when the Duke seduces the innocent young daughter he keeps hidden away (exquisitely performed by soprano Diana Damrau), he has no course but to plot his revenge. In this he is aided by the paid assassin Sparafucile (effectively sung by the powerful bass Stefan Kocan). He is defeated by the curse of Monterone, one of the courtiers he has insulted (sung by Quinn Kelsey). The very sexy sister and accomplice of Sparafucile was sung by rich-voiced mezzo Nancy Fabiola Herrera.

Under the baton of Fabio Luisi, the Met orchestra gave their all. From the very first theme of the overture sneaking in under the lively party music we know there is tragedy coming down the pike. We do love us some Verdi!

And we loved us some Verdi the following night when Marco Armiliato conducted a riveting performance of Il Trovatore. This was a different cast from the one reviewed several months ago and, admittedly, it is harder to hate the nasty Count di Luna when sung by the glamorous Dmitri Hvorostovsky than it was when Lucic sang. It is a testament to his ability to act with his beautiful baritone that we can accept him as a villain. And it is a testament to the tender tenor arias of Marcelo Alvarez in the role of Manrico that we can accept Leonora choosing him over the sexy DH. Sondra Radvanovsky has a big beautiful soprano that fills up the entire house and we just love her wherever and whenever. Dolora Zajick makes a compelling gypsy Azucena. That generous bass of Stefan Kocan reappears as Ferrando who is responsible for introducing the backstory in the opening scene. More credit to him for making this implausible story comprehensible.

The revolving set is grey and spare, serving as castle wall, interior and prison. Only the gypsy camp has visual interest as a setting for the famous Anvil chorus, stirringly sung by the estimable Met chorus and amply decorated by some bare-chested men swinging the anvils. Eye candy for us ladies! David Vicar’s production is only two years old and one expects it to be around for awhile.

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

SATB Spells Delight

2011-04-28T08:01:00.001-04:00

There is something incredibly fulfilling about four voices in perfect harmony and that is exactly what filled the air in Carnegie Hall Monday night when soprano Sylvia Schwartz, mezzo Bernarda Fink, tenor Michael Schade and bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff lent their voices to a performance of Brahms’ romantic Liebeslieder-Walzer composed in the late 1860s and the somewhat darker Neue Liebeslieder-Walzer composed in the early 1870’s. The second cycle of songs were purportedly affected by the young Brahms learning that Clara Schumann’s nubile daughter, for whom he nursed an attraction, was elsewhere engaged.

Both cycles include songs about every aspect of loving. And did those singers ever love those songs! Their rapture spilled over the stage and into the audience who appeared enthralled. Ms. Schwartz was particularly moving in “An jeder Hand die Finger” and the following “Rosen steckt mir an die Mutter”. “O die Frauen” allowed Mr. Schade and Mr. Quasthoff to harmonize beautifully and the female voices did likewise with “Vögelein durchrauscht die Luft”. All four voices came together for the charming “Ein kleiner hübscher Vogel”.

We were also gifted with Robert Schumann’s Spanische Liebeslieder composed in 1849. Especially remarkable were the paired but separated songs “O wie lieblich ist das Mädchen” and “Weh, wie zornig ist das Mädchen” performed by Mr. Schade with great style and drama. The program also included some other lesser known quartets by Brahms.

Mr. Quasthoff contributed some amusing off-the-cuff comments and introduced the two encores which comprised his favorite “folk songs” which were absolutely ravishing in their deceptive simplicity. He seemed to enjoy himself enormously, particularly when exercising the bass end of his range. He and Mr. Schade are well known to New York audiences but, if the lovely ladies have sung in New York, I am sorry I missed them. And I strongly hope they will grace our welcoming stages once again.

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Enough Fluff - Le Comte d'Ory at the Met

2011-04-22T14:47:00.003-04:00

The exuberant costumes by Catherine Zuber engaged my eye and my ear was charmed by the vocally perfect performances of the charming soprano Diana Damrau, the equally charming tenor Juan Diego Florez and the delightful mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. So why the tedium? Was it the lackluster conducting of Maestro Maurizio Benini or, dare I say this, could it be that this is not Rossini at his best? Quite a bit of the music was recycled from his piece d’occasion Il Viaggio a Reims. It was said in the program notes that the French language does not lend itself to the florid vocal ornamentation as does Italian. This is simple to understand, but to this pair of ears, there was ornamentation aplenty.

Perhaps it is simply the case of an uninspiring libretto by Eugene Scribe et al. Not much happens here. The licentious Comte Ory is bent on seducing women, but particularly the desirable Countess Adele who is cloistered in her castle while her brother is off in the Holy Land to fight in the Crusades. In Act I he disguises himself as an hermit in a ridiculous beard; in Act II he disguises himself as a nun, along with a troop of knights in similar garb. Disguises are usually fun. One thinks of the Count in Il Barbiere di Siviglia disguising himself as a drunken soldier and as a music teacher. Somehow in that opera there is a lot going on. There are lots of funny characters doing outrageous things and getting into much mischief. But in “Le Comte Ory” it just didn’t tickle my funny bone.

In the penultimate scene the Count winds up in the Countess Adele’s bed along with his rival, his page Isolier, sung ardently by Joyce DiDonato, quite convincing in a pants role. This reads pretty funny but the scene was clumsily handled, even for comedy. Perhaps the direction was flawed. Perhaps it looks better on HD. The audience laughed; was it embarrassment? In this day of casual menages a trois this fully clothed trio did not strike me as amusing at all.

There were some arresting musical moments, especially at the climax of Act I when Rossini gives us an a cappella septet. Secondary roles who added their voices to the mix were Susanne Resmark as the Countess’s companion, Stephane Degout as the Count’s buddy, and Michele Pertusi as his tutor, all roles well sung.

The “concept” of Bartlett Sher’s production was to present the opera with the accoutrements of a 19th c. production. Chandeliers were hand-cranked in emulation of the Met’s own chandeliers. The audience was able to glimpse what goes on backstage before the opera itself begins. This was mildly interesting. As mentioned above the costumes for the women were spectacular, sticking largely to a rosy palette but varying in period. I spied some Empire gowns and lots of 18th c. ones. Extravagant head dresses suggested the Middle Ages.

It appeared that quite a bit of money went into designing and casting this opera. It seems to me that the money could have been better spent on a different opera. There are so many excellent operas languishing for want of discovery!

-- (c) Meche Kroop for The Opera Insider

Masterpiece Theater

2011-04-20T09:08:00.001-04:00

It’s a hit, it is, Stephen Schwartz’ “Seance on a Wet Afternoon” at New York City Opera. If you love opera, go see it. If you don’t love opera, go see it. It could change your mind. So much contemporary opera is tedious and you only go because the critics make much of them (not this critic); you go and TRY to get involved but leave feeling empty and quite sure you never want to see them again. Sometimes the story is a good one but the music doesn’t add anything; worse yet, it detracts. Vocal lines are missing in action and sung dialogue sounds pretentious.

Not so here. Mr. Schwartz’ music, conducted by the reliable George Manahan, will make your ears happy with its compelling melodies and rich orchestration. Characters actually have arias that underscore their emotions. Even the sprechstimme and sung dialogue follows the rhythms of the English language, convincing me that perhaps English is not as unsingable as I suspected. Moreover, it does its job of emphasizing the psychological undercurrents and painting with sympathy some pretty monstrous characters. The libretto was adapted by Schwartz from a 1964 British film which was, in turn, based on a 1961 novel by Mark McShane. It is a disturbing psychological thriller about a talented medium who yearns for greater recognition and involves her devoted husband in a horrifying plan.

As performed by the incomparable soprano Lauren Flanigan, this pathetic and monstrous woman, so needful of love and devotion, is made completely believable and worthy of our sympathy. LIkewise baritone Kim Josephson fills out the character of the husband so we care equally for him as he vacillates between his desire to please his wife and his weakening moral sense. Tenor Todd Wilander and soprano Melody Moore turn in fine performances as a concerned set of parents. Children Bailey Grey and Michael Kepler perform their roles without a shred of self-consciousness. A chorus of journalists is introduced by jazzier music.

The story moves along briskly, thanks to the nimble direction of Scott Schwarz, son of the composer, who directed the work at its Santa Barbara premiere a year and a half ago. A most attractive and functional set was designed by Heidi Ettinger. Set behind a curtain of chains is a revolving two-story Victorian townhouse in San Francisco. We have visual access to living room, kitchen, foyer and bedroom. David Lander provided eerily effective lighting. Seances took place in front of the chain curtain. Costumes by Alejo Vietti were completely appropriate to the early 60’s.

It seems clear that Mr. Schwarz the elder, composer of such musical theater hits as “Godspell”, “Pippin” and “Wicked” has used his extensive Broadway experience to create a work that thrills and entertains but is never shallow. May he write many more such works for our delight. Get thee to New York City Opera without delay. You snooze you lose.

(c)meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Ridiculous Trumps Sublime

2011-04-17T10:13:00.001-04:00

Two operatic experiences this week left me with radically different feelings. The very worthy production of the very worthy Wozzeck left me feeling empty and depressed. The man in the balcony box next to me said it is his favorite opera; Maestro Levine loves this opera and conducted with verve and enthusiasm that belied his physically compromised condition; an opera-loving friend of mine tells me that over the years she has come to appreciate it. But it isn’t something she would choose to listen to at home, nor would I. It is rare for me to miss my Saturday afternoon worship at the shrine of the Met Saturday broadcasts but I did.

One cannot fault the casting or vocal performances. Venerable baritone Alan Held turned in a truly dedicated performance as the titular (anti)hero while the estimable Waltraud Meier did the same as Marie, Wozzeck’s common-law wife. Wozzeck is the troubled soldier living in penury and exploited by his captain, sung by tenor Gerhard Siegel and humiliated by the doctor, sung by bass Walter Fink. The playwright Georg Buchner, on whose play the libretto is based, would have us believe that these conditions, amplified by Marie’s infidelity, culminated in Wozzeck’s madness. To me it seems that other soldiers survived similar conditions and that Wozzeck was off the wall from the start. He is a pitiable creature in either case but not someone a member of the audience can identify with, at least not this member.

Berg’s twelve-tone music is devoid of melody and tonality, a turn I wish classical music had never taken. It falls harshly on the ears; perhaps it is meant for the brain and not the heart.

Sets and costumes by Robert Israel are appropriate to the period, drab and spare. Direction by Gregory Keller is apt in this Mark Lamos production which one could call passionate and dramatic but not enjoyable.

Now, what about the second experience? Never having seen Oscar Straus’ (not from the famous Strauss family) “The Chocolate Soldier”, and fearing never having another opportunity, we dragged ourselves up to The Liederkranz Opera Theatre on a miserably rainy night. We arrived wet, windblown and grumpy and we left smiling and happy. No one famous sang and the “orchestra” comprised a piano and percussionist (Ben Krauss and Luke Short). The room is most unsuitable to operatic performance and the sightlines are apalling.

So how to account for the joyous feeling? For starters, Mr. Strauss wisely used Shaw’s “Arms and the Man” as a source for the libretto by Rudolf Bernauer and Leopold Jacobson. That’s almost as good as using Shakespeare. The libretto has been adapted into English by Philip A. Kraus and Gregory Opelka with further adaptation and revision by Elizabeth Hastings, the musical director of the Liederkranz Opera Theater. Having enjoyed her work in the past, I have a feeling that she is responsible for much of the success. The libretto hews rather closely to the play until the end, but the departure is not significant in terms of making the point that in making romantic choices, women are often dazzled by appearance and reputation and need to be shaken out of their poor choices. In this case the foolish woman is Nadine, daughter of the Bulgarian Colonel Popoff, who is engaged to the pompous conceited Major Spiridoff but eventually won by a Swiss mercenary in the Serbian army, with whom the Bulgarians are at war.

It is 1885, a period remote by a quarter century from the time this operetta was composed, which is an entire century removed from today’s audience, but the work is presented with sincerity and totally without irony, so we believe it 100%. The performers all did justice to their roles but special mention must be made of Nicholas Wuehrmann who convincingly seduced all three women in the household and thereby the audience. Charlotte Detrick sang Nadina and Mascha portrayed her flirtatious naughty cousin Mascha (a servant in the original play) with style, charm and a clear bright soprano. Papa Popoff was sung by C. David Morrow who injected generous humor into his portrayal. Mama Aurelia was sung by Barbara LeMay who sang well but appeared too young and beautiful to have a marriageable daughter.

A troupe of Keystone Kop-like soldiers were led by Captain Massakroff, sung by Cory Clines, and hilariously choreographed by Roberta Cooper. In spite of a tiny stage, the direction by Corin Hollifield made everything work. The only fault one could find was the timing of the second intermission which left the third act with nothing but a denouement.

Now, what about the music? It is lavishly tuneful and completely satisfying. What more could one want? Although my preference is for German, the English worked extremely well with the music. There were many similarities to works by Gilbert and Sullivan with clever rhymes in abundance. Altogether a most satisfying performance. I’ll take the ridiculous over the sublime.

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

One Man's Caprice - Capriccio at the Met

2011-04-15T19:03:00.001-04:00

Merriam Webster defines “caprice” as something sudden, impulsive, unmotivated and unpredictable. Does Strauss’ cleverly thought out, well-reasoned and predictable opera named “Capriccio” meet those criteria? Not! Better they should have stuck with the title “Prima la musica, poi le parole”. What we have here is a slightly dramatized aesthetic debate being held among allegorical characters, each representing a different aspect of the art form we call opera. It takes place during The Enlightenment with references made to Gluck’s stripped down modernity replacing The Baroque. Here we have eight characters in search of a grinding-stone for their axes.

First we have the charming young composer Flamand, perfectly cast and sung by the appealing tenor Joseph Kaiser; next we have the poet Olivier sung by the warm-voiced Russell Braun; both men are vying for the affections of the Countess. We have the charming Danish baritone Morten Frank Larsen debuting at the Met in the role of the entertainment loving brother of the Countess and we have the always lovely Renee Fleming in a role she is deliciously suited to--that of the Countess herself who is being fought over by the composer and the poet. The British mezzo Sarah Connolly perfectly overplays the part of a famous actress; Olga Makarina and Barry Banks represent the forces of the vocal talent, and powerful English bass Peter Rose takes the part of the impresario who brings everyone together and, as he points out in his prolonged aria, without whom the show could not go on. Oh, and I almost forgot number nine, the prompter, sung by Bernard Fitch. There are also two non-singing dancers to argue their case terpsichorialy. All very formulaic, no?

Unlike other Strauss operas, the massive forces of the orchestra, skilfully conducted by Andrew Davis, are here used almost as a chamber group. There is lots of talk, yes, lots of talk with music but not OF the music. There are a few highlights, one being the composer’s setting of the poet’s sonnet which demonstrates the richness music can add to words, in spite of the poet’s belief that his sonnet has been ruined.

Another highlight is the Impressario’s long aria with his rather convincing argument for what Wagner called Gesamtkunstwerk; no one art can claim opera as its exclusive province. We need the music, the singers, the librettist, the acting ability, and--WHOA--what is left out here??? No character represent the set designer which in the case of this production deserves much credit for recreating a lavish European drawing room in 18th c. style. Updating this opera to the period entre les deux guerres is a mistake, especially with all the chat about the modernity of Gluck’s music.

Another highlight occurs at the end of the opera when Ms. Fleming sings a beautiful aria about her indecision in choice of a lover. She appears to be accompanying herself on the harp and this is beautifully done. But there are these longueurs in Strauss’ final opera--too much argument and not enough story to hold one’s interest. Too much allegory and not enough flesh on the characters’ bones. No wonder it is not often performed.

© meche kroop for The Opera Insider

An evening in Carthage

2011-04-14T06:32:00.001-04:00

An evening inspired by the creative imagination of director Sarah Meyers was presented by the Juilliard Opera Workshop and Juilliard Historical Performance. Stories from Virgil’s “Aeniad” were combined to make a most entertaining evening entitled “Dido in Context”; this comprised a prologue of Purcell songs dealing with love and war followed by five episodes related to the history of Dido and Aeneas composed by Claudio Monteverdi (a prequel if you will) and finally the compact opera “Dido and Aeneas”, the only opera composed by Purcell.

The renowned early music group Juilliard 415, conducted by Kenneth Weiss (heard a couple days earlier in Carnegie Hall accompanying Dorothea Roschmann and David Daniels) put forth a performance for which to be grateful as did the young singers, all undergraduates at Juiilliard. The soprano role of Dido was given its full measure by soprano Raquel Gonzalez, especially in her final aria “When I am Laid in Rest” which is frequently heard in recitals

John Brancy gave a most moving performance as the Trojan prince Aeneas, particularly in his lament. Having given a flawless rendering of Prince Hamlet’s “O vin, dissipe la tristesse” at the George London finals, it appears that this gifted young baritone is destined to be a prince of the opera stage.

In the fourth episode of Part II tenors Vincent Festa and Christopher Yoon joined forces with baritone Sanghun Han in “Eccomi pronta ai baci” as the sailors departing from Troy. Their voices blended beautifully and made me think how much more “singable” Italian is than English. At times, surtitles would have been helpful for the English.

Much praise can be heaped on Haley Lieberman who designed costumes that were just right in suggesting this ancient epoch. Choreographer Patricia Weiss made sure that the performers employed apposite balletic gestures that prevented the opera from feeling static. The minimalistic set by Elyse Handelman was most appropriate and did not distract from the singing. It is amazing what one can do with fabric and some boxes, especially with the contributions of lighting designer Daniel Ordower. The Met could take a page from this book!

--meche kroop for The Opera Insider

To live without beauty...

2011-04-06T22:01:00.004-04:00

What must it be like to live without beauty? I have asked myself this question for years. You can argue of course there is beauty in every little thing on this earth, but what of the thousands of children across the world who grow up in a world devoid of colorful flowers, chirping birds, or simply the silence of peace?

I know I've been spoiled. My images of mountains are based upon the majestic Rockies out west. My images of beaches are those of my home in Hawaii. My images of forests are those of the lush German landscape where I grew up. I am spoiled. But I am also grateful every day for having known not only the beauty of things I can see with my eyes but also for knowing what a rose smells like... compared to a hyacinth or a plumeria blossom. I am grateful that I know what the haunting melodies of Mahler sound like versus the charm of 1930s swing or the power of an African drum beat. I am grateful that I can recall the simple sweetness of a ripe peach or the rich and varied tastes of my mother's delicious bolognese sauce. These sounds, smells, images, tastes: they are all so beautiful.

I have been glued to the news these past few weeks as we all have, and I have diligently read my Economist cover to cover on the train to work, and I simply cannot make sense of anything. At a benefit concert last Sunday given by the excellent One World Symphony, I wept uncontrollably at the beauty of the music, thinking how pure and simple those moments were and how there were so many millions of people suffering at the hands of those who choose not to preserve beauty and harmony but rather to destroy it or stop its coming back. How, after all, can someone choose to destroy his country's people and infrastructure, history and culture simply to attempt - we hope, vainly - to remain in power? How can a supposedly God-loving "patriotic" American burn the holy book of the Islamic faith when he surely would have plenty to say about the desecration of his holy and beautiful book?

What is all the point of this (possibly badly-constructed-stream-of-consciousness) talk? I'm getting there. A friend guided me to a very special segment on NPR this morning, which I urge you to listen to. About ten years ago, a gentleman living in the ruins of Kinshasa (the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo) just after the brutal civil war, which killed approximately three million Africans, decided that he was not going to sit back and accept the desperation and destruction around him. His answer? Why, create an orchestra of course! Not only that, but it has 200 (yes, TWO HUNDRED) musicians. The Kinshasa Symphony (or Orchestre Symphonique Kimbanguiste) has now been playing for about a decade and the film of the same name will open at the NY African Film Festival this week in Manhattan. (Click here to see a trailer for the movie!)

A very wise woman once said to me in a moment of utter despair: "just because beauty is more elusive does not make it less vital to life." I urge you to take a moment and find some beauty. It won't be easy, at least not in New York where it's freezing and pouring, but look around and find something beautiful. And hold onto it.

Take me to your Lieder

2011-04-03T11:54:00.001-04:00

An opera lover addicted to Sturm und Drang, massive sets, big voices and lots of action might find the Lieder recital to be a bit minimalistic. But, and this is a BIG BUT, all depends on the artistry of the singer and the piano partner, not to mention the skill with which the composer interprets the poetry and the worthiness of the poet whose work is being set When they are true artists the scenery and the story-telling take place in the listener’s mind.

This was made perfectly clear in a flawless recital given by baritone Jesse Blumberg and pianist Audrey Axinn as part of the Salon/Sanctuary Concerts, a series created by Artistic Director Jessica Gould. The overall program spanning the 18th and early 19th c. was well thought out in terms of variety and pacing. The lovely warm round timbre of Mr. B’s voice was used to great effect; phrases and words were beautifully colored. Each song became a mini drama. Particularly notable were Thomas Arne’s setting of Shakespeare’s “Where Daisies Pied” sung with great wit and humor; Mozart’s “Abendempfindung” communicated with great depth of feeling, and Beethoven’s “An die ferne Geliebte”, a cycle dripping with sehnsucht.

Again on a lighter note was Beethoven’s delightful ditty “Der Kuss” and the “Flea Song” from Goethe’s Faust. The simple rustic comfort of “Der Einsame” and the psychological terror of “Der Doppelganger” were effectively depicted in Mr. B’s Schubert selections.

In every case, Ms. Axinn used her skills at the pianoforte to convey wind, rain, crickets and such. During the Flea Song one could imagine the fleas bouncing from key to key. What a pleasure to hear two artists complementing each other so sensitively and the audience complementing the artists by being totally silent and attentive, being individually and collectively enraptured.

--meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Our reviewers are the best!

2011-03-25T10:23:00.003-04:00

One of our most ardent supporters, Paulo Montoya is a young opera-lover living in Sydney. He's gaining quite a reputation there and abroad as a creative reviewer. Here's his latest piece on a concert by Cecilia Bartoli:

Also our die-hard-see-everything-in-New-York Meche Kroop sent her thoughts on "The Elixir of Love" at City Opera:

OK, so I didn’t fall in love with Nemorino. The last time I recall the New York City Opera taking a chance on a then-unknown Mexican tenor it was Rolando Villazón singing Rodolfo; I was hoping the lightning would strike twice but at this point I don’t think David Lomeli can ring my bell in the same way. That being said, he put in a charming and vocally sound performance; his voice is small but very attractive and he is a master of diminuendo with perfect breath control. Just as in the long ago La Bohème, there was also a Mexican baritone-- José Adan Perez singing Sergeant Belcore with a fine lyrical voice.

What we have here by way of plot comprises two oafs fighting over a fickle girl. Nemorino is the sincere shy oaf. Belcore is the pompous arrogant oaf. A snake oil salesman by the name of Dulcamara offers help to Nemorino, at a price--namely a bottle of alcohol which he passes off as the love potion Tristan used to snare Isolde. (HUH? I always thought it was the other way round.) Anyway, the love potion that gets all the women in town to chase after Nemorino (resulting in Adina’s appreciation of his charms) is actually a large inheritance. One of the funniest moments in the evening is when Dulcamara (well-played by Marco Nisticò) witnesses Nemorino’s sudden popularity and thinks that maybe his snake oil really works.

Cute story. An attractive young cast with pleasing voices is all it takes to provide an entertaining evening which is just what we have here. Stefania Dovhan was a fine Adina. The audience always goes wild for “Una Furtiva Lagrima” but there are many fine arias and duets in one of Donizetti’s most delightful operas. But what are we to make of updating this very 19th c. story to the 1950’s? Although there is surely a place in purgatory for the felonies committed by those who trash the great tragedies of the 19th c., updating a piece of fluff is only a misdemeanor. One just asks “WHY?” The English translation has to be distorted and characters’ actions are often just plain peculiar. For example, landowner Adina reading aloud to illiterate peasants in the 19th c. makes sense, but diner-proprietor Adina reading a magazine aloud to waitresses in her diner is just silly. Situating the diner in the middle of a desert in the American Southwest makes one wonder just which Army base the Sergeant comes from and which battle they are marching to or from. And how does a sergeant just happen to be authorized to enlist a new recruit and hand him $20? So, we cannot take these infractions seriously. Just go with the flow and enjoy the singing.

The effective revolving set conveniently shows the interior of the diner and also the rear of said establishment where there is a restroom that women line up to use. Now THAT’S funny! There are two gas pumps in front to justify Dulcamara pulling up in a very old car. Costumes appear authentic to the period, no more flattering than the wiggy hairstyles of the day. I am not sure why directors seem so eager to set their operas in that time period. I am recalling a perfectly awful updating of Carmen seen in Santa Fe in which Lillas Pastia’s tavern became a sock hop with a coke machine. Never mind. That’s another story!

Every Inch a Queen

2011-03-23T12:03:00.001-04:00

Madame Armfeldt she ain’t! The elderly countess in Tchaikovsky’s Queen of Spades is a bitter and nasty old woman with a colorful past; thanks to Andris Nelsons’ nuanced conducting of Tchaikovsky’s insightful music and Dolora Zajick’s vulnerable performance, one can actually feel compassion for this harridan as she reminisces about her youth. It is not so easy to feel this compassion for her misguided niece Lisa who throws off her elegant and devoted fiance Prince Yeletsky for the unappealing obsessed Ghermann. It doesn’t help that Karita Mattila and Vladimir Galouzine were not at their best vocally and seemed to have no romantic chemistry whatsoever.

There were some truly special moments: Peter Mattei poured his heart and soul into Yeletsky’s sumptuous aria in Act II. The consistently excellent and versatile Tamara Mumford lent her lovely lyricism to Polina’s charming Act I song, performed for Lisa and other ladies of the court, and also in the duet which she sings with Ms. Mattila. She gets another opportunity to tickle our ears in the Act II pastorale in which she portrays Daphnis to Dina Kuznetsova’s Chloe. One hears lots of Mozart here, including motives from Die Zauberflote. One also gets to watch some charming dancing, choreographed by John Meehan. Alexey Markov offered many delights as Count Tomsky relating the backstory to his comrades.

The 1995 Moshinsky production has held up well. The somewhat surreal set (Mark Thompson) in Act I which looked bare to 1995 eyes, now has become rather arresting. Off in the distance one can see the canals and lowslung buildings of St. Petersburg. The color palette throughout is black and white; the costumes (also Mark Thompson) are lavish and indicate very clearly that we are at the tail end of the 18th c. Paul Pyant’s lighting design is most illustrative of the cool Northern light in that part of the world and the way the sky darkens as a storm approaches. Not just stormy weather but some stormy psychological events of obsession and madness. It would be madness to miss it!

-- meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Sunday double-header

2011-03-17T10:03:00.001-04:00

It was the right decision to forego the Met National Council Awards this afternoon in favor of the Lotte Lehmann Foundation Recital at the intimate Christ and St. Stephen’s Church. Maestro Thomas Bagwell has a knack for finding wonderful singers and pairing them with works that fit them like custom-tailored suits. The hardness of the pews became irrelevant, so outstanding was the singing. Although most of the recital was devoted to art songs, the two opening selections were operatic in nature. An aria from Handel’s Giulio Cesare was brilliantly and excitingly sung by the ample-voiced (and ample-bodied) dramatic soprano Tami Petty. We forecast a Wagnerian future for this gal! Booming bass Matt Boehler equalled this with a nuanced and humorous delivery of “Il faut passer” from Lully’s “Alceste”. We see a grand Sparafucile in his future and a very funny Don Basilio.

The art songs sung by Ms. Petty gave her the opportunity to demonstrate her excellent German and formidable dramatic skills. She showed a wide emotional range without any artifice whatsoever; it seemed as if every gesture came from a deep inner place. The often heard and always appreciated Maestro was with her every step of the way and gave a particularly light and lively rendition of “Ganymed”. She was absolutely adorable singing “There are Fairies at the Bottom of our Garden” and charmingly sly in her encore, Granados’ “El Majo Discreto”.

Mr. Boehler had such a superb connection with the Shostakovich songs, creating four very different satirical characters that made their complaints obvious, even to a non-speaker of Russian. His acting is equal to his singing. We always love William Bolcom’s song “Black Max” and also enjoyed “The Man in the Starched White Shirt” by Lance Horne and Mark Campbell.

The second part of this Sunday Double Header was a Verismo recital by members of the Chelsea Opera Company, honoring American baritone Mark Rucker and enjoyed by a packed house (same church). Maestro Carmine Aufiero was on hand to conduct and piano accompaniment was by Audrey Saint-Gil and Sadie Rucker (Mark’s wife). Most remarkable was Michelle Trovato’s Gilda, La Toya Lewis’ Medora from Verdi’s “Il Corsaro” and Rachel Arky’s Suzel from Mascagni’s “L’Amico Fritz”, not recently seen in New York. Viva Verismo!

--meche kroop for The Opera Insider

She really won't be missed!

2011-03-11T08:27:00.002-05:00

So Angela Gheorghiu dropped out of Roméo et Juliette this season AND Faust next season. Something about Gounod she doesn’t like? Not to worry. Hei-Kyung Hong gave a stellar performance as Juliette using her silvery soprano to its best advantage and her formidable acting skills to convey the youthful impetuosity of this child of the Renaissance.

Not since Alessandra Ferri danced the role has a mature woman so convincing enacted the role. Likewise Piotr Beczala lent his lustrous tenor and youthful acting to the role of Romeo. The pair had fine chemistry and the romance was totally believable. Their respective arias and duets were most moving. Ms. Hong shone especially in “Je veux vivre”.

Not as exciting as Prokofiev’s score for the ballet, Gounod’s lyricism is well suited to the libretto of Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, which focuses more on the romance in Verona and less on the violence between the Montague and Capulet families. Minor characters have been dispensed with and a character has been introduced--that of Roméo’s page Stéphano, here beautifully sung by Julie Boulianne, the Canadian mezzo last admired in Gluck’s Iphegenie en Tauride. The venerable James Morris was a most welcome presence as Frère Laurent. Placido Domingo conducted with his customary excellence and the orchestra responded in kind. The chorus sang magnificently, as usual. Lindemann graduates Dwayne Croft and Jordan Bisch (seen recently as the matchmaker in The Bartered Bride) were just fine as Lord Capulet and The Duke of Verona.

Notable was the French diction, so far superior to that in the Gluck. Every word of every character was understandable, something one cannot take for granted these days. The costumes and wigs created in house were absolutely gorgeous. The set design was largely symbolic with painted Veronese street scenes surrounding a large circular astrological chart bearing an internal tilt-a-whirl that did exactly that, making one just a bit anxious for the dueling performers in the fight scene. A bit more anxiety occurs during the otherwise heavenly star-studded wedding night scene with the leads making love on a bed suspended from the roof.

Effective and sexy but scary! It was a relief when the lark was heard and the bed slowly came down to earth. An altogether heavenly evening at the Met.

© meche kroop for The Opera Insier

Meche has a list...

2011-03-08T16:43:00.001-05:00

First on the list is a big thank you to Regina Opera Company for 41 years of performances serving predominantly the Brooklyn Community, but at least one half-drowned Manhattanite who thoroughly enjoyed last Sunday’s performance of The Mikado, even after an hour plus spent underground and wading through flooded street corners.

Second on the list is a deep regard for the enduring joys of Arthur Sullivan’s captivating tunes and W .S. Gilbert’s catchy lyrics, wedded to one another in a manner never since equaled. Although the English language is difficult to sing, it is even more difficult to set; what this pair achieved will never grow stale. The rhymes and rhythms continue to delight the ear. It is customary to update some of the songs with references to topical issues which, in this case, were invented by the performers themselves to humorous effect and to the great delight of the audience.

Third on the list--the set design by Linda Lehr as realized by Richard Paratley was most effective in conveying a fantasy Japan-- an arched bridge, the suggestion of a carp pond (supported by the lighting design of Tyler Learned) and some sliding Shoji screens. Performers were finely directed by Ms. Lehr in every case so that all actions seemed suitably motivated. Costuming by Julia Cornely and Francine Garber-Cohen was colorful, although the over-the-top makeup and costuming for Katisha, by Albert Walsh and Patrice Miki, seemed excessively distracting, even for an over-the-top character.

Maestro Jose Alejandro Guzman’s energetic conducting kept the members of the orchestra in fine balance, although there were some intonation problems in the overture. Since there is no orchestra pit in Regina Hall it must be quite a challenge for the singers to project over the orchestra, even though Maestro Guzman did well to keep the volume down at crucial points.

That being said, several other factors interfered with the enjoyment of Gilbert’s clever lyrics. One factor was the variety of “mid-Atlantic” accents employed by the cast. Those who essayed a more British style were more comprehensible, as were the lower voices who had better diction. At the beginning of the performance, the libretto was projected overhead IN ITALIAN! I actually found it necessary to read and translate, so incomprehensible was the chorus. This device turned out to be a joke and the titles ended. April Fool!!!

Among the performances, the standouts were Jay Gould, an hilarious Pooh-Bah whose every word was understood; David Tillistrand, a most expressive Ko-Ko who got across every nuance, and Bryce Smith, a most regal Mikado with a big bass voice. Samantha Guevrekian sang Yum-Yum and Anthony Tolve sang Nanki-Poo. Laura Smith sang Katisha and might have done better with less mugging and more acting. Yum-Yum’s aria was well-applauded. Her two sisters were sung by Joan Callaghan and Bethany Richards. This cast will sing again for the Saturday matinee with a different cast singing on Sunday.

The petite Yoko Yamashita did triple duty as choreographer of the Japanese numbers, a member of the chorus and as a dancer; she was fine in all three positions. The chorus sang well although the diction needed improvement. The words of Mr. Gilbert are too precious to be flung off like so many rose-petals that were thrown onto The Mikado.

--Meche Kroop for The Opera Insider

THUS SPAKE HEINRICH HEINE

2011-03-06T12:03:00.001-05:00

And thus composed Robert Schumann and thus sang baritone Luthando Qave and thus played In Sun Suh and thus were thrilled into rapt silence the attendees of Friday night’s Lindemann Recital. Dichterliebe is a thrilling work, comprising so many changes of mood and color; Mr. Qave and Ms. Suh nailed them-- all from the joy of “Im wunderschonen Monat Mai” to the ecstasy of “Die Rose, die Lilie, die Taube, die Sonne”, to the bitterness of “Ich grolle nicht” and the sorrow of “Und wussten’s die Blumen, die kleinen” and the bewilderment of “Ich hab im Trau geweinet” and the resignation of “Die alten, bosen Lieder”. These young artists, with perfectly comprehensible German, elucidated every nuance in the poetry. The vocalism and the pianism were equally accomplished. The pair seemed to breathe together.

This major delight was followed by the elegantly beautiful soprano Emalie Savoy accompanied by piano partner Keun-A Lee. Ms. Savoy was a major prize winner just a week ago at the George London Foundation Award Recital at which she sang Rusalka’s “Song to the Moon”. At the Lindemann Recital she had chosen to perform two shimmering songs by Debussy, a few Schubert songs and several contemporary songs by Philip Lasser, a Juilliard faculty member whose lovely music was inspired by poetry written by the late Wynelle Ann Carson. It didn’t sound very inspired, coming after Heine, Schiller, Goethe and Baudelaire.

Ms. Savoy has a most pleasant low and middle voice but sounded a bit shrieky at the top. English is not the easiest language to make beautiful. I longed to hear something in Italian.

--Meche Kroop for The Opera Insider

What Iph?

2011-03-02T08:10:00.003-05:00

What “iph” the unfortunately sacrificed Iphigenia had been rescued by the goddess Diana? Such is the deus ex machina invented by Euripides. In Gluck’s opera, the most riveting scenes are the opening and closing ones when Diana (sung by the lovely Julie Boulianne) descends from the heavens. Otherwise, nothing much happens in the ochre and roseate temple below. It takes two and one half hours for Iphigenie to recognize the captured Oreste, mainly because neither tells the other their name. (How long did it take Sieglinde and Siegmund to find out their siblinghood? And to fall in love as well? And accompanied by stirring music?) Does this sound boring? Well, if you are a fan of Gluck’s music, stripped as it is of drama and vocal flourishes, it won’t be. One must listen strenuously for the revelation of character in this music. If you are passionate about high drama and vocal fireworks in your opera, this will not thrill you.

Vocally, the male voices stole the show at Monday’s performance when Susan Graham, taken ill, was replaced by Elizabeth Bishop. Ms. Bishop did her best in a committed performance and became more audible after an initial period of warming up; but her somewhat hard-edged tone was no threat to Susan Graham’s ownership of the role, as remembered from a couple years earlier.

Opera’s enduring treasure Placido Domingo showed his chops as Oreste and Paul Groves was a magnificently lyrical and moving Pylades, ready to sacrifice his life for his friend. It takes about an hour for them to resolve which one will die for the other.

The all female chorus sang beautifully, although not with the customary excellent diction. One was grateful for the supertitles. Women dancers repeated stylistic gestures and spun around like Turkish Sufis.

Lovely Diana reappears at the end to bring the drama full circle. Her descent frames the action and provides some missing excitement.

--Meche Kroop for The Opera Insider

Piazza Navona

2011-03-01T07:36:00.002-05:00

Tunes, tunes, and more tunes! How rare to hear a contemporary opera that holds your ear and doesn’t let go. Christof Bergman has written a contemporary opera buffa replete with charming arias, duets and ensembles. Opera Manhattan Repertory Theatre has given us an abridged version of this tale of some denizens of a Roman restaurant, a version that left one hungry for more. The piano score was well-played by Violetta Zabbi and the roles were finely sung by a rotating cast of enthusiastic young singers who would have profited by a firmer directorial hand, some acting coaching, and some consistency of accents.

Although sung in Italian, inarguably the most musical of all languages, quite a bit of singing was replaced by dialogue spoken in English with varying degrees of stereotypical Italian accents and wildly divergent acting styles, varying from wooden to caricature. Presumably, this abridgment served the interest of economy. Economics are always a factor with the shoestring budget of a small company but a few props would have gone a long way to relieve the singers of the need for confusing pantomime. The abridgment also resulted in some confusing moments and lack of continuity. The evolving romances seemed unmotivated and lacking in chemistry. The Italian stage director may have been thinking of pleasing an Italian audience with a different sense of humor.

The plot is featherweight but fits right in with New York’s food obsession. The owner of this restaurant has been alienating his staff and clientele with his increasingly weird concoctions. A modest vocabulary in Italian was helpful in understanding his clever song “Quaglia con Spuma di Bacca”. Anyone who has eaten the creations of a chef addicted to foams could enjoy a good laugh. When the staff learns that a powerful restaurant reviewer is on his way, a plot is invented to lure the owner/chef away from his post, allowing a new waiter with culinary skills to take over the kitchen.

There are a couple romantic subplots that, in this truncated version, went undeveloped but which provided for lots of enjoyable music. And this is music that most of us can relate to, music that delights the ear. It can be hoped that someday we will have a chance to see this opera in its entirety.

Opera Manhattan deserves much credit for giving young artists a chance to perform new roles. Giving new works a chance to be seen is also a worthy endeavor but perhaps it is too heavy a burden to essay both goals at the same time. Nonetheless, it was an entertaining piece of work which deserves a full production at some point.

--Meche Kroop for The Opera Insider

A Recital of True Benefit

2011-02-23T19:42:00.002-05:00

Last Sunday, just short of a week past Valentine's Day, soprano Natalie Mann dared to program an entire evening of songs devoted to love at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York. Perhaps for this reason, to their loss, recently romance-saturated New Yorkers decided to miss Songs of Love and Hope, featuring the talented Ms. Mann and her incredibly skilled pianist Jeffrey Panko. Nevertheless, a modestly-sized but grateful audience fully enjoyed the ability and intensity both musicians had to offer for the benefit of all present, along with the American Heart Association to whom she dedicated her concert this American Heart Month.

While a few of the audience members hearts might have fluttered when the stunning soprano entered in a silvery corseted gown with flowing black skirt and shawl, Natalie Mann confidently began her performance without such hesitation. Intoning her first of two sets by living female composers, Though Love Be a Day by Gwyneth Walker, Ms. Mann sets a high bar of musicality and beautifully moving phrases. E. E. Cummings set four of the five texts, with the text of the final movement, "Still," written by the composer herself "to provide an intense and powerful closing to the cycle (quote taken from the author's website)."

Both the program notes and Gwyneth Walker make a special note of the fact that the verses within Cumming's After All White Horses Are in Bed first inspired her creation of the entire set to frame it as a centerpiece. Natalie Mann's stylized use of vibrato, alternating with a captivating straight tone on repeated themes serves to make the entire set clear and meaningful, and Mann and Panko appropriately use a more playful, almost mischievous character for the second and fourth texts. Seemingly as meaningful to the soprano as the composer both the third, After All White Horses, text and the final commentary by Walker compel the audience with not a moment of disconnection from the singer or pianist. Natalie Mann's high notes soar with no tension, and her full and balanced tone from top to bottom dances with Jeffrey Panko, whose sensitive clarity creates a musical organism between them throughout the concert.

After an incredible start to her diverse musical offering, Natalie Mann performs a French set with the Fiançailles pour Rire by Francis Poulenc and "Depuis le jour" from Louise by Gustave Charpentier. Poulenc wrote his composition as an excuse to dwell upon the thoughts of his dear friend and poet Louise de Vilmorin during World War II when she, trapped with her husband behind enemy lines, could not communicate with her friend Francis Poulenc (Brilliantly ironic to pair these with a piece from Louise). Not one of the Poulenc texts has a thoroughly positive outlook; I would have preferred to see a more convincing range of emotion from Natalie Mann within these pieces, along with a greater sense of abandon throughout Charpentier's "Depuis le jour." On the other hand, Ms. Mann does an excellent job of continuing her brilliantly sustained legato, undeniably stunning high notes, and impressive quality of pitch and tone center across the board. Unfortunately, her uneven mastery of the stresses and sounds of the French language makes both the Poulenc and Charpentier a poor match for her otherwise superb talents.

Returning to the stage after an intermission, Natalie Mann launches into a far more flattering set of three Richard Strauss songs that suit her as perfectly as the plunging red gown she wears, making no secret of her full and uninhibited breathing technique. She has a warm and rich tone less common in lyric sopranos, and both Strauss's writing and the German language embrace and support her technique gloriously. In general despite her excellent German, Ms. Mann seems most comfortable in English, and the following return to her native language with a set by living composer Lori Laitman (joyfully present in the audience) sets her at ease immediately.

Between the vocalist and pianist, their delivery of The Metropolitan Tower and Other Songs by Laitman feels intricately connected and intensely beloved. In this set, both become the poetry by Sara Teasdale, Jeffrey Panko giving motion to the fabulously lilting winds of "A Winter Night" and Natalie Mann providing a form for "The Strong House" in her tall, powerful stance. The final movement, "To a Loose Woman," gives them a chance to showcase their humor with a bit of a cheeky tango in the accompaniment, and the composer rises to accept unrestrained applause for a truly great song cycle.

Finally, before a Russian set to conclude the evening, Jeffrey Panko performs his second solo piano piece, "La Cathédrale engloutie" from Claude Debussy's Préludes. Earlier, after the Poulenc set, he played an expertly technical Jeux d'eau by Maurice Ravel with a rubato one might have imagined precisely timed by Quartz. With the "Cathédrale," which Panko lovingly introduces as the incarnation of the Breton myth of a cathedral which rises and falls in the sea, he clearly has found a more personal and dear piece to showcase his sensitivity even further. His excellent use of pedal keeps the cathedral bells ringing and connected while he clearly chimes each chord percussively before sinking into and lingering upon successive bass notes to bring the audience under water with the cathedral itself. As Panko so carefully delivers his final note, he releases it as if never to let go of the music he portrays so well and ardently.

In their final moments together at Weill Hall Sunday evening, Mann and Panko come together once more for Lilacs by Sergei Rachmaninoff and Antonin Dvořak's "Song to the Moon" from Rusalka. Delivering the Rachmaninoff simply, they allow the poetry to speak for itself. In general, although her Russian diction causes no interference with her clear, bright vocal technique, her consonants need much more weight in this language, which could use more coaching and study. Regardless, the aria from Rusalka seems to flow out of the pair as if they truly had performed it together in their sleep previously several times.

Mann manages to jump extremes of emotion extremely quickly and without reservation in her final piece, reminding everyone in the audience of her utterly thorough exploration of love through music in this offering for the American Heart Association. For not one moment did I question her vocal abilities, her musical instincts, her breath technique, or her commitment to the music. After Natalie Mann and Jeffrey Planko graciously accepted their heartfelt applause, they floated offstage. When the audience leaped to applaud at the entrance of a stagehand, these talented musicians had accomplished one of the finest goals in performance: to always leave them wanting more.

Abigail Wright

A Recital of True Benefit
Abigail Wright

Bartered not Martyred

2011-02-21T08:00:00.001-05:00

Poor Marenka, the heroine of Smetana’s “The Bartered Bride”, is being sold as bride to an unfortunate young man she rejects; she is deeply in love with Jenik, and as sung by Paul Appleby, who wouldn’t be? Lovely Layla Clair portrays Marenka with charm, wit, enthusiasm and a gorgeous soprano. The chemistry between the two is totally believable. The wealthy suitor Vasek,to whom her father is selling her (to pay off his debt) is sympathetically portrayed by Alexander Lewis; he has a serious stutter and manages to be funny but not ridiculous. Just try making fun of a character with a disabiity in our PC age! Not to worry. The bride is feisty and refuses to martyr herself for the sake of her father. Her sweetheart is cunning and manages to work everything out, even while pretending to barter his own love for filthy lucre. Even Vasek gets his chance at romance with the darling circus performer Esmeralda, beautifully sung by Joyce El-Khoury.

This production was a joint effort of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program and the Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts at the Juilliard School. The enthusiastic and talented young musicians were members of the Juilliard Orchestra playing Smetanan’s tunefully nationalistic music under the baton of HRH James Levine who well deserved the prolonged standing ovation. Over a velvet carpet of strings, plaintive melodies were spun out by the winds. Levine clearly loves this opera and so do we. Singers belonged to the Lindemann program or the Juilliard Opera. Dancers belonged to the Juiliard Dance Program and the excellent choreography by Benjamin Millepied added to the delights. Marenka’s choreographed tantrum in Act I was hilarious, as was Jenik’s in Act II.

Stephen Wadsworth directed the action with a lot of panache; every action seemed motivated by the dialogue. Thomas Lynch provided an effective unit set--a see-through cafe that revealed the villagers preparing for a festival and later enjoying a circus, complete with a humorous Ringmaster (Noah Baetge) and an American “Indian”, portrayed by an under-utilized Elliot Madore. Much of the audience laughter came from a “Bearded Lady” on point and in travesti (Miles Mykkanen) and the witty performance of the slimy matchmaker Kecal (Jordan Bisch) who had the best dialogue. The reason appears to be that the opera was sung in English which lends itself best to clever rhymes and jerky rhythms. Much was made of the new translation by J.D. McClatchy, not necessarily an improvement over the last translation. With the exception of Kecal’s dialogue, much of the rest was doggerel and accents often fell on the wrong syllables. Obviously, learning an entire opera in a little-sung language like Czech was not possible but I look forward to hearing it sung in Czech someday, even if it involves a trip to Prague.

Mr. Wadsworth’s Director’s Note clearly attributes the updating from the 1860’s to the 1930’s to budgetary considerations and can therefore be forgiven. The few traditional costumes (Martin Pakledinaz) that were seen were resplendent while the 1930’s attire appeared drab. References were made to Stalin and Hitler in an attempt to show resonance with a similar political situation in the original period.

These are small cavils in light of a most entertaining and musically valid performance. Mention must be made of the four parents, all ably sung by Donovan Singletary, Jennifer Johnson Cano, Alexander Hajek and Renee Tatum. The Peter Jay Sharp Theater is just the perfect size for such productions and more collaborative efforts such as this one are eagerly anticipated. Juilliard is indeed a jewel in New York’s crown.

-- Meche Kroop for The Opera Insider

A win for Miss Kim!

2011-02-04T08:21:00.000-05:00

An elegant silver-haired man steps up to the podium. It is John Adams himself, conducting his 1987 opera “Nixon in China” which premiered at the Houston Grand Opera. The overture is sweeping and symphonic with interesting contributions from the muted trumpets. The excellent Met chorus sings what seems to be excerpts from Mao’s little red book. Maybe this won’t be as awful as one expects. Three “secretaries” gesture in unison. The accurate costuming and wigs manage to make the three lovely women as homely as any individual-extinguishing communist might wish. Wait...THAT’s Ginger Costa-Jackson, one of the most beautiful women now onstage made homely by theatrical legerdemain!

President Nixon, ably portrayed by James Maddalena, steps off a rather realistic looking plane that has descended from the skies, accompanied by Janis Kelly’s Pat. They are greeted by Russell Braun’s Chou En-Lai. Welcoming inanities are mouthed. Oops, I mean sung. Well, sort of. The music begins to resemble Philip Glass’ score to “Koyaanisqatski” released in 1982. If ears could glaze over like eyes, they would have. The libretto is excruciatingly tedious; in Scene 2 in Chairman Mao’s study, political apothegms masquerading as aphorisms are exchanged. Scene 3 is a banquet in the Great Hall of the People with identically costumed choristers sitting at huge tables. The libretto consists of a succession of toasts. Are we supposed to consider “Where is the bathroom?” to be a fit line to set to music?

Act II offers a bit more action. In the second scene, poor Pat takes the “revolutionary ballet” seriously and enters the action, to the embarrassment and distress of her hosts. Actually, Mark Morris’ ballet, whether spoof or satire, marks the highlight of the evening. He should consider including more point work in his choreography. The dancers were excellent and the audience enjoyed the humor. Kathleen Kim lets loose her magnificent coloratura in the only truly operatic moment of the evening, although Russell Braun’s Chou En-lai offers a sorrowful coda at the end.

Act III involves all the principles on individual beds, all in a row, as in a dormitory. They reminisce about their pasts and then seem to conclude that the visit was meaningless. So was the opera. One wonders whether political issues are suitable subjects for opera. Doctor Atomic was even more tedious than Nixon in China. That being said, Sherman Edwards composed music and wrote lyrics for “1776” that were musical and moving. Gilbert and Sullivan were able to parody political events of their epoch in a way that left the audience satisfied. Can one help wondering what Sondheim might have done with this landmark event in U.S. history? As audience members are we so desperate for novelty that we will applaud anything new without considering its value? As the young woman in my box opined, “This is boring. I don’t care what happens to any of the characters”. She left early and I wished that I had as well.

-- meche kroop for The Opera Insider

A hit with no misses!

2011-01-31T20:09:00.002-05:00

When the Met gets it right, it gets it REALLY right, and such is the case with Simon Boccanegra. Although not a new one, the Giancarlo del Monaco production honors the intent of Verdi to knit together two major themes--the personal and the political. The personal one very much centers on the father-daughter relationship, often worked through in Verdi’s operas. Having sired a child with the daughter of the aristocratic Fiesco, unfortunate former pirate Simon Boccanegra is persona non grata in the 14th Century city-state of Genoa. As librettists Piave and Boito weave the tale, Fiesco will not allow Boccanegra to wed his beloved Maria and their illegitimate child has been turned over to a nurse who has died. The child is lost. Fiesco will not forgive Boccanegra until the child is produced and turned over to him. As the prologue opens Fiesco is grieving the death of his daughter and then Boccanegra also learns of the sad event.

Fiesco’s grief is given haunting expression by the aria “Il Lacerato Spirito”, movingly sung by bass Ferrucio Furlanetto who has a way of making stubborn old men supremely sympathetic. Poor Boccanegra also gets an opportunity to express his grief; baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky, another artist of the highest caliber, immediately tugs at our heartstrings.

As the tale unfolds a quarter century later SB rediscovers his now-grown daughter (the winsome soprano Barbara Frittoli, possessor of a thrilling vibrato), wins her love and loyalty, disappoints the villain Paolo (ably portrayed by baritone Nicola Alaimo) who wanted to call in his political chips to marry the girl, forgives the girl’s beloved Gabriele Adorno (stunningly portrayed by tenor Ramón Vargas) and manages to bless the union and proclaim GA the new doge before dying of poison administered by Paolo. PHEW!

On to the political theme! Simon “has power thrust upon him” by Paolo who gets him elected doge. He assumes the (ermine) mantel of power and becomes a fair and merciful ruler, devoted to bringing peace to the warring factions in Genoa. Having lived through the process of unification of Italy, it seems clear that Verdi was drawn to stories that deal with compromise, peace and reconciliation. It is here that the chorus assumes a major role and does it with its customary excellence.

The musical values are topnotch overall. On Monday night, John Keenan assumed the conductor’s baton and neglected not a single detail in his nuanced reading of the score. Never was a singer drowned out. Every instrumental soloist who introduced a new idea did so with clarity, whether harp, bass clarinet, or oboe. The orchestra told the tale as well as the vocal line and the lyrics.

Sets and costumes were particularly apt. The only quibble I had is that more might have been done with the lighting. It would have been quite special if dawn at the seaside garden of the Grimaldi palace had been lit to suggest dawn, for example. But what a tiny quibble that is in light of this magnificent evening when luxury casting came together with honest production values. Let us cherish these productions before they are retired and replaced with costly and ineffective newcomers.

(c)meche kroop for The Opera Insider

Marilyn Horne's Legacy

2011-01-24T07:49:00.002-05:00

I am happy to report that Marilyn Horne’s gift to the world of vocal music has not been diminished by its present incarnation as a presentation by the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall. This yearly festival celebrating the art of the vocal recital has endured since 1997 and assures us that the vocal recital is alive and well here in Gotham. The lovely woman sitting next to me for all the recitals and master classes has come every year from Geneva to attend. I only come from around the corner! Our pleasure was equal.

The first master class was given by German bass Kurt Moll. His unique way of coaching his four young pupils was highly personal; he actually stood face to face with each one and conducted each phrase in a way that pulled out of the pupil exactly the effect he wanted. There was a remarkable difference between the first offering of a song and the concluding one, even though only a half-hour had passed.

The second master class was given by Marilyn Horne herself. Particularly valuable was her work with the German language. In her kind and engaging way, she ensured that no consonant went unpronounced. Phrases that were initially incomprehensible eventually made sense. Art song is, after all, storytelling and we want to understand the words. Hearing a recital the next day in which every word was intelligible prompted me to ask the artist whether he had studied with Ms. Horne and it was not a surprise to learn that he had indeed.

The third master class was taught by Malcolm Martineau, a gifted accompanist from Scotland who worked exclusively on the French style. My French speaking seatmate was initially appalled by the youngsters’ lack of intelligibility, but a huge difference was noted after their brief instruction with Mr. M. and she left beaming. Apparently in French there are no accented syllables and emphasis is gained by stretching out the syllable a bit.

In addition to the three master classes there were two recitals by up and coming singers. The standout was Wendy Bryn Harmer’s offering of Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder sensitively accompanied by Kristin Okerlund.

The final celebration is on Sunday with contributions from soprano Susanna Phillips, mezzo Jamie Barton, tenor Paul Appleby, and baritone Eugene Chan, not to mention some of our favorite piano partners. Special guest artist is Christine Brewer. The song continues........

--Meche Kroop for The Opera Insider

If scenery could sing - Puccini's Girl of the Golden West

2011-01-13T23:22:00.003-05:00

Sometimes an opera is memorable for the brilliance of the singing; sometimes it’s the conducting; sometimes the staging. In the case of La Fanciulla del West, it is Michael Scott’s sets and costumes that linger in my mind a week after the performance. One has the sense of the Wild West all the way through, from the miner’s Polka Saloon in Act I to Minnie’s rustic mountain cabin in Act II and finally a street scene in a California Gold Rush town for Act III. The sense of verisimilitude is absolutely essential to overcome the preposterous idea of cowboys singing in Italian. Somehow it is easier to accept American naval officers in Japan singing in Italian, or even Chinese empresses. But cowboys on their own turf? Give us some help here!

That being said, Puccini’s opera is well-loved as well as well-laughed at; although not often performed it is generally well-attended. It is missing the lovely romantic arias that our ears yearn to hear, but it does offer intensely dramatic orchestration and rich harmonic textures. Whose heart does not pound in time with the insistent plucking of the basses during the fateful card game! The bass clarinet and the harps are put to excellent use.

The cast worked well as an ensemble with the all-male chorus doing their customary excellent work, as did all the comprimario roles. Covering for an indisposed Deborah Voigt was Portuguese soprano Elisabete Matos whose appealing voice and fine acting won over the audience, although Nicola Luisotti’s enthusiastic conducting drowned her out at times.

Marcello Giordani has sounded better, but he has also sounded worse. What happened to his moustache part way through???? Lucio Gallo lent his substantial baritone to the role of the sheriff and Keith Miller did his customary fine job as the Wells Fargo agent.

The staging was awkward in places, especially with regard to the horses. If Minnie and Ramerrez rode off together in the sunset it was not visible from the balcony. A particularly magical moment was when the snow fell on Minnie’s cabin. Indeed, a verismo opera demands a realistic set and in this case it got one. Let us hope that the Met won’t hire some egotistical director who finds some obscure symbolism or subtext in this simple tale of the redemptive power of love. The sets are perfect just as they are and really and truly sing of the Wild West.

-- Meche Kroop for The Opera Insider

A Tale of Two Conductors

2010-12-27T08:16:00.002-05:00

Conducting calls attention to itself when it is truly awful or excellent. This week two different conductors in two quite different houses employed their batons equally effectively for two very different operas. On Monday at the Met, Simon Rattle did battle and totally conquered Debussy’s dense orchestration of Pélleas and Mélisande. The score totally “made sense” as he brought out the shimmering harmonies and textures; thick velvety strings underpinned snatches of nascent melodies from the winds. The harp was properly ethereal. Altogether one felt the mystery of the inexplicable story. It is a strange tale; the symbolism is murky and no motivation is given for the characters’ behavior. Several themes kept reappearing: darkness vs. light, hair falling down, arms reaching up (and down), aquatic bodies (fountain, pond, and swamp). But there is nothing that a psychoanalyst could make sense of. Perhaps a mystic could.

The singing was glorious and the acting seemed fine in view of the fact that nothing is comprehensible. Much credit to Magdalena Kozena, Stéphane Degout and Gerald Finley who did their best to make the characters sympathetic. But more credit to Maestro Rattle for making the score tell the tale. In light of its Medieval nature, the late Victorian costuming appears inapposite, although Mélisande’s wig was perfect; she looked like Rapunzel and even when Golaud tried to drag her around by the hair, the wig stayed on her head. The set was ugly and anachronistic, revolving like the rooftop restaurant of the Holiday Inn in Southfield Michigan. There was much talk of being in a dark forest with lots of trees but the set had only one skinny little specimen; the forest scene from Don Carlo was better by far. The pond where Mélisande meets Golaud is devoid of water. The lighting in the last scene seem to indicate the sun setting in two directions. Clearly they were not going for realism here. But the furniture in the castle was quite realistic, going for an “Upstairs, Downstairs” look with lots of uniformed servants and chandeliers, not to mention parquet floors where rough-hewn stone would have served better.

On Tuesday Christopher Fecteau gave a luminous reading of a Humperdinck opera; he apparently made a reduction of the score for a chamber group of seven musicians who must have rehearsed quite a bit to have everything sound so distinct yet so unified. “Königskinder” lacks the singable melodies of “Hänsel und Gretel” and the story is a tragic one, definitely not one for the kiddies. The Dell’Arte Opera Ensemble was wise in their choice of this gem and must be admired for giving New York the opportunity to hear an opera absent from New York stages for nearly a century. The Lynch Theater at John Jay College is a good size for chamber opera. Costumes, set and staging were of the bare bones variety and I would decline to comment on the singing with the exception of soprano Katherine Wessinger who was a most affecting Goose Girl. Her flock of geese were imaginatively created by the four arms of two performers. She and Maestro Fecteau ensured that it was a most well-spent evening. Let’s have more chamber opera in New York City!

-- Meche Kroop for The Opera Insider

Music cures a stammer

2010-12-26T11:40:00.005-05:00

I went to see the exquisite film 'The King's Speech' last night. Yes, on Christmas. Ok, so let's be super honest here. We (my mother and I) actually went to see 'Little Fockers' but as it finished we realized that 'The King's Speech' was just starting at the next theater... so we ducked in and stole a couple seats down front.

If you haven't seen it yet, and it just came out so you may well not have, run to the cinema now. Of course most young women know Colin Firth (who plays King George VI, or "Bertie") from his portrayal of Darcy in "Pride and Prejudice" or perhaps as Mark Darcy in "Bridget Jones's Diary." This is an acting challenge of some significant measure, and he carries it off brilliantly.

Early on in the film Bertie makes his first visit to see Lionel Logue (played superbly by Geoffrey Rush), an Australian-born speech therapist, and wanna-be actor. He despairs as his stammer continues throughout the session. Logue asks him to put on some earphones and recite Hamlet's "To be or not to be" speech into a microphone that is recording his own voice. Into the earphones Logue projects music. What music, you ask? Nothing less than the overture to "Le nozze di Figaro." Of course it could have been any music at all, but perhaps the undoubtedly familiar tunes of that music would have made Bertie feel more comfortable than a piece of music with which he might have been less familiar with. I had to smile as the music swelled and of course we later find out that he has spoken the words of Hamlet eloquently and without fault because his mind was occupied with rather more agreeable things than worrying about his stammer.

If you have a spare moment this Boxing Day, or coming into the New Year's Eve long weekend (for some of you at least I hope) do make a visit to your local cinema to see this riveting film.

A new heavenly constellation

2010-12-24T09:44:00.000-05:00

Yes! And the sun is Thomas Bagwell, one of the most sensitive piano partners in the firmament. Under the auspicious auspices (Yikes!) of the Lotte Lehmann Foundation, the divine Mr. B. presented the first of a series of three art song recitals at Christ and St. Stephen’s Church, not far from Lincoln Center. I have already entered the dates for the next two on my calendar and so should you! NOW! March 13th and May 15th.

Soprano Martha Guth lent her full-throated soprano to some lovely Schubert songs, one of which was actually new to me and quite moving...”Die Abgebluhte Linde”. The poet writes of time passing, changes and aging. The gardener still loves the tree even when the west wind has stolen her blossoms.

Baritone Jonathan Michie (previously praised in a prior review for his performance in Santa Fe as the Vicar in “Albert Herring”) gave us some stirring interpretations of Schumann songs. I was particularly impressed by his “Widmung” and “Die Beiden Grenadiere”.

I was pleased to hear a composer previously unknown to me, the 19th c. German Peter Cornelius. I hope to hear more of his songs someday. His contribution to the program comprised two love duets. The voices of the two singers blended beautifully.

The second half of the program included a song cycle by a contemporary American composer Stephen Paulus, who was in attendance at the recital. He chose to set poetry by Kooser. His piano writing was completely evocative of the loneliness and isolation of the poetry. I could hear the dog barking and the snowflakes falling. Nonetheless, I could not find anything to hold onto in the vocal writing. A Frost poem set by Juhi Bansal produced the same feeling, as did the Tom Cipullo songs. If you have read my prior columns, you already know I am a melody person. I keep trying to like contemporary art songs but I would just as soon listen to the piano part with an actor reading the poetry. Or not.

Fortunately for my well-being, the evening ending with a charming duet by Brahms (now there’s a tune for ya’!) and another duet by Mrs. Amy Beach entitled “A Canadian Boat Song”, a setting of a poem by the 18th c. Irish poet Thomas Moore. How wonderful to leave a recital having been exposed to something new that you actually like! And how wonderful that there are people working to keep the art song tradition alive. Viva Thomas Bagwell and the Lotte Lehmann Foundation!

--Meche Kroop for The Opera Insider

EPATER LE BOURGEOIS

2010-12-20T10:50:00.000-05:00

“Yo, Pollo, whazzup?”

“I told ya’ Frank, call me Willy, and I’mma major bored.”

“Ya just tired of blowing smoke rings, huh?”

“Any ideas Frank?”

“Let’s write an opera, WILLY. Let’s make the homies crazy like.”

“I’m in. What about?”

“Well, since the war, women aren’t having babies”.

“Right. They enjoyed working in the munitions factories too much.”

“Shut up! What if men had the babies?”

“Oh we wouldn’t have one or two at a time. We’d figure out a way to repopulate the world”.

“Keep goin’ dude.”

“So, we could turn the wife into a man and her husband could have lots of babies”.

“I love it. How would we stage that?”

“Hmmm. She could have balloons for boobs, tied on with a string, and she could cut the string and the boobs would float away!”

“Yeh, and we could put the husband in a dress”.

“We are amazing. We are righteous. We are THERE! We’ll have music schools producing this for generations to come. What’ll we call it?”

“How about...The Boobs of Berthe?”

“Nah, what about ….Les Mamelles de Tiresias? She starts out as Terese and becomes Tiresias. That’s got more class”.

“You are a genius!”

And so...Francis Poulenc and Guillaume Apollinaire came up with a totally outrageous but charming opera and Juilliard Opera gave it an appropriately wacky production. Set and costumes were perfect. Timothy J. McDevitt was a hoot as the husband in a dress (or his tutu was too-too) and Meredith Lustig was an adorable Therese. All roles were delightfully performed and Emma Griffin directed with consummate style. Who says opera isn’t fun???

--Meche Kroop for The Opera Insider

Cosi fan tutti

2010-12-08T07:53:00.001-05:00

That is not a misprint, tutti must include the men as well as the women who made this production at the Met a complete success. What great fortune and casting wisdom to have six superb singers onstage at the same time. Not only were they superb singers but they were also convincing actors who made this silly story believable and moving.

You see, we the audience are joining in the fun of the manipulative Don Alfonso (William Shimell) and disgruntled maid (Danielle de Niese). Only the four main characters are unhappy, confused and conflicted. Sisters Fiordiligi (Miah Persson) and Dorabella (Isabel Leonard) are tricked into cheating on their respective partners Guglielmo (Nathan Gunn) and Ferrando (Pavol Breslik) who have been “called off to battle”. And who do they cheat with? The same two guys disguised as Albanians (in this production, looking more like Berbers). It is to the credit of the performers and the production team that we can suspend disbelief. Persson and Leonard are quite believable as sisters reluctantly tempted to try out a new romance while their lovers are away. Gunn and Breslik are equally convincing as the two lovers--each alternatively enjoying the fun of trying to seduce the other’s beloved but horribly pained to learn that this own lover has promised herself to another.

It’s a crazy plot and I have never seen these 18th century hijinks made as believable as in this production. One is allowed to laugh along with Don Alfonso and Despina at the same time as one “feels the pain” of the four main characters who have so much to learn about life and love. Mozart and Da Ponte laid it all out for us with a worldly wise libretto and music that suits each character. Our ears are treated to the most gorgeous arias, duets and ensembles. We can hear foreshadowing of Donizetti’s frothy comedies and witness stock characters illuminated by the genius of Mozart and Da Ponte. These are people we can care about.

The sets place us squarely on the seaside of Naples with the two drafted military men sailing away on a most realistic boat. The color palette is washed out in the nature of a seaside community in sunlight. The costumes are gorgeous and authentic. And for once, the wigs are perfect; this is not always the case, therefore doubly appreciated.

Let us hope that the Met does not replace this charming production with some cinematic post-modernist monstrosity in the years to come.

A Don of another color

2010-12-06T07:59:00.001-05:00

Having given us a silly Don last month, the Met now gives us a tragic one--Verdi’s masterpiece Don Carlo based on Schiller’s play. Don Carlo (the crown prince) travels to France to get a glimpse of his intended bride, Elisabeth of Valois, daughter of the French King Henry. They meet cute in the forest of Fontainbleu after a shooting party, as the skies are darkening. Poor Elisabeth is frightened but Carlo volunteers to protect her, having identified himself as a messenger from the Spanish court. She is curious about her intended match and Carlo shows her a portrait of himself. Bingo! Both are instantly and deliriously in love. After their joyful duet all goes downhill. Canons announce a Franco-Spanish peace to be sealed by nuptials and the orchestra erupts with climactic bursts of sound. And who is wedding Elisabeth???? Surprise!

Carlo’s father has decided to take Elisabeth for his own bride, thus unleashing four more acts of friendship, sacrifice, betrayal, thwarted love, honor, rejection, self-delusion, disgrace, and an auto da fe. The four and a half hours fly by in waves of gorgeous melodies and apt orchestrations propulsively conducted by Yannick Nezet-Seguin. Horns are a constant presence and the entire brass section keeps our attention on red alert. There is no down time.

This is a more balanced casting than the one I saw some years ago that was dominated by the charismatic Dmitri Hvorostovsky. In this production the role of Rodrigo is sung by Simon Keenlyside who definitely could have put a bit more pizazz into the role. On the other hand, Roberto Alagna was everything he was supposed to be and more. I could completely believe him as the neglected and unloved son who cannot let go of the now-forbidden love for Elisabeth. Marina Poplavskaya is equally convincing as the honorable queen who is trying to do the right thing but carries her secret love in her heart and Carlo’s portrait in her jewel case. This leaves the door open for the jealous Princess of Eboli (ably interpreted by Anna Smirnova’s dusky mezzo) to betray her queen and to set in motion a chain of events that is tragic for everyone. Rodrigo has walked a fine line between loyalty to Philip, who has expressed gratitude for his support, and his loyalty to Carlo, born of friendship. He gives his life for Carlo but dies in vain. He never achieves his goal of freeing the beleaguered Flemish people from Philip’s tyranical rule, nor can he save Carlo from the envy and contempt of his father.

The surprising thing about the characterizations is that one can feel sympathy for each player in this sad tale. Philip is a lonely aging man despairing over his inability to win the love of his young queen. His aria (“Ella giammi m’amo”) is heartbreaking, particularly so as sung by Ferrucio Furlanetto who certainly has the “garlic”. He is terrified of losing power to Carlo and must ask the Grand Inquisitor for permission to kill him. The G.I. himself (in a terrific piece of acting and singing by Eric Halfvarson) is blind and feeble but wields unquestioned power over everyone. He assures Philip that he can sacrifice his son, Just as God sacrificed HIS son. The tragedy of living in a state of paranoia in a totalitarian nation is driven home over and over again.

The chorus was as potent as usual. I was pleased to recognize some favorite young singers onstage: Here is Layla Claire portraying Elisabeth’s page! Oh, and then there were Donovan Singletary and Christopher Schaldenbrand among the Flemish Deputies. That’s always fun.

So....dream casting, excellent performances, passionate conducting of gorgeous music and a stirring story. Can I find anything to complain about? Sure. The production seems threadbare and minimalistic and doesn’t add anything to the storytelling. The setting of the first act in the forest of Fontainebleu is the exception. We are in a cold snowy landscape with a visually arresting pathway snaking through; the chill is relieved when Carlo lights a (real) fire to warm Elisabeth. This works. But afterward we are frequently treated to bare walls with squares of color which I supposed were meant to look like shafts of light but looked to me like a geometry puzzle. The designers seem to favor a color palette of red, black and gold. In the Queen’s garden, the women of the court are dressed in black and wave red fans. This is visually compelling but steals drama from the Princess Eboli singing a song about a veiled woman deceiving her husband ( as in Nozze de Figaro) which foreshadows the veiled Princess Eboli herself appearing to Carlo. And what is that strange red piece of “street furniture”? It suggested to me either a wastecan or a portapotty. Well, at least the furniture didn’t sing so let’s give it a pass.

A Winter Trip

2010-11-27T13:00:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Christopher Dylan Herbert for taking us on a glorious winter trip last Wednesday, giving us something to be thankful for the next day. And thanks to the Austrian Cultural Forum and La Prima Volta for underwriting this project, giving talented young singers the opportunity to perform solo recitals in New York and Vienna.

Sensitively accompanied by the gifted Elaine Rinaldi, Mr. Herbert communicated every nuance of nine songs selected from Schubert’s “Die Winterreise”. His youthful and plangent baritone brought out every color--irony, sadness, bitterness, anger, despair and confusion. His German diction was so clear that I understood every word. Translations not necessary! I just want to hear Mr. Herbert sing the entire cycle. I am THERE!

I have heard it said that this cycle needs to be performed by someone older and more experienced but I beg to differ. Only a youngster would experience such intense experience from what seems to be the loss of a first love. And Mr. Herbert’s voice has that youthful bloom, especially when he uses his head voice in the beginning pianissimo. As the winter voyage continues, his voice deepens a bit as anger and despair take over. It seemed as if Mr. Herbert were telling his own story; now that’s performing!

The second half of the program comprised American songs which, with my bias against the English language, I do not feel capable of much comment. The audience seemed to enjoy these songs, especially a set commissioned by Mr. H, composed by David Sisco. Vernon Duke’s “Autumn in New York” was given a nice relaxed cabaret delivery which I did enjoy; and Marc Blitzstein’s “Zipperfly” was sung with a delightful sense of humor.

I wonder if this recital will be repeated in Vienna and how the Viennese will react!

-- Meche Kroop for The Opera Insider

I have been dared to print this!

2010-11-20T08:41:00.001-05:00

As a guest critic on this blog, I am taking it upon myself to write about a thrilling recital I just attended which was given by an artist of the first rank, one whose modesty is only exceeded by her generosity and her talent. If you missed it, you have my sympathy. And who sang, may well you ask? Our own TOI co-founder Kala Maxym herself; in honor of her years ago bone marrow donation and as a benefit for Opera for Humanity. Ms. Maxym put together a mostly Spanish program that was well-paced and original.

Zarzuela was heavily represented and what a treat it was to hear more of this seldom-heard art form. My personal favorite was from Jose Serrano’s “Los Claveles”, a lament from a woman who sees her love object with another woman. Another wonderful choice was from his “Los de Aragon”. The Spanish theme continued with selections from Wolf’s “Spanisches Liederbuch” and I am pleased to report that The Divine Ms. M’s German is as good as her Spanish. The variety of moods in these little gems gave her the opportunity to show her emotional range; and the addition of the Seguidilla from Carmen allowed her to show her vocal range. Kala has this year made the transition from mezzo to soprano and her top notes have a clarity and ring but, in my opinion, she retains so much depth of color in the lower range that no repertoire would be closed to her.

The program was rounded out by Mompou’s “Quatre Melodies” which demonstrated a lovely fluency in French as well. Kala’s piano partner, Maria Paulina Garcia, who coaches, accompanies and performs at the Manhattan School of Music (one of my favorite haunts) also had an opportunity to perform a few solo pieces. My personal favorite was the Dedication to Poema en Forma de Canciones by Joaquin Turina.

It was indeed a privilege to be included in the select audience. This is a young singer to watch!

DISCLAIMER: I was in no way encouraged or even asked to write this review and am not sure that it will be published.

--Meche Kroop

Well-done is rare

2010-11-14T10:34:00.001-05:00

What is left to say about La boheme which hasn’t already been said? From the frisky opening scene which introduces us to the four rambunctious young men and the fragile Mimi, Puccini weaves his magical melodies into a tapestry that brings in new colors and textures--the narcissistic but good-hearted Musetta, the gullible landlord Benoit, the equally gullible Alcindoro, and popular Parpignol, not to mention the crowds thronging the Rive Gauche of Paris on Christmas Eve. He unreels this fabric revealing gorgeous arias and ensembles and delighting our ears until the last tragic C minor finale. Who would not admit to teary eyes at that point!

Opera Manhattan took this on, in a small black-box theater without benefit of orchestra, costumes or scenery, and provided an evening of excellent singing and dramatic validity. I admit to being no fan of updating since I believe every work of art belongs to a certain epoch; and this is most definitely a story of the 19th century. That being said, the sincerity of this production overrode my reservations. The direction by Elspeth Davis was creative and manifested a few original elements. The intimacy of the story was conveyed by the able artists: Lloyd Arriola conducted from the piano, assisted by Spencer Blank on keyboard. Edgar Jaramillo and Anna Noggle (outdoing their performances at the gala) portrayed Rodolfo and Mimi with impressive passion, throwing themselves totally into their roles and using their respective voices to great advantage. Vaughn Lindquist lent his beautiful baritone to the painter Marcello, while Kristina Semos was a feisty Musetta. Robert Maril was quite amusing as Schaunard and Bryce Smith winningly fulfilled the foursome in the role of Colline.

We are grateful to Opera Manhattan not only for entertaining us so well but also for giving performance opportunities to emerging artists. We in the audience can look forward to gloating about having seen these artists before they became famous, and let us hope that many of them will! The only thing I can complain about was the lack of bios in the program; I wanted to know more about the artists. There are a total of 8 performances. Make sure you catch one of them.

-- Meche Kroop for The Opera Insider

Epicurean Feasts at Manhattan School of Music

2010-11-13T09:06:00.001-05:00

How is a vocal recital like a gourmet dinner? Let me count the ways.

When The Singing Chef plans dinner, she contemplates in advance the nature of the guests she will be serving; she gives serious thought to serving a variety of courses which will complement one another; she aims for contrasts of color, texture, and flavor, she researches recipes; she includes something familiar along with things that might be unfamiliar to the guests; she avoids cliches; and above all she want to send her guests home sated and satisfied.

So might an astute artist of the vocal persuasion give thought to the sophistication of his/her audience, the balance of selections, the inclusion of the familiar with the novel. Such was the case at the Manhattan School of Music last Tuesday when bass Colin Ramsey gave his graduation recital. Having heard Mr. Ramsey sing last year I knew this was a recital not to be missed, in spite of a couple very attractive vocal alternatives. (Oh, if only I could clone myself!)

Ramsey opened with two arias by Jean-Baptiste de Lully which showcased his acting skills as well as his vocal chops. There was a marvelous contrast between the humorous and the serious. Two arias from Handel’s Giulio Cesare demonstrated his vocal flexibility. The program closed with some Cole Porter, giving full rein to the artist’s 20th Century sensibility.

As encore, he offered Schubert’s “An Die Musik” which perfectly summed up the evening for this music lover, who left feeling totally satisfied and hoping to hear more from this young (but mature beyond his years) artist.

--Meche Kroop for The Opera Insider

Boris Goodenough

2010-11-07T11:13:00.000-05:00

The Met got it absolutely right. If Russian opera is an acquired taste, this may be your best chance to acquire it. Although some audience members I spoke with found the scenery too sparse for their taste, this mattered not a bit to me. There was nothing to compete with Mussorgsky’s glorious music, which was thrillingly conducted by Valery Gergiev. There is nothing in the United States to compete with the versatile Metropolitan Opera chorus who brought the scenes with peasants and boyars to life in equal measure.

What could compare with Rene Pape’s interpretation of the czar, a man deeply troubled by a guilty conscience! Perhaps his guilt has been disproven by historians but it makes for a great operatic (anti)hero. It took about two and a half minutes of stage time for him to elicit my sympathy for this murderous monster. His tenderness toward his own children added still more depth to his character. His magisterial bass has been adequately lauded elsewhere. I couldn’t stop fantasizing about him as a candidate for the role of Wotan.

The entire cast was superb without a weak link. Ekaterina Semenchuk was admirable as the conniving Marina and Aleksandrs Antonenko dazzled as the psychopathic young monk who passes himself off as Dimitri, rightful heir to the throne.

The entire riveting evening flew by, giving the lie to the clock. Special mention must be made of Stephen Wadsworth who stepped in as director for the original director who flew the coop. Moidele Becker created some truly lavish 16th century costumes for the boyars and some suitable rags for the starving peasants but puzzled more than one of us by dressing the women of the Polish court in white gowns reminiscent of Napoleonic Empire crossed with Erte. Oh well. Just a tiny nit pick in a fulfilling evening--everything opera is meant to be.

--Meche Kroop for The Opera Insider

Wagner, Verdi, and Vodka

2010-11-05T07:29:00.003-04:00

Wagner, Verdi, and Vodka: That is what was promised by Opera Manhattan Repertory Theatre and that is what we got. In spades. What a glorious gala evening it was! V.W. Smith, affectionately known as Bryce, and Rebecca Greenstein merit major props for giving Manhattan opera lovers a truly stellar evening.

The evening began with Wagner, an ambitious undertaking to say the least. Most notable among many fine young singers was Grace Valdes who, with her dark, warm and powerful soprano, did justice to Senta’s Ballad from Der Fliegende Hollander and Ortrud’s Curse from Lohengrin.

The second part of the evening highlighted Verdi. Anna Noggle, previously seen at a recital for the Hispanic Opera Company, was a lovely Gilda. Maestro Carmine Aufiero did a most effective job conducting scenes from La Traviata and Rigoletto.

The third part of the evening was the festive gala. The young and lively audience dressed in fine style and did their best to polish off the generous spread of food and drink. But the capstone of the evening was the unexpected performance of a teaser scene from the upcoming La Boheme, performed by Edgar Jaramillo. This tenor, new on the scene, sang with such sincerity and presence, backed by a lovely ringing sound, that the noisy bustling crowd was stunned into silence. You can believe I immediately ordered tickets for November 12th, the night he will be performing. I am sure the other tenors will be equally fine but Mr. J. has such an amazing talent for bonding with the audience that I cannot do otherwise but cancel my plans to get there. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

--Meche Kroop for The Opera Insider

An Atheist's Letter to God

2010-10-21T09:12:00.002-04:00

Dear Wotan,

I never could believe in an all-loving shepherd-type God who let too many sheep wander off or die of unnatural causes. Nor could I worship a God who was supposed to reward the righteous when I see evil-doers thrive and the good die horrible deaths. BUT...a god just like the rest of us with all our moral failings is one I could relate to. I could learn from a God like you--not to break my agreements, not to sleep around, not to be greedy for power--useful lessons all.

At the temple of the Metropolitan Opera House, as you spoke and sang through James Morris, I could feel your pain. I could understand your desperate attempts to find your way out of a dilemma. I could even drop my feminist leanings and want you to triumph over naggy whiny Fricka. I could feel your love for and anger towards your rebellious favorite daughter. I could weep for your need to allow your beloved Siegmund to die. I imagined how disappointed you must have been in your L’il Abner of a grandson. Your diminishment left me grief-stricken. You had to leave that world of gods and demons and giants to destroy itself so we could begin all over. What a god you were Wotan!

But now, you have disappeared altogether; you have left your message to be spoken and sung by Mr. Terfel who doesn’t get it. I don’t give a fig for what happens to you anymore. As a matter of fact, Fricka’s point of view, as interpreted by Ms. Blythe is looking ever more attractive. I can’t believe that you could have fathered all those demigods on earth. Who could be seduced with that stringy hair hanging in your face, I ask you? And what on earth, dear god, happened to your home? What happened to the mountain tops and the craggy peaks? Who replaced it with post-modern machinery and neon? At least the pit-dark cave of your nemesis Alberich still exists, but then evil always has a home on earth.

Well, the entire creation myth has a new strange emphasis and I for one don’t like it. Perhaps when Brunnhilde comes on the scene next Spring, things may get back to being a myth I can believe in. Meanwhile, I’ll just have to remember the way your earthly temple used to be and try to resurrect my memory of good old Mr. Morris.

Yours sincerely,

Meche Kroop

Beginner's Luck

2010-10-20T12:56:00.005-04:00

One of the benefits of working with The Opera Insider is that all of a sudden, I'm being showered with Press Tickets to shows around New York. How fantastic not only that I get to see them but that these companies and organizations are trusting me with their art and allowing me to see and write about it.

Last night I visited Merkin Hall in New York City for the very first time ever to see a recital by two young up-and-coming singers: mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke

and 26-year old tenor and 2009 Met Council Audition winner, Paul Appleby

with the New York Festival of Song (NYFOS). I have seen a few of the NYFOS recitals before, and have always left the hall at the end of the evening happier and lighter on my feet than when I walked in (even with my walking cast, it was still true last night). The programming is unfailingly inventive and the charisma of its founders, Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, shines throughout the evening. Last night's theme was "Beginner's Luck," focusing on the lives of young people as they navigate the hurdles of youth and young adulthood.

I was particularly drawn in by Steven Blier's short presentations before each set of songs. He has seen these two artists grow and develop over the last five to ten years, and they are obviously very close friends so his personal stories of the songs or song sets mixed with biographical information about the composers, poets, and music really made the evening so much more enjoyable.

To me, once Paul Appleby started singing, no one else had a hope of catching my attention. He IS everything a singer should be and HAS everything a singer should have: charisma, a fantastic voice, physical energy and strength, good looks, cheekiness and humor, flexibility, and above all else, an understated humility about his remarkable ability to convey intimate emotions. I was taken in by every note he sang.

Appleby is a member of the Lindemann Young Artist Program at the Met, and I am sure we will see much more from him in the future. If this is what the future is, then I am content.

HD - Friend or Foe to Opera?

2010-10-19T13:16:00.002-04:00

It was only late summer ennui combined with a great hunger for my favorite art form and the opportunity to sit outdoors in the Lincoln Center Plaza FOR FREE (thanks to The Neubauer Family Foundation, Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s) that overcame a former near-insurmountable reluctance to see opera productions on video. Neither Hi-Def nor Lo-Def tempted me.

After several evenings spent at the Met’s Summer HD Festival I am ready to admit to a great deal of worth in what amounts to a new art form. Is it “as good” as live opera? That is not really the issue. One doesn’t need to compare artichokes with sunchokes. So let’s take a look at some of the differences.

It seems to me as if the major difference is the role of the HD Director. This individual seems to determine the visual focus for the viewer, deciding what part of the stage or which singer deserves our attention at any given moment. The viewer loses the right to decide where to focus. A good director has great instincts for when to focus on the singer, when to focus on the tableau on the stage as a whole, when to highlight an important set element, which singer in a duet to put in the camera spotlight, or what degree of close-up to offer.

I was most impressed by Barbara Willis Sweete for her direction of Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier. Of course, she had a most excellent production to “film.” Not only was the opera sung as close to perfection as possible but it was cast with an eye to visuals--meaning that the singers all looked just right for the part. Close-ups were consequently most welcome and seeing the facial expressions added a new dimension to the experience, one not available at the Met even with opera glasses. The poignancy of the drama was thereby enhanced.

On the other hand, Gary Halvorson had much less to work with in Puccini’s Turandot. The Zeffirelli production shines on stage with its lavish grandeur but on the HD version it appeared dark. The intimate scenes did not work nearly as well on the big screen and Maria Guleghina in the lead role was not visually appealing in extreme close-up. Halvorson did better with Carmen but then again, Alagna and Garanca are simply more convincing in close-up as Don José and Carmen.

And so, it would appear that HD is a hybrid form (or even a completely new form perhaps?) comprising not just orchestra, singing, and stagecraft but also cinematic and video values which can add or detract. BUT to the central question: is it good or bad for opera? I vote for good. There are folks all over the country without access to live opera who deserve to experience opera in some form or other; and there are people who have never been to a live opera who are being introduced to it in HD form and who will become fans of opera because of it.

--Meche Kroop for The Opera Insider

Old friends, a choreographed orgy, panic, and skin-tight jeans

2010-10-13T10:24:00.010-04:00

I saw that a few weeks ago I wrote a post entitled "Meeting new friends." Well, today I write a short note about meeting old ones.... and about people making stuff up.

I hadn't seen Kate in over four years, and to be honest, we hadn't known each other that well when we were together at Chicago Opera Theater back in 2006 (by the way I started that sentence thinking it was only three... then did the math, and realized that we met even longer ago than that!) She was a mezzo at the time, as was I, but made the switch to soprano soon after. It was absolutely fabulous to see her again and reaffirmed my belief in the fact that singers are truly a one-of-a-kind breed: We TRUST each other almost implicitly, almost from the word "go" and no matter how long we've been apart" We have to, really. And considering my first-ever professional gig involved a choreographed orgy, I certainly had to learn fast!

We met at the phenomenal restaurant Kashkaval on 9th Avenue between 55th and 56th street and gorged ourselves on hummus, red pepper dip, grape leaves, artichoke dip, and tzatziki while sharing stories of fach-changes, Met performances we'd seen (and loved or hated), mutual friends, and the like. A couple things kept coming up: age, real quality in singers, the difficulty of the business, and the fear of getting to a certain age and never having sung that first Tosca (for her), or that first Mimi (for me... she's done a few of those already!)

This business is one of panic:

I'm not singing enough.
I'm singing too much.
I don't have the right rep.
I have too much of the same rep.
I don't have an agent.
I do have an agent but s/he doesn't do anything for me.
I don't sing Handel.
I only sing Handel.
I'm too old.
I'm not old enough.

We are programmed from the time of grad school (I can't speak to undergrad since I did not begin studying voice in a regimented fashion until I reached grad school at age 24 but I assume even from undergrad onwards), to "play by the rules" or that's it. That means: have five contrasting arias in four (or five) different languages and styles, dress conservatively and elegantly for your auditions, always have your materials ready, etc.

Fair enough. All this is true and having five contrasting arias is not a bad idea of course. But if your voice REALLY does do one thing better than another, why try to fake it by making it do something it's not naturally born to do? Of course we need to be flexible, but at what cost? We spend so much time trying to make ourselves be as universally appealing as possible that we oftentimes forget the real meat of the matter. Why can't a soprano sing Charlotte if she has a great low range? Or Cherubino? Or Musetta? Oh wait, no, that's now acceptable. Who makes these rules? Who decided a few years ago that if you brought in "Quando m'en vo" as a mezzo you weren't completely off your rocker? When I was in grad school just five years ago, this was not considered acceptable. Now it is. It's a bit like skin-tight jeans. Who decided that was ok?

Excuse the rant but going back to another point made above, about the quality of singer, she, like I, had had several experiences sitting at the Met - the pre-eminent opera house arguably in the whole world - that left her cringing and writhing inside. I have left several operas at intermission there because the singing was so bad or because I actually got to that point where I had to agree with the masses who say "opera's just so boring." How do we expect to keep the art form alive when we so often settle for mediocrity and genericness?

I've decided to sing on my terms. Like it or not (and more often that not, I don't), I'm 31 now, and I'm done with pandering to people who want to put me in a box and label me. I sing Liu... and I sing Stephano. I sing Louise (almost!)... and Cherubino. And that's ok, folks. If you can do it, do it. Let us make our own paths, speak our own natural language, forge ahead in those areas in which we truly excel, and let's try to keep originality and fire onto the stage.

Vertical Player Repertory presents “Playthings of the Gods: Essential Myths”

2010-10-12T12:11:00.001-04:00

Vertical Player Repertory’s “Playthings of the Gods: Essential Myths”

I was eager to finally see a performance by the Vertical Player Repertory (VPR) after an unsuccessful previous attempt – a friend had inadvertently purchased tickets to a Brooklyn performance of the play A View from the Bridge rather than VPR’s performance of the opera. For this performance, “Playthings of the Gods: Essential Myths,” fortune smiled upon me. I arrived at the correct performance at the correct place at the correct time, and I’m glad I did.

VPR is known for creative stagings in unusual venues, and last night’s performance continued this tradition. The program, which integrated music of the 17th and 20th centuries with readings by prominent actors, and which was performed on a candlelit stage at the stunning Christ Church Cobble Hill, was surprisingly effective. Co-creators Judith Barnes and Hayden DeWitt had clearly put a great deal of thought into the selections and their order. For example, a reading of the story of Abraham and Isaac from Genesis was followed by Britten’s canticle Abraham and Isaac, and the composer’s The Journey of the Magi followed a reading of the T.S. Eliot poem to which it was set.

Soloists were strong across the board, and the quality of their acting matched that of the singing. I found the performances of two Britten canticles particularly affecting, and was impressed that tenor Daniel Neer and alto Hayden DeWitt as Abraham and Isaac, respectively, and baritone Phillip Cheah, who joined them for a performance of The Journey of the Magi, scaled their voices down when necessary to ensure that they blended well as an ensemble and that the audience could hear Britten’s intricate harmonies. (Cheah was equally comfortable as a countertenor, playing Oberon in the finale of Britten’s Midsummer Night’s Dream).

Other highlights included Melanie Long’s performance of Chers Corinthiens from Milhaud’s Médée and Judith Barnes’ performance of Britten’s cantata Phaedra.
The eye-catching costumes, designed by Deborah Houston, contributed to the drama. Also notable was the fine work of the instrumentalists (Kelly Savage on harpsichord, Motomi Igarashi on the viola da gamba, and music director Lloyd Paguia Arriola on piano) and the enthusiastic chorus.

My only quibble was with the acoustics of church, which created echoes (at least from where I was sitting), and made it difficult for the audience to understand the texts, despite the excellent diction of the performers.
That aside, it was an entertaining, thought-provoking evening -- the kind that makes you want to go to church again on a Saturday night.

-- Rachel Antman for The Opera Insider

Faust in Swedish at Folkoperan

2010-10-01T06:46:00.009-04:00

Well, this trip has certainly been full of firsts for me. Last weekend I had the chance to visit Stockholm. It is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever been to and I loved every moment of being there. The city is made up of dozens of little islands all interconnected by bridges. Everyone walks or cycles, and thanks to some absolutely glorious weather, I was able to be out almost the entire weekend. Here are a couple stunning views to give you an idea of the beauty of the architecture and city layout.

The Royal Opera House is stunning, and I was sad that I wasn't able to go see a production there. Here is a view of the front of the house as well as from the back behind some beautiful gardens.

I did, however, have the chance to visit the Folkoperan, or "People's Opera," something along the lines of English National Opera in that they do all their productions in Swedish (so the general public will feel that opera is accessible, of course) but with a touch more bohemian flair than it's London partner. Their current offering is Gounod's "Faust." It's another opera I don't know nearly as well as I should or would like to and so it was a special treat to see it in a full production (though there were significant cuts to the score). I was totally up for seeing an opera in Swedish, and the beautiful sing-songy nature of the language lends itself extremely well to singing. My sources tell me the translation was accurate and in no way offensive or distracting... though of course I can't really comment on that personally.

What I can comment on, though, is this idea of a "concept opera.." or so I've heard it called. Of course had I been able to read the program (a secondary part of this "making opera accessible to the people" idea includes no English translations in the program either, which is certainly understandable but would have helped me in this instance), I might have understood what the Director, Mira Bartov, was going for. Her "concept" - somewhere between 1950s domestic, 1970s hippie, and 1990s dominatrix, mixed with a touch of old world Parisian flair - was visually pleasing and was not overly distracting. However, if there was a message she was trying to convey through it, I certainly missed it. Her staging at times greatly supported and at other times clashed with the sweeping melodies in the score.

The singing was, apart from one clear standout, acceptable. I always fear that when a young singer is heralded as the next young star, he or she risks tackling too many or too many large roles before he or she is ready. This is certainly what I felt was the case with, Daniel Johansson, the tenor who played the role of Faust. His schedule is packed to the gills this year, and he is on everyone's radar in the opera world here. However, other than some very powerful high notes, I did not find anything particularly remarkable about his voice. He kept his vocal and physical focus well through to the very end, but his voice sounded tired at times and the high notes were pressed. I worried during a few moments whether he could sustain till the end given how much power and strength he was asking his voice to give.

His presence was certainly perfect for the role: tall, handsome, manly, strong... but his voice was lost under heavy orchestral moments and in the trio with Mephistopheles and Valentin, he was barely audible below his uppermost register. Marguerite was sung by Ulrika Mjörndal, whose voice had something of an old-time, 1940s black-and-white film quality, maybe the opera equivalent of Katharine Hepburn. The voice was round and warm, but the top notes sounded a bit blasted, at times sort of popping out from the rest of the range, which was otherwise quite consistent. There was a bit of a lack of chemistry between her and Faust, but I rather think this may have been more because of the staging and cuts, rather than because the intentions weren't there. Marguerite's brother, Valentin - portrayed here as a Vietnam era soldier, I think, was sung incredibly by Daniel Frank. What a voice! Not a baritone by any stretch of MY imagination, and I hope that he will consider exploring the tenor rep in the future. His upper register was absolutely stunning, and he was certainly one of the strongest actors on stage that night.

For my money - and here I think this is truly a question of objectivity not subjectivity - the highlight of the evening was baritone Kosma Ranuer as Mephistopheles. His voice was sonorous and rich throughout, and his characterization of the devil imposing, yet calm (the most terrifying combination in my opinion). He didn't miss a beat in his portrayal of evil, and you could also see exactly how his powers were impossible to resist. I had the opportunity to meet Kosma afterward the show, as well as an editor for Opera Now magazine. Naturally, he was as humble as could be. I certainly hope that audiences in the rest of Europe will have the chance to see this marvelous talent sometime in the very near future.

The cast was rounded out by Marie Alexis as Siebel and Eva Marklund as Marthe, who I wish had had a larger role as her voice was pleasing throughout. There was no chorus (budget cuts) and this certainly took away slightly from the overall drama of the piece.

Overall, it was a unforgettable evening (not least of which because I now know how to say "My brother is a soldier," in Swedish and an eye-opener into the world of opera Sweden, and to a certain extent the trends in opera in Europe today.

Goteborgs Operan's The Rake's Progress

2010-09-24T07:50:00.015-04:00

Sorry for the hugely long hiatus here, but traveling caught up with me a bit! Lots to talk about now, though, but I'll put it into a few separate posts.

So I've been in Sweden just over a week now studying with my teacher and also soaking up a ton of opera-related stuff in this beautiful country. I realized a couple nights that, even though I grew up in Europe for 14 years, I don't think I've actually been to an opera in Europe (excepting the UK) in probably about two decades. I have read a ton about "concept operas" sweeping across Europe, the insane Calixto Bieito, crazy stagings, etc., so I was especially excited to see what the Gothenburg Opera and Stockholm's Volksoperan had in store for me I saw last weekend. It was also lovely to make the acquaintance finally of a lovely American soprano, Rebecca Fromherz, who is pictured here with our teacher, Jean-Ronald (Ron) LaFond.

I of course also had to make sure I got my picture with him inside this beautiful theater as well!

It all started out last Friday night at the Goteborgs Operan with Stravinsky's masterpiece, "The Rake's Progress." Here we had an English opera in a Swedish opera house with Swedish surtitles sung by Swedes (minus one excellent Brit) really covered a whole lot of firsts for me. But what a way to start!

I didn't know this opera very well and was thrilled to see the production in its full glory. I had obviously heard the two main arias (though I believe that the two other arias sung by Anne Trulove and Tom Rakewell should be given more attention) in audition settings before and always thought they were very beautiful, but other than that, I didn't know much. A great place to be actually, if you ask me.

I had had the distinct pleasure of spending some time with tenor James Edwards (Tom Rakewell) the night before the performance and also the following morning, and had some fascinating discussions with him about opera in Europe, about the production, and about singing, both the business and the technical side of it. Of course I was duly tickled when I mentioned The Opera Insider, and he said, "Yes, I've heard of you!" In fact we had been in touch last summer about his recording studio, Vocal Recording, based in London! He is embarking on a very interesting project producing EPKs - Electronic Press Kits - for singers. I saw his and it is a minor masterpiece!

I also had the chance to meet and spend a bit of time chatting with Ingela Bohlin (Anne Trulove) and Ulrika Tenstam (Baba the Turk) at Bommen, the "Peach Pit" of the Goteborgs Operan regulars just across the street from the opera house.

Bohlin sang the role of Anne well, never wavering in her portrayal of a young woman's sweet naivete, but other than that, her voice seemed a bit ungrounded and there was little depth of personality that was allowed to shine through her crystaline voice. Still she sang beautifully and consistently in this demanding role, and was a pleasure to behold on stage. Edwards, tall, proud, and handsome, fit the role perfectly and sang the hell out of Tom Rakewell. A former baritone, his low register resonated roundly and gave his voice depth and feeling. A large presence on stage with no effort whatsoever, he truly inhabited the character and showed his descent into despair with clarity, thoughtfulness, vigor, and finesse. Tenstam was the life of the party as Baba the Turk, showing a fantastic flare for comedic timing and stealing the show on several occasions. Åke Zetterström's Nick Shadow was one for the records. His lanky, imposing physique and laser-beam voice added to the terrifying nature of his character. You would never have known that he was not feeling well since his solid technique and absolute command of the stage and of his character did not falter once.

The chorus was in excellent form. Their sound was warm and beautifully uniform, and it was obvious that the group had been working together for years, so cohesive was their presentation, both physically and vocally.

I must say that I felt the same way about the epilogue of this opera as I do about the last scene in Don Giovanni: simply put, I don't like it. Though it may well have been a comment on this style of opera in general, the final scene broke the silence and severity of the previous one, a hugely long almost half-hour scene that builds and builds until your heart is pounding, breaking almost at Tom's deperation. I found that it somehow cheapened the journey Tom had been forced to take. Talking to James afterwards about it, he felt the same way. "It's hard," he said, "to take twenty minutes to die, lie in a coffin uttering your last sounds, expire, and then have to get up and sing chirpy happiness. It just feels a bit unnatural."

Still, an unforgettable evening... and one I think I will have the pleasure of repeating this Saturday during their next performance.

To finish off, here's a beautiful picture of the Goteborg "Eye," at night, just outside the main entrance:

And another of the building itself, a truly magnificent structure.

Hanging with the Met chorus

2010-09-06T14:22:00.005-04:00

It isn't often that I get to spend the day with 30 Met opera singers. Maybe one or two at once, if I'm lucky but not a whole gaggle of them!! Yesterday, I had the wonderful opportunity to spend the day in Newburgh, New York, at the home of two members (one former and one current) of the Met Opera chorus. Every year over the Labor Day weekend, they choose the best of their vegetables from their amazing vegetable garden, cook up a total feast, and invite about 50 of their nearest and dearest friends to enjoy the beauty and tranquility of the country. Thanks to a good friend, I got to tag along this time around.

Apart from ogling the house, the grounds, the flowers, and the orchard (yes, they have an orchard in their back yard), another central aspect to the day were the dogs who came along to play. Being cooped up in Manhattan apartments made the big ones go a little nuts but we also had the opportunity to play with a few of the smaller guys, too. The one pictured here, Jemima Puddleduck, is a rescued maltese. She's quite sick, so we are wishing her a speedy recovery.

As was promised to me the food was abundant beyond belief and out of this world delicious (they even gave us all a bag of home grown tomatoes, fresh basil, and elephant garlic to take home with us!) The hosts were as gracious as gracious could be. I have to say the highlight for me came later in the afternoon. As I was sitting outside on a tree trunk enjoying the lovely sunshine, I suddenly heard soft jazz music coming from inside.

Our host, Kent, was sitting at the piano playing some show tunes. A few of the guests started humming along, then more and more people joined us until after a while the place was filled. Our other host, Marty, came and sang along with Kent in a crystal clear and beautiful tenor voice. After they had sung a couple numbers, they opened the floor up to whomever wanted to perform something. People played and sang, and those who weren't accompanying themselves had the pleasure of being accompanied by the Assistant Conductor of the Met chorus, Joe, whose playing was some of the most touching I have heard in a long time.

Yours truly had the opportunity to sing a little something, too. I offered my favorite songs of all time, Neil McKay's hilarious "Limericks" then finished off with "Carceleras," a Zarzuela by Chapi.

Some of those present - many in fact - had been in the Met chorus for years... decades even, and they still seem to love it. Well... they didn't want to hear any opera on a summery Sunday afternoon (!) but it was obvious that they absolutely loved their job. It was wonderful to see this, and a great pleasure to meet so many fascinating people. I suppose I'll see a few of them in the HD broadcast if I make it there for tonight's showing of "Carmen!"

Ridi Pagliacco!

2010-09-02T18:39:00.010-04:00

Last night it all finally came together! I've been waiting for this night for months, I'm sure not with as much anxiety as Daria Parada, the Artistic Director of Mercury Opera, but certainly with a lot of excitement. Daria and I first met in January of this year and I was immediately taken by her energy, her commitment, and her passion for this project, which at the time, was still in zygote stages. Since then, in 8 short months, she managed to bring the production to fruition... not without stops and starts of course, but she did it and I commend her.

I was pleased to have a good friend with me last night, the very talented stage director and choreographer Heidi Lauren Duke. We have known each other for years, and it is always nice to hear about her fun and exciting projects.

Even from my partial-view seat at the side of the Museum and Circus Sideshow theater on Surf Avenue, just a few doors down from the Cyclone, I thoroughly enjoyed this production. The venue was intimate, just as it should have been, and we were even treated to a catered reception afterwards.

The cast had changed many times over the last few months and even the original conductor had pulled out so there were a few last minute replacements, most notably Perry Martinez as Cannio. It did not show and the cast performed so well with one another you'd have been convinced they had been doing this for weeks... not just five short rehearsals.

The vocal star of the evening was, without a doubt, Samantha Pruyn Guevrekian in the role of Nedda. Her voice shimmered in the high range and showed color and expression throughout her range. Almost even more remarkable than her pitch-perfect singing, however, was her innate ability to know when not to sing. She used her well-supported speaking voice in just the right places and just the right amount to capture the most vulnerable and tortured moments of her character. Her chemistry with baritone Stephen Lavonier was palpable and he was endearing as her lover Silvio (dressed not very obviously as a pizza delivery boy). Percy Martinez's Cannio was heartfelt if a little soft at times but as Pagliacco he was both calm and terrifying in all the right places. Chad Karl as Tonio/Taddeo showed remarkable acting skills but I did spend a good part of the time wondering whether he might actually be a tenor. His high notes were just too full and strong for me to be utterly convinced there wasn't a Heldentenor stuck in there somewhere. Boris Derow rounded out the cast as a hilarious Arlecchino providing the most laughs of the night with his Fabio wig and gyrating hips. Not to be forgotten was the chorus who did remarkably well considering there were only about two people to a part.

I commend the entire cast and crew on a fabulous night and can't wait to see this production again someday very soon.

Picking up speed!

2010-09-01T12:32:00.005-04:00

I can feel the summer ending and the fall coming. I mean it's still hot as blazes outside and my AC is working overtime, but I can sense that the summer vibe is coming to a close, and things autumnal are starting to pop up: leaves are starting to change, fall fashions are hitting storefronts everywhere, and opera is picking up speed as seasons start.

Two nights ago I went to see a concert of Vivaldi. Just Vivaldi, six concerti to be precise by the amazing 4x4 Baroque ensemble at beautiful St. Peter's Church in midtown Manhattan.

Here is the wonderful ensemble just getting settled before starting their performance:

Each concerto lasted only about 10 minutes so the entire program was little over an hour, but what an amazing hour it was. The musicians played as if they had been grown in the womb together: one heartbeat, one breath. The skill of each individual player was only enhanced when they all came together in unison, creating a breathtaking musical effect.

Tonight's another doozy and one I've been looking forward to for months: Mercury Opera's Pagliacci on Coney Island. Daria Parada and I co-hosted an event for The Opera Insider and Mercury Opera in late June which was a huge success and we are so happy that they are finally getting their moment to shine.

I'm looking forward to seeing what they have in store for us - and of course a trip to Coney Island is never remiss!

Begone summer opera starvation!

2010-08-30T10:23:00.006-04:00

And to go along with my most recent post, here is Meche Kroops's review of Opera Manattan's Eugene Onegin from this past Saturday night, August 28th.

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Begone summer opera starvation! The Opera Manhattan Repertory Theatre has come to the rescue with a series of three summer concert presentations, just ended with a nourishing and tasty performance of Eugene Onegin.

Founded recently by opera bass Bryce Smith and musical theater singer Rebecca Greenstein, OMRT is meant to give opera singers the opportunity to take their careers into their own hands by learning new roles to appear on their resumes, thereby assisting them in getting performance opportunities of these same roles elsewhere.

The audience gets an opportunity to hear singers well worth hearing, who they might otherwise miss. Although future works will be done with sets and costumes (see www.OperaManhattan.com for details), the summer series is done concert style with piano accompaniment. I was privileged to have enjoyed both Anna Bolena and Eugene Onegin. Truth be told, I never missed the sets, costumes, titles or orchestra.

The “unsung” heroine of the evening, Violetta Zabbi (on faculty at the New York Opera Studio), played a piano reduction of Tchaikovsky’s score with subtlety and panache. I heard things that I had missed when the opera was presented at the Met with, of course, full orchestra. I admit that my memories of the Robert Carsen production and Michael Levine’s sets and costumes were very much in my mind’s eye as I listened; but memories of Hvorostovsky and Mattila, of Fleming and Hampson, faded in my ear. What was lost in star power was definitely gained in immediacy and intimacy.

Tatyana was beautifully rendered by Maryann Mootos who seemed to put every ounce of herself into the portrayal. Her “letter scene” was a standout. Lensky was very well performed by now-tenor Adam Juran (whom you may recall as a baritone) and I was sorry to see him killed off so early in the work! Vaughn Lindquist was a fine Onegin and Elspeth Davis sang Olga better and better as the evening progressed, although I did not hear a profound contralto quality in her voice.

I did hear a nice contralto quality in the voice of Andrea Nwoke, which lent substance and authority to the role of Madame Larina, Tatyana’s mother. Angeliki Theoharis was fine as Filippyevna, the nurse. In Act I, the quartet of women’s voices blew me away with tender harmonies. As a matter of fact, I found all the ensemble work to be extremely well-balanced.

Bryce Smith himself was princely in both voice and stature as Gremin, and special notice must be given to tenor John Wasiniak who gave a most individual spin to the role of Monsieur Triquet who composes and sings adulatory verses at Tatyana’s name-day party, proving that there are indeed no small roles. James Siranovich served ably as Music Director and Conductor.

Now, don’t I have to find something to complain about? Not from me but from the native-born Russian sitting next to me, came the reply to my question about the adequacy of the singers’ Russian. “Everybody need Russian coach.” Fortunately for me I don’t know a dozen words in Russian so it didn’t bother me one bit.

We can hardly wait for the fall season!

Eugene Onegin at Opera Manhattan

2010-08-28T22:47:00.002-04:00

It's almost 11 pm and I've just come home and am about to sit down and devour some leftover pasta. I attended one of two performances of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin tonight by the Opera Manhattan Repertory Theater, one of the little gems in the opera world of this amazing city.

As any of you who read my blog know, I have formed a lovely friendship with a wonderful woman and fellow opera lover in New York, Meche Kroop. She attended the performance tonight as well and at the end we decided to put our thoughts side by side on this blog for our readers: she from the audience perspective, I from the viewpoint of a singer. We are grateful for your thoughtful comments about our respective ideas.

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I have to say straight off the bat that, after a short night of fitful sleep, I was a bit worried that I might feel the tendency to nod off towards the end of the opera, as I shamelessly admit to having done on several occasions (take note, Wotan!) Not even a yawn was in sight tonight! Overall the singing was absolutely superb and even though the performance was not staged with no costumes, set, or props, you felt like you lost not a minute of the story and followed the emotional roller coaster of each character at every step. The roles were well cast, and it was obvious to me that every singer was just thrilled to bits to be up there singing. I suppose it may have helped that almost all of them were only singing this one performance... so they really gave it their all.

Special credit, I feel, must be given to tenor Adam Juran who sang the role of Lensky. I have peripherally known Adam for about seven months now, ever since I walked in on the end of his lesson with our teacher, Ron LaFond. What I heard tonight was nothing like what I heard seven months ago. Surely, he still has a few kinks to work out in the uppermost reaches of his register but there were moments of absolute glory, warmth, and stability in his voice. His aria, "Kuda, kuda" left me on the edge of my seat. I would encourage him not to shy away from making eye contact and holding his focus while he sings as this will help him vocally, I think, as well. I commend him on some phenomenal work and wish him the best as he forges ahead in this very difficult repertoire.

In the title role, Vaughn Lindquist was stoic and sang with a strong, round, and capable voice. He made up for any fogginess in the highest notes in the role with his utterly convincing portrayal of the tormented Onegin. His final duet with Tatyana, ably and beautifully presented by Maryann Mootos, was absolutely riveting, and his final note appropriately sent the audience shooting to its feet. Maryann carried the show, as Tatyana really must do in this opera. Her acting skills were spot on and you were absolutely convinced that she had translated, read, reread and internalized every word and emotion of the Russian text. Her voice blended easily with Lindquist's as well as with Elspeth Davis's rich-voiced Olga. Her high notes spun perfectly and the famous Letter Scene was absolutely stunning.

As Tatyana's younger sister, Davis warmed up after the initial quartet where she was slightly outsung by Mootos, but was fiery and strong in the ballroom scene opposite Lensky. Bass Bryce Smith - also coincidentally the founder of Opera Manhattan - was as noble as noble could be in the role of Prince Gremin, Tatyana's husband, and the low note at the end of his Act III aria surely resonated all the way down to the toes of every member of the audience, this writer included.

Andrea Nwoke was a proud though appropriately motherly Larina. Although her voice wobbled at times especially in the upper range, it blended well with the voices of the other three ladies and she completely inhabited the role, winning us over with her stage presence and her absolutely conviction as to who this character was. Angeliki Theoharis as Filipyevna, Jonathan Harris as Zaretsky and the very hilarious John Wasiniak rounded out the cast extremely well. In the words of Meche after his aria, "there are no small roles in opera."

My advice? RUN, don't walk, to see this production!!!

Pasta and Puccini... the miniature poodle

2010-08-26T11:44:00.006-04:00

Last night I finally managed to sit down with Meche Kroop and Daniel Hernandez for a long overdue chat over dinner. Meche donned her apron and rustled up the most delicious dish of pasta with strawberry-marinara sauce. Yep, you heard right! Here she is in full swing preparing the sumptuous dish.

Meche is a doctor, a psychiatrist to be precise. I didn't know this before last night. What I did know about her, however, ever since she joined The Opera Insider about a year ago, is that she is probably more knowledgeable about opera than most people who get paid to write about it. She has been a die-hard opera lover for about 15 years and goes to at least one if not two, three, or four opera performances a week, perhaps interspersing them with a recital here, a symphony concert or a ballet performance there. "Culture," she says, "is just simply an addiction for me."

Danny is an old friend from my days at The Boston Conservatory but we both admit we haven't really keep in touch until recently when I came across his new company, Opera Hispanica, and he came across TOI. He's done amazing things with the organization so far and I can't wait to see where it goes. I believe their first performance is coming up this fall in November, and I for one will definitely be there. Make sure to keep an eye out for the first Latino opera company in NYC!

Also present was Puccini, Meche's miniature poodle, of whom I sadly do not have a picture. He wagged and bounced and jumped and yipped all evening, evidently just as excited as we were finally to be getting together.

One of the refreshing things about Meche, and honestly about Danny too, is her complete lack of embarrassment in expressing her feelings and opinions candidly. Anyone who knows me at all should understand that is of great value indeed to me. Her interest in opera is such that she will give pretty much anything a try but if she doesn't like she'll tell you so. But rest assured it won't be a simple "I didn't like it because it wasn't good." It will be a critical assessment of every aspect: story, melody, orchestration, voices, costumes... you name it. To be sure, her "thing" is melody: the music in the opera has to be singable for her really to enjoy it, but she isn't the type of listener who will simply not attend because it's "modern" opera, or because she's not familiar with it.

Most of the New Yorkers reading this probably already know Meche and hopefully very soon you'll all know Danny as well. We'll all be at Opera Manhattan's concert version of Eugene Onegin this Saturday night so come along if you have the chance!

Rants and Raves from the Front Row at Santa Fe Opera by Meche Kroop

2010-08-26T11:41:00.005-04:00

New York City resident and opera fan Meche Kroop doesn't beat around the bush when she talks about opera. When it's good she'll tell you about it... when it isn't, she'll tell you about that, too. Santa Fe Opera is known to be among the best around, so we were particularly interested to hear her take on the summer season that just ended. Here's what she had to say about it!

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The sky shows you everything from the most radiant sunsets to the darkest thunder clouds, but the air is always fragrant with juniper. Breezes blow across the stage, fluttering anything unattached. People flock here year after year to partake in the magic atmosphere of Santa Fe, and this year was no different for me.

Nestled between the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the Jemez Peaks, the opera house is a wonder in and of itself. This year I had the pleasure of seeing every opera the company was producing this season. First prize must be awarded to Madama Butterfly. British director Lee Blakely made his SFO debut and so effective was he that I never want to see this opera again, lest I impair the memory of this one. Blakely conceives the story just as I do, not as a love story but rather as a tale of a love-sick teenager and a jingoistic child abuser. The casting helped a great deal. Brandon Jovanovich, in excellent voice, towered over petite Kelly Kaduce, a thrilling soprano, thus further emphasizing her juvenile vulnerability and placing it in contrast to his powerful presence. The acting was totally convincing and therefore everything worked psychologically as well. Keith Jameson turned in his customary excellent performance as the slimy Goro. Prince Yamadoro was not portrayed as a clown, as it often is, but given quite some dignity by Matthew Hanscom, thereby underscoring Butterfly’s unrealistic devotion to Pinkerton. Butterfly’s suicide (accurately represented in this production by a totally realistic slashing of an artery in the neck — accurate at least according to Japanese tradition) was not merely a ritualistic honor suicide, but rather a psychologically valid act of anger at her faithless lover... prefaced by much chair-throwing! Little Trouble does not fly into the arms of his heretofore unseen father; rather he steps back in fear. Much of the audience was sobbing at the end, this writer included. The cast was further supported by mezzo Elizabeth DeShong as Suzuki and James Westman as Sharpless, who both shined in their respective roles.

On the second night I was delightfully entertained by Christopher Alden’s production of Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffman. My feelings about Alden’s “concepts” have varied from opera to opera. I greatly disliked his church basement AA meeting concept for Don Giovanni at New York City Opera but this time I think he got it right, setting the story in a German Bierhalle of appropriate vintage. The wine-soaked and dissipated Hoffman (a role to which Paul Groves gave his all, both vocally and dramatically) illustrated his tales on stages created by upturned Bierhalle benches. Characters in the stories were portrayed by denizens of the Bierhalle. Kate Lindsey gave a vocally lustrous and choreographically adept portrayal of his Muse and Wayne Tigges stepped in at a late date to inhabit Hoffmann’s nemeses. Erin Wall has done better work in the past than she did as Hoffman’s various loves but Jill Grove was certainly acceptable as Antonia’s mother. Not everyone “got” what Alden was after but I must say I was royally entertained… at least until the ending. I have always thought that the whole point of this story was that love comes and goes but that art endures. Art is continuous, unending, always faithful. After all, don't we still see Hoffman’s stories in today's world? So I have to ask why on earth Alden asked everyone to burn Hoffman’s manuscripts in a flaming punchbowl at the end of the opera? To me, that simply belittled and ruined the entire concept of the opera.

The third night was equally entertaining as the second. I allowed myself to be swept along by the delightful Britten comedy Albert Herring, ably directed by Paul Curran. The title role was charmingly sung by Alek Schrader, a young tenor who made a huge impression in the Met National Council Auditions back in 2007, and has gone on to make quite a name for himself. As the rather bumbling Albert, he showed true comic flair. Christine Brewer fully inhabited the role of Lady Billows, a role that made good use of her amply proportioned body as well as her amply proportioned voice. Kate Lindsey shone again as Nancy with Joshua Hopkins as her well-sung and well-acted boyfriend. Judith Christin as Albert’s mother and Jill Grove as Lady Billows’ housekeeper Florence were joined by a very primly humorous Celena Shafer as the schoolteacher. The role of the vicar was taken by a baritone apprentice from New York named Jonathan Michie who was astonishingly accomplished. I hope to hear more of him. All contributed beautifully to the success of this ensemble work, a very difficult opera to put together even with the best and most talented singing actors.

Nothing is worse than being in an audience that is having fun when you are not so the fourth night of my opera week left me sitting in the front row just seething. Tim Albery’s adaptation of Mozart’s classic opera, The Magic Flute, is the same one that left me annoyed a few years ago but I’d decided to give it another chance to win me over. No go! In spite of any real life connection, onstage Charles Castronovo’s Tamino and Ekaterina Siurina’s Pamina had zero chemistry. The costumes were completely ridiculous: Pamina was dressed for a 1950s sock hop, the Three Ladies and the Queen of the Night were clothed in Elizabethan attire, the “police force” guarding Sarastro’s temple were dressed as Nazi SS Officers, the male chorus wore frock coats and powdered wigs from the 18th century while the female chorus looked like ante-bellum slaves, and Papageno wore cutoffs, a baseball cap and yellow Keds. To top it off, the Three Spirits were bald Buddhist monks! With all that distraction who could focus on the voices? The set was ugly and plain with plywood silhouettes of animals. The dialogue was spoken in English with each performer struggling to maintain cohesion through his or her own dialect or accent. Particularly grating on the ears were the strong Italian inflections of Andrea Silvestrelli (Sarastro) who, in this case, also tended to speak with his hands. Sadly his singing the night I was there was also incredibly unmusical. Searching for one kind thing to say, let me compliment the performance of Renee Tatum as one of the Three Ladies. She impressed me at her Lindemann Recital and impressed me again here.

Now, what about the last night which showcased Spratlin’s long-neglected opera, Life is a Dream? My 19th Century ears were wishing it had stayed neglected. Calderon de la Barca’s 16th century masterpiece La Vida es Sueño would have made a gorgeous zarzuela but instead it has been dragged kicking and screaming into 20th Century serialism: frantic jagged vocal lines that assault the ear and nothing melodic to hang onto. Under these circumstances I think it would be best to say nothing about the voices. I will say, however, that Kevin Newbury directed the action in a meaningful way so that the story was able to shine through. David Korins did a wonderful job as set designer, with the exception of some puzzling railroad crossing beams hanging from the ceiling and Jessica Jahn’s costumes were indeed stunning. As my ears closed to the so-called music, my eyes at least were delighted by watching the beauty of the production, thus ending the opera week on a not-so-disastrous note.

Meeting new friends

2010-08-24T13:04:00.006-04:00

I had the distinct pleasure on Saturday of meeting Clifford Bechtel and Bob Kingston, self-confessed opera fanatic, music historian and lecturer at Portland Opera, and also the author of a relatively new blog on opera called 'dramma per musica.'

Cliff and I have been in touch for well over a year now I think... probably having met first through Twitter or Facebook (who actually ever meets anyone the old-fashioned way anymore anyway?!) but we had never really found the time to meet in person. Bob and I really only "met" a few days prior through Cliff and also through various opera projects we were both interested in. He was also intimately involved in the production of "Cosi fan tutte - Some assembly required" that I attended and wrote about last week, and was in town to provide some back-up commentary and Tweeting on Friday and Sunday.

It is wonderful and exhilarating to spend time with two people so knowledgeable and passionate about what they do. Cliff is bubbly and energetic and one of the most dedicated singers you'll ever find. Forever posting clips on Facebook and recommending those old, wonderful recordings that are getting harder and harder to find, he's always eager to learn more, talk to new people, find new repertoire and broaden his horizons as a singer.

Bob has been studying music as a performer and then as a historian for two decades now, and loves his job at Portland Opera where he gives the "Pre-performance" lectures and also helps out with the relatively new Young Artist program, assisting them in selecting repertoire for their recitals and generally helping the company make sure it's as accessible as possible to as many people as possible.

We're familiar with that concept here!

Cosi fan tutte - some assembly required

2010-08-19T13:46:00.015-04:00

I often think that the reason people love dress rehearsals or masterclasses is twofold. One: because secretly they love to know that the perfection they see on stage at a full performance is exactly that: a performance, as in, not quite real and Two: they actually like to learn stuff. We find comfort in knowing that the people behind the costumes, down in the pit, or hanging from the ceiling are actually just regular old clutzes, like you and me. And we also like to leave somewhere feeling like we've actually engaged our brain a bit, widened our knowledge, challenged ourselves and come away with something new.

This was never more so the case than Wednesday night when I had the distinct pleasure of attending Operamission's "Cosi fan tutte - some assembly required" at the Gershwin Hotel in Manhattan. It was the second of four nights of this project, run by the incredibly capable conductor, coach, and pianist - and Operamission Founder - Jennifer Peterson (seen here peeking around from her perch on the conductor's stool to address the audience). Wednesday night finished up Act I, and Act II can be seen in two parts tonight (Friday) and Sunday evening beginning at 7 pm also at the Gershwin.

What made this event remarkable? What didn't, really. The setting is ideal really, just the right size so that it maintains intimacy but without feeling like you're sitting on top of the person next to you. The music wasn't perfect, nor were the acoustics. But you didn't expect perfection and really, you didn't even want it... and it was more humorous than annoying to hear the violins screech to a halt or the horns come in a couple bars late. Most importantly, you just didn't care because the point wasn't to present perfection. The point was to present process.

From old opera connoisseurs hovering over full orchestra scores using the light of their cell phones to follow the action to a couple people who had never in their lives seen or heard opera before, the crowd was enthusiastic, entertained and in every possible way supportive. They laughed and cheered all night long! Sadly I missed the first hour, but that still left me with almost two and a half hours to watch this thing come together.

The evening was hosted by Ned Canty, Cori Ellison and Marco Nistico (pictured in a very bad photo here) who also gave wonderful and insightful commentary. They, as well as several audience members, were encouraged to tweet the action during the evening, letting their followers know what was going on at that moment.

And as for the singing. Well, let me just say that I was absolutely blown away. I gathered that the cast(s) had been rehearsing for the better part of a week, so their cohesion as a group seemed completely natural. Still considering this was the first time they had gotten together with the orchestra and were now also faced with an audience, I was truly impressed.

The star of the evening, for my money, was soprano Jennifer Aylmer as Despina (pictured below). Despina is always the character who seems really to carry this opera. If she's not 'on,' then it just really doesn't work. In this case, there was no doubt about who was in charge! Here you see her in her first aria "In uomini, in soldati," one of the best renditions of this aria I have ever heard.

Someone whispered to me halfway through the aria that she had never done the role before. I find that impossible to believe. She inhabited it better than any Despina I have ever seen or heard, her Italian diction was impeccable, and she missed not one step the entire evening.

Also of special note was soprano Kerri Marcinko who sang the role of Fiordiligi. Apparently Mozart isn't her forte so she wanted to give it a go. Apart from a few lost notes in her lower range (and let's face it, who can blame a soprano for not hitting every low A in this score!) she shone throughout the night. A rich, though perfectly centered and easy voice that filled the room with warmth and charisma. Jennifer Berkebile as Dorabella was adorable and well cast, and the two friends Ferrando (sung by Asitha Tennekoon) and Guglielmo (James Bobick) could not have looked more different, but yet their voices and personalities both blended together as if they had been singing together since childhood. In the role of Don Alfonso Dennis Blackwell was hilarious, and any slight lightness of voice was made up by his dedication and absolute inhabiting of his role.

I wish I could see the rest of the production but sadly I have other commitments. I cannot possibly recommend this highly enough, however. Whether you know the opera and love it, know it and don't love it, or have never before listened to it, let this phenomenal group of people (all doing it out of the goodness of their hearts, by the way, not for the money or the fame) offer you one of the most enjoyable evenings this summer.

The orchestra from the woodwind section.

The cast gets ready for the Act I Finale

Some days are just filled with it!

2010-08-16T08:14:00.004-04:00

I had one of the most exciting opera-infused days yesterday. Did I go see one? Nope. Did I even listen to one? Nope. So why so good?

Well, add Stage Director James Marvel to any situation and you're likely to increase the enjoyment quotient by at least a few percentage points. Get him at his best and there's no way you can't have a blast.

This man is really one of a kind. He's toured the world directing operas and theater pieces from the smallest projects with inner city kids to the major stages of the country, working with some of the biggest names in opera today. I have coached with him before, but it's been a couple of years. I contacted him a few weeks ago for coaching because I felt I was having trouble coming to terms with how to embody all these new characters and roles I was now starting to learn as a soprano (Mimi, Liu, Pamina, Rusalka, Blanche, Marguerite...). We started off slow just sort of talking through some general ideas, then got specific... then got really specific.

What I find to be one of the most appealing things James brings to the table is his unbelievable ability to pull from all parts of life - literature, anecdotes, rock music, personal experiences, poetry, you name it - and relate them to exactly what you're talking about. You might not know it at first... wonder where the heck he's going with this thought, but when he gets to the end of it, it just becomes perfectly clear. How in the world could you possibly imagine that the movie "As good as it gets," a quotation by an atheist on his deathbed, and the lyrics to a rock song would help you understand Mimi's most vulnerable moment? But they do. All these little, wonderful tidbits of life, art, experience, pain... they all relate, and his special gift is being able to absorb all these things and then use them to create the germ of an idea in your mind or, if it's already there, help you flush out the rest into some coherent emotional truth.

After two hours of some of the most intense, but yet so thoroughly enjoyable, character exploration I have ever done, I rushed downtown to 'Ino on Bedford Street to meet one of TOI's newest and most supportive members, Owen Reidy. He's 29, a lawyer in New York, single, and adorable (I hope he doesn't mind me saying this but he is). He's also new to opera, wants to learn more about it, but still doesn't quite know where to start. His enthusiasm for learning about the art form, for trying to get in touch with other people who want to learn (or teach) him about it, and his exuberance about the ideas behind The Opera Insider were just infectious.

It's hard sometimes when you're in the thick of things to see clearly, to see beyond what is right in front of your face at that given moment, to see past the obstacles to the end of whatever you're working on. I admit that sometimes these feelings overwhelm me when I think about the development of The Opera Insider over these last months. But then these shining moments come along, forcing me to reevaluate what I've already done and what I'm about to do, give me a chance to talk about the ideas and concepts behind it ... and then I just can't help but get so excited. What you'll see when we launch will be good, it will be excellent, and it will be something the opera world needs. And we just can't wait to bring it to you!

Getting back on my feet

2010-08-06T18:21:00.011-04:00

It's been a while folks, and I'm sorry I haven't had the chance to spend much time with TOI over the last few weeks. It has, however, been a time of immense rejuvenation and vocal growth for me personally (well, except for the laryngitis I have been carrying around with me!), and I feel that the last two weeks were really life-changing in many ways. As singers we need those moments when we re-realize why we do what we do. The business is tough, rejections outnumber acceptances, what, 1,053 to 1 so we need confirmation that we're on the right track, that what we're doing really IS worthwhile, and that it does matter to the larger world order. This was just that kind of time for me.

There is always for me certain openness and intensity of life I experience every time I go to a new place. I feel like my eyes open wider, the colors are brighter, laughter is more infectious, and I am the very best of myself. Being an outsider or a foreigner makes me evaluate myself and where I have come from in the most wonderful of ways. I am eager to question of others and to answer the questions of others. In this case, Sweden of course does not feel like a completely different world, especially to someone who spent the formative years of her life in northern Europe. But still: it was a new country to me, a new - and so very beautiful - language, a different pace of life.

I went to spend four days of intense vocal study with my teacher and four of his other students (three Swedes and a German) and then I was able to stay on in Goteborg for two more days to continue studying with him. Here you see the lovely opera house:

Here's a picture of the season's offerings at Göteborgs Operan as well as the necessary Jussi Björlingsplats.

The location for our masterclass was absolutely idyllic!

The four other wonderful singers: Meta, Erik, Olof, and Kati, were incredibly supportive, and we all learned from each other in the most intimate and uncluttered way. All our lessons were "open-format" so all could come and listen in and learn from each other then on the last day we held a Masterclass where all of us sang an aria and were helped and critiqued by our voice teacher.

It really is amazing to me how much we work for the smallest things. It makes me think of the scientist locked up in a lab trying again and again to find just the right amount of one substance which, when mixed with just the right amount of another substance, will create the cure for cancer. Sometimes I wish I could bring some of my non-singer friends into a lesson and just have them observe as I spend half an hour trying to get the balance between the focus and the depth just right. Would they hear the difference? I'm guessing not. But it would still give me some sort of (almost sordid) pleasure watching them see what it is we do all day long in attempt to present with the world with a well-rounded and beautiful voice.

Well, we weren't all perfect, far from it in fact, but we worked hard... harder than I think I have seen singers work in a long time. Perhaps it's because we were all a little bit older or because some of us had already had a career or a sort of career singing under the guise of another voice (either another fach or a voice in the same fach that was so utterly unbalanced as to be almost entirely another voice), but the work we did was hard, inspired, and inspiring.

Thanks to everyone who made this such an unbelievably memorable experience, most especially to Ron LaFond, without whose expertise, light-heartedness and soulfulness none of this could have come to fruition. I will treasure these days always.

First day in Sweden

2010-07-24T10:53:00.003-04:00

As I look back over the hundreds of trips I have taken over the course of my life: short and long; alone or with friends or family; by car, bus, bicycle, train, boat, plane and more, this one really does rank among the top 3 crappiest of all time trips!

I was supposed to take a the airport bus from Marble Arch in London (which was close to where I was staying) to Stansted Airport. I got to exactly where I was supposed to be with 10 minutes to spare but the bus stop was out of service. I moved up the street thinking it must stop at the next bus stop but decided to double check with the concierge at a nearby hotel. Well, I have to tell you that this was the beginning of my loss of all faith in the ability of the English to be orderly, straightforward, or in any way coherent. Every person gave me a different answer, everyone was sure their answer was right, and yet, you guessed it, not one of the answers was correct!

Fast forward about 30 minutes when I have now run around and around in circles trying to find the (expletive) bus, asking strangers and street-cleaners, bus drivers and tour bus operators if they have any (expletive) idea where the bus stops, when I finally land up discovering that it doesn't stop at Marble Arch at all. Haha, the joke's on me: it only goes from Victoria Coach Station where I should have just gone in the first place. I grab a taxi (and anyone who knows me knows that I do NOT believe in taxis), wind my way to Victoria coach station, trip out of the taxi narrowly missing a fall flat on my face and race inside. I wait 15 nervous minutes but finally one does show up. Once we pile on, American, French, Polish, you name it, of course we then hit Friday afternoon traffic, then we hit M25 traffic, and so on. Well, with literally seconds to spare, we arrive at the airport, I locate my check-in area, as politely as I can ask if I can cut the line (only the German couple was resentful and nasty), manage to hurl my bag at the lady at the ticket counter and book it to my gate. Having bad-mouthed Ryan Air to no end, I must say they did manage to handle this relatively well. Shaking and disheveled I got on the plane... but I did make it!

Today was better. A lovely student of my teacher's has generously put me up in his sweet little flat in Gothenburg and is taking excellent care of me in a city where I feel more like a stranger than I did even recently in Botswana. This morning he made us breakfast and then we took the dog for a walk in a lovely park by a lake. After that he took me on a walking tour of the city, passing through Haga and the downtown area, and of course by the opera house as well. Because he works there we were able to go in and practice for about an hour, then we walked back through town and home and are now relaxing before dinner.

It's frustrating not being able to speak the language at all (although now I know a few choice words thanks to an excellent Swedish film we watched last night - probably not the best idea to repeat them here). I'm not very used to being somewhere where I really cannot communicate at all, but at least everyone speaks English, which I don't like but is indeed very helpful. The place is beautiful, very, very clean, orderly and everything functions well. Of special note was the (one and only) state-run liquor store... yep, you heard right. No privately run wine shops or liquor stores in the entire country. Funny place. But I'm so excited to be here and tomorrow we leave for Tjorn which is supposed to be one of the most beautiful parts of Sweden. I will take lots of pictures although without my camera chord I sadly won't be able to share any of them with you until I get back to New York.

From across the pond

2010-07-22T12:17:00.004-04:00

Well I've got just a few minutes before I head out to meet an old friend for dinner. We met two and a half years ago when I was working in London with Diva Opera and he was working as a lawyer.

Here's a picture of me as Hansel with Rebecca Hodgetts as Gretel (photo courtesy of Christian Steinhausen)

After going through our various personal histories we realized that we had actually graduated Columbia University the very same day, had stood on the quad together during the ceremony and then met seven years later. What a funny world. He has been in Iraq working as a JAG for the last year, so I am so eager to hear what his experiences were like.

My trip here so far has been very unoperatic (save for a failed attempt to go and see The Duchess of Malfi at English National Opera because it's completely sold out! Off to Sweden tomorrow for six days of intense singing, then back for another weekend in London, one of my very favorite cities in the whole world!

Heading to Europe

2010-07-19T12:42:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow I leave for Europe, London first for a few days, then a week in Sweden, then two days back in London before heading back home. As many of you already know thanks to Gale Martin's lovely write-up, I'm also a singer and have recently gone through a change from mezzo to soprano. The change has been relatively easy (no huge identity crises, very little weeping, a feeling that not only does the new rep really does sit well in my voice but that the characters are also individuals I'm very interested in getting to know, etc), but there is still so much growth and development left to be done. My wonderful and soulful teacher, Jean-Ronald (Ron) LaFond, who is the author of an incredibly thoughtful and brilliant blog on vocal technique called "Kashudo: The Way of the Singer" is giving a three day masterclass for just five of his students on the lovely island of Tjorn, and then will teach a few more days in Gothenburg City. Sadly I won't get to see beautiful Stockholm this time around, but it's still early in life and of course I will just have to wait until another time to visit there.

I hope to have internet access and keep you up to date on the goings on over there, but in the meantime please do excuse me if I'm slightly less active here and on Twitter, as I spend a week devoted to the passion I spent years trying to push aside and am now delighting in discovering.

Lamar's Third - and final - Diary Entry

2010-07-18T15:33:00.006-04:00

Hello Kala & The Opera Insider community!

This was my last week with the Washington National Opera Institute for young singers and I must say it was just fabulous! The last week with the Opera Institute began on Sunday, for me and three other students. On Friday July 2nd Cindy Oxberry and Christiane DeVries Boles pulled three students and myself into a room to ask us to perform at a VIP 4th of July celebration at the U.S Government Printing Office building in Washington DC. We were told to sing the “Star Spangled Banner” and “America The Beautiful”. Lamar and Cindy Oxberry are pictured below.

Our performance on Sunday was wonderful! Our feedback from the audience there was all positive and it was a chance for me to network even more. I met a couple of very important people including GPO’s very own Bob Tapella. We were invited to view the fireworks on the rooftop, which overlooked the Capitol Building and the Washington Monument. It was most definitely a rewarding experience for me and the other Opera Institute students.

From the left: Jonah Hopton-tenor, Morgan Middleton-mezzo/soprano, Lamar Gaskins-baritone, Hannah Hagerty-soprano

On Monday Washington National Operas very own Aundi Marie Moore visited the opera institute to give a masterclass. I found her to be one of my favorites along with Angela Mannino. We started off week 3 with a period movement class which included yoga, and we also learned various breathing techniques. On Tuesday we had an opportunity to travel to Wolf Trap to watch Wolf Trap Operas production of “Il Turco in Italia/ The Turk in Italy”, where my previous masterclass instructor, Angela Mannino played the role of Fiorilla. The opera was fabulous! During intermission we stumbled upon Evelyn Lear who is a very famous mezzo-soprano in the opera world! It was an honor having the chance to meet such an inspirational and successful artist. On Wednesday, we had another busy schedule, which included another masterclass which was given by Sarah Hoover. That Friday we had a workshop which was directed by Washington National Operas very own Christina Scheppelman, Director of Artistic Operations. The workshop was titled “The Professional World Workshop” and at the end we had an hour-long Q&A session which was amazing! Later that evening we had our Opera Scenes Recital which was held at American University, Katzen Arts Center in Washington DC. My opera scene was the duet between Guglielmo and Dorabella, “Il core vi dono,” from Mozart's, Cosi fan tutte. It was an overall successful recital and everyone was pleased!

This picture shows a few of Washington National Opera Institute students with Evelyn Lear.

We ended our last day at the Opera Institute with a grand finale recital which was held at the John F. Kennedy Center for The Performing Arts in Washington DC on July 11th. Our ending selection was the 'drinking song' or "Libiamo" from Verdi’s La Traviata. It was a perfect way to end the day!

The Washington National Opera Institute for young singers has truly changed my mindset as a young singer. I have been trained by the finest instructors at the Institute and I am better prepared for what college has to offer me. I have learned that I can accomplish so much within three weeks! But most importantly I have had so much fun doing it all! It has been a rough ride but its all been worth it! I highly recommend this program to any fellow young singers who are interested in pursuing a career in Opera.

From left to right: Hannah Hagerty-soprano, Lamar Gaskins-baritone, Kanysha Williams-soprano

Classical Revolution and OperaMission teamed up for salon evening in NYC

2010-07-17T08:39:00.006-04:00

I had the pleasure of attending an amazing evening of music last night in Manhattan. After a red-eye flight back from a paradise far, far away called home (Honolulu, Hawaii) and my body still six hours behind the rest of the gang at the comfy Gershwin Hotel, I was up for pretty much anything. What I found behind the red velvet curtain was even better. About 30 musicians (predominantly pianists and violinists of course, though the odd bassoon did make an appearance, occasionally moonlighting as a viola or cello) lounged on couches and propped themselves up on (very decent) folding chairs in a cozy, dark-orange room at the back of the lobby while munching on salads and sipping Merlot. A joint effort by Classical Revolution and Operamission produced an evening of firsts for many. Already building a following in several large cities around the world (New York, Berlin, Sydney, San Francisco), Classical Revolution may be setting the stage for a completely new way to enjoy classical music.

According to its mission statement, Classical Revolution exists "to present concerts involving both traditional and modern approaches while engaging the community by offering chamber music performances in highly accessible venues, such as bars and cafes, and collaborating with local musicians and artists from various styles and backgrounds." This is not a terribly new concept, of course, and we see opera and classical music enthusiasts seeking out their fix in the oddest of places with increasing ease and comfort (Opera on Tap, steadily building more and more chapters around the country is but one example). What they don't mention, however, is that there's no rehearsal... not at all. Most of the players have never met each other let alone performed together.

Though a few of us present last night agreed that actually the evening would have made more sense and flowed more smoothly had there been an order of performance and someone actually playing a more official role as emcee, the impromptu nature of the performances was charming in its own way. I did wonder why the excellent Operamission was involved, however, given that the evening was solely instrumental save for one brief interlude for two Turina songs by yours truly about halfway through the evening. I had a couple people in the audience mention to me afterwards that they wished there had been more singing. I assume that the organizers (possibly rightly) assume that if they opened it up to vocal-piano duos that many would simply come with their audition rep. However, if they set parameters such as asking only for art songs or set a time limit for each performing duo, it could only add to the overall evening, certainly.

Raisa interviews up-and-coming baritone, Liam Bonner

2010-07-17T08:35:00.002-04:00

One of our Local Correspondents from Maryland, Raisa Massuda, has loved opera ever since she was a little kid. When she had a chance to interview a young up and coming baritone who recently made his debut with the Washington National Opera, she jumped at the chance. Here is what Liam Bonner had to say to her:

R: What was the first opera that you saw live?

L.B: Actually, I was in an opera before I saw one.

R: Oh, my goodness!

L.B: Isn’t that crazy?

R: Yes!

L.B: I sang in the Pittsburgh Opera Chorus in my sophomore year. Actually, I should take that back, I guess technically then the very first opera that I saw was Francis Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites in my freshman year in college. It has a very small baritone role in it, [but] I was blown away by this piece and it’s absolutely one of my favorites to this day, even though there is not really a role for me.

R: I have a funny question: if you could only keep one opera for the humanity, which one would it be?

L.B: The Marriage of Figaro - hands down. I think it’s the most perfect opera, it’s got everything and when it’s done right and well, it’s a very real and honest story. I think Mozart is a god, he just exhibits genius there. There are days I could be having the worst day ever, and if I just listen to a little bit of Mozart, I am completely out of my mood. He is good for the soul.

R: For aspiring artists, what should an opera singer never be afraid of?

L.B: Being themselves. Whatever you have to offer, you have to trust that not everyone is going to like you. It’s art, so it’s subjective, and somebody is going to love you, and somebody is going to hate you. And if you get wrapped up in that, you end up not being confident enough or secure enough in what you have to offer and what you have to say.

I think some of the most successful singers, even if they are not technically perfect and all this sort of thing, it’s real and honest and that’s why they become successful. You know, you look at somebody outside of opera, like Frank Sinatra. He did not have the most beautiful voice in the world, in my opinion. Some people may think he did. But there is something about him as a performer that I love and I love listening to him. It’s him, and nobody else sounds like him. I think those opera singers who are world famous throughout the years are famous because they sing with their own voice, they have a very distinct sound that nobody else has and they don’t sound like anybody else or try to be like anybody else.

Mr. Bonner shares his operatic plans for this season, which include Donizetti’s Don Pascuale with Opera New Jersey, Weill’s Royal Palace at the Bard Music Festival, Britten’s Peter Grimes with Houston Grand Opera and he'll also be covering a couple of principal roles at the Metropolitan Opera.

“I guess, in the long term in this business I have no desire to be famous” he adds. “I just would like to work consistently and be able eventually to get married and have a family, support them and do what I love doing. You know, at this point, I have been very fortunate that a lot of things have happened in a very short amount of time. If I woke up tomorrow and the wave I am riding came crashing down, I would know that I’ve gone as far as I could go and done everything that I possibly could to be successful in this business and I would not regret a thing.”

I truly hope that this interview will be some kind of revelation for those readers who mostly go to the opera “for the big names”. Please do not let yourselves be led or rather, misled, by prestige. Let your passion for music lead you instead. Marvel on your way to new horizons, enjoy each and every one of your discoveries and do not deprive yourselves of the miracles that they bring into your lives. You might be up for quite a few surprises. Seriously.

Prelude to Performance - still time to catch it!

2010-07-12T18:59:00.002-04:00

Another one of our fantastically supportive members, Meche Kroop, is always on the ball and reminds us that in New York City we don't have to be starved of opera during the sweltering heat of July.

_______

The generosity of Martina Arroyo's Foundation and her "Prelude to Performance" has made it possible for opera-starved New Yorkers to have some significant pleasure in the dry month of July. The young people she fosters did an excellent job with both programs at Hunter College this weekend; if you hurry you can still catch a performance or two.

A charming double-bill of a rarely performed Donizetti opera "Rita" and the well-know "Gianni Schicchi" of Puccini yielded abundant laughter as these young artists in the early stages of their careers gave their all to get across the comic style, perfect for summer listening. I will not give credit to any one singer since the cast changes at every performance. Still, let it be said that all these young stars-in-the-making shone brightly. Props to Matthew Lata for his clever stage direction and to Charles Caine for the dazzling costumes. Scenery was simple but effective.

And what about the delightful "Die Zauberflote"? Scenery was confined to some drapes and a bench but the fine costumes, again by Charles Caine, lent a major degree of authenticity, as did the lighting by Brian Barnett. The ensemble worked well together and the magic came across. The three ladies harmonized beautifully and the Papageno (well, I will have to credit one singer) of Scott Lindroth brought down the house with his creamy baritone and comic presence.

So, if you are hungry or thirsty for opera, get yourself to Hunter College. You will leave sated, laughing and happy!