~ Author: Oberon
Above, taking a bow (from left): Anthony Roth Costanzo, Chee-Yun, Larry Brownlee, Lonwabo Mose, Jennifer Zetlan, John Moore, So-Chung Shinn Lee, Bradley Moore, Hera Hyesang Park, Hyona Kim, and Siman Chung.
Tuesday May 12th, 2026 – Sejong Soloists were joined this evening by tenor Lawrence Brownlee, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, violinist Chee-Yun, and sopranos Jennifer Zetlan and Hera Hyesang Park for this gala concert at Zankel Hall. The event was co-hosted by Emmy Award-winning journalist Paula Zahn and Mr. Costanzo.
Late seating was a distraction as the concert got underway. The program opened with Frank Bridge’s Valse-Intermezzo, H. 17. The Sejong players sounded marvelous, as always. The piece commences with a tremolo and some plucking before settling into a flowing waltz. It is beautiful music, though it went on a bit too long.
Another wave of late seating infringed on the opening of Henri Duparc’s “L’invitation au voyage“, which pianist Bradley Moore commenced before the late arrivers were settled in. Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo wore a glaring metallic-gold shirt for his performance of this captivating song, into which the singer introduced some luminous straight-tones. Singer and pianist created a poetic atmosphere, most notably with the song’s trademark line: “…Luxe, Calme et Volupté…”
Lucas Drew’s arrangement of the Allegro from Giuseppe Verdi’s String Quartet in E-minor gave the Sejong artists many opportunities to display their warm tonal colours and their gift for dynamic shadings. The arrangement introduced wind instruments into the string-based sonic palette: flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and horns all sounding lovely.
Soprano Hera Hyesang Park offered a prayerful rendering of Desdemona’s Ave Maria from Act IV of Verdi’s OTELLO, the soothing sound of her voice cushioned by the ethereal playing of the orchestra. Staying in the realm of opera, Lawrence Brownlee then brought his command of the bel canto style to Nemorino’s wistful “Una furtiva lagrima” from Donizetti’s ELISIR D’AMORE. I’ll never forget my first time hearing this aria performed “live” on the stage of the Old Met by Nicolai Gedda in 1965. Mr. Brownlee carries on the bel canto tradition with his poetic voicing of the words and the radiance of his phrasing. Ms. Park then joined the tenor for “Parigi, o cara” from TRAVIATA in an arrangement by Geoffrey Loff and conducted by Bradley Moore, who I remember playing for Juilliard voice students in my first years here in New York City. Bolstered by Moore’s attentive conducting, the singers achieved a sweet blending of timbres in their final moments of peace before the opera’s heartbreaking end.
Before the start of the program’s second half, So-Chung Shinn Lee was honored for her years of dedicated support of the Sejong Soloists. She made a charming speech, with touches of humor. At the end of the evening’s concert, she joined in the final work as a singer, having graduated from the Manhattan School of Music in 2024 (!). She took her place among the lineup of vocalists for the finale of Mozart’s NOZZE DI FIGARO.
The second half of the program commenced with soprano Jennifer Zetlan in a poetic performance of Ricky Ian Gordon’s “WillThere Really Be a Morning?” with the composer himself at the piano. Their rapport was evident from note one, and they were heartily applauded.
Joaquin Turina’s La oración del torero (“The Bullfighter’s Prayer”) passed thru many moods; I was expecting something more pensive and darkish, but the music has a scurrying start before jogging along amiably for a bit. Breaking into a dance, it then settles into dreaminess before reaching a high, heavenward finish. The violins of the Sejong Soloists were especially mavelous in this piece.
Astor Piazzolla’s Invierno Porteño (“Buenos Aires Winter”) from Las cuatro estaciones porteñas (“The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires“), with violinist Chee-Yun in a striking red gown as soloist, was the highlight of the evening for my companion and me. Echoes of Vivaldi and tango-flavoured rhythms are seamlessly entwined. Sejong cellist Ole Akahoshi weaves phrases around the melodious playing of Chee-Yun, and later Mr. Akahoshi and double bassist Satoshi Okamoto will become prominent in the musical scheme.
At the special request of the evening’s honoree, So-Chung Shinn Lee, the program ended with the finale of Mozart’s NOZZE DI FIGARO in which she sang Barbarina. Anthony Roth Costanzo switched registers to sing Figaro, Ms. Zetlan was Susanna, Ms. Park the Contessa Almaviva, and Mr. Brownlee sang Don Basilio. Hyona KIm, a recent Met Suzuki, was Marcellina, and counter-tenor Siman Chung and bass-baritone Lonwabo Mose made their marks as Cherubino and Antonio respectively. But it was baritone John Moore who – as Count Almaviva – impressed me the most. I remember John as a Met Young Artist; he has since developed into singer who is magnetic both in voice and presence.
On this evening of wonderful music-making, It was so nice running into my violinist-friends Paul Huang and Doori Na.
~ Oberon
Oberon's Glade 