Oberon's Glade

Category: Opera

  • MAGIC FLUTE @ The Met

    Joelle Harvey

    Above: soprano Joélle Harvey, this evening’s Pamina

    Monday December 26th, 2022 – The Met’s pared-down, English-language MAGIC FLUTE always offers a chance to hear interesting singers, from veterans to debutantes. Tonight’s cast featured a longtime favorite, Alan Held, as the Speaker, and the Polish soprano Aleksandra Olczyk as the Queen of the Night in her Met debut season.

    Under Duncan Ward’s baton, the opera flew by. A packed house gave only meager applause to the arias (Ms. Olczyk’s “wrath of hell” aria being the exception). But at the curtain calls, it was Joélle Harvey who received the greatest barrage of cheers…and rightly so, for she sang exquisitely.

    Ben Bliss was an excellent Tamino, finely shaping and enunciating his Portrait Aria (which is cruelly shortened in this production) and truly impressive at “O endless night…”, the opening phrase of Tamino’s great scene with The Speaker. For me, this is the pivotal passage of the opera, and Mr. Held’s responses to Mr. Bliss’s questions had gravity and meaning. Excellent, gentlemen!

    The Three Ladies (Jessica Faselt, Megan Marino, and Carolyn Sproule) sounded overly-vibrant at first, but soon smoothed things out and did some fine singing. I especially liked Ms. Sproule’s timbre: it is the lowest voice that gives the Ladies’ trios their moving parts.  The Three Spirits were rather weak at first, but they later perked up. I love their advice to the suicidal Papageno: “You have a life, so live it while you can!”

    Joshua Hopkins was again a very enjoyable Papageno, sure of voice and clear of diction. Soloman Howard sang Sarastro’s two great arias with nobility and rich tone, and – at the opposite end of the vocal spectrum – Aleksandra Olczyk tossed off the Queen of the NIght’s pyrotechnics successfully: the voice brightens at the top, making the high-Fs easy targets for her.  A bit of pitchiness did not deter from her success.

    Rodell Rosel repeated his crafty Monastatos, and Lindsey Ohse’s spirited Papagena showed her lustiness in the spoken dialogue: I think she will be wearing the pants in that marriage.

    Ms. Harvey walked away with top honors this evening; Pamina’s aria had a tonal shimmer that fascinated me, especially in the floated piani notes, which gave me goosebumps. The soprano’s luminous sound at “Be truthful…be truthful...” was matched soon after with her radiant “Tamino mine…”

    ~ Oberon

  • Britten’s CEREMONY OF CAROLS

    Xmas

    Perfect music for the Yuletide: Benjamin Britten’s CEREMONY OF CAROLS performed by The Singers, Matthew Culloton, conductor. Soloists are Min Kim, Harp; Jessie Braaten, soprano; Susanna Mennicke; soprano, Diane Koschak; sorpano, Britta Fitzer, alto; and Jessica Bandelin, alto.

    Watch and listen here.

  • Britten’s CEREMONY OF CAROLS

    Xmas

    Perfect music for the Yuletide: Benjamin Britten’s CEREMONY OF CAROLS performed by The Singers, Matthew Culloton, conductor. Soloists are Min Kim, Harp; Jessie Braaten, soprano; Susanna Mennicke; soprano, Diane Koschak; sorpano, Britta Fitzer, alto; and Jessica Bandelin, alto.

    Watch and listen here.

  • Stéphane Degout ~ Chansons Madécasses

    Snapshot degout

    Maurice Ravel’s Chansons Madécasses performed by baritone Stéphane Degout with Michaël Guido (piano), Matteo Cesari (flute), and Alexis Descharmes (cello). The concert took place at the Amphithéâtre Bastille, Paris, in May of 2015.

    Watch and listen here.

  • Uta-Maria Flake ~ Träume

    Wesendonck

    German soprano Uta-Maria Flake (1951-1995) sings “Träume” from Richard Wagner’s Wesendonck-Lieder; her interpretation is rather unusual, but I like it.

    Listen here.

    “Ms. Flake studied at the Hamburg University of Music and, as a scholarship holder of the Hamburg State Opera, at Indiana University in Bloomington (USA). Further training by Tito Gobbi in Florence and by Mario del Monaco in Lancenigo. As early as 1971 she took part in a television recording of Offenbach’s ORPHEUS IN THE UNDERWORLD from the Hamburg Opera. In 1973 she won first prize in the national singing competition, and in 1974 she was a prizewinner at a concours in Montepulciano. She began her actual stage career in 1975 at the Stadttheater in Ulm, where she made her debut as Leonora in Verdi’s FORZA DEL DESTINO. From 1976-80 she was a member of the Dortmund Opera House. Here in 1979 she sang Eve in the German premiere of the opera PARADISE LOST by Penderecki; this was followed by guest appearances in this role at the Munich State Opera, at the Warsaw Opera and (in concert version) at the Salzburg Festival. From 1980-83 she was engaged at the Staatsoper Stuttgart, where she sang her great roles: Beethoven’s Leonore and Weber’s Agathe, Wagner’s Elsa and Eva, and Offenbach’s Giulietta.

    She made successful guest performances at the State Theater in Hanover, at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf-Duisburg, at the State Opera (as Lisa in PIQUE DAME) and at the Deutsche Oper Berlin (as Leonore), at the Covent Garden Opera London (as Elsa and as Freia), at the Teatro San Carlos Lisbon (Freia, Sieglinde, Gutrune and 3rd Norn), at the Cologne Opera House (Tchaikovsky’s Lisa), and at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste and at the Stadttheater in Basel as Sieglinde in WALKURE. Ms. Flake was also a concert soloist and lieder recitalist.”

  • Benjamin Bernheim in RIGOLETTO @ The Met

    Feola bernheim rigoletto

    Above: Rosa Feola and Benjamin Bernheim in RIGOLETTO at The Met

    Author: Oberon

    Saturday November 26th, 2022 matinee – After reading several glowing reviews of the French tenor Benjamin Bernheim over the past few years, and hearing of his recent success in LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR opposite Lisette Oropesa at Vienna and Zurich, I decided to add today’s Met matinee of RIGOLETTO to my schedule. And I’m glad I did! This afternoon’s performance was strongly cast, from the title-role down to the Page and Guard.

    This was my first time to see the Bartlett Sher production. The staging is inoffensive, with some interesting ideas; but the scene of Gilda’s sacrifice at the inn was clumsily managed. The set sometimes revolves like a carousel on high speed. Having been brought to the palace by the courtiers, Gilda seems eager when the duke comes to her, but then she seems humiliated when she emerges from the bedroom soon after. Having a bloodstain on her white nightgown might have been a telling touch.

    In my estimation, Mr. Bernheim carried off top vocal honors. The voice is wonderfully clear and well-projected, with top notes that bloom. He is capable of ravishing soft singing, and he keeps the music fresh with subtle dynamic shifts. His performance was stylish and assured; I certainly hope we will hear more of him at The Met. 

    Kelsey

    Quinn Kelsey’s Rigoletto (photo above) was sung with great power and commitment. His incredibly sustained “Ah no, è follia!” at the end of the “Pari siamo!” monolog was one of the afternoon’s great thrills, and throughout the opera, his vocal generosity seemed boundless. Whether it was the baritone’s decision or the conductor’s, “Cortigiani, vil razza dannato!” was taken at an absurdly fast pace, giving it a surface urgency rather than a deeper sense of feeling; but when “Miei signori…” was reached, the great beauty and tenderness of the Kelsey voice was at its most impressive. There were a few rather husky notes as the opera progressed, but overall Kelsey’s Rigoletto was a stunning performance. (I should mention here the beautiful playing of the cellist in the “Miei signori…” section).

    Rosa Feola had many lovely passages as Gilda, though the sound of the voice is not truly distinctive. To me, she seems more of a lyric rather than a coloratura soprano, and some of the topmost notes tested her a bit. It would be nice to hear her as Liu or Mimi.  

    Aside from Mr. Bernheim, John Relyea’s Sparafucile was a big draw for me. The basso cuts a fine figure as the assassin, and his dark timbre is perfect for this music. At the end of his Act I encounter with Rigoletto, Mr. Relyea’s incredibly sustained low-F drew a round of applause.

    In her Met debut role of Maddalena, Aigul Akhmetshina displayed an attractive presence and a plushy voice; she merits more Met opportunities. I consider Monterone to be a very important character in the opera; though his scenes are relatively brief, if they are powerfully delivered they can make a great impact. Today Bradley Garvin sang the role with vivid authority. As the courtiers, Scott Scully (Borsa), Jeongcheol Cha (Marullo), and Paul Corona and Brittany Renee (the Cepranos) were all excellent, and Edyta Kulczak’s Giovanna – clearly on the Duke’s payroll – had a memorable moment: as Rigoletto stands aghast at having been an accomplice in the kidnapping of this own daughter, the nurse flees the house with her suitcase. Brilliant! 

    How many times over the decades that I have been going to the opera have the singers of the Page and the Guard in RIGOLETTO captured my attention? Today was the first! Met choristers Andrea Coleman and Yohan Yi each stepped up to bat, and each hit a home run. Ms. Coleman has a bit more to sing, and she sang it prettily indeed; and Mr. Yi’s “Schiudete: ire al carcere Monteron dee!” was strikingly voiced. I borrowed this photo of Mr. Yi and Ms. Coleman from the Met Chorus’s Facebook page:

    Yi and coleman

    I met Speranza Scapucci when she was at Juilliiard; several of my young singer-friends who were studying there at the time spoke highly of her. Lately, she has come into her own, with prestigious productions on her resumé, including a debut at La Scala conducting Bellini’s CAPULETI ED I MONTECCHI featuring Ms. Oropesa as Giulietta. This run of RIGOLETTO marked her Met debut performances.

    From the pit, Ms. Scapucci certainly gave us a lively RIGOLETTO; the opera swept by with a feeling of inevitability, yet she also had a handle on the more reflective passages. The only drawback, really, was her tendency to let the brass players cover the voices; things got out of hand in the ‘storm’ trio in the final act, where Mlles. Feola and Akhmetshina and Mr. Relyea were giving their all, to no avail.

    Metropolitan Opera House
    Saturday November 26th, 2022 matinee

    RIGOLETTO
    Giuseppe Verdi

    Rigoletto...............Quinn Kelsey
    Gilda...................Rosa Feola
    Duke of Mantua..........Benjamin Bernheim
    Maddalena...............Aigul Akhmetshina
    Sparafucile.............John Relyea
    Monterone...............Bradley Garvin
    Borsa...................Scott Scully
    Marullo.................Jeongcheol Cha
    Count Ceprano...........Paul Corona
    Countess Ceprano........Brittany Renee
    Giovanna................Edyta Kulczak
    Page....................Andrea Coleman
    Guard...................Yohan Yi

    Conductor...............Speranza Scappucci

    ~ Oberon 

  • Margreta Elkins ~ Elgar’s Sea Pictures

    Elkins

    Mezzo soprano Margreta Elkins (above) sings Sir Edward Elgar’s Sea Pictures with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Werner Andreas Albert, recorded in 1983. Listen here.

    Ms. Elkins, born in Brisbane, was a favorite colleague of her compatriot Dame Joan Sutherland. They sang together at Covent Garden (where Elkins was for ten years a principal artist) and toured Australia together with the Sutherland-Williamson Opera Company in 1965.  A regular member of Australian Opera, Margreta Elkins enjoyed a special success there in 1976 as Sieglinde.

    She also appeared at Dublin, the Liceu, Boston, Philadelphia, and New Orleans, and was an admired recitalist, particularly in her native land.

  • Margreta Elkins ~ Elgar’s Sea Pictures

    Elkins

    Mezzo soprano Margreta Elkins (above) sings Sir Edward Elgar’s Sea Pictures with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Werner Andreas Albert, recorded in 1983. Listen here.

    Ms. Elkins, born in Brisbane, was a favorite colleague of her compatriot Dame Joan Sutherland. They sang together at Covent Garden (where Elkins was for ten years a principal artist) and toured Australia together with the Sutherland-Williamson Opera Company in 1965.  A regular member of Australian Opera, Margreta Elkins enjoyed a special success there in 1976 as Sieglinde.

    She also appeared at Dublin, the Liceu, Boston, Philadelphia, and New Orleans, and was an admired recitalist, particularly in her native land.

  • Orchestra of St. Luke’s: All-Mendelssohn Program

    Benjamin Grosvenor

    Above: pianist Benjamin Grosvenor

    Author: Ben Weaver

    Thursday November 17th, 2022 – The Orchestra of St. Luke’s and conductor Harry Bicket continued their multi-season traversal of the works of Felix Mendelssohn on Thursday evening at Carnegie Hall.

    British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor was the soloist in Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in G-minor, Op. 25, composed in 1831. The 22-year-old composer’s Piano Concerto is not a standard piece in the concerto repertoire and that’s rather inexplicable. It’s a well-crafted work, with wonderful melodies, wide range of moods, and plenty for a soloist to dig into. A stormy opening from the orchestra and a quick, dramatic entry for the soloist set the tone for a wild ride. Grosvenor is an accomplished pianist and his dazzling playing was never lacking in beauty and excitement. The concerto is written without a pause between movements, effortlessly flowing from the tumultuous first to the lyrical second movement. One thing that stands out is the lack of sentimentality from Mendelssohn: he is earnest without cheap effects, and Grosvenor reflected that wonderfully. An especially lovely passage in the Andante movement passes the melody from the piano to lower strings, and here Grosvenor and the string players of the orchestra were spellbinding. A seamless transition into a quirky final movement was nicely handled, and Grosvenor continued his dazzling playing. Perhaps only a bit of humor was lacking in the whole proceeding, but I’ll place the blame for his on Maestro Bicket because this also marred an otherwise wonderful performance of Mendelssohn’s most famous work, incidental music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

    Mendelssohn composed the famous Concert Overture when he was 18 years old and it became a staple of the concert repertoire quickly: a magnificent work filled with whimsy, drama, and endlessly hummable tunes, it conquered the world. 15 years later Mendelssohn was commissioned to write additional music for Shakespeare’s play and – remarkably – the now mature composer managed to time-travel to his youth and compose a score as magical as the Overture had been. After a shimmering playing of the Overture, Bicket and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s launched into the Scherzo – a lively wind section driven ode to fairies (excellent playing by the flutes especially).

    Hiding among the players all along was actor David Hyde Pierce, appearing seemingly from nowhere as Puck: which is, obviously, the best way for Puck to appear. Hyde Pierce’s performance of selected sections of the text were delightful: by turns dramatic (Titania shocked to discover her husband’s tricks), a wryly delightful Puck, and gravely pompous Oberon, the real ass of the play. The veteran actor and comedian of TV, film, and stage, moved effortlessly from one mood to the next, sometimes without taking a breath. A marvelous performance! I have always enjoyed Mendelssohn’s music for these melodramas in the work, and so many recordings omit them, alas. So it was a pleasure to hear this music, especially as sensitively played as it was. 

    Soprano Elena Villalón and mezzo-soprano Cecelia Hall were most excellent Fairies, one wishes Mendelssohn had written more music for the singers. Members of the The Choir of the Trinity Wall Street were also excellent in their music; I especially appreciated their very clear diction.

    The Orchestra of St. Luke’s played extremely well all night. The only difficulties came in the beautiful Notturno. Featuring extensive writing for the horns, perhaps the players got tired. The only thing missing in the whole – as I mentioned above – was a sense of humor in the proceedings. The dramatic and lyrical passages were magnificent, but a somewhat lighter touch would have been welcome. Since this afflicted both the Piano Concerto and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, I’ll place this squarely on the shoulders of Maestro Bicket. Maybe he was just having one of those days; let’s blame it on a spell.

    ~ Ben Weaver

  • Orchestra of St. Luke’s: All-Mendelssohn Program

    Benjamin Grosvenor

    Above: pianist Benjamin Grosvenor

    Author: Ben Weaver

    Thursday November 17th, 2022 – The Orchestra of St. Luke’s and conductor Harry Bicket continued their multi-season traversal of the works of Felix Mendelssohn on Thursday evening at Carnegie Hall.

    British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor was the soloist in Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in G-minor, Op. 25, composed in 1831. The 22-year-old composer’s Piano Concerto is not a standard piece in the concerto repertoire and that’s rather inexplicable. It’s a well-crafted work, with wonderful melodies, wide range of moods, and plenty for a soloist to dig into. A stormy opening from the orchestra and a quick, dramatic entry for the soloist set the tone for a wild ride. Grosvenor is an accomplished pianist and his dazzling playing was never lacking in beauty and excitement. The concerto is written without a pause between movements, effortlessly flowing from the tumultuous first to the lyrical second movement. One thing that stands out is the lack of sentimentality from Mendelssohn: he is earnest without cheap effects, and Grosvenor reflected that wonderfully. An especially lovely passage in the Andante movement passes the melody from the piano to lower strings, and here Grosvenor and the string players of the orchestra were spellbinding. A seamless transition into a quirky final movement was nicely handled, and Grosvenor continued his dazzling playing. Perhaps only a bit of humor was lacking in the whole proceeding, but I’ll place the blame for his on Maestro Bicket because this also marred an otherwise wonderful performance of Mendelssohn’s most famous work, incidental music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

    Mendelssohn composed the famous Concert Overture when he was 18 years old and it became a staple of the concert repertoire quickly: a magnificent work filled with whimsy, drama, and endlessly hummable tunes, it conquered the world. 15 years later Mendelssohn was commissioned to write additional music for Shakespeare’s play and – remarkably – the now mature composer managed to time-travel to his youth and compose a score as magical as the Overture had been. After a shimmering playing of the Overture, Bicket and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s launched into the Scherzo – a lively wind section driven ode to fairies (excellent playing by the flutes especially).

    Hiding among the players all along was actor David Hyde Pierce, appearing seemingly from nowhere as Puck: which is, obviously, the best way for Puck to appear. Hyde Pierce’s performance of selected sections of the text were delightful: by turns dramatic (Titania shocked to discover her husband’s tricks), a wryly delightful Puck, and gravely pompous Oberon, the real ass of the play. The veteran actor and comedian of TV, film, and stage, moved effortlessly from one mood to the next, sometimes without taking a breath. A marvelous performance! I have always enjoyed Mendelssohn’s music for these melodramas in the work, and so many recordings omit them, alas. So it was a pleasure to hear this music, especially as sensitively played as it was. 

    Soprano Elena Villalón and mezzo-soprano Cecelia Hall were most excellent Fairies, one wishes Mendelssohn had written more music for the singers. Members of the The Choir of the Trinity Wall Street were also excellent in their music; I especially appreciated their very clear diction.

    The Orchestra of St. Luke’s played extremely well all night. The only difficulties came in the beautiful Notturno. Featuring extensive writing for the horns, perhaps the players got tired. The only thing missing in the whole – as I mentioned above – was a sense of humor in the proceedings. The dramatic and lyrical passages were magnificent, but a somewhat lighter touch would have been welcome. Since this afflicted both the Piano Concerto and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, I’ll place this squarely on the shoulders of Maestro Bicket. Maybe he was just having one of those days; let’s blame it on a spell.

    ~ Ben Weaver