Oberon's Grove

Edith Lang

In 1967, I saw soprano Edith Lang (above) for the only time in my opera-going career: she sang the role of Mother Goose in Stravinsky's RAKE'S PROGRESS with the visiting Hamburg Opera at The Met.

Ms. Lang  was born in 1927 in Chicago, Illinois, and passed away in Spain in 2006. She was a principal artist at the Hamburg State Opera from 1955 to 1973 and remained as a guest artist with the Company until 1995. Her repertory ranged from Rossini and Verdi to Strauss and Wagner. She was better-known in Europe than in her native United States.

Lately I've been finding some recordings of Ms. Lang on YouTube, and I'm especially impressed by this scene from LA GIOCONDA. And she's quite lyrically persuasive in the music of Leonora from TROVATORE, as this aria and duet (with a baritone named K. Grimm) demonstrate. 

Malpaso Dance Company @ The Joyce

Above: the dancers of Malpaso Dance Company in Robyn Mineko Williams' Elemental, photo by Rachel Aka

Tuesday October 4th, 2022 - So nice to be back at The Joyce with my choreographer/friend Cherylyn Lavagnino for a performance by Cuba's Malpaso Dance Company.

Above: Heriberto Meneses in Dailedys Carrazana's Nana Para un Insomnio; photo by Ivo Roberto Baelli

The program opened with Nana Para un Insomnio (Lullaby for Insomnia), a solo choreographed by the company's own Dailedys Carrazana, and danced by Heriberto Meneses. The music, by Jordi Sabates, was finely played live by pianist Arturo O'Ferrill: it commences with a ragtime feel, and then moves on thru many moods - jaunty, pensive, restless - interspersed with passages danced in silence. 

Mr. Meneses, clad in black and dancing in a pool of light, is a supple mover with a keen musical awareness so that the solo became a perfectly integrated meshing of movement and sound. An excellent start to the evening.

Mats Ek's wonderfully quirky woman with water is an intimate duet, performed to music by  Fleshquartet.  it was danced this evening by Dunia Acosta and Osnel Delgado (photo above by Perdo Suarez). The eclectic music is rather ominous at first; later it pulses or sways.

Colour - the woman's orange gown and a green table - engages the eye as Ms. Acosta dances a peculiar solo in which the table is her partner: she clings to it, gets on it, hides under it. Now Mr. Delgado appears with a pitcher of water and a glass. The woman drinks it down, and the man leaves her in a tipsy state; she dances an off-kilter solo.

The man returns and gives her another glass of water; quaffing it, she quickly collapses. Grabbing a broom, the man sweeps up the spilled water, and then sweeps the woman's body into the wings.

woman with water is a small masterpiece. This was my second encounter with a Mats Ek work; I'd love to see more.

Elemental, choreographed by Robyn Mineko Williams, is set to a musical collage covering a wide range of styles. Wisps of smoke filter onto the stage as a somber beat commences. The dancers come and go, with fleeting meetings and partings; there is some verbalizing. Brief solo moments spring up, and short duets. This community of gorgeous movers keeps the eye engaged at every moment, until the end when two men remain dancing in sync before moving off into the darkness.

Above: the ensemble in Aszure Barton's Stillness in Bloom; photo by Ivo Roberto Baelli

Stillness in Bloom, the company’s second commissioned work by Aszure Barton, is set to music by Ambrose Akinmusire. Rather similar in look and feeling to the preceding Elemental, Ms. Barton's work showed off the dancers' power and commitment to fine effect. Each dancer seems to be wearing clothes off the rack: individual, comfortable, and casual.

A silent duet for two men gives way to rippling piano music as the ensemble slowly grows to include all the company dancers, each dancing in their own space; there's hardly any contact between individuals. A quartet forms around a square of light, dancing in place, before a second quartet takes over. The dancers watch as a woman drags a man's body across the stage in silence.  A beaty finale commences, and accelerates, as the dancers peel off, leaving a lone man onstage.

At the end of the evening, my companion and I were thinking that the program would have been stronger if the two ensemble pieces had been better contrasted. Something brighter, livelier, more passionate, and...sexier...could have given the dancers an opportunity to display a greater range.

~ Oberon

Gordoni/Molese BUTTERFLY ~ 1966

Above: soprano Virginia Gordoni, costumed as Cio-Cio-San

A performance of Puccini's MADAMA BUTTERFLY, apparently a radio broadcast from 1966.

Listen here.

Details:

Conductor: Nello Santi

Wiener Symphoniker Orchestra and Wiener Staatsoper Chorus

Cio-Cio-San - Virginia Gordoni; Pinkerton - Michele Molese; Sharpless - Valerio Meucci; Suzuki - Nedda Casei; Kate Pinkerton - Meriel Dickinson; Goro - Franz Setzer; Prince Yamadori - Friedrich Strack; The Bonze - Leo Heppe; Imperial Commissioner - Nikolaus Simkowsky

Back in the late 1960s, when I was going to NYC Opera frequently, I had very mixed feelings about Michele Molese. He was maddeningly uneven. But more recently when I've heard his voice, I've understood why people liked him so much.

Robert Schumann's NACHTLIED

Aleksandar Markovic (above) conducts a performance of Robert Schumann's Nachtlied with the Spanish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir.

Watch and listen here.

@ My Met Score Desk for IDOMENEO

Above: Kate Lindsey, Michael Spyres, and Ying Fang in IDOMENEO; a MetOpera photo

Saturday October 1st, 2022 matinee - Mozart's glorious IDOMENEO is back at The Met in the tried-and-true Ponnelle production, expertly conducted by Manfred Honeck, and with a very fine cast. Sadly, the performance played to a lot pf empty seats.

The Met's orchestra and chorus responded with their customary expertise to Maestro Honeck's persuasive reading of the score. Special kudos to the continuo players: Kari Jane Docter (cello) and Dimitri Dover (fortepiano).

For me, the most lustrous singing today came from Ying Fang in the role of Ilia. This is a magical voice, which carries perfectly in the big hall. The soprano's exquisite turns of phrase, canny use of dynamics, and delicious fiorature made everything she touched turn to gold. Her 'Padre, germani, addio...' was a highlight of the evening, yet she surpassed herself with a ravishing 'Zeffiretti lusinghieri', wherein her sweetly sustained tones, gentle coloratura, and entrancing phrasing made for a rewarding listening experience. Pamina, Susanna, and now Ilia...I cannot wait to hear what Ying Fang does next.

It's so nice to have Kate Lindsey back on the Met stage. The pandemic caused us to lose a revival of the Met's superb production of Gluck's IPHIGENIE EN TAURIDE, in which Kate was to have sung the title-role; I am hoping it will be re-scheduled. 

I met Kate Lindsey when ahe was in the Met Young Artists program. Talking with her then, she told me of her admiration for Frederica von Stade; today, Kate took on her third Met role that was closely identified with Ms. von Stade (the others being Hansel and Cherubino) and she made it her own.

Ms. von Stade was the original Idamante in this Ponnelle production. Similar to Flicka in frame and bearing, Ms. Lindsey's expressive and finely controlled singing held the audience under a spell. One amazing moment came with her perfectly sustained F-5 commencing in straight tone. When Idamante encounters Idomeneo - who was presumed dead - Kate's singing of the restless aria 'Il padre adorato' was impeccable; later, as Idamante goes off to confront the monster who is menacing Crete, she was moving indeed. Then, as the young man accepts his fate as a sacrifice to Neptune, Kate's quietly expressive singing was truly affecting.  

Michael Spyres had a great personal success as Idomeneo. He has an unusual voice: it has great power - a sound of stunning intensity and immediacy that he can hone down to a perfect pianissimo - aligned to astounding breath control and agility. Expressively, Spyres can be fierce one minute and poignantly pensive the next. His "Fuor del mar" was masterful, with long passages of coloratura alternating with forceful declamation; the audience erupted in cheers when he finished. 

Above: Federica Lombardi as Elettra: a MetOpera photo.

Ms. Lombardi made quite an impact in the demanding role of Elettra today. Last season she sang an ideal Contessa Almaviva in NOZZE DE FIGARO at The Met. Today, her exciting "Tutto nel cor mi sento" had a couple of edgy moments, but by "Idol mio" everything had smoothed out, and her dynamic mastery and fine phrasing shone. Her little "arietta" the midst of the 'Placido e il mar' chorus was jewel-like, and she was brilliant in the great mad aria, 'D'Oreste, d'Ajace!', with biting staccati and capped with an unwritten high-C.  

Tenor Paolo Fanale sang Fenton to Lisette Oropesa's Nannetta in FALSTAFF here at The Met in 2013; now he is back as Arbace. His clear, pleasant voice and stylish technique made me regret that his second aria was cut (as was Idomeneo's "Torna la pace"). It would be nice to hear Mr. Fanale as Nermorino or Alfredo in TRAVIATA at The Met.

The Voice of Neptune was sung by Scott Conner; it was difficult to assess his singing since the miking was so bad. Isaachah Savage as the High Priest sounded fine; he deserves more Met opportunities.

Speaking of Ms. Oropesa (I love speaking of her!), I was reminded this afternoon that the first time I heard Lisette's voice was in IDOMENEO: she played one of the Cretan Women, and her voice instantly pricked up my ears. The rest is history. 

Metropolitan Opera House
October 1, 2022 matinee

Moazrt's IDOMENEO

Idomeneo....................Michael Spyres
Ilia........................Ying Fang
Idamante....................Kate Lindsey
Elettra.....................Federica Lombardi
Arbace......................Paolo Fanale
High Priest.................Issachah Savage
Voice of Neptune............Scott Conner
Woman.......................Amani Cole-Felder
Woman.......................Cierra Byrd
Soldier.....................Manase Latu
Soldier.....................Vladyslav Buialskyi

Harpsichord Continuo........Dimitri Dover
Cello Continuo..............Kari Jane Docter

Conductor...................Manfred Honeck

Overall, an engrossing musical performance. During the interval, I remained at my desk, listening to the clarinetist practicing marvelous roulades in the pit.

~ Oberon