Oberon's Grove

Zoltán Daragó: "Lascia ch'io pianga"

Hungarian counter-tenor Zoltán Daragó sings "Lascia ch'io pianga" from Handel's RINALDO.

Watch and listen here.

Julie Taymor's MAGIC FLUTE ~ 2023 #2

Author: Oberon

Saturday December 30th, 2023 matinee - Back for a second performance of the Taymor abbreviated, English-language version of MAGIC FLUTE this afternoon. There were singers new to me in the cast, and also one of the brightest lights of the 'now' generation: soprano Liv Redpath, who I was keen to hear again after having very much enjoyed her singing at the Richard Tucker Gala at Carnegie Hall earlier this season, as well as her scintillating Oscar in BALLO IN MASCHERA at The Met.

Gareth Morrell was on the podium this afternoon, pacing things perfectly and supporting the singers at every moment. It took a few moments for the Three Ladies to find their blend, but once they got going, their singing was appealing - though their role in the story is reduced by too much musical cutting in this version. Amanda Batista's soprano is bright and clear, and Lindsay Ammann's alto warm and dusky. As the 2nd Lady, Edyta Kulczak is always fun to hear, and her timbre is the most distinctive of the three. The Three Spirits were again weakly cast vocally. As the two Priests (essentially spoken roles), clear diction is key: Dylan Morrongiello and Paul Corona were spot on. And the duo of Guards - Daniel O'Hearn and Rocky Eugenio Sellers - helped make the Trial Scene a highlight of the show.

Especially pleasing to hear this afternoon were Thomas Capobianco as Monastatos and William Guanbo Su as the Speaker. Mr. Capobianco seemed to favor a more 'vocal' approach to the slave's music, rather than just going after comic effects. Mr. Su displayed a rich, imposing bass timbre and his excellent diction made his scene with Tamino (my favorite part of the opera) wonderfully understandable. At this, the turning point of the story, a round of applause covered the work's most poetic moment: Tamino's "O endless night!"

In the role of the questing Prince, Joshua Blue (who sang a very fine Verdi REQUIEM with Oratorio Society at Carnegie Hall in 2019), sang his 'portrait aria' persuasively, though the cuts in the music dampen the effectiveness of this paean to love. Mr. Blue's voice falls pleasingly on the ear, with its sense of blooming lyricism;...he replied to Pamina's radiant "Tamino mine!" with an ardent "Pamina mine!"

Liv Redpath gave a sterling Pamina, her timbre having a nice sheen to it, and her dynamics wonderfully responsive to the princess's moods. When Papageno, attempting to rescue Pamina, suggests that they lie to Sarastro to cover their subterfuge, Ms. Redpath responded with a heavenly "Be truthful!" and, as mentioned earlier, her "Tamino mine!" was simply gorgeous. She phrased the arching line of Pamina's great aria perfectly, though an undercurrent of noise from the many children in the audience somewhat undermined the moment.

Alexander Birch Elliott (above) was a clear audience favorite - understandably so. His voice is robustly masculine and his diction clear as a bell: perfect delivery of line after line. He caught all the humor of the translation, and was truly hilarious as he employed an echo effect when trying to locate "Tamino...no...no...!" as darkness engulfed the scene. Mr. Elliott sealed his triumph with a terrific rendering of "Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen" (or whatever it is in translation) and enjoyed a lively ovation at his solo bow before calling forth his Papagena - Lindsay Ohse - who brought a nice touch of earthiness to her singing.

At opposite ends of the opera's vast span of vocal range, Jeni Houser (Queen of the Night) and James Creswell (Sarastro) both fared very well indeed. Ms. Houser's a light-voiced Queen in the manner of Roberta Peters or Erika Köth; her first aria had some lovely delicacies of expression - as if to mask the Queen's true intentions - and she spun out the coloratura of the concluding segment with aplomb. Her 'vengeance aria' was impressive in its agility and accuracy, and she summoned a nice dose of venom for her climactic command: "Swear...swear...swear!!!"  

As the benevolent Sarastro, James Creswell's spoken lines were vividly clear and finely inflected. In his two arias, he showed a bass voice suffused with a sense of compassion, true to his mission to save the world from encroaching darkness.

If only we could find a Sarastro for our own time.

~ Oberon

Eula Beal ~ None But The Lonely Heart

The American contralto Eula Beal (above) sings Tchaikovsky's "None But The Lonely Heart", with Marguerite Campbell at the piano.

Listen here. 

Gianni Maffeo

After all these decades of listening to opera, I can still find voices that thrill me. How did I manage to overlook the Italian baritone Gianni Maffeo all these years? I came upon him quite by chance on YouTube recently.

Born in Vigevano, Italy, in 1939 (or possibly in 1936), Maffeo performed in opera houses throughout Italy, as well internationally in Moscow, Munich, Monte Carlo, Nice, Avignon, Bordeaux, and Paris, among others.

Maffeo sang Schaunard in a 1972 production of La Bohème with Luciano Pavarotti as Rodolfo and Mirella Freni as Mimi, and the Berlin Philharmonic under Herbert von Karajan's baton. The performance was recorded and released by Decca Records; Karajan also chose Maffeo for a 1965 film production of La Bohème, directed by Franco Zeffirelli.

Gianni Maffeo was 82 years old when he passed away on January 3, 2022.

You can listen to this wonderful singer in various excerpts: 

~ Pagliacci Prologo here.

~ Scenes from Fanciulla del West and Andrea Chenier (with Edy Amadeo) here.

~ Andrea Chenier aria (twice!) here.

~ Forza del Destino aria here.

~ Duets with tenor Angelo Mori from Forza del Destino here and here.

Enjoy!

My 1st Time Hearing DIE WALKURE

Above: Birgit Nilsson as Brunnhilde

The Met's 1961 broadcast of Wagner's DIE WALKURE marked the first time I ever heard this opera which became, over time, my favorite of the composer's operas. A recording of the broadcast was recently posted on YouTube. Listen here.

I remember that some scenes seemed endless to me, and that while the music was at times very exciting, it was the story that most intrigued me...especially the ending, where Brunnhilde was left sleeping in the middle of a ring of magic fire.

We had had a substantial snowfall the night before, and I went out to the field behind our house with the sound of the feuerzauber alive in my head. I made a circle of all the empty packing boxes and other trash from my father's drugstore and set it afire. It was then that I realized I was in the center of the circle and would have to wait until the flames died down before I could escape. At supper, my mother scolded me for bringing a smokey smell into the house. It took a few days for the odor to dissipate.

Metropolitan Opera House ~ December 23,1961

Cast: Brünnhilde: Birgit Nilsson; Siegmund: Jon Vickers; Sieglinde: Gladys Kuchta; Wotan: Otto Edelmannl Fricka: Irene Dalis; Hunding: Ernst Wiemann; Gerhilde: Carlotta Ordassy; Grimgerde: Mary MacKenzie; Helmwige: Heidi Krall; Ortlinde: Martina Arroyo; Rossweisse: Margaret Roggero; Schwertleite: Gladys Kriese; Siegrune: Helen Vanni; Waltraute: Mignon Dunn

Conductor: Erich Leinsdorf

CARMEN ~ My Favorite Moments

I don't want to see the Met's new CARMEN, but I look forward to hearing it from my score desk. Everyone, even people who've never been to the opera, knows the Habanera and the Toreador Song, but my favorite parts of Bizet's opera are somewhat less familiar.

My CARMEN highlights begin with the atmospheric chorus of the girls from the cigarette factory, who come out into the sunshine to have a smoke during their break:

CARMEN ~ Dans l'air nous suivons des yeux la fumee

Above: James McCracken and Adriana Maliponte in Act I of CARMEN

Next is the lovely duet for Don José and Micaela, his sweetheart from his home village. Micaela brings José a kiss from his mother:

Adriana Maliponte & James McCracken - CARMEN ~ duet

The prelude to Act III of the opera is so hauntingly beautiful:

CARMEN ~ Act III prelude - L Maazel cond

Carmen's En vain pour éviter, wherein she reads her fortune in the cards - "Death! First me, then him! For both of us...death!" - forebodes the opera's violent ending. Jean Madeira (above) was a classic Carmen, with a formidable chest register.

Jean Madeira - Air des Cartes ~ CARMEN

In one of the greatest final scenes in all opera, a defiant Carmen utterly rejects Don José, practically daring him to kill her. The tragedy was brilliantly played out when the great Régine Crespin (above) drove William Lewis to the brink of madness in this sensational rendering from the 1975  Met broadcast.

CARMEN - final scene - Crespin - Wm Lewis - Met 1975

Mme. Crespin sent me the photo after I wrote her a congratulatory letter after listening to the broadcast. Later, I had the good fortune to see her in the role in Boston.

~ Oberon

Gabriella Tucci ~ 'Ave Maria' from Verdi's OTELLO

Gabriella Tucci sings the Ave Maria from Verdi's OTELLO from a 1967 performance given by The Met on tour in Atlanta. Zubin Mehta is the conductor.

Listen here.

Christmas Eve 2023 @ Carnegie Hall

Above: Jaime Laredo, Bella Hristova, and Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt 

~ Author: Oberon

Sunday December 24th, 2023 - The New York String Orchestra’s Christmas Eve concert at Carnegie Hall this year was an all-Mozart program which featured soloists Bella Hristova (violin) and violist Milena Pajaro–van de Stadt (viola) with Jaime Laredo on the podium. I invited my long-time friend Rob Scott to join me; Rob was one of the very first people I met on moving to NYC twenty-five years ago. Later, he became Lisette Oropesa's first manager, helping her to launch her brilliant career.

I learned the overture to The Marriage of Figaro long before I heard the complete opera: we played a transcription of it in my high-school band (we also played the prelude to Lohengrin Act III!). Tonight, the young players of the New York String Orchestra gave a lively and immaculately-played rendering of the Figaro, immediately setting the mood of the evening.  There were many young children among the audience tonight, and this brisk music seemed to draw them in.

A wonderful sense of attentive silence was sustained in the hall throughout the playing of the Sinfonia concertante in E-flat Major, K. 364, which I was - incredibly enough - hearing "live" for the first time. Dating from 1779, this is simply a great piece of music. The two soloists chose striking gowns that brought a glamorous touch to the evening: Ms Hristova in an elegant, one-shoulder forest green frock, and Ms. Pajaro–van de Stadt in shimmering gold and silver.

In the Sinfonia's opening Allegro maestoso, duetting motifs for two horns are picked up by two oboes, with the orchestra's basses sound velvety. Now the soloists join, their timbres ideally matched as they exchange phrases; displaying their fluent techniques; the two seem to converse whilst gracious horn harmonies are heard. In Mozart's day, cadenzas were usually improvised by the performers, but in the Sinfonia Concertante’s first and second movements, the composer specifically wrote out the cadenzas. And what magical cadenzas they are, played tonight with great finesse and charm.

The ensuing Andante takes on a feeling of mournful lyricism, with Ms. Hristova's beautifully sustained tone singing a lament that is then taken up by the duskier colours of Ms. Pajaro–van de Stadt's viola. A sense of exquisite sadness slowly gives way to tender harmonies  A rich tutti passage leads to the cadenza of the entwining solo voices, underscored by sustained horn tones. Bella's enchanting trills take us to a sublimely poignant finish.

Maestro Laredo let the hushed atmosphere linger by keeping his arms poised before delving into the concluding Presto wherein the horns and oboes are again welcome, with the basses sounding so appealing to my ear. In a spirit of friendly competition, Mlles. Hristova and Pajaro–van de Stadt regaled us with their virtuosity, clearly savoring every phrase that Mozart offered them. A roar of applause rang out as the final note hung on the air, and our gracious soloists embraced one another. For this precious half-hour, the woes of the world had been forgotten.

The familiar Symphony No. 35, "Haffner", made for a perfect end to the evening; despite the fact that some of the children in the crowd became a bit restive, the power of Mozart's spirit prevailed. The young musicians handled all of the music's demands with assurance, and I especially loved hearing the timpani lending an air of nobility to the concluding Presto. 

~ Oberon

Eduardo Villa Has Passed Away

Tenor Eduardo Villa, a native of Santa Barbara, California, has passed away at the age of 70. Originally interested in musicals, he appeared in productions of Oliver!, West Side Story, and Paint Your Wagon before deciding to develop his voice further by studying at the University of Southern California, where his teachers included such luminaries as Martial Singher and Margaret Harshaw.

Upon winning the Metropolitan Opera Auditions in 1982, alongside Hei-Kyung Hong, Sylvia McNair, and Nancy Gustafson, Villa departed for Switzerland, where sang with Basel Opera Theater between 1983 and 1987. In 1986, he made his debut at the Paris Opéra as Verdi's Don Carlo, and from 1987 to 1991 he appeared at the Munich State Opera.

When Villa began getting offers in the USA and Canada, he left Munich. Among his many contracts were appearances with Connecticut Opera at The Bushnell in Hartford, where I first heard his warm, passionate singing in BALLO IN MASCHERA, and later as an ardent suitor to Mary Dunleavy's captivating Lucia di Lammermoor.

In 1992, Eduardo sang Jacopo in a concert performance of Verdi's I DUE FOSCARI given by Eve Queler's Opera Orchestra of New York. It was a very exciting evening, with soprano Martile Rowland and baritone Vladimir Chernov sharing enthusiastic ovations with the tenor.

Mr. Villa joined the Metropolitan Opera in 2002, debuting as Don Carlo and going on to make two dozen Met appearances (thru 2008) as Pinkerton, Don Jose, Calaf, Turiddu, Rodolfo in LUISA  MILLER, Cavaradossi, Enzo Grimaldi, and Ernani.

I saw him at The Met as Radames in 2002 opposite Michelle Crider, and he was really impressive: a Met-sized voice with a nice Italianate ring to the tone. In my diary, I praised his vocal generosity, his ability to cut thru ensembles, and his sustained "Sacerdote! Io resto a te!!" at the end of the Nile Scene. 

There is not a lot of Eduardo Villa's singing on YouTube but there is an OTELLO duet with baritone Mark Rucker that gives a you a good idea of what kind of singer Mr. Villa was...watch and listen here.

~ Oberon

Tucci & Corelli ~ Vicino a te

Gabriella Tucci and Franco Corelli sing the final duet from Giordano's ANDREA CHENIER from a 1971 performance at The Met; Cornell MacNeil is Carlo Gerard, and Fausto Cleva conducts.

Listen here.