Friday night we drove to Middletown, CT to hear Kate Callahan sing the role of Mimi in Puccini's La Bohème. She did a splendid job with the Connecticut Lyric Opera Company. Most of the other members of the cast sang well, especially Luke Scott, baritone, as Marcello.
I would have to quibble with some of the staging. Too much of the time the singers were placed at the rear of the stage making it difficult to hear them over the orchestra, which was too loud throughout the performance. The orchestra actually played very well indeed, but covered the singing much of the time, allowing only high notes to be heard over the orchestral sound.
Today, Saturday, we drove to Barrytown, New York, over a very scenic route, to hear Nat Watson sing A Bach Winterreise, a program of arias for baritone, 'cello and organ. The very fine 'cellist was Christine Gummere, who was principle 'cellist of the Riverside Symphony for 19 years and founder of Sinfonia New York. The excellent organist was John Scott, organist and choirmaster at St. Thomas church in New York City and former assistant Organist at Southwark and St. Paul's Cathedral in London.
Nat sang with his usual bravura in difficult arias taken from various Bach cantatas. His resonant voice filled the charming St. John's Episcopal Church in Barrytown.
It was great weekend, capped by a marvelous dinner of soft shell crabs at The Woodland Restaurant in Lakeville, CT on our way home.
Yum!
