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Tonight David and I went from the slightly ridiculous to the sublime, musically speaking. From last night's tepid, under-sung Barbiere to tonight's brilliant concert by the Apollo Chorus and Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra in Rockefeller Chapel at the University of Chicago, just down the street from our condo. The excellent Chorus and Orchestra were conducted by the wonderful Stephen Alltop, who seemed to be having a ball all the way through the concert.
The Great Mass in C Minor of Mozart and the Te Deum of Dvorak made up the exciting program. The excellent chorus and orchestra played and sang with musical enthusiasm and great enjoyment.
Two angelic sopranos who proved that what I said in my last blog about singing OUT when singing runs works, sang the difficult solo parts in the Mozart Mass. Sarah Gartshore has a very beautiful spinto voice and was able to cover the role wonderfully.
Alyssa Bennett is more of a coloratura, I would think, and is equally able in singing this music to perfection. Both women need to discover what lies below the passaggio, especially when singing the athletic jumps Mozart hands them and Ms. Bennett does not need to push the top. It's already there! But I quibble.
The tenor, John Irvin and the bass-baritone, Richard Ollarsaba, were equally good in the small parts Mozart grants the men in this work. Ms. Gartshore and Mr.Ollarsaba were just fine in the Dvorak.
The balance between orchestra and chorus and soloists was perfect throughout. The acoustic makes it difficult to get the chorus's words in this room, but the soloists diction came through beautifully.
All in all, this was a great evening of great music, sung to perfection. Bravi to all concerned. Chicago Lyric could take some lessons from these solo singers about how to project freely and beautifully, no matter how complicated the music may be.
Perhaps it was because we were seated in row NN, though this is where we sat twice before; perhaps the house just has really poor acoustics; perhaps the singers had been told 'Sing this opera sotto voce.' Whatever,- until Alessandro Corbelli as Doctor Bartolo and Kyle Ketelsen as Don Basilio strode onstage at the Chicago Lyric Opera last night I thought I was losing my hearing.
It was the Lyric's production of The Barber of Seville, which garnered rave reviews from the Chicago critics. Apparently they were seated a lot closer to the stage than we were. Isabel Leonard as Rosina, Nathan Gunn as Figaro, and Alek Shrader as Count Almaviva, seem to have made a pact, or were told, to sing everything at half voice. Corbelli and Ketelsen obviously didn't get that memo because they sang with good projection and fine sound. Perhaps it was the idea of the conductor, Michele Mariotti, because even the Overture seemed under played.
Alessandro Corbelli
Each of the other singers seems to have a perfectly fine voice, capable of filling this house, but for some reason they chose to hold back vocally. In Act 2 they sang out a bit more, but all of their fioratura was sung to themselves.
I know that some voice teachers tell singers to cut back on their sound when singing fast runs but that has never been my method. My theory is that long runs require more, not less, energy. And require good, full sound. When Lorraine Hunt Lieberson and I were working on roles that required fast, complicated singing, I always told her that she must sing INTO a run, not shy away from it. Nobody sang runs any faster or clearer than Lorraine; and she could be heard at the back of any hall.
I was perplexed by this production and a little bored. I expect to be blown away with this kind of singing and was left disappointed.
Tracy Cantin as Berta also did not get the sotto voce memo and sang very well. A beautiful clear voice unafraid to be heard. Several of the other male singers also sang well, sending their sound to the back of the room.
Next time I will try to get a seat in row G.
Last night David and I attended a performance of Puccini's Tosca at Bethel Church in Crown Point, Indiana. It was presented by the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Kirk Muspratt was the conductor and the chorus was prepared by Nancy Menk. David usually sings in this chorus but sat it out last night having been in Puerto Rico all of January.
Presenting a concert version of any opera presents dramatic problems and this was especially true in this case. Much of the drama in Tosca is revealed in the acting and staging of the work. Leading singers standing behind music stands, some of whom never took their eyes off the music, leaves something to be desired. The film of Maria Callas placing the candles around the dead body of Scarpia is an opera in itself.
Having said that, most of the solo singing was quite good. The cast included Ryan de Ryke as Angelotti, Andrew Bawden as the Sacristan, Dominic Armstrong as Mario Cavaradossi, Helen Todd as Tosca, Yohan Yi as Baron Scarpia, Joshua Blue as Spoletta, Thomas Olsen as Sciarrone, Chrystal Mae Chandler as the Shepherd Boy, and Rex Hume as the Jailer.
Helen Todd, as Tosca, is apparently a former coloratura soprano who has taken on dramatic roles. As a result, her lower range was weak and tremulous while her high notes were brilliant. The role of Tosca, as with many Puccini soprano roles, lies in the middle of the voice for much of the time. This requires a voice that can comfortably handle this tessitura. Ms. Todd was in her element by Acts 2 and 3 where she has some high notes to sing. She might be better advised to take on more lyric roles if she has decided that the life of a coloratura is no longer for her.
Dominic Armstrong has a fine tenor voice but often slights the high notes. He even did some falsetto singing in a few places where I have never heard that done before. His very top seemed pushed.
Yohan Yi has a good baritone voice but, again, the top notes are not secure and at times he was covered by the orchestra.
The other men singers all were quite good and the chorus sang very well in their two moments in the work.
Slides were shown on two large screens hung above the stage which attempted to show what the action on stage would be had there been any. Getting stuck in the music kills connection with the audience. Tosca kept her eyes glued to the score even in 'Vissi d'arte'.
All in all it was good to hear this wonderful score again with a good orchestra and some good singers. Mr. Muspratt does not seem to feel the need to cue the singers but they all made their entrances without help from him.
David and I have returned to frigid Chicago after a wonderful month in Isla Verde, Puerto Rico. This year we had a different condo from the one I have rented for the past two years. We didn't like it as well as the other one which faced north and the sea. We spent the first week getting help for the sliding doors to the balcony, which refused to slide, the TV and Internet, which didn't work, and the air conditioners, which didn't work well either.
Isla Verde sky.
Also, the condo faced east instead of north, as my previous one did, bringing in lots of traffic noise from Avenida Isla Verde instead of the sounds of the sea. Oh well!
One of the many painted lions (Leon) in the town square at Ponce.
Eventually we got things working and explored the Island. David is an intrepid driver and we went to the east coast, to El Yunque- the rain forest, to Ponce (remember Ponce de Leon?), to Arecibo, and to Rincon on the western coast. We feel we have really seen Puerto Rico now.
The Cathedral in Ponce.
Peggy and Jim came to stay with us and joined the trips to El Yunque and Ponce.
A drive in El Yunque, the rain forest.
The amazing Arecibo Observatory.
Now back in Chicago briefly, we fly to San Diego on January 6th to visit David's niece, then back here for concerts by the Northwest Indiana Symphony (Tosca), two Music of the Baroque concerts and two operas at Chicago Lyric Opera: Clemenza di Tito and Barber of Seville.
Then it's back to the Berkshires for me on April 1st for the spring, summer, and fall. David will follow along a bit later for the summer.
Life is pretty good at age 84!
What a difference a different concert hall makes. Or a different set of acoustics. Or a different conductor.
This afternoon David and I went to the Divine Word Chapel in Northbrook, Illinois to hear Music of the Baroque perform their Holiday Brass and Choral Concert.
First of all, I had thought that this concert was to be Mendelssohn's Elijah. Wrong! That will happen in the spring.
Second, I thought that Jane Glover would be conducting. Wrong! It turned out to be Paul Agnew.
Third, it was way the hell north of Chicago at the Divine Word Chapel which is in some sort of Catholic school.
Other than that...
The chapel is within the school and has strange acoustics, which I will deal with later. The program was an esoteric amalgamation of music ranging from Praetorius to Francis Poulenc, which in itself is a great idea.
My problem was with the sound the choir was making. I loved the way they sounded under Jane Glover in Bach's St. John Passion earlier this season. I hated the way they sounded, especially the sopranos, in today's concert. The sopranos were using a loud, forced, straight sound that was very ugly and un-characeristic for the music they were singing. Under Jane Glover they sounded like angels. Today they could have done brain surgery with the sharp, straight, piercing tone that came from the section.
The program itself ranged from Gabrieli to Poulenc and was programatically interesting. The acoustics of the chapel were a problem. When the choir sang from the chancel, the reverberation in the church did strange things to the sound. Instead of adding an additional lengthening of the sound at the end of a phrase, it simply blurred everything together. When part, or all, of the choir move into the balcony, the sound was much better without the haze that affected it when singing from the chancel.
Apparently, this is the type of sound the conductor likes. Bring back Jane Glover!
Seldom in today's musical world do I hear an operatic performance where all of the major roles are sung by really fine singers. Last night at Chicago Lyric Opera was the exception.
Their production of Verdi's La Traviata last night was filled with singing that warmed the heart of a voice teacher and musician. Beautiful, free, expressive singing was the high standard that was set and met by Marina Rebeka, the Violetta, Joseph Calleja, Alfredo, and Quinn Kelsey, Giorgio Germont.
Ms. Rebeka is a Latvian soprano who possesses a voice of great beauty that will do anything she asks of it. You want a brilliant high note? It's there. How about the same note pianissimo? It's also there. Her vocal range of dynamics and color in the voice reminded me of my all time favorite soprano Montserrat Caballe. She is simply wonderful.
Mr. Calleja comes from Malta and was Gramophone's Artist of the Year in 2012. And with good reason. His beautiful tenor voice can scale the heights at every dynamic level with great ease. He is a fine actor and musician.
Mr. Kelsey is a native of Hawaii. I have seldom heard the role of Georgio Germont sung with such ease and with such a limpid tone. His high G flat is to die for!
Chicago Lyric's stage apparently has room for only one set. As in the recent production of Parsifal, which I did not care for, there is a cyclorama at the rear of the stage which serves as a backdrop for the entire opera, being varied with lighting and shadow play. Here is a case where the scenery is immaterial. The singing alone carries the story and totally engages the listener.
The smaller roles were well sung by former members of the Ryan Opera Center, for the most part. The costumes and puppets were gorgeous and
imaginative and were designed by Cait O'Connor.
I was simply blown away by the singing which was never covered by the fine orchestra conducted by Massimo Zanetti. I am assuming that the size of the stage and orchestra pit is much smaller than that of the Met, resulting in fewer instruments. Or maybe the conductors at Chicago Lyric just don't attempt to drown out the singers, as is often the case at the Met. I am sure that singers feel free to sing with ease and at all possible dynamic levels in this house. Too often at the Met it is a battle between the orchestra and the singer where the orchestra wins. 100 to 1 is a tough competition.
All in all this was a glorious evening at the opera. Tonight David and I will hear Music of the Baroque perform Mendelssohn's Elijah.
So much wonderful music here in Chicago and only twenty minutes from home!
Tonight David and I were thrilled to hear a superb performance of Benjamin Britten's Ceremony of Carols at St John Cantius church in Chicago's former Polish Town. The building is a remarkable 1898 structure, elegant without and within.
St. John Cantius
The St. Cecilia Choir was conducted by Daniel Robinson who led them through this extraordinary work with elegance, imagination, and great musicianship. The singers performed with a lovely, unforced sound. The sopranos sing in tune; no flat singing here, such as I often hear from choir sopranos. And no screamy high notes!
I have conducted this work many times in its original form: three female voices. Tonight the revised version was used which is for SATB choir. But Dan managed to keep everything light and crisp in spite of the addition of tenor and bass voices.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of Britten's birth. He is indeed the pre-eminent composer of the last century.
Dan worked under John Ferris at Harvard some time ago and I could hear John's influence in the presentation.
The very good harpist was Renee Wilson. The Magnificat Choir, a group of young singers, also sang beautifully and effortlessly. It was conducted by Br. Chad McCoy, S.J.C.
I would say that the music program in this church is in very good hands.
Before the service of Lessons and Carols began, a delightful ensemble performed an instrumental prelude. The musicians were Julianne Skones, oboe, Heather Thon, clarinet, and Hanna Sterba, bassoon. Their arrangements of mostly vocal pieces were delightful. Many were by Daniel Kelley.
Before the concert we had a delicious seafood dinner at Riva on Navy Pier with a great view of the Chicago skyline.
