Opera Night, August 6th, 2010

Program: August 6, 2010

"Nuit d'etoiles"
Claude Debussy
Jeanny Schwartz, mezzo soprano

"Vedrai, carino"
Don Giovanni
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Jackie Murphy, soprano:

"I shall find for you"
The Consul
Gian Carlo Menotti
Marie Michalopoulos, mezzo soprano

"Because"
Guy d'Hardelot
Robert Cinnante, tenor

"Non mi dir"
Don Giovanni
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Lauren Haber, soprano

"Vainement, ma bien-aimée"
Le Roi d'Ys
Édouard Lalo
Adam Zwang, tenor

"Dicitencello vuie"
Rodolfo Falvo
Young Ha Kim, tenor

intermission

"Va! Laisse couler mes larmes"
Werther
Jules Massenet
Marguerite Jones, soprano

"L'ultima canzone"
Paolo Tosti
Robert Cinnante, tenor

"Quanto e bella, quanto e cara"
L'elisir d'amore
Gaetano Donizetti
Arthur Lai, tenor

"This is my beloved"
Kismet
Robert Wright (Alexander Borodin)
Jennifer Heggman-Lynde, soprano

"Voi, che sapete"
Le Nozze di Figaro
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Bonnie Elmann, soprano

"Music. when soft voices die"
op. 25 #1
Roger Quilter
Patrick Shelton, tenor

"Deh vieni, non tardar"
Don Giovanni
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Melissa Block, mezzo soprano

"Lost in the Wilderness"
Children of Eden
Stephen Schwartz
Adam Zwang, tenor

"Non ti scordar di me"
Ernesto de Curtis
Young Ha Kim, tenor

"Vissi d'arte"
Tosca
Giacomo Puccini
Lauren Haber, soprano



The Chamber Music, 7:30 pm

Violin Sonata #3 in c minor, opus 45

I. Allegro molto ed appassionato
II. Allegretto espressivo alla Romanza
III. Allegro animato
Edvard Grieg

Matthew Aprea, violin
Paul Kerekes, piano

Opera Night, August 6th, a review by Dominic Caputo



Romance seemed to be in the air at this month’s Opera Night performance:



The evening started with soprano Jeanny Schwartz singing a haunting rendition of “Nuit d’etoiles” (Night of stars . . .) , Claude Debussy’s first published song which set a poem by Théodore de Banville to music.



Soprano Jackie Murphy, a former St. Anthony and current Hofstra student followed with “Vedrai carino” (Come dear one . . .), from Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Jackie’s beautiful lilting vocals gave tender meaning to Zerlina’s consolation of the bruised and battered Masetto.



Mezzo soprano Marie Michalopoulos then gave us a rich and tasteful performance of “I shall find for you” from Gian Carlo Menotti’s first full length opera performed on Broadway in 1950.



Tenor Robert Cinnante sang “Because” by Helen Rhodes, composed under the pen name Guy d’Hardelot. Ms. Rhodes took her pen name from an old castle, Chateau d’Hardelot, once occupied by Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Robert’s wonderful performance did justice to this “back when” classic.



More romance as Soprano Lauren Haber followed with an exceptional rendition of “Non mi dir” (Tell me not . . .) from Mozart’s Don Giovanni, where Anna assures Octavio that she loves him and is faithful.



Love and Marriage? Tenor Adam Zwang was in complete command as he sang "Vainement, ma bien-aimée" (In vain, my beloved) Mylio's bridal song from the opera Le Roi d’ys by the French composer Edouard Lalo.



And to top off the romantic setting of part 1 of this Opera Night, tenor Young Ha Kim heated up an already warm evening with his singing of “Dicitencello Vuie”, a Neapolitan love song by Rudolfo Falvo. If it sounded familiar, you may have heard the American version by Dean Martin, “Just Say I love Her.



Soprano Marguerite Jones, a student at Oberlin College in Ohio, opened part two of our evening with a lush rendition of “Va! Laisse couler mes larmes” (Go, let flow my tears . . .) form the opera Werther by Jules Massenet where Charlotte spends time rereading Werther's letters to herself.



Tenor Robert Cinnante followed with a passionate and powerful rendition of “L’ ultimo canzone” by Paolo Tosti. A few of the lyrics: “But always, night and day, a flood of passion, my song will come moaning to you”. Whew, turn up the air-conditioning!



Tenor Arthur Lai sang “Quanto e bella, quanto e cara . . .” (How beautiful, how dear . . .), Nemorino’s first act love song from the comic opera L’ Elisir d’amor (The Elixir of Love) by Gaetano Donizetti with warm and lovely Italian ardor. If you are looking for an Italian opera without murders, suicides, and a tragic ending, this one’s for you.



Recently married soprano Jennifer Heggman-Lynde gave us a soaring rendition of “And this is my beloved” from the musical Kismet by Robert Wright and George Forrest. Was it my imagination or didn’t Jennifer beam the best parts of this wonderful love song directly to her new husband in the audience?



Soprano Bonnie Elmann continued the enchanting evening as she sang a tender and sensitive “Voi che sapete che cosa e amor” (You who know what love is . . ) from Mozart’s opera Le Nozze Di Figaro.



Tenor Patrick Shelton performed a rarely heard Roger Quilter song, “Music when soft voices die”, shaping each phrase with bittersweet poignancy.



Soprano Melissa Block sang an entrancing and elegant “Deh vieni non tardar,” (Ah, come without delay) from Mozart’s Le Nozze Di Figaro wherein Susanna teases Figaro by singing a love song to her beloved within Figaro's hearing.



Adam Zwang returned to sing "Lost in the Wilderness" from Children of Eden, a musical written in 1986 by Stephen Schwartz that almost made it to Broadway. Adam's rendition of this song was very impressive, and the audience reacted with cheers.



You could close your eyes and be in Southern Italy as tenor Young Ha Kim returned to the stage and lifted his voice to majestic highs singing “Non ti scordar di me” (Never forget about me) by Neapolitan composer Ernesto De Curtis who also wrote “Torna a Surriento” (Come back to Sorrento).



And to close the evening, soprano Lauren Haber sang “Visi D’Arte, [vissi d’amor]”, (I lived for Art, [I lived for love]) from the opera Tosca, wherein Tosca questions God for allowing her to make a decision to give away her dignity in the exchange for her lover’s life. Although Lauren noted that this difficult aria was a new challenge for her, one cannot imagine that her rich, unforced rendition could get much better.