November 5th, 8:00 pm
Program:
"Les Berceaux"
Gabriel Faure
Jeanny Schwartz, mezzo soprano
"Un bel di vedremo"
Madama Butterfly
Giacomo Puccini
Barbara Divis, soprano
"Recondita armonia"
Tosca
Giacomo Puccini
Bruce Solomon, tenor
"Chi bel sogno di Doretta"
La Rondine
Giacomo Puccini
Lia Stengren, soprano
"Song to the Moon"
Rusalka,
Antonin Dvorak
Lauren Haber, soprano
"Summertime"
Porgy and Bess
George Gershwin
Jennifer Lynde, soprano
"Saper voreste di che si veste"
Un Ballo in Maschera
Giuseppe Verdi
Ashley WIne, soprano
"Ah! mes amis"
La Fille du Regiment
Gaetano Donizetti
Robert Murphy, tenor
intermission
"In diesen heil'gen Hallen"
The Magic Flute
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Sergio Maldonado, bass
"Doll Aria"
The Tales of Hoffman
Jacques Offenbach
Dawn Zahralban, soprano
"Avant de quitter ces lieux"
Faust
Charles Gounod
Stephen Barchi, baritone
"Vissi d'arte"
Tosca
Giuseppe Verdi
Lauren Haber, soprano
"Va! Laisse couler mes larmes"
Werther
Jules Massenet
Melissa Block, mezzo soprano
"Faites-lui mes aveux"
Faust
Charles Gounod
Justine Lorenteson. soprano
"Le veau d'or"
Faust
Charles Gounod
Gary Lorenteson, baritone
"Bei Mannern"
Magic Flute
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Justine and Gary Lorenteson
"La Danza"
Gioachino Rossini
Alex Sheerin, tenor
"Regnava nel silenzio"
Lucia di Lammermoor
Gaetano Donizetti
Kathryn Wieckhorst, soprano
Chamber half hour
Members from Northport Community Orchestra
Performers: Members of the Northport Symphony Orchestra
Program:
Passacaglia, Barthe
Bizet, Carmen Fantasia (arr. Bill Holcombe)
Marianne Vandermeersch, flute
Emma Walker, oboe
Kathrynn Yland, clarinet
Leanna McCabe, bassoon
Steve Alberti, french horn
Haydn, Trio No. 1,C Major
Allegro
Andante
Vivace
Edna Susman, flute
Naomi Gage, flute
Ron Coleman, cello
Review of the evening by Greg Tsontakis-Mally:
Opera Night, on Nov 5, 2010, at St. Paul's Church in Northport, was incredibly rich. As is the custom, it began with a 1/2 hour of chamber music by members of the Northport Symphony Orchestra. It began with a wind quintet of Marianne Vandermeersch on flute, Emma Walker on oboe, Kathryn Yland on clarinet, Leanna McCabe on bassoon, and Steve Alberti on french horn, playing "Passacaglia" by Barthe. Barthe is a 20C English composer and this was a delightful new dressing of the English round, beautifully played. Appropriately, for Opera Night, the quintet next played a fantasia from Bizet's Carmen with a reprisal of the opera's major themes with a chugalong accompaniment. There was then a trio of Edna Susman on flute, Naomi Gage on flute, and Ron Coleman on cello. They brought to life Haydn's Trio No. 1 which was lightly and lovingly played. The first movement alone was practically a whole symphony in musical ideas.
Opera Night began with Jeanny Schwartz singing "Les Berceaux" by Faure, a song to be sung as if underwater. Jeanny delivered a lovely and haunting performance. Barbara Divis, new to Opera Night, gave a great rendering of the immortal classic, "Un bel di," from Madame Butterfly. There is an incredibly rich sheen and vibrancy to her voice with a full emotional understanding of this heartbreaking aria. This was a great performance. Bruce Solomon next sang one from Tosca with a voice of clarity and power that he was not afraid to unleash. Amazing! We knew we were in for an operatic ride that evening. Lia Stengren sang "Doretta's Aria" from La Rondine by Puccini. It starts out as a musical conversation and then eases into one of those arias that "packs a punch". Lauren Haber then took center stage to sing "Song to the Moon" with which she tossed out shards of silver-rich tone. A beautiful performance. Jennifer Lynde then sang "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess. The vibrato and overtones of her good voice brought a new sound to this well-known song. Ashley Wine would then sing "Saper voreste" by Verdi. It is a light confectionery, well done. A trip to Italy does us all good, but for a singer - it hits a switch, as it did with Robert Murphy who has recently returned from Italy. He sang "Ah! mes amis" by Donizetti with all the gusto of a natural born Italian (in opera, that's a compliment) and showed good control over those high notes. It closed the first half of Opera Night, with accompaniment by Isabella Eredita-Johnson, Opera Night's inspired godmother. She spoke of her dream, an opera house in Northport. With the inclusion of chamber players from the Northport Symphony Orchestra, perhaps such a dream is not so out of reach. The music is here. The singers are here. It's that matter of a building, fundraisers, set designers, production crews, occasionally, dancers - all which must be within our community. As I surveyed the warm reception of a now faithful audience, I think such a dream is indeed possible.
The second half began with Ken Friese now accompanying on piano. Ken's skills as a player, and I suspect, as a sightreader, are awesome. The first singer up was Sergio Maldonado, a bass, who sang from the Magic Flute. Sergio has a magnificent voice. It is deep, sonorous and full of melodious, golden tone, and this was a remarkable performance. Next, Dawn Zahralban sang the delightful "Doll Aria" by Offenbach. Dawn is an endearing performer. It was a charming performance, complete with a walk-on part by Isabella as the key winder. On Jan 29, the next performer, Steve Barchi, will give his senior recital at Paul Hall at Julliard. Based on what we have heard, you might want to make the trek in to Lincoln Center to hear it. Steve sang from Gounod's "Faust". He possesses a raw, unbridled talent that has such smooth control of some of the gymnastic demands of this song. That's good training. The result is the full, rich sound that he is known for. Lauren Haber would return again to sing one from Verdi's "Tosca". It was a great performance where we, the audience, were enveloped in a canapy of rich sound and unspeakable beauty. It was followed by another absolutely beautiful performance of "Va! Laisse couler mes larmes" by Melissa Block. Next, husband and wife, Justine and Gary Lorentson, took the stage to individually sing two from "Faust". Oh! To have music in the family like that! What a joy! They teamed up for a duet from the Magic Flute that was an absolute delight. A young performer, Alex Sheerin, beautifully accompanied by Ken Friese, put on some flash with "La Danza" by Rossini. It was a fleet sprint for the piano with cascading notes that is breathtaking and certainly brings the singer along. Kathryn Wieckhorst would close the evening with an exquisite and richly warm performance that was beautifully sung. A wonderful closing to a special evening This was an evening that was charged with a number of great performances. Our debt goes to the singers and musicians who bring this quality to downtown Northport.
At the reception in the Fireplace Room, I spoke with Bruce Johnson, the Opera Night photographer who said that the night was well balanced. The chamber music lowers your blood pressure - and the opera portion raises it. Surely opera touches the full range of human emotion, alluding to all our hopes and desires, and it is in this make-believe world that we are reminded of the marvelous spectrum of what it is to be fully human. Oh! That we have ears to hear! Would it not be great to, one day, walk up the steps of the Northport Opera House!
Memo's from Maddalena
St. Pauls was a veritable hive of activity last Friday night. The foyer machinations were in full swing, the reception preparations attended to and the stream of faithful opera lovers began to flow indoors. We never know the depths of emotions that are stirred when we listen and are touched by music. We aim to surround ourselves in beauty whenever we can, and we become cloistered in communality when we finally take our seats and the opening chords are struck. When kindred spirits gather to revel in performances that envelope us, we can only feel enriched and grateful for what we have and what we aspire to and what is in the realm of possibilities. Opera lifts us all!
