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MOZART BEL CANTO
A Bel Canto at Caramoor Presentation
www.Caramoor.org
Mozart Bel Canto
A Bel Canto at Caramoor Presentation
Venetian Theater
Sumi Jo, Soprano
Maria Zifchak, Mezzo-Soprano
Steven Tharp, Tenor
Daniel Mobbs, Bass-Baritone
Myeong Lee, Mezzo Soprano, Eric Jordan, Bass
Orchestra of St. Luke’s
Will Crutchfield, Conductor
Press: Cohn Dutcher Associates
hledbetter@cohndutcher.com
Professor Josephine Reiter
July 16, 2006
The audience gathered inside the Venetian Theater and outside on the lawn at Caramoor, the International Music Festival in Katonah, New York, to enjoy a musical treat, as Mozart’s concert arias and opera arias and ensembles filled the air. The setting is a delight with beautiful gardens, spacious areas in which to picnic prior to the performance, and first-rate musicians making Mozart’s music come alive. Even the hot, humid summer weather could not mar the experience.
Bel canto means “fine singing” (literally); and that is what Sunday’s concert featured. It is a style used mainly for solo arias in Italian operas from about 1750 to the mid-nineteenth century. While the clear melodic line is at the center of this kind of singing, the melody is decorated with ornate passages which are demanding on the solo singers. Moreover, it must sound easy and smooth.
Will Crutchfield, Director of Opera at Caramoor, assembled a strong cast of singers to present a nice combination of Mozart’s virtuoso solo pieces, dramatic arias, and ensembles from his operas. Soprano Sumi Jo opened the program with the bold motet for solo voice and orchestra, “Exultate, jubilate.” Not only was she in good voice but she also looked stunning in a salmon-colored gown. She made the coloratura passages sound effortless.
Mezzo-soprano Maria Zifchak was a pleasure to hear in two very different arias: “Parto, ma tu ben mio” from Mozart’s late work, La Clemenza di Tito and Cherubino’s “Voi che sapete” from The Marriage of Figaro. In the dramatic aria from La Clemenza, her rich, dark voice complemented the clarinet obbligato; and, once more, the rapid, ornate passages were sung with ease and confidence. Over the pizzicato strings, she sang Cherubino’s aria from Act II of Figaro with simplicity and innocence.
Daniel Mobbs, bass-baritone, has a deep, full voice with a solid low register, especially apparent at the close of the concert aria “Aspri rimorsi atroci.” As Leporello, however, he gave us a more sober catalog aria in “Madamina” from Don Giovanni. Lyric tenor Steven Tharp sang an aria by Johann Christian Bach, Mozart’s senior contemporary from London,, (“Cara la dolce fiamma”) and an accompanied recitative and aria (“Fuor del mar…”) from Idomeneo. He is at ease in the ornate lines of the J.C. Bach piece and very confidant in projecting the troubled King of Crete in Idomeneo.
My favorite moments came in the two ensembles from the Da Ponte operas: Cosi fan Tutte and Don Giovanni. The Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage trio (“Soave sia il vento”) from Cosi brought the first half of the program to a close. Sumi Jo, Maria Zifchak, and Daniel Mobbs (as Fiordiligi, Dorabella, and Don Alphonso) were superb in intonation, diction, and blending their voices, supported by the St. Luke’s strings and woodwinds to create the most believable nature imagery. The concert ended with the great “Recognition” Sextet, in which Leporello (Mobbs) is pretending to be Don Giovanni when, in order to save his hide, he reveals his true identity to Donna Elvira (Zifchak), Donna Anna (Jo), Don Octavio (Tharp), Zerlina (Myeong Lee) and Masetto (Eric Jordan). The glory of Mozart is that he has all these characters experiencing different feelings and singing about them simultaneously; and it works.
Caramoor is a place to visit for a summer interlude. The setting is splendid, the programs are interesting, and the performers are very good. Moreover, there is a bus: The Caramoor Caravan, that leaves from Manhattan on the weekends.
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