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At the Olympic Music Festival, the Voice Prevails in a Chamber Concert

From Seen and Heard International
By: Bernard Jacobson

Mozart, Brahms, et al : Stefan Hersh (violin), Alan Iglitzin (viola), Daniel Montenegro (tenor), Paul Hersh (piano), Jeffrey Fair (horn), Olympic Music Festival, Quilcene, WA. 24.7.2010 (BJ)

The idea that, on a program beginning with a Mozart duo and ending with Brahms’s great Horn Trio, a group of Italian and Spanish-language songs would provide the biggest musical satisfactions was fairly unthinkable in advance. Yet that, thanks to the local debut of a charismatic 32-year-old tenor, is what happened on the fifth weekend of this year’s Olympic Music Festival.

It is always exciting to be present when a new star makes his or her entrance on the scene, and it was unmistakably clear within the first half-dozen notes of Paolo Tosti’s Malia that we were witnessing such an entrance. Daniel Montenegro, born in southern California and currently an Adler Fellow at the San Francisco Opera, is a perfectly phenomenal singer, and musician – both categories are needed here, because they are not always coterminous. I shall be very much surprised if he does not take a prominent place among the ranks of feted tenors in the coming years.

The voice, it was evident at once, is gorgeous. Montenegro might be well termed a spinto tenor, for he blends the grace and delicacy of the lyric voice with something of the clarion firmness of a heroic tenor. A master of vocal coloration, he can shade his tone away in the most ravishing manner without losing strength of line. He has a sense of pathos, as well as a lively sense of humor, the latter being pleasantly exercised in his unpretentious introductory comments.
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Valencia’s Fidelio Five Years Later: More Mature, More Memorable

From Seen and Heard International
By: José MªIrurzun; Picture courtesy Palau de les Arts, © Tato Baeza

L. van Beethoven, Fidelio: Soloists, Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, Cor de la Generalitat Valenciana. Zubin Mehta (conductor). Queen Sofía Palace of the Arts, Valencia. 05.06.2011 (JMI)

This performance of Fidelio will remain in the memory of the Valencia audience. It was one of those—all too rare—occasions where you can watch smiling and exciting faces leaving the opera house: A night where everything was just right—from the singing to the staging and, above all, the orchestral performance. It’s been 5 years since the Palau de les Arts opened… with this very production of Fidelio. Comparisons are inevitable and we note that in these 5 years the Orchestra and Chorus of the Palau have improved remarkably and as a result clearly exceeded their previous, inaugurative Fidelio.
The revival of Per’Alli’s work is more remarkable from an aesthetic point of view than that of pure stage direction. A big part of the stage attraction lies in the use of projections in the second act, with very interesting screen movement that perfectly places the dungeon scene. The rest of the production is more conventional. Lighting is interesting at times, but least so when the prisoners come out of the darkness into the… well, light. The Pizarro-march looks more suited to La Fille du Regiment, while the duet of Leonore and Florestan, singing separated by about five meters, is the antithesis of the reunion of a loving couple in such exceptional circumstances. I have to say that I enjoyed the production more than 5 years ago, probably due to all the horrible productions I have suffered around that time.

Fidelio is one of the operas where the figure of the musical director is key to the overall result. In the first act there is much to do to accompany the singers, but it is in the second act where the conductor becomes the true protagonist of the opera, especially from the reunion of Florestan and Leonore onward. Zubin Mehta has been the star of this Fidelio and he has proved reminded us that the figure of the conductor is of paramount importance in the final result of an opera. His direction exceeded that of Tosca the previous evening and considerably bettered that of Daniele Gatti in Zurich. (See S&H review here.)

In the almost five year period since October 2006, the orchestra has become a top international group of musicians and they offered an exceptional performance. Something similar can be said of the chorus, the amateur Cor de la Generalitat Valenciana. In October 2006 they were not up to the task of facing Fidelio; by now they have become a spectacular chorus with great musicality, full of fresh voices, fully obedient to the baton of Zubin Mehta and they almost become the stole the show. Today there is no chorus—professional or amateur—in Spain that matches their quality. The Leonore 3 overture and the final scene, meanwhile, where orchestral masterpieces, brilliantly conducted; in brief, one the best performances I can remember from Zubin Mehta.
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Diana Damrau Superstar: Triumphant Lucia di Lammermoor in Bilbao

From Seen and Heard International
By: José MªIrurzun; © E. Moreno Esquibel

G. Donizetti: Lucia di LammermoorSoloists, Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra, Coro de Ópera de Bilbao. Conductor: Carlo Montanaro. Palacio Euskalduna de Bilbao. 20.05.2011 (JMI)

The 2010/11 Bilbao opera season in ended with Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor and it was, easily predictable, been the biggest success of the season. Bilbao aficionados got what they love most: voices. Only cancellations could have jeopardized the success.

The stage production was Emilio Sagi’s, borrowed from Oviedo where it premiered a decade ago, although with different costumes then. I had the opportunity to see the production in Oviedo both at its premiere in 2001 and at its revival in 2007 (with the actual costumes) and must say that the result is better in Bilbao, due to the fact that Palacio Euskalduna has a larger stage than Teatro Campoamor in Oviedo. The sets consist of some fake metal walls with arches above, and the action takes place in this enclosed space which facilitated the projection of the voices—not a negligible point in bel canto. The action was moved to late 19th with rather dark overtones that allow Eduardo Bravo’s lighting to become the protagonist of the show. It is an attractive and efficient production that narrates the story without unnecessary second guesses.

On the podium was Italian conductor Carlo Montanaro who visited Bilbao in March of 2007 as a last minute replacement in Dialogues des carmélites. His direction now was remarkable and he has been one of the pillars for the success of these performances. Bel canto is so neglected these days that is really difficult to find a good conductor for this repertoire. The traditional bel canto conductors are dead, retired, or above 80, so good choices are few, and far between. Today someone like Evelino Pidó has just about become the benchmark in bel canto. The arrival of a young conductor such as Carlo Montanaro, who has shown a great suitability and familiarity with this music, must be greeted all the more enthusiastically. There was always tension, he never covered the voices and he got an excellent performance from the orchestra. I have the impression that the singers were delighted with him and it does not surprise me at all.
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About us

Nick


Nick del Vecchio, the chief contributor to Living at the Opera, has been an avid operagoer since the age of eight, has taught opera courses on Verdi, Puccini and Mozart in Philadelphia and Tucson, AZ, sponsored singers’ evenings for local organizations, and has written opera reviews and commentary on his extensive travels in Italy, Russia and throughout
North and South America.

Email: nick at livingattheopera (dot) com


Peggy Erhardt-Gray
is the editor of Living at the Opera.


Marisa Dominguez
is the web designer for Living at the Opera.



Articles on Music from Another Time

by Nick del Vecchio


Max de Schauensee (b.1900-d.1973)

Collection of Reviews

School of Dance/Martha Graham

Opera Theater Videos

Interviews with:

• Joyce Di Donato •


• Gregory Kunde •


•::Caroline Seebohm::Opera Articles•

About the site


Living at the Opera welcomes your participation. Contributions are welcome on live performances,
live recordings and first-hand experiences within the opera world. Please review content for clarity and spelling and include your copyright. Only articles submitted by Nick del Vecchio are copyrighted for Living at the Opera. Thank you.

The articles on Rigoletto, L’Elisir d’amore, Khovanshchina, Macbeth, Boris Godunov, La Forza del destino and Wagner’s Ring Cycle were first published in Transactions of the Association of Russian-American Scholars in the USA, Vol 33, 2004.

The articles Primitive Russia Stakes Its Claim on Wagner’s Ring, The Mariinsky Invasion and The Mariinsky’s Boris Godunov Hits Its Mark were published in Transactions of the Association of Russian-American Scholars in the USA, Vol 34, 2006-2007.

Living at the Opera is located in Tucson, Arizona.


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