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Reviews Welcome to our reviews page. From time to time, DJs will post their thoughts on recent concerts they've attended or music they've been enjoying...or not! So stop by often to check out the Good, The Bad and the downright Ugly in the wild and wonderful musical worlds of our unconventional DJs! HGRNJ Show ReviewsAward winning relationships columnist Kristen Houghton of The Examiner recommends Carl Worner and What's It Called? of HGRNJ, "the best in radio." CD ReviewsThe latest music that excites our DJs. Gordon Vincent August 14, 2008 [Note: A review of Gordon's CD follows.] There is a glowing soft thrill of “discovering” a superbly talented new act that resonates with music lovers, particularly within the subliminal realm of “this is mine.” Singer songwriters build a small groundswell of devoted fans that revel in the arcane knowledge that they and only they have the perspicacious insight to root out superlative artists whom they embrace to their collective bosoms and build emotional attachments to. They further delight in passing this arcana on to others who are like-minded. But not too many others. Otherwise that artist is no longer theirs. Consequently, God forbid if an artist they have bonded with in this manner moves on to a larger or more widely popular audience. The reaction is akin to one of marital betrayal. They turn and cry, “sell out” and pine for the days of yesteryear when so and so was “really good” and when their “authenticity credentials” weren’t sullied by success. Alas, I am not one of those kinds of people. Although I too share in the joy of finding hitherto unknown artists, I usually wish upon a star for their further success. I’m don’t think of myself as a better person merely as one who knows firsthand the trials and tribulations of sustaining or even having any sort of a career in the arts. With the above in mind, I am happy to report that I “found” another star shining brightly in the heavens and if he is unknown to you and to the greater public at large that is all the more reason to lament. For this artist deserves recognition of the widest magnitude. My beautiful wife Carmen
and I fortunately caught Gordon Vincent on a beautifully balmy evening in Gordon Vincent - You Should Know – Hornepayne Records I was so taken by his set that I purchased
his, to my knowledge, only cd, You Should Know, recorded in
2004. As Mr. Vincent was
performing in the King Edward bar, other artist’s styles kept nagging at
my consciousness. By the
second song, I was wondering if he had ever heard Nick Drake.
Then I thought of Bob Dylan and Neil Young et al.
I kept shaking my head inside and telling myself nah.
It wasn’t that Mr. Vincent didn’t share Mr. Dylan or Mr.
Young’s ability to fuse words with intricate rhythmic twists and
storytelling power. He did.
It wasn’t that he didn’t share the beautifully melodic
sensitivity of Mr. Drake in his best songs.
He did that too. But
there was something nagging at the back of my mind.
I kept hearing different textures in Mr. Vincent’s songs that
made me want to hear a bass line here, an organ or slide guitar there.
Something that I knew would flesh out some of these strong melodic
lines and add more depth and resonance to his music, but in a finely
textured and nuanced manner. And
then I went home and put his cd on. You Should Know
is a masterpiece of great songwriting married to great lyrics and rounded
out with superlatively tasteful instrumental accompaniment.
The core is Mr. Vincent’s vocals and guitar and harmonica
playing. Everything else I had
wished for, in hearing him live, was there in the “grooves” so to
speak. His music enhanced in
this manner reminded me instantly of the sounds I was almost hearing in my
head a few nights earlier. Mr.
Vincent in certain songs on his cd is highly reminiscent of Richard Farina
in his glory days when he pushed the folk envelope along with artists like
Bob Dylan and The Byrds and was writing his best stuff like "Reno,
Nevada." Mr. Vincent’s
music has that same sense of drive and élan to it along with his own
unique lyrical perspective. By
that I mean, like all great songwriters, he has the ability to create
lines that make you break out grinning.
I.E. from "Ice Cream Song".
“She was eating ice cream, licking her lips, down by the united
fried chicken truck. She was
harder than a hammer, smoother than a spoon, and higher than a hot air
balloon.” Admit it.
Don’t you wish you could have written that?
You could read that in a noir detective story or hear it as the
dialogue of a film and the sheer descriptive power of it would marvel you
into slapping your thighs. Mr.
Vincent’s cd is rife with similar passages and filled to the brim with
music that’ll keep his cd in your player for a month or more straight. Mr. Vincent’s new cd Ringer
is due out soon and I for one can’t wait.
I’ll be featuring You Should Know on my radio show
in the next few weeks. It can
be found on his website along with all and sundry pertinent information
about the artist at www.gordonvincent.com Mozart To Motorhead Radio Show www.homegrownradionj.org Sundays 7PM to 10PM. Reairs: Thursdays 10 A.M. to 1 P.M. Jim Patton/Sherry Brokus – Plans Gang Aft Agley – www.pattonbrokus.com – This is a beguiling record. It didn’t overwhelm me at first and I was quick to begin to dismiss it, but then it inexorably drew me in. Plain, simple, unadorned, unpretentious lyrics and singing that weave their tales of universal life, love and woe with the slyness of Hemingway and the convoluted depth of William Faulkner. You don’t think anything is being said and then begin to realize that a whole complex world is unraveling before your ears. The characters that inhabit these songs are not condescended to but instead are presented in all the gorgeous complexity that makes up a human life. What struck me particularly about the musical aspect was the unadorned fabric beauty of the melodies accompanying the texts; straightforward but with subtlety and nuance. A slight guitar figure here, a jingle of tambourine there and an organ rising up like bubbling crude beneath, all adding nuance and texture to these tales. The duo or Patton and Brokus present the songs in the most democratic of fashions, with one taking the lead while the other provides harmonies on every other tune. An A record! Terence
Martin – Even Trade – Good Dog Music – In a career studded with
solid craftsmanship and one fine album after another Terence Martin has
produced a masterpiece. He
solidifies all of the gifts he has exhibited in the past; strong melodic
content, married to a non-jaundiced insightful eye into the fun and
foibles of humanity, and a voice, that in his mellifluous baritone,
carries just the right combination of humor and gravitas to enliven his
characterizations’ and bring them forcefully to life.
His use of metaphor and symbol are as finely writ as any serious
novelist and stand on a peer footing with the work of Neil Young or Bob
Dylan, (I was wondering if Used To The Dark was a sly homage to Dylan’s
She Belongs To Me, both in structure and sensibility) both of whom with
which he shares a trenchantly keen eye for human nature.
The arrangements and production are perfectly suited to the lyrics,
always underscoring the meaning and never overstepping their bounds. Red Molly
– Love and Other Tragedies – www.redmolly.com
– My word what a wonderful vocal album.
The trio of singer/songwriters, Abbie Gardner, Laurie MacAllister
and Carolann Solebello, soar and blend in a euphonius wail of sheer
delight. Are there three better women who have the capability to harmonize
as beautifully and powerful as this?
That’s a rhetorical question.
The songwriting is world class with each individual contributing at
least one original composition a piece.
These compositions are cut from the same superior fabric as the
covers of other artists, (most notably Gillian Welch’s Wichita and Amy
Speace’s Make Me Lonely Again), with lyrics and melodies that resonate
as strongly. The traditional
tunes, Wayfaring Stranger and Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning, are
treated with just the proper amount of reverence that is their due as well
as a freshness that imbues these hardened chestnuts with new vigor and
energy. The arrangements and
playing are as tight as a drum with instrumental playing that underscores
and enhances the beauty of the melodies and singing. John
Hammel Blue
River Roundup
The following capsule reviews are of CDs that were submitted by Lisa Grey of Blue River radio promotions. A few of the CDs were received last year and although they were reviewed previously I gave them a second listen in conjunction with the two latest CDs received from Lisa. I like to listen/review Lisa’s submissions at the same time as they are all of a part. Her taste, erudition and refinement are part and parcel of the types of world class artists she serves. Charlotte
Kendrick – North of New York – Wondermore Records
– Ms. Kendrick works in a semi-tradition that incorporates elements of
Americana folk, i.e. influenced by Scottish and English folk tunes
filtered through an Appalachian sensibility.
That isn’t to say this is old timey music or mimicry.
These are smart/sensitive lyrics exploring multiple facets of love
and personal relationships with gorgeous guitar and string arrangements
and strong melodies. Cellos
and violin accompaniment, judiciously applied, bring to mind Newfoundland
and Arcadian influences as well. Ms.
Kendrick sings in a softly breathy child-woman style that also has the
capability to open up fully and soar when necessary.
Dan Rowe, who produced the record also plays bass throughout and
offers gorgeous harmony vocals. This
is a three and a half star out of four stars record.
Buddy
Mondlock – The Edge of the World – Sparking Gap Records
– Mr. Mondlock offers up a song cycle that takes the listener on a
personal journey from his childhood through a recent marital break-up and
an apparently new found love. All
issues of wonderment, hope, commitment, disillusionment, loss and ne w
found hope and love, are handled with great sensitivity and insight.
The highly effective arrangements are rather spare with Mr.
Mondlock mainly accompanying himself on acoustic guitar and Mike Lindauer
on bass. Color and nuance are
the keys here, serving to underscore the depth of emotion at play.
Co-producer Jim Tullio plays percussion on key cuts as well.
This is a highly reflective record that is best served by attentive
listening. Patrick
Bloom – Moses – Mud Dauber Records
- Patrick Bloom’s self
produced new record is an interesting song cycle full of quietly
undulating tension and release. The
Mississippi River and the rich loamy mud along its banks (or any river for
that matter) offer metaphor for the tales that Mr. Bloom spins out upon
his weaving musical landscape(s). Deeply
evocative tales both universal and personal interact and sit side by side,
in deeply affecting songs that explore the inner and outer meaning of the
human heart. Highly effective
use of both acoustic and electric instrumentation adds nuance and color
that keeps pricking at your mind like wild roses along a densely covered
trail. Mae
Robertson – Meet The Sun Halfway – Lyric Partners Records
– Okay, here’s my four stars out of four stars record out of this most
current batch. And here’s
why. A richly evocative voice
with very good range but most importantly deeply effective sensitivity and
line readings. I.E. Ms. Robertson inhabits the souls of the inhabitants of
her songs and of the songs she covers.
There is a range of emotion that is tapped into that is never taken
over the dam. This is a most
real deal singer with great nuance and expressivity.
Her use of metaphor is deeply philosophical without being over
intellectualized. She
possesses a richness and clarity in the timbre of her voice that makes her
vocal instrument a perfect foil to convey the wealth of emotions contained
without the songs. I dare say
that her cover of Elvis Costello’s Almost Blue is the most perfectly
balanced and nuanced I have ever heard.
Ms. Roberton’s other covers; Kim Richeys’ Straight As The Crow
Flies; Tom Waits’ Little Trip To Heaven; Beth Neilsen Chapmans’ All
For The Love and Darden Smiths’ Turning To You are simply pitch perfect
emotionally. They sound
as if they are cut from the same cloth as Ms. Robertson’s originals.
Like the best of singers, she makes the covers as comfortable as
her own works, which, by the way, stand admirably next to the other tunes.
This is a standout album. The
Bobs – Get Your Monkey Off My Dog – Bobs Records - What
can you say about the Bobs? Only
a permanent crank or churl could/would turn up their nose at any of their
offerings. They are simply the
template for funny, witty, superlatively harmonized a cappella singing
with a strong emphasis on a slightly skewered cynicism that is offset by a
deeper sense of humanism. The
Bobs are beyond fun and make the best vocal “sound effects” around.
I kept checking the cd to see if they had hired a synthesizer
player or a cellist or a rock guitarist at times but no.
It was The Bobs. Outside
of drums on a couple of tracks, a frying pan and of course MORE COWBELL,
all the sounds you hear are produced by the group.
If all of the melodies aren’t memorable, it’s more than made up
in wit and pure unadulterated fun. Matter
of fact, The Bobs are probably one of the few a cappella ensembles who are
as much fun to listen to as to see and I mean that in the highest
complimentary way. John
Hammel |
Concert ReviewsRATSTOCK X – A RATROSPECTIVE Res ipsa loquitur! This old latin expression is commonly used in law to mean, “The thing speaks for itself.” Yet, as Johhny C., Noralee and yours truly, Stu Robins, were to find out, this Good Rats event was not destined to be your average run-of-the-mill Ratstock. We arrived early afternoon on Saturday, August 23rd. It was a beautiful day at the Brookside Campground, embedded in the gorgeous and scenic Catskill Mountains, not far from Woodstock, New York. Owners, Jerry and Bonnie Schroader, along with their hard-working boys, Jordan and Jacob, were on-hand to greet us in their usual warm, friendly fashion. Jerry had gotten us started by running our connections to the stage area, where John and I were to set up for the live broadcast of the Underground Railroad, as well as the Ratstock X shows featuring Breaking The Cycle and headliners, the Good Rats. Feeling fulfilled that we weren’t experiencing the deadly heat and humidity of the previous year, everything was on target to get us on the air at 2 PM, and under the best of conditions. It wasn’t until Rats’ drummer, Mike Haupt, came over to say hi, that I was greeted with the news that was to throw a potential monkey wrench into the festivities, altering the outcome of the day to near disaster levels. Unbeknownst to me, lead singer, songwriter and generally the godfather of all things ‘Rat’, Peppi Marchello, was down with laryngitis, and hadn’t even performed during the previous night’s show! Mike went on to tell me that several of the band members, including himself, Peppi’s son Stefan and keyboardist Dan Smiraglia led the way in providing the vocals to the songs. The Rats also got some help from the Breaking The Cycle personnel, as well as other members of the audience, who picked up the slack and improvised their way through a set. I have to admit that I found limited comfort in this assessment at the time. I had yet to see Peppi, but I understand that his voice was truly shot. “This is not good,” I said to myself. “How can we have a broadcast that’s been advertised for a month now, and be missing our main attraction, the golden voice of Peppi Marchello?” I decided to quell the vibes I was feeling and take the optimistic approach, especially after talking with some of the other band members. “We’re professionals,” I thought. “We will work this out. It’s all good.” We got the Underground Railroad on the air at 2 PM and all was running smoothly. We played until almost 7 PM, pausing for an interview with the boys from Breaking The Cycle, as well as having Jordan and Jacob Schroader doing their usual stint in front of the microphones. At 7 PM, it was show time. Breaking The Cycle was ready to take the stage and gave us a great set including Standstill, one of the favorites from their initial CD release. The boys were well received and amidst their set, Peppi Marchello emerged from his cabin to see the boys play and greet those of us that hadn’t had the opportunity to see him as of yet. I asked him how he was and just make a gesture indicating how sick he felt. I felt so bad for him, as I know first-hand just how much this event means to him, much less losing out on the tenth anniversary celebration. The show started with Dan The Man belting out a few of the Rats favs, including Injun Joe. The band was tight, as usual, with Stefan on bass, Mike on drums, Dan (a different Dan) on lead guitar and veteran support man Phil Sasso also on guitar. Obviously, the vocalist situation became the main variable here. So, as some of the band members gave it their all, so did some of the boys from Breaking The Cycle, including Jim Rainey, father of BTC drummer, James Jr. Let me tell you, big Jim hit some notes I didn’t know he had in him! There were several vocalists as this had become an event that was more-or-less thrown to the audience by now. Now, there is a reason that I am writing this up in such detail. Coming full circle and bringing home the point of this review would be to say that the fans of the Good Rats that attended this event deserve a world of credit in their ability to take a situation like this and turn it into one the most fun shows you could ever want to attend! Instead of accepting defeat, these people showed their dedication to the band. They showed they had the wherewithal to shift their focus from being deprived of what they originally paid for and turned it into a great time, and still kept it sounding good! Well, the alcohol flowed a little more fluidly than the lyrics did. But, this show was truly one for the books. If you were looking to critique a straight-out, ass kicking Good Rats show, this may not be the one of choice. But, knowing that they were faced with unfortunate circumstances surrounding the health of their beloved leader, one only had to take one look at the emotions emanating from the participants. This doesn’t lie, my friend! You can’t fake this type of reaction. So, with all the respect in the world, I hereby announce that, despite the fact that there really wasn’t a show in its expected form, this “non-show” was one of the most enjoyable and rocking gigs I’ve ever attended. It was like getting together with your friends and singing songs, except we had the benefit of one of the finest bands around providing the soundtrack. Res ipsa loquitur? Yes, indeed! The thing speaks for itself. You people are truly the best! Stu Robbins Pirates and Petty Gripes in the Dirty City My favorite line in the hard to figure now
classic movie, The Blues Brothers is, “It’s 106 miles to I didn’t see pirate ships circling the The We were navigating the arena and my damaged lobes picked out Steve Winwood singing a song from his slow to start, yet ultimately excellent new CD, 9 Lives. It was “Hungryman!” Mr. W. hasn’t been hungry for approximately 40 years now, though he maintains the pre-requisite skinny boy brat rocker look. I’m here to tell you that this fella still sings beautifully. His barely diminished vocal chops commanding those who bothered to dig his set. Even Tom Petty would admit that the opening act slot should have been a jump ball, I opine. Winwood displays a corking 5 piece ensemble with a heavy emphasis on the percussive persuasion of latino with side dishes of Pop, R+B and Blues. The revelation, and I’m not certain why
it’s still so, is in Stevies guitar playing.
When he cuts loose on a new soon to be classic like “ Mid-concert brought the first chance to eye the fanatics surrounding us…astonishingly young, even with my 16 year old as my traveling companion for the night. The set up for the Heartbreakers was spare, necessary for the front man and his wanderings. I’ve written with passion about Tom Petty and
the Heartbreakers in these pages in the past.
I joke a lot, and heck it gets me in trouble at times, but I truly
believe that this bunch is in a photo finish with the E Street Band and their
Boss, as the best mainstream bands of the last 35 years in the We saw a 15 song set with cool curveballs thrown in. I “think” we saw a brand newbie on stage, something most arena acts wouldn’t dare to try in a jump cut attention span called our society these days. There was a traveling Wilbury’s tune, some catalog nuggets culled and the “classic rock radio warhorses” like “Refugee” and “Running Down a Dream” sounded strong and true as we fled into the night, Van Morrison’s Garage Band Night’s ender “Gloria”, had the folks in a better world. Note to cynics, I usually don’t leave concerts early…I’m not a Dodgers Fan! We’ll button it up with a few comments about the headliners. Tom Petty reels around the stage like a blonde stoner version of Jack Sparrow. He remains a master front man, retaining the “Petty Bounce” he’s sported on stage since 1977, and thankfully has aced the Liberace jacket worn in the career defining documentary “Running Down a Dream” from last year. Mike Campbell, intro’d by T.P. as the co-captain, is truly the great underrated guitarist of our time…to the masses, anyway. Colors to subtle, fire and smoke in his leads, he can do it all. W.O.W.! The band is still amazing, Benmont Tench most notably. Scott Thurston, Ron Blair, and Steve Ferrone make Petty’s life easier as a front man with style, flair, and rock solid engine room playing great stuff. Love’em times 10. So glad we reacquainted. If this was the last time I’ll leave with this thought, I noticed an alarming lack of reefer smoke around me. Noting Tom Petty’s on-stage tactics, I think I know where it all went. Even a loser gets lucky sometime. Outro:
Jerry Balderson spells gusto with 2 g’s and is currently on a luge
going downhill in regards to coping with the storms of life.
He happily remarried in April and is proud of his only son.
Now
you know. Brooklyn
Repertory Opera Engelbert Humperdinck - Hansel and GretelArtistic Director:
Kathleen Keske Director:
Brett Wynkoop
The opera is replete with recurrent motifs, tuneful melodies and luminous orchestration, and proved to be a bridge between Wagnerism and the late romantic flowering of Mahler, Richard Strauss and the lush Impressionism of the French composers. The beauty of the work lies in it’s complexity, best exemplified by it’s rich chromaticisms balanced by it’s simplistic, yet extraordinarily melodic, folk like tunes. Brooklyn Repertory chose to present the opera in two acts rather than the traditional three and this was a wise choice under the circumstances. The work was fully costumed and staged albeit minimally, with large scale projections to illustrate the scenes taking place in front. In the double lead roles, both Jocelyne. O’Toole as Hansel and Elizabeth Eiel as Gretel proved to be more than up to the task of bringing their characters to life. The parts of Hansel and Gretel, although childlike in their depiction within the libretto, are fully adult in vocal requirement. Both of these singers performed with utter conviction and certainty. Their phrasing and line were impeccable with bloom, roundness and firm tone throughout their registers. They achieved a fully euphonious blending in their duet singing and conveyed the appropriate pathos in their Act II (Act I in this production) prayer, one of the most enchantingly succulent melodies in all of opera. Kudos and bravas to them both. They delivered performances that would easily be at home on any professional stage. As with most regional and provincial opera companies, the remainder of the cast was all too uneven in vocal quality and acting ability. Susanna Raymond’s Mother was a bit over-ripe vocally and seemed as concerned with watching the conductor as her fellow performers on stage. She had a largish voice that would seem better suited in smaller verismo roles. In the role of the Father, Eric Jorgenson possessed a good-sized voice that had generally pleasing qualities of tone although his singing lacked a true sense of phrasing. He interpolated a high note immediately prior to dashing out of the cottage to find his children, which proved to be a rather injudicious choice on his part as it threw his voice completely out of whack with the rest of his singing. Deborah Stone’s Sandman was not quite up to the task vocally, while Marnie Golden’s Dew Fairy was hampered by what appeared to be inadequate breath support. Her acting though was fine. Tamara Cashour displayed very good acting ability as the Witch and her singing was more than up to the part. She had a voice that was able to generally cut through the orchestra in an overly reverberant room (more about that in a minute). She was constantly on the verge of overplaying her hand but her obvious stage experience kept her from fully crossing over the line into camp although she played a bit too much to the audience for my taste. The Corps de ballet acquitted themselves with aplomb and Dance Mistress Mary Silverstein is to be commended. The dancers movements were fluid and organically executed with all of the corps achieving a splendid sense of ensemble that achieved an emphasis toward a whole artistic truth with no one pulling attention away from each other or the story their movements were enacting. Not much care seemed to be taken with the stage direction. Too often it seemed that the performers were left to their own devices. This evidenced itself in lack of fluidity and a certain stasis in the action that was only apparent for a second or two, but was proof that the singer/actor was second-guessing rather than performing from the inside out. There were also times in the show when it was unclear what was happening or too little evidence of something that should have been readily apparent. I.E., the demise of the witch at the end of Act II. I’m certain there wasn’t a child (let alone many of the adults) who knew exactly what Hansel and Gretel had just done, very far, far up in the left hand corner of the semi lit stage. Now to that room and orchestra. The space was as wide open as a high school gymnasium. The acoustic was not too bad in general, but the room possesses what seemed to be either a tin or metal roof. This has the capability of tossing all of the sound together like a salad. Without precise and strict dynamic control both the voices and instruments tend to get goopy and swampy. Everything blends together and the disadvantage is always to the singer(s). They would have needed to over-enunciate to the nth degree for every word to be heard clearly. Alas, this was not the case and much of the singing and words were lost throughout the afternoon. This acoustical fact and the lack of dynamics from the orchestra forced the singers to sing loud, louder, loudest. In general, nuance and shapely phrasing were out of the question. The burden of responsibility in this case must rest with the conductor. He must be aware of this inherent problem and do the best he can to “fix” it. Although Conrad Chiu displayed a fine sense of the style of the opera and structured the musical phrases with acumen, there was no dynamic nuance to the music making. The brass began the opera loud and never let up. Strings had the added disadvantage of having to play on a particularly humid afternoon. Although air conditioning was in effect, it was minimal and much of their tone went south in short order, where it stayed for most of the performance. Tuning up at intermission would have helped. I don’t mean for this to come off as harsh as it may seem. The above criticisms are meant in the most of constructive manners, with the full understanding that Brooklyn Repertory Opera is surely operating on the strictest of budgets. But a strong sense of vision and uncompromising artistic standards can oft times make up for the greatest of financial deficiencies. John Hammel The Metropolitan Opera Tristan und IsoldeMatthew Plenk
- A sailor’s voice Wagnerian operatic productions continue to thwart conceptions, perceptions and expectations in myriad ways. It has often been bemoaned that it is impossible to assemble a perfect cast at any given time for any of Herr Wagner’s operas. That is stating the obvious as perfection is in the fantasy mind of the beholder. Realistically, casting any opera is difficult simply from the standpoint of getting everyone together in the same place at the same time and all with equal artistic capacities. Alas, the thawrting continued apace in the Met’s current production of Tristan, which was to feature two of the world’s leading Wagnerian singers in tandem. They haven’t been able to get on to the same bike yet but word on the street and from the front office is that Mr. Hepner and Ms. Voigt will join forces tonight, Tuesday, the 25th. Prior to this an infection has sidelined Mr. Heppner; Ms. Voigt had to leave the second show of the run due to stomach problems; the first Tristan cover was sadistically booed by the Met audience and the second sustained an injury when part of the stage scenery he was “attached” to broke free on the raked (elevated) stage and sent him hurtling rather forcefully head and neck first into the prompters box, on the night of this review! Curses and double and triple curses. In spite of the injury, (which eventually caused Mr. Lehman to cancel subsequent performances), at the beginning of the third act, Mr. Lehman sang the role ardently and with sturdiness. He was the physical personification of Tristan if not the most idealized vocally. He displayed fine acting skills and a resonant if underweight Heldon–tenor against the thrashing and crashing of the Met Orchestra under the baton of James Levine. It is no coincidence that the loudness of orchestral playing in this opera house occurred around the same time as the start of Mr. Levine’s tenure. Operatic orchestras just play too dammed loud today. Mr. Lehman sounds like a solidly good dramatic tenor if not quite the powerhouse that Wagnerian heldon-tenors need to be as in numerous climatic moments or in duet with Ms. Voigt, the voice got lost. Ms. Voigt for her part sang with convincing passion and fulsome sound if at times her climactic high notes, which have of late shown a distressing tendency to either spread or become shrill, did indeed become shrill and splinter a bit. That’s a mild caveat in a role as demanding as Isolde. Overall Ms. Voigt is one of the reigning dramatic divas in the world today and justifiably so. Michelle DeYoung’s Brangaenae was more on the braying side than not, and she displayed “in-apt” acting skills in this role. Her voice seemed a bit underweight although her physical persona struck me as miscasting. She is nearly as tall as Mr. Lehman’s Tristan and nearly as robust. It was difficult to accept her in the role of Isolde’s servant/confident. Eike Wilm Shulte’s portrayal of Kurwenal was spot on dramatically and vocally. Again, a bit under resonant but highly effective nonetheless. The appearance of Matti Salminen as King Marke was not only believable, acting wise, but also vocally a breath of surprising fresh air. In his brief scenes in Acts II and III he not only emotionally enthralled and dominated the proceedings but also displayed a vocal instrument of range, depth and width that made all others in this production pale in comparison. Mr. Levine’s conducting, other than being too loud in the loud parts, was notable for his usual commitment and sweep in capturing the essence of this music, which is surely as sublime as any ever penned by any composer. John Hammel, Mozart To Motohead |
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