United States 2022 Richard Tucker Gala, Various: Soloists, New York Choral Society, Members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra / Speranza Scapucci (conductor). Wu Tsai Theater, David Geffen Hall, New York, 13.11.2022. (RP)
There was a lot to rejoice on the 2022 Richard Tucker Gala. The prime motive was to honor soprano Angel Blue as this yr’s recipient of the distinguished award, and one other was that this Tucker Gala, the primary since 2019, was happening within the newly renovated David Geffen Hall. This wasn’t the event to evaluate the acoustics of the house, however the singers sounded incredible on its stage.
In his opening remarks, Barry Tucker, the longtime president of the Richard Music Tucker Foundation, famous that each singer, except Italian soprano Eleonora Buratto, who was a last-minute alternative for Nadine Sierra, and Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel, have been American. All had acquired both the highest prize or a profession grant from the Foundation.
The function of the Foundation is to perpetuate the inventive legacy of the nice American tenor by way of the help and development of promising singers early of their careers. Unable to current the gala throughout the pandemic, the Richard Tucker Relief Fund despatched grants to some latest winners of Tucker Study and Career Grants, thus serving to to make sure the way forward for opera in America.
Angel Blue has appeared in virtually each main opera home on the planet. Across the Lincoln Center Plaza from David Geffen Hall, she opened the Metropolitan Opera’s 2019/20 season as Bess in Porgy and Bess and, two years later, starred in Fire Shut Up in My Bones. Blue was additionally the primary African-American singer to obtain the Met’s Beverly Sills Award.
Blue, in a yellow and pink robe, opened the live performance with ‘Vissi d’arte’ from Tosca. Sumptuous sound poured forth as she gave voice to Tosca’s reflection on her destiny and that of her lover, Cavaradossi. Blue is an artist who makes singing appears simple, and her relaxed presence and sound replicate that. The excessive B-flat on the climax of the aria was full-voiced, free and gorgeous.
Sparks flew when Blue’s Bess confronted Ryan Speedo Green’s Crown in an prolonged scene from Porgy and Bess. Earlier, Green sang a powerful Toreador Song from Carmen. The rising bass-baritone has a magnetic stage presence and imposing voice, but it surely was an evening for highly effective bass-baritones, in addition to tenors.
Christian van Horn tore up the stage as Mephistopheles with Michael Fabiano as Faust within the duet from Act I of Gounod’s Faust. Fabiano returned to sing ‘O paradiso’ from Meyerbeer’s L’Africana, combining the depth and quantity which the tenor has made his calling card with delicate singing.
Tenor Russell Thomas displayed his compelling mixture of lyricism and energy in a shifting ‘Oh tu che in seno agli angeli’ from La forza del destino. In a extra lyric vein, however no much less dramatically compelling, was Stephen Costello’s impassioned account of ‘Quando le sere al placido’ from Luisa Miller.
Buratto sang excerpts from one in all her signature roles, Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly. Vocally radiant within the Act I Love Duet with Costello, Buratto additionally infused ‘Un bel dì, vedremo’ with hope and dedication. For sheer vocal opulence, nonetheless, Angela Meade was with out peer in ‘Vivi, ingrato, a lei d’accanto’ from Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux.
Three of opera’s best stars lent their skills to the Tucker Gala. Renée Fleming appeared because the Countess to Blue’s Susanna in ‘Sull’aria… che soave zeffiretto’ from Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro. It was the position by which Fleming made her Met debut in 1991, after having been awarded the Tucker Award the earlier yr. The freshness of Fleming’s voice and the smile on her face belied the passage of time.
Bryn Terfel sang ‘Son lo spirito’ from Boito’s Mefistofele with the dramatic urgency to make it actually terrifying. His knowledgeable whistling within the aria prompted somebody to whistle again at him throughout the applause. He then delighted the viewers with ‘If I were a rich man’ from Fiddler on the Roof. Terfel was every little thing a Tevye ought to be – an irresistible mixture of delight and humility, coupled with the knowledge of a thinker.
The remaining artist to seem was Joyce DiDonato singing ‘Misera, dove son…Ah! non son io’ from Gluck’s Ezio. Utilizing the huge array of vocal colours that she instructions, DiDonato made Fulvia’s lament over her destiny and that of her lover, Ezio, heartbreaking and actual.
When Speranza Scapucci stepped on stage, she turned the primary lady to conduct the Tucker Gala. Scapucci, who had made her Met debut just a few days earlier conducting Rigoletto, and the Met Orchestra have been in good sync from the beginning. A live performance like this requires effectivity in addition to versatility from a conductor, and Scapucci managed all of it with aplomb, relaxed and fluent in every little thing from Gluck to Gershwin.
The Triumphal March from Aida introduced the gala live performance to a rousing conclusion. With trumpets blaring and the New York Choral Society giving full voice to the grandest of choruses, essentially the most spectacular sound to be heard was Christine Goerke as Amneris. The 2001 Tucker winner is among the best dramatic sopranos round and he or she was, as all the time, electrifying.
Rick Perdian
Puccini – ‘Vissi d’arte’ (Tosca) / Angel Blue (soprano)
Gounod – ‘Mais ce Dieu, que peut-il pour moi?’ (Faust) / Michael Fabiano (tenor), Christian van Horn (bass-baritone)
Mozart – ‘Sull’aria… che soave zeffiretto’ (Le nozze di Figaro) / Renée Fleming (soprano), Angel Blue (soprano)
Bizet – ‘Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre’ (Carmen) / Ryan Speedo Green (bass-baritone)
Verdi – ‘Quando le sere al placido’ (Luisa Miller) / Stephen Costello (tenor)
Puccini – ‘Un bel dì, vedremo’ (Madama Butterfly) / Eleonora Buratto (soprano)
Verdi – ‘Infelice!’ (Ernani) / Christian van Horn (bass-baritone)
Gershwin – ‘Crown!’ (Porgy and Bess) / Angel Blue (soprano), Ryan Speedo Green (bass-baritone)
Donizetti – ‘Vivi, ingrato, a lei d’accanto’ (Roberto Devereux) / Angela Meade (soprano)
Verdi – ‘Oh tu che in seno agli angeli’ (La forza del destino) / Russell Thomas (soprano)
Puccini – Love Duet (Madama Butterfly) / Eleonora Buratto (soprano), Stephen Costello (tenor)
Meyerbeer – ‘O paradiso’ (L’Africana) / Michael Fabiano
Boito – ‘Son lo spirito’ (Mefistofele) / Bryn Terfel (bass-baritone)
Bock – ‘If I were a rich man’ (Fiddler on the Roof) / Bryn Terfel (bass-baritone)
Gluck – ‘Misera, dove son…Ah! non son io’ (Ezio) / Joyce DiDonato (mezzo-soprano)
Verdi – Triumphal March (Aida) / Angel Blue (soprano), Christine Goerke (soprano), Russell Thomas (tenor), Reggie Smith (baritone), Christian Van Horn (bass-baritone), Ryan Speedo Green (bass-baritone)