Bartoli wins Favorite Mezzo Contest at SRJC

Cecilia Bartoli

There was strong competition but the audience of 200+ students in the Fall Opera course left little doubt that Cecilia Bartoli is their Favorite Mezzo and arguably, Singer of the Century! I featured Bartoli in her artistic triumph of Mozart’s concert aria , Ah, Io  prevedi ..KV272, which she inserts into her bravura performance as Pasiello’s Nina.  Bartoli was as mesmerizing to last night’s audience as she appeared to be to the cast of Nina that includes tenor Jonas Kaufmann.  For contrast, I featured her veristic, hyperkinetic portrayl of Handel’s Semele in No, No, I’ll take no less… from Zurich Opera’s recent Semele, mounted of course for Bartoli.

Cecilia Bartoli appears in concert with Cal Performances at Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley on Sunday, February 22, 2009 at 3 p.m. Call 510-642-9988 for remaining ticket information.

Newcomer, Latvian Mezzo Elina Garanca was a strong second place

Elina Garanca, mezzo-soprano

winner edging out many more seasoned stars.  She was definitely winning with her beautiful coloratura in the rondo finale to Rossini’s La Cenerentola. Garanca will be the Angelina in La Cenerentola in the Met’s HD Broadcast this spring with tenor Lawrence Brownlee as her prince charming. You can watch both Bartoli’s and Garanca’s winning performances below. Bartoli ( top) Garanca (below)

In third place was Mezzo soprano Jennifer Larmore ( Rossini’s Una voce poco fa..from Barber),  and fourth place went to Italian dramatic mezzo Luciana D’Intino ( O don fatale from Verdi’s Don Carlo).

Charles Castronovo Voted Favorite “Up & Coming” Tenor

Charles Castronovo, tenor

In the second of six classes in my course at Santa Rosa Junior College entitled “The World’s Greatest Singers”, I featured nine “Tenors Ascending”,  ranging from some who are already acclaimed after a couple of years on world stages and some who show great promise just out of young artists programs.

Lyric tenor Charles Castronovo took top honors from the 217 students in class. I featured Mr. Castronovo in a concert performance of “Una furtiva lagrima….” from Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore.  Students praised Castronovo for his “beautiful, tender sound”, “depth” and “an interpretation that touched the soul”.

Stephen Costello

A strong second was 20′s something tenor, Stephen Costello in the Duke’s second  act aria (“Parmi veder le lagrime..“) and cabaletta from Verdi’s Rigoletto (a student production from 2004)  Many were bowled over by Mr. Costello’s  energy (reminiscent of Villazon) and passion,  not to mention his  beauty of voice. Several students expressed trepidations about his vocal future, singing so powerfully and unrestrained at this young age.  All were clearly thrilled by his performance.

Others receiving strong votes: Torsten Kerl, the German dramatic tenor, who just wowed San Francisco in Korngold’s Die Tote Stadt and lyric tenor Joseph Kaiser in a poignant interpretation of Lensky’s Aria from Tschaikowsky’ s Eugene Onegin.

You can watch Castronovo and Costello and decide for yourself. What tenors would you add to your ” Tenors Ascending” list?

Jonas Kaufmann “Favorite Tenor” at SRJC

Jonas Kaufmann

My Fall 2008 Opera Course at Santa Rosa Junior College is titled: “The World’s Greatest Singers” during which I present a number of great Opera Stars currently on the World stages.  I’m also featuring the notable rising stars of tomorrow. The class takes a look in general at what it takes today both vocally and otherwise to become a great artist and opera star.

In the first class, I focused on the great tenors of the day (7 in all) ranging from leggero to dramatic. German tenor Jonas Kaufmann received the most votes from the 200+ students in the class.  A close second was dramatic tenor, Jose Cura and third, lyric tenor, Rolando Villazon.

I featured Kaufmann in the classical repertoire with an aria from Paisiello’s Nina and then “La fleur que tu m’avais jetée…” (available on You Tube,  take a look below) from Kaufmann’s recent triumph at Covent Garden in  Bizet’s Carmen. The full Carmen DVD is scheduled for release in late October, 2008.

3 Winners in 3 Weeks

Karita Matilla as Salome

Opera is off to an incredible, no,  monumental start this season. In less than 3 weeks, we in the bay area have reveled in Verdi’s middle period, dark work, Simon Boccanegra, Korngold’s greatest opus, Die Tote Stadt (both at San Francisco Opera) and now the Met’s stunning Salome, in HD at the Rialto Cinema with the incomparable Karita Mattila in the title role.  Can it get any better?

Boccanegra is hardly Verdi’s greatest work, (in fact, in the past,  the word dull has come to mind).  With great singers, things change  drastically.  Little else would seem to matter with Dimitri Hvorostovsky in this signature baritone role,  and with strong vocal support (including Barbara Frittoli as Amelia) the opera becomes compelling drama with great music that harkens to Verdi’s greatest works  to come: Don Carlo & Otello.

Not to be outdone by Verdi,  San Francisco Opera took a chance on a 88 year old work new to its stage, with the premier of Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s  Die Tote Stadt (The Dead City). This is an opera that has lots of devotees but little popular support,  and what a shame!  It is the best melding of all that the 19th & 20th centuries brought to opera and a true theatrical experience with music that astounds.  Torsten Kerl (Paul) and Emily Magee (as Marie/Marietta) were revelations in both their acting and singing,  making  it impossible not to be personally touched by this great opera. (I’m going a second time this afternoon ) Die Tote Stadt was, quite simply, the best overall experience I have had at San Francisco Opera in the past decade and one of the most memorable evenings I have spent at opera in 35 years!

And then the Met hits us with Richard Strauss’s SALOME. Karita Mattila is beyond description as she totally immerses herself  in this gruesome/ vocally brutal role. This performance will at some point be available on DVD but if you don’t catch it at the Rialto or in New York, never pass up a chance to see it live or on the big screen.