Troupers Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance in Norwalk

We fans welcome the return to the stage of Troupers Light Opera Company!! It was their 74th year of performing the light operas of William S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan (plus one or two notable others). The Gondoliers, scheduled for performance in the spring of 2020 was a victim of the pandemic, I remember setting up the first interviews of the cast already in late January that year…Last year never happened either. But happily, this season they regrouped and were back on stage with the rollicking Pirates of Penzance! Each Troupers production is a labor of love, from sets and costumes, to orchestra, music director and stage director, to board and staff, and of course to the artists, 2022 being no different.

Rachael Anacker as Mabel and Elias Levy as Frederic declare their love for each other in Act I of Pirates of Penzance

As in performances past, this Pirates is a merging of the veteran Troupers with new artists. Making her debut with Troupers, Rachael Anacker as Mabel was both thrilling vocally and sincere dramatically. Mabel is Major General Stanley’s daughter who takes Frederic, a pirate, under her loving wing. Equally so was Elias Levy as Frederic. His youth and pleasing tenor voice made him a perfect match. Bravi! Welcome!

The Major General’s other daughters were wonderfully portrayed: Jennifer Wallace returned to the Troupers to perform Edith, Ayla Shively sang the role of Kate, Mira Singer was Isabel. Other daughters form the Chorus: Maribeth Johnson, Miki Nakahata, Marisa Schafer, and Lea Kessler Shaw.

Veteran Trouper Marian Shulman took on the role of Ruth, commanding the stage with each appearance. Ruth was Frederic’s nursery maid, as we learn in her first song, who apprentices him to a pirate, not a pilot. She is the Pirate Maid of all Work when we meet her.

Jordan Fenster, in his Troupers’ debut, was a sharp Major General Stanley: articulate, humorous, creative and responsive to each situation.

The challenge in staging The Pirates of Penzance is that it calls for two men’s choruses: the Pirates, of course…can’t run a pirate ship without a crew…and the Police, who, by Frederic’s initiative, are summoned to arrest the pirates, who are, let’s face it, criminals. Each group has its leader, but the men in the cast divide themselves in half to fill the two ranks!

Veteran Trouper John Matilaine sang the Pirate King with swagger and panache; Robert Santoli, in his Troupers debut, was an active and resourceful Samual, a key member of the crew. The Sergeant of Police was Bob Scrofani, who spent much of the time fainting, being revived, and recovering. Whether Pirates or Police, the Trouper’s Men’s Chorus consisted of William Abbot, Jim Cooper, Mark Callahan, Aron Hedberg, John Hoover, Bill Kenyon, Jeff Rossman, and Rob Strom.

A creative touch: Aniyah Atwater and London Dazlyn Diaz were dancers during the Major General’s dreamy revery in Act II.     

 Wendy Morgan Hunter direction of the cast emphasized movement among her players, often coordinated, but sometimes creatively at odds. The choruses always moved well with the principals. The tender relationship between Mabel and Frederich was well drawn; the comic characters were indeed humorous. Neil Flores was the Stage Manager.

Eric Kramer, Music Director, led the Troupers’ Orchestra; the Orchestra Manager was Kate Altman.

The sets were designed by Carl Mezoff, Lighting designed by Arnold Feintuck, Costumes are by Lea Kessler Shaw and Marian Shulman. Total team effort.

All in all, it was a welcome return to the stage of the Norwalk Concert Hall. Welcome newcomers to Troupers! Welcome all returning Troupers! On to 2023!!!

Performance date and time: April 9, 2022, matinee at 2:30.

Like H.M.S. Pinafore or The Mikado, Pirates of Penzance is one of the operas that unlocks the door of the Gilbert and Sullivan repertory. At least it was so in my case: Pinafore on TV, Mikado on stage at the City Center, and Pirates on LP, strongly recommended by my dear mother’s boss. It’s a slippery slope! But a happy one!

OM

OperaMetro interviews Jordan Fenster of Troupers’ Pirates of Penzance

OperaMetro (OM) had the privilege to chat with Jordan Fenster (JF), who sings the central role of Major-General Stanley in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance. The opera will be performed at the Norwalk Concert Hall tomorrow (April 2) at 2:30 and 7:00, to be repeated the following weekend on Saturday, April 9. We’re strolling along the shore, in part to get into a proper pirate mood, but also to welcome the spring weather, such as it’s been these past few days.

OM: Thank you for agreeing to this!

JF: You’re quite welcome!

OM: You’re a newcomer to Gilbert and Sullivan and Troupers

JF: Yes, I am new to operatic performance. I was trained in classical theater years ago but I have not until this point had the opportunity to perform Gilbert and Sullivan for anyone but my dog and daughters.

OM: They count.

JF: I was first introduced to Pirates as a child by my mother and, honestly, it remains one of my favorite pieces of music. It's not only hilarious but the music is stunning.

OM: Interesting! I, too, followed that path as a youngster, my father recorded on our reel-to-reel a TV production of Pinafore, which we watched many times, then my mother, at the urging of her boss, brought a D’Oyly Carte LP set of Pirates home. The Major-General was Peter Pratt, as I recall. Anyway, I was hooked.

Jordan Fenster stars as Major-General Stanley in Troupers The Pirates of Penzance

But now you’re onstage. you’re taking the big leap here starting with the role of Major-General Stanley. As do most of the comic baritone parts in G & S, the Major-General has a patter song, in this case "I am the very model of a modern Major-General." Tell me about the journey from your first introduction to the song (maybe at first hearing...) to your mastery of it, highlights in between.

JF: Everyone knows the speed of the words of this particular patter. It’s what I was amazed by when I first heard the song as a child. But, as I've learned, the song is intricately written

OM: Meaning?

JF: I've had to start at one-10th tempo, just to make sure that I'm getting the tune correct (and for some reason I'm still having trouble getting the A flat on the second line of the first verse).

OM: And the lyrics?

JF: Oh my, from a lyrical perspective it's literally dripping with irony. The whole song is a condemnation of the Major-General's class, and sets up the subtle social commentary that is the basis for the whole show. It's a challenge, and I hope I am up to it. 

OM: I asked this question when I talked to Wendy:* As members of the audience we have the freedom to laugh at Gilbert's absolutely absurd lines or dialogue, but you on the stage must deliver these as if they are dead serious. As a performer, what secrets do you have to avoid breaking character and laughing at your lines or the lines of another character?

JF: I spend a lot of time thinking about the character, believe it or not. How would Major-General Stanley react to this or that? It may be comedy, it may be operetta, it may be lighthearted silliness but the character still needs an internal life. Let the character inhabit your body and you'll react with authenticity. I'm hoping to be the one who makes the other actors break and, during rehearsal, I pay a lot of attention to what makes the cast and crew laugh (Wendy in particular). If they laugh out loud at something I've done or said, I will try to replicate that. Likewise, I try to laugh at everyone else's jokes to give them the same feedback. 
OM: Apart from the patter song in Act One, what other scenes or interchanges in Pirates between a character and the MG do you find particularly amusing?

JF: Well, the whole orphan/often interchange is hilarious and something out of Abbott and Costello. But I particularly love the exchange between Fred and the major in his "ancestral" chapel. It turns out (shocking!) that the major general bought his baronial estate and has no real lineage to speak of. But he still takes pride in it as if he was descended from lords. He calls himself a "descendant by purchase," which is just uproariously funny. This makes the realization at the end of the show that the pirates are, in fact, peers of the realm so much more biting. The major is new money but the pirates are noblemen? Scandalous!

OM: I love every part of Pirates, so to say ‘one of my favorites…’ is making an unnecessary distinction. But in the second act the Major-General sings "Sighing softly to the river...", which is not a comic number, apart from the fact that the Pirates are listening on the one side and the Police are listening on the other. It broadens Major-General's character. As the one singing, do you find shifting gears tricky?

JF: This song has caused me some consternation. I struggle with why the Major-General sings it at all. Shifting gears from patter to ballad is not the hard part, but rather I've found it difficult to understand the reasoning behind the song. Wendy, though, has used it as a way to amp up the tension and comedy, getting the pirates and police to creep behind and around him as he dreams about the breeze being a tease.

OM: I remember reading that the George Grossmith, for whom the role was written, had a less than stellar baritone voice, often frustrating Sullivan. Apparently Sullivan decided to make Grossmith ‘stretch’ a bit. It’s a pleasant number.

Moving on, though, I feel strongly that the Gilbert and Sullivan operas are really important artistic creations, yet they contain some stereotypes that are offensive to modern ears. Your thoughts?

JF: The show could easily be considered out-of-date. The major is happy to marry off his daughters to lords, and the pirates attempt to marry the women "against their wills." At its heart, though, the show is satire, a condemnation of the British caste system, of a societal structure we can appreciate in 2022. Do we not give status to the wealthy and highborn in the United States of today, simply because of the circumstances of their birth? The fact that the Major-General is more than willing to forgive the pirates and offer up his daughters merely because they turn out to be lords can (and I think should) be taken as satire and sarcasm. The show was wildly popular when it premiered I think because audiences then understood that it was a subtle ridicule and rebuke.  

OM: As are most Gilbert and Sullivan operas…look at the plot of H.M.S. Pinafore or Iolanthe to name two.

It’s been a pleasure chatting with you, Jordan!

Best wishes to you, please extend my best wished to the others in the cast, crew and staff!

To repeat: Troupers Light Opera will be presenting that perennial Gilbert and Sullivan favorite, The Pirates of Penzance on two Saturdays, April 2nd and 9th at 2:30 and 7:00 pm.  For tickets and information go to Trouperslightopera.org.

Troupers to perform Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance in Norwalk

The Troupers, Fairfield County’s resident Gilbert and Sullivan company, will perform The Pirates of Penzance at the Norwalk Concert Hall on April 2 and April 9, matinees 2:30 and evening performances at 7:00 on each Saturday.

OperaMetro (OM) had the privilege of interviewing Wendy Morgan-Hunter (WMH), who is the Director for this performance. We’re talking on a warm sunny day in Connecticut, spring is approaching!

OM: Thank you, Wendy, for this interview!

WMH: You’re welcome!

OM: Always curious about one’s road to the Gilbert and Sullivan repertory. What was your road in?

WMH: I believe I first met G & S singing with my parents.  I remember that Pirates score sitting on my mom’s piano so well!  My mom Kay Morgan is a pianist and singer and my aircraft designer father Ray Morgan plays drums and banjo.  We had family sing-alongs with my younger sister Cheryl and me for all my formative years, and my folks and I still do so whenever I get back home in California.  As my own 3 children grew and became musicians themselves, we carried on the tradition of making music together.

Major General Stanley (Jordan Fenster) and his admiring daughters in The Pirates of Penzance

OM: Have you directed The Pirates of Penzance before?

WMH: I have not directed this opera before, but I am very happy to be doing so this season.

I have mostly stage directed and music directed musicals – over 40 of them and many, many concerts of all types.   Most recent are staged concert versions of My Fair Lady and Guys and Dolls with the New Haven Symphony, a new opera Jack and Jill and the Happening Hill with Stonington Opera, and a reading for a new musical with book written by Pulitzer Prize winning author Madeleine Blais and starring Oscar winner Mercedes Ruehl.

OM: Quite a diverse background!

WMH: Jack and Jill and the Happening Hill inspired me to found Sweet T Productions. With Sweet T we have branched into film – a necessary step during Covid- my production partner Chris Bolan directed A Season of Love seen on Netflix, and we are currently working on several new exciting projects for film and streaming. I was a producer on the Tony nominated A Sound Inside starring Mary Louise Parker, who won the Tony for her starring role, and the tour of Jitney directed by Ruben Santiago Hudson.

OM: I have to ask this…a member of the audience I have the freedom to laugh at Gilbert's prose, but part of that laughter is because often absolutely absurd lines or dialogue are delivered as if they are dead serious. As a director, what secrets do you give to your players to avoid breaking character and laughing at his or her own lines or the lines of another character?

WMH: I haven’t had too much trouble with giggles or guffaws from the text from my players, only from myself when they hit the nail on the head!  I’ve a singer’s laugh which can be distracting, but it is also one of the cues I use to know a part of a scene is effective:  If I’ve got chills, tears, or can’t contain my joy, I know the audience will enjoy it as well!

OM: Though most of any G & S opera is lighthearted and amusing, there are short stretches of action or song that are sincere and touching. Pirates has a few. In what ways do you have the characters usher in these moments? Do you find shifting gears to from silly to sincere a tricky thing to pull off?

WMH: Such a great question! This is why I believe this opera has stood the test of time!  It is filled with nuances! You literally laugh and cry. I’ve been thrilled to find my cast is good with these shifts and nuances, but I am definitely enjoying guiding them through the journey of silliness one moment, love and admiration the next, and a sense of duty.  Duty is Frederic and Mabel’s interfering mistress in this work!

OM: Showing a strong bias here, but I think Pirates is in the top four of the G & S repertory. What scenes or interchanges in Pirates between characters or between the stage and the audience do you find particularly amusing or touching?

WMH: I would take it a step further and say I believe Pirates is the best of G & S!

OM: I, too, agree!!

WMH: As parents of three grown children who all returned to our home state of California pre-Covid, my husband and I have missed them terribly, and the notion of the Major General’s struggles with letting go of his wards and their concern for his well-being and happiness in return, I find very touching.

OM: I can relate, having two daughters of my own.

WMH: I also enjoy Ruth’s confusion with Frederic: is he still her charge, or should he be her beau? And the idea that an entire band of pirates could be swayed by anyone who calls “Uncle” – I mean  “Orphan”- is just too, too!

OM: What drives you to be involved with the arts? Why do you do what you do?

WMH: My passion and my skill are to help others find their voice.  I do this through directing, producing, conducting choirs and in the pit on occasion, and through teaching voice.  I also sing! 

OM: I feel strongly that the G & S operas are really important artistic creations, treasures, even. Yet they contain some stereotypes that might be offensive to modern ears. Your thoughts?

WMH: We’ve tried to tread lightly in this area and be as respectful as possible.  With this work I’m trying to tread lightly with regards to the treatment of women.  Pirates grabbing young women, Mabel and her sisters being handed off to whomever their caretaker deems suitable? Ruth being tossed back and forth? My take with this opera is it is really about strong women! Ruth and Mabel actually have control, albeit less overt, over their outcomes. In the end, Ruth consents to let Frederic go to Mabel, and chooses her own beau. That is my update to the work!

OM: I completely agree. Important perspectives on the characters. Thank you so much for your insights and background and your work with Troupers! We look forward to The Pirates of Penzance!  

To repeat: Troupers Light Opera will be presenting that perennial Gilbert and Sullivan favorite, The Pirates of Penzance on two Saturdays, April 2nd and 9th at 2:30 and 7:00 pm.  For tickets and information go to Trouperslightopera.org.

All the best, OM

Interview with Will Crutchfield of Teatro Nuovo

OperaMetro had the privilege to connect again with Maestro Will Crutchfield, whose Teatro Nuovo will perform Rossini’s immortal Il barbiere di Siviglia in later this month in New York City. Keeping with Covid protocol, even though fully vaccinated, we opted to do this interview on paper, not face to face. Any seeming departures from this format are only for flow.

OperaMetro (OM): It’s indeed a pleasure to be chatting again, Will.

Will Crutchfied (WC): Indeed.

OM: It’s been a rough road to travel since we last talked in the summer of 2019. There have been restrictions for gatherings and contact forced on us by the virus. What were your strategies to keep Teatro Nuovo alive and well during these dark days? Which aspects of training, teaching, coaching, etc. were most affected and how did you adjust?

WC: We have been adjusting since Day One of the pandemic. First and foremost, a year ago we raised money to pay our singers and players 50% of their expected salary for the canceled 2020 season.  We launched an intensive series of webinars, 53 in all, for the musicians who should have been in our training program that year. We also began employing them for a series of videos of rare Italian songs and chamber music.  Thirty-one have been published so far, with many more in the pipeline or in planning.

Will Crutchfield, maestro al cembalo and Jakob Lehmann First Violin and Conductor of the Orchestra

OM: But this summer Teatro Nuovo is back on stage, si?

WC: Yes, for our 2021 season, we had seven fully developed and vetted budgets ready back in January, so as to be ready for whatever the circumstances could allow in the summer. This was crucial, and it's the main reason we are the ones to bring New York its first full-length opera performances since the shutdown.  We were ready for everything, ranging from a return to indoor performances in totally normal style to abridged versions with a few singers and string quintet accompaniment. And for everything in between. 

OM: But, as announced, you’re actually doing a little of both.

WC: Yes. It turned out we couldn't go back indoors yet, but we have the second-best scenario: outdoor performances with full orchestra, soloists, and chorus.  We also did not attempt to run our usual training program, but almost all our participants are returning artists who have been through it before.  Next year it will be back bigger than ever.  

OM: You're doing Il barbiere di siviglia. Apart from its wonderful score and characters, hence its popularity, what reasons guided your choice?

WC: Three things.  First, a performance in the park on a summer evening is not the place for introducing our usual rarities. It's the place for celebrating a familiar score.  Second, the soloists we hired for Rossini’s Maometto Secondo made a great Barbiere cast. And third, Barbiere is an opera of pure joy, and we are all joyful to be getting back to work.  

OM: You're a Rossini scholar as well as a wonderful force in the orchestra pit. Why is Barbiere so popular, compared, say, to La gazza ladra? 

WC: La gazza ladra is great, but it is very difficult and complex, and it mixes comic and tragic elements in a way that does not automatically fall into place.  So it will always remain an opera for a special occasion.  Barbiere, on the other hand, is an opera for every season. Verdi said it best: "for comic verve, real musical ideas, and truth of declamation, Il barbiere is the most beautiful comic opera in existence." 

OM: No contest. Your mission with Teatro Nuovo (correct me if I am wrong) is to return to the instruments, the tuning and balance of these instruments in the orchestra, the playing and singing styles of the early 19th century, maybe before. What aspects of Barbiere should the audience be listening to so the impact of your mission more clearly resonates?

WC: I don't think they have to listen for anything in particular. If they know the opera already, it will be very clear how different our interpretation is. If they don't know it already, our job is to introduce them to its delights, and I think we will. Our approach is the same as it is for reviving an unknown work: read the piece attentively to see what is in it, and let that be the starting point for our imaginations. Barbiere comes with a lot of traditions - traditional vocal casting, traditional jokes, traditional ornaments.  We are pretending none of that ever happened, and trying to read the opera as though it was just discovered.  Meanwhile the flavor and tone-colors of the original instruments will speak for themselves - we are just two days into rehearsal and already I am hearing gorgeous things I have always hoped to hear in Barbiere - and still others that I didn't even expect.

OM: Lastly, if you have two casts (or more), who are the artists, which performances (dates, times) and, if important, are there differences in their voices that relate to differences in the way you approach Barbiere on a given night? 

WC: Just one cast. Rosina, Almaviva, and Figaro are Hannah Ludwig, Nicholas Simpson, and Hans Tashjian, who were originally supposed to be in Maometto Secondo.  Basilio is Daniel Fridley, who was noticed by everyone in our Rossini Stabat Mater in 2019.  Berta and Bartolo are Alina Tamborini and Scott Purcell, who would have sung in Il vero omaggio last year. All six are big-voiced, high-energy singers - this will not be a "lite" Barbiere. I'm very much looking forward to that aspect a lot.

OM: Thank you, Will! My best wishes for successful performances!

Il barbiere di Siviglia by Rossini will be presented on the stage of Damrosch Park, at Lincoln Center, on Tuesday, July 27th July at 7pm and Wednesday, July 28th at 7pm. We have also reserved Thursday, July 29th as a rain date.

The following links will take you to the Lincoln Center Box Office.

TICKETS:

July 27th, 2021 at 7pm:
https://tickets.lincolncenter.org/booking/production/bestavailable/22482

July 28th, 2021 at 7pm:
https://tickets.lincolncenter.org/booking/production/bestavailable/22483

You can also book your tickets by calling the Lincoln Center Box Office at (212) 721-6500

Enjoy!! Support local Opera!

OM

The Princeton Festival offers Opera by Twilight on two Sundays, June 13 and June 20

OperaMetro (OM) had the privilege of interviewing two talented vocal artists who are to perform in Princeton Festival’s Opera By Twilight on the first Sunday, June 13. Tenor John Viscardi (JV) and Mezzo Soprano Janara Kellerman (JK) sat with me for a delightful couple of hours under the shade of the great trees on the campus of Princeton University.*

OM: Thank for agreeing to this and taking time out of rehearsals!

JV & JK: Thank you for asking us!

OM: We’ll get to the matter of musicians, stage performers riding out the Covid months, but first I’ll say to my readers that one of the reasons I like to interview singers is so we on the outskirts get an idea of their journeys. They are between the time of trying on the new suit of ‘opera singer’ and the time when it clearly fits, when it suits them, though maybe after an alteration or two along the way. I start by asking when the notion of singing opera as a career become a real and ever present desire.

Janara Kellerman sings at Princeton Festival June 13

JK: For me, it happened when I attended a summer opera camp at Simpson College after high school. I had a naturally larger voice and my high school music teacher encouraged me to explore opera. I had at that time no clear idea what opera was but after the week at this camp I was in love and had no doubt opera was where I belonged.

OM: John?

JV: When I was 16 years old, I went with my high school choir to see La Bohème at the Met. It was love at first sight. I knew I wanted to be an opera singer after that performance.

OM: Hmmm…I’ve been to La Bohème more times than I can count, really love it, but the thought of being an opera singer never occurred to me. You both must have had some inclinations earlier.

JV: Yes, I started taking voice lessons when I was 13 and knew early on that classical music was something I was very interested in. I enjoyed singing back then, but this performance, where it all came together, lit up the path to a career.

John Viscardi performs at Princeton Festival Sunday June 13

JK: Likewise. I played piano starting at age 6, was first chair clarinet through high school, sang in the chorus…so I was always the kid who loved music. But through my singing in opera I was able to fully explore performing on stage, playing different characters, learning new and wonderful music. It was exciting to find a field that utilizes all the years of music study and also allows me to sing. I love to sing!

OM: Did you have a similar experience of the opera performance that lights up the path?

JK: Actually, yes: that opera camp was on the campus affiliated with Des Moines Metro Opera so that same summer I went to my first opera. It was Carmen with a fantastic mezzo-soprano Gwen Jones singing the title role. I was mesmerized by her, by the music, by the production, by ALL OF IT! There was no turning back for me. I’ve seen a lot of opera since then, but that performance is forever engrained in my memory and absolutely the turning point for my choice to pursue this career.

OM: You’re singing the final duet from Carmen with John on June 13!

JK: Yes, I’m very much looking forward to this!

OM: Curious, isn’t it, that one’s soul seems to open up and embrace the experience of a great opera, eventually forming a love relationship with it. Destiny, maybe? Though I had some early pleasant teasers, a performance of Götterdämmerung at the Met in my junior year of high school, followed later that season by back to back performances of Otello and Falstaff …it was like quicksand. Götterdämmerung put me into another emotional zone completely. The rest is history. As to that, are there legendary voices that strike your fancy?

JV: Franco Corelli and Mario Del Monaco are the most thrilling voices I have ever heard.

JK: Anything by Elena Obraztsova, Fiorenza Cossotto, or Tatiana Troyanos: They all had voices with considerable size but they always remained flexible and sang a variety of repertoire. These are the women who inspire me. For me they are legends of the Mezzo Soprano category.

Also the final scene in Bellini’s Norma always brings tears to my eyes. The Maria Callas, Franco Corelli recording is heartbreaking! And honestly for me, as much as I love Verismo opera, with its full, rich, luscious, highly emotional music, it has always been the beauty of bel canto that tugs at my heart strings. The caveat with bel canto is the voice has to be exceptional to pull this music off. There is no hiding behind the orchestra! But when it works, the payoff is immense. Verdi works also.

OM: No contest on these! Del Monaco is the only one of the above I did not see in performance at the Met, but those who saw him were awed by his voice and his intensity. Switching gears, along the way there are always support systems behind the scenes for the singer on stage. Tell our readers a bit about this.

JV: I credit my first voice teacher, Mark Van Schenkhof with providing me the inspiration to become an opera singer. He lit the initial spark of interest that eventually developed into a burning desire to sing opera. I am fortunate to have many individuals in my life who have supported me on this journey; it was this support that motivated me to found ArtSmart with my friend and colleague Michael Fabiano.

ArtSmart provides mentorship through music to middle and high school aged students in underserved communities around the country. We pay professional artists so that they can provide that kind of support to students who otherwise couldn’t afford it. Next year, our 40 mentors will work with about 400 students in eight cities across the country, once a week for the entire school year.

In my life, my wife, Molly has been a constant source of inspiration, enthusiasm, and stability. My parents continue to be unflappable cheerleaders--supporting me the entire way. As for coaches and teachers, Bill Schuman and Donata D’Annunzio Lombardi helped me develop my voice into what it is today and continue to provide me with spectacular guidance and wisdom. I’ve also had the good fortune of being able to work with phenomenal coaches. Some of the most significant coaching relationships in my life are with Glenn Morton, Luke Housner, Audrey Saint-Gil, Kyle Naig and the late Ghena Meirson. The guidance and support I received from my mentors helped me become the person I am today.

JK: The support the behind-the-scenes team provides is so important! When I was younger it seemed virtually everyone I met in the music business would say stuff like, “Opera singer? If there is anything else you love to do, then do it.” I understand their point: this is not an easy journey, it’s full of tremendous ups and downs! But to me it is all worth it. Opera and performing is part of who I am and it will always be so. Why would I want to travel down any other road?

OM: Passionate in the pursuit of it, passionate in the moment. Let’s talk about the impact of Covid19 on your lives as artists whose goal is a live performance to a live audience.

JK: OMG! It was absolutely the strangest year of my life. Never would I, just like all of us, think there could be something that could completely shut down the arts. Wars, plagues, nothing in our lifetime had done this previously. Seeing the notifications come in of one canceled contract after another was devastating. For all of us.

I decided early on to take advantage of the time that was suddenly available to do a lot of personal work. There were big changes happening in my life so honestly, as horrible as this last year was, I did come out of it with tremendous personal growth. I exercised, dropped a lot of weight, explored and learned new music, and now I am absolutely ready to forge full steam ahead! Yes, I was unable to perform in live opera productions, but one of my great joys is also to perform songs in recital. So intimate, so up close and personal with the audience! I honored an elderly man who, sadly, did not have long to live on this earth but he was always a huge supporter and fan of mine. He introduced me to Chere Nuit, French songs by Bachelet which I performed for him in a recital I quickly put together. I love these! I now program on almost every recital. These can be found on YouTube** You asked for links: https://youtu.be/ekxJEdNq-Wo  and  https://youtu.be/gDdIrfX4XjU . And here is a clip of Ne me refuse pas from Act I of Massenet’s Hérodiade, in which Hérodiade tries to rekindle Hérode’s love for her. It’s a beautiful, rare gem that I was so fortunate to perform the title role in concert. https://youtu.be/o3-rEfsT5iI .

OM: Wonderful piece! Massenet is on the admittedly long, crowded top shelf of opera composers. An aria I think you’d enjoy singing is Sapho’s Où suis-je?...Ô ma lyre immortelle from the final scene of Gounod’s first opera Sapho, written for (and supported by) the great Pauline Viardot in 1851. John?

JV: The pandemic came at a very sensitive time in my career, the moment when I began to transition from baritone to tenor. I was just about to begin bringing this new repertoire out into the world when lockdown began. It was phenomenally difficult to not perform but I never gave up--I double downed on my practice, singing every day.  I focused my energy on my family, ArtSmart, and my students (besides running ArtSmart, I personally mentor six students in Chicago and keep a small private studio).  I also began a project to film six music videos to accompany Vaughan Williams’ Songs of Travel. The first two, The Vagabond and Let Beauty Awake can be found on YouTube.**

OM: You said ‘from baritone to tenor’?

JV: It’s a long story. There has always been a question whether I’m a baritone or tenor. In high school, I was advised to choose tenor. I went through NYU and AVA basically singing the leggero tenor rep. But my voice felt cut off and tight. Something wasn’t right. Then I met Donata D’Annunzio Lombardi who helped me discover a lower chest resonance, something I never knew existed in my body. Now with good low notes, I decided to leave the tenor rep behind, sing the baritone repertory…but I always set my sights on the day when I would be able to bring this lower, chest resonant voice up into the tenor repertoire. That day has come! It’s been a long but incredibly exciting road. 

OM: Wow! Best wishes! So let’s talk the future. John, what’s next?

JV: Having just transitioned to tenor, the landscape of opportunity is beautiful and open. My first roles are Cavaradossi in Tosca, Don Jose in Carmen, Macduff in Macbeth and Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana. When I can sing these roles with consistency and presence, I’ll begin exploring the more dramatic repertoire.

OM: You’re singing La fleur que tu m’avais jetée from Act II of Carmen for Opera at Twilight on the 13th.

JV: Yes, and then the great final duet, also from Carmen, with Janara.

OM: Dream roles?

JV: Rodolfo in Bohème is a major goal for me for obvious reasons. To sing it, you need great high notes, in particular a glorious high C. I am working on it every day. After that it is Radames in Aïda.

OM: Janara, what’s next for on the horizon for you?

AK: I’m a Mezzo-Soprano, I’ve always had a large instrument with a lot of voice. From a young age people were always wanting to push me in the dramatic mezzo repertoire of like Verdi and Wagner. I have tackled Amneris and Azucena, both of which I absolutely love to sing. These roles really fit my voice well. I have yet to sing a full Wagner role in production so that is probably my next hurdle to conquer. It’s time now. I’m older, wiser, I can intellectually connect to the music and the story of his immense works.

But I maintain and will always maintain that even with a more dramatic instrument I will never abandon the bel canto repertoire. My voice has agilita and as long as people will want to hear a bigger voice in this repertoire I will continue to sing it. I have my first Rosina from the Barber of Seville this summer and I cannot wait!

OM: Congratulations! You’re singing Rosina’s aria from Barber on the 13th! Dream roles?

AK:  Without a doubt Eboli of Don Carlos, Venus in Tannhäuser...the big girl roles. And, of course, I’ll know I made it when I have successfully sung in Europe. Always my dream. I have not had the opportunity to explore that avenue so I am very eager to get over there and see what it may hold.

OM: Wonderful. Both operas were among my very first seasons at the Met. Wonderful.

I thank you both for your sharing with me parts of your past, present and future. All best wishes for Opera By Twilight at the Princeton Festival on Sunday, June 13 at 8.

The Princeton Festival’s Opera By Twilight is performed on June 13 and June 20 in person and broadcast live from Princeton’s elegant Morven Museum and Garden. For more information, tickets, and parking, please visit the Princeton Festival’s website.

On the evening of June 13, our artists interviewed above, tenor John Viscardi is performing also De’miei bollenti spiriti from Verdi’s La Traviata and also the Act I duet from La Bohème O soave fanciulla with soprano Meroë Khalia Adeeb, who also sings Je dis que rien ne m’épouvnate from Carmen. Brian Major, baritone, sings The Toreador Song from Carmen, Pura siccome un angelo from La Traviata, and Eri tu from Verdi’s Un ballo in Maschera. Julia Pen Ying Hanna is at the Piano.

Artists and repertory for the second evening of Opera By Twilight on Sunday, June 20 are listed at the Princeton Festival’s website, as well as ticket information, directions, and parking. Performers on the 20th are Alexandra Batsios, soprano; Krysty Swann, mezzo-soprano; Michael Kuhn, tenor; and Stephen Gaertner, baritone; Julia Pen Ying Hanna is at the Piano; selections are from operas by Mozart, Lehár, Delibes, Verdi, Puccini, Bizet, Cilèa, and Weill.

But wait, there’s more! Opera related lectures begin on Friday, June 11, each beginning at 7 p.m. These are:

What the Opera Meant to Paris in the 19th Century (Friday, June 11), Princeton Art Museum docent Marianne Grey will trace the influence of opera through artists such as Manet, Renoir, and Pissarro

Rutgers music professor and regular festival lecturer Timothy Urban explores Wine, Women, and Song in Opera on Monday, June 14.

Harold Kuskin, opera expert, Overture series lecturer, and former Metropolitan Opera backstage tour guide, surveys Expressions of Love in Opera on Tuesday, June 15.

Finally, Stuart Holt, Director of School Programs and Community Engagement for the Metropolitan Opera, compares two leading forms of music theater in Opera or Musical? – The Fine Line that Divides Them on Wednesday, June 17.

The Princeton Festival rocks!

Enjoy! OM.

• * Actually, we did not do this live on the campus of Princeton University, delightful as that would have been. Anara and John submitted written responses to my queries. What you are reading are their words, though I edited their responses, condensed some things, inserted some words by me, then ran out of room for their answers to two questions. Princeton University is a very special place for me: it was the closest larger town to my home town (Hightstown, NJ). A dear high school friend went there; I had many wonderful experiences over the years, lately attending the Princeton Festival!

• John Viscardi performed in Princeton Festival’s John Adam’s Nixon in China in 2019 as Chou En Lai. OM remarked that “John Viscardi maintained Chou’s gravity, his serious bearing and his pride throughout the opera. Compared to the others Chou is far less prone to bravado and bragging, more to reflection.” Viscardi (then a baritone) was the “emotional center” of the Chinese side of Nixon. Anara Kellerman performed in Princeton Festival’s Madama Butterfly in 2018 as Suzuki. OM did not review this.

• Important Note to My Readers: the YouTube information or titles provided by Anara and John are accurate, but the method of making their recordings available on my site has changed since OM’s last post nearly a year ago. It does not seem to cooperate…I will master this all in good time…but not by my deadline of today.