Comedy at the Philharmonic – Popcorn at the Opera

By Burt Saidel

The Metropolitan Opera’s live telecasts are a dynamic outreach to build opera audiences and continue the wave of enthusiasm for grand opera. There are six telecasts scheduled for this season.  

I described the opening offering, The Magic Flute, as “son of Magic Flute.”  In an attempt to create a trendy version of this ever-popular classic, they cut the opera in half, added spectacular effects but failed to deliver the very essence of opera, great singing by great artists.

When I examined the choice for the next telecast, Bellini’s I Puritani, I felt that it was a very risky option.  Not a popular opera, “Puritani” contains an almost absurd plot and highly unlikely characters. A great bel canto opera even featuring the newest soprano sensation Anna Netrebko seemed to be a bit advanced for the intended mass audience.

After hearing the opera and witnessing the response of the audience, I knew that my prediction was dead wrong. Yes, the opera has a very silly plot about an era which does not catch the imagination of the public, the Puritan revolution and subsequent restoration of the English monarchy.  

Yes, the characters are obscure and their relationships take on an unreal posturing of love versus nobility, blind loyalty versus reality of purpose.  But – that is opera.  And – that is opera in one of its most appealing forms.  

The music, the singing, the sheer beauty of the principals made the experience exciting and engaging.  So much for my ability to evaluate and predict.  I even felt certain that OSU would beat Florida handily!

The telecast of “Flute” was an explosion of vivid colors and bright displays of stagecraft.  Unfortunately, the entire telecast of I Puritani was very dark even to the point of being monochromatic.  

I had seen this production decades before at The Met with Dame Joan Sutherland in the leading role.  I recall that the ambiance was somberly Puritan in character but not visually obscure.

This made little difference. The music and singing was the brightness of this opera experience.  The cast made the most of each character’s vocal highlights.  The men
were handsome, the chorus was large and vocally exciting and then there was Anna Netrebko!

Netrebko is a very young and very beautiful girl who was discovered in her native Russia at age 16. Her voice is, and will continue to be, one of those “voices of the century.”  Her physical beauty is matched by her effervescent personality.  

The role of Elvira requires three, yes three, mad scenes. Without delving into histrionics, Netrebko expressed her mental anguish convincingly and very musically. In one bit of stage wizardry, she sang several lines while lying on her back with her head over the edge of the stage. Certainly this was an expression of her innate wit and even deviltry.

Kudos to the conductor Patrick Summers, the fabulous Met Orchestra, and the entire cast.  While this is no substitute for a live performance, it was a joy to behold and a real opportunity for many to experience opera at its best.

Jessica Cain recital

Burt Saidel with soprano singer Jessica Cain.

Professor Jerome Kopmar of Sinclair College is a passionate devotee of the power of the voice.  His long career as Cantor of Beth Abraham Synagogue naturally led into his total involvement with the emerging voices of his students.

I have heard some of his student recitals and am always amazed by how far he can push his charges into singing difficult music with apparent ease and great beauty.  From time to time, he tells me of one of his protégés who shows great promise.  I make every effort to hear them and am always impressed.

In December, he arranged for a young soprano to give a private recital at our home. His expectations for Jessica Cain were not, we found, overstated.

Jessica is a beautiful and vivacious young woman. She is devoted to making the world of opera her professional goal. With the coaching of Jerry Kopmar, she stands firmly on the initial step toward such a difficult career.

She has vocal tools far beyond my expectations for one so young.  She lacks only language skills and intense coaching to move farther along toward this elusive goal. She handled arias and art songs, a test of a more mature vocal fac. She has a natural timbre which, when more fully developed, will be very satisfying and exciting.  

Jessica Cain and Jerry Kopmar are yet another pair of reasons why Dayton is such an arts center.  For that, I can only shout - Bravi!

World Premiere debut announced!

The Gem City Ballet, in concert at the Victoria Theatre on January 20, will present the debut of two new ballet luminaries.  WDTN television personality Marsha Barnhart and Oakwood Register Arts columnist Burt Saidel will dance their way into the hearts of millions in the ballet Coppelia. For tickets call Gem City Ballet at 937-222-6880 or go  online at www.gemcityballet.org.

Oxford-based artist exhibit at DAI

The Dayton Art Institute is currently exhibiting works by Oxford, Ohio-based artist Roy Johnston in the museum’s Regional Artists Gallery. Roy Johnston: Transformations showcases the artist’s recent paintings, prints and works on paper.

Johnston’s Transformation Series, 2005-2006, is among some of the most recent works included in the exhibition.  This series demonstrates the flexibility of Johnston’s catalogue of forms.  Bold geometric shapes give way to organic, figural outlines and undulating lines.

“There are recurring shapes and forms which may seem to relate to the phenomenological world in which we live.  While there has been some reference to biological charts and diagrams, the origin of the forms really belongs to the generation of paintings and drawings which has preceded them,” says Johnston.

Born in Ireland, Roy Johnston received both a Diploma of Art and a National Diploma of Design from Belfast College of Art.  He earned his Advanced Diploma in Art Education at Cardiff College of Art - University of South Wales and Monmouthshire.

His work is represented in numerous public collections including the Arts Council of Great Britain, Ulster Museum, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, and the Contemporary Irish Art Society. Roy Johnston currently resides in Oxford, Ohio.

"Manifestation"

by Roy Johnston

Roy Johnston: Transformations is on view in The Dayton Art Institute’s Regional Artists Gallery through April 29. Admission is free.

Violinist Timothy Fain at DAI Feb. 10

Vanguard Concerts welcomes violinist Timothy Fain for its third concert of the 2006-2007 season on Saturday, February 10, at 8:00 p.m. in The Dayton Art Institute’s NCR Renaissance Auditorium.This charismatic young violinist is the winner of the 1999 Young Concerts International Auditions and the 2001 Avery Fisher Career Grant.

Violinist Timothy Fain is a musician with a wide range of talents and interests.  He performs as soloist, chamber musician, and in creative collaborations with other artists.  During the 2005-06 season, Mr. Fain performed as soloist with the Bellevue (WA) Philharmonic Orchestra, the Florida West Coast Symphony, the Waterbury (CT) Symphony Orchestra, the Albany (GA) Symphony, and Orquesta Filarmonica de Buenos Aires in Argentina. In recent seasons, he has performed concertos by Beethoven, Glazunov, Bruch, Barber and Philip Glass, among other works, with orchestras throughout the United States.

Mr. Fain made his New York City concerto debut with the New York Chamber Symphony conducted by Gerard Schwarz at Alice Tully Hall in 2002, and he has been soloist with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival.  Abroad, he has been soloist with the Mexico City Philharmonic and performed at the Spoleto Festival in Italy, the Lucern Festival in Switzerland, and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

Mr. Fain is also in demand as a superb chamber musician.  He has performed with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and at New York’s Bargemusic, and he is first violinist of the Rossotti String Quartet.  He has also appeared at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Musuem’s Ives Festival in Boston.  He has toured nationally with “Musicians from Marlboro.”

In May 2005, Mr. Fain was singled out for his appearance onstage with New York City Ballet, performing alongside the dancers in the City Ballet premiere of Benjamin Millepied’s “Double Aria.”

After winning the 1999 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, Mr. Fain gave acclaimed debuts in the Young Concert Artists Series at the 92nd Street Y in New York, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.  Through Young Concert Artists, he has given recitals and held residencies in venues around the country including the University of Georgia, the University of California at Davis, the San Diego Art Institute, and the Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra.  He has been honored by the Hennings-Fisher Foundation in Los Angeles.  Mr. Fain was the recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2001.

A native of Santa Monica, California, Timothy Fain attended the R.D. Colburn School of the Performing Arts and the Crossroads School.  He received a Bachelor’s Degree from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he studied with Victor Danchenko, and a Master’s of Music degree from the Juilliard School, where he worked with Robert Mann, founder of the Juilliard String Quartet and 1st violinist with the Quartet.  He also studied with Aaron Rosand, Haroutune Bedelian, and Laura and Eduard Schmieder.  He currently lives in New York City.

Timothy Fain’s program in Dayton will be:

Sonata in F Minor for violin and piano, Op. 4 - Felix Mendelssohn
Adagio in E Major, K. 261 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Arches for solo violin - Kevin Puts
Chaconne from Partita No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1004 - Johann Sebastian Bach
Poeme - Ernest Chausson
Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso - Camille Saint Saens

Concert tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students. Tickets may be purchased at Hauer Music Co., Wright State University Center Box Office, and at The Dayton Art Institute on the night of the concert only.  Tickets may also be purchased on-line at www.daytonart institute.org or by calling Vanguard Concerts at (937) 512-0144.

Big Band dance Jan. 19

The Johnny Mack Super Big Band will be playing Friday, Jan. 19 at the Manchester Inn in Middletown OH.

The evening starts with a dance lesson at 7: 30, then the 20 member band takes over from 8:30 to 11:30. Enjoy dancing to Swing, Latin, and Ballroom. The first break for the band will include the “advanced” dance lesson.  Door prizes will be given away on the second break.  Singles are welcome too - ask for your “Ask Me to Dance” sticker.

If you have an Entertainment Book there are 2-for-1 coupons in the book, and more savings on the Entertainment.com website.  You can also use your Entertainment Book for a 2-for-1 dinner at the Manchester Inn’s Buffet!  For dining reservations, call the hotel at 800-523-9126.

Addmission is $15 each - and students get in for $10 each in groups of ten or more.  

For more info, call Johnny Mack at 937-252-9313, www.TheMackPack .com, or email johnnymack @woh.rr.com (Please use this address rather than hitting “reply” as this address is used for the email notices only.)

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January 16, 2007
Volume 16, No. 3

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