Tenor Lawrence Brownlee wows at Matinée Musicale

March 12, 2025March 13, 2025 janellegelfand2 Comments

Tenor Lawrence Brownlee and pianist Donald Lee III in Memorial Hall. Photos by Gayna Bassin

Tenor Lawrence Brownlee is one of the world’s most in-demand opera singers, and a star of the bel canto repertoire. He’d just returned from Paris before his recital for Matinée Musicale on Sunday, telling the audience in Memorial Hall that he had starred in 10 performances of Bellini’s “I Puritani” with Opéra national de Paris. Just announced, he will star as Arturo again next season in a new production of “I Puritani” at the Metropolitan Opera, as well as in “La Fille du Régiment.”

“Recitals are opportunities to create special moments. They’re not about perfection,” he said, laughing.

There were no signs of jet lag in this performance. One could admire the exciting timbre of his high notes, his control and flexibility through virtuosic cadenzas, and the beauty of his phrasing. It was surprising that he opened with eight of his program’s most demanding songs and arias. Six were by renowned composers of the bel canto style of singing, Donizetti, Rossini and Bellini.

Between numbers, performed with his collaborative pianist (and CCM alumnus) Donald Lee III, he spoke about things such as growing up in Youngstown, OH, where his father was choir director in the church, and his mother the featured singer.Read More »

Chicago: A tale of two opera companies

July 10, 2023July 10, 2023 janellegelfandLeave a comment

Amanda Castro as Anita and the company of West Side Story, Lyric Opera of Chicago. Photo Todd Rosenberg

On one day in Chicago recently, I saw two “opera” productions that were at opposite ends of the spectrum. The first was really musical theater — “West Side Story” — mounted by Lyric Opera of Chicago. A couple of hours later, I was in the intimate Jarvis Opera Hall to see a historically informed, ravishing production of Johann Adolph Hasse’s “Marc’Antonio e Cleopatra” (really a serenade mounted as opera) at Haymarket Opera Company. Here are a few thoughts about each:

West Side Story — Cincinnati Opera has experimented with presenting musicals in the past, but after a few tries, let it go. In Chicago, Lyric Opera has made a full commitment to Broadway in the opera world. That was a topic of discussion for a panel moderated by Chicago critic Wynne Delacoma at the annual meeting of MCANA (see below). The participants were Lyric Opera’s director of artistic programs Cory Lippiello and James Lowe, the conductor for West Side Story. The company also presented the U.S. premiere of director Barrie Kosky’s production of Fiddler on the Roof in September.

Part of the appeal for opera companies is that musical theater brings in a whole new audience. For Fiddler, 50% of the audience was new to Lyric Opera, said Lippiello, who was unclear about how many returned to see an opera. The other appeal is that the last time Lyric Opera presented West Side Story, it took in $10 million at the box office. Although officials don’t think they’ll meet that number this year, as everyone is still emerging from Covid, that kind of money can be likened to the annual Nutcracker at the ballet. It helps pay for the rest of the season.Read More »

Miami U grad to compete in Miss America Pageant televised Thursday

December 18, 2019December 18, 2019 janellegelfandLeave a comment

Caroline Grace Williams; photo provided/Sylvart

Cincinnatian Caroline Grace Williams, a 2017 graduate of Miami University, will be competing as Miss Ohio in the Miss America Pageant, to air at 8 p.m. Thursday Dec. 19 on NBC.

A talented singer, Williams is planning to perform the gorgeous aria, “O mio babbino caro,” from Puccini’s opera “Gianni Schicchi” — the same aria that propelled her to win the Miss Ohio competition. The orchestra accompanying her on the national broadcast will be a recording of the Miami University Symphony Orchestra led by Ricardo Averbach.

Williams, who graduated with a voice and theater double major and a minor in musical theater at Miami, is currently a graduate student at MU. She also works at the university as an admissions counselor.

Her personal platform has been to create awareness for safety features on your cellphone, telling University News that she used the method after being in a car wreck. If you hit the side button five times on your iPhone, it automatically calls 911, sends your location to emergency contacts, and updates your location every two minutes.

Now called Miss America 2.0, the 98-year-old competition eliminated the swimsuit portion last year, and now has its first female director in 15 years.

Local debut of tenor Pene Pati — ‘young Pavarotti’ on March 3

February 26, 2019February 27, 2019 janellegelfandLeave a comment

He’s being called “a young Pavarotti.” Rising star tenor Pene Pati, who turned heads at San Francisco Opera when he sang the Duke in Verdi’s “Rigoletto” while still an Adler Fellow in the 2016-17 season, will make his Cincinnati debut in a recital this Sunday.

His concert takes place at 3 p.m. March 3 in Memorial Hall, Over-the-Rhine.

Pati’s program includes “Après un rêve” and “Poème d’un jour” by Gabriel Fauré, “Oh quand je dors” by Franz Liszt and songs by Richard Strauss and Francesco Paolo Tosti.

Ronny Michael Greenberg, who is on the staff at San Francisco Opera, collaborates at the piano.

Pati, who was born in Samoa and raised in New Zealand, has won a fistful of major prizes: Second and Audience Prize at Operalia (2015), Second Prize at Neue Stimmen (2015), First Prize at the Montserrat Caballé International Aria Competition (2014), as well as the prestigious Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge ‘Bel Canto’ Award (2012).

In the words of Richard Bonygne at the Sydney Opera House: “This young man has the voice from God.”

Pati is being presented by Matinee Musicale Cincinnati. Tickets: $25; $10 students with ID. Memorial Hall Box Office: 513-977-8838, or visit matineemusicalecincinnati.org.

In the news: Local musicians win awards

September 12, 2018 janellegelfandLeave a comment

Cincinnati Song Initiative, established by Samuel Martin, is one of this year’s recipients of the arts network Ovation TV and Spectrum’s Stand for the Arts Awards. The new award is presented to arts organizations across the country who demonstrate efforts to be inclusive, accessible, and relevant to the needs of the communities they serve.

Cincinnati Song Initiative is one of 10 arts groups across the country to be honored. It will receive the award in a ceremony on Oct. 10 at Willis Music Steinway Gallery, 8118 Montgomery Rd.

Cincinnati Song Initiative kicks off its third season on Sept. 22 with Alma de España, a survey of art song from Spanish-speaking nations, 7:30 p.m. in Willis Music Steinway Gallery. The performers include Grammy Award-winning soprano Jessica Rivera, Mexican mezzo-soprano Paulina Villarreal, pianist Marie-France Lefebvre, and guitarist and lutenist William Willits. For information about the program and tickets, visit cincinnatisonginitiative.org.

Conductor Isaac Selya, known to local opera lovers as the founder of Queen City Opera, is the 2017-18 winner of The American Prize in Conducting in the professional opera division. He was recognized for Wagner’s Siegfried, in both Opera Production and Conducting.

Selya — who recently joined the music faculty as an orchestra conductor at Xavier University — was selected from applications reviewed recently from all across the United States. The American Prize recognizes the best performing artists, ensembles and composers in the United States based on submitted recordings.

The American Prize has awarded more than $50,000 in prizes in all categories since 2010, and is presented annually in many areas of the performing arts.

David Katz, chief judge and creator of The American Prize, was selected as one of Musical America’s “Professionals of the Year, 2016.” To see the other winners in all divisions, click here.

Opera is changing, and Cincinnati is at the forefront

July 24, 2018July 24, 2018 janellegelfandLeave a comment

Eisenhower’s words are projected above the cast in a scene of “Another Brick in the Wall” that drew audience applause. Provided/Philip Groshong

This month at Cincinnati Opera, audiences are seeing an opera based on a Pink Floyd rock album and another, “As One,” on a transgender topic. The company is commissioning “Blind Injustice,” based on the Ohio Innocence Project at the University of Cincinnati, to premiere next year in CO’s 99th season.

Last week, the chamber group concert:nova presented a “rock opera” based on sci-fi stories from “The Illustrated Man” by Ray Bradbury. (Here’s a column I wrote about it.)

It’s no secret that opera can no longer lure audiences with just the traditional canon of the ABCs – “Aida,” “La Boheme” and “Carmen.” Around the country, opera companies are embracing diversity and programming new American opera on a range of topics.

For the last couple of decades, new opera has addressed timely social issues – such as Jake Heggie’s and Terrence McNally’s “Dead Man Walking,” based on the book by Sister Helen Prejean about the death penalty. As opera embraces the vernacular – with the aim of making it accessible to all — the whole art form is blurring the lines between traditional opera, pop and musical theater.

A case in point is “Another Brick in the Wall,” based on the acid-rock Pink Floyd Album, “The Wall.” To me, the production emphasized the visuals – the projections, the scenic design, the spectacle – leaving an impression not far removed from a night at the theater seeing “Les Miserables” or “Miss Saigon.” (Read my review here.)Read More »

Reviews: CSO’s musical comaraderie, and opera at CCM

March 25, 2018March 25, 2018 janellegelfandLeave a comment

Mozart wind band music — Mozart’s Serenade No. 10 was played for the first time in 85 years by the CSO.

Here are my reviews from two of the shows I saw this week, which you can read free on the Business Courier:

CSO demonstrates musical camaraderie in smaller works

Gianni Schicci_ml-6738-2 — Gianni Schicchi cast — note that there are two casts — (Left to right) Antonio Cruz, Samson McCrady, Michael Hyatt, Chandler Johnson, Lisa Rogali, Tyler Johnson, Amy Joy Stevens, Zane Hill. Photo: Mark Lyons

And at CCM: From tragedy to comedy, CCM double bill is a treasure

CCM singers compete for cash, scholarships

March 16, 2018 janellegelfandLeave a comment

CCM student Brianna Bragg participating in a master class with opera star Jamie Barton earlier this year. Photo: Andrew Higley

On Saturday at UC’s College-Conservatory of Music, singers will be vying for five prestigious full-tuition scholarships and $62,500 in cash awards. The Opera Scholarship Competition will be held on Saturday, March 17, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in CCM’s Corbett Auditorium.

It’s a high-stakes, daylong event featuring 27 current and incoming singers who are students in CCM’s storied opera department. They’ll be performing arias, songs and scenes before influential judges who have been flown in for the event.Read More »

May Festival announces first woman conductor

February 1, 2018 janellegelfandLeave a comment

Korea-born conductor Eun Sun Kim will make her Cincinnati May Festival debut on May 18, replacing James Levine, who was previously announced to open the season. The Cincinnati May Festival made the announcement on Thursday.

She will be the first woman to lead the festival in its 145-year history. The program is unchanged. Kim will lead the May Festival Chorus and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Verdi’s Messa da Requiem at Music Hall. Read More »

Finding the mood of Debussy’s “Pelléas et Mélisande”

October 20, 2017October 21, 2017 janellegelfandLeave a comment

CSo rendering — A rendering of the set. Photo provided: CSO/Adam Rigg

James Darrah likes to point out that he has curated the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s “Pelleas Trilogy” in three different phases of Music Hall’s renovation.

CSO music director Louis Langrée’s three year project exploring Maurice Maeterlinck’s 1893 play, “Pelléas et Mélisande” began with Arnold Schoenberg’s tone poem in Music Hall – pre-renovation. It continued last year with Gabriel Fauré’s incidental music to the play when the orchestra was displaced at the Taft Theater.

This weekend, the project culminates in Debussy’s “Pelléas et Mélisande” in the newly renovated Music Hall. The performance is in collaboration with Cincinnati Opera.

“It’s been really fun to bring an opera to life in this space,” says the Los Angeles-based director and designer. “We’re all still learning what we can and can’t do (in the theater). Some things are familiar and some different.”Read More »