Manhattan Opera Association
There were five vocalists: Soprano; Mezzo-soprano; Contralto; Tenor; and Bass-baritone; plus Eric Sedgwick, pianist
My favorite of the afternoon was the pianist, and that says a lot. I will not list all of the pieces I heard in the first half of the concert but they were mostly unsuccessful to my ear, though there were “brava”s and “bravi”s from the audience. Sort of what you call papering the house. Asked and answered here: Bravo for a man, brava for a woman, and bravi for two or more people.
Offenbach’s Barcarolle (a lovely piece) from Tales of Hoffman opened the concert. It was not lovely. Two selections from Mozart’s Don Giovanni followed. One was really OK. One was not. Full disclosure, I’m not a huge Mozart fan and I’m not a huge opera fan. When amateur opera is on tap, I should have been (and was) prepared to bail. I did, after intermission.
I am a former vocalist. My pipes are not what they used to be. I would not attempt to perform works like these in public at my age unless I had very, very good feedback that my performances would be OK. I believe that two of these five were either convinced that they were still in the groove of their glory days or were being misled somehow. One was just squeaking through. (All of this is my opinion only.)
After hearing eight selections in the first half, including a disappointing The Sound of Music, I was convinced that I didn’t need to hear the eight in the second half.
At this particular venue, there is another amateur opera company that I have avoided after a couple of non-enjoyable programs. This company now joins that one, for me; your mileage may vary. If you enjoy all things opera, no matter what, this may fit your bill.
I’ll not be back.
ConcertMeister
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