a review of Daniel Okulitch

Publication: Journal of Singing Author: Berg, Gregory Date published: September 1, 2012 Daniel Okulitch: The New American Art Song. Daniel Okulitch, baritone; Ricky Ian Gordon, Jake Heggie, Lowell Liebermann, Glen Roven, piano. (GPR Records GPRB004SKJZ0Y; 70:48) Ricky Ian Gordon: Quiet Lives: "Bus Stop," "Three Floors," "The Crazy Woman," "Virginia Woolf," "Interior," "As Planned," "Kid in the Park," "Lullaby." Jake Heggie: Of Gods and Cats: "In the Beginning," "Once Upon a Universe." Glen Hoven: Songs from the Underground "He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven," "Ozymandias," "The Expulsion from Eden," "Like a Beacon," "Composed upon Westminister Bridge," "Teeth," "This is Just to Say," "What am I After All," "Song," "London Airport," "The Leader," "Knightsbridge Ballade," "Come to the Edge," "London Airport, reprise," "In My Craft or Sullen Art." Lowell Liebermann: Night Songs. "Good Night," "She Tells Her Love While Half Asleep," "A Variation on 'To Say To Go To Sleep'." This release may be the most exciting and impressive art song recording of the last decade, thanks to the superlative calibre of songs it contains and the marvelous singer who brings them thrillingly to life. Baritone Daniel Okulitch is among the most highly regarded artists of his generation, with an impressive resumé that includes the role of Schaunard in Baz Luhrmann's groundbreaking Broadway production of La bohème from a decade ago. Although the charismatic Okulitch has won great acclaim in such mainstream roles as Don Giovanni and Figaro, his greatest headlines thus far came as the star of Howard Shore's science fiction opera The Fly, in which he appeared completely naked in one critical scene. The baring of his powerful physique may have attracted some extra attention to the L.A. Opera's production, but what garnered the most meaningful praise for Okulitch was his heart-rending portrayal of the tragic scientist Seth Brundle, while contending with a difficult and largely ungrateful musical score. It was the kind of accomplishment that an ordinary artist could not have hoped to achieve, and one can only hope-and, if there is any justice in this world, expect-that many more such opportunities will be his. Most singers resist comparisons with colleagues and counterparts, no matter how illustrious, but one hopes that Okulitch would not mind being compared to the superb American baritone Walter Cassel. His long and distinguished career included impressive stints at both the Metropolitan Opera and New York City Opera, roles in several Hollywood musicals, and a plethora of performances in live music theater. That thorough blending of genres surely helped Cassel hone a singing style that combined operatic grandeur with down-to-earth humanity, a style that served him especially well in creating the role of Horace Tabor in The Ballad of Baby Doe. His artistic assets included a glorious voice, authentic expressiveness, and diction that was beyond reproach. Okulitch's work here, while uniquely his own, is sometimes eerily reminiscent of his highly regarded predecessor, and one anticipates that Okulitch will ultimately enjoy success of similar dimensions. He is certainly already on his way. Thus far this discussion has been limited to the singer headlining this project, but it is the dazzling quartet of composers at hand that most dramatically distinguishes this recital from the run of the mill. Ricky Ian Gordon and Jake Heggie scarcely require a word of introduction for anyone conversant in modern opera and art song; they are the cream of the crop. Lowell Liebermann is a more familiar name in instrumental circles, with a host of highly acclaimed works to his credit, but the success of his opera The Picture of Dorian Gray leads one to hope that many more vocal works are in his future. The fourth composer, Glen Roven, may be the least familiar to JOS readers, but his resumé includes two presidential inaugural gala concerts, the one-woman shows of Liza Minnellli and Patti LuPone, the final televised appearances of Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr., and conducting everyone from Placido Domingo to Hootie and the Blowfish. He has also fashioned his own English translations of several Mozart operas and Schubert's Winterreise, and his many original compositions include highly regarded works inspired by classic children's books like Runaway Bunny and Goodnight Moon. Roven also happens to be the artistic director for GPR Records, so he as much as anyone is responsible for assembling these four composers who also serve as pianists for their respective works. Roven's Songs of the Underground is a cycle consisting of fifteen highly diverse songs that demonstrate the composer's inexhaustibly rich imagination and flair for the dramatic. The poems include works by Yeats, Shelley, Milton, Whitman, Auden, Wordsworth, and Dylan Thomas, among others, and Roven treats these texts with discernment and sensitivity. Among the most impressive of these songs is "Ozymandias," a setting of Shelley's poem in which a traveler describes the ruined wreckage of a once mighty statue now half sunk in desert sands. This is one of the songs where Okulitch can unleash the massive majesty of his voice up to high F as he intones the words just barely visible on the statue's pedestal: "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings. Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!" Then the composer strips away the grandeur of the music to a bleak emptiness as we hear these poignant words: "Nothing beside remains. Round the decay of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, the lone and level sands stretch far away." Roven's vividly illustrative music both puts us at the scene and prompts feelings of contempt as well as sympathy for the arrogance of this now forgotten ruler. Not all of these songs are quite so monumental. "Teeth" is a playful salute to English teeth which ends with diese words: "Let's sing a song of praise to them-Three Cheers for the Brown, Grey and Black!" Roven garbs the poem in music that is off-kilter both harmonically and rhythmically without being so odd as to get in the way. Another fun-loving song is "The Leader," in which someone desperately begs to be the leader (of what exactly we can only guess), only to say upon finally getting what he wants, "Yippee, I'm the leader! Okay, what shall we do?" This song is especially hilarious as its performed here because Okulitch has such a powerful and virile voice, and yet manages the quicksilver quality of this childlike song so effortlessly. Other notable songs include "The Expulsion of Eden," a setting of Milton's intriguing poem that seeks to describe exactly how and with what emotions Adam and Eve exited the Garden of Eden. The driving, slashing musical figures Roven has crafted bring the scene and the couple's pained emotions vividly to life for us. These are just a few of the songs that comprise this fascinating cycle, which one can only hope will be taken up by baritones anywhere and everywhere who are equal to its considerable challenges. The other three works are not nearly so long, yet offer up great pleasures and treasures of their own. Ricky Ian Gordon's Quiet Lives is a superbly crafted set of seven songs that take us inside the lives of some unconventional and misunderstood people. One especially poignant poem, "Interior," describes the house of an older woman who lives alone and wishes to shut out the pain of the outside world. "Her mind lives tidily," so says the poet, "apart from the cold and noise and pain-and bolts the door against her heart out wailing in the rain." In James Schuyler's poem "Virginia Woolf" the narrator wishes that they could have somehow been around on that fateful day in 1941 when writer Virginia Woolf killed herself by drowning. Gordon's music perfectly captures the emotional ambiguity and confusion of the narrator and everyone else trying to make sense of such a tragedy, even after all these years. There is much beautiful music in this set, but nothing lovelier than the flowing lullaby that brings the cycle to an exquisite finish. Jake Heggie's Of Cats and Dogs, by contrast, contains only two songs, but yields more smiles and laughter than the rest of this generous disk combined. "In the Beginning" tells the story of creation from the peculiar perspective of a cat, and at least one passage in the accompaniment perfectly imitates the sound of a cat strolling on the keys of a piano, which is a delicious touch. So is the way the song so adroitly shifts from slinky and sensuous passages to stentorian pronouncements from the Almighty. "Once upon a Universe," on the other hand, paints the amusing yet not quite comprehensible scenario of God being a little kid and being chided by his mother: "Don't play with your creation!" It's a marvelously imaginative text and Heggie runs with it like only he can. Finally, the disk includes Lowell Liebermann's Night Songs, which features music that is a bit more conventional yet incredibly lovely. This is also the only set of the four which holds together with perfect cohesiveness, and in this company that is high praise indeed. It's fair to say that this generous collection does not happen to present as wide a swath of music styles as one might want from a disk audaciously titled "The New American Art Song." One looks in vain for anything that even hints at the avant garde or other styles less accessible than what is to be found here. No, this is meant to be a mainstream celebration of the modern art song as performed by one of our best baritones, accompanied by each of the four illustrious composers represented here. It's a marvelous concept, executed brilliantly. Read more: http://www.readperiodicals.com/201209/2744534491.html#ixzz3HAsKjOSq

Goodnight Moon Syberite 5 Review in Sarasota!

CONCERT REVIEW: Wit, beauty and challenge meet at Forward Festival By Richard Storm , Herald-Tribune / Monday, May 12, 2014 It should be no surprise that Sybarite5, the string quintet founded by a Sarasotan, brought their usual mix of fierce energy, tonal beauty and intellectual challenge to the finale of their Forward Festival — Coming Together, the new festival incorporating both local and international talent. Sybarite5 will collaborate with Key Chorale for concerts that fuse classical music and rock. / COURTESY PHOTO Sybarite5. COURTESY PHOTO Sybarite5, comprised of Sami Merdinian and Sarah Whitney, violins, Angela Pickett, viola, Laura Metcalf, cello, and Sarasota product Louis Levitt on bass, has developed a repertoire that mixes historical landmark music with the newest output from Led Zeppelin, Radiohead, and Andy Akiho, the chamber music star of today. Akiho's "Revolve" had its world premiere at this event; Radiohead's "No Surprises" was heard in a lovely and touching arrangement for string quintet, created after the ensemble had performed the original with Key Chorale in Sarasota in an event titled "Mozart Meets Radiohead." Joined by the Sarasota-based Chroma Quartet (Christopher Takeda and Jennifer Best Takeda, violins, Michael McClelland, viola, and Abe Feder, cello) the ensemble grew in intensity and impact. Chroma Quartet / COURTESY PHOTO Chroma Quartet / COURTESY PHOTO In this combination we heard a glowing performance of Claude Debussy's Sacred and Profane Dances performed brilliantly by harpist Cheryl Losey; Osvoldo Golijov's new-tango "Last Round;" and "Coming Together" by Frederick Rzewski;,a strong musical interpretation of the festival's title, in which the combined strings were joined by Blythe Gaissert, soprano, George Nickson, percussion and Djordje Nesic, piano. Blythe Gaissert-Levitt / COURTESY PHOTO Blythe Gaissert-Levitt / COURTESY PHOTO Gaissert's impressively lyric mezzo-soprano was both touching and inspiring in her rendition of Margaret Wise Brown's children's story "Good Night, Moon," newly set to music by Glen Roven specifically for the festival. However, although her singing was not part of the compelling tonal fabric of "Coming Together," her beautiful speaking voice (occasionally joined by those of the ensemble) was riveting as the drama grew and touched our souls. All in all, this was another milestone in Sarasota's growth as an arts destination. CONCERT REVIEW GALA FINALE CONCERT. Forward Festival, presented by Sybarite5. Reviewed May 11 at Holley Hall. CONCERT REVIEW GALA FINALE CONCERT. Forward Festival, presented by Sybarite5. Reviewed May 11 at Holley Hall. avatar RICHARD STORM Richard Storm writes about classical musical and opera for ArtsSarasota.com. Make sure to "Like" Arts Sarasota on Facebook for news and reviews of the arts.

from Huffington Post ART ISN'T EASY

ART ISN’T EASY With blogs posting almost daily about how opera is dying or dead, with even the head of the Metropolitan Opera, in a pre-strike negotiating tactic (that badly misfired) claiming, “Grand opera is in itself a kind of a dinosaur of an art form,” I was over the moon with the all the attention given to the Met’s production of The Death of Klinghoffer: articles on the front page of major newspapers across the country, world-wide television coverage, huge protests at the opening night. In an obviously bad choice of a cliché, I might say “Now that’s good for the Jews!” Well, for the world of opera anyway. I admit it: I am one of those who think any kind of publicity is good. And when was the last time an opera made the front page of The NY Times? Understand that I also love when actors make political speeches on Award Shows. I believe that if you have an audience of a billion people, say something important. Don’t thank your agent. I remember as a little kid the first time I heard the word Apartheid was when Stevie Wonder talked about it on the Grammy’s. Despite my enthusiasm for all things politically incorrect, I was completely surprised by my reaction to Klinghoffer. I was invited to the dress rehearsal and arrived with certain pre-conceived notions. One was that it was going to be much less controversial than the protestors were saying because after all, it’s “only an opera” and the protester fully admitted they had not seen the piece. Two, I believed I wouldn’t much care for the music. Wrong on both accounts. I was in shock! It was so much more political than I thought. In fact, even though I’ve spent thirty years seeing theater, I don’t think I’ve every seen a production as political. And while it wasn’t all that anti-Israel to me, it was incredibly pro-Palestinian. When the lead terrorist Molqi sings (underscored by desperate music), “We are not criminals and we are not vandals, but men of ideals,” it is clear that the opera is asking for us to understand these men and sympathize. I won’t soon forget the scene at the end of Act One where the Palestinians were singing against what I could only assume is the wall erected to keep Palestinian terrorists out of the county, and hundreds of projections of pro-Palestinian graffiti (and anti-Israel) kept bombarding the audience with slogan after slogan while enormous green flags waved and the chorus sang about “their” land at the top of their voices. This was the type of patriotic song that every country in the world has, a song of love of one’s country, one’s land, coupled the dream of never surrendering, with pulsating violins, trumpets blaring and timpani pounding. Very powerful stuff. But very one sided. The composer and librettist of the opera were quoted as how the opera is fair and balanced, not really favoring one side or the other. Here’s a rule: never, never, never believe what a composer or librettist tell the press. Listen to the music; that’s where they reveal their true feelings. To be clear, I am politically pro-Israel. I love the country and have conducted there many times. The pro-Palestinian politics of this opera did not make me feel any more sympathy for their cause. But I was thrilled to see this huge, emotional statement. For what is opera anyway but huge, over the top, emotional statements? Will it make the Zionists rethink the necessity for a Jewish state? No. Will it change the minds of people who believe a two-state situation is the only answer to the violence? No. Will it make both sides think, even the tiniest bit about the other side? Doubtful. But will it draw more attention the conflict that has existed in Israel for many, many years? Definitely. And that attention has been generated by a work of art, an opera. Good! As for my other surprise, I loved the music. And that made me very happy. After all, no matter what anyone says or does, opera is about the music And this score is spectacular: choral writing to raise the rafters, incandescent and powerful arias, funny comic turns, and magnificently dense orchestral writing. Everything a great opera needs. While I’ve enjoyed certain minimalist pieces, Adams’s Slow Ride in a Fast Machine, and the Jerome Robbins and Philip Glass ballet, Glass Pieces, I’ve never enjoyed minimalist operas. Nixon in China gave me a headache and I left after the first act. I liked Adams’s Doctor Atomic a bit better, but mainly because of the production and the cast, certainly not because of the score. From the first notes of the “Palestinian Chorus,” with its mysterious F-minor chords that shimmer like the desert sun, I was hooked. Yes, it had the minimalist underpinnings, but what caught my attention were the gorgeous melodies in the orchestra and in the choral writing. With the counter-point, the harmonies, the colors, the music felt more than contemporary; it felt ageless. The musical building-up to the shooting was cataclysmic, almost unbearably spine tingling, like a minimalist Verdi. Mrs. Klinghoffer’s final aria was a tour de force for the mezzo-soprano Michaela Martens, so powerful it certainly added weight to Jewish side of the political scale. But not nearly enough for there to be anything resembling balance. Sadly, I couldn’t be at the opening to experience the event. I was at a fund- raiser where we spent the better part of our meal discussing this opera. A friend who had seen it before at BAM complained about a scene set in New Jersey where Jews bicker endlessly and loudly. I told him it had been cut. (Opera composers are certainly allowed to revise—the original Madama Butterfly was a flop. I don’t know why they revised Klinghoffer so I can’t say if they had ceded to criticism or not.) Our dinner conversation got quite heated even venturing into a discussion of The Merchant of Venice and whether or not Shakespeare harbored anti-Semitic feelings or whether Shylock was an empathetic character. I thought, well that doesn’t happen every day! Then as our main course was served, my cell phone started buzzing. I started to get blow-by-blow text messages from a friend who was at the Met: “Helicopters overhead!” “A protestor just interrupted the show.” “Another Scream.” But the SMS I was most happy to receive was the last: “Huge standing ovation. The audience is going crazy!” Metzuyan! (That’s Hebrew, Google-translate it!) Glen Roven is an Emmy-award winning composer who is also Artistic Director of GPRrecords.