Saturday’s Merola Grand Finale at the War Memorial Opera House was as heartening as it was entertaining. For anyone harboring lingering doubts about the future of opera, this was a concert to put them to rest.
Each year, Merola assembles young artists from around the world for 12 weeks of intensive training. This year’s participants had already proved their mettle during July and early August, in recitals and full productions of Mozart’s “Cosi fan tutte” and Conrad Susa’s “Transformations.” Still, those events hardly prepared the audience for the range, commitment and sheer excellence on display at Saturday’s finale. Throughout nearly three hours of arias, duets and ensembles, these 23 singers were on their game like top athletes.
The sports analogy is an apt one. Like Olympians, the “Merolini,” named for San Francisco Opera founder Gaetano Merola, work for years to get to this elite program. Watching them in action is enough to convert first-time operagoers into lifelong fans — and remind aficionados why they fell in love with opera in the first place.
Conducted with stylistic allure by Rory Macdonald, the program was an engaging mix of eras and styles. Duets figured prominently, from the searingly dramatic to the broadly comic. Soprano Mary Evelyn Hangley and mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven gave an impassioned performance of “Dio, che mi vedi in core … Sul suo capo aggravi un Dio,” the great Act II scene from Donizetti’s “Anna Bolena”; and soprano Sarah Cambidge and tenor Isaac Frishman made a riveting episode out of “Don Ottavio, son morta! … Or sai chi l’onore” from Mozart’s “Don Giovanni.” Tenor Amitai Pati and baritone Andrew G. Manea captured the allure of “Au fond du temple saint” from Bizet’s “The Pearl Fishers.” On the comic side, soprano Jana McIntyre’s Blonde and bass Matthew Anchel’s Osmin, singing “Ich gehe doch rate ich dir” from “The Abduction from the Seraglio,” made one wish someone would mount a full production of Mozart’s opera just for them. Yelena Dyachek and Brian Michael Moore exuded charm in a scene from Flotow’s “Martha,” while Pati and Alexandra Schenck battled their way through a funny scene from Berlioz’s “Beatrice et Benedict.” Several scenes were amusingly contemporary: Cell phones played a part in a duet from Donizetti’s “Linda di Chamounix” that featured Frishman and soprano Adelaide Boedecker. Josh Quinn (Dandini) and Nicholas Boragno (Don Magnifico), sporting tuxes and swilling champagne, made the most of their comic business while breezing through the vocal pyrotechnics of “Un segreto d’importanza” from Rossini’s “La Cenerentola.” Rossini was also well-represented in the composer’s “Le Comte Ory,” which paired bright-toned soprano Teresa Castillo with handsomely sung tenor Josh Lovell.
The solo outings were just as impressive. Mezzo Tara Curtis, singing with arresting power and radiant tone, contributed an early highlight in Cassandre’s “Malheureux roi!” from Berlioz’s “Trojans.” Countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen delivered a gorgeous “Che faro senza Euridice?” from Gluck’s “Orfeo ed Euridice.” Anchel was a solid Zaccaria in “Tu sul labbro de’ veggenti” from Verdi’s “Nabucco.” Shannon Jennings raged expressively as Ilia in an aria from Mozart’s “Idomeneo,” and Chelsey Geeting sang a fragrant “Elle a fui, la tourterelle” from Offenbach’s “Tales of Hoffmann.” Tenor Boris Van Druff assumed the title role in “Se all’ impero” from Mozart’s “La Clemenza di Tito,” Kyle van Schoonhoven impressed in an excerpt from Wagner’s “Rienzi,” Josh Quinn sounded assured as Riccardo in Bellini’s “I Puritani,” and Cody Quattlebaum swaggered convincingly in “There’s a law” from Bernstein’s “Trouble in Tahiti.” Throughout the evening, stage director Aria Umezawa brought the music to life with superb flow and continuity; singers from one scene often lingered as extras in the scene that followed. The stage, backed by a screen lit in subtle shades, was decorated with just a few pieces — a cream-colored settee in Act I, a table and chairs in Act II. Macdonald started the evening with a vivacious Overture to Johann Strauss’ “Die Fledermaus.” At the end of the evening, the singers gathered for Prince Orlofsky’s party from the same score. As they sang of love and friendship, a parade of selfies from their summer was projected on the screen. It was a fitting ending, but for some of these artists, it wasn’t goodbye — they’ll stay in town as San Francisco Opera Adler fellows, with roles in the company’s upcoming season.
Contact Georgia Rowe at growe@pacbell.net.
CONCERT REVIEW
