We’ve created a playlist of eclipse-ready songs.
What it didn’t have, exactly, were any obvious standouts, the kind of singer that you hear one time and just know they’re going places. Any of the nearly two dozen Merolini in the current batch might be destined for greatness, but it’s not so easy to tell
One of the enticements of attending the Grand Finale concert of the Merola Opera Program each year — aside from hearing nearly three hours’ worth of arias and duets splendidly sung — is the opportunity to play talent scout for your own fantasy opera league. Can you spot the mezzo who’s destined for stardom? Can you position yourself to say, in years to come, “You know, I heard that tenor when he was just starting out”?
It’s an enjoyable parlor game, but there are some years when it simply doesn’t fly. And the current season, which drew to a close in the War Memorial Opera House on Saturday night, is one.
The evening was chock-full of talented singers, many of whom gave arresting renditions of repertory both unfamiliar and well-worn. What it didn’t have, exactly, were any obvious standouts, the kind of singer that you hear one time and just know they’re going places. Any of the nearly two dozen Merolini in the current batch might be destined for greatness, but it’s not so easy to tell which.
Of course, that’s cause for dismay only if you’re in the futures market; in the here and now, Saturday’s program offered plenty of musical rewards, even in the face of lessthan-supportive leadership from conductor Antony Walker.
There was, to take an example not entirely at random, mezzo-soprano Ashley Dixon’s bravura display of artistry in an excerpt from Massenet’s “Cendrillon,” marked by robust vocal tone, pinpoint precision and a wondrous air of dramatic intensity.
There was mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey’s exquisite turn as the Composer in Richard Strauss’ “Ariadne auf Naxos,” a performance (joined by soprano Jana McIntyre as a tart Zerbinetta) that fused expressive complexity with an abundance of rich chest voice and soaring high notes. There was a sumptuous account of the love duet from Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci” by soprano Alexandra Razskazoff and baritone Dimitri Katotakis, which only got steamier and more musically radiant as it progressed, and there was bassbaritone Christian Pursell’s formidable explosion of meaty, impeccably modulated sound in an aria from Handel’s “Rodelinda.”
Some artists wound up pulling more than their share of the weight. Soprano Natalie Image, for example, delivered a crisp, buoyant version of Oscar’s “Volta la terrea” — all sparkling coloratura and vocal cascades — and then returned after intermission, together with the heroic bass-baritone David Weigel, for an impassioned duet from Act 2 of Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor.” Others, like soprano Kelsea Webb in a short but powerful aria from Britten’s “Turn of the Screw,” staked it all on a single appearance.
Two other duets stood out amid the largely solo offerings. Mezzo-soprano Edith Grossman and tenor Addison Marlor delivered a particularly sweettoned selection from Ambroise Thomas’ “Mignon,” with pointed offstage interpolations from McIntyre, and soprano Kendra Berentsen and tenor Anthony Ciaramitaro joined forces for a deft romp through the Act 1 duet from Donizetti’s “Daughter of the Regiment.”
But for sheer campy exuberance, it would be hard to top tenor Andres Acosta’s burst of joy from Donizetti’s “Rita,” with its clarion high notes and general comic breathlessness. The character is celebrating after the death of his wife (it’s complicated); Victoria Crutchfield, the apprentice stage director guiding the evening, left no doubt as to how he intended to use his newfound freedom.