Soprano Nadine Sierra

ADLER FELLOWS WOW AUDIENCE IN NEW CAROLE ELLIS HALL CONCERT

A nearly full house attended an inaugural chamber concert October 12 in the Carole Ellis Auditorium of SRJC’s Petaluma campus, the first time a formal chamber music concert was heard in the newly refurbished hall. The musicians were four San Francisco Opera Center’s Adler Fellows with pianist and they showcased their vocal capabilities to a largely appreciative audience.

The Adler Fellows program serves as an extension of the Merola Opera program, providing an opportunity for promising young singers to receive additional training and performance experience. Only the top Merola Opera participants are selected for this residency, and then they appear in smaller roles in regular “main-stage” performances at San Francisco Opera.

This Chamber Concert was entitled Opera and Song, and each Adler Fellow sang art songs during the first half, then operatic songs individually or in groups after intermission. Accompanied by pianist Mark Morash, the Director of Musical Studies for San Francisco Opera Center, each Fellow’s selection spotlighted a unique voice. Mr. Morash followed the singers well.

Mezzo soprano Laura Krumm began the concert with a selection of Rossini’s triplet of art songs, La regata veneziana: Anzoleta avanti la regatta, Anzoleta co passa la regatta, Anzoleta dopo la regata, which perfectly demonstrated her voice. Ms. Krumm recently sang the role of the Page and Countess Ceprano in the opera Rigoletto. During the second half Ms. Krumm sang a selection from Rossini’s Barber of Seville, Una voce poco fa, and she mastered the vocal jumps and runs succinctly and in good control.

Baritone Ao Li sang next with excellent German and English diction. His first selection was three of Schubert’s lieder - Die Forelle, Ständchen, and Erlkönig. He sang each with excellent control, expression and intensity, especially Ständchen, which exhibited the warmth and wonderful color of his voice. He received the first of several “bravos” from the audience that evening. During the second half, Mr. Li sang two more solos, Wagner’s O du mein holder Abendstern (from the opera Tannhäuser), again showing his excellent German diction and voice control, and an aria from the new opera, Jake Heggie’s Moby Dick. He sang Captain Ahab? I Must Speak with You. Mr. Li’s powerful and emotional vocal delivery from this new opera could be used to market the opera! Yes, it was that good.

Soprano Nadine Sierra selected Rachmaninoff’s Six Romances Op. 38, Noch’ju v sadu u menja, K nej, Margaritki, Krysolov, Son, Au. In this lovely Russian song series, Ms. Sierra’s beautiful voice and her excellent control of dynamics, pitch and crescendos, especially during the long phrases in K nej, were elegant. These songs start on high notes and she demonstrated fine control and a strong voice. Ms Sierra later sang the well-known aria Caro Nome from Verdi’s Rigoletto, and she delivered perfect articulation. The audience also appeared to love her performance, and “bravas” were heard.

Renée Rapier, mezzo-soprano, sang Catalan Spanish songs including Montsalvatge’s Cinco canciónes negras: Cuba dentro de un piano, Punto da habanera, Chévere, Canción de cuna para dormir a un negrito, Canto negro. Ms. Rapier’s lovely mezzo-soprano voice was overpowered by the piano at times, perhaps due to the modern/tango style of the music. When she later sang a work from Offenbach’s “The Tales of Hoffmann,” Vois sous l’archet frémissant, the warm resonance of her voice was clearly projected and controlled.

Group singing ended the performance. Ms Sierra and Ms Rapier performed Bellini’s Si Fuggiere! from I Capuleti e I Montecchi, Their duet was lovely, especially the ending where they faced each other and harmonized in perfect unison.

Ending the evening’s performance, Ms Sierra, Ms. Krumm and Ms. Rapier sang Sondheim’s You Could Drive a Person Crazy from the musical “Company.” It was a fun, bouncy song to end to the show. The audience loved it. All four received a standing ovation.

What comes next for these four talented Adler Fellows? This season with San Francisco Opera, Mr. Li is performing in I Capuleti e i Montecchi, and will perform in a November Tosca. Ms Krumm will be performing in The Secret Garden.

Concerning the new Carole Ellis Auditorium, it’s an intimate setting for recitals. However, the acoustics were different depending upon where one sits, as the piano was overbearing at times in center back and there also was some pesky reverberation when high notes were sung. The hall is small, seating 257 and is only eight rows deep in the center with four additional rows on the sides. There are at most 30 seats per row, so the room is much wider than it is deep.

Kenneth Greenberg contributed to this review.