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SYMPHONY REVIEW
March 19, 2006
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Vocal Mozart By Scott MacClelland
The untimely death of Mozart in 1791 was originally felt most deeply by his immediate family — and by his best friend, Franz Josef Haydn, who for the rest of his life never completely stopped grieving. Nevertheless, there is no evidence that Mozart himself was planning to die. His plate was full, with commissions under negotiation, tours actively planned, and professional opportunities promising financial security on the horizon.
So it is altogether fitting to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth with his Requiem in D Minor, a work as full of life itself as any he wrote, even though his death stopped it in midstream. Such was the spirit of Symphony Silicon Valley's production of the work Sunday afternoon at San Jose's California Theatre, when George Cleve conducted and the combined SSV Chorale and San Jose State Concert Choir sang.
The work is so top-heavy with its chorus as to leave one wondering if Mozart would not have made some significant modifications before delivering it to its patron. (At his death, he had completed only the first movement, leaving most of the rest in various stages of development.) Compared with the large symphonic mass settings by Haydn in the decade following Mozart's death, the requiem seems strangely unbalanced. The orchestra, denied its high winds and horns, loses individual color in favor of block sonorities, its prominent solos assigned to bassoon and trombone, supported by organ. Moreover, its role is more that of accompanist than equal partner. By further loading the chorus with Bach-like counterpoint, Mozart sustains a thick-textured solemnity throughout.
Performances of the work in recent decades have ranged from full-bodied grandeur to sharply edged drama. Cleve took a road in between, tending toward the former. Had he favored the latter, in dynamics and pace, the choral episodes could have stood out more vividly, one from the other. (Cleve used the Franz Beyer edition that basically cleans up the Süssmayr completion made shortly after Mozart's death.) Drawn from the formidable talent-cache of Opera San Jose, the solo quartet — which gets rather short shrift in the piece — were Deborah Berioli, Michele Detwiler, Adam Flowers, and Kirk Eichelberger. Chorus and chorale director Elena Sharkova provided Cleve with responsive, energetic, and polished forces. At the requiem's conclusion, Cleve hushed down the final chord and slipped seamlessly into that tiny miracle from Mozart's last year, Ave verum corpus. The all-Mozart program opened with what could be called an advert for Opera San Jose's upcoming production of Don Giovanni, including the overture — finely articulated in favor of all the details — and two arias. They, and scenes from The Magic Flute, featured more of Opera San Jose's vocal talent. Tenor Christopher Bengochea just stood there like a statue for Don Ottavio's disingenuous "Dalla sua pace," but put all the expression and color on the voice to excellent effect. Soprano Janelle Laurenti added more physicality and facial expression in Donna Elvira's "In quali eccesi." From Flute, and with a stronger low register, soprano Lori Decter lamented Pamina's "Ach, ich fühl's." The final scene of Act II featured bass Carlos Aguilar and tenor Flowers as the two armed men warning Tamino of the trials ahead, to the tune of an old Lutheran chorale sung in counterpoint to Bachian textures in the orchestra. In turn, Bengochea and Decter joined them, and Cleve immediately followed with the deeply-felt ceremonial (Masonic) prelude to Act II.
All in their own worlds, three professional orchestras (and at least two amateur orchestras) within shouting distance of one another chose to play Sunday afternoon at the same time. SSV and the Monterey Symphony both served up Mozart exclusively, while the Santa Cruz Symphony played Mollicone, Tchaikovsky, and Dvorák. (Did I mention that all three of the pros did the same thing Saturday night?) "Coincidences" like these used to be considered out of bounds, but now they seem to merit no more than a shrug — even though the Santa Cruz and Monterey orchestras often share musicians. This must be good news; there's nothing like success to make one indifferent to the "competition." With two programs remaining this season, in April and May, SSV has announced its plans for 2006-2007. Seven programs, starting in September, will feature guest conductors Emil de Cou, Martin West, Gregory Vajda, Joseph Silverstein, Leslie Dunner, and William Boughton. Prominent soloists include cellist Gary Hoffman, pianist Jon Nakamatsu, and violinist/composer Mark O'Connor. Among major works are Jennifer Higdon's Concerto for Orchestra, Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1, Beethoven's “Emperor” Concerto, Verdi's "Manzoni" Requiem, and Brahms' Double Concerto in A Minor.
(Scott MacClelland, since 1978, has written music criticism and journalism for all the major newspapers on the Monterey Peninsula, and for the Metro papers in Santa Cruz and San Jose. During the same period, he has taught music history for Monterey Peninsula College.)
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George Cleve
