Merolini Make It All Shine

James Keolker on August 21, 2007
The 50th year of the highly merited Merola Opera training program ended with a flourish of young hopefuls at the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House on Saturday evening with a Grand Finale concert, assisted by members of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra. As a result, there was stardust in the eyes of many, and in the voices of a few. It was certainly a group that SFO founder Gaetano Merola would have loved: shy tenors, a saucy soubrette, a villainous bass, big voices and small voices and some just right — the perfect cast for a Rossini opera, a portion of which, incidentally, closed the proceedings. Some of us can still remember the stately Mr. Merola (pronounced MAIR-ola) and his support of young singers. It was, of course, the inestimable Kurt Herbert Adler, his successor, who began the program in his honor, and the indefatigable Jimmy Schwabacher who so carefully shepherded it through years of development and achievement until his recent death. This celebratory season was appropriately dedicated to Schwabacher's memory. This year's training faculty was likewise as impressive as ever, with (among the invaluable many) Sir Thomas Allen, Rockwell Blake, Kathryn Cathcart, Jane Eaglen, Sheri Greenawald, Martin Katz, Lotfi Mansouri, Patrick Summers, Carol Vaness, Frederica von Stade, Bruce Lamott, and Mark Morash. Yet beyond their efforts, and beyond the perfected notes and languages and musical styles achieved by their charges, it all comes down to that indescribable extra dimension — the gift to be intriguing onstage, to fill the hall with thrilling sound, to have the potential to be a part of this sonic art.

Shaking the Rafters With Song

Bass-baritone Sam Handley easily had that gift, roaring out a commanding rendition of "Le veau d'or" (The golden calf) from Gounod's Faust, which rattled the rafters and riveted the mind. So did soprano Daveda Karanas, who sculpted her large, golden voice with glistening beauty in Fidès' aria "O prêtres de Baal" (Oh, priests of Baal) from Meyerbeer's Le Prophète. And so did pert Ani Maldjian with her glittering phrasing as Oscar in an ensemble from Verdi's Un ballo in maschera and her charming lyricism for "Geme la tortorella" (Lamenting the little turtle dove) from Mozart's La finta giardiniera. What these singers shared was the ability to bring their audience to them, to demand to be listened to, to share the musical moment, to lift the music from the page and make it real. Others easily exhibited their potential, most especially bass Tom Corbeil in his imposing and resonant singing of "Sorgete, e in sil bel giorno" (Arise, my warriors, on so great a day) from Rossini's bel canto Maometto Secondo, and bass Kenneth Kellogg, who displayed his resounding vocal runs in "I rage, I melt, I burn!" from Handel's opera Acis and Galatea. Baritone Paul La Rosa vocally distinguished his every appearance, whether as Mozart's Guglielmo (in a selection from Così fan tutte) or Gian Carlo Menotti's Melchior (in Amahl and the Night Visitors) or even as a mere officer (in the Meyerbeer). Sopranos Tamara Wapinsky and Cynthia Hanna showed both bel canto incision and vocal gleam in their confrontational scene from Donizetti's Anna Bolena. Soprano Daniela Mack sang and moved with a great deal of stage flair and confidence in an ensemble from Ravel's L'Heure espagnole, leaving her audience wanting more (always a good sign). And countertenor Vince Yi teased the ear with his clarity and vocal ease in a Mozart duet, with Jamie-Rose Guarrine, while soprano Paula Murrihy mixed styles with a measure of accomplishment in arias ranging from Mozart to Monteverdi.

Sampling American Musical Theater

The program gave a lot of time to recitative — always a challenge to young singers — but the prolonged sections from Kurt Weill's Street Scene, Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods, and Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel seemed second tier. Tenor Andrew Bidlack sang a sweet-voiced "The New York Lights" from William Bolcom's opera A View from the Bridge, but many other choices (from Puccini or Giordano, say, to John Adams or Jake Heggie) would have offered him more challenge and substance. The entire class of 30 "Merolini" then assembled for a spirited delivery of Rossini's ensemble piece "Ah! A tal colpo inaspettato" (Ah! At so unforeseen a blow, my heart is throbbing wildly), from his charming Il viaggio a Reims, an opera that many hope will one day be produced in its entirety by San Francisco Opera. The multiple scenes were semistaged in an efficient manner, if on a somewhat barren-looking stage, by apprentice stage director Eugenia Arsenis. Maestro Stephen Lord conducted enthusiastically, always supporting his young singers with assurance and grace.