And the reply is principally sure, when another arts presenter can again them with funding and a venue. Michael Capasso, common director of the corporate NYCO Renaissance, a company that obtained the rights to the identify and property of New York Metropolis Opera, was a recognized amount within the New York opera world. In truth, a little bit too well-known from his days as founder of the DiCapo Opera. He was recognized for preventing with colleagues and, sadly, not paying his artists. When Capasso launched the revival of Metropolis Opera with rich hedge fund supervisor Roy Niederhoffer, there gave the impression to be an infrastructure in place to maintain issues working easily.
Sadly, at a sure level Niederhoffer exited the scene together with lots of capital, after which the corporate’s wanderings started. Mainly, what we have now is an opera firm with no venue, with no resident orchestra and refrain, and with out an endowment or funding. Performances are sponsored by different organizations for which Capasso will act as a live performance planner placing collectively a present for an additional producing entity. For a number of seasons, opera live shows have been carried out in collaboration with Bryant Park Picnic Performances which is funded by the Metropolis of New York and Financial institution of America.
The New York Metropolis Opera Renaissance opened its operations in 2016 with performances of Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca on the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Middle. The identical opera opened the primary New York Metropolis Opera season in 1943 with Dusolina Giannini because the Roman diva. This previous Saturday evening August twenty fourth, Metropolis Opera introduced the identical opera in live performance as a part of the Bryant Park Picnic Performances in honor of the a centesimal Anniversary of Puccini’s dying. It was free to the general public and in response to estimates, over 6000 folks attended. Two of the performers on Saturday evening, Kristin Sampson as Tosca and Michael Chioldi as Baron Scarpia, appeared within the two casts that carried out the opera on the Rose Theater again in 2016. The newcomer was the gifted, younger and engaging tenor Victor Starsky, a New York native from Richmond Hill, Queens as Mario Cavaradossi.
The opera was carried out with out an orchestra. Pianist Kathryn Olander labored mightily rather than Puccini’s cinematic orchestration and there have been about 13 or 14 choristers to present us some partial concept of the Act I Te Deum finale. The scene with the Sacristan and little one choristers was omitted together with a couple of different bits and items together with a part of the Act III introduction. Conductor Joseph Rescigno acted as site visitors cop ensuring that musical entrances and exits had been maintained, however in any other case I actually can’t make a lot of his dealing with of the music. Tempos had been no nonsense, ahead transferring and the sparer piano accompaniment introduced out some leaner, meaner edges within the music. Adam Cioffari supplied very primary live performance staging.
The forged members had been all off guide (no music stands in sight), performing as a lot as they may and with acceptable voices for his or her roles. Kristin Sampson was acquainted not solely from her 2016 NYCO Tosca however from performances with DiCapo over a decade in the past as Tobias Picker’s Emmeline, Verdi’s Traviata (spectacular) and Masha in Thomas Pasatieri’s The Seagull (the present NYCO displays extra similarity with DiCapo Opera than the outdated Metropolis Opera). Her tone initially sounded sturdy however considerably plain, missing in velvet and timbral individuality. Her return to the Sant’Andrea della Valle in Act I revealed a little bit extra vocal gleam and core. For Act I, Sampson wore a tightly fitted inexperienced velvet robe with a bodice and her hair up and was in full management of the position, performing each second and scoring textual factors with savvy. She returned in a fitted pink robe with a bodice for Act II that once more was very acceptable evoking conventional Tosca costuming. Sampson’s high lacks bloom, however her figuring out phrasing of “Vissi d’arte” received her a lusty ovation from the viewers. Not the freshest voice, however she is aware of her enterprise and bought the job performed professionally.
In 2016, I believed that Michael Chioldi was probably the greatest Scarpias I had ever heard – each suave and sinister – with a top-quality baritone instrument. A number of the smoothness is gone however the position lies within the meatiest a part of his vary and like Sampson, he confirmed the advantage of lengthy stage expertise within the position. He is aware of the place all the consequences should land and handles the position like a figuring out outdated professional.
The true revelation of the night was the gorgeous voice of Victor Starsky, a former Adler Fellow with the San Francisco Opera. He carried out Don José with Sarasota Opera this previous winter and is performing the title position in Verdi’s Stiffelio there subsequent March. He has a superbly balanced lyric tenor with actual bloom and ping on the high. He additionally appears content material to be a lyric tenor – he had all of the heroic squillo wanted for “La vita mi costasse” and “Vittoria! Vittoria!” however in any other case was melting and romantic in tone. His phrasing of “E lucevan le stelle” was persuasive with good use of contrasting dynamics. He strikes nicely (he’s a martial artist) and is musically alert. All in all, Starsky appears to be a comer.
Enticing voices had been heard in many of the supporting roles – Ruben Casas, Markos Simopoulos and David Smolokoff all acquitted themselves nicely as Angelotti/Jailer, the Sacristan, and Spoletta. A big crowd picnicking on blankets included a heartening variety of younger folks and everybody appeared to have a very good time. That is principally a very good factor, however not likely the Metropolis Opera we bear in mind and which contributed a lot to the musical panorama of New York Metropolis and American opera within the twentieth century.
Metropolis Opera’s different choices this season included a Puccini within the Park live performance in June at Bryant Park (which I missed) and a Broadway Involves Milford live performance in collaboration with Milford Theater in Pennsylvania. There have been no staged performances, solely live shows with Capasso performing as live performance impresario. No bulletins for the longer term.
