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Free community concert draws enthusiastic crowd of young and old |
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OPERA PACIFIC presents "Opera under the Stars"
John DeMain, conductor
Performance of Saturday, June 26, 2004 at
n its first free community concert, Opera Pacific presented a dazzling line-up of vocal talents that would put its big brother in L.A. to shame. Despite the casual outdoor setting, the presentation was anything but second-rate, featuring twin large video screens with subtitles on either side of the stage. For the children and opera novices in the audience, there could not have been a better opportunity to experience the glory and magic of opera. Alas, apparently somebody had forgotten to tell the sound engineer this was classical music, not pop/rock. As a result, Gounod’s Marguerite became a super-sized Brunnhilde, and the Rigoletto quartet turned into a shouting match. Much of the refined singing was marred by crude amplification. Through the thick and loud of it all, glint of vocal gems managed to shine through. Soprano Angela Brown was clearly the audience’s favorite. Her gutsy, full-throated rendition of “Summertime” was refreshingly free of mannerism that often plagues this song. Her exquisitely anguished reading of “Ritorna vincitor” had the mark of a great Verdi soprano. An exciting voice indeed! Tenor Vinson Cole was also on top form, singing with great warmth and honeyed tone in Donizetti’s “Una furtive lagrima” and Bizet’s Flower song from “Carmen”. Baritone Luis Ledesma offered up a tempestuous yet noble reading of “Eri tu” from Verdi’s “Masked Ball”. Soprano Sandra Lopez pleased with her attractive, pure-toned Jewel song (“Faust”) and an impassioned “O mio babbino caro”. Mezzo Jossie Pérez displayed fluid coloratura as Rossini’s Isabella (“L’Italiana in Algieri”) and smoldering sensuality as Carmen. Both the Opera Pacific Orchestra and the Chorus were poorly miked, hitting a few sonic booms now and then, but managed to give rousing accounts of “Va pensiero” and the Anvil Chorus. The evening ended with a sing-along chorus from “Die Fledermaus” and the obligatory “Libbiamo”. It was great fun for all involved and worth repeating next year, hopefully with better-engineered sound. It is a commonly acknowledged fact that the
arts prosper in Southern California (much to the shagrin of Northern
Californians). As this Opera Pacific concert amply demonstrated,
the former La La Land has become a cultural mecca to be reckoned
with. Keep up the good work, maestro! For
tickets to Opera Pacific's 2004-2005 season, call 1-800-34-Opera or
visit www.operapacific.org
Truman C. Wang is editor-in-chief of Classical Voice, whose articles have appeared in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, the Pasadena Star-News and other Southern Californian publications.
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