Concert Celebrating Opera Animated by Soloists

Author: Jasmin Johnson

The Middlebury College Orchestra (MCO) celebrated popular operas at its last concert of the year. On Friday at the Center for the Arts Concert Hall, they played to an appreciative crowd of almost 190 people, competeing heavily with visting big-name band Guster.

MCO is to be much applauded for a spirited performance and the interesting assortment in its repertoire.

They began by playing the Leonore Overture No. 3 from Beethoven's opera "Fidelio," one of his most cherished works.

This long symphonic overture began on a grave note with the sounds of the bassoon, lower strings and clarinet. The overture is a juxtaposition of these sounds as well as thundering, agitated drums, soon building up to a climatic, brilliant end. The MCO certainly did justice to what Beethoven himself affectionately called his "poor, difficult child."

The winners of last January's concerto competition were featured in this concert. The competition is the brainchild of Evan Bennett, conductor of the MCO.

He began the competition in 1994, and it has been held almost every year since. Noting that there was a great amount of musical talent at Middlebury College, he organized it to encourage the performance of any genre of music. This year, the competition was adjudicated by the famed Takacs Quartet, "recognized as one of the world's greatest string quartets."

John Kuykendall '02, who placed first in the competition, rendered three Italian arias, accompanied by the orchestra. He handled long, florid stretches with ease in "Bella siccome un angelo."

This aria was from the opera "Don Pasquale" by Donizetti, one of the greatest masterpieces of comic opera. Kuykendall has, on previous occasion, sung the two Mozart arias "Non siate ritosi" from opera "Cosi fan tutte" and "Non piu Andrai" from the opera "The Marriage of Figaro."

He chose these arias because they were "playful and fun." Indeed, Kuykendall was clearly enjoying himself as he performed the arias expressively in his deep baritone.

The team of sophomores Katherine Herring, Ian Ausprey and Benjamin Fainstein tied for second place in the concerto competition.

Fainstein, a tenor, effortlessly sang his winning aria, the poignant first aria of Handel's opera "Xerxes," "Ombra ma fu," backed by the MCO. Herring and Ausprey performed Bach's concerto for two violins (from the Brandenburg Concertos) with the orchestra's accompaniment as well.

"We chose it because it is a piece that everyone loves and that people are familiar with," said Herring. Ausprey agreed, saying it was the kind of piece every violinist plays at least "twice in his or her career." He also said that being able to play for the Takacs Quartet was ample motivation in itself.

They both agreed that they enjoyed being accompanied by the orchestra. Bennett said that the enjoyment was mutual. "The orchestra always sounds great when accompanying soloists. They perform well, and I think it is because of that sense of community that is created."

The accompaniment of soloists is something that Bennett tries to incorporate in the MCO's concerts. In trying to expose the orchestra to different kinds and forms of orchestral work, Bennett said that working with soloists provided the MCO with a unique opportunity to participate in an interactive performance.

Flexibility was important when accompanying soloists or choruses, he said. (In the last concert in mid-March, the orchestra accompanied the Middlebury College Chamber singers as well). Also, when operas or other music with texts were performed, there was another dimension added.

"There is that intention to convey something through words and through the music," explained Bennet.

The music program at the College is exceptional in that it tries to expose students to these various types of orchestral performance. It also offers students the opportunity to write original compositions that could be performed by such the orchestra, the choir or similar large ensembles.

In the second half of the concert, the MCO performed two Carmen suites by Bizet. The passages in the suites were some of French opera's most famous. Bizet's inventiveness and the Spanish flavor of the suites provided a welcome change of air.

"I chose the suites as a result of the concerto competition," Bennett said, "I thought it would be fun to have more opera."

Highly commendable were the flute solo in the Aragonaise and the more popular pieces such as the "Habanera" and the "Chanson du Toreador." The echo effects of a bugle and the booming percussion added Spanish spice to the pieces.

Ausprey, who was also the evening's concertmaster, performed "Nocture," a lilting, ballad-like piece with a praiseworthy violin solo. The concert ended with the "Danse Boheme," which, as the title suggests, was a gamut of mystery, tranquility and dance, working up to a frenzied pace at the end. A formidable showing by the 50-member MCO and a clear aide memoire of why Bizet is to be the maestro he is.