Today's Birthdays

Dame Nellie Melba (1859-1931)
Kerstin Thorborg (1896-1970)
Sandy Wilson (1924)
Pete Townshend (1945)
Stephen Varcoe (1949)

and

Nora Ephron (1941)

Portland Symphonic Choir sings spirited Rachmaninov Vespers

The Portland Symphonic Choir gave a sumptuous performance of Sergei Rachmaninov’s “Verpers” on Sunday afternoon (May 17). Standing in the apse of St. Mary’s Cathedral , the 120-vloice choir, under the direction of Steven Zopfi, created waves of warm, rich sounds with excellent tonal blend. Impressive especially were crescendos that reached massive proportions and the many passages in which the basses reached notes that came from the subterranean levels of the Russian soul.

Highlights also included the bell-like sounds from the sopranos and tenors in Movement 7 (“Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will among men”) and the exposed notes held by various sections of the choir in Movement 9 (“Blessed art thou, O Lord”). Mezzo-soprano Sherry Olson sounded terrific during her solo in Movement 2 (“Bless the Lord, O my soul”), but the vibrato in tenor soloist Scott Tuomi’s voice seemed way out of control.

The choir sang the entire 15-movement, hour-long, a cappella piece in Russian with a break between movements 8 and 9 for intermission. I think that the singers were starting to run out of steam in the last movement, because their sound started to lose some of the best colors. Yet before singing the final notes they gathered their artistic might and ended the concert gloriously. The audience responded enthusiastically with a standing ovation and sustained applause.

This concert repeats at St. Mary's Parish Church in Mt. Angel (575 E. College St.) on Sunday, May 31 at 4 pm.

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Caveat emptor: I have sung with this choir for many years, but I've taken my critic's oath to not let that experience affect my objectivity in this review.

Today's Birthday

Karl Goldmark (1830-1915)
Ezio Pinza (1892-1947)
Meredith Willson (1902-1984)
Sir Clifford Curzon (1907-1982)
Perry Como (1912-2001)
Boris Christoff (1914-1993)
Mikko Heiniö (1948)

and

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)
Walter Gropius (1883-1969)
Margot Fonteyn (1919-1991)

Stamina Awards

In recognition of performing music beyond the call of duty, this week's Stamina Awards go to violinist Ron Blessinger and violist Brian Quincey. Blessinger and Quincey played in the Third Angle concert on Friday and both musicians are playing the Mendelssohn and the Bruckner works as members of the Oregon Symphony.

Bell’s Mendelssohn shimmers/Oregon Symphony scales heights and depths of Bruckner’s 7th

Joshua Bell, one of the hottest names in classical music, maxed out the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall and garnered a standing room only crowd at the Oregon Symphony’s concert on Saturday evening (May 16), but it was the orchestra’s playing of Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 that soared and brought listeners to something in the neighborhood of heaven.

Bell, one of the few classical superstars in the US, opened the concert with an impeccable and seamless performance of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. Strangely enough, though, Bell’s playing came across as gloss and polish but lacked depth and soul. He hit all the right notes with impeccable virtuosity, but it was flash and dash. The stunning effect didn’t’ deter the audience, which rewarded him with thunderous applause, which brought him back to the stage four times after which he played a real show stopper, a solo arrangement of an 1844 Henri Vieuxtemps’ novelty, “Souvenir d'Amérique," a series of "burlesque" variations “Yankee Doodle.” At the end of this bon mot Bell played the tune crystal clear at the highest point of the violin’s range. One slight mistake would crash the whole enterprise like… well… like the recent debacle on Wall Street. Bell, with a technical precision that borders on immaculate, didn’t slip a micro-millimeter and the entire effect was magical.

The second half of the program was devoted to one of Bruckner’s great symphonic works, and the Oregon Symphony delved into its intense emotional content with verve and veracity. Bruckner was one of the finest organists that the world has ever known, and his symphonic music treats the instrumentalists of the orchestra as if they were his keyboard, stops, pedals, and bellows. With Kalmar leading the way, the orchestra built tower upon tower of sound and the entire result was magnificent. The superimposed themes and the complex chromaticism were achingly beautiful. Also impressive was when the massive sonic thrust suddenly stopped and all that was left was a flute piping away (kudos to principal flutist David Buck). The four Wagner tubas were terrific also. Their mournful cry in the second movement was moving. The brass, woodwinds, and string sections all had moments of glory. All of the principals played extremely well. The orchestra made great music. If there are any tickets left for the remaining performances of this piece (I understand that the concert is Salem on Tuesday evening is completely sold out) then please get a ticket and hear a masterwork played at its best.

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As some of you may know, Bruckner was buried below his favorite organ at the St. Florian monastery church in St. Florian, Austria. I found this photo on the web:

Today's Birthdays

Erik Satie (1866-1925)
Sandor Vegh (1905-1997)
Birgit Nilsson (1918-2005)
Dennis Brain (1921-1957)
Taj Mahal (1942)
Paul Crossley (1944)
Brian Rayner Cook (1945)
Bill Bruford (1949)
Ivor Bolton (1958)

and

Alfonso Reyes (1889-1959)

Third Angle creates upbeat concert of music by Jennifer Higdon

It has got to be a little nerve-wracking to play the music of living composers when they are in the audience, but the stakes are even higher when a two-time Grammy winning composer is sitting in the front row, alert as a robin in spring time. Yet members of the Third Angle New Music Ensemble stepped up and played their hearts out last night (May 15) at the Old Church in a concert that primarily featured the music of Jennifer Higdon.

Things started off sort of like a rock concert when the audience (which almost filled the hall to capacity) enthusiastically greeted the performers as they walked onto the stage even though their appearance was somewhat tardy. In a short preparatory remark, Higdon told how the first number on the program, “Celestial Hymns” had been played at the Angel Fire, New Mexico, which is at a very high elevation, and that she had worried that the ensemble there might pass out because of the demands of the music. I got a sense of what she was referring to because clarinetist Todd Kuhns had to breathe life into a note that he sustained for a very long time right at the beginning of the piece. Supported by crisp playing from his comrades, violinist Ron Blessinger, violist Brian Quincey, cellist Hamilton Cheifetz, and pianist Susan Smith, Kuhns used superior breath control to get the most out of this evocative work, and together the ensemble took us to a higher plain that was soothing and satisfying.

The second piece, “Rhyme,” was written by one of Higdon’s students, Zhou Tian, for solo cello. The music sounded and looked extremely challenging, but, fortunately, Cheifetz conquered its virtuosic demands with élan. Cheifetz’s ability to play two notes at and pluck another at the same time was a delight to the ears and eyes. And in the third movement, he had to pizzicato like a madman running down the street blindfolded. The wild glissando that ended the piece wrapped it all up with a stunning statement. Still, I wonder what kind of rhyme the composer was thinking of… maybe one that got away.

The first half of the program closed with Blessinger and Smith performing Higdon’s “String Poetic.” This five moment work took us through five arresting moods. I liked the “Jagged Climb” and the “Climb Jagged” the most. Blessinger and Smith performed these them with a rhythmic intensity that electrified the atmosphere and left the audience in a buzz.

After intermission, Kuhns and Smith played “Four Autumn Landscapes” by Chirs Rogerson, who is one of Higdon’s students and was in attendance. Rogerson’s piece depicted stunningly clear pictures of “A Cold Clear Dawn,” “Maple Creek,” “Scattered Leaves,” and “December Woods.” The music sounded neo-romantic and wistful at times, and Kuhns and Smith performed it all exquisitely.

The next work on the program was Daniel Kellogg’s “Momentum,” for solo piano. Smith tackled the virtosic rigor of this piece with vigor. Yet its music is very complex and left me wanting to hear it again so that I can get a better grasp of it.

As a grand finale, fluist GeorgeAnne Ries and percussionist Gordon Rencher joined Kuhns, Blessinger, Cheifetz and Smith to deliver a rousing performance of Higdon’s “Zaka.” I loved the joy of this music and the energy that the ensemble gave it. Its pulsating rhythms, wild sounds, and feistiness gave it a fun factor that put smiles on everyone’s faces. It was great to watch Blessinger and Cheifetz tap their instruments with crochet hooks, Smith reach inside the piano to strum it with a guitar pick, Kuhns remove the mouthpiece of his clarinet and thump his hand on barrel end, Ries overblow her flute, and Rencher dance back and forth between various percussion instruments. The rambunctious sounds of this piece caused listeners to respond with resounding applause and a standing ovation.

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For photos of the concert, check out paparazzo Charles Noble’s blog here.

Today's Birthdays

Richard Tauber (1891-1948)
Ivan Vishnegradsy (1893-1979)
Jan Kiepura (1902-1966)
Woody Herman (1913-1987)
Liberace (1919-1987)
Friedrich Gulda (1930-2000)
Betty Carter (1930-1998)
Donald Martino (1931-2005)
Robert Fripp (1946)
Monica Huggett (1953)
Andrew Litton (1959)

and

Friedrich Rückert (1788-1866)
Louis "Studs" Terkel (1912-2008)
Adrienne Rich (1929)

Portland Youth Philharmonic Plays final concert of the season

David Hattner will lead the Portland Youth Philharmonic in its graduation concert this Sunday, May 17th at 4pm at Lewis & Clark College - Evans Auditorium. This concert consists of highlights from the 2008-2009 season. And the concert is free!

Here's the program:

Rossini: "Passo a Sei"
Verdi: Overture to "Nabucco"
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 “Finale”
Beethoven: Overture to "Fidelio"
Grieg: Peer Gynt “Arabian Dance”
Dvorak: Symphony No. 6 “Scherzo”
Anderson: "Plink, Plank, Plunk"
New music - Brahms: "Academic Festival Overture"

Today's Birthdays

Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Michael William Balfe (1808-1870)
Lars-Erik Larsson (1908-1986)
Arthur Berger (1912-2003)
John Lanchbery (1923-2003)
Ted Perry (1931-2003)
Brian Eno (1948)

and

Arthur Schnitzler (1862-1931)
Katherine Anne Porter (1890-1980)
Peter Shaffer (1926)
Jasper Johns (1930)

Portland Symphonic Choir to perform Rachmaninov's "Vespers"

The Portland Symphonic Choir will sing Rachmaninov’s wonderful "Vespers" under the direciton of Steven Zopfi this weekend at St. Marys Cathedral and at the end of the month at St. Mary's Parish in Mount Angel. The "Vespers" contains 70 minutes of continuous unaccompanied singing—in Russian—will test the mettle of any choir.

Written in 1915, Rachmaninov's "Vespers" has been praised as "the greatest musical achievement of the Russian Orthodox Church;" and it certainly held a special place in Rachmaninov’s heart, as he asked for the fifth movement to be sung at his funeral. It also marks the end of an era, in that the Revolution of 1917 led to a ban on all religious music which caused Rachmaninov to flee Russia with his family, never to return.

St. Mary's Cathedral, NW 18th and Davis in Portland
Sat. May 16 - 7:30 pm or Sun. May 17 - 2:30 pm

Mt. Angel, Oregon - St. Mary's Parish Church, 575 E. College St.
Sun. May 31, 4 pm

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PS: I won't be singing in this concert, but fellow Northwest Reverb blogger Lorin Wilkerson will.

Today's Birthdays

Otto Klemperer (1885-1973)
Sidney Bechet (1897-1959)
Lou Harrison (1917-2003)
Aloys Kontarsky (1931)
Peter Skellern (1947)
Maria de La Pau (1950)
Helen Field (1951)
David Byrne (1952)

and

Mary Morris (1947)

Jennifer Higdon chats about life as a composer

The Third Angle New Music Ensemble will play several works by Jennifer Higdon in its upcoming concert this Friday at 7:30 pm at the Old Church. Higdon’s music has been much in demand by vocal and instrumental ensembles, and she has garnered a couple of Grammys as well. I talked with Higdon last week about her life and work.

You have done many residencies over the past few years; so where do you call home?

Higdon: I’ve lived in Philadelphia for the past 22 years; so I think of it as my home base. This is the first year in a while that I haven’t been in residence with an orchestra. I couldn’t squeeze it into my schedule.

Are you getting ready to travel anywhere besides Portland?

Higdon: Portland is part of a one month trip for me. First I’m going to Washington DC for a premiere with the President’s Marine Band, then to Minnesota for a violin concerto with chorus and orchestra, then to the Royal Liverpool for my other violin concerto – a recording with Hilary Hahn, then to Baltimore where Hahn will play that violin concerto. It’s busy. I won’t be back home until the 8th of June. I usually try to squeeze in some composing time, but this trip is going to be busy. Recording sessions, in particular, take a lot of time. But for the live performances, I do the pre-concert talks and meet with donors. But when I’m in Portland, I’m going to Powell’s bookstore. It would be terrible to visit Portland and not go to Powell’s.

Have you been to Portland before?

Higdon: Yes, many times. My dad lives in Portland. And my professional start was with the Oregon Symphony under James DePreist – around 1995. Actually, I hold them responsible for my career! They were the first orchestra to premiere one of my pieces. And that premiere led to a major commission from the Philadelphia Orchestra and that piece was premiered in front of all of the orchestra managers who attended the American League of Orchestras conference.

What gets you into the composing mood? Do you have four cups of strong coffee?

Higdon: I try to write every day from 4 to 6 hours. So writing music is a full-time job for me. But I have to have some Diet Coke before I start.

Deadlines are a real help, too. Deadlines create panic, which is an awe-inspiring thing.

Do you become inspired by the environment around you – in the city or in the country – or do you wake up with lots of musical ideas?

Higdon: Actually, both of those things. I’ve set some of my pieces at walking tempo, because of all of the walking around I’ve done in Philadelphia. But when I wake up in the morning, I’m usually ready to roll. I’m a morning person and like to compose in the morning. But I used to be a night person – when I was teaching.

I just picked up a copy of a recording called "Summer Shimmers" at Classical Millennium so that I can hear your music.

Higdon: Great! When I come to Portland, I always go to Classical Millennium . I love Classical Millennium. It’s one of the few real record stores left in the US.

I was listening to your piece “Zaka,” which starts out one way and then changes mood near the middle of the piece.

Higdon: Yes, sometimes my pieces do contain shift. I like doing that. I wrote the slow section of “Zaka” while in a hotel room. I can still remember the view out the window.

Do you use software for your compositions?

Higdon: Yes, I use Finale. I’ve been using it so long that I’ve never switched. I still start each composition by hand. What happens is that once I get going the ideas come so fast that I have to move to the computer, because it takes me so long to get write it all out by hand.

"String Poetic" has a lot of nature images – which are the names of the movements. I like to think of the Jagged Climb and Climb Jagged movements as bionic rock climbing. I have a lot of vivid imagery. I think that it was because I grew up around the visual arts. My dad is a fine artist.

Is this the first time that you’ve worked with Third Angle?

Higdon: Yes, but I think that they’ve done my music before. I think that they’ve done “Celestial Hymns” a few years ago.

What’s coming up for you in the future?

Higdon: I’ve got to write an opera for San Francisco opera. My librettist and I are working on finding a story right now. So I don’t have anything to tell you. We are trying to find out what story would work well for their main stage. It’s scheduled for the fall of 2013. The librettist is Gene Scheer, who has done a few opera libretti.

Do you try every instrument in an orchestra before writing for them?

Higdon: If there’s an instrument that I’m unfamiliar with, I’ll go in to Curtis, here in Philadelphia, pop in to a practice room and ask a player to if they can do this on your instrument or is there a better way. I learn a lot by studying other people’s scores and listening, but I also take a lot of chances and a lot of guesses. I love to check out the sounds that people can make. So a healthy curiosity is helpful.

What got you to be a composer in the first place?

Higdon: My flute teacher, during a flute performance master class, wanted me to write something. I didn’t know where to start. So my teacher showed me a six-tone row. So my first piece was a six-tone row piece for flute and piano. I loved writing music so much that I kept on doing it despite finishing a degree in flute performance. It was the joy of creativity. There’s something about creating something that’s extremely satisfying.

What about your second piece?

Higdon: That was a flute choir piece. We had a big flute ensemble at the university; so I wrote a piece that they played, and I conducted it. That was an amazing experience. I think that I’ve lost the first piece I wrote, but the second piece, for flute choir, gets played all the time.

We are looking forward to your concert out here.

Higdon: Thanks! See you soon!

PS: Congratulations to Third Angle for getting grant money and donations. See the Third Angle blog for details.

Today's Birthdays

Sir Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900)
Constantin Silverstri (1913-1969)
Gareth Morris (1920)
Jane Glover (1949)
Stevie Wonder (1950)
David Hill (1957)
Tasmin Little (1965)

and

Bruce Chatwin (1940–1989)

Tenor Brendan Tuohy to give vocal recital

Tenor Brendan Tuohy will sing works by Mozart, Franz, Schubert, Dvořák, Hugo Wolf and Ralph Vaughan Williams this evening at Sherman Clay Pianos (131 NW 13th Ave.) at 7 pm. Tuohy is a member of the Portland Opera Studio program and he will be accompanied by Robert Ainsley, who is the Portland Opera chorus master and assistant conductor. The concert is free but donations are accepted.

Tuohy is one of the finest young tenors I have ever heard in Portland, and he will be moving to Houston to sing in the young artists program at Houston Grand Opera. That's where local diva Angela Niederloh also studied and got to sing with Renée Fleming. So, we will keep an eye on Tuohy's career and wish him the best of luck!

Outstanding piano recital by Arnaldo Cohen brings Portland Piano International series to a close

Displaying his technical prowess and interpretive skills to the utmost, Arnaldo Cohen delivered a superb piano recital on Monday evening (May 11) at the Newmark Theatre. In a program that consisted of demanding works by Beethoven, Schumann, and Liszt, Cohen’s depth and understanding allowed the musical emotion of each piece to come alive. This concert was the last one in Portland Piano International’s series for this season, and it was a harbinger of great things to come when Cohen returns to Portland next year to play all of the Beethoven piano concertos with the Oregon Symphony.

The concert opened with Beethoven’s Sonata in C minor, Opus 13 (“Pathétique”), which sounded exceptionally well-balanced in Cohen’s hands. Cohen never overstated the many themes in this piece, such as the noble one in the slow second movement, to achieve an artificial effect. Instead, his interpretation gave the music a natural and genuine feel.

But Cohen took the audience to higher level with an absolutely incredible performance of Beethoven’s Sonata in C Major, Opus 53 (“Waldstein”). It was as if dark clouds lifted and a bright, sunny clarity emerged – all without the aid of Aspirin, Tylenol, or Ibuprofen. I would normally hesitate to say that a piano performance can be a life-enhancing event, but that’s what Cohen achieved with the "Waldstein."

At intermission, I could’ve gone home and been totally happy about this concert, but, of course, I wanted to hear what Cohen would do in the second half. His played the first piece, Schumann’s “Arabesque” in C Major, Opus 18, impeccably well, and its light atmosphere provided a nice contrast to the heavy-duty lifting that is needed for Liszt’s Sonata in B minor, one of the biggest and most difficult pieces in the piano solo repertoire. Cohen conquered this knuckle-crunching piece with a great sense of trajectory – from its disturbing grumble at the beginning to the single, lonely bass note at the end. But in the midst of the big chords and thrilling arpeggios, there were passages that spoke of tenderness and compassion. It all added up to a wonderful journey, and Cohen received a standing ovation that was long and heartfelt.

Today's Birthdays

Giovanni Viotti (1744-1824)
Jules Massenet (1842-1912)
Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924)
Sir Lennox Berkeley (1903-1989)
Burt Bacharach (1928)
Dalmacio Gonzalez (1945)
Doris Soffel (1948)

and

Florence Nightingale (1820-1910)

Karina Gauvin sings Barber and Mahler with Oregon Symphony

The Oregon Symphony under the direction of Carlos Kalmar continues to make some amazing music. On Saturday evening (May 9) the ensemble created a seamless transition from the placid atmosphere of Eric Satie’s “Gymnopédies” through the idyllic soundscape of Samuel Barber’s “Knoxville: Summer of 1915,” and ending in the jumbletron of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4. The Barber and Mahler piece also featured Canadian soprano Karina Gauvin, who last sang with the orchestra in 2006 in Mozart’s Requiem.

Gauvin possesses a soprano voice that is absolutely golden, but in a venue like the Schnitz, she needed to project with a bit more volume for Barber’s “Knoxville: Summer of 1915.” I know that the mood of this piece speaks to lazy days with family and friends in a comfy neighborhood, and I loved how Gauvin’s silky smooth voice matched the tone of the orchestra, but it needed to be a tad louder. Without supertitles, I had to resort to reading the text (a poem by James Agee) in my program. Yet the text is in pretty small print and the house lights were down. I still managed to read the text and follow along, but it wasn’t fun. Either the text should be larger or the house lights should be left up. Or Gauvin should sing a little louder. Then we could all relax into the Barber’s Knoxville.

The combination of Gauvin and the orchestra went a lot better in Mahler’s 4th Symphony, and that might be due to the fact that Mahler can be loud and Gauvin upped her volume accordingly. She only had to sing the fourth movement in which Mahler’s music describes a child’s view of heaven. But amidst the feathery music, there’s plenty of wild stuff that erupts periodically because the angels are cooking, feasting, and having a great party.

The orchestra glowed throughout the Mahler. During the first movement I had a feeling that Mahler was walking down a side street or an alley in Vienna and observing how other people lived. Over the next two movements the music moves to an interior dialogue and in the fourth, Mahler muses about the afterlife. Well, all of this speculation may be wrongheaded, but it shows how stimulating Mahler’s music is. Kalmar led the orchestra through a dizzying amount of changes in tempo and volume. It seemed that the orchestra watched him like a hawk, and I even noticed that some orchestra members were enjoying their musical trip immensely.

Principal trumpeter Jeffrey Work, principal oboist Martin Hebert, concertmaster Jun Iwasaki (on two violins tune differently), the bassoons and the clarinet section deserve kudos for outstanding contributions. I also loved the horn, oboe, and English horn trio in the third movement as well as the pillowy pizzicato passages from the cellos and basses and the rumble from the contrabassoon whenever it was called into action.

The concert ended on a restful, sublime note, which linked nicely back to the Satie piece at the very beginning. The orchestra played “Gymnopédies” with absolute clarity and no vibrato, evoking the balletic movement of athletes at a festival in ancient Sparta, which was the image that inspired Satie.

All is well, in ancient Greece, Knoxville, and in heaven.

Today's Birthdays

Alma Gluck (1884-1938)
Irving Berlin (1888-1939)
William Grant Still (1895-1978)
Ross Pople (1945)
Judith Weir (1954)
Cecile Licad (1961)

and

Salvador Dali (1904-1989)

Portland Opera's Rigoletto heightens mellodrama

Photo: Cory Weaver/Portland Opera

The combo of Mark Rucker and Sarah Coburn added an extra layer of emotion that made the Portland Opera production of Verdi’s “Rigoletto” a dynamic and satisfying experience on opening night (Friday, May 8). Rucker, in the title role as the hunch-backed jester, blustered, cried, and raged magnificently, and Colburn completely embodied his love-smitten, totally sincere daughter, Gilda.

Coburn’s beautiful soprano tone blended purity, conviction, vulnerability, and energy in intoxicating amounts. Her “Caro nome” (“Sweet name”) aria at the end of the first act was riveting. Another highlight came at the very end of the opera when the ethereal father/daughter duet “Ah, ch’io taccia! (“Let me be silent!”) took the audience to new heights before plunging it into darkness with the death of Gilda in the arms of a utterly devastated Rigoletto.

In complete contrast, the opening Ducal-court-gone-wild scene was replete with courtiers worthy of a frat house. Encouraging the drinking, laughter, and lascivious behavior, Richard Troxell displayed gestures and bearing that easily captured the hedonistic arrogance of the Duke of Mantua. Yet his voice sounded a little tight and needed more expansiveness in order to give his character more of a thrill factor.

Peter Volpe created a striking Sparafucile, the hit man who offered to fulfill Rigoletto’s desire for vengeance on the Duke but ended up murdering Gilda instead. Vople has a resonant bass and after describing his services hit a low F that lingered well after he exited the stage. Jossie Pérez made an alluring Maddalena, Sparafucile’s sister and his accomplice. Of particular note was the way that Pérez convincingly changed from initial defiance to completely caving in to the Duke’s good looks.

Keith Miller, as the wrongly condemned Count Monterone, leveled a curse on Rigoletto with such force that it would’ve stripped the chrome off of a ’57 Chevy. Speaking of curses, in ancient times it was believed that a curse carried the spirit of a human being. Therefore, if the curse was directed at you then it was best if you could avoid it by falling to the ground or dodging it somehow. Even today, though we, at least from an objective, scientific perspective, think that a curse has no real bearing whatsoever, in our guts, we feel that strong words hit hard. If you have ever had anyone direct something like the words “you will amount to nothing” at you, then you know of the staying power of that language. And, so in this opera, the character of Rigoletto reminds us more than once that he has been stained.

Others in the cast who distinguished themselves in minor roles were Brendan Tuohy as Matteo Borsa, Sharin Apostolou as the Countess Ceprano, Jonathan Kimple as Count Ceprano, and Hannah S. Penna Giovanna.

Conductor George Manahan led the orchestral forces superbly. Flutists GeorgeAnne Ries and Rachel Anderson deserve high praise for their evocative playing. Another terrific point in the opera came when the orchestra and the singers (Troxell, Pérez, Rucker, and Colburn) delivered “Bella figlia dell’amore” (“Fairest daughter of love”) at full-throttle with urgency and passion.

Stage direction by Christopher Mattaliano gave the story focus and momentum. The costumes by Susan Memmott-Allred for Utah Symphony and opera were traditional.

The scenery, designed by Sarah J. Conly and J. Michael Deegan for The Atlanta Opera, set the action squarely in a stone-secure palace of the 1500s. With some adjustments the palace became the part of town where Rigoletto lived. Yet the final scene, which takes place at a rundown inn, has a wall that seemed to obstruct the view of audience members who were seated near the front and to the extreme left side.

“Rigoletto” has two more performances: May 14 and 16.

Photo: Cory Weaver/Portland Opera