The Opera Tattler

* Notes * 
Tonight’s Schwabacher Summer Concert was splendid. Kate Crist and Gregory Carroll impressed in Act II Scene 2 of Der Fliegende Holländer. Crist's warm voice has some rough edges but can be quite arresting. Carroll could not match her heft and volume but has a sweet, strong voice nonetheless. Ryan Belongie and Susannah Biller sang Act III, Scene 1 of Orfeo ed Euridice beautifully. Suzanne Hendrix was completely disturbing as Baba in the Act II excerpt taken from The Medium.

Act II, Scene 7 of L'Italiana di Algeri was charming, Margaret Gawrysiak's voice has a dark beauty, though she did not sing perfectly cleanly. Yohan Yi was hilarious as Mustafa, his movements were spot on, but his enunciation could have been clearer. The ensemble at the end of the scene was a little off from the music. The last act of La Bohème was heartwrenching, both Brian Jagde (Rodolfo) and Lori Guilbeau (Mimì) were compelling vocally.

* Tattling * 
The props consisted of 11 chairs, a sofa, 3 tables, and a trunk; they were used, however, to good effect. The evening began with a possibly staged cellular phone ring, and the conductor, Mark Morash, commented "You might want to turn that off." There was a fair amount of talking, especially during the beginning of the Gluck. Someone's crutches fell during the duet between Mimì and Rodolfo, and someone's watch alarm sounded at 10pm, just at the end of La Bohème.