Giuseppe Verdi's
GIOVANNA D'ARCO
October 21, 2010
7:30 p.m.
at
CHURCH OF ST. PAUL AND ST. ANDREW
263 WEST 86TH STREET (AT WEST END AVENUE), NEW YORK, NEW YORK
ADMISSION IS FREE
"One reliable offering among the impressive variety of free concerts each summer in New York is the indefatigable New York Grand Opera Company, which (despite falling donations) continues to present staged productions at the Naumberg Bandshell in Central Park.
Many summer events offer lighthearted fare, but on a breezy evening on Wednesday, picnickers were serenaded with Verdi's 'Trovatore,' a story of witches, burned babies, distraught lovers and executions.
The performance was directed by Roberto Stivanello and conducted by the energetic Vincent La Selva, a Verdi expert who founded the company in 1973. From 1994 to 2001, he staged productions of all 28 Verdi operas in chronological order....
Mr. La Selva led a deftly paced, vibrant reading. The mezzo-soprano Erin Murphy offered an emotionally nuanced portrayal of Azucena, the Gypsy whose mother was burned as a witch and whose death she hopes to avenge. Her earthy, dark voice effectively conveyed Azucena's anger and anguish. The soprano Liora Michelle, as Leonora, a lady-in-waiting in love with the troubadour Manrico but courted aggressively by Count di Luna, sang expressively....The tenor Alejandro Olmedo was an ardent (if uneven) Manrico, singing 'Di quella pira' with aplomb. The baritone Raemond Martin at times seemed wooden but offered some elegant singing as the Count, particularly effective as he expresses his passion for Leonora in 'Il balen del suo sorriso.' The bass Dominik Eberle was effective as Ferrando, the count's henchman. The cast also included the soprano Lucia Palmieri as Ines (Leonora's confidante) and Jan Dash and William Brooke in smaller roles. The most vociferous applause was reserved for Mr. La Selva, who certainly deserves credit for keeping his adventurous company alive during treacherous times."
Vivien Schweitzer, THE NEW YORK TIMES, July 16, 2009
In the Hands of a Specialist, Verdi is a Unifying Force:
"There were no tears for Verdi at Carnegie Hall on Saturday, the day of the centenary of his death, but there were cheers and enthusiastic applause when Vincent La Selva and his New York Grand Opera Company performed his Requiem.
Mr. La Selva was the man for the job. Few conductors in the world can have as deep, full and long an experience with Verdi's scores, and the Grand Opera Company's summer productions in Central Park of all the Verdi operas -- with just three this summer to complete the set -- have borne the fruits of that expert musicianship.
It is specially remarkable to find a conductor who combines high musical standards with a populism equally true to Verdi's ideals. Like the summer park performances, this Requiem found a mixed audience -- cognoscenti, children, tourists toting cameras, people prone to clap in the "wrong" places -- united by happiness in being there, enjoying the music and the occasion.
And Mr. La Selva did them proud. The performance he led was thoroughly prepared and thoroughly dramatic: the sorrow, the raging, the anxiety and the sweetness all strongly and immediately communicated. There were wonderful moments from the orchestra: ethereal violin melody, gruff scrapes from the double basses, solid woodwind chords, majestic brass fanfares and thwacks form the bass drum that one felt in the body.
But more than that, the players were as eager as the audience.
So were the singers. The chorus responded with unanimous precision to Mr. La Selva's beat and to his definition of dynamic levels across a wide range. But nothing was too precious. Whether the chorus was whispering or in full, radiant cry, there was a robust humanity in the vocal sound, a sense of the music as the expression of real people.
Four other real people were the soloists. Katherine Luna, the soprano, rose to tones of steadfast light in the "Libera Me."
In other sections, the mezzo, Marisa Galvany, created a rich and characterful contrast with her. Edward Perretti maintained a clear tenor sound and Valentin Peitchinoff was the strong, companionable bass."
Paul Griffiths, The New York Times, January 29, 2001
"This little-company-that-could ... run by Vincent La Selva, a one-man force of nature in the world of populist opera. ...."
"One of the best and most impressive things about this company is that it somehow manages to stage each of its productions fully. For those receiving their first exposure to these works - and there seemed to be many in the audience - this can make all the difference in the opera's impact. "
"Mr. La Selva has a deft and natural feel for this repertory, and he led a generously proportioned reading of the score. ... "Turandot" was left unfinished at his death,
and Mr. La Selva paused his performance briefly and dimmed the lights at the point where the original music ended. .. . It was a moving gesture in the spirit of Toscanini, though Mr. La Selva did not need it to convey his immense respect for this tradition. His conducting had done that already."
Jeremy Eichler, The New York Times, August 5, 2005
" If part of the aim of free, informal outdoor concerts is to lure new listeners to a genre, the New York Grand Opera Company’s enjoyable performance of Verdi’s “Traviata” on Wednesday surely won a few new devotees. "
"...a level of excitement and intensity often missing from big-name productions. A stellar performance by the soprano Marsha Thompson as Violetta raised the emotional temperature of the humid night."
"... under Mr. La Selva’s baton the pacing never flagged, and there was plenty of seething tension in his reading. "
"During the poignant final scene, as Violetta lay dying, even the picnickers were almost entirely silent. Small children sat quietly, cyclists stopped to listen, and Central Park seemed to melt away as mesmerized listeners shared the grief onstage."
Vivien Schweitzer, The New York Times, July 19, 2008
"...the New York Grand Opera does not have a budget for a pachyderm parade, but it did mount a pretty fabulous extravanganza..."
"... Mr. La Selva was in his glory, in complete charge, making a strong case for the inclusion of the word "grand" in his ensemble's name."
"As always, the orchestra is the star of these productions.... Mr. La Selva has developed a signature Italian sound for his Verdi series, a sound not normally heard on this side of the pond. There is almost a concert-band sonority to his Verdi, typically only experienced in Italy itself".
Fred Kirshnit, The New York Sun, August 15, 2008