Spirit of Copland work captured
By JOHN FLEMING, Times Performing Arts Critic
© St. Petersburg Times, published April 19, 2002
TAMPA -- It is surprising that Aaron Copland never wrote a great opera. After
all, he was one of the most theatrical of composers, with many dance and film
scores to his credit, including such classics as Appalachian Spring for Martha
Graham's dance company and The Red Pony for Hollywood. He composed
only two operas, and neither is performed often.
The Tender Land, his second opera, had the first of three performances by
the University of South Florida's Opera Theatre on Wednesday night.
Premiered in 1954, it is ideal for a student production, because Copland
wrote it "to give young American singers material that is natural for them to
sing and perform," as a program note says.
Read more
Spirit of Copland work captured
By JOHN FLEMING, Times Performing Arts Critic
© St. Petersburg Times, published April 19, 2002
TAMPA -- It is surprising that Aaron Copland never wrote a great opera. After
all, he was one of the most theatrical of composers, with many dance and film
scores to his credit, including such classics as Appalachian Spring for Martha
Graham's dance company and The Red Pony for Hollywood. He composed
only two operas, and neither is performed often.
The Tender Land, his second opera, had the first of three performances by
the University of South Florida's Opera Theatre on Wednesday night.
Premiered in 1954, it is ideal for a student production, because Copland
wrote it "to give young American singers material that is natural for them to
sing and perform," as a program note says.
With its rural Midwestern setting, in a libretto by Erik Johns, The Tender Land
resembles Copland's folk ballets or even Rodgers and Hammerstein's
Oklahoma! It's the story of Laurie Moss on the eve of her high school
graduation. She falls in love with a hired hand on her family's farm, much to
the displeasure of her mother and grandfather. She ultimately leaves the farm
to seek a wider world.
The cast, directed by Theresa D'Aiuto Andrasy, gave a committed
performance that captures the work's spirit in sweet, direct fashion. William
W. Wiedrich conducted a 13-member orchestra in a chamber score full of the
mournful, spacious harmonies that have come to be thought of as
"Coplandesque." The farmyard set (Roland Guidry) and evocative lighting
(Marc Jump) were highlights.
Lara Green was Laurie, and her voice seemed to blossom as the opera went
along, as if reflecting her character's growth from klutzy schoolgirl to
passionate young woman. As Martin and Top, drifters hired to work the
harvest, Jameson Kelly and Joseph Finocchiaro, respectively, have some
rousing duets. Kelly was a properly ardent Martin, but he got a bit screechy in
the high note of his big aria to the land and settling down. Suzanne Rae
Lewis' Ma Moss was persuasive in the mother-daughter scenes.
The Tender Land is an appealing piece of Americana, similar in scale to small
operas by Benjamin Britten or Gian Carlo Menotti. But Copland's vocal writing
is strangely "un"dramatic, except in choruses such as a foot-stomping
hoedown. The opera also strains credulity in linking high school graduation
with harvest time, events that come at least three months apart in the
Midwest.
ST. PETERSBURG TIMES: Tuesday, October 23, 2001
'YOUR PEOPLE' OFFERS PLEASANT, UPLIFTING STORY
by John Fleming, Times Performing Arts Critic, ©2001 St. Petersburg Times.
EXCERPTED REVIEW
ST. PETERSBURG Your People Are Mine is like a Jewish summer camp show,
with its hummable tunes and uplifting story from the biblical book of Ruth.
The musical by St. Petersburg cantor Shimon Gewirtz (book and lyrics) and his
sister Gladys Gewirtz-Hedaya (music and lyrics), was performed in a Sunday
matinee at the Palladium Theater. The cast featured not only cantor Gewirtz
in two parts, but also four cantorial soloists from the area: Sharon Reaboi and
her husband, Colman Reaboi, in the leading roles of Ruth and Boaz, Joy
Katzen-Guthrie as Naomi and Bonnie Whitehurst as Queen Egla. Wisely,
Gewritz and company performed the piece in a concert version, with music
stands and microphones, thus avoiding having to try to stage the undramatic
play ... Musically, highlights included Will Someone Tell Me, a duet of
solidarity and farewell by Sharon Reaboi and Suzanne Rae Lewis; and the
scene at the end of Act One when Reaboi sang of Ruth's loyalty. Katzen-
Guthrie brought a little of the matchmaking zeal of Fiddler on the Roof to
Naomi's advice to Ruth on how to land Boaz, Go to Him This Evening. Colman
Reaboi has a richly operatic bass, which he put to thrilling use in Boaz's songs
... A CD of Your People are Mine is available for $15 plus $1.50 for handling
and mailing from S. Gewirtz, 7020 Mango Ave., S., St. Petersburg, FL 33707.
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