Extra

On Saturday, August 20, the War Memorial Opera House hosted the 2022 Merola Opera Grand Finale. This event showcased the 31 young artists of this year’s Merola program, which is widely regarded as the foremost opera training program for young singers, pianists, and stage directors.

Swiss conductor Patrick Furrer, who recently appeared at the helm of New York’s Metropolitan Opera in their French-language Don Carlos, led the San Francisco Opera Center Orchestra in this Merola Grand Finale. The stage director was Matthew J. Schultz. The program began with Patrick Furrer conducting a brisk rendition of the Overture to Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro. 

Following this opener soprano Ashley Marie Robillard was Susanna and bass-baritone William Socolof was Figaro in the opening scene from Le Nozze di Figaro. Robillard was a fine Susanna and Socolof sang well as Figaro, though his bass-baritone voice was quite a bit deeper and darker-hued than that of most Figaros. A bit later in this concert, William Socolof gave a splendid rendition of O misère des Rois from L’enfance du Christ by Hector Berlioz. Next on the program was countertenor Cody Bowers deftly offering a lament from Handel’s rarely performed opera Amadigi di Gaula. Then soprano Olivia Prendergast and tenor Jonghyun Park expertly sang the duet Ange adorable from Roméo et Juliette by Charles Gounod. Following this came what may have been this concert’s most difficult number to sing, the tipsy aria Albert the Good from the opera Albert Herring by Benjamin Britten. This highly declamatory aria was given superb vocal treatment by tenor Chance Jonas-O’Toole as Albert. 

Next came a number from what was for me the totally unfamiliar opera Highway 1, USA by William Grant Still. This duet, Listen, Mary, trust me, was well sung by baritone Scott Lee and soprano Adia Evans. Then we heard the fortune-telling number from Bizet’s Carmen, excellently sung by mezzo-soprano Maggie Renée, soprano Olivia Prendergast, and mezzo-soprano Erin Wagner as a doomed Carmen. Erin Wagner’s performance was highlighted by a thrilling high note as she resigned herself to death as her fate. After the afore-mentioned aria O misere des Rois sung impressively by bass-baritone William Socolof we heard soprano Maggie Kinabrew as a lovelorn Adina and bass-baritone Seungyun Kim as an outwitted Dr Dulcamara in the charming number, Quanto amore! from L’elisir d’amore by Gaetano Donizetti. And following this came the famed aria Una furtiva lagrima from the same opera, here brilliantly sung by tenor Jonghyun Park, who made this aria even more expressive by often singing mezzo voce. Next came the wedding-night duet from Puccini’s Madama Butterfly brilliantly sung here by soprano Amanda Batista as Cio Cio San and tenor Moisés Salazar as Pinkerton. For her part, Amanda Batista was a revelation: she has a huge, voluptuous voice that was thrilling to hear. And Moisés Salazar was also thrilling with his ardent repetitions of the word “Vieni.” To close out the first half of this Merola Grand Finale we heard soprano Chelsea Lehnea as Lucia, tenor Sahel Salam as Edgardo, and bass Andres Cascante as Enrico in Chi mi frena in tal momento from Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, in which number the principals were joined by all the Merolini. Chelsea Lehnea was an excellent Lucia, Sahel Salam seemed over-matched vocally as Edgardo, and Andres Cascante was an impressive Enrico. 

After intermission we heard mezzo-soprano Erin Wagner as the composer in Sein wir wieder gut from Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss. Then came the desperate number Qu’ai je vu? Je frémis, je chancelle brilliantly sung by soprano Olivia Smith as Leila and baritone Andres Cascante as Zurga from Les pécheurs de perles by Georges Bizet. In this impassioned duet, Leila admits she loves Nadir, thereby redoubling Zurga’s jealousy and desire for revenge. Next we heard soprano Arianna Rodriguez as a fetching Norina and tenor Chance Jonas-O’Toole as an ardent Ernesto in the charming duet Tornami a dir che m’ami from Donizetti’s Don Pasquale. Following this came bass Edwin Jhamaal Davis as Banquo doing his best Paul Robeson impersonation in the aria Come dal clef precipita from Verdi’s Macbeth. Next we heard the charming cherry duet from L’amico Fritz by Pietro Mascagni, here sung by soprano Celeste Morales as Suzel and tenor Sahel Salam as Fritz. While Celeste Morales was fine as Suzel, Sahel Salam continues to mystify me vocally. His tenor voice has a unique metallic tone, almost brittle at times. Though he sings well, there is something not altogether pleasing in his tone, and it is difficult to imagine what roles might suit this unusual voice. 

Following this came the aria I love him from the opera, totally unfamiliar to me, Blue by Jeanine Tesori. Here mezzo-soprano Veena Akama-Makia acquitted herself well, as she ended nearly every declaration with the words “Go figure.” Next came one of this concert’s highlights, the aria O tu Palermo from Verdi’s I vespri Siciliani brilliantly sung by Chinese bass-baritone Le Bu, whose voice is resplendent and technique impeccable. Following this came mezzo-soprano Nikola Adele Printz in the quirky aria Am I in your light? from Doctor Atomic by John Adams. Then we heard soprano Chelsea Lehnea as Marguerite, tenor Moisés Salazar as Faust, and bass-baritone Seungyun Kim as Mephistopheles in Alerte! Alerte! from Faust by Charles Gounod. Following this came the famous Act II duet Dunque è proprio finito of Rodolfo and Mimi from Puccini’s La bohème, here beautifully sung by soprano Adia Evans and tenor Daniel Luis Espinal. Finally, all the Merolini joined together to sing Tutto nel mondo è burla from Verdi’s Falstaff.