Meyerbeer Fan Club Home Page

Opera Camerata of Washington Concert April 7, 2000

Reviewed by Lynne Price

        This past Friday night, an enthusiastic audience in Washington, DC
was treated to an evening of French opera, with selections by Meyerbeer,
Thomas, Bizet, Massenet, Gounod, and Halevy, as performed by solo members
of the Opera Camerata of Washington. Maestro Micaele Micaele Sparacino
served as the master of ceremonies and Dr. Stephen Brown served as the
accompanist.

Marje Palmieri, soprano
Susan Sevier, contralto
Daniel Snyder, tenor
Eugene Galvin, bass
Antonio Giuliano and Antonio Torchia, tenors

"O Paradis" (Meyerbeer--L'Africaine), Mr. Snyder
"De son coueur" (Thomas--Mignon), Mr. Galvin
"Ah! Mon fils, soi beni!" (Meyerbeer--Le Prophete), Ms. Sevier
"O Souverain, O Juge, O Pere" (Massenet--Le Cid), Mr. Torchia
"Je dis que rien m'epouvante" (Bizet--Carmen), Ms. Palmieri
"Rachel, quand du Seigneur" (Halevy--La Juive), Mr. Giuliano

"Salut, demeure chaste et pure" (Gounod--Faust), Mr. Giuliano
"Donnez, donnez" (Le Prophete), Ms. Sevier
"Nonnes qui reposez" (Meyerbeer--Robert le Diable), Mr. Galvin
"Robert, toi que j'aime" (Robert le Diable), Ms. Palmieri

from Les Huguenots

"Plus blanche que la blanche hermine", Mr. Snyder
"Non, vous n'avez jamais", Ms. Sevier
"O beau pays de la Touraine", Ms. Palmieri
"Piff, paff", Mr. Galvin

Duo: "Beaute divine enchantresse", Ms. Palmieri and Mr. Snyder

Trio from Dinorah, Ms. Palmieri, Mr. Snyder, Mr. Galvin

        As an aficianado of French opera, and especially of Meyerbeer, I
was thrilled to have the opportunity to see and hear some of my favorites
performed live. And this performance did not disappoint. Both Mr. Snyder
and Mr. Galvin gave polished and accomplished renditions of their arias in
bright and sparkling French. Ms. Palmieri has a huge voice which totally
filled the intimate auditorium in DC's Jewish Community Center. I adore
Marguerite de Valois's gorgeous "O beau pays de la Touraine", an aria
which is so identified with Joan Sutherland, and Ms. Palmieri certainly
did a fine job. Both Messrs. Giuliano and Torchia performed well in their
respective arias, especially Mr. Giuiliano. His lyric tenor served both
the Halevy and Gounod well, and I'd like to hear more. And I'd REALLY
like to see more of both Dan Snyder and Gene Galvin, both of whom sang so
expressively and with great style.

        However, I did not care for Ms. Sevier's voice at all. The
program noted that her voice was reminiscent of that of Conchita Supervia,
but I do not like the extremely fast vibrato of the early 20th century
style of singing. I also felt her French was not nearly up to snuff. I
was seated on the front row and could hear very well, and the purity of
the vowels and even the pronunciation was just not there.

        However, it was a most satisfying evening and I look forward to
the OCW's next two endeavors, Rossini's Petite Messe Sollenelle next
month, and Donizetti's blockbuster Marino Faliero in June.

Lynne Price, April 8, 2000