SEE BUILDING 14 ON CAMPUS MAP FOR LOCATION OF KAUL AUDITORIUM
HANDICAP ACCESSIBILITY FROM 28TH AND BOTSFORD DRIVE
In the five years that
Yaacov Bergman has been at the helm, the Portland Chamber Orchestra has been
an interesting ensemble to follow. Its sound has become much more polished
than before, and intriguing programs, sometimes involving collaborations with
other ensembles or theater groups, frequently incorporate little-known music
old and new.
The hallmarks of the Bergman-era PCO were all in evidence Saturday night at
Reed College's Kaul Auditorium, in the opening concert of the ensemble's 61st
season. The program even featured obscure pieces, which was remarkable in
that it was devoted to Mozart, whose catalog was fairly thoroughly dredged
in last year's commemorations of the 250th anniversary of his birth.
The concert began with the brief "Divertimento alla Mozart" by Spanish
composer (and former PSU professor) Salvador Brotons, a 1991 piece with Mozartean
textures and energy, as well as clear echoes of the overture to Don Giovanni
, but colored in darker, more dissonant harmonies. After that, it was all
Mozart: the Sinfonia Concertante for Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn and Orchestra
and the one-act comic opera "The Impresario," a collaboration with
the Portland Opera Studio.
Spots of imperfect violin intonation and occasional thinness aside, the playing
was warm and well balanced, with crisp attacks and unified articulation. Acting
as a quartet embedded in the full orchestra, the soloists in the Sinfonia
- Pablo Izquierdo (oboe), Carolyn Arnquist (clarinet), Jennifer Bleth (bassoon)
and David Kruse (horn) - made up a fine ensemble on their own. Izquierdo's
fluid runs and nicely turned ornaments were especially good, and tight exchanges
between him and Arnquist heightened the energy of the piece throughout.
Under Bergman's direction, the orchestra
made shapely phrases of much of the music, but often tended to rise to mezzo-forte
and stay there. Dramatic tension was especially lacking in the lyrical central
movement of the Sinfonia, which sounded wan and wandering.
"The Impresario" could also have used more orchestral excitement,
but it was charming nevertheless. Modestly staged on a platform in front of
the orchestra, the opera (or more accurately singspiel, with spoken dialogue
in English and sung parts in the original German) is a satire on the state
of opera circa 1786.
Mr. Scruples, the title character (Gray Eubank, in a non-singing role), is
approached by a banker, Mr. Angel (Brendan Tuohy ), to hire rival sopranos,
the aging diva Miss Goldentrill (Amy Hansen ) and the saucy young singer Miss
Silverpeal (Sharin Apostolou). Scruples' assistant Mr. Bluff (Chris Clayton
) attempts to mediate as the two women spar vocally.
The ensemble kept the piece moving forward buoyantly, with snappy tempos,
amusing comic turns and fine singing; the sopranos, who carried most of the
weight, were clear-voiced and agile, and Apostolou especially displayed lustrous
high notes. The message of "The Impresario" is cynical, but Mozart
made cynicism bright and fun, and in that respect the PCO's performance was
pitch-perfect.
- James McQuillen
