The Opera Buffs, celebrating their 41st season supporting young, emerging opera singers in Southern California, held their season finale at the Colburn School in the acoustically-sound Zipper Hall on Sunday.
Eight special opera singers were invited to perform with accompaniment by music director Brent McMunn on piano. They were in good hands with McMunn since he is the Conductor of Opera at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music.
Thanks to Opera Buffs, these eight singers, among many others, are past grant recipients having been provided financial support for their artistic endeavors, as well as opportunities for professional mentorship and live performance within the Los Angeles community.
The Opera Buffs fill a niche generally not served by opera companies, competitions and music schools. Their motto is “we believe that of all the musical instruments, the human voice is the most sublime, and that helping the exceptionally talented artist reach the operatic stage is a mission worthy of our utmost effort and full dedication.” Here are just a few of the opera singers who benefited from their support and are now big-time – Angel Blue, Charles Castronovo, Greg Fedderly, Deborah Voight, Rodell Rosel, and Joshua Guerrero. Guerrero will be performing a solo recital at The Wallis in Beverly Hills on June 7.
The season finale recital program was arranged so that each singer was given an opportunity to sing a solo piece. There were also four duets and three ensemble songs.
The invited performers showcasing their amazing talents were two tenors (Luke Norvell, Dominic Salvati), two sopranos (Lilliana Mindel, Sunwoo Park), two mezzo-sopranos (Estefani Lopez, Lindsay Martin), one bass-baritone (Shyheim Selvan Hinnant), and one bass (Michael Mensah.)
One of the bright spots, of many at the recital, was Salvati’s rendition of “Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schon” from Die Zauberflötete by Mozart. Luciano Pavarotti was smiling down from up above in approval. This piece was a great way to kick things off.
Another highlight was Mensah singing “Ol’ Man River” from Showboat by Jerome Kern. Paul Robeson, who made this song famous, would also be mighty proud of Mensah’s rendition.
Kudos also go out to Martin and Mindel. Martin appeared at the recital courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera where she is a member of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. She sang beautifully “Ah, scostati!…Smanie implacabili” from Cosi fan tutti by Mozart. And Mindel, only 18 years of age, and a UCLA Regents Scholar with a full scholarship, shined while singing “Eccomi, in lieta vesta…O quanta volte” from I Capuleti e i Montecchi by Bellini.
All of the other solo pieces and duets were wonderfully sung, appropriately ending the program with the entire ensemble singing “All the Things You Are” from Very Warm for May by Kern. A gorgeous melody.
After the program, the audience members were given an opportunity to have a meet and greet with the singers at the post-concert reception.
A great way to conclude the festivities.