“Amahl and the Night Visitors” :In Review
The Transfiguration Camerata and Choir of Men and Boys “Amahl and the Night Visitors” and other selections An Arnold Schwartz Memorial Concert The Church of the Transfiguration (“The Little Church Around the Corner”) December 17, 2010
Colin DePaula as Amahl . Photo Credit: Juliet DePaula
Although “Amahl and the Night Visitors” was a highlight of the evening, there were other welcome selections that began the Transfiguration Camerata and Choir of Men and Boys concert on December 17th. Three pieces from Britten’s “Ceremony of Carols” began the program with good vocal diction and excellent harp playing by Francis Duffy. Faure’s beautiful “Cantique de Jean Racine” continued with some lovely solo singing, and “Il le ne le divin enfant”, expertly arranged by Victor Kioulaphides, contained more fine solo contributions—but now with the best choral singing of the evening, as it was tailored perfectly for the boys’ range. The few choral problems in the Britten and Faure were a result of the music going a bit too high for the boys at hand; their intonation was sometimes off the mark, and their collective singing often lacked expression and color at the top.
In “Amahl and the Night Visitors”, the young Colin DePaula as Amahl was superb and charismatic from start to finish. His voice is pure-pitched and very expressive, and he was always in character. He’s a real find and a talent to watch. Aside from a false start to the opera—it had to begin again after the singers missed their entrance—this was an enjoyable “Amahl”. For one, the small orchestral ensemble was excellent, well-assembled by conductor/pianist Claudia Dumschat. They were always in tune, even in the long last chord which features the strenuous, often inaccurate low range of the oboe. The three kings sang with refined pitch and vocal quality in their harmonizations, and Charlotte Detrick played the part of the mother quite well. Some of the choral singing was tentative, especially when it was a cappella, and some of the kids didn’t always know the lyrics.
This archaic, venerable church is a treasure. In terms of a performance space, upstage center singing in “Amahl” lacked the resonance you might expect. In addition, the visual experience was sometimes frustrating (especially with regards to Lynn Neuman’s attractive choreography on house right) because of columns and the absence of performer platforms or elevated audience seating—although director Richard Olson did make inventive use of the aisles and the back of the audience. In any case, the full-house in attendance seemed to enjoy each work on the program; although they were captivated by it all, the most memorable of the night was Amahl—and by that I mean Colin DePaula in the title role.
