Belshazzar’s story tells of heroic Old Testament protagonists attacked by evil antagonists and the final triumphant righteousness. A bully like Belshazzar (sung by William Hite) is like the fictional blowhard Ozymandias, whose ruined monument Shelley imagined in the drifting sands. The intrepid figures of Belshazzar’s distraught mother, Nitocris (sung by Karyl Ryczek); the prophet Daniel (sung by Pamela Dellal), who translated that famous writing on the wall; and Cyrus (sung by Jeffrey Gall), leader of the Persians who wanted to capture Babylon without slaughter, rape or pillage, all reflect God’s almighty wisdom and mercy-a real Handelian turn-on.
Conductor Hoose saw a clear connection with reckless modern day societies and the uses and misuses of religion. Handel and his inimitable and verbose librettist Charles Jennens had a wonderful story to tell, and Hoose directed it dutifully and beautifully.
The forceful part of Daniel originally was written for Susanna Cibber, though possibly not debuted by her. Pamela Dellal found Cibber a fascinating figure, with a contralto tessitura rather than Dellal’s own lyric mezzo. She looked at the part with the critical eye of a scientist. "I needed to place my voice in a deep register and keep it balanced appropriately. I discovered a certain dignity of tone and phrasing that comes naturally with that color," she said. Neither Handel nor his audience minded pants roles, and genders were often swapped for convenience. Faced with the absence of a competent (perhaps even flashy) soprano to sing Cyrus, the deus machina of the Old Testament who graciously allowed the Israelites to rebuild their temple, destroyed by Belshazzar, Handel rewrote the part for bass. But Hoose’s choice for the part, also based on historic precedent, was the formidable counter tenor Jeffrey Gall.
Belshazzar would make a stunning opera, especially in the Verdi tradition. But Handel’s attempt to fit an operatic plot into the concert hall became popular entertainment that would respect religion, the crown, and keep the Lenten censors happy.
Oratorio, however, took a sudden left turn at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. One doesn’t need to be a purist to be shocked by a staged performance of J. S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, even a semi-staged one. But the shock value of the Passion story really is its gift. The singers at the academy are operatic by training, and fell into the roles nicely. "I became increasingly aware that the Passion had a dramatic story, and unlike many oratorios that are sequences of prayer, these are events recorded in the gospel. It seemed stultifying seeing a row of singers in evening dress standing in front of lecterns with no relationship between them and the orchestra," Jonathan Miller said in an interview with BAM’s executive producer Joseph V. Melillo. This past spring Miller staged the passion for the third time at BAM’s Harvey Theater. The singers stood among the orchestra and sang in Robert Shaw’s English translation, which helped further contemporary understanding, but at times inhibited musical interpretation. And dress was casual. Jesus wasn’t dressed in finery when he was led away to be crucified and neither was Curtis Streetman, who sang the part. Canadian countertenor Daniel Taylor was the big name in the cast. Dressed in street clothes and gesturing to his fellow musicians brought his tearful reflections of his savior’s suffering to a heightened intensity.
New Trinity Baroque began its life at Trinity College, London, but has planted itself firmly in the United States, in Atlanta. The ensemble maintains an important collection of original instruments and historically accurate reproductions, which are often rented out to other groups. The final program of its very full season, "Welcome to all the Pleasures," featured vocal and instrumental music by Henry Purcell, including the formidable Chacony in G minor for four strings, one of Purcell’s longest instrumental pieces. Purcell’s original score was unrealized, so Brad Hughley, the group’s organist improvised. "The Chacony has been realized in modern editions, but I tried to ignore them. I feel that I do better. It required fast wit and good taste to realize a keyboard part over a ground bass. You have to know when to be more involved and when to get out of the way," Hughley explained.
The most acoustically appropriate of the group’s three concerts was at the Italian Renaissance pavilion of Reinhardt College, about an hour from Atlanta. The concert hall seats about 300 and the sound and sight advantage were far better than at the 1200 seat St. Philip’s Cathedral, also one of the venues. Hughley thought the instrumentalists played well and sounded integrated, but the cathedral’s cavernous interior made other problems, "I fear the audience suffered because of the ever-rolling reverberation in the space," Hughley said.
GARY FREEMAN