OCEAN CITY – Maestro Vince Lee and the Ocean City Pops Orchestra presented one of the most famous and beloved symphonies, Beethoven’s Ninth, also known as the Choral Symphony on Aug. 28. This was only its second performance in Ocean City. Celebrating 200 years since it premiered, the Pops performance both celebrated and showcased the demanding work.
Lee augmented the orchestra with extra personnel and also filled the stage with four soloists and a 34-voice chorus. The capacity audience reacted with enthusiasm, even applauding between movements, as Lee explained is appropriate for the 19th century work.
The first movement demonstrated the orchestra’s command of contrasts – fragile quiet and bombastic interruptions. The second movement was a buoyant romp, and the third, a gentle and controlled introspection. The Pops Orchestra played all with sprezzatura.
The climactic final movement, the one that gives this symphony its name, includes Beethoven’s setting of Schiller’s poem of joy. Featuring a chorus and vocals with a symphony was new territory in 1824 and it was received by Ocean City with the same high regard that greeted that first performance in Vienna.
The chorus (full disclosure: I recruited and prepared the choir) sang with power and precision. They responded to the joy-filled lyrics with zest. They made difficult passages, like the vocal fugue, fit together with accuracy.
Aubry Ballaro navigated the high soprano tessitura beautifully. Alla Yaroshi’s strong alto voice enriched the ensemble. Tenor Angel Gomez was particularly lyrical when singing with the men of the chorus. And bass Neil Nelson carried the opening recitative, singing it by memory — or, more accurately, by heart. He carried that energy throughout the movement.
Maestro Lee held the entire production together, even though the full ensemble had limited rehearsal time. Schiller’s text and Beethoven’s enduringly powerful music repeatedly reminds “alle Menschen,” all mankind, “Kuss der ganzen Welt,” kiss the whole world. Indeed!
Three Tenors
Sunday night’s concert presented three tenors, a traditional tour de force of the showiest voices of opera and stage. Even though the wide vocal ranges and thrilling command of high notes were similar among the voices, the evening offered variety and contrasts. The orchestra responded appropriately to each tenor’s style. Local retired music teacher Robert Snodgrass made sure translations were on the screens for the selections that were not in English, a welcome enhancement.
Robert Stahley, who just signed a contract with New York’s Metropolitan Opera, had the biggest sound. His resonant tone fit his repertoire choices. His “E lucevan le stella” (Puccini’s “Tosca”) underscored by rich low orchestra, conveyed the sadness of the imprisoned lover. For “Kuda, Kuda” (Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin”) Stahley’s high phrases suggested desperation – over pizzicato strings and French horn laments. “If I Could Dream” was far from Elvis Presley’s version, as Stahley and the brass tossed the 6/8 tune back and forth.
Chris Lysack also included a traditional tenor lament, “E la solita storia” (Cilea’s “L’Arlesiana”) famously sung by Mario Lanza and later, Andrea Bocelli. Lysack’s phenomenal range did it justice as the strings and woodwinds gave him rich support. He brought fullness to ABBA’s hymn-like “Anthem” as the orchestra had a chance to shine. A high ending is always an audience favorite.
David Gordon-Johnson has a lyrical smooth and elegant voice. His selections were some of Broadway’s difficult songs. “Finishing the Hat” (Sondheim’s “Sunday in the Park with George”) is pointillistic like the Seurat painting. “Dust and Ashes” (Malloy’s “The Great Comet”) is from an adaptation of Tolstoy’s “War and Peace.” That’s a challenge by any standard. Beginning with a series of seconds — two notes side by side — in the piano from which Gordon-Johnson had to find his pitches, it fiercely turns to near-mockery in its interplay with the cellos. With Vince Lee at the piano, Gordon-Johnson sang “What You Call a Dream,” a gentle baseball ballad.
The three tenors also sang together. “Time to Say Goodbye” opened the concert, sung in Italian like Bocelli’s original single. The fun-filled “Can Do” fugue from Loesser’s “Guys and Dolls” began the second half. A sentimental and sensitive “Father of Fathers” (Maltby’s “Closer Than Ever”) was performed with only Maestro Lee at the piano. Although mostly solos or unison, the three did sing in parts. The evening concluded with Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma,” and a spectacular orchestra ending. The tenors returned for “O Sole Mio,” portraying traditional competition among themselves and displaying their fine voices.
The Ocean City Pops Orchestra has just three concerts remaining in the summer season, plus the annual Christmas show Nov. 30. Tonight, Maestro Vince Lee goes to the piano and keyboard, working with his friend Eric Svejcar along with the orchestra. Expect some creative use of music from “Sweeney Todd.” Saturday, Sept. 7, the Pops welcomes the Duprees in a 60th anniversary concert. The following Saturday, Sept. 14, Atlantic City Ballet brings dancers to the Pops. And Sunday, Sept. 15, the season closes with one of the Pops’ most popular soloists, Kristin Chenoweth.
– By RICHARD STANISLAW/For the Sentinel