Word: choirful
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Coronation of Poppea) itself, however, pulled its own attention-grabbing weight from the first scene. Monteverdi would have been proud, especially if he had seen the costuming. Perhaps it was the "irony" of looking at the scantily costumed goddess Virtue (Katie Szal '99), or the cute power behind choir boy Jonathan "Yoni" Heilman's role as Amor that so easily distracted me from the layout of the orchestra pit. More probably it was the beautiful magenta flush of the entire stage, revealed at last as the prelude finished...
...boyfriend Otto (Carolann Buff) on a plot to murder Poppea. The outcome, the defiant coronation of Poppea and the happy banishment of Otto and his new girl (Drusilla, ably sung by Genithia Hogges `01), is supposed to be a testament to the power of love as represented by choir boy Amor, but it never really loses the saucy-sin feel that Quilici and D'Amelia develop in the first act. Furthermore, Drusilla and Otto's relationship blooms very suddenly and seems rather flat, although this has more to do with the libretto than with acting...
This pattern of inconsistency continued. When the choir boys sang Schubert's Psalm No.23, they achieved some exquisite moments of technical flawlessness--and others of bored inertia. The choir boys were not in want of technical skills; only interpretive ones. Psalm No. 23 is a prayer of peace for someone who has realized that his life is in the hands of God. But an audience member might have known nothing about the meaning of the song--and the joy of love or the anticipation of heaven--if the lyrics had not been printed in the program...
Just when it seemed impossible to assess the Vienna Choir Boys without adding some qualification (i.e. they were good--for little boys), they sang their finale, Mozart's Mass in C Major and forged such a herculean comeback, it was as though another choir had donned their white sailor suits during intermission. Not only did the choir boys sing the sacred prayer with everything on target--their key, their inflections, even their infusion of reverence--but the choir introduced a soloist who sent a shiver down the spine of every patron in Symphony Hall. Terence...
...while the Vienna Choir Boys had their ups and downs, it was difficult to depart feeling disheartened. Although they did not achieve the standard of an adult choir, it might have been unreasonable to have expected them to. The Vienna Choir Boys were consummate professionals, but as they exited the stage, large boyish grins betrayed their young age. The Vienna Choir Boys might not have been perfect, but there was something about them that, indeed, was angelic...