Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold reviews Mark Abel’s new Home Is A Harbor recording in Fanfare Magazine:
“Abel has penned his own libretto, and his prose, for all its sparseness, is literate and eloquent. His use of contemporary diction, when first seen only on the page, might seem a barrier to melodic vocal line, but Abel amazes with his compact setting of the text that has a directness and elegance of its own. The structure of the work is also tight—three acts in just a little over 100 minutes—(one wonders if in performance it might be done without intermission)—and the rapidity and condensing of events adds to the operatic Angst. Altogether, the opera moves with the briskness of successive snapshots, lingering only at the end to settle into and impart its wisdom. … The accompanying work on the CDs is Abel’s setting of five poems by Kate Gale, The Palm Trees Are Restless. Sung hauntingly by Israeli soprano Hila Plitmann, partnered by the excellent Tali Tadmor on piano, this cycle explores contrasting scenes and emotions: a tender sexual encounter with the bleak barrenness of Los Angeles, a candid bar room conversation and a monologue groping for memories of an absent sister, and finally the bitter revelations swirling around a divorce—all born from the pain of the human experience. Abel embraces these contrasts fluidly, moving from jaunty Brechtian utterances, to evocative tone painting for the piano, to spiky staccato and lilting melody. In Plitmann, he has a singer whose clear bell-like soprano has a distinctive capacity for both dramatic and subtle colors, as well as impeccable diction and she vividly inhabits the changing landscape of the cycle. The Delos packaging of the two-CD set is elegant. The sound is captured in all its fine nuances. The booklet is extensive, featuring notes by the composer, full biographies, and both synopsis and full text of the opera. These two new works by Mark Abel come highly recommended for all enthusiasts of contemporary music, and for those who believe firmly that opera and art song are NOT dying arts, here is tangible proof.” Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold, Fanfare Magazine
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