“Mark Abel has developed a very personal style, based equally on rock and classical music. The music is tonal yet not closely tied to standard harmonic practices. His basic technique is episodic and seems to be based upon finding ideas through improvisation, consisting of the construction of a series of small musical segments, one following the previous one. …this works well for him and leads to much varied and colorful musical imagery.
The most intriguing piece on the program consists of two scenes from The Book of Esther, an opera in development with texts by Kate Gale. The first is “The Maiden Esther,” an aria for Esther, in which she describes her nervousness over meeting King Ahasuerus, who’s considering her as a potential new wife. The other, “Two Queens,” is a duet depicting a hypothetical discussion between Esther and Vashti, Ahasuerus’s deposed first wife. Hila Plitmann inspired the work, and she portrays Esther. I associate Plitmann with breathtaking vocal acrobatics in the altisissimo coloratura register; it’s nice to hear in this instance that she has a sweet, endearing tone in the more standard soprano range. She conveys Esther with great empathy, as she describes the challenges and pressures she faces from the king. Mezzo-soprano Kindra Scharich gives a dramatically rich portrayal of Vashti, with a combination of envy, bitterness and understanding. The singers are very ably accompanied by violinist Adam Millstein, clarinetist Max Opferkuch and Dominic Cheli on the piano. I hope the opera will be completed and heard.…
[Trois Femmes du Cinéma] is beautifully performed by soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian and pianist Carol Rosenberger. From the triumphs of Wiazemsky through the tragedy of Pellicer’s all too brief life and the resolute determination of Shepitko as she succeeded in spite of Soviet censorship and sexism, the three women are dramatically and sympathetically portrayed.…
The album closes with 1966, a set of three songs in which Mark Abel recalls his eighteenth year, when he drove across the country from New York to San Francisco. His texts, two of which were penned that year, depict his early impressions of his new home, his first love affair and an intermediary hike in the mountains of Wyoming. The music is vividly dramatic and poignant, and it’s beautifully performed by Scharich and her longtime collaborator, pianist Jeffrey LaDeur.”
—Arlo McKinnon, Opera News
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