Opera Lively critic Luiz Gazzola reviews Mark Abel’s Home is a Harbor opera and The Palm Trees are Restless song cycle before its release on Friday:
On Home is a Harbor:
“Mark Abel has a number of interesting pieces to his name. He has released previous CDs: “The Dream Gallery,” and “Terrain of the Heart.” The song cycle included in the current CD is his fourth. Home is a Harbor is his first opera. … It is lively and varied. It is utterly modern in sounds and themes. It is sufficiently compact, with no longueurs. … The singers do well across the board in terms of beautiful voice timbre, good technique with nice pitch control, and range. I particularly liked Ms. Jamie Chamberlain. … In summary, this is a valid effort that should encourage the composer to keep writing operas… the purchase of this CD is recommended…” —Luiz Gazzola, Opera Lively
On The Palm Trees are Restless:
“The soprano is the spectacular Hila Plitmann, a specialist in contemporary music who won the 2009 Grammy for Best Classical Voice Performance for her CD of a Corigliano song cycle. Mark Abel’s piece is very beautiful, with convincing, well-phrased vocal lines that are quite melodious and compelling. The first two songs are interesting, “The Storm Drain” which I quite liked, and “Los Angeles,” but things pick up with the third one, “Crater Light,” haunting, solemn, and rolling. …very daring in exploring the wide range of Ms. Plitmann’s instrument. The cycle ends with “The Great Divorce” – a very nice slice of life. Pianist Tali Tadmor does a great job, and Mr. Abel’s piano score is very successful. I’d say this short cycle (about 20 minutes of music) is highly recommended.” —Luiz Gazzola, Opera Lively
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