CENTRAL CITY — It was a night of firsts.
The first time that Central City Opera featured participants in the company’s Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artists Training Program performing lead roles in a double bill of rarely heard one-act operas at two different venues on the same evening.
The training program — a national model for the development of pre-professional singers — has catapulted the careers of hundreds of hand-picked participants.
Wednesday night, Benjamin Britten’s gripping “Curlew River” and Henry Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas” served as complementary platforms from which to showcase the collective talent of this year’s 30 young singers in semi-staged settings.
The simple, sparse atmosphere of St. James Methodist Church ideally framed the pathos-filled opera that Britten composed in 1964. CCO apprentice tenor Joseph Holmes delivered a stand-out, career-defining performance of the Madwoman, bringing to this main character a deeply-felt sense of desolation and, ultimately, transcendence.
Other strong performances from the purposefully all-male cast of “Curlew River” included Samus Haddad’s Ferryman, Aaron Agulay’s Traveler, David Govertsen as the Abbott, and several beautifully executed instrumental passages – especially by Jessica Warren on flute and piccolo – all under the expert direction of Christopher Zemliauskas.
The abundant chorus of pilgrims, however, was arguably too crowded and therefore somewhat redundant to the unfolding drama; as well, Megan Hart’s sometimes overacted portrayal of the dead boy’s spirit might have been better-served by a more subdued approach.
At the Foundry Rehearsal Center, the second half of the program shifted the spotlight to the training program’s many lovely female voices, including mezzo-soprano Lindsey Falduto’s compelling interpretation of the angst and anguish of Dido and a powerful delivery of the Sorceress character by another mezzo, Julia Elise Hardin. Also consistently persuasive was Grant Clarke’s Aenas.
More kudos go to Katherine Kozak for her exceptional musical direction and keyboard accompaniment, as well as Michael Shell for his creative staging, effectively incorporating large, moveable mirrors.
While the English operas are a well-suited pairing as presented by the CCO, Britten’s score – an often tiresome progression of 20th-century sound effects – undermined and seemed at odds with the powerful timelessness of the emotional journey of a mother desperately in search of her son; in interesting contrast, Purcell’s Baroque-era compositional style felt fresh, airy and relevant in its modern setting.
Friday’s repeat performance begins at 8 p.m.; the CCO’s 2008 season concludes on Sunday with a final performance of Carlisle Floyd’s “Susannah.” Call 303-292-6700 or visit .
