Boublil & Schonberg’s Miss Saigon. June 22, 2019.

Citizens Bank Opera House, Boston, MA.  Mezzanine (Seat MEZZRC J-120, $75).

Story.  American soldier Chris visits a bar in Saigon and falls in love with the bargirl Kim.  They get married in a Vietnamese ceremony.  During the last days before the Fall of Saigon, Chris and Kim try without success to look for one another.  Chris is forced to leave Saigon in a helicopter; Kim, after murdering a communist commissar who wanted to kill her young son, flees Saigon with the bar owner The Engineer to Bangkok.  Chris is helped in his resettlement in the United States by Ellen, and marries her.  Meanwhile, Chris’s fellow soldier John now works for an organization helping to locate children in Vietnam born of American fathers, and locates Kim and her son.  Chris and Ellen go with John to Bangkok, their intention is to provide Kim with money so she can raise her son.  Kim meets Ellen by accident, and realizes the only way she can help her son is to commit suicide.

Director – Laurence Connor; The Engineer – Red Concepcion, Kim – Emily Bautista, Chris – Anthony Festa, John – J. Daughtry; Ellen – Stacie Bono.

Joe Jr bought the tickets for us, so we borrowed his cell phone.  I didn't want to install the Ticketmaster App on my iPhone which would allow the tickets be transferred to my account.

We saw this show when it first came out, on Broadway, about 30 years ago (it opened at the Broadway Theater in 1991).  The story line follows pretty much that of Madama Butterfly, although there were some major differences, such as there is no equivalent of Suzuki in Miss Saigon.

I am quite sure the opening scene 30 years ago was not as risqué as what we saw today, with simulated sex acts (fully clothed, more or less) and cuss words flying all over the place.  Just this side of an R, if I were to give it a rating; the show is recommended for audience aged 12 and over.  30 years ago Les Miz with its sh*t was probably the worst offender, and I don’t recall the Miss Saigon then as being any more gritty than Les Miz.

Renee Fleming, who does Broadway every now and then, says the mic is the singer’s best friend.  That’s certainly the case here.  One aspect of Broadway I always admired – and enjoyed – was how easy it was to get the words.  That alas wasn’t the case tonight.  Was it the acoustics of the hall, or were the performers not quite up to the task?  In the singers defense, I complained about the acoustics of the hall when I saw The Nutcracker at the same location many years ago.

If one sits through the entire Madama Butterfly to hear “One Fine Day,” one might also sit through Miss Saigon for the helicopter scene – and it was worth the wait.  Both the prop and the sound were impressive, and better than how I remembered it.  The way they flip the fence to do the chaotic scenes inside and outside the US Embassy was also quite ingenious.

Having been on the periphery of a musical before, I know there is tweaking as the production ages.  I wonder if what we saw today was much different from what we saw 30 years ago.  Regardless, I can say the show portray realistically what could have happened (I am sure many aspects indeed happened) during the Vietnam war and its aftermath, that many people’s lives were destroyed.  I wonder for the younger generation (e.g., our children) how the show would come across.

Despite all the misgivings, I thought it was a good experience.  For a couple of years Anne and I went to quite a few musicals, but we have lost interest in the genre.  This has not revived it, but I won’t mind going to another one if opportunity arises.

Curtain Call.  From left: The Commissar, Ellen, Chris, The Engineer, Kim's son, Kim, John, and Gigi.

The Boston Opera House was built in 1928, about the same time as St. George Theater in Staten Island, which we visited recently.  It was ornately decorated, and more tastefully – in my judgment – than the St. George.  It hosts no (or close to it) operas, and the opera scene is Boston has quite a bit to be designed, with the “flagship” Boston Lyric Opera putting out four productions a year.

The Opera House sits about 2600 people.  Many seats in the Mezzanine section were empty, we in fact moved up a few rows after the intermission.  The hallways were crowded enough at the end of the show, so there was at least a respectable number of people.

We took the T from Assembly to the Chinatown stop, and had something to eat before the show.  Joe Jr picked us up after the show concluded at around 11 pm.

New York Philharmonic – Free Indoor Concert in Staten Island. June 16, 2019.

St. George Theatre, Staten Island.  Front Mezzanine A (Free).

Program

Artists

Philip Smith – Conductor/Host/Trumpet; Christopher Martin – Trumpet, Ethan Bensdorf – Trumpet, Thomas Smith – Trumpet, Kenneth DeCarlo – Trumpet, R. Allen Sanjer – Horn, Chad Yarbrough – Horn, David Finlayson – Trombone, Paul Belino – Trombone, Kyle Mendiguchia – Bass Trombone, Philip Broome – Euphonium Alan Baer – Tuba, Daniel Druckman – Percussion, James Saporito – Percussion.

Evidently it’s a musical organization’s civic duty to give a series of free concerts (usually “in the park”) at the end of the regular season.  The Met does them at locations that are difficult to get to.  The New York Phil usually has one in Staten Island, and in a week or so we may go to the one at Marine Park, Red Bank, by the New Jersey Symphony.

This was our first encounter with the St. George Theatre, built in the 1920s.  It is definitely in the ornate rococo style.  I couldn’t help comparing it with Count Basie.  St. George has perhaps twice the seating (2700 vs 1500?), better acoustics, and felt more decrepit than Count Basie.  One thing that came through was “loud and clear.”  Even though sound from brass and percussion instruments tends to travel well, I was still amazed at how they traveled up to the upper reaches of the auditorium.

The program for the first half would be characterized as “traditional” – for lack of a better word.  Many of the composers were well -known, even though the pieces have been adapted for brass and percussion.

As Phil Smith indicated, the second half was more “American, jazzy, and patriotic.”

There are some pieces that showcase how harmonious a group of brass instruments can sound like.  We heard that in Germany from a street group.  Too bad not enough of that was showcased this afternoon.

A word about Phil Smith.  He used to be the Principal Trumpet at New York Philharmonic, but retired a few years ago to join the faculty at the University of Georgia.  He provided some interesting commentary to the pieces that were performed today.

It must be thrilling to have your work performed by the New York Philharmonic in public, especially if you are only a teenager (actual Hu is only 11).  To learn how to write for different instruments in an orchestral setting is no easy feat.

We drove up to Staten Island after church, and didn’t stay for the encore as Ellie and family are visiting.

New Jersey Symphony. Xian Zhang, conductor. June 8, 2019.

Count Basie Center, Red Bank.  Balcony (Seat K113, $25).

Program – All-Orchestral Season Finale

Selections from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 21 (1826, 1843) by Mendelssohn (1809-1847).

Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27 (1906-07) by Rachmaninoff (1873-1943).

The Program Notes actually titles this concert “Blockbuster All-Orchestra Season Finale.”  Somewhat of an exaggeration, but mostly true.

The two pieces offered interesting contrasts: Mendelssohn’s was “easy-going and light-hearted” (doesn’t mean it was not difficult to perform), and Rachmaninoff’s was emotional and romantic; Mendelssohn’s called for a “basic” set of orchestral instruments – the only non-conventional one is the bass tuba, Rachmaninoff included additional woodwinds and lots of percussion.

Who doesn’t know about A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a famous play by Shakespeare?  I don’t (embarrassment emoji).  I haven’t seen the actual play, but have seen adaptations of the story for ballet and opera several times.  In skimming over my blog entries on my prior encounters, all I know is it involves two pairs of lovers confused by some potion some fairies put on them.  And I remember how impressed I was with how well Puck danced in the ballet; that was in 2012, so some performers do leave a lasting impression.  Of course both the Overture and the Wedding March are standard entries in the classical repertoire.  The Program Annotator Laurie Shulman went into details of each of the movements, and they were of considerable help in my appreciation of the piece.  For the record, the intervening movements are Scherzo, Intermezzo, and Nocturne.

It is well-known that Rachmaninoff suffered from “writer’s block” for many years after the disastrous reception of his first symphony.  We have his psychiatrist to thank for getting him out of that state.  The best-known movement of the symphony is of course the third, it’s melody is simply ravishing.  What I didn’t know (or had forgotten) was that there was a hint of it in the first movement, and a repetition of it in the last.  In tonight’s performance, this movement was simply a highlight of the entire symphony, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  The tempo markings for the four movements are Largo – Allegro moderato, Allegro molto, Adagio, and Allegro vivace.

My seat was in the middle section of the balcony.  I had a good view of the stage, and the acoustics was good.  I do wish I had brought along my binoculars so I could see the soloists better.  What was unmistakable was that Zhang was more energetic than usual, for the entire concert, and that the orchestra musicians were equally engaged.

Curtain Call. Notice the new players (timpani and principal bass) and Fein in the percussion section.

I also notice a new person (Asian woman as far as I could tell) in the Principal Bass position, a new timpanist, and David Fein – who is listed as the Acting Principal for Timpani – at his “regular” post as the Percussion Principal, doing the triangle and the bass drum.

This was the last series of the season, which began equally ambitiously with a program with Beethoven’s Choral Symphony.  Impressive bookends of which the organization should be proud of.  I attended about ten NJSO concerts this season, a couple were still in the mediocre category, but I must say the trajectory is up.

Anne and I had to babysit this weekend.  I attended the concert by myself, taking the train home earlier this afternoon, and driving to Red Bank for the concert.

Monmouth Civic Chorus. James Brandau, artistic director. June 2, 2019.

St. Mary’s Church, Colts Neck, NJ.  Preferred Seating ($30).

Program – A Night at the Oper(ett)a.

Accompanist – Jason Wirth.

Monmouth Civic Chorus.  This was taken after the first half of the program.

The program consisted mostly of songs from operettas written by Gilbert & Sullivan, and the opera Dido and Aeneas by Purcell.  For good measure the Hebrew Chorus from Nabucco and The Humming Chorus from Madama Butterfly, as well as The Flower Duet from Lakme were thrown in the mix.

We just heard the Hebrew Chorus about a week ago, in Leipzig.  While I enjoyed it very much, I thought their volume could be a bit louder.  The song sounds simple enough, and the voices often sang in unison.  Given what I heard this afternoon, I realized that perhaps it wasn’t that simple.  I find this Verdi aria to be always compelling, but do wish the delivery to be more “professional,” for lack of a better word.  I thought the pianist did a good job imitating an orchestra.

The other song that was clearly out of the musicians’ league was the Flower Duet.  When performed well (or engineered well, since all I have heard are recordings), the song has this sublime quality to it, in this case we just have two ladies struggling to get to the notes, as well as get the French right.

The third well-known piece was the Humming Chorus from Butterfly.  Generally well-done, except perhaps the tempo was a bit too fast.  We are talking about Butterfly and Suzuki spending the night waiting for Pinkerton and the unfolding of the subsequent tragic events.

Giving credit where it is due, I really enjoyed the tongue-twisting “Modern Major-General” from “The Pirates of Penzance.”  It was expertly delivered, with the syllables coming out cleanly.

As far as I could tell, “regular” MCC members were used for the solo and ensemble parts, and I was quite impressed with the depth of talent on display this afternoon.

The by-line of MCC is “Close to Perfect, Close to Home.”  Not that far from the truth, but I think it perhaps should be changed to “Close to Close to Perfect, Close to Home.”  Given not even the professional organizations are perfect, there is no shame in that.

We again went with the Homs, and had dinner at Sichuan Cottage in Marlboro afterwards.