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This review is reprinted in OperaNotes, from Frederick Kaimann's April 26, 2004, review in the Newark Star Ledger, Newark, NJ. OperaNotes chose to reprint this article to congratulate Sung Chun Park, New York tenor, on his success in Lucia di Lammermoor.
Tenor is top 'Lucia' talent
Monday, April 26, 2004
BY FREDERICK KAIMANN
Star-Ledger Staff
This Opera may be called "Lucia di Lammermoor," but the central singer at Saturday's State Repertory Opera production wasn't the title role.
Casting one-off performances like this can be a mixed bag. Snagging respected local singers like reliable baritone Frederick Frey or commanding bass Lawrence Long may be the luck of scheduling. Filling minor roles with more minor singers is to be expected. The wildcard is who turns out from the stable of aspiring singers hungry for regional work.
The best talent on the Bergen County Academies' Orrie de Nooyer Theater stage was tenor Sung Chun Park, who had a natural voice and convincing acting abilities that made his scenes a pleasure. He played Edgardo, the lover of the doomed Lucia, whose family tricks her into believing Edgardo has renounced her, forcing the financially strapped Scottish woman into the arms of a wealthy man she neither loves nor lets live.
Park doesn't have a platinum pedigree (not Juilliard or Eastman but the Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music). Still, he has won some major vocal competitions in the past few years and has turned the heads of some significant conductors known for scouting young talent -- the Opera Orchestra of New York's Eve Queler and the Metropolitan Opera's Joseph Colaneri.
In black tie with a tartan sash, the young tenor walked onto the stage where the chamber orchestra was, too with complete confidence and control. His nimble voice easily projected a broad, pleasing tone. He expertly supported a smooth tone so there was never the over singing or pinched tones many young singers produce.
Park was more than a good technician. He found the emotional content within Donizetti's arias and communicated their essence. This was an important trait because the State Repertory Opera did not provide translations, a rarity among concert opera performances in New Jersey. The plot to "Lucia" is familiar enough, but the poetry and subtlety can be lost to some without help.
The other aspiring talent here wasn't as effective. Soprano Melody Alesi as Lucia pushed through her music unlike Park, who gently floated above his lines. Early chemistry between the singers faded when she began to drift. That lasted until midway through "Ardon Gli Incesi," the most famous mad scene in opera.
Instead of mad, crazed and possessed (after knifing her new husband moments before), Alesi's Lucia was lost, disoriented and confused. Vocally she found a sweet spot as she paired with accomplished flutist Theresa Norris in the solo. Her voice was pure, high and precise. She hit her notes squarely. Although she turned more darting and manic later, Park underwent a far more credible emotional transformation when he reappeared for the sadly hopeless "Tu Che A Dio Spiegasti L'ali."
The lively chorus inhabited its scenes well with the guidance of steady conductor James Sadewhite.
One other production note: for a concert performance, this "Lucia" had oddly impressive lighting with many fades, colors and shadow effects. The source was lighting designer Lincoln Stulik, an Emmy-winning, 30-year CBS television veteran who has lit newscasts, soaps and even the 1998 Winter Olympics broadcast as well as the occasional Broadway shows. His contributions were more than welcome.