Mere hours after the wonderful morning outreach performance last Saturday, the singers of Canto Virginia 2025 performed a larger, more formal concert with the theme of love. Canto Vocal Programs Artistic Director Sharon Mohar introduced The Love Concert by wishing everyone in the audience a romantic evening, because, as she said, “Without love, it’s not really worth it.” How true.
Comprised of a combination of opera and musical theatre solos, duets, and ensembles, at the end, the program still felt like a total group effort. This was not only because of how the singers played off of each other, but also because the piano was shared alternately by Jennifer Quinones, Lucy Arner, and Liora Maurer, all fantastic pianists.
Mezzo-soprano Latetra Lewis
Starting off with an adorable “No Two People” from the film Hans Christian Andersen, sung by Elisa Quesada Sayler and Eli Quinones, the entire cast entered the stage for the famous “Habanera” from Carmen. I adored how they chose to begin with the short recitative before the aria as well as how the contingent of singers felt like a true chorus, surrounding mezzo-soprano Reyna Sawtell like servants wait on a queen on her throne. Both vocally and staging-wise, it felt like a luxurious indulgence, which is exactly how this aria should feel.
After the rest of the cast exited, Benjamin Goodrich and Toby Ichinowski shared a long, sweet moment onstage as they serenaded each other. Goodrich sang the art song “Serenata” as Ichinowski listened behind the piano, watching him. Their ability to stay still and listen made it all the more engaging for the audience. I felt compelled to follow their lead and listen intently. Vocally, both of these pieces were well-chosen for the singers, and it was a pleasure to hear how they have developed from previous performances. In particular, the spin in Ichinowski’s voice stood out to me, and I liked hearing how the Italian language propelled Goodrich’s voice forward.
Brooke Studebaker and Adelin Ilca offered the duet “Ange adorable” from Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette. Here I liked Ilca’s clarity of French diction and Studebaker’s overall tone. I also thought they did a good job of acting this piece, the only question for me being whether there should have been a bit of dance thrown in with it, since it takes place at the Capulets’ party.
Baritone Yichuan Lyu with pianists Liora Maurer and Jennifer Quinones in background
Reprising “Amour! Viens aider ma faiblesse” from the lecture on women in French opera earlier in the week, mezzo-soprano Caroline Yergeau sang it even better here, with a voice that got richer and richer going down. The high note followed by a scale toward the end of the piece felt like icing on the cake.
Xiaoyue Guo’s rendition of “Fair Robin I love” showed off a voice that is good for the piece: crystal-clear high notes and an appropriately laugh-like quality when the singing demands coloratura. That said, I would have preferred her to stay in the stage area instead of moving through the audience. Perhaps one of her colleagues could have played Marianne to give her another character to play off of?
Continuing the coloratura repertoire was Weiting Xu with Mozart’s “Durch Zärtlichkeit.” I loved how easy the high register felt for her, and would have loved to see an even sassier characterization. Still, this was again clearly the right choice of repertoire for her voice.
Tenor Adelin Ilca
Yichuan Lyu’s work with coach Ken Weiss earlier in the week paid off in his singing of “Mein Sehnen, mein Tränen.” Not only was the sound fuller and more polished, but in general he seemed more confident, always wonderful to see in a performer.
“La voix humaine” is perhaps the only piece on this program that I would have changed, not because of anything to do with the singing or accompaniment, but because the emotional arc of this one-person opera really takes the whole time. It’s a journey unto itself that can’t necessarily be captured in an excerpt. Having said that, I would love to hear Rachel Pepin sing the entire piece. She had excellent delivery of French and a tone that felt right for Poulenc’s music. Staging-wise, she started partly offstage in the dark, and I would have loved it if she had begun in the light. Maybe a spotlight?
It is always a difficult task to perform a piece that everyone knows, so I appreciated the approach Alexandra Johnson brought to “Till There Was You.” No pretense, just honest, clear tone and text delivery. On top of that, what wasn’t to like about her acting? She clearly had thought this character through, and I hope she gets to play this role someday.
Similarly, I really liked Guan Wang’s acting in “O du mein holder Abendstern.” Vocally, just as Italian did for Goodrich earlier in the program, it felt like the German text was propelling Wang’s voice forward, not only speaking to his preparation but also to the students absorbing what they’ve been taught over the course of the festival.
Returning to “Tu che di gel sei cinta” from the very first masterclass of the festival, Andrea Priscila Gutiérrez developed this aria so that it felt like she was really standing up to Turandot. She sang with good, consistent tone, the only question for me being whether she could take more time with her acting beats. I am excited to hear how her instrument develops.
Latetra Lewis’s singing of “I love him” from Blue offered a very recent piece. What I loved in particular about it was both the clarity of her diction, so that I never felt like I needed to look at the words on the page, and the change in acting when she starts talking about her husband being in danger. Since the opera centers around a police officer and his family, it was important to feel both the love and the concern, and even in this one aria, Lewis made us feel just that.
Andres Groza and Weiting Xu made a perfect Don Giovanni and Zerlina for their duet “La ci darem.” Here again, I appreciated the inclusion of the recitative prior to the duet, which gave Groza a chance to offer the audience one of the most hilarious cocked eyebrows I’ve ever seen.
Puccini’s “Un bel dì vedremo” from Madama Butterfly requires both delicacy and power in the voice at different points, and I Ioved hearing Anna Pompeeva sing it. She absolutely owned this piece not only with her commanding, elegant stage presence but also with shifts in vocal dynamics as well as acting beats, and showed off a lower register that felt certain to carry in a larger hall. Fantastic!
Turning away from opera for a moment of levity, Caroline Dill delivered a spunky “Vanilla Ice Cream” from She Loves Me. Adding to the ease of her singing was the ease with which she handled the parts of this song that are closer to spoken word. I also liked how she interacted with the audience, breaking the fourth wall a little bit. The only thing I felt would have improved this would have been a prop, whether a paper and pen or even a phone to type on.
Adelin Ilca’s “Ah! Lève-toi, soleil” was particularly impressive because of the engagement on the high notes and crescendos and decrescendos that he used in his singing. I would be surprised if he is not singing the role of Romeo everywhere one day.
Of all the pieces on the program, the one that brought me chills was Irene Shin’s singing of the “Air des bijoux” from Faust. Though she could have done more with the staging, she has a beautiful voice for this aria, good French, even tone throughout her registers, and a lovely coquettish characterization. It was the ending that gave me chills, and this is again an example of a performer that I can see singing the particular role everywhere.
In classic bass fashion, Andres Groza sang “Vecchia zimarra” from La bohéme, appropriate for this concert not just because it’s the character singing about a different kind of love, a love for his coat and what it’s meant to him, but also because the coat symbolizes innocence lost as the opera, and its central love story, ends in tragedy.
But one cannot end something called The Love Concert on a sad note, so Samuel Oloniyo and Brooke Studebaker were there to reprise their “Pa-pa-pa” duet from their earlier outreach performance. Despite having performed it earlier in the day, this still felt fresh, for which both of these performers are to be commended.
Closing the program were Offenbach’s “Barcarolle” and the “Fortunato” from Mozart’s Così fan tutte. Staying true to the ensemble feeling set at the beginning of the program with the “Habanera,” “Barcarolle” wasn’t just a duet in this performance but included the choral parts, with Caroline Yergeau and Anna Pompeeva singing sublimely together, then the rest of the cast joining them. The “Fortunato” chorus included strong choral singing that brought out Mozart’s highly satisfying harmonies. Though Così is not my favorite opera, I’m glad they chose this piece to end the program.
A romantic evening? Unquestionably. Here’s hoping there may be wine and dinner included in the future, as Canto and its presence in Northern Virginia evolves.
Maggie Ramsey
Canto Vocal Programs: The Love Concert
Frank Loesser – ‘No Two People’ (Hans Christian Andersen); Georges Bizet – ‘Habanera’ (Carmen); Paolo Tosti – ‘Serenata’; Jeanine Tesori – ‘I love him’ (Blue); Saint-Saëns – ‘Amour! Viens aider ma faiblesse’ (Samson et Dalila); Jerry Bock – ‘Vanilla Ice Cream’ (She Loves Me); Jacques Offenbach – ‘Belle nuit, ô nuit d’amour’ (Les contes d’Hoffmann); Richard Wagner – ‘O du mein holder Abendstern’ (Tannhäuser); Kirke Mechem – ‘Fair Robin I Love’ (Tartuffe); Erich Wolfgang Korngold – ‘Mein Sehnen, Mein Wähnen’ (Die tote Stadt); Francis Poulenc – ‘La voix humaine’ (La voix humaine); Meredith Willson – ‘My White Knight,’ ‘Till There Was You,’ (The Music Man); Charles Gounod – ‘Ange adorable,’ ‘Ah! Lève-toi, soleil’ (Roméo et Juliette), ‘Air des bijoux’ (Faust); Giacomo Puccini – ‘Tu che di gel sei cinta’ (Turandot), ‘Un bel dì vedremo’ (Madama Butterfly), ‘Vecchia zimarra’ (La bohéme); Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – ‘Durch Zärtlichkeit’ (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), ‘La ci darem la mano’ (Don Giovanni), ‘Pa-pa-pa’ (Die Zauberflöte), ‘Fortunato’ (Così fan tutte)
Elisa Quesada Sayler, Toby Ichinowski, Brooke Studebaker, Xiaoyue Guo, Weiting Xu, Rachel Pepin, Alexandra Johnson, Andrea Priscila Gutiérrez, Anna Pompeeva, Caroline Dill, Irene Shin – Soprano; Reyna Sawtell, Caroline Yergeau, Latetra Lewis – Mezzo-Soprano; Benjamin Goodrich, Adelin Ilca – Tenor; Eli Quinones, Yichuan Lyu, Samuel Oloniyo – Baritone; Guan Wang, Andres Groza – Bass; Jennifer Quinones, Lucy Arner, Liora Maurer – Piano
Sterling, VA, July 26, 2025
Top image: The Happy Lovers by Jean-Honore Fragonard (1760-1765) courtesy of WikiArt
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Canto Vocal Programs Hosts A Romantic Evening With “The Love Concert”
Mere hours after the wonderful morning outreach performance last Saturday, the singers of Canto Virginia 2025 performed a larger, more formal concert with the theme of love. Canto Vocal Programs Artistic Director Sharon Mohar introduced The Love Concert by wishing everyone in the audience a romantic evening, because, as she said, “Without love, it’s not really worth it.” How true.
Comprised of a combination of opera and musical theatre solos, duets, and ensembles, at the end, the program still felt like a total group effort. This was not only because of how the singers played off of each other, but also because the piano was shared alternately by Jennifer Quinones, Lucy Arner, and Liora Maurer, all fantastic pianists.
Starting off with an adorable “No Two People” from the film Hans Christian Andersen, sung by Elisa Quesada Sayler and Eli Quinones, the entire cast entered the stage for the famous “Habanera” from Carmen. I adored how they chose to begin with the short recitative before the aria as well as how the contingent of singers felt like a true chorus, surrounding mezzo-soprano Reyna Sawtell like servants wait on a queen on her throne. Both vocally and staging-wise, it felt like a luxurious indulgence, which is exactly how this aria should feel.
After the rest of the cast exited, Benjamin Goodrich and Toby Ichinowski shared a long, sweet moment onstage as they serenaded each other. Goodrich sang the art song “Serenata” as Ichinowski listened behind the piano, watching him. Their ability to stay still and listen made it all the more engaging for the audience. I felt compelled to follow their lead and listen intently. Vocally, both of these pieces were well-chosen for the singers, and it was a pleasure to hear how they have developed from previous performances. In particular, the spin in Ichinowski’s voice stood out to me, and I liked hearing how the Italian language propelled Goodrich’s voice forward.
Brooke Studebaker and Adelin Ilca offered the duet “Ange adorable” from Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette. Here I liked Ilca’s clarity of French diction and Studebaker’s overall tone. I also thought they did a good job of acting this piece, the only question for me being whether there should have been a bit of dance thrown in with it, since it takes place at the Capulets’ party.
Reprising “Amour! Viens aider ma faiblesse” from the lecture on women in French opera earlier in the week, mezzo-soprano Caroline Yergeau sang it even better here, with a voice that got richer and richer going down. The high note followed by a scale toward the end of the piece felt like icing on the cake.
Xiaoyue Guo’s rendition of “Fair Robin I love” showed off a voice that is good for the piece: crystal-clear high notes and an appropriately laugh-like quality when the singing demands coloratura. That said, I would have preferred her to stay in the stage area instead of moving through the audience. Perhaps one of her colleagues could have played Marianne to give her another character to play off of?
Continuing the coloratura repertoire was Weiting Xu with Mozart’s “Durch Zärtlichkeit.” I loved how easy the high register felt for her, and would have loved to see an even sassier characterization. Still, this was again clearly the right choice of repertoire for her voice.
Yichuan Lyu’s work with coach Ken Weiss earlier in the week paid off in his singing of “Mein Sehnen, mein Tränen.” Not only was the sound fuller and more polished, but in general he seemed more confident, always wonderful to see in a performer.
“La voix humaine” is perhaps the only piece on this program that I would have changed, not because of anything to do with the singing or accompaniment, but because the emotional arc of this one-person opera really takes the whole time. It’s a journey unto itself that can’t necessarily be captured in an excerpt. Having said that, I would love to hear Rachel Pepin sing the entire piece. She had excellent delivery of French and a tone that felt right for Poulenc’s music. Staging-wise, she started partly offstage in the dark, and I would have loved it if she had begun in the light. Maybe a spotlight?
It is always a difficult task to perform a piece that everyone knows, so I appreciated the approach Alexandra Johnson brought to “Till There Was You.” No pretense, just honest, clear tone and text delivery. On top of that, what wasn’t to like about her acting? She clearly had thought this character through, and I hope she gets to play this role someday.
Similarly, I really liked Guan Wang’s acting in “O du mein holder Abendstern.” Vocally, just as Italian did for Goodrich earlier in the program, it felt like the German text was propelling Wang’s voice forward, not only speaking to his preparation but also to the students absorbing what they’ve been taught over the course of the festival.
Returning to “Tu che di gel sei cinta” from the very first masterclass of the festival, Andrea Priscila Gutiérrez developed this aria so that it felt like she was really standing up to Turandot. She sang with good, consistent tone, the only question for me being whether she could take more time with her acting beats. I am excited to hear how her instrument develops.
Latetra Lewis’s singing of “I love him” from Blue offered a very recent piece. What I loved in particular about it was both the clarity of her diction, so that I never felt like I needed to look at the words on the page, and the change in acting when she starts talking about her husband being in danger. Since the opera centers around a police officer and his family, it was important to feel both the love and the concern, and even in this one aria, Lewis made us feel just that.
Andres Groza and Weiting Xu made a perfect Don Giovanni and Zerlina for their duet “La ci darem.” Here again, I appreciated the inclusion of the recitative prior to the duet, which gave Groza a chance to offer the audience one of the most hilarious cocked eyebrows I’ve ever seen.
Puccini’s “Un bel dì vedremo” from Madama Butterfly requires both delicacy and power in the voice at different points, and I Ioved hearing Anna Pompeeva sing it. She absolutely owned this piece not only with her commanding, elegant stage presence but also with shifts in vocal dynamics as well as acting beats, and showed off a lower register that felt certain to carry in a larger hall. Fantastic!
Turning away from opera for a moment of levity, Caroline Dill delivered a spunky “Vanilla Ice Cream” from She Loves Me. Adding to the ease of her singing was the ease with which she handled the parts of this song that are closer to spoken word. I also liked how she interacted with the audience, breaking the fourth wall a little bit. The only thing I felt would have improved this would have been a prop, whether a paper and pen or even a phone to type on.
Adelin Ilca’s “Ah! Lève-toi, soleil” was particularly impressive because of the engagement on the high notes and crescendos and decrescendos that he used in his singing. I would be surprised if he is not singing the role of Romeo everywhere one day.
Of all the pieces on the program, the one that brought me chills was Irene Shin’s singing of the “Air des bijoux” from Faust. Though she could have done more with the staging, she has a beautiful voice for this aria, good French, even tone throughout her registers, and a lovely coquettish characterization. It was the ending that gave me chills, and this is again an example of a performer that I can see singing the particular role everywhere.
In classic bass fashion, Andres Groza sang “Vecchia zimarra” from La bohéme, appropriate for this concert not just because it’s the character singing about a different kind of love, a love for his coat and what it’s meant to him, but also because the coat symbolizes innocence lost as the opera, and its central love story, ends in tragedy.
But one cannot end something called The Love Concert on a sad note, so Samuel Oloniyo and Brooke Studebaker were there to reprise their “Pa-pa-pa” duet from their earlier outreach performance. Despite having performed it earlier in the day, this still felt fresh, for which both of these performers are to be commended.
Closing the program were Offenbach’s “Barcarolle” and the “Fortunato” from Mozart’s Così fan tutte. Staying true to the ensemble feeling set at the beginning of the program with the “Habanera,” “Barcarolle” wasn’t just a duet in this performance but included the choral parts, with Caroline Yergeau and Anna Pompeeva singing sublimely together, then the rest of the cast joining them. The “Fortunato” chorus included strong choral singing that brought out Mozart’s highly satisfying harmonies. Though Così is not my favorite opera, I’m glad they chose this piece to end the program.
A romantic evening? Unquestionably. Here’s hoping there may be wine and dinner included in the future, as Canto and its presence in Northern Virginia evolves.
Maggie Ramsey
Canto Vocal Programs: The Love Concert
Frank Loesser – ‘No Two People’ (Hans Christian Andersen); Georges Bizet – ‘Habanera’ (Carmen); Paolo Tosti – ‘Serenata’; Jeanine Tesori – ‘I love him’ (Blue); Saint-Saëns – ‘Amour! Viens aider ma faiblesse’ (Samson et Dalila); Jerry Bock – ‘Vanilla Ice Cream’ (She Loves Me); Jacques Offenbach – ‘Belle nuit, ô nuit d’amour’ (Les contes d’Hoffmann); Richard Wagner – ‘O du mein holder Abendstern’ (Tannhäuser); Kirke Mechem – ‘Fair Robin I Love’ (Tartuffe); Erich Wolfgang Korngold – ‘Mein Sehnen, Mein Wähnen’ (Die tote Stadt); Francis Poulenc – ‘La voix humaine’ (La voix humaine); Meredith Willson – ‘My White Knight,’ ‘Till There Was You,’ (The Music Man); Charles Gounod – ‘Ange adorable,’ ‘Ah! Lève-toi, soleil’ (Roméo et Juliette), ‘Air des bijoux’ (Faust); Giacomo Puccini – ‘Tu che di gel sei cinta’ (Turandot), ‘Un bel dì vedremo’ (Madama Butterfly), ‘Vecchia zimarra’ (La bohéme); Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – ‘Durch Zärtlichkeit’ (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), ‘La ci darem la mano’ (Don Giovanni), ‘Pa-pa-pa’ (Die Zauberflöte), ‘Fortunato’ (Così fan tutte)
Elisa Quesada Sayler, Toby Ichinowski, Brooke Studebaker, Xiaoyue Guo, Weiting Xu, Rachel Pepin, Alexandra Johnson, Andrea Priscila Gutiérrez, Anna Pompeeva, Caroline Dill, Irene Shin – Soprano; Reyna Sawtell, Caroline Yergeau, Latetra Lewis – Mezzo-Soprano; Benjamin Goodrich, Adelin Ilca – Tenor; Eli Quinones, Yichuan Lyu, Samuel Oloniyo – Baritone; Guan Wang, Andres Groza – Bass; Jennifer Quinones, Lucy Arner, Liora Maurer – Piano
Sterling, VA, July 26, 2025
Top image: The Happy Lovers by Jean-Honore Fragonard (1760-1765) courtesy of WikiArt
All photos by Matt Hardy