Concert by Mt. Airy trio thrilling for kids, adults

by MICHAEL CARUSO

Although neither the Pennsylvania Ballet's new production of Swan Lake nor Lyric Fest's children's concert was an overwhelming triumph, both managed more than successfully to take my mind off the weekend's sad news. (Ronald Reagan and Smarty Jones).

Lyric Fest is the creation of three Mt. Airy musicians: mezzo Suzanne DuPlantis, soprano Randi Marrazzo and pianist Laura Ward. The trio invites new audiences into the world of song by presenting programs that cross the boundaries between the classical and the popular, concerts that transcend the sometimes-artificial divisions that separate "art" from "entertainment."

To facilitate this daunting endeavor, the three women have enlisted the talents of a broad array of colleagues, such as soprano Sara Seglem, mezzo Sharon Rose Rhinesmith, tenor Richard Troxell, bass Justin Hopkins, bass Daniel May, pianist Joseph Jackson, dancer/choreographer Lisa Lovelace, instrumentalist Anthony Newett, percussionist Joshua Rosenau and actor Mark Wade.

Together they offered a delightful program that was directed toward children and entitled "Come with a Whoop Š Come with a Call." It drew an enthusiastic and appreciative crowd of youngsters and their parents into the sanctuary of the First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia this past Sunday afternoon and, hopefully, introduced many a newcomer to the art of singing and the broad spectrum of the many styles of song.

A successful children's concert demands numerous ingredients, but the overriding requirement is a complete absence of condescension. Children may lack the experience of adults, but that never means that they lack intelligence or the ability to distinguish between that which rings true and that which does not. Kids may not know the "official" difference between a classical aria by Mozart ("Das Vellchen") and a popular song by Lennon/McCartney ("Blackbird"), but they certainly know what intrigues and delights them, on one hand, and what nearly bores them to death, on the other. They may not fully comprehend the complexities of vocal technique, but they definitely know when a song is sung effectively and when it isn't.

The most encouraging aspect of Lyric Fest's program was not merely that it formed an impressive yet unaffected definition of "diversity," a term often employed to excuse incoherence of intent. It wasn't even that all the performers performed with both artistry and energy. It struck me that its surest sign of success was in its having entranced its audience, both young and old.

'SWAN LAKE'

While I can't help but give the Pennsylvania Ballet an A+ for good intentions in regard to its new twist on Swan Lake, I also can't help but admit that Christopher Wheeldon's parenthetical additions to the ballet's original book by Begitchev and Geltzer deserve no better than a C- for results.

I'm a bit surprised that an up-and-coming choreographer such as Wheeldon would resort to so tired and lame a concept as framing a performance of Swan Lake with its supposed rehearsal by a ballet troupe. Does Wheeldon think that those of us who were in the audience Saturday night in the Academy of Music don't realize that performances of Swan Lake are usually preceded by rehearsals? Does he think that we don't realize the roles of Odette-Odilie (White Swan/Black Swan) and Prince Siegfried are danced by mere mortal members of a ballet company and that we need to first see them as dancers in order to then fully appreciate them as characters in a fable? If so, then I have a news flash for him. We don't.

Above and beyond the waste of time involved in all of this unnecessary nonsense is the negative result of its distraction. And by that I'm not only talking about the distraction for the audience.

Having to portray a dancer who then portrays Siegfried proved too much for James Ady on Saturday night. He was never able to free himself from the pedestrian and concocted opening of the ballet in a rehearsal studio to ever convincingly transform himself into a prince who encounters a swan near a lake who embodies all his dreams of womanhood. Prefacing a fantasy with the mundane crippled the former without elevating the latter. And what a pity, too, since Ady is an obviously gifted dancer who boasts a splendidly natural technique as well as an elegant clarity of line.

Perhaps because her dual roles of Odette and Odilie were never much touched by Wheeldon's misadventures, Arantxa Ochoa was magnificent Saturday evening. Not only did she convey the seductive allure of Odilie — the whorish half of the virgin/whore dichotomy — but she managed the even more daunting challenge of investing Odette's purity with an appealing femininity. Wheeldon's choreography for the evil conjurer Von Rothbart was surprisingly dull, leaving the usually arresting Meredith Rainey with little to do. The remainder of the cast danced superbly throughout the evening, setting a standard that could hold even in New York City. Jean-Marc Piussant's costumes were stunning but scenic designers should be warned away from the color gray — it never works in romantic ballets.