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Delaware Valley Opera

Talk about an encore – Meyerson stuns at DVO

In Review

Margaret Bruetsch
Posted 5/20/22

It was back to the Delaware Valley Opera on May 14th for the last of their spring concerts featuring the truly amazing Janice Meyerson. I’ve loved having the chance to attend these concerts and …

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Delaware Valley Opera

Talk about an encore – Meyerson stuns at DVO

In Review

Posted

It was back to the Delaware Valley Opera on May 14th for the last of their spring concerts featuring the truly amazing Janice Meyerson. I’ve loved having the chance to attend these concerts and really get to hear the full vocal and artistic range of individual performers (I’m still sorry I missed Tshombe Selby on May 6th, but I was assured he was also spectacular and his performance is up on their website). I’ve been introduced to some new subgenres of music that I didn’t know existed, like Meyerson’s performance of Ladino music – more of that to come.

Meyerson gave a tour de force performance last weekend performing stunning numbers in English, French, German & Ladino. I’m always amazed at how easy some performers make singing in another language sound (speaking from experience it’s super difficult) and when it’s done right it transports you. And Meyerson transported me. I was pulled into each song floating on the tide of music and soaring with each high note. Talk about control and grace – Meyerson had it all.

I also loved her characterization through each song. You could see Meyerson get into the headspace of each song and then perform as a character with her mannerisms and facial expressions. When she was singing about lost love, you saw the anguish; singing about anger, you felt the rage. She was stunning in each number. Her performances of “Après un Rêve (After a dream)”, “Clair de Lune (Moonlight)”, “Von ewiger Liebe (Of eternal love)” and “Deep River” were truly mesmerizing.

A quick shout out to William Lewis, Meyerson’s wonderful accompanist. He was equally spectacular and I loved listening to his piano playing meld with Meyerson’s vocals. It was especially amazing during the Ladino songs when some of the piano playing got more complex. A real standout was their performance of “Al Ruido de una Fuente (The splashing of a fountain)” – the piano’s fluid music and Meyerson’s vocals took my breath away. I loved Lewis’ accompaniment for “Yo Me Enamorí d’un Aire (I fell in love with a breeze)” which had a skipping, carousel-like quality.

Now back to the Ladino I mentioned earlier. I had never heard of the term before (nothing like learning something new) but it is a type of music, commonly folk music that originated in Spain from Sephardic Jews. Meyerson explained it’s kind of like the Spanish equivalent to Yiddish. I loved every single Ladino song Meyerson performed. They were lovely and she got to show off some high notes and her flowing vocals throughout the second act performance. I was spellbound. Some particular favorites were “Adio, Querido (Good-bye, dear)”, “Los Bibilicos (The nightingales)” and “¡Ah! El Novio No Quere Dinero (Ah! The bridegroom wants no money)”.

Meyerson truly deserved the standing ovation she received and the audience in return was lucky enough to get a final encore of “Habanera” from Carmen. Now if you want to end the night on a high-note that was the way to do it – what a treat! Meyerson made it look easy and really made my night. My mother and I drove the whole way home trying to pinpoint which song was the best of the night, but that encore was definitely a showstopper.

That’s it for the spring concerts, but I am looking forward to seeing what the DVO has to offer this summer with their full season starting with “Pirates of Penzance” in June (one of my favorites). For more information on their 2022 season you can visit their website: www.delawarevalleyopera.com.

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