The New York Times, print and online Sept 7, 2017, Anthony Tommasini […] The conductor James Meena drew a surging, plush performance from the City Opera Orchestra … Mr. Meena and his players conveyed the work’s seamless structure and richness. […]
The Wall Street Journal, print and online Sept 7, 2017, Heidi Waleson […] the orchestra, which was conducted with attention to color and pace by James Meena… […]
With Opera Carolina’s General Director and Principal Conductor James Meena on the podium, the task of upholding musical values in this production of Fidelio was entrusted to one of America’s ablest conductors of opera, one whose versatility reflects encyclopedic knowledge of repertory and trial-by-fire experience extending back to his formative engagements in Toledo and Pittsburgh. A conductor who lacks exposure to all of the disparate ingredients that Beethoven combined in the score is at risk of being out to sea in the tempestuous waters of Fidelio, but in this performance Meena masterfully tamed the savage challenges of the music.
Meena . . . who has a background in opera, ballet and orchestral music, drew a highly popular, well-known work with Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony. The explosive, opening notes of its final movement caused many in the audience to jump in their seats, which always is fun to watch. Its whirling dervish of a conclusion brought a roar of approval and a standing ovation as well. It was well deserved for the finale. Gorgeous woodwind playing and powerful brass passages marked the performance, which Meena led from memory, conducting with roundhouse gestures from his right hand and much less action from his left. Once out of the blocks, the opening movement was bold and stirring but not particularly flowing. One might say detached, occasionally to the point of choppy. The middle of the 45-minute symphony was serious music played with purpose. The scherzo, which is pizzicato front to back, was perky with 50 strings plucking away and billowy whenever the winds and brass joined in. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it witty, but it was alluring. The vigorous finale, a call and response, grabs you by the lapels and gives you a good shake. Friday’s audience enjoyed the fireworks.
Emotional thermostats in the Peristyle Friday night soared into the red zone during the Toledo Symphony Classics 5 concert, which focused on heat in its many forms. There was the heat of battle described in the opening work: Rossiniʼs Overture to The Siege of Corinth. Written early in the 1820s, when Greece was trying to overthrow Turkish rule, its political inspiration counters a tendency to pigeonhole the Italian composer for his many more lighthearted operas. Guest conductor James Meena raised the energy of the evening immediately during a crisp and forceful reading of the work. He then not only sustained but raised that intensity during a long and fascinating evening. The Toledo Museum of Artʼs stately hall was abuzz with a far larger and more age-diverse crowd. No doubt the higher occupancy was because of fans of singers in the massive choir used for Carl Orffʼs Carmina Burana, the final work. The entire performance of the Orff work was memorable, with fine balance between the orchestra and choirs. Meena pushed every tempo and demanded and got great clarity from the instrumentalists. The sum of its many, many parts emerged with impressive coherence, balance, and power.
When conductor James Meena asked the audience before Thursday’s performance of Verdi’s Otello to subscribe to Opera Carolina, I thought he was within his rights, mainly because I have never heard a dud performance from him. This is rarer in the podium than is admitted, particularly in opera where things fall apart more often than is admitted. Bluntly, we’ve got a good deal in Meena, considering his fleet Mozart, deft Rossini, and sumptuous Puccini. I was curious to hear how he would approach Otello, which to conduct is like weighing fire on a scale.
Meena . . . who has a background in opera, ballet and orchestral music, drew a highly popular, well-known work with Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony. The explosive, opening notes of its final movement caused many in the audience to jump in their seats, which always is fun to watch. Its whirling dervish of a conclusion brought a roar of approval and a standing ovation as well. It was well deserved for the finale. Gorgeous woodwind playing and powerful brass passages marked the performance, which Meena led from memory, conducting with roundhouse gestures from his right hand and much less action from his left. Once out of the blocks, the opening movement was bold and stirring but not particularly flowing. One might say detached, occasionally to the point of choppy. The middle of the 45-minute symphony was serious music played with purpose. The scherzo, which is pizzicato front to back, was perky with 50 strings plucking away and billowy whenever the winds and brass joined in. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it witty, but it was alluring. The vigorous finale, a call and response, grabs you by the lapels and gives you a good shake. Friday’s audience enjoyed the fireworks.
Emotional thermostats in the Peristyle Friday night soared into the red zone during the Toledo Symphony Classics 5 concert, which focused on heat in its many forms. There was the heat of battle described in the opening work: Rossiniʼs Overture to The Siege of Corinth. Written early in the 1820s, when Greece was trying to overthrow Turkish rule, its political inspiration counters a tendency to pigeonhole the Italian composer for his many more lighthearted operas. Guest conductor James Meena raised the energy of the evening immediately during a crisp and forceful reading of the work. He then not only sustained but raised that intensity during a long and fascinating evening. The Toledo Museum of Artʼs stately hall was abuzz with a far larger and more age-diverse crowd. No doubt the higher occupancy was because of fans of singers in the massive choir used for Carl Orffʼs Carmina Burana, the final work. The entire performance of the Orff work was memorable, with fine balance between the orchestra and choirs. Meena pushed every tempo and demanded and got great clarity from the instrumentalists. The sum of its many, many parts emerged with impressive coherence, balance, and power.
WQXR, Sept 7, 2017, David Patrick Stearns […] the City Opera had a solid foundation with an inspired, capable orchestra under James Meena, who kept the opera moving at a good clip with the kind of expressive precision that showed more clearly where Puccini was going with his characters. […]
Musical America, print and online Sept 8, 2017, John Yohalem […] James Meena drew all the opera’s sensuous redwood glamour from the City Opera Orchestra, the sense of open spaces rich with promise. […]
Parterre, online Sept 7, 2017, Christopher Corwin […] Conductor James Meena showed a sure and idiomatic touch. […]
Opera Lively, online magazine, April 29, 2017, by Luiz Gazzola
Maestro Meena and the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra were in great form tonight. My favorite element in La Fanciulla del West is the score, and it was phenomenally rendered by the pit. The orchestra sounded dense, rich, resonant, and agile.
The Charlotte Observer, print, April 26, 2017, by Philip Larrimore
Unlike so many conductors, Meena never takes Puccini’s magic for granted, or allows the details to be swamped even as he pushes the work forward. This production, done in tandem with the New York City Opera, will travel to five opera houses in Italy, ending in Puccini’s hometown, Lucca. This “Girl of the West” is worthy of that honor.