Sparkle and polish in Napa…
The normally bucolic Napa Valley refreshed its bid as a cultural icon last week, as the Festival del Sole rolled into venues and wineries across the Valley. Now in its eighth year, this pairing of daily classical jewels performed by world-class talent followed by haute cuisine at famous wineries has struck a Napa nerve. On Tuesday, July 15, a few thousand very fortunate people got to hear Alondra de la Parra conducting the Sphinx Symphony Orchestra and two superstar soloists.
Tenor James Valenti and violinist Pinchas Zukerman both pulled off passionate performances, each doing what they do best. And de la Parra and the Sphinx were the best of hosts.
Tuesday’s concert, held at Weill Hall on the campus of Sonoma State, opened with the well-known Overture from Bizet’s Carmen, which de la Parra took at a fiery clip. The Sphinx Symphony, an orchestra composed of accomplished younger Black and Latino musicians from symphonies all over the country, was more than equal to her demands, making their passages sparkle. That was a complex task in Weill Hall, where the lively maple surfaces polish notes but magnify flaws. Finding precision under that auditory microscope was an act of supreme concentration. Then they slowed for a few bars of languorous strings and misting horns before a blistering reprise of the beginning.
It was a distinct pleasure to watch this Mexican conductor, who ran the gamut from explosive tension to undulant grace. I last heard her conducting the young and formidable Orchestra of the Americas, which she created and led for ten years. I well recall that she charged in the vanguard of that other ensemble with another fiery display, the overture from Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro.
and passion and polish…
Then the dashing James Valenti took the stage, warming up on “La Fleur” before settling into his signature song, “E lucevan le stele,” from Puccini’s Tosca. Valenti has a very Italian feel and sound, rather at odds with his New Jersey upbringing and linebacker physique. He
approached the tenor range like a baritone, with a husky undertow and heroic surges. But though his timbre includes more bass reverberations than the clarion notes of a Pavarotti, his emotion was deep and his delivery flawless. And when he rose to the top of his range, he winged weightless notes to the back of the long hall.
He took several bows after that performance, then gestured for the clarinetist to stand. Terrence Patterson also distinguished himself in that Puccini solo, as well as throughout the evening.
After a set that included three more songs and another instrumental gem (the Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana), we got a second treat, when Zukerman soloed in Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto, his own touchstone.
His performance had all of the dazzle and heart one could wish for, with huge cadenzas and an orchestra that was absolutely responsive. I heard Zukerman perform this with the Russian National Orchestra, and while that was deeply felt, in this performance he seemed to catch some of de la Parra’s fire. In fact, at the end he surged into an accelerando, which she and the Sphinx copied for a wild finish.
The Napa audience knew that this was a special performance and gave long standing ovations.
…and even more sparkle!
And then after intermission, we had a chance to hear this unusual orchestra’s rendition of Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8. Like Beethoven’s “Pastorale,” this offering to Nature was more upbeat, but still had room for brooding spring and squalls of summer. De la Parra conducted without score, sustaining the musical arc throughout each movement. And the orchestra rose to prove its mettle with both a tightly meshed sound and the virtuosity of the solos, two qualities usually at odds. One can only assume that this, and an uncommon agility, reflected the predominance of younger musicians.
It was difficult not to compare this experience to the Berkeley Symphony, as Joana Carneiro and de la Parra have similarly energetic approaches, and both are so much fun to watch. But where the Sphinx has a sharper line, the Berkeley Symphony is more rounded. And where de la Parra is a force of concentration, Carneiro brings out more of the heart. But then came the lilting Allegretto, clearly the heart of the Dvořák, and it was also clear that the Sphinx has plenty of heart.
This festival opened last Friday with a sold-out show headlined by violinist Joshua Bell, and ended on Sunday with an Opera Gala in Yountville, where the Sphinx Symphony was conducted by Carlo Ponti, one of the founders of this festival. On Saturday Ponti dedicated his concert to his mother, famed actress Sophia Loren, a guest of honor.
—Adam Broner
Photos: top, Alondra de la Parra, photo by Lorena; lower, violinist Pinchas Zukerman, photo by Paul LaBelle; and bottom, tenor James Valenti, photo by Mario Acosta.