COMEDY TONIGHT TIMES TWO

    

Marc Martinez, Colin Safley, Angela Scorese, Yong Hoon Lee, Victor Jaquez, and Melissa Perry

Lately we have been mourning the loss of the many small opera companies that we wrote about B.C. (before Covid). So, Dear Reader, imagine how excited we felt when learning about a new company. Perhaps the drought is over! It takes courage to plunge into the scene and Director Natan Zamansky seems to have gotten things off to a good start with Opera Picciona.

We thought the name of the company might have been a paradoxical neologism derived from the Italian word for small (piccolo) given a contradictory  ending that suggests grand size. Or was it named for the New York City bird we love and hate--the pigeon?  No matter!  Mr. Zamansky has avoided the trap of presenting grand opera on a diminutive scale, drawing unhelpful comparisons from his audience. Instead, he has chosen two complementary one-act operas of a lighthearted nature, operas that many have not seen/heard before.

Bastien und Bastienne, Mozart's early attempt at opera, written as a pubertal 12-year-old (and what's YOUR 12-year-old up to?) is a comedy in the sense that it has a happy ending whilst Jacques Offenbach's early operetta Le 66 is, under Mr. Zamansky's direction, laugh-out-loud funny.

The Mozart piece served as opener and the cast of three tackled their parts with relish. The story is a simple one in which a couple is reunited after a period of estrangement. There is a great deal of pretense between Bastien, the shepherd with a roving eye (tenor Yong Hoon Lee) and his sweetheart Bastienne, a rather innocent and lovelorn shepherdess (soprano Melissa Perry).  This pretense would be as familiar today as it was in the 18th century. A "sorcerer", actually a wise older fellow named Colas (bass Victor Jaquez), counsels the young lady to pretend indifference to win over her erstwhile lover.  After much pretense, the lad rises to the occasion and, to quote the Bard, "All's Well That Ends Well". 

There is nothing original in that story but Mozart's charming music and some fine vocalism made for a pleasant hour. Additionally, Mr. Jaquez' comic antics overcame the challenging staging in which "offstage" was achieved by singers hiding behind two black screens, since there was no place to go in the otherwise satisfactory performing area.  The acting during the musical numbers was fine but we wished for a bit more stage business during the "downtime".

There were no such lulls in the Offenbach which followed after the intermission. Perhaps Mr. Zamansky devoted more directorial effort to a work that generated genuine laughs. He had at his disposal a trio of singers who not only sang well but who also evinced an understanding of comic timing, making use of both facial expression and bodily gesture.

The story, although not as timely as the Mozart romance, concerns a couple hiking through the Austrian alps.  Grittly (soprano Angela Scorese) and Frantz (tenor Mark Martinez) are working their way through the alps by singing and playing their guitars (in this case, ukuleles) on their way to Strasbourg to console Grittly's sister who is grieving her husband's death. A dramatic device of an upside down lottery ticket leads to some laugh-out-loud situations with a peddler (baritone Colin Safley), some funny costume changes, some tension between the two wandering minstrels, and a deus ex machina ending that leaves everyone happy.

The story is just as silly as other Offenbach operettas but it provided the opportunity for some charming duets and trios, some Bob Fosse-like choreography, and the clever repurposing of some boxes to create the illusion of mountaineering.

No one is credited with costuming or props but creativity can compensate for lack of resources and so it did. We value good singing over lavish scenery and professional costuming.

As enjoyable as the singing was the performance of the score by an octet of musicians, half strings and half winds. Music Director Eric Peterson provided fine background for the singing.

The spoken dialogue in Mozart's singspiel and Offenbach's operette were easily understood by those of us who are familiar with German and French and for those who were not, projected titles were legible, unlike those of other recent performances we have attended.

Before closing we would like to point out the excellence of the Director's Notes, a sample of which were in the printed program and the more elaborate comments which were available electronically. No arrogant justifications for directorial narcissism, just academically interesting information that made for some good reading.

If you are unable to snag tickets for the rest of the run, at least you can consider yourselves advised to watch out for Opera Picciona's next venture. We certainly will!

© meche kroop

 

A SECRET LOVE

 Alexandria Crichlow, Gabriel Hernandez, and Eric Viñas

(photo by Russ Rowland)

Mozart may have dominated the music scene in Austria but we are not well acquainted with French composers of the Classical Period in France. It was a fine thing to be introduced to the lovely music of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges; there is a delicacy to the music that tickles the ear and the melodies are eminently singable. His sole surviving work is the 1780 comic opera L'amant anonyme, a one act work brought lovingly to the stage by New Camerata Opera.

.The composer was born in Guadeloupe to a slave woman named Nanon and fathered by a French plantation owner who brought his family to France when Joseph was but 7 years old, and ensured that his son received a fine education. Young Joseph exhibited early aptitude for music, dancing, and fencing; his charm, talents, and good looks won him a place in society although at certain times his being a mulatto brought ugly prejudice into his life. From what we gleaned from our reading, his life story would have made a splendid opera in and of itself. How fitting that we are lauding his work on Juneteenth!

This brief opera was premiered at a private theater for the entertainment of aristocrats and it is likely that the composer himself bore within a secret love for a Caucasian woman. Perhaps he was working through his predicament by means of his art.

Love is a carelessly handled state in 21st c. America; people jump in and out of relationships like rabbits. But in 18th c. France, love was a serious issue and many rules of etiquette had to be observed. It was not unusual for folks to pine away for a love object and many chansons and mélodies were written about unfulfilled longing and desire.

In the libretto by Desfontaines-Lavellée, our hero Valcour (performed by Gabriel Hernandez) has been writing anonymous love letters for a few years to the widow Léontine (sung by Alexandria Crichlow). The two lovers-to-be needed help getting together with Ophémon (performed by Eric Viñas) and Jeannette (played by Brittany Hebel) urging and importuning.

Director Brandon Shaw McKnight set the work in a TV studio in the 1960's which seem as remote to us as 18th century France. Costume Designer Stephanie Mae Fisher created a vaguely 1960's look with the chorus needing only go-go boots to complete their "mod" costuming. Our heroine appeared to be an opera singer performing on television and was decked out in an over-the-top gown and wig. No set designer was credited so we assume that Visual Designer and Props Master Ariana Swei devised the clever set with an office stage right, including a typewriter! Stage left was a convincing dressing room and in the center was a studio complete with. "Applause" and "On the Air" signs.

Although we deeply resent directors trashing the classics that we adore, tinkering with a trivial one-dimensional plot of an unknown work is another thing entirely and Mr. McKnight's direction, veering toward slapstick in its exaggeration, brought interest to a story devoid of conflict or subplot. Musical Director Kelly Lam directed a chamber group of about a dozen musicians comprising strings and woodwinds, prominent among which were a pair of bassoons.

It was an altogether charming and delightful 90 minutes of tuneful arias, duets, and ensembles enjoyed in the comfortable Naelberg Theater at Baruch College. There will be performances Friday and Saturday night as well as a matinée on Sunday. There are two casts so we cannot guarantee you will hear the same cast as we did but we can guarantee you will enjoy yourselves as much as the highly enthusiastic audience last night.

© meche kroop

A VICTORIAN GOTHIC

 Kyle Decker Pitts as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

(photo by Brian Long)

We have spent entirely too much time searching for a typeface that would do justice to the darkly Victorian spirit of the compelling show we wish to tell you about. The spookier typefaces we tried were just not legible so let us just pretend. We don't want to waste any more time in urging you to try to grab one of the very few remaining seats to a performance that left us in utter admiration of its creativity.

The show, whilst not an opera, is operatic in scope. The Curious Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde was a novella written by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1886 and adapted by the polymath Whitney E. George; it was performed as a melodrama with intense music (composed and conducted by Maestro George herself) and stunning visual effects (by Orsolya Szánthó). Excellent period costuming was also achieved by Mo. George (with help from the Theatre Development Fund).

Even if one is not a fan of Victorian Gothic melodrama one would find the telling of this tale to be compelling and the staging original. In a feat of trompe l'oeil, what appeared to be a complex set design was achieved by a doorway center stage flanked by two "rooms" upstage which were suggested by skewed rectangular frames, each behind a scrim, one representing Dr. Jekyll's laboratory and the other an office. A simple chair with an old-fashioned gramophone stood downstage. The staging area included stairways up to and including a wraparound balcony lending an immersive feeling to the work. 

Lighting was created by Sierra and projections by Orsolya Szánthó, who also created the set design. The entire affair was co-directed by Mo. George and Attilio Rigotti, who also played the part of Utterson. Obviously everyone seems to have multiple talents and are presumably members of The Curiosity Cabinet, listed as Producer.

The acting was on point, just  sufficiently melodramatic for the audience to appreciate the historical period. The eponymous hero/villain was played by Kyle Decker Pitts with his friend Utterson played by Mr.  Rigotti. Maayan Voss de Bettancourt made quite an impression as narrator, slipping seamlessly into several other roles. Blake Friedman also assumed several roles. It was difficult to accept that all this drama had been created by three actors!

Mo. George's music was original and often spooky and served a similar mood enhancing function as a film score. Indeed there was a filmic quality to the piece, reminding us of film noir. Joined by a violin, a flutist stage left seemed to be playing instruments of different registers, . Out of sight was a percussionist who provided all manner of sounds and sound effects. A cello was listed on the program but we did not see. 

It was altogether a stunning evening of theater and about as long as a film and no longer than was necessary. As is customary we always mention a "quibble" and here it is. It is just our preference for natural voices, not just for opera but also for theater. There is a texture to amplification that our ears do not like. We were sitting very close to the musicians and found that the "incidental" music, which was anything but incidental, often drowned out the words of the actors.

Even with that reservation, we still found the work original, artistic, compelling, and satisfying. If the psychiatric illness of multiple personality disorder was recognized in the late 19th century we know not; but we suspect that the import of the novella was the exploration of the dual nature of mankind. Whichever way you take it, you will be marvelously entertained.

© meche kroop