SOME LIGHT EMERGES

Angela Dinkelman, Lydia Adelle Brown, Caroline Worra, Billy Huyler, Laura Virella, and Alexander Mason

Last night we attended the opening of Utopia Opera's production of Some Light Emerges.  In an original concept by co-librettist Mark Campbell, five very different characters are profoundly affected by visiting the Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas. That we cared about the follow-up, in which we learn about their futures, testifies to the superior performances of all six cast members whose acting was as fine as their singing.

Caroline Worra is completely believable as Dominique de Menil, the society matron/philanthropist who established an ecumenical sanctuary in Houston, commissioning canvases from Mark Rothko. It was interesting that when Rothko butted heads with architect Philip Johnson, the latter was replaced. The chapel opened in 1971. Not only did her character have several monologues (one could not call them arias) but she remained onstage throughout the performance, gazing benevolently upon the five individuals who visit during different time periods, each one delivering a monologue. The theme is that each is transformed by the artwork.

Billy Huyler portrays Tom, a visitor from the hinterlands who comes to enjoy some air conditioning--an escape from the Texas heat. Unwittingly he becomes subject to the power of the art and returns from time to time.

Angela Dinkelman plays the role of Margie, a housewife/mother who is enjoying a day of self-indulgence which includes dining on frog's legs at a French restaurant. She returns also but with a twist we will not reveal.

Laura Virella was totally convincing as a Latina lesbian who has come to the chapel for a memorial for a friend who died of AIDS. She too has an interesting twist in her future. What goes around, as they say.

Alexander Mason took the role of Albert, an Algerian immigrant working in IT who is bearing the brunt of hostility toward Middle-Easterners just after 9/11. He is in fact a Berber.

Lydia Adelle Brown gave a convincing performance as Cece, an African-American teenager from New Orleans who has been uprooted by Katrina and taken in by a Houston family. She is filled with anger but her exposure to Rothko's paintings, encouraged by her teacher (guess who!), produces a profound change in her future.

After all those monologues, it was a pleasure to see a couple of the characters interact toward the end.

If you love stories like this, which we do, you will enjoy this music-theater piece. If you love Rothko's art, which we do not, you will also enjoy this work. And if you are a fan of contemporary opera you will find much to enjoy here.

Our feelings about Laura Kaminsky's music are mixed. The instrumental music, as performed by some superb musicians under the baton of Maestro William Remmers, is sometimes lyrical and, at other times, jarring and disharmonious. (Guess which we liked!) But there is nary a suggestion of a pleasing melodic line for the singers, which seems to be the current standard for contemporary opera. That Ms. Kaminsky is celebrated is a fact-- but we still didn't emerge from the 75 min. piece with a desire to repeat the experience.

Lochlan Brown was impressive on the keyboard and we particularly appreciated the sonorities of the winds (flute, bassoon, and trombone--quite an unusual combination). We also noted the interesting percussion.

The libretto by Mark Campbell and Kimberly Reed (who also partnered with Ms. Kaminsky for the recently reviewed As One) was wordy and reads better than it sings. It might have worked better as a play. Actually, we perceived it more as one of those one-woman plays in which a gifted actor plays all the parts.  We loved Mr. Campbell's libretto for The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, seen at Santa Fe Opera--the review of which can be found by utilizing the search bar. In that case, his words and Mason Bates' music seemed to work well together. We did not have that experience on this occasion. One might say that the light that emerged did not enlighten us.

Stage Direction by David Schweizer was simple but appropriate, as was the simple costuming by Eric Lamp and Angel Betancourt.

We missed melody and we missed Maestro Remmers' pre-performance dry humor in his role as Artistic Director. We didn't see hide nor hair of him until he ascended the podium!

(c) meche kroop

UTOPIA DOES BABY DOE

Eizabeth Bouk, Angela Dinkelman, Maestro William Remmers, Jack Anderson White, and Julia Snowden

We rarely enjoy an operatic performance without taking notes but (note this!) we were so absorbed in the story and the performances last night that we did not. Douglas Moore's The Ballad of Baby Doe is 60 years old but its resonance is quite contemporary.  Beverly Sills sang the lead with New York City Opera and later the role was taken by Faith Esham and Elizabeth Futral. We understand that it has been often performed around the United States but we had never seen it until last night when Utopia Opera gave it an admirable production.

John Latouche's libretto limns a story that strikes several chords with us Americans. The history of the West, for one thing, with its saloons and dance hall girls, is a favorite theme; even Puccini grabbed onto that with his Fanciulla del West. The rise and fall of tycoons is another favorite theme, as is the defiance of societal norms.  All these are present in the tale of Horace Tabor who, with the help of his wife (the boss' daughter), clawed and schemed his way to the top of the social heap in late 19th c. Colorado.

Augusta had been a fine helpmeet but when Mr. Tabor heard "Baby" Doe sing "The Willow Song", he was smitten (as were we) and left his loyal wife. The scandal led to social ostracism but their love endured until his death. Because of the United States switching from the silver standard to the gold standard, he died impoverished, a broken man.

It is a tribute to some mighty fine performances that we were left caring about all the characters. Angela Dinkelman's soaring soprano took her from a woman of questionable repute in Act I, through to the devoted wife who cradled her dying husband at the conclusion. In the interim, she is pampered with riches--but she unquestioningly relinquishes them when her husband's poor judgment bankrupts him.  We could tell from her vocal coloration that she was a good person and not a hussy.

As the improvident Horace Tabor, Jack Anderson White's manly baritone clarified how he could attract two such exceptional women. His chemistry with Baby Doe was powerful and their duets contained harmonies redolent of their attraction and ultimately of their mutual love.  As Baby Doe tells her mother (the excellent and believable Julia Snowden), her first husband was never the love of her life.  Tabor was.

Elizabeth Bouk's rich mezzo was a fine counterpart to Ms. Dinkelman's high-flying soprano. Her Augusta grew from the sharp bitterness of a rejected wife to the softer compassion she felt for Tabor when fate turned against him. She had tried but failed during their marriage to get him to be more circumspect and conservative, but her primness was not to his liking.

In this day and age, two people falling for each other and divorcing their spouses to be together would scarcely raise eyebrows, but in the late 19th c., where this story took place (and yes, it is based on real historical figures) there was scandal aplenty, and plenty of encouragement toward vengeance from Augusta's female friends. But this impressive figure took the high road and we felt great sympathy for her when she became old and sick.

There is also the interesting feature of primly dressed women assuming a high-brow stance at the "Opry House" in Leadville which was built by Tabor himself. Notably, the husbands preferred to hang out in the saloon with the dancing girls!

In grand opera tradition, there would be a huge cast and elaborate scenes of the wedding, the ball, the political rally, etc. But the modest resources of Utopia Opera served them well, allowing the intimate drama to unfold and touch our hearts.  Indeed, most of the arias are private contemplations and reminiscences. We are privy to the characters' innermost feelings and this allows us to empathize in a way we cannot in a large theater with scene-stealing sets.

Another feature of a small company is that each member gets to perform in several roles. Limitations of space prevent us from crediting the dozens of superb performers who collaborated to make this opera the success that it was.

Gary Slavin's astute direction kept the story moving along successfully.

Under the baton of Maestro William Remmers, the orchestra gave Douglas Moore's music a lot of pizazz. A half dozen strings were bowed on the floor level, whilst 13 winds squeezed onto one side of the stage. We had no problem with the balance and enjoyed the accessible (and happily non-academic) music. Tyler Mashek handled the percussion and Levi Vutipadorn manned the keyboard. No complaints on that account!

Readers may wonder why we have not complained about the English in which it was written. We were surprised at how well John Latouche's writing reflected American speech patterns and the pleasing vocal lines that resulted. It is unfortunate that this was the sole collaboration of Moore and Latouche. If only more contemporary operas could learn from this one.

It is also due to the fine English diction that we were absolved from reading the titles, which were helpful mainly when Ms. Dinkelmann's voice reached the stratosphere.

The stage was bare, except for a few chairs that were multi-purposed. Costuming was sourced from the performers own closets and assembled with imagination. We did not feel at all disturbed by the lack of authenticity to the period. When push comes to shove, we are mostly interested in musical and dramatic validity.

We understand that Utopia's June production will be Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin....in Russian.  Is there nothing Maestro Remmers will not tackle?  We doubt it.  Perhaps The Ring Cycle?

Stay tuned to learn which operas won the Audience Choice competition for next year.  We have been sworn to secrecy and we NEVER EVER leak.  Well, hardly ever!

(c) meche kroop

THE OTHER CINDERELLA

Zen Wu, Melissa Serlluco, Ryan Slone, Jeff Goble, Caroline Tye, Alison Cheeseman, and Hayden DeWitt

When thinking about operatic versions of Cinderella, most people think of Rossini's La Cenerentola. But Massenet's 1899 opera Cendrillon offers many delights, including a luscious score with many fine arias and ensembles and a libretto (by Henri Caïn) that hews more closely to the original Perrault story which was already two centuries old. It can be taken as a tale of a highly dysfunctional family.

Papa Pandolfe (warmly portrayed by Jeff Goble) has taken as his second wife the harridan Madame de la Haltière (the over-the-top Caroline Tye) who has brought with her two spoiled daughters Noémie (Zen Wu) and Dorothée (Melissa Serluco). Pandolfe's daughter Lucette (Alison Cheeseman) is adored by her father, who feels guilty for neglecting her, and barely tolerated by her step-family.  This feels so relevant today when "blended families" are quite common.

William Remmers' Utopia Opera operates under a rather unique concept. Audience members vote online for the operas they want to hear the following season. We are consistently amazed by how Maestro Remmers rises to every challenge and comes up with a solution to the problem of combining entertainment and professionalism on a miniscule budget.

Although we always enjoy ourselves and admire the creativity, last night we were wildly impressed by the superlative performances of every performer and the innovative direction of Mr. Remmers who truly knows how to tell a story and to tell it well. We were engrossed and enchanted.

Although there is no scenery and barely any props, the story is told and told well. Costumes are of the "let's put on a show" variety. We imagine cast members rummaging through closets and coming up with something to express the characters they are portraying.  Most original of all was the black tie,  top hat , white silk scarf, and cigarette holder of The Fairy Godmother. The description sounds odd but, trust us, it worked incredibly well. Her fairy spirits dressed completely in white.

Lucette appears first in dowdy clothes of nondescript color and later in a shimmery garment with sparkly shoes. The henpecked Pandolfe wears a velvet jacket. Member of Lucette's step-family wear lavish ball gowns.

We first saw Cendrillon at the Santa Fe Opera ten years ago in a beautiful Laurent Pelly production with Joyce Di Donato in the title role-- and again two year ago at Juilliard with Julia Bullock. We were delighted both times but there was something about the intimacy of the Utopia Opera production that will stay in our mind.

There are a number of unforgettable scenes that one is not likely to forget!  You must see for yourself.

Massenet's music is deliciously romantic; Remmers' 19-member orchestra did the score justice once Mr. Remmers' baton brought them all together and achieved balance between the strings and the winds. We were particularly taken by the English horn solos of Zachary Rosalinsky which accompanied the love duets. The love duet between Pandolfe and Lucette was just as fine as that between her and Prince Charming.

Ms. Cheeseman made a winsome Lucette, one we could care about. We could feel compassion for Mr. Goble's Pandolfe who just made a bad marital decision. We could laugh at the domineering step-mother and the ridiculously entitled and sulky step-sisters. But we were most enthralled by the otherwordly magic of Angela Dinkelman's Fairy Godmother whose costume played so strongly against our expectations. Massenet gave her the best music and she didn't let him down!

Even the chorus was well-rehearsed. The fine direction led to camera-perfect stage pictures such that we have spent hours editing down the multiplicity of shots. And we must mention the fine French diction that was totally understandable.  Our companion told us that the titles were down for a period and we never noticed!

If you have been tempted to share our joy by attending, you will find the Lang Recital Hall at Hunter College to have superb sight lines and you will be amazed at the ridiculously low ticket prices. This same cast will perform next Saturday night, with a (likely just as fine) second cast performing tonight and next Friday night. You won't be disappointed!

(c) meche kroop

Caroline Miller, Angela Dinkelman, Jazmin DeRice, Rebecca Paul, and Adam Klein

It is astonishing that the small and scrappy Utopia Opera would even consider mounting a challenging opera like Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos. It is even more astonishing that they succeeded admirably, presenting a highly entertaining and honorable production of this century old work. But then company founder and director William Remmers is undauntable and unflappable in the face of any challenge. His motto must be "Bring it On!"

Hugo von Hofmannsthal's libretto is replete with humor but bears serious undertones. We are in the home of "the richest man in Vienna" who has planned an evening's entertainment involving a new work by a young composer, an opéra seria about Ariadne, abandoned on the island of Naxos by her lover Theseus. This is to be followed by a light entertainment of the opéra comique genre involving commedia del'arte characters. We are led to consider a society's concern with "high art" versus "low art". We are not the first generation to face this choice.

In order to be finished in time for the 9:00 fireworks, it has been decided at the last minute to present the two works on the same stage at the same time--a preposterous notion of course but a juxtaposition leading to some interesting situations when the flirtatious Zerbinetta (Jessica Philpot) tries to get the suicidal Ariadne (Rebecca Paul) to cheer up and find a new lover. Ariadne longs for death and the arrival of the god Bacchus (Adam Klein) is mistaken for Hermès who will take her to the underworld.

The music is lush, complex, and heavily orchestrated. Happily, the live orchestra, conducted by polymath Mr. Remmers, was up to the challenge and the textures of Christopher Fecteau's orchestral reduction ensured that nothing was lost.

The parts were well cast, for the most part, and the sizable voices did justice to the work. Elizabeth Bouk was dramatically convincing as the neophyte composer who was understandably furious about the trashing of her work but somewhat mollified by the attentions of Zerbinetta.

Notable were the three nymphs who sang in gorgeous harmony, reminding us that Richard Wagner had considerable influence on Strauss.  Sopranos Angela Dinkelman as Naiad and Caroline Miller as Echo were joined by mezzo-soprano Jazmin DeRice as Dryade. Not only were they gorgeously costumed (wardrobe by Eric Lamp) and spectacularly made up by Rachel Estabrook, but they sported long ribbons from each finger which somehow made us think of the Rhinemädchens.

The difficult music for the three leads was well-performed and the smaller roles were as well. Zerbinetta's companions Truffaldino (Roman Laba), Scaramuccio (Samuel Themer), Brighella (Gilad Paz who also sang the role of the dance master), and Harlekin (Jonathan Rohr who sang a fine duet with Ms. Philpot)--all of them added horseplay and humor.

Veteran baritone Richard Holmes did a fine job as the Music Master who tried to console the young composer with the wisdom that age brings. One does best to accept what one cannot change! The officious Major-Domo, a spoken role, was well handled by David Seatter. Stage Director Benjamin Spierman took on the role of a Lackey and also translated the excellent titles. Notably, everyone's German was comprehensible.

Fortunately for New York opera lovers, there will be THREE more performances, one tonight and again next Friday and Saturday nights--all at 7:30 at Hunter College. Tickets are very modestly priced for this quality of work. Don't miss an opportunity to hear some stirringly conducted music and a finely directed drama.

(c) meche kroop