WHAT A WONDERFUL WEDDING IT WAS!

Jeni Houser as Susanna

Jesse Blumberg as Figaro

It was the social event of the season and we were thrilled to be invited.  In keeping with the exclusivity of the event and the size of Count Almaviva's summer residence on Hudson St. in the West Village, it was a small private event, limited to only fifty fortunate guests.

The ceremony was delayed for about two hours and we guests were privy to all the preparations.  We got to chat with Figaro himself as he studied the room allotted by the Count, trying to figure out where to place the marital bed.  We got to greet his bride Susanna as she made her preparations.  

The ceremony, which was delayed due to all kinds of complications, finally took place with the entire household in attendance and guests being treated to glasses of Madeira with which to toast the bridal couple, and some lovely sweetmeats, ensuring that the marriage would be a sweet one.

We are speaking, of course, of The Marriage of Figaro, not the Mozart version, but a relatively unknown version written by Marcos Portugal in 1799 with libretto by Gaetano Rossi, who, like Da Ponte, adapted the work from a play by Beaumarchais. The story was basically the same with a few minor variations.

On Site Opera has made their mark by presenting lesser known operas in site-specific settings. This work marks the centerpiece of their exploration of the Beaumarchais trilogy. Having experienced several of their excellent productions, we count their contributions as crucial to the New York City opera landscape.

The production team is no less than visionary: Executive Director/Producer Jessica Kiger sees her company as complementary to grand opera, not a replacement. Indeed, there is something unique and incredibly special about opera up close and personal.

Stage Director Eric Einhorn has exquisite taste and judgment in each and every production, moving characters around the set and giving them stage business that is meaningful.

Conductor Geoffrey McDonald not only brings out the best in his musicians and singers, but, in this case, collaborated with guitarist José Luis Iglesias to produce a version of the score involving four classical musicians (violin, cello, clarinet, and oboe) with three musicians suggestive of Portuguese fado music (classical guitar, Portuguese guitar, and accordion). 

That sounds strange on paper but the music they made seemed totally appropriate and fell fantastically well on the ear. Furthermore, it helped to get the point across that we were hearing an entirely different work and not a "copy of Mozart".

This being an opera, the voices were, shall we say, "instrumental" in the success of this venture. As the eponymous Figaro, lyric baritone Jesse Blumberg soared gracefully through the material and conveyed the wily resourcefulness of his character.  As his bride Susanna, soprano Jeni Houser sang warmly and winningly. Their chemistry together was wonderful, not only in their duets but in the dialogue.

(In place of recitativi, we had effective dialogue written by Joan Holden.)

As the beleaguered Countess Almaviva, soprano Camille Zamora was believable and sang with warmth and lovely tone. We particularly enjoyed her duet with Ms. Houser.

Tenor David Blalock made a marvelous Count Almaviva, both dramatically and vocally. He conveyed all of the Count's arrogance and eventual contrition.

Soprano Melissa Wimbish made a perfect Cherubino, totally convincing in her mischievous portrayal, and vocally excellent.

For humor, we had the Marcellina of mezzo-soprano Margaret Lattimore, whom we much enjoyed some years ago and were happy to see back onstage. Bass-baritone David Langan was just right as Don Bartolo.

Bass-baritone Ryan Kuster excelled as the slimy Don Basilio and bass-baritone Antoine Hodge was hilarious as the gardener Antonio and even funnier as the notary Gusmano. He kept falling asleep even as he was reading the documents and we couldn't help noticing that his character was the only person in the room who was. (So unlike sitting at the Met surrounded by snoring audience members.)

So--this production was anything but a snooze.  It was incredibly involving and one left feeling as if one was a participant, not an observer.

Had the musical values been any less wonderful, we might have been telling you that the set stole the show.  The performance was a multi-storied and elaborately decorated house on Hudson St. which audience members were invited to explore before the opera began. It was great fun to encounter the cast members already in character.  One truly felt a part of the proceedings.

Costumes by Haley Lieberman seemed to suggest an indeterminate period in the second half of the 20th c.

The opera was sung in English and, although we would have preferred to hear it in the original Italian, we admit that the translation by Gilly French and Jeremy Gray was exceptionally well done, using some clever rhymes like "marriage/disparage".  Contributing to our tolerance for the English was the fact that every cast member had excellent diction, a quality we do not take for granted.

We feel a bit guilty praising so highly a work which few of you will get to see. The four-day run was sold out long ago and we can only hope that it will be presented again in the future so that more people might experience the same thrill that we did.

Obviously the economics of producing such an elaborate work in such intimate quarters for such a small audience to enjoy is an issue. On Site Opera deserves your philanthropy!

© meche kroop

NYOE GETS LUCIA RIGHT

Adam Fieldson, John Viscardi, Sarah Beckham-Turner, Alden Gatt, Joseph Michael Brent and Antoine Hodge

Lucia di Lammermoor is a sensational opera.  Onto Salvadore Cammarano's libretto, Gaetano Donizetti lavished endlessly glorious melodies.  It is so precious to us that we doubly value a company that does it justice and would malign one that trivializes it in any way.  We are delighted to report that New York Opera Exchange has gotten it right and if you are fortunate enough to snag one of the few remaining tickets for today's matinee, you will probably send us flowers or chocolate in gratitude for the tip.

The success of the opera rests heavily on the shoulders of the eponymous tragic heroine whose mad scene is one of the finest in all operadom.  Last night, soprano Sarah Beckham-Turner tore into the demanding coloratura of the scena with wild abandon.  She was completely convincing as a fragile creature completely unhinged by the machinations and manipulations of her politically desperate brother.  Her gown spattered with blood and her hair undone, she immersed herself totally in the role. Every gesture and flight of fioritura was spot on. Who could ask for anything more! This young woman will surely go places in the opera world.

As said conniving brother, baritone John Viscardi was superb. His recent switch of fach from tenor to lyric baritone was a wise one.  His voice sat comfortably in this range, enabling him to focus on a well-rounded interpretation of the role of Enrico, far better than the nasty sneering interpretation we are accustomed to hearing.  He seemed like a fairly decent fellow who was pushed by circumstances into doing bad things.  His remorse in witnessing his sister's downfall seemed authentic and allowed the audience to have some pity for his position.

As Lucia's ill-fated lover Edgardo, tenor Joseph Michael Brent sang well and exhibited all the requisite emotions except for one; we wanted to see some tenderness toward Lucia in their initial scene together to explain why she would have defied her family to pledge her love to him.  He did much better in the scene in which he returns from France to find Lucia married to Arturo and bristled with anger. 

Bass-baritone Antoine Hodge was the voice of normality in this power-crazed family, giving substance to the role of Raimondo, the family's spiritual counselor.  Captain of the Guard Normanno was the character who set the tragedy in motion by spying on Lucia's encounters with Edgardo and then egging on the brother Enrico.  Tenor Adam Fieldson overcame the natural sweetness of his instrument and lent sneering arrogance to the part.

The role of Arturo was finely sung by tenor Vincent Festa and mezzo-soprano Chelsea Laggan did well as Alisa, Lucia's companion who warns her to stay away from Edgardo of Ravenswood, enemy of her clan, the Lammermoors.

Conductor Alden Gatt deftly led the full orchestra through their paces. There was some fine work during the mad scene by flutist Felipe Tristan, and the wind chorales which opened several scenes were powerful.  A keyboard sufficed for the harp.There were a few times when the size of the orchestra overpowered the singers, likely due to their placement on the same level as the audience.

The effective direction was by Christopher Diercksen; the pace was kept up and the story moved along briskly.  There was no set to speak of but it wasn't missed.  Taylor Mills' costuming was minimal.  Street clothes seemed to be the order of the day with motley plaid sashes on some of the cast members. We would have liked to see all the men wearing the same plaid to indicate membership in the same clan, with Edgardo wearing a different plaid.  This would have emphasized the substance of the tragedy--the destructiveness of rivalry with and hatred of "the other", a feature that still exists in many parts of the world.

We wish to counteract the claim that "opera is dying" with the observation that opera is alive and well in the hands of small companies like New York Opera Exchange which rely on talent rather than "big names".  We similarly wish to counteract the claim that "opera is for old folks" with the observation that the packed house at The Church of the Covenant on 42nd St. comprised mostly 20-somethings.

We are already anticipating NY Opera Exchange's production of Carmen in May.

(c) meche kroop