CARMEN CONDENSED

Doug Durlacher, Sichel Claverie, Brent Reilly Turner

We had barely recovered from the emotional impact of Heartbeat Opera's Madama Butterfly when we were hit with another wallop by their Carmen. When we planned this "double feature" evening, we were expecting a pair of "Cliff Notes" of the two operas.  After all, how much could one say by truncating an opera into an hour and a half?  Surely we were in for a light-weight experience!

How wrong we were! The right people can say a great deal in a short period of time. By knowing just what to strip away and where to put the emphasis, a revised and abbreviated version of a beloved opera can have a huge impact and take us to new places. Co-Artistic Director of Heartbeat Opera Louisa Proske directed a compressed essence of Carmen that left us feeling stabbed in the heart.

This condensed Carmen took us to a new place, a borderland between two places where anything might happen. Kate Noll's set was a guard house with a chain-link fence surmounted by barbed wire. A very athletic Carmen is creeping on the ground, then climbing up and over the guard house. Was it Chloe Treat's amazing choreography that had her crawling in and out of doors and windows trying to escape the guards? In any case, it was raw and realistic.

There is no cigar factory.  There is no bullfight. There is no card game or mountain passes. No Mercedes, no Frasquita, no Remendado or Dancaire.  No Lilas Pastias' Tavern. There is only the story of four people and two triangles. Micaela loves Don Jose. He is conflicted.  His mother wants him to wed this "good girl" and lovely soprano Jessica Sandidge was perfect in the part. She was most affecting in her aria "Je dis que rien ne m'epouvante". Her body language and voice joined forces to make us feel both her terror and her faith.

But Don Jose (the fine tenor Brent Reilly Turner) has become entranced by this highly intense Carmen, portrayed with wild abandon and stamina by the impressive smoky mezzo-soprano Sichel Claverie. Her infatuation fades when she encounters Escamillo--a bullfighter by libretto, but in this case a hopped-up coke-snorting hoodlum. In this role, baritone Ricardo Rivera gave an amazingly physical performance that had elements of humor that the audience appreciated.

Mr. Ricardo is no stranger to singing this role but we are quite sure he has never performed it like this before. One funny moment occurred as he entered with "You know who I am? Play my song!". The audience roared with glee but hushed as soon as the jazz orchestra (saxophone, guitar, violin, viola, bass, and piano) struck up a unique arrangement of "The Toreador Song".

Daniel Schlosberg was Music Director for this production, both conducting and playing the piano, as well as arranging the score. In the afore-mentioned scene, the musicians have joined Carmen and Don Jose and a generic smuggler (Parker Drown) to dance and swill beer in an improvised fiesta under colored lights.

Ms. Claverie gave an enticing delivery of the "Seguidilla" and we thought we wouldn't get to hear the "Habanera" but she sang it after Don Jose stabbed her as a kind of postlude commentary. After the knockdown dragout fight with the violent Don Jose (Fight Director was Rick Sordelet) we don't know how she found the breath to fill out the phrases so well but she did.

So we got most of Bizet's luscious music along with a fresh look at an old favorite.

Beth Goldenberg's costumes were a propos.

The opera world is becoming increasingly specialized with so many small companies occupying their own niches. Heartbeat Opera has established theirs in presenting radical adaptations of the classics, being both physically and emotionally right in your face. That they are speaking to the 21st c. is evident from the youthful composition of their audience. Their new home at the Baruch Performing Arts Center appears to be just right with ample student input!

(c) meche kroop

BACK TO THE GARDEN

ON SITE OPERA CURTAIN CALL

Sitting in the fragrant and manicured West Side Community Garden on W. 89th St. we couldn't help thinking of that classic rock tune by Crosby, Stills, and Nash with the lyrics "And we got to get ourselves back to the garden".

Had On Site Opera's production of Mozart's The Secret Garden not been so compelling the gorgeous colors of the Spring flowers might have upstaged it.  Happily, nothing could have upstaged this production, one that left us with a big smile which should last us at least through the weekend. Looking at the faces of the audience members indicated that our joy was a shared experience

The wildly creative stage director Eric Einhorn has so many tricks up his sleeve that we never know what he will come up with next.  Except we do know and we will tell you a bit at the end of this review. The entire premise of On Site Opera is to match the production to an appropriate setting. Regular readers will know exactly what we refer to but others can enter "On Site Opera" into the search bar to fill in their knowledge, lest we repeat ourselves.

Right now, it is the current production that commands our attention and mobilizes our face into a goofy grin. What an inspiration to present Mozart's La finta giardiniera in a garden! The site was perfect with the audience sitting around the perimeter of a large grassy circle with the action taking place both within the circle and in the aisles around and behind the audience. The cast of seven could remain interacting with each other whilst the principal participants in that scene were "center stage". Occasionally, cast members interacted with members of the audience.

It seemed so organic but probably an incredible amount of labor was necessary to produce that effect of spontaneity. To our surprise the acoustics were excellent. Calzabigi's libretto was translated and obviously adapted by Kelley Rourke, and a very fine translation it was. The scene in which Sandrina and Count Belfiore go insane was wisely cut and the 90 minute production moved along swiftly, relying on spoken dialogue in place of recitativi to move the action forward. Readers may be shocked to learn that we enjoyed the English but there was great skill involved in converting this silly and unwieldy story into an hour and a half of pure delight. Focus was placed squarely on the interactions of the lovers.

The story concerns seven would-be lovers all at odds with one another until they learn certain lessons. The three male suitors must learn how to court the women they desire. Count Belfiore (beautifully sung by tenor Spencer Viator) has anger management issues that drove away his beloved Lady Violet (the marvelous soprano Ashley Kerr) who is hiding out working for the Mayor (performed by terrific tenor Jonathan Blalock), as a gardener named Sandrina,

Superb baritone Jorell Williams (a product of Martina Arroyo's Prelude to Performance some years ago) portrayed Lady Violet's servant who has accompanied her, also disguised; he learns to court the Mayor's servant Serpetta (splendid soprano Alisa Jordheim) in a foreign language which she clearly finds far more romantic than English.

The modest Ramiro (portrayed by marvelous mezzo Kristin Gornstein, well known from Heartbeat Opera) must overcome his diffidence and pursue the Mayor's niece Arminda. Soprano Maeve Hoglund created quite a character--what the French would call exigent. She only accepts Ramiro when he gets forceful. Faint heart never won fair lady, as they say.

We find mating behavior fascinating--pursuit, rejection, betrayal, reconciliation--far more than stories about terrorism, politics, and inventions. We wish more contemporary composers would write about romance. Don't we all love to see our foibles onstage?

There were plenty of sight gags to add to the fun. Props like rakes, spades, and garden hoses were put to good use which you will want to see for yourself.

So the story was engaging, the singers splendiferous, the setting delightful, the English diction perfect. Even the lighting (designed by Shawn K. Kaufman) was inventive with strings of white lights encircling the garden, changing to blue when the Count was desperate and to red when things heated up. Costume design by Beth Goldenberg was right on point with Arminda appearing quite glamorous in her Schiaparelli pink costume and hat. Even the shoes were perfect with Sandrina (Lady Violet) wearing yellow Wellies and the Count wearing violet patent leather.

But this is opera and we have yet to say a word about Mozart's music.  He was but 18 years old when he composed the work (and what's YOUR 18-year-old doing?). The melodies that tumbled out one after another from his teen-aged pen were brilliantly conducted by Maestro Geoffrey McDonald with his customary stylish verve. The reduced orchestration was accomplished by horn player Yoni Kahn and Thomas Carroll. Orchestration was effectively distributed among a pair of oboes, a pair of period clarinets, a pair of bassoons, a pair of horns, and a double bass. The group calls itself Grand Harmonie and lives up to its name. The vocal lines are all melodious and the ensembles filled with pleasing harmonies.

The fact that On Site Opera presented this gift to our community (a new initiative of theirs) is astonishing and surely merits one's consideration of a generous donation.

This is a co-production with The Atlanta Opera and will be presented at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens next weekend. So, unless you want to travel south, we strongly urge you to show up tonight and to show up early. The production begins at 7 so don't say we didn't warn you. Saturday night is the final performance. The address is 123 W. 89th St. in Manhattan.

W promised to tell you a bit about what On Site Opera has coming up.  The United States premiere of Darius Milhaud's The Guilty Mother will be presented at The Garage, 611 W. 50th St. on June 20, 22, 23 and 24. If you've ever wondered what happened to the folks DaPonte wrote about, this will be your chance.

Finally, we would like to mention that we have a lot more to say about this opera which we reviewed two years ago at the Santa Fe Opera. If you enter "Crazy in Love" into the search bar above, you will be directed to a funny psychological analysis which we wrote about their very fine traditional production.

(c) meche kroop

ROMAN (un)CIVILIZATION

Andrew Munn, Cody Quattlebaum, Avery Amereau, Nicolette Mavroleon, Onadek Winan, Samantha Hankey, and Jakub Jozef Orlinski (photo by Richard Termine)

It is a most unusual occurrence for us to wish to see a production a second time immediately after the first time, but if Juilliard's production of Handel's Agrippina were to be repeated we would be over the moon. Thanks to some highly creative direction by Louisa Proske, superlative singing by a dazzling cast, and impressive playing by the musicians of Juilliard 415, Handel's entry in the 1709 Carnevale season "sweepstakes" was a major hit.

From our point of view, it was a grand privilege to be among the small audience fortunate enough to get a seat in the intimate Wilson Theater. But we could not help feeling sorry for opera lovers who did not get the same opportunity. The production deserves to be seen by a wide audience.

Handel was but 24 years old when he composed his first true operatic masterpiece and seems to have mastered the art of setting the Italian language, delighting the audience with nearly 50 gorgeous arias, many of them tailored from earlier works. In Cardinal Vincenzo Grimani, he found a fine librettist who played fast and loose with characters known from historical documents describing the waning days of the corrupt Roman Empire.

The work, although called an opera seria, is actually a black comedy that allows us to laugh at the machinations of evil people. The anti-heroine is the scheming Agrippina herself who will stop at nothing to position her son Nerone on the Emperor's throne--a subject tackled over 60 years earlier by Monteverdi in the darker L'incoronazione di Poppea.

In the title role, originally written for the soprano voice, mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey was completely convincing as the grasping Empress, always devising convoluted schemes to dispatch her many enemies whilst convincing them that she was on their side. The vocal demands are many but Ms. Hankey produced gorgeous tones and showed no evidence of fatigue or strain. Her many facial expressions and gestures revealed her character--resolute, conniving, and power mad.

As her husband Claudio, bass-baritone Cody Quattlebaum turned in yet another perfect performance, nearly unrecognizable in elaborate makeup and even more elaborate wig. He created a character both bumbling and lascivious. His sound was generous and secure with a firm foundation.

Agrippina's son Nerone was portrayed as a spoiled weakling, hiding behind his mother's voluminous skirts. Soprano NIcolette Mavroleon bounded around the stage like the nasty youth he was supposed to be, playing violently with his military figures. Ms. Mavroleon handled the fioritura of her arias with great ease.

The only sympathetic character in the story is Ottone, and in this role we had the remarkable counter-tenor Jakub Jozef Orlinski. The role was written for a contralto but Mr. Orlinski sounds the way, we imagine, a castrato might have sounded (without sacrificing any body parts). There is a breadth and depth to his sound that we do not hear very often in the counter-tenor fach and it is astonishing. Equally astonishing is his physicality. When Ottone was happy, he somersaulted and cartwheeled around the stage.

Ottone is one of three suitors for the hand of the vain and superficial Poppea, the others being Claudio and Nero. The role of Poppea was performed in high style by soprano Onadek Winan who played her as a bimbo. She was particularly fine in "Vaghe perle, eletti fiori."

At first she was deceived by Agrippina's deceitful offer of friendship but the second time she too became filled with vengeance and established her own plot.

Two characters are enlisted by Agrippina to serve her ends but they too suss out her deceitfulness and rebel. The role of Narciso, written for alto castrato, was magnificently performed by mezzo-soprano Avery Amereau. The program lists her as a mezzo-soprano but our experience of her unique vocal timbre has us thinking "contralto". So many mezzos sound alike but Ms. Amereau sounds like no one else. It is a gorgeous sound and one that lingers in the ear. Furthermore, the artist had such fun with her role, creating a character as unique as her voice.

Baritone Jacob Scharfman sounded excellent in the role of Pallante, one which we believe was originally written for the bass fach. He too created a unique character, given to foppery and elaborate gestures.

As the slave/messenger Lesbo, Andrew Munn sang well and provided humor as he tried to get Claudio away from Poppea when Agrippina was approaching.

Much of the success of the creation of individual characters goes to director Louisa Proske. Co-Director of Hearbeat Opera, we have thrilled to the originality of her vision on a number of occasions. We have been highly displeased by the work of directors hauled in from film work who are ignorant of opera and create productions that may film well but are unkind to singers. On the contrary, Ms. Proske really knows her stuff and can create vivid dramatic pictures whilst maintaining the integrity of the vocalism.

Additionally, she was able to provide stage business that seemed to motivate vocal flourishes.  As an example we cite Poppea's opening a golden cask and launching into some impressive coloratura as she finds the strands of pearls

Part of the effectiveness evolves from movement training and no doubt Emma Jaster made significant contributions in establishing a unique movement style for each performer. This is particularly useful when vocal colors and phrasing are somewhat limited by the Baroque style.

Beth Goldenberg's costumes were extravagant and dazzling. Homage was paid to the Baroque period with baroque perukes and the lines of the women's gowns. The Roman period was acknowledged by the presence of togas and breastplates. Contemporary fashions made an appearance in Nerone's gold athletic shoes. In lesser hands this could have been an atrocious failure but Ms. Goldenberg's skill and taste made everything work together.

Kate Noll's set was nothing less than miraculous. With the audience seated on three sides of a rectangle in this black box theater, the center was occupied by a room with very low defining walls which were actually benches for sitting, covered with motley rugs and pillows bringing in touches of Asia and Africa. The universality of the story struck home with great force. One wonders if our country faces the same fate as the decadent Roman Empire!

Lighting by Oliver Wason was effective.

Let us not neglect the splendid playing of Juilliard 415, a preeminent period instrument ensemble. Maestro Jeffrey Grossman conducted from the harpsichord with Eunji Li on a second harpsichord. Violinists were Jeffrey Girton and Augusta McKay Lodge; violist was Alana Youssefian; cellist was Matt Zucker; bassist was Hugo Abraham. Fiona Last and Welvin Potter harmonized with the singers by means of oboe and recorder. Neil Chen played bassoon and the pair of theorbos were played by Adam Cockenham and Arash Noon.

(c) meche kroop