MOZART FOR YOU; MOZART FOR ME; MOZART FOR EVERYONE

Christa Hylton, Georgios Papadimitriou, John Schenkel-photo by Steve Faust

We never tire of Mozart and Nozze di Figaro may just be our favorite.  Otherwise why would we have spent an hour on the subway (each way) to catch Regina Opera Company's final performance?  Was it worth the trip?  Yes it was.  The opera was presented in its entirety with every line of recitative intact.  The opera itself is a perfect marriage of music and text with an endless stream of melodies, marvelous opportunities for singers to show their stuff in glorious arias, sympathetic characters and trenchant social commentary.    Although several characters created by Lorenzo da Ponte seem derived from commedia del'arte, the master's hand is evident as he limns their humanity, flaws and all, and develops their respective characters over the course of the opera.  If any reader has read or seen the Beaumarchais plays from which Da Ponte derived his libretto, we hope you will comment below.  We saw his Marriage of Figaro last season at the Pearl Theater and enjoyed it thoroughly but still prefer the opera.

The Regina Opera's sets (by Director Linda Lehr) were simple but workable and the same could be said for the costumes.  The casting was astute and there were some fine performances to enjoy.  As the eponymous hero, bass-baritone Georgios Papadimitriou was outstanding, both vocally and dramatically; he created a Figaro who was charming and wily, completely focused on outwitting Count Almaviva (baritone Julian Whitley) who was intent on obstructing Figaro's marriage. Clever Susanna was sung by the adorable Jenny Ribeiro whose "Deh vieni non tardar" was incredibly beautiful and taken at a slow tempo; the audience burst into applause prematurely and nearly missed her magnificent cadenza.  The sad and neglected Countess Almaviva was well sung by Christina Rohm who deserved the large round of applause she got for "Dove sono".

Another splendid performance was turned in by mezzo Danielle Horta as Cherubino, pleasing the audience with her "Non so più" and "Voi che sapete".  As Marcellina, mezzo Christa Hylton  had us giggling every time she came onstage with her ridiculous hat with yellow feathers and her expressive face.  She handled the transition from the vengeful creditor who wanted her "pound of flesh" from Figaro to his generous loving mother without missing a beat.  Another hilarious performance was given by tenor Alejandro Salvia as the foppish Don Basilio, sporting a bright pink wig and turquoise satin breeches--a vision to be sure.

Bass-baritone John Schenkel was a most convincing Dr. Bartolo but had some problems projecting his voice.  This might be due to the split-level pit, an unfortunate situation due to a lack of space (strings at conductor-level and winds buried behind and below) .  Another consequence of this situation was a degree of imbalance in the orchestra which was conducted by Maestro Scott Jackson Wiley. There was, however, no imbalance among the voices in the gorgeous duets and ensembles.

Antonio was played by Gene Howard and his daughter Barbarina by Nicole Leone.  Don Curzio was performed by Brian Ribeiro.  Special mention must be made of the fine chorus.

© meche kroop

BARE BONES FLESHED OUT

Meredith Hudak, John Kaneklides, Violetta Zabbi, Julie-Anne Hamula, Wayne Line, Carol Castel, Georgios Papadimitriou

How much of an opera can you strip away and not lose the essence?  If our experience of Delaware Valley Opera's stripped-down version of La Traviata last night taught  us something it is this:  it's all about the music.  Given good voices who can create convincing characters and some astute direction we can walk away feeling incredibly satisfied.

We are sitting in the small acoustically marvelous theater at the National Opera Center, aware that it is Columbus Day and it is an important year for Giuseppi Verdi celebrations, his 200th anniversary.  How fitting to mount one of his greatest creations!  DVO will be presenting the work in its entirely with the North Duchess Symphony Orchestra this Sunday at 3PM in full costume, but as a special gift for us New Yorkers we got the same gifted principals and a piano score performed by the talented Maestra Violetta (!) Zabbi who never missed a trill.

Violetta (our favorite opera heroine) was given an astonishing performance by soprano Julie-Anne Hamula whose brilliant soprano and thrilling embellishments were augmented by the most subtle and heart-rending acting.  This was a Violetta any woman could understand and relate to.  In Act I, her ambivalence about giving up her shallow life of pleasure for the richer but scarier life of love was made plain vocally and amplified by gesture, facial expression and body language.  Her death scene moved us to the very core.

Similarly, her Alfredo was beautifully sung and enacted by talented tenor John Kaneklides.  His commitment to the character of the young provincial man who loses his heart to the beautiful courtesan was total; his ringing tenor, a young yet manly sound, is one to watch.  We witnessed his moods of romantic adoration, disappointment, anger and remorse with never a false moment.

Baritone Wayne Line was not quite as convincing in his portrayal of Germont.  His transition from arrogance to sympathy didn't quite make it.  Mezzo Meredith Hudak supported the enterprise in the roles of Flora and Annina.  Georgios Papadimitriou was onstage briefly as Dr. Grenvil and has a lovely baritone.

The esteemed Carol Castel directed with a sure hand.  We have always loved the Zeffirelli production at The Metropolitan Opera, now sadly retired; we will never forget the fine production with Renee Fleming and Rolando Villazon.  But the new "stripped down" version mounted at the Met with it's gigantic clock, ugly chorus and ever present Dr. Death left us cold.  Not so this DVO production.  Minus chorus, minus sets, minus the gambling scene--we were left with what amounts to a very intimate opera in which we were allowed to care deeply for the ill-fated Violetta and her remorseful lover.  Bravi tutti!

© meche kroop