LA BOHÊME FOR THE PEOPLE

 

Carl DuPont, Gustavo Feulien, Inna Dukach, Gregory Turay, Elizaveta Ulakhovich, and Alexander Boyd

It is only three weeks since we last saw Puccini's heartbreaking masterpiece but La Bohême always offers fresh insights. Last night, at an outdoor performance in a very crowded Bryant Park, we took a macroscopic view of the story as an indictment of a society that doesn't care very well for its young and the ill. We didn't need modern dress or veiled references to any modern "plagues" to achieve such a realization. It happened because the direction was led by the music and the text without any directorial arrogance or program notes about the "concept". Costumes were of the period and the minimal set pieces let us know we were in the 19th c.

This by no means intends to shortchange the microscopic view--that of feckless youth  forming instant relationships without consideration of common values, future plans, or compatibility.  There are little moments that stand out. Consider the self-styled "artist" whose works don't sell, a writer who ekes out a modest living writing articles for a magazine, a philosopher who can barely afford to buy used books, and a musician who plays for a parrot. Who cannot help but think of contemporary times when young hopefuls share apartments in slums, living on ramen packages! To make matters worse, they are rarely covered by health insurance. La plus ça change, la plus c'est la meme chose!

 Yet it is perceived by the public as a "love story";  but it is also about the loss of innocence. At the end of the opera, this group of youths will be forever changed. Perhaps Musetta and Rodolfo will be inspired to love better. Perhaps some of them will look for jobs. The libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa does not tell us, nor did the episodic novel written by Henri Murger. So we are free to form our own speculations. What a rich work that can be appreciated on so many level!

In this abridged production by New York City Opera (The Peoples's Opera!) several scenes were cut, but Director Michael Capasso took the stage as narrator and described what had happened that wasn't shown. We completely understand the challenges of cutting the opera to fit into a time frame and to suit the interests of a crowd in which many members were not hard core opera fans. We can only hope that some of them were sufficiently enchanted to seek out a complete performance. Although the Metropolitan Opera has replaced so many of its magnificent productions with disappointing ones, it would be a grave mistake to ditch the impressive Zeffirelli production with its lavish second act Xmas Eve scene or the snow falling quietly and merchants passing through the city gates when Mimi leaves the city to find Marcello in the third act.

My companion for the evening is a theater and film director and an opera "newbie"; we wanted his opinion on the dramatic aspects. Since there were no titles and no summary, we wondered whether the story was told as clearly as we thought. He definitely got the gist of things, thanks to the effective stage direction; however he made an interesting suggestion that narration could have been better accomplished by having one of the minor characters narrate the story. Also it would have been better to hear the plot before the scene, not afterward.

All things considered, the singers did a fine job of storytelling. Soprano Inna Dukach made a most sympathetic Mimi and tenor Gregory Turay was a most ardent Rodolfo. We are personally uncomfortable with amplification and are never sure we are hearing the voices as they are meant to be heard. We were rather delighted with Mr. Turay's pianissimi but not so delighted with his forcing the volume in the upper register. Perhaps it is just not possible to float the high notes under such circumstances but we do not know enough about sound design to say so.

Soprano Elizaveta Ulakhovich gave a splendid performance as Musetta but, due to the elimination of the populous café scene, she was obliged to sing her show-stopping "Quando m'en vo" to a man recruited from the audience instead of flirting with the café customers and soldiers. So, we had a bit of audience involvement.

Her love-hate relationship with Marcello was well realized and baritone Gustavo Feulien filled out his role as well as one could have hoped. To complete the group of bohemians we had Carl DuPont as the philosopher Colline and Alexander Boyd as the only member of the group who seems to find employment. To those who know the opera, the story of his being hired to play for a parrot brings a moment of comic relief; even funnier is the fact that his three flatmates are so famished that they can only focus on the victuals he has provided and completely ignore the story. There wasn't room for much comic relief in this production and we missed the way the four youths put one over on their landlord Benoit when he comes to collect the rent.

Fortunately Colline's Act IV aria "Vecchia zimarra" was not cut so we enjoyed the low voice of Mr. DuPont and appreciated the symbolism of his sacrifice. As most of you already know, Dear Reader, he pawns his old overcoat to buy medicine for the dying Mimi. He too is "adulting".

Of course, the scene that sets the drama in motion is the first act meeting between Rodolfo and Mimi in which Rodolfo gets Mimi to stay by hiding her key and she gets Rodolfo to take her out for dinner with the hint of more to come later. So much subtext in one scene! So reminiscent of 21st c. dating! Still, the music tells us only of their rapturous feelings.

Speaking of the music, we found the aural balance to be wanting and there were a couple occasions of feedback. Maestro Joseph Rescigno did his best with a chamber orchestra which played at ground level (of course) in front of the slightly elevated stage. These are the hazards of outdoor opera and we will not make harsh judgments of the orchestral balance.

As a matter of fact, we recall the long ago productions of The Metropolitan Opera in Central Park every summer which were abandoned in favor of concerts of arias. We recall laying blankets out at sunrise in order to sit in the first "row"; we remember asking the police officers in attendance how they enjoyed the opera (very much so), and how grateful and uncritical we were. So, in that spirit, we thank the artists who brought this production to the public free of charge and hope that a few converts to opera were made.

© meche kroop

CUANDO EL FUEGO ABRASA

Nancy Fabiola Heerrera and Gustavo Feulien in Astor Piazzolla's Oblivion

The post-covid season of opera has been slow getting started, but for a weekend of delights we can thank the newly revived Opera Hispanica,  which has joined forces with Teatro Grattacielo. With Maestro Jorge Parodi at the helm, it seemed quite natural to begin with a work by Argentinian master of tango--Astor Piazzolla.

The first half of the program was his 1982 Oblivion which was used in the film Enrico IV. At this late stage of his life, Piazzolla was already famous for incorporating many musical styles into his tangos, from baroque to jazz. This work can be performed in a variety of instrumentations and we were fortunate to hear members of Metamorphosis Chamber Orchestra conducted by Maestro Parodi himself, comprising a string quartet augmented by flute (doubling on piccolo), oboe, trumpet and French horn. Double bassist Pedro Giraudo did some ear-catching riffs of rhythmic vitality and pianist Rodrigo Ilizaliturri provided support and unification to the individual parts.

The star of the instrumentalists was, of course, bandoneonista Rodolfo Zanetti, whose performance was filled with vitality. The structure of the work is a series of songs, mainly about the suffering of lost love. Baritone Gustavo Feulien, whose Onegin we so admired a couple of years ago, sang with full tone and a depth of anguish in voice, facial expression, and body language. A powerful singer as he is can make you feel the torment in one's own body.  Indeed, who has not loved and lost and suffered!

There were interludes of instrumental music, sometimes a tenderness given to the strings, sometimes a harshness given to the winds. Maestro Parodi kept a firm hand and a gentle touch, as called for by the music. Mezzo-soprano Nancy Fabiola Herrera made only a brief appearance but starred in the second half of the program in which Mr. Feulien only showed up incidentally.

Manuel de Falla's El Amor Brujo began life as a work commissioned by a renowned flamenco dancer and was scored for voice, actors, and chamber orchestra.  Its 1915 premiere in Madrid was not successful; it has gone through a number of changes--getting scored for full orchestra and a suite for piano and has also been performed as a ballet.

Ms. Herrera's electrifying performance gave full attention to both vocalism and dance. Not for a moment did our attention lapse as she created the role of Candela, a gypsy woman haunted by her dead husband. Dressed in black she haunted the stage, or rather the cave in which she sought una bruja to rid her of the ghost. Swirling her mantilla madly she employed a style of singing verging on the jondo flamenco style. Boundaries were transcended on the part of the artist and the audience; we nearly forgot we were in the theater. It was one of those performance one is unlikely to forget.

Troy Ogilvie is credited as choreographer yet Ms. Herrera's performance seemed spontaneous. The set and lighting design was by Jon de Gaetano; it was simple but effective--a few reflective box-like elements scattered about the stage.  At times they were lit so that they appeared as fireplaces, which was particularly effective. Direction was by Malena Dayen. The excellent subtitles were credited to Francisco Miranda

© meche kroop

 

OCHEN HARASHO

Maestro Aza Sydykov, Anastasia Sidorova, Antonina Chehovska, Gustavo Feulien, and Marc Verzatt

After three satisfying evenings at the Eurasia Festival, we are feeling very involved and reluctant to see the festival end. Last night's Eugene (Evgeny) Onegin was the capstone of the festival and left us in a state of bliss. Most operas are entertaining; occasionally one captures our intellectual curiosity.

As soon as the artists were greeted and congratulated on their superlative performances, we rushed home to read more about Pushkin's 1833 verse novel, originally published in serial form; we read about Tchaikovky's 1879 adaptation for the opera stage; we read about Vladimir Nabokov's 1964 translation (used last night for the narration) which placed preservation of meaning over preservation of Pushkin's very specific rhyming and scanning scheme; we read about John Cranko's adaptation of the story for The Stuttgart Ballet in 1965.

We also learned some interesting points about dueling in 19th c. Russia and the fact that Lensky's "second" failed in his role by never offering Onegin the opportunity to apologize and thereby avoid the duel. We also learned that Lensky was only 18 years old which explains his impulsivity in challenging Onegin and also the immaturity of Olga in flirting with Onegin--a circumstance which provoked Lensky's jealousy and the challenge.

It was Cranko's ballet that first introduced us to the tragic story of a spoiled dandy, world-weary at age 25, who dismisses a provincial lass; later he realizes his loss when he meets her as the worldly center of Moscow society, and (alas!) married to the elderly Prince Gremin.

When we grew up we found opera more compelling than ballet and readily fell for the opera in its several iterations at The Metropolitan Opera. Last night we gained a new appreciation of the work due to a number of factors. The brilliance of the singing we will get to in a bit, but first we want to tell you about the success of this abridged semi-staged concert version. Pianist and Diction Coach Vera Danchenko-Stern adapted the script directly from Nabokov's translation; the script was read by Stage Director Marc Verzatt, who gave voice to each character and also read Nabokov's description of the action.

The interaction focused on the four main characters with all others eliminated. We confess that we missed the charming opening scene with Madame Larina reminiscing with Filippyevna about their youth and the singing of the serfs--but not for long because we were plunged into the relationship between Tatiana (the luminous soprano Antonina Chehovska) and her younger sister Olga (the arresting mezzo Anastasia Sidorova).

The two women, without benefit of costumes and scenery, conveyed the warmth between the two sisters by means of their tender harmonies. The acting was flawless with Olga's playful nature and Tatiana's reserved aspect accurately limned. The portrayal of their contrasting temperaments is crucial to the story.

When Lensky (terrific tenor Fanyong Du) arrives at the Larin estate he professes his love for Olga, his childhood sweetheart, in an ardent declaration which involved an exquisite messa di voce. Olga joins in and their relationship, as expressed in Tchaikovsky's music, seems solid.

Lensky's "city-mouse" friend Onegin (the compelling baritone Gustavo Feulien) has a profound effect on Tatiana, who falls for him instantly. The lengthy "letter scene" which followed was so magnificently sung and acted by Ms. Chehovska that we realized the universality of youthful impetuosity. Ms. Chehovska went through a panoply of emotions and colored her voice to suit. Mr. Verzatt's direction amplified the emotions.

The pain of Onegin's rejection (which was actually truthful and not unkind) we felt a hundred times over. By focusing on the interaction of the characters, this performance affected us more than ever before.

Lensky's scene and aria "Kuda, kuda" we've heard countless times before; from Mr. Du's performance we grew in appreciation of the youth's range of emotions. Too much has happened too fast and he is in far deeper than he intended. He says he accepts his fate but Mr. Du showed us the underlying pain and panic. He sings of his love for Olga but he is also singing some guilt-inducing words which spring from his anger.

In the duel scene, Tchaikovsky's music has the two men singing different text on different vocal lines up to a point where they come together. The tension in the music is almost unbearable.

Onegin's arioso is powerful and he is an almost  irresistible force confronting Tatiana's immovable object. Like most 19th c. women, she puts duty above love. Tchaikovsky's music shows us by the gorgeous harmonies that she still loves Onegin.

One feature that made this adaptation work was the successful arrangement of the score for a chamber orchestra which Maestro Sydykov conducted with precision and a real feel for the romantic line. Perhaps because of the condensation, we came to realize the unity of the score. We asked Maestro Sydykov who performed the reduction of the score and he brushed it off with undue modesty, claiming that Tchaikovsky's music made it easy--only the loudest instruments like the trumpet and trombone were eliminated. Uh, really???

The musicians played as excellently as the singers sang. Much of the melody was carried by pianist Vladimir Rumyantsev, with significant contribution from violinist Vartan Mayliyantz whom we've enjoyed throughout the festival; from the marvelous clarinetist Bakhtiyar Dooranov whom we've also admired; and similarly from flutist Eliza Salibaeva. Raul Rodriguez was new to us but his French Horn provided some interpolated motifs that added hugely to the texture.

As far as the singers go, we are no stranger to Ms. Chehovska's artistry which we have reviewed about seven times. For details, dear reader, enter her name in the search bar and you will learn how impressed we have been with her artistry for the past four years. We have heard her sing in Russian, Ukrainian, Czech, Italian, and French--all with the same attention to depth of interpretation, and vocal artistry. We have been there at most of the competitions that she's won. We have heard the "letter scene" a few times over the past few years and she just keeps getting deeper into the character.

Mr. Du is just "tenorrific" and reviewed as many times as Ms. Chehovska, mostly as he won competitions. It is an interesting coincidence that we wrote about the two of them singing a duet from Puccini's La Bohême. He has such a perfect control of dynamics that it seems that the term "messa di voce"  was invented just for him!

The other two singers are new to us but impressed us very favorably. Mezzo-soprano Anastasiia Sidorova has one of those marvelous mezzo instruments that have a distinctively mezzo sound; many singers call themselves mezzos because they can handle the range but they don't have that very special sound. Add to this her fine phrasing and convincing dramatic skills and you will know why we look forward to hearing her again.

Finally, baritone Gustavo Feulien won us over with his rich and powerful sound and acting chops. We are quite sure we will hear him again soon as well. He was so convincing that we actually felt sorry for Onegin at the end.

We would never have predicted that an abridged concert version of an opera could be so affecting. Significantly, all four singers had the role securely under their respective belts, so to speak. The absence of music stands and scores goes a long way toward allowing singers the freedom to act their character.

And so the Eurasia Festival has come to an end with promises to return next year. Maestro Sydykov is not only a conductor but a concert pianist and vocal coach as well as President of the Kyrgyz American Foundation which sponsors the Festival. The mission of this foundation is to promote the multicultural heritage of Eurasia in the USA. The support of The Open Society Foundations (founded in 1993 by George Soros) has been instrumental in fostering democracy, justice, and human rights. We thank them from the bottom of our heart for supporting this festival.

(c) meche kroop