OH THOSE MERRY WIVES!

Heather Antonissen, David Morrow and Marie Masters (photo by Brian Long)

The film Amadeus would lead one to believe that Salieri killed Mozart.  This is a lie. But it is the truth that we nearly died laughing over his opera Falstaff as presented by Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble.  The libretto by Carlo Prospero Defranceschi departs from Shakespeare's comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor in many ways but it does preserve the theme of some high-spirited women collaborating to puncture the pride of the womanizing fat guy.  Furthermore, the lively and tuneful music serves to advance the plot.

Readers may have observed how contemptuous we are of "concept" and updating the classics; in this case we applauded it.  First of all, this is not a beloved classic that is rooted in time and place; it comes without baggage.  Secondly, it has no references to period and the only reference to place is Windsor.  Surely there are towns in the USA named Windsor.

Stage director Louisa Proske has chosen to set the opera about a half-century ago, which is nearly as remote as the late 18th c. but a lot funnier--a time when husbands were still possessive and when people could still afford servants.  Stewart Kramer's excellent titles were created by Artistic Director Christopher Fecteau, Karen Rich and J. Spence. The translation from the Italian employed modern American slang without trashing the original language.

Maestro Fecteau had his work cut out for him, lacking a decent manuscript, but the end result was some mighty gorgeous music not very different from Mozart's. With only eleven members of the Festival Orchestra occupying stage left and Maestro Fecteau conducting from the harpsichord, nothing seemed missing.  We particularly enjoyed the frothily charming overture and Samuel Marquez' clarinet solo.

Soprano Marie Masters (a winner of the Osgood/Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble Prize) brought a bright resonant sound to the role of Mrs. Ford.  Her intonation was as secure as her acting.  In this opera, Mrs. Ford is a bit naughty, or rather, mischievous.  She is curvy and dresses provocatively; no wonder Mr. Ford (tenor Erik Bagger) is suspicious.  His friends try to talk him out of his jealousy but he is relentless.

As Mrs. Ford's friend, the excellent Heather Antonissen sang in perfect harmony in her duets with Ms. Masters.  Her voice has the sparkle of a soprano and the weight of a mezzo.  Her character, Mrs. Slender, mostly supports Mrs. Ford's plot to trap Falstaff.  She has a very funny moment with a pair of floral shears in her hand.  Use your imagination!  Her husband was portrayed by baritone Scott Lindroth who was one of the finest male voices onstage; he sang with beautiful tone and phrasing.  His second act aria was superb.

Soprano Joanie Brittingham was a sprightly Betty, servant in the Ford household. Her major moments came in the second act when she imitated Falstaff trying to emerge from the ditch into which he was thrown with the laundry.

Bass-baritone Jonathan Dauermann, sporting a hippie wig, created the character of Bardolfo as an overworked and somnolent fellow.  

As the obnoxious, corpulent and bibulous Falstaff, bass David Morrow created a character that was self-important and self-deluding.  He imagines that he is irresistible to women and means to extract money from them.  In the opening ensemble, he has crashed a party and is making a complete pest of himself.

The ladies spend the entire opera making a fool of him.  But Mr. Ford also suffers the indignity of being proven wrong.  It's a rather feminist opera and way ahead of its time.  

Sets were simple and costumes seemed to be appropriate to the mid 20th c.  Which brings us to the dance moves.  There were entirely too many, not only in the party scene with its line dancing, but all through the production.  There was also an excess of mugging. At times it felt like a sit-com on TV.  But these are tiny flaws in a gem of a production.

We cannot close without mentioning the two female members of the ensemble who portrayed laundry boys.  Sara Ann Duffy and Kristin Gornstein assumed a total deadpan look and were all the funnier for it.  Brave to all the fine women onstage.

There will be one more production on Saturday.  LYAO!

(c) meche kroop

A POPPEA THAT POPS

Anna Farysej and Nacole Palmer--photo by Brian Long

Perhaps the mayhem and immorality under the Roman Emperor Nero resonates with our current political climate.  Indeed we have seen three versions of Monteverdi's 1643 masterpiece L'incoronazione di Poppea in the past year.  On the other hand, its recent popularity may be due only to the beauty and expressivity of the music.

Last night at the intimate 13th Street Theatre, Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble presented their version as part of their Tenth Anniversary Season, and a fine version it was!  The cast we saw only performed that singular night; we felt privileged to be in the sold-out house to hear some amazing young voices advancing in their careers, helped along by the intense instruction and guidance of Dell'Arte Ensemble.  Artistic Director Maestro Christopher Fecteau has a knack for selecting promising young performers and guiding them into the next stage of their careers.

Witness the plenitude of bright shining sopranos who mastered the art of baroque singing without compromising their acting skills.  As Poppea, Anna Farysej created a character who was more ambitious than evil; she lured Nero (an excellent Nacole Palmer) with abundant wiles and overt sexuality to abandon his "infertile and frigid" wife Ottavia, portrayed by strong mezzo Heather Antonissen, so that she Poppea could become Empress.  Ottavia gets to sing a heartbreaking lament to which any 21st c. discarded wife could relate.  To paraphrase, "We give birth to men who then torment and abuse us."

In opposition we had the rejected lover Ottone, played by counter-tenor Jeffrey Mandelbaum (who is at a more advanced stage of his career, having graced the stage of The Metropolitan Opera); Ottone was solicited by Ottavia to murder Poppea.  To this end he has enlisted the assistance of the kooky and pliant Drusilla, performed by the adorable Noelle McMurtry who lends him her clothes as a disguise.

The ending is not exactly tragic.  Drusilla and Ottone fall all over themselves trying to take the blame for the failed murder attempt to protect the other but Nerone does not slaughter them; in an act of clemency he sends them into exile along with his discarded wife.  That Poppea and Nerone are portrayed more favorably than in history books tells us something about the 17th c. audience.  Indeed Amore herself (an effective Briana Sakamoto) ensures that they have a happy ending, singing a gorgeous duet to close the opera; Amore himself, the blind child-god, has triumphed over the bickering Fortuna (a funny Amaranta Viera) and Virtu (the very young and talented Sarah Ann Duffy) who each claimed primacy over the other in controlling human history.  But no, in the end, it's all about LOVE.  Using the three gods as a framing device drives the point home.

The only tragedy in this opera is the death of Seneca, Ottavia's tutor, ordered by Poppea to eliminate a roadblock in her path.  This is also an artistic tragedy because it takes place in Act II and we wanted to hear more of bass Hans Tashjian who beguiled us with his superb singing and strong stage presence.

In an unusual casting move, mezzo Melissa Kelly, a fine singer and actress, portrayed both Arnalta (Poppea's nurse) and Nutrice (Ottavia's nurse).  Her funny bit came when she sang about her elevation of status as the nurse of the new Empress.  In smaller roles, we heard Ray Calderon, Nicholas Connolly, Edwin Vega and Nathan Letourneau.  All sang well.

The backbone of this excellent production was Monteverdi's gorgeous music, played by The Sebastians, a baroque ensemble led by harpsichordist Jeff Grossman.  The captivating theorbos and lutes were played by John Lenti and Charles Weaver while the heavenly harpist was Christa Patton.  Rounding out the ensemble were violinists Daniel S. Lee and Dongmyung Ahn with Ezra Seltzer playing the cello.

Stage Director Victoria Crutchfield and Costume Designer Nina Bova, obviously working with a very small budget, managed to create the illusion of more.  This placed the emphasis on the singers and the music which was a good thing.  We applaud Dell'Arte Ensemble not only for nurturing young singers but also for putting great art onstage with modest ticket prices, allowing New Yorkers unfamiliar with opera to dip their collective toes in the operatic waters and giving New Yorkers who are familiar with opera the opportunity to see operas that have gone unproduced at the Met.  There are a couple more performances of "L'incoronazione di Poppea" and one couldn't spend a better evening.

© meche kroop