COMPRESSED, CHILLING, AND CONTROVERSIAL

 

Mary Phillips, Kelsey Lauritano, Freddie Ballentine, and Inna Dukach

(photo by Russ Rowland)

Heartbeat Opera's stripped down version of Samuel Barber's Vanessa is, we believe, the only opera ever presented at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. To us, this makes perfect sense. Under the direction of R.B. Schlather, Gian Carlo Menotti's dark exploration of psychological themes, some overt and others merely hinted at, became intensely theatrical. 

That is not to shortchange the music. Dan Schlosberg's arrangement of Barber's  pungent score for seven instrumentalists filled the Nagelberg Theater at Baruch with more than enough sound and uncommonly interesting textures evoked by Maestro Jacob Ashworth by means of intensity and clarity.

The singers were astutely cast with soprano Inna Dukach creating an almost bipolar Vanessa whose voice lightened in color as she anticipated a most unlikely happy future with the narcissistic Anatol (the Younger), portrayed with serpentine intensity by tenor Freddie Ballentine. In a performance that led us to think that the opera might just as well have been called Erika, mezzo-soprano Kelsey Lauritano commanded the stage in a role that seems to have been enlarged to encompass her larger than life talent. Indeed, the most famous aria of the work "Must the Winter Come So Soon" was cleverly reprised at the end.

Since our experiences with Ms. Dukash had been confined to a few badly amplified outdoor performances, her vocal and dramatic success came as a pleasant surprise. On the other hand, we reviewed Ms. Lauritano's performances at Juilliard more than a dozen times over ten years ago and we were particularly glad to hear and see her again. (One of the sad things about our work is that we get quite attached to promising young singers and then they leave for parts unknown to develop their careers because New York City has so little to offer.)  How wonderful that Heartbeat Opera has recognized her many gifts.

The same could be said for baritone Joshua Jeremiah whom Heartbeat Opera has included in their Hallowe'en drag extravaganzas and who created a marvelous character for On Site Opera several years ago. Creating memorable characters must be Mr. Jeremiah's specialty since his creation of the character of the bibulous Doctor was memorable. His baritone is as rich and full as one would wish for and his charming performance lightened up what amounts to a very dark opera.

Mr. Ballentine is new to us and he impressed with his tenor instrument and the way he colored his voice to show his character's opportunistic and manipulative character. There were some scenes of his making love to Erika that seemed a bit over the top

Not having much to sing, the excellent Mary Phillips commanded attention as the Baroness with her stoic bearing and facial expression which was in such contrast with all the histrionics going on with her daughter and grand-niece. The great mystery of the plot is her silent treatment towards Vanessa in the beginning and toward Erika at the end. Is she just sitting in judgment of their poor romantic choices? We found ourself wondering whether Erika was actually Vanessa's daughter conceived at the time of Vanessa's dalliance with Anatol (the Elder)! So perhaps The Baroness disapproves of out of wedlock pregnancy.

Forgive us Dear Reader for not outlining the plot but, since there have been so many reviews since the opening that we are just assuming you know the story which is not only noir but also psychiatrically compelling.

Mr. Schlather has trimmed the opera of its extraneous characters and stripped the story down to the neurotic behavior of the three women. The Baroness has been giving her daughter the silent treatment for 20 years. Now how rigid is that!!!  Vanessa has apparently had a sexual relationship with a married man and has been living a fantasy for twenty years--two fantasies actually--one that her lover will return and another that if she keeps the mirrors covered she will not age. Now how delusional is that!!!  Poor Erika suffers from youthful naivety and submits readily to the narcissistic charm of the man who invades this female territory; this puts her in the position of capturing her "mother's" lover, a kind of Elektra situation.

Jiaying Zhang has given Mr. Schlather the set design he wanted. Simply a minimalistic solid white background onto which Lighting Designer Yuki Nakase Link has projected ominous shadows. Terese Wadden's costumes for the women are all black. The exchange of roles at the end is signified by Erika wearing Vanessa's dress and pearls. In the original telling, Erika covers all the mirrors to show that she was taking over Vanessa's role. Without a manor house and mirrors, the costume exchange got the point across.

Although we have been highly critical of Heartbeat Opera tampering with the classics that we love, operas that are rooted in time and place, we seem to not care what they do with operas in which we have no emotional investment. We only saw Vanessa once years ago and we didn't love it. Frankly,we still don't! However, it certainly was an interesting night of theater.

© meche kroop

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

PASTA MEETS OPERA

Jessica Rose Cambio and Won Whi Choi in the love scene from Act I of Puccini's La Boheme

"If music be the food of love, play on", said the Bard. Last night, at Giovanni Rana Pastificio, we enjoyed both music and food together, but, thankfully, in alteration--thus removing the conflict between savoring the food or the music. We got to concentrate on each in turn.

Michael Capasso, General Director of New York City Opera, rounded up three sublime sopranos and three terrific tenors to entertain us between courses of Mr. Rana's perfect pastas. Mr. Capasso himself narrated the program, supplying interesting tidbits about the life of Giacomo Puccini (especially his love life).

To begin, Jessica Rose Cambio and Won Whi Choi gave a deeply heartfelt performance of the love scene from Act I of Puccini's 1896 opera La Boheme. Who could not be affected by two young people pouring out their stories to one another! We listened and felt their attraction blossoming.

Then Kristin Sampson and James Valenti performed the scene from Act I of Puccini's 1900 Tosca. The jealous Floria Tosca confronts her lover Mario Cavaradossi with her suspicions when she notices that his painting of the Virgin has blond hair and blue eyes. The superb duet ended with Mr. Valenti dabbing dark paint onto the eyes of the painting on the easel.

The final duet was another love scene from Act I of Puccini's 1904 Madama Butterfly. Inna Dukach made a lovely delicate butterfly landing gently on the arm of her new husband Pinkerton, ably sung by Jason Karn. One could almost forget the tragedy that would come to pass.

Piano accompaniment was provided by Kathryn Olander. Costume design by Derek Lockwood was outstanding and totally appropriate for each scene.

It is a very difficult thing to perform in a restaurant where people eat and drink and talk. It was amazing that these fine voices rose above the din and captivated the crowd. We believe that the fine entertainment succeeded in bringing new people to the opera house. To have heard three such excellent duets is to become a convert.  Indeed, patrons of the restaurant were offered a 20% discount on seats to Ottorino Respighi's La Campana Sommersa which will be produced by NYCO from March 31st through April 5th. New York City has not heard a performance of this opera since 1929!

If music is food for the soul, pasta is music for the taste buds and we got to taste several varieties of Mr. Rana's creations, all of them original. His restaurant is in the Chelsea Market. What a swell evening!

(c) meche kroop

AN ANNIVERSARY TOAST TO OPERA AMERICA

Miles Mykkanen, Djordje Nesic, Markus Beam, Inna Dukach, Jennifer Rivera

Opera America is celebrating its one-year anniversary in high style.  A welcome addition to the New York music universe, Opera America makes its home on Seventh Ave on the seventh floor.  Lucky sevens!  Their state of the art facility is designed to support artists and to serve the community, witness this Sunday's "Neighborhood Opera Day", an open house packed with events from 11AM until 6PM.  The facilities provide for singers and accompanists with rehearsal studios, an acoustically first-rate performance hall, seminars, coaching, auditions and opportunities for networking.

It was in this performance hall that we enjoyed a diverse program of song last night, performed by four gifted singers and one collaborative pianist Djordje Nesic who served them all well.  Versatile tenor Miles Mykkanen always makes a stunning program opener and last night was no exception.  He's a great opener because he gets the audience's rapt attention with his intense commitment to the material and a slightly quirky sense of humor.  He chose John Musto's "It's just as I imagined" in which Mark Campbell's lyrics tell us exactly why it is so wonderful to be in New York where "You simply can't be stranger than anyone else".  That really nailed it!  Later in the program he sang "Something's coming" from Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story and captured every ounce of excitement, with a magnificent crescendo at the end.

Bringing down the house with her smashing voice and original embellishments, mezzo Jennifer Rivera put as much of herself into "Una voce poco fa" (from Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia) as she must have done when she made her debut as Rosina at the Berlin Staatsoper.  We have missed this New York City Opera star while she was wowing Europe and were thrilled to have the opportunity to hear her again.  On a gentler note, she performed "Oh...It's joy, isn't it?" from Robert Aldridge's Elmer Gantry; her sincerity reflected the song's spirituality.

Baritone Markus Beam has a nice round sound with a pleasing vibrato; he ranged from solemn in "O du mein holder Abendstern" from Wagner's Tannhäuser to joyful in Gilbert and Sullivan's "I am the Pirate King" from The Pirates of Penzance.  No one has ever done as much for English opera as G&S and Mr. Beam did justice to this very ironic song.

Soprano Inna Dukach has an exciting and penetrating sound; she scored with "Depuis le jour" from Charpentier's Louise.  She abandoned herself to the joy of Charpentier's lyrics but kept in full control of a stunning messa di voce.  On a livelier note she performed the "Czardas" from Die Fledermaus.

The evening comprised more than solos; Mr. Mykkanen and Mr. Beam performed "Au fond du temple saint" from Bizet's Les Pêcheurs de Perles, of which we never tire.  When they sang "Elle est fuit" Mr. B. conveyed the feeling of loss while Mr. M. seemed to hold out some hope.  It was an interesting contrast.

"Soave sia il vento" from Mozart's Così fan Tutte gave soprano, mezzo and baritone an opportunity to blend their voices in stunning harmony; collaborative pianist Djordje Nesic got an opportunity to create all kinds of interesting ripples in the piano.  The ensemble of four closed the program with the "Brindisi" from Verdi's La Traviata, setting up the audience for the glasses of bubbly waiting for them in the foyer.  But not before an encore of "New York, New York" by Kander and Ebb.

We look forward to more thrilling evenings of song at Opera America.  This is what makes New York New York!

© meche kroop