AMORE OPERA'S TURN TO SIT IN THE BARBER CHAIR

Mary Gwynne Langston, Laura Virella, Gennadiy Vysotskiy, Jay Gould, David Tillistrand, and Drew Watson

Rossini's comic masterpiece Il barbiere di Siviglia is an opera one can enjoy many many times over.  And so we have. It is the champagne of the opera oeuvre--light, flavorful, and effervescent. Thankfully, no one recently has tried to update it; it belongs firmly in the early 19th c. and still delights us two centuries later. It's characters seem derived from commedia dell'arte but have become more three-dimensional.

There is the lecherous old man--Don Bartolo (the very funny bass Jay Gould); there is the spunky ingenue Rosina (the winsome mezzo-soprano Laura Virella); the wily servant Figaro (impressive baritone David Tillistrand), and the lovesick youth Count Almaviva (tenor Drew Watson). We have Dr. Bartolo's oily accomplice Don Basilio (bass Gennadiy Vysotskiy) and a pair of servants afflicted by sneezing--Berta (Mary Gwynne Langston)--and yawning--Ambrogio (Ricardo Figueroa).

When we see an opera as oft produced as this one, we always wonder what a director can add to what we already know about the opera.  We do believe that singers make the best directors, and we never enjoy operas in "the big house" directed by people who know nothing about opera. In this production, Artistic Director Nathan Hull directed as astutely as we have come to expect, adding several clever touches. 

The one we liked the best was the trio of dancers who added visual interest to every scene in which they appeared.  At first, they were clients/fans of Figaro and in the instrumental intermezzo storm scene they danced with umbrellas. It was a charming touch. Angel Joy did the choreography. Dancers were Katrina Victoria Asmar, Ashley Carter, and Victoria Manoli.

The invention we liked the least was putting the dialogue and most of the recitativi in English. The translation was awkward and the enunciation imperfect. We found ourself wishing for titles. We do admit that some of the interpolations did a good job of explaining the action and others were witty and timely; the audience certainly enjoyed them. It is just our taste which prefers Italian.

We brought home certain memories that delight us--Ms. Virella's creation of her character as a real live flesh and blood heroine who can toss off scale passages and interesting embellishments with equal aplomb in "Una voce poco fa" ; Mr. Gould's shambling walk and booming bass used in service of the arrogance of his character in "A un dottor della mia sorte"; Mr. Vysotskiy's total mastery of the role of Don Basilio, making the most of "La calunnia".

Berta's aria was given a fine performance by Ms. Lang who had to overcome youth and beauty to convince us that her Berta was scorned in love because of her age! We enjoyed Ms. Virella's duet with Mr. Tillistrand ("Dunque io son") which they invested with good comic chemistry. We liked Fiorello's serenade (Hector Mori).

Mr. Watson's comic acting served him well as the drunken soldier trying to get access to Bartolo's home. Even funnier was his turn as "Don Alfonso" a music teacher irritating Bartolo with his repetitive "Joia, pace, pace, joia". The "Buona sera, mie signore" always delights us. And the ensembles ending each act are always sheer craziness.

Well, we guess we'd have to say there was just one delight following another without a letup. Richard Cerullo was Scenic Designer and provided just what was needed. Lauren Bremen's lighting succeeded in creating the dawn during the serenade scene. Cynthia Psoras' costuming was apt and attractive.

Conductor Scott Jackson Wiley surprised us by playing the guitar during Almaviva's serenade. We consulted the program notes and, yes, he is well known as a guitarist. He did his best to pull together an orchestra that seems to always suffer from intonation problems, including a recalcitrant horn.  Concertmaster Holly Horn kept the melodies coming sweetly and purely. And we heard some nice playing in the bassoon section. The harpsichord continuo was excellently performed on a synthesizer.

There will be several opportunities to catch this delightful production until New Year's Eve, for which there will be a gala with dinner and midnight toast.

(c) meche kroop

LA ZINGARA

Maestro Douglas Martin, Director Nathan Hull, and cast of Donizetti's La Zingara presented by Amore Opera

Some folks go to the opera to cherish the old standards and revel in their familiarity; others go to the opera to see something new and daring; and still others love to find something old and undiscovered or neglected. The current season of Amore Opera, like prior seasons, pairs two works, one of which is familiar and the other of which is undiscovered. The old warhorse--Bizet's Carmen, recently reviewed, is paired with an early work by Gaetano Donizetti entitled La Zingara, astonishingly never seen before in the USA.

Carmen is a tragedy whilst La Zingara is billed as an opera semiseria. To our eyes and ears it seems more like an opera buffa with plenty of humor and, like Carmen and Die Zauberflote, written with spoken dialogue. We could not stop thinking of zarzuela, a Spanish art form involving crazy plots like this one.

La Zingara premiered in Naples in 1822; it was Donizetti's 7th opera and the first one he created for Naples. In place of recitativi, he incorporated spoken dialogue; the aristocrats spoke in classical Italian whilst the servants spoke in Neapolitan dialect. The opera was a great success; we wondered what the Neapolitans thought about their dialect being employed in such a fashion but cannot find any commentary from that period.

Wisely, Director Nathan Hull (also president of Amore Opera) eliminated the dialogue which was replete with Neapolitan humor that would make no sense to contemporary audiences, and wrote some clever dialogue in idiomatic English which explained the plot and fleshed out the characters. There was a very humorous moment at the beginning when the Amore Orchestra started playing the overture to Carmen and Argila herself (the titular gypsy girl) comes out and tells the orchestra "no, not that one!"

Donizetti's music never fails to delight and the tunes he penned always tickle our ears. We recognized one which he later recycled in L'elisir d'amore; those more familiar than we are with his entire oeuvre might have recognized more. The 24-year-old composer was initiating experiments that would be fulfilled in his long composing career. One absolutely stunning moment occurred at the end of the first act when three couples sang interlocking and overlapping duets, producing a sextet of impressive complexity and thrilling harmonies.

In the title role, mezzo-soprano Melissa Serluco (whom we have enjoyed at Utopia Opera and New Amsterdam Opera) turned in an outstanding performance. Aside from her fine vocal assets, she created the character of Argilla with such skill and charm that the surprise ending seemed quite natural. We would not want to spoil the surprise for our readers but let it be noted that Mr. Hull's dialogue layered on some really clever references to other more familiar operas in the canon. This spunky Gypsy Girl uses her keen intelligence to manipulate all the other characters--not to hurt them but to solve their problems. We are still smiling about her antics.

The story concerns the nasty despotic ruler Don Ranuccio (portrayed by the always wonderful baritone Robert Garner) who is trying to marry off his daughter Ines (soprano Mary Thorne) to his lieutenant Antonio (Michael Celentano). He has unjustly imprisoned Antonio's uncle Don Sebastiano (veteran bass Jay Gould) and plans to murder him so that Antonio will get the inheritance. The jail is guarded by the humorously inept and clumsy Papaccione (Frederic Rice). 

Ines is in love with Fernando (tenor Jeremy Brauner) whose identity is kept secret. Fernando is accompanied by his faithful servant, the very funny Sguiglio (Bennet Pologe).

The finest singing we heard all night was that of tenor Jed Kim who sang the role of the Duca d'Alziras whom Don Ranuccio also wants to murder.  He began a phrase with such exquisite pianissimo and spun it out like a strand of silk. His breath control literally took our breath away. He has an instrument of very sweet color and employs it well. We want to hear him again!

As Ines' companion Amelia, La Toya Lewis sang well, as did the two lovely young ladies portraying Argilla's gypsy friends. Nicole McQuade was Ghita and Heather Boaz was Manuelita. Everyone's Italian was comprehensible, thanks to diction coach Paul Ferrara, himself a former singer.

Mr. Hull wears his director cap well, likely due to his considerable experience as a singer. In so many contemporary productions, directors are brought in from other branches of the arts, directors who do not understand singers.  Mr. Hull always knows where to place his singers and never asks them to sing in ridiculously awkward positions.

Susan Morton's chorus sang well. Maestro Martin pulled the orchestra together after a somewhat ragged beginning.

Richard Cerullo's set design was simple but serviceable. Lauren Bremen lit them well. Cynthia Psoras' costumes worked just fine, readily differentiating the nobles from the servants and from the gypsies.

We do not know whom to credit for the sound design but the loud clanking sound accompanying the locking of the flimsy prison door was a source of humor, as was the huge splashing when several characters dropped down into the well. Although the story had its serious elements we welcomed the emphasis on the moments of comedy. And it did have a very happy ending; we walked out all smiles.

There will be one more performance tonight and, although there are no children onstage, we recommend that you bring your children. We were so happy to have the opportunity to see and hear a long lost work and you will be too.

(c) meche kroop

AMORE OPERA CELEBRATES

NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY (Act II) of DIE FLEDERMAUS

Holiday time generally offers two types of music--the religious and the secular.  The religious music is generally serious, like Handel's Messiah. the secular music is particularly frivolous, like "Jingle Bells" (of which we hope to hear no more). But if one is really fortunate, one gets to celebrate the holiday with a big dose of fun--thanks to Amore Opera's effervescent production of Johann Strauss II's  Die Fledermaus, which premiered in 1874 at the Theater an der Wien.

The libretto, by Karl Haffner and Richard Genee, was based on a French vaudeville play by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halevy--a very funny story about one Gabriel Eisenstein who becomes the butt of an elaborate prank instigated by his friend Falke whom he had embarrassed some time earlier with a far simpler prank that would not have satisfied for an evening's entertainment.

In Act I, we are introduced to the characters. Frau Eisenstein, a loving wife, is pestered by pleas from her saucy maid Adele who has received a letter, ostensibly from her sister, inviting her to a fabulous New Year's ball. Two splendid sopranos sang these roles to perfection with effective acting, involving us in their stories from the very beginning. Iris Karlin was totally believable as the much put-upon woman of the house who has heard every excuse in the book from Adele.

Adele was given a perfect portrayal by Haley Marie Vick--a properly over-the-top performance as she cajoled and wheedled and complained of a sick aunt. What persuades Frau Eisenstein to give her the night off?  Well, Alfredo, an Italian tenor from her past, broadly interpreted by Riad Ymeri, comes to pay court. He is in fine voice and tosses off the first few lines of every famous tenor aria. Not only does Mr. Ymeri have a fine ringing tenor, but delightful comedic skills. The loyal wife runs him off.

Herr Eisenstein (mellow baritone Matthew Ciufitelli) receives an invitation to the same ball from his friend Falke; although he is due at the local jail to serve a brief sentence,  he is lured to postpone serving the sentence by the promise of meeting beautiful women at the ball. He is told to assume a faux French identity. 

Alfredo returns and Frau E.'s resistance weakens. When the prison warden Frank (the fine baritone Jay Gould) shows up to cart Herr E. off to jail, he mistakes Alfredo for the prospective prisoner. To spare her reputation he goes along, but not without pressing his advantage and securing several farewell kisses!

Falke lets Frau E. know that her husband will be at the ball and tells her to come and observe, to wear a mask and pretend to be a Hungarian Countess. Company President and Director Nathan Hull made a fine Falke.

Act II is a show-stopper. Prince Orlofsky, a bored Russian aristocrat, has agreed to host the ball to watch the "entertainment" --watching Herr E. posing as a Marquis running into his chambermaid wearing his wife's gown and posing as an actress! Their confrontation gives Ms. Vick an opportunity to deliver the sparkling aria "My dear Marquis".  Even more entertaining is watching Herr E. courting his own wife who is masquerading as a Hungarian Countess.  This gives Ms. Karlin an opportunity to deliver a stunning czardas. She is equally believable in both roles.

And mezzo-soprano Hayden DeWitt, who specializes in trouser roles, gets a chance to deliver the famous "Chac'un a son gout" with great style.  As if this were not sufficiently entertaining, soprano Michelle Pretto was a guest artist who sang "Meine Lippen Sie kussen so heiss" and sang it wonderfully well. (The aria comes from Franz Lehar's Giuditta which wasn't premiered until 1934, but is so beautiful that we may overlook that anachronism.)

What we could not overlook was an interpolated "ballet" that was so badly choreographed and performed that we will decline to mention the guilty parties. It was supposed to be Russian ballet and was neither Russian nor ballet. They have spoiled "The Blue Danube" for us! 

Adele's sister Sally was performed by Sarah Daniels. It was quite a moment when Sally is shocked to see Adele, who learns that Sally did not invite her to Prince Orlofsky's ball.

Eisenstein's blundering lawyer Dr. Blind was portrayed by Jeffrey Kurnit.

Confusion and mistaken identities are all resolved in Act III and everything ends happily. In a non-singing role we had the beloved David Seatter enacting the bibulous jailer Frosch who rivals Frank in his intoxication. There were jokes aplenty and some of them topical. We will not spoil them for you because we hope you will experience this effervescent production for yourselves. It is playing at the Theatre at St. Jean's through January 1st with a special evening on New Year's Eve in which you may hear the same excellent cast that we heard.

The orchestra was conducted by Maestro Douglas Martin. The gorgeous period costumes were designed by Ghislaine Sabiti. The simple sets by Richard Cerullo served the production well and were lit by Lauren Bremen.  

Most impressive was Mr. Hull's direction. Every bit of stage business was motivated and made dramatic sense. Nothing interfered with the sense of fun.

We personally would have preferred to have heard the work in German. The translation was quite good and there were sufficient rhymes to satisfy the ear.  BUT, it is funnier in German and the German language is easier to comprehend. The quality of the articulation was variable and we missed a lot of the funnier lines which lay in the upper register. The chorus sounded even muddier.

Let it be known that the very busy Amore Opera is also presenting Hansel and Gretel in English for a few more matinee performances. It is worth knowing that the Theatre at St. Jean's has superb sight lines and your children will not be crawling onto your laps.

(c) meche kroop

DONIZETTI UNEARTHED

Robert Garner as Severo and Sara Beth Pearson as Paolina in Donizetti's Poliuto at Amore Opera

 

 

We love Donizetti for his melodic bel canto writing and we love Amore Opera for unearthing one of his rarely performed tragic operas. Donizetti's music is always kind to our ears, whether it is underscoring a frothy comedy or a serious tragedy. If one doesn't care for the story, one can always revel in the music.

The libretto for his Poliuto was written by Salvatore Cammarano, loosely based on Pierre Corneille's tragic 1640 play Polyeucte. The birth of the opera was a difficult one: problems with censorship by the Catholic King of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, rewriting for the Opera Francaise, translating that into Italian, and the suicide of the tenor.

The story has significant resonances today. In third century Armenia, the ruling Romans saw Christianity as a threat to be eliminated. Christians met secretly in caves to hold their baptismal ceremonies. (Indeed, we once crawled into caves in Central Turkey where Christians lived and worshipped in secret.) Today Christianity is an accepted and prominent world religion with some members who would like to annhililate other religions. It seems like just another manifestation of  "My God is the right one.  Yours is the wrong one." Will mankind ever learn?

It would be fair to say that the story is distasteful to us. We don't understand martyrdom or the belief that all will be remedied in some mythical paradise after death.  All we could think of was the current plague of suicide bombers.  In Poliuto, at the end, the heroine joins her husband in just this sort of death without regard to the effect on her father.

Paolina was in love with the Roman Proconsul Severo. Believing him dead, she married Poliuto. He is jealous and mistrustful and a convert to Christianity without being aware that his jealousy and pride are "sinful" by their standards.

Severo shows up very much alive and she resists his blandishments. Misled by Callistene, the evil High Priest of Jupiter, Poliuto believes her to be unfaithful and pridefully resists all her claims of innocence.

Nearco, Poliuto's friend and leader of the growing Christian sect of Armenia, refuses to name him to the authorities but the "noble" Poliuto turns himself in, happily martyring himself, looking forward to his salvation in heaven.

Paolino insists on joining him although Severo does everything to prevent her. The martyrs get thrown to the lions.  And that's that.

But what marvelous melodies we heard, conducted by Daniele Tirilli! This is Donizetti at the top of his game. Even the overture offers one beautiful theme after another--an opening mournful one, then an urgent propulsive one, then a lively martial one.  The opening chorus of Christians filled the theater at the Sheen Center with harmonies.

Soprano Sara Beth Pearson made a splendid Paolina, singing with a substantial sound that was also flexible and just right for the fioritura. Her acting skills matched her singing, as she slowly became enchanted with Christianity. We loved her aria "Di quai soave lagrime, aspersa è la mia gota "
Baritone Robert Garner continues to impress us with his full-throated singing and convincing acting. He actually made us feel sympathy for Severo by showing many dimensions to his character. We liked his tender love aria "Di tua beltade imagine è questo sol ch'io miro ".

Tenor Lindell Carter seemed not quite comfortable in the title role, as evidenced by some mugging and wide-eyed staring.

Tenor Michael Celentano made a fine Nearco while tenor Douglas McDonnell handled the small role of Felice with fatherly grace.

Bass Jay Gould made a formidable Callistene, the man we love to hate.

Christians were portrayed by Daniel Kerr, James Stephen Longo, and Ruben Navarro.

The direction by Nathan Hull was straightforward, as we prefer. When the two major players of a company (Mr. Hull and Maestro Tirilli) have sung opera, you can rest assured that the singers will come first. No one was put in a physically or vocally threatening position. This is something we truly appreciate.

Costumes by Amy Leubke were elegant and colorful, appearing appropriate to the period. Simple painted sets by Richard Cerullo served their purpose.

Special mention must be made of the fine chorus who added so much to the proceedings, thanks to Chorus Manager Janet Johnson. The opera contains several choral pieces, often augmenting the ensemble writing at the conclusion of a scene.

We may never get to hear this wonderful piece again and were so happy to have had the opportunity. Thanks Amore Opera for unearthing this buried treasure.

(c) meche kroop

TAKING A SHOT AT VON WEBER

Alex Charlie Boyd, Bryce Smith, Mary Ann Stewart, William Remmers, Shawn Thuris, Sarah Moulton Faux

Most opera lovers have heard of Carl Maria von Weber's opera Der Freischütz; some have heard a recording of it; few have actually seen it performed.  Thanks to Director/Conductor William Remmers and Utopia Opera we can now say that we have seen it performed.  You can as well if you get yourself to Lang Hall at Hunter College tonight at 7:30.  This 1821 work is considered to have launched German Romanticism; it is replete with romance, religion and superstition--both in the text and in the music.

Under the colorful conducting of Mr. Remmers the overture began softly and grew in power.  On the right third of the stage was the orchestra, comprising a string quartet, a bass, a pair of flutes, a pair of clarinets, a pair of oboes, a bassoon, a trumpet, and--this being a work about hunters--a quartet of horns.  The melodies were tuneful and the balance was only somewhat flawed by the cheek-by-jowl arrangement of the musicians.  Still, it was a treat to hear a live orchestra.

The opera concerns a junior hunter named Max (tenor Shawn Thuris) who is in line to inherit the title of Head Huntsman from Cuno (bass Jay Gould) and to marry Cuno's daughter Agathe (the substantial soprano Mary Ann Stewart, who has an impressive vibrato among other assets). 

The frenemy Caspar, another junior huntsman (convincingly evil bass Bryce Smith) has sold his soul to the devil, here called Samiel the Wild Huntsman.  When poor Max loses a shooting match to the pompous wealthy peasant Kilian (baritone Matthew Walsh) he goes into "testosterone failure", losing his confidence and the right to marry Agathe. 

But wait!  Caspar has the solution.  He promises Max a magic bullet to win the shooting match with the nefarious intention of swapping Max's soul for a few years grace for himself from Samiel.  Although some of the cast will be different tonight, Mr. Smith will be on hand delivering some contrasting arias, a drinking song in the tavern and an aria far more dire.

Agathe has been given blessings and white roses from a Hermit (bass Jonathan Dauermann).  She is morose and fearful about some bad omens and is cheered and comforted by her cousin Ännchen (bright-voiced soprano Sarah Moulton Faux) whose light-hearted arias are in delightful contrast with the anxiety ridden state of Agathe's.  They have a lovely duet together in which their voices blend beautifully.And that is all of the plot we are going to share with you except that there is a Prince Ottokar (baritone Alex Charlie Boyd) who appears in the final scene.

Staging was simple for the most part but the scene in the Wolf's Glen involved some highly imaginative effects and ghostly apparitions.  The music was appositely eerie.

German diction was fine throughout; there was some dialogue spoken in English as well. There were no sets and costumes were minimal, although we did get a kick out of Kilian's authentic lederhosen and the Prince's military garb. With fine musical values, we scarcely missed the trimmings.

What distinguishes Utopia Opera is that it is truly an audience-centric institution.  Productions are chosen by vote!  June 27th and 28th Verdi's Falstaff will be presented and next year's programming comprises Carlisle Floyd's Susannah, Rossini's L'Italiana in Algeri, a Ravel/Sullivan double bill, and Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos.  Ambitious?  Of course!  We expect nothing less from Utopia Opera in what will be their fourth season. 

© meche kroop