THE GRANDEST OF GRAND DUKEDOM

Kevin Miller and Hanne Dollase as Dr. Tannhauser and the Baroness von Krakenfeldt

Who else beside W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan could churn out one hit after another with such relevance to their time and place, and yet still feel relevant today! Who but William Remmers and his Utopia Opera could capture the wild and crazy spirit with which they invested their works! Opera (without getting into a discussion of whether operetta and music theater fit under that umbrella) must be both artistic and entertaining. This production of The Grand Duke, alternatively titled The Statutory Duel, definitely filled the bill.  Lucky for you, dear reader, you will have two chances next weekend to enjoy the piece that entertained us so royally (ahem!) last night.

Gilbert and Sullivan began their joint writing career for the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company with a work entitled Thespis in which a theatrical company aspires to political power. How fitting then that their final collaboration in 1896 took on the same theme. No opportunity was lost to skewer political patronage, an issue still dear to our hearts. A further theme, written about so eloquently in Mr. Remmers' program notes, deals with the extent to which one's role in life, echoed by the role the actors assume in the theater, affect the script of one's life and that of other people.

The conceit of the story is that interpretation of the law can alter lives in multiple ways. The so-called law of the (fictional) land of Pfennig Halbpfennig is one of dueling by drawing playing cards, a situation in which the loser is "dead for a day" and the winner assumes all his responsibilities and debts. The law is uncovered by the notary Dr. Tannhauser who later discovers a loophole, a deus ex machina which permits a happy ending in which everyone can marry someone.

Until that time, Ludwig, the leading comedian of the troop (the talented Ben Cohen), was engaged to marry the soubrette Lisa (the beautiful and sweet voiced Kat Liu);  then wed to the British comedienne Julia Jellicoe (the hilarious Hannah Spierman) whom he "inherited" when he trounced theater manager Ernest Dummkopf (the superb Matt Hughes); then to the aristocratic Baroness von Krakenfeldt (the smoky voiced Hanne Dollase) whom he took over from Rudolph the stingy and despotic Grand Duke of Pfennig Halbpfennig (the excellent performer Martin Everall); then to the Princess of Monte Carlo (delightful Allyson Herman) to whom he was betrothed as a child.  Is that clear?

It all centers around a plot to depose the Grand Duke who is none too popular. Much of the audience laughter would suggest a certain contemporary topicality. Gales of laughter also greeted many of the scenes. The late arrival of the Prince of Monte Carlo (the fine David Tillistrand) who paid off his debts by inventing roulette, involved the worst and funniest French accent ever heard.  Come to think of it, how topsy-turvily funny it is that this German (or Austrian) theatrical company spoke in British accents whilst the British comedian spoke with a rather spotty German accent.

The parts were perfectly cast and the voices were all eminently listenable. Duets and ensembles were particularly fine, Gilbert was such a fine wordsmith and Sullivan such a fine tunesmith! That some critical opinion opined that this 14th and final collaboration of the pair was not up to par did not mar our opinion a whit. What we did consider is that the two "smiths" had had a falling out and perhaps that inspired the plot in which the lead comedian takes over the position of the theater manager by means of a "statutory duel" in which no one gets hurt.  Converting daily struggles into art is what the artist is supposed to do.

There was no scenery to distract one from the fine performances. Fortunately there were titles so that none of Gilbert's clever words and rhymes would be missed. All of the players sang and spoke clearly but the words of the chorus did not come through and we were glad to have titles.

Costuming by Eric Lamp and Angel Betancourt added to the fun.

Mr. Remmers conducted the orchestra which occasionally sounded a bit ragged but always brought out the excellence of Sullivan's music, whether it was waltz or march or ballad. Once or twice we heard echoes of Offenbach. At the turn of the 20th century, entertainment was evolving and there would be no more Gilbert and Sullivan. How glad we are to have the oeuvre that we do and to have had the opportunity to enjoy a show that had been unknown to us!

(c) meche kroop

ALCINA ADDICTED

Ginny Weant, Anna Slate, Zen Wu, Melanie Ashkar, Chloe Schaaf, Eric Alexieff, Kevin Miller, and members of the Chorus

OperaRox is a company that is new on our radar screen but has achieved a major success in a very short period of time. The black box theater on MacDougal Street was completely sold out last night, seats occupied by a mostly very young and very appreciative audience. The hallway was filled with folks clamoring to get seats but there were none. You are hereby advised to show up early for Sunday's matinee performance wait list, or to attend the covers' performance.

OperaRox, like many other small companies springing up around NYC these days, has a mission that is a win-win all around. Young artists get the opportunity to learn a role that will serve them well when seeking work in the future, and audiences get to hear a fresh take for a modest ticket price.

Director Maayan Voss de Bettancourt has credited Jennifer Choi for a highly original concept which gave us this fresh take on Handel's Alcina, an opera we get to hear about once a year. The opera was Handel's first production for the London stage and premiered in 1735, and then lay dormant for two centuries! The story is based on an episode from Ariosto's 16th c. epic poem Orlando Furioso.

It concerns the knight Ruggiero who has fallen under the spell of the beautiful and seductive sorceress Alcina who turns men into animals and rocks when she tires of them. His fiancee Bradamante who, in the Ariosto poem is always rescuing her fiance from some peril or other, has come to the magic island with Melisso, Ruggiero's former tutor, disguised as her brother Ricciardo. The pair must break Alcina's spell. Of course, they succeed.  But not before a lot of deception, betrayal, and some gender bending fun, as Alcina's sister Morgana falls in lust with "Ricciardo".

The unique concept devised by Ms. Choi was to present Alcina's power as a metaphor for addiction. The inhabitants of the island seem to be heavy into alcohol and prescription pharmaceuticals. Bradamante and Melisso have an antidote on hand to destroy Ruggiero's benighted state and restore him to the brave and loyal knight they know him to be. Of course, he has to go through some withdrawal symptoms first! Once the illusions are destroyed, the island's denizens are restored to humanity and Alcina's power is destroyed.

The concept worked well, thanks to some fine acting on the part of the young artists. The dramatic success was equalled by the fine musical values.  Music director Dmitry Glivinskiy employed an orchestration devised by himself, Friedrich Chrysander, and Producer Kim Feltkamp. He himself played the keyboard with Katie von Braun on violin and Spencer Shen contributing some fine work on the cello.

Ultimately, of course, the success of an opera rests upon the shoulders of the singers and we found much to like in the performances. As the eponymous Alcina, soprano Zen Wu let out all the stops in a fiery and convincing performance. We got to see her seductive side in several arias and a very angry side in the cabaletta "Io sono regina". The role calls for vocal fireworks and we surely got them.

An interesting feature of the opera is that a pair of lovers comprises two mezzo-sopranos and, in a casting coup, we heard two very different voices in that fach. The role of Ruggiero is a trouser role and was beautifully and lyrically sung by Chloe Schaaf who impressed us with "Verdi prati", arguably the most famous aria of this opera.

Interestingly, it was Melanie Ashkar playing Bradamante who had the weightier mezzo, perhaps signifying that she is the stronger member of the couple. We loved the rich texture of her voice and also her acting as she tried to deal with the seductiveness of the lustful Morgana. We liked her anger when her fiance failed to recognize her.

As Morgana, Anna Slate turned in a fine sexy performance and performed "Credete al mio dolore" with great humility as she tries to win back Oronte whom she threw over for the cross-dressed Bradamante.

The role of Oronte was well sung by Eric Alexieff who has the sweet kind of tenor that we love to hear.

The wise tutor Melisso was sung by bass Kevin Miller.

We particularly enjoyed the sweet soprano of Ginny Weant who portrayed Oberto, a youth trying to get Alcina to release her beloved father from his captivity.

Handel even managed to write a trio for Ruggiero, Bradamante, and Alcina in which the three voice blended beautifully.

Costuming was simple but apropos. There were no sets to speak of but the stage was littered with bottles of booze and pill bottles. Lighting was subtly effective. Titles were accurate and peppered with colloquialisms.

Although the run is sold out, we understand that Sunday evening will offer a performance by the covers. We do hope that some of you can get squeezed in by arriving early for the waitlist. We'd consider it worth your while.

(c) meche kroop