A STUNNING NEW OPERA

Whitney George, composer/conductor of Princess Maleine (photo by Brian E. Long)

It was a big gamble for Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble to commission a new opera; the gamble paid off and a stunning new opera was presented as part of the Summer Festival, honoring female composers, conductors, and directors. Billed as a fairy tale, we say otherwise. A fairytale is a folk tale that is handed down from one generation to the next with themes that are consistent from one culture to the next.

Whitney George's new opera has elements of fairy tales--Kings, Queens, a Princess in a tower, a Prince Charming, etc. but it is based upon an 1890's play by Maurice Maeterlinck that was not produced until after his death. The Symbolist movement in literature is difficult to define but, no matter, librettist and director Bea Goodwin has chosen her own take on the story, emphasizing the agency of the female characters. In this she has largely succeeded.

Actually, the most interesting character onstage is Queen Ann of Jutland, portrayed by the fascinating Mr. Liz Bouk whose regal appearance, expressive face and body, and arresting contralto voice lent verisimilitude to the characterization. Queen Ann is the very image of the evil stepmother, but here the character is the evil mother-in-law-to-be. She is a master manipulator, both of King Hjalmar of Ysselmonde, of whom she is the consort, and of her own daughter Princess Ursula (Uglyane in the Maeterlinck). She succeeds in killing the lovely Princess Maleine of Harlingen, a role portrayed beautifully by the lovely light soprano Elyse Kakacek, who looked and sang exactly right.

Bass-baritone Eric Lindsey lent his splendid voice to the role of King Hjalmar of Ysselmonde, a man whose power declines once he destroys the kingdom of his neighbor King Marcellus of Harlingen (portrayed by Jonathan Harris), a man who makes the foolish decision to insist that his unwilling daughter Princess Maleine marry a Burgundian, for political reasons.

The role of King Marcellus' wife Queen Godelive was superbly sung by soprano Kristina Malinauskaite. Her character was portrayed as kind and gentle but she dies along with her husband in the war with King Hjalmar. She reappears as a spirit again in Act II. Neither of the pair provide any support for poor Princess Maleine who has fallen in love with Prince Hjalmar, portrayed by Jeremy Brauner, whose grainy tenor seemed all wrong for the part, the only casting decision that seemed flawed.

Mezzo-soprano Nicholle Bittlingmeyer made a fine Aleta, Lady-in-Waiting to the Princess, accompanying her on her journey. The two of them had a lovely duet in Act I.

Playing The Fool was counter-tenor Jeffrey Mandelbaum whose flexible face, supple body, and eerie tone were just right for the part. Sometimes he commented on the action, sometimes he guided the action, and sometimes he lead the characters astray. But he always entertained.

Tenor Gabriel Hernandez and baritone Connor Lidell had a fine bit together as the Guards Vanox and Stephano. Baritone Shane Brown took the role of Angus, confidant of the Prince. In a confusing costuming decision, the two men who had a similar appearance, with matching bald pates and nearly identical costumes, seemed interchangeable.

We enjoyed the performance of soprano MaKayla McDonald as Queen Ann's daughter--a most reluctant bride for King Hjalmar's son. Her performance was both touching and humorous. The only plot point that was unexplained was how the two had never met since their respective parents ruled together!

The mime show held during the overture involved the petite Megan Vanacore  playing the part of Queen Ann's young son flying a kite. The libretto indicated that the kite represented a soul, yearning and aspiring--but held to the ground by the string.

Marcus Hollie portrayed the doctor who concocts poisonous elixirs for the evil Queen.

Stealing the show was a realistic puppet-poodle named Pluto, marvelously manipulated by the aforementioned Jonathan Harris.

There was something particularly special and seemingly authentic about a scene in which the Princess and Aleta escape from the tower and come upon a tavern. The libretto here was more than usually clever and made us think of Sondheim. Jessica Harika and Anna Woiwood were appropriately basse classe. We liked Ms. Goodwin's libretto best when it rhymed and scanned. There were some clever moments indeed!

What about Whitney George's music? Well, dear readers, we have saved the best for last. This was our first exposure to Ms. George's music although we have enjoyed her finely detailed conducting before. Unlike most contemporary compositions, what we heard offered delights aplenty. There was ample variety of styles and colorful orchestration for the 14-member chamber orchestra. Woodwinds and brass were particularly noteworthy, as were the ethereal sounds from the percussionist. Lyrical passages alternated with rhythmic staccato sounds. There were no longueurs; our attention was held throughout. As you may have predicted, we would have preferred more melody in the vocal writing.

There was even a tango, accompaniment to a scene in which Queen Ann tries to seduce the Prince. More credit to choreographer Lauren Hlubny!

Costume Designer Claire Townsend provided lovely gowns for Queen Godelive and the Princess, and a splendiferous one for Queen Ann. The two Kings, whilst a bit more modest, could not be mistaken for commoners.  The Prince, however was clad in a rather contemporary suit, as was his buddy Angus. It was difficult to see him as a prince.

Joo Hyun Kim's set was simple but effective with lighting handled by Dante Olivia Smith.

We would like to close by mentioning how much more enjoyable this original work was than the recently reviewed Thirteenth Child and Korngold's The Miracle of Heliane--both failed attempts to create a fairy tale. That is a difficult task to achieve, matching the wisdom of centuries of storytelling. Just think about the success of Cenerentola, Cendrillon, and Hansel und Gretel! Rossini, Massenet and Humperdinck had real fairytales to work with.

If you are tempted to see for yourself, there will be one more performance Saturday night. To tempt you further, we will post a carousel of photos on our Facebook page--Voce di Meche.

(c) meche kroop

BRING NEWBIE FRIENDS

So, Escamillo strides cockily down the center aisle of the ravishing St. Ann's Church in Brooklyn Heights and kisses the critic's hand.  "Oh", we think, "this evening had better be good because it would be very difficult to criticize after that winning gesture".  Fortunately, it was good.  It was very good.  The entire evening, presented by the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra and New York Opera Exchange (strangely uncredited in the program) was delightful, comprising scenes from operas you know and love, and will be repeated this Sunday at 3PM.  Consider yourself urged to attend and to bring friends who aren't sure they will like opera.  They will leave thanking you and looking forward to more opera.

Under the baton of Nicholas Armstrong for the past 14 years, the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra has become known as one of the finest community orchestras in New York; they showed up best in the Prelude to Verdi's La Traviata in which the themes were clearly articulated and well contrasted.

Since we do not have a TV, nor have ever had one, we are not tired of hearing the "Flower Duet" from Lakme.  Last night it was beautifully sung by soprano Candace Matthews who has a lovely "ping" (not to mention a glamorous gown) and mezzo Kate Wiswell whose fine vibrato was well-remembered from her performance last season as Dorabella in Cosi Fan Tutte.  The two voices blended well and soared above the sizable orchestra.

Next we heard a rather raucous reading of the Bacchanale from Samson et Dalila by Camille Saint-Saëns, complete with clashing cymbals.  The first half of the program ended with the Act I finale of Rossini's L'Italiana in Algeri.  Who doesn't love Rossini's wild and crazy ensembles!  In this case, the embellishments were well-articulated and the voices well balanced across the board.  The clever Isabella was performed by mezzo Nichole Peyreigne who left no doubt that she is a true mezzo, not a soprano with a good lower range.  Her superb performance was matched by the fine baritone of Joseph Beckwith as Mustafa.  In this role, a slim handsome baritone in a dinner jacket must convince us that he is a fat unwholesome pasha; that's a stretch but his singing compensated for it.  Tenor Aaron Short made a fine Lindoro; we remember him from several performances at Manhattan School of Music.  John Erban sang Taddeo, Haly was sung by Douglas Balkin, Elvira was sung by Alexandra Lang and Zulma by Natasha Nelson; all were excellent and each held his/her own.

The second half of the program was entirely operatic, comprising scenes from Act II of Carmen by Georges Bizet and the Act II finale of Gaetano Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor.  The cast of Carmen managed a semi-staged performance without a stage by means of some well-considered acting.  Nicholle Bittlingmeyer's Carmen handled the eponymous heroine's initial lovelorn state and her final contempt for Don Jose with equal aplomb.  Her sequined red gown and fiery mien made the whole scene believable.  The aforementioned Escamillo was sung by Robert Balonek whose finely honed baritone won him a grant from Opera Index.  Scott Ingram made an ardent Don Jose and avoided being pitiable.  The Dancaire of Paul Khuri-Yakub and the Remendado of Francisco Corredor made an excellent and humorous quartet with Frasquita and Mercedes.  The role of Mercedes was sung by Natasha Nelson, well-remembered from her performance as Despina in last season's Cosi fan Tutte while Frasquita was sung by soprano Alexandra Lang; the two gals seemed to have a lot of fun with their roles.

The program closed with the tragic nuptial scene of Lucia.  Selfish brother Enrico was sung by the generous-voiced Joseph Beckwith who was not here obliged to convince anyone that he was a fat Pasha.  Arturo, the hapless husband, was sung by Justin Werner; Edgardo, the equally hapless lover was sung by Aaron Short; John Erban sang Raimondo. The emotional confrontation was quite affecting.  Poor Lucia was sung by Rebecca Shorstein.

We remain impressed by the high quality of the emerging artists who find their way to New York Opera Exchange.  Stay tuned for more information on their season.

©meche kroop