BLEAK HOUSE

Laura Wilde (Jenůfa), Gina Perregrino (Herdswoman), Katherine Beck (Karolka), Kathleen Reveille (Mayor’s Wife), and Richard Trey Smagur (Števa Buryja) (Photo by Ken Howard for Santa Fe Opera)

Contemporaneous with Puccini, Leoš Janáček wrote a very sad opera about sin and redemption in a small Moravian village; Jenüfa premiered in1904 after six years of compositional labor; it would not be heard in the composer's original version for seventy years. This is one of the first "prose" operas.

The grim story deals with issues of unrequited love, out-of-wedlock pregnancy, fraternal envy, violence, and infanticide. The eponymous heroine (soprano Laura Wilde) is in love with the fickle Števa (tenor Richard Trey Smagur) and is carrying his child. His half-brother Laca (tenor Alexander Lewis) is envious of Števa's favored position in the family and is jealous of Števa's relatioship with Jenufa. How this all works out is a gripping story.

Two elements pleased us even before attending the performance. Firstly, the opera is sung in Czech; this is a difficult language but every time we hear it sung we are impressed by how wedded are word and vocal line. Janácek wrote the libretto himself so this element is particularly important.

Secondly, the opera has been cast with singers we know and love, some of whom we heard last year as Santa Fe Apprentices, others we know from conservatories in New York or from competitions.

One of the hallmarks of a great production is that one can identify with the characters and care about them. The fact that the piece was updated to the mid-20th c. did not detract from its impact. This story might even take place today in a small town gripped by religious fundamentalism.

The eponymous Jenufa has been captivated by a man of poor character who seduces her and abandons her when her face has been disfigured. Who could not identify with an innocent young woman who falls for a narcissistic man! Soprano Laura Wilde (once an 
apprentice at Santa Fe Opera) used her generous instrument and agile body to create a Jenufa we could really care about. The dénouement of the drama finds her accepting her fate and possibly finding happiness with Laca. All of the emotions she experienced were revealed through vocal coloration and body language---anticipation, joy, anxiety, despair, grief, forgiveness, and reconciliation. What a stunning performance!

As Kostelnička, soprano Patricia Racette turned in a highly memorable performance. The intensity of her vocal expression and the measured use of vibrato made her a sympathetic monster. Under the stress of living in a religious community as the widow of the church warden, her experience of shame over her step-daughter's pregnancy and her efforts to find the best for Jenufa clashed with her religious beliefs; her desperate act left her feeling sick and guilty. Ms. Racette made her climactic realization --how she loved herself more than others -- convincing evidence of her emotional growth.

As the rascal Števa, tenor Richard Trey Smagur (well remembered from his Apprentice performances) created a character imbued with childish narcissism, caring only for his own desires--drinking and philandering. Whilst Jenufa was grieving he was busy courting the daughter of the Mayor. Mr. Smagur created a thoroughly detestable character but sang so well we were ready to forgive him anything. Additionally, he has a compelling stage presence that dominated the stage.

Tenor Alexander Lewis, whom we haven't heard in a few years, sounded terrific as Laca. Sulking around the stage as a grievance collector when the opera opens, he explodes with anger and slashes Jenufa's face. By the end of the opera he has matured emotionally; forgiven by Jenufa, he seems prepared to make a good husband for her. All of these emotions were made clear by Mr. Lewis, both in his vocal coloration and in his posture.

We enjoyed the performance of baritone Will Liverman, also a former Apprentice at Santa Fe Opera. His character was the foreman of the mill which Števa inherited and had the task of announcing the fact that Števa had not been drafted. His voice always lends a sense of import.

Renowned mezzo-soprano Susanne Mentzer, a Santa Fe resident, created the role of Grandmother Buryjovka, mother-in-law of Kostelnička, and a seemingly kind woman who can also swat her wayward grandson with her purse. She became increasingly frail during the three seasons in which the opera takes place

Several apprentices graced the stage with their presence in smaller roles. Alan Higgs gave a fine interpretation of the self-satisfied mayor with Kathleen Reveille creating the character of his wife---critical and all too ready to humiliate Jenufa. Their daughter Karolka was portrayed by Katherine Beck as the superficial flighty beauty that Števa was going to marry. The three of them just made sense as a family.

Making brief appearances but sounding great were Gina Perregrino, Sylvia D'Eramo, Jana McIntyre, Kaitlyn McMonigle, Danielle Beckvermit, and Benjamin Taylor.

The chorus of Apprentices appeared as townfolk and sounded sensational, as usual. We loved the folk dances choreographed by Maxine Braham.

Maestro Johannes Debus honored Janáček by revealing all the colors of his palette. Our esteem for this composer grows every time we hear his compositions. His writing underscores the action at every turn. We loved the duet between mother and step-daughter which seemed more tuneful than the writing for solo voice. When Kostelnička sends Jenufa to bed, the orchestral writing has the quality of a lullaby. Our favorite passages are almost always the most lyrical ones but last night we found much to love in the forceful and dramatic ones.

Director David Alden similarly honored the work. His direction put a lot of space between the characters which emphasized their loneliness and isolation. There wasn't much love in this family! Fortunately, there wasn't even a whiff of directorial arrogance. Alden wisely allowed the tale to speak for itself.

Charles Edwards' minimalist set design neither added nor detracted but it was stunningly lit by Duane Schuler, who created chiaroscuro effects with dramatic shadows on the walls. We liked the way the boarded up windows exploded when the boards were removed and a storm occurred, lending verisimilitude to the storm within the family.

Jon Morrell's costumes were a propos to a small European village in the mid-20th c.. The folk dancers were colorful and the family drab. The mayor's wife and daughter were more lavishly costumed as befit their lofty position in the local society.

Unfortunately, this was the last performance of the season so unless you have already attended you are out of luck. But there is plenty more artistry to look forward to. We are looking forward to tomorrow's La Bohême and the Sunday Apprentice recital.


(c) meche kroop

CANDIDE-LY SPEAKING

The cast of Leonard Bernstein's Candide onstage at Carnegie Hall

In celebration of the Bernstein Centennial, Carnegie Hall presented a one-night benefit performance of Candide, with Rob Fisher conducting the huge orchestral forces of the Orchestra of St. Luke's, and the enormous Mansfield University Concert Choir, all onstage.

Let us avoid any discussion of whether this charming work is an opera or a musical comedy. No matter how many times we have seen the work, nor in whatever venue, we have always enjoyed it and walked out humming numbers from Bernstein's tuneful score. 

The work is an enduring one, and an endearing one, and its arias have appeared on countless recitals, especially "Glitter and Be Gay", a favorite of coloratura sopranos. The work seems to be critic-proof and, in spite of it's initial cool reception, continues to appear in various iterations, each worthy on its own terms.

The concert version we saw last night at Carnegie Hall was new to us, since our prior experiences have been with the Harold Prince version. This one was Bernstein's final intention, realized and recorded shortly before his death in 1989. What a thrill to hear songs we hadn't heard before and to see scenes we hadn't previously seen. We are reminded that opera composers of the 19th c. also revised their operas many times such that a definitive performing version can be negotiable.

Not only do we love the music but we adore the book by Hugh Wheeler, which touches upon so many serious themes, beneath a comic facade.
In this story of innocence betrayed and reality accepted, we are exposed to countless trials and tribulations; we witness the heroes of the story pursuing their ideals and surviving their hardships. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that the public has such affection for the work.

The literary work upon which it is based is Voltaire's 1759 novella, a satiric attack on war, religious persecution, and the positivist philosophy of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz who claimed that whatever happens in this world is divinely ordered and for the best.

What we didn't know was that one of the episodes is based upon true events. In Lisbon, the horrendous death toll of an earthquake resulted in religious persecutions meant to "appease God". Well!  If that doesn't sound like some contemporary stuff going on in the Middle East we will eat the score for breakfast!

If anyone doesn't know the story, it involves the picaresque adventures of an innocent youth named Candide and his beloved Cousin Cunegonde who were tutored by one Dr. Pangloss, a stand-in for Leibniz. The two survive the horrors of war, shipwrecks, deceits and betrayals, as well as the aforementioned auto-da-fe;  they get continually separated and reunited more than once until at the end they decide to have a quiet life with modest pleasures.

One couldn't ask for a better Candide than tenor Paul Appleby, about whom we have written since his student days at Juilliard. No opera or concert appearance or award gala performance has failed to impress us artistically or to touch us emotionally. With the ensuing years he has grow as an artist but has not lost the sweet freshness of his tenor. Once again, last night, he touched our heart as his innocence kept him afloat from one disaster to the next.

He was particularly memorable in his ballads "Life is Happiness Indeed" and in his lament in Scene 2. His duet with Cunegonde "You Were Dead, You Know" was a knockout.

As Cunegonde, the brilliant soprano Erin Morley, another favorite of ours, turned in a landmark performance. Repeated hearings has never dulled the sharp character delineation created in "Glitter and Be Gay" which shows Cunegonde's ambivalence about her stint in a brothel, being patronized on alternate days by an Archbishop (Len Cariou) and Don Issachar the Jew (Danny Burstein)--a scene that drove the audience wild. 

The poor girl laments the loss of her honor but revels in the pleasures of the jewels showered upon her. We think of Marguerite's "Jewel Song" in Gounod's Faust. Another highlight of the evening was her duet with Patricia Racette-- "We Are Women", a number we had not heard before.

It was difficult to imagine Patricia Racette in the role of The Old Woman because she is far too young and attractive. Nonetheless, she employed a "high Middle Polish" accent and appropriate gestures that made her performance convincing. Her version of "I Am Easily Assimilated" always tickles us.

Making a brief appearance in a wheelchair was legendary mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne in a speaking role as the Queen of Eldorado. We loved her line--"We have no lawyers or courts here; no one is angry."

In a bit of luxury casting we heard William Burden's fine tenor as the lustful Governor of Buenos Aires. Glenn Seven Allen, Kyle Pfortmiller, and Ross Benoliel made a fine trio in "Auto-da-fe".

Other roles were assumed by Broadway stars. John Lithgow made a convincing Dr. Pangloss and also narrated as Voltaire himself. His singing is about as good as Rex Harrison's was in My Fair Lady. Ryan Silverman portrayed Cunegonde's vain brother Maximilian and appeared later as the Grand Inquisitor and a Jesuit.

Paquette was performed by Bryonha Marie Parham who sang in several ensembles. Her character did not have the same stage time as in the Hal Prince version.  The Baron and Baroness were also cut, as were the singing sheep in the Eldorado scene.

If we were to name all the numbers that delighted us we would surely run out of space but we absolutely must mention the delightful "What's the Use" which takes place in the casino in Venice. We can't stop humming it!

Although it was a concert version, taking place on a shallow area in front of the orchestra, there was enough action to hold our attention.  Director Gary Griffin did a fine job on this account.  Costumes by Tracy Christensen were quite wonderful. 

In place of sets we had projections designed by Wendall K. Harrington and they were superb. All of the locales in the show were represented above the heads of the choristers and some of them had moving figures. For example, when the characters were at sea, we saw maps of the Atlantic Ocean with images of a several-masted schooner tacking back and forth! Each scene was suitably accompanied by these visuals and the audience loved them.

If there were one flaw in the evening, and of course there would have to be "in this best of all possible worlds", it would be the sound design. The lyrics to the songs are so clever that it was a shame to miss so much of them. Of all the singers, Mr. Appleby's words came across the best. We are not sure what kind of amplification was used but it was far from satisfactory. Since there were several songs that were new to us, we will have to look for the lyrics online.

(c) meche kroop

PUCCINI'S SPAGHETTI WESTERN (or Minnie, Get Your Gun)

Mark Delavan and Patricia Racette (photo by Ken Howard)

Puccini's heroines have been called "piccole donne" but upon closer examination we observe that they have great strength of character.  In the case of La Fanciulla del West, seen last night at the Santa Fe Opera, Minnie, the titular character, manages to handle a large diverse group of gritty miners and also to fight for her man.  The libretto was derived from Girl of the Golden West, a play by David Belasco, who also wrote the play which inspired Puccini's Madama Butterfly.

Belasco wanted to portray the West with a realism unknown at the turn of the 20th century. The men in the mining camps of  mid 19th c. California participated in the Gold Rush to provide for their families or to get rich.  They came from all over and often suffered from despair and loneliness. Somehow we were made to think of Ping, Pang, and Pong  in Puccini's Turandot, longing for the peace and comfort of home.

Minnie is a notoriously difficult role to sing but soprano Patricia Racette rose to the challenge, tackling the difficult tessitura with her customary aplomb and throwing herself completely into the role, earning a vociferous standing ovation at the end.  Minnie, with all her life experience, has never been kissed and experiences her first romance with the gentleman bandit Ramerrez, alias Dick Johnson, who is leader of a band of highwaymen, come to her saloon probably to rob the men of their savings.

They fall in love and Minnie, with impressive loyalty, overcomes her anger at the deception, and hides Johnson (tenor Gwyn Hughes Jones) from Sheriff Jack Rance (bass-baritone Mark Delavan). Both male roles were sung with fine tone and commitment, providing a dramatic situation of great suspense.

We particularly enjoyed the scene in which Minnie, generally an honorable sort, resorts to cheating at poker to make sure that she beats Rance, who is so taken with her that he was willing to pay $1000. for a kiss--a kiss she happily gave to Johnson for free. At this point in the story, Puccini's music fades away and there is only the low murmur of the kettle drums. Of course, we know what is going to happen and yet Puccini's magic had us on the edge of our seat. 

Emmanuel Villaume's conducting was exemplary, as was the work of the chorus (directed by Susanne Sheston).  Actually, the miners are not exactly a chorus, since each man has a name and a specific personality.  One of them, Larkens (Adrian Smith), is so lonely and depressed that his buddies take up a collection to send him home. Baritone Craig Verm made a fine showing as the reasonable Sonora. The Wells Fargo agent Ashby was well portrayed by bass Raymond Aceto. The sizable role of Nick the bartender was finely enacted by tenor Allan Glassman.

We recognized several of the Apprentices as well, including baritone Jared Bybee as Handsome,  tenor Galeano Salas in the chorus, and a strangely pregnant Wokle sung by Kristen Choi .

If there was any fault to be found in this splendid evening, it would have to be the production, which was a co-production with the English National Opera.  Director Richard Jones seemed to lack a feel for place and period and the spare sets by Miriam Buether  failed to convince.  The saloon had a tin ceiling but the bare metal tables and chairs looked entirely too slick and modern.  And why would the Marshall's Office have a large picture window? Mimi's cabin did sport gas lighting but looked neither weathered nor thrown together. It reminded us of a skier's A-frame.

We did like the set-up of showing Minnie's office off to one side of the saloon and another room to the other side, where the miners withdrew to dance with one another, somewhat reminiscent of the four young men of La Boheme who prance around their garret to keep their spirits up.

 

The miner's costumes (Nicky Gellibrand) were appropriately scruffy but Minnie's dresses did not suggest the period of the Gold Rush.

The hanging scene in the final act was particularly poorly handled. We can surely overlook the lack of horses onstage but there was no scaffolding set up, nor even a tree-- just a box only a few inches off the ground and a rope descending from on high. This hanging would never have worked!

Fortunately, the excellent cast and marvelous music trumped the production's shortcomings.

© meche kroop