INDIA LIBERATA

Cast and Production Team for Opera Lafayette's Double Feature

We tend to eschew program notes, believing that a work of art should speak for itself.  Last night we were dazzled by thrilling baroque singing and playing as well as spectacular costuming; but we could not figure out what was going on. We knew that Alessandro Scarlatti's Erminia was derived from Torquato Tasso's epic poem La Gerusalemme Liberata (as were so many other operas....think Händel, Lully, Gluck, and Rossini) and could not understand the costuming. We didn't see any knights or Saracens!

The best strategy, we decided, was to just sit back and enjoy the music and singing and not try to figure out the story. Upon arriving home we consulted the program notes and learned that the conflict between the Christians and the Saracens had been transmogrified into a conflict between the Mughals who invaded India and the indigenous Hindi.

This put Scarlatti's work on the same costuming plane as Francesco Geminiani's La forêt enchantée, a dance pantomime which was also inspired by Tasso's poem; the music was commissioned by Servandoni and consists of five short musical movements resembling a Concerto Grosso. This juxtaposition produced an evening comprising both opera and ballet with unity of time and place.

Of Erminia, only the first act survived, which is probably the reason we have not seen it before. It involves four characters--the lovely Erminia, a princess, is fleeing some conflict and seeks help from a shepherd. She exchanges her armor and aristocratic clothing for a simple shepherdess gown while the shepherd weaves a basket.

The role of Erminia was sung by the lovely young soprano Julia Dawson who effortlessly produced the requisite baroque ornamentation. Bass-baritone André Courville, another rising star, did a splendid job creating a sympathetic character with his rich full paternal tone quality.

Coming on the scene a bit later we met Tancredi, beautifully sung by yet another fine young artist, mezzo-soprano Allegra De Vita in travesti, complete with moustache, and Polidoro, finely sung by tenor Asitha Tennekoon. Mistaken identity and jealousy ensue.

Our favorite parts of this work were the kindly interaction between Erminia and the shepherd, and at the end of the act, when Erminia sang a most beautifully moving aria.

This act was directed by Richard Gammon. The rustic woodland set was created by Richard Ouelette and worked well for both opera and ballet. It is better seen (in the photo above) than described. The gorgeous costumes were designed by Meriem Bahri. Effective lighting was by Rob Siler.

The ballet which followed was not confusing due to the wondrous choreography of Anuradha Nehru, founder and artistic director of Kalanidhi Dance. The basis lay in a style known as kuchipudi but we saw many steps we have observed in baroque dance, steps which were originally based upon fencing moves, as we learned from Erica Gould at a Salon Sanctuary evening.

Layered upon the familiar steps was some elaborate and descriptive mime which left no doubt as to which warriors were thirsty and when that thirst was slaked. Every movement and motion was made clear, as were the quality of the interactions.

Our favorite scene in the ballet was that of the woodland spirits, clad in white and using their bodies to create unforgettable imagery.

For this ballet, Maestro Ryan Brown, founder and artistic director of Opera Lafayette, conducted while playing the violin!  We have witnessed conducting from the harpsichord but this was something new for us.

The orchestra sounded superb. The strings were modern but the wind instruments belonged to the baroque period. We spotted a horn with no keys and a pair of recorders in different registers.

Every time Opera Lafayette makes it up here from Washington, D.C., they bring us something novel and valuable.

LOVE AND OTHER MISTAKES

Elena (Anna Farysej)

New York is blessed with three fine music schools, each of which provides splendid opportunities for opera lovers.  The Manhattan School of Music Opera Theater, under the artistic direction of Dona D. Vaughn, presented a fine program of scenes from four very different operas.  The program demonstrated the depth and breadth of talent in every voice range and several different styles; it will be repeated Sunday at 2:30.

This collection of gems was entitled "Love and Other Mistakes"; but believe us when we tell you that the only mistake would be missing it.  The opening scene represented serious romantic courtship with Cupid himself putting in an appearance.  Gluck is perhaps better known for his Orfeo but, if this scene is representative of his Paride ed Elena, the latter deserves a full production.  It is a scene of Paris' courtship of the beautiful Helen and soprano Anna Farysej had the physical and vocal beauty for the role.  Beautifully gowned in apricot and gold, her bright soprano was perfect for the woman being earnestly courted by Paris, the excellent mezzo Elsa Quéron.  Cupid was well sung by Aine Hakamatsuka.  Piano and harpsichord were joined by cellist Patrick Hopkins.

The second scene was Hindemith's Sancta Susanna, a strange piece about religious devotion corrupted by profane lust.  The libretto by August Stramm was as disturbing as the music.  The set consisted of a red drape with a large gold Christ on the Cross.  Mezzo Helena Brown with her stunningly large round sound was Sister Klementia, witness to the decompensation of Susanna, well sung by soprano Kerstin Bauer.  There are no arias and no melodies but the music is held together by a motif repeated in different keys.

Papa Buonafede (Tobias Klassen) tied in knots

The third scene was from Joseph Haydn's Il Mondo della luna and the libretto by Carlo Goldoni was right out of the commedia del'arte tradition in which wily servants outwit an old man who is an obstacle to young love.  In this case, a father has two daughters who wish to marry; the trickery involved a sleeping potion and papa's being convinced that he was visiting the moon in which everyone spoke a different language and observed different customs, including of course unchaperoned visits between the daughters and their lovers.  There were sight gags galore, wonderful tuneful music, colorful sets and costumes.  The excellent singers were Tobias Klassen as Papa Buonafede, Stephen Steffens and Lyndon England as the suitors, Julia Mendelsohn and Gyu Yeo Shim as the daughters, and Christopher Lilley and Yingying Liu as the wily servants who posed as King and Queen bearing toilet plungers and toilet brushes as scepters.  You get the picture.

The final scene was Three Sisters who are not Sisters--Ned Rorem's setting of a text by Gertrude Stein.  The story had something to do with a murder game and was totally incomprehensible but made into quite a lark by clever staging.  Every singer wore the same costume of a neon pink wig, a moustache, a striped tee-shirt and jeans with suspenders.  The set comprised a wall with five doors through which the five cast members and also the chorus emerged and disappeared, bearing guns and knives.  Pure nonsense but fun to watch since the staging by Richard Gammon was so effective.  Mr. Gammon used a great deal of body movement in all of the works and if the singers did not study dance they gave the impression that they had.  Hannah DeBlock, Brittany Nickell, Yajie Chen, Andrew Zimmermann and Devon Morin were the murderers/victims.  Who could say?

Marcello Cormio conducted the evening, Carolyn Mraz designed the colorful sets and Barbara Samuels designed the effective lighting.  The dazzling costumes were designed by Jonathan Knipscher.  The audience had a swell time and so will you!

© meche kroop