OUR VOTE COUNTED!!!

Nick Miller, Louis Riva, Elizabeth Treat, William Remmers, Caroline Tye, and Roman Laba

Our political votes may not count but our votes for upcoming seasons' performances at Utopia Opera definitely do.  Last year we voted for Friedrich von Flotow's Martha because we never had a chance to see it live. Apparently other fans of Utopia Opera shared my wish and we got to hear and see it last night in Lang Recital Hall at Hunter College. What other opera company allows its fans to determine its season!

We were not disappointed.  As a matter of fact, we were smiling for a couple of hours and danced our way home, our head filled with delicious melodies.  Although the music began as a ballet, von Flotow set this 1847 opera to a German text by Friedrich Wilhelm Reise. The style of it seemed to us more French than German and the setting is in England in the 18th c. We wonder whether there was not a German aristocracy at which to poke fun!

Conductor/Director William Remmers has updated the action to mid-20th c. with nothing lost and perhaps the advantage of getting his cast dressed in period signifiers, like ballet flats, rolled up jeans, and poodle skirts. The story concerns two female British aristocrats who find their lives boring. (Props to anyone who despises empty pursuits and meaningless wealth). 

Lady Harriet (winning sung by soprano Elizabeth Treat about whom we are tempted to make a pun) is courted by the pompous Sir Tristan, effectively performed by Roman Laba. Harriet and her friend Nancy (the superb mezzo-soprano Caroline Tye) are amused and envious of the carefree young women who are going to the Market at Richmond to get hired as farm workers.  They decide to dress as "commoners" and pull a prank.

They get themselves hired to work on the farm of Plunkett (the captivating Nick Miller) and his adopted brother Lyonel (the silken voiced tenor Louis Riva); the prank backfires when they realize that they are contracted for a year and this will be enforced by the Sheriff of Richmond (the convincing Brian J. Alvarado).

The scene in which the two women are shocked that they are expected to work is hilarious.  Just hear the way Ms. Tye rolls the "r" in "arbeit"! They need to be rescued by Sir Tristan--but not before the two women have a chance to bond with the two farmers.  The working out of this romantic foursome is always entertaining and we will not spoil it for you by telling you the ending.

But...on the way to the happy ending, we heard gorgeous duets by the two women and by the two men, a charming trio, a beautiful conciliatory quartet "Schlafe wohl! Und mag Dich reuen", a drinking song for the male chorus "Lasst mich euch fragen", the interpolated Irish folk song "Letzte rose" by Thomas Moore, and the memorable tenor aria "Ach! so fromm! Ach! so traut".

Not only were the five leads excellent but there was splendid support from both male and female choruses, who portrayed farmers and courtiers and hired hands. Andrew Jurden stood out as a page and as a farmer. The female hired hands formed an effective ensemble with lots of clever rhymes based upon their names.

The a propos wardrobe was credited to Eric Lamp (also the Second Page) and Angel Betancourt. Mr. Remmers conducted and managed to pull together the orchestra in which there were some unruly winds. Lochlan Brown did his customarily fine work on the keyboard.

We have no idea why this enchanting comedy has fallen out of the repertory but it's a piece that merits production and we are overjoyed to have seen it staged. Worth noting is that it was translated into Italian and Enrico Caruso performed it many times. The key tenor aria in Italian was "M'appari, tutt'amor" and we are quite sure we have heard it sung on its own.

(c) meche kroop

THIS MISS IS A HIT but THE HIT IS AMISS

Elvira and Mustafà's Harem in Utopia Opera's L'Italiana in Algeri

Stage Director and Conductor William Remmers had a radical concept for Rossini's first attempt at comedy--his 1813 L'Italiana in Algeri.  He achieved consistency within this concept, that of emphasizing the terrorism and violence, but paid the price of sacrificing the comedy.  In his version, Mustafà is not the corpulent buffone he was meant to be but a lean, mean and violent military dictator.  When Angelo Anelli wrote the libretto, all Europe was fascinated by all things Turkish, which meant the Ottoman Empire, actually already in decline.  Algeria at that time was part of the Empire, hence the title.

But updating the opera to the 20th c. brought it perilously close to our own time and the military costumes and assault rifles became an uncomfortable reminder of the Age of Terrorism, making laughter difficult.  This Bey was not a buffoon; the portrayal made it difficult to accept his being so easily tricked by the wily Isabella.

Sung by the radiant mezzo Caroline Tye, Isabella is emblematic of the modern woman and her feminine wiles contrasted beautifully with the submissive nature of Mustafà's rejected wife Elvira, sung by sparkling soprano Patricia Vital and her handmaiden Zulma, winningly sung by mezzo-soprano Kristin Roney.  

All three women sang superbly with excellent diction and enviable control of the embellishments.  Their skill at bel canto singing was impressive and made the evening a worthwhile one.  We loved the way Ms. Tye sang "Cruda sorte....Amor tiranno" and "Per lui che adoro", which we haven't enjoyed so much since Stephanie Blythe sang it in Santa Fe a dozen years ago!

One male role stood out as well, that of Taddeo, Isabella's traveling companion.  Jia-jun Hong exhibited admirable comedic skills as well as a fine voice which he used well. Still very young (perhaps as young as Rossini was when he composed this dramma giocoso) he is a talent to watch.

We wish we could have enjoyed the other male leads as well.  Bass Duncan Hartman sang reasonably well in spite of a vocal indisposition but seemed cast to fulfill Mr. Remmers' concept. He just didn't match the ridiculous figure we wanted to see. 

Tenor Chad Cygan neither looked like a romantic hero that the desirable Isabella would have gone searching for nor did he have the vocal chops for the role.  He handled the rapid-fire patter quite well and most of the recitativi but the upper half of his register was uncomfortably and unattractively strained.  This is regrettable since Rossini's melodies are so enchanting.

Roman Laba made a fine captain of the army, wearing a red fez.  Eric Lamp and Victor Ziccardi doubled as soldiers and slaves. They made some fine moves in a little dance. Jordana Rose, Erica Koehring and Winnie Nieh played members of the harem.

The manic energy of the ensembles with which Rossini generally ends each act were quite well done vocally but disturbing dramatically.  Act I ended in a virtual bloodbath with characters all attacking each other with guns, knives and robes.  When Act II began, all the characters wore bloody bandages, braces and crutches.  EWWW! Lindoro looked like Quasimodo.

The 17 member orchestra played well for the most part with occasional lapses of intonation.  We loved the pizzicato opening of the exciting overture after which the melody gets tossed around by the winds. Samuel Marques played some fine solos on the clarinet and Susan Morton was superb on the harpsichord. Mr. Remmers conducted with his customary gusto.

With audience-selected operas and a minuscule budget, it is amazing what Mr. Remmers can pull together.  There was, as usual, no set; costumes probably were assembled from the singers' very own closets.  

The feisty Utopia Opera has a most unusual double bill coming up in March.  Watch for it!  You may wish to vote online for next year's operas.  Participate!

© meche kroop

FUN WITH FALSTAFF

Monica Hershenson Thuris, César Torruella, James Stoia, Sophia Benedetti, Brian Long and Roman Laba (photo by Kate Hess)

Falstaff is the supremely confident work of an octogenarian at the top of his game, composed for the love of the art, not to please opera houses, impresarios or singers.  It is Giuseppe Verdi's one successful comedy and might never have been composed without the persuasion of his librettist Arrigo Boito who pulled him out of his well earned retirement.

Similarly, we would like to use our persuasion to lure you away from your usual Saturday night entertainment to attend the final performance of this delightful work presented by the scrappy Utopia Opera in Lang Recital Hall of Hunter College at 7:30.  You will have chuckles aplenty due to the fine dramatic instincts of the cast; you will hear some excellent voices and fine music coming from the 15-member live orchestra conducted with gusto by William Remmers.

What you won't get are lavish production values because Utopia Opera operates on a slender shoestring, the better to keep ticket prices affordable for everyone.  But who needs lavish production values?  It's all about the music and the establishment of coherent characters.  Polymath Mr. Remmers is responsible for the stage direction but gives credit to his cast for the many original ideas they contributed.  This was truly a collaborative effort.

The success of Falstaff rests on the broad shoulders of the eponymous hero (anti-hero).  Sir John, in material extracted from Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor and also from Henry IV, is a self-deluded buffoon of dubious moral character, enthusiastically rejecting the concept of honor and scheming to seduce two local married women for their money.

But, he must also win our sympathy and be lovable.  This seemingly impossible task was accomplished successfully by baritone César Torruella who exhibited just the right color in his voice as well as dramatic chops.

Stunning in her portrayal of Mistress Quickly, husky-voiced mezzo-soprano Monica Hershenson Thuris acted as go-between, luring the hapless Falstaff into the trap laid by the two "merry wives".  We had to stifle our laughter every time she sang her "Reverenza" with a deep bow.  Likewise her sardonic "Povera donna".

The two wives were likewise excellent as they plotted their revenge.  Soprano Hannah Spierman portrayed Alice Ford; her jealous husband was sung by baritone Stan Lacy who did justice to Ford's monologue in the first act.  The other wife, Meg Page, was well sung by mezzo-soprano Eva Parr.

Every opera should have a romantic interest.  The Ford daughter Nannetta requires a comely young lady with a high bright soprano and Sophia Benedetti totally filled the bill.  Her suitor Fenton was sung by tenor James Stoia and their romantic duets were harmonically fulfilling.

Tenor Stuart Homan produced an entirely different coloration for his excellent portrayal of Dr. Caius to whom has been promised the hand of Nannetta.  What a pleasure it was to see how the women outwit the men on that issue.

Tenor Brian Long as Bardolfo and Roman Laba as Pistola made a fine pair of ladri and added significant moments of comedy, particularly at the end during the marvelous fugue scene when they....(never mind, you just have to see for yourself).

The fifteen musicians played well but we must single out the fine oboist Rebecca Bellacera whose English horn theme in the letter scene stood out and the keyboardist Jeremy Weissmann who had us searching for the harp.

The clever and motley costumes, roughly of the 1980's, were devised by the singers themselves.  This was truly a collaborative project and proves that ingenuity trumps a big budget.

© meche kroop