NO SLEEPWALKING HERE!

Hyesang Park and Kang Wang (photo by Nan Melville)

Initially, we felt a trifle disappointed that Juilliard Opera would be presenting Bellini's La sonnambula in a semi-staged version, hoping to see a production that would wipe from our memory the overly complicated production at the Metropolitan Opera. Within the first few minutes we recognized that the performances themselves created the set and the action, much the way that mountains create their own weather.

With flawless conducting, instrumentalism, and vocal performance, this was a knockout production of which Bellini would have been very proud. It is well known how important to Bellini was the casting.

Two star sopranos took the stage last night and showed their mettle as masters of bel canto style. As Amina, we heard Hyesang Park, who first impressed us exactly two years ago when she performed the famous aria from this selfsame opera "Ah, non credea mirarti" in a master class with Renée Fleming. Clearly she has been working on this role for some time and appeared to inhabit it with ease.

Here, she had the opportunity to portray the modest and innocent Amina, in contrast with the flirtatious Florilla she portrayed in Rossini's Il turco in Italia. She colored her bright voice just right for the role, sounding as young and innocent as the character is meant to be. Her command of the trills, swoops, turns and other embellishments was definitive. Her petite stature abetted the characterization.

Clarissa Lyons was equally impressive as Lisa. We were introduced to this statuesque beauty last month at one of Marilyn Horne's Spotlight Recitals (all these reviews are archived and available through the search bar). It was exciting to see what she can do on an opera stage with her expressive instrument, splendid technique, and fine acting.

We have always found Elvino to be an unlikeable character by dint of his inconstancy. He abandoned Lisa for Amina and was ready to abandon Amina for Lisa when he suspected Amina of infidelity. But his arias and duets are divine, so we can forgive his fickleness! Last night the excellent tenor Kang Wang turned in a fine performance. His instrument is larger and darker than one would expect in this role but he handled it beautifully and musically.

Much of the plot hangs on the shoulders of the mysterious Count Rodolfo who appears in the Swiss town where he grew up and manages to restore sanity to the superstitious townfolk who think the sleepwalking Amina is a ghost. He must convince Elvino that Amina's presence in his room was innocent, as indeed it was.

On the broad shoulders of bass Sava Vemič rested this task and he acquitted himself admirably, as he always does. He has a wonderful instrument that can only grow with the years and the physical presence to assume a variety of roles in that fach.

We have always read between the lines of Felice Romani's libretto. If the Count observes that Amina bears a strong resemblance to a woman he once loved, and if he restrains himself from taking advantage of her sleepwalking into his room at the inn, and if he defends her honor vigorously, isn't it possible that he is her father?

We have never read the play by Eugène Scribe nor have we seen the ballet on which the opera is based, so we have made up the backstory for ourselves. "The Count got a local girl pregnant and disappeared. The woman died in childbirth and Teresa adopted her". Seeing some of this "backstory" acknowledged in the program notes gave us quite a sense of satisfaction!

As Lisa's rejected suitor, bass-baritone Thesele Kemane managed to be both ridiculous and touching. We look forward to hearing more of him.

Tenor Miles Mykkanen excels at putting a personal spin on a great variety of roles and last night he took the role of the Notary which offered little room for characterization but space to appreciate his characteristic sound.

Mezzo-soprano Sara Couden sang the part of Teresa, Amina's caring and protecting mother.

On the podium we had the compelling conductor Speranza Scappucci whom we always admire. She is one of those conductors who uses her entire body to elicit what she wants from the orchestra and The Juilliard Orchestra gave her exactly what she wanted.

The balance was perfect, particularly between the orchestra and the off-stage musicians. The woodwinds made a particularly fine showing and cellist Philip Sheegog's duet with Ms. Park was exquisite. Maybe not as terrifying as Lucia's mad scene with the glass harp but replete with gorgeous harmonies.

As noted above, the artists created the set, so to speak, but Kate Ashton's lighting design surely helped things along. There was one dramatic shift of lighting that deftly underscored the shift in the plot.

David Paul was dramatic consultant.

The chorus of townsfolk supported the action beautifully.

There was a moment when the townsfolk onstage were riveted by the apparition of Lisa sleepwalking. Elvino, the Count, Lisa, and Theresa seemed spellbound. This was a perfect parallel to the audience's rapt attention to the stage.

This production was a product of the fruitful partnership between Juilliard Opera and The Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. 

(c) meche kroop

AN UNFORGETTABLE FIGARO

Virginie Verrez, Takaoki Onishi and Ying Fang (photo by Ken Howard)

Le Nozze di Figaro, if not our favorite opera, is at least in the top five. We have seen it perhaps 30 times in our opera going lifetime.  We have always enjoyed it but we have never thrilled to it as much as last night when Juilliard Opera presented it with the perfect cast, meaningful direction by Stephen Wadsworth, and spirited conducting by Gary Thor Wedow, who brought out every nuance of Mozart's glorious score.

Mr. Wadsworth elicited the humanity of the characters in all their fullness without ever stooping to cliché. As the entitled aristocrat Count Almaviva, baritone Takaoki Onishi created a character who was not a monster, just a man of his time in times that were changing. He showed the frustration and bewilderment of a man confronting servants unwilling to do his bidding and a wife who found a way to deal with his philandering--with the servants' help, of course. Mr. Onishi's singing is always topnotch, bursting with musicality and richly textured sound.

His nemesis Cherubino was so convincingly portrayed by mezzo-soprano Virginia Verrez that we forgot it was a travesti role. Her lustrous voice was unhampered by the demands of the character. This was a very hormonal youth ("Non so più cosa son") and his lust for the Countess was unmistakable. Anyone who has read the final entry of Beaumarchais' trilogy knows that the two of them conceived a child.  But this is the first time we have ever seen the two of them making out in bed! At the end, it was obvious that he did NOT want to marry Barbarina!

That the Countess finds him irresistible was made clear by the excellent soprano Alexandra Razskazoff. We recently saw this opera at the Metropolitan Opera, in which we found the Countess bland and lacking dignity.  Not so here! Ms. Razskazoff managed to show us the spunky Rosina she had been, the beaten down wife she had become, and her growth into the dignified woman in control.

As Figaro, bass-baritone Thesele Kemane gave vocal evidence of being in control of every situation.  Dramatically, he showed the wit and the cleverness the role demands and needed only a touch of additional charm and humor to make his characterization complete.

Aside from the theme of shifting power structure, there is much that Beaumarchais had to say about love and its varying manifestations. Figaro and Susanna represent faithful romantic love with its accompanying fear of loss, manifested by jealousy. Soprano Ying Fang created a completely lovable and resourceful Susanna. Her bright soprano was employed successfully to support the interpretation. Her facial expressions while being pawed by the Count were priceless.

The Count and Countess of course represent love gone sour. He is a consistent philanderer and she is repairing her damaged self-esteem (What a "Dové sono"!) with the young page Cherubino. The Count's contrition at the end ("Contessa perdono") is stretched out and held back for as long as possible, leaving us in the audience thinking "Get down on your knees already and apologize!"

More surprising is the ambivalent affection between Marcellina, superbly sung and acted by undergraduate (!) mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey and Bartolo, impressively performed by bass Önay Köse. His Bartolo was not detestable but rather likeable. He too is a victim of his epoch and his grudge against the Count is understandable ("La vendetta"). This pair of performers made it believable that they had once had an intimate relationship. Perhaps he still cares for her or perhaps he is making the best of the situation when he agrees to marry her. On her part, she is a bit seductive toward him, perhaps to gain his support or perhaps she really cares for him.

One of the most astounding surprises of the evening was witnessing tenor Miles Mykkanen's creation of the role of Don Basilio. This character is a dandy, a gossip and a panderer and yet Mr, Mykkanen made him deliciously appealing. We should not have been surprised because this versatile artist always does something original.

Tenor Aaron Mor, also an undergraduate, fulfilled the requirements of the role of Don Curzio the magistrate.  The scene of the court case was hilarious with each character jumping up to make his point.

Bass-baritone Tyler Zimmerman offered ample comic relief as Antonio the gardener. He conveyed bibulousness and righteous indignation very well.

Soprano Liv Redpath made a sweet Barbarina but was not given much to do dramatically.

The chorus did beautifully, coached by David Moody and the Juilliard Orchestra did justice to Mozart's melodic music.

The fact that we scarcely recognized these singers with whom we are well acquainted is tribute to the excellent wig and makeup design of Tom Watson. Camille Assaf's costume designs could not have been better. We will long remember the Count's opulent yellow dressing gown and the Countess' lavish gowns, as well as Susanna's wedding dress. The quiet colors for the rest of the cast were apropos.

The set design by Charlie Corcoran faithfully recreated a palacio outside of Seville. The servants' room was rather bare and being made ready for occupancy. The Countess' room was opulent with period furniture. David Lander's lighting was apt and unobtrusive.

We have run out of superlatives. We do believe we have seen a Nozze di Figaro against which all future ones will be measured. The production managed to be faithful to Mozart's music and Beaumarchais' drama, adding new insights to our perception of the work.  And that's exactly what we want from opera!

(c) meche kroop