SEND IN THE CLOWNS

SeungHyeon Baek, James Chamberlain, Megan Nielson, and Mark A. B. Lawrence

In a small village in Calabria in the 1860's, townsfolk would wait all year for the traveling circus to come and entertain them with circus acts and commedia dell'arte performances. The stories involved stock characters and reflected familiar themes with which they could identify. Last night at The Slipper Room on the Lower East Side, we watched Opera Ithaca's production of Ruggero Leoncavallo's Pagliacci with the same absorption that they must have felt.

We were amazed that Ithaca, a small city with a population of 30,000, could support such a fine company. This is, in fact, their fourth season and they have been presenting old favorites as well as new works.

As Director, Zachary James pulled some rabbits out of the hat, proving our point that singers (he's a well-known bass) make the best directors. It was impressive that the company, accustomed to performing this work in a more spacious venue in Ithaca with a chorus of 30, was able to adapt to the small space available for just one night here in New York City.

The Circus Ensemble from Ithaca added a great deal of color to the production with an aerialist, jugglers, unicyclist, and acrobats showing their stuff during the instrumental interludes. It was easy to feel transported to another time and place. As a matter of fact, we were reminded of a decades ago experience on a vacant lot in Little Italy when just such a troupe from Italy performed.  We know not if such troupes still exist.

Musical values were fine all around with Maestro Thomas Bagwell playing the piano reduction during the instrumental parts and turning the piano over to Chorus Master Zeek Smith when it was time to conduct the singers. To our amusement, both pianists joined in a kazoo duet!

The prologue was sung by SeungHyeon Baek, one of our favorite baritones; he sang with such gorgeous tone and phrasing and so much commitment to the role that we were immediately drawn in. His acting, as the sneaky trouble-maker and would be rapist Tonio, was so effective that we didn't remember how much we like him personally until the opera ended. Like Rigoletto, Tonio has lived a life of rejection and scorn and we can even feel some sympathy for his plight. Even in the play-within-the-opera, he portrays a servant in love with Colombina and is scorned. Life and art, art and life!

In the role of Nedda, who plays Colombina in the commedia dell'arte performance, soprano Megan Nielson (well remembered as a fine Tatiana in Utopia Opera's production of Eugene Onegin) turned in an excellent performance. Notable was her full rich tone and affecting acting. Just watching her increasing panic as the drama progressed was a lesson in acting.

Her "Stridono lassu" was beautifully rendered but we have never before heard that aria accompanied by an aerialist on a trapeze. We admit that it was a bit distracting but, on the other hand, it did express the freedom of the birds which Nedda so envies. The poor girl has come to resent the man who had rescued her from starvation and given her a home and a job and his love. But he is also possessive and she yearns for freedom. Let's call it a case of hostile dependency.

The role of Canio was performed by tenor James Chamberlain who exhibited a sizable voice that should mature nicely. Tenor Mark A.. B. Lawrence performed the role of Beppe who, in the play-within-the-opera, becomes Colombina's lover and sings a lovely serenade. Colombina's real-life lover Silvio was performed by baritone Erik Angerhofer.

Since you dear readers will not get a chance to see this original production (unless you travel to Ithaca), we have no qualms about sharing the unusual ending, which left us shaken. No knives were drawn. Canio chokes Nedda until she cries out for help from Silvio and he kills Silvio. But Nedda, with her last ounce of strength kills Canio.  The last man standing is Tonio who utters the final line "La commedia e finita".

This line is sometimes spoken by Canio but we liked Mr. James' ending.  It made perfect sense. Mr. James was also responsible for the colorful costuming and simple set--well lit by Ron Ziomek. Dotty Petersen was Hair and Makeup Designer. We would have loved seeing the full production in Ithaca with the extensive circus contributions but feel grateful that we got to see and hear the trimmed down version. The youthful audience packed the space and we are always thrilled to see young people enjoying themselves so enthusiastically.

(c) meche kroop

A CHORUS OF CELLOS

Elad Kabilio, Grace Ho, Luke Krafka, and Caleb van der Swaagh

One speaks of a herd of cattle or a pride of lions, but what does one call a group of cellos? For want of a better collective noun, we have decided upon a "chorus of cellos" since they sing in different voices.  If one of our readers can come up with a better collective term, please address the issue in the comment section.

The voices we heard last night at Elad Kabilio's "Music Talks" were magnificent. At the upper end of the register we are reminded of "head voice" in a soprano and at the lower end of the register we feel the resonance in our body that we feel when a bass is singing.

In the works we heard that were arranged for this unusual grouping of instrumentalists (not unusual for Mr. Kabilio however) voices were distributed among the four players-- but not consistently. Each player had opportunities to play the upper, middle, and lower voices.

Although the entire evening revealed a stunning array of Latin American music, the part of the program that left us bedazzled was soprano Larisa Martinez' heartfelt performance of Manuel de Falla's Siete Canciones Populares Espanolas. We have lost track of the number of times we have written about this cycle of songs but last night's performance was like hearing it for the first time.

Ms. Martinez' warm timbre and commitment to the text brought the emotions straight to the heart--and emotions there were aplenty! She brought out the irony of "El pano moruno", the lighthearted attempt of  "Seguidilla Murciana" to hide a broken heart, the sorrow of "Asturiana" (our personal favorite", the rapture of young love in "Jota", the peacefulness of the lullaby "Nana", and the pain of loss in "Cancion" and "Polo". The songs are brief but the feelings intense.

What was particularly remarkable about this hearing of something familiar was not only Ms. Martinez' memorable performance but that the work, composed for voice and piano, was arranged for voice and four cellos by composer Dina Pruzhansky, who also changed the key. This brought an entirely new texture to the work. It was like returning home after a vacation and finding that a designer had come in your absence and done a marvelous renovation.

Ms. Martinez closed the program with a selection from Maria la O, a zarzuela composed by Cuban Ernesto Lecuona.  What a gorgeous aria and so magnificently performed! All we can say is if we don't get to see a zarzuela presented soon in toto, we will have to do it ourself! 

Ms. Martinez went to Cuba last year as part of an artistic delegation from Turn Around Arts, which was established by Michelle Obama. (And what is the present FLOTUS accomplishing???). We are sure she dazzled the Cubans the same way she dazzled us.

Our first love is always vocal music but the instrumental part of the program was the source of great pleasure for us and for our guest who was unfamiliar with classical music but is now a convert. There is something about four cellos that will do that every time!

What is unique about Music Talks is the enthusiastic manner in which Mr. Kabilio presents the works on the program, instructing audience members in a non-academic fashion on what to listen for--i.e. the five beat measure of the folk-inflected Zortzico of Catalunyan composer Isaac Albeniz, the layered melodies of Argentinian Astor Piazzola, and the intricate manner in which Brazilian composer Heitor Villa Lobos melded Bachian structure with the color of his native folk music.

What a satisfying evening! If you have never attended a Music Talks event, you might consider their upcoming recital in which Metropolitan Opera tenor Aaron Blake (of whose voice we are very fond) will join the string quartet for some exciting music making. Put October 26th on your calendar! And we will also mention that the atmosphere is informal -- up close and personal--just the way we like it!

(c) meche kroop

HYDROGEN JUKEBOX

William Remmers and Cast of Utopia Opera's production of Hydrogen Jukebox

There are a few people on Planet Opera whose artistic judgment is so superior that we will follow them anywhere-- and that sometimes leads to terra incognita, which was the case last night at the fine intimate Lang Recital Hall of Hunter College when Maestro William Remmers conducted Hydrogen Jukebox from the keyboard.

What was this musical "entertainment" that wandered so very far outside of our conception of opera? This collaboration between "beat poet" Allen Ginsberg and minimalist composer Philip Glass could be considered an oratorio, or a song cycle; but does it matter? It held out attention for two hours and roused the sizable audience to an enthusiastic standing ovation.

Credit for the success must be shared with Stage Director Gary Slavin who turned abstract poetry into theater. Along with Maestro Remmers, supertitles were designed artistically, appearing and dropping off the screen, sometimes in phrases and at other times word by word.

Ginsberg and Glass met by chance in 1988 and collaborated so successfully that they undertook this work, which premiered at the Spoleto Festival (the one in Charleston, South Carolina) two years later. The work has been produced a number of times, most recently at Tri-Cities Opera and at Chatauqua.

The text included poems from Ginsberg's oeuvre written over several decades from the 50's through the 80's. Much of it is socio-political, dealing with anti-war sentiment, environmental despair, and the sexual revolution.  Some of it is of a more personal nature, exploring the poet's drug use and interest in Buddhist philosophy.  Most of it paints a verbal portrait of a dystopian world, one in which our leaders seem not to care and our media bury important news beneath superficial stories of so-called celebrities.  Hmmmm.  Does this sound resonant? prescient?

The able cast comprised sopranos K.C. Peck and La Toya Lewis, mezzo-soprano Kristin Behrmann, tenor Matt Hughes, and baritones Nathaniel Sullivan and Jeff Goble. Everyone sang finely with commitment and acted with ensemble spirit but we were glad to have the surtitles since English (in our opinion) does not "sing well". We wished that the spoken text had also been awarded titles.

We found ourselves more fascinated by Glass' music than by Ginsberg's text. The repetition of the interval of a minor third is haunting and the instrumentation is novel to our ears. We do recall liking Glass' music long ago as the soundtrack to the Qatsi Trilogy, films that shared Ginsberg's dystopian view of the world.

The scoring involved two keyboards, played by Maestro Remmers and Brian Victor. There were two players of wind instruments and we spotted saxophones of all registers and a flute; there was a stunning solo on the baritone saxophone.

Most remarkable was the percussion which provided infinite textures for which Tyler Mashek and Shelby McKay-Blezinger were responsible. We particularly enjoyed their work in "Numbers in Red Notebook; To Aunt Rose" which dazzled us rhythmically.

There were two other musical moments that stood out for us. One was when Ms. Lewis performed an "aria" based on the poem "Cabin in the Rockies" and the other was when Maestro Remmers left the keyboard and moved to the onstage piano for the bluesy hymn-like "Wichita Vortex Sutra".

If we have succeeded in intriguing you, there will be two performances today, both matinee and evening.

It has been said that artists hold a mirror up to show us who we are; it seems we are not a pretty sight! But we are left wondering why so much of 19th c. music is so pleasing to the ear! We are sure there were wars and industrial revolutions and disease and upheavals.  If anyone can answer this in the comment section below, we will be grateful for your insights.

We think of Utopia Opera as The Little Engine that Could. There is nothing one can throw at Maestro Remmers that he can't catch and run with. His audience votes for what they want him to produce for the following season.

This is Utopia Opera's 7th season and we are particularly looking forward to Flotow's Martha and Sondheim's Passion.  Fans have voted for Thea Musgrave's Harriet, the Woman Called Moses, which will require a larger theater with an orchestra pit.  Go for it William!

(c) meche kroop

OPERA LIVES OUTSIDE NYC

Onstage--Alexis Cregger, Nate Mattingly, Maestro Fernando Palomeque, Madison Marie McIntosh, Ivan Ramiro, Brian Alvarado, Andrea Howland, and Mark Watson

A couple years ago we learned that opera lives across the East River, and last night we realized that opera lives across the Hudson as well.  Under the stewardship of General Director/soprano Mia Riker-Norrie, Opera Theatre Montclair has developed quite a loyal following in the community and created a sizable and devoted audience. Rossini's La Cenerentola was the perfect choice for a full-scale production.

We were not the only outsiders lured to New Jersey. Sharing our enthusiasm was retired soprano Elinor Ross, Maestro Keith Chambers of New Amsterdam Opera, and heartthrob tenor Vittorio Grigolo. What drew us was an opportunity to hear one of our favorite young artists perform what must be called her "signature role". Mezzo-soprano Madison Marie McIntosh first came to our attention four years ago when we decided she was someone to watch.

This lovely young woman has it all--talent, looks, and enough intelligence to direct her career, as well as the dedication to make it happen. Having changed her fach from soprano to mezzo-soprano, she has retained the brilliance and flexibility necessary for bel canto singing and seems to be expanding the resonance of her lower register. We have never enjoyed "Non piu mesta" more!

The dramatic skills she evinced in the leading role were matched by the rest of the cast in a theatrically involving production of Rossini's tuneful and touching comedy.  Responsible for the inspired direction was counter-tenor Nicholas Tamagna who framed the opera as a silent movie of the 1920's, with the film-director portrayed by bass-baritone Mark Watson, who also sang the role of Alidoro, Prince Ramiro's tutor. David Gillam's gorgeous costume designs evoked the styles of Poiret.

The singing was excellent all around with Alexis Cregger creating a Clorinda of powerful dramatic import. We have reviewed this superb soprano on multiple occasions and have always admired her gleaming tone and connection with the material. As her equally obnoxious sister Tisbe we enjoyed the on point performance of mezzo-soprano Andrea Howland whom we would be happy to hear again. The two nasty sisters worked well together.

As their father, bass-baritone Nate Mattingly, sporting a delightfully ridiculous hairstyle, won us over with a creamy tone, apt phrasing, and excellent comic timing. This is another young artist to watch and we expect that the future holds more development at the bass end of his range.

Tenor Ivan Rivera exhibited an easy bel canto technique and stood out in his aria "Si, ritrovarla io giuro". As his valet Dandini, baritone Brian Alvarado handled his role well and was the perfect foil as he exchanged roles with the Prince and bamboozled Angelina's family.

For us, the most touching moment of the opera was when Angelina tells Dandini, thinking him to be the Prince, that she couldn't marry him because her heart belonged to someone else--the someone else, of course, being the Prince who was disguised as his own valet. At this point, Ms. McIntosh made Angelina's innocence perfectly clear and perfectly adorable.

Adorable in a different way was the hilarious burlesque spectacle of Ms. Riker-Norrie--alias "Mia Vergogna" who sang and tap-danced her way into our heart during a scene change, a lagniappe to be sure!

The chorus of seven men were well-rehearsed and created Angelina's coach in a stunning and imaginative scene. Donning papier mache horse heads, they pulled an imaginary coach the wheels of which were twirling umbrellas. We always appreciate creativity more than expensive sets.

Maestro Fernando Palomeque, whom we heard just this week in a piano recital at the Argentinean Consulate, effectively led the orchestra through Rossini's bubbly score. The orchestra was placed at seating level off to one side so that the opera could be performed both onstage and also below at orchestra level.  This arrangement worked well and the United Way Theatre served well as a home for this production.

Finally, it deserves to be noted that the Italian diction was fine all across the board, but was augmented by projected titles.

This same cast will be performing next Friday night at 8:00 with a partly different cast performing today and next Saturday at 4:00.

(c) meche kroop

FINAL OFFERING FROM SANTA FE

Corrie Stallings, Simon Dyer, and Kara Morgan in scene from Domenico Cimarosa's Il matrimonio segreto at Santa Fe Opera (photo by Bobby Gutierrez)

We've been back from Santa Fe for a week now and the arrival of photos from the second evening of scenes presented by the apprentices served to bring back so many happy memories of an outstanding evening at Santa Fe Opera.  It will be a year until we return and return we will!

As usual, the group of apprentices were astutely selected, and a most interesting selection of scenes were chosen to highlight their individual talents. Certain scenes stood out for their effectiveness. We loved the scene from Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier in which Octavian presents the silver rose to Sophie (the wonderful soprano Liv Redpath) who is engaged to his boorish cousin Baron Ochs (not present in this scene).

What blew us away was the completely believable performance of mezzo-soprano Samantha Gossard who not only sang magnificently but was totally convincing in her portrayal of a 17-year-old aristocratic youth--confident almost to the point of entitlement, but touched by Sophie's innocence.  Imagine our shock when we met Ms. Gossett offstage and perceived her overwhelming femininity. Now that's acting!

Sophie's father Herr Von Faninal was portrayed by baritone Kenneth Stavert with tenor Eric Ferring as the Haushofmeister and soprano Sarah Tucker as Marianne.

Readers are well aware how fond we are of zarzuela and the scene from Pablo Sorozabal's La Tabernera del Puerto was presented in exemplary fashion by lovely soprano Meryl Dominguez as Marola, a woman of questionable virtue, and tenor Rafael Moras singing his heart out as the sailor Leandro, in the well-known aria "No puede ser". His commitment to the role was total and the audience responded with wild applause. This just made us want to see the zarzuela in toto and we continue to believe there is an audience for zarzuela here in New York.

Casting an even wider net was the choice of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street.  Perhaps the composer does not think of this work as an opera but we have always considered it as such and the sensational casting convinced us that we are right. Bass James Harrington made a fine Judge Turpin discussing his plans for his ward Johanna (lovely soprano Andrea Lett) with the Beadle, sung by the always terrific tenor Adam Bonanni who tells him he needs a trip to the barber. Hehehe.

Meanwhile Johanna is frolicking with her young man Anthony, finely portrayed by the superb baritone Brian Vu, on the other side of the stage. Director Kathleen Clawson did her usual excellent work in highlighting the contrast of innocence and evil.

The photo used for this review was taken from a scene from Cimaroso's Il matrimonio segreto, a delightful comic opera of the classical period, the characters of which seem derived from commedia dell'arte. Carolina (super soprano Adelaide Boedecker) has eloped with her lover Paolina (fine tenor Paul Han) and is hiding from her father Il Signor Geronimo, enacted by bass-baritone Simon Dyer, who blusters beautifully.

Mezzo-soprano Corrie Stallings stood out as the envious sister Elisetta, not only for her fine singing but for her hilarious comic timing. Mezzo Kara Morgan sang the role of Aunt Fidalma with the handsome bass-baritone Erik Van Heyningen just right in the role of Il Conte Robinson who seems to be willing to marry either sister. The entire cast worked well together with directorial credit going again to Ms. Clawson who impresses us every summer.

Crystal Manich also had two scenes to direct. We loved the scene from Massenet's Werther in which the married Charlotte, movingly portrayed by mezzo-soprano Sarah Coit, must confront her feelings toward the eponymous Werther, sung by tenor Richard Smagur. Both artists were in admirable control of their vocal artistry and their dramatic intention. We believed every minute, in spite of being distracted by Werther's weird costume of unflattering and seemingly inappropriate short pants.

Ms. Manich's other scene was from Puccini's Edgar.  It was well performed by mezzo-soprano Morgan Middleton with tenor Peter Scott Drackley as the titular Edgar and baritone Thaddeus Ennen fine as his friend Frank. This is an early effort by Puccini and we can understand why it has not joined the canon.

A scene from Verdi's Falstaff was light-hearted and lively with all four women having great fun as they compare letters from the lecherous knight. Ms. Tucker was Alice Ford with soprano Joanna Latini as her daughter Nannetta. Meg Page was sung by mezzo-soprano Pascale Spinney and mezzo Mariya Kaganskaya as Mistress Quickly. Omer Ben Seadia's direction was on point but Katie Dennis' costuming was peculiar.

Finally, we had a scene from Igor Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress, featuring splendid soprano Jessica Jones as Anne Truelove and Mr. Harrington as her father. Tenor Terrence Chin-Loy portrayed the slacker Tom Rakewell who left plenty of room in his life for the seductive Nick Shadow, given an excellent reading by bass-baritone Tyler Zimmerman.

We always enjoy watching these highly talented emerging artists take the stage in major roles--even more than watching them onstage in major productions where they are given smaller roles. The Sunday night Apprentice Recitals give them their chance to shine and shine they did!

(c) meche kroop

GOING FOR BAROQUE

Emily Hughes and Adria Caffaro (photo by Brian Long)

Joyce Yin (photo by Brian Long)

Last night we attended the final performance of Francesco Cavalli's l651 opera La Calisto, presented by Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble and directed most imaginatively by Brittany Goodwin, one of New York's most gifted young directors. We were amazed by the endurance of so many aspects of love that have remained unchanged in nearly four centuries.


The playing area was filled with nymphs and satyrs, gods and goddesses--strange figures to be sure; and yet their concerns are our concerns today.  The social media generation did not invent unfulfilled romantic longing, sexual dalliances overcoming chaste intentions, rejection, cross-dressing, lesbian love, romantic deception, nor vengeful wives. There was something particularly thrilling about seeing ourselves onstage in a work dating back nearly four centuries.  Not just thrilling but moving as well. Love and sex will always be with us until the robots take over!

It is difficult to believe that this marvelous work lay dormant until 1970.  How fortunate we are that it was discovered and revived.  It lets us in on what the mid 17th c. Venetians expected from a rather new popular art form. Cavalli was there at the birth of opera.

Impresario/librettist Giovanni Faustini had created many operas with Cavalli; this one was their penultimate production. The story was derived from Ovid's Metamorphosis and recounts the story of Jove pretending to be the goddess Diana in order to seduce the beautiful chaste Calisto. The tale is padded out with the love story between the real Diana and the shepherd Endimione. In every case, chastity falls under the weight of sexual desire. 

The wily Mercurio (fine tenor Brady DelVecchio) convinces Giove (authoritative baritone Mason Jarboe) that persuasion is no match for deception when trying to seduce a woman. Their duet was musically gorgeous and also quite humorous. 

In the title role, lovely soprano Emily Hughes  sang about wanting to lead a chaste life, devoted to the goddess Diana.  Giove transforms himself into Diana (beautifully sung by mezzo-soprano Adria Caffaro) and successfully seduces her. The two women had a tender duet before entering a cave to exchange chaste kisses (which led to much more).

When the real Diana appears her voice and gestures are very different and there is no doubt that she is the real thing. When Calisto refers to their makeout session, Diana is outraged by the inference and tosses Calisto out of the virginal sisterhood. 

Ms. Caffaro successfully used vocal coloration and altered her gestures and body movements so successfully that, although Calisto was fooled, we in the audience were not.

Diana, on her part, is secretly in love with the shepherd Endimione (counter-tenor Padraic Costello) who expresses his longing for her in the most exquisite aria.

The superb soprano Joyce Yin (Co-Founder of Cantanti Projects) provided comic relief in her portrayal of Linfea, one of Diana's followers, who longs for romance. In spite of her desperation, there is no way Linfea is going to settle for the importuning of Satirino (the fine mezzo-soprano Shawn Palmer, sporting a blue wig, goat horns and hooves), even though he tells her that he is young but his tail is still growing!  He is a member of the clutch of satyrs, of which the leader is the god Pane, portrayed by counter-tenor Raymond Storms. As Silvano, one of the satyrs, bass-baritone Angky Budiardjono turned in a fine and physical performance with secure vocalism.

Act II brought on new delights as Giunone, the jealous wife of Giove, appears to expose her husband's infidelity.  Mezzo-soprano Sophie Delphis gave her all to the revenge aria in which she instructs women not to put up with philandering husbands but rather to take revenge.  Her particular revenge is to transform Calisto into a bear. Giove cannot undo this curse but finds his beloved Calisto a place in the firmament as the constellation Ursa Major, a condition foretold in the Prologue.

Mezzo-soprano Allison Gish portrayed La Natura in the Prologue, with soprano Elyse Kakacek taking the role of L'Eternita and mezzo-soprano Jingye Xu appearing as Il Destino who convinces the other two that Calisto deserves her place in the heavens. The women also appeared as The Furies.

Cavalli's music is very singable and  a small chamber orchestra, such as was heard in its own time, did full justice to Cavalli's writing, led by the renowned Early Music specialist Charles Weaver who played theorbo, lute and Baroque guitar. The chamber orchestra also included two violins, a cello, harpsichord and a second theorbo.

Costume Designer Claire Townsend did much with little, relying on creativity rather than a huge budget. The costumes were fanciful and fun.  A fur coat with ears on the hood served as a bear costume. Most magnificent of all was Giunone's black and white costume with elaborate red tulle headdress which reminded us of the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland.

Satyrs had fur on their boots along with horns and tails. The Furies had big hoop skirts draped with black chiffon. Giove wore a suit and tie with fabric design of white clouds on blue background. Mercurio wore a pink suit with little golden wings on the heels of his shoes. Calisto's final costume was embellished with stars.

Diana wore a simple white gown whilst her followers wore funky garments with white knee-high stockings.

The set design by You-Shin Chen was simple, utilizing the same ramp seen in The Cunning Little Vixen. White columns were created with fabric hanging from the ceiling which could also be gathered and hoisted.

This was another fine entry in Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble's Summer Festival. There was a lot of wisdom in their choices of material--lesser known works that flowered under fine direction and casting. The emerging artists selected for this intense program of mentorship are to be applauded for their commitment to the art. 

(c) meche kroop

HOW CUNNING!

Hyungjoo Eom (photo by Brian Long)

Rachel Hall (photo by Brian Long)

Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble has mounted an incredibly moving production of Leos Janacek's comic/tragic opera which has delighted opera goers for nearly a century. We have written about its origins and composition a number of times and readers are encouraged to enter the title in the search bar if they are curious.

At this moment, however, we prefer to focus on this production, which offered new insights, thanks to the thoughtful direction of Ashraf Sewailam. It is auspicious when a singer takes on the job of directing since he seems to know exactly what to do with the singers onstage. Mr. Sewailam is himself a bass-baritone.


We have seen and enjoyed this opera at least four times in the past couple years but were not prepared for the intense emotional impact of this production. Mr. Sewailam's connection with the piece was unmistakable and, consequently, so was ours. In this battle between the world of mankind and the world of nature, our heroine loses her life in a tragically senseless fashion and the hero is transformed by his experience.

Not only is the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth illuminated but also we are allowed to examine the activities of two-legged creatures through the eyes of those with four (or even six) legs. These creatures are anthropomorphized such that we in the audience get the opportunity to examine our own behavior and to raise vital questions about our existence on this planet Earth.

Power and politics also get explored in a new way. The libretto shows evidence of Marxist thought (the wealthy badger has no right to a big home all for himself when there is room for an entire fox family) and proto-feminism (Vixen Sharp-ears tries to liberate the subservient hens from the domination of the entitled rooster).

There are two scenes of marriage--one between the Vixen and her Fox, prompted by her pregnancy and woodland gossip--the other between the poacher Harasta and the gypsy Terynka. The former union is one of mutual respect and caring, taking place after a very human and tender courtship; the latter union involves the groom "buying" his wife with (what else?) a fox pelt and an act so symbolic and so affecting that we will not divulge it here. We want you, dear reader, to see this opera and experience the shocking act for yourself. It may have something to do with Mr. Sewailam's Egyptian background.

Not only is the storytelling way more compelling than usual, but the musical values were of equal quality in every respect. The sixteen-piece Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble Festival Orchestra responded to David Stech's vibrant conducting of Jonathan Dove's score reduction, giving Janacek's music all the right accents of Moravian folk melodies.

It was quite a feat for the young singers to learn the opera in Czech and our gratitude for this labor is boundless. There is nothing like hearing opera in its original language, and especially so in Czech; the marriage between word and music was as well balanced as that between the Vixen and the Fox!

For those of you who don't know the story, a Forester brings home a fox cub who is subjected to disdain from his wife and beatings from his children. In Mr. Sewailam's version, it is evident that his feelings for her are almost romantic. Like a bereft lover, he becomes angry when she runs away and keeps looking for her.

She falls in love and starts a family. She is strong, independent, and defiant. She outwits the poacher Harasta but eventually he shoots her and takes her pelt for his bride.  The Forrester grieves for her but consoles himself with nature and his awareness of the life cycle.

We haven't heard soprano Rachel Hall since her apprenticeship at Santa Fe Opera four years ago when we applauded her Norina. Her artistic growth is notable and we enjoyed her warm and rich soprano in the title role. Her phrasing honored the sound of the language and her acting was completely committed.

As the Forrester, we admired bass-baritone Hyungjoo Eom for his affecting portrayal as well as for his substantial sound. We have heard him a number of times in the past couple of years and have been impressed by his versatility.

We enjoyed soprano Stephanie Kim Johnson in the role of the Vixen's mate. Although the role is generally performed by a mezzo, there was still a nice contrast with Ms. Hall's voice and a meaningfully tender portrayal.

Summoned at the last minute as a replacement for the role of the Dragonfly was Brittany Goodwin, director of La Calisto (which we will see tonight).  That girl can dance! So much talent in such a petite person!

Tenor Jeremy Brauner made a fine Schoolmaster, garnering laughs as he stumbled home drunkenly with his cane, confusing a sunflower for the lusted-for Terynka. He was even funnier as a mosquito, thanks to some clever use of props.

Soprano Zoe Marie Hart (well known to us from Utopia Opera) did well as the young Vixen. As the family dog Lapak, mezzo-soprano Inbal Milliger created a believable canine and sang with substantial tone.

Harasta, the devious poacher,  was sung well by baritone Joshua Miller.

Kristi Esch successfully employed her deep voice to portray the Forrester's disagreeable wife. Bass Brian Alvarado doubled as the grumpy Badger and the Greek-quoting Parson who once had a secret love.

Camilo Estrada took the role of Pasek, the tavern keeper; his wife Paskova was sung by Lisa Flanagan who also played the humorous hen Chocholka.

The singers who took on several small roles were also fine, including Samantha Scully, Lauren Glaves, Sarah Daniels, and Lisa Flanagan.

Much credit for the success of the production goes to Costume Designer Claire Townsend who put streetwear to good use by mixing pieces eclectically and cleverly to create costumes that worked well and suited each character. Makeup and Hair Design by Georgina Eberhard completed the illusion.

Scenic Designer You-Shin Chen made much of little--some hedges and a ramp, a table and chairs. It was the clever use of props that put us into a world of make-believe.

Were you waiting for the obligatory quibble?  Here it is. Harasta's use of a pistol seemed wrong, as did the one-time use of iPhone and iPad.

There will be two more performances--Friday night and Sunday matinee. You would do well to try to snag a ticket for this illuminating production. You may leave at the end with tears in your eyes (as we did) but they will be blissfully cathartic.

(c)  meche kroop