THE DON DONE IN

Suchan Kim, Maestro Teddy Poll, Brace Negron, Sarah Hayashi, Jesus Murillo, Pavel Suliandziga, and Laura León
(Liana Guberman and Paul An not visible)

We have lost count of the number of times we have seen Mozart's meisterwerk Don Giovanni; this year alone we have seen it at least 4-5 times. We never tire of it; the marriage of Mozart's music and Da Ponte's libretto always makes for a great evening--but only if the singing is superb. Bare Opera assembled a stellar group of singers for their current production and we would expect no less of this exemplary company in their fifth season. There was no one onstage who didn't give their all.

Directors always look for something new to say about the reprobate Don--the pussy grabbing predator who uses his position of power to seduce or overcome women, a sociopathic narcissist who has no awareness of other people's feelings, one who will readily betray those who are dumb enough to fall under his spell. If this sounds familiar and relevant to you, dear reader, please know that it does to us as well.

Taking for granted that the performances were uniformly excellent from both dramatic and vocal standpoints, let us take a look at what Stage Director Malena Dayen added to our understanding of the story. Her Don was almost completely lacking in charm; baritone Suchan Kim (a very nice man--trust us on this point) was obliged to search for an inner demon to come up with such a nasty portrayal. Our only opportunity to hear the gentle colors of his beautiful instrument was in the serenade "Deh, vieni alla finestra".

Donna Anna (the splendid soprano Laura León) was the Don's victim-- excuse me, she was a "survivor" in today's parlance--and there was not a whiff of disdain for the loyal Don Ottavio (tenorrific Pavel Suliandziga) who evinced strength of character in place of the usual wimpiness. We have no doubt he will stand by his beloved until her grief abates and they will wed.

Zerlina (portrayed by the winsome Sarah Hayashi) is rather narcissistic herself, wanting to have her cake and eat it too, manipulating the poor Masetto (the excellent Jesus Murillo) who is understandably angry but just as enthralled by her as Donna Elvira is by Don Giovanni, and just as ready to forgive--an interesting parallel.

In this production, Donna Elvira is not a source of amusement but one of those women who just cannot give up on her desire to reform a "bad boy". Soprano Liana Guberman in the role showed a wide range of emotions from rage to forgiveness. We get it. She is complicit in her own misery which we see a lot in women who are taken in by sociopathic men. The vocalism was as fine as the acting.

Bass Brace Negron did a swell job creating the role of Leporello and demonstrated how flunkies can be bought by an artful and deceitful leader. So much of this story resonates with the current political climate.

Paul An made a brief appearance as the Commendatore trying to protect his daughter's honor and later as the statue who invites the Don to dinner in Hell.

There were directorial touches that we liked a lot. Our favorite one found Don Giovanni seducing Zerlina in a partner changing dance that was choreographed by Troy Ogilvie with Emily Morrison's assist.

There were a few minor lapses as well. Changing the duel between Don Giovanni and the Commendatore into the Don stabbing the Commendatore in the back emphasized his evil nature but gave the lie to Donna Anna's anguish about the wound in her father's breast.

Also, if the text involves calling someone over, it seems strange if they are already there. And to say someone has fallen when they are still standing is likewise a minor flaw. But we notice the little things; just can't help it.

There were several omissions or cuts that kept the story moving along without comic relief. We rarely see the scene between Zerlina and Leporello and did not miss it but we must admit that we missed the final scene in which the Don is dining and teasing Leporello who is sneaking food behind his back. We also missed the epilogue in which the moral of the story is reiterated.

In terms of musical values, it seemed criminal to omit "Il mio tesoro" with such a terrific tenor as Mr. Suliandziga on board. Yes, we know that Mozart himself revised his own work to suit the artists available and that only strengthens our case.

Under the direction of Maestro Teddy Poll, the chamber orchestra (string quartet plus bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and horn with Laetitia Ruccolo performing the piano part) sounded just right except for the ballroom scene in which there are three types of dance music played simultaneously. There just wasn't enough "manpower" to pull that off.

The major innovation brought by Ms. Dayen was the use of video projections designed by Sangmin Chae. This is an interesting idea to replace sets with video but the results were mixed. The offstage rape scene is always difficult to accept; what woman pursues her would be rapist???? But the video projections during the overture did not do much to illuminate the event. We saw a distorted face and maybe some hands choking a neck.

At one point something was projected that looked vaguely like an apple. We found much of this distracting and puzzling. Our companion kept looking at us and shrugging and peppered us during the intermission with questions we couldn't answer.

The projection of the Commendatore's face in the final scene was projected as an old fashioned "negative" with white and black reversed.  It just looked like an ugly mask. And there was a delay between the sound and the visuals that just looked like bad lip-syncing. The presence of the videographers on set and next to the orchestra was distracting and audience members kept twisting around in their chairs.

The work was performed in a large empty space with the audience seated on two opposing sides in two rows, an arrangement providing a sense of intimacy with the story. One minor improvement of such an arrangement might be to angle the chairs a bit toward the center. This is the same problem we observe at the New York Philharmonic in the levels above the orchestra, as well as the side boxes at the Metropolitan Opera House.  Just sayin'.

Costumes by Theresa Miles were completely off base and Donna Elvira's was completely unflattering. The only distinguishing feature of the aristocratic women was the headdress--you know, the comb with a mantilla. It seems important to us to mark the difference between the aristocrats and the peasants. A sense of time and place was lacking.

Before we close we would like to acknowledge the contributions of the ensemble: Estelina Syla, Folei Browne, Sarah Blau, Pedro Sequera, Zachary Sebek, and Sanford Leff.

There is only one more performance today and, as of last night, only two seats remaining. Will you be the lucky one?

© meche kroop

A DON GIOVANNI FOR OUR TIME

Pavel Suliandziga, Laura León, Sarah Hayashi, Yuri Napoli, and Liana Guberman

Last night we were at the glamorous Norwood Club which is filled with stunning works of art, none of which could compete with the artistry of the singers assembled for the 6th annual Bare Opera Gala.

This fundraising event was held to introduce those of us who love Bare Opera to the cast and director of the upcoming production of Don Giovanni. Kirsten Scott, Co-Founder and General Director of this boutique opera company, gives good speech just as she gives good singing. If you didn't leave excited about the production you need to be on life support!

With Co-Founder and Artistic Director Laetitia Ruccolo at the piano, we were given a few selections from the production which premieres October 18 at the Bellwether, one of the more interesting spaces chosen by Bare Opera for their productions.

Not only does Bare Opera take opera out of the concert hall and into interesting venues, but they bring in directors with vision who can strip operas of their accumulated clichés, kinda like stripping barnacles off the hull of a boat.

Director Malena Dayen has interpreted Mozart's tragi-comedy in the light of the #metoo movement. It is difficult for us to perceive the gentle and handsome baritone Suchan Kim as a vile seducer but we suppose that's what acting instruction accomplishes.

We have no such trouble seeing tenor Pavel Suliandziga as a devoted Don Ottavio who, we understand, will not be the customary wimp. Having dazzled us with his Tchaikovsky at Around the World in Song, we are ready to be redazzled or bedazzled, if you will.  He is definitely the anti-Don.

The women will not be portrayed as victims and, we can tell you, soprano Liana Guberman makes a fiery but sympathetic Donna Elvira, not the comic figure to which we are accustomed. She was in superb voice last night and knocked our socks off.

The other two female roles were played by singers relatively new to us. Cuban soprano Laura León has the role of Donna Anna and connected well with Mr. Suliandziga.

Zerlina was sung by Sarah Hayashi who connected well with Mr. Kim, the smarmy seducer.

Each singer was interviewed by Yuri Napoli who asked all the right questions, encouraging each singer to reveal something about the character he/she would play.

Director Malena Dayen was present to tell us just enough about how she interprets the story to ensure our attendance at the performance. She will utilize the services of video artist Sangmin Chae to bring 21st century technology to this 18th century opera. We will not say too much about this innovation until we have the opportunity to see it in action.

Consider yourself encouraged to take a walk on the wild side with Bare Opera, Mozart, and Da Ponte. We've got our walkin' shoes on!

© meche kroop

A DUO OF DONS

Xiaomeng Zhang and Erik van Heyningen (Photo by Richard Termine)

Maritina Tampakopoulos, Gregory Feldmann, Jessica Niles, Hubert Zapiór, Erik van Heyningen,
Meghan Kasanders, and James Ley (photo by Richard Termine)

Mozart's 1787 masterpiece Don Giovanni was perfectly cast and magnificently performed by graduate students of the Juilliard Vocal Arts Department. One could not enjoy better performances on any of the world stages!

If you wanted an appreciation of baritone Hubert Zapiór's ability to create a complex character--an astute portrayal of sociopathic narcissism-- you would have three hours to do so. If you wanted an appreciation of his gorgeous instrument and the skills with which he employs it, you would have had to wait for his "Champagne aria" in Act I and his romantic serenade in Act II-- "Deh vieni alla finestra" which was accompanied by an onstage mandolin, played by George Meyer. It was our favorite moment of the evening, mainly because we love Mr. Zapiór's voice.

We will return on Friday night to see the Don of Xiaomeng Zhang and append the review.  Keep reading!

The main feature of sociopathic narcissists is how sensitively they can suss out the desires of their prey and to charm their way into that place. However, this type of character is only interested in his/her own advantage and hasn't a care for the well being of the chosen victim. These features were successfully enacted in Mr. Zapiór's performance.

And what about his victims? Soprano Meghan Kasanders sang with full open tone that rose to the heights and created a believable character--the aristocratic Donna Anna who is shocked to learn that her would-be rapist and the slayer of her father (Il Commendatore) is fellow aristocrat Don Giovanni. Ms. Kasanders delivery of the difficult arias "Or sai chi l'onore" and "Non mi dir" could not have been better. We believed her sincerity.

Due to the consistency of his interpretation in the role of Don Ottavio, tenor James Ley projected feelings of strength as her supportive suitor. This was not the wimpy Don Ottavio that comes across as easily dismissible; oh no, this was a big-hearted and dependable fellow, and one who could dispatch both of his difficult arias ("Dalla sua pace" and "Il mio tesoro") with ease. This tended to shift the balance in his relationship with Donna Anna. We sensed a different and more satisfying direction in their future; we believed that she would come around and marry him!

The Donna Elvira of Maritina Tampakopoulos was not someone we could laugh at. Her love for Don Giovanni was not crazy, just misguided. The strength of her soprano lent verisimilitude to the characterization. The difficult "Mi tradi" was colored with more than anger and we realize that her character is more complex than we had thought. All those wild skips suggest characterological imbalance but we experienced them as the battle between love and rage, fire and ire.

Zerlina was well realized by soprano Jessica Niles; her character has a touch of narcissism as well, in her willingness to betray the feelings of her husband on their wedding day. In the role of Masetto, baritone Gregory Feldmann was believable as the poor guy who is not too effective in controlling his errant spouse. The scenes of the two of them together involved every possible emotion between two spouses--love, possessiveness, protectiveness, anger, and forgiveness. 

We have a great big cheer for the Leporello of bass-baritone Erik van Heyningen. In this role, everyone waits for the "Catalog Aria"; as good as it was, we took in his entire performance and were impressed by his comedic skills. He made a perfect foil for Don Giovanni who seemed humorless; most of the funny moments in the opera belong to him and he made the most of them. We think Mr. van Heyningen owns this role!

Although he doesn't have as much to sing as the other characters, bass William Guanbo Su made a huge impact as Il Commendatore with his forceful stage presence and deeply resonant instrument.

We noticed that all the artists were more than usually expressive in their gestures as well as in their voices. No movement was wasted and each one seemed connected to what they were singing about--or the subtext. If director Emma Griffin is responsible for this, we give her credit.

However, we found fault with the production as a whole. Clearly Ms. Griffin had some "concept" in mind, but it had absolutely nothing to do with the story or Lorenzo Da Ponte's libretto. We enjoyed her direction of Cunning Little Vixen and of Les mamelles di Tirésias (both at Juilliard) so we were terribly disappointed with this illogical and confusing betrayal of the story.

It would take more space than we have to outline all the misjudged directorial decisions but the major one is that all sense of place, period, and class structure were lost. Don Giovanni first appears in a fencing mask and several chorus members were periodically onstage in full fencing gear and even escorted a dead but vertical Il Commendatore offstage.

The opera ends with Don Giovanni being waterboarded or drowned in a fish tank!  He emerges to join in the final ensemble making us wonder if that is meant to be a ghost since none of the other characters seem to see him. But if that's the case, how can he drag Donna Anna offstage by the hair?

In between were dozens of similar inconsistencies, lapses, and anachronisms. If the libretto mentions peasants who are friends of the wedding couple, we want to see peasants in their Sunday best, not kids in gym clothes. If the libretto mentions Don Giovanni wearing a cloak, we want to see a cloak. And why were people taking off their shoes and performing barefoot? What were the modern dancers and fencers doing in the ballroom scene?

There was no set to speak of although Laura Jellinek was listed as "Scenic Designer". There was a fussily patterned backdrop with two doors through which characters came and went without any sense of origin or destination. Occasionally a chair appeared but mostly characters were obliged to sit on the floor. In Act II the small playing area was opened up to include the entire stage with a fish tank way upstage. This was distracting throughout the act but just risible when it was put to use.

Olivera Gajic's costumes were colorful for the main characters but way off base. Il Commendatore appeared as Karl Lagerfeld with white hair and dark glasses. He looked striking but...WHY? Massetto was dressed like a slob in an ill-fitting white suit and inside out tie, whereas his Zerlina was wearing a sparkly bustier with a voluminous pink skirt.  Was she supposed to be a Mafia bride in a Long Island marriage hall? We are meant to laugh at Donna Elvira's timely interruptions and at Leporello's lip-syncing of Don Giovanni's serenade; must we also laugh at the costumes?

Don Giovanni wore a shiny red suit with black sparkly slippers. Only Leporello looked the part, wearing a service apron. There was a funny moment when he and Don Giovanni exchange clothes and the latter doesn't know how to "Don" an apron.

Even the lighting (Mark Barton) was flawed. If the libretto speaks of it being too dark to see, the lighting should be dimmed.

We have no quarrel with a director finding something new to say about an opera if what he/she has to say is not just original but valid. This was not valid. It reminded us of another awful production we saw years ago that set the opera in what looked like a church basement during an AA meeting.

Drama works best when it is specific. The generic nature of the characters and setting left us cold. If a reader is interested in discussing some original ideas about this story, we would be happy to share our own! But they had better be valid!

What about the musical values? We have nothing but good things to say about the Juilliard musicians, both the ones in the pit and the ones who performed onstage in the party scene. We love this score from the portentous opening D minor chord to the cheerful closing ensemble. So how come we felt a sense of emptiness? With Joseph Colaneri on the podium, we expected more.  More what?  More color? Deeper probing of each character's music?  We still haven't figured it out. Perhaps it was just the entire feeling of alienation we felt from the production.

FRIDAY NIGHT DATE WITH MOZART

Juan Lázaro, Katrin Bulke, Darrell Lauer, and Keith Milkie at St. John's in the Village

The glamorous coloratura soprano Katrin Bulke first came to our attention a year and a half ago when she appeared through the auspices of the German Forum. We were highly impressed (review available through search bar) and wondered when we would have the opportunity to hear her again. Our wish was granted last night when we heard her debut solo recital in the United States, right here in New York City in the lovely church St. John's in the Village, a church renowned for supporting the arts.

Ms. Bulke curated the program herself, choosing material that would show off her artistry and versatility. She also chose a couple guest artists, one at the beginning of a promising career and one approaching the end of a successful one. As accompanist she chose Juan Lázaro, one of our favorite collaborative pianist whose graduate studies are at Manhattan School of Music with Maestro Tom Muraco, whom we absolutely cherish. She could not have made a better choice.

In this "mostly Mozart" evening we renewed our acquaintance with several of Mozart's heroines for whom this operatic genius composed gorgeous melodic arias; Mozart's writing for the opera has its own characteristic stamp but also individually reflects much about the character for whom he is writing. Ms. Bulke used her vocal and dramatic assets well to illuminate each character. With consummate versatility, she was able to create several characters in the same opera!

Take for example, Die Zauberflöte. Could any three characters be more different than the sweet innocent Pamina, the winsome Papagena, and the vitriolic Queen of the Night? And yet each character was limned by means of vocal color and gesture. "Der Hölle Rache" with its high-lying tessitura was the aria that so riveted our attention at the German Forum; the perfect accuracy of the coloratura passages and the brilliance of her upper register have only improved with time.

Pamina's "Ach, ich fühl's" was delivered with pathos and for the "Pa-pa-pa-pa" duet she enlisted young baritone Keith Milkie who came to our attention through Vocal Productions New York. The two artists had a wonderful flirtatious rapport.

The same pair were completely different in "Là ci darem la mano" with Ms. Bulke's ambivalence in counterpoint with Mr. Milkie's seductiveness.

We also heard Mr. Milkie in a solo aria from Le Nozze di Figaro-"Se vuol ballare". This promising baritone has an acting background and certainly got Figaro's intentions across.

Ms. Bulke again showed her versatility by performing the Countess' aria "Dove sono" with dignity and despair but with a change of color for the hopeful ending. Susanna's final aria "Deh vieni, non tardar" gave full attention to Susanna's loving deception of her husband. She would deal effectively with male jealousy right from the start!

There were more goodies on the program including Donna Anna's "Non mi dir" from Don Giovanni; her interpretation was one of sincerity. There was also a duet "Fuggi, crudele" with veteran tenor Darrell Lauer portraying the devoted Don Ottavio a role we are sure he has sung many times before since he also sang "Il mio tesoro", winning a big hand from the audience.

The lesser known Die Entführung aus dem Serail has two female roles and Ms. Bulke gave us Blonde's advice to Osmin "Durch Zärtlichkeit" as well as Konstanze's killer aria of firmness of character "Martern aller Arten". This comic singspiel shows us the lighter side of Mozart's genius and Mr. Lázaro showed us some gorgeous playing in the extended piano introduction to Kostanze's aria.

We applaud Ms. Bulke for her expressive melismatic singing and the crystalline texture of her instrument, especially revealed in the concert aria "Exultate, Jubilate".

There was even an encore in which Mr. Lauer joined Ms. Bulke for the "Libiamo" from Verdi's La Traviata. At this point we noticed how differently Mr. Lázaro colored the piano for Verdi's very different writing.

It was a splendid evening in a fine venue with great acoustics. Music lovers would do well to check out the varied musical programs at St. John's in the Village, the garden of which was employed for a lovely post-concert reception.

(c) meche kroop

#MeToo DON GIOVANNI

Elyse Kakacek (Zerlina) and Eric Lindsey (Don Giovanni)-- Photo by Brian E. Long

Mozart's Don Giovanni is one of our very favorite operas and we always prefer to see it as Mozart and librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte intended. But this year we have seen a few radical interpretations that held our interest. Last night, Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble presented a version directed by Owen Horsley that was informed by the #MeToo movement. It is no secret that men in power often operate with a sense of entitlement that expresses itself toward attractive young women. Da Ponte didn't invent the concept!

The problem with presenting centuries-old stories with a modern twist is that of the Procrustean bed. Situations don't always fit right and those of us familiar with the traditional will be more than usually aware of the lapses. Those new to opera, like our companion last night, seem to take these lapses more easily.

Particularly, we hadn't a clue as to why Donna Anna, dressed like a secretary applying for a job,  was sitting on a chair outside Don Giovanni's door, from which she fled shortly after entering with her hosiery falling down. Perhaps she was meant to be an actress auditioning for a part. Who could tell? Of all the characters, hers was the one lacking a point of view and a backstory. We simply couldn't connect.  And after being brutally beaten with his own cane by Don Giovanni, why does the deceased Commendatore get up and walk out?

Well, this is opera so let us focus on the musical values which were splendid all around. To begin with, Maestro and Artistic Director Chris Fecteau wielded his baton with precision and gusto, giving us a satisfying reading of Mozart's score. We were delighted to hear some of the inner voices that often get swallowed up in larger venues. The Dell'Arte Festival Orchestra played beautifully for him and Lucas Barkley made some fine sonorities on the harpsichord. 

The overture was replete with portentous chords and anxious ascending and descending scale passages, setting the stage for the drama to follow. We always love the musical jokes when the onstage musicians play for Don Giovanni's dinner and Leporello complains about hearing an excess of Mozart's music! But here, the musicians were not onstage. We also missed the strange music in the party scene in which we hear music both refined and rustic in simultaneous cacophony.

The singers were superb. As the eponymous Don, Eric Lindsey's low and resonant voice was employed with fine phrasing. His Don walked a fine line between being charming and being violent. His immersion in the character was total and we found ourselves alternatively drawn in and repelled by him. The "Champagne Aria" was splendidly performed.

His scenes with Zerlina were some of the best of the evening. The duet "Là ci darem la mano" was delightful. Soprano Elyse Kakacek, another Dell'Arte regular, stunned us by her unwavering presence in the role. Her bodily and facial gestures were completely consonant with what was happening onstage. She was an all-too-willing "victim" for Don Giovanni's seduction. Her "Batti, batti" was beautifully sung, as was "Vedrai carino", strangely delivered sitting in a chair, facing the audience and not Masetto.

Nobuki Momma's Masetto was a well wrought characterization and his interactions with Don Giovanni and with Zerlina were completely convincing and seemed very au courant. We loved the scenes of the wedding with bridesmaids and ushers taking selfies and Masetto taking offense at Zerlina's unseemly behavior.

An outstanding performance was delivered by Jonathan Harris in the role of Leporello, Don Giovanni's much-abused manservant.  Like Ms. Kakacek, every facial expression and gesture reflected what was happening onstage; he used his excellent instrument with artistry. We loved his duet with Ms. Kakacek "Per queste tue manine" which we have rarely heard, and his sensational "Catalog aria" made use of a portfolio of photos, rather than the customary list.  Very 21st c.!

Three cheers for the Donna Elvira of soprano Jessica Mirshak. Not only was her "Mi tradì quell'alma ingrata" convincing in its self-righteous anger but her entire characterization gave us the feeling that we knew who she was and how she suffered and how entranced she was by the vile seducer.

Tenor Morgan Manifacier fulfilled the demands of the role of Don Ottavio, whom Donna Anna will probably never marry. He exhibited just the right degree of ardency which was just not ardent enough to win her affection. "Il mio tesoro" was cut (and missed) but he did well with "Dalla sua pace".

Soprano Jenny Lindsey lent her lovely voice to Donna Anna in "Non mi dir"; our only problem was trying to understand who she was. Perhaps it was the unflattering costume and some very distracting flashy sandals but she came across as a cipher. Perhaps a stronger directorial influence was needed. A novel directorial approach was that she was clearly lying to Don Ottavio about the so-called rape. This confused us further. He was never masked and she entered what appeared to be his hotel room willingly.

Hector Mori took the role of the Commendatore whom Don Giovanni invited to dinner. He appeared with stripes of white chalk on his face, presumably representing ghosthood.

Matthew Iacozza's set comprised a bunch of identical doors, through which characters came and went, lending a more farcical tone to the action than we might have wished. There were several instances when we were confused about what space the characters were entering or leaving. We sometimes wished that they had just walked in from the sides. 

The theater at La Mama has a balcony on three sides and we also wished that the serenade scene "Deh vieni alla finestra" had made use of it! There was nothing onstage to indicate the cemetery scene. We could have been anywhere. Props like cell phones told us that the drama was taking place in the present.

Dante Olivia Smith's lighting didn't quite succeed. A number of scenes would have benefited by being darkened, especially when Leporello exchanges clothing with his master and fools Donna Elvira. 

Claire Townsend's costumes were satisfactory, except for that of Donna Anna who sported flashy sandals with a modest dress. Zerlina's wedding dress, on the other hand, was perfect in demonstrating her sexual wavering.

Although Mr. Horsley's concept paid total attention to the rampant sexism, it ignored the classism so important to the tale. There was no differentiation between the so-called aristocrats and the so-called peasants. Perhaps this was intentional. Lecherous men feel entitled to all women regardless of their social class! The important thing here was that the women all stuck together and celebrated the destruction of the man who behaved so badly.

To summarize, we had a marvelous time, enjoying both the music and the characterizations. Our puzzlement over some directorial choices did not hamper our pleasure and probably won't hamper yours either, dear reader.

Take our advice and try to snag seats for the final performance Saturday night.  You will be both entertained and stimulated to think about gender relationships.

(c) meche kroop

NON GIOVANNI

Charles Gray, Javier Ortiz, Jennifer Allenby, David Serero, Anna Cley, and Pablo Veguilla

We wish we'd been able to review David Serero's Don Giovanni earlier in the run; we'd have advised you to bring all of your opera newbie friends to this 80 minute abbreviated version of our favorite Mozart opera. There were laughs aplenty provided by Mr. Serero's adaptation with recitativi eliminated in favor of English dialogue, replete with jokes.

As a matter of fact, although the music was all Mozart and nothing but Mozart, Lorenzo Da Ponte's libretto received short shrift, which was curious in light of the fact that Mr. Serero's operatic productions favor stories about the Jewish people or which were written by Jewish people. (We don't, however, expect to see Verdi's Nabucco on the modest stage of the Center for Jewish History--not even with the "Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves".) So, the Jewish connection  was based upon the libretto of the Jewish Da Ponte. To honor him, Mr. Serero moved the setting from Seville to Venice, Da Ponte's birthplace. However, he also changed the story a bit.

Mr. Serero is quite a showman and the moment he stepped onstage we immediately thought of POTUS.  Therefore we were not surprised when he did outright imitations of our Liar/seducer in Chief; and they were very good imitations at that, providing lots of laughs for the audience. (There were other references to popular culture as well, but most went over our high-browed head--something about Lady Gaga and Starwars.)

In any case, he threw himself into the part, portraying Don Giovanni as a smarmy cad. He surrounded himself with some excellent singers, ensuring that the brief evening of the major arias, connected by English dialogue, was of musical value to those of us who are not newbies. Sometimes, we girls just want to have fun!

Charles Gray made a very funny Leporello, Don Giovanni's servant and side-kick, bearing an iPad on which he swiped, in order to show Donna Elvira all of his master's conquests in the "Catalogue Aria".  Mr. Gray not only sang well but put all kinds of physical comedy into his portrayal.

The women singers were all excellent.  We heard the strong voiced Anna Cley as the very angry Donna Elvira and Jennifer Allenby as Donna Anna, and a very fine Donna Anna she was. In the role of Zerlina, Yi Wang portrayed her as more innocent than most, making Mr. Serero's vile seducer seem even more vile. He said he was "reeling her in like a fish", which he mimed. 

Her sposo Masetto was portrayed by Javier Ortiz who did double duty as the Commendatore.  There was a funny bit when he was slain and lying on the stage until the next scene and was told by Mr. Serero to get up and get out because his scene was over, and Mr. Ortiz replied that he had fallen asleep.

And finally, Pablo Veguilla took the role of Don Ottavio and did a fine job with "Il mio tesoro". We particularly enjoyed the trio of Donna Anna, Donna Elvira, and Don Ottavio.

The piano reduction was perfectly performed by composer/pianist Felix Jarrar, right from the overture until the end when Mr. Serero jumped offstage into the waiting fires of hell whilst Disney's "That's All Folks" was projected on the rear wall. A good time was had by all.

(c) meche kroop

THE DON AND THREE COMPLEX WOMEN

Parker Drown, Zina Ellis, Matthew Gamble, Samarie Alicea, John Taylor Ward, Leela Subramaniam, Felicia Moore, Barrington Lee, and Keith Browning
in Heartbeat Opera's Don Giovanni

There is just so much to say about Heartbeat Opera's Don Giovanni which opened last night at the Rose Nagelberg Theater at the Baruch Performing Arts Center! Where shall we begin? Let us save the spoilers for the end so that prior knowledge will not affect your astonishment when you attend--and we truly hope you will! This production had a great deal of buzz last night so do not delay.

We are generally dissatisfied when a director undercuts the meaning of an opera with a self-serving concept. Dear readers, if you have been to the Metropolitan Opera in the past few years you know exactly what we are disparaging. 

But what if a director completely reimagines an opera that we know and love, sweeps away the ingrained clichés, and sheds new light on the drama. A museum piece, adapted by the right hands, can take us to new places with new insights and relevancies. Director (and Co-Artistic Director of Heartbeat Opera) Louisa Proske has the right hands.

Daniel Schlosberg is credited with arranging Mozart's music for Cantata Profana, Heartbeat's resident chamber ensemble. The five strings (string quartet plus bass) were augmented by the clarinet of Gleb Kanasevich and the harpsichord of Aya Hamada. This produced a very interesting sound, but we sometimes felt like something was missing although we don't know enough about orchestration to identify it. For the party scene the musicians joined the action onstage. Conductor Jacob Ashworth played first violin.

Because opera is about the voice, let us tell you how splendidly the cast sang. The astonishingly versatile bass-baritone John Taylor Ward made a superbly seductive Don and used his fine instrument to illuminate the character of a narcissistic sociopath, reminding us of the pussy-grabbing POTUS. Furthermore, his expressive long lean frame added significantly to his performance.

The three women achieved new status in this production. The Donna Elvira of soprano Felicia Moore, whom we know very well from her extraordinary work at Juilliard, was not a comic figure played for derision. Her work was authentic and sincere; she created a believable portrait of a woman who genuinely cares about a worthless man and also cares about rescuing Zerlina from his clutches. The timbre of her voice and her astute phrasing convinced us of her value as a human being, the kind of woman we know as a "rescuer". Her "Mi tradì quell'alma ingrata" was superb.

The Donna Anna of soprano Leela Subramaniam, whom we well remember from her fine work at Manhattan School of Music, was particularly fine, using a fine bright tone to explode the tried-and-true characterization of the virginal young aristocrat. This characterization was a creation of Ms. Proske and Ms. Subramaniam fulfilled it perfectly. Details will follow.We loved the way she sang "Non mi dir".

Soprano Samarie Alicea, well remembered from her work with the International Vocal Arts Institute three years ago, not only sang splendidly but demonstrated major chops as a comic actress. Whatever she felt about the Don came across in her mobile face as well as her flexible voice. Her "Batti, batti o bel Masetto" was beautifully sung and had a twist.  Keep reading!

Baritone Matthew Gamble, whom we remember from IVAI and also from Martina Arroyo's Prelude to Performance, showed his stuff as the much put-upon Leporello. There was a traditional and well sung "Catalogue Aria".

Barrington Lee used a wonderfully rich bass-baritone to enact the Commendatore and also Masetto, managing to color his voice differently in such a successful manner that we thought it was two different singers! This casting strategy was also used at the opera's Vienna and Prague openings in the 18th c.

Don Ottavio was portrayed by tenor Keith Browning who was deprived of both of his arias.

The ensemble singing was notably wonderful.

If you have not seen this production yet, we recommend that you stop reading here and resume after you have seen it.  And see it you must!

Director Louisa Proske has reimagined the story to focus more attention on the women of the #MeToo generation. Each one approaches her sexuality in a different manner. Perhaps you might even recognize yourself in one or more of them. They may be victims or survivors or masters of their own destiny but they are not ciphers.

We have always had a problem with the opening scene of this opera.  If Don Giovanni is raping Donna Anna why does she pursue him? We have always believed that she is in love (or lust) with him and will never ever marry the kind supportive Don Ottavio. But we are not a theatrical director and had to wait for Ms. Proske to make this clear.

The two lovers are going at it hot and heavy in a bedroom when Donna Anna's father the Commendatore bursts in on them.  The girl cowers in shame while the Don kills her father. She cannot admit this to her fiancé Don Ottavio and concocts a rape story.  False news?  LOL.

Neither is Zerlina an innocent. Ms. Alicea's face and body limned her initial scorn and her later willingness to be seduced. She too must put on a show for Masetto and pretend to be innocent. But everything changes when the Don decides that rape is easier than seduction. The sardonic slant and sexual innuendo of her "Batti batti" might have delighted the randy Mozart as much as it delighted us.

Donna Elvira truly wants to save Don Giovanni, as we mentioned above.  She is the "rescuer" and we all know women like that who fall for bad boys and try to reform them.

In Ms. Proske's version (BIG SPOILER HERE) the three women and Don Ottavio gang up on Don Giovanni, strip him naked and beat him. He is left quivering on the ground at the end of Act I and if you want to see some amazing acting, just look at Mr. Ward's feet!

At this point, the orchestration became very very strange. You will just have to hear it for yourself.

In Act II, he is in some kind of hospital room, totally hebephrenic. Measurements are being made, tests are being performed and disturbing appearing treatments are being administered. The other characters are in what appears to be a hospital waiting room, signing documents and comforting one another. Don Giovanni hallucinates; the doctor is perceived as the Commendatore.  He is in a hell of his own making. The horror of this scene is so intense that even the final ensemble cannot relieve it.

The major feature of Kate Noll's set is a large cube with a plate glass side. This served as bedroom and hospital room. What confused us was that there was a neon sign on it reading "MOTEL".  Perhaps the Commendatore saw his daughter's car out in front? Well, there were a couple similar inconsistencies but the transmogrification of plot elements worked for the most part.

Beth Goldenberg's costumes were apt, especially that for the gum-chewing Zerlina whose white wedding dress barely covered the essentials, so to speak. "Come fuck me" shoes completed the fashion statement.

We could go on and on but we hope that by this time you have seen it for yourself. Since a picture is worth a thousand words at least, we will put a carousel of photos from the production on our Facebook page Voce di Meche.  Enjoy!

(c) meche kroop

ALL HAIL THE DON AT SANTA FE OPERA

Leah Crocetto as Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni (photo by Ken Howard)

Nothing matches the thrill of opera when everything comes together.  Apt casting, effective conducting, great singing, respect for time and place, colorful costuming and sets that "stay out of the way".  Last night at the Santa Fe Opera, we saw and heard a Don Giovanni that will remain in our memory, thanks to all the above conditions being met.

Mozart's music is sublime from the portentous opening chords in D minor, leading to a stunningly melodic overture replete with upward and downward scale passages; this lets us know we are in for quite a ride.  Mozart even inserts a private joke toward the finale; the Don enjoys listening to the Count Almaviva's aria "Non piu andrai" from Mozart's own previously written opera Nozze di Figaro. And just listen to the party scene when we hear a sedate minuet for the aristocrats and a lively peasant dance simultaneously!

The opera premiered in Prague in 1787 toward the end of The Enlightenment. The social order was shifting and aristocrats were fair game.  Lorenzo Da Ponte's radical libretto included attempted rape, murder, licentious sexuality and freedom of expression. It also reflects upon an interesting aspect of Mozart's character; Mozart was quite a rebellious rascal himself and refused to repent his behavior, although a controlling father would have had him do so. 

The eponymous Don was portrayed by bass-baritone Daniel Okulitch who not only sang with gorgeous tone and phrasing, but who commanded the stage with great power and presence.  This Don seems to have some self-awareness and has a sense of humor, even when abusing his servant Leporello. We particularly enjoyed his "Champagne Aria" and his serenade "Deh vieni alla finestra"--in which he employed very different coloration.

Leporello was portrayed by bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen. Mr. Ketelsen, making his debut with the Santa Fe Opera, was just as effective at drawing laughs from the audience as he was at singing. Does anyone not love the "Catalogue Aria"? He portrayed the character as easily bought and ultimately eager to find a less troubling master.

The role of Massetto was given an interesting twist by second-year apprentice Jarrett Ott. This young baritone has star quality written all over him. He not only has a steadfast tone but the ability to create a believable character.  Massetto is usually portrayed as a clumsy simpleton but Mr. Ott's peasant exhibited strength and will, leading to all kinds of interesting variations on the theme of his relationship with Zerlina. He could be a worthy rival to Don Giovanni and was only held back by the power of the aristocracy.

Lithuanian tenor Edgaras Montvidas is new to us and to the SFO as well. His tone has more texture to it than that we usually hear in the role of Don Ottavio, which made his duets with Donna Anna that much more interesting. He performed both of his arias with feeling--"Dalla sua pace" and "Il mio tesoro". The lavish applause was probably 90% for his lovely singing and 10% bonus for being completely unflappable when the heavens delivered a torrential downpour that swept through the partially open house.  Too bad the storm didn't wait for the scene when Don Giovanni gets dragged into hell!

As the Commendatore, Soloman Howard, also making his SFO debut, used his booming bass and stage presence to create a terrifying figure.

Lest you think that the men carried the show, let us reassure you that the three female parts were brilliantly sung and played. As Donna Anna, soprano Leah Crocetto, first heard at SFO in Maometto II six years ago, was a revelation. Her tone is substantial in size but creamy in texture. Her "Non mi dir" in Act II was deeply affecting.

Keri Alkema's Donna Elvira was equally compelling; her soprano was variously colored as she went from loving feelings to angry ones. We especially enjoyed her aria "Mi tradi quell'alma ingrato".

The role of Zerlina is a great one and Welsh soprano Rhian Lois was absolutely adorable. This role is her American debut and it was an auspicious one. She has one of those sweet light instruments that falls pleasantly on the ear.  She excelled in both arias--"Batti, batti, o bel Massetto" and "Vedrai carino". Her duet with Mr. Okulitch, the famous "La ci darem la mano" was pure delight.

If you surmised that the ensembles came across marvelously well, you would be as right as the rain that doused the house.

Mozart's magnificent score was well played by the orchestra, under the baton of John Nelson. Apprentices graced the stage as liveried servants and (strangely) nuns.

Thankfully, director Ron Daniels did not try to impose any weird concepts on this work, which is firmly rooted in the late 18th c. It is indeed a dramma giocoso and the direction milked every ounce of humor from the libretto. This served to make the final horror even more powerful as the Commendatore dragged the Don to a fiery hell, in which the stagecraft worked quite well.

This is not to fault Mr. Daniels but no director has ever made clear why a woman would pursue a man who tried to rape her. In this production, the Don is not wearing a mask so it became confusing when it took so long for her to recognize him as her father's killer.

The costume design by Emily Rebholz added much to the visual impact. Costumes seemed to be modern interpretations of 19th c. styles and were uniformly flattering.

Scenic design by Riccardo Hernandez was spare--just a few sconces on the wall and a huge sculpture of a head which occupied a substantial amount of onstage real estate. It was supposed to suggest a death mask but we didn't perceive it as adding anything to the otherwise perfect production.

However, Marcus Doshi's lighting design compensated for the lack of sets. In the party scene, the lighting was warm, as if the room had been lit by thousands of candles.

(c) meche kroop

DA PONTE DAY

Teresa Tièschky and Matthias Winckhler

On occasion of the celebration of "Da Ponte Day", the Austrian Cultural Forum presented a fine recital in their acoustically perfect small hall last night.  With impeccable scholarship, pianist Wolfgang Brunner assembled a varied program of piano music alternating with arias and duets by Mozart for which Da Ponte wrote the libretti. Two excellent young singers from the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg were brought over to perform and we are delighted to report that they did justice to Mozart's music and Da Ponte's texts.

We have written several times about the challenges of singing lieder in a large hall--especially the challenge of creating intimacy.  In this case we had the opposite situation, one of scaling back large operatic arias and duets to suit a small hall.  This, the two talented young German singers accomplished without sacrificing the grandeur. Mozart must be "in the blood" so to speak.

Selections from Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni and Così Fan Tutte were presented--all the highlights we have come to know and love. Soprano Teresa Tièschky has the lovely light coloratura that we enjoy hearing and just the right personality for Susanna.  She introduced us to an aria we had never before heard which had been specially written for Adriana del Bene detta la Ferrarese for the 1789 revival of the opera.  The recitativo proceeded as expected but then...big surprise...no "Deh, vieni non tardar" but "Al desio di chi t'adora".  We'd love to hear it again!

Miss T. was just as charming as Despina and Zerlina and, in fact, sang another piece with which we were unfamiliar.  "Restate quà...Per queste tue manine", a duet with Leporello in which she ties him up! This duet was written for the first performance of Don Giovanni in Vienna in 1788. The part of Leporello was sung by Matthias Winckhler who has a graceful lyric baritone that falls gently on the ear.

Mr. Winckhler (untied) was even more impressive as Don Giovanni in the lovely serenade "Deh vieni alla finestra"; his duet with Ms. T. "La ci darem la mano" was enacted so well that the audience demanded an encore and we got to hear it again.  Significantly, the two young artists put a slightly different spin on it the second time which lent a sense of spontaneity that we genuinely appreciated.

Mr. W.'s flexibility of characterization was evidenced when he sang "Hai già vinta la causa!".  Perhaps Il Conte and Don Giovanni are both arrogant men but he showed us two different characters. His Guglielmo was an interesting third characterization.

All of this wonderful singing alternated with some rarely heard piano pieces, perfectly performed by Wolfgang Brunner.  So many composers wrote variations based on Mozart's operatic melodies, including his own son Franz Xaver Mozart who was only 14 years old when he tackled the minuet from Don Giovanni.  Sadly his father died when he was a baby but he surely inherited his father's genes.

The other composers we heard who had tackled such variations included Johann Baptist Cramer, Joseph Woelfl and Camille Pleyel (son of Ignaz).  All stood tall on the shoulders of the giant--Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Three cheers for the artists, for the Mozarteum and for the Austrian Cultural Forum for introducing us to so many novelties and for doing such a fine job on the standard pieces.

© meche kroop

DON GIOVANNI AS POLITICIAN

The cast of Don Giovanni--New York Opera Exchange

In New York Opera Exchange's radical new production of Mozart's opera Don Giovanni, the eponymous "hero" is reimagined as a politician in l963.  His sense of entitlement is the same as it was centuries earlier and the media have not yet taken control of the daily dissemination of political scandals.  Men of power take what they want just because they can.

How successful is Director Jennifer Shorstein's concept?  Measured by the rapt attention of the audience, which comprised mainly 20-somethings, the production is a roaring success.  We did not observe the texting that takes place regularly at The Metropolitan Opera; cell phones were whipped out only during intermission.  We wondered whether it was the immediacy of the performance, the intimacy of the space or the youth of the artists.  Surely, few members of the audience had been born a half century ago and yet they seemed to relate.

Still, there are a few wrinkles that might bother a veteran opera goer who has seen Don G. more times than there are women he has seduced.  When a story is updated, there are generally conflicts between the libretto (Da Ponte's) and what happens onstage.  Supertitles (credited to Danielle Bendjy) dealt with the discrepancy by substituting the words that described what was happening onstage, i.e. "cavalieri" became "politician".  Audience members who understand Italian may be thrown off by this strategy but we doubt whether anyone cared.  People died, whether by sword or pistol.

We further doubt that anyone noticed a missing aria or the missing onstage ensemble in the ballroom scene.  Nor did anyone get the joke during the penultimate scene when Don G. is listening to arias from Nozze di Figaro.  None of this matters.  What counts is that young people were enjoying themselves and new opera lovers were being born.  We were overjoyed to see this.

Also adding to our pleasure is the knowledge that emerging artists are given an opportunity to add roles to their resumés as well as the opportunity to perform with full orchestra, just as Mozart wrote it, only with keyboards substituting for harpsichord continuo.  Maestro David Leibowitz conducted the New York Opera Exchange Orchestra, the only community orchestra focused solely on operatic repertoire.  We feel quite confident that as the relationship progresses, problems of balance between sections of the orchestra and between orchestra and singers will be on the upswing.

And what about those singers!  The three women had very different types of soprano voices, a real benefit in a vocal world where so many sound alike.  Kaley Lynn Söderquist was an excellent Donna Anna and was particularly lovely in "Non mi dir", with fine phrasing, evenness throughout her range and easily understood Italian.  Rebecca Shorstein has a darker soprano and threw herself into the role of the desperate Donna Elvira with gusto and a fine vibrato; we liked her "Mi tradì", although in Act I she was occasionally overwhelmed by the orchestra, as was Sydnee Waggoner as Zerlina, whose bright clear soprano sailed over the orchestra in the upper register but got lost in the middle register.

Nicholas A. Wiggins made an excellent Don G. both dramatically and vocally.  Likewise Andrew Hiers was a fine Leporello and Jacob S. Louchheim was an appealing Masetto.  Paul Khuri Yakub played the Commendatore with a sense of menace appropriate to a Mafia don (yes, that was in the synopsis) but was drowned out by the brass chorale in the final scene. Brian Michael Moore's sweet tenor was perfect for Don Ottavio and he gave a lovely rendering of "Il mio tesoro" such that we were sorry that "Dalla sua pace" had been cut.  Isn't it usually the other way round?

Sets were basic and costumes by Fabiana Pires Moore seemed appropriate to the early 60's.  Zerlina was payed as a "hippie chick" and looked perfect but Donna Elvira's costuming was unfortunate, especially when the libretto calls for her being described as noble and majestic.

There are several more performances until Sunday and you will surely have a good time if you go.  And just wait until you see what is in store for next season.  GO, NYOE!

© meche kroop