SANTA FE OPERA DOES VANESSA

VANESSA by Samuel Barber at the Santa Fe Opera (photo by Ken Howard)

Samuel Barber's opera premiered at The Metropolitan Opera in 1958 after a long and difficult gestation.  Ultimately, Barber's partner Gian-Carlo Menotti completed the libretto, inspired by the atmosphere of Isak Dinesen's Seven Gothic Tales. Last night the Santa Fe Opera presented this opera with an all-star cast that did justice to Barber's score.  We rarely experience such perfect casting with nary a weak link.

As the eponymous Vanessa, Canadian soprano Erin Wall, whom we have greatly enjoyed as Strauss heroines right here at the Santa Fe Opera, performed the role with total commitment, employing her lustrous soprano to convey a complex character, a woman of single-minded hopefulness but blind to reality. Her voice soared with passion.

No less wonderful in the role of her niece Erika was French mezzo-soprano Virginie Verrez, who not only created a believable character but mastered the difficult task of making the English language comprehensible. This role is her Santa Fe Opera debut and we were thrilled to see her onstage here after enjoying her many performances in New York City. Her delivery of the most famous aria of the opera "Must the Winter Come So Soon" was perfection.

As the mysterious Anatol, Zach Borichevsky utilized his terrific tenor and dramatic skills to create another fascinating character--a glib fellow who has no use for depth of character--an opportunistic rascal courting aunt and niece simultaneously.

As the Doctor, bass-baritone James Morris commanded the stage as he usually does with his marvelous instrument and presence.  With all those complex characters, the story needed one who was straight-forward. A heavy story like this one also needs some moments of lightness, and a score light on memorable melody needed those precious moments when the Doctor attempts to teach Anatol to dance to a beautiful folk tune "Under the Willow Tree". His scene during the New Year's Ball in which he inebriatedly  contrasts his experience with women as patients and women as dancing partners was memorable. His elegiac aria about time and memory was riveting. It tickles us to learn that Mr. Morris was an apprentice here in 1969!

Mezzo-soprano Helene Schneiderman had little singing to do but her onstage concentration as the silent Baroness was compelling. As a very funny Major-Domo apprentice tenor Andrew Bogard demonstrated a winning manner as he coveted the furs of the wealthy guests. Apprentice bass-baritone Andrew Simpson made a fine footman.

For those who do not know the story, we see it as a character study--one of three generations of women insulated from the outside world and cosseted by servants. They live isolated and locked into Vanessa's illusory hope that the man she loved twenty years earlier would return at any time. In what amounts to a folie a deux, her niece Erika plays along, ordering special dishes for dinner and laying a place for him. Clearly, she worships her aunt and supports her.

The elderly Baroness has stopped speaking to her daughter and actually doesn't even speak with the Doctor, only with her niece. Erika confides in her grandmother but has a guilty secret that she cannot share with Vanessa.  This guilty secret is that she had intimate relations with Anatol the night he arrived at their country home after Vanessa had fled from him.  You see, this is not the Anatol that abandoned Vanessa 20 years earlier!  It is that man's son who has heard a great deal about Vanessa from his recently deceased father. He has come to take his father's place. It is likely that he is a gold digger.

Erika's character is just as uncompromising as her grandmother's. Anatol is interested in marrying her, perhaps out of guilt but also for financial reasons.  But Erika, who has fallen wildly in love with him, knows that he doesn't love her sufficiently and rejects him. She does this in spite of her grandmother's urging her to marry him and preserve her honor.

Meanwhile the scoundrel is also courting Vanessa who, lost in her own joy, fails to notice what is happening with her niece. When, after Erika's failed suicide attempt (and miscarriage), she confronts Anatol asking him to reveal all, he gives her the reassurance she has hoped for.  And so does Erika. They all collude to support Vanessa's illusion and Vanessa departs for Paris with Anatol, whom she has wed.  Erika is left behind to care for the aging Baroness and to inherit the lavish manse. 

Her isolation is one of disappointment and despair, whereas Vanessa's was one of hope.  But both women covered the mirrors as a denial of the passage of time.

The story has been set at the turn of the 20th c. in a Scandinavian country manse. Director James Robinson has updated the tale to about 1940 to no major disadvantage (or major benefit for that matter). He told the story well in a manner that held our interest throughout.  When we think of opera we think first of the Italians of the 19th c. and then of German and French composers. Contemporary operas in English generally strike us as "plays with music". So let it be noted that this worked extremely well as theater!

But what about Barber's music? He certainly knew how to write melodic vocal lines but eschewed them here with the exception of Erika's aria and the Doctor's. The final quintet however was magnificent. Barber used the orchestra to reflect the various moods of the piece and we have no complaint on that count. Leonard Slatkin's conducting captured the many moods.

Allen Moyer's scenic design was perfect.  The white and grey set reflected the coldness of the clime and the chill atmosphere of the manse.  As part of the design, a huge cracked mirror was revealed when the drapes were opened. A mirror reflects not quite perfectly but a cracked mirror reflects the distorted understanding of the characters.

James Schuette's costumes were appropriate to the period.  Although we would have preferred seeing the fashions of the original time period we were satisfied that the costumes established congruency with the intended updating.

Including this work in their season was a courageous move by The Santa Fe Opera and a wise one. It was an evening in which every element worked together to provide artistry and entertainment both. We have rarely enjoyed a 20th c. opera as much.

(c) meche kroop

GEORGE LONDON RECITAL

Spencer Myer, Steven LaBrie, and Erin Wall

Sunday was the first recital of the season for the George London Foundation with the lovely Nora London present as usual. One of the greatest aspects of the George London Foundation is that if one returns year after year (preferably as a subscriber) one gets to observe the artistic growth of the competition winners when they are invited back to give a recital.

This season got off to a splendid start with baritone Steven LaBrie joining soprano Erin Wall for a program so satisfying that we don't know where to start.

So, let's start at the end because we do so love a good duet. As seen in the above photo, this talented duo delighted the audience with "Lippen schweigen" from Franz Lehar's Die lustige Witwe, also known as The Merry Widow. There was quite nice chemistry in evidence in this wonderful waltz. We were wishing the pair would soon perform the entire operetta.

Mr. LaBrie's voice has been expanding, deepening and darkening since we first heard him several years ago.  It was just right for "Prince Yeletsky's Aria" from Tchaikovsky's Pique Dame, otherwise known as Queen of Spades. This is an aria that we like better with every hearing and we cannot recall hearing it better sung. The messa di voce at the end was gorgeous.

Mexican songs are very high on our list of delights and Mr. LaBrie treated us to an entire set of them. Although we are equally fond of zarzuela, what we love about Mexican song is the sound of New World Spanish, as opposed to the sibilant sounds of Castilian Spanish. 

In "Dime que si" by Alfonso Esparza Oteo, Spencer Myer's piano provided the rhythmic thrust. Agustín Lara's "Humo en los ojos" was our personal favorite both for its sentiment and its melodic line. Maria Greever's much recorded "Júrame" had a lovely rhyme scheme for the singer and some potent rhythm in the piano.

Mr. LaBrie also sang a collection of songs by Claude Debussy La mer est plus belle--Ballades de François Villon. One could discern a foreshadowing of Ravel's Don Quichotte à Dulcinée. The first song was filled with passion and bitterness, the second with religious devotion, and the third with humor and wit. Mr. LaBrie captured the various moods successfully.

Erin Wall is a polished performer with plenty of presence onstage. She has a wonderful instrument with a bright bloom in the upper register that is exactly right for the songs of Richard Strauss. We could not say that we liked his Gesänge des Orients as well as some of his more frequently performed songs but they received a marvelous delivery from Ms. Wall. Actually, we could not discern what these songs had to do with Asia. There must be a story there!

Our preference was for the extravagant sentiment in "Schwung", an encomium to Bacchus; we also enjoyed the tender "Liebesgeschenke".

Ms. Wall also brought Erich Wolfgang Korngold's Drei Lieder to life. "Was Du mir bist" had a romantic flavor.  "Mit Dir zu schweigen" was made meaningful by her expressive dynamics.  But our favorite was "Welt ist stille eingeschlafen" which showed off the artist's expansive upper register and offered a delicate decrescendo at the conclusion.

"No Word from Tom" from Igor Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress was marked by superlative diction.  Rarely do we understand every word sung in the upper register but here we did.  Poor Ann Trulove is steadfast (as her name implies) in her love for Tom Rakewell and here defies her father. It was intense!

It was an altogether satisfying program encompassing both the familiar and the unusual. 

(c) meche kroop

LAST DISPATCH FROM SANTA FE

           
Glamorous mezzo Susan Graham made a delightful hostess for the Santa Fe Opera's fundraiser "Susan Graham and Friends".  With several changes of    attire and a charming manner, she introduced the glittering stars of the      evening who competed with the star-studded New Mexico skies.                 
Especially glittering onstage was coloratura soprano Erin Morley who sang "O beau pays de la Touraine" from Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots.  Ms. Morley's technique is amazing; her trills are liquid silver and her fioritura is always invested with pinpoint accuracy.  Most of the selections from the first half of the program were from lesser known operas, and while given with great artistry, were not always perfectly suited to the singers who performed them, and unfamiliar to the audience who might have preferred some old chestnuts.  Nonetheless, hearing bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni, soprano Leah Crocetto, tenor Bryan Hymel, soprano Erin Wall, baritone Mark Delavan and Ms. Graham herself is always a treat.  The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, conducted by Kenneth Montgomery, has played remarkably well all season.  Frederic Chaslin accompanied Ms. Graham for her "Ch'io mi scordi di te".The second half of the program was given over to lighter works--operetta and Broadway musicals.  Still, it is difficult to consider the "Epiphany"  from Sondheim's Sweeney Todd as a light work and Mark Delavan showed every nuance of its nastiness.  We were surprised and delighted to see Nicholas Pallesen, well remembered from Juilliard days, who gave a stirring performance of "If ever I would leave you" from Lerner and Loewe's Camelot.  Ms. Graham was hilarious in "The boy from..." by Sondheim and Rogers.  The program closed with the finale from Bernstein's Candide, sung by Zach Borichevsky whom we enjoyed so much as Matteo in Arabella. His Cunegonde was sung by promising coloratura soprano Lindsey Russell, one of this year's apprentices.

ARABELLA OPENING IN SANTA FE

Well known for scheduling operas by Strauss in their delightful summer season, the Santa Fe Opera came through this summer with a delightful presentation of Arabella, a truly Viennese confection, the ultimate collaboration of Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal.  The weather was perfect, the singing glorious and the conducting by Sir Andrew Davis of Strauss' melodic but conversational score could not be faulted as massive orchestral forces were employed to bring out the master's lavishly complex harmonies.

Soprano Erin Wall, well remembered from her performance of Daphne, did a fine job interpreting the role of the eponymous heroine, a most sought after debutante from a newly enobled family, the Waldners.  Much of the opera involves the not very welcomed courtship of her by her many suitors.  Tenor Zach Borichevsky not only sang with fine Straussian style but created a most sympathetic character as Matteo, a young officer beloved by Arabella's sister Zdenka but pining after Arabella.  Zdenka, in an interesting twist, has been raised as a boy to save her parents the expense of "coming out".  Until the third act "reveal", poor Matteo thinks of the young man as Zdenko, his only friend.

The theme of the opera would seem to be the farewell Arabella makes of her girlhood at the Fasching Ball and her assumption of the role of adult in romantic partnership with Mandryka whom she spies from the window and with whom she falls instantly in love.  Fortuitously, Mandryka is the nephew of an old army buddy of Count Waldner and an acceptable suitor;  the Count has gambled away the family fortunes and Mandryka is a wealthy landowner.  The first act offers the listener a marvelous duet between the two men; Count Waldner is superbly portrayed by bass-baritone Dale Travis while Mandryka is well sung by baritone Mark Delavan.  There is a slight sense of unbelievability in the romance between Arabella and Mandryka since their duet in Act II simply lacks connection and chemistry and his character is portrayed without any charm.  All of Arabella's suitors are wealthy and charming and it is difficult to understand her choice.  But then, the heart wants what the heart wants and who are we to judge!

In a charming and superbly sung performance as  Zdenka, soprano  Heidi Stober, well remembered from Platee, won our hearts and thunderous applause from the audience.  Kiri Deonarine thrilled us with her coloratura in the role of Fiakermilli.  Mezzo Victoria Livengood made a fine and funny Countess Waldner and baritone Brian Jagde was impressive as Count Elemer, one of Arabella's many suitors.  We were pleased to see Jonathan Michie, well remembered from Albert Herring as Dominik, one of Arabella's suitors.

The production, directed by Tim Albery, was updated without any valid dramatic reason, from the 1860's, chosen by the creators, to about 1920, judging by the Poiret type costumes.  The costumes and sets by David Finn were lovely but lacking in color.  Wigs were ill-fitting and unbecoming.  Dramatic fluidity  seemed somewhat lacking and the final act which is supposed to take place in the Waldner home seems to take place in some ill-defined area of the hotel.  It can be annoying when such liberties of time and place are chosen.  But that is a small reservation in what amounted to a delightful evening.

(c) meche kroop