THREE WAY PLEASED

Jordan Rutter, Melisa Bonetti, Eliza Bonet, Matthew Trevino, Danielle Pastin, Wes Mason, Courtney Ruckman, and Samuel Levine in "Masquerade" (photo by Anthony Popolo)

We are rather excited to have heard and seen a contemporary opera that delighted us--"Three Way."  Thrice pleased are we! The libretto was provocative and relevant to the 21st c. The music was interesting and accessible with real arias. The performances were on point, thanks to excellent direction and talented young singers who can act.

Let us begin with the concept--that of a trilogy exploring sexuality in the 21st c. developed by composer Robert Paterson and librettist David Cote. The opener "The Companion" was about a hard-working woman who had recently invested in an android who anticipated her every need; he cleaned and cooked and satisfied her sexual needs. If you think this is science fiction, let us share with you that there is a company already producing these male dolls for female use.  They are, at this moment, inert but lifelike. It is not hard to believe that in the near future they will be cooking and cleaning!

The second part "Safe Word" dealt with bondage and discipline with an interesting twist. In place of a spoiler alert, we urge you to see this work at Brooklyn Academy of Music--Fisher before Sunday.  The third part "Masquerade" dealt with three couples attending a swinger's party at the home of a fourth couple who organized the party.

John Hoomes conceived the production and directed these three acts with style and believable stage business.  The action moved right along as it would in any night of good theater. Mr. Hoomes is Artistic Director of Nashville Opera where this work saw first light, but we know him as the director of the excellent Florencia en el Amazonas which we reviewed so favorably.

The libretto was brilliant. We know David Cote primarily as a theater critic but he is also an esteemed playwright; his skill with words was astonishing. There were no long disquisitions; all the dialogue was short, punchy, and --best of all--rhymed! These three one-acts would have worked well as straight theater. David Ives comes to mind but Mr. Cote is no copycat; his voice is original.

But this is opera so of course the music is important. What a pleasure to hear music that is accessible and lined up well with the libretto, a feature missing from most contemporary American opera. Major props to composer Robert Paterson! A novel feature of the music design is that the American  Modern Ensemble was split in two with a string quartet plus double bass on a balcony on one side of the theater and the piano, percussion, and winds on the balcony on the other side. Maestro Dean Williamson conducted. We heard this gifted ensemble before at HERE in Paul's Case.

The singing was first rate all around. In "The Companion" we witnessed the impressive versatility of tenor Samuel Levine whose work we so greatly admired at Juilliard. As the piece began, his melting tenor was constricted by his role as an android, but when his increasingly dissatisfied and frustrated owner Maya (the superlative soprano Danielle Pastin) purchased an upgrade, he became far more human and difficult, just like a real man.  Mr. Levine's vocal colors underwent a shift as remarkable as his body posture. His final aria,  one that could easily stand alone, was lovely and tender--"You were my first love".

The role of the technician Dax was performed by the fine baritone Wes Mason. Dax is quite a salesman--("Prince Charming is just an upgrade away") and also expresses his belief that "People are just broken machines". The theme of "The Companion" is one of loneliness; it is rather a commonplace and barely needs mentioning but with all our devices connecting us with the world we are becoming increasingly isolated and, in a vicious cycle, ever needier for more connection. Our culture persuades us that perfection is just around the corner and mates are shed regularly for a newer better model.  Behind the light-hearted comedy were some trenchant observations about our contemporary society.

In "Safe Word", the warm-voiced mezzo-soprano Eliza Bonet portrayed Mistress Salome who makes her client wait for some time before answering the buzzer of her dungeon.  Matthew Trevino lent his smooth bass to the role of the type-A client who dresses up as a little girl named Polly Puddlepants who needs to be punished. There was just no way to keep a straight face. The situation turned dark before an unpredictable plot turn occurred and we will not spoil the surprise. Just let it be said that the characters are treated as human beings; there is humor but no moralizing or condescension.

The same can be said for "Masquerade", the final entry. We expected it to be something like Eyes Wide Shut but we were proven wrong. Once again, sexual variation and gender fluidity are treated without finger wagging. A young newbie couple (soprano Courtney Ruckman and Mr. Levine again) are joined by experienced swingers (Ms. Pastin and Mr. Mason again), as well as a "gender-free"couple comprising mezzo-soprano Melisa Bonetti and counter-tenor Jordan Rutter.  They've all been invited to a swingers party by hosts Eliza Bonet and Matthew Trevino who enjoy observing the liberation of desire.

We greatly enjoyed watching the artists assume different roles in each section of the trilogy. Mr. Levine was shy and somewhat taken aback by his wife's eagerness to participate. Ms. Pastin had a great time playing predatory and lascivious. Mr. Rutter had a great moment when he is left out. Mr. Mason had his great moment singing about his "failure to perform" in "I'm angry at myself", performed in tango rhythm.

We repeat--all the performances were superb, both dramatically and verbally.

Moreover the production values were excellent. We particularly appreciated the video design and lighting of Barry Steele. Although the sets by Randy Williams were simple they achieved the purpose whilst the video projections told us even more about what was transpiring. No orgies took place onstage but psychedelically colored silhouettes cavorted in various combinations on the living room wall. In "The Companion", computer language was projected.

Matt Logan's costuming was mostly adequate but we couldn't understand why Maya came home from work in a 1950's cocktail dress when "The Companion" took place in the future.

We were also not thrilled with Sondra Nottingham's wigs.  We know for a fact that Mr. Levine has a fine head of hair and putting him in a brassy ugly wig for "Masquerade" did not serve the character or Mr. Levine.

Such tiny quibbles failed to impair a delightful evening. Puccini did well with his triptych and we wish the same good fortune to Mr. Paterson, Mr. Cote, and Mr. Hoomes.

And we wish YOU, dear reader, the opportunity to experience the same delight as we did, but you will have to move quickly!

(c) meche kroop

LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA

Elizabeth Caballero, Kevin Thompson, Lisa Chavez, Luis Ledesma, and Sarah Beckham-Turner on board The Eldorado (Photo by Sarah Shatz)

In 1985, the famous Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez published his novel Love in the Time of Cholera, a brilliant work of magic realism, the themes of which seem to have influenced Daniel Catán's striking opera Florencia en el Amazonas. The opera, with libretto by Catán's student Marcela Fuentes-Berain, was the first Spanish language opera to be commissioned by a major United States opera company; indeed it was a co-commission by the Houston Grand Opera, the Los Angeles Opera, and the Seattle Opera; it premiered in 1996 and it took twenty years to get to New York!

As our readers may have noticed, we love the sound of the Spanish language which "sings" as well as Italian. We can scarcely believe that we were enthralled by a contemporary work but indeed we were. The music is lush and the orchestration lavish, not very far removed from Puccini.  Under the baton of Maestro Dean Williamson, the dense orchestration was given clarity and definition. New York City Opera presented it at the Rose Theater last weekend.

There was not a weak leak in the vocal department nor was there a single dramatic lapse. As the eponymous Florencia, soprano Elizabeth Caballero sang her heart out and was totally believable as a diva traveling incognito to the opera house in Manaus, where she hoped to reconnect with the lost love of her youth, not knowing whether he was dead or alive.

Also on board, for further romantic interest (we eschew modern opera when it is political--we want our operas to be about love) were two couples. Soprano Sarah Beckham-Turner was completely convincing as the young woman who has been taking notes for two years for a book she hopes to write about Florencia. Her focused instrument sailed over the orchestration.

Her potential love interest, the young nephew of the captain, is named Arcadio. He is vaguely unhappy with the tedium of shipboard life and longs to be free to explore the world. Terrific tenor Won Whi Choi inhabited this character perfectly and sympathetically.

In contrast with this young couple who are facing their fears of falling in love and relinquishing their independence, there is a second middle-aged couple suffering from the curdling of their love.  Paula (marvelous mezzo Lisa Chavez) and Alvaro (the gifted Mexican baritone Luis Ledesma) are painfully embattled, bickering over everything. It is only when he is washed overboard during a storm that she realizes that pride has overwhelmed her love for him.

Unlike the dissatisfied Arcadio, the captain of the Eldorado, strongly sung and played by bass Kevin Thompson, is thoroughly content with his lot in life, plying the waters of the Amazon. He represents stability and the world of reality.

The mystical world is represented by bass-baritone Philip Cokorinos, in the role of Riolobo (river wolf). His singing was superb but he was visually more believable as the sturdy first mate than as a spiritual being. His appearance as a butterfly was, well, kinda strange.

The last character of the opera was not sung.  It was the Amazon itself and well represented by the orchestra.  It gives life and it takes life.  The orchestra did a fine job of creating a wilderness of birdsong and waters that can be peaceful or churning. The latter was abetted by the agile dancers of Ballet Hispanico's BHdos who tumbled artistically in front of and below the stage proper.

This production originated from Nashville Opera, conceived by John Hoomes, who directed, with Barry Steele (Video and Lighting Designer) and Cara Schneider (Set Designer); it was bursting with creativity. Contributing enormously to its success were the effective rear projections; it made us feel as if we too were traveling on the riverboat with scenery passing by.  The shallow stage of the Rose Theater served well as the deck of the boat with ropes strung across and a captain's wheel.

When Florencia is alone in her cabin during the storm, we experienced the claustrophobia as well. Although magic realism lends itself more to the medium of the novel, the projections provided sufficient visual metaphors to realize the intentions of the story.  At the end, Florencia is transformed into a butterfly joining her beloved Cristóbal, a butterfly collector.

Ildikó Debreczeni's costumes were appropriate to the early 20th c. and quite lovely.

Some vocal highlights included not only Ms. Caballero's moving arias but the duets between Ms. Beckham-Turner and Mr. Choi. The point of the story seems to be that Florencia sacrificed her love for the sake of fame but came to realize that this love was the wellspring of her success. Hopefully, Rosalba and Arcadio will allow their love to blossom and find sustenance therefrom.

If you have read this far, we would like to share with you a linguistic point that you might have missed if you are not Spanish speaking.  Just as the boat approaches Manaus, the passengers cannot disembark for Florencia's recital because the city has been stricken by the fatal cholera.  The word "cólera" represents not just a disease but also means "passion, ire, anger". We believe that the librettist, as well as García Márquez, was making a point about love that endures for decades.  Please let us know what you think.

(c) meche kroop