Opera Lafayette's Morgiane: Edmond Dédé Reclaimed

There is a lot going on in the first ever production of Edmond Dédé’s grand opera Morgiane, ou, Le Sultan d’Ispahan, a four-act opera he composed in 1887(!).  There is the opera’s story and music, the story of how the opera came to the stage, and the performance of the opera.  There is the story of the composer and the city and country where he was born and the country where he chose to spend most of his life.  There is the story of OperaCréole in New Orleans and its leader, Giovanna Joseph, who provided dedication to bringing this story forward, collaborating with Opera Lafayette in achieving a performance after 138 years.  There is the story of Opera Lafayette, now in its 30th season of serving as an authentic conduit for bringing 18th and 19th century operas to the present day and the changes underway as Ryan Brown, its Founder and only Artistic Director to this point, steps down later this year.  There is even the story of Lincoln Theatre where it was performed this past Monday.  I love these stories, and they greatly enhanced my enjoyment of the opera, another musical “find” by Opera Lafayette.  And once again, Opera Lafayette’s production exudes a richness of collaborative expertise, a richness of history, and a richness of the human spirit. 

Photo of Edmond Dédé; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

Morgiane is considered the oldest known complete opera by an American black composer.  His and the other stories around this production have received wide coverage in newspapers and online print media across the U.S. in recent weeks; google Morgiane for a plethora of relevant articles.  Critic Michael Andor Brodeur has a preview article in the Washington Post, and journalist Keith O’Brien has a detailed article in the NY Times on the discovery of the manuscript and all involved in bringing it to the stage.  Finding and resurrecting a lost opera score and libretto is cause for celebration, but when it affords the composer long overdue recognition, it becomes an event of greater significance.  It is not possible to know why the opera was never produced, perhaps racial prejudice or just the challenge of getting an impresario to support your work.

Ensemble photo of cast, orchestra, and chorus of Opera lafayette’s performance of Morgaine at the Lincoln Theatre in DC. Photo by Jennifer Packard; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

Edmond Dédé was born a free man of color, a Creole, in New Orleans in 1827, 34 years before the Civil War and died in 1901, 46 years after the war ending slavery in the U.S..  He was a brave man eager to increase his musical expertise and ability.  He traveled, worked, and explored music in Mexico, Belgium, Tunisia, and France, settling for many years in Bordeaux, where he became well known for his musical acumen, working in theaters, bars, and casinos to support himself.  He reportedly wrote short opera-comiques, songs, and orchestral pieces, much of it lost to history.  Little is known about the librettist for Morgaine, Louis Brunet, a friend, also black, of Dédé’s in Bordeaux, where Dédé lived and flourished for many years.  Sadly, after relocating in France, Dédé returned to New Orleans only once and after finding the environment with new Jim Crow laws enacted too restrictive and limiting for a man of color, he returned to France.  Early this century, the co-Founder and Artistic Director of OperaCréole, Giovanna Joseph, obtained some of his music and became determined to spread the knowledge of Dédé and his work.  A chance sale of music scores in 2014 led to the discovery of the composer’s 550-hundred-page manuscript containing the opera.  Harvard’s Houghton Library then made digital copies available online.  Director Joseph obtained a copy and began a sustained effort to have it performed.  The opera had its first premiere performance by OperaCréole in New Orleans on January 24 in concert at a slightly reduced length, before moving to DC, Maryland, and New York for full concert performances.

Expectations are important, so keep in mind that this work, though complete, cannot be considered finished in a performance sense.  Incoming OL Artistic Director and Conductor Patrick Quigley reports on the considerable difficulty in turning the handwritten score in the Dédé manuscript into a working score for today’s instruments and musicians.  Opera Lafayette assembled a highly expert team to do this, and OL is renown for performances using period instruments.  Nonetheless, judgements had to be made about notes that were smudged and lines of music where the instrument was not clear.  Over 100 individuals contributed to bringing this work to the performance stage.  Conductor Quigley, a native of New Orleans and a strong advocate for this work, expects that future productions will come up with their own interpretations of the manuscript.  I would also point out that the composer never had the opportunity to hear it performed, and thus make his adjustments, changes, and later revised versions, a normal part of the process in opera development.  (Personally, let me add that as someone who can barely type I will never forgive the French for sneaking in so many accents over their vowels; that said, let’s move on.)

l to r: Hassan (Joshua Conyers), Morgiane (Mary Elizabeth Williams), and Ali (Chauncey Packer). Photo by Jennifer Packard; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

Louis Brunet apparently chose themes from “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves”.  In the opera, a conflict arises between an Arabian family and a Persian Sultan.  (Spoilers follow in this paragraph).  Amine is soon to wed to Ali.  Her father Hassan begins to tell the story of his first meeting of Morgiane, when she is holding a young daughter Amine.  He marries Morgiane but only Morgiane knows who fathered Amine.  Sultan Korouschah from the reviled Persian race has developed a lust for Amine and considers it her duty to submit to him.  Sultan Korouschah has her family imprisoned and threatens to kill Amine and her family if she refuses him.  She, of incredibly strong moral character, refuses.  Morgiane intercedes revealing to all and providing proof that she was his previous sultana and Amine is his daughter.  Hassan admits his confusion, eliciting laughter in the audience.  Amine now wants to die which draws more laughter.  Morgiane is called a dark comedy.  Yet to this point it was a tense moral drama, and I did not find the stage set for a happy ending.  Yet, the Sultan caves, asking Amine for mercy and forgiveness and releases the family.  She tells him where to go, more laughter.  Ali intercedes and tells Amine she should forgive the Sultan for he is her father.  Here's the thing.  The audience was not prepared to feel empathy for the Sultan.  The libretto could have been tightened up and may have been reworked if the composer and librettist had seen it in rehearsals.  I felt there were some parts that could have been shortened, such as the family’s time in the market in Act 3, and might have benefitted with time on stage for the Sultan.

Amine (Nicole Cabell) with Conductor Patrick Quigley and members of the Opera Lafayette Orchestra. Photo by Jennifer Packard; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

At the same time, it bothered me that the audience, me included, laughed at this ending calling for mercy.  Surely this choice was not just the ending to a story the team liked.  The family and the Sultan were not only in conflict because of the Sultan’s threat but by the racial divide between Arabs and Persians, likely a safe way for the team of Dédé to approach the topic at the time.  But as pointed out in the pre-opera talk, these two races had created something shared and worth preserving, Amine, and that bond called for mercy and forgiveness on all sides.  It was a good ending and a surprise, though not completely well played for me.  I enjoyed observing the story unfold.  Having read a synopsis, I was wondering how the authors would keep the story interesting for three hours.  They did by revealing the tender pathos at times and the anger at times of the players in their roles, with the emotion and drama in the singing and music causing us to feel it within our bones.

left photo: Kenneth Kellogg as Sultan Korouschah. right photo: Jonathan Woody who played Beher. Photos by Jennifer Packard; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

OL and OperaCréole assembled an excellent cast of singers along with The OperaCréole Ensemble as chorus, a compelling array of different voice types.  Though the performance was in concert, the performers all wore colorful costumes in middle eastern fashion that embellished the performance.  The role of Amine was sung by the marvelous soprano Nicole Cabell who gave us a resolute young woman, while adding trills and flourishes to her performance.  She won the Cardiff Singer of the World competition in 2005 and has since appeared in most of the famous opera houses of the U.S. and Europe.  Ali was played by Chauncey Parker, a high pitched tenor who sang with intensity of emotion that was affecting.  Hassan was sung by baritone Joshua Conyers, familiar to DC audiences from his performances with the Washington National Opera’s Cafritz Young Artists.  He commands attention when he sings.  Morgiane was played by soprano Mary Elizabeth Williams who used the darker aspects of her voice to display the drama and feeling of her role.  I was quite taken with her ability to pull me into her orbit.  OL veteran bass-baritone Jonathan Woody gave another fine, nasty performance as the sultan’s servant, delivering excellent vocals.  Sultan Koruouschah was sung by bass Kenneth Kellogg, an excellent singer quite familiar to DC audiences, perhaps best known for Blue.  Always affective in singing, he even managed to portray a genuinely remorseful sultan at the end. Soprano Taylor White as Marchand and tenor Antonio Domino, Jr. contributed positively in supporting roles.

left photo: Ryan Brown, Founder of Opera Lafayette. middle photo: Giovanna Joseph, co-Founder and Artistic Director of OperaCréole. right photo: Patrick Quigley, Conductor and Artistic Director Designee. Photos courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

Most often the orchestra for Opera Lafayette performances is a small ensemble group.  To play Edmond Dédé’s score, they utilized forty plus players with some instruments not typically heard today.  The build up for the performance caused me to greatly look forward to hearing the music, and I found it interesting, melodious, highly expressive, and enjoyable.  A talent and a lifetime of musical development by the composer had led to its creation.  That is not to say that I didn’t sense some rough edges on occasion.  The arias were pleasing and sometimes impressive, both solo and in the ensembles.  The chorus was excellent, and the overall impact of the vocals was considerable.  I found Morgiane to be an impressive, affecting, and thoroughly enjoyable opera.

Overall, another triumph for Opera Lafayette, a successful journey for OperaCréole, and a fun evening for the audience, a trip to the past to enrich life today, OL’s cause célèbre.  Mr. Dédé, I’m glad I met you and I regret it has taken so long.

The Fan Experience: Opera Lafayette scheduled performances of Morgaine, ou, Le Sultan d’Ispahan for January 24 in New Orleans, February 3 in DC, February 5 in NYC, and February 7 in Maryland.  The opera is sung in French with supertitles in English.  The performance lasts about three hours.

The pre-opera talk given an hour before the performance included an informative and entertaining discussion featuring Giovanna Joseph, Co-Founder and Artistic Director of OperaCréole and Candace Bailey, a professor at North Carolina Central University and author of the forthcoming book, “Edmond Dédé: “Morgiane, ou, Le Sultan d’Ispahan”. Although Edmond Déde never saw the opera performed, his great-grandson was in the audience.

One of the pleasures of attending the performance for my wife and myself was the chance to experience the Lincoln Theatre in DC, prompting us to read the background on a theater constructed for black audiences in an area once named “the Black Broadway” by my dad’s favorite singer, Pearl Bailey.  Admittedly, getting through security was a bit of a hassle which delayed the performance and put some attendees in a bad mood, but I consider just going through a few briars to get to a picnic.  The audience was in a much better mood at the end.

Opera Philadelphia's The Anonymous Lover: Thanks, I Needed That

Do you like the Netflix series Emily in Paris?   Sometimes I need a respite from today’s problems and tragic news stories.  Emily has become my go to escape along with a glass of wine.  I consider the show good not great, but good is great when you need it, and it is well done.  If The Anonymous Lover were a series, it would also regularly attend to that need with its emphasis, like Emily, on romance, friendship, humor, and fashion.  In his opening remarks, OP President and Director Anthony Roth Constanzo referred to this opera as “Bridgerton with better music”, but I will stick with Emily which is even lighter.  Maria Callas once said that an opera needed tragedy to be great.  Well, I don’t always need great and am sometimes weary of tragedy; I need escape, a little fun, why not with opera?  Since Emily in Paris, the Opera is not yet in the works, I welcome The Anonymous Lover ((L’Amant Anonyme, 1780) by the anonymous composer Josepf Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges back to the repertoire; the work has now received at least ten productions in the U.S. since first being introduced here in 2020, and will undoubtedly receive many more.  I guess I’m not the only one that needs a little fun every now and then.

l to r: Valcour (Travon D. Walker), Dorothée (Sun-Ly Pierce), Orphémon (Johnathan McCollough), and Léontine (Symone Harcum) discuss whether to keep a gift from the anonymous lover. Photo by Johanna Austin; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

Now as much as I enjoy Emily, I would not drive three hours to Philadelphia from my home and three hours back to see it, adding in an overnight stay.  Besides, I had seen a semi-staged production of The Anonymous Lover by Wolf Trap Opera in 2021.  So, what else drove my sojourn?  First, I like this opera, and Opera Philadelphia reliably provides excellent productions; I felt a good experience was assured.  But there was more.  I had seen several of the singers before, including soprano Symone Harcum, baritone Johnathan McCullough, and tenor Joshua Blue – all were in my want to see again bag.  The cherry on top was the chance to hear the work of emerging star conductor Kalena Bovell, who has a fascinating history; born in Panama, she was late in receiving formal training in music and now is award winning.  A few years back she was the first black female to conduct an opera in Canada, and she is now the first black female conductor to conduct for Opera Philadelphia.  Remember I referred to composer Bologne as anonymous?  Here is a clue why: he was a black composer in 18th century France, thus denied opportunities and recognition because of his race.  We know that he was a savant in several areas, fencing, playing the violin, military service, conducting, and composing, though many facts about him and much music by him have been lost to history (see Conlon’s excellent article for more background on Bologne and the opera).  He has a number of orchestral pieces that have survived and can be found on music streaming services, but this is the only one of his six operas that we have today.  One might justifiably argue that many 18th and 19th century operas with music worthy of being heard have been lost to history; Opera Lafayette in DC regularly unearths and performs these.  Yet popular in his day, we know that Joseph Bologne was still a victim of racial prejudice: a group of sopranos blocked his candidacy to lead the Paris Opéra by refusing to work with a black man.

Jeanette (Ashley Marie Robillard) and Colin (Joshua Blue) celebrate their love. Photo by Johanna Austin; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

So, for me, this OP production was a happening, a black female conductor beginning to receive recognition and opportunities, and a black composer beginning to receive recognition after being anonymous for over 200 years…in addition to everything else that Opera Philadelphia provides.  If truth be told, there was also the allure of pizza at Alice’s around the block from the Academy of Music.  That package was well worth a trip to Philly.

The libretto by Desfontaines-Lavallée, based on an eponymous play, has been adapted by librettist Kirsten Greenidge to make it resonate more fully with audiences today.  The opera contains both spoken and sung dialog; for this production spoken words were in English and lyrics were sung in French.  The music has also been somewhat modified with the ballet being removed and additional music by Bologne inserted, much as it might have been done in his day from one production to another.  The story line presented a challenge to Director Dennis Whitehead Darling: presenting a plot with 18th century sensibilities and jokes to a 21st century audience.  Like most comedies there are serious issues below the surface.  Your story, to be funny, must receive your audience’s approval of the resolution.  Briefly, the widow Léontine has closed her heart, caused both by her husband’s death many years earlier and by his treatment of her in their marriage while alive; so, we the audience approve of her finding new love at this point.  She has received love notes for four years from an anonymous person.  Unknown to her, that person is her best friend Valcour.  Valcour is a sincere, honorable man; so, we the audience can root for him.  He is aided in his pursuit of love by friends Ophémon and Dorothée who stoke the comedy to the delight of we the audience, while Léontine is inspired by a young couple, Jeanette and Colin, who are being married with her support and who constantly display their affection, warming the cockles of the audience’s hearts as well as Lèontine’s.  The stage is thus comically set for revealing the identity of the anonymous lover and Lèontine’s response.  Will Léontine again open her heart to a passionate love or retreat to safety?  Well, it is a comedy…besides, would I drive six hours for an unhappy ending?  I was not completely satisfied with Wolf Trap Opera’s telling, nor was I with Opera Philadelphia: I wanted Léontine to have an aria alone revealing that if only Valcour returned her affection for him she would trust him with her heart, but that’s me.  The spontaneous kiss was exciting, though, and cleared the air.

left photo: Composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. Public domain image from Wikipedia. left photo: Conductor Kalena Bovell. Photo by Jamie Pratt; from media photos, kalenabovell.com.

This was a very enjoyable production overall.  The staging and adaptations by OP creative staff were very well done.  The simple staging, though limiting possibilities for dramatic enhancements, was adequate and added color, keeping with the spirit of the piece.  The costume design by Leslie Travers was exceptional, fitting for the story and a delight to the eye.  The staging by Director Darling was expertly done, and the audience was frequently in laughter.  The action moved swiftly, maintaining my engagement throughout.  I laughed often and my fellow audience members laughed even more.

Léontine (Symone Harcum) struggles with love’s appeal to a cautious heart. Photo by Johanna Austin; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

Composer Bologne’s music is pleasant, supports and enhances the action, and the solo arias and ensemble numbers are moving and often impressive in their complexity.  The choral music is an added bonus; kudos to chorusmaster Elizabeth Braden.  Maestro Bovell, directing the Opera Philadelphia, did a craftsman like job rendering Bologne’s score in a lively and thoroughly enjoyable manner.  Timing and coordination with singers seemed excellent.  When there was no singing, the music was engaging and pleasant, very reminiscent of Mozart.  Please note that Mozart was 14 years Bologne’s junior.  The music added drama and emotion to the vocals.  I did not walk out humming the melodies but I did walk out with a happy heart.

Ah yes, the singers!  There are six solo singers in the opera for the roles mentioned earlier, and they were uniformly excellent, breathing life and the joy of life into their characters.  Lead soprano Symone Harcum as Léontine gave a fine performance in a role that requires a lot of emotional back and forth.  Early on I was a little worried that her singing was too powerful.  Her first aria was delivered with the intensity of a Verdi, momentarily exiting the rom-com spirit, but the rest of the way she was a delight.  Her aria in the bedroom scene, where she pleads with love to let her be, was quite touching.  Her admirer Valcour played by tenor Travon D. Walker played indecision frustratingly well and his vocals proved more and more enjoyable as the evening progressed.  Baritone Johnathan McCollough as Orphémon sang well and was over the top, but effectively so, as the comedic focal point of the opera, clearly drawing the most laughs.  Dorethée, his partner in aiding Valcour, also later revealed to be his love interest, was comically played and well sung by mezzo-soprano Sun-Ly Pierce.  Tenor Joshua Blue, now a veteran of several OP productions, played and sung his role convincingly.  A surprise to me was perhaps my personal favorite of the evening, soprano Ashley Robillard.  Her trills and flourishes with her lovely lilting soprano voice and spot on comedic acting was pleasing all evening.  As a group, these singers made attending this performance a fun and joyful experience. 

center:Valcour (Travon D. Walker) and Léontine (Symone Harcum) have admitted and accepted their love for each other while party goers look on with approval. Photo by Johanna Austin; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

Something special is happening in Philadelphia beyond the chance of winning a Super Bowl.  After years of declining audiences, leading to a diminished season this year, operas are playing to packed houses.  In the fall of 2024, incoming Director, and world class countertenor, Anthony Roth Constanza took a big swing to initiate his tenure: pay what you want ticket pricing for any seat in the house.  Within days, the season was essentially a sellout, with two-thirds of the sales going to first time opera goers.  The question of whether there is still an audience for opera in Philadelphia has been convincingly answered.  In his opening remarks, Constanzo won acclamation with his assertion to the audience: “isn’t it great to be sitting here together listening to great music?”.  Now the challenge is to put the enterprise on financially sound footing and keep the newfound audience members returning.  Composer Bologne and conductor Bovell are welcome additions to that journey. 

The great majority of contemporary operas appearing today follow Callas’ advice and have serious themes addressed in serious ways.  I personally would welcome a few more romantic comedies with pleasant music for some comic respites along the way in between being led to confront the darker side of human nature.  Is there no living composer who wants to take on Emily in Paris, the Opera, a modern take on The Anonymous Lover with Instagram and women having jobs?  Really?  C’mon.

The Fan Experience: The Anonymous Lover was scheduled for performances on January 31 and February 2.  The opera featured spoken dialog in English while vocals were sung in French with English supertitles on a screen overhead. The opera ran a little over 90 minutes without an intermission. 

The Pick Your Price format extends for the remainder of the opera season, though checking just now, there are only limited seats available for all performances of Don Giovanni, the remaining opera for this season.  The pricing scheme for the next season remains to be announced.

Opera Philadelphia’s Scholar in Residence, Lily Kass, gave an informative pre-opera talk one hour before the performance covering information about the composer and the opera.  She corrected some misconceptions I had developed.  For example, while I had read that Bologne had met Mozart, she said they stayed in the same residence in Paris for awhile, but there is no factual evidence that they actually met.  She pointed out that even though Bologne’s music is said to sound like Mozart, Bologne was born 14 years earlier than Mozart and The Anonymous Lover was composed before Mozart’s popular operas, meaning let’s give Bologne credit for being Bologne. 

American Opera Initiative's 2025 Three 20-Minute Operas: The Times They Are a Worryin'

Washington National Opera’s AOI program, now in its 12th season, generates new operas, largely by young people, with original storylines presented at in the Kennedy Center at the beginning of each new year.  Composers and librettists compete independently to be accepted into the program, typically paired afterwards. The three teams selected receive mentoring from an established conductor, composer, and librettist, among others and are given access to the resources of WNO.  Members of WNO’s Cafritz Young Artists, many of whom have appeared in WNO’s main stage productions, provide the singing and acting talent, and members of the WNO Orchestra provide the music.  Everyone involved has an impact on shaping the final product that moves from idea to the performance stage in about a year.

In recent past, ethnic, racial, and gender issues often provided the modern themes of the new operas, at least occasionally with romantic storylines.  Each new opera this year provides a window for a different view of the impact of influences of cultural change on what it means to be human today.  As I rode home Saturday night after seeing this year’s group, Bob Dylan’s song from 1964 titled “The Times They Are A Changin’” kept circulating in my head, only my brain kept inserting “Chang-ed” as the final word.  We are now reaping what Dylan’s admonition foretold, and I doubt it has turned out like he thought or hoped.  Seemingly, angst now dominates new generations as rapid changes in society take its toll and leaves many in society adrift.  Based on the premieres of this year’s three 20-minute operas, if Dylan wrote the song today, the refrain might be “Oh, the times now, they are a worryin’”.   

Tati

Sergio Martínex as Osvaldo, the organizer, Viviana Goodwin as Connie, the pregnant marine biologist, and Anneliese Klenetsky as the aggressive futurist. Photo by Bronwen Sharp; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

 Leading off this year’s program was Tati by composer Kyle Brenn and librettist Lex Brown.  A ‘food sovereignty organizer’ on the lam, a ‘marine biologist’ who is with child, and a ‘progress obsessed investor’ pushing whales as a viable habitat in a failing environment, are surviving inside a bioengineered blue whale with time running out.  You’ve seen that one before, right?  Jonah may come to mind, but I don’t think Jonah ever heard the word ‘bioengineered’.  Well, like most parables there is serious work afoot here.  One element of life is the struggle to survive and procreate with time and resources running out; one can see scientific progress as offering our best hope to control our environment but not necessarily maintaining a focus on our need for fulfilment; confronted with those choices, one might just reach for the Elavil (this option is not in the opera).  Bass Sergio Martinez as the organizer wants to flee for potential safety and soprano Anneliese Klenetsky as the futurist who wants to see the first child born in a whale, were effective in their roles.  Mother-to-be soprano Viviana Goodwin had the best vocals and made the most of them; her singing was a highlight of the evening.  For Tati, Director Chloe Treat who cleverly directed all three works using minimalist sets gave us a periscope up the whale’s snout revealing a boat and possible escape close by, a meaningful bathing pool, and a failing whale heart offering nourishment.  In an opera that must tell a story in only 20 minutes, it is difficult to get a gauge on the music.  Composer Glenn’s music seemed an effective use of orchestral sounds as color and accents for the story, well done overall.  Conductor George Manahan led a dozen members of the Washington National Orchestra providing the music for all three operas; the ensemble under his direction were marvelous.  I enjoyed the original story and the performances in Tati though it was a lot to digest in 20 minutes and reading the program notes was to be recommended.    

Cry, Wolf

Nicholas as Zach, Sahel Salam as Ethan, and Jonathan Patton. Photo by Bronwen Sharp; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

Second in the program was Cry, Wolf by composer JL Marlor and librettist Clare Fuyuko Bierman.  This opera addresses an issue that has come to the fore in current times, young male isolation and loneliness and the impact it is having on them and why we should be worried.  High schooler Ethan played by tenor Sahel Salam visits his brother Austin in college, played by baritone Jonathan Patton.  Austin wants a girlfriend but is cowed by social media corrupting his self-image and pushed to become a lone wolf by companion Zach played by tenor Nicholas Huff.  This opera had a highly scary and effective surprise ending as all three began a chorus of howling that brought shivers to my skin.  Surely this is a worthy topic for a lengthier treatment delving deeper into the characters and factors influencing their behavior.  The three vocalists all gave impressive acting and singing performances.  The music for Cry, Wolf created angst on its own, punctuated with blasts from the drums and brass.  Director Treat’s simple staging was adequate.

Mud Girl

left photo: Winona Martin as Maude and Kresley Figueroa as River. right photo: Michelle Mariposa as Poly 2 and Tiffany Choe as Poly 1 and Kresley Figueroa as River. Photos by Bronwen Sharp; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

Last in the program was Mud Girl by composer Omar Jajimi and librettist Christine Evans.  Mezzo-soprano Winona Martin played Maude, a middle-aged homeless woman who has paired up with River, a young homeless woman played by soprano Kresley Figueroa, as they survive in a post-apocalyptic world living under a bridge surviving on frogs and mud fish.  Maude has been warped and made fearful by the world she grew up in while River wants to embrace this new world she was born into.  Maude seeks to protect River while River wants to explore the possibilities.  Theirs were exceedingly compelling acting and singing performances.  This opera also had one of my favorite creations, Poly, an AI creature made by River using plastics and other trash from the river.  The special delight here was having Poly made up of two sopranos, Poly 1 featuring soprano Tiffiny Choe and Poly 2 being mezzo-soprano Michelle Mariposa.  Fearful of what this is doing to River, Maude leads Poly to her demise in the edge of the water.  River is distraught but begins to recite code which causes Poly to spring back to life in a surprise joyous but dubious ending, sort of a yay, I think.  Poly 1 and Poly 2 were singing treasures.  Director Treat’s staging showed that much suspension of disbelief can be achieved with relatively few but effective props and costumes.  Composer Jajimi’s music gave us more to like, letting the strings provide some enjoyable sounds of melody.

After seeing the 2025 edition, I remain hooked on the American Opera Initiative. Each January, we are offered a plate of new opera hors oeuvres to sample in a program that takes a year to prepare and only an hour to consume.  Kudos to this year’s composer mentor Gregory Spears and librettist mentor Tracy K. Smith. Beyond the compelling themes and inventive storylines, there was much to enjoy in the performances of these fresh artistic works.  While modern anxieties ran rampant in all three new operas this year, the amazing creativity, talent, and professionalism displayed in each work provides a beacon of hope for our future. 

The Fan Experience: This year’s AOI three new 20-minute operas were performed at 7 pm and 9 pm in the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater, without intermission, sung in English with projected supertitles in English.  The composers and librettists were present and presented on stage for applause as well as the performers.  These performances are typically sold out, so purchase your tickets for 2026 as soon as the Washington National Opera announces its new season.

This year, for the first time, the three operas will move outside the Kennedy Center for an additional performance in New York City in a co-presentation on January 23 with the Kaufman Music Center.

Parking in the Kennedy Center is typically plentiful at around $25 per day, with a small discount for Kennedy Center members when reserved ahead of the day.  The Metro to Foggy Bottom and the free red Kennedy Center buses, from there to the Kennedy Center running every 15 minutes, are an excellent option.  There is an advantage in getting there a bit early.  KC frequently has multiple performances on its different stages overlapping that can create traffic jams.

There are snack stands in the main lobby, and on the Terrace level, the KC Café offers food cafeteria style at moderate prices; fine dining is available on the Terrace level in the Roof Terrace Restaurant.  Food and drinks except water are not allowed inside the opera house, but you can purchase reusable capped containers with your drinks that you can take inside.

A Trip to McKay Used Books: “The Simon & Schuster Book of the Opera”

Historically, my favorite two places to visit have been libraries and hardware stores, with bookstores close behind.  Our son grew up an avid reader and a lover of bookstores.  In our travels we always keep an eye out for bookstores, in particular used bookstores.  Just this past year, we visited The Midtown Scholar Bookstore in Harrisburg, Baldwin’s Book Barn in West Chester, Powell’s Books in Portland, and Ateneo Grand Splendid in Buenos Aires, and we were enriched by each…..at relatively modest amounts of money.  Yesterday, we drove out to Manassas, had a solid breakfast at Cracker Barrel and visited McKay Used Books, a supermarket of used books, music, movies, and novelty items.  There are many excellent used book shops in the DC area.  I always expect there to be only a limited selection of books on opera, but in such a large shop as McKay’s, I was surprised to find only three books on opera.  Nonetheless, one of the three piqued my interest: The Simon & Schuster Book of the Opera. 

Photo by blog author of a paperback copy of The Simon & Schuster Book of the Opera.

For me, visiting a used bookstore bears an esthetic of visiting a graveyard, but these evolving mausoleums are special, not morbid.  Rather than entrenched tombstones listing names and dates of existence, these tomes can be purchased and brought back to life once more – think of your power.  Wandering about, one sees in text and clever jacket design not only the name of the deceased but the art that consumed their lives and connected with their readers.  It is a special pleasure to be immersed in so much intelligence, talent, creativity, and humanity, so great a longing to share and be understood, and strive for fame and a little money.  In a used bookshop there are a variety of titles not seen in most new bookstores, the shelves of used bookstores offering “many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore”.  Don’t eschew the less well-known volumes too quickly.  They meant something at some point to someone, and maybe many, or possibly, one is simply the book that you need.  You will also find the prices more affordable for the ones you select.  Admittedly, the risk of buying more than you will ever read is great, especially with prices so low.  But that’s okay, for a moment there was that connection.

So, what was the connection between me and The Simon & Schuster Book of the Opera, subtitled “A Complete Reference Guide – 1597 to the Present” (1979)?  First, it was big (over 500 8x11 inch pages); it was old and used looking but filled with drawings and photos (over 400 illustrations), a visual history of opera accompanying the text.  What intrigued me most was that for a few minutes I could not discern how it was organized as I looked for listings of operas I know.  The book has an opera title and a composer index, but no table of contents, only a simple three paragraph opening statement that the book was not meant to be comprehensive (drawing into question the subtitle) and pointing out that 800 operas are included, which “because of their historical importance, public acceptance and acknowledged artistic quality, command a special place in the history of musical presentation.”  Musical presentation?  Each opera listing provides composer, librettist, first performance details, a synopsis, and a short statement on the opera’s significance.  The statements are interesting but nothing that unusual here, and I have many opera anthologies already.  Why buy this one? 

I will tell you.  The operas were not arranged in alphabetical order nor by composer.  The solution to this puzzle came when I looked to the top of a page for the page number, and I saw 1736, yet I was about 50 pages into the book; the page numbers were at the bottom.  I realized then that the operas were listed in chronological order.  What a gift!  How easy to see what an opera’s contemporaries were.  I quickly thumbed through the twentieth century listings, spotting many I had seen or heard of and many more I had not.  I am looking forward to exploring synopses grouped together to see if I can detect similar themes in opera contemporaries reflecting their time in history.  It is also fun to read the significance paragraph for the operas I do not know and which are rarely if ever performed today. Listed were the names of 18 contributors and staff for this volume, with no other information about them. I bet that the individuals who contributed to this massive work kept treasured copies for themselves to show their families and friends. Browsing in a new bookstore, I might have been too intimidated to spring for full price on a new volume, but the one I bought was certainly worth $2.99 plus tax, a treat for years to com.

Shakespeare Opera Theatre's La Vie de Bohème: La Bohème Plus Prologues

Is Shakespeare Opera Theatre’s La Vie de Bohème a production of Puccini’s La Bohéme?  All that and more!  Typically, with SOT’s amazingly creative and resourceful Managing Director Dr. Lori Lind, there is more.  Even if you’ve seen La Bohème several times, you will learn more of its backstory, delivered as theater not lecture.  You will also be provided a delightful evening of entertainment by young players, full of immersive singing, music, high energy, comradery, and romantic love.  It’s an all-around feel-good experience delivered in a party atmosphere with table seating and refreshments, as much a night out at the club as a night at the opera.  Just imagine you are at Café Momus.

The December 6 cast of Shakespeare Opera Theatre’s La Vie de Bohème - Vincent Fung, Nicholas Carratura, JP Gorski, Alicia Woodberry, Justin Meyer, Isabella Umberger, Adrian Salman, and Bryanna Toll. Photo courtesy of Shakespeare Opera Theatre.

La Bohème by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini and librettists Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa tells the story of four bohemian friends, poet Rodolfo, painter Marcello, musician Schnaurd, philosopher Colline, and two of their love interests, Mimi and Musetta, set in 1840s Paris.  It begins in winter, and it’s freezing in the garret apartment with little fuel for the wood burning heater.  The guys are young, idealistic, devoted to their arts, and willing to suffer the deprivations of being penniless while their spirits ride high.  Mimi is a poor seamstress who enjoys her simple life embroidering linen and silk, especially with roses and lilacs; she suffers from consumption.  Musetta is a fiery spirit who lives by her wits and the generosity of her rich suitors.  Rodolfo and Mimi fall deeply in love, and Musetta and Marcello are a pair when they can stand each other.  The couples are on again off again until the sad ending.  There will be tears.

Poster courtesy of Shakespeare Opera Theatre.

The opera is based on the 1851 book Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger, a collection of stories about bohemian life in the left bank.  Dr. Lind, a huge fan of Murger’s book, decided to embellish SOT’s production by adding prologues with additional information to the beginning and between acts II and III of the four act opera.  The only deletions from La Bohème were some chorus selections from act II.  The librettos for the prologues were taken directly from Murger’s narrative and the music extracted from the opera.  The first prologue tells the story of how the characters met and came to be friends.  I liked this enhancement.  For a production of La Bohème to work for me, the four male singer/actors must be convincing that theirs is an ebullient, soulful friendship, and this production meets that test.  The second prologue addresses the gap between the first half of the opera and the second.  We are left in act II with two couples joyously in love and then act III begins with Rodolfo and Mimi headed towards separation and Marcello and Musetta fighting.  What happened?  This has always bothered me.  Dr. Lind added the second prologue to address the gap.  BTW, Illica and Giacosa had added a middle act in their original libretto to address the issue, but Puccini had deleted it.  Go figure.  One might have expected at best that Dr. Lind’s prologues would consist of a single character revealing what had happened in a monologue, but in Dr. Lind’s hands these are scenes adding to the enjoyment with singing, dancing, and music.  Remarkable, no?

Dual casts for some roles. Left photo is Nicholas Carratura as Rodolfo and right photo is Conner McWhirter as Rodolfo. Alicia Woodberry appears in both but alternates with Melissa Chavez in the role. Photos courtesy of Shakespeare Opera Theatre.

I began watching this performance with a critic’s eye and ear but then the magic happened, and I just wanted to relax and enjoy it.  The beginning prologue and the first bantering engagement of the four friends was fun and entertaining, but the drama begins in earnest when Rodolfo and Mimi meet for the first time and fall in love, and we are treated to Rodolfo’s “Che gelida manina” and then Mimi’s “Mi chiamo Mimi”.  A likable romantic Rodolfo was projected by tenor Nicholas Carratura whose voice took a while to warm up and reveal the richness of his voice and singing talent, especially effective in later scenes.  It was Mimi, sung by soprano Alicia Woodberry, that caused the magic to appear.  Her lovely voice and singing fully drew me into the drama.  She appeared previously in SOT’s Hansel and Gretel, and one hopes she will reappear often.  The production was further enhanced by soprano Simone Brown as Musetta.  She brought the personality and delivered a fine “Quando me’n vo”, a favorite aria from the opera.   Marcello was well played and sung by veteran SOT baritone JP Gorski.  Bass-baritone Vincent Fung as Schaunard and bass Adrian Salman as Colline were a hilarious comic pairing, with each having their moments to shine singing.  SOT veteran Justin Meyer sang three roles as narrator, landlord Benoit, and Musetta’s suitor Alcindoro and was effective in each.  His acting and singing as the narrator was a special delight.  In minor roles, Isabella Umberger as Schaunard’s girlfriend Phemie and Bryanna Toll as porter/waiter added to the fun.

Simone Brown as Musetta and Justin Mayer as Alcindoro. Photo courtesy of Shakespeare Opera Theatre.

Dr. Lind further modified the production by having individual arias sung beautifully in Italian with projected supertitles in English, but the group, especially comic numbers were sung in English without supertitles.  She explained she wanted the productions to be as accessible as possible and the feedback she had received from attendees who are unfamiliar with opera was a plea for more English.  A venue of this size cannot accommodate an orchestra and full chorus, so Puccini’s gorgeous orchestrations must be sacrificed.  However, excellent accompaniment was provided on piano by SOT Music Director Dr. Lisa Bloy who did a masterful job providing Puccini themes and melodies well timed with the singers. 

Bryanna Toll as Porter/Waiter and Isabella Umberger as Phemie. Photo courtesy of Shakespeare Opera Theatre.

The engaging set and costumes were another marvel of Dr. Lind’s.  They did an excellent job of delivering a sense of the time period of the story and the mood of the scenes.  She tells the story of how the use of the piano for Schaunard’s scenes was acquired by an offer of opera tickets.  A tapestry displaying a ball room from Versaille was remarkable.  All of this contributed to the magic. 

Do you like classic stories with live music, singing, and acting?  Met Opera’s Lincoln Center may provide the space for spectacle, but SOT’s venue allows for intimacy and an immersive experience.  You won’t get more close-up to live singing than this unless you are part of the cast, and you won’t find a more friendly and welcoming atmosphere anywhere than Shakespeare Opera Theatre.

 The Fan Experience: Performances of Shakespeare Opera Theatre’s La Vie de Bohème were scheduled for 6, 7(2), 11, 14(2), and 15 at the St. Thomas Episcopal Church in McLean; see this link for tickets.  Some vocals are in Italian with supertitles in English and some are in English.  The performance with Dr. Lind’s comments lasted about 2.5 hours, and the cast came out to mingle with attendees after the final applause.  Because there are two performances on two of the scheduled dates, there are two scheduled casts for some of the lead characters; a listing can be found in the online program book. Free parking is available.

 Shakespeare Opera Theatre performs classic works by Shakespeare and others as well.  Their next production will be Rachel Luann Strayer's Drowning Ophelia with music from Ambroise Thomas' Opera, Hamlet. This selection was made to bring recognition to the long term damage that domestic abuse causes to many, and as a message of hope to those who have suffered. April is Child Abuse Awareness Month. Performances are being scheduled between April 2 to 12,

SOT’s performances have more of a party atmosphere rather than the church service atmosphere of our major opera halls.  I have found little pretense with SOT; they readily own their limitations and still manage to engage us fully.  Dress is “as you like it” and seating is at tables.  Snacks and drinks are offered for sale which can be consumed before, during, or after performances.  Attendance by children is welcomed.

Washington Concert Opera's Manon Lescaut: Excellent Performance of a Good Puccini

Perfection is said to be the enemy of the good.  One might argue that Puccini’s La Bohème, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly are perfect operas, or close to it, momentarily setting aside Butterfly’s social issues.  So, how do we enjoy Puccini’s Manon Lescaut which is “only” good?  I would suggest attending Washington Concert Opera’s production with a stellar cast, taking advantage of an opportunity to hear the beautiful vocals and sumptuous music front and center in a live performance.  Their performance Sunday night went way beyond good in entertainment and artistic value in telling a story less compelling than those of the sweet, adorable seamstress Mimi, the good girl Tosca who is a little excitable, and the naïve, trapped, and abused Cio Cio San.  Manon is a young woman, still in her teens, torn between love of her young suitor des Grieux and her love of the nicer things in life, like a well-appointed apartment and an excess of gold and jewels.  It’s a good story that turns sad but lacks the taught storytelling and the emotional impact of the other three; it would have been better, I think, if presented as a comedy with a happy ending, dropping the last act.  Still, for an excellent night out at the opera, I found Manon Lescaut to be a winner.  In fact, I now want to see a fully staged performance.

Corinne Winters as Manon and Joshua Gerrero as des Grieux backed by the Conductor Antony Walker with the Washington Concert Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Photo by Daniel Schwartz; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

This was Puccini’s third opera and his first success; it is the one where he is credited with finding his own voice.  Overshadowed by Puccini’s blockbusters, it is performed less often, which fits perfectly with WCO’s mission to present lesser-known works with substantial musical value.  The decision to compose an opera based on the eponymous book by Antoine François Frémont was certainly his alone.  His sponsor and advocate Giulio Ricordi challenged his desire to make an opera from this story since Jules Massenet’s Manon, nine years earlier, had been a great success.  Puccini himself had eloped with a married woman, a student of his; perhaps the issues of love and desire versus station in life were fresh in his mind.  Certainly, Puccini knew what he wanted to do, and the response from Italian audiences proved that he knew what he was doing.  That said, his librettists did not.  He went through five before arriving at the libretto that survived the editing.  The WCO program booklet credits the libretto to Luigi Illica, Marco Praga, and Domenico Oliva.  It is reported that Mr. Illica did not allow his name on the original listing.  Modesty?  Or, did Illica not want his name on something not up to his standards?  Regardless, I think that changed after its success.  He and Giuseppe Giacosa became his librettists for La Bohème, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly.  If they had penned this one, it might have had a better storyline, but probably not a comedy since this effort reportedly represented a shift by Puccini in the direction of the popular style of the day, Italian verismo opera. Verismo is rarely happy verismo.

Joshua Guerrero as Grieux, Corinne Winter as Manon, and Maestro Antony Walker. Photo by Daniel Schwartz; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

So, what’s going on in this opera?  Warning: spoilers ahead.  The opera jumps around a lot and covers a lot of emotional territory.  Des Grieux is hanging out with a partying group of college students outside the gates of Paris in the early 1800s.  Manon, in her late teens, arrives with her pragmatic older brother Lescaut to enter Paris.  His conversation with an older gentleman, Geronte, sets in motion a plan by the two to have Geronte abscond with Manon to save her from her family’s intent to send her to a nunnery when she is eighteen.  Grieux is immediately smitten with Manon and upon learning of her assigned fate convinces her to run away with him.  In Act II we learn, when Grieux’s money ran out, and she has left him for Geronte and the life he could provide.  Soon, she becomes bored with Geronte.  Lescaut, who only wanted Geronte to show a “fatherly” interest, takes des Grieux in tutelage to learn to become wealthy and reunites him with Manon.  She implores him to take her back and he does.  Their plan is foiled by Geronte who has her arrested for theft and prostitution, and she is sentenced to the horrible fate of being deported to the new world (as an American I can only say “Ouch!”).  In Act III, a plot to rescue her fails and Grieux convinces the ship’s captain to let him go along.  In Act IV, the couple is stranded on a “desolate desert near New Orleans” (as an American I can only say “Huh?”); WCO smartly changed the locale to a swamp outside New Orleans to not break the mood with laughter.  Exhausted from her many travails, Manon dies in his arms, and Grieux is distraught.  In the telling, some important details get only briefly mentioned, such as why Manon is headed for a nunnery and what the charges are that get her deported, so pay attention.  I remember a congressman who used to tell those testifying before his committee, “You have a good story to tell; tell it well.”  Illica understood. Still, the theme is a good one. Think of the news reports today that young women are increasingly choosing young men who have significant incomes and bank accounts, ah…romanticism versus the facts of life.  I think Rossini or Donizetti could have made a great comedy from the story, or maybe Strauss.

Gene Galvin as Geronte and Levi Hernandez as Lescaut. Photo by Daniel Schwartz; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

Concert opera has some strong advantages, Washington Concert Opera performances are typically among my favorite operas of the season.  The singers can concentrate on singing, and in WCO’s case, you get to see and hear a full orchestra on stage with the singers in front.  You also get to watch Maestro Antony Walker guiding the orchestra through the opera, sometimes smooth flowing motions and sometimes jumping up and down, much fun and a great sound.  Also, we don’t have to deal with stage directors changing things up in ways we might not like.  The Met Opera’s productions in 2015 and 2016 featured an outstanding cast with sopranos Kristine Opolais and Anna Netrebko sharing the starring role but was roundly criticized for shifting the action to WWII.  Also in WCO’s case, we get to hear some of the leading singers of the day, like soprano Corinne Winters in this case, who will among other starring roles worldwide, play Mimi at the Met next May.

Joshua Guerrero as Grieux and Andrew Bidlack as Esmondo. Photo by Daniel Schwartz; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

This Manon Lescaut indeed had a stellar cast.  Ms. Winters who has played starring roles in over 30 top opera houses around the world hails from Frederick, Maryland, obtained degrees from Towson University and the Peabody Conservatory; about a dozen years ago she performed locally with Washington National Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, and Virginia Opera.  This was her debut in the role of Manon, and her youthful appearance adds to her appeal in the role.  She has a powerful instrument and sang beautifully with the confidence and assurance that an accomplished soprano would, interrupted for applause on several occasions.  It was a compelling dramatic performance.  I am curious if she sings the role in a staged performance, interacting more with Grieux, whether the color and emotional nuance in her voice might come even more to the fore.  Highly regarded tenor Joshua Gerrero has a beautiful, polished tenor voice and sang with emotion as des Grieux.  His singing of the famous aria “Donna non vidi mai“ was well done but did not garner the audience response one might expect; he was rewarded with applause on later occasions.  The duets and interplay between the two leads were especially enjoyable, high powered entertainment.

The supporting cast, also accomplished, was a special delight.  Baritone Levi Hernandez as Lescaut gave us a concerned brother wanting to help his sister but choosing questionable methods.  He has a warm, engaging baritone voice that added depth to the role.  Tenor Andrew Bidlack, who played Grieux’s friend and enabler Esmondo, has a pretty tenor voice and brightened every scene he was in.  Bass-baritone Gene Galvin was a believable, indulgent Geronte who flashes anger and seeks revenge when spurned by Manon.

Corinne Winter as Manon and Joshua Guerrero as Grieux. Photo by Daniel Schwartz; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

A highlight of this and every performance of Washington Concert Opera is the opera’s music played by the WCO Orchestra led by WCO’s Conductor and Artistic Director Antony Walker.  Puccini’s music for this opera is enjoyable Puccini, spirited and lively at times, lush and melodramatic at times, and heart-rendering in more dramatic moments; it’s all delivered beautifully in support of the vocals and in interludes such as an intermezzo after Act III.  Act III was probably the most enjoyble. It was a treat to hear opera music played at this level, diversity, and force.  Another appealing feature of WCO performances is the full WCO Chorus led expertly by Assistant Conductor and Chorus Master David Hanlon.  Puccini makes full use of the chorus in Manon Lescaut for background/mood vocals and engagement as crowds involved in the action.  Kudos to WCO’s Chorus and Chorus Master for a fine effort.

I found this performance by WCO to be less emotionally impactful than most WCO performances.  This is in part due to the nature of storytelling in opera.  Seeing the interactions and the unspoken communication in a staged performance might be critical for fully conveying the emotion in this somewhat fractured story.  That said, this was an excellent performance that I greatly enjoyed.  As concert opera often does, it makes me look forward to seeing a fully staged production.  Heck, I even want to see Massenet’s Manon now!  Attending opera is a constant voyage of discovery.

The Fan Experience: As is their usual practice, Washington Concert Opera scheduled only one performance of Manon Lescaut, November 24.  The opera was sung in Italian with supertitles in English shown overhead.  The performance lasted two hours and thirty minutes with one twenty-minute intermission. 

WCO has scheduled two more productions this season, Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito on March 1 (note – a Saturday performance), and Verdi’s Luisa Miller on April 13 (note - back to the usual Sunday performance). 

Peter Russell, General Director of Vocal Arts DC, presented a pre-opera talk and provided program notes.  His talks are impressively detailed and informative.

In my experience, all the seats in Lisner Auditorium are fine for viewing the performance, but the sound is probably better towards the center of the auditorium.  The seats in Lisner Auditorium were upgraded over the summer, more legroom for the orchestra section and more comfort for all.  However, the side terrace seats continue to have very limited legroom.  Parking on the street around the auditorium is catch as catch can; be sure to read the signs!  Metro is two blocks away.  WCO has a visitor web page with directions and parking info, helpful in finding nearby parking lots.

Virginia Opera's Carmen: Opera's Fried Chicken

Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen, it’s fingerlickin’ good!  When you ask what’s for dinner, are you ever disappointed to hear fried chicken as the answer?  After diminishing crowds for a couple of years (like almost every other opera company in the US, starting with COVID), Virginia Opera revamped this season’s schedule to have broader appeal, and judging by the size of yesterday’s Sunday matinee crowd, it appears to be working.  Carmen is one of the top five most popular operas of all time.  To make good on their investment, VO turned the reigns over to veteran director Kyle Lang for a classic production and brought in budding star mezzo-soprano Lisa Marie Rogali to play the sassy, sexy lead as well as a bevy of talented young performers to surround her.  It worked.  VO’s Carmen is a pleasing, thoroughly satisfying production of a perennial favorite.

Carmen (Lisa Marie Rogali), always the center of attention. Photo by Dave Pearson Photography; courtesy of Virginia Opera.

Carmen premiered in 1875 and was not well received in Paris; initially, the music was liked, but the story was viewed as too vulgar for polite society.  Sadly, composer Bizet died from heart disease at the age of 36 during Carmen’s initial run, and he never knew of the success he had created.  I remember my son saying to me on his first viewing of Carmen that it had too many hit tunes to be an opera.  Given that Carmen contains some spoken dialog, it probably technically qualifies as a musical, though the vocals are fully operatic.  Bizet did have an extraordinary gift for great tunes.  Anyone who has watched television or is a fan of the movies has heard at least excerpts of music from Carmen. 

I took a risk on this performance.  I invited our granddaughter to go with us as her first opera, without preparing her for the story.  She said afterwards she was glad we had not.  So, be forewarned:

Spoilers ahead -

After the performance, our son asked me if I liked Carmen and Don José.  How could you not like the female and male leads?  Well, if you just saw Washington National Opera’s Macbeth, how’d that work out? Carmen is another tragedy brewing.  It’s complicated.  Initially at least, I liked the pair of lovers.  She was spirited and lived life her way, cherishing her freedom, defiant, unwilling to be cowed.  He seemed like a nice guy, trying to be a good soldier.  In the famous aria “Habanera” she warns men in general, “I might love you. If I do, beware!” He fails to see that as a serious warning.  She fails to read Don José properly, the nice guy with a hidden, explosive temper and an ego in which she becomes tragically enmeshed.  Carmen causes him to abandon his soldiering and to turn from Micaëla, a young woman from his village who truly loves him; Carmen also leads Don José into a life of crime.  She then shifts her affection to the handsome, daring bullfighter, Escamillo, and having enough of Don José’s jealousy, she finally abandons him for Escamillo.  Don José confronts her outside the bullfighting stadium in one last attempt to get her back and failing that, kills her.  So, do I like the two lead characters?  For opera, it depends on who is singing the roles.

Officer Zuniga (Jeremy Harr) seeks to draw Carmen (Lisa Marie Rogali) to him while a jealous Don José (Zach Borichevsky) looks on. Photo by Dave Pearson Photography; courtesy of Virginia Opera.

In this production, I liked Carmen and Don José a lot.  Carmen is one of the coveted lead roles for a mezzo-soprano, and if you want to know what a mezzo-soprano is and what she can do, go hear this performance.  The young, multi-award winner, Lisa Marie Rogali has a beautiful instrument, lovely lows that can soar thrillingly into the soprano range.  I felt that her excellent acting skills, honed in musicals such as the Sound of Music as well as operas, allowed her to not only hit the notes, but to play with them in a seductive manner like a Carmen might do.  I was captivated.  How do you solve a problem like Maria…er Carmen?  At first, I thought Don José played by international star tenor Zach Borichevsky was too weak a presence to play the part, but like Carmen, I failed to read him correctly.  Mr. Borichevsky has a high-pitched tenor voice that is beautifully expressive in love and anger.  Their duets were lovely, and over the course of the performance, even I became afraid of him.  Soprano Sarah Tucker sang the role of Micaëla with a sympathetic gentleness.  Her lovely rendition of the aria expressing her fear as she ventured into the mountain hideout to make one last attempt to redeem Don José was a highlight.  Baritone Rolfe Dauz sang the role of the bullfighter Escamillo with swagger in a dashing manner and gave us a good “Toreador Song”.

The dashing bull fighter Escamillo (Rolfe Dauz) draws admiring glances from the females in the tavern. Photo by Dave Pearson Photography; courtesy of Virginia Opera.

The supporting cast added admirably to the drama and singing; I’ll mention a few.  The duet between Carmen’s girlfriends Frasquita played by soprano Chase Sanders and Mercédès played by mezzo-soprano Aria Minasianusing, using fortune telling cards to foreshadow their future, was an amusing delight that turns dark, very dark.  Bass Jeremy Harr, who has appeared several times in local productions, was a dislikable, arrogant officer Zuniga who incurs Don José’s rage with his attempts to seduce Carmen. 

One highlight of Carmen is always Bizet’s fantastic music, so melodic and pleasing, so many take home, hummable tunes.  The music was delivered with zest and great beauty by the Virginia Symphony under the direction of Associate Conductor Brandon Eldredge; bravi!  I loved the musical interludes between acts featuring solo instruments playing mood setting toe tapping melodies, then meshing with the full orchestra to create a lush sound.  No wonder this is such a popular opera.  Mr. Eldredge is also the Chorus Master for Virginia Opera and the singing of the chorus and their engagement in the action on stage was gorgeous.  Kudos to all.

Carmen’s (Lisa Marie Rogali) allure begins to take control of Don José (Zach Borichevsky). Photo by Dave Pearson Photography; courtesy of Virginia Opera.

The set, costumes, and lighting for this classic production taking place in early nineteenth century Seville were pleasing and effective; kudos to Scenic Designer Steven C. Kemp, Costume Designer Howard Kaplan, Wigs and Make-up Designer Elyse Messick, and Lighting Designer Driscoll Otto.  The action overall was well paced and the motivations of the characters was clear.  There were a lot of people on stage for several of the scenes with the solo characters and chorus members serving as townspeople, soldiers, and outlaws.  At first, I thought the action on stage seemed a little too programmed, but soon everything took on a natural flow.  Special kudos to Director Lang for a highly effective denouement, the final scene.  I felt fear and foreboding as the crowd outside the bullring stadium slowly dissipated, leaving Carmen alone with Don José.  Well done, all around.

As an opera going veteran, I found this a highly enjoyable Carmen.  How did my granddaughter like her first opera?  Afterwards she said it was great; it went by so quickly, and she seems ready to take on another one.  She was impressed by the strength of the voices and was glad I had not warned her about the ending.  Whew!

The Fan Experience: Virginia Opera scheduled performances for Carmen on November 8, 10 in Norfolk; on November 16, 17 in Fairfax; and on November 22, 24 in Richmond.  The opera is sung in French with English supertitles.  The performance lasted about 2 hours and 45 minutes with a 25-minute intermission.  An informative pre-opera talk is given 45 min prior to each performance.  Tickets for remaining performances can be accessed through this link.

I am compelled to add this note: if you are an endangered spouse or girlfriend, seek help.  My mother was a victim of lethal domestic violence when I was a child.  Domestic violence remains a serious problem in the U.S. today.

Washington National Opera's Macbeth: A Highly Entertaining Triumph of Good Over Evil

It says something when the witches opening Macbeth (1847) are so delightful you want them to stay on the stage for the rest of the performance; initially I thought the dancers and female members of the Washington National Opera’s Chorus had stolen the show.  However, in addition to the winsome witches, yet to come was the stunningly attractive sets and costumes, the great singing with Verdi’s brilliant music delivered to perfection, and even a battle scene at the end with the good guys winning.  Wow, that’s entertainment!  The only thing lacking was John Wayne playing the hero Macduff (…what, Matt Damon now?), but no way that Wayne or Damon could deliver Macduff’s aria of pain as drop dead beautifully as tenor Kang Wang.  I approached attending this production with a considerable level of foreboding; a tragedy isn’t exactly what I want to see right now.  Yet, I left feeling great and would enjoy seeing this production again.  Well, on reflection maybe one thing was lacking.

The murderous new royalty, King Macbeth (Étienne Dupuis) and Lady Macbeth (Ewa Plonka) of Scotland. Photo by Scott Suchman; photos courtesy of Washington National Opera.

Hyperbole and joking aside, this Macbeth by Washington National Opera achieves excellence in many ways.  Giuseppe Verdi was a great admirer of Shakespeare, and his opera based on the play with librettists Francesco Maria Piave and Andrea Maffei does justice to the play, following the story line closely, with some deletions and changing the ending slightly, offering gratitude and praise to the good guys.  The play tends to be a more tightly focused psychological drama about the corruptibility of highly ambitious men and women.

This production directed by Brenna Corner fashions the scenes compellingly to tell the story of a would-be king Macbeth and a would-be queen Lady Macbeth who give in to their ambitions, willing to use murder (as many as necessary) to advance their goals, but falter as they become increasingly erratic, racked by guilt.  Suspicious Scottish compatriots realize what is happening to the kingdom and rise to take arms against them.  The plot cleverly uses a supernatural element of a coven of witches providing Macbeth misleading predictions to add a theatrically compelling, tension-building fatalistic element.  I suspect that those who have not seen the play and the opera multiple times will be drawn into the story in this production.  Having seen the play and the opera many times, I was not one of those, more of an observer now commenting on the replay of a game when the outcome is known.  I think the dramatic impact was secured for most attendees (it worked for my wife), though I focused more on other elements of the production.

photo left: Soloman Howard as a disillusioned Banquo. photo right: Kang Wang as a grieved Macduff. Photos by Scott Suchman; photos courtesy of Washington National Opera.

Shakespeare used words and poetry to place emotion in the story and to make it entertaining, while Verdi largely employs music to convey those elements.  The music in Macbeth is melodious and beautiful, and one marvels at Verdi’s ability to use music to infuse the lyrics with such feeling and drama.  Macbeth reminded me of Verdi’s Rigoletto in that regard.  Interestingly, I enjoyed the music in Macbeth just as much even though it lacks hummable tunes like “Donna e mobile” in Rigoletto, perhaps reflecting Verdi’s movement in Macbeth to a more dramatically cohesive style.  The music was brilliantly played by the Washington National Opera Orchestra led by Maestro Evan Rogister, as fine a rendering of Verdi as I have heard.  Because I do not speak Italian, I cannot say how well Shakepeare’s poetry was translated by the librettists.  The supertitles in English projected overhead were lacking in poetry but remarkably clear in conveying meaning; kudos to Kelley Rourke.  Some of Shakespeare’s lines of poetry from the play Macbeth were shown on a screen covering the stage while scene changes took place, effectively sustaining the mood and keeping the audience engaged. 

photo left: Ètienne Dupuis as a blood stained Macbeth. photo right: Ewa Plonka as Lady Macbeth under watch sleepwalking and hallucinating in the castle. Photos by Scott Suchman; photos courtesy of Washington National Opera.

Singing in opera can be such a joy when it all works, the acting is convincing, the voices are right, the singing is excellent technically and emotionally, the ensemble numbers work, and the timing between the singers and the orchestra is spot on.  That was the case on Wednesday night.  It was just sheer fun to sit back and take it all in.  Baritone Étienne Dupuis has a sound befitting a king, sang well, and gave us a wavering assassin, a paranoid and then embittered failed monarch.  Soprano Ewa Plonka gave another stunning WNO performance singing and acting, last seen as Turandot.  She gave us a ruthless Queen who prods her husband to action using belittling accusations and who herself descends into madness as she sees it all falling apart.  Her singing was a highlight of the evening.  Solomon Howard’s base voice was an adornment for the performance, while he provided a stalwart Banquo, a friend who comes to suspect, then fear Macbeth.  I have already mentioned tenor Kang Wang, who as General Macduff, sang the showstopper aria of the evening, ridden with pain over the murder of his wife and family by Macbeth’s henchmen.  The supporting singers and characters made up of Cafritz Young Artists added very effectively to the production.

The staging of Macbeth was clever and attractive with crisp movements by actors and staff.  A scaffold with dramatic lines reminded me of paintings Mondrian might have made representing dark forces, but it was also an interlocking puzzle that could shape shift into a forest, a castle room and banquet hall, and a battlefield, while lighting and images on towering draping curtains were mood influencers.  Well done director Corner, scenic designer Erhard Rom, lighting designer A. J. Guban, and projection designer S. Katy Tucker!

The winsome witches of Birnam Wood (female members of the WNO Chorus and the WNO Corps Dancers). Photo by Scott Suchman; photo courtesy of Washington National Opera.

Let’s go back to those witches for a moment.  Chorus master Steven Gathman did one of his finest jobs for this production.  The singing in their big opening scene (Shakespeare used only three witches) was delivered crisply in tune with both the orchestra and movements of the dancers.  This team consisted of the WNO Orchestra, female members of the WNO Chorus, and the WNO Corps Dancers; kudos to all.  Their return in force for the second half was much darker but still delightful.  Verdi typically made great use of the chorus in his operas, and the entire WNO Chorus, men and women, was stunningly beautiful in the banquet scene and the closing battlefield scene.  An interesting thing about the witches: what did Shakespeare, Verdi, and director Corner envision for them?  In the opera, were they spirits, apparitions, or witches?  Did Macbeth really see them or imagine them?  After all we know he saw ghosts.  We know three wearing bird beaks were apparitions of deceased victims of the foul deeds.  And intriguingly, did they predict the future, or did they maneuver it?

My opening paragraph begins “It says something…” and ends “maybe one thing was missing.”  No question that this is one of the most entertaining productions of Macbeth that you are ever likely to see.  My question is how does it rate in terms of intended impact?  What lesson were we intended to learn and how well was that lesson delivered?  How forcefully does the emotional impact land with so much that is eye catching and ear pleasing taking place around the psychological drama, the focus in its midst.  Was there a call to action?  Was the tragedy overridden by the fun?  Was the loud applause at the end gratitude for being moved or mainly an appreciation for how well done and entertaining the performance was?  I am too jaded by previous experience to say, but I think it is a fair question to ask.  But, we’ll always have the witches…

The Fan Experience:  Washington National Opera scheduled performances of Macbeth for November 13, 15, 17, 18, 23.  The opera is sung in Italian with supertitles in English projected overhead.  The performance lasts about two hours and 45-minues with one twenty-five minute intermission.  A pre-opera talk was available one hour before curtain time for ticket holders.  Tickets remain available and can be accessed at this link. The digital program book for Macbeth can be accessed at this link.

Parking in the Kennedy Center is typically plentiful at around $25 per day, with a small discount for Kennedy Center members when reserved ahead of the day.  The Metro to Foggy Bottom and the free red Kennedy Center buses, from there to the Kennedy Center running every 15 minutes, are an excellent option.  There is an advantage in getting there a bit early.  KC frequently has multiple performances on its different stages overlapping that can create traffic jams.

There are snack stands in the main lobby, and on the Terrace level, the KC Café offers food cafeteria style at moderate prices; fine dining is available on the Terrace level in the Roof Terrace Restaurant; a discount is available to KC members.  Food and drinks except water are not allowed inside the opera house, but you can purchase reusable capped containers with your drinks that you can take inside. Take the container back with you on your next KC visit to get a discount on your drink.

Washington National Opera's Fidelio: Excellence That Stops Short of Being Great

Can we talk?  I cannot report on this production objectively, and my wife takes exception to my central opinion.  Fidelio is a work with a rich history that stirs the soul and the senses.  I know too much about this opera and not enough.  One of the pleasures of attending WNO productions is seeing what their great artistic director Francesca Zambello will have envisioned, typically an original spin, often a more socially conscious updating.  Four composers took on telling the story of Leonore and Florestan.  I have seen the first, Leonore, ou L’Amour du conjugal (1798), by composer Pierre Gaveaux and librettist Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, performed by Opera Lafayette in 2017, and the last, Fidelio (1814) by Beethoven at the Met in 2017, and one in between, Leonore (1805), an earlier version of Beethoven’s opera (there are three in all), performed by Washington Concert Opera also in 2017.  It’s not that I didn’t like this production.  I enjoyed this WNO performance, especially the singing and Beethoven’s music, and the new production was interesting.  So, thumbs up on going.  But my bottom line on this production is this: If you are going to modify a great Beethoven work, then swing for the fences.  Ms. Zambello wanted to present a “spartan visual version” that allowed the opera’s heroes to shine but chose to add some context to the beginning, meant to be helpful.  I think she left her new opening hanging at odds with the spartan approach. 

All are grateful to Lenore/Fidelio (Sinéad Campbell Wallace) for her marital fidelity and courage in the face of corrupt authority. Photo by Corey Weaver; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

Brouilly’s libretto served as the basis for Fidelio, and Beethoven’s chosen librettist for this final version was Joseph Von Sonnleithner.  It tells the story of Leonore, who dresses as a man to get work inside a prison where her husband Florestan has been unjustly imprisoned by a corrupt official named Pizarro who wants Florestan dead.  She ingratiates herself to the warden Rocco to visit the lower levels of the prison with him.  Rocco’s daughter Marzelline has fallen in love with Fidelio whom she believes to be a man, and she shoves her suitor Jaquino away.  (Warning: spoilers ahead.)  Fidelio/Leonore saves her husband’s life, just as the Prime Minister, an emissary of God and a new administration, arrives to right injustices and save all, except Pizarro who is escorted off to prison.  The characters are more archetypes than flesh and blood characters and we are given a type of deux machina ending, but it makes for a compelling story and a powerful statement about the evils of authoritarian rule and political oppression.  Everyone praises the triumph of love over authority.  One suspects that its political statement was the compelling reason for its selection for production by Washington National Opera at this time. For Beethoven, the ending reflected his belief in the possibility of a just world order respecting the brotherhood of mankind.

photo 1: Prisoner Florestan (Jamez McCorkle) in his cell. photo 2: Rocco (David Leigh), center, approves the marraige of Fidelio (Sinéad Campbell Wallace) to his daughter Marzelline (Tiffany Choe). Photos by Corey Weaver; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

A question that has lingered in my mind since first encountering Fidelio is why Beethoven, one of the greatest composers, a highly prolific composer, write one but only one opera, a successful work that has endured in its popularity.  (My question is tinged with my personal disappointment.)  He was familiar with opera.  He received voice composition instruction by Salieri early in his development.  Starting when he was eighteen, he spent four years playing viola for a Bonn opera company.  His one opera he wrote two revisions for after its unsuccessful premiere in 1804, named Leonore.  A more successful, revised Leonore was performed in 1805, and the famous version renamed Fidelio premiered in 1814.  He penned four overtures for these three versions, a bit of a perfectionist that one.  This opera was a statement of Enlightenment ideals held by Beethoven and many in Europe after the French Revolution and while the defeat of Napoleon was in progress.  Themes of hope for universal liberty, equality, and fraternity are the basis for the opera.  The story also offers themes of goodness of marital fidelity and the emergence of powerful women, a theme close to Ms. Zambello’s heart.  Though he was unlucky in love and never married, Beethoven was in love on occasion and held an idealistic view of marriage.  But, back to why only one opera.  Living an additional 13 years after Fidelio was first performed, Beethoven toyed with ideas for a few more operas but brought none to fruition.  Maybe his approach to opera required too much of him, or maybe the reason was his loss of hearing or that he loved composing music more, but maybe Leonore was his soul mate and maybe no other story was able to compel him to leave her for another.

photo 1: Pizzaro (Derek Walton) in the prison courtyard. photo 2: Marzelline (Tiffany Choe) rejects Jaquino (Sahel Salam). Photos by Corey Weaver; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

Director Zambello chose to add, while the opening overture played, a montage of images projected onto a scrim displaying the family and community life of Leonore and Florestan with their children, followed by a scene without singing shown behind the scrim of an authoritarian crackdown and arrest of Florestan, creatively arranged by Projection Designer S. Katy Tucker and co-Projection Designer Kylee Loera.  These were largely the limit of the use of special effects in this spartan production.  The evil portrayed in Fidelio occurs worldwide; having recently visited Chile and Argentina, I thought this gave this German opera based on a French revolution a Pinochet feel, a bit distracting from the opera.  The action takes place in a drab gray prison office, a courtyard, and a dungeon with drab grey prison attire for costumes, black for police uniforms, effectively contributing to the drama and storytelling; kudos to Set Designer Erhard Rom, Costume Designer Anita Yavich, and Lighting Designer Jane Cox. 

The spartan approach for Fidelio is entirely appropriate.  While the added introduction provides context for the storyline, adding warmth to the marital relationship and background for the imprisonment, for me it tells the story rather than requiring the audience to get involved in the story, confronting questions about what is going on.  While I personally would have preferred the production start without the new opening, by the end of the first act of the two-act drama, I had the thought that given how the opera was begun, there was an opportunity for Director Zambello to unify the production using more images and high tech features.  One of the past criticisms of the work is that in the Fidelio version the characters are less human and more one dimensional.  If we are being given a new preamble to the opera believing it would be helpful for us to know this, then why not unify the approach throughout, adding human depth to the characters and scenes with additional images and special effects.  For the record, my wife thought the intro was helpful; leave it alone.

Leonore (Sinéad Campbell Wallace) reveals her true identify as she saves her husband Florestan (Jamez McCorkle) from Pizarro (Derek Walton) as a stunned Rocco (David Leigh) observes. Photo by Corey Weaver; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

We agreed on what an excellent job the singers did and that the music was pleasurable and at times thrilling.  The Washington National Opera was led by WNO Music Director Designate Robert Spano who will become official in that role in 2025.  The music was played excellently, though I thought the sound seemed a bit thin.  For me, the new opening totally distracted my attention away from the Beethoven’s overture. Steven Gathman led WNO Chorus who played prisoners in the courtyard and sounded great in most of the opera.  Oddly, the song sung by the prisoners treasuring freedom, which is a highlight of the opera, was less stirring than I expected.  The Chorus was terrific in the ending scene.  I find the music in Fidelio to be great, but if you want to hear extra great, check out Leonore.

The Prime Minister (Denyce Graves) arrives to right the injustices of the past. Photo by Corey Weaver; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

There are seven soloists in Fidelio.  Irish soprano Sinéad Campbell Wallace as Leonore effectively portrayed a young man and was vocally excellent.  For me, the most emotionally effective scene was Florestan’s aria that opens act two.  Tenor Jamez McCorkle’s beautiful portrayal of a tortured soul was deeply affecting.  David Leigh as Rocco displayed one of the more lyrically beautiful bass voices I have heard, giving us a soft edged warden displaying love for his daughter, respect for his staff, and a limit to his corruptibility.  Bass-baritone Derek Welton as Pizarro sang well but never seemed quite as menacing as his role requires.  A highlight of the evening was the singing of the charming soprano Tiffany Choe as Marzelline; she is currently a WNO Cafritz Young Artist.  Florestan was lucky Leonore didn’t go that way.  Tenor Salem Salam was effective as usual as the rejected boyfriend Jaquino.  As a promising Cafritz Young Artist, Mr. Salam has appeared in several WNO operas.  Always welcomed and loved on Washington area stages, mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves was stunningly adorned as the Prime Minister, an emissary from God and country.

After reading my report, I’m thinking maybe I liked it even better than I thought.  I just let myself be distracted by and resistant to the new opening.  Nah, I’ll stick with if you are going to mess with Beethoven, finish the job.

Fan Experience: WNO scheduled performances of Fidelio on October 25, 27, 29, 31, Nov 2, 4.  The opera is sung in German with subtitles in English projected overhead.  The performance lasts about two and half hours with one twenty-minute intermission.  A pre-opera talk is available one hour before curtain time for ticket holders.  Tickets remain available and can be accessed at this link. The digital program book for Fidelio can be accessed at this link.

During the intermission, the articles of the United Nations’ 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights were shown on the stage scrim.  I would like to add that if you visit Chile, I recommend the Museum Memory and Human Rights in Santiago.

Parking in the Kennedy Center is typically plentiful at around $25 per day, with a small discount for Kennedy Center members when reserved ahead of the day.  The Metro to Foggy Bottom and the free red Kennedy Center buses, from there to the Kennedy Center running every 15 minutes, are an excellent option.  There is an advantage in getting there a bit early.  KC frequently has multiple performances on its different stages overlapping that can create traffic jams.

There are snack stands in the main lobby, and on the Terrace level, the KC Café offers food cafeteria style at moderate prices; fine dining is available on the Terrace level in the Roof Terrace Restaurant; a discount is available to KC members.  Food and drinks except water are not allowed inside the opera house, but you can purchase reusable capped containers with your drinks that you can take inside. Take the container back with you on your next KC visit to get a discount on your drink.

Opera Philadelphia's The Listeners: American Verismo

The Listeners, a new opera by composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Roy Vavrek is raw and familiar.  At its American premiere in the Academy of Music, despite the company abandoning its fall opera festival this year, Opera Philadelphia continued its leadership in presenting contemporary works and established works in novel formats, probing the future of opera.  Under recent new leadership by international star counter tenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, the company put its money where its mouth is when saying opera is for everybody.  In a bold move, Opera Philadelphia invited everyone to experience opera, offering any seat in the house in the 2024-2025 season for as low as $11!  The result thus far has been rewarding with over 10,000 seats sold in a two-week period since the announcement, and the majority purchased by first time OP attendees.  The more youthful-looking audience at the opening on Wednesday night was treated to an American work, one that presented disturbing themes affecting everyday people in modern America and the righting effect of unconditional love, truly American verismo.

A vulnerable Claire (Nicole Heaston) is preyed upon by cult leader Howard (Kevin Burdette). Photo by Steve Pisano; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

Composer Mazzoli and librettist Vavrek’s previous works together, especially Breaking the Waves (2016) and Proving Up (2018) have garnered a great deal of attention and praise.  The team’s works are not uplifting stories about happy people leading the good life.  Their primary theme has been human suffering and its causes.  The Listeners is based on an original story by Jordan Tannahill, created through discussions with the composer and librettist about themes in modern life that they wished to work on, including women in pain not being listened to, the vulnerability of isolated people, and the dangerous power of charismatic leaders and conspiracy theories.  The opera’s American premiere was delayed by the COVID pandemic, so it was first performed by the Norwegian National Opera in Oslo in 2022. It will now move to a spring 2025 production by Lyric Opera of Chicago.  The opera was co-commissioned by those three companies. 

Claire (Nicole Heaston) expressing her pain from the hum outside her home in the middle of the night with Coyote (Sydney Donovan) keeping her company. Photo by Steve Pisano; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

Spoiler alert: In the story, Claire a high school teacher in today’s American southwest begins to hear and be profoundly disturbed by a hum that none of her immediate family and friends can hear (episodes of groups of people who hear sounds not perceived by the majority is well documented); instead of sympathy Claire is chastised by her husband and daughter for her irrational behavior and negative impact on the family.  She begins to bond with one of her students Kyle who also hears the hum; she receives community disapproval for this relationship, perceived as inappropriate.  She loses her job and finds a support group of other individuals who hear the hum.  Howard, the self-appointed leader of the group appears to offer love and understanding to the sufferers but soon reveals his dark side, putting down anyone who challenges his authority, turning the group into a cult doing his bidding.  Howard goes too far in berating Angela, his recently disposed #2, and the group rebels.  A newly empowered Claire emerges as the new leader.  Overall, the story moves in a straightforward direction, providing a mild surprise in the ending, poignant and ambiguous.

Ashley (Lindsey Reynolds) sings the aria "Bitch and Moan" to her mother Claire. Photo by Steve Pisano; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

Ms. Mazzoli’s music was strikingly engaging and beautifully delivered by the Opera Philadelphia Orchestra under the direction of Conductor Corrado Rovaris.  The music supported and accented the action on stage.  Ms. Mazzoli’s color palette used in her operas is wider and more complex than most.  She mixed music that was at times dissonate and at times lovely with an array of sounds over the evening to display the hum in different fashions.  At times, part of me wanted to put the action on the stage on pause and just listen to the interesting music. 

 The arias in the score were largely impassioned and tension filled to reflect the suffering and inner turmoil the characters were feeling.  Some were more tender, reflecting the longings of the characters.  A group of soloists were featured in individual “confessionals”, where they sang their stories on the side of the stage being videotaped by Howard, while being shown in large-sized streaming close ups on a projection screen.  Additional named characters made up the remainder of the cult group which served as a chorus.  The choral music served to show the cohesiveness of the group and was particularly enjoyable, kudos to Chorus Master Elizabeth Braden. 

Leader Howard (Kevin Burdette) fashions his group. Photo by Steve Pisano; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

 The large cast was headed by soprano Nicole Heaston who also led the cast that performed in Oslo.  I saw her previously in a concert version of Turandot by Maryland Lyric Opera, where I called her an ideal Liu.  As an impressive Claire, she used her bright, clear voice to display vulnerability with a growing strength over the course of the performance.  Her husband Paul was played effectively by baritone Trey Cook; Paul viewed his relationship with Claire as an assigned role.  Claire’s spitfire daughter Ashley was played by Curtis Institute graduate, soprano Lindsey Reynolds in an attention-grabbing performance; I hope we will see more of Ms. Reynolds.  Another standout performance was given by outstanding mezzo-soprano Rehanna Thewell as Angela, the cult leader’s #2.  She sang beautifully, often endearingly, projecting a character both comical and tragic.  Cult leader Howard was played by veteran American bass Kevin Burdette.  I enjoyed his singing, though, as a non-member of the cult, I never felt the charisma he supposedly projected, making it hard to appreciate the spell he had on the group.  I will mention only three other performers among many who made an impression on me: tenor Aaron Crouch who portrayed endearingly the student Kyle who became attached to Claire, baritone Joseph Lim who played Thom who tried to bring science into the discussion of the hum, and baritone John Moore as the conspiracy obsessed Dillon.

Angela (Rehanna Thelwell) is a worried #2 to Howard. Photo by Steve Pisano; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

The production is very well done.  Professionalism is in evidence in all aspects, beginning with the set design.  The action on stage is framed by panels on either side and above that move in and out to focus or expand our view.  In the middle is a rotating stage that assists in rapid scene changes from home to school to meeting hall.  Kudos to Adam Rigg for the set design, Kay Voyce for costume design, Yi Zhao for lighting design, Daniel Neuman for sound design, and Amanda Clark for hair and makeup design.  Opera audiences typically view the performers in character from a distance that blurs facial expressions; opera streaming has caused directors and performers to pay more attention to expressions in their acting.  The Listeners used a mixture of both, as the different characters had their expressions in close up in screen projections during the confessionals, more effectively conveying their emotions.  Kudos to Hannah Wasileski for projection design, and to Director Lileana Blain-Cruz for this added feature of the staging.  The story overall was told in a straightforward progression interspersing different vignettes, such as three high school girls discussing a parent’s infidelity, a screen broadcast of social media trolling, and sensational news reporting, replete with profanity, adding both comic touches and familiar elements of modernity, definitely American verismo.  Kudos also to librettist Vavrek for the vignettes and for the stories told in the many screen closeups, an impressively varied group that told a common story of isolation and vulnerability.  Another element I enjoyed was the appearance of a coyote, played by dancer Sydney Donovan, who enriched many of the scenes with wonder, emphasizing the element of nature, including human nature.

left photo: Student Kyle (Aaron Crouch) suffers from the hum. right photo: Group member Thom (Joseph Lim) tries to introduce a scientific study. Photo by Steve Pisano; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

I thought the opera suffered somewhat from its largely news reporting style.  It begins with the characters in crisis.  Suppose we had gotten to know and like the Claire before the hum changed her?  Suppose we had gotten a better sense of the charisma of the leader and his sexual appeal to Claire?

left photo: Dillon (John Moore) attacks a tower he believes the government is using to create the hum. right photo: Reporter (Guadalupe Paz) covers the sensational event. Photo by Steve Pisano; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

The listeners was impressive on several fronts: the quality of the singers, the engaging music, and the professionalism of the production, as well as the timeliness of the story.  Charismatic leaders, cults, conspiracy theories, threats of violence, the increasing isolation of the people, and the impact of social media all characterize American life today.  The ending offered a ray of hope…empowerment through selfless love, but with an ambiguous element.  Will Claire’s empowerment yield a positive support group or a new version of the cult?  Power corrupts, or at least it’s been known to.  Nietzsche got it wrong; the opiate of the masses is charismatic leaders preying on the human need for acceptance and belonging.  Opiates can cause us not to clearly see what is in front of us.  It’s a dangerous mix.

In the end, the opera aligns with the aspects of modern life that it portrays.  Your reaction to the opera very likely depends on your reaction to those aspects of modern life.  A positive I can claim from a distressing plot is that it caused me to think about the important issues it raised, and I feel more sympathy and empathy for those individuals that suffer from pain, whether physical or emotional, not felt by other people, and more respect for human vulnerability.  Art has an impact, as Mr. Costanzo might say.  It certainly drew an enthusiastic response from the newish audience in attendance Wednesday night.

The Fan Experience:  Performances of The Listeners were scheduled for September 25, 27, 29.  The first performance was a near sell out and there was no ticket availability for the remaining two.  The opera was sung in English with supertitles in English shown overhead.  The performance lasted two and a half hours with a twenty-minute intermission.  An informative pre-opera talk by OP’s scholar in residence Lily Kass was held in the theater one hour before the performance time.  Hopes that the composer and librettist would be present for the pre-opera talk were not realized though they were present later at the performance itself!

The Pick Your Price format extends for the remainder of the opera season, though checking just now, there are only limited seats available for all performances of The Anonymous Lover and Don Giovanni which will be performed in 2025.  The pricing scheme for the next season remains to be determined.

Wolf Trap Opera's Silent Night: Creative, Immersive, Impactful

Want to visit a battlefield, be among the fighters, and witness the stories taking place, while putting yourself in no more danger than crying?  Wolf Trap Opera makes it possible with their immersive production of Silent Night, a tale based on a most amazing thing that happened in 1914 during the first year of World War I: spontaneous truces broke out among groups of combatants who had only the day before been shooting at each other in close proximity.  These events became known as the “Christmas Truce”; this partial description is taken from a Britannica webpage:

“On December 23 German soldiers began placing the [Christmas] trees outside their trenches. They sang hymns such as “Stille Nacht” (“Silent Night”), and voices from the Allied lines responded with Christmas carols of their own…As morning broke on Christmas Day, German soldiers emerged from their trenches, waving their arms to demonstrate that they had no ill intent. When it became clear that they were not carrying weapons, British soldiers soon joined them, meeting in No Man’s Land to socialize and exchange gifts.”  Fraternization with the enemy is a military crime.  Their commanders were not inclined to look the other way and soon put an end to truces.  WWI became one of the bloodiest, deadliest, most gruesome wars ever fought, but for a few moments, peace and humanity and Christmas triumphed, aided by music and singing.  The 2011 opera Silent Night by composer Kevin Puts and librettist Mark Campbell is based on a screenplay by Christian Carion for the 2005 film Joyeux Noël, which was based on the real “Christmas Truce”.

l to r seated: A truce allows enemy combatants Scottish Lieutenant Gordon (Ryan Wolfe), French Lieutenant Audebert (Jacob Scharfman), and German Lieutenant Horstmayer (Andrew Gilstrap) to share in a cup of tea, while aide de camp Ponchal (Charles H. Eaton) stands by. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera.

This is WTO’s first production of Silent Night and the 23rd production of the opera overall since its premiere in 2011.  The opera is a holiday season favorite; Washington National Opera’s production was staged during November 2018.  Wolf Trap Opera’s season is summer only, but the call to peace it embodies fits current times all too well.  In his comments in the program book, librettist Campbell recalls that his first foray into opera composition was a Wolf Trap Opera world premiere of his and composer John Musto’s comic opera, Volpone.  He reveals the WTO version of Silent Night is a new production, pared down in scale for WTO’s smaller, more intimate venue, The Barns.  He also discusses some of the changes from the screenplay in characters, themes, and songs. 

The Scottish, French, and German encampments adjacent to No Man’s Land in Wolf Trap Opera’s Silent Night. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera.

(Spoiler Alert) The opera’s story centers on three groups of combatants - the Scottish side, the French side, and the German side - but includes personal stories of individuals from each group.  Silent Night begins in August 1914 in an opera house in Berlin, where a performance by soprano Anna Sorensen and tenor Nicholaus Sprink is interrupted by an announcement of war.  Sprink is conscripted into military service, and they are separated.  In Scotland, William Dale urges his younger brother Jonathon to enlist in the military with him, a fatal decision.  In France, Madeleine confronts Lieutenant Audebert for going to war, leaving her and their unborn child alone.  These stories evolve: a brother grieves, a gentle soul makes a fatal mistake, and a couple flees to safety, while the combatant groups stop fighting each other, negotiate a Christmas Eve truce to celebrate together, and then a Christmas day ceasefire to bury their dead.  We witness the soldiers building comradery as friends, joking, sharing stories, and worshipping together in a Christmas Eve mass.  Then it ends with reassignments of all for having participated in the truces.  It is worth noting this was early in the war, within the first five months; the combatants expected the war to be over soon.  Thus, they had been exposed to hell, but had not yet gone through it.

Singers Anna (Keely Futterer) and Nikolaus (Ricardo Garcia) sing for the Kronprinz, a short distance from the battlefield. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera.

The communication by WTO of the important themes and messages of the opera, particularly the insanity and destructive impact of war, was highly effective.  Well, how do you stage battle scenes, place three groups of soldiers on stage at the same time, and provide intimate close-ups of individuals, while also finding a place for a forty-piece orchestra in a venue that seats less than 400 attendees - with extraordinary talent and creativity.  Mr. Campbell commented that Wolf Trap Opera is not about spectacle or numbers, but about musical storytelling.  While I agree with that, I contend that in recent productions, WTO has moved very close to spectacle in a positive sense – with extraordinary talent and creativity.  This production is worth attending just to enjoy seeing how it was done. 

Father Palmer (Wm. Clay Thompson), Jonathan Dale (Martin Luther Clark), and William Dale (Kyle White) confront joining the war effort. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera.

The bleak landscape conveyed death and destruction, and the costumes were perfect for the different groups.  The lighting conveyed mood and focused attention where needed.  Kudos are in order for all, and especially for Directors Tonya and Ryan McKinny for keeping all the parts moving together to create such effective storytelling.  The orchestra was placed at the back of the stage behind two see through screens for projecting images.  This allowed the three groups of combatants to be placed in front of the stage where the orchestra pit would normally be. Many times the characters filed in and out down the aisles in the audience.  The effectiveness of the violent scenes was somewhat diminished by the scale of the production; No Man’s Land is rather crimped. The stage was framed as though it was a painting from a bygone era.  A very clever effect was to use the scrim at the opening of the stage to project individual close ups of the characters fully demonstrating the emotional trauma being experienced.  Kudos to Ryan McKinny, a WTO veteran, for filming these scenes; the program book included an insert crediting all the images and videos that were projected onto the screens during the performance.  Directors McKinny were extremely well supported by Lawrence Moten (scenic design), Lynly Saunders (costume design), Colin K. Bills (lighting design), Adam Larsen (video design), and Ann Nesmith (wig and makeup design), all contributing together to an excellent job of musical storytelling. 

Lieutenant Audebert (Jacob Scharfman) writes a letter to his wife Madeleine (Tivoli Treloar). Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera.

Composer Puts’ music was highly enjoyable, often beautiful, often emotive, and supremely reflective of the scenes taking place; it has often been described as cinematic.  The opera was awarded the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Music.  The music is at times melodic for gentler moments and dissonant for combative ones, with softly repeated phrases that let the trauma seep in; it also includes breathtakingly beautiful arias and carols.  The music was expertly played by the Wolf Trap Orchestra under the direction of Conductor Geoffrey McDonald.  Despite the placement of the orchestra, Maestro McDonald kept the music in sync with the singers and at an engaging volume for the audience.  A bagpipe was played by Matthew Harriman on stage as a Scottish soldier.

Ponchal (Charles H. Eaton) remembers morning coffees with his mother. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera.

There were thirteen soloist roles in Silent Night, and as a group, WTO’s excellent, emerging young artists (Filene Artists and Studio Artists) sang well and were highly believable in their roles; additional soldiers were played by Studio Artists.  The opera couple, Anna and Nikolaus, were played by soprano Keely Futterer who sang with impressive precision and feeling and tenor Ricardo Garcia who also sang well, projecting anger at the absurdity of it all.  Ms. Futterer sang beautifully a very pretty carol at the Christmas service called “Dona nobis pacem”.  The Scottish brothers Jonathan and William were played and sung impressively by tenor Martin Luther Clark and baritone Kyle White.  Mr. Clark was touching, grieving over the loss of his brother.  Lieutenant Audebert and his pregnant wife Madeleine were played with passion and longing by baritone Jacob Scharfman and mezzo-soprano Tivoli Treloar.  Mr. Scharfman sang a beautiful ode to his wife after having lost his only photo of her.  The lieutenants of the German and Scottish sides, Lieutenant Horstmayer and Lieutenant Gordon, were played by bass-baritone Andrew Gilstrap and baritone Ryan Wolfe.  Wolfe’s Gordon seemed reasonable and self-assured while Gilstrap’s Horstmayer seemed conflicted in every direction.  There were three characters that were easy to dislike, despite their excellent vocals, including the French General played by bass Le Bu and the British Major played by bass-baritone Joseph Calzada, both of whom chastised their underlings for participating in the truce.  Then there was the Kronprinz, son of the Kaiser, played by Demetrius Sampson, Jr., safe in a luxurious estate, oblivious and unconcerned with the suffering going on just a few miles away.  I saved two of my personal favorites for last, the Scottish Father Palmer and Ponchel, Audebert’s aide de camp, played and well sung by bass Wm. Clay Thompson and baritone Charles H. Eaton.  Father Palmer exhibited such strong caring for his men, and Ponchel was such a likeable, gentle soul, clearly a casualty-in-waiting in a war. Overhall, the vocals were consistently good, and I thought this was one of Wolf Trap Opera’s best acted operas. The story here was the star, a tribute to the singer/actors I think.

l to r: The British Major (Joseph Calzada), the French General (Le Bu), and the Kronprinz (Demetrius Sampson Jr.) put an end to the truces inhibiting their war efforts.

Directors Tonya and Ryan McKinny in their program notes make the point that art is the opposite of war: art is about making connections and war is about destroying them.  Silent Night is a marvelous work of art that makes a powerful statement about our commonality and how much we have to enjoy through peaceful coexistence, and how much to lose, when resorting to violence.  Wolf Trap Opera’s production of it is creative, immersive, and impactful. This is a contemporary opera about the human heart, as are all operas I think, of a quality worthy of remaining in the repertoire, and more…a reminder of the past much needed today, even in August.  In a world where people can embrace each other one day and shoot at each other the next, let the word go out - make art, not war…at the very least, don’t make war.

The Fan Experience: Performances of Silent Night were scheduled for August 9, 11, 15, and 17. in The Barns at Wolf Trap.  The opera is sung in English, German, and French with English surtitles shown overhead.  The performance lasted about 3 hours including a 20-minute intermission.

The pre-opera talk for this production was given one hour prior to the performance by Fight Director Casey Kaleba.  He provided historical background for the opera and an interesting discussion on the challenges involved in staging fights and battles.  This was an excellent lecture, though more info introducing the opera itself might have been helpful.  An audio recording of “Silent Night” performed by the Minnesota Opera is available through retail and many music streaming services.

The Barns overall is an excellent venue for opera, intimate with good acoustics.  Even the seats at the back and in the balcony are relatively close to the performers, but some of those in the very front and seats in the back on the floor lack a view of the surtitles.  The floor seats are not tiered but those in the balcony are; some balcony seats are restricted view by structural posts.  Food and beverages are available before the performances and during intermissions; drinks are allowed in the theater.  During DC’s hot and humid summers, it has excellent air-conditioning.  Parking is free, plentiful and is easy-in/easy-out. 

Santa Fe Opera's Der Rosenkavalier: Spectacular Plus

My, my Santa Fe Opera, you have outdone yourself, and that is quite a feat!  Oddly, despite its popularity, I had not seen a live production of Der Rosenkavalier (1909) by composer Ricard Strauss and librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal, a team that had a run of big opera hits; I had seen Ariadne auf Naxos and Elektra by this team.  Somehow the snippets of Der Rosenkavalier I had seen in videos had not created an urgency in me to travel to take it in.  I did watch online more than once the first act with Renee Fleming in a Met Opera production; who wouldn’t watch Ms. Fleming?  The story line of that act had a sweet, bittersweet element of human truth and some appealing comedic touches, but Baron Ochs’ bluster seemed a bit much.  Impressions can be misleading.  Well, I wanted to see the world premiere of SFO’s The Righteous, and seeing Der Rosenkavalier would be a good excuse for staying a few more days in Santa Fe.  This report is tempered by my wife’s response to the opera.  I rated the performance as merely spectacular, but my wife rated it higher for its emotional depth.  I will explain.

The Marschallin (Rachel Willis-Sørensen) alone in her bed chamber. Photo by Curtis Brown; courtesy of Santa Fe Opera.

Der Rosenkavalier is a four-hour comedic opera including intermissions; if that had worried me, I could have left after the first act and still called it a win.  As I expected, SFO’s performance was sweet, bittersweet in both story and music, with impressive singers and an artistic set and staging as a bonus, and a surprisingly likeable Baron Ochs, who is very dis-likable; a quite good opera but not gripping for me (yet quite gripping for my wife).  Leaving was never a question, and if I had left, I would have missed some of the most enjoyable opera that I have seen and one of the most beautiful scenes I have ever witnessed on stage.

A troubled Marschallin (Rachel Willis-Sørensen) and a pleading Octavian (Paula Murrihy). Photo by Curtis Brown; courtesy of Santa Fe Opera.

Let me back up a bit and tell you more about the story, with spoilers: there are four main characters and a cast of thousands…well, 31 named stage performers listed in the program.  The Marschallin, a mature (34 years-old) Princess and wife of the Field Marshal is having an affair with seventeen-year-old Count Octavian and struggling with a rising belief that he will eventually leave her for a younger woman.  Baron Ochs auf Lerchnau, a relative, shows up wanting the Marschallin to name a bearer of the rose (rosenkavalier) to take a silver rose to his betrothed, fifteen-year-old Sophie, as is the custom; well, you can see what’s coming.  Also, the Baron is a mix of Don Giovanni and Falstaff which adds another complication; his unexpected arrival has caused Octavian to disguise himself as a maid, who then becomes an object of the Baron’s lustful pursuit.  In Act 2, Octavian, still deeply attached to the Marschallin, presents the silver rose to Sophie and they fall in love.  A couple of shady detectives for hire reveal this scene to the Baron.  Defending Sophie’s choice, Octavian nicks the Baron in a sword duel.  Sophie’s father wanting to buy into nobility through the arranged marriage to the Baron takes the side of the Baron and declares the marriage will go forward.  In Act 3, a very funny plot unfolds, with Octavian, as the maid, exposing the Baron for what he is and causing him to exit when the Marschallin intercedes.  She and Octavian and Sophie must then confront who will wind up with whom; polyamory was not an accepted thing at that time.

Baron von Ochs (Matthew Rose) pursuing Octavian disguised as a maid (Paula Murrihy). Photo by Curtis Brown; courtesy of Santa Fe Opera.

Later as I reflected on this production, it struck me that for Der Rosenkavalier the director and the singers matter a lot in a story where strong feelings of depth and subtlety must be exposed within a mad cap comedy; try to imagine a Marx brothers’ version of “Casablanca”.  Fortunately, SFO chose well.  Mezzo-soprano Paula Murrihy as Octavian was the first of the major characters to appear on stage.  Yes, Octavian is a pants role, which adds humor when the singer dons a dress to disguise herself as a woman.  Ms. Murrihy sang and acted impressively as both a Count caught in a love triangle and as a maid eluding, then tricking her would be seducer.  Even though Octavian has the most time on stage in the opera, the Marshallin commands both Act 1 and the end of Act 3.  SFO’s Marshallin was soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen who was an SFO apprentice in 2010, and this season also plays Donna Anna in the later debuting Don Giovanni.  She sang beautifully with tender emotion and carried herself regally, an excellent Marschallin in a believable pairing with Ms. Murrihy. 

l to r in foreground: Baron von Ochs (Matthew Rose), Sophie (Ying Fang), Herr von Faninal (Zachary Nelson), and Marianne Leitmetzerin (Kathryn Henry) dealing with a reluctant Sophie. Photo by Curtis Brown; courtesy of Santa Fe Opera.

The surprise delight of the evening for me was baritone Matthew Rose as the Baron; he sang well, although much of his singing had so many words it sounded like dialog.  Somehow, he played this boorish, totally self-centered lecher with such naturalness and in such an amusing fashion that my admiration for the performance made it hard for me to dislike his character; the Baron simply assumed that anyone in his lofty status would do exactly what he did; can you blame a rat for being a rat, especially one that’s funny?  Knowing that soprano Ying Fang is in a production, makes it more likely I will attend, and her performance as Sophie validated that position.  Her vocals, especially in the duet with Octavian and the trio adding the Marschallin were highlights of the opera and likely of the SFO season, in fact, any season.

Sophie (Ying Fang) seeing Count Octavian (Paula Murrihy) for the first time. Photo by Curtis Brown; courtesy of Santa Fe Opera.

The supporting performances were also excellent, and I will mention three.  First, lyric baritone Zachary Wilson as Herr von Faninal was well sung and well played as the comedic stereotype of the status hungry father willing to sacrifice his young daughter for social climbing.  Another standout performance was mezzo-soprano Megan Marino as Annina, one of the shady detectives, well sung and well played.  Finally, tenor David Portillo gave an excellent musical portrayal of the Italian singer.  That Santa Fe Opera can employ a singer of Mr. Portillo’s stature in such a minor role is impressive.

photo 1: Annina (Megan Marino) connives with Baron von Ochs (Matthew Rose). photo 2: The Italian singer (David Portillo) performs. Photos by Curtis Brown; courtesy of Santa Fe Opera.

Composer Strauss’ music is mostly pleasant, romantic drawing room comedy music in the first Act, but for Acts 2 and 3, he stepped up his game, and the music became highly expressive for the characters and action on stage.  The Santa Fe Orchestra, a large orchestra, was led by acclaimed Conductor Karina Canellakis; she is currently the Chief Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.  Led by Maestro Canellakis, the orchestra’s playing was a pleasure all evening, lively, expressive, and nuanced while supporting but not overwhelming the singers.  The Chorus under the direction of Chorus Master Susanne Sheston performed well.

Sophie (Ying Fang) and Octavian (Paula Murrihy) and the Marschallin (Rachel Willis-Sørensen) must deal with their issues. Photo by Curtis Brown; courtesy of Santa Fe Opera.

This elegant cast and beautiful music were matched, and maybe occasionally surpassed, by the outstanding staging by Director Bruno Ravella.  The opera was set forward to the 1950s but still felt like Vienna of the 18th century. The sets and scenic design were extraordinary.  The Marshallin’s chamber and the Faninal ballroom were evocative of nobility and gorgeous; kudos to Scenic and Costume Designer Gary McCann; the costumes were also extraordinary.  Lighting by Lighting Designer Malcolm Rippeth was well done, adding emotional depth of its own.  The rendezvous room in a brothel for Act 3 was cleverly designed with an in-wall bed and trap doors; the room was assembled for viewing in front of the audience during the second intermission.  

Octavian (Paula Murrihy) and Sophie (Ying Fang) are together. Photo by Curtis Brown; courtesy of Santa Fe Opera.

The beginning of Act 2 was special, first with beautifully attired servants scurrying about, and then, with the entrance of Count Octavian and his duet with Sophie.  I was immersed in one of the most beautiful moments in opera that I have experienced, now on a short list of transcendent experiences.  The staging for Act 3 with its fast-paced comedy of jokes as characters popped in and out, each carrying a message, was an absolute hoot.  I found the final scene with the Marschallin, Octavian, and Sophie to be affecting, understated and paced in a way that lay their hearts and souls out for everyone to see.  My wife said it created such strong emotion it hurt.  Director Ravella employed a young boy (Maxmilian Moore) to play Cupid who popped up at times along the way reminding us this was a comedy about love; his was an appropriately charming performance.

Cupid (Maximillian Moore) observes all. Photo by Curtis Brown; courtesy of Santa Fe Opera.

I hope I have conveyed to you that Santa Fe Opera’s production of Der Rosenkavalier is spectacular, even spectacular plus, with lovely singing, beautiful music, extraordinary staging, laugh out loud comedy, plus great emotional depth.  The speaker at the pre-opera talk likened the Marschallin/Octavian coupling to Tristan and Isolde.  The impetuosity of youth keeps me from going there, but my wife counters that our first true love can be very intense.  Ok, but then Sophie comes along.  I will grant that the last twenty minutes with the trio and then the duet of Octavian and Sophie is about as emotionally compelling as it gets, heavy with the conflict between what is desired and what must be.

Excuse me, I see Cupid is beckoning you to attend.  Are you game?

The Fan Experience: Santa Fe Opera scheduled performances of Der Rosenkavalier on July 20, 24, August 2, 8, 15. The opera is sung in German with subtitles in English and Spanish provided on individual screens on the backs of seats.  The performance I attended on July 20 lasted four hours plus, including a 20 and a 35-minute intermission.  During the long intermission as the final set was assembled on stage, SFO provided free coffee and tea for all attendees.

Many attendees arrive early for the excellent opera talks one and two hours before the performance.  The talk I attended for Der Rosenkavalier was provided by Oliver Prezant.  Attending his insightful lecture, delivered in a humorous style, had me much better prepared to understand and enjoy the opera – highly recommended.

The Crosby Theatre of the Santa Fe Opera, which seats about 2,000 patrons is an open-air structure on each side and at the back of the stage.  The design is modern and attractive.  Sunsets and thunderstorms become part of the opera experience.  See SFO’s detailed and helpful website for information on food/dining options available and for directions, and their performance schedule for the remainder of the summer. 

In general, the SFO patrons were dressed in a casual style.  There is a tailgating tradition at SFO, some astonishingly elegant.  Bring a sweater or light jacket; Santa Fe is seven thousand feet above sea level; nights can be chilly even in July and August, and breezes flowing through the opera house can make it feel cooler.

Santa Fe Opera's The Righteous: Stellar Team, Powerful Drama

The Righteous premiered at Santa Fe Opera on July 13; the title made me wonder if the opera would be taking a position in the cultural divide by disparaging religious faith.  Rest easy, it hits close to home and takes its theme from the biblical story of King David, but it is human nature, not faith that is the target.  The Righteous is a complex drama with multiple threads and levels shrouded in beautiful music.  The opera views its characters through a lens of human understanding, even a forgiving lens, recognizing that as humans, we are tossed about by conflicts between our desires and ambitions and our moral convictions, and worse, humans must live with uncertainty in knowing whether we and the people in our lives are genuine.  We must also live with the impact of wrong guesses about ourselves and others.  Religious or not, we are all humans on a path to self-discovery.  In the opera’s terms, life is messy and short, and wisdom is slow.  Let’s delve further into the story and performance (caution: spoilers lie ahead).

l to r: CM (Brenton Ryan) and Paul (Greer Grimsley) observe the sunset (the real sunset!) as David (Michael Mayes) sings an opening prayer aria. Photo by Curtis Brown; courtesy of Santa Fe Opera.

The story takes place in an unspecified state in the American Southwest over the period from 1979 to 1990; I was alive then, so I’m in.  This, like most decades in U.S. history, was a time of crisis and change.  The 1980s featured the AIDS crisis, the rise of feminism, the war on drugs, the Iran-Contra Affair, the arrival of CNN, the rise of televangelism, the arrival of the Mac, the Challenger explosion, the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the first American woman in space, and more.  The role of television was growing in our lives bringing these events into our homes, and broadcasters, advertisers, and politicians were learning how to influence our choices.  On one level the opera deals with how current events shape our lives. 

The genesis of the opera came about five years ago when Director Kevin Newbury consulted with composer Gregory Spears and librettist Tracy K. Smith about developing a new opera to be commissioned by the Santa Fe Opera.  Mr. Newbury directed the premiere of The R(e)volution of Steve Jobs in 2017 by SFO, an opera that will be produced by Washington National Opera in 2025.  The Santa Fe Opera has achieved status as a premier American opera company and an SFO premiere draws attention, covered by major news sources across the U.S., with their new opera receiving additional performances by other companies.  Composer Spears already has successful operas to his credit; I saw his excellent opera Fellow Travelers performed by the Virginia Opera two years ago.  Librettist and poet Smith has published six books of poetry, one a Pulitzer Prize winner, and has collaborated with Mr. Spears on a previous opera; she was the 22nd Poet Laureate of the U.S.  Such resumes create both anticipation and expectations.  In fact, my pre-performance worry over whether I would like the music, as I do with all new operas, had been partly assuaged by my previous exposure to Mr. Spears’ work.  SFO supported this pair with a star-studded cast and creative team.

l to r: Two friends talking - Paul (Greer Grimsley) and CM (Brenton Ryan) in the background and David (Michael Mayes) and Jonathan (Anthony Roth Constanzo) in the light. Photo by Curtis Brown; courtesy of Santa Fe Opera.

 Many character names in the opera recall names prominent in the Bible.  David is a young man who experienced a calling from God to become a preacher, and he wants to advocate for Samaritanism, love thy neighbor of all backgrounds and help thy neighbor.  Paul is a rich oil tycoon who wants to be governor and use David to get more votes; he has a wife Marilyn, a gay son Jonathan, a daughter Michelle, and a close colleague CM.  David and Jonathan are best friends.  Jonathan wants the relationship to be more, but David won’t go there.  David believes God wants him to marry his sister Michelle.  She accepts believing David’s primary commitment after God will be to her and their family; there is of course financial and prestige benefit to David from the union.  Sheila is a member of David’s church, and he asks her to run a bible study group.  Her husband has just shipped overseas, leaving her and their young daughter on their own. Now the dissonance.  Paul learns people are starting to want David to be a write-in candidate.  To Michelle’s surprise, David is considering whether he is meant for more than preaching.  In a chance meeting at the church, Sheila (aka Bathsheba?) reveals her true heart and a spiritual message that came to her and sustained her.  David and Sheila begin an affair believing God has brought them together.  Sheila’s daughter Shannon later adds an age gap level to the drama. After, Paul’s sudden death, David runs for office and begins to compromise his values for power and influence, weakening his relationship with God.  All relationships are going to change in these voyages of self-discovery.  Again, in terms of the opera, joy comes and joy goes.

l to r: Michelle (Jennifer Johnson Cano) sits worrying about her marraige while David (Michael Mayes) and Sheila (Elena Villalón) bond. Photo by Curtis Brown; courtesy of Santa Fe Opera.

The libretto for The Righteous is rich in poetry; I wish it was available for reading.  Ms. Smith constructed an opening prayer in the opera as a villanelle, a form of poetry.  Phrases abound that seem likely to be used as quotes, that raise points revealing complexities, and leave you wondering.  Importantly, her chosen words work in opera.  The music by Mr. Spears is also richly textured, interesting, and sometimes beautifully romantic.  The music shades and foreshadows the drama.  The beautiful, sometimes inspirational music tailored to each character, often has soft dissonance entering and lurking below the heart felt expressions, revealing the characters are unaware of or are hiding something signifcant.  In a film clip, composer Spears raises the question of whether the characters can hear the music or only the audience can; he writes music that informs the audience of what the characters must contend with that they cannot see and how that affects them. 

photo 1: Trouble between Sheila (Elena Villalón) and David (Michael Mayes). photo 2: David (Michael Mayes) ponders his relationship with God. Photos by Curtis Brown; courtesy of Santa Fe Opera.

The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra playing under the direction of Conductor Jordan De Souza were engaging with horns and strings featured, many adornments, often with the pulsating music in support of the arias and drama.  Mr. Spears says the combination of poetry and music in the prayer arias makes them psalms.  The spiritual flair revealed in Mr. Spears music compels me to listen to his orchestral work, “A New Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei” for the Mozart Requiem; I would welcome more inspirational music by him. 

The excellent cast of soloists for The Righteous were led by star baritone Michael Mayes, an excellent choice for the role of David.  The opening prayer aria sung by Mr. Mayes clearly demonstrated the power and the beauty of his voice and singing, as well as his believability in the role.  I fondly remember attending the Washington National Opera’s 2017 production of Dead Man Walking starring Mr. Mayes, a role that helped establish his career and prominence.  Sheila was played by the rising star soprano Elena Villalón, who sings with clarity and great depth of feeling.  She is coming off her performance as Amore in Met Opera’s Orfeo ed Euridice.  Her well-played journey in the opera as Sheila was the most engrossing of the evening.  Michelle was beautifully played by mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano. Her plaintiff arias as the disillusioned and abandoned wife were touching, especially in an emotionally charged scene where she prays out loud, at one of David’s church services, for husbands who are unfaithful to their wives; in an especially poignant scene between her and Sheila, she reveals that at least at the end she has found a feeling of freedom.  

photo 1: Michelle (Jennifer Johnson Cano) talks with her mother Marilyn (Wendy Bryn Harmer). photo 2: David (Michael Mayes is confronted by Jacob (Nicholas Newton) with a community request. Photos by Curtis Brown; courtesy of Santa Fe Opera.

Countertenor Anthony Roth Constanzo, a current mega-star and newly appointed President and General Director of Opera Philadelphia, gave us a sympathetic Jonathan as a gay man unable to fit in or have the love he longs for, a highlight in the opera.  Mr. Constanzo’s singing, especially his clarion high notes, was a pleasure; his crystal-clear voice would sink into a low register and tail off when meeting with frequent disappointment.  Bass-baritone Greer Grimsley gave us a convincing Paul and tenor Brenton Ryan, as Paul’s friend and right-hand man. was a standout in the role.  Among several well-played, well-sung supporting role performers, I will only mention that soprano Wendy Bryn Harmer was the perfect wife to Paul and that bass-baritone Nicholas Newton gave an attention getting performance as Jacob, seeking and not getting help from David for his poor, drug-ravaged community.  Mr. Spears gave the Santa Fe Opera Chorus a lead role and they sang with power and passion; kudos to Chorus Master Sussane Sheston. 

The Righteous ensemble. Photo by Curtis Brown; courtesy of Santa Fe Opera.

There is a lot going on in this opera, and Director Newbury manages it well, keeping the focus on character development and illuminating the internal conflicts of the characters.  The opera tells its story well; rather than repeating all scenes one after another, Mr. Newbury often has two or three scenes on stage at the same time with the spotlight shifting back and forth among them, sometimes with ensemble singing.  This added to the cohesion of the storytelling and saved some time.  Also, kudos to Scenic Designer Mimi Lien as well-designed sets were moved into and out of place with flowing, unobtrusive precision.  Devario Simmons’ costumes clearly evoked the 1980s.  Lighting Designer Japhy Weideman did well but was no match for the stunning visuals provided by the Jemez Mountains and clouds framing the lighting effects of a setting sun whenever the back panels of the stage were open; this beautifully scenic setting is a special benefit of attending Santa Fe Opera performances, transcendent once again.

 The Righteous is powerful storytelling backed by beautiful music and singing.  At the end of this powerful drama, the entire cast was on stage to sing a final prayer, the convergence demonstrating that all the changed, partially broken players were in the same group, the humans.  I will be thinking about this world premiere for a long time to come. 

 The Fan Experience:  Santa Fe Opera scheduled performances of The Righteous for July 13, 17, 26, 30. August 7, 13.  The opera is sung in English with subtitles in English and Spanish provided on individual screens on the backs of seats.  The performance I attended on July 17 lasted three hours and included a 25-minute intermission.

The Crosby Theatre of the Santa Fe Opera, which seats about 2,000 patrons is an open-air structure on each side and at the back of the stage.  The design is modern and attractive.  Sunsets and thunderstorms become part of the opera experience.  See SFO’s detailed and helpful website for information on food/dining options available and for directions.

Santa Fe Opera is located about five miles north of the city with easy access via highways 285/84 or a couple of backroads, if you are adventurous.  As you move away from the heart of the city, you are quickly into the vast expanse of sky that New Mexico offers.  The SFO program book includes this statement, “We acknowledge and pay deep respect to the people, elders, and ancestors – past, present, and future – of the Tesuque Pueblo whose beautiful lands have provided the stunning backdrop for our theatre and performances for over sixty years.” 

Many attendees arrive early for the excellent opera talks one and two hours before the performance.  The talk I attended for The Righteous was provided by Oliver Prezant.  Attending his insightful lecture, delivered in a humorous style, had me much better prepared to understand and enjoy the opera – highly recommended.

The tailgating tradition at SFO, some were astonishingly elegant, could not be observed this trip as it was raining when we got there.  In general, the SFO patrons were dressed in a casual style.  Bring a sweater or light jacket; Santa Fe is seven thousand feet above sea level; nights can be chilly even in July and August, and breezes flowing through the opera house can make it feel cooler.

Shakespeare Opera Theatre's Macbeth: An Original Mix of the Bard and Verdi

Shakespeare Opera Theatre is a small community opera with rising expectations.  Founder and Managing Director Lori Lind has created a bold and ambitious new blending of elements of Shakespeare’s play with Verdi’s marvelous music from his Macbeth.  Unfortunately, Friday night’s opening could have been titled “toil and trouble”.  It was beset with a witch’s brew of problems leading up to its debut.  Half of the cast and staff came down with illness or injuries.  The ensemble was unable to practice together for the five days preceding the premiere.  Many last-minute role changes and staff changes had been required, leading to finicky special effects equipment and a failure of the subtitles to arrive.  Dr. Lind talked about these challenges in her opening comments; she said she had even gone so far as to stop encouraging people to attend the premiere, which de facto had become the dress rehearsal.  She encouraged the audience to enjoy the show as presented; after all, she said, “it’s just opera”.  Her straightforward honesty and down to earth attitude elicited understanding in the audience and an appreciation for the “show-must-go-on” spirit of everyone involved.  There were rough spots and mistakes to be sure, but even with the issues that arose, there was much to enjoy in this production.  It was an entertaining evening, and future audiences will of course get a more polished performance.

Cast scene in SOT’s Macbeth. Photo by Lori Lind; courtesy of Shakespeare Opera Theatre.

Founder Lind originally trained to be a Shakespearean actor, but then became an opera singer (note: she won the Annapolis Opera annual singing competition in 2005 and is currently the Organist and Choirmaster for St. Thomas Episcopal Church in McLean, VA).  After touring the globe, she came to settle in northern Virginia and decided to start a company that combined her two loves, Shakespeare and opera; the company will be celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2025.  Macbeth tells a story of the corrupting influence of lust for power that compels Lady and Lord Macbeth to commit murder to ascend to become queen and king of Scotland in the 11th century.  Composer Giuseppe Verdi loved Shakespeare’s plays and worked with librettists Francesco Maria Piave and Andrea Maffei to translate the Bard’s work into opera, following the play as closely as they felt they could.  In opera, all or almost all of the dialog is sung.  Of necessity, this involved deletions and deviations from the source’s plot (singing takes much more time than dialog) and modifications (composing librettos for singing is different than composing dialog for speaking). 

JP Gorski as Macbeth and Monica Niemi as Lady Macbeth. Photo by Lori Lind; courtesy of Shakespeare Opera Theatre.

Dr. Lind feels that a significant impact of Shakespeare’s words and storytelling is lost in this process.  For SOT’s Macbeth, she sought to combine sections of Shakespeare’s words with sections of Verdi’s vocals and music holding on to the most critical parts of each.  She stated, “My goal with Macbeth, as with all of the Shakespeare adaptations I arrange, is to keep to the original Shakespeare story as closely as I can while employing the enhancement of masterful opera composers’ works. Many opera composers cannibalize Shakespeare and add or take away characters. This serves the necessity of time, mostly, but sometimes it's to give an aria to someone or to wrap up a story more neatly in opera conventions. They mess up complex character arcs and leave out complete side plots or the most interesting speeches and couplets."

She mentioned several specific concerns with Macbeth: “Some things are best left unspoiled, like for instance, what I call Verdi's "dudley do-right" music of Malcolm coming in to save the day. That's not what Shakespeare wrote at all, he wrote Malcolm as a very young and untested soldier who needs Macduff, Ross and the Siwards to fight for him. He's hardly the heroic figure that Verdi portrays him to be in that music, and he does not fight Macbeth, but sends others. Macduff even has a tussle with him himself when Malcolm insensitively says: ‘let's get our revenge on that tyrant for killing your family’ without giving the poor man his moment of grief. In that way, Verdi's music for A la paterna mano is a brilliant addition, but it has to be coming out of the Shakespeare scene where he says I will do so like a man (take revenge,) but first, I must feel it like a man (meaning his grief.) Combining the two forces of Shakespeare and Verdi really gives you goosebumps and gets you right in the heart. Then there is something like Macbeth's Tomorrow and tomorrow speech. It's just so meaty in spoken word, adding music to it is gilding the lily!”

left to right: Rick Knight as Lennox, Justin Meyer as Seyton, Quaine Hogan as Macduff, Xavier Flory as Malcolm, and Gene Allen as Old Siward. Photo by Lori Lind; courtesy of Shakespeare Opera Theatre.

Plenty of room there for debate I’m sure, but it is an interesting approach, creating something distinctively different from either work, combining brilliant elements of each.  With what modern directors are doing to classic operas these days, I find it an appealing alternative approach, turning classic opera into a classic opera musical, or as Shakespeare Opera Theatre calls it, without apologies, a mash-up.  If you like Shakespeare and Verdi, attend and see what you think. 

Dr. Lind also served as Stage Director, Production designer and Decorator for Macbeth.  SOT performances are fully staged with acting, costumes, sets, and piano accompaniment, the size of the venue places constraints on scene changes and the size of the chorus.  The cleverly designed, three part set for Macbeth included a castle wall, a banquet room, and a side chamber, well done.  The three witches conjure up their potions atop the castle wall.  Lighting and sound effects are created on site with some use of recorded sounds.  Shakespeare Opera Theatre utilizes interns backstage; kudos to 16-year-old Qasim Sabir who managed costumes and props and 16-year-old Samuel Lee who was in charge of lights and sounds.  Eleven-year-old Amelia Pixton (Mia) who has worked with the company since she was three-years-old performed the drumming and created some thunder sounds, as well as acting as Macduff’s son on stage.  The fight scenes were nicely choreographed by Casey Kaleba, though the large swords flying around made me a little anxious for the performers. The company does a lot with a small space to work with.  The actor/singers come and go through the sides of the set and down through the audience.  It is a very intimate setting, an excellent opportunity to experience the power of operatic singing up close.

Demi Vander Werff as Lady in Waiting and Justin Meyers as Seyton. Photo by Lori Lind; courtesy of Shakespeare Opera Theatre.

Combining two versions of Macbeth increases the roles and players needed.  This cast has 14 performers, with many playing more than one role and/or covering other roles.  The singers/actors come from across the U.S. with one from Sweden; they all performed well in this “dress rehearsal”.  The three witches (soprano Christine Cummins, mezzo-soprano Demi Vander Werff, and Swedish mezzo-soprano Louisa Anderson) were perhaps more charming than scary that evening but were a delight.  There are five principal roles in Verdi that get arias: Macbeth, played by baritone JP Gorski; Lady Macbeth, by soprano Monica Niemi; Banquo, by bass-baritone Justin Ramm-Damron; Macduff, by tenor Quaine Hogan; and Malcolm, by tenor Xavier Flory.  Each gave a good performance, and I took particular note of Mr. Ramm-Damron and Mr. Hogan.  These singers warmed up and gave their most stirring performances later in the drama.  Additional performers were Gene Allen as Duncan and Siward, Bryanna Toll in five roles, Neema Meena in three roles, Rick Knight as Lennox and Assassin, Justin Meyer as Seyton, Donette Rimmer as Lady Lennox and Queen Elizabeth I, and of course, Amelia Pixton as Macduff’s son and the Child King.  I thought that Justin Meyer as Seyton showed a theatrical flair.

The pianist for the performance was provided by Anh Nguyen, a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate at George Mason University, a recent newcomer to Shakespeare Opera Theatre.  I enjoyed the music, and it seemed well coordinated with the singers, though certain sections might have benefited from more finesse.  Kudos to the singers in the ensemble vocals and the chorus; these were perhaps my favorite parts of the evening.

JP Gorski as Macbeth confronting Louisa Anderson as Young Siward. Photo by Lori Lind; courtesy of Shakespeare Opera Theatre.

As I said, there was much to enjoy here; the mistakes in this “dress rehearsal” sort of became part of the fun.  Alas, scheduling won’t permit, but I wish that I could see it again just for enjoyment.  Dr. Lind calls this adaptation a jewel box opera; she has collected jewels from more than one source for a production.  Indeed, she has, and for all she does, kudos to Dr. Lori Lind.

The Fan Experience: Performances of Shakespeare Opera Theatre’s Macbeth were scheduled for July 12, 13, and 14 at the St. Thomas Episcopal Church in McLean; additional performances were scheduled for July 20 and 21 at The Grace Episcopal Church in The Plains.  The production’s dialog is in English and the vocals are in Italian with subtitles in English.  The performance with Dr. Lind’s comments lasted about three hours, and the cast came out to mingle with attendees after the final applause.  Given the difficulties noted in the text above, Dr. Lind offered attendees a free ticket to another performance or to another SOT production.

Shakespeare Opera Theatre performs classic works not by Shakespeare as well.  Their next production will be another jewel box production, scheduled for December 6-15, titled La Vie de Bohéme, based of course on Puccini’s La Bohéme, which goes extremely well with the holiday season.

SOT’s performances have more of a party atmosphere rather than the church service atmosphere of our major opera halls.  I found little pretense with SOT; they readily own their limitations and still managed to engage us fully.  Dress is “as you like it” and seating is at tables.  Snacks and drinks are offered for sale which can be consumed before, during, or after performances.  After a meal of Shakespeare, I frequently recall these words by Puck at the end of A Midsummer Night’s Dream:

If we shadows have offended


Think but this and all is mended


That you have but slumbered here


While these visions did appear


And this weak and idle theme


No more yielding but a dream

Wolf Trap Opera's Così fan tutte: A Surprising New Ending, or Not?

Così fan tutte (1790) is an odd duck in the Mozart/Da Ponte’s great triple play that includes The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni; it was the last of their opera collaborations.  Così is the one I liked least on first viewing and that I now look forward to the most for seeing again.  On my first viewing, a Met Opera online video, I thought Così was a silly, unrealistic opera with a dismal ending, though with some good music and vocals; I was right, on one level.  Each viewing after that became more unsettling, causing me to ask myself what was going on.  I still look forward to seeing new productions of Figaro and Giovanni, mainly because of the opportunity to see new performers in new productions.  In the case of Così fan tutte, the opera alone is front and center in making me look forward to another viewing; it’s become an old friend.

It all begins with a bet, as Ferrando (left, Lunga Eric Hallam) and Gulielmo (right, Kyle White) confront Don Alfonso (center, Wm. Clay Thompson). Photo by Shannon Flack; courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera.

Two additional factors piqued my interest for this performance.  First, I have come to appreciate Lee Anne Myslewski, Vice President of Opera and Classical Programming at Wolf Trap, for her strong advocacy for gender and racial equity in opera productions; check out the diversity in WTO’s performers and creative staff assembled for each opera.  Così has a strong element of misogyny, beginning with the title meaning “all women are like that”, with the “like that” being unfaithful to their lovers.  Something new for this version of Così was bound to be afoot.  Secondly, a good Così requires six strong singer/actors and when I looked at the backgrounds and accomplishments of the cast of emerging artists assembled by Wolf Trap Opera, I became even more excited to be attending, and my instincts proved to be sound.

Dorabella (left, Erin Wagner) and Fiordiligi (right, Renée Richardson) are distraught while Despina (center, Emily Treigle) looks on. Photo by Shannon Flack; courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera.

Keep in mind this is a comedy, and in fact, it has many amusing moments.  The plot that librettist Lorenzo da Ponte and composer Amadeus Mozart assembled for Così has two young men, Guglielmo and Ferrando, agreeing to a plan to test their fiancées’ faithfulness as a bet with an older gentleman, Don Alfonso, who insists that faithful women are as real as the Phoenix.  The men pretend to go to war and come back disguised as Albanian gentlemen who will woo their loves, the sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella in their absence.  With Alfonso’s planning and the aid of the sisters’ more worldly-wise maid Despina, the plan works; the ladies eventually succumb to the Albanians’ advances and deceptions.  Don Alfonso consoles the guys with words they should forgive and proceed to marry their girlfriends because they really love them, and they can’t do any better, i.e., all women are like that.  What led to my reaction on seeing Così for the first time was that all the action takes place in one day.  The one day was evidently a requirement of works of this type in their day, but the ladies are supposed to be in love and planning to marry the guys and then fall in love and agree to marry the Albanians in the same day?  Plus, the disguises employed by the guys and by Despina who appears as two other characters are obvious disguises used for humor; why can’t the people who know them better see through them?  All of this adds to the unreality of the opera, but the unreality may be a goal here; it allows us to see and laugh at our flaws.  One critic referred to Così as similar to a marionette show, unreal but still conveying a message.

Full cast of Così fan tutte including singers (Filene Artists) and chorus (Filene Studio Artists). Photo by Shannon Flack; courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera.

The rub comes in Così fan tutte’s resolution found in classic productions.  Don Alfonso’s cynicism is validated.  Despina is disillusioned.  The young lovers are resigned to marry, a troubling fate given what just transpired.  This happy ending sits like a bit of undigested dinner in the stomachs of the audience.  We are left hanging, with the future ahead not clear, and Mozart and Da Ponte never composed Così: the Sequel.  But isn’t that ending as real or more real than Figaro’s love conquers all or Giovanni’s righteous resolution?  Ms. Myslewski in her program note says this is a battle of the sexes where neither gender wins.  Yes, but what is the war?  I think Conductor Brandes and Director Rigazzi were on target in seeing the story as being about the loss of innocence.  Isn’t the war the one taking place within ourselves, teaching us who we really are, more by defeats than victories?  When our situation changes and challenges are confronted, what can we count on from others, or from ourselves, for that matter.  The answers to those questions can be disillusioning and life changing.  Così’s happy ending is not so happy and life goes on.  While we are laughing, Mozart/Da Ponte have thrown us a curve.  Where are our genuine selves among our wants, needs, ambitions, and societal rules?  They place the ambiguities in our laps to take home; how do we deal with our failings?  Perhaps, they intended to spread a message of the need for forgiveness given human frailty and inconsistency, but we are left wondering if these young people are going to be alright?  Are we going to be alright?  For me, along with the music and vocals, this is what makes Così fan tutte great and has me addicted.  It’s always interesting to see what spin a new director will put on the ending.  From here on, there will be spoilers. 

Ferrando (left, Lunga Eric Hallam) and Gulielmo (right, Kyle White) disguised as Albanian strangers even fool Despina (center, Emily Treigle). Photo by Shannon Flack; courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera.

Let’s move on to the good stuff we can be happy with.  First, there is Mozart’s music which is fabulous throughout the opera.  The conductor for this production is Christine Brandes, formerly a performing soprano, who has turned her career completely to conducting.  Her debut as a conductor was with the Seattle Opera in 2023.  The Wolf Trap Opera Orchestra is chamber-sized, about 30 musicians placed in the small pit, with a harpsichordist and cellist, used for recitatives, placed outside the orchestra pit.  The music features many solo instruments and small groupings in supporting singers and the mood of the scenes.  I thought the relatively small size of the orchestra allowed me to hear and appreciate the different elements of Mozart’s composition more fully than I had in past.  I always felt the playing was spot on, delightful really, and that the singers were well supported.  I have to say I was impressed.  Kudos to Maestro Brandes and thank you to the players.  I also very much enjoyed the contributions of WTO’s Studio Artists, less experienced performers who served as an excellent chorus; kudos to Chorus Master Michelle Papenfuss.  Mozart’s music is definitely one of the elements that keeps me returning.

Mozart provided all six singers with the opportunity to sing both beautiful solos and ensemble pieces that ranged from duets to sextets.  I have always felt that Mozart was the champion of ensemble vocal composing, and Così is full of them.  The six soloists are Filene Artists and all but one are returning artists.  All of these young singers performed well both acting and singing.  The role of Fiordiligi was sung by soprano Renée Richardson.  She gave us a strong willed Fiordiligi who succumbed reluctantly and sang beautifully in her higher range, garnering applause for the opera’s best-known aria, “Como Scoglio” where Fiordiligi declares her resolve to remain faithful; she also showed an engaging lower range in several numbers.  She sang a touching, “Per pietà, ben mio, perdona" where she sings “pardon the error of a loving soul”.  Ms. Richardson was well paired with mezzo-soprano Erin Wagner as Dorabella, who portrayed the more romantically adventurous sister convincingly.  Her voice has an attractive timbre especially in the softer vocals, and her torment in “ah, Scotati…Smanie implacabili” conveyed the humor and pathos of the aria.  Ms. Wagner is a new Filene Artist.  Despina was played by mezzo-soprano Emily Treigle who was again a bit hammy, but an on-stage charmer and scene stealer.  As she has done in the past for WTO, she sang well with a lovely voice.

Fiordiligi (Renée Richardson) and Dorabella (Erin Wagner) try to drown their sorrows. Photo by Shannon Flack; courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera.

Bass Wm. Clay Thompson sang the role of Don Alfonso authoritatively enough with a strong bass delivery, though his youth made me wonder how he could have become so jaded in his world view at that age; I am surprised that no one has attempted to compose an opera titled “Don Alfonso, the Early Years”.  Tenor Lunga Eric Hallam got onto my radar last year in WTO’s excellent Semele.  Mr. Hallam sang beautifully with deep emotion saying how much his love meant to him and then later when confessing he still loved Dorabella despite her infidelity.  Meaning it as a compliment, I am often reminded of Lawrence Brownlee when I hear Mr. Hallam sing.  Kyle White gave us an excellent Guglielmo, singing well, though more likeable as the young man in love than the macho man bragging of his conquest of Dorabella.

WTO’s staging of Così was excellent overall.  The one room set in white provided an attractive background focusing attention on the singers.  It was cleverly changed from saloon to drawing room, to dressing room, etc, needed for the different scenes; the stage’s frame even added its own adornments from time to time, minimizing disruption of the drama; kudos to Director Dan Rigazza and Scenic Designer Lawrence Moten.  The costume design by Lynly Saunders and lighting design by Colin K Bills added to the performance.  The displaying of scene titles on the stage frame such as Round One and Round Two were clever and amusing.  Mr. Rigazza effectively brought out the humor, keeping the audience amused.  I enjoyed the appearance of the Studio Artist as supernumeraries dressed in white costumes for the marriage scene, giving the scene a Midsummer Night’s Dream effect.

Fiordiligi (Renée Richardson) suffers facing her dilemma. Photo by Shannon Flack; courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera.

Now, let’s talk about the ending.  This was a fairly complete rendition, beginning at 7:30 and running until after 11 pm.  I was beginning to feel the need for sleep when the action took an unexpected turn.  After ladies expressed remorse for their infidelities, the guys revealed the Albanians were themselves in disguise.  Understanding their deception and abuse, Fiordiligi and Dorabella flew into a rage, cursing the guys, and even referring to Don Alfonso as a piece of excrement.  Profanity and obscene gestures flowed, and the ladies stormed off; wedding plans appeared canceled.  The final sextet had to be performed by the chorus rather than the principals.

It looked like these romances are ended, but who can say what tomorrow or next week might bring?  Believe what you wish, but “Così, the Sequel” still has not been written.  This stormy ending seemed right; it worked.  The women deserved it and it fit with the present times; it was fun to see the women kick some butt.  I had gone to sleep at the wheel and forgotten that this was WTO at work; I shouldn’t have been caught by surprise.  That said I was a little bothered by the profanity, and in retrospect, though it all seemed well justified and timely, I wonder what the audience members felt going home…that it added the appropriate balance to the ending?  That’s a good thing, but did the ending reprisal let the audience off the hook, to go home and forget about it. 

Ferrando (Lunga Eric Hallam) ponders the loss of love. Photo by Shannon Flack; courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera.

BTW, dramaturg Cori Ellison had the following statement in her program notes: “Ultimately, the men were in love with mere images of their fiancées and the women were in love with love.”  Hmmm.  That’s a tidy statement that allows us to nod and put this work of art away, case closed.  Boys will be boys and girls will claim to love them anyway.  But is it that simple?  Was there really no genuine love felt by Fiordiligi who suffered so or by Ferrando who claimed he still loved Dorabella?  Are members of a gender all like that?  Così fan tutte…it’s complicated.  Put your worry caps back on.

The Fan Experience:  Performances of Così fan tutte were scheduled for June 21, 23, 27, and 29 in the Barns at Wolf Trap.  The opera is sung in Italian with English libretto shown overhead.  The performance lasted a little over 3.5 hours.

For this performance, the stage was extended out and around an opening for the orchestra pit.  I was seated close to the stage and with this arrangement the volume of the orchestra was fine where I sat.  The Barns is a relatively small theater.  The advantage of this arrangement was that the performers could move out almost close enough to touch the audience.  Most of the opening for the orchestra pit was netted in case anyone forgot where they were.  Occasionally one could see Conductor Brandes’s hands waving at stage level out of the orchestra pit.

The Barns overall is an excellent venue for opera, intimate with good acoustics.  Even the seats at the back and in the balcony are relatively close to the performers, but some of those in the very front and in the back on the floor lack a view of the supertitles.  The floor seats are not tiered but those in the balcony are; some balcony seats are restricted view by structural posts.  Food and beverages are available before the performances and during intermissions; drinks are allowed in the theater.  During DC’s hot and humid summers, it has excellent air-conditioning.  Parking is free, plentiful and is easy-in/easy-out. 

Washington National Opera's Turandot: Turandot the Merciful Stirs the Fan Base

If you had a clear, simple response to WNO’s premiere of their new production including a new ending of Puccini’s Turandot, I envy you.  For me, this visually and emotionally engaging Turandot engendered a range of feelings, many changing over the course of the performance.  Washington National Opera sold out most of their performances this season, but not before the first performance of each opera in the season.  Turandot sold out before the first of seven performances: that’s Hamilton-like popularity.  Why this happened is an interesting question.  Maybe Washington National Opera’s reputation for quality productions coupled with an excellent cast (two actually; see below), combined with the hunger of today’s audiences for some pleasing new opera music and vocals?  Note that I said “pleasing”.  In that vein, WNO’s new production provides the security of all that Puccini wrote of Turandot before his death and an added attraction: a new ending with 18 minutes of new music and a new libretto. Also adding to the intrigue, the composer for the new ending is known for writing award-winning music for computer games; can a Turandot I game be far off?  Regardless, it was an exciting evening, and WNO has a major hit on its hands.

Prince Calaf (Yonghoon Lee) and Princess Turandot (Ewa Plonka) in front with Emperor Altoum (Neil Shicoff) at top of stairs. Photo by Corey Weaver; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

The tale of this production is itself an interesting story.  Turandot was written in 1924 by composer Giacomo Puccini with a libretto by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni.  Following his death, Puccini’s family commissioned his student Franco Alfano to compose new music for the ending based on Puccini’s sketches; the new music begins with the Calaf/Turandot confrontation following Liu’s demise and processional.  When first performed in 1926, famous conductor Arturo Toscanini stopped where Puccini had left off and departed the stage in honor of his friend Puccini; subsequent performances included Alfano’s ending that uses the original libretto by Adami and Simoni.  While other companies have massaged the ending, Alfano’s is the one that is still primarily produced today.  At 100 years old, the opera has entered the public domain giving companies a freer hand in making changes.  Opera Delaware will produce Turandot with its own new ending next week, with some tickets remaining. 

The fairytale plot of Turandot is based on a commedia dell’arte play of Gozzi which is based on a Persian story.  The opera tells the story of a Chinese Princess from long ago who required any suitor seeking her hand in marriage to correctly answer three riddles; there was a catch, the punishment for failure was death.  Thirteen had tried and failed.  Enter Prince Calaf who answers the riddles correctly.  Turandot still resists but finally falls in love after a single, uninvited kiss from Calaf, who then reveals his name.  Puccini was still struggling when he died to come up with an ending that satisfactorily made sense of Turandot’s turn around.  My son, on experiencing the opera for the first time, said that only in opera can there be a love story about a mass murderer.  Other concerns in modern day audiences have been its historical misrepresentations and concerns with the opera reinforcing prejudicial stereotypes of Asian people, and importantly its treatment of women.  Personally, I have always viewed Turandot as a Grimm-like preposterous fairy tale where love conquers all in the end.  The plot was far-fetched and not satisfying, but oh my goodness, the music and vocals were out of this world.  Calaf’s aria “Nessun dorma” is perhaps the most famous in all of opera.

Timur (Peixin Chin) tries to comfort Liu (Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha). Photo by Corey Weaver; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

WNO’s artistic director of the last fourteen years, Francesca Zambello, had never been happy with Turandot’s ending, and it has not been performed by WNO since 2009.  With the opera entering the public domain, she decided to invest in and direct a new version.  Working with composer Christopher Tin and librettist Susan Soon He Stanton, the decision was made to make the background story of the brutal nature of the warlord control of China in that period more apparent in the opera and to change the ending to make it more understandable that Turandot, rather than being heartless, had a heart hardened by events – from Ms. Zambello’s program note, “She rules as she has been ruled: with brutal tyranny.”  To their credit, this new production and the new ending work.  I suspect it will be adopted by many other opera companies, especially given its bottom line of success for WNO. 

That said, far be it from me not to quibble as I meander through the issues.  I grant that names of ministers - Ping, Pang, and Pong - has always made me wince at the racial overtones.  However, they have provided the much-needed comic relief in this bloody tale.  Comic relief is in short supply in WNO’s version.  WNO’s calling them by their minister position name is accurate, but their portrayal as frustrated bureaucrats in a totalitarian regime was not that amusing.  Plus, the inaccurate portrayal of China allowed designer Franco Zeffirelli to create, and audiences to enjoy, his fabulous staging that adds a measure of charm to the opera.  In fact, I found WNO’s version to be rather dreary until the sure-footed female dancers in military outfits started dancing.  Somehow, WNO does make the redemption of a woman who bumped off 13 suitors more acceptable, and it does have more of a feel-good ending.  Let’s not forget that this is a fairy tale meant to convey a message overall.  Fairy tales have the charm of letting you get the moral feel good without believing the story.  Yes, if it also promulgates harmful messages, that needs to be addressed.  So, on the measure, I contend that Washington National Opera’s 2024 Turandot is the better version, though improving the story alone would not make it so overall.  We continue…

The three ministers at work: l to r - Chancellor (Ethan Vincent), Head Chef (Jonathan Pierce Rhodes), and Majordomo (Sahel Salam). Photo by Corey Weaver; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

Francesca Zambello reliably gives great show; she is a Washington DC treasure.  She and WNO general director Timothy O’Leary displayed bravery in moving this project forward.  She noted in her pre-opera talk that this was Puccini’s largest effort in terms of people and staging involved – ten singers, ten dancers, a sixty-member adult chorus and a twenty-member children’s chorus, a 73-piece orchestra and a 14-piece off stage banda, in addition to creative staff for set design, costume design, hair and makeup, and production staff for staging.  There were over 250 individuals involved in this production.  I noted that at times the stage was as packed with performers as the sold-out theater was with audience members.  Bravi to all and kudos for a well-deserved success!

Composer Christopher Tin is a two-time Grammy award winner.  Perhaps that gave him the courage to compose new music in juxtaposition to some of Puccini’s greatest when this is his first opera composition; for insight into his approach to this task, check out his Youtube video at this link. My hearing was that it was a job well done, interesting in orchestration, pleasing to the ear, and working well coupled to the vocals containing the new libretto.  There is a video clip sample of the new ending at this link. Guest conductor Speranza Scappucci and the WNO Orchestra played the music of both Puccini and Tin beautifully, though a few times I would have preferred a bit more volume to match the power of the singers for this production.  The new libretto by Susan Soon He Stanton, an award winning screenwriter for the HBO series, Succession, included some beautiful poetry working well with Mr. Tin’s music, though more direct in messaging than that of Adami and Simoni, in creating Turandot the Merciful.  I especially liked Calaf pleading, “My love has broken everything except hope.”  Then, by will and courage Turandot rises above her dark side and turns a brutal military regime into an open and fair-minded democracy through the redemptive power of love.  Maybe it was a little over the top; as Turandot says to Calaf at one point, “Pretty words.” Yet, I accepted it because it is a fairytale, and I wanted to believe it, maybe I do believe it.  In this version, it is Turandot who initiates the first kiss, but not until Calaf has risked his life by divulging his name.  One line might have been better earlier in the scene: when Turandot hearing his name declares she has won and Calaf says, “I don’t have to lose for you to win”, there was a smattering of laughter from the audience in a highly dramatic moment.  Let me restate that I liked the new libretto a lot.

A scene from WNO’s new production of Turandot with dancers in the front. Photo by Corey Weaver; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

The powerful cast for Turandot for the first five performances features star soprano Ewa Plonka as Princess Turandot.  She has a high soprano voice, forced in this role to mainly sing at near maximum power, which she did well.  She sang beautifully but the outstanding feature of her performance was her acting, regal and confident in every way and more than that, projecting a heartless persona.  This is a performance not to miss, but there are no tickets left.  Calaf, also a demanding role to sing, was played by excellent tenor Yonghoon Lee who possesses a lovely resonant voice.  He met every challenge and turned in a fine “Nessun dorma”.  Mr. Lee previously appeared with WNO in their 2017 Aida.  Perhaps the most standout of several standout performances of the evening was given by soprano Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha in the smaller role of servant girl Liu.  Her lovely voice was pitch perfect all evening.  The role of Liu is a known for being a potential scene stealer, and Ms. Rangwanasha took full advantage.  Another fine performance given was that of bass Peixin Chen as Timur, the disposed king of Tartary and father of Calaf.  He sang well with a strong, appealing bass voice.  His strength and power made him seem ready to retake the throne.

The remaining named singers were also a pleasure to see and hear.  I will only single out one more for comment, tenor Neil Shicoff who played the role of the Emperor.  This is a small role that usually passes me by, but it was a small, featured role in this performance performed by renown singer who Ms. Zambello convinced to return to the stage.  His singing and performance as an elderly ruler caused me to take notice of this role in the opera.  Also, there were eighty other singers, sixty in the WNO’s adult chorus and twenty in the children’s role.  In this opera, the choruses are featured in almost every scene, and these two were standouts.  Kudos to them and chorus master Steven Gathman. 

The stranded bands of Beijing outsiders huddle while awaiting thier fate. Photo by Corey Weaver; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

WNO’s staging of Turandot was updated from ancient China to something more mid-twentieh century China of a militaristic, authoritarian society.  The set by Wilsin Chin was an oppressive contruction of frame and flooring that wrapped around and from top to bottom of the stage until the ending scene.  The costumes by Linda Cho were mostly a serious grey both of the officials and the culturally mixed people in the courtyard who were stranded in Beijing after their prince’s head was chopped off.  For me, the dancers with choreography by Jessica Lang and Kanji Segawa were a delight, a bit of pleasure in an unfun society.  The movements of the performers and the flow of the story were well configured by Director Zambello, with her usual professional touches like having a follower brutally pushed back when trying to comfort the prince going to his execution and the placement of the guillotine scaffold against the backdrop of a full moon once the wrap around frame opens up at the final scene. Lighting design was by Amith Chandrashaker and projection design by S. Katy Tucker. Looking at photos to select for this blog report gave me a much higher appreciation for this work’s set, costume, lighting. and projection design than I had at the performance. They are exceptional.

Kudos to Washington National Opera for providing a much anticipated and rewarding night at the opera.  The new production with a new ending successfully achieved its goals.  After this one, you still may not like Princess Turandot, but you will understand her better, and the primary message of the opera, the redemptive power of love, comes through more clearly and thus, more powerfully in this version.  Now the challenge rests with us, to apply that force in our own lives.  One wonders what the ending might have been if Puccini had been given more time, likely striving for the same effect.  Judged as entertainment, this and Alfano’s version were closer in merit, but in meeting opera’s goal of being a humanizing influence, WNO’s is the winner. For the record, my wife was even more enthusiastic about the new production and ending than I was and feels I should have used more superlatives in describing the performance. Sigh…

The Fan Experience: WNO scheduled performances of Turandot for May 11, 13, 17, 19, 22, 24, 25.  Performances on May 24 and 25 will have a different cast.  The opera is sung in Italian with English subtitles shown overhead.  The performance lasts 2.5 hrs not including a 25 minute intermission.  This is a new production with a world premiere ending and is a coproduction of WNO, Opèra de Montrèal, and Dallas Opera.  May 11 was the WNO Gala performance of the opera.  A pre-opera talk is available one hour before curtain time for ticket holders. While performances are sold out, some tickets get returned to the Kennedy Center which are then made available; try checking the website or calling the box office frequently if you wish to snag a ticket.

Parking in the Kennedy Center is typically plentiful at around $25 per day, with a small discount for Kennedy Center members when reserved ahead of the day.  The Metro to Foggy Bottom and the free red Kennedy Center buses, from there to the Kennedy Center running every 15 minutes, are an excellent option.  There is an advantage in getting there a bit early.  KC frequently has multiple performances on its different stages overlapping that can create traffic jams.

There are snack stands in the main lobby, and on the Terrace level, the KC Café offers food cafeteria style at moderate prices; fine dining is available on the Terrace level in the Roof Terrace Restaurant.  Food and drinks except water are not allowed inside the opera house, but you can purchase reusable capped containers with your drinks that you can take inside. Take the container back with you on your next KC visit to get a discount on your drink.

Opera Lafayette's Les Fêtes de Thalie: Entertainments Without Sadness

Opera Lafayette is an 18th century French opera company in present day, combining elements of the Paris Opera and the Opera Comique, often Americanized in presentation but always authentic in its approach to the music.  OL serves two metropolitan areas – Washington DC and New York City, while maintaining strong connections to performers and musicologists in France, even having performed at Versailles.  They are in the process this month of concluding their 2023-2024 season with their final production in DC and a festival including two of three productions from this season plus a gala in NYC.  Thus, with Mouret’s Les Fêtes de Thalie, they bring to an end a season whose theme has been the influence of Madame de Maintenon, the second wife of Louis XIV, on French music.  It also concludes three consecutive seasons of exploring the roles of famous French women in influencing French music; Madame de Pompadour and Marie Antionette were themes in the previous two years.  I’ve about run out of superlatives to use for a company that so consistently provides delightful and culturally enriching programs not often performed today or heard elsewhere, and Fêtes is no exception.  OL’s Les Fête de Thalie was a modern premiere of the work, not performed for the last 250 years according to Ryan Brown, the Founder and Artistic Director of Opera Lafayette. 

Cast ensemble at ending of Les Fêtes de Thalie. Photo by Jennifer Packard Photography; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

Frankly, Madame de Maintenon was a bit of a buzz kill and Fêtes was a counter reaction to that dampening.  Her influence on the king gave her influence over presentations at court.  She also had strong influence on the education of young women.  More detail can be found in  OperaGene’s reports on OL’s two previous productions this season, Couperin le Grand and From Saint-Cyr to Cannons: Moreau and Handel’s Ester.  While she possessed fine qualities of high moral purpose, Madame de Maintenon persuaded a previously fun-loving king later in life to limit and largely restrict music and theater performances at Versailles to productions consistent with her views on morality, lacking sexual innuendo.  The music scene in Paris became more progressive and increasingly influenced by Italian composers and artists, becoming more distanced from the Royal Court.  In the opera-ballet, Les Fêtes de Thalie (1714), composer Jean-Joseph Mouret and librettist Joseph de La Font championed comedy in opera and introduced the audience to real life characters they could see as themselves rather than royalty and gods, the primary characters in previous French operas.  Mouret’s opera-ballet also strayed from the five-act continuous story plotline to a prologue and three scenes related only by theme, later revised to include an ending Critique scene in response to criticisms of the work’s progressive aspects.  Mouret’s opera-ballet enjoyed great success for the next fifty years.  While it did not completely change the Paris opera scene, it did have an impact due to that success.

Apollo (Jonathan Woody) tries to reason with Melpoméne (Angel Azzarra) on his right and Thalie (Paulina Francisco) on his left. Photo by Jennifer Packard Photography; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

Composer Mouret is not well known today although one piece of his music is; he wrote the opening theme used by PBS’ series Masterpiece Theater, a rondeau from his Suite de Symphonies heard by millions worldwide.  He wrote a few other operas that achieved a measure of success and some that did not, none performed today.  He was very successful as a composer of music for salons and the theater.  His music and vocals are very tuneful and lively, some with pathos, very pleasing to the ear and quite representative of French baroque music, primarily featuring strings with flavorings from flute/recorder, woodwinds, and light percussion, and harpsichord for vocals and recitative.  The most attention-grabbing music in Fêtes to me was in the third vignette, a bit more demonstrative and colorful.  This version of the opera-ballet was created by harpsichordist Korneel Bernolet.  The 23-member Opera Lafayette Orchestra in the pit directed by renown conductor Christophe Rousset played Mouret’s music expertly and beautifully accompanying singers and dancers, making for an enjoyable, highly pleasing evening.  The Terrace Theater pit was quite deep and Mr. Rousset jumped up and down a few times to be seen and start the comedy.  Mr. Rousset also conducted and played harpsichord in OL’s Couperin le Grand.  

Captain Acaste (Jean-Bernard Cerin) receives entreaty from mother Belise (Patrick Kilbride). Photo by Jennifer Packard Photography; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

This was Opera Lafayette’s most ambitious project of the season, taking some 5-6 years in conception, study, and delivery, according to Mr. Brown.  Fêtes tells three different stories of love and women in different stages of life (the Girl, the Coquettish Widow, and the Wife), in addition to a Prologue to explain the premise and an ending Critique to settle an operatic argument.  Nine singers are employed, most singing multiple roles and performing excellently as members of the chorus when off stage.  In addition, featured were eight dancers, including five choreographers, from two different dance companies, with each scene including a different style of dance.  Many singers also added some dance moves.  Director Catherine Turocy did a marvelous job staging the action, moving so many players around the modest size stage of the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater, and enhancing comic elements that were not so subtle.  The set was limited to a few props (Deborah Thomas) and lighting effects (Christopher Brusberg) which sufficed with so much going on to capture our attention.  Each scene was a different setting (Jeffery Martin) and required different costumes (Marie Anne Chiment), covering a large swath of eras from the Greek muses to a modern-dressed emissary from Apollo laying down the law.  The subtitles in English shown overhead with some absenteeism, especially for a segment when the Widow was presumably explaining her feelings. 

A seated father Cléon (Jonathan Woody) and mother Belise (Patrick Kilbride) watch sailor dancers perform. Photo by Jennifer Packard Photography; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

(spoilers occur in the remainder of the report) The Prologue features an argument between the muses of tragedy, Melpomène, and comedy, Thalie, over which should control the opera stage.  Appearing first in a shimmering royal purple robe and commanding the stage briefly alone was soprano Angel Azzarra whose powerful, dramatic voice explained the seriousness of the situation.  This quickly turned seriously funny as soprano Paulina Francisco with a lighter, more lyrical sound and dressed in punk rock, sassy attire appeared to claim the comedies’ turn, stating that people weary of crying while no one tires of laughing.  Apollo, the Greek god of music, exasperated and compromising, is forced to appear to settle the issue.  Handsomely played and sung by OL regular, bass-baritone Jonathan Woody dressed in a suit, rules tragedies will be performed in the winter and comedies in the summer, apparently a real trend in operas of the day.  Singers and dancers appeared on the stage for a rousing, comical finale to the scene.

Suitor Léandre (Scott Brunscheen) and Doris (Angel Azzerra) observe suitor Chrisogon state his case, while Isabel (Pascale Beaudin) listens, hiding in the back. Photo by Jennifer Packard Photography; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

La fille (The Girl): the first of the three theme-linked stories takes place in a harbor where a father, Cléon played by Mr. Woody, arrived after an extended absence to reclaim his wife and family, having been extracted from capture by Captain Acaste.  Acaste was well played and sung by tenor Jean-Bernard Cerin who is also the suitor for his daughter, Léonore.  She is more modestly sung and played with hesitation to marry by Ms. Francisco.  OL veteran, tenor Patrick Kilbride in a skirt role appeared as Belise, the mother who is unware her husband is back and has a yearning for Acaste herself.  Acaste plays to her desire to make Léonore jealous.  Mr. Kilbride’s mother portrayal is sung and played beautifully, funny and convincing; he steals the scene.  Additional singers (John Taylor Ward and Ariana Wehr) and dancers (Julian Donahue, Patrick Pride, and Julia Bengtsson) as sailors joined in an entertaining closing to the scene.  Mr. Ward’s aria, an affirmation of marital love, was warm and touching.

Widow Isabel (Pascale Beaudin) joins in with party dancers. Photo by Jennifer Packard Photography; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

La Vueve Coquette (the Coquettish Widow): In a country scene, Isabel, sung with a lovely tone and played with coquettishness by soprano Pascale Beaudin, sings that there are some advantages of widowhood, a thematic bookend to Léonore’s citing the advantages of not getting married in the first place.  Her friend Doris, ably played and sung by Angel Azzarra, pleads with her to pick one of her two suitors to marry.  The two suitors arrive to plead their case, Léandre, a military man played by tenor Scott Brunscheen, and Chrisogon, a rich businessman, played by bass-baritone John Taylor Ward.  Both sang beautifully, Mr. Bruhscheen with military resolve and Mr. Ward with a financier’s swagger.  Chrisogon has ordered up an entertainment, a village wedding party, to win Isabel’s favor.  Soprano Ariana Wehr sang compellingly, extolling the virtues of marriage and Pragnya Thamire provided a lovely bride, while dancers Mytreyi Nair, Deviga Valiyil, Julian Donahue, and Siri Tanjore made it a party.  A moment of potential sadness occurred at the end as Isabel chose neither suitor but was quickly turned to laughter as both singers sang that life with one less mistress wasn’t so bad.

Spouses Caliste (Pascale Beaudin) and Dorante (Jean-Bernard Cerin) with masks and emotional distance removed. Photo by Jennifer Packard Photography; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

La Femme (the Wife): In a costume party ballroom scene that would fit well at the Venetian Carnivale, Caliste, played and sung with resolve by Pascale Beaudin ponders her husband Dorante’s sexual adventure with a woman who he has fallen for but who had not revealed her face as yet, with a theme of how to keep love current in a long term relatiohship.  The husband, played and sung with fickleness by Jean-Bernard Cerin pleads with the object of his desire to remove her mask.  Meanwhile, Caliste’s friend Dorine, played and sung with brightness and charm by Ariana Wehr, her standout role of the opera-ballet, worries her husband Zerbin might be doing the same thing, though Zerbin played and sung with party-reluctance as a wing man for Dorante by Scott Brunscheen remains faithful to Dorine.  Dorante incriminates himself time and again, but when the potentially murderous moment of mask removal arrives to reveal the woman was Caliste, Dorante declares this proves Caliste is the only one he loves and Caliste accepts him back willingly.  We were treated to dancers (Julian Donahue, Patrick Pride, Julia Bengtsson, and Adele Lorraine) performing during most of the entire scene.

Costume party dancers perform. Photo by Jennifer Packard Photography; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

In the ending Critique, Polyhymnia, the Muse of Music, played and sung by Ariana Wehr, appears to credit the opera-ballet’s success to its music while Thalie (Paulina Francisco) reappears to give the credit to her libretto, making snippy remarks to each other.  They are joined by Terpsichore, the Muse of Dance, played and sung by Pascale Beaudin to give all the credit to the dancing.  Each singer delights but it is the arrival of Apollo’s emissary Momus, the god of mockery, who settles the argument: all added value to the opera-ballet.

Terpsichore has reminded me to add another word about the inclusion of dance.  I am happy to because I am always happy to see dance included in opera productions.  There were four dancers each from two opera companies that OL has worked with before: Kalinidhi Dance, with dances choreographed by Anuradha Nehru and Pragnya Thamire, and the New York Baroque Dance Company, with dances choreographed by Julia Bengtsson, Julian Donahue, and Caroline Copeland.  I most enjoyed the dances in the widow and wife scenes.  The Indian dance moves with clapping and foot stamping by the Kalinidhi dancers in the widow scene were a treasure, and the fancy and elegant moves at the costume party by the baroque dancers were thrilling.

Momus (Patrick Kilbride) reaches judgment on the cases made by Thalie (Paulina Francisco), Terpsichore (Pascale Beaudin), and Polyhymnia (Ariana Wehr). Photo by Jennifer Packard Photography; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

It's easy to understand why Les Fêtes de Thalie was huge success in its day, liberating to some degree a repressed society from strict entertainment rules, reminiscent I think of arrival of rock and roll in the America of the 1950s, i.e. the Ed Sullivan variety show on TV would not show Elvis below the waist, his gyrations offending many of the older set.  I also agree with Momus that each element of opera-ballet, the music and singing, the story and poetry, and dance are gifts to its audience.  It is also easy to see how such a work as Fêtes could be successful today in a time when we can sorely use some entertainments without sadness, especially if delivered with the extensive investigation, authenticity, the high quality of performers, charm, and delight of Opera Lafayette productions. Once again, OL has brought forward a mostly forgotten, but still worthy, work within a framework fully accessible to modern audiences. Bravo!

The Fan Experience: Opera Lafayette scheduled performances for Les Fêtes de Thalie on May 3 and 4 in the Terrace Theater of the Kennedy Center.  The performance was about 2.5 hours including one intermission.  The opera-ballet was performed in French with English subtitles shown overhead.  Soprano Margot Rood was originally part of the cast but had to withdraw due to health reasons; her roles were sung by Paulina Francisco.

Opera Lafayette is offering a printed program book for the season of Madame de Maintenon for a $5 charge; it includes expert essays for each of this season’s productions.  An online version is available for free at this link.  The pre-opera talk hosted by Ryan Brown and featuring a talk by music historian Professor Rebecca Harris-Warrick took place one hour before the performance.  She worked with Opera Lafayette in planning this work and has a feature article in the program book.  I searched in vain for a recording of the opera-ballet.

An OL fund raising gala is planned for May 7 in NYC and performances in NYC were scheduled for:

October 26, 2023, Couperin Le Grand at the Kosciuszko Foundation

May 7, 2024, Les Fêtes de Thalie at Museo del Barrio

May 9, 2024, From Saint-Cyr to Cannons: Moreau and Handel’s Ester in St. Peter’s Church

Opera Philadelphia's Madame Butterfly: Brilliant Theater and a Fine Work of Art

There was an unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach when I sat down Saturday night in the Academy of Music to watch Opera Philadelphia’s new production of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly.  The company had widely broadcast that with this production they wanted to address the harm done by the work’s orientalism and creation and promulgation of the stereotype of the submissive Asian woman…and Cio Cio San would be partially played by a puppet!  Were they going to blow up this truly great operatic work, beloved by millions over its 120-year history?  It didn’t help that NY Times critic Zachary Woolfe had published an article three weeks ahead of the opera’s opening night, accusing it of seeming “to want to apologize for the production’s very existence”.  I am happy to be able to report that, to the contrary, this production features amazing singing, brilliant theater, the opera’s great music and libretto intact, offering a more complex treatment of Puccini’s great opera. 

Cio Cio San (Karen Chia-Ling Ho and puppet) with puppet artists Hua Hua Zhang and Jacinta Yelland in the background. Photo by Sofia Negron; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

Madame Butterfly (1904) by Giacomo Puccini and librettists Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on the eponymous play by David Belasco, tells the tragic story of a 15-year-old Geisha, Cio Cio San, known by her friends as Butterfly.  She has fallen in love with and decided to cast her fate with Lt. Pinkerton of the US Navy at the turn of the 20th century, a time when Japan was still a mysterious Far Eastern country that the West knew little about.  Enchanted and infatuated with Cio Cio San’s doll like behavior, Pinkerton arranges to marry her through the marriage broker Goro and buys a home for them in Nagasaki.  Spoiler alert for the following description: Cio Cio San has totally committed to the relationship, even adopting the Christian religion, causing her family to disown her.  Pinkerton never intended permanence, planning to have a “real marriage” one day with an American woman back home.  Pinkerton soon returns to the US, promising his Japanese bride he will return.  Cio Cio San endures three years without him, remaining faithful and hopeful.  When he learns that she has born him a son, now three years old, he returns with his American wife intent on taking his son back to the US.  Cio Cio San agrees if Pinkerton will come to see her.  When he arrives, she has ended her life.

Cio Cio San (puppet and Karen Chia-Ling Ho) and Lt. Pinkerton (Anthony Ciaramitaro). Photo by Sofia Negron; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

Opera Philadelphia wanted this to be a new version of the opera and consulted with members of the Asian community for advice.  They engaged Yuki Izumihara for production design and Ethan Heard, as director.  Mr. Heard is the co-founder of Heartbeat Opera, celebrated for presenting classic operas modernized for today’s audiences.  He wanted to create a staging that addressed the issues of stereotyping and cultural misinterpretation.  Several times in the opera, Cio Cio San is referred to as doll-like.  Ms. Izumihara who first saw Madame Butterfly in 2019 loved the music but was made uncomfortable, feeling “uprooted” by the text.  She asserts that Puccini and others fell into a trap by creating false images that live on, especially for works as popular as Puccini’s opera.  She conceived the idea of having Cio Cio San played by a real doll, a puppet, explaining that in Japan dolls are not simply thrown away but given a proper good-bye.  She desired to “put our emphasis on the future – positivity and empowerment”.

Pinkerton (Anthony Ciaramitaro) and Cio Cio San (puppet and Karen Chia-Ling Ho). Photo by Sofia Negron; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

One can easily find articles by both American and Japanese authors that criticize Madame Butterfly and Puccini’s Turandot for engaging in orientalism as well as ones that defend Puccini’s efforts.  Other companies have produced Butterfly versions attempting to address these issues, ranging from having Cio Cio San in a California Japanese internment camp of WWII to having the entire production be a figment of Pinkerton’s imagination.  OP’s version keeps things the same as the original but adds depth to Cio Cio San’s character.  At the same time, there has been no outcry of strong support to stop performing the opera traditionally anywhere, as yet.  The music is universally loved, and the opera is one of the most popular today, even in Japan, where many accept it for what it is in order to enjoy the music.  Personally, my reaction to Cio Cio San over many performances has been to regard her as a strong and willful young person trying to survive and find a better life, having lost wealth and societal standing after her father committed suicide at the request of the emperor, and who needed to support herself in a male dominated society demanding strict adherence to societal rules.  That’s a lot of weight to carry.  She endures yet another tragedy and loss of honor when she is misled by the privileged American Pinkerton, who deceived himself that his actions were not harmful, despite warnings from the consul Sharpless.  

Cio Cio San (puppet and Karen Chia-Ling Ho behind) seek assurance from conflicted consul Sharpless (Anthony Clark Evans). Photo by Sofia Negron; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

I suppose that truth in advertising required OP to make their intentions widely known, but I almost wish they had saved that discussion until the work had been seen.  This production is a fine work of art that for me is justified on that basis alone.  It adds a modern element of depth to the lead character with the spiritual side beginning to sense all is not well, while allowing Puccini’s great music and the universality inherent in the story to endure.  It is also a clarion call to everyone to see the “other”, whether the person across the ocean or next door, as the complex, whole individual that they are.

The cast for this production was outstanding.  Cio Cio San was played by Opera Philadelphia newcomer, soprano Karen Chia-Ling Ho with a naturalness that made me believe it was Cio Cio San singing.  The puppet played the doll persona that Pinkerton fantasized, and the soprano played her spirit, singing as one.  Ms. Ho has a lovely voice that she embodies with heart-piercing emotion, singing the role beautifully while amazingly serving for much of the opera as a puppet handler.  She was assisted at times in that effort by two handlers on stage in dark uniforms, Hua Hua Zhang, the creator of the puppet and Jacinta Yelland.  The puppet Cio Cio San gave an academy award performance, bending the entire audience to her will.  She was captivating with head movements and gestures fully displaying the emotions she was experiencing, at times loving in Pinkerton’s arms and at times shaking on the floor from fear and heartbreak.  I was drawn into the fantasy.

Maid Suzuki (Kristen Choi) chastises marriage broker Goro (Martin Bakari). Photo by Sofia Negron; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

Newcomer to OP, tenor Anthony Ciaramitaro who played Pinkerton has a powerful instrument, and sang marvously, a very satisfying Pinkerton.  Baritone Anthony Clark Evans, last seen at OP as Rigoletto also sang well and was convincing as the conflicted consul.  OP veteran Kristen Choi, amazing in everything she does, was a standout, singing and acting as Cio Cio San’s maid Suzuki, whether trying to soothe her mistress or expressing the trauma of what was happening.  Tenor Martin Bakari provided an effective Goro, the marriage broker.  There were many supporting cast members who participated effectively in supporting the drama and enhancing the production.  In other solo roles, baritone Kyle Miller played the role of the suitor Yamadori and mezzo-soprano Anne Marie Stanley played the role of Kate Pinkerton.  The son was well played by young actor Jayden Wu.

The happy morning of Pinkerton’s arrival for (l to r) Cio Cio San (Karen Chia-Ling Ho and puppet backed by puppet artists), the son Trouble (Jayden Wu), and Suzuki (Kristen Choi). Photo by Sofia Negron; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

Puccini’s gorgeous music for Madame Butterfly is critical in powerfully conveying the emotions in this drama.  The Opera Philadelphia Orchestra led by Conductor Corrado Rovaris played the score beautifully.  I was aware time and again of how I was being affected, with my emotions led and enhanced by the music.  Puccini’s use of themes from Japanese folk songs and the US national anthem has been criticized at times, but the beauty of the music cannot be challenged.  Director Heard chose to place the Opera Philadelphia Chorus in boxes on each side of the stage, creating a pleasing enhanced stereophonic effect.  The chorus was a strong addition to the performance singing with clarity and feeling, led by Chorus Master Elizabeth Braden.

Reality sets in and Cio Cio San (puppet backed by puppet artist and Karen Chia-Ling Ho) decides she cannot tolerate a life of dishonor. Photo by Sofia Negron; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

The set for the production was a sparely furnished room in Pinkerton’s house, with a model of the house on a substantial, ornate dining table.  A screen behind the room showed atmospheric images with the viewing area opening and closing following the movements of the performers.  The costumes for the principals and supporting cast were appropriate.  Clearly, the focus of this production was on the characterizations and the emotions of the singer actors.  The novel use of puppetry was undoubtedly a contributing factor in the strong attendance at the performances.  The beautiful and entrancing puppet was made by Philadelphia-based puppet artist Hua Hua Zhang, also on stage as the chief puppeteer.  The life-like movements were very effective in eliciting reactions from the audience.

Another novel and affecting element of the performance was OP’s use of the opportunity during the musical interlude between acts at the beginning of act III to show photos and a listing of accomplishments on the screen at the back of the set of Japanese and Japanese American women activists surrounding the time period of the opera, offering strong counterexamples to the submissive woman stereotype.

I recommend seeing both the traditional versions of Madame Butterfly and Opera Philadelphia’s version, keeping an open mind and an awareness of the issues during both. 

 The Fan Experience: Madame Butterfly performances were scheduled for April 26, 28, May 3 and 5.  The limited tickets remaining can be accessed through this link.  Performed in Italian with English supertitles.

Opera Baltimore's The Impresario: Hilarity and Heart in a True Story(s)

For Opera Baltimore’s concluding opera of the season, the company chose to present Mozart’s The Impresario, creatively expanded and personalized, in celebration of the company’s 15th anniversary.  In outline, Mozart’s work is a one-act German singspiel that tells the story, in comedic fashion, of a competition between rival sopranos for a role in an opera company.  Artistic and General Director Julia Cooke had made the decision to involve and empower the singers she employed to help develop their roles and relationships.  OB’s singers used the opera’s plotline to tell their characters’ stories, shaded by their experience and exaggerated for comedic effect, all illuminating the underlying challenges faced by opera companies.  The Impresario was selected in part to add opera comedy to the line-up.  The performances were intended to be spirited fun, enriching for both performers and patrons; and, in that they succeeded, but like with the best comedies, there were touching moments as well.

The impresario (Gina Perregrino) takes a phone call. Photo by Caitlin Moore Photography; courtesy of Opera Baltimore.

Mozart intended for The Impresario to be a bit of non-serious fun. In 1786, Emperor of the Austrian empire, Franz Josef, assigned both Antonio Salieri, the court opera director and the leading composer of the day, and Mozart, whom he also employed as a composer, the task of composing a musical work as entertainment for a family dinner.  The emperor wished to demonstrate his commitment to support both Italian, Salieri’s task, and German opera, Mozart’s task (the Viennese largely spoke German).  He had stages set up at opposite ends of a long palatial hallway with eighty invitees dining in the middle.  Mozart’s German singspiel, The Impresario, less than an hour long with only 24 minutes of music, was performed first and was followed by Salieri’s Italian buffa opera.  Reports of the experience favored Salieri’s comedic Italian opera as the winner, but history has selected Mozart’s German “play with music” which is still performed today, often by college opera companies.  Mozart wrote an overture, two solo arias, and two ensemble numbers for the work.  The original libretto by Johann Gottlieb Stephanie, especially the spoken dialog is often modified by opera companies to include additional humor that works today.

l to r: Madame Goldentrill (Robin Steitz), the agent Mr. Angel (Jason Garcia-Kakuk), and Mademoiselle Silverpeal (Emily Casey); the rivalry begins. Photo by Caitlin Moore Photography; courtesy of Opera Baltimore.

Opera Baltimore commissioned Eric McKeever, screen writer and performing baritone, who has previously worked with the company, to write a new libretto and script; Ms. Cooke brainstormed with him about stories and character presentations.  The non-singing impresario in the original was named Frank.  OB changed the name and the gender to Francine, a la Ms. Cooke, OB’s impresario, and Francine was given an aria and a duet (Ms. Cooke is a former singer).  Additional operatic arias and comic elements were utilized lengthening the singspiel to around two hours.  The script made fun of just about everything, including poking fun at the company’s name for being confused with previous area companies now out of business.  Some of the arias were sung using original text and language and some were altered to English and modified to fit the story line and to work with Mozart’s music.  An interesting aspect demonstrating Ms. Cooke’s emphasis on empowering the singers was that the two competing sopranos sang both the aria that Mozart assigned to each and were allowed to add an aria of their choice, picked to emphasize their talents, much as they would do when competing for roles in real life. 

Madame Goldentrill (Robin Steitz) performs from the floor for the impresario (Gina Perregrino) and her assistant Herr Bluff (Henrique Cavalho). Photo by Caitlin Moore Photography; courtesy of Opera Baltimore.

The cast was made up of five excellent, accomplished young singers.  Francine was played by mezzo-soprano Gina Perregrino, who had one aria adapted from Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito and a soprano duet adapted from Le Nozze di Figaro.  It was well done, and it was a treat to have a mezzo voice added to the mix.  She had even more dialog and acted convincingly as Ms. Cooke…uh, I mean the beleaguered impresario in charge, serving as an anchor for the fictious company Opera Baltimore and for the performance overall.  Her “not-so-good-at-assisting assistant” Herr Bluff was played by baritone Henrique Carvalho.  His role was expanded to make him an aspiring singer, and he was given an aria adapted from Le Nozze di Figaro, which was performed with the enthusiasm and earnestness of an aspiring singer.  Tenor Jason Garcia-Kakuk played a singing role as Angel, a “wily slick” agent, presenting the cases for both sopranos to the impresario and trying to subdue the war between them.  He sang well in two trios with the sopranos, and his portrayal as a wise guy with a NYC accent was amusing.  The two sopranos were both comedic delights both with acting and their vocal embellishments.  Soprano Robin Steitz portrayed Madame Goldentrill, a former superstar coming out of rehab to try to re-establish her career, while acting as though her former status was still in place.  Soprano Emily Casey played Mademoiselle Silverpeal, an aspiring young singer, gentle in persona, but ready to set the house on fire to defend her status and protect her career.  I enjoyed the pair singing the arias Mozart wrote for each character sung in original form, but I especially enjoyed the arias each selected for themselves.  Ms. Steitz sang a cabaret torch song, “Je ne t’aime pas” by Kurt Weil, with charming allure.  Ms. Casey sang “Regnava nel silenzio” from Lucia di Lammermoor beautifully and added to the humor in dialog by affecting (I assume) a deep southern accent.  Both were impressive with vocal fireworks as they sang higher and higher to impress the impresario in one trio with the agent joining to try to calm the two warriors, and eventually a trio where peace is made for the sake of art.

Herr Bluff (Henrique Carvalho) questions Mademoiselle Silverpeal (Emily Casey). Photo by Caitlin Moore Photography; courtesy of Opera Baltimore.

Impresarios know that something unexpected always happens.  The nature of the work caused Ms. Cooke not to use covers, and unfortunately tenor Norman Shankle who was due to play the Agent suffered an injury the week before performances.  She was able to get Mr. Garcia-Kabuk to fill in on short notice, causing one aria to be dropped due to limited practice.  Nevertheless, Mr. Shankle, still committed to the production, participated in a seated, non-speaking role as the anonymous donor offering monetary support if Ms. Goldentrill was given the role.

Herr Bluff (Henrique Carvalho) looks on as the rivalry between Madame Goldentrill (Robin Steitz) and Mademoiselle Silverpeal (Emily Casey) gets physical. Photo by Caitlin Moore Photography; courtesy of Opera Baltimore.

Mozart’s music and arias in The Impresario are the quality we expect of Mozart, and the orchestrations are highly enjoyable.  The modified libretto was designed to work well with Mozart’s music and was successful in that.  I was curious how well piano accompaniment alone, as OB uses for their concert operas would work.  Pianist Joy Schreier, who frequently works with Opera Baltimore, played beautifully as I have come to expect.  I was immediately struck by how much I enjoyed hearing melodies and harmony from the overture played by piano alone.  She, working with Conductor Joshua Hong did well with timing, which included what seemed to be spontaneous eruptions of songs from the singers and the pianist at several points, all for comedic effect.

l to r: Herr Bluff (Henrique Cavalho), the impresario (Gina Perregrino), Mr. Angel (Jason Garcia-Kabuk), Madame Goldentrill (Robin Steitz), and Mademoiselle Silverpeal (Emily Casey) celebrate peace for the sake of art.

This concert version was performed semi-staged in the regal ballroom of the Engineers Club with the stage at one end, reminiscent of its venue for the performance for the emperor.  Semi-staged seemed almost full staged since the action takes place in a theater; the singers were in character with interacting and moving about the stage for comic effect.  Director Claire Choquette did a masterful job keeping the action flowing and devising set ups for comic elements, particularly the ringside effects for the battle between the two sopranos.  Much of the humor was slapstick, Chaplinesque in style.  However, the transformations of the sopranos who discussed how they had come to sing opera were truly heart rending, as their motives for their behavior became clear.  The final comments by Francine surely came directly from Ms. Cooke in emphasizing the singers’ involvement to seek fulfilment by becoming artists and their need for connection to the community they serve, and while challenging, it is worth it.

Bravo to Opera Baltimore for taking the risk of offering its audience something original, that deepened the understanding of all that they had shared over 15 years.  I found it to be a humorous, heartwarming, and entertaining afternoon; I never once felt the urge to look at my iPhone.  I was eager to see what was going to happen next. 

 The Fan Experience: The Impresario was performed in the Engineers Club on April 10, 12, and 14.  The opera was performed in English with some arias performed in the original language; subtitles in English were shown.  The performance with one intermission lasted close to 2.5 hours.

Dr. Aaron Ziegel, OB’s Scholar-in-Residence provides a pre-opera talk one hour before each performance.  He also provides three or four one-hour, highly informative Zoom classes for ticket holders on each upcoming opera.  This review was informed by his online lectures on The Impresario.  These lectures are maintained and available online to all at this link. 

Opera Baltimore will soon be announcing its new season for 2024-2025 and is offering a 16th Season Preview Party on June 4.

From a personal perspective, I hope the success the company is enjoying does not cause them to move completely away from the concert format.  As I previously wrote, when first attending Baltimore Concert Opera performances, “The power of operatic voices is a thing to behold, especially engaged with them for an entire evening.  It will surprise you when you encounter these voices up close for the first time.  You’ve probably experienced the difference between hearing opera singers live in the major opera houses and hearing them on a recording and gotten a taste of the power and clarity of the live performance.  Well, hearing them a few feet away takes that experience to yet another level.”  It keeps me coming back.

Washington Concert Opera's La Rondine: Ailyn Perez and the Price of Love

Stars can elevate their team to overcome all obstacles, and sometimes not, as we found out in Sunday afternoon’s NCAA women’s basketball championship final.  Shortly after the game, for those who made it to GW’s Lisner Auditorium, the remainder of the afternoon was enlivened by superstar soprano Ailyn Perez who upped the game of a Puccini opera still trying to find its way home.  She, along with an excellent cast overall, backed by Conductor Antony Walker and the Washington Concert Opera Orchestra and Chorus, made it an evening and an opera to remember.

Ailyn Perez as Magda in WCO’s La Rondine. Photo by Caitlin Oldham; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

La Rondine (1917, The Swallow) is a three-act opera by composer Giacomo Puccini, working with librettist Giuseppe Adami for the first time.  This was a period of experimentation for Puccini.  There was much going on in the world: composers were changing the face of music and operetta had become the rage; WWI broke out in Europe, delaying the opera’s premiere.  Puccini’s personal life had suffered a tragic loss.  La Rondine was his second opera after Madama Butterfly, and there would be an output of one act works in 1918 before his unfinished Turandot in 1926.  In 1910, a Viennese opera company wanted Puccini to compose an operetta; instead, he agreed to compose a comic opera, lighter in nature.  This work, La Rondine, was not well received in its day nor when first produced in the US; it languished in relative obscurity for many years.  A popular version by the New York City Opera in 1984 and more recently it’s championing by soprano Angela Gheorghiu and tenor Roberto Alagna has led to a revival of interest, appearing occasionally in current day.  In fact, a version staring soprano Angel Blue and tenor Jonathan Tetelman is playing this month at the Metropolitan Opera.

Mario Chang as Ruggero and Ailyn Perex as Magda, backed by Conductor Antony Walker and the WCO Orchestra and Chorus. Photo by Caitlin Oldham; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

To understand the issues raised with La Rondine, it’s helpful to know the plot.  The opera begins in the Paris of the 1830s, similar to Puccini’s La Bohème, but in a salon for the wealthy, not a tenement for starving artists.  Magda is maintained in a lavish house by her benefactor, Rambaldo, whose company she enjoys though he is not a love interest.  Her poet friend, Prunier is musing that romantic love has returned to Paris, and she approves, while Rambaldo still considers true love tired.  Now, a kept woman, Magda remembers a chance meeting she had years ago with a young man who stirred deeper feelings within her.  A stranger arrives, Ruggero, son of a friend of Ramboldo’s and his first time in Paris.  The guests advise him to spend his first night in Paris at Bullier’s café/dance hall.  Prunier has fallen in love with Magda’s maid Lisette and they head to the café.  Magda declines attendance but then sneaks out in a rudimentary disguise to join them for some free time and a night of fun.  There she encounters Ruggero, who does not recognize Magda from the earlier encounter at the salon; she gives her name now as Paulette.  Both are smitten and their love blossoms in the festive scene at the café.  They run off to Nice to live for love, while their debts pile up (friends say Magda has flown south for love like a swallow, a la the title).  Ruggero wants to marry her and move to his hometown, even getting approval in a letter from his mother, but Magda fears her past as Rambaldo’s mistress, which she has not revealed to Ruggero, will ruin their chances for happiness (yes, it does remind one of Verdi’s La Traviata).  After confessing her past, Magda returns to Paris and Ramboldo to save Ruggero from such a fate, leaving Ruggero, who desparately wants to stay together, distraught and feeling abandoned; Prunier early in the opera stated pain and heartache were the price of love. 

Mario Chang as Ruggero and Ailyn Perez with Conductor Antony Walker. Photo by Caitlin Oldham; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

Never satisfied with the ending of La Rondine, Puccini wrote two more endings before his death in 1924.  The plot gets caught somewhere between a drawing room comedy in the first two acts, fine for an operetta, and a lovers’ tragedy in act 3, fine for an opera.  The drawing room comedy seems a little drawn out, even with comedy brought to the stage by Prunier and Lisette’s antics.  It’s not a tragedy since Magda does not off herself; she simply goes back into Rambaldo’s care.  I was left uncertain how I felt about the characters.  Did Magda spare her young lover or was she sparing herself?  Love of what was exacting a price?  WCO of course presents operas in concert style without costumes, sets, or full staging.  While the concert format has much to recommend it, I feel La Rondine is an opera that needs the costumes and staging to communicate the times and ethos of the drawing room comedy, demonstrating the depth or shallowness of the characters and to make the Lisette-Prunier sparing more fun.

Jonathan Johnson as Prunier and Deanna Breiwick as Lisette. Photo by Caitlin Oldham; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

The questions raised by the plot aside, Puccini’s music is highly enjoyable, beautiful melodies with lush orchestrations and many gorgeous arias for the singers, solo and in ensembles.  For this work, Puccini even used some dance rhythms at times.  As is usual, Conductor Antony Walker and the WCO Orchestra did a fine job of delivering the music, accenting its beauty, and keeping pace with the vocalists.  At times, I had the feeling of listening to an outstanding orchestra in the big band era.  The WCO Chorus under the direction of David Hanlon added expertly to the fun, coming in at the beginning of Act 2 to elicit the gaiety of the café. 

Javier Arrey as Rambaldo and Ailyn Perez as Magda. Photo by Caitlin Oldham; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

The cast was headlined by Met Opera stars soprano Ailyn Perez and tenor Mario Chang.  Mr. Chang has a hefty resonant tenor that compels one to want to hear him more often.  I would love to see him in a fully staged performance where he is looking into Ms. Perez’ eyes, rather than at the score.  Ms. Perez, thy voice is beauty!  I had not heard Ailyn Perez in person before, even though she has connections to the area; this international star soprano was once a Young Artist at Wolf Trap Opera.  Her voice is enchanting and her singing of the opera’s main hit aria, “Canzone di Doretta”, was transcendent. 

Jonathan Johnson as Prunier, the poet, and friends of Magda’s, Natalie Conte as Bianca, Tess Ottinger as Yvette, and Melanie Ashkar as Suzy. Photo by Caitlin Oldham; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

The roles of Lisette and Prunier were sung by soprano Deanna Breiwick and tenor Jonathan Johnson, young singers who have performed at major opera houses around the US.  Ms. Breiwick sang well and gave us a convincing cheeky maid with dashed aspirations and a winning heart.  Mr. Johnson’s bright tenor displayed well in several arias and gave us a reasonably convincing poet, pretentious and exacting in love.  Both of these young performers appear headed for greater things.  Rambaldo was played by a now international opera star and a local favorite, baritone Javier Arrey whose voice adds color to any performance.  He gave Magda’s companion, Rambaldo, a softer edge, more likable.  I couldn’t help but wonder if the storyline would have been aided by having Mr. Arrey play Prunier and Mr. Johnson play Ruggero, giving us a more worldly wise Prunier and a more youthful lover for Magda to abandon.  Playing Magda’s friends and adding to the fun were soprano Tess Ottinger, soprano Natalie Conte, and mezzo-soprano Melanie Ashkar.

With La Rondine, I feel Puccini provided the melodious music and the showcase roles for excellent singers to display their wares for this opera to be a hit, but in the end, had trouble knocking down the three-point shot to win the game, to return to my basketball analogy.  For a “comic opera, lighter in nature”, I would have preferred a happy ending or at least one more bittersweet than bitter.  That said, WCO with this cast, headed by Ms. Perez made for an exceptional performance.

 The Fan Experience:  Washington Concert Opera performances are typically one and done, and for me, are always a highlight of the opera season.  La Rondine was performed on April 7 in Lisner Auditorium.  The opera was performed in concert style and sung in Italian with English surtitles on an overhead screen. 

WCO has announced their productions for the 2024-2025 season which is expanded to three operas instead of their normal two: Puccini’s Manon Lescaut on November 24, Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito on March 1, and Verdi’s Luisa Miller on April 13.  WCO Executive Director stated in her pre-opera comments that Lisner Auditorium would be upgrading their seats over the summer, more legroom for the orchestra section and more comfort for all.

Peter Russell, General Director of Vocal Arts DC, presented a pre-opera talk and provided program notes.  His talks are impressively detailed and informative.

In my experience, all the seats in Lisner Auditorium are fine for viewing the performance, but the sound is probably better towards the center of the auditorium.  Parking on the street around the auditorium is catch as catch can; be sure to read the signs!  Metro is two blocks away.  WCO has a visitor web page with directions and parking info, helpful in finding nearby parking lots.