La Boheme at Wolf Trap, the Missing Act, and a Lesson in Seat Selection

Public domain - 1908 photo of Giacomo Puccini

Public domain - Original 1896 poster by Adolfo Hohenstein.

Nothing more highlights the difference between the experts and practitioners of an activity and its fans than the case of Giacomo Puccini.  La Boheme is exhibit A.  My reading reveals that a surprising consensus among critics, musicologists, and musicians is that Puccini is considered a very good composer, but not a great one.  He is not considered a musical genius with contributions to music on the level of Wagner or Verdi, for example.  Yet, among opera fans, he is considered one of the greatest composers of all, as judged by fans voting with their feet; La Boheme may be the most performed opera of all time.  For me personally, La Boheme is the opera equivalent of the movie, Casablanca.  Somehow, all of the elements in both works came together in this crazy world in just the right proportions and just the right construction to make a great work of art. Both of them work because they work, and just about perfectly.  Was that genius or just a lucky shot, like that one photo that you take in a few thousand that you know is special?  I am willing to let the experts work it out, as long as they keep performing this enchanting opera. 

This report will be distorted because of my seat location relative to the stage at last night’s (Aug 5) performance, which affected my ability to see and hear the opera.  More on that later, but before my tale of woe, let us examine that of La Boheme’s and the case of the missing act.

The missing act,

I have seen two live performances of La Boheme now and watched one HD video recording.  I’ve enjoyed them all, including last night’s version by Wolf Trap Opera.  However, I have been puzzled by the break in story line between Acts II and III.  I heard someone leaving the performance expressing the same sentiment; so I investigated further.  Puccini leaves Mimi and Rudolfo rapturously in love at the end of Act II; yet, begins Act III with the couple estranged.  There was friction between Puccini and his librettists, Giuseppe Giocosa and Luigi Illica over the telling of the story.  It turns out that the original libretto had five acts and Puccini cut one, sort of tightened it up.  It would be difficult to argue now with the wisdom of that decision, but the missing act sheds some additional light on the story.  In the deleted act, Musetta throws a party at which Mimi dances with a Viscount making Rudolfo jealous, revealing her to also be a woman who, like her friend, Musetta, lived by her wits and charms; Rudolfo makes reference to the Viscount in Act III.  There are theories why Puccini cut the missing act.  Boheme is not long by opera standards.  I wonder if the decision to trim it was at least somewhat influenced by the fact he was in a race with Leoncavallo to compose an opera based on bohemian stories by Henry Murger.  Leoncavallo lost the race; premiering his version of La Boheme a year later than Puccini, it had limited success and the competition created a rift between the two.  However, don’t feel sorry for Leoncavallo.  He is widely known for his popular opera, Pagliacci. I wish Puccini had written the music for the deleted act so we could compare versions, or maybe because I wish there was even more Puccini music out there.

My personal favorites from the WTO performance,

In general, the singers carried the night for me; each had their moments:

D'Ana Lombard as Mimi; Yongshao Yu as Rudolfo; photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera 2016.

D’Ana Lombard – last night’s Mimi was excellent; this is Ms. Lombard’s second year as a Filene Young Artist; she played Rosina in last year’s Ghosts of Versaille; I always feel a little tension at an opera until I hear the lead soprano sing; if she is good, I relax and enjoy it.  Ms. Lombard is very, very good. Her singing was expressive and her voice has a beautiful tone.

YongzhaoYu – I had not been especially impressed with Mr. Yu in Aria Jukebox; I am now impressed; he has a lyrical tenor voice with a beautiful tone that was perfect for the romantic Rudolfo and sang the melody with apparent ease, a pleasure to hear.  He could work on facial expressions for his acting, but in the third and fourth act he seemed to loosen up and show more emotion.

Shea Owens as Schaunard; Yongshao Yu as Rodolfo; Timothy Bruno as Colline; Reginald Smith, Jr. as Marcello; photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera 2016.

Reginald Smith, Jr. – a very good Marcelo with a colorful baritone, especially effective in the early playfulness with Rudolfo that got the opera off to a good start.

Shea Owens – his voice and the professionalism of his singing almost stole the show for me. 

Summer Hassan – she showed the verve and fire one expects of Musetta.

Timothy Bruno – with a distinctive bass voice, his aria to his overcoat was a highlight.

Yongshao Yu as Rudolfo; D'Ana Lombard as Mimi; Shea Owens as Schaunard; Timothy Bruno as Colline; Reginald Smith, Jr. as Marcello; Summer Hassan as Musetta; photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera 2016.

The key to me for La Boheme is creating the mood and sustaining it in each act, especially by establishing in Act I the rapport among the young men who have chosen the bohemian life, sacrificing comforts for the sake of art.  The principal players, the minor players, and the supernumeraries in the performance all did an excellent job of this in each act.  Kudos all around, not the least to the director, Paul Curran.

Chorus; photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera 2016.

Once again, the average age of this opera crowd was substantially lower at the Filene Center than typically seen at opera houses.  I suspect many were there for their first opera and I also suspect some young converts were made.  I believe that the reason for the lack of young people, especially young families, at our opera houses has to do with the need to dress up, painful commutes, high parking prices, the formality overall, and high ticket prices.  Opera at Wolf Trap is an enticing alternative.  Lower the barriers and they will come.

Low points, including a lesson in seat selection,

One low point was the humidity.  We can’t control the weather, but requiring the performers to wear overcoats and wraps in August at Wolf Trap is hardship duty; perspiration was in evidence on stage and in the crowd.  If Wolf Trap Opera does this one again in the Filene Center, move the setting to the French West Indies and let them wear bathing suits.

A more serious low point for me personally was the acoustics from where I sat.  I was two rows from the stage and on the very right side facing the stage.  The Filene Center is a very large house with a very wide angle stage.  When you are far right or left and very close to the stage you are almost looking directly across the stage.  The view from the center stage you do not have at all.  When the singers faced me I heard them clearly in their natural tone, but when they turned away, I could hear distance in their voices. On the positive side, when the singers came over my way and they were close to me, those moments were thrilling. 

I think that the Filene Center is a difficult venue for opera in terms of sound anyway.  There are no enclosed sides or back wall for the sound to bounce off and the lawn seats are a long way from the stage.  It appeared the singers were wearing microphones, and I would guess that to reach the lawn seats amplification and speakers are needed, not traditional in opera.  I don’t mean to discourage opera productions at the Filene Center; far from it.  Just an observation to take into account.

The orchestra also seemed a bit distant to me.  Part of the problem was that the orchestra was seated behind the stage during the performance and for two acts a huge set structure blocked them from the audience.  I find myself unable to comment on the playing or sound received by a center cut of the audience.  Being on the far right side created an unevenness in the sound volume in my area depending on which section of the orchestra was being emphasized.   My bad for seat selection, but it was an unusual set up as well.

I also cannot comment much on the staging due to the placement of my seat.  However, it seemed true to the story and was a new adaptation by Mr. Curran, moved up in time to 1917 and the end of World War II.

The Washington Post review by Grace Jean was laudatory and covers the orchestra and staging, though rather briefly.

an unfortunate development,

Compounding the undesirable effects of my seat choice was an unfortunate development.  In choosing seats this time I wanted to be up close to the performers and took the closest seats available in the prime orchestra section.  I knew which seats I was purchasing and the trade-offs I was making.  However, to my surprise a railing for steps and a landing had been constructed on the right side of the stage directly in front of where I was sitting.  It gave the set the impression that the performers were ascending apartment stairs as they entered and exited.  For me, it meant I was viewing the performance through a fence with cross railings.  It was frustrating the entire evening.  I contacted Wolf Trap patron services the day after and received a call explaining there was internal miscommunication about the railing and an apology with an offer of restitution in the form of tickets to a future performance.  Stuff happens and it was nice of Wolf Trap management to try to make amends.

Summing up,

One conclusion to offer is that at Wolf Trap’s Filene Center choose seats as close to center as you can for opera, especially for the best sound; I got a lesson in seat-manship that I hope will benefit OperaGene’s readers.  A more important conclusion is that La Boheme is worth seeing, yet again and again.  I can also whole-heartedly recommend seeing and hearing Wolf Trap Opera’s 2016 Filene Young Artists wherever they go in the future.  What a pleasure this season has been (including The Rape of Lucretia and L'Opera Seria).  I wish them all the best going forward in their careers.  And I hope the Filene Center will continue to offer opera and make new opera fans, especially within the younger demographic.  So, in the final analysis, I can honestly say, even with issues noted in my report, I enjoyed the performance overall and am glad I was at the opera.

Why Singing Opera Could Be An Olympic Event

Image in Public Domain

AP Wire Photo - Public Domain

Opera is a “performance” art.  In fact, one that involves a lot of physicality, exemplary muscle control, and total body awareness.  The singers in the photo are icons of modern operatic history, the great soprano, Dame Joan Sutherland, and one of the greatest tenors of all time, Luciano Pavarotti; their singing power and acumen was truly extraordinary.  Let’s consider the challenge they faced when singing in an opera house: they project their voices such that they are heard clearly, without amplification, in the back seats, which might be 150 feet from the stage, and do so over the sound wall made by a full orchestra.  Their lowest and highest notes must be heard clearly using their softest and loudest intensities.  They must carry the melody with excellent diction.  And they may need to sing in musical keys outside their comfort zones.  They often must sing in languages not their own.  Oh, and they must sound beautiful while exhibiting the emotion in the story.  All of this is subject to evaluation by human judges, similar to many Olympic events that will begin this weekend.  Young opera singers will often compete in voice competitions in developing their careers.

How hard is it?  Think you can sing opera?  In fact, most people can’t, and for those who can, it is not natural.  Popular music singers have rarely received training.  They sing in whatever fashion is effective for them, possible because they typically are singing into a microphone.  Singing opera has to be learned, much like learning to play a musical instrument.  The muscle control and body awareness that allow singers to project and control their voices in this way is both an art and science, and must be tweaked for individual bodies.  The process is called technique.  You may hear the phrase that a singer is working on their technique.  It involves a number of terms that I don’t fully understand.  For example, there is a throat voice, a chest voice, and a nose voice.  Singers must be aware of and relax any tension in their bodies, because tension can affect voice sound and breathing.  They must be aware of their body alignment, and perhaps most important, their breathing and how to control it.  Good health through proper diet and fitness are high on the agendas of opera singers.  They also must pursue their careers with awareness of what their voices can withstand.  There are risks.  The vocal folds, more commonly referred to as vocal cords, may not be fully developed until college age and attempting strenuous arias before their development is ready can cause permanent damage, as can overuse later in their careers.  And voices change over time.

The San Diego Opera webpage has a sub-page titled “Music and Science Curriculum” that discusses the biology and physics of opera.  Five lessons are offered in Biology Connections, four in Physics Connections, and two in Physical Science Connections (the second one appears to have a broken link).  Some of the topics are the anatomy of the human voice, how singers use their body to produce sound, the physics of music, and emotional responses to music.  One interesting tidbit I learned from Physics Lesson Two:

“Can a singer shatter a wine glass with the pitch and intensity in their voice? The answer is yes and modern physics prove it.  This takes a combination of pitch and intensity. To find the frequency of the glass, run your fingers around the rim and listen for the sound it creates. Chances are good that this is a High C flat. Now the singer must be able to match that pitch, which is about 105 dB and 556 hertz, and hold that pitch and intensity for at least 3 seconds.  If the pitch and intensity are correct, and constant and if the wine glass has any type of microscopic flaw in it, the glass will shatter.”

I thought it was just a cartoon cliché, but it could be an Olympic event by itself, though I doubt many serious opera singers would risk their voice to it, and according to the Myth Busters video the competition from heavy metal singers could be vibrant.  For a more scientific discussion of how singers sing over the orchestra by focusing their power on a singing range above the orchestra and by use of vibrato, click here.

Why do we enjoy watching Olympic Events?  For one thing, it is a competition, and that builds anticipation and excitement.  For another, it is people who are the best in the world at what they do that are competing and have been preparing for this competition for many years, often their entire lives.  We know that the performance level will be extraordinarily high.  We expect that new world records will be set in some events.  All of this makes the Olympics fun to watch.  There is, however, another element to consider, our knowledge of the events.  We know what the athletes are trying do and how they are going about it and the broadcast announcers go to great lengths to inform us of special preparations the athletes make and detailed explanation of what the athletes must do in their events.  Our brains are ticking off accomplishment of these sub-aims as an event proceeds and we feel our excitement or disappointment wax and wane as the a performance progresses.  The anticipation creates tension in our bodies and the results resolve that tension, and pleasure is released. 

In performing, both opera singers and Olympic athletes come to know the thrill of victory (a standing ovation) and the agony of defeat (not hitting that High C).  And we their fans, thrill and suffer with them.  All of these things keep us coming back to the Olympics over and over every four years.  Opera fans also keep coming back, but it is of course not going to become an Olympic event, even though I think its athleticism would qualify it.  Opera’s ultimate purpose is different from athletics.   First, the higher purpose of neither the Olympics nor Opera is to entertain us.  I think that the Olympics’ purpose is to inspire us with human achievement and its potential.  Opera’s is to touch our hearts, minds, and souls by re-connecting us to our humanity.

Still, most people do not realize the physicality involved in singing opera.  Fans familiar with opera understand what the singers are trying to accomplish, but those not familiar with opera do not.  I think if more people understood the Olympic-sized challenges of singing opera their appreciation for and interest in opera might increase.

Opera: What’s In A Name?

Shakespeare contends that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but does opera in any other form than a full opera, live in a theater deserve to be called opera?  I read a letter to the editor in today’s Washington Post defending cinema broadcasts of opera as opera.  In remembering the article to which the letter writer was referring, I recalled the opera critic’s reference to opera HD cinema broadcasts as an “opera product.”  It kinda bothered me at the time, and I wish to return to it now.

Referring to opera broadcasts in this way as a “product” to distinguish it from the real thing denigrates cinema broadcasts and thereby those who enjoy it.  The intent of the article was to encourage fans, especially young fans, to engage the full experience of live theater opera; this is praise worthy.  However, when expressed as disparagement of alternatives, it carries another message.  “Product” used in this context to me carries the connotation of “byproduct,” as in cheese product rather than real cheese, which sounds like something to eschew.  It subliminally creates a class divide, those who attend opera in opera houses and concert halls and those who settle for opera byproducts.  Ok, a bit of an overreaction perhaps, but this tempest in my teapot has boiled over.  I can’t get away from the fact that it bothers me.  It puts live opera performed in a theater on a pedestal and anything else is well, less than that.  It’s all very nice for those of you who like to watch the cinema broadcasts, who love Met Opera radio Saturday broadcasts or listening to CDs or streaming opera audio, etc., but you realize you are not enjoying the real thing.  Class division is one of opera’s lingering problems.  A new acquaintance recently asked how I got into opera and said he always thought of it as something for academic types.

On the other side, does not the real thing, the full-fledged live, acoustic, in the house performance deserve some special distinction, its own designation?  I just read a charming affirmation of live opera in an interview with Mr. Aaron Blecker, a 105 year-old opera fan.  In it, he describes his first opera.  He saved up for tickers and took his wife to their first opera (noted in Slipped Disc and published in Met Orchestra Musicians).   Mr. Blecker’s comment on live opera:

“We loved it. It’s 80 years later and I still remember it. She was happy that I got it and we were both happy that we saw it. To go to the opera was a great treat for us. To be able to see it in person and hear the splendid voices…with the records you had a lot of static, and to hear the voices live was a much more thrilling experience.”

With a testimonial like that no one should be worrying about the demise of opera.

Recordings are better now, but virtually everyone still agrees that live opera in theaters is the best experience of opera.  Should we give that experience a new name?  Maybe so, or maybe I should just try to forget about “opera product.”  Let us encourage anyone interested in opera to pursue their love of opera in any form available to them (I do personally), which means we need to embrace all avenues to enjoy opera including, but not exclusively, attendance at live theater performances. 

What do you think?  Do we need a new name for opera performed live, acoustically in opera houses and concert halls?  Or should we adopt the term “opera product” for everything else?  Or should I just pipe down and let it go?

The Thief of Bagdad (1924): An Opera Without The Singing?

The authors of “The History of Opera” (Abbate and Parker, 2012) suggest a working definition of opera is that opera is a play in which all the actors sing for all or most of the time.  How then could a movie be referred to as opera without the singing?  Let me explain, but first a personal comment.  Movie decisions in my family involve a lot of compromise.  My wife likes foreign films, preferably ones that wrench the heart and the gut; my son likes what I will call Aristotelian movies, films that are instructive in how to make a movie or to live a life.  Personally, I just want to see James Bond outwit the bad guy and get the pretty girl with a few laughs along the way.  I must admit, however, that one of the many things I like about wife is her enjoyment of foreign films with feeling, and I love my son’s passion for classic movies.  On many occasions I get drawn into watching movies that I would not on my own, and I am typically glad that I succumbed.  So it was with my son’s insistence that we watch the silent film, The Thief of Bagdad (1924, Restored Kino Edition), which is loosely based on “One Thousand and One Nights” (a book which spawned at least six operas, though none have made it into the modern repertoire).   

The Thief of Bagdad has a larger than life operatic plot: a compelling love story with a hero who, though flawed, finds redemption in love.  It has a beautiful princess and suitors competing to win her hand in marriage.  Our hero must overcome the intrigue spawned by an evil adversary and his spies.  The plot utilizes magic objects and someone brought back to life.  The exotic sets and special effects were advanced for its era.  It even has sexiness with attractive main characters, and a sexy spy - a young Anna May Wong’s career in Hollywood was launched by this movie.  It has excellent direction and storytelling.  I have placed the Thief of Bagdad (1924 version) in my list of top ten movies, although to be honest, I’m not sure how many movies are in my top ten.  After all, and even if it is a silent film, Thief eventually has James Bond outwitting the bad guy and getting the pretty girl, with a few laughs along the way.

I watched the movie by streaming it from Amazon ($2.99 for seven days use), but it is also available on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1C6PutTIow.

Now, what does this movie have to do with opera: I think it offers an illustrative example that might be useful in dissecting the elements of opera.  A classic scientific experiment is to take away one possible cause for an outcome and see if you get the same outcome.  Let’s set aside for a moment that it is a movie and the music is recorded sound, and for the time being, I will claim that our experiment is still valid for the following reasons.  The movie has a story of operatic dimensions, with big events - a passionate love story, deception, redemption, magic and intrigue.  It uses intertitles (like supertitles in opera), with written dialog to clue the audience to how the story is unfolding (this actually keeps you involved in the story – there is no spoken dialog to help you keep up while checking your email), and it had music.  In the Kino Edition, the music is an original score for the film, though you will recognize many of the melodies, which supports its mood and action.  The one element missing compared to opera is singing, the single distinguishing feature of opera.

Without the singing, what was the production missing?  I think it is an excellent movie.  What was missing from this experience that singing/opera might have provided?  First, what did it have going for it that staged opera does not.  Let’s look more closely at the fact it was a movie and the sound was recorded.  First, it has action; this is a swashbuckling action adventure, fast paced in a way that might remind one of The Raiders of the Lost Ark.  Such action in opera, with chases and travel, are mostly alluded to.  Film also allows the volume and rapidity of scene changes with set and backdrop changes not possible in opera.  Movies can engage us with action and multiple settings and time periods, areas where opera is more limited.  Movies also have the advantage of close-ups.  The non-verbal communication possible with close ups can reveal much about the characters and the story; silent movies thrived on this point.  I thought this was used in an extraordinary way in the movie Gone Girl.  One of the criticisms of HD in cinema broadcasts of opera is that it splits the attention of the director, who must decide whether to use grand gestures to reach the back of the opera house or facial expressions in close-ups to communicate on the big screen.

Ok, we’ve designed our experiment focusing on one variable - singing, and we’ve examined some potential complicating variables - action, setting, and close-ups.  Here are my thoughts on what opera brings to the table that the movie does not.  It is instructive perhaps to ask what I felt watching the movie and what I learned about the characters and story, and what was revealed of importance to life.  Did the movie rise above mere entertainment to somehow impact audience members in more enduring ways?  Thief is largely escapist fare. I enjoyed the ride, chocked with delights.  The story was told sequentially in an interesting way, and I wondered what novelty might pop up next. Dramatic suspense was only a minor factor – I always knew the hero would win – and I got a happy ending. I learned little about the characters as complex human beings or the forces that drive human interactions, or the movement of history, the human story.  Even the redemption aspect which might have been interesting in a different movie was used just to allow us to feel good about the love story, yet allow the hero to brandish his bad boy charms.  I suspect Thief’s enduring importance relates more to how it affected movie making in its day, rather than how it affected moviegoers, though I may be undervaluing movie magic.

If The Thief of Bagdad were an opera, how might it have been presented differently?  One answer is that it would have gone more slowly.  The motivations and depth of feeling of the characters would have been emphasized.  The tension would have been palpable.  My pulse rate would likely have been affected.  The truths of human interactions would have been revealed.   We might have related to the characters in perhaps uncomfortable ways.  Opera also has unique ways to enhance storytelling.  We are told that the critical element in remembering something is its importance to us.  How is importance communicated in telling a story?  The director may choose didacticism.  The opening to Thief has written in the sky “Happiness Must Be Earned” and the lesson is demonstrated with the story.  Ok, nice life lesson, let’s move on, and likely forget it.  The storyteller can say loudly, “This is important!”.  That gets our attention, but it does not necessarily make us believe it is important.  Our gut collects lots of data in an instant to tell us whether something is important and relevant to us.  What is unique about how opera communicates importance? 

First, it does a better job of communicating with the music.  The music does not just become background music following the story; it is involved in telling the story.  It speaks to us in a way that only music can, using a language of its own to summon or belay our expectations and feelings.  But here is what connects us with our humanity, with each other – the human voice.  Think about the phrase, “The sound of your voice.”  It is a phrase of enormous impact.  It’s like snuggling up against your mother when you were five years old and having her sing or hum to you.  Opera has voices and singing, and voices communicate relevance to humans more effectively than storytelling alone. Funny, but the words are important too, even if we don’t understand them.  The History of Opera notes that no one would want to hear an opera of just la, la, la and more la, la, la.  But is singing necessary.  Might talking movies achieve the ends I have been describing.  Yes, but singing communicates in a way that speaking does not, more deeply and effectively than dialog alone.  That was the supposition of the Camerata at the origin of opera, according to Abbate and Parker, based on the endurance of Greek tragedy, incorporating song.   It has been borne out by the healthy survival of this implausible art form that emerged late in human development, only four hundred years ago.

But here’s the thing.  Might Thief have been better if it had been a talkie?  Maybe.  Film in Thief’s day was in black and white.  Color might have added some of the flavor and emotional intensity of life to the movie, probably why audiences were later won over by color movies.  Would Thief have been better if it were in color?  Maybe.  Singing, like color, adds another dimension to the storytelling.  Would Thief had been better with singing?  Maybe.  To all the maybe’s we have to point out that each change would make Thief a different experience, and the director optimized use of the elements for what could be done at the time.  The experience it offers, working with the elements it had at its disposal, is worthwhile as it is.  Each dimension that an artist has to work with provides a tool to use or not, to create the effect intended by the artist.  Use of different tools creates genres of art, and comparing genres gives us an opportunity to appreciate the power of those tools, and thereby reach a better understanding of the power of the various art forms. 

So, while I must concede that the Thief of Bagdad is not opera.  I hope, however, that considering it as such has been revealing both regarding a classic silent film and the unique features of opera and their power.

New Feature: Show the Critics Some Love

One of the first pages that I added to OperaGene.com was a listing of opera critics and as much of their biographical information as I could find.  I have previously discussed why critics are important and what can be gained by reading reviews.  I’d like to add one more reason for your consideration:

Reading the reviews and commenting online is a way to support the arts. 

Newspapers give priority to news areas that generate reader interest, and tallying clicks and comments to the articles online is one way they do that.  The Washington Post review of L’Opera Seria by esteemed classical music critic, Anne Midgette, got zero comments (before yours truly added one) even though it got 2000 hits online and was read by an indeterminate number of subscribers to the print edition.   Compare that to any sports article and its number of hits and comments.  Editors and publishers notice.  They also notice other aspects of visits, such as how long the visit to an article occurs on average.  There is no way to know how many readers print newspaper articles get or demographic data of visitors, or patterns of visits, but very quantitative data is generated by online visits.  A survey two years ago showed that there were 11 full time classical music critics left at U.S. newspapers; two decades ago there were 65.

Reading critical reviews of opera performances contributes to your opera education.  Any thought that bloggers can replace critics should be put aside as unrealistic.  I have in the past emphasized that my opinions are those of an opera fan who knows what he likes, but opera critics bring critical knowledge and experience to the discussion.  Critics are both reporters and judges.  When you read a critical review, you will likely learn more about an opera, its history and historical context, its staging, the music, and how well the performers did from someone who knows what they are talking about, and to some extent, the evening will be re-created for you in prose.  Like any judge or umpire, sometimes they get it wrong.  So?  That’s where you come in, to take the critics to task - online!

Classical music critics perform an absolutely critical function in ensuring that standards of the art are upheld.  Suppose baseball asked for volunteers from the stands to umpire the games and these umpires called balls and strikes according to how much they liked or disliked the pitch.  What would that do to the game?  I have observed that, like umpires, critics take a fair amount of abuse, being accused in comments of being haters, of routinely trashing operas, and doing so to enhance their careers.  One comment I saw accused the critic of not appreciating people who can’t afford front row seats because the critic came from a wealthy family.  I think very few critics are critical because they have have an axe to grind or a mean streak.  They have a job to do.  They keep the bar high and negative comments actually lead to better opera in the long run.  So, if you care about the arts, especially opera, show the critics some love. 

Fortunately, we are blessed with some outstanding classical music critics in the mid-Atlantic region.  I urge you to read the reviews and comment on them. Tell your friends who appreciate the arts to read the reviews and comment.  You will feel better, or not, but if you do, the newspapers will give more of their limited pool of resources to the journalists covering the arts.

To help you access the reviews, I will add review links to the three-month listing of operas in the side bar of the blog page.  Check the side bar now and you will find that Read Review links for operas already performed have been added for L’Opera Seria, Julius Caesar, and The Silent Woman.  If you spot a review I have missed, please bring it to my attention.

WTO's L'Opera Seria Takes Opera Off Its High Horse And Makes It Fun Again

Was opera ever fun?  I know opera to be beautiful, affecting, and enriching, and some operas are amusing and occasionally elicit a laugh, but… is opera fun?  I honestly cannot say based on my experience that it is, but I have read that there was a time when it was more of a social event.  Wolf Trap Opera Senior Director, Kim Witman, made this point in her pre-opera talk.  In the baroque era, the lights were up during the performance and people chatted with their friends.  They brought in food and cards, and were sometimes rowdy, with ‘claques’ (fan clubs) cheering their favorite performers, occasionally shouting comments, and sometimes booing their competitors.  During the boring parts their attention strayed from the performance.  The performers sometimes reacted to what was occurring in the audience.  In my experience, attending the opera is more akin to attending a religious service these days: no talking, drinking, or eating for the audience, and no deviation from the canon for the people on stage.  The third act of L’Opera Seria gives the audience a taste of baroque atmosphere, and the laughter that frequently broke out in acts one and two of the night's performance, reached sustained levels in act 3.  It was fun and I want more.

Richard Ollarsaba and Clarissa Lyons in L'Opera Seria. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera, 2016.

Richard Ollarsaba and Christian Zaremba in L'Opera Seria. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera, 2016.

Clarissa Lyons, Kihun Yoon, Richard Ollarsaba (background in beret: Rebecca Claborn) in L'Opera Seria. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera, 2016.

Anne-Marie Stanley, Amy Owens, and Rebecca Claborn in L'Opera Seria. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera, 2016.

Kihun Yoon, Clarissa Lyons, Amy Owens, Jonas Hacker, Alastair Kent, and Mane Galoyan in L'Opera Seria. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera, 2016.

Cast on stage, Act III, L'Opera Seria. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera, 2016.

Ok, what about, you know, stuff like the singing, the plot, the staging, the music, the individual performances and the refreshments at intermission.  Actually, intermissions could be fun, except for the pressure to get your refreshments and consume them before the next act.  The Barns actually helps with this - orchestra seats have cup holders.  Moving on to the story, I have previously discussed L’Opera Seria as a satire presenting an opera within an opera.  The plot is about what goes on between opera company members arriving, rehearsing, and performing an opera.  No one involved escapes skewering.   I give the performers high marks all around, as well as Ms. Witman and the WNO staff for bringing this opera to Wolf Trap for its U.S. premiere.  I predict it will soon be taken up by other U.S. companies.  Kudos to the director of this production, Matthew Ozawa, and his creative team, who trimmed a four-hour opera into a three-hour version with punch; the ending could have been shortened even a bit more – by that time I was sated with laughter, but that is the only critical comment I care to make.  Eric Melear led the orchestra well, especially in having to sound discordant and out of tune at times.  I do wonder if this opera would work better for American audiences if there was an English version; the one liners come very fast.

Let me say first of all that the talent of these young singers as a group is impressive.  And not only can they sing, but they can act.  I think we will hear much more from many of these people.  Previous comments on these singers can be found in my report on Aria Jukebox.  Here are my favorites from the night’s performance in order:

1.     Clarissa Lyons, who played Stonatrilla (out-of-tune), has a beautiful voice as noted by me before.  She can also act with a deft comic touch, easily provoking laughs with her expressions.  Acting for tv and the movies could be in her career path.

2.     Christian Zaremba, who played Passagallo, was a huge surprise.  I previously praised him for his role as Collatinus in The Rape of Lucretia and his tender singing of a Russian folk song for Aria Jukebox.  He seemed to be the tall, serious hero type to me, but in his performance, as the effeminate dancing master, strutting and bouncing around the stage, he was hilarious.  Some smart tv producer should start working on the Clarissa and Chris show right away

3.     Kihun Yoon, who played Sospiro, showed off that big baritone voice in a significant role and nailed it.

4.     Amy Owens, who played Porporina (purple face) sang effectively in a comedic number, and the dancers who accompanied her contributed to making the tuna and dolphin aria a hoot!

5.     Richard Ollarsaba, who played Fallito (failure) has a strong, beautiful bass-baritone voice and showed his acting aplomb in this production.  Success is ahead for this young man.

6.     Mane Galoyan, who played Smorfiosa (smirk face), sang beautifully.  I thought she was quite impressive.

7.     Florian Gassman, the composer, must have been bold to put forward an opera that some might take offense at if they thought a character was about them.  He has given us an inside look at opera in his day and I suspect in ours as well.  I found his music to be delightful and fit the story beautifully.

Overall, this was a comedic ensemble piece which seems to work well in the Barns.  They also offered an outstanding production of The Ghosts of Versailles last year that was an opera within an opera.  It was also fun.  Now that I think about it, it was also fun to attend Madame Butterfly at the Filene Center last year and am looking forward to La Boheme on August 5.  The Filene Center itself adds a bit of fun to the proceedings; it is an outdoor arena, easily accessible with free parking, and lawn picnicking seats are available as well as other dining options. Last year I noted a much higher than average ratio of young people in the audience, I suspect due to the venue. 

The opera enterprise should take note about what is happening at Wolf Trap Opera.  Presenting something new or reviving something overlooked, removing the barriers between the opera professionals and the audience, making opera more easily accessible, and even making it fun on occasion, while insisting on a high talent level and commitment to the art form might be a winning formula for other companies as well.  And a personal plus is that I no longer have to feel guilty about eating my lunch while I am watching opera dvds on my big screen tv.  Eating during the performances used to be normal.  No one wants to abandon the great, grand opera that the major opera houses can do so well, but a little fun occasionally even there might be a good thing.  One of Ms. Witman’s comments in her pre-opera talk was to say not to worry about the details or the plot, that if by the third act this was important to you they had not done their job.  They had done their job and that is real involvement.

Oh, there is one more performance on Saturday night, but it has been sold out for several days.  You can’t say you weren’t warned.  Hopefully you also saw the Post review of the opening night’s performance.   

First Operas in the New Season and Ticket Availability Dates

It is not too early to begin planning for operas you wish to see this coming season.  Single ticket sales for the 2016-2017 season for Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center and the Metropolitan Opera in New York are ongoing already, and those for other opera companies will become available between now and the end of August when exclusivity for season subscriptions expire.  Seasonal listings for opera companies in the mid-Atlantic region can be found here.    .

Timing is important.  The good seats go first, especially the good cheap seats; matinees also tend to fill up early.  If you are well off or want to splurge, and want to be nose to nose with the singers, or want to hang with the gilt-edged crew, then get the expensive seats and shine, but don’t pooh, pooh the cheap seats.  I sat in the first and second tier balcony seats at the Kennedy Center for the recent four operas of the Ring Cycle; the views were good and the sound was great, better I think than the orchestra section seats!  Cheap seats also allow you to see more operas.  I sat next to a young woman on a flight from NYC recently who said she had attended almost all Met Opera performances the last two years, usually spending about $35 per seat.  I was envious. 

Right now you can buy full-view tickets to the WNO production of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro for as low as $45.  Figaro is on just about everyone’s list of the ten best operas of all time, and Met opera star, soprano Lisette Oropesa will play Susanna.  Also, please keep in mind that such a low a price may not be available later.  Beware the Kennedy Center's "dynamic pricing": as demand for tickets goes up, so does the price of the remaining tickets.  I learned this the hard way with my late purchase of Ring tickets.

To help get you going, here is a chart with the dates when public sales of single tickets begin and the first opera offered by that company for the 2016-2017 season.  Good luck and see you in the cheap seats:

Opera Company              Tickets avail.          First Opera and First Date

WNO/Kennedy Center….... Now…………..….The Marriage of Figaro, Sep 22

Opera Philadelphia…………..Aug 1……………..Breaking the Waves, Sep 22

Virginia Opera*…………….…. Aug 22……………The Seven Deadly Sins/Pagliacci, Sep 30

Pittsburgh Opera……………..Late Aug…………La Traviata, Oct 8

Metropolitan Opera…………Now………………..Tristan und Isolde, Sep 26

Met Opera in Cinemas……..Jul 20………………Tristan und Isolde, Oct 8

I included Met Opera because, even though not in the mid-Atlantic region, it is hard to leave the Met out.  I included Met Opera in Cinemas because that is a locally popular series available at theaters though out the region.  Anne Midgette of the Washington Post wrote an interesting and timely article recently on the impact of HD opera in cinemas, very balanced and insightful; recommended reading, and you will see several comments from OperaGene in the comments section if you access the article online.

*Keep in mind that Virginia Opera performances rotate from Norfolk to Fairfax to Richmond.  The Seven Deadly Sins/Pagliacci offering begins in Norfolk on Sep 30, moves to Fairfax on Oct 8 , and to Richmond on Oct 14.

Wagner Leitmotifs and the Optimistic Rat

Scientists are at it again.  They can now tell whether rats are optimists or pessimists.  Rats can’t answer a rat therapist’s questions, so how can scientists tell?  In a clever and amusing article in today’s Wall Street Journal, columnist Robert Sapolsky explains how.  First, did you know that rats chirp when they feel pleased, sort of like cats purring I suppose?  You may not know this because it is inaudible to the human ear (not sure about cat's ears), but scientists have instruments that can record it.  Let rats play or mate with other rats, they chirp.  They will even press a lever to hear rat chirps.  And tickle them, they chirp.  Sorry, I haven’t read up on how to tickle a rat.

Now let’s stick with rats but change gears slightly.  Rats quickly learn to exhibit behaviors to seek rewards or to avoid actions that lead to pain, not unlike humans in this regard.  In a clever scientific experiment, rats learn that pressing lever number one when an A-sharp note is played gets them a reward and by pressing lever number two when A-flat is sounded they avoid a shock.  A-sharp, you can get a reward; A-flat, you can avoid a shock.  Easy.  But what if an A-natural is played, a note in between the A-flat and the A-sharp; what should they do? It turns out that some rats consistently choose lever one and some consistently choose lever two.  Some rats are optimistic about getting a reward and some are more worried about getting a shock.  I must point out that I can’t vouch for the validity of the results just from reading the WSJ article, either statistically or in terms of proper controls; for example, might have the rats who decided to avoid the shock been more sensitive to shocks or partially tone deaf?  Hopefully the scientists accounted for other possible causes for the results, but my real point to make here is that hearing musical sounds leads to expectations about what is going to happen.  Composers often change notes and scales to play on your musical expectations, but when we get to Wagner, it gets even more involved.

The Sapolsky article itself goes on to speculate on potential implications (and do keep in mind that those are speculations and not in any way proven, in particular as it relates to humans).  The pessimistic rats were more prone to depression.  It was found that tickling rats (chirping) made them more optimistic; so did antidepressants and enriching their surroundings, but stressing rats made them more pessimistic.  Sort of I think, good feelings build on good feelings and vice versa, and boredom doesn’t help.  I have made light of these studies as an amusement, but they are quite serious and important in their attempts to establish the relationships between behavior and emotions and their exact impact on health.

What does this have to do with Wagner?  Well, remember my earlier post with a brief discussion of leitmotifs, those charming little themes that foretold a presence in the story and elicited our associated remembrances and feelings?  I also talked about these in my reviews of the Ring Cycle.  Wagner was an innovator who employed these extensively to introduce characters, moods, and ideas.  So with Wagner, we hear something and we think, feel, or anticipate something.

Below is a Youtube video that presents movie themes as lietmotifs, to introduce high school students to the concept.  It is fun to see how many movies you can recall from the movie themes played, and it does point out the concept of musical cues to connect musical themes with expectations, a concept used in music long before Wagner:

I have no copyright on any of these songs. I made this video to introduce my Analysis of Visual Media classes (high school) to leitmotifs.

Another, more in depth, explanation of leitmotifs and why Wagner was an innovator can be found in this Backstage Lincoln Center Youtube video:

From a PBS Great Performances broadcast in 1995. This has a simple explanation of Wagnerian leitmotifs, specifically in Siegfried's Funeral March and Brunnhilde's Immolation, from the opera Götterdämmerung.

I suppose that we now must expect that the emotions each leitmotif elicits in us may be somewhat different for different people, depending on whether they are more optimistic or pessimistic.  When you hear Siegfried’s theme do you remember his heroism and promise or his death and its implications for the world?  I first remember the feelings associated with his beauty and promise.  In fact, I also recall the beauty and grandeur of the Ring, and how lucky I feel to have seen it.  I’m an optimistic rat.  Opera helps.

Top Ten Lists Of Operas

I ran across this Top Ten List on Opera America's website that set me to thinking about top ten lists, and I did a little searching.  The Opera America list is their Ten Most Frequently Performed Operas in alphabetical order.  The source of data or inclusive dates is not given, but it is a believable list and the only surprise to me is Hansel and Gretel, an opera often produced at Christmas time for children.  Opera Pulse has a website that maintains statistics on opera performances.  If we look at the data for 2014-2015 season from the Opera Pulse database for the operas most frequently produced in that period, we must remove Aida, Cinderella, and Hansel and Gretel from the Opera America list and add Tosca, Rigoletto, and Don Giovanni.  However, we can't fault Opera America too much; the three deletions from their list are nos. 12, 27, and 16 on the Opera Pulse list; note that means that Hansel and Gretel is still in the top twenty.

Opera America List              Opera Pulse List

Aida                                                                      The Barber of Seville

The Barber of Seville                                        La Boheme

La Boheme                                                         Carmen

Carmen                                                               Don Giovanni

Cinderella                                                           Madama Butterfly

Hansel and Gretel                                           The Magic Flute

Madama Butterfly                                          The Marriage of Figaro

The Magic Flute                                               Rigoletto

The Marriage of Figaro                                  La Traviata

La Traviata                                                        Tosca

How many have you seen?  Well, starting in August you can add FIVE operas to your ‘seen in person list’ over the 2016-2017 season: La Boheme (Wolf Trap Opera), The Barber of Seville (Virginia Opera), The Marriage of Figaro and Madame Butterfly (Washington National Opera), and La Traviata (Pittsburgh Opera).  These companies are also offering other members of the classic repertoire as well as newer operas; see the Seasonal Listings page.

One might also ask how do the lists of most performed operas compare with the ten “best” operas lists sometimes seen.  These are lists compiled by critics and other writers about opera. However, this is where it gets…shall we say complicated.  It depends a lot on who has compiled the list, usually one writer or one critic, and often they make a number of caveats or qualifying statements about the list, and sometimes, it is really just a most popular list.  Forthwith, let’s take a look at a Best Operas of All Time list on the website, Ranker.com.  It turns out that the ranking is determined by audience votes, making it more likely a popularity contest. 

Gramaphone, a well-known classical music review site published their Ten of the Best Operas list, which they termed “a newcomer’s starter pack,” and it's worth a look; they are trying to give you a broad view of opera.  In addition to operas already mentioned above, they included Fidelio, Tristan and Isolde, and The Cunning Little Vixen, and helpfully, also specified the specific recordings to listen to.  First I have heard of Janecek’s The Cunning Little Vixen; got to check that one out.

The Guardian, another trusted website is unable to stop at ten and lists the Top Fifty Operas, which is a good list to help focus your attention on consensus repertoire members.  I am not familiar with his website, but The Imaginative Conservative lists the Top Ten Greatest Operas; it is a somewhat different list, but to the author’s credit Nixon is not on the list and there are several we can agree on.  For liberals, NPR (hey, that’s what conservatives say) has taken a stab with our longest title list, 10 Operas You Need to Know from the World of Opera.  Additions not previously mentioned include Pelleas and Melisande, Wozzeck, Eugene Onegin (one of my favorites), and Werther; audio samples are offered from each opera.  Their list also includes Janacek's The Cunning Little Vixen.

It’s interesting that the “classic repertoire” of operas that get repeated over and over is largely a recent development.  Until the mid 1800s, operas were produced and offered a few times, maybe then moved on to opera houses elsewhere.  But mainly, they played a run and were soon replaced by a new offering, sort of like movies currently are.  It is only recently that new operas have slowed in coming and opera as an enterprise has moved to largely repeating classics.  I think I am seeing a move to more new operas.  We'll see.

You can find other lists on the internet or in books.  There is a lot of overlap, but each may have a few favorites of their own. However, make sure you check the basis for the selections to understand where the list comes from.  You can start your own list, which is after all the most important one, and living in the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S., you will have lots of opportunities to add to it .

Saturday Roundup, 7/9/2016 - Tweaks, Washington Concert Opera, Streaming Opera for Free, Non-singers Help, and Rick Steves Opera Note

note to readers on changes,

A few more tweaks have been made to the website: 1) a search bar has been added to the blog page that searches all pages on the website; 2) an Archive page has been added that lists all previous blog posts, hyperlinked, by year and month.  These additions should help when looking for something you read that you want to go back to or to see if a topic has been covered.  I have also updated the ‘For Parents’ section.  I still would welcome any suggestions for this page or the ‘Opera Ed To Go’ page.

washington concert opera's new season posted,

Do you mostly just want to listen when you attend opera, or want to try opera in a different format?  Washington Concert Opera’s motto is that “it’s all about the music,” and its website  states that “A concert opera is a complete, full-length opera presented with the soloists, orchestra, chorus and conductor on stage. There are no sets, costumes or props to distract the eye…and ear...from the operatic score. The focus is entirely on the performers and their dynamic interaction with their audience.”  Many recordings of operas are made this way (but usually without the audience), and I have heard good things about this company’s performances.  The performances are in Lisner Auditorium on the George Washington University campus.  I have added their 2016-2017 season to the ‘Seasonal Listings’ page and plan to do a more detailed blog post on them in August.

two more options for streaming live opera, both for FREE,

I have heard, of course, of “pants” roles in operas whereby a female, usually a mezzo soprano, plays a male role, such as Romeo in Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi .  This is typically not due to a shortage of male singers, at least in this era, but to the composer’s intentions.  However, I just read an article about “no pants” opera – think about that for a moment; ok, now lower your expectations.  The article addresses what to do when you want to watch opera but don’t want to put your pants on and go out.   This Observer article by James Jorden covers Met Opera in Cinema and Met Opera On Demand, the PBS Great Performances at the Met series, and using Youtube to watch opera, all of which I covered in Affordable Opera, part I and part 2.  However, he also includes two services I had overlooked.  First, Staatsoper.TV broadcasts live opera for free; the next two scheduled broadcasts are Rameau’s Les Indes Galantes on July 24 and Wagner’s Der Meistersinger on July 31.  These appear to be Met quality productions.  Opera star and perhaps the current leading tenor in the world, Jonas Kaufman, will appear in Meistersinger. I am not familiar with Indes, but heartily recommend Meistersinger if you are game for a five-hour affair.  Since these broadcasts are live and from Germany, you must allow for the six-hour time difference, which means the opera will likely start around noon, U.S. east coast time.  Visit the website to see all the devices these can be streamed on.  The second service that Mr. Jorden revealed is The Opera Platform which streams recorded videos on demand for free, which I imagine does not make the Met a happy camper.  I signed up for their newsletter and watched a few minutes of their recording of Carmen.  It looks great to me and offers subtitles in English, French, and German.  The opportunity to see different versions of operas is actually pretty exciting.

can’t sing, you are wanted,

Every once and awhile I run across a feel good, human interest story, and this is one concerning scientific research.  First, you should understand that I can’t sing and truly wish that I could; I’m sure that I would qualify for this study.  I first ran across this piece in Slipped Disc: the Guildhall School of London has initiated a research study that will focus on learning best practices for teaching adult non-singers how to sing and the best methods of supporting them in the process.  The study is motivated by much more than a desire to help people who want to sing.  Studies have shown that participating in music is good for your health.  Just last week I ran across this report, “Playing a Musical Instrument as a Protective Factor Against Dementia and Cognitive Impairment: A Population-Based Twin Study.”  I cannot say for certain the results apply to singing, but my expectation is that they would.  Besides, it is heartwarming to run across research so directly involved in helping people.  If you are going to be in London in July and August you could try applying.  I notice that one of the co-authors of the study is at Bucknell University in the US; maybe there will be some replication attempts here.

rick steves agrees vacations are opportunities for opera,

A reader alerted me to a recent post on the Rick Steves travel blog pointing out that live opera was being videocast onto the street in Vienna, Austria just outside the Vienna State Opera House; he was making a point about Vienna’s commitment to culture.  It raises another good point.  Opera is popular in Europe.  If you are vacationing this summer in the EU, check out what is being performed at the opera houses or in more local venues, such as museums or parks; it will be enriching in many ways.  See my blog post on Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu as an example. 

L’Opera Seria at Wolf Trap: Tickets are Going, Get Yours Now

Want a delightfully fun evening?  Wolf Trap Opera takes a fresh look at L’Opera Seria, which until recently, was a little known classical opera, using their highly talented and accomplished, young performers.  This second of WTO’s summer triumvirate of operas and last one at the Barns, begins on Friday, July 15, with additional performances on July 17, 20, and 23.  I previously discussed this production in my blog post of March 17:  

“L’Opera Seria (1769) by Bohemian composer Florian Gassmann (b.1729-d.1774) has played to recent acclaim in Europe according to Ms. Witman [WTO Director], though he is apparently better known for his well-regarded symphonies and chamber music.  A fall from a carriage led to his untimely death.  I read that the opera is a satire on the state of opera seria in his day (opera seria is defined in Wikipedia as an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and “serious” style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from 1710 to 1770).  I am not familiar with this opera or the composer’s work, but given that the lead sopranos are named Smirky, Out-of-Tune, and Purple-Face, I am willing to venture that it is a comedy.  And I am willing to bet that the young performers will extract every ounce of enjoyment from it for your evening’s pleasure.” 

I have done a little more reading, and yes, it is a comedy, one where the composer skewers many of the players in the popular opera community of his day for their vanities.  I find this a little surprising.  Gassman was very well known in his day and definitely part of the establishment of his era.  I also find it pleasing in that it is evidence of his integrity and adherence to principles.  He was eventually appointed Court Composer by Emperor Joseph II of Austria, enjoying a good deal of prestige and respect.  As an aside, he was responsible for the appointment of a student of his as his successor, Antonio Salieri, Mozart’s old friend.  Gassman is credited with breaking with traditional Italian Opera and furthering Christoph Gluck’s progressive style of the musical drama and for imaginative use of the orchestra.  If you go or if you have a copy already, read “A Portrait of the Composer,” on pages 21-22 in the WTO Summer Program Brochure, to see how an expert musicologist like Christoph-Hellmut Mahling is able to discuss the backgrounds of composers and their operas; I am impressed.  Director Matthew Ozawa and the creative team have been challenged to reduce a roughly four-hour opera into a three-hour condensed version while remaining true to the composer’s intent and musical composition and the librettist’s (Calzabigi) script.  I am very much looking forward to the enjoying the fruits of their efforts.

principal characters and performers in order of appearance,

Falito (Failure, the impresario) – Richard Ollarsaba: bass-baritone; Bachelor of Music from Cleveland Institute of Music; Master of Music from University of North Carolina; just completed a residency at the Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago; played roles in nine operas thus far, many with the LOC.

Delirio (Raving, the librettist) – Kihun Yoon: baritone; Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Han Yang University in South Korea; also a member of Los Angeles Opera’s Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program; appeared in eight operas thus far.

Sospiro (Sigh, the composer) – Jonas Hacker: tenor; Bachelor’s degree from University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Master’s degree from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor; also a Resident Artist at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia; appeared in ten operas thus far.

Stonatrilla (Out-of-Tune, the prima donna) – Clarissa Lyons; soprano; Bachelor of Arts from University of California, Berkeley and Master’s degrees from The Manhattan School of Music and Bard College Conservatory; in her first year of The Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program; appeared in four operas thus far.

Smorfiosa (Smirky, the seconda prima donna) – Mane Galoyan; soprano; Bachelor’s degree from the Yerevan State Komitas Conservatory of Armenia; a member of the Houston Grand Opera; appeared in three operas thus far.

Ritornello (Refrain, the primo musico): Alastair Kent; tenor; Bachelor of Music from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts; also a Resident Artist at the Vocal Academy of Arts in Philadelphia; appeared in six operas already. 

Porporina (Purple Face, secondo uomo): Amy Owens; soprano; she holds degrees from Brigham Young University and Rice University; a former Wolf Trap Studio Artist who appeared in last year’s The Ghost of Versaille; appeared in two operas already and also sang Mater Gloriosa in Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, to be released as a commercial recording.

More complete biographical information and their photos of the performers can be found here.  My counts of operas appeared in are estimates from reading the bios and are likely not completely accurate.  My purpose in including bio information is to impress on my readers that these young artists are already accomplished, professional artists.  All of these singers performed in the recent Aria Jukebox concert; see my blog post of June 28 for comments.  You will hear some outstanding performances by talented people, excellent value for your entertainment dollar.

ticket info as of July 4

I don’t know for sure that L’Opera Seria is going to be a sellout, but the better seats are in short supply; thus, I recommend buying your tickets as soon as you can:

July 15 – tickets $36-78; 164 seats left, limited prime seats

July 17 – tickets $48-88; six seats left with full view

July 20 – tickets $32-52; 118 seats overall, but limited prime seats; best value day

July 23 – tickets $36-78; 144 seats, but again limited prime seats

Tickets can be purchased online here,  http://www.wolftrap.org/opera.aspx. As noted above, this is a typical length opera of three hours with two intermissions.  Plan your bathroom breaks accordingly

hints for the Barns

By large opera house standards all the seats in the Barns are close to the stage.  Rows P, Q, and R have reduced prices and appear to me to be the cheap seats with good views.  Other cheap seats can have partially obstructed view or the inability to view subtitles; these are well marked as such when making ticking selections online.

The seats on the floor are not tiered and so you risk having partially obstructed view if a person taller than you sits in front of you. The prime balcony seats are the same price as the prime orchestra seats, but they are tiered which might be an advantage.  The front row of the balcony seats have a large wooden rail topping the balcony fence that I could see over to have full view of the stage if sitting upright, but not if slouching; the rows behind the front balcony row might be better for shorter folks.  Each of two paths to the seats in the balony ends with a support beam that makes some seats partially obstructed view.  They are small but there.  Again, the website makes this clear.

The snacks and the beverages in the dining room are varied and good, but can be pricey; see menu here.  Make sure you know the cost before ordering.  But any splurge here is largely reimbursed by the free parking and the relatively easy egress after the performance.

most important hint

Besides buy your ticket now, the most important hint is don’t forget the pre-Opera talk held one hour before the performance in the Center for Education next to the theater!!!  I am always glad that I attended the pre-show talk.

Want Fries With That Aria?

Scientists, you gotta love ‘em.  They just won’t leave anything be.  Now they are investigating the effect of sound on taste.  We know that popcorn and soda are staples for movie watching or maybe pizza if watching at home; but do we need to consider options depending on what we are going to hear, cheese or pepperoni for a particular soundtrack?  The phenomena of “sensation transference” as it is termed by the authors of a new study, is now under the microscope.  Sound and taste are connected, and they can prove it.  Travis Andrews, writing for the Washington Post, reported that the newspaper had obtained an early copy of a research report to be published in the scientific journal, Food Quality and Preference, that links different sounds with the perceived taste of beer.  We shouldn’t assume that the results can be believed because we have no data to judge whether the study is valid or not, and most importantly, it is yet to be validated by other scientists, but since it deals with beer I am willing, like most readers, to suspend my skepticism.  It seems that higher pitched sounds make Budweiser taste sweeter; if you are drinking Budweiser I’d push the pitch to the limit.  On the other hand, heavy-base music makes it taste more bitter and alcoholic than it usually tastes; sounds like an improvement to me.  In fairness, other beer styles were also examined.  The study's author, F. Reinoso Carvalho, stated that piano sounds tend to increase sweetness whereas metal instruments such as the trumpet increase the sense of bitterness.  Dr. Carvalho is now looking at the effect of sound on the taste of chocolate.  Again, I am all in.  Sweeping statements about the potential effects of music on taste are made, but only sounds, and not music, were tested in the study.  The effect of melody is likely to be a little more complex.  We are a long way from definitive answers, if ever, but getting there is going to be a lot of fun.

There doesn’t seem to be any data being reported in the other direction, that is, the effect of food on sound.  Maybe right now, that beer will be sweeter with sopranos and more bitter with baritones is all we need to know.  Of course this all could lead to conflicts – the husband wants a sweeter beer and the wife wants one more bitter.  Dinner might have to come with headphones – see below; it’s been done.  However, the fact that opera goers tend to be wine drinkers puts us back in the dark ages.  Nonetheless, the opera-food connection has not gone unnoticed by restaurateurs.  In fact, in St. Paul, Minnesota a few restaurants have gotten together to form something called the St. Paul Food Opera, as reported in twincities.com.  Later this year, multi-course lunch and dinners will pair dishes with musical selections; speakers will be placed at the center of each table.  Composer Ben Houge, one of the partners in this adventure, has been promoting the concept of “food opera” since 2012.  An interesting example of mixing sound and dining he cites is from Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck restaurant in Bray, England; for a dish called Sound of the Sea the chef provides diners with an iPod in a conch shell and ear pods so that they can listen to the sound of seagulls and surf as they dine; the dish is also served with sand to make it more authentic, gritty, but authentic.  Personally, I look forward to hearing how these different ventures begin to sum up, i.e., whether over time patterns emerge that are reproducible.  Perhaps they could even be used to judge the quality of a musical performance or compare singers – the manicotti was scrumptious with Anna Netrebko; let’s try it with Kristine Opolais.  Acoustics could replace noise level as a restaurant rating criteria; I’m for that one regardless of the science.  

I intend to do some experimenting myself.  I occasionally have lunch in front of my big screen tv watching an opera dvd.  Maneuvering a fork and knife and subtitles can be a little tricky, but from now on I also intend to take notes on the effect of opera on food, or should it be the effect of food on opera; I will figure it out.  I can only report from my experience so far that Rossini definitely goes better with Italian food, but then, so do most of the other composers.  If listening to Wagner, don’t eat, just drink, and maybe dig that Viking helmet out and put it on.

Aria Jukebox: The Wolf Trap Family Singers Strut Their Stuff

The Wolf Trap Opera Filene Young Artists - learn their names for the future.

Wolf Trap Opera Filene Young Artists 2016. Top row, left to right: J'Nai Bridges, Timothy Bruno, Ben Edquist, Mane Galoyan, Jonas Hacker, Summer Hassan, Alasdair Kent. Middle row: Sarah Larsen, Will Liverman, D'Ana Lombard, Clarissa Lyons, Richard Ollarsaba, Kerriann Otano.  Bottom row: Amy Owens, Shea Owens, Brenton Ryan, Reginald Smith, Jr., Kihun Yoon, Yongzhao Yu, Christian Zaremba. Photo courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera.

Wolf Trap Opera has several development programs to help young singers to further develop their careers.  WTO supports three types of young artists: Filene Young Artists, Studio Artists, and Fellows. The distinction among these categories is the point at which the young artists are in their careers.  There is also an Artist in Residence who is an alumnus/alumna of the company who returns during the summer season to mentor the young artists.  The term ‘resident artists’ get used for all these categories.  On Sunday, I chose to buy a ticket to attend the Wolf Trap Aria Jukebox Concert, performed by seventeen of the twenty Filene Young Artists.  The website says this about the FYAs: “They have recently finished graduate or professional degree programs from the top music schools in the country and have often participated in year-long young artist companies or summer apprenticeships. Many of them have already won prestigious awards and are on their way to significant careers. Approximately 15-20 singers are chosen annually from an initial pool of approximately 800 applicants.”  Most of the roles in WTO opera productions are played by members of this group.  Each singer for Sunday’s Jukebox had prepared four arias to sing and attendees voted prior to show time to decide which of the four would be sung.

Think of this like you might going to see an All Star sporting event; the FYAs are certainly among the ALL Stars at their level.  You want to see and enjoy the game, but you also want to see each player showcase their individual talents. For the major league baseball All-Star game, I want the National League to win, but I also want to see Bryce Harper hit a homerun.  I wanted to hear the arias on Sunday, but I also wanted to see who hit the ball the farthest.  It was truly delightful to be able to hear these young, but already accomplished, performers display their talents, both acting and singing, and sometimes, amusingly, their personalities.  And there were some home runs.

I now must run a risk to my reputation as someone who prefers sopranos.  After all, it was my newfound love of listening to great sopranos like Birgit Nilsson and Renata Scotto that drew me into opera some six years ago.  I’d also like to preface my comments about yesterday’s performances by reiterating that my likes or dislikes are those of an opera fan, not an opera expert.  I have an opinion and enjoy expressing it and encourage others to do the same, but it is just my opinion.  I should also say I did not take notes, preferring to just enjoy the performances, so I hope I don’t confuse any of the players.  Having listed all the caveats, here is the shocker, at least to me: I have to say that I was even more blown away by the guys than the gals on Sunday.  But to be fair, there were more guys than gals by 11-6.

Katherine Carter served as host and kept things moving at a good pace, staying in touch with and entertaining the audience with her comments, and WTO Director, Kim Witman, was impressive performing accompaniment on the piano for all of the arias.  When I heard the first aria, one from La Traviata , performed by Reginald Smith, Jr., who sings with a beautiful baritone, the impact of the emotion that he was expressing took me by surprise.  It is to be expected that the arias are sung in character, but the clear conveyance of the emotion without me knowing the words caught me off guard.  Mr. Smith will play Marcello in WTO's upcoming production of La Boheme.  Brenton Ryan, who played the Male Chorus in The Rape of Lucretia sang “The Aria of the Worm” with gusto and drama.  Among the other tenors, I thought Alastair Kent sang his aria with a voice that was unusually effective at conveying the emotion of the aria.  I am not sure such a sensitive voice will be able to fill the large opera houses with sound, but I feel strongly he could be a successful singer of popular ballads, along the lines of Andrea Bocelli or Enrique Inglesias.  Yongzhao Yu had a nicely resonating and attractive tenor voice, though I liked him much better singing Wagner in the encore.  He will play Rodolfo in the upcoming La Boheme.  I thought that perhaps Jonas Hacker had the strongest, most attractive tenor voice, and I expect a successful professional career in opera for him; and with the name Jonas he has a head start. 

My favorite among the male voices are the baritones.  I sort of agree with the sentiments of “I’m Glad I’m not a Tenor” performed by Shea Owens, who played Junius in The Rape of Lucretia.  His aria was the humorous highlight of the afternoon, and he was even joined for a few bars of Nessun Dorma interlude by a chorus of the FYAs sitting in the balcony.  He will play Schaunard in La Boheme.  Will Liverman who played Tarquinius in The Rape of Lucretia sang with dramatic conviction; I would like to hear him sing some softer numbers that allows us to hear the color of his voice.  Baritone Kihun Yoon has what is known in the opera world as a powerful instrument that will very likely power him to a successful singing career.  Richard Ollarsaba has tremendous stage presence and a clear, powerful bass-baritone voice; I feel he is destined for a successful career playing villains.  Christian Zaremba, who played Collatinus in The Rape of Lucretia, sang a very tender Russian song with such feeling that even this non-Russian was touched.  The last guy to mention is Timothy Bruno who would certainly be a finalist in any how low can you go competition.  His rendition of “Some Enchanted Evening” with that low bass voice was clearly an audience favorite.

The women were excellent; don’t misunderstand me.  Mezzo soprano Sarah Larsen, who played the nurse in The Rape of Lucretia has a voice of considerable color and warmth, well suited to her aria “Can’t help lovin’ dat man.”  Amy Owens who played the maid in The Rape of Lucretia sang a spirited "Zerbinetta’s Aria" by Strauss, which requires some difficult vocal gymnastics.  Summer Hassan who will sing Musetta in WTO’s upcoming performance of La Boheme sang a lovely version of Charpentier’s “Depuis le Jour,” one of my favorite arias.  Kerriann Otano who played the Female Chorus in The Rape of Lucretia sang Kurt Weill’s “The Saga of Jenny,” a good fit for her; I can certainly envision her singing that on Broadway in a revival of The Lady in the Dark.  The final two singers might have been my favorites of the sopranos.  Mane Galoyan has a lovely voice I’d like to hear more of, and Clarissa Lyons who sang an aria from Cosi Fan Tutte made me believe she would be excellent in that role and likely to play it sometime in the future in a major opera house.

In a fine finish to an afternoon of the WTO strutting its stuff, the concert was closed out with an encore performed by seven of the FYAs singing a selection from Richard Wagner’s Ring with WTO Artist in Residence, Alan Held.  Mr. Held played Wotan in the recent Washington National Opera’s production of the complete Ring. One was tempted to say, "Wow!".

Having now heard these young performers, I can follow their careers and look forward to hearing them again when they return to the mid-Atlantic region, as well as in upcoming WTO productions.  Let’s hope WTO does Aria Jukebox again next year. For this year: three cheers for the gals and the guys, but the guys earn a star!  And a big hoo rah for WTO!

Note to Readers

I have made a few tweaks to OperaGene.com in the last few days: 1) switched the homepage to the blog posts page, so that people who access operagene.com land on the blog page; 2) changed the font for the main text sections; and 3) changed the logo.  These changes are intended to make the site more appealing, user friendly, and helpful to the opera fan.  If you have suggestions on how to improve the website either in appearance or information or features provided, I would love to hear from you.

British Musicians and Singers Gather in Trafalgar Square Following BREXIT Vote to Play “Ode to Joy”

I was puzzled to read that a sizable group of individual British musicians and singers had gathered Thursday night in Trafalgar Square in London to play Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” in response to the historic British vote to leave the European Union.  This story was first reported on June 26 in the website Slippedisc.com and was described as a spontaneous response to the vote; you can view a video of the affair on the Slipped Disc website.  It’s quite moving and my first thought was to wonder why the musicians and singers were happy that BREXIT passed, especially because I had read prior to the vote that British musicians were largely in favor of remaining.  Like many of my first reactions, the thought that this event was expressing approval of BREXIT’s passage was impulsive and uninformed. 

“Ode to Joy,” is of course the familiar, final movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.  It is a surprising piece in that it involves choral music in a classical music symphony.  The words for the piece are taken slightly-modified from a poem by the German poet Frederich Schiller.  So, the musicians and singers were playing a piece of European music.  Most telling is that “Ode to Joy” is also the Anthem of the European Union.  One phrase in the poem translated from German and copied from the Wikipedia entry for “Ode to Joy” helps explain the sentiment:

Joy, beautiful spark of divinity,

Daughter from Elysium,

We enter, drunk with fire,

Heavenly, thy sanctuary!

Your magics join again

What custom strictly divided;

All people become brothers,

Where your gentle wing abides.

It speaks to the brotherhood of man.  The musicians were playing the EU Anthem as a show of solidarity with their musician brothers in the EU. 

Philip Barrett on mixcloud.com offered a report that mixes music and comments from the participants: https://www.mixcloud.com/philip-barrett/an-ode-to-joy-solidarity-with-europe/.  It is clear that this was a case of musicians and singers expressing their brotherhood with other musicians and singers.  In fact, British musicians/singers are worried about how this will affect funds available to hold concerts, to construct new music halls, and to easily cross borders in Europe as well as whether British musicians/singers will be able to work in the EU nations and EU musicians/singers able to work in Britain.

We will see what unfolds, but I was touched by this outpouring of emotion and display of brotherhood.

Met Opera HD in Cinema Encore Broadcasts Over the Summer

here’s the deal,

I am a little late reporting on this item, but on the theory that late is better than never, here goes.  Metropolitan Opera announced encore performances of four of its HD in Cinema series this summer:  http://www.metopera.org/Season/In-Cinemas/.  I covered the Met In Cinema Series in my blog post titled Affordable Opera, Part I.  The summer showings are not live; you will be watching a high quality recording – hence the use of the term ‘encore’.

detour to Philadelphia,

One surprise I received in doing some research on live opera being performed this summer in the mid-Atlantic region was an article in Philly.com (Philadelphia Inquirer’s website) by critic Peter Dobrin, titled “Classical Music In and Around Philly This Summer.”  For opera, he only listed the four Met HD in Cinema encore broadcasts.  I find it difficult to believe there is no live opera in Philadelphia this summer.  However, David Patrick Stearn, the Inquirer’s other classical music critic had a piece on Philly.com titled “Summer Preview: Classical Music Within a Day’s Drive,“ and there was no mention of live opera in Philadelphia this summer.  Too bad he only looked north of Philadelphia for his article; he is also associated with classical music station, WQXR in NYC, so maybe Philadelphia to New York is his area of focus. Regardless, I encourage Philadelphians to also venture south and west for some live opera this summer, and all of us to try live opera in different cities.  Opera fans in the DC area have Wolf Trap Opera and in Pittsburgh there is SummerFest 2016 (see Elizabeth Bloom’s recent article, “Opera Theater of Pittsburgh’s SummerFest Will Happen In Usual Places”).

back to the Met HD in Cinema Series,

To my chagrin, I must report that Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca was broadcast this past Wednesday and the cast with Patricia Racette and Robert Alagna looked terrific.  Ms. Racette starred in a Washington National Opera production of Tosca a few years ago and she was superb.  I have seen the final three encores in HD format and can recommend them all.  Tosca will be followed on June 29 by L’Elisir D’Amore (The Elixir of Love) by Gaetano Donizetti.  This is a fine production with power diva Anna Nebtrebko as Adina and Met Opera favorite Matthew Polenzani as Nemorino.  I think of this comedy as a slice of chiffon pie, something to be greatly enjoyed, though not too often.  I think Anna’s acting here is not commensurate with her singing but her singing is outstanding. 

Anna Netrebko as Adina and Matthew Polenzani as Nemorino in L'Elisir d'Amore.  Photo by Ken Howard; courtesy of Metropolitan Opera.

Next in the lineup is La Boheme by Puccini on July 13.  La Boheme is the most performed opera, and rightly so.  The story Is loaded with charm and pathos and the music is some of Puccini’s most beautiful.  This performance features a fine cast headed by Kristine Opolais as Mimi and Vittoria Grigolo as Rodolfo.  I tend to favor the sopranos but I must admit that Mr. Grigolo has a gorgeous voice.  In my opinion, it doesn’t have the gravitas of Pavaroti’s voice, but is more like a trumpet played beautifully.  I was anxious to hear Ms. Opolais because she has appeared in a number of recent Met productions and to very strong reviews.  Her performance in this opera was as a last minute fill-in for Anita Hartwig who came down with the flu.  Ms. Opolais starred in Madama Butterfly one night at the Met and the next morning was called upon to step in that night to play Mimi.  Wow!  I am so impressed she could do that.  She sang beautifully but was more effective at portraying a sickly woman than one enraptured by love.  If seeing this version of Boheme might prevent you from attending the Wolf Trap Opera production on August 5, by all means, put off seeing the HD version. 

Kristine Opolais as Mimi and Vittorio Grigolo as Rodolfo in La Boheme.  Photo by Marty Sohl; courtesy of Metropolitan Opera.

The final encore broadcast of the summer is the Mozart classic Cosi Fan Tutte, a comedy with a sexual edge, an edge I gather that Mr. Mozart liked to travel.  This production is especially fun because of a great cast.  It would be hard to pick a better current day one than Isabel Leonard, Daniel de Niese, Susanna Phillips, Rodion Pogossov, and Matthew Polenzani.  I will only comment on Susanna Philips: her star is rising, her smile is morning sunshine, and her voice is pure honey.  You can also catch her in Boheme above playing Musetta; her version of the aria Quando me'n vo is a show stopper. 

Matthew Polenzani as Ferrando, Susanna Phillips as Fiordiligi, Isabel Leonard as Dorabella, and Rodion Pogossov as Guglielmo in Cosi Fan Tutte.  Photo by Marty Sohl; courtesy of Metropolitan Opera.

however, consider this,

Ticket prices for these encore broadcasts are somewhat reduced compared to operas broadcast live. Nonetheless, you will still drop about $12-20 to see one, depending on the opera and theater.  That’s not bad given the price of movies these days, and you see it on a really big screen with great sound in a cloistered environment.  Plus, there is plenty of ticket availability compared to the live broadcasts.  There is another option to see these, however, if the timing or the setting doesn’t work for you.  You can rent any of these four operas by signing up for Met Opera on Demand.  You can sign up for the monthly or yearly plan, but you can also rent the operas individually for $4.99 each for a 48-hour period.  So, you can have your opera and cake (and eat it too).  Check out the Met Opera on Demand website for information on devices that can stream and play the videos.  http://www.metopera.org/Season/On-Demand/ 

And speaking of live opera this summer,

I noticed in the Washington Post Weekend Section these listings:

Beetovern’s Fidelio – June 25-26, Atlas Performing Arts Center (atlas arts.org), 202-399-7993

Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Medium – June 25, Bel Cantanti Opera (belcantanti.com), tickets online or at door

And speaking of live opera for the Fall season,

Ok, I was not speaking of that, but it is worth noting that single ticket sales for the Met's 2016-2017 season start on Sunday, June 26.  If you can get to the Met this year, do it!

Elegy Written On An Opera Guide

Name the composer of these operas: La Finta Semplice; Mitridate; Lucio Silla; and La Clemenza Di Tito.  If you are seriously into opera, or even music broadly, you might know or guess the answer.  I’d wager the typical opera fan will be baffled, except that the language the names are in may help you rule out a few composers.  While waiting on an appointment recently, I began perusing The New Penguin Opera Guide edited by Amanda Holden, 2001.  At 1168 pages, the Guide is an encyclopedia of opera composers with a fairly complete listing and discussion of their operatic works.  Amazon’s description of the Guide says, “Over 100 distinguished contributors have written on more than 800 composers and examined 1500 operas in detail.”

The New Penguin Opera Guide, edited by Amanda Holden, 2001.  Photo by Author.

Think about that for a moment.  Eight hundred composers – how many can you name?  The Guide begins with the listing of Antonio Maria Abbatini and ends with Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg.  Ever hear of those composers?  Fifteen hundred operas – how many have you seen?  I’m guessing you have not seen the four Mozart operas listed above.  And I’m not picking on Mozart.  How many of these Verdi operas have you seen – Oberto, conte di San Bonifacio; Jerusalem; or Aroldo?  And so it goes, not all of the great composers’ works were hits.

Somehow perusing the Guide made me remember one of my favorite poems, Thomas Gray’s Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, which ponders how many of the parishioners lay in their graves with unrealized potential.  The Penguin Guide is in part a graveyard of forgotten composers who nevertheless had distinguished themselves while alive; yet, despite their ability and efforts, never achieved wide spread or lasting recognition.  Likely each one put their heart and soul into their work, but perhaps their operas just weren’t that good or maybe the composers gave up too quickly or maybe for some reason audiences overlooked them.  If one looks at the history of opera, many famous operas of famous composers were failures when first presented; sometimes fan appreciation grew with time and sometimes revisions made the works more accepted.  In many cases, lives and composing careers were cut short by untimely deaths due to accidents or disease. In Mozart’s case, the first three operas above were written early in his career.  Suppose his life had been cut even shorter – no Figaro, no Giovanni, no Cosi, and no Magic Flute.  What might some of these unknown composers have achieved with more time to develop their craft and operas? 

I also wonder if society settled on the hundred or so operas that get repeatedly performed too quickly.  Music professionals and audiences have winnowed the list over time, but if we started over and had a competition would some new ones emerge as favorites?  I’d guess not many, but I’d bet there would be some.  Some conductors/directors would find a way to stage them or singers would find a way to interpret their roles such that audiences would be won over and they would emerge from obscurity, or maybe we’d find that we had just overlooked a gem.  Operas are expensive experiments.  You don’t get that many times upon the stage to work it out or grow an audience.  And we must admit that we can only sustain interest in so many operas, with more than 1500 accumulated over time, and new ones coming along every year. 

Let me end this elegy by acknowledging not only the composers but all the librettists, singers, conductors, stage directors, managers, staff, critics, and financial benefactors that were necessary to establish and maintain this four-hundred-year enterprise. The genius, talent, dedication, and hard work that enabled the writing of Penguin Guide’s 1168 pages is a staggering testament to human creativity, ability, and teamwork.  It continues to the present day and will soon be playing at an opera house near you.  The reward is not only in the legacy which can be capricious, but is primarily in the moment when the music, the performers, and audience share the creative experience and musical connection that brings us together as human beings, those alive and those who went before us.

Back to Lucretia, the Barns, and Wolf Trap Opera

first, a little railing,

Here is the follow up to my initial discussion of Friday night’s performance of The Rape of Lucretia by Wolf Trap Opera at the Barns.  I am not the only one who found this production to have a powerful impact.  Washington Post critics, Philip Kennicott and Anne Midgette  posted a discussion of the performance on June 12 saying as much.  I noticed their article on June 14, and I was disappointed to see that after two days online there were no comments for a performance that is truly worth discussing.  I enjoy reading the comments to reviews as well as the reviews themselves.  I left a comment and as of the posting of this blog piece it remains the only comment.  I wonder what it means that the Washington area is blessed with two world-class classical music critics and they only attract one comment on an excellent local production.  I am also dismayed that such a fine production is not a complete sellout given the population of the DC area.  It is summer and there are many things vying for our attention, but I am concerned that the presentation of opera of this caliber by enthusiastic and talented young performers does not fill a small theater in a metropolitan locale. I think of attendance at music, drama, and arts events not only as entertainment but to be continuing education in citizenry.  I have been thinking about Lucretia since Friday, six days ago.  It has raised my awareness and made me think about our nature as a society of humans.  Right now I am pondering the meaning of a question that Collatinus asked his wife as he tried to comfort her and tell her the rape was not her fault.  He says, "I forgive you."  Huh?  For what?  If anyone is swayed, there is still one more performance of Lucretia on Saturday night.

J'Nai Bridges as Lucretia, Brenton Ryan as Male Chorus, Will Liverman as Tarquinius, and Kerriann Otano as Female Chorus.  Photo by Scott Suchman and courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera.

J'Nai Bridges as Lucretia, Christian Zaremba as Collatinus, Shea Owens as Junius, Sarah Larsen as Bianca, Amy Owens as Lucia, Brenton Ryan as Male Chorus, and Kerriann Otano as Female Chorus.  Photo by Scott Suchman and courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera.

more about Lucretia,

No question that The Rape of Lucretia performed by Wolf Trap Opera is in sum an elegant and emotionally powerful and intellectually engaging production.  But let me add a few minor criticisms as a fan.  For example, why are stage directors today replacing Roman soldiers with WWII GI’s to update settings?  The story of Lucretia is just as powerful in its original setting I would think and having three GI’s named Collatinus, Junius, and Tarquinius sitting around drinking Jack Black and yet talking about the merits of wine seems a little unusual.  And some aspects still have me wondering – the presence of an unnamed and unexplained child and the male chorus donning the clerical collar to bring Christianity into the the scene some 500 years before it appeared on the scene.  I got the feeling that perhaps Lucretia might have been a sacrificial lamb to ensnare the audience in Christianity; I’m just not sure if the libretto was pro or con.  And why was the female chorus dressed like the young woman you hope your daughter will not hang out with, even if she does have a good heart.  These are mostly small matters that passed by quickly in the viewing, but linger on reflection.

J'Nai Bridges as Lucretia (holding River Rogers as Child).  Photo by Scott Suchman and courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera.

I loved the young voices.  Sometimes they sounded like not completely tamed broncos showing their spirit, but they managed to add color to an opera that could become blandly didactic.  I also like the use of the male and female choruses to place the action in a larger context forward and backward in time.  I thought Brenton Ryan who played the male chorus was particularly effective maintaining drama throughout the evening. Perhaps he had the most engaging lines; Kerriann Otano as the female chorus also sang well.  Sarah Larsen and Amy Owens, who played nurse/maids for Lucretia had strong voices, with considerable color, enough to maintain the balance among the eight players.  The same can be said for Christian Zaremba and Shea Owens who played Collatinus and Junius.  Will Liverman who played Tarquinius, the rapist, was threatening and yet in a simple, beautiful aria as he looked upon the sleeping Lucretia displayed a rather beautiful voice; he is worth hearing more of I think.  J’Nai Bridges had one of the strongest voices; I would like to hear her with more opportunity to show it off.  I think there should be a website somewhere where every opera singer has to post one song every year so we can follow their development.  I think the energy of the young singers helped to glue this performance into the unified whole that it was. 

The opera was written for twelve soloist musicians.  There was relatively little playing together to produce an orchestral sound.  I am not a musician, but I was surprised at how well the individual instruments supported the players and the story.  Kudos to the conductor and musicians.

All of the singers in Lucretia are Young Filene Artists.  I found it interesting to peruse their brief bio sketches in the outstanding WTO program guide.  You can also find info on the artists on the WTO website.  I was impressed that most are pursuing advanced degrees in music, are affiliated with other opera house training programs, and have several opera performances already under their belts.  These folks are worth following.  WTO has a strong record of its graduates going on to successful opera careers.

comments on the Barns,

I have mixed feelings about the Barns as an opera venue.  It is cozy and does have charm. The theater is not large with maybe 20-30 rows of about 20 seats across each on the floor level and a small balcony.  One advantage is you are close to the action on stage almost regardless where you sit and the acoustics seem fine to me. One disadvantage of the seating is that it is not tiered.  If you have a tall person in front of you, you will spend time moving side to side to see the performers on stage.  The Barns does have a rustic barn look.  It may conflict somewhat with the more formal nature of opera, but if it encourages more casual dress, I’m for it.  The restaurant serves light fare and drinks.  Ask the price of the glass of wine you are considering.  We found out after we had ordered that two glasses of pinot grigio were $26.  On the other hand, parking is plentiful and free.  Getting out after a performance is fairly quick since the theater is small.

The pre performance talks are held in a lecture room in a building next door to the theater one hour before the show and there is usually plenty of seating for all who attend.  I most definitely recommend these!  They will enrich your experience.

comments on Wolf Trap Opera,

I think Wolf Trap Opera is a treasure.  It’s director, performers and staff, and productions reek of quality and a commitment to excellence and to its community.  Young singers around the country compete to be part of this program and the development opportunity it provides them, and the program is designed to take full advantage of their individual talents to provide an optimal cultural and entertainment package for local patrons.  WTO is a pretty safe bet for investing your entertainment dollar.  Check out the recital performances as well as the operas themselves.

Opera in Barcelona

the setting,

My wife arranged the travel for our recent family vacation to Spain so that the best was saved for last, a visit to Barcelona.  At least that was the theory, though in fact each place we visited - Lisbon, Tangier, Seville, Granada, and Madrid - had attractions and charms their own that made them not to be missed.  Still, Barcelona with its art and architecture, its food and charm, and laid back lifestyle in a sea side setting on the Mediterranean certainly qualifies as a highlight.  My wife enriched the experience even more by arranging tickets for us to attend the opera there. 

One of the first things we learned was that Barcelona is in Catalonia, an autonomous, though not independent region of Spain.  It occupies the northeast corner of Spain and is similar in shape to South Carolina, though less than half its size in square miles, but having more than twice its population, largely concentrated in Barcelona.  The region has its own language, Catalan, in addition to Spanish, and there is currently a push by many in the province and in the Catalan parliament to secede from Spain due to a feeling that Catalans pay more in taxes than they receive in services from the central government.  Not surprisingly, the central Spanish government in Madrid is opposing the breakaway.  A new referendum appears likely in the coming months and Catalans seem to be struggling with this decision and how it might affect them. 

One practical result for the opera goer in Barcelona is that, while the operas are performed in their native language, the supertitles above the stage are in Catalan, while the subtitles appearing on the backs of seats can be selected in Catalan, Spanish, or English.  The name of the opera house itself is listed in Catalan as Gran Teatre del Liceu or in Spanish as Gran Teatro del Liceo ; the switching of ending e and o is a main distinguishing feature of the two languages.  The opera house was built in the mid nineteenth century, but was decimated by a fire in 1994.  It was renovated into the beautiful building and interior it is today, situated on La Rambla, a central street in old Barcelona and a favorite shopping stroll for locals and tourists alike.

In my travels in Europe in the last 10-15 years I have developed the impression that opera is more basic or central to cultural life there.  The opera house seems to be a natural part of the landscape for a town of any size.  My impression of the audience in Barcelona was that they were younger on average than I most often see in the US and somewhat less formal, though there were still lots of coats and ties and evening gowns in the audience.  During the intermission, the hallways were lined with attendees eating baguette sandwiches of Iberian ham and cheese with their beverage of choice, quite often Cava.  The theater was close to full seating, and the audience responded enthusiastically to the performance.  There are two choices for taxis after the performance.  Hail one on the same side of La Rambla as the theater and have the taxi take you on a long ride to get back to your hotel, or try in vain for the next half hour or so to get an empty taxi on the opposite side of the street headed in the direction of the hotels.  Your choice. (Photos by author; immediately below is a gallery you can scroll by clicking)

the opera,

One surprise for us was that, even though American opera star Joyce DiDonato was billed as the star performer, in fact, the lead roles were rotated among the performances by two sets of singers.  The disappointment was that we did not get to see Ms. DiDonato; I failed to follow my own admonition to readers to check carefully the performers listed for the day you wish to attend, though in fairness to myself, I had assumed that a star of Ms. DiDonato’s fame would not be rotated.  The upside was that we got to hear an outstanding mezzo soprano, Silvia Tro Santafe, instead; she sang beautifully and her acting was spot on.  Perhaps in Europe her fame is equal to Ms. DiDonato’s?

The opera we attended was Vicenzo Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi.  This is his and librettist Felice Romani’s version of Romeo and Juliet. It seems to have been a bit of a star-crossed opera.  The deadline for the commission was short.  Romani modified a libretto intended for another opera and Bellini used much music he had composed for a failed opera for this one, though the appropriated text and music were greatly re-worked.  Yet, the opera seems to be less often performed than I think justified by the beautiful music; perhaps it suffers from competition with Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet.  They did not use Shakespeare’s play as its basis but used original sources, so that the enmity in this version is not just between families, but between two political parties, the Guelphs and the Ghiberllines.  Politics in those days was to the death.  I will not comment on the direction our own are headed.

Some of the details are different, but the basics of the story remain the same.  A boy and a girl from opposing groups fall in love, and a sympathetic figure intervenes with a potion that causes a death like sleep and a plan for them to escape together; confusion intervenes and leads to both the boy and girl offing themselves to always be with the other.  There was one little wrinkle in this Romeo and Juliet that caused me difficulty.  Romeo was played by a mezzo soprano.  Here is what the program stated, “This is one of Bellini’s earlier operas and it has more in common with Rossini-style bel canto than romantic opera, the genre in which he excelled.  Thus a mezzo soprano is given the role of Romeo and the opera comprises an uninterrupted succession of recitative and arias that is still in the bel canto tradition.”  Okay, who am I to argue with their dramaturg.  I am confused, however, in calling this an early Bellini opera and with the implication that tenors don’t sing bel canto.  Nonetheless, this is the way the opera is typically presented and so called "pants" roles are not all that uncommon in opera.  I tried to accept Ms. Santafe’s Romeo as a guy.  I really did. However, for me she did not sound like a guy and she did not look like a guy, though I grant her acting movements portrayed masculinity quite effectively.  As the evening wore on, her love for Guiietta became convincing and the question of gender identity faded into the background.

Overall, I thought the singers were quite good.  Giulietta was portrayed by soprano Ekaterina Siurina, who has a pretty voice and sang well, though sometimes she seemed strained to hit the more powerful notes and her pleasure at having successfully navigated some of the more difficult passages was palpable.  The guys were adequate but, as a fan, none stood out to me.  The orchestra played well, but the sound seemed a little thin.  I would like to hear the Met orchestra give the score a try.

My feelings about the set and staging ranged from this is clever and creative in an artsy way to this is has moved into absurdity.  The set was minimalist and reasonably effective for some scenes, baffling for others such as having everyone walking up and down what seemed to be high school gym bleacher seats while face offs took place.  Most unnerving was a scene where Giulietta, to exhibit how distraught she was I suppose, climbed up upon a lavatory attached only to a wall; she then stood up and appeared for several minutes to be trying to scale the wall as she moved around on the lavatory and sang her aria.  Great aria, but one slip and we could have been dealing with a real tragedy.

Despite my critical comments, this evening spent at the Liceu/Liceu was great fun.  I only wish I could have gone back the next night to see whether Joyce DiDonato could have made me believe she was a guy.

Wolf Trap Opera’s The Rape of Lucretia

Wolf Trap Opera’s performance of The Rape of Lucretia Friday night at the Barns was what art aspires to be, thought provoking by forcing us to confront ourselves.  In that regard, it achieved a goal or at least a prediction set forth by Kim Witman, WTO’s director, in her pre-performance talk.  By weaving together elements of personal tragedy with sexual violence, war, politics, lust for power, evil, and religion, the story draws us in or perhaps more accurately forces us in.  I felt like I found myself locked in a roller coaster headed for the dark tunnel where the crash would occur and I could not get out.  Evil was headed my way and it could not be avoided.  The sick feeling in the pit of my stomach was my connection to my fellow humans in the audience, the world, and mankind from the beginning of our time.  Are we left to avoid, hide, only to be trapped by evil and plead for God’s protection and deliverance from its destruction, when love cannot save us?  And when the worst has happened and our dignity has been torn from us, can we go on?  How?  Why?

The impact of Benjamin Britten and Ronald Duncan’s opera is such that commenting on the elements of the production somehow seem irrelevant, unimportant.  And perhaps that fact is praise enough for the performers, musicians, and staff who were responsible for this elegant production, where the telling of the story, the singing, the music, and the delivery worked in unison.  Maybe I will comment more, another time, when I have sufficiently recovered.