Opera Philadelphia’s The Raven (Participate!) and Black Lodge (Prepare!) at O22

Before Opera Philadelphia’s Festival O22, there was O19, O18, and O17; sadly, O20 and O21 were precluded by the COVID-pandemic.  Festival O17 that began the 2017-2018 season was inspired by an OP analysis that suggested today’s audiences favored binge watching.  In moving to a Fall festival format to open their new seasons, OP not only wanted to provide an opera-binge opportunity, but a variety of options strategically selected to push the boundaries that would help define the coordinates for modern opera.  In this year’s program book, Opera Philadelphia’s Board Chair Stephen Klasko says that O22 is the company’s “fourth exploration of the future of opera”.  The Opera on Film addition to the festival was an example of OP pushing the boundaries; its inclusion in the future will depend on OP’s analysis of fan response to O22.  This blog post covers two productions in O22, The Raven and Black Lodge, where opera boundaries are pushed even further, maybe beyond the limits? 

Let’s start with The Raven (2012), “a staged, 40-minute chamber opera with 12 players”, by renown Japanese composer, Toshio Hosokawa; Edgar Allen Poe’s eponymous poem constitutes the entire libretto.  Both the audience and performers were on the stage of the Miller Theatre during the performance.  Not enough pushing?  Entering the theater each attendee was given the choice to participate in a greater or lesser degree in a 30-minute pre-performance exercise, and we were assigned to a small group, each led by a different Lenore, six in all.  My Lenore was a healing Lenore who questioned us about daemons in our lives that led us astray (including Matt Damon), and ways to seek forgiveness and healing.  I suspect pushing the boundary into an interactive area is likely on target as a direction of the future.  Audiences now have seen so many stories on television and the movies, there seems to be an undercurrent emerging of people wanting to be involved with their entertainment. 

Kristen Choi as the narrator/singer in Toshio Hosokawa’s The Raven. Photo by Steven Pisano; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

The nature of the other Lenores was not revealed to us except for a daemonic one who led another audience group momentarily crashing through our space.  Given the real/otherworld tension in the poem, having spirits guide us seemed natural.  This lead-in was amusing and fun and did give cause to consider more deeply who Poe’s Lenore was; the poem only tells us she was a maiden who has died.  Director Aria Umezawa worked with a local company, Obvious Agency, to help conceive and staff the piece, demonstrating Opera Philadelphia’s emphasis on community connection.  They came to realize that we know little of Lenore, only that she was a rare and radiant maiden who the narrator of the poem had lost.  The creative team started to think of Lenore as everyone and each person as consisting of many Lenores.  The composer considered his work Noh-like (Noh is a classical Japanese theater style).  The creative team selected Noh-like elements to work with the music and vocal lines projecting the fear, suffering, and anguish of the poem narrator’s dream-state ruminations, having lost Lenore.

Photo 1: Dancer Muyu Ruba in Raven’s mask displaying in front of the narrator/singer Kristen Choi. Photo 2: Dancer Muyu Ruba (sans mask) as spirit Lenore attempting to console narrator/singer Kristen Choi. Photos by Steven Pisano; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

The pre-performance was closed by the Lenores leading us from our curtained areas in the bowels of the Miller to the stage of the Miller where bleacher seating was arranged in a U-shape with the orchestra at the open end; the floor was swamped with sheets of paper covered with writing or typing and old photos, with some items torn, and had door frames at the corners where Lenores entered and exited.  The central characters on stage were the narrator played impressively by mezzo-soprano Kristen Choi and the Raven played by dancer Muyu Ruba.  By her movements on stage and her great vocal dexterity Ms. Choi sang the libretto, intermittently reciting the poem’s lines, varying pace and volume of each to display anguish over the loss of Lenore and the inability to move beyond it; doing this for about 40 minutes non-stop must present quite a challenge for an opera singer.  Despite the seriousness of the opera, it was quite a pleasure to see and hear Ms. Choi up close.  I had the pleasure recently of seeing her perform in OP’s Rigoletto and in OP’s film feature, “TakTakShoo”.  Ms. Muyu was convincing as she constantly displayed bird-like movements around the stage and in her confrontations with the narrator/singer.  She removed her mask for a brief period near the end, reverting to a Lenore, to confront the narrator, a move open to interpretation and maintaining the ambiguity of the poem.  The group of eight Lenores (Joseph Ahmed, Ang(ela) Bey, Vitche Boule-Ra, Makoto Hirano, Daniel Park, Minou Pourshariati, Pax Ressler, and Muyu Ruba) largely moved in the periphery to provide anchoring and framing for the two central characters.

Photo 1: A healing Lenore (Pax Ressler) interacting with an audience group. Photo 2: Spirit Lenores sorting through papers and photos at the beginning of The Raven. Photos by Steven Pisano; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

Composer Hosokawa’s music with built in silences tended to feature solo instruments or sections of the 12-piece ensemble to strike notes to color the modulating action on stage.  His music to me paints a series of threatening, rapidly changing murals colored with suffering and anguish.  There is a sense of emotional purity in the notes played by the featured instruments and orchestral sections.  Kudos to the ensemble and Conductor Eiki Isomura.  I thought that much of the natural musicality of Poe’s language seemed lost with this treatment.  On the other hand, whenever I read “The Raven” I am so impressed with the perfection of its rhyme and rhythm that I don’t connect completely with feelings evoked.  Hosokawa’s composition gives full vent to the emotional content of the poem.  If you have read the poem (who hasn’t?), experience the opera to complete your experience of the poem.  If you are lucky, there might even be an interactive pre-performance event.

Usually, I do some preparation for an opera performance before attending, at least reading the summary of the first act to make sure I have all the players straight.  I went into Opera Philadelphia’s premiere of Black Lodge only knowing that it was a rock opera that featured a man on film experiencing a Black Lodge moment, ala David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks”.  The event, held in the Philadelphia Film Center, combined a film with a live musical performance provided by an industrial, gothic rock band, Timur and the Dime Museum, and a string quartet from the Philadelphia Orchestra, plus some electronic sounds.  This production pushed right past the boundaries of both classic and most contemporary opera and invaded rock’s territory.  At one point late in the performance, I shared the sentiment of The Man on the screen; I just wanted to get out of there.  It might have gone better if I had prepared.  Honestly, this was a performance that I liked more after reading about it following the performance than I did during the performance.  Let me try to make sense of that; I will avoid the philosophical aspects of that assessment, i.e., would it really be better for me as a person having an encounter with art to prepare.  Regardless, I totally support its inclusion in OP’s Festival O22 this year.  Looking for boundaries, you must go past where they are, a technique known as successive approximations. 

Image from Black Lodge film with Timur on screen and with performers in front of screen, including Timur and the Dime Museum and the Opera Philadelphia String Quartet. Photo by Steven Pisano; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

What was going on in the film is not entirely defined, I think.  In fact, the music by David T. Little and libretto by poet Anne Waldman were written before Director Michael McQuilken developed the stage play.  Director Michael McQuilken reported, “So my task was three-fold: invent a narrative, invent an emotional arc for the lead character(s), and attach all of it to preexisting music (emotions) and lyrics (images and ideas). A deeply complex puzzle.”  Mr. McQuilken describes the plot as: “Trapped in a nightmarish Bardo, a place between death and rebirth, a tormented writer..faces down demons of his own making.  Forced to confront his darkest moment in his life, he mines fractured and repressed memories for a way out.”  Okay, that helps.  He continues: “The woman…is at the center of all the writer’s afterlife encounters.  She is the center of his life’s greatest regret, and she materializes everywhere in this Otherworld.”  Okay, that helps a lot.  In the film, the man accidentally shoots the woman.  It turns out that an inspiration for the film’s screenplay was William S. Burroughs, an influential American writer and visual artist who was revered by American subcultures rebelling against majority values, such as punk rockers.  Reportedly, Mr. Burroughs was a drug addict and was haunted by a seminal event in his life: he accidentally shot and killed his second wife.  Now the film makes even more sense. 

Jennifer Harrison Newman as The Woman. Photo by Steven Pisano; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

The libretto was fragmented speech, sort of a stream of semi-conscious approach, and perhaps offered too much of that.  To get it all, I had to read the subtitles on small screens on either side of the theater (the font size made me realize that it’s time to change my glasses).  There seemed to be several key phrases: his desire to get out of there; the man was trying to write his way out of there; and he issued this warning to all, “Be careful what you need to know”.  The visuals ranged from an empty warehouse room to a bar to the desert to The Woman covering the Man with goop and then inserting tubes into the goop all the way into the man.  It’s a lot to make sense of if you only have a vague sense of what is going on.

Two images featuring Timur as The Man. Photos by Steven Pisano; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

I liked the music, maybe my first rock opera.  I accepted the ear plugs offered at check in but didn’t need them - okay for me in the back, but I noticed that the members of the string quartet on stage appeared to be wearing noise cancelling headphones.  I am not familiar with industrial rock but have a vague idea of gothic rock.  The lead singer was made up to look gothic.  The internet says industrial rock is a fusion genre combining industrial music and rock music.  Again, from the internet, “industrial music is a genre of music that draws on harsh, mechanical, transgressive or provocative sounds and themes.”  Now you know as much as I know, but I do give opera omposer David T. Little credit for boldness in adventuring into industrial rock.  The string quartet ( Luigi Mazzocchi, Elizabeth Kaderabek, Yoshihiko Nakano, and Jennie Lorenzo) played well when I could hear them.  I think the Dime Museum band (Hannah Dexter, Andrew Lessman, Matthew Setzer, and Milo Talwani) did an excellent job producing an appropriate sound; can rock music be brooding? There were a few brief solo riffs from the band; I would have enjoyed even more.  Singer Timur had an impressive vocal range, tenor, baritone, and gothic rocker who I thought did a great job; perhaps there was some opera technique in there somewhere.  Timur also played The Man in the film to great effect.  The Woman, dancer Jennifer Harrison Newman, was captivating in the many strange situations in which she was placed.  Place my misgivings in context: at the conclusion of the performance, the performers received an enthusiastic ovation.

In conclusion, if you have the opportunity to attend The Raven featuring an interactive pre-performance, by all means choose to participate; both activities will enhance your engagement with Poe’s “The Raven”.  If you have the opportunity to attend OP’s Black Lodge, I think your experience will be more complete and at least a little less baffling if you prepare; see The Fan Experience section below for an upcoming opportunity to view it.  I think both of these events were essential elements of Festival O22 as measures to exploare the boundaries of opera.  Also, I like opera fusion efforts, and there are some excellent jazz opera and blues opera fusions out there today.  My hope is that OP will continue to commission such efforts, though maybe put a little more opera in the rock opera ones.  In my comments reporting on Festival O17, I stated: “The brightest star in the U.S. opera universe this season is not in New York, but in Philadelphia.  Opera Philadelphia is bringing excitement and modern relevance to opera this year, in bucket loads”.  This year in O22, Opera Philadelphia restarted the bucket line.  Welcome back!

The Fan Experience: The Raven was performed on September 21, 24, 29, and October 1 in the Miller Theatre.  Black Lodge was performed on October 1 and 2 in the Philadelphia Film Center.  (Note: Beginning October 21, screening of Black Lodge will be available on the Opera Philadelphia Channel.

The two-week Festival O22 featured 42 events.  This is an annual festival that was in hiatus for the last two years due to the pandemic.  For O22, COVID-vaccinations and masking were strongly encouraged but not required; let’s pray that for O23 they need not even be a consideration.  OperaGene’s three previous blog reports covered events at O22:

Festival O22’s Opera on Film Fits Right In: Comments on Like, Share, Follow   

Opera Philadelphia’s Opera on Film: Art and Social Issues Night   

Opera Philadelphia’s The Copper Queen and Otello: A Day at the Opera Festival   

Some advice for next year: Be smart; get on OP’s email list to learn about O23 as soon as possible – at the bottom of their website page, you can enter your email address to receive notices from them.  Then will come the hard part – prioritizing which performances to see during a two-week period.  For Festival O22, OP offered 12 film events, three staged productions with multiple performances, concerts, and evening affairs.  There were both matinees and evening performances.  You will have your work cut out for you in deciding.  My wife and I have attended all the fall festivals so far, since 2017, and each has been a highlight of our year. 

Opera Philadelphia’s The Copper Queen and Otello: A Day at the Opera Festival

Our Friday at Opera Philadelphia’s Festival O22 provided a surprise for me.  At 2 pm in the afternoon, my wife and I attended a showing of The Copper Queen (2021), a filmed version of a new opera originally scheduled for a staged production by Arizona Opera, but its staging was precluded by the shutdown due to the COVID pandemic.  In the evening at 8 pm, we attended OP’s production of Rossini’s Otello, the only fully staged, classic opera presented at O22.  Here is my surprise.  I thought they were equally meritorious, each in its own way.  My wife said picking a favorite was difficult, but she’d choose Otello, swayed by its historical aspects, Rossini’s music, and tenor Lawrence Brownlee’s performance.  Both operas were excellent, but I’m still not sure which opera I’d give the nod as my favorite.  Keep in mind, this is comparing a modern film with a fully staged classic opera, something you should never do; I expect to be trolled.

Photo 1: Vanessa Becerra as Julia in The Copper Queen; film still courtesy of Opera Philadelphia. Photo 2: Lawrence Brownlee as Rodrigo in Otello; photo by Steven Pisano, courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

The Copper Queen, commissioned by Arizona Opera, with music by composer Clint Borzoni and librettist John de los Santos, was first offered last Fall as a film in Arizona screenings and online.  The staged premiere of The Copper Queen was performed in June 2022 by Marble City Opera in Knoxville; Mr. Santos who wrote the original screenplay directed that production.  The story line is based on a real-life figure, Julia Lowell, a prostitute who used rooms in the Copper Queen Hotel in Bisbee, AZ in the early 1900s to service miners at a time when that profession was legal in Arizona.  Ms. Lowell reportedly fell in love with a customer, was rejected, and committed suicide.  Her room in the hotel attracts tourists today, and some say it is haunted by her ghost.  The opera presents her death as a mystery, presenting a fictional Julia.  The opera begins in present day with a young woman, Addison Moore, who is recovering from the death of her grandmother.  She travels to Bisbee to stay in Julia’s room as part of her recovery.  The connection between the two women is eventually revealed as the story switches back and forth from 1915 to the present day.  Sorry, I so want to tell you the rest of the story but will resist to save some surprises for you should you get the chance to attend a performance or view a screening.  Warning - I found the film off-putting at first; it shows an ugly, very dark side of humanity, including sexual and physical abuse, including incest, but in the end, it won me over.  Julia and her visitor find redemption and represent inspiring tributes to the resilience of the human spirit.  Addison’s growth from this cathartic experience is evidenced when she tells the hotel manager who has been projecting veiled sexual threats to back off in no uncertain terms. The phrase from the movie, “as long as you are breathing…there is still time”, comes to mind and warms my heart whenever I think back on seeing the film.

Below is the official trailer for the The Copper Queen film, available on Youtube.

It is difficult to believe that this was Arizona Opera’s first film feature.  Making a film presents new challenges for the director and Crystal Mannich does an outstanding job; the staging with close ups and different camera angles adds to the impact of the drama.  The singer/actors gave marvelous performances singing and acting.  In films, because of the close ups the acting takes on more importance.  The role of Julia is played by Vanessa Becerra, an excellent soprano I have seen a couple of times with Washington National Opera.  The acting skills she demonstrated in this film were also impressive; lots of close ups and no place to hide.  Mezzo-soprano Sarah Coit, who played the role of Addison, also gave strong acting and singing performances.  Both she and Julia seemed like real people you might know; this made the film compelling and absorbing.  The guys also turned in convincing performances, especially Joshua Dennis as her beloved Theodore and baritone Keith Phares as her father (remembering her father makes my skin crawl).  Composer Borzoni’s music was melodious, using multiple musical styles to support the drama and produce arias reminiscent of past eras.  Arizona Opera worked with Manley Films to produce The Copper Queen and the film looks like a first-rate Hollywood western where the featured landscapes are human emotions and feelings.  I remember reading that those involved in making Casablanca thought they were making a grade B melodrama for stars Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, but all the quality elements fit together in just the right way to make this one of the all-time great films.  I honestly didn’t expect The Copper Queen to be as good as it was, but all the parts were very well done, and the film works as a whole, providing a opera on film that is a special work of art.  While it would be possible to nitpick certain aspects of the acting or staging, the overall quality of this work is so much greater than the sum of its parts, I’m not inclined to go there.  The impact of this film was stunning.  I felt pressed into my seat, and when it was over, I doubt there was a dry eye in the house.  Kudos to all involved! 

Desdemona (Daniela Mack, standing) expressing her fears to her maid Emilia (Sun-Ly Pierce). Photo by Steven Pisano, courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

Festival O22’s Otello was the Rossini operatic version of Shakespeare’s Othello (1603) that premiered in Naples in 1816 and had several decades of popularity until Verdi’s Otello came along in 1887 and became more favored by fans and opera companies.  What a fickle opera world it is.  However, if you have a sense of opera history and three fine tenors, you can do Rossini.  And if you have superstar tenor Lawrence Brownlee on your staff as an artistic advisor and he wants to play the role of Rodrigo, you make the choice that Opera Philadelphia did, and we are all the better for it.  Librettist Francesco Berio de Salsa’s storyline departs significantly from Shakespeare’s, while Verdi’s librettist Arrigo Boito stayed truer to the play.  Shakespeare has the drama focused on Otello’s suspicions that his wife is untrue with Iago feeding those suspicions, while Othello’s wife Desdemona suffers innocently.  Salsa creates a love triangle between Otello, Desdemona, and Rodrigo with Iago fanning the flames of jealousy and Desdemona saying why can’t we all just get along.  Regardless, jealousy was ‘the green-eyed monster that doth mock the meat it feeds on” still, and it still drove the denouement.  While the Rossini ending also packs a gut punch, it tempted me to laugh.  As soon as Otello strangles Desdemona, all their family and friends and townspeople rush in to tell them that Iago’s deception has been uncovered and he has been dealt with, plus Rodrigo and Desdemona’s father Elmiro are now okay with her being married to Otello.  Otello looks down from the stairs where the deed was done and realizes his error.  Somehow, I could not help imagining him saying “Whoops”.   This was not my reaction to Shakespeare’s play.

Iago (Alek Shrader, standing) fuels the anger of Otello (Khanyiso Gwenxane) towards Rodrigo who he fears has seduced Desdemona.

Director Emilio Sagi initiated this production in Liege a year ago. Everything about this production was pretty, pretty music and very pretty singing, an elegant set of one palatial room with pretty people dressed in upper class costumes of 1920s Italy.  It could have just as well served as a drawing room comedy as a Shakespearian tragedy.  The staging and the singing was like a spoonful of sugar helping the tragedy go down. Librettist Salsa’s version is a fine drama, but the reason to see this Otello is Rossini’s beautiful music and the singing by the outstanding cast that Opera Philadelphia assembled.  Lawrence Brownlee is an outstanding bel canto tenor, perhaps the best today, and he relished playing Rodrigo; Rodrigo and Desdemona are the meatiest roles in this version of Otello.  His solos and duets were events to treasure and remember for years.  In this version, Desdemona is the center of the story and star mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack acted with authority and sang captivatingly.  In his U.S. debut, South African tenor Khanyiso Gwenxane was impressive as Otello, perhaps only a step or two at this point behind Mr. Brownlee.  Tenor Alek Shrader as Iago gave his usual strong performance.  I was also impressed with the vocals of the supporting cast, especially mezzo-soprano Sun-Ly Pierce as servant Emilia, baritone Christian Pursell as Elmiro, and tenor Colin Doyle as the Doge.  Rossini’s music was delivered beautifully by Conductor Corrado Rovaris and the Opera Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Opera Philadelphia Chorus under Elizabeth Braden sang beautifully, especially adding depth and presence to Rossini’s marvelous ensemble numbers.

Otello (Khanyiso Gwenxane) finds Desdemona (Daniela Mack) sleeping and ruminates over her supposed infidelity.

So, two full operas in one day, one on film and one staged, both high impact in their own ways.  In my opinion, with Otello, Opera Philadelphia showed that there are many fine operas that have dropped from the modern repertoire that are worthy of performing and attending, especially with the right cast.  With The Copper Queen, OP shows us that operas properly presented on film can be outstanding as well, featuring gripping dramas and excellent vocal performances.  If both these works are playing in your town and you only have time to see one, what should you do?  Cry.  Well, let’s get practical.  Staged performances are one off, and films remain available and the same through time.  In this case, choose Brownlee.

The Fan Experience:  Opera Philadelphia’s Festival O22 with its new Opera on Film addition is over.  The Copper Queen had one screening and Otello had four live performances.  Sadly, The Copper Queen film is not currently available for viewing, but Arizona Opera says it may be at some point in the future if demand arises.  I am sending them this report as a beginning. Any chance this could appear in the future on the Opera Philadelphia Channel?

The two-week Festival O22 featured 42 events.  This is an annual festival that was in hiatus for the last two years due to the pandemic.  For O22, COVID-vaccinations and masking were strongly encouraged but not required; let’s pray that for O23 they need not even be a consideration.

My advice: Be smart; get on OP’s email list to learn about O23 as soon as possible – at the bottom of their website page, you can enter your email address to receive notices from them.  Then will come the hard part – prioritizing which performances to see during a two-week period.  For Festival O22, OP offered 12 film events, three staged productions with multiple performances, concerts, and evening affairs.  There were both matinees and evening performances.  You will have your work cut out for you in deciding.  My wife and I have attended all the fall festivals so far, since 2017, and each has been a highlight of our year. 

Opera Philadelphia’s Opera on Film: Art and Social Issues Night

The fifth of twelve Opera on Film events (and second event I attended) of Opera Philadelphia’s Festival O22 was titled “dwb (driving while black) + Soul (Signs): Opera”.  The advertised program was opened by a short film about Opera Philadelphia’s “Resonant Philly” project; that performance was held in May of this year.  The program was developed by OP with Art Reach and Music: Not Impossible. The goals were to work towards making music more accessible and expanding the experience of sound for all, with the overriding goal of bringing people together.  The project involved developing wearable technology that allowed participants to sense and adjust sound experienced as music vibrations being transmitted to different parts of their bodies - hands, legs, and torso.  The immediate objective was to allow deaf and hearing people a more immersive way to experience sound and to allow people with autism more control over these sounds to adjust to their neuro atypical needs.  Opera Philadelphia reports that plans are underway to hold a second Resonant Philly event in 2023. This lead-in paired well with the Soul Signs portion of the night’s event.

Film still of Karen Slack in dwb (driving while black). Image courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

dwb (driving while black) is a forty minute film adaptation by Du’Bois A’Keen and Camry A’Keen of a one-woman opera by composer Susan Kander and librettist Roberta Gumbel.  The work was produced by Urban Arias, a company devoted to commissioning and presenting new chamber operas in the DC area.  The piece is a showcase for soprano Karen Slack who brings extraordinary vocal skills, charm, and pathos to the role.  The theme of the human cost of racial prejudice unfolds by having Ms. Slack sing through several scenes calling to mind black men abused during traffic stops and communicating the impact on mothers who love and worry about their ”beautiful brown boys”; when they see you, the mother sings, they won’t see “you”.  The vocal presentation is augmented by three dancers robed in white with their faces covered, with musical support by cello and percussion. If one thinks of it as a film that merges ballet and art song, a case can be made that merging of the artforms was not as effective as it might have been.  My personal response in remembering this opera is to remember the singing and to remember the dancing, but not so much to remember the combination; perhaps the white body coverings of the dancers pulled the dance into contradistinction for me from the story?  dwb (driving while black) is an excellent, connoisseurs’ art piece that will likely only attract a small audience, despite its excellence and the overarching need for its message to be widely felt and appreciated.  

“Soul (Signs): Opera” is a collection of three films, each a seven-minute, fully-staged and acted scene from an existing opera but performed by actors using American Sign Language (ASL); the vocals are supplied by singers off-camera, and subtitles in English are provided.  The collection was created by Up Until Now Collective and commissioned by Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Omaha, Opera Columbus, and Portland Opera; the films are currently available for viewing for free at Boston Lyric Opera’s operabox.tv.  The goal was to explore “new ways to enhance the artistic expression of opera” using ASL “as both a medium and a new language through which to interpret opera and bring it to new audiences”.

Photo 1: Film still of actress Monique Holt in “His Name Is Yan”. Photo 2: Film still of “Papageno & Papagena”. Images courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

“What Makes a Man?” is a scene from Terance Blanchard’s jazz opera, Champion.  The scene shows boxing champion Emile Griffith struggling with what it means to be a man while confronting his homosexuality.  Branden Kazen-Maddox signs the role of Griffith while baritone Markel Reed sings the aria.  I thought the addition of signing to this scene significantly enhanced my perception of Mr. Griffiths anguish in this scene, even though I don’t read sign language, an outstanding performance by Mr. Kazen-Maddox..

“His Name is Yan” features a scene from Breaking Waves by composer Missy Mizzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek where the tragic central character Bess pleads with church elders to accept the love of her life, an outsider, into their community.  This film brought back fond memories of Opera Philadelphia’s 2016 premiere of this outstanding opera.  Bess is signed by actress Monique Holt and the aria is sung by soprano Kiera Duffy, who premiered the role with OP.  Wow, it took me back there!

“Papageno &Papagena” – do I really need to say who composed this one?  Yes, the opera is Mozart’s “The Magic Flute”.  The scene is done as a queer version of this popular duet, with feathered actor Dickie Hearts signing as Papageno and feathered actor Branden Kazen-Maddox signing as Papagena.  Papageno was sung by baritone John Taylor Young and Papagena was sung by countertenor Jordan Rutter.  If you can watch this film and not be charmed, I don’t know what to say.  Well, I will say it is a great demonstration of the power of music; it was like the lights came up and the show came on, and the magic of Mozart’s music brought us together. 

I thought these were excellent films with fine acting, singing, and staging.  I would have been happy to have each turned into a complete opera recording for viewing, including the same performers. This sampling was great.

The Fan Experience: The Opera on Film section of Opera Philadelphia’s Festival O22 ran September 27 to October 2 at the Philadelphia Film Center in Center City.  Matinee and evening showing times were utilized, but each film was only shown once.  The schedule can be found at this link.  COVID vaccinations and masking are no longer required, but are strongly recommended; some people were masked and some were not. 

I will close with a comment about the title I chose for this report: “Art and Social Issues Night”.  The choice reflects my ambiguity about whether the works presented should be grouped this way.  Opera Philadelphia is recognized for its efforts to address disparities of many types, and certainly other films in Opera on Film addressed social issues.  I applaud OP drawing attention to these issues by having this program, but I can’t help but wonder if they might have received greater attendance if included as part of other groupings.  I have no answer, only discomfort.  In a sense, we should all be required to watch these films until we test positive for understanding, but they also deserve to be viewed simply as works of art among other works of art.  Regardless, kudos to Opera Philadelphia for including them in Opera on Film at O22.

Festival O22’s Opera on Film Fits Right In: Comments on “Like, Share, Follow”

Hooray! Opera Philadelphia’s fall opera festival is back and is expanded. They’ve added an Opera on Film section this year to Festival O22.  OP’s innovative, annual opera festival was forced into hiatus by the pandemic for the last two years.  The film portion runs the last six days of two weeks of staged performances, September 22 – October 2.   Opera on Film seems a natural expansion given the existence now of its Opera Philadelphia Channel streaming service; the Channel was initiated as a creative response to the COVID shut down of live, in theater performances.  The first of three film events involving short films took place on Wednesday evening, named “Like, Share, and Follow”, a mixture of seven, recent 5 to 20-minute films of varying degrees of operatic nature.  Opera Philadelphia’s Frank Luzi and Sarah Williams working with a screening panel of film specialists received over 800 submissions of films to consider alongside ones from OP’s Channel.  Mr. Luzi explained in opening comments that the title for the evening’s short films derived from the first two films: the first premiered on Instagram and the second was about social media’s effects; he joked that the rest were chosen because the panel thought they were really neat.  After having spent many hours over the last couple of years viewing videos on the Channel, I was looking forward to this new part of the annual festival.

Here is Wednesday night’s line up with directors followed by producers listed after the titles; those titles highlighted have links to websites where the film can be viewed online as of this posting.

Among the Flowers  (2021) – Patrick Eakin Young; the Royal Opera House

Corsair (2020) – George Cederquist; Chicago Fringe Opera

Someone Like Me (2018) – Adam Taylor; Obadiah Baker

The Two Hot Shots (2021) - George Moïse; A Lab Studios  

A Jarful of Bees (2021) – Natalie Frank and Erin Pollock; Paola Prestini

Rumspringawakening (2019) - Adam Taylor; Obadiah Baker

Heroes of New York (Brian Gonzalez and Malena Dayen; Bare Opera

I offer a few comments about my initial reactions to each film seen once as part of a package of all seven, mainly intended to pique the reader’s interest in these and other filmed versions of opera.

Film still 1: A young man staring intently at his Facebook post in Someone Like Me. Film still 2: A painting from A Jarful of Bees. Images courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

Among the Flowers is an “Instagram Opera” that confronts the viewer with a barrage of images, mostly flowers, some birds and hands and bleak scenery, with a poetic song by a woman whose life was once blest, and now using her phone, she revisits her memories.  The film left this viewer experiencing melancholy and wanting to cling tightly to the here and now.

Corsair was a very slick production complete with gorgeous people who could have stepped out of a fashion magazine photographed in Chicago, said to be based on a story from the “Decameron” as a sailor journeys “from greed to humility”.  The man is washed up on the shores of Lake Michigan and is a baritone and a hip-hop artist who is paired with an opera soprano.  For me it was the mix of opera and hip hop that provided the greatest interest.  I hope they explore more in this area.

Someone Like Me offers an interesting double entendre as young people search for people like themselves on the internet and hope that someone (in the thousands) will like their Facebook post.  Who knew breakfast could cause so much depression or elation or mating possibilities?  This film is both sheer fun and a caustic look at how social media exploits our vanity and self-doubts, controlling our lives in both obvious and insidious ways.  Of course, you are immune to all that, right?  Watch this film and profess it again, if you can.  Be sure to like this blog post.

The Two Hot Shots is a delightful modern comedy adapted from Rossini’s Otello, one of O22’s stage productions.  Two macho men waiting in a hospital room for their COVID shots have a verbal battle with each other over who will man up and go through with getting their arm punctured, while at the same time extolling the virtues of getting the shot.  The filmmaker found a clever way to encourage people to get vaccinated, while giving us an amusing opportunity to hear a little Rossini sung in a modern setting, perhaps a shade darker than if the rivals had been Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd.  Why didn’t Warner Bros. think of that?

A Jarful of Bees begins with a painting of a woman who is singing.  As she sings, the patches of color appear on her face in motion, distorting her face.  While this film was highly colorful and artsy, I would have needed subtitles to follow the words and was baffled as to its intent, though viewed simply as visual art with shifting paintings and Claymation figures, it generated interest.  OP’s program notes state, “A multimedia, immersive short film on the transformation of memory and the mutability of familial relationships.”  I’d like to say more, especially since the libretto is by Royce Vavrek and is sung by mezzo-soprano Eve Gigliotti, but I’d have to see it again.

Film Still 1: The young couple experiencing New York City together in Rumspringawakening. Film still 2: A neighborhood shop owner in Heroes of New York. Images courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

Rumspringawakening is a funny and heart-warming coming of age tale of a young Amish man, who is allowed to sin for a day in New York City and then decide if he wants to rejoin the Amish community.  His spouting of obscenities for the first time is amusing the same way it is when a child uses a “bad” word, and quite a few “bad” words are said.  It manages to exalt most of the arts while the young man and his newfound female more-than-a-friend roam around Times Square and Central Park.  The scene near the end with the young man and his girlfriend had a special charm.  It could only have been improved by having Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in the roles with some top-notch dancing thrown in.

Heroes of New York was my favorite film of the evening, so last but not least.  It tells the tale of five New Yorkers that play important roles for the city but go about their business without public recognition, if appreciated at all – a young immigrant physician, an environmental activist, a store shop owner, a specialist in love for sale, and an aspiring singer.  The film presents their trials and reveals their importance to the fabric of the city.  As the young physician emphasized repeatedly, we have to take care of each other - her mother taught her that.  Whether new opera or old opera, love and connection are winning themes. 

The films, as a group, are a mixture of concepts in storytelling, some straightforward in telling their story and others less well defined, requiring more of the viewer.  A wide variety of musical styles are employed, most original with some borrowed, typically orchestrated effectively with relatively few instruments.  The films were presented one after the other without a break.  The overall impact for me was like circulating at a dinner party where each guest you talked to had an interesting story to tell or perspective to reveal…well, if each guest was a highly talented performing artist. 

Much is made about what is proper subject matter for an opera; an opera is supposed to focus on grand passions and the extremes of human behavior.  However, a major attraction for these operatic works for me is how fresh they feel. They are about people struggling with the problems and pressures of life today, my tribe.  And being films, they provide directors new artistic opportunities for creative expression not possible on the stage.  Shifts in location or time, no problem.  Watching a character’s face melting, no problem.  None of these films could have been presented in the same way, if at all, in staged performances.  I hope we see this area grow alongside staged opera;. In fact, these films were really neat and often affecting.

The Fan Experience: The Opera on Film section of Opera Philadelphia’s Festival O22 runs September 27 to October 2 at the Philadelphia Film Center in Center City.  Matinee and evening showing times were utilized, but each film was only shown once.  The schedule can be found at this link.  COVID vaccinations and masking are no longer required, but are strongly recommended; some people were masked and some were not. 

I liked the Philadelphia Film Center, and it was a short walk from the downtown hotel where my wife and I stayed, close to all the venues for Festival O22.  Admittedly, it would have been more challenging coming from the suburbs for a 6 pm start, dealing with rush hour traffic and parking.  On the other hand, restaurants downtown are a treat; we enjoyed the pizza from Alice’s once more; love that crust and the many, many pizzas available.

Maryland Lyric Opera’s Macbeth: Verdi is Back in the House and for the Season!

Maryland Lyric Opera delivered the first episode of its “Season of Verdi” on Friday night in Bethesda’s Strathmore Center, its first pandemic-free season in two years.  Their performance of Macbeth, partially staged, featured an excellent cast of singer/actors, full orchestra and chorus, delivering a drama closely based on Shakespeare’s tragedy, complete with witches and ghosts, murders, and mayhem, decrying the lust of leaders for position and power.  Most of all, what it offered up was the amazing music and arias that Giuseppe Verdi composed for this classic opera!  And more Verdi is on the way from MDLO.

Verdi and his librettist, Francesco Maria Piave, with additional text by Andrea Maffei, closely followed the plotline of Shakespeare’s play (Verdi was so concerned with doing justice to the great Shakespeare that he asked his friend Maffei for substitute text).  Macbeth is a general in Scotland in the twelfth century whose lust for power, emboldened and abetted by his wife Lady Macbeth, murders King Duncan in his sleep to ascend to the throne.  They commit additional murders in their attempt to maintain the throne, and they begin to unravel under the weight of their guilt and the opposition of their countrymen.  All of this is foretold to Macbeth in riddles by a coven of witches employing ghostly apparitions, adding great suspense and an eerie atmosphere to a very dark tale.

Photo 1: Lester Lynch as Macbeth. Photo 2: Jill Gardner as Lady Macbeth. Photos by Julian Thomas Photography; courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.

Verdi originally wrote Macbeth for performance in Italy in 1847, but he also wrote a version for performance in Paris in 1865, making changes and adding new material, including a ballet.  The expert consensus is that the Paris version is the better work, and that is the most often performed one.  Maryland Lyric Opera performed the 1865 version, without a ballet, but including Macbeth’s final aria from the 1847 version.  Verdi wrote two other operas based on Shakespeare’s plays, Otello and Falstaff; both also remain in the modern repertoire.

One element of productions by Maryland Lyric Opera is that they feel familiar and impart, at least to me, a family atmosphere, in that they frequently include singer/actors that they have employed before, often using former graduates and trainees from their outstanding training program.  Macbeth has four major roles, Macbeth; Lady Macbeth; Banco - Macbeth’s friend who comes to fear him; and Macduff - a nobleman who opposes Macbeth; the opera also has several minor roles.  All the performers for these roles had previously worked with MDLO except for baritone Lester Lynch in the role of Macbeth.

Photo 1: Macbeth (Lester Lynch) is shocked to see that the ghost of Banco (Andrea Silvestrelli) is seated in his chair. Photo 2: Yi Li as MacDuff. Photos by Julian Thomas Photography; courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.

The renown Mr. Lynch was an inspired choice to play Macbeth.  He has a rich, powerful voice that commands the stage.  His singing and acting displayed well the many elements of Macbeth’s character, from a capable general to a cajoled husband to evil perpetrator to guilt-ridden murderer; he also had a few tender moments when his singing/acting and Verdi’s music actually made me feel a little sorry for him.  Lady Macbeth did not elicit much in the way of sympahty; for her, murder was simply a means to an end; she relished her ascension over those in her way.  MDLO’s Lady Macbeth was soprano Jill Gardner.  I have seen her give several excellent performances in lead roles for MDLO and for Virginia Opera.  As Lady Macbeth she was good, though not as good as I have seen her be previously.  I thought at times her vocal ornamentation lacked full definition.  However, she played the role of the alluring manipulator very well.  She seemed to relish playing this role, and her important sleep walking scene was effective and is critical to the opera.  Bass Andrea Silvestrelli was excellent as always, singing authoritatively and anchoring the drama as someone caught in the middle.  He displayed good acting skills, making an eerie presence when he returned as a ghost after his murder arranged by Macbeth.  Tenor Yi Li’s acting skills in the role of Macduff were not quite as impressive; however, he delivered a solo aria late in the opera that was one of the performance’s highlights.  Tenor Mauricio Miranda as Malcolm, mezzo-soprano Manli Deng as Lady-in-Waiting, and baritone Jose Sacin as Doctor contributed effectively in supporting roles.  The Maryland Lyric Opera Chorus led by Husan Park was excellent as always.  The ensemble numbers backed by the full chorus were outstanding.

The Maryland Lyric Opera Orchestra led by Conductor Joseph Colaneri with the women’s chorus portraying Macbeth’s witches in the balcony. Photo by Julian Thomas Photography; courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.

The conductor for this performance was Joseph Colaneri who performs internationally and is well known for serving as the Music Director for the Glimmerglass Festival.  Under his direction, the excellent Maryland Lyric Opera Orchestra displayed great finesse in its delivery of Verdi’s music and its coordination with the singers.  I greatly enjoyed the orchestra and thought that it did full justice to Verdi’s magnificent music. 

Ghostly apparitions conjured up by witches further darken the mood and add to the eeriness of Maryland Lyric Opera’s performance of Verdi’s Macbeth. Photo by Julian Thomas Photography; courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.

The limited staging for this performance was effective in supporting the drama; kudos to Visual Supervisor David Gately.  Having the angelic sounding women’s chorus placed in the balcony while singing the part of the witches did take me a moment to adjust to the fact that this was a sinister group on this night.  Verdi had his witches bearded, but the balcony was too far away for that to be effective.  On the other hand, having the ghostly apparitions called up by the witches wear white masks enhanced the spookiness and dark nature of the play.  The use of colored lighting to enhance the moods of different scenes was also a nice touch as was the use of flashing lights for lightning effects; kudos to Lighting Designer Stuart Duke.

Overall, this was another fine effort by Maryland Lyric Opera to bring high quality classic opera to the Maryland suburbs.  MDLO seems to have settled in with a program of mostly concert versions of classic operas at Strathmore with the occasional fully staged opera in the Clarice at UMD.  I get the same vibe from MDLO’s weekend performances at the Strathmore now that one might have gotten from the Boston Pops Symphony; it has become a community thing.  It’s what you do on Friday night or Sunday afternoon in Bethesda. 

The Fan Experience:  Macbeth was performed on September 23 and 25 in the Strathmore Music Center.  The concert hall is a beautiful structure that has outstanding acoustics for concert performances.  Strathmore is conveniently located close to the Grosvenor Metro Stop on the Rockville Pike.  Use of the parking deck is free on evenings and weekends.  I have found parking there to be easy in and easy out.

MDLO anticipates announcing the remainder of its “Season of Verdi” in the next couple of weeks; all operas are planned for performances at the Strathmore and will be concert presentations with full orchestra and chorus.  Thanks to Maryland Lyric Opera patrons and contributors, tickets for any seat in the house will remain $10 for students!. 

For the first time, Conductor Louis Salemno was not in the pit for an MDLO performance.  According to MDLO, Maestro Salemno and the company “have decided to go their separate ways”.   I have enjoyed many fine performances with Mr. Salemno at the helm, performances that increased my appreciation of the music in operas, and I wish him the very best in his future endeavors. 

The Importance of Bernstein’s MASS and the Arts and the Kennedy Center

For me, Leonard Bernstein, the arts, the Kennedy Center…well, it’s personal.  David M. Rubenstein, Chairman of the Kennedy Center stated in the program notes that “Tonight’s performance of MASS celebrates not only the Kennedy Center, but the important role the arts and artists play in America, and will continue to play for years to come.”  While commonly referred to as Bernstein’s Mass, the composer formally named it “MASS: A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players, and Dancers”.   The three performances this past week were the last event in the Kennedy Center’s 50th anniversary celebration; the pandemic caused the delay to Center’s 51st year. 

Photo 1: Aerial view of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today. Photo by Richard Barnes; courtesy of the Kennedy Center. Photo 2: Composer Leonard Bernstein at the first performance of his work, MASS: A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players, and Dancers, the inaugural performance event of the Kennedy Center on September 8, 1971. Photo by Fletcher Drake; courtesy of the Kennedy Center.

Why are the arts and artists important?  I devoted my working life to scientific research and administration, medicinal chemistry to be specific, but in my retirement, I am exercising another part of my brain by writing an opera blog.  Why?  If I discover the answer to that question, I will report it.  But it has made me think about the importance of the arts, and here is where I am with that: science allows us to see our physical world and find the relationships between its parts, enabling us greater control in meeting our needs.  The arts I see as addressing the human question of who are we, really.  The arts allow us to see what is important to us as humans, to find our common ground in a way that is experiential but non-confrontational, and through the arts’ ability to find great beauty in form and truth, art becomes a cohesive force for humanity.  My son, the philosopher, says that science teaches us how to control our world while the arts teach us how to control ourselves.  The ancient Greek philosophers pointed out that art, and in particular music, is fundamental to a healthy society.  As Bernstein’s MASS calls for peace and coming together, all art has the effect of calling for peace by leading us to see ourselves in others and connect or re-connect with what is truly important in our lives.  

Will Liverman as the Celebrant, surrounded by dancers in Bernstein’s MASS. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of the Kennedy Center.

Why are discussions of Leonard Bernstein, a famous composer, conductor, and pianist personal to me?  Growing up, my family and friends were not into classical music; enjoying classical music for me was a lonely pursuit, but I could watch Mr. Bernstein’s television programs where he not only played and conducted classical music, he also explained classical music.  Looking back, while many classical music composers of the 20th century decided to write music for the sake of music, which appealed to a diminishing group, Mr. Bernstein was trying to maintain the connection with a more mainstream American audience.  I even watched one program where he explained the creativity and appeal of the Beatle’s songs and music.  The Kennedy Center and Mr. Bernstein’s stature as a composer were oblivious to this young Georgia boy at that time; all I knew was that I liked classical music, and he was helping me to connect with it.  He is a bit of a hero, and oh yeah, he composed one of my favorite Broadway musicals, West Side Story.

How did Leonard Bernstein become so connected to the Kennedy Center?  His genius, humanitarian efforts, and support of President Kennedy were widely recognized.  In the late sixties, the assassinated president’s widow Jacqueline Kennedy invited him to compose a work for the inauguration of the newly commissioned United States National Cultural Center which was still under construction, which in 1964 had received the name of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a memorial tribute to President Kennedy and his legacy, especially Kennedy’s strong support for the arts as a necessity for the spiritual health of the nation.  Composer Bernstein, who had devoted one of his symphonies to JFK’s memory and later conducted the funeral service for his brother Robert F. Kennedy, accepted the assignment which included a deadline; his new work premiered on the Kennedy Center’s opening night.  On September 8, 1971, this musical genius and extraordinary humanitarian offered up a fully-staged pageant of the arts, a musical wrapped around a mass as a celebration of a president’s legacy and the creation of the new National Cultural Center – the Kennedy Center. 

Photo 1: Will Liverman with Soloists and dancers. Photo 2: Street People Ensemble members, Soloists, and dancers. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of the Kennedy Center.

Why a mass?  JFK was a Roman Catholic; a new work built around a mass seemed appropriate, especially since he was the first member of the Catholic faith to be elected president.  This was also to be a celebration of the arts and the new center and its mission.  Rather than adhering strictly to the seventeen sections of the Tridentine Catholic Mass, Mr. Bernstein added secular text and music and dance; the musical works its way through the sections of the mass including its liturgy in the libretto.  Maestro Bernstein began work on the assignment in 1969, but when he began to feel deadline pressure in the spring of 1971, he recruited Steven Schwartz, known for the musical Godspell to work on the libretto with him.  They constructed a story centering on the Celebrant, a priest, who undergoes a crisis of faith in response to the existential crises of his flock and their questioning of God coupled with issues tearing apart society in the turbulent 1960s, especially conflicts over the Vietnam War.  In a very real sense, this work remains current and can be viewed as addressing present day issues.

Photo 1: Will Liverman and members of the Children’s Chorus of Washington. Photo 2: The Children’s Chorus of Washington. Photos by Scott Suchman; courtesy of the Kennedy Center.

The Kennedy Center performance of Mass on Saturday night was my first viewing of this work.  It is said that opera should overwhelm the senses.  By that criterion, Mass met the definition of opera; it also met the definition of wow!  There was staging, lighting and color shadings, storytelling, drama, costumes, music, singing, and dancing.  The vocal and musical styles switched often and easily among tonal and atonal classical music, rock, jazz, blues, and Broadway, with live music sometimes augmented by recorded music and singing.  Words were in Latin, Hebrew, and English.  There was gentle, soulful singing and quiet musical meditations between twelve tone clashes of voices and discordant music, music to support the liturgical procession and music to support the existential angst and angry clashes.  There was a lead singer, twelve street singer soloists, a street people ensemble, a children’s choir, an adult choir, dancers, and a full orchestra.  Two hundred and ten performers filled the stage of the Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall and the balcony back of the stage and spilled out into the audience.  The mission of the Kennedy Center to support the arts broadly was embodied in Mr. Bernstein’s massive work.  If rap music had been a thing in the sixties, I’m sure Maestro Bernstein would have employed it.  (Hmmm, I wonder if Lin-Manuel Miranda might be interested in doing a version; KC will likely have a 60th year anniversary celebration).

Performances in KC’s production were uniformly excellent; however only one role has the spotlight for very long, the Celebrant around whom the action rotates; the actor/singer must evidence simple faith yielding to doubt, then a breakdown, and rebirth.  The reception of MASS absolutely depends on the singer who plays the Celebrant.  Fortunately, baritone Will Liverman was more than equal to the task; his performance was a tour-de-force.  The beautiful timber and power of his voice shone from the beginning, and he played the role as though it had been written for him.  I expected him to be good; he was great.  The street people soloists all sang well and delivered their songs with conviction.  The singers of the tropes questioning God and their faith were particularly effective.

The National Symphony Orchestra on stage led by Conductor James Gaffigan and in the balcony, the Heritage Signature Chorale led by Artistic Director Stanley J. Thurston. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of the Kennedy Center.

Kudos to Conductor James Gaffigan and the National Symphony Orchestra who managed to make this mélange of styles work with instrument pairings from full orchestra to individual solo accompaniments such as oboe and flute.  The dancers and the choreography were excellently woven into the drama; kudos to choreographer Hope Boykin.  The Heritage Signature Chorale was outstanding.  The Children’s Chorus of Washington led by Artistic Director Margaret Nomura Clark and the child soloists were excellent and added the element of innocence, especially in the closing “Simple Song” as the spent congregation revives, and reclaims their faith.  The ending seemed honest to me – after weathering the storm, though not resolving their issues, the people returned to a simple belief in God.

Director Alison Moritz worked with Conductor Gaffigan to update the work to the present day and chose the inside of a church for the setting.  Their work made this a memorable production.  After its initial performance in 1971, it was both praised and assailed by critics.  It was attacked by Catholic leaders and then later performed at the Vatican.  President Nixon declined to attend due to its presumed anti-war viewpoint.  Yet, the work remains relevant; over forty performances were staged worldwide in 2017-2018 for the 100th anniversary of Leonard Bernstein’s birth.  At its premiere, the MASS received a standing ovation.  At Saturday night’s performance, the entire, packed house audience, as far as I could see, rose to its feet in unison to clap and cheer.  I can understand the criticisms of the work and see where they are relevant, or not, but after viewing just one performance I feel grateful for having seen it, both as an engaging work of art and as a piece of history close to my heart.  I think Leonard Bernstein achieved his goal of making the new U.S. National Culture Center stand out, and the Kennedy Center has made good on its mission to provide strong support for a broad spectrum of arts and artists. I am a Kennedy Center member; it’s personal.

The Fan Experience: This production of Bernstein’s MASS ran for three performances in the Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall on September 15, 17, and 18.  The 2022-2023 season for the National Symphony begins on September 24 and the new season for Washington National Opera begins on October 22.  Parking in the Kennedy Center is typically plentiful at around $25 per day.  The Metro to Foggy Bottom and the free Red Kennedy Center buses from there to the Kennedy Center which run every 15 minutes are an excellent option.  Always check with the venue of the performance you are attending for COVID restrictions; for Saturday’s performance, masking was still required, but not proof of vaccination.

Interested in reading more about the Kennedy Center’s production of MASS? Washington Post critic Michael Andor Brodeur has written excellent preview and review articles, and in a pleasant surprise, KC’s production of MASS led former Post critic, Anne Midgette, to write her first review since leaving the Post to explore what this work has meant to her and how it has changed over time, posted on her website.

Coinciding with the performances of the MASS, the Kennedy Center opened a new permanent exhibition, “Arts and Ideals: President John F. Kennedy” in the JFK Gallery located on the Terrace Level.  It covers President Kennedy from childhood to his death with a focus on his commitment to the arts; it includes a display on Bernstein’s Mass.  We only had a few minutes to wander through but plan to spend more time there on our next trip down to KC.

Matthew Aucoin’s “The Impossible Art”: I’ll Have What He’s Having

Composer Matthew Aucoin; photo downloaded from matthewaucoin.com.

What a fantastical place is Matthew Aucoin’s brain!  Pianist, conductor, composer, and author, he invites us inside his gray matter for a tour in his recent book, “The Impossible Art”.  Mr. Aucoin, now 32, is a recipient of the MacArthur Award, commonly referred to as the genius award, and he is already viewed as one of America’s top composers – his composition Eurydice was performed in 2021 by Met Opera.  The book is written in first person, a highly opinionated first person, and thereby, it reveals much about the author, as well as his subject matter, which is opera.  “The Impossible Art” is worthy of consideration during your holiday shopping for anyone who loves opera or is interested in just finding out what it is all about.

I highly recommend this book mainly due to its most engaging characteristic.  As Doctor Frankenstein yelled about his monster when lightning struck: “It’s alive!”  Books on opera tend to be primarily studied and pedagogical.  This one brings opera to life.  Suppose Mozart had written a book discussing the composer’s task in his operas and those of his contemporaries, with its many attendant challenges and problems in combining singing, dancing, acting, music, costumes, and stage sets to tell a story made of dreams.  I think Mozart’s would be much like this one, communicating his enthusiasm as well as his knowledge, bringing the picture he paints to life, broadening the reader’s perception and understanding of this massive art form that at its best, never perfect, can transcend its elements to speak directly to the soul of its audience.  Thus, composer Aucoin calls opera impossible. 

Cover photo of “The Impossible Art” by Matthew Aucoin; photo by blog author.

This 299-page volume published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux is subtitled Adventures in Opera and contains eight chapters, plus a list of works cited and a list of recommended recordings for the works he discusses.  The author says in Chapter 1: “A Field Guide to the Impossible” that the remaining chapters are essays that can be read out of order, though I thought his order felt about right.  He discusses operas by Monteverdi, Charpentier, Birtwistle, Stravinsky, Verdi, Adès, Czernowin, and Mozart that have affected him deeply, as well as his own works, Crossings and Eurydice.  The works by the various composers are very different animals.   One of the charms of his book is that Mr. Aucoin seems open to anything except bad art.  He views opera as a generic term for a type of music much like ‘fiction’ is for books; his opera tent is very wide.  He embraces avant-garde operas and classical works with equal enthusiasm, and he views the current opera scene in the U.S. as a thriving wild, wild west. 

Another endearing feature of Mr. Aucoin’s book is that he advocates for loving opera from afar, that is, listening to recordings.  That is how he developed his love for opera.  As an author who advocates for listening to opera live, it helped restore a perspective for me that I needed to be reminded of.  He also understands that opera speaks to you or it doesn’t; he mentions that his own sister does not care for opera.  He also realizes our reception to opera can change.  He states that initially, “Operatic singing struck me as jarring and unpleasant”.  He gives as clear a description of the difference between opera and musical theater as I have read, and then proposes three laws of gravity for opera.  He asserts that the libretto and the music for an opera, along with its other elements should not blend but should bump into each other, each transforming the others.  If the book has a weakness, it is in being too often rational and reasonable, which as he states is the opposite of opera. Perhaps he should undertake the challenge to write an opera that would explain opera, but then, perhaps each opera is its own explanation, only using a language we can grasp but not fully articulate. 

Mr. Aucoin’s prose is lucid and clever.  He refers to opera as often being viewed in the US as “a kind of imported cheese, an especially pungent and funky one”.  He refers to the relationship between words and music in opera as “not just one of respectful deference: it is also a battle of wills”, with an illuminating discussion of the working relationship between composer Igor Stravinsky and poet W. H. Auden.  The main thrust of his book is a dissection of the operas he discusses, sometimes line by line, discussing changes in key and revealing the impact that the composer was trying to create in conveying the story being told.  It is here the reader must ride along with him, even if you do not have a background in music; what you get will still illuminate the composer’s task.

I found myself wanting to attend again, or for the first time, the operas that he discusses whether by his comments on Verdi’s Shakespeare operas or Mozart’s Figaro or Chaya Czernowin’s Heart Chamber, to hear them through his ears, or at least after being enlightened by the insights he shares.  In discussing Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s La descente d’Orphée aux enfers, his assertion that the opera makes “his depiction of suffering openly pleasurable, and exquisitely so” certainly makes me want to see this version of the Orpheus myth.  He sees making suffering pleasurable but not in an exploitative fashion as a bridled task composers must deal with. In discussing his own full operas, he bravely shares his misgivings about his work on Crossings, a work about Walt Whitman, and he discusses his working relationship with librettist Sara Ruhl for Eurydice.  I sometimes wondered in reading his opinions whether a particular one was expert opinion or a flight of the composer’s romantic imagination, or some mix.  Nor do I have the positive responses to all of the works that the author does, but still, he makes me want to give each another viewing.

Mr. Aucoin, a very busy performer, conductor, and composer, found the time to write the book due to the pandemic shutdown of 2020.  Making opera come alive in print is a gift.  I hope he will somehow find the time to write more commentary on additional operas.  Once I started reading the book, it quickly became a page turner.  For my final verdict on Aucoin’s book, I will borrow a line from Harry Met Sally.  When it comes to opera, I’ll have what he’s having

Wolf Trap Opera’s Susannah: A Powerful American Opera

I get caught up in the stories of today’s most popular operas, works from centuries ago, but the lives in those stories are typically far removed from mine.  During much of Wolf Trap Opera’s performance of Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah (1955) on Friday night, I felt like a twelve-year old growing up in Georgia at one of the fundamentalist revivals I attended.  Indeed, the wooden-plank set blended perfectly with The Barns’ wood construction to make the entire venue seem a country church at times, especially with the bright, lit white cross that often dominated the center of the stage.  This is an American Opera, easily relatable to my life.  In measure, it was my relatives on stage; I could almost taste the potato salad and banana pudding at the church social, and its themes rang true.

The composer Carlisle Floyd, experienced in piano composition and creative writing, chose to be his own librettist.  He was raised in the south in South Carolina.  His mother gave him piano lessons and encouraged him to write short stories.  His father was a Methodist minister, and the composer-to-be attended many revival meetings where traveling charismatic preachers used inflamed and compelling dramatics in calling sinners to the alter to repent their sins and receive salvation.  Susannah reflects that upbringing.  Mr. Floyd’s music, tailored to support theatrical productions, includes folk songs, hymns, and dances.  With his compositions, Mr. Floyd sought to develop a popular form of high quality musical theater to fit the middle ground between commercial works with a broad audience and elitist high art with its small following, and to bring it under the tent of works doable by smaller companies and college music departments, where resources are more limited, but the willingness to take chances is greater.  Susannah was his most successful opera, receiving over 200 productions thus far; among American operas, second only to Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess.  The composer died in 2021 at the age of 95.  I highly recommend critic Tim Page’s excellent obituary in the Washington Post.

Susannah (Ann Toomey, in the right foreground) has some innocent fun at the church square dance, while Elder McLean (Tshegofatso Clement Batoyi, farther to the right) observes. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera.

The story of Mr. Floyd’s Susannah is loosely based on the story of Susanna and the Elders in the Book of Daniel.  However, in the bible story, the prophet Daniel comes to the rescue of Susanna, which is not the ending of composer Floyd’s work.  Susannah Polk is an 18-year-old girl in a rural Appalachian region of Tennessee where she lives with her older brother Sam.  Sam cares deeply about his sister but spends his time fishing and hunting in the day and drinking too much in the evening.  Susannah has become an attractive young woman, a free spirit seeking innocent fun, but attracting the leering attention of the men and the jealousy of the women in the tight knit community.  Reverend Olin Blitch is about to arrive in town to lead a revival.  The community’s tolerance of Susannah ends when town elders, seeking a spot for baptisms to be performed by Blitch, spot Susannah bathing naked in a creek near her house in the woods.  Their lustful impulses quickly turn to shame at her perceived outrageous behavior.  They inform the other people in the community and force Little Bat McLean to say that his only real friend, Susannah, seduced him, which causes the community to refuse Susanna attendance at community events.  The situation continues to spiral downhill as Reverend Blitch, failing to “save” Susannah who maintains her innocence, forces himself on her sexually.  Sam shoots the Reverend, and the townspeople storm towards Susannah’s house demanding she leave the area.  Susannah, crushed and worn out by the constant rejection and Blitch’s sexual abuse, makes a stand, refusing to leave, and brandishing a rifle, drives her oppressors away. 

left photo: Reverend Blitch (Christian Pursell) chooses to dance with Susannah (Ann Toomey). right photo: Mrs. McLean (Winona Martin, seated), Mrs. Gleaton (Sophia Hunt), Mrs. Ott (Cecelia McKinley), and Mrs. Hayes (Hayley Maloney) observe and criticize Susannah’s behavior. Photos by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera.

As powerful as the story is and WTO’s telling of it was, it was the music that most impressed me.  When my attention occasionally shifted to the music, my response consistently was, “Wow, this music is really good.”  Conductor Stephanie Rhodes Russell led a 38-piece Wolf Trap Orchestra, placed behind the stage which had been extended towards the audience over the Barn’s orchestra pit.  The sound was excellent; kudos to Ms. Russell and her orchestra.  Floyd’s music is melodious and colorful in orchestration, but to me its most impressive aspect was how closely attuned to the drama it was, such as a bit of dissonance blending into the current melody as a scene becomes confrontational.  The music is also filled with gentle accents with solo instruments.  NY critics did not embrace Mr. Floyd’s opera, criticizing it as lacking innovation and complexity.  I found its beauty, drama, and the directness with which it speaks to the human heart to be more than enough.  Seeing Susannah and hearing its music made me interested in attending other operas by Mr. Floyd. 

Little Bat (Joseph Leppek) and Susannah (Ann Toomey) share a moment of friendship. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera.

A highlight of any Wolf Trap Opera is the extraordinary talent and high energy of Filene Artists and Studio Artists that it attracts to its training program each summer.  Lee Anne Myslewski, Vice President of Opera and Classical Programming, stated in her online pre-opera talk that the operas this year that were selected had fewer main performers to give the Filene Artists meatier roles since their career development had been interrupted by the COVID pandemic.  She also said she now felt comfortable with this crop of Studio Artists handling the roles of the older townspeople, making Susannah a good choice.  WTO always selects it operas after finalizing its list of successful competitors to spend a summer with WTO.

Reverend Blitch (Christian Pursell) calls on Susannah (Ann Toomey) to come forward to confess her sins and repent. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera.

One must begin with the excellent performance by soprano Ann Toomey as Susannah.  She displayed a lovely timbre in sections where a softer folk song voice was called for and great power and agility in reaching the high, emotionally intense, operatic sound that her arias often rose to.  Her “Trees on the Mountain” and “Ain’t It a Pretty Night” arias were the highlights expected.  Her acting fully supported Susannah’s transformation from innocent young girl to an embittered, distraught outcast from her community, while yet remaining true to herself.  Christian Pursell who portrayed Reverend Blitch is an outstanding bass-baritone who sang beautifully, but in this role also had challenging dramatic demands.  He met the demands both as the charismatic preacher and as the contrite sinner who had forced himself on Susannah.  Tenor Robert Stahley sang the role of Sam, who might have been my favorite character.  He sang the bouncy, fun “Jaybird” and more soulful arias with equal aplomb; his aria “It’s About the Way People Are Made” was especially touching.  His portrayal of a country boy was convincing, and he came across as perhaps the most Christian-like member of the community before his rage takes over.  He tries to console Susannah and sings about there being “too little loving kindness. It must make the good Lord sad”.  Bass Joseph Leppek also gave a convincing performance singing and acting as Little Bat, who cared about Susannah but could not defy his manipulating parents.

Susannah (Ann Toomey) wards off the angry townspeople, led by Elder McLean (Tshegofatso Clement Baloyi), who demand she leave the area. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera.

The Studio Artists in supporting roles (Tshegofatso Clement Baloyi, Tavon Walker, Hayden Smith, Dylan Gregg, Winona Martin, Sophia Hunt, Hayley Maloney, and Cecelia McKinley) contributed to the effectiveness of the story telling as Elders and their wives.  Considerable acting skills were required of them, especially in the dramatic revival scene.  I will single out two for special comment.  Mezzo-soprano Winona Martin who portrayed Ms. Mclean was very convincing as the small town busybody who sought to manipulate everyone and kept the pot stirred against Susannah.  Her counterpart as Mr. McLean was baritone Tshegofatso Clement Baloyi who seemed to anchor the performances of the townspeople.  Both were excellent.

In the final scene, Susannah (Ann Toomey), embittered by a life in ruins, rejects Little Bat’s (Joseph Leppek) pleas for forgiveness. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera.

Director Dan Wallace Miller told the story well and kept the action flowing smoothly for the most part.  In a move that surprised me, he highlighted Susannah’s loss of innocence in the final scene by having her give Little Bat a blow with the butt of her rifle, refusing his pleas for forgiveness, jolting as well as effective.  The dialect selected was rustic and unobtrusive, though not southern.  The least effective scene in the production was the Susannah bathing scene where Susannah was placed off stage.  The possibilities for this scene were constrained by having a single set that covered the entire stage.   The audience was required to extend its sense of disbelief in several scenes, but it mattered in the bathing scene, and for me, it was distracting and muddled the motives of the Elders.  The set design by Christopher Mumaw was most effective when displaying the church scenes.  Marnie Cumings lighting design helped the transitions between scenes.  Special kudos to costume designer Candace Frank and hair & makeup designer Anne Nesmith who made the costumes and the period and place entirely believable, a highlight of the opera.  Choreographer Felicity Stiverson made the dancing at the social and the interactions between the Reverend and Susannah go smoothly.

I would like to close with something that was not in the opera.  It was in the pre-opera talk by Ms. Myslewski.  Mr. Floyd’s opera is an indictment of the destruction caused by the coercive power of groups. In her comments, without excusing the cruel and small-minded behavior of the townspeople, she points out the importance of community in those circumstances.  These people were poor and needed each other, depended on each other for survival.  A code of conduct was necessary to ensure the effective functioning of the community.  Human flaws and weaknesses caused it to go awry.  Susannah tells the tale of a tragedy for all of its characters.  Sam’s assertion that the world needs more loving kindness for everyone feels about right.

The Fan Experience: Susannah was scheduled for performances on August 12, 14, and 20.  The opera is in English with supertitles on a screen above the stage.  The performance is two hours with an additional 20-minute intermission between acts.  This production appears to be a sell out; I was unable to find any remaining tickets online.  Ms. Myslewski’s excellent pre-opera talk should be available online until the August 20 performance. 

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

Annapolis Opera’s Invitation to La Bohème’s Café Momus: August 13

Want an early start on the 2022-2023 opera season?  Let me bring an upcoming event to your attention because it is unusual in timing and filled with charm, and it is one of the niftiest ideas for beginning a season that I have run into - An Evening at Café Momus.

An Evening at Café Momus poster image, courtesy of Annapolis Opera.

As I have been listing opera company schedules in the Seasonal List section of OperaGene, I was surprised to see that Annapolis Opera will kick things off early, in August even.  Their production of La bohème runs August 26 (Friday) and 28 (Sunday), but that’s not all.  To get you prepared and in the mood for a return to opera, the company has arranged a preview for Saturday, August 13 titled, “An Evening at Café Momus”.  General Director Kathy Swekel describes “this colorful and opening event” as a “vivid recreation of Café Momus”.  She further reports:
“The decor is, of course, 19th century Parisian café. Guests will enjoy wine and hors d'oeuvres as National Gallery of Art Curator of French Painting, Kimberly Jones transports them to the world of 19th century France. Maestro Craig Kier speaks about Puccini's composition of the opera, and a cast member brings selections of La bohème's music to life. The evening also features the unveiling of the Annapolis Opera’s 50th Anniversary collectable poster.”

If you remember, Café Momus is featured in act 2 of La bohème, as the fun gathering spot for young bohemian artists who have come upon an enabling bit of cash.  During the evening, Mimi and Rodolfo continue to fall in love, and Musetta stokes Marcello’s jealousy in a hilarious attempt to reignite their love affair.  For fun, this scene is one of the best that opera has to offer.  An Evening at Café Momus arranged by Annapolis Opera gives fans a chance to experience the scene from the inside, and with Curator Jones and Maestro Kier speaking, it also promises to be both enlightening and deepening of one’s appreciation for La Bohème, many people’s favorite opera.

Annapolis Opera appears to be undergoing a renaissance under Artistic and Music Director and Conductor Craig Kier who joined AO in 2020, just as the COVID pandemic arrived.  My wife and I attended last year’s AO production of Into the Woods and greatly enjoyed the performance.  We were also highly impressed with the quality of the performance; we experienced the opera house as a true Broadway Stage.  Director Kier comments on the 2022-2023 season:

“Welcome to the Annapolis Opera's 50th anniversary season!  What a thrill it is to present a season that captures the full breadth of operatic storytelling as we celebrate our past 50 years and look to the future.  Our season features composers spanning nearly 200 years with mainstage performances of a new co-production of Puccini's beloved classic, La bohème, the company premiere of Kurt Weill's musical tragedy, Lost in the Stars, and the return of Mozart's comedic masterpiece, The Marriage of Figaro.  In addition, we welcome artists in concert with our annual Voices of Our Time performance alongside our 35th Annual Vocal Competition and offer countless free events throughout the year with our popular Insight Series education programming.”

All’s well that ends well, but it doesn’t hurt to have a great beginning, and this year, Annapolis Opera does.

The Fan Experience: An Evening at Café Momus will be held in the Bowen Theater in the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts in Annapolis on Saturday, August 13.  Tickets are available at this link.  Parking at the Hall is free.  Subscriptions for the 2022-2023 season are available.  These days, still always check a company’s website to find out what COVID policies will be in effect for events you plan to attend.

In closing, let me add that Annapolis is a wonderful town to visit.  It is the capital of Maryland and both the Naval Academy and St. John’s College are there.  It has a waterfront, historic buildings, and great restaurants.  In fact, just writing that sentence causes my mouth to water and long for another visit to Vin 909’s wine by the glass lists and gourmet cuisine, or chowing down on seafood at Boatyard Bar and Grill, or lunch at Eastport Kitchen with its creative menu, and fresh made donuts at breakfast at Ruth and Chick’s; I could go on and on.  Make it a weekend and enjoy the town as well as the opera!

The 2022-2023 Opera Season in the Mid-Atlantic: A Lookback and the New Normal

The trouble for opera began in the second half of the 2019-2020 season.  Starting with performances ongoing in the middle of March 2020, every opera company was forced to cancel the remainder of their season as COVID restrictions began that placed a strict size limit on indoor meetings.  Seasons had been scheduled; contracts had been signed; rehearsals were underway, and some performances were in mid-runs; then everything shut down.  COVID continued to prove problematic for opera companies for the next two seasons.  Small and large companies were similarly affected by the pandemic.  Singers everywhere were out of work.  Opera companies were without or had diminished income for two years.  As we look ahead to the 2022-2023 season, I decided to write a blog report on where we were, what we’ve been through, and how the future seems to be shaping up; admittedly, we may not be out of the woods with COVID yet.   For this report, I mainly focus on the four largest companies in the mid-Atlantic: Opera Philadelphia, Pittsburgh Opera, Virginia Opera, and the Washington National Opera. 

Companies have moved back into the large opera houses, and the COVID recovery is well underway.  In 2021-2022, adjustments still needed to be made for mask wearing, checking vaccination status, and sometimes socially distanced seating as well as contingencies for COVID outbreaks.  Tensions still exist since it seems as though there is a new virus variant every six months with uncertain consequences.  However, schedules have been set to have full 2022-2023 seasons.  I will comment on this history, and I will also comment on the arrangement of each company’s season going forward, but I’d like to begin with some positive developments from the pandemic period as companies and singers rose to meet the challenges of those dark days by learning new skills and offering new works in different ways.

A Few Personal Highlights from 2020-2022

*Opera Philadelphia began a pay for view, streaming service in 2020, named the Opera Philadelphia Channel and spent their creative energies posting videos of previous performances and commissioning new works to be posted there.  There are several highlights here, but their wildly innovative TakTakShoo caused me to become a forever fan of mezzo-soprano Kristen Choi. 

*I was reminded of the advantages of film and how effectively it can be combined with opera by OP’s filmed versions of Soldier Songs and La Voix Humaine.

*I saw my first opera live with masked singers in Pittsburgh Opera’s Semele, with the audience also masked and in socially distanced seating in May 2021.  It was a marvelous performance by their young artists, and it seemed like heaven to be hearing live, fully staged opera in person again after more than a year without.

*I enjoyed the bold, adventurous spirit of Virginia Opera in the Fall of 2021 when, to contend with COVID restrictions they staged Wagner’s Das Rheingold on the outdoor driving range at Topgolfs in Norfolk and Richmond.  What fun at a time when we needed fun!

*I was initially saddened to find there would again be no new American Opera Initiative operas in January of 2021.  However, Washington National Opera’s AOI had kept the program running during the pandemic, providing a safe haven for their young artists to perform, and three new 20-min operas were posted online in March of that year.  It was a breath of fresh air, good new operas, and hope.

*WNO also sent their Pop-Up Opera Truck to locations around the city to present mini-concerts by their Cafritz Young Artists to all within earshot.

*Although Opera Lafayette is not a focus of this report, I must mention their production of The Blacksmith.  No in house performances allowed?  No problem!  Artistic Director Ryan Brown transformed an opera-comique, Le Maréchal Ferrant, into a Southwestern opera that was performed on a makeshift stage beside a barn on a ranch in Montana with the audience seated on socially distanced bales of hay.   Woooee!  Loved it.  A film was made for viewing, and eventually OL brought the live production to The Barns of Wolf Trap. 

*Wolf Trap Opera managed to keep their summer Filene Artists and Studio programs functioning, while following safety protocols for its young artists.  WTO offered a slate of online performances and tried out a new streaming service.

*Also not a focus of this report, my love-hate relationship with the Metropolitan Opera, while closed for new performances, turned towards love as the Met screened a different opera video of theirs every night of the pandemic.  That was a help; thank you Met.

*Individuals, groups, and companies learned new technological skills and put them to use.  One I especially enjoyed was the blending of individual performances into unified group performances for online streaming.  I especially enjoyed an online video performance of Copeland’s Fanfare for the Common Man by musicians from the National Philharmonic at Strathmore, done as a tribute to hospital workers and common Americans on the frontlines during pandemic.  Individual horn players and percussionists recorded their parts in their home offices and basements, which were synthesized together.  It is an inspired and inspirational performance.

 *Small companies with limited resources were especially hard it by the pandemic.  Some performed public service as well as finding ways to keep their programs going.  Maryland Lyric Opera responded immediately by purchasing and distributing medical masks to health care workers and first responders, at a time when they were in short supply.

To all the opera companies that made herculean efforts to keep opera alive and maintain connections with their audiences during a deadly pandemic, we salute you!!!

A Look at the Ghosts of Seasons Past and Yet To Be

For each company we will take a look at three COVID-impacted seasons and the new 2022-2023 season:

Opera Philadelphia (operaphila.org)

2022-2023

Otello -                        Festival O22 - Sep 23, 25, 30, Oct 2

The Raven -                Festival O22 - Sep 21, 24, 29, Oct 1

Black Lodge -             Festival O22 - Oct 1, 2

Afternoons at AVA - Festival O22 - Sep 24, Oct 1

Opera on Film -         Festival O22 - Sep 27, 28, 29, 30, Oct 1, 2

Carmina Burana –    Feb 3, 5

La Bohème  -             April 28, 30, May 5, 7

2021-2022 (COVID impacted)

Amici e Rivali - Evening of Vocal Fireworks

Oediipus Rex + Lilacs

Rigoletto

2020-2021 (COVID impacted)

The Drama of Tosca - outdoor concert

2019-2020 (COVID impacted)

Denis&Katya -                          Festival O19

Semele -                                    Festival O19

The Love of Three Oranges - Festival O19 

Let Me Die -                             Festival O19 

Curtis in Concert -                  Festival O19

Verdi’s Requiem

Madame Butterfly – cancelled

Opera Philadelphia’s primary response to the pandemic, as mentioned previously, was to create the streaming service Opera Philadelphia Channel and to commission several new works for the Channel.  An emphasis for the first two years was employing composers and performers of color to create and perform works that address cultural issues.  This theme of opera companies beginning a correction for its history of misogyny, racism, and sexual orientation discrimination played out in all of the companies.  Opera Philadelphia Channel now has a secure role as part of Opera Philadelphia.  Plans for additional new productions are in place, as well as the formation of collaborations with other companies to add to its online content to OPC. 

One of the most painful losses for me was two years without an Opera Philadelphia Fall festival, which had taken a leadership role in helping opera find its future.  I am so pleased to see that Festival O22 is part of the 2022-2023 season.  Festival O22 will take place at several venues around the city, many smaller halls.  Beyond that, OP’s new season reflects what can be seen for all the opera companies’ new seasons: the new normal is going to very much be the old normal.  In Opera Philadelphia’s case, the season will again be the festival, a winter concert vocal work, and a Spring top ten classic opera.  Fair enough, companies still have to make a profit and top ten operas are still most likely to fill large concert halls.  In Opera Philadelphia’s case, their seasons were already heavily balanced towards innovation. 

Pittsburgh Opera (pittsburghopera.org)

2022-2023

Rusalka -                              Sep 17, 20, 23, 25

The Marriage of Figaro -   Nov 5, 8, 11, 13

Ariodante -                          Jan 21, 24, 27, and 29

Il Trovatore -                       March 25, 28, 31, April 2

Denis & Katya -                  May 6, 9, 12, 14, 20

We Shall Not Be Moved - May 13, 16, 18, 19, and 21

2021-2022 (COVID impacted)

The Magic Flute

The Rose Elf

In A Grove

Carmen

Blue

2020-2021 (COVID impacted)

Così fan tutte

Soldier Songs, rescheduled for streaming

Semele

Charlie Parker’s Yardbird

2019-2020 (COVID impacted)

Don Giovanni

Florencia en el Amazonas

Alcina

The Last American Hammer

Carmen - Cancelled

Norma – Cancelled

After cancelling Norma and postponing Carmen in the first half of 2020, Pittsburg Opera was determined to bring it fans live, fully staged opera in the second half.  Indeed, as far as I can tell, PO was the only company to hold indoor opera performances in the 2020-2021 season, which required some substantial modifications for what was presented.  Four productions were scheduled for the 2020-2021 season using shortened classic operas and chamber-sized works performed in the small theater of the Pittsburgh Opera headquarters, using socially-distanced seating and masks for audience and performers.  Even so, in person performances of Soldier Songs had to be cancelled at the last minute.  Because fewer than 100 patrons could be accommodated per performance under the requirements, Pittsburgh Opera made videos of the performances, including a dress rehearsal of Soldier Songs, and screened them for free to reach their larger community. 

The new season returns to the typical format for PO seasons, three or four classic operas presented at their larger venue, the Benedum Center, and additional works of less often performed canonical works and contemporary works performed in smaller venues by their young artists.  The productions in the smaller venues are often my favorites; their young artists are outstanding.  PO will also present a modern production by a black composer and librettist, We Shall Not Be Moved.  This work which premiered as part of Opera Philadelphia’s Festival O17 deals with a 1985 incident involving a standoff between MOVE, a black liberation group, and the Philadelphia police which ended with eleven dead, including five children, and a neighborhood destroyed.  PO’s performances of the most popular operas tend to be excellent, but their smaller works performed by their young artists in intimate settings can be really special.  Last season’s In the Grove, which received rave reviews is currently available online for free.

Virginia Opera (vaopera.org)

(Operas performed in Norfolk, Fairfax, and Richmond)

2022-2023

The Valkyrie – (Norfolk) Sep 30, Oct 1, 2, (Fairfax) 8, 9, (Richmond) 14, 16

The Pirates of Penzance – (Norfolk) Nov 4, 5, 6. (Fairfax) 12. 13, (Richmond) 18, 20

Fellow Travelers – (Norfolk) Jan 27, 28, 29, (Fairfax) Feb 4, 5, (Richmond) 10, 12

La Traviata – (Norfolk) Mar 3, 4, 5, (Fairfax) 11, 12, (Richmond) 17, 9

Will Liverman in Concert – Dec 1, 3

2021-2022 (COVID)

Das Rheingold

La Bohème: Rodolfo Remembers

Three Decembers

The Marriage of Figaro

2020-2021 (COVID)

La Voix Humaine/Gianni Schicchi - cancelled

The Marriage of Figaro – cancelled

Cold Mountain - cancelled

The Pirates of Penzance – cancelled

Rigoletto - cancelled

2019-2020 (COVID)

Tosca

Il Postino (The Postman)

Cinderella (La Cenerentola)

Aida - Cancelled

Virginia Opera was hit hard by COVID, especially in season 2020-2021 where the season was scheduled, then modified, then cancelled.  But the company pushed hard in the 2021-2022 season by scheduling, as mentioned earlier, the first opera of the season outdoors, then indoors using a modified, shortened La Bohème, which could be done under the restricitons of late Fall 2020.  Virginia Opera also utilized several online formats to reach out to their audience, including an online discussion/interview series with the artistic director and assistant Conductor called “Martinis, Manhattans, and Maestros” and online recitals by their young artists.  They also offered a program of traveling opera to any group who wanted to take advantage of the service.

For the 2022-2023 season, VA Opera will return to its usual format of four operas presented in the usual three Virginia cities, but with a decidedly more varied and adventurous flavor.  One of the new season offerings is Fellow Travelers which deals with the “lavendar scare” of the 1950s causing a witch hunt and the firing of gay employees from the federal government. VO has also been tending towards including a production with connections to Broadway. Artistic Director and Conductor Adam Turner has stated his desire to offer a mixture of classical operas and contemporary works. 

Washington National Opera 

2022-2023

Il Trovatore - Oct 22, 28, 30, Nov 2, 5, 7

Elektra - Oct 29, 31, Nov 4, 6, 9, 12

The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson - Jan 20, 22

AOI – Three 20-Min Operas – Jan 21

Blue - Mar 11, 13, 17, 19, 22, 25

La Bohème - Mar 13, 14, 15, 19, 21, 24, 26

Marian Anderson Award Recital - Leah Hawkins Feb 12

2021-2022 (COVID)

Come Home: A Celebration of Return

Written in Stone

Cosi fan tutte

Carmen

2020-2021 (COVID)

AOI – Three 20 Min Operas - online video

La Bohème - cancelled

Blue – cancelled

Nixon in China – cancelled

Fidelio – cancelled

Boris Godunov -cancelled

Rigoletto – cancelled

Cosí fan tutte – cancelled

2019-2020 (COVID)

Otello

The Magic Flute

AOI – Three 20 Min Operas

Don Giovanni - last three performances cancelled

Samson and Delilah - last three performances cancelled

Blue - cancelled

Porgy and Bess - cancelled

In January 2020, Washington National Opera announced six productions for the 2020-2021 season.  On March 12, the Kennedy Center sent out an alert that KC would be closed from March 13-31, a last gasp of hope the pandemic’s effects would be short lived.  They were forced to shut down two operas in mid run that month and then cancel the remainder of the 2019-2020 season.  In June, WNO cancelled all but one planned opera for 2020-2021 and added Blue for a Spring production; later, they were forced to cancel all productions for 2020-2021.  Their next fully staged opera in the Kennedy Center was performed in May 2022.   They did manage to keep the Cafritz Young Artist program and the American Opera Initiative going.  In general, the young professionals who got into young artist training programs during the pandemic were the lucky ones. 

WNO returns in 2022-2023 with three operas from the classic repertoire, the American Opera Initiative twenty-minute operas, and two modern works that address racial disparities.  The pattern is similar to the last fully scheduled season of 2019-2020.

Concluding Thoughts

Opera is changing.  Most of these changes started before the pandemic began.  Large opera companies are including more modern works in their seasons and including more works by composers and librettists of color.  Many black performers used online access to audiences during the pandemic to press for social change.  Companies appear to me to be making genuine efforts to begin to address racial and gender disparities as well as sexual misconduct; let’s hope that continues and is expanded.  Despite the devastation that the pandemic brought for companies and performers, it also unleashed a wave of innovation, especially in the use of technology and online productions, not viewed as a temporary substitute for live opera, but as a new realm of avenues for creative expression.  Will the development of online projects continue?  How will it be mixed with in person performances?  I think the pandemic also might have unleashed a wave of pent-up individuality as performers had to get by on their own.  How will that change roles going forward?  Most importantly, perhaps, is whether audiences will return in pre-pandemic numbers?  And what will they return to see in cost viable numbers?  For the large companies, they have set a full table for 2022-2023 of largely pre-pandemic fare.  What will audiences choose?

The 2022-2023 season looks varied and exciting.  However, the COVID pandemic was a mega event in the opera world, especially for singers, musicians, composers, and librettists.  I think its full meaning for opera’s future is yet to be revealed. 

OperaGene and WNO’s Timothy O’Leary: Hooked on Opera Theatre of Saint Louis

How did we arrive at today’s opera repertoire that we watch over and over?  A few brilliant composers penning masterpiece after masterpiece?  Hardly.  The “New Penguin Guide to Opera” (2001) lists over 800 composers and over 1500 operas, and it’s a partial list.  Giuseppe Verdi has thirty listed.  The lifeblood of any field of art is new works.  We should stop having new operas when we stop having new books and plays.  No one has answered the call more enthusiastically than Opera Theatre of Saint Louis; new opera and new editions of existing works are staples of each new festival, so far producing 33 world premieres and counting.  My wife and I visited the 2022 Festival, where we saw two world premieres and became hooked on OTSL.

left photo: The Gateway Arch of St. Louis, MO. right photo: Lobby of the Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts, venue for Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Photos by Debra Rogers (fiammatravels.com).

My first impression of the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Festival 2022 was sparkle and how welcoming it all was.  The festival is held each Spring in the Loretto-Hilton Center on the campus of Webster University in Webster Groves, a suburb of St. Louis, MO.  OperaGene’s last two blog reports were on new operas (Awakenings and Harvey Milk) that premiered as part of this year’s Festival.  The operas were outstanding; yet, they were only part of the story.  I have been aware of OTSL’s stellar reputation for a few years.  There is even a connection to the Washington DC area.  In 2018, Timothy O’Leary, OTSL’s General Director, left his position after ten successful years in St. Louis to take the job of General Director of the Washington National Opera.  I thought it would be interesting if we could get the benefit of Mr. O’Leary’s personal reflections on his time with OTSL; his comments are further down.

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis picnic grounds. Photo by Debra Rogers (fiammatravels.com).

OTSL’s mission statement is composed of goals with high aspirations: “…shape a vibrant future for opera…foster the next generation…of artists, artisans, and administrators…make opera accessible and inclusive…”.  They also have a fine list of values to accompany the mission statement, but it was the last value that stood out to me, and it likely explains their success as much as anything: “Fun – Last but never least, we at Opera Theatre believe in creating a joyful and stimulating environment in which artists, staff, volunteers, and audiences alike will thrive, laugh, and flourish.”  How can you not like an organization where fun is a core value?  I would have only expected that from Opera Bhutan (of course it’s a joke - Bhutan has a government official in charge of happiness but no opera to my knowledge).

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis picnic grounds. Photo by Debra Rogers (fiammatravels.com).

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis makes good on the fun part for the whole experience.  When one walks outside the side doors to the Loretto-Hilton Center, one is transported to the elegant 1920s with beautiful gardens and a picnic ground so inviting it requires will power to go back inside.  I didn’t see any gentlemen in broad-navy striped sports coats and straw hats, but I could imagine it.  The picnic grounds feature tables and chairs, many covered.  Visitors can bring their own food and drink or purchase boxed picnic meals (at least 24 hours in advance).  It is also a tradition for new operas to offer a champagne toast in the gardens after the premiere performance, and drinks in the garden are available after each opera performance.

Washington National Opera’s Timothy O’leary had a strong hand in creating OTSL’s welcoming environment.  Here are his reflections that I received by email from him in response to my questions (many thanks to Mr. O’Leary):

What led you to OTSL?  What did you like best about working there?

While working at the New York City Opera in 2007, I was fortunate to get a call from Charles MacKay, who was then the OTSL General Director, and who had been one of my heroes in the world of opera administrators since I’d heard him speak at Opera America conferences.  Charles had been leading Opera Theatre from strength to strength for 24 years, and he was beginning to plan his “exit.”  He invited me to breakfast, and this breakfast changed the course of my life!  I’d known about Opera Theatre’s reputation for artistic excellence and innovation, combined with values as a company focused on creating a positive environment for artists, staff, and audience.  As I got to know the company through first-hand experience, I found that it was as wonderful as advertised.

left photo: Gardens adjacent to the Loretto-Hilton Center. Photo by Debra Rogers (fiammatravels.com). right photo: Gardens adjacent to the Loretto-Hilton Center. Photo courtesy of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

What are your impressions now of OTSL’s annual festival?  Did you have a favorite production while you were there, and why was it your favorite?

I think the OTSL is going strong and probably better than ever.  It’s an extraordinary company, and remains committed to adventurousness and quality, as well as a kind of idealism about the role the arts can play in shaping community and working for justice. 

I had a lot of favorite productions during my ten years there, but one of the greatest nights of my life was the 2013 world premiere of Champion by Terence Blanchard, which we’d commissioned shortly after I began as General Director and James Robinson began as Artistic Director.  It was Terence’s first opera, and the project had been a labor of love for many of us for several years.  When it opened, it received the most vociferous standing ovation I’ve ever been a part of.  That night at the after-party, we commissioned Terence’s second opera, which became Fire Shut Up In My Bones [which premiered in 2021 at the Metropolitan Opera].

Overhead photo of the Loretto-Hilton Center theatre during a live performance. Photo courtesy of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

Any performers you saw for the first time that you said to yourself, this singer is going to make it big?

In my time at Opera Theatre, I got to work with a LOT of extraordinary artists at the very beginnings of their careers.  In many cases, Opera Theatre was their first professional job.  Two luminaries I can think of actually began there as high school students as part of OTSL’s Artists-in-Training program for local teenagers -- those two are Julia Bullock and Derrell Acon!  Others who come to mind from my time there are Laura Wilde, Rachel Willis-Sørensen, Corrinne Winters, and Aubrey Allicock.  There is a special joy to watching any human being reach their full potential, and when that potential is singing of extraordinary beauty, it is a thrill beyond words.

Any tips for opera lovers planning to attend OTSL’s festival next season?  Best place to sit in the Loretto-Hilton Center?  Good eats close by?

In St. Louis, I love to stay at the Chase Park Plaza.  To be honest, the best dining experience near the OTSL festival season is the pre-opera picnic in the garden outside the theater every night.  It’s part of the tradition of community-building for which the company is so well known.  One just has to wear clothes that can stand the heat, and get a spot early, so you can sit in the shade!  Also, the greatest ritual is the nightly after-party under the famous Opera Theatre “tent” – to which everyone is invited, and to which the artists always come after the performance.  There is no “velvet rope” – just everyone together, enjoying community and fellowship in the night air after each electrifying performance.

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis picnic grounds. Photo by Debra Rogers (fiammatravels.com).

Any hidden treasures in St. Louis you’d point out to opera lovers visiting for the first time?

When I lived in St. Louis, I lived in the Tower Grove area of town, near the famous Missouri Botanical Garden, which is a stunningly beautiful place.  On Saturday mornings, there is a wonderful farmer’s market in Tower Grove Park.  And nearby is my favorite place for a meal or nightcap, Olio.  Except for my other favorite place, which is Brasserie by Niche in the Central West End!

What would you like for opera fans in the DC area to know about OTSL?

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis attracts a worldwide fan base of the most gung-ho opera lovers in the world.  The company has a very particular artistic signature – the greatest of the new and up-and-coming – and it’s just a very special place because of the intimacy of the venue, the tradition of welcoming hospitality, and the ritual of the food and drink experience before and after the performances.  It’s very much worth the trip to St. Louis in June.

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis picnic grounds after the performance for a champagne toast. Photo by Debra Rogers (fiammatravels.com).

I will add just a few reflections of my own.  First, in addition to young and upcoming opera singers, established opera stars also perform; I was thrilled on this trip to get to hear soprano Susanna Phillips sing live in such an intimate venue. Regarding the operas presented, all operas are sung in English with English supertitles. My one regret from our trip is that I didn’t allow enough time to see OTSL’s Carmen.  It would have made for such an interesting comparison with Washington National Opera’s classic French production of Carmen that I saw in May.  If you attend next year’s festival, consider what you might regret not seeing.  It is also worth noting that the OTSL operas are accompanied by the renown St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.  Both operas I saw this year were marked by extraordinary excellence and professionalism of the highest order.  Frankly, I was impressed, and this aspect only burnished OTSL’s reputation for excellence.  Intrigued? Next year’s Spring Festival lineup is posted at this link and runs May to June. OSTL’s plan your visit webpage is excellent.

As I thought about visiting St. Louis for the first time, the images that came to mind were the signature Gateway Arch and Busch Stadium, where the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team resides.  My wife knows my proclivities and booked us a room in the Westin Hotel across the street from Busch Stadium.  St. Louis loves their baseball; on game days, the area becomes a sea of Cardinal red.  We also found other enjoyable activities and missed out on quite a few.  Don’t miss the Botanical Gardens that Mr. O’Leary mentions.  Another is Forest Park, a huge, beautiful park, where one can find the St. Louis Zoo and the St. Louis Art Museum among other attractions – caution: most things are closed on Mondays; we got caught by that.  Ubers in St. Louis were timely and dependable.  My wife and I also rented a car and drove fifteen minutes across the Mississippi River into Illinois to visit the Cahokia Mounds, a fascinating bit of history,  where the largest settlement in the Southwest was thriving in the year 1100.

left photo: Pre-game field view of Busch Stadium with the Gateway Arch in the distance. right photo: The stadium after the game with fans streaming out; we walked across the street to our room in the Westin Hotel. Photos by Debra Rogers (fiammatravels.com).

Those are all certainly marvelous attractions, but now I know that St. Louis is also for fans of opera, especially for fans of new opera and inventive staging of operas performed in English.  Their Spring Festival each year has gained national and international prominence for good reason.  But you don’t have to take my word for it.  The next Festival starts on May 20, 2023.

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis’ Reimagined Harvey Milk: A Mythic Celebration

OTSL’s “reimagined" Harvey Milk that premiered on June 11 is a revised version of the 1995 Harvey Milk opera by composer Stewart Wallace and librettist Michael Korie presenting the remarkable life of gay activist Harvey Milk.  The three-hour original has been pared to two hours, with the music reworked and some scenes trimmed and some deleted; new music has not been added.  The composer states the goal remained the same as for the original version, “to create a mythic celebration of Harvey Milk’s life”.  I did not see the first version which had a limited run, though I did see the Gus Van Sant 2008 film “Milk”, which incorporated some elements from the opera.  Mr. Milk was an opera fan and is now himself the subject of an opera.  The reimagined opera (called the New Performing Edition) drives home the creative team’s goal with a focused, cogent opera, full of drama, pathos, supportive music, and showmanship.

Board Supervisor Milk (Thomas Glass) outlines where his body will lay while The Messenger (Kyle Sanchez Tingzon) looks on. Photo by Eric Woolsey; courtesy of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

Mr. Milk grew up in a period when being openly gay not only subjected you to a wall of prejudice but commonly might get you arrested and even brutalized by street gangs.  His life exemplified extraordinary courage and passionate dedication to the gay community that he loved, and who grew to love him back.  He gained national fame as a gay activist and as the first openly gay person elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.  His life was tragically cut short at the age of 48.  On November 27, 1978. Mr. Milk and his colleague San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were each shot multiple times and killed in their offices by Dan White, a former member of the Board seeking reappointment.  Mr. White was an antigay member of the Christian right who had had several clashes with Mr. Milk, conflicts where Mr. Milk persuaded Mayor Moscone to back him for political reasons.  Mr. White is a threatening presence throughout the opera, but what happens to him after the murders is not included.

left photo: Harvey Milk (Thomas Glass) looks down on his younger self (Mishael Eusebio). right photo, l to r: Horst (Nathan Stark), Friend 1 (Jesús V. Murillo), Harvey Milk (Thomas Glass), Friend 2 (Mack Wolz), Friend 3 (Xiao Xiao), Closet lover Jack (Nathaniel Sullivan), and Friend 4 (Jonathan Johnson). Photos by Eric Woolsey; courtesy of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

Librettist Korie is a former journalist with the Village Voice, but the opera is a gift to art, not news reporting.  Any warts Mr. Milk may have had are not included.  Mr. Wallace and Mr. Korie have instead created a rolling menagerie of the seminal events and people in Mr. Milk’s life leading to his rise and success as a gay activist.  They have transposed time, mixed characters within the same scene, used his mother as a harbinger of Fate, emphasized poignant moments, added some show biz, and included an angelic figure in white called The Messenger.  They begin with the ending, the murders, enabling the audience to then focus on his life; we know what’s coming, so our primary interest is what came before. 

l to r: Scott Smith (Jonathan Johnson), Teamster (Nathan Stark), Harvey Milk (Thomas Glass), Henrietta Wong (Xiao Xiao), and Anne Kronenberg (Mack Wolz). Photo by Eric Woolsey; courtesy of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

The first act focuses on the formative years of Mr. Milk’s largely conventional Jewish life.  He often went to the opera when he had an important decision to make.  In one of the many poignant scenes, we see the young Milk observing the standing only crowd at the Met Opera populated by men without their wives, and he ponders, “Who are these men without wives…men who cry in public and know the names of dead Polish sopranos”.  In another, he engages a walk-in closet of lovers and friends, where he defends his Jewish background while closeted as a homosexual…until a new romantic interest challenges him, “What have you got Harvey Milquetoast, without the right to walk down the street and be who you are?”  He comes out of the closet, takes part in the Stonewall uprising, leaves his job on Wall Street, and moves to the Castro District, a predominantly gay area of San Francisco.  He loses a campaign for the Board of Supervisors. Following some tender moments in bed, his lover tells him to cut his hair and wear a suit if he wants to be a successful politician.  He does.  Act II covers his life as a developing politician in SF until his murder and the subsequent vigil.  Among the well-known names in the opera are Diane Feinstein, who tries to school Dan White in the art of politics, but Mr. White remains rigid in his approach.  Mr. Milk learned the art of politics well, even gaining the support of the conservative Teamsters Union by initiating a gay boycott of Coors beer.  The opera includes a metaphysical or spiritual overtone: analogy is drawn to the story of Moses with the angelic Messenger telling Harvey Milk that he will see the promised land he has created but will not enter it.

Composer Wallace’s music for Harvey Milk is enjoyable, supporting the drama with a complex score, creating some unusual orchestral sounds to create mood effects; one listen is not enough to fully appreciate music of such complexity, especially with so much activity on stage.  He borrows slightly from Puccini’s Tosca with a modified Scarpia motif to announce the presence of Dan White.  The St. Louis Symphony led by Conductor Caroline Kuan played beautifully. 

l to r: A Board meeting with Ella Hill Hutch (Melissa Joseph), Gordon Lau (Zaikuan Song), Diane Feinstein (Raquel González), Harvey Milk (Thomas Glass), and Robert Gonzalez (Jesús Vicente Murillo). Photo by Eric Woolsey; courtesy of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

Harvey Milk has a large cast; sixteen performers are named, with three singers singing more than one role.  An overall strong cast of singers was led by young baritone Thomas Glass as adult Harvey Milk.  He sang well and had the stage presence to provide a convincing portrayal of a changing Mr. Milk.  I thought there were three other standout performances.  If there were Academy Awards for opera, outstanding tenor Alek Shrader would win one for his portrayal of Dan White.  Who knew a tenor could make such a sinister villain; maybe he should give Scarpia a spin.  Young tenor Jonathan Johnson as Mr. Milk’s lover, Scott Smith, sang beautifully and provided a compelling portrait of tenderness with a backbone.  Bass-baritone Nathan Stark gave bravura performances as three characters, closeted-lover Horst, a Teamster, and Mayor Moscone, played so well that I thought they were different singers until I read the credits.   I will also mention mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Sarian as Mama, soprano Raquel González as Diane Feinstein, Mishael Eusebio as young Milk, and Henrietta Wong as Xiao Xiao; all gave marvelous performances.

The felled body of Mayor Moscone (Nathan Stark) lays on his desk, as Dan White (Alek Shrader) kneels below. Photo by Eric Woolsey; courtesy of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

The staging for this opera was a tour de force.  Challenges included moving multiple performers around a relatively small stage with an elevated walkway, even having some sing from the aisles, and multiple scenes staged in both acts, all very efficiently and effectively done.  Kudos to Seán Curran and James Robinson who shared stage director duties.  Kudos to Set Designer Allen Moyer and Costume Designer James Schuette for effective sets/costumes in scenes ranging from the Met Opera in NYC to a gay parade in San Francisco.  These were beautifully augmented by video projections and lighting; kudos to Video Projection Designer Greg Emetaz and Lighting Designer Christopher Akerlind.  Harvey Milk is far too rich in storyline, singing, music, and staging to fully appreciate in one serving.  It is one new opera I hope to see again.

The Chorus portrays a gay parade in the Castro district. Photo by Eric Woolsey; courtesy of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

 I saw OTSL’s premiere of Awakenings just before attending Harvey Milk.  It was an interesting contrast.  Oliver Sacks, author of the book upon which Awakenings is based, is revealed in the opera to be homosexual, a fact he kept from the public until the last few years of his life.  He felt constrained, unable to reveal this aspect of who he was and allow that aspect of his personality to blossom.  By all reports, Harvey Milk was able finally to fully accept who he was and champion gay life for himself and others.  Yet, he was gunned down in the prime of his life by a disturbed man who opposed his lifestyle.  One life helps explain the greatness of the other.  In a recording to be played after his death, Mr. Milk reveals he knew the risks he was taking.  Yet, he took them, and not only for himself.  In 2020, Pete Buttigieg, a gay mayor, was able to mount a viable campaign for president, and later be appointed as the U.S. Secretary of Transportation.  Harvey Milk celebrates well a life worth celebrating.

The Fan Experience: Opera Theatre of Saint Louis’ 2022 Spring Festival runs May 21-June 26.  Performances of Harvey Milk were scheduled for June 11, 15, 17, 19, 23, 25.  The opera runs for two and one-half hours.  The opera is sung in English with English supertitles projected.

The moderate size venue for the opera is the Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts on the Webster University campus.  This is a modern facility with excellent acoustics; 763 seats are placed in a semicircle of seats around the stage.  A special appeal of the venue are the beautiful picnic grounds adjacent to the theater, where you may pre-order picnic boxed meals if ordered 24 hours in advance.  You can also choose to provide your own food and beverages to enjoy on the grass or using the tables and chairs provided, some under cover. Free parking is available.

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Premiere of Awakenings: Tragedy, or Was It?

Regardless of the answer to the question posed in my title, Awakenings is extremely well done!  Kudos to Opera Theatre of Saint Louis for as professional a production of an opera as I have seen.  Awakenings is a new opera composed by Tobias Picker with a libretto by Aryeh Lev Stollman, commissioned by OTSL and Tulsa Opera.  The opera is based upon the 1973 nonfiction book “Awakenings” by neurologist Oliver Sacks, who had a gift for discovering meaning in rare, unusual neurological conditions and writing about them with understanding and sympathy.  In the opera, Mr. Sacks becomes part of the story.  One never knows how new operas will fare in the long run, but I believe Awakenings will stand the test of time.

l to r: Dr. Oliver Sacks (Jarrett Porter), Frank (Jared Esguerra), Dr. Podsnap (David Pittsinger), Physician 1 (Manfred Anaya),  Physician 2 (Mishael Eusebio), Physician 3 (Rachel Blaustein) consider Dr. Sacks’ request to treat patients with L-DOPA. Photo by Eric Woolsey; courtesy of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

At first the plot seems to be a medical report of case studies of patients suffering from encephalitis lethargica, a pandemic that once afflicted millions in the 1920s.  In some survivors, the disease caused a state where victims were conscious and lived for decades but were speechless and motionless, causing the disease to be referred to as the sleeping sickness (not the same as the fly-caused disease).  The disease remains a mystery and is rarely seen today.  Dr. Sacks read a journal article where L-DOPA was used as a treatment for parkinsonism, a disease with some medical characteristics similar to sleeping sickness.  Dr. Sacks’ treatment of his patients with the drug worked, and he became famous for it.  However, the plot thickened.  Unfortunately, the drug’s effects wore off, and it caused complications of its own.  Dr. Sacks who led this effort, despite the skepticism of the hospital administration, enjoyed the ride up and suffered the ride down as did his patients.  While much was learned of medical value from the Sacks’ experiment, the opera is about the psychological and emotional parameters of human life.  The opera draws a parallel between the Sleeping Beauty fairytale and L-DOPA’s awakening of the patients with Dr. Sacks being the Prince.  Awakenings is deeply affecting; I found myself growing to care about each of the characters.

As his mother (Katherine Goeldner) looks on, patient Leonard (Marc Molomot) is helped by a nurse (Andres Acosta) and Dr. Sacks (Jarrett Porter). Photo by Eric Woolsey; courtesy of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

As the medication effects start to wear off, one of the characters, Leonard, begins repeating this refrain: “The world is filled with devils. A world polluted. But I am still rising from the Ashes of Defeat/To the Glory of Greatness.”  Tragedy is in the wings, Greek-styled; Fate asserts itself as the drug’s benefits diminish.  Not having read the Sacks’ book, nor having seen the academy award nominated film by the same title, nor the play, nor the ballet, I found the opera rich in new meaning, posing questions.  Should the research have been done?  Was the return to normalcy for just a limited time followed by relapse a good thing for the patients?  And we the audience don’t get off even that lightly: do we all keep parts of ourselves in a sleeping state throughout our normal lives as did the real Dr. Sacks regarding his homosexuality?  Dr. Sacks was told by his mother when she discovered his homosexuality that she wished he had never been born; he hid this part of himself from the public for most of his life, never letting this important aspect of his personality blossom…to his dismay; this was not alluded to in the book or the film version.  Do we all have our own personal tragedies, repressing aspects of ourselves?  Are they made for us by ourselves or by Fate? Have we witnessed a tragedy, or not?

Rose (Susanna Phillips) has awakened and dances. Photo by Eric Woolsey; courtesy of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

Composer Picker was a close friend of Dr. Sacks, whom he credits with helping him deal with the shame he felt about his Tourette’s Syndrome, which includes tics similar to those of patients in Awakenings.  When Mr. Picker expressed interest to him in making an opera based on one of his books, Dr. Sacks recommended Awakenings.   Mr. Picker and Mr. Stollman are spouses, and the opera’s words and drama are as wedded as the opera’s composer is to its librettist.  They worked together as well as lived together throughout its creation, scene by scene.  The music was beautifully played by Conductor Roberto Kalb and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.  The varied score painted the tense scenes with dissonance and its tender moments with lovely melody, always steady in enhancing the emotions on stage.  While the music never competed with the drama for attention, the music did grow lush and especially beautiful in the scene where Dr. Sacks took his patients into the botanical garden, perhaps my favorite scene in the opera.

Miriam (Adrienne Danrich) and Rose (Susanna Philips) bond during their awake period. Photo by Eric Woolsey; courtesy of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

OSTL assembled a fine cast for this production, with 15 named players, with many being soloists; all the performers added to the impact of the opera.  Part of my initial attraction to this production was the inclusion of soprano Susanna Phillips, my all-time favorite Musetta; although I have seen her in several Met Opera videos, this was my first time in person.  It had been a while since I had seen her work, and she was splendid as Rose, a patient much later in life who had been afflicted in her twenties, causing the loss of a suitor who seemed still there to her for over twenty years.  It was marvelous to become reacquainted with the beautiful timbre of Ms. Phillips’ voice.  She was matched with a powerful performance by soprano Adrienne Danrich.  She played Miriam who bonded with Rose when revived by the drug.  Her aria sung as she recognized the changes in Rose was quite touching.  During her awakening, Miriam was reunited with a daughter taken from her, causing her great pain that endured during her long illness.  Tenor Marc Molomot’s charismatic portrayal of Leonard, an immobile patient who could read was exceptional, and beautifully coupled with Katherine Goeldner’s excellent soprano vocals as his doting mother who turned the pages for him.  Tenor Andres Acosta, who played Nurse, sang beautifully and made a believable love interest for Dr. Sacks, a love interest he clearly wanted but could not accept or return, not at that point.  Another stand out for me was bass-baritone David Pittsinger as Dr. Podsnap, leader of the hospital who struggled with his conscience over conducting the experiment.  The focal point of the opera was Dr. Sacks, played to perfection by baritone Jarrett Porter.  His excellent singing was perhaps even overshadowed by impressive acting.  The thoughtfulness and deep humanity of Dr. Sacks, flaws and all, came across forcefully.

Dr. Sacks (Jarrett Porter) briefly touches the hand of Nurse (Andres Acosta). Photo by Eric Woolsey; courtesy of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

The staging of this opera was a strong point of the production.  Remarkable in the staging were scenes with multiple foci, with singing and action around different patients taking place concurrently.  Kudos to stage director James Robinson.  Allen Moyer’s set using six large window frames to form walls and separations were effective both physically and symbolically as the patients opened and then closed again.  The movement of so many players around a small stage, including limited dancing, requires a deft touch; choreographer Seán Curran had the touch.  The singers and supernumeraries moved props around unobtrusively during scene changes; the forward motion never faltered.  The lighting and projections, adding background and context to the scenes, especially in the garden scene, were excellent; kudos to Greg Emetaz for video projections and Christopher Akerlind for lighting.  The costumes were sufficiently effective at setting the time and place of the story that I took them for granted; kudos to costume designer James Schuette.

Dr. Sacks (Jarrett Porter) is left to ponder and question what happened to his patients and himself, as the patients are again silent behind windows. Photo by Eric Woolsey; courtesy of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

I have sometimes wished I could see myself as a movie character, gaining the perspective of how others see me.  What if I could have viewed each day’s taping from the viewpoints of my friends and fellow workers?  Would my choices have changed?  Good operas do that in measure, adding emphasis with music.  Sometimes operas addressing important contemporary social issues, that need to be addressed, can come off as a bit preachy.  However, the best operas make it personal by giving us glimpses of ourselves in others.  I think Awakenings is among the best. 

The Fan Experience: Opera Theatre of Saint Louis’ 2022 Spring Festival runs May 21-June 26.  Performances of Awakenings were scheduled for June 5, 9, 11, 18, and 24.  The opera runs for two and one-half hours.  The opera is sung in English with English supertitles projected.

The moderate size venue for the opera is the Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts on the Webster University campus.  This is a modern facility with excellent acoustics; 763 seats are placed in a semicircle of seats around the stage.  A special appeal of the venue are the beautiful picnic grounds adjacent to the theater, where you may pre-order boxed meals if ordered 24 hours in advance.  You can also choose to provide your own food and beverages to enjoy on the grass or using the tables and chairs provided, some under cover. Free parking is available.

Opera Lafayette’s Silvain: Pretty Music Yes, But More

Opera Lafayette’s offerings for the second half of the 2021-2022 season are organized around a single theme - The Era of Marie Antoinette, Rediscovered – in three productions presented over the first two weeks of June.  Her Majesty Antoinette, the last Queen of France, was herself a musician and a proponent of the musical arts.  One of her favorite works was the opéra comique Silvain (1770) by composer André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry and librettist Jean-François Marmontel, a work popular in Europe during its time.  Her affection for the opera is surprising for a work whose major theme is expressed near the end of the libretto as “simple virtue holds more weight than good birth”.   However, she was a strong advocate for pastoralism, a rising tide of sentiment in pre-revolutionary France; she even had a model farm constructed.  The opera’s simple story of estrangement and reconciliation between family members and classes, coupled with Grétry’s lovely, melodious music and impassioned arias and ensemble numbers are quite enough for an evening’s entertainment.  However, there is more to this story, and Opera Lafayette employed an impressive team of experts to communicate that more, offering several programs to educate its audience about societal changes in 18th century France that inspired creation of the opera and how its message played out for good and ill on both sides of the Atlantic.

Camille Ortiz as Elena and Victor Sicard in Silvain. Photo by Jen Packard; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

To emphasize the story’s relevance for today in the Americas, Opera Lafayette’s Artistic Director and Conductor Ryan Brown has moved the story from rural France to the American Southwest, specifically the area of southern Colorado and northern New Mexico, where issues regarding landownership and control have engendered conflicts in the area lasting hundreds of years.  This is the second opéra comique that Artistic Director Brown has recast in the 19th century Southwest; see my report on Le Maréchal Ferrant produced in 2020 and presented in DC during September 2021.  Mr. Brown chose young filmmaker Tania Hernández Velasco to work with him on this project, commissioning her to record visuals from Taos, NM and San Luis Valley, CO for the staging. She also utilized visuals from her film “Titixe”, about efforts to convince her grandmother to keep the plot of land her peasant grandfather had toiled. The libretto was reworked to fit the new setting by Linn Carey Mehta with singing in French and spoken dialog mainly English with intermittent French and Spanish.  The plot for OL’s Silvain involves a son Silvain, disowned by his father Dolmon, for marrying a poor Spanish-speaking woman, Elena; father and son are French immigrants who managed to acquire a large tract of land in the San Luis Valley of Colorado in the 19th century.  Silvain and Elena farm for an adequate living, supplemented by hunting on common lands under a considerate landowner.  They have two daughters, Paulina and Lucia, and their community is making plans for Paulina to wed Bazil, when news arrives that a new owner of the land is coming to the area, threatening new restrictions.  The new owner is none other than Dolmon, heightening the father-son conflict for Silvain.  The younger son of Dolman arrives on the scene first and orders three guards to arrest Silvain for hunting on Dolmon’s property.  Dolmon then arrives and is charmed by the goodness of Elena and her two daughters, whom he had not met before.  The father reconciles with his son Silvain and accepts the wife and daughters as his family.  While the story still resonates today, it was revolutionary in 18th century France.

l to r: Camille Ortiz as Elena, Samantha Louis-Jean as Paulina, and Teresa Castillo as Lucia. Photo by Jen Packard; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

In an excellent pre-opera talk, Conductor Brown along with Sylvia Rodríguez, professor emeritus of anthropology at University of New Mexico, and Callum John Blackmore, doctoral student in historical musicology at Columbia University, provided the background for Grétry’s opera and OL’s version of it.  We learned that pastoralism, the idealism of simple country life and its connection to nature, was sweeping France in the 18th century as a migration to cities and the problems that was causing were pressing issues.  The simple life was not so simple as land use issues between nobility and peasant farmers remained a constant struggle.  The Grétry-Marmontel theme placing simple virtue over birth rights resonated with many and would lead to the French Revolution of 1789.  The issues of class distinction and struggles over land use rights had migrated to the U.S. Southwest as the area changed ownership from native peoples, Mexico, and the U.S., with Mexico having given huge land grants to European immigrants there.  The situation in the Southwest was complicated by a critical scarcity of water, which was also an issue causing conflicts between land users and owners, especially in the common lands which everyone could use.  The opera Silvain also immigrated to the U.S. and had a substantial run in New Orleans in 1796.  18th Century French music, including Silvain was being performed in its era in the West Indian French colony of Saint-Domingue, which will be the subject of another OL performance this June.  Silvain was performed there, and the message was used, in Mr. Blackmore’s words, to paper over the brutality of the slave economy.  Pretty music yes, and more!

Teresa Castillo as Lucia and Jehú Otero as Bazil. Photos by Jen Packard; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

I tried to take all of this information in, including listening to one of the educational series offered by OL in preparation for the opera.  However, it was when Conductor Brown first moved the baton starting OL’s 22-piece orchestra playing that I first felt the familiar; yes, I felt Opera Lafayette viscerally when 18th century French music began to play on period instruments and filled the auditorium with beautiful sound.  This is OL’s core strength, and for me, this was the sustaining life blood of the performance.  Grétry’s score complemented the drama onstage with music that was continuously providing pleasing melodies, marvelously played by the orchestra. 

Baritone Victor Sicard sang well and created a believable Silvain as a loving husband struggling with his relationship with his father.  His duets with wife Elena played by soprano Camille Ortiz were especially enjoyable.  Ms. Ortiz was a highlight of the performance from her first appearance.  Her solo aria worrying that the reappearance of the father would strain her relationship with Silvain was especially touching.  The daughters were well played by soprano Samantha Louis-Jean as Paulina and soprano Teresa Castillo as Lucia.  Ms. Castillo showed some sparkle and humor as the not yet marriage age daughter envying her sister.  Another highlight of the performance for me was tenor Jehú Otero as Bazil.  His singing and acting were especially endearing.  Bass-baritone Nathan Berg was on point as the father Dolmon.  The conversion of angry father to charmed father-in-law happens fast in this drama, and he made the most of it.  Dolman the young son was ably played by Zack Powell as were the three guards played by Juan Hernandez, Gilbert Chavez, and Jose M. Pietri-Coimbre.  The ensemble numbers ranging from two to seven performers were a special treat.  At first, I found myself being critical of the acting in the spoken dialog and faulted the players, even I as I loved the singing.  However, I now suspect the problem was the libretto which made natural speech difficult; the dialog sometimes sounded more like it was being read than spoken, especially in the first half of the opera before the tension among the characters rose and was reflected in the speech.   

Silvain (Victor Sicard) is confronted by the younger son of Dolmon (Zack Powell) accompanied by three guards (Juan Hernandez, Gilbert Chavez, and Jose M. Pietri-Coimbre) while Bazil, the mother and daughters look on. Photo by Jen Packard; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

The staging of the opera was well done.  Cascades of string served as walls and panels separating or framing the stage action.  The costumes were spectacular, colorful, eye-pleasing, and fitting for the setting of the drama, although I kept thinking that these peasant ladies should recommend to their seamstress that she move to New York where a brilliant career as a fashion designer awaited her.  The costumes for the performance were in fact designed by artist Patricia Michaels, already established in the fashion design world.  Another interesting facet of the staging were the visuals projected onto a screen at the back of the set, that from the beginning introduced us to the agrarian basis of the drama and were used to enhance storytelling throughout.  The visuals selected by Stage Director Tania Hernández Velasco were a welcome addition and a highlight of the performance, though on a few occasions the movement in the visuals competed too successfully with the action on the stage, rather than supporting it.

All is well that ends well: in the group to the right, the father Dolmon (Nathan Berg) talks amiably with two of the guards to his left while everyone feels and expresses good will. Photo by Jen Packard; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

For years now, I have struggled to define Opera Lafayette’s special appeal that made me a fan immediately several years ago.  I always felt there was something in addition to the reliable creativity, authenticity, and high quality that OL always brings to the table.  At last, I think I have it.  On the way home from Silvain, my wife was gushing about the performance.  My wife rarely gushes and never about opera.  Her typical comment without my probing is “It was good; I enjoyed it”.  This time she even posted comments on Facebook when she got home, a first about opera: “I realized something tonight that I had not realized before. I love Opera Lafayette. Loved tonight’s performance of Silvain, always with period instrumentation. Thank you Ryan Brown (founder, conductor, and artistic director)! This is food for my soul, with a healthy dose of entertainment and education.”  Food for the soul?  That’s it; the descriptor I have searched for is “wholesome”.  Merriam-Webster defines wholesome as “promoting health or well-being of mind or spirit”.  Wholesome has gotten a bad rap as boring, but that depends on the richness of the experience, not a problem for Opera Lafayette. Ryan Brown is keenly attuned to wholesome, and his productions reflect that quality, while at the same time being entertaining and fun.  Attending Opera Lafayette productions engage and bring out that better person in us, providing an enriching, humanizing experience.  That is not an overstatement; my wife responds strongly to wholesome.

The Fan Experience: Silvain was scheduled for performances on June 2 and 3 in the Terrace Theater of the Kennedy Center and on June 7 in El Museo del Barrio in New York City.  The performance last approximately 90 minutes without an intermission. Supertitles in English were provided. Also remaining on the docket for Opera Lafayette this season are Concert Spirituel Aux Carïbes on June 9 in El Museo del Barrio and on June 12 in the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater.  OL will also perform a concert The Musical Salon of Marie Antoinette on June 8 in El Museo del Barrio.

The program handed out at performances for this season is over a hundred pages, a collector’s item, covering the details and histories of the works to be presented.

Opera Lafayette’s next two seasons, revealed in the performance program, will also be theme-based surrounding the eras of two more famous French women, The Era of Madame de Pompadour for 2022-2023, and The Era of Madame de Maintenon in 2023-2024. 

Washington Concert Opera’s Lakmé: Great Singers in a Singers' Opera

Sunday night’s event in Lisner Auditorium had a religious fervor to it, sort of a revival meeting for opera lovers as Washington Concert Opera performed Lakmé (1883) by composer Léo Delibes.  The audience was primed and ready.  There was great anticipation that these singers, with world class reputations, backed by WCO Orchestra and Chorus, would serve up some of the most beautiful music and arias ever, especially as we awaited the famous Flower Duet and Bell Song.  Bass baritone Alfred Walker, soprano Erin Morley, mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven, chorister Sammy Huh, contralto Megan Ester Grey, soprano Véronique Filloux, mezzo-soprano Lindsay Metzger, tenor Frédéric Antoun, and baritone Theo Hoffman sang in thrilling fashion.  The audience applauded aria after aria, and the standing ovation at the end was one of the most enthusiastic I have witnessed.  If WCO had passed the collection plate afterwards, they might have scored big time.  This is a cast that the Metropolitan Opera would have been proud of; how does a relatively small company like Washington Concert Opera manage to consistently attract such a high level of singing talent and perform in a venue that brings the audience and outstanding performers into such close proximity?

l to r: Alfred Walker as Nilakantha, Erin Morley as Lakmé, Conductor Antony Walker, and Frédéric Antoun as Gérald. Photo by Caitlin Oldham; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

Lakmé proved to be a perfect showcase for these outstanding singers, which makes one wonder why it is not performed more often today.  Its popularity has waxed and waned since it’s 1883 inception.  Based on the WCO performance, I’d say it is time for the return of waxing; Met Opera folks should seriously consider making plans for a run at the Met featuring Ms. Morley.  Librettists Edmond Gondinet and Phillipe Gille adopted the plot from Pierre Loti’s autobiographical novel Le Marriage de Loti; interestingly, Loti also authored the story that became the plot for Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.  Gondinet had suggested the book to Delibes as a vehicle to showcase the talents of American soprano Marie van Zandt who was enjoying a run of popularity in Paris.  Coloratura sopranos have been critical for Lakmé’s popularity and survival.  It is Delibes’ only opera that remains in the modern repertoire; he has two ballets that are still performed, Coppélia and Sylvia. 

l to r: Taylor Raven as Mallika and Erin Morley as Lakmé singing the Flower Duet. Photo by Caitlin Oldham; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

The story takes place in the mid 1800’s, during a time of British occupation of India.  The principal characters are Nilakantha, a Brahmin priest who despises his British oppressors, his sheltered daughter Lakmé, who falls in love with a soldier in the British army, Gérald, who has drawn the murderous ire of Nilakantha by wandering into sacred grounds.  The story was accepted without question in its day, but Lakmé now draws scrutiny for its unflattering and untrue portrayal of Hinduism.  In his program notes for WCO’s Lakmé, Peter Russell went to considerable lengths to address these issues. He takes the librettists to task for “creating a disdainful and inept depiction of Hindu mythology…”, also stating, “The role of the Brahmin priest Nilakantha is also largely a two-dimensional stereotype of a religious fanatic raging against the British Raj…this is a clear-cut case of cultural disrespect…”.  He goes on to make the case for the opera’s continuing performance due to the beauty and artistic value of its music.  Mr. Russell’s calling out of the librettist’s errors is helpful.  In my own case, I felt that the opera cast the British tourists and soldiers in a bad light, more so than Hinduism.  The librettists did have one of the characters, Frédéric explain customs and practices in reasonable terms.  Certainly, Nilakantha’s murderous rage was a negative depiction, even if understandable.  Nonetheless, I realize that having your religion or country of origin depicted inaccurately and in negative terms would be of great concern to you when the audience would not know the larger picture if they have not traveled to India.  WCO and Mr. Russell are on target in addressing these concerns.  In general, I hope opera companies will continue to perform socially flawed works of great musical and artistic value, but at the same time, offer counterbalancing commentary and discussions to set the record straight.

l to r: Frédéric Antoun as Gérald and Theo Hoffman as Frédéric. Photo by Caitlin Oldham; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

I will give the composer, librettists, and performers credit for one important accomplishment.  I found it difficult to accept the main characters as real people; however, they made the story work for me as a romantic fairy tale.  The libretto is high poetry and complimented the exotic elements of the story.  The work mainly consists of beautiful arias without recitative, and the words offer far more imagery than literal statements.  The beauty of the music, the impassioned singing, and the poetry succeeded in drawing me into the story; I feared for the safety of the young lovers and wanted them to be together for eternity.

Coloratura soprano Erin Morley, fresh off recent success at the Met Opera and La Scala, gave us an engaging Lakmé.   Ms. Morley truly sang like an angel, or in this case almost a goddess, on stage and off.  She seemed to navigate the highest notes with complete control, with only the smallest effort.  Her embellishments often moved beyond beautiful, becoming breathtaking; listening to her was not only pleasurable, it was exciting.  Her Bell Song received a tremendous ovation, many in the audience standing.  For the Act I Flower Duet, she was joined by rising star mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven, as her servant Mallika; Ms. Raven possesses a warm and luminous voice.  In duet, their voices blended beautifully, adding new color to the aria.  Mr. Delibes seemed to have learned something from Wagner; from that point forward, he used the Flower Duet theme to announce each reappearance of Lakmé.  One reason that WCO may be able to attract such talented singers is that so many of them have trained in the area with Wolf Trap Opera; both Ms. Morley and Ms. Raven were previously Filene Young Artists.  I have heard the marvelous bass baritone Alfred Walker sing previously, recently in Washington National Opera’s “Written in Stone” and previously as baseball legend Josh Gibson in Pittsburgh Opera’s The Summer King, both impressive performances.  I found his Act II aria expressing his love and caring for his daughter, Lakmé, especially beautiful and touching, adding a much needed note of humanity to the depiction of Nilakantha.  The other major role is Gérald, who falls desperately in love with Lakmé; he was played by much sought after tenor Frédéric Antoun.  I found Mr. Antoun to be impressive.  He has a beautiful voice, and importantly, he brought romance to the role. 

l to r: Megan Ester Grey as Mistress Bentson, Lindsay Metzger as Miss Rose, and Véronique Filloux as Miss Ellen. Photo by Caitlin Oldham; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

The supporting cast was also very strong.  Baritone Theo Hoffman as Gérald’s military friend Frédéric sang well and was the voice of reason in the group of tourists.  Soprano Véronique Filloux brought her beautiful voice to the role of Miss Ellen, Gérald’s fiancé.  She recently won the audience favorite award at the Annapolis Opera Vocal Competition.  Mezzo-soprano Lindsay Metzger brought moxie and fun to her role as Ellen’s sister, Miss Rose.  Contralto Megan Ester Grey as Mistress Bentson anchored the group with her authoritative, protective demeanor as chaperone for the young ladies.  WCO Chorister Sammy Huh gave a pleasing and believable performance as Lakmé’s servant, Hadji.

l to r: Erin Morley as Lakmé, Conductor Antony Walker, and Sammy Huh as Hadji. Photo by Caitlin Oldham; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

Conductor Antony Walker leading the Washington Concert Orchestra and Chorus Master David Hanlon directing the Chorus provided an authoritative and sensitive rendering of Delibes’ beautiful and melodious music.  To me, Delibes’ music was not often as sweeping as Mozart nor as powerful as Beethoven.  However, he painted the imagery of the poetry with watercolors using delicate engagements of soloists in the orchestra and by adding vivid colorings to orchestral sections, as with flutes and drums announcing the presence of the military.  It made me curious to attend performances of his ballets to hear his music.

A view of Alfred Walker, Erin Morley, and Conductor Antony Walker in front of the WCO Orchestra and Chorus. Photo by Caitlin Oldham; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

In preparing for the performance, I read a preview report in the NY Times about an upcoming Lakmé performance in 1984 by the New York City Opera; the piece is by renown opera critic, Will Crutchfield, and its title begs the question I raise above, “Is It Time Once More for Lakmé”.  He noted that at that time the opera had not had a New York staging since 1947.  Lakmé was considered a star vehicle for coloratura sopranos.  The opera had a run of popularity at the Met in the thirties and forties due to the legendary Lily Pons; Lakmé was a favorite role of hers.  The director of the New York City Opera at the time was Beverly Sills, also a legendary soprano.  In her youth, she had been thrilled by a Lily Pons’ performance as Lakmé; yet she indicated that she saw the opera as “an ensemble piece”, not just a showpiece for coloratura sopranos.  Mr. Crutchfield agreed that it is not only a role for the lead singer but its effectiveness in telling the story depends on the talent of all the performers.  He stated, “Lakmé is a singers’ opera”, plural.  Agreed; I would also add that when performed as such, as WCO did, it is an opera fans’ opera.

The Fan Experience: Washington Concert Opera performed Lakmé on May 22 in their usual venue, Lisner Auditorium.  The performance of Lakmé ran three hours with a twenty-minute intermission between each of three acts; the opera was in French with super-titles in English. WCO only gives one performance of each of their operas.  Scheduled for their 2022-2023 season is Donizetti’s Roberto Devereaux on December 4 and Verdi’s Macbeth on March 3; the March 3 performance is on a Friday, not the usual Sunday performance.  My hope is that by those performances, the masks will be unnecessary and refreshments can again be offered during intermissions, but be sure to check what, if any, COVID requirements are in effect on the date of a performance.

Peter Russell, General Director of Vocal Arts DC, presented the pre-opera talk and provided program notes.  Mr. Russell also presented a one-hour lecture on Lakmé in the free Opera Gems series.  His lectures are impressively detailed and informative, with samples of the music to be heard.

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

Washington National Opera’s Carmen: Enter the Ultimate Feminist

Washington National Opera’s Artistic Director Francesca Zambello gives a good show.  Count on it.  For WNO’s first return to the Kennedy Center’s Opera House after a two-year pandemic-caused hiatus, she selected and chose to self-direct Georges Bizet’s grand opera Carmen (1875), one of the most popular operas of all time.  WNO also scheduled its annual GALA to coincide with Carmen’s opening, a GALA that raised over a million dollars for WNO, making the event both a celebration and a performance.  It was a happy affair with tuxedos, evening gowns, and sparkling jewels heavily represented in the audience. 

Carmen (Isabel Leonard) has many would be suitors. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

Ms. Zambello’s Carmen is a crowd pleasing, classical production which she squarely points towards supporting feminism today.  In her program notes, she says about Carmen, “For every choice she makes, she is aware of the consequences, and she is fully prepared to face them on her own. ‘I was born free, and I will die free,’ she says many times – and that’s exactly what she does.  I think she is the ultimate feminist.”  My bottom line in this report is “Roger that!”.

Composer Bizet died from heart disease in 1875, at the age of 36, before Carmen finished its initial run.  It is said that disappointment over the unfavorable reception of Carmen in Paris contributed to his physical decline; he never knew of the success he had created.  Of less than ten full operas by Bizet, only The Pearl Fishers also remains in today’s repertoire.  One of the first things I remember my son saying to me about opera was that Carmen had too many hit tunes to be an opera.  I sometimes wonder if Bizet had lived longer whether his work would have moved into musicals.  Given that Carmen contains some spoken dialog, it probably technically qualifies as a musical, though the vocals are fully operatic.  He did have an extraordinary gift for great tunes.  Anyone who has watched television or is a fan of the movies has heard at least excerpts of music from Carmen.  Perhaps not, but one suspects that most people in the western world have hummed the Habanera or Sequidilla or Toreador arias at one time or another.

Carmen (Isabel Leonard) has seduced Don José (Michael Fabiano). Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

Spoiler alert for the remainder of this report - In large measure Carmen succeeds via those tunes and Bizet’s great orchestral music, but it has an unusually gripping story, like watching a train wreck you see coming but can’t look away.  Many critics who reviewed it in its day spurned it as being immoral.  An overtly sexual young woman in Spain lives life freely as a Romani, a gypsy group largely rejected by Spanish society and who chose to live outside the law; she considers her personal freedom inviolate.  She seduces a corporal in the military, Don José, and gets him into trouble.  Pure-hearted Micaëla, his childhood sweetheart, fails to convince him to come home and marry her.  After he is released from a short stay in prison, Carmen persuades him to desert his unit and join her in a group of gypsy smugglers.  She then begins to resent his attempts to control her, and she falls in love with a dashing bullfighter, Escamillio.  She tries to break away, but Don José pursues her, desperately trying to convince her to come back to him.  She throws the ring he gave her at his feet, confirms her love for Escamillio, and challenges him to kill her or let her go.  Finally convinced she no longer loves him and will not return to him, in a moment of rage, he stabs her to death.  Bizet had to compose music for all of this, the sexy playful and the murderous, including adding a Spanish gypsy flair.

Micaëla (Vanessa Vasquez) tries to persuade Don José (Michael Fabiano) to return to his home. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

On what was the opera based – was there a real Carmen?  Probably, but the opera is fiction based on Prosper Mérimée’s novella “Carmen”, published in 1845, that relates stories Mérimée heard about Roma people while traveling in Spain; one story was of a beautiful young woman who seduces and then rejects a soldier who kills her.  Bizet proposed this controversial choice to experienced librettists Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy for a new opera he was commissioned to compose for Opéra-Comique, a major step up for Bizet.

The cast for WNO’s Carmen is comprised of international opera stars for three of the main roles: mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard as Carmen, tenor Michael Fabiano as corporal Don José, and bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green as Escamillo, the bullfighter.  In Friday night’s performance, Ms. Leonard sang beautifully as she always does, and her acting was detailed as it always is.  Her Habanera was fun and nuanced but was more professional and measured than fiery.  One always expects an edgy spitfire from Carmen; she is often characterized as hedonistic, impetuous, hot-tempered and cold-hearted.  This performance gave us a more controlled and calculating Carmen, very self-aware, not so much filled with pent-up anger.  Was this the result of Ms. Leonard’s portrayal or Ms. Zambello emphasizing the feminist side?  The beauty of Ms. Leonard’s voice and her sexual allure came through clearly in her delightful Sequidilla (Près des remparts de Séville) and subsequent arias.  Mr. Fabiano’s beautiful tenor voice and impassioned singing were on display, but he seemed a lost soul from the beginning, not that difficult a conquest for Carmen; I had trouble seeing why Carmen was attracted to him out of all her choices – she could have had an officer.   Their final scene together was intense, and their duets were well done throughout.  Mr. Green’s performance on the other hand was spirited and entirely compelling from the moment he arrived on stage, very believable as a bullfighter; he brought down the house with his excellent Toreador aria.  On stage, he readily became the focus of attention.

Escamillo (Ryan Speedo Green) enters on Honey, the white horse. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

The fourth main role, that of Micaëla was played by the rising star soprano Vanessa Vasquez who sang beautifully and was also convincing as the sweet-hearted girlfriend Don José gave up for Carmen; Bizet gave some of the most beautiful arias to Micaëla.  All four main performers have worked with WNO previously, though it was a first in an opera role for Mr. Green.  Ms. Vasquez was Donna Anna in WNO’s 2020 Don Giovanni, one of the last, if not the last performance in the Opera House before the pandemic shut down.  I recall saying at the time that she was the best Donna Anna I had seen; she also made an outstanding Micaëla.  Among the talented supporting players were several Cafritz Young Artists who performed admirably.  I especially enjoyed soprano Susannah Waddington and mezzo-soprano Hannah Shea as Carmen’s friends Frasquita and Mercédès.  Ms. Waddington has been a standout in the program, and Ms. Shea recently won the annual Annapolis Opera Vocal Competition.  Jonathan Bryan as officer Moralès, Kevin Short as lieutenant Zuniga, Kyle Miller as Le Dancaïre, Duke Kim as Le Remendado, and Karma Camp as Lillas Pastia all deserve mention for adding to the success of the performance. 

Escamillo (Ryan Speedo Green) entertains with crowd with Toreador. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

The formidable WNO Orchestra under the direction of Conductor Evan Rogister played Bizet’s marvelous music in fine accompanying fashion.  The choruses, men’s, women’s, and children’s all gave pleasing performances, bringing Bizet’s excellent choral music to life.  Many chorus members, including the children were used to good effect as characters on stage for the drama.  Kudos to Chorus Master Steven Gathman. 

A fight breaks out between Carmen’s suitors, Don José (Michael Fabiano) and Escamillo (Ryan Speedo Green). Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

The staging by Director Zambello had sets mainly composed of a couple of clay colored walls that were moved about on a rotating platform to form a courtyard, a tavern, and a smuggler’s camp for the the different scenes.  The period costumes were more posh and added life to the performance.  Tanya McCallin served as both Set and Costume Designer.  Some aspects seemed a little overdone, such as smoke bellowing forth from the cigarette factory.  Except for scenes with only Carmen and Don José, the sets were often filled with performers in lavish costumes; at the end, the performers had to assemble in the back of the stage and come forward in waves for their applause.  The staging also featured embellishments, such as having Escamillo ride in on a white horse, guns fired in celebration, and climbers scaling walls.  Although Ms. Zambello became Washington National Opera Artistic Director in 2012, her history of directing WNO productions began in 2001.  If I have counted correctly, Carmen is her 30th staged opera for WNO.  Since I began attending and reporting on WNO operas in 2016, I have seen 10 of 12 that she has directed. So, I know whereof I speak: Ms. Zambello gives a good show.

The cast in an example of the lavish staging of WNO’s Carmen. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

Bizet’s music and the indomitable spirit of Carmen make this opera compelling theater.  You will be entertained if you go, though you may not remember this production as the best.  You will, however, likely remember for a very long time that that you got to see Isabel Leonard, Michael Fabiano, Ryan Speedo Green, and Vanessa Vasquez have a go at it.  I sure will, and the enthusiastic standing ovation at the end assures me that others felt the same.

Carmen ends tragically. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

The Fan Experience: WNO scheduled performances of Carmen for May 14, 15, 16, 20, 22, 25, 27, and 28.  Performances on May 15 and 27 have Cafritz Young Artists playing the major roles.  Remaining tickets can be accessed at this link; however, the last time I checked, few were remaining.  Parking ($25) in the indoor KC parking lot can be reserved online ahead of the day of the performance; there is a discount for KC members.  Access through the north side entrances is still closed, but traffic flows freely to entrances on the south side.  Taking the Metro to Foggy Bottom and catching the red Kennedy Center buses is a good mass transit option.  Before you go, check KC’s masking and vaccination requirements, which often pop up anytime you visit the KC website at kennedy-center.org, but if it doesn’t, click on the banner at the top of the page.

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

Maryland Lyric Opera’s Don Carlo: Great Singing, Music, and Showmanship

I love it when the professional hand is in evidence.  I love it when the commitment to quality is absolute.  I love it when there is a commitment to community riding alongside the commitment to the arts.  Maryland Lyric Opera gets high marks on all of these, and all three were on full display Friday night in MDLO’s showpiece production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Don Carlo (1867) in concert.  MDLO’s partially staged performance included a seventy-one piece orchestra, a twenty piece Banda, and a seventy-four member chorus, six lead soloists and eight contributing singers.  This was concert opera at its fullest and then some.

Any report on a performance of Don Carlo has a lot to unpack, beginning with the question of why it is sometimes called Don Carlos.  What difference does an s make?  Verdi and his librettists Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle originally wrote a grand, five-act opera in French for Paris titled Don Carlos (including a ballet not often performed today).  It didn’t fare all that well, and Verdi produced several revisions, the most important and most often performed is the one for his homeland, a four-act version with the libretto translated into Italian, called Don Carlo.  The Metropolitan Opera recently performed Don Carlos, its first ever production of the original in French.  Many musicologists, though not all, view the opera as Verdi’s finest.  Some consider it flawed in construction despite its important and still relevant themes, but all yield to the greatness of its music.  Don Carlo is frequently performed in Europe, though not so often in the US for reasons I’ll get to later.

Mark Delevan as Rodrigo and Arturo Chacón-Cruz as Carlo. Photo by Julian Thomas; courtesy of Maryland Opera.

Don Carlo is a historical drama (loosely based on real people and events) that takes place in sixteenth century Spain under the rule of King Philip II and the Spanish Inquisition.  It is based on a Schiller play which itself had a forerunner in a French romance by Abbé de Saint-Réal whose plot was based on a rumor, not substantiated, that the real Don Carlos, heir to Philip’s throne was secretly in love with his stepmother; it’s complicated, follow me here.  While we think of Verdi as primarily concerned with affairs of the heart, he also became a political activist, deeply concerned with governance, conflicts between kingdoms/nations, matters of church and state, and their impact on the individual.

The opera’s plot in a nutshell: A monk seeming to be the deceased previous ruler, Charles V, offers foreboding words for Carlo who has just returned from Flanders where there is an uprising, a trip made against the wishes of his father, the King.  Arrangements had been made for Prince Carlo of Spain to marry Princess Elisabetta of France to seal the peace between warring France and Spain.  Subsequently, the two met and fell in love.  In the interim, King Philip decided it was better for him to marry her instead.  Jilted by his father, Carlo is distraught and still drawn to Elisabetta.  She accepts the new situation as their fate and reluctantly rebuffs Carlo.  Court Princess Eboli has designs on Carlo but then seeks revenge on him when she discovers his love of Elisabetta; she plants evidence of his attachment to the Queen for the King to find.  Rodrigo, Marquis of Posa, befriends Carlo; both have a commitment to helping citizens of Flanders, repressed in rule by Philip.  Philip takes Rodrigo as a confidant to also spy on Carlo and Elizabeth whom he suspects are adulterous.  The King asks the Grand Inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition how to deal with Carlo’s rebellion and is told Carlo’s death is warranted and so is Rodrigo’s for abetting the insurrection in Flanders.  The King mourns his wife’s lack of love for him and on discovering the evidence planted by Eboli accuses her of an affair with Carlo.  Eboli and the King come to realize Elisabetta is innocent.  Eboli confesses to Elisabetta that she gave evidence of her affection for Carlo to the King and that she was the King’s mistress; Elisabetta banishes her to exile.  Rodrigo is shot by the King’s men.  Carlo vows to continue the fight for Flanders, and after a brief reunion with Elisabetta, is almost captured by the King’s men, but is led into a tomb by the ghost of his granddad, Charles V in an ending so ambiguous that it has caused many a stage director to alter it; MDLO stayed true to Verdi.  As you can see, this plot requires an oversized nutshell.  I think that’s a problem, more later.

Elaine Alvarez as Elisabetta. Photo by Julian Thomas; courtesy of Maryland Opera.

Let’s give Verdi and the MDLO Orchestra (seventy-one members with a twenty-member Banda) their due.  Verdi’s music in Don Carlo, like all Verdi music is mood setting, drama enhancing and melodious, but this one seemed very different to me, far different from the music I just heard in attending Rigoletto recently.  It seemed more refined and more varied.  I thought I heard a middle eastern influence at times, marches, different choices of solo instruments, other influences; some of it even sounded French.  Conductor Louis Salemno, leading a massive orchestra and chorus, gave Verdi’s music full measure, beautiful, sometimes drawing you in and sometimes pressing you back in your seat.  It was a marvelous experience.

Andrea Silvestrelli as King Philip. Photo by Julian Thomas; courtesy of Maryland Opera.

Verdi’s Don Carlo requires six strong soloists for the roles of Carlo, Elisabetta, Philip, Rodrigo, Eboli, and Grand Inquisitor.  MDLO’s six main soloists were stellar and buoyed by eight excellent supporting singers; all were excellent in singing and acting.  International star tenor Arturo Chacón-Cruz was a convincing Carlo whose burnished tenor was impressive in solos and duets.  One of the most impressive duets came early in the opera as Carlo and Rodrigo sealed their friendship, blending their voices in a beautiful manner, reminiscent of the tenor baritone-duet in The Pearl Fishers.  Baritone Mark Delavan, an MDLO regular, gave one of his finest performances as Rodrigo.  Soprano Elaine Alvarez sang beautifully as Elisabetta.  Her voice has a rare endearing quality, so effective at conveying the emotions of the troubled Queen.  Mezzo-soprano Catherine Martin provided perhaps the only light-hearted moment of the opera with her Act I aria about mistaken identities, which was a delight.  She further impressed with a beautiful and emotionally searing aria in Act III expressing her shame and regret over her actions.  Bass Andrea Silvestrelli who played King Philip II is often described as “one of the most sought-after 'bassi profondi' on the international opera scene”.  It is hard to envision a more perfect King Philip.  With that voice and royal manner, he commands every scene, while still conveying his insecurities about his power and his love life.  Bass Kenneth Kellogg made a fearsome, implacable blind Grand Inquisitor; his voice in fine form used to chilling effect. 

The excellent cast in smaller roles contributed substantially to the effectiveness of the performance, including the marvelous soprano Nayoung Ban, who portrayed Tebaldo and the Celestial Voice, and smooth, steady baritone SeungHyeon Baek who sang the roles of Frate and a Flemish Deputy; both are former members of the MDLO Young Artists institute.  Other contributors were Mauricio Miranda, Hunter Enoch, Javier Arrey, Jose Sacin, Adam Cioffani, and Annie Gill.  The seventy-four member MDLO Chorus singing beautifully were placed in a balcony semi-circle at the back of the stage with men and women members evenly dispersed.  The chorus is a major contributor to the performance in Don Carlo, and this chorus fulfilled that role extremely well.  One complicating factor for all the singers was the size and volume of the orchestra, which seemed to force singers occasionally to labor extra hard to match the volume of the orchestra’s sound.

Catherine Martin as Princess Eboli (left) and Nayoung Ban as Tebaldo. Photo by Julian Thomas; courtesy of Maryland Opera.

Although this was a concert version of Don Carlo, it was semi-staged with only a few props, featuring singer-actor interactions, but no costumes or sets.  Visual Supervisor Dave Gately’s limited staging was well done, enhancing the drama.  Lighting changes were used effectively to enhance the mood of several of the scenes; kudos to Lighting Designer Stuart Duke.  The English supertitles (the opera was sung in Italian) were displayed on a large zig zag screen about the chorus.  A series of paintings to complement the setting were also displayed on the screen, a clever and effective innovation for this production; kudos to Projection Designer Sarah Tundermann. [Addendum 5/17/22 - I asked for additional information on the paintings that were used and received these interesting comments from Ms. Tundermann: "David Gately was inspired by El Greco (Doménikos Theotokópoulos), so many of the paintings are either by him, or are stylistically similar. In some cases I projected one of his works, sometimes moving through pans and tilts before landing on the framing we would sit in for the scene. In other cases, a single painting didn't work with the screen shape, or I was looking for something to match the mood and/or location of the scene better, so I visually compiled multiple paintings into a single image. This was the case for the first scene in which I combined Saint Francis Kneeling in Meditation with the city-scape background of The Feast in the House of Simon, both by El Greco. Other works by El Greco that were included in the projections were View of Toledo, Christ Healing the Blind, Apparition of the Virgin and Child to Saint Hyacinth, The Disrobing of Christ, The Vision of Saint John, Laocoon, and The View and Plan of Toledo. The act one finale - the Auto-da-fé - included works by Eugenio Lucas Velázquez and Francisco de Goya."

Kenneth Kellogg as the Grand Inquisitor (center) confronting King Philip. Photo by Julian Thomas; courtesy of Maryland Opera.

My previous experience of Don Carlo was Washington National Opera’s production of 2018 which used a dark and foreboding staging throughout, with an emphasis on oppressive governance and church issues.  MDLO’s performance emphasized more the force of the attachment between Carlo and Elisabetta, even without a first act in the Paris version that establishes their love for each other.  I preferred this emphasis.  One disadvantage of the concert version is a lessened impact of the scene, though not the music, for the auto da fé scene, a celebration where heretics are burned alive, as sentenced by the Inquisition.  This is a more chilling scene in staged versions, “as a voice from the heavens sings of their salvation”.  The course of the ending is also more difficult to convey in a concert version.  MDLO’s semi-staged version did convey the important themes of the opera and provided a compelling, entertaining drama.  It also left me wanting to see the opera again; it has so many nuances to the story.

Often the reason given for Don Carlo not being produced more often in the U.S. is the cost of staging it with six extraordinary singers demanded for an effective presentation.  Opera is government subsidized in Europe and Don Carlo gets substantially more play there.  I wonder, however, if part of the issue in the U.S. is that we don’t have a history of living under kings and royalty.  We are not so readily drawn into this opera; its basis has not been drilled into our bones.  An opera about George Washington or Thomas Jefferson would have immediate appeal here, maybe even one about Hamilton. Verdi’s La Traviata, about a good girl in a bad situation, is enormously popular in the U.S.; our hearts quickly go out to Violetta. Don Carlo also covers a lot of territory even in a three-hour opera.  I believe Americans need more time and character development to be drawn deeper into its several stories, perhaps better as a mini-series; with the ambiguous ending, it seems ripe for a season two.  Despite its sophistication, Don Carlo will likely remain an opera whose main appeal is for opera aficionados. Regardless, its themes remain relevant in our turbulent times, and MDLO certainly showed us that its music deserves to be heard more often.

With Don Carlo, MDLO wraps up a COVID-limited season of two excellent productions, both concert versions, after a two-year hiatus caused by the pandemic.  MDLO, during that period ,showed its strong commitment to their community by using their resources early on to obtain and distribute face masks, in short supply at the time, to first responders and health care workers.  We are all beneficiaries of their ability to bring world class opera performances to the Maryland suburbs.

Fan Experience: Maryland Lyric Opera held performances of Don Carlo on May 13 and 15 at the Music Center at Strathmore.  The concert hall is a beautiful structure that has outstanding acoustics for concert performances.  Strathmore is conveniently located close to the Grosvenor Metro Stop on the Rockville Pike.  Use of the parking deck is free on evenings and weekends.  I have found parking there to be easy in and easy out.

For anyone not familiar with Don Carlo, I strongly recommend reading the synopsis ahead of time, at least the first two acts. As I have described, it is a very complicated plot.

Opera Philadelphia's Rigoletto: Follow Up Comments from Director Lindy Hume

This report is a follow up to the preceding report on Opera Philadelphia’s current production of Rigoletto using a version originated by Director Lindy Hume in 2012, previously performed in New Zealand, Australia, and Seattle. She updates the setting to modern day and molds her version to remove the glamorous veneer of the Duke of Mantua and his courtiers to shine the spotlight more directly at their sinister nature. After seeing the opera, I posed two questions to Frank Luzi , OP’s Vice President of Marketing and Communications, who forwarded my questions to Director Hume. It will be helpful to read the previous report if you have not done so. My questions and her responses follow:

Ques: Was the ballroom set hung above the other scenes a logistical issue or to make a point by the director?  If so, what was it meant to represent?

Ans: The court of the Duke of Mantua is recognizably a society in which those with great wealth and power are oblivious to their oppression of others. The lives and relationships of people without power, like Rigoletto/Gilda, the older nobleman Monterone and even the criminal underclass represented by Sparafucile/Maddalena, are shaped, corrupted, and even bonded, by their impotence. In the drama (and as Rigoletto explicitly states in his monologue 'pari siamo') they are continually overshadowed by the presence of the all-powerful Duke, his court, and its influence. The Ducal palace looming over the action is a constant reminder that, for these underclasses, there is no escape from its power.

Ques: Do we know why Lindy Hume ended Rigoletto with Maddelena, not Sparafucile, killing Gilda?  It caught me by surprise.

Ans: I'm delighted that Maddalena murdering Gilda came as a surprise - that's exactly what I wanted. It's one of my favourite moments in the production, and in New Zealand, Australia and in Seattle there have been audible gasps in the audience when she stabs her. But it seems logical to me as well as being a dramatically exciting twist. It's very clear in the libretto and dramaturgy of the storm scene that the murder of a substitute victim is Maddalena's idea, that she drives the plan and stands to benefit from it. The minute that Gilda walks into the inn they both see their victim is a teenage kid. At that point, I wondered what would happen if Sparafucile (who we know has professional scruples) hesitated? Maddalena is in a desperately emotional state, she sees him hesitate, so she just grabs the knife and... it's over. 

I like doing the scene this way partly because theatrically it's an unexpected jolt to people who know the opera well, partly because it brilliantly finishes off Maddalena's extreme journey in Act 3, giving her character a more impactful arc rather than just "the hooker", and partly because there's something even more tragic - one woman killing another over the same, completely unworthy, man. The result is the same, Gilda's murder is as much the result of the actions of her father, the Duke, her abductors, and her corrupt companion Giovanna, as it is her encounter with Sparafucile and Maddalena. 

I am appreciative for Mr. Luzi’s assistance and for Director Hume’s substantive responses.

Opera Philadelphia’s Rigoletto: The Wait Was Over

Rent, the musical, loosely based on La Boheme has a song titled “525,600 Minutes” where the number refers to the minutes in a year.  The last fully staged opera by Opera Philadelphia was 942 days before Friday night’s Rigoletto, or 1,356,480 minutes, over 2.5 years ago.  The company used the down time to organize outdoor events, commission new works, initiate and stock their innovative Opera Philadelphia Channel, and stage an oratorio in the Kimmel Center in January.  The wildly enthusiastic audience Friday could not have been happier that the wait was over.  The audience was obviously appreciative of both the performance and Opera Philadelphia’s return.

Rigoletto (baritone Anthony Clark Evans) sits alone in the Duke of Mantua’s ballroom with a large screen monitor overhead. Photo by Dominic M. Mercier; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

OP selected opera meat and potatoes in their comeback production - popular Verdi sung by beautiful voices - but they veered away from a classical production.  OP instead chose a modern setting and seasoned it with awareness-raising for misogyny in opera.  Verdi’s principal theme of abuse of power in the 19th century was moved forward to the 21st.  Rigoletto (1851) is based on an 1832 play by Victor Hugo that caused the power brokers of his day to feel threatened enough to shut it down after one performance.  Composer Giuseppe Verdi and his librettist Francesco Piave revised the story just enough to be passable to those in power.  OP presented a version by Director Lindy Hume from 2012, which she based on the life of Italian media tycoon and politician Silvio Berlusconi.  Other more recent examples could have been used – Jeffrey Epstein, anyone?

left photo: Countess Ceprano (soprano Kara Goodrich) is pursued by the Duke of Mantua (tenor Joshua Blue) - you are also looking at Mimi and Rodolfo in next season’s La Bohème. right photo: The Duke (tenor Joshua Blue) hears Count Monterone (bass-baritone Ben Wager) deliver his curse. Photos by Dominic M. Mercier; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

Briefly, in OP’s production Rigoletto works as a court jester for a powerful, corrupt, licentious politician, the Duke of Mantua.  He serves the Duke to keep his underlings in line using sharp-barbed humor; he also assists the Duke in making his sexual conquests. Count Monterone, one outraged father of a victim of the Duke, places a curse on Rigoletto which strikes fear in his heart.  The Duke utilizes whatever means necessary to eliminate anyone opposing him; he has Monterone thrown into prison.  Rigoletto hates his dirty, corrupt life, but has a treasure that makes life worth living, a teenage daughter Gilda whom he has sheltered and hidden from the outside world, especially from the Duke and his courtiers.  The Duke spots Gilda in church and courts her on the sly, claiming to be a poor student.  He then takes her to bed after his aides kidnap and bring her to him.  Gilda is in love, but while charmed by Gilda’s innocence, the Duke considers one woman to be as good as another for his purposes.  Rigoletto, decimated and outraged by finding his daughter in the Duke’s chamber, decides to run away with Gilda, but first plots the Duke’s assassination as his revenge.  His plan is tragically foiled when Gilda decides to sacrifice her life to save the Duke’s.  Rigoletto is crushed, resigned to the fate of the curse.  The Duke goes unpunished – and my guess is, very likely re-elected. Relevant today? Didn’t a recent successful politician say that if you are a celebrity you can get away with anything?

left photo: Rigoletto (baritone Anthony Clark Evans) talks with his daughter Gilda (soprano Raven McMillon). right photo: Gilda (soprano) Raven McMillon) alone on her bed sings “Caro Nome”. Photo by Dominic M. Mercier; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

Ms. Hume commented in her program Q&A, “As a feminist and a fan of Verdi’s wonderful observation of human behavior, how could I resist bringing these worlds together in an imagined scenario where the excesses of obscene wealth, the corruption of high political power, and the moral void of the court all vibrate with an undercurrent of fear, violence, misogyny, and criminality?  This is the world of Verdi’s Rigoletto, and our own.”  She also stated, “Verdi turned a philanderer into a rock star by giving him some of the best music to the most misogynistic lines ever written ‘Act 1, it’s this girl, or that girl, they’re all the same to me…’ and in Act 3 ‘women are unreliable’.”  Ms. Hume wanted to provide a less glamorous view of the Duke.  Certainly, under Revival Director Daniel Pelzig, this production accomplished that aim by tarnishing the Duke’s bad boy appeal, portraying him as a criminal, malignant narcissist. 

In another source, Ms. Hume adds this insightful analysis: “Rigoletto is all about power – those who have it, and those who have none. The Duke of Mantua is the epicentre of power. He and all his corrupt courtiers are no less dangerous thugs than the hired assassin Sparafucile but they are entitled, wealthy thugs in power, while Sparafucile and his prostitute sister Maddalena are simply criminals. Between these two equally corrupt worlds – the elite and the underbelly of society – live ordinary, impotent people like Rigoletto and his innocent daughter Gilda, who are corrupted and destroyed when misadventure smashes these dangerous worlds together.”  No one is likeable in Rigoletto.  My wife asked me if I really didn’t like Gilda. Well, let’s see: the Duke lies to her about who he is, stalks her, gains access to her home unannounced, feigns genuine concern for her, condones her kidnapping, sexually assaults her, and then, she witnesses his dalliance with yet another woman - love or pathology? I don’t dislike Gilda, but at best, I can only offer empathy for the situations that Rigoletto’s characters are trapped in and sympathy for their losses. As for Gilda, I did like her singing.

The Duke’s courtiers trick Rigoletto into aiding their nighttime raid to kidnap Gilda. Photo by Dominic M. Mercier; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

Opera Philadelphia’s staging of the work used an opening set of a large ballroom of the Duke’s palace, rather impressive when many of today’s sets are mainly lighting and projections, but it also presented a logistical problem.  The ballroom is used for several scenes and acts; what do you do with it when the other scenes are in progress.  OP chose to hang it overhead in full view; perhaps it was an intentional attempt to keep the powerful overlooking everything, but I simply found it a little distracting.  [See Director Hume’s comments on this issue in my follow up report to this one]. The costumes designed by Richard Roberts gave believe-ability to the period, and lighting by Drew Billiau was effective in focusing the audience’s attention.  The large tv screen in the ballroom seemed appropriate for a politician’s room and projections were used dramatically.  The staging of the additional scenes was mostly well done with a rotating stage, causing the smaller sets to enter and exit smoothly, without much delay.  The night scene where Rigoletto gets confused and unwittingly aids the kidnapping of his own daughter was done effectively, as was having Gilda alone on her bed with the remainder of the stage darkened, while singing her main aria, “Caro Nome”.  Mr. Pelzig managed well the movements of a large group on stage, 13 named singers, a 24 member chorus, and 12 supernumeraries. 

Okay, why isn’t Rigoletto the most depressing opera ever?  It’s the music; you go home humming it.  Verdi’s ability to dramatize with his music and at the same time deliver such memorable tunes with his arias make Rigoletto among the most often performed operas.  Maybe Verdi gave the Duke great arias to take advantage of what Director Hume calls “the enduring appeal of scandal...I think we vicariously enjoy watching people play fast and loose with the normal rules of society – maybe because we resent rules in some ways." 

The courtiers present the Duke with evidence of their capture as a gift. Photo by Dominic M. Mercier; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

Director Corrado Rovaris and the Opera Philadelphia Orchestra delivered Verdi’s music faithfully.  In addition to the 58-piece orchestra, a 13 member banda supplied diegetic music (music within the play that both the characters and the audience hears). The music never threatened to overwhelm the singers and paused appropriately to allow singers acapella performances for parts of their arias.  Try an experiment: put on a video of Rigoletto without the subtitles and focus on listening to the music while watching the action.  It will be a Verdi lesson in how music can foreshadow events, enhance the meaning of looks, and add intensity to the drama on stage.  In her recorded pre-opera talk, termed Opera Overtures, Dr. Lily Kass, OP’s scholar-in-residence, gives examples of this.

left photo: Sparafucile (bass Wei Wu) behind the bar watches as Maddelena (mezzo-soprano Kristen Choi) ensnares the Duke (tenor Joshua Blue) in their plan. right photo: Rigoletto forces Gilda to witness the Duke’s advances on his new mistress Maddelena. Photo by Dominic M. Mercier; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

An excellent group of mostly young singers was headlined by baritone Anthony Clark Evans as Rigoletto.  His polished brass baritone and impressive singing were well suited for the role.  Part of Rigoletto’s character was shaped by his feelings about his physical deformity.  He is a hunchback, but nothing untoward was in evidence as Mr. Evans moved about the stage; it is that feature that gives audiences some sympathy for him.  I was particularly excited to hear Raven McMillon in the role of Gilda, having heard some of her performance as a Grand Finals Winner of the 2021 Metropolitan Opera’s Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition.  I thought she showed some tentativeness as a young actress, but sang well overall, showing occasional brilliance with her high coloratura flourishes dropping to lovely low tones.  She absolutely nailed “Caro Nome”; her thunderous applause was well deserved.  Tenor Joshua Blue sang and performed well in the role of the Duke of Mantua. In his solo arias, he displayed why he is much in demand today.  Two of my favorites were bass Wei Wu as the assassin Sparafucile and mezzo-soprano Kristen Choi as his prostitute sister Maddelena.  Mr. Wu has performed in so many operas in the mid-Atlantic region, he not only gives capable performances in supporting roles but adds a grounding to the productions.  His Sparafucile was more business-like than menacing.  The shock of the evening for me was Maddalena being Gilda’s killer, not seen in other productions.  I’m not sure what Director Hume intended by this change.  At any rate, Ms. Choi is a delight.  I have seen her in the roles of Suzuki (Madama Butterfly) and Hermia (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), but it was in Opera Philadelphia Channel’s TakTakShoo that I saw the range of her free-flowing acting talents, a range further developed with Maddelena.  [See Director Hume’s comments on her choice to have Maddelena wield the knife in my follow up report to this one].

The singers in supporting roles were uniformly excellent and added greatly to the performance.  Ensemble numbers were impressive; I especially like the trios, quartets, and quintets in Act 3.  The strong chorus was especially enjoyable.  Kudos to Chorus Master Elizabeth Braden.

How you respond to Rigoletto will likely be influenced by whether it is your first Rigoletto.  It might seem a tough opera to begin with, but in fact, when I was first bitten by the opera bug, Rigoletto was my favorite opera for a long time, mainly of course because of the music.  For the record, I have always thought of the Duke as a destructive slimeball.  I do wonder after seeing Ms. Hume’s updated version whether I will still be able to enjoy hearing “La Donna é mobile” or “Questa o quella”.  And if not, is that a good thing?  Opera Philadelphia doesn’t settle for comfortable, and that is a good thing.

The Fan Experience: Performances of Rigoletto in the Academy of Music were scheduled for April 29, May 1, 6, 8.  The opera is sung in Italian with English supertitles on a screen above the stage.  Before going, check out OP’s COVID-19 requirements; currently proof of vaccination and the wearing of masks in the theater are required.  The pre-opera talk (Opera Overtures) and the printed program are made available on line for ticket holders. The excitement for next season is already building. I am especially excited that the Opera Philadelphia Festival will return in October after a two year hiatus.

It is always a pleasure to visit Philadelphia, so much to see and do and taste.  My wife and I waited too late to get dinner reservations before the opera at restaurants we’ve read reviews of and like to visit.  Friday evening, we were strolling down 15th Street when my wife spotted Alice Pizza restaurant just around the corner from the Academy of Music and said, “Italian sounds good”.  We lucked out getting a table at that hour, and soon realized we had lucked into an excellent restaurant, serving much more than pizza.  Our luck continued to hold – the couple at the table beside us was also attending the opera, and we struck up a conversation.  It turned out that Alice is one of their favorite restaurants.  It also turned out that their interest in Opera Philadelphia is augmented by the fact that their daughter plays in the orchestra; and I assured her proud parents that my blog report would say that the highlight of the evening’s performance was the playing of the Principal Second Violinist.  Mission accomplished.

WCO's Orphée: Kate Lindsey Commands the Stage in Maestro Walker’s Gem

Expectations were high for Washington Concert Opera’s Orphée, as discussed in my previous report.  WCO chose to present three productions this first season, post the pandemic shutdown years, rather than the normal two.  Artistic Director and Conductor Antony Walker chose the Berlioz adaptation of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice for several reasons, including its shortened length of 90 minutes, a limited cast of only three singers with a smaller orchestra and chorus, and the opportunity to again showcase mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey.  Gluck’s work held a special place in Conductor Walker’s heart.  He made his conducting debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 2010 with this opera and had long wished for the opportunity to conduct the opera in a smaller setting that would allow him to utilize his ideas in its formulation.  WCO’s productions typically approach three hours with use of a large orchestra and chorus.  In the case of Orphée, the saying that dynamite comes in a small package comes to mind. 

Kate Lindsey as Orphée, backed by the Washington Concert Opera Chorus in WCO’s Orphée on Sunday, April 24. Photo by Caitlin Oldham Photography; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

The Orpheus myth begins with him mourning the death of his wife Eurydice; he decides to retrieve her from Hades, using his extraordinary singing skill. Amour, God of Love grants his wish but under one condition. He cannot look at Eurydice while they are leaving or explain why to her. Just before exiting Hades, he whiffs and Eurydice is returned to the Underworld. The Greek myth ends badly for both, but In Gluck’s telling we get a happy ending: Amour is persuaded by Oprhée’s love to return Eurydice to him in the land of the living.

If you will allow me an analogy, we might think of different operas as different culinary dishes, each with its own recipe utilizing a libretto and a score as the principal ingredients, seasoned by performers and presentation.  Let’s call German composer Christoph Willibald Gluck and librettist Ranieri de’ Calzabigi’s original 1762 Orfeo ed Euridice an Italian soup.  In 1774, Gluck collaborated with librettist Pierre Celeste-Moline to produce a version for Paris in French.  To suit the taste and language of those audiences, he changed his recipe significantly.  Parisienne audiences of the early 1800s did not want castrati, used in 1762, in their soup, so he changed Orphée’s voice type to a high tenor; they did want more ballet in their soup, so he added more.  He also added an ingredient he deliberately avoided in his “reform opera” soup of 1762, coloratura arias, which Parisienne audiences liked. 

left photo: Jacquelyn Stucker as Eurydice and Conductor Antony Walker. right photo: Helen Zhibing Huang as Amour (Cupid) and Kate Lindsey as Orphée. Photos by Caitlin Oldham Photography; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

Parisienne audiences were growing weary of Gluck’s operas in the early part of the nineteenth century; and the re-tuning of orchestras in Paris to a brighter sound pushed would-be Orphée singers beyond their high tenor limits.  Again, the story and the recipe shifts: a young composer Hector Berlioz had become infatuated with Gluck’s music and acted on a suggestion that Orphée et Eurydice be adapted for the lower voice type of opera megastar Pauline Viardot, the leading singer/actor and influencer of her day.  The adaptation and her performances were hugely successful.  Sometimes you got to do what sells, but as a tribute to Gluck’s genius, all these soups are not only tasty, but nourishing for the soul.  The Berlioz adaptation opened the door for mezzo-sopranos to perform in the role, though not just any mezzo-soprano.  In the Orpheus myth, he uses the beauty of his singing to charm his way into Hades and back to retrieve his dead wife Eurydice.  In each version, it was important to cast a singer possessing a stand-out voice and a sensitive artistry to effectively convey powerful emotions in sometimes subtle ways.

l to r: Nardia Boodoo, Andile Ndlovu, Jacquelyn Stucker, Kate Lindsey, and Conductor Walker. Photo by Caitlin Oldham Photography; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

Mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey is one of the world’s leading mezzos, even though she feels like a local performer.  She is a Richmond native; she spent two summers as a Wolf Trap Filene Artist in her youth, and has appeared in three previous WCO productions, I Capuleti e i Montecchi, La favorite, and Sapho, another role popularized by Pauline Viardot.  I first saw her in Washington National Opera’s Dead Man Walking in 2016 and commented that I thought this young talent’s performance would improve “as her confidence grows”; in WCO’s Sapho I thought “she owned the stage”, and about Met Opera’s Agrippina, I said, “she was difficult to take your eyes from”.  She has blossomed impressively, clearly ready for a role where she does 90% of the singing.  Maestro Walker saw her as having qualities of artistry, intellectual breadth, and courage similar to Viardot as well as a similar voice type. She had also been readied to sing the Berlioz version, having been scheduled to do so for a performance in Europe that was canceled by COVID.  Sunday night, she was the most professional singer in the room in a group of accomplished professionals, and she was in character for every second of Orphée, her face as well as her singing telling the story - there were tears in the audience.  Her voice was beautiful, and her on point singing was often other worldly, perfect for Orpheus.  Her coloratura aria at the end of Act I (Amour, viens render à mon ûme, or Love, restore your flame to my soul) was delivered with such force and emotion that the audience exploded with applause when Maestro Walker paused the orchestra.  In Sunday’s performance, she commanded the stage and had the audience enraptured.

Maestro Walker had selected an excellent duo of sopranos for the opera’s two supporting roles in their debuts with Washington Concert Opera; Soprano Jaquelyn Stucker as Eurydice sang beautifully, her lovely voice filled with emotion; she was a highlight of the evening even in a small role.  Soprano Helen Zhibang Huang as Amour charmed the audience with her bright soprano and her amusing portrayal of Cupid.  I hope that performing again in the Washington area will frequently be on both their agendas.

l to r: Andile Ndlovu, Nardia Boodoo, and Kate Lindsey. Photo by Caitlin Oldham Photography; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

Concert opera is not staged, singers with accompaniment only, to allow a focus on the singing and the music. This WCO production had something not seen before in WCO performances – dance!  I chatted by telephone with Maestro Walker prior to the performance and asked him about adding staging to the performance.  WCO had used partial staging for two previous performances, La Cenerentola in 2010 and La vin herbé in 2019, but never dance.  He had selected Washington Ballet’s Andile Ndlovu and Nardia Boodoo to work with him, Chorus Master David Hanlon, and the singers (without a stage director), to incorporate dance into the production. He stated:

Andile Ndlovu and Nardia Boodoo. Photos by Caitlin Oldham Photography; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

“I decided that, seeing as Orphée is a reformed French baroque opera, where dance is an essential component, I would include two classically trained dancers to dance 6 key set pieces, and to help us tell the story even more clearly and compellingly.  Andile Ndlovu and Nardia Boodoo's journey as the dancers in Orphée included starting the opera in a formal, exuberant fashion, transitioning immediately into two grieving mourners at Eurydice’s funeral, then becoming briefly monsters of Hades before expressing the delights and bliss of Elysium with Eurydice.  And, of course, they finished the opera with a celebratory flourish!  My thought for the dancers was that essentially, they should be a part of the supernatural element of the opera, working for Amour in various capacities, and guiding and testing Orphée: trying to help fulfill Amour’s wish for the lovers to be reunited by assisting in Orphée’s journey from above ground into the Underworld and back.  As dancers, these wonderful performers can assume multiple characters and roles in such a drama, and really add a fascinating new artistic dimension to the story telling. Having another male and female couple also express love and grief through dance was a real gift to telling the story.  It was the first time in WCO history that dancers were used, and I was really delighted with Andile and Nardia’s artistry and hope that we can incorporate dance into the occasional future work in this similar genre.”

l to r: Nardia Boodoo, Andile Ndlovu, Jacquelyn Stucker, Kate Lindsey, and Conductor Walker. Photo by Caitlin Oldham Photography; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

In viewing the performance, I did not perceive all the elements in Maestro Walker’s description, but dancers certainly added another element of beauty.  As Orphée entered stage left, she was engaged by the dancers who interacted with each of the singers in telling the story.  Mr. Ndlovu, who also choreographed the dance, and Ms. Boodoo are lovely young people whose movements were smooth and flowing.  The addition of dance does provide a logistics problem.  The orchestra onstage was moved to one half of the stage and the chorus was seated at the back of the other half to allow a performance area for the dancers, but it worked well enough.  I would welcome use of dance in future Washington Concert Opera productions.  The choice of the singers and dancers for this opera also met another goal for Director Walker.  He wanted to “highlight the universality of the experiences of love and grief by casting in a more diverse way”.  Ms. Zhibing is Chinese American.  Mr. Ndlovu is a native of South Africa and Ms. Boodoo is of Indo-Trinidadian ancestry.

Kate Lindsey and Conductor Walker with the Washington Concert Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Photo by Caitlin Oldham Photography; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

I will mention the music last when it should be first.  An enjoyable part of Washington Concert Opera performances always is being able to see Maestro Walker and the orchestra on stage, rather than in a pit;  Conductor Walker’s movements are a show in themselves.  The orchestra and chorus were somewhat smaller than usual but were fully engaging.  Maestro Walker made some changes to the Berlioz adaptation, such as changing some aspects of the instrumentation back to the Gluck version.  I had not heard Gluck’s opera before in any version, and the music surprised me again and again.  Lovely, baroque style melodies appeared throughout the evening and different instruments shone in solo ornamentations, the oboe, the flute, and the harp.  But most impressive of all was how much the music supported and added to the drama and its changing moods.  The WCO chorus was a delight as usual and even became players in the partial staging of the drama.  If they are all members of the same church, let me know; I might sign up.  Kudos to Conductor Walker and Chorus Master Hanlon.

My high expectations for the evening were met and exceeded.  While perhaps WCO’s Orphée could be improved with more rehearsal time which was short and more time to formulate its elements, the audience was offered an artistic experience being created before our eyes, first rate and exciting.  I have no trouble calling it a gem.  It engaged; it sparkled; it enriched.  It was live and in person!  The Berlioz adaptation of Gluck’s Ofeo ed Euridice is definitely a dish I’d like to try again.

The Fan Experience: As with all WCO productions, Sunday night’s performance in Lisner Auditorium was one off.  If you missed it, you missed it forever.  Orphée was the second of three operas this season; WCO’s final opera of the season will be Lakmé, to be performed on May 22.  You might consider adopting my attitude based on many performances I have now attended: I don’t really need for WCO to announce the names of the operas selected for the coming season; just give me the dates, and I will be there. 

Kate Lindsey will serve as Wolf Trap Opera’s Filene Artist in Residence this summer. She will perform a recital on July 8 and offer a master class open to the public on July 14.

Opening comments were made by Meg Sippey, WCO’s new Executive Director; she noted she was one week on the job.  Peter Russell, General Director of Vocal Arts DC, presented the pre-opera talk and provided program notes.  Mr. Russell typically presents a one-hour lecture on WCO’s operas in the free Opera Gems series; the one for Lakmé is scheduled for online presentation for April 28 at 1 pm.  Lakmé should last around 2.5 hours, but frankly, I thought 90 minutes for a Sunday evening was not too short.

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