Virginia Opera's La Traviata 2023: Great Cast in a Visual Delight

I contend that La Traviata (1853) is the perfect opera (my son prefers Tosca, and I concede a case can be made for Madama Butterfly).  Traviata has three acts, each a standout dramatically, and each filled with some of the most catchy, beautiful music and arias you will ever hear.  Traviata will warm your heart with its love story and thrill you with its music, and in the end, will leave you weeping; but on the way home, you will start to hum and whistle the melodies you just enjoyed.  With operas that are performed so frequently, one never knows how a stage director might present them to provide some novelty.  Director Tara Faircloth chose a classic nineteenth century staging enhanced by a set that was a visual delight.  Virginia Opera provided all that and introduced us to some standout singers new to the area in their weekend performances at George Mason’s Center for the Arts.  If you are the rare person who hasn’t seen La Traviata before, I envy you the treat you have ahead.

Won Whi Choi as Alfredo and Brandie Inez Sutton as Violetta in center, surrounded by ensemble. Photo by Dave Pearson Photography; courtesy of Virginia Opera.

La Traviata’s composer was Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901); need I say more?  Traviata was the beginning of his middle period around 1850 in which he stepped up his game, following La Traviata with Rigoletto and Il Trovatore, a trio of operas that pushed him to the top of the opera world.  He and his librettist Francesco Maria Piave based the opera on a book titled La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils (fils because he had the same name as his father, a more famous author – The Count of Montecristo and The Three Musketeers).  Piave, who became a good friend of Verdi’s, wrote over seventy librettos, ten with Verdi.  The play was inspired by the life of a real-life Parisian courtesan, Marie Duplessis, who died of consumption and with whom Dumas, the son, had had a non-exclusive liaison that lasted a little under a year.  La Traviata is said to be Verdi’s most realistic opera. In opening comments, General Director Peggy Kriha Dye said that this was Virginia Opera’s eighth production of La Traviata. 

Grant Youngblood as Giorgio Germont and Brandie Inez Sutton as Violetta. Photo by Dave Pearson Photography; courtesy of Virginia Opera.

(Spoiler alert – a synopsis follows) There are three roles in Traviata that are showcase roles: Violetta, the courtesan, Alfredo Germont, her lover, and Giorgio Germont, the father of Alfredo. But in truth, La Traviata is all about Violetta; you can’t get the soprano who sings Violetta wrong and have a good opera; more on that later.  Violetta is a beautiful and highly popular courtesan who is beginning to suffer from tuberculosis in nineteenth century Paris where lavish salon parties are a regular part of French nightlife.  She encounters Alfredo who has fallen in love for her.  At first, she attempts to push him away.  He lives for love, but she lives for pleasure.  Slowly, Violetta finds herself deeply in love with Alfredo.  They move in together in the Paris countryside and live blissfully for a while.  Then Alfredo finds Violetta has been secretly selling her assets to cover their expenses and leaves for Paris to secure financing.  In his absence, his father Giorgio appears and asks Violetta to give Alfredo up.  Alfredo’s sister is engaged to a man from a proper family and if word gets out that Alfredo is involved with a courtesan, suburban cancel culture will block the marriage.  At last Violetta agrees; Giorgio having gained respect for her honor promises his support.  Violetta flees back to her courtesan life, leaving Alfredo devastated.  He pursues her at a party, insults her, and throws money he has won at her.  Giorgio arrives and castigates his son for his treatment of Violetta.  His behavior leads to a duel and Alfredo goes abroad.  In the final scene, Violetta is on her deathbed when Alfredo, knowing the whole story, returns to see her and again they declare their love for each other.  She dies in his arms.  Where did I put those tissues?

Won Whi Choi as Alfredo Germont and Grant Youngblood as Giorgio Germont. Photo by Dave Pearson Photography; courtesy of Virginia Opera.

There are four scenes with different sets, each a visual delight.  I marveled at how beautiful and how believable the opening set and costumes for the ballroom scene were; same for the exotic party scene when Violetta returns to courtesan life.  Their countryside living quarters and the final bedroom scene were quite lovely, quite mood enhancing.  Kudos to the creative team, including Robert Little for scenic design, John Leymeyer for costume design, Molly Tiede for lighting design, and Elyse Messick for wig and make-up design.

Now let’s talk about who played Violetta.  I trust VO’s Artistic Director and Conductor Adam Turner to make good choices in staffing VO’s productions, but I’m always a little edgy when going to hear a soprano I don’t know sing Violetta.  His choice for Virginia Opera’s Violetta was more than fine; as each scene unfolded, she became more and more impressive.  In her opening, I thought that this was a talented young performer with a strong, lovely voice worth hearing, though she seemed to labor a bit getting her flourishes just right.  However, her confidence seemed to grow as the party goers left her and Alfredo alone, and then by the end of the scene, alone on stage, she was floating in a high register showing off her trills and coloratura; while some in the audience were shouting brava, I was thinking, “You go, girl!”.  I am now a fan of soprano Brandie Inez Sutton.  In the final Act, she owned the role.  I’ve seen too many Traviata’s to get emotional, but by the end, she had tears in my eyes, perhaps the best performance in the death scene that I have experienced.  Like many emerging, young opera stars, Ms. Sutton already has a wealth of experience, including performing at the Met Opera and internationally, that undergirds her confidence.  I hope we get to see more of her.

Fran Daniel Laucerica as Gastone and Taylor-Alexis DuPont as Flora surrounded by Virginia Opera Chorus in the exotic party scene. Photo by Dave Pearson Photography; courtesy of Virginia Opera.

The leading men were also strong choices with whom I was unfamiliar.  Alfredo needs to be youthful, appealing as a love interest, and a bit hot-headed.  Tenor Won Whi Choi, who has also appeared at the Met proved to be an excellent choice; his burnished tenor voice fit the role perfectly.  When he began, I was starting to compare him to great tenors.  His acting was quite good, but then I thought his singing varied during the performance, ranging from outstanding and impressive to merely good and back to outstanding.  This is a singer whose development is worth watching; he has a high ceiling.  The pairing of an Asian tenor and a black soprano in these roles was noticeable and totally unconcerning; besides, it showed that love has no boundaries.  Baritone Grant Youngblood, a veteran of many of the top opera stages, was an outstanding Giorgio, Alfredo’s father.  Verdi and Piave made Giorgio a juicy part, a man on a mission forced to come to terms with feelings arising from his respect for the person of which he asks so much.  Mr. Youngblood has a beautiful baritone voice and sang with impressive control, fully displaying the mixed feelings arising within his character.

Brandie Inez Sutton as Violetta and Erik Grendahl as Baron Duphol. Photo by Dave Pearson Photography; courtesy of Virginia Opera.

There are nine more named singers in supporting roles that contributed to the success of the production.  I will single out four for special mention: Fran Daniel Laucerica as Gastone, Alfredo’s friend, Erick Grendahl as Alfredo’s rival Baron Duphol, Taylor-Alexis DuPont as Flora, Violetta’s friend, and Kayleigh Reiss as maid Annina.  There were also twenty-four chorus members who performed as party goers and sang beautifully; Verdi always makes good use of the chorus as does Associate Conductor & Chorus Master Brandon Eldredge.  Director Tara Faircloth had a challenge moving so many players around a relatively small stage.  In general, the direction was excellent with some minor quibbles: some of the minor elements such as movements of the minor characters in the countryside setting lacked focus and definition; a more significant concern was that I did not find the confrontation where an emotionally distraught Alfredo insults and disgraces Violetta to have the dramatic impact it should (noted - my wife takes exception to this assessment); at that point no one in the audience should be able to breathe.  On the other hand, that death bed scene was perfect.

Grant Youngblood as Giorgio Germont, Brandie Inez Sutton as Violetta, and Won Whi Choi as Alfredo. Photo by Dave Pearson Photography; courtesy of Virginia Opera.

Verdi’s gorgeous music is served up well by the Richmond Symphony under the direction of Maestro Adam Turner.  The music ranges from the soft, sweet melancholy violins that open the prelude to the boisterous sounds of the party beginning on stage.  The orchestra also played a huge role in producing perfectly accented music in the final scene that was so emotionally affecting.

Won Whi Choi as Alfredo and Brandie Inez Sutton as Violetta. Photo by Dave Pearson Photography; courtesy of Virginia Opera.

In measure now, for me, seeing La Traviata is like visiting an old friend.  Virginia Opera’s production and cast made it a memorable visit.  If you haven’t seen it, what are you waiting for? If you have seen it before, go visit your old friend; you’ll be the better for it.

The Fan Experience: Virginia Opera’s performances of La Traviata have been completed for Norfolk and Fairfax.  Two more remain in Richmond on March 17 and 19.  The opera was sung in Italian with English subtitles shown overhead.

The pre-opera talk by VO’s scholar in residence by Joshua Borths begins 45 minutes prior to curtain time.  Prior to each new VO production, he conducts a zoom one hour meeting where he presents information about the opera.  His presentation is recorded and placed online.  You can access the discussion of La Traviata at the following link.  It’s worth watching just to hear his comments on the development of the Verdi style.   

Washington National Opera's Blue: A Deeper Understanding of Each Other

I was drawn to Blue, but I also didn’t want to see it.  I was drawn to see it because I am a fan of modern opera, and I believe racism needs to be addressed in opera.  I didn’t want to see it because I knew it would be painful, a young black man shot and killed by police; the horror of all the shootings reported in news headlines were pain enough.  I also wanted to know if it was a good opera, beyond the timeliness of its story.  Would it both entertain and touch our hearts?  I wanted to know what understanding it might provide that I was lacking and what it had to add to our understanding of this societal controversy.  I was curious how police would be portrayed.  Part of me wanted to attend; part of me wanted to let it go, stay home, and watch basketball.  With considerable trepidation and after much procrastination, I decided to attend.

left photo: Kenneth Kellogg as The Father and Briana Hunter as The Mother celebrate the arrival of their baby boy. right photo: Sixteen years later, the same couple grieves over the death of their son. Photos by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

Blue premiered at Glimmerglass Festival in 2019 and was to have appeared next in March 2020 at the Kennedy Center when the pandemic shut down Washington National Opera’s rehearsals; it has since been performed in several American cities and abroad at the Dutch National Opera.  The opera has won awards, and partially due to the timeliness of its subject matter, much has been written about it.  Commissioned in 2015, the opera was borne of Francesca Zambello’s concern about what was happening in American society and her desire to see opera address race in America, which led to her contacting composer Jeanine Tesori to have her compose an opera for Glimmerglass, which led to the composer contacting poet, playwright, and director Tazewell Thompson to serve as librettist.  Ms. Tesori is one of the most prolific and highly honored composers for musical theater, and she has also composed a children’s opera for WNO, The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me (2013).  Together the pair, with occasional discussions with Ms. Zambello, created the opera that became Blue.  Mr. Thompson who grew up in Harlem says that he felt the story as he created it.  He identifies with the son in the story, which made him at first resist Ms. Tesori’s suggestion that the father be a police officer and not the struggling jazz musician he first envisioned; and therein lies the title of the opera, Blue for the blue police uniforms. 

l to r: Katerina Burton as Girlfriend 2, Briana Hunter as The Mother, Ariana Wehr as Girlfriend, and Rehanna Thelwell as Girlfriend 3. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

In Blue, we see a family and friends react to a mother’s pregnancy carrying a son and then the aftermath when that teenage son is shot and killed by a white police officer during a protest.   Ms. Zambello, who served both Glimmerglass and Washington National Opera in 2015 did not want the opera to take sides; she wanted to present the human not the political element.  The son, made rebellious by the social injustice of his daily life, had been involved in several minor, provocative illegal acts, and the police, in confronting protesters, resorted to excessive, lethal force; the only other detail provided in the libretto is that the officer who had done the shooting was white.  Mr. Thompson, who was an altar boy and star boy soprano in his church, learned about Greek opera in his Catholic schooling.  The team decided to use a Greek tragedy format with the violence not being seen on stage.  The team also decided not to give the characters specific names; we only know them in their roles as father, mother, son, reverend, girlfriends, and policemen buddies; the team wanted the audience to see themselves in the characters.  Librettist Thompson took the Greek format further using the three girlfriends of the mother as furies, or fate, that pleaded with the mother to get rid of the child because it was a black boy to be born in America.  He also presents three policemen, colleagues and friends of the father, with more heroic temperaments; they only envy their colleague for getting a son on the first try.  God and religion presented by The Reverend are a strong, cohesive force in the community.

l to r: Jonathan Pierce Rhodes as Police Officer Buddy 2, Kenneth Kellogg as The Father, Camron Gray as Police Officer Buddy 1, and Christian Simmons as Police Officer Buddy 3. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

I found the storytelling in Blue to be masterful, though the ending was at first unsettling.  After the expressions of anguish and torment and a final prayer, what seemed to be the final scene evolves to become a family dinner with the father, son, and mother, but I suppose that served as a reminder of what had been lost.  One might have wished for more in the development of these likeable characters but that would have taken a series not a single opera.  Character development is not a part of Greek tragedy.  The few moments of comic relief provided by the girlfriends and the policemen were most appreciated.  The elements of racism in the story are there mainly because they are present in life today, including young black men being shot and killed by police.  One racial disparity point made directly was the opening scene as a large man dressed in a hoodie sits in a chair as policemen approach; he gets up to leave but in each direction he turns he is confronted by a policeman.  Quickly he discards his clothing and dresses in his blues; then, there is laughter and hugs all around for the same black man.

Kenneth Kellogg as The Father and Aaron Crouch as The Son. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

Mr. Thompson also served as the stage director for this production.  The set is simply a projected image of a tenement building in Harlem.  Props such as chairs, tables, beds, and a casket are moved on and off stage as the scenes unfold.  The placement and movement of the characters was well choreographed.

All operas are plays set to music, but Blue seems especially so.  The story and the emotional vocals take center stage, and I found the orchestral music, when I noticed it, to be somewhat spare, mostly accents and embellishments; perhaps I need another listen.  The music, as played by the WNO Orchestra under the direction of Conductor Joseph Young was enjoyable.  Ms. Tesori’s score draws on many genres, including blues, jazz, and hymns, as well as classical styles, and dissonance is employed as called for by tension in the scene.  I would invite a fuller orchestral treatment for this work as an opera, even a prelude, likely a necessity for becoming entrenched in the modern repertoire.

Joshua Conyers as The Reverend and Kenneth Kellog as The Father. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

A talented cast of singers was headed by bass Kenneth Kellogg who has played the role of the father in all productions so far of Blue.  Mr. Kellogg has a fine, resonant bass voice, and uses it effectively to convey the emotion of the father’s many moods.  He often extended and held his ending notes to great dramatic effect.  Explaining his commitment to Blue, he has said “I knew this story in my soul.  A Black story.  Opera was no longer about the other. It was about us.”  Mezzo-soprano Briana Elyse Hunter portrayed the mother; she originated the role at the Glimmerglass Festival.  She sang beautifully with affecting emotion in the work’s different musical genres, her voice carrying warmth as the expectant mother; one could easily envision her on Broadway as well as the opera stage.  The angry teenage son, stigmatized in his own community because his father was a policeman, was played by tenor Aaron Crouch who also originated the role at Glimmerglass.  At first, he sounded somewhat light-voiced in this group of artists, but that improved.  The duet between father and son, as their deep love and need for each other was pushed aside by their conflicts, was a highlight of the performance. 

It was a pleasure to see still-young baritone Joshua Conyers, well known in this area, return to play an elder, The Reverend.  He gave a stellar, moving performance in that role, steadfast with God, as he desperately tries to reign in the profound anger of The Father, in the face of excruciatingly painful tragedy.  The supporting casts of girlfriends and policemen were outstanding.  The trio of women included soprano Katerina Burton, mezzo-soprano Rehanna Thelwell, and soprano Ariana Wehr, who also had an impressive performance as the nurse.  They brought infectious life and energy to the stage.  The men included tenor Camron Gray, tenor Jonathan Pierce Rhodes, and bass-baritone Christian Simmons, who brought a sense of deep friendship to their roles as police friends.  The supporting casts of women and men also portrayed members of the congregation who served as an especially good-sounding chorale, making me wonder and hope that Ms. Tesori has written other religious works to enjoy.

In the closing scene of Blue, the Reverend and congregation stand while on the right a memory takes place of father, son, and mother sharing a meal. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

I suppose each member of the audience took away something different from the performance of Blue on Saturday night.  The grief at the loss of a young son certainly resonated with me.  I refused to let awareness of my son come to mind while watching the opera, and I’ve never had to worry he was in danger because of the color of his skin.  Did the opera add to the discourse on this topic?  Well, no, not in a political sense.  Well, what did it add beyond revisiting the pain of these shootings?  Perhaps because I needed to, I latched onto a line delivered by The Reverend near the end, a prayer where he said, “God, through thy love, may we find a deeper understanding of each other.”  For many perhaps that was a throwaway line, but I needed the glimmer of hope it provided, that if we get to know one another, then Mr. Thompson will be wrong in his expressed sentiment that “the themes in Blue have no expiration date”.  I pray that one effect of the opera will be to move the needle towards a deeper understanding of each other, providing hope and a way forward.  Yes, Blue’s arrival in the turbulence of current events is by its nature a plea to white conscience and a call for justice, but its dart is pointed at our hearts – may we have a deeper understanding of each other.  Amen.

The Fan Experience:  Blue, scheduled for performances on March 11, 13, 17, 19, 22, and 25, in the smaller KC Eisenhower Theater, is close to a sellout with few tickets remaining.  The opera is sung in English with English supertitles.  The opera is 2 hours, 15 minutes long plus a 25-minute intermission, just under three hours in all.

The first few scenes occur at a time before The Son has been killed, but my response to those scenes was certainly anchored by the knowledge of what was coming.  Blue does not include scenes of violence, and its language is PG – I can only remember one example of profanity.

Washington National Opera has produced a studio recording of Blue, available for purchase.  

Parking in the Kennedy Center is typically plentiful at around $25 per day, with a small discount for Kennedy Center members when reserved ahead of the day.  The Metro to Foggy Bottom and the free Red Kennedy Center buses from there to the Kennedy Center which run every 15 minutes are an excellent option.  Neither masking nor proof of vaccination is required to attend performances, but many in audience still wear masks. 

Washington Concert Opera's Nabucco: Verdily, I Say Unto You

Forgive the pun, but frankly, I was a little shocked by Giuseppe Verdi’s Nabucco, knowing little about it going in.  First, I had not seen this opera because it hasn’t been performed in the mid-Atlantic since 2015 as best as I can tell, about the time I first became an opera fan, and as Giuseppe Verdi’s third opera and his first opera to achieve notable success, it frankly was a low priority item, given the many great ones of his to see first; I had just seen his Shakespearean masterpiece, Otello, performed the night before by Maryland Lyric Opera, and I have seen a dozen operas by Verdi in total.  Nabucco had been on my list but not urgent.  I now feel a debt of gratitude to Washington Concert Opera’s Artistic Director and Conductor Antony Walker for bringing it forward.

Washington Concert Opera’s Orchestra and Chorus on stage for performance of Nabucco. Photo by Caitlin Oldham; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

What gave me a bit of a jolt in viewing this work is that Nabucco is a Bible story, complete with redemption and miracles.  It’s not just surprising to see this in today’s more secularized American society, but given all the other Verdi operas I’ve seen, it seemed surprising to me that Verdi chose a Bible story.  He did write the religious work Requiem, but that was to commemorate the death of Italian novelist and poet Alessandro Manzoni.  Nabucco is a Bible story.  As I thought about it, I wondered why there aren’t more well-known operas based on stories in the Bible; only Sampson and Delilah and Salome come readily to mind.  This despite the history of music and religion being so closely entwined in the development of music.  Early composers seemed to prefer Greek gods for their subjects, perhaps because censors, through much of opera’s existence, were quite picky about how Biblical characters were depicted on stage?  In fact, Nabucco’s religious aspect gets largely explained away by music historians who state the story struck a chord with Italians of Verdi’s day because it dealt with displaced people at a time of the Risorgimento, the drive to reunify Italy.  It’s most popular choral number “Va, penseiro” became an anthem for Italian unification and independence.  Verdi was a strong supporter of the Risorgimento, and as such, became a hero to supporters of reunification.  In 1859, a phrase began appearing on the walls of Naples, “Viva, Verdi!”, a coded salute that was an Italian acronym expressing support for the King of Italy (Viva Vittorio Emmanuele Re D’Italia).  Regardless of whether Verdi knew what he was doing or lucked onto the right theme for a hit opera, the rest is history and history is based on a true story.

The librettist for Nabucco was Temisocle Solera.  He was an author who penned five operas in all with Verdi, but Nabucco is the only one to remain in today’s repertoire.  Their previous opera together, Un Giorno di Regno, was a flop and was hissed off the stage; Verdi almost gave up composing.  That opera was written at a very difficult time for Verdi; his wife at age 26 and his two young children had died over a three-year period.  Writing Nabucco helped pull him out of depression and launch his illustrious career.  Solera based the libretto on the history of King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylonia (Nabucco in the opera) as related in several books of the Old Testament, especially the book of “Daniel”, but of course the team added a love story and some political infighting as operatic opportunism.  In the opera, the fierce warrior king attacks and destroys Jerusalem and relocates most of its Jewish people to Babylon in bondage; this part accords with historical records.  With his battlefield success, he became so arrogant he declared himself God which caused the Hebrew God to strike him with a thunderbolt making him infirm and unfit to serve, but he later repents, and God restores his faculties, allowing him to serve and make amends; this loosely accords with the Old Testament, though the dreams interpreted by Daniel are not included.

Lester Lynch as Nabucco and Alexandra Loutsion as Abigaille. Photos by Caitlin Oldham; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

Meanwhile for the fictional part of the opera, his daughter Fenena, who just wants everybody to get along, was in love with the Hebrew Ismäele and had converted to Judaism.  Ismäele then got into trouble for appearing soft on the Babylonians due to his relationship with Fenena.  This made it ripe for Nabucco’s ambitious, adopted daughter Abigaille (like adopted daughter, like father) to seize the throne and threaten her sibling and all of the ancient Israelis with death; she eventually also has a conversion when Nabucco regains his senses thanks to appealing to the Hebrew God and takes back the throne.  All of this creates the characters and drama allowing Verdi to compose accompanying music to complement the action and communicate the human feeling and emotion for which he is known.  Clearly, Verdi’s interest was in people and human nature, and at that, he was very, very good.

Peter Volpe as Zaccaria and Conductor Antony Walker. Photo by Caitlin Oldham; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

Would I go to see Nabucco again?  If it had a cast of the caliber that WCO brought forward, absolutely!  It may be early Verdi; yes, the story could use some work, and the music could use some finesse, but it’s still Verdi!  It has the beautiful emotion-filled arias that challenge the singers and provides the dramatic melodies that engulf you, exactly what we expect of Verdi.  Maestro Walker conducted the WCO Orchestra with his usual dramatic flair, beautifully bringing forward a sumptuous rendition of Verdi’s music, including directing a banda of horns placed behind the audience in the hallway.  It is a delight visually and acoustically to have a full orchestra on stage instead of in a pit, a positive feature of concert opera.  With Verdi, the chorus is always a major player in telling the story, and led by David Hanlon, the WCO Chorus also contributed beautifully to the evening, especially noteworthy was their lovely singing of “Va, pensiero”.

Andres Acosta as Imäele and Melody Wilson as Fenena. Photo by Caitlin Oldham; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

The role of Nabucco was played by internationally acclaimed Verdi baritone Lester Lynch.  We have seen him locally in WCO’s Maria di Rohan in 2018 and just last year as Macbeth in Maryland Lyric Opera’s Macbeth. Mr. Lynch commands the stage in every performance as he did Saturday night, although soprano Alexandra Loutsion as his daughter Abigaille went toe to toe with him in a powerful duet.  One highlight of the performance was Mr. Lynch’s ability to elicit sympathy for Nabucco in his incapacitated state.  Another was Ms. Loutsion’s command of her upper register and the delight she demonstrated in playing a meanie; I will have to give her some slack, after all, her love interest in Ismäele was rejected.  I have seen Ms. Loutsion before as Tosca for Wolf Trap Opera, as Florencia for Pittsburgh Opera, and Brünnhilde for Virginia Opera, and she always delights.  The other singer of the evening to be added to the highlight reel was bass Peter Volpe who played high priest Zaccaria proclaiming God’s power at several important points in the action.  He has a jaw dropping appeal as an authority figure with his strong deep, deep bass voice.

l to r: Rolando Sanz as Abdallo, Matthew Scolin as High Priest, and Lester Lynch as Nabucco. Photo by Caitlin Oldham; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

The singers playing the young lovers acquitted themselves impressively, tenor Andres Acosta as Ismäele and mezzo-soprano Melody Wilson as Fenena.  I saw Mr. Acosta recently in Virginia Opera’s Fellow Travelers, and he is clearly a rising star in the opera world.  Ms. Wilson brought a tenderness to her role with her lovely mezzo voice; I hope to hear more.  The excellent cast of supporting roles included base Matthew Scolin as high priest, soprano Teresa Perotta as Anna, and tenor Rolando Sanz as Abdallo. 

l to r: Peter Volpe as Zaccaria, Melody Wilson as Fenena, Andres Acosta as Ismäle, and Teresa Perrotta as Anna.

Following the singing of “Va, Pensiero” in Act III, the enthusiastic audience response included shouts for an encore to the point that Conductor Walker turned to the audience and stated we would get our encore, but at the end.  At the end of the performance and after audience applause for the performers, he preceded the encore with comments explaining that this piece was loved by the Italians at a time when they identified as a displaced people and that he wished to dedicate the encore to all the displaced people of the world.  To which, I add “Amen”.

The Fan Experience: Washington Concert Opera concluded their 2022-2023 season with the performance of Nabucco on March 4 in George Washington’s Lisner Auditorium.  The opera was sung in Italian with English surtitles on a screen overhead.  There are plans underway for “Outside Opera” events this spring; check back with the website for announcements.

WCO’s 2023-2024 season was announced in opening comments by Executive Director Meg Sippey and will include Rossini’s Ermione on Dec 2 and Puccini’s La Rondine on April 7, 2024.  She also solicited the audience to send feedback on whether Saturday or Sunday performances were preferable; December 2 is a Saturday and April 7 in 2024 is a Sunday.  My sports preferences occur on both Saturday and Sunday, so no preference there for me.  On the other hand, Saturday is more of a night out night, so I might prefer that day, slightly, but I just hope to be there regardless.

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

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

Maryland Lyric Opera's Otello: Beautiful and Meaningful Entertainment

Maryland Lyric Opera’s powerful performance of Verdi’s Otello got through to me.  Their beautiful performance of this masterpiece based on Shakespeare’s Othello left me a bit shaken.  I rarely have epiphanies, but I think I finally got all of Giuseppe Verdi’s message and how important it is today.  Yes, the singers, the chorus, and orchestra were all excellent, but for me, it was Verdi’s understanding of humanity that commanded the auditorium Friday night in the Music Center at Strathmore in Bethesda; to their credit, the talented performers for this one were the medium, not the message.

The cast, conductor, orchestra, and chorus in a scene from Maryland Lyric Opera’s production of Otello in the Music Center at Strathmore. Photography by Julian Thomas Photography; courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.

Verdi was a huge fan of Shakespeare and reportedly worried he was not equal to the task of transforming one of his plays into an opera.  He did pretty well I’d say with Macbeth in 1847. He retired from opera without completing another one after composing Aida in 1871, but he was lured out of retirement to work with young librettist Arrigo Boito to revise Simon Boccanegra and compose an opera from Shakespeare’s Othello.  With Boito’s help, he created what is said to be a masterpiece based on a masterpiece: Otello premiered in 1887 when Verdi was 74 years old.  In the plot for both the play (Othello) and the opera (Otello), a powerful military leader is brought down by an underling, a clever manipulator named Iago, and pushed to the point of smothering his innocent wife, Desdemona, whom he has been led to believe has been unfaithful to him.  Iago, while representing himself as cautious and responsible, was able to create believable lies, tamper with evidence, and distort interpretations of scenarios that convinced Otello that Iago’s suspicions were correct.  Starting to sound a little modern day? 

Eleni Calenos as Desdemona and Gregory Kunde as Otello with Conductor Phillipe Auguin in the background. Photography by Julian Thomas Photography; courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.

The play had to be shortened to make it a reasonable length for an opera.  Verdi and Boito omitted act one, where we learned more of the beginning of the lovers relationship; they shifted the emphasis in the opera to more of a focus on Otello and gave us an Iago less a thief by nature and more an evil doer by desire, one who got off on causing harm; his “Credo” in act two is chilling – “I believe in a cruel God”.  Among the changes, they added a tender scene between Otello and Desdemona in the first act where they sing of their deep and abiding love for each other.  In the opera, Desdemona remains much the same while Otello perhaps becomes more human, and Iago becomes more sinister.  Shakespeare told us that jealousy is bad, and that there were clever bad guys to watch out for; Verdi said that it’s not so easy, emphasizing our vulnerability to the destructive effects of lies and the deep pain caused by uncertainty of where the truth lies.  I think Verdi wanted to extend Shakespeare to communicate human vulnerability to deception more forcefully; much of the opera is Otello suffering the torment of that uncertainty as well as his jealousy. 

Maestro Phillipe Auguin conducting Maryland Lyric Opera’s performance of Otello. Photography by Julian Thomas Photography; courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.

MDLO brought in some heavy hitters for this performance.  First, the guest conductor for this production was Maestro Philippe Auguin.  The Maestro is currently Conductor in Residence for the Greek National Opera Stavros Niarchos Cultural Foundation in Athens.  He is well known in DC circles for his seven years as Conductor and Music Director for the Washington National Opera, through the 2017-2018 season; he is currently WNO’s Music Director Emeritus.  I especially remember Maestro Auguin for conducting WNO’s fantastic Ring Cycle in 2016.  His acumen and sensitivity were again in evidence Friday night.  The MDLO orchestra gave a beautiful rendition of Verdi’s Otello under his direction, including the banda of muscians participating at different points from the rafters.  This was a very mature and sophisticated Verdi, every aria and scene beautifully shaped and colored by Verdi’s gorgeous music, smooth and unrelenting.

MDLO also attracted a star performer for the lead role of Otello.  Tenor Gregory Kunde not only performs in the leading opera houses around the world; he has performed the role of Otello in most of the leading opera houses around the world.  An American tenor, he is a leading international opera star.  Mr. Kunde has a strong, polished tenor voice.  He sang with authority and impressive emotional depth.  His acting eloquently conveyed Otello’s dilemmas and range of emotions. 

Mr. Kunde’s portrayal of Otello was a truly excellent performance.  However, this opera includes a racial issue.  Otello as a Moor had dark skin, and this is an important element of the story.  When Desdemona sang of Otello’s dark brow, my suspension of disbelief would have been less challenged if the singer’s brow was naturally dark, and it would have given stronger impact to her expressed sympathy for what her husband had endured. This was apparently an attempt by Shakespeare to begin to address the impact of group identity and looking different on how an individual was received by society.

l to r: Lucas Levy as Roderigo, Yi Li as Cassio, and Mark Delavan as Iago. Photography by Julian Thomas Photography; courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.

Tenor Kunde was paired with accomplished singers in the roles of Desdemona and Iago, also with strong voices.  MDLO’s Desdemona was also an import from Greece, soprano Eleni Calenos who gave a beautiful portrayal of the virtuous, wrongly accused wife of Otello.  After what seemed to me a slightly uneven beginning, her love scene with Otello and her scene with Emilia, wife of Iago, when she is disoriented by the fate she sees approaching were on point and very affecting.  Iago was portrayed with suitable menace by baritone Mark Delavan, who has become a regular with the company, having just played the role of Falstaff in MDLO’s January production.  Mr. Delavan is a polished performer singing and acting.  He sings with artistry and nuance, so convincingly in this portrayal that he got some good-natured boos when he appeared for his well-deserved applause at the end.

There was also a strong cast of supporting performers for this production.  MDLO regular, tenor Yi Li gave another fine performance, this time as Cassio, Iago’s captain accused of the illicit relationship with Desdemona.  Also in the strong supporting cast was mezzo-soprano Patricia Schuman as Emilia, bass-baritone David Pittsinger as Lodovico, baritone José Sacin as Montano, and tenor Lucas Levy as Roderigo. 

Some additional kudos should be given for this excellent production.  Verdi always gives the chorus a strong role in his operas, and once again, the MDLO Chorus under the direction of Husan Park gave a fine performance.  Stage Director David Gately managed, in a concert performance, to add to the believability of the story with limited actor placement, gestures, and props.  Lighting by Stuart Duke enhanced the impact of the performance.  It takes a team effort to give a compelling performance, and this was an excellent team.

Gregory Kunde as Otello and Eleni Calenos as Desdemona. Photography by Julian Thomas Photography; courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.

As I was watching Otello, I thought of the assertion made in The Godfather that one lawyer with a briefcase can steal more money than a hundred men with guns.  I then had the following thought: one Iago with an iPhone and social media can steal more piece of mind than a hundred lawyers with briefcases.  Up until Friday night, I had always thought of Otello/Othello as a story of personal tragedy brought about by a mean guy; it was about Otello’s jealousy and Iago’s treachery.  It’s more than that, and Maryland Lyric Opera’s performance of Otello brought me up to speed.   We all share in Otello’s dilemma today.  How do we deal with the torment of uncertainty about what is the truth in things that matter?  Truly, this is a dilemma confronting us in today’s world – what solution will we choose?  Otello chose badly.

Maryland Lyric Opera’s Otello brought beauty to our lives, entertained, and conveyed the important existential ideas in Verdi’s opera.  As I keep telling anyone who will listen - MDLO opera on the weekend; it’s what you do.

The Fan Experience: Otello was performed twice by MDLO, on March 3 and 5, in the Music Center at Strathmore in Bethesda, MD.  The opera was sung in Italian with supertitles in English on raised screens at the back of the stage.  Otello concludes MDLO’s “Season of Verdi”, preceded by also excellent productions of Macbeth, Un Ballo in Maschera, and Falstaff,; all three of Verdi’s Shakespearean operas have been performed this season.  It’s been a great ride.

MDLO again offered a pre-opera discussion with legendary baritone Sherrill Milnes which was informative and tremendous fun. If MDLO continues this feature, and I hope they will, I might suggest allowing attendees to submit questions ahead of time for possible discussion.

The Strathmore 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.  Cafeteria style food is offered again as pandemic restrictions have been lifted, and there is a cash bar on the stage entrance level.

Thanks to Maryland Lyric Opera patrons and contributors, tickets for any seat in the house will remain $10 for students with a student ID. 

Opera Philadelphia's Festivals O23 and O24: Trips to the Edge

There is little that I relish more in the opera world now than attending Opera Philadelphia’s annual opera festival in Sept/Oct each season.  This event which began in 2017 returned in 2022 as Festival O22 after a two-year hiatus imposed by the COVID pandemic.  Multiple events, often including new opera premieres and new productions, occur over a two-week period beginning in late September; I still fondly remember the fun of The Trial of Elizabeth Cree that premiered in 2017.  Each year, events are scheduled to push the boundaries of opera, such as the premiere in O22 of the rock opera, Black Lodge, and O22’s staging of The Raven with audience participation.  The events are held at various venues around the city.  If your interest in opera extends beyond classic opera, it is simply a must-see festival, and for classic opera fans, it always includes a classic.  For me, it’s the fun event of the season and reason for a great short vacation to Philadelphia.

Festival O23 leads off with an opera premiere: 10 Days in a Madhouse - left photo: Soprano Kiera Duffy in 2016’s Breaking the Waves, an OP premiere, will star as Nellie Bly (photo by Dominic M. Mercier). right photo: Central character, real life investigative journalist Nellie Bly (photo by H.J. Myers). Photos courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

This year, Opera Philadelphia was so pleased with the new festivals they have planned that they went beyond announcing just their 2023-2024 season which includes O23; they also announced a preview of new offerings in O24.  OP’s website is one of the most user-friendly ones for finding the information you need, but let’s have a quick look to whet your appetite; I am already salivating:

Festival O23 (events on the same day are held at different times) –

            10 Days in a Mad House (Wilma Theater) – Sep 21, 23, 26, 28, 30

            Simon Boccanegra (Academy of Music) – Sep 22, 24, 29, Oct 1

            Unholy Wars (Suzanne Roberts Theatre) – Sep 23, 27, 30, Oct 1

            Afternoons at AVA (Helen Corden Warden Theater) – Sep 23, 27, 30

            Curtis Voices (Field Concert Hall) – Sep 22, 29

            Late Night Snacks (return of the Bearded Ladies Cabaret) – TBA

Festival O24 new opera premieres –

            The Listeners by composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek

            Woman With Eyes Closed by composer Jennifer Higdon and librettist Jerre Dye

Ever heard of Nellie Bly?  10 Days in a Mad House by composer Rene Orth and librettist Hanna Moscovitch tells the story of the journalist who put “investigative reporter” in today’s jargon by pretending to be mad to gain entry to an insane asylum in the late 19th century, on what is now Roosevelt Island in Manhattan.  She then exposed the dreadful conditions and practices in that facility and how they reflected societal biases against women.  Soprano Kiera Duffy will sing the role of Ms. Bly in her first return to Opera Philadelphia since her star-making performance in OP’s premiere of the Mazzoli/Vavrek team’s award winning Breaking the Waves in 2016. Mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis and tenor Will Liverman will also be featured.

l to r: Baritone Quinn Kelsey (photo by Dario Acosta) will star in Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra in a new production from Opéra Royal de Wallonie Liége (photo by Jonathan Berger, Opéra Royal de Wallonie Liége), which will also feature soprano Anna María Martínez as his daughter (photo by Ashkan Roayaee). Photos courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

Simon Boccanegra is a late opera by composer Giuseppe Verdi (1881 revision by librettist Arrigo Boito of the 1857 original with librettist Francesco Maria Piave).  A new Doge of Genoa is enmeshed in the conflict between the deadly power politics of his position and his love for his daughter.  Baritone Quinn Kelsey plays Boccanegra and Anna María Martínez plays his daughter.  The pair previously sang in OP’s performance of The Drama of Tosca as a concert version forced outdoors by the COVID pandemic.  While I thought that production was flawed, I thought the singing was exceptional and wished I could have seen that pair in the originally planned indoor performance of Tosca.  A film of The Drama of Tosca is available for viewing on the Opera Philadelphia Channel.  I greatly look forward to the pair’s return, and this will be my first Boccanegra. 

left photo: Tenor Karim Sulayman and dancer Coral Dolphin in the 2022 Spoleto Festival’s premiere of Unholy Wars (photo by Leigh Webber). Scene from the same production featuring dancers and visuals (photo by William Struhs). Photos courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

Unholy Wars is a soul-searching venture as well as an opera.  This one emerges from the boundary pushing arena.  Lebanese-American tenor Karim Sulayman has combined Handel and Monteverdi opera selections to reframe baroque presentations of characters they had no direct knowledge of from an Arab American perspective.  This work premiered in last year’s Spoleto Festival and was well received, rated highly for emotional impact.  Original electronic music by composer Mary Kouyoumdjian is included as connecting interludes in the performance which has three sections; dance and visual projections are also included.  The middle section focuses on Monteverdi’s Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda, wherein, during the Crusades, Christian warrior Tancredi kills a Middle Eastern female warrior, Clorinda, with whom he has fallen in love, but did not recognize in her suit of armor.  Having now sampled a wide variety of classic operas from earlier time periods, it is typically the boundary pushing pieces that I look forward to the most.

O23 will be embellished and fleshed out by recitals by young artists from the Academy of Vocal Arts (Afternoons at AVA) and the Curtis Institute of Music (Curtis Voices), who are rightly referred to as the opera stars of tomorrow.  Finally, a popular feature of previous festivals, a cabaret performance by the Bearded Ladies in Late Night Snacks will return; the program will offer “a new selection of guilty pleasures, soul nourishment, and tasty cabaret treats”.  Singers and repertoires for these events will be announced this summer.

The festivals are typically the only offerings of OP in the Fall.  The 2024 portion of OP’s new season will feature a semi-staged The Anonymous Lover in February and Madame Butterfly in April/May.  While there are still a few opera fans who haven’t seen Puccini’s Butterfly, I question whether there are any who haven’t heard of it.  It’s not a guilty pleasure.  It’s a full course meal of exquisite music and singing.  You may not have heard of the rarely performed The Anonymous Lover.  Fear not; it’s good; it might remind you of Puccini.  It is the only surviving opera by black composer Joseph Bologne, successful in his day and a fascinating French character of the 18th century – he was a child prodigy borne to a French planter and his wife’s African slave.  The plot by librettist Madame de Genlis involves two friends who discover their deep love for each other.  I saw a performance of this opera two years ago by Wolf Trap Opera and enjoyed it greatly, especially the music. 

Breaking the Waves star singer returns to Opera Philadelphia in O23, but in O24, its composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek return with their new opera The Listeners.  OP says that this new opera is “a thriller about social rejection, suburban loneliness, and the role of charismatic leaders in our society. Based on an original story by Jordan Tannahill, the story is inspired by an actual phenomenon called “the global hum” a low-pitched sound that people around the world claim to hear”.  Opera Philadelphia says the hum leads to the formation of a cult with destructive effects on families, just like life today.  Hmmm…imagine that with a humming sound.  This could be an important opera beyond music. 

left photo: Composer of The Listeners, Missy Mazzoli (photo by Marylene May). right photo: Composer of Woman With Eyes Closed, Jennifer Higdon (photo by Andrew Bogard). Photos courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

No wonder OP is already excited about its plans for O24; a second major premiere is also planned for that event, Woman With Eyes Closed by composer Jennifer Higdon and librettist Jerre Dye.  This new opera was “inspired by the real-life 2012 theft of seven masterpieces from Rotterdam’s Kunsthal Museum. At first, the mother of the prime suspect confessed to incinerating these priceless artworks to protect her son, but she subsequently denied it. Never recovered, their fate remains shrouded in mystery”.  It poses questions about the impact of art on an individual and the lengths a mother will go to protect a child.  The press release, if I read it correctly, says that three endings have been devised with different performances having different endings.  See the problem here?  I will want to see all three endings.

One of my guilty pleasures in O22 was the inclusion of a section of innovative videos and films from Opera Philadelphia Channel’s repertoire and those from other companies submitted in a competition.  My lone disappointment is that there are no plans to make this a feature of O23.

My wife and I have attended all the fall festivals so far, since 2017, and each has been a highlight of our year.   We are already looking forward to O23 and O24!

The Fan Experience: The calendar for Opera Philadelphia’s Festival O23 can be found at this link.  Now, the hard part is prioritizing which performances to see during the two-week period.  There are both matinees and evening performances.  You will have your work cut out for you in deciding your schedule.  Ticket packages are already on sale. 

If you are from out of town, know that there are many good hotel options in downtown Philly, but bear in mind that, because of its great food, arts, and museums, it is a popular destination to visit and hold conferences, retreats, meetings.  Make your plans early; buy your tickets and reserve your hotel room as soon as you can.  Parking in downtown hotels and lots ranges from around $30-$60 per day; plot your strategy early to deal with that as well.

Knights of the Opera Table: Mid-Atlantic Opera Critics Return to Normalcy in 2022

Public domain knight illustration by Paul Mercuri: http://www.oldbookart.com/2012/01/15/middle-ages-medieval-dress/.

OperaGene reports annually on opera critics in the mid-Atlantic, a group who in good natured humor, I refer to as “Knights of the Opera Table”.  Their charge is to champion good performances and slay the bad ones, and…in all seriousness…to provide knowledgeable opinions and information about opera performances that the rest of us can learn from, compare our own responses against, and be provoked to think further about and discuss what we witnessed, deepening, and widening our enjoyment and appreciation of the art form.

The mid-Atlantic region is blessed with a wealth of good opera companies and an excellent group of professional opera critics, some who report for daily newspapers and some from online sources. Critics who frequently review opera tend to be centered around the major opera centers in the region: Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Washington DC. The Virginian Pilot in Norfolk usually employs guest critics for Virginia Opera performances and classical music; newspapers in Baltimore and Richmond once had but no longer have regular opera reviewers on their staffs. Here is a list in alphabetical order of the opera critics in the mid-Atlantic that I read most frequently:

Michael Andor Brodeur – Washington Post

Peter Dobrin – Philadelphia Inquirer

Charles Downey – Washington Classical Review

Susan Galbraith – DC Theater Arts

Cameron Kelsall – BackTrack.com

George Parous – onStage Pittsburgh

Jeremy Reynolds – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

David Patrick Stearns – Philadelphia Inquirer

By the beginning of 2022, most opera companies had returned to normal schedules, and by year’s end, vaccination requirements had been dropped and even COVID-masking was optional for most companies.  Opera critics returned to performance venues, but while audiences are building again, they proved slow to return to pre-pandemic levels, as evidenced by the BachTrack Annual Statistics report.  Even America’s premiere opera institution, the Metropolitan Opera is having difficulty with attendance.  The good news, from my perspective, is that their attendance crisis is causing the Met to embrace new works which are delivering their best audiences.   

Pittsburgh Opera continues to be a focus for Knights Jeremy Reynolds of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and George Parous who covers opera and classical music for onStage Pittsburgh.  Mr. Reynolds’ newspaper duties now appear to be exclusively on his role as classical music and opera critic, the better for Pittsburgh Opera, but he also occasionally writes thoughtful articles for other publications; check out his discussion of the paucity of new operatic comedies in Classical Voice.  Mr. Parous was back in full swing, covering the full slate of PO productions as well as classical music concerts in the Pittsburgh area.  Opera is especially well served by Mr. Parous who often writes previews as well as reviews of upcoming operas.  His review of a new opera, I Am a Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams, made me aware for the first time of Resonance Works, a non-profit performance company in Pittsburgh whose mission is to “challenge assumptions about classical music and invite audiences to connect with the work in fresh and unexpected ways”.  Reminded me of the DC company, IN Series.

In the city of Brotherly Love, National Football League champs, and Patrick Mahomes’ victims, Peter Dobrin reports for the Philadelphia Inquirer on “classical music and the arts with an emphasis on the business of the arts and the life of the city”.   His lone opera review in 2022 for Opera Philadelphia was The Raven which was performed as part of OP’s Festival O22.  That performance included audience participation, an aspect which Mr. Dobrin felt added little, though he liked the opera.  Too bad, I saw the same production and found that aspect amusing and entertaining, providing insight into the characters in the poem.  Mr. Dobrin does occasionally review other companies such as the Academy of Vocal Arts as well.

The Inquirer’s classical music critic, David Patrick Stearns, regularly reviews OP performances, although his coverage of the O22 festival was rather light this year; the two-week festival included 42 events, and he only reviewed Otello.  I enjoyed a comment he made in reviewing OP’s return to in house productions with Oedipus Rex and Lilacs, two works with heavy themes.  Reflecting the heaviness that we all experienced during the pandemic, his last line stated, “Let’s have some feel good arias. Soon.”  I’ll drink to that, anytime.  On the downside, opera productions by the Academy of Vocal Arts and the Curtis Opera Theatre got relatively little notice in the Inquirer.

Knight Cameron Kelsall is another Philly area opera critic; formerly of the Broad Street Review, he now appears to be reporting most often for Bachtrack.com.   All of these critics can turn a phrase, some over the top; his Bachtrack review of Opera Philadelphia’s Otello began “Verdi’s Otello may be the Mount Everest of tenor roles, but Rossini’s rendering of the Shakespearean tragedy is the Mount Rushmore”; he was referring to the need in Rossini’s version for three star tenors. 

The most prominent knights currently covering the DC area are Michael Andor Brodeur, Charles Downey, and Susan Galbraith.  Mr. Brodeur is the classical music critic for the Washington Post; he includes frequent side trips to cover the Met Opera in NYC.  I had to be amused by one of his reviews this past year, that of Washington National Opera’s Carmen in May.  Mr. Brodeur, who I consider a brilliant features writer, but whom I have thought of as critic light, took the plunge into hard core criticism with his review of Carmen and received the flak from readers that was often directed at Anne Midgette when she was the Post’s critic - “Mr. Brodeur, the next time you awake in a miserable mood, please have a colleague fill in for you.”  I thought his reviews returned to normal after that, but then he also was quite critical of the Met’s new production, The Hours, in November – the comments for that review were kinder; perhaps, the farther away the production, the less offense taken?  Don’t miss his reviews and the continuing saga.   

Unfortunately, my impression is that the Washington Post seems to be unintentionally restricting its coverage of local performances; I see fewer reviews by guest critics these days, and more good performances seem to go unnoted.  My sense is that smaller opera companies in general are getting less coverage today.  Newspapers are in a stressful period competing with free internet news sources and social media, and because audiences are smaller for small companies than for the large opera houses, newspaper coverage is less.  Also, classical music critics for news sources cover operas, classical music concerts, and choral music concerts, all bountiful in the mid-Atlantic; there is only so much they can report on. 

Having mentioned the Post’s former critic, Ms. Midgette, I noted that this past year she published her first opera review since leaving the Post in 2019.  She could not resist posting a thoughtful, heartfelt review on her website for a work that had been so meaningful to her over the years, Bernstein’s Mass.  It was a pleasure to read.  I think then she was back to working on her book.

Knight Susan Galbraith continued to post insightful reviews at DC Theater Arts for area opera and theater productions.  I read one of hers just recently that I had missed and that I especially  recommend, her interview with dramaturg Kelley Rourke, as she takes on the role of artistic adviser for WNO’s American Opera Initiative, a program that gets far too little coverage by area media, in my humble opinion.  Ms. Galbraith’s article covers some of the history and features insights from artistic advisor Rourke into how it functions in producing new operas every year.  New operas seem to be an area that is thriving and could use even more coverage and encouragement.

My current favorite Knight continues to be Washington Classical Review’s Charles Downey for several reasons.  First, his reviews are always enriched by the depth of his knowledge and expertise in classical music and opera.  He has a fine ear and his critiques of the performances are both illuminating and a pleasure to read; he writes beautifully in a concise style.  Finally, I appreciate the volume of reviews he produces and the breadth of his coverage of the DC area extending to Baltimore (which has no critic of its own).  I will even add one more kudo – his reviews are typically posted the next day, usually the first to appear.  To appreciate his breath and commendable area coverage of the DC area, read his report on his ten favorite performances of 2022.  Thankfully, Washington Classical Review extends their reach even further by having critic Alex Baker, who also writes for Parterre, as a backup to do some opera and classical music reviews.  Perhaps he will be a candidate for the Knights of the Opera Table in the future. 

I try to read as many of the opera reviews that I can in the mid-Atlantic region, and I highly recommend the reviews by the Knights I mention here to add to your knowledge and enjoyment of the art form, as they do for me.  I also encourage reading the comments sections on reviews, which can sometimes offer new insights; I wish there were more comments from opera fans.  Tip of the hat to the mid-Atlantic opera critics for their work in 2022 and glad to see everyone back in business.

The Fan Experience: You can read reviews in many online sites at no cost, such as Washington Classical Review, onStage Pittsburgh, and DC Theater Arts.  However, to read journalists who work for newspapers, such as the Washington Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, you will need a subscription.  Sometimes visitors are allowed a few articles at no cost, and you can often take advantage of special online rates that occur from time to time.  I am a fan of newspapers and their journalists and subscribe to several. 

Virginia Opera's Fellow Travelers: Sometimes Love Does Not Triumph Over All

First it was a 2007 book, then it was a 2016 opera, and later this year it will be a television miniseries…let me amend that slightly.  First, it was reality.  It is the story of how love died because the ground it sprang up in was poisoned, and then again, maybe it was just the different natures of the two lovers and it would not have survived anyway, and I wish we could know; we do know the poison was real.  The book is Fellow Travelers by Thomas Mallon, a work of fiction that we know in our hearts and the historical record to be true; the poison was homophobia, the rule, not the exception in the 1950s America.  The television series by Showtime scheduled for later this year takes the name of the book.  So did the opera based on the book composed by Gregory Spears with libretto by Greg Pierce, and this past weekend, in 2023, the DC area received its first showing of Fellow Travelers, where the stories took place, the fictional ones and the real ones that actually happened.  Many thanks to Virginia Opera and the Center for the Arts at George Mason University for bringing the opera to Fairfax.

l to r: Andres Acosta as Timothy and Joseph Lattanzi as Hawkins in Fellow Travelers. Photo by Dave Pearson Photography; courtesy of Virginia Opera.

Composer Spears, born in Virginia Beach, has established himself as a leading opera composer of today.  His new opera Castor and Patience premiered with Cincinnati Opera in July of last year, and his new opera The Righteous will premiere at Santa Fe Opera in the summer of 2024.  His librettist for Fellow Travelers was Greg Pierce; Mr. Pierce was recently the librettist for composer Kevin Puts The Hours, which premiered at the Met Opera in 2022.  Famed director Kevin Newbury who directs the Virginia Opera production worked with this team on the creation of Fellow Travelers and directed its premiere with Cincinnati Opera (from Mr. Newbury’s bio: Kevin has directed over 100 original projects in multiple mediums. Career highlights include three productions for PBS Great Performances: the world premiere of Bel Canto (Lyric Opera of Chicago), the world premiere of Doubt (Minnesota Opera) and Bernstein’s MASS (Ravinia Festival).  This is a highly accomplished team.

(the remainder of this report contains content spoilers)

Fellow Travelers is composed of 16 scenes that flow smoothly from one to another, providing some of the most incisive character delineations that I have witnessed in opera.  All the characters felt real, as though I knew them, or people like them.  By chance encounter, State Department employee Hawkins Fuller meets college intern Timothy Laughlin seated on a park bench in Dupont Circle, DC.  The attraction grows into a passionate love affair, which must be kept secret or have society come down full force upon them. 

Behind Timothy (Andreas Acosta) is a wall of portraits of unidentified individuals meant to symbolize the thousands of victims of the Lavendar Scare. Photo by Dave Pearson Photography; courtesy of Virginia Opera.

At that period in history, Senator Joseph McCarthy was gaining fame and power by leading an effort to identify and censure communists and their fellow travelers in American society in an effort known as the Red Scare.  Senator McCarthy went further with an effort that came to be known as the Lavender Scare, promoting a fear that gay people, “liberal leftists by nature”, might sympathize with communists and be more susceptible to blackmail schemes that threatened to expose them.  Furthermore, homosexuality was widely considered deviant behavior at that time, excuse enough to purge gays from the federal government; the actual language used in official government documents to describe gays was too offensive to use here, but can be read in a National Archives report at this link.  Thousands of gay men and women and even those suspected of being homosexual lost their jobs and livelihoods, were often censured…blacklisted…subjected to physical attacks and incarceration; many committed suicide. 

Hawk, older than Timothy, had grown jaded and had compartmentalized his life, living as a straight man publicly and a gay man in the shadows, doing this so completely that he passed a lie detector test forced on him by the State Department to determine if he is a homosexual.  Timothy, also referred to as Skippy, is an idealist who wants to be with Hawk regardless of the cost; he believes Senator McCarthy’s efforts to root out communists attempting to destroy America is a good thing.  In that zeitgeist, the smart move was to stay in the closet, but the cost of staying in the closet was living an inauthentic life, as Skippy says later, to feel like he never existed; the poison could be lethal to a personality.  Though the dark shadow of homophobia shapes their lives in great measure, this opera is not preachy; it is and feels like a love story with two real people coming to terms with who they are and their feelings for each other.  It is our reflection on the exposition of our shameful past that provides the indictment, and knowing the poison is yet to be completely expunged.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we are not here today to reach a verdict on social issues of today, but to ask whether Fellow Travelers is a good opera.  First, let me say, “Contemporary opera is not a sin.”  It is okay to like contemporary opera.  Virginia Opera’s scholar in residence, Joshua Borths made a point in his excellent pre-opera talk that many people’s views have been tainted by modern operas of the first half of the 20th century that pushed the boundaries of music, in many cases too far to be acceptable to the larger opera going public.  That is now history.  Contemporary operas of today are now highly diverse but strive for accessibility through tonality and melody. 

This certainly describes the music of composer Spears.  In fact, one of the highlights of Fellow Travelers is the music, especially as played by the Virginia Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Conductor Adam Turner.  The score includes piano, and Maestro Turner added extra violins, increasing the lushness of the music.  The music is always engaging, employing both modern minimalism with repetitive themes and classic opera ornamentations such as trills and melisma.  The music always seems to stay in bounds, no sudden dramatic crashes.  My first thoughts were how pretty the music was and how expansive it was, seeming to wash over and fill the entire theater.  This is music to seek out, not shy away from.

l to r: Andreas Acosta as Timothy and Joseph Lattanzi as Hawkins. Photo by Dave Pearson Photography; courtesy of Virginia Opera.

Another highlight is the performances of the singer/actors.  There are four principal roles in the opera sung by four singers; there are thirteen secondary roles sung by five singers.  I thought the acting was spot on bringing each of the characters to life even in their smallest moments on stage.  Hawkins Fuller was played by baritone Joseph Lattanzi, who originated the role in the Cincinnati Opera premiere.  He delivers the vocals precisely, which range from federal office small talk to heartfelt arias.  Certainly, his aria sung, as he sits in the brick house he has rented for his assignations and reaches the verdict that he cannot be to Timothy all that he wants, is touching and quite beautiful.  Tenor Andres Acosta plays Timothy.  He again impressed me with the loveliness of his tenor, beautiful singing, and clear diction; he was also excellent this past summer in Opera Theatre of St. Louis’ premiere of Awakenings.  I often have trouble understanding sung words, even in English, not so with Mr. Acosta.  He made me feel his youthful vulnerability, making his disillusionment even more painful.  After his first romantic encounter with Hawk, he goes to church the next morning and delivers the highlight aria of the opera, “I died last night”, struggling with his religious beliefs and fulfillment of what he has just experienced.  Yet, their last comments to each other will be devastating.

l to r: Katherine Pracht as Mary and Katrina Thurman as Miss Lightfoot. Photo by Dave Pearson Photography; courtesy of Virginia Opera.

Mary Johnson, played by soprano Katherine Pracht, works in Hawk’s office and is his best friend; she once thought she might be the one for Hawk and tries to warn Skippy.  Her acting was very compelling; I quickly came to care for her.  Ms. Pracht sings a duet with Skippy beautifully, which has one of the best lines in the opera, “He’s wonderful. You are right about that.  But he’s a certain kind of wonderful, Timmy.”  Hmmm.  Writing this makes me remember that I generally don’t think English is such a good language for opera, but Mr. Spears and Mr. Pierce might be changing my opinion on that.  Miss Lightfoot, played by soprano Katrina Thurman, is Ms. Johnson’s colleague in the office; she is the busybody you might like to throw a bucket of cold water on or worse after she turns Hawk in.  However, she sings with such a perverse appeal, you want her in the show as someone not to like.

l to r: Andreas Acosta as Timothy, Kyle White as Tommy, Joshua Jeremiah as Senator McCarthy, and John Fulton as Senator Potter. Photo by Dave Pearson Photography; courtesy of Virginia Opera.

I’ll run down the list of other singers, each of whom added good vocals and excellent believability to the script.  Baritone Joshua Jeremiah sang the role of Estonian Frank, Interrogator, and Senator McCarthy; baritone John Fulton portrayed Senator Potter, General Arlie, and Bartender; soprano Kaileigh Riess portrayed Lucy, the woman Hawk married to add to his cover; Tommy McIntyre was sung by baritone Kyle White; and in bravura performances, Virginia Opera and Wolf Trap Opera veteran, bass Jeremy Harr portrayed Potter’s Assistant, Bookseller, Technician, French Priest, and Party Guest.  It was remarkable how well this cast blended in and carried the story.  It was entirely believable that these scenes were from the 1950s.

Remember that there are sixteen scenes?  That is a lot of changes over a two-hour period.  In Fellow Travelers, they flow by as easily as memories through your mind, especially if you lived through part of this era.  Director Kevin Newbury keeps the action moving smoothly, with welcome comic touches to lighten the mood.  Additional kudos are also due for the believability in recreating the 1950s: Victoria Tzykun for scenic design, Paul Carey for costume design, Thomas C. Hase for lighting, and James P. McGough for wig and make-up design.

Is Fellow Travelers, as performed by the Virginia Opera a good opera?  Without hesitation - Yes, the music is exceptional, the performances are excellent, and it speaks to the human heart.  Ok, nobody got killed in true operatic sense, but might not spiritual death qualify?

The Fan Experience:  Fellow Travelers was performed in Norfolk on January 27, 28, and 29 before moving to Fairfax on February 4 and 5.  The final two performances are scheduled for February 10 and 12 in Richmond.  The opera has two acts with an intermission.  It is sung in English with English surtitles displayed on a screen. 

Virginia Opera has advertised the opera as “steamy”, perhaps as an inducement to some and a caution to parents.  There are a couple of scenes with the two lovers kissing and caressing on a bed stripped to their undershorts.  VO’s website cautions: This production has adult content; not suitable for children under 13.

The pre-opera talk by VO’s scholar in residence by Joshua Borths begins 45 minutes prior to curtain time.  Prior to each new VO production, he conducts a zoom one hour meeting where he presents information about the opera.  His presentation is recorded and placed online.  You can access the discussion on Fellow Travelers at the following link.

Opera Lafayette's Pergolesi!: A Program to Remember

Opera Lafayette constructed a three-part series for its 2022-2023 season titled “The Era of Madame de Pompadour”, covering the time when she was official chief mistress, confidante, and adviser to Louis XV; Madame de Pompadour was well known for her salons and theater that held sway on the music of that period.  Each episode in the series features important music composed and played at that time in France; the company also offers its audiences opportunities to learn about social and political issues of those periods which influenced and were influenced by the music to be performed.  Perhaps it appears surprising that this middle episode was devoted to music by the Italian composer, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710-1736), who likely never entered France and whose most influential music likely did not until long after his death.  The two works OL presented in the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater on Thursday evening, La Servante maîtresse (The Servant Mistress), a French version of Pergolesi’s intermezzo comedic opera, and Stabat Mater, a sacred vocal work in Latin, could hardly be more different.  Nonetheless, both were the subject of controversies; and each became among the most popular works in France in the second half of the 18th century, remaining in the repertoire to the present day.

La Servante maîtresse (1754) is the French version by Pierre Baurans of Pergolesi’s La serva padrona (1733; librettist Gennaro Federico) and was the version that came to be preferred in France, mais oui.  However, it was La serva padrona, first presented in Paris in 1752 by an Italian traveling group of comedic singers (bouffons) that initiated its popularity and led to a furious, two-year debate in Paris called the “querelle des bouffons” over whether this new Italian form of comic opera was superior to French opera.  Some big wig French intelligentsia of the day, such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau (“Man is borne free but everywhere is in chains”) championed the new opera, perhaps with an underlying motive of wanting to encourage social change in France.  The debate died away, but Italian comic opera had arrived and swept across Europe.

Jonathan Woody as Pandolfe and Hannah De Priest as Serpine. Photo by Jennifer Packard Photography; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

La serva padrona had to be altered when first performed in Paris because opera performed outside the Paris Opéra at that time had to include dialog; so, the recitative with continuo had to be replaced with spoken dialog, also continued in the French version.  The French adaptation also injected a few new arias giving the female lead a softer edge, but the story and music were largely kept intact.  This forty-minute opera with two singers, was originally performed as entertainment between the acts of larger serious operas.  In the story, a male head of the household, Pandolfe (Uberto in the La serva padrona), is upset with his maid who consistently fails to do his bidding.  The maid, Serbine (Serpina), wants to become his wife and mistress of the house.  She is aided in a bit of successful trickery by a mute manservant, Scapin (Vespone).  Overall, La Servante maîtresse provides a French-Italian pastry: some funny scenes, delightful singing and music, a happy ending…and proof that the women of 18th century France wielded more power than had been formally authorized.

Listening to OL’s performance, my first impression of this opera was that the rapid delivery of text in the singing, often of a patter nature, and the relatively large amount of spoken dialog was pushing the music into the background; it took me a moment to adjust, and perhaps the singers as well, who had to sing in French and recite dialog in English.  Director Nick Olcott wrote rhyming couplets for the spoken dialog to assist the largely English-speaking audience in quickly spotting and reacting to the humor; it worked but did require some getting used to, which then allowed me to enjoy the tuneful music more fully.  The performance was semi-staged with the orchestra on stage behind the singers. Mr. Olcott effectively used chairs to help control the movements and give focus to the interactions.  The costumes by Marsha LeBoeuf were colorful and period appropriate, adding to the fun.

Patrick Kilbride as Scapin. Photo by Jennifer Packard Photography; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

The comedy was greatly enhanced by the antics of tenor Partrick Kilbride, portraying the mute attendant Scapin who pretended to be a suitor for Serpina, in accord with her plan; this was Mr. Kilbride’s first appearance with Opera Lafayette in which he did not sing.  Another OL veteran, bass-baritone Jonathan Woody sang the role of Pandolfe, convincingly expressing emotions ranging from exasperation with Serpina to accepting his deep-felt affection for her.  He sang well and soon found a natural rhythm for the spoken rhyming couplets.  This is Serpina’s opera and OL had engaged a soprano to match her.  Hannah De Priest with her beautiful voice, singing, and acting ability won over the audience long before she did Pandolfe; she gave us a young woman who not only survived but prevailed by her wits.  Her performance was a highlight of the evening!  Opera Lafayette managed to handle the edgier aspects of the social order on display in the opera without dampening enthusiasm for the comedy.

Jonathan Woody as Pandolfe, Hannah De Priest as Serbine, and Patrick Kilbride as Scapin. Photo by Jennifer Packard Photography; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

La serva padrona introduced a new musical style to France, one more direct and simpler compared to the intricate and complex music of the most popular French operas of the day, and the opera’s style influenced many of the French composers who rose to prominence in the second half of the 18th century.  The Opera Lafayette Orchestra for the evening was led by Guest Conductor Patrick Dupré Quigley.  The orchestra uses period instruments, providing an authentic production of 18th century music.  In an OL online discussion, Conductor Quigley pointed out that the two works presented were very different in both musical style and vocal delivery.  I thought the orchestra’s delivery on both under Maestro Quigley’s leadership was engaging and enjoyable throughout the evening, fully supporting the singing.

l to r: Sarah Mesko, Gwendoline Blondeel, and Conductor Patrick Dupré Quigley performing Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater. Photo by Jennifer Packard Photography; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

The 13th century poem “Stabat mater dolorosa” (“mother standing in sadness”, author uncertain) described Mother Mary’s anguish on Calvary and served as the text for Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, as it did for a great many composers.  In fact, if you wanted and were able to find recordings, you could listen to Stabat Mater by a different composer everyday from January 1 until September before you would have to play a repeat.  This would include versions by Rossini, Schubert, Dvořák, Vivaldi, Verdi, Poulenc, and quite a few other well-known composers.  However, if you type Stabat Mater into the search engine of almost any music service, the first version shown will be that by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (not even his family’s given name, which was Draghi; his family came to be known for the town they were from, Pergola). 

l to r: Sarah Mesko and Gwendoline Blondeel. Photo by Jennifer Packard Photography; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

Stabat Mater initially focuses on the grief of a mother, who stood while forced to watch her son being crucified; the second half of the poem moves to a spectator’s viewpoint, that of someone wanting to share in Mary’s grief as a path to salvation.  This sacred work was composed shortly before Pergolesi’s death from tuberculosis at the age of 26 and was written in a monastery where he died in poverty.  Some have suggested it was Pergolesi’s gift to God in his final days; let me suggest that it might also have been God’s gift to Pergolesi and all of us.  From that young man came one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever, written near the end of a composing career of only five years.  One difficulty I have listening to this work is how much pleasure it gives me, given its subject matter.  Perhaps because I fell in love with this piece long before I read an English translation of the poem, I find the music beautiful and reverential, not beautiful and sad.  The Catholic Church had difficulty with this as well, which later led to a papal decree that opera music using religious texts could not be performed in church.  Art won that one and churches all over the Catholic world have staged it; in 2017 a new Stabat Mater by composer Sir James MacMillan was premiered at and later streamed from the Vatican.

Gwendoline Blondeel and Sarah Mesko. Photos by Jennifer Packard Photography; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

Stabat Mater is scored for a soprano and an alto, originally male singers since women were not allowed to sing in the Catholic Church.  For their performance, Opera Lafayette employed two extraordinary singers with extraordinary voices, French soprano Gwendoline Blondeel, in her first appearance in the U.S, and mezzo-soprano Sarah Mesko in her OL debut.  Ms. Blondeel has a bright, crystalline soprano voice, while Ms. Mesko’s mezzo-soprano voice sounded much deeper, darker.  Within minutes, the beauty of their voices and their harmony creating its own beautiful sound caused my eyes to well up with tears.  The piece has four movements and many opportunities for solos and duets.  Ms. Blondeel approached the piece as church music, her face reverent but expressionless.  Ms. Mesko treated it more as opera; her final solo was a dramatic rendition, both acting with facial expressions and singing the part.  The OL orchestra under Mr. Quigley’s direction brought Pergolesi’s music fully to life tightly intertwined with the vocals.  The performance overall was simply exquisite. 

Photo of Stabat Mater performance rehearsal; the ensemble for La Servante maîtresse also included two horn players and a bassoonist. Photo by Jennifer Packard Photography; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

We all have memories that stay with us.  I recall watching the first moon landing on television and the first time that I saw the Sound of Music.  I have no doubt that Opera Lafayette’s Pergolesi! is burned into my memory.  It was a performance to remember.

The Fan Experience: The performance of Pergolesi! at the Kennedy Center was the first of two that OL will give; there is still time to get tickets for the second one (see below); program notes by OL musicologist Julia Doe, are available online.  Subtitles in English were shown on a screen above the orchestra for both works, a major advantage for hearing Stabat Mater for the first time. An informative and entertaining pre-concert talk was given by Cornell Emeritus Professor Rebecca Harris-Warrick, an expert on French baroque music and a guest scholar with OL.

All of Opera Lafayette’s productions for 2022-2023 were scheduled to be performed in both Washington, DC (Terrace Theater of the Kennedy Center) and New York City (El Museo del Barrio).  In DC, they will be spread over the entire season and in NYC performed as a festival.

Washington, DC:

In the Salons of Versailles – December 2

Pergolesi! - February 2

Opéra-ballet - Rameau’s Io and de La Garde’s Léandre et Héro  - May 2, 3

New York City:

Opéra-ballet: Rameau’s Io and de La Garde’s Léandre et Héro - May 9

In the Salons of Versailles - May 10

Pergolesi! - May 11

AOI’s 2023 Three 20-Min Operas: Breathing New Life into Opera

The American Opera Initiative’s “Three 20-Minute Operas” is always a highlight of my opera season.  Each year since 2012 (paused last year for the presentation of four, new short operas in “Written in Stone”), Washington National Opera provides teams of emerging composers and librettists with the space, resources, and mentors to create new chamber works and have them presented at the Kennedy Center; they also get to interact directly with the singers from WNO’s Cafritz Young Artists Program and the WNO musicians who will be singing and playing their compositions, which benefits the creative artists and the performers.  Importantly, this framework also allows emerging creative artists to take risks they might not otherwise be willing to take, both in subject matter and musical compositions.  I have been a devoted opera fan for many years now, and the vast majority of operas I have attended have been 100-400 years old and are played in large opera venues insuring large audiences.  I love Verdi, Puccini, and Wagner, but it is a refreshing change of pace to see operas that connect to my life in both time and culture as well as in universal themes.  AOI annually feeds that hunger, breathing new life into opera by providing new creative artists the chance to grow and develop their skills.

l to r: Kimberly Reed (librettist mentor), Cecelia Raker (librettist, Bubbie and the Demon), Jens Ibsen (composer, Bubbie and the Demon), Walken Schweigert (librettist, What the Spirits Show), Carlos Simon (composer mentor), Silen Wellington (composer, What the Spirits Show), B.E. Boykin (composer, Oshun), Jarrod Lee (librettist Oshun), Kelley Rourke (librettist mentor and AOI Artistic Advisor). Photo by Caitlin Oldham; courtesy of Washington National Opera..

This year’s group of three were presented in two showings Saturday night in KC’s Terrace Theater.  I attended the 7 pm showing which was sold out; a 9 pm showing followed.  The singers were from WNO’s Cafritz Young Artist Program, and each work was accompanied by a 13-piece ensemble from the Washington National Opera Orchestra led by WNO’s Conductor Evan Rogister.  The operas were semi-staged with the singers in costume aided with a few props.  Each opera was preceded by a film clip featuring comments by the creative artists and their mentors.  The 20-minute operas were:

Oshun

     composer: B.E. Boykin

     librettist: Jarrod Lee

What the Spirits Show

     composer: Silen Wellington

     librettist: Walken Schweigert

Bubbie and the Demon

     composer: Jens Ibsen

     librettist: Cecelia Raker

Mentors to composers: Carlos Simon and Evan Rogister

Mentors to the librettists: Kimberly Reed and Kelley Rourke

Oshun’s plot included aspects of the Yoruba religion of West Africa which has both a supreme being and lesser gods known as Orishas, both male and female.  The costumes had colorful African themes, and the music included drums and rhythmic singing.  The libretto featured both English and words from the Yoruba language.  The role of the Supreme Being, Olodumare, was sung by bass-baritone Christian Simmons.  Failing to sway Olodumare to bring rain and relieve the drought was Shango, Orisha of Thunder, sung by baritone Daniel Smith.  Pushing him in this effort was Esu, a supplicant, sung by tenor Anthony P. Ballard.  When they fail, they call on Oshun, sung by soprano Katerina Burton, to use her beauty to influence Oludamare, but on the path Oshun loses her beauty and thus her confidence and hope.  Suffering through this despair, she is told by Oludamare that her beauty and power was still there; it always had been what was inside her, and he provided rain.  This was a feel-good story of self-empowerment.  It was also a story accompanied by beautiful music and lovely singing.  Ms. Burton was again a standout in her performances with WNO.

l to r: Christian Simmons as Olodumare, Daniel Smith as Shango, Katerina Burton as Oshun, and Anthony P. Ballard as Esu. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

What the Spirits Show was a hard-edged drama, most obviously targeting transgender prejudice and oppression, which also can be viewed as a more general call to see the beauty in letting everyone be who they really are.  The story centers on teenage artist Calamus played by mezzo-soprano Mack Wolz; they are able to shapeshift their body using a magic elixir “expressing their true spirit by bending into different forms and offering the poetry of transformation”.  A politician who weaponizes religion to force conformity on Calamus is played by baritone Justin Burgess.  He causes Calamus to be incarcerated and be denied access to the elixir.  Calamus begins to lose their identity.  Buoyed by the love of their parent Aurora, played by mezzo-soprano Hanna Shea and their friend Sylvan, played by contralto Cecelia McKinley, Calamus hung on while their spirit was receding.  With great courage and determination, Sylvan sneaks a dose of the magic elixir into the prison, and Calamus, drinking the potion, transforms into their true poetic identity, and the walls come down as their beauty fills the stage.  The music under girded the intense drama, and vocal performances were well done by everyone. 

left photo: Cecelia McKinley as Sylvan and Mack Wolz as Calamus. middle photo: Justin Burgess as the Politician. right photo: Mack Wolz as Calamus and Hannah Shea as Aurora. Photos by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

Bubbie and the Demon turned out to be a comedy based on a clever premise, and it was very funny!  Maybe composer Ibsen and librettist Raker could approach Netflix about making an operatic version of The Addams Family.  In a second turn on the stage, contralto Cecelia McKinley plays the elderly granny in a night robe, isolated by a pandemic, who in filling out a crossword puzzle online stumbles onto an incantation that summons a threatening figure from the dark side.  The Demon intends ill for Bubbie, but she believes him to be her goth grandson come for a visit and treats him with love and respect.  A neighbor Karen, played by Teresa Perrotta, comes in to assist Bubbie with her computer problem, and is shocked to find the demon there; she tries but fails to get Bubbie to see what she is actually dealing with.  Eventually the Demon is softened and then won over by Bubbie’s kind and loving treatment.  Three characters were each given their own musical style, and the singing, music, and acting by all worked together to provide the audience with delight. 

left photo: Jonathon Patton as the Demon and Cecelia McKinley as Bubbie. right photo: Jonathon Patton as the Demon and Teresa Perrotta as Karen. Photos by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

The comedic portrayal of a dark force is naturally funny; the audience needs to laugh to relieve the tension created by such a figure.  However, one reason that Bubbie and the Demon is so funny is that the audience can identify with these circumstances, such as the loneliness enforced by the pandemic, the stress of modern parenting, and the impact of social media on our lives.  We may not recognize what’s off in the exchange between a peasant and a nobleman, but we easily sense the frustration when a computer freezes up and the relief when help arrives.  Modern times and contemporary issues readily connect with modern audiences.  Finding the underlying beauty in those situations is what makes opera great.  Revealing the true hearts of Bubbie and the Demon is how opera is elevated to art.

As a thought experiment, how early in human history could What the Spirits Show have been created and produced?  Verdi, Puccini, and Wagner would not have tried; the general public and rulers would have all stood in their way.  Strauss, Britten, or Glass?  Ever hear of the “lavender scare” of the 1950s?  My point is not to comment on social issues here, but to make the point that composing cutting opera today requires courage from creative artists and opera companies as it always has; Puccini and Verdi had to battle censors and royalty to tell human stories.  Contemporary opera is needed to respond to modern needs and opportunities to contribute to wholeness.  Thank you, AOI.

The Fan Experience:  This year’s Three 20-Minute Operas were presented in two showings, one at 7 pm and one following at 9 pm on Saturday, January 23 in the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater.  My experience is that these frequently sell out.  The audience included the composers and librettists, and cheering fans. Get your tickets as early as possible for next year’s event. 

I would like to watch these works again to get a better appreciation for both the music and the vocals now that I know the stories.  It seems unlikely to happen in this area any time soon.  During the COVID pandemic, when live performances before audiences were not possible, WNO filmed the 2021 edition of Three 20-Minute Operas and placed them online for viewing.   I have learned that this year’s operas have been recorded for archiving.  I suspect contractual arrangements might be limiting, but I’d love for WNO to make these available online if possible and to make this a regular practice.  Just a wish.

Maryland Lyric Opera’s Falstaff: Great Cast Delivers an Entertaining Evening

Maryland Lyric Opera’s latest edition of its world class, community-based opera program took another step forward with Friday night’s performance of Falstaff by composer Giuseppe Verdi and librettist Arrigo Boito.  One of the best crowds of the season turned out, filled out in part by students from local schools; MDLO’s policy of any seat in the house for $10 for any student with a student ID is paying dividends for the company, and I believe, for opera itself.  A highly entertaining pre-performance talk included Conductor Joseph Colaneri and an appearance by one of the all-time great baritones, Sherrill Milnes, who took questions and entertained the attendees with anecdotes from his storied career.  A stellar cast of mainly MDLO veterans delivered another highly entertaining episode in MDLO’s a Season of Verdi. 

Brian Major as Ford (l) and Mark Delavan as Falstaff (r). Photo by Julian Thomas Photography and courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.

In the opera, Sir John Falstaff, struggling with his impecunious situation, attempts the seduction of Mrs. Alice Ford and Mrs. Meg Page.  His motivations are as much to prop up his ego and replenish his purse as to satisfy his sexual urges.  He sends the same letter of interest to both Alice and Meg, who are friends and compare notes.  With the help of their friend Mistress Quickly and Alice’s daughter Nanetta, they plan to have some fun humiliating the fat, old knight and teaching him a lesson.  Separately, Alice’s wealthy husband Ford learns from Falstaff’s associates, Bardolfo and Pistola, of Falstaff’s plot, and he sets a plan for revenge in motion.  The ladies are better connivers, and it is they who teach Falstaff a lesson; they also successfully plot to get Nanetta married to her chosen, Fenton, instead of the wealthy Dr. Caius, her father’s choice. 

(l to r standing): Mary Feminear as Alice Ford, Catherine Martin as Mistress Quickly, and Allegra de Vita as Meg Page as a hiding Falstaff (Mark Delavan) peeks out of the basket. Photo by Julian Thomas Photography and courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.

Falstaff (1893, three acts) was Verdi’s final opera, completed when he was approaching 80, and his second full collaboration with Arrigo Boito, the first being Otello (1887).  It was Verdi’s second comedy; his first, Un giorno di regno, written early in his fifty-year career, was unsuccessful.  While Falstaff is a comedy based on Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor and parts of Henry IV, the great Maestro considered Falstaff to be a depiction of character, not an opera buffa.  Musicologists and opera critics consider Falstaff to be an uproarious comedy; but though amusing, there was only mild laughter in the audience Friday night.  Musicologists report that Boito used humorous language from 17th century Italy (in the manner of Boccaccio’s The Decameron) to create inside jokes.  Soprano Rosa Feola has said, “The story is taken from Shakespeare, but it has an Italian soul.”  That said, I personally find its comedy to be stale at best, though I find it appealing as a humorously played character study, with Falstaff forced to see himself as he really is when his ego is demolished.  The MDLO production was a concert version that was semi-staged.  Director David Gately arranged for the comedic elements as well as could be done in this setting. The stellar group of ten named singer/actors were well cast and made for an entertaining, enjoyable performance, impossible not to like, especially in the second half with the MDLO Chorus completing the ensemble under the direction of Chorus Master Husan Park.

left photo: Rachel Blaustein as Nannetta and Yi Li as Fenton. right photo: Mark Delavan as Falstaff seated at desk, Andrea Silvestrelli as Pistola seated on floor, and Mauricio Miranda as Dr. Caius standing. Photos by Julian Thomas Photography and courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.

The overall excellent cast was headed by bass-baritone Mark Delevan, who was outstanding as Falstaff.  Mr. Delavan commanded the stage, singing with authority and convincingly conveying the different facets of Falstaff’s personality, most dramatically in portraying his final disillusionment and, at least partial, redemption.  He was ably assisted, then duped by his colleagues, Bardolfo sung by tenor Joseph Michael Brent and Pistola sung by bass Andrea Silvestrelli; each singer added to the fun. These three performers had appeared with MDLO previously as had tenor Mauricio Miranda who ably played the role of Dr. Caius and tenor Yi Li who engagingly portrayed Fenton, Nannetta’s love interest.  The lone newcomer to be added to the MDLO fold was a prized one, baritone Brian Major who sang the role of Ford with superb voice control and acting; he proved to be an excellent choice for this character.

(l to r): Yi Li as Fenton, Rachel Blaustein as Nannetta, Joseph Michael Brent as Bardolfo, Andrea Silvestrelli as Pistola, Brian Major as Ford, and Mauricio Miranda as Dr. Caius. Photo by Julian Thomas Photography and courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.

The interactions and ensemble singing of the four female singers was a highlight of the performance.  Soprano Mary Feminear sang the role of Alice Ford while soprano Rachel Blaustein played her daughter Nanneta; mezzo-soprano Allegra de Vita sang the role of Meg Page, and mezzo-soprano Catherine Martin played Mistress Quickly.  All were delights.  Perhaps most impressive for her acting as a messenger/instigator of plots was Ms. Martin, while perhaps the most impressive singing was by Ms. Blaustein, new to the MDLO stage, who floated frequently and beautifully in her high range.

Full stage view of the MDLO Orchestra on stage and the MDLO Chorus in the balcony behind the stage with singers Rachel Blaustein as Nannetta, Allegra de Vita as Meg and Mary Feminear as Alice standing. Photo by Julian Thomas Photography and courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.

Conductor Joseph Colaneri, who also conducted Maryland Lyric Opera’s Macbeth, led another good performance by the MDLO Orchestra.  Unusual for Verdi, his last opera has no overture and is through composed without the usual arias; thus, the music moves fast, constantly changing to reflect the dialog.  Couple that with ten singers moving on and off the stage, many ensemble numbers, lighting changes (Lighting Designer Stuart Duke), subtitles on one of two screens that are changing with interesting mood-reflecting images (Projection Designer Sarah Tunderman)…it was a lot to take in, making it difficult to focus on any one element and sometimes difficult to keep up.  Great entertainment but difficult to follow sometimes, and I found it difficult to receive the full measure of Verdi’s music for this opera in the half before intermission.  However, in the second half I thought the orchestra became more of a focus involving the chorus, and it included a few beautiful almost-arias, one by Falstaff, one by Fenton, and one by Nanetta; the ending fugue involving all ten singers was also a treat.  The second half made me more of a Falstaff fan than I had been.  In retrospect, while an overload of entertainment is probably audience preferred, I might have liked a more traditional format of just singing and music, allowing for greater appreciation of Verdi’s magnificent music.

Maryland Lyric Opera’s Season of Verdi will continue in March with a production of Otello.  As I am fond of saying - MDLO opera on the weekend; it’s what you do.

The Fan Experience:  There were two performances of Falstaff, January 20 and 22, at the Strathmore Music Center in Bethesda (Note: on January 22, the role of Mary Ford was sung by soprano Teresa Perrotta).  The opera was sung in Italian with projected subtitles in English. MDLO’s Season of Verdi will continue March 3 and 5 in the same venue with performances of Otello.  There were hints that baritone Sherrill Milnes might again be part of the pre-opera discussion again for that one.

The Strathmore 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.  Cafeteria style food is offered again as pandemic restrictions have been limited, and there is a cash bar on lower level.

Thanks to Maryland Lyric Opera patrons and contributors, tickets for any seat in the house will remain $10 for students with a student ID. 

Opera Philadelphia Channel Presents The Passion of Scrooge: Carnival of the Instrumentalists

Opera Philadelphia recently added a film version of composer Jon Deak’s The Passion of Scrooge (2018) to its streaming Channel lineup for the holiday season.  Combining opera and Scrooge, how could I resist?  This filmed version of Mr. Deak’s composition, with libretto by Isaiah Sheffer and Mr. Deak, has the Dickens’ story bound in the composer’s personal life journey.  I caution you not to compare this production to your favorite version of A Christmas Carol; it will most likely lose a battle with the film or stage production that impacted you the most (for me, it is a tie between Reginald Owens from 1938 and Alistair Sim from 1951).  While I had a few tears in my eyes near the end, I enjoyed this performance more as one might a new Christmas toy, something fresh and colorful with movement, sounds, and surprises…and more.  Accepted on its own terms, it is a wonderful Christmas time treat! 

The score and libretto of The Passion of Scrooge were created over a ten-year period (1986-1996) at a time when the composer was having personal and family problems, a self-confessed time of great difficulty and much introspection for him.  He poses the question in this production of what is the story behind a composer’s work?  His thoughts came to focus on how remarkable it was that Scrooge had within himself the power of redemption, to see the error of his ways and to change, to make the business of life less about earning money and more about compassion, helping others, and love, the message from A Christmas Carol that transcends religious boundaries (his co-librettist is Jewish).  The film opens with Mr. Deak in the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, where he engages Shakespeare’s the “Seven Stages of Man” before making the short walk to St. Mark’s Episcopal Church where the chamber opera, a partially staged, concert version is to be performed without costumes or sets.  As he walks along, he mulls Marley’s admonitions to Scrooge, and on seeing holiday street scenes, he is reconnected with thoughts of children at Christmas.  Engaging children in composing music is a special interest of composer Deak’s.

Movie frame from The Passion of Scrooge with multiple image overlays. Photo by H. Paul Moon; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

The drama that unfolds in the church has perhaps most aptly been compared to a radio drama, complete with music and sound effects, such that imagination provides the details of the story.  The story is marvelously told by baritone William Sharpe through both narration and acting, sometimes sung and sometimes with dialog.  The vocals are entirely recitatives, faithfully relating Mr. Dicken’s tale.  Mr. Sharpe is a fine singer with extraordinary story telling skills; he seemed a natural for the part.  Composer Deak chose to use just one singer because he felt that all the characters come out of Scrooge’s head.  However, in the telling of this story, the instruments and their players also play parts, adding dialog and color using their instruments in response to Mr. Sharpe’s revelations portraying Scrooge and the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future.  In this production the musicians also engage in a bit of choral singing, making of ghostly sounds, and uttering of a few “bah humbugs”.  It is very clever and amusing and fun.  Listening to the audio alone the film reminded me somehow of the beloved Camille Saint-Saëns Carnival of the Animals when done with narration; thus, this report’s name, the ‘Carnival of the Instrumentalists’, said with great affection for Mr. Deak’s music drama. For me, the delight of watching and responding to the interplay between the story and the music and the musicians is a trade off with the drama’s impact, but it is what makes this performance compelling viewing.  Heard over the radio, the drama might reign.

Baritone William Sharpe as Scrooge. Photo by H. Paul Moon; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

Composer Deak’s music is pleasing and inventive and constitutes a lesson in how instruments and music can engage in storytelling.  Listening to the music is a pleasure for the ears and the emotions.  Much of the music has the rhythm of speech, using composer Deak’s technique known as “Sprechspiel” or “Speech playing”.  The musicians are members of the 21st Century Consort, a group dedicated to playing contemporary music.  They were led in this performance by Conductor Christopher Kendall who clearly faced a huge challenge in coordinating the timing with so many stops and starts and changes, interspersed with critically timed sound effects.  This was a highly talented group of performers who carried off the production flawlessly (with the advantage of film editing, of course).  The members of the Consort, seated in a circle, included:

 Richard Barber, Contrabass

Paul Cigan, Clarinet

Daniel Foster, viola

Lee Hinkle, percussion

James Nickel, French Horn

Alexandra Osborne, violin

Susan Robinson, harp

Boyd Sarratt, add’l percussion

Sara Stern, Flute

Jane Steward, violin

Rachel Young, cello

Lisa Emenheiser – piano, prologue improvisations and end credits

left: Image of composer Jon Deak in The Passion of Scrooge; image by H. Paul Moon and courtesy of Opera Philadelphia. right: 1842 Painting of Charles Dickens by Francis Alexander; image in public domain on Wikipedia.

The performance includes two acts.  The interlude in between the acts features the composer taking the subway and walking the streets of New York City into Times Square.  The camera pans some of the street people making the point that even today the poor need our help.  The photography, direction, and film editing was done by H.Paul Moon; kudos to him for an excellent job.  He used a “floating camera” technique with constantly moving and rotating views of the performers.  Scenes from an early film titled Scrooge (1935) are effectively intermeshed onto the filmed performance during many of the scenes, triggering memories for me of past viewings, as though ghosts of Christmases past.

Like A Christmas Carol, The Passion of Scrooge ends on a note of hope (“the shadows of things that would be may be dispelled”) and a strong appeal to the human spirit (“there is time, there’s still time”).  As these phrases and others from the drama resonate through our heads as they do Scrooge’s; we all are brought face to face with the redemptive power of love, and its inclusiveness is proclaimed with Tiny Tim’s “God bless us, everyone”. 

 The Fan Experience: The Passion of Scrooge is available on demand to Opera Philadelphia Channel subscribers only, now until January 8, 2023.  Annual subscriptions are available for $99, monthly for $9.99 and can be cancelled at any time.  For more insights into the film, check out the YouTube video, “The Making of “The Passion of Scrooge””.

Most of the videos on the Channel, but not this one, are available for individual purchase.  However, you can cancel your subscription after one month at a total cost of $9.99 and have access to this video and the others on the Channel for the entire month.  Frank Luzi, Vice President of Marketing Communications & Digital Strategy Executive Producer, explained that The Passion of Scrooge is one of a series of “programs produced by other artists and companies under the banner of ‘Opera Philadelphia Channel presents’, and these are meant to come to the channel in limited runs and available only to subscribers.”  Here is a link that lists some of the upcoming additions in this category; I look forward to the upcoming screening of Hansel and Gretel.  

The Passion of Scrooge is available for renting or buying from several other streaming services as well. Subscribers to the Channel have 24/7 access to a variety of content, including videos of Opera Philadelphia classic opera performances and new, imaginative content.  Check my report on the Channel’s 2021-2022 season. 

Washington Concert Opera’s Roberto Devereux: Classic Italian Opera Well Done

Washington Concert Opera’s first production of the year follows their usual recipe but bear in mind that it is a gourmet recipe: a classic opera chosen by WCO Artistic Director and Conductor Antony Walker, that you are not likely to hear in other venues in the DC area, performed in concert with a full orchestra and chorus on stage, sung by a world class array of opera singers, giving some of their best performances.  Some of my favorite opera performances have been by WCO.  Each production is reliably more than satisfying, and thus, similarly delicious was Roberto Devereux.

Singers Daniel O’Hearn as Lord Cecil and Roberta Mantegna as Elizabetta with full orchestra and chorus on stage behind them. Photo by Caitlin Oldham; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

Composer Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848) who composed over sixty operas had a major influence on Italian opera; he was one of three developers of bel canto opera, along with Giacomo Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini.  He led a highly successful but tragic life.  His opera Roberto Devereux (1838) was composed during the period surrounding his 29-year-old wife’s death in 1837; none of their three children had survived more than a few days.  Although he also composed successful comedies such as L’elisir d’amore, it is no wonder he is known for the strong infusion of drama in his tragedies.  He composed three operas involving Tudor queens, Anna Bolena (1830), Maria Stuarda (1834), as well as Devereux; the first made him a star Italian opera composer.  The librettist for Devereux was Salvatore Cammarano; he worked with Donizetti on five other operas, including their most famous opera, Lucia di Lammermoor, and he also worked with several other renown Italian composers, including Giuseppe Verdi.

Roberta Mantegna as Elizabetta, Conductor Antony Walker, and Andrew Owens as Roberto Devereux. Photo by Caitlin Oldham; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

One of my favorite aphorisms is “History is based on a true story”.  In opera, plots dealing with real life characters are typically loosely based on history, but that’s what makes it fun.  Let’s consider the plot of Roberto Devereux:  Devereux, the Earl of Essex, returns to court from battle; he has made enemies.  Before leaving for battle, he had become a strong love interest and favorite of Elizabetta (Queen Elizabeth I).  Devereux also had fallen in love with Sara, a friend and confidante of the Queen.  While he was away, the Queen married Sara off, over her objections, to the Duke of Nottingham, who could provide for her support; the Duke was a good friend of Roberto.  You see the problem here?   It’s not a good idea to prefer another love to the Queen, nor to be that rival.  However, in fairness to Elizabetta, she did feel bad about having the Earl beheaded, so bad in fact she abdicated the throne to her cousin James VI.  And, in fairness to the composer and librettist, they created quite a powerful drama, though with some serious modifications to actual history.

left photo: Elizabeth DeShong as Sara. right photo: Conductor Antony Walker and Ricardo José Rivera as the Duke of Nottingham. Photos by Caitlin Oldham; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

Setting the record straighter: Roberto Devereux was a real Earl of Essex, and Elizabeth I, of course, was a real Queen of England.  The real Earl was a rogue and highly self-centered according to reports.  They did have an interesting relationship; for some reason she favored the Earl, son of Ann Boleyn for most of his life, indulging him much more than other subjects committing offenses.  Elizabetta had come to be known as the “Virgin Queen”, casting doubt on whether their relationship was passionate, though some historians suspect her purity was overly reported.   In real life, the Duke was actually an Earl who had no special relationship with the Devereux; furthermore, the Duchess’s name was Catherine, and she did not have a love relationship with Devereux.  It is true that the Queen had Roberto beheaded, but the reason was the unsuccessful insurrection he led against the crown.  Finally, something that must really be corrected is that Queen Elizabeth I stopped being queen because of her death, not an abdication. 

The true story is interesting, but Donizetti’s/Cammarano’s version with a love triangle is even juicier and a setting richer for possibilities for opera.  They also added some suspense by having Devereux give Sara a ring that will save him if given to the Queen, but the Duke, now angry with his former friend, blocks her attempt to take the ring to the Queen.  It’s opera!  We need something more dramatic than boring affairs of state to get our juices flowing; a love triangle ending in tragedy provides big emotions for great singers to bring us to tears using their beautiful voices and vocal skills, assisted by orchestral and choral music that further embellishes the emotions and enriches the telling of the story.  Donizetti’s opera fits the bill so well that this was the second time WCO has performed this work, once before in 2004.

left photo: Roberta Mantegna as Elizabetta and Conductor Antony Walker. right photo: Daniel O’Hearn as Lord Cecil, Andrew Owens as Roberto Devereux, Ricardo José Rivera as the Duke of Nottingham, and Conductor Antony Walker. Photos by Caitlin Oldham; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

The overture for Roberto Devereux begins with the melody from “God Save the Queen”, also the tune for “My Country Tis of Thee”.  Maestro Walker and the Washington Concert Opera Orchestra delivered Donizetti’s music faithfully, beautiful music filled with many appealing melodies and soaring arias for the principal singers.  To sing the role of Elizabetta, WCO recruited Italian soprano, Roberta Mantegna, for her U.S. debut; she has sung in leading roles in the major opera houses of Europe and is now beginning a world tour.  Elizabetta is a difficult role to sing and is sought by top sopranos as a showpiece for their skills.  Ms. Montegna has a beautiful tone to her voice that dances around higher octaves effortlessly and sings embellishments flawlessly.  She also acted the part convincingly projecting a vulnerable woman as well as a Queen.  Overall, her performance was quite a special treat for her Washington audience.  Joining her in the other female role in the opera, that of Sara, was Washington favorite, mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong; Ms. DeShong was stunning in WCO’s Maometto II last season, and gave another strong performance as Sara, with beautiful vocals expressing a range of emotions from love for Devereux to affection for her Queen, to fear for her life. 

The men also shone well in this production.  Accomplished tenor Andrew Owens who played Devereux was a recent replacement for the originally announced tenor René Barbera who had to withdraw.  Mr. Owens has a marvelous voice for bel canto roles and sang beautifully.  Regrettably, in his final beautiful, impassioned aria, his voice broke several times as apparently a cough or dry throat could not be completely overcome.  Leaving the stage he indicated through gestures his apology and the audience responded favorably.  Baritone Ricardo José Rivera gave a standout performance as the Duke of Nottingham.  The strength and attractiveness of his voice were equally matched by an ability to convey the emotions sweeping over the Duke. 

Kerry Wilkerson as Sir Walter Raleigh, Daniel O’Hearn as Lord Cecil, Roberta Mantegna as Elizabetta, Conductor Antony Walker, Andrew Owens as Roberto Devereux, and Ricardo José Rivera as the Duke of Nottingham. Photo by Caitlin Oldham; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

The performance was also well served by singers in the supporting roles: Tenor Daniel O’Hearn (a late substitute for Patrick Kilbride) sang the role of Lord Cecil; base-baritone Andrew Yergiyev as a Page; baritone Kerry Wilkerson as Sir Walter Raleigh; and baritone Jose Sacin as a Servant.  Mr. Wilkerson provided one inadvertent comic moment when he reached into his coat pocket to provide the Queen with an incriminating scarf, but pulled out something not approximating a scarf; the audience laughed and even Ms. Mantegna had to smile.  The Washington Concert Opera Chorus, led by David Hanlon, also gave a strong performance.  The ensemble numbers were well served by all the singers, and the ensemble numbers ending acts were quite powerful, bringing strong responses from the audience.

So, in all, just another routine performance by Washington Concert Opera, and I hope never to miss one.

The Fan Experience: Roberto Devereux was performed on December 4 in their usual venue, Lisner Auditorium of George Washington University.  The performance ran three hours with 15-minute intermission between each of three acts; the opera was sung in Italian with super-titles in English. WCO only gives one performance of each of their operas.  Also scheduled for their 2022-2023 season is Giuseppe Verdi’s Nabucco on March 4; the March 4 performance is on a Saturday, not the usual Sunday performance.  Masks are no longer required, but be sure to check what, if any, COVID requirements are in effect on the date of a performance.

Many thanks and wishes for a speedy recovery for Maestro Walker who conducted while recovering from knee surgery just three weeks ago.

Peter Russell, General Director of Vocal Arts DC, presented a pre-opera talk and provided program notes.  Mr. Russell also presented a one-hour lecture on Roberto Devereux 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; be sure to read the signs!  Metro is two blocks away.  WCO has a visitor web page with directions and parking info, helpful in finding nearby parking lots. 

Opera Lafayette’s “In the Salons of Versailles”: Elegant and Sparkling Performances

Opera Lafayette’s first performance of the 2022-2023 season was like visiting the Smithsonian’s precious stones exhibit, each piece dazzled.  On Friday evening in the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater, OL gave their fans a French salon experience performing selections that not one, but two mid-eighteenth-century women salonniéres of influence might have arranged, one who preferred an all-French composer program and one with a love of composers across Europe.  The program for “In the Salons of Versailles”, designed by violinist Jacob Ashworth, featured a renown French soprano and an ensemble of highly regarded early music specialists:

l to r: Jacob Ashworth, June Huang, Justin Jonathan Taylor, Emmanuelle de Negri, Isaiah Chapman, and Serafim Smigelskiy. Photo by Sierra Prasada; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

Artists:

Jacob Ashworth…musical direction & violin

Emmanuelle de Negri…soprano

Justin Jonathan Taylor…harpsichord

June Huang…violin

Isaiah Chapman…violin

Serafim Smigelskiy…cello

Last year, OL began the first of three seasons dedicated to eras associated with French women who exerted an influence on French music and history of the 18th century, with eras of Marie Antoinette, Madame de Pompadour, and Madame Maintenon (see my overview of OL’s 2022-2023 season devoted to the “Era of Madame de Pompadour” at this link).  Approximately half of the Salons’ program were selections that Madame de Pompadour might have made and the other half likely choices of Dauphine Marie-Josèphe de Saxe, also an influential member of the court at Versailles at that time. 

Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour was chief mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, and friend and confidante beyond that.  Though a member of the bourgeoise and not nobility, she came to be useful to the king in some areas of decision making and was awarded her title.  She was an astute politician who used support for the arts to overcome prejudice against her for being a commoner and to increase her influence.  Her love of music was genuine; she was a talented soprano and harpsichordist.  Her co-salonniére for this program, Marie-Josèphe de Saxe, was born into nobility and became Dauphine through an arranged marriage to a son of Louis XV.  She also was a talented harpsichordist.  Whereas M. de Pompadour strictly favored French music, the Dauphine, born in Dresden, pushed the court to be more cosmopolitan in its appreciation and support for music.  Both seemed to have agreed on Rameau’s eminence (I’ll make that three). The distinctions in their preferences was reflected in a controversy of the day called the Guerre des Bouffons, a hotly contested argument over whether French music or Italian music was superior.

The historical background for this production was provided by Opera Lafayette in educational offerings prior to the concert, in a pre-opera talk, and in the online program. The concert itself was straightforward with the performers entering and leaving the stage without introductions or comments. English subtitles were provided on a screen for the vocals.

left photo: Jacob Asworth, Justin, Jonathan Taylor, and Serafim Smigelskiy. right photo: Justin Jonathan Taylor, Jacob Ashworth and June Huang. Photos by Sierra Prasada; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

“In the Salons of Versailles” Program:

Pièces de Clavecin avec voix ou violon, Op. 5 – Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville

            III. Benefac Domine (performers: de Negri, Taylor, Ashworth)

            VII. Quare trusts es, anima mea (de Negri, Taylor)

“Fureur, amour, secondés mon impatience” from Scanderberg – François Rebel and François Francœur (de Negri, Taylor, Smigelskiy)

Pièces de clavecin en concert: Cinquème concert – Jean-Philippe Rameau

I. La Forqueray (Taylor, Ashworth, Huang)

II. La Cupis (Taylor, Ashworth, Huang)

III. La Marais (Taylor, Ashworth, Huang)

Sonata for Harpsichord and Violin, K.6 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Taylor, Ashworth)

“Lascia i fior”: Cantata for Soprano and Continuo – Johann Adolph Hasse (de Negri, Taylor, Smigelskiy)

Sonata for 2 Violins in E Major, Op. No. 12, No. 2 – Jean-Marie Leclair

III. Minuet, non troppo allegro (Ashworth, Huang)

IV. Allegro (Ashworth, Huang)

Concerto for Violin in B-flat major – Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (Ashworth, Huang, Chapman, Smigelskiy, Taylor)

“Loin de nos coeurs les tristes plaints” from Scanderberg – François Rebel and François Francœur (de Negri, Ashworth, Smigelskiy, Taylor)

La Dauphine for Solo Harpsichord - Jean-Philippe Rameau (Taylor)

“Mentre dormi Amor fomenti” from L’Olimpiade – Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (All)

“Sur nos coeurs épuise tes armes” from Zoroastre - Jean-Philippe Rameau (All)

left photo: Isaiah Chapman and Serafim Smigelskiy. right photo: Justin Jonathan Taylor. Photos by Sierra Prasada; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

Opera Lafayette Founder and Artistic Director Ryan Brown has forgone his usual involvement as conductor and violinist this season to remain largely behind the scenes, allowing other creative staff and performers the opportunity to develop their skills in this area.  The selections for “In the Salons of Versailles” were well chosen by Mr. Ashworth; I’m sure Madame de Pompadour and the Dauphine would have approved.  Perhaps because of my life long exposure to cosmopolitan, cross cultural, and multi-generational music, I had trouble seeing what the Guerre Bouffons fuss was all about. The program seemed highly cohesive to me, combining both women’s preferences.

The selection of performers was also outstanding.  The musicians all performed with impressive artistry. Opera Lafayette takes pride in the authenticity of its performances using period instruments.  I had the feeling it was a privilege to hear this group perform.  Special recognition should go to soprano Emmanuelle de Negri.  She seemed supremely confident, at home, and in control of the moment. The lush, beautiful sound of her voice and her extraordinary artistry singing with both emotion and technical skill seemed the perfect fit for this program. 

Overall, Opera Lafayette’s “Salons of Versailles” was a pristine, elegant, and beautiful program that I thoroughly enjoyed.

The Fan Experience:  All of Opera Lafayette’s productions for 2022-2023 will be performed in both Washington, DC (Terrace Theater of the Kennedy Center) and New York City (El Museo del Barrio).  In DC, they will be spread over the entire season and in NYC performed as a festival.

-Washington, DC:

In the Salons of Versailles – December 2

Pergolesi! - February 2

Opéra-ballet - Rameau’s Io and de La Garde’s Léandre et Héro  - May 2,3

-New York City:

Opéra-ballet: Rameau’s Io and de La Garde’s Léandre et Héro - May 9

In the Salons of Versailles - May 10

Pergolesi! - May 11

Christine Adams, co-author of The Creation of the French Royal Mistress: From Agnès Sorel to Madame Du Barry, gave an excellent pre-opera talk on Madame de Pompadour.  She illuminated the talents and achievements of a woman who rose from the bourgeoise to have great political influence in 18th century France. 

A digression for the interested:  I’d like to pose the question of how might a 21st century audience be expected to respond to performances composed and performed with 18th century audiences in mind.  The beauty would come across for both audiences and there would be pleasure for both.  However, the 18th century auditory environment was very different from today’s.  The only music heard in the 18th century was live and the constant noise we hear today (cars, planes, ambulances, etc.) was largely absent then.  It’s likely few suffered from sensory overload in those times; any piece of music heard by them must have seemed more exciting and special when choices were so much more limited.  OL reviewed historical aspects of the salon for attendees separate from the performance for those who took advantage of them (a minority), but 18th century listeners likely had some familiarity with the composers and performers already as well as the language.  They would have had added expectations creating excited anticipation.  The Guerre des Bouffons of that period pitting French versus Italian music would have perhaps made them more excited to attend; something akin to football fans today?  No question that all of last night’s performances were jewels, but they were jewels displayed separate from their settings for most of today’s audience.  No doubt the painting is what is important, but the framing can enhance or distract from its appeal and the likelihood it will convey its message.  Somehow, I have the feeling it lacked the excitement it could have generated presented differently. 

I remember a few years back that Wolf Trap Opera staged the opera L’Opera Seria by including cast members in the audience who behaved like audiences of that day might have behaved; it was great fun and gave me a better appreciation of opera in that day. In 2020, Opera Lafayette converted a French opéra comique to a Colorado comic opera in cowboy english. It might be interesting to see a French salon performed that way. “In the Salons of Versailles” might have knocked the socks off an 18th century audience.  Though flush with enjoyment and appreciation, my socks stayed on; I have to admit my wife said her socks did come off.  I guess that I am just jealous that I can’t hear it the way that someone in the 18th century would have.

Opera Baltimore’s The Turn of the Screw: Ghosts are real, aren’t they?

I woke up pondering an odd question Monday morning: what if ghosts aren’t real?  What are the implications for ghost stories?

Photo of Benjamin Britten in 1968 by Hans Wild. Photo in public domain from Wikipedia. The statue in the background seems relevant to his opera The Turn of the Screw.

I attended Opera Baltimore’s performance Sunday afternoon of Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw.  It is a ghost story based on the eponymous 1898 novella by Henry James.  In addition to this opera, the James’ novella spawned a Broadway play (The Innocents), two films (The Innocents and The Turning), and a recent TV series (The Haunting of Bly Manor).  Over the years, the interpretation of the story by critics has expanded; some say the story is about real ghosts and some say they were imagined by the governess. This report will take the position that the ghosts in the story were real.  After all, I saw and heard them Sunday afternoon in Baltimore.

This was the first production of Opera Baltimore under its new name.  Last season, Baltimore Concert Opera produced its first fully staged opera (The Barber of Seville), and with the intent to continue including fully staged productions in its seasonal lineups, the less restrictive name was chosen.  OB also launched some new community efforts over the summer; a new civic practice division held a festival in the Old West Baltimore area and continued their free outdoor concert series around the city.  Despite the new name, OB’s performance of The Turn of the Screw seemed like old times, a partially staged concert performance in the audacious Engineers Club in the Mt. Vernon area, still one of the best artistic and entertainment values in the mid-Atlantic area.

Colleen Daly as the governess and Norma Shankle in Prologue and as Peter Quint. Photos by Kiirstn Pagan; courtesy of Opera Baltimore.

The storyline for The Turn of the Screw, drawn from the novella by librettist Myfanwy Piper, involves a young governess sent to a country manor to take care of two children, Flora and Miles, whose family has passed; she was hired by their uncle in the city who did not want to take on the responsibility directly, nor to be bothered by reports or requests.  The housekeeper, Mrs. Grose, also helps with the children.  Soon the governess encounters ghosts of the former governess, Mrs. Jessel, and the former manservant, Peter Quint, who had a sexual relationship at the manor while alive, both of whom died under unusual circumstances.  She discovers that these two had unhealthy, perhaps sexual, relationships with the children and now appear to be trying to claim their souls.  Only the governess can see the ghosts, and she takes responsibility for fighting the ghosts for the children.  I won’t reveal the ending, but I must report that the story is about the power of attraction and lost innocence.  Both ghosts quote a line from a poem by Yeats: “The ceremony of innocence is drowned.”  One can certainly imagine that the children had been traumatized without ghosts, and author James never revealed whether the ghosts were real or the creation of the governess’s neuroses; reportedly when asked, he replied, “Assume the worst!”.  I believe the ghosts were real, assuming the worst.

Robin Steitz as Flora, Annie Chester as Mrs. Grose, and Brynn Blair as Miles. Photo by Kiirstn Pagan; courtesy of Opera Baltimore.

Benjamin Britten wrote fifteen operas in a modern opera style, many with troubling stories such as Peter Grimes, The Rape of Lucretia, and Billy Budd; he has been credited with establishing an English opera genre.  My current favorite Britten opera, the charming and delighful A Midsummer Night’s Dream, stands in contradistinction to those.  Musicologists hold Britten’s methodical construction of this opera in high esteem, a signature theme for the ghosts is used in the background before being fully exposed when the ghosts make their statements.  As a listener, I can only say that the music was engaging and supportive of the story.  Including both dissonance and melody, I think of it as beautiful in a sense, but largely unnerving.  The different scenes were connected by musical interludes.  Britten’s music was critical in the storytelling.  Pianist Joy Schreier did her typically excellent job of delivering the accompaniment for OB’s concert productions.  Conductor Michael Sakir keep the singers and music flowing together.  While I enjoyed the accompaniment by Ms. Schreier, Britten wrote this chamber work for a 13-piece orchestra; of course, coloration provided by other instruments is lost, but it keeps the focus on the singing.

OB’s fine cast of singer/actors did well under Caitrin Davies’ direction, in presenting this drama without costumes or a set and with limited moving about.  Soprano Colleen Daly sang well and made for a believable governess.  She has performed in several operas with Baltimore Concert Opera previously; I recently saw her impressive performance in Annapolis Opera’s Into the Woods; she is a talented actress in addition to being a talented singer.  Tenor Norman Shankle was a stalwart in singing in the prologue and as Peter Quint.  Mezzo-soprano Annie Chester was a perfect housekeeper, acting and singing, officious in her duties and protective of the children.  In Sunday’s performance, soprano Denique Isaac made a statement in singing the role of Mrs. Jessel as a substitute for soprano Amanda Sheriff.  I found her singing to be a highlight of the performance; I hope to see her in future OB productions.  The children were also a highlight of the opera and offered some surprises.  The role of Flora was sung with emotion by soprano Robin Steitz, who is young but not a child.  The role of Miles was sung by seventh grader Brynn Blair in what must be one of the youngest pants roles ever.  The purity of her voice and innocence in her singing were perfect, adding an important element to the story.

Colleen Daly as the governess holds a fallen Brynn Blair as Miles. Photo by Kiirstn Pagan; courtesy of Opera Baltimore.

Clearly, something more sinister than just trying to scare us was afoot in this ghost story.  What if ghosts aren’t real and yet Mr. James put them in his story as real?  Then, maybe the purpose of the portrayal of ghosts as characters in dramas and operas gives us momentary deniability, so we don’t turn away when we encounter the dark part of human nature reflected in the ghosts; we see ghosts, not people, rob children of their innocence.  But its troubling even when ghosts do it, very troubling indeed if ghosts aren’t real.  Art causes us to confront the good and the bad in human character.  Tough love.

I have to admire Opera Baltimore’s artistic standards.  For their first opera under the new name, I might have expected them to offer up something pleasant and ingratiating, like Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro or Puccini’s La Bohème.  But no, they went with a modern opera first performed in 1954 built on a 12-note scale (a little dissonance there) and based on one of the most troubling ghost stories of all time.  I jest, but Artistic and General Director Julia Cooke is committed to bringing OB’s audiences a variety of opera genres.  In closing her opening remarks addressing the audience, she wanted to say to enjoy the performance but had to admit that for this opera “enjoy” might not be the right word.  I agree, but it was a very worthwhile artistic and human experience; it was real. 

And it introduced me to an important work I might have missed, and it has whetted my appetite for seeing the fully staged version.  Thank you once more, Opera Baltimore.

The Fan Attraction: The two performances of The Turn of the Screw were given on Friday night and the following Sunday afternoon, in the Engineers Club as is the usual practice of OB.  The Engineers Club in the Garrett-Jacobs Mansion is a palatial, intimate venue for concert opera, well worth a visit on its own.  There was no current COVID requirements for this production.  I typically utilize on street parking close to the Engineers Club for performances, but valet parking is available. The current venue for OB’s fully staged operas is Stephen’s Hall at Towson University.  Ticket prices for OB performances remain a bargain, and be forewarned, performances are typically selling out in the small 200-seat theater of the Engineers Club.  Last year’s fully staged The Barber of Seville was also a sellout; best to get your tickets early for March 23 and 24 when OB presents Verdi’s La Traviata. 

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

For this production, Opera Baltimore offered ticket holders a limited tour of the Garrett-Jacobs Mansion prior to the performance.  Apparently, the guide for the tour when I was there was unavailable, so Artistic and General Director Joyce Cook led the tour.  Of course she did, and now you know one of the main reasons why Opera Baltimore is such a success.

Opera Lafayette’s 2022-2023 Season: Enjoy the History, Relish the Music

Opera Lafayette’s mission is finding neglected opera gems of the 17th-19th centuries and performing them authentically on period instruments; there is an emphasis on French compositions of the 18th century.  If you look closely, you will see that their new season is filled with such treasures.  I say look closely because the works to be performed are offered under the umbrella of a theme this season as last.  As part of the research done to find these gems, OL staff encounters examples of how the history of an era affects the music of that era, and significantly, how music influences history.  For the first time last year, OL officially gave their season a theme, and revealed the themes for the following two years as well.  Last season’s theme was the “Era of Marie Antoinette”, and the works of that era that were presented dealt in part with 18th century land ownership issues and the role of French music in colonialism.  This year’s theme moves a few years back from Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI to the era of Madame de Pompadour and Louis XV, highlighting how music enabled musically talented French women to become influencers in the king’s court and in society beyond.  In my comments below, I report some of the details I learned in a telephone conversation with OL’s Artistic Director, Ryan Brown.  Enjoy the history lessons that will be offered by Opera Lafayette but go for the extraordinarily beautiful music you will hear in musical compositions you have not likely heard before. 

Charles André Van Loo - Madame de Pompadour en belle jardinière - v.1754-1755. Image from Wikipedia is in the public domain.

Opera Lafayette’s 2022-2023 Season, the “Era of Madame Pompadour”:

In the Salons of Versailles (DC: Dec 2/NYC: May 10)

Pergolesi! (DC: Feb 2/NYC: May 11)

Opéra-ballet: Rameau’s Io and de La Garde’s Léandre et Héro (DC: May 2,3/NYC: May 9)

What first caught my eye for this year was the theme, the “Era of Madame de Pompadour”.  I knew little about her beyond that she was famous as a celebrity in French history, and a hair style was named after her that Elvis wore; if you are over 50, you knew that.  I had no idea that she had influenced French music, much less how.  She was officially known as Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour and got her title from doing a swell job as chief mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751.  Chief mistress?  Yep, officially titled maîtresse-en-titre.  As an aside, the king’s unofficial mistresses were known as petit-maîtresses; it must have stung to not only be labeled a consort, but a minor consort.  If we had been a French colony, so much about America might have been different - croissants, not biscuits for example, but I digress. 

So, it turns out that Madame de Pompadour was a more than passable soprano and musician; she played the harpsichord and enjoyed performing as a singer; these talents were enabling for her.  Artistic Director Brown was familiar with her; she had performed in her day in an opera by composers Rebel and Francoeur named Zélindor roi des sylphs which OL performed in 2007.  She also was a strong patron of the arts who wielded a lot of unofficial power because she had the ear of the king; even after her tenure as maîtresse-en-titre, her influence continued.  Her ingratiating musicianship and patronage of the arts helped diffuse some of the grief directed towards her for being a commoner, a serious issue for some of the encrusted members of the court.  Opera Lafayette’s theme is a celebration of the era, and only partially Madame Pompadour.  Her support of the arts helped her gain acceptance and influence, but it was also valuable to the arts.

Logo courtesy of Opera Lafayette

In the Salons of Versailles:

Opera Lafayette leads off this season with “In the Salons of Versailles”.  Invitations to salons in 18th century were coveted.  OL’s program will present French salons as two different salonnières (organizers of the salon) might have organized them.  The salons of that time were one area where women could hold the leadership position.  The first salon will feature a bill of music that Madame de Pompadour might have selected.  Mme. Pompadour was not the only influencer of her day.  Another salonnière in the French court at that time who liked to organize salons in order to extend her favor and influence with the power brokers of the day was the Dauphine Marie-Josèphe de Saxe.  She was an import from Dresden, the daughter of Augustus III of Poland, who had married Louis XV’s son, the Dauphin Louis, a marriage arranged to cement the alliance between France and Saxony; she also played the harpsichord. 

Cast photo from OL’s performance in 2012 of Le Roi et le fermier by Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny; this production included a performance at Opéra Royal de Versailles. Photo by Louis Forget; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

Though both were talented musicians, Dauphine Marie-Josèphe de Saxe and Madame Pompadour were quite different in tastes and background; she was a cosmopolitan from upper crust nobility, and Mme. Pompadour was a French commoner with an unfashionable job.  The program will begin with a Pompadour salon section featuring French composers, whom she favored rather strictly.  Then, we will be presented with a Marie-Josèphe de Saxe salon with works from a multinational cast of composers such as Mozart, Hasse, and Pergolesi.  Near the program’s end, the selections will revert again to Madame de Pompadour.  The recitals will feature renown soprano Emmanuelle de Negri (for a treat and a sampling of her beautiful voice and artistry, click on this link) and will be under the musical direction of violinist Jacob Ashworth directing an ensemble of well-known early music specialists playing the harpsichord (Justin Jonathan Taylor), violin (June Huang), viola (Isaiah Chapman), and cello (Serafim Smigelskiy); the program was designed by Mr. Ashworth. 

During Madame Pompadour’s era, a controversy known as the Guerre des Bouffons was brewing in Paris; the disagreement was over which was superior, French or Italian music.  For OL’s exemplary salons, I don’t think scorecards will be handed out, but you can take mental notes for arguments on the way home.  For me, I suspect it will be a tie; I like ciabatta and croissants.

Pergolesi!

Opera Lafayette’s second production planned this season is titled “Pergolesi!” and will present two compositions by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi; keep in mind that even though Italian, his music was quite the rage and had influence in Paris during Mme. Pompadour’s era.  OL will first present a semi-staged performance of Pergolesi’s hit comedic opera, La serva padrona to be performed in the French version, La Servante maîtresse (The Maid Turned Mistress); in the opera, a trick by a servant woman leads to the discovery of true love.  This 40-minute opera was created to play as an entertainment during the intermission of another opera by Pergolesi but came to be successful on its own.  The opera helped kick off the Guerre des Bouffons when it became a hit after being used in Paris as an intermezzo for the performance of an opera by Lully as well as other performances.  OL’s performance will be sung in French, but it will have a novel feature - Director Nick Olcott has composed rhymed dialog in English meant to better approximate rhymes of the original recitatives in order to recapture the humor for an English-speaking audience.

Personally, I am most excited about the second part of this program, a chance to hear in person Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater performed by Opera Lafayette.  I find this piece extraordinarily beautiful and have listened to recordings of it multiple times every year since discovering it a few years ago.  The concert rendition of Stabat Mater will be conducted by Patrick Dupré Quigley and feature soprano Gwendoline Blondeel and mezzo-soprano Sarah Mesko.  La Servante Maîtresse will have musical direction by Conductor Quigley and feature soprano Hannah De Priest, bass-baritone Jonathan Woody, and tenor Patrick Kilbride.

Opéra-ballet: Rameau’s Io and de La Garde’s Léandre et Héro

The third OL production for this season will be two fully-staged actes des ballets, one-act operas that include divertissements with dancing and choruses at the end.  The first will be a world premiere of the famous French composer Jean Phillipe Rameau’s Io.  Rameau was a favorite of both Madame Pompadour and Marie-Josèphe de Saxe.  This opera was unfinished by Rameau, as he set it aside to work on his opera Platée, his most famous comedy, and it has never been performed.  Both plots deal with Jupiter’s philandering and Juno’s jealously and create the character of Folly (La Folie).  Musicologist Sylvie Bouissou, who has written a biography of Rameau, completed this work with similar plotlines, principally by adding dancing and a chorus at the end taken from Platée. 

Madame de Pompadour had an opera theater, the Théâtre des Petits Cabinets, constructed at Versailles early in her reign as chief mistress, where she frequently performed.  The second opéra-ballet will be composer Pierre de la Garde’s Léandre et Héro.  The composer taught music to Louis LXV, and this is an opera that Madame Pompadour played the lead in when performed at court.  Both operas will be conducted by harpsichordist Avi Stein, with stage direction by Nick Olcott, and will have lead roles played by soprano Emmanuelle de Negri and tenor Maxime Melnik, his in American debut.  The New York Baroque Dance Company and the Sean Curran Dance Company will both be performing in Léandre et Héro, and the Sean Curran Company will perform in Io.

Photo of Artistic Director, Conductor, and Violinist Ryan Brown. Photo courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

In concluding, let me ask if you have been aware of an apparent glaring omission thus far.  Opera Lafayette’s Artistic Director and founder, Ryan Brown typically conducts these performances and most often is also featured as a violinist.  For this season, he has chosen to remain on the sidelines to give additional leaders and conductors opportunities to gain experience and continue this work, perhaps also a concession to the COVID pandemic which limited opportunities for so many, with audiences still down over pre-pandemic levels.  He also pointed out that Opera Lafayette has recently added three Artistic Associates: Jacob Ashworth who put together the opening recital for this season; Jonathan Woody who sings in La Servante Maîtresse and also organized the choruses for the operas to be performed in the Spring; and Columbia University musicologist, Julia Doe, who now is overseeing OL’s educational programs.

I hope this overview of Opera Lafayette’s 2022-2023 season has been helpful, but personally, I don’t need to know what’s playing when Opera Lafayette is performing.  I just go, knowing that it will be played with the wholesomeness of authenticity and that I’m going to enjoy it.  This has been true since I attended my first performance by Opera Lafayette over five years ago.  Heck, if you don’t like Opera Lafayette performances, you don’t like ice cream (or sorbet). 

The Fan Experience: All of Opera Lafayette’s productions for 2022-2023 will be performed in both Washington, DC (Terrace Theater of the Kennedy Center) and New York City (El Museo del Barrio).  In DC, they will be spread over the entire season and in NYC performed as a festival.

Washington, DC:

In the Salons of Versailles – December 2

Pergolesi! - February 2

Opéra-ballet - Rameau’s Io and de La Garde’s Léandre et Héro  - May 2,3

New York City:

Opéra-ballet: Rameau’s Io and de La Garde’s Léandre et Héro - May 9

In the Salons of Versailles - May 10

Pergolesi! - May 11

I have not attended an OL performance in NYC, but my experience attending performances at the Kennedy Center is that they sometimes sell out; best to purchase tickets early to have the better choice of seating.  OL’s next season will also be themed based, covering the “The Era of Madame de Maintenon” in 2023-2024. 

Virginia Opera’s Pirates of Penzance: Charming and Fun from Before the Beginning

The stage was set for The Pirates of Penzance before the curtains opened.  Have a look at the photo below of the stage before the beginning of the opera.  The colorful frame around the Mason Center for the Arts stage put me in a good mood before I sat down.  Then as the Virginia Symphony Orchestra began the overture led by VO’s Conductor and Artistic Director Adam Turner, the lights in the frame began to change, reminding me of old-time nickelodeons, signaling we were returning to the fun of days gone by.  The Pirates of Penzance premiered in New York in 1879, but while being dated, in Virginia Opera’s hands it remained charming, funny, and fun from beginning to end.  This production is a gem.

Photo of stage at the Mason Center for the Arts at George Mason University. Photo by author, posted with permission from Virginia and Mason Center for the Arts.

A short plot summary (with as few spoilers as I can make): Young Frederic was indentured to a band of pirates from childhood by his nanny who remains by his side.  It is his 21st birthday which frees him of his obligation to the pirates.  Now, his overarching commitment to duty requires that he become their enemy.  Leaving his nanny behind, he is set ashore on an island and is looking for a young woman to marry.  He finds Mabel among a host of her young sisters in a deserted spot.  Then, they are accosted by the band of pirates who are now his enemy.  The sisters call on their father, a major general, to save them, which he does by fabricating a lie.  The major general, an honorable man, feels guilty about his deception, and his lie is discovered.  Frederic and a band of policeman plan to attack the pirates, but the pirates learn of the plan and will attack first. Subsequently, Frederic finds his contract has not run out and must rejoin the pirates and leave Mabel to wait for him.  As mayhem is about to break out, all are reminded of their common cause and all ends happily.  Yes, that is a boring summary, but as you learn the details, you will laugh out loud, I promise.  Like how Frederic became a pirate – his parents told the nanny they wanted him to become a pilot, but she claims she misheard them, believing they said a pirate, and the zaniness increases from there.

Martin Bakari as Frederic and Amy Owens as Mabel. Photo by Dave Pearson Photography; courtesy of Virginia Opera.

The Pirates of Penzance was the 5th operetta (or light opera) of fourteen by composer Arthur Sullivan and librettist W. S. Gilbert.  Their works were enormously popular from the mid 19th to the mid 20th centuries, and many are still performed today, especially Pirates and The Mikado.  A 1981 Broadway production of Pirates ran for almost 800 performances and a film version in 1983 was quite popular, still available via streaming services.  These two men with very different personalities, who were often at odds with each other, managed to blend Sullivan’s extraordinary musicality with Gilbert’s extraordinary wit and gift for satire into something new, a British genre of opera called operetta.  Their work was a forerunner of American musicals.  Both were knighted in England; interestingly Sullivan twenty-four years before Gilbert.  One might guess satire makes enemies.

There was a serious side to Gilbert’s comedic barbs; this was a permissible way for Victorian society to mock itself during a period of great societal change.  Not that the satire of Pirates no longer applies to today.  The famous modern, major general in Pirates knows everything except what a general ought to know; the policeman would rather not engage the criminals; there are honest pirates and then there are those pirates that present themselves as something else; and perhaps most important in Pirates, a slavish devotion to duty can lead you astray.  The full title of the opera is The Pirates of Penzance, or The Slave of Duty.  But don’t worry, the tuneful music and the zany comedy make it all enjoyable today as it did back then.

Aubrey Allicock (center) as The Pirate King amid his band of pirates. hoto by Dave Pearson Photography; courtesy of Virginia Opera.

Humor is a serious business: you must play to your audience and the timing in delivering the jokes must be quick and spot on, even more difficult in opera where legato rules. The jokes can become problematic when passed down to future generations with a different frame of reference.  To get a fuller recognition of the humor in Pirates and gain a better appreciation of the spirit of the times, I strongly recommend the excellent lecture by Joshua Borths, VO’s scholar in residence, given both as the pre-opera talk and in a “Let’s Talk About Opera” video on Youtube.  For example, you will learn that the title The Pirates of Penzance is itself humorous: Penzance was a seaside resort in England at the time, so the title is like calling it The Pirates of Disneyland.  You will have to go with the flow in abiding Victorian society’s treatment of women.  Mr. Borths also takes on explaining where operetta fits among similar genres, i.e., opera comique, singspiel, opera buffa, and opera comique among others.  You will learn interesting anecdotes such as Gilbert’s kidnapping as a child.  From the lecture, you will also learn more about Sullivan’s talent for opera and how he uses that humorously to make fun of opera in this operetta.  Virginia Opera adds to the currency of the humor with a few additions of its own, such as an amusing reference to COVID.

Virginia Opera has assembled a talented and ingratiating cast for this production.  At the performance I attended, the audience was clearly stoked for a good Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, and VO’s cast delivered the goods; the audience singer/actor connection was very strong.  Tenor Martin Bakari made a natural Frederic, committed to duty but not officious, a tender young man longing for love.  Mabel, the object of his affections was played to perfection by soprano Amy Owens.  Her beautiful light, lilting voice and vocal agility added the right touch of humor in spoofing Mr. Verdi and Mr. Puccini.  Bass-baritone Aubrey Allicock was a good-natured Pirate King, and Bass Jeremy Harr was hilarious with his staccato movements and singing.  Baritone Troy Cook as Major-General Stanley delivered in satisfying fashion the work’s best known song – “I am the very model of a modern major-general”.  Mezzo-soprano Lucy Schaufer, who played Ruth, the nanny, sang well and had a deft comic touch.  The supporting cast of pirate Kyle White, and sisters, Katherine Sanford, Taylor-Alexis DuPont, and Kaileigh Riess added admirably to the performance.

Troy Cook (left) as Major-General Stanley and ensemble. hoto by Dave Pearson Photography; courtesy of Virginia Opera.

Kyle Lang deserves special kudos for his taut direction and splendid choreography of the performance.  As I have said before, comedy especially in opera is difficult.  This production was genuinely funny.  The sustained undercurrent of humor erupted frequently into the laugh out loud type.  Director Lang made it all work with the assistance of Driscoll Otto for lighting design and James P. McGough for wigs and make up.  The period costumes previously designed by James Schuette were a boon to the performance.

Mr. Sullivan’s playful music is complex, displaying elements from several sources, bel canto operas, hymns, and popular songs.  It contains double choruses singing at the same time.  The music was beautifully played with spirit by the Virginia Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Turner’s direction.  Choral direction was by Associate Conductor Brandon Eldredge.  The performance is filled with many delightful and often amusing songs and music you might put on just to listen to, sometimes containing familiar themes found in later songs. 

Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Gilbert were gifted, as evidenced by how their operas still bring in audiences today.  Virginia Opera’s performance of The Pirates of Penzance in Fairfax was both an homage to them and a gem of its own, all very proper I assure you.

 The Fan Experience: Performances of The Pirates of Penzance was scheduled for performances in Norfolk on November 4, 5, 6; in Fairfax on November 12, 13; and in Richmond on November 18, 20.  The opera has two acts and is sung in English with supertitles in English shown on an overhead screen, spoken dialog not shown on the screen.  There was a refreshments bar on the entrance level during the intermission between acts.  Masking and proof of vaccinations were not required for the audience. 

Again, I highly recommend the outstanding pre-opera talk on The Pirates of Penzance, given by Joshua Borths, Virginia Opera’s scholar in residence, which starts 45 minutes before the beginning of the opera. Get there early to get a good seat. If you can’t make a performance but want to know more about the opera, Mr. Borths covers the same material and more in his “Let’s Talk Opera” lecture available at this link. 

Maryland Lyric Opera’s Un Ballo in Maschera: A Home Run

Maryland Lyric Opera is having a season of Verdi.  What a pleasure that the less often performed Un Ballo in Maschera (1859) was chosen for their next Verdi opera instead of the enormously popular La Traviata or Rigoletto or Aida.  Of course, I would have attended any of those, but I had not seen Un Ballo before, and it speaks well of MDLO’s commitment to providing performances of a variety of classic operas to its community.  In Verdi’s case, they have an array of operas to choose from.  He wrote 28, and at least half remain in today’s opera repertoire.  This one was Verdi’s 23rd, so an opera by a mature Verdi.  MDLO opened their 2022-2023 season with his Macbeth back in September, and more Verdi operas are planned for the coming year, including Falstaff on January 20 and 22.

l to r: Aleksey Bogdanov as Renato, Indira Mahajan as Amelia, and Arturo Chacón-Cruz as Riccardo in Un Ballo in Maschera. Photo by Julian Thomas Photography; courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.

Giuseppe Verdi led an extraordinary life, and his Un Ballo in Maschera had a difficult path to the stage.  Verdi was familiar with tragedy; in a span of two years his first wife and his two children died.  He enjoyed enormous fame as perhaps the leading opera composer of his time, acquired substantial wealth, and became a popular figure in Italy’s Risorgimento, a movement to unify all of Italy.  His Un Ballo was shaped (or perhaps ‘deformed’ is a better word) by censors.  The libretto by Antonio Somma was based on a previous opera that dealt with the assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden.  Censors found this too sensitive a topic for their day, with revolutions ongoing and other assassination attempts being made.  Somma became so frustrated that he initially refused to allow his name on the final libretto.  I gather that over the two years of development, the setting changed from Sweden to Poland and finally to Boston, with the opera’s name changing and the method by which the ruler is dispatched changing as transformations were required.  Today, different versions are frequently performed.  Since this was a concert version of Un Ballo, I can only say that it appeared that MDLO chose Boston and definitely had the Count shot.

Frankly, after reading a synopsis of the opera, my hopes for a great opera went down.  The Count is under threat of assassination and is in love with Amelia who is married to his friend Renato who is his secretary.  Amelia has also fallen in love with the Count but is pure-hearted and wants to expunge this love.  They are both very adult about this, but Renato when he finds out is not.  Ulrica, a gypsy woman fortune teller who worships Satan (Romani women stereotyped again), tells the Count he will be killed by the next person to shake his hand, and she tells Amelia to look in the graveyard by the gallows at night to find a plant that will cure her of this love; Riccardo overhears and plans to meet her to confront her with his love.  Renato appears to warn Riccardo again about plots.  He is instructed to escort the woman back to the city but not ask her anything; she has veiled her face, but the veil drops.  It gets even more contrived.  Yet…and yet, this cast and Verdi’s music made it work, turned the story into a gripping drama, and caused me to care about the characters. This achievement was made all the more amazing given that this was a partially staged, concert version of the opera without a set or period costumes.  Conclusion: Verdi never lost his touch as a superior dramatist; he saw the possibilities to communicate the human condition that I did not.  Bravi!

Arturo Chacón-Cruz as Riccardo and Indira Mahajan as Amelia. Photos by Julian Thomas Photography; courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.

A couple of interesting historical notes: the great American contralto, Marian Anderson, made her first and only appearance at the Metropolitan Opera in 1955 as the fortune teller Ulrica; she was the first black singer to appear at the Met (founded in 1883).  And eerily, it is thought that the first opera attended by President Abraham Lincoln was Un Ballo; he attended a total of 30 before his assassination.

This talented and accomplished cast was simply fabulous acting and singing, making all the characters believably human.  Mexican superstar tenor Arturo Chacón-Cruz played Riccardo with such warmth and tenderness that we loved him, even though he was so idealistic that he refused to take safeguards and then pardoned all who plotted against him.  Mr. Chacón-Cruz has a beautifully burnished tenor voice and sang impressively all evening.  International opera star and former Marian Anderson Award winner, soprano Indira Mahajan played Amelia.  At first, I regretted she didn’t seem to want to show off her lovely voice with added trills and flourishes, but I was soon endeared with the emotionalism of her singing as she began to tear my heart out.  Their duets and ensemble numbers also drew me into their characters.  I thought baritone Aleksey Bogdanov as Renato sang brusquely in a low register in his initial vocals, but his voice mellowed out and was extraordinarily beautiful in his aria bemoaning his discovery of his wife’s affection for the Count.

Aleksey Bogdanov as Renato and Daryl Freedman as Ulrica. Photos by Julian Thomas Photography; courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.

Mezzo-soprano Daryl Freedman who played Ulrica is a graduate of the Cafritz Young Artists program of Washington National Opera.  She has recently made a reputation for herself singing Wagner with the Virginia Opera and the Metropolitan Opera.  This young singer has a voice that will immediately make you sit up and take notice, and Ulrica is a drama queen – a perfect match.  Her acting and passionate singing breathed the necessary fire into Ulrica.  Another scene stealer in the performance was Spanish soprano Aitana Sanz as Oscar, who is Riccardo’s page, a pants role; this was her American debut.  This young soubrette had an ingratiating presence and sang beautifully; her aria defending the fortune teller was a delight.  She seemed to play to the audience and the audience responded most favorably.  Rounding out the cast effectively in supporting roles was bass-baritone Michael Pitocchi as Samuel, bass-baritone Adam Cioffari as Tom, baritone Javier Arrey as Silvano, and tenor Mauricio Miranda as a judge and servant.

left photo: Aitana Sanz as Oscar. right photo: Arturo Chacón-Cruz as Riccardo at the masked ball. Photos by Julian Thomas Photography; courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.

One of the stars of this performance was Verdi’s music.  MDLO presents the music in Strathmore’s Music Center as well as you are likely to hear opera performed, by using a full orchestra on stage (75 members) and a full chorus (72 members) in the balconies around the stage.  Both are typically excellent, providing a lush, sonic experience not often rivaled by opera house productions.  The guest conductor for Un Ballo was Italian conductor Andrea Licata who has conducted in opera houses across the globe and is well known locally for many performances in Baltimore.  I had the impression there was tight control between the music and the singers and Verdi’s music was delivered beautifully.  A few times the softer voice singers had difficulty overcoming the volume of sound from the orchestra in this setting. The dramatic enhancement of the story telling by music in this production was striking.  Gloriously melodic in nature, the music provided some lighter moments to the opera, contrasting with the words which I felt lacked amusement due to the ultimately dark nature of the plot.  Husan Park who served as the conductor of the off stage banda also led the chorus as they gave an impressive performance.  Truly, this cast and the music made magic happen in bringing the story to life.

The partial staging of this performance, directed by Visual Supervisor David Gately, was also a star of this production in a supporting role.  The placement and movement added to the storytelling’s grip.  The storytelling was also enhanced by stage lighting by Stuart Duke and image projections on a screen overhead by Sarah Tundermann.  The images were selected from a deck of Tarot cards from 1909 intended to convey the power of fate and destiny on the characters.  Different cards were used to represent a character’s motivations or traits in a scene.  I thought the images helped add an unworldly atmosphere hovering over the action.

The Maryland Lyric Orchestra on stage and the Maryland Lyric Opera Chorus in the balconies behind with singers onstage including (l to r) Michael Pitocchi as Samuel, Adam Cioffari as Tom, Aleksey Bogdanov as Renato, Conductor Andrea Licata, Aitana Sanz as Oscar, Arturo Chacón-Cruz as Riccardo, and Daryl Freedman as Ulrica. Photo by Julian Thomas Photography; courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.

According to Merriam Webster, the second definition of “home run” is “an impressive success”.  Yep, MDLO’s Un Ballo in Maschero was a home run.  In fact, I am adding it to my top ten list of opera performances that I have seen, which includes at least one other MDLO production.  Maryland Lyric Opera continues to bring world class classic opera to the Maryland suburban community.

The Fan Experience: Un Ballo in Maschera was performed on November 11 and 13 in the Strathmore Music Center.  Stay tuned, MDLO will soon open ticketing for the performance of Verdi’s Falstaff on January 20 and 22.  Mark your calendars.

The concert hall is a beautiful structure that has outstanding acoustics for concert performances.  For those of us whose vision is not the best, having the images and the English subtitles on separate screens would be welcomed. 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.  Cafeteria style food is offered again as pandemic restrictions have been limited, and there is a cash bar on lower level.

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 with a student ID. 

Washington National Opera’s Elektra: Nothing to Be Afraid Of

Opera aficionados seem to love Richard Strauss’ opera, Elektra (1909), but my perception is that a sizable segment of opera fans shy away, instead waiting for the next production of La Bohème or La Traviata.  Not having seen Elektra before, I was among the apprehensive ones.  If you have also been hesitant to attend this opera, relax; I can report that Elektra is an enjoyable opera, and Washington National Opera’s performance is an excellent show.  In fact, there is much to commend it.  I even considered going with “Triumphant” in the title of this report.  I should explain.  Let me speak to the reluctant fans.

Christine Goerke as Elektra. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

First, a brief synopsis of Elektra:  King Agamemnon has been slain by his wife Klytämnestra and her lover Aegisth; they marry and Aegisth becomes King.  Orest, son of Agamemnon and Klytämnestra, has been sent away to avoid retribution.  Their daughters, Elektra and Chrysothemis, remain under guard in the palace, though they can move about.  Chrysothemis wants to move past all this and longs to get married and have children.  Elektra stews in her rage, obsessed with planning for revenge, committed to the killing of her mother and stepfather.  Orest, rumored to be dead, sneaks back into the palace and carries out Elektra’s wishes, making himself King, and Elektra dances into a mad frenzy until she collapses on the floor, presumably dead.  Author Hugo von Hofmannsthal adapted the libretto from his successful play Elektra, which was based on the Greek tragedy by Sophocles.  One likely reason for Elektra’s only moderate succes with audiences is that it lacks a central love story. Instead, we are presented with a woman in pain, severe distress, and a theme of revenge, our need to right wrongs, to seek justice, and to strike back when hurt… and the damage it causes. A cautionary note - I knew the story from Greek history and literature and expected the opera version to be violent and bloody.  However, I found it to be not any more so than your average modern detective movie, or your average opera for that matter, and much less graphic than movies. 

Christine Goerke (left) as Elektra and Sara Jakubiak (right) as Chrysothemis. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

Elektra’s stature in the opera canon made me want to attend, but I had read reviews that worried me, despite all the praise it receives.  What had caused me the most anxiety about attending this opera were the words avant-garde, dissonance, chromaticism, and polytonality that were used in many reviews in regard to Elektra’s music.  After all, this is a twentieth century opera; composers were trying out new forms of music in that period, not always well received by a significant portion of classical music fans.  I guess I’m still in my early stage of music appreciation; I want to hear music that is pleasing to the ear, at least for the most part, and I was worried about Elektra.  When his Salomé came out a few years earlier, Strauss was called avant-garde, and Elektra was said to use dissonance (weird sounding), chromaticism (use of notes foreign to the scale the work is composed in) and polytonality (different instruments playing the same tune in different keys at the same time).  Here is the pleasantly surprising deal with Elektra: it all works, and I really, really liked the music.  It was enjoyable throughout.  Any dissonance fit perfectly with the action on stage, and I found the music to be sometimes melodic and always engaging and powerful, rather terrific.  I think I can guarantee that you won’t be bored; at the very least, the violent eruptions of the percussion section will wake you up.  Strauss’ music played by the WNO Orchestra under the baton of Evan Rogister slayed my fears; the music was triumphant.

Katarina Dalayman (center) as Klytämnestra. with Alexandria Shiner as Trainbearer (left) and Alexandra Loutsion as Klytämnestra’s confidante. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

Other than its stellar reputation, another thing that had drawn me to this opera was its appeal to great dramatic sopranos.  They all seem to want to sing it despite the demands it makes on a voice and the soprano’s stamina, not to mention requisite superior acting abilities.  The actress must almost constantly display extreme emotions of hatred, fear, anguish, and lust for revenge, while being the center of attention on stage for almost the entire one hundred minutes of the performance; Elektra has been facetiously referred to in the past as a “soprano breaker”.  WNO selected a Washington favorite for this role, soprano Christine Goerke, one of today’s leading dramatic sopranos.  Ms. Goerke has sung many times at the Metropolitan Opera and other leading opera houses, including this role for the San Francisco Opera in 2017.  I saw her outstanding Turandot a few years back at the Met.  She received early training with Wolf Trap Opera, and she has sung the roles of Isolde and Brunnhilda previously with WNO.  On Saturday night, she was smoking, in excellent form communicating Elektra’s anguish and rage with her singing and acting.  Is there a word that means music and singing combined?  If so, there is your reason to attend WNO’s Elektra.  And there’s more.

Ryan Speedo Green as Orest. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

The cast around Ms. Goerke was also excellent.  I was particularly taken with soprano Sara Jakubiak who played Chrysothemis.  She has a beautiful voice and her acting presented an excellent counterpoint to Ms. Goerke’s Elektra.  Renown soprano Katarina Dalayman sang the role of Klytämnestra with depth in her acting and singing; she gave us a compelling murderess who was coming apart and needing the support of her daughters.  Base baritone Ryan Speedo Green gave WNO audiences another excellent performance, this time as Orest, portrayed as a strong, virile, action-oriented young man.  Tenor Štefan Margita was compelling in his brief appearance as King Aegisth, making the king an interesting character.  The singers in supporting roles embellished the performance.  The duets in this production were among the opera’s most touching and enjoyable aspects, especially with Elektra and Chrysothemis playing off each other’s character and with Elektra and Orest showing genuine familial love.

Štephan Margita as King Aegisth and Christine Goerke as Elektra. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

The staging for this opera also worked, a back-to-back success in that regard with WNO’s Il Trovatore; running concurrently, it also has a theme of revenge, but includes a compelling love story.  WNO’s Artistic Director Francesca Zambello directs Elektra with polish and symbolism.  The set by Erhard Rohm included columns on two sides of the palace courtyard, one broken in half and bearing Agamemnon’s name.  A balcony ran across the back of the stage with openings that allowed the characters to be seen moving back and forth while hiding the bloody aspects of the violence.  Overall, the set and its lighting (thanks to Mark McCullough) achieved a pleasing artistic effect.  The costumes by Bibhu Mohapatra were spectacular in color and design which gave a contrasting effect with the dark nature of the plot, but I guess in real life murderers don’t dress in dark hues to reflect the fact that they are sinister.  Chrysothemis’ blue evening gown would have befitted Cinderella at the Ball.  Only Elektra was clothed in drab grey.  There were a couple of minor glitches which I assume will be corrected in subsequent performances.  Overall, the elements of the staging, lighting, and costumes added to the believability of the story and provided some welcome lightness while a heavy drama was presented effectively.

Although I enjoyed Elektra as an artistic experience and superior entertainment, the story does give one pause; it addresses an important and disturbing theme.  The plot of Elektra is presented in Greek tragedy as predetermined by human nature (or the gods), encapsulated in the phrase ‘blood calls for blood’, something we are expected to recognize (and accept as our ancestors did?).  After all, do you think that Dr. Phil could have found a non-violent resolution for this family.  I don’t accept violence as the only way out and prefer culture and our system of laws for resolutions.  At the same time, I cannot deny that forfeiture of the lives of Klytämnestra and Aegisth felt right.  But then, where does it end?  Ms. Zambello in her Director’s Note says, “Even today, we see the same tragic cycle play out, again and again.  Can we ever see clearly enough to break free?”.  Well, if not, I think we are going to have to keep going to see Elektra until we get it right.  Hmmm.  Did I just say above that there is nothing to be afraid of?

The Fan Experience: Performances of Elektra are scheduled for October 29. 31, November 4, 6, 9, and 12; tickets for remaining performances can be purchased through this link.  The opera is sung in German with supertitles in English shown on a screen above the stage.  Parking in the Kennedy Center is typically plentiful at around $25 per day, with a small discount for Kennedy Center members when reserved ahead of the day.  The Metro to Foggy Bottom and the free Red Kennedy Center buses from there to the Kennedy Center 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, neither masking nor proof of vaccination was required. 

If you arrive early enough, check out Kennedy Center’s new permanent exhibit “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.

Washington National Opera’s Il Trovatore: the Exotic Pleasure of Empathy

Oh, how we love to empathize and sympathize with romantic heroes and villains spilling their guts, literally and figuratively, upon the opera stage while listening to world class singing and some of the most beautiful music in the world.  A Romani woman, wrongly accused of being a witch, burned at the stake, an innocent child thrown into the fire, one lover takes poison to avoid being possessed by a man she does not love, and another is beheaded at the command of his brother.  In other words, just another day at the opera.  Verdi strikes again in this engrossing tale, a cornucopia of tragedy, well done by Washington National Opera in a performance that builds from beginning to end.  This is the classic Italian opera that we crave.  Go see WNO’s Il trovatore.  Unless you are an opera curmudgeon focusing on its minor flaws, you won’t be disappointed; this is one to simply be enjoyed.  And what a pleasure it is to go to an opera and have it all work, a well-done artistic experience coupled with a very cool night’s entertainment!  Oh Leonora, Manrico, Azucena, and Count di Luna, I feel your pain…so deliciously. 

Latonia Moore as Leonora and Gwyn Hughes Jones as Manrico in Washington National Opera’s Il trovatore. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

The story of Il trovatore (The Troubadour, 1853) was taken from a play, El trovador (1836), by Spanish playwright Antonio Garcia Gutiérrez.  The opera was an immediate success and has remained in the repertoire to present day; the play lifted its author from obscurity to become a celebrated playwright.  Why such success for a plot that has been criticized for stretching credulity too far?  The characters are human archetypes exploring the very human question of which will prevail between love, jealousy, and revenge.  Washington National Opera has placed the action in its intended period and place, fifteenth century Spain, but these emotions and forces play out everywhere in every time period.  Mr. Gutiérrez managed to use them to weave together an engaging story of a wrongful execution with a love story that features a jolt at the end. 

Raehann Bryce-Davis as Azucena and Christopher Maltman as Count di Luna. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

Giuseppe Verdi, the leading opera composer in Italy at the time, worked with his librettist Salvadore Cammarano, with help after his death from the young librettist Leone Emanuele Bardare.  Together they bring the story vividly to life in an opera format; transforming prose to poetry that works with music is challenging.  And of course, Verdi created more of his beautiful, highly melodic music to participate in telling the tale.  The composer also used his uncanny sense of what works in opera to adjust the plot, such as increasing Leonora’s role while keeping a focus on Azucena, balancing the female roles similar to the balance between the male principals. 

Verdi operas are usually divided into three periods, based on changes in their sophistication.  The composer had just entered his second period with the premiere of his great Rigoletto in 1851; then, Il trovatore premiered in January 1853 and shortly thereafter, in March 1853 he premiered his summa cum laude, La Traviata.  Rigoletto is about dad’s suffering, while Il trovatore is about mom’s; an interesting progression for Verdi.  Musicologists suggest that Il trovatore was the summation of all that Verdi had learned about writing opera in his first period, while La Traviata represented a hyper jump into a new realm for the maestro.

Ryan Speedo Green as Ferrando. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

WNO cast the four principal roles in Il trovatore with a bevy of highly accomplished singers, all of whom have starred on the top stages in the U.S. and Europe.  Tenor Gwyn Hughes Jones played rebel commander Manrico who was raised by Azucena, the daughter of the Romani woman burned at the stake, and who was in love with Leonora.  Leonora was played by soprano Latonia Moore, a noblewoman of the court who rejected another suitor, Count di Luna.  The Count, compelled by jealousy to eliminate his rival Manrico, was played by baritone Christopher Maltman.  Azucena, who mothered Manrico and sought revenge against the Count for the killing of her mother, was played by mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis.  The supporting role of Ferrando, the Count’s first officer, was played by bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green.  Mr. Jones gave a highly professional performance as Manrico, with some scrumptious arias.  Ms. Moore, our Leonora, showed bright coloratura passages throughout; though a few phrases seemed broken off early, she sang with convincing emotionality building throughout the performance.  Mr. Maltman was steady and assured in his performance as the authoritative Count.  The standout performance was, as it should be, by the performer who played Azucena, and Ms. Bryce-Davis fit the role perfectly, bringing added drama with engrossing singing to every scene she was in.  Mr. Green as Ferrando set a high standard for the rest of the cast, and soprano Amber Monroe, as Leonara’s confidant, added to the excellence.  All sang beautifully in their showcase arias, but I thought it was in duets and trios that the most affecting singing was delivered.  Most compelling were duets between Manrico and Azucena, especially the scene where Azucena reveals her mother’s story.  Kudos to Verdi and kudos to the excellent cast.

The Washington National Opera Orchestra, under the direction of guest Conductor Michele Gamba, delivered Verdi’s score the way I hope to hear Verdi music played.  The famous “Anvil Chorus” could have used a little less anvil for my tastes (actually swords clanking together in this case; above WNO video), but the music sounded beautiful and right on target throughout.  Speaking of the chorus, the WNO Chorus, under Chorus Master Steven Gathman, was an important element of this opera, and as always, this ensemble’s singing was a special joy.

Director Brenna Corner devised an excellent presentation of complicated scenarios, keeping the action moving appropriately through four acts and eight scenes.  Scenes often had shifts in time and place; comments in script displayed on screens, as though missive entries, were used effectively to connect the scenes.  Costumes by Martin Pakledinaz from WNO’s 2004 production were excellent in representing time and place and made most characters look beautifully dressed; poor Azucena, dressed in sack cloth.  The set design and lighting were clever, if simple, and were used effectively to center the action.  An exciting new element was the use of shadows on screens to convey a visual of what the characters were describing on stage. 

In his book, “The Impossible Art”, Matthew Aucoin makes the point that directors must make suffering pleasurable without going too far, all the way into exploitation. In this production, the use of panels in angular geometric designs, prettily lit, added an interesting dimension to this staging.  Typically, directors use dark elements to portray this opera with dark story lines.  Set designer Erhard Rom, Projection Designer S. Katy Tucker, and Lighting Designer A. J. Guban used beautiful colors and designs to add to our pleasure in all that sorrow.  It worked for me.  I don’t know when I have enjoyed tragedy so much.  The secret revealed at the end, punctuated with special effects, provided just the capping needed for a delightful evening. 

Overall, the music was well played, the singing impressive, and the staging was effective.  However, one additional element needs mentioning.  This was a presentation where the singing and music had a cumulative effect that began to take over at the end of Act III, beginning with Mr. Jones’ beautifully rendered “Di quella pira” (above WNO video) and continued at the beginning of Act IV’s Aria e Miserere scene with Ms. Moore’s heart wrenching vocals, all the way to the finale’s fabulous ensemble singing.  The performance achieved transcendence at the end, such that the music and singing were all that mattered.  Bravi!

The Fan Experience: Performances of Il trovatare are scheduled for October 22. 28, 30, November 2, 5, and 7; tickets for remaining performances can be purchased through this link..  The opera is sung in Italian with supertitles in English shown on a screen above the stage.  Parking in the Kennedy Center is typically plentiful at around $25 per day, with a small discount for Kennedy Center members.  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, neither masking nor proof of vaccination was required.

Virginia Opera’s The Valkyrie: Great Opera and Singing, Uneven Staging

Virginia Opera opened its 2022-2023 season with The Valkyrie (Die Walküre), the second opera in Richard Wagner’s monumental The Ring of the Nibelung (Der Ring des Nibelungen).  VO took a bold step to bring live opera to its fans during last fall’s COVID-restricted period.  They presented a shortened version of The Rhinegold (Das Rheingold), the first opera in the Ring Cycle, at Topgolf facilities in Norfolk and Richmond; these are open air facilities that met COVID restrictions in place at the time.  VO normally presents their productions in theaters in Norfolk, Fairfax, and Richmond on consecutive weekends, but Fairfax does not have a Topgolf.  Audiences, including myself, responded enthusiastically and appreciatively to their herculean efforts.  Virginia Opera plans to present all four episodes of the Ring Cycle over a four-year span.  The Valkyrie is a strong thumbs up for attending, and Virginia Opera’s production has much to recommend it, though uneven staging can at times be a distraction.

The stories in the Ring Cycle are based on Norse mythology that features gods on high and demons and magic in the underworld, with humankind in the middle.  Wagner, who wrote the librettos as well as composing the music, used the stories to examine and express his world view of the condition of man, a view which evolved over the 28 years he took to create the entire set of operas, thus the stories are intricate and multilayered with profound meaning at every turn.  Joshua Borths, Virginia Opera’s scholar in residence, gave an outstanding pre-opera talk on The Valkyrie in which he argues that the central scenario in this opera confronts audience members with their feelings about a choice between law and love, between competing moralities that support the different choices, difficult choices that life forces upon us all the time.

Wotan (Kyle Albertson, at the top of the stage) confronts the Valkyries, especially Brünnhilde (Alexandra Loutsion, lower left). Photo by Dave Pearson Photography; courtesy of Virginia Opara.

A brief outline of the plot in The Rhinegold: Wotan the head of the gods and keeper of the law and order errs his way into a seemingly impossible situation.  He used a gold ring with magic powers, stolen by trickery, to pay twin giants for building Valhalla, home of the gods.  The ring gave power over the world to any who possessed it and thus posed a mortal threat to the gods, especially if it got back into the hands of his foes, the Nibelungs in the underworld.  Wotan needed to get the ring back, even though it was cursed to cause trouble and death for any who possessed it; one of the twin giants killed the other to keep the gold for himself.  As the keeper of law and order, Wotan could not take back the ring himself, so he schemed to have a hero beyond his control but loyal to him retrieve the ring.  His illegitimate son Siegmund was chosen as that hero without his knowing.  Siegmund had a twin sister, Sieglinde; their mother was a mortal.  Wotan had separated them when young to keep the boy on track for his plans; Sieglinde was forced into an unwanted marriage.  At the end, the gods walk into Valhalla, but Loge, the god of fire, hangs back pondering whether this group of gods deserved to live, much less reside in Valhalla.

Their story continues in The Valkyrie: Siegmund has lost his weapons and is being chased by angry villagers.  He takes refuge in Sieglinde’s home without them recognizing each other, and soon they fall in love.  Her cruel and abusive husband Hunding arrives home.  The villagers are Hunding’s people, and he challenges the unarmed Siegmund to a duel to the death for the next day.  Sieglinde tells Siegmund of a sword, Nothung, embedded in a tree that no one can remove but a great hero, planted of course by Wotan.  He removes it and is armed for his duel.  Back at Valhalla, Wotan who has a great love for Siegmund and his scheme, tells his daughter Brunhilde, a Valkyrie, to go to the forest to give the victory to Siegmund.  However, his wife Fricka, goddess of love and marriage is incensed over the incest Wotan is permitting and forces Wotan to accept that planting the sword violates his vow not to help.  Wotan reverses his order to Brünnhilde.  She is to let him die. When Brünnhilde arrives, she witnesses the deep love Siegmund has for Sieglinde and knowing that his death is not what Wotan really wants, she decides to help him win.  However, Wotan shows up during the duel and assists Siegmund’s death.  Outraged that she did not carryout his command and despite his great love for Brünnhilde, his favorite, he changes her to a mere mortal and leaves her sleeping on a mountain top surrounded by a fire that cannot be crossed by anyone who fears his spear and decrees she will have to marry whoever wakes her.  Meanwhile, Sieglinde has escaped to the woods and is carrying Siegmund’s child who will become the greatest hero, who is without fear of anything.  How do you feel about a father banishing his daughter for disobedience?  Would you have made the choice that Brûnnhilde made?  The story continues in the third chapter, Siegfried.

Siegmund (Richard Trey Smagur) and Sieglinde (Meghan Kasanders). Photo by Dave Pearson Photography; courtesy of Virginia Opara.

Let’s talk about Virginia Opera’s production on Sunday afternoon in Fairfax.  The Ring is resource intensive even for large opera companies, a large cast, orchestras up to 90 members, and four operas running for 16 hours in total.  VO performed the highly regarded adaptation of The Valkyrie by Jonathan Dove and Graham Vick, reduced in length (about 3 hours) and scored for a smaller orchestra by Mr. Dove; the essential elements of the story are retained.  Conductor Adam Turner and the 22 players of the Virginia Opera Orchestra delivered Wagner’s music admirably.  Wagner’s music is glorious.  His innovation, the use of leitmotifs or themes to tag characters and situations, forges an even stronger bond between the music and the storytelling.

The strongest element in the production was the outstanding cast.  Experienced Wagnerian, baritone Kyle Albertson played Wotan again, the only returning member from VO’s production of The Rhinedold last year.  In my report on that performance, I stated that if Mr. Albertson continued in the role, I’d attend.  After this performance, I am changing my tune - I request that Virginia Opera bring him back. I think his singing might have been even more beautiful this year, but perhaps I could just hear him better inside a theater.  He was joined by Pittsburgh native, soprano Alexandra Loutsion as Brünnhilde.  Ms. Loutsion played the role as a young, mostly subservient Brünnhilde who doted on her father; her scenes with her father were touching.  She is a highly accomplished singer who has played many lead operatic roles; last year she sang the role of Brünnhilde in Lyric Opera of Chicago’s production of Twilight of the Gods, the final chapter of the Ring Cycle.  Tenor Richard Trey Smagur and soprano Meghan Kasanders were well matched as Siegmund and Sieglinde; both are promising young artists and brought magic to that pairing.  Mr. Smagur (remember Tybalt from Wolf Trap Opera’s 2018 Romeo and Juliette) brought a striking vocal and stage presence to his role.  Occasionally, a performer in a supporting role almost steals the show.  In The Valkyrie that singer was mezzo-soprano Claudia Chapa who sang the role of Fricka, perhaps the most impressive Fricka I have seen.  I sat up, took notice, wanted to hear more, and found the ruler of the god’s submission to her scolding totally believable.  Sopranos Lesley Anne Friend, Adriane S. Kerr, and Courtney Johnson made fine supporting Valkyries.

Fricka, wife of Wotan, goddess of marraige, played by Claudia Chapa standing above her husband Wotan played by Kyle Albertson.. Photo by Dave Pearson Photography; courtesy of Virginia Opara.

The Ring Cycle, first performed in 1876, has been a stalwart of the modern repertoire since then.  The Cycle and its operas have received many different treatments by directors wanting to offer something fresh that offers new insights into the operas.  Often great liberties are taken with the staging; one a few years back at Met Opera had the set as a giant undulating keyboard; Washington National Opera’s excellent Ring in 2016 moved the gods into corporate America; I saw a European production recently that looked like it was a grammar school production with cardboard cutouts used as wings for the Valkyries with little else.  The themes and conflicts are timeless and can be transferred to many settings. In my view, this is fair game and new presentations should be judged by whether they work. 

Virginia Opera’s performance began and ended in a promising direction and I give Director Joachim Schamberger and the production team credit for their efforts.  The use of highly creative lighting and images on screens to enhance stage sets has grown as modern technology has advanced; CGI rules!  VO’s staging was described as futuristic in concept.  The opening projections as the opera began were bright and colorful with a circular center section where actors could be seen.  There was a tiered, revolving center set that appeared clever in design.  As the action began, the lighting and images on the screen made me think this was going to be somewhere between a real and an animated production, which interested me.  However, soon the images on the screen were apparent on the actors as well as were the shadows cast by the actors on the screen, minor distractions.  More problematic were the multiple puzzling images that kept appearing on the screens as backgrounds – undulating geometric designs, stallions rearing without Valkyries on their backs, an airport transom with travelers going back and forth, and computer generated human outlines.  Frankly, for much of the opera I found these to be an annoying distraction, especially in the final tete a tete between Wotan and Brunnhilde.  This is a scene of both great tenderness and high drama.  I wanted my focus to be on the two singers but found myself constantly distracted by images on the screen that were of baffling relevance.  On the other hand, I thought the ending CGI effects worked effectively as Wotan ascended to the top of the mountain and surrounded it with flames.  The costumes chosen by Court Watson worked well for most characters, though I did not recognize a time or place they were to signify. An exception was the costumes of the Valkyries. Part of their costumes were shoulder pads meant I think to be armor similar to the Empire’s soldiers in Star Wars; however, bathed in the stage lighting I kept thinking they looked like football players without their jerseys - perhaps I was just missing NFL football that Sunday afternoon.  Nonetheless, those costumes needed some pizazz; women who gather up fallen heroes and carry them to Valhalla deserve better. 

Wotan played by Kyle Albertson winds up on top, at least for this episode of the Ring. Photo by Dave Pearson Photography; courtesy of Virginia Opara.

In conclusion, Virginia Opera’s The Valkyurie certainly worth attending for the Wagner’s music well played, outstanding singing, and its compelling storyline (and a chance to see Claudia Chapa perform). I found that some elements of the staging distracted my attention from an otherwise excellent production; perhaps you will react differently. I did find that it whet my appetite for some more Wagner, especially more of the Ring Cycle.

The Fan Experience: The Valkyrie was scheduled for performances in Norfolk on September 20, October 1, 2; in Fairfax on October 8 and 9; and in Richmond October 14 and 16.  The opera is sung in German with supertitles in English shown on an overhead screen.  Masking and proof of vaccinations were not required for the audience. 

I highly recommend the outstanding pre-opera talk on The Valkyrie, given by Joshua Borths, Virginia Opera’s scholar in residence, which starts 45 minutes before the beginning of the opera. Get there early to get a good seat. If you can’t make a performance but want to know more about the opera, Mr. Borths covers the same material and more in his Let’s Talk Opera lecture available on Youtube.com. 

Richard Wagner was a complicated person and held views that helped spread antisemitism in his day.  Virginia Opera, always interested in maintaining its connection to the communities that it serves, held a discussion on this topic with members of Ohef Sholom Temple in Norfolk, which is available on Facebook.