This is a story made up of many stories – a pandemic in 2020 shutting down opera performances, the dimming of cultural enrichment in America, and the loss of incomes for performers and staff; a story of young artists faced with uncertain opportunities for training and performances; the story of Pittsburgh Opera who would not let the 2020-2021 season die, nor their commitment to their Resident Artists; the story of condensing and adapting a work of perhaps the greatest composer who ever lived to fit pandemic requirements; and the story of performances with masked, socially distanced singers playing young lovers. As I watched the free October 23 live stream of Così fan tutte, performed before a theater audience, I had the feeling that I was not only watching opera; I was also witnessing history being made, opera in the time of COVID-19.
Stage and set for Così fan tutte. Upstairs (l to r): Ferrando (Angel Romero), Don Alfonso (Jeremy Harr), and Guglielmo (Yazid Gray). Downstairs (l to r): Dorabella (Maire Therese Carmack), Conductor (Antony Walker), and Fiordiligi (Madeline Ehlinger). Photo by David Bachman Photography; courtesy of Pittsburgh Opera
The video of that live stream is available now on PO’s YouTube channel and will remain available through Thursday, November 5. The important news is that while composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s and librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte’s opera has been chamber-sized from three hours to an hour and a half, it is a very good chamber opera, well done by Pittsburgh Opera with young singers to keep an eye on. And, I say this having seen an utterly fantastic full version Così fan tutte in 2019 by Santa Fe Opera. I strongly recommend viewing PO’s recording while you can. This version is good enough to be utilized by other companies even after the pandemic, and the shorter length may especially appeal to younger fans.
I was intrigued by singers wearing masks while singing opera and was afforded the opportunity to talk by phone with French American soprano Véronique Filloux who plays the role of the worldly-wise cleaning lady, Despina. Though she is early in her career, a 2018 graduate of Maryland Opera Studio, I have seen Ms. Filloux perform twice previously in Opera Lafayette productions in DC. She would have appeared in a third if the pandemic had not prevented those performances. Her talent was obvious in those roles and is more fully displayed as Despina. The beauty of her voice and singing is perhaps best displayed in Despina’s entrance set where she sings an aria educating the young female lovers. In later scenes, she displays her comedic abilities as Despina dons a couple of disguises, changing her voice and movements within those roles. I was excited to learn that in PO’s February production of Handel’s Semele, she will play the lead. She believes her experience with Opera Lafayette which focuses on early music will serve her well. Semele is a showpiece role for a soprano and as she noted when we spoke, a fantastic opportunity to have so early in her career. She will be joined in the cast by the other five Resident Artists featured in Così.
Véronique Filloux as Despina, the cleaning lady, in the left photo , and disguised as a doctor of sorts in the right photo. Photos by David Bachman Photography; courtesy of Pittsburgh Opera.
Ms. Filloux said that singing with the masks on is a learned skill, but the safety issues provide plenty of motivation. She said that fellow Resident Artist baritone Yazid Gray was on site early and tested 8-10 mask prototypes made by the costume department. The masks continued to evolve from there. It was decided for the singers to wear a plastic cage with three-fold cloth coverings over the cage in order for the mask not to impede vocal expression or get sucked back onto the singers’ mouths, and they had to be large, so they don’t pull off easily. I gather getting comfortable with the masks is still an evolving process. Besides the issues of comfort, breath, and sound delivery, the masks present another challenge. How do you give and get singing and acting cues from fellow performers when you can’t see expressions on their faces? Ms. Filloux said that eyes and body language became even more important, and the performers had to learn to express feelings without touches and embraces (remaining within pandemic guidelines). Ms. Filloux credits Stage Director Crystal Manich for help in this area. She also liked that the director encouraged her to portray the opera buffa characters as real people. She also believes a class she had in graduate school involving body language and the study of mimes paid off for playing this role. She says that having flexibility, adaptability, and good humor are attributes required of opera singers, pandemic or not.
Maire Therese Carmack as Dorabella and Madeline Ehlinger as Fiordiligi with Conductor Antony Walker in the background. Photo by David Bachman Photography; courtesy of Pittsburgh Opera
Ms. Filloux is a good ambassador for Pittsburgh Opera. She speaks of the Resident Artist program in glowing terms; she especially likes the attention to her personal goals, access to three coaches, feeling safe during the pandemic, and being treated as a professional. She also praised the dedication of the company to opera fans in Pittsburgh in making the video of Così available for free. I agree; I expected there to be a fee. It’s also worth noting the PO took a substantial risk in planning live opera when the course of the pandemic could not be predicted and performances might have been cancelled at the last minute. Pittsburgh Opera had one substantial advantage though. They own the building that houses their headquarters and it includes a performance hall they have used routinely in the past to feature chamber operas.
l to r: Angel Romero as Ferrando, Jeremy Harr as Don Alfonso, and Yazid Gray as Guglielmo. Photography by David Bachman Photography; courtesy of Pittsburgh Opera
Pittsburgh Opera went to great lengths to honor pandemic guidelines for performers and audiences, both those required by governing bodies and those recommended by public health experts. According to Ms. Filloux, in addition to wearing masks, there were temperature checks, traffic on stairs being one-way in the building, protective shields used to separate performers and accompanists, rooms cleaned when changing groups, and attention to air flow control. Performers also follow pandemic guidelines outside the performance hall. Social distance seating in the small concert hall allowed an audience of only fifty attendees; the theater can accommodate 195 attendees . Seats were wiped down prior to performances and a single page program laid on the seats by gloved ushers. A critical feature was limiting the performance to about 90 minutes so as to avoid an intermission that would foster socialization. Not surprisingly given the lack of live performances in 2020, season ticket holders responded favorably, and the limited tickets were gobbled up quickly and a waiting list was established.
While I have always loved Mozart’s music, the plot of Così fan tutte has been an acquired taste, even when trying to keep in perspective that the story is a comedy featuring the mores of two hundred years ago; just consider that the title means “All women are like that”. It also requires a huge suspension of disbelief – it happens in a day and one must accept that the disguises fool the ladies, perhaps more believable under pandemic staging with everyone wearing masks. Director Crystal Manich cleverly made the masks a part of the story by staging the play in a 1918 Italian munitions factory during the time of the Spanish flu. The performance hall enhanced that setting in as much as the building once was used as a Westinghouse air brake factory. The factory owner in Così, Don Alfonso, bets two of his workers, Gugielmo and Ferrando, that he can prove their girlfriends, sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella, respectively, will be unfaithful to them. He sets up a ruse whereby the guys put on disguises and attempt to seduce their girlfriends while acting as someone else. Alfonso pays Despina, who also does not recognize the guys in disguise, to encourage the women to stray while their boyfriends are called away. As with the full Così, PO’s chamber version still leads us face to face with the realization that personal longings for love and romance can be at odds with the honorable personas that society gives us and we assume; it’s complicated. Director Manich makes an interesting choice in her version by having the guys attempt to seduce their own girlfriends. The ladies unknowingly choose opposite partners, unveiling the power of the ladies. While it is a comedy that begs for updating, the truths it reveals remain truths, and the title could be “all humans are like that”. Da Ponte’s text, even as trimmed, sets it all up, and Mozart’s music, even as trimmed, drives it home.
In the foreground, two visiting Albanians plead their case with Dorabella and Fiordiligi: (l to r) Maire Therese Carmack as Dorabella, Yazid Gray as Guglielmo in disguise, Angel Romero as Ferrando in disguise, and Madeline Ehlinger as Fiordiligi. Photography by David Bachman Photography; courtesy of Pittsburgh Opera.
So then, how did a three-hour masterpiece get reduced to 90 minutes while retaining coherency and impact. Seasoned hands at the controls is the answer. Ms. Manich and PO Music Director and Conductor Antony Walker have extensive opera experience and have worked on eleven productions together. They each made reductions separately and then compared notes. In the end, there was much agreement, and they have done an effective job in carving out the non-essential elements. There is some loss of character development, and it bothers me that Don Alfonso comes off as just philosophical; Despina giving her payoff to the women at the end disputes that. However, it was a lot to cut and some of your favorite scenes/music may have been shortened or left out, but still, it works as presented.
Special kudos to Maestro Walker who was limited to an ensemble smallish even for a chamber piece due to social distancing needs. He held fast at needing 17 musicians and his judgement seems perfect to me. The music was still a delight and the interplay with the singers was excellent, especially given that the orchestra was placed in the backstage area and the conductor’s back was towards the action on stage. The video and sound quality of the recording is excellent. I did notice I could hear one of the singers breathing in a couple of scenes, a very minor flaw, and I thought I spotted a microphone on the side of his face. Ms. Filloux confirmed that the singers wore microphones during the filming to meet the needs of the video. It was not possible to place stationary microphones upstairs/downstairs and all the areas needing coverage and do so without picking up extraneous noise such as feet climbing stairs. Regardless, the outcome is a remarkably good video with excellent sound quality.
So, at long last we arrive at the singing performances. Yes, I saved best of Così for last. The performances were uniformly good; this excellent cast consisted of six young Resident Artists, including soprano Madeline Ehlinger (Fiordiligi), mezzo-soprano Maire Therese Carmack (Dorabella), baritone Yazid Gray (Gugielmo), Angel Romero (Ferrando), bass Jeremy Harr (Don Alfonso), and Ms. Filloux as Despina, as noted above. The productions for the rest of the season will also mainly feature these performers. I think it is fun to see the spotlight turned over to the Resident Artists; I always find that young professionals add an energy that enlivens productions, and in 2020, I can use that. It will also be interesting to see and hear how they develop over a season.
There are two more of my favorite highlights I want to point out. No one wrote better ensemble numbers than Mozart, and Così is chock full of good ones, but best for me in this performance are the duets between the sisters played by Ms. Ehlinger and Ms. Carmack; I floated on the way their voices blended to produce such a beautiful sound carrying Mozart’s melodies; I would love to hear more duets from them (hint: the Flower Duet from Lakmé). Another highlight for me was Mr. Romero’s voice and singing; he is a tenor whose voice is laced with romance. I want to hear more of this young singer; see if you don’t agree.
Pittsburgh Opera has taken a risk at considerable expense in producing live, staged opera this season, and the audience who attended accepted a risk, greatly mitigated by the extensive pandemic restrictions and adaptations made by PO. These two actions reveal another story that needs to be mentioned here. That is the story of how much audiences and artists need each other as revealed by the 2020 pandemic. The creation of a chamber opera version of Così fan tutte - featuring masked singers - is the result of that mutual need. History has been made.
The Fan Experience: The video of Pittsburgh Opera’s October 23 performance of Così fan tutte can be accessed on YouTube through Thursday, November 5. It’s free. Note: the tape only has signage until the 12:45 minute mark when PO General Director Christopher Hahn makes opening comments, and the performance starts at about the 16-minute mark. As performed in the video, the opera comes in at about 95 minutes.
Pittsburgh Opera’s next production in their 2020-2021 season will be Soldier Songs performed on Dec 5, 8, 11, 13, 15, and 17; it will also be performed at Pittsburgh Opera Headquarters under pandemic restrictions in force at the time. Performances of Semele will be February 20, 23, 26, 28, and March 2, 4; and Charlie Parker’s Yardbird will be performed April 10, 13, 16, 18, and 22.
If you would like to support Pittsburgh Opera’s efforts to stage live opera this season, they have made it easy for you at the website, pittsburghopera.org/givenow.