Sunday night’s event in Lisner Auditorium had a religious fervor to it, sort of a revival meeting for opera lovers as Washington Concert Opera performed Lakmé (1883) by composer Léo Delibes. The audience was primed and ready. There was great anticipation that these singers, with world class reputations, backed by WCO Orchestra and Chorus, would serve up some of the most beautiful music and arias ever, especially as we awaited the famous Flower Duet and Bell Song. Bass baritone Alfred Walker, soprano Erin Morley, mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven, chorister Sammy Huh, contralto Megan Ester Grey, soprano Véronique Filloux, mezzo-soprano Lindsay Metzger, tenor Frédéric Antoun, and baritone Theo Hoffman sang in thrilling fashion. The audience applauded aria after aria, and the standing ovation at the end was one of the most enthusiastic I have witnessed. If WCO had passed the collection plate afterwards, they might have scored big time. This is a cast that the Metropolitan Opera would have been proud of; how does a relatively small company like Washington Concert Opera manage to consistently attract such a high level of singing talent and perform in a venue that brings the audience and outstanding performers into such close proximity?
l to r: Alfred Walker as Nilakantha, Erin Morley as Lakmé, Conductor Antony Walker, and Frédéric Antoun as Gérald. Photo by Caitlin Oldham; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.
Lakmé proved to be a perfect showcase for these outstanding singers, which makes one wonder why it is not performed more often today. Its popularity has waxed and waned since it’s 1883 inception. Based on the WCO performance, I’d say it is time for the return of waxing; Met Opera folks should seriously consider making plans for a run at the Met featuring Ms. Morley. Librettists Edmond Gondinet and Phillipe Gille adopted the plot from Pierre Loti’s autobiographical novel Le Marriage de Loti; interestingly, Loti also authored the story that became the plot for Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. Gondinet had suggested the book to Delibes as a vehicle to showcase the talents of American soprano Marie van Zandt who was enjoying a run of popularity in Paris. Coloratura sopranos have been critical for Lakmé’s popularity and survival. It is Delibes’ only opera that remains in the modern repertoire; he has two ballets that are still performed, Coppélia and Sylvia.
l to r: Taylor Raven as Mallika and Erin Morley as Lakmé singing the Flower Duet. Photo by Caitlin Oldham; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.
The story takes place in the mid 1800’s, during a time of British occupation of India. The principal characters are Nilakantha, a Brahmin priest who despises his British oppressors, his sheltered daughter Lakmé, who falls in love with a soldier in the British army, Gérald, who has drawn the murderous ire of Nilakantha by wandering into sacred grounds. The story was accepted without question in its day, but Lakmé now draws scrutiny for its unflattering and untrue portrayal of Hinduism. In his program notes for WCO’s Lakmé, Peter Russell went to considerable lengths to address these issues. He takes the librettists to task for “creating a disdainful and inept depiction of Hindu mythology…”, also stating, “The role of the Brahmin priest Nilakantha is also largely a two-dimensional stereotype of a religious fanatic raging against the British Raj…this is a clear-cut case of cultural disrespect…”. He goes on to make the case for the opera’s continuing performance due to the beauty and artistic value of its music. Mr. Russell’s calling out of the librettist’s errors is helpful. In my own case, I felt that the opera cast the British tourists and soldiers in a bad light, more so than Hinduism. The librettists did have one of the characters, Frédéric explain customs and practices in reasonable terms. Certainly, Nilakantha’s murderous rage was a negative depiction, even if understandable. Nonetheless, I realize that having your religion or country of origin depicted inaccurately and in negative terms would be of great concern to you when the audience would not know the larger picture if they have not traveled to India. WCO and Mr. Russell are on target in addressing these concerns. In general, I hope opera companies will continue to perform socially flawed works of great musical and artistic value, but at the same time, offer counterbalancing commentary and discussions to set the record straight.
l to r: Frédéric Antoun as Gérald and Theo Hoffman as Frédéric. Photo by Caitlin Oldham; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.
I will give the composer, librettists, and performers credit for one important accomplishment. I found it difficult to accept the main characters as real people; however, they made the story work for me as a romantic fairy tale. The libretto is high poetry and complimented the exotic elements of the story. The work mainly consists of beautiful arias without recitative, and the words offer far more imagery than literal statements. The beauty of the music, the impassioned singing, and the poetry succeeded in drawing me into the story; I feared for the safety of the young lovers and wanted them to be together for eternity.
Coloratura soprano Erin Morley, fresh off recent success at the Met Opera and La Scala, gave us an engaging Lakmé. Ms. Morley truly sang like an angel, or in this case almost a goddess, on stage and off. She seemed to navigate the highest notes with complete control, with only the smallest effort. Her embellishments often moved beyond beautiful, becoming breathtaking; listening to her was not only pleasurable, it was exciting. Her Bell Song received a tremendous ovation, many in the audience standing. For the Act I Flower Duet, she was joined by rising star mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven, as her servant Mallika; Ms. Raven possesses a warm and luminous voice. In duet, their voices blended beautifully, adding new color to the aria. Mr. Delibes seemed to have learned something from Wagner; from that point forward, he used the Flower Duet theme to announce each reappearance of Lakmé. One reason that WCO may be able to attract such talented singers is that so many of them have trained in the area with Wolf Trap Opera; both Ms. Morley and Ms. Raven were previously Filene Young Artists. I have heard the marvelous bass baritone Alfred Walker sing previously, recently in Washington National Opera’s “Written in Stone” and previously as baseball legend Josh Gibson in Pittsburgh Opera’s The Summer King, both impressive performances. I found his Act II aria expressing his love and caring for his daughter, Lakmé, especially beautiful and touching, adding a much needed note of humanity to the depiction of Nilakantha. The other major role is Gérald, who falls desperately in love with Lakmé; he was played by much sought after tenor Frédéric Antoun. I found Mr. Antoun to be impressive. He has a beautiful voice, and importantly, he brought romance to the role.
l to r: Megan Ester Grey as Mistress Bentson, Lindsay Metzger as Miss Rose, and Véronique Filloux as Miss Ellen. Photo by Caitlin Oldham; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.
The supporting cast was also very strong. Baritone Theo Hoffman as Gérald’s military friend Frédéric sang well and was the voice of reason in the group of tourists. Soprano Véronique Filloux brought her beautiful voice to the role of Miss Ellen, Gérald’s fiancé. She recently won the audience favorite award at the Annapolis Opera Vocal Competition. Mezzo-soprano Lindsay Metzger brought moxie and fun to her role as Ellen’s sister, Miss Rose. Contralto Megan Ester Grey as Mistress Bentson anchored the group with her authoritative, protective demeanor as chaperone for the young ladies. WCO Chorister Sammy Huh gave a pleasing and believable performance as Lakmé’s servant, Hadji.
l to r: Erin Morley as Lakmé, Conductor Antony Walker, and Sammy Huh as Hadji. Photo by Caitlin Oldham; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.
Conductor Antony Walker leading the Washington Concert Orchestra and Chorus Master David Hanlon directing the Chorus provided an authoritative and sensitive rendering of Delibes’ beautiful and melodious music. To me, Delibes’ music was not often as sweeping as Mozart nor as powerful as Beethoven. However, he painted the imagery of the poetry with watercolors using delicate engagements of soloists in the orchestra and by adding vivid colorings to orchestral sections, as with flutes and drums announcing the presence of the military. It made me curious to attend performances of his ballets to hear his music.
A view of Alfred Walker, Erin Morley, and Conductor Antony Walker in front of the WCO Orchestra and Chorus. Photo by Caitlin Oldham; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.
In preparing for the performance, I read a preview report in the NY Times about an upcoming Lakmé performance in 1984 by the New York City Opera; the piece is by renown opera critic, Will Crutchfield, and its title begs the question I raise above, “Is It Time Once More for Lakmé”. He noted that at that time the opera had not had a New York staging since 1947. Lakmé was considered a star vehicle for coloratura sopranos. The opera had a run of popularity at the Met in the thirties and forties due to the legendary Lily Pons; Lakmé was a favorite role of hers. The director of the New York City Opera at the time was Beverly Sills, also a legendary soprano. In her youth, she had been thrilled by a Lily Pons’ performance as Lakmé; yet she indicated that she saw the opera as “an ensemble piece”, not just a showpiece for coloratura sopranos. Mr. Crutchfield agreed that it is not only a role for the lead singer but its effectiveness in telling the story depends on the talent of all the performers. He stated, “Lakmé is a singers’ opera”, plural. Agreed; I would also add that when performed as such, as WCO did, it is an opera fans’ opera.
The Fan Experience: Washington Concert Opera performed Lakmé on May 22 in their usual venue, Lisner Auditorium. The performance of Lakmé ran three hours with a twenty-minute intermission between each of three acts; the opera was in French with super-titles in English. WCO only gives one performance of each of their operas. Scheduled for their 2022-2023 season is Donizetti’s Roberto Devereaux on December 4 and Verdi’s Macbeth on March 3; the March 3 performance is on a Friday, not the usual Sunday performance. My hope is that by those performances, the masks will be unnecessary and refreshments can again be offered during intermissions, but be sure to check what, if any, COVID requirements are in effect on the date of a performance.
Peter Russell, General Director of Vocal Arts DC, presented the pre-opera talk and provided program notes. Mr. Russell also presented a one-hour lecture on Lakmé in the free Opera Gems series. His lectures are impressively detailed and informative, with samples of the music to be heard.
In my experience, all the seats in Lisner Auditorium are fine for viewing the performance, but the sound is probably better towards the center of the auditorium. Parking on the street around the auditorium is catch as catch can; if you find a spot, the meters are usually turned off on Sunday, but be sure to read the signs! Metro is two blocks away. WCO has a visitor web page with directions and parking info, helpful in finding lot parking.