Do you like the Netflix series Emily in Paris? Sometimes I need a respite from today’s problems and tragic news stories. Emily has become my go to escape along with a glass of wine. I consider the show good not great, but good is great when you need it, and it is well done. If The Anonymous Lover were a series, it would also regularly attend to that need with its emphasis, like Emily, on romance, friendship, humor, and fashion. In his opening remarks, OP President and Director Anthony Roth Constanzo referred to this opera as “Bridgerton with better music”, but I will stick with Emily which is even lighter. Maria Callas once said that an opera needed tragedy to be great. Well, I don’t always need great and am sometimes weary of tragedy; I need escape, a little fun, why not with opera? Since Emily in Paris, the Opera is not yet in the works, I welcome The Anonymous Lover ((L’Amant Anonyme, 1780) by the anonymous composer Josepf Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges back to the repertoire; the work has now received at least ten productions in the U.S. since first being introduced here in 2020, and will undoubtedly receive many more. I guess I’m not the only one that needs a little fun every now and then.
l to r: Valcour (Travon D. Walker), Dorothée (Sun-Ly Pierce), Orphémon (Johnathan McCollough), and Léontine (Symone Harcum) discuss whether to keep a gift from the anonymous lover. Photo by Johanna Austin; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.
Now as much as I enjoy Emily, I would not drive three hours to Philadelphia from my home and three hours back to see it, adding in an overnight stay. Besides, I had seen a semi-staged production of The Anonymous Lover by Wolf Trap Opera in 2021. So, what else drove my sojourn? First, I like this opera, and Opera Philadelphia reliably provides excellent productions; I felt a good experience was assured. But there was more. I had seen several of the singers before, including soprano Symone Harcum, baritone Johnathan McCullough, and tenor Joshua Blue – all were in my want to see again bag. The cherry on top was the chance to hear the work of emerging star conductor Kalena Bovell, who has a fascinating history; born in Panama, she was late in receiving formal training in music and now is award winning. A few years back she was the first black female to conduct an opera in Canada, and she is now the first black female conductor to conduct for Opera Philadelphia. Remember I referred to composer Bologne as anonymous? Here is a clue why: he was a black composer in 18th century France, thus denied opportunities and recognition because of his race. We know that he was a savant in several areas, fencing, playing the violin, military service, conducting, and composing, though many facts about him and much music by him have been lost to history (see Conlon’s excellent article for more background on Bologne and the opera). He has a number of orchestral pieces that have survived and can be found on music streaming services, but this is the only one of his six operas that we have today. One might justifiably argue that many 18th and 19th century operas with music worthy of being heard have been lost to history; Opera Lafayette in DC regularly unearths and performs these. Yet popular in his day, we know that Joseph Bologne was still a victim of racial prejudice: a group of sopranos blocked his candidacy to lead the Paris Opéra by refusing to work with a black man.
Jeanette (Ashley Marie Robillard) and Colin (Joshua Blue) celebrate their love. Photo by Johanna Austin; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.
So, for me, this OP production was a happening, a black female conductor beginning to receive recognition and opportunities, and a black composer beginning to receive recognition after being anonymous for over 200 years…in addition to everything else that Opera Philadelphia provides. If truth be told, there was also the allure of pizza at Alice’s around the block from the Academy of Music. That package was well worth a trip to Philly.
The libretto by Desfontaines-Lavallée, based on an eponymous play, has been adapted by librettist Kirsten Greenidge to make it resonate more fully with audiences today. The opera contains both spoken and sung dialog; for this production spoken words were in English and lyrics were sung in French. The music has also been somewhat modified with the ballet being removed and additional music by Bologne inserted, much as it might have been done in his day from one production to another. The story line presented a challenge to Director Dennis Whitehead Darling: presenting a plot with 18th century sensibilities and jokes to a 21st century audience. Like most comedies there are serious issues below the surface. Your story, to be funny, must receive your audience’s approval of the resolution. Briefly, the widow Léontine has closed her heart, caused both by her husband’s death many years earlier and by his treatment of her in their marriage while alive; so, we the audience approve of her finding new love at this point. She has received love notes for four years from an anonymous person. Unknown to her, that person is her best friend Valcour. Valcour is a sincere, honorable man; so, we the audience can root for him. He is aided in his pursuit of love by friends Ophémon and Dorothée who stoke the comedy to the delight of we the audience, while Léontine is inspired by a young couple, Jeanette and Colin, who are being married with her support and who constantly display their affection, warming the cockles of the audience’s hearts as well as Lèontine’s. The stage is thus comically set for revealing the identity of the anonymous lover and Lèontine’s response. Will Léontine again open her heart to a passionate love or retreat to safety? Well, it is a comedy…besides, would I drive six hours for an unhappy ending? I was not completely satisfied with Wolf Trap Opera’s telling, nor was I with Opera Philadelphia: I wanted Léontine to have an aria alone revealing that if only Valcour returned her affection for him she would trust him with her heart, but that’s me. The spontaneous kiss was exciting, though, and cleared the air.
left photo: Composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. Public domain image from Wikipedia. left photo: Conductor Kalena Bovell. Photo by Jamie Pratt; from media photos, kalenabovell.com.
This was a very enjoyable production overall. The staging and adaptations by OP creative staff were very well done. The simple staging, though limiting possibilities for dramatic enhancements, was adequate and added color, keeping with the spirit of the piece. The costume design by Leslie Travers was exceptional, fitting for the story and a delight to the eye. The staging by Director Darling was expertly done, and the audience was frequently in laughter. The action moved swiftly, maintaining my engagement throughout. I laughed often and my fellow audience members laughed even more.
Léontine (Symone Harcum) struggles with love’s appeal to a cautious heart. Photo by Johanna Austin; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.
Composer Bologne’s music is pleasant, supports and enhances the action, and the solo arias and ensemble numbers are moving and often impressive in their complexity. The choral music is an added bonus; kudos to chorusmaster Elizabeth Braden. Maestro Bovell, directing the Opera Philadelphia, did a craftsman like job rendering Bologne’s score in a lively and thoroughly enjoyable manner. Timing and coordination with singers seemed excellent. When there was no singing, the music was engaging and pleasant, very reminiscent of Mozart. Please note that Mozart was 14 years Bologne’s junior. The music added drama and emotion to the vocals. I did not walk out humming the melodies but I did walk out with a happy heart.
Ah yes, the singers! There are six solo singers in the opera for the roles mentioned earlier, and they were uniformly excellent, breathing life and the joy of life into their characters. Lead soprano Symone Harcum as Léontine gave a fine performance in a role that requires a lot of emotional back and forth. Early on I was a little worried that her singing was too powerful. Her first aria was delivered with the intensity of a Verdi, momentarily exiting the rom-com spirit, but the rest of the way she was a delight. Her aria in the bedroom scene, where she pleads with love to let her be, was quite touching. Her admirer Valcour played by tenor Travon D. Walker played indecision frustratingly well and his vocals proved more and more enjoyable as the evening progressed. Baritone Johnathan McCollough as Orphémon sang well and was over the top, but effectively so, as the comedic focal point of the opera, clearly drawing the most laughs. Dorethée, his partner in aiding Valcour, also later revealed to be his love interest, was comically played and well sung by mezzo-soprano Sun-Ly Pierce. Tenor Joshua Blue, now a veteran of several OP productions, played and sung his role convincingly. A surprise to me was perhaps my personal favorite of the evening, soprano Ashley Robillard. Her trills and flourishes with her lovely lilting soprano voice and spot on comedic acting was pleasing all evening. As a group, these singers made attending this performance a fun and joyful experience.
center:Valcour (Travon D. Walker) and Léontine (Symone Harcum) have admitted and accepted their love for each other while party goers look on with approval. Photo by Johanna Austin; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.
Something special is happening in Philadelphia beyond the chance of winning a Super Bowl. After years of declining audiences, leading to a diminished season this year, operas are playing to packed houses. In the fall of 2024, incoming Director, and world class countertenor, Anthony Roth Constanza took a big swing to initiate his tenure: pay what you want ticket pricing for any seat in the house. Within days, the season was essentially a sellout, with two-thirds of the sales going to first time opera goers. The question of whether there is still an audience for opera in Philadelphia has been convincingly answered. In his opening remarks, Constanzo won acclamation with his assertion to the audience: “isn’t it great to be sitting here together listening to great music?”. Now the challenge is to put the enterprise on financially sound footing and keep the newfound audience members returning. Composer Bologne and conductor Bovell are welcome additions to that journey.
The great majority of contemporary operas appearing today follow Callas’ advice and have serious themes addressed in serious ways. I personally would welcome a few more romantic comedies with pleasant music for some comic respites along the way in between being led to confront the darker side of human nature. Is there no living composer who wants to take on Emily in Paris, the Opera, a modern take on The Anonymous Lover with Instagram and women having jobs? Really? C’mon.
The Fan Experience: The Anonymous Lover was scheduled for performances on January 31 and February 2. The opera featured spoken dialog in English while vocals were sung in French with English supertitles on a screen overhead. The opera ran a little over 90 minutes without an intermission.
The Pick Your Price format extends for the remainder of the opera season, though checking just now, there are only limited seats available for all performances of Don Giovanni, the remaining opera for this season. The pricing scheme for the next season remains to be announced.
Opera Philadelphia’s Scholar in Residence, Lily Kass, gave an informative pre-opera talk one hour before the performance covering information about the composer and the opera. She corrected some misconceptions I had developed. For example, while I had read that Bologne had met Mozart, she said they stayed in the same residence in Paris for awhile, but there is no factual evidence that they actually met. She pointed out that even though Bologne’s music is said to sound like Mozart, Bologne was born 14 years earlier than Mozart and The Anonymous Lover was composed before Mozart’s popular operas, meaning let’s give Bologne credit for being Bologne.