Mezzo-Soprano J’Nai Bridges: A Rising Star Discusses Her Path to Opera

In March 2016, mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges sang the role of Lucretia in the Barns for Wolf Trap Opera.  In March 2020, she will sing the role of Delilah at the Kennedy Center for Washington National Opera.  In October 2020, she will sing the role of Carmen at Lincoln Center for the Metropolitan Opera.  She made her Met Opera debut this past November playing Queen Nefertiti in the highly acclaimed production of Ahknaten.  In between and before, there have been many other operas and concerts, but from a training position as a Filene Artist at Wolf Trap to a headliner at the Met in four years…well, in the opera world, that is a meteoric rise to stardom.  This, however, masks the years of dedicated training and performing that are part of a young opera singer’s development.

Promotional photo for J’Nai Bridges. Photo by Dario Acosta; courtesy of Unison Media.

I had a chance recently to talk with J’Nai by telephone about her path to opera, what she hopes to give back, and about her character in WNO’s Samson and Delilah.  J’Nai (pronounced J’Nay), now 33, was interested in music and playing the piano from an early age growing up in Lakewood, Washington which is near Tacoma.  She was also athletic with an avid interest in playing basketball, even envisioning a career path there.  A pivotal point in her development came as a senior in high school: her high school basketball coach insisted she choose between basketball and music.  The final score: Music fans 1, Basketball fan’s 0.  She still plays basketball in the gym with friends and follows the game.  She is scheduled to sing the National Anthem at the Washington Wizards game on March 8. 

She made the decision to pursue her interest in music and classical singing developed in high school, without a clear career path in mind.  Despite some misgivings, she received the full support of her parents and family.  She auditioned and was accepted into the Manhattan School of Music, fortunate also in the sense that she was somewhat infatuated with NYC; she had visited there often with a sister who was studying mechanical engineering in Baltimore.  Her parents were from Baltimore and she still has family ties in the Baltimore-DC area.  NYC also provided access to the Metropolitan Opera which she attended frequently.  There she heard bel canto tenor Lawrence Brownley sing, now a friend of hers and a fellow Wolf Trap alumnus, and she thought to herself that she would like to do what he was doing, be on a stage, singing to people.  After graduating, she applied to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, still not set on a definite career path.  She noted proudly that Curtis has the lowest acceptance rate of college seniors in the US.  Curtis also pushes career development by encouraging performing outside the school; so, she got experience performing in operas and concerts on the eastern seaboard as well as in Curtis productions and was exposed to the rich music environment in Philadelphia.  Opera singers also always have singing instructors; J’Nai’s was in NYC not that far away from Curtis.  She graduated with a master’s degree in music after three years, now seven years past her high school degree.

J’Nai taking a selfie with then head of Wolf Trap Opera, Kim Witman at the incoming reception for Filene Artists. Photo courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera.

Her next step was to audition and get accepted into the Ryan Opera Center, the artist development program at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, a three-year stint.  She knew that this was it.  It was something that she now had to do, a calling if you will.  She was committed to an opera career.  The Lyric program is performance based, and its trainees perform around the country and accept additional training in other programs.  J’Nai was interested in coming to Wolf Trap Opera, a highly competitive summer training experience.  She auditioned two years in a row but was not selected.  That tells you something about the quality of WTO performers, doesn’t it?  We tend to think of them as fresh off the bus new recruits, but J’Nai’s is the typical path for today’s aspiring opera singers.  They come to Wolf Trap in their late twenties and early thirties with graduate degrees and significant performance experience and are among the best singers in their generation.

J’Nai made it in her third attempt and in the summer of 2015, she sang the role of Suzuki (Madama Butterfly) at Wolf Trap.  One important lesson she has learned is that young performers have to learn how to handle rejection. It’s not personal, and failure is not such a bad thing. You may not be what an artistic director is looking for at that moment, but you can learn from the experience and grow from it.

Center: J'Nai Bridges as Lucretia, Christian Zaremba as Collatinus; upper left: Brenton Ryan as Male Chorus, and Kerriann Otano as Female Chorus; and right: Shea Owens as Junius, Sarah Larsen as Bianca, and Amy Owens as Lucia. Photo by Scott Suchman and courtesy of Wolf Trap Opera.

She reports that in spite of not getting into the WTO program on her first try that Kim Witman, the head of WTO at the time, and Lee Anne Myslewski, the current vice president, were very supportive in encouraging her to go forward and to reapply.  In 2014/2015, she blossomed onto the national and international stage by being selected as one of 20 finalists in the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition.  Though she did not win that competition, she was written about in several publications around the US, and it proved to be a huge boon to her career in opera.  She returned in 2016 for a second summer at Wolf Trap, and that was when I first heard her, singing the role of Lucretia in WTO’s The Rape of Lucretia.  It was a powerful performance in a powerful production that I don’t think I will ever forget.  She says that it is still one of the highlights of her singing career and that she learned so much while at Wolf Trap.  Here is a comment from Wolf Trap’s Lee Anne Myslewski about J’Nai’s time there:

“It was J’Nai’s innate musicality, her strong technical foundation, and her endless openness that allowed us to even consider producing Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia in 2015. (We choose singers before we choose repertoire; Lucretia would not have been on the docket had J’Nai not auditioned for us that year.)

The role of Lucretia is a tricky one, especially in our modern climate; it depicts a woman who is deeply in love with her husband but is ruined in the sight of both society and potentially her marriage due to the actions of another man. She claims agency through the only avenue that remains to her: death. The role is technically demanding but is perhaps even more challenging in light of the interpersonal relationships and the time period of the piece. We simply could not have considered producing the piece without J'Nai’s involvement. Not only does she possess a gorgeous instrument and formidable technique, but she carries herself with the dignity and inner strength that is essential for this particular role. (It’s no surprise to me that she’s often cast as royalty!)”

Rehearsal photo of Roberto Aronica as Samson and J’Nai Bridges as Delilah. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

Ms. Bridges expressed gratitude for the tremendous support she enjoyed in her time with WTO.  Her time at Wolf Trap was also rewarding on a personal level.  She was there at the same time as her good friend, baritone Will Liverman.  She met Mr. Liverman while performing at the 2010 Glimmerglass festival, where she also met its coordinator, WNO’s Artistic Director Francesca Zambello, who led the festival.  Mr. Liverman’s career is also booming; he too was in Met Opera’s Akhnaten and subsequently appeared as Pappageno in the Met’s Magic Flute.  WTO’s alumni have a way of returning and he recently gave a chamber music recital at the Barns.  J’Nai says that she is still friends with all the other Filene Artists that she overlapped with, a very rich experience for her.

I think it is early to ask anything back of Ms. Bridges, but she is already thinking in those terms.  This is likely due to her gratitude for all the support she has received and concern about the future of her chosen field.  She believes she has been given a gift that allows her to touch people with the beautiful sound she can make, and she hopes to play a role in encouraging interest in opera for both aspiring singers and potential fans.  She did not grow up listening to opera and wonders how it might have influenced her path, and if increasing early listening might bring more fans to opera.  As a young, African-American woman, she plans to use her success and stature to attract a younger, more inclusive audience to the opera house and to provide encouragement for young black performers.  She applauds Washington National Opera for their strong push to enhance inclusiveness.  I concur; take a look at the performers in the remainder of this year’s schedule and the recently announced 2020-2021 season.  Right now, Ms. Bridges is doing lots of interviews and guest appearances, certainly to enhance her career, but I think also for her success as a rising opera star to be seen by young black people and to encourage attendance and the participation in opera by more members of the black community.

J’Nai Bridges as Delilah in rehearsal photo from Samson and Delilah. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

I asked her about the upcoming Washington National Opera production of Camille Saint-Saëns’ Samson and Delilah.  What was it like to play such complicated female characters, especially ones who lived hundreds of years ago and make them speak to today’s audiences?  She said it was a challenge.  Delilah tricks Samson, seducing him to learn the secret of his power and causing his downfall.  She says part of Delilah she can relate to, but there are parts of Delilah that are not in herself and that she has to let go of J’Nai and create them within herself to effectively portray this woman – all the while singing beautifully, I might add.  She said that tenor Ronaldo Aronica who plays Samson is wonderful to work with and playing off him helps her to get to the places she needs to go – he is also an opera star with Met Opera credentials.  It was fun that her feminist side surfaced a bit as she pondered how Delilah is viewed as strictly evil while Samson gets away with killing all those in the temple.  She wonders what caused Delilah to be the way she was and mused philosophically that we have to see people as complete individuals and not demonize them. 

I told J’Nai that I was especially looking forward to her Act II aria, “Mon coeur souvre á ta voix” (“My heart opens to the sound of your voice”), which I think is one of the most beautiful in the repertoire.  She agreed and said that that aria and other vocals in Act II were a bit of a marathon (the aria itself is over six minutes long).  She says she really has to take care of herself physically to be able to manage it – I have made the case in the past that singing opera could be an Olympic event. She says that initially it requires focus and concentration, but now her muscles have learned the role and she can do it naturally.  Personally, I can’t wait.

As I hope you can see, though her success has come relatively fast, it was also hard earned with years of dedicated hard work and training.  I didn’t venture into her personal life, but she did comment that while she was happy with her life and her choices, she knew that she had paid a price – not going out clubbing with friends and vacations not taken.  I don’t think chances for those activities are going to increase now.  Her website lists 39 operas, competitions, and concerts since her time at Wolf Trap and seven more on her schedule after Samson and Delilah.  But, on the other hand, she has lots of support from family and friends, and seems to me very contented, while still striving to achieve even more and still playing some basketball.

Snapshot by author last night of poster at the entrance to Kennedy Center’s Opera House.

Talking with J’Nai Bridges made quiet an impression on me.  Her balanced life view, her relaxed candor and her willingness to dig deep into her memories to respond to my questions was impressive and much appreciated.  My respect for her as a person soared as we spoke.  I suspect Ms. Bridges is typically the most grown up person in the room. 

My wife still talks about seeing Bruce Springsteen in performance at her college before he became “the Boss”.  I’m sure for many years I will talk about seeing J’Nai Bridges at Wolf Trap and getting to talk with her about it. 

The Fan Experience: You can see J’Nai Bridges performing in Samson and Delilah in the Kennedy Center on March 1, 4, 7, 13, 16, and 21. 

If you have yet to discover Wolf Trap Opera, it is time you did; check out their Summer 2020 Season just announced here: https://www.wolftrap.org/opera.aspx 

Opera Critics in the Mid-Atlantic 2020: The New, the Absent, and the Extreme

Opera critics are professional journalists who cover opera performances, but who are also charged with being knowledgeable evaluators, telling us how well a performance worked and how well conductors, directors, and singers did their jobs.  With great respect for this profession, I have facetiously called them Knights of the Opera Table, Knights with a mission to champion the good opera productions and slay the poor ones.  I am having second thoughts about the second half of that charge as I will discuss further down.  We primarily read critics to learn more about an opera and compare our opinions with an expert.  As an opera fan, I always read the reviews of operas I’ve seen.  Mainly, I read critics working for major newspapers in the mid-Atlantic, the region of OperaGene’s coverage, but I often read ones in the less prominent media outlets as well; frequently, they provide the only reviews for regional and local opera performances.  Reviewers and reviews vary in quality and are subject to being influenced by personal preferences and prejudices, as is the case for any group of professionals. So, how did our Knights do in the year past?  This is my 2020 overview.

First, the year’s shocker:  Anne Midgette retired from the Washington Post in December to have more mommy time and to focus her professional efforts on writing books.  My favorite Knight gone. Sigh.  Even so, she had another stellar year as a journalist, classical music critic, and commentator on social issues in the music business – see her perspective on Russell Thomas and her review of the Jamie Barton/ Kathleen Kelly “Voices” program).  I especially enjoyed it when she paid attention to small companies; see her review of the “In Series”.  The silver lining to losing her almost daily reviews is that, according to Ms. Midgette, the Post has committed to filling in behind her with a new, full-time classical music critic, though one is yet to be announced.  Ms. Midgette still has a strong presence on social media; and, check out her new website at annemidgette.com. 

Two stalwarts of the Opera Table from DC, Charles Downey at Washington Classical Review and Susan Galbraith at the DC Theatre Scene, continued to serve their communities well.  Mr. Downey has now moved to the head chair as my favorite opera critic.  His scholarly reviews, always worth reading, are typically the first to appear online after a performance.  I also like the breadth of his coverage; see reviews this past year of performances by the Maryland Lyric Opera and the Candlelight Concert Society.  Mr. Downey did make a comment in a recent review of MDLO’s Thaïs that I’m still trying to come to terms with; he stated that the story of the opera “strikes most listeners today as absurd”.  Maybe my sensitivity here is heightened by being in the other group of listeners to the story, but still...  Moving on, I enjoy the way that Ms. Galbraith’s theater experience influences her reviews, such as her review of Venus and Adonis, and I valued her thoughtful criticisms of the three twenty-minute operas this season by the American Opera Initiative.

At the western edge of OperaGene’s territory is the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette where the still relatively new classical music critic is Jeremy Reynolds.  His handle on Twitter is Tyrannosaurus Critic, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, I think.  He did write a piece defending honest criticism in reviews (“Here’s why the Post-Gazette still has a Classical Music critic”), but thus far, I’ve not seen a performance or performer too badly mauled by one of his reviews.  In fact, this past year he wrote thoughtful, insightful reviews, but my favorite articles by him are often the educational/informative ones such as his piece on where to sit in a music hall.  This past year, he has solidly entrenched himself as a worthy member of the Opera Table. 

David Patrick Stearns is a former Knight who left the territory for NYC, but perhaps needs reinstatement since he keeps coming back to do reviews for his old employer, the Philadelphia Inquirer.  I generally enjoy Mr. Stearns’ reviews and gain insight from them.  However, I’m going to throw the flag on Mr. Stearns for “Unnecessary Roughness” in his review of Keckler’s Let Me Die, an entry in Opera Philadelphia’s Festival O19.  His criticisms were fair until, in my opinion, he went too far by calling the production a waste of time and castigating Opera Philadelphia for allowing it to be part of the Festival.  I believe Mr. Stearn stated what he thought out of frustration, not malicious intent, but the possible impact of such an extreme view might have been more thoughtfully considered.  I fear the impact might be to deter Opera Philadelphia and other young performers from taking chances.  I hope not.  So, I guess I don’t really want to see poor performances slain by our knights, just called out whn they don’t work and/or for failing to meet the best standards; mortally wounded is okay, but treat with honor, not disdain.

Peter Dobrin, longtime classical music critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer, reviewed relatively few operas this past year with Mr. Stearns handling the majority of opera reviews.  I did enjoy his coverage of The Love of Three Oranges in Festival O19.   Mr. Dobrin is an excellent reviewer and deserves his place on the Opera Table. 

I mentioned critics Cameron Kelsall and George Parous in last year’s report, and I feel it is time to give them seats at the table.  Mr. Kelsall, a theater critic for the Broad Street Review, frequently provides quality reviews of Opera Philadelphia productions.  Mr. Parous, a reviewer for Pittsburgh in the Round, consistently writes quality reviews of Pittsburgh Opera productions.  One critic who is frequently capturing my attention now with her reviews of opera productions in the DC area is Whitney Fishburn of the DC Metro Theater Arts; she has no trouble taking a stand and is worth watching for the future. 

I also wish to mention the Washington Post Arts and Architecture Critic Philip Kennicott.  The infrequency of his reviews and commentary on opera, that appear in the Post and other publications, caused me to place him on the Opera Table taxi squad last year.  All we got this past year was a review of the Pavarotti movie. However, it is worth noting that what first drew me to his work was his extraordinary prose and his sensitive insights into arts and culture.  He is simply a gifted writer who causes me to read far more about art and architecture than I ever would otherwise.  Thus, I’d like to mention a new book of his that just came out, titled “Counterpoint: a Memory of Bach and Mourning.” My pre-order should arrive from Amazon in a few days.

There is one opera critic I wish to mention outside the mid-Atlantic area, Anthony Tommasini.  Mr. Tommasini is the classical music critic for the NY Times and does most of the opera reviews for the Met Opera’s productions.  I have not been a huge fan of his since I became an opera fan.  I think his recent reviews too often have relatively light content and too often let the Met off easy.  However, I have begun reading Mr. Tommasini’s relatively recent book, “The Indispensable Composers”, and it is really good; the content is substantial, and his insights into how each of the composers he covers influenced music is illuminating for a reader not trained in music.  Over the last few years, I am developing a prejudice that I like his earlier articles much more than his recent ones.  His 2008 article on the history of surtitles in opera was remarkably comprehensive and engaging.  Much of the material in his book is taken from his earlier newspaper articles.  My observation, and developing hypothesis, is that when critics are new in their jobs, they put more effort into helping newbies understand opera, while later in their careers they tend to overlook this teaching aspect.  This all leads me to another theory.  Maybe Ms. Midgette’s departure from writing reviews will have another benefit beyond those she gave at the time - a period of refreshment for her professional life.  Just a theory, but do Knights do sabbaticals?  Maybe they should?

I am grateful to all of these writers for the fine and important work they do.

 The Fan Experience: As I read or just scan reviews, I add links to them in OperaGene’s running three-month performance listing on the blog page. I also archive them on the Seasonal Lists page for future reference.

Sitting Down with Opera Lafayette’s Ryan Brown: The Leonore Project and More

Logo courtesy of Opera Lafayette

On February 26 in the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater, Opera Lafayette will conclude its Leonore Project by presenting a staged version of Ludwig von Beethoven’s opera Leonore.  This performance will touch on many milestones – 2020 is the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birthday; it is also Opera Lafayette’s 25th anniversary, and the staging of Leonore, the first version (1805) of Beethoven’s Fidelio (1814), will be Opera Lafayette’s most ambitious production thus far (Fidelio is Leonore’s assumed name while disguised as a man).  In 2017, I attended Washington Concert Opera’s Leonore (1805) and it was a highlight of the opera season for me; later that spring I also attended Met Opera’s Fidelio and frankly, I liked WCO’s production more.  With this in mind, I sat down this past Saturday to have lunch with Ryan Brown, OL’s Founder, Artistic Director, and Conductor (and sometimes violinist) to discuss Leonore and Opera Lafayette’s remarkable twenty-five-year journey. 

Ryan Brown, Founder, Artistic Director, and Conductor of Opera Lafayette; photo courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

Director Brown says that each new production, new set of performers, and new venue has added value to Opera Lafayette and contributed to its success.  This journey officially began in 1995, when after finishing a performance in DC as a violinist in a chamber ensemble and with a child on the way, Mr. Brown decided to make his stand in DC.  Rather than accepting a six-week gig in Amsterdam and Vienna, he made a successful application to the Corcoran Gallery of Art to present early French works using period instruments in the Salon Doré, a small performance venue, but a gorgeous room of inspiring 18th century French design and decoration; the advantage: come to see the performance and see the room also.  His new company called the Violins of Lafayette was born. Vocal artists were included in the mix and an early chamber opera was performed. He soon recognized the overlap of dance with French music and vocal arts and added that aspect to their performances.  As the mission began to focus more on opera, he made the decision to step away from the violin in 2001-2002 and focus on the role of conductor. The name was changed to Opera Lafayette for the 2001-2002 season (and Ryan Brown, the violinist, has reappeared in their performances from time to time). 

The excellence and authenticity of their productions of French baroque opera even impressed the French, and in 2012, they were invited to perform in the Royal Opera House in Versailles.  Over the years the DC venue has migrated from the Salon Doré to the Clarice Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland to the Lisner Auditorim at George Washington University to the Terrace and Eisenhower theaters in the Kennedy Center, as performance needs and audience size required.  OL performed Gluck's Orphée et Euridice in 2002 for the opening of the Clarice Performing Arts Center; it was there that OL performed through the 2006-2007 season and began its series of audio recordings for Naxos. Mr. Brown, who studied at Juilliard and lived for a while in New York City, decided that OL’s focus could also add something to the NYC music scene that would not compete with other offerings there, and in 2007, OL began giving performances in NYC as well as DC, the current practice today. 

The Leonore Project is Opera Lafayette’s investigation into the musical and historical context of Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio.  In February 2017, I attended my first Opera Lafayette performance, and as fate would have it, this was the opera that began the Leonore Project, Pierre Gaveaux’s Léonore, ou l’amour du conjugal (1798).  What is the connection of Gaveaux’s opera to Beethoven’s you might ask?  Well, the story did not originate with Beethoven.  He chose the libretto written by Jean-Nicolas Bouilly for Gaveaux; Beethoven’s librettist, Joseph von Sonnleithner, adapted Bouilly’s libretto for his opera.  And what an effort that began.  It took the great maestro ten years, including two additionally performed versions, known as 1805 and 1806, to arrive in 1814 with the premiere of Fidelio.  Historical note: Beethoven preferred the name Leonore, but presumably the impresarios and lawyers prevailed so as to not have it be confused with Gaveaux’s opera.

Gaveaux’s opera is French and Beethoven’s is German.  This period of history in Europe was turbulent.  The storming of the Bastille had taken place in 1789; Napoleon took control of France in 1799 and moved to engage other armies on the continent.  When Leonore premiered in Vienna, the city was occupied by Napoleon’s army.  Feelings of nationalism and social justice were running high.  Beethoven had strong feelings about these events.  This is the backdrop for Bouilly’s story of a woman who disguises herself as a man in an attempt to get her unjustly accused husband out of a political imprisonment.  I might add that when I saw these operas previously, I thought Gaveaux might have been more influenced by the romanticism of the story, the flavor of the outgoing century, and Beethoven more enamored of its issues of freedom and social justice entering the next century.  Opera Lafayette wanted to look deeper at both these operas and the music of their day, and how the music of each composer was used to express these feelings, and deeper into how Gaveaux’s opera might have influenced Beethoven. 

There is as yet no proof that Beethoven saw the musical score for Gaveaux’s opera.  Yet, Director Brown finds elements in both operas sufficient to justify further investigation into similarities in each composer’s responses to the libretto.  Another area of investigation that intrigued Mr. Brown and his team was a missing portion of a third-act aria for Floristan, Leonore’s imprisoned husband.  He says that several musicologists have spent significant portions of their lives trying to track down and “rescue” this third act aria, the only part of the 1805 opera which has not survived.  Working with Mr. Brown and his colleagues, noted conductor and musicologist Will Crutchfield has re-imagined the missing section of this aria using sketches and existing performance materials.  This rescued aria written in the spirit of Beethoven will be performed for the first time in OL’s Leonore.  That adds a few notes of interest, doesn’t it?

Having attended a performance of Leonore (1805) in concert, I greatly look forward to this rare opportunity to see Leonore staged.  Leonore is longer with three acts to Fidelio’s two, and they have different overtures.  To get another gauge on how different they might be, I asked Mr. Brown how much new music would a soprano familiar with the role of Fidelio have to learn.  He replied that there are two new recitatives and a second act duet with Marcelline, the jailer’s daughter, that would be new.  So, they are substantially the same, but what’s different is still Beethoven’s and worth hearing.  He also said that the voice requirements for the two versions are not quite the same.  And of course, OL performances will further be differentiated by OL’s using period instruments.  For Gaveaux, OL had 33 instruments in the pit and for Beethoven there will be 44.  Happy Birthday, Maestro!

If leaders are made, not born, surely the making begins at birth.  Mr. Brown’s mother played the piano and his father was both a pianist and a conductor who led the Santa Rosa Symphony in California for 38 years.  Mr. Brown says that he was not originally interested in conducting or opera, that the family joke he used for many years was that he would not conduct until his father stopped.  This family background not only paved a musical and conducting path for him, but also provided him with a critical element for his future success; he learned first-hand at a young age how to manage a musical group.  Opera seems to have infected him much later on its own.

Conductor Brown gave me a demonstration.  In our conversation he said that for singers he not only looks for talent and craftsmanship, he also wants singers that will add to the overall group.  For example, when he auditions potential singers, he is sensitive to whether they are open to suggestions for singing a piece.  After lunch, he invited me to sit in on the rehearsal he was conducting while Floristan’s new aria was being worked on; meant purely as a treat, it also became a lesson.  As I watched him work with tenor Jean-Michel Richer who will play Floristan, it was clear that each person came at the aria from a different perspective in getting the performance of the aria perfected.  There were discussions of notes and their grouping in the score of concern to Director Brown, and where the emotion was strongest in the aria, of concern to the singer; there was give and take in all of this.  The need for being able to work as part of a team effort was readily apparent.  Oh, and the parts of the aria I heard, made me want to hear more.

This management insight he gained growing up in a musical family was one of many reasons that Director Brown gave for Opera Lafayette’s success.  The first reason he gave was perseverance, perhaps more a reflection of the effort it required.  He followed that entry in his list by suggesting a strong focus on the mission, attracting good, dedicated people (staff and performers and a network of expert musician friends and musicologists), venues that had special appeal, and an audience in the DC area that would support performances.  He went on to include the availability of excellent voices, and not the least, patrons who supported the mission.  I also suggested that the quality and authenticity of Opera Lafayette’s productions were also factors and so was finding a niche.  There are always customers for quality; and what you get with Opera Lafayette, you don’t get elsewhere.  He also was quick to point out that OL’s effort merging the wills and talents of so many people always provided a sum greater than its parts.  That might make a good logo – Opera Lafayette, the sum greater than its parts.

What about the future?  Opera Lafayette is stretching its mission a bit going forward.  Venus and Adonis, which opened this season is an English opera, and Beethoven’s Leonore is a 19th century German opera.  As shown by this season’s offerings, we can expect the inclusion of operas beyond France and venturing into the 19th century, as well as the 17th and 18th.   The focus, however, will remain on modern premieres of rediscovered masterpieces using musical instruments from their period, and maybe, some additional opera rescues.  Makes me look forward to their performances even more, and I have attended almost all of them since my first one.

I have stated before that I no longer need to look ahead to see what Opera Lafayette is performing to make a decision on whether to attend.  I just go.  I probably won’t be familiar with the work anyway, yet I can depend on Opera Lafayette to make it interesting and to bring the quality and the enchantment, providing a delightful evening… like no other. 

The Fan Experience: Check this link for tickets to Leonore at 7 pm on Wednesday, February 26; last time I checked, tickets were available but were growing scarce.  The March 2 performance in NYC will be held at 7 pm on March 2 in the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College; note: a second performance for the NYC venue has recently been added for 7 pm on March 4..  A pre-performance talk will be given by Director Brown and musicologist Will Crutchfield at 6 pm prior to all three performances.  Being somewhat of an opera junky, I try never to miss the pre-opera talks, but these discussions, with Director Brown talking about the Leonore Project and musicologist Crutchfield talking about Floristan’s rescued opera, should be especially interesting.

There will be a preview performance of Leonore at the Bowie Center for Performing Arts on Sunday, February 23 at 3 pm. Opera Lafayette’s performance of Gaveaux’s Leonore, ou l’amour d conjugal was filmed and is available on DVD from Naxos, if you’d like to add to your Leonore collection.

Opera fans in the DC area will have a chance to compare Leonore and Fidelio.  Washington National Opera has just announced performances of Fidelio in Oct/Nov this year.

Maryland Lyric Opera’s Thaïs: A Serious Pleasure

Maryland Lyric Opera’s Thaïs was fun, a visual and musical delight that also tells an engaging story that confronts its audience head on with serious moral and spiritual issues centering on how to live a life.  We in the audience, like the characters in the opera, have to make choices and face challenges about what we believe and how we live our own lives.  We must also confront the ambiguity in the word “love”.  Are we living our lives like Thaïs?  Or Athanaël?  Or Nicias?  What love do we want?

Let’s meet those characters.  Thaïs is an alluring courtesan in Alexandria, Egypt during the time of Roman occupation.  She wields much power over the city’s pleasure seekers as the chief priestess of Venus, the god of love.  Athanaël is a Christian monk who has given up worldly pleasures to live with other monks in the simplicity and purity of desert life.  He knew Thaïs once in an earlier time but has come to blame her for the city’s moral degradation.  A dream convinces him that God has given him a mission to convert Thaïs to Christianity and convince her to live out her life in a monastery.  Nicias, who believes life is all there is and intends to enjoy the here and now as much as possible, is both a recent client of Thaïs and a long-time friend of Athanaël.  He brings the two together.  Thaïs has secretly been worrying about losing her beauty and confronting the emptiness of her love life and is convinced by Athanaël to turn from her sinful ways.  Her penance exhausts her body, and she dies believing she is entering the kingdom of Heaven.  In her final moments, Athanaël confesses he lied to her, that he desires her, and that he wants her to remain on earth.

Athanaël (Louis Otey) and Thaïs (Sarah Joy Miller) meet. Photo by Julian Thomas; courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.

Jules Massenet, the composer of Thaïs (1894), is better known for his two popular opera’s, Manon (1885) and Werther (1892).  He was the most popular French composer of his day; Thaïs and many other of his operas were hits with audiences of the time but are now rarely performed.  I will explore reasons for Thaïs’ lack of popularity later on.  The French libretto is by Louis Gallet, based on the eponymous novel by Anatole France, which was itself based on the life of Saint Thaïs of Egypt, a legendary convert to Christianity in the 4th century.  The opera, though controversial, was tolerated, but the Catholic Church put France’s work on the Forbidden List.  In a break with tradition, the lyrics are in prose, not poetry – no rhyming, perhaps adding an element of starkness to the drama and making more demands on the singers and orchestra.

As I think back on the performance, I wonder how I could have considered such a drama “fun”.  It is best explained by commenting on the many highlights this production offered:

The set and staging: This was a new production: the set, the lighting, the costumes, and staging were all constructed afresh for MDLO’s production.   Well done, MDLO staff.  The set and the lighting were marvelous in supporting the time period and the mood of different settings of the story; kudos to Harry Feiner, Stage Set and Lighting Designer, and to MDLO staff and the carpenters/artists involved.  It all worked beautifully as did the new costumes designed by Sam Fleming, wigs by Anne Nesmith, and implemented by Costume Manager Dorothy Diggers.  The overall result was a highly artistic presentation, colorful, with tremendous eye appeal, a worldly pleasure.

The staging engineered by Director Claudia Zahn presented the story in a believable and compelling fashion. The placement of principal players and chorus and dancers worked beautifully to carry the story forward smoothly.  Telling a story with spiritual themes can easily misstep and lead to titters of laughter.  This staging of Thaïs was convincing from beginning to end.  As my son and I walked out, we overheard several college-age young women saying they didn’t expect to have tears in their eyes; that is a sincere compliment to the staging.  I personally was rather impressed with how touching the scene was where Athanaël leads Thaïs through the desert in a hard act of penance and then shows compassion for her; I had not felt that way in the Met Opera 2008 version.  Ms. Zahn got this Thais right.

The singers: Thaïs was a team effort and this team had quality players at every position.  Soprano Sarah Joy Miller was excellent in the role of Thaïs.  She has the voice and looks to carry this demanding role.  I thought she seemed to be pushing to get out some of the early beautiful high notes, but she settled into the flow and the beauty of her singing became rapturous.  She also gave a fine acting performance, first as the alluring, haughty courtesan and then as the reformed supplicant.  Baritone Louis Otey also has the voice and the looks to carry his role, that of Athanaël, also a demanding role.  He has a strong stage presence and is a fine actor; he even managed to elicit some sympathy from me for Athanaël at the end.  He impressed with his strong baritone in his more demanding arias, though I did feel some of the more extended recitatives seemed more challenging for him.  Tenor Joseph Michael Brent was very convincing as the epicurean Nicias.  Mr. Brent sang impressively in his role and seemed very natural on stage.  In smaller roles, also excellent were bass-baritone Hunter Enoch as Palémon, leader of the monks; mezzo-soprano Allegra De Vita as abbess Albine; soprano Sarah Joyce Cooper who sang with the dancers, including while being hoisted way up in the air; and soprano Hayan Kim as Crobyte and mezzo-soprano Caroline Hewitt as Myrtale portraying servants of Nicias.  The chorus was very strong under the direction of Steven Gathman. 

Nicias (Joseph Michael Brent), center) parties during the ballet scene. Photo by Julian Thomas; courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.

The dancers: MDLO presented the oft-omitted ballet scene, one of the production’s most delightful worldly pleasures.  Sarah J. Ewing and her team of eight attractive dancers provided a thrilling interlude of joyous motion, color, and beauty backed by sumptuous music.  Ah heck, they were so good and provided so much pleasure, I will name them: Diana Amalfitano, Ryan Carlough, Grace Cho, Davione Gordon, Abby Leithart, Shanice Mason, Tariq Darrell O’Meally, and Robert Woofter.  As mentioned above, they worked Ms. Cooper into their routine beautifully (and safely).

The Music: Massenet’s music is melodious and beautiful throughout.  The famous Méditation violin solo at the end of Scene 1 in Act II is exceptionally lovely, and its theme is used again in Act 3; this piece is often played in concerts and was played beautifully by MDLO Concertmaster Jose Miquel Cueto.  The music supports the mood and setting for each scene and the music for the ballet was sheer fun.  Maestro Louis Salemno leading the MDLO Orchestra turned in another stellar performance.  If you have not heard them play, treat yourself to some of their upcoming concert performances.  This conductor and orchestra playing Massenet’s music is definitely a worldly pleasure.

I have now enjoyed seeing two productions of Thaïs; one on video and one live.  I think I now understand why Thaïs is not a popular opera.  The reason most often given is that Thaïs is a showpiece opera for the rare exceptional soprano who can do justice to the role.  I find this unconvincing; I believe many of today’s excellent sopranos can sing this role.  The view sometimes given that the music is light weight, to me, is reaching for criticism; the music is highly enjoyable and does its job of enhancing the story telling, if not of the stature of Tristan und Isolde, certainly a worthy entrant for the repertoire. 

Sarah Joy Miller as Thaïs meditates on the meaning of her life. Photo by Julian Thomas; courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.

Operas can wax and wane in popularity depending on the zeitgeist of an epoch.  Society can be fickle or may lose interest in what an opera has to say.  Thaïs’s subject matter is a faceoff between the spirit and the flesh, but our leads convert each other; they switch places.  Final score: Eternal Salvation 1, Worldly Pleasures 1.  This battle winds up in a tie and ties please no one.  Also, it’s complicated. Athanaël’s motives are not pure; he is driven by ego and pride; even in the end we cannot be sure what his real feelings for Thaïs are. Furthermore, audiences have become more secular in makeup over time, and the secular community doesn’t embrace or at least doesn’t feel comfortable with issues of salvation and eternal life.  When I look back at reviews of previous productions, I note that the reviews tend to pass over the spiritual elements lightly and focus on the singers and music.  Regardless, after witnessing MDLO’s production, I have trouble seeing its lack of popularity as the opera’s fault.  Met Opera did it in 2017; Minnesota Opera did it in 2018, and Utah Opera is doing it later this year.  Maybe we are at the beginning of a revival; maybe our time is ready to face those issues again.

left photo: Palémon (Hunter Enoch), leader of the monks, listens to Athanaél (Louis Otey) express his distress. right photo: Abbess Albine (Allegra De Vita, left) leads the nuns. Photos by Julian Thomas; courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.

My bottom line is that Maryland Lyric Opera’s Thaīs worked.  It succeeded on two critical levels, first as entertainment, providing an immersive sensual experience, the worldly pleasures, and at the same time, it attended to our souls if you are religious or our humanity if you are secular, albeit in a disturbing way, by involving us in an artistic experience that delved deeply into who we are at our most fundamental selves and the choices that we must make about what we believe.  I think MDLO made an inspired choice and gave us the Thaïs that Massenet and Gallet intended.

The Fan Experience: There were only two performances of Thaïs, one on January 30 and one on February 1.  Check this link to see MDLO’s schedule of performances for the remainder of their season; a staged version of Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro will be coming up on June 10, 12, and 14, again in the Kay Theatre. 

OMG! Free parking Thursday night was a bear.  I know there was a basketball game scheduled to start an hour after the opera, but something else must have also been going on.  I arrived over an hour before the opera and the free 1B and Z lots were saturated.  Fortunately, people seemed to be getting into the stadium paid parking with little difficulty.

Refreshments are limited in the Clarice Center for the Performing Arts which houses the Kay Theatre. There is a small bar with chips, pretzels, candy, and drinks , but a ten minute campus walk away is the UMD Student Union which features an array of fast food stands.

Why Maryland Lyric Opera’s Thaïs: A Young Artist Perspective

Tenor Joseph Michael Brent singing in Il Tabarro in September of 2019 at The Music Center at Strathmore. Photo courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.

Tenor Joseph Michael Brent obtained a doctoral degree from the University of Georgia in 2014 and in 2018 spent a period training in Maryland Lyric Opera’s Young Artist Institute.  He has appeared in several MDLO productions since then and after a concert appearance in 2019, I wrote “I thought Mr. Brent was good when first I heard him a year ago.  He is now even better, a career worth following.  Kudos to him and to the MDLO team.”  He will play the role of Nicias in the upcoming MDLO performances of Thaïs.  His answer to the question posed in my previous blog report came in too late, and perhaps in too much detail, to be included there.  However, it was much too interesting not to use.  Here is a young artist’s response to my question. 

Why did you decide to make Thaïs part of your life?

My decision to make Thaïs a part of my life was multivalent.  Until I was contacted by Maryland Lyric Opera, Thaïs had never made a blip on my professional radar.  I had written transcriptions of the Thaïs meditation for double bass, and as a duet for double bass and violin, but never conceived that I would be singing Nicias, a role that I have come to adore.  Thaïs is not standard repertoire, and as there is no proper aria for the tenor (Nicias), there wasn't previously any powerful impulse to engage with the score. In an effort to streamline my answer, I would like to simply state that when the Maryland Lyric Opera calls I pick up; if MDLO inquires or offers a role, I consider it. I have ineffable appreciation, respect, and trust in the tight-knit team of artists who are at the helm of this company.  Mr. Brad Clark (President and Founder), Matthew Woorman (General Manager), and Maestro Salemno (Music Director and Conductor) are a powerhouse triumvirate forging an impressive opera company, one that I am grateful to work with and for.  They take care of their artists, and they prioritize great music making: what more could you want from an opera company?

Though I fear any display of hubris, I'll hazard to admit that I have come to personally identify with this character. I also have found that Massenet's setting of Gallet's text feels well suited to my voice, individual subjectivity notwithstanding. Nicias is an armchair philosopher, iconoclast, fatalist, epicurean, and dare I say hedonist; he takes people at their word and celebrates aestheticism over asceticism. I also find the underlying contention of the opera - the drama that percolates between Thaïs and Athanaël, and the provocative questioning of faith, paganism, and lust - fascinating, and engaging. Much of the music is quite beautiful, and Massenet's use of associative musical gesture at times is nearly “leitmotivic”. The [013] trichord (three note grouping), for example, is heard melodically and harmonically throughout the opera during scenes that feature Athanaël. You will hear this unmistakable cell used “motivically” by the orchestra in his first entrance. The two-bar phrase is actually a statement of the [013] trichord in one bar, followed by an inversion of the same trichord in the second bar, together creating a haunting affect. Other statements of this motive cell are rather recondite."

In summary, I chose to make Thaïs a part of my life because accepting this contract meant that I would be working with a great company (run by inspired artists), singing a role suited to me, exploring a relatively obscure opera, being surrounded by fantastic artists (on stage, off stage, and in the pit), offering something special to the audience, and - not least of which - earning some money to eat, pay my rent and student loans. I have to emphasize that working with Claudia Zahn (Thais Director) is an absolute treat, she is fantastic. I would be remiss if I did not include both Sam Fleming (Thaïs Costume Design) and Anne Nesmith (Thaïs Wig Design), who have contributed to making a beautiful show. Their amiable and brilliant personalities are perfect complements to their professional skill, a true joy to know these three artists. The high quality of person and artist that this company employs, from management to the pit, create an atmosphere that is an exhilarating delight both artistically and professionally. Tenor Joseph Michael Brent, who plays Nicias.

The Fan Experience: Mr. Brent makes a cogent point in his last paragraph not mentioned by others.  A singer must also be able to put food on the table.  If we want to continue watch and hear young artists entering opera careers, we have to support them by attending performances.  MDLO is making that possible.

Maryland Lyric Opera’s Thaïs: Why Make Thaïs Part of Your Life

Rehearsal photo from Thaïs. Photo courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.

Maryland Lyric Opera will perform composer Jules Massenet’s Thaïs on January 30 and February 1.  Thaïs is not in the top ten operas performed every year, nor even in the top fifty.  The last U.S. productions were by Metropolitan Opera in 2017 and Minneapolis Opera in 2018.  When a young, small opera company places a fully-staged production of Thaïs in their new season, one wonders why they are willing to take a chance on an opera that so few fans will be familiar with.  I am impressed with the quality of MDLO productions I have attended; last season’s concert performance of Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West was one of the highlights of the opera season for me.  After recently viewing a Met Opera video of Thaïs as an experiment in supertitle-free viewing, I felt that this story of obsession/transformation of a Christian ascetic and an alluring courtesan in Alexandria, Egypt under the rule of the Roman Empire is an under-appreciated opera for both the story and the music, but I wanted to look more deeply into the reasons behind MDLO’s choice and what the performers found compelling.

Performers and staff involved in an opera put their hearts and souls into its production.  More often than not, it is more than just a job.  Choices are made about whether to audition and whether to appear in a particular production.  Sought after performers choose their roles carefully to fit their abilities and their desires to play specific roles.  These thoughts led me to wonder why the performers and staff in Maryland Lyric Opera’s production of Thaïs chose to commit their time and artistry to this particular opera.  So, I asked, and with the assistance of General Manager Matthew Woorman, I collected these responses to the following question:

Why did you decide to make Thaïs part of your life?

“When we were discussing which opera to produce in January 2020 we came up with a number of ideas. Thaïs became the clear consensus.  Given that this opera is so rarely performed, I am more than thrilled to have given the green light to this one for a number of reasons. The music is a hidden gem, both in the vocal and orchestral writing. Not only is it one of Massenet’s greatest works, it sits atop many in the French opera literature. It is one of the operas that has the two main roles for soprano and baritone and therefore some very moving duets which showcase the dramatic baritone role in contrast to the both seductive and vulnerable soprano. Its timely subject matter which deals with a person pledging his life to celibacy and his inherent struggle with his basic human needs in front of a very human Thaïs who struggles to find her way to the truth of her spiritual life. The inclusion of the full ballet that Massanet wrote (but rarely performed) that adds tremendously to this already gorgeous musical score. As a pianist, I have performed the well known "Meditation" from Thaïs countless times in various arrangements. I am grateful that we are able to bring this piece to the public in full context.  - Brad Clark, Founder and President, Maryland Lyric Opera.

“I love singing Thaïs! It’s a beautiful story of transformation for both of the main characters, as well as some of the most beautiful music I’ve had the pleasure to sing. It’s truly one of my favorite roles.” - Soprano Sarah Joy Miller who will play Thaïs.

“When Lou Salemno called me last summer and asked whether I'd be interested in doing 'Thaïs', it only took a moment to decide that, "Yes, I'd like another shot at this extraordinary role."  I sang it first in Rome 15 years ago and then covered it at the Met a few years after. And the fact that it would be Maestro Salemno in the pit was also a motivating factor along with the young lady who is singing the title role, Sarah Joy Miller. After 40+ years in this profession, I have chosen to do only projects that interest me with the right people. The role of 'Athanael' is a complex role, both dramatically and musically. I am attracted to characters who go through changes in their story, and Athanael certainly goes on a journey in the course of the opera. And, as a man of faith myself, I can relate to Athanael's crisis of faith. We all need to be tested in what we believe and he certainly is-- he leaves his comfortable life in Alexandria because he feels the emptiness of the pleasures of the flesh-- but his reaction of going in completely the opposite direction also turns up rather empty in the end. Thaïs makes the good choice though she dies because of the harshness of her penance. It's a misunderstanding of the grace that God provides for us. So, though it came rather 'out of the blue', I was happy to make Thaïs a part of my life at this point in time because it's a great role, a great character with a story to tell and the right people involved to make it truly worthwhile.”  - Baritone Louis Otey who will play Athanael.

“I chose to make this opera a part of my life in terms of becoming familiar with it in my Masters degree. After I heard a recording of George London singing “Voilà donc la terrible cité”, I decided to look over the score and listen to a few recordings. I thought the work was so beautiful musically, and a very interesting story. I was very happy to be offered the opportunity to be a part of it.” – Baritone Hunter Enoch who plays Palémon.

“This is an interesting way to think about my involvement with Thaïs.  I’ve always worked in both opera and straight theatre and look for pieces that are challenging for me and worth the effort, because they are rich both musically and/or dramatically. I love Massenet; he is a fabulous melodist, has great dramatic instincts - and tells great stories. So, I was intrigued to do one of his operas that I’d never done and is rarely done.  What initially drew me to be a part of this production were the roles of Athanaël and Thaïs. What could be a simplistic story gains richness through Massenet’s ability to bring color, nuance and unexpected choices to these characters. I really was moved by their emotional journeys. Added to that, the opportunity to build this exotic, semi-historical world was exciting for the designers and me.  And I was looking forward to the chance to work with Louis Salemno again. I have always greatly admired his innate musicality and understanding of the musical drama that is opera.  He brings more passion to the work than most conductors I’ve worked with!" - Claudia Zahn, Stage Director

“Like anything in the arts, there are several parts to this answer that are interlocking. I enjoy working with the director, Claudia Zahn, and we have worked together many times. We share a similar appreciation for all that opera is and can be. Then there is the piece, Thais. Massenet writes such beautifully atmospheric music, full of color and emotion, that it is a designer's dream: it cries out to be visually realized and has been personally rewarding to work on. The contrast between the simple severity of early Christian hermetic life and the growing decadence of Rome sets up a visual dynamic that is exciting. Finally, having seen an MDLO concert presentation last spring, I was impressed by the quality of the performances, singers and instrumentalists, as well as the musical accomplishment the maestro brought to the concert. The opportunity to work on a project that promises to be satisfying is a great draw." - Harry Feiner, Scenery and Lighting Designer for Thaïs

Why does this blogger want to make seeing Thaïs part of his life?  I want to hear the music again, especially played live by Maestro Salemno and the excellent MDLO orchestra.  MDLO will include the ballet scene in their version.  Also, Thaïs is a showpiece opera for a gifted soprano.  I can’t wait to hear Sarah Joy Miller in the role.  When she appeared in Romeo et Juliette in Baltimore in 2016, the Baltimore Sun’s critic Tim Smith said that she was a special talent who made every phrase sound beautiful, and he hoped she would be back in town soon.  Well Baltimore, College Park is not that far away.  I want to see what MDLO has done in terms of set and costumes in this new production.  There is a challenge to telling this story.  One reference I read claimed that the definitive Thaïs is yet to be produced.  Might MDLO’s be the one?

Addendum 1/29/2020: For a young artist response, tenor Joseph Michael Brent, who plays Nicias, see my next blog post.

The Fan Experience: The MDLO performances of Thaïs will take place in the Kay Theatre in the Smith Performing Arts Center on the campus of the University of Maryland, College Park at 7:30 pm on Thursday, January 30 and at 2:30 pm on Saturday, February 1; tickets range from $25 to $50.  (Helpful Hint purchasing tickets online - When you click on the “Buy Tickets” link, first choose the month, January for the January 30 performance or February for the February 1 performance.)  Thanks to a donation-funded student initiative “Hello, Opera!”, student tickets are available in all sections for just $10. 

There is free parking near the theater after 4 pm on weekdays and all day on weekends in lots 1B and Z; there is a University of Maryland Basketball game at 8:30 pm on January 30, so getting there early for the 7:30 performance of the opera that day is recommended.  The small size and excellent acoustics in the Kay Theatre make it an excellent venue for attending opera.

Springtime for Opera in DC: AOI’s Exciting New Operas

Each January in Washington DC new opera blooms.  The American Opera Initiative presents a round of newly commissioned works to begin each new year.  Typically, one one-hour and three 20-minute operas are premiered.  The program was founded in 2012 and has sponsored the premieres of over 50 contemporary American operas.  This year, the one-hour entry has effectively been replaced with Washington National Opera’s  DC premiere of Blue which will take place in March.  Friday night in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, the AOI presented three new 20-minute works: Woman of Letters, Admissions, and Night Trip.

I consider these AOI productions to be one of the highlights of each opera season, presenting fresh new works that speak directly to current American culture.  For those of us who love new opera, it is an oasis.  Each entry in Friday night’s program presented a vignette from American life, and in each, a central character or two experiences a moment of truth, a truth transmitted to the audience through words and music.  While the focus is on American stories, the conflicts, emotions, and aspirations are representative of people everywhere.  One must keep in mind that classic operas typically run for 3-4 hours.  Composers and librettists for these short operas must present the characters and scene, build the tension, and reach a resolution in just 20 minutes.  And singing a story takes longer than simply acting a story, so the music must also be telling the story.  All singers come from the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program for these performances, and the orchestra is a chamber ensemble taken from the WNO orchestra. 

A key feature of the American Opera Initiative is to provide mentoring and exposure to other opera professionals to the new composers and librettists during the development of the operas.  This year’s mentors are composer Laura Kaminsky, librettist Kelley Rourke, and conductor Ann Manson.  Each has established careers in opera: Ms. Kaminsky is the composer of the highly successful opera, As One; Ms. Rourke is a successful librettist and is also the dramaturg for Washington National Opera; and Ms. Manson has conducted at music houses around the globe and is currently the music director for the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra.  Additionally, teamwork among creative staff and performers is encouraged in bringing these productions to fruition.  The operas are semi-staged, presented in concert, and all were directed by Amanda Consol.

Woman of Letters photos: first photo - Marlen Nahhas as Sonya and Samuel J. Weiser as Sam; second photo - Marlen Nahhas as Sonya and Alexandra Nowakowski as Dara. Photos by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

Woman of Letters by composer Liliya Ugay and libretto by Sokunthary Svay presents an inflection point in the evolving relationship between an immigrant daughter and father living alone together.  The father Sam has inspired the daughter Sonya’s imagination (and inhibited her wandering outside the home) by bringing her books from his job as a janitor at a local university.  This status quo must change when she receives a scholarship to attend college in Britain, and though, at first, he refuses to let her go, they reach a new, still fulfilling understanding of their relationship.  Soprano Marlen Nahhas as Sonya and bass Samuel J. Weiser as Sam gave convincing performances conveying the emotions with their voices.  Soprano Alexandra Nowakoswski appearing as Dara, a flighty friend lapsing into opera trills, added levity and perspective.  The story might benefit from a more elaborate playing out of the transition the father undergoes but that would require more time.  The small ensemble of thirteen instruments including a piano, was led in all three operas by Ms. Manson and played each new score effectively.  In my brief, first time, hearing of the music for Woman of Letters, the image that came to mind was a collage of instruments, an impressionistic collage that worked to provide color to the scenes.

Admissions photo: l to r, William Meinart as Father, Amanda Lynn Bottoms as Mother, and Marlen Nahhas as Daughter. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

Admissions by composer Michael Lanci and librettist Kim Davies shows a movie star mother, a business tycoon father and their two kids as the mother is accused of giving bribes to gain a college acceptance for her daughter; hmmm, where did they get that idea?  It’s an opera dramedy.  The ways that life-styles and thereby life can warp us are exposed in comedic fashion but ends with a sincere (or not?) motivation of a mother to give to her children what she did not have.  A strong cast included soprano Marlen Nahhas as the daughter, tenor Matthew Pearce as the son, mezzo-soprano Amanda Lynn Bottoms as the mother, and bass William Meinert as the father.  Ms. Nahhas, Mr. Pearce, and Mr. Meinert sang well and gave convincing portrayals of their roles, particularly the comedic elements.  I especially enjoyed the tenderness of Ms. Bottoms singing and approach to her role.  The music here seemed to have more specific definition in supporting the characters with fine playing by the orchestra.

Night Trip photos: first photo - Rehanna Thewell as Conchetta; second photo, l to r - Samuel McCrady as Officer, Joshua Blue as Uncle Mack, and Joshua Conyers as Uncle Wesley. Photos by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

While Woman of Letters tugs at our heart strings and Admissions allows us to laugh at ourselves, Night Trip by composer Carlos Simon and librettist Sandra Seaton is a punch to the gut.  Two black WWII veterans begin a car ride from Chicago to Tennessee to transport their young niece to see her family.  Their encounter with a white gas station attendant and a white cop is scary; they save themselves by giving up their money.  This stark confrontation with racist cruelty lifted a veil from their niece’s eyes, changing her forever.  The players in this drama gave very strong performances, Joshua Conyers as Uncle Wesley, tenor Joshua Blue as Uncle Mack, tenor Matthew Pearce as the gas station attendant, and baritone Samson McCrady as the Police Officer.  I saved the best for last; mezzo-soprano Rehanna Thelwell was riveting as Conchetta.  She first appears commanding the stage, full of life, singing beautifully, and by the end, commanding the stage, singing knowingly.  The music utilized idioms from other genres, such as jazz and swing, and seemed the most assured of the three operas in presenting the characters.

These were three exciting entries in AOI’s annual event.  I can also report that no kings, queens, knights, duels, or double suicides by lovers were involved.  No, these were stories we could all readily identify with.  Therein lies a challenge for new opera, I think.  We live in a period when the mainstream is more focused on psychological than external change.  Ms. Kaminsky spoke of the need for the music, the voices, and the words to work together to communicate the truth of the stories.  Opera has feasted on truths revealed by grand passions and highly dramatic music.  Telling important truths where important changes are taking place internally requires a new type of music.  AOI’s new operas are exploring these new directions.  AOI has a great concept – give creative people resources and let them create.  Sadly, Spring only comes once a year.

The Fan Experience: These AOI performances were presented in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater only on Saturday night, at 7 pm and again at 9 pm.  The Terrace Theater only holds 450 patrons, so get your tickets early for next January.

An American in Lyon Attending Offenbach’s Le Roi Carotte

My wife schedules our vacations.  The deal we had was to spend Christmas in Paris to attend the opera for me (see my previous blog report) and to spend New Year’s Eve in Lyon to visit France’s gastronomic capital for my wife.  My wife noticed Opéra de Lyon was performing on New Year’s Day and gave me another treat, opera in Lyon.  We were concerned that the ongoing strike in France might imperil our Lyon plans as it did our plans in Paris, but to our delight, we arrived on time and the show went on.

King Carrot (Christophe Mortagne) and his rooted entourage appear at the royal court. 2019 Photo by Blandine Soulage; courtesy of Opéra Lyon.

(Disclaimer: Parents, if your children already have trouble eating their vegetables, do not take them to this opera.)

The opera being performed on New Year’s Day was the last performance of Le Roi Carotte (1872, The Carrot King) by French composer Jacques Offenbach.  The opera was sung in French and the supertitles were only available in French; supertitles were not projected during the spoken dialog.  I had read a synopsis and background on the opera before attending, but do not speak French.  Despite my limitation, I thoroughly enjoyed the opera, as did my wife and son, and it is ironic that I had just reported on watching opera the old-fashioned way, without the benefit of supertitles in English.

To be honest, not only had I not seen this opera before, but I had not even heard of it before my wife made me aware of the Lyon production; not a lot has been written about this opera of Offenbach’s, at least in English.  Like so many worthwhile operas buried in the past, it receives little attention while La Traviata and Le Marriage de Figaro get performed daily.  I understand an opera company has got to make a living, but I will point out the performance I attended was a sellout.  I welcome more rediscovered works, as apparently do others.

Cunégonde (Catherine Trottman) and Fridolin (Yann Beuron) meet and like each other. 2019 Photo by Blandine Soulage; courtesy of Opéra Lyon.

The opera has an interesting history, beginning with its composer.  Offenbach has one opera in the modern repertoire that gets performed regularly, The Tales of Hoffman, his only serious opera.  He wrote over a hundred operas and operettas, best known in his day for his gay, light-hearted, often satirical operettas.  I suppose Le Roi Carotte could be considered an operetta except that it runs close to three hours long. He is credited with being one of the originators of the operetta, a form he used to reflect the gaiety of life in Paris during the second half of the nineteenth century, a period known as La Belle Epoque, a golden age in Europe.  He wrote the popular musical number known as the Can Can, which appears in another comic opera of his, Orpheus in the Underworld.  The sell-out for the performance may have been because it was on a holiday, or perhaps.….the audience was responding to a need to be reminded that life can be gay, to remove ourselves for a couple of hours from our own troubled times.

Le Roi Carotte was a hit in its initial run in 1872, but fell out of favor, presumably due to the huge cast and costume and set changes required, making its performance an expensive proposition, and perhaps due to the bite of its satire directed at the political factions of its day.  The libretto was written by Victorien Sardu, after a tale by E. T. A. Hoffman; you might remember Sardu as the librettist for Puccini’s Tosca.  The Lyon production was a repeat of its December 2015 revival of the opera that featured a new staging and costumes by Director Laurent Pelly and an adaptation and dialog changes by Agathe Mélinand.  The 2015 production was a huge success and was named “Best Rediscovered Work” at the 2016 International Opera Awards; Le Roi Carotte had not previously been performed since the composer’s lifetime.

Under Coloquinte’s spell, the court ladies are charmed by King Carrot (Christophe Mortagne). 2019 Photo by Blandine Soulage; courtesy of Opéra Lyon.

This is a plot of many characters, thirteen named players plus a wide variety of townspeople, vegetables, and insects.  I’m guessing between fifty to one hundred performers were on stage at some point during the performance.  Except for the veiled satirical digs at various political groups, the plot is nonsensical.  I will only offer comments on the plot since a straightforward description is beyond my abilities.  Young King Fridolin is attempting to save his country’s finances after almost bankrupting it with his youthful spending ways.  To restore some funds to the state’s coffers, he plans both to sell the castle’s armor to genie Robin-Luron and to marry Princess Cunégonde for her wealth.  Fridolin and Cunégonde meet, each traveling incognito, and they like each other; the wedding is assured.  However, spirits appearing as vegetables are growing until they sprout arms and legs and faces.  They are led by the evil sorcerer, King Carrot.  Witch Coloquinte, to get revenge, puts the townspeople under a spell making them follow King Carrot.  Cunégonde is quite taken with the new King.  Fridolin, Robin-Luron, and Rosee du savoir (who loves Fridolin and has escaped imprisonment by Coloquinte) seek out help from a magician, who directs them to travel to Pompeii to obtain a magic ring, which they manage to do.  However, on return, Coloquinte causes Fridolin to lose the ring and be attacked by hordes of insects.  Fridolin escapes, and the people rise up against the Carrot King who is managing the economy badly and restore Fridolin to the throne.  Fridolin and Rosee du savior live happily ever after, we presume.  If I went into detail, it wouldn’t make any more sense.  Go with the flow.

Because the plot is nonsensical, staging is the real king for this opera.  Director Pelly moves the action at a fast clip and adds a myriad of marvelous costumes to engage the eye and numerous sight gags, the best of which are anachronistic, such as the princess being accompanied by secret service agents dressed in black suits and sunglasses.  The visit to Pompeii was totally a hoot. Unfortunately, I could not appreciate the humor in Ms. Mélinand’s new dialogs since I do not speak French; hopefully, Le Roi Carotte will make it to the U.S., and I can make use of supertitles in English.  But suffice it is to say that there was a delightful surprise at every turn.  With its large-scale variety and most of the performers clearly playing to the audience, there is a circus-like comedic feel to this production.  The staging was superb, and it is a critical element of this particular opera.

The citizens of Pompei protect the magic ring. 2019 Photo by Blandine Soulage; courtesy of Opéra Lyon.

Offenbach’s music has one significant flaw: it is likeable.  Critics and musicologists in the twentieth century decided that likeable music was frivolous and placed Offenbach’s comedies on a lower shelf.  Somehow I seem to enjoy both Beethoven and Offenbach.  I greatly enjoyed the music and its many pleasing melodies.  Conductor Adrien Perruchon and the orchestra entertained us with Offenbach’s often bouncy music.  Le Roi Carotte is worthy of its reemergence just to enjoy its music.  Combine that with a circus-like production and it was great holiday fun.

The cast was excellent overall.  Fridolin was played by tenor Yann Beuron, a pleasant, consistent tenor who provided the focal point for the opera.  Excellent mezzo-soprano Julie Boulianne, in a pants role, gave us a compelling Robin-Luron.  Catherine Trottman who has a pretty soprano voice was also charming and funny as Cungégonde.  My personal favorite in this cast was soprano Chloé Briot as Rosée du soir; her voice possesses an emotional quality in its timbre that is very engaging; her opening aria won me over completely.  Tenor Christophe Mortagne played the self-absorbed King Carrot so convincingly that he drew a few boos at the end, for his character, not him.  Actress Lydie Pruvot gave us a vengeful Coloquinte.  And there were quite a few of other singers who had their moments that contributed to the success of the production, too many to go on about.  I will mention one more which is a group; the outstanding chorus was a major player in Offenbach’s music and the performance; kudos to chorus master Roberto Balistreri.  Many of the singers also sang in the 2015 production, including Beuron, Boulianne, Briot, and Mortagne.

The citizens once rise up against King Carrot and throw their support to Fridolin (Yann Beuron). 2015 Photo by Bertrand Slofleth; courtesy of Opéra Lyon.

Satire can be found in Le Roi Carotte (The Carot King), Jacques Offenbach’s opera buffa involving vegetables (maybe even more so if you speak French), but I think that for most of the audience it is simply great music supporting a riotous fairy tale story presented with inventive and consistently surprising staging.  The entertainment value of the Opéra Lyon production was very high, and though one can find parallels in today’s world politics if one wishes to look, I don’t advise looking too deeply.  Let it be enough that there are good guys and bad guys, and in the end, the good guys and the audience wins, a treat very appropriate for the holiday period, and perhaps even needed in today’s times. 

(Addendum to Disclaimer: My disclaimer above is totally in jest.  There were many children in the audience and there have been no reports of children with increased vegetable avoidance.)

The Fan Experience: Opéra de Lyon’s next production will be Tosca which begins January 20. There were eight performances of Le Roi Carotte ending on New Year’s Day.  One special treat of the holiday performance was an encore song by the entire troupe and a burst of silver and red streamers and confetti at the close.  There were no free programs for the performance, but there was available for purchase a souvenir program in French that included relevant essays about the opera and its period of history.  

One feature that was different with the French audience was that the applause at the end was rhythmic.  Although only a few individuals along the sides stood at the end, the rhythmic clapping was thunderous and lasted for several minutes.  Le Roi Carotte was again a hit.

The Lyon National Opera venue is among stately buildings in Place de la Comedie between the Rhône and Saône rivers with an adjacent subway stop.  The opera house is moderate in size with a seating capacity of 1,100, an ideal size for opera in my opinion. The building has an impressive façade and is topped by a large cylindrical glass roof that is lit up red on performance nights.  The interior of the auditorium is dressed in black and has five U-shaped balconies stacked atop one another.  The bar area has magnificent paintings on the sides and ceiling.  The seats are wooden, and I noticed cushions are available for rental.  There are lots of staffers available to help you find your way around. Photos by author:

Paris Opera’s Prince Igor: The Heart Cannot Be Reimbursed

I recently reset my bucket list.  The only thing I had not checked off was to see the Aurora Borealis (the Northern Lights), which is very difficult to time.  So, I added seeing the world’s great opera houses – Paris Opera, La Scala, and Covent Gardens as starters.  As a result, my family and I decided to travel during Christmas to satisfy the Paris Opera listing.  We rationalized the price by saying this would be our Christmas gift to each other.  Alexander Borodin’s Prince Igor (1890) was playing in Paris during the time we could travel (I should note that Borodin left the opera unfinished, and it was completed by Alexander Glazunov and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov).  We purchased tickets for the December 23 performance, but there was a complication.

Photos of the Palais Garneir in Paris by author and Debra McCoy Rogers (fiammatravels.com). The inside remains a mystery for now.

The main reason I wanted to attend the Paris Opera was my desire to see an opera in the magnificent 1900-seat Palais Garnier opera house, a symbol for grand opera.  It is a stunning piece of opulent 19th century architecture, constructed to impress, to be a gathering place for rich and famous Parisiennes to be seen, though today all are welcomed.  Informative exhibits on the history of opera are housed inside, and tours are offered.  However, Paris Opera (or in French, Opéra de Paris, and formally, the Opéra Nationale de Paris) which began in 1689 and moved into Palais Garnier in the late 1800’s, now has two venues for opera productions. In 1989, the Bastille Train Station on the site of the Bastille of the French revolution fame of 1789, was replaced by a modern, circular 2700-seat opera house known as Opera Bastille.  Most operas are now held in Opera Bastille, and Palais Garnier is used mainly for ballet and concerts.  Prince Igor was scheduled for Opera Bastille.  Thus, we also scheduled a ballet by Paris Opera Ballet, titled Le Parc, for December 25 in Palais Garnier to experience the inside of the opera house.  Truly, this was to be an exciting trip.

The Fan Experience: A couple of weeks before our trip we became aware of the travel problems being caused by the strike of railway workers in France, worrisome, but the trip had been arranged for months with travel reservations paid for and hotel deposits made; we went ahead with it.  We arrived in Paris on December 22, smartly using a transfer to get to the hotel, rather than dealing with altered train and metro schedules.  On the way to Paris, we heard some opera performances had been canceled, but December 23 was still in play when we arrived.  Early afternoon on December 23, we received an email from Paris Opera that the evening’s performance had been cancelled due to the ongoing strike and protests against President Macron’s proposed changes to the French pension system.  Some opera staff whose pensions would be affected by the proposed changes supported the large strike ordered by the French syndicate of labor unions, causing opera and ballet performances to be cancelled.  When life hands you a lemon, you are supposed to make lemonade.  We hired a driver for a couple hours and took in the Christmas lights of Paris at night – really fun.

Paris at night for Christmas - Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and Champs Élysées, and one of the Christmas windows at Galeries Lafayette. Photos by author.

We also had to alter our Christmas Eve dinner plans, as the heavy pressure on taxis made them impossible to reserve.  We managed to get into a recommended restaurant closer to our hotel and had an excellent dinner.  All now rested on Le Parc being performed, and on Christmas Eve, Paris Opera Ballet was still selling tickets for the Christmas Day performance. 

Notice of Le Parc cancellation. Photo by Debra Rogers (fiammatravels.com).

On Christmas Day, we left for Palais Garnier two hours before the 2:30 pm performance.  We arrived to find all entrances to Palais Garnier closed, but still no word from Paris Opera Ballet.  We were among a crowd circling the opera house, which I have to admit is a fabulous structure to walk around.  Eventually, we saw a white sign, about 15 by 20 inches, attached to the large iron gates that lead to the ticket office that stated all performances were cancelled on December 25.  At 1:21 pm, slightly more than an hour’s notice, we received an email from Paris Opera Ballet telling us that Le Parc had been cancelled.  I admit this time I did not make lemonade.  I went with my son to walk along the Seine; he examined used books for sale, and I sulked.  Dinner that evening at Le Train Bleu did help somewhat.

I suppose the moral of the story is that stuff happens, and plans don’t always work out.  I certainly understand that there were larger issues at play than my seeing an opera and bear no ill will towards anyone.  Getting the issues settled around the French retirement system is a weighty matter, and I wish them well.  I read that Paris Opera would lose $12 million in revenue by the end of 2019 and that the strike was to continue into the new year (they planned to pay the performers whose performances were cancelled).  I also feel sympathy for the performers who trained for Prince Igor and were thwarted.

Given all that I got out of the trip, I certainly don’t feel sorry for myself, and Paris Opera is reimbursing us the price of the tickets. I still enjoyed being in Paris (always) and I hope to go again and hope to get Paris Opera checked off my list at some point.  But I am disappointed.  Arts experiences are more than entertainment.  Artistic experiences grow the heart. A space for personal growth was not realized. An opportunity to become more human was lost.  My heart remains unreimbursed.

Still, one moves on.  In this case, we moved on to Lyon, in hopes that Opéra Lyon’s Le Roi Carotte was still to be performed.  More on that in my next blog report. 

Opera the Old-Fashioned Way and the Beauty of Thaïs

The original poster for the premiere of Thaïs designed by Manuel Orazi. Public domain; copied from Wikipedia.

Thaïs, where have you been all my life?  Thaïs is a beautiful opera.  Who knew?  This epiphany resulted from my experiment listening to opera without the benefit of supertitles – the English lyric translations projected over the stage.  Reading those supertitles is annoying at best.  Operas mainly come in three flavors – Italian, French, and German – there are others in the modern repertoire, of course, including English.  The major difficulty is that I don’t speak Italian, French, or German.  The minor one is that I find that lyrics sung operatically in English can still be difficult to follow.  It’s a conflict.  I am grateful for the supertitles providing English translations of the lyrics in real time.  However, reading the supertitles while action on the stage is progressing distracts from the drama on stage and the music, and sometimes it can be taxing to keep up.  But what are you going to do?  Well, consider this fact - supertitles came into use in the 1980s and only became common in the 1990s.  In fact, there was considerable resistance to the use of supertitles when they were first introduced.  So I thought that if it was good enough for opera goers for the first 400 years of opera, I should give watching opera the old-fashioned way a try: read the libretto in English before the opera and watch it without the supertitles.  That could be an enlightening experiment, right?

In 2008, NY Times critic Anthony Tommasini wrote a delightful and highly informative 25-year perspective on the history of supertitle use.  He reported that in an early reaction to supertitles, “Robert M. Jacobson, then the editor of Opera News, published by the Metropolitan Opera Guild, deplored supertitles as a “pathetic marketing grab for the fringe public,” adding that opera “is not a reading experience.”” Well, today opera is partly a reading experience and for most opera goers always has been; the reading was just done ahead of time.  The use of surtitles is now essentially universal.  The titles were first shown on a screen over the stage and were patented as “surtitles”.  They are more commonly referred to today as supertitles even if shown on the sides of the stage; in videos, they are called subtitles and displayed at the bottom of the screen.  The Metropolitan Opera has them on the back of the seats, calling them Met titles, and the Sante Fe Opera also has them on the back of the seats.  The screens on backs of seats have the advantage of allowing different language formats besides English to be selected for each individual viewer; perhaps you can read the titles in English on your screen and your neighbor can select them in Spanish, if available. 

So, what opera should I choose?  How about using the experiment to do some research on an upcoming opera that I plan to attend?  Good idea. Hmmm.  Well, at the end of January, the Maryland Lyric Opera is performing Jules Massenet’s Thaïs (1894), written in French, which I have not previously seen.  To answer the question who knew it was a great opera – MDLO did; after all, these people train opera singers.  A quick check of the synopsis revealed Thaïs is not Wagnerian in length and has a fairly simple story to follow, only a few characters to keep track of.  There is one video available for streaming on Met Opera on Demand, and a quick Google search turned up a libretto in French with an English translation for free viewing. Voila! I was in business.

Thaïs composer Jules Massenet, the most popular composer in France in the last half of the nineteenth century, is best known today for his operas Werther and Manon, both perennial favorites in the modern repertoire.  Thaïs only gets performed sporadically.  Why?  Frankly, I’m not sure, but the reason typically given is that it is unusually demanding to sing and is reserved as a showcase for an extraordinary soprano.  It has been said that opera companies don’t start by selecting Thaïs for their season and picking a soprano; they start with the soprano and then select Thaïs.  In its recent history, Metropolitan Opera performed the opera in 1974 with the great Beverly Sills.  Next it was performed in 2008 with diva Rene Fleming, which is the video in the Met’s collection, and then in 2017 starring ascending diva Ailyn Pérez.  I had passed up on the 2017 Met Opera In Cinemas broadcast of Thaïs because I had this feeling that the opera was not that good.  Wrong!

Thaïs’ librettist Louis Gallet wrote the libretto based on the Anatole France novel of the same name.  He also chose to write the libretto in prose, rather than in poetry – no rhyming, a break with French tradition at the time.  Thaïs has serious themes: a popular courtesan in fourth century Egypt, Thaïs, who is a follower of Venus and has lived ostentatiously and luxuriously, based on her beauty and sexual favors is faced with aging and disillusionment; a Christian ascetic, Athanael, who is devoted to his religious service is tempted by her erotic allure during his attempt to convert her to Christianity; Nicias, a lifelong friend of Athanael’s, who is wealthy and devoted to the pleasures that money can buy, provides the connection that allows the Thais/Athanael relationship to develop.  Anatole France had his work placed on the Forbidden List by the Catholic Church.

In the 2008 Met production, baritone Thomas Hampson plays the fanatical Athanael opposite Ms. Fleming; this pair had also performed this opera together previously in Chicago and have a audio recording of the opera.  The Met performance got good reviews, primarily because of the performers.  Ms. Fleming looks radiant and slays with her singing, though maybe not with her acting.  In her portrayal of the worn-down Thaïs collapsing with bleeding feet and exhaustion after a journey in the desert, she appears fresh enough to be at a picnic.  Mr. Hampson sings well but communicates his religious fervor far better than his attraction to Thaïs.  Tenor Michael Schade gave a very convincing portrayal of Athanael’s voluptuary friend, Nicias.  Overall, the opera worked for me, though I think it is a difficult opera to stage, especially the ending.  Navigating its themes in ways that fully engage the audience in the eternal conflict of spirit and flesh can become melodramatic or even unintentionally amusing.  I read commentary on the opera in the Grove Book of Opera, 2 nd edition, that asserts that “the human truths of Thaïs have yet to be revealed.”  Well, Maryland Lyric Opera, take your shot.

I found Massenet’s music to be wonderfully melodious and beautiful.  It serves the story well and is delightfully inventive.  The music attends to both the conflicts and the passions.  There are several beautiful arias for both Thaïs and Athanael.  There is a famous violin solo in Act II called Méditation that is spell binding in its beauty.  Criticisms that I have read that the music is thin may be missing Massenet’s point; there is a difference between thin and sensitive.  There is a male and female chorus. There are only a few ensemble numbers, though there are a couple of lovely duets between Thaïs and Athanael.  It also included a short ballet sequence.  A good deal of my enthusiasm for the opera is the music.

Okay, let’s get back to watching opera the old-fashioned way, sans supertitles.  For Thaïs there are only three acts and seven scenes, so following most of the action from memory was doable, but honestly, there were still times I longed for the subtitles.  I found the story to be engrossing; by the end of Act I, I was all in and loving the star soprano.  As to the benefits of watching the old-fashioned way, I did find it easier to concentrate on the music and closely observe the nuances in singing and acting.  The beauty of the music and the singing certainly stood out.  In the end, I think it is just a different experience, a different way of enjoying opera. 

The great composers Verdi and Wagner expected their operas to be translated and performed in the native languages of the audiences, evidence that, while the music is supreme, the words matter, matter quite a lot.  There were some scenes in Thaïs where I felt I was missing out by not knowing exactly what the characters were saying.  I appreciate benefits of opera the old-fashioned way, but in truth, part of me resisted the experience; perhaps it would grow on me with more exposure.  For now, I’m sticking with the supertitles, and I’m not happy about it.

The Fan Experience:  Maryland Lyric Opera performs Thaïs on January 30 and February 2 in the Kay Theater in the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center on the University of Maryland campus.  The supertitles at the Smith are shown on screens on both sides of the stage.  You can choose to read them or not; I will mostly be following them.  I will also add that I really like the Clarice as a venue for opera – small enough to feel intimate, with excellent acoustics for both singers and orchestra.  There is also plenty of free parking close to the center in the evenings and on weekends.

Washington Concert Opera’s Hamlet: Bears a Resemblance to Shakespeare

First, a confession: I have become a concert opera junkie and I love Washington Concert Opera.  If you want the experience of concentrating on the music and the singing in an opera, WCO is where you go.  Now, a funny thing happened on the way to attend their performance of Hamlet (1868) on Sunday night.  I thought I was going to see an opera version of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.  You know, how Verdi did Otello and Macbeth.  I had heard the name of the composer Ambroise Thomas but not seen any of his works.  I was very much looking forward to seeing this production, though fully expecting to see Shakespeare in opera form.  And yeah, it was…mostly.

l to r: Matthew Scolin, Matt Hill, Lisette Oropesa, Jacques Imbrailo, Maestro Antony Walker facing the orchestra, Eve Gigliotti, Tom Fox, and Timothy Bruno. Photo by Don Lassell; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

I have some more confessions; so, let’s clear the plate.  First, I usually attend the pre-opera talks, and for WCO, I usually attend Peter Russell’s lecture a week before the opera.  This time I went in cold.  Then as I looked over the program book, I was surprised to see that the singer singing the role of Prince Hamlet, Jacques Imbrailo, was a baritone - baritone is way too hefty for the Hamlet I know, and when I heard Mr. Imbrailo sing, I was even more surprised.  His voice is so pure and silky I think he should have been a tenor; I have started to think of him as opera’s Bing Crosby.  This guy should be singing Christmas music with the Three Tenors and instead, he’s singing, in a bitter tragedy, the principal role of Hamlet, who is going to commit murder and get killed himself…ah, or so I thought!  In reading Mr. Russell’s program notes I saw that composer Thomas wanted to write the role for a tenor but the best singer around was a baritone; after hearing Mr. Imbrailo sing, it is hard to disagree with composer Thomas’ decision. 

A duet between Ophelia (Lisette Oropesa) and Hamlet (Jacques Imbrailo). Photo by Don Lassell; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

I now know that the libretto written by Michel Carré and Jules Barbier is based on a version of Hamlet written by Alexander Dumas pére and Paul Meurice.  It turns out that Dumas and Meurice adapted the play to fit French sensibilities, and Carré and Barbier fashioned the libretto from their text to further attract paying French customers to the Broadway of its day, Parisian opera.  So, drop a few characters, drop a few scenes, add a scene, put in some crowd-pleasing arias, and voila!  Bears a resemblance to Shakespeare.  In truth though, it is a crowd pleaser.

As the opera began, I was thinking, wow, this music is really good, great melodies and orchestration.  I could have told you that the music for the celebration of Queen Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother, and King Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle and father-in-law was a regal affair with my eyes closed.  The use of the lone French horn, oboe, and bassoon was effective at communicating mood.  Loving it, and then I started to think, wait a minute.  This music is too pretty and romantic for this story.  Hamlet has realized his father was poisoned by Claudius to get his crown, and his Mother is complicit; he is withdrawing from his betrothed, sending her spiraling into madness.  Where is the anxiety, the extreme tension in the music?  This situation even calls out for dissonance in the music.  At one point, a bassoon sounded sharp to me as it rose quickly in its register and what seemed like a mistake sounded very appropriate for what was happening in the drama.  Now in fairness, the end of Act II was a barn-burner with all singers, the chorus, and the orchestration raising the tension and conflict to an appropriate level.  And from that point, the music had additional moments when it seemed to rise to the occasion, but for much of the opera, it was not only that I was not seeing Shakespeare, I also was not hearing Shakespeare. One could imagine the album coming out, titled Hamlet’s Greatest Hits.

The final shocker was the ending – Hamlet, though he is wounded lives to be hailed as the next King.  Ok, I can accept no reference to poor Yorick and no Polonius saying to thine own self be true, but Hamlet lives?!  What all this means is that I simply viewed the opera with the wrong mind set.  I had trouble appreciating it for what it was because it was not what I expected.  I blew this one.  So, let me talk about what I liked.

Hamlet (Jacques Imbrailo) rebuffs Gertrude (Eve Gigliotti) wanting to finalize wedding plans with Ophelia (Lisette Oropesa). Photo by Don Lassell; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

First, the music was very enjoyable.  Ambroise Thomas was a talented composer.  Musicologists tend to place him in the follower, rather than leader category, but I have also heard similar criticism of Puccini.  I definitely will attend this opera again if WCO performs it in the future, but I will be better prepared.  Being able to watch Artistic Director and Conductor Antony Walker on the stage is great fun.  He conducts with such enthusiasm that occasionally both his feet leave the floor at the same time.  It’s interesting to see him pause, waiting for cues from the singers and even the audience when we applauded.  And the WCO Orchestra sounds great in the Lisner Auditorium.  The chorus led by Chorus Master Mark Trawka added measurably to the performance with a beautiful sound.  In addition to its five acts, the fully staged opera includes a ballet; this was not part of WCO’s performance, but I’d love to see a ballet that fits with Hamlet.

I have already mentioned how well Mr. Imbrailo sang and what a marvelous voice he possesses.  In fairness I should also add that he gave a good acting performance.  Now I will mention what I and many in the audience were greatly anticipating, the singing of soprano Lisette Oropesa as Ophelia.  Let me put it this way, when she finished her arias in the Ophelia’s Mad Scene, the thunderous applause went on so long that Maestro Walker had to cut it somewhat short.  Wow; it is so nice to get the performance you came for.  She possesses a lovely voice and her coloratura trills and runs sound perfect to me.  She acted out the Mad Scene to enhance its delivery with the stage all to herself and the orchestra.  Thank you WCO for bringing Ms. Oropesa to DC.

In her show stopping Ophelia Mad Scene, Lisette Oropesa pauses before exiting. Photo by Don Lassell; courtesy of Washington Concert Opera.

The performer who was most perfectly cast in a role was mezzo-soprano Eve Gigliotti.  I enjoyed her singing and she was entirely convincing as Gertrude.  Credible performances were also turned in by star baritone Tom Fox as Claudius and star bass Brian Kontes as the ghost of Hamlet’s father.  It was fun to see Jonas Hacker again, this time as Laertes, Ophelia’s brother; this young tenor is good.  The performance was also enhanced by the participation of bass Matthew Scolin as Horatio, tenor Matt Hill as Marcellus, and bass Timothy Bruno in the brief appearance of Polonius.  It was nice to see Mr. Bruno again since his days at Wolf Trap Opera.  Mr. Scolin and Mr. Hill are members of the Singing Sergeants of the US Air Force; they definitely enhanced my interest in hearing that group sing.  The ensemble arias tended to be especially effective. I hope WCO will be judicious about adding acting elements.  At the end when Scolin and Hill reappeared as gravediggers, they sat on the floor while appearing to be drinking heavily, a funny bit and enjoyed as such, but definitely contrary to the gravity of that scene and distracting from the purpose of opera presented in the concept format, a concentration on the singing and music.

Ok, my bad on this one.  If you get a chance to see Ambroise Thomas’s Hamlet, check it out for yourself.  And I recommend you check out anything performed by Washington Concert Opera.

The Fan Experience: Washington Concert Opera’s next performance will be Giuseppe Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra on April 5.  The acoustics in Lisner Auditorium are good, but the best seats for sound are the ones nearer the center of the auditorium, away from the walls.  When I drive down to their late Sunday afternoon performances, it is usually possible to find on street parking, which is usually after metered hours – be sure to check the signs where you park.  The Foggy Bottom Metro Stop is only about three blocks away.  You can check the schedule for the Singing Sergeants at this link.   

Baltimore Concert Opera’s The Consul: Powerful Entertainment

Ready for a good time?  Define good.  Gian Carlo Menotti’s opera The Consul (1950) is a good opera, but whether it is a good time depends on your definition.  The production that Baltimore Concert Opera put forward on Friday night and again on Sunday afternoon was powerful and enriching, but not fun.  The Consul is a thoroughly grim opera about attempts to get a passport to escape a police state.  If you want to leave the theater feeling good, this is not your opera, but if you want to leave the theater a little more human, this is a hot ticket.  Audiences in 1950 felt the same way; after premiering in Philadelphia, it had a run of 269 shows on Broadway. 

Melanie Henley Heyn as Magda singing the famous aria “To this we’ve become”. Photo by Britt Olsen-Ecker; courtesy of Baltimore Concert Opera.

Mr. Menotti (1911-2007) was the most acclaimed composer of America opera early in his career.  He composed over twenty operas.  The Consul was his seventh and his first full length opera.  An opera he originally wrote for television, Amahl and the Night Visitors, is perhaps his best-known work.  His operas are not often performed in major opera houses today but continue to receive attention in the small to medium-sized venues, both in the US and abroad.  The Consul won the 1950 New York Drama Critics Circle Award for best musical and its music was awarded the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for Music.  Kudos to Baltimore Concert Opera for pulling this one out of the vault.  With the enormity of immigration issues today in the US and across the world, The Consul’s message could not be timelier.  The courage of today’s small opera companies and their commitment to bring, not only entertaining, but meaningful artistic experiences to their communities could not be more in evidence.

l to r: Jenni Banks as the Mother, Melanie Henley Heyn as Magda, and Ron Loyd as John. Photo by Britt Olsen-Ecker; courtesy of Baltimore Concert Opera.

Magda Sorel’s husband John is a freedom fighter, a political dissident, in an unspecified country.  He is wounded by the Secret Police, and before he makes his escape, he tells Madga to go to the consul’s office to get a visa to leave the country to join him.  She does this the next day while her mother stays home with their sick child.  There she runs into an impersonal bureaucracy and an office full of anxious visa-seekers who have been trying for a very long time to get their paperwork processed, each day being told that there is something else they need or haven’t done.  Magda is told by the secretary in the office that her name is a number and her case a request – your hopes will be filed.  We get vignettes of other applicants and their stories of dealing with the office.  While contending with delays and the Secretary’s apparent indifference and attempts to get messages to her husband, Magda is harassed and threatened by the Secret Police.  With time pressing, in order to save her husband, she decides on the final solution. 

This concert opera was semi-staged by BCO, essentially fully staged except for a more elaborate set and costumes.  Artistic Director and General Manager Julia Cooke said they had decided that given the nature of the opera it really needed staging.  I don’t disagree with that decision and it enhanced the delivery of the story, but I also have a concern as well, expressed further down.  There are only two simple settings, Madga’s apartment and the consul’s office, however, Menotti employs certain theatrical elements to communicate the story that need staging for effectiveness, such as a dance, dream sequences, and displays of magic.  The staging was very well done; kudos to Director Courtney Kalbacker. 

Ian McEuen as Nika Magadoff, the magician, and Jeffrey Grayson Gates as Mr. Kofner. Photo by Britt Olsen-Ecker; courtesy of Baltimore Concert Opera.

BCO assembled an excellent cast overall for this production which features a large number of roles.  Many of the performers have sung in past BCO productions.  The lead performer in the role of Madga was a newcomer to BCO, Melanie Henley Heyn.  Ms. Heyn, a young dramatic soprano who has performed previously in roles by both Strauss and Wagner, gave an outstanding performance.  The intensity required of this role was such I hope she was able to go directly from the concert hall to a spa.  Also giving an excellent performance in the demanding role of the Secretary was mezzo-soprano Kate Farrar.  Singing to express an unchanging impersonal attitude and not passionate feeling must be difficult for an opera performer, though near the end we see how her impersonal persona amid the human crises weighs on her soul.  With excellent voices and singing, BCO veteran, baritone Ron Loyd as John Sorel and BCO favorite mezzo-soprano Jenni Banks as Magda’s mother were strong additions to the cast; I previously enjoyed both singers in BCO’s Sweeney Todd.  Tenor Ian McEuen gave a deft portrayal of the magician which added a surreal moment of levity to the drama; I have now heard Mr. McEuen give several performances in the DC/Baltimore area and he consistently gives fine performances.  Bass-baritone Joseph Charles Beutel was impressively imposing and sinister as the Secret Police.  Each of the supporting singers had their moments of adding to the drama as supporting characters: Baritone Jeffrey Grayson Gates as Mr. Kofner, soprano Laura Corina Sanders as Vera Boronel, Dana McIntosh as Anna Gomez, and mezzo-soprano Sarah Saturnino as Vera Boronel.  The ensembles of singers were also very effective.

l to r: The Secretary (Kate Farrar), the Foreign Woman (Laura Corina Sanders), John (Ron Loyd), Anna Gomez (Dana McIntosh), Vera Boronel (Sarah Saturnino), the Mother (Jenni Bank), Mr. Kofner (Jeffrey Grayson Gates), and above, Magda (Melanie Henley Heyn). Photo by Britt Olsen-Ecker; courtesy of Baltimore Concert Opera.

In her pre-opera talk, Conductor Laurie Rogers said that Menotti’s music in The Consul is Italian-verismo style with notes of Puccini, and she even finds notes of Mahler in it; Menotti studied Mahler with his friend Samuel Barber.  I liked the music which seemed appropriate to the story and scenes.  There was a lot of dissonance in the music, but this was clearly called for by the story itself.  What I especially liked about the music was the beautiful touch and sensitivity displayed by pianist Joy Schreier, who provided the accompaniment.  This also brings up an issue I have mixed feelings about.  I thought the staging for this production was fitting, but at the same time, staging shifts the focus from the singing and music to the story.  The great benefit of concert opera is that it squarely places the audience’s attention on the singing and the music.  So, while I give this production high marks, I still don’t know what a concert version of The Consul would sound like.  I have mixed feelings about that.

During the performance and even now, part of me wants to label this opera as somewhat dated in its approach and musical style, like watching a movie from that era.  Yet, each time I think about the opera, the memory not only returns, it haunts me.  Magda being upset with John for having brought such trouble onto the family; the secret police offering to spare her and her husband if Magda will give them the names of John’s friends.  Secretary: “You are not the only one, Mrs. Sorel; there are thousands of cases like yours.  Magda: Must we all die then, because there are too many of us?” and Mother: “I leave behind me nothing but sorrow, but I believe that God receives with kindness the empty handed traveler”.  This production makes us not just see, but feel the human side of immigration – and it stays with you. 

The Consul is the story and plaintiff cry of our fellow humans trapped in nowhere land, unable to escape the danger where they are and unable to surmount the blockades to moving to safety elsewhere, a story frequently found in the headlines of today’s newspapers.  Baltimore Concert Opera told it well and with impact.

The Fan Experience: BCO’s next production will be Donizetti’s Anna Bolena on February 28 and March 1 – remember this year there is a day in between those two.  It is always a pleasure to attend BCO productions in the beautiful and intimate setting of the Engineers Club in Baltimore. The opera was sung in English, but the subtitles in English were still appreciated.  Commuting to BCO during Friday afternoon rush-hour traffic from Tysons Corner, VA is challenging, but is much less daunting for the Sunday matinees; worth the trip either day.  I continue to be able to find free (after hours/weekends – check the signs) street parking, though paid lots are accessible.  And finally, BCO continues to be a bargain for your entertainment dollar.

Opera Lafayette’s Venus and Adonis: Death by Baroque

Opera Lafayette is a class act, always.  They never fail to bring out the crystal, the good china, real silverware, and their desserts are the best, made with authentic ingredients.  On Thursday night’s menu was composer John Blow’s Venus and Adonis, or as I am calling this confection, Death by Baroque.  Instead of a chocolate brownie, Blow’s extraordinary baroque music played on period instruments served as the base, and instead of chocolate syrup, it was ladled with gorgeous voices, and then complemented with precision Baroque dancers, rather than a dollop of vanilla ice cream.  Yet more?  The table was set among the palatial columns of the second story atrium in the Corcoran building, a modest simulation of the premiere of Venus and Adonis in 1683 at the court of Charles II of England.  Here is my brief assessment of this concert: OL’s Death by Baroque was to die for.

l to r: Thomas Dunford, Lea Desandre, Daniel Moody, Patrick Kilbride, and Jonathan Woody open with songs. Rehearsal photo by Louis Forget; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

Opera Lafayette celebrates its 25th season this year and, for this performance, returned to the venue of its early concerts; in those days, OL was named the Violins of Lafayette.  Singing and dancing were soon added to the concert programs, eventually evolving to focus on opera, hence the name change; read OperaGene’s first blog report on Opera Lafayette at this link.  The mission of OL is to perform, using period instruments, forgotten masterpieces of mainly 17th and 18th opera by French composers.  Over their history, Founder and Artistic Director Ryan Brown has proven exceptionally adroit at finding these gems; I no longer try to decide if I want to see an Opera Lafayette production – I just go.  While it has some connection to France through Charles II’s exile there, Venus and Adonis is the first through composed ‘English opera’.  Charles brought back to England with him an enjoyment of French culture, including courtly entertainments. 

left photo: Lea Desandre as Venus and Douglas Williams as Adonis. right photo: Lea Desandre as Venus and Sarah Shafer as Cupid. Rehearsal photos by Louis Forget; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

Composer Blow worked as the King’s Composer, and this particular King and his court became known for carefree, even risqué behavior (for an uncensored assessment of the real King and his court, check out “A Satire of Charles II” by John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester; the story is that the Earl sent this poem by accident to King Charles which lead to a self-posed period of exile for his safety).  It is notable that among the original cast was a mistress of the King and their illegitimate daughter.  Fortunately for us, Mr. Blow chose the high road in producing classical entertainment.  This is truly beautiful baroque music based on the classic story of Venus and Adonis from Ovid’s Metamorphoses and popularized by Shakespeare’s poem.  His librettist, Anne Kingsmill Finch, a woman author, highly unusual for the times, could not resist tweaking the court with lyrics such as “Your women they continue true/Until they see another man” and shifting from Venus to Adonis who was distraught by him leaving to join the hunt.  Those are but minor embellishments and must have been suffered gladly since I am unaware of any exile being imposed.  The tale told in poetry keeps love and passion and loss at a highly romantic level, and the emotional impact was fully delivered by the team of voices.  We all clutched our breasts and sadly sighed as Adonis spoke his last words after being gored in the hunt.  It was as delicious as a large serving of Death by Chocolate.

Photo bookends are dancers Julia Bengsston and Matthew Ting. Singers l to r are Sarah Shafer, Jonathan Woody, Daniel Moody, Patrick McBride, and Véronique Filloux. Rehearsal photo by Louis Forget; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

The program was led off and greatly enhanced by songs by John Dowland (1563-1626) and Henry Purcell (1659-1695); England’s famous opera composer Purcell was a student under Blow.  The singers, mezzo-soprano Lea Desandre, countertenor Daniel Moody, tenor Patrick McBride, and bass-baritone Jonathan Woody delivered beautiful, perfectly toned sound.  The visual expressivity by the guys, both during the songs and the opera, were a little over the top, but highly enjoyable, nonetheless.  Lutist extraordinaire and Music Director for the evening Thomas Dunford accompanied the early songs and displayed amazing artistry; he has been referred to as the Eric Clapton of lute players. He was joined by the two additional Continuo players in the later songs, where there was a particularly enjoyable passage with Dunford and harpsichordist Violaine Cochard playing an interactive jazzy baroque riff together. 

The semi-staged production of Venus and Adonis included a prologue and three acts, running just under an hour.  The very high level of vocal and musical excellence continued as the initial vocalists were joined by the remaining cast and the OL orchestra, including Ryan Brown and Jacob Ashworth playing violin, Kyle Miller on viola, Anthony Manzo on base, Nina Stern on recorder, and Margaret Owens on recorder and Oboe – all superb musicians.  Playing Venus was Ms. Desandre whose lovely voice and deftness at emotional intonation were a highlight; it would be difficult to over praise this young mezzo singing this music.  Bass-baritone Douglas Williams sang well and looked the part of a dashing, handsome prince that the goddess of love might desire.  The other specified role, that of Venus’ son Cupid, was sung handsomely by soprano Sarah Shafer.  The additional singers played shepherds, shepherdesses, and huntsmen as needed, each getting a chance to shine, including soprano Véronique Filloux as well as aforementioned Moody, Kilbride, and Woody.  I will single out Daniel Moody a bit more.  I always feel that the countertenor is the singer that distinguishes baroque opera, and Mr. Moody’s clarion countertenor provided a strong beacon for this opera.  In fact, the entire cast was a delight.

left photo: Dancers Matthew Ting and Julia Bengsston. right photo: Singer Véronique Filloux, dancers Matthew Ting, and Julia Bengsston. Rehearsal photos by Louis Forget; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

In costumes appropriate to the period were dancers Julia Bengsston and Matthew Ting, whose movements throughout the opera added interest and charm.  Their involvement was choreographed by Ms. Bengsston.  The addition of white masks towards the end for the dancers and Ms. Filloux added a ghostly effect.  I simply enjoyed the dancing, but for an interesting expert’s critique of this aspect of the performance, I refer you to a review by Susan Galbraith, who is experienced in musical drama.  I personally detected no off flavors in any of this.

left photo: Loretta O’Sullivan, Thomas Dunford, Violaine Cochard, and Lea Desandre. right photo: Cast sings to mourn the fallen Adonis. Rehearsal photos by Louis Forget; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.

Opera Lafayette’s Venus and Adonis or Death by Baroque, what’s in a name?  Opera Lafayette, originally Violins of Lafayette, has a motto for this year of ‘Celebrating 25 Years of Reawakening Masterpieces’.  That I think is more a performer’s perspective.  As a now devoted fan of Opera Lafayette, I would call them ‘Rediscovered Recipes for Delights’.  Maybe there is something in a name.

The Fan Experience: OL performed Venus and Adonis once more, the next day, moving it to NYC.  OL performs each production in both DC and NYC.  Their next opera, Beethoven’s Leonore will play in DC on February 26 and in NYC on March 2. 

Venus and Adonis is sung in English, and the program booklet contained lyrics for all the songs and the libretto for the opera which is very short.  I find understanding even English when sung in operatic style problematic, but I gave up trying to go back and forth reading the lyrics and watching the performers and just enjoyed what I was seeing and hearing.  I had gotten the gist of what was transpiring from my earlier quick scan of the program book.

It was quite a treat to get to see inside the Corcoran Building, which is formally named the Flagg Building.  Until 2014, this was the Corcoran Gallery of Art before its art works were given to the National Gallery of Art, and the building was given to George Washington University.  The building remains home to GWU’s Corcoran School of the Arts and Design.  The Salon Dore’ or the French Room in the building was the actual spot for Opera Lafayette’s first performance; it is a relatively small, but absolutely gorgeous room.

The venue fit the history of OL and the intimacy of this performance beautifully.  However, the acoustics and the lack of tiered seating would be issues for regular presentations there, not to mention that with its success, Opera Lafayette has way outgrown the size of this venue.  Their next performance in DC will move back to the Kennedy Center; OL’s popularity has grown to the point that even there tickets can be hard to come by.

Virginia Opera’s Il Postino: The Guiding Force of Love

If Daniel Catán had lived longer he might have become known as the Frank Capra of opera. Capra was the director of many of our most beloved, heartwarming movies, including It’s a Wonderful Life, It Happened One Night, and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.  These are not the movies that make it onto critics’ all-time best lists; these are the movies that touch our hearts, and we watch over and over.  The holiday season is approaching – are you not going to watch Jimmy Stewart get saved by the angel Clarence one more time?  The guiding force of love is Mr. Catán’s theme, as was Mr. Capra’s.  Il Postino (The Postman, 2010) is a beautiful production based on that theme, expressed in poetry.  Seeing it might even help you earn your wings, bell not included.

Postman Mario Ruoppolo making his rounds. Photo by Ben Schill Photography; courtesy of the Virginia Opera.

Composer Catan wrote four operas and was working on a fifth when he died, in addition to a substantial body of orchestral work.  Florencia en el Amazonas, also a Catán opera where love triumphs, just completed a run at Pittsburg Opera.  His unfinished opera Meet John Doe is based on a 1941 movie of same name, directed by none other than Frank Capra.  Mr. Catán wrote the libretto for Il Postino based on the popular 1994 movie of the same name which was itself based on Antonio Skármeta’s book, Ardiente Paciencia.  The opera was premiered in 2010 by the Los Angeles Opera with Plácido Domingo playing Mario.  Catán is known for lush, Puccini-like scores and has written the first operas composed in Spanish to become popular in the US.  Unless, you speak Spanish, I doubt whether an opera is in Spanish or Italian will make much difference to you, since the sound of the languages when sung are similar.  Virginia Opera’s Glenn Winters has an excellent blog report on why opera has not flourished in Spain.

Matilde (Inna Dukach) and husband Pablo Neruda (Raúl Melo) in exile. Photo by Ben Schill Photography; courtesy of the Virginia Opera.

In Il Postino, the famous (real-life) poet Pablo Neruda has been exiled from Chile for being a member of the Chilean Communist Party, and he and his wife Matilde have taken up residence on the fictitious island of Cala di Sotto off the coast of Italy.  Mario, a young man from the lower class, has been given a job as a postman with Neruda being his only customer.  Mario wants to learn poetry to give him an edge in winning the love of women.  He and Neruda become friends and together examine the nature of metaphor and poetry.  He is also influenced by the poet’s political leanings.  With the poet’s help, he wins the hand of Beatrice.  But Mario’s personal growth is not over.  Life moves on; he has seen what life can be on the other side of the prison bars of class divide, but he has not escaped them.  Neruda returns to Chile, and local politics come crashing down.  Only one poet remains on Cala di Sotto, Mario.

Neruda (Raúl Melo) explains metaphor to Mario (Daniel Montenegro). Photo by Ben Schill Photography; courtesy of the Virginia Opera.

One of the highlights of Virginia Opera’s Il Postino is the cast, beginning with tenor Daniel Montenegro who has a winning voice and portrays Mario about as effectively as this role could possibly be played.  Mr. Montenegro has a long history with this opera, consulting with Catán on the role and playing Mario in a production with Plácido Domingo.  The other dominant role in the opera is that of Neruda, sung by tenor Raúl Melo with a strong, clear voice; he gave us a very convincing portrayal of the poet.  Soprano Danielle Talamantes sings well and plays Beatrice in an affecting performance.  I did not think that soprano Inna Dukach always sang perfectly but portrayed Matilde sensuously and has a captivating voice.  Mezzo-soprano Dana Beth Miller gave us an over excited Donna Rosa, Beatrice’s mother.  Baritone Brett Bode as Mario’s friend Giogio and baritone Efrain Solis as the politician Di Cosimo gave fine supporting performances. 

Mario (Daniel Montenegro) is engaged in a game with Beatrice Russo (Danielle Talamantes) while the three women spirits look on. Photo by Ben Schill Photography; courtesy of the Virginia Opera.

The Virginia Symphony Orchestra shone under Conductor Adam Turner’s baton in bringing Daniel Catán’s rich score to life.  The music is cleverly designed to not just fit the mood of a scene but to add color to flesh out the story.  In the program notes, Mr. Turner gives the example of how the nature of the music changes as it follows Mario’s growth and development.  If you just attended with eyes closed, you would get your money’s worth.  Catán occasionally mixes in elements of Latin American music with distinctive rhythms, especially with a tango dance scene; I wish he had done more of this.  There is one aspect I feel probably limits the opera’s long run popularity.  The arias are quite beautiful and, in listening to Catán scores two weeks in a row, I believe he was a gifted composer, but none of the arias have melodies that I went home humming, a little surprising considering how much I enjoyed the music.  In this case, part of what captivated me and drew me in was the music contained in Neruda’s poetry.  The excellent chorus also added measurably to the enjoyment of this performance. 

The wedding party, l to r: Neruda (Raúl Melot), Mario’s father (Miguel Girona), Mario (Daniel Montenegro), Beatrice (Danielle Talamantes), and Donna Rosa (Dana Beth Miller). Photo by Ben Schill Photography; courtesy of the Virginia Opera.

There are two ways to look at the staging of VA Opera’s Il Postino.  One is that the limitations of budget and space showed; the action in Il Postino is tightly focused in a small space while trying to convey the impression that Mario rides his bike across the island and stops in several settings.  A fairer viewpoint is that Director Crystal Mannich managed to craft a charming and engaging production using resources available; kudos to her.  To make a stationary bike appear to move when a movie camera cannot follow it over backroads of an island, the set itself revolves.  Stairs descending and winding create an island affect and the scenes of Neruda’s house, the post office, and a bar room appear as the set revolves.  Movements of characters on stage are accented by three attractive women dancers who offer various poses among the other characters.  Ms. Mannich says that they represent the emotional awakening of female desire.  They certainly add interest and a lyrical quality to the performance, though the connection to the story are not well made.  It is unfortunate that Ms. Mannich did not have Matilde display more nudity in response to the passionate aria, “Desnuda”, sung by Neruda as a tribute to his wife.  I feel this is truly a case where nudity was called for as part of the drama.  The lighting and projections were well done, adding to the atmosphere of politics and poetry.  Kudos to Scenic Designer Liliana Duque Piñeiro, Lighting Designer Paul Hackenmueller, and Projection Designer Tláloc López-Watermann.

left photo: Mario (Daniel Montenegro) confers with his friend Giorgo (Brett Bodet). Right photo: Politician Di Cosimo (Efrain Solis). Photo by Ben Schill Photography; courtesy of the Virginia Opera.

Artistic Director and Conductor Adam Turner says this opera initiates a series for Virginia Opera of “From Screen to Stage”, operas based on movies, partly intended to give audiences a soft introduction to modern music and opera.  It is perhaps poetic that Il Postino leads off the series, especially if you like Frank Capra movies.  And poetry by Pablo Neruda. Island. Sea. Friend.  Roses. Spider web. Metamorphosis.  By the way, my mention of angel wings above is also a metaphor.

Top to Bottom: Donna Rosa (Dana Beth Miller), Beatrice (Danielle Talamantes), Mario (Daniel Montenegro), and Giorgio (Brett Bode) celebrating recording the sound of the baby Beatrice carries. Photo by Ben Schill Photography; courtesy of the Virginia Opera.

The Fan Experience:  Il Postino now moves to Richmond for its final two performances on Friday evening, November 22, and Sunday afternoon, November 24.  The opera is sung in Spanish with English subtitles. As always, I strongly recommend the pre-opera talk by Dr. Glenn Winters, Virginia Opera’s Community Outreach Musical Director.  I also recommend his Dr. Opera blog reports on Il Postino.  The pre-opera talks begin forty-five minutes before the performances; arrive early to ensure you get a seat.   

National Symphony Orchestra’s Tristan and Isolde: Where’s Isolde?

I had expected the second half of my headline on this blog report to read “The Legend Continues” as a new soprano sings the role of Isolde, but that is not the story of this performance.  When expectations are so high, the pain cuts deep.  I went to the National Symphony Orchestra’s concert version of Act II of Tristan und Isolde Friday night expecting that soprano Christine Goerke was going to knock my socks off.   I wanted her to knock my socks off; in fact, I needed her to knock my socks off.  Instead, for some reason, she allowed the Wagnerian thumping NSO to overwhelm her sound and it didn’t have to try that hard.  There is so much that was excellent Friday evening and that I enjoyed, but it was Ms. Goerke’s holding back that impaled me like Melot’s thrust into Tristan’s side to end Act II.  I have been a fan of Christine Goerke ever since seeing her sing Turandot at the Met a few years back, and my expectations were very high.  Even this morning, I feel wounded by disappointment.  In fairness, I must add that it was an exiting evening and the audience ate it up, offering a thunderous standing ovation that brought the performers out for a second round of bows.

The National Symphony Orchestra in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall beginning Act II of Tristan und Isolde. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of the National Symphony Orchestra.

Why refer to Richard Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde (1865) as legend?  There is quite a history to this opera.  It has reportedly ruined singers’ voices and driven some performers mad; the opera runs almost four hours long.  It took several years to compose and several more to bring to the stage. Wagner’s telling of this well known fable reflects aspects of his own love life and philosophical maturation. Love for these lovers becomes all consuming even to a metaphysical state. It’s style of composition and use of music was something new for its time and is considered to have constructed a new musical language for extended expressions of passion/eroticism, and made great demands on conductors and singers.  Even today it requires certain voice types and extensive training.  In comments made back in January introducing NSO’s new season, conductor Gianandrea Noseda stated that he viewed music as “before Tristan und Isolde” and “after Tristan und Isolde”.  For the music world, Tristan und Isolde was an inflection point not only for opera, but for music itself. 

Stephen Gould as Tristan and Christine Goerke as Isolde. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of the National Symphony Orchestra.

Adding to interest was the fact that two of today’s premier performers, Mr. Noseda and Ms. Goerke, were venturing into this opera for the first time.  Indeed, Ms. Goerke needed to glance at the music on a stand while no one else in the cast did; Act II is primarily a duet between Isolde and Tristan.  This production was such an appealing event that it lured NY Time critic Anthony Tommasini down to the Kennedy Center for a review.  He referred to Mr. Noseda and Ms. Goerke as “testing the Wagnerian waters” and said that Ms. Goerke demonstrated “sheen, but lacked blaze”; might he have been a little disappointed?  Washington Classical Review critic Charles Downey said that “this was an Isolde of more subtle delights”; hmmmm.  When I asked my son what he thought of Ms. Goerke’s performance, he simply said he couldn’t hear her - ouch - but, all too often, neither could I.  There were a few sublime moments, such as the last few arias of their love duet, especially the hauntingly beautiful melody of “So starben wir (Thus, might we die)”. If this was a trial run for Ms. Goerke to hone her take on Isolde, she must at least somehow find a way to be heard over an orchestra playing Wagner’s tumultuous music.  That seems to me to be quite a challenge even when singing full force, as near the end.  I’m still a huge fan, though I am disappointed by her performance (choices?) this time.

Ekaterina Gubanova as Brangaene and Christine Goerke as Isolde. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of the National Symphony Orchestra.

Which brings me to the National Symphony Orchestra’s performance under the direction of star conductor Gianandrea Noseda.  I love the National Symphony Orchestra.  I think it should be an essential element of a required course for graduation from high school and college.  If you read OperaGene often, you know that I’m a music lover, not a music expert, so keep that in mind.  I was delighted to hear the full NSO on stage playing the music to an opera, quite a treat.  (I regularly attend performances of Washington Concert Opera and Baltimore Concert Opera).  Though intimidated at first, I have become a Wagner fan; Washington National Opera’s Ring Cycle a few years back is one of my favorite opera experiences (Ms. Goerke came in to give us a terrific Bruunilde for one espisode when the scheduled soprano was injured).  Mr. Noseda is scheduled to conduct a Ring Cycle himself in the Zurich Opera House where he also serves as General Music Director.  On this occasion, I greatly enjoyed NSO’s playing, though it seemed a little raw in spots, sometimes not so smooth or refined, part of that at least due to Wagner’s music itself, I suspect.  Also, occasionally the music overpowered the singers, rather often in Ms. Goerke’s case.  With Wagner it is not always clear if the orchestra is accompanying the singers or the singers are accompanying the orchestra. The composer felt the vocal line expressed concrete thoughts, ideas, feelings, and what the orchestra expressed was primal feeling that could not be articulated. Thus, much time of critics and musicologists has been spent on the meaning of Tristan und Isolde. All I can say is that if Wagner’s music hooks you, you are seriously hooked. Bottom line - I would definitely go again to hear NSO play Wagner.  In fact, let me make this a plea to NSO – more concert opera, please!

Günther Groissböck as King Marke, Stephen Gould as Tristan, and Christine Goerke as Isolde. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of the National Symphony Orchestra.

The remainder of the cast was excellent and performed beautifully.  I was quite impressed with Stephen Gould’s tenor voice and singing.  A big surprise for me was mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova who played Brangaene.  At the point where Tristan and Isolde start to embrace, I heard this beautiful sound, loud and clear, and I thought, at last, Goerke is going to turn it on, but I spotted Ms. Gubanova on the stage balcony singing to warn the lovers; it was the servant girl’s voice I was enjoying.  Tenor Neal Cooper acquitted himself well as Melot as did baritone Hunter Enoch as Kurwenal in his brief entrance.  Bass-baritone Günther Groissböck was outstanding as King Marke.  I find Marke’s entrance at the point where he learns his closest supporter and friend Tristan has betrayed him to be one of the most poignant scenes in opera and Mr. Groissböck carried it off exceedingly well. 

l to r: Hunter Enoch, Neal Cooper, Stephen Gould, Gianandrea Noseda, Ekaterina Gubanova, and Christine Goerke. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of the National Symphony Orchestra.

Friday nights’ was the second of only two performances.  If there were more, would I recommend them?  That question ties me up.  I’m glad I went and enjoyed the experience despite my disappointment in not getting the performance I wanted from Ms. Goerke.  So, I’ve told you my reactions; that’s the best I can offer for this one.  But see below for how you can view a recording of the performance online.

The Fan Experience:  Certainly, having this cast of singers and the NSO performing Wagner made a compelling case for this concert.  However, Act II began without an introduction.  It was probably safe to assume that most people in Friday night’s audience were familiar with Tristan und Isolde.  But suppose, you started Game of Thrones with episode 2.  You would be beginning without some important background information, and more importantly, your emotions about the characters and events would have to get up to speed very quickly.  I felt that way Friday night; it has been a while since I viewed this opera.  An introduction to allow us to get into the emotional moment might have been helpful. As part of my plea to NSO, I will add to do complete operas in concert; short ones are okay, but at least set the scenes for single act performances. 

The Friday night performance was broadcast live online by medici.tv, and the recording is currently available for viewing; however, medici.tv is a subscription service and you will have to sign up for at least a month ($12.99)to view the entire Act II, though you can watch the prelude for free (if you like the service, until the end of November there is a 40% discount for year’s subscription).  I’m debating whether to sign up.  I wonder if the placement of the microphones might allow Ms. Goerke’s voice more prominence.  The sound in the Concert Hall was recorded but not amplified nor broadcast through speakers.

Pittsburgh Opera’s Florencia en el Amazonas: You Must See It Twice

Out of compassion for busy readers, I like to begin my reports on opera performances with the bottom line.  If all you want to know is whether I liked it or not, you are spared reading the entire report.  I sometimes read reviews where I get to the end without really knowing whether the reviewer enjoyed the performance or not.  So yes, I liked Pittsburgh Opera’s Florencia en el Amazonas, but if you want to know why I recommend seeing it twice you will have to read further.

The steamboat Eldorado is boarding as Florencia en el Amazonas begins. Photo by David Bachman Photography; courtesy of Pittsburgh Opera.

Mexican composer Daniel Catán and his librettist Marcia Fuentes-Berain, once a student of Catán’s, have concocted an opera that reminds me of classic movies of old, a great story where love prevails.  A voyage down a river (ask your therapist) guided by a spiritual apparition, a stalwart Capitán whose lover is life itself, his nephew trying to find himself, a young female journalist trying to find herself (already you know what is going to happen, right?), a married couple struggling to stay together, and an opera diva seeking the love of her life, Cristóbal, a butterfly hunter that she left behind to pursue her career, is the mix for this emotionally powerful drama.  The story is based upon the books of Nobel Prize winning author Gabriel Garcia Márquez and is imbued with the magic realism of his writings – the magic seems to fit naturally in the story (with maybe one exception I won’t spoil for you).  Catán’s music is lush and melodic with beautiful arias for all the characters; his music is said to be Puccini-like in that regard.  Conductor Antony Walker, a sure hand in the pit, and the Pittsburgh Opera never sounded better to me. 

left: Diva Florencia Grimaldi (Alexandra Loutsion) arrives as Riolobo (Craig Verm) looks on and the Captain (Ashraf Sewailam) moves forward. right: Rosalba (Natasha Wilson) is amazed that Arcadio (Andres Acosta) has recovered her journal dropped overboard. Photos by David Bachman Photography; courtesy of Pittsburgh Opera.

The role of Florencia Grimaldi is sung by Pittsburgh native, soprano Alexandra Loutsion.  I have heard Ms. Loutsion in several performances now and her voice and vocals continue to impress.  I didn’t think she displayed sufficient gravitas early on in the role, but the lyricism of her transcendent love arias in the second act carried the day.  Baritone Craig Verm, who just finished appearing in PO’s Don Giovanni, is a standout visually and vocally, as the spirit Riolobo.  The young journalist Rosalba is played convincingly by soprano Natasha Wilson and her duets with developing love interest Arcadio, the captain’s nephew, played by Andres Acosta, are warm and pleasing.  The Capitán is sung in fine vocal form by Ashraf Sewailam, who fit the role perfectly.  Finally, the married couple, Alvaro and Paula, were sung by established stars baritone Nathan Gunn and mezzo-soprano Sandra Piques Eddy.  They added a sort of Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers charm and class to the performance, even in their arguments, and for my wife, their interactions and singing together were the highlight of the performance.  They were all aided by the assistance of the young cabin boy, well-played by Perry J. Gatch, IV.

Spirit Riolobo (Craig Verm) who appears where he is needed explains dinner as Alvaro (Nathan Gunn) and Paula (Sandra Piques Eddy) look on as the Cabin Boy (Perry J. Gatch, IV) displays the grilled option. Photo by David Bachman Photography; courtesy of Pittsburgh Opera.

Florencia en el Amazonas is a challenging opera to stage.  After all, it involves a boat cruise down the Amazon river, including a violent storm along the way.  I thought this aspect was handled effectively by a boat hull that moved back and forth across the stage and a movie screen behind it that displayed both static and moving images to create the impression of moving down the Amazon.  This is a colorful production with costumes that are appealing and befit the setting. The scenes on the large screen ranged from realistic to impressionistic, from video to paintings. The staging provided an artistic backdrop to aid in the suspension of disbelief required of opera audiences.  I did have the feeling of wishing to see this story in a movie with modern special effects and cinematography, but then I’d miss the live singing afforded by opera.  Kudos are deserved by stage director Stephanie Havey and a long list of artistic staff involved in bringing this off.  

Arcadio (Andres Acosta) takes command as he and Rosalba (Natasha Wilson) see the churning waters; the captain (Ashraf Sewailam) is downed with Paula (Sandra Piques Eddy) by his side. Photo by David Bachman Photography; courtesy of Pittsburgh Opera.

Okay, why see it twice?  In a sense, I had two viewings of Florencia Saturday night, the first half con la aplicación móvil and the second, sin la aplicación móvil.  Why the Spanish – you must read on.  My google translate attempt at Spanish says “with the mobile app” and “without the mobile app”.  This season, Pittsburgh Opera (begun with Don Giovanni) offers audiences a mobile app that provides additional opera information which can be accessed before and during performances; yes, I said “during performances”.  I’m sure that the very idea makes opera purists nauseous; however, I found the concept to be intriguing and wanted to give the app a try. 

To use the app, you must download the Pittsburgh Opera Mobile App to your smartphone, and to use audio in the opera house you must use earphones.  Fortunately, I always have my iPhone and Air Pods with me.  I dutifully downloaded the app.  Surprisingly, I was unable to find instructions on the PO website on how to manage all this, which could be helpful; in fact the app seems downplayed.  The app itself has a list of instructions once you dial in while inside the theater.  I dimmed the brightness of the screen as low as I could and still be able to read the screen; I even shifted my screen to dark mode.  I turned on the Do Not Disturb feature of my iPhone and connected the phone to my Air Pods by Bluetooth.  Though I was apprehensive, no one seemed to be staring at me for wearing Air Pods, a very polite audience.  I put the phone on the seat between my legs and asked my wife to tell me if the remaining light bothered her.  At intermission she said it was a little distracting but okay.  Nobody had asked me to turn it off nor even given me nasty looks.  I did not spot anyone else close to me that I could tell was using the app.  Once you click on the performance and select where next to click – before the opera, act I, intermission, act II – the app has a “Go Live” button at the bottom right to get you synced up and running. 

Riolobo (Craig Verm) appears as a river-spirit to calm the storm. Photo by David Bachman Photography; courtesy of Pittsburgh Opera.

What did the mobile app offer?  I was focused on the opera starting and not prepared for the first vocal message through my Air Pods; I thought someone was talking behind me at first, but I quickly got the hang of the text and vocal messages.  I thought the vocal messages were much better for me than the text ones – looking over the stage for the English translations, then at the stage, then down at my iPhone was doable but a bit much.  I once accidentally tapped my screen and went for a couple of minutes without realizing I needed to click Go Live again.  Mostly the verbal messages seemed to slide in between vocalizations on the stage but not always; the synchronization with happenings on the stage was quite good.  The verbal messages most often explained how the music was reflecting the scene; for example, during Florencia’s first aria the message named instruments in the music and how they were meant to convey the nature of the churning water; other times how the style of the singing reflected the emotions being conveyed, and so forth.  There was historical information about Brazil and the geology of the Amazon given, even an attempt at humor about grilled iguana.  A few important insights were given such as highlighting the captain’s comment that “no turn in life is ever a return”.  One could click on highlighted words in the text to get definitions, such as for “aria”, helpful for opera newbies.  There were a few pictures and there was an explanation for the map on the scrim screen on stage.  There were cast member interviews during the intermission.  For sure, if it’s use continues, providing the most engaging information in the most helpful way will become an art form in itself.

I had decided before coming that I would use the app for the first Act and then view Act II as usual because I had not seen the opera before.  My iPhone battery reinforced that decision.  If you are going to use the app, make sure you charge your phone right before coming!

l to r: Rosalba (Natasha Wilson), Arcadio (Andres Acosta), Florencia (Alexandra Loutsion), Capitán (Ashraf Sewailam), Paula (Sandra Piques Eddy), and Alvaro (Nathan Gunn) learn they cannot depart at the port because cholera is raging. Photo by David Bachman Photography; courtesy of Pittsburgh Opera.

How would I compare my experience of Act I with the app to that of Act II without the app?  It’s mixed, so bear with me.  My Air Pods are not noise canceling, so I did not feel deprived of sound in Act I while they sat in my ears.  Mostly the app was silent, offering additional information only from time to time.  The extra information provided by the app did take me a little out of the game emotionally, but on the other hand, it did add a lot of interesting insights that enhanced my appreciation for what was happening on stage and in the music.  I was more involved intellectually and maybe a tad bit less emotionally.

Which do I recommend?  Both.  These are simply different experiences; they engage in different ways and on different levels.  Perhaps a useful analogy is going through a museum and seeing the paintings without knowing much about them versus doing it with a guide who comments on the paintings, but imagine that if the paintings were videos.  I missed the app during Act II, though in a way I enjoyed Act II more – maybe Act II was simply better.  I’m tempted to say to use the app when you’ve seen the opera before, but not the first time.  However, I really feel it is a personal choice about what you enjoy most.  You might choose to get as caught up in the drama as you possibly can whether you have seen it before or not.  Or you might enjoy also getting caught up in, and in a way, becoming part of the production itself, then use the app regardless.  As for me, I’m not sure I can resist using the app again even for operas I have not seen before; the decision will be a struggle.  Remember, these are my first impressions on using the mobile app just once.  

Diva Florencia Grimaldi (Alexandra Loutsion) sings a provocative, metaphysical denouement. Photo by David Bachman Photography; courtesy of Pittsburgh Opera.

My use of the Spanish phrases is to point out that this opera is sung in Spanish.  It was the first opera in Spanish I have attended.  For me, I don’t speak Italian or Spanish and the similarities in the sounds of the words in both languages make them equally enjoyable to me.  In fact, I was well into the opera before I noticed and reminded myself it was in Spanish.

Pittsburgh Opera’s Florencia en el Amazonas is a very enjoyable evening of compelling theater, fine operatic singing, and melodious music.  The singing and the story will have you leaving the theater with a smile on your face and warmth in your heart.  I strongly recommend seeing it twice, once con la aplicación móvil and once, sin la aplicación móvil.  See which you like better.  I like them both, though I must admit that I am leaning towards con.   

The Fan Experience:  In addition to what I report above about Pittsburgh Opera’s mobile app, let me add that the Benedum Center is a marvelous place to see an opera, great sound and absolutely gorgeous.  Florencia en el Amazonas plays again on November 12, 15, and 17; tickets are available in all price ranges.  For this one, I might recommend not to sit too close to the sides to ensure that you can see all the stage and the screen; the Pittsburgh Opera contact number for information is 412-281-0912.  I hear that a new company is running the concessions and that hot dogs may be available in the future; just a rumor?  Kristin Gatch, mom of the Cabin Boy and Assistant to the General Director/Board Liaison for Pittsburgh Opera, gives a pre-opera talk one hour prior to performances covering background information and snippets of the music. A guide on PO’s website with instructions for finding the mobile app, how to know you found the right app, and how and when to look for and start the app section that relates to operation during the performance, might be helpful addition.

Washington National Opera’s The Magic Flute: That’s Entertainment and More

OperaGene’s quick take:

• WNO’s The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte in German) is a delightful evening’s entertainment, achieving an effective comedic presentation while also engaging important deeper themes.

• The opera is an allegorical comedy composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with an original libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder, suitable for both adults and children.

• Sets and costumes designed by children’s author/illustrator Maurice Sendak are a treat in themselves.

• The opera is sung in English with projected titles in English, and the cast is excellent overall.

• The WNO Orchestra and the chorus are outstanding, giving full measure to Mozart’s fabulous music.

• WNO’s production plays until November 23; performances run slightly over three hours including a twenty-five minute intermission.

David Portillo in the role of Tamino. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

Prince Tamino is chased by a serpent into a magical realm where he is befriended by bird hunter Papageno, whose interests are finding a good meal, a good glass of wine, and a wife.   The prince is shown a picture of Princess Pamina and falls in love with her.  He begins a quest with Papageno’s help to find and win her with the support of her mother, the Queen of the Night, and her agents.  The queen seeks the return of her daughter who had been captured by a brotherhood, the enemy of the queen.  The opera mines the nature of the quest and its enchanted landscape for comedic effect and takes on a more serious dimension when the Pamina and Tamino encounter the brotherhood, and Papageno encounters Papagena. 

kneeling l to r: Michael Adams as Papageno and David Portillo as Tamino. Standing: l to r the three ladies, Alexandria Shiner, Deborah Nansteel, and Meredith Arwady. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

A friend once told me as I was just starting to listen to opera that The Magic Flute was a crazy story, but Mozart’s music was great.  My response to previous viewings has been colored by that assessment, and I have not taken the story very seriously.  WNO’s production succeeded in showing me how much more is contained in this story.  Though Flute can simply be enjoyed as an amusing fantasy with great music, its story is highly meaningful on several levels.  Mozart died ten weeks after the premiere of The Magic Flute.  He sensed before his death that his time was running short.  He joined the Freemasons, a group misunderstood and mistrusted by the general public, in an effort to come to terms with the great questions of life.  His was the Age of Enlightenment, the triumph of reason, and Mozart was a leader.  The mysterious Freemasons and their lodges were under close surveillance at that time by an Austrian monarchy feeling threatened by the shock waves of the French Revolution.  Mozart worked with his librettist Schikaneder, also a Mason, to develop an opera to entertain the masses, not just the nobility, and at the same time, present the order of Freemasons, not so named in the opera, as benign men of high purpose, dedicated to truth and virtue and the equality of all men.  Flute’s fantasy has drawn varied interpretations and meaning from many creative storytellers since its premiere, including early poet/dramatist Goethe, who started but did not finish a sequel to the opera, to the more modern film maker Ingmar Bergman who made a movie based on the opera.

l to r: Kathryn Lewek as the Queen of the night and Sydney Mancasola as Pamina. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

Because Flute is a fantasy set in ancient times with ancient gods and is meant to both be funny and to astound with stage effects, there is great latitude in how it can be presented and many creative artists have given their time to this effort, including a beloved presentation at the Met using Julie Taymor’s puppets a few years back.  Maurice Sendak worked with the Houston Grand Opera for a 1980 premiere to create scrims and sets that aligned well with his illustrations for Where the Wild Things Are.  Scenery design for WNO’s production is realized by Neil Peter Jambolis based on Sendak’s designs; he also served as lighting director.  I found the sets and scenery to be a delight and work exceedingly well with the fantasy of The Magic Flute.  Christopher Mattaliano’s direction is clear and crisp and moved things along well, but one issue I have with several of Mozart’s operas are scenes that are overextended, running on too long, and Flute certainly has some of those.  Those moments are typically sustained by Mozart’s great music, but Saturday night I found that the good feelings and interest elicited by Sendak’s designs, and the way they are used to tell the story, made the overlong scenes seem to pass more quickly.  It was neat that Jambolis and Mattaliano have been with the production since its inception and appeared on stage for the round of applause at the curtain.

l to r: David Cangelosi as Monostatos, Sidney Mancasola as Pamina, and Michael Adams as Papageno. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

Conductor Eun Sun Kim and the WNO Orchestra gave a very pleasurable reading of Mozart’s music and the entire production was enhanced by excellent choral numbers directed by Steven Gathman.  One thought I had as I sat there was how much I would enjoy hearing Maestro Kim direct a large on-stage orchestra playing this music.  Masonic symbolism can even be found in the music; attend the pre-opera talk to learn about this.  I tend to think that opera sung in English is not the best sound, but the poetry and rhyming in Andrew Porter’s English translation for Schikaneder’s libretto works beautifully with Mozart’s music, and being able to understand the spoken sections in this singspiel (recitatives are spoken not sung) without resorting to the overhead supertitles was a great relief to my neck; in fact, there are no supertitles for the spoken dialog in WNO’s production.

Wei Wu as Sarastro. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

The Magic Flute uses a lot of singers and Mozart provides the lead singers with great arias.  There is Tamino, Papageno, the Queen of the Night, Pamina, and Sarastro, leader of the brotherhood, in principal roles, plus in critical supporting roles, the three ladies, Monostatos, Papagena, Speaker, and three spirits as well as others.  There are twenty-four performers named in the program book; all contributed positively to the performance.  Not only that, but Flute productions tend to recast many of the same performers.  Tenor David Portillo who sang the role of Tamino was a standout Saturday night with a beautiful voice and singing; he will head to the Met to sing the same role later this year.  Soprano Kathryn Lewek as the Queen of the Night showed an impressive coloratura, exciting and somewhat edgy in the aria we all wait for, “Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen”; she will also be going to the Met to sing the same role.  Soprano Sydney Mancasola has a lovely voice and an appealing lovestruck manner as Pamina, a role she has sung previously at the Met.  Baritone Michael Adams gave us a funny, pleasing Papageno; he is a former Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist and a veteran of the past several WNO seasons.  Bass baritone Wei Wu sang the role of Sarastro with clear diction and a pace filled with gravitas the role called for; he is also an alumnus of the Domingo-Cafritz program.  Tenor David Cangelosi, also a WNO veteran, sang well and was a comic delight as Monostatos in his lecherous pursuit of Pamina.  Soprano Alexandra Nowakowski was also a charmer singing the role of Papagena, though having her appear oversized as well as aged was a questionable directorial choice, given the current controversy over body shaming in opera.  In a brief stint, bass Kevin Short gave us an eloquent cautionary Speaker.  I will only further mention the three ladies sung by Alexandria Shiner, mezzo-soprano Deborah Nansteel, and contralto Meredith Arwady, all previous WNO performers.  At first, I worried about their harmony, but they grew on me quickly to the point that I was disappointed when their time on the stage was done.  Lastly, as a group, kudos for the beautiful sound and singing provided by the three spirits sung by two groups of young boys and girls that will rotate among the performances.  The entire cast contributed to a wonderful performance.

A closing scene in the brotherhood lodge. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

The Magic Flute is a much more remarkable and meaningful opera than I have previously realized, and WNO’s production checks all the boxes for success with the added pleasure of Maurice Sendak’s design of the set and costumes.  All of this, of course is supported by Mozart’s great music.  I just read a quote attributed to theologian Karl Barth to the effect that when the angels play music for God, they play Bach, but when they play music for themselves, they play Mozart.  Sendak was himself a huge Mozart fan, and angelic music is just fine with me.

The Fan Experience:  Additional performances of The Magic Flute are scheduled for November 6, 9, 12, 15, 22, and 23.  The opera is performed in English though written in German and English supertitles are projected as well.  Additionally, there is a ticketed “Family Look-In” presentation on The Magic Flute scheduled for 1:30 pm on November 23, which provides an introduction to opera for children (ages 5 and up) with excerpts of Flute to be performed by Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists. There is a pre-opera talk one hour before performances given by Ken Weiss, Principal Coach for the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists program; I found the background information and insights such as the role the number three plays in the music to be helpful. 

For the sake of my neck, I personally wish that WNO would make plans to switch the titles to back of the seat viewing, such as the Met and the Santa Fe Opera use.  I again took the subway to Foggy Bottom where the Red Kennedy Center bus was waiting on 23rd street at the subway exit, by far the least stressful way to attend events at KC. My wife again made the dash from Reston leaving work at 6 pm and found smooth sailing on this trip.

Washington National Opera’s Otello: That Darn Handkerchief

Some alternate lead headers I might have used:

 “Strong Cast Carries an Entertaining Otello”

“Verdi’s Mature Composition Style Amazes”

So, why lead with a comment about a detail, a handkerchief which Iago portrays as evidence that Desdemona has been unfaithful to Otello?  There is a scene in WNO’s season opening production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Otello where Iago tells Otello to pay attention to Desdemona’s handkerchief and there is a titter of laughter in the audience.  Librettist Arrigo Boito did not write a funny line or scene, so why does the audience laugh?  There were laughs in a few other moments as well.  I think the audience response is the predictable result of presenting a work well known to opera fans, based on a Shakespearean play well known by virtually everyone.  The irony in certain lines becomes amusing when we know well the storylines of the opera and its conclusion.  The line has become a victim of familiarity and the passage of time.  Nevertheless, it creates a stumble for the audience’s immersion in the drama.  It is a clear sign that the telling of the story is wanting for a modern audience.

Desdemona (Leah Crocetto), center, and a fearful Cyprian crowd peer through the storm for Otello’s ship. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

Director David Alden’s set and staging compound this fundamental limitation with a set and staging that struck me as baffling.  The bare grey walls with a surprisingly displaceable back wall provided a plain set, which apparently was designed to help propel the sound out into the audience, a laudable objective in the design, but otherwise lacked features that might add to the story telling.  The locking of arms of the chorus during the storm scene seemed odd to me and the strong lights creating shadows of the singers throughout the opera were distracting.  Later, there was inexplicably a hole in the floor for fires.  The set and the costumes were supposed to be moved forward in time, unclear to what time period or for what purpose.  A solo dancer (Claudio Agüero Mariño) gave an engaging provocative dance that seemed to have little to do with the story.  I will simply say that neither the set nor staging worked to draw me into the drama.  Let me also add that my son’s reaction was different.  At intermission when I asked him what he thought of the staging, he replied that it was cool; it was an expressionistic staging he enjoyed.  Old school, new school?  And only in opera could Desdemona sing a gentle closing aria after being smoothered to death.  I will also add that having the couple on the floor made it difficult to tell what Otello had actually done to her. 

General Otello (Russell Thomas) arrives victorius. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

I have been talking details.  The bottom-line question is did the opera work to entertain and to engage the audience in its emotion and in thought provoking ways.  For me, the answer to that question is mostly yes.  The love scene between Otello and Desdemona was touching and convincing that these two were deeply into one another, though how readily he came to suspect her was disconcerting.  Racial issues were not played up that might help explain his behavior.  Desdemona’s highlight scene near the end with only her maid present was also affecting.  Iago came across as a sociopath serving as both narrator and manipulator with occasional ego driven outbursts, but I felt repulsion, not fascination with him.  I want to investigate how other singers have played Iago; so, the production did make me think.  My bottom line is that I found Otello to be an enjoyable show which had some affecting scenes, though I was never truly immersed in the drama overall.  So, let’s examine its best features.

Ensign Iago (George Gagnidze) puts into play a scheme to connect Desdemona to Captain Cassio (Zach Borichevsky) and anger an envious Roderigo (Alexander McKissick) looking on. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

WNO’s Otello has an excellent cast, that coupled with Verdi’s music, made the drama work at some level and provided beautiful sound the entire evening.  In his pre-opera talk, Kennedy Center Artistic Administrator Colin Brush stated that Russell Thomas was one of only a handful of tenors in the world who could sing the vocally demanding role of Otello.  I greatly enjoyed his performance, likely one not to be missed.  Also adding greatly to my enjoyment was George Gagnidze as Iago, a role he is known for internationally.  His highly polished baritone serves the characterization of Iago well.  Soprano Leah Crocetto has become a favorite of mine.  Her ability to sing softly conveying tender emotion is remarkable, and then as she demonstrated in her penultimate scene with only her maid present, she can bring it when a surge of emotion or power is called for.  The minor roles were well played by mezzo-soprano Deborah Nansteel as Emilia, tenor Zach Borichevsky as Cassio, tenor Alexander McKissick as Roderigo (in an out of place dandy costume), baritone Hunter Enoch as Montano, and bass Wei Wu as Lodovico.  I especially enjoyed the singing of Mr. Borichevsky.  I would definitely go to hear this cast again.

Desdemona (Leah Crocetto) and Otello (Russell Thomas) are rapturously reunited. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

Now let’s get to the primary reason to go to see Otello, the music.  I remain amazed by Verdi’s music in Otello.  This music is unlike the music in Verdi’s other operas that I have seen.  The opening storm scene most reminds me of Verdi’s Requiem for its dramatic impact.  Otello is Verdi’s penultimate opera out of 28 in total.  He came out of self-imposed retirement to compose it, and he deliberately made it different in style from his earlier works.  It is what musicologists call “through composed”.  The Italian style to that point was to compose operas made up of emotional arias separated by recitative, sung dialog.  The arias were based on melodies that were developed with repeating segments.  The melodies and themes often returned and were further developed.  Not so in Otello where melodies lead to melodies and there is no demarcation between arias and recitative.  You will not likely go home humming melodies from arias from this one, but this is not a criticism in the case of Otello.  Here is the amazing part: despite its lack of memorable arias, the music is beautiful and engaging.  And by using this form, the story is propelled without a break, more Wagner-like, or sort of like a Stephen Spielberg movie.  Kudos to Conductor Daniele Callegari and the WNO Orchestra for effectively bringing this music to life.  A major player in Otello is the chorus which was outstanding; kudos to Chorus Master Steven Gathman. 

Otello’s (Russell Thomas) jealous anger erupts against Desdemona (Leah Crocetto). Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Washington National Opera.

WNO’s Otello has much to like and maybe you will agree with my son on the staging.  It is a highly entertaining evening, more fun than affecting, with a story we all know by heart now.  I predict you will be glad you didn’t miss this one, though to be truly engaging as drama, future directors will have to find a way to eliminate the audience response of laughter.  My representative line from this production would then have been “that damn handkerchief” not “that darn handkerchief”.

Related: OperaGene’s preview of Washington National Opera’s 2019-2020 season can be found at this link.

The Fan Experience:  Otello plays five more times - October 30, November 3, 8, 11, and 16; sung in Italian with projected English subtitles.  One of the perks of attending the opening night performance was to witness the arrival of opera fan and Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who elicited her usual spontaneous standing ovation - very neat!  I thought the audience singing was particularly impassioned this time while the national anthem was played. As mentioned above, Kennedy Center Artistic Administrator Colin Brush gives a 30-minute pre-opera talk one hour before the performance.  The talk provided history and insights that enhanced my experience of the opera, some of which I have infused into this blog report.

I finally tried one of the special sippy cups you can purchase to hold a drink bought at intermission.  At $4 added on to the cost of the beverage, it is a little expensive, but it does allow you to relax and not worry about getting your cocktail downed before intermission ends since it can be taken into the Opera House. For the first time, the Kennedy Center Red Bus was not waiting at the Foggy Bottom Metro stop when I arrived, so I made the easy ten-minute walk to KC.  I then saw one headed to the metro stop while walking in. My wife managed to drive from Reston, leaving work at 6 pm and arriving to her seat ten minutes before the 7 pm performance.

Washington National Opera’s 2019-2020 Season: Otello Leads Off a Season of Relevance

Otello and Desdemona by Alexandre-Marie Colin, 1829. Public domain image from Wikipedia.

Washington National Opera’s 2019-2020 season pushes strongly forward in engaging current social issues and making good on its commendable commitment to minority and gender balance among performers, creative staff, and leadership positions, while balancing this effort with a solid program from the classic repertoire and some newer works; examples include: 

• African American tenor Russell Thomas will star in Verdi’s Otello

• Female conductor Eun Sun Kim will lead The Magic Flute

• Blue, composed by a female composer, Jeanine Tesori, is about a black teenager killed by a white police officer

• Marian Anderson awardee, African American bass Howard Soloman, sings in recital

• An all-female team comprised of composer Laura Kaminsky, librettist Kelley Rourke, and conductor Anne Manson will provide mentorship for the American Opera Initiative (AOI)

• The female director of Don Giovanni with its sexual issues is E. Loren Meeker

• African American mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges will sing the role of Delilah

• Porgy and Bess to be directed by WNO Artistic Director, Francesca Zambello

Washington National Opera 2019-2020 Season*

October 26, 30, November 3, 8, 11, 16:

Otello (1887) – Giuseppe Verdi and Arrigo Boito

November 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 17, 22, 23:

The Magic Flute (1791) – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Emanuel Schikaneder

January 10:

American Opera Initiative Festival: Three New Twenty-Minute Operas

February 29, March 2, 6, 8, 11, 14, 19, 22:

Don Giovanni (1787) – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte

March 1, 4, 7, 13, 16, 21:

Samson and Delilah (1877) – Camille Saint-Saëns and Ferdinand Lemaire

March 15, 18, 23, 28:

Blue (2019) – Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson

May 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17, 18, 20, 22, 23:

Porgy and Bess (1935) – George Gershwin and Dubose Heyward/Ira Gershwin

*Added event, November 25: Howard Soloman, Marian Anderson Vocal Award winner, in concert

Otello is of course based on Shakespeare’s “Othello” or “The Moor of Venice”, the tale of a Moorish Venetian general who succumbs to his jealousy and murders his innocent wife Desdemona, a tragedy engineered by his ensign Iago, perhaps literature’s purest villain.  Otello is Verdi’s penultimate opera premiere and his librettist Arrigo Boito, a close friend, was a composer in his own right.  After Don Carlo in 1867 came Aida in 1871 and Otello not until 1887, then Falstaff in 1892, his last.  When he composed Otello the opera world was already looking elsewhere for new wave leadership.  Nonetheless, Verdi was still revered and Otello was a success, though never as much so as some of his earlier operas; musicologists claim this is due to the “severe vocal and orchestral demands” of Verdi’s mature dramatic style.  Now we get to tenor Russell Thomas who sings the role of Otello; he was last seen here in WNO’s Don Carlo.  I refer you now to an excellent article by Anne Midgette covering both the vocal demands made upon Mr. Russell by this role as well as those of being a black opera singer in today’s environment.  Let us also not overlook soprano Leah Crocetto who plays Desdemona.  Ms. Crocetto is also an exciting talent who has appeared recently in DC, in WNO’s Verdi Requiem and Aida.  The bad guy is played by international opera star baritone George Gagnidze, who this past May at Met Opera gave his 100th performance as Rigoletto; tell me you didn’t think the bad guy would be played by a tenor.  Musicologists can argue about its placement in the opera pantheon; I’ve not seen it, but I am listening to a recording and love the music.  Great composer, great cast, ball in your court – starting October 26.

The Magic Flute is a holiday season favorite that comes a little early this year, running November 2-23, but then Christmas decorations are already going up in stores, so who knows when holiday season begins anymore.  I digress - In addition to more fabulous music by Mozart, this very accessible opera will have sets designed by famous children’s author Maurice Sendak.  The tale is a comical allegory about truth and love, and not too heavy, it can be enjoyed by the youngsters as well as the adults; and it will be performed in English which also helps.  The performers on November 22 will come from the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist program.  WNO also reports that a Family Look-in—a special introduction to this opera designed for families and children—is scheduled for Saturday, November 23; a separate ticket is required. For the Family Look-in, audience members will experience excerpts from The Magic Flute along with insight into behind-the-scenes aspects such as lighting, scene changes, costuming, and many other elements that create stage magic.” Speaking for myself, I attend The Magic Flute to hear the Queen of the Night.  That role will be sung by soprano Kathryn Lewek who is currently featured on a 2017 live Met Opera recording of The Magic Flute – can’t wait!

The American Opera Initiative festival will still be held in January, but only the program of three new twenty-minute operas will be presented.  I mourn what I hope is only a pause in presenting a new one-hour opera each January as well.  For those of us who crave new operas, the AOI offerings are a highlight of the season. The operas are performed by the members of the Domingo Cafritz Young Artist program.

Don Giovanni has earned its position among the best and most often performed operas of all time.  Librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte created an enduring tale about a sexual predator using his wealth and power in attempts to seduce every woman he meets, and composer Mozart created some of his greatest music to surround and help tell the story. However, for centuries-old works in the classic repertoire, this is the ‘age of the director’; the burden of proof falls to the director to tell these stories in ways that both entertain and most strongly connect with audiences of today.  Enter E. Loren Meeker, a much in demand director, to give her hand a try; what will her Giovanni emphasize?  She has directed operas for many of the major companies in the US, including Washington National Opera.  I greatly enjoyed her production of The Touchstone for Wolf Trap Opera.  She will certainly bring a female point of view to Giovanni’s exploits which adds interest, I think.  An exciting young cast familiar to DC will work with Evan Rogister in his first principal conductor performance for WNO.

Samson and Delilah is based on the well-known Bible story found in the Book of Judges.  Composer Camille Saint-Saëns is best known today for his orchestral music.  Sampson and Delilah is the only one of his 13 operas that is performed today.  In the story, Samson is a hero of extraordinary strength rallying the Hebrews in their struggles with the Philistines; Delilah is used by the Philistines to seduce and bring about Samson’s downfall.  It is a story rich with political and psychological dimensions and offers some beautiful music by Saint-Saëns.  Delilah, especially, has some beautiful arias, and WNO is bringing in star mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges to sing them. 

Blue is a co-production with The Glimmerglass Festival and the Lyric Opera of Chicago that premiered this summer at Glimmerglass.  Two black parents in Harlem are gifted with the birth of a son and must deal with the hopes and fears of black parents in America today.  The father is a police officer, and his son is killed by a white police officer, a story seeming to be ripped from today’s headlines, but that is also based on black literature and illuminates the private stories behind the public story.  The composer is Tony-award winning director Jeanine Tesori, and the librettist is playwright and theater director Tazewell Thompson who will also direct.  Blue stars former Domingo Caftitz Young Artist bass Kenneth Kellogg.  The music includes themes of gospel, blues, jazz, and opera.  WNO’s season announcement indicated that “WNO is forming a committee of local and national leaders from the African American community, the law enforcement community, and other stakeholders who will collaborate to design events that foster dialogue about the story of the opera. Event details, and ways that the public can participate, will be announced later”.

Porgy and Bess is “a tale about southern blacks by a white novelist, set to music by a New-York-based Jewish songwriter-lyricist team”.  The story was derived from DuBose Heyward’s novel “Porgy”; Mr. Heyward wrote the libretto working with lyricist Ira Gershwin.  While composer George Gershwin had a longtime, genuine interest in the African American experience, it is the performers, an all-black cast, who must bring authenticity to the work.  It is the wonderful melodies from songs like Summertime that have sustained its popularity.  WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello will direct her own production of this ‘folk opera’, as labeled by the composer, rotating two casts among performances.  Several of the supporting cast members, including up and coming soprano Janai Brugger and star mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves are currently appearing in the Met Opera revival of Porgy and Bess.  This perhaps is George Gershwin’s greatest work, certainly revealing more of the genius of this American composer.

The Fan Experience:  Individual tickets are available for all performances at this time.  For Porgy and Bess be sure to select the date when the cast you wish to hear is performing. If you are interested in buying tickets to more than one opera, check with the box office at 202-467-4600 to see if subscriptions are still possible for two or more operas ; with subscriptions, you may be eligible for parking discounts and/or other benefits, such as the ability to change your ticket to an alternate performance date.  Also remember that the Kennedy Center uses dynamic pricing which means that if certain performances are in high demand they may raise the prices for the remaining tickets closer to the performance.  There will be two same-day performances of the American Opera Initiative operas which often sell out; get your tickets early.

Generally all operas will have a pre-opera talk by a local expert; check the website of the opera of interest to find additional events that may be scheduled.

Parking is available in the Kennedy Center Garage for $23, currently with discounts of $3 for pre-paid reservations. Construction limiting access to parking entrances has been completed, but traffic in the area near performance times is typically highly congested and can cause significant delays.  You can save wear and tear on your nerves by taking the subway to Foggy Bottom Metro stop and then the red KC bus parked right outside the station; it runs every fifteen minutes.

Virginia Opera’s Tosca: Let Me Paint You a Picture

I attended Virginia Opera’s Tosca Saturday night and as I think about it today, I so wish I had gotten a ticket for Sunday’s matinee as well.  So many questions.  Oh, it’s a good show with fabulous music and singing.  Giacomo Puccini’s “shabby little thriller”, as one early critic called it, has never failed to deliver in my experience, and I don’t mean to ignore his outstanding librettists, Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa.  There are many fine features to VO’s production with only a few minor complaints from me.  One of the three main characters in Tosca is a painter, so let’s examine VO’s Tosca as if it were a painting or a series of paintings like Thomas Cole’s “The Voyage of Life” (National Gallery of Art in DC) covering the four stages of a man’s life; we will only cover 16 hours.  Our paintings’ canvases and backgrounds are provided by Director Lillian Groag and the creative staff.  The singers playing their roles claim our eyes and ears, revealing themselves visually, further defined by vocal and musical colorations.  Their actions keep the colors changing before our eyes, leading to a series of paintings that move by us so fast that we can’t look away, nor even stop to examine one in more detail; like a river current, Tosca sweeps us up and carries us along at a breath-taking pace.  Tosca doesn’t have a paint by the numbers set, so let’s paint by the singers.  See how your paintings differ from mine. (Caution- plot spoilers abound after this point)

Matthew Vickers as Mario Cavaradossi and Ewa Płonka as Floria Tosca. Photo by Ben Schill Photography; courtesy of Virginia Opera.

First a word about the canvas, the macroenvironment shaping Mr. Puccini’s opera: it is 1800 and Napoleon is marching on Rome to crush the rule of the church and the monarchy in power, a rule much favored by most Romans.  Italy is not a unified country then, but a collection of fiefdoms.  Some Romans secretly support Napoleon’s establishment of an Italian republic and its freedoms.  There is tension in the air as the status quo of all Romans is at stake.  At first there is word Napoleon has lost a key battle, but then later as the opera progresses, news comes that Napoleon has won.  (See this blog report for an excellent historical summary of the real events that influenced Tosca’s storyline).

left: Joshua Arky as Sacristan. right: Matthew Vickers as Cavaradossi and Andrew Simpson as Cesare Angelotti. Photos by Ben Schill Photography; courtesy of Virginia Opera.

Mario Cavaradossi – We will use lots of red for this virile, even hot-blooded young man, patriotic in his own way.  Life is good believes painter Mario Cavaradossi.  He is painting a new portrait of Mary Magdalene for a private chapel inside the church of Sant’Andrea delle Valle, a landmark cathedral in Rome. He is an artist, a handsome young man, wealthy and in love, of noble virtue.  He appreciates his model’s beauty, her blue eyes, though not as lovely as his Tosca’s brown eyes.  He believes in freedom from the church and monarchy, though he has apparently not yet rebelled.  Nothing bad ever happened to him before.  That’s one side of Mr. Cavaradossi.  He is also sees himself as an elite, of better station than the Sacristan working in the church and the Roman chief of police who will be his undoing.  He assumes he is protected by his station in life.  Then, an escaped political prisoner and former friend, Angelotti, appears needing his help; we will color him gray as he stays in the shadows.  In the next 16 hours, Mr. Cavaradossi will be tortured, betrayed by his love, and dead.  I am unsure if he sees his cause or just himself as heroic, but he remained true and unyielding to the end.  Cavaradossi is played by tenor Matthew Vickers, who has been a VO young artist and who sang the role of Pinkerton in VO’s recent Madama Butterfly.  I am happy to report that this is the best that I have heard Mr. Vickers.  He is an excellent Cavaradossi visually and vocally, especially in Acts I and III, spirited in Act I and displaying heart touching beauty in Act III. He has a rich, lovely tenor voice, and he showed much more power in this role than he did in Butterfly.  He was a pleasure as Cavaradossi and the most effective performer at adding depth to his role. 

Kyle Albertson as Baron Scarpia and cast in the Te Deum scene closing Act I of Tosca. Photo by Ben Schill Photography; courtesy of Virginia Opera.

Floria Tosca – Ms. Tosca is a successful singer, who is in love with Cavaradossi.  She is a devout Catholic and committed to artistic ideals.  She is a good person and, though a mature woman, she is a good girl.  She expects that good things come to good people.  She does present with the jealously of a diva, quick to suspect that Cavaradossi has been unfaithful; she plans to catch her lover in an assignation with the model for his painting.  We must color her green.  Her suspicions are unfounded, but then she knows Cavaradossi better than I do.  I now wonder what she might have done if she had caught him with someone.  Ms. Tosca is not political.  Personal life is her venue, but her misfortune is that she has become ensnared by history and by Scarpia, the evil head of police who is obsessed with her.  He fuels her mistrust of her lover and plans to make her his conquest.  In less than 16 hours, she will betray her lover, commit murder, and die.  Her transformation from apparent good girl to action hero will make your head spin; perhaps we chose the wrong color for her?  When she falls victim to Scarpia’s grasp, she musters the strength to plan and arrange her escape with her lover.  Did she really plan to submit to Scarpia at that point to arrange passage?  Tosca is portrayed by soprano Ewa Płonka, herself undergoing a transformation as she sings a soprano role for the first time.  She sang beautifully Saturday night.  She has a remarkably colorful voice.  I thought that in moving from mezzo-soprano to dramatic soprano her voice was well-matched to the tessitura of the role.  Her vocal colorations were clean and spot on.  Her acting was serviceable, following well established patterns for Tosca, but her leap which we all wait for seemed a little cautious.  Perhaps with more experience we will see more of her in her Tosca; how would Ewa Płonka jump to her death?  Her voice is extraordinary; I would go again just to hear her sing so beautifully.  She was one of the highlights of this performance and clearly has a bright future ahead.  The thought of hearing her again is exciting.

left: Louis Alexander Riva as police agent Spoletta and Kyle Albertson as Scarpia. right: Matthew Vickers as Cavaradossi and Kyle Albertson as Scarpia in the fight scene. Photos by Ben Schill Photography; courtesy of Virginia Opera.

Baron Scarpia – As with the other two key characters, we know little of Scarpia’s past, but we quickly learn he is a brutal, amoral, and highly effective police chief with almost absolute power at the local level.  In his arias we learn of his true nature.  He is not content just to enjoy life; his pleasure is in taking what he desires.  He sees Cavaradossi as his adversary for Tosca and Cavaradossi’s political leanings as the wedge to take him down.  He likely also hates Cavaradossi for his privileged arrogance.  Scarpia sees Tosca as worthy prey he can make submit to his will without fear of retribution.  He sees the political struggle as a threat to his position; his loyalty is to Scarpia.  Is he simply someone controlled by his appetites?  He speaks of love for Tosca and a belief she will respond sexually to his power.  Love?  He sips wine and does paperwork while his victims are tortured and complains his supper has been interrupted.  He attempts to coerce Tosca into his bed by making her an offer she can’t refuse.  In less than 16 hours, he will be defeated by a woman and dead.  Scarpia is played by bass-baritone Kyle Albertson, who will soon play Angelotti in Met Opera’s Tosca.  Mr. Albertson has the right appearance and voice for Scarpia, and he sings well, but somehow, to me he came across as a villain who is more of a jerk than a monster.  I see Scarpia as a monster, someone who not only relishes his success, but his victim’s defeat as well.  Mr. Albertson is menacing enough and his aria coupled with the Te Deum’s celebration of Napoleon’s defeat is quite good, but I was left with the feeling that he could have done more; for me, it was a good performance that stopped short of outstanding.

Ewa Płonka as Tosca and Kyle Albertson as Scarpia. Photo by Ben Schill Photography; courtesy of Virginia Opera.

Tosca’s Director is Lillian Groag.  Let’s color her silver; it is her 25th production for Virginia Opera.  If you read my blog, you will know that I am very enamored of her directing abilities.  In fact, her constant directorial theme of showing the characters as complex human beings inspired my approach to this blog report. Each of her productions are marked by professional touches, such as her use of children in Tosca. She, of course, helps the singers color their performances as well as direct the action on the stage.  Virginia Opera cannot match the Metropolitan Opera’s budget for grandeur, but it’s not needed to tell a good story.  The sets for VO’s Tosca were quite effective, floor to ceiling, and the costumes were excellent.  For me, there were a few questions raised by the staging.  The people walking by the knave where Cavaradossi was working were distracting, and I could not locate the young shepherd boy on stage who was singing to begin Act III (voice supplied offstage by soprano Celeste Godin).  In the early part of an excellent Te Deum, the congregation was turned towards Scarpia, which seemed odd to me as he was singing about Tosca making him forget God; perhaps the cross should have come down sooner.  The Act II fight scene was excellently choreographed by Gregg C. Lolyd, but in performance was carried out at too slow a speed for maximum impact as most punches seemed telegraphed; Scarpia’s punch to the painter’s gut was the most effective part of the sequence.  Nonetheless, the fight scene added to the excitement.  There was a glitch with St. Michael’s statue in Act III, which appeared disassembled.  However, all of this is getting into the weeds about my personal responses.  I did like the touch of having Tosca make a cross placing her bloodied white gloves on Scarpia’s body as she forgave him.  You can tell by all my harping that the staging drew me in.

Cavaradossi (Matthew Vickers) and Tosca (Ewa Płonka) share their last moments together.

I regret taking so long to get to the music because I think this was Conductor Adam Turner’s finest effort among many excellent ones that I have heard.  The music was always right there as it should be, making Puccini sound as beautiful as possible and in perfect sync with the action.  I don’t know if he brings out the best in Puccini or if Puccini brings out the best in him, but kudos to him and the Virginia Symphony Orchestra.  The chorus was also excellent with special kudos to Children’s Chorus Master Emily Russell.  The singers with smaller roles, such as bass-baritone Joshua Arky as Sacristan, bass-baritone Andrew Simpson, and tenor Louis Alexander Riva as Spoletta also contributed substantially to the performance. 

Yes, I have seen Tosca multiple times now; yet Virginia Opera’s production was still entertaining and thought-provoking. I have painted you a picture, a series of pictures in fact, as to how I saw it.  But of course, seeing it for yourself makes all the difference.  Then you will have your own pictures and be moved by them, as you need.

The Fan Experience: Virginia Opera will perform Tosca twice more, in Richmond, on Friday night, October 18, and on Sunday afternoon, October 20.  The opera is sung in Italian with English subtitles.  Dr. Glenn Winters, Virginia Opera's Community Outreach Musical Director, provides pre-opera talks forty-five minutes before showtime; they and his blog reports leading up to each opera offer entertaining and informative insights; I reference his report on historical aspects of Tosca above.  The pre-opera talks are frequently standing room only, so get there early.

Virginia Opera’s final opera of the season will be Aida, also directed by Lillian Groag, but for technical reasons this production will not be performed at GMU.  VO has arranged a travel/opera package for those interested in traveling to Richmond to see a performance.  Virginia Opera’s next two productions, Catán’s Il Postino and Rossini’s Cinderella will be performed at GMU’s Center for the Arts.

For the parking deck at GMU’s Center for the Arts which is adjacent to the theater, the price as gone up to $9 from last year’s $8, still reasonable, and you can walk from a more distant lot for free.  I wish the Center for the Arts would consider adding side screens for the showing the English subtitles.  The overhead one serves the balcony well but is too high up for the orchestra section in my opinion.  Refreshments offered prior to the performance and during intermissions include beer and wine, but food items are meager.  The Center for the Arts offers a wide variety of performance types throughout the year; check them out at this link.