The 5th Annual OperaChaser Awards and Commendations

- 2019 -

Revealed via Twitter @OperaChaser on 27th December 2019, commencing at 5pm,

Dromana, Victoria.

The 5th Annual OperaChaser Awards and Commendations are an opportunity to reflect on the year and are dedicated to all who have contributed in sharing their artistic and creative pursuits by nourishing their audiences with immeasurable and lasting enjoyment. 

This year, I saw 67 diverse opera productions in 15 cities across 3 continents. A little more than half of that figure represented productions I attended in Australia while most of the international performances I attended were in the the U.S.A. The work I see from companies large and small continue to demonstrate that opera can be interpreted opera with contemporary relevance and connect with a wider audience. 

Conditions change, making it necessary to be more fluid from year to year when considering awards and commendations. In the past, for the first part of the the awards , I have separated the heavily government funded companies from the far smaller budgeted independent ones. Melbourne Opera, a sizeable independent company, continues to impress with productions on par with the two major government funded companies in Victoria, Opera Australia and Victorian Opera. This year, it seems more fitting to include them in this category. The small independent opera companies have been grouped together. Only one award, for Outstanding Production, has been given this year. 

As always, thank you to all involved in creating the ephemeral beauty of opera in performance. Again, there is no little ceremony, no trophy and no prize, but I sincerely hope that these awards bring a little pleasure to the deserved artists who bring excellence to the art of opera and all who continue to dig deep into their artistic, dramatic and creative energies.

OperaChaser Award for Outstanding Production, Melbourne:
Il viaggio a Reims Opera Australia 
Photo: Prudence Upton

OperaChaser Awards, Melbourne

From 26 productions

Outstanding Production

Il viaggio a Reims, Opera Australia
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/05/a-rossini-rarity-il-viaggio-reims.html

Outstanding Production - Small Independent Company
The Enchanted Pig, Gertrude Opera, Yarra Valley Opera Festival
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-enchanted-pig-arrives-in-its.html

Outstanding Opera in Concert
Andrea Chénier, Opera Australia
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/08/in-outstanding-team-sporting-spirit-and.html

Outstanding Director
Damiano Michieletto
Il viaggio a Reims, Opera Australia
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/05/a-rossini-rarity-il-viaggio-reims.html

Outstanding Conductor 
Richard Mills
Parsifal, Victorian Opera
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/02/victorian-operas-parsifal-illuminates.html

Outstanding Male in a Leading Role 
Derek Welton
Klingsor, Parsifal, Victorian Opera
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/02/victorian-operas-parsifal-illuminates.html

Outstanding Female in a Leading Role
Helena Dix
Title role, Norma, Melbourne Opera
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/arts/helena-dix-stars-in-new-production-of-norma/news-story/c6a3e96fdb312ec818fc10e8f5c96cde

Outstanding Male in a Supporting Role
Luke Gabbedy
Valentin, Faust, Opera Australia
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/12/moral-hypocrisy-exposed-in-lavish.html

Outstanding Female in a Supporting Role
Anna Dowsley
Siébel, Faust, Opera Australia
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/12/moral-hypocrisy-exposed-in-lavish.html

Outstanding Chorus
Melbourne Opera Chorus
Chorus Director: Raymond Lawrence
The Flying Dutchman, Melbourne Opera
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/02/melbourne-operas-flying-dutchman-takes.html

Outstanding Set Design
Charles Edwards
Faust, Opera Australia
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/12/moral-hypocrisy-exposed-in-lavish.html

Outstanding Costume Design
Carla Teti
Il viaggio a Reims, Opera Australia
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/05/a-rossini-rarity-il-viaggio-reims.html

Outstanding Lighting Design
Robert Bryan
Rigoletto, Opera Australia
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/05/moshinskys-rigoletto-revival-for-opera.html

OperaChaser Commendation for Outstanding Production, Australia:
Farnace, Pinchgut Opera, Sydney
Photo: Brett Boardman

2019 OperaChaser Commendations, Australia

From 10 productions seen in Adelaide and Sydney

Outstanding Production
Farnace, Pinchgut Opera, Sydney
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/12/vivaldis-farnace-opens-in-australian.html

Outstanding Director
Mark Gaal
Farnace, Pinchgut Opera, Sydney
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/12/vivaldis-farnace-opens-in-australian.html

Outstanding Conductor
Erin Helyard
Farnace, Pinchgut Opera, Sydney
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/12/vivaldis-farnace-opens-in-australian.html

Outstanding Male in a Leading Role
Christopher Lowrey
Title Role, Farnace, Pinchgut Opera, Sydney
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/12/vivaldis-farnace-opens-in-australian.html

Outstanding Female in a Leading Role
Ermonela Jaho
Title role, Anna Bolena, Opera Australia, Sydney
^https://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/reviews/anna-bolena-opera-australia/

Outstanding Male in a Supporting Role
Max Reibl
Gilade, Farnace, Pinchgut Opera, Sydney
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/12/vivaldis-farnace-opens-in-australian.html

Outstanding Female in a Supporting Role
Stacey Alleaume
Sophie, Werther, Opera Australia, Sydney
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/02/a-festering-drama-alive-with-two.html

Outstanding Chorus
Opera Australia Chorus
Turandot, Opera Australia, Sydney
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/01/decades-on-graeme-murphys-turandot-for.html

Outstanding Set Design
Dan Potra
Whiteley, Opera Australia, Sydney
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/07/a-new-australian-opera-magnifies-life.html

Outstanding Costume design
Marianna Fracasso 
Anna Bolena, Opera Australia, Sydney
^https://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/reviews/anna-bolena-opera-australia/

Outstanding Lighting Design
Urs Schönebaum
Wozzeck, Opera Australia, Sydney
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/01/a-welcome-new-wozzeck-for-opera.html

OperaChaser Commendation for Outstanding Production, International:
Rusalka, San Francisco Opera, San Francisco
Photo: Cory Weaver

2018 OperaChaser Commendations, International

From 31 productions seen in 12 cities: Alameda, Bayreuth, Chicago, Costa Mesa, Livermore, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Mexico City, New York, Palo Alto, San Francisco and San Jose.

Outstanding Production
Rusalka, San Francisco Opera, San Francisco
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/06/more-than-tale-of-love-and-sacrifice.html

Outstanding Director 
Richard Jones
Ariodante, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/03/highlights-aplenty-in-handels-freshly.html

Outstanding Conductor
Valery Gergiev
Tannhäuser, Bayreuth Festival 2019, Bayreuth
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/08/a-wild-confronting-and-bittersweet.html

Outstanding Male in a Leading Role
Christian Van Horn
John Claggart, Billy Budd, San Francisco Opera, San Francisco
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/09/a-stirringly-sung-orchestrally.html

Outstanding Female in a Leading Role
Lise Davidsen
Elisabeth, Tannhäuser, Bayreuth Festival 2019, Bayreuth
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/08/a-wild-confronting-and-bittersweet.html

Outstanding Male in a Supporting Role
Kihun Yoon
Marcello, La boheme, Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles 
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/09/puccinis-la-boheme-flickers-its-charms.html

Outstanding Female in a Supporting Role
Heidi Stober 
Dalinda, Ariodante, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/03/highlights-aplenty-in-handels-freshly.html

Outstanding Chorus
Bayreuth Festival Chorus
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Bayreuth Festival 2019, Bayreuth
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/08/barrie-koskys-daring-die-meistersinger.html

Outstanding Set Design
Jorge Ballina 
L'Amour de loin, Ópera de Belles Artes, Mexico City 
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/04/timeless-and-beguiling-lamour-de-loin.html

Outstanding Costume Design
Brigitte Reiffenstuel
Falstaff, The Metropolitan Opera, New York
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/03/a-jubilant-debut-for-one-aussie-soprano.html

Outstanding Lighting Design
Paule Constable
Billy Budd, San Francisco Opera, San Francisco 
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2019/09/a-stirringly-sung-orchestrally.html
Once again, thank you to all!


^ links to reviews not penned by myself

A non-stop entertaining affair takes the stage for Victorian Opera's The Barber of Seville: Herald Sun Review

Published in print in Melbourne's Herald Sun, Tuesday 17th December 2019

Just over 200 years ago, a young Rossini whipped up opera’s most famous comedy, The Barber of Seville, in a matter of weeks. Pumped with melodious energy, tingling vocal pyrotechnics and bursting with comic potential, it can fill opera theatres even today. So, it was with some surprise that Victorian Opera scheduled just two performances in a spare, semi-staged production. 

Paolo Pecchioli, José Carbó, Kathryn Radcliffe,
Stephen Marsh and Chiara Amarù

One part concert and two parts theatre, economy of scale never stood in the way of performances several parts seemingly caffeinated. Or was it absinthe that fuelled this something of a year-end work bash? The comic shenanigans and connection between musicians, artists and audience became a non-stop infectiously entertaining affair. 

A fizzing Orchestra Victoria had the overture to themselves under Richard Mills before Elizabeth Hill-Cooper’s direction began its madcap mayhem. It was obvious Mills demanded playfulness. Stretching and contracting the tempi a little too liberally, the singers certainly had challenges to meet.

Baritone José Carbó gave a sensationally packaged turn as the industrious Figaro. The familiar “Largo al factotum” not only had crystal diction and agile aplomb but Carbó included snipping off continuo player Phoebe Briggs’ plait and handing an espresso to Mills as part of the humour.

Big smiling and nimble, Brenton Spiteri had the luxurious warmth to charm as Count Almaviva on his masqueraded quest for Rosina’s heart. Not quite so smooth were the coloratura passages, which two Italians showcased excellently.

As Rosina, Chiara Amarù’s dynamic mezzo-soprano and cheeky seductiveness combined in marvellous form. And formidable bass Paolo Pecchioli, who personified Don Basilio in all sorts of arm-waving antics as the cockroach he is, just about stole the show.

In resounding cannon vocals and turkey step, Warwick Fyfe excelled as old Doctor Bartolo and Kathryn Radcliffe shone exceptionally as Berta. The male chorus acted like pistons in a well-oiled machine, the ensemble singing soared in the Act 1 and 2 finales and the Storm Scene was a whirling beauty. A few theatrical trimmings were missed but, whatever it was they were on, you wanted what they were having.

The Barber of Seville
Victorian Opera
Melbourne Recital Centre
Until 14th December 2019

3.5 stars


Production Photos: Nick Hanson 

A ravishingly fine Judas Maccabaeus makes its mark with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorale in San Francisco

Nestled in the pages of biblical times, the story goes that Judas Maccabaeus led the Israelites to victory over the pagan Seleucids in the 2nd century BC. Centuries later, in 1746, Handel made him the subject of an oratorio in three acts by way of honouring the Duke of Cumberland in his victory over the Scottish army at the Battle of Culloden. Although not often widely performed in contemporary times, it’s a work brimming with Handel’s deftness at writing refined and gloriously orchestrated music for soloists and chorus alike. On Sunday afternoon, in the final of four performances in the San Francisco Bay Area, a full house at Berkeley’s First Congregational Church took the opportunity to hear the work presented by the meticulously prepared Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorale under the baton of Nicholas McGegan.

Robin Johannsen as Israelitish Woman and Nicholas Phan as Judas

With an English libretto by Thomas Morell, who went on to write several librettos for Handel’s oratorios, it’s a rousing message for a call to arms to restore faith. For the Israelites, a hard-earned jubilant ending ensues that brings peace to its people and an alliance with the Romans against the Seleucid Empire. For contemporary ears, it is also a reminder of the countless chapters of unrest the region has endured.

If it was the only time you ever heard it in performance, Judas, personified by tenor Nicholas Phan, will be remembered as a distinguished and charismatic leader. Phan’s Judas was commanding and heroic, yet subtly youthful. And, in characteristic recitative followed by aria form, Phan’s recitatives were crystal clear and expressive, his arias radiant and alive. Taking centre stage midway through Act One, a rich and authoritative sound came in Phan’s first aria, “Call forth thy pow’rs”. What was to come impressed further. 

In Act Two’s “How vain is man”, in which Judas preaches God’s authority in guiding man’s victory in war, Phan’s powerful staccato runs and broad range brought much to his performance. Then, in “Sound an alarm”, multiple shades of drama in a voice as polished as the brass followed in what became a pageant of splendid orchestral results. And it’s all too rare having the double bass take the ear’s undivided attention but before all this majestic might, Kristin Zoernig let her instrument add its own ravishing highlight.

Robin Johannsen as Israelitish Woman and
Sara Couden as Israelitish Man

Judas’ younger brother Simon, instrumental in summoning the people after the death of his father Mattathias, stood comfortably, if somewhat left in Judas’ shadow, under the command of golden-grilled baritone William Berger. In Act One’s “Arm, arm, ye brave!” Berger struck with power and brought increased colour to Act Two’s “The Lord worketh wonders” and “With pious hearts”. 

As the remaining two leading soloists, mezzo-soprano Sara Couden and soprano Robin Johannsen made an impactful pair while showing great rapport as the Israelitish Man and Israelitish Woman respectively. They certainly get much of the frontline singing and most of the shining arias, the two heading the soloists out in a beautifully chartered duet “From this dread scene”. Johannsen’s bright and pure tones touched Act One’s “Pious orgies, pious airs” with sublime force at its most delicate and lulling. In Act Two’s “From mighty kings”, four lines of text burst forth in triumphant praise for Judas as Johannsen’s coloratura gleamed, taking to her music with seeming effortlessness.

Couden was a huge sensation in everything she delivered - a model performance leaving you in no doubt her star had ascended. The strength of Act Two’s “So rapid thy course is” seemingly heralded a grand future for her nameless Israelitish Man, turning the stave into an outstanding elastic beauty as she leapt from chest to head voice in what would make a coveted vocal lesson. Couden’s whopping cavernous lows came with unshowy pride and the audience couldn’t hold back the applause! Later, opening Act Three with “Father of Heav’n!” and imploring God’s blessing on festivities, Couden began with angelic strains before building up a masterpiece of succulent, mobilising voice.

Soloists, Chorus Director Bruce Lamott and
Conductor Nicholas McGegan
with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra 

Big moments, too, exist for a chorus of Israelites and the Philharmonia Baroque Chorale, a smallish number of 26 choristers, were a resounding group, singing with highly attractive and varied gradation while communicating their sentiments with a convincing air. Act Three’s “See, the conqu’ring hero comes!” was a spectacular showcase for chorus and orchestra in elevating Judas to God’s plane. 

Judas Maccabaeus often feels like it doesn’t say much in saying a lot. Still, as conductor Nicholas McGegan steered a thoroughly expert and tightly tuned orchestra, and offered the music up in a respectful and sensitive homage to Handel, the possibility of not hearing it again in performance struck me with a sense of sadness.


Judas Maccabaeus
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorale
First Congregational Church, Berkeley, CA
8th December, 2019


Production Photos: Frank Wing

Vivaldi's Farnace opens in an Australian premiere thrumming with astounding impact from Sydney's Pinchgut Opera

In the 21st century, baroque opera can still show it has the ingredients to make an astounding impact. Thank goodness the scholarship and craftsmanship exists to help it so. In yet another phenomenal showcase of the period’s musical brilliance from Sydney’s Pinchgut Opera, and after more than 290 years since it premiered in 1727, Vivaldi’s Farnace received its Australian premiere on Wednesday night.

Christopher Lowrey as Farnace

Top to bottom, the entire cast sang miracle after miracle of the human voice’s capabilities to impress the ear and jolt the emotions and Artistic Director Erin Helyard’s signature whole-hearted conducting ensured Vivaldi’s assortment of flavoursome orchestrations received their most vividly depicted form. We owe much to Helyard, too, in piecing together the third act of the work after Vivaldi’s 1738 revision for the opera house in Ferrara in which Vivaldi had only completed the first two acts. Helyard has a knack for achieving seamless connections between music and drama and Farnace came to a triumphant finale with no exception. From the first thrumming chords, the musical landscape resounded and ballooned with exciting tempi and the superlative musicianship of Orchestra of the Antipodes never wained.

The opera’s story is set in ancient Pontus, a region in the modern-day eastern Black Sea region of Turkey. Farnace, its king - he is the son of Mitridate, who also features in Mozart’s early ‘opera seria’ Mitridate, re di Ponto - is on the edge of defeat against the Romans and he’s up against a series of battles with his enemies, his family and his conscience. Without detailing the nitty gritty, it’s a world where love seems in little supply while strong individual identities thrash out their thoughts and desires. In the end, however, love prevails over honour, duty and vengeance. But, for all the hatred, violence, scheming and looming murderous intent, every principal player manages to escape death in an almost incredulous but most uplifting conclusion.

Helen Sherman as Tamiri

Not a trace of museum-piece stuffiness is evident in Mark Gaal’s firmly planted and glossy direction that thrusts the plot forward and designer Isabel Hudson’s cleverly resolved design that translates space both as internal and external with dark and oppressive moods. Hudson’s u-shaped colonnaded set, with second level perimeter walkway accessed by ladder, provides an impressive backdrop as secret bunker, palace chambers and external surrounds. Black military attire prevails in this skyless and updated machine gun handled age, lit with variety and sharpness by Benjamin Brockman. Six bagged bodies hang from above in a reminder that perhaps everyone’s life hangs in the balance in a precipitous political climate. In all, it feels not too far from the reality of some modern day hotspots.

American-born countertenor Christopher Lowrey, who has shown the depth of his performance style in previous Pinchgut productions (as Tamerlano in Vivaldi's Bajazet and Didymus in Theodora), is every bit convincing in the title role as Farnace. Lowrey introduces Farnace as a heroic but heartless persona with a monumental edifice of vocal intensity and dexterity, demanding his wife Tamiri kill their son and herself to avoid falling victim to the enemy. When Farnace later believes his son to be dead, the anguish that Lowrey pours from the voice as he holds the boy’s toy gun in “Gelido in ogni vena”, becomes a long and riveting remorseful aria that signals a hint of Farnace’s heart to come in a brilliant close to Part One. Farnace, like everyone undergoes a transformation of sorts. When he later hears Tamiri’s outpouring of love for him, facing away from her and clearly gutted by his earlier decision, no doubt the tears welled for many, too, as Lowrey sang an utterly moving “Si, qualche nume o qualche stelle”, turned to her and took her hand while on his knees.

Jacqueline Dark as Berenice

How could he not? As Tamiri, Australian mezzo-soprano Helen Sherman (previously Poppea in L’incoronazione di Poppea and Irene in Bajazet for Pinchgut) had just delivered a melting and emotive “Sol da te, mio dolce amore” while Mikaela Oberg lended excellence on flute accompaniment. Sherman’s plush and agile sound filled the hall and soul with splendour in portraying Tamiri with maternal nature and self-determination. Not a skerrick of worthy attributes could be bestowed on mezzo-soprano Jacqueline Dark's hurricane force Berenice, Farnace’s mother-in-law who is in cahoots with the Roman leader Pompeo and wants Farnace dead in revenge for Farnace’s father having killed her husband. Caped and evil-eyed, Dark,  in her Pinchgut debut and whose impressive versatility in all things vocal, from musical theatre, cabaret and opera that spans the centuries, is a commanding presence as she puts a venomous bite to the text and pounds out her haunting aria of vengeance, “Da quel ferro”. But there's a jackknife turn and Berenice does come good. 

Soprano Taryn Fiebig is a playful and gorgeously starling voiced Selinda, Farnace’s loyal sister and a comic side dish whose agenda includes seducing the captain of Berenice’s army Gilade and the Roman prefect Aquilio. As Gilade, hearing the divinely bright and fluid countertenor of Max Reibl, winner of the 2017 Herald Sun Aria, is pure luxury. In a totally assured performance that includes giving the Midas touch to one of the highlights of the night, “Scherza l’aura lusinghiera”, surely an international career is his should he wish. Tenor Michael Petruccelli is muscled and powerful in voice as Aquilio and Timothy Reynolds’ warm tenor reflects a marginally merciful Pompeo.

I almost missed the opportunity to get to Sydney for Pinchgut Opera’s Farnace. Had I, one of the year’s highlights would have slipped from my experiences. The company have already brought home Best Rediscovered Work from the International Opera Awards for Hasse’s Artaserse. Undoubtedly, an award awaits Farnace as well.


Farnace 
Pinchgut Opera
City Recital Hall
Until 10th December 2019



Production Photos: Brett Boardman 

Moral hypocrisy exposed in a lavish spectacle comes to Melbourne in Opera Australia's Faust: Herald Sun Review

Published in Herald Sun Melbourne in print 3rd December 2019


Make a deal with the devil and suffer the consequences in a world where only god can provide salvation. That’s the far-reaching message in Gounod’s mid-19th century grand French opera, Faust, based on Goethe’s highly influential play. With more than a century of passing, its religious and moral fear-mongering might appear heavy-handed but the work still delivers a jolt.

Teddy Tahu Rhodes as Méphistophélès and the
Opera Australia Chorus

Not only is director David McVicar’s Faust for Opera Australia a lavish spectacle that surprises at every turn - right up to a devil in drag - it draws you in to contemplate its many directorial and scenographic choices that highlight, above all, moral hypocrisy. In its clever update from 16th century Germany to Second Empire Paris on the eve of the Franco-Prussian war, the juxtaposition of church, theatre and civic life is a constant source of intrigue.

The frail, old Faust gives himself to the devil in exchange for youth, falls in love with the innocent Marguerite and, coerced by Méphistophélès to pursue more than affection, gets her pregnant. Marguerite’s downfall is rapid, the tragedy pronounced by choreographer Michael Keegan-Dolan’s multi-emotive Walpurgisnacht Ballet, its grotesque half-theatre, half-hallucination a brilliant summary as Marguerite is shamed while the ogling male aristocracy of the Paris Opera audience prey on their targets.

Maria Mudrya as Marguerite and Saimir Pirgu as Faust

On opening night, as the old Faust, an initial harshness in Saimir Pirgu’s striking volcanic tenor settled as he took on handsome youth with passion and wariness. In a Melbourne and role debut, Maria Mudrya detailed Marguerite’s trajectory with poignancy with her bright soprano but vocal shading was often insufficiently utilised despite reserves of thrilling power. 

There was a telling, sometimes likeable, side to Teddy Tahu Rhodes’ towering Méphistophélès as he morphed from one huge identity to another. Anna Dowsley was an all-round shiner as Siébel but baritone Luke Gabbedy was the night’s treasure in a seamless and devastatingly stirring turn as Marguerite’s protective but judgemental brother Valentin.

Conductor Guillaume Tourniaire dug deep to extract the ebb and flow of Gounod’s score without urgency and the thrillingly mobilised OA Chorus finished on a notably rousing level fit to please god. 

Faust 
Opera Australia 
State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne 
Until 7th December 2019

4-stars 


Production Photos: Jeff Busby

https://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/reviews/hansel-and-gretel-in-concert-melbourne-symphony-orchestra/

Published online at Limelight Magazine 29th November 2019


I don’t usually talk much about favourites but if I were to compile a list of my top 100 favourite operas, German composer Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel would be somewhere in the broad mix. The effervescent melodies and folk tunes, evocative musical landscapes and darker interjections that characterise Humperdinck’s three-act work, loosely based on the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale, tell the story with immeasurable appeal. It premiered in Weimar on December 23, 1893, under the baton of Richard Strauss no less, and was an instant success. Often staged in the holiday seasons at Christmas time, it remains one of the great joys of opera.

Even without a cottage in the woods and a witch’s mouth-watering gingerbread house, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra took to the stage on Thursday night as a formidable musical force, engaging the imagination with vivid storytelling. Under the direction of outgoing Chief Conductor Sir Andrew Davis, they were the stars of the night.

From its opening, with the plaintive brass notes that give way to warm strings resonating like wind in the trees, the overture moved forward with inspired handling. It signalled what was to come as Davis emphasised the romantic score’s emotionalism while taking great care not to overegg its dramatic component. Part of the score’s dramatic workings come from Humperdinck’s synthesis of Wagnerian techniques, notably the use of leitmotifs, and every time they reappeared, their confidently delivered form resonated. If you are familiar with Wagner’s Fafner and Fasolt, you would swear they were lurking in the witch’s dark forest.

Sung in German with English surtitles, they were joined by Americans mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong as Hansel and soprano Laura Wilde as Gretel. The pair may not have been matched in height but these two expressive and pleasantly contrasting singers showed it wasn’t going to be an entirely static affair.

Dainty but direct and sensible, with a skip to her Gretel, Wilde brought ample brightness and feeling to her lines, though there was an occasional loss of clarity in the lower reaches of the voice. The unhurried and free-flowing nature Wilde brought to "There Stands a Little Man" charmed immensely and the beauty she could gather in the voice, turning it into powerful intent, was on splendid show as she woke up Hansel with some tickling.

DeShong’s Hansel was a little more moody and much more the scallywag. Singing with rich fruity assortment and sturdy support, DeShong delved deep and chartered high with a fullness in sound that resonated impressively. When it came to having to spend the night in the forest, DeShong could just as easily shine in the softest of territory. Together with Wilde, their "Evening Prayer" became a pearl encrusted gossamer veil in one of the most heavenly renditions possible. Davis underlined it sensitively, the silken strings leading magnificently to the Dream Sequence in a musical journey of adventure and tension that closed Act 2 before interval.

Returning home with a bagful of food to feed his impoverished family, James Clayton was commanding as the Father. He arrived muscularly voiced with a swagger in delivery, comically revealing that Humperdinck’s librettist and sister, Adelheid Wette, surely never wrote “Stone the crows. It’s Vegemite” into the libretto. With his towering oaky bass, Clayton was especially primed as he gave a gripping account of the witches on their broomsticks in the forest, cutting through the orchestra with a fearful blade of sound.

As the Mother, mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Campbell wielded her mothering skills with an iron fist and it reflected in her steely mezzo-soprano but, sadly, the bulkiness of the music felt lost. As the Witch, you expected a performance with panache when Brisbane-born Finnish tenor Topi Lehtipuu showed up in Act 3 blonde-wigged and gaudily shimmering in drag. It was a hoot. Nonetheless, the wig had difficulty staying on and Lehtipuu’s mostly wiry delivery left the Witch lacking convincing menace. As both the Dew Fairy and Sandman, Stacey Alleaume was a jewel-like sparkle, her soprano clear and penetrating from the left choir stalls as she looked down on the siblings. The combined National Boys Choir of Australia and Australian Girls Choir, singing from the rear as children liberated from a gingerbread life, were in angelic unison.

The orchestra maintained an excellent level of playing, the brass polished and balanced, the percussion distinctive and the woodwinds slithering through with flights of vitality while the reinforced strings were superbly meshed. It seemed odd and ill-conceived, however, presenting such a delicious delight without some form of semi-staged effort. As a fairy-tale most children will learn about, it was a shame no provision was made for their enjoyment.

A comic charmer in a modern world premiere of a baroque rarity arrives in lively flamboyant style from San Francisco’s Ars Minerva

In the latter part of the 17th century, Domenico Freschi no doubt sermonised his Roman Catholic beliefs as a priest in the northern Italian town of Vicenza. He was also maestro di cappella at the Cathedral of Vicenza, writing church music for the parishioners. The young man of the cloth had a side job too, as a composer of at least 16 known operas - though known to very few today. But in comes San Francisco’s Ars Minerva and Freschi gets some decidedly expert attention in a work that shimmies along in a delightful evening of music and storytelling in flamboyant style and deliciously sung form.

Nikola Printz as Ermelinda 

What is notable about Ermelinda, a 'dramma per musica' penned by Freschi and his librettist Francesco Maria Piccioli in 1680, is the economy of means by which the drama is drawn. The ternary ‘da capo’ form is absent and action is briskly carried forward with dominant use of the ‘cavatina’, or short operatic arias. Plump with melodic charm, it’s all over within two easy hours, including a 20-minute interval, under Artistic Director Céline Ricci’s lively flowing direction.

It’s a comically charged story where lovers have hurdles to jump, love can be supposedly mad and deceptions reveal truths. Ermelinda is shuffled off to the countryside by her father Aristeo who, much like Verdi’s Rigoletto, intends to shield her from urban life’s temptations. Of course, it doesn’t work. Ermelinda’s secret lover, Prince Ormondo, has followed her. He’s disguised as Clorindo, a peasant, and is fortuitously invited to stay with the nobleman Armidoro. But Armidoro’s sister, Ermelinda’s friend Rosaura, takes a shine to Clorindo and Armidoro has a thing for Ermelinda. Twists and turns ensue in this pantomime of sorts on its way to a happy ending as Freschi entertainingly demonstrates a realist’s approach in a not so absurd set of circumstances. 

Sara Couden as Ormindo

We’re in Phoenicia, an apparently fabricated setting having no relationship with the ancient east Mediterranean ancient civilisation. Nonetheless, with designer Entropy’s evocatively rendered settings, Phoenicia reveals its bucolic attributes in projections integrated cleverly with the storytelling under Thomas Bowersox’s seductive lighting and its exotic flair with touches of Arabia in Matthew Nash’s masterful costumes. 

Up close and intimate, the performance shows itself as a beautifully cast unit with voice types transposed convincingly. For it, strong identity is given to the two female parts and two female voices take on male parts likely written for castrati. Ermelinda’s father Aristeo, a rather insipid character adorned by some handsomely crafted music, is sung in countertenor. Justin Montigne acquits himself commendably in the role, measuring his capabilities sensibly with his bright and crisp tone while a nervous twitch indicates a degree of madness of one trying to cure the madness of one acting it to conceal their identity and feelings - and it’s not that confusing!

Justin Montigne as Aristeo, Kindra Scharich as Rosaura
and Sara Couden as Ormindo 

Nudging ahead as most impressive, gloriously sonorous contralto Sara Couden’s Ormondo is an endearing sort - a prince doing his utmost to act like a bumpkin - and she interprets his part with hugely textured vocal appeal, one as rich as plum pudding, with lashings of comic aplomb to go with it.

In the title role, mezzo-soprano Nikola Printz is polished and plush in voice as a spirited and quick-thinking Ermelinda. Printz’s elegance of line and emotive calibration radiates splendidly in Ermelinda’s rickety journey to secure her love and you can’t help but follow her expressive eyes as she does so. Rosaura is a vivacious firecracker of a girl to whom mezzo-soprano Kindra Scharich makes a delightful and ostentatious floral concoction in voice and costume and, portraying a head-held-high aristocratic Armidoro as the third mezzo-soprano plying her trade, Deborah Rosengaus’ vocal radiance and refined wafer-like vibrato completes an uplifting evening of singing. 

Positioned in clear view to the side and humorously involved in the running, Grammy-nominated harpsichordist Jory Vinikour conducted five musicians from the keyboard giving balance and lilt to the score. Together with Gretchen Claassen on cello and Adam Cockerham on theorbo, the most consistent and emotive music emanated. A small quibble but a little more warmth from the smaller strings would have added increased fluidity.

Fancy, though, sitting down to experience an opera that hasn’t been staged since its premiere season almost 340 years ago. In this modern world premiere as part of Ars Minerva’s fifth annual production of such rarities, another piece of history that builds the story of opera has left the museum and made its mark in present times.

Ermelinda

Ars Minerva

B.Way Theatre, 3153 17th Street San Francisco

Until 24th November 2019

Production Photos: Teresa Tam