Decades on, Graeme Murphy's Turandot for Opera Australia continues to live with persuasive dynamism

Hoping to solve three riddles that would give them the right to marry a notoriously ice-hearted but beautiful princess, umpteen princes have failed and lost their heads even before the curtain goes up on Puccini’s final opera, Turandot. It would seem that Opera Australia’s near 30 year-old production from director and choreographer Graeme Murphy has gone through as many revivals. I thought I’d had enough of it but it’s still living on healthily with a wealth of attributes to treat thousands of newcomers who’ll walk away with the memory of its smartly conceived, vividly exotic and sometimes playful spectacle. 

Graeme Macfarlane as the Emperor
and Amber Wagner as Turandot 

Glowingly obvious is the deep respect revival director Kim Walker shows for Murphy’s original and masterful touch. What better way to iron out the story’s peculiarities and far-fetched nature than to bind it with an enigmatic and stylistic interpretation that eschews realism. Every scene bristles with persuasive dynamism in which nothing is left to chance. John Drummond Montgomery’s lighting adds ongoing intrigue to Kristian Fredrikson's sets that rely heavily on decorative motifs and an array of billowing robes as part of an inventive take on ancient Chinese class-divided costumes. Fantasy is elevated to such gorgeously crafted and oblique picture-book detail that trying to find faults hinting on cultural misappropriation is unproductive. 

Long before the titular character sings a note, a strong, magnetic chorus essentially carries the drama forward and the huge contingent of mandarins, dignitaries and commoners of the Opera Australia Chorus ticked every box of excellence from the start. Moving en masse in waves and surges around ribbons of blood, waving banners, threatening swords and towering figures of rule, the singing was richly textured, strong and lucent, both on and off stage. A snaking chorus of children, likewise, delighted the eyes and ears. 

Imperial ministers Ping, Pang and Pong (Christopher Hillier, Virgilio Marino and John Longmuir) melded quirky moves in large scrolls with earnest warnings to the latest besotted suitor, Calàf, and musings on nothing more than a life in nature far-removed from Beijing’s quandary and its sacred books. Fortunately, they’re an entertaining trio who bounced their gravelly vocals off each other and joined splendidly in rhythmic unison. 

Christopher Hillier, Virgilio Marino and John Longmuir
as Ping, Pang and Pong

Spanish tenor Andeka Gorrotxategi strikes the gong to signify his determination to solve the riddles as a suitably valiant Calàf . Gorrotxategi exhibited burning passion with charismatic tone on opening night but I got the feeling there was more in the tank to give. With no time to waste in Act 3’s popular but brief header, “Nessun dorma!”, Gorrotxategi’s rendition was cleanly and forwardly sung, though seemingly without taking absolute ownership of time and place. 

Soprano Mariana Hong’s expressive vocal weight and sympathetically drawn character gave pitiful truthfulness to the slave girl Liù all the way through to the gripping tragic ending that befalls her. As her blind master and Calàf ’s father Timur, Richard Anderson convincingly carried the burden of old age and fading hope with a bass of grainy, sinuous appeal. Giving authoritative voice to a small role, Andrew Moran glided about in his element as a roll-about Mandarin but Graeme Macfarlane lacked projection from his lofty position at the rear of the stage as the Emperor Altoum.

When Princess Turandot finally shows up to sing midway through Act 2, American soprano Amber Wagner powered the title role on opening night with all manner of sensational vocal beauty. Like a spurned sorceress, Wagner unleashed the pent up resentment Turandot has for any man who tries to win her affection. Top to bottom, Wagner preyed on the music, singing out with ferocious might, penetrating daggers and condescending tone. “No man will ever own me”, Wagner meaningfully proclaims and, though the sentiment is short-lived, with those intensely emoted notes she gave fleeting hope to all women. 

Amber Wagner as Turandot and Andeka Gorrotxategi as Calàf 

When Wagner sings, you take notice, just as you would’ve in Opera Australia’s Ring Cycle of 2016 when she appeared as Sieglinde. That voluptuous sound Wagner can muster needs a companion but the duets she shares with Gorrotxategi often left the tenor in the shade. And, for the tricky ending that Puccini never lived to compose conclusively? Wagner’s nuanced treatment of the abrupt change of heart that Turandot has when she melts into love with Calàf took the finale winningly over the line as the two walk into the distance. 

All the characteristic momentum, the crests and troughs and delicately threaded passages came together emphatically under conductor Christian Badea. Act 1 could benefit from reining in the opening cracking pace, as would cutting out the interval between the first and second act. The Opera Australia Orchestra played superbly with special mention to the brass players who brought shuddering grandeur to the recurring  ceremonial brass exhalations. 

It may not be long away but regardless when the national company decide to retire this 1990 production, the strength of Murphy’s concept will resonate for decades to come for those fortunate enough to see and feel its energy. 


Turandot 
Opera Australia
Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House
Until 30th March, 2018



Production Photos: Keith Saunders

Sydney Chamber Opera's La Passion de Simone sheds its light as a dedication to a martyr at Sydney Festival

Jane Sheldon as narrator/commentator

Simone Weil, subject of Sydney Chamber Opera’s Australian premiere of Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho’s La Passion de Simone as part of Sydney Festival, was a smart young cookie. One of the 20th-century’s most practice-oriented French intellectuals, she pipped another more recognisable Simone, Simone de Beauvoir, at the post in graduating top of her class at the prestigious École Normale Supérieure in Paris. 

Displaying unstoppable commitment, Weil’s life was richly invested in purpose, though short-lived. At age 34, in 1943, Weil passed away in London while determinedly embarking on a hunger strike, after contracting tuberculosis, in protest against the mistreatment of her fellow people in Nazi-occupied France. Philosopher, political activist and pacifist, Weil vigorously defended the working class and disadvantaged in her quest to improve social conditions. Once her story becomes known, it etches itself permanently, making it rather unsurprising that it was immortalised in music and text as music theatre. It took two prominent female artists to give it form.

But Saariaho and her librettist Amin Maalouf’s 75-minute work is not an opera. More oratorio and meditative in style, during which Weil is seemingly elevated to martyrdom, its inspiration comes from the medieval tradition of the passion play. Sung and spoken in French and portrayed in 15 “stations” via narrator/commentator in just one solo role, a strong sense of Weil’s ideas is conveyed in various moments of her life without being directly episodic. 

Soprano Jane Sheldon is outstanding in the role as she projects her clear, penetrating and radiant sound with ethereal beauty from the large, spare stage area. Sheldon demonstrated her remarkable agility, technique and stamina in last year’s libretto-less work that gave voice to trauma in composer Damien Ricketson and director Adena Jacobs’ The Howling Girls. Here, Sheldon is again perfectly suited to the high demands with much of the vocal writing residing in the upper range. Sheldon gives it an unswerving and stunning polished-glass finish. 

Jane Sheldon as narrator/commentator

Around Sheldon, Saariaho’s inventive music creates an aura of eeriness and tension as part of a sound field that predominantly beats and vibrates in the low-lying scale. The overall musical tone evokes a generous mysticism, however, the libretto’s structural rigidity and peppered quotations become tedious. The creative team have the job to pick up what feels arid in the score. Directed by Imara Savage with simplicity to seemingly highlight Weil’s unshakable resolve, set and costume designer Elizabeth Gadsby, lighting designer Alexander Berlage and video artist Mike Daly meet the challenge with an effectively hypnotic, fused, monochromatic design. 

A chorus of four voices from The Song Company have little to give to the commentary but resonate effectively as one alongside the substantial 19-piece chamber orchestra in which all instrument sections are represented. On opening night, the musicianship was robust and pure as conductor Jack Symonds provided consistent command at the helm.

Silent pauses are golden, scale is distorted and a relentless shower pours over an indomitable woman appearing on a super-sized screen. All the while, Sheldon stands before her, transfixed and in communion with her ‘sister’ to the point of convulsing in sympathy with this woman’s selfless suffering - a powerful image and interpretation of both adoration and service of compassion. 

There is so much to be enjoyed in the production but, seductive as it is visually and musically, in the end the work’s abstract nature lingers for too long, leaving a sense that its ultra-intellectual writing runs counter to what is most compelling about a woman who championed the disadvantaged. 


La Passion de Simone 
Sydney Chamber Opera 
Bay 17, Carriageworks, 245 Wilson St, Eveleigh
Until 11th January, 2019


Production Photos: Victor Frankowski

Meeting Mozart in a most entertainingly acrobatic way with Circa's Wolfgang’s Magical Musical Circus: Herald Sun Review

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/arts/mozart-inspires-new-team-of-acrobats/news-story/c25efe226d0f1d59b8e575856345c5da

Published online in Melbourne's Herald Sun on Thursday, 3rd January and in print Friday, 4th January, 2019


Created by Yaron Lifschitz and Benjamin Knapton, Brisbane-based Circa’s Wolfgang’s Magical Musical Circus celebrates a little party pantomime in the most entertainingly acrobatic way. The result is a divinely engrossing and intelligently devised one-hour show accompanied by a broad selection of Mozart’s melodic music.

Paul O'Keefe as Mozart in Wolfgang's Magical Musical Circus

Alone in her black and white furnished home, a young woman’s birthday is transformed into a magical journey with Mozart as she plays a record of his music. An initial hint of melancholia on her special day is quickly cured by Mozart’s larger-than-life entrance from her fridge. The wigged genius is cheeky, charismatic and boundlessly energetic. What is perceived to be given to her is the power of exuberant magic that uplifts her mood and releases her potential. In doing so, a seesawing game in the spotlight ensues in which a sweet equality between them is achieved.

Accordion player Gareth Chin, Paul O'Keefe and Kathryn O'Keefe make cup the cast of WolfgangÕs Magical Musical Circus. Picture: Justin Kennedy
Catapulting their quaint and heartwarming story into the audience’s hearts, husband and wife team Paul and Kathryn O’Keeffe perform with near-disbelieving feats of physical antics and slapstick comical brilliance. Metronome precision, incredible strength and concentration disguised by endearingly mimed facial expressions compliment their indelible chemistry.

The partying duo effortlessly concoct 101 ways to use a chair and ride a bicycle with gasp-inducing contortionist wonder. Kathryn easily carries the lithe and nimble music master’s weight like a feather. For a moment, Mozart disappears as one side of the record ends, returns in his underwear as the record is turned over, then amazes while dressing to hilarious cycling gymnastics. And to the tune of the Queen of the Night aria from The Magic Flute, a breathtaking pièce de résistance takes height and balance to seemingly impossible limits. Mozart’s flamboyance is eternally on show.

In the background, accordionist Gareth Chin is woven into every moment, like the birthday girl, to support and upstage the composer. But what never is in doubt is how his music has the ability to transform one’s state.

Take the kids, take someone else’s or unashamedly take yourself and giggle googly eyed along with them all for lashings of Mozart contagious joy!


Wolfgang’s Magical Musical Circus
Circa
Fairfax Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne
Until 12th January

4.5 stars

Production Photo: Dylan Evans

The 4th Annual OperaChaser Awards and Commendations

- 2018 -

Revealed via Twitter @OperaChaser on 27th December 2018 commencing at 5pm

Dromana, Victoria.

Every night of the year, opera takes to the stage and impresses its musical, vocal and emotive force on audiences anywhere from Adelaide to Zurich and Reykjavik to Cape Town, from mega-cities to rural outposts, stages big and small. Annual global audience number the tens of millions and people continue to be drawn to its artistic mystique on both sides of the curtain.

This year I was drawn to 64 diverse opera productions in 16 cities across 4 continents. I'm proud of the exceptional work and standards I see from companies large and small, together with the innovative ways I see from those that strive to connect with a wider audience. Opera is alive and will forever remain so.

The 4th Annual OperaChaser Awards and Commendations are an opportunity to reflect on the year once again and are dedicated to all who have contributed in sharing their artistic and creative pursuits by nourishing their audiences with immeasurable and lasting enjoyment.

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:
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Opera Australia
Photo: Jeff Busby

2018 OperaChaser Awards, Melbourne 

From 26 productions

Outstanding Production
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Opera Australia
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/11/a-fabulously-staged-die-meistersinger.html

Outstanding Production - Independent
The Handmaid's Tale, Gertrude Opera, Yarra Valley Opera Festival
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/10/drawn-into-daunting-realm-of-fearsome.html

Outstanding Director
Tama Matheson
Metamorphosis, Opera Australia
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/10/awakened-by-opera-australia-brian.html

Outstanding Director - Independent
Linda Thompson
The Handmaid's Tale, Gertrude Opera, Yarra Valley Opera Festival
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/10/drawn-into-daunting-realm-of-fearsome.html

Outstanding Conductor 
Pietari Inkinen
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Opera Australia
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/11/a-fabulously-staged-die-meistersinger.html

Outstanding Conductor - Independent
Anthony Negus
Tristan und Isolde, Melbourne Opera
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/02/an-accomplished-tristan-and-isolde.html

Outstanding Male in a Lead Role
Armando Noguera
Title role, William Tell, Victorian Opera
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/07/an-achievement-worth-celebrating.html

Outstanding Male in a Lead Role - Independent
Daniel Sumegi
Baron Ochs, Der Rosenkavalier, Melbourne Opera
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/08/an-inventive-hoot-and-sparkling-der.html

Outstanding Female in a Lead Role
Siobhan Stagg
Mélisande, Pelléas et Mélisande, Victorian Opera
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/10/a-superlative-cast-music-of-finesse-and.html

Outstanding Female in a Lead Role - Independent
Lee Abrahmsen
Isolde, Tristan und Isolde, Melbourne Opera
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/02/an-accomplished-tristan-and-isolde.html

Outstanding Male in a Supporting Role
Nicholas Jones
David, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Opera Australia
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/11/a-fabulously-staged-die-meistersinger.html

Outstanding Male in a Supporting Role - Independent
Steven Gallop
Marke, Tristan und Isolde, Melbourne Opera
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/02/an-accomplished-tristan-and-isolde.html

Outstanding Female in a Supporting Role
Dominica Matthews
Flora, La traviata, Opera Australia
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/04/moshinskys-lavish-la-traviata-for-opera.html

Outstanding Female in a Supporting Role - Independent
Emily Burke
Aunt Lydia, The Handmaid's Tale, Gertrude Opera, Yarra Valley Opera Festival
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/10/drawn-into-daunting-realm-of-fearsome.html

Outstanding Ensemble
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Opera Australia
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/11/a-fabulously-staged-die-meistersinger.html

Outstanding Ensemble - Independent
Der Rosenkavalier, Melbourne Opera
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/08/an-inventive-hoot-and-sparkling-der.html

Outstanding Set Design
Mia Stensgaard
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Opera Australia
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/11/a-fabulously-staged-die-meistersinger.html

Outstanding Set Design - Independent
Christina Logan-Bell, Der Rosenkavalier, Melbourne Opera
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/08/an-inventive-hoot-and-sparkling-der.html

Outstanding Costume Design
Anja Vang Kragh
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Opera Australia
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/11/a-fabulously-staged-die-meistersinger.html

Outstanding Costume Design - Independent
Lucy Wilkins
Der Rosenkavalier, Melbourne Opera
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/08/an-inventive-hoot-and-sparkling-der.html

Outstanding Lighting Design
Joseph Mercurio, Pelléas et Mélisande, Victorian Opera
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/10/a-superlative-cast-music-of-finesse-and.html

Outstanding Lighting Design - Independent
John Collopy
Otello (Rossini), Melbourne Opera
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/10/desdemona-is-star-in-australian.html

OperaChaser Commendation for Outstanding Production, Australia:
Hamlet, State Opera of South Australia, Adelaide Festival
Photo: Tony Lewis

2018 OperaChaser Commendations, Australia

From 5 productions seen in Adelaide, Perth and Sydney

Outstanding Production
Hamlet, State Opera of South Australia, Adelaide Festival
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/03/on-musical-underlay-of-brash-modernity.html

Outstanding Director
Neil Armfield
Hamlet, State Opera of South Australia, Adelaide Festival
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/03/on-musical-underlay-of-brash-modernity.html

Outstanding Conductor
Erin Helyard
Artaserse, Pinchgut Opera, Sydney

Outstanding Male in a Lead Role
Allan Clayton
Title role, Hamlet, State Opera of South Australia, Adelaide Festival
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/03/on-musical-underlay-of-brash-modernity.html

Outstanding Female in a Lead Role
Jessica Pratt
Title role, Lucia di Lammermoor, Opera Australia, Sydney
^https://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/reviews/lucia-di-lammermoor-opera-australia/

Outstanding Male in a Supporting Role
Russell Harcourt
Megabise, Artaserse, Pinchgut Opera, Sydney
^https://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/reviews/artaserse-pinchgut-opera/

Outstanding Female in a Supporting Role
Julie Lea Goodwin
Musetta, La bohème, Opera Australia
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/04/wintery-paris-settles-enchantingly-on.html

Outstanding Ensemble
Artaserse, Pinchgut Opera, Sydney
^https://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/reviews/artaserse-pinchgut-opera/

Outstanding Set Design
Dan Potra
La bohème, Opera Australia
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/04/wintery-paris-settles-enchantingly-on.html

Outstanding Costume design
Roger Kirk
The Cunning Little Vixen, West Australian Opera, Perth
^http://www.stagewhispers.com.au/reviews/cunning-little-vixen-0

Outstanding Lighting Design
Jenny Hector
The Howling Girls, Sydney Chamber Opera, Sydney
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/03/experimentally-brave-and-inventive.html

Commendation for Outstanding Production, International:
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Bayreuth Festival 2018, Bayreuth
Photo: Enrico Nawrath

2018 OperaChaser Commendations, International

From 33 productions seen in 12 cities: Dubai, Singapore, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Carmel CA, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Fort Worth, Denver and Bayreuth

Outstanding Production
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Bayreuth Festival 2018, Bayreuth
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/08/2108-bayreuth-festival-roundup-for.html

Outstanding Director
Barrie Kosky
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Bayreuth Festival 2018, Bayreuth
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/08/2108-bayreuth-festival-roundup-for.html

Outstanding Conductor
Christian Thielemann
Lohengrin, Bayreuth Festival 2018, Bayreuth
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/08/2108-bayreuth-festival-roundup-for.html

Outstanding Male in a Lead Role
Maxim Mironov
Orpheus, Orpheus and Eurydice, LA Opera, Los Angeles
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/03/love-death-and-remembrance-john.html

Outstanding Female in a Lead Role
Adela Zahari
Gilda, Rigoletto, LA Opera, Los Angeles
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/05/hits-and-misses-on-fine-brooding-piece.html

Outstanding Male in a Supporting Role
Günther Groissböck
Gurnemanz, Parsifal, Bayreuth Festival 2018, Bayreuth
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/08/2108-bayreuth-festival-roundup-for.html

Outstanding Female in a Supporting Role
Jamie Barton
Sara, Duchess of Nottingham, Roberto Devereux, SF Opera, San Francisco
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/09/an-astonishing-queen-and-formidable.html

Outstanding Ensemble
Roberto Devereux, SF Opera, San Francisco
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/09/an-astonishing-queen-and-formidable.html

Outstanding Set Design
Rebecca Ringst
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Bayreuth Festival 2018, Bayreuth
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/08/2108-bayreuth-festival-roundup-for.html

Outstanding Costume Design
Rosa Loy
Lohengrin, Bayreuth Festival 2018, Bayreuth
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/08/2108-bayreuth-festival-roundup-for.html

Outstanding Lighting Design
Connie Yun
Béatrice et Bénédict, Seattle Opera, Seattle
https://operachaser.blogspot.com/2018/03/putting-shakespeare-back-in-berliozs.html


Once again, thank you to all!



^ links to reviews not penned by myself

Favourite moments as part of "What Melbourne Loved in 2018, Part 9"

Published 21st December, 2018 as part of the blog Sometimes Melbourne in "What Melbourne Loved in 2018, Part 9"

https://sometimesmelbourne.blogspot.com/2018/12/what-melbourne-loved-in-2018-part-9.html?spref=tw&m=1


Favourite moments in 2018

As far as opera went, a rather well-balanced season of works fired up the local scene. I’m not giving too much away right now because all will be revealed in my humble Twitter evening on 27 December in the Fourth Annual OperaChaser Awards, my fun way of acknowledging the production achievements and breadth of talent across the medium.

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Opera Australia

Of the government-funded companies, Opera Australia pulled off a riveting little masterpiece for its first foot in the door with Malthouse Theatre for Brian Howard’s Metamorphosis. I haven’t ever experienced the Malthouse feel so capacious and director Tama Matheson brought together an insightful fusion of disturbing drama and discordant soundscape and transformed it into an extraordinary and inquiring theatrical experience.

I also loved director Kasper Holten’s wildly imaginative interpretation of Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Opera Australia’s big-budget co-production with London’s Royal Opera. What was so rewarding about this production was how Holten’s hybrid storytelling mixed theatrical illusion with characters reinterpreted as part of the theatre and it still leaves so much to ponder. 

As state company Victorian Opera’s appearances on the calendar in Melbourne were thin, it seemed so wasteful that such a seductive and ethereal quality that was created for Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande was all but over in just two performances. A superlative cast, creatives and young musicians from ANAM worked marvellously together to produce a work of exceptionally high standard. 

Der Rosenkavalier, Melbourne Opera

On the independent scene, Melbourne Opera continued to pull off some ambitious and exquisitely staged hard-hitting work. In particular, there’ll be mentions for Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde and Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier.

Smaller independent players were less prominent but Gertrude Opera made history in bringing Poul Ruders’s The Handmaid’s Tale to the stage in its Australian premiere. Ruders’s score is a spectacular conglomeration of sonic form and director Linda Thompson gave its disturbing story an absolutely thrilling account in a knockout simple production as part of her inaugural Yarra Valley Opera Festival. 

For more, come join me with champagne on Twitter @OperaChaser at 5 pm, 27 December, for the enjoyment it gives me to announce all. 


Looking forward to in 2019

I’m looking forward to everything Melbourne can do in showcasing the art of opera. At least the year will be starting well with more Wagner in February with not one, but two fully staged productions: Melbourne Opera’s The Flying Dutchman and Victorian Opera’s Parsifal. It’s 2020 I’m concerned about. After so much gorgeously produced Wagner works Melbourne has been treated to in the last few years, what will it be like without him? 

SM: I see shows vicariously though Paul. He sees work I'll never have the chance to see (os) but I feel like I have when I read his reviews.

Showcasing its high-tension drama, Pagliacci stands alone marvellously at Opera San José

Pagliacci, Leoncavallo’s compact two-act opera with prologue is so often paired with and spoken of in the same breath as Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana - an almost inseparable 'Cav and Pag' to friends of opera - that it’s not only surprising to see it dislodged from its usual companion but given the chance to stand alone. Opera San José has done just that. Jammed with lust, betrayal, jealousy and violence, there’s a thrilling and high-tension drama at play to make an all up 90-minute evening that includes a 25-minute interval feel like it gives more than enough punch. Given so much passion and commitment to quality as it has, Opera San José showcased the work marvellously.

Opera San José Chorus, Pagliacci

Chuck Hudson’s direction is loaded with vibrancy and ardour. The story’s rustic Calabrian village setting is honoured, although the original 1860s timeframe appears updated decades later in Cathleen Edwards’ vibrant, beautifully detailed costumes. Hudson fills it with life and colour, busy without overpowering the drama and focused directly on the heart when desired. Two-storey stuccoed walls, arched openings and a railed staircase enclose a central piazza as part of Andrea Bechert’s spatially explorative set design. A timber platform in the centre provides the scene for the itinerant troupe’s entertainment. 

The plot’s parallel with the painful realities satirised in a comic sketch by stock characters of commedia dell'arte provides ideal verismo material which resonates in Leoncavallo’s lush and thrashing, hair-raising music. In the pit, conductor Christian Reif worked the tempi favourably and allowed the music to breath with the singers. The OSJ Orchestra played soundly, the strings particularly striking with their gossamer clarity and smooth crescendos. The orchestra’s expertise was cemented in the oft-performed Intermezzo (starting Act 2), driving it with depth and feeling.

A superb show of voices and acting flexibility far exceeded expectation. As the lustful and vengeful Tonio, Anthony Clark Evans struck every note with compelling emotion with his phenomenal baritone that is altogether ample, heavyweight and supple. Clark Evans led with a riveting prologue, reminding the audience that behind the actors the show is about real people.

Anthony Clark Evans, Maria Natale and Cooper Nolan in Pagliacci

Blazing soprano Maria Natale was perfectly cast to portray a determined Nedda, singing her with full- throttled lushness and freedom. Natale’s brilliantly nuanced depiction in successive encounters with her suspicious husband Canio to the perverted Tonio and then to Silvio her lover showed how capable she is as an artist. And in Nedda’s part as Colombina, Natale lit up the stage-within-a-stage with comic charm before the doom draws achingly over her demeanour. 

Broad, impressive emotionally layered tenor Cooper Nolan thoroughly convinced in firing Canio’s jealousy and rage, yet contrastingly gave strong sympathetic soul to the opera’s most famous aria, “Vesti la giubba”. 

Emmett O’Hanlon‘s good looks and generously burnished baritone complimented Natale’s striking Nedda and as Beppe, tenor Mason Gates might not have the same firmness in the voice as his colleagues but sported a handsome bronzed tone and expressive clout. Gates sure could entertain the village folk and the audience too in his part as Arlecchino with juggling, cushion-spinning and backflips, tricks I’ve never seen an opera singer do. And in wonderfully rich voice, the women of the chorus appeared particularly devoted in spirit to their village counterparts, outdoing the men who occasionally drifted out of unison. 

The drama’s sense of gloom in a setting of festivity was always present and the unforgivable brutality inflicted on a woman was duly felt. To Opera San José, an exceptional job done in showing Pagliacci’s true colours and contemporary relevance!


Pagliacci 
Opera San José
California Theatre
Until 2nd December, 2018


Production Photos: Pat Kirk

Splendid highlights but Heggie and Scheer's operatic adaptation of It's a Wonderful Life misses the mark at San Francisco Opera

It’s blessed with a cast of strong singers, it follows the story in director Frank Capra’s 1946 film more or less as you know it and there are many gorgeous highlights in San Francisco Opera’s east coast premiere of Jake Heggie’s It’s a Wonderful Life. Disappointingly, it’s also pumped with sugary entertainment and doesn’t pull at the heartstrings like it could. 

Golda Schultz as Clara and the Angel Quartet, It's a Wonderful Life

Imagining having never been born as George Bailey experiences it in Capra’s enduring classic is knowingly impossible. Sometimes we’ve wished it ourselves. Quite possibly, it’s been wished upon us - many a parent would regret uttering those words. But the light that shines through Capra’s story shows the hope that, when life goes spiralling out of control and one is reminded that they touch and enrich the lives of so many around them, there can be remedy from darkness and hardship. 

Imagining Capra’s film told through the art of opera doesn’t seem so difficult. Capra’s film, which he based loosely on the short story and booklet by Philip Van Doren Stern, The Greatest Gift, has many ingredients that lend itself to opera. While recognising that an oversimplification of suicidal circumstances exists in the storytelling, when George is on the brink of suicide, he is given the chance to face life again. Here, it’s not by the genial Clarence of the movie, but a guardian angel of the female sex called Clara. In a pre-performance talk, Heggie gives a solid reason for the change: the angel is given greater presence in his work and the female voice gives the contrast in voice needed. Getting across the palatable sentimentality, dry wit and  cozy mix of morbidity and cheer that resides in the film is far more difficult. 

William Burden as George Bailey and Golda Schultz as Clara

Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer take the more popular road. Heggie’s music is both rich and lightweight in style, mostly melodic and brings moments with appealing hybridity of operatic power and musical ebullience. Scheer cuts and utilises many of the lines from the original film and adds a little padding to provide context. 

But something in the concoction is unbalanced. How on earth could the duo think their dreamt up goofy Polynesian dance called the “Mekee-Mekee” was going to lift Capra’s narrative tune? What was a morsel of a reference to young George’s National Geographic subscription and his idea of exotic adventures in the film is turned into a full-blown musical trivialisation of the greater poignant picture, not to mention its sheer cultural misappropriation. Worse, its upbeat tune that begins to sound more like an advertising jingle keeps on appearing as a bemusing motif. And if there wasn’t already enough patriotic fare in an American’s day, there’s a prominent glorious anthem that celebrates going to war as one big community in another preferably discarded number.

Apart from the cheesy choreography that slips in and comic attempts that don’t always cut it, director Leonard Foglia fortunately moves his cast around admirably, giving them much interactive life.

 Andriana Chuchman and William Burden

Foglia, however, has to deal with Robert Brill’s tricky set design, a series of receding rectangular panels that looms above while similarly scaled podiums traverse a raked stage. Conceptually, it provides reference to a city grid for the fictitious town of Bedford Falls and the gravestones of a cemetery where George’s brother Harry is buried in George’s unborn state. Primarily, it’s an ‘attic’ of doors, one for every day of George’s life, that feature projections and open up to allow life to spill out. It’s a decent idea but for the entire two acts nothing changes - seemingly little in Brian Nason’s lighting design as well - and you begin to hope nobody trips on the edges. Emphasising the dazzle aspect, David C. Woolard’s beautifully tailored and smart 1940s costumes lean on the side of elegance rather than everyday streetwear. How could Mr Potter’s tenants in the slums make there move into George’s Bailey Park as homeowners in such awfully good attire?

Despite the shortcomings, Heggie, Scheer and Foglia’s artistry combine in giving affecting emotion to character-focused scenes. Fervent, theatre-filling tenor William Burden sings with gusto as George Bailey, a man whose dreams get clipped by his own selfless attitude. Burden lacks some of the charisma and step of an all-round loveable lad but he builds his performance splendidly, up to the explosive highlight when $8000 is all that lies between him and his life. 

George’s devoted wife Mary is convincingly portrayed and sung in refined velvety class by soprano Andriana Chuchman. And as Clara, angel second class who is both saving George and depending on him in her mission to gain her wings, sapphire-gleaming soprano Golda Schultz soars radiantly in voice as a star of the stage. The two sopranos are given some of the most exciting and colourific operatic music and it raises the drama as hoped. In another highlight, Schultz and Chuchman share a touching ethereal duet in Act 2 that ponders on why George can’t see what they see in him. Clara’s presence is almost always felt on stage from the moment she sings from her swing in the night sky over Bedford Falls and Schultz gives her angel warmth and potency throughout.

Joshua Hopkins, William Burden and Keith Jameson

Smaller roles are appealingly filled that include a deliciously harmonised Angel Quartet with a bit of attitude (Sarah Cambidge, Ashley Dixon, Amitai Pati and Christian Pursell). Muddled minded Uncle Billy comes off perfectly in characterful tenor Keith Jameson’s well-detailed performance. Suave and reverberant baritone Joshua Hopkins’ effortless style is so captivating you might wish there was more vocal writing for George’s brother Harry and Rod Gilfry’s more broad, cavernous baritone suits the wheelchair-bound villain of the story - an unexpected handsome Mr. Potter.

At the musical helm, conductor Patrick Summers introduced the score with vitality, depth and a keen sense of balance with the onstage artists. Stylistic changes in the music, however, occasionally caught the singers out on the opening beat. Still, Heggie’s ability to align and overlay one style with another shone through. In this case, it wasn’t necessarily the formula hoped for. 

It looked like the average age of Thursday evening’s audience was north of 50 and it felt like Heggie’s holiday season work didn’t quite work in the opera house and isn’t yet ready for Broadway. 


It’s a Wonderful Life 
San Francisco Opera
War Memorial Opera House
Until 9th December, 2018



Production Photos: Corey Weaver