Out West Arts: Performance at the end of the world

Opera, music, theater, and art in Los Angeles and beyond

The Briar and the Rose

February 17, 2008

Mary Dunleavy and Rodrick Dixon
Photo: Robert Millard/LAO 2008

Today marked the opening of the biggest event of a rather lackluster 07/08 season for LA Opera. The company is busy saving all its pennies for future plans, one of which is the “Recovered Voices” series headed up by music director James Conlon. Last season the project kicked off with two concerts consisting of a semi-staged version of Alexander von Zemlinsky’s Eine florentinische Tragödie and brief excerpts from a number of other operas whose composers were adversely effected by the Nazis's rise to power in the early 20th century. Future plans include fully-staged productions of works from others in this group, including Braunfels’ Die Vögel, as well as Korngold's Die Tote Stadt, and Schrecker’s Die Gezeichneten. But first we have the double bill that opened this weekend, whose main course is Zemlinsky’s Der Zwerg.

Apparently Zemlinsky needed more than one opera to work out his Alma Schindler issues, so he again turned to Oscar Wilde whose short story The Birthday of the Infanta served as the source material for Der Zwerg. The tale concerns a young princess who is given an ugly misshapen dwarf by a sultan for a birthday present. The dwarf has never seen himself and believes he is a beautiful, noble and artistic knight. He falls in love with the princess who is only interested in having him around for laughs. When he discovers his true image for the first time in a mirror and is rejected by the Infanta, he dies as she returns to the dancing at her party.

The plot is quite a bummer, but it should be said that LAO has made hay with an excellent new production that is well sung and acted. Conlon leads a stirring and completely convincing account of Zemlinsky’s score that comes off as important as Salome in this context. Mary Dunleavy plays the Infanta with conviction and Rodrick Dixon’s dwarf, while underpowered vocally, still manages to be heartbreaking. Special mention should also be made of Susan B. Anthony’s Ghita who almost steals the whole show from both of them. The production itself is directed by Darko Tresnjak of San Diego's Old Globe Theater. It is smart and visually interesting for a design that hews so closely to the source material. Wisely, Tresnjak has elected to plumb the very visual image that served as Wilde’s inspiration for the story in the first place, Diego Velazquez’ Las Meninas from 1656. The costumes, sets, and even some of the visual elements of the production all stem from this masterpiece including an erstwhile chorister who appears as Velazquez himself completing his painting during one of the opening scenes. It’s an excellent production of a rarely seen opera that shouldn’t be missed by anyone who cares about the art form.

Of course, before Der Zwerg, there is some other admittedly less successful business to attend to in the form of Viktor Ullmann’s Der zerbrochene Krug. Ullmann was no slouch at opera either,and Conlon championed a production of Der Kaiser von Atlantis here in LA just a few years ago. But Krug is a very light and, in this case thankfully, very short comedy at just under 40 minutes. A cornball courtroom farce about a broken jug and a falsely accused young lover is set against a rather cartoonish Dutch village set complete with brightly colored windmills. While the music is well-played and worthwhile, the whole thing is a bit much and frankly not that funny. The whole thing smacks of a children’s theater piece with its cloying acting and overly telegraphed staging.

Given the brevity of Der Zwerg, it seems that the desire was to flesh out an evening by pairing it with something else in a Cav/Pag way. Of course this has never stopped LAO from presenting Pagliacci by itself on more than one occasion and while recognizing Ullmann in his own right is a noble idea, this isn’t the work to do it with and not in this context. Still, with something more substantial on the bill, this Recovered Voices double feature is well worth seeing in one of only three remaining performances over the next three weekends.

Labels: LA Opera 07/08

[Permalink] Posted by Brian | 2/17/2008 10:08:00 PM

Comments:

I went to last night's performance and largely agree with what you wrote.

I was disappointed in the Ullmann piece, I thought that pantomine behind the scrim was never going to end. Some good singing, but a slight piece, as you hint.

Ah, but Der Zwerg, what an opera. Beautifully paced, lots of nice contrasts, reams of gorgeous music and a really punishing tenor part! I thought Mr. Dixon did yeoman's work with that killer tessitura, though like almost all singers in this rep, I wish the voice was a size larger.

I think it was a poor decision to pair the Ullmann with the Zemlinsky, especially as there's already a ready-made partner for Der Zwerg in Eine florentinische Tragödie; maybe do the Ullmann as the semi-staged thing last year? Oh well!

On to next years glorious Die Vogel and then the big guns of Die Gezeichneten and Die Tote Stadt. I can't wait to hear Mr. Conlon dig in to the Schreker especially, I listened to his all-Schreker CD a few days ago and he just *gets* this repertory.

# posted by

Henry Holland : 12:42 PM

Calendar

2/23/12
Max Raabe and Palast Orchester
UCLA LIve
Royce Hall
Los Angeles, CA

2/24/12
Beethoven Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano
Zwilich Quintet for Violin, Viola, Cello, Contrabass, and Piano
Schubert Piano Quintet in A major
Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio and Friends
Irvine Barclay Theater
Irvine, CA

2/24/12
El pasado es un animal grotesco
Mariano Pensotti
REDCAT
Los Angeles, CA

2/25/12
Britten Albert Herring
Conlon, cond
Shrader/Kelly
Los Angeles Opera
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Los Angeles, CA

2/26/12
What the Butler Saw
Joe Orton
Odyssey Theatre
Los Angeles, CA

2/27/12
asamisimasa
recital
Monday Evening Concerts
Zipper Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

2/28/12
Andriessen La Girò
Andriessen Anaïs Nin
Andriessen Life
Los Angeles Philharmonic
New Music Group
de Leeuw, cond.
w/ Zavalloni
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

3/1/12
Mussorgsky Khovanshchina
Petrenko, cond
Borodina/Didyk
Metropolitan Opera
Lincoln Center
New York, NY

3/2/12
Show Boat
Hammerstein/Kern
Lyric Opera
Chicago, IL

3/3/12
Mahler Das Lied von der Erde
Schoenberg Piano Concerto
Nott, cond
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Symphony Center
Chicago, IL

3/3/12
Hit the Wall
Ike Holter
The Inconvenience
Garage Theatre
Chicago, IL

3/4/12
Beethoven Egmont Overture
Matheson Violin Concerto
Strauss Ein Heldenleben
Heras-Casado, cond.
w/ Chalifour
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

3/6/12
Timboctou
Alejandro Ricano
Martin Acosta, dir.
REDCAT
Los Angeles, CA

3/7/12
Jeffrey Kahane and LACO: a 15th Anniversary Celebration
Kahane, cond.
w/ Batjer, Shulman
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

3/9/12
Copland Orchestral Variations
Harrison Concerto for Organ with Percussion Orchestra
Ives A Concord Symphony
Tilson Thomas, cond.
w/ Jacobs
San Francisco Symphony
Davies Symphony Hall
San Francisco, CA

3/10/12
Foss Phorion
Cowell Piano Concerto
Cage selections from Song books
Ruggles Sun-treader
Tilson Thomas, cond.
w/ La Barbara, Monk, Norman, Denk
San Francisco Symphony
Davies Symphony Hall
San Francisco, CA

3/10/12
Donizetti Don Pasquale
Guidarini, cond.
Del Carlo/De Niese
San Diego Opera
San Diego, CA

3/11/12
Poulenc The Breasts of Tiresias
Martinu Tears of a Knife
Mitisek, cond.
Center Theater
Long Beach, CA

3/17/12
Culture Clash American Night: The Ballad of Juan Jose
Kirk Douglas Theater
Culver City, CA

3/17/12
Dvorak Carnival Overture
Tchaikovsky Lansky's Aria from Eugene Onegin
Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1
Shostakovich Symphony No. 5
Piatigorsky International Cello Festival
Jarvi, cond.
w/ Maisky
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

3/18/12
Dvorak Carnival Overture
Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations
Respighi Adagio con Variazoni
Shostakovich Symphony No. 5
Piatigorsky International Cello Festival
Jarvi, cond.
w/ Weilerstein
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

3/23/12
Frances-Marie Uitti
REDCAT
Los Angeles, CA

3/23/12
wild Up Craft
Beyond Baroque
Venice, CA

3/24/12
Strauss Rosenkavalier Suite
Aho Clarinet Concerto
Sibelius Symphony No. 6
Vanska, cond.
w/ Frost
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

3/26/12
Jazz Encounters
Works by Wolpe, Ablinger, and Johnson
Monday Evening Concerts
Zipper Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

3/28/12
Copland Fanfare for the Common Man
Tower Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman
Higdon Percussion Concerto
Prokofiev Symp No. 5
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Alsop, cond.
Segerstrom Concert Hall
Costa Mesa, CA

3/29/12
Ute Lemper
UCLA LIve
Royce Hall
Los Angeles, CA

3/31/12
Beckett Waiting for Godot
Center Theater Group
Mark Taper Forum
Los Angeles, CA

4/1/12
Bach St. John's Passion
Gershon, cond.
Los Angeles Master Chorale
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

4/5/12
Part Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten
Adams Violin Concerto
Glass Symphony No. 9
Adams, cond.
w/ Josefowicz
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

4/6/12
Gloria's Cause
Dayna Hanson
REDCAT
Los Angeles, CA

4/10/12
Stockhausen Tierkreis
Cage Concerto for Prepared Piano
Bettison Livre des Sauvages
Adams, cond.
w/ Cheng
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

4/11/12
Pacifica Quartet
UCLA Live
Royce Hall
Los Angeles, CA

4/12/12
Samsara
KarmetiK Machine Orchestra
REDCAT
Los Angeles, CA

4/13/12
Beethoven Missa Solemnis
Blomstedt, cond.
w/ Ziesak, Romberger, Croft, Muller-Brachmann
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

4/14/12
Truth, Revised Histories, Wishful Thinking, and Flat-Out Lies
John Jasperse Company with ICE
REDCAT
Los Angeles, CA

4/16/12
Schubert Die Schone Mullerin
w/ Goerne, Eschenbach
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

4/17/12
Mendelssohn Symp No. 3
Saariaho Orion
Shostakovich Symp No. 6
Cleveland Orchestra
Welser-Möst, cond.
Segerstrom Concert Hall
Costa Mesa, CA

4/18/12
Schubert Winterreise
w/ Goerne, Eschenbach
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

4/20/12
Schubert Orchestrated Songs
Schubert Symphony No. 9, "Great"
w/ Goerne, Eschenbach
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

4/21/12
Gurira The Convert
Kirk Douglas Theater
Culver City, CA

4/23/12
Helmut Lachenmann Intérieur I
Schwitters Ur Sonata
Clementi Madrigale
Clementi L'orologio di Arcevia
Monday Evening Concerts
Zipper Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

4/24/12
Baroque Variations
Concerto Koln
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

4/26/12
Wagner Rheingold
Luisi, cond.
w/ Harmer, Blythe
Metropolitan Opera
Lincoln Center
New York, NY

4/27/12
Janacek The Makropoulos Case
Behlolávek, cond.
w/ Mattila
Metropolitan Opera
Lincoln Center
New York, NY

4/28/12
Wagner Die Walkure
Luisi, cond.
w/ Voigt, Westbroek
Metropolitan Opera
Lincoln Center
New York, NY

4/28/12
Verdi La Traviata
Noseda, cond.
w/ Poplavskaya
Metropolitan Opera
Lincoln Center
New York, NY

4/29/12
Grau and Guinand program
Los Angeles Master Chorale
Gershon, cond.
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

4/29/12
Maurizio Pollini
recital
Carnegie Hall
New York, NY

4/29/12
TR Warszawa Festen (The Celebration)
St. Ann's Warehouse
Brooklyn, NY

4/30/12
Wagner Siegfried
Luisi, cond.
w/ Dalayman, Bardon
Metropolitan Opera
Lincoln Center
New York, NY

5/2/12
GATZ
Elevator Repair Service
Public Theater
New York, NY

5/3/12
Wagner Götterdämmerung
Luisi, cond.
w/ Dalayman, Harmer
Metropolitan Opera
Lincoln Center
New York, NY

5/4/12
Britten Billy Budd
Robertson, cond.
w/ Daszak, Gunn, Morris
Metropolitan Opera
Lincoln Center
New York, NY

5/6/12
Ligeti Atmospheres
Wagner Prelude to Act I of Lohengrin
Mahler Ruckert-Lieder
Bruckner Symphony No. 9
Rattle, cond.
w/ Kozena
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

5/8/12
Akiho Alloy
Pereira Percussion Concerto
Berio Recital for Cathy
Dudamel, cond.
w/ Currie, Duffy, Foundry Steel Pan Ensemble
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

5/9/12
Dvorak Carnival Overture
Lindberg Piano Concerto No. 2
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4
New York Philharmonic
Gilbert, cond.
w/ Bronfman
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

5/10/12
Mozart Adagio and Fugue, K. 546
Vasks Distant Light
Mozart Posthorn Serenade, K. 320
Dudamel, cond.
w/ Pogostkina
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

5/12/12
"The Armory"
wild Up
Armory Center for the Arts
Pasadena, CA

5/12/12
Puccini La Boheme
Summers, cond
Perez/Costello
Los Angeles Opera
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Los Angeles, CA

5/16/12
Arcane Collective Cold Dream Colour
The Edge/Paul Chavez
REDCAT
Los Angeles, CA

5/18/12
Mozart Don Giovanni
Dudamel, cond.
w/ Kwiecien, Burdette
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

5/19/12
Elaine Stritch Singin' Sondheim... One Song at a Time
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

5/24/12
Follies
Sondheim/Goldman
Ahmanson Theater
Los Angeles, CA

5/26/12
Formalist Quartet
Beyond Baroque
Venice, CA

5/26/12
Golijov Ainadamar
Center Theater
Long Beach, CA

5/31/12
Adams The Gospel According to the Other Mary
Dudamel, cond.
w/ O'Connor, Mumford, Thomas
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

6/1/12
Adams The Gospel According to the Other Mary
Dudamel, cond.
w/ O'Connor, Mumford, Thomas
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

6/7/12
Adams Inuksuit
Libbey Park
Ojai Music Festival
Ojai, CA

6/7/12
Adams Red Arc/Blue Veil
Shostakovich Six Poems of Marina Tsvetaeva, Op. 143a
Ives Concord Sonata
Libbey Bowl
Ojai Music Festival
Ojai, CA

6/8/12
Janacek String Quartet No. 2 "Intimate Letters"
de Leeuw Im wunderschönen Monat Mai
Libbey Bowl
Ojai Music Festival
Ojai, CA

6/9/12
Buene Langsam und Schmachtend
Wagner Wesendonck Lieder
Berg Four Songs Op. 2
Berg Four Pieces Op. 5
Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 21 in C Major, Op. 53, Waldstein Sonata Libbey Bowl
Ojai Music Festival
Ojai, CA

6/9/12
Los Otros
Fitzhugh/LaChiusa
Mark Taper Forum
Los Angeles, CA

6/9/12
Hallgrimsson Poemi, Op. 7
Sorensen Piano Concerto No. 2, “La Mattina”
Hillborg Peacock Tales
Mozart Trio in E flat “Kegelstatt” K. 498
Kurtag Hommage à Robert Schumann
Libbey Bowl
Ojai Music Festival
Ojai, CA

6/10/12
Bartok Contrasts
Grieg Holberg Suite
Bolcom Cabaret Songs (Selections)
Copland Clarinet Concerto
Kurtag Hommage à Robert Schumann
Libbey Bowl
Ojai Music Festival
Ojai, CA

6/10/12
Gorecki program
Los Angeles Master Chorale
Gershon, cond.
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

6/10/12
Debussy Danses sacrée et profane
John Adams Shaker Loops
John Luther Adams Dark Waves
Stravinsky Sacre du Printemps
Libbey Bowl
Ojai Music Festival
Ojai, CA

Out West Arts: Performance at the end of the world

The Briar and the Rose

February 17, 2008

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