Out West Arts: Performance at the end of the world

By now it’s well known that LA Opera’s season opener, Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore, which will kick off this Saturday, has undergone another cast change. After injuring his leg during rehearsals, Ruggero Raimondi, scheduled to sing the part of Dr. Dulcamara, has withdrawn to be replaced by Giorgio Caoduro. He will now join Giuseppe Filianoti as Nemorino, Nino Machaidze as Adina, and Nathan Gunn as Belcore. In case you’re keeping score that’s two replacements (Filianoti taking over for an ailing Rolando Villazon) and three company debuts (everyone except Gunn.) All things considered, this is not a bad cast at all in the end considering the rising profiles of many of these vocalists. Caoduro sang Belcore in San Francisco Opera’s last L’Elisir in the fall of 2008. In case you’re wondering what these locally unknown quantities may have in store, check out Caoduro and Machaidze in the sample amateur clip above from Lucia di Lammermoor earlier this year at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.

Labels: LA Opera 08/09

Marina Poplavskaya and Massimo Giordano
Photo: Robert Millard/LAO 2009

There’s plenty of good news about Los Angeles Opera’s current revival of La Traviata that opened last week. In fact, it is probably just about the most successful revival in a season laden with well worn retreads to buttress a few much higher profile new items including the first two installments of Achim Freyer’s fabulous new Ring Cycle. Don’t get me wrong. On paper this Traviata looks pretty dismal, but it turns out to be worthwhile despite its noticeable shortcomings. There is still that rather dreadful Marta Domingo production. No, not the flapper one that L.A. has foisted on San Francisco this summer, but the earlier one whose mise en scène is best described as Beverley Hills Adjacent. It's the same one Renée Fleming got roped into for the DVD production released by L.A. Opera last year, which is good news for the legions of opera goers unable to get their fill of applauding for sets.

But I digress. The dreariness is overcome by a rather good cast featuring Marina Poplavskaya in her local debut as Violleta. It’s really refreshing to hear a soprano that can actually sing the coloratura passages in Act I. It’s a bright and shiny sound, though not always a particularly warm one. It can be a bit tight and sharp at the top, but it never feels like she's cheating or trying to turn the part into something else that more readily fits her particular voice. And, while I found her enthralling in Act I, I was rather frustrated by a perceptible coldness as the show went on that may have been more of an acting issue than a singing one. Still, Poplavskaya produces some technically admirable singing. I wouldn’t necessarily rank her among the best Violetta's in the world right now, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see her arrive at that point sometime soon. The rest of the cast is less steady, but no one is bad either. In the first three shows Massimo Giordano sings Alfredo before moving on, and Andrzej Dobber plays his father Giorgio. Dobber wasn't particularly commanding and seemed overshadowed too easily by the young lovers. I've seen Giordano in this before, and this time around I felt him to be bigger and bolder, straining less in the performance, though I could have used a little more urgency from him overall. He fares better in this smaller house vocally and his acting seemed less forced.

The other notable thing in this Traviata is that the orchestra is led by Assistant Conductor, Chorus Master, and L.A. Master Chorale director Grant Gershon. He seemed to have a good grip on the opera overall, though the audience didn't really seem to know what to do with him at the curtain call. Has no one in the opera audience sampled his work with the LAMC before? (If so, that's a shame, and there's a good chance to fix that this Sunday.) There were some minor issues of agreement in pacing between him and some of the principals, but nothing to worry about. Gershon gave a solid debut at the L.A. Opera podium and with the good work he's doing with the chorus, it's reassuring to know that he'll continue to be around across the street from Disney Concert Hall. The production continues through June 21, but do be aware the last three performances will have a completely different cast featuring the very familiar Violetta of Elizabeth Futral.

Labels: LA Opera 08/09

The cast of LAO's Die Vögel
Photo: Robert Millard/LAO 2009

With all of the exceptional music in L.A. over the last few weeks, I was a little unprepared for what turned out to be the markedly disappointing opening of Walter Braunfel’s Die Vögel at L.A. Opera on Saturday. This operatic rarity is part of James Conlon’s “Recovered Voices” project revisiting composers whose lives were adversely affected by the Nazi regime in the early 20th century changing the course of an esteemed German musical tradition. It’s a fantasy piece based on Aristophanes' play in which the world’s birds are talked into making a power play against Zeus and the gods by a couple of humans named Good Hope and Loyal Friend. Unlike the Greek play, the Birds lose their standoff against Zeus in this one, and Good Hope is separated from his bird love, Nightingale, as the newly erected avian empire in the clouds crumbles. Of course, the work is heavily informed by Braunfels’ own experiences during WWI, and the folly of war and revolt are central themes here.

And in the good news department, it is a very pretty opera. It’s not Strauss, though at times it may aspire to be, but it can have a very romantic sweep. Sadly, though, all of this and an excellent cast of very, very talented young singers were poorly served by perhaps a thoughtless opera production that descends into kitsch after the first ten minutes and never returns. The design team, under director Darko Tresnjak has fallen into virtually every trap in staging this opera. They have gone for a child-like fantasia ignoring the much darker and serious implications of the work creating something that is equal parts Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy and The Electric Company. The unit set is laid atop Achim Freyer’s highly raked Die Walküre stage, but unfortunately none of that excellent production's magic is able to seep through to the empty cloud field that fills the stage. All this might not have looked so bad if it wasn't for costumes that were apparently supposed to look both Greek and birdlike simultaneously in all the colors of the neon rainbow. Think Susannah Hoffs in “Walk Like an Egyptian.” There, now you’ve got it. It’s one of those things that, as it goes along, minor elements that one would normally just ignore become increasingly hysterical. Toward the end of the second act when Prometheus arrives in a filthy gray robe and long Jesus hair to warn the birds of the consequences of their defiance, one begins to wonder how Jochannan ended up in this opera, as my friend Jim noted. Sadly, neither he nor I were going to find Salome here but only more of the same kitsch.

Still there are some consolations. Conlon and the orchestra played the score with real skill and conviction. Plus it was blessed with a cast of young singers who read like a who’s who of legendary singers 20 years from now. There was not a weak link in the bunch. Tenor Brandon Jovanovich stars as Good Hope, and his steady and athletic tone was riveting even if things around him weren’t. It also helps that he’s one of those vocalists the New York times' Anthony Tommasini likes to refer to as “strapping.” The female lead, the Nightingale, was sung by Désirée Rancatore who has one of those super-high soprano voices that seems like it might not be real. She’s worked mostly in Europe, frequently with Ricardo Muti, and here in Los Angeles, she made quite a good impression. Brian Mulligan’s Prometheus was another one of those moments where suddenly a voice seemed to pull everything together. Reviving Die Vögel for a U.S. audience seems like a good idea and I too think this is a worthwhile project on many levels. Sadly, Braunfel's opera didn't get the fair shake it deserves through this staging. The show has three more performances through the 26th.

Labels: LA Opera 08/09

Linda Watson as Brünnhilde and Anja Kampe as Sieglinde
Photo: Monika Rittershaus/LAO 2009

That’s the thing about opera. Once in a while, it's pretty amazing. Take LA Opera’s new production of Wagner’s Die Walküre which opened on Saturday in the second installment of a new cycle directed and designed by German theater legend Achim Freyer. It's a truly unique production and most impressive in that it rivals the complexity of Wagner's work with a visual system all its own that offers an immense amount to think about on numerous levels. It is a production that is often exciting, epic and generates actual I-can’t-wait-to-see-what-happens-next anticipation. And it is almost as often starkly beautiful. It builds on the techniques laid out in last month's Das Rheingold with a minimal set and characters stationed around a large, steeply-raked, circular platform that serves as a locus for all the activity as well as a symbol in its own right. There is frequent use of doubles for the major characters as well as a broad array of masked and carnivalesque figures that participate in the action. Most of these folks wield one of a variety of light poles at some point to represent swords, spears, or other implements. Every so often the whole stage takes off and rotates. All of this takes place behind a giant scrim used for video projections of racing clouds and colorful washes. The production will probably continue to cause a small cadre of people to write missives IN ALL CAPS on the Los Angeles Times' “Culture Monster” blog threatening to cancel their subscriptions. But, I doubt we'll be so lucky. Artistically, Freyer's vision is a huge success with stunning and engaging visuals and a nearly impeccable musicality.

There are some noticeable changes over the approach used in Das Rheingold that are worth mentioning, however. Where Freyer was focused more on totemic imagery for the primary characters in Rheingold, here he places much more focus on the primary relationships between characters. In both Act I, with Siegmund and Sieglinde, and in Act III, with Wotan and Brünnhilde, Freyer allows for the performers to completely leave their stations around the circular stage and simply interact with one another directly. Wotan and Brünnhilde's interaction in Act III is both beautiful and heartbreaking - just as Wagner intended. Just as Wotan prepares to circle his daughter in a ring of fire, huge arms reach out from either side of the stage toward her only to pull away at the last minute as he does in pain over his decision to punish her for acting out his own will. Freyer provides a real intensity and dare I say humanism in the midst of an aesthetic that can be arch and obtuse at times. It's not all melodrama, though. In perhaps the most remarkable sequence in Act II, Wotan relates the events of Rheingold to Brünnhilde while they are seated in the center of the large rotating stage. During the extended monologue, all of the characters from the previous opera, as well as many of those yet to come, including Siegfried, appear and circle around the pair creating a dreamlike sequence full of foreboding. It’s spectacular. There are so many gripping and whimsical images, it’s almost impossible to take it all in - from the backward running clock taking up the stage in Act I to the upside down bikes that serve as horse sculptures for the Valkyries in Act III.

As with Rheingold, the singing is surprisingly good throughout. Of course the big star is Placido Domingo in his almost death-defying turn as Siegmund. His ability to sing this well at this age is simply astounding. Vitalij Kowaljow returns as Wotan and seemed noticeable stronger and more assured here. It’s often said that Wagner thought he was writing bel canto vocal lines for his characters, and hearing Kowaljow you’re likely to agree with him. His voice is supple and frankly lyrical more often than not. Michelle de Young also seems increasingly assured as Fricka here never turning shrill. Then there is Linda Watson as Brünnhilde. Now I’ve complained on prior occasions that she may not be the most exciting Wagnerian around, but her Brünnhilde is significantly better than her Isolde, and she gave a sincere, solid and pretty performance with no shrieking. Sieglinde was handled masterfully by Anja Kampe who has done well here in recent seasons as Fidelio and Giorgetta in Il Tabarro. She received a heroic ovation at the curtain call for her beautifully sung performance this evening. But most of all, as before, James Conlon is at the center of this success with an admirable and extremely high quality performance with the orchestra. They may be buried beneath the stage, but they’re doing the heavy lifting and doing it wonderfully.

This is turning into quite a cycle and it is a testament to Freyer and everyone involved that one can sit through five hours of this opera and leave overwhelmed and yet sad that you can’t immediately carry on with more of the story and the next chapter in these characters lives. The production runs through April 25th and most of the weekend performances are sold out so hurry. Please note the last two performances will not feature Mr. Domingo. However, they will feature British tenor and Wagner specialist Christopher Ventris who is also imminently worth seeing and a surprisingly good choice for a replacement during the run. The whole run and especially the weekend performances are heavily sold, so you may want to hurry if you don't already have tickets.

Labels: LA Opera 08/09

Arnold Bezuyen as Loge with the frog puppet Alberich
Photo: Monika Rittershaus/LAO 2009

I had a chance to get a further update on Los Angeles Opera’s new production of Das Rheingold last week. In fact I had two, first on Thursday, March 5, and then again on Sunday, March 8. In case it’s not obvious, I do think this production is rather excellent. (My original thoughts on the run can be found here for those that seem to have a hard time finding my review no matter how hard they look. You know who you are.) I did see the widely reported technical difficulties last Thursday when the large circular set piece failed to rise up revealing Nibelheim below, as well as other mechanical lift malfunctions. Frankly, though, none of this is all that interesting compared to the fact that over the last two weeks, the show has really come together in a cohesive whole, musically and vocally. I was really impressed by how much stronger the cast sounded having had some time to get comfortable with Achim Freyer’s highly raked and technically complicated set. With increased comfort has come improved concentration, and the show is musically top notch. A friend of mine put it best this way – when was the last time you heard a Wagner opera with no shouting, bellowing, screaming or other over-the-top vocal compensations? Oh, they happen, but not often. Best of all, the opera clearly settles around Gordon Hawkins' Alberich and Arnold Bezuyen's Loge, which is as it should be. Bezuyen's portrayal is still dark, but more mischievous than simply menacing. He works the four arms of his costume with glee. Vitalij Kowaljow's performance of Wotan seemed more assured and burnished to me as well.

Of course, the audience seems to be catching on. The staging continues to be off-putting to some, but is winning over others. It is not a comforting bear hug of a production, but it shouldn’t be. It weirds people out and, for a story of ruthless gods behaving badly, it seems completely appropriate. A little bird tells me that even James Conlon, conductor and music director, was a little apprehensive about the idea of being brought out for his curtain call by an exceedingly long-armed Michelle DeYoung in her endlessly plaintive Fricka costume. (In the end, he is not—although he does look anxious just as everyone else in fear of careening down the steep slope of the set during the final bows.) L.A. Opera staff tell me that sales have strengthened more than expected over the run with an unusual number of return visitors. In fact, last Thursday’s weekday show was a near sellout, unheard of here in Los Angeles where much of the audience is car-dependent and lives over an hour away. Tickets for the last two shows are also pretty limited at this point, so it might be worth calling now if you still want to catch this great show.

Labels: LA Opera 08/09

Michelle DeYoung as Fricka
Photo: Monika Rittershaus/LAO 2009

Well it’s finally here. The LA Opera production of Wagner’s Das Rheingold opened last Saturday and I caught the second performance on Wednesday night. It has to be seen to be believed. And I mean that in a good way. Now, make no mistake, it’s not an ideal production in terms of singing and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion acoustics do not help with the peculiarities of the Achim Freyer staging. But this is undoubtedly a no-holds-barred unique evening of musical theater and one, I dare say, you’d be unlikely to see anywhere else on this side of the Atlantic. It's a spectacle in nearly every sense of the word. Freyer’s visuals are often beautiful, unpredictable and nearly always engrossing. It is not a narrative or literal staging, but one that builds on Wagner’s own sense of the symbolic. Scenes are infused with multiple and often overlapping images that represent many things, and over the evening, one begins to adapt to this system of Freyer’s own creation. Of course, all of the touches you’d expect are there, singers dressed in masks and often absurd or surreal costumes, Doppelganger actors performing actions that the vocalists are singing about in other parts of the stage, and a rough-hewn almost cartoonish style. His bag of tricks is really superb in this context. The stage is centered around a large rotating circular platform raked at a steep angle that serves as a changing locus for much of the evening’s action. The entire performance takes place behind a scrim that covers the entire proscenium and beyond creating a screen for several different visual and light projections. Everything is then sandwiched between two rows of bright neon lights that at times represent the Rhein and at others the horizon or other geographical features. Wotan's wandering lost eye even makes an appearance hanging out at the fool of the stage throughout the whole evening. It’s almost more than can be absorbed in one sitting and that in my book makes it well worth seeing.

The orchestra under James Conlon sounded excellent, but it is true that the sound is often distant since they are covered over in a pit below the stage level due to the requirements of the production. On the plus side, this gives the vocalists a bit of a break in that being heard over the orchestra seldom seems to be a problem for anyone. As I also mentioned, while the singing was solid overall, few of the performers gave anything close to career defining performance. The central players, Vitalij Kowaljow's Wotan, and Arnold Bezuyen's Loge were robust and accurate, but not earth shattering in and of themselves. A perfectly pleasant Michelle DeYoung makes her company debut as Fricka and as with Loge and Erda, has more hands than she knows what to do with. Fricka's do have the additional benefit of lighting up in the dark though. Some people who normally are exemplary, like Jill Grove as Erda, seemed lost in the acoustical challenges of the hall and the production. But, this is Wagner which is seldom perfect. Additionally, as the second performance in an expansive year and a half of performances, there is still plenty of time for all of this to settle in together. It's already an intriguing and wonderful staging and with a little time, it looks like this will develop into a Ring cycle for the record books. The show runs through March 15 with the next installment, Die Walküre opening on April 4.

Labels: LA Opera 08/09

Los Angeles Opera has announced that it will reprise its community performance of Benjamin Britten’s Noah’s Flood, first seen in 2007,on this coming March 7th. There will be two performances at 4 and 7 pm and as before tickets are free (with a 1 dollar handling fee per order) and the show will take place at the magnificent Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral across from the Music Center downtown. Tickets are available tomorrow February 6 at 10 AM either online or by phone directly through LA Opera. It was a great show last time and it’s a perfect excuse to see the Cathedral if you haven’t had a chance. If you go, get there early: these events will tend to be at overflow capacity and parking in the Cathedral will likely fill well before the start of the program.

Labels: LA Opera 08/09

General scene from LAO's upcoming Das Rheingold
Photo: Monika Rittershaus 2009

A return visit to L.A. Opera’s current production of Die Zauberflöte was in order this weekend if for no other reason than to take a look at the other very fine cast the company assembled for this run. On the plus side, you had Nathan Gunn’s Papageno which is as unsexy as you can imagine in the bright yellow feathered get up he's forced to wear in this production. I think I rather preferred Marie Arnet’s Pamina to Erin Wall’s last week, but could have done without L’Ubica Vargicova’s Queen of the Night. I have little else new to say on the topic but would reiterate my point from last week that both casts are strong enough, that you could go either way on this one and have a great time.

Of course, Mozart was only half the story for L.A. Opera this week after the announcement of the 09/10 season. As has already been widely reported elsewhere, the company is hunkering down and scaling back due to the dreadful state of affairs facing everyone these days. Only 47 regular performances will be offered next season (including 12 over the course of three Ring Cycles in 2010) as compared to 64 this season. That 25% reduction brings it down to only six regular season productions (not including the Ring Cycle performance revivals). But while of course this is bad news on one level, there is a bit of a silver lining. The company deserves kudos for sticking to its guns artistically. In recent years, LAO has sometimes overrelied on frequent and very recent revivals of 4 or 5 shows. However, next year, despite all the bad economic news, it is these very shows that seem to have been cut from the line-up. Instead the company is going through full steam ahead with its two major programming initiatives – the completion of the new Achim Freyer-directed Ring Cycle with runs of Siegfried and Götterdämmerung as well as the next presentation in James Conlon’s “Recovered Voices” project - Franz Schreker’s Die Gezeicheneten. The other half of the season will feature well cast productions of operas that have not been seen at LAO for a while: a Rolando Villazon-led L’Elisir, a Gunn/Florez/DiDonato Barbiere, and general director Placido Domingo reprising his performances in Tamerlano seen in Washington last year. While this may be an abbreviated schedule compared to the 8 or nine offerings of recent years, let’s face it – throw in a couple of rehashes of Butterfly, Tosca, or Boheme, and you would pretty much have the typical LAO season of the last few years anyway. So maybe smaller is better for now. Of course, there is always next year to worry about…

Labels: LA Opera 08/09

Albina Shagimuratova as the Queen of the Night
Photo: Robert Millard/LAO 2008

With so much Wagner coming up this season for Los Angeles Opera, the company wisely decided to start off the year with a little Mozart for warm and fuzzy contrast. This weekend saw the opening of another revival of the company's 1993 Peter Hall production of Die Zauberflöte under the baton of music director James Conlon. In the span of two weeks, the company is doing 9 performances with two different casts with an unusual number of big names and important rising talent across both groups. On Sunday I caught this week's second team, which featured Joseph Kaiser as Tamino, Erin Wall as Pamina, Morris Robinson as Sarastro, Markus Werba as Papageno, and Albina Shagimuratova as Queen of the Night. (The other team includes both Matthew Polenzani and perhaps one of the most beloved Papagenos, Nathan Gunn.) And, in perhaps the most unusual bit of "luxury casting," I've seen in awhile, L.A. Opera has hired Matthias Goerne to sing the part of the speaker. Now I know that L.A. weather has to be better than Germany's as a rule in January, but how the company managed to corral one of the world's premiere Lieder vocalists into appearing for approximately 5 minutes in a role that could just as easily be cut from an opera with more than its share of big hits is beyond me. Don't get me wrong, he's fantastic but I keep feeling there is some gag to this I haven't figured out yet.

All this being said, it's remarkable how well this production comes off despite its age. It is a little worn around the edges and not all of the technical issues were resolved on Sunday, but it is still very effective, not to mention fun, colorful, and a little magical. It's not going to change anybody's mind about anything, but in the hands of a very capable cast, this is one revival that really comes alive. Conlon and the orchestra sounded good if rather large and modern for Mozart, but never dull. The cast was quite solid and, despite some ill-fitting costumes, succeeded without any major catastrophes. Joseph Kaiser is a major talent and has played some spectacular supporting roles last year both as Narraboth in Salome at the Metropolitan Opera and Yonas in Kaija Saariaho's Adriana Mater in Santa Fe. As a heavily made-up and brightly costumed Tamino he was noble and charming. Opposite him was Erin Wall whose bright and pretty tone worked well. Albina Shagimuratova handled the coloratura passages of the Queen of the Night with accuracy and strength without any strain or need to have the orchestra slow down, and Markus Werba's Papageno was comic and broad enough to be seen and heard throughout the hall.

So, while it may not be new or groundbreaking, Peter Hall's production still has plenty of juice left to impress an audience, and this family-friendly take on Mozart's opera will hopefully be a success for the company this year. Here's the good news, both casts appear to be quite strong, so no matter when you go, you're not likely to go wrong.

Labels: LA Opera 08/09

Viktoria Vizin and Marcus Haddock
Photo: Robert Millard/LAO 2008

Perhaps the only thing sadder than having to sit through L.A. Opera’s current umpteenth revival of Carmen was the fact that this Sunday’s matinee appeared to be nearly sold out. Now, of course, given the state of the economy, one would think that would be a good thing. The bad news is such a reality only reinforces bad behavior. Namely, the company's continuing to revive a relatively small number of productions so frequently that over half of each season is occupied with performances that anyone with even a passing interest in opera could have no possible reason to see other than to maintain well-liked subscription seats. Ironically, the house appears to be filled with a high percentage of first-timers who are treated to some very worn productions often with B or C list casts that are unlikely to inspire many of them to come back. Admittedly I have no data to back this assertion up, but I can speak from experience in pawning off my own tickets to friends that this strategy may well be making money to keep the organization afloat, but it is not cultivating future audiences.

Of the short list of LAO's frequent repeats, Enilio Sagi’s Carmen production may be one of the most unattractive. In it’s muted beige and pastel color scheme, it's dull to look at and heavily reliant on ridiculous stage business from the chorus. Several casts have cavorted with varying degrees of success in these environs, and the current configuration handles it all with a bit more flair than the last group, but only just enough to keep the whole thing from descending into self-parody. This time out the lead role went to Hungarian Viktoria Vizin who seemed more menacing than sexy. She warbled a bit more than was necessary, but I've heard worse. Marcus Haddock was Don José, and, I’ll admit, of his several West Coast appearances this year in both L.A. and San Francisco, this was probably the best. He rarely seemed strained, and, though he lacked much passion in the role, you could hardly fault him since this fact did not differentiate him in any way from the rest of the cast. Genia Kühmeier’s Micaëla was sweetly sung and was easy to love. Raymond Aceto was a particularly humorless Escamillo.

Beneath it all was Emmanuel Villaume who led an at times forceful performance from the orchestra. There were some moments when the energy seemed to flag, but overall it was an alert, committed presentation. Still, the production at this point is about as sanitary and lifeless as you can imagine with Carmen's death seeming like a ho-hum afterthought. Think of it this way, Sunday's audience was filled with more children than a typical performance from what I could see. Now who in their right mind thinks the aggravated murder of a promiscuous gypsy woman by a soldier makes for appropriate family entertainment? But here in L.A. you can kill your gypsy and have acculturation for your offspring, too, thanks to a banal Disneyesque reimagining of Spain and the characters that populate Bizet's masterpiece. But I suppose I shouldn't complain. Given what arts organization's are faced with these days, I'm sure I'd be no help on the board of LAO. If this is the price of not meeting the fate of Opera Pacific, I guess I'll keep my mouth shut and be glad for the other 40-50% of the season that continues to exist. Carmen runs through December 15 and will have a B cast for the last few performances.

Labels: LA Opera 08/09

Liping Zhang, Erica Brookhyser, and Catherine Keen
Photo: Robert Millard/LAO 2008

Los Angeles Opera is currently in the midst of yet another revival of the Robert Wilson production of Puccini's Madama Butterfly. In fact, it’s the third outing this decade which raises somewhat of a paradox. In speaking to oodles of subscribers and other local opera goers, I’ve noticed that there seems to be a huge number of people who absolutely hate this production. (This is not at all my own opinion. I think it’s a great production of a horrible opera.) Its eastern-influenced choreography, hyper-minimal sets, and forced sense of dislocation are a perennial topic of conversation around these parts. If someone in L.A. is raging about how much they hate non-traditional opera productions or in fact anything they hate about opera, this particular production is often exhibit A. In fact, having to listen to these conversations is in fact the most irritating thing about these revivals.

But yet they keep happening which suggests that the company has been selling tickets to the performances in the past and hopes to do so again (and again, and again). So, assuming that the wishes of the most regular subscribers and previously-exposed audience members are not the primary concern here, it appears that there must be a large pool of people in L.A. who are interested in seeing Madama Butterfly regardless of what it may or may not look like. Whether or not this is good for the company in the long run or drums up lots of newly interested audience members, I’ll leave to others to debate. However, I find it wonderfully ironic that the company seems to keep its coffers flush by constantly reviving a production that is so widely reviled. It seems subversive to me in some odd and amusing way.

This particular outing is actually not too shabby musically this time. James Conlon gave a serviceable take on the score and the Butterfly Liping Zhang, who has an international reputation for singing this role had the high notes if not necessarily all of the needed power behind them. On the whole, I found her more satisfying than many of the others currently singing this role including Patricia Racette. We were burdened yet again with Franco Farina shouting his was through Pinkerton to no end. Luckily it is rather a small role and he has little to do in Act II. Wilson’s vision comes off well with this cast who are more physically able to handle the challenges of the severe gesturing and posturing he calls for than previous teams here, so that is good. Overall it still is a very beautiful staging, and while it may not be the best place for someone seeing an opera for the first time to start, I do love the fact that Los Angeles stands behind the production time and again. I hope it is making money: especially if it supports some of the company's more ambitious projects this year.

Labels: LA Opera 08/09

David Okulitch as Seth Brundle (before) Photo: Robert Millard/LAO 2008

Or at least that’s the advice of the mutant-fly-impregnated Veronica Quaife in Howard Shore’s The Fly, an operatic adaptation of the famous David Cronenberg film from 1986 now receiving its U.S. premiere at Los Angeles Opera. The show opened on Sunday as the second production of the new season after a startlingly good Il Trittico the night before. (Which you should go see.) And while The Fly is not a total disaster, it’s about as close to one as you can get without actually arriving there.

Not that the subject matter is completely inappropriate for an opera. There’s plenty here thematically from humanity’s relationship to technology to the fatal flaw of emotional insecurity. Seth Brundle, a brilliant scientist, creates a teleportation device he shares with a newfound love, science reporter Veronica Quaife. When he begins to doubt her affection, he rashly tests the yet to be perfected machine on himself inadvertently fusing his DNA with that of a fly which, unbeknownst to him, gets into the device with him. Soon Brundle becomes more fly and less man and it all ends in grotesque tears. But while this might be a reasonable opera idea, I’m not sure who the target audience for this new opera is supposed to be. While I’m sure there are some hardcore Fangoria subscribers who’ve been waiting for the classical music version of this 80s classic, it doesn't seem that a staging of a cult-classic creepy horror film would have a broad appeal. But, hey, this is art, right?

The Fly does have big names behind it, with director David Cronenberg, conductor Placido Domingo, librettist David Henry Hwang, and Oscar-winning composer Howard Shore. But little here works the way it should. The music is predictable, dull, and virtually devoid of any dynamics. Shore’s vocal lines are rarely interesting and they are weighed down by the wordy and repetitive libretto. There are several scenes that run far too long and others that simply serve no purpose other than to replicate some version of the movie. In fact at just under three hours, it’s about twice the length of Cronenberg’s film.

(after) Photo: Robert Millard/LAO 2008

The cast does an admirable job with what little they have to work with. Ruxandra Donose plays Quaife with commitment and passion against Daniel Okulitch’s Seth Brundle. Okulitch, who gamely appears in various states of undress including the all-together at the end of Act II, is a talented vocalist and sounds very good in less than optimal circumstances. It's worth noting that heis also both hotter and a better vocalist than Jeff Goldblum ever was or will be. Gary Lehman, of this year’s Metropolitan Opera Tristan und Isolde disaster fame, was Stathis Borans, Quaife’s boss and ex. He–like everyone–seemed to be crying out for bigger and better things than this muck.

Most worrisome were the increasing number of unintentionally funny moments that seemed to increase as the show went on. The animal and Brundle monster puppets produced more than a few chuckles. A stand-in gymnast who did multiple back flips to represent Brundle’s increased mutant strength at the start of Act II received a big round of applause as well. And in perhaps the biggest irony, Quaife’s frequent repetition of the catch phrase “Be afraid. Be very afraid” seemed to produce more and more tittering over the course of Act II. Given that Cronenberg’s film is the original source of this now overused cliché, it may have been appropriately used here, but this has been lost on the audience who seemed to mostly see it as a puzzling weakness in the libretto.

I guess L.A. Opera does deserve credit for trying something new. And, although they have not typically had great or even consistent success in this area, that's no reason to give up trying. And, considering all this occurred in a season with so much else at stake what with the new Ring cycle and all, it could seem rather bold. So give them an "A" for effort and go see Il Trittico instead.

Labels: LA Opera 08/09

Sondra Radvanovsky as Suor Angelica
Photo: Robert Millard/LAO 2008

Los Angeles Opera kicked off its 08/09 season on Saturday with a great new production of Puccini’s Il Trittico. And while I know that sounds like an oxymoron, it’s true – the company deserves to have a big hit on its hands with this production which is often larger than life. The company has spared no expense on this opener and it has three rather elaborate sets by L.A. standards, a huge cast and design team. And while it is certainly not perfect, it is consistently well sung, well played, and amazingly and surprisingly entertaining throughout. There are a lot of names worth mentioning here, but let’s start with James Conlon. He continues to be on top of his game and he led the orchestra in a bang-up, spot-on performance. He continues to be one of the company’s biggest assets and seems to excel at just about everything he touches no matter what corner of the repertory you’re talking about. He gets MVP on a night with a lot of competition for that spot.

But now let’s get down to business on the components that make up this sometimes unwieldy trilogy. The evening opens, of course, with Il Tabarro, perhaps the most thankless of these one act operas. It was impeccably well cast with a radiant Anja Kampe as Giogetta, and Mark Delavan as Michele. Kampe managed to be earthy enough to be believable but beautiful enough to lend credence to why these two men are in love with her to begin with. Even Salvatore Licitra’s Luigi sounded great, which I was as surprised as anybody. Conlon and director William Friedkin kept the tension high and I actually found myself completely caught up in the whole thing by the time we got to the rather realistic looking knife fight. While it wasn’t necessarily a radical staging, it looked good and was quite well lit. And a moving barge always seems to get the audience's attention.

After a surprisingly satisfying first act, it was time for the best opera Puccini ever wrote, Suor Angelica. Again under Friedkin’s direction, the convent looks much like you might expect. There were some unnecessary comic touches early on when a few sisters are called out by the Abbess. I could also gripe that Larissa Diadkova elects to play the Princess in perhaps the most conventionally villainous manner. But frankly these are minor complaints. I was still in tears by the end all due to the single most important reason to see this production – Sondra Radvanovsky. Her performance in the title role is nothing short of amazing. This is no surprise to my ears and I continue to think she deserves all the adulation otherwise enjoyed by a number of vocalists with much higher profiles these days. It seemed that the immediate, rousing standing ovation she received indicated that plenty of others agree.

Thomas Allen as Gianni Schicchi and Laura Tatlescu as Lauretta
Photo: Robert Millard 2008

Needless to say, with everything going so well two-thirds of the way into it, I was particularly apprehensive about the much publicized final piece in the triptych, Gianni Schicci, which was directed by Woody Allen. The company has been using his mug for weeks to sell tickets to this, his first foray into the world of opera. A job that he himself has indicated he had some apprehension about in the press in recent weeks. While it should be said that his take on this comic nugget will not be to everyone’s taste, I’ll give him this – he’s got balls. Far from treating the comic leg of this opera as the genteel, romantic, smile-inducting love letter to Florence that so many before him have done, he digs into Gianni Schicchi assertively with a strong look and a real point of view. He sees the piece as a no holds barred comedy and he rightly jettisons wistful elements to get to the comic heart of the matter. He is assisted by another strong cast including Thomas Allen as Schicci, Laura Tatulescu as Lauretta, Jill Grove as Zita, and Saimir Pirgu as Rinuccio.

The whole episode is recast as some sort of 1950s Italian neo-realist comedy complete with fake opening movie credits projected on a screen in front of the curtain which is pulled away to reveal a massive and intricate once luxurious and now dilapidated family estate. Much is made of the class difference between the Donatis and Schicchi and his daughter Lauretta. When the two enter, Schicchi is dressed as a rather greasy mobster and Lauretta is more sexy and trashy than innocent and beautiful. Rinuccio and Lauretta are more intensely infatuated teens than idealized young lovers. There are numerous comic bits of stage business added and while I’m sure some will argue that this is distracting, the whole thing works remarkably well and actually produces several real laughs from the audience. Not ironic, self-referential ones, but actually appropriate-to-the-context laughs. Mr. Allen had noted his apprehension at receiving negative feedback from a live audience in the press in recent weeks so it may be no surprise that he did not take a curtain call, unlike Mr Friedkin who had two prior turns during the evening. Which is really a shame considering he produced something more interesting and amusing to look at than half of the directors working in opera today.

This It Trittico is well worth seeing and, in a season with very ambitious plans for L.A. Opera, it is hopefully a harbinger of things to come.

Labels: LA Opera 08/09