Out West Arts: Performance at the end of the world

Stephen Costello And Ailyn Pérez Photo: Cory Weaver/SDO 2011

Perhaps one of the smartest moves San Diego Opera has made in recent seasons is providing opportunities for the most promising of young singers to perform starring roles. In particular, I’m thinking of the appearances of tenor Stephen Costello and his wife, soprano Ailyn Pérez who returned to San Diego last night in the lead roles of Gounod’s Faust after a huge success there last year in Roméo et Juliette. And while they may not be the next Alagna and Gheorghiu (if that would be considered a good thing), they are both capable and rather exciting performers, and this Faust is a success in large part due to their vocal contributions. The fact that they can both act and actually look the parts is a decided bonus in the equation as well. Costello, who was making his role debut as Faust, has easy, solid top notes and sings with real athleticism and not an ounce of strain. And while it's not always the warmest voice, he can sell “Salut! demeure chaste et pure” to the point it almost overshadows Marguerite’s big arias in the same Act. You can bet he’ll be fascinating to watch opposite Anna Netrebko in the fall when he sings Lord Percy opposite her Anna Bolena when the Metropolitan Opera season opens. (Of course folks in Dallas already got a taste of this last year, so you’ve been warned.) Pérez’ dark-hued tone is equally lovely if a little less certain at the top of her range. She makes hay in a part that traffics heavily in tarnished innocence. She’ll be repeating this part this summer in Santa Fe as well, and husband or no, she’s a face to watch.

Brian Mulligan Photo: Cory Weaver/SDO 2011

There’s another young voice in the cast worth remembering and that is Brian Mulligan who sang Valentin, Marguerite’s principled brother. His two appearances on stage were superb and he gave arguably the all around most integrated and successful performance of the evening. Valentin’s rage and heartbreak were palpable and he stole all the scenes he was in with a role he'll repeat at The Metropolitan Opera in December. (He’s also singing title roles in two John Adams’ operas in the near future: The Death of Klinghoffer at Opera Theater Saint Louis this summer and Nixon in China in San Francisco the next.) The Méphistophélès was American Greer Grimsley who played up the more affable qualities of his part and meshed well with the ensemble. Siébel was sung by a bright and clear Sarah Castle. In the pit, Karen Keltner led an enthusiastic San Diego Symphony Orchestra that never lagged in an opera that can be bogged down without close attention.

The production itself was a revival of a familiar design from Robert Perdziola that has been seen on several American stages in recent years. It was last in San Francisco in 2010 with Patricia Racette, Stefano Secco and John Relyea and in the year before that in Chicago with Ana Maria Martinez, Piotr Beczala, and Rene Pape. This time around it was directed by David Gately who gave perhaps the most clarity I’ve seen yet with this particular show. He smartly added an extra dancer to Méphistophélès’ Act II aria to relieve Grimsley of having to mess with a violin that has tripped up everyone else I’ve seen in the part. Gately was also helped by clearer lighting that focused less on creepy atmospherics and more on ensuring the audience could make out the action on stage. It’s a trade off to be sure, and while I understood more of the action in these scenes than in the past, the show is a little less menacing at times. Still for the overall musical quality of the show and a chance to see three artists in the early stages of what will likely be exciting careers, this is a Faust worth seeing. There are three more performances through May 1.

Labels: San Diego Opera 11

Anke Vondung an Patrizia Ciofi Photo: Ken Howard/SDO 2011

Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier is one of those operas that seems particularly impervious to broad directorial re-interpretation. Oh, I know there have been plenty of modern dress productions here, there, and everywhere in recent years, but there seems to be an attachment to the 18th-century Viennese grand halls and bedrooms that keep even some of the more adventurous opera companies (e.g., Munich) from going too far from the typical powdered wigs. Such is the case in San Diego where San Diego Opera opened a run of Der Rosenkavalier on Sunday in a familiar and much revived production designed by Thierry Bosquet and directed by Lotfi Mansouri on loan from the San Francisco Opera where it was last seen in 2007. Pulling off any opera production is no small task, and rarely do things ever arrive at opening night the way they start out on paper. This revival was originally announced with a particularly exciting cast including Ferruccio Furlanetto as Baron Ochs and Anja Harteros as the Marschallin in her role debut alongside the Octavian of Anke Vondung and Sophie of Partizia Ciofi both of whom were making their company debuts. Well by Sunday, both Furlanetto and Harteros were out, replaced respectively by Andrew Greenan and American soprano Twyla Robinson respectively. And given Robinson’s rather last minute recruitment into the ensemble, the show came off particularly well, showcasing some of Strauss’ most beautiful music and his deep love for the female voice.

Perhaps the most exciting singing in the whole show came from Ciofi who rarely performs in the U.S. despite being a beloved staple throughout much of Europe. I’ve heard her give particularly stirring turns as Gilda and Bellini’s Giullieta opposite the Romeo of Joyce DiDonato. She has a powerful voice with a clear, ringing top, which managed Strauss’ vocal workout with ease. Vondung who has also worked extensively in Europe, including many appearances in Dresden, was in lovely voice as well if she did sometimes get lost in the shuffle against orchestra and her duet and trio partners. I'm told that San Diego Opera is working actively to cast both vocalists again in upcoming seasons, which they would be wise to do based on this showing. Octavian relies in great measure on comic acting chops as well, which Vondung clearly excelled at. The third voice in Strauss' trio, Robinson, was solid in the upper part of her register and blended well with her colleagues although I found her voice to thinned out somewhat in the middle and lower reaches. Greenan’s Ochs was a funny buffoon, and could be heard easily except in the lowest part of his range.

Lotfi Mansouri firmly believes in giving his vocalists plenty of room to concentrate on their singing with little distracting stage business to compete. And while this is not an entirely bad thing, despite the pretty rooms the story takes place in, the action can stall and be rather inert much of the time. There's only so long one can stare at pretty furniture and room decorations. Christof Perick, music director of the Nürnberg Philharmonic and Opera, who was returning to San Diego, conducted the orchestra. He got some lovely detailed playing out of his musicians, although I often wished he had dug in for some broader dynamics particularly in Act I. But there are many good qualities to recommend the performance including two soloists you've likely not seen much of and should definitely see while you have a chance close to home. There are three more performances on April 6, 9, and 12 if you're inclined to spend several hours in a very beautiful old Vienna.

Labels: San Diego Opera 11

Lise Lindstrom in Act III of Turandot Photo: Cory Weaver/SDO 2011

It’s a Turandot kind of year in California. Puccini’s final unfinished opera will be seen nearly everywhere including San Francisco in the Fall and this summer at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles with Gustavo Dudamel leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a concert performance starring Christine Brewer. But before all of this, San Diego Opera got the first say in this year’s Turandot bonanza when their 2011 season opened on Saturday night with an attractive and highly enjoyable production. Despite the promised star power in the other two later this year, this Turandot will be hard to beat. There are two primary reasons to see this show, the first being David Hockney’s colorful and very enticing sets, which are populated with equally bright costumes designed by Ian Falconer. The set design was originally seen in 1992 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in a co-production with San Francisco Opera where the show was filmed in 1993 starring Eva Marton. Hockney made important contributions to the opera stage throughout the 1980s and 1990s all over America and it is a testament to his vision that these same productions such as his Tristan und Isolde and The Rake’s Progress continue to be lovingly revived in cities around the world. The stage is never dull to look at and his candy-colored vision eschews any tired naturalism in an opera that couldn’t be any farther from it if it tried. Best of all, Hockney has a great sense of focusing attention on the primary action on stage where it belongs without muddling things with too much detail.

Lise Lindstrom as Turandot Photo: Cory Weaver/SDO 2011

San Diego’s other big asset on opening night was one of the best Turandots around, Lise Lindstrom. The American soprano made a big splash in this same role at The Metropolitan Opera in 2009, and she recreates that same excitement here. She has the voice to actually sing the part and never once shouts or barks to be heard over the orchestra. Furthermore she looks the part, leaving no one wondering why Calaf is so preoccupied with her to start with. Lindstrom sometimes faded in the lower end of her range, but this was a performance absolutely worth seeing and remembering. Better yet, I'm told she will return to San Diego in 2012 for Salome which should definitely be worth seeing. The rest of the Turandot cast was reasonable with a confident Carlo Ventre as Calaf. His “Nessun Dorma” got the job done and he remained athletic and energetic all evening. Ermonela Jaho’s Liu was popular with the audience for its showy high notes though I found her sound a little unstable in some of those moments.

The chorus, which was led by Charles Prestinari sounded great, which is particularly good news considering how much music Puccini gave them to sing here. Edoardo Müller conducted the San Diego Symphony Orchestra with a relaxed feeling throughout, never overpowering the vocalists. He may have been overly deferential at times, underselling some of the score's biggest and most dramatic moments, but it was still a solid and admirable performance. Lotfi Mansouri's direction tended towards the prosaic, but in an opera that is very much about pageantry it wasn't as noticable as it could have been otherwise. On the whole, San Diego's new Turandot is a pretty satisfying evening at the opera and there are three more performances through Sunday Feb 6. I'm told the next performance is already sold out, so, if you're in town, you should move fast on the remaining tickets for next weekend.

Labels: San Diego Opera 11