Out West Arts: Performance at the end of the world

Santa Fe Opera premiered the fifth and final production of its 2012 summer festival season on Saturday, Strauss’ Arabella. Strauss’ operas have a long history here in Santa Fe, and are as likely to show up as often as those of Mozart or Puccini. In fact this is the company’s fourth production of this particular opera alone in its 56-year history, an unusual marker by any opera company’s measure. Of course, despite this rich history, it has been five years since the company last staged a Strauss opera (2007’s production of Daphne was the last) and the time away from the festival stage showed a bit on Saturday.

Very little happens in Arabella. The title character is a young woman whose potential marriage has become a matter of huge fiscal concern for her broke and precariously perched aristocratic family. A financially fortuitous match is arranged and unexpectedly it turns out to be quite agreeable to her, although some complications ensue, and a glass of water is delivered before everything is said and done. The story is filled with lavish interiors and grand balls and rests heavily on a string of intimate conversations. The passion here is on the inside and comes bubbling out unexpectedly. With such a set up, a restrained staging might seem a good idea, but Tim Albery’s staging is so devoid of spark that no burning desire is about to save it from its quiet cold expiration in the New Mexico desert. The sets and costumes are done almost entirely in shades of gray. At first it seems that this may be one of those tricks used to make color that appears later on pop out at the viewer. But here it’s just gray and more gray for three hours. Even the late Edwardian costumes are oddly filled with fine details that are impossible to see from very far away and sometimes quite ill fitting.

Into this cold, dimly lit world come musicians and actors not entirely capable of breathing fire into what they are given. Soprano Erin Wall sings the lead. She’s likable and attractive, but she lacked the kind of warmth and ability to cut through the orchestra that make for the best proponents of this role. Mark Delavan sang Mandryka and gave a consistent and believable performance going from enamored to maddeningly jealous with real skill. He never bellowed and brought some real emotion to the fragile relationship with the beautiful protagonist. The minor roles included worthwhile performances from Heidi Stober as Zdenka and Zach Borichevsky as Matteo. The orchestra seemed bogged down by the same gray fog that enveloped the stage sadly. After sounding nuanced and lush at the opening of Szymanowski’s King Roger last week, this time there were anemic bits, and Sir Andrew Davis, a noted Strauss specialist, never quite got the opulent sound Strauss’ late works in particular are known for. Luckily, Santa Fe is not known for its gloomy marine layer summer days, so there are some hopes that musically things will pick up as the run continues, but a little life and a little color may be harder to come by in this return to Straussian form in the desert.

Labels: Santa Fe Opera 12

Which are more important: first thoughts or last words? It’s a question opera lovers pore over with glee in regards to many of the art form’s greatest masters who have reworked previous pieces, and it’s a question that figures prominently in perhaps the other big ambitious project of this year’s Santa Fe Opera season, a production of Rossini’s opera seria, Maometto II. The work, originally written in 1820 for Naples and then subsequently revised for Venice and then completely reworked later for Paris as The Siege of Corinth has recently become available in a new critical edition that will be published next year. Santa Fe Opera and music director Frédéric Chaslin have had the good fortune to present the world premiere performances of this new edition with another major opera star this summer, Luca Pisaroni, in the title role. Pisaroni was reportedly keen to take on the role as had one of his idols Samuel Ramey many decades earlier, and when the stars aligned, he and the company got their wish.

Audiences seem to be getting their wish as well with a show that has some exciting singing, even if it isn’t always in the most expected places. Pisaroni plays Maometto II, the Turkish sultan laying siege to the Venetian colony of Negroponte. He gets to do fun, crazy things here in David Alden’s sometimes grandiose staging, including climbing aboard a chariot pulled by a statue of three giant size black steeds that descends from an angle at the back of the stage. He sounds great, and makes more of the fine vocal detail than most baritones typically do. He’s paired with one of the more surprising names in the cast, Leah Crocetto, a former Adler Fellow in San Francisco, who takes on Anna, Maometto’s love and daughter of his enemy. Crocetto has a lovely, sunny, and strong instrument, but I would never have thought of her as a bel canto singer. And at first I felt my suspicions were confirmed when she entered with significant hesitation on Friday night. But something clicked and soon she was pulling out coloratura detail around every bend with real agility and some beautiful phrasing throughout key moments in the close of Act I and the major duet with Maometto that opens Act II. She was a singer to watch even before, but what other surprises she has up her sleeve may be anyone’s guess at this point.

Bruce Sledge played Anna’s father Paolo Erisso and was robust and flexible. Meanwhile mezzo Patricia Bardon, a favorite of mine, seemed to be having an off night vocally on many fronts as Anna’s secret husband Calbo. She struggled at times with the detailed passage work and pitch was a problem in the upper register. But luckily all of the cast had excellent support from the orchestra, and Chaslin again proved he’s got the chops to do exactly what a music director must, master a variety of basic repertory styles with certainty. His conducting of the bel canto score was fleet, bordering on breezy at times, avoiding the melodramatic and providing consistent support to the carefully phrased vocal lines throughout.

If there was hesitancy in the show, it was most likely in David Alden’s sometimes timid staging. Alden has a long history in Santa Fe and is no stranger to colorful, nearly hallucinogenic moments on stage particularly in the world of Baroque operas. And he does deliver some here amid an oddly sloped set of curved walls and stairs that don’t always lead anywhere. But there are just as many moments filled with a cast that seems uncertain where to turn amid the odd angles. The chorus and extras in particular are given strained, sloppy looking choreography to manage with the kind of sword and spear play one associates with a rerun of Kung Fu. All of this looks funny exactly when in shouldn’t and cuts into the forceful menace of a piece about two peoples at war.

Does the new edition make a difference? Maybe. But after hearing what is supposedly a closer version to Rossini’s first thoughts on the piece, it’s also quite easy to see why he would have revised it. Anna and Maometto’s final scene still seems awkward and confusing, and the motivation for her eventual suicide come off as unclear. The opera almost seems to crash into itself in the last twenty minutes or so. Still if opera is a sport, this is one fun game to watch unfold with surprises and a few disappointments that make loving this art form particularly worthwhile.

Meanwhile, Santa Fe Opera’s popular favorite on this summer’s program roster is a new production of Puccini’s Tosca. It’s an opera that provides particular challenges for the company’s gorgeous outdoor theater that lends itself easily to dramatic elemental moments. This verisimo gem with its very particular interior spaces and the ugly business that occurs there calls out for something a bit more cloistered. But director Stephen Barlow, has met the challenge with an almost M.C Escher inspired approach with principals cavorting through a set filled with painting, forced perspective, and angular lines that amp up the surrealism. In Act I Cavaradossi, and indeed the entire cast, traipse back and forth across the painting he is working on that covers the floor of the stage. Meanwhile the detached dome of Sant’Andrea della Valle hangs detached above like the setting sun on the New Mexico skyline. It’s attractive imagery but infuriatingly distracting with its oddity. The painting disappears, but the large set piece persists, rising up to reveal the wall of Scarpia’s quarters in Act II and serving as the floor of the tower at the Castle Sant’Angelo in Act III. There are turret walls that appear by this point, but it’s never really clear where Tosca is going to jump from until low and behold she does. It doesn’t make it more shocking, just more perplexing.

Amanda Echalaz sings the title role here in her U.S. debut. She has the power and can be steely at times in the part, but she also tends toward the brighter side, tone wise, losing some of the darker qualities in the vocal part. Raymond Aceto, who is sharing the role of Scarpia with Thomas Hampson who will take over in August, was a reasonable and menacing villain without overplaying his hand. But the big story here vocally was tenor Brian Jagde who took over the role of Cavaradossi for the entire run just days before the opening of the season with the withdrawal of Andrew Richards. Jagde has a relaxed athletic tone that never feels pinched. And while the chemistry between Echalaz and him fizzles at times, he’s both believable and the kind of young singer you instantly want to hear more from. Music director Chaslin is in the pit again here and again gives this most severe of Italian shockers a lighter, more focused approach than some might have chosen. But it worked quite well keeping the show concise and focused right through to the finish. If Tosca is Santa Fe’s opera staple on this year’s menu, they’ve put together a show that shouldn’t disappoint those looking for comfort food.

Labels: Santa Fe Opera 12

Karol Szymanowski’s King Roger is one of those operas that upon hearing it for the first time you are perplexed as to why you haven’t heard it many times before. Szymanowski was not unaware or unimpressed with the musical developments around him in the early 20th Century, but the conservative elements in his native Poland’s musical establishment placed pressure on him in opposition to more avant-garde forces. King Roger can sound lushly romantic, but it is decidedly modern, in its beautiful, rich, sonorous sound wall. The work has gained increasing popularity in recent years and its reputation continues to grow. There are challenges to its acceptance besides the Polish language element: the story is somewhat strange and obtuse, and it’s got some challenging choral work as well. In the libretto, a 12th Century Norman King of Sicily, King Roger, finds himself in the pull of a battle between Apollonian and Dionysian forces as a local Shepherd slowly erodes the sober faith of his people and queen with the promise of hedonistic love. The story is abstract and filled with ideological debate that would have made Jung proud. That Santa Fe Opera is presenting this challenging beauty this season in a production as well done as this one is a testament to the company’s breadth musically and theatrically. Despite some minor issues, this King Roger is an enchantment all on its own in the New Mexico summer desert.

Let me sing the praises of the musical team. Evan Rogister conducted the Santa Fe Opera orchestra through a very dense score with wonderful control and precision. The amount of time put into this sounds great especially when you consider Szymanowski’s beautiful choral work. The first 20 minutes of the show are stunning, and the chorus rose above all expectations with an exceptional performance. Of course, their starring cast didn’t let them down. Baritone Mariusz Kwiecien has made a specialty of this role and championed the opera. Santa Fe rightly jumped at the chance to have one of the world’s biggest stars come out west, and it pays off big time. He’s magnetic and the entire struggle over Roger’s spirituality plays out exquisitely in his face and voice. He’s spectacular, and not just because he’s shirtless and gives the muscle bound extras of Act III a run for their money. Tenor William Burden sings the part of the Shepherd and sounds like a perfect fit in this most Dionysian of roles. He’s bright and youthful and enticing exactly when he should be. But perhaps the biggest scene-stealer of the night was the bright, warm soprano of Erin Morley who sings Roxana, Roger’s queen. She pierces through all of the male voices and big orchestration but never with a blunt disservice to the whole. She’s as seductive as anything in this opera about giving ones self over to the sensual world.

Perhaps the weakest part of the show is Stephen Wadsworth’s prosaic, bland staging. He does manage to give principles ample room to move and clear guidance for their interactions. But visually the show is flat, eschewing nearly everything about the unique beauty of the Santa Fe open stage in favor of a single barren throne room with a flat painted sectional backdrop that is about as inoffensive as the décor in a dental office. Perhaps most concerning is the clichéd contrast between the Edwardian costuming of Roger and his people in the opening act to denote a restraint or conservatism that gives way to something out of an old Herb Ritts music video. It may be modern-ish dress, but it isn’t modern-ish thinking. Luckily the staging stays out of the way when it comes to the performance overall and allows the musical forces to show off all their hard work. That part is a thriller and it makes King Roger a clear highlight of the current Santa Fe season. The show runs through August 14.

Labels: Santa Fe Opera 12