Back to Opera San Jose to see the “other cast” in the double bill of Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi, and especially to hear Silas Elash as Simone.
Our cast for Suor Angelica:
Sister Angelica: Cecilia Violetta López
The Princess: Patrice Houston
The Abbess: Rebecca Krouner
The Monitress: Tania Mandzy Inala
Mistress of the Novices: Michelle Rice
Sister Genovieffa: Elisabeth Russ
Sister Osmina: Katherine Gunnink
Sister Dolcina: Antonia Tamer
Nursing Sister: Amy Dabalos
Conductor: Joseph Marcheso
Director: Lorna Haywood
Even though it was the “other cast,” Cecilia Violetta López was back as Sister Angelica, as scheduled and not as the result a sudden illness on the part of another. She was just as fine as she had been a week and a half ago, and Patrice Houston’s aunt was practically a carbon copy of Nicole Birkland’s. A beta, for sure.
Our cast for Gianni Schicchi:
Gianni Schicchi: Zachary Altman
Lauretta: Cecilia Violetta López
Zita: Patrice Houston
Rinuccio: Alexander Boyer
Gherardo: Robert Norman
Nella: Elisabeth Russ
Gherardino: Joshua Grzymala
Betto di Signa: Rolfe Dauz
Simone: Silas Elash
La Ciesca: Rebecca Krouner
Spinelloccio/Notary: David Zelenka
Marco: Krassen Karagiozov
Conductor: Joseph Marcheso
Director: Lorna Haywood
Again, Cecilia Violetta López sang her role in both casts, and again sounded as though her concentration had gone to Suor Angelica. Silas Elash did not disappoint; as always, I wished that his part were bigger. But the singer that particularly attracted my attention was Rolfe Dauz’s Betto. It’s not a large part, but the voice I heard from time to time made me sit up and take notice, and hope that I’ll get to see him again. Once more, the staging and the acting and the effective communication of Puccini’s only comedy made this one a beta-plus.
esp
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Giulio Cesare, Metropolitan Opera HD Live, April 27 2013
This was a tough one. I dragged myself out of bed, early, only because I’d promised a friend that I would pick him up at 8am and bring him to the theater for the 9am start time. Otherwise I’d have stayed in bed and not missed a whole lot.
The basic set consisted of four square pillars on each side of the stage, marching from front to back, with square lentils connecting them. At the back of the stage there were four long cylinders stretching from left to right, featuring helical ridges, the whole intended as a representation of ocean waves, and a far less effective one than a similar system used in the Jean-Pierre Ponelle Flying Dutchman of some decades ago. Various sea-going ships were often seen on these waves: square-rigged sailing ships, battleships, and near the end a cruise ship. From time to time brightly-colored curtains (like the curtain at the front of the stage) were drawn between the pillars to form an interior space, and at one point the stage became quite shallow, with a backdrop of a vastly magnified old map of a shoreline and sea. Costumes were updated to the time of the opera’s premiere, with the chorus (or were they just supers?) dressed as British redcoats. At the end, Cleopatra appeared in a Louis XIV-era dress several feet wide from side to side.
Our cast:
Giulio Cesare (Julius Caesar): David Daniels
Cleopatra: Natalie Dessay
Cornelia: Patricia Bardon
Sesto (Sextus): Alice Coote
Tolomeo (Ptolemy): Christophe Dumaux
Curio (Curius): John Moore
Nireno (Nirenus): Rachid Ben Abdeslam
Achilla (Achillas): Guido Loconsolo
Conductor: Harry Bicket
Production: David McVicar
Three countertenors (Julius, Ptolemy, Nireno) is a tall order for someone not yet fully acquainted with baroque opera. On top of that, there is a pants role for the young man Sextus. On top of that I was really not well and spent a good share of my energy trying to avoid being too disruptive with my coughing. Net result was that I really wasn’t all there and not particularly capable of appreciating what was going on. But I was left with a very positive appreciation of the only female role, Cornelia, ably sung by Patricia Bardon, and of some first-act aria containing some lovely horn work. The production was “updated” but fell short of being actively offensive, unless you count Ptolemy, killed earlier, reappearing in the final scene with a bullet hole in the center of his forehead, along with the equally dead Achillas, bloody from head to toe. The music was pleasant enough but little of it was memorable. Giulio Cesare has been described as Handel’s most popular opera, but in my book that accolade goes to Semele. It will be OK if it’s a long time before I see Giulio Cesare again. A gamma.
The basic set consisted of four square pillars on each side of the stage, marching from front to back, with square lentils connecting them. At the back of the stage there were four long cylinders stretching from left to right, featuring helical ridges, the whole intended as a representation of ocean waves, and a far less effective one than a similar system used in the Jean-Pierre Ponelle Flying Dutchman of some decades ago. Various sea-going ships were often seen on these waves: square-rigged sailing ships, battleships, and near the end a cruise ship. From time to time brightly-colored curtains (like the curtain at the front of the stage) were drawn between the pillars to form an interior space, and at one point the stage became quite shallow, with a backdrop of a vastly magnified old map of a shoreline and sea. Costumes were updated to the time of the opera’s premiere, with the chorus (or were they just supers?) dressed as British redcoats. At the end, Cleopatra appeared in a Louis XIV-era dress several feet wide from side to side.
Our cast:
Giulio Cesare (Julius Caesar): David Daniels
Cleopatra: Natalie Dessay
Cornelia: Patricia Bardon
Sesto (Sextus): Alice Coote
Tolomeo (Ptolemy): Christophe Dumaux
Curio (Curius): John Moore
Nireno (Nirenus): Rachid Ben Abdeslam
Achilla (Achillas): Guido Loconsolo
Conductor: Harry Bicket
Production: David McVicar
Three countertenors (Julius, Ptolemy, Nireno) is a tall order for someone not yet fully acquainted with baroque opera. On top of that, there is a pants role for the young man Sextus. On top of that I was really not well and spent a good share of my energy trying to avoid being too disruptive with my coughing. Net result was that I really wasn’t all there and not particularly capable of appreciating what was going on. But I was left with a very positive appreciation of the only female role, Cornelia, ably sung by Patricia Bardon, and of some first-act aria containing some lovely horn work. The production was “updated” but fell short of being actively offensive, unless you count Ptolemy, killed earlier, reappearing in the final scene with a bullet hole in the center of his forehead, along with the equally dead Achillas, bloody from head to toe. The music was pleasant enough but little of it was memorable. Giulio Cesare has been described as Handel’s most popular opera, but in my book that accolade goes to Semele. It will be OK if it’s a long time before I see Giulio Cesare again. A gamma.
Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi, Opera San Jose, April 18 2013
Considered as a whole, Puccini’s Il Trittico (comprising the three one-act operas Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica, and Gianni Schicchi) is Puccini’s longest work, with nearly three hours of music. Add two intermissions and you’re closing in on four hours in the theater. So it’s little wonder that we often get just two of the operas in the production schedule, despite Puccini’s strong preference that all three should be performed together.
The set of Suor Angelica showed us the courtyard of a convent. Upstage center were tall wooden double doors that led to the chapel, with a monochrome rose window above them. To the left and right were white walls, each divided into five sections, with an arcade up to the top of the first story and a white wall containing a simple four-pointed design above arcade. The arcades continued along the left and right sides; this time the arcades marked the beginnings of the stage’s “legs.” On the front left was Sister Angelica’s herb garden; right of center was a statue of Madonna and Child, with stream of water flowing from a pipe imbedded in the pedestal.
Our cast:
Sister Angelica: Cecilia Violetta López
The Princess: Nicole Birkland
The Abbess: Sophia Chew
The Monitress: Tori Grayum
Mistress of the Novices: Cathleen Candia
Sister Genovieffa: Jillian Boye
Sister Osmina: Claire Myers
Sister Dolcina: Heather Clemens
Nursing Sister: Jane Burgchardt
Conductor: Joseph Marcheso
Director: Lorna Haywood
In the title role, Cecilia Violetta López was a standout. Not only did she sing beautifully, her acting (especially her heart-wrenching sobs as she grieved over the death of her son) showed complete involvement with her character. Coming on top of her superb Leonora in Il Trovatore, she bids fair to become another one of the stars that Opera San Jose exports to the larger opera world. Nicole Birkland was suitably imperious and disdainful as her aunt, who has come to the convent to get her to sign away her inheritance. Definitely a beta.
During intermission, the Suor Angelica set was converted to the Gianni Schicchi set by replacing the double doors by a bed with a very tall headboard, replacing the rose window by another two white panels decorated with four-pointed stars, filling the arcades with bookcases and windows, and replacing the herb garden and statue with the accoutrements of a wealthy 13th-century Florentine: elaborate chairs, decorated trunks, writing desk, etc. Through a narrow window to the left of Buoso Donati’s bed could be seen Brunneleschi’s dome.
Our cast:
Gianni Schicchi: Evan Brummel
Lauretta: Cecilia Violetta López
Zita: Nicole Birkland
Rinuccio: James Callon
Gherardo: Robert Norman
Nella: Jillian Boye
Gherardino: James Costigan
Betto di Signa: Jo Vincent Parks
Simone: Isaiah Musik-Ayala
La Ciesca: Tori Grayum
Spinelloccio: Michael Mendelsohn
Marco: Peter Tuf
Conductor: Joseph Marcheso
Director: Lorna Haywood
I’ve seen a few Gianni Schicchis by now, and this one was by far the best. Not so much for the singing—the opera is built from a large number of short phrases, making it into much more of a sung play. The show-stopper aria, “O mio babbino caro,” lacked the heart-melting beauty that it is capable of. As wonderful as Cecilia Violetta López was in Suor Angelica, it was if her Lauretta got short shrift in her rehearsal time. What was outstanding was the acting. Lorna Haywood and her singers truly made this “comedy about death” into a real comedy. As just a tiny example, when the relatives are searching for Buoso Donati’s will, Simone reaches under the deathbed, pulls out a chamberpot, and announces that “No, the will is not here.” The action elicited all the right chuckles from the audience. It all worked far better than the recent San Francisco opera production, which was an assault on the visual senses. Definitely looking forward to seeing this one again—a beta-plus.
The set of Suor Angelica showed us the courtyard of a convent. Upstage center were tall wooden double doors that led to the chapel, with a monochrome rose window above them. To the left and right were white walls, each divided into five sections, with an arcade up to the top of the first story and a white wall containing a simple four-pointed design above arcade. The arcades continued along the left and right sides; this time the arcades marked the beginnings of the stage’s “legs.” On the front left was Sister Angelica’s herb garden; right of center was a statue of Madonna and Child, with stream of water flowing from a pipe imbedded in the pedestal.
Our cast:
Sister Angelica: Cecilia Violetta López
The Princess: Nicole Birkland
The Abbess: Sophia Chew
The Monitress: Tori Grayum
Mistress of the Novices: Cathleen Candia
Sister Genovieffa: Jillian Boye
Sister Osmina: Claire Myers
Sister Dolcina: Heather Clemens
Nursing Sister: Jane Burgchardt
Conductor: Joseph Marcheso
Director: Lorna Haywood
In the title role, Cecilia Violetta López was a standout. Not only did she sing beautifully, her acting (especially her heart-wrenching sobs as she grieved over the death of her son) showed complete involvement with her character. Coming on top of her superb Leonora in Il Trovatore, she bids fair to become another one of the stars that Opera San Jose exports to the larger opera world. Nicole Birkland was suitably imperious and disdainful as her aunt, who has come to the convent to get her to sign away her inheritance. Definitely a beta.
During intermission, the Suor Angelica set was converted to the Gianni Schicchi set by replacing the double doors by a bed with a very tall headboard, replacing the rose window by another two white panels decorated with four-pointed stars, filling the arcades with bookcases and windows, and replacing the herb garden and statue with the accoutrements of a wealthy 13th-century Florentine: elaborate chairs, decorated trunks, writing desk, etc. Through a narrow window to the left of Buoso Donati’s bed could be seen Brunneleschi’s dome.
Our cast:
Gianni Schicchi: Evan Brummel
Lauretta: Cecilia Violetta López
Zita: Nicole Birkland
Rinuccio: James Callon
Gherardo: Robert Norman
Nella: Jillian Boye
Gherardino: James Costigan
Betto di Signa: Jo Vincent Parks
Simone: Isaiah Musik-Ayala
La Ciesca: Tori Grayum
Spinelloccio: Michael Mendelsohn
Marco: Peter Tuf
Conductor: Joseph Marcheso
Director: Lorna Haywood
I’ve seen a few Gianni Schicchis by now, and this one was by far the best. Not so much for the singing—the opera is built from a large number of short phrases, making it into much more of a sung play. The show-stopper aria, “O mio babbino caro,” lacked the heart-melting beauty that it is capable of. As wonderful as Cecilia Violetta López was in Suor Angelica, it was if her Lauretta got short shrift in her rehearsal time. What was outstanding was the acting. Lorna Haywood and her singers truly made this “comedy about death” into a real comedy. As just a tiny example, when the relatives are searching for Buoso Donati’s will, Simone reaches under the deathbed, pulls out a chamberpot, and announces that “No, the will is not here.” The action elicited all the right chuckles from the audience. It all worked far better than the recent San Francisco opera production, which was an assault on the visual senses. Definitely looking forward to seeing this one again—a beta-plus.
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