Opera 101—Liberté, Égalité, Fashionité

Tags

Fashion, Opera

If it’s not too indiscreet, will you tell me who you are wearing? My friend really wants to know.

—A tuxedoed man to your not-so-humble blogger on opening night

Dance like no revolutionary’s watching. Photo by Cory Weaver.

Umberto Giordano, Andrea Chénier (1896)
Based on: the life of French poet André Chénier
Notable Cultural Reference: Philadelphia
Setting: Paris, 1789–1794

Plot in 101 words or less: A winter’s ball, and the countess’s daughter is the envy of all, including servant Gérard and poet Andrea Chenier. But the Revolution’s coming and, after beggars crash the party, Gérard quits. Liberté! Flash forward to The Terror where the countess has gotten her comeuppance but daughter Maddalena is still able to pass her time writing anonymous love letters using former servant Bersi as go-between. Égalité! (Sort of.) As for fraternité, Gérard is now buddy-buddy with Robespierre and jealous of the new It Couple. A few shifting allegiances and a prison switcheroo later and it’s off with Andrealena’s heads. Vive la Révolution!

Sung in: Italian
Memorable Music: “La Mamma morta”; “Come un bel dì di maggio”

“Même Platon a banni les poètes de sa République”—Robespierre

Andrea Chénier is a perfect opening night selection, with lovely arias to showcase the singers and excellent opportunities for creative and/or beautiful set design and costume work. San Francisco Opera’s production didn’t let me down on any of these scores. Nor did my fellow operagoers, whose outfits (mostly) rose to the occasion as well.

La Maratonista and I are always happy to see David Laudon and Randy Laroche, or, as we call them, Hat Guys. Photo by Doug Duran.

But first, the opera. With three San Francisco debuts as leads, it was anyone’s guess how the singing would fare, but overall this production was strong. Yonghoon Lee was probably the weakest of the three in the titular role—I thought his singing was a bit thin and his acting unconvincing, though he handled “Come un bel dì di maggio” towards the end just fine. Picking up the slack were Anna Pirozzi as Maddalena de Coigny and George Gagnidze as Carlo Gérard, both of whom earned tremendous applause after their arias (“La mamma morta” and “Nemico della patria” respectively). Unfortunately, beyond these few showstoppers, there’s not much melody to this work and I can’t say the opera itself will ever rank up there in my favorites.

George Gagnidze as Carlo Gérard (left) and Anna Pirozzi as Maddalena de Coigny (right) in Andrea Chénier. Photos by Cory Weaver.

I thought the sets by Robert Jones were quite impressive, but maybe that’s because I was so disappointed by most of the sets last fall season. In any case, they successfully took us from a palace ball to the streets, cafés, and tribunals of revolutionary Paris, and then finally to prison. The lighting by Adam Silverman was particularly effective in this final act, with the shadows of the prison bars cast across the stage. Finally, these transitions were aided and abetted by Jenny Tiramani’s terrific costumes, which were extremely varied and detailed throughout each act.

I didn’t love the Easter egg colors used in Act I, but they contrasted nicely with the revolutionary colors to come. Photo by Cory Weaver.

Speaking of costumes…

Models with French poodles were on hand because of course. Photo by Laura Morton for the Chronicle.

Patricia Ward Kelly had the most beautiful dress I saw all night. Dress by Ali Rahimi. Photo by Leah Millis for the Chronicle.

This was perhaps my favorite look not captured by the press.

Belinda Berry certainly caught one’s eye in the foyer. Photo by Leah Millis for the Chronicle.

Clearly Komal Shah needs to stick to red and/or Oscar de la Renta. I hated this Marchesa number. Photo by Doug Duran.

Deepa Pakianathan (aka head-cage lady) had a killer Alexander McQueen clutch this year. Photo by Leah Millis for the Chronicle.

As God is my witness, one day, La Maratonista and I will make it to the official dinner and ball!

There are five more performances of Andrea Chénier at the War Memorial Opera House on September 14, 17, 22, 25, and 30. Better than a trip to the guillotine!

Yonghoon Lee as Andrea Chénier and Anna Pirozzi as Maddalena on their way to the guillotine in Andrea Chénier. Photo by Cory Weaver.

Oscar de la Renta

Tags

Fashion

This afternoon, in anticipation of stepping up my San Francisco Opera opening-night game, I took in the Oscar de la Renta exhibit at the de Young Museum. If you are in San Francisco this month, I highly recommend checking it out.

Here are some of my favorite looks:

Oscar de la Renta: The Retrospective is at the de Young until May 30.

Oscar Blitz: Costume Contest

Tags

Fashion, Oscars

It turns out that, due to Netflix availability, the first category I’ve filled out on my Oscar dance card is Best Costume Design.

Snow White prepares to leave the castle in Mirror Mirror

And the nominees are…
Anna Karenina
Lincoln
Mirror Mirror
Les Misérables
Snow White and the Huntsman

I swear, I should get some sort of award myself for sitting through Mirror Mirror. Yet, although excruciatingly bad in plot, dialogue, and acting, it certainly was pretty. The gorgeous costumes were designed by Eiko Ishioka, whose only previous nomination (and win) was for Bram Stoker’s Dracula in the early 90s. The fact that she died a year ago, and there is a dedication to her in the credits, may have an impact on this vote.

Snow White at the ball in Mirror Mirror

The Queen at the ball in Mirror Mirror

Snow White and the Huntsman was also nothing to write home about, but it was still miles ahead of Mirror Mirror in terms of narrative and general interest. And it did have magnificent visual effects, although I assume The Hobbit has a lock on that category.

Ravenna rules the roost in Snow White and the Huntsman

However, I really did like the costume design, first, because there were gorgeous outfits, but, more importantly, because the clothes helped tell the story. This is unsurprising, given that they were designed by Colleen Atwood, a three-time Oscar winner (including just two years ago for Alice in Wonderland). This is her tenth nomination and well deserved.

Ravenna walking down the aisle at her wedding

Snow White and Eric (aka The Huntsman) escaping a troll

Ravenna’s version of chain mail

Anna Karenina was a bit of a disappointment in the costume department. Yes, there were gorgeous dresses, but they seemed sort of random, and even sometimes slapdash. I was expecting more, especially for the character of Anna. There was a great opportunity to tell a story through color and structure here and I didn’t really see it.

One of the few outfits I thought captured the character of Anna in Anna Karenina

Yet this may be a likely winner since the film has a respectable four nominations and the designer, Jacqueline Durran, has previously been nominated twice (Pride and Prejudice, Atonement) without winning. Plus, there were a lot of costumes in this production, probably more than any other film in this category.

I thought Kitty’s costumes were well done. This was my favorite scene in Anna Karenina; it was so utterly romantic. Kitty and Levin made me want to read the book.

Personally, I’d rather see this film win for any of its other nominations (Cinematography, Production Design, Original Score) before Costume Design. In particular, I found Dario Marianelli’s music extremely interesting; it evoked the classic themes of the grand movie epics of the 1960s such as Doctor Zhivago, with more than a touch of Love Story.

On a final note, Jude Law gives a fantastic performance as Karenin, it’s a shame he didn’t get a nomination.

Jude Law’s remarkably restrained performance and costume as Karenin in Anna Karenina

I’ve written about Les Misérables elsewhere, so I won’t repeat myself here, except to say that the costumes were a good blend of pretty and appropriate. The designer, Paco Delgado, is a first-time nominee, but he could take the costume category just based on the spectacle of it all. Plus, there is the important fact that the movie had (I assume) a wider audience than the three films above.

Finally, unless Lincoln sweeps, and I don’t think it will, I can’t imagine it winning for best costumes. The costumes here are very pedestrian compared to the competition and the designer, Joanna Johnston, is a first-time nominee.

Quite frankly, while I liked Lincoln well enough, I just don’t get what all the fuss is about. Yes, Daniel Day-Lewis’s performance is incredible, and I’m happy that the film wasn’t overly sappy and sentimental as biopics tend to be, but for me, Spielberg didn’t deliver. He was clearly going for tension with the emphasis on the vote on the 13th amendment, but, for drama even when you know how it all turns out, I’d look to Argo.

Opera 101—Bellini Does Disco

Tags

Bel Canto, Fashion, Opera

OK, not really. But, despite my love of Prokofiev and his Dance of the Knights, I still can’t think music + Romeo and Juliet without thinking of the 1978 disco classic by Alec Costandinos.

Need I say to you? He’s a Montague
Turn your eyes away, speak no more of this young villain
He’s our only foe, a Capulet should know
Turn your eyes away, speak no more of this young villain…

What can you expect? She’s a Capulet
Turn your eyes away, speak no more of this young woman
She’s our only foe, a Montague should know
Turn your eyes away, speak no more of this young woman.

Even if you don’t like disco, you’ve got to love a song which manages to include two complete Shakespeare prologues. Although I’m too young to have fully appreciated disco in its glory days, my older sister had this one on a great mixtape I used to “borrow” (the other song that sticks out in my mind from that collection is “Sea, Sex, and Sun” by the incomparable Serge Gainsbourg). So, yeah, go ahead and add this to the growing list of bizarre places I learned Shakespeare in my childhood.

It’s only appropriate I had someone’s high school years in the back of my mind when attending San Francisco Opera‘s I Capuleti e i Montecchi this past week, since seeing the costumes by Christian Lacroix immediately threw me back to mine. Remember “le pouf”?

The celebrated pouf, circa 1987 (Source: New York magazine online, from the left: Firstview; Pierre Guillaud/AFP/Getty Images)

When the curtain first went up on the wedding scene, I thought I was having a prom flashback. Especially since everyone seemed to be standing on bleachers.

Act I, Scene III of I Capuleti e i Montecchi. Photo by Cory Weaver.

But the costumes weren’t the oddest part of this production. The set and staging left a lot to be desired. Some choices made sense to me, for example, I liked the saddles hanging from the ceiling in the first scene (later to be carried on stage in Act II). It deftly conveyed the sense of a clan mustering for battle.

Act I, Scene I of I Capuleti e i Montecchi. Photo by Cory Weaver.

Mostly, however, the choices detracted from the story and singing. More than once, characters had their backs to the audience or were inexplicably clinging to walls. In key scenes, such as when Romeo and Tebaldo are surprised by Giulietta’s funeral procession, the chorus was not present, so the story at times didn’t make sense.

Act I, Scene II, which takes places in Giulietta’s room, was empty except for a sink attached to the wall and a statue hanging from the ceiling. It looked like a cell. And maybe it was supposed to be one—in an asylum—since the way Giuletta was acting throughout (why she climbs into the sink is beyond me), it seemed as if the director had confused her with Ophelia.

Nicole Cabell as Giulietta in Act I, Scene II. Photo by Cory Weaver.

Of course, Bellini’s opera is actually not based on Shakespeare at all, but rather Italian sources of the Romeo-Juliet story.

Or, as another famous Ophelia would claim: “This is not Shakespeare, Louis.”*

I assume that is one reason why the opera is not named for its two leads, but instead their families. What’s odd about that is that the opera is far more focused on the couple than either Shakespeare’s play or Prokofiev’s ballet. This was especially true in this production, which, as I said, had the chorus offstage at multiple points. However, given the bizarre staging, I had a hard time believing that this was a couple in love.

Joyce DiDonato as Romeo and Nicole Cabell as Giulietta in I Capuleti e i Montecchi. Photo by Cory Weaver.

That’s too bad because the singing of the two leads was incredible. I had expected as much from the headliner, Joyce DiDonato, in the trouser role of Romeo, but she was matched in every way by Nicole Cabell as Giulietta. They succeeded in lifting this fairly generic bel canto opera to a level well beyond the expectations I had based on listening to it beforehand. Saimir Pirgu also more than carried his own weight as Tebaldo as did Eric Owens as Capellio.

All in all, I am very satisfied with our first two outings of the season. Let’s hope this holds.

Bring on the White Whale!

*Seriously, Trading Places, watch it.

In Like a Lion

Tags

Ballet, Cocktails, Fashion, Oscars

This past week or so has been incredibly busy and social and I haven’t had much time for blogging. Even before the craziness of Oscar weekend started, I headed out to the War Memorial Opera House with La Javanaise to see a delightful ballet program.

I had purchased tickets for Program 3 as an addition to my story ballet subscription. It was primarily due to this picture of the jellyfish from Le Carnaval des animaux in the ballet program:

I just thought this costume was absolutely gorgeous. And, indeed, the aquarium segment, whose music will be familiar to anyone who has seen Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, was probably my favorite. If you are not familiar with the piece by Saint-Saëns, it consists of 15 segments representing various animals, starting with the lion. I listened to it as a child, and this ballet would be great for children as there was lots of humor in it. In fact, the music itself was composed as a joke and contains a number of clever musical references. Except for “The Swan” segment, Saint-Saëns would not allow it to be performed during his lifetime.

The other feature of the program was the world premiere of Francesca da Rimini, based on Tchaikovsky’s tone poem, which in turn is based on a character out of Dante. Although I adore Tchaikovsky, I was never very much interested in this piece, but I did like the ballet. I’m not quite sure why there were zombie frogmen in it, but the lengthy adagio pas de deux was beautiful.

Even though I sort of wanted to turn around and see this program again, the rest of the weekend was spent viewing the remaining Oscar films I hadn’t managed to get around to yet. In 24 hours, I saw three more films: The Descendants, Hugo, and The Tree of Life. Although I liked The Descendants more than I thought I would, none of them impressed me and I’m quite content that The Artist took home the big trophy. As did I, since I managed a narrow victory over @FyodorFish in the Oscar pool.

Hugo was a bit of a disappointment really. It looked gorgeous (although I still don’t like 3D) and in that sense was a vast improvement on the book, but the pacing seemed completely off to me. Frankly, I was bored.

Of course, not as bored as I was when watching The Tree of Life, which, again, looked beautiful, but felt completely devoid of any meaning or true emotion. As I wrote to my sister, it was like bad Kubrick. And I don’t like Kubrick. I only really got interested at the end, when Malick seemed to be saying heaven was Goblin Valley in Utah, with a smidge of Death Valley. Now that’s a sentiment I can get behind.

I really wish I had seen Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy instead of either of these.

Ah, well, live and learn.

In any case, I discovered some good cocktails out of it. And now have crème de gingembre for all my ginger liqueur needs.

In a final blaze of Tchaikovsky, last night I attended the symphony to hear one of my favorite pieces, the Violin Concerto in D major. Attentive readers may remember that last year around this time I recommended skipping Black Swan and seeing the film The Concert instead, which is based around this piece. I had no idea who Arabella Steinbacher was before this performance, but I loved her playing, which had an extremely smooth and deep tone—there were times she almost sounded like a cello. The immediate standing ovation after the first movement was surprising (generally there’s not even clapping between movements), but well earned.

Brava, Arabella!