Opera 101—Crazy on You

Tags

Handel, Opera

If we still have time, we might still get by
Every time I think about it, I wanna cry
With bombs and the Devil and the kids keep coming
No way to breathe easy, no time to be young

But I tell myself that I was doing all right
There’s nothing left to do at night

But go crazy on you
Crazy on you
Let me go crazy, crazy on you…

—Heart, “Crazy on You”

Orlando (Sasha Cooke) is just a tad peeved with the noble Angelica (Heidi Stober) in San Francisco Opera’s Orlando. Photo by Cory Weaver.

George Frideric Handel, Orlando (1733)
Based on: Orlando Furioso, an epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto
Opera Setting: Europe, in age of Charlemagne
Production Setting: a hospital in West London, autumn 1940

Plot in 101 words or less: Orlando—not to be confused with Virginia Woolf’s gender-bending hero/heroine (Or is he/she?)—is convinced he can be both a lover and a fighter. He’s crushing hard on Angelica who, of course, loves someone else, namely Medoro, himself the object of Dorinda’s affection. Circle of life, people. Like so many men, Orlando can’t take rejection and goes mad. Unlike many men, Orlando is prevented from harming others by #notallmen magician Zoroastro, who saves the objects of his jealous wrath, i.e., Angelica and Medoro, and cures Orlando of his madness with a magic elixir right out of Gilbert & Sullivan.

Sung in: Italian
Memorable Music: “Amor è qual vento”

Zoroastro preparing to come get his boy Orlando. Photo by Cory Weaver.

I was rather excited to see Orlando. After all, I have loved both Handel operas previously seen at San Francisco Opera, Serse in 2011, which cleaned up when I bestowed my very first set of Figaro Awards, and Partenope in 2014. However, I was a bit dubious when I realized that I was to witness yet another re-setting of an opera to the twentieth century. While this can work to a production’s advantage—and it mostly works here—I’m a little tired of this trend. Perhaps it’s because I haven’t seen multiple productions of almost anything, but sometimes you just want to see the time and place the composer intended, you know? Also, designers, please just stop with the endless projections that add nothing to the plot or setting.

The opening of San Francisco Opera’s Orlando. Photo by Cory Weaver.

But I digress. Like I said, this production mostly worked for me. Well, it worked enough that I chose to see the opera a second time once I had decided I was going to go back for Rusalka.

What?!?! That’s right, I’ve become one of those people. [Side note: For the record, I attended the June 18 and June 27 performances.]

What got me back into the War Memorial Opera House? Oddly enough, the two secondary roles of Medoro and Dorinda, sung by countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen and soprano Christina Gansch respectively. Nussbaum Cohen is only a second-year Adler Fellow and was making his San Francisco Opera debut here, but, my god, what a beautiful tone this man has. His arias were stunning. Christina Gansch was also making her San Francisco (and U.S.) debut and thoroughly killed it. Her “Amor è qual vento” in Act III was clearly a highlight for the audience. These two debutants were anchored by San Francisco regular Heidi Stober (last seen in Arabella), who never ceases to delight me with her tremendous acting and singing range. Their “Consolati, o bella” trio at the end of Act I was lovely.

These crazy kids (Christina Gansch as Dorinda, Heidi Stober as Angelica, and Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen as Medoro) made it all worthwhile. Photo by Cory Weaver.

Director Harry Fehr’s choice to move the action from a pastoral setting in the time of Charlemagne (Orlando is actually Roland from La Chanson de Roland fame) to a hospital in wartime London was a smart one. This gave the lover-fighter opposition set up by Zoroastro a bit more urgency. As did the hospital setting, which leant itself to much bustling on the part of the characters and supernumeraries. I could have used a bit more variety in the sets from scene to scene, but that is a minor quibble in the face of an overall concept that I thought worked well. What didn’t really work for me were the accompanying projections. They were often distracting and sometimes downright stupid. Moreover, images of Hitler? Really? I may need to invoke Godwin’s Law here.

Unfortunately there were more problems than just the projections. First, the orchestra. Although I’m no expert, I think Orlando is beautifully scored and I felt like the music (conducted by Christopher Moulds in another San Francisco debut) could have sounded a little crisper. One reason that I’ve come to love Handel is the brightness of his music and this wasn’t quite there. Also not quite there was my beloved Sasha Cooke, who I first saw (and loved) in The Gospel of Mary Magdalene. I have nothing but praise for her previous roles (including Magdalene in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Anna in Les Troyens), but I have to agree with most reviewers, who have pointed out that she was miscast here in a role too low for her register. Luckily her acting was strong and at least she convincingly played the role of a conflicted and troubled pilot.

Christina Gansch as Dorinda and Sasha Cooke as Orlando in Orlando. Photo by Cory Weaver.

All in all, this was a solid production from San Francisco that cemented my love for all things Handel.

Opera 101—2014 Figaro Awards

Tags

Awards, Bel Canto, Bellini, Handel, Musicals, Opera, Puccini, Rossini, Verdi

Sans la liberté de blâmer, il n’est point d’éloge flatteur.
(Without the freedom to criticize, there is no true praise.)

—Le Mariage de Figaro by Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais

Despite falling off the blogging bandwagon and not writing up most of the operas I saw this year, I could not pass up the opportunity to bestow my annual Figaro Awards. Just keep in mind that I may have more commentary than usual since there is no original reference post to explain these opinions.

All operas seen at the San Francisco Opera in 2014, both in the summer (Show Boat, La traviata) and in the fall (Norma, Susannah, Un ballo in maschera, Partenope, La Cenerentola, and La bohème) are eligible for these beauties.

Production I would most readily see again: Partenope. This could have been stronger musically, but Partenope earns this spot because I have never before attended an opera where the audience was so thoroughly enjoying itself, from the opening of the curtain, which drew spontaneous applause, to the closing bow. So, it looks like Handel is two for two for me.

The ensemble of Partenope. Photo by Cory Weaver.

Best ensemble: La bohème. While I’m disappointed not to have seen Leah Crocetto as Mimì (she was in the other cast), this was a solid group all around, with Alexia Voulgaridou as Mimì, Michael Fabiano (who I so enjoyed in Lucrezia Borgia despite his horrific costume) as Rodolfo, Alexey Markov as Marcello, Nadine Sierra as Musetta, Christian Van Horn as Colline, and Hadleigh Adams as Schaunard.

The ensemble of La bohème. Photo by Cory Weaver.

Most disappointing production: La Cenerentola. It’s safe to say I had been looking forward to Rossini’s La Cenerentola for some time. Oddly enough, soon after I asked on Twitter, “Who do I have to sleep with to get the San Francisco Opera to put on La Cenerentola?” I learned that they would in fact be putting it on this season. While the production was perfectly fine, I was expecting to adore it, and I didn’t. So I’m rather glad that this self-professed bel canto whore did not, in fact, have to give it up after all.

Least memorable production: Un ballo in maschera. In that I literally can’t remember anything about it. I know I wasn’t really with it this fall, and we saw this the night before I left for my week-long birthday trip to four different national parks, but I expected something to stand out. Yet it didn’t. Not the plot, not the singing, not the set. So, despite the fact I rather liked the music when I listened to it beforehand, and I vaguely remember that Heidi Stober was delightful (as always), it is conspicuously absent from these awards.

Heidi Stober as Oscar in Un ballo in maschera. Photo by Cory Weaver.

Best production design: Partenope. As mentioned above, the audience burst into spontaneous applause when the curtain rose on this set. La Maratonista agreed that we had never seen that before. The opening scene certainly presented a striking tableau and perfectly captured the interwar Paris vibe they were going for, like something from a Lubitsch film.

Danielle de Niese as the curtain rises on Partenope. Photo by Cory Weaver.

Best costumes: Show Boat. Going into the summer season, I would have thought this award would eventually go to La traviata, Un ballo in maschera, or La Cenerentola, but when all was said and done, these dazzling costumes from Paul Tazewell set a high bar that no other production matched.

The ensemble of Showboat in costumes by Paul Tazewell. Photo by Cory Weaver.

Outstanding performance (male lead): Brandon Jovanovich as Sam Polk in Susannah. This award is almost entirely due to the fact that while other people were singing I often found myself thinking, “Where’s Sam? This needs more Sam.”

A scruffy Brandon Jovanovich as Sam Polk in Susannah. Photo by Cory Weaver.

Outstanding performance (female lead): Sondra Radvanovsky as Norma in Norma. Radvanovsky had a few weak spots opening night, but from the reviews I’ve seen they seemed to have smoothed out quickly over the course of the run.

Sondra Radvanovsky as Norma in Norma. Photo by Cory Weaver.

Outstanding performance (trouser): Daniela Mack as Rosmira in Partenope

Outstanding performance (pinch hitter): Jamie Barton as Adalgisa in Norma. Replacing Daveda Karanas just weeks before opening night, Jamie Barton almost outshone Radvanovsky in the lead role.

Outstanding performance (brothers from different mothers): Michael Fabiano as Rodolfo and Alexey Markov as Marcello in La bohème. While I’d seen this opera before, these two made me realize the story is almost more about friendship than love. I mean, besides Così fan tutte (and let’s not speak of that problematic piece), what other major opera focuses on male friends?

Outstanding performance (sisters from different misters): Sondra Radvanovsky as Norma and Jamie Barton as Adalgisa in Norma. Apparently these two were in opposite casts in these roles at the Met; I’m glad that due to a last-minute withdrawal on the part of Daveda Karanas we ended up getting them both, because they sing beautifully together.

Sondra Radvanovsky as Norma and Jamie Barton as Adalgisa in Norma. Photo by Cory Weaver.

MVP of the season: Christian Van Horn. What wasn’t he in this fall? From his turn as Oroveso in Norma, to Count Ribbing in Un ballo in maschera, to Alidoro in La Cenerentola, and finally Colline in La bohème, he gave solid supporting performances throughout the season.

Christian Van Horn as Alidoro with Karine Deshayes as Angelina in La Cenerentola. Photo by Cory Weaver.

Adler Fellow(s) of the year: Efraín Solís as Dandini, Maria Valdes as Clorinda, and Zanda Švēde as Thisbe in La Cenerentola

Efraín Solís as Dandini, Maria Valdes as Clorinda, and Zanda Švēde as Thisbe in La Cenerentola. Photo by Cory Weaver.

Best choreography: Michele Lynch for Show Boat

Best choreography (honorable mention): the flamenco in La traviata

Favorite program cover: La bohème. I also liked the covers for Showboat and La traviata, but this painting of the rooftops of Paris really captured the world of the opera. Plus, I’m a sucker for Caillebotte.

The Big Sleep award (tie): Norma and Partenope. Neither of these plots makes a lick of sense, but the singing was oh so pretty.

Best coat porn: Show Boat

Realest rain: La Cenerentola

Best (Worst?) use of a cross as hammer: Susannah

Raymond Aceto as Olin Blitch in Susannah. Photo by Cory Weaver.

AT&T award for cutest kids: Oliver Kuntz and Miles Sperske in Norma

Chevy Chase-Gerald Ford award for best pratfalls: Anthony Roth Costanzo as Armindo in Partenope

Joyce Kilmer award for best aria: “The Trees on the Mountains” in Susannah

Nigel Tufnel “none more black” award: La traviata

The set of La traviata was as dark as the soul of Alfredo’s father. Photo by Cory Weaver.

“Things That Go Bump in the Night” award for loudest set changes: La Cenerentola

“Murphy Bed” award for coolest set changes: David Farley for La bohème

Set most likely to be found on Skull Island: Norma

King Kong or Norma? You be the judge. Photo by Cory Weaver.

Harry Belafonte award for best use of bananas: Philippe Sly in Partenope

Plato award for best shadow puppets: Partenope

Jon Bon Jovi “blaze of glory” award: the finale of Norma

The grand finale of Norma. Photo by Cory Weaver.

And last but not least, since I didn’t write up opening night, a few dresses (mostly) not found on stage.

Best Dressed (Paris division): Komal Shah. Once again, a killer Oscar de la Renta gown.

Best Dressed (aficionada division): Chandra Rudd. Kudos for wearing a purchase from the SFO costume sale.

Komal Shah (left) in Oscar de la Renta and Chandra Rudd (right) in Bob Mackie (designed for LuLu). Photo by Alex Washburn, special to The Chronicle.

Best Dressed (animal print division): Joy Binachi. La Maratonista and I were standing next to her in the lobby post-Norma and she just looked so cute.

Best Dressed (feathers division): Sonya Molodetskaya.

Joy Bianchi (left) in Tom Ford and former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown with Sonya Molodetskaya (right) in Vasily Vein. Photo by Alex Washburn, special to The Chronicle.

Finally, as always, a big shout-out to La Maratonista for being such a great opera companion (as well as a bigger person than me when it comes to the harpy in our row) and also to the Intrepid Irishman for stepping into her shoes for Susannah. The 2014–2015 season has been absolutely stellar and I’m looking forward to another great year, starting with the epic Les Troyens and Two Women in the summer season.

Feel free to comment or argue for your favorite (and not-so-favorite) moments of the season below.

Opera 101—A Whore’s Paradise*

Tags

Bel Canto, Handel, Opera, Puccini

While the big announcement for me this week will take place in the pre-dawn hours of tomorrow morning, San Francisco Opera’s announcement of their 2014-2015 season on Monday was like an early Christmas present. Let’s unwrap it and see what we find, shall we?

La Cenerentola at the Opéra national de Paris. Photo by Christian Leiber.

As a self-proclaimed bel canto whore, obviously I’m thrilled by the inclusion of both Bellini’s masterpiece Norma and my long-awaited, favorite-opera-I’ve-never-seen La Cenerentola. And, even if they are insisting on calling it Cinderella, at least I didn’t have to sleep with anyone at the San Francisco Opera to get it here! [Side note: When did the San Francisco Opera decide to use only translated titles throughout their materials? What is up with that? I’m all for using the translation up front for promotional purposes if you so choose, but the subscriber catalog should, at the very least, use both.]

The rest of the fall schedule is almost as exciting. After so enjoying Serse in 2011, I am especially looking forward to Handel’s cross-dressing comedy Partenope, in its company premiere. The opera has been re-set to 1920s Paris, with a production design that looks straight out of a Lubitsch film, so what’s not to like?

Partenope at the English National Opera. Photo by Catherine Ashmore.

Susannah, an American opera set in Appalachia, also intrigues me, particularly because it will feature that all-too-rare sight, a female conductor (Karen Kamensek). Verdi seems to be hit or miss for me, so I’ll reserve judgment on Un Ballo in Maschera for now, but I’ll make sure to listen to a recording soon.

Last on the fall program is Puccini’s La Bohème, which will coincidentally be the last of the Big Ten** to come to San Francisco during my time as a subscriber. La Bohème is actually one of the first operas I ever saw, though for the life of me I can’t remember where. Puccini’s Tosca is also returning by “popular demand” for a special short run. That seems odd, but since it is not officially part of the season, I can’t really complain. And I did in fact pick Tosca as the “production I would most readily see again” in my 2012 Figaro awards. I’m starting to wonder just how often the San Francisco Opera reads this blog.

Les Troyans at the Royal Opera House. Photo by Bill Cooper.

The summer of 2015 will feature two productions sure to interest opera connoisseurs: the world premiere of La Ciociara (Two Women) by Marco Tutino, based on the 1960 De Sica film with Sophia Loren, and the blockbuster production of the 5½-hour epic Les Troyens, the Berlioz masterwork based on Virgil’s Aeneid. I have a special interest in the latter: Besides being the only French production of the season, it also features the return of Sasha Cooke, who I adored in The Gospel of Mary Magdalene (garnering my 2013 Figaro for “outstanding female performance”), and Susan Graham, who earned an “outstanding trouser performance” for Serse in the very first edition of the Figaros back in 2011. Rounding out the summer schedule is Le nozze di Figaro, which was the first San Francisco Opera production La Maratonista and I saw back in the early days of this blog in 2010.

So, while La Maratonista and I both have reasons to be watching our pennies these days, I’m hoping we can scrape enough together to undertake our fifth season as a subscribers. Because this one looks very exciting. And very Italian, which is always a good thing.

On a separate and final note, one of the best pieces of news regarding the coming season was the moving of the start time for all evening performances (except Les Troyens) to 7:30pm. A welcome change, and one I requested not too long ago. Seriously, whoever my fan is over at San Francisco Opera, leave a comment!

La bohème at the Canadian Opera Company. Photo by Michael Cooper.

*My titles bring all the boys to the yard. Sorry if you came here looking for something else besides opera.

**The ten most performed operas of the last five years according to Operabase are La traviata, Carmen, La bohème, Die Zauberflöte, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Le nozze di Figaro, Rigoletto, and Don Giovanni.

Opera 101—Love Stinks

Tags

Handel, Opera

“You love her… But she loves him… And he loves somebody else… You just can’t win”

Part of the complicated love pentagon of Serse: Heidi Stober as Atalanta, David Daniels as Arsamenes, and Lisette Oropesa as Romilda. Photo by Cory Weaver.

Even though it wasn’t part of my annual subscription, I had heard such good things about Serse (Xerxes) that I jumped at a last-minute sale to take a seat in the balcony. I’m very happy with my subscription seats, but I must say that the balcony with Operavision was more than acceptable, although I’m glad I still brought my opera glasses. The only thing missing was La Maratonista, who was on her way back from Costa Rica at the time I took the plunge.

Of course, I don’t know if I could have convinced her to see a semi-obscure Baroque opera, especially one that clocks in at 3 hours and 40 minutes. Sure, she’s a triathlete, but a girl has limits. Although, reading that, she is probably laughing heartily as I’m the one that categorically refuses to see movies that run over 2½ hours. While I’m willing to extend that time limit somewhat for opera, I still prefer not to go over the three-hour mark. Suffice it say, neither of us will be committing to the Ring Cycle any time soon.

In any case, Serse is well worth the commitment. An opera seria by George Frideric Handel, first performed in London in 1738, this production is a revival of the one originally directed by Nicholas Hytner for the English National Opera in 1985 for the 300th anniversary of Handel’s birth. Back in 1985, it was sung in English, but here it is in the original Italian. Although an opera seria, the work is actually one of Handel’s rare comedies and this production emphasized the comedic elements throughout.

The story starts off with an opening aria sung to a plane tree* and only gets more bizarre and confusing from there. A bridge to Europe is also involved at one point. And the twists and turns of the love subplots are harder to keep track of than the suitcases in What’s Up, Doc? In brief, Xerxes loves Romilda, but she is in love with his brother, Arsamenes. At the same time, Romilda’s sister, Atalanta, also loves Arsamenes, and both lovelorn siblings plot to keep the two lovers apart. Meanwhile, Xerxes’ foreign fiancée, Amastris, arrives on the scene disguised as a man. Does it help that over half the cast have names that begin with A? No, it does not.

David Daniels as Arsamenes and Susan Graham as Xerxes. Photo by Cory Weaver.

The various vocal assignments don’t help matters either. Since the Baroque era was the age of the castrati, the lead role of Xerxes, King of Persia, was written for a male soprano castrato, but is here sung by a mezzo-soprano, Susan Graham. Oddly enough, in Handel’s time, the role of Xerxes’ brother, Arsamenes, was usually played by a mezzo-soprano, but is here played by a male countertenor, David Daniels. As you can see in the above photo, Daniels is quite the manly man in looks, so it was odd to hear such a high voice come out of his mouth. The gender bending continued with the arrival of contralto Amastris in male garb, and even the servant Elviro at one point dresses up as a flower seller.

Sonia Prina as Amastris. Photo by Cory Weaver.

Michael Sumuel as Elviro with Heidi Stober as Atalanta. Photo by Cory Weaver.

Really, the whole opera was vaguely reminiscent of an Oscar Wilde comedy of manners, which was only enhanced by the change of setting from ancient Persia to Vauxhall Gardens. And the music was gorgeous. How could I not love this?

Best thing I’ve seen all season.

Serse has just two more performances at the War Memorial Opera House on Wednesday, November 16, and Saturday, November 19. Catch it if you can.


*In a strange coincidence, this opening aria, “Ombra mai fu,” is featured in the second series of BBC’s The Choir, which I’ve been rewatching via On Demand this week, and which I can’t recommend enough.