The Opera Tattler

Reviews of Performances and their Audiences

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  • Parsifal at the Met

     Met-parsifal-2013* Notes * 
    François Girard's production of Parsifal opened at the Metropolitan Opera on Friday. The contemporary set features stark imagery. The red lake that dominates the second act (pictured left, photograph by Ken Howard) is particularly striking. The angular choreography fits nicely with the staging and the clean costuming. The video is difficult to view in Family Circle, but seems benign and includes images of clouds, aurora borealis, and water. At times, the rippling effects were a bit overblown. The lighting is pleasing. The last scene involves Parsifal putting the Holy Spear in the Grail held by Kundry, a nod to the pagan fertility rituals that may have given rise to the Arthurian romances on which this work is based. For some reason this struck me as clumsy compared to the sleek modernity of Act II.

    Conducted by Daniele Gatti, the orchestra played moderately, sounding neither austere nor sprightly. The brass was clear. The chorus was as impressive as ever: perfectly synchronized, strong, and full. Katarina Dalayman was not an alluring Kundry, but she did seem more than half-mad. Evgeny Nikitin was a convincing Klingsor. Peter Mattei was likewise believable as Amfortas, and his voice is immediately appealing. René Pape shone as Gurnemanz. His voice is warm and rich, and he sounds imposing. Jonas Kaufmann did well with the title role, though I find his voice less readily likeable than others, perhaps because of his nasality. Kaufmann was riveting in Act II Scene 2. He has a keen understanding of what he is singing and can convey this to the audience.

    * Tattling * 
    Every sort of bad behavior was on display for the prima. Watch alarms sounded, mobile phones rang, photographs were taken, some talked, others snored, and there was applause after the first act. During the performance of Act I, someone in Family Circle demanded, at full volume, that he not be touched again.

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  • Opera Parallèle’s Ainadamar Preview


    Ainadamar-2013-opera-parallele* Notes *
    A sneak preview of Opera Parallèle's next production, Ainadamar, was held at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music last month. Conductor Nicole Paiement took us through several musical examples with pianist Keisuke Nakogoshi and half a dozen singers. Lisa Chavez (pictured left as Federico García Lorca, photograph by Steve Di Bartolomeo), Marnie Breckenridge (Margarita Xirgu), and Maya Kherani (Nuria) sang various selections and a trio of singers from the women's chorus also participated. Osvaldo Golijov's music is textured and percussive.

    Director Brian Staufenbiel discussed the set design, which sounds like Opera Parallèle's most ambitious to date and involves a stage divided into two layers. The staging includes the flamenca La Tania and her troupe, and they danced for us, accompanied by Nakogoshi. I, for one, am quite disappointed that I cannot make it to any of the three performances. Opera Parallele's Ainadamar will be presented starting Friday, February 15 until Sunday, February 17 at the Novellus Theatre, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

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  • Eric Owens at Cal Performances


    Eric-owens_01_credit_dario-acosta* Notes *     
    Cal Performances presented baritone Eric Owens (pictured left, photograph by Dario Acosta) in recital with pianist Warren Jones on Sunday. The first half of the performance consisted of German Lieder and the second half French chansons. Owens and Jones started with Wolf's Drei Lieder nach Gedichten von Michelangelo, which were performed with sensitivity. The four Schumann songs that followed were all rather dark, especially Muttertraum. The three Schubert songs that rounded out the German section of the program seemed sinister. The French section of afternoon had a more dream-like quality, particularly the three songs by Debussy. Ravel's Chanson a boire had particular appeal. Owens was able to establish an immediate rapport with the audience, and though he was not always precise in his intonation, his winning musicality more than made up for this.

    * Tattling * 
    The audience was fairly quiet. The encores were Purcell's "Music for a While" and Robert Lowry's "Hanson Place." For some reason, I found the former somewhat surreal to hear from Owens, perhaps because the last four times I have heard this piece live it has been performed by counter-tenor.

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  • West Edge Opera’s L’incoronazione di Poppea


    West-edge-opera-poppea-2013-2* Notes *
    West Edge Opera's L'incoronazione di Poppea (Act II with Christine Brandes and Emma McNairy pictured left, photograph by Jamie Buschbaum) closed last Sunday at the Performing Arts Theater at El Cerrito High School. Maestro Gilbert Martinez lead half a dozen period instrumentalists in a neat, compressed performance. The violins had a slight tendency to be out of tune, but otherwise the playing was crisp.

    The singing was strong. Bryan Thorsett made for a funny Arnalta, his singing is lovely, and one only wanted to hear more from him. Ryan Belongie sang Ottone with grace. Tonia D'Amelio was a charming Drucilla. Erin Neff made for an incisive-toned Ottavia. Emma McNairy was a cheery, girlish Poppea. Her sound is bright and sweet. As Nerone, Christine Brandes' sound is a bit compressed at the top, and somewhat harsh, but this was perfectly fine for the role.

    The production, directed by Mark Streshinsky, offered many repeated images. One appreciated how this did help condense the action and cut down on time needed for scene changes.

    * Tattling *
    I was entirely unable to find my seat, O-A17. As it turns out, they had taken the seat out to accommodate patrons in wheelchairs. The house manager was very kind about the whole thing, apologizing, and also re-seating me nearby.

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  • Lyric Opera of Chicago’s 2013-2014 Season


    Civic-opera-houseOctober 5 – November 2 2013: Otello
    October 15 2013- January 26 2014: Madama Butterfly
    November 9–29 2013: Parsifal
    November 20- December 20 2013: La traviata
    December 10 2013-January 18 2014: Die Fledermaus
    February 1–28 2014: Il barbiere di Siviglia
    February 22- March 16 2014: Rusalka
    March 5–23 2014: La clemenza di Tito
    Spring 2014: The Sound of Music

    Anthony Freud announced Lyric Opera of Chicago's 2013-2014 season yesterday.

    Press Release | Official Site

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  • West Edge Opera L’incoronazione di Poppea Preview


    West-edge-opera-poppea-2013-1* Notes *
    West Edge Opera's L'incoronazione di Poppea opens tonight at the Performing Arts Theater at El Cerrito High School and runs through Sunday. The final dress rehearsal (Act I with Emma McNairy and Bryan Thorsett pictured left, photograph by Jamie Buschbaum) was held on Tuesday. The performances are a collaboration with MusicSources, and conductor Gilbert Martinez leads a small ensemble of period instrumentalists. Taken together, the sound of the two harpsichords, theorbo, triple harp, viola da gamba, and two violins is rather dry and spare. The cuts pare the opera down to a mere two hours, which distills the story into its essentials.

    The singing is consistent all around. The cast includes Christine Brandes (Nerone), Emma McNairy (Poppea), Erin Neff (Ottavia), Tonia D'Amelio Drucilla), Ryan Belongie (Ottone), Bryan Thorsett (Arnalta), and Paul Thompson (Seneca).

    Director Mark Streshinsky offers a production set in 1962, complete with pill box hats and square handbags. Much video projection is employed, which is occasionally dizzying, but keeps the scenes moving without having to physically change the sets.

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  • Seattle Opera’s 2013-2014 Season

    Seattle-opera-space-needleOctober 19- November 2 2013: La fille du régiment
    January 11-25 2014: Rigoletto
    February 22- March 7 2014: The Consul
    May 3-17 2014: Les contes d’Hoffmann

    Seattle Opera announced the 2013-2014 season today. Sarah Coburn and Terri Richter Franklin share the role of Marie in La fille du régiment, while Lawrence Brownlee and Andrew Stenson sing Tonio. William Burden sings Hoffmann, sharing the role with Russell Thomas.

    Official 2013-2014 Site

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  • La fille du régiment at San Diego Opera


    Jkw_regiment012313_390* Notes *     
    San Diego Opera's 2013 season opened with La fille du régiment last night. The production, directed by Emilio Sagi, is set in France during the final days of World War II, rather than in 19th century Swiss Tyrol. This made the sung or spoken text go against the super-titles at times. Otherwise, Sagi seems rather detail oriented, it seemed that all the scenes were rife with activity. The audience appreciated the sight gags and various jokes interpolated in the dialogue.

    The orchestra sounded buoyant under Yves Abel, but were not always with the singers. There were rough moments for the brass. The chorus was entertaining. Carol Vaness was a funny Duchess of Krakenthorp, and even sang a little. Kevin Burdette was a charming Suplice. Ewa Podleś was a perfectly haughty Marquise de Berkenfield and her acting is convincing. Her voice is still beautiful, though not as smooth as in former days. Stephen Costello sang with a great deal of power, his high C's were a bit raw in Act I. Costello's second act aria was plaintive without being cloying. L'úbica Vargicová was cute as Marie, and was impressively awkward in Act II, persuasive embodying the role. Her sound has a slight tendency to be shrill, and is pleasantly fluttery, but has a fullness to it.

    * Tattling * 
    The audience laughed a lot, and kept conversations to a minimum.

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  • Peer Gynt at SFS


    SFSPeerGynt-4668* Notes *     
    This week Michael Tilson Thomas conducts San Francisco Symphony in a multimedia production (actor Ben Huber as Peer Gynt and dancer Janice Lancaster Larsen as Ingrid pictured left, photograph by Kristen Loken) of Peer Gynt. The score included music by Edvard Grieg, Alfred Schnittke, and Robin Holloway. Holloway’s Ocean Voyage was used in Part II Scene 3, and had a Wagnerian feel to it. It did seem disproportionally long compared to the other pieces.

    The playing was slightly off-kilter at times in the first half, especially with some of the choral entrances. Nonetheless, the music gleamed eerily, and the chorus sounded particularly haunting in the second half. The violin and viola soli in Scene 2 of Part I were played beautifully.

    Rose
    Portillo was convincing as Åse, Peer’s mother. Her speaking voice is
    rich and dark. Soprano Joélle Harvey (Solveig) sounded sweet and pure.
    Ben Huber’s Peer Gynt was boyish and sprightly.

    The production, directed and designed by James Darrah, made use of a sculptural scrim placed above the musicians. Adam Laresen’s videos were, for the most part, tasteful and the shape of the scrim rendered the images more abstract. This did not work as well for projections of the human face, which became distorted in a cartoonish fashion. The use of the limited space, given the symphony on stage and the chorus in the Center Terrace, was artful.

    * Tattling * 
    The microphones used were occasionally too loud, and emitted crackles and pops in the middle of Part I.

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  • Renée Fleming at SFS


    Renee-fleming-2012-decca-andrew-eccles* Notes *     
    Last night Michael Tilson Thomas conducted San Francisco Symphony in a program of mostly Debussy with a smattering of Canteloube after the intermission. The evening began with Debussy's textured, fussy ballet, Jeux. This was followed by seven Debussy songs orchestrated by Robin Holloway. Soprano Renée Fleming (pictured left, photograph courtesy of Decca and Andrew Eccles) sounded shimmery and pretty over the orchestra. Occasionally she was a little difficult to hear, but for the most part, this music is well-suited to her voice.

    The three Canteloube songs were all selections from his Chants d'Auvergne. "Malurous qu'o uno fenno" is funny and cute, while "Baïlèro" is more ethereal. The symphony ended with Debussy's La mer, which I find somewhat silly, but was played here with vim and spirit.

    * Tattling * 
    The audience members were fairly silent, at least those seated near the stage.

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