The Opera Tattler

Tosca at Berkeley Opera

* Notes *
 Yesterday's matinée performance of Tosca ended Berkeley Opera's 2008 season. The main conceit of the production, directed by Barbara Heroux, was an upstage pentagon screen on which images were projected. The images alternated between representing the physical scene and showing the internal state of the characters. The latter were invariably paintings from famous Italians, including Titian, Tintoretto, and Caravaggio. The costumes were attractive, especially Tosca's Act II red gown, which was flattering and well-made.

The orchestra sounded fairly good under Jonathan Khuner, though there were a few times when the singers were just a hair ahead of the players. The singing and acting from Michael Crozier (Jailer), Steven Hoffmann (Angelotti), and Nicolas Aliaga (Sciarrone) were all fine. Bass John Bischoff (Sacristan) was particularly good, not only was he funny, his voice is quite nice. José Hernández was a touch quiet as Spoletta, though his voice is not unpleasant. John Minàgro (Scarpia) lacked heft, and at times one could not hear the actual words he was singing, though the notes were discernable.

Tenor Kevin Courtemanche did not make for a dashing Cavaradossi, but his voice was beautifully lucid. His Act III aria "E lucevan le stelle" was the strongest moment of the performance. As for Tosca herself, soprano Jillian Khuner sounded both heartbreaking and lovely during "Vissi d'arte." However, she had a rather wide vibrato and did occasionally sound painfully shrill.

* Tattling *
For the most part, the audience was well-behaved, no watch alarms were able to sound because of the two intermissions, and no cellular phones rang. There was much cellophane unwrapped during the beginning of Act II. However, I was bullied out of my seat for the last act. I was over in the left side section, in the last row, and it was rather splendid as there were only 4 or 5 people in these seats, so everyone was nicely spread out. Also, the supertitles were half-obscured, so I was able to ignore them with ease.

An obese woman had been sitting near the back, three seats in on the left. She was not comfortable as she had a cough and did not exactly fit in her seat. In fact, a person next to her tried to make more room by trading seats with a smaller companion. Just before Act III, the woman in question was speaking to her companion and pointed at me, then sat directly in front of me in the left side section, as the seats here had no arms. I could tell that she was not going to be considerate, so I moved to the last row in the middle section. The woman moved into the seat I had been in, moved the chairs around, and unwrapped cough drops.

Merola's Albert Herring

* Notes *
This evening the Merola Opera Program's Albert Herring opened with the first of two performances. The production, directed by Peter Kazaras, is charming. Donald Eastman's sets are clever and use the small space well. The lighting design from Kate Boyd is nice and simple. Though the opera was originally set at the turn of the 20th century, this production seems to inhabit a time closer to when the opera was written. For example, Wendy Lynn's lovely costumes were from the 1930s or 40s rather than the Victorian era. The only real compliant I have about the production has to do with Act III, when most of the characters are lamenting the apparent death of Albert. Some of the singers open umbrellas inside Herring's Green Grocer out of grief, which didn't seem well-motivated. Then the ensemble clumped up and started doing strange head-bobbles. At least they were more or less together.

Mark Morash conducted the dozen orchestra members well, and they sounded crisp for the most part. The cello and viola solos were particularly good. There were a few moments when the singers were not exactly with the orchestra, but these did not last long. Most noticeable were the claps of the children in Act I, they were not all on beat. In general, the children's voices were a bit cloying, one can only imagine that this was intentional.

The singing from the Merolini was impressive nearly across the board. Natasha Flores has both warmth and depth, she made the most of Mrs. Herring, and shone in Act III. Renée Tatum was funny as Nancy, her voice is pretty, and blended well with Darren Perry's clear-toned Sid. Benjamin LeClair made easy work of Mr. Budd, his volume was good and his voice is appealing. Tyler Nelson (Mr. Upfold) also sang with ease, his full tones were very pleasing. Eugene Chan was amusing as the vicar Mr. Gedge, though this role does not show his voice off, he sang well. Comely Ellen Wieser looked elegant, her voice was unpleasantly shrill, but this was not inappropriate for a neurotic schoolmarm. Nicole Birkland had her vibrato under control as beleaguered Florence Pike and Kate Crist was hilarious as Lady Billows. Crist has beautiful low notes but her high notes are somewhat harsh. James Benjamin Rodgers was utterly delightful in the title role. He acted well and his resonant voice was a joy to hear.

As for the actual opera, I enjoyed the various comical lines. I was especially taken when Florence Pike sang Act I's "Doctor Jessop's midwife," which has the word brain in it, not something that is normally in a libretto. I nearly had a hysterical fit when Albert sang "Albert the Good" in Act II Scene 2, as he sings the words "Albert the sheep" and also mentions guinea pigs and pastries.

* Tattling *
The audience was not too bad, no watch alarms or cellular phones were noted. There was talking during the orchestral parts, I had to hush the couples both behind and in front of me during the Act II overture, despite the fact that we just had an intermission.

A woman in the production crew, I assume it was the costumer Wendy Lynn, wore Stop Staring's Pleats Dress in an eggplant shade. Her gloves, hat, and stole were charming with it, but one is not quite sure about fur in summer.

Il Trovatore at Festival Opera

* Notes *
Festival Opera, the third largest opera company in the Bay Area, opened the 2008 season with Il Trovatore yesterday at the Hofmann Theatre. Giulio Cesare Perrone's production is straightforward, his set design is simple but evocative, only small changes are made for the different scenes. The only obvious weak point was in Act I Scene 4,  when Leonora mistakes Di Luna for Manrico. Everyone was quite visible during the scene, so in Act I Scene 5 (pictured above, photo by Robert Shomler), when Leonora realizes she was wrong and sings "Ah, dalle tenebre tratta in errore io fui," one must work hard at suspending disbelief. Naturally, this was not helped by the fact that the Count di Luna, Scott Bearden (on the right), could hardly look more distinct from Noah Stewart (on the left) as Manrico. So when the supertitles flashed something like "the darkness deceived me," the audience tittered, and the woman next to me commented that "it must have been very dark."

The period costumes from Susanna Douthit were attractive, though I was confused by the gypsies at first, for some of them looked like normal citizens of Berkeley on any given day. I thought the gypsies were dressed in contemporary clothing, but after a second look, I realized it was because just a few of the women's exposed hairstyles looked fairly modern. Likewise Azucena could have been in a tribal belly dance troupe, particularly because of the designs painted on her face.

Michael Morgan conducted at a good clip, and the orchestra sounded fine. There were a few strange notes from the French horn, but only near the beginning. There were times when the chorus was not quite with the orchestra, undoubtedly this will improve with time. The anvils were played by choristers, and they were not all exactly on the beat. The organ in Act III Scene 2 sounded rather canned, it came out of the speakers, one of which sputtered for half a second.

In the smaller roles, tenor Alexander Taite (Ruiz) and mezzo-soprano Jessica Mariko Deardorff (Ines) both sang well and fit the look of their parts. Kirk Eichelberger had a rather big-voiced Ferrando, at least for this space, his bass is somewhat gravelly but not unpleasant. Mezzo Patrice Houston had some deep, lovely tones as Azucena, but she could also be rather terrifying. Her breathing was noticeable and some of her pitches were not convincing, but for the most part she did well. Scott Bearden was slightly off key in his Act II Scene 2 aria "Il balen del suo sorriso," but his voice has good heft and warmth.

I was most interested in soprano Hope Briggs (Leonora), as she was to sing Donna Anna last summer at San Francisco Opera, but was, to her dismay, replaced by Elza Van den Heever at the last moment. Briggs started off with a distinctly nasal sound, her voice strong, strident, and muscular. A couple of her arpeggios were strained, but for the most part, she sang well. She was moving in her last scene, fully convincing as the self-sacrificing heroine.

In the title role, former Adler Fellow Noah Stewart had a great deal of vibrato for his first high notes off stage. He also seemed to run out of breath at the end of the famous "Di quella pira." Otherwise Stewart sang admirably, he was plaintive in  "Sconto col sangue mio," this has a bone-chilling beauty. Stewart will be covering at the Met next season, certainly he is one to watch.

* Tattling *
I was dreadfully late as I find Walnut Creek difficult to navigate. Although I have been to the Lesher Center for the Arts before and it is only half a mile south of the Walnut Creek Bart station, I still managed to become lost. In my flustered state, there was a bit of a mix up at the box office, so I only took my seat at 8:00pm exactly.

The orchestra level looked very full, but the audience was fairly polite. The talking was limited to the aforementioned scene, whispering was at a minimum and not during the singing. No watch alarms were noted, but unfortunately, there was a phone ring at the beginning of Act IV. At least it was during the recicative. During the quieter moments, some speaking was audible from the lighting booth, though this was less disruptive during the second half of the performance.

Many of the usual suspects attended this performance, and afterwards I cornered Merolino apprentice coach Allen Perriello during the reception. Albert Herring, which opens next Friday, sounds like it is going well. Noah Stewart and Hope Briggs were inundated with fans and supporters, but I did manage to speak briefly with the former.

5th Performance of Lucia at SF Opera

* Notes *
The Sunday matinée performance of Lucia di Lammermoor at San Francisco Opera was quite crowded, despite the Pride events happening nearby. Giuseppe Filianoti (Edgardo) sounded less raveled and also more in tune. Gabriele Viviani (Enrico) was also sounding better. Cybele-Teresa Gouverneur was still inaudible in the sextet as Alisa, though I was able to hear her from Box X for the third performance. Natalie Dessay certainly remained the strongest element in this production, her mad scene in particular is luminous yet vulnerable.

I'm sad to admit it, but so far I just find Donizetti boring, even though I enjoy Bellini and Rossini. This was the 7th time I've attended one of Donizetti's operas, and I was more interested in reading the score than really listening to the music. Naturally, I only know three of his 75 operas, so of course it is absurd of me to dismiss his work at this point. However, I do not look forward to hearing L'elisir d'amore next season, even if the voice behind the blue space alien of Fifth Element fame is singing.

* Tattling  *
This time I decided it would be best to try to read the score in the orchestra, as it was a full house and the balcony had been so tiresome the night before. It was more or less fine, there were the latecomers and such, but they did try to keep it down, as far as volume is concerned. A woman did bring her grade schooler to standing room. It doesn't make sense that the box office would even sell standing room tickets for children, as they cannot see over the railing. It just seems a little mean, though to be fair, the ticket seller probably did not know that someone would be silly enough to take her child to standing room.

One of the ushers had the child sit near me, far away from his mother who was leaning on the railing. The child simply played with his Nintendo DS. This was fine for the first act, as the music was loud, and he was not as bored initially. But by the time Act II rolled around, the child was scribbling furiously with his stylus and this combination of movement, noise, and light was distracting. I looked at him sternly and mouthed "Stop it!" three times before I moved to the other side of the house. After that I was able to concentrate without any trouble, so sometimes it is just best to walk away.

Closing Performance of Das Rheingold

* Notes *
The last performance of Das Rheingold at San Francisco Opera this summer was yesterday. The orchestra sounded better, the brass section was clearly more in tune. The Rheinmaidens sounded even prettier last night than they had earlier in the run. Tamara Wapinsky (Freia) still had a few high notes that wavered so much they were not in tune. The same goes for Jill Grove (Erda), though it wasn't so much the high E that was giving her difficulty, as in previous performances. Grove would have to repeat the same note, but sometimes her vibrato got in the way of this. However, Grove definitely showed improvement. Jennifer Larmore (Fricka) sounded nice, though still a tad quiet and thin.

Jason Collins (Froh) and Charles Taylor (Donner) both had the obnoxious swagger necessary for their parts, and they both had good volume. Taylor did especially well at the end when Donner summons a storm. Andrea Silvestrelli played the lovelorn Fasolt well, and Günther Groissböck was a fine foil as Fafner. David Cangelosi was perfectly sniveling as Mime, his voice is bright and seems to have enough volume. Richard Paul Fink (Alberich) gave a nuanced, beautifully colored performance. Stefan Margita stole the show, as Loge often does. Margita's voice is simply gorgeous and Loge's craftiness came through in his voice. After five performances, Mark Delavan sounded, understandably, more comfortable in the role of Wotan. I look forward to hearing him in 2010 when San Francisco Opera presents Die Walküre.

* Tattling (Or Why Sartre Was Right) *
I told myself that I was not going to get angry if the audience was ill-behaved, I was just going to read the score and concentrate my attention there. Unfortunately, standing room on the balcony level was completely full. There were no less than three conversations around me, and I had to hush them, as it was getting in the way of being able to read the score. The worst was between two girls, one of them had parked herself next to me and was leafing through her planner and playing with her cell phone. When I told them to be quiet, they acted as if I was insane for asking them to not speak during an opera. Perhaps they do not know what a score looks like, and assumed I was reading a coloring book and stretching to Das Rheingold for my health. They spoke for a good 15-20 minutes of the opera. I don't understand why one would bother going to the opera just to converse. Every time there was an explosion on stage or laughter, the one girl next to me would hop up and try to see what was going on, but by that time she had missed most of the action.

Also, a tip for you, dear readers. If you ever happen to have a pregnant wife (or friend for that matter), please don't drag her to the opera and expect her to stand for 2 hours and 35 minutes in the second row of standing room, with nothing to lean on.

Dessay's Debut at SF Opera

* Notes *
Natalie Dessay had her long awaited debut at San Francisco Opera last night in the opening of Lucia di Lammermoor. Her voice has a marvelous incandescent quality, but also has a hard edge that borders on vulgar. Her movements are light and her acting is strong. She was completely convincing in her mad scene, and the use of glass harmonica rather than flute here certainly was effective.

Tenor Giuseppe Filianoti's debut was less impressive, though at least he looked fine paired with Dessay, as she is rather petite. His portrayal of Edgardo started off fairly well, his voice bright and reedy, though with a certain whining quality. The famous Act II sextet was his strongest moment, sounding particularly good with Gabriele Viviani (Enrico). However, he was nearly shrieking in Act III, "Fra poco a me ricovero" was not good. Viviani made for a threatening villain, his voice is not especially beautiful but is serviceable enough. Though his diction was precise, his intonation was not, which was clear in the duet "Se tradirmi tu potrai." Oren Gradus faired better as Raimondo, his light but warm tones were lovely.

As for the smaller roles, Cybele-Teresa Gouverneur (Alisa) did not distinguish herself. Her little shaky voice was hysterical at first, and inaudible in the sextet. Matthew O'Neill (Normanno) sounded fine, though he was a hair off from the orchestra at one point. Andrew Bidlack was a restrained and suitably stiff Arturo, and sang well in the sextet.

The chorus was excellent, though they were a bit fast near the end, or else the orchestra was somewhat slow. They were not, in any case, exactly together. The orchestra did sound crisp and in tune under debuting conductor Jean-Yves Ossonce.

Other production teams could really learn a thing or two from director Graham Vick and designer Paul Brown. The set was gloriously quiet, and only made one cracking noise between the second and third scenes of the last act, and this was when there was no music to interrupt. Despite the silence of the set, the visual impact was utterly stunning. The gloomy elegance of the moving walls, the storm scene, and Lucia's entrance in the mad scene using a platform covered with heather (Calluna vulgaris) painted red were all gorgeous. Some of the effects with shadows were too much like caricature, they reminded me a bit of Kara Walker's work sans the incisive political commentary.

* Tattling *
The War Memorial looked quite full, and no rush tickets were available. Standing room was crowded, and is bound to become even more so. I'm sure this is the production that brings in so many people that there will be fainting in standing room, hopefully it will distract them so I can hear Ariodante in peace.

I only heard one mobile phone ring, and it sounded like it was coming from outside the hall, in the lobby. There were no watch alarms heard in the orchestra, and I didn't notice anyone talking.

Dr. Marcia Green's amusing pre-opera talk focused on the music of Lucia in film, of course bringing up The Fifth Element and the blue alien diva.

Opening of Ariodante at San Francisco Opera

* Notes *
Today's matinée performance of Ariodante was the San Francisco Opera premiere of Händel's 33rd opera, which was first performed at Covent Garden in 1735. John Copley's production is slightly busy, there is a lot of movement to offset the supposed statis of the libretto. For the most part this was not distracting, though certain singers were noticeably quieter when they were made to move upstage during their arias. The sets, by John Conklin, are elegant and feature a large upstage frame, which alternately has different backdrops and props in it. The effect is often like a gigantic diorama. Some of the classical sculptures or architecture of the set were at odds with the Michael Stennett's sumptuous costumes, which had a more Baroque Venetian look, as they were based on the paintings of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. There were also several walls painted to look like marble that moved around to change the scenes, and this was visually excellent, though occasionally noisy. The choreography of Kenneth von Heidecke was innocuous enough, and was well-executed. Duane Schuler's lighting was complementary to the backdrops, the one of clouds and blue sky almost looked as if was pulsating, so vivid were the colors. The production made no overt reference to Scotland, though this is where the libretto is set.

Patrick Summers could never be accused of conducting in a sluggish manner, some of his tempi were brutally fast. There was a sour note in the brass section during "Voli colla sua tromba la fama," and a horn was off during the sinfonia at the end of Act I. However, the most beautiful moment of the opera was Ariodante's aria "Scherza infida" in Act II, and this was in no small part due to the orchestra. Susan Graham was incredible in the title role, her tone pure and bright. Graham was able to sing the same words over and over without being boring in the least, coloring the notes in an array of shades. She also looked dashing, her statuesque height is to her advantage in this role. Ruth Ann Swenson was lovely as Ginevra, her creamy voice showed little strain, though she was off from the orchestra for a few seconds in Act I. Sonia Prina had a promising debut as the villain Polinesso, her voice has a good heft and a richness, though she did have moments of difficulty. Her second aria in Act I ("Spero per voi") was particularly fine. She looked exceedingly boyish, though she is not tall. Verónica Cangemi (Dalinda) certainly had her work cut out for her, given how great the other female singers were. At her best Cangemi has a nice voice, clear and cold, with sufficient volume. At her worst she sounded ragged and a bit shrill, but this was rare.

Richard Croft was strong as Lurcanio, very sweet, though not terribly nuanced. Andrew Bidlack (Odoardo) acted well and was not overly loud, as some young singers can be. Eric Owens looked regal as the King of Scotland, his voice is not opulent and is slightly quiet. He was completely convincing in his heartbreaking Act II aria, "Invida Sorte Avara." It was passionate without being sentimental. As far as I could tell, Anders Froehlich did not sing in the role of Polinesso's squire, but he was menacing in his movement. The chorus was superb as usual, and ended the opera just wonderfully.

* Tattling *
In the last 5 minutes of Peter Susskind's opera talk, an elderly fellow with a cane insisted that he sit in the third row of the orchestra, despite the fact that the only free seat was not on the aisle, and the three people had to stand up to let him through. 30 seconds after the talk ended, this man turned to me and stated that I was in his seat. I told him I was getting up, though did not mention I was only waiting for the pair next to me to leave, as I hardly wanted to step over them. One of the ladies explained that orchestra seating was open for the lecture, to which he retorted "Well, it's not the lecture now." After a trip to the powder room, I returned to the the third row to check just which seat it was, and the man was not in C 105 where I had been sitting. I am unsure why he took the trouble to bully me out of his seat, but I suppose he must be a subscriber to the M, N series and it probably took him years to get to that particular spot.

David Gockley has recorded a new message played before the performances. It does not mention turning off electronic devices, and I noticed there was a cellular phone ring during the da capo of Dalinda's first aria. There were no watch alarms on the hour, at least. Stage directions were audible before Polinesso's aria in Act II. The supertitles were apparently arch, for the audience laughed at them more than once.

To my disappointment the most absurd visual element was removed from the production. At the dress rehearsal there was an over-sized sculpture of a horse's head resting on the right side of the upstage frame during Ginevra's Act II mad scene. It did not read well, as the ear and mane were not visible, and at first I thought it was a frog or perhaps a hippopotamus. Then as Ginevra grew more frenzied, a second horse head was lowered from the ceiling. I did not find this much sillier than the colossal Venus head that has a strange forehead that appears in Act III or the extremely large Corinthian capital that also shows up in that space.

Das Rheingold Opening at SF Opera

* Notes *
Francesca Zambello's American-inspired Das Rheingold opened last night at San Francisco Opera. The video projections, the work of Jan Hartley, varied from completely campy to tastefully elegant. The first projections did have me in stitches though, and not in a good way. They looked like the opening credits to the Star Wars franchise, one expected the yellow text to appear, explaining what would occur in the next 2.5 hours. I was also quite pained by the projected beams when the Giants enter in Scene 2, they looked flat and their colors did not match the color of the one real beam. However, the projections were excellent for when Alberich turns himself into a dragon, and also worked well for the sky in Scene 2 and 4. Michael Yeargan's sleek set was pleasing, though the set changes were rather loud. I especially liked how the rainbow bridge to Valhalla was portrayed and Nibelheim. Some of the costumes were awkward, Catherine Zuber put the Rhinemaidens in corsets, which looked great when they were still, but since they had quite a lot of choreography, they looked uncomfortable at times. The Giants also looked uneasy in their enormous boots, they seemed to always walk gingerly. They were fitted with oversized robot hands, which was also a bit strange. Other costumes were attractive enough, certainly the Gods looked nice in their Roaring Twenties clothing. The Nibelungen looked quite in keeping with Norse mythology, but best of all was the illusionism used in the Nibelheim, it was a fine spectacle.

The orchestra sounded a bit rough under Runnicles, which was surprising, but it was the first performance. Someone in the brass section was not having a good day and hit at least three wrong notes near the end of the opera. The singing started off well, the Rhinemaidens sounded both ethereal and teasing. They also looked gorgeous. All three, Lauren McNeese (Wellgunde), Buffy Baggott (Flosshilde), and Catherine Cangiano (Woglinde), had their San Francisco Opera debuts in this production. The other three female singers fared less well, Tamara Wapinsky was loud enough as Freia, but was quite wobbly. Her acting was fairly strong, and it was interesting how lovelorn they had her be after her return to the Gods. Jill Grove's high notes were harsh, some were rather suspect. Her Erda was not an unreal force of nature, though her lower range is nice and warm. Jennifer Larmore (Fricka) looked absolutely cunning in her smart cream and black outfit, but her voice started off rather thin and shaky. She was audible, but always sounded delicate, and it was easy to hear that she usually sings Rossini or Baroque music. However, the other principal singers were stronger, Richard Paul Fink was wonderful as Alberich, he was moving in Scene 4, especially when he curses the ring. Stefan Margita played a rather slimy Loge well, his voice is so beautiful, with good volume and a certain richness. Mark Delavan was promising in his role debut of Wotan, his voice does not have the heft of Fink's, but was lovely.

* Tattling *
San Francisco Opera has started scanning tickets instead of tearing them, just like the symphony.

David Gockley was in the orchestra standing room area for the beginning of the opera, and gave technicans directions about lowering something or other during the overture. This first performance was loud, stage directions were audible in between scenes, which was unfortunate given that the orchestra was playing.

The performance looked full, and standing room had quite a few people. A woman stood behind me for the second half of the opera, and apparently she had an imaginary friend. She spoke at full volume about "how cool" the Nibelheim was and "how cute" Alberich was as an amphibian. Then before Scene 4 she started furiously typing on her Blackberry and was given 3 pointed, angry looks before she scurried away.

The Turn of the Screw at SF Lyric

* Notes *
San Francisco Lyric Opera's production of The Turn of the Screw opened last night at Cowell Theatre. The singing was very good all across the board. Interestingly, half of the singers were also in the Oakland Opera Theater production from last October. Brooks Fisher (Miles) has grown quite a bit in the intervening months, he is now taller than Madelaine Matej (Flora). His angelic voice is somewhat louder now, but there were a few brief moments when he was difficult to hear because of the orchestra. It may have been better if he was not so far upstage when singing with all of the instruments. Madelaine Matej sounded slightly flat during the end of Act I, but was otherwise fine, her volume was always good, and her acting was strong. Soprano Lara Bruckmann did not make much impression on me as Miss Jessel, but perhaps this was because tenor Trey Costerisan was so splendid as Peter Quint. Costerisan's voice is exceedingly pretty, both warm and brilliant. Kathleen Moss, who just sang Judith with Berkeley Opera, was occasionally overwhelming as Mrs. Grose, as her voice was the most powerful in the cast. Moss was able to rein it in for the most part, and her acting was convincing. Anja Strauss was impressive in the principal role, her Governess is certainly on the frightening, hysterical side. Her tones were lucid and crystalline. The orchestra played well under the direction of Barnaby Palmer, the musicians were perfectly synchronized with each other and with the singers. The only disappointment was keyboard used instead of a real piano. The keyboard was noticeable, it sounded strange.

The production was not as creepy as the one at Oakland Opera Theater, perhaps because of the choreography and stage direction. The ending was a bit weird in this regard, it would be hard to understand exactly what was happening if one had not read Henry James' novella. As far as the scenery was concerned, the projections used were great when static, but whenever they were used to portray the spectral or mad, they veered into unintentional tackiness. At one point in Act II, a heretofore static window projection multiplied and warped, and the effect was just silly and not scary at all. Thankfully, the background was easy to ignore, as it was not in constant motion, and the otherworldliness came out best in the music. Also, Meghan Muser's costumes were a fine distraction, every one of the outfits was absolutely gorgeous.

* Tattling *
One person booed stage director Heather Carolo, presumably because he did not like the ending. Also, the charming person who sang along to La Bohème was there again, right next to me, as we both have subscriptions. I was able to shift one seat away from her, as the theater was half empty. She is, apparently, not terribly familiar with the work of Benjamin Britten, and was unable to accompany the singers. She did have fun during the intermission listing which operas of Britten she could remember, naming five out of fourteen, I could hardly do better. She also declared it a shame that so few people had turned out and mentioned that Joshua Kosman would be reviewing this Sunday's performance. However, the music is disquieting and is meant to make one feel uncomfortable, which is certainly not for everyone.

Queenie Pie at Oakland Opera Theater

 * Notes *
Duke Ellington's Queenie Pie closes this afternoon at Oakland Opera Theater. The unfinished work was arranged and orchestrated by Marc Bolin and the libretto completed by Tommy Shepherd. The opera was extremely charming, especially the first half, which takes place in Harlem. The sets looked great, especially the city scene back drops. The costumes were comely, and included many fancy hats, gloves, and belts. Queen Pie's platinum blond wig was not convincing, but was not terribly distracting. The dancing was strong, and Tania Johnson was particularly fabulous in this regard, as the Lady Reporter. Kathleen Antonia was perfect as Queenie Pie's rival, Café Olay, completely committed to the choreography and quite self-possessed. Her voice started off slightly shaky but was entirely lovely. Amanda King's voice was also beautiful, rich and pleasant. For the most part, her acting as Queenie Pie was good, though a few words were jumbled in Act II. The rest of the cast was less even, though all the singing was pretty, some were a bit quiet when not right up at one of the many microphones.

Act II was slightly less focused than Act I, when Queenie goes off to some unnamed island in search of a magical amulet. The quartet of sailors sang some cute drinking songs and the three moon trees sounded wonderfully ethereal. Queenie ends up shipwrecked on a tropical isle with a distinctly tiki bar aesthetic, complete with grass skirts and exotic drinks. Seaon Bristol was utterly hilarious as the Crown Prince, and was a good foil for the rather more serious King, William Tull. The ending was darkly humorous.

* Tattling *
The house was entirely full, and the audience was enthusiastic, though they talked a bit too much during the music. The seats at are still pretty uncomfortable at Oakland Opera Theater, but at least they have real restrooms now. Though all very attractive, some of the costumes were not the most flattering, a bit of upper arm cellulite was on view. Some of the dresses also looked like they could use a once over with a garment steamer. However, it was a fine performance with a lot of heart, and I only wish I could have gone earlier in the run, so that I could catch it again.

Alternate Cast of I Puritani at Seattle Opera

  * Notes *
The alternate cast of Seattle Opera's I Puritani was almost infuriating. It was as if the intensity had been sapped out of the whole cast, and then, for some sadistic reason, poured into the soprano. It is a pity that newcomer Eglise Gutierrez was not in the A cast as Elvira, if she had been, the Brownlee/Kwiecien/Relyea performances would have been unbelievable. Her voice is more on the metallic side than Amsellem's, colder, and at first, not as penetrating. The lovely pianissimo of her high notes in Act I gave her somewhere to build from as far as the drama was concerned. Gutierrez also was fiercer in the mad scenes, though tiny, she pushed the rather tall Morgan Smith (Riccardo) with conviction, and ferociously tore at her veil.

The horns were more in tune during the overture this time, and the horn solo of Act II was better. The orchestra drowned out Denis Sedov during his last lines, but other than that sounded good. Sedov was better than I remembered, he was only slightly gravelly and was less awkward than John Relyea. His voice is not as velvety as Relyea's, and certainly quieter. Morgan Smith acted well as Riccardo, he was committed to the movement in the Act I sword fight, though one did feel slightly nervous for little Bradley Williams (Arturo). Smith's legato is not as gorgeous as Kwiecien's, but his voice is pretty. Williams was less vital than Brownlee, he was reedy and a little quiet, though always audible. He sang "Son salvo...La mia canzon d'amore...Ad altro lato" well in Act III.

* Tattling *
I had forgotten that concessions at the Seattle Opera card those who look under a certain age. I had purposefully dressed childishly and worn pigtails, because I find it quite frightening when strangers wish me a "Happy Mother's Day." Thus, I was carded for my glass of merlot, and the young lady at the counter inadvertently gasped when she saw my birth-date. It was very flattering.

The matinée was considerably less full than the evening before, perhaps because of the casting difference. There were many more watch alarms marking the hour, during Arturo's first aria in Act III, I heard no less than four watches, and as Elvira sang "A una fonte afflitto e solo,"  two more sounded.  I was in the same spot behind Section 2, at CC 2, but all alone. I would have stayed there, but for one thing, the young woman in BB Seat 5 was giving a running commentary during the arias.

An elderly woman with a walker was unable to make it down to her seat in the orchestra level. She arrived after 2pm, ostensibly the start time of the opera, and her caretaker and an usher were not able to get her to her seat. Instead, she sat on her walker (it was the sort that folds into a chair) behind Section 1, and spoke loudly in a Slavic language to her companion during the overture. After this she unwrapped candies and sucked on them in a most disgusting and loud manner. I did feel bad for the people in front of her, as no one was supposed to be in that area. I also felt bad for her, the usher simply seemed to abandon her until Act I Scene 1 was over. However, she did not want to move, so I took a seat in Row AA to get away from the noise. I could still hear her from several meters away, but it was less vile from a distance. She disappeared after Act II, perhaps finding her seat or maybe leaving altogether.

Seattle Opera's I Puritani

  * Notes *
Bellini's last opera, I Puritani, had its Seattle Opera premiere at the beginning of the month, and Linda Brovsky's production is magnificent. The sets, the work of Robert A. Dahlstrom, look inspired by the Getty Center, as there are many steel staircases and landings. This kept the action in the vertical plane rather than the horizontal, so though the set was static, it was not dull. This also kept the staging simple and made the singers visible from different parts of the house. Peter Hall's sumptuous costumes were from the Met, though he modified them to work with the staging. The lighting designer, Thomas C. Hase, was tasteful in his approach, never harsh or overwhelming.

The horns were flat at first in the overture, and one note in the horn solo of Act II was sour, but they all managed to be in tune by the end. Otherwise the playing was good, the orchestra was usually with the singers and was not too loud. Also out of tune was Norah Amsellem (Elvira), from the very beginning I cringed at her voice during the off stage quartet (La luna, il sol, le stelle) in Act I. The arpeggios in first duet were poor, and the last note was quite unpleasant. Amsellem's voice is lucid and beautiful when she isn't flat, even resplendent, but she was often a half or quarter tone off. This was especially evident in Act III, when she sang "A una fonte afflitto e solo" and the tenor repeats these lines in "La mia canzon d'amore." She was most in tune for Act II, perhaps madness, at least at first, becomes her. Amsellem did look beautiful as Elvira and her acting was not bad.

On the other hand, Mariusz Kwiecien was wonderful in "Ah!, per sempre," his legato was gorgeous, and his singing as Riccardo was clearly distinct from his Don Giovanni of last season. In fact, I barely recognized him, his manner was so different and someone has finally figured out what to do with his hair. Kwiecien did rush during "Bel sogno beato" and was not with the orchestra, but sang beautifully in the rest of the opera. His singing in Act II with John Relyea was the highlight of the evening. Relyea was instantly recognizable from his gait and posture. His characterization of Giorgio wasn't terribly dissimilar from his Banquo or Garibaldo, as far as coloring, but he did sing well. Tenor Lawrence Brownlee did not have a convincing wig, but he was not disappointing as Arturo. His voice is bright and flexible, with a bit of strain at the top, but still lovely.

* Tattling *
The orchestra level was nearly all full, but before the performance began an usher kindly offered the standees seats as he explained that the opera was very long. Seattle Opera put two intermissions into this opera, which made for one 75 minute block, followed by 45 minutes and 35 minutes blocks that could have easily been combined.

There were no mobile phone rings, but there was one watch alarm with many beeps in succession during the Act II overture. Someone was making vocalizations on the orchestra level, I could not tell if they were singing along or just snoring. Plenty of talking, whispering, and coughing was observed, and a woman in Section 2 of the orchestra level, in Row BB Seat 6 both spoke and coughed a fair amount. I tried to look at her disdainfully when she stared at me during the Act III overture. I'm not sure why she was staring, given that she had to turn her head around to do this, and the light reflecting off her glasses made it very obvious that she was doing so. 

Bluebeard's Castle and L'enfant et les sortilèges at Berkeley Opera

* Notes *
Berkeley Opera is midway through a run of Béla Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle and Maurice Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges. The double bill makes for a short evening, a mere 2 hours and 10 minutes including an intermission. I was skeptical of the "unique multi-media staging," as both productions involved projections on an upstage screen. The Bartók used Naomie Kremer's videography, which at best looked like an animated version of Dave McKean's Sandman covers. At other times the images were a bit psychedelic, particularly when Door 4 is opened, the overlay of a human eye, flowers, and water. Door 7 looked like something out of a video game, Legend of Zelda, perhaps.

However, the music was wonderful. The orchestra, under the direction of Jonathan Khuner, sounded quite good. I did not like Kathleen Moss' voice at first, it was harsh and somewhat wobbly. But once she warmed up she sounded both crystalline and expressive. Paul Murray was more stoic as Bluebeard, but his singing toward the end of the opera was lovely. 

The projections for L'enfant et les sortilèges were the work of Ariel Parkinson, and were more like digital backdrops rather than the videography of the previous piece. This complemented the both the dancing and the music. Misha Brooks was the petulant child, he acted well, but I was too distracted by the amplification to get an impression about his voice. The other singers sang from the sides of the theater and were represented on stage by either dancers or puppets. The 4 young dancers were clearly talented, and were well-synchronized.

Musically, I preferred Bartók to Ravel, but the latter had many more singers and because of the staging, the sound was unbalanced. Mezzo-soprano Paula Chacon sang especially well as the Chinese Cup and the Shepherd, she also sang the roles of Mama and the Dragonfly quite nicely. Baritone Anders Froehlich was hilarious as the Grandfather Clock.

* Tattling *
Yesterday's performance looked like it was sold-out. People were better behaved for the Bartók, but spoke during the Ravel.

Cass Mann took over the parts of the Shepherdess, the Bergère, the Owl, and the Bat for an indisposed Raiña Simons.

West Coast Premiere of The Little Prince

* Notes *
The West Coast premiere of Rachel Portman's The Little Prince was last night in Berkeley. Portman's music is benign enough, quite light and pretty. The strongest point was the end of Act I, the lamplighter ensemble. It is not surprising the composer won an Academy Award for Best Original Score in 1996 for the film Emma. The libretto, by Nicholas Wright, included much text not from the book, which was disorienting at first. The novella sits a bit awkwardly as an opera, though the latter is both whimsical and cute, it is also somewhat trite. Directed by Francesca Zambello, the staging was well done, Maria Bjørnson's artful set and costumes worked nicely. The baobabs were hilarious, and the costumes were no small part of this.

The cast was a veritable showcase of the Adler Fellowship Program, nearly all were former or current Adler Fellows. Two of the latter, Kenneth Kellogg and Andrew Bidlack, both sounded great as the King and the Lamplighter, respectively. Tamara Wapinsky sang prettily as the Water, though in some of the ensembles she was easy to pick out, because of her volume and vibrato. Ji Young Yang's diction has improved, her liquids are clearly distinguished, but her vowels could use more work. Her voice remains exceedingly bright and lovely. Marie Lenormand was charming as the Fox, her movement was good, her voice nice, and her diction nearly perfect. Thomas Glenn was fantastic as the Vain Man, his volume was good and he was very funny. As the Snake he had a few moments of being overwhelmed by the orchestra. Tovi Wayne was an adorable Little Prince, his voice certainly has an otherworldly beauty. At times Wayne's intonation was not pitch perfect, and he was very loud, so I suspect he was amplified. The Pilot, baritone Eugene Brancoveanu, was wonderful. At worst, some of his vowels were slightly off, but his voice is warm and resonant and his acting was fine.

Sara Jobin conducted well, the musicians were together, and for the most part, also with the singers. There was a weak moment with the Hunters, but it was brief and will likely be sorted out in the coming performances. The San Francisco Girls Chorus and the San Francisco Boys Chorus both did a fine job. There were a few distractions with props not working exactly as they should, but the children's voices were splendid.

* Tattling *
The part of the Little Prince is shared between two boys, but I don't know if I can muster up the enthusiasm to see this opera again. It will be the first time in five years that I haven't seen a San Francisco Opera production more than once. The audience did not include as many children as one would expect, but perhaps it was because it was opening night. One girl behind me pressed her legs quite vigorously against the back of my seat. Certainly this is one way of not falling asleep. The woman next to me on the orchestra level, in Row O Seat 107, keeps her opera glasses in a plastic bag. Of course, she arrived too late to take them out of her purse before the music. She spent at least one minute fumbling around, trying to extract the plastic bag from her tiny beaded purse, and the glasses from the plastic bag. Later on, her purse emitted a loud beep, which prompted her to drink some water, but not to turn off whatever electronic device made this sound. Perhaps it was a reminder to take medication. In any case, she and her date did not return after intermission.

7th Performance of Don Giovanni at Unter den Linden

* Notes *
The April performances of Don Giovanni at Staatsoper Unter den Linden began last night, conducted by Asher Fisch. There were a few times that the orchestra and singers were not quite together, but worse was all the banging coming from backstage. Doubtless this will improve over time, but it was not particularly impressive.

I think I may have heard Mariusz Kwiecien sing the title role a few too many times (I believe it was eight times in the last year), for I found René Pape a bit strange in the role, though he is one of my favorite singers. Pape lacks a certain unctuousness that Kwiecien absolutely embodies. Pape also sounded a slightly quiet, his Champagne aria was distracted, perhaps because of all the dancing happening behind him. However, his "Deh vieni alla finestra" was wonderful.

Much of the cast seemed quiet to me, Jeremy Ovenden was a muffled Don Ottavio and Arttu Kataja (Masetto) was all but inaudible. As Zerlina, Sylvia Schwartz's voice was perfectly bird-like and small, and showed a bit of strain at the beginning. She sang "Batti, batti, o bel Masetto" well. Anna Samuil was fairly good as Donna Anna, though she sounded a bit out of tune during "Or sai chi l'onore."

Hanno Müller-Brachmann was very funny as Leporello and he sang "Madamina, il catalogo è questo" especially nicely. Annette Dasch was the first Donna Elvira I have heard in the last year that did not have an exceedingly wide vibrato and was actually in tune.

Overall, I was slightly disappointed with the performance. There was one moment when everything came together in the finale of Act I, suddenly everything came into focus, at least musically, in the last 3 minutes. That quality was not sustained in Act II. I will save my various snide comments about the production for my more definitive review of this opera, next week, after a few more viewings.

* Tattling *
The British people next to me were utterly boggled by the cast of characters and could not figure out who was who. Needless to say, the production did not help them, and of course, they did not read German. It was almost cute, how they couldn't figure out if Donna Elvira was the blonde or who was engaged to Don Ottavio. To be fair, there seemed to be an error in the English synopsis. Personally, I thought it was quite obvious that Donna Elvira was the one with the impressive décolleté, but refrained from saying anything to them.