LA Opera’s La Boheme – It Works !!
It’s too bad that the Los Angeles Opera company’s run of "La Boheme", the world’s most beloved opera, ended on Sunday, December 16th. It could fill the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion right on through the holiday season and, since the action begins on Christmas Eve, that would be most appropriate. This magical work still makes us heady with the joy of young love in the first two acts and brings tears to our eyes with the heartbreaking, but never sentimental, dénouement of the last two acts. Since its triumphant premiere at the Teatro Regio in Turin on February 1, 1896, this close-to-perfect as any piece of musical theater could possibly be, has been well nigh indestructible. And the Los Angeles Opera production which debuted in 1993 continues in this tradition.
Giacomo Puccini was already being acclaimed as the “next Verdi” after his 1893 Manon Lescaut which, coincidentally, also premiered on February 1st in the same theater. Always a slow and careful composer, he took three years to adapt Henri Murger’s immensely popular novel Scenes de la Vie de Boheme. He not only had to urge patience on the part of his publisher, Giulio Ricordi, but was being prodded to complete the score by the knowledge that another composer, Ruggiero Leoncavallo , the composer of the wildly acclaimed I Pagliacci, was working on the same project. The latter’s La Boheme opened 15 months later and so suffered by comparison with Puccini’s version that it is considered a rarity today.
Ably assisted by librettists Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica, Puccini caught the essence and spirit of the Murger novel and was able to both gladden and break our hearts all in 2-1/2 hours of unforgettable melodies juxtaposed perfectly with the events being shared by six impressionable, irresistibly romantic young people caught up in a lifestyle punctuated by poverty but never without hope.
This production, originally conceived by the late Herbert Ross, was designed by Gerald Howland and directed by Stanley M. Garner. Originally set by Murger in 1830, it has been transferred to 1897-98 for no particular reason, I suspect, other then to afford us a view of the Eiffel tower. Is the dominating presence of this venerated structure, the world’s tallest when it was opened to the public in 1889 as part of an exposition to celebrate the centenary of the French Revolution, symbolic of the rise of industry and the concomitant spread of materialism that was sure to doom the artists who populated the Left Bank? Perhaps.
In "La Boheme", the bi-level tenement in which Rodolfo, the poet and Marcello, the painter, share a single room garret offers little cheer beyond the unbridled optimism and good humor of its occupants. These two free spirits are part of a foursome which includes Schaunard, a musician, and Colline, a philosopher. All live their carefree lives from day to day and exist on each other’s ability to somehow come up with enough money for food and, when possible, the rent. When Mimi, a beautiful, impoverished and ailing upstairs neighbor enters Rodolfo’s life and a former love, the coquettish, Musetta, succeeds in once again ensnaring Marcello, our story takes a romantic but ultimately tragic turn. Marcello and Musetta reunite, most likely briefly, at the conclusion but, alas, Mimi returns to her Rodolfo only to die in his arms, a victim of consumption, a disease that wracked the underclass at the same time that the captains of industry were accumulating vast wealth. (The Eiffel Tower symbol, no doubt, as a reminder?)
The young and attractive singers at the December 16th matinee performance of "La Boheme" which I attended filled the bill admirably and capably, if not always thrillingly. Brian Leerhuber (Schaunard) and Oren Gradus (Colline) supported the four principals with the requisite humor and pathos. Luca Salsi (Marcello) wowed us with powerful top tones but was disappointing with almost inaudible low notes. His Musetta, Laquita Mitchell, sang and acted up a storm as the coquette with a golden heart and her big second act show-stopper aria, “Quando m’en vo’ “ did just that. The demanding role of Mimi was entrusted to Maija Kovaleska who, after a somewhat hesitant start and unconvincing “Mi chiamano Mimi” in Act I, got better and better as the show progressed until her poignant death scene in Act IV broke the hearts of all 3,200 people who filled the theater to capacity. This brings us to Massimo Giordano, our Rodolfo, a role that must not only charm but make us as captivated by him as the impressionable Mimi. And he must essentially do all of this within the first 20 minutes of the opera, climaxed by his big aria, “Che gelida manina” in which he takes Mimi’s “frozen little hand” in his and warms her hand and wins her heart. It’s a lot to ask and there’s a high C to boot. Giordano, the one experienced international star in the cast didn’t quite live up to this daunting challenge. The voice was a bit edgy and rough, too many sobs in what should essentially be a straight forward description of who he is and how Mimi has gladdened his eye and I suspect the high C was not there. However, he was ardent and passionate and, like Mimi got stronger and better as the action progressed. All in all, he satisfied.
"La Boheme's" final act is the ultimate test. In it we hear snatches of all the beautiful melodies of the first act reprised and then there is a new one. It is Mimi’s premonition of death, the heart-wrenching “Sono andate” – eight measures of an unbearably exquisite melody – phrases that descend by half-steps that musically mirror the ebbing of her life. It shatters us as we know, yet again, that there will be no happy ending, no getting better. It is heard only once more, as the distraught Rodolfo cries out her name twice as he cradles her lifeless body in his arms and the curtain falls. Kovaleska and Giordano were supremely up to their task. If this doesn’t get you to sob in sympathy and understanding of young love found and then lost forever, nothing will. It did.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
A DAY AT THE OPERA with Earl Schub
Los Angeles Opera's
Mozart's "Don Giovanni": Pleasing and Puzzling
Reviewed and written by Earl Schub
I could hardly wait for my Sunday, December 2, 2007, matinee performance of the Mozart masterpiece, one of the three gems he wrote with his brilliant librettist, Lorenzo da Ponte. Of the three, Don Giovanni is the most complex, the most challenging because it deals with a mythic "hero" or, if you prefer, "anti-hero." Whether the antics of the libidinous nobleman please or repulse, there's no getting away from the fact that this fictional womanizer is for the ages. If the singers are right and the conductor has a firm grip on his/her Mozart and the orchestra is up to the challenge, conventional wisdom holds that even the most iconoclastic directors and bizarre stage settings cannot do in this 3-hour potpourri of Mozart's most dramatic ensembles and intense arias. Conventional wisdom isn't always right.
Director Mariusz Trelinski does us the service of explaining his concept of "timelessness" in a lengthy program note. He warns us that, "While trying to leave room for our imagination, I try to avoid building specific settings pretending to be a house or a palace." No question about it - in this he and his set designer, Boris F. Kudlicka have succeeded admirably. There is nothing even remotely resembling a house or a palace or a street or a cemetery for that matter, all traditional settings for the action in Don Giovanni. And as for the placement of a huge hourglass far downstage to remind us that this opera is timeless - - - please give your audience some credit. But, in spite of the many distractions, glitzy lighting, costumes that defy description and human figures meant to symbolize everything that Freud could have imagined in his or our wildest dreams, there is still something not so disarming or so displeasing as to make us chalk this up as another failed exercise in updating a classic and doing irreparable damage. You can't dismiss it; you can't forget it. And just maybe that's what Mr. Trelinski had in mind.
If the ultimate challenge of any opera is to suit the music to the action, the action to the word, this one is at the top of any "must-see" list. Premiered in Prague on October 29, 1787 and set in some unspecified year in the seventeenth century, "Don Giovanni" has been the signature role, in our time, of such primo bass-baritones as Ezio Pinza, Cesare Siepi, Samuel Ramey and today's rising superstar, Erwin Schrott, who is the current Don at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and performs the role with demonic dash if not a wished-for bit of suavity. Alexandra Deshorties is a "Donna Anna" of distinction possessing a bright, cutting soprano, perfect for portraying this high-strung vengeance seeking latest victim of the lecherous title character. Maria Kanyova is a solid "Donna Elvira" and Lauren McNeese a fetching "Zerlina" who is surely more wanton in this director's concept of the role than in any other production that I (and, I'm sure, Mozart) ever saw. For pure beauty of voice and interpretation of an extremely difficult role, that of "Don Ottavio." tenor Charles Castronovo was nothing less than sensational. His first act aria, "Dalla sua pace" and the second act, "Il mio tesoro." displayed a flawless technique and a nuance of expression that I have rarely seen. He's worth the price of admission. Kyle Ketelson's "Leporello," the Don's indefatigable but always-complaining sidekick, the "Masetto" of James Creswell and Kang- Liang Peng's "Commendatore, he of stentorian tones, all performed ably and compellingly.
Performances run thorough December 15 and while the production will surely not suit everyone's taste, the singing and, most assuredly, the timeless music of "The Titan of Salzburg" demand your attention.
Mozart's "Don Giovanni": Pleasing and Puzzling
Reviewed and written by Earl Schub
I could hardly wait for my Sunday, December 2, 2007, matinee performance of the Mozart masterpiece, one of the three gems he wrote with his brilliant librettist, Lorenzo da Ponte. Of the three, Don Giovanni is the most complex, the most challenging because it deals with a mythic "hero" or, if you prefer, "anti-hero." Whether the antics of the libidinous nobleman please or repulse, there's no getting away from the fact that this fictional womanizer is for the ages. If the singers are right and the conductor has a firm grip on his/her Mozart and the orchestra is up to the challenge, conventional wisdom holds that even the most iconoclastic directors and bizarre stage settings cannot do in this 3-hour potpourri of Mozart's most dramatic ensembles and intense arias. Conventional wisdom isn't always right.
Director Mariusz Trelinski does us the service of explaining his concept of "timelessness" in a lengthy program note. He warns us that, "While trying to leave room for our imagination, I try to avoid building specific settings pretending to be a house or a palace." No question about it - in this he and his set designer, Boris F. Kudlicka have succeeded admirably. There is nothing even remotely resembling a house or a palace or a street or a cemetery for that matter, all traditional settings for the action in Don Giovanni. And as for the placement of a huge hourglass far downstage to remind us that this opera is timeless - - - please give your audience some credit. But, in spite of the many distractions, glitzy lighting, costumes that defy description and human figures meant to symbolize everything that Freud could have imagined in his or our wildest dreams, there is still something not so disarming or so displeasing as to make us chalk this up as another failed exercise in updating a classic and doing irreparable damage. You can't dismiss it; you can't forget it. And just maybe that's what Mr. Trelinski had in mind.
If the ultimate challenge of any opera is to suit the music to the action, the action to the word, this one is at the top of any "must-see" list. Premiered in Prague on October 29, 1787 and set in some unspecified year in the seventeenth century, "Don Giovanni" has been the signature role, in our time, of such primo bass-baritones as Ezio Pinza, Cesare Siepi, Samuel Ramey and today's rising superstar, Erwin Schrott, who is the current Don at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and performs the role with demonic dash if not a wished-for bit of suavity. Alexandra Deshorties is a "Donna Anna" of distinction possessing a bright, cutting soprano, perfect for portraying this high-strung vengeance seeking latest victim of the lecherous title character. Maria Kanyova is a solid "Donna Elvira" and Lauren McNeese a fetching "Zerlina" who is surely more wanton in this director's concept of the role than in any other production that I (and, I'm sure, Mozart) ever saw. For pure beauty of voice and interpretation of an extremely difficult role, that of "Don Ottavio." tenor Charles Castronovo was nothing less than sensational. His first act aria, "Dalla sua pace" and the second act, "Il mio tesoro." displayed a flawless technique and a nuance of expression that I have rarely seen. He's worth the price of admission. Kyle Ketelson's "Leporello," the Don's indefatigable but always-complaining sidekick, the "Masetto" of James Creswell and Kang- Liang Peng's "Commendatore, he of stentorian tones, all performed ably and compellingly.
Performances run thorough December 15 and while the production will surely not suit everyone's taste, the singing and, most assuredly, the timeless music of "The Titan of Salzburg" demand your attention.
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