Washington Concert Opera's concert production of I Capuleti e i Montecchi was sublime. End of story. I wanted to write something insightful and nuanced about this experience, but I really don't have much beyond the fact that it was practically flawless, deeply moving, and thoroughly enjoyable.
Antony Walker's conducting was splendid. He literally jumped up and down on the podium and had incredible energy through the whole opera. I started smiling literally seconds into the overture; he was so into the music and the orchestra played so brilliantly together that I knew this was going to be a great show. Walker also kept the tempi moving, which was lovely because there is nothing worse than lugubrious, self-indulgent Bellini. Bravo Maestro. Kate Lindsey (Romeo) stole the show. Apparently this was her first time performing the role, but you wouldn't know it to experience her sensitive phrasing and nuanced acting. Her voice was warm and even through the registers. Her consummate artistry had me riveted and breathless almost the entire time. The entire cast was wonderful. Nicole Cabell (Giulietta) gave a beautiful and committed performance. The role of Giulietta can easily drift into wallowing teenager mode, but Cabell gave her character exactly the right amount of sadness and was never over the top. David Portillo (Tebaldo) really made an impression with his clarion, pleasant voice and engaging presence; after Kate Lindsey, he was my favorite performer of the night. Jeffrey Beruan (Capellio) sang with a lovely round tone. The weakest performer was Liam Moran (Lorenzo), but even he sang very well and delivered a solid performance. I enjoyed every second of this excellent production. Bravi tutti!
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There is an adorable Tumblr page called Last Night at The Met. Go ahead, click the link. I'll wait...
...seen it? Isn't it great?! I love this idea. It glamorizes the audience. They get to be Met stars for a moment. They get recognition for looking good. What a wonderful way to celebrate opera-goers. I also love that they are inclusive. They show all kinds of outfits and people, from more traditional attendees (older patrons in either extremely fancy or relatively conservative ensembles) to young adults in everyday clothes. This blog can also give people who have never been to the opera a frame of reference for what to wear (hint: whatever you want; formal wear encouraged but not required). I think throwing in backstage photos of the cast (with or without costumes) would also be lovely. They can show chorus members or orchestra members arriving for the show. Maybe the stars, but not necessarily; we already get to see them in promotional photos and reels. If someone in the crew or orchestra gets particularly creative with their blacks, they should definitely show that. Technicians and instrumentalists do not get enough recognition for their extensive repertoire of black clothes. Perhaps they could create a separate blog and call it The Met is the New Black, or something extremely simple like Backstage at the Met. Kudos to The Metropolitan Opera for an innovative and enjoyable way to celebrate an exciting but little-discussed facet of the operatic experience. I am presenting a recital as a farewell to San Francisco before I move to New York City on September 17th. The all-operatic repertoire features arias by W.A. Mozart, G.F. Handel, Gioachino Rossini, Vincenzo Bellini, Charles Gounod, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Pietro Mascagni, and San Francisco-based composer Kirke Mechem, as well as duets by Mozart. I will be joined by baritone Matthew Tierney, and accompanied by Kerrilyn Renshaw.
Merola Opera Program's Don Giovanni (directed by James Darrah with Martin Katz on the podium) was a dark, sexual, and thoroughly enjoyable experience. The production style was bleak and abstract. The staging was wonderfully varied. A standout exception to that was the end of Act I, where most of the characters were frozen except Don Giovanni and Zerlina, who were grappling in the midst of them. It was jarring next to the vibrant music and emotions and implied action; the still staging crippled the energy at a point where the show needed it most. However, apart from two or three moments like that, where it flat-out contradicted the spirit of the music and libretto, the staging was brilliant, layered, and well-executed. I absolutely adored the allusions to rape culture and how the production addressed the cultural themes and dysfunctional relationships within the opera. The tableau during the closing sextet that illustrated the characters' unhealthy relationship dynamics worked for me. Also, having Elvira physically overpower Leporello at the end made me extremely happy. Edward Nelson brought wonderful intensity to the role of Don Giovanni. His voice was consistent and clear throughout the registers. His recitativi showed off his extensive vocal palette; a few were a tad too quiet and fast for the space, but still kept core sound. His acting was top-notch. His presence was unbelievable. I found myself hating him and rooting for him at the same time. His commitment to the moment, the music, and the acting was memorable and moving. I liked the idea of Don Giovanni being an artist. The five or so sketchbooks made for really engaging staging during the Catalogue Aria. Seeing the nude sketches really illustrated exactly how far Don Giovanni gets with the women he seduces. It gave Karen Chia-ling Ho (Donna Elvira) some really visceral and immediate images to react to. Although it might have been good for Szymon Wach, who was a fabulously endearing Leporello, to have had more practice time with the sketchbooks, his occasional difficulties provided some emotionally truthful moments and unexpected humor. All of the ladies brought real depth and beauty to their roles, in addition to showcasing their phenomenal instruments. Amanda Woodbury was an incredible Donna Anna. Her strong, clear voice embodied Donna Anna's inner strength, while the sadness she drew from herself really tinted her character a heartbreaking hue. Yujin Kim was an energetic, adorable Zerlina. Karen Chia-ling Ho was my favorite. She was just so moving. Her excellent acting and vocal ability came together to really bring Donna Elvira to emotionally poignant life. Rhys Lloyd Talbot (Masetto) was really engaging, even as such a buffoonish character. Making him nearsighted was brilliant; it made the mistaken identity moment (which coincidentally had some strangely homoerotic staging for a hot minute right before Giovanni starts beating Masetto) much more believable. This was a phenomenal, innovative, engaging, and brilliantly-performed production. Bravi tutti. http://merolaopera.com/merolaartists http://merola.org/ Me: Thank you, Captain Obvious.
Sister: You're welcome, Captain Oblivious. Me: Can we both be Captains? Sister: Yes, we're captaining different ships; I'm captaining my ship and you're captaining your ship. We ship different things. Me: I knew you were going to go there. Sister: I thought about trying to stop myself, but then I disabused myself of that notion. This is my first time drinking kombucha. I got curious, so I have bought a bottle of one of the standard brands you see everywhere these days. For those of you not living in yuppie/hipster-land (a.k.a. the west coast), kombucha is fermented tea. Here in the land of coffee and quinoa it is hailed as a miracle drink that will fix all that ails you. It also has a slight amount of alcohol in it (less than 0.5%).
Maayan Did A Dumb I shook it. And then it fizzed and exploded a little when I started opening it. Oops. That's what I get for not reading the bottle. They even helpfully underlined the NOT in DO NOT SHAKE. Word to the wise and unsticky: don't shake your kombucha. Zeroth impression: The smell Well that's interesting. The smell is like leftover beer the morning after a party. First impression Totally inoffensive. It has very little taste in any direction. This one supposedly has blueberry and ginger in it; I can taste that a little, but it pretty much tastes like a hard cider, with a hint of sweetness and a bit of fumes up the nose. Enjoyable. Middle Impression Er, I'm feeling a little lightheaded. Apparently trace amounts of alcohol are enough to affect me a little. #LightweightCheapDateOperaSinger Last Impression Now I'm a little sleepy. I'm pretty sure that's mostly due to it being mid-afternoon, though; my energy always drops around now. As for the kombucha: it was fine. Neither life-changing or terrible. Just whatever in all ways. Das Ende. This post has taken me too long to do. My hope was to chronicle my first experience at a summer music program. I wanted to create shorter, more frequent posts. Instead, I am bashing out this word vomit one week into the program. The reason: I am extremely busy here. My days have been filled with rehearsals, masterclasses, coachings, lessons, practicing, yoga, and making friends. I am so happy. I am working on my favorite thing in the world (opera, in case you have never encountered me at all in any way, shape, or form) literally all day. Even when I am just hanging out with my colleagues or the faculty I learn and discuss things. It's so wonderful.
I am so excited to be here. I am singing Nancy in Albert Herring (Benjamin Britten), which sits wonderfully in my voice. The music is extremely challenging, but makes total sense once you get it in your system and head. Everyone in my show is so on top of knowing their music. We were told to have it memorized by the first day of the program, but often there is that one jerk who just doesn't know their music. Not so in this production. Everyone came in on the first day completely solid. It was incredible. We've had to work on coordinating a lot of the scenes that involve the entire cast, but that is to be expected. The vocal lines are short interjections that dovetail or overlap each other, which take a lot of practice to get right. Everyone is also very quick when it comes to learning staging, which is just lovely. Really the amount of talent here is just astounding. I feel so lucky to be among such amazing singers. Also everyone is so ridiculously nice. And not fake nice, but truly, genuinely kind. They don't pretend to like you; they actually do. Or don't, but so far that hasn't happened. Everyone is getting along really well (knock on so much wood pleeease let there be no drama...actually, I would honestly be surprised if there was; this isn't a dramatic group at all). The faculty here are so supportive, knowledgeable, and approachable. I'm getting distracted by a conversation my friends are having next to me, so bye for now. I'll write tomorrow. I will probably be drunk, since a huge group of us are going wine tasting! An article was published today in Slipped Disc entitled Singers in Uproar Over Critical Body Insults at Glyndebourne. As well we should be. We are in it for the Feels, not the Reals. Opera is not an art form that has EVER been overly concerned with its performers' physiques. The voice (music) is first and foremost, accompanied by the artistry and technical skill, followed by the acting ability (which is the component that feeds most into the physicality, and is often a crucial element to great singers' artistry). Good costume and makeup designers can make anyone look like a boy; the onus is really on them to kick-start the illusion. (For example, tying Erraught's lustrous, curly hair into the now-cliche low ponytail would have been a good move IF it was even the designers' intent to make Octavian more masculine.)
This article has links to 5 different reviews, of which three (possibly four; I couldn't read The Times due to a goddamn paywall) specifically critique the singers' bodies, in particular the gorgeous Tara Erraught's. I'd also like to point out that none of these gentlemen's reviews comment in any way on the physique of any of the male characters. This obsession with how trendy and "realistic" singers' body types are is very new. I am especially shocked that these particular critiques are emerging from England, which has a sparkling history of casting actors who are not conventionally hot or skinny or young or "perfect" in their films and TV shows, not to mention their stage productions. This antithesis to the Hollywood casting mentality is why Britain produces some of the finest actors of our age. Dear opera critics, if you want to see women with actual boyish figures, go to a fashion show. The article also links to Alice Coote's heartfelt open letter to critics. Read it; it's good. This post is thanks to autocorrect.
I was texting with my sister, and she told me she was "sending the hugest ducking hug." Well, thank you autocorrect for making that PG, but that wasn't what she meant. However, I decided to make this a thing. Behold, Ducking Hug (2014): |
AuthorMaayan is a Manhattan-based opera singer. Archives
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