Los Angeles Opera's Adventurous Double-Bill Pays Off

By Truman C. Wang
Sunday, June 2, 2002

DUKE BLUEBEARD'S CASTLE

Opera in One Act by
Bela Bartok
Sung in Hungarian with English titles

Bluebeard………....Samuel Ramey
Judith.......................Denyce Graves
The Bard.................Neno Pervan
 

GIANNI SCHICCHI

Opera in One Act by
Giacomo Puccini
Sung in Italian with English titles

Gianni Schicchi........Samuel Ramey
Lauretta.....................Danielle De Niese
Zita............................Rosalind Elias
Rinuccio....................Rolando Villazon
Gherardo...................Roberto Iarussi
Nella..........................Jessica Rivera
Betto.........................Stefano De Peppo
Simone......................Tony R. Dillon
La Ciesca..................Suzanna Guzman
Spinelloccio..............James Creswell

Kent Nagano, conductor
William Friedkin, director
Gottfried Pilz, production designer

Performance of Sunday, June 2, 2002 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

All photos by ROBERT MILLARD, courtesy of Los Angeles Opera
 

Duke Bluebeard's Castle	Gianni Schicchi

LOS ANGELES, CALIF -- One cannot think of a more unlikely pair of works than Duke Bluebeard’s Castle, with its dark Gothic aural imagery, and Gianni Schicchi, with its warm, sunny Italian score.  That the pairing succeeded so brilliantly owed in large part to the Los Angeles Opera’s imaginative new production by film director William Friedkin.

In his first operatic outing, Friedkin (of the “Exorcist” fame) weaved cinematic magic with lighting and smoke to create Duke Bluebeard’s hauntingly atmospheric castle.  Instead of the seven doors in the libretto, one central door opens and closes seven times in succession to reveal the dark secret lying within.  The door is flanked by a spiral staircase on the left and a giant, unlit candelabrum on the right.  The sense of unrelieving darkness and desolation is evident throughout.  The Prologue, traditionally cut, was spoken in English by Neno Pervan, suspended over the stage on wires, which seemed as surreal as the haunted castle itself.

In contrast, Buoso Donati’s Tuscan mansion in Gianni Schicchi features the same candelabra, now brightly lit, flooding the room with a natural, golden glow.  The mood lightens.  The pace quickens.  One of the ghostly puppets from Bluebeard’s seventh door earlier is now seen emerging from Buoso’s lifeless body, with hilarious results.  The slapsticks don’t stop there.  As befitting the production’s Hollywood pedigree, there is even a hats swapping routine for Rinuccio and the Notary that’s a carbon copy of the Marx Brothers’ shtick from “Duck Soup”.

Presiding over the musical matters in the pit was Kent Nagano, Los Angeles Opera’s new Principal Conductor.  Maestro Nagano painted Bartok’s Gothic tone poem with a broad brush, conjuring up luminous textures of the Lush Garden (fourth door) and a mighty flood of sounds in the Vast Kingdom (fifth door).  The hammering of the first door by Judith before it opened had a savage excitement that would wake up the dead.   The tempo picked up in the domestic hustle and bustle of Puccini’s comedy.  Lauretta’s popular aria flowed naturally out of the drama at a quickish tempo, as it should be, without any exaggerated mannerism often heard in recitals.  The mood softened in the nocturnal Trio, allowing it to spin a delicate web of enchantment.

Denyce Graves as Judith and      Samuel Ramey as Duke Bluebeard	Rosalind Elias as Zita and     Samuel Ramey as Gianni Schicchi

The great American bass Samuel Ramey gave his tour de force in the dual role of the tormented Duke Bluebeard and the scheming Gianni Schicchi.  This Bluebeard is a weary soul, tortured by his own dark secrets and his fruitless quest for love and redemption.   If Mr. Ramey today no longer commands the tonal splendor of his celebrated Mefistofele or Don Giovanni, his singing still gives much pleasure in the sheer volume of velvet, and lends credence to Judith’s infatuation: “I left my family, my fiancé to be with you!”  As Schicchi, the veteran bass showed a new knack for slapsticks and sang “Addio Firenze” beautifully with a hint of sardonic humor.

Mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves gave a commanding, emotionally shattering performance as Bluebeard’s frightened but curious bride Judith.   Her singing mixed steel and velvet, often to dramatic effects.  Her furious command, “Open the seventh door!”, would cower Jack the Ripper.  In the Lush Garden (fourth door), the voice poured forth with such smoldering sensuality that would make a Samson or a Don Jose blush. 

The cast of Gianni Schicchi included a zippy trio of ladies – Rosalind Elias as Auntie Zita, Jessica Rivera as Nella and Suzanna Guzman as La Ciesca – who delighted as individual troupers, and charmed when singing together in trio.  Soprano Danielle De Niese, at only 22, delivered an insufficiently pure account of “O mio babbino caro” and displayed a distressing tremolo above the staff.  Best male vocalist of the evening was won by Mexican tenor Rolando Villazon, whose lusty, vibrant singing of Rinuccio’s praise of Florence (“Firenze come è un alberto fiorito”) lingered in the memory long after the stage lights had dimmed on the Tuscany countryside.

Overall, a most pleasant summer evening at the opera.

      
(Left to Right) Rolando Villazon as Rinuccio (seated), Tony R. Dillon as Simone, Vitalij Kowaljow as Marco, Rosalind Elias as Zita, Roberto Iarussi as Gherardo, Jessica Rivera as Nella, Suzanna Guzman as La Ciesca and Stefano de Peppo as Betto (blocked)

Truman C. Wang is editor of Classical Voice.

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