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Domingo shows he's still the romantic hero among tenors /
Ariadne goes to Hollywood |
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LOS ANGELES, CA (Sep 10) -- The 2004-2005 season of the Los Angeles Opera boasts several stellar firsts – first time as the sole tenant at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, with the resulting expansion of the season to 100 performances (second only to the Met’s 200); first time Placido Domingo and Kent Nagano will perform together (in “Idomeneo”). Not bad for a young opera company, whose penchant for controversies has helped put it on the roadmap. Francesca Zambello’s 1991 “Les Troyens” was roundly booed by the opening night audience. Film director Herbert Ross’s “La Boheme” (1993) was more successful and heralded a whole new trend of opera going Hollywood. For this new season, no fewer than three productions bear the stamps of Hollywood – “Ariadne auf Naxos” by William Friedkin, “Der Rosenkavalier” by Maximilian Schell, and a revival of the Ross “Boheme” in December.
The chief virtues of this Idomeneo (Sept 10) were its sheer star power. How many opera companies can boast their general director and music director performing together onstage? Kent Nagano gave a crisp, transparent reading with no lack of drama or emotions. Placido Domingo, sounding more baritone than tenor in the Indian summer of his career, might have labored through the treacherous runs and roulades of the music, but in so doing, he perfectly captured the tortured soul of Idomeneo. The remainder of the cast struggled to sound Mozartean with mixed results: mezzo-soprano Kate Aldrich’s emotional but vocally pale Idamante, Italian soprano Adriana Damato’s (First Prize winner of the 2003 Operalia Vocal Competition) healthy-voiced Ilia, no shrinking violet but no Mozart stylist, either. Appropriately, Chilean soprano Veronica Villarroel sported unattractive tones and erratic technique as the wildly demented Elettra, Ilia’s rival for the heart of Idamante. Neither Vera Calabria’s uninspired staging nor Arthur Pita’s over-sexed choreography are worthy of Mozart’s divine score. More effective are the sets by Michael Vale. The slowly moving sails in Act II beautifully set the scene for the great quartet and provide a much needed visual stimulus for this drab production. This "Idomeneo" is worth seeing for Mr. Domingo’s noble performance alone. Bravo Placido!
(Sep 12) -- Ironically, I found
much more stylish Mozartean singing in the next opera, Ariadne
auf Naxos. The bubbly cast of singing actors, looking dashing
and sexy in Sam Fleming’s costumes, were led by the real-life couple
Peter Seiffert and Petra-Maria Schnitzer as Bacchus
and Ariadne. (The other, more famous, couple, Alagna/Gheorghiu,
will be seen in the December “Boheme”.)
Unlike many tenors who make a hash of Bacchus’ difficult music, Seiffert sang it with confidence and a heroic ring. Schnitzer’s Ariadne was lyrical and poignant in her soliloquy “Es gibt ein Reich”. Lioba Braun’s Composer had the requisite ardor and grace that made her protestations believable. Sexy Russian debutant Lyubov Petrova delivered a competently sung “Grossmächtige Prinzessin” with no fireworks to bring the house down (her final high E-flat sounded unfortunately flat), but she showed a touching vulnerability in her duet with the Composer. The gentle hymns were intoned by a euphonious trio of ladies, of whom mezzo-soprano Deanne Meek was the most vocally distinguished. Among the comedians, tenor Hugh Russell's Harlequin was the most satisfying with his lieder-like singing.
For this colorful tale of high art vs. lowly comedy, film director William Friedkin (Exorcist, French Connection) concocted an equally colorful production that may be more lowly comedy than high art. Against the bright and cheery backdrop designed by architect Edwin Chan, we see Bacchus wind-surfing onto the scene, Zerbinetta as a leather-clad, whip-wielding Hollywood madam, and the Major-domo looking suspiciously like a Mafia don. Then, there are those slapstick side gigs involving a circus seal and a blue whale. Last but not least, the trademark Friedkin spook puppetry carried over from the 2002 “Bluebeard/Schichi”, this time in the shapes of a giant dolphin and a hermit crab. Rest assured. This scary hermit crab does not spew green goo. Once again, maestro Kent Nagano conjured up a storm in the pit, this time with a much smaller orchestra (35 pieces). The sweeping symphonic grandeur in the Finale was almost Wagnerian, except “Ariadne” ends not in a fiery immolation, but in celestial sounds of unbearable beauty.
Remaining dates for Idomeneo are Sept 17, 19, 23, 26.
Truman C. Wang is editor-in-chief of Classical Voice, whose articles have appeared in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, the Pasadena Star-News and other Southern California publications.
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