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| 7/28/2010 12:03:00 PM Email this article • Print this article |
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Patrick Carfizzi as Figaro and Aurhelia Varak as Cherubino in Glimmerglass Opera’s production of “The Marriage of Figaro.” (Photo: Karli Cadel/Glimmerglass Opera.) |
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Glimmerglass gives 'Marriage of Figaro' a wonderful show
Jane Dieckmann
After two compelling opening productions, Glimmerglass Opera began its second weekend with an all-time favorite, Mozart's comic masterpiece "The Marriage of Figaro." Don't let the title fool you; with the libretto by genius collaborator Lorenzo da Ponte, this opera is presented in Italian with English projected titles. The show was a truly remarkable achievement-a seamless, clearly delineated, musically excellent, and emotionally telling performance-matched only by some unscheduled thunder and lightning theatrics outside.
The plot of "The Marriage of Figaro" is based on the second play of a trilogy by late 18th-century French writer Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (the first, "The Barber of Seville," representing an equally important operatic inspiration). The story is about the triumph of true love and the success of servants over aristocratic domination, accompanied by misunderstandings, deception, disguises, mistaken identity, and recognition. There is a lot going on-both story and music possess marvelous variety and many layers of complexity. It is with good reason that this opera is considered one of the best ever.
The opening night presentation was close to flawless from the musical point of view. On the podium was music director David Angus, who knows this opera well and who from the very start kept things moving at a lively clip. The famous overture, brimming with vitality, was crisp, clean, and precise, showing off a fine professional orchestra that keeps getting better and better. As we have come to expect, the singers were uniformly excellent, the ensembles were expressive and well balanced. Many arias sounded light, almost dancelike, and there were fine contrasts-most notably at the end with peaceful reconciliation music followed by happy celebration. Maestro Angus deserves full credit for a major achievement. At the end he acknowledged his assistant at the keyboard, Jonathan Kelly, who added some lovely and interesting moments in the recitatives.
As the servant couple, Figaro and Susanna, bass-baritone Patrick Carfizzi and soprano Lyubov Petrova sang with very good intonation and clarity and were convincing as clever, practical, appealing characters very much in love. Their voices, however, at times seemed too heavy for Mozart, and Carfizzi occasionally tended to push and distort some notes. The aristocratic couple, also with beautifully full voices, seemed more moderate in tone. As Count Almaviva, bass-baritone Mark Schnaible (so effective as Frederick in the 2008 "Das Liebesverbot" by Wagner) successfully walked the fine line between jealous and careless cruelty and genuine, appealing caring. His big 3rd act aria, an expression of frustration, bewilderment, and anger was very well sung, but because he was sitting down, it seemed more like rumination than roiling resentment. Soprano Caitlin Lynch, tall and beautiful as the Countess, gave a convincing portrait of this woman's anguish, insecurity, and mixed emotions. And despite some tempo issues in her first aria, her singing was lovely. Her rendition of "Dove sono" was eloquent and deeply moving.
As the young, love-struck page Cherubino, mezzo-soprano Aurhelia Varak was outstanding, giving the role a full treatment and matching her triumph in 2008 as the petulant Sesto in "Giulio Cesare." She is small in stature, and looked as charmingly hapless in a blue and white stripes and messenger boy's cap as she did in peasant-girl disguise. Her two well-known arias were beautifully done, full and expressive.
In the lesser roles bass Adam Fry as Bartolo, tenors Alex Mansoori and Steven Brennfleck as the slimy Basilio and stuttering Curzio , along with mezzo-soprano Courtney McKeown as Marcellina, all members of the company's Young American Artists Program, carried off their roles with vocal and dramatic assurance. The idea of Basilio as spy was overdone, but what an evil winning smile he had! YAA soprano Haeran Hong looked appealing and sang sweetly as Barbarina. And the ensemble and chorus work was admirable-well timed, and beautiful to hear.
The dramatic and visual presentation did have some problems. The white-washed barn walls from "The Tender Land" worked for the first act storeroom/bedroom, but not for rooms in a castle. The wood-paneled doors at the back, however, worked well for aristocratic spaces. But what was that object in the middle of the stage in the final act? After having admired Leon Major's highly amusing presentation of "The Barber of Seville" in 2006, I found this conception somewhat disappointing. Characters did move well and kept pace with the music. But setting the play in circa 1905 doesn't seem right. First, the inherent political and class implications of the historical period preceding the French Revolution are gone. Second, the costumes by Matthew Pactman solved the understandably problematic wigs and tights, but the women's dresses and the natural linen suits worn by the men looked all right elsewhere but not here. And more serious, dressing Bartolo, Basilio, and Curzio alike made them look alike onstage. Which one was which?
Moreover, some comic scenes unfortunately didn't come off on opening night. The last act under the stars always presents staging problem, but this time it was truly confusing. And because the longstanding animosity between Figaro and Bartolo was not clear, the prize recognition scene wasn't funny until Susanna arrived. And why must we have the bed in the first act? It's something Franco Zeffirelli dreamt up, and it does not exist in the stage indications. Yet there it descended for everyone to sit on, lie on, recline on. And why were so many the arias sung by seated or reclining performers? Many moments were very appealing, however-the relationship between the Countess and Susanna, for example, while Cherubino's hiding in two acts could not have been better.
These questions aside, this production is very satisfying, both musically and emotionally. And it is always a treat to see a fine presentation of this marvelous opera.
For more information, visit www.glimmerglassopera.com.
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