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19A duo of triumphant, heartbreaking, and comical one act operas is lighting up the Luminary Arts Center thru March 23. Providing the heartbreak and bravado, Charles H. Eaton (Sam) and Zoie Reams (Dinah) transcend the material, taking it to new heights. They hold such control over their vocals and emotions that it is impossible not to be completely swept away by their talent. Following an experience like Trouble in Tahiti could be a difficult task but the second act provides extreme feelings just as well with Service Provider. A comedic and yet dramatic take on the modern date night and the perils that can come with it when cell phones are added to the mix.
Two share a bill this month, each one-act examining a relationship beset by conflicts common to its time. With 1952′s "Trouble in Tahiti," Leonard Bernstein (acting as both composer and librettist) examines the emptiness hiding inside the freshly revised "American Dream" myth that emerged after World War II. Far lighter in tone is Christopher Weiss and John de los Santos' comedy, "Service Provider," in which social media obsession might prove toxic to a marriage. Under the crisp, detailed direction of Kyle Weiler, the two short operas receive expert interpretations. Written 60-plus years apart, the two pieces nevertheless prove a fine fit, conductor Joseph Li leading an onstage orchestra (big for Bernstein, small for Weiss) that gives acute attention to the unique challenges of each score.
Stefano De Peppo brings comic flair to the role of the charlatan doctor, Dulcamara, his oaken bass bringing a cynical gravitas to his efforts to separate the villagers from their money in "Udite, udite, o rustici".
The Elixir of Love will be enchanting audiences at the Ordway in downtown St Paul through this weekend. The latest in Minnesota Opera’s 2023-2024 season, this production effortlessly captures hearts with its romantic comedy storyline, charming cast, and delightful stage design. The Elixir of Love only runs through February 4th, so get the posse together for Galentines or surprise your sweetheart with an early Valentine’s viewing of this classic Italian opera.
The Ordway Music Theater gets a dose of mariachi music for Minnesota Opera’s production of “Cruzar La Cara De La Luna” (To Cross the Face of the Moon). Infusing the folk-derived Mexican musical genre into an opera format, the work speaks to the Mexican immigration experience as well as the enduring legacies of families who have made the United States their home over multiple generations.
If you've listened to much mariachi music, you know it tends to be very dramatic, romantic and overflowing with emotion, as is opera. Both are about unleashing the heart. And so is Minnesota Opera's season-opening production of "Cruzar la Cara de la Luna," which means "To Cross the Face of the Moon." It's a triumphant synthesis of all that's great about both opera and mariachi music, but also disarmingly prescient in its modern-day story of immigration and a family divided. You may succeed in keeping operas of the 18th or 19th centuries at an emotional distance, but these characters feel very much like they could be your relatives or neighbors. And that makes the story all the more moving.
The whole cast was very talented and I was amazed by the commitment to the characters and the high notes of Keely Futterer (Armida).
And fun is a fine description of this staging, which transplants a tale of the Crusades to 1980s Wall Street, turning what was once early-18th-century Christian propaganda into a wry commentary on capitalism. Full of imaginative costuming and staging ideas, it's also finely sung and acted, and that comes through clearly in Minnesota Opera's new North Loop venue, the Luminary Arts Center. Giacomo Rossi's libretto is all about love amid warfare, with sorcerers and psychics aiding each side in what was then a Christians-vs.-Moors story. In Minnesota Opera's version — the brainchild of director Mo Zhou — old money does battle with new, the silly-suited aristocracy trying to either swallow or merge with a successful startup where the leaders dress in pointy-shouldered, flame-emblazoned leather jackets, bodices and codpieces.
With its first production of The Anonymous Lover, Minnesota Opera presents our community a two-fold gift. First, and of the most immediate concern, this little-known comic chamber opera is a delightful bauble, beautifully sung and sumptuously staged. The long forgotten opera premiered in Paris in 1780, and is in the style of its period, right at home in the company of works by Mozart and Hayden. Its story is light as chiffon and sweet as marzipan. With only a few performances remaining, opera fans may want to delay reading the rest of this review, pull out your phone, and order tickets right now.
“Carmen” at the Ordway, performed with a double cast, is a bit of a homecoming for Graves, who performed the title role with Minnesota Opera back in 1991. Working with a keen design team, Graves brings a somber, desolate feeling to the piece, full of symbolism. The lighting design by Robert Wierzel and Amith Chandrashaker uses extreme breaks between light and dark to show contrasting life choices: freedom on the one hand, and constraint on the other. When Don José (played on opening night by the impressive Won Whi Choi) deserts the army and runs away with Carmen and the Romani travelers, the set opens up to reveal a bright, white light, one that offers new possibilities. But the new freedom, for Don José, is itself suffocating.
Has COVID-19 left you craving comedy? Me, too. How I longed to laugh again in the company of a crowd, even if our facemasks would muffle our snorts and guffaws and remind us that we're still dealing with a pandemic. And if that laughter is spiced with some magnificent music, outstanding singing and fine stagecraft, then that would be an embarrassment of riches. Indeed, Minnesota Opera's latest production fits that description. An uproariously funny version of Gaetano Donizetti's "The Daughter of the Regiment," it's filled with spectacular singing and loads of expertly executed comedy. As I departed St. Paul's Ordway Music Theater at evening's end, almost every overheard conversation contained the word "fun," and understandably so, as it overflowed with an infectious feeling of delight.
Minnesota Opera’s production of “Edward Tulane” brings out the magic of Kate DiCamillo’s novel, “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane,” in a world premiere that opened on Saturday at the Ordway. With colorful, imaginative design, innovative staging and an ambitious score, the tale of a China rabbit’s tremendous journey comes to life with buoyancy and emotion.
A heartfelt folk quality characterizes the Hmong sections of the libretto. The “song poet” music blends seamlessly into the rest of the score, as if breathing life into the composition as a whole. In one scene, Bee Yang’s song becomes a round of voices sung by the chorus, creating an emotionally resonant sound.
Does Minnesota Opera's production do this genius justice? Oh, yes. Each of the eight leads does spectacular things with Mozart's music, and the Minnesota Opera Orchestra — fresh from agreeing to a new contract with the company — executed the score with precision and excitement.
Minnesota Opera’s prior production of Puccini’s “La Bohème,” first seen in 1996 and revived in 2002 and 2010, was an exercise in hyper-realism, a look at life and love in the Latin Quarter of Paris that emphasized the grit and poverty in the lives of struggling but hopeful young artists. The production, with strong casts most of the time, was a success. The company’s new “Bohème,” unveiled at the Ordway Music Theater Saturday night as the finale of its 54th season, is similarly realistic, which is basically the only intelligent way to present this opera. Heavy directorial concepts don’t work well with “Bohème.” The new production, like the old one, takes us to the not-so-glamorous low-rent district of Paris. The artists live in a shabby one-room garret with a single twin-size bed that apparently can accommodate four fairly large men. The others contributed mightily. Edward Parks played a sympathetic Marcello, singing with a commanding baritone. Also excellent were Benjamin Sieverding (Colline) and Thomas Glass (Schaunard). Ben Crickenberger made two usually exaggerated roles, Benoit and Alcindoro, quite believable. Mary Evelyn Hangley delivered a winning and ultimately tender-hearted Musetta, singing the famous Waltz with impressive pizazz.
Minnesota Opera kicks off the 2016-2017 season with a sparkling and stylish reimagining of Roméo et Juliette, Charles-Franҫois Gounod’s 1867 adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic tale of famous star-crossed lovers caught between two feuding houses. A cast showcasing several new and former members of the Minnesota Opera Resident Artists program gives this production a youthful energy, and the captivating visuals offer a fresh take on this well-told tale. As Juliette, Angela Mortellaro’s crisp and agile soprano voice offers a fluttering girlishness to the role, and her energetic performance draws the eye throughout. In her sure-footed rendition of Act I aria “Je veux vivre,” Mortellaro shows a pleasing mix of delicacy and acrobatics in vocal interpretation, all while traversing tabletops and chairs, to the dismay of the much-winded nurse, Gertrude (played sympathetically by Nadia Fayad). Joshua Dennis as Romeo is comparably boyish in his portrayal, with a smooth and supple tenor beautifully suited to the French text. While Romeo shyly follows his comrades through their antics crashing the Capulet ball, he squares his shoulders with new confidence when Juliette appears—with the balcony scene’s aria “Ah! lêve-toi soleil,” Dennis is sweetly romantic and filled with a new certainty that seems to elude his character elsewhere.
Who would have thought that pink elephants would have a place in Mozart’s “The Magic Flute?” But when they make their appearance in Minnesota Opera’s production, currently running at Ordway Center, they were a delight. Frankly, I prefer my opera productions more traditional, but this one had enough creativity, energy and, yes, magic to win me over. The production originated at the Komische Opera in Berlin in 2012 and was created by the avant-garde British theater group 1927. They present Mozart’s tale of the quest for enlightenment as a silent movie. The singers perform behind a screen, sans sets and props, interacting primarily with a variety of animated images. The scenes iris in and out. Title cards replace the dialogue. There was one miscalculation: using old-time movie music to cover the title cards. This compromised Mozart’s sublime music. Much in this production was outrageous — in a good way. The evil Queen of the Night was a giant skeletal arachnid (all that was visible of the singer was her face). The bird catcher, Papageno, was done up as Buster Keaton. In this conception, much of the dignity and nobility of Mozart’s music was lost. But conductor Aaron Breid created delicate orchestra textures that were the embodiment of classical clarity
“The spectacular set and projection design, which is the same used by Minnesota Opera, is easily the best part of the production.”
