Рецензии прошлых постановок
23Flight takes place over 24 hours in a busy airport terminal governed by an icy, rule-bound controller, a pair of over-sexed flight attendants, and an eagle-eyed immigration officer. Among the passengers are Bill and Tina, a couple hoping to rekindle their sex life on a sun-drenched holiday, a middle-aged woman eager to rendezvous for the first time with her 22-year-old overseas fiancé, and a diplomatic appointee and his heavily pregnant wife en route to Minsk (appropriately known as Minskman and Minskwoman). Into the mix Dove and De Angelis throw a refugee trapped in the terminal building without papers, a character inspired by Mehran Karimi Nasseri, an Iranian refugee who lived in a departure lounge at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport from 1988 until 2006 (the same story that inspired Spielberg’s 2004 movie The Terminal). There isn’t a weak link in the cast, with outstanding diction rendering the subtitles almost unnecessary. American countertenor Randall Scotting is marvelous as the Refugee, his plangent, rich-toned instrument possessing just the right degree of otherworldliness to suggest his mysterious origins and the complexities of his unique dilemma. He’s a compelling actor as well, which ensures that his final aria and its dramatic reveal (no spoilers) lands with due pathos. He’s well matched by the fearless coloratura of Canadian soprano Sharleen Joynt who delivers a glittering tour de force as the icy Controller. Meticulous and contained, she stamps out misdemeanors from her all-seeing vantage point with a ruthless and chilling efficiency.
Stage director Brian Staufenbiel and video director Kyle Seago do an exceptional job of delivering the narrative. Throughout the opera, camera shots are interestingly chosen and beautifully crafted. Costume designer Liesl Alice Gatcheco makes a notable contribution to painting each character vividly – most notably the dazzling scarlet uniform of the Stewardess and the fashion disaster that is the Older Woman. We know we’re in for an acting treat when we see Sharleen Joynt’s overpoweringly supercilious, impeccably turned out Controller, prowling her control tower and pulling the strings; we see her arched eyebrows and penetrating stare in close-up as she delivers stratospheric coloratura. Sheltering amidst the lobbies and passageways is Randall Scotting as an earnest Refugee, alternately pleading and manipulating, looking somewhat too well groomed for his role but otherwise utterly credible.
The Marriage of Figaro, one of the most popular operas ever written opened to an almost full house Saturday night at McCaw Hall. Adapted from French playwright Pierre Beaumarchais’ equally popular but highly controversial 1778 play of the same name by Librettist Lorenza Da Ponte with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, its reputation is well deserved.
If Mozart had been asked which of his operas was the most perfect, he surely would have replied, "My Figaro." Indeed, there is not a superfluous note or misplaced phrase in the brilliant work. The same holds true for his collaborator Da Ponte's exquisite libretto. If ever an opera could be described as "easy listening" and flawlessly engaging, Figaro would qualify hands down. Seattle Opera's season-ending new Figaro production directed by SO perennial favorite Peter Kazaras makes the most of the composer and librettist's combined genius to mount a rendering of the work that is at once savvy and nostalgic. Says Kazaras, "color-saturated costumes...a set that suggests things are not quite what they seem...a tantalizing backdrop for the tremendous talent of our fabulous performers." That talent abounded in the opening night cast. Baritone Ryan McKinny's much anticipated SO debut as the cunning servant Figaro did not disappoint. Not only is he a consummate vocal artist with remarkable evenness throughout his entire range, he also is a gifted physical comedian with impeccable timing and his characterization was at once subtle and uproarious. With such impressive vocal splendor, one eagerly anticipates his appearance next season as Kurwenal in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde.
Opera review When operagoers are very lucky and all the stars align, we get a production like Seattle Opera’s new “La Traviata,” running through May 21: an imaginative, beautifully cast presentation of a great classic. No gimmicks, no distortions, but plenty of fresh ideas and lots of action — stage director Francesca Zambello, always reliably excellent, is in top form here. The pacing never falters, and the big ensemble scenes proceed with vivid energy. Conductor Carlo Montanaro makes the musical values paramount, supporting the singers right down to the last sixteenth note in some of the greatest arias and ensembles in the operatic repertoire. His sense of timing is impeccable; he knows down to the millisecond how long to wait for the singer’s breath, for the culmination of the high note, and when to press forward. And what singers! In the title role (and her Seattle Opera debut), we have Vuvu Mpofu, a young South African soprano whose vocal finesse makes the challenging coloratura arias sound easy and natural. (“La Traviata” means “one who strayed,” and the courtesan Violetta certainly fits that category, though her unselfish generosity and her good heart redeem her.) Mpofu is a compelling actor, conveying both Violetta’s physical fragility and her determination to live life to the fullest. Her voice is resonant and powerful, and was impressively agile as she rose to the final high E-flat in one of the most famously florid arias in the operatic repertoire, “Sempre libera” (“Always free”). Mpofu’s tender and regretful “Addio, del passato” was heart-wrenching enough to make operagoers reach for their hankies. This is a singer to watch, one who is both technically accomplished and vocally thrilling. As Violetta’s lover, Alfredo, the agile tenor Dominick Chenes is suitably dashing and mercurial, well matched to Mpofu in strength and impetuosity. Their scenes together have real electricity, whether they are courting or fighting — as they do when Alfredo’s father, Giorgio (Michael Chioldi, powerful and highly convincing in his aria “Di Provenza”), persuades Violetta to leave Alfredo for the good of his family. (Violetta unselfishly agrees, in order to avoid a scandal that would ruin the matrimonial chances of Alfredo’s sister.) There are two casts for this production, and Mpofu and Chenes will alternate in their roles with Mané Galoyan and Duke Kim. Zambello’s staging is creative and sometimes surprising: As the opera opens, Violetta is already hospitalized with the consumption that will eventually kill her, but she rises from her bed to relive the story of her ill-fated love for Alfredo. Swoosh: There goes the hospital bed, here come the revelers, and we’re swept up into the vibrant, almost frenzied party scene that launches their love affair. Zambello’s adroit deployment of the chorus and the principals here is both imaginative and effective. A hearty thumbs-up to choreographer Parker Esse and associate choreographer Andrea Beasom for the fast-paced, action-packed transitions from hospital to festive banquet revelers. Kudos also to chorusmaster Michaella Calzaretta; the singers are both zesty and accurate. (They’re also extremely nimble.) The delectable period costumes were designed by Jess Goldstein; the effective and atmospheric set designs by Peter J. Davison. This is a “don’t miss” for fans of this great classic opera.
Seattle Opera director Chris Alexander and designer Robert Dahlstrom continued their unbroken string of hits last weekend with the new “Don Giovanni,” aided by a brilliant opening-night cast and a genuine star in the title role. Alexander’s staging underscores the ambivalence of all the characters toward Kwiecien’s Don, who both attracts and repels them all. Even the righteous Donna Anna (Pamela Armstrong) swoons in his arms; the vengeful Donna Elvira (Marie Plette) longingly wears his cloak after Don Giovanni meets his downfall. On Sunday, the alternate cast had a tougher time of it. Morgan Smith’s virile Don was outstanding, and Heather Parker was a winning Zerlina, but Franzita Whelan’s Anna veered out of control in her high notes; Dana Beth Miller’s mighty Elvira developed a hard edge; and Patrick Miller’s Ottavio didn’t deliver the emotional content of the music. But Brian Kontes proved an engaging Leporello. A resounding bravo for the imaginative lighting design of Robert Wierzel, Wade Madsen’s choreography and Marie-Therese Cramer’s just-right costumes.
If it had been merely bloodcurdling, Seattle Opera’s “Elektra,” which opened at McCaw Hall on Saturday night, would be a less astounding achievement. What this stunning production manages to do, without shortchanging the violence of the action or the uncompromising vehemence of Richard Strauss’ music, is to reveal the humane and lyrical side of both in their full glory. It is the orchestra that for much of the time fulminates around her. This conflict justly reflects Elektra’s embattled isolation in a hostile world — and when she is reunited with her long-exiled brother Orest, the vocal and orchestral elements aptly coalesce in a newfound, gleamingly sensuous (and Straussian) unanimity. The Orest in Saturday’s cast, bass-baritone Alfred Walker from New Orleans, made a sonorously impressive company debut. Two other major local debuts were British mezzo-soprano Rosalind Plowright’s tormented, vicious, yet pitiable and curiously dignified Klytämnestra, sung with an intensity that was indeed bloodcurdling, and German soprano Irmgard Vilsmaier’s sympathetic Chrysothemis, also well sung though with a touch of strain at the top of the voice. A more familiar figure locally, Victoria-born tenor Richard Margison, was an excellent Aegisth, and could hardly be blamed for not vocally penetrating the orchestral maelstrom with his offstage cries for help.
Seattle Opera’s “Elektra” comes at you like a runaway train with the throttle fully open. There’s no getting off, but it’s an exhilarating ride. The Richard Strauss opera is beautiful and terrifying, with bloody strokes of violence and heartbreaking humanity, a score of immense complexity that’s frenetic and harsh, lyrical and even sweet. And it’s performed in one long act without intermission. After you have met the mother you can begin to see Elektra’s point. Klytamnestra is a dragon lady of terrifying prospect, bejeweled in gold, hunched and wielding her cane like a weapon. Her menace is chilling and so is her pitiful vulnerability. Mezzo soprano Rosalind Plowright was a wonder in her scene-stealing portrait of Klytamnestra. Her grand entrance is a spectacle that rivals Cecile B. DeMile for gaudy grandeur as the queen and her garish retinue (brilliantly costumed by Melanie Taylor Burgess) flood Wolfram Skalicki’s charcoal set in a burst of color and chaos.
Seattle Opera’s orchestra is always grand. […] The performers in Seattle Opera’s show are top-notch.
Mary Elizabeth Williams as Isolde was every bit the singer as well as performer that the role required. Her vocal projection was soaring and sweet. Her performance was nuanced and engaging.
X," directed by Robert O’Hara and conducted by Kazem Abdullah, marks the final production of Detroit Opera's 2021-2022 season, one that has included several pieces that explore the Black experience or have Michigan ties. "X," which opens in Lansing where the civil rights leader spent a transformational part of his childhood, has both
No doubt, with such superb mythic material, another Orpheus adventure will surface, with yet another twist on the timeless tale. SO’s fresh interpretation was striking, tightly executed and perfectly suited to the small stage.
This slightly different, shorter ending is set to new music composed with close attention to Gluck’s writing by Stephen Stubbs, and the result is seamless.
Musically, the performance rarely disappointed. Mark Ermler, music director of the Bolshoi Opera, knows this work intimately and proved it. His conducting caught the shadings of the first act and did what could be done to disguise the blatancy of the second. Sheri Greenawald was a more healthy and obvious Natasha than the role ideally requires, but she sang with her usual professionalism. The Soviet baritone Vladimir Chernov delivered Andrei's tortured monologues in clear-toned, almost tenorial upper tones and was believable as the gentle humanist and war-hater. Peter Kazaras as the perfect gentleman Pierre and James Hoback as that nasty little seducer Anatol also were persuasive.
Seattle Opera’s opening night performance brought the house to its feet even before the final orchestral cadences sounded, and Seattle critics doled out generous praise in the following day’s newspapers.
Bring your binoculars. Your wide-angled field glasses; your high-powered spyglass; your best mother-of-pearl lorgnette. Because Seattle Opera's new ``Rusalka'' production is likely to be one of the loveliest-looking shows you'll ever see. Gasps and applause greeted the storybook sets, fairy-tale forests, glittering waters and brilliantly subtle lighting effects created by renowned designer Gunther Schneider-Siemssen, who also made his American stage-directing debut with this production.
POWERFUL. ONE OF THE BEST LIBRETTOS I’VE HEARD IN A LONG WHILE.”
Baritone Jonathan Michie was an effective and highly active Dandini.
