The Devil, Mrs. Nixon, Hollywood and Hieroglyphs
When it comes to
classical music, opera is the "greatest show on earth.”
Cincinnati Opera's
2007 summer festival, opening with Gounod's "Faust” at 8 p.m. Thursday at Music
Hall, will be a four-ring event.
"Cosi fan tutte,”
Mozart's serio-comedic swipe at romantic love, is June 28 and 30. American
composer John Adams’ "Nixon in China” makes its regional debut July 14 and 16.
Verdi's "Aida,” always an audience favorite, will have four performances, July
25, 27, 29 and 31.
All take place at
Music Hall and will be sung in the original languages with surtitles (English
captions projected over the stage). Captioning, a revolution in opera
presentation, has taken the fear out of spending an evening listening to a
language you don't understand. "Nixon in China” will have surtitles, too, since
even if in your native tongue, words onstage can be difficult to
comprehend.
Here's a rundown on
what you will see and hear at Cincinnati Opera this summer:
- "Faust” (1859). Charles Gounod. French with English surtitles. 8 p.m. Thursday and Saturday. Music Hall.
Richly melodic and packed with drama and special effects, it makes a terrific opera, even a first one. Last heard here in 1999, it returns in a traditional romantic/realistic co-production by Montreal and Seattle Operas, directed by Bernard Uzan.
Conducting will be former New York City Opera general director Julius Rudel, a veteran of Cincinnati Opera and of many "Fausts,” here and elsewhere (Rudel was also music director of the May Festival in 1971-72).
Singing Faust will be a top cast comprising American tenor Richard Leech as Faust, American soprano Ruth Ann Swenson as Marguerite (fresh off the role at New York's Metropolitan Opera) and making his Cincinnati Opera debut, Russian bass Denis Sedov as Mephistopheles. Marguerite's brother Valentin will be sung by Czech baritone Dalibor Jenis, with French soprano Marie Lenormand as Siebel.
Synopsis. Faust, an aging scholar, laments the futility of life and decides to end it. Cursing God, he calls upon Satan (Mephistopheles) who promptly appears and offers to serve him in exchange for his soul. Swayed by the vision of a beautiful young maiden (Marguerite) Faust accepts and asks Mephistopheles to make him young again. The years fall away and they go to a town fair. Marguerite's brother Valentin, who is going off to war, asks his friend Siebel to look after her. Marguerite meets Faust briefly.
Siebel, who loves Marguerite, leaves flowers at her door. Mephistopheles trumps his gift with a casket of jewels. Faust woos Marguerite, she becomes pregnant and he abandons her. Valentin learns what has happened and duels with Faust, who kills him. Valentin curses Marguerite. Deranged by Valentin's death and Mephistopheles’ taunts, she kills the child and is sentenced to death. Faust and Mephistopheles try to rescue her, but she refuses. As she dies, angels receive her into heaven and Faust sinks in the opposite direction.
- "Cosi fan tutte” (1790). Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Italian with English surtitles. 8 p.m. June 28 and 30. Music Hall.
The cast – a United Nations of voices includes two sets of lovers, a conniving housemaid and an old bachelor. Pair number one, Fiordiligi and Guglielmo, will be sung by soprano Alexandra Deshorties (Canada) and bass-baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes (New Zealand). Mezzo-soprano Marianna Pizzolato (Italy) and tenor Shawn Mathey (U.S.) will sing Dorabella and Ferrando. Despina will be soprano Nathalie Paulin (Canada), with bass William Shimell (Britain) as Don Alfonso.
The Seattle Opera production treats "Cosi” as a 1930s-era Hollywood film. Stefan Lano (who led the opera's "Margaret Garner” in 2005) will conduct. Stage director is Alain Gauthier, who directed last season's sparkling "Etoile” (Chabrier).
Synopsis. An old cynic, Don Alfonso, bets Guglielmo and Ferrando that Fiordiligi and Dorabella will betray them if given the chance. To test them, the men pretend to leave for the army. The women assert their unshakeable fidelity.
Guglielmo and Ferrando return in disguise as a pair of Albanian soldiers and each woos the other's fiancee. The women resist at first, especially Fiordiligi, but egged on by Despina, who is in on the plot, both finally succumb. Just as the double wedding is taking place, Guglielmo and Ferrando return. The ruse is uncovered. All agree that the flesh is weak and express their mutual forgiveness, but who ends up with whom is left unresolved.
- "Nixon in China” (`1987). John Adams. English with English surtitles. 8 p.m. July 14 and 16. Music Hall.
This 1987 work,
based on President Richard Nixon's historic trip to China in 1972, has become a
full-fledged member of the active opera repertoire, a rarity for a contemporary
work. It was innovative as well, for treating events scarcely a decade old and
with the exception of Mao Tse-tung and Chou En-lai, characters who were still
living.
Those who attended
the world premiere at Houston Grand Opera in 1987 (including this writer) will
never forget the full-sized replica of the presidential jet rolling onto the
stage in act I. That sight will not be duplicated here, but expect soaring
music to accompany Nixon and his wife Pat as they disembark and are welcomed by
Premier Chou En-lai in Beijing
The production by
James Robinson for Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Minnesota Opera and Chicago Opera
Theater utilizes video media technique, including actual footage of Nixon's’
historic visit. Stage director is Kevin Newbury, director for COT in 2006.
Making his Cincinnati Opera debut will be conductor and Adams exponent Kristjan
Järvi (younger brother of CSO music director Paavo Järvi). The cast includes
baritone Robert Orth as Nixon, Maureen O'Flynn as Pat Nixon, tenor Mark Panuccio
as Chairman Mao, bass-baritone Thomas Hammons as Henry Kissinger and soprano
Georgia Jarman as Chiang Ch'ng (Madame Mao). All are American singers. Chinese
baritone Chen-Ye Yuan will sing Chou En-lai. Hammons, a frequent visitor to
Cincinnati Opera, created the role of Henry Kissinger in 1987 in
Houston.
Synopsis. The
Chinese and American leaders meet and exchange toasts and observations at a
banquet in The Great Hall of the People. Pat Nixon gets a tour of Beijing,
including a glass factory and a pig farm. The Americans attend Peking Opera
where they view a ballet by Madame Mao, "The Red Detachment of Women,” that
draws everyone (literally) into the action.
"Adams avoids a
traditional narrative,” said Cincinnati Opera artistic director Evans Mirageas,
"and focuses instead on the personalities and personal histories of the six
chief characters.” Their views are expressed in public and private, with the
final act taking place in the characters’ bedrooms. The music is tonal and
rooted in minimalism, with references to many other musical styles, including a
foxtrot in the last act (extracted by Adams in his popular orchestral work, "The
Chairman Dances”).
- "Aida” (1871). Giuseppe Verdi. Italian with English surtitles. 8 p.m. July 25, 27 and 31, 3 p.m. Jan. 29. Music Hall.
The granddaddy of
opera spectacles, "Aida” is the "A” on opera's A-list of most popular operas.
Cincinnati Opera made it their own during their years at the Zoo (1920-71), when
animals were co-opted to take part in the act II triumphal march. (Somewhat
poetically, the opera pavilion stood on the site of Gibbon Islands, where the
vociferous simians now hang out.) Today, long after the opera's move to Music
Hall, there is a still a zoo parade, complete with elephant, cheetah, monkey,
boa constrictor, etc.
Aida will be sung by
American soprano Lisa Daltirus (Cincinnati Opera debut), Radames by Canadian
tenor Richard Margison, Amneris by Russian mezzo Irina Mishura, Amonasro by
American bass-baritone Gordon Hawkins, the priest Ramfis by Turkish baritone
Burak Bilgili, the Egyptian pharaoh by Norwegian bass Gustav Andreassen and the
high priestess by American soprano Carol Dusdieker. Making his Cincinnati Opera
debut will be veteran conductor Richard Buckley, with Bliss Herbert as stage
director. The splashy production opened Florida Grand Opera's first season at
Miami's new Carnival Center for the Performing Arts last
fall.
Synopsis. Aida and
her father Amonasro, king of Ethiopia, are taken prisoner by Egyptian troops led
by Radames. Unfortunately, Radames and Aida have fallen in love. As a reward
for service, the Pharaoh gives Radames his daughter Amneris’ hand in marriage.
The plot thickens when Amonasro prevails on Aida to ask Radames where the
Egyptian troops will strike next. Radames is overhead and arrested during a
tryst with Aida on the River Nile. Radames and Aida are condemned to death and
sealed in a tomb.
The Cincinnati
Symphony Orchestra performs for all Cincinnati Opera productions. Curtain time
is 8 p.m. at Music Hall except July. 29, which begins at 3 p.m. "Opera
Insights,” pre-performance lectures by Mirageas and others, free to ticket
holders, are one hour in advance. And don't miss the new video previews at the
opera's web site, www.cincinnatiopera.org.
Tickets range from
$27 for the side gallery (partial view) to $225 for a box seat. Full views
begin at $54 (back orchestra), with mid-orchestra seating at $78, preferred
balcony at $85, center gallery at $65. Call (513) 241-2742, or visit www.cincinnatiopera.org