OTELLO – REVIEW OF CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY 2019 PRODUCTION

Reviewed by James Karas

The Canadian Opera Company rounds off its current season with a grand production of Verdi’s 27^th opera Otello. The stars of the production are Canadian bass-baritone Gerald Finley as Iago and the COC Orchestra conducted by Johannes Debus.

David Alden’s production is quite solid but it has enough eccentric touches to send your eyebrows to the back of your head.

Otello starts as a great love story between a black general in the Venetian army and the high-born and pure Desdemona. The story and the conflict are driven by the malevolent Iago whose hatred of Otello for passing him over for promotion leads him to destroying the loving couple. 

 Tamara Wilson as Desdemona and Russell Thomas as Otello. Photo: Michael Cooper

Finley with his big, sonorous voice and commanding presence quickly establishes vocal and personal dominance. The Venetian gentlemen Roderigo (Owen McCausland) and Cassio (Andre Haji) cower under his authoritative persona. Otello, a successful general is no fool but Iago manages to find a way to drive him insane with jealousy to the point where he follows instructions on how to murder his beloved Desdemona. Finley makes every aspect of Iago clear and alive for us.

All of that cannot be said about tenor Russell Thomas’s performance as Otello. Thomas has the physical attributes of the Moor. He is noble and impressive in the beginning and when he becomes ugly in his jealousy, he is frightfully menacing. Unfortunately, he is not always up to the vocal demands of the role. What we see physically is not translated into vocal power and emotional splendour. He is not helped by Alden’s directing and there is little passion and not enough fury in his dealing with Desdemona. In the end, and this is one of Alden’s idiosyncratic stagings, he dies “upon a kiss” about ten feet away from Desdemona.

Soprano Tamara Wilson as Desdemona is good in some of the almost Wagnerian outbursts but she does not quite measure up to all the emotional expressions demanded of the role.

The production gains a great deal from the playing of the COC Orchestra. From the initial burst of music representing the storm to the final death of Otello, we are treated to magnificent playing under the baton of Johannes Debus.

Verdi provides some heroic singing for the chorus and the COC Chorus responds with a splendid performance.

The set by Jon Morrell consists of large concrete walls that could represent a fortress or a port and they serve for all the scenes of the opera with minor adjustments. The costumes suggest 19^th century attire and they are fine. 

Gerald Finley as Iago and Russell Thomas as Otello. Photo: Michael Cooper

A couple more examples of Alden’s idiosyncrasies. At one point, Otello brings an icon of the Virgin Mary on the stage and hangs it on a wall. That seems quite appropriate because we are expecting Desdemona to sing “Ave Maria.” Instead we see Cassio shooting a few darts at the Madonna and the icon is soon removed. Why the display of such sacrilege by Cassio is a mystery to me.

Otello commands Desdemona to go to bed in her white wedding nightgown. There is no bed in this production and we see Desdemona crouching on one side of the stage and Otello across at the other side. Eventually he strangles her in the centre of the stage on the floor.

Otello kills himself after realizing what Iago did to him and what he did to Desdemona. Otello usually stabs himself with a dagger and falls upon Desdemona and his last words are “a kiss…another kiss…another kiss.” In this production Otello slashes the side of his neck and falls about ten feet from Desdemona. One is grateful that he does not do the completely comic act of slashing his throat and continuing to sing but slashing the side of his neck is almost as bad and dying that far from Desdemona is pretty ridiculous.

These directorial quirks need not be more than eyebrow raisers but Alden really packs them in and I am not quite sure why. Once your eyebrows return to their natural place, some gripes aside, the production becomes thoroughly enjoyable.

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Otello by Giuseppe Verdi is being performed eight times on various dates until May 21, 2019 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario. Tel:  416-363-6671. www.coc.ca

THE MERRY WIDOW – REVIEW OF TORONTO OPERETTA THEATRE PRODUCTION

Reviewed by James Karas

When April is almost ended, when the weather is getting warm and the birds are singing merrily and the flowers begin to bloom and spring is in the air and there is no construction or traffic jams in Toronto, it is time to think of the pleasures of operetta and turn your attention to the Toronto Operetta Theatre. As you approach the Jane Mallett Theatre in the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts look up (at your peril) and don’t trip over or fall under the construction equipment that is actually not there.

 

Gregory Finney (Baron Mirko Zeta) with Male Ensemble 

But what is there is a production of Franz Lehar’s effervescent operetta, The Merry Widow for a paltry four performances. Yes, there were four performances.

Recent economic history, especially the less fiscally prudent countries of the European Union, have taught us that a country can tumble over into bankruptcy. That was the fate of the small but wonderful Balkan nation of Pontevedro at the beginning of the 20^th century. Without a European Central Bank or IMF, its fate seemed inevitable.

But wait. Anna Glawari has a big bundle of money and if we can only convince her to marry a Pontevedrian and her money stays in the fatherland the country will be saved. Now you know what The Merry Widow is all about.

Now for the essentials. Our merry widow, Madame Glawari has to be attractive, vivacious, well-voiced, with comic talent. How about Italian-Canadian soprano Lucia Cesaroni? Darn good choice. Lehar is generally not stingy with wonderful melodies but the merry widow is especially well served including the beautiful “Vilja” that Cesaroni executes well.

A rich widow deserves a suitor worthy of her. There is a small lineup of them in the Pontevedrian embassy in Paris but none as eligible as the attaché Count Danilo (Michael Nyby). He is a dashing and carefree playboy with no money and Nyby convinces us that he is worthy of Anna Glawari on all points but we care mostly about vocal ability and acting talent and if he saves the fatherland in the bargain, so much the better.

A foreign embassy in Paris is bound to attract a number of muckety mucks and Pontevedro’s   legation is no exception. De Rosillon (tenor Matt Chittick), de St. Brioche (tenor Joshua Clemenger), de Cascada (baritone Austin Larusson) are there fulfilling their roles. The wives are more interesting especially the vivacious Valencienne (Daniela Agostino), the wife of Baron Zeta (Gregory Finney), the Pontevedrian Ambassador no less. Valencienne is very naughty, has a fan with writing on it and is in danger of being compromised. Agostino can do all of that in the role and sing very nicely.  

 Lucia Cesaroni (Anna Glawari)

Finney’s Zeta is more of a comic role than making great vocal demands. As the ambassador he has to worry about his job, his country, his wife and all those guests that keep him comically busy. His sidekick Njegus (Sean Curran), the Secretary at the Embassy, is even funnier. Curran has natural comic talent and Director Guillermo Silva-Marin makes good use of his talents.

Silva-Marin takes liberties with the libretto bringing in Premier Doug Ford, the IMF and the like. We expect it and he delivers it.

The Merry Widow is set in the Pontevedrian Embassy, in Mme. Glawari’s residence and at Maxim’s. Silva-Marin designs the lighting and set décor admittedly with meagre resources. The Embassy has a few leather chairs and some furnishings but it looks like the fiscal crisis has already has had its effect. Anna Glawari may have struck it rich quite recently because she simply has not had time to furnish her apartment. Maxim’s has a few tables but that’s about all and you should be looking at the girls in any event.

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The Merry Widow by Franz Lehár was performed four times between April 24 and 28,  2019 at the Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front Street East, Toronto, Ontario. Tel:  (416) 922-2912. www.torontooperetta.com