MADAMA BUTTERFLY - REVIEW OF 2019 REVIVAL AT THE MET

Reviewed by James Karas

Anthony Minghella’s production of Madama Butterfly premiered at the English National Opera in London in 2005 and at the Met in New York in 2006. It is still a going concern and is telecast Live in HD from the Met this season.

This is the fifth time I seen this production and I must admit that Minghella’s use of Bunraku puppetry has lost some of its appeal. The Bunraku puppets are not traditional dolls manipulated by strings but plastic devices that require a lot of puppeteers on the stage to manipulate them. The little boy in the opera, for example, requires three puppeteers to make it move around. Each handles a different part of its body and the effect is frequently interesting. The puppets are used for Cio-Cio San’s son and for her in a ballet sequence at the beginning of Act I, Scene 2.

The puppeteers are dressed in black and their faces are covered by veils. They give admirable evidence of their athleticisms and adeptness in handling the puppets.  There is a complex use of mirrors, birds in flight, stars in the sky and commotion.

This time however I wondered how much they added to the opera and if Puccini’s work needed such excessive gimmickry

 

Hui He as Cio-Cio-San and Paulo Szot as Sharpless. Photo: Richard Termine / Met Opera

Hui He does may not fit the physical description of a very young Japanese girl who falls in love with Pinkerton, a creep of an American sailor. But she has a beautiful voice that expresses Cio-Cio San’s deep emotions and we forget everything else. Her “Un bel di vedremo” where she imagines the arrival of her husband’s ship in the harbour of Nagasaki is full of passion, tenderness and heart-wrenching longing.   

Tenor Bruce Sledge sang the role of Pinkerton in the Live from the Met broadcast replacing the indisposed Andrea Carè, I am not sure if he is the ideal Pinkerton but as a last minute replacement he deserves gratitude rather than criticism.

Paulo Szot gives an exemplary performance as Sharpless, the American Consul. He is a pillar of decency and he expresses both vocally and physically his discomfort, disgust and sympathy. He is the messenger of Pinkerton’s betrayal and he knows that his news will kill Cio-Cio San. We see all of this in his sensitive facial expressions alone. Placido Domingo was scheduled to sing the role but the allegations of misconduct by numerous women have caused him to relinquish all further singing on the Met stage.

Mezzo soprano Elizabeth DeShong is a spunky, faithful and compassionate Suzuki. She has a big voice, a pleasant personality and a fine stage presence that make her a pleasure to watch.

  

Theses broadcasts need a Director for Live Cinema that people who go to the opera house are not burdened with. He is the person who decides what we see by controlling every long shot, close-up, angle and, most importantly, duration of each shot. 

Elizabeth DeShong as Suzuki.Photo: Richard Termine / Met Opera

Habib Azar was the man responsible for this broadcast. I tried hard, I really did, to ignore the travesty of his choices but could not. Near the end I tried to estimate how long he was able to keep his finger off his converter (or whatever he is using). I don’t think I saw too many if any, scenes where he did not click a change for five seconds. Some shots lasted much less than that. There are many instances that demand that we simply watch the scene and be able to see several people on stage at the same time for action and reaction. Not a chance. He just kept clicking like a child on a video game that just plays with the controls. He screwed up on several occasions including during the emotional climax of the opera when Cio-Cio San sings “Tu Tu Piccolo Iddio!” as she is about to commit suicide. Good grief!

You may have to shut your eyes on occasion to listen to the splendid music played by the Met Orchestra conducted by Pier Giorgio Morandi, the Metropolitan Opera Chorus and the singers just to avoid the childish shot changes by Azar.

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Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini was shown Live in HD at select Cineplex theatres across Canada on November 9, 2019. Encores will be shown on January 25, 27, 29 & February 9, 2020. For more information go to: www.cineplex.com/events

James Karas is the Senior Editor - Culture of The Greek Press  www.greekpress.ca

DON GIOVANNI – REVIEW OF 2019 REVIVAL BY OPERA ATELIER

Reviewed by James Karas

Opera Atelier has revived its stunning 2004 production of Don Giovanni for its current season at the Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto. It is a success story from every angle and it earns our (usual) bow to Marshall Pynkoski and Jeanette Lajeunesse Zingg for their contribution to civilized life in Toronto.

Director Pynkoski and Choreographer Zingg have chosen to use a production style that bestows beauty and grace to the opera. They use a modified commedia dell’arte, stylized acting and ballet is used judiciously and splendidly.

In the opening scene when the Commendatore  (Gustav Andreassen) appears to defend his daughter against Don Giovanni (Douglas Williams) he is accompanied by a number of dancers who perform some acrobatic dance steps. Donna Anna (Meghan Lindsay) expresses her shock at the murder of her father by raising the back of her hand to her forehead in the stylized method of expression. This style is maintained throughout and it works by giving the opera a light touch. 

Olivier Laquerre, Douglas Williams, Mireille Asselin and Stephen Hegedus with 

Artists of Atelier Ballet and OA Chorus. Photo: Bruce Zinger 

Ms Zingg has choreographed a number of short ballet routines throughout that are attractive in themselves and at the same time give the production the lighter flavour that the modified commedia dell’arte aims for.

There are numerous fascinating points that Pynkoski adds to the production. For example, when the betrayed and abandoned Donna Elvira sings “Ah, chi mi dice mai” about wanting to kill the treacherous Don Giovanni and tear his heart out, she is brandishing a dagger and a crucifix. In other words she will mete out human punishment and divine retribution upon the traitor.

Don Giovanni breaks the resistance of the peasant girl Zerlina (Mireille Asselin) in the seduction duet of “Là ci darem la Mano” by giving her a pouch of money and she is pleased. When her angry bridegroom Masetto (Olivier Laquerre) accuses her of infidelity, her denial is upset by her dropping the coins in the pouch. Small details perhaps, that add up to a tremendous production.

The numerous small touches are accompanied by outstanding singing. The fascinating Donna Anna is sung by the gorgeously-voiced soprano Meghan Lindsay. Her stylized expression of shock and subsequent description of what happened in her room on that fateful night, cast doubt on her veracity. Don’t ask where her fiancé was and why is she putting him off for a year at the end? A splendidly sung and beautifully portrayed Donna Anna.

The fiancé, of course is Don Ottavio who gets some bad press sometimes, but tenor Colin Ainsworth in the role, deserves nothing but high praise. His rendition of “Il mio tesoro,” for example, is delivered with surpassing tenderness, passion, beauty and resolution. Ainsworth’s performance makes Donna Anna’s reason for rejecting Don Ottavio suspect. 

 Meghan Lindsay, Colin Ainsworth, Stephen Hegedus, Olivier Laquerre, Carla Huhtanen, 

Douglas Williams and Mireille Asselin. Photo: Bruce Zinger

If Donna Anna was ditched on the first night, Donna Elvira was abandoned on the third day and soprano Carla Huhtanen wants us to know about it with her passion and furor. Her passion tells her to forgive him but her mind tells her to flee her traitor as expressed marvelously in “Ah, fugi il traditor”   and “Mi tradì quell'alma ingrate” (that ungrateful soul betrayed me.) Dramatic, passionate and vocally fabulous.

Zerlina is the peasant girl we love. Pretty, lively, smart and able to handle her man, applies to her and soprano Mireille Asselin in the role. A lovely, light soprano with a beautiful lilt, perfect for the role and a delightful performance. It’s wonderful to see her handle the hulk Masetto who is a bit of an oaf that she turns into putty. Bass-Baritone Olivier Laquerre is perfect for the role vocally and physically.

The whole enterprise is led by Douglas Williams and Stephen Hegedus, the two bass-baritones who sing Don Giovanni and Leporello. Williams looks, acts and sings the great seducer with relish and vocal brilliance. Hegedus is just as adept in his role as his cohort but sly, ambitious and resentful. But in the end they are a team. I enjoyed their ability to act and react to each other even more than their individual prowess in their roles.

The Ed Mirvish Theatre does not really have an orchestra pit but that did not seem to bother David Fallis and the magnificent Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra who gave a marvelous performance.

Gerard Gauci’s set with its neo-classical exterior with the necessary balconies and entrances is effective and easily changeable.

I have made no secret of my enjoyment of this production and like a hungry Oliver Twist (for opera that is) I can only repeat I want more and so should you.

[Travel commitments and scheduling problems prevented me from attending an earlier performance].                                                 

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Don Giovanni by W. A. Mozart, presented by Opera Atelier, opened on October 31 and runs until November 9, 2019 at the Ed Mirvish Theatre, 244 Victoria Street, Toronto. www.operaatelier.com

James Karas is the Senior Editor - Culture of The Greek Press