THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO - REVIEW OF 2025 BROADCAST LIVE FROM THE MET

 Reviewed by James Karas

New York’s Met Opera has broadcast the 2014 production of The Marriage of Figaro to movie theatres around the world. Directed by Richard Eyre, this is an outstanding and I dare say extraordinary production of one of the best operas ever composed. Is that enough superlatives? Stay tuned.

Eyre is a consummate man of the theatre and he directs this Figaro as if it were a play at a major theatre. I have seen the production before and this time I paid more attention not just to the singers but to the person that she or he was singing to or was with. In the theatre the reaction or facial expression of the listener is of the utmost importance. It is equally importance in an opera but when you are watching and listening to the tenor or the soprano trying to reach for the stratosphere vocally, your attention to the person being addressed may waiver.

Let’s start with Eyre’s theatricality during the overture, before the plot begins to unravel. Eyre starts the action during the breathless opening music and gives us a better understanding of the plot that follows. A young, pretty and scantily dressed woman runs onto the stage and hurriedly tries to put some clothes on. We then see a young man (Count Almaviva as it turns out) putting on his robe. He is self-satisfied and happy. He just had sex with one of his servants and when he tries to seduce Suzanna, Figaro’s intended wife, we know what type of man he is. The scene is a marvelous preview of the plot. Credit is due to revival stage director Jonathon Loy. 

Olga Kulchynska as Susanna, Sun-Ly Pierce as Cherubino, and 
Federica Lombardi as Countess Almaviva. 
Photo: Evan Zimmerman / Met Opera

Then, there is the scene of the Countess and Suzanna listening to the testosterone-driven  Cherubino expressing his massive sexual urges to the two ladies. We know his hormonal urges but if we watch the facial expressions of the Countess and Suzanna, we see that they are infected by his enthusiasm, or more bluntly they too are aroused.

It is worthwhile paying attention to such details as you listen to and watch the opera. I hasten to add that the luxury of seeing details like that are almost certainly not available in a huge theatre like Lincoln Centre and perhaps from many seats in  smaller venues. The live transmission and judicious handling of the camera shots makes it all possible. And it is a bonus to see the production in a movie theatre. Who can afford to go and see it in New York anyway?

Another virtue of the production is the revolving stage by Set Designer Rob Howell. It is monumental in size and resembles a medieval cathedral but you see different rooms such as the Countess’s bedroom, Figaro and Suzanna’s room and the garden. The big advantage of the revolving set is the seamless continuity between scenes. No curtain. No furniture, nothing needs to stop or delay the continuity of the plot. Howell designs the costumes for 1930’s Seville where the wealthy men wear handsome three-piece suits, the women are adorned with elegant gowns and the lower orders are attired modestly.

The Met provides some young, talented and attractive singers for most of the roles. Staring with the central role of Suzanna, we have Ukrainian soprano Olga Kulchynska with a lovely voice and lively acting in the biggest role in the opera. Bass-baritone Michael Samuel as Figaro is the schemer-in-chief and the deliverer of some of the best melodies such as ”Se vuol ballare”  “Non piu andrai farfallone amoriso” and much more.

Canadian baritone Joshua Hopkins is the suave, jealous, philandering Count Almaviva. All his sins are absolved near the end of the opera when he sings the two words “Contessa, Perdono.” With resplendent sonority and emotion, he seeks benediction from his wife which she readily grants.

The noble countess is sung by soprano Federica Lombardi who sings the gorgeous “Dove sono” and “Porgi amor” in a ravishing voice that expresses loss, longing and resolution. Mezzo-soprano Sun Ly-Pierce as the young, pursuer of sex is on the opposite side of the scale as his body and voice tremble when his being is under the influence of Eros which happens to be all the time.

Conductor Joana Mallwitz in her debut at the Met set a brisk pace and gave a wonderful performance. Yes, she is a woman conductor and I hope this is the last time I feel the necessity of mentioning the gender of the conductor.
This is an exemplary production and a display of what is being done to bring first class opera around the world.
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The Marriage of Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro) by W A. Mozart was shown Live in HD from the Metropolitan Opera at select Cineplex theatres across Canada on April 26, 2025. It will be shown again at select theatres on May 10, 2025. For more information including dates for reprises go to: www.cineplex.com/events

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

LA REINE-GARÇON – REVIEW OF 2025 CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY PRODUCTION

 Reviewed by James Karas

The Canadian Opera Company and Opéra de Montréal have very commendably commissioned an opera composed by Julien Bilodeau to a libretto by Michel Marc Bouchard. Both are Quebecois and the opera premiered in Montreal last year.

Opera companies commission work and that creates some excitement with the hope that a new opera will join the standard repertoire. Unfortunately, many of them are never seen again and a few may be produced again but nothing comes close to gaining a regular spot like the operas of Verdi and Puccini. One can only hope that La Reine-garçon will be seen many times in the future. 

La Reine-garçon has a delicious score that is melodic, finely-textured, diverse and simply gorgeous. The COC Orchestra under Johannes Debus gives a splendid accounting of the music.

The singing is first rate starting with Canadian soprano Kirsten MacKinnon as Christine. She has mastered the manly gait as we assume it was how the boy-queen walked and she sings with uncommon splendor. We feel her uncertainties about love and passion but we also see her succumb to lesbian attraction. MacKinnon handles Christine’s high notes with ease and the beauty of her voice is unfailing.

Canadian bass-baritone Philippe Sly is wise and solid as Count Karl Gustav as is bass-baritone Daniel Okulitch as Axel Oxenstierna. Tenor Isaiah Bell sings the clownish, narcissistic Johan Oxenstierna. Perhaps one too many Click, Clacks but a fine performance. Canadian Owen McCausland is the wise Descartes who delivers his wisdom in a beautiful tenor voice and gives an anatomy lesson on the brain.

Christine is pursued and propositioned by men but the only sexual contact (a passionate kiss) is with Countess Ebba Sparre (Queen Hezumuryango). And what are all those stags on stage? Do they represent Christine’s sexual dreams?

Kirsten MacKinnon as Christine in COC production.

Photo: Michael Cooper

There is an offstage singer listed in the program as Chant Kulning (Anne-Marie Beaudette) who emits a falsetto scream in the opening scene and afterwards. I could not figure what it was and guessed it might be a wolf’s cry because we were out in the snow. She returned for further screams and whatever she was supposed to be escaped me except that it was annoying.

La Reine-garçon or the boy-queen refers to Queen Christina of Sweden (1626-1689) and had she lived in the twenty-first century she would have qualified for one or more letters of LGBTQ+. Her father raised her as if she were a boy and her gait and mannerisms were male. But he died when she was age seven and she did not gain the throne until her teens. At age 24 she abdicated, converted to Catholicism and moved to Rome where she lived until 1689.

Her life has fired up the Western imagination and she has been portrayed in films, plays and fiction. Her sexual proclivities may have gone in several directions but the interest in her lies more in her artistic interests including her patronage of musicians, artists and opera.

If she ditched the throne in exercise of her free will as advised by Descartes, well and good. But if she converted to Catholicism, does it not mean she accepted the control of the church as in what to wear, eat and think? I suppose you can do that in exercise of free will.

There are things to quibble about with the libretto but the fact remains that this is an approachable and enjoyable opera at first hearing. The rich and varied sets by Anick La Bissonniere, the brilliant lighting design by Eric Champoux and the rich projections by Alexandre Desjardin add to a marvelous production.

And top marks to director Angela Konrad for putting the whole thing together from a theatrical point of view.    
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La Reine-garçon by Julien Bilodeau (music) and Michel Marc Bouchard (libretto) continues until February 15,  2025 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. West Toronto, Ont. www.coc.ca

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

FIDELIO - REVIEW OF 2025 LIVE FROM THE MET PRODUCTION

Reviewed by James Karas

The Metropolitan Opera delivered a delectable production of Beethoven’s Fidelio from New York directly to a movie theatre near you and around the world. After seeing dozens of operas for more than a decade I am still pleasantly surprised every time to see a production on a big screen with marvelous acoustics and comfort. There are many advantages to seeing a transmission live from New York, but I will say more about it below.

The current production is a revival of a staging by Jurgen Flimm that was first seen in 2000. At times there is pressure to shelve the old for something new, but when it is good and fills the house, why bother?

The production has a first-rate cast starting with the lead role of Leonore who of course pretends to be Fidelio and disguised as a man works in a jail where her husband is held as a political prisoner. A very pregnant soprano Lise Davidsen brings a superb voice and acting ability to the role. She must hide her sex and her feelings, first, to avoid the love and marriage prospects to Marzelline, the warden Rocco’s daughter. (Don’t worry about the title) and when she sees her husband Florestan at the point of death in the hideous dungeon. Davidsen has the vocal range and beauty to do a superb job in the role.

Bass Rene Pape sang the role of Rocco in the 2000 production and many times since. In the first act it is a comic role with a twist where, as a father he wants to see his daughter marry Fidelio, the nice new worker, and he gives advice about the need for money. Rocco must stand his aground when he is told to kill Florestan, and his role becomes more serious. Pape has a fine bass voice and handles the role with aplomb.

We love his daughter Marzelline who is lively, pretty and in love. Soprano Ying Fang in the role must rebuff Jaquino, who is persistent to the point of becoming annoying in his marriage proposals. She wants to marry Fidelio, and we know where that is going. Fang has a sweet and agile voice that matches her physical quickness to give us a splendid Marzelline. 

Scene from “Fidelio” at the Met. Photo: Karen Almond, Met Opera

We feel sorry for the persistent and rebuffed Jaquino, but Flimm does provide hope for him. Tenor Magnus Dietrich handles the role of the rejected lover well.

We have the baddy Don Pizzaro who is crooked and vengeful and wants to liquidate Florestan. Tomasz Konieczny in a fine suit (it’s a modern dress production) looks like a bank manager but is quickly revealed as corrupt, remorseless and evil Pizarro who will stop at nothing to eliminate his enemy. Cringe.

The imprisoned Florestan (tenor David Butt Philip) for whom Leonore risks everything is the focal point of the opera, but he appears only in the second act (and changes the tenor of the opera completely) and he does have some tough arias to handle. As soon as he comes-to from near death Philip as Florestan, following a tense musical introduction, delivers “Gott! Welch’Dunkel Hier”. The aria demands range, stamina, power and expressiveness that approach heldentenor ability. Philip is not in that company, but he does sing the aria superbly.

The men of the Met Opera Chorus do their usual superb work as the prisoners. In the final scene the women join them when the prisoners are freed and are presumably joined by their families, including their children.

Susann Malkki conducted the Met Opera Orchestra with beautiful clarity. Robert Israel designed the set which shows two-stories of jail cells on the right with Rocco’s living area in the middle and entrances and exits for all on the left side.

The hosts of Live from the Met in HD for the movie theater audiences always remind us that seeing opera on a large screen is nothing compared to going to Lincoln Center or an opera house near you. There is truth in that but there are some advantages to seeing it on the large screen. The camera zeroes in on the orchestra during the overture and you get an excellent view of its orchestration as they focus on the instruments.

In the beginning Marzelline makes it clear that she does not want to marry Jaquino but in the last scene, during the celebration of the freeing of the prisoners, the camera, Live in HD Director Gary Halvorson shows us Jaquino and Marzelline being reconciled. We may not notice that and many other details in the opera house, least of all in the huge Lincoln Centre. In other words, there is much to be said for watching Live from the Met in a movie theatre.

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Fidelio by Ludwig van Beethoven was shown Live in HD from the Met at select Cineplex theatres across Canada on March 15, 2025. For more information go to: www.cineplex.com/events

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

DAVID AND JONATHAN - REVIEW OF 2025 OPERA ATELIER PRODUCTION

 Reviewed by James Karas

The cover of the program of Opera Atelier’s production of Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s  David and Jonathan shows a shot of Michelangelo’s statue of David,  surely the ultimate definition of male beauty and virility. David is best known as the slayer of the brute Goliath and as one of the early kings of Israel. The opera has almost nothing to do with the fight with the Philistine  Goliath but that seems to be the reason for the unknown David gaining a position in the royal household and developing a strong friendship with Saul’s son Jonathan.

Marshal Pynkoski and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg, the artistic directors of Opera Atelier have done a brilliant job of recreating the opera and providing us with a stunning production. They have included the Artists of the Atelier Ballet and the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir (and of course the Tafelmusik orchestra) to enrich the production. Ms Lajeunesse Zingg’s judicious and splendid choreography introduces almost a ballet performance and the Chamber Choir adds a gorgeous vocal pleasure.

The biblical story from the book of Samuel involves the complex psychological story of King Saul (baritone David Witczak) who takes the unknown David (tenor Colin Ainsworth) into his household for the good reason that he killed Goliath. David develops a deep and everlasting friendship with Saul’s son Jonathan (soprano Mireille Asselin).

Baritone David Witczak as Saul and tenor Colin Ainsworth as David in 

Charpentier's David and Jonathan. Photo by Bruce Zinger

Saul becomes jealous of David’s popularity and in the Prologue to the opera consults the witch Pythonisse (mezzo-soprano Mireille Lebel) about his future. She conjures up the ghost of Saul’s predecessor Samuel (bass-baritone Stephen Hegedus) who prophesies that Saul will lose everything.

The Pynkoski-Zingg team waste no time in setting a brisk pace with Saul running frantically around a lively witch and her demons commanding the stage for the duration of her presence.

David goes back to the Philistine ranks. Joabel (tenor Antonin Rondepierre), the leader of their army wants war while Saul and King Achis (baritone Christpher Dunham) of the  Philistines negotiate peace. Joabel finds a way to inflame Saul’s anger, mistrust and jealousy against David and an inevitable explosion occurs. The opera has an astonishing web of emotional entanglements that add to its fascination. Saul loves his son and David but then he hates the latter and is upset with the former. There is emotional stress and psychological uncertainty among the characters.

Artists of Atelier Ballet in production of Charpentier's 

David and Jonathan. Photo by Bruce Zinger

The emotional and political intrigues come to a head when the Israelites and the Philistines go to all-out war. David and Jonathan, the best and most faithful friends in the world, part. Jonathan and Saul are seriously wounded. Jonathan dies in the arms of his friend while Saul falls on his sword. Amid the horror and the slaughter, there is a glimpse of good news. David is proclaimed King of Israel. The Pynkoski-Zingg fertile imagination, their sense of theatre and their inventiveness create a stunning opera. Some directors feel that deep friendship between two men must have a homoerotic element to it. Pynkoski, to his credit, does not fall for that trap.

The production is a continuous visual and vocal delight. There are gorgeous ballet sequences at regular intervals and the Chamber Choir, I repeat,  is an aural splendor. The costumes by Michael Gianfranco are a colorful pleasure to behold. The set by Gerard Gauci in the reconfigured stage of Koerner Hall is an added bonus.

Ainsworth and Asselin are Opera Atelier stars whereas Witczak and Dunham are with the company for the first time. Hegedus, Lebel and Rondepierre have sung various roles with Opera Atelier. Kudos to exceptional performances.

David Fallis conducted the Tafelmusik orchestra impeccably and they and the cast provided a superb evening at the opera.      
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David and Jonathan by Marc-Antoine Charpentier opened on April 9 and will continue until April 13, 2025, at Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre for Performing Arts, 273 Bloor St. West, Toronto, Ont.   

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

 

TOSCA – REVIEW OF 2024 REVIVAL OF McVICAR’S PRODUCTION LIVE FROM THE MET

 Reviewed by James Karas

Puccini’s Tosca is back on the stage at the New York’s posh Met Opera and brought to a movie theater near you, Live in HD, as they say. It  is a revival of David McVicar’s redoubtable 2017 production that replaced the earlier and highly controversial staging by Luc Bondy. Seeing an opera by Puccini is a reminder that with is death in 1925 came the demise of opera as we know it from the standard repertoire. There are many brave and notable attempts to insert a post-1925 opera into the hearts of opera lovers but none has succeeded completely.

McVicar with Set and Costume Designer John Macfarlane has chosen a traditional approach following the precise locations of the three acts of the opera. The monumental Church of Sant’Andrea della Valle in Act 1 is displayed in all its grandeur and beauty. When the choir sings the Te Deum, we are immersed in physical and choral splendor. Similarly, Scarpia’s residence in the Palazzo Farnese in Act II is big, dark and the abode of a man who wields power. A clue to the type of power he wields is provided by the painting of Peter Paul Rubens’ Rape of the Sabine Women hanging on the wall.  

The final act takes place on the ramparts of Castel Sant’Angelo and the set resembles a faithful reproduction of the place of execution of Cavaradossi and the revenge of Tosca.

 A scene from Act Iii of Tosca. Photo: Marty Sohl/Met Opera 

Tosca has four main characters and its main arias, duets and choral pieces, are well known and most opera lovers have probably seen and  heard numerous recordings. The pivotal role is that of the beautiful, jealous singer Floria Tosca. Lise Davidsen takes on the role with assurance and delivers a performance with vocal prowess and beauty. She is a tall lady and no one can mistake her for a wilting flower but her passion for Cavaradossi leads her to “betray” him when he is being tortured. It is a delight to hear her intone “die, die” over Scarpia’s body. My slight complaint is that when the guards realize that she has killed Scarpia and they rush to capture her she hurls her famous last words “O Scarpia before God” as she jumps over the parapet. In this production she sings those words and then runs up the few steps to the edge. I think she should say them as she jumps.

Tenor Freddie De Tommaso has a sonorous voice that sounded bigger than it probably is especially in the first act where the theatre I was in played the broadcast at  an uncomfortably loud volume. They reduced it after several complaints at the intermission. But he was fine as the lover, good friend and defiant victim of torture and finally in his swan song “E lucevan le stelle” when he thinks he is about to be executed. Beautifully done and emotionally sustained.

The brutal Police Chief Scarpia steals the show with his unbridled evil and his misogyny that spills over into a desire to rape. Baritone Quinn Kelsey exudes all those traits with frightful force and conviction. It is hard to imagine him as the loving Germont in La  Traviata asking his son to return to the beautiful land of Provence or one of the boys in La Boheme. Superb performance.

A tribute to bass-baritone Patrick Carfizzi, a comprimario singing the role of the Sacristan. It is a small role but he sings it well and invests it with humour in an opera that is not known for too many laughs. A bow to Mr. Carfizzi.
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Tosca by Giacomo Puccini was shown Live in HD from the Metropolitan Opera on November 23, 2024 at the Cineplex VIP Don Mills, Shops at Don Mills, 12 Marie Labatte Road, Toronto Ontario M3C 0H9 and other theatres across Canada. For more information: www.cineplex.com/events

JAMES KARAS IS THE SENIOR EDITOR, CULTURE OF THE GREEK PRESS

FAUST – REVIEW OF 2024 CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY PRODUCTION

 Reviewed by James Karas

Faust has had a happier relationship with the COC than Nabucco.  It was last produced by the COC in 2007 and it got seven performances that season.

If Faust had consulted a good lawyer, say Sir Thomas More, about the bargain he was making with the Devil, Mephistopheles, the man for all seasons no doubt would have said “why Doctor, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world, but for a woman.”  Faust sold his soul and did not get the whole world but did get some youth and the young and lovely Marguerite for a brief time. Not a great bargain for him but a huge boon for poets, playwrights and composers.

The COC production tries to capture the essence of the bargain and entertain us with some of the liveliest music on the subject. The production tries illustrating the theme in the detailed set by Emma Ryott and lighting by Charlie Morgan Jones. There are stairs leading up to heaven, I suppose, that also look like the backbone of a prehistoric animal. We have a projection of a human chest that looks like an enhanced x-ray so that you have to look at all its details to get the full picture and all the symbolism. I took their word for it. The church scene was different and starkly impressive.

Mephistopheles (Kyle Ketelsen), dressed in high hat and tails, is the essence of a gentleman. When he strikes the bargain with Faust, he asks him to sign a contract without any information about what is in it. Faust becomes young and able to seduce Marguerite (Guanqun Yu) but we only find out about that when we learn that she had a baby that she kills. We assume that Faust ends up in the place where the sun does not shine but we don’t learn much more about his faith. Marguerite is destroyed and gets a reconciliation scene with Faust but she has God on her side and does not join her lover in the “Other” Place where we assume he goes. She sings her two big arias beautifully.

Kyle Ketelsen, Long Long and Guanqun Yu in COC’s Faust. 
Photo: Michael Cooper

Director Amy Lane embellishes the plot by adding some characters. Mephistopheles is accompanied by two beautiful silent dancers dressed as if they work in a cabaret in Berlin in the 1920’s. They do not sing but they do look good. During the famous Jewel Song, the jewels are shown off by the dancers.

I admit that the familiar story as worked out by Gounod does not grab me but Gounod’s music does. I found a disconnect between the tragedy of Marguerite even if it is relieved by the choir of angels and the grace of God and the beautiful music and melodies. Where is Mephistopheles’ evil to make us cringe with horror?

I cannot complain about the singers. Kyle Ketelsen is a distinguished bass-baritone and he sang a swaggering Mephistopheles, not evil but a fine-voiced man-about-town accompanied by two lovely cabaret girls. Tenor Long Long gave us a well-sung Faust who, as far as we can tell, got Marguerite and, as I said, then destroyed her life. I still can’t figure out why Siebel, a man, is sung by a woman, the lovely-voiced mezzo-soprano Alex Hetherington. Baritone Szymon Mechlinski sings Valentin, Marguerite’s brother, who gets the sonorous and moving aria ‘Avant de quitter ces lieux’’ He bids farewell to his sister and entrusts her care to the Lord and goes off to war where he is killed.

One can argue about Gounod’s treatment of the Faust legend and the creaks of his famous opera but there can be no disagreement about the sumptuousness of his music. The melodic waltz, the Soldier’s Chorus, the beautiful Jewel Song and much more carry the opera and the audience with them. Conductor Johannes Debus conducts the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra and Chorus with superbly.

Amy Lane directs the production at its best and its creakiest and does her best under the circumstances. 
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Faust by Charles Gounod, directed by Amy Lane, conducted by Johannes Debus ran until Nov. 2, 2024, at the Four-Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W. Toronto. For more information go to www.coc.ca

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

 NABUCCO – REVIEW OF 2024 CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY PRODUCTION

 Reviewed by James Karas

For its fall season the Canadian Opera Company has chosen Verdi’s Nabucco and Charles Gounod’s Faust. Both operas are reasonably well known but not exactly chestnuts. Faust was last produced by the COC in 2007 and it has never staged Nabucco before and even this time it offers a production from the Lyric Opera of Chicago. We are happy and grateful for it.

Nabucco has several distinctions, including that of being Verdi’s first great success and being an opera that may best be known for its famous chorus, “Va pensiero.”   A more dubious distinction may be that it has a soprano voice killer role of Abigaile for singers who take on the role while young, undisciplined and unmentored.

The role demands vocal range and prowess that very few sopranos possess. The number of singers who possessed those vocal qualities in the past century can be counted on your fingers so to suggest that Mary Elizabeth Williams, the COC’s Abigaile, does not fall in that category is not to diminish her abilities. She does give us Abigaile’s emotional conflicts, and her ambitions. She reaches vocal and emotional peaks but understandably cannot maintain them throughout. At 47 Williams is not young but she is disciplined enough in not attempting to sing at full throttle for the entire performance. I give her credit for her peaks and understand her care not to overdo it.

Roland Wood as Nabucco and Mary Elizabeth Williams as Abigaille 
in the COC’s production of Nabucco. Photo: Michael Cooper/COC

Baritone Roland Wood has a clarion voice that he unleashes for his performance as Nabucco. The king is arrogant, of course, then he loses it, then he regains his sanity and then he converts. That’s keeping the character and the singer very busy but Wood handles the role well. Mezzo soprano Rihab Chaieb plays the nice Fenena, Nabucco’s real daughter and she sings well and provides a contrast to the megalomaniac Abigaile. But she is not without problems. The nice Babylonian has fallen in love with Ismale (tenor Matthew Cairns), a Hebrew, whom she in fact helped him escape from captivity, and became a hostage of the Israelis. Cairns and bass Simon Lim as the Hebrew High Priest Zaccaria deserve kudos for their performances. Lim”s Zaccaria is a steadfast and sonorous leader who keeps the spirits of the Israelites in check under trying conditions.

Verdi paid special attention to the choruses and the dream of freedom of “Va pensiero” is only one of them. They vary from martial bravado, to fear, to expression of triumph. The  COC Chorus under the direction of Sandra Horst is simply outstanding. The COC Orchestra is conducted in exemplary fashion by Paolo Carignani.  

The sets by Michael Yeargan and the lighting by Mikael Kangas favour dark tones and spotlights. The Babylonian throne at the top of a staircase looks like a simple bench and we have the right to expect something more ostentatious. A few brightly lit scenes would help.  

The same observation applies to Director Katherine M. Carter, who may have had to face budget restrictions rather than failure of the imagination in some of her decisions. I feel that perhaps I am being churlish when I should be grateful and applauding loudly for a production that is highly laudable, of an opera opera that for all its shortcomings, deserves to be produced more frequently.

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Nabucco by Giuseppe Verdi (music) and Temistocle Solera (libretto) was performed seven times between October 4 and 29,  2024 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. West Toronto, Ont. www.coc.ca

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