Opera Patron 2.0: Sue, from Brooklyn

On Monday I took advantage of the ecstatic September weather and caught operamission's Figaro performance, which was presented as part of the Bryant Park Fall Festival.

It was idyllic: sparkling sun, cool breezes, amazing food and beverages, and bustling energy surrounding a park with Mozart flowing through the speakers.  As I walked from the south side of the park to the north, tables of lunchers gave way to sunbathers, which gave way to rows of seats in front of the white-tented stage.

At the end of the performance, around two o'clock, I was surprised by the woman near me, who leapt to her feet, clapping, shouting,

BRAVOOOOO! BRAVOOO! THAT WAS AWESOME! 

She admonished her friends, some of whom had fallen to napping in the sunshine: "You missed the best part!  There was a ton of action!  They were really goin' attit!!! (referring to the Figaro Act II Finale Throw Down)

She looked around....

Why aren't more people standing??  That was AWESOME!

I spoke to her afterwards.  I was too shy to ask for a picture, but she looked something like the picture above, except very excited. Her name is Sue and she's from Brooklyn.  She'd seen opera before, but had never subscribed to anything. She liked Mozart, Handel; Beethoven not so much. She was also excited because, at that same moment, her daughter was expecting to give birth to a baby girl by way of c-section.  She gave me a hug and said God Bless.

So I was surprised by her not by her age, but her energy.  She stood up and hollered. She knew she was seeing something special.  And she had a busy life, with babies being born any second -- she had a lot on her mind.

So how we get her into the Hall to hear singers on a regular basis?  I don't know.

But that would be AWESOME.

P.S. the awesome singers from operamission included bass CORY CLINES (Figaro) • soprano SHARIN APOSTOLOU (Susanna) • baritone MICHAEL WEYANDT (Count) • soprano INNA DUKACH (Countess) and countertenor TYLER WAYNE SMITH as Cherubino - led by Jennifer Peterson and directed by Peter Kozma

I Hate Comic Opera. Sometimes.

As an actor, I learned comedy through improv theatre, but fell in love with opera for the epic, the heroic, the transcendent. And I've seen a lot of comic opera that is just not, well...funny.

But I just spent three months submerged in the best Italian buffa ever written. If I've learned anything, it's that even comic opera, even with all its iron-clad notes, timing, and traditional schtick, must have an absolutely ridiculous improvisation to it: the actors have to feel like asking,

"Are people actually watching us have this much fun?" 

and the audience has to feel like asking,

"Am I allowed to have this much fun?" 

Otherwise if it is practiced and cute -- if it only qualifies as 'charming' -- we're only imitating what comedy in the theatre is actually supposed to be.

And the difference between a good joke and a bad shtick is that a joke has to come from something the character would actually do, even in their own absurd logic. Schtick uses a logic outside of the characters - it's something superimposed onto them.

I learned this from a fart joke in Pasquale.  At least a fart is good for something.

This is Glenn Seven Allen, being very funny in a Barber directed by Benjamin Wayne Smith, who is also very funny. Credit to Wildeye Photography, whom I hope got some good laughs.

Sir Falstaff, Reviewed and Relished

Here are the best quotes from the four reviews of Falstaff!

"campy, raucous, sleazy, self-mocking, groovy, tacky, immoderate, compatible with beer and ice cream...All of these adjectives were applicable in the best possible way..."

"Dongkyu Oh [revealed] Falstaff’s true nature -- not merely a clown but an unapologetic embodiment of social vice."

"...the real scene-stealer...was Desiree Maira as Mistress Quickly, sporting impressively evocative facial expressions..." 

"Energy was abundant...Duke justly deserves the dual credits of director and choreographer. Cleverness of movement pervaded...from ostentatious disco to a simple turn of hand or head."

- Boston Music Intelligencer - Second cast opening review 

Now then a different person from the same journal saw a completely different cast but said a lot of the same things:

"...fluid, well-timed"

"...Brooke Larimer as Mistress Quickly was the quintessential contralto-soubrette, Italian-American sexpot...the most convincing physical realization of character...

"solid and entertaining"

- Boston Music Intelligencer - Opening night review 

"Delightful...spirited...funny"

- Boston Pheonix - review   

"...like something Diane Paulus would do..."

"...some of the best 'Shakespearean' acting I've seen all year."

- The Hub Review - review

Bravi tutti!

The wicked wives of Windsor. Photo by J.J. Bates.

Falstaff Bursts through Boston - July 15-24!

Set in the 'Me" decade of the 1970s, this hilarious farce is an ode to mafia dons, feminine mystique, boogie nights, and the dusk of Aquarius.  And it all goes down in a 1914 vaudeville house with full orchestra, where you can bring the beer into the show and even have your own cupholder! Just keep the concessions away from Big Belly!

The magic of Mischa Santora's baton will light this firecracker!  And I've had such a ball working with these irrepressible singers and my wacky and wise designers, Scott Bolman, Ada Smith, and Andrea Lauer!

Designing Pasquale: Pearls and Chrome

I'm ramping up for Don Pasquale with the amazing folks at Hubbard Hall -- Alexina Jones and Jason Dolmetsch -- and my design advisor, Zane Pihlstrom.  Here are some research images of early Hollywood and Art Deco splendour:

 Norina in her garden...from Walter Crane's charming illustration...

Chorus girls in their dressing room...we're juxtaposing black/white with technicolor to highlight all the roles the characters play...

Madame widow Norina, lost in her world...

Freedom of Exposure

I ripped this great quote off a press conference with Marjane Satrapi, the creator of the comic books and film Persepolis:

"Being truly democratic, I'm open to all critiques and protests. I think it's only by being able to understand these critiques and protests that we can build something. I think freedom of expression and freedom of speech starts the moment I expose myself. So it's the result of me putting myself out there that not everyone is going to agree with me. It would be boring if they did."

The Met in the Black?

According to this article in the WSJ, the Met plans to have a balanced budget this year for the first time since 2004. Of course, this is very encouraging for the world of opera, especially in light of NYCO's recent struggles. And I think it's interesting to look at the range in production styles at the Met recently...while there are of course a fair share of over the top sets, like Robert Le Page's Ring or Bart Sher's Hoffman...last year we had the very ensemble-driven From The House of the Dead (which actually may have spent its money doing extensive -- and fruitful -- movement rehearsals) or Mark Lamos's Wozzeck, above, which visually consisted of grey walls with a black curtain during the orchestral transitions.

So the company seems to be proving that opera as a diverse animal can and will, in fact, draw in money and value, and for that I applaud Mr. Gelb and his colleagues.