Opera in Review
CANADA
CALGARY
Calgary Opera’s production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin (seen Feb. 3) presented a visually attractive, compellingly performed account of the opera. While originally set around 1830, it is invariably played as if the period is late imperial Russia, the time of Tolstoy and Chekhov. And so it was on this occasion—Scott Reid’s sets began in modern minimalism, becoming more extravagant for the final two acts, enhanced by elaborate costumes from Malabar.
Overlaying this essentially straightforward telling of the story, were a series of backdrop film projections played during the musical interludes which were, to say the least, eyebrow raising. Consisting of silent movie era black-and-white snippets, they portrayed in close-up scenes of Onegin (baritone Phillip Addis in this instance) in various states of high emotional disturbance (think Rudolf Valentino)—all in apparent response to the different dramatic situations he encounters in the opera: his (supposed) inner emotions in his various meetings with Tatyana, and before his duel with Lensky.
The true purpose of these projections was far from clear, especially given the music that accompanies them is Tatyana, and not Onegin-based. They seemed intended to breathe a measure of emotional life into the character of Onegin, who throughout the opera is mostly cold and aloof.
Leaving aside this point, the production was happily conventional in the best sense, with some first-class acting, notably a very fine performance by Lara Ciekiewicz as Tatyana. Not only in the famous letter scene and its aftermath, but in the difficult, gripping final duet, Ciekiewicz was the strongest dramatic presence in the production, ultimately the focal point of the entire action.
The crowd scenes were also effective, with the chorus not only singing very well but asked to do many complex actions, including much period dancing. The contribution of the Suzirya Ukrainian Dance Theatre to the ensemble scenes was much enjoyed and evoked the feeling of the historical period.
All this delicious detail was, of course, the work of director Tom Diamond, who certainly gave of his best here. The opera greatly benefits from the cumulative effect of many seemingly inconsequential details, and this aspect of the production was one of its notable strengths.
While the opera was well sung, most of the singers are in the early stages of their careers. With this came a certain freshness, but there was also something of a reduction in vocal opulence. The opera is typically cast with heavier-voiced singers, and while this sometimes reduces the youthful element, it does permit Tchaikovsky’s richly-written music a chance to speak more forcibly.
In vocal terms, the best moment came in Valerian Ruminski’s final act bass aria, which was delivered to excellent effect and with commanding voice. It was an outstanding moment in the production. Elsewhere the singing was mostly attractive, if somewhat small scaled.
Lara Ciekiewicz presented a very fine portrait of Tatyana, and also sang well, although her voice is naturally lighter and higher than how the part is typically cast. Equally, Phillip Addis as Onegin was dramatically convincing but was vocally less opulent of voice than other singers in this role. He was strongest in the complex ensemble scenes, his exchanges with Lensky, and especially in the final duet—overall, a memorable conclusion to the opera and more convincing than in other productions I have seen. Elsewhere Addis’s sturdy baritone was fully adequate to the music, but perhaps not more.
Tenor Adam Luther made a fine Lensky, vocally at his best in the famous second act aria, which made its full effect, but also excellent in the tension-filled confrontation scene in the second act. Lauren Segal squeezed everything there is to get from her modest role as Olga, her singing and acting spot on. The other smaller parts contributed significantly to the overall effect of the production: Elizabeth Turnbull vocally secure as Madam Larina; Daevyd Pepper playful and fey as Triquet; Emiliya Boteva suitably comic as the nanny; and Johnathon Kirby and Geoffrey Schellenberg solid in their supporting roles as Zaretsky and the Captain.
Timothy Vernon, energetic as always, conducted the CPO in a smoothly delivered, eloquent performance of the orchestral score, with rhythmically vivid accounts of the famous waltz and polonaise numbers in Acts II and III. Producing an effortless balance between the singers and the orchestra, he led the orchestra in a performance that contributed considerably to the overall musical success of the opera.
—Kenneth DeLong
EDMONTON
There’s a faction of Edmonton Opera supporters who would love to see an operetta every time they come to the Jubilee Auditorium—if not something by Gilbert and Sullivan, at least a production of The Merry Widow or Die Fledermaus. And those folks got their wish on Feb. 3 with the first of three performances of G & S’s HMS Pinafore, jazzed up in places presumably to show that convention needn’t preclude an injection of novelty.
Edmonton Opera enlisted New York arranger Ed Windels, and added a few local jazz musicians to a reduced Edmonton Symphony Orchestra to colour the well-known, often-performed late 19th-century musical satire with shades of Dixieland and Roaring 20s effects. The result was decidedly uneven, and often incongruous. The hybrid effort did little to freshen the well-loved chestnut.
Soprano Vanessa Oude-Reimerink (Josephine) is a legit singer, as they say in Broadway circles, an operatically trained artist who sounds like an opera singer. She is very good as an opera singer, but given a jazz line thrown into the middle of a G & S love ballad, she could not make the shift to a belt that would have made sense of the unidiomatic interruption. This left the jazz instrumentation sounding infelicitous and just confused the theatrical moment.
The only performer with Broadway cred was Bridget Ryan, a multifaceted local media personality, and she delivered a convincing Little Buttercup, rough-edged and musically plausible in the jazzified context of the show.
Glenn Nelson (Sir Joseph), on the other hand, sang the way George Burns used to ‘sing’, trying too hard to squeeze every bit of geezer eccentricity out of the role.
Dion Mazerolle’s Dick Dead Eye veered in the same direction as Nelson’s characterization, but Mazerolle contained the impulse toward self-conscious shtick, and made a solid comic contribution.
One of the few performers who seemed most adept at generating musical theatre stage presence was local actor/singer Ryan Parker (Bill Bobstay), who, whenever he had a short moment in the spotlight, came to the fore with a cheerful exuberance that didn’t stop the show, but did remind us that Pinafore is old-fashioned musical theatre.
Another short-coming of this production—especially since under normal musical theatre conventions the jazzy elements would have ignited a lively, intricately choreographed song and dance number—was the pedestrian energy of most of the chorus, called upon to swing, not ballroom dance, as they might in a continental operetta.
Geoffrey Sirett, as Captain Corcoran, was splendidly affected, both in the copious spoken portions of the operetta and in his singing role. Sirett is comfortable in his skin as a performer, and he displayed both charming, dialed-back operatic technique and impressive physical comedic skill. The other male lead, Adrian Kramer (Ralph Rackstraw) has a bright tenor sound, and was a good casting choice.
Some of the production’s best energy came from Deanna Finnman’s costuming. The women of the chorus, although often static participants in their scenes, looked fabulous in 20s flapper dresses. Camellia Koo’s set depicted a two-deck Cunard ocean liner. The orchestra, led by Peter Dala, sat upstage underneath the upper deck, and most of the action happened on the main stage in front.
—Bill Rankin
MONTREAL
Jan. 27 marked the Canadian premiere of at . Entering the theatre, I found myself wondering how one could effectively convey a political story that is so
