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The one good thing about missing the opening night Gala --and we'd have looked absolutely stunning in a tux-- is that we got to read the underwhelmed reports of the premiere of Verdi's Un Ballo en Maschera. We attended the performance last night with lowered expectation, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We will not second guess our estimable colleagues, since we did not see the same performance, and since we came in having integrated their feedback. In order for all of us to converge, we would have to visit the opera house a couple times, and adopt the same ethical reviewing guidelines as a food critic. And still, we'd find ways to disagree.
We have a unifying theory of the complaints from Friday's performance: the stage direction just brings the piece down. The parts which can be carried solely on the singers' shoulders are beautiful. Deborah Voigt's aria in the opening of Act II is a wonder. Well, Deborah Voigt is a wonder by herself: she inhabits the role of Amelia with such intensity, such fire, such passion. She does not sing Amelia, she is Amelia. Every note she sings comes not from the whims of the composer, but from the heart of the character. She sings these notes because she needs to, not because she has to. Even in the thralls of love or in the midst of despair, she sings with gut-wrenching emotion, but technical clarity, and always a luminous tone. She makes the opera work on her sheer talent.
Picture courtesy of SF Opera/Terrence McCarthy. In front at left, Deborah Voigt; lying down and slooooowly agonizing, Marcus Haddock.
Bass Ambrogio Maestri, Amelia's husband who suspects she cheated on him with King Gustavus, could as well be singing his Act III aria in street clothes at a bus stop, and pull it off: a profound voice brimming with emotion, he too conveys a deeply felt reaction to the action. And soprano Anna Christy brings a delicious perkiness and insouciance to the blackbird-like flourish of Oscar, one of those male roles sung by a woman.
Those singers do not require an elaborate set or fancy stage direction to appear lively: they live the role from the inside. Others on the other hand do need an assist from the stage director, and here, Un Ballo en Maschera disappoints. Both set and stage direction suffer from the same flaw: it is too conservative. Oh, the set is conspicuous all right, it looks very elaborate and even expensive, and all the required movements between the actors are present. There are dancing mimes and fireworks, but there is little life. Only a very literal and risk-free adaptation of the score.
The singers in many scenes seem to be waiting for their cue to go to the next mark,
and some of the scenes fall flat. Ulrica's scene in Act I for instance, never catches fire. We remembered how another Verdi gypsy, Jill Grove's Preziosilla, blew our mind in La Forza del Destino, and she did it by jumping on the table! By having the choir split like the Red Sea around her as if she had been touched by the devil! Tichina Vaughn is being served a curve ball by the stage director, who has her running in concentric circles around a little hibachi bbq grill like a tamed lion in cage, while the choir placidly looks upon her.
As noticed by Joshua Kosman, the only spark in the scene comes from Eugene Brancoveanu, who adds mobility to the scene: he barges in, demands to go through, sings his bit light on his feet, and then disappears. His role is small, but because he moves about the stuffy setting, it brings fresh air.
Tenor Marcus Haddock's King Gustavus suffers the most from the staid staging. He has a very pretty voice, very rich in tone and smooth in color. He makes up some of his lack of volume with a perfect control, and if you can hear him, it is a pleasure to hear him. His duet with Amelia, the piece de resistance of the opera (that youtube clip we put in here) is a delight, and is final agony scene is splendid as well. Since he is not a powerful voice who requires to be solidly planted on the ground to fill the opera house, the deliberate movement underlines his shortcomings instead of emphasizing his qualities.
The choir, always a prominent element in a Verdi opera, does not disappoint, and neither does the orchestra, excellent under the baton of Marco Armiliato, who gave his singers a short leash last night. Surprisingly enough, we were back home at 10:30pm, which means that the pace was brisk and the set changes efficient. That, and no intermission between Act II and Act III, the one thing we appreciated the most about the set.
Un Ballo en Maschera (a Masked Ball)
Remaining Performances: Sun. September 17, 2 pm, Wed. September 20, 7:30 pm, Sat. September 23, 8 pm, Tue. September 26, 7:30 pm and Fri. September 29, 8 pm.
Box Office: 864-3330.
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Dear Ced: I'm glad to hear the performance picked up from opening night (it usually does). And I'm glad the singers sounded better too. Voigt sounded all wrong to me and the baritone was awful last Friday. I did like the tenor, however, even if it isn't a huge voice.
Reading this actually makes me contemplate going back at the end of the run, and just listening to it from balcony standing-room. This really is one of my favorite Verdi operas.
And it's true, you would look absolutely stunning in a tux. If you go next year, I'll grab a photo.
SFMike,
how come you were not on the stage. Are we going to see you soon? Let us know what you think if you do go see it again. And, regarding the tux: thanks, hopefully I'll be in the picture next year.