SA Opera
A 'Figaro' long on beauty, short on bite
February 5, 2011Apart from chronically bollixed supertitle translations, a misplaced overture and a hall that was unsuited to Mozart-sized voices, San Antonio Opera’s production of “The Marriage of Figaro” sailed smoothly on opening night, Feb. 4 in Cockrell Theatre.
Perhaps too smoothly. Lorenzo DaPonte’s libretto, based on a once-scandalous comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, is about the lecherous and sometimes violent Count Almaviva’s uppity servants (Figaro and his betrothed, Susanna) who conspire with the long-suffering Countess to hoist the nobleman with his own petard.
For all its madcap antics, “The Marriage of Figaro” is political theater. It stands for the dignity of ordinary people and of women, and against the corrosive effect of power. It does not argue for revolution or class warfare: Count Almaviva is still a count at the final curtain, and everybody more or less loves him. But he has been taught his lesson.
In a great production of “The Marriage of Figaro,” the singers and conductor bring to the surface the underlying resentments and (in the case of Almaviva) presumptions of the main characters. It was that pointedness, that pungency, which was too seldom heard in this production. The fault lay partly with the newly renovated theater’s acoustics, which (at orchestra-level seats both near to and distant from the stage) muffled the voices and enveloped the singers and the orchestra in sonic gauze. But much of the cast was young, and it may be that some of them needed a few more years of seasoning to plum the depths of their roles.
That quibble aside, the singing as a whole was quite good, and the quality level was remarkably even all the way down to the smallest parts. Ensembles were well matched.
Top marks go to the Countess of soprano Priti Gandhi, whose warmth and deep gloss were a pleasure to hear. She struck the right note of pathos in the Act II cavatina “Porgi, amor” and the Act III aria “Dove sono.” The Susanna of soprano Samantha Britt was underpowered but vocally attractive, with a nimble, silvery instrument. She brought apt spunk to her role.
Bass-baritone Darren K. Stokes’s ringing top and honeyed timbre made an agreeable Figaro. His closing aria in Act I, the teasing “Non piu andrai,” was spirited. Baritone Michael Krzankowski was a reliably capable if somewhat bland Count Almaviva. Neither of the male leads was as commanding a presence as their roles demand.
Mezzo-soprano Jossie Perez was a vivacious Cherubino, the adolescent boy with a crush on the Countess. Soprano Emily Ward, remembered favorably for her Sister Genevieve in this company’s production of “Suor Angelica” last year, made an excellent impression again as Barbarina, the adolescent girl who has a crush on Cherubino; she gleamed in her one aria, “L’ho perduta” in Act 4.” Bass Matthew Lau and soprano Jennifer Root (a product of the UTSA vocal program and, later, Houston Opera Studio) were highly effective as Dr. Bartolo and Marcellina.
Conductor Anton Coppola drew a luxurious, creamy sound from the orchestra. The pacing was good, though the energy level flagged somewhat in Act 4. He sometimes had trouble holding the pit and stage together. Recitativ were accompanied by a greatly overamplified harpsichord; an unamplified piano would have been a better choice. (Mozart played an early version of the piano for some performances of "The Marriage of Figaro.")
Stage director Cynthia Stokes found a good balance -- activity without frenzy, comedy without resort to burlesque, sensible detail without fussiness.
The set, designed by J. Michael Wingfield for Sarasota Opera, was dowdy and unimaginative in the first three acts. A handsome backdrop painted by Michael Hagen, depicting the moon and its reflection in water, helped the final act.
The sprightly overture, which usually comes at the beginning (go figure), was relocated in this production to the scene-changing pause between the third and fourth acts. That disfiguring decision had the negligible benefit of getting the audience home five minutes early.
Mike
Greenberg
