"La Curandera"
Comic opera set in Mexico
finds composer Robert X. Rodriguez in top form
March 4, 2009
San Antonio-born composer Robert X. Rodriguez has created a handsomely crafted, audience-pleasing romp in the form of “La Curandera,” a one-act comic opera to a libretto by Mary Medrick.
Commissioned and first produced by Opera Colorado, “La Curandera” has been brought to the composer’s home state in a series of performances by students at the University of Texas Butler School of Music. I caught it in a double bill with Mozart’s very early Singspiel “Bastien und Bastienne” -- the pairing intended by Rodriguez -- on Feb. 28 in Austin’s new Mexican American Cultural Center. The production was a collaboration with Austin Lyric Opera.
“La Curandera” was designed for touring to schools, and the plot is fairly thin: The young Americans Alberto and his fiancée, Alba, travel to Mexico to visit Alberto’s great uncle, Godofredo. Alba unjustly suspects Alberto of a dalliance with Godofredo’s nurse, Dionisia. A hotel keeper, Ramon, arranges for Alba’s suspicions to be exorcised by a local curandera. And everyone lives happily ever after.
These might not be the makings of immortal theater, but the laughs are abundant and honestly obtained, and there is much pleasure to be had from the composer’s sheer mastery of his craft. Rodriguez appropriates some familiar melodies from Mexican folk tradition, freshens them up and weaves them through deftly made, rhythmically vibrant original material. He calls for an orchestra of only nine players, but the instrumentation (two strings, three winds, piano, accordion, percussion and timpani) affords a wide gamut of color possibilities, and Rodriguez exploits them superbly.
There’s only one memorable solo aria, in which the aged Godofredo (bass-baritone Daymon Passmore) ruminates on the passage of time, but there are delightfully intricate ensembles for three, four and six singers. The rather violent exorcism is amply funny.
Tenor Kevin King and soprano Lisa Kelly turned in excellent comedic performances as Alberto and Alba; they shared a lovely duet of reminiscence. Mezzo-soprano Claudia Chapa’s dark, rich instrument was well suited to the title role. The whole cast radiated energy and melded into a team.
Stage director Marc Reynolds managed the small space and sparse decor nicely. Conductor Stephan Sanders led the cast and the strong orchestra with liveliness and crisp rhythms.
“Bastien und Bastienne” is thematically similar to “La Curandera.” Bastien fears that her boyfriend has turned his affections elsewhere and seeks the counsel and magical spells of the local charlatan, Colas. Mozart was only 12 when he wrote “Bastien und Bastienne,” but the music is remarkably assured, and one can hear hints of the mature Mozart’s understanding of character and emotion as it would be applied later in “Cosi fan tutte.”
The production was most notable for the gleaming, agile Bastienne of soprano Maranda Childs and for the brisk pacing of conductor Wes Schultz.
Additional performances are scheduled for March 6 t 8 p.m. and March 8 at 7 p.m. in the McCullough Opea Theater, behind Bass Concert Hall and downhill from the LBJ Library, on the UT-Austin campus. For tickets, call (512) 477-6060.
Mike
Greenberg
