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AVA's 'Vanessa'
Steve Cohen
The second-best American opera
STEVE COHEN
Want to start a fight?
What’s the greatest American opera?
In this corner, straight froma successful engagement at the Academy of Music, is Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. And in the other corner, hot off an impressive showing at the Academy of Vocal Arts, is a local, Philadelphia-area contender, now recognized around the world: Samuel Barber and Gian Carlo Menotti’s Vanessa.
Pick your favorite.
Vanessa is blessed with music that is all of a piece, music that conveys a feeling of melancholia. Barber uses an orchestral tone that reminds us of his accomplishments in Knoxville, Summer 1917 and his Adagio for Strings. The vocal writing reaches its peak in an intense last-act quintet of conflicting feelings.
Menotti’s story tells of a woman who, following a failed romance, chose seclusion in a mansion whose gates are locked and whose mirrors are draped for 25 years. Now Anatol, her lover, is returning. When he arrives, Vanessa sees a young imposter who turns out to be the son of the now-dead Anatol, coming to see the woman he has heard so much about. He is young enough to be Vanessa’s son and, under her roof, he seduces Vanessa’s niece, Erica. Eventually young Anatol marries Vanessa and they go off, leaving behind a grieving Erica, who orders the mirrors to be draped and the gates locked.
The story leaves many unanswered questions. When did Anatol have this son, and who was his mother? Is it possible that Erica actually is Vanessa’s daughter, fathered by the original Anatol? If so, Erica would be having sex with her half-brother.
Menotti's ambiguous reply
I broached this question to Menotti in the ‘70s at Temple University, where he had come for a performance of his staged cantata, The Death of the Bishop of Brindisi. He smiled and said, "That’s an interesting question, isn’t it?" His ambiguous answer suggested that he found the possibility intriguing, and maybe even planned it that way.
The opera was successful in its 1958 Metropolitan debut and around the world. I’ve enjoyed it in several revivals, and its music is complex and beautiful. Ultimately, however, it cannot win any “Best American Opera” contest, if only because its setting is Europe and the subject is the past. Menotti and Barber both grew up in the Philadelphia area, and Menotti previously wrote an opera about Bleecker Street in New York City and used other American locales; but here they picked a topic that was as far from American shores– emotional and geographical– as possible. This remoteness defeats Vanessa.
Porgy and Bess, despite its flaws (which I discussed in my recent review, deserves the championship, with its great melodies, its depiction of a slice of American society and its characters’ ambition to seek fulfillment, in varying forms, in New York City.
The action is offstage
When Vanessa was last performed in Philadelphia, at the Curtis Institute in 2002, director Mikael Eliason chose to perform it as a concert with orchestra "because most of its action takes place offstage, and the orchestral parts are so gorgeous." The Academy of Vocal Arts this month chose the opposite, presenting a fully staged opera with piano accompaniment.
Luke Housner played brilliantly and revealed some unusual aspects of the score. Vanessa’s first look at Anatol, for instance, and Erica’s announcement that she’s pregnant, benefit from hearing piano rather than a thundering orchestra. At those moments Samuel Barber relied too much on volume to overwhelm his audience. During most of the evening the piano underscored the singing and put more-than-normal focus on voices.
Takesha Meshe Kizart is an accomplished singer with attractive looks. But whenever she rose above mezza-forte, her voice exploded with an edgy blast that’s especially wrong for this buttoned-up character. And she looked too glamorous for a woman who has lived in bitter seclusion for two decades. The drama is enhanced if the closeted Vanessa belatedly blossoms in the last act as she moves out of the house and marries Anatol.
As Erica, Elspeth Kincaid practically stole the show with lovely mezzo singing and good acting. Michael Fabiano as Anatol nicely balanced the man’s opportunistic ambition and his impetuosity. His fine tenor voice and good looks promise a successful career.
Dorothy Danner directed expertly, and opened up the piece by having some characters make entrances through the audience.
STEVE COHEN
Want to start a fight?
What’s the greatest American opera?
In this corner, straight froma successful engagement at the Academy of Music, is Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. And in the other corner, hot off an impressive showing at the Academy of Vocal Arts, is a local, Philadelphia-area contender, now recognized around the world: Samuel Barber and Gian Carlo Menotti’s Vanessa.
Pick your favorite.
Vanessa is blessed with music that is all of a piece, music that conveys a feeling of melancholia. Barber uses an orchestral tone that reminds us of his accomplishments in Knoxville, Summer 1917 and his Adagio for Strings. The vocal writing reaches its peak in an intense last-act quintet of conflicting feelings.
Menotti’s story tells of a woman who, following a failed romance, chose seclusion in a mansion whose gates are locked and whose mirrors are draped for 25 years. Now Anatol, her lover, is returning. When he arrives, Vanessa sees a young imposter who turns out to be the son of the now-dead Anatol, coming to see the woman he has heard so much about. He is young enough to be Vanessa’s son and, under her roof, he seduces Vanessa’s niece, Erica. Eventually young Anatol marries Vanessa and they go off, leaving behind a grieving Erica, who orders the mirrors to be draped and the gates locked.
The story leaves many unanswered questions. When did Anatol have this son, and who was his mother? Is it possible that Erica actually is Vanessa’s daughter, fathered by the original Anatol? If so, Erica would be having sex with her half-brother.
Menotti's ambiguous reply
I broached this question to Menotti in the ‘70s at Temple University, where he had come for a performance of his staged cantata, The Death of the Bishop of Brindisi. He smiled and said, "That’s an interesting question, isn’t it?" His ambiguous answer suggested that he found the possibility intriguing, and maybe even planned it that way.
The opera was successful in its 1958 Metropolitan debut and around the world. I’ve enjoyed it in several revivals, and its music is complex and beautiful. Ultimately, however, it cannot win any “Best American Opera” contest, if only because its setting is Europe and the subject is the past. Menotti and Barber both grew up in the Philadelphia area, and Menotti previously wrote an opera about Bleecker Street in New York City and used other American locales; but here they picked a topic that was as far from American shores– emotional and geographical– as possible. This remoteness defeats Vanessa.
Porgy and Bess, despite its flaws (which I discussed in my recent review, deserves the championship, with its great melodies, its depiction of a slice of American society and its characters’ ambition to seek fulfillment, in varying forms, in New York City.
The action is offstage
When Vanessa was last performed in Philadelphia, at the Curtis Institute in 2002, director Mikael Eliason chose to perform it as a concert with orchestra "because most of its action takes place offstage, and the orchestral parts are so gorgeous." The Academy of Vocal Arts this month chose the opposite, presenting a fully staged opera with piano accompaniment.
Luke Housner played brilliantly and revealed some unusual aspects of the score. Vanessa’s first look at Anatol, for instance, and Erica’s announcement that she’s pregnant, benefit from hearing piano rather than a thundering orchestra. At those moments Samuel Barber relied too much on volume to overwhelm his audience. During most of the evening the piano underscored the singing and put more-than-normal focus on voices.
Takesha Meshe Kizart is an accomplished singer with attractive looks. But whenever she rose above mezza-forte, her voice exploded with an edgy blast that’s especially wrong for this buttoned-up character. And she looked too glamorous for a woman who has lived in bitter seclusion for two decades. The drama is enhanced if the closeted Vanessa belatedly blossoms in the last act as she moves out of the house and marries Anatol.
As Erica, Elspeth Kincaid practically stole the show with lovely mezzo singing and good acting. Michael Fabiano as Anatol nicely balanced the man’s opportunistic ambition and his impetuosity. His fine tenor voice and good looks promise a successful career.
Dorothy Danner directed expertly, and opened up the piece by having some characters make entrances through the audience.
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