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OCP's "Rigoletto' (1st review)
A Rigoletto you can believe
LEWIS WHITTINGTON
The Opera Company of Philadelphia’s production of Verdi’s Rigoletto is so cohesive that by time tenor Matthew Polenzani sings its most famous aria, “La donna è mobile,” one could forget to anticipate one of opera’s greatest hits. Of course Verdi’s 1850 masterpiece was cohesive to begin with: Musically, the narrative progresses as a complete piece, not a bilious framework of its arias, everything theatrically logical like a finely structured play with universal themes. But Robert B. Driver’s kinetic direction keeps it completely involving, every element framing a finely tuned vocal production.
Rigoletto is the tortured humpback jester at the Mantua Court, a walking tragedy obsessed with vengeance against the courtiers who mock him. Is he provoked, or is his rage a fatal tragic flaw? It’s a story not weighed down by metaphysics, but Alan Opie’s finely detailed characterization of Rigoletto resembles that of a seasoned Shakespearean actor, setting a benchmark performance without italicizing it. Musically, Opie offers a spellbinding performance of immediacy and scope, even if his baritone loses some pitch emoting over his daughter’s fate in Act II.
Father-daughter chemistry
Opie’s scenes with soprano Chen Reiss, who plays his daughter Gilda, emit a palpable father-daughter chemistry that’s both touching and credible. Both Reiss and Opie prove equal to the necessary operatic heavy lifting as a girlish infatuation escalates into tragedy. They build the dramatic tension, all the while sustaining long solo passages and Verdi’s intricate rapid-fire duets.
Matthew Polenzani plays the Duke of Mantua as a great egocentric aristocrat with the voice to back up his swagger, but not at the expense of his comic romantic flair in posing as a poor student to woo the quiet beauty Gilda. Dimitrie Lazich, in his OCP debut as the rogue courtier Marullo, has enough of an unscrupulous glint in his eye that you would readily believe he could ruin Rigoletto’s life just for fun. His silent reaction of compassion upon hearing the hunchback plead for his daughter’s return is played with the power of a great silent film star like Roman Norvarro. Vocally, Lazich’s understated baritone commanded at key moments.
A fine ability to stay focused
But back to “La donna è mobile,” which finds the Duke slumming it in Sparafucile’s tavern with femme fatale Maddalena, played with wry bawdiness and treachery by mezzo-soprano Kirstin Chavez while their encounter is observed by Rigoletto and the spurned Gilda. Here is a fine example of director Driver’s ability to keep a scene focused with unfussy, naturalized movement and intelligent pacing. The same goes for Rigoletto’s physical problems, which appear consistently authentic. The palace court dances are choreographed with authority and rare (for opera) lightness by Seth Hoff, who was also the production‘s assistant director.
Conductor Corrado Rovaris’s muscular orchestration seemed fully engaged with the score and musicians, projecting all of Verdi’s symphonic dramaturgy with sonority. Even in the quiet moments, I heard no one shuffling or snoring.
Paul Shortt’s rich production design successfully transports the audience to Renaissance Mantua. In the opening ballroom scene, his tiered gold palace steps frame the equally voluptuous Renaissance costumes by Richard St. Clair. Equally impressive is Shortt’s darkly luminous palace anteroom of Act II, gradually filling with 25 singing viceroys and palace rogues, while a canvas of nudes and a promontory bust loom over them.
Tp read Steve Cohen's review, click here.
LEWIS WHITTINGTON
The Opera Company of Philadelphia’s production of Verdi’s Rigoletto is so cohesive that by time tenor Matthew Polenzani sings its most famous aria, “La donna è mobile,” one could forget to anticipate one of opera’s greatest hits. Of course Verdi’s 1850 masterpiece was cohesive to begin with: Musically, the narrative progresses as a complete piece, not a bilious framework of its arias, everything theatrically logical like a finely structured play with universal themes. But Robert B. Driver’s kinetic direction keeps it completely involving, every element framing a finely tuned vocal production.
Rigoletto is the tortured humpback jester at the Mantua Court, a walking tragedy obsessed with vengeance against the courtiers who mock him. Is he provoked, or is his rage a fatal tragic flaw? It’s a story not weighed down by metaphysics, but Alan Opie’s finely detailed characterization of Rigoletto resembles that of a seasoned Shakespearean actor, setting a benchmark performance without italicizing it. Musically, Opie offers a spellbinding performance of immediacy and scope, even if his baritone loses some pitch emoting over his daughter’s fate in Act II.
Father-daughter chemistry
Opie’s scenes with soprano Chen Reiss, who plays his daughter Gilda, emit a palpable father-daughter chemistry that’s both touching and credible. Both Reiss and Opie prove equal to the necessary operatic heavy lifting as a girlish infatuation escalates into tragedy. They build the dramatic tension, all the while sustaining long solo passages and Verdi’s intricate rapid-fire duets.
Matthew Polenzani plays the Duke of Mantua as a great egocentric aristocrat with the voice to back up his swagger, but not at the expense of his comic romantic flair in posing as a poor student to woo the quiet beauty Gilda. Dimitrie Lazich, in his OCP debut as the rogue courtier Marullo, has enough of an unscrupulous glint in his eye that you would readily believe he could ruin Rigoletto’s life just for fun. His silent reaction of compassion upon hearing the hunchback plead for his daughter’s return is played with the power of a great silent film star like Roman Norvarro. Vocally, Lazich’s understated baritone commanded at key moments.
A fine ability to stay focused
But back to “La donna è mobile,” which finds the Duke slumming it in Sparafucile’s tavern with femme fatale Maddalena, played with wry bawdiness and treachery by mezzo-soprano Kirstin Chavez while their encounter is observed by Rigoletto and the spurned Gilda. Here is a fine example of director Driver’s ability to keep a scene focused with unfussy, naturalized movement and intelligent pacing. The same goes for Rigoletto’s physical problems, which appear consistently authentic. The palace court dances are choreographed with authority and rare (for opera) lightness by Seth Hoff, who was also the production‘s assistant director.
Conductor Corrado Rovaris’s muscular orchestration seemed fully engaged with the score and musicians, projecting all of Verdi’s symphonic dramaturgy with sonority. Even in the quiet moments, I heard no one shuffling or snoring.
Paul Shortt’s rich production design successfully transports the audience to Renaissance Mantua. In the opening ballroom scene, his tiered gold palace steps frame the equally voluptuous Renaissance costumes by Richard St. Clair. Equally impressive is Shortt’s darkly luminous palace anteroom of Act II, gradually filling with 25 singing viceroys and palace rogues, while a canvas of nudes and a promontory bust loom over them.
Tp read Steve Cohen's review, click here.
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