The Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio; The Marriage of Figaro. Conducted by Johannes Debus with the COC Orchestra and Chorus. Four Seasons Centre For The Arts. Monday, Feb. 21.
For the inveterate opera buff, a great opportunity to hear stars of tomorrow is the annual Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio’s mainstage performance. This season, it’s The Marriage of Figaro. The COC has scheduled a whopping 10 performances of this show with the regular cast, plus the single ensemble show.
Experts tell us that Mozart is a balm for the voice, so this is an ideal vehicle to showcase young talent. Based on the most recent statistics of opera performances worldwide (5 seasons from 2009/10 to 2013/14), Nozze is Mozart’s 2nd most popular opera, (first being Die Zauberflöte) and the 7th most frequently performed opera in the world. It received 2,454 performances out of a total of 59,534 opera performances worldwide. Nozze was last staged by the COC in the 2006-7 season, its first year in the new opera house.
The cast of this special performance was a mix of current and past Ensemble Studio artists plus guests. The production by Claus Guth originated from the 2006 Salzburg Festival, revived in 2011, and has since been replaced by a new production there last summer. It’s conceptually interesting and physically challenging for the singers. This is my 4th stab at the show, having seen a working rehearsal, the dress rehearsal, and opening night, not to mention the commercial DVD. With repeated viewings, I’m warming up to Guth’s vision, which underscores the eternal struggle between reason (societal convention) and desire (the darker side of human nature). It’s certainly well executed, with excellent and very precise choreography in sync with the music. At first, I wasn’t so fond of the Guth creation, a silent Cherubim (acted superlatively by Uli Kirsch). As I became more familiar with production, I’ve come to appreciate more Guth’s take on the piece.
Since I’ve already written extensively on the production, I’ll confine my comments to the performance. This work requires a very strong ensemble cast, and everyone last evening was up to the task, from the title role to the smallest character part. If I had to single out one artist for special praise, it would have to be baritone Gordon Bintner as the Count. He deputized for an indisposed Russell Braun at the dress rehearsal and blew everyone away, singing and acting like a seasoned pro. This singer has everything – voice, musicality, theatricality, looks, you name it. Last night, his big aria, “Hai gia vinta la causa” was beautiful as usual although he noticeably held back a bit in the second half of the very strenuous piece – not easy singing with a grown man on your back! In any case, Bintner received the biggest ovation of the evening.
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Kudos to Iain MacNeil as Figaro. I must say he sounds wonderful – the best I’ve heard him – holding his own very well against the star power of Bintner. MacNeil was well partnered by the warm and luminous lyric soprano of Karine Boucher as an ingratiating Susanna, who acted with lots of temperament and sang a quietly exquisite “Deh vieni non tartar.” Soprano Aviva Fortunata has a powerful and gorgeous lirico-spinto that’s destined to go places. Her “Porgi amor” showed off her excellent sense of pitch, lovely legato and gleaming tone, with a nice dolcissimo high A-flat ending. Her “Dove sono” deservedly received huge applause from the audience. With the dark costume and wig, Fortunata looked almost like Dorothea Roschmann, the original Contessa in the 2006 premiere.
Former Ensemble soprano Jacqueline Woodley was a surprising choice as Cherubino, but she made a believer out of me. She combined lovely singing with perfect acting as the lovelorn young man. Robert Pomakov repeated his mainstage appearance as the crusty Dr. Bartolo, his huge bass sounding impressive in “La vendetta.” Guest artist Megan Latham has a very fine mezzo, and she was the perfect comprimaria as Marcellina – and I mean that as a compliment! Sasha Djihanian remains extremely funny as Barbarina, and she outdid herself this time with a gorgeous “L’ho perduta.”
Jean-Philippe Fortier-Lazure made the best of his brief moment in the sun as Don Basilio. Doug MacNaughton repeated his characterful Antonio, complete with Batman wings. Aaron Sheppard was so underutilized as Don Curzio that I hesitated to comment on his singing – I look forward to hearing him in a longer role next time! And special kudos to actor Uli Kirsch, who was the original Cherubim 10 years ago in Salzburg. The staging is very challenging, but this guy is up to the task every time, never having any hint of a problem with the unicycle. Johannes Debus led the COC Orchestra with brio, despite the fact that this was the fourth evening in a row playing this piece, with one more to go. I think anyone who has to do this five evenings in a row should be given a night off! And he will – as Jordan de Souza is slated to take over for the next two shows.
There you have it, a most enjoyable Ensemble show. Sadly, there won’t be an ensemble mainstage performance in this format next season. Not sure why, but I hope it’s not a permanent omission. Three more performances with the regular cast – tonight (Feb. 23), Feb. 25 and 27. Well worth seeing if you haven’t.
Three more performances with the regular cast – tonight (Feb. 23), Feb. 25 and 27. Well worth seeing if you haven’t. Details here.
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