The Drawn, the Marked, the Stigmatized

LA Opera's production of Franz Schreker's Die Gezeichneten (The Stigmatized, among other possible translations) marks the first performances of the once popular work in the Western Hemisphere. Part of LAO's Recovered Voices programming, which showcases Entartete Musik and its composers, they've once again, as they did with Zemlinsky's The Dwarf, put forth a work that deserves to be heard widely. Since there is no Recovered Voices slot on the schedule for next season, one can only hope the program is on hiatus while LA Opera gets itself on more stable financial footing. Programming like this is vital and important and LAO seems to be the only large company in the Western Hemisphere with any interest in it at all.

The question around such specialized programming is whether or not it's a novelty. In the case of The Broken Jug and The Birds, I would say yes, and I really don't care if I never heard either work again. However, in the case of The Dwarf and The Stigmatized, which share a single request by Zemlinsky ("Write me the tragedy of an ugly man") in their origin, the answer is a definite no. The fact that these two operas haven't been seen in the U.S. until LAO premiered them, while piffle like Puccini's La Rondine or Delibes' Lakme are regularly performed, is a kind of tragedy in its own right.

In the lecture before the performance I attended on April 18th, conductor James Conlon, who had given the orchestra a thorough workout the previous day in Gotterdammerung, said the plot was as convoluted as Trovatore times ten and we should pay more attention to the music than the goings on onstage. But what happens onstage is quite lurid and it's easy understand why Die Gezeichneten was very popular when it first arrived. Lurid like an Otto Dix painting, the story drips with decadence. Sitting in the front row however, prevented me from paying too much attention to the surtitles above me and focus on the music I did, since I don't understand German. Still, having read the synopsis a couple of times, and a cast that clearly articulated every word so that I easily caught the cognates, I didn't miss much by looking up every few minutes just to see where we were.

Musically, Schreker is operating in R. Strauss territory with occasional forays into Puccini's realm. What an oddity it is to hear something that sounds like it comes from Act 1 of Boheme sung in German. With passages that can't help remind the listener or Salome or even Rosenkavalier, without sounding like a copycat, Schreker's music- and his story, packs a potent wallop.

As Alviano Salvago, Robert Brubaker, who has performed the role in Europe in a production available on dvd, sung with clarity and conviction as he disappeared into the role of the insecure, noble disfigured cripple. In a word, Brubaker is sensational in this role. Anja Kampe, who disappointed me the last time I heard her in LAO's Die Walkure, was much better here, giving depth and nuance to the troubled, confused artist Carlotta Nardi. The rest of the cast was strong, with James Johnson as the morally indifferent Duke and Martin Gantner as the slimy, self-serving Count Vitelozzo standing out. I also spotted a couple of former Merola alumni in smaller roles.

The staging, by Ian Judge, was confined by the severely raked platform of Gotterdammerung, but Judge made the most of it with evocative lighting, well-executed scenes and fantastic use of projections. It didn't hurt that everyone in the cast acted their parts as well as they sang them.

Conlon, for the second time in as many days, put the orchestra through their paces as they delivered a solid three plus hours of exquisite music. There are two more performances left, and discounted tickets are available on Goldstar. You'd be foolish to miss this, though it's definitely rough stuff- leave the little ones at home- there's a very graphic rape scene and the plot involves the abduction of young girls who are used as fodder at orgies by the rich inhabitants of Genoa. Who says opera is stuffy?

Photos by Robert Millard

The LA Ring Posts

Below are my reviews of the individual operas as they unfolded during the past fifteen months. The review for Rheingold is a combination of two posts. I will be revisiting 3 of the 4 (less Siegfried) when the cycle runs continuously in May and June. I urge you to get some tickets- it's an incredible production on every level.

Das Rheingold

Die Walkure

Siegfried

Gotterdammerung

Click on the tags for other posts about the LA Ring or LA Opera

Gotterdammerung- Tearing Down the House

LA Opera's Gotterdammerung brings the company's first Der Ring Des Nibelungen to an audacious close in what has turned out to be one of the most interesting, stimulating and brilliant productions I've ever seen. I remember once reading a quote by someone who said "What happens in Gotterdammerung is just awful." The quote kept coming back to my mind as I was getting ready to see the performance. Circling around it was my own thought about how director Achim Freyer would present what really is an awful story, because his Ring really hasn't been centered in the emotional lives of the characters, but rather in their psyche.

Since Freyer is really interested in exposing the inner psychological workings of these characters, this is a Ring without any heroes to be found anywhere on the stage. In this version, the ostensible hero is one step above a buffoon, trapped and ruled by his own id. Even without having his heart poisoned by Hagen's love potion, this Siegfried would have made the wrong move at some point. Brunnhilde really doesn't fare much better because a woman who would worship such a man can only end up looking foolish in the end.Those who dislike Wagner because of his anti-Semitism and eventual co-opting by the Nazis would be hard pressed to find anything here that even remotely glorifies the ideas behind their their discomfort. If Hitler's army was composed of nothing but Freyer's Siegfrieds WWII would have been over shortly after it began.


It's worth noting that the characters with least amount of moral rectitude in the entire cycle, Loge (Rheingold) and Hagen (Gotterdammerung), have been the true stand-out characterizations and hold the center in their respective chapters. While everyone else is trapped by their own flaws or personas (often literally), these two approach a level of strength that Schoepenhaur and Nietzsche would have admired. Does that make Freyer's approach anti-Ring? No. Set in no discernible time period or place, Freyer's vision takes on a quality of timelessness and otherworldiness that liberates Wagner's libretto from its historical time period and mythical sources- this story could be taking place 5000 years ago on a distant planet or 2000 years from now on this one. It really doesn't matter. Most productions of the Ring I've seen go one of two ways- the make the Gods truly gods (read heroic or noble), or they want to anthropomorphize them. Freyer throws those notions away and works with the libretto as it is. In this way, despite all the hoopla and dissent this production has caused, this may indeed be the most literal production of a Ring ever staged from the standpoint of the characters. And Shavians would be disappointed- unlike Zembello's Ring staged in Washington and currently unfolding in San Francisco, it would be a stretch to pin a capitalist critique on this cycle.


While there were some rough spots in the staging of Die Walkure and Siegfried, most notably expressed in the lack of comfort John Treleavan and Linda Watson seemed to have in their roles as Siegfried and Brunnhilde, with Gotterdammerung Freyer seems to have finally gotten everybody onboard with his vision. Treleavan seems comfortable with Siegfried as a clown this time around- and gave the character a depth that was lacking before. This was most notable when his face and body showed genuine angst when he realizes the truth behind his betrayal of Brunnhilde. Watson seems to have made peace with being an unglamorous, vengeful warrior- a woman spurned by both father and lover who is incapable of seeing the flaws in either of them. While neither are perfect singers for these roles for my taste, they both delivered powerfully sung performances, with Treleavan making every word distinctly clear and Watson becoming a force of nature in the third act, even though when she tears her hair out in age I kept thinking she looked like Esther Rolle dressed as Morticia Addams at a Halloween party. Equally important, both seem to have grown comfortable with the physical demands (and limitations) of Freyer's vision.


Eric Halfverson's Hagen was everything one could want in the role, whose conception is brilliant. Freyer's Hagen is a dwarf, constantly perched on the lap of another, whom he makes do his bidding. He looks like a puppet though he's always pulling the strings. Strong in voice, Halfverson was fantastic.


The real revelation in the singing department came from Michelle DeYoung, who performed double duty as the second Norn and most impressively as Waltraute. De Young impressed me quite a bit in Rheingold, but she was even better here. She justly received a tremendous ovation afterwards as her singing was the finest of the performance. Her addition to the upcoming performances of Die Walkure will remedy the one bit of weaker casting from that chapter and give Domingo a formidable partner in the first act.


Jill Grove and Melissa Citro were the first and third Norns, and Grove gave another memorable performance.


Alan Held as Gunther and Jennifer Wilson as Gutrune both had masks on for the entire performance, as did the entire Gibiching chorus. Wilson had a difficult time making the role more than a cog in Hagen's machinations, and couldn't convey any physical presence justifying Siegfried's desire for her, but Held, large and clear in voice, managed to project a strong physical characterization behind his mask that gave this faceless Gunther a distinct and unique presence onstage. Held made Gunther a sympathetic character- who would have thought that possible?


Richard Paul Fink's Alberich has little to do here, but his moment was solid and as he trolled the stage checking on his son's progress, he casted an interesting aura of menace and intrigue when he was onstage.

The Rheinmaidens, Ronnita Nicole Miller, Stacey Tappan & Lauren McNeese, were again fine and mesmerizing to watch as their arm movements were duplicated to create a rippling effect at the rear of the stage. This time around lit in red, rather than blue, to signal the disharmony i.e. blood that surrounds their missing gold.


The orchestra, led by James Conlon, delivered the most gorgeous-sounding chapter of the ring in all of its fullness. Undoubtedly helped by the fact that the pit is no longer completely covered, they emitted a glorious sound the entire afternoon.


As for Freyer's choices in the staging, especially of the ending, I found it to work on a couple of levels. This Ring isn't of our world, and it's unlike any other, so when Valhalla goes up in flames and takes everything with it. there really is nothing left behind. Well done.


Photo by Monika Rittershaus

March of the Invisible Siegfrieds Down Sunset Blvd

Concludes tomorrow- HORN at 7:29pm, DROP at 7:45pm

Details are here: http://invisiblesiegfrieds.org/

Even if you aren't fortunate enough to be in LA for this performance, you can still take part in it from anywhere in the world. It's going to be epic, I'm certain.

Urban Opera update

I had the good fortune of running into Chip Grant the other day and after exchanging pleasantries got to ask him something I've been wondering lately- what's next for Urban Opera?- the hugely talented local company whose inaugural production last summer made both mine and Joshua Kosman's top ten list for the year.

Chip said he had the space picked out, but didn't divulge much more, other than to say there will be another production by the company, which is good news for the local opera scene. He did tell me about another project he's about to embark on, which sounds very intriguing and will likely be a great addition to the Bay Area classical music world when it happens. I'm looking forward to it- as well as to seeing more from Urban Opera.

A Golden Opportunity

One of the things that makes seeing a Ring Cycle prohibitive for a lot of people is the cost and the time commitment. Usually opera companies charge twice as much for Ring tickets as they do for other productions, so even sitting up in the back of the balcony can easily run $400 for an entire cycle of the four operas, not to mention going to the house four times over the course of a week or so for some very long performances. Personally, there's little I'd rather do, but since I'll have seen the entire thing piecemeal by next week, the cost, and to a lesser extent the time commitment dissuaded me from seeing LA Opera's complete Ring Cycle again.

But now that LA Opera has made the tickets the same price as they are for other productions, and given people the opportunity to choose performances on the dates that work for them, I can't see any good reason to miss what is one of the greatest works of art ever created in what's turned out to be an intelligent, provocative, creative, fascinating and very well-cast production. Or at least catch some of it- especially Das Rheingold and Die Walkure.

No doubt LA Opera is only doing this because they have to sell more tickets, but their loss is a gain for opera lovers who can now see the most exciting Ring around until the LePage production comes to the Met in 2012. Don't be a sucker- get some tickets. This production of Rheingold is on my all-time top 5 list of things I've seen.

And how many opportunities to you get to hear Domingo in something terrific (rather than wait for him to show up in something mediocre like Cyrano, which no one really would ever mount if here weren't in it).

Don't kick yourself- when are you ever going to get the chance to see a Ring Cycle of this magnitude ever again for prices that start at $200 for the whole thing? In this country? Probably never. See you there.

PS- currently there are tickets for the remaining performances of The Stigmatized available on Goldstar.

Photos by Monika Rittershaus

What's the point of booing Gotterdammerung?

Photo by Monika Rittershaus

Every review I've read of LA Opera's Gotterdammerung, which opened this past weekend, has mentioned the robust booing directed at Achim Freyer, the production's mastermind (and careful of that last link- the LA Times' Mark Swed gives way too much away about the opera's concluding stagecraft). What is wrong with these people? Seriously. I'm not saying everyone should love the production, though I have so far, but this is part four!

Did you not see the first three in the cycle? If you saw them, or at least one of them, are you such a dimwitted masochist you would pay good money and spend over five hours to watch something you know you are going to loathe? Really? What's wrong with you?

If you haven't seen any of the previous operas, first of all why are you starting at the end and not the beginning? And what did you expect- Otto Schenk or Seattle? Had you not read a single review nor caught a glimpse of a publicity shot? The people booing this production are morons. Not because they don't like it, but because they went in the first place.

Now I don't like everything I see just because I want to, and sometimes I end up loving loving stuff I thought I'd hate- read this blog for ample evidence of this- but if I know the first ten or so hours of a fifteen-hour work aren't something I liked or was interested in, then why commit to the final five hours? It makes no sense to me at all. So shut up, would you please?

PS- if you've never been to the opera before, Gotterdammerung is not the place to start. Seriously.

Vasily Petrenko: the Successor has Surfaced

I'm going to go out on a limb here and make a suggestion for Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony. MTT, you should retire in five years. That will give you a 20 year tenure with the orchestra, the longest and arguably most significant one in its history, and you'll have plenty of years left to compose and conduct all over the world. Then, when his contract expires with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic in 2015, the SFS can hire Vasily Petrenko as your replacement. In fact, I think SFS would be well-served to start courting Petrenko now. Sadly, he's not on the roster for next year's season, but since he's also at home in the opera house, perhaps David Gockley can hire him for a gig across the street since he has over thirty operas in his repertoire (Le Villi or Eugene Onegin?).

Why am I suggesting this? On Friday I watched and heard Petrenko lead the orchestra through Shostakovitch's massive and unwieldy Eighth Symphony with stunning mastery. Frankly, I don't think I've ever heard the entire orchestra sound so solid, with every section performing at its peak- especially the brass section, which can sometimes be the Achilles heel to an otherwise flawless performance. Shostakovitch makes this easy and difficult at the same time. The piece is a meandering work, that works against the standard symphonic structure at every turn, where the composer sought " to express the emotional experiences of the People, to reflect the terrible tragedy of war." It has explosive marches, huge screaming sections of pain and quiet, ruminative passages that deftly express loss and sadness. It also has numerous solos for almost every section of the orchestra to shine in, and last night the Symphony's A-Team was present, each one knocking out one memorable moment after another. Concertmaster Alexander Barantschik, cellists Michael Grebanier and Peter Wyrick, clarinetist Carey Bell, William Bennet on the oboe, Mark Inouye, Robert Ward and David Herbert excelled, but the entire orchestra was magnificent.

Maybe the orchestra is just on a high after returning from a successful tour, but where one might have expected a less than stellar evening with a guest conductor making his debut for a three night stand and the musicians understandably tired from being on the road, it was just the opposite. The house seemed packed, perhaps many coming for the opening Grieg piano concerto, or maybe for the Davies After Hours party following the concert, and when it was over I felt like we had just witnessed something truly special. Something that should happen again. So think about it MTT. Five years- plenty of time to build on your already impressive legacy and then turn the reigns over to Petrenko.

Petrenko is model of controlled precision- his hands flutter and he seems to use individual fingers to deliver cues to various sections- he's totally engaged and like James Gaffigan, you can tell exactly where the orchestra is going by watching him. The Eighth is a potential landmine of places where it can all fall apart at any moment and yet it never once faltered, the orchestra never lapsed whether they were playing the most delicate passages or the most noisy burlesques that sound like a human carnival falling into a meat grinder. Again, I have never heard the SFS brass section sound so crisp and perfect.

Okay, enough of that. The first half was Grieg's Piano Concerto in A Minor, with Macedonian soloist Simon Trpceski giving an earnest reading devoid of flash and all business, yet played with heart. I was a really good performance, but it was outshone by the second half.

The After Hours event, featuring Adam Theis and the Jazz Mafia All Stars started off with a huge crowd in the tight confines of the second balcony, which thinned as the night wore on, thankfully making it much easier to get a drink at the bar. I thought the band was a little over-amped for the space, but I love these event and wish SFS would stage them with more regularity than they do- there is one more this year after the performance of June 11th, with Amy X Neuburg and the Cello ChiXtet following a night of seriously great German music. I'll be there.

Photo of Petrenko by Mark McNulty

A Vigil Worth Attending

It's been about five years since we've had the pleasure of having Marco Barricelli on the stage of ACT's Geary Theater. One of the company's most talented alumni, he's re-teaming with formidable Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis in Morris Panych's dark comedy "Vigil." The premise of the play is deceptively simple- Barricelli is a misanthropic loser who pays a visit to his dying aunt whom he hasn't seen in thirty years in hopes of getting an inheritance and some stability for a life that hasn't any. He moves in and is waiting for her to check out, and the sooner the better. The only problem is that while the aunt is frail, she doesn't seem to be in a hurry to go anywhere now that she has some company.

Both of these actors are a delight. Dukakis has very little dialogue (only two words in the first act) yet she creates a fully-developed character through facial expressions and body language. She gives an engaging masterclass in physical, expressive acting. Barricelli delivers an almost two-hour monologue, which is divided into scenes of varying lengths- some less than a minute, others that play out in extended passages. Barricelli's comic timing is impeccable and while both roles are challenging, his has the added weight of having to make the audience get behind a character who really isn't at all likable.

The nephew can't wait for his aunt to die, and his impatience and inappropriate behavior lead him to make comments and ask questions that are sometimes shocking in their bluntness yet can also be extremely funny. Barricelli has some genuinely disturbing lines in this play that hit close to the bone. As morally bankrupt as his character is, Barricelli gives a nuanced performance allowing the audience to see a glimpse of a better man than the one standing in the aunt's dilapidated messy apartment.

Panych, who was behind ACT's beautiful "The Overcoat" a few seasons back, has a dream cast here to realize his play and he pretty much just turns them loose to do their thing. You'll laugh pretty hard through most of this show, though it will make you wince and give you something to think about long after you've left the theater. I for one, wouldn't recommend seeing it with your aging parents.

My very favorite things!

First, let's start with the local angle. We have so many quality politicians in our fair City. I especially would like to draw attention to Gavin Newsom, our estimable mayor, who is now looking for any job he can get. Gavin really is a model of moral rectitude and a stand-up guy. At least when he's sober. He should be erected to the Lieutenant Governor's job for no other reason than that he simply wants the job- since he can't be goobernor yet. Why not vote for him? Isn't that enough? Then there's everybody's favorite prancing queen Tom Ammiano, who wants to legalize pot and also wants the current Governor, my hero Arnie, to kiss his gay ass. Tell us Tom, was that request for a rim job or just a kiss on your cheeks?

One thing I especially love about America is our celebrity women. They are almost as hot as our local pols.

For example let's talk about Queen Latifah's cleavage. It haunts my mind. How Dana has gone from a decent rapper (I mean back in the day she had to comptete against Roxanne Shante'!) to bona fide movie star and one of America's most beloved entertainers is a heartwarming story worthy of Joyce Carol Oates at her most sentimental. Latifah is the next Oprah- it's simply her destiny, to which these pictures readily attest. I mean with enough money, any woman who would scare you on the beach can look really hot. That's the way it should be.


And let's not forget the finest actress in the world:
Has there ever been a finer actress on television than "24"'s Mary Lynn Rajskub? Really, the series' most consistent redhead has brought us eight seasons of the unforgettable pout that reveals more emotion and inner life than anything Meryl Streep has ever shown us. Or even Mary Tyler Moore. Mary Lynn, the series is ending, but you'll live forever- if only I could find a woman who loves me as much as you love Jack Bauer I could die a happy man.

Then there's RUSH! It's hard to pick a favorite rock band, but I have to say RUSH blows any other band away! They're awesome beyond belief. Kansas, Toto, Journey, Bobby Sherman and Styx are close, but if you really want to hear some kick-ass, deep rock and roll, heavily infuenced by the brilliant Ayn Rand, check out this song:

Next up on my list of favorite things has got to be Sarah Palin.

Thank the Christian lord for Sarah. I mean, there's only three years left before America wises up and votes that Antichrist Obama out of office and we can have a real American Patriot with American Values in the White House (and thankfully it will be the White House again!) Palin 2012! You betcha!

Go USA!