What's the greatest opera ever written? This is a question that opera mavens love to debate. My own answer depends on which of my favorites I've seen most recently, which was lots of fun the summer I saw both Les Troyens and Tristan und Isolde. This week, though, it's Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), which Opera San José is performing in a splendid new production set in India and directed by Brad Dalton.
I had some worries about the setting when I saw the season announcement, because it seemed as though there might be some pitfalls. But this production works brilliantly and succeeds on every musical and theatrical level.
It's not necessarily obvious to modern audiences how differently the servants and nobility in Nozze would have been dressed and would have behaved toward one another, especially with the leveling effect of Mozart's great score. But these differences are critical to the plot, because class conflict and the privileges of the nobility are right at the heart of the opera. Having the Count, Countess, and Dr. Bartolo in European dress and the servant class (actually including Marcellina, hmm) in Indian clothing made the distinction extremely clear.
Also, the production is absolutely gorgeous, a riot of color and pattern. The production includes dances based on Indian classical and folk dance, as well, and how I loved that! Claps and shouts of "hey!' added to the joyfulness of the scenes with dancing. It helps that several cast members are South Asian, too.
And overall, the direction is just fantastic; every gesture tells, characters are carefully delineated, the comings and goings in the Act 2 and 4 finales are clear, the funny bits are pretty darned funny. There are two exceptions: I do think that there was some kind of timing error in the last-act scene where Figaro and Susanna finally figure out that all is well between them. And there's the perennial problem of how to stage "Contessa, perdono" so that the audience doesn't laugh at this very serious moment. Directors need to take more time to show just how embarrassed and flustered the Count is, to persuade the audience that it's not a funny bit.
I was super-impressed by conductor Viswa Subbaraman. He took brisk tempos and they all worked; the overture was extremely exciting and the tempos throughout suited the nature of the direction. (Joshua Kosman notes some disconnect between pit and stage; he was at the third performance, and the issues persisted into the fourth. Hmm.) He had a great team of singers to work with, by and large. Efraín Solís is a hilariously deadpan Figaro. Maya Kherani a charming and lovable Susanna, singing beautifully in solos and duets. They were a delightful couple!
Eugene Brancoveneau's Count was really superb, never becoming a buffoon and strongly sun. Deepa Johnny was a hilarious Cherubino, getting in everyone's way, and she has a really lovely mezzo.
Melissa Sonhdi has an exceptionally beautiful light soprano and made a delightful Barbarina. Matthew Anchel was a forceful Dr. Bartolo, and what a beautiful dark bass he has! Tahanee Aluwihare matched him as Marcellina and (again), they were a great pair. My only doubts are about Maria Natale's Countess. She has a big, vibrant voice, maybe too big for the role in the smallish California Theater. Her singing was so large-scale as to push the audience away, rather than draw them in to the Countess's sadness over the state of her marriage. She did scale down for the duet with Susanna.
Two performances remain of this great masterpiece, which you'll be lucky to see in an equally vibrant and lively production, on Friday, September 23 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, September 25 at 2 p.m. Be warned that the area around the theater is part of a pedestrian-only area on Sundays; you will not be able to drop passengers off at the theater.
- Joshua Kosman, Chronicle
- Opera Tattler
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