Monday, September 16, 2024

Challenge to the Reader

 


Christopher Oglesby, left, as the Chief Magistrate and Mei Gui Zhang, right, as Oscar
Act I, Verdi's Un ballo in maschera
Photo by Cory Weaver, courtesy of San Francisco Opera

Found in various reviews of Verdi's Un ballo in maschera at San Francisco Opera:
  • Lisa Hirsch, SF Chronicle: "In a weak staging, Oscar, the king’s page, can be an annoyance, but not here."
  • Michael Anthonio, Parterre Box: "I belong to the camp that thinks Oscar is one of the most annoying characters in opera. Still, on Friday, Mei Gui Zhang made the role much more bearable with her dazzling coloratura and carefree mannerisms." 
  • Michael Strickland, SF Civic Center: "In the photo above, Gustavus is accompanied by his young male page, Oscar, a trouser role that can be one of the most annoying in all of opera, but soprano Mei Gui Zhang was an absolute delight as she continually interrupted serious scenes with silly trills."
We're all in agreement about the potential for Oscar being an annoyance and also that Mei Gui Zhang was not personally annoying. Long ago, a friend mentioned that he finds Cherubino, from Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, extremely annoying, and it's certainly true that the page––it's always a page––gets into all kinds of trouble during the opera.

So here's the challenge: who do you consider to be the most annoying character in opera? Please show your work.

2 comments:

Charles Bush said...

Octavian in the first part of Act 3, Rosenkavalier

SCOSI said...

Eugene Onegin - proud, spoiled, haughty, shamelessly unaware!