I know it has been eons since I lasted posted, but please keep in mind, I'm a full-time student (i.e. No money for new recordings or opera tickets, and precious few opportunities to actually attend an opera without serious academic consequences). But, there is still hope!
On January 27th, I managed to get out and see the New York Met's new Baroque pastiche, "The Enchanted Island." It sounded promising-- a Baroque pastiche (meaning songs and music by several different Baroque-era composers were jumbled together in an operatic gumbo) with a Shakespearean theme. The story involved the four lovers from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" crashing onto Prospero's Island, and it was to be performed by a stellar cast including my new favorite Luca Pisaroni (as Caliban). What's not to like, right?
Oh, if only you knew...
But then, that's why I write this blog. Well, let's get this thing started! Cast is as follows:
Sycorax--Joyce DiDonato, Soprano
Prospero--David Daniels, Counter-tenor
Ariel--Danielle de Niese, Soprano
Caliban--Luca Pisaroni, Baritone
Miranda--Lisette Oropesa, Soprano
Neptune--Plácido Domingo, Tenor
Ferdinand--Anthony Roth Costanzo, Counter-tenor (Yes, there were two!)
Helena--Lyla Claire, Soprano
Demetrius--Paul Appleby, Tenor
Hermia--Elizabeth DeShong, Mezzo-Soprano
Lysander--Elliot Madore, Baritone
Plus a chorus of mer-people who chill with Neptune and a full orchestra under the baton of William Christie.
So... I'll start with some good points. The authors of the pastiche chose absolutely stunning pieces. I was rather surprised, not usually being a big Baroque fan-- indeed, very pleasantly surprised. Also, I had never heard a counter-tenor before, so I was a little shocked at first to hear what sounded like a mezzo-soprano's voice coming from a middle-aged man's mouth. But after awhile, I could distinguish his voice as definitely masculine despite the high pitch. The costumes and sets were to die for! "Wild" characters like Caliban and Sycorax had touches like dreadlocks and feathers and beads and wore richly colored, sumptuous fabrics. Sycorax herself went through three separate costume changes over the course of the show. Miranda was clad in a flowing, Grecian gown and wore an armband with a few feathers and beads of her own. The four lovers of "A Midsummer's Night Dream" started out in delightful and charming 18th-century garb in sweet pastel shades. Ariel (my favorite character, other than perhaps Caliban) wore a neat little suit of feathers complete with mechanically bound wings, and later, a glorious gold chiton and headdress. I could go on, but I doubt you want me to, so I'll move on to sets. The sets consisted of a sort of archway that changed appearances with the assistance of projections-- sometimes it showed us Prospero's castle, sometimes a luxurious beach, sometimes a wild jungle, sometimes Sycorax's cave-like perch. It also transformed into the mysterious and alluring underwater realm of Neptune. How Neptune managed to sneak into a Shakespeare play, I don't know. But he's there, and it turned out pretty nicely. Another interesting and rather charming touch was that the prompter (a person who stands in a hidden booth downstage to "prompt" singers with queues) handed Ariel props in a playful and comical manner, much akin to a child's puppet show.
The performances were brilliant. Prospero was dark and serious and complicated, Sycorax, darker, more vengeful, yet oddly caring and protective over Caliban. Caliban himself was the best example of a sympathetic "antagonist:" bitter but pitiful. Personally, I've never seen Caliban as a villain per se. I felt empathy for Pisaroni's Caliban-- he could never get what he wanted, even when he created a dream world for himself. Also, his English diction was impeccable! I was very impressed. Ariel was especially fun. De Niese brought a Puckish, Tinkerbell-ish, perhaps even Papageno-ish energy to the role, and you could hear her laughter when she sang; she took joy in the role. It's refreshing to hear that joy again.
Well, there are also choices that weren't so great... For starters, the libretto. Oooooh, I had soo many issues with the libretto. The opera was Shakespearean-themed and set in the 18th century. However, author Jeremy Sams couldn't quite decide between Shakespearean and contemporary English in his "poetry." It's bad enough that this thing wasn't in Italian or something, but to be inconsistent with the language is always a really bad idea. Some of the lyrics were pretty enough, but every now and again I heard something like, "Duh!" or "O.K." or "Come on". Somewhere or other, Miranda and Lysander discover "We rhyme!" It was ridiculous and confusing. At another point, Lysander and Demetrius fight over Miranda, and one gives the other a nipple-twist. Now, my generation has acronyms for this level of confusion... I believe the letters "W-T-F" suit the situation rather nicely. There were a couple of other "WTF" moments in "The Enchanted Island." When Ferdinand was expected to show up, Prospero has a "Welcome Ferdinand" sign and some balloons strung up in the projections. When were ballons invented again? Oh yeah, 1824. Neptune's chorus of mermaids and underwater people consisted of a giant cardboard cut-out with the heads of the singers sticking out in various places. It looked laughable for the audience and uncomfortable for the singers. And as far as Neptune's involvement went, I was really confused by his attitude as a character. He seemed like the god we all know him to be at first: powerful, old as time, pissy at mankind, etc. But he would pause after griping about how men treated the sea (perhaps Sams wanted a little environmentalist preaching?) and say something along the lines of, "Oh, I'm just a grumpy old man. Pardon my whining." No, Neptune! You have reasons to be mad at humans-- stick to your guns! You're not some senile old man, you're the god of the sea!! Another thing that confused me is that Prospero seems utterly distracted with getting ready for Ferdinand's arrival. We do not see Ferdinand until well into Act II. Couldn't we have gotten a glimpse of the guy near the end of Act I as a teaser?
I went to "The Enchanted Island" with an open mind. A new Baroque pastiche! Based on "The Tempest" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream"! The idea had so much promise. But I'm afraid it is my opinion that the New York Met's little experiment did not live up to the potential it had.
I shall post one more blog of gripes, this one concerning "Ernani," and then, we shall come to a happier note about this year's production of "L'Elisir D'Amore."
Until then, I remain
Your friend and fellow opera-lover,
~R.M.
