The first Spanish opera to be produced at the Met in almost a century. Passengers board a steamboat to travel down a river in the Amazon rainforest hoping to hear the enigmatic and renowned opera singer, Florencia Grimaldi (Ailyn Pérez), perform live. Little do they know that Grimaldi is on the ship with them with her own hopes of reuniting with a lost lover.
An overly simplistic plot is inconsequential at an opera; but one of the joys of the Met are the extravagant sets and stagings. In this production, much of the action takes place on the ship's deck and this is represented by people wheeling railings around, pathetically and illogically tilting them to indicate the steamboat listing in stormy waters. The rainforest creature puppeteers are sparks of delight, but too few and far between. Not only does the set underwhelm, but I found myself closing my eyes more often then usual throughout the production. The music and libretto are beautiful, and watching only broke the magical realism spell of the "Florencia" world. The Metropolitan Opera The Hours is a lot of things - initially a novel (by Michael Cunningham) inspired by another novel (Mrs. Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf); a movie based on the novel, and now an opera based on the movie that's based on the novel that's inspired by another novel. But the source material holds up in all of these iterations, including this latest production from the Met.
The stories of 3 women are interwoven, each with their own distinctive wall/room set piece giving context to their time and place. In 1920s England Virginia Woolf (played by the extraordinary Joyce DiDonato) struggles to write Mrs. Dalloway amidst her crippling depression; in 1950s America Laura Brown (Kelli O'Hara has a stunning operatic voice, Broadway is spoiled) is also depressed and is reading Mrs. Dalloway while trying to make it through her day; and lastly, in present day America, Clarissa Dalloway (Renée Fleming stands out the least of the 3 divas, but her voice warms up in the second act) is throwing a party in a plot parallel to that of Woolf's novel. Only slightly reminiscent of the iconic movie soundtrack (by Phillip Glass), the music is beautiful but not particularly memorable. The libretto is a little stilted, typical of most operas sung in English opera, but overall does a good job of telling the three distinct stories in unified way. My biggest issue with the production is the countless dancers on the stage and the modern choreography - people writhing around on the floor or dramatically sliding books against the wall. I love a spectacle, and one of the best things about a Met production is often the sheer amount of activity on stage, but the crowds and the dancers in this case were extremely gratuitous. With the notable exception of a skillful onstage whirlwind costume change that ages Kelli O'Hara before our very eyes, the horde of people on stage only distracts and confuses. A classic Mozart opera with lively music, a story about humans at the mercy of Greek gods, and a happy ending where the lovers get to be together and everyone rejoices (modified by Mozart from the original tragic death and doom). In this production, the king's son Idamante - originally written for a soprano castrato - is played by Kate Lindsey, mezzo-soprano. Her voice is incredible, but not as strong or loud as Ying Fang singing the role of Ilia, soprano. But the two women have great chemistry together and it makes the happy ending that much happier.
Sondra Radvanovsky, as the vengeful sorceress Medea, leaves everything on the stage in this role. In fact, she rarely leaves the stage once she arrives, and it's hard to take your eyes off her as she writhes across the floor promising revenge. Radvanovsky sings the part beautifully with real emotion, and despite her evil actions (killing almost everyone including her children), we are on her side through and through - she's a strong woman standing up for herself against the man who scorned her.
A classic comedy from Mozart that will make you laugh out loud. My favorite part of this production is the physical comedy throughout from multiple characters. Hopping over the bed, hiding under the bed or in a closet, jumping out of a window, dressing in disguises, and so much more! The music and libretto are also wonderful - joyful and melodic. The set for this production is satisfyingly extravagant with giant metal latticed towers and a rotating stage to reveal the different rooms in the house.
A new opera is a rarity - especially an American one written in English. Even more rare is one that is as amazing as this one. Not only is "Intimate Apparel" one of the best operas that I've seen, it is also one of the best productions in any genre that we've seen in a long time.
Lynn Nottage adapted her existing play of the same name to the operatic form. She edited it down to write the libretto and collaborated with Ricky Ian Gordon, who wrote the music. Even though the opera runs for almost three hours, I was disappointed when it finally did end. The Story It's 1905 in New York City and Esther (we saw Chabrelle Williams, but she alternates the role with Kearstin Pipe Brown) lives at a boarding house for single women. She works as a seamstress making lingerie for a variety of clients - from a wealthy white woman to a black prostitute - but is lonely and uninterested in the lively gatherings hosted by Mrs. Dickson (Adrienne Danrich) to help the women meet husbands. When a letter comes for Esther from George Armstrong, a stranger who is working to build the Panama Canal, she tentatively begins a correspondence with the help of others since Esther can neither read nor write. Esther romanticizes George Armstrong (Justin Austin) - as do the other characters - and when he finally arrives to marry her, the real man is inevitably a disappointment. He is frustrated when he cannot find work, and ends up gambling away Esther's substantial savings. George isn't in love with Esther, and Esther isn't in love with George. She pines for Mr. Marks (Arnold Livingston Geis), the orthodox Jewish man from who she buys fabric - a forbidden love that can never be realized. There is nothing missing in the story, despite the edits Nottage must have made in transitioning from a play to an opera. The robust character development, even for some of the more minor roles, makes one feel as though this is a real story with real people and the audience is peeking in. The production incorporates real photographs of an unidentified black couple from the early 1900s who might as well be Esther and George. The Music There are two pianos elevated above the stage, one on each side. The simplicity of the instrumental is complemented and made complex with the addition of the vocalists. The songs have memorable refrains and clever lyrics - I'm hoping a cast recording comes out so I can listen again. The Performers Everyone is phenomenal. Esther is on stage for almost every moment and Williams gives a tour de force performance. And Austin's deep tenor is beautiful, contrasting the harshness of Armstrong's character. Both stand out, but the rest of the cast is also amazing. Both the vocals and the acting skills on display are strong and do justice to the powerful story Nottage tells. The Costumes Exquisite. The detail of the pieces and the variety is wonderful, making the audience long for bespoke lingerie, dresses, and smoking jackets. Esther and Mr. Marks caress expensive fabric (in lieu of each other), and it makes you want to feel what they're feeling. A new opera based on the play by Sarah Ruhl with music composed by Matthew Aucoin. If you thought this classic Greek myth couldn't get any more depressing, this opera is here to prove you wrong.
The Story Diverging from the classic story, Eurydice's father is a leading man and Eurydice seems more focused on him than in love with Orpheus. During her wedding (where she doesn't seem to be having that much fun), Eurydice wanders off and encounters Hades who tempts her with a letter from her deceased father. After Eurydice trips and falls on a staircase, she ends up in the Underworld. Here she is reunited with her father, and must be convinced to follow Orpheus when he inevitably shows up. But it seems she is not entirely convinced to leave her father because on the journey back to life, Eurydice calls out and a surprised Orpheus suddenly turns at the sound of her voice dooming Eurydice forever. Upon her return to the Underworld, Eurydice discovers that in her absence her father has succumbed to the forgetful waters of the River Styx and no longer remembers her. The Set This production takes a modern minimalist approach with very little set pieces. The main focus is the elevator with which Eurydice descends to the Underworld (the rain in the elevator is simple and effective). At one point, Eurydice's father makes her a "room" out of string to give her some comfort - the idea is novel and kind of interesting. But my favorite "set pieces" are the three Stones, guardians of the dead who sing beautifully to Eurydice to explain her predicament. The Libretto and The Music As a play this may have worked as a new interpretation of the story, but when Ruhl trimmed it down to create the libretto something went awry. The words feel stilted and uncomfortable, and are often buried by the music. In such a dark and depressing view of this myth, beautiful accompanying music could be a saving grace. But nothing is memorable, and my takeaway was that the words and the music were at odds. This is a classic Met production, with all of the extravagance you expect - massive amounts of people on stage, intricately designed sets, and top-notch talent.
Seeing any opera at the Met is an amazing experience, but seeing Porgy & Bess is a very special treat. From the very first notes of the opening song, Summertime, to the end I was entranced. The soprano we saw, (Janai Brugger), sings that song as if she has been born to sing it. The entire opera could have been her singing that song on repeat, and I would have walked away smiling.
The Performers One of the reasons I love seeing operas at the Met is to marvel in sheer wonder at the fact that these people can not only sing beautifully, but they can do it without any mics, without any speakers. Another reason I love seeing operas is the mass of people that come onto the stage to perform at once. When 70 people sing in perfect choral harmony, you'd have to be dead not to feel moved. And to me, the amount of people on stage doing all sorts of commonplace things (in addition to the main action) makes it feel as though we're just observing real life, real life that just happens to be punctuated by incredible arias. That all being said, Bess (Angel Blue) outshone Porgy (Eric Owens) in this production - he was still great, but maybe he was having an off night. The Set An impressively versatile wooden structure that rotated and moved back and forth on the stage to allow for scenes to take place both inside and outside. The Music and The Story There are so many iconic songs in this opera that have caught on in popular culture, but I had never heard them in an actual opera setting before. And the story has everything - celebration, drugs, murder, romance, longing, community, and love. The breathtaking music with the heartbreaking story is a tremendous combination. |
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