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Shows

07 Apr 2007

A bride obtainable during the Baltimore Lyric

The latest providing through the Baltimore Lyric Opera ended up being Bedrich Smetana’s sparkling comedy Prodana Nevesta (“Bartered Bride”), only a little treasure of Czech intimate nationalism any particular one will not see live often today.

The event not only ensured a loaded home during the premiere, but additionally drew attention associated with neighborhood chapter of this Czech-Slovak Heritage Association. Its people, in nationwide costumes, attended en masse, making for a colorful and theater lobby that is slightly surreal.

One of the production’s worldwide cast, Dana Buresova’s Marenka accordingly enough turned into the genuine celebrity of Smetana’s charming village that is little. The Czech soprano laughed, pouted, and schemed her method triumphantly through the night, and fully deserved her standing ovation at the conclusion from it. The singer’s vocals had been strong, pure, as well as in all registers; it carried effortlessly, and she also thrilled the viewers with a few of impressive – albeit maybe perhaps maybe not completely necessary in Smetana’s rating – high Cs. The thing that is only of i possibly could not exactly accept in this Marenka had been her flavor in males, for involving the two sons associated with the honorable Tobias Micha (portrayed honorably by Ukrainian-Canadian bass Alexander Savtchenko) i may have opted for younger one. Us tenor Doug Jones offered an engaging and endearing portrait regarding the stammering village trick Vasek, plus in the method unveiled not merely a pleasant lyric tenor sound, but a real comic present. Meanwhile, contrary to my very own expectations, I became not too impressed with all the greatly advertised talents associated with the Czech tenor Valentin Prolat as Jenek. Prolat wowed the viewers adequately in a few effective scenes by which his strong register that is high impressively on display; he acted well, and blended really sweetly with Marenka into the duets, but much too usually their sound felt somehow “switched caribbean cupid com off, ” which makes it tough to be totally content with their performance.

Despite often times sounding only a little slim (specially into the string section), the orchestra ended up being exceptional, carried out impeccably by still another Czech import, Oliver von Dohnányi. Through the entire performance he kept good stability, asserting their existence but permitting the vocalists take over while they should in a rating similar to this one. The tour-de-force of a overture (those not really acquainted with the songs should imagine the fugue from Zauberflöte combined with Mendelssohn’s elves at 3 times the rate) ended up being specially impressive – energetic and energetic, yet neat and rhythmically accurate.

Rheinhard Heinrich’s décor took a fold-out children␙s guide as motivation, producing a couple of white-and-brown cardboard dollhouses (with detachable front walls allowing someone to see their interiors) that have been “folded” inside and out for the performance in complete view for the market. Unfortuitously, this clever and design that is efficient too cumbersome for the tiny phase associated with Baltimore Lyric, which created for an uncomfortably crowded market with near to forty choristers on phase attempting (not necessarily convincingly) to approximate a polka. The Act 2 furiant turned out far better, while the area dilemma ended up being settled by sidelining the chorus and making that which was kept of center phase to three pairs of expert dancers.

The phase manager, James McNamara evidently discovered The Bartered Bride, a slow-moving quantity opera, to be a challenge, along with his approach ended up being significantly a mixture that is stylistic. Many scenes were staged realistically and stuffed complete with phase company, maybe too aggressively in certain cases ( ag e.g., while distraught Marenka had been pouring out her heart into an opening “Where are you from? ВЂќ aria, oblivious groom-to-be Jenek busied himself with very first breaking after which repairing a wood stool he previously first conveniently dragged away from a nearby home). Meanwhile, a few key figures for the principals had been presented as cinematic close-ups, with lights dimmed, soloists spotlighted (Jenek’s Act 2 aria ended up being also done at the curtain that is lowered, and “stage realism” suspended and only somewhat antique symbolism, Hollywood-style. Perhaps not that the staging solution for every particular scene ended up being fundamentally unsuccessful (although i really do simply just take exclusion towards the Act 3 sextet – a comic household disagreement meant to project supernatural terror), but every so often i discovered myself wishing that the manager would simply make his mind up.

Towards the market, however, probably one of the most unforgettable moments within the entire manufacturing had been certainly the circus scene. Using cue through the geographic provenance of this Indian together with grizzly that is fake, McNamara made a decision to turn the complete troupe, introduced because of the (deliberately? ) out-of-tune trumpet fanfares, into a wild crazy West show. The Circus Master, displaying a Texas accent and a cowboy hat, resurrected with this event the spoken dialog tradition through the very first type of Smetana’s rating, although I doubt that the writing of their opening statement could have been acquiesced by the composer. On top of other things, everybody in this original-language manufacturing had been abruptly talking English, including the chorus that reacted with obvious comprehension towards the Circus Master’s ad, and Vasek whom during his comic tries to woo the dancer Esmeralda somehow managed to lose his Czech if maybe maybe maybe not their stammer. The general public ended up being addressed to a parade of jugglers, acrobats, clowns on stilts, a grunting Indian, a bearded woman weightlifter, and a badly trained but brightly costumed dog (yes, a genuine one) that jumped through one big hula hoop, missed one other, but might have its possibility at a curtain call however.

Following a fashion, the misadventures for the circus mirrored the fortunes of this bigger show of which it had been a component. The bride had been offered with a few panache, a couple of unfortunate accidents, plus some dubious choices that warranted raised eyebrows through the purists such as for instance myself. Yet, at the conclusion of all of it, Baltimore Lyric did find a way to wear a good show вђ“ and fundamentally, an excellent show is exactly what opera production is focused on.

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