Reviewed by James Karas
The Glimmerglass Festival is at it again with an interesting array of four operas (and a few other things that I did not see) on the beautiful shores of Lake Otsego near Cooperstown, New York. This year it offers something from near the birth of opera (Francesco Cavalli’s La Calisto, 1651), a wildly entertaining operetta (Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, 1879), a classic opera (Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, 1892), and a new work (Kevin Puts’ Elizabeth Cree).
Pagliacci, as the whole world knows, is a melodramatic opera full of passion, jealousy, infidelity and in the end tragedy. It involves a troupe of travelling players where Nedda (Amber R. Monroe), the wife of the lead player Canio (Robert Stahley) is in love with Silvio (Jonathan Patton). Then we have the nasty Tonio (Troy Cook) who is in love or maybe lust with Nedda but is rudely rebuffed by her. He takes his revenge by telling her husband about her affair with Silvio.
Pagliacci receives a rich, robust and beautifully sung production directed by Brenna Corner. She uses a full chorus of adults and children that adds vocal splendor and dramatic fervor to the production. After all the commedia dell’arte play put on by the travelling players entertains a whole village and the production brings the village and the community on stage.
Soprano Monroe as Nedda, the unhappy, unfaithful wife of Caino, has a rich
and lustrous voice and can be passionate when expressing her love, fearless
when approached by an unwanted lover and scared of her vicious husband. She sings
with passion and unerring beauty.
Canio as the leader of the troupe and the jilted and understandably jealous husband crosses the line between acting and reality as his suffering overflows his ability to contain his furor as an actor, He is jealous as an actor and as a human being and the two become one with tragic consequences. It is not easy to sympathize with him except when he pours his heart out in “Vesti la giubba” with deeply felt agony amid the necessity to laugh like a clown. Outstanding singing and acting in an overall bravura performance by Stahley.
The playboy Silvio and the troubled Nedda sing passionately about their love and plan to escape. Their love duet is sung with vocal splendor and emotional depth. We can’t help but cheer and fear for the characters and admire the performances of Monroe and Patton. Kudos to Fran Daniel Laucerica for his performance as Peppe.
The set by Scenic Designer James Rotondo shows the ramshackle living conditions of the travelling players that changes into the playing area for the commedia dell’arte play being staged in the village. It works remarkably well.
Director Corner conceives the opera as a communal affair and makes use of the large chorus of adults and children to create and bring out that refreshing aspect. She uses people from Cooperstown and that is commendable for many reasons.
The Glimmerglass Orchestra conducted by Joseph Colaneri performed vigorously and was an aural delight.
The ennui of a seven-hour drive from Toronto to the shore of Otsego Lake
disappeared.
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Pagliacci by Ruggiero Leoncavallo is being performed seven times until August 18, 2024 as part of the Glimmerglass Festival at the Alice Busch Opera Theater, Cooperstown, New York. Tickets and information (607) 547-0700 or www.glimmerglass.org
James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture of The Greek Press
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