Production:
LUCIO SILLA
Author: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Company: Opera Atelier
Director:
Marshall Pynkoski
Principal Singers: Mireille Asselin, Peggy Kriha Dye,
Inga Kalna, Meghan Lindsay, Krešimir Spicer
Venue:
Elgin Theatre
Location;
189 Yonge St. Toronto,
Ontario
Run:
April 7 to April 16, 2016
***** (out of five)
Reviewed by James
Karas
Another Canadian
premiere from Opera Atelier? Yes. Mozart’s Lucio Silla has never been produced in
Canada and if you consider that it was first performed in Milan in 1772 it does
make for one hell of a coffee break.
Mozart composed Lucio Silla when he was sixteen years
old and was already a veteran composer. The work complies with the conventions
of opera seria which means a silly
plot developed though recitatives, long (very long) arias and a few choruses
and duets.
The company of Lucio Silla. Photo by Bruce Zinger.
Marshall Pynkoski has
found many ways to turn the opera, with all its virtues and shortcomings, into
an astounding production.
The arias whose words
have often very little to do with the intended emotion sound thrilling if sung by superb
voices. Pynkoski has four sopranos and a baritone who sing the bravura and
beautiful arias as well as the inane and ineffectual simply gorgeously. The
characters may be cardboard figures but their vocal prowess is not.
The plot? Dictator
Lucio Silla (tenor Krešimir Spicer) loves Giunia (soprano Meghan Lindsay) who
(a) hates him because he killed her father and (b) is aggressively faithful and
in in love with Cecilio (soprano Peggy Kriha Dye). Lucio’s sister Celia
(Mireille Asselin) tries to give her brother some pointers about wooing and
tries to convince Giunia that Lucio is not a bad catch. Celia loves Cinna
(soprano Inga Kalna). The opera has another tenor, Aufidio, but Pynkoski has
fired him making my summary and the performance shorter. Oh yes, it turns out that
Lucio is not such a bad guy and they all live happily ever after.
Giunia gets some of
the best arias. She grieves for her father, meets Cecilio whom she thought dead
and goes through some severe emotional scenes by opera seria standards. Lindsay handles them all with vocal
splendour.
Asselin as Celia has
lighter music but her singing is simply superb. Inga sings the role of the
plotting Cinna who recommends that Giunia marry Lucio and slash his throat as a
honeymoon night present. Kriha Dye sings the melodramatic Cecilio who has a lot
to be melodramatic about what with the imminent possibility of losing his love
and his life. Again marvelous singing.
Kresimir Spicer (front) with Peggy Kriha Dye and Meghan Lindsay
(behind) with artists of Atelier Ballet.
Photo by Bruce Zinger.
The only male in the
production is Spicer as the unhinged Lucio. He seems to have the most fun as he
blusters, threatens and overdoes everything. A fine performance in every way by
Spicer.
Pynkoski and
Choreographer Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg take care to make full use of the
stage and provide judicious movement to alleviate the length of some of the
arias. What could be painfully static appears less so. Shrewd use of dancing
has the same effect.
The gorgeous costumes
and set by Gerard Gauci add significantly to the enjoyment of the opera. Gauci
provides panels and backdrops of monumental scenes of ancient Rome. The scene
changes from somewhere outside Rome, to an interior, to the entrance to a
burial chamber to a prison and the outside of the Roman capitol are done
swiftly and effectively.
David Fallis conducts
the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra to produce its usual glorious sound and the
Atelier Ballet under Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg adds the icing on the cake.
The straight-jacket
conventions of opera seria were not
helped by Giovanni de Gamerra, abbot, soldier, playwright and really lousy
librettist, who provided the turgid text for the opera. Mozart did much better
with his music albeit within the conventions.
Opera Atelier has
loosened the straightjacket, managed to respect the conventions and still give
us a fabulous production. It will not make Lucio
Silla your favourite opera but you will be glad you saw it.
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