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As 2018 draws to an end here is my run-down of my
top opera, musical and theater experiences of 2018. I will begin with opera.
The order is not necessarily relevant in every case except the few at the top.
Also, please forgive my overuse of superlatives. This is after all a list of my
favorites.
1. “Regina” by Marc Blitzstein – Opera Theater St.
Louis with Susan Graham, James Morris, Rob Raines and Susannah Philips. This
mid-20th century opera is based on the play “The Little Foxes” by
Lillian Hellman (not the movie). I had the opportunity to see both the movie
and the play this year also and it was fun to compare. I had seen the opera once before in Chicago but it made no impression. But this production and
performance was incredible – one of the finest performances of any opera I have
ever seen. The cast was outstanding! In fact, one cannot imagine a better cast.
Susan Graham was amazing as Regina, and James Morris brought an appropriate
affability to the scheming Ben and his closing “arietta” Greedy Girl was a highlight. Rob Raines as Oscar was terrifically
horrible especially to the Birdie of Susannah Philips whose extended monologue
near the beginning of act 2 was one of the most touching moments of the
performance. Most of the rest of the cast were young artists and were also
outstanding – Leo and Zan in particular. The opportunity to experience this
opera with this cast and then also see the movie and play was the top overall
theater/opera experience of 2018 for me.
2. In 2nd place is the Met’s new production
of “Cosi fan Tutte,” - the “Coney Island” production. It is not surprising that
this production has been criticized but I have found that most of the criticisms
seem to be based only on the complainer’s pre-conceived notions of this great
opera that in my view conveys a complete lack of understanding of the opera and
it’s much maligned libretto. I have posted multiple essays on this opera and
for me Cosi is not only Mozart/Da Ponte’s shining jewel in a crown of jewels,
but it is Da Ponte’s own statement on issues of sexual politics, especially as
practiced in the Enlightenment period of the late 18th century. If
you do not understand this you will not understand Cosi. The opera stands over
and against the patriarchal misogyny of its time bringing women down from their
pedestals and up from the gutter – Cosi
fan Tutte – They (women) are all
like this - that is - they are human beings just like men. Sadly the issues
raised by the opera are still current in our own horribly misogynistic times.
This production not only presents the opera in a way that expresses the basic
foundational themes of the opera in a very comprehensible manner, but it
actually takes the original setting into account (something that is rarely done
in “traditional” productions of this opera). The opera is originally set in the
resort of Naples – what happens in Naples
stays in Naples. It is a place not unlike the internet now and places like
Coney Island in the 50’s. A place where there is anonymity and the opportunity
to explore without societal constriction. Not only that but this production
also takes the parody element seriously and presents it brilliantly (The chorus
repeating their movements as the boys prepare to disembark and especially the
staging of “Come scoglio” which was nothing short of brilliant IMHO and very
funny). It was Da Ponte’s stated desire that Cosi always be set in the time and
location of the audience, and the choice of Coney Island enables this to be
done and also for the production to work with the issues created by the fact
that it assumes an 18th century worldview. I absolutely loved this
production – it is my favorite of all the myriad productions I have ever seen
of this opera. In short, this is because it takes the libretto so incredibly seriously.
And in my view the cast was also terrific. This was a perfect cast, especially
Kelly O’Hara who gave us one of the most nuanced and profound performances of
Despina I have ever experienced. I also loved Amanda Majeski as Fiordiligi, her
“Per pietá” was gorgeous and the staging on the Ferris Wheel was deeply moving
for me. Lastly, I’ll mention the Coney
Island performers who added amazingly to this production. Their constant
presence gave us an ongoing sense that we were in a unique and special place
(like Naples) and consequently the events could unfold in their beautiful,
tragic and unique way.
3. An American Soldier by Huang Ruo with a libretto
by Henry David Hwang, performed by Opera Theater St. Louis. This new opera
tells a brutal story of racism within the ranks of the US Army – the story of
Danny Chen. I was deeply moved by this work. It was musically outstanding and
the libretto was incredible albeit very difficult to watch, but essential,
especially in our day when despicable racially based hate seems to be so in
vogue. This incredible opera presents racism in all its ugliness.
4. Fanciulla del West at the Met with Jonas
Kaufmann, Eva Marie Westbroek and Zelko Lucic. Great production! Wonderfully
sung! Terrific chorus and supporting cast. The act 2 card game was incredibly
intense and well done. I loved this performance.
5a & 5b – Santa Fe Opera – Our first trip to
Santa Fe and I loved it. What a wonderful venue and we enjoyed the location
very much. We saw three operas – Candide, Dr. Atomic and Ariadne auf Naxos. I
found Candide an odd piece though the production was colorful and inventive.
But I particularly enjoyed the Ariadne auf Naxos (with Amanda Majeski again)
and the Dr. Atomic, which I consider to be a masterpiece. An added attraction
was the opportunity to meet the librettist/stage director Peter Sellars. He was
animated and it was fun to listen to him speak.
6. Any opportunity to experience Wagner would have
to be on this list. So in their build up to the complete Ring next year Lyric
Opera Chicago performed “Siegfried” this season. Musically it was very strong – Eric Owens as
the Wanderer and Christine Goerke as Brunnhilde were the standouts in a really
outstanding cast. I found the production a bit odd though. I thought the
director’s Walküre worked better, his Siegfried just didn’t seem to me to
really hang together well. But on the whole it was good and I am looking
forward to the complete Ring next season.
In St. Louis we have 4 (count them) 4 opera
companies and they are all good. My next two positions are taken by
performances given by two of the other St. Louis companies – Union Ave Opera
and Winter Opera.
7. Union Ave Opera picks up where OTSL leaves off in
July and performs three operas between the beginning of July and the end of
August. This last summer their final work was a not often performed work of
Kurt Weill’s “Lost in the Stars” which deals with apartheid and racism in South
Africa. It was a riveting work incredibly well performed by a large cast. In
this work, the majority of the cast are black with a few white roles and the
chorus is also mostly black. UOA had to recruit black artists from the
community and hats off they found the best of the best. The cast was
outstanding. In fact, the actress who played Addie in OTSL’s “Regina” was on
stage for UOA’s “Lost in the Stars” and was equally outstanding. The plot is
complex so I won’t attempt to review it. But if you ever have a chance to see
this opera, do not miss it!
8. Winter Opera presented “L’Elisir D’Amore” by
Donizetti. Ho hum, right? This charming
opera is a bit overdone, but leave it to Winter Opera to come up with the
interesting approach of setting the opera in St. Louis in one of the old
storied neighborhoods, and their genius scenic designer to recreate the exact street
setting complete with local landmarks and a well known church. The opera was
engaging and really, really fun. And the young cast (led by the founder and
company director Gina Galati) and chorus obviously loved this production
because they were terrific and so energized! It is one of the most fun
productions of this opera I have ever seen.
9. In the middle of the summer I found myself in NYC
after helping my daughter move and took the opportunity to attend the Bard
College opera festival. They have for a number of years produced a festival
which included a usually rather obscure opera performance. This year the opera
was “Demon” by Anton Rubinstein. A rather creepy plot line accompanied with a soaring
and beautiful late 19th century score. I enjoyed it quite a lot.
Demon was worth seeing, but I don’t expect it to become anyone’s favorite.
Still it was a colorful production and beautifully sung; and all accompanied by
a major downpour – all in upstate New York.
10. Lastly I will include the Washington National
Opera production of Don Carlo which featured Russell Thomas (Carlo), Quinn
Kelsey (Posa), Eric Owens (as King Philip), Leah Crochetto (Elizabetta), Jamie
Barton (Eboli) and Andrea Silvestrelli (Grand Inquisitor). The score of Don
Carlo is gorgeous and this is one of my all time favorite operas. I found the
production concept a bit odd and not terribly colorful but it didn’t distract
me from the glorious score and the beautiful singing. I have to say, however,
that anytime I see Don Carlo without the Fontainbleu scene I feel as though
something is missing. The opening scene sets up what follows both musically and
dramatically, in fact one major motif is first presented in the opening scene
and without it there is no reference for that musical theme.
Met HD – 2018
This is awkward since the
season runs from September through May, so to do an HD favorites now
necessarily requires mixing two seasons. But be it as it may, this isn’t hard
and my top two are the same as my good friend Nigel’s:
1.
Cosi fan Tutte – March (see above)
2.
Fanciulla del West – October (see above)
3.
Luisa Miller – April
4.
Marnie – November (A terrific opera – stunning
production)
5.
Cendrillon (Massenet) – April
Theater and Musicals
I will list these without
much commentary
1.
“The Band’s Visit” – New York. This is the best new musical I have seen
in a long time. The music is beautiful and the story is very powerful,
especially in this day of exclusion and hate.
2.
“Mean Girls” – New York. The new musical by Tina Fey and her husband. I
loved this show. I felt that it took on some really serious issues and dealt
with them very well. Plus the cast was terrific. Some of the reviews have not
liked all the music, but I liked it fine and for me “Apex Predator” is the best
musical song of 2018.
3.
Shakespeare “King John” at the Folger in DC. This particular play
brings me within one play of having seen the entire canon of Shakespeare plays,
with the exception of the lost plays like “Sir Thomas More.” But this
production was outstanding. And when done this well one wonders why it is not
done very often. It seemed to me that the story of a completely incompetent
ruler driven by his own ineptitude, selfishness and prejudice is rather timely.
Hats off to the cast, especially the young actress who played the boy prince.
What a part and what a job she did. She deserves a prize. It was a virtuoso
performance.
4.
“My Fair Lady” at Lincoln Center Theater. I have always loved MFL. I
played Higgins in high school (in the play “Pygmalion”) and I simply adore this
musical. The only thing I don’t like about the musical is the way it ended,
which is completely removed from the play. BUT – this production restores
Shaw’s ending for the characters. I loved the way they did that. The cast were
all terrific (though I didn’t much like Freddie). The Higgins and Liza were
especially wonderful. And Higgin’s mother stole the show IMHO.
5.
“Hamilton” – Not much to say. Because this is a great show!
Historically accurate and detailed it tells the story of the founding of the
nation through a focus on Alexander Hamilton. It is a wonderful show in every
way.
6.
St. Louis Rep produced “Evita” and even though it is an older show I
really enjoyed it. I especially liked the Juan Peron and the company.
7.
We have a lot of theater in St. Louis too and my favorite theater
company (Clayton Community Theater) is managed by my friend Sam Hack and his
wife Marilyn. Two of their plays I felt were outstanding. 7. “Brighton Beach
Memoires” directed by Sam himself. I had never seen it, though I had heard of
it certainly. I really enjoyed it. It is a wonderful play and very touching.
And then…
8.
“Laramie Project” – another play I had heard of, but had never
experienced. I was not sure what to expect. I wish the issues it deals with –
hate and homophobia were things of the past, but unfortunately the hate spewed
at the LGBT community is disgusting and odious and seems to be worse than ever.
I have personal experience dealing with that, as a pastor, and frankly this
play and the event it chronicles are among the reasons that I have run out of
patience for that kind of hate. It isn’t Christian it is despicable. But what a
masterful creation this play is. And it was brilliantly cast and performed.
9.
I mentioned “Little Foxes” above in relation to “Regina.” Another StL
theater company produced and performed this play in a rather hole in the wall
theater. It was very well done. For me, the opera and then the play are the
best. The movie is fine, but I don’t really like Bette Davis and I hate the
added love interest for Zan.
10.
St Louis Shakespeare Festival in Forest Park produces one play a year
and it runs almost 6 weeks from the end of May through all of June. Weather is
often an issue, but they always do a great job. In 2017 they did a beautiful
production of “Winter’s Tale.” And this year it was “Romeo and Juliet.” At
first I thought, eh, sigh, R&J. Not my favorite play, overdone, maybe I’ll
skip it this year. Boy, am I glad I didn’t. It was an updated production that
was really well done. A great cast and the fights were incredibly exciting –
hats off to the fight director. This is easily the best R&J I have ever
seen. Lately I have watched the opera
pretty often and it was nice to be reminded of the depth of the play. There is
a lot in the play that is missing from the opera. The opera is really about the
love story, but despite the hype in the play the love story is a vehicle to
deal with irrational hate.
Digital
Online and Movie House Streaming of 2018 Opera and Theater
Well, I assembled my initial list and had a total of
28 performances. I will endeavor to cut it to 12 and leave the others listed as
honorable mention. The numbering is not that significant frankly, but I have to
put them in some order so here goes:
1.
The “Ariadne auf Naxos” from Aix 2018 was not enjoyed universally, but
I thought it brilliant. It was directed by Katie Miller and included Eric
Cutler as Bacchus and Sabine Devieilhe as Zerbinetta (who wins my award for the most incredible performance of the Queen of
the Night ever in a production I didn’t really like from Brussels). Clever
staging.
2.
“Otello” live streamed from Munich 2018 with
Jonas Kaufmann, Anja Harteros and Gerald Finley. This was an incredible
performance. I agree completely with Nigel who felt that Jonas completely
inhabited the role of the Moor. I also loved the staging and thought it to be
very powerful.
3.
“Lohengrin” from Bayreuth 2018 with Piotr Beczala (replacing Roberto
Alagna at the last minute), Anja Harteros, Tomasz Konieczny as Telramund,
Waltraud, Meier
as Ortrud and Georg Zeppenfeld. The production was odd and a bit perplexing. I
don’t really like insects and didn’t really get that. Nevertheless the
production was visually arresting and musically brilliant. Piotr was
magnificent and I have to add that for some reason I read a review that panned
Konieczny that I completely disagree with. He is a brilliant bass/baritone and
was a terrific Telramund.
4.
“The Coronation of Poppea” (Monteverdi) from Salzburg 2018 with Sonja Yoncheva,
Kate Lindsay (as a terribly decadent and repulsive Nerone), Stefanie d’Oustrac,
and James Christie & Les Arts Florrisent - Terrific!!!
5.
“Macbeth” from the Royal Opera House, Covet Garden
was, in my view the best Macbeth of the year, though the Venice Teatro la
Fenice production was a close 2nd. I loved the detail and thought
the cast excellent - Netrebko, Lucic and D’Archangelo. I should mention that
just around the same time I saw this I also saw the play on NTLive from the RSC
and it was really excellent. In particular they cast three little girls as the
weird sisters and let me tell you, despite their Pink outfits (“Mean Girls”
comes to mind here – On Wednesdays we
wear pink!) they were really creepy!
6.
I never thought I would ever include
“L’Italiani in Algeri” as a favorite on any list. In general I have never
really warmed to the opera, or the plot. But the production from Salzburg 2018
starring Ildar Adbrazakov, Cecelia Bartoli and Alessandro Corbelli was both
terrific and hilarious. If you have a chance to see it. Don’t miss it!
7.
I had never seen Die Tote Stadt by Krenek before,
though I had listened to it. Not the same experience at all. The Robert Carsen
production at the Berliner Komische was a magnificent introduction to this
opera. It is both beautiful and deeply disturbing.
8.
Staying with Berlin, this time Unter den Linden
and their production of Rameau’s “Hippolyte et Aricie” is one of the most
thrilling baroque opera experiences of the year for me. Beautiful cast and
wonderful production.
9.
This year the opening of La Scala in Milan
featured a new production of “Attila.” I loved this! The production and
performance is terrific. Ildar in the title role with Georg Petean in the cast
as his foil. Wonderful performance.
10.
One of the nice things about the free opera
streaming service Opera Vision is that they intersperse popular operas from
name companies with unknown works from companies that are not among the best
known. Sometimes what you get is a real gem – such as Rozycski’s “Eros &
Psyche” performed by the Polish National opera. What a wonderful opera and a
terrific production.
11.
“Medea” by Cherubini from the Staatskappelle
Berlin with Baremboim conducting featuring Sondra Yoncheva as Medea and Castronuovo as Jason. Terrific!
12.
Last but not least, also from Staatskapelle
Berlin was their Tristan, live streamed back last March. It was a deeply
psychological production, but very well done. In particular I loved the English
Horn and the way he was woven into the staging in the last act. Andreas Schager
was Tristan and he was excellent.
Here are the honorable
mention:
“L’Enfant et les Sortiledges” Ravel - Berlin
Philharmonic
“Ariodante” (Handel) –
Vienna 2018 – performed by Les Arts Florrisants – An incredible performance.
But this opera’s plot I find horrible. People are so quick to accuse Cosi of
being misogynist when it is not in any way, but Ariodante – yeah, big time. But
the music is divine especially when sung and performed by William Christie and
colleagues.
“Begger’s Opera” by Pepusch
again with Christie & Co. This was an amazing production and performance.
“Jesus Christ Superstar” –
NBC Live – John Legend, Alice Cooper – Best performance of this show I’ve ever
experienced. Great band and brass (horn!)
“Julius Caesar” and NT Live
presentation with Ben Wishaw as Caccius – terrific!
“War and Peace” (Prokofiev)
– Mariinsky 2018 (on tour in Paris) with Gergiev, Garifulina, Bondarenko, Diadkova,
Aleksashkin, Petrenko. I saw this opera at the Met with Netrebko and Dima, both
at the beginnings of their careers in 2000 about 6 months after 9/11.
“Semele” – Komische Oper
Berlin – Directed by Kosky (I loved this production).
“La Nonne Sanglante” (The
Bloody Nun – Gounod) – Paris, Opera Comique – Spyres, Santoni, Boutiller – When
do you ever get to hear any Gounod besides “Faust” and R&J?” This opera is
a terrific ghost story and great fun with a terrific score! Beautifully
performed!
“Macbeth”
(Shakespeare) RSC 2018 – NTLive – Named above
“Fiery Angel” (Prokofiev) –
Aix 2018 – Edgy and challenging – Not exactly a lovely time at the opera. This
piece is pretty dark. Great production!
“Magic Flute” – Garsington
2018 – The production is excellent, singing is good. This is the “Handmaid’s
Tale” MF! I found it very provocative and effective.
“Les
Troyans” – Vienna – DiDonato, Jovanovitch, Antonacci, Park, Plachetka – McVicar
– Outstanding beautiful production, beautifully performed.
“Faust”
(speaking of Gounod) performed at the Teatro Real with Piotr Beczala, Luca
Pisaroni, Marina Rebeka, Stephane Degout and Serena Malfi – Terrific singing
and a great cast – Mostly rather traditional production with some interesting
and whimsical updatings. This production included the Spinning Song which is
almost always sadly cut but, alas, they did cut Siebel’s 2nd aria. I
really liked what they did with Walgurgis Night though the finale was a little
disappointing.
“King
and I” from London with Kelly O’Hara and Ken Wantanabe, but Ruthie Ann Miles as
Lady Thiang just about steals the show. She is terrific. Saw it live in NYC with the same cast and it
is still a great production.
“Peer Gynt” (Grieg) –
Vienna Staateoper Ballet – Wonderful and beautifully danced.
“Cunning
Little Vixen” performed by the Brno Opera – Excellent production and
performance – in fact, the best I have experienced. Though the Berlin Phil
production comes in as a close 2nd.
Last – my biggest disappointment. “Bánk Bán” (Erkel) performed Hungarian State
Opera on tour at the David Koch Theater. I watched this on OV and it was a really
interesting opera and production so I was looking forward to seeing it live.
The live performance was a complete mess. But I will say that the coloratura
singing Melinda was terrific.
I have to mention in parting that I traveled to
Chicago specifically to experience the Chicago Symphony performing the
Shostakovich Symphony #13, Babi Yar. It was a wonderful performance and the
presence of the composer’s elderly widow, who traveled from Russia for the
event made the entire experience even more special. This piece takes on the
issue of anti-semitism and is one of the most powerful works in the orchestral
repertoire.
