Ao Li as Belcore (courtesy of the Merola Opera Program)
The final performance yesterday afternoon of L'Elisir d'Amore at the Cowell Theater in Fort Mason Center by the Merola Opera Program distinguished itself from opening night in a variety of ways, several of which made for significant improvements. Most important was that this turned out to be the only opportunity to hear tenor Alexander Lewis sing the role of Nemorino in its entirety. As Axel Feldheim reported on his Not For Fun Only blog, Lewis had a cough that surfaced during the first act on Friday night and had to abandon ship in the middle of the second act. The time span between Friday night and yesterday afternoon was apparently sufficient for Lewis to recover his health, and those on hand for the occasion were far from disappointed.
Like Daniel Montenegro, who performed on opening night and filled in for Lewis on Friday, Lewis knew how to approach Nemorino with a light touch that never compromised his musical skills. Where he differentiated himself from Montenegro was in his theatrical skills. Lewis inhabited the role in such a way that he never dropped character, even when he was decidedly in the background. Thus, while Montenegro performed Nemorino with more than enough skill to be faulted on any critical point, Lewis owned the role and transcended it above the mere simple-but-sincere characterization conceived by librettist Felice Romani for composer Gaetano Donizetti.
Unfortunately, if Lewis provided an ideal vehicle for Nemorino's lighter-than-air ascent to empyrean heights, Valentina Fleer's Adina did not follow him there. Here voice was solid (at least for the most part); and her character was brassy enough to be more consistent with Nicola Bowie's musical-in-rehearsal setting. However, there was little evidence of that light touch of ingenuous simplicity, which, as I argued on Friday, is what makes this opera tick more than any other quality.
The good news is that, while Fleer's Adina may have fallen short of Nadine Sierra's more effective combination of secure musical and dramatic tone, the secondary male roles fared much better yesterday afternoon. Particularly outstanding was Ao Li's Belcore, so unafraid of the raw buffoonery of his character that even his publicity photograph (reproduced above) reflects his enthusiasm. More important was that this enthusiasm rested on the foundation of a baritone voice far stronger than Benjamin Covey's had been on opening night. Meanwhile, Thomas Florio returned as Dulcamara with comparable strength in his bass voice, which enhanced his own disreputable character far more effectively than his opening night performance had achieved.
Musically, the performance was in much better balance than it had been on opening night. Since the Merola program is primarily about the vocalists, most important was that the chorus sounded more like a chorus and less like soloists in training. The orchestra was also in better shape, but the overture provided me with an opportunity to diagnose some of the problems it had faced. Most important was the decision to place all of the strings on one side and all of the winds, brass, and percussion on the other. This relegated the cellos and basses to a rather remote distant corner on the left. As anyone with a smattering of theory knows (and as Donizetti understood with great skill), audiences may remember the tunes in the melody; but the support is always in the bass line. With this configuration the bass received far more support from the bassoons and horns; and the result was, at the very least, odd. It could also explain why members of the orchestra (and occasionally the singers) had problems finding the right pitch.
There was one final advantage to yesterday afternoon. There is often a go-for-broke attitude taken at a final performance, particularly when comedy is involved. Performers often take one last fling at their parts, trying out shtick that may have been felt "not ready for prime time." Yesterday this was most evident in the village girls returning from Belcore's party having just discovered that Nemorino has inherited a fortune. Yesterday afternoon they seemed to portray their drunken condition with a bit more abandon than they had brought to opening night, making their "attack" on Nemorino and its resolution all the more hilarious:
This was definitely an afternoon of emerging talent, and let us hope that we shall be seeing more of them.
Comments
Reading Stephen Smoliar’s review one had the feeling it was written by a Terminator, an intelligent machine programmed to destroy or praise, rather than to listen.
It lacked not only compassion to young artists just starting their careers, it also lacked a truthful human approach.
I was lucky to see the gracefully inventive production of Donizetti’s “L'elisir d'amore” by Nicola Bowie, and I (and most of the audience) was very excited about the brilliant performance by the ensemble of young artists, including the leading soprano, Valentina Fleer. Mr. Smoliar’s review made no sense, except for an obvious agenda to praise one performer and to throw mud at another. It's not the soprano's performance that lacked “that light touch of ingenuous simplicity”, it's the reviewer who used his “brassy” style, only to show off his incompetence as a music critic.
The previous commenter must be alluding to the fact that Mr. Smoliar cooked up a career out of trying to marry the unmarriageable. Being “sponsored” by an equipment manufacturer, Mr. Smoliar believes that music could be computerized, broken down to ones and zeros. This biased review is so heavily peppered with interchangeable adjectives, both overenthusiastic praise and mud slinging, it makes one wonder if it is generated by a computer program designed to cater to Mr. Smoliar’s personal preferences and prejudice. As much as I would like to see Mr. Smoliar absolved of any malice, to attribute this trashy piece to an honest lapse of reason, we must remind ourselves that a critic’s job is to nurture young talents never playing them against each other.
Back to the play. I thought it was absolutely superb, the performers were on top of their game, any flaws Mr. Smoliar dwells so much on were either imaginary or so minute they only add a measure of cuteness.
I am glad that the Merolini have such enthusiastic defenders. My objective was to compare the opening and closing performances. Hyperlinked texts are easier to read in context, but one cannot assume that all links will be followed. (I am certainly selective about what I follow while reading.) Of course I was more than a little impressed with how well they showed their stuff in the adverse conditions of Yerba Buena Gardens, and this may have unduly biased the expectations I brought to Fort Mason.
Nevertheless, those inclined to invective would benefit by doing some fact-checking. Anyone who has read my publications on computers and music theory know that most of my results strongly refuted the proposition that any music text could be "broken down to ones and zeros." Furthermore, it was through that alleged "sponsorship" (employment in an organization that has not had me on salary for several years) that I came to appreciate how much performance involves more than source texts.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!