There are times, on rare occasions, when pieces of music we've heard again and again throughout our lives stop sounding like clichés and start sounding fresh and new, as if we're hearing them for the first time. Baltimore Concert Opera's production, To Be Or Not To Be, contained an unusual amount of such moments. Though the program veered from what the company originally advertised (there was none of Franco Faccio's Amleto on the program, opting instead for a kind of "greatest hits" show), the superb cast of singers, always impeccable chorus and accompaniment, and solid conducting elevated the familiar material to a new level.
BCO's general director, Brendan Cooke, began the evening with an introduction wherein he addressed the potential problems the BCO and other smaller local companies will face once Lyric Opera Baltimore brings grand opera back to the city in the fall. The gist of Cooke's talk was that the city's opera companies are taking a "we're all in this together" attitude and that they understand that the more opportunities for audiences and singers to experience opera in Baltimore, the better. According to a note in the program from BCO board president Ben Schuman, Lyric Opera Baltimore will be deeply connected to BCO, sharing a maestro (James Harp), chorus members, and even Brendan Cooke, who will be singing in LOB's premiere production, La Traviata, in November.
To Be Or Not To Be featured arias, ensembles, and choruses from eighteen operas, a marathon program to say the least. Performing were a cast of nine, chorus of twenty-five, piano accompaniment, and a conductor. In the interest of reasonable brevity, I will try to confine my review to the highlights. The first standout was, suitably enough, the opening number, the "Entrance of the Nobles" chorus from Wagner's Tannhauser. As always, the chorus, prepared by James Harp, displayed crystal clear diction and excellent attention to dynamics. The only downside was that the space can get overwhelmed by the chorus in louder moments.
Tenor Theodore Chletsos provided the next highlight in his take on the "Chanson de Kleinzach" from Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann. Chletsos's Hoffmann was very funny and physically engaged, not to mention remarkably well sung. His rich, full top was almost baritonal in timbre.
Kellie Van Horn wowed with "Cruda sorte" from Rossini's L'Italiana in Algeri. Her velvety mezzo was equally at home in legato and coloratura passages, and her Italian was excellent, with a central/northern inflection. Van Horn's eyes are remarkably dynamic, rendering her acting decisions very clear and believable.
In the quartet "Bevo al tuo fresco sorriso" from Puccini's La Rondine, tenor Steven Sanders' shimmering top was on display. It was matched in sheen by that of soprano Emily Ezzie and contrasted beautifully by the warmer, darker voices of Theodore Chletsos and soprano Suzanne Balaes-Blair.
Bass-baritone Christian Van Horn's take on Méphistophélès' "Le veau d'or" aria from Gounod's Faust was delightfully sinister. His towering figure and expressive physicality combined with his perfect French and impossibly fluid, molten chocolate tone to convey both the character's charm and malice.
One of the most interesting aspects of the evening was getting to hear huge Verdi scenes in an unusually intimate setting. Both the "Patria oppressa" scene from Macbeth and the triumphal march from Aida were at times so intense as to threaten to blow the roof off the theatre. Steven Sanders's flexible and emotive tenor easily plumbed the technical and emotional depths of Macduff's aria. In the Aida scene, all the singers stood out. The two bass-baritones, Van Horn and Tim Mix, sang powerfully, Chletsos was a terrific Radames, and Julia Cooke was a radiant Aida, demonstrating top notch dynamic control.
Suzanne Balaes-Blair's best performance of the evening was in the Easter hymn from Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana. Her lovely, rich tone was bolstered by a soaring chorus, carrying the prayer to glorious heights.
Rarely is a Baltimore Concert Opera performance complete without a surprise bit of fun, and this was no exception. During intermission, the audience was encouraged to bid, as part of a silent auction, on four arias to be performed in the second half of the program. The four winning bidders chose "Pourquoi me réveille" from Massenet's Werther for Theodore Chletsos to sing, "Non piú andrai" from Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, for Christian Van Horn, "Per me giunto" from Verdi'sDon Carlo for Tim Mix and "O mio babbino caro" from Puccini's Gianni Schicchi for Emily Ezzie. All four were superlative performances. The audience swooned at the familiar melodies, particularly of the Puccini. Ezzie took the very simple, plaintive tune and spun it into gold, luxuriating in every note.
Tim Mix's finest moment came toward the end of the second half, with the "Te Deum" from Puccini's Tosca. His singing was just glorious, and, when taken with the dreamy Debussyesque seventh and ninth chords in the accompaniment, the creepy choral incantations, and the huge unison section at the end, the whole number was something to behold.
Finally, the program concluded with what is, for my money, the most beautiful closing number in all the operatic repertoire, "Make our garden grow" from Bernstein's Candide. Steven Sanders and Suzanne Balaes-Blair sang the parts of Candide and Cunegonde with poise and refinement. When the chorus entered, I felt my eyes fill as they so often do when I hear this music.
For the whole of the program, my complaints are few and, in the scheme of things, rather minor. First, when the hall gets to about two-thirds capacity, it gets extraordinarily warm, which can distract from the beauty of the music. Second, the acoustic of the room is at times too live. For example, in the Aida scene, the chorus occasionally got so loud as to lose clarity of diction, and where the soloists are concerned, the larger voices of Chletsos and Christian Van Horn occasionally threatened to drown out those of Sanders and Cooke.
All told, though, To Be Or Not To Be was an solid and thoroughly enjoyable program. James Harp's accompanying was at turns virtuosic and soloistic, and thoughtfully collaborative. Ronald Gretz's conducting was clear and direct, and the singers, particularly the chorus, followed his every gesture. Baltimore Concert Opera continues to achieve its stated goal of providing an operatic experience that is accessible, affordable, and fun for both the novice and the seasoned veteran fan.
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