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Intermezzo

The New England Chamber Opera Series

Cape Cod Opera's double bill satisfies even without orchestral support

By: Paul Joseph Walkowski
OperaOnline.us

Cape Cod Opera finished off its 2005-2006 Season opener, last night, at Cape Cod Community College’s Tilden Arts Center with performances of Bernstein’s “Trouble in Tahiti” and Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi”. The theater wasn’t quite full and the orchestra, well, wasn’t ? both performances were with piano accompaniment (James Busby for Tahiti and Lucy Banner for Schicchi). But what the productions lacked in orchestra, they made up for in sheer heart and solid performances. Both operas focus on the loose corners and dull edges of human nature: in Tahiti, it’s the problems of a husband and wife whose marriage has hit the doldrums; and in Schicchi, it’s a comedic tale of a dysfunctional family that rewrites a dead relative’s Last Will in order to collect an inheritance he intended for a ministry of monks.

The charm of Tahiti was its scant but tactical use of props and its focus on center stage and a music stand behind which stood tenor Jason McStoots and baritone Paul Soper in tuxedos and mezzo-soprano Jena Eison in a slinky strapless red evening gown, worn marvelously by the way. These were the omnipresent radio announcers describing the “troubled” story to us, set off against a backdrop (movie) screen that changed colors as the moods of the performance took shape. It was modern, austere and oddly hypnotic because it was done well. The performance of this trio was balanced and melodic, but at times too distant-sounding to be understood. Still, they adapted opera nicely to Bernstein’s “doo-wop jazz rhythms”. I liked the stage direction here, too, and the way the few props that were used were used to direct our eyes from one end of the stage to the other, allowing other props to be moved while we were looking elsewhere. Nice work by stage director Marc Astafan and stage manager Mary Jane Byrne and our compliments to lighting designer Anne B. Kiefer for the smart use of color. Kudos, also, to Linda Arthur for fine costume coordination. But the standouts of last night’s performance were baritone John Whittlesey as the husband, Sam; and mezzo-soprano Gale Fuller as his wife, Dinah. Whittlesey and Fuller not only sang well, but added human dimensions to their roles. They acted well together, and came off as affectionate, sincere and utterly human, as they breezed effortless through Bernstein’s interesting and, at times moving score.

Schicchi, on the other hand was a romp, with an occasionally uneven, but entirely forgivable ensemble introduction that carried over to the lead tenor, Craig Hanson, whose lyric range may have been too lyric for this role. As Rinuccio, Lauretta’s “O mio Babbino caro” (Sarah Whilten’s) suitor, Hanson did hold his own in this zany cast and even though I might have thought his voice too light, he had good tone and projection. I am inclined to offer the same observations on Sarah Whitten’s Laurettao. Maybe it was the Shirley Temple wig. Stand out performers here were Martha Evans as Zita, Rinuccio’s indomitable aunt. Evans has nice stage presence and a set of lungs that towered above the rest when invoked; and Richard Conrad as Gianni Schicchi, who served in the dual roles as the production’s director and lead singer. Conrad sang well, projected well and acted well, and when he stripped down to his “briefs” while giving a “see you later” glance in aunt Zita’s direction, it drew hoots from the audience. Well done!

It is a shame that Cape Cod Opera can’t tie in with the Cape Cod Symphony and Chorus and stage full productions. This is an opera company, under the leadership of George Arthur, that even though it has been performing since 1997, deserves a chance to give audiences another reason to come to the Cape. And the best way to do this is by staging full operas with orchestra. When word got out, all would benefit. Having said that, Cape Cod Opera has demonstrated, yet again, its own indomitable spirit and grit. Its productions are consistently high quality, its singers eminently qualified, and its artistic staff more than up to the task of producing fully staged opera for what seems to be a willing and eager Cape opera audience. A last word, here, on the Tilden Arts Center. Though a small theater, it
has an exceptionally large stage in proportion to the size of the hall which holds about 680 patrons when full. It's a fitting place to enjoy summer opera, and one hopes we'll be seeing plenty more in coming seasons.

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