by Claudio Monteverdi
In Italian with English and
French Sur-Titles
Directed by Marshall Pynkoski
An Opera Atelier Production
at the Elgin Theatre
April 15, 18, 20, 23, 2006
Opera Atelier is apparently proud
to be a museum for Baroque. Its final offering for the 20th
anniversary season is a re-staging of the entire Orfeo by
Monteverdi—as it probably was done as a major court entertainment for the
Mantuan carnival celebrations of 1607. So, it is sumptuously costumed by
Dora Rust-D’Eye, lit by Kevin Fraser, and given trompe l’oeil sets by
Gerard Gauci. The men of the ballet are handsome beefcake, with lots of bare
chests and arms, shapely torsos, and beautiful legs. The women are
gorgeously accoutred in a 17th century Italian mode, and both
sexes assume postures that seem to be copied from famous artists of the
period. Their dances are decorous in a genteel way, with hardly anything
more than a leap, swirl, lift, and flutter in the Fabrito Caroso mode, and
everything is meant to be a spectacle of gesture and restrained movement.
The acting, that is supposed to be as large as the emotions projected in the
music, is as artificial as the painted décor, with huge gestures that are
not rooted in anything discernibly human. But opera is really about the
music and the singing, and in this regard, the production has much going for
it—despite the lack of a credible Orpheus.
Blond baritone Daniel Belcher
sings the title role, and though his voice is strong for the later sections,
it lacks musical charm—a fatal defect in the part of the mythic Greek
poet-musician who could cast a spell on the ferryman of Styx and work his
way into Hades to rescue his beloved Eurydice who had died of a snake-bite
on their wedding day. Belcher tries several stances and postures, none of
which is convincing, and when he emotes, he is ridiculously hollow. What to
purists may seem to be authentic Italianate melodramatic acting seems to me
to be pure bad acting. Belcher’s voice helps him in the passages that
require long vocal roulades, but nothing can turn him into an
Orpheus.
The rest of the cast sing
excellently, particularly Monica Whicher as La Musica, Carla Huhtanen as
Euridice, Curtis Sullivan as Caronte, Jennie Such as Proserpina, and Colin
Ainsworth as Apollo. The most outstanding vocal performance, however, (apart
from the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir’s) is Michael Maniaci’s male soprano (the
closest thing to a true castrato) as Speranza. Under the expert baton of
David Fallis, the Tafelmusik Orchestra achieves a rich tonal palette, with
especially striking renditions by strings, recorders, trombones, and
sackbuts. Not that there is any slackening of virtuosity by the
harpsichords, organs, or harps.
How to judge Marshall Pynkoski’s direction, except to say that within its obvious and unapologetic melodramatic conventions, it consolidates this opera’s appeal as an aristocratic entertainment. Pynkoski revels in processions (beginning down an auditorium aisle) and decorative embellishments. More descriptive than psychological, his approach to the music and text is a scrupulous homage rather than a creative re-interpretation. He certainly goes for broke on baroque.
Photo credits: Bruce Zinger
image 1: Monica Which and cast
image 2: Daniel Belcher and cast
image 3: Daniel Belcher and Curtis Sullivan
image 4: Jennie Such, Daniel Belcher, and Olivier Laquerre
image 5: Colin Ainsworth and Daniel Belcher