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| The idyllic grounds at the Caramoor Center for the Arts |
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| Ines de Castro, inspiration for Malvina di Scozia |
A handful of companies will unveil rarely performed works,
which is a guarantee of exciting discoveries. The indie jewel-box Vertical
Player Repertory led by Judith Barnes is producing a concert version of
Giovanni Pacini’s Malvina di Scozia. A long lost opera that is
rumored to be enchantingly beautiful but has not been performed in over 150
years. So, it will be like hearing a completely new opera from 1851, plus it’s
based on a notorious Portuguese scandal involving the royally sanctioned murder
of a prince’s lover. May 11 and 13, at
the Christ and Saint Stephen’s Church 120 W 69th Street.
Known for its “immersive” approach, Onsite Opera will
stage a site-specific production of Marcos Portugal’s The Marriage of Figaro
in the wonderfully eclectic venue 632 on Hudson in the West Village. Written for
Carnival season of 1800 at the Teatro San Benedetto – just 13 years after
Mozart’s Figaro, this will be a rare opportunity to hear Portugal’s
vibrant music in a fado-inspired re-orchestration. This show is so hot that
tickets seem to be sold out, but there is a waiting list, so there may be hope.
June 14-17 at 632 on Hudson.
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| The rooftop terrace at 632 on Hudson |
Performances of baroque opera are sadly always a rarity,
thank goodness for Jennifer Peterson’s Operamission that will bring us a
concert version of Handel’s Rinaldo - Handel’s first London opera, based
on Torquato Tasso’s epic chivalric poem La Gerusalemme Liberata. June 14-16 at the Merkin Concert Hall.
Contemporary opera, too, is far from being commonly performed. The recently resuscitated NYC Opera will take care of that by staging Daniel Catán’s Florencia en el Amazonas. Inspired by the magical realism of Gabriel García Márquez and the first Spanish-language opera ever commissioned by a major American opera company, will be performed here in an original production of Nashville Opera. June 22 – 26 at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Theater.
Contemporary opera, too, is far from being commonly performed. The recently resuscitated NYC Opera will take care of that by staging Daniel Catán’s Florencia en el Amazonas. Inspired by the magical realism of Gabriel García Márquez and the first Spanish-language opera ever commissioned by a major American opera company, will be performed here in an original production of Nashville Opera. June 22 – 26 at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Theater.
For productions of more familiar repertoire, Brooklyn’s
Sunset Park always prolific and solid Regina Opera will stage Puccini’s Manon Lescaut. May 14-15, 21, 22 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Academy of Brooklyn.
If you’re in the mood for more Puccini, Chelsea Opera
brings us a production of the one-act opera Suor Angelica, very aptly
set in an Upper West Side church. June
16-17 at the Christ and Saint
Stephen’s Church 120 W 69th Street.
Moving to Verdi, Amore Opera will produce the classic
heart-wrenching drama Rigoletto. This is one is particularly promising
as it would seem that tenor Paolo Buffagni and soprano Sarah Moulton-Faux will
play the Duke and Gilda, respectively. We discovered these two singers in these
same roles a couple of years ago with Regina Opera and were literally blown
away by their sheer intensity and bravura. May
20-29 at the Sheen Center.
On a lighter note, the hip and trendy undisputed queen of
indie opera companies LoftOpera will stage Rossini’s Comte d’Ory at
the circus school The Muse in deep Bushwick. Yes, it’s a trek to get out there
but, in classic LoftOpera fashion, singers and musicians will be top notch, the
show will feel like the most cool and sexy event in the city, and there will be
free beer. So, the schlep out there will be well worth it. June 2, 4,7,9, 11 at The Muse, 350 Moffat Street, Brooklyn.
For another feel good comedy, the prolific Utopia Opera will stage Massenet’s Cendrillon (Cinderella). This indie company defines itself as a “talented
group of friends (and sometimes strangers) who join together to create spirited
representations of operatic works for the masses. We provide entertainment you
didn't even know you were missing.” Who would want to miss that? June 3-11 at Lang Recital Hall, Hunter
College (East 69th St between Park/Lex).
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| The Swing (Fragonard) |
Summer opera in NYC brings also a couple of training
programs for up and coming young singers and are particularly exciting as they
display fresh and eager talent that is always a pleasure to discover. Martina Arroyo’s Prelude to Performance
program this year will produce Puccini’s Boheme
and Strauss’ Die Fledermaus. July 7-10, at The Kaye Playhouse @ Hunter
College, E. 68th st. between Lexington and Park Avenue.
The excellent Dell’Arte
Opera Ensemble led by fearless maestro Christopher Fecteau will produce a
festival titled “Violetta and her sisters”, with performances of Verdi’s Traviata and Massenet’s Manon. Also,
a program of "Scenes from the demimonde", featuring excerpts
from Puccini's La Rondine and
Leoncavallo's La Boheme and "Chansons
de Baudelaire", featuring song settings of Baudelaire by Debussy,
Duparc, Fauré, Vierne, d'Indy, Loeffler, Judith Zaimont and others. August 13-28 at the Baruch Performing Arts
Center 55 Lexington Ave.
Last but not least, classic summer festivals! As always, we’ll
look forward to driving up to Katonah for a picnic on Caramoor’s idyllic grounds and their bel canto program, this year
showcasing Rossini’s Aureliano in Palmira - July 16 at The Caramoor Center for the Arts.
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Nearby, Bard SummerScape will focus on verismo, with the rarely performed Iris by Pietro Mascagni. Debuted in Rome in 1898,
ushering in a wave of fin-de-siècle exotic opera, Mascagni’s dreamlike score
provides the backdrop for a tragic story of Iris, an innocent young girl
tricked into abandoning her elderly blind father and lured to a brothel in
Tokyo’s notorious red-light district. Pretty exciting stuff! In addition, this
festival will present a series of events ranging from panel discussions, to
recitals to movies, all somehow related to Puccini and the opera world after
him. July and August dates at the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts.
A bit further upstate, Francesca Zambello’s Glimmerglass Opera Festival this year
will produce Rossini’s La Gazza Ladra,
Ward’s The Crucible, Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd and Puccini’s La Boheme. Who does not want to get
away from the city through a bucolic drive, chill by the lovely Ostego lake and
enjoy excellent quality full productions in an opera house that looks like a
barn? Various dates in July and August at the Alice Busch Opera Theater in Cooperstown.
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| Ostego Lake |
Back in the city, the classic Mostly Mozart Festival celebrates its 50th anniversary this summer.
Of particular interest, The Illuminated
Heart (July 25-26), with British director and video artist Netia Jones
stages an evening of Mozart’s most beloved opera arias and ensembles, featuring
superstar singers like Peter Mattei (aka one of the most swoon-inducing lyric
baritones out there), Matthew Polenzani, Christine Goerke, Ana Maria Martinez
and Nadine Sierra. The festival will also feature staged concerts of Cosi’ Fan Tutte (August 15) and Idomeneo (August 18). Last but not
least, Wolfie’s C-minor Mass and Requiem (August 19-20).
Happy operatic summer to all!
- Lei & Lui
