Dr. Batolo on the verge of a nervous breakdown: Opera Theatre's "Barber of Seville"

Jonathan Beyer as Figaro
Photo: Ken Howard

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What: Rossini's The Barber of Seville
Where: Opera Theatre of St. Louis
When: Through June 27, 2015

Stage director Michael Shell, conductor Ryan McAdams, and the cast of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis' "Barber of Seville" can all congratulate themselves on a job well done. Kelley Rourke's translation/adaptation of the original libretto and Mr. Shell's visual concepts take a few liberties as they move the action up to (roughly) the mid-1960s, but I felt that none of them violated the intentions of either the original opera or, for that matter, the Beaumarchais play that started it all. The result it a loopy, slightly surreal, and highly engaging take this comic opera classic.

Emily Fons as Rosina and
Dale Travis as Dr. Bartolo
Photo: Ken Howard

In an email interview with me prior to the opening, Mr. Shell—who originally created this production for Opera Philadelphia last fall—said that he set out to create a "Barber" that was "vibrant, energetic, and very Spanish". He took as his point of departure the animated and colorful films of Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar, which, as he writes in his director's notes in the program, "have all the elements of a Rossini opera. Almodóvar is brilliant at walking the line between dramatic comedy and melodramatic absurdity. His films, rich with a vintage feel, are also deeply embedded in Spain and Spanish culture."

The updated bits are always funny and sometimes inspired. When, for example, Almaviva enters Bartolo's house in Act II disguised as a singing teacher so he can flirt with Rosina, he does so with a sitar and Yoga poses. Rosina's music master Don Basiliso becomes a smarmy nightclub singer, complete with a mic and an absurd Salvador Dali mustache. And the officer of the watch and guards who enter at the height of the comic chaos at the end of Act I are nothing short of living Warner Brothers cartoons, with wacky choreography courtesy of the ever-reliable Seán Curran.

And then there's the thunderstorm sequence in Act II that Rossini inserted to imply the passage of time between the scene in which Rosina, Figaro, and Almaviva plot Rosina's escape and the actual escape itself. Usually, the stage is bare. In this case, it's filled with the nightmare Bartolo has after downing one too many drinks from his bar. Dancing roosters figure prominently.

Shoko Kambara's candy-colored sets and Amanda Seymour's gaudy costumes add to the vivid cinematic imagery.

Christopher Tiesi as Almavivia, Emily Fons as
Rosina, and Jonathan Beyer as Figaro
Photo: Ken Howard

So, yes, there's plenty of action in this "Barber." And while some of it is only tangentially connected to the story, it's never allowed to draw attention from the singers and it always serves the comedy well. Even when, as in the Act I finale, there's a lot of movement going on, it's kept mostly upstage, so it's easy to keep the focus on the principals. This is a production that respects the intelligence of its audience and doesn't assume that we need to be constantly distracted in order to be entertained.

With the exception of bass-baritone Dale Travis as Bartolo, this cast is entirely new to Opera Theatre. It's always a pleasure to see some new faces on the stage, especially when they're this good.

Baritone Jonathan Beyer is Figaro, the versatile fixer who can arrange an assignation as easily as he can shave your beard. Mr. Beyer created this role in the Opera Philadelphia production, and he clearly couldn't be more comfortable in it. He's a tall, commanding comic presence on the stage with a versatile voice that's more than up to Rossini's demands. His "Largo al factotum" was gracefully done, and without the excessive ornamentation that some singers are prone to give it.

Christopher Tiesi as Almavivia
Jonathan Beyer as Figaro
Photo: Ken Howard

Christopher Tiesi is the lovelorn Almaviva, with a ringing tenor and a feel for comedy that makes him an ideal foil for Mr. Beyer's Figaro. The fact that he's so much shorter than Figaro also creates some amusing "Mutt and Jeff" images in their scenes together.

Bass-baritone Dale Travis is another big actor with an equally large voice, and it serves him well as the comically pompous Bartolo. He delvers Rossini's rapid patter songs with ease and impressively precise diction. South Korean bass-baritone Jeongcheol Cha rounds out the principal male cast as the wily (if ineffectual) Basilio. His "gossip" aria "La calunnia è un venticello" was a first-act highlight.

Mezzo-soprano Emily Fons is Rosina. The role was originally written for a contralto, but sopranos and mezzos have done well with it over the years, and Ms. Fons sounded entirely comfortable with it, giving us an "Una voce poco fa" in Act I that was both beautifully sung and hilariously in character. Soprano Eliza Johnson only has one short aria ("l vecchiotto cerca moglie" in Act II) as the maid Berta, but she makes it a charming little character bit.

There are fine performances as well from baritone Benjamin Taylor as Almaviva's friend Fiorello, baritone Jonathan McCullough as the increasingly rattled Officer at the end of Act I, tenor Todd Barnhill as the Notary, and tenor Geoffrey Agpalo as the servant Ambrogio.

Christoper Tiesi as Almaviva
Emily Fons as Rosina, and
Jonathan Beyer as Figaro
Photo: Ken Howard

Down in the orchestra pit, conductor Ryan McAdams does well by Rossini's infectious score, beginning with a performance of the overture that was both rousing and nuanced. There were a few moments on opening night when the orchestra and the singers sounded not entirely in synch, but on the whole it all came together splendidly.

The projected English text was a bit spotty on opening night, but given how clearly everyone in this cast enunciates I didn't find that to be an issue. The bottom line is that the things that really matter all work very well in this production, making it a lively and enjoyable opener for OTSL's 40th anniversary season.

The Opera Theatre of St. Louis production of Rossini's "Barber of Seville" continues through June 27 in rotating repertory with three other operas at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. The opera is sung in English with projected English text. For ticket information: experienceopera.org.

Art in the blood: Puccini's "Tosca" at Chicago Lyric Opera

Mark Delavan and Hui He in Act II
Photo: Michael Brosilow

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Who: Lyric Opera of Chicago
What: Puccini's Tosca
When: February 27-March 14, 2015
Where: Civic Opera House, Chicago

Chicago opera lovers are getting a "twofer" with this season's production of Puccini's 1900 political melodrama "Tosca." Originally created by British director John Caird for the Houston Grand Opera in 2010 and later revived for Los Angeles, Lyric's "Tosca" opened on January 24th, closed on February 5th, and then re-opened with new singers in the principal roles of Tosca, Cavaradossi, Scarpia, and Spoletta on February 27th for a run that concludes March 14th.

We caught the newer version on opening night, and it's a winner. Cavaradossi and Tosca are very strong, Scarpia is thoroughly creepy, and both dramatic and musical values are first-rate. I'm not completely convinced by all of the choices made by Mr. Caird or set and costume designer Bunny Christie, but they're certainly interesting, and they feel entirely consistent with the intent of Puccini and his librettists. And that, of course, is the important thing.

Anyone seeking an example of how an operatic classic can have contemporary resonance need look no further than the character of the villainous Baron Scarpia. A textbook case of how an elaborate display of public piety can be a false front for lust and violence, Scarpia also provides us one of the great moments of Italian opera in the final scene of Act I as he plots the seduction and betrayal of Tosca while the crowd celebrates High Mass.

Hui He in Act I
Photo: Michael Brosilow

It's a great argument for the separation of Church and State and one of the best examples of dramatic irony you'll ever see. Mr. Caird stages it very effectively here, with Scarpia looking down on the pious crowd from a scaffold as his declaration of lust for Tosca joins with their heartfelt Te Deum. It reminds us that Scarpia sees himself as above both morality and the law.

That means you need a strong Scarpia for the drama of "Tosca" to work, and Lyric certainly has one in baritone Mark Delavan. He has a big, bold voice and a fine understanding of the character's psychology. Scarpia, he observes in his program bio, is "an arch-conservative, but one who doesn't understand the purpose of the law." His Scarpia is an energetic, sociopathic sensualist who is as fascinating as he is repellent – an essential combination, if we're going to get any satisfaction out of seeing Tosca stab him and then curse him as he dies in Act II.

And speaking of Tosca, soprano Hui He makes a strong impression as the singer whose passionate attachment to her lover, the painter Cavaradossi, leads her to betray both him and the political prisoner Angelotti, with tragic results for all concerned. She has a wonderfully supple voice that can whisper and cry with equal power and accuracy. Her "Vissi d'arte" in Act II brought cries of "brava" from the house, and they weren't the first ones of the evening.

Spanish tenor Jorge De León is a wonderfully passionate Cavaradossi who sounded equally comfortable with both the lyrical and dramatic musical aspects of his character—not surprising from someone whose signature roles include Radames in "Aïda." He and Ms. He also had the kind of onstage chemistry that made their passionate affair credible.

Tenor David Cagnelosi gave Scarpia's henchman Spoletta a bit more depth than I have seen in some other productions, and his body language imbued the character with a kind of ferret-like grace.

Bass-baritone Dale Travis is a comically pompous Sacristan. He's the only bit of comic relief in the opera's otherwise grim verismo mix of passion, deceit, and violence, so a strong performance here is always welcome.

Rounding out this very strong cast are bass-baritone Richard Ollarsaba as a haunted Angelotti, Opera Theater of St. Louis favorite Bradley Smoak as the thuggish Sciarrone, and Anthony Evans-Clark as the Jailer.

Child soprano Annie Wagner makes a strong impression in a role that is essentially Mr. Caird's invention: a white-gowned figure who appears to Tosca in at key dramatic moments and sings the little Act II song which, in the original libretto, is sung by a shepherd boy offstage. Mr. Caird says the character is intended to represent "a child Madonna and the ghost of Tosca's innocence." That's one of those choices I mentioned at the top of the review, but it's still a provocative idea.

Jorge De León and Hui Hein Act III
Photo: Michael Brosilow

Bunny Christie's visual designs underscore the political subtext of "Tosca" by moving the action forward into what Mr. Caird calls "a darker and more brutal world, closer to our own and to the period in which the opera was composed." The church in which Cavaradossi is working in Act I, as a result, is partly in ruins, either from war or neglect. Scarpia's Act II lair is a warehouse filled with looted works of art, suggesting that his desire to possess Tosca is just an extension of his need to possess anything of beauty. And the final act takes place not on the roof of the Castel Sant'Angelo but rather in a massive, grim prison. A large window upstage symbolizes the freedom for which Tosca and Cavaradossi yearn, but which they will find only in death.

Unusual choices? Yes, but they're theatrically valid and, more to the point, they work—and do so while honoring the intent of opera's creators.

Puccini's rich, dramatic score is well served by Russian conductor Dmitri Jurowski, making his Lyric Opera debut. Judging from his biography, Mr. Jurowski's musical interests are wide-ranging, and his work here shows great assurance in the late Romantic Italian repertoire.

Lyric Opera's "Tosca" runs through March 14 at the Civic Opera House in the Chicago Loop. For more information: lyricopera.org.