To show off or not to show off, that is the question.
Christoph Willibald Gluck answered that question with a resounding, “No.” And back in 1762, he composed Orfeo ed Euridice to prove his point.
Gluck’s “azione teatrale” was a step in the direction of operatic reform. As far as he was concerned, it was out with excessive ornamentation from singers, and in with music of “noble simplicity.” Out with convoluted plots culminating in edifying morals, and in with a single dramatic issue.
To our case in point: the Orpheus myth. In a nutshell, the gods allow Orpheus to bring his beloved Eurydice back to life from the kingdom of death. However, there are strings attached. He must not look upon her face or tell her why he ought not to do so. And so, he tries, but fails, and Eurydice dies a second time. However, this tale has a happy end, to wit, Amore has pity on Orpheus, and brings Eurydice back to life. No doubt that concession was made to please Emperor Francis I on whose name day the opera was performed. Ah, well. All’s well that ends well.
The same can be said of Robert Carsen’s staging of the Vienna version of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice mounted by the Canadian Opera Company at the Four Seasons Centre, 145 Queen St., Toronto.
Carsen and his production team followed the spirit of Gluck’s reforms rather than the letter. Original, specific details of locale have been stripped away. No delightfully lonely grove. No gruesome cave. No magnificent temple dedicated to Amore. Instead, Tobias Hoheisel’s uniset consisting of a raked stage covered with a gravel-like material. That beautiful desolation was effectively lit by Carsen and Peter Van Praet who used various hues including sepia, as well as silhouette lighting to underscore dramatic moments plus the diverse moods of Gluck’s music.
The role of Orfeo, originally written for a castrato, was here sung by American countertenor Lawrence Zazzo (heard May 11). His thinner, genteel tone contrasted starkly with the ripened soprano voices of Ambur Braid as Amore and Isabel Bayrakdarian whose singing of Euridice was nothing short of passionate. The soprano section of Sandra Horst’s heavy sounding COC Chorus didn’t endear themselves with their rather pronounced vibrato. In fact, the entire Chorus was less than razor sharp, on several occasions lagging behind the beat of Harry Bicket in the pit. In the Overture, Bicket had the COC Orchestra sounding like a period instrument ensemble. Alas, that commendable approach didn’t last throughout the entire, 73 minute opera.
As for Gluck’s operatic reforms, they too, didn’t last. One can easily cite later composers such as Rossini and Donizetti who put the razzle-dazzle back into opera. Much later, there was Richard Strauss, a bona fide show off who knew how to razzle-dazzle audiences with many works including his opera Ariadne auf Naxos, currently running opposite Orfeo at the COC. Strauss’s Ariadne centers round the sometimes hilarious, sometimes serious efforts of a comedic ensemble and an opera troupe who are forced together by an unseen maecenas into giving an impromptu rendition of an opera.
Burlington raised soprano Adrianne Pieczonka was nothing short of superb in the role of the Prima Donna/Ariadne (heard May 3). In the opera’s prologue, set in a theatre’s backstage area, Pieczonka painted her first character with the lighter colours of her voice. As Ariadne in the opera proper, she displayed a vocal palette of deeper and richer hues.
Pieczonka’s excellence was equaled by mezzo Alice Coote (Composer) who possesses a voice that is truly knit into one register, as well as Jane Archibald (Zerbinetta) who thrilled with her coloratura. (Opera Hamilton fans will remember Archibald from Lakmé back in 2003, the production which launched her career.)
Tenor Richard Margison (Bacchus) was at his best in the final moments of the opera where Strauss’s music simply soars. As the Major-domo, Tom Hauff’s spoken German text sounded positively square, lacking flow and elegance, deliberately so perhaps. In the pit, Sir Andrew Davis was a virtually impeccable accompanist, rarely missing an opportunity to bring out the delicacies in the score. Director Neil Armfield walked a fine line between humour and spoof, melodrama and drama.
Orfeo ed Euridice runs until May 28, and Ariadne auf Naxos until the 29th. Call 1-800-250-4653.
