SAN DIEGO OPERA’S POWERFUL "RIGOLETTO"
By Kenneth Herman
SanDiego.com
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M arch 30 2009
CA
Opera plots, especially Verdi opera plots, receive a great deal of
flack for their incredible situations. At the top of the list is the
crazy gypsy who immolates her own child by mistake ("Il Trovatore"),
followed by the near-comatose terminal patient who suddenly revives
before her final breath to sing a dramatic aria ("La Traviata"), and
the lovesick youth who chooses to sacrifice her life to save a lover
whom she has just witnessed in yet another cynical tryst ("Rigoletto").
But before brushing away these credulity-straining instances as the
inevitable by-product of an effete, blue-blooded hobby, consider
the populist counterparts on the commercial musical stage. How about
the two vicious New York street gangs that sing and dance as if they
had spent their whole lives training with Martha Graham ("West Side
Story")? Or the grand giugnol infatuation with a deformed masked
creature who inhabits a grotto beneath the sewers of Paris ("Phantom
of the Opera")? Or the gaggle of snotty Austrian siblings who outwit
Nazi treachery by chirping sappy songs ("The Sound of Music")?
We are ready to suspend cold, rational analysis, however, if we can
be taken on a rich emotional journey that provides some psychological
or ethical insights along the way. San Diego Opera offered such a
journey Saturday (March 28) with the opening of its production of
Giuseppe Verdi’s "Rigoletto." Under the astute direction of Lotfi
Mansouri onstage and Eduoardo Mueller in the pit, this "Rigoletto"
commanded our empathy and rewarded us with a faithful facsimile of
its many musical treasures.
Georgian baritone Lado Ataneli tore into the title role without
apology, emphasizing Rigoletto’s abusive pranks as the Duke’s court
jester and balancing this cruel demeanor with a warm, paternal
tenderness towards his daughter Gilda. San Diego Opera loyalists
recall Ataneli’s success as a more sympathetic Verdi father character
in his 2005 local debut as the company’s Simon Boccanegra. Ataneli’s
large, muscular baritone was rarely challenged by the high tessitura
of Rigoletto, and, while he does not possess the vocal finesse of a
Sherrill Milnes, his stylistic authority is beyond question.
In her San Diego debut, the young Slovakian soprano L’ubica Vargicová
was a winning Gilda, a gleaming coloratura brightness on top and
a warm lyrical quality in her mid-range. It is not surprising that
one of her calling cards has been the Queen of the Night in Mozart’s
"The Magic Flute." Her "Caro Nome" was in turn delicate, supple, and
ravishing, although when she unleashes the power of her upper range,
her pitch is at times more approximate than spot-on. In her duets with
Ataneli she connected magnetically, and their rapport was palpable.
As the Duke of Mantua, Albanian tenor Giuseppe Gipali’s decadence was
spelled out in lower case letters, his zeal for romantic conquest
just two steps above perfunctory. His polished, Italianate tenor
voice and ample attention to beautiful phrasing might have worked in
a much smaller opera house than San Diego’s 3,000-seat Civic Theatre,
but the modest scale of his voice matched his small-scaled concept
of his role. In his duets with Vargicová, she frequently brought her
dynamic level down to match his, and Mueller was equally sympathetic
in the pit. But in the final scene quartet of principals, including
mezzo-soprano Kristin Chavéz as Maddelena, he was just audible
below his compatriots, a disappointing imbalance dramatically and
emotionally to Verdi’s brilliant culmination of the opera.
Singers in the cast who stood out include baritone Malcom MacKenzie as
the duplicitous courtier Marullo, who sang incisively and projected
both voice and character well; Armenian bass Artujun Kotchinian,
whose dark timbre insinuated malevolence from the first phrase as
the assassin Sparafucile, and former San Diegan Martha Jane Howe as
Gilda’s maid Giovanna, who sang with her usual creamy contralto. Howe
has perfected these comprimario roles at Lyric Opera of Chicago,
and it was a delight to hear her again. Bass-baritone Scott Silkon’s
Count Monterone communicated the requisite gravity and moral outrage
of his role, but Chavéz’s Maddelena had more visual allure than vocal.
The men of the opera chorus (Verdi gives the female choristers a night
off in this opera) under the direction of Timothy Todd Simmons outdid
themselves with virile, vibrant, and well-balanced singing, and their
playful menace in the abduction scene served the drama well. Mueller,
a seasoned Verdi maestro, serves as the company’s Principal Guest
Conductor, and under his knowing direction, the orchestra played with
precison and panache.
Mansouri, former General Director of San Francisco Opera, maintained
lively stage action and graceful interaction of the characters, and
his deftly choreographed crowd scenes suggested the louche life of
the Mantuan Court. Perhaps his early career staging operas for the
former Shah of Iran gave him uncommon insight into the daily intrigue
and manipulations of court life.
Carl Toms’ two-tiered, period stage set from New York City Opera
facilitated the dramatic action nicely–the grand staircase in
the opening scene added an elegant touch to counteract the garish,
over-sized statue of the Duke that foolishly dominated the front of
the ducal ballroom. The gauzy, see-through walls of the inn’s upstairs
bedroom in the final scene helped provoke both Gilda’s insult and
injury as the Duke cavorted with Maddelena. Toms was also responsible
for the brightly-hued regalia of the court. Keturah Stickann’s modest
choreography in the ballroom scene gave an apt nod to the customs of
Renaissance dance.
Verdi eagerly chose to make an opera of the story of "Rigoletto,"
based on a play by Victor Hugo, because he saw in its drama a profound
"Shakespearean depth." This production shed more than a little light
on the validity of the composer’s original decision, no mean feat
for an opera which is typically recalled for its catchy tunes and
overwrought melodrama.
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Dates : March 28, 31; April 3, 5, 8 Organization : San Diego Opera
Phone : (619) 533-7000 Production Type : Opera Region : Downtown
URL : Venue : San Diego Civic Theatre, 202 C Street,
San Diego
About the author: Kenneth Herman began his writing career as a music
critic for the San Diego Union-Tribune and covered classical music
for the San Diego Edition of the Los Angeles Times (1982-1992). He
wrote "A History of the Spreckels Organ." and is currently Music
Director/Organist for the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San
Diego and conducts the 60-voice San Diego Youth Choir.