Given the hoopla over the American premiere of “Dr. Sun Yat-sen” at the Santa Fe Opera, the sleeper of the season for this reviewer turned out to be an odd double bill. Mozart’s miniature “The Impresario” fronted Stravinsky’s exotic “Le Rossignol” (The Nightingale). Together, the two one-acts created an evening of what Santa Fe does best – fuse music, dance and drama into a highly imaginative, integrated whole.
In addition, the company has staged fresh, updated versions of three opera classics. Here are highlights, and note you can still see one or all five productions.
“Dr. Sun Yat-sen”: SFO took a big leap mounting this new opera, composed by Huang Ruo and sung in Mandarin. Commissioned to commemorate the centennial of the 1911 Chinese revolution, the work centers on Sun, the medical doctor turned political patriot – or, the George Washington of his country.
A blend of Western and Eastern musical styles, the orchestration features some Chinese instruments. A dance prelude fills in a back story, then the plot proceeds in linear fashion. China transitions from dynastic rule to a republican form of government. Throughout, the emphasis is on Sun’s personal life, particularly his second marriage to fellow patriot Soong Ching-ling. A balance of solo and ensemble singing introduces key characters with social commentary via the chorus.
Despite dance interludes suggesting social chaos, the staging is often static. But spellbinding vocal writing enables a wedding duet and a soprano solo to achieve true lyrical beauty.
At the end, a gigantic statue of Sun emerges to underscore his achievements, although like Martin Luther King Jr., he did not live to see his dream realized.
All told, this contemporary opera marks a new chapter in East-West musical history, and Santa Fe is to be commended for mounting a spectacular production.
“Carmen”: “Carmen,” by Georges Bizet, 1875, has become the most popular opera of all time. It receives more performances worldwide than any other. In Santa Fe, British director Stephen Lawless and his creative team updated the production to Mexico in 1960. Carmen and her gypsy band smuggle drugs and people, which puts Act III dramatically at the U.S. border. Shocking as it may seem, a chain-link fence spans the stage, illegal immigrants climb over and scamper away. Relevant?
Another first is the use of film projection. During the overture, black and white movies of a bullfight coincide with various musical themes, particularly the famous “fate” motif, foreshadowing the finale. Later, images of Mexican landscapes set a pastoral tone and move the plot forward.
The addition of film in grand opera is still somewhat controversial. Here, and in “Le Rossignol,” moving images serve the premise and avoid the bugaboo of traditional opera – static scenes.
Time travel requires consistency, so Carmen (the wonderful Ana María Martínez) wears ordinary clothes. She only slides into flamenco ruffles for the bar scene. It’s here, too, that a new interpretation of the bullfighter Escamillo undergoes a transformation. Sung by the virile Latvian baritone Kostas Smoriginas, Escamillo enters drunk, riding a plaster bar bull. He’s a smarmy male predator more than the traditional hero. Good guy, Corporal Don José (the movingly obsessed Roberto De Biasio) brings passion and darkness to his role to complete the love triangle.
“Fidelio”: Beethoven’s only opera, 1804, has been time shifted to a Nazi prison complete with officer’s quarters, a kitchen, stairwells, an outdoor exercise area and the famous dungeon where political prisoner Florestan lies.
Director Stephen Wadsworth has widened the well-known rescue drama of a loyal wife, Fidelio/Leonore (soprano Alex Penda) and her imprisoned husband Florestan (tenor Paul Groves) into a camp liberation. Multiple onstage actions do not interfere with key scenes, and the triumphant finale via allied troops is simply splendid, appropriate to the composer’s jubilant music.
“Don Pasquale”: Donizetti’s 1843 comic cream puff has traveled to 1950 with a dollop of surrealism. The premise, as old as the Greeks, centers on a miserly who wants a young bride. His faux marriage sets a subplot in motion, and foolishness ensues. The enterprise bubbles with delights, from nephew Ernesto (the charming Alek Shrader) carrying a half-moon up a ladder to Pasquale (Andrew Shore) doing pushups to Norina (Laura Tatulescu) arranging truckloads of new chairs.
Double bill of “The Impresario & Le Rossignol”: Creatively interweaving operatic traditions of the past and present, Santa Fe Opera has outdone itself with an imaginative pairing of a Mozart and Stravinsky. The two one-acts are linked by a “let’s put on a show” premise.
Mozart’s short 1785 singspiel (music with spoken dialogue) bears out its title. A bankrupt theater impresario needs a patron. One appears with a diva in tow. Two more divas arrive, all demanding the lead. But will a show go on?
Set in 1914, the Mozart piece has been updated in look and reference. Its brief overture and arias are strictly Mozart. After squabbling and posturing, the company comes together looking over a single score.
The same tableau begins the Stravinsky work, and the players assume parallel roles in the modern opera. In 1913-14, Stravinsky and ballet impresario Sergei Diaghilev paired to interpret Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Nightingale” for the Ballets Russes. Their production team included Picasso, Jean Cocteau and Coco Chanel, and the work has long been considered creative collaboration at the highest level.
Making his Santa Fe debut, British director Michael Gieleta has taken the Art Deco period as inspiration and fashioned a spectacular new production where every element knits into a sparkling whole.
Gradually, in an act of unbelievable transformation, the dorky, self-important players from “The Impresario” morph into characters in the Chinese story. Three short acts tell nightingale’s healing wonders.
Film projections of watercolor forests, spidery cities and Joan Miró-style abstract paintings appear and disappear. The nightingale/diva (soprano Erin Morley) beguiles the Emperor/Impresario (Anthony Michaels-Moore). And after he nearly dies and is rejuvenated, the antique court dissolves and turns back into the theater office, the fairy-tale characters once again aspiring actor/singers overlooking a possible score.
Visual framing. Operatic magic of the highest order.
jreynolds@durangoherald.com. Judith Reynolds is a Durango writer, artist and critic.
If you go
Santa Fe Opera: “Dr. Sun Yat-sen,” Aug. 8, 14; “Carmen,” Aug. 6, 11, 16, 18, 20, 23; “Fidelio,” Aug. 5, 12, 21; “Don Pasquale,” Aug. 9, 13, 19, 22; Double Bill: “The Impresario & Le Rossignol,” Aug. 7, 15.
Visit www.SantaFeOpera.org for more information.
