September 17, 2007
Washington National Opera: La Ho-Hum
On Saturday night, Washington National Opera opened its fall season with an oh-so-edgy rendition of a tired old chestnut, Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème. It is the fifth mounting of this opera by WNO since 1984, which works out to a production every four or five years on average. Film director Mariusz Treliński created this new production for the Teatr Wielki in Warsaw, which also gave Washington his Butterfly and Andrea Chénier. The aim, laudable if misguided, was to create an image of opera somehow appealing to that infinitely desirable cadre of potential ticket buyers, young adults who have never been to an opera.
If we are to take the world evoked by this Bohème at face value, those mysterious young future opera-goers are slender and reasonably attractive and regularly raid their seemingly endless wardrobes of trendy, tailored clothing before going to neon-lit clubs. They also wear silly costumes, enjoy vaguely smutty, transsexual floor shows, and shoot videos of each other, which all sounds a little too much like the last DCist staff party. Curiously, they bear little resemblance to the desperately poor Bohemians of Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica's libretto. The story is based on episodes from Henry Murger's classic novel Scènes de la vie de bohème, which in fact is not about a loft full of pretty metrosexuals.
Because the singers were chosen more for their tender age and good looks, we are obliged to start there. Tenor Vittorio Grigolo (Rodolfo) and soprano Nicole Cabell (Musetta) have both traded on their striking physiques to sell solo albums of dubious musical worth, and they are beautiful to watch live. It must have been possible, however, to find a Mimi more like a supermodel than Adriana Damato. The closeup headshots and video of the Italian soprano, the latter shot handheld in real time by Rodolfo, were not particularly forgiving. To complete the lead quartet, one could only wonder what Cabell's Musetta saw in the diminutive, nerdy photographer Marcello of Korean baritone Hyung Yun, over whom she towered. If you think this is harsh, read Tim Page's take-down in the Post.
Photo of Adriana Damato and Cast in La Bohème, Washington National Opera, 2007, by Karin Cooper
Was the visual beauty of the cast, such as it was, really worth the musical sacrifices? Vittorio Grigolo was actually not as bad as initially feared, judging from his side career as a pop singer. (At least Grigolo had the good sense to turn down Simon Cowell's invitation to join Il Divo.) He had the high notes for Rodolfo, if without the sustained power, consistently beautiful tone, and subtle approach to line that make the best performances of Puccini. Trevor Scheunemann was a more refined presence as Schaunard, and Paolo Pecchioli had a nice turn in the Act IV coat aria as Colline. At least Grigolo's voice came across the orchestra for the most part, with some low notes getting lost.
Both Damato and Cabell were near-inaudible with alarming frequency, as was Yun at times, although his round baritone was at least pleasant to hear when it came through. In the Act III quartet scene, when Marcello and Musetta are supposed to be having a knock-out, drag-down fight while Mimi and Rodolfo make up, Cabell and Yun looked like a dumbshow of exaggerated gestures at the back of the stage. When you cast primarily for physical appearance and your singers need amplification, it's called musical theater and bringing it to the opera house will not draw young people to opera, although it may drive away people who love opera. It is also important to realize that just because they are young does not mean that these less experienced singers will come across any more naturally on the stage than older singers with bigger voices. In fact, much of the acting on Saturday night was stilted. For all of Grigolo's vaunted apprenticeship with Pavarotti, great acting is not a skill we would expect to have been transmitted.
If you want to recast Bohème into something about modern-day suffering artists, you would have to alter the libretto substantially: in fact, Jonathan Larson has already done it and to date it has probably brought no one to the theater to hear an opera. What opera companies should really do, rather than shoehorning an older opera into some modern story, is to sponsor more new operas on new stories. It is highly doubtful, however, that a thinking person really even needs to be told a story about his own age to make a real connection to it. Some of the most relevant and powerful modern operas -- Elektra, Salome, Die Frau ohne Schatten, Pelléas et Mélisande, Billy Budd, Jenůfa, Wozzeck, The Ghosts of Versailles, to name only a few -- are as far removed from our time as the mythological operas of the 17th century. Far better for Washington National Opera, if they truly want to expand audiences with young people, is the program for affordable tickets instituted this year, Access to Opera Tickets. For that, the company is to be congratulated, but please do us all a favor and spend more of the budget on the cast list.
Four of the remaining eight performances of La Bohème are sold out. This Sunday's matinee will be broadcast live to a big screen on the National Mall (September 23, 2 pm), and $25 tickets are being offered for the September 25 and 27 performances, through the Access to Opera Tickets program (sold only on the day of the performance, at the box office, starting at 10 pm). Perhaps the B cast, performing in alternation with this cast and featuring tenor Arturo Chacón-Cruz (who was pretty good in Madama Butterfly last season) as Rodolfo, will be better.
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And at any rate, there's already an updated version of La Boheme. It's called Rent.
"What opera companies should really do, rather than shoehorning an older opera into some modern story, is to sponsor more new operas on new stories."
Thank youm, Thank you, Thank you. I am SO TIRED of seeing these updated productions. I am a young person and I want to see the real thing as intended by the composer.
Agreed with NotTheRedBaron - as only a recent (I'd say, within the past 3-4 years) fan of opera, I will admit that Jonathan Larson's musical actually *did* inspire me to want to see a performance of Boheme. But having seen Larson's "update," I'd much rather see a non-updated performance that lives up to the style and timeframe Puccini intended.
And I'd also love to see opera set in "our" times - but yes, let them be new ones.
I agree wholeheartedly that attempts to woo younger audiences with flashy, modern "updates" of operas are misguided and condescending.
I've always liked the risk-taking San Francisco Opera for comissioning contemporary works, like "Dead Man Walking" and "Harvey Milk."
The reference to Jonathan Larson in paragraph 6 was about his musical "Rent," which I should have named, to be clear. Anyway, thanks for the great comments, which I hope people at WNO will read eventually.
Anyone want to weigh in on whether cheap tickets might be a good way to lure you to the opera?
I think cheap tickets are a great lure. I attended on Saturday night because of a last minute Generation O offer. A $350 ticket for $50? You can't beat that.
Granted I don't know much about opera, but I really enjoyed Saturday's performance and was surprised at all the negative reviews! Sure, the staging wasn't the greatest (Divine?? That was just terrible!), but I actually thought Grigolo did a great job. Maybe I was too distracted by the eye candy to really listen to him sing...
The only way I can afford to see opera is through Generation O. I don't know what I'll do once I turn 35 and age out of the program.
True story from a couple weeks ago:
K.: (looking at Washington Flyer while waiting for baggage at Dulles) Ooo! "La Boheme" is opening in a couple weeks. We could use our gift certificate for that.
Y.: My friend's in that, and I'm planning to go. She's excited, because she gets to wear a Playboy bunny costume.
Me: God, what is it, another Treliński?
K.: (flips back to the page) Yes. Let's not use our gift certificate for that.
To answer the broader question Charles asked:
I think cheap tickets are a great motivational tool for people who assume that opera is too expensive but otherwise would want to go (and on IDR/cheap ticket nights we run into the same people we see at pay-what-you-can theatre performances, so there's definitely something to that). But as a singer (albeit one who quit taking voice lessons about two years ago and hasn't gotten back into it for various reasons, not all of them reducible to laziness), though, I think the issue is one about perceived difficulty and not just expense. And that's a two-edged sword.
I've talked to friends who've never been to an opera, and one surprising thing I've heard is that the whole idea of dressing up for a fancy night out sounds fun, although I think that adds to the overall difficulty -- not only do you have to be prepared to sit still for up to three hours, you have to get to the Kennedy Center (a chore), and -- wait, you have to dress up too? Sheesh! The experience is rewarding (well, when they don't hire crackpot directors or lowest-bidder singers it is), but maybe the level of effort (and not just the expense) is part of the problem.
Generation O won't do it, and cheap tickets alone won't do it. I think we need more operas in 400-seat halls instead of 2000-seat halls. That would certainly allow for younger, less-developed singers. The problem is, the economics of opera are such I don't think a company could ever make enough money in a 400-seat hall (you'd need reduced orchestration -- good luck getting that past the union, not to mention the publisher -- and I shudder at the thought of synthesizers, so you probably ought to find somebody good to do that reduction). You could certainly fit a 400-seat hall downtown where people are, though, instead of isolated across a wasteland of expressways and tunnels.
I think there's room for grand opera with WNO's budget and enormous opera hall *and* for an opera company that can think on its feet, but sadly I don't think the money exists to make that company viable. I'm also guilty of seeing exactly zero InSeries productions in the nine years I've been living here, so even my own money isn't where my mouth is. Oops.
Me, I just love the overwhelming experience when it's good. I'm happy with two singers and a piano, if the piano's in tune and the singers are good. When grand opera is truly grand, though, it's an amazing thing.
I'm a 36 year-old lifelong opera fan (courtesy of Mom), and these flashy "modern" productions always make me wince.
Anyway, if you can't afford WNO, check out the Virginia Opera. I've been a subscriber for 10 years in Richmond, but they also perform each opera here in Fairfax at GMU's Center for the Performing Arts. They've really come a long way and put on terrific productions in a smaller setting. Highly recommend - very approachable for the opera newbie.
Haven't checked out the B'more opera, but I believe that is also fairly reasonable. And, of course, there are wonderful productions during the summer at Wolf Trap's Filene Center, with "smaller"/less famous operas performed in the Barns @ Wolf Trap.
Bottom line - there's wonderful, affordable opera to be had around here apart from WNO. It's great when WNO offers cheaper tix, but these other companies do it all the time for all ages. I'll splurge on the WNO occasionally (loved the Bluebeard/Schicchi last year), but some of my favorite productions have been by smaller companies. And you don't really need to dress up to the nines - a nicer work dress (or suit) works for any of the above.
When I was a college student the Metropolitan Opera had a "Met in the Parks" program where it would perform live at various parks in the NYC/NJ region. It was such a nice way to spend a late summer evening. I wish the WNO would do something like that; the simulcast on the Mall this weekend is a start, but it's not quite the same. Perhaps more younger people would get interested in opera if they happened to wander upon it.
Far more trendy than these modern interpretations are a "reviewer"s attempt to dismiss trained singers as too good-looking to sing a role, or bash a production just because he or she doesn't personally like it, instead of considering the audience's reaction to the opera. So sorry this is not 1955 anymore-get over it! I saw the production and actually enjoyed it. It is not always the singer's fault if they are not heard as clearly as would be preferred-much of the singing was done upstage, I noticed-isn't that the director's fault? It's far easier to criticize a singer or an opera than to be in one, I presume, but I'm sure there are many companies hiring singers with huge ugly voices and even bigger physiques that will suit your musical tastes perfectly.
Those who can't teach. Is our contributor in this category?
Probably.
Was this sarcastic review personal in any way? It sounds like Charles Downey came to the opera prepared to hate it.
I can't take this seriously.
Though I prefer traditional productions, I'm going to attend this one nonetheless!
bash a production just because he or she doesn't personally like it, instead of considering the audience's reaction to the opera
A review is a personal assessment, not an applause-meter. Those who love this chestnut or already love the singers in this production will see and love this Bohème no matter what I have written. Indeed, all performances but one (tonight, September 19) are sold out. WNO will get its tidy profit, the singers will get their plaudits, the opera fans who love Bohème no matter the quality of voices singing it or how it is staged can cheer "Bravo" until they are hoarse.
As Stephen Colbert would say, "This production sold out, so the market has spoken. It must be good."
I attended the performance on the 19th of September, and didn't much care for the modernized production. However, the singing was great-I was surprised to read this review's assessment of the artists. From where I sat I could hear them all just fine (which was toward the back!), and I very much enjoyed how much they actually looked the part. Let's not be so rough on Damato, who is a beautiful woman! Grigolo's voice penetrated the house (although his phrasing seemed influenced by his pop career)-Cabell and Yun were fantastic! Despite the distracting directing and costumes, Boheme is definitely worth attending.
I INTENDED TO COME TO D.C. TO SEE THE OPERA, GLAD I COULD NOT MAKE IT. I DO NOT APPRECIATE GRAND OPERA STAGED IN MODERN DRESS. A BIG MISTAKE! ALSO, AN INSULT TO YOUTH. THEY KNOW ART WHEN THEY SEE IT. WOULD THEY SHOW THE MONA LISA IN A BIKINI! ALSO, I WAS ABLE TO PREVIEW VITTORIO'S ARIA AND I BELIEVE HE ACED IT. WHAT A VOICE AND WHAT GOOD LOOKS. VITTORIO SHOULD CUT A CD WITH ITALIAN LOVE SONGS LIKE PAVORITTI, IT WOULD SELL. I HOPE VITTORIO IS CHOSEN TO SING IN THE MEMORIAL PRESENTATION TO PAVORITTI THAT PLACIDO IS PLANNING NEXT YEAR.
Guest15, my comments on the opening night performance address the A cast. On September 19, you saw the B cast. Given that you saw and heard completely different singers, it is hardly surprising that you had a different experience. For future reference, that information is printed in the program they give you when you sit down.
Guest16, listening to an MP3 of "Che gelida manina" is nothing like hearing it live in a theater. As I wrote in the review, Grigolo was better than I expected, but vocally he has a ways to go to measure up to the great singers. FYI, Grigolo has already released plenty of CDs for your fantasy purposes, if you can stomach that sort of thing. His latest is called, inventively, Vittorio.
Guest 15-My mistake-it was the show on the 17th that I attended. By the way, thank you for the sarcasm-it really adds to your cause.
Guest 15 again-I had posted a correction yesterday, but curiously do not see it posted. Once again, I attended the performance on the 17th, not the 19th-my mistake.
I just came across this review-what a load of crap. On Charles Downey's blog, he had come to this production prepared to dislike it and the singers. He should be ashamed of himself!
A note to anyone who reads this-there are REAL reviews posted online as well-not just from this blogger!
Just sad that some people might take this seriously...just sad.
Guest15, sorry for the tone of sarcasm. I should have assumed that it was a typo.
Guest20, even if I express doubts about a production beforehand, which I surely did in this case, it does not affect my review. In fact, I secretly hope to have my doubts proven wrong, as they partially were in at least one case (Grigolo) with this opera. De gustibus...