Reviews
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Speers off to auspicious opera startBy Daniel Buckley The tangible side of Arizona Opera Company's new beginning took form last week. Lucia di Lammermoor was AOC's first production under the leadership of the company's new general director, David Speers, and an auspicious debut for him. He'd promised a lot, and delivered on his word. Although not perfect, this first show was a clear ratchetting up of the company's overall capabilities, and the improvements came from all sectors. The front line of Speers' offence was his re-casting of 80 percent of the roles for the season. Speers' choices in Lucia proved largely superb, especially coloratura soprano Jane Giering-DeHaan in the title role. Bell clear with chiseled intonation, she carved her way through Donizetti's vocal staircases with elegant ease. It would have been a show worth hearing had only she been cast. Tenor Michael Rees-Davis was likewise regal as Edgardo, though Peter Barcza's Enrico was slightly tarnished. As significant as the singers he switched were those he did not. Plainly Speers recognized the talents of mezzo Korby Myrick, bass Ben Sorenson and tenor Reynaldo Romo, and they earned his confidence with solid musicianship and theatrical instincts to rival the front line. The sets from Florida Grand Opera gave the right sense of architectural, historical and theatrical perspective and rounded out the illusion. Similarly stage director Michael Cavanagh's work added believably to the action, not just with the main characters but the whole cast. Instead of the "oil painting clustering" that was the hallmark of staging in the Jim Lucas era, Cavanagh's direction put the chorus, extras and everyone in deliberate motion to create complex pictures with clear focal points. In the pit, there was authoritative direction and real shaping to the score under the baton of Cal Stewart Kellogg. But in a number of places, the orchestra simply overwhelmed the singing on Friday night. Two of the finest instrumental spotlights also took place - a gleaming, jewel-like harp solo by Bonny Brady in the first act, and the duet-like flute and coloratura showcase in the mad scene. Flutist Linda Lasansky and singer Jane Giering-DeHaan came through with perfectly harmonized and flawlessly phrased complex lines in an exercise bordering on telepathy. It was stunning! The male end of the chorus still needs help, though it's hard to find quality tenors, baritones and basses that are not otherwise engaged. Still, the whole chorus seemed more focused and dimensional in its performance. Speers needed a solid start to propel his future with the company, and he got it. But there is a lot ahead. The same details that made this first production successful are a good deal more expensive than the approach of his predecessor, retired GD Glynn Ross, who was on hand Friday night. And there was substantial debt left behind from last season. If Speers can juggle the company's financial issues as strongly as he's handled its initial artistic challenge, then AOC's true potential might finally be tapped.
One final note on a different matter, but one with equal potential. Last Friday it was announced that the University of Arizona School of Music and Dance would receive an endowed chair from the estate of renowned composer and arranger Nelson Riddle. What that means is that the estate will give UA $1.25 million, the interest from which will generate a salaried faculty position the school could not otherwise afford. But along with the bucks for the faculty slot comes a bundle of Riddle's scores - a body of work comparable to that of Billy Eckstine, Quincy Jones, Gil Evans and Henry Mancini for its masterful merging of jazz, classical and popular idioms. Riddle's arrangements and conducting skills backed such stars as Judy Garland, Nat King Cole, Linda Ronstadt, Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney and Ella Fitzgerald, to name but a few. He earned platinum (certified sales of over 1 million copies) and gold (sales of over 500,000) records for his collaborations with Ronstadt. Royalties from his recordings into the future, along with proceeds from the sale of his home, are among the gifts UA received. It's a great recognition for the school, which already holds the Artie Shaw Collection. More importantly, it's an opportunity UA has needed to bolster its jazz arsenal and boost its faculty. Congratulations to all involved with that.
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Lucia Di Lammermoor (Synopsis) |
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