San Francisco Classical Voice

February 19, 1999

Please don't dismiss organizations like Berkeley Opera as merely "provincial" or "community" operas. Such companies play an important role in the the world of music, reminding us that opera can be direct, compelling, genuine, and often great fun. True, one will hear more seasoned international singers at major opera houses around the world, but that's not the point here. Berkeley Opera performs in the Julia Morgan Theater in Berkeley, a small, disarmingly casual theater that makes possible an intimate connection between listener and singer. The observers become part of the event.

And that is exactly my point: Berkeley Opera offers a wonderful and direct "experience" of opera, up close and personal. So it was last Friday as Berkeley Opera opened its 1999 season with Mozart's "Don Giovanni." The unabashedly enthusiastic audience seemed to be having a marvelous time, laughing at the supertitled jokes and generally responding with loud applause.

Music Director Jonathan Kuhner led the evening with easy pacing and careful attention to details on stage and in the pit. The small orchestra played with solid tone, albeit with some string intonation problems from time to time. Under Maestro Kuhner's baton, the mixed bag of soloists performed adequately most of the time, and with great flair at certain moments. There were occasional lapses in ensemble precision: singers looked away from the conductor at their own peril. The opera was sung in mostly good and clear Italian, with excellent English supertitles.

In her professional debut, soprano Melissa Rose scored a notable vocal and dramatic success as Donna Anna. Her voice got away from her in the notoriously strenuous Act I aria "Or sai chi l'onore" ("You know now for certain"), and she perhaps could benefit from a clearer sense of vocal pacing there and elsewhere. That's something one learns only by doing. But Rose's portrayal of this crucial character was strong and true. She provided one major high point of the evening with her stylish Mozartian performance of the Act II set piece "Non mi dir" ("Say no more"). Dramatically and vocally in this aria and elsewhere she sang with class and refinement: it was an auspicious debut.

The other brightest star on this evening was Laura Decher as Zerlina. Technically the most vocally refined singer in the ensemble, her voice never lost its pure focus and sweet clarity of tone throughout the long evening. She also has a winning stage presence; dramatically and vocally she more than held her own during crucial scenes like the famous duet "La ci darem la mano" ("Lay your hand in mine, dear") with Don Giovanni.

Dramatically, Jaco Venter's Don Giovanni cuts a fine youthful figure on stage, perhaps a reminder to us that Luigi Bassi, the singer who created this role at the opera's premiere in 1787 was only 22 at the time. Unfortunately Venter's actual singing does not match the youthful strength of his characterization. He sang to best effect in the duets, trios, and ensembles. In fact, the duet/trio for Elvira, Giovanni, and Leporello which begins Act II, "Eh via buffone" ("Now then, you rascal") was one of the vocal and musical strong points of the evening. But Mr. Venter's solo vocal efforts often fell flat, literally, especially in lyric interludes like the beloved serenade "Deh, vieni alla finestra" ("Look down from your window"). Such lackluster intonation just can't be ignored. (On the bright side, we were treated to a real mandolin solo here, instead of the oft-heard pizzicato violin substitution. Bravo Berkeley Opera.)

Other singers in the ensemble gave their best. Ted Weis as Giovanni's long-suffering servant Leporello, was a barrel of energy, and in fact his role is the only one in this current production which is not double cast. Mr. Weis had particular fun in the famous "catalog" aria "Madamina, il catalogo" during which lists of Giovanni's conquests were pulled from drawers in a large filing cabinet. This was one of several light and clever touches in the minimalist staging by Rafal Klopotowski.

Listening to Claire Kelm (Donna Elvira), one had the feeling that she was not using her voice to its best. She seemed at odds with her voice, sometimes pushing it, and at other times dropping phrase endings and fading to the background in ensembles. This is unfortunate: she can be a compelling artist on stage. A stronger consistency of vocal presence would fulfill more of this potential. Other members of the cast were Christopher Corley (Don Ottavio), John Rose (Masetto), and Tim Enders (Commendatore). To describe them as adequate does them no injustice.

Kip Marsh's industrial sets and stark lighting neither added to nor subtracted from the overall dramatic effect. One puzzling construction was the huge shiny aluminum foil gateway to hell in the opera's final scene. My companion for the evening was reminded of the mirrored fitting rooms at Macy's. Actually some of the costumes could have benefitted from a session in a fitting room, and several of the singers appeared to have slept in their clothes.

"Don Giovanni," repeated Friday through Sunday, is the first production in Berkeley Opera's 1999 season, in which all productions are somehow related to the great German romanticist E.T.A Hoffmann. ("Don Giovanni" was Hoffmann's favorite opera.) Next on the clever Berkeley schedule is Hoffmann's own opera "Undine." The summer will see a world premiere of an opera about Hoffmann, and then the season will conclude with Offenbach's great operatic setting of Hoffmann stories "The Tales of Hoffmann."

(David Gordon was a concert and opera singer for 30 years. He is a voice teacher and performance coach in Oakland, CA, and is Education Director and Vocal Coordinator of the Carmel Bach Festival. david@spiritsound.com)

©1999 David Gordon, all rights reserved