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OPERA REVIEW
July 12, 2005
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By James Keolker
Festival Opera of Walnut Creek has made mighty strides toward delivering quality opera to Bay Area audiences consistently these past few years. There have been memorable productions of Verdi's Rigoletto and Aida, Donizetti's Don Pasquale, and Floyd's Susannah, to recollect but a few. And during their current production of Verdi's A Masked Ball Tuesday evening at the Dean Lesher Center for the Arts, there was a passage of such transcendent singing that it would have made any international opera house proud.
That took place in Act Three, Scene 1 when the Governor's trusted best friend (Renato) confronts his wife (Amelia) over her affair with that same state official (Riccardo), resulting in a powerful scene of personal betrayal. Baritone Scott Bearden had clearly delineated his character as a proud man and a loyal official all evening, but now revealed his torment and disillusionment through his considerable artistry, forcing his listeners to feel his pain and anguish. His bitter rendering of Renato's aria, “Eri Tu, che macchiavi quell'anima” (It was you who stained this soul), while contemplating what action to take now, was dramatically shattering. Bearden is a Pavarotti-sized singer who uses his vocal weight impressively, always making sense of Verdi's many irregular turns and climaxes.
He was impressively paired with the Amelia of soprano Hope Briggs. Briggs is likewise a youthful and consumate singer, easily bringing forth a beautiful and commanding sound. Her aria pleading to see her son, “Morró, ma queste viscere” (I shall die but need this consolation), was sung with great conviction and tragic feeling. Briggs also vocally set out her character's many moods throughout the drama as in producing a shy, romantic sound for her love duet with Riccardo, then her voice later edged with fear when their tryst is discovered and, at the last, terrorized by her enraged husband. Both young singers embody that unique blend of musicianship and dramatic sense that characterize the best of opera.
Even the conductor Michael Morgan seemed deeply affected by the two, emotionally leading Verdi's dark orchestral accompaniment with passion. The cello passages and those for flute and harp were especially well played, and the brasses were alternately ominous in their foreboding as well as seeming like a last call to judgment. The focus of all this is the central character, Riccardo, a romantic, devil-may-care chief official. But tenor Mark Duffin seemed to have difficulty in finding Verdi's vocal swagger and insouciance. There was a moment or two in his early aria, “È scherzo od è follia” (This is a joke or madness), when he caught the composer's requisite rhythmic strut. But Duffin's voice was also marred by a resonant burr that continued to grow throughout the night until it overtook what should have been his poignant farewell to Amelia, “Ma se m'fè forza perditi” (But I am forced to lose you). Unfortunately that was delivered rough-edged, and labored. The supporting cast was well chosen. Oscar the page was pertly sung by soprano Aimée Puentes, who caught that character's combination of savvy and sassiness. The menacing conspirators were sung by basses Matthew Treviño and Carlos Aguilar, and mezzo Patrice Houston was an earth-mother of a seer, Ulrica. A brief vocal stand-out was tenor Gregory Fair, a young singer much at ease as the fisherman, Silvano.
The chorus of courtiers, sailors, and guests at the culminating masked ball, too often stood still, but sang fervently under the direction of John Kendall Bailey. The production's action was enclosed by an enormous gilt frame, handsomely designed by Peter Crompton. While visually compelling, this often seemed to cramp the easy flow of director David Cox's large ensembles, and the unfolding drama too frequently seemed flat and pictorial rather than dimensional and involving. The costumes were an array of Colonial long coats with tricorn hats and buckled shoes (perhaps referencing Verdi's original Boston setting), and European heraldry with Swiss guards. The settings were constructed in conjunction with Opera San José.
(Dr. James Keolker is a frequent writer and lecturer on opera and is currently on faculty as professor of opera studies at the Fromm Institute of Lifelong Learning at the University of San Francisco.)
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Hope Briggs (Amelia) Mark Duffin (Riccardo)
Scott Bearden (Renato) Mark Duffin (Riccardo)
