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Frankfurt Oper’s ensemble has a ball Frankfurt
Oper
01/10/2025 - & January 18, 26, February 6, 9, 14*, 2025
Carl Nielsen: Maskarade, FS 39
Alfred Reiter (Jeronimus), Liviu Holender (Henrik), Michael Porter (Leander), Michael McCowan (Leonard), Elizabeth Reiter (Leonora), Juanita Lascarro (Magdelone), Barbara Zachmeister (Pernille), Theo Lebow (Arv), Thomas Faulkner (A watchman, Master of the masquerades), Sakhiwe Mkosana (A master), Leon Tchakachow (A mask seller), Zoe Nettey-Marbell/Melina Weil* (A flower seller)
Chor der Oper Frankfurt, Alvaro Corral Matute (chorus master), Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester, Benjamin Reiners (conductor)
Tobias Kratzer (stage director), Rainer Sellmaier (sets & costumes), Joachim Klein (lighting), Kinsun Chan, Irene Klein (choreography), Konrad Kuhn (dramaturgy)
(© Monika Rittershaus)
Premiered in 1906, Maskarade is considered Denmark’s national opera. Sadly, this pleasing work is rarely performed outside the Danish Realm, which is a shame, considering the accessibility of its music. The plot, based on a comedy by Ludwig Holberg (1684‑1754), concerns two young people, Leander and Leonora, who fall in love at a masked ball, rejecting the choices their parents made for them to marry others. Jeronimus, Leander’s father, attempts–in vain–to prevent his son from returning to the ball the next day. Moreover, his wife Magdelone also attends the event, enjoying a tryst with Leonard, Leonora’s father. Likewise, Leander’s valet Henrik and Leonora’s maid Pernille become lovers at the ball. By the end, it’s revealed that Leander and Leonora were (unknowingly) already engaged!
Maskarade is a rarity in part due to its language. As few non‑Danes are likely to speak it, it’s an inherent challenge for the singers. Fortunately, Frankfurt Oper has wisely decided on a modern German translation for this production, making it easier for the singers to learn, and more understandable for the public, versus reading the surtitles. This is a great advantage, especially for the work’s many comedic moments.
The life lessons of the opera lie somewhere between Die Fledermaus, Il barbiere di Siviglia and Le nozze di Figaro. Firstly, that there’s a lot of fun to be had through disguise, as we’re freed of our public persona and our obligations. Secondly, it is an inutile precauzione for parents to impose suitable spouses on their progeny. And lastly, servants can often outmanoeuvre their masters.
Tobias Kratzer, director of Berlin‘s recent Die Frau ohne Schatten, has transported the action to the present day, but this doesn’t quite work, as the young are no longer realistically under their parents’ strict control. However, the contemporary setting may have rendered the characters easier to identify with. Instead of using Holberg’s original commedia dell’arte elements to create a stylized comedy, Kratzer opted for slapstick; mercifully it was not overly vulgar.
The mostly grey sets made the colourful costumes stand out. Most successful was Jeronimus’ house, with doors that allowed for unnoticed entries and exits. There was not much of a set for the masked ball scene, but the fabulous costumes and the sheer number of onstage characters compensated nicely.
The standout of the evening was the American Michael Porter, who portrayed Leander. His bright lyric tenor helped define the character’s youth, with his marvellous voice in particularly fine form in the final act. He also has a winning, natural comic verve that made him likeable. His Leonora, American soprano Elizabeth Reiter was truly amusing as a false ingénue, which was perhaps necessary to suit the change of era. It was obvious that this young lady would not marry anyone but the man she chose.
Austrian baritone Liviu Holender graced us with a magnificent stage presence as Leander’s servant, Henrik, outshining all other characters in the opera. His attractive lyric baritone is kept busy throughout, luckily for the audience. Unfortunately, German soprano Barbara Zachmeister was not so convincing as Leonora’s maid, Pernille. Had she been in better voice, there would have been more balance between the two young couples, Leander and Leonora vs Henrik and Pernille. German bass Alfred Reiter was an appropriately pompous Jeronimus, the bossy father, husband and employer whose authority turns out to be hollow. Though excellent as an actor, Reiter was vocally less impressive.
The funniest character was Magdelone, the frustrated wife of Jeronimus and also Leander’s mother. Though not a vocally demanding role, Colombian soprano Juanita Lascarro played the neglected wife to perfection. By not overplaying this humorous role, she was truly amusing. Another comical character was the servant Arv, reminiscent of Frosch in Die Fledermaus. American tenor Theo Lebow, seen in Frankfurt last summer as Rossini’s Otello, played the small role of Arv. It’s testimony to Lebow’s humility that he’s content to portray essentially a character role. This was perhaps the most positive attribute of this production. As it requires a large number of characters, chorists and various extra players, it felt like a party given by a large, contented family. There was a “feel good” element to the evening.
German conductor Benjamin Reiners skillfully managed Nielsen’s delightful score, combining appealing melodies with deceptively complex harmony and subtle dynamic shifts. The final act, more orchestral than operatic, is musically the richest. Reiners ably emphasized the score’s lush sonorities and intoxicating textures. To some extent, the orchestra’s dominance in this final act may explain why Maskarade never succeeded as an opera (outside of Denmark). Though this staging was an excellent introduction to a mostly unknown work, I long for a more convincing presentation that would reveal the true genius of Nielsen and Holberg.
Ossama el Naggar
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