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Venetian opulence, Roman nastiness Toronto
Elgin Theatre
04/25/2009 - and 26, 28*, 29 April, 1, 2 May
Claudio Monteverdi: L'Incoronazione di Poppea
Peggy Kriha Dye (Poppea), Michael Maniaci (Nerone), Olivier Laquerre (Ottone), Kimberly Barber (Ottavia), Joao Fernandes (Seneca), Carla Huhtanen (La Fortuna, Drusilla), Laura Pudwell (La Virtù, Arnalta), Cynthia Smithers*/Cavell Wood (Amore), Curtis Sullivan (Liberto), Tracy Smith Bessette (Venus), Cory Knight (Lucano), Vicki St. Pierre (Ottavia's Nurse), Artists of the Atelier Ballet, Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg (Choreographer)
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Choir, Ivars Taurins (Choir Director), David Fallis (Conductor)
Marshall Pynkoski (Director), Gerard Gauci (Set Designer), Dora Rust D'Eye (Costume Designer), Kevin Fraser (Lighting Designer)
P. Kriha Dye (© Bruce Zinger)
Opera Atelier’s sumptuous production of L’Incoronazione di Poppea, dating from 2002, makes a welcome return to the Elgin Theatre.
Some scenes have been cut to leave a running time, with one intermission, of a bit less than three hours. We don’t get the scene with the quarreling soldiers, Pallas Athena’s appearing to Seneca foretelling his death, or the sub-plot involving the flirtation between two servants of the Empress. The result is an enhanced focus on the central plot, the damn-the-consequences adulterous affair between Poppea and the Emperor Nerone.
Gerard Gauci’s sets and Dora Rust D-Eye’s costumes conjure up an image of a super-lavish theatrical entertainment in 17th century Venice, with an emphasis on rich, plummy fabrics shot through with gold and jewels. Stage designs suggest baroque perspective and depth, while gods and goddesses descend from above in flying machines bedecked with lightening bolts. Very satisfying.
A corps of eight dancers cross the stage during orchestral interludes and they are the very picture of Arcadian grace. At a crucial point they enter the action (very effectively), assisting the god Amore in preventing the stabbing of Poppea by her discarded lover, Ottone. I can’t help wishing that their other appearances also had a more emphatic connection with the piece’s caustic plot. Poppea is definitely not a pastoral and is in fact one of the most cynical theatrical works ever devised.
Back in 1643 many of the male roles were sung by castrati, resulting in six of the seven main roles being sung by sopranos or mezzos (Seneca the one exception). Modern practice allows the role of Nerone to be sung by a tenor and Ottone to be sung by a baritone, giving audiences more vocal variety, and matching modern male voice types with male characters. In this Poppea we have a male soprano, Michael Maniaci, as Nerone. This is his third appearance with OA and he is pretty much in a class by himself. His laser-like voice manages to assert Nerone’s power when required, offsetting his somewhat epicene appearance (his skirted costume is not one I associate with baroque Italy or ancient Rome; to me it looks more Persian or perhaps Byzantine.)
Ottone is sung by bass-baritone Olivier Laquerre, a regular member of the OA “family”. Unfortunately his voice loses presence unless he sings right at the lip of the stage. The Elgin Theatre is loved for its ornateness and sense of occasion, and its decor is a perfect match for a production such as this one. However there is no getting around the fact of its dampening acoustics. Singers are at a disadvantage when placed upstage.
Poppea is sung by Peggy Kriha Dye (in her sixth role with the company) and she sings it well. She adopts a melting sound which helps bring out a contrast in the several scenes she has with Nerone.
Kimberley Barber gives a riveting performance vocally and dramatically as the spurned Empress, Ottavia. This is her first performance with OA and let’s hope they find more roles for her.
Making his local debut is the distinguished Portuguese bass, Joao Fernandes, in the role of Seneca. He is rather young for the usual greybeard depiction, but he certainly has the voice for it.
Laura Pudwell has possibly the juiciest part in the work, that of Poppea’s servant Arnalta. Here she gets to be the cynic the audience loves and she obviously relishes the role. She also plays the earth mother figure of La Virtù in the prologue.
Carla Huhtanen returns to the company to play Drusilla (as well as La Fortuna in the prologue). She sounds fine in both roles. One staging requirement is not really very well dealt with: Ottone disguises himself as Drusilla in his attempt to murder Poppea. Ms Huhtanen is blonde and petite, while Mr Laquerre is dark, bearded, and six feet, eight inches tall. Admittedly the disguise is tough to pull off, but they could have done a better job of it.
Another dubious bit of staging occurs in the scene where Nerone, happy upon learning of the death of the moralizing Seneca, sings a passionate duet praising both love and Poppea with a courtier, Lucano. In this staging becomes apparent that they are more than mere friends, as Lucano administers what in the sex trade is called a “rub and tug”. This action draws not-very-enjoyable laughter from members of the audience.
Several singers in smaller roles do very well. Curtis Sullivan makes memorable the truncated role of Liberto. Cynthia Smithers, still a student, is the high-flying Amore, tonally accurate throughout. Tracy Smith Bessette manages to make a fine impression as Venus in her brief appearance toward the end of the opera. Cory Knight is another young singer who, in the tenor role of Lucano, shows great promise.
The coronation scene is visually glorious and it’s a pity it doesn’t last longer. The men’s chorus (just eight voices) makes its single appearance here and they sound fine.
The staging of the final scene, where Poppea and Nerone sing an ecstatic love duet, is very masterfully staged. The two are separated by a scrim, with Nerone behind it caressing a portrait of Poppea. He is obviously enamoured of his new possession and symbol of his power. Poppea cradles her lavish imperial crown and addresses her lines to it. Their immoral behaviour has gained them their desires but the stage direction cleverly indicates trouble ahead.
The Tafelmusik Orchestra (in a 28-member incarnation) matches the lavishness of the stage pictures with varied and colourful accompaniment and interludes. At only one point do they overmatch the singers - in the scene where Seneca’s household lament his imminent death. Toronto is fortunate indeed in having this great musical resource, not to mention the ever-alert conducting of David Fallis.
From its beginning back in the early eighties, Opera Atelier’s repertoire and distinctive performance style has attracted a coterie of fans. In recent seasons it has experienced a marked broadening of its audience, as seen by the enthusiastic turnout for this production of Poppea.
Michael Johnson
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