Ptorchwood Ptales & Ptimely Pthoughts

I have faced the reality that I am never going to have the time to write individual reviews for everything I seen in the last few months. So these are just a few thoughts on the music and dance related performances I've attended.

The Elixir of Love at Lyric Opera

I saw this Valentine's Day Weekend - yep February. I've seen this opera several times previously and its light and fun and romantic. Lyric used the same costumes and sets as they have previously - they're not terrible but it might be time to freshen the look up a bit. Other than that minor criticism, the opera was a lovely well-rounded performance. Both leads, Frank Lopardo and Susanna Phillips sang well and were very playful on stage.  The supporting cast was uniformly strong and the guest conductor, Bruno Campanella showed a real understanding of how to pace the music. (Bel Canto singers can be left, literally breathless if the tempo is off).  It was a very enjoyable evening.

Million Dollar Quartet at the Apollo Theater

I saw this with my BFF on her birthday.  This musical review revolves the (true) story of one day in 1956 when four musicians, true innovators of their time, played together at the Sun Records studio in Memphis. Not a formal recording session but a happy and sad coincidence of these four men coming together for the first and last time on that day. Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley and and Jerry Lee Lewis all got their start at Sun Records but at this time, Elvis has already moved on to a bigger producer and Cash and Perkins were about to do the same. The owner of Sun Records, Sam Phillips, was one of the few producers that took on performers that were a little out of the mainstream and generally more innovative than the popular acts of the time. Sadly, after he nurtured and grew these talents he was often rewarded with them leaving his studio for more lucrative deals.

All the musicians were incredible but the standout for me was Lance Lipinsky on piano. Holy crap - this kid can play. He has performed extensively with a tribute band and he knows this music intimately. Sean Sullivan as Johnny Cash is a favorite actor of mine and has appeared in several productions at Timeline Theater.. David Lago (best known for his 2005 performance as Raul on The Young and the Restless) does a surprisingly good Elvis. Surprising to me anyway, as I never realized he had any musical talent. Finally, Gabe Bowling as Carl Perkins gave a credible performance, perhaps a bit understated in my opinion. A very fun evening , how can you go wrong with such great music played by stellar musicians.

Hubbard Street Dance  at the Harris Theater

I saw this performance for my birthday with my parents in March. Four very different pieces were performed which showcased the range of talent and dance styles the Hubbard is capable of presenting. First Light, danced by the HS2 members (which are their younger dancers in training ) used lighting and dance together to convey various moods and feelings. And with music by Philip Glass, well I'm a sucker for anything with Phillip Glass.

The second piece, The Kiss - was a visually stunning non-traditional pas de deux with the dancers being suspended on wires. And like a classical  dance partnering, the dancers use each other's weight and momentum to complete difficult movements. 

The third piece At 'em (Atem) Adam was my least favorite. While I admire the muscularity of the dancing as well as the originality of the choreography, the hodgepodge of musical pieces gave the piece a disjointed and unfinished feeling. Hey I like Ella Fitzgerald singing Gershwin, Billie Holiday, and Moondog (along with Sonata for Violins by Luciano berior - not a work I'm familiar with) but not in the same piece.

The final piece, 27'52" (the length of time it takes to perform)  was visually stunning. The themes of giving/taking, pushing/pulling, dependence/independence worked beautifully with the Mahler inspired score.

Billy Elliot at the Oriental Theater

I adored the movie, so I was a bit skeptical seeing this transformed into a musical, especially one written by Elton John. The music for the most part is typical Elton John, in both its good and bad aspects. Good - lively, fun; Bad - gee a lot of this music sounds the same. The standout song for me was Merry Christmas Maggie Thatcher cause ...well if you know me at all, then you know where I stand on conservative politicians.

There are four young dancers playing the role of Billy - Cesar Corales danced in our performance and he was amazing.  I would love to see this again with another lead to see what impact if any a different dancer would have on the musical. The supporting cast were great with the exception of a few of those beautiful Welsh vowels making it a little hard to understand a times.

Ok, so now I still have 4 plays to review.  But first a nap is in order.

This is at least the third time I've seen Puccini's Tosca in the last 20 years and it remains one of my favorite operas.

Tosca is not your typical opera heroine.  No boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back, girl dies of consumption here. Its more a jealous girl (Tosca) tries to save lover (Cavaradossi) from the chief of police (Scarpia) by promising sexual favors in exchange for her lover's life.  Instead she kills Scarpia, witnesses her lover's execution and commits suicide as the police close in on her capture.

Tosca is a strong and determined character who is at turns, jealous, loyal, cunning, and naive. Sung by Deborah Voigt (of Wagner fame) the emotions of Tosca as she transforms from naive, pious, lover to avenging angel were well acted.  Her vocals were adequate but a bit too powerful and not as nimble as the part demands.

Likewise, Vladimir Galouzine in the role of Cavaradossi moved well in the role, but I found his voice a bit stiff.  He did hit the notes accurately and made the vocal leaps well, but his voice, like Voigt's seemed a little too heavy for the part.

The standout performance was James Morris in the role of Scarpia.  He sang beautifully and managed to avoid the caricature of mustache, twirling bad guy that Scarpia sometimes devolves into.  His Scarpia was by turns, suave, falsely empathetic and truly sinister.

The orchestra under the direction of Sir Andrew Davis performed brilliantly.

My only criticism of this performance is the use of the tired, old (45+ years old I think)) Franco Zefferelli sets.
Dark and gloomy beyond belief, its time these old warhorses were retired. 

( But please lets avoid the debacle the The Met had with their opening of Tosca. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/sep/22/tosca-metropolitan-opera-review.  Even more spartan sets? Please no.  And frankly, I'll take my Tosca without the fellatio, thank you very much.  As the Guardian points out, Scarpia is the embodiment of repressed sexuality, not the expression of sexuality gone wild). 

With the beautiful score and very good acting, the somewhat heavy-handed vocal performances by Voigt and Galouzine only marginally reduced my enjoyment of the opera.  Next time, let's try voices known for Italian opera and new, brighter sets.  


Posted with comments at the Opera Community: http://community.livejournal.com/opera/325364.html