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Madama Butterfly Flies and Soars!
By Yan Davydov
The heart and soul of opera is beautiful music both sung and played – of this I am certain. After hearing the Metropolitan Opera’s Madama Butterfly, I have, at the least, been acquainted with opera’s soul.
Perhaps the reason why Madama Butterfly, directed by Carolyn Choa, is so enticing, so magnificent, so resounding – so everything – is because the production is dedicated to the Anthony Minghella, Choa’s late husband and original producer of the opera. Minghella was truly one of the business’s greats, and his passing was untimely and saddening. Having produced a highly acclaimed Madama Butterfly two years ago, he literally and figuratively “set the stage” for future productions of this opera.
Perhaps, on the other hand, the opera’s great success was due to the outstanding team of cast and crew that assembled for Madama Butterfly.
The role of Cio-Cio-San (Madame Butterfly), usually sung by Patricia Racette, was vocalized instead by Maria Gavrilova. Gavrilova’s beautiful voice was delicate but resounding, and it worked very well with that of the booming America Lt. B.F. Pinkerton. Understudy Marcello Giordani, rather than the listed Roberto Aronica, sung Pinkerton. Giordani also sings as the male lead in Faust, also at the Metropolitan Opera.
Conductor Patrick Summers and the orchestra are excellent in supporting the singers as well as bringing forth the motifs in the composition, such as the Star Spangled Banner whenever Pinkerton comes onstage.
The lighting effects, directed by Peter Mumford, relate back to the idea of a humble Japanese Butterfly. As such, the lighting was modest and polite throughout most of the opera, with gentle progressions of colors projected in the background. In the end, much like Madame Butterfly herself does, the lights perform a symbolic hari-kari and explode with red, bloodlike energy from center stage outward.
Unlike lighting, costume designer Han Feng opted for a more vibrant look and feel to truly entice the audience onto Japanese culture. Dozens of Cio-Cio-San’s relatives flock to the stage donning beautiful Japanese kimonos of all colors for the wedding, and Cio-Cio-San’s rich wooer Yamadori (David Won) wore a stunning red imperial costume that does not at all go as unnoticed as his love does!
And yet, perhaps it was a fusion of knowing what this opera means combined with a team that could effectively capture the dream that actually made the heart and soul of opera shine from Madama Butterfly. The internal aspect presents the ethereal soul and the reality of cast presents the living beating heart of opera.
Carolyn Choa’s Madama Butterfly is brought to the Metropolitan Opera as a co-production of the English National Opera and the Lithuanian National Opera. It will run through to March 7th.
Yan Davydov
Capsule Review: Woyzeck*
*Critics note: As Woyzeck is no longer playing in New York, this review contains several spoilers.
In what was a combined effort between Vesturport Theater, Reykjavík City Theatre, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the fresh-from-Iceland production of Woyzeck was featured last week at BAM.
Woyzeck, based on the unfinished play of the same title written between 1836-37 by German playwright Georg Büchner, is directed by the rather eccentric Gísli Örn Gardarsson who is known for his utilization of acrobatics and a general sense of “in your face” theatrics. Although Gardarsson’s adaption is bursting with modern and sensual flair, it still manages to hold true to the essence of Buchner’s play it assaults your eyes and ears again and again, although not necessarily in a bad way.
Amongst the deafening music, courtesy of musicians Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, and the blinding lighting effects courtesy of Lárus Björnsson, the production manages to superbly convey the multiple struggles faced by a man who is perceived by his peers to be inept, but who could very well be the only pure person in the world.
The character Woyzeck, played by Ingvar E. Sigudsson, is continuously ridiculed and humiliated at the hands of his “superiors,” and he accepts the abuse with a childlike innocence. The brutish way in which characters like the Drum Major, the Doctor, and the Captain deliver the abuse, coupled with their belief that they are always in the right and remain good people nonetheless, makes it hard not to relate with poor Woyzeck. Sigudsson expertly acts the part of Woyzeck, taking abuse that no human should endure by being, more often than not, either soaking wet or pushed around and treated as less than human, for the sake of theatre.
Woyzeck is also the only character that exhibits signs of true love, remorse, happiness, and grief. He is a beacon of purity in an impure world, since other characters do not show this humanity. The goal of the Drum Major, a cocky womanizer with a rock star persona, is to take Marie from Woyzeck for his own sexual needs, not for love. Likewise, Marie lusts for the Drum Major.
The idea of purity in Woyzeck is further represented by water, which is a huge aspect of the setting. Set designer Borkur Jonsson went as far as incorporating a pool as narrow as a person but long enough to swim back and forth in across the stage. Many of the most important moments of the play occur in the tank.
The most daunting instance of this occurred after Woyzeck is brutally beat at the hands of the Drum Major in a fight for Marie’s love. Woyzeck is left for dead, with a bloody shirt thrown over his face and his right foot broken. As Woyzeck crawls helplessly towards the pool and sinks his head in the water, the audience watches with sorrow as the shirt sinks majestically off him and down to the bottom of the tank. At the end of the production, Woyzeck murders Marie out of rage and commits suicide to be with her eternally. The audience is left with the haunting image of a broken man and his beloved, both dead and floating eerily in the center of the tank after
Both scenes are, needless to say, incredibly beautiful ones that really strike a chord. Woyzeck has several other moments and surprises that truly make for an amazing production. It is easy to get lost in the heart and story of the play and not so much in the theatrics of it, although they do make themselves quite known as well.
Woyzeck is unfortunately no longer playing at BAM, but ran for three nights on the 15th, 17th, and 18th of October at the Howard Gilman Opera House.
“Irena’s Vow at BPAC”
By Yan Davydov
Tovah Feldshuh – the name alone should be reason enough to see the latest production playing at Baruch College, Irena’s Vow. Mrs. Feldshuh, with years of experience and an amazingly healthy history as an actress, brings to the table something that few leading ladies could, and that is pure talent and fulfillment.
Irena’s Vow, set in German-occupied Poland, is the theatrical adaptation of the true story of a young Catholic Polish girl named Irena Gut Opdyke, and her selfless dedication to twelve Jewish lives that she has taken into hiding during the Holocaust.
Dan Gordon’s newly scripted drama is embossed with the slightest hints of comedy, and Feldshuh’s flow from one mood to the next was simply charming. The story is indeed grave and will have you on the edge of your seat, but as a member of the audience you will appreciate the small jokes and the relief from tension that they offer.
Following in the play’s theme of duality, there are instances when Feldshuh took the roles of both Irena Opdyke and a German soldier, and performed the dialogue for both. Her voice booms and her feet stomp suddenly, and the audience follows her seamless transition from heroine to murderer. The effect is astonishing and creates a very captivating scene.
Furthermore, Feldshuh’s portrayal of Irena’s brave acceptance of such a hard challenge makes for a relatively short 90-minute drama that will undoubtedly have you looking further into the full story behind a truly great heroine of World War II.
Very noteworthy is Kevin Judge’s work as set designer and Michael Parva’s directing. The off-Broadway stage at BPAC is small at best, and the play had virtually no set props, short of a rug and an old fashioned record player that was placed on a small table. However, Judge expertly layered the small stage to add dimension to it. Parva had Tovah maneuver across the stage such that size was forgotten and locations from basement to bus depot to kitchen come alive.
Also, the lighting effects, done by David Castaneda, paired well with the music and sound effects, done by Quentin Chiappetta, which meshed better still with the Tovah’s acting. One such instance was the perfect execution of the sound of broken glass, Irena’s scream, and luminescent glass shards that beamed onto the floor at Irena’s feet, immediately after a rock was heard breaking through a window.
Although the play receives excellent marks from me, I must say that since I saw a pre-opening night performance, there were understandably some minor problems with the night’s performance. Accent issues for some of the actors, namely Steven Hauck and his portrayal of Shultz, need to be resolved. Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the play, and I am confident that all issues will be worked out by opening night.
Irena’s final monologue to her “childrens,” us in the audience, was exceptionally well done, and was a tear jerker for every seat in the house. Ultimately, Tovah accomplished what she was cast to do; her portrayal of Irena instills the strength to stand up for life everywhere, and the strength to never forget the Holocaust, so that its horrors may never be repeated again anywhere.
Irena’s Vow is currently playing at the Baruch Performing Arts Center (located on East 25th Street between Lexington and 3rd Avenues) on a limited run until November 2nd, and is brought to BPAC by The Directors Company, the Polish Cultural Institute, and Invictus Theater.
Creative View: A Stroll Through the MET
Friend: “Look, they’re naked! And headless!” *We both walk over*
Me: *Haha* “Yeah, that’s pretty cool. Let’s see what the caption says…”
Friend: “Wow it looks like these three girlies were symbols of beauty, mirth [happiness], and abundance.”
Me: “To be honest, I can see why. And you can’t beat the fact that they were Aphrodite’s handmaidens, you know what that means.” *Nudge, nudge*
Friend: *Haha* “I really like this one, I think I’ll use this sculpture for my assignment.”
Me: “Mmm, sounds good, but I’ll pass on this particular one!”
As childish and immature as it may sound, one really amusing, silly, bit of conversation that I had during my visit to the MET with my friend and her English class happened at the marble statue of The Three Graces, in the Greco-Roman gallery. As the dialogue suggests, the statue is of three unclothed headless women linked in a dance pose. It was fun to let loose while we could and just enjoy the sculpture in a simpleminded way, as I believe people centuries ago may have done. I think the statue of the girls really does what the plaque says, that is, “[t]hey bestow what is most pleasurable and beneficent in nature and society; fertility and growth, beauty in the arts, harmonious reciprocity between men.” And as it turns out, I didn’t actually pass on that statue after all.
I want to know why John Martin thinks so highly of modern dance, to the point of selling other types of dances short. I don’t agree with his style of writing, either.
-Yan Davydov
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