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    Jonathan Pell, Summer of Opera, Part 22

    Mezzo-soprano Jennifer Holloway with Frederic Chaslain at the piano

    I was invited to attend a performance in a beautiful private home yesterday afternoon of a new song cycle composed by Frederic Chaslain, Santa Fe Opera’s new chief conductor.  The songs were a setting of poems by Robert Frost, and were performed by mezzo-soprano Jennifer Holloway who is here this summer for the role of “Siebel” in FAUST which Frederic is conducting. The composer accompanied at the piano and explained each of the ten or so songs (some of which were quite short.) Jenn (who has appeared in Dallas as “Cherubino” in our last season in the Music Hall and as “Dorabella” in our first season in the Winspear) then read the text of each poem before singing the song that was inspired by it.

    It was a lovely afternoon and the small group of people who were there felt privileged to be there.

    Last night was the fifth opera in that many evenings, and was a performance of Vivaldi’s GRISELDA, in what is the first  professional production in America of this Venetian rarity.

    The Dallas Opera presented Vivaldi’s ORLANDO FURIOSO in 1980 (with Marilyn Horne) in what is thought to be the first  Vivaldi opera ever produced in the United States.

    This composer’s neglect is incomprehensible and much of his music compares more than favorably to that of Handel, the most obvious comparison.

    I wasn’t crazy about Peter Sellars production, but some of the singing was breathtaking.  The cast was headed by Meredith Arwady in the title role (who recently sang the “Hostess” in the Dallas Opera production of BORIS GODUNOV) but she was given a run for her money by mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard in the role of “Costanza” (who happens to have the most well known aria in the opera, the bravura showpiece “Agitata da due venti” which has been recorded by Montserrat Caballe and Cecilia Bartoli, among many other celebrated singers who appreciate Baroque opera.)

    Countertenor David Daniels was sensational as “Costanza’s (almost) jilted lover, “Roberto.”.  What an artist !

    Unfortunately, it was a rare rainy, windy and chilly night at the Santa Fe Opera, and some of the sold out audience left at the intermission.  That is sad, because it really wasn’t  because they weren’t enjoying the music !

    It continued to rain all through the night, and I am sure this desert community didn’t mind the unexpected precipitation.

    Now if the rain could only find its way to Dallas…

    Jonathan Pell, Summer of Opera, Part 18

    Last night was a new production of FAUST, staged by Stephen Lawless, who has directed several productions in Dallas since his US debut with the company in 1991.  It was cleverly updated to the middle of the 19th century (the time of its composition) and    brimming  with interesting ideas about the conflict between good and evil, God and Satan, and salvation and damnation.

    The production starred Bryan Hymel in the title role.  Bryan is slated to arrive in Dallas next month  to start rehearsals for TDO’s opening production of LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR, which will be his TDO debut. He was simply wonderful  in the demanding role of “Faust” and so I have very high expectations for what he will bring to “Edgardo” in our LUCIA.

    Opposite him was Ailyn Perez, who won the audience’s heart as the vulnerable “Marguerite” in a deeply touching and superbly sung performance.   For Dallas audiences who only know her from her sly and sexy “turn” as “Zerlina” in TDO’s DON GIOVANNI last season, this stunning performance may have come as a surprise.

    Last night  also happened to be Ailyn’s birthday, so she was actually giving the audience a present instead of the usual way around !

    Jennifer Holloway,  who sang both “Cherubino” and “Dorabella” in Dallas, was the excellent “Siebel” and was completely believable as an adolescent boy.

    Well conducted by Santa Fe’s new chief conductor Frederic Chaslin, it was a delightful evening at the opera,  and is a production likely to be seen in other theatres.  I ran into representatives from the Canadian Opera and Opera Company of Philadelphia, so I suspect that they might be considering borrowing the production in future seasons.