'Out@The Opera'

More on the subject of how orchestras and opera companies are pushing the envelope when it comes to marketing:

In the Minnesota Opera program for "Italian Girl," you'll find an ad with a fierce-looking pic of tenor James Valenti, clad in black leather for a production of "Lucia," with this headline:

"When was the last time you came Out@The Opera?"

The ad, which must have startled some of the opera's gray-haired customers, says, "The Minnesota Opera is launching a new social group for our friends in the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, transgendered and Allies community."

These "fun and informative" social events offer "behind-the-scenes access to each of this season's shows. You never know who might show up, or what dirt they might dish!"

"Allies community," in case you were wondering, means friends of people who are G, L, B or T -- I looked it up to clarify whether it's another stratum of politico-sexual culture, but apparently it means just what it says.

That ad's on page 24; on page 26, you'll find the ad for the opera's "Young Professional Group," described as "a membership program for opera-goers in their 20s and 30s to experience opera 'straight up, with a twist!'"

I'll let you read between the lines to determine what the last phrase means.

Point being, it's not how your grandpa might have marketed an opera.

Valenti, by the way, is prominently featured in all the Minn Opera marketing stuff as the very straight Romeo opposite Ellie Dehn's Juliette in the Gounod opera, which comes up in January.

The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra also is chasing younger audiences with its "club2030," launched Nov. 12 and open to people ages 20-39, which leaves me out...club members get half-price drinks at Pazzaluna, for one thing.

'Opera at its best'

Obviously, I don't agree with this review of "Italian Girl" in today's Star Tribune.

Nor this one by Rob Hubbard in the Pioneer Press. Rob describes the staging as a "tasty cake" with "ideal frosting."

'L'Italiana in Algeri' misses the boat

Rossini's “L'Italiana in Algeri” ought to be a fast, funny night at the opera, with great voices and a ridiculously nimble orchestra at the top of its game.

The Minnesota Opera production that opened Saturday night doesn't hit the mark, turning what should be a sure-fire hit into a surprising disappointment.

The problem on opening night began in the orchestra pit. At times it was as if the orchestra, conducted by Robert Wood, was performing in one theater and the singers in another. There was such incoherence and lack of precision in the ensemble that ought to light up the stage to end Act I, for example, that you wondered whether more rehearsals would really solve the problem.

An even more insurmountable challenge for director Helena Binder may be the leaden scenery and stage concept brought in from the Santa Fe Opera. There's just one major set, a colossal story book with its cover open and popup Turkish scenery inside. It's clever as far as it goes, though the only time it's emphasized is when the cover comes down at intermission and the singers scramble to get out of the way. Otherwise, it's more technical marvel than relevant scenery; Rossini's story teems with Barbary pirates, concubines, Turkish palace intrigue and more, but this staging somehow fails to take advantage. The setting is inexplicably updated to the 1930s, in fact, so Isabella's escape at the end occurs in a biplane rather than by ship, which raises a few logistical questions regarding all the other Italians who hoped to escape with her, but never mind.

There are other strange theatrical touches as well, such as gratuitous use of strobe lights and a stage hand who wanders out with an electric fan so Isabella's scarf can flap in the breeze. They all come off as random gimmicks to cover up the fact that the show lacks fireworks.

Vivica Genaux, the American mezzo who has become a Minnesota Opera favorite since her debut here in 1998, lived up to high expectations as Isabella, one of her signature roles. The brash, self-assured heroine is one of Rossini's greatest creations and Genaux's performance is simply spellbinding - her bel canto technique is flawless, and her precision in pitch and Italian diction, such as in the dressing room aria, “Per lui che adoro,” makes this a master class in how to execute Rossini's decorated lines.

The other key roles are well-cast, led by Polish-born bass Wojtek Gierlach as Mustafa, the buffoonish sultan who hopes to trade in his wife for Isabella, and tenor Kenneth Tarver as Lindoro, Isabella's true love. The latter, who's heard in a new recording of Mozart's “Don Giovanni” conducted by Rene Jacobs, was especially striking; he has an easy-going comic manner and ringing tone that immediately characterized him in the opening cavatina, “Languir per una bella.”

Likewise, Gierlach seems to enjoy himself as the strutting and preening sultan who's giddy with the notion of adding an Italian girl to his harem. Andrew Wilkowske, a baritone who earned his bachelor's degree in voice from the University of Minnesota-Duluth, is terrific as Taddeo, another of Isabella's suitors whose main goal is to avoid impalement by one of Mustafa's corsairs.

Soprano Alison Bates, who was stunning as Giulietta in last season's “Tales of Hoffman,” makes a strong impression as Mustafa's wife Elvira, a character who sometimes gets lost in the shuffle. Rossini gave her some soaring comic moments and her voice is vital in the ensembles. Bates makes herself noticed throughout.

'Best of Enemies'

Did Brahms really hate Tchaikovsky's guts? Did Pyotr Ilych despise him in return?

It's kind of odd how orchestras market their programs now -- by theme or image, catch-phrase or gimmick, rather than by the music alone. Totally understandable, and from a marketing standpoint, fascinating. But sometimes odd.

The Rochester Symphony has a program this weekend called "Best of Enemies," built around music by Brahms and Tchaikovsky. The gimmick is that the two giants of late 19th century music mutually detested each other.

Here's an entry from Tchaikovsky's journal, for example, as quoted in a blog associated with Prospect magazine...don't ask why:

"I played over the music of that scoundrel Brahms. What a giftless bastard! It annoys me that this self-inflated mediocrity is hailed as a genius. Why, in comparison with him, Raff [Joseph Joachim Raff, 1822—1882] is a giant, not to speak of Rubinstein [Anton Grigorevich Rubinstein, 1829—1894] who is after all a live and important human being, while Brahms is chaotic and absolutely empty dried-up stuff."

You have to admit, "giftless bastard" is a really good line.

Then there's Brahms, who one biographer says "wasn't noted for his tact." On a quick search I couldn't find anything as toxic as the above quote, but the Rochester orchestra's program notes say Brahms found Tchaikovsky's music "overly emotional without sufficient contrapuntal and structural discipline in his concert works."

Hardly a knockout punch, but Tchaikovsky, a master of self-inflicted wounds, tended to take care of that task himself. And Brahms was right! Tchaikovsky, for all his genius, wasn't exactly Bach when it came to counterpoint, and he wasn't even Brahms when it came to symphonic structure.

I'll let Brahms and Tchaikovsky duke it out on Saturday, with Jere Lantz holding their jackets for them. I just wonder if this pugilistic theme was necessary to get people into the seats.

(For my part, I oughta be at that concert to review it, but have operatic commitments that night. I'll review a Rochester Symphony concert later this season, and for now, I welcome other writers to contribute comments here or for possible publication in the Post-Bulletin.)

Nothing jejune about Jeune Lune

If you care about great theater, and great musical theater, in the Twin Cities, now's the time to show it by doing business with Theatre de la Jeune Lune, long one of the most imaginative and adventurous companies in the country.

The Star Tribune's Rohan Preston reports on the Strib front today that Jeune Lune's whopping $900,000-plus deficit and the departure of its top executive a few weeks ago mean the troupe's future is in question. As artistic director Dominique Serrand says, "I've invested 30 years of my life in this company, and it is everything to me. Whether we are here and strong, disband, or move to some place like Berlin -- that's up to the community. But the art will continue."

What a tragedy for Minnesota if the art continues in Berlin, rather than here.

Among Jeune Lune's greatest hits has been the amazing mashup of "Don Giovanni" and Beaumarchais' "Marriage of Figaro," called "Don Juan Giovanni," a clip of which is here. Now on stage is "The Deception," reviewed here by David Hawley.

Most important, here's how to buy tickets.

Dominic Papatola, the boy genius of Twin Cities theater critics, is less alarmed, as his column in the Pi-Press two weeks ago says.

Alaskan girl in Minnesota

It's about time Vivica Genaux returned to Minnesota.

I had to restrain myself from using the customary adjectival modifier "Alaska-born mezzo." It's so easy to use, it immediately catches the eye of the reader and gives what I'd call an accurate impression of who Genaux is, which is a down-to-earth, all-American singer who just happens to have a passion for bel canto opera and more obscure Baroque repertoire.

As a profile in August's Opera News called her, she's a "singing detective," ferreting out little-known works by composers such as Johann Adolf Hasse and known only to cognoscenti. Still, her energy, effervescent personality and clear artistry immediately connect with audiences.

Read my advance story on Genaux and the Minnesota Opera's "L'Italiana in Algeri" in Thursday's P-B.

What you won't read in that precede, since I ran out of room:

-- Her official residence is still Alaska, though she was married about four years ago and her home's basically in Italy. She's spent about 60 days in Italy in the past year, she says.

-- Her husband is a hydrologist more or less in charge of flood control in the Veneto, the region around Venice...lotsa luck, fella! Look out for that climate change.

-- Her Alaskan dad's in the Twin Cities with her this week. "I always look forward to coming back here," she says. "People are so open and friendly here -- you can say hi to people and they'll say hi back. People in Europe, for example, are a little bit more guarded."

-- Among the qualities she likes about "L'Italiana": "Nobody dies."

Final take on Ross' book

I finished Alex Ross' "The Rest is Noise" -- quickly -- last week and while it's a decent introduction to the subject and an often fascinating collection of anecdotes, I'm not convinced Ross has a compelling viewpoint on the music of the past century; knows how to fit contemporary music into historical context -- his opinions and personal insights tend to drain away in the second half of the book; or has a truly independent viewpoint on the contemporary scene, considering how many of the composers and musicians he writes about were involved in vetting the copy and providing blurbs in advance of publication. The latter is an insidious practice that affects more than a few new books and authors, but for me, it compromises what Ross has to say in the late chapters.

To be fair, I should re-read the book to double-check this impression, but it's what I'm left with: I don't have a strong feeling for what Ross thinks about much of the pivotal music of the period -- even in the fairly cryptic musical analyses that he offers from time to time, it's not entirely clear why he's bothering. It's as if he hedges his critical opinion because he's just not sure...or he's not sure what type of book he's writing.

"The Rest is Noise" is worth reading since there's so little to choose from, written for general readers, on the subject. I was left wanting more, and of course wanting to hear more of the music.

Ross will be in St. Paul talking about the book and 20th century music, courtesy of Minnesota Public Radio, at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. For info, go here.

'Herculean' performance

Here's a hyperbole-laden review from today's Star Tribune regarding the Minnesota Orchestra program with Leila Josefowicz this past week.