Wealthy Kessler, courtesy of Wolf Entice
Directed by E. Loren Meeker, Wolf Entice’s manufacturing of Nozze shifted the motion from Rely Almaviva’s property to an artist’s studio suggestive of Picasso. Meeker depicted the rely as a bully within the mould of the Spanish artist, who was infamous for mistreatment of girls all through his life. Her efficient framing thoughtfully raised questions on gender, energy dynamics, and abusive habits within the arts within the wake of the #MeToo motion whereas preserving the humor integral to Mozart and librettist Lorenzo da Ponte’s opera buffa. Meeker retained the weather of farce conventional to Nozze and there have been loads of slamming doorways, characters hiding round corners, and different gags to entertain the viewers whereas additionally addressing the extra severe subjects.
In an attention-grabbing commentary on the function of girls as muses for the male gaze in Western artwork historical past, the artistic workforce dressed the main ladies in apparel and make-up paying homage to a Cubist portray, which Susanna shed over the course of the primary two Acts as she reclaimed her company. Loren Shaw designed the strikingly unique costumes, a few of which additionally took inspiration from Picasso’s harlequin work. Painstakingly detailed make-up by Anne Nesmith accomplished the Cubist aesthetic.
Sculptures, together with the archetypical bull, and Cubist-style work on easels lent Laura Tremendous Hawkes’s surroundings an authentically Picasso-esque air, although modernist geometric work on the partitions bore little resemblance to his fashion. The wood partitions of Hawkes’s set blended into the country inside of the Wolf Entice’s Barns, giving the viewers an immersive expertise. Wolf Entice Opera’s performances characteristic expertise from the corporate’s Filene Artists program of up-and-coming singers and Studio Artists program of scholars and up to date graduates. Wolf Entice alumni embrace such well-known stars as tenor Lawrence Brownlee and sopranos Erin Morley and Christine Goerke.
Wealthy Kessler, courtesy of Wolf Entice
Christian Simmons’s agile, heat bass-baritone made him a robust Figaro, and he sounded particularly authoritative in his decrease register. An alumnus of Washington Nationwide Opera’s Cafritz Younger Artists program, Simmons notably stood out in Figaro’s Act IV recitative and aria “Tutto è disposto” and “Aprite un po’ quegli occhi” and shared a wholesome dose of glee within the character’s extra humorous moments.
As Figaro’s fiancée Susanna, Arianna Rodriguez boasted an expressive stage presence. Her sunny soprano and sleek phrasing made her a pure match for the function, which is on the coronary heart of the scheming that contributes a lot to Nozze’s comedy. She sounded notably superb within the character’s Act IV aria, “Deh vieni non tardar” and paired nicely with Simmons within the opera’s finale.
Baritone Charles H. Eaton took on one of many tougher assignments of this staging of Nozze: Rely Almaviva. On this function, Eaton needed to be threatening sufficient to be taken critically as a bully and harasser, but humorous sufficient to land Nozze’s humor. He delivered on each scores and his clear, suave baritone made him a extremely plausible rely.
Wealthy Kessler, courtesy of Wolf Entice
Returning to Wolf Entice Opera after stints as a Studio Artist (2021) and Filene Artist (2022), soprano Brittany Olivia Logan introduced a strong, large voice to the Countess and shone in her emotional tackle the character’s Act III aria “Dove sono.” Rounding out the principal solid, mezzo-soprano Sophia Maekawa sang Cherubino with charmingly melodramatic humor and lent her silky mezzo to shifting renditions of “Non so più” and “Voi che sapete.”
An opera diva within the making, mezzo-soprano Elissa Pfaender excelled as Marcellina. Pfaender’s impeccable comedic instincts made her a delight on stage and Wolf Entice operagoers will likely be lucky to have the chance to see her in a principal function as Carmen on the Filene Heart on 15 August. As her co-conspirator and eventual husband, bass-baritone Sam Dhobhany was a strong Bartolo, a job that leveraged his spectacular decrease register.
Underneath the baton of conductor Emily Senturia, Wolf Entice Opera’s orchestra delivered a superb presentation of Mozart’s rating, overcoming challenges together with the smaller dimension of the ensemble and the orchestra’s occluded place below the Barns stage. Kiril Kuzmin successfully directed the refrain, composed of Wolf Entice Opera Studio Artists. The corporate’s season continues with a manufacturing of Francis Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites later this month.
