“The Barber of Seville” debuted just over 200 years ago in Rome. The opera played to a jeering audience, a staged event where adherents of the composer Giovanni Paisiello – whose own version of the opera, “Il barbiere di Siviglia, ovvero La precauzione inutile” had pleased operagoers 20 years earlier – packed the house and catcalled throughout the premiere performance. Their objective was to defend the memory of their maestro’s earlier work that they felt was the definitive version. But the Paisiello mob couldn’t show up every night, and upon the conclusion of the second evening’s undisturbed performance the response from the audience was ecstatic – they adored it so much that a large group of the crowd took to the streets with torches and made their way to Rossini’s home to cheer him in person. And a hit was born.

Incredibly, for someone who writes about opera, I didn’t know the entire story of “Barber” until the final curtain of this performance. But I like the fact that I am sometimes ignorant of operatic plots because seeing and hearing a classic work of music for the first time is like breaking the shrink wrap on an LP you’ve never heard, putting the disk on the turntable, and experiencing it as if you were living in the time it was created. It’s a special thing. Even more special when you can take yourself not just back to 1988 with an unopened virgin vinyl of Lovesexy, but back 200 years ago into post-Napoleonic Europe for an essential comic romp that would never be out of repertory or out of fashion.

The absurdist tale of “Barber” concerns a distinguished nobleman, Count Almaviva, who is intent on wooing Rosina, a beautiful young woman of the town. He wants to know Rosina might love him for himself and not for his money and position. Rosina is being kept as a ward of Doctor Bartolo, one of the local bourgeoise. Bartolo intends on marrying Rosina himself when she comes of age, so he keeps a close watch on her as well as other potential suitors which complicates Almaviva’s creative courtship plans. With the help of his friend Figaro, Almaviva goes incognito to advance his agenda with Rosina under the nose of Bartolo which results in much hilarity over the opera’s two and a half hour runtime.

It is fascinating that this opera’s broad humor has stood the test of time so well. As presented by the Lyric it got robust laughter out of all in attendance, a portion of whom had surely seen it before. It seems improbable that the humor of Cesare Sterbini’s featherlight crowd-pleaser has endured as well as works from Fielding, Sterne, Twain, and Voltaire – but one can’t argue with results.

Illuminating Production & Cast

The seats at the Kauffman were filled for this opening night performance, thanks to an abundance of late summer advance press, and the local gentry showing up in force for the farce. Our philanthropists, local musician wunderkinder, and hoi polloi like me all crowded into the Founder’s Lounge for a pre-show nosh so delightful that we barely made it into our seats for first curtain.

As the curtain parted after the overture, I was entranced by the set design. The KC Lyric doesn’t have the large budgets that America’s larger opera companies have at their disposal, so they have to make do with less. And, true to form, they excelled in that department with “Barber.” The set and props from Ken MacDonald were a true delight. I could tell from the jump that the set would remain pretty much intact for both acts, but the continuity worked just fine and once again less was more on the Kaufmann stage.

Aside from familiar face Riley Findley, who played one of the military officers, the cast was assembled from out-of-towners. Matthew Swensen was an expansive Count Almaviva, carrying the action with fantastic energy and verve. Kristinn Sigmundsson as Don Basilio was a standout for spot-on casting. His befuddlement during the music lesson “mixup” was well-played.

Highly-respected globetrotting mezzo-soprano Chrystal E. Williams sparkled as Rosina. Handled the butterfly melodies of “Contro Un Cor Che Accende Amore” beautifully and her turn in the scene’s comic ensemble had us all smiling.

My personal favorite among the cast was Ashraf Sewailam as the Doctor. He projected a thick-headed pomposity of Yul Brynner proportions, stealing scene after scene whirling around the stage in that smoking robe whose design looked like it was inspired by an article on interior trends in Dwell (“Wallpaper… It’s Baaaack!”).

The orchestra was handled ably by James Lowe, a musician/conductor/arranger whose career has steered a steady course fixed to the white line in the road separating Broadway and classical opera. He’ll never be in the running for conducting “Aida,” but “Bye Bye Birdie” revivals probably aren’t in his future either. All in all, a good mainstream choice to helm the KC crew for this enjoyable affair.

More Production Highlights

When I left the Kaufmann Center, after the performance, I had a vague feeling of timeliness about the production. With all due respect to the singing and acting talent in this production, for me the real star was Ken MacDonald for creating that wild set. With their faux-Moorish look it wasn’t hard to imagine them to be found not only in the homes of the nobles of early 19th century Spain, but other eras as well: The Belle Époque of King Umberto I. The Euro deco of early Fascist Italy. That sculpted window and pianoforte bianco he worked out for the singing lesson scene would not have looked out of place in any escapist “white telephone” film of 1930’s Italy. Or in later Cinecitta films from Fellini, particularly in later films like “And The Ship Sails On,” which play on memories of a decaying continental aristocracy. And yes, one might even see something like them today in the homes of European football superstars, Russian oil barons, or tech oligarchs – villas equipped with interiors that make pretentious reference to earlier times when aristocratic power went unchallenged and the term “working class” referred to domestic servants and itinerant laborers forced to exist in squalor and despair.

Rossini and Sterbini created Barber amid a social environment of upheaval and uncertainty. The Italy (or more accurately the Italian Papal States) of 1816 was in political disarray following the Congress of Vienna, which reconstructed Europe more or less by the whim of the largest nations who were victorious over Napoleon. The Napoleonic reforms that had introduced new freedoms to the middle and working classes were rolled back, and patriots found that their country had been sold out to the Central Powers. Italian nationalists, particularly the revolutionary Carbonari, reflected a bitterly divided nation.

For many artists of the day, it was a time to take risks and express solidarity with the resistance. But Rossini’s political overtones were always subtle, and the way he weaves the silken threads of his social comment into the tapestries of his operas is the main part of his genius. If he had delivered his social critiques with a heavier hand, his works may not have survived the era of Garibaldi. In “The Barber of Seville,” Rossini and Sterbini realized that the one constant in the world is that things will always be batshit crazy. And while the public may at times crave outrage in their art, and at other times seek messages of hope and salvation – it’s certain that they will always need a laugh.

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The company noted that due to strong early ticket sales, there will be an additional performance of Damien Geter and Lila Palmer’s world premiere opera, “American Apollo.” The added performance will occur on Friday, July 19 at the Blank Performing Arts Center in Indianola, Iowa.

Additionally, the company announced that baritone Justin Austin, tenor William Burden and soprano Mary Dunleavy will perform the roles of Thomas Eugene McKeller, John Singer Sargent, and Isabella Stewart Gardner in “American Apollo.”

Meanwhile, tenor Duke Kim, bass-baritone Ashraf Sewailam and bass-baritone Vartan Gabrielian will star in “The Barber of Seville.”

For the “Pelléas & Mélisande,” bass-baritone Brandon Cedel will sing Golaud, while tenor Chad Shelton will sing Herod Antipas in “Salome.” Derrick Inouye will make his company debut as conductor for “Pelléas & Mélisande.” Lindy Hume, Shaun Patrick Tubbs, and Nathan Troup make their debuts as stage directors for “The Barber of Seville,” “American Apollo” and “Salome.”

The season runs June 28 through July 21, 2024.

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Opera San José is set to present Verdi’s “Rigoletto.”

The opera will be directed by Dan Wallace Miller with Jorge Parodi conducting the South Bay Opera Company. The production will feature baritone Eugene Brancoveanu in the title role of Rigoletto, Soprano Melissa Sondhi as Gilda, and tenor Edward Graves as the Duke of Mantua.

The cast will also include bass-baritone Ashraf Sewailam as Sparafucile, mezzo-soprano Melisa Bonetti Luna as Maddalena, bass-baritone Philip Skinner as Count Monterone, Abigail Bush (as Countess Ceprano), Andrew Fellows (as Usher), Glenn Healy (as Count Ceprano), Michael Jesse Kuo (as Marullo), Eric Levintow (as Matteo Borsa), Courtney Miller (as Giovanna), and Leandra Ramm (as Page).

The Feb. 18 performance will feature baritone Robert Balonek as Rigoletto and tenor WooYoung Yoon as the Duke of Mantua.

In an official statement issued by the company, Opera San José General Director / CEO Shawna Lucey said, “Rigoletto is one of opera’s timeless tragedies and Verdi’s most popular works as it embraces the many emotions we have as humans from cruel mockery and white-hot rage to heart-melting despair and undeniable love for family. This beloved opera is an indestructible, eternal testament to the sacrifices we make for our job, our loved ones, and our honor. Audiences will follow jester Rigoletto and his vendetta that’s far from funny and discover who will get the last laugh. This dark work is bursting with unique arias and compositions filled with character insight that take a deeper look into the pursuit and abuse of power.”

Performances of “Rigoletto” will take place between Feb. 17 and March 3, 2024.

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The opera will be directed by Dan Wallace Miller with Jorge Parodi conducting.

Baritone Eugene Brancoveanu will return to Opera San José in the title role alongside tenor Edward Graves as the Duke of Mantua and soprano Melissa Sondhi as Gilda.

The cast also features bass-baritone Ashraf Sewailam as Sparafucile, mezzo soprano Melisa Bonetti Luna as Maddalena, and bass-baritone Philip Skinner as Count Monterone, Abigail Bush, Andrew Fellows, Glenn Healy, Michael Kuo, Eric Levintow, Courtney Miller, and Leandra Ramm.

“Rigoletto” will be presented from Feb. 17 to March 3, 2024 at the California Theatre.

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The production, which will be performed between March 25 and April 2 at the Benedum Center, will star Jonathan Burton as Manrico and Alexandra Loutsion as Leonora.

Lester Lynch also stars as the Count and Marianne Cornetti sings the role of Azucena. Antony Walker conducts the production by Daniel Rigazzi. The cast is rounded out by Ashraf Sewailam, Emily Richter, and Daniel O’Hearn.

“Il Trovatore” was last performed at the Pittsburgh Opera in 1999 and features the famed “Anvil Chorus” as well as some of Verdi’s most memorable melodies.

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“The 2023 Festival combines some of Shakespeare’s most beloved works with the intimate atmosphere of CCO’s gorgeous jewel-box opera house,” said Pamela A. Pantos, Central City Opera President and CEO. “The company’s return to presenting three mainstage productions this year is an opportunity for CCO’s audience to experience an amazing array of singers and performances. It is a season not to be missed!”

The season opens with Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette” with Ricardo Garcia as Romeo, Madison Leonard as Juliet, Shea Owens as Mercutio, Wei Wu as Friar Laurent, Adam Cioffari as Count Capulet, Kameron Alston as Tybalt and Sable Strout as Stephano. The production will be directed by Dan Wallace Miller and conducted by John Baril and Brandon Eldredge.

Performance Dates: June 24 – August 5, 2023

The second work of the season will be “Kiss Me, Kate” by Cole Porter. The sparkling musical will feature Emily Brockman in the role of Lilli Vanessi / Katharine, Anthony Roach as Fred Graham / Petruchio, Lauren Gemelli as Lois Lane / Bianca, Adelmo Guidarelli as First Man, and Isaiah Feken as Second Man. Adam Turner will conduct and Ken Cazan will direct.

Performance Dates: July 1- August 5, 2023

The season concludes with Rossini’s “Othello” which will be directed by Ashraf Sewailam and conducted by John Baril. The production will star Kenneth Tarver as Othello, Cecilia Violetta López as Desdemona, Bernard Holcomb as Iago, Christopher Bozeka as Rodrigo, Hilary Ginther as Emilia, and Federico De Michelis as Elmiro.

Performance Dates: July 15-August 5, 2023

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The cast of this production stars Julia Mintzer, Wayne Tigges, Jay Hunter Morris, Katharine Goeldner, César Delgado, Kevin Thompson, Ryan Belongie, Kevin Thompson, Spencer Hamlin, Ashraf Sewailam, Pavel Suliandziga, Makudupanyane Senaoana, Marc Molomot, Jason Ferrante, and Joe Chappel. Peter Ash conducts.

This new production of “Salome,” which will be directed by Thaddeus Strassberger, takes place in the middle of a birthday party dedicated to Herod, in which the public serves as guests and will begin before entering the concert hall. The immersive production will feature local marching bands and drummers outside the theater providing a enthusiastic welcome, and then walk down a red carpet featuring dancers from Tulsa’s Kripalaya Dance Academy. A DJ will also play Middle Eastern rhythms, a choir will sing and and there will be gladiator fights, among a host of other activities.

“’Salome’ is an opera that isn’t meant to be only heard or seen, but felt and get completely lost within. This production will be a ‘mega-experience’ filled with surprises, intimate details, massive emotions and gory details of a princess who stops at nothing to satiate her innermost desires. The decadence and absurdity of it all will be an experience to remember for a very long time,” said Strassberger in an official statement.

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The season kicks off with Händel’s “Julius Caesar” with Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen in the title role. He will be joined by Shawnette Sulker as Cleopatra. Other cast members include Cenk Karaferya, Katharine Pracht, Sarah Coit, Ashraf Sewailam, Glenn Healy, and Jasmine Johnson.

Mark Streshinsky directs a production conducted by Christine Brandes.

Performance Dates: July 23 – August 4, 2022

Additionally, the company will present Dukas’ “Ariane & Bluebeard,” which will be directed Alison Pogorelc and conducted by Jonathan Khuner. The opera will star Renée Rapier and Sarah Couden with Philip Skinner as Bluebeard. Other cast members include Aléxa Anderson, Silvie Jenson, Candace Johnson, Taylor See, and Sharon Shao.

Performance Dates: July 24 – August 6, 2022

The festival comes to a close with “Coraline.” The Turnage opera will star Kendra Bloom, Stephanie Sanchez, Efraín Solis, and J. Raymond Meyers, among others. John Kennedy conducts a production by Fenlon Lamb.

Performance Dates: July 30 – August 7, 2022

There will also be a concert preview for the upcoming opera “Bulrusher” by Nathaniel Stookey and Eisa Davis.

Performance Date: August 14, 2022

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Immense goodwill was palpable all through the theater on the opening night of Seattle Opera’s first fully staged live production in 18 months, Puccini’s “La Bohème.” The company adroitly produced its full 2020-21 subscription season through online streaming during the pandemic, so clearly everyone was ecstatic to be back in the theater in person.

Lobby areas across Seattle Opera’s home, the beautifully appointed McCaw Hall, were bustling with masked (and fully vaccinated) audience members greeting each other after a long separation and anticipating the thrill of having live opera carry them collectively away. The theater’s main curtain, a scarlet-red velvet with a handful of red sequins sprinkled across its panels to subtly catch the light as it gently sways, never looked so magical.

Sticking to Tradition

The choice of “La Bohème” for the reopening made sense: it’s an audience favorite with a cast that is young and playful, music that is full of energy and romance, and settings that transport us to another time and place. Darker themes relevant to 2021 were there—artists grappling to overcome poverty, a tragic death from an infectious lung disease—but there were no attempts to particularly underline them in this presentation. The staging was conventional with traditional period costumes and sets, and tended toward the predictable; I don’t recall any moment when the stage business delighted me by illuminating any new facet of the plot or character relationships.

The sets were originally designed by Ercole Sormani in 1965 (these were likely newer recreations or significantly restored as they looked quite fresh). The scenes in Act two outside Cafè Momus in Paris’ Latin Quarter and the snowy Act three toll-gate and tavern were visually beautiful with spatial depth and a sense of atmosphere, evocatively lit by Chad R. Jung.

But the artists’ garret in the first and last acts was disappointing—illogically outsized in scale for starving artists and one dimensional with merely a painted backdrop suggesting a faux staircase and balcony. Additionally more effort should be made with set details to create a stronger sense of life existing offstage past the scenery: for example, when the tavern doorway opened in Act three, there was only blank scenic muslin — no walls, no furniture, no people, no life.

The Bohemian Boys’ Club

All the principal singers sang well and as a crew had a youthful, quirky chemistry. In his house debut, Yosep Kang gave us an impetuous and slightly awkward Rodolfo. This poet was quick to his emotions, but not a deep, complex fellow. His bright tenor had a laser-beam top register — his several cries of “Mimi, Mimi!” were full of penetrating emotion. He was less effective in riding and tapering the swells of lyricism that are at the core of Puccini’s score and key to evoking this conflicted poet’s soul. More guidance from conductor Joseph Colaneri on Kang’s phrasing and use of rubato would have helped elevate Kang’s performance and brought out nuances of the Italianate style that imbue the score.

John Moore, so brilliant as Seattle’s recent Eugene Onegin, was a rakish, big-hearted Marcello. His well-balanced, sultry baritone elevated the music and his authentic acting made the many shifts of Marcello’s demeanor credible, jumping believably from silly antics with his buddies, to fiery jealousy around Musetta, to empathy for Mimi and Rodolfo. With more performances under their belt, Kang’s and Moore’s beautiful duet in Act four where they wistfully contemplate their absent lovers should find more blend and synchronicity.

Rounding out this circle of Bohemian fellows were Ashraf Sewailam as a charming, slightly nerdy Colline and Eugene Villanueva as a suave Schaunard, full of bravado. Both sang well and contributed unique ingredients to the recipe that makes this rag-tag gang so interesting.

Yosep Kang as Rodolfo, Karen Vuong as Mimi (Photo Credit: Sunny Marini)

Gracefulness Personified

Karen Vuong was a demure, but upbeat Mimi. It was a plus that she didn’t telegraph the end of the opera early on, instead letting her illness become more evident and serious over time and giving her character a compelling arc. Vuong has an appealing soft-grained soprano with a lightly spinning vibrato that was an excellent fit for the intimate moments of Mimi’s music.

Her opening aria “Mi chiamano Mimi” was gracefully phrased, “Addio senza rancor” in Act three was elegantly bittersweet, and her final death scene was beautifully vocalized in hushed but clear tones, without unnecessary layers of vocal affectations. In the emotional climaxes, however — for example, the duets with Rodolfo and Marcello in Act three — additional levels of power and tonal richness were missing; high notes were there and attractive, but lacked the grander overtones that make them both musical and emotional peaks (and spine-tingling moments for the audience).

It’s uncommon to cast a mezzo-soprano as Musetta, but with Ginger Costa-Jackson it was choice that worked well and highlighted new facets in the character. She looked fabulous in Martin Pakledinaz’s costumes and carried herself like a savvy Belle Époque “It Girl.” As a mezzo, she naturally offered a welcome vocal contrast to the light lyric voice of Vuong’s Mimi and allayed fears of that stereotypically shrill soubrette version of the character. 

Vocal range was not an issue: Costa-Jackson had the High Bs for her famous waltz, and even held out the last one with a smooth diminuendo as if to say: “Take that, sopranos!” The biggest benefit of the casting choice, and to Costa-Jackson’s credit, was how her lower voice conveyed the deep sincerity in Musetta’s feelings at Mimi’s suffering in Act four.

Ginger Costa-Jackson as Musetta, John Moore as Marcello (Photo Credit: Sunny Martini)

Although the orchestra and chorus had been pulled back in numbers (the children’s chorus and the Parpignol section were cut from Act Two), presumably due to budgetary constraints coming out of the pandemic, everything sounded full and confident. Conductor Joseph Colaneri approached the work in a rather straightforward manner, perhaps a little too much so. Part of the score’s best effects are derived from the way Puccini switches gears quickly from motif to motif, weaving, growing, and contrasting with themselves. In Colaneri’s hands, some of those transitions didn’t fully register and the most lush melodies felt a little diminished by not having room to breath and expand, though his crispness was admirable.

What did expand were the hearts and souls of Seattle opera lovers being touched again by the resonance they can only find hearing operatic voices and classical musicians in person. It is great to be back!

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Rossini’s “Maometto II” opens the season starring Ashraf Sewailam in the title role, Leah Crocetto as Anna Erisso, Bruce Sledge as Paolo Erisso, and Elizabeth DeShong as Calbo.

Performance Date: Nov. 21, 2021

“Orphée” will be led by Kate Lindsey in the title role alongside Jacquelyn Stucker as Eurydice, and Helen Zhibing Huang as Amour.

Performance Date: April 24, 2022

The season concludes with Delibes’ “Lakmé” starring Erin Morley in the title role, Frédéric Antoun as Gérald, Alfred Walker as Nilakantha, Theo Hoffman as Frédéric, and Taylor Raven as Mallika.

Performance Date: May 22, 2022

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