Prunier (Mason Gates), Lisette (Elena Galvan) Magda (Amanda Kingston) and Ruggero (Jason Slaydon). All photos by Pat Kirk. |
Opera San Jose
Puccini’s La RondineNovember 11, 2017
The latter years of Puccini would serve as an excellent
blueprint for maintaining an active mental life in one’s senior citizenry. Much
like Verdi before him, the great composer seemed determined to try everything
under the sun and continually expand his musical skills. In the long run, his
ambitions may actually have damaged his legacy. His California opera, La
fanciulla del West, is so difficult to stage that it’s not often produced. The
great Chinese spectacle of Turandot appears more frequently, but suffers from
an ending that Puccini was unable to complete and no one else was able to
resolve.
Lisette (Elena Galvan) and Prunier (Mason Gates). |
The fact that La Rondine is still worth performing is a
testament to its creator’s nimble mind and fantastical skills. The score is an
elegant gem filled with Puccini’s continuing explorations. It’s
through-composed, , an evolving 20th Century trend that sought
greater dramatic reality through the elimination of set pieces. He uses dance
rhythms as a tribute to the Viennese tradition (a few waltzes and even a
tango), simultaneously using them as leitmotifs for the characters. One can
also detect the Oriental tonalities that play a part in all of Puccini’s
post-Butterfly works, notably in the palm-reading scene (Eastern mysticism?).
There’s even a bit of Donizettian contrapuntalism in the café scene.
Amanda Kingston as Magda. |
Playing Prunier, tenor Mason Gates exhibits vivid lyricism
and (for lack of a more technical term) a distinct sense of swagger. His
portrayal is comically perfect, Johnny Depp’s Mad Hatter minus 70 percent
madness. Playing the housemaid Lisette, soprano Elena Galvan displays an agile
tone and excellent comic skills (notably a pantomime of being pelted by
tomatoes at her singing debut). Together, these two have a bickering repartee
much like the lighter moments of Boheme’s Marcello and Musetta.
Magda (Amanda Kingston) and Rambaldo (Trevor Neal). |
Through November 26, California Theater, 345 S. First
Street, 408/437-4450, operasj.org.
Michael J. Vaughn is the author of twenty novels, including
Gabriella’s Voice and Operaville. He regrets that he was unable to mention
Veronika Agronov-Dafoe’s onstage accompaniment of Doretta’s Song, but
apparently she was disguised as a cigar-smoking man.
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