Opera Review: What We Got Here is a Crusader

The English Concert performs Rinaldo.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Going for baroque: Iestyn Davies (center) sings the title role in Rinaldo as Harry Bicket (seated, left) conducts.
Photo by Chris Lee © 2018 Carnegie Hall.

In the already esoteric world of opera performance, staging the operas of George Frederic Handel takes the anachronism to the next level. At Carnegie Hall on Sunday, conductor Harry Bicket led The English Concert in the latest of their wildly successful series of Handel operas and oratorios in concert. The latest: Rinaldo, the opera that made Handel's name in London, the city that would become that well-traveled composer's permanent home base.

Theater Review: The High Price of Beauty

Farinelli and the King on Broadway.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Tragic kingdom: Sam Crane and Mark Rylance in the titular roles of Farinelli and the King.
Photo © 2018 Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.

Those of you who regularly read Superconductor know that the dramatic stage, that is, the one without an orchestra or singing is not the normal demesne of this publication. However, thanks to the good offices of my friend Amy M., your humble correspondent found himself at Saturday night's performance of Farinelli and the King. This play, produced by Shakespeare's Globe of London and written by that company's resident composer Claire van Kampen, opened on Broadway in December after a successful London run. (It closes at the Belasco Theater on March 25.)

Opera Review: A Private Little War

operamission presents Handel's Rodrigo.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

(Ed. note: It is the general policy of Superconductor to publish all concert and opera reviews in a timely fashion, generally within 24 to 48 hours of the performance. However, due to an unforeseen illness, this review of last Tuesday night's operamission performance of Handel's Rodrigo is going up today. Mostly because I'm finally feeling well enough to write. Thank you for your patience and understanding.--Paul J. Pelkonen, Editor, Superconductor.)

The young Georg Friedrich Händel. Painter unknown.

Georg Friedrich Händel was astonishingly prolific. The German-born composer, who made his fortune introducing baroque opera (and later, oratorio) to English audiences composed 42 examples of that genre, most of them of excellent quality. Last Tuesday night, the small operamission company gave New Yorkers a chance to hear one of his early efforts with the New York premiere of Rodrigo. Written in 1707  and premiered in Florence, this was Händel's fifth opera and first effort for the stage in Italy.

Opera Review: Smells Like Teen Spirit

Gotham Chamber Opera presents Eliogabalo.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Decadence dance: Micaëla Oeste and Christopher Ainsle in a scene from Eliogabalo at The Box.
Photo by Richard Termine © 2013 Gotham Chamber Opera.

The Gotham Chamber Opera has built its reputation on the performance of fringe repertory works, sometimes in unusual locations. They may have difficulty topping this season’s first show: Franco Cavalli’s 1677 opera Eliogabalo. In the spirit of its title character, one of the most depraved among Rome’s many emperors, the show was mounted at The Box, a dinky Chrystie Street performing space dedicated to the revival of burlesque theater.

Brass Tacks: Baroque Opera and Opera Seria

Opera before the revolution.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

A typical over-the top baroque extravaganza. This is a scene from Handel's Xerxes.

"Baroque opera" is a catch-all term used for "early" operas, written before 1754. Opera seria is a name for an Italian opera style that dominated music in Italy and elsewhere for 150 years and has enjoyed a revival on the modern operatic stage. The French equivalent is tragédie en musique, a form that has been around since 1673.

First, some history.

The first opera was Dafne, written by Jacopo Peri in 1597 for the Venetian Carnival season. The score is now lost. The earliest examples available to us are operas by Claudio Monteverdi, whose L'Orfeo, L'Incoronazione di Poppea and Il ritorno di Ulisse in Patria are all performed today.

The preferred subject matter for this new art form was mythological or historical in nature. When real life events were portrayed (a trend started by Monteverdi with Poppea) they were set far enough back in antiquity that no-one would possibly be offended.

Here's an example from L'Incoronazione di Poppea by Claudio Monteverdi, written in 1642.

Performance by Rachel Yakar with the Ensemble Zurich cond. Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

Opera Review: One for the Diva

The Met's goes for baroque, reviving Rodelinda.

Marital bliss: Rodelinda (Renée Fleming, left) is embraced by Bertarido (Andreas Scholl.)
Photo by Ken Howard © 2011 The Metropolitan Opera.

The Met's revival of Rodelinda is the company's latest effort on behalf of soprano Renée Fleming. In presenting this comparatively obscure Handel opera, the presumed goal is to preserve the superstar's interpretation of the title role, into the ongoing Met Live in HD series. But in catering to the diva, the company has revived a dull entertainment.

Rodelinda is Handel's 19th opera. The title character is based on a real person, a 6th century Lombard queen. At the opera's opening (this is one of those plots where you need to know what happened before the curtain rises, like Die Walküre or Il Trovatore, Rodelinda's husband has been usurped and presumed killed. Of course, he's not really dead, but we'll get to that in a moment.

At the Monday night opener, Ms. Fleming's biggest assets were her good-natured manner and a majestic presence. This quality was evident even in the opening scene, which found the singer chained to a bed in a bizarre echo of Rosenkavalier. (Octavian was not present.) In the later acts, Ms. Fleming's voice developed a slight, but audible flutter in the coloratura passages. A hard edge emerged when her instrument was put under pressure and brought above the stave. Most problematic, an Act III aria, with high notes that repeatedly sharp.


Far more impressive: mezzo Stephanie Blythe as Eduige, the courtier whose jealousy helps drive the opera's complex plot. Ms. Blythe is an old-school diva with a sturdy instrument and stage presence. She dominated the scenes she was in, especially the lengthy aria that opens Act II. With roles like this and Fricka in the new Ring Cycle, the robust mezzo is now a house favorite.

Handel creates some unusual ensembles for Rodelinda, with a cast that includes two countertenors. Andreas Scholl was strong as Rodelinda's husband Bertarido, although his voice slipped into its normal register at one point, he recovered. But why does Bertarido have to sing his final aria running from room to room as the sets slide across the stage? Countertenor Iestyn Davies made his Met debut in the smaller role of Unulfo. Mr. Davies sang with great agility and the promise of bigger roles to come.

Tenor Joseph Kaiser was a convincing bad guy as Grimoaldo. Out to to seize the throne of Lombardy and marry Rodelinda, Mr. Kaiser was passionate, dastardly and ultimately forgiven (by Ms. Blythe)He was undermined by a clumsy, almost laughable sword-fight with Mr. Scholl in Act III. Baritone Shenyang was a convincing heavy, with a smooth delivery and a pleasing, dark instrument. In the half-empty pit, Harry Bickett conducted the small orchestra with flair, playing the continuo parts himself from the harpsichord.

Stephen Wadsworth's production is an anomaly in Peter Gelb's Met, an example of the hyper-realistic style that characterized the previous administration. These huge sets might be recycled (perhaps incorporated Simon Boccanegra.) Scenery slides in and out, like subway trains arriving in a station. Unnecessary effects are common, like a gardener who spends all his time planting impatiens onstage, and a gratuitous use of the house mega-elevator for the prison scene.

Opera Review: High Notes From Underground

David Daniels as Orfeo. Photo by Marty Sohl.
© 2007 The Metropolitan Opera

Orfeo ed Euridice at the Met

Friday night at the Metropolitan Opera marked the welcome return of David Daniels as Orfeo in the company's Mark Morris production of Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice.

Mr. Daniels is a countertenor, a voice type that sits close to the range of male alto castrato, the vocal type which Gluck had in mind when he wrote the opera in 1762. But his powerful, thrilling voice possesses none of the reediness or watery timbre that is so often heard in this kind of singing.

As Orfeo, Mr. Daniels spends this production clad in black and slinging an acoustic guitar, a Greek mythological equivalent of Johnny Cash, or perhaps, given the singer's good looks: Elvis Presley. He has a rich and flexible instrument has a full, round sound, akin to an alto flute, but more robust. He is also capable of feats of vocal agility, as displayed last night in his high-flying arias and long Act III duet with his Euridice, played by British soprano Kate Royal in her Met debut.

The opera follows his quest to retrieve his wife Euridice from the Hades, aided by Amor, (Lisette Oropesa) a high-flying represenatation of the God of Love. Mr. Morris' dancers make the most of Gluck's extensive, inventive ballet music, aided by the Met chorus in the depiction of Furies and heroes who block and aid Orfeo on his Chthonian quest.


The best part of the evening was the long duet between Ms. Royal and Mr. Daniels. Their voices intertwined perfectly, capturing the very human drama that Gluck was intending: a husband and a wife struggling to reunite under nearly impossible circumstances. When Orfeo finally brought himself to look at Euridice--an act which returned her to the underworld, it was a potent, moving moment that illustrated the dramatic power of this simple opera.

The action of this 90-minute opera takes place in front of a set of three tiered balconies, with 72 members of the Met chorus decked out magnificently as historical characters from disparate eras, from Genghis Khan to Abraham Lincoln and everyone in between. But given the crucial role played by the chorus in this opera and the high quality of their singing, they would have sounded great if they were in burlap sacks.

Concert Review: The Alchemy of Handel

David Daniels and Dorothea Röschmann at Carnegie Hall

Soprano Dorothea Röschmann

Sunday afternoon's concert at Carnegie Hall paired two performers steeped in the repertory of the 18th century: the soprano Dorothea Röschmann, and the countertenor David Daniels. The two singers were expertly accompanied by the Juilliard 415 Ensemble in an all-Handel program that showcased each voice to mesmerizing effect.


In baroque opera, a strict division exists between recitative/plot development and emotional reaction. The latter is expressed through arias, which put an emphasis on development of emotional truth and embellishment second.

Ms. Röschmann, a singer heard often in Mozart, sang with stellar technique, soaring to heights with a clear, firm line that allowed equal balance between the meaning of the words and the starry flourishes that come in the recaptulation of the text. She shifted moods ably throughout the recital, from the erotic charge of "V'adoro, pupille" *from Giulio Cesare) to tragic loss in the excerpts from Rodelinda.

Countertenor David Daniels

Mr. Daniels first sang for New Yorkers as Arsamene in Handel's Xerxes at City Opera in 1997. Those performances, opposite the late Lorraine Hunt, triggered that company's renaissance as a haven for the performance of baroque opera. He then moved on to the Met, rising to heights with appearances in operas like Orphée et Euridice, a role that he will bring back to New York in May.

Although he sings from the "head", Mr. Daniels' voice is radically different from most countertenors. He is equipped with a round, viola-like resonance that is rare among his ilk: producing powerful, fully formed tones that never sound flutey or forced. This formidable technique was best heard on the elegant "Crede l'uomo ch'egli riposi", and the moving "Perfido, di a quell'empio tiranna" from Radamisto.


Jory Vinkour and Monica Huggett led the Juilliard 415 ensemble, which takes its numeric name from the tuning pitch of the note A (415) in baroque period performance. Using theorbo, hautboys, harpsichord, and old-style bassoons, the Juilliard musicians provided expert accompaniment to the arias, including the complex antiphonal passages from Giulio Cesare. The orchestra also had its time in the spotlight, playing engaging accounts of the Rodelinda overture, a Handel passacaglia and a lithe account of the second Concerto Grosso, Op. 3.

The individual excerpts were exceptional, but they paled compared to the molten alloy of these two voices together in the three duets on the program. The first was "Io t'abbraccio", which featured Mr. Daniels and Ms. Röschmann's voices melting together in a complex weave of sound. "Scherzano sul tu volto" (moved earlier in the program) and "Per le porte del tormento passan l'anime" showed that this fusion of voices was no accident. The encore too, featured a gorgeous duet: "Pur ti miro, pur ti godo" from Monteverdi's L'Incorinazione di Poppea, a perfect, intimate end to an extraordinary afternoon.

Opera Review: Down I Go

David Daniels as Orfeo.
Photo by Marty Sohl © 2007 The Metropolitan Opera.

The dress rehearsal of Orfeo et Euridice at the Met.
As part of my subscription for the 2007-2008 season (more on what I'm seeing in a future edition of this blog) I was lucky enough to get tickets for the Monday dress rehearsal of Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice, one of the hottest tickets in the final weeks of the spring opera season. I know that we critic types aren't realy supposed to write about dress rehearsals, bit it was such a significant performance that I am going to share my thoughts below. Yes the review is running a little late, but, here it is. Enjoy.


The star of this new Orfeo is the superb countertenor of David Daniels. Daniels specializes in baroque opera, singing with a high-pitched "head voice" (not unlike Jon Anderson of the rock band Yes). In 1997, his performance as Arsamene in Handel's Xerxes at the City Opera (opposite Lorraine Hunt Lieberson) was almost single-handedly responsible for the baroque opera revival that New York has enjoyed in the last ten years. Ms. Lieberson was originally supposed to sing Orfeo in this new Met production. She died last year, and Daniels stepped in to sing her commitments. The production is dedicated to her memory.




Gluck's opera retells an ancient myth, one of death and rebirth. Orpheus is the greatest musician the world has ever known. When his wife dies, he goes down into the Underworld to reclaim her. Unfortunately, he disobeys the edict of the Greek gods and looks at and speaks to Eurydice. When he does, she is lost to him forever. The opera adds a happy deus ex machina ending, where Eros restores the lovers to life. Historically, Orfeo marked a turning point for opera, away from the filigrees of the baroque era and toward the clean classicism of Mozart and Haydn.

David Daniels gives a powerful performance in the title role, with notes of Elvis and Buddy Holly in this modern staging. His countertenor remains a smooth-flowing, flexible instrument that can negotiate the highest parts of Handel and Gluck with dizzying speed and accuracy. Heidi Grant Murphy, descending (literally) from the heavens, brought perk and energy to the role of Amor, the God of Love who makes all things possible. Latvian soprano Maija Kovalevska blended well with Daniels as Euridice.

The new production is spare, with choristers arranged on three stadium tiers above the action, commenting and singing like an old-fashioned Greek chorus. They are dressed as various historical figures, from Queen Elizabeth I and Abe Lincoln to Babe Ruth and John Lennon. The Met's choral forces were a powerful storm surge in this opera. Mention must also be made of the ballet forces. Director/choreograher Mark Morris created challenging choreography to dance, and they made the most of this ballet-heavy opera. James Levine led an exuberant reading of the score in the pit.