Candide, at Huntington Theatre Company this fall, is amazing. Amazing. AMAZING!  I have not gone to a more visually stunning and musically moving show in a long while. Candide runs through October 16th as the kickoff to Huntington’s 30th Anniversary Season. Huntington welcomes a production that is clearly part remount, part newly produced, bringing several Chicago artists to Boston – most notably Mary Zimmerman and Doug Peck, from the show’s previous run at the Goodman Theatre.

Mary Zimmerman, directing and re-imagining this original Voltaire adaptation with music by Leonard Bernstein and others, proves once again why she won a Tony for Metamorphoses and why she has been officially described as a Genius, winning the MacArthur Fellowship years ago. Peck, the Joseph Jefferson Award winning Music Director, brings the Bernstein music to life with a passion and force that many musicians envy – or should!

Candide follows the life of the naïve young man, removed from his home of wealth for his romantic entanglements with his cousin. In his travels, he experiences the funny, the serious and also the horrifying world of war, religion, sex and power in Europe through the heavy-handed philosophical eye of the original author, Voltaire (d. 1778).

The production design of Candide is stunning. Utilizing a deep stage space and projections, the space is at one moment a small classroom space, then an empty ballroom, then the dirty streets of several European cities in progression.  Daniel Ostling’s set design, moving seamlessly and speedily through time and space with more than a few stunning reveals, is beautiful. Opening with a series of simple projections, the audience is tricked into a calm expectation for the design of this opera. In the first scene, the attention to the color palette is breathtaking.  This first moment takes place far downstage in a small study populated by aristocrats within a comparatively simple set – desk; chairs; hand-props – then, in a moment as Candide himself is shunned from the palace after a brief moment of sexual impropriety – the stage is bare and wooden, giving a stark look into the emptiness behind the beauty of the aristocratic life.

Like most of Zimmerman’s re-creations of classic tales, this production is not short on spectacle, visual assault and surprise, and unexpected vocal, physical and emotive choices. Each and every actor is put through their paces with the physical and vocal demands of this production.  I would love to be backstage to see the movement choreography that surely must have developed to keep the onstage world so quickly transforming.  Though Zimmerman’s tale provides spectacle, it is not ever for spectacle’s sake. Her use of visually moving stimulus, and unique movement and vocal direction, is always at the service of the story and the audience. Candide is no exception to this practice.

Doug Peck’s musical direction of the music by Bernstein and others is transformative. At intermission, I overheard several conversations from patrons that this was the most exciting opera they had been to in years – undoubtedly due to Peck’s brave musical choices and interpretation of this great piece. The young musical director, already with four Joseph Jefferson Awards under his belt, should hands-down be considered for any and every award Boston has to offer. Peck has been considered the “musical wonderkind” of Chicago for almost a decade(1), and hearing this production of Candide, one has to hope that he will grace Boston again with his brave musical prowess.

This review would be remiss if I did not compliment the amazing fusion of casting. The cast of Candide brings together some of Chicago’s best with some of Boston’s best actors. Erik Lochtefeld* is hilarious as the vain Maxmillian; Lauren Molina’s entire performance rivots – particularly her vocal power; and Jeoff Packard carries the show with strength, focus, and more than a few moment of physical hilarity.  Kudos to the ensemble and to the production team for bringing them all together!

1. See “Chicago Theatre Addict,” chitheatreaddict.com.

Members of the cast of the Huntington Theatre Company’s CANDIDE. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

As the final curtain fell, the house lights rose, and I began my way out of the Loeb Drama Center, my ears couldn’t help but hone into the conversation happening behind me. A woman remarked to her theatergoing companion, “Well, I give it an A for effort.” In the moment, I couldn’t help but focus on the tactlessness of such a statement while still inside the theater. However, upon further thought, I have to agree with the tactless stranger. The credit for this A undoubtedly goes to the cast of consummate professionals who brought this work to life at the American Repertory Theater. As adept as they were, though, their talent alone could not save this haphazard production.

For the purposes of full disclosure, I absolutely did read Stephen Sondheim’s open letter to The New York Times regarding the “blasphemous” treatment of Porgy and Bess by this creative team, and I entered the theater very tentatively the evening of this performance. I am not an aficionado of Porgy in its original form, but many of the changes preview interviews were indicating made me uncomfortable. I am pleased to be able to report that the hype is incredibly disproportionate to the actual changes, and that during previews taking place before I saw the show, Diane Paulus restored the show’s original ending, opting for Bess to not return as Porgy sets off in search of her.

Audra McDonald was absolutely resplendent as Bess, commanding the audience’s attention whenever she took to the stage. Her acting was impeccable—she really brought a tender depth to the character making every intention crystal clear. Likewise, Norm Lewis as the lame beggar Porgy (New! Improved! With a cane!) was a delight. The journeys these two characters take together are deftly executed by their actors, and deepened by the wonderful on-stage chemistry the two share.

The rest of the cast was nothing to shake a stick at, either. Nikki Renée Daniels, as Clara, set the tone for the entire show with her beautiful and fresh rendition of the signature “Summertime” while holding a real live baby (Special kudos are owed here—the infant didn’t make a peep). Mariah, played by NaTasha Yvette Williams, brought a maternal tenderness to each of her scenes and songs. David Alan Grier as the “happy dust”-peddling Sportin’ Life brought a seedy finesse to the character, he really makes the audience see the allure Bess sees in him. Phillip Boykin’s Crown did leave something to be desired, though. His acting was decidedly more “opera” than “theatre,” and not quite up to par with his peers on stage. The ensemble, as they gathered to gamble, picnic, or hunker down for a storm, was in top shape vocally, though when they were executing Ronald K. Brown’s distracting choreography, their ability to aid the storytelling was lessened.

Diane Paulus’ unfocused direction really was the iceberg in this Titanic situation (I’m not joking—the scenery actually tips up at one point, causing this reviewer to go to the only logical place he could: Yeston and Stone’s musical Titanic). There were so many moments I sat in my seat thinking, “Wow, what a wonderful opportunity to create some sexy dramatic tension,” yet the dramatic tension’s invitation to this dinner party clearly got lost in the mail.

The new book scenes contributed by playwright Susan Lori-Parks added between the songs simply serve to halt the flow of the show instead of helping it move forward. The dialect in the book scenes is noticeably different from the dialect in the lyrics of the songs, and the two do anything but play nicely together on stage. It was very jarring to see the characters begin singing in “demeaning 1930s black people talk” and then, by contrast, appear 300 times more articulate when speaking to one another, only to switch back when they began singing again. On the topic of music, William David Brohn & Christopher Jahnke’s orchestrations were played beautifully by the 18-member pit band led by conductor Sheilah Walker.

The real star of the production team is Christopher Akerlind, for his beautiful lighting design. It is an inside joke among my friends that when I am searching for something nice to say about a production, I will immediately default to “Well, the lighting was good.” In this case, however, I am incredibly earnest in this statement. His beautiful use of horizontal-facing lights to create shadow plays on Riccardo Hernandez’s towering set was very effective, as was the lighting effects to create a full-fledged hurricane at the pinnacle of the second act (I was more afraid of the rain on the stage of the Loeb than I was of Tropical Storm Irene).

Overall, I keep coming back to the “A for effort” statement. Temporarily removing my “critic” hat (and what a fabulous little number it is, too), seeing a production of this reimagined American classic with such an impeccable cast was amazing. With some tweaks to the work itself and some serious direction doctoring before it hits Broadway in December, it’s possible this becomes one of the roles that defines McDonald’s career as an actor. The opportunity to see her play this role should not be missed.

Audra McDonald and Norm Lewis share an intimate moment at “Bess” and “Porgy”.

I will admit, I’ve had a lot of trouble deconstructing my thoughts on this piece. I struggle to be the one to speak against the popular opinion, notably those in awe of the use of technology in this supposedly progressive piece.  But does that really make something new and unique? Does it make something with an obtuse plot, poor sound quality, and what in essence is remote control cars a major step forward for opera?

I’ve been battling these questions in my mind ever since I saw Tod Machover’s work, and I keep going back to what my companion’s response to the opera was. Upon leaving the theater he said “The visual effects were really cool, but I have no idea what happened on stage. Was that supposed to affect me in some way?” I also have thought of what I’ve told my peers and coworkers about the show. “I liked watching it, but I wouldn’t recommend you see it.”

Now, what has made me think that? Well, the music for one. Being an opera and classical music enthusiast, I thought it was beautiful. The modern composition was flawless and was so well written for singing I was floored. Tod Machover ingeniously put together a score that was not muddled, or too avant guarde, and the singers performed it with an ease and grace that I haven’t heard in modern music ever.

The plot is where Robert Pinsky and Randy Weiner jumped the shark. I read the synopsis before walking into the theater, so I knew what was coming and the background of each scene, but without that prior knowledge, I would have no idea what was happening. The characters were just shells, there was no back story other than a 30 second image montage for each character at the very beginning of the piece called the “download” and it did not give any insight to their thoughts or feelings on themselves or the world. This piece was supposed to be about death, evolution, technology and the path to immortality but none of that came through. The only striking human moment was when ” the miseries” – a large hoard of ragged people flopped around the empty stage for one scene.

The singing was wonderful with James Maddalena, Emily Albrink and Sara Heaton standing out the most. I question the use of counter-tenor Douglas Dodson as “The United Way”. Why not have a woman instead? The jaunting look and sound of his voice paired with his physical presence was distracting and there didn’t seem to be a reason for him being a man. The Orchestra, headed bu Gil Rose, worked perfectly with the music and the singers and I truly applaud the musicianship of the whole piece. The use of lighting and multi-media and robotic set pieces,created by Peter Torpey, Ben Bloomberg and Matt Checkowski was powerful to see. I did expect the robots themselves to have electronic voices, but was disappointed to find that their singing was just from the human singers backstage in a sound booth with a microphone.

The directing suffered from a bad script and a lackluster story, but I don’t know what one can do with a piece that has so little bulk to it. It all comes back to the writing itself. It’s so lack-luster compared to the story they were trying to tell that even the entire opera isn’t worthwhile. I hate that I feel so strongly about it, because of all the good that’s involved. But no amount of high flying technology or musicality can overcome a badly written, though imaginative story.

The Operabots. Photo by: Jonathan Williams.

Idonemeo is one of the greatest operas ever written. A Greek tragedy complete with meddling gods, monsters, love triangles and chaos with a silver-lined ending, it’s everything I expect in an Opera Seria piece and more. Mozart’s soaring music and vision fill the piece and mesmerize any audience member. Boston Lyric Opera’s new production of this classic opera was beautiful and inventive, though lacking in through thought. It was a very good effort with wonderful singers that rounded out Boston’s premiere opera company’s Idonemeno.

BLO took a set originally built for Glimmerglass Opera’s production of Orphee et Eurydice that was stunningly beautiful and perfect for this setting. Great lighting and multiple entrances added depth to the space and kept the audience guessing where to look next. I wish I could see more sets like this as it fit the stage well and did not stand in the way of any action – wonderful!

The singers were fantastic. Camille Zamora as Ilia made a soaring starting point for the opera to lift off. Her presentation, while over the top at times, was exciting, energetic and anything but boring. Ilia is one character that can seem boring, self deprecating, and daft, but Zamora infused power and motivation to create a journey that her character traveled throughout the piece. Sandra Piques Eddy was a surprising Idamante. Her stage presence read masculine at every moment and Idamante’s character and character flaws were easily visible. Jason Collins as Idomeneo was the stand out voice on stage. His aria in the first act was very human and distraught, his second act mellizmatic aria looked easy as pie and beamed from low to high with perfect Tenor placement. Caroline Worra as Elettra had a beautiful voice and presence on stage, though I would have loved for her character to further walk the line between crazed, loving, and confused. Her rage aria before the finale was something I was told would be stand-out fantasic; and it was sung well, but did not make me jump out of my seat as I was expecting to. Worra had good effort, but her energy had a constant decrescendo from the beginning through the end of the 3 hour production.

Lillian Groag’s stage direction was very exciting in the first act. Creating a play within a play that read to the audience as such is an extremely hard task, but I wanted to hop out of my seat at the end of Act 1 and applaud her. The action was so intense yet still a play within a play that I was left with my mouth open at the simplicity of her staging. I’m saddened that it ended after the curtain closed the first time. The second and third acts lost all their charm and left me questioning if we had traveled into the story completely or were still watching players on a stage. That paired with a company energy level declined left me with a slight bad taste in my mouth.

On the other hand, the musical direction of David Angus was spectacular. Those who knew the music well before coming to the theater could be seen on the edges of their seats with an expectant look in their eyes for the thrilling music and upon the curtain drop sat back with a content smile of satisfaction on their faces. The Orchestra and the Chorus benefited greatly from Angus’ baton and blossomed in key moments of every act. Bravo on a job well done and flawless conducting on such a long and intense score!

My only other area of contention was the supertitles. While much of the music was cut from the opera, the words and statements being sung on stage were changed and reinterpreted on the screens in English. There were distinct moments when the audience was laughing at what the “translation” said while the words and thoughts being expressed on the stage were the exact opposite. Reinterpretation of passion to sarcasm, hatred to sexy, loving to boredom: these are not things that should be changed so easily.

All in all, this was a beautiful piece of music, wonderful to listen to, wonderful to see in action and well done by Boston Lyric Opera. With only a few complaints, but more smiles from me, I would love to see more productions on par with this Idomeneo. Both David Angus and Lillian Groag are great additions to the company of BLO and I would be happy to see their return to the helm in the future.

Now, on to next season!

Boston Lyric Opera’s 2010-2011 Season: Tosca- The Emperor of Atlantis – Agrippina – A Midsummer Night’s Dream

The star-crossed lovers Idamante (mezzo-soprano Sandra Piques Eddy) and Ilia (soprano Camille Zamora)
share a bittersweet moment before Idamante heads off to battle

The story of The Rheingold Curse comes from a long tradition of Viking myths that deal with family values, greed and lust- subjects that still relate to so much in our lives today. The vikings had a nomadic aural tradition which has been almost completely absent for hundreds of years. Sequentia made the massive effort to revive these medieval myths in order to uncover the original context for the stories.  It was an ambitious task to take on and one that could be very fruitful if completed well. I applaud their efforts and am glad to have seen the fruits of their labor.

Benjamin Bagby, the director of Sequentia, was the true highlight of this piece. His persona, understanding of the text, and part he played gave him an uncanny ability to speak to the audience. There was not one person in attendance that could not watch and listen to him without understanding his purpose. He embodied a traveling bard of old that I could imagine being familiar to drunken men and women of the medieval era (imagine a drinking lodge in 800 CE). Agnethe Christensen personified Brynhild victoriously, and I loved her warrior-like wooden shoes! Lena Susanne Norin made my night complete as Gudrun who truly takes the story home in the end. The audience had an audible gasp when they realized her character’s actions in the final scene.

The music itself was very intriguing. My companion says he’s never seen or heard anything like it before, though he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing. The words were in Icelandic, which when sung, startled us as it sounded exactly like the Swedish Chef of Muppet Show fame. After getting over a fit of muffled laughter, I was able to enjoy the rest of the performance. I thought the instrumental orchestration was repetitive at times, but for the most part, paired with the singing, the piece was very intelligently put together. I agree with my companion, there is not much like it to be heard in the world, but I enjoyed it, if not for that reason alone.

My major problem with the evening came from the audience itself. When thinking that these stories when first performed were by traveling bards for entertainment along the roads they traveled, this venue seemed quite a bit different. I cannot imagine anyone going to see a piece like this if it cost less than $50 a ticket. (A) No one would take it seriously and (B) it would not show up on anyone’s radar as a worthwhile production. So, for $100 a ticket, the wealthy and older crowd would presume the performance to be very high brow and intellectual and therefore worthwhile of their time and money. I don’t think that was the case when a piece like this was first performed in medieval times. I believe it was for the low brow as well as high brow crowds. It was to speak to the masses, not the few. Therefore, I was not surprised to find the audience full of an older generation and also full of people who had no idea what there were about to see. They laughed when it was not appropriate, could not pay attention as I heard snoring, coughing and even talking (and about subjects other than the performance!) I was floored at their behavior! If I had been any other patron, I would’ve walked out completely.

All in all, I thank Sequentia for bringing this piece alive. It was a glimpse into the past of our musical world and with a myth that is still alive today. I leave with the simple question of why they went to all the trouble to recreate the music, but ask with whole-hearted interest and with a smile.

Bagby as Bard

Juventas New Music Ensemble, a resident of the Boston Conservatory, offered quite the “mind trip” with it’s fall selection, Murmurs From Limbo: A Musical Exploration Into the Human Mind. The ensemble features young artists in the Boston area and strives to produce and promote composers under the age of 35, but this is not an easy task.  Filling an audience for classical works can be hard enough, but add to that a bevy of unheard of composers and the risk of green performers, and you have the potential for a disaster- thank goodness Juventas pulled it off with class and style.

Murmurs From Limbo featured six pieces that could not be any more unique from one another- from  classic compositions, to dramatic percussive performance piece, Juventas pushed the envelope, and pushed the boundaries of the audience’s expectations.

Tim Stullman’s Deaf Ears Hear No Crying is a tribute to those who seek justice but go unheard.  From the first moment of odd scratching and the plucking of piano strings, it is clear that this is not your average composition, in fact, the piece defines the genre of “new classical music” in its ability to combine the a classic and beautiful orchestration with elements of jarring and otherworldly reality.

Bit of Nostolgia by Matt Boyd and performed by Brian Calhoon was a surprising foray into the inner working of a percussionist’s mind.  Seeing each object on the stage as a potential vessel for music, Calhoon moved about the stage playing everything from a paper bag to a handful of plastic chains.  In glorious contrast to Stullman’s piece, it worked as a perfect bridge to what I consider to be the most beautiful piece of the night.

Erich Stem’s Revisited filled the auditorium with the rich and beautiful sounds of the East.  Inspired by Japanese Shakuhachi music, the three movements of this piece are unique and beautiful.  The third movement, inspired by an 18^th century poem by Minezaki Koto, echoed the feeling of poetry with fluid lines and sophisticated nuances.

The second part of the evening started off with the fun, playful The Mind is a Monkey, Swinging From Branch to branch Through the Forest by Ethan Greene.  The mouthful of the title is an homage to the text of the Sutra, and the music does it justice- full of movement and a witty repartee between the instruments.

Part didgeridoo, part tuba beat-boxing is the best way to describe the piece that stole the show.  Fnugg by Norwegian composer Oystein Baadsvick was an all around crowd-pleaser as performed by tuba genius, John Eliot.  The audience could not help to gasp in audible delight as Eliot morphed the homely tuba into an unexpected boom-box of fun.  Whoops and hollers followed him off the stage until he had to take a second bow.

The evening of music closed with the title piece of the production, Murmurs from Limbo by Steven Rice.  Unfortunately this piece fell a little flat for me (no pun intended).  As the title engagement of the night, I was expecting to be blown away, especially with the caliber of music and fun we’d previously experienced, but unfortunately Murmors from Limbo was not my cup of tea.  A mish-mashed conglomeration of weird shouting and singing in middle English, odd and ugly dissonant music, and an irritating lack of balance between voices and instruments left me feeling pretty disappointed- the text translations provided did no assist in my understanding help because it was extremely difficult to hear the vocalists sing (or moan/shout/growl).  It almost felt like a parody of what someone might do if they were trying to make fun of “modern classical music”.  That being said, I did appreciate the fine performance of the orchestra, and what I could hear of singers Thea Lobo and Owen Mcintosh.

It was wonderful to see Juventas staples Michael Sakir and Julia Carey giving their skill to the production, and special congratulations to new associate conductor, Lidiya Yankovskaya for an excellent debut!

The Juventas New Musical Ensemble has a lot of exciting productions coming up throughout the year, and will continue with their spring Opera project.  I’m looking forward to seeing what’s in store.

Music Director, Michael Sakir in action