August 9, 2011

Wolf Trap Opera offers vigorous, absorbing production of ‘Tales of Hoffmann’

When it comes to opera in the summertime around this region, the most notable action is to be found in Northern Virginia.For four decades, Wolf Trap Opera has been exploring a wide range of the repertoire and periodically adding to it with commissioned works, all the while showcasing some of the nation’s finest young artists.

How fine? Just peruse the list of alumni scheduled to appear on an operatic greatest hits concert Aug. 24 at Wolf Trap’s Filene Center to celebrate the company’s 40th anniversary: Stephanie Blythe, Lawrence Brownlee, Denyce Graves, Alan Held, Eric Owens, James Valenti, to name a few. Quite a legacy.

The alumni concert, to be conducted by Stephen Lord, has something for just about everyone. There will be excerpts from operas by Handel, Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, Verdi, Dvorak, Leoncavallo, Mascagni, Delibes, Johann Strauss, Gilbert and Sullivan, and Puccini.

Meanwhile, you can catch a perennial favorite, Offenbach’s “The Tales of Hoffmann,” in an …

effective new production from Wolf Trap Opera — final performances are Thursday and Saturday at the Barns at Wolf Trap.Every staging of “Hoffmann” raises the question of which edition of the score to use. The ”integral edition” painstakingly compiled by Michael Kaye and Jean-Christophe Keck is cited as the basis for the Wolf Trap production, but, it is not, as far as I can tell, entirely faithful to that ground-breaking scholarship.

Still, even allowing for the inclusion of popular numbers inserted after Offenbach’s death into the “Guilietta” act, this version struck me as basically persuasive, musically and dramatically, on Sunday afternoon. The spoken dialogue, rather than the sometimes clunky Giuraud recitatives, flowed naturally.

“Hoffmann” is a long work that requires potent singer-actors and theatrical flair. For the most part, Wolf Trap Opera delivered.

On the visual front, Michael Olich’s set design, with its smoothly sliding boxes, provided just enough detail to evoke each scene. Throughout, a nocturnal mood was sustained (Robert H. Grimes devised the subtle lighting), underlining the spooky flow of the story. Mattie Ullrich’s costumes added a mix of the sinister and the fanciful (some of them seemed to have been inspired by “Gangs of New York”).

Director Dan Rigazzi revealed a knack for momentum and for moving the large cast neatly in and around the small stage. I wish he had devised a more menacing entrance for Dr. Miracle in Act 2, a more telling entrance for the long-awaited Stella in the epilogue. But Rigazzi drew mostly natural, detailed acting from the singers, and that counted for a lot.

Nathaniel Peake tackled the daunting title role with considerable success. If the voice was a little tight and monochromatic at the start, it warmed up in short order; the tenor sounded remarkably fresh and sturdy at the opera’s close. Some of his soft singing proved especially telling along the way.

Instead of one singer (always a risky option) portraying all the loves in Hoffmann’s life, this production divvies up the assignments.

Jamie-Rose Guarrine went for broke on Sunday as Olympia, the mechanical doll, venturing way into the vocal stratosphere with vivid, if somewhat edgy, results. Marcy Stonikas, even more visibly pregnant than in the company’s June production of Wolf-Ferrari’s “Le Donne Curiose,” tended to stay with one volume and tone color, but she brought considerable fire to the role of Antonia. Eve Gigliotti sang ardently as Giulietta.

Craig Irvin, as Hoffmann’s various nemeses, used his robust bass-baritone artfully. Catherine Martin was another vocal standout as the Muse/Nicklausse. The rest of the soloists and the chorus made dynamic contributions.

So did the orchestra. Despite being chamber-sized, that ensemble produced a good deal of cohesive sound and expressive depth for conductor Israel Gursky, whose knowing way with the score yielded equally satisfying doses of gentle nuance and all-out, riveting passion.

PHOTOS BY CAROL PRATT COURTESY OF WOLF TRAP OPERA

Zaide , KV 344
Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Conductor – Gary Thor Wedow
Director – James Marvel
Scenic Design – Erhard Rom
Projection Design-Katy Tucker
Costume Design – Mattie Ullrich
Lighting Design – Robert H. Grimes
Wigs & Makeup – Elsen Associates

The Turk in Italy
Music by Gioacchino Rossini
Conductor – Eric Melear
Director – Gregory Keller
Scenic Design – Erhard Rom
Costume Design – Alejo Vietti
Lighting Design – Robert H. Grimes
Wigs & Makeup – Elsen Associates

Benjamin Britten
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Conductor – Steven Osgood
Director – Patrick Diamond
Scenic Design – Erhard Rom
Costume Design – Camille Assaf
Lighting Design – Robert H. Grimes
Hair & Makeup  – Elsen Associates

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The Wolf Trap Opera Company Honored With GRAMMY Nomination for Recording of John Musto's Volpone

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Comic Opera Unfaithfully Based on Ben Jonson's Classic Comedy Nominated in 'Best Opera Recording' Category

VIENNA, Va., Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts proudly announces a GRAMMY nomination in the category of 'Best Opera Recording' for Volpone, a piece commissioned by the Foundation and performed by the organization's nationally renowned Wolf Trap Opera Company. Unfaithfully based on Ben Jonson's 17th century comedy, this new opera revives the great tradition of comic opera through the eyes and minds of composer John Musto and librettist Mark Campbell. Volpone is the only U.S. opera recording nominated, John Musto is the only American composer in this category, and Volpone is the only 21st-century work represented.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091204/DC21287 )

Recorded at The Barns at Wolf Trap, Volpone was conceived, written and designed specifically for the intimate 375-seat historic theater. This production represents a truly integrated Wolf Trap effort, featuring cast members from the opera company's 2007 summer residency program, CD booklet design by Foundation staff, and an independent release via the burgeoning Wolf Trap Recordings label. The recording is available for purchase via, iTunes, Amazon, and CD Baby.

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The trees have gotten so big that what used to be grass turned into a shady dustbowl. Something had to be done.

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